My Entre week got turned around

When we last met up I had written that I might have the dreaded Pink eye.  Well Tuesday morning I decided to call in sick and get it checked out.  Turns out I did. I stayed home that Tuesday and the NPA said i could go in the next day.  I spent the rest of the day home watching TV and doing odds and ends and getting bored.

Wednesday I went in to work told a few people and then made the mistake mid morning of asking someone to put the drops in my eyes.  An hour later I was asked to go home.  I was stupid to ask but I really didn’t think anything of it. So I went home and did odds and ends. I did manage to cook the eggplant and cranberries (it didn’t turn into cranberry sauce though)

I cancelled all my activities for the rest of the week.  I will need to get an okay from the Doctor to be able to return to all activities by Monday.  I will ask for that on Monday.  That’s if it hasn’t spread to my other eye which I thought it might have by yesterday.  

Thursday I waited for the grocery delivery to come and did some cooking.  I made meatloaf based on the burger recipe from Taste of Home site.  I didn’t have enough of the pork to make the burgers.  However I will next time.

My niece and her husband come and took the stuff from the cellar.  Not the flatware (that had mom’s initials) because I don’t think it's here anymore anyway.  So now there is a little corner of the cellar that really needs cleaning out.  They stayed until 3.  I just hope neither of them get the pink eye.   I tried really hard to not get close I just gave up because it looked like it was better.  We talked about family.  She admitted that she and her brother J are not really speaking.  He doubts her illnesses (which seems to be a consensus among my sibs too).   I told her about my situation with Liz.  she also admitted that she really hasn’t been talking with Liz either. I didn’t want to tell her that Liz feels unappreciated by her and the boys.  I did say that Liz is a tad Judgemental and critical of things.

A part of me feels I shouldn’t be saying anything about the rift between Liz and I because I know it will come back to bite me in the ass.  Although how many times have I had to listen to Liz or Jim talk about their rifts or any other family members.  Diane says it's okay to talk about the rifts.  To be clear we talked about other better things too.

Thursday night was quiet watched TV including Polar express. Even though I have the CD somewhere.  I enjoy watching it on TV.  It seemed to be going really fast (the time of the movie).  It was re airing again at 9.  I did fall asleep on the couch and Sky cuddled up with me.

I got my coffee order yesterday as well.  Now I have enough coffee to last a while and sleepytime tea that I should have taken.  

My hope is to get to the library later this morning and print up a couple of letters to a penpal in Australia.  Her letter came earlier this week and I want to get them out quickly. 

Then I will do more cooking and then laundry (there isn’t a lot been doing some each day).  I want to get more Christmas cards out as well.

I am trying hard not to get the kitties sick with this pink eye.  I try not to put my face near them but I pet them (and then wash neurotically) and want them nearby.   I do keep checking their eyes to see if they have it and they are clear.  I don’t know if that’s confusing them or not but I don’t want to avoid them.

The weather has been pretty cold this week mostly in the 40s during the day 30’s at night and pretty windy.  It hasn’t rained since Monday but that’s supposed to change by tonight with overnight showers.  It will be cloudy and then thundershowers for sunday.

Milford had some interesting visitors earlier this month.  A fisherman was off the Milford shoreline and came across a couple of Pilot whales.  It made the news and Social Media.  Then a harbor seal showed up at Caswell Cove Marina (on the Housatonic River).  The article reminded readers of the federal law not to go near them or bother them.  

Maria’s House has been sold and it happened before thanksgiving and the new neighbors have moved in already.  I haven’t had a chance to meet them but Sylvia told me about it when I was heading out to pick up my prescriptions on Tuesday.

Well I am going to get some sleep since its two in the morning.  

I tried

I tried to get up at 4:30 this morning even sky helped but it didn’t work.  Not until 5:30.  We did our routine and then I laid down for a shot time  and then got ready for work.  I managed to get ready for Livia today and hope it wasn’t too bad.  I always get the feeling that one day she will bail on me.

As I was driving in I had a feeling that I would be doing the mail.  I was right.  I was doing the mail from last week and today.  When US mail came GA insisted she would do it.  I would finish the scanning.  I managed to get about 23 batche down.

