Now I'm good to go!

Yesterday I took care of the important half of the gypsy team, and today it is my turn.

I saw Dr. G. and he tells me my eyes are great! He also said there is no exercise I can do that would hurt my eyes, unless there is something that could hit me in the eye. Since I am not into those exercise machines with god knows what hanging all over them, nor have I taken up boxing, I think I'm ok for the jumping jacks. I told him I wanted to get in shape to do some long distance backpacking so he knows what I'm up to.

I left with an appointment for 6 months and a prescription for glasses, which I have already ordered at the Walmart near my house. I really like Walmart Vision Centers, and I got the best pair of glasses I ever had at the one a couple of miles from my current house. I'm hoping for the best, although I haven't really been satisfied with glasses since I've had all my troubles with cataracts and cornea transplants. Maybe this time will be perfect, and at least I am hoping so.

I selected the frames and then discussed with the optician all the choices for lenses, keeping in mind what my insurance covers. I ended up with two options - one at $115 out of my pocket, and the other at $165 out of pocket which included transitions lenses with copper/brown lenses. It seems the brown costs more than the grey (which I have trouble seeing out of). I decided in the end to get the $115 option, but when I went to pay, it turns out that the insurance gave me some kind of extra discount and my payment was only $30! Dang, I would have gotten the transition lenses if I'd realized I would get an additional discount. I'm happy though, because my funds are looking pretty skimpy for such an adventurous trip, and I still need an oil change, prescription refills, etc. The cost of fuel has me very worried.

I'm down to one drop a day in each eye of the prednisone, and the sutures remain, one in each eye. In the end I decided that Dr. G. knows how I feel about the sutures, and if he thinks they should stay a while longer then I'm not going to argue with him. There have been few doctors I trust as much as I do this one, and I'm not going to second guess him. Maybe in six months ...

It is a beautiful sunny day and my spirits are about as high as they can get.

Lady is good to go!

We headed over to Western Feed & Pet Supply this morning for the mobile shot clinic. We arrived first and only had to wait a few minutes until I was given the paperwork to fill out, and then the vet was ready to shoot! This clinic is held under a large awning outside the store, and Lady enjoyed watching all the other dogs in the area.

She got the 5-in-one vaccine plus the bordatella. I normally wouldn't get any of these vaccinations for her except she will need them if I put her in a kennel during the graduation. I usually prepare a page of emergency information when I travel that I keep under the passenger seat visor. This page gives basic medical info for me, i.e., arterial stent implant, and I just make reference to the I.C.E. info which is in my cell phone. I also keep a page for Lady, giving her name, age, and describing her temperament, plus a list of her shots and dates given. I would hate to think if I had an emergency along the way that they would stick her into a quarantine someplace, although I really don't know what they would do.

Back to this morning, she got her two shots and we headed to the car. It was ironic that when we left home she balked and hesitated and backed up several times before she could climb into the back seat of the car. When we left the parking lot after her shots, I opened the car door and she hopped right in like a 6 month old puppy!

A heavy rain started shortly before 4:00 am, and I hate the sounds it makes right over my bedroom. It bothers me more each time, and I don't think there is anything I can do about it. Right now the sun is shining although it is expected to rain on and off for the next week. The paper towels I keep on the windowsills under potential leaks were damp this morning, but nothing was dripping.

I had a comment to yesterday's entry that makes a lot of sense, and I want to thank Judy for making it. She suggested that since I still have a suture in each eye, I should talk to my eye doctor about doing jumping jacks. I see him tomorrow and will ask him about this, and in the meantime I will put the jumping jacks on hold.

Also, thanks to Sherry for the suggestion that I place one of the hotels bath towels under my yoga mat so I can keep up with my exercise and stretch routine while traveling. I really do appreciate the comments and suggestions I get.

NOTE: A couple of hours after I posted this I realized I attributed to someone else the suggestion about my talking to the eye doctor. I have since corrected it to Judy, and I hope the correction is made before Judy reads today's entry.

It's cold today!

