January 24 through 26

[chochiyo_sama]

Monday, January 24

I filled my pill caddy this morning then called the pharmacy to see why I have not received my refill of my Eloquis prescription.  It was out of refills, but it should have been called in to the clinic a week ago today as I requested the refill on Sunday morning a week ago.  The clerk I talked to said they had not received any response from the clinic yet.  I suspect they never faxed it over.  This is not the first time this crap has happened.  I told her I had ONE pill left and I am supposed to take two a day. 

When I finished doing that, I got on the Steele County Health website and got signed up for my Covid booster.  They have a drive through clinic every Wednesday now in the Steel County Public Works building.  Where they conduct the clinic is the garage where they park all the road graders, snowplows, and sanding trucks.  You drive in, and they come to your car and give you the shot while you are sitting in it.  Much nicer and more safe and convenient than having to tramp through the clinic, exposed to every germ there is.

Denis Bastien had another big clearance sale, and I ordered some stuff which arrived today. Mostly, I got shoes for the dolls. I also bought four ice skating costumes and skates for the dolls.  I opened the box but didn’t take anything out.  I will save that adventure for a day when I need a pick me up.

I talked to my aunt Lily for quite a while today.  Her kidney/bladder infection did not get taken care of by the antibiotics the Minnesota doctor gave her right before she left for Texas.  Also, the arthritis in her hand is giving her terrible pain.  I kept telling her she needed to go to a doctor, but she said that none of the doctors in Texas would take a medicare patient.  She’d need to go to a walk-in clinic, and she doesn’t feel like those doctors really give a hoot about their patients.  She finally got to the point where she was so miserable that she had to go to a walk-in clinic.  The doctor gave her a prescription for a strong antibiotic for the bladder/kidney issues, but when she went to the pharmacy to pick it up, they told her that this antibiotic did not work well with the blood thinner she’s on.  It could lead to uncontrollable bleeding.  You would think the doctor would have enough sense to look into her other prescriptions and consider bad interactions.  I am horrified by the continual lack of competence in the medical profession. 

For her hand, he gave her a tube of Voltaren to rub on her hand and a brace to wear.  Well, my doctor prescribed Voltaren for me, and it was totally useless.  It did NOTHING to ease the pain in my knees.  Maybe she will have a better outcome, but I am not feeling real hopeful about it for her.

I think she needs to stay in Minnesota and forget about Texas. 

 

Tuesday, January 25

I folded the last of my laundry and dragged it into the bedroom.  There were two puddles of cat puke that needed cleaning up, so I dealt with them.  I also scrubbed the cat’s water dish and food mat and put all fresh food and water out for her.  I dumped the nasty dirt and dead plants out of the pots, washed a big sink full of dishes and the less broken plant pot, and cleaned some old, expired food out of the fridge. 

While I was doing those things, I put a Marie Calendar chicken pot pie in the oven for supper.  Those Marie Calendar chicken pot pies are really delicious.  I like to eat them with some buttered toast because I like to dip the toast in the gravy. 

I did not accomplish anything else today. I was experiencing a low motivation/energy day.

On a whim, I checked the deck before I went to bed and found the Fed Ex package containing my Eliquis prescripton.  So, yay.  I only missed one dose.

 

Wednesday, January 26

My mother had asked me to order a bunch of vitamins and some hand lotion from Target.com for her, and I had enough time to do it before I had to leave to get my Covid booster.  Now she owes me $130.

My appointment for the Covid booster was at 11:40 today.  Just as I was getting ready to go, Lily called.  She was practically in tears because she was in so much pain from her infection and swollen hand.  She has decided to go ahead and use the strong antibiotic and just not take the Warfarin, since the antibiotic apparently has a blood thinning affect as well.  I told her I had to go as I had to pick up my mother and head to Owatonna to get my shot.  I promised to call her later today.

We had clear sailing to Owatonna.  The roads were good.  There were several vehicles in line when we got to the drive through clinic. I had made an appointment, so my paper work was already done for my shot. The nurse asked if I wanted to get the flu shot too.  I asked if it was okay to get both shots on the same day, and she said it was fine. So, I filled out more paperwork.  Mom had not had her flu shot either, so I asked if she could get it even though she had not signed up for it.  They said it was totally fine.  I had to help her fill out the paperwork as she could not see it well enough to do it herself. 

I got the covid shot in my left arm and the flu shot in my right arm.  The nurse was skilled, and I barely felt the poke.  Mom got her flu shot and was very glad she had been able to get that taken care of.

After waiting for 15 minutes to be sure we didn’t become magnetic or form a third eye, we journeyed on to the Subway drive through.  I used my gift card from Jack’s family to buy mom and me sandwiches.  I bought a dozen chocolate chip cookies and 5 bottles of Diet Coke as well.  From there, we went to the Starbucks next door to get some hot chocolate. 

The barista had a very energetic and flamboyant personality.  He was a lot of fun.  We bantered back and forth for a while as I ordered two large hot chocolates and two birthday cake pops.   Mom bought the hot chocolate since I had bought the sandwiches.  I pulled three dollars out of my wallet to tip the barista because he was so much fun. 

He only made ONE hot chocolate, so he had to make another.  Then he refused to take the money for it. That was really sweet.  So I got a free hot chocolate.

