Sounds like you have a great employer, h-e-r! Good luck continuing working from home!

I join 'rocu in hoping you're able to continue to work from home since it suits both you and your needs so well.

I am so surprised and pleased to hear how well Apple has been treating you through your health issues; and through the Covid crisis! That is amazing; and so unexpected for a huge company like they are! I really hope this turns out to work exactly how you want and is best for you and your health with continuing to work for them; that sounds like a wonderful outcome for both you and your Mother; you will be there to take care of her ongoing! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Sorry for the continued health problems, haute. But happy to hear employer is working with you so you can continue to do something you really enjoy.

I think my employer has mixed up the terms "essential" and "expendable" for us... but I should be getting shot soon, so one less worry.

Take care of yourself.

So... we like to feed the birds... and a whole bunch of squirrels. Put up a new feeder last weekend. Sunflower seed bowl, suet cage, etc. Had good success with woodpeckers, squirrels, jays, etc., etc.

Until this evening about 5 o'clock--- when a black bear decided to raid the feeder. He then climbed about 40 feet into our oak tree and snoozed a while. Came back a few minutes ago.

And for purely informational purposes, let me add that the feeder he has demolished is about 15 feet from the windows in our living room.

Happy 4th of July, all you Muricans here!

GAAAAAAH!!!









Happy 4th of July to anyone celebrating it!

Thanks, 'rocu!

Went to a general check up today.

They found protein in my urine. Will get it investigated further and the results would be a week from now.

I’m kinda scared lol

Hope things turn out okay, Uleni. Stay optimistic.

Yikes Uleni. Hope it turns out to be nothing of concern!

Gaaaah! Do you drink plenty of water? Have you been stressed lately or put your body under a strain with too much exercise? Have you been taking aspirin a lot? Those are most of the normal causes for it; let us hope and pray it is one of those causes and not something more serious I will worry about you till I hear something.

Uleni- we are going to hope it is something easily fixed. Hang in there and take care of yourself.

In the never-ending saga of "Why Doctors are BAD for Me," I got to take my THIRD trip to the ER this year....

Sigh.

So, apparently, my red blood cell count is high. And for some reason, this is considered "not good." So I go to the hematology center. Second visit- they decide--- "Let's pull a unit to ... dilute your 40-weight." Sure, fine, why not? I have always felt a tad guilty about never donating- at least on purpose- I HAVE done a good job of accidentally dribbling and drabbling vampire juice all over the landscape. But- should be okay, right?

Get the IV going- sit in the chair, reading and bleeding (into a bag). All good. They get their 550 cc, ask how I am doing. I feel okay. Do I want a drink? Sure. Then suddenly- I am NOT feeling okay. Queasy, dizzy, loopy.
Apparently, I also passed out. Next I know, I am getting oxygen and IV fluids. I am talking, but I can tell I am slurring, and my eyes would prefer to be closed. My blood pressure bottomed out and it doesn't appear to want to talk to me anymore.

Ambulance ride (up the hill to Ft. Sanders ER). Wheel me in- I apparently pass out AGAIN. Because... (sniffle) they had to cut my Arm the Animals Kitten Tossing a Hand Grenade shirt off.

So I get to be gowned, plugged into FOUR different IVs, plus the cardiogram leads all over my chest and belly. And a CAT scan...

And... AND... had to ... um... void my bladder... into a bottle... from a semi-reclined position.... TWICE. Because of all the fluids they were pumping into me.

5 hours later, I am released, with my stuff in a plastic bag. Wander out of the hospital, with my head full of jangled hyper thoughts (electrolyte weirdness?)... and... "Where did I park the car?" Oh, I KNOW where I parked... just not how to get there from here. Phone home- "I am at the corner of Heart Attack and Vine. How do I get to the place where the car is parked?"

Mrs. Treydog is a LOVELY person- but she is... cartographically challenged. "I will check Gazoogle Maps and call you back."

