Thursday, June 1, 2023

Ending May

Blurry Orange Rose

On Tuesday, I went to my doctor's appointment.  Thank you for all the crossed fingers and good vibes and well wishes on the lab tests!  The majority of the results were good!  The doctor wants me to do one additional follow up blood test and she also recommended physical therapy for the pain I feel when I walk (she didn't think it was sciatica!).  I need to check with my insurance to see if it is covered.  Otherwise, she said to come back in 6 months unless I need to see her before that.  

I had a safe drive to the clinic and back.  After I came home, I had a scrambled egg with bacon and toast for brunch.  Dancer let me know that he likes bacon and enjoyed the small piece I gave him (and asked for more!)  In the evening, I cooked rice and a mackerel curry and made a cucumber salad for dinner, with some peach chutney, as well.  Went off the meal plan, of course, but, that's OK.  :)

Lettuce Flowers

The lettuce has bolted and flowered!  The bees seem to like them!

Today, Wednesday, was another cool, overcast day!  However, I had a productive day, tidying the house and cleaning the family room. 

Gardener M was here this morning and I gave him one of the ripening peaches from the tree (he has helped me so much with the peach tree that I told him that half the peaches were his!) 

He helped me bring in the four 30 lb. bags of kitty litter that had been delivered, two weeks ago (the delivery person stacked them by the front door and said he wasn't allowed to bring them inside; I persuaded him to push them just inside the door and I pushed them further into the living room and they stayed in the living room until today).  Today, M took them out of the boxes and stacked them in the bathroom for me and helped me to break down the boxes and put them in the recycling bin.  I also got rid of four smaller cardboard boxes in which smaller items had been delivered.  I have a tendency to hold onto small boxes, thinking I could reuse them for storage; instead, they just clutter up the room!  

In the afternoon, I tidied and vacuumed the family room and made room for the new filing cabinet.  I also called neighbor T to check on her and to let her know that I returned the back door key to her daughter and had chosen the file cabinet.  She already knew about the file cabinet!  I suppose her daughter told her.  T was happy I will be taking the file cabinet and urged me to take anything else I liked.  I told her I will attend the yard sale and check things out!

Later in the evening, neighbor S called to say that they were in the process of clearing out her mother-in-law's house (a separate dwelling unit at the back of their house) and invited me to come over to see if there was anything I wanted!  I really didn't want anything, but, it seemed rude to refuse.  Besides, S's sister-in-law was also there and I had not yet condoled with her over the death of her mother.  So, I picked a few peaches that were just starting to ripen and took them over, rather than going empty handed.  The peaches were very appreciated, as they knew they were from my tree; I told them they weren't fully ripe, yet, but they cut them and ate them, anyway.

They had spread all the kitchenware and dishes on tables in their carport and were calling friends and family to take what they wanted!  I picked a whisk (I have a whisk, but, sometimes, it's nice to have two), a set of four small bowls (I'm always looking for small bowls), and a flat bed sheet to use as a backing for my latest quilt.  I declined dinner sets, coffee mugs, crystal bowls, and a wall clock, but, one of S's nieces gave me two new burgundy and gold brocade table covers/bed spreads from Armenia, saying grandmother would have liked me to have them.  How could I refuse?  

I had a small peach and a slice of peanut butter toast for brunch, today.  I wasn't hungry for the second slice of toast, so I had that with some mackerel curry at tea time, along with a cup of tea.  Dinner was leftovers (rice, mackerel curry, cucumber salad, peach chutney, and broccoli leaf mallung):

Wednesday Dinner

Manderines for dessert.

I am grateful for:
- A relatively good doctor's appointment on Tuesday
- A safe drive there and back
- Dancer's vet called back and there are treatment options available
- M helping me with the garden and in the house as needed
- Neighbor S inviting me to pick what I want of her late MIL's household items
- Peaches to share with M and S
- Working appliances
- Emails and phone calls 

Joyful activities have included eating freshly picked peaches and sharing them with friends, video chatting with my daughter, knitting myself a new pair of socks with leftover yarn:

New Wool Socks

Plans for Thursday include making milkrice for brunch, cleaning the kitchen, and vacuuming my bedroom.

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

24 comments:

  1. I'm glad your doctor's appointment went well although you must be wondering what causes your pain if it's not sciatica. That's nice that you were able to take things you wanted from your neighbiur and the bed spreads from Armenia do sound lovely. I hope Dancer is doing well and you are considering some treatment for him. Good to know he enjoys a taste of bacon, my Tilly does too just a little though.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. According to my doctor, the pain is muscle pain and physical therapy should help. Probably my muscles are too used to being inactive that they protest when I am active!
      I'd have been happy with just the whisk, bowls, and bedsheet, but, the bed spreads are very pretty. I'll take a photo and post, later.
      The pharmacy called that Dancer's medication will be ready this afternoon, so I will go and pick them up. He's not going to be happy about it, but, it can't be helped!

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  2. I'm so glad to hear your lab results are mostly good. I hope the one retest shows all is well. You have such generous neighbors, though you are to them as well. It's also good to read that there are treatments for Dancer's health problem. I've finally gotten my garden planted (well, as much as it's going to be) and took your suggestion to throw flower seeds on the bed that clearing weeds tired me out! I used mostly sunflowers.

