Ado Annie

Stars, that is a good movie. My book club had read the book, and I "made" Hubs watch the movie with me. He liked it, too. Glad Little Doggy is doing well. Hello, all! I'm officially off for the week, which means I might not reply frequently since the app won't cooperate on my phone. I'm still reading. My home laptop is so slow. We have a desktop, too, that I hardly ever think of using but it is also slow, just not as slow as my laptop. Yesterday we drove to the lake and took the boat out but only under motor-power, didn't put the sails up. It was a cooler day (only upper 80s) after the T-storm that blew through Saturday night. I slept so much better Thurs/Fri/Sat nights. Last night wasn't bad but I did have a little trouble sleeping. I think that magnesium supplement makes a difference.

Hooray, Stars! Glad you're getting started getting settled in. Coffee is a must. There are some not-too-bad instant coffees so all you would need is hot water. I've read enough to decide that my headache/tense shoulders and jaws/extreme insomnia are due to the keto diet. And "they say" those symptoms should ease up. I didn't really experience them at first but this last week has been hard. Maybe because I ate all that good stuff over the 4th and had to go through getting into ketosis again. I don't know. Could be emotional, too, though. I was very anxious about meeting the mayor last night to talk about his campaign against the hospital. I'm feeling less tense today. Not that it went all that well... I thought this meeting was a chance for me to explain my position, but that's not how it started out. And I made it clear that that was what was going to happen and I don't think he liked it much. But he seemed to listen and take heed of one or two of my points. After 37 minutes he said he had to go because he had another commitment. I hate feeling emotional when I'm trying to explain myself. I have this really strong sense of injustice. He listens to all the stories from unhappy people and believes it all. I, of course, can't tell him why some (most) of those stories are bull-hockey.

Safe travels, Stars!

Tweety, I misplace things frequently. Just yesterday Twin A needed to leave for work but no one knew where the car key was. Once we established that the last time the car was driven, he and I went to Taco Bell, I decided to check the pocket of my pants in the laundry hamper. Tada! Yesterday my day started with a complaining family-member-of-a-patient and didn't get better from there. I discussed my work frustrations with Hubs and Twin A when I got home. Then Facebook started suggesting therapy/counseling. LOL I made more mini-frittatas last night, this time using spinach and parmesan. I've been disappointed with a lot of the low-carb recipes I've found but eggs and cheese are pretty good. There's a quick bread I want to try. Last I knew Hubs was planning to meet a friend at the lake for a quick sail late this afternoon so the boys and I are on our own for dinner.

Hope little doggy is progressing on the mend. Hubs does most of the cat-medicating (Binx takes 3 pills each day). They have it down to an art that doesn't disturb either of them very much. It is hot and steamy here. Saturday night Hubs and I were sitting outside watching the neighbors shoot off fireworks when the wind suddenly picked up, the temp dropped from 89 to 67, and an intense storm (including a little hail) dropped in. Afterwards, the neighbors went back to shooting their fireworks. We went to bed. The trip to the lake got squashed because I was reminded that I was on call and there was no midshift nurse for the ER. I did not get called to come in, but it would have been bad if I had been needed and was in the middle of the lake in Oklahoma City. The only shelter from the sun is in the cabin, and that would be stuffy and uncomfortable in the heat. And that storm would have been quite an experience! Can't say I'm sorry we stayed home. Our church lost a crape myrtle -- it didn't get uprooted so much as break off near the root. I think it will come back. Some areas around us had lots of wind damage and power outages. We were lucky this time. I spent the last 4-5 days eating pretty much anything I wanted. And only gained a small amount. Back to it now. We will grill beef for fajitas tonight. I won't eat a tortilla. Or beans. Or rice. Sorry to keep beating the low-carb food horse but, well, I think about food a lot. I got a "keto for dummies" book from the library.

Goodness, Stars, your POD people sound frustrating. But glad you have a go-date and all. Joe, I missed what happened to your knee. Still stiff and sore? I whacked the heck out of my little toe on the doorframe of our closet a couple of nights ago and it is a pretty shade of purple. I just can't bring myself to wear shoes in the house even though I know it would prevent that kind of stuff. (as well as stepping in cat vomit, ugh). Hubs continues to feed the 3 stray cats. Hubs secured a place to keep the boat at the lake for a couple of months and he wants to spend the 4th on the lake and watch their fireworks from out on the water. I thought it would be fine -- we'd go in the late afternoon/early evening and stay until the fireworks were done and put the boat away. BUT he says let's go in the morning and spend the whole day. Um, it's been in the 90s all week with "abundant sunshine" and I just don't know if I'm really up for that. And what are the odds there will be any wind? His best friend from Indiana will make a short visit, along with the friend's grandson, in a couple of weeks and Hubs plans to take them sailing, too. Again, hoping for a little wind.

Great pictures, J22! So the weather app says "abundant sunshine." That means, yep, it's BRIGHT out there. As I became very aware when we left the retina doctor on Monday. Both eyes dilated. Very glad Twin A was driving. The good news is that my eye is so stable that I don't have to return for TWO years! Tomorrow we're having a "cookout" at work. They'll serve burgers and "fixin's" and we can bring in desserts that will be sold by the serving (as a fundraiser for other employee events). Yet again, one of the air conditioners isn't working so there are fans set up in strategic locations, most notably right outside my office. I, however, am still cold in the office.