I shared with several people my visit with Joan today.  They felt terrible but one offered to do help out somehow that was Evette.  We acknowledged we didn’t want to step on anyone's toes.  The day got away from us so no further discussion was had.

It was raining when we left.  I knew I wouldn’t be going to the gym for class because of the rain and the fact that I had a potential case of Pink eye.    So I stayed home and watched TV and now going to bed.

Decompressing

I arrived home just about 12:30 yesterday.  Ran inside dropped a few things from the car off grabbed my gym clothes.  Paid attention to the furball who came halfway down the stairs for me.  Looked at me when i started to leave and returned to their spots back upstairs.

I ran to the gym got changed and then had the inbody session for 30 minutes.  Alex was pleased.  I lost just over a pound of weight and the  muscle increased.  HE said see what happens when I listen?  He reminded me that because I did so well I can’t blow it as I have in the past.  So we talked about what I would have for the rest of the day.  I ended up having some chicken wrap at Nardelli’s (all their salads were taken off because of the romaine lettuce recall).  So I got that before I took off for Mama Joanie’s.

My ride up was really confusing I was expecting it to take me up  route 8 and off  in Shelton but instead  it had me  CT114 to  CT313 West and ended up to 67W and  man was it steep in Hills.  Of course I got a little lost but  (are we really surprised?) eventually found my way but I wasn’t able to find a McDonald ‘s for her shake.  I got there at 2.

When I got there she was in the middle of putting a diaper on .  She had a bad case of the craps an hour earlier and was trying to get  cleaned up.  She was so frustrated she began to cry.  So  we got her back to the bathroom and I cleaned her off the best we could and got her dressed.  We spent  the next two hours talking.  I told her about my trip, work, and the cats.  She talked about her holiday (she had to stay home because she is still recovering from pneumonia.  Around 4 her nurse came (she was supposed to be there  earlier in the day) and we told her about the incident earlier and that she may need to be cleaned off again.  Joan gave me some perogies to take home and have (and I did).  I told her I would call her again soon.

My ride home was the same route as coming.  It was a little darker so I was going a little slower and that pissed someone off behind me.  Too bad I could have killed a Turkey that was crossing the street.  It seemed a little easier getting home than coming up.  Despite the unfamiliar route it was lovely.

When I got home  I finished unpacking the rest of the car and fed the babes.  They were rather vocal.  I didn’t feed them a lot because they had been grazing the entire day I felt.  They  did their own thing and I got online and watched TV for a while.

I decided to go to bed at 8.  Not before sending texts to both Liz and Jim.  They were glad i was home safe.  I forgot to let the neighbors know I was home.  She texted me last night and didn’t see any lights or the car in the driveway. Not judging much.

Today I spent on the computer and  odds and ends.  I somehow messed up the tv.  It won’t move from a particular channel and It has been frustrating me most of the day.  So I haven’t been watching that much TV. 

The  Peapod delivery arrived around 8:30 and got everything put away.  It was then I started to look at recipes for some of the ingredients and noticed I needed more (like for the cranberry sauce I need for the banana bread).  I found myself just adding ingredients to the grocery list and not saving the recipe in my favorite bar.  So I spent time doing that.  Unfortunately by the end of the day I didn’t feel like doing much of anything else regarding cooking.  Maybe  later on during the week.

I did laundry and its finished and hung up or folded.  I just need to bring it up stairs.  I managed to hang up most of my Dia.com collections and they are really beautiful..  I am pretty sure I have another one coming soon. 

I went out to get a few things at the store and to get an early supper/late lunch.  Eggplant parm without bread but decaf soda..  I don’t think I Have eaten that much today Coffee, string cheese and a protein drink and of course a yogurt or two.

Since the tV wasn’t working I decided to come up to bed.  The kitties were  at my feet until a little while ago.  I expect them again anytime soon.  They did their own thing today too.  I let Sky in the old bedroom but on more than one occasion he came out calling for us.  While tiger slept under a blanket upstairs.  I actually have a cute picture of Tiger on my  FB wall..

