WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[Littlesister]

Got a call that an RX was ready, so went to the market to mail the package to granddaughter this morning and then to the Harris Teeter to pick up RX and did a bit of grocery shopping while there.  DH went with me but stayed in car. I won't let him go into a store after the Lowe's thing. That was a nightmare.  Then came home put the food away that I was able to get. No canned goods other than tomatoes, some soups a small amount of fruit. No canned veggies, no canned meats, no paper products. Very little laundry detergent.  I just went through to fill up the holes and get some more fresh produce and some blueberries.  No bananas this time around. 

Then started laundry. Washed 4 loads of clothes, cleaned kitchen, and then DH and I set outside in the swing for a bit. 

 

I am getting worried about DH.  He is getting tired easy, He was a bit dehydrated, so had him drinking more water. No fluid pills today. Checked his sugar and it was 208. It has never been that high that I am aware of as we rain out of strips to check it with and had not been able to get any for over 2 months. I ordered them from Wal Mart on line and got them.  He does not take insulin but I do. So I gave him a bit of insulin to get it down and hopefully back under control.  Got it down to 154 and he has been taking the metformin twice a day instead of one time a day. His doctor and I are going to have a long talk about oh he's 82 years old, he's fine and can eat what he wants. Not happening or I will be looking for a new doctor. He had an all protein breakfast this morning and mostly protein all day.  B/P was up today to 68/114. So back to normal. He is loosing to much weight also. Thinking it is because of the fluid pills and the metformin gives him diarrhea sometimes. So could be that but not sure. Can't see a doctor but going to try to talk with his heart doctor as well as his primary doctor.  These are on going issues that his doctors was watching closely but now they can't. By phone only right now unless it is a dire emergency.

[The WE2's]

Hubby worked at the homestead again this morning, draining more from the water heater.  Just about got most of it out...yippee!  Then he went to work for his customer...they keep their distances.  Hubby works on the "Toy Shed" while customer pittles around in his garage/shop next to the shed.  Hubby then came home and "de-pooped" Abby-girls yard and mowed it... A bit ago, Abby renewed her contributions...

I washed up the remaining 14 quarts of potatoes, labeled them and got them in boxes for transport.  

Also made up two containers of alcohol wipes.  We bought some rolls of the very heavy duty painters paper towels, and I cut it into 3rds.  Works great and absolutely a lot stronger than any paper towels.

Supper was another Chilli Rellano Casserole...one of our favorite dishes.

The rest of the day I pretty much rested.  Didn't take any Vit B and I got a bit sluggish.  Took it a bit ago along with my Tumeric and Vit. D cap.  Now I'll be P'ng yellow for sure! 

 

[kappydell]

Tired today.  Got up early (6 a.m.) so I could go to grocery during granny hours.  Very nice - lots of face masks & gloves, everybody cooperating to keep ample distance, etc.  Not an unruly mob scene like Walmart was last time I went in there.  Got a sale ham, spiral sliced that was not on list, but Mary was OK with it, it will make nice scalloped potatoes & ham for at least 4 meals, plus 'schnibbles" to flavor beans & omelets & stir fries & casseroles.  Then with the bone I make pea soup which we both love.  So that ham will see plenty of mileage.  Also got 4 spray bottles and 6 gallons of sweet tea for our friends down the road.  The woman is very careful to disinfect (she and her husband are both high risk, and their grown children that live with them are still working, one is with sheriffs dept so he is exposed to everything under the sun).  She shares her gloves & masks which she has extras and we both keep an eye out when shopping for things the other family uses.  She had no luck finding spray bottles so she was tickled to get 2 quart sized ones, which she promptly filled with bleach water to disinfect the sweet tea jugs before taking them inside.  They go thru LOTS of sweet tea, 3 of the 4 drink it constantly and only she remembers to buy it.  So when we are out we get some.  We also gifted her with 2 cartons of cigarettes; since both of them smoke the same brand they do not last long.  The governor here is cracking down on social distancing, and the police are arresting those who refuse to comply.  He says they will be cracking down the next 2 weeks so we plan on staying zipped up.

