The Week Behind: Went

Saturday:  It was a beautiful day...

John went off to the men's meeting at church early this morning.  I was looking forward to easing into the day when Katie texted asking if I'd mind keeping the baby while she went to pick up Taylor.  Little fellow is sweet company to have and doesn't talk much so I felt it would pretty much be like I was on my own except I'd have someone to snuggle. 

Noted that the birds have finally found my feeder and there were several sparrows, a robin and several red birds who showed up to feed today.  A woodpecker kept them all company, though he didn't want any of the seed tray.



John came home...Katie and Taylor came back and stayed with us about an hour before we all headed to Sam and Bess' to celebrate Isaac's birthday.  It was hard to stay away from that baby girl...And why stay away from her when I wasn't seemingly worried about Caleb?  Because Caleb has already been exposed a few times to sickness and he's had his first shots.  Millie hasn't and is still newly minted so to speak.

We had a lovely time with children playing and laughing, babies to cuddle and hold, family, awesome grilled burgers and a lovely lemon cupcake with Gecko green frosting because Isaac is all about PJ Masks Gecko.   I came home sated with happiness but really tired too.  Having missed my opportunity to defrost chicken and make our dinner, I opted to make a frozen pizza.

Sunday:  I went to bed last night and fell right to sleep.  I woke about 3am coughing and finally had to leave the bedroom and sit in my chair in the living room.  I had a cozy quilt and put on my sweat jacket, as well.  The cough finally calmed enough to allow me to sleep once more.  About 5:30 am John came out and sat in his chair, covered with a blanket and there we were at nearly 9am Sunday morning.   It was clear we weren't making it to church on time so we decided to watch the live feed from home.

I took time to set up the Pineapple Sweet Chili Chicken in the crock pot.  It surely did smell good.  We reheated soup for our lunch.

Katie came by after her return from taking Taylor back to her daddy.  She'd picked up River and Rufus on the main highway and brought them back to my house.  These dogs have  roughly 1000 acres ( not all our acreage but farm to farm joined up) they might roam and never cross a single roadway but they are drawn to that main busy roadway over and over again, sigh.

Monday:  My ear is really blocked.  I've followed every online suggestion of decongestant, lavender oil, acetaminophen, nasal spray.  I've had some relief today.  I am not in any pain at all but the sinus/ear pressure has been mighty uncomfortable.

I had big plans today but I set them all aside.  I did manage to make lunch (Tuna Pasta salad) which is one of John's favorites.  There are enough leftovers for another day's meal.  I set up supper to cook in the crock pot (Kielbasa with au gratin potatoes). 

I cleaned out the refrigerator.  I had to throw away  1/4 cup of  homemade yogurt that had spoiled and a jar of corned beef broth that had been pushed far to the back of the fridge behind a basket under the meat drawer.   Since I no longer need a lunch basket for John, I re-purposed it to use as a bread basket since we now keep our breads in the fridge.

I washed a load of sheets and towels and remade the bed.

I did a full load of dishes in the dishwasher and washed several dishes by hand.

Typically we eat frozen green peas but tonight for supper I used a can of Aldi's small green peas.  I must say these were every bit as delicious as LeSeuer peas which is about the only green pea eaten in most Southern households.  I'll get a few more cans to put on our pantry shelves I think.  It's a nice alternative to frozen peas when I am out of those.

I have made out a list of things I might make ahead for breakfasts and since I didn't feel particularly well have watched just loads of videos online.  There are so many options if one can only narrow them down to fit the budget.

Tuesday:  Six of one, half a dozen of the other.  My ear woes continue, but the canal less swollen and some of my hearing restored. 

I made muffins this morning and I didn't use a recipe just put in more or less what I thought I wanted.  These had brown sugar and oatmeal and made 8 muffins.  I put four of them in the freezer.  I haven't felt well enough to do a big kitchen day but I figure just putting extra or even doubling a recipe is better than doing nothing. 

I repeated the same with sausage this morning.  I cooked all I had left in the package (8 pieces) and used just 2 for our breakfast.

I knew we'd have a meatless meal for supper tonight so decided to break out a can of Spam to make sandwiches for lunch.  We buy the turkey Spam which we find rather tasty.  I made grilled cheese with Spam on them.

I managed a proper pedicure and worked on a manicure today though I did not polish my fingernails.

Trying to get back into routine, I managed to pick up my pre-Algebra where I left off last week when I began to feel poorly.

You can tell I'm not doing anything extra beyond just household basics as I've mentioned no extra duties nor projects etc.  But I'm beginning to feel a bit antsy and ready to tackle something extra I think, as long as I don't bend over.

