Friday, January 28, 2022

Thursday's Happenings

 

"Stinky Flower" Stem

Going by the mottled stem (which is really a pseudo stem) and the tiny white flecks along the veins of some of the leaves, I think I have identified the stinky flower as Dracunculus vulgaris, which has several common names including dragon arum, snake lily, stink lily, and voodoo lily.  I'll have to confirm it with M when he is here, next.

Today, I practiced the piano a little when my daughter took a lunch break, but, a little later, neighbor S (who is my piano teacher as well) called and by mutual agreement, we have decided to postpone the lessons for another couple of months, until mid-April.  This will work out best for us both for various reasons.  I will continue to practice the pieces she has assigned me and she has encouraged me to review some of the older pieces, as well.  Plus, there is the new piano music book that I bought myself, which I can learn to play on my own.  

According to the latest information, daughter's office is still ironing out the logistics of people returning to the office in person and Covid safety measures; it looks like she will not need to return to Berkeley until the end of March or early April!  I am more than happy to have her company a little longer!  

In the afternoon, I called the new pharmacy because I had a question about one of my medications.  I had been notified that the medication was available at CVS and I was wondering what was going on.  Apparently, this one medication was not transferred to the new pharmacy (although I remember giving them the information).  Perhaps when they sent their forms to the doctor's office, the doctor's office went ahead and sent the prescription order to the old pharmacy instead?  Anyway, I found out that there won't be a problem if I did pick up this prescription at CVS.  Then, I called CVS and the pharmacy staff asked me if I wanted it mailed to me!  What?  I thought they didn't do mail delivery anymore!  Isn't that what they said earlier this month and wasn't that the entire reason why I changed to the new pharmacy?  "Oh, no, your insurance covers the mailing", I was told!  Well, in that case, please do go ahead and mail it to me!  I am half expecting a phone call or text saying that it could not be delivered, but, so far I haven't heard anything!  No news is good news?


Kufta, Pita Bread, and Ice Cream Cake from Neighbor S

Neighbor S asked me if I would like to have some kufta and pita bread, and I said I'd love to have some.  She also included a piece of ice cream cake to share with my daughter.  I shared some of the homemade marshmallows that friend S had given me, in return.  I froze the kufta because I needed to cook the ground beef I had bought on Tuesday, since I had kept it in the fridge.  Such a blessing to receive this gift of food from neighbor S.  

I browned the ground beef with some diced onions and garlic, then, added a packet of my homegrown zucchini pieces that I had frozen (I thawed it a bit in the microwave, then, ground it up in the food processor, along with some frozen bell pepper pieces), added the rest of the can of diced tomatoes that I had opened earlier, when I was cooking the sausages, and finally, some frozen corn.  I used some spices (cumin, chili powder, dried basil, etc.) and it turned out really well.  Adding the zucchini and other vegetables not only extended the ground beef but, also, increased my vegetable intake!  Some celery would have been good, too, but, I didn't have any to add.  We had some of the ground beef mixture with the pita bread for our dinner.  Leftovers are in the fridge for future meals.  

After dinner, I did the dishes, cleaned the litter box, etc. 

Today, I am grateful for:

- Neighbor S sharing some of her delicious kufta along with the pita bread and cake
- Being able to postpone resuming piano lessons
- The pharmacy saying they can mail me the current prescription, after all!
- Phone chats with family and friends
- My daughter might stay with me a little longer!

Today's joyful activities included receiving more delicious food from neighbor S and enjoying a piece of the ice cream cake with my daughter.  The rest of the cake is in the freezer! 

Plans for tomorrow include my appointment with the oncologist in the afternoon and tending to the garden with M in the evening.  

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?



20 comments:

  1. It has a very distinctive flower so it'll be easy to confirm your identification of the stinky plant.

    That's excellent news about your daughter staying with you for another couple of months. Do you think she will ever try to find employment in your area so she can return to live with you permanently? For now, enjoy your remaining time together.

    It's a shame about the delay in restarting your piano lessons but you seem to be quite happy with that decision. Are you doing much playing/practicing?

    I did a bit of shopping first thing this morning and am now pottering about at home. I'm hoping for a fairly quiet day as I didn't sleep too well, so am feeling really tired.

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    1. I am looking forward to seeing the flower!
      My daughter says she will eventually move down, but, I don't know if she ever will! I will leave the decision to her; she knows that I am willing to move up north to be closer to her if needed.
      I am fine with the decision to delay resuming the piano lessons. I have been practicing more, this week, because I knew the lesson was coming up, but, I was feeling rather nervous about it, too.

      I hope you have a quiet, relaxed day, Eileen, and get a good night's sleep, tonight. :)

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  2. I love that you keep such a good journal of your activities. Someday it will be fun to look back on these days and re-read your life story.
    Hope your daughter can stay with you a bit longer. xo Diana

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    1. LOL, I need to write these things down because if I don't, I won't remember! :D I no longer keep a written diary or journal, so the blog takes its place! Sometimes, I do read my old blog posts and it's nice to see what I did, etc.
      I hope my daughter can stay longer; I know I am going to miss her when she goes back, whenever that will be!

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  3. One of the benefits of food sharing with your friends and neighbors is that you get a wider variety of food than you might if you did all of your own cooking. Tonight, Subway is going to share sandwiches with us because there's a deal of buy two get one free. :)

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    1. That is true! I know I've eaten dishes I'd never have eaten, otherwise, when neighbor S has brought me something she or a member of her family had made. Ooh, nice of Subway to share sandwiches with you! I love their sandwiches!