 

After shopping, napped a bit then went to physical therapy and worked hard.  So I am sore and creaky tonight, but it is a tired soreness, not a 'uh-oh' soreness.  We shall see if I get those obnoxious leg cramps waking me tonight (would not surprise me one bit).  But I believe in working out with a will and the results are worth it.  Soon the first 6 weeks of PT will be complete, and I do not know if I will get any more so I am picking their brains and paying close attention to workout exercises & their execution.  Today the therapist told me I am what they call a "sandwich" patient....a BLT...no bending, lifting or twisting.  I thought that was a cute nickname.    The hospital doors are locked and I have to call in to have someone from PT let me in, take my temperature, ask me "the questions" and then I can go in, but exercising with a mask is a pain as I am a mouth breather when I work out.  It gets hot.  But not as bad as the therapist who also has a face shield.  We look like a medical masquerade party, for petes sake.  Or a MASH party which is what they used to have once in a while when the MASH TV show was running.  Everybody would wear scrubs & face masks and drinks were dispensed via IVs.  (I caught more than one college student dumpster diving behind the hospital I worked at back in the 70s looking for IVs.  Hope they washed them, lol).

 

I will be going to bed early (for me anyway) around 2 AM.  Tomorrow I'll be boning that ham so we can fit the meat in our freezer somewhere in smaller packages.  I'm setting up potato water sourdough sponge tonight.  Mary is craving home made bread so I'll make my usual 2 loaves plus a pan of hot rolls for dinner tomorrow.  Mmmmmm.  Sheltering in place is making me FAT!

Edited April 7, 2020 by kappydell

[Jeepers]

Littlesister I wrote about my shopping trip today, to pick up meds, in another forum before I saw this one. We wrote nearly the same thing. Empty shelves especially the canned fruit and vegetables. Spaghetti sauce and soup was nearly empty too. We had paper towels (limit 1) but no T.P. Luckily I'm good on paper supplies. Praying for your dear husbands health!

 

Lovely pictures We2. Your potatoes look so nice. I usually get a little siphoning when I do mine. Yours look perfect. Did you blanch them first?

[Jeepers]

Kappy, B.L.T. Cute way to remember it. Speaking of food...what is tp flavored beans, omelets and stir fries? Surly not toilet paper flavored. With all the talk of toilet paper recently that's the first thing I thought of. The soy flavored meat maybe? 

[kappydell]

1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

Kappy, B.L.T. Cute way to remember it. Speaking of food...what is tp flavored beans, omelets and stir fries? Surly not toilet paper flavored. With all the talk of toilet paper recently that's the first thing I thought of. The soy flavored meat maybe? 

LOL, no the ham schnibbles (little bits & pieces cut off the non spiral sliced part of the ham bone, too small for breakfast biscuit sandwiches)  The fattier ones I use for beans, which can handle some fat; ;the lean ones are for omelets & fried rice.  Thats what I meant to put down.  I need to proofread better.....TP is more scarce than meat around this area, glad we have plenty stocked up.  But its too scarce to eat, even if it had any flavor....(snicker, snort, snicker)

Edited April 7, 2020 by kappydell

[Midnightmom]

18 hours ago, Littlesister said:

Thinking it is because of the fluid pills and the metformin gives him diarrhea sometimes.

 

Is he taking Metformin ER? The "extended release" formulation is much easier on the tummy. Ask his doc to switch if he is on "regular" metformin.  

[Ambergris]

Have been going crazy trying to juggle, keeping all the balls in the air at the same time.  Most of the seedlings are alive, and most of them have been up-potted for a stalling tactic.  All the chicks and cats are alive.  Medical appointments have been mostly put off...mostly indefinitely.  DS1 had a filling came out, but he refuses to see a dentist until "after the emergency," so I fished out a bottle of eugenol, and he tongued the filling back in place and said it was good enough for now.  He's a grown man, what do you do?