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    1. Thank you, Celie.
      I just picked up Dancer's medication and need to read up about how to administer it!
      I do have very generous neighbors, don't I? I have to be careful not to take advantage of it! S offered me cans of soup and containers of salt, but, I declined. I'm sure they are items her family members could use.
      I'm glad you decided to scatter flower seeds in your planting bed; I, too, scattered some sunflower seeds around my flower beds, yesterday. Not sure if they will grow or the birds will eat them all, but, we shall see. :) I hope you get lots of flowers over the summer. :)

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  3. Another pretty rose. I like the orange color. Those socks look warm. I assume those are for wearing around the house?

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    1. Thank you, June. Yes, the socks are for wearing around the house and/or in bed next winter! Two of the three other pairs of knitted socks that I have have been mended many times that they are starting to feel uncomfortable to wear.

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  4. Beautiful socks! I'm glad your doctor's appointment went well.

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    1. Thank you, Stephenie. :) Are you knitting anything currently?

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  5. Sometimes it is impossible to refuse what someone wants you to have.

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    1. Yes, sometimes, you just have to accept and then, deal with it, later.

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  6. The socks look good. How stylish to be able to coordinate them with your jumper. You'll have to go around barefoot just to make sure people notice!
    So glad the doctor's appointment was not as bad as feared. I really hope you can get that walking pain resolved so that you are able to exercise more without pain. Has this been happening only since you had that bout of sciatica a few years ago, or have you always been hampered when trying to walk for any length of time?
    I learned something new today... lettuce flowers! They look like evening primrose!

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    1. Thank you, Lady Ella. I will be wearing the socks around the house or as bed socks, to keep my feet warm in the winter. My old socks have been darned so many times that they are becoming uncomfortable to wear!
      Yes, a big relief that the doctor's appt. went well. I have had pain in the lower back when walking, earlier, too (before the sciatica flare up in 2021). Prior to that, I had pain in my knee (that went away after I lost some weight as a result of chemo treatments - not a weight loss program I'd recommend).
      I don't think lettuce and evening primrose are related, but, the lettuce flowers are pretty in their own way, aren't they?

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    2. I doubt that evening primrose is related to lettuce; didn't mean to imply that they were. I assume you knew I was joking about the socks (not the bit about them looking good though!)

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    3. Well, I looked up evening primrose and while it's not related to lettuce, the plant is edible!
      I was hoping that you were joking about the socks, Lady Ella. If I might have made them striped if I had planned to wear them in public for all to see! I'm trying to use up the odds and ends of leftover wool, so be ready to see some wild looking socks in the near future!

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    4. I've never thought of eating evening primrose, but I know it's available in tablet form (the oil anyway). It's meant to be good for women's health.

      Two friends knitted me some crazy socks, once. The pattern in each was reversed, as they were in two colours and each friend took it in turns to have the wool, then swap over (knitting simultaneously). Not sure I've explained that very well.

      I think yours are perfectly presentable for wearing in public.

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    5. There are a lot of herbal oils and supplements that are good for us, aren't there?
      Yes, I think you explained the socks quite well - each friend started the sock they were knitting with the color they had and then, they exchanged the colors and knitted the rest of the sock. I really like that! Well, I'm wearing my new socks, today, and they are keeping my feet warm! :)

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  7. The rose is lovely. So good to know that the lab results were happy ones. Dancer is no fool when it comes to bacon. One of our cats used to love it and was quite vocal when anyone was eating it.
    The lettuce flowers are pretty and useful for the bees. Good idea to return that key while you had the chance.
    Well over 90°C here. Drapes closed, house cool enough without air conditioning. Had a nap. Hoping for some rain soon to dampen the bush.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady.
      Bacon is a little too expensive to indulge Dancer's taste for it, but, I will share a bit with him whenever I have it. :)
      Yes, the bees seem to like the lettuce flowers and I didn't want to forget about the key.
      Oh, how I wish I had your temperatures now! We are still in the mid-to-upper 60s and you know that's cold to me! I'm glad you are able to keep the house cool without air conditioning. Hope you do get some rain, at least in the areas with the out of control wild fires!

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  8. Lovely wool socks! So glad the doctor's appointment went well. I hope the physical therapy helps. It seems to be the answer for a lot of things these days though it is quite expensive!

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. I have to contact the insurance company to find out if they will cover the physical therapy.

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  9. The rose is gorgeous!
    I'm glad your appointment went well. I expect you are quite used to them by now, but it must still be a relief to know that everything is okay. I had a podiatry appointment the other week, and it was amazing what they picked up on, as everything is connected. Apparently I have tight hips! He recommended stretching exercises and yoga. I hope you find something which helps. X

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    1. Thank you, Jules.
      I think I always feel a bit anxious before doctor's appointments! Has my weight gone up? Has some blood test results changed from normal to too high or too low?
      Yes, stretching is very good and so is yoga. I feel dizzy when I have to lower my head, so, it's a bit difficult for me to do yoga!

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  10. Good news about your doctor's appointment. I know you worry (I would be the same) so I'm glad things went well. Such a relief when that's behind you for another 6 months. That's interesting that she thinks the pain is muscular not from sciatica.
    I love nothing more than a gaze through someone's pile of stuff they want to discard - always fun and it sounds like you got a few useful things.
    Good job whipping up those socks. They will keep your feet nice and warm.
    I am glad there is a medicine for Dancer and hope he takes it well.

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    1. Thank you, Debra. Yes, I was a little concerned about the blood test results. I do have to do one more follow-up blood test, but, I'll do that next week.
      One person's junk is another person's treasure...I found a few useful items and I am happy. :)
      I've worn the new socks and they fit well and are warm. :)
      Dancer tolerated the medicine the first few days, but, now, he's started to hide from me!

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