Not much of an update

 Jon got the results back from his echocardiogram (basically a sonagram of his heart) and all his other tests. What is so cool about having Sharp Reese Stealy for our medical is they have an amazing patient portal. You can see what appointments you have coming up, it messages or emails you a week before an appointment to have you sign in before you even get there. Doctors use it to send messages and updates, you can see all your meds listed, and referrals, anything and everything.

There were actual video snippets of the EEG that were taken so you could see the enhanced color blood flowing, the movement and Jon was just tickled to see that. So the results were that one side of his heart is slightly thickened and the doctor and he conclude that's likely due to having to work so hard with his breathing problems. The doctor's notes said she would refer him to a cardiologist for further notes and testing if needed. Well, the next day a message comes through saying 'you're invited to schedule an office visit with ::insert doctor name:: cardiology. So he has an appointment for the 29th to see that doctor. 

On the other hand the Santa Ana's kicked up and it's the same system that has totally devasted L.A. and thrashed my allergy as well. I suffered through one day then got some medicine and took it in the afternoon. It's the equivalent of Allergen or whatever non-drowsy formula, problem is it also makes me kind of hyper... it's definitely not drowsy so I was waking up every hour or two through the night. I bought the 24 hour version too. Bleh.

So some minor sniffling going on and my second dose wore off about nine hours ago. I only take it when it's absolutely necessary. Picture has nothing to do with my allergy but it is a sign of the winter with Camellia's in bloom. This one is at the patio area of the complex and it should be blooming a lot more but it's in total shade and not taken care of but it's still a beauty.

My knee is much better now, haven't been wearing the brace even when I go for a walk. Went walking on Tuesday and was careful, boy am I out of shape. Legs and hips were hurting and I only walked for about ten minutes. Going to try and do it three days a week because I need to. One of the tendons is a little cranky right now but it's all my fault.  Still haven't got my glasses because if I don't want to pay for them I have to have lined multi focus lenses. Progressives are $55 so that's something for next months budget which is only two weeks away.

We still have plenty of meat in the freezer, had a salmon dinner today with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies. We're doing really well on eating leftovers and smaller snack type meals rather than meat in every meal. I think we were running low on things over the summer when I didn't have to drive the boys four days a week. If we can keep up that sort of schedule over the summer then we'll be okay for a while. As long as the government doesn't change anything.

Will update when there's something to report.

Update such as it is.

 I finally called a number that I figured would help, got through to a person and they didn't have enough information on their side to get me the cost if I wanted progressive lenses. Gave me the number to call for the VSP (Vision Service Provider). Okay, so oddly both of these calls went rather smoothly with very little wait time. I explained to the young man (which sounded like he was sitting at home because of the quality of the voice) and he explained that if I wanted progressives it would be $55. Any other add ons like UV protection and other things would be at the cost the location would be charging within a range. So... I may have to make do with lined trifocals for a year. Yuck. Good thing is there are two optometrists in Santee which is a hop and skip over. 

It was cloudy and cold for three or four days at the start of the new year and then cleared off. That's a picture of a hawk in my 'weather' tree along with four or five crows that were doing that ratchet sound as a warning. Next day, all pretty again. We just had gusty winds today and last night so Santa Ana conditions which is not good, very dry air and cool temps. Three major wildfires happening up near L.A. so this is definitely not good. One of them is dangerously close to the Ghetty Museum which I have only seen pictures of but they have an amazing art collection and the building itself is amazing.

Anyway. Next on my list of medical things is my teeth. Can't get away with no copay on the big stuff. Exam and xrays yes but only once a year I think. I need teeth pulled, fillings and possible root canals and partial dentures. Going to take a while for that to all get done.

I got my relacement jury duty summons for next month, that's sitting on my desk right in front of me so I don't forget.