 

I'm still employed, still finding things that don't work telecommuting and still finding workarounds for them.  This kind of PDF corrupts when you transfer it directly from A to B using VPN, so you transfer it from A to C with VPN, C being somehow easier to save to, and then from C to B with VPN, and if that doesn't work, email it from C to Kady using the internal office email and have Kady save it in B for you since she has better broadband that doesn't squeeze the VPN.  That way it never leaves the secure system and the privacy people stay happy.   Bear in mind, it's not Kady's job to pinch hit for me.  Also, bear in mind I am not going to make quota, probably ever, like this.  Figuring out what the problem was took longer than figuring out the workaround.

 

This month I'm supposed to be working part time.  That was arranged before COVID and a million new claims for unemployment being filed in two weeks.  Now everything is changing.  Big plans are being announced tomorrow morning.  Last time the bottom fell out of the economy, I was working ... this calendar has a month when I worked 57 hours or more every week one month, 61 hours or more every week the next month.  Flat salary, you know.  Well, I still have part time hours okayed for this spring and summer.  My neurologist will probably sign a document saying limits on my working hours are medically necessary.  If I need him to.  Probably.  He's been kind of a jerk last couple of times I've seen him.

 

The old house, the one I'm trying to sell, has not sold.  The tenants did a lot of damage, some of it negligent (failure to change filters), some reckless (using permanent marker to draw on the tile floor), some apparently on purpose (breaking the cover on every single outlet).  Several thousand dollars and a few months later, not all of it is fixed, but my savings are gone.  I had hoped enough was fixed to get a decent price.  Nope, so I brought the price down a little more than 15%.  Finally, today, we got an offer--for just over half of the original asking price.  Um, no.  Spent the day trying to get them to explain the offer and bring it up.  I'm squishy, but bring it up some.  No. No. No. So, I told them goodbye.   I sure hope I don't end up regretting this.  On the one hand, I need 22% more than they offered to clear my mortgage on the current property,  which would make me dangerously independent.  And this is a small house, which historically would sell well in a bear market.  I told the realtor a New Yorker should buy it through the mail, sight unseen, just to get a Florida address and escape the lock-down up there.  On the other hand, the economy is really going crazy. Rental property could very well be nationalized before the end of the year.

 

[Ambergris]

Does anyone have a recipe for mayonnaise rolls that actually works?

[Jeepers]

I know how you feel about selling a house right now. My plan is to try to wait it out as long as possible. Things will turn around; because they always do. But how long will it take is the question. 

 

The only thing in my favor (if you want to call it that) is whatever I get for this place, I'll be able to pay it off. 

 

I told my son I'm moving to Indiana this summer come h3ll or high water. Well, h3ll is here and the water is rising (in my basement). 

[Littlesister]

Jeepers. Water in basement is not good.    I wish I had a basement, but not one that leaks water into it. 

 

Worked on garden stuff all day. Got the greenhouse put together.  And  DH found a spot he wants to put it. So tomorrow we will move it there and tie it down.  Bad storm this evening and heavy rain. We just finished what we were doing 5 minutes before the bottom fell out. 

Someone is coming tomorrow to give me a price on removing the 6 roots from the front flower beds. Then I can get that ready for herbs and such.. Will line the front part with flowers.  I already have rosemary planted on one side from last year and it is doing great.  On the other side will be some sweet potatoes and white potatoes.  It is a very long deep area, so can do half and half of each with some separation in-between them.

[Midnightmom]

15 hours ago, kappydell said:

TP is more scarce than meat around this area, glad we have plenty stocked up.  But its too scarce to eat, even if it had any flavor....(snicker, snort, snicker)

 

I saw a meme yesterday "related" to this use but I cannot find it again even though I have spent the last 2+ hours looking for it.   

IF I find it again you can be sure I'll post it here. 

[The WE2's]

22 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Did you blanch them first

 

Nope, never have.  I fill my jar about 1/3 full of boiling water, add my potatoes (one jar at a time) and then fill the rest with boiling water.  I leave about 1 1/4 inch. headspace for the potatoes, and 1" for the water.  Just seems to work for me.  I add nothing to my jars other than the boiling water.

[The WE2's]

Divided some freezer meats into smaller portions and put in the chest freezer here.  No need to take them to the homestead since we'll probably eat them right away...only double bagged them, no vacuum sealing today.  Cleaned the blades on the ceiling fan over our bed.  Did some laundry to take with us in the morning to the homestead.  I'll dry them while I'm tending to my seedlings etc.

