andidante January 24 Share January 24 23 minutes ago, Netfoot said: Ventura Highway by America. A band that produced a number of good albums and a good handful of corking tracks, like this one and A Horse With No Name to name but two. I'm starting to learn or relearn how to deal with the wobblies. I can not stand in one foot/leg. But how often do you do that? Well, every time I have to put my feet into my sandals, I have to stand on one foot while pushing the other foot into the sandal. It only takes a split second, but I have to hold on to something (like a door frame) or I will fall down. Putting on trousers takes a little longer than slip-on shoes. And I can't hold on to something because the trousers need pulling up. So I have to lean back against the wall and let both shoulder blades touch. PS: for some reason, forgot to post this last night. Posting now. Blood sugar this AM was 3.4 mmol/L, complete with flashing red light on meter..... ☹️ I hope they get you in to see that doctor soon! I can't believe it takes so long. Maybe I am spoiled living where I do. 😟 Ventura Highway is my favorite song ever! I love America. Tin Man is another favorite. Link to comment
Netfoot January 25 Share January 25 Garden Patrol. Trying so hard to stay upright. Found a sock. Found my missing Croc. Found another sock. Mo standing there ridgid, gritting his teeth, waiting for a smack. Relief in his face and relaxation of his body when he got a pat on the head instead. He's now curled up between my legs, making yippy, growly noises because I won't put the phone down and play with him. And occasionally kicking out with his two back feet and nipping at my toes. I've had a hard time moving around all day, tripping over my own feet, staggering hither and yon, bumping into everything. Forgot to take breakfast meds until lunchtime, so took lunchtime meds at dinner time, and will take dinner meds at midnight. Been trying not to fall asleep since first thing this morning, do we will.see how that goes. Was curious about my blood sugar machine so I dug out the owners guide. But Mo figured the guide would be much more fun to eat than to read. I had to chase him off, so in the way out he unplugged the USB cord from the phone. He does that a lot. I wanted to check what is the lowest reading the machine can give. I've had a few 3.4 readings and considered that this might be as low as it can go. But no: it can go down to 1.1 mmol/L which I think would mean I'm done for. Drank my liter of ugh. I actually made this batch with so much sugar all I could taste was sweet. This is much more palatable than salt/stale but probably not good for me to take so much sugar. On the other hand, with my blood sugar readings in the basement, maybe it isn't such a bad thing! We have a full moon tonight. At least, it's 99% illuminated. It should be 100% full in an hour or two. Feeling very tired. Had an inexplicable dream about being injured and going to bed to rest & recover. A young woman (not recognized) volunteered to stay and look after me but all she achieved was to interrupt my snooze. Sort of like when you are in hospital. The nurse wakes you up every hour to ask you how you are sleeping. When I am suck, the only person I want to be looking after me is Dr. Kristi and even her I don't want to be too hands-on. Dunno what prompted that weird dream but hopefully it will not return. Have not bathed tonight. Just was not inclined to get wet and all that. It is cool again tonight. Last night was also cool, but Mo didn't demand egress until 5:01 so I was able to stay under the sheet until then, and enjoy the warm company of a fuzzy-faced little shoe pirate. Let me turn on the music and see what I get: Addicted To Love by Robert Palmer. That's the one with the music video that featured a backing band consisting of brunettes with red lipstick and black mini dresses. Apparently at some stage Palmer was visiting Trinidad and encountered the steel pan. He remained a fan of pan music thereafter. I think he incorporate the sound of the pan in several of his later tracks. They say only a Trini can tune a pan, and only in Trinidad. That saying is no doubt false, but it is a nice thought, I guess. I have to stay awake for another 1¾ hours before taking my meds. Or, I can go to sleep and let the alarm wake me up to take it at midnight. I think I will do that, and lock the house at the same time. Mo is already on his back, asleep on my feet. When it's time to lock up he will probably rush outside for 20 minutes and delay the procedure...... 1 Link to comment
Netfoot January 25 Share January 25 I've been having issues with balance for weeks now, but fortunately, I've avoided an actual fall. Well, this morning, I got out of bed and promptly fell sideways, completely over and ended up on my back with my feet in the air! Fortunately, I managed by sheer luck, to fall directly onto the bed, thereby avoiding any injury. But this is not a good sign. 3 1 Link to comment
Netfoot January 26 Share January 26 (edited) It's been a bit of a strange day, starting with my rise and fall, first thing this morning. Since then I've come very close to falling twice more today. Near missed misses are nothing unusual in recent weeks, but today the close ones were extremely close. Then, Mo was hungry. All day. He wanted his lunch early, so I cooked food for us early. He ate all his and demanded half of mine, so I gave it to him because I wasn't that hungry. Mid afternoon, he made it plain he wanted more food so i gave him the balance that was supposed to be his dinner. Then at dinner time made food again and fed him for the third time. It's been hot all day but I've been feeling a bit cold-sweaty. I didn't want to have the fan blowing on me all day and did without it. Ended up soaking on my own juice for most of the day. And then there is the matter of Garden Patrol. On a normal patrol, we leave the house and cross over the front on the grass. Then down one side of the grass to the far end, loop around and back up the other side, before re-crossing the front and returning inside. I suppose you could do it in a minute, certainly two. But it usually takes longer because Mo has to search for a crapaud, pee on a Christmas worm, investigate every stalk of grass on a particular clump, determine the origin of every new leaf on the yard, etc, and so it can take 5-10 minutes easily. Today, Mo came and insisted it was time for Garden Patrol at around 1:00PM. He made it plain that this was something that had to happen, so we set off. Following the usual route with diverse diversions, Mo checked every twig, pebble And blade of grass in the yard. Then, having made his way back to the front of the house, he reversed his steps and inspected everything all over again. Three times he investigated before he was satisfied it was OK for us to go back into the house. This evening, right after a short but heavy shower of rain, thought we'd better do our normal Patrol but Mo came running in, soaking wet. Fortunately, a towel was immediately to hand, so I dried him off. Then, after recovering a storm stolen Croc, we went out on our usual Patrol, after which I dried him off again. A shower for me, and off to bed One thing I did today that I've been meaning to do, is to update the music on my phone. I only started using this phone again after it sat in a drawer for years. There were only 921 songs on the phone and since I started using it again I never updated the list. So today I deleted the 921 songs and loaded back 1454 tracks. (It was easier to remove all and add back the entire list than to try to only add what was missing.) So I will now press <PLAY> and see what pops out. Knowing my luck, something that has been there all the while. The King Will Come by Wishbone Ash, from Argus. Another 50+ year old track from my teenage years. With religious overtones I don't know why I like this one. I am by no means a devout person. And the band isn't either. But I like this one regardless. Puppy is now curled up against my back. No Tummy Trampoline. No two-footed butt kicking. No toe chewing. Not even any window-gazing. I think he's tired. It's looking like a damp night with a strong, cold breeze in the window. Mo will probably try to filch the sheet. He doesn't cover up with it. He sleeps on it. Anyway, I'm so glad my tired puppy is here with me. He is a great comfort, especially when things look bleak. I've been lucky with my three wonderful boys. So different and yet so amazing. How did I get so lucky three times in a row? I will read a chapter and then douse the lights. Edited January 26 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot January 27 Share January 27 Given my fall back into bed yesterday morn, I got out of bed very carefully, today. I