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| Savory Coconut Flat Bread (Pol Roti) |
Monday (Labor Day), was a little cooler than it was over the weekend. A high of only 100F, instead of 113/114F. Today (Tuesday) is even cooler with a high of only 84F. Unhealthy air quality due to the fires, according to the forecast, but, I am not experiencing any asthma flare ups, so far.
Yesterday (Monday), I had my piano lesson at noon. I am afraid I didn't play very well, even though I received a new song to learn.
I have no excuse for not playing well, except that I am stressed over the medical paperwork I have to fill out before I turn 65 to maintain my medical insurance. Things that should have been easy have become complicated (I am very good at complicating matters!) and made worse by the fact that the various offices are closed to in person appointments. Important documents that I should have been able to hand in, in person, and wait while photocopies were made and the original documents returned, now have to be mailed in, which I am reluctant to do, especially since the local news had a story, the other day, about bags of mail being dumped in an alley and in a parking lot in a nearby city (surveillance cameras showed someone tossing out bags and bags of undelivered mail and packages from the back of a rental truck). What if my original documents get lost in the mail? (They will not accept photo copies unless certified by the agency issuing them.) I wouldn't be quite as stressed if there were not important deadlines and missing those deadlines will result in a loss of medical insurance coverage, which, with my health complications, would not be a good thing, at all!
I took it easy in the afternoon and relaxed. I started to color another picture and did that for about one hour. Then, after watching the evening news, I took the trash cans to the curb, watered the front garden, and practiced the piano.
After that, I made some coconut flat bread for dinner. They are normally made with freshly grated coconut mixed with flour and water. I use frozen grated coconut as that is easier. The roti are generally bland and one eats them with a spicy sambol or a curry. This time, however, I made savory coconut flat bread using some frozen coconut sambol that I had on hand, in lieu of the plain frozen grated coconut. I added some finely shredded curry leaves to the mixture, as well. They turned out really well and could be eaten plain as the sambol was already in the dough mixture.
However, I accidentally knocked over a full bottle of vegetable oil that I had just opened and, as the cover was off, a lot of oil spilled onto the counter! There was oil everywhere! The bag of flour was practically soaking in it! Fortunately, there wasn't a lot of flour in it and I managed to pour out the flour into an empty container and it seemed dry, so it should be fine. Then, I mopped up the oil and washed the counter, etc., and finished making the roti. By the time I did all that and washed the dishes, my hands were cramping. I took a magnesium supplement and drank some water and the cramping stopped, eventually.
Today, I did laundry, filled out more paperwork, practiced the piano, started the car, and tried not to stress too much. I called my sister to check on her (she's doing well), chatted with cousin P, and with friend R.
The dentist's office called to confirm tomorrow's appointment. I didn't reschedule it, this time. I want to get all the medical appointments in before November, just in case my medical insurance lapses because I couldn't get all the necessary documents in before then!
I am not looking forward to the dental appointment. I hate going to the dentist! He'll probably do an extraction to remove the root of the broken tooth and that's going to be painful.
Today, I am grateful for:
- The cooler temperatures
- Dancer's help with remaking the bed!
- The medical insurance I currently have
- The car started
- I am safe from the wildfires that are burning
Today's intentional joyful activity was chatting with my daughter.
Wednesday's To Do List:
- Dental appointment
- More paperwork
- Water the back yard
- Practice the piano
How is your week going, so far?
I do hope your dental appointment goes ok. Root removal can be very painful. I am still carefully eating on the right side of my mouth because I had a temporary filling back in February, and the dentist has not been open to finish the work. Make copies of all your documents - and hope and pray the originals are returned safely.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Angela. I opted to do only the much delayed teeth cleaning, today. My regular dentist wasn't in, today, and I preferred to have him do the extraction. I have an appointment with him, later in the month.
DeleteYes, I will make copies of the documents, but, I will ask if I can do a drop off/pick up, if at all possible. We are currently having some issues with our postal services and I really don't want to risk my original legal documents going astray.
I can see why you're worried about the insurance renewal. Where do you have to send them to? Is it feasible that you could take the docs in person to the insurance company and get them to do the copies there and then? I hope you manage to come up with a solution ... it's definitely a worry you could do without.
ReplyDeleteAre there many wildfires near you? The poor air quality when it's so hot doesn't help for a comfortable time. Did you buy an air purifier in the end?
