Some really nice efficient Mexican men came to clean out the ducts and clean the grates. They were no more than half through when I could feel a tremendous change in the air I was breathing, and the pain in my lungs that I have had all year was GONE. That is too simple to be true but it is true.
I even wonder now if I need the medical filter, but why the heck not?
I had been waiting to finish my obligations before paying for this duct cleaning, etc. I now wish to goodness we had taken care of it before. Oh well, it's important for from here on out.
My vertigo subsided nicely in the middle of the morning too...so am feeling OK as of now. YAZZYBEL
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Dizzy Tuesday
Good morning--I guess.
I woke up with vertigo. I have learned how to control vertigo by tilting upper body first to one side, then the other, thus settling that little floating bone in our ears that gets dislodged and gives us vertigo.
However, it hasn't worked too well this morning. A rising up from this chair at the computer will be planned, not spontaneous. I lurched about and made my self a cup of Keurig, but don't really fancy it.
Yesterday we went out to the Diabetes Clinic at Kaiser and found out , ultimately, that Theo will be restricted from driving due to his low blood sugar incident last week.
What will they say when they find out that the designated driver has vertigo? What will we do? I'm told, or have been told in the past, that there are people from the community who'll drive others about as needed...Better look into it. Like the Meals on Wheels, it's timely. YAZZYBEL
I woke up with vertigo. I have learned how to control vertigo by tilting upper body first to one side, then the other, thus settling that little floating bone in our ears that gets dislodged and gives us vertigo.
However, it hasn't worked too well this morning. A rising up from this chair at the computer will be planned, not spontaneous. I lurched about and made my self a cup of Keurig, but don't really fancy it.
Yesterday we went out to the Diabetes Clinic at Kaiser and found out , ultimately, that Theo will be restricted from driving due to his low blood sugar incident last week.
What will they say when they find out that the designated driver has vertigo? What will we do? I'm told, or have been told in the past, that there are people from the community who'll drive others about as needed...Better look into it. Like the Meals on Wheels, it's timely. YAZZYBEL
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday
Good afternoon.
It's Sunday. Did not go to church, 3rd Sunday in a row. Gracious. Too tired to make the effort, and that's BAD.
We went to Ralph's and bought a steak for supper, and deli food for lunch. Sitting here now with a kind of bad taste in my mouth. They don't know how to make enchiladas, I fear. NO GARLIC IN THE ENCHILADAS, said my mama, and I think she was right. In a cuisine where many dishes are made using the same ingredients, it is not bad to have an arbitrary rule like that so you'll get the taste you expect when you eat something.
The enchiladas, chicken enchiladas by genre, were also too HOT. Too enchiladas. Mucho chile en las enchiladas. Hot and garlicky is not the right taste for enchiladas. "Couldn't you just be not so picky?" a voice is asking in my ear, whose voice I do not know. Couldn't be my Mama's. Otherwise, the enchiladas were not bad, with the right amount of sauce, and sprinkled with a generous amount of cheese and green onion tops. Too much chicken for one person for a meal, as I now know after getting MOW meals for nearly a week. We could have bought one enchilada and split it in two.
I also bought broccoli salad. Pretty good. It had cashew nuts in it and no raisins. Better the other way round, I think, but it was okay. I took Theo's half out and put it in a bowl with a little water and microwaved it so he could eat it as a vegetable and not salad.
All tolerable. At four thirty I shall take one of the steaks I bought, put the other into the freezer, and pan-broil that little steak for my husband so he will get enough protein. Makes up for the MOW which is all right but lacking in beefsteaks.
Above, we see "Intimations of Spring," one of a group of bulbs bought for me by Ben on sale at Christmastime. Badly bedraggled, they were, as bulbs, trampled by elephants and manhandled, but as we see, showing the promise of new life to come...YAZZYBEL
It's Sunday. Did not go to church, 3rd Sunday in a row. Gracious. Too tired to make the effort, and that's BAD.
We went to Ralph's and bought a steak for supper, and deli food for lunch. Sitting here now with a kind of bad taste in my mouth. They don't know how to make enchiladas, I fear. NO GARLIC IN THE ENCHILADAS, said my mama, and I think she was right. In a cuisine where many dishes are made using the same ingredients, it is not bad to have an arbitrary rule like that so you'll get the taste you expect when you eat something.
The enchiladas, chicken enchiladas by genre, were also too HOT. Too enchiladas. Mucho chile en las enchiladas. Hot and garlicky is not the right taste for enchiladas. "Couldn't you just be not so picky?" a voice is asking in my ear, whose voice I do not know. Couldn't be my Mama's. Otherwise, the enchiladas were not bad, with the right amount of sauce, and sprinkled with a generous amount of cheese and green onion tops. Too much chicken for one person for a meal, as I now know after getting MOW meals for nearly a week. We could have bought one enchilada and split it in two.
I also bought broccoli salad. Pretty good. It had cashew nuts in it and no raisins. Better the other way round, I think, but it was okay. I took Theo's half out and put it in a bowl with a little water and microwaved it so he could eat it as a vegetable and not salad.
Above, we see "Intimations of Spring," one of a group of bulbs bought for me by Ben on sale at Christmastime. Badly bedraggled, they were, as bulbs, trampled by elephants and manhandled, but as we see, showing the promise of new life to come...YAZZYBEL
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Saturday
Well, for the second time today I have blown away all that I've written, so will take the hint and quit.
