Saturday, January 4, 2014

Another Cold Saturday!

I haven't checked the temperature yet but it looks very cold out there.It didn't snow...yet.  But it appears to have rained. In about fifteen minutes Bob and I will go to Eggberts for breakfast. Then I will see if there is ice on that rain.

We went to Bartlesville yesterday and  I bought my make up base and received a gift box from the Merle Norman woman who manages that store down there. She is wanting my business. After that, we went to Bob's cancer doctor's office and he got an order for his lab work. He has latent lymphoma.   He has had it for several years now but it is not growing or going anywhere. He has tests every year to watch it.  Anyhow, after that, we went to the mall and walked around. Then we went to McCalister's and had our soup and half sandwich. We got home fairly early and he went home for his nap and I took one myself.

Later Bob came back over for wine and to watch the news. Afterward we tried to watch the Cotton Bowl but we both got too sleepy to finish. I took my bath and stayed up until the fourth quarter but I just couldn't make it to the end. He will have to tell me how the score ended. When I went to bed, they were tied. 

I changed my bed yesterday even though the new mattress topper has not yet arrived. I have no idea how long that will take. It was shipped several days ago. I hope it has not been lost in the mail. That seems to happen quite a lot anymore. And yet, this month our postage will go up three cents....they say temporarily but I'll almost bet money they like the added income and continue it. They pass all raises on the first class postage instead of raising postage on junk mail. All that does is assure folks will not use snail mail as much. They don't seem to use much common sense at the postal service though. They are dependent on a Congress that also has not much common sense.

I have a couple of 20% off coupons for our breakfast this morning. I get them from the cash register tape at Country Mart, our grocery store here. The coupon also has a "free coffee" deal on it. So we will get our breakfasts a little cheaper this morning.

Later...

We have been issued a winter weather advisory this afternoon. We are expecting temperatures well below zero and blowing snow fall from one to three inches by morning. This is supposed to begin around 7:00 this evening.   It is supposed to taper off tomorrow morning by 3:00 AM.  Roads will be slick and northerly winds will be fierce with wind chills up to 20 below zero causing roads to become snow packed and slick. . We are warned to use caution while driving. Visibility will be poor because of snow and blowing snow.  Southeast Kansas is not prepared for any harsh winter weather. There are few snow plows so the roads are generally treacherous. . .

Friday, January 3, 2014

Freezing Cold Day

It's 18 degrees here right now. It's supposed to rain and turn to snow tomorrow and snow on Sunday.  I am out of powder base for my makeup and I do not think the store in Independence would have it so Bob and I are going to Bartlesville so I can buy some. We may eat at McCalister's.  I'm in the mood for soup and half a sandwich. We can have the rest of our lasagna tomorrow. I already have the table set but it's not going anywhere.

I did some laundry this morning.  I changed my bed and washed my sheets. I was hoping my mattress topper would be in yesterday.  But when it finally comes, I'll just change my sheets again.

I slept very well last night. In fact I slept later then usual. The house was cool and the bed was warm, just the way I like it.   

Bob came over last night for an hour or two and we watched The Big Bang Theory. Then he went home and I took my bath and stayed up awhile. I worked on my sermon for Sunday after next before I went to bed. Then I went to bed shortly before 9:00.  I'm surprised I slept so well since I went to bed so early.

My older son called yesterday and we had a nice visit. He is really good about calling once a week or so and checking in.

Yesterday I cleaned my apartment really well and washed the kitchen and bathroom floor as well. Liebert Brothers fixed my sweeper well and it did a good job for an old antique. I dusted everything too. It fairly sparkles in here. I like to clean really well once a week. When you have a cat you know there's cat hair on the carpet. But Missy is worth it. She's a lot of company and she makes me laugh. Laughing is supposed to be very healthy for us. Between Missy and The Big Bang Theory, I keep laughing.  


Thursday, January 2, 2014

A Little Snow

We got a little snow last night but not enough to worry about. It's just a thin coating. However, I was startled to see that some animal, probably a cat, walked round on my patio last night. It's footprints are in the snow. That alarms me a bit. I have been letting Missy out for a bit every morning and now I know there's a strange cat or animal of some sort out there and I will not let her out anymore unless I go out with her.  She's not happy with that decision but I don't care. She went through entirely too much trauma last spring.

I slept well last night. In fact, I didn't get up until almost 6:00. That's unusual for me. Bob just called to make sure I am alright.  He slept well last night too. We will both probably stay inside today. I intend to clean.  I got my sweeper back this week so I no longer have an excuse.