I have to apply first for a government subsidized medical insurance card, which is the agency requiring the various original documents. Back when offices were open, they would make appointments for you to go in person with your documents and they will make photocopies while you wait. Due to Covid, their offices aren't open for in-person visits and I have a phone appointment in October. I will ask them, then, if I can drop off the documents in person and then, pick them up when they've made their copies. If at all possible, I would prefer to do that. Once that is done and they deem if I am eligible for the program, then, they will issue me a medical card and I have to submit the information from that card along with another set of forms (the actual application for medical insurance) to my former employer's retirement office in order to continue to receive my medical insurance through them. All this is supposed to be done before November 1st. If they receive it in November (my birth month), then, my current insurance will lapse on my birthday and the new coverage won't start until December.
DeleteThere are no wildfires near me, so far, thank goodness! But, the air quality is bad from the fires that are several miles away. I didn't buy myself an air purifier, yet, but, I am glad we bought one for my daughter.
Sorry about your oil spill! I've done that with sugar a few times. Wow...your cool days are very hot still. Better days ahead soon! I have two more years before I'm 65...so close by also for paperwork. Andrea
ReplyDeleteThank you for the sympathy, Andrea. I've done the same with sugar, too! Not fun, is it? The temperature today is nice, only 87F. Perfect temperature, as far as I am concerned. We'll be in the low 90s, later this week, but, that's fine, too. It's when it goes above 110F that it becomes too hot. :)
DeleteGlad it has cooled off a bit. What a disaster with the spilled oil, been there done that *sigh* Good luck with all the paperwork and I hope things aren't too bad at the dentist. I hate going too and always cancel appointments until I wind up with a bad toothache and can't put it off any longer. Have a productive day :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes, I could have done without the oil spill! It wasn't too bad at the dentist's today; I had a teeth cleaning that was overdue and an appointment for an extraction, later in the month.
DeleteUgh - what a mess the oil spill must've been. We all do things like that now and then and it's a pain that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you going through the stress with your medical insurance. Are you switching over to Medicare? I'm not 65 until next year but my husband is older and I've done all of the things for him that you're going through and it can be overwhelming at times. And now with changes to the process from the virus, I imagine it's even more complicated.
I'd be the same as you - very hesitant to mail the originals.
Good luck with all of it - and I'm sure it will all work out in the end and you won't lose coverage.
Thank you, Debra. "No crying over spilled oil", I told myself as I cleaned up the mess, but, it was what I felt like doing!
DeleteYes, I have to enroll in Medicare in order to qualify for continued insurance coverage through my former employer. There was a workshop scheduled in March, which was cancelled, of course. Then, the workshop was posted online but, I had to wait for the paperwork to arrive as they mail it 3 months prior to your birthday month. All was fine until I tried to enroll online and it told me I can't proceed to do so online and needed to talk to a representative. That appointment is scheduled for the first week in October. Sometimes it feels like the simplest things become complicated when I go to do them! I'm telling myself to hope for the best.
I'm sorry to hear about the stress of getting your medical paperwork organized, and that is just dreadful to hear of mail being dumped! All this with the heat and the bad air quality and then the oil spill! I would rate that as a less than celebratory Labor day. I hope the rest of the week makes up for it.
ReplyDeleteWe had mouse #9 caught yesterday after a mouse free week, but none today. It is dull out, and not hot. I did some brush clearing in part of the yard and transplanted some volunteer Black-eyed Susans to a place where they won't get mowed down.
Thank you, Bushlady. I shouldn't get so stressed, but, it all seems to add up over time.
DeleteHopefully, this will be a one-mouse week! I wonder how they are getting into the house? Sounds like you got a lot of yard work done. Hope the Black-eyed Susans will do well and continue to return, year after year. :)
Oh no! It must have taken an age to clean up the oil spillage. It's not surprising your hands were sore after all that effort. I hope you're feeling much better now.
ReplyDeleteI read about the wildfires. Stay safe. X
I was glad that I had cleared the counters, earlier, because that helped with the cleaning up. But, I wasn't able to pull out the stove, so, I fully expect to find some gunky stuff under there, the next time the stove gets pulled out!
DeleteI'm OK, thank you.
The flatbreads I tried a while ago turned out hard. I must try again as these look delicious!
ReplyDeleteLife can be very frustrating at times....like sorting out appointments and spilling oil. What a mess! I once dropped a full glass bottle of milk and couldn't believe how, what doesn't look a lot in a bottle, is magnified ten-fold when it's over the kitchen floor!
Eloise, they do tend to be a bit hard, especially if you make them rather thin. Oh, I can just imagine all that milk all over the floor!
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