MOW: turkey a la king, boiled okra, English peas. Sandwich for supper. Butterscotch pudding. Milk by mistake instead of fruit juice...that's OK...all of it Edible plus. Though I don't know what the mystery sandwich is.
Adios, amigos; publishing this before I lose it AGAIN>YAZZYBEL
MOW: turkey a la king, boiled okra, English peas. Sandwich for supper. Butterscotch pudding. Milk by mistake instead of fruit juice...that's OK...all of it Edible plus. Though I don't know what the mystery sandwich is.
Adios, amigos; publishing this before I lose it AGAIN>YAZZYBEL
Friday, January 27, 2012
Quiet Day Friday
Thursday, January 26, 2012
A Day at the ER, Thursday Part Trois
We got to the ER at eleven; home by four thirty. That could have been worse. They moved their booties when I told them that I can't see to drive after sunset.
Theo is fine. We both are tired but we had a nice supper purchased from the Von's pre-cooked meal dept. Hasta manana, amigos. YAZZYBEL
Theo is fine. We both are tired but we had a nice supper purchased from the Von's pre-cooked meal dept. Hasta manana, amigos. YAZZYBEL
Gang Aft Aglee
Well.
While I was writing about garb, and taking my long sudsy hot bath, strange things were happening.
I came out of the bath to find my husband sitting in a kitchen chair, almost totally unresponsive.
I tried to take his blood sugar, but it came out 'error' and 'needs battery.' So I did the only other sane thing: I called 911.
The wonderful people have left after being here nearly an hour. They were prepared to take him in to the ER themselves, but after dosing him with glucose intravenously and other potions, he finally came round. Kaiser still wants to see him so I am driving him to Kaiser ER now. He seems to be OK; we'll see what they say.
We never know what a Thursday will bring, for "the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft aglee," don't they, Robbie? YAZZYBEL
While I was writing about garb, and taking my long sudsy hot bath, strange things were happening.
I came out of the bath to find my husband sitting in a kitchen chair, almost totally unresponsive.
I tried to take his blood sugar, but it came out 'error' and 'needs battery.' So I did the only other sane thing: I called 911.
The wonderful people have left after being here nearly an hour. They were prepared to take him in to the ER themselves, but after dosing him with glucose intravenously and other potions, he finally came round. Kaiser still wants to see him so I am driving him to Kaiser ER now. He seems to be OK; we'll see what they say.
We never know what a Thursday will bring, for "the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft aglee," don't they, Robbie? YAZZYBEL
What I am Wearing
Good morning to ye!
I have been reading (a little), listening to ( on an old LP), and singing Robbie Burns, as it is the time of his birthday. He was a passionate man, father of many bairns. His poetry is full of the joy and anguish of life.
The song on the old LP is a modern evocation of "O My Luv's Like a Red, Red Rose." It is a haunting, super-haunting version of Burns's old poem and melody. As if it were sung by a disembodied spirit, still just as much in love as ever...who'll "come again, my love," in an almost chilling promise to her lover...this is a song by Ernest Gold (Songs of Love and Parting) sung by his wife Marnie Nixon.
Marnie Nixon was (or is) one of the better singers of Hollywood. I believe she made her debut as the voice of Snow White oh so long ago. And I believe it was she who sang for Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady," the movie. Marnie Nixon's voice is clear, pure, piercing. The set of songs, "Songs of Love and Parting," contains several demanding beauties but none as lovely to me as the one about her love's being like a red red rose.
What am I wearing today? What I wear every morning upon arising in the dark, drawing on my old garments quietly so as not to awaken my husband. On top, a curiously crocheted vest handmade by someone's auntie long ago that I bought at the TOPS...pink, gray, green in a faded pattern of an afghan...under that, a blue and white checked short cotton flannel model's coat...under that, a black plaid long nightie...under that, a short nightie that I actually sleep in. My new one is one I bought shopping with Miranda, that says VICTORIAS SECRET printed on it over and over, interspersed with tiny gold stars. Why do I tell my readers these gruesome details? Well, nothing else to talk about today, actually. YAZZYBEL
I have been reading (a little), listening to ( on an old LP), and singing Robbie Burns, as it is the time of his birthday. He was a passionate man, father of many bairns. His poetry is full of the joy and anguish of life.
The song on the old LP is a modern evocation of "O My Luv's Like a Red, Red Rose." It is a haunting, super-haunting version of Burns's old poem and melody. As if it were sung by a disembodied spirit, still just as much in love as ever...who'll "come again, my love," in an almost chilling promise to her lover...this is a song by Ernest Gold (Songs of Love and Parting) sung by his wife Marnie Nixon.
Marnie Nixon was (or is) one of the better singers of Hollywood. I believe she made her debut as the voice of Snow White oh so long ago. And I believe it was she who sang for Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady," the movie. Marnie Nixon's voice is clear, pure, piercing. The set of songs, "Songs of Love and Parting," contains several demanding beauties but none as lovely to me as the one about her love's being like a red red rose.