I took our rent checks down to the landlord yesterday. He has been feeling really bad lately.    He is 93 and everything hurts anymore. He had a bad experience over the holiday. he had gone to the new doctor after he fell and broke some ribs and wanted to be checked out. They doctor took him off some medication his previous doctor had prescribed and afterward, he felt terrible. His son looked the medication up on the internet and found that that particular medication is not supposed to be abruptly stopped. It is very dangerous to do so and can even cause death. The last time I spoke to him yesterday he was going to go back to the doctor today and take a copy of the article with him. That's just another case of physician error that can cause death.

My niece used to sell pharmaceuticals and she said doctors depend on the salesperson to tell them all that information. They don't think they have the time to research each medication they prescribe. That's so dangerous. Plus, as I have said before, I consider hospitals and doctor's offices  very dangerous places to be. There's just so much chance for error and exposure to disease and illness.

We're having chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies and salad today for lunch/dinner.  I read in that latest Consumer's Report magazine that they tested several brands of chicken and found every one of them had dangerous bacteria on them.  Each one also had some antibiotic resistant bacteria on them. The chicken needs to be thoroughly cooked to kill that bacteria.  The resistance is caused by the people who raise chicken s. According to the article, they discovered that if they gave their chickens antibiotics  they grew much bigger and fatter and brought more money and therefore more profit.  So they disregard the problems caused to consumers and concentrate on profit. Capitalism!  It's greed driven.

That alarmed me a bit and yet I cook only with frozen chicken tenders and canned boned chicken. I wonder if the frozen chicken is dangerous too? I will be sure to cook it thoroughly today. 

Last year, I visited a woman in the hospital here locally who had eaten an undercooked hamburger at the local McDonald's and developed e-coli. She had been sick and in and out of hospitals for the better part of a year. Every time the doctors thought they had it cleared up and sent her home, the symptoms came back. She was terribly ill and had been in three different hospitals.  I don't know if she ever recovered. They transferred her to Kansas City Medical Center from our hospital and I lost track of her. 

It appears to be a dangerous world we live in anymore.

More later....

 

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New Years Day 2014

It's going to seem odd to print 2014 on everything now. I hope I put the correct year on my rent check.

We tried to stay up later last night. They reran the first segment of  "Entertainment Tonight" on one of the movie channels and we watched it stayed up until 10:00 to try to see the New Year in but we just couldn't do it. Bob went home and I took my bath and put my PJ's on and went to bed about 10:30.

I slept well until about 2:00 AM and then some noises woke me up. I think it was Jeannie in the next apartment up banging drawers. At least that's what it sounded like. I seldom hear Jeannie but I sure did last night. It took me awhile to get back to sleep but when I did, I slept until 6:15. It's a wonder Bob didn't call to check on me.

I will fix our lasagna this morning and may fix it early so I won't feel pressed to get it finished.  We have no plans for the day. Yesterday after my hair appointment we ate at Great China in Independence and that should do for the week on eating out.

I would like to clean this afternoon. It's been well over a week and I also want to change my bed today.  I had thought I would wait until my mattress topper arrived but I may just go ahead and change it today instead. I did get notification that they shipped it yesterday. But it will probably be Tuesday before it arrives.

I have Living the Questions group Sunday evening and was wondering what to serve. I think I'll serve Deb's Fruit Cobbler with ice cream.

More later....

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Alarming Facts

I have the latest issue of Consumer's Report magazine here before me. I have taken this magazine for decades and put a great deal of stock in their testing. They also have a great deal of influence in Congress. They have spearheaded much legislation over the years.

They report 440,000 hospital deaths occur each year due to preventable harm done by the hospitals. That seems to be an even more alarmable number than I thought They say it's the third leading cause of death in the USA.
Alarmable, isn't it?

The last time I saw him, I told my doctor not to expect me to come in every two months to "check in" with him. His reception room is full of sick people or they wouldn't be there.  I also told him I would avoid the hospital like the plague since hospitals are full of bacteria...much of it antibiotic resistant.  I've lost two friends due to hospital antibiotic resistant bacteria. I told him if I got sick, he would be the first person I would call but generally I would only come in to get my prescriptions refilled. 

Bob said he probably wrote on the top of my chart "difficult". But I am in charge of my own health care. I also told him that.

More later....

Even Colder Tuesday New Years Eve

It's even colder this morning then yesterday. I turned my thermostat down to 65 last night and I slept better in a cooler house. I awoke about 12:30 but did finally get back to sleep. I slept until 5:30...which is late for me.

