Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Wednesday: Service Pins and Doctor's Appointments

I tried to go to bed "early" - I was in bed by 2:00 a.m.  I had already said my nightly prayers, but I said more prayers in bed.  I meditated.  I cuddled Dancer,  I got out of bed and turned off the ceiling fan and turned on the stand fan.  I went back to bed.  I turned over.  I adjusted my pillows.  I turned over, again.  The last time I looked at the clock, it was 3:30 a.m.  The first alarm went off at 6:30 a.m.; I turned it off and slept another 10 minutes until the second alarm went off.  Then, I got up.

Had a cup of coffee, texted my daughter, got washed and dressed and left the house  by 7:15 a.m.   I got downtown a little after 8:00 a.m.  The meeting had started by the time I reached the auditorium, but that was OK.  The director was giving his welcome speech and department update, which went on till about 8:30 a.m.  It was followed by someone else doing another presentation about his division's recent achievements.  The service pins were awarded only after that.  There was someone who received his 40 years of service pin.  And then, it was my turn.  I received my pin and was congratulated by the director, two deputy directors, the head of our personnel section, and my division head.  Then, even though the meeting was still going on, I left.

I walked over to the next building, where the retirement office was located, to ask a couple of questions that I had about the paperwork that I have yet to submit.  After that, I drove home.  I was home by 10:30 a.m., in good time to have breakfast - a rice cake, spread with some cream cheese and a little bit of apricot jam.

I replied to blog comments and checked emails, etc. and just took it easy until about noon.  Then, I left for my doctor's appointment with the radiation oncologist.  It was scheduled for 1:30 a.m., but, I left a little after noon because traffic can be so uncertain.  I didn't want to feel rushed.  But, traffic wasn't bad until I reached downtown.  As a result, I was at the doctor's office around 12:45 p.m.  Which was OK, because I didn't mind waiting.  The office was nice and cool, there was a TV and fish tank in the waiting room, and I had taken some knitting with me.  I watched the fish and knitted, and ignored the TV.

I'm sure they called me in before my appointed time.  I was weighed and my blood pressure, etc. were checked and all were good.  The results from the blood tests my primary care physician had ordered had come in and the radiation oncologist said they looked fine; but I'll go over them in detail with my primary care physician when I see her on Friday.  The only area of concern were the results from the bone density scan, but I've already discussed them with the oncologist and we will discuss them further when I next see him.

On my way home, I stopped by the smaller Armenian grocery store and bought another loaf of their very delicious bread ($1.50) and some white champagne grapes ($.99/lb = $1.36); not exactly bread and wine, but I don't drink wine or anything alcoholic, so it's my equivalent!

Bread and Champagne Grapes
 
I spent a total of $2.86 at the store:

Receipt
This, too, will be added to the August Week 2 groceries total, at the end of the week.

I had some of the bread with seeni sambol, which is another type of spicy onion relish.  This bread reminds me so much of the type of bread we used to have when I was growing up!  Then, I had some of the grapes.  I also put two eggs to hard boil for egg salad, for later.

I rested in the afternoon and wrote most of this post while I did so.  I felt a little sleepy, around 5:00 p.m., but I didn't want to take a nap.  Fortunately, Aunt C called to tell me that she and cousin N were back from their trip to France.  We chatted for a bit and then, I made myself a cup of tea and watched the evening news.  No such thing as a "slow news day", these days.

I had planned to put water to the front garden, but cousin P called and left a message and then, I called her back and by the time we finished our conversation, it was already dusk; I prefer to water the front when it is still light (just in case the fleas are out!)  I did turn on the sprinklers at the back, though. 

Later, I cleaned the dressing table and mirror.  I tossed some old lip balm and old lotion and a few other things.  There's more to toss, but I got tired!   