Hubby worked the afternoon at his customer's toy house.

Got the storm door window open and the ceiling fans going...feels good!

PS...did get hubby's hair cut yesterday.  Glad I've been doing that for so many years!

Edited April 8, 2020 by The WE2's

[Littlesister]

2 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

 

Is he taking Metformin ER? The "extended release" formulation is much easier on the tummy. Ask his doc to switch if he is on "regular" metformin.  

Midnightmom. Yes he is on the extended release, but still has the issue with it.  Got his levels back down after given him some insulin yesterday. This morning it was 68.  Much better than the 208 yesterday morning. He doesn't take insulin but I take it at night if needed. Mine goes up overnight but stays normal during day. Mine is just wearied how it does. Going to be talking with his doctor about it, as soon as I can get hold of him. I am thinking they have shut the office down as I cannot get a return call right now. Same with his heart doctor. No return calls. 

[Littlesister]

23 minutes ago, The WE2's said:

 

Nope, never have.  I fill my jar about 1/3 full of boiling water, add my potatoes (one jar at a time) and then fill the rest with boiling water.  I leave about 1 1/4 inch. headspace for the potatoes, and 1" for the water.  Just seems to work for me.  I add nothing to my jars other than the boiling water.

WE2 that is how I do mine and it works great.

[euphrasyne]

When I was on metformin a few years back I had major bathroom issues and they had to switch me to Janumet which fixed that issue.  It was significantly more expensive though.  

[Midnightmom]

17 hours ago, Littlesister said:

Going to be talking with his doctor about it, as soon as I can get hold of him.

 

Do any of your health insurances provide an "Ask a Nurse" benefit???

[Littlesister]

Midnightmom, We have Medicare and they don't offer ask a Nurse.  And if Medicare doesn't pay then our secondary won't either. I am thinking of calling his heart doctor at home. I don't like doing that, but seems to be my only option at this point. 

 

Euphrasyne,  I have been thinking about having him switched to a different medication but then this coronavirus hit. 

 

DH has been dragging all day.  He was up at 4:30 and wide awake.  But has been really tired today. He may have over done it yesterday.  He won't go walking or do any other exercise. So when he does exert himself. He pays for it. Just another thing I will be working on or he will find himself in phy therapy.  And not for speech therapy to strengthening  of his throat muscles.

 

Today I did some cleaning around the house and planted some herbs. They are coming Sat. morning to remove the 6 roots from flowerbeds in front of house. I have been trying to get rid of those bushes for the past 4 years. They got way to big and almost partway up windows. DH would not let me take them out. Well, now that he has me taking care of yard stuff, they are out of here. Biggest mosquito hangout ever. Now you can see the front of the house.  Don't have to worry about someone hiding behind those bushes anymore either. Once those are out, I can clean the beds up and have more room for garden. I will have marigolds and some other type of flowers along the edge to draw pollinator bees. Going to do that around the bigger garden in back yard as well. 

 

[kappydell]

Well, still working with my primary care doc to try to figure out why my ankles are swelling so bad.  All those tests showed no heart issues.  She switched some meds to try to eliminate any that cause water retention.  Its gonna take a while...I with the virus did not preclude my taking her salad veggies (hard to clean them) because I am knee deep in various lettuces.

 

Baked bread today.   Dinner was home made bread,, hot out of the oven and baked chicken.  I have been brining my chicken in an effort to get out more of the blood that seems to remain near the bones and it works.  All I did today was brine them, then when ready to cook them, rinse, dry off, spray with PAM fat spray, sprinkle on some dry crumbs & herbs, spray with more fat spray and bake them 1 hour at 375.  (Usually I go 350 but the bread called for 375 so I baked both at the same time.  Mary was all smiles, she LOVES hot homemade bread, but then again, who doesn't?  Nobody here.....Since Mary went out & got frozen bread dough I used that (she was trying to make it easier on my arthritis;  did not have the heart to tell her that kneading bread is not a problem....opening plastic packaging IS....but why rebuff her kindness?)  The sourdough will snooze in the refrigerator a day or two, then I will wake it up and make fresh bread again - we go thru a loaf a day.