put my feet on the floor and say up, waiting for a couple of minutes before standing. I then turned to face the bed, and fell forward... I would have done a faceplant onto the mattress except my shins hit the bedframe. Since my knees wouldn't bend forward, my fall was arrested with me leaning over the bed at an uncomfortable angle. Went down to the welfare department. Filled out a tiny form, explaining my situation. The form was handed in and I was given a name and a number to call "...if you don't hear anything in the next two to three weeks!" Well, I don't know if anything will.come of it but if it does, it won't be soon. I was stumbling through the Revenue Department building like a dipso, with everybody too polite to say anything thereby denying me a chance to deny it. After returning home and giving my left ear a chance to recover from the continuous, shrilly barking that is the norm for vehicular traffic with Mo, I walked over to the mall to deposit all the change I could scrape together. Again, walking like a drunk. Still $200 shy of the rent and only a few days left before it's due. Mo is lying behind me in bed. We completed our Garden Patrol with a cold, wet wind gusting around us and our feet wet from the grass. He's window gazing, now. I made rice for Mo's lunch & dinner and pasta for my own. A single bully beef & cabbage sauce with shredded cabbage went on both. The rice was horrible. Must have been, because Mo didn't want to eat it. The pasta was also horrible, because I didn't want to eat it. Actually, it was probably the sauce that was horrible, contaminating everything it touched. So there is uneaten pasta and rice in the kitchen. I will probably have to try and resurrect it tomorrow by making them into cakes or fritters or something and frying them up in oil. Tomorrow I will test blood sugar again and drink more yukky rehydration salts. I made up my last packet and have it in the fridge for tomorrow. At $1.15 per packet I can't afford any more right now. To try and get the blood sugar up a bit, I have had two very sweet cups of tea and two equally sweet glasses of milk. (Sugar in milk is a mortal sin but sometimes you find yourself doing things you hate because it is needed to achieve other goals.) Anyway, the large portion of pasta with horrible sauce plus the mugs of sweet tea and glasses of sweet milk might get the reading up into normal range for a changed. Anyway, it's been a trying day again, and I am starting to think I will have to take action and reduce the drug dosages without consulting the specialist Dr. Jacinto. Monday next week will be seven weeks I've been trying to get an appointment. Which could be six months down the line when I finally get it, but I can't even get the appointment! And I'm bleeding. From scratches & abrasions on my arms and legs. When you keep crashing into things and falling over, you get those. The warfarin makes me prone to bleeding but it seems to be particularly bad these last few days and I wonder why. I've got bandages on both arms and if I had enough bandages I'd have both lower legs bandaged as well. I have a nasty tendency to scratch at healing scrapes in my sleep, waking up with bloody fingernails and the wounds reopened. So, bandages. Got a call from Mo's doctor this afternoon, checking up on how he was doing. Pleased to report he seems 100% fine now, with no breathing issues at all. Neither rapid panting, nor goose honking coughs. The antibiotics have almost run the course and he is now weaning off the steroids. He's on 10 mg of prednisolone every two days now, for the next six days. (I am on 40 mg a day.) He's gone off again, of course. He will be back soon, with wet feet. He will want to make a nest out of the top sheet. But first he will want to dry his feet in the pillows. If he has gotten more than his feet wet, he will want to use me as a towel to dry off with. Oh! I just looked over the side of the bed and he's right here, lying on the tiles next to the bed. And as soon as I took this picture, he jumped into bed again. Ok, so I will read until my eyes are tired, then lock the doors, kill the lights, then wrap up get some shut-eye. It feels like it's coming to be a cold one. If you drink a liter of crap every three days and still get cramps in legs & feet, hands & fingers, how much should you drink? Link to comment
andidante January 27 Share January 27 2 hours ago, Netfoot said: Given my fall back into bed yesterday morn, I got out of bed very carefully, today. I put my feet on the floor and say up, waiting for a couple of minutes before standing. I then turned to face the bed, and fell forward... I would have done a faceplant onto the mattress except my shins hit the bedframe. Since my knees wouldn't bend forward, my fall was arrested with me leaning over the bed at an uncomfortable angle. Went down to the welfare department. Filled out a tiny form, explaining my situation. The form was handed in and I was given a name and a number to call "...if you don't hear anything in the next two to three weeks!" Well, I don't know if anything will.come of it but if it does, it won't be soon. I was stumbling through the Revenue Department building like a dipso, with everybody too polite to say anything thereby denying me a chance to deny it. After returning home and giving my left ear a chance to recover from the continuous, shrilly barking that is the norm for vehicular traffic with Mo, I walked over to the mall to deposit all the change I could scrape together. Again, walking like a drunk. Still $200 shy of the rent and only a few days left before it's due. Mo is lying behind me in bed. We completed our Garden Patrol with a cold, wet wind gusting around us and our feet wet from the grass. He's window gazing, now. I made rice for Mo's lunch & dinner and pasta for my own. A single bully beef & cabbage sauce with shredded cabbage went on both. The rice was horrible. Must have been, because Mo didn't want to eat it. The pasta was also horrible, because I didn't want to eat it. Actually, it was probably the sauce that was horrible, contaminating everything it touched. So there is uneaten pasta and rice in the kitchen. I will probably have to try and resurrect it tomorrow by making them into cakes or fritters or something and frying them up in oil. Tomorrow I will test blood sugar again and drink more yukky rehydration salts. I made up my last packet and have it in the fridge for tomorrow. At $1.15 per packet I can't afford any more right now. To try and get the blood sugar up a bit, I have had two very sweet cups of tea and two equally sweet glasses of milk. (Sugar in milk is a mortal sin but sometimes you find yourself doing things you hate because it is needed to achieve other goals.) Anyway, the large portion of pasta with horrible sauce plus the mugs of sweet tea and glasses of sweet milk might get the reading up into normal range for a changed. Anyway, it's been a trying day again, and I am starting to think I will have to take action and reduce the drug dosages without consulting the specialist Dr. Jacinto. Monday next week will be seven weeks I've been trying to get an appointment. Which could be six months down the line when I finally get it, but I can't even get the appointment! And I'm bleeding. From scratches & abrasions on my arms and legs. When you keep crashing into things and falling over, you get those. The warfarin makes me prone to bleeding but it seems to be particularly bad these last few days and I wonder why. I've got bandages on both arms and if I had enough bandages I'd have both lower legs bandaged as well. I have a nasty tendency to scratch at healing scrapes in my sleep, waking up with bloody fingernails and the wounds reopened. So, bandages. Got a call from Mo's doctor this afternoon, checking up on how he was doing. Pleased to report he seems 100% fine now, with no breathing issues at all. Neither rapid panting, nor goose honking coughs. The antibiotics have almost run the course and he is now weaning off the steroids. He's on 10 mg of prednisolone every two days now, for the next six days. (I am on 40 mg a day.) He's gone off again, of course. He will be back soon, with wet feet. He will want to make a nest out of the top sheet. But first he will want to dry his feet in the pillows. If he has gotten more than his feet wet, he will want to use me as a towel to dry off with. Oh! I just looked over the side of the bed and he's right here, lying on the tiles next to the bed. And as soon as I took this picture, he jumped into bed again. Ok, so I will read until my eyes are tired, then lock the doors, kill the lights, then wrap up get some shut-eye. It feels like it's coming to be a cold one. If you drink a liter of crap every three days and still get cramps in legs & feet, hands & fingers, how much should you drink? I'm sorry you are having such a hard time! I wish there was something I could do for you! Link to comment