The weather was nice.  It was in the low 50’s today at times the cloud came out but  no rain  but a little windy.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow and wreak havoc on the area. Such as coastal flooding for us  Most of the week we will have cloud or rain.  I hope we don’t have either  next week because I have to go to Clinton on Saturday for the  Cookie swap.

I went to Kathy’s Cookies and ordered 3 doz cookies for the swap next week..  I will pick them up that morning before going to the swap.  I am so looking forward to this even if I can’t have them.

I think  I will  close out as I want to get up early tomorrow and try to get into work early.  This week is going to be busy.

Thanksgiving Road Trip

This past week I took a trip to visit my brother in allentown PA.  Before taking off for the trip I did last minute things that you do before taking off for any trip.  Kissing and holding the cats was important item and so was getting the car washed.

I went to Russell’s car wash in town and I have to tell you I was disappointed afterwards.  First they somehow got me to get unlimited car washes for $25.  I expected them to do the inside and out (meaning the vacuuming-that’s self serve and for extra money in which i couldn’t be bothered). You have to pull it through so that you get your car sprayed with cleaning solution but on tracks.  I guess this is to be expected (you can tell I don’t wash my car often enough).

Later on in the day I discovered that one of my car magnets was gone.  The scratches and some of the dirt returned.  I was sorely disappointed.  I was going to find a place to vacuum it but it was too cold.

When I finally got on the road the sun was fighting with the clouds to stay out and bring warmth.  It may have been windy and chilly but more than once I was warm in the car.  I was at times concerned that Google wouldn’t know where to direct me but she or it did fine.  We hit pockets of traffic throughout the drive down.

Around 2 in the after I stopped at  side of the road in Bloomsbury New Jersey getting some coffee by a volunteer group that's serving coffee and donuts and bagels and rolls on this very chilly 43 degree day.  I really needed it because more than once my eyes were getting heavy and fluttery (like the sunshine that came out occasionally was too bright)

I finally got to the hotel by 3.  I checked in and took around the room.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but it wasn’t great either.  I unpacked and then tried to set up my laptop to use but had trouble with it.  I didn’t do anything with it it until the next day.  I tried to get assistance from the clerk..not helpful.  

I went out only a few times that night to run a few errands but came back early.  Especially after being lost for like the third time and some idiot accused me of being drunk. In my usual flare I told her off and we both drove away.

I wouldn’t get to see Jim until the next Morning for the brunch.  Or for that matter for most of the time I was there.  He has a part time Job at  Amazon in Breinigsville, PA.  The hours usually went from 2 to 10 or he was called in two extra times.  Thanksgiving afternoon (after our brunch) and again earlier on Friday.  We did get together later on that night  after his shift.  Ruby Tuesday’s was the only thing open in the area it seemed.  We did get a chance to have coffee before I left for home on Saturday.

On Friday I had breakfast with my  Nephew James.  We went to Trivet Diner a favorite place amongst this branch of the family.  We talked for nearly two hours.  Even though we spoke at the brunch for a short time (I actually ignored everyone else at the table that day).  We had a nice visit.  We talked about family stuff and he seemed to understand and not be judgemental of either Liz or myself.  It may have been unfair to speak of the strained relationship (but he had said that his Mother and Aunt weren’t speaking until recently) but if I said I hadn’t seen them lately they would need to know.  When we parted he made a promise to come up for a visit next spring or summer.

Friday afternoon I made another trip to the post office and finally mailed off a few things to Dr. T.  I also had dinner an early supper at Carrabba's again.  This time it was sirloin with the Bryan toppings (Bryan topping is goat cheese with anchovies-I had it on chicken my first night).

It was about then I was entertaining an idea to take a ride to Lititz pa to visit Linden Hall.  I realized it would be an hour and half ride and dark by the time I got home.   I Know it had been a number of years since my last visit and I wasn't eager to get lost and make people worry.  So I went back to the hotel and got online (finally after going to the desk clerk 2 or three times by then) and did some online shopping and membership renewals.

That night after sending a few text messages to Jim I started packing up and getting the car ready for the trip home.  I put only a few things in the car.  Made the effort to chat with the desk clerk before going to bed for the final time.

