Saturday, October 29, 2022

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?

18 comments:

  1. Going to see the oncologist sounds like an ordeal with the traffic and wait times. I'm glad you had good reports.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I usually don't plan anything else for the day when I have an afternoon appointment with the oncologist! I could ask for a morning appointment, I suppose, but, that means fighting the morning rush hour and you know how much I enjoy waking up early in the mornings! LOL! I'm very glad that the reports were good, though. :)

      Delete
  2. Hi Bless! 👋🏻 Great news that your appointment went well, even with the wait! Driving into LA is not high on my list of fun things but you do what you must. I think you’re brave! Have a wonderful weekend and take care. 😀👋🏻 Judy in Anaheim.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Judy; thank you, yes, the appointment went well and I go prepared for long waits at this particular clinic. Ha, ha, I used to work in downtown L.A. and I'm well accustomed to that drive! One of the things I like best about being retired is not having to face that drive, every day!
      Hope you have a lovely weekend, yourself, Judy. :)

      Delete
  3. I'm sure it's a big relief your checkup went well overall. A long day out but thankfully no mishaps getting there or going home! Your spaghetti stir fry looks very good. Next time I have leftover spaghetti I should try that. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Celie, it was a bit relief that the check up went well, including the drive there and back. :)
      Leftover spaghetti make a good noodle substitute, I think. I used the La Moderna pasta that you had mentioned. I've been checking the store website for more of them, but, they seem to be out of the spaghetti pasta. They have shells, though, and I might try those, next time. :)

      Delete
  4. I'm happy your day went well, and that your appointment went ahead as planned.
    Here's hoping you won't need to wait too long before you can schedule your dental treatment. Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jules. I'm hoping to be able to get the dental appointment for a week or so after my Covid booster - I need to have my immunity levels up before I go in and be maskless in a room with other people without masks!

      Delete
  5. Another lovely drawing from your daughter!

    Glad your appointment went well despite the wait. Enjoy the weekend

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sharon. Hope you are having a good weekend, yourself. :)

      Delete
  6. What a pity you had to wait around so long, but at least your records were available in the end, thank goodness. Too bad about the chipped tooth. It must have been weak.
    I couldn't get to sleep for hours last night so I woke up late this morning and most of the day got away with me. I was trying to catch up but DH suggested a walk by the river and it was nice out, so too good to miss an outing together. We saw about 30 ducks and wondered when they will decide to go somewhere warmer, as we had frost overnight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Bushlady; the waiting wasn't too bad - I'd taken along a book to read and I texted for a bit with one of my cousins. The poor receptionist was saying she was glad that it was close to the end of the day and it was Friday!
      Yes, the tooth was probably very weak; I'm just thankful that it is not painful. A toothache would have been awful!
      I'm sorry you couldn't sleep last night, but, you were able to sleep in this morning. And I'm also glad that you decided to go for a walk by the river with your DH; you can always catch up on household tasks, later. :)

      Delete
  7. I'm so glad your doctor visit went well and your test result was good.
    Your appointment took a while - you must have been so hungry when you got home. I'm surprised you didn't stop for a hamburger ;)
    Your spaghetti stir fry looks very good. I love all of the things you added, especially the peanuts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Debra. Yes, I'm thankful the results were good. Ha, ha, I wondered if I should pick up some fast food on the way home, but, nothing appealed to me! I passed my favorite pizza place, the fish and chips place, a favorite Japanese restaurant, and several hamburger places (I even had some coupons with me for burgers, etc.,) but, I just wanted to come home! I'm sure something is wrong with me! LOL! Maybe I'll treat myself on Wednesday (my Covid booster has been postponed till Wednesday).

      Delete
  8. So glad that it was (eventually) good news from the doctor. That parking is expensive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lyssa; yes, parking has gone up at this particular clinic. I feel sorry for the patients who have to go to the clinic more frequently for weekly treatments, etc.

      Delete
  9. Glad you got good news from the oncologist. Yikes on the parking fee!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Susanne; yes, parking is expensive!

      Delete

Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. Your comments are much appreciated. Please comment in English. Thank you.