Wednesday:  Disheartened.  I felt some relief in pressure yesterday and hoped to be still better this morning but no, most decidedly NO.   So many have urged me to see the doctor in case of infection and I was so discouraged that I called up my doctor  this morning and asked to be seen.  They got me in right away.

Consensus by good doctor is that I have allergies and  the condition of my ear is severe enough that while there's no infection he expects it will be 'weeks' before it's right once more.   Funny enough, once diagnosed, I find I can live with what it is necessary to live with, while not knowing meant I despaired at not getting well again right away. 

I am to take mega doses of Vitamin C, continue with the essential oil treatment, switch the decongestant I have been using to one more friendly for long term use, use colloidal silver drops in my ear and to gargle and a regional allergy throat spray that I've just ordered, as well as honey as required for cough.   He told me to also continue the lavender or peppermint oils down the back of the ear and along that side of my throat.  Of course, he also ordered me to hum, as well.

All in all it was a pricey sort of day as far as needing to order the prescribed natural remedies (all but the honey which I'll attempt to purchase in town tomorrow) and paying said good doctor.  I do like my doctor and admire his brilliant mind as well as his determined efforts to give as holistic an approach to medication as any patient is willing to try despite his status as an M.D.  As a person with medication sensitivities I would much rather attempt the natural remedies.  I find I seldom have reactions to the natural things.

And I am trying to be patient with this ailment as it heals...I am seldom sick or ailing these days and I do tend to get very impatient with the process of healing we sometimes must go through.

On the happy side of the equation:  I am NOT contagious and therefore holding that sweet baby girl shall commence as soon as I can wade up the creek bed that serves as our roadway to see her.

While we were in the town where good doctor has his office, we went by our favorite restaurant and had a most excellent lunch, courtesy a gift card John's brother gifted him for Christmas.  Lovely!  I told John we'd try to set a little more aside to add to the card over the next two or three months and have an anniversary meal come end of May.

Then off to the grocery to drop off new prescriptions for routine meds we must take for diabetes and blood pressure.  John's medicine was reduced, due entirely to the doctor's opinion that he needed less dosage now that he's retired.

In the grocery I quickly scanned the sales sheet and then picked up exactly $11 worth of grocery items (all on sale) and finished off my grocery budget for the month.  This announcement to John prompted a discussion of how we shall handle grocery and allowances in the days ahead.  We've a small check that comes in at the end of each month and then another much larger one that will come in around the 15th of each month.  I said it seemed to me that it was a reasonable division to take grocery and allowance from those two as they came in.  This would (a) mean that I was not carrying extra cash that I'd be inevitably tempted to spend since I had it in hand  and (b) mean that if a month came around that seemed terribly snug we might tweak the allowance/grocery budget from one of those two week periods to offset the pinch of the budget belt.    My second solution was to remove it all at once from the larger check, then put into SEALED ENVELOPES to be kept until the next two week period had arrived which is another possibility for management.

The grocery did not have the decongestant I required so I went off to CVS.  Wished I'd brought along that $2 ECB that John brought in after shopping on Saturday!  Well I didn't so why whine over it?  I had to have a clerk help me find the store brand of the medication I needed.  There was no name brand anywhere in sight...and the store brand?  Neatly hidden behind a strip hanger full of products and two sales signs for pricier medications.

Splurges today: pink carnations and another bouquet of mixed flowers to mix in vases and a lovely Sally Hansen Instant Dry polish in a deep rich Navy.  For some reason Navy Blue nail polish just bids me to come purchase these days. I am really happy with this one which is a nice saturated color and not the sheer color that I purchased last time I attempted Navy.

John stopped to fill the car with gas.  We dropped off outgoing mail in town at the post office and picked up incoming mail from the box as we came up the driveway.

Once home, John gazed at the empty cookie jar and mentioned how much he wished he'd picked up a Hershey bar while at the grocery.   I had just discovered I had two bags of candy in my pantry last Friday, so sent him to the back to choose a bag of candy to satisfy his sweet tooth.

Ordered the suggested medicines online from various sources, taking time to check prices etc.  A couple I'll buy on the subscription plan.  The one I've never tried before I bought only one of.  I'd rather have only the one on hand until I see how my body reacts to it.

Had a weird glitch during one checkout.  I use PayPal for most of my online purchases.  Generally it autofills the information...Only apparently my brother and sister in law also deal with this seller and for whatever reason their address came up as the ship to, but this information wasn't visible until after I hit place order...I had to call the company and get the address corrected.   We shall see if I get the medicine or not.  Tracking info says it's on it's way to my address but the company updates continue to show their address as the one receiving.

Used leftovers for supper tonight.