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  4. I do hope it works out that you daughter can stay home much longer. There have to be some benefits to this miserable pandemic! As for the pharmacy, they sound confused.
    Yesterday being dull, there was very little activity from the "critters". This morning, sunny and extremely cold, they are coming for peanuts. I'm hoping the temperature will go up soon for my grocery run! However, I'm also wondering if I will find a convoy of trucks when I get to the highway. Whatever were they thinking of? Certainly not of their fellow Canadians, especially those living and working in the capital.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady; we'll enjoy being together for as long as she can stay. :)

      Yes, the pharmacy is very confused, I think, but, if they can send me my medication through the mail, then, I have no complaints.

      Sounds like your little critter friends were hungry after staying in their nests and burrows, yesterday. Let's just hope that there will not be a peanut shortage!

      I hope you were able to make it to the grocery store and back without any problems. I read, online, about the convoy of trucks, protesting vaccine mandates, apparently?

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  5. More delicious food! And your food gifts always look so good.
    Your ground beef dish sounds good too. More vegetables are always a good idea.
    I am making some black bean soup this morning and I will make some homemade salsa as well.

    We are getting quite the storm starting tonight through tomorrow.
    My friend is getting home from Florida tonight and texted me asking me to pick up a few things for her from the store.
    So I moved up my order I was going to get next week and added her items to it.
    I will go drop everything off to her house later so it is waiting for her when she gets home tonight.
    I was glad to get a pick up slot for this morning as I'm sure the store will be busy with storm preparers.
    The forecast is for 18-24" of snow but I'm more worried about the wind which is supposed to be 50-55mph. I am hoping we all keep our electricity.
    We will spend today doing the things we do before a storm and keep our fingers crossed we all manage fine.

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    1. I am always so thankful for these gifts of food, Debra. They are such a blessing.

      The ground beef mixture is proving to be very versatile. Today, for lunch, I added some leftover rice to some of the ground beef and added a little more chili powder to have for our lunch! I had a salad with it. Black bean soup sounds very warming and tasty!
      I heard on the news about the storm that is headed your way! I hope you don't get any power outages or any other damage from the snow or the high winds. That was very kind of you to move up your grocery order to get a few groceries for your friend, too. Hope you are able to run your errands and do all the storm-prep you need to do. Stay safe, Debra!

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  6. I am so glad to hear that your daughter is still there with you and will be for a while longer, such a blessing. Crazy about the pharmacy and the mail/can't mail issues especially since that's why you changed to a new one to begin with. I'm beginning to wonder if anyone knows what they are doing anymore! Have a fantastic Friday and a great weekend Bless. :)

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    1. Thank you, Martha. Yes, the pharmacy is very confused, I think! Hope you have a great day and weekend, yourself. Stay safe!

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  7. I did a google search for images of snake lily and it sounds so amazingly exotic. A real WOW plant. Fingers crossed for your daughter staying a little longer. DH is now permanently working from home and his life is so much better.

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    1. It is supposed to be quite an amazing flower. I am looking forward to seeing my plant flower.
      Thank you, Lyssa; I hope my daughter can stay a bit longer. I know she is happier working from home (here) than from her apartment and I am happier, too. :)

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  8. Customer service and corporate logic sound about as sane there as they are here! Between the various chemists and the insurance company, it's amazing anything gets done! Anyway, glad you tracked down your meds and I hope they reach you safely.

    I looked up the dragon arum and can't decide whether I like it or not! It's rather striking in its way. Maybe I should try planting a few here to see if it deters the squirrels.

    Good news about daughter's work. Glad covid is still being taken seriously in some parts of the world. And it certainly works in your favour!

    Have a great weekend.

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    1. One never knows with these pharmacies, insurance companies, and doctor's offices! I mentioned the fact that I was required to pay a copay for my injection to my doctor today, and she asked me why and if anyone explained it to me. I said I didn't know, no one explained it to me, but, I assumed insurance policy changes. She immediately wrote an email to the provider saying her patients should be informed of the reason for the copay! I really appreciated that!

      I am looking forward to seeing the flower on this snake lily/dragon arum. So far, it has been an easy plant to grow. I'm not sure if it will deter squirrels, but, it is supposed to attract flies!

      I'm happy to have my daughter home for as long as I can. Especially during these days with this virus still hanging over us! Going back to work in the office will mean getting exposed, not only at the place of work, but, also on the daily commute because she takes the bus.

      Thank you, Lady Ella; hope you, too, have a good weekend. Stay warm and safe!

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  9. That's good news your daughter can stay with you for longer. I read a blog recently where the lady's son has been told he can work from home indefinitely so has relocated to be nearer to his family. The pandemic has certainly changed everything.

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    1. I'm happy my daughter can be with me a bit longer; hopefully, by the time she returns to the office, things will be better!

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  10. Sorry for the mix-up at the pharmacy. It must have been a little frustrating.

    I'm glad your daughter is going to stay a little longer! Does she still have her place where she usually lives? My daughter's work went entirely work-from-home. She's quite pleased about it though it did take a little getting used to.

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    1. I don't know what is going on with the pharmacy, but, I received my medication in the mail, today! I am glad for that!

      Yes, my daughter is still paying rent at her apartment! When she first came down, we had no idea she'd be home for a whole year! I'm glad your daughter is able to work from home, now. I'm sure Shasta enjoys having her company all day! :)

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