Hopefully on the Downhill Side

We have not been sick with colds or flu or any sort of sickness for the past several years. Yet, it seems that for the past three-plus months we could not shake sickness. We would feel better for a day or two and then feel sick again for a week.  General flu-like symptoms with aches, fever, sniffles, sore throat, and coughing, coughing, coughing.  I think I am on the feeling better side of all this - finally. I still have a bit of a nagging cough now and again and some sniffling but generally feel better.

The Mister is still "coughing up a lung." So, he went to the doctor's office yesterday. Now, remember I went to a local Physician's Assistant between Christmas and New Years and was told it was viral and was told to take over-the-counter cough meds - no swabs for tests of any kind. Then, recall that we both saw the Physician's Assistant back in mid-January and were sent for X-Rays - still no swabs for tests of any kind. The X-Rays showed that I had a touch of pneumonia but the Mister did not. We were prescribed cough meds and I got a nasal spray as well. We were told to practice deep breathing and it was recommended that we use a spirometer. Yesterday, the PA's nurse swabbed him for flu and COVID. 

He tested negative for both types of flu but positive for COVID. Since his symptoms had been going on for several days, the PA said that there was really nothing she could prescribe to help other than some more cough meds. Although he still had to sleep in the recliner, the cough meds did help and he slept for about six hours last night.

It is recommended that we both quarantine for the next five to six days and if we don't feel better at the end of that time, we should return for more tests. We are ready for spring temperatures and a bit of spring in our step!

Sick...Again.

We've been sick.

Again.

I probably brought it home after attending a grandchild's basketball game. My son said that I sat in a hotbed of germs. I sat on the bleachers of their local high school gym. Children of all ages were there in the gym. He told me that I sat right in amongst at least three school teachers who have germy little people touching them and breathing on them all day long. He reminded me that I am not out mingling with the masses anymore since I've retired and my immunity is not so good. So, I probably picked up lots of germs there. 

I sort of think it all started with a sandwich that I got out of a refrigerated display when I stopped to fill up my truck with gas. Then, I may have picked up some sort of hot germ as well. At any rate, I woke up the first night barfing. There is nothing worse than getting sick at somebody else's house even if it is your own family's. 

When I got home I felt better and felt even better the next day and met a friend for lunch. So, I could have picked up a hot germ at the restaurant that day. Within twenty-four hours I was running a fever, coughing, sniffling, drippy nose, chills and shakes, aching and flu-like symptoms. It even sent my heart into afib a couple of times. I could feel it and used my watch to confirm but checked about a half hour later and it was alright. I did that for a couple or three days before I started to improve a wee bit. A couple of days ago, Mike started coughing, sniffling, aching... So, now he has it, too. 

Whatever all this is, it is not for the faint of heart. We are ready for spring and the end of being cooped up inside with folks and the germy season.

Today is the day...

I'm feeling some better. 

I slept in the bed for a three-hour stretch last night with little coughing and no shivering.

In even better news, Mike also slept in the bed for most of the night and even slept so late this morning that I tiptoed into the bedroom where he was sleeping and checked on him. That soft snore was a wonderful sound!

Since the sleeping in the bed for three-hours has happened two nights in a row - even though on night one it was a two hour stretch and then an additional hour after sitting in the chair and sleeping for a couple of hours, I have declared that I am on the way to being almost well.

To me that means I've got to tackle a project. It is not one of those projects that I thought about for months and then figured out exactly how I was going to tackle it. This project is much simpler than that.

I am going to work on getting the Christmas decorations here inside the house put away. Yesterday, I went downstairs and dug out the tubs which hold the ornaments for the tree. I put them in the wagon and pulled that to the kitchen. Today, I plan to put ornaments into one of those tubs. If I have the stamina, I might undecorate both trees. I cannot believe I just entered that paragraph. There once was a day that I could have done all of that and more within an hour timeframe. Old age and sickness ain't for sissies!

Of course, at some point I will have to put groceries away and put something together for dinner. So, we shall see how many items off the list I have in front of me get crossed off!

Just 3 Things | #13

Our house is a mess. There are little puddles of cough lozenges sitting here and there. The kitchen island has cough syrup bottles and medicine bottles and spiced tea mixed cluttering it. The Granny Cabinet (a Hoosier Cabinet that was my Granny's) has more medications and a humidifier perched upon it along with a week's worth or more of mail. There are quilts and coverlets strewn across the sofa, Mike's recliner, and the chair in the bedroom. There's a stack of jackets draped across the back of a couple of chairs in the dining area. Plus, there are still all the trappings of Christmas decorations everywhere - and the twinkling has certainly lost it's holiday luster.