Then I told him I had something for him—which I had prepared before I got the free hot chocolate.  I handed him one dollar and said, “This is a tip for you because you are at the drive through window and it is cold enough to freeze your nipples off.”  He and the girl working with him cracked up.  Then I gave him the second dollar and told him that one was in celebration of Mom and I getting our Covid boosters and we want to share the joy.  And finally, the third dollar is “because you are cute and you made me smile!”  It was a good interaction.  I enjoyed it, and I think he did too.

When we got back to Ellendale, I took Mom to the post office to get her mail.  After dropping her off, I stopped at my mail box and got my mail.  It was mostly junk mail.  I ate half of my sandwich and saved the other half for tomorrow.  I ate a couple of cookies too. I was tired then and spent the rest of the day just watching some shows I had recorded on the DVR.  Peaches must have missed me while I was gone, because she snuggled with me most of the rest of the day.  I had left at 11 am and was home again by 2 pm, so I wasn’t gone that long.  But Miss Peach staked her claim on me and gave me lots and lots of love while I watched TV.  The last thing I watched was Signs, the M. Night Shyamalam movie about alien invasion.  When it was over at about 11 pm, I went to bed. 

Now, I had felt fine all day.  The minute I got up to go to bed, I started shivering. I climbed into bed and shivered so much that my teeth were clicking together crazily. I started thinking that my furnace had broken down because I was so dang cold.  I went to check my thermostat, but it was fine—68 degrees.  I cranked it up to 74 and got extra blankets to bury myself under. 

Then the next symptom started.  It was as if the shots had a diuretic effect on me.  I had to pee constantly throughout the whole night.  About every 15 minutes, I was dragging myself out of bed to stagger to the toilet.  The need to pee was so urgent that it was running down my legs half the time.  So nasty.  Also, my mouth, nose, and throat got so dry that it was literally hard to breathe and swallow.  No amount of water moistened it up.  Finally, I got myself a bottle of Diet Coke, hoping the carbonating might have a better effect on my dry mouth and throat.  I also put some Vicks Vapor Rub under my nose, hoping the fumes would do something.  It must have helped some as things got a little better. 

I hardly slept at all because I was running to the toilet to pee constantly. 

Comments

[the_godiva]

This is Lily's last trip to Texas. She needs a reality check any way to make her understand. She is never going to go to Texas again. Pack up the shit you want. Throw away the rest and kiss the trailer goodbye. She can either clean the stain and get top dollar or leave it and be lowballed to practically give it away. But she is not going to Texas again.

I really have a craving for real cookies. I had some Keebler fudge sticks which aren't really cookies and I ate all of the Mother's Circus Animals. I think I need to make some Butterzeug as I didn't get any of the ones I made my parents. But before I do, I think I want to clear out the island and put the wheels and bar pulls on it so I can move it around easier. Then I can use the top for rolling and cutting cookies. I really should buy the butcherblock top I want to have cut down for it. Once it is on, it is essentially done.

Then maybe I should look into taking down the old microwave and the cabinet above. I need to take it to Mike to have it remade correctly. Then if I can get it back up and the new microwave installed, I will be much happier with my kitchen. The new refrigerator can wait.

And yeah. I'm working on my house because it is looking like I will be staying in it.

I saw that gas siphoning bicycle riding thief by my car on the security cameras again so cleaning out the garage and getting my garage door opener fixed has gone to the top of my list. That damned locking gas cap I ordered on Amazon that was supposed to be delivered on Tuesday still wasn't delivered today so fuck them. I put in a return on it and will get one locally. It will cost me twice as much but too bad. Tomorrow I will try to get the model number off of the garage door opener and I will also replace one of the motion detector lights that isn't coming on. If I can get the model number, I'll order a new trolley, then start on emptying the garage so when the opener is repaired, my car will fit. There is a shit load of crap in there from when I just dumped it the year I retired. Some of the stuff from the retirement party is still there too; never took it back up to the attic. Well, it's getting tossed or sold or put up in the attic. I'm keeping the cheese board but I think I'll sell the cake plate and a few other things. And the school stuff I am just going to throw away. Not saving it. I think there may be some posters I might donate to the IMC. I am also going to start getting rid of some history books I stored on bookcases in there too. I just want to park my car in the garage again and I want a working garage door opener, even if I have to buy a new one. I don't care about the clay drums I made. I don't care about the Egyptian stuff my made for my sixth grade class. I'll sell the Senet game and toss the rest. Sell the puzzles too. I think there may be some Barbies in there that I know will find a good home in Minnesota. I hope I get lucky and find some books that will bring a few hundred dollars on Amazon.

[cmcmck]

Glad you got the booster!

[warriorsavant]

Pharmacies here are allowed to give some refill if you're stuck, especially something critical like Eliquis. It's referred to as "en panne," being French for "broken down," or "stuck."

[the_godiva]

Been catching up on your old posts, looking for any mention of my parent's Pergola that fell down.

Noticed that Lily not only has your Grandpa's chair but also your Grandma's dresser. Thought I'd mention it to jog your memory.

Didn't you mention you want to get a dresser to replace the two big ones you want down in the attic? Maybe this is your chance and it wouldn't cost anything.