What am I wearing today? What I wear every morning upon arising in the dark, drawing on my old garments quietly so as not to awaken my husband. On top, a curiously crocheted vest handmade by someone's auntie long ago that I bought at the TOPS...pink, gray, green in a faded pattern of an afghan...under that, a blue and white checked short cotton flannel model's coat...under that, a black plaid long nightie...under that, a short nightie that I actually sleep in. My new one is one I bought shopping with Miranda, that says VICTORIAS SECRET printed on it over and over, interspersed with tiny gold stars. Why do I tell my readers these gruesome details? Well, nothing else to talk about today, actually. YAZZYBEL
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday
Good afternoon, all.
Today the MOW came promptly at eleven, a nice man and wife. I didn't get to meet them properly as Patricia and I were playing the piano and it was a bit confusing but I finally answered the door, and Theo came in, or vice versa.
The meal was Beef Burgundy, with noodles, and peas and carrots on the side. VERY delicious, I thought. Theo got 80 % of it as I 'd planned to eat a quesadilla since I was making Patricia one later. Some very small plain cookies came on the side, plus the usual mystery sandwich, some canned fruit, and a little cup of potato salad. I will love the sandwich and potato salad later on. Theo does not like potato salad so he will get his half of the sandwich plus whatever he can scrounge out of the icebox.
After Pat and I'd played for an hour or two, I was plenty tired of concentrating after lounging about for nearly 2 weeks. When she'd left, I took a nap, and when I was picking about in my nightstand drawer and found another Kefflex just in time for my one o'clock dose. I guess that is it and that they are all gone by now.
It strikes me that I have not talked about reading lately. If my eyes were not so terrible I'd read more, but I find that it is the quality of the literature that really makes a difference. I tried to read Black Coffee, by Agatha Christie, a novelization of one of her plays. Just couldn't make it. But took up The Master, by Colm Toibin, and am sailing forward, engrossed. All it takes is good stuff. YAZZYBEL
Today the MOW came promptly at eleven, a nice man and wife. I didn't get to meet them properly as Patricia and I were playing the piano and it was a bit confusing but I finally answered the door, and Theo came in, or vice versa.
The meal was Beef Burgundy, with noodles, and peas and carrots on the side. VERY delicious, I thought. Theo got 80 % of it as I 'd planned to eat a quesadilla since I was making Patricia one later. Some very small plain cookies came on the side, plus the usual mystery sandwich, some canned fruit, and a little cup of potato salad. I will love the sandwich and potato salad later on. Theo does not like potato salad so he will get his half of the sandwich plus whatever he can scrounge out of the icebox.
After Pat and I'd played for an hour or two, I was plenty tired of concentrating after lounging about for nearly 2 weeks. When she'd left, I took a nap, and when I was picking about in my nightstand drawer and found another Kefflex just in time for my one o'clock dose. I guess that is it and that they are all gone by now.
It strikes me that I have not talked about reading lately. If my eyes were not so terrible I'd read more, but I find that it is the quality of the literature that really makes a difference. I tried to read Black Coffee, by Agatha Christie, a novelization of one of her plays. Just couldn't make it. But took up The Master, by Colm Toibin, and am sailing forward, engrossed. All it takes is good stuff. YAZZYBEL
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Tuesday Bonus, Monday Haiku
Growing old's easy
Odd things happen now and then:
Like seeing ghost cats.
That is a good haiku for Haiku Monday which is a contest given by my Friends of the Web. But I didnt know the topic of this week, nor how nor who to send it to, so now I send it just to you my readers.
Odd things happen now and then:
Like seeing ghost cats.
That is a good haiku for Haiku Monday which is a contest given by my Friends of the Web. But I didnt know the topic of this week, nor how nor who to send it to, so now I send it just to you my readers.
Suddenly Better
The Meals on Wheels food must have cured me because I am better today. It's evening of Tuesday and I have about four more Kefflexes to go. After that: cured.
Last night's sandwich turned out to be chicken with herbs, not bad at all. Theo ate his without complaint, I am happy to say.
Today's food was thus. A pork pattie with BBQ sauce, succotash, and a green which I think is mustard greens. It was all tasty, a step up from edible.
Also got a little dish of canteloupe. NOT EDIBLE. Those prepared concoctions of unripe fruit should be banned from human consumption. We all know what a good melon is, I hope: soft, sweet, astringent, velvety, juicy. Those squares that purport to be canteloupe and often honeydew are not melon. They are NOT. Boo.
Also got a little dish of chocolate pudding, very small, very thin as to cream in the mix, but not bad at all. And tonight we had sandwich of some thin, thin cold deli meat, which I guess is --I don't know. It had a thin rind of white fat like ham. Anyway, it was delicious. Bravo. And there was lettuce and celery. And fruit juice.
I went to get my hair washed and cut today, and stopped at the grocery store on my way home, bringing some snacks. I had some potato salad to eke out my MOW supper. Might as well judge it too--it was OKAY, no more. And more expensive than MOW by far. I am glad I feel better at last.
Lungs are not healed by any means. A man came from the furnace place, and here is the plan. Next Tuesday, ducts of furnace are cleaned out. Next Thursday, furnace company comes and changes all the vents into the rooms, and puts in as a separate unit beside the furnace, an air purifier of medical grade. Yes. Expensive but worth it if it does me any good. Huzzah. YAZZYBEL
Last night's sandwich turned out to be chicken with herbs, not bad at all. Theo ate his without complaint, I am happy to say.