From mid-day when I walked over to the laundry room a couple of times to this afternoon it has gotten much colder, and the breeze has picked up. The forecast for five days beginning today show rain, and while we haven't yet had rain it will probably show up before I go to bed.

I have the breadmaker running and the fine aroma of baking bread is wafting through the house. I have chicken tenderloins marinating in basalmic & rosemary dressing, and the only thing missing is dessert. I nearly went out to pick up something for my sweet tooth, even had my coat on, but decided I would just stay home. The favorite part of the weekends is not getting into my car, although I might break down tomorrow and drive to Raleys. They are closing this store soon and I don't know what I will do for baked goods, as theirs is the very best of supermarket bakeries. I need to attempt using the bread machine to make dough and then fashion my own rolls with it - cinnamon rolls would be my pick.

I did my jumping jacks today and added 5 to yesterday's count, so I am up to 15! I'm going to keep track and raise it by 5 every day. The stretch routine I do nearly every day is called "a.m. & p.m. Stretch" with Madeleine Lewis, and is available at Gaiam.com for about $15 plus s&h. It takes about 30 minutes each for the morning and evening routines, and I try to do at least one each day. The morning stretch really makes me feel terrific, and I think the one great part about it is becoming more aware of my posture. I tend to slump sometimes, but the morning session ends with emphasis on maintaining good posture throughout the day and it really works for me. My muscles get a little sore if I haven't done these routines for a while but that soreness goes away within about a week. I doubt I'll be able to keep up with it staying in motels along the route to NY - I hate to put my yoga mat down on a motel room rug!

When I was doing these exercises last year (when I lived in an apartment) I noticed after a few months that my tricep muscles had become really nice and tight. The triceps is the part of the upper arm that can be like flabby jello. There is a stretch for the triceps in both the a.m. and p.m. programs.

I guess that is enough of an unsolicited plug for Gaiam and their wonderful DVD's. I also have a couple of yoga DVD's featuring Rodney Yee, who is way to advanced for me to even attempt it, but he is so good to look at I sometimes watch the videos!

Every day this week I've looked forward to mail delivery, hoping my Triptik has arrived, but so far I'm still waiting. They told me it would be close to the first of April and I guess that's when I can expect it. I'm looking forward to seeing Dr. G on Monday, and hope I can get some glasses that will help. I know the occasional tightening up and blurring is caused by the one suture left in each eye. I don't know enough about it to argue with the dr. and he knows I would like them taken out. I have heard that several sutures are left in when someone undergoes the full cornea transplant, so I guess I'm not all that bad off.

My bread is ready and I need to go remove it from the machine. It's still about an hour early to start sauteeing the chicken, and if I sneak a slice of warm bread I will undoubtedly eat several slices and leave the chicken for tomorrow.

Weekend coming up!

What a day I've had. After walking Lady and having a quick breakfast I had to get a shower and dressed for the funeral of my cousin. While waiting for the Lasko heater to warm up the bathroom I decided to try doing some jumping jacks. I figured I had exactly enough room. In last Sunday's Parade Magazine, along with the recipe for minestrone soup, was a little section on exercises that are really good to do. There were 3 of them - jumping jacks, the plank position (yoga), and push-ups. So this would be a great time to do the jumping jacks, you know, get the old heart pumping!

I couldn't believe what happened. I couldn't do the jumping jacks, because I couldn't coordinate the arm and leg movement. Have you ever heard of such a thing - when my hands came together my feet were not where they should be. I used to coach a girls' 6/7 yr old soccer team and they could do jumping jacks, for god's sake!

I went to the funeral and did fine until about half way there the sky became overcast. Whether it was coincidental or not, my vision blurred up, but I made it to the church where the viewing and service took place. I stayed for both but decided not to go to the funeral home for the Celebration of Life service, as by that time I just wanted to get back home. Driving from my house to there involved crossing I-80 at one of the most confusing and difficult sections, but I made it ok except for one little close call! I was so happy to pull in to the mobile home park.