Netfoot January 27 Share January 27 (edited) 10 hours ago, andidante said: I'm sorry you are having such a hard time! I wish there was something I could do for you! Thanks, but there really isn't anything you can do. I'm assuming (which is probably not wise, but I think I'm likely correct) that the anti-MG drugs I'm taking are at too high a dosage and the side effects of this are causing much of my issues. If I could get to talk with the neurologist (Dr. Jacinto), she would be in a position to moderate the dosage without causing the MG to flare up again, but I can't get to see her. Sitting here about to take my blood sugar. BRB... 3.4 mmol/L again. Edited January 27 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot January 28 Share January 28 Ok, so very low blood sugar again this morning, as previously reported. This, despite deliberately trying to skew the number up by drinking lots of sugary drinks yesterday. I don't really know if I should be worried about this. I'd ask Dr. Kristi but I have no plans to see her until I need a fresh prescription and I don't always see her even on those occasions. Googling, I discover that low blood sugar can cause shakiness, loss of coordination, dizziness and weakness, falls, and other issues. It can be caused by many things, including medication and also by kidney issues. I must consider both of these. It's cool tonight. The grass was quite wet during Garden Patrol but I don't recall any rain falling. It could be a very heavy "fall" of dew or it might have simply drizzled lightly for long enough to wet out the grass without alerting me to the fall by roaring down in the roof. Last night was chilly but Mo made a fine hot water bottle right up until he demanded the door be opened at 5:02 and from then until I dragged myself out of bed in time for Breakfast Meds, he became a minion of Satan who would not let me close my eyes for more than 2 minutes at a time without visiting some indignity upon me. Leaping full force onto my tummy (or somewhere more delicate) chomping on my toes, nose or butt, barking at 107 dB. into my ear from 1½" away, pulling the sheet off thus exposing my frail, sick body to the frigid blast, and generally just being a pain in the arse. I think what I need to do is make a suitable sized, motorized hamster wheel that I can lock him into and make him walk for hours every day so at bedtime, he wants to sleep! The good news is, no falls today. One very close thing in the kitchen because Mo left a bit of ice on the floor to become a puddle. I picked up a good skid due to that but I don't classify that as an issue. I did spend most of the day making sure I had one hand close to if not actually touching something I could grab onto, but didn't actually have to grab anything until just now when I got up to come to bed. Listening to Bohemian Rhapsody and let me just say that if you like the music of Queen and haven't yet seen the 2018 film starring Rami Malek, you should make that a priority. I don't know why I felt compelled to say that, since I can't actually picture anyone who appreciates the music of Queen who could possibly not have seen the movie already. Ate three meals today, consisting of pasta cooked yesterday, lightly shallow-fried in oil. Fried food (they say) is not healthy. But I'd eat more of it, if the oil wasn't so expensive. I yearn for chips but to cook $2 in chips would require $5 in oil. Now, following Dr. K's instructions, I used nothing but olive oil for years. But these days I use the cheapest oil I can find and damned sparingly at that. So even when browning meat or veggies for a sauce, I use only a very small amount of oil. Funny about food. When you are hungry, you don't fantasize about Beef bourguignon or Canard à l'orange. Or at least, I don't. I fantasize about chips or Dhal puri roti or baguettes from Martinique (with Stilton or blue Shropshire or Gorgonzola, but really, just the bread). The damned editor just ate several paragraphs off the bottom of the post! This forum sucks! Anyway, the jist was that Mo had joined me and I am going to give him tummy rubs because Quality Time. So, bon soir, wunnuh! 3 Link to comment
Netfoot January 28 Share January 28 Got up this morning and started moving around the house, carefully. No falls or fall-adjacent incidents until: Went out to rescue my Croc and the cap but it was a mistake to bend down to pick them up. Nearly ended on my face and would have, had I not staggered forward several steps and grabbed the gate. Mo barely got out of the way in time! 1 Link to comment
Spunkygal January 28 Share January 28 I really think you need to tell Dr K about the blood sugar issue soon. Also, I thought you had an appointment at hospital for sometime in February? Did that get changed or am I batty? (Well, ignore the batty part!) 1 Link to comment
Netfoot January 28 Share January 28 (edited) 1 hour ago, Spunkygal said: I thought you had an appointment at hospital for sometime in February? Did that get changed or am I batty? (Well, ignore the batty part!) I got a call telling me that my appointment was Tuesday 19th January. But when I went to add that to my calendar I discovered that the 19th was a Friday. I called to check whether the appointment was for Tuesday or the 19th. I was told that no appointment was pending. The person I talked to called back to say they spoke with Dr. Jacinto who said she would find a suitable date/time for an appointment and I would get a call. That was two (three?) Weeks ago tomorrow. No call, no appointment. I will try again tomorrow, and see if I can actually get an actual appointment. Edited January 28 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Netfoot January 28 Share January 28 Now that's a bit of luck. The landlord just popped by with an envelope. It's "On Service" (no stamp required), postmarked 23rd January, and it's from "Medical Records Department QEH". It contained a new appointment card dated on the 17th January, to see Dr. Jacinto on Friday 16th February at 1:00 PM. I make that bold so I can find it easily if I need to look back for it. But just let me check... Yes, 16th February is in fact a Friday. So that question at least is answered. Blood sugar is still sn issue that needs to be examined, tho! Landlord was cutting the grass, including the section he missed last time. So no need for Mo and I to plough through chest-high bushes on Garden Patrol any more. And I should be able to spot the kitchen spatula now, if it's out there. If it isn't, the leprechauns must have it. 1 1 Link to comment
andidante January 28 Share January 28 3 hours ago, Netfoot said: Now that's a bit of luck. The landlord just popped by with an envelope. It's "On Service" (no stamp required), postmarked 23rd January, and it's from "Medical Records Department QEH". It contained a new appointment card dated on the 17th January, to see Dr. Jacinto on Friday 16th February at 1:00 PM. I make that bold so I can find it easily if I need to look back for it. But just let me check... Yes, 16th February is in fact a Friday. That is good news indeed!! Hopefully this doctor will be able to help you. Link to comment
Netfoot January 29 Share January 29 So good news with the appointment to see the neurologist. And after a careful examination of the yard during Garden Patrol, I am pretty confident the kitchen spatula is not out there hidden by tall grass. I've checked under the bed again, so I can only think that it must be in the kitchen somewhere. But where? Behind the stove? I've looked all over several times so I'd it's in there it must be somewhere loony-tunes, like under the gas cylinder or in the broom cupboard! I made up some dough at lunchtime - three parts all-purpose flour, one pard corn flour, salt, garlic powder and a handful of raisins. Made six small fry-breads out of it and Mo and I ate three each for lunch. They tasted OK but I didn't make any sort of sauce to dip them in, nor was there and butter, mayo, jam, jelly, marmalade or anything else to eat them with. The remainder of the dough went into the fridge. For dinner, I cooked a pot containing bully beef with rice, potato, carrot, cucumber and some larger than usual dumplings, from the lunchtime dough. As I was chopping veggies, etc, Mo was on hand to taste test the carrots, cucumber and potato raw. I distinctly counted 16 dumplings. I figured two meals each, four dumplings per meal, so 16 dumplings would be needed. So I made 16. Ad I waited for the water to boil before I could add them to the pot, I went out to get Mo's bowl. When I returned, only 14 dumplings remained in the cutting-board. I