Today's food was thus. A pork pattie with BBQ sauce, succotash, and a green which I think is mustard greens. It was all tasty, a step up from edible.
Also got a little dish of canteloupe. NOT EDIBLE. Those prepared concoctions of unripe fruit should be banned from human consumption. We all know what a good melon is, I hope: soft, sweet, astringent, velvety, juicy. Those squares that purport to be canteloupe and often honeydew are not melon. They are NOT. Boo.
Also got a little dish of chocolate pudding, very small, very thin as to cream in the mix, but not bad at all. And tonight we had sandwich of some thin, thin cold deli meat, which I guess is --I don't know. It had a thin rind of white fat like ham. Anyway, it was delicious. Bravo. And there was lettuce and celery. And fruit juice.
I went to get my hair washed and cut today, and stopped at the grocery store on my way home, bringing some snacks. I had some potato salad to eke out my MOW supper. Might as well judge it too--it was OKAY, no more. And more expensive than MOW by far. I am glad I feel better at last.
Lungs are not healed by any means. A man came from the furnace place, and here is the plan. Next Tuesday, ducts of furnace are cleaned out. Next Thursday, furnace company comes and changes all the vents into the rooms, and puts in as a separate unit beside the furnace, an air purifier of medical grade. Yes. Expensive but worth it if it does me any good. Huzzah. YAZZYBEL
Monday, January 23, 2012
First Day of Meals on Wheels
Good day.
At eleven I arose from my sick bed to the tune of the doorbell. TATERTON, God bless him, was lying asleep at my side. I am telling everybody we are like the little dog and cat in MUTTS, lying there hibernating the winter away. Seems like it anyway.
A nice man named Bill, or William, I forget which, came to deliver my food. We sat on my sofa as he expressed the hope he'd not catch what I've got, and I concurred. I don't think he will. Asthma is a development and is a result of lots of things. Plus, I am still on the Kefflex. Bill is an administrator of CV Meals on Wheels. He is not the person who'll be delivering my food every day. He just came to collect the $35.00 and get my signature on the dotted line.
It sounds like a good deal, with lots of flexibility built into it. And that is excellent.
After he left, I called in Theo and we opened the goodies. I split the hot dinner onto two dinner plates, and there was enough for two if they were not very hungry. We split Veal Marsala (only I did not tell him it was Veal or he wouldn't have eaten it), mashed sweet squash of some kind, and some rather over-cooked broccoli. We split a carton of fruit juice. Verdict. Edible. Just barely in many respects, but EDIBLE. If we were in dire need, we'd be thankful to have it. And as is it is, we are indeed in dire enough need to be grateful not to have to plan for another meal today, as they also provide a cold supper. In this case it is a tuna salad sandwich, two lettuce leaves, three grape tomatoes, and a cooky. Oh yes, also a little dish of applesauce. We already had the cooky and the applesauce, so that leaves us the sandwich and lettuce and tomato for dinner. More than enough, and the tuna sandwich smells good. It is in the refrigerator awaiting its hour. Lots of fun, this. Nobody ever brought me a lot of food before for practically nothing. Nice charity, it is. Everyone should contribute to it. Means a lot to seniors. I don't care how much you have to spend on your meals, how easy would it be to get a decent edible meal from any restaurant around here for any price? Well, Trattoria Italiana is good...but there's the end of it and they wouldn't deliver.
For breakfast Theodore was too forlorn to make food and I was too wheezy, so I sent him to the McD's to get McBISCUITS as they are good when fresh, but of course he got it wrong and came with Eggs McMuffin and sausage. Groan...So, VIVA LES MEALS ON WHEELS. YAZZYBEL
At eleven I arose from my sick bed to the tune of the doorbell. TATERTON, God bless him, was lying asleep at my side. I am telling everybody we are like the little dog and cat in MUTTS, lying there hibernating the winter away. Seems like it anyway.
A nice man named Bill, or William, I forget which, came to deliver my food. We sat on my sofa as he expressed the hope he'd not catch what I've got, and I concurred. I don't think he will. Asthma is a development and is a result of lots of things. Plus, I am still on the Kefflex. Bill is an administrator of CV Meals on Wheels. He is not the person who'll be delivering my food every day. He just came to collect the $35.00 and get my signature on the dotted line.
It sounds like a good deal, with lots of flexibility built into it. And that is excellent.
After he left, I called in Theo and we opened the goodies. I split the hot dinner onto two dinner plates, and there was enough for two if they were not very hungry. We split Veal Marsala (only I did not tell him it was Veal or he wouldn't have eaten it), mashed sweet squash of some kind, and some rather over-cooked broccoli. We split a carton of fruit juice. Verdict. Edible. Just barely in many respects, but EDIBLE. If we were in dire need, we'd be thankful to have it. And as is it is, we are indeed in dire enough need to be grateful not to have to plan for another meal today, as they also provide a cold supper. In this case it is a tuna salad sandwich, two lettuce leaves, three grape tomatoes, and a cooky. Oh yes, also a little dish of applesauce. We already had the cooky and the applesauce, so that leaves us the sandwich and lettuce and tomato for dinner. More than enough, and the tuna sandwich smells good. It is in the refrigerator awaiting its hour. Lots of fun, this. Nobody ever brought me a lot of food before for practically nothing. Nice charity, it is. Everyone should contribute to it. Means a lot to seniors. I don't care how much you have to spend on your meals, how easy would it be to get a decent edible meal from any restaurant around here for any price? Well, Trattoria Italiana is good...but there's the end of it and they wouldn't deliver.