I ate lunch and took a nap, then walked the dog. I decided to try the jumping jacks again, in the wide open living room where I have lots of space. (I don't give up easily, although I usually whine a bit before trying again.) Glory be! I did it, I had absolutely no problems and my hands and feet were perfectly coordinated! I'm ok! What would seem like nothing to an 8 year old made me so happy I nearly cried. I did 10 jumping jacks, and then when I looked at the magazine article I saw they recommended starting out with 5 minutes of the exercise. Five minutes would bring on a heart attack I am sure, so tomorrow I will try to do 15 JJ's, then 20, and so on. No way will I ever be ready for 5 minutes of them. As far as the other two exercises, I do the plank position with my stretch routine every morning, and I am getting my upper arms back into shape for the push ups.

So I'm now at another weekend and I need to start cleaning in preparation for leaving my house for a while, as well as getting laundry done and summer clothes ready to pack. It's not easy to pack for overlapping seasons, and just requires taking more clothes. Then there is my car which needs to be cleaned out, oil change, and tire check.

It looks like tomorrow will bring more rain that will continue through the next week. I just wish it would be a nice gentle rain that falls on and off.

Soup is on

I cooked this big pot of minestrone soup for my supper, but as it is now lunch time I think I'll have a bowl for both lunch and supper. I got the recipe from the Sunday Parade magazine that comes with the newspaper, and of course I tweaked it a bit - adding seasonings to make it tasty and a few more of the veggies I like. The recipe called for a can of canelli beans, and I decided I'd try them. The bean itself is tasteless, I think. I normally cook beans from scratch and have to hold myself back from seasoning too much, but my beans sure taste better. The can says it contains 6g of protein, so it probably a good idea to add them to the soup. I also added a pound of good ground beef. I can't wait to try it, although I've tasted the broth and it is wonderful! I hope I'm not too tired of it by the time I finish the last of it.


Sometimes in the evening I watch TV to help me stay awake until a decent bedtime. I am so sick of what's in the news lately that I skip it altogether. Since I only watch a few stations such as Animal Planet, Science, and History channels, there sometimes isn't much to see. I refuse to watch Hillbilly Handfishin' and Pawn Stars, so it leaves me very little. Lately I've watched Searching for Bigfoot (they really aren't seriously searching as the program attempts to entertain rather than to inform), or Ghost Hunters. Sometimes Ghost Hunters looks at some very interesting places, but I've noticed lately that when one of the hunters is startled by a noise, they shout "What the hell was that". I've made a game of seeing if I can beat them to it. I think next time I watch, I will count the times I hear "What the hell was that", and then write a letter to the producers of the show asking if they can't be a little more original. TV is for the most part a gigantic waste of time and brain cells, but when you live alone there isn't much of an alternative.

GMail is at it again. After switching everyone over to their "new look" which I hate, I suddenly found myself back in the old version. Now they are again saying everyone is going to get the new look, like it or not. Well, I don't, and I'm switching everything I can to my AOL account. I hate it when a site changes the look and there is no apparent improvement in the content. I still use the Classic Mapquest, but they too have a new look and each time I use Mapquest there is a notice at the top of the page that I should try the new version. My online banking is the same way - you just get used to the page, where to make an entry and where to click, and boom! It's all different. No improvement or cleaner look - as far as I can tell no better interface. But by god they are going to make you use it, like it or not!

I make changes in my personal environment all the time, so I'm not opposed to change for change's sake. But I want to make the decision myself and not be forced to use something that is less intuitive to me. I'm sure it is to keep programmers busy and no other reason.

Enuf of that! It's after 1:00 pm and I'm still in my jammies. Ya reckon I ought to get dressed?

Another beautiful day, and I made a quick trip to the Sac Food Co-op. It's 3rd Wednesday so I get my 10% senior discount, which usually insures I buy more than I intended to. I found a recipe for an Italian soup that I want to try, so I bought a number of fresh veggies plus organic ground beef. It is basically a minestrone soup, and some of the ingredients are the same as the "Mamma Mia" soup Donald makes.

