clairelaine's Journal

Wednesday

Nov 11 2009 08:50

Today's Art of the Season - Rain!

I got a good bit done yesterday thanks to Lesley - shopping and tidying the place up.

I'm feeling achy and realize that I've been neglecting my stretching, balance and upper back exercises. I started right back in this morning with the upper back and will do the balance routine in a little while. Those aches will disappear.

Plan for today: I'll be busy with phone calls in the morning and a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. In just a minute I'm putting a chicken into the crockpot to make Sticky Chicken. I did the spice rub last night and it's been marinating. I used Old Bay seasoning with some extra cumin and cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper.

Menu for today: Breakfast - raisin bran, milk. Lunch - salad with hard boiled egg. Snack - apple, almonds. Supper - sticky chicken, brown rice, lots of veggies. Snack - herbal tea, milk

It's raining and expected to rain for the rest of the week. I just got my car dried out inside, and now It will be wet again. It's not fun driving a swamp. I really need a "new" car, but just can't swing it this year. The old rust bucket will just have to go on for another year. Is there a car year, like a dog year? If so, how many years would 16 be in car years? I would say it's pretty elderly.

Today: Umbrellas and raincoats are the order of the day.

Tuesday

Nov 10 2009 08:18

Today's Art of the Season in honor of Hurricane Ida and the hope that the storm will not be too bad.

The Storm ~ Rembrandt van Rijn, 1606-1669

I got my errands run yesterday. I did the bank, then the supermarket for yogurt and salmon, then the green grocer (Yang's in Berwyn) for fresh vegetables. He had the most delicious smelling strawberries, 2 pounds for $5, so how could I pass that up. They're good too. I'm all stocked up with romaine, green beans, parsley, scallions, radishes and cherry tomatoes.

Bubba is still sulking, but I can tell he's drinking when I police his commode. He's spending a lot of time in a hidey hole I made him in the closet. I put an old pillow back in a corner and leave the folding door open just enough for him to get in. At least it's easier to clean the cat hair there than under the head of the bed.

Plan for today: Lesley will be here in a little while to do the laundry and change my bed. I'm headed to the supermarket for some meat for the freezer and she'll carry that in and put it away. Other than that, I just have some things to write and a few phone calls.

Menu for today: breakfast - pumpkin muffin, milk. lunch - salmon salad with cucumbers and tomatoes. Snack - strawberries, yogurt. Supper - lentil curry with yogurt and salad. Snack - herbal tea, rice cake, farmer cheese.

The clouds have rolled in and it's cooler today. We expect rain tomorrow. Those lovely days were wonderful, but I can feel winter setting in. The trees are nearly bare now. It's a little sad, but it's time to find all those indoor projects I like and get busy.

I'm thinking of resuming my hall walking exercise program. The plan is to do the length of both wings, which means walking all the way to the end and back to the center, then going down one flight. If I can keep at it this time, I'll increase and do two floors and two flights when I feel able, etc. I might ask a few people to join me. Who knows, maybe I'll graduate to stair climbing again.

Today: Think of the people living on Gulf Coast.

Monday

Nov 09 2009 08:35

Art of the Season - Autumn.

Autumn Landscape with View of Het Steen ~ Peter Paul Rubens, 1635

Bill and I had a nice visit yesterday. He stopped at the store and got my milk and eggs. I enjoy his company even more after all these years. I had the windows wide open all day it was so warm and sunny.

Plan for today: Go to the produce market for a few fresh vegetables and salad greens, and maybe bananas. I need to go to the bank yet again. I'm feeling the pinch and want a readout of my account since the last statement to see what checks have cleared and how much is in there to the penny. My Social Securitity doesn't come until mid month so it's important. I might stop at the garden center and see if they have any bargain crocus bulbs left.

Menu for today: Breakfast - Bran flakes and milk. Snack - apple and almonds. Lunch - soup and salad with cheese. Supper - chicken, brown rice, french green beans and carrots with some kind of low fat cheese sauce. Snack - Milk, rice cake.