guess when I find the other two, the kitchen spatula will be with them. The meal was fine. Plain and unadorned so not exactly amazing. But the only part that was not the best was the dumplings. I guess if you are going to make dumplings with raisins in, you should add sugar I stead of salt & garlic powder. Though to be honest, it wasn't the taste that was a little odd, but the texture. I always try to get something else in the mix besides plain flour, hence the corn flour. Usually works fine, but this time maybe not. Next time I will go plain flower all the way and see how they come out. Listening to Gimme Hope Jo'anna by Eddy Grant. He has (had?) a home & recording studio in St. Phillip, not too far from our club. I've not heard anything about him for years. Mozie has just jumped into bed and is currently burrowing under my legs, kicking and wriggling, nipping and chomping, barking and yowling... Ok, he burrowed right under and out the other side, then ran off out of the bedroom. Mo is a fun guy to have around, but sometimes he can be slightly disruptive. And he steals things. This afternoon around 5:30 (too early for dinner) he decided that what ever I was eating, he had to get his share. Only problem was, I wasn't eating anything. I told him so over and over again but he would not take my word for it. Eventually, he insisted on clambering into my lap to more easily see what I was concealing. I used to have Mo in my lap all the time when he was little. But he's a pretty big boy now. Anyway, up he came, and when he saw there was no grub, he decided he liked being in my lap and just stayed there. It is always nice to have an opportunity to spend time with Mo, but he now takes up so much space you can't get much else done! Anyhow, after about 15 minutes he decided he wanted down, so off he went. I have wrapped a bandage around my right arm to protect some small wounds there from involuntary scratching during sleep. But I've wrapped it a little too tight. It's hurting a bit, especially when I bend the elbow, which happens constantly. So I will sign off now, and redo that bandage. Will send Dr. Kristi a message in the morning, informing her about the appointment with the neurologist. And while I'm at it I'll ask about the blood sugar, and send her the graph. Hopefully she will be able to suggest something to improve the situation. So I'm off and will fix that bandage, now. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot January 29 Share January 29 P.S.: Photo of Mo who burrowed into our pile of pillows and fell asleep. Just as I took this photo he woke. His eyes are just opening. 1 1 Link to comment
Schnickelfritz February 5 Share February 5 On 1/29/2024 at 6:37 AM, Netfoot said: G'morning, everyone! And... we're back! Hope everyone is still doing well. That was entirely too long. Also hope I'm not the only one giving the website another shot after that very rude interruption. Netfoot - hope you have been taking notes about all of your and Mo's adventures last week and will share them soon. 5 Link to comment
Netfoot February 5 Share February 5 We are on a break?!?? For a week, plus? With zero prior warning? Mo is fine. Here he is right here, now. I reached down and photographed the underside of the chair I'm sitting in. The tangle of wires is how I charge my phone during the day. At night it sits on a QI charger. (I recommend those things because in my experience, the one thing most likely to fail on your phone is the charge port.) 4 2 Link to comment
Netfoot February 6 Share February 6 (edited) I could go on a 20-minute rant about a 7-day "break" but I won't. They had several outages in the days prior, so what ever was obviously seriously wrong, I sure hope they've fixed it! Status update. Rent has been paid. I had to borrow $200 which I hated having to do and very much doubt I will be able to do again. Water, electricity and telephone/internet are a two months in arrears and I'm surprised they have not been cut off. There is not much food in the larder. I'm on my last bag of rice and have a few potatoes and 3-4 packs of pasta. Three tins of bully beef. I have some sugar but very few teabags and no milk. Some flour and some packets of dried peas/beans. There is no gas in the car. Last time I took it out I was grinding my teeth the whole way home, sure I would run out before I made it. Meds are due in a week. Most of the stuff can be obtained FOC from the poly-clinic but the generic Mestinon will cost me $16 and change. I have $2.26 in the bank. My hands and feet continue to cramp. I was mixing up the rehydration salts in a liter of water and drinking that every three days, but I decided to mix it into two liters of less complicated yuck and drink it over two day periods, with one day in between. You have to drink more, but being diluted it isn't as nasty. I was told that a dab of ordinary, yellow mustard on the tongue stops the cramps instantly. I don't always keep mustard in the house because it isn't my favourite condiment, and I happen to have none at the moment. I can't afford to buy any to try it, and I can't afford the $1.15 per packet for the rehydration salts either. I'm stumbling around my house all day like a drunk. Since last we spoke I've tested my blood sugar twice, with readings of 3.2 and 3.3 mmol/L respectively. Despite being on steroids, a diet almost 100% carbs, and putting several spoonfuls of sugar in my tea. Or, now that I'm not drinking much tea, in my glasses of water. I'm told (by Google) that low blood sugar can be caused by kidney issues. Like having untreated cancer for the last year. Most days, after lunch, I get a bad tummy ache sometimes accompanied by mild diarrhea. On at least one occasion I've had to treat with Panadol for the pain plus a patent medicine to control The Trots. Not sure I under stand this because I never get any issues after the evening meal. I need a job desperately but everyone I approach laughs out loud. If I see a "Help Wanted" sign I apply. They laugh. I tell them I'm serious and leave my CV. Two weeks later they still have the sign up but they have not called me back. I need to go out and keep searching. But I can't really use the van. I can take the bus. I'm worried that the drunken staggers make it difficult to convince potential employers to take me on. Not to mention they don't help with getting around in foot and/or by bus. Otherwise, all is well. Mo completed his course of meds just fine and to tell the truth was as right as rain long before then. He is a hungry little beggar. Don't know how I'd manage without him. Still a terrible Klepto-pup but dear to my heart. I had to begin Garden Patrol barefoot this evening... ...but fortunately my shoes (and a tee shirt) were recovered early in the Partol. To be honest, Garden Patrol is (amongst other things) an opportunity to recover what ever he's stolen during the course of the day. No, the kitchen spatula remains at large despite several searches being undertaken specifically to bring about its rescue. Listening to On The Road Again by Canned Heat. The lyrics were voiced by their harmonica player rather than their usual singer. The resulting falsetto vocals was combined with some type of eastern stringed instrument (not a sitar) that produced an almost psychedelic drone. The combination results in an unmistakeable result that is arguably their most famous track. (Some might consider Going Up The Country their most well known and there is some justification for this, given it's association with the Woodstock festival. But that high pitched vocal combined with the droning strings results in a track quite unlike anything else.) Just caught him trying to steal that tee shirt again! My book progresses slowly because most evenings I'm too tired to read more than a handful of pages. I've reached page 456 of the 2nd volume. But I'm enjoying it a great deal and its most frustrating to be reading and falling asleep with the book in your hand when you are trying to discover what your favourite characters will get up to next. Dammit! He's made off with the tee shirt again! Right. This means war! 4 hours ago, andidante said: Man I missed you guys!! Yep! 😉 Edited February 6 by Netfoot 4 Link to comment