Things are looking up, though. We are only coughing about half as much as we were this time last week! We are also thinking of what we want to eat as a menu instead of thinking of what we could eat to just survive. Maybe we will be back to normal before February rolls in!

- What I've Been Reading -

I've done a lot of reading as I was coughing and dozing this past couple of weeks. The reading that stands out consists of three different books.

The Nantucket Restaurant by Pamela Kelley

Three sisters and a long-time restaurant manager inherit a Nantucket restaurant from the women's grandmother. The sisters were not even aware that their grandmother owned the restaurant. So, that was a surprise. The will also stipulated that they must all work there for at least a year. It just so happened that each of the sisters was sort of at a crossroads in their lives. So, the year of work began with each addressing the running of the restaurant using her strengths. It was a bit of a twist on an age-old concept. I enjoyed reading it without a struggle to keep up with what was going on since I was dozing in and out while reading. It made me stop and think about what I might do in such a situation if I was forced to work with relatives to keep a business going. It also made me think and wonder what strengths I have that would support such a venture. 

The Family Across the Street

Every family has secrets and this neighborhood is no different. There were a couple of strands of thought going on in this selection. It really prompted me to think about a lot of different things. Do I see beyond physical appearances and really accept people for who they are? If I suspected something was really wrong in somebody else's home, would I do something about it? Do I sometimes accept the version of people that I see at first glance and not give it another thought? Would I take action if put in a life or death situation?

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

This book has had lots of hype in the reading circles that I follow. So, maybe I was anticipating a bit too much. This was a really good book. It did make an impact on my thinking even though it wasn't earth-shattering and life-changing like some readers have said. 

It is described as "a beautifully crafted novel about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the invisible threads of kindness that bind us to one another." I think I kept wanting to have the privileges that Theo had - that deep wealth and opportunities to make a difference to others. As I was reading, it dawned on me that I really do. I may not have unbounded wealth, but I am fortunate and can share what I do have in a purposeful way. Do I do that often enough? Maybe I need to be more creative with my generosity. Maybe I need to look at more ways to live my life in a purposeful way. Maybe I need to create more invisible threads of kindness.

- What I've Been Watching -

One thing is for certain, our television has been on and playing almost 24 hours per day and seven days per week since we've been sick. Have I been watching it? Not all that much. Mike, however, has the television going whenever he is in the house. So, there have been several old westerns like Gunsmoke and Bonanza playing. Never mind that all of these shows have been viewed by him before. Heck, half the time he is reading or watching something on his phone instead of paying attention to the television anyway. He just needs the noise going, I guess. Sometimes he will stream something and it will almost always be something that would fit on The Hallmark Channel. Character has issue and returns to the farm or the small town and an old flame saves the day ending in a happily ever after. 

Yesterday morning I mentioned that I was sick of old westerns. So, that afternoon, he pointed out that he was watching something other than an old western. It was Walker, Texas Ranger - program that I thought was pretty fake when it was new. So, I told him that was not a step up, if you ask me. He didn't really seem insulted and just chuckled at my response. 

A commercial came on last night while one of the sappy movies was playing. The narrator asked, "Why do you watch live TV?" Then, there were several examples given of options for streaming programs. Mike asked me how I would answer that question and my response was, "It is for mindless entertainment for me." Then, I turned the question back to him. He chuckled and said, "I guess just to aggravate you!"

- What I'm Loving -

This week I've been loving cozy quilts and coverlets. I can wrap up and keep warm or kick one off and still be comfy. They wrap around me when I'm on the sofa with my feet propped up on the ottoman or when I'm in a chair with my feet on a footstool. Mike has done the same. 

We've also been thankful for food delivery. We had a local grocery deliver food and drinks to help keep us hydrated and medicines like cough syrup to help with the incessant coughing. Bridgette had soup delivered and a humidifier with some eucalyptus oil as well. We've ordered from several restaurants to have comfort food delivered such as chicken-n-dumplings, pizza, and pot roast with mashed potatoes. It was so nice to have a good hot meal without having to cook! We are fortunate and truly blessed.