For breakfast Theodore was too forlorn to make food and I was too wheezy, so I sent him to the McD's to get McBISCUITS as they are good when fresh, but of course he got it wrong and came with Eggs McMuffin and sausage. Groan...So, VIVA LES MEALS ON WHEELS. YAZZYBEL
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Well Enough to Know Better
Good morning.
Yes, I am better. Still coughing. Still lungs congested. Still asthmatic and wheezing from time to time.
But definitely better.
I finally took the bull by the horns and ordered out Meals on Wheels...I guess I always thought that they were for other people. Now we get to have some. I realized that the hard thing about the wife's being sick is that the husband, trying to recuperate, himself, is way put upon to come up with things that she wants to eat. Who knows what M.O.W. will bring? They will start tomorrow, and I'll give you the full report, starting with the lowest acceptable rung, "Edible," remember.
Theo has refused to join in but this will be a good start for us to see if we like them. They will bring a hot lunch, a cold snack supper, and a drink. I figure that between all that food split between two people, we should be able to get by. If we are hungry at night we can always open a can of Campbell's Soup.
That picture up there is a grim reminder of how we look when we are eighty two and have no recourse to the artifices available to us like lipstick and hairdressers. I remember how my dad's face, as he grew older, seemed to slide gently downward below the eyes...leaving him with a long upper lip. I see that same upper lip on myself, giving me a gentle reminder always to smile like everything in photographs. But why not show the truth sometimes too? Well, it's all the truth anyway, isnt it? Grim, and smiling like everything anyway. Love, YAZZYBEL
Yes, I am better. Still coughing. Still lungs congested. Still asthmatic and wheezing from time to time.
But definitely better.
I finally took the bull by the horns and ordered out Meals on Wheels...I guess I always thought that they were for other people. Now we get to have some. I realized that the hard thing about the wife's being sick is that the husband, trying to recuperate, himself, is way put upon to come up with things that she wants to eat. Who knows what M.O.W. will bring? They will start tomorrow, and I'll give you the full report, starting with the lowest acceptable rung, "Edible," remember.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Ordering Out
Yes, here I am, getting better I guess. I know because I am ordering out.
Ordering today, two jeweled crosses that were so pretty on the screen, for my two granddaughters.
And one large olive green handbag which I will probably give to my daughter in law, because it is, while beautiful, too large for my small frame.
And one pair of slides/mules/cowboy boots by Clark, with a heel. I ordered them in black.
I either have to have a relapse, or get well enough to keep away from HSN and QVC. Lord!
Yours, YAZZYBEL
Ordering today, two jeweled crosses that were so pretty on the screen, for my two granddaughters.
And one large olive green handbag which I will probably give to my daughter in law, because it is, while beautiful, too large for my small frame.
And one pair of slides/mules/cowboy boots by Clark, with a heel. I ordered them in black.
I either have to have a relapse, or get well enough to keep away from HSN and QVC. Lord!
Yours, YAZZYBEL
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Gray Today
Hi, yesterday was Blackout Day in support of Google and other sites who were protesting internet censorship. I'm not always sure that the internet should not be censored, but I don't know the proper answer as to how to do it.
Gray today because, one, I am still down for the count...two, am not completely under. Still taking antibiotics. I finished the five day Zithromax course but still have five more days of Keflex to go. I hope my lungs get cleared out, I do I do.
Theo is sufferingly taking care of me. I really hate asking him to do things, but he says he's willing, which is kind of him. All until manana. YAZZYBEL
Gray today because, one, I am still down for the count...two, am not completely under. Still taking antibiotics. I finished the five day Zithromax course but still have five more days of Keflex to go. I hope my lungs get cleared out, I do I do.
Theo is sufferingly taking care of me. I really hate asking him to do things, but he says he's willing, which is kind of him. All until manana. YAZZYBEL
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
WOOF WOOF
Hi friends and readers, still sick as a bow wow. But thinking of you; please be thinking of me...Love, YAZZYBEL
Friday, January 13, 2012
Sick as a Bow Wow
Hi, here I am, sick as a bow wow.
I guess my resistance finally wore down and I got it.
Not too bad except for the times when I cannot breathe.
If Kaiser would give me Ery-C, I would get over it totally. But they will not.
Theo is better, is wandering off to his doctors on his own. Yesterday he brought back the notation, "Patient came unaccompanied. Next visit, patient must be accompanied." LOL.Too bad. When your only friend and caregiver is eighty two years old, you need to take heed. She might go down some day, sooner than later.
I forgot to mention that the best thing for treating this upper respiritory type ailment is: STEAM. You are supposed to go into small bathroom and turn on shower full blast. Stay in there five minutes at least, breathing the steam. Do this several times a day, and drink a glass of water every hour. It really heaps.