I'm looking for high calorie, high protein nutritious foods that are super lightweight and that can be carried on a backpacking trip. I'm thinking I might try to get back into backpacking when I return from NY - something like the John Muir Trail or a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, or equivalent. From my experience on the Appalachian Trail a number of years ago, I couldn't carry the weight of the amount of food I needed to maintain my body weight - in the area of 4000 calories a day. I tried hard, adding liquid margarine to just about everything I ate for the caloric and fat value, but it didn't make much difference. I'm going to try to be smart about it this time, and plan well. Eating enough and drinking enough water were really hard to do, and I probably failed miserably at both. The secret will probably lie in carrying lighter gear to allow for more food.

I like having a Mr. Coffee again, although I'll admit the Melitta makes tastier coffee. The Mr. Coffee keeps it warm which is a plus, and it is a simpler process than the Melitta. With the Melitta I filled a large mug with hot coffee, and poured the rest of the pot into a thermos to keep it hot. I'd rather just drink a smaller amount at a time and set the pot back on the warmer. No doubt it will use more electricity but I actually use such a relatively small amount of electricity per month I'm not worried about it.

I am so looking forward to my visit with the eye surgeon next Monday. He is going to write me a prescription for glasses, at the least for reading glasses. I don't need long distance correction, but do need the reading plus something for the 6' to maybe 100' range. It is a real problem for me because I like driving with no correction except when I'm approaching signs, exit ramps, intersections, etc. I'll have to rely on Dr. G to fix me up with something I can use.

I am really feeling great lately. I still often need a nap about 2:00 pm though, and I wish I could get through the day without one. I can if I'm involved in a project or have something to do, so I hope the long distance driving will be good until about 3:00 or 4:00 pm. Time is passing so quickly and I'll be on my way before you know it!

Great weather for a change!

I went to get a can of Chicken Noodle soup out of the pantry, and it looked as if the number of cans increased! I think I wrote that I bought a pack of 9 cans at Costco for $9. Well it seems that it was 12 cans for $9. Good deal. I wish the dog food I bought today was available at Costco, because I just came back from Petsmart with 10 cans of Blue Wilderness dog food for about $24, and it was on sale! I mix about 1/4 can with her dry food, so it will last me a month or more. I'm debating about giving her the wet food while on our trip - even though I cap the can when I put it in the fridge, it is likely to get melted ice water from the cooler seeping into the can. She doesn't like her food as much when it's only dry.

I also stopped at the Red Roof Inn next to Petsmart to pick up a location guide. They say they allow pets except possibly in a few cities where there is a "no pet in motels" rule. I guess it is up to the individual motel whether they charge an extra fee. That is why I much prefer Motel 6, as they never charge extra. I stayed at a Super 8 last year while traveling through Montana, and the cost was pretty high after they charged extra for the dog. I didn't have a choice because the weather was not good and there was nothing else around. Times like that I miss having something I can sleep in - even a van would do. But I'm generally happy with my Highlander and if I didn't have the dog I could probably fit a section of it for sleeping. I'm not sure where I would sleep in it without a dog though - certainly wouldn't stay at a rest area by myself.

I love being back in my stretching and weight lifting routine. Very gentle overall, but I feel much stronger. I really need to start walking around the park again. Can't remember why I didn't keep up with it a month or so ago, but it probably had something to do with my allergies and bronchitis.

Dizzy Dick commented on yesterday's entry about only hearing good things about the deceased at a funeral. That is true, generally speaking. In Ireland I attended a "removal" of a prominent and very much disliked man. After laying the body in the church overnight, as is the custom, everyone goes next door to the pub where the family lays out a spread and buys a round of drinks for all. In this case the relatives of the deceased kept everyone laughing with horrible stories of things he had done to anger people. A niece of his said that only his wife seemed to think he was a good man, and I was glad he had someone in his corner. I knew most people didn't like the man but it was at his funeral that I realized the depth of their dislike. Nothing keeps the Irish from attending the viewing, removal to the church, the pub "service", the funeral Mass next morning, and the burial in the graveyard. It is really a social occasion for everyone but the bereaved.

The sun is pretty bright right now, but the brightness seems to go in and out. Here is a photo I took a couple of evenings ago, and it wasn't taken all that late in the day. The heavy clouds made it seem later than it was.