I'm really going to make the most of this warm sunshine because I know it won't last. I'll check on my car and make sure it's dried out inside. I left a window cracked open so that when it heats up in the sun the moisture can escape. No rain predicted so it's fine for today at least. I swear, at least some of those bulbs are going to make it into the ground today.

Bubba still is begging for me to let him drink from the bathtub faucet but he's having no luck. At this point it's a battle of wills. It's not like he's never seen a drinking fountain before - he had one for years before we moved. He has drunk from it but probably not enough. At least the noise has subsided and now it's just little begging squeaks instead of big baritone Mrrrowwws.

Today: Sunbathe!

Sunday after Caterday

Nov 08 2009 08:31

Update: I have won the water war! After shutting him out of the bathroom and any possibility of dripping faucets or toilet bowls, he took a healthy drink from his little bubbler this morning. Since he never gets up on the counters in the kitchen, I wasn't worried about the kitchen sink at all. I actually don't think he knows it's there.

After listening to Bubba complain all day and not use his new bubbler fountain, I gave in and let him drink from the bathtub faucet. At lost the battle but at least I had a quiet night and the war is not over.

I did nearly nothing. Again. I did bake a batch of pumpkin muffins just for something to do. I'm so bored I became fascinated with my car insurance policy which arrived in the mail. Nobody was around so I had no company. However, I had no nasty symptoms, so maybe the rest is working.

Plan for today: Bill will be here around 2. He's stopping at the grocery store with my list again. We have a bunch of videos we can watch, or, since it's going to be a nice day, maybe go for a drive if he feels like it.

Menu for today: Breakfast - fat free, low sugar pumpkin muffin, milk. Lunch - turkey salad with tomatoes and cucumbers. Snack - apple & peanut butter. Supper - porkchop, brown rice, french green beans, pureed acorn squash. Snack - milk, rice cake, maybe a hard boiled egg to get my protein up.

It's a beautiful morning, expected to get to 65 F, 5-6 C with lots of sun. It's a good day for a drive in the country to see the last of the fall color.

Today: Be glad for what's good.

Saturday

Nov 07 2009 07:19

I guess ups and downs are par for life. This morning is up I'm glad to say. I slept great.

The little water bubbler I bought from the Miles Kimball catalog arrived. I hooked it up thinking Bubba would react the same as he did when I got him the big Drinkwell fountain a few years back. Instead he too one look at it and left the room. Then he refused to eat his dinner. Now he's begging to drink out of the faucet in the bathtub and I even caught him drinking from the toilet. I ended up letting him drink from the faucet so it would be quiet all night, but today the bathroom will be off limits. He does seem to be getting used to the bubbler because I heard him in the kitchen crunching away at his food.

Plan for the day: There is no plan. I've been too tired to even think about it. I need to go to the bank, so that might get me out of the house for a half an hour.

Menu for today: Breakfast - oatmeal with milk. Lunch - leftover turkey from dinner and a salad. Snack - tangerine. Supper - dijon salmon, brown rice, peas & carrots. Snack - milk, peanut butter.

It's a beautiful morning and I can tell it's not too cold because I didn't turn on the heat and it's not cold in here. The past week I've had to turn on the baseboard heat in the bedroom in the early morning. Since I'm on the top floor, I think I do get the rising heat from the lower floors. Once it's really cold that makes no difference, but during the fall it does. In the afternoon the sun streams in and really warms the place up. It keeps my electric bill down.

There are more bare trees now. I can see the distant houses and back roads going up the hill. The sweet gums and oaks are still putting on a show. I have to get out there and plant the last of the mystery bulbs before Thanksgiving. Maybe this weekend will be the one. I really should go to a garden center and get a few dozen crocus and snow drop bulbs too, but I don't last long when I'm gardening. Half an hour is about my limit. Can't get much done in that short amount of time.

Today: Make the most of it because who knows how long it will last.

More Friday - Things are looking up?

Nov 06 2009 12:03

Thanks everybody for the well wishes. It did feel good to read them when I got back home.