I had to cancel my TOPS weight loss club and my hairdresser's appointment. Too baddy. In a few days I should feel better and will be nagging Theodore to take me to Tucson to breathe some dry air. Is that a contradiction? BOTH are necessary, each in its time. YAZZYBEL
I guess my resistance finally wore down and I got it.
Not too bad except for the times when I cannot breathe.
If Kaiser would give me Ery-C, I would get over it totally. But they will not.
Theo is better, is wandering off to his doctors on his own. Yesterday he brought back the notation, "Patient came unaccompanied. Next visit, patient must be accompanied." LOL.Too bad. When your only friend and caregiver is eighty two years old, you need to take heed. She might go down some day, sooner than later.
I forgot to mention that the best thing for treating this upper respiritory type ailment is: STEAM. You are supposed to go into small bathroom and turn on shower full blast. Stay in there five minutes at least, breathing the steam. Do this several times a day, and drink a glass of water every hour. It really heaps.
I had to cancel my TOPS weight loss club and my hairdresser's appointment. Too baddy. In a few days I should feel better and will be nagging Theodore to take me to Tucson to breathe some dry air. Is that a contradiction? BOTH are necessary, each in its time. YAZZYBEL
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Coughing and Hacking
Good morning!!
Yes, here am I, coughing and hacking at last. I slept well, however, and I'll tell you all about it. It's no wonder I caught it since I slept over the last 2 weeks with Theo coughing and hacking beside me.
Yesterday morning my throat/chest felt a little tickly, so I gave myself a dose of Q-Var. Do you know what Q-Var is? It's a steroid inhalation that is supposed to (over time and with consistent use) calm down our inflamed lungs. I hate it. Everyone I know who has it around to use, hates it. But once in a while it seems that there's a condition in there that might profit from a little blast of soothing. SORRY, I WAS WRONG; it irritated my lungs more. Dang.
I went through the day, energetically in the a.m., but then I took a nap after lunch and woke up feeling awful. I just knew that I was getting what I've got...staggered through the afternoon, ate an early supper of cheese toast and cocoa, and went to bed, down for the count, by six thirty.
I woke up this morning feeling much better. In a minute I am going to tell you my little list of nostrums, one which will get you up the next day feeling much better. The main one, the one I forgot, was the most important. Go to a sink, turn on the hot water full blast, and when it gets very hot, put your face down close and gulp lungfulls of steam. For how long? For as long as you can stand it, until you get bored, or think you've had enough. I am going to do that as soon as I finish this posting.
I have not been taking my vitamins so at about four I took my Vit. C (500) and Multi B. Then I had the supper mentioned above. When I went to bed I did the following:
1. Took about 1/2 of a bright-pink Benadryl pill.
2. Took a laxative. Phillips Magnesium pill.
3. Sucked on a Tums for the anti-acid properties.
4. Drank a bunch of water.
5. Took a breath of my regular asthma mist.
I woke up at about ten thirty suffering intensely from the heat coming on which it does too much of, blowing years' worth of old dust, mites, asphalt from the roof, and as much sand as a Sahara sandstorm, microscopically, into my lungs. I drank more water and thankx to the Benadryl went right back to sleep. I slept long and deep, only rousing momentarily from time to time as my old husband milled about the bedroom in the dark. "Shouldn't I go to the door to let them in?" he plaintively asked at one point. "Let WHO in?" said I... "Those people at the door."
"DO NOT let anyone in. Go to sleep," said I. And he obeyed and we slept till morning, till the sound of the cat meowing plaintively in the cold garage compelled me to arise. I arose, went out to get the paper, made my coffee, made our breakfast, and here I am at eight twenty three in the a.m., duties done. I could go back to bed but I think I will breathe the steam (belatedly), take a hot bath, get dressed, and see how the day proceeds. My eyes are running as well as my nose, just a bit, so will look at my eye potions for a tip...P atricia should be here today but we talked on the phone last evening and she is sick too...we are laying low. Too bad; she'll miss a delicious Mexican rice sopa seca that is waiting in the refrigerator to be warmed up for lunch. Everyone pray for me, please, that I do throw off this plague that everyone seems to be getting. LOVE< YAZZYBEL
Yes, here am I, coughing and hacking at last. I slept well, however, and I'll tell you all about it. It's no wonder I caught it since I slept over the last 2 weeks with Theo coughing and hacking beside me.
Yesterday morning my throat/chest felt a little tickly, so I gave myself a dose of Q-Var. Do you know what Q-Var is? It's a steroid inhalation that is supposed to (over time and with consistent use) calm down our inflamed lungs. I hate it. Everyone I know who has it around to use, hates it. But once in a while it seems that there's a condition in there that might profit from a little blast of soothing. SORRY, I WAS WRONG; it irritated my lungs more. Dang.
I went through the day, energetically in the a.m., but then I took a nap after lunch and woke up feeling awful. I just knew that I was getting what I've got...staggered through the afternoon, ate an early supper of cheese toast and cocoa, and went to bed, down for the count, by six thirty.
I woke up this morning feeling much better. In a minute I am going to tell you my little list of nostrums, one which will get you up the next day feeling much better. The main one, the one I forgot, was the most important. Go to a sink, turn on the hot water full blast, and when it gets very hot, put your face down close and gulp lungfulls of steam. For how long? For as long as you can stand it, until you get bored, or think you've had enough. I am going to do that as soon as I finish this posting.
