My mouth was numb pretty much for the rest of the day on Monday after having that filling. I was very hungry but I waited an hour or so before eating, and I deliberately tried to chew mostly on the other side of my mouth. I spent a little time working on Arlene Taylor’s web client work and more time just wasting time on Facebook. I set my alarm clock for 6:00 a.m., in preparation for our “0-dark thirty” Tuesday trip to Alameda. On impulse, I thawed the last pound of grass-fed beef in the freezer and made cheeseburger patties for supper and thawed and warmed Linda’s peaches and cream tarte so I would have more room in the freezer. Emily also had cheeseburger for supper.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
I got in bed at 12-something but woke up at 1:10 a.m. I thought it was early morning when I usually wake up to pee and then take my thyroid medication, so I was very surprised to see it was only a little after one o’clock. But I was unable to get back to sleep. After a half hour or so of tossing and turning, I determined I needed to get up, get my glasses on, and go out to the living room and sit at my desk awhile. Which I did, working some more on Arlene Taylor’s podcasting project. I remembered that the last times I had had a “bad night” like this was when I had failed to take my “PM” pills. With that clue, I opened the next few PM containers and discovered what I feared: I had failed to put a tramadol (Ultram) in my PM pills! I looked for the tramadol container in the medicine drawers under my desk but could not find it. I finally located a recent unopened refill, which had a lid that was screwed on so tightly that I had to take the bottle to the kitchen and use my jar opener on it! Why do the Kaiser pharmacists screw on these lids so TIGHT?!? I will definitely complain about this–again–when I order more refills!
I immediately took a tramadol pill then kept the refill container out on the top of my desk so I would see it for the rest of the week. I should have taken another dose of CBD/THC tincture but I was more focused on getting the tramadol to work. I checked my blood glucose and it had gone down 80 mg/dL from what it was at bedtime. I made a cup of hot chamomile with lavender tea and ate a cheese stick. Then I continued working on Arlene’s project until after 3:30 a.m. when I went back to bed, turned on the heating pad for my feet, and tried again to sleep, knowing the alarm was going to ring at 6 o’clock. Which it certainly did!
I got up at 6:45 a.m., brought kefir to Linda, got dressed, then went back to the kitchen for almond milk and took my “AM” pills. At 7, I went back to the bedroom to get dressed and to make sure Linda was awake. The coffee pot was empty so Linda had to get up and make coffee. I gathered the reusable grocery bags together and took them out to the car, along with the car blankets I had washed and folded and were waiting on the dryer by the back door. I then went back to my desk, unhooked my phone and put it in my purse, then put the freshly washed and dried masks back into my purse and put my purse on the washer, ready to grab whenever we exited the house. On impulse, I decided to put in my hearing aids to find out how–or IF–they would work with wearing a mask. Also wore earrings. I put on my Garmin fitness tracker that I haven’t worn for 6 months so I would have something on my arm for a timepiece, and also to see how many steps it would record. Update: By the end of the day, my Garmin had clocked 3,118 steps taken in the grocery stores, farmers’ market, and around the block checking out our old haunts, plus in and out of the house, carrying in groceries, and “walking” Emily in the yard.
When we got to South Shore Center at 7:58 a.m., I was surprised to see there was no line for the 8:00 a.m. “senior hour” at Trader Joe’s. But I grabbed my reusable bags and went up to the entrance, where I was informed that Trader Joe’s no longer had the “senior hour” at 8 to 9 every day but now only on Sundays and Wednesdays! That is not going to help me with my routine of going to Alameda on Tuesdays (and sometimes Saturdays) for the Alameda Farmers’ Market! So I had to get in the “regular” line on the other side of the entrance and wait there. Once I got inside, I spent most of the time trying to open my phone and open the “Our Groceries” app where my shopping list was. It opened just before I was ready to get in the check-out line, and I failed to get butter.
But I continued my routine with going to Safeway next, where a nice cashier (whom I judged to be a dyke) bagged my groceries in my reusable Safeway bags, even though they weren’t supposed to; and I was ready to go to the farmers’ market at 9:06 a.m. Ron was his usual pleasant self and filled my reusable bag with the 5 dozen eggs that I requested.