We have tons of food for this month I didn't even buy more hamburger or chicken. Picked up a package of deli pastrami, fixings for enchiladas, restocked on veggies and a few canned goods and the only other meat was salmon filet pieces. Meal plans are happening every week since I'm on shuttle duty again starting this week. Had chicken tenders today, with potato wedges from scratch and salad.  We have some bbq pork left over, with another pork roast still in the freezer, red beans and rice was yesterday. So as far as food stocks are concerned, we're good for the month. Posting on the kitchen blog when I fix something new or have other cooking wisdom to impart.

Oh, for New years day we did a little shopping, hit the sandwich shop and then BevMo because I wanted some ginger beer. I discovered Cock& Bull ginger beer  (soft drink, non alcoholic) waaaayyy back when I was in my 20's and when I went to Dicken's Fair. I swear it was the best thing I had ever tasted. So I usually try and remember to buy some for New Year's day. Well we went in I found it and Jon wandered around looking for his favorite beer, which they didn't have. Got home and had one of my drinks and thought it tasted kind of bland. But then I had just had a coke so thought maybe it was just a different sugar content. Thought nothing of it... then the other three tasted the same and though hmmph, maybe my taste buds are getting old or they changed the formula. I decided to see what the sugar content was compared to cokes and looked at the ingredients. It said 0 calories. I thought...what the heck? Looked at it again then it dawned on me and I turned the bottle over. Diet. Ginger beer. I mean it wasn't bad and if I had never had it before I'd say it was pretty good. But I kept swearing it should have had more flavor and it should have if it wasn't diet. 

Jon is adapting to his new meds, one of them gives him post nasal drip bad so he's constantly clearing his throat and it's making him hoarse. I told him he needs to contact the doctor through the web page and see if there's something to help that. Don't think he's done that yet. 

Bills are being paid as they come in. Rent is done, internet is paid, storage is paid, we have enough gas to get us a couple of weeks then I can ask Amber for some gas money. Still way early in the month unfortunately but we should do okay.  Even with the tiny bump in the money (only about 20 or so dollars) it didn't make much difference, still waiting to see what SDGE is going to be. Not going to be horrendous but when you only have $2 and something is $10, that's a lot of money you don't have.

Still cautiously optimistic.

End of the year... such as it was

 Happy New Year...for what it's worth. Kind of like seeing a couple getting married and giving them best wishes, knowing it will not go well.

Today has been overcast, cold and dreary. I had hoped it would be clear and sunny to see the old year out but it's winter and all that. With it starting to get dark, I suspect will be hearing noise soon even though it's not midnight yet for us.

This was the view out my bedroom window this morning, the nearest hill is covered in fog/clouds and it's not even that tall nor far away. Clouds cleared a tiny bit midday but it's back to being very cold and now almost completely dark at 5pm. One of the things on my list this coming year is washing the windows, especially the bedroom.

As things go, Jon's EKG went fine, we got our boosted SS money and so planned some special foods after his appointment. Got there on time, called him five minutes later, he was out in about fifteen minutes. I love our providers, it's been an incredible experience other than the ER. But when do you ever have a good experience in the ER right? 

As years go, this was not such an awful one, no major plague, and only disappointment was the election. If you can't remember the bad times  then maybe they weren't so bad? Or maybe your selective memory isn't so selective anymore.

I am intending to complete more knitting projects this coming year, get on top of the gardening better since I have a tiny bit extra money and a new hose now. Still waiting for the new yarn I ordered but it'll come and hats are much faster to knit than socks.

Something else to hopefully get done this year is my cataract surgery. I did discover that my eyeglass prescription for standard and lined bi or trifocals the copay is $0. Whooo! I do like having the progressives so I need to find out how much that costs. That is next weeks chore since everything is pretty much shut down this week.

New Year resolutions and all that.. never was good ad doing those and keeping them. It's my mental state for sure but here's to attempting more exercise for both of us. 

So whatever you do this coming year, remember to be kind when you can, love always and remember those who are less fortunate and give when you can.

I am cautiously optimistic again

 Everything was over and done in about an hour. I mean, out the door and back home again. 