I have not been taking my vitamins so at about four I took my Vit. C (500) and Multi B. Then I had the supper mentioned above. When I went to bed I did the following:
1. Took about 1/2 of a bright-pink Benadryl pill.
2. Took a laxative. Phillips Magnesium pill.
3. Sucked on a Tums for the anti-acid properties.
4. Drank a bunch of water.
5. Took a breath of my regular asthma mist.
I woke up at about ten thirty suffering intensely from the heat coming on which it does too much of, blowing years' worth of old dust, mites, asphalt from the roof, and as much sand as a Sahara sandstorm, microscopically, into my lungs. I drank more water and thankx to the Benadryl went right back to sleep. I slept long and deep, only rousing momentarily from time to time as my old husband milled about the bedroom in the dark. "Shouldn't I go to the door to let them in?" he plaintively asked at one point. "Let WHO in?" said I... "Those people at the door."
"DO NOT let anyone in. Go to sleep," said I. And he obeyed and we slept till morning, till the sound of the cat meowing plaintively in the cold garage compelled me to arise. I arose, went out to get the paper, made my coffee, made our breakfast, and here I am at eight twenty three in the a.m., duties done. I could go back to bed but I think I will breathe the steam (belatedly), take a hot bath, get dressed, and see how the day proceeds. My eyes are running as well as my nose, just a bit, so will look at my eye potions for a tip...P atricia should be here today but we talked on the phone last evening and she is sick too...we are laying low. Too bad; she'll miss a delicious Mexican rice sopa seca that is waiting in the refrigerator to be warmed up for lunch. Everyone pray for me, please, that I do throw off this plague that everyone seems to be getting. LOVE< YAZZYBEL
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
More About Yesterday
Here I am in that photo I've sent you before.... Someday when I figure out how to do it (I never will) that will be my new photo at the top of the blog.
I am resending this today because I wanted to comment on that heavenly-colored drink I'm holding up at breakfast on Christmas morning. I try to make that drink every morning. I stole the idea from Anne-Louise Gittelman, my ideal on the subject of women's nutritional needs. Mine is water, orange juice, cranberry juice, and a couple of good shakes each of ginger and cayenne pepper.
"It's good and good for you!"
It wakes you up and cleans out your head, especially as you get to the bottom of the glass, because the spices go to the bottom and really heat up that last swig.
Yesterday there were three more things that happened when I took Miranda to the airport, that I didnt have time to dwell on last evening.
One, as we drove up, the sun was just coming up on our right, and I glanced to the left at the Pacific Ocean and there was the huge round full moon, setting. Pale and ghostly and unreal, it hung there for long enough for Miranda to get a good look at it too. I've written to you before about the moving experience I once had in La Jolla with the sun setting in the west and turning around to see the huge full moon rising in the east. It's awesome. It's not really an uncommon experience--it must happen at least twelve times a year. But we just don't look. As Art Bell says, "Nobody looks at the sky." True, almost nobody does. Those who do, see wonderful things.
Two, when I let Miranda out at the airport, I got out to stand with her at the outdoor check-in guy's stand. The guy had left his station momentatily, and there was a trifle of a delay. A lady on my right came up and started to get his attention when he came back, but realized that there was someone before her. "I'm just standing here saying goodbye to my granddaughter." Misunderstanding what I'd said, the lady responded , "Yes, I know, I thought I saw someone standing there beside her too." I took that as a good sign for a fortunate journey home. Do you realize how often in commonplace life, someone thinks they saw someone standing with you? It doesn't happen every single day, but it does happen, and not too seldom either. Our guardian angels are with us.
Three, since Miranda was unable to check in at the curb for reasons I do not know, I told her I'd hang around in the vicinity for a time so that she could call me if there were a problem inside. We hastily parted and then I had to wonder where I wanted to hang around. The sun was brilliantly full up by then, blinding my poor old eyes as I avoided it by driving the shady streets of Hillcrest. I thought of Hob Nob Hill, where I haven't eaten in many a year, so went there. I requested a seat at the counter as I love the counter. I ordered a luxurious breakfast of two poached eggs (I only eat the yolks, Dr Rickwa) with biscuit and gravy, and a nice orange juice and coffee. I drew a solitary breath for the first time in many many days, and kicked back. As I ate, the three women who waitress there ganged up around me and told me how beautiful my hair is, which they could see as I ate at the counter. It was what I, I that forgotten inside woman, needed to hear, and as they oohed and raved about my hair, I felt that I was not so old and granny-ish as I'd been fearing....of course I AM old and granny-ish. It's a privilege. But it was nice to hear all that awe and praise. YAZZYBEL
Monday, January 9, 2012
Miranda Came, and Miranda Went
Good morning.
Miranda came, and Miranda went.
Nothing of her visit was just what I'd have wished, except Miranda herself.
What a strange experience, and what a privilege, to have around us for a few days, an eighteen-year-old girl! I have not been close to any eighteen-year-old girl since I was one myself, in 1947!
How smart she is! How bright! How lucid! How quick!