I begin wandering downhill, looking (and feeling) like a homeless person. Finally find the garage- and also a restroom--- BECAUSE THEY PUMPED ME FULL OF FLUIDS! Drove home in rush hour traffic.

Before all this nonsense commenced, I had not been to the doctor in like TEN years, and everything felt fine. Therefore, it is evident that going to the doctor is bad for me.

Goodness, what an ordeal!!

Holy Cow, Treydoggie!!!! Did they give you any reasons for all that to happen? Or for the high red cell count? That is horrendous! And the SHIRT !!!!! NOOOOO !!!!! I'll quote Acadian here: "Take care of you!"

Now we know why the adage they traditionally teach healers of 'Above all, do no harm' is written in blood.

These forums seem to be turning in to a Den of the Decrepit. Those afflicted have both my sympathy and empathy.

As for myself, my right hand at long last shows signs of beginning to heal. I'm now able to do a little more with it without bringing on a relapse. I've still a ways to go, but now suspect next week's Ortho appointment will likely show that my hand is healing on its own and doesn't need surgery. <crosses fingers>

My right knee, given a clean bill of health during my Urgent Care visit, despite being quite painful at the time, is now back to normal. It still pains me, but no more than it has for the last thirteen years or so.

On a less positive note, another fall-related issue has cropped up. One side of my right ankle, or something in that same area, is now very painful. Boy does it hurt! Why it waited over two weeks to bother me I know not. But bother me it does. I'll bring it up during my Ortho visit, but don't know if they'll bother with it, as that visit is officially specifically for my hand.

An ironic incident related to the above. My ankle bothered me so much yesterday I decided to soak it in hot water. The safest solution for that seemed to be the bathtub, as I'd not need to stress my right hand filling/carrying a large vat of water. I filled the tub high enough to cover the painful area, with water as hot as I could endure. Soaked my foot a good while. Left the tub. Liberally coated my right ankle area with a heat rub.

My plan was to immediately retire to the sofa and lie down reading until supper, to keep stress off the ankle. Moved the tubs drain-lever to 'drain'. Nothing. Jiggled the level repeatedly. Nothing. Rubbed my left had across the top of the drain to remove any surface sludge. No difference. Checked under the bathroom sink for my container of drain de-clogger. Nope . . . I apparently ran out last time I used it and forgot to pick up more. Which meant I needed to dress myself and make a run to Walmart.

Dressing and the drive stressed my ankle, so that it hurt worse than ever. Adding insult to injury, Walmart is redoing its parking lot. Much of it is blocked off. I had to park significantly further from the store than normal, which didn't help my ankle situation.

Back home, I jiggled the drain level until finding a position where water began to drain at a glacially slow rate. I then reapplied hot-rub and was at last able to get off my feet for a while. The tub finally drained right at supper time. Treated it with de-clogger, ate supper, returned to the tub, ran water . . . voila!, a perfectly normal drain. My ankle/foot 'does' seem to feel a bit better today, but only so long as I use it as little as possible.

Uleni, I hope this passes or can be resolved with minimum intervention. Fingers crossed for you!


treydog, yikes!!! Not the shirt!! I'm so sorry you had this ordeal! I'm thinking of you and Mrs. Treydog as they investigate the cause of all this.


Decrepit, glad the ankle/foot didn't get worse after the running around yesterday. You've reminded me that I need to address a tricky drain in my house before the Thanksgiving shenanigans.

Decrepit, sounds like the drain got a better deal than your poor ankle yesterday.

Coffee...Coo!

I'm having coffee with a bowl of vanilla ice cream

Here we go again.

Yesterday morning's grocery run included a gallon of Distilled Water for my CPAP machine humidifier. I'd cut it close, having only enough water left of the old gallon for that night. As it was, I managed to grab Walmart's next-to-last gallon. It was from a different manufacturer than they normally carry.

After supper/teeth-brushing, I brought the CPAP water unit to the kitchen to fill it for the night. While filling, I glanced at the still unopened new gallon's label. To my horror, I noticed, in small print, that a number of minerals had been added. This of course made it totally unusable for CPAP.