I've also been loving different hot drinks. I start the day with hot decaffeinated tea laced with honey and lemon. I usually end the day with a cup of hot cocoa I mix up and sip on just before falling asleep in the chair wrapped in a quilt. I've also been thankful that I mixed up some home-style spiced tea before Christmas. I gave some for gifts but I had some extra little jars and I have mixed that up for sipping some throughout the day. Here is the recipe I used:

Spiced Tea Mix

• 2 cups Tang powder
• 1 cup Instant unsweetened tea granules
• 1 cup lemonade powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves

Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Store in airtight container. Mix 2-3 teaspoons into a cup of boiling water.

While we are muddling through around here, not all has been horrific. We are grateful to be retired and not having to be concerned with taking off work to wallow in our sickness. We are grateful to have a nice home to hole up in and isolate from the world. We are thankful for the conveniences we enjoy. We really do look forward to shaking this mess off and getting back into a more active life.

Wheezy, Whistly, Squeaky, Craggy, and Crusty

Being sickly is not for the faint of heart. If you were unlucky enough to be sent into our household right now, the sounds you would hear would vary from that of a seal barking to noise of someone trying to start a very damaged chain saw to wheezes, squeaks, and whistly, craggy, crusty sounding breathing. 

Are we better?

Yes - some.

We are no longer coughing incessantly without a break. We are not moaning and groaning.

Instead we are puffing and blowing and making all manner of noises trying to breathe with an occasional coughing jag thrown in for good measure.

We went to the doctor a couple of days ago and were prescribed medications that will, hopefully, help us out.

Mike got an inhaler, a capsule, and some cough syrup. I got a cough syrup and a couple of antibiotics. We were told to get us a couple of those gizmos that the hospital hands out when somebody is recovering from surgery that has a ball in a chamber where you inhale deeply to push it to the top of the chamber. We have been puffing and inhaling into those on a regular basis and don't let surgery patients fool you into thinking it is easy to push that little ball to the top of the chamber. It is not. It takes a lot of force and powerful lungs. Mike is better at it than I am but it can be said that we sort of suck at sucking.

Spirometer

When we described our symptoms to the Physician's Assistant a couple of days ago, she sent us to get X-Rays to check for pneumonia. She said Mike's breathing sounded, "rattly," when she listened to us with her stethoscope. 

The X-Rays showed that we both had Atelectasis = small areas of lung collapse due to intense pressure on the air sacs from severe, sustained coughing. She thought I was in, "pre-pneumonia," and prescribed the anti-biotics. She also said the spirometer (that little gizmo with the ball in the chamber that we suck) use should help us to re-expand those areas in our lungs. She also suggested taking steamy showers, using a humidifier, and lots of rest.

So, here we are. Fifteen days into the new year and still sickly. Things may be looking up, though, because we do have periods where we are not coughing. Fingers are crossed - and so are my legs. Because coughing not only applies intense pressure to my lungs...

Old age ain't for sissies!

One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

We thought we had left the Creeping Crud behind when the new year rolled around. 

Evidently we did not.

I mean, we were hardly coughing at all except at night when things always seem to get more cruddy. We had both moved back to sleeping in the bed for most of the night because the coughing wasn't such a problem. We even did some socializing - had the children and grandchildren in for dinner and celebrating, went to my mother's for dinner and celebrating and things seemed to be on the upswing for us.

Then, this past weekend, we trekked halfway across the state to attend our great nephew's wedding and the Crud seemed to all come back to both of us. We had a great time. The wedding was beautiful. The fellowship with family was fabulous. Then, when we were on our way back home, we both noticed a bit of tickle and the coughing began. 

For the past couple of days and miserable nights we have learned to cough at depths unknown to us. Our sides are aching. Our chests are tight. Our hacking and coughing is non-stop. We have holed up here at the house and moaned and groaned and coughed and carried on something fierce. I don't know if this is a relapse or something new and even more cruddy. At any rate, we are sickly, grumpy, and tired.

We are a mess!

I hope you ushered in the new year and this fresh week in 2026 with good health and heartiness. Meanwhile we are over here hacking, coughing, sucking on cough drops, moaning, groaning, and trying to wear this mess out.

Today I noticed...I'm not a good nurse.

Mike has had the creeping crud. He has really been sick. At times I thought he was going to cough up a lung. One time, after blowing his nose, he asked me if I thought whatever it was in the handkerchief was part of his brains. 

It has been bad.