Today, I am grateful for:
- Receiving my service pin in recognition of my 35 years of service
- Good blood test results
- A good visit with the radiation oncologist
- A safe drive to my appointments and back
- Fresh bread and sweet grapes

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Attend the staff meeting/receive my service pin - DONE
- Go to the doctor's appointment in the afternoon - DONE
- Clean my bedroom
  • dresser & mirror - DONE
  • ceiling fan & light fixture - Thursday
- Water the front garden and back - DID the back; will do the front on Thursday
- Do the dishes - Not done yet
- Clean the litter box - Not done yet

Thursday's To Do List:
- Change and launder sofa dust covers
- Change and launder bed sheets
- Shopping - flea spray, baking soda, vacuum cleaner bags
- Clean the ceiling fan and light fixture in the bedroom
- Vacuum? 
- Water the front garden

How was your Wednesday?  How long do you keep old lotions and shampoo, etc.?

14 comments:

  1. Your days always sound quite busy! Glad the appointment went well.

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    1. I have been busy, haven't I? There has been no risk of being bored and sitting at home with nothing to do since I retired! LOL! Thank you; a big relief that the appointment went well. :)

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  2. I'm glad that your doctor's appointment went well. And wasn't it nice to be able to leave the meeting when you wanted to?

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    1. Thank you, Live and Learn; and yes, it was nice being able to leave when I wanted to! I did consider going into the office at the other building to visit with friends, but decided to do so on another day.

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  3. I am impressed. A day spent out of the house on errands and/or shopping is already a full day; but, your commitment to deep cleaning your bedroom is notable. It might not sound like a lot but you cleaned your dresser and mirror and the results must be very satisfying. One more thing done towards completion. If you do the ceiling fan and light fixture today (before you launder the bed sheets again) you will have another notch in your belt.

    Congrats for your many years of service!

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    1. Thank you, Susan. The dressing table felt like a huge job to me because it was so piled up with stuff and it hadn't been cleaned properly for a long time. There was dust on everything! I had to wash some items and damp wipe everything! Every bottle, every jar, every container. I need to get some lidded containers to store things in so they don't get dusty! And you know how some jobs seem so big that you feel overwhelmed before you even start? Well, that's how it was with me, but I kept telling myself, "Just start; clean just this one foot of it", and, eventually the whole thing got done. NOW, the task is to keep it cleaned and organized!

      Thank you, Susan. :)

      Yes, my plan is to clean the ceiling fan today, before I change the bed sheets, so if anything falls down, it will fall on the old sheets. Actually, the fan needs to be replaced as it is broken/stuck going in the reverse direction. But, that's for another day. I need to buy a fan and then, ask my neighbor E if he can replace the fan for me (he did the one in daughter's room about a year ago). Groan - it never ends, does it?

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  4. congratulations! (Plus you made it to receive your pin!) Also congrats on your good dr. appt. That bread looks so good...and the grapes so fresh. Good prices too!

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    1. Thank you, Andrea. Yes, I was happy to be able to go in to receive my pin. :) I need to work on reducing my weight and building up my bone density, but, otherwise, the dr's appointment went well. And that bread should be the first thing to eliminate from my diet if I want to lose weight, but it is too good to give up! LOL.

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  5. 35 years - that is some achievement. Congratulations. Also it's great to hear that your appointment and blood tests were positive

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  6. Congratulations on receiving your pin. I commend you on your attempt to go to sleep earlier, but I think you may have to start with 3 am and work backwards from there! If ever I try to go to bed much earlier than usual, it invariably backfires on me and I just end up, like you, trying to fill in the time until my habitual time arrives!

    I hope that you won't be prescribed anything to increase bone density. I took first one and then a different but similar medication several years ago and gave up on them as I was suspicious of them. Years later my dentist asks routinely if I have ever taken them, because they have been known to create necrosis of the jawbone!! I'm glad I gave up when I did. I haven't heard any complaints from my doctor about the current state of my bones, so maybe taking calcium and trying to keep active are helping.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady.

      I am currently taking calcium supplements, but the oncology nurse practitioner mentioned something stronger. However, she told me to get all my dental stuff taken care of before I go on it! When I mentioned it to my radiation oncologist, yesterday, he said not to go on the medication the oncology nurse practitioner recommended, and recommended something else! I will discuss it all with the primary care physician assistant, tomorrow. I would rather not take stuff that can have worse side effects!

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  7. I'm glad you made it to the meeting Bless. 35 years is a huge achievement and you got your chance to shine. X

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    1. Thank you, Jules. Yes, it was important to me to attend the meeting. :)

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