Which meant I needed to make an emergency Distilled Water run today. With gas as high as it is, and wanting to use my right ankle as little as possible, I was less than pleased with the idea. But what must be done must be done. At around 0730 this morning I drove to Walmart for a refund, then on to Kroger, whose Distilled Water shelves were filled to capacity with honest, un-doctored product.

So much for staying off my ankle.

Blimey, that humidifier of yours must be quite importante.

Yes, being in the desert, I run a small house humidifier part time to bring up the inside humidity a bit. The problem with tap water or any water that has minerals in it is that when you mist the water (like humidifiers do), those minerals go into/onto everything and eventually gunk up internal humidifier works and, in the case of a house humidifier, eventually leave a white residue of mineral build up all over everything. So I run distilled water also. For my modest needs, I use about 2 gallons a week. Same reason to run distilled water in things like irons or steam mops. The need to use distilled water for such purposes is fairly distinct here in the Las Vegas area as the tap water has a lot of minerals in it (sourced by the Colorado River via Lake Mead).

Had my Ortho visit this afternoon. I now wear not only a brace on my right hand but also on my right ankle. I go back in six weeks for reevaluation. I'll of course need to wear my braces at all times until then, showers excepted.

The doc was late getting to me. Between that and having to go elsewhere for the brace, I got home far later than expected. Too late for a full supper. I'll make do with a whole apple and water. No biggie. I'm not in the least hungry.

Addendum:
Friday morning. My CPAP gear is theoretically cleaned and definitely air-drying. This is their first cleaning since before I messed up my right hand last month. It went a bit awkwardly, as I decided to play it safe and leave on my hand brace. Which meant performing some of the cleaning one-handed to avoid submerging the brace in water.

Happy Thanksgiving for all our 'Mericans.

Happy Thanksgiving to all at our Chorrol family!!

Happy giving of Thanks, Muricans!

Happy T-day to all.

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving; met a whole bunch of relatives that seemed to like me = and a TON of fabulous food! Ham, Cajun fried turkey, stuffing, cheddar mashed potatoes, corn bread, pinto & northern beans mixed, cheese ball, green beans, pumpkin pie, banana pudding, pecan pie, sweet potato pie, apple dumplings, sweet potato casserole, ribs, ham hocks, and I know I'm forgetting some stuff but can't remember what it was = only that it was MMMMMM DELISH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad they "seemed" to like you, mALX!

Lol.

Coo...!

Logged onto Social Security and read my 2022 benefit statement. When all is said and done, the 5.9% increase nets me a whopping $44 extra a month, after medicare is deducted. Truth to tell, after learning of an anticipated large Medicare increase, I expected worse. I've not heard what my Military Pension increases to. It's normally the same percentage as Social Security. If that holds true, I'll likely have enough income to offset rising expenditures in almost all budget categories. Or come close enough to not matter. Maybe a little excess!

Having coffee and ice cream

Ladies and gentlemer. And Khajiitti. Lend me your luggs.

In just a few moments I will today, the 12th of January 2022, have the very first semla for the season!

You are making me jealous!

Oh here we go.

The 2022 semla season is well underway!


Total semla count as of today:

Total semla count as of today:

Be careful there. Remember what happens when someone eats too much cake!

Total semla count as of today:


To clarify; I had one yesterday and I'll have another now in a few moments. Coffee needs to brew first

Total semla count as of today:


Two semlas yesterday at work and one now but as always; coffee needs to brew first

Total semla count as of today:






And as always; coffee needs to brew first

Wow, you are rivaling Lothran's count for ogre teeth!

I'm working on it


X 10

Buffy and I wish all our residents of Tamriel a Happy Hearts Day! 💘

Happy stuff-your-face-with-chocolate day!

Ladies and gentlemer,


I am just about to have my eleventh (11th) semla( )for the season. Youtube video has been selected, the semla in question is sitting on its glass plate just beside me and together we're just waiting for the coffee to brew.

Yum!