For the first week, I was doing all the cooking, cleaning, washing clothing and bedding and everything else he touched with a religious vigor. Now that we are way into week two, I'm not as diligent. I was serving him his meals with tenderness and caring and patience. Not so much anymore. I was pampering and petting and listening to his moans and groans. Sort of wearing ear plugs now.

Bless him. Neither of us has really been sick for the past five years or so. We've both had surgeries but not been sick and feeling cruddy. So, it has been sort of a new experience for us oldsters. Plus, we are now senior citizens. So, the creeping crud hits a bit harder than it used to do.

I've never been a good nurse. I think I may have gotten even worse at it over the years. I'm certainly not a good nurse today.

Send up good thoughts and prayers. 

Not a good patient

Friday morning I realized that my home decor has looked like this for much of the summer.

In the den the pillows are stacked on the corners and there is a bed pillow and snuggle quilt strewn across the seat - usually over me!

In the bedroom, a quilt is piled on the ottoman at the ready for when I wallow or sleep in the chair.

I had sinus surgery in mid-June and have been recovering..

I am not a very good patient.

I have no patience when I am the  patient.

I have had a very good nurse - Mike.  He is more patient with me than I deserve.

I really got sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I thought I would snap back far faster than I have.

The last couple of days are the first that I have felt semi-normal.

Maybe my patience will improve soon!

Lingering Cough

We have added a little hot tea to the mixture.

Adventures in the Grocery Aisles

Have you ever considered grocery shopping an adventure?

I cannot say that I do as a general rule.  I usually think of it more as a chore.  I try to go when I am relaxed, have plenty of time, and a detailed list.

Maybe when you are fifty-four-years-old and have been quarantined with the flu for about seven days waiting to be fever-free for 48-hours, and then you trek out to the grocery store...

...to shop for the family Christmas gatherings...

...with two of the grandchildren who are ages six and four...

...you might consider grocery shopping an adventure.  Just saying...

It was two weeks after Thanksgiving and one week before Christmas.

This grandmother trekked out to the grocery store with two of her granddaughters strapped into their car seats, giggling, and squirming with excitement.  (Their mother was at home hacking and coughing and feverish...wonder who she had been around?)  Upon arrival at the local grocery store, all trouped into the store - the grandmother with her seven tote bags tucked under her arm along with a digital list on her iPad, and another list from the coughing, feverish mother of the children, holding the hands of the two babbling, skipping little girls.

About ten yards into the produce section, the grandmother realized that it might be easier if one of the granddaughters had a buggy for keeping the items on each list separated.  So, backtracked toward the door they did and the eldest skipping girl puffed up with grown-up importance because she got to step outside the door to get another buggy.

Thence, the team traversed the store.  The youngest little girl riding on the front with her sparkling, chocolate-diamond eyes peeking over the edge of the buggy pushed by the grandmother, who had one hand on the buggy behind her to help steer it with the twinkling eyes of the other little girl peeking over the handle.

As we went up one aisle and down another, each time the buggies came to a halt for the grandmother to comparison shop and ponder, the little girls would twirl and dance.  They also would touch all the different products on the shelves and ask question after question after question.  Never mind that it was the week before Christmas and the store was a bit busy with folks stocking up for the holiday.  If somebody seemed insistent on interrupting the dancing or twirling, the grandmother would herd the girls back between the two buggies and the interrupter continued on their way.

The cereal aisle seemed to be the one that took the longest to navigate.  First, the grandmother had to explain that even though it had a picture of chocolate donuts on the front, there was cereal inside and no donuts.  The eldest child had to inform the grandmother that, "Mama doesn't let us get those sugary fruity-O cereals."  There were several such conversations and much pondering by the two little girls before we settled on a couple of boxes of some Marshmallow Charms and simple, sensible cereal-Os.

About the time the shopping team was over in front of the toothpaste, the youngest girl decided that she needed to go to the potty.  So, the buggies were left right there between the toothpaste and the mouthwash and the team zipped to the facilities.  Grandmother with iPad and purse tucked under her arm, holding the hands of the little girls and weaving in and out of the other shoppers - on a mission!

The front buggy was loaded like that truck that moved to Bev-er-ly... Hills that is...  I mean, it was overflowing.  Frozen pizza was precariously wedged in by a spiral-sliced ham that was lying atop bags of sugar, flour, and corn meal which were resting on a bag of apples that were guarding two big heads of broccoli from smashing by the cans of cream-of mushroom and celery soups.  There was powdered sugar, chocolate chips, juices, frozen shrimp, hot chicken strips from the deli, coffee, cereal Os, loaves of bread, a chunk of bologna, a tenderloin, toilet paper, and more sundries loading down that cart.  After all, the grandmother had not shopped since before the Thanksgiving Feast.