Blood is drawn, I'm referred to a big shot endocrinologist and my heart rythym is normal for now. It comes and goes. This morning I was convinced it was just not going to get better, then suddenly it calmed down. It must have seen Dr. Kitteh coming.

This is going to be an "interesting" weekend I think. I'm trying for a high protein, low carb day. Usually that means higher fat, but I'm really trying. I have a piece of roast turkey breast thawing, had a 2 egg omelette for late breakfast (after fasting) and will have tuna salad with tomatoes for late lunch. Won't need a snack because of not eating until 11:30 am.

Today: Be a carnivore.

Friday

Nov 06 2009 06:31

No journal entry today. I'm not feeling well. Headed to the lab for bloodwork and will try to come back later. I hope the doc is not going to tell me to go to the ER yet again.

Thursday

Nov 05 2009 05:37

In case you didn't see the announcement on facebook yesterday:

Calorie Count (Time for shameless self-promotion…) Just in: Calorie Count won the Silver World Wide Web Health Award for Health Promotion/Disease & Injury Prevention Information. The World Wide Web Health Awards is a program that recognizes the best Web-based health-related content for consumers and professionals. The program provides a "seal of quality" for electronic health information. Yeah!!!!

Today's Art of the Season, November

Winter Seckle Pears ~ Childe Hassam, 1918

Another uneventful Wednesday. I had (and am having) a lot of atrial flutter and it slows me down terribly. Last night was especially bad and this morning is not much better. I have to wait until the 11th to see the doc and have my pacemaker/defibrillator checked again. If you remember, they were going to give it two weeks to see if it would settle down with a slight change in meds. I'm beginning to think it has something to do with the metformin because it's worse after dinner when I take it, and much worse if my meal is too high in carbs. However, the endo doc says my symptoms are not side effects of metformin. He could be wrong. Maybe I need a better doctor because I looked it up and irregular heart rythym is listed as a side effect. I'll talk to the cardiologist. I'm sick and tired of all these different doctors.

Plan for today: Lesley says she's feeling fine now, so will be here to do my laundry and a little housework. I'm going to take it easy, keep my oxygen on and try to do my stretching and balance exercises which I've neglected.

Menu for today: breakfast - omelette. Snack - tea and half an apple. Lunch - large salad with nuts and cheese. Snack - tangerine. Supper - dijon salmon, brown rice, broccoli. Snack - milk. I'm trying for better balance today to see if it makes a difference tonight.

We're getting some rain but expect it to clear and then a nice, warm weekend. I'm going to have Lesley dry out that water in my car. If I didn't mention it, my 16 year old car has a mysterious leak. when it rains water collects on the floor on the front passenger side. I have some old towels to soak it up with and then I'll run the heater with the doors open for a while to see if I can't get it dry enough so I can take a passenger who is not wearing galoshes. Of course it would be better if somebody could find the leak and stop it, but so far nobody has.

Today: Rest. Be vewy, vewy quiet!

Wednesday

Nov 04 2009 06:27

Todays Art of the Season ~ November. The American Impressionists

Autumn Sunlight ~ Theodore Robinson, 1888

I accomplished almost nothing yesterday. We didn't get to the police station because half the people going are sick. I did do one load of wash but it's not folded because I got tired. However, I did cook myself a nice dinner. I feel so much better if I have a balanced meal in the evening. Today is a new day and I'll try to get more done.

Plan for today: Write up a rough draft of a petition to be presented to the office, police or whoever. How do I get rooked into doing these things? Make some phone calls, clean the kitchen, fold the laundry.

Menu for today: breakfast - oatmeal with milk. Lunch - soup and salad. Snack - tangerine. Supper - poached salmon with dijon sauce, acorn squash, brown rice, green salad. Snack - celery with farmer cheese.

It's cold, 38 F, 3 C, and sunny this morning. Depending on who you listen to, it will be sunny or rainy this afternoon. It is, however, expected to warm up a bit. I'm feeling shut in and need to get out. Maybe I'll take a little ride later.

Today: Rule of the day - Cheer Up! How bad can it be?