Four things needed to be accomplished today:

Get smog test and pass

Pick up Jon's next three meds

Register and get tags for car at the DMV kiosk

Grab a sandwich for lunch today

I located a smog place in the direction we needed to go that was also STAR certified. I was all set for either a fail or it taking an hour so I brought my knitting with me just in case. Lady had a Persian accent and either my hearing is getting really bad or she was not speaking loud enough. Probably more the combination of her speech pattern and volume. Apparently the price for the smog test is based on the age of your car? I asked how much and she said $60 which I had to have her repeat so she pointed to the year on my registration and said sixty again. Okay then, I asked how long it would take and she said about ten or fifteen minutes.

Wow. One expectation was tossed out the window. Ten minutes later it was done and I passed.  

√ Smog test done and passed.

Zip up the road to the pharmacy, pick up Jon's meds, three prescriptions for a total of six dollars and change. One was no cost and the other two were negligible cost. 

√ Jon's meds picked up and paid for.

As a note, I already spent some money on yarn for making hats for Devon and his friend and also stopped at Starbucks Christmas Eve for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. I subtracted that from the money Bart sent me so in my head  I had about 50 left to spend on extraneous things. In addition to the money Debbie sent me. I was running a total in my head of what I was spending.

Next up, scooted across the street from the pharmacy to the Vons where I knew a DMV kiosk was. Let me tell you, gone are the days of spending hours at the DMV to get tags. Since the smog place sent the certificate electronically (I suspected) I just scanned my notice, told me how much the fee for using the kiosk was (1.95% which is a heckuva lot less than what the smog place would have charged) plus the registration,  paid for tags, chunkachunka it spit out my tag card and receipt and we were done. I had a bottle of water in the car (I brought with me in case things went south and would need it) wet down a handy dandy microfiber towel I have a few in the car. Badabing, badaboom, tag is on car, forms and certificate in envelope for safety.

√ Tags acquired and applied, done. 

Sandwich shop was right next to the Vons, but different shopping center. Drive, park, order our usual nummies and out.

√ Grab a sandwich for lunch today.

Drive home! Sit down munch on lunch while watching Skeleton Crew and done for the day. It's a situation where you expect the worst possible scenario but everything moves smoothly with no problems and you're done before you realize it. That's why I'm cautiously optimistic again because I have enough money left over to spend a little on the garden supplies I need and maybe, maybe a ball of yarn or two for a friend. I just realized I might have some yarn that will work for a scarf for said friend so garden supplies it is. I hope.

One of the meds that Jon is now on is Jardiance for his blood sugar management. We're both going to work a little bit more on exercise and trying to eat as healthy as we can or manage portions better. The other med is an anti inflammatory pill to manage sleep apnea he takes at night Tirzepatide. Which also needs to work in conjunction with more exercise and calorie/food management. Small steps but here's hoping we're both in better shape this time next year.

You know, that cautious optimistic thing going on. 

Good feeling gone...

Merry Christmas! Such as it is, Happy whatever anyone is doing this time of year.

Used one of my Christmas gifts to slice the potatoes to go with dinner today. Crock pot chuck roast turned out perfect, as usual. Took some getting used to but it did the potatoes just fine. Will have to see how it does onions next. It's wide enough to accomodate a potato as well as an entire onion instead of a half onion like my smaller one. It only has a straight blade unfortunately but am looking to see if there's any alternate blades that can be used. The other gift was a 'Funko POP' Bobble Head of Padme Amidala from Star Wars. Jon got a Bobble of something from Star Trek and then what didn't arrive in time was the CD collection of Elvis recordings that he actually asked for specifically. Amber and Wellman made that happen and he was very thankful but it won't arrive until Jan 19.

I bought two skeins of yarn to do a hat for Devon and his friend Rem, I offered fingerless gloves as well but will see how much money I have left after the car is taken care of. Hats knit up faster than socks or gloves at least so as soon as that yarn comes in it'll be off to the races.