The next morning I got up got ready and finished packing the car and eventually left the hotel for Wegmans to meet Jim for coffee.  He is much like his mother when he hasn’t had coffee.  We talked about different things like his impending trip to Kenya (he told me about it earlier in the weekend) in January.  He was also talking about his other part time Job as  Leader for WW.  He did pretty well when I spoke with him later on in the evening.

It was 9 when I left there and had no problems until I got passed Tappan Zee Bridge.  I missed the exit to get to the Merritt /Saw Mill Parkway.  I tried not to get too anxious I took the route given and got back on.  When I got to CT (that’s when the pockets of traffic started again).  I was at the house by 12:30.

As I look back at the trip.  Could I have done things differently?  Yes I chose not to.  I don’t go shopping unless I had to.  I should have gone to the things I looked up for on Friday.  I bet I would have liked the extra road trip to Lititz.  I don’t know if people were on campus or not.

Even though Jim and i have a pretty good relationship.  I sometimes have a hard time talking with him.  I get the feeling he wants me to express myself differently then I do.  I think i may try that sometimes.

I do plan on visiting him again for a weekend or soon.  Maybe even during the summer.

So much to do

I am getting to that anxiety point.  Still have so much to do and so little time left to do it.   I may pull a couple of all-nighters until I leave Wednesday.

The Walnut beach meet-up was good.  It was a 3.79 mile walk and my body felt every one of them.  My companions were okay.   Actually one left us without even saying anything and if she had somewhere to go then fine but tell us all.  Not just the organizer.   I know this lady from the DTC and something tells me she is going to be an aggravation once January comes up.

Luckily someone else was walking at my pace while her husband Mike, the organizer Joan, and one other were way ahead  of us and I have mixed emotions about that.  IF we are supposed to be a group then we should be walking together.  HIking I understand but we are walking!  They all acknowledge everyone should go at their own pace but if you are not familiar with the area as I was then you stick closer.

All that was overshadowed by the beautiful beaches and scenery and the various stages of the beautiful homes around us.  You could see many were still being refurbished after Hurricane Sandy and some must had some history of the area.  IT was almost 10:30 when we got back to the cars and we were discussing holidays and the tentative plans for next meet-up.

When I left there I stopped at PHarmacy to get some type of cold medicine because the sneezing and running nose was worrying me (not enough to go to a walk in or DR.)  OF course I also got a thanksgiving card to send to TD along with the note and mail for the club.  I was very tempted to buy junk food while there but I stopped myself.

Instead i stopped at Adams and got lunch.  It was St Louis ribs and onion rings  and then slept for a couple of hours while the TV was on.  I was afraid I would over sleep.   I got up by 1 and freshened up a little and then took off.  People were already in the dining room and Evan was setting up and getting people.  We had a pretty good crowd even though some of them were talking a little too much.  As usual not enough chips.

When it was over I came home and started on the breads.  I have a feeling these didn’t get mixed or blended well because I could see bits of flower or something in the mix.  I hope it is okay.  He would say he liked it just to be nice.  It was done by 6:30.

Oh I got a call from Mama Joanie...She is in the hospital again with PNeumonia.  She was telling me what the doctors put her on and how she was discouraged by it.  She was supposed to go home the day she called me (Sunday) but the doctor said no.  AS we finished the discussion I promised I would see her next Saturday.

While I was making the breads my grocery delivery came even before the time  I picked.  I put everything away and fed the cats.  I relaxed after that and then started doing odds and ends.

I went to bed around 8 but got on the computer to work on TD’s letter a little more.  I wasn’t able to finish it but I do have a card to go with it and my hope is to get it out tomorrow sometime.  I was very pleased to receive a THanksgiving card/note in the mail on Monday.  So I am really anxious to get this out.

Monday was a pretty dreary day but I didn’t have to be in the City until 9.  I was getting ready for my OB/GYN appointment and then work.  I did some odds and ends.

The appointment went well.  I am all set for the next appointment.  The nice lady Doctor scheduled me for a mammogram, bone density which respectfully over the next couple of months-actually 1 is when I come back from Thanksgiving recess.   I just know one thing It must be aggravating for the insurance follow up people to call the Insurance companies.  It took me two tries to get it done.