Netfoot February 7 Share February 7 (edited) Pasta for lunch, with the leftovers for dinner. Nothing too tasty, but I think that might be the drugs as usual. Mi Mo certainly enjoyed his, and came demanding some of mine. Which is a bit cheeky, seeing as I gave him a larger portion to begin with! Managed to slice my finger with the edge of a corned beef tin. Those things are lethal. I'm usually very careful but I was stuffing the tin into the garbage when it turned in my fingers and but bit me. Had a cup.of tea today but no milk was available so a few drops of lime juice was used instead. (I have about a tablespoon of lind lime juice left in the bottle.) I know people drink tea with lemon or lime but godnoze why. Tea is supposed to be milky and sweet. Regulating Garden Patrol. Tee shirt recovered from the yard. Yes, again. By the way, the tee shirt is not a tee shirt any more. It's been in use as a rag in the bedroom for ages. So he isn't damaging a shirt, he's just pinching a rag. But the little beggar is very persistent! He was very vigorous this morning, insisting I let him out at 3:30, which I did. Now, I usually open the door at the first sign of light, so depending on time of year, so where between 4:30 and 5:30 in the morning. If he demands to be let out during the night, I relock the door and he stays out until first light. But this morning, after being locked out at 3:30 he made such a clamoring under the window I went and let him in again. It was only 3:45! So I left the door open. He was in and out from them on. Mo had his own way of lying down next to you. He stands beside you and then he falls sideways, stiff-legged, landing with a crash on what ever part of your anatomy he was targeting. I know he's only s a little boy, but 37 lbs. (last weighing) dropping sideways, unexpectedly, onto potentially delicate bits of your anatomy can jolt you out of the soundest of sleeps. We had plenty of that in the wee hours. Now, I love playing with my boy! But when the fun & games start before four in the morning and involve all sorts of physical antics, it does cause a bit if bleary-eye the next day. Mo has also discovered a game that Dotty used to play a lot when he was a pup. It involves biting your opponent. Mo (like Dotty was) is well equipped for that game whereas yours truly is not. I tend to lost lose that one a lot! Listening to Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues) by Three Dog Night. A great band. Some may not consider this I e one of their best but when I listen to it I "...just lay back and grin like a monkey." Mo has just entered and is lying right behind me, pressed up against my butt and the back of my thighs, with his legs kicking in the air. (Dancing the "Dead bug".) I threw the sheet over him and he is retaliating by giving me double rear-leg kicks to the nether regions. Ok, he has run off. Very wobbly again today. Have to hold on when ever I walk around the house. Or plot a course from one handhold to the next and risk a free passage from one to another. I sure hope this is a matter of adjusting the MG medication. But I'm beginning to fear it might be related to the low blood sugar. And I am not sure that that is caused by the MG meds. I am actually on medication to combat high blood sugar, because that is usually the issue I have to watch for, and because the steroids generally elevate glucose. Will test blood sugar again in a couple of days. If the reading is low again I will suggest to Dr. Kristi that we suspend that and see if glucose comes up a little. Dunno why I didn't think of this before. I've been watching a show called Mr. & Mrs. Smith which was also the name of an action movie from about 20 years ago starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. (It wasn't world class theatre theater but it was entertaining enough in its own way.) The new show takes just a smidgen of inspiration from that movie. It should have taken more. Or possibly none at all and come up with something original. I've watched about half the first season so far and I keep asking myself why. I guess I keep hoping it will improve, but episode by episode it comes across as disappointing. Instead of comedic action, what I'm getting is banal relationship drama between the two leads who have zero chemistry and even less acting talent. Being something of a completist I will probably finish the season and then rant on about why I wish I hadn't. Or maybe I'll regain some gigabytes by deleting it all from my hard drive array! Good programming is so hard to find. Anybody got any recommendations? Anyway, it's getting late but despite early morning energetic puppy playfulness I'm not feeling all that tired tonight. (Tiredness seems to be the norm these days. I get up and I'm snoozing at my desk from 8:30.) I think I will be able to keep my eyes open long enough to read a chapter of my book. Then I will take a shower which will perk me up enough to read another chapter! So let me do that now. Edited February 7 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 7 Share February 7 Good morning, Molasses! The games began last night before I even got to sleep! Eventually, and quite late, I locked him out. And he was content with that... Until 5:19 when the demands under the window forced me out of bed to open the door. At which point the games began again... 2 1 Link to comment
andidante February 7 Share February 7 7 hours ago, Netfoot said: Netfoot will you be able to make it to your doctor's appointment next week? I think it was next week? Link to comment
Netfoot February 7 Share February 7 4 minutes ago, andidante said: Netfoot will you be able to make it to your doctor's appointment next week? I think it was next week? It's next Friday. According to my "calculations", all I need to do is get on a #16A bus over by the mall and it will take me directly to QEH. It'll take about 20 minutes and I will have to walk about 170 meters from the bus to the door. With my new ID card it will cost me nothing. I catch the same bus back again when I'm done. Of course, that's nine days away and there isn't much food in the house, so the question is not so much will I make it to the doctor's appointment, but will I make it to next Friday... 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 8 Share February 8 Garden Patrol complete - no purloined material recovered. Sky unusually featureless, with no stars visible, nor any clouds. Light, cool breeze in the window. Skin wet from the shower, but not too wet because I dried off pretty well. Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. I remember the TAR challenge where they had massed guitars just playing the same riff over and over again. Surreal! Apparently this is A Thing. There are instances of over 1,000 guitars going at it at one time. I think TAR-31 maxed out at around what? 200? I cooked a pot of rice for Mo early this morning, intending it to be his midday and evening meal. He came along around ten and demanded to be fed. So, he had lunch early. Around two, he announced he wanted to be fed again! So he had dinner mid-afternoon. Come six o'clock, guess who was ready for dinner? I had to go and cook him some pasta. And at ten, he was right back with a story about how hungry he was! Well, he didn't get a fourth meal. Sorry, baby! I have a long walk to make tomorrow. Several miles. I hope I can manage it. I'm walking along the south coast, popping into every business I can and asking about a job. The lights, water and phone are still functioning, but frankly I expected them to be cut off days ago. I would like to take my walking stick because it can help form a tripod (with my two legs) when I feel unsteady. But I think it sends the wrong message to be walking with a stick, when you are trying to persuade people that they should hire you. Mind you, falling down like a drunk is not a good message to send either... Must remember to wear a hat if I am not to be burnt to a crisp. Tummy Trampoline. The games begin earlier and earlier each night.... Oh, he's run off. I am confident he will be back before too long. I've not watched any more of the Mr. & Mrs. Smith TV program. Instead I watched the old movie with Pitt/Jolie. Silly, but enjoyable in its own fashion. Will test blood sugar tomorrow, first thing. Want (but honestly, not too hopeful for) something mid-fours or even a five! Please, no more low threes! Yawning. I am hungry and would go and cook a bowl of oatmeal for myself, but.... Actually, I think I will go and do that right now, late as it is. If it affects tomorrow's blood sugar test then so be it! I just wish I had some raisins or a handful of raisins to throw in it. No, I'm not going to use bully beef again! 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 8 Share February 8 Glucose: 3.1 mmol/L. 😕. Sent a note to Dr. Kristi but no response so far. Stumped my toe this morning chasing after a Croc. (And a hand towel.) Stumped the same toe again on the way back inside. This was the toe I stumped a couple days ago, trying to recover the same Croc. It looks like it's been in a blender! 😡 1 Link to comment