Thursday:  I'm going to whine a bit so just glide on down to the next paragraph if you're not in the mood to read another's whining.  I am sleepy from the decongestant I must take and my ear continues to have a  high pitched ringing sound.  It felt every bit as full this morning as it felt yesterday.  It's pouring rain and even though I've prayed that God will help me to just accept the progress of going through this until recovery is complete and give me the grace of patience in that healing, I really just want a miracle healing minor as this ailment  may seem to anyone else!   Just saying...Now I am all done and will admit that I'm incredibly blessed in that I can just stay home and nurse this until I am better and my husband is not demanding about meals or cleaning, etc.  As well, I have noted that days of endless rain does tend to make one feel less than stellar and decreases motivation to do anything, so it's likely that if I had sunshine and a project to tend to I'd feel heaps better even if the ear was still rather wonky.

Used the last of the loaf of homemade bread this morning. I need to make more bread but I've discovered that humidity does my bread making no favors.   I'm just going to wait and make tomorrow.

Starting to feel a little nervous about outages on the grocery front.  I am nearly done with potatoes, celery, a little fresh fruit and am out of something else I can't recall at the moment.   I can not buy more of anything until end of the month which is next weekend.   Now mind you I have plenty of food on hand.  There's canned fruit to replace the fresh but the idea of being at the end of the budget and  not going to buy anything because of the need to truly stick to said budget now that John is retired is where my mind goes a bit shaky.  As with all things, it's really just a matter of doing it rather than thinking or worrying about it.

Looked at menu plan for the week and said "No...." lol.  I've done very well of late but I just wanted something different.  It was wet and miserable and cold outdoors.  It was chilly indoors and we'd eaten a low protein meal for breakfast and lunch.  I had a portion of Beef Stroganoff in the freezer that I thawed.  There was just enough sour cream left in the fridge to make up the sauce for the beef.  I cooked the last of the egg noodles.

I did plug into my pre-Algebra once again and did two days of work.

And so went still another day of rain...

Friday:  No rain today!   We have two or three clearer days (still partly cloudy) and I took advantage of the lack of rain to walk about the yard.  I went out to the compost behind my shed and dumped the things we'd gathered in the house over the past week.  I took a grocery bag of things from the back door to the shed and then gathered up a bag of things I want to use in decor for spring or plan to give to someone.  I walked about looking at the flowers and was delighted to see my tulips are peeping through the soil.  The grape hyacinths have bloomed and in great quantity in places I didn't remember planting them.  I wish the daffodils had been as prolific but I shall definitely plant more.  I found three that were nearly 3 feet tall behind a bit of shrub.

I brought in a few flowers and made up two small bouquets.  There is nothing prettier than daffodils in cobalt blue glass is there?

I made bread this morning.  After the bread was done, I started a second batch of dough and made up 30 cinnamon rolls. I put some in the freezer after they'd baked but weren't yet browned and sent Sam home with a pan as well since he'd stopped by to visit for a few moments.

I used up the last of leftovers from the week past in our lunch today.  For supper, not feeling much like cooking once again, I pulled two frozen dinners from the freezer and thawed and heated in the oven while the cinnamon rolls were baking.

John carried off trash and picked up mail.  The electric bill was in as well as my insurance bill.  Both monies were set aside already so I wrote out the checks and got both ready to go back into the mail.


Breakfasts this week: Saturday- John went to men's breakfast and I had toast and berries
Sunday - Bagels with cream cheese
Monday - Cold cereal with toast
Tuesday- Oatmeal muffins, Eggs with sausage and cheese bits
Wednesday - Fried Egg and Toast
Thursday - Cheese and buttered toasts
Friday - Grits and Toast

Lunch this week: Saturday - we ate at Isaac's birthday party
Sunday - Leftover pizza
Monday - Tuna Pasta Salad (enough leftover for another day this week)
Tuesday - Grilled Spam and Cheese Sandwich, Celery Sticks
Wednesday - out at our favorite spot
Thursday - Frozen Chicken Pot pie, Orange Slices
Friday - Bean and Cheese Burritos

Supper this week:
Saturday:  Frozen Pizza
Sunday: Sweet Chili Pineapple Chicken, Fried Rice
Monday:  Smoked Sausage with Potatoes Au Gratin, Steamed Green Peas, Tomato and Lettuce Salad
Tuesday: Black Beans, Yellow Rice, Tortillas, Pico de Gallo, Green Salad with Ranch Dressing
Wednesday:  Leftovers from fridge
Thursday: Beef Stroganoff with Egg Noodles, Pickled Beets
Friday:  Corned Beef with Mashed  Potatoes, Creamed Cabbage

That was our week...How was yours?