I put the egg bag over my arm and walked through the farmers’ market and around the block, as I had planned to do, just to see if our hair salon was open. It had, indeed, opened on August 28 with an outdoor option for haircuts only (that is, no hair coloring, perms, etc.) and operated 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Since it was only 9:34, the salon was not yet open for the day.
Wescafe, right next door, was open for take-out and for outdoor dining in front of the store. I looked inside and saw the “social distancing” circles on the floor leading up to the cash register, but all the indoor tables had been pushed against one wall and no chairs were visible. I guessed they were probably in storage. I didn’t ask if outdoor dining was available on the back patio.
I continued walking. I saw that the barber shop a little further down the block, the one that said “Walk-ins Welcome,” now had a sign that that said “Appointments Only” and requested patrons to wait outside until they went in for their appointment. The Beauty Unlimited spa next door has closed completely. Around the corner, Café Jolie was still serving customers who were required to order take-out or eat at one of the few outdoor tables. I went to Donut Petit and got two fancy donuts for Linda, then we were ready to go home.
I didn’t get much done at home before it was time for my Kaiser Pain Group online at 4 p.m. where Francis facilitated more balance exercises. And Julie Whitehead did the meditation and presentation, so that was nice, too.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
I slept very late this morning (probably my body trying to “make up for” a bad night on Monday night). I had a hard time focusing on anything, other than making sure we had supper before our Zoom time with Alex.
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Today started better than yesterday. I got up around 9:30, poured coffee for us both, then made breakfast. Linda’s final (or so we thought) post-op appointment was at 2 o’clock, so I got my bag ready to go, but I forgot to put Linda’s favorite mask back in my purse from Tuesday (it was still in Emily’s pink bag that was on the bed), and did not discover that until we were in the van, backing out of the driveway, so Linda had to wear her second favorite mask today.
Emily and I had a nice walk before going back to the van where Emily got a drink and I settled in with my Kindle to read more in Naomi’s book, It Comes From Within.
Unfortunately, the eye doctor found some scar tissue on both of Linda’s eyes, which is going to require further treatment. She has another appointment next week. Also, the optical shop (in Batra Vision) has a very limited supply of frames due to no frame production from their suppliers during the lockdown. And so here we are.
When we got home and Linda got settled into bed, she called me over to look at a text she just got on her phone. It was from Rob, saying that Thelma is in the hospital, lost her memory yesterday (possibly due to a stroke), and has blood clots, one in her heart. He just signed a DNR and the cardiologist is exploring options but not holding out much hope. Will these awful things never end?!?
We are having wild-caught baked salmon for supper.
Friday, September 25, 2020
I spent most of the day attempting to make Wave Pad work to put together Arlene Taylor’s podcast files. Just before supper, I had a break through. We three had a ribeye steak with grass-fed butter for supper, plus a salad for me.
Saturday, September 26, 2020
I got up early this morning, anticipating “attending” the Adventist Today Sabbath Seminar. I got breakfast fixed for Linda and Emily and then made my own plate and sat down at my computer and opened Zoom and logged in to the session. But for some unknown reason, I got a sharp pain in my belly and felt like I was going to pass out. Somehow I made it back to the bedroom and told Linda what was happening. Then I lay on the bed for the next 3 hours, partially conscious but unable to get out of bed. I think I was dozing on and off but always aware of the TV shows that Linda had going on the TV.
Linda woke me up by telling me that Rob had texted us again and said that Thelma is much improved and is being discharged from the hospital today “with no restrictions.” The doctors did not find any cancers or tumor in her brain, in spite of all the blood clots, and the cardiologist said her heart is strong and she can go back to work in 2 weeks if she feels up to it! Wow! What a Sabbath miracle!
When I got back to my computer, however, I got the news that Paul Howell passed away last Monday, September 21. He was 93.
I spent the rest of the afternoon working with Arlene’s audio files for the chapter of Just the Facts that Linda will need to use in the LLM Online course. Roasted delicata squash with butter and salt and pepper for supper. Plus more salad.