andidante February 8 Share February 8 1 hour ago, Netfoot said: Glucose: 3.1 mmol/L. 😕. Sent a note to Dr. Kristi but no response so far. Hopefully she will have a solution for you! I would take the walking stick anyway. A lot of people use those. Good luck with the job hunt! 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 8 Share February 8 45 minutes ago, andidante said: Hopefully she will have a solution for you! I I just heard from her. She agreed with my suggestion that I stop taking the blood sugar medication and will do so starting from tomorrow morning, as I've already had my "Breakfast meds" for the day. Then after looking at the test results for the next week or so we can see if the glucose comes up a bit. 2 Link to comment
Netfoot February 9 Share February 9 (edited) Remember how I said I had lots of walking to do today? Never left the house until it was time for Garden Patrol! Paused the unremarkable Hilary Swank movie I was watching (while simultaneously tinkering with my phone) and off we went. Uneventful, other than the recovery of a kitchen towel. (I moved the stove today and searched under, beside and behind it for the spatula - no luck.) Came back in and tinkered some more while the movie ran to it's inconclusive conclusion. Then I stood up to go to bed. And promptly fell back into my chair! Had to frantically grab the wall twice before even getting out of the living room and the detour to the kitchen to switch off the light called for another emergency grab and the passage was negotiated by stretching out both arms and holding on to both walls the whole way. Matters were complicated by the fact that a bulb blew a couple days ago so I have to transfer one bulb back and forth between living room and bedroom. Having arrived at my bed I had to stand in on the wobbly mattress, reach up over my head and connect the bulb to the fitting. Looking up and/or reaching up is particularly troublesome right now. (And if I remember, back when I first got medicated for MG 5 years ago.) Changing that lightbulb was a challenge. Frankly, how I made it from my chair outside to lying in this bed without falling down and splitting my head open like a dry coconut remains a mystery. And I don't know what brought that on. I cooked food for Mo and myself at lunch, reheated the leftovers for dinner, went in Garden Patrol without difficulty, was back and forth to the bedroom several times during the day, and suddenly can barely stand up, far less walk, without tumbling onto the floor? Why? I'm going to stand up now and see how things are. BRB.... Ok, got up, walked around the bedroom, had a pee, went out and looked outside, then returned to bed. A bit wobbly but nothing like just now! The only thing that I did was drink a cup of sweet, milkless, horrible tea as soon as we got back from Garden Patrol. It's a mystery. Anyhow, all the buzzing around I failed to do today must be done tomorrow. So let's hope what ever it is doesn't Crip crop up again when I'm crossing a busy street in the morning! Listening to Liontamer by Faithless. I'm not terribly familiar with the band or it's individual members but they are a British electronica band who have been quite successful selling their music both physically (CD) and streaming. They have ceetainly certainly received an accolade or two, for sure! Their music often contains a political slant and not always one I am in agreement with, but not to the degree that I can't enjoy listening to their music. Interesting note: one of the members of the band is the older brother of English singer and songwriter Dido. As a result, she has in the past turned up on a Faithless track or two as a guest vocalist. (I have a couple of her albums too, and generally like her music, which, as it happens, is nothing at all like that of Faithless.) Mo has come and gone several times since I started to compose this post. But he has not engaged in any playful games. He just looks at me and then wonders wanders away again. I dunno why he isn't in a playful mood tonight. He had two good meals today, with portions larger than mine, and then came along and demanded some of mine as well. He did steal a Croc & a kitchen towel this morning and another towel tonight, but he didn't get a ticking off over it. I've been noticing bouts of twitchy eyelids. Don't know what that might be. MG can affect your eyelids (and the rest of your face) but usually in the form of drooping. Not aware of any side effects of the meds that might be causing it. I'd also guess that low blood sugar is probably not the cause. Maybe something like a cramp or related to cramp? Cramps usually lock my muscles solid, not cause them to flutter back & forth. I was supposed to drink electrolytes today but have none available. Was to drink some three days ago as well, but... Hey, it's past midnight and I still have to lock up the house. Better get to it. Oh, Mo has just jumped in and curled up against the small of my back. He is washing his feet. Here is a picture of us I took yesterday: He is a very fuzzy boy! Oh, now he wants to play games! No, he's run off again!! Edited February 9 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Netfoot February 9 Share February 9 So my plan for the day was to catch the #16A bus to Edgar Cochrane Polyclinic to collect my meds for the month. Then, back on the #16A down to QEH which is near the coast. Walk along Jemmotts Lane to Bay Street and turn back along Bay Street in the general direction of home, stopping at any likely looking candidate and ask if they have any positions vacant. After 2¾ish miles I turn left, climb over Rendezvous Hill (another 1⅕ miles), turn at Garfield Sobers onto Highway 6 and from there it would only be another 1¼ miles back to the house. Or wait for a #16A or #54 bus to carry me that last leg. So I left home at nine, and waited at the bus stop until 11:30 before the #16A (hourly service) showed up. Was at the polyclinic by 11:45 and by 12:02 I was out again. Waited for two hours for another #16A but none showed. In fact, no Transport Board buses at all showed in that two hours, traveling in either direction. Deciding i'd had enough, I started walking home. 2¾ miles later and I get home at 3:00 on the dot. To discover that Mo's water bowl is empty. So, six whole hours to pick up my meds and come back home. I am shattered. I think I will have to go and lie down. I spent 4:45 waiting at bus stops, 15 minutes riding on the bus and an hour walking home. Oh, and in the midst of it all, my pocket developed a huge hole and everything fell out and down my trouser leg. I could have lost my keys, had I not noticed immediately! Fortunately no wobbles to speak of so no pratfalls or unpleasant head-busting incidents. Anyway, it's now approaching four PM and Mo is complaining about being hungry. I will have to go cook him some grub and I might as well have some myself. Breadfruit for sale everywhere you look and I don't have the money to buy one! I wonder if Austin's tree is bearing? 1 Link to comment
andidante February 9 Share February 9 54 minutes ago, Netfoot said: So my plan for the day was to catch the #16A bus to Edgar Cochrane Polyclinic to collect my meds for the month. Then, back on the #16A down to QEH which is near the coast. Walk along Jemmotts Lane to Bay Street and turn back along Bay Street in the general direction of home, stopping at any likely looking candidate and ask if they have any positions vacant. After 2¾ish miles I turn left, climb over Rendezvous Hill (another 1⅕ miles), turn at Garfield Sobers onto Highway 6 and from there it would only be another 1¼ miles back to the house. Or wait for a #16A or #54 bus to carry me that last leg. So I left home at nine, and waited at the bus stop until 11:30 before the #16A (hourly service) showed up. Was at the polyclinic by 11:45 and by 12:02 I was out again. Waited for two hours for another #16A but none showed. In fact, no Transport Board buses at all showed in that two hours, traveling in either direction. Deciding i'd had enough, I started walking home. 2¾ miles later and I get home at 3:00 on the dot. To discover that Mo's water bowl is empty. So, six whole hours to pick up my meds and come back home. I am shattered. I think I will have to go and lie down. I spent 4:45 waiting at bus stops, 15 minutes riding on the bus and an hour walking home. Oh, and in the midst of it all, my pocket developed a huge hole and everything fell out and down my trouser leg. I could have lost my keys, had I not noticed immediately! Fortunately no wobbles to speak of so no pratfalls or unpleasant head-busting incidents. Anyway, it's now approaching four PM and Mo is complaining about being hungry. I will have to go cook him some grub and I might as well have some myself. Breadfruit for sale everywhere you look and I don't have the money to buy one! I wonder if Austin's tree is bearing? That sounds like a bad day all around! Get some rest. I wonder what was up with the buses? Link to comment