It was so full that the little girls began making comments like...

"I have never seen a buggy THIS FULL before!"

"Have you ever SEEN such a full buggy?"

"Nobody has EVER bought this much groceries before!"

Finally, the checkout lane became the destination.  The three shoppers plopped each and every item from that full-to-overflowing buggy up on the conveyor belt right behind the seven tote bags.  Each item was tossed flopped carefully placed on the conveyor belt in a chaotic haphazard thorough manner.

The seven tote bags were filled quickly and five large paper bags were used to corral the remaining items.  Then, the second buggy was emptied to half-fill four of those tissue-like plastic bags.  After all, the only items to go into them were a few things like Marshmallow Charm  and Os cereals, ibuprofen tablets, cough medicine, peanut butter, and milk.

Out to the four-door truck we went - smallest girl still riding on the end of the front cart, grandmother pushing it and steering the back cart pushed by the larger girl.  First, into the truck went the girls and their seat belts were snapped.  Then, in went all the bags of groceries.  TP tucked between the two car seats, juice and potatoes on the floor below their feet.  The front passenger seat and floorboard were stacked so full that the bottle of laundry detergent and two six packs of soft drinks had to ride in the back bed of the truck.

Since the two little girls had been so well behaved (and because we left home at ten o'clock and were headed back there at almost one o'clock), we drove through the local Sonic.  Another pondering and decision or two at the menu had to be undertaken before we eased on down the road with a corn dog, a burger, a pretzel dog, jalapeno bites, clear soft drinks, and some tots to fill our bellies almost as full as the inside of the truck.

The three shoppers toted all the bags in - the seven heavy shopping totes, the five large brown paper bags, and the four half-filled tissue-plastic bags.  Mass chaos diligent teamwork ensued as we stashed all the groceries in the fridge and pantry.  We munched on the remainder of our kid's meals and slurped that soft drink.  Then, it was time for some book reading, popcorn, and a Disney movie.

By five-thirty when the grandfather got home from work, the grandmother was exhausted!  Everybody ate chicken tenders, steamed broccoli, and sliced apples before the little girls were returned to their mother at bedtime and the grandmother collapsed on the couch.

So, if you have never experienced adventures in the grocery aisles, maybe someday you can go with that 54-year-old grandmother and a couple of her grandchildren.  That adventure really doesn't even compare to a similar trip that woman made almost thirty years ago with a three-week-old baby and an almost-two-year old on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at four-thirty in the afternoon but maybe yours will!

Adventures!  Isn't that what memories are made of?

Break for the Yuckiness

As you can tell, I have taken a break from posting here at Out of The Blue.

Mike's doctor decided to treat his leg which had cellulitis much more aggressively and sent him to a dermatologist.  Then, she sent him to a surgeon.  The surgeon treated the leg with a compression wrap to try to bring the swelling, redness and general infection under control.  The wrap and elevating/not working on the leg cleared the swelling out.  (However, we both came down with Flu Type A that weekend and that set back treatment for a week.)  Next, the surgeon took a biopsy of this place that looked to me like an out-of-control bug bite.  What an experience!

First, the nurse came in to administer a local anesthetic...

Having a weak stomach, I knew I shouldn't watch.  So, I closed my eyes.  However...

I opened them just a fraction of time too soon...enough time to see her stab Mike's leg three more times with a needle and little blood trickles start from each stabbing.

I swallowed really hard, closed my eyes, and tried to think of something more pleasant because I have always had a pretty touchy stomach when there is blood involved.

Next, in breezes the doctor with a razor blade looking thingy.  Again, I averted my eyes.  Yet, when the doctor said, "There you go... Tina, can you now do your magic?"  well, I thought the coast was clear.

It wasn't.  I opened my eyes just in time to see the doctor drop a long slice of something into a little bottle and add some liquid.  E-E-E-Y-E-U-W!

That wasn't the worst of it, though...

Tina's "magic" was to take some little dentist looking, wand-like, thingy and cauterize the entire half-dollar-sized place where the doctor had wielded the razor looking thingy.

That sound.

That smell.

Double E-E-E-Y-E-U-W!

Mike only made it worse when he asked me didn't I think that odor was a lot like the smell of dehorning calves.