Stars, your references to the PODS people are making me think of bad science fiction movies. 🤣

Got the mammogram over with. Next up is the visit to the eye specialist. Hubs finally gave up on washer "repair" yesterday and found a very similar used washer that he went to pick up this morning. Keeping my fingers crossed but I'm hopeful. I do not want to know what he spent on the attempt to fix the old one. When I sent a Happy Birthday message to stepson Saturday, he replied with a picture -- he was at a "drag brunch" and would later do a scripture reading at a wedding for a gay couple, then was planning to go to pride, and then a drag show. Busy day but good for him. Indiana is quite red in general but there are communities. I made deviled eggs last night, thinking it would be a good low-carb snack. I don't expect them to last long with the boys around, though. Well, off to see what I can accomplish today.

Book club was enjoyable and I'm glad I went. There were some delicious-looking baked goods available but I stayed low-carb and had brisket tacos (but didn't eat the tortillas). Our little community's fireworks will be tonight (apparently they save money on the display and find it easier to schedule food trucks and such if they don't do it on the weekend of the 4th). Hubs and I might go. Twin A will be working and Twin B will be sleeping in preparation for working. Tomorrow I meet my friend D for lunch. I am thinking of going to Norman early to do "water walking" at the pool there. If I get busy tonight, I could drop some things at Goodwill while I am there, too. But I might not get busy on that if we go to the fireworks display. Monday I am scheduled for my annual visit to the retina specialist. Twin A has agreed to drive me. Even if they only dilate one eye, I am past the point where I want to drive myself home in that condition (it is on the other side of Oklahoma City). The day in 2019 when I went there and learned about the retinal detachment, and had laser retinopexy, I had driven myself. Not again. Then I received a letter saying it was time to schedule my mammogram, so I scheduled that for Monday as well. I'll do that before going back home to get Twin A to drive me to the eye appointment. He and I can get a good lunch somewhere. And sometime over Sat/Sun/Mon I must visit the laundromat again. I don't object too much because I can get multiple loads done all at one time. Still, maybe by next weekend my washer will be functional again. Or replaced 🤣 Saturday is stepson's birthday. Sunday would be my dad's 100th birthday!

Howdy, all. I'm very happy to have my little site visit completed. I knew it wasn't something to worry about - but just getting everything wrangled together was enough to cause some stress. Hubs continues to ache from his shingles. Yesterday we celebrated our 37th anniversary. (the only celebratory thing I did was pick up steaks to grill, but at least we did that). Hubs has for some time been watching the stray cats that would hang out near the dumpster at the apartment complex across the street. The last couple of days he has been putting food out for them, and this morning, there they were -- 2 cats in our yard. I know what comes of this. But I am soft-hearted, too. I haven't seen one of the hospital cats in a few weeks. The other was here yesterday but one of the employees who regularly feeds them says she thinks this one is sick -- she isn't eating much and has lost a significant amount of weight. My book club meets tonight and I'm determined to go, barring any major disruptions. We are discussing the Pompeii book.

The other day I was back in the administrative offices after taking a patient complaint in the conference room. The latest joke has been about Hubs having shingles and I bought him a TENS unit. (a) this was before he showed me the rash, and (b) I was trying to help with his back pain, but (yes) it's kind of funny. So someone brought that up and we were laughing about that and other things, and then worried that the patient might still be around and think we were laughing at him and his situation, which we were not. We looked, and he appeared to be gone. No, Mr. Patient, we aren't making fun of you. We are making fun of me. Too much to do this week and I'm having a hard time resisting the tasty carbs.

I totally gave up the low-carb diet yesterday and this morning, feeling justified by my blood donation yesterday. I'll get back to it. It won't be helpful to beat myself up every time I decide to enjoy some food. I feel much better today. We had a downpour early this morning and the next several days have fairly high potential for rain and storms. I went back to the office last night to try to get some things caught up. It's a good thing, too, because when people are here I get interrupted for a lot of things. Still have a lot to do to be ready for some deadlines so might spend some time here over the weekend. Thinking of moving my piano back into the living room. It has been in my bedroom since we brought Grandma here in 2020. Which means that in order to get it tuned I have to let a tuner into my bedroom, which means it has to be tidy, which means I might never get it tuned. I don't even know when it was done last, but it needs it and I want to be able to play it. We've had a few of those (generally younger) people who don't seem to have a commitment to the job. My observation is that they usually don't last long even if they are not fired. It is disappointing to be counting on someone to come in to work and share the workload and they don't.

A quick note before I dive into policy & procedure for however long it takes to come up with what I'm being asked for. Not that there's anything to report. Supposed to storm overnight and it is overcast and only 83 today. The yard needs to be mowed but Hubs hasn't been up to it. Twin A worked today but says he will do it tomorrow if it's not too wet. I gave blood today and decided I had to have some carbs. I probably overdid it, but I feel good now! Wish I had thought to marinate some steak strips I bought so we could do fajitas tonight but ... I didn't, so I don't know what we'll do. Last night I tossed leftover grilled chicken into some broth with noodles. I just left most of the noodles out of my bowl -- maybe that counts? I'm not going to work too hard at trying to count the carbs there.

I hope the storms aren't too bad, Joe. dianah, it's good that the appointment went well with no surprises. Stars, you accomplished a lot. And I admire you for emptying and recycling those cans. Tweety, I'm totally not offended. Your shifts have been fairly brutal and that's reason enough not to be all sunshine and rainbows. I've got some drudgery to face at work, but at least it keeps me busy doing something useful. Very little else going on, and that is A-OK. 89 degrees, humid, and windy. I guess some part of Florida got some rain because one of our volunteers was talking about her daughter's family being there for her grandson to play in some baseball tournament and they're getting rained on.