Jon's follow up appointment with the doctor went well, he's on cholesterol med, high blood pressure med, inhalers and pill form for apnea is being picked up tomorrow. He has an appointment for another lung xray and an EKG on the 31st. He always jokes with the nurses and doctors, I've realized it's a defense mechanism for being anxious about what is happening. It's a good thing though, they appreciate the sense of humor they rarely see from their patients.

I did say last time I was 'cautiously optimistic'. So something told me there would be mixed feelings coming up soon. Firstly, thank you to family who chose to give me a monetary gift, it turns out that was the absolutely best thing that I needed right now. I just looked over my registration for the car and I need to take it to a STAR station for a smog check. Which means due to it's age (and possible bare?) passing last year I may need to do repairs. So minimum just for a smog check is $60, registration is $165 so I at least have enough extra money to cover that, thank you so much! At least I have about a month before the deadline for registration, as it's due on Jan 22.

Having extra cost for the car means my plans of finally getting more garden supplies, once gain, goes out the window. Is the universe trying to tell me something? Gardening gets me outside and a hobby to be proud of (usually). Why would I be prevented from having something beneficial like that? REally frustrating.

Update on that situation when things happen. Or something. 

 

 

Food blog is up and I'm cautiously optimistic

It's almost Christmas and the San Diego Flower of December is still going off like fireworks.

Beginning of the month (a little before actually) we got our usual glut of chicken and hamburter, pluc a chuck roast and various other things. Then we cooked the turkey. Needless to say here it is, just past the middle of the month and we still have a freezer full of meats! There's still turkey in the fridge, a few leftovers from other things as well so as far as food is concerned, we're flush right now! I just used a pound of hamburger today for some pasta sauce, we had teriyaki chicken and rice with veggies the other day and in the next day or two we'll have chicken strips with potatoes hopefully. Then it will be Christmas week and I have no idea what kind of food there will be, probably snacky type stuff. I am low on a few things like salted and unsalted butter a few veggies and random other food but for the most part, we're going to be flush for food and money going into the new year. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic as I titled this post. Oh and I have a full tank of gas going into two and a half weeks off of shuttle duty and two weeks from monthly money deposit.

Jon had is first appointment with the doctor and came out very impressed with her (she's my doctor as well). He mentioned that he had been going to the local Medicaid clinic to the nurse and she knew exactly what he was talking about. She had been a nurser/receptionist there for three weeks then quit due to the run around and double handed back and forth they did to make it look like they are doing their job but in fact weren't. It really was as bad as Jon had felt it was. That's one of the reasons why I insisted he use Sharp for his doctor because I've not had a bad experience yet with them.  His breathing is so much better, he's sleeping better with his new inhalers and pills. Something else that shocked the nurse and the doctor is it was pointed out that he was due for a couple of shots and vaccines and he said, 'go for it, let's get them'. The nurses reaction was 'say what?' Apparently that is the first time in a YEAR they have had someone who wanted all the shots they needed. She even had to go tell the doctor he was on board with getting everything going (including a colonoscopy even though he's been clean for the last two home tests). So it was a very good visit on both sides. It's a good feeling to have good care like that and so sad that it may not be that way in a few years (referring to the current political situation grrrumble) Knowing Jon, he's not too keen on the whole 'diet and exercise' routine and says he doesn't want to die stupid by getting the vaccines and yet... doesn't want to do the hard work. Maybe this time he'll feel differently but it depends on what the doctor says after his next appointment.

We had sandwiches after his appointment and the sweetest thing happened. We sat at a small table across from each other, he was enjoying the food as usual then looked at me and said, 'I'm really happy for the first time in a long while.' I knew it was the food and the doctor appointment that had him feeling more optimistic but then he said, 'It's you'.  I am sure I blushed and smiled, swallowed the food in my mouth and looked at him and said, 'It's you for me also'. He did that little pursed lip smile when he's shy or embarrassed and basically had the same reaction I did. We truly have found our soul mate and only wish it had happened sooner. He's been off his antidepressants for close to six years.... since he met me. I remember him saying something about it after we started dating.

