Friday, November 4, 2022

The social event last night was good: Mike was handsome dressed up in a sport coat and I wore a black dress, high heels, and all my "bling". I bought the dress for a fashion show at my WLS Center 7 months after my surgery. I sure look a lot more curvy with it on but at least I can put it on!

Almost total insomnia last night. I think I slept for 2 hours. Even Justice is exhausted from all my tossing and turning. I would start to fall asleep reading, then wake right up as soon as I put the book down.

We are looking forward to a day with nothing specific planned. Maybe go to the beach club or pool and probably skip the clubhouse happy hour (unless I rally a lot), after a Justice long walk of course. I do wish there was a beach we could walk him on here? Supposedly it is being considered by the county - the closest beach allowing it is almost an hour away.

Have a fruitful Friday!

Quite the weather day yesterday!! Rain, hail, sleet, and snow and this morning a frost on everything as it's 29 degrees. At 6:30 last night I saw post from a plumber on NextDoor about disconnecting any hoses as it was going to freeze. Aaaand, I remembered there were two hoses left connected by the previous owners (can I just call them POs?) and the last thing I need is a broken pipe. So I got in my car and drove over. Which wasn't bad until I got close to my house. It's colder out there, darker, was snowing harder and so disorienting to drive in! I actually went past my turn and only realized it when the paved road ran out. Luckily, nothing was sticking or freezing because the ground had a lot of residual warmth. Got to the house and undid the hoses. And only noticed one light I missed turning off as I left. So many light switches and I don't understand the rhyme or reason of them yet. The house was remarkably comfortable tempwise given the cold outside. Good insulation I guess. Funny, I talked to my folks at 9pm their time and it was 60 degrees there. The world's gone crazy.

Anyway, yay for my first snow!

Today I am meeting a closet guy to discuss adding drawers and shelves to the two guest room closets. They are walk ins, but only have one rod each.

Food is still good, but the scale is stagnant. Irritating, but I'm sticking with it.

Take care all!

Greetings all

Sorry to be AWOL. No excuses. It just seems like the time of day when I usually do this has been filled with other stuff. But nothing interesting. Putting the house back together after Halloween, catching up at the studio, being a maid to dogs etc. I did go have an echocardiogram wednesday. Not sure what they are looking for or what the results are. I don't see the doctor for another month. I was whining that the heart drug makes me tired so I guess they are checking up on that. Wish I could ditch that drug. Also results of the bone scan are still unknown. There are not enough doctors here and they don't have time to explain stuff when you do get to see them. But the echo technician was kind and professional and I am glad I could get in at all. The lab is at the hospital here and parking is impossible and it was raining. Several volunteers were insisting on guiding me to the lab which is through a sort of maze of hospital additions but they did not seem to know themselves where it was. I must appear to be a dottering old lady but I do know left from right and can follow instructions.

So yes the winter rains have started here. We had a frost the other night and our deck was icy. There is snow up in the mountains which is a good thing since it is the reservoir for future months. But I am glad I don't have to deal with it. CC I forget that Arizona does indeed get snow and it sounds like you had quite the adventure. I remember from the midwest about not leaving hoses connected to the house. Glad you are getting some of the improvements done. You are inspiring me to get my floors done!

Great to hear from you Shirley. Take care of that hip pain. No fun. And cool that you will get to drive a fork lift! You are awesome!

DD so sorry you are still not feeling well. By all means stay home. You need rest and lots of it. And thanks for the reference to After Life. I like it. Much better than DH's exploding aliens.

I actually cooked last night. A roast pork tenderloin with little bitty yellow potatoes. It was great and super easy: preheat oven and insert pan with seasoned meat. And there is plenty for tonight! The little potatoes are a guilty pleasure. Why did God make carbs so appealing if we are not supposed to eat them? Maybe I will have a Cuban sandwich for lunch.

Not much else. The person who has been obsessing about the gallery by laws has now announced she is quitting because the board is uncooperative (read: she does not get everything here way). Don't slam the door.

Cheers. Diane S

Sounds like a perfect resolution to the bylaw issue;)

Diane, I feel your pain navigating health care. I have great insurance. I use the clinic system that is associated with the University of Minnesota. I am super satisfied with care, once I see providers. But holy cow. I can't believe how much persistence it takes to see a practioner, in person. It feels like a broken system to me. I can't believe what the emergency room and urgent care clinics are like. The misery and suffering. My God. When my kids were little, we could almost always get a same day appointment at our clinic if they woke up with streph symptoms or ear infection symptoms. Now if I call, there are no openings for several weeks out. So that pushes people into urgent care, and finally, the ER, for what could be primary care. I have a PCP who I really like, but I rarely see her, pretty much for my annual check up, and then maybe one more time if there is something she wants to follow up on. But if I have an immediate health concern, it's unlikely I'll get an appointment with her.

And the most amazing thing, is how kind, compassionate, competent these nurses, techs, doctors have been in the face of all the unrelenting demand/needs. I've filled out every survey my clinic system sends me, commenting personally when I can about the great experiences I've had. It's the least I can do.

I have the weekend stretching out in front of me, with not one obligation. DH is free to go up north for the weekend knowing I am just needing time to recover from the virus. I'll miss him, but I'll probably sleep well with my cough syrup minus the snoring. (I will always take DH and snoring over no DH and quiet, but ...)

Liz, I bet you looked smashing in your little black dress and all your sparkly jewelry. I still find it fun to get dressed up occasionally, but I'm very happy no one expects me to wear heels every day like we did in the 80s. And pantyhose!

CC, I'm glad your trip back to your house was safe. As you were describing your treck, I worried about roads getting too slick if it's sleeting/snow and even a smidge below 32. Especially before or after sundown. Be very careful, patchy ice can pop up unexpectedly. You're right, the roads hold warmth longer than other yards, fields etc, but low dips, and shaded or high rises might not hold as much heat... you'll take care during inclement weather and frosty mornings right?

Thank you for the tips, DD! Bridges too right? I've seen those signs about them freezing first. I was taking it very slow on the way back not knowing if there was any ice as it was 31 at that point. Thankfully the speed limits are really low here (25-35), but even still I was mindful of the curves. Nervewracking! I headed out at 9:30 this morning and by then it was in the 40s, very sunny, the roads were dry and the only evidence we'd had snow was on the shady sides of the mountains. Oh and the melting runoff from my new house's flat roof was impressive!

Oh yes, bridges too! If we're having a big storm, they put chemicals on the road ahead of time that prevent the ice from forming. It's the more low key events that scare me, they kind of sneak up on you. Another place you can get a slippery glaze is at a stop sign, traffic light. The stopping/starting of tires can melt frost, and then when temp drops, it freezes, the rest of the road dries, but it keeps a freeze/thaw thing going on near the intersection. I did a very dramatic 360 once in front of my school in just such a situation. At least when it was done, I was pointing the right direction. Luckily, I didn't hit anything, as it was very early, no traffic.