I will have my haircut this morning so will be going to Independence. Bob is going with me and we will eat at the Chinese restaurant there. It is so good. It is called Great China and it is great!

Missy has been wanting to go out each morning but she doesn't go far and doesn't stay out more than five or ten minutes. She always inspects under my car right away. That's where she was attacked last spring. She spent a week in the hospital and then I gave her antibiotic shots for two weeks morning and evening after she came home. She was a very sick kitty. I thought I might lose her but she recovered.  But now she is very cautious.  Much as she wants to go outside, the first thing she does is look under my car. Odd...cats must have good memories for disaster.

She also does some strange things here in the house.  For instance, she demands her treats first thing in the morning. She waits patiently for me to dress and get my makeup on but then she wants those treats! She runs straight to the frig. She knows they are in there. Then she always comes in after she uses her litter box and meows at me to get it cleaned up so she can do the other thing. She does not like to do them until after I clean up after the first one. I am truly her staff.  

When I sit down to watch TV, she thinks she should always be in my lap.   This cat weighs over 18 pounds and my legs get numb after awhile unless I'm in the recliner. I usually watch TV in the swivel rocker next to the auxiliary speakers since I tend to hear better there.  When I take a nap, I take it in the recliner. That's when it's o.k. for her to be in my lap.  Funny kitty. She has been creaking around ever since the attack last spring. She's only 11 years old but that attack really took something out of her. When she lies down or gets up, she cries out like her joints hurt.

She generally doesn't like anyone but me (and she doesn't like me much) but she has learned to like Bob. He is around here enough that she has become used to him. When he comes, she comes out from wherever she has been hiding and stays close around us.  Here she is in her favorite chair. It's my favorite chair too.



Tomorrow Bob and I will have Lasagna for lunch.   I have not fixed it in years. It's a little labor intensive and the recipe makes too much. I have decided to make it in  two 8 inch dishes and freeze one of them. I think we can make two meals out of the recipe and that way I can thaw the frozen and bake it later. Bob bought all the cheeses yesterday and I have the garlic bread. Leslie donates the ground beef and it is great lean ground beef.  Bob will bring a toss salad and we will finish up the lemon pudding I made yesterday for dessert.  


Monday, December 30, 2013

Even Colder Monday

It's even colder this morning. It's 12 degrees according to the weather on this computer and it will warm up to 40 later in the day.  Brrr..

I probably won't venture out this morning. It's way too cold to be out there. I am hoping Lieberts will have my vacuum sweeper repaired today. I need to run the sweeper. It's been over a week since the apartment has been cleaned.  I also want to change my bed but am waiting for my topper to come first.  I want to see if the mattress pad I have will fit over it. If not, I will have to buy a new one. It's supposed to be here Friday...perhaps before that.

We will eat the rest of our scalloped potato and ham casserole today. I will fix some pudding for dessert. The pie is all gone.

I slept really well last night. Staying up til 10:00 may have contributed to that.




Sunday, December 29, 2013

Freezing Cold Sunday

It's only in the 20s here but it's a very wet cold temperature. I never seem to feel either the cold or the heat much but today is the exception to the rule. I have been chilly all day...actually bone chilled.

I went to church this morning and we had a very small congregation. People evidently did not want to get out in the cold. But we had a very good service. Sue did a good job on the sermon.

Afterward we all went to Hog Heaven, a Bar B Q place, for lunch.  I didn't have Bar B Q  because Bob and I had been to Dink's Bar B Q in Bartlesville on Friday and I still have half my brisket sandwich in the frig. I had their chicken fried steak sandwich instead. It was fine.

After that I came home and did my weekly congregational letters and got those with a hard copy out on the mailbox for the mailman to pick up tomorrow.

Then I sat down in the recliner with Missy  on my lap and took a nice nap.

I have ordered one of those 2 inch miracle foam mattress toppers for my bed. I am hoping that will help keep my arms from aching after lying on them all night. I simply cannot sleep on my back. The topper will be in around January 3rd according to the confirmation.

Tonight Bob will come over to watch 60 Minutes with me. Afterward there is another program he wants to watch too. We will each finish up with a small glass of wine that's left in the bottle too. Once we found a red wine we both like, he and I have become old winos in our old age. :) It is called Roscoto and it is sweet instead of dry.

Tomorrow we will finish up the ham and scalloped potato casserole I fixed Thursday.  We will have a veggie and a salad with it. I will fix some pudding for our dessert.  And we will have hot tea with it.

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