The doctor ordered a chest x-ray as well as a baseline blood test draw after his visit. A chest xray, which no one else other than the emergency room has ever done. Making sure there's nothing else that is causing his asthma like symptoms.  Then do another draw after he's been on one of the new meds. He's pre-diabetic as we knew and cholesterol was a bit high, as I figured it would be with both of us.  So, he's got a follow up appointment on Monday after he got loaded up with new meds and continuing inhalers.  He is experiencing quality medical care for the first time in years (I'm talking going before when we met but mostly from the treatment he got from the stupid community medical he had to go to) which is a mood lifter in itself. He was able to enter his current perscriptions in his medical record/pre check in form and then no sooner did we get out of the doctors office, his phone pinged and his perscriptions were ready. Most of them, the rest were ready the next day. No fuss, no back and forth, no waiting. BAM there you go!

In other news, my knee is back to being cranky after I walked around for two days without my brace. So I haven't been walking as much but am hoping that by the beginning of the year we can both be doing some more walking around. The boys have two weeks off for the holidays so I don't have shuttle duty after tomorrow and then in February it all changes due to Amber's new class schedule.  I'm planning on getting my new glasses next month, using our spare money for that and the car registration and see where we are then. SDGE was small this time thankfully not sure what it's going to be like next month but hoping it's just as low. Projected high amount is $79 which is still manageable. 

Oh! My new food blog is started. Well food/cooking blog. Much like this and my garden ones but I'm posting what I cook and the recipes I use with very little monologue and no ads whatsoever. It's not a website it's just a cut and dried blog like this one. Only thing left to do is trying to upload or list it on pinterest.  I've told all my friends and most of my family it's Big Heart Little Kitchen.

I am trying to post there on a daily basis with pictures and recipes past and present of what I'm cooking, showing just how small my kitchen is with my sous chef in attendance.

Rockée, le sous chef de petite cuisine or in Spanish Asistente de cocina pequeña.. I discovered that the word cuisine does not mean food of something it translates as kitchen. So if you see a book on kitchen cuisine, it's as redundant as the Sahara Desert or Mount Fuji. And yes, he does lay on the counter like that when I'm cooking, cat hair is everywhere no matter where he is and he knows not to go past the sink when I'm cooking, though he tries. Especially if there's meat being worked.

Merry Christmas!

So that's all for now, will do a post Christmas entry in a week.

Today was... a long frustrating day.

 Food was not being friendly today, neither was traffic. So this is a long, long description of my day.

So, it all started with me wanting to fix my favorite little quesadilla snack (full recipe on my food blog). Nothing complicated but it started with having to grate more cheese to use. That was a chore right there.

Had to find the cheese first, then Rocky interrupted so I took him out for a walk, leaving the cheese on the counter which got a little too soft but was still okay. Not perfect but just minorly frustrating. Okay so I get that straightened out and then tried to use one of the small pans to warm up the tortilla and it was too big for the pan, it's fit before then realized I bought 'king size' tortillas this time. Okay so in the process of trying to move the tortilla to another pan it pulled apart as it stuck to the pan. SIGH! Okay so chuck that one in the sink and pull out another one.

Okay so while I was cooking the quesadilla, my hands not being very nimble any longer somehow managed to flip the spatula and it ended up on the floor. Not the first time, not the last time but just another checkbox of frustration for trying to get my damn food fixed! FINALLY I was able to get it all together and have my food! We planned on having pizza for a treat from Costco and that brings me to the second half of the fiasco day.

I left as usual to go pick up the boys, traffic was usual, a few idiots on the road but nothing out of the ordinary. Amber said she was going to give them money for gas to give me and one good thing is, I was able to actually go for my usual walk without any problems from my knee. One small twinge but I wasn't over extending or walking too fast. It was a good work out and I feel better about it recovering.