I guess he didn't realize that when Daddy had that job on the agenda, I always tried to help.  I always started out strong and useful.  Then, about three or four calves into the job, I was over to the side puking or passed out.

I barely made it out of Mike's treatment room and across the hall to the bathroom.

The flu's lingering cough still has a grip on the two of us.  Plus, I have had a sinus infection thrown in there as well.  So, nobody wanted me to share anything that has been going on around here for the past month.

I hope things are looking up and I will be posting something positive and un-yucky soon!

What's with this weather?

On the weekend it was so warm here that I had my hair in a ponytail, wore shorts, and opened the windows here in the house.  Then, yesterday when I was heading home from work, I had to scrape the crust of ice off my windshield before I started out.  This morning the back deck had a coating of ice so think we could skate on it this morning and was still slushy through the day-long rain this afternoon.  Now we are under an ice and weather advisory throughout the night.

We have been surviving on stews, soups, and other comfort foods around here.  I was sickly and Ramen Noodle Soup kept me alive for the most part.  One day I was glad when a package of smoked roast beef fell out of the freezer and barely missed my foot.  It became the base of Beef Stew for our dinner.  You can find the recipe for that HERE.  A package that held a half-pound of browned ground beef became the base for vegetable beef soup Monday and helped to warm us up after we slipped around on the icy deck.  Then, yesterday I came home and made another of those comfort food dishes, Chicken Pot Pie.  That recipe is HERE.

I have also boiled over a dozen eggs and spent part of the afternoon searching for recipes using eggs.  Mike's girls are yielding an average of two dozen eggs per day now.  We have a few regular egg customers but it doesn't take long for them to stack up here!

Maybe I'll get a snow day tomorrow and can whip us up some omelets in the morning...

Sick of being sick

I've been feeling poorly most of this new year.  I started out with sinus and ear infections and went to the walk-in clinic on the second where I was prescribed some medicine with a BAD TASTE.  I have been spoiled by the quick response of antibiotics to make me feel better when I'm feeling yucky.  So, when the antibiotics didn't work within a couple of days to make me feel almost well, I was frustrated.  Then, when I started feeling even worse and struggling just to breathe, I had Mike take me to the ER.

Here is just a suggestion - do not go to the ER when you are in your fifties, fat, and say that you are having a hard time breathing and you feel like your chest won't expand enough for you to inhale.  Especially don't do that after you have told them that you take blood pressure meds to control your high blood pressure.  Immediately, they think you are having a heart attack and go into EKGs and heart monitors and heart enzymes.  Here I was thinking I might have developed asthma and was having an asthma attack and they were hooking me up to heart monitors!

Finally, after at least four hours (no I am not exaggerating one single bit), I was given a couple of breathing treatments, a steroid shot, and a new prescription and released.  Mike and I got home and climbed into bed - well, actually he flopped in his recliner and I propped up on the couch so I could breathe better - at around two or two-thirty in the morning.

For the first couple of days last week I thought, I'll just take a half-day off in the morning and will feel enough better that I can work in the afternoon.  By the end of the day on Wednesday (and after a visit to my regular family practitioner), I just threw in the towel and took the rest of the week off.  It was a good thing because I spent Wednesday afternoon, Thursday, and Friday in bed - ALL DAY LONG!  Saturday found me able to go to the nearby Dollar General for much needed staples.  I decided on Sunday that I would return to work on Monday or drop dead trying.

Each day finds me feeling a bit better now, but truly, I have never been so sick of being sick!

Bad Taste

Guess who's sickly?

Yep, and I am one of those folks who resists doctors and medicines as much as possible.  I've been schlepping round with 'sinus pressure' for a couple or three weeks.  I would notice the stuffiness in my sinuses when I'd roll over in bed and it seemed like all the fluid in my head On New Year's Day I started REALLY feeling sinus-pressure-to-the-max - even to headache mode. 

So, I crawled out of bed and shuffled to the shower and drug around to get dry and dressed and was out the door to the walk-in clinic by eight o'clock in the morning on January 2nd.  Upon arrival I started to sign in and the girl behind the counter said, "We do not have a provider here as yet.  I just want you to know that we have put a call in and don't know whether one will arrive in minutes or an hour or what."  So, I tromped back out to the truck and went down the street to the local medical clinic.  Nobody was in the waiting room; so, I thought I might have some luck.  I asked the girl behind the counter there if there was a possibility to be a work-in because I was almost positive I have a sinus infection.  She shook her head and said no.  (Do these places just not want business or what is the story with that sort of attitude?  I gave my regular doctor's office (which is a 40-minute drive across town away) a call and learned that he is off on Wednesdays and the Physician's Assistant is slammed but will try to work me in SOMETIME.  So, I just trudged back home and flopped on the couch. 

