Friday

Prompt: Camping

"Based on a scene from the opening song for the anime 'Laidback Camp'"

Today, I went to my regular check up with the oncology nurse practitioner.  Although the clinic had already called to confirm the appointment, over the weekend (it's an automated call, requiring you to press 1 to confirm, press 2 to reschedule, etc.), I called them, again, this morning, before I left the house to make sure that they didn't try to reschedule like that one time, when I didn't call before I left the house and had to come back home!  They confirmed that the appointment was still set for this afternoon!

My appointment was at 1:00 p.m., so I left the house at 11:50 a.m. and arrived at the clinic at 12:50 a.m.  (they do ask you to arrive 15 minutes prior to the appointment).  The freeway was quite congested closer to downtown, as usual.  I was weighed in, blood pressure checked, etc., almost right away, but, then, I had to wait for over an hour to see the nurse practitioner!  Eventually, I was called in and shown to an examination room and then, there was another wait before I was seen (one of the assistants did pop in to apologize for the wait).

When the nurse practitioner came in, she, too, apologized; apparently, their computer system is malfunctioning and they are having problems logging in to access the patient records, etc.  The computer froze several times while she was trying to look up my bone density scan results and the lab reports, etc., but, eventually, she managed to access the records.  My bone density scan results were OK - I still have osteopenia, but, there is no deterioration in my condition.  The lab test results were mostly good, too.  My potassium level was down and something else was elevated (that's an issue to be taken up with the primary care physician), but, the cancer markers were good!  She did a quick examination, put in the referral for my mammogram, and set up my next appointment.  I had to wait a few more minutes for the receptionist to print out my lab orders and a copy of my lab report (again, the delay was because the computers were freezing up).  

Anyway, it was 3:00 p.m. when I left the clinic!  The parking rates have gone up since my last appointment and today, I had to pay $15 for parking for a little over 2 hours!  The freeway was quite busy on the way home, but, it was moving; I got home by 4:00 p.m.  

I had eaten a slice of toast with butter and jam before I left the house in the morning; after I came home, I warmed up some of the leftover pasta and the last of the pasta sauce with sausages that I had made earlier and had that for a late lunch.  

M arrived at 5:00 p.m. to tend to the garden.  He watered the back garden, pruned one of the lemon trees at my request, and placed the last paver in the parkway.  In the end, we only put 6 pavers in the parkway and the 7th (and last) paver was placed near the water spigot in the front garden, to provide a place for coiling the garden hose when not in use, rather than leaving it on the ground.  

The Pruned Lemon Tree

After M left, I had a cup of tea and watched the evening news.  Then, chatted with friend R and later, video chatted with my daughter.  Earlier in the afternoon (when I was at the clinic, waiting to be seen, actually), cousin V had called to inform me of the death of one of her sisters-in-law and I exchanged texts with her, as I didn't want to be talking on the cell phone in the waiting room.

At first, I wasn't hungry for dinner, after eating a late lunch.  But, eventually, I began to get hungry and I made over the leftover spaghetti pasta, stir-frying it with some ground turkey I had cooked and frozen, a carrot, some onions, broccoli, and a small amount of bell peppers, sesame oil, and soy sauce; I added some sesame seeds and a few roasted peanuts, too:

Stir Fried Pasta "Noodles"

Yes, there's another smaller serving leftover for tomorrow's brunch!

Later, I was snacking on some roasted cashews and I broke a corner of a tooth that had been filled several years ago!  I'm not in pain, but, it's time to schedule an appointment with the dentist, I guess!  I'll wait until I've had my Covid booster to do that!

Today, I am grateful for:

- The appointment with the oncology nurse practitioner went well, even if there was a long wait
- The test results were mostly good
- Access to medical care
- A safe drive to the clinic and back
- M helping with the garden

Today's joyful activity was tending to the garden with M.

Plans for Saturday include doing some laundry and putting in an order for groceries!

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?