 

 

Edited April 9, 2020 by kappydell

[Daylily]

kappydell, just a thought. When DS was so sick with ulcerative colitis, his ankles started swelling, it gradually moved up into his legs. His albumin was off but I don't remember now if it was too low or to high but the bottom line was that the cause of the swelling was allergies and "hidden" kidney infection. The hospital tested his kidneys but nothing showed up. Then another doctor put him on a 10 day dose of an antibiotic (I would have to look up the name but it wasn't one that he'd been on before.). DS lost nearly 13 pounds of fluid in 24 hours! Every spring for a few years, his ankles would swell but it would go away later on in the summer. Finally a spring came when there was no more swelling and he's been good ever since. He had allergy testing for foods over time and gradually learned what he needed to eliminate and it finally took care of the swelling.

[Littlesister]

Haven't done a lot today.  Watched a movie earlier with DH. To windy and wet to do anything outside. Chatted with granddaughter3 that works at hosp. She has been doing double shifts and college on line now.  She's tired but doing well. And there may be a wedding in the near future as she and her boyfriend may decide to get married at some point when this mess is over. 

 

Kappydell ,   hoping your swollen ankles start going down and staying down soon. And very glad there is no heart issues. 

 

Still can't get hold of any of our doctors, so going to call heart doctor at home this evening. They must have closed the offices down or something is wrong with the phone lines. I know my internet has been going crazy these past couple of days. To many people on it at certain times of day I think. School children having to do on line schooling and are on morning and afternoon I think. Right now it slows down and then speeds up again. 

 

Made biscuits  this morning with breakfast and then went to market to pay for package I had sent to granddaughter2 in Washington state. It was really busy and no one keeping their distance. DH's cousin was there and having a fit customers not keeping their distance, they would not lesson  to him. Just shopping like nothing was happening.  The employees were all wearing mask and gloves and wiping everything down. Guess you just can't make the customers keep their distance from each other. And because the store is small, he may start limiting them to 5 coming in at a time. That would be the only way to control it.

[Jeepers]

Both Wal-Mart and Target have big decals on the floor showing the six feet distance. I like that. But only at the check out lanes.

 

BTW, most of the tiles on the floor in major stores are 1 foot square so you can sort of judge for yourself. 

 

It's raining hard and the wind is howling here today. Also the "tater wagon" has been rumbling up above too.  Oops just dropped another tater. That one must have been round. It rolled a long way.  

[The WE2's]

Closed all the windows, shut off the ceiling fans and turned the heat back on....COLD!  The high today barely reached 50 and windy...supposed to get down to 30 tonight.  Guess I'll find out if my plants in the little green house will survive.  They're only partially covered...but...this is an experiment on viable seeds...I keep telling myself that 

My sweet potatoes show no sign of rooting slips...so I probably will chuck them out as a failure.  Strange...I bought them from the Amish store and you wouldn't think they'd be treated with anything that would prohibit them from growing slips?.  

Hubby worked at the homestead and looks like we'll have hot water in the house shortly!  I'll enjoy that in the kitchen where we wash our hands.  

With this mess in our country, looks like we may not get moved as soon as we thought so when it does warm up, hubby may have to put window a/c back in here.  Was hoping we'd be moved and could enjoy the central air at the homestead.  Oh well, life happens...and we're safe and well.

Fixed enchiladas tonight for supper using my "homemade sausage" from turkey burger.  

Filled another bottle of Tumeric capsules.  We only had another day's supply and today was a good time to do it since I was staying here.

 

[euphrasyne]

Someone asked about Mayonnaise Rolls.

 

Mayo Rolls

1 c flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 c milk

2 T mayo

seasonings to taste

 Mix all together and stir to get out all lumps.  Bake 375F 18-20m in greased muffin cups.  Start with room temperature ingredients for fluffy rolls.  If you use cold ingredients, it will NOT rise and will be flat and brickish.  I usually set everything out on the counter after lunch to make them for dinner.