First thing I noticed is that she was visibly frustrated when my old hubby was driving around after we picked her up. I'd already told him that we were going to let Miranda do a lot of the driving, but he wasn't ready! Her capable young hands and brains were itching to get her hands on the wheel as I could see, so, when he was too sick to go out with us the next morning I took the wheel myself to show her a couple of things in the neighborhood, then turned it over to her. She's an excellent driver and has a good sense of direction so that by this morning she well could have (and would have) driven us to the airport without any coaching, but that I wanted to be the one to pick out and try alternate routes in case of freeway problems in the rush hour morning traffic.
We went everywhere from La Jolla to San Ysidro. She covered all of this part of SD County in her seven days. We covered it, with Miranda driving. She saw the whole coast from La Jolla down, and loved it all. She loved Coronado best, as people often do...while I wonder why. But they do.
After day one, Grandpa was sick in bed, coughing terribly and very fatigued. On day four, while Miranda was out with friends, he finally allowed himself to be driven to the Walk-In Clinic at Otay Mesa. He has pneumonia, and is still in bed accompanied by Zithromax. But Miranda and I kept on truckin', because, though I couldn't do as much walking as I'd like to, we could DRIVE. And SHOP. And EAT. Oh, my.
In the evenings, we watched TV or rented a movie. We talked and talked. I loved every minute of it.
So, she is gone. I did not know what her visit would be like. Now I know her a lot better, though. I know her planned college major (she's a freshman at U of Iowa) and her interests and dreams. She did not ask me for advice, and I offered her little. What the visit was, was two women getting to know each other a little better, an old one and a very very young one.
She's a very young woman with beautiful hair, eyes and skin, and a good figure and lots and lots and lots of energy. (At 82, I notice that the most.) She is perceptive, and is kind. She was nice to old Grandma, even at times when it must have difficult. The cat Freckles loved her dearly and is now meowing that she is gone. So am I, in my heart. Now to get Grandpa over the pneumonia. YAZZYBEL
Miranda came, and Miranda went.
Nothing of her visit was just what I'd have wished, except Miranda herself.
What a strange experience, and what a privilege, to have around us for a few days, an eighteen-year-old girl! I have not been close to any eighteen-year-old girl since I was one myself, in 1947!
How smart she is! How bright! How lucid! How quick!
First thing I noticed is that she was visibly frustrated when my old hubby was driving around after we picked her up. I'd already told him that we were going to let Miranda do a lot of the driving, but he wasn't ready! Her capable young hands and brains were itching to get her hands on the wheel as I could see, so, when he was too sick to go out with us the next morning I took the wheel myself to show her a couple of things in the neighborhood, then turned it over to her. She's an excellent driver and has a good sense of direction so that by this morning she well could have (and would have) driven us to the airport without any coaching, but that I wanted to be the one to pick out and try alternate routes in case of freeway problems in the rush hour morning traffic.
We went everywhere from La Jolla to San Ysidro. She covered all of this part of SD County in her seven days. We covered it, with Miranda driving. She saw the whole coast from La Jolla down, and loved it all. She loved Coronado best, as people often do...while I wonder why. But they do.
After day one, Grandpa was sick in bed, coughing terribly and very fatigued. On day four, while Miranda was out with friends, he finally allowed himself to be driven to the Walk-In Clinic at Otay Mesa. He has pneumonia, and is still in bed accompanied by Zithromax. But Miranda and I kept on truckin', because, though I couldn't do as much walking as I'd like to, we could DRIVE. And SHOP. And EAT. Oh, my.
In the evenings, we watched TV or rented a movie. We talked and talked. I loved every minute of it.
So, she is gone. I did not know what her visit would be like. Now I know her a lot better, though. I know her planned college major (she's a freshman at U of Iowa) and her interests and dreams. She did not ask me for advice, and I offered her little. What the visit was, was two women getting to know each other a little better, an old one and a very very young one.
She's a very young woman with beautiful hair, eyes and skin, and a good figure and lots and lots and lots of energy. (At 82, I notice that the most.) She is perceptive, and is kind. She was nice to old Grandma, even at times when it must have difficult. The cat Freckles loved her dearly and is now meowing that she is gone. So am I, in my heart. Now to get Grandpa over the pneumonia. YAZZYBEL
Monday, January 2, 2012
Brrrr!
Good morning on this cold and frosty Jan. 2, 2011.
I awoke at about one or two in the morning and like Madeleine found that something was not just right. Went out to the furnace control and moved it up--and nothing happened. Moved it again. Nada. Hmmm.
Went to furnace, and found it cold and dead. Or, dead and cold. Nothing was stirring, not even a pilot light. Especially a pilot light. That's a bad sign. Theo, by dint of much calling on this holiday Monday (I hate 'em!) was able to get somebody to promise to come out by eleven. So hurrah. It's too cold to sit here in this room keyboarding, for sure. Hasta despues, YAZZYBEL
I awoke at about one or two in the morning and like Madeleine found that something was not just right. Went out to the furnace control and moved it up--and nothing happened. Moved it again. Nada. Hmmm.
Went to furnace, and found it cold and dead. Or, dead and cold. Nothing was stirring, not even a pilot light. Especially a pilot light. That's a bad sign. Theo, by dint of much calling on this holiday Monday (I hate 'em!) was able to get somebody to promise to come out by eleven. So hurrah. It's too cold to sit here in this room keyboarding, for sure. Hasta despues, YAZZYBEL
Sunday, January 1, 2012
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