I spent the morning and most of the afternoon scanning and had lunch from Paula’s.  Reviewed stuff with DG and made the batch sheets.  For the most part I had a pretty good day but that would change as we were leaving the building.

I was out front with my companions and this Apple comes whizzing at me and hits my shoulder and Leslie’s foot.  I was livid.  It was some asswipe on a school bus.  They were yelling they didn’t do it and the bus driver ended up stopping and all the kids were telling the bus driver.  We caught up with them and we spoke with the bus driver and I was abusive to the kids but was told that a report would be made and we have to contact the BoE. 

Today I worked and no follow up with the  BOE.  I had my session with alex and then came home and began getting ready for the trip tomorrow.

Quiet Time

I am just having some quiet time before I head out to the walk at Walnut Beach.  I have been to the beach rarely over the years except to attend a church or restaurant for some festive occasion.  It has a lot of things to do especially in the summer.

The weather is overcast or cloudy and going to be in the 40’s.  There is a call for rain but not until tonight and hopefully after I get home from Bingo.  The walk will take us to the Audubon area where we will see a variety of birds I hope.

The kitties have been fed and watered and are now sleeping.  Sky behind me on the sofa cushion and Tiger in a chair in the dining room.   

It should be noon time by the time I get back and get ready for Bingo.  I thought I would be able to prep for the breads and or the meat loaves but I won’t for sure.  I will grab lunch and then head out to bingo.

This is the third week of the new routine and it feels good and natural at least from my view.  Not sure how the residents or staff feels but I seem to like it and it feels natural. At least i will have next week off.  

When I get home i will get on the cooking and then finish packing and then do more straightening as it looks I never did any of it yesterday.

Running out of steam

It is almost 9:30 at night and the final few hours of the NCIS Gibbsgiving Marathon is in the final four hours. I was planning on getting to bed by 8 tonight. I keep getting distracted.   It would seem the kitties are both there now.

I made it to my weekly nutrition/inbody session with Alex.  I lost 4 lbs from the last check in (Monday).  Once I told him about the A1c concerns from the MD.  It concerned him strongly.  He made it clear that I can’t have carbs   that I have to be strident in the course.  Just Protein and vegetables.  No pasta, no breads and I am not sure what else.  OH desserts.  I wrote him a promise for thanksgiving.  Double up on Protein shakes, and eat protein, and vegetables.  I will be going to the gym for three days straight.  I will be going before I leave for Jim’s.

After the strategizing I spent 40 minutes on the recumbent bike and the treadmill. (20 each time).  I was determined to follow through on what was discussed.  Unfortunately I couldn’t make it for two hours.

After I left the gym I headed to the hair salon (got the wrong time) so I had coffee and two cookies and twix bar (mini).  So I got in the chair by 2:30 and by three I had a new do. 

When I finished I headed to Adams.  By then the sun was behind the clouds and it got a little windy.  I got some baked scrod and butternut squash.  There as a party of sorts in the aisles.  Samples of everything we could use for upcoming dinners, parties etc.  I tried a sliver of stuffed breads.  I refused to have anything else.

On the way home I had a phone session with Debra.  We talked about my week and the revelation of the A1c and how I am getting a little anxious about getting things done in time for the trip.  More than once she asked me if there is anything that could be done.  Cooking wise: No.  Packing wise yes.

After our session I then called Roberta.  It was noon and they were just relaxing. They survived the visit with her sister.  The sister left for home this past thursday.  Mama said there were some tense moments but they raised to the occasion.  She told me that another of our friends emailed her and told her she is making plans to retire in a couple of years and move out to Nevada.  CE hasn’t dropped any easter eggs on social media of late.

I had dinner and watched TV.  Did odds and ends as I mentioned earlier I put together my toiletry bag and got my meds ready and the Protein stuff to have while I am there.  I have a few more of the meds to get ready. 

But now I am heading to bed.  I meet with Joan at Walnut Beach pavilion for our walk.  Then I will do bingo later on.  Baking and cooking afterwards and then get ready for the short work week.