b4pjoe February 9 Share February 9 1 hour ago, Netfoot said: So my plan for the day was to catch the #16A bus to Edgar Cochrane Polyclinic to collect my meds for the month. Then, back on the #16A down to QEH which is near the coast. Walk along Jemmotts Lane to Bay Street and turn back along Bay Street in the general direction of home, stopping at any likely looking candidate and ask if they have any positions vacant. After 2¾ish miles I turn left, climb over Rendezvous Hill (another 1⅕ miles), turn at Garfield Sobers onto Highway 6 and from there it would only be another 1¼ miles back to the house. Or wait for a #16A or #54 bus to carry me that last leg. So I left home at nine, and waited at the bus stop until 11:30 before the #16A (hourly service) showed up. Was at the polyclinic by 11:45 and by 12:02 I was out again. Waited for two hours for another #16A but none showed. In fact, no Transport Board buses at all showed in that two hours, traveling in either direction. Deciding i'd had enough, I started walking home. 2¾ miles later and I get home at 3:00 on the dot. To discover that Mo's water bowl is empty. So, six whole hours to pick up my meds and come back home. I am shattered. I think I will have to go and lie down. I spent 4:45 waiting at bus stops, 15 minutes riding on the bus and an hour walking home. Oh, and in the midst of it all, my pocket developed a huge hole and everything fell out and down my trouser leg. I could have lost my keys, had I not noticed immediately! Fortunately no wobbles to speak of so no pratfalls or unpleasant head-busting incidents. Anyway, it's now approaching four PM and Mo is complaining about being hungry. I will have to go cook him some grub and I might as well have some myself. Breadfruit for sale everywhere you look and I don't have the money to buy one! I wonder if Austin's tree is bearing? So you missed your doctor appointment at QEH? Link to comment
Netfoot February 9 Share February 9 25 minutes ago, b4pjoe said: So you missed your doctor appointment at QEH? No, that's next Friday. Cooked a meal for Mo and I and immediately got a huge belly ache. It has not been a good day. But! Aussie promised to bring a breadfruit for me in the morning. So there's that... 1 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 10 Share February 10 (edited) Ok, after a late lunch of pasta, came a terrible belly-cuttings. I tried everything and nothing worked. Eventually I just took a very long shower and let the hot water fall on my tummy. After quite a long while, the pains subsided and I've been OK ever since. There is a sort of "delicate" feeling, like I should be careful not to make it happen again. But I have no idea what might cause a reoccurrence. Other than eating lunch again. I had dinner (oatmeal with sugar) and there were no problems. Mo, meantime, after a large lunch around three, came and demanded more food at 6:30! Now, Mo used to get fed once a day and I switched him to half-portion, twice a day. But now, he wants half portion, four times a day. So I'm putting a stop to it. One meal a day from now. I cooked him a large bowl of rice for his dinner and he will get one suitably sized meal a day from now. Yes, so Austin says he will bring me a breadfruit tomorrow morning. I'm wondering if I should have some for lunch or skip lunch and just eat a portion for dinner. I had hoped to take to my bed early. Apart from everything else, today gifted me with an unusual problem with the muscles & tendons behind my right knee joint. Sometimes when I get a bad cramp, the muscles & tendons affected by the cramp get so strained that days after the cramp has gone, they still feel sore and strained. Well, I got that feeling behind my knees right now. Only, I have not had a cramp in that area. It came on as I was walking home. Now, it would be easy to say I just strained my knee a little while walking. But if that were so, why was only one knee affected? I mean, I used them both to walk..... Anyway, we had our Garden Patrol early so I could hit the sack early. But here I am going in after midnight... Not even sure what delayed me. One good thing though. I came home expecting to find all the utilities cut off. But everything was still on. I believe the telephone company likes to disconnect on a Sunday so that might happen. Water Authority takes pleasure in disconnecting people on a Friday so they get to suffer the entire weekend without water before they can reconnect on the following Monday. And Electricity can go at any time. Anyway, I did apply to two gas stations and a fried chicken fast food outlet. The smell of the chicken shack nearly drove me crazy. Got my meds from the pharmacy. Except... the Digoxin. They can't dispense another months supply until a month has passed since last time. But last time they didn't have any so I had to go back 10-ish days later. Now, the meds are no longer in sync. So (I'm told) I will have to make two trips to the polyclinic each month from now on. Or delay collecting all the other meds by 10 days so everything syncs up again. But instead, I will get a brand new prescription for everything, which will reset me. But I will wait until I hear what Dr. Jacinto had to say on the matter of drugs before I do anything. No point getting Dr. K. to write a new prescription and a week later Dr. Jacinto alters the dosages. I've yet to meet this Dr. Jacinto, by the way, but a buddy tells me she is a very pleasant and likeable person. We will see. Music For Hong Gong by Osibisa. A Ghanaian-British Afro-rock band that was very popular for a while back in the late 70s. I've actually seen them play live. I worked bussing tables at a club once and got a ticket to attend a concert given by the band at the same club at a later date. Not my favourite track of theirs (which would be Wɔyaya with the strange, broken 'o' from the Ghanaian language) but with a pleasant, more up-tempo beat. I will go and lock up the house now. Time for these lights to be off. Mo just jumped into bed and is chewing some detritus he dug out of a bog.... No, he's dropped that and now he's chewing me! Sleep. Edited February 10 by Netfoot 1 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 10 Share February 10 Austin just came by and dropped off a lovely, big breadfruit, from the tree in his yard. Also some onions, potatoes, cucumbers and a dozen eggs, also from his own yard. Thanks, buddy! All very much appreciated! 4 1 Link to comment
andidante February 10 Share February 10 2 hours ago, Netfoot said: Austin just came by and dropped off a lovely, big breadfruit, from the tree in his yard. Also some onions, potatoes, cucumbers and a dozen eggs, also from his own yard. Thanks, buddy! All very much appreciated! That's awesome! What a good friend. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 10 Share February 10 3 hours ago, andidante said: What a good friend. Austin really is a tremendous guy. Very smart and talented, knowledgeable in many areas, respected by his colleagues and his friends... A #1 fellow without a doubt. And generous too. Some nice onions, a dozen eggs from his own hens, a few English potatoes and a couple of small cucumbers. And on the left, the pièce de résistance, a large breadfruit! I normally buy a small one because I don't want the last portion to spoil but (as Aussie pointed out) when the last part is a little soft for boiling, you can cut them into chips and fry them or even slice very thin and make breadfruit "crisps". I cooked a pot of rice for Mo with corned beef and s generous portion of black-eyed peas. And a nice piece of lamb necks with meat as well as the bone. I had a small portion of it for my lunch (no more than a cup) and the rest filled Mo's bowl. I poured myself a glass of water and added a couple dashes of bitters. There is a popular belief around here that bitters settles an upset stomach. Not 100% convinced but... Ate the rice (good!) And very shortly thereafter started getting uncomfortable feelings in my tummy. Finished the water and the discomfort soon faded. Which it might have done anyway, bitters or no bitters. Mo ate his enormous bowl of grub in the blink of an eye. I suspect he will want dinner but I am not sure he will get any! 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 10 Share February 10 New Piper J3 Cub. Belongs to Unka Rudy, I believe... 4 Link to comment