In a while, at about ten-thirty, the original walk-in clinic called and said the provider had arrived and I could be seen if I wanted to return to the clinic.  I did.  Six prescriptions. 

I had to drive another ten miles to the pharmacy which my insurance is in bed with is in cahoots with is contracted.  The girl at the drive-thru window said I could wait thirty minutes for my meds.  By now it is nearly noon and I have had nothing to eat.  So, I drove through a fast food place and got a roast beef sandwich and a glass of tea.  When I returned to the pharmacy, I only had to wait about ten minutes.  Then, I had to have a pharmacist consult on every single one of the six prescriptions.

I got back home at around one-thirty and crashed on the couch.  I was $160 (plus the $10 for lunch and $3 for Red Box movies) poorer and still felt like crap. 

The most important question I would like answered at this point is:

Why does cough syrup have to have such a B-A-D taste?

Grocery Shopping

Does everybody hate this chore as much as I do?  Oh, there are parts of it that I don't mind.  I don't mind browsing through the aisles and checking out all that is offered at the store.  I don't mind making comparisons and choosing the better buy or the more appropriate product for our needs.  The parts I hate are the paying part - and who really does like that?  and the unloading and hauling into the house part. 

Today was grocery shopping day for me - not because we were out of everything but because we are feeding the children tomorrow when we all finally get together to share our Christmas love and gifts.  When you have four grown children and they have spouses and some of them have children, that makes for a house full and lots of hungry folks.  We all tend to eat like the farm hands we used to be, too. 

With that many folks and with them also going hither and yon to other family celebrations, it is really hard to settle on a menu.  Mike usually wants to show folks how much he loves them by cooking for them and we all like that because he is a really terrific cook!  I also want it to be a menu which can be prepared a little in advance where we can relax, interact, and enjoy our company - after all, I think entertaining is all about the people.  So, we finally landed on a menu that would satisfy the two of us to a level that we can live with comfortably.  And, as usual, that meant a trip to the grocery store. 

I have been feeling yucky for the past couple of weeks with sinus/ear infections and annoying miserable coughing/sore throat.  It has really caught up with me and I have wanted to do little more than lie around for the past couple of days.  Yet, we still needed supplies from the grocery.  So, I mustered up my strength and headed out today.  I didn't time it this way but it just so happened that I got home right at about the same time that Mike came in from work.  So, loving man that he is, here he came to help me haul all these bags of stuff in to the house. 

He sat and chatted while I found a place for everything and I decided that I'd better sit down and rest a bit before tackling a little bit of preparation and advanced cooking.  That made me fire up my electronic recipe book and then I read my email and one thing led to another and here I am blogging. 

I had been wondering what to post about in my foggy/puny/yucky state of mind and as usual, somebody sweet inspired me.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good!

Something to think about

Today I had a doctor's appointment to check my progress with my new blood pressure medication and to check on my ear infections and see if I am finally over that.  Well, I'm happy to report that the blood pressure is in-check now and that is a relief.  No, I don't like having to take the medicine every day.  I don't like having to pay for something foreign to put in my body to control it.  I wish I could control it myself - and maybe if I was more disciplined and would loose this extra weight, I could.  Let's face it, though.  That isn't happening and I need to do something else to keep the blood pressure under control.  So, with Mike's help at reminding me each morning, I'm faithfully taking the medicine and measuring the pressure.  The ear infection - well, I still have it.  So, I was prescribed a new round of clear-it-up medicine and we shall see how that goes. 

One of the things I had to do is to give a little blood to the lab so that those experts could check liver function and several other things.  When I sat down in the chair there at the lab, I noticed this story on the wall.  I thought it was something that I would like to pass along.  I know that it is something that I need to be reminded of on a regular basis.

A Cherokee Legend

An old Cherokee was teaching his grandson about life.

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.  "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego."

He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Which wolf are you feeding?

Chicken Soup

For the past couple of days I've been yucky.  I HATE sickness.  I'm not a good nurse and I'm an even worse patient.  I'm grumpy, whiney, and just generally yucky.  I thought I was better yesterday afternoon but then last night proved that I was not so much.