Warning sign number one: the boys were later out of the school than usual which meant that more people were on the same street we take to head away from school. We had to wait a good extra ten minutes for cars to dissipate and of course, the boys were being boys and I had to warn them I could put one of them in the front seat. Second sign, Amber forgot to give them my gas money. Aarrrgh... I messaged her before we even left the school and she answered back Wellman would have it and send one of the boys down when I dropped them off. Okay... only annoying thing on the way to their house was the boys being a bit noisier than usual but that's typical on a Friday. Traffic was light because the university was already off for semester break so no traffic issues there.

My usual route when I have to get gas is, drive to the bank, deposit money, go to costco get gas and the pizza and head for home. Except my brain was working in reverse by this time. I called ahead to the food court while I waited for one of the boys to return with the money which gave me a 20 minute window to pick up. Oops. My brain was stuck on just those two things, pizza and gas so luckily I had enough money in the bank to get both before putting the extra cash in the bank. But what a nightmare!

It had to be because it's Friday and people were going crazy doing last minute shopping even though Christmas isn't for another two weeks. Every turn I made was the wrong one, I had to park further from the food court than ever because every single person that wanted to be at Costco was there. Zero parking within the first two ranks of parking, ridiculous. Never been that busy, so I had to park almost to the gas station on one of the worst rows to park as it's the main aisle to the gas station.

I get my pizza with little incident other than cars and people and all that. By now I realized I was hungry again. I managed to back out of my spot without incident but had to wait a good couple of minutes for traffic to make a break. All right! I was at least close to the gas station. One minor hiccup there, a car in my line, at the pump finished, passenger got in and nothing happened. No tail lights saying they turned on the car... like they were doing something. Luckily another pump opened and I zipped ahead to take it. I looked back at the car and it had the hazard lights on. Huh? Then they turned off and the sound of the engine turning over for like ten seconds and then nothing. Ruh roh.... dead car at the pump. Got my gas, ($35 on the dot) and then get back on the road to the bank.

 Forgot to mention the traffic on the surface street between Costco and the bank. It was even more backed up than usual. I mean.. it's only 3:45 and it's never been this bad. Normal five minute run and it's now going on ten minutes and not even close to the bank. My only hurry was because of the pizza on the back seat of the car. Get to the bank finally, thanks to needing to turn off a side street to take the back way to the bank, put the money in (Thank you Amber!) and on the way home, pizza was definitely cold by now.  I took the wrong direction in the parking lot after the deposit thinking I was going to take the back road and realized my error, turned down an aisle and some ambling shamble of a man stepped out on the other side of a parked van so I didn't see him and had to honk at him. He gestured to me, I gestured back and I went on my way. Grrumble.

Then I remembered the heinous traffic on the main road to the freeway which was only two blocks from me. Oh gods.... okay I know what lane I need to be in, there's no other way to get on that onramp so I managed to get to a stop light and put my signal on so I could shift to the left lane ahead of everyone else. Luckily, it all went smoothly and even the traffic light at the on ramp changed just as I got to it. 

Now for the relatively short freeway ride home and..... I could see the tail lights backing up way, way before my exit. This is like 5 or 6 pm traffic at almost 4 pm, so thankful I know every which way to get from Point A to Point B in my end of town. Got off near the mall and took the main road all the way home. There was traffic. Still. 

By now the pizza is cold, I was hungry and finally got upstairs with it. Ever try to pull apart cold pizza that isn't cut through all the way in the first place? We don't have a pizza cutter, that's on the list of kitchen utensils we need, had to use my big knife and be careful not to cut through the box to the wood table underneath.

I think I had six slices, heating them up in the microwave for 20 seconds was perfect and advised Jon to do the same. 

I treated myself to a third coke. I have to stay up later tonight for something going online I'm involved in directly.

I had to write all this down for posterity because I already vented to Jon about my trials and tribulations on the way home. He was witness to my food fiascos before I left.

Whoooof.