I decided this afternoon was the time that I was going to have to go to the chicken soup remedy.  I like soup but it MUST be home-made.  I don't care for that canned taste.  Why is it that you can add canned ingredients and it will taste wonderful but just opening a can of soup tastes like, well, like a can?  I knew that I wasn't up to the traditional way that I've made chicken soup - browning the chicken and simmering it with onions and celery before adding it to the chicken stock and noodles and vegetables and herbs; chopping everything by hand; stirring and simmering to perfection.  Today, though, I knew I just needed to dump stuff into a pot and heat it up and then slurp.  So, I consulted my daughter, Bridgette.  I know that she makes things that taste like the traditional recipes but she whips them up in a jiff.  Here is a link http://recipesfromoutoftheblue-beverly.blogspot.com/ to the beginning of my recipe blog where I have posted Bridgette's Chicken Noodle Soup recipe.  I hope to add some photos soon and to add lots and lots of delicious plans.

Interiors

Don't you think that when a person is sickly you should be able to tell it?  I thought I was doing pretty well - recovered from ear infections and not feeling like I was listening to the world through ear muffs.  Oh, I have awakened with some stuffiness in the morning but was feeling so much better.  Then, the itching started.  At first I noticed a couple of little red spots on my legs and thought I just had bug bites from being out at the barn and stirring up the dust and cat/dog hair.  Then, within the next couple of days I noticed the spots and itching on my belly.  As the day progressed today I started feeling like my tongue, eyelids, and fingers were itching.  It is literally driving me crazy!

When I got to the doctor's office today, the girl asked me to fill out paperwork so she could pull my file.  Then, she very politely asked me to tell her my birthday.  It seems I had written 3/13/11 as my birthdate.  I'm sure she thinks I'm really a nutty old woman.

It seems I was allergic to the antibiotic which I took to try to kill the ear infection.  Plus, it didn't kill the ear infection.  So, I still have ear infections, a cough, and also have itchy reaction to the medication.  Who would have thought stuffiness and a drippy nose could cause so many different problems?  Why is it that I can feel so cruddy, act so dotty, and still look somewhat normal on the outside?

Changes

Didn't sleep so well last night.  I started to blame it all on the springing forward with the clocks for Daylight Saving's Time or whatever it is we have changed into now.  I am one who doesn't really like change - not even when nothing but the clock changes.  I figure we need to just pick a time and stick with it.  If somebody wants to get up an hour earlier to enjoy more sunlight, then, more power to them.  Just leave me alone and let me make that choice as well. 

I guess I cannot blame it so much on the clocks and mandated changes, though.  My head felt sort of sloshy all night.  So, I decided that I must have a sinus or ear infection at about three o'clock this morning.  I was a bit dizzy and staggery when I got up to go to the bathroom.  So, this morning I put in for a substitute and flopped on the couch till it was time for the local walk-in clinic to be open.  Feeling badly, I just washed my face and pulled on a t-shirt and jeans and trekked down there.  I'm sure I looked frightful but I just didn't really care.  Sure enough, I have ear infections in both ears.  So, I took my prescription to the drug store across the street and waited an hour - an HOUR - for my meds.  (Why did that take so long?  It was early in the morning before they could get backed up or bombarded and my meds were in a sealed container that they just had to print the sticker out of the computer and afix to the bottle.  What was going on there?)  Now I'm back home and flopped on the couch.  My next move is to scrooch down and drift off into snoring...

Frustrating Hindrance

My blogging this weekend has been hindered by my own lack of gracefulness.  I was hanging something on Friday afternoon and made a miss-step when climbing off the ladder and fell.  It may not look so high - but for an old, overweight, clumsy, tired woman that third rung is a long drop to the hard, solid floor! 

The second I told Mike what I had done he began fussing at me - climbing on a ladder when I'm alone, had no business doing that, it could have waited...  All those things I knew already and was mentally kicking my own shocked hind side about between grumbles and moans.  Then, I frustrated him because I refused to go to the emergency room to have my hand/wrist/shoulder checked and treated.  Mainly, I think he was frustrated because I was in pain and there was nothing he could do to make it go away. 

I did agree to go to the walk-in clinic yesterday for X-rays.  The radiologist report says everything looks OK but I have a beautiful brace and still have some pain in my wrist - only when I move it - and lots of frustration all the time.