Netfoot February 11 Share February 11 (edited) Burp! I cooked up the last of the minced beef from the freezer (which is been saving) along with some onions, and the last tin of stewed tomatoes, seasoned with paprika, cilantro and garlic powder. This made a nice, tasty sauce. Mean time I took a piece of the breadfruit, removed the core, sectioned and peeled it and boiled it in salted water. You can cook breadfruit in many ways, but it tasted great how ever you cook it, so simple boiling is fine for me. And so it did, with a spoonful or two of the sauce over it. Yummy! And I gave plenty more breadfruit in the fridge to enjoy! I may cut some into chips (I'd say "French fries" but there'd be nothing French about them.) And have them with some of the same sauce tomorrow. Mo is here with me now, in bed, curled up against my tummy, cleaning his feet. Yes, he got some breadfruit. I really shouldn't have given him any because I would have happily eaten what he got on top of what I got. And he had enough black-eyes & rice at lunch to feed a pack of wolves. I think I will have to think again about how to feed him, but I won't think too hard because in any case, we will be out of food in a couple of days. He just peeked out the window and then resettled, curled up against my back. Still cleaning his feet, by the feel of things... Party Weirdo by Moloko, from their debut Do You Like My Tight Sweater? album. The album title is the pickup-line she (Róisín Murphy) used to pick up the other half of the duet. This track is a little unusual but so is the entire album. There are several standouts among the 17 tracks on the album, including Fun For Me and short but sweet Killa Bunnies. My right knee continues to trouble me, with those tight tendons or what ever it was came upon me on the way home yesterday. Tomorrow I will test blood sugar again and see if stopping the blood sugar meds has helped at all. Since I've only been off them for two days I don't expect to see any real improvement. Maybe by the next test (Wednesday) or the following (Saturday). We'll see. (Mo departs on business of his own.) In any case I won't be drinking any sugary tea because the last of the lime juice went into the mug I had after eating the breadfruit! With no milk and the lime as a poor substitute I have no idea what substitute for the substitute I could use. I've only a handful of teabags and a small amount of sugar left anyway. Tomorrow is Sunday and I may lose telephone & internet. Will get this posted before midnight in case their computer picks that exact time to effect the disconnection. Electricity and water won't be far behind, I suspect. So, let me send this off and get stuck into my book. I'm on page 534 (of 815) of volume #2 of The Baroque Cycle. Unfortunately, I'm quite tired these days sominam so I am reading slowly. I actually found myself sleeping with my head in on my desk this morning, and that was before 9:00 AM! also, I was to look for Cryptonomicon, another excellent book by the same author, for when I finish this trilogy. And/or Snow Crash. I know it's around here somewhere... Any other Neal Stephenson fans in the house? G'night, yawl... Edited February 11 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Spunkygal February 11 Share February 11 And he delivered eggs! He is a champ! I, too, have heard that bitters helps with tummy issues. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 11 Share February 11 6 minutes ago, Spunkygal said: I, too, have heard that bitters helps with tummy issues. The trouble is, I don't know if it works or is just an old wives tale. You get a stomach ache and it goes away. Did the bitters actually help at all? Or would it have gone away anyway? But the bitters can't hurt, so I guess you might as well take some. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 11 Share February 11 (edited) Lunch! Served with a spoonful of my meat sauce and a small dollop of pepper sauce. I decided to try breadfruit chips today. I've never tried to cook them before because boiling water is more plentiful than frying oil. I was not 100 successful. Due to the shape of a breadfruit, it seemed that wedge-shaped chips would be easiest to cut. This was true, but the wedge shape leaves you with a thick end and a thin end. The thin end cooks faster so all the chips were a little blackened at one end. Not do much as to make them taste anything but great! Also, to preserve oil, I was shallow frying. The chips needed to be repeatedly turned over so the other side could get down into the oil and get browned. But I have no kitchen spatula! So the turning was not always successful. Some chips ended up darker on one side than the other. There was a lot of oil spitting out of the pan. Ouch! The worst of it was on the instep of my right foot! Don't ask me how that happened. But in the end the chips were fried, two or three burnt ones were removed and discarded and the remainder were salted while fresh from the pan. The meat sauce was reheated and a dollop put in top of the (huge) pile of chips. It was fantastic! Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Maybe a little over crispy on the narrow ends of some of them. I enjoyed every bite! Perhaps a little something else over the top would have been good. Sour cream? Tartar sauce? No idea. The meal was really enjoyable and I will try this again, making adjustments. Meanwhile I cooked a pot of black-eyes & rice for Mo and gave him half. He will get the other half for dinner. Of course, he insisted on trying breadfruit chips and I gave him a few. So he thought he was going to ignore his rice and eat my chips. He though wrong! Eventually he vacuumed up the rice and went on his way. Now, my tummy is starting to hurt so I will drink a little water with bitters And hope it goes away. More breadfruit (boiled again) for dinner. I'd consider a small portion of scrambled eggs but if I do, the remaining breadfruit will have more time to become overripe. I don't want to waste any of it. I will make a decision later. My hands are shaking badly today. It doesn't happen often and not usually as badly as this, but every now and again. Also, both insteps are starting to develop that "tight-tendon" feeling I've got behind my right knee. Right where the instep curves up into the shin. It hurts to lift my toes. It's two days since I took that walk. Perhaps this is not related to the walk at all? Today is the third day that I was unable to drink electrolyte muck. Nine days now (since I had any). Cramps so far mercifully limited to a couple mild ones in my hands, usually the thumbs. Oh, the blood sugar was 4.1 mmol/L this morning! A good indicator but it might just be an outlier, so we will wait until I take the Wednesday and Saturday readings. Might take one on Friday as well, so I have up-to-date info for Dr. Jacinto when I see her. She may or may not be interested. There is no reason not to test every day except I only get so many test strips to use. (50 strips every 3 months, so every 1.8 2 days. I do a fasted test first thing in the morning.) I was just thinking about a cup of tea. Now I'm thinking "No milk, no lime....." Edited February 11 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
andidante February 11 Share February 11 1 hour ago, Netfoot said: Lunch! Served with a spoonful of my meat sauce and a small dollop of pepper sauce. I decided to try breadfruit chips today. I've never tried to cook them before because boiling water is more plentiful than frying oil. I was not 100 successful. Due to the shape of a breadfruit, it seemed that wedge-shaped chips would be easiest to cut. This was true, but the wedge shape leaves you with a thick end and a thin end. The thin end cooks faster so all the chips were a little blackened at one end. Not do much as to make them taste anything but great! Also, to preserve oil, I was shallow frying. The chips needed to be repeatedly turned over so the other side could get down into the oil and get browned. But I have no kitchen spatula! So the turning was not always successful. Some chips ended up darker on one side than the other. There was a lot of oil spitting out of the pan. Ouch! The worst of it was on the instep of my right foot! Don't ask me how that happened. But in the end the chips were fried, two or three burnt ones were removed and discarded and the remainder were salted while fresh from the pan. The meat sauce was reheated and a dollop put in top of the (huge) pile of chips. It was fantastic! Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Maybe a little over crispy on the narrow ends of some of them. I enjoyed every bite! Perhaps a little something else over the top would have been good. Sour cream? Tartar sauce? No idea. The meal was really enjoyable and I will try this again, making adjustments. Meanwhile I cooked a pot of black-eyes & rice for Mo and gave him half. He will get the other half for dinner. Of course, he insisted on trying breadfruit chips and I gave him a few. So he thought he was going to ignore his rice and eat my chips. He though wrong! Eventually he vacuumed up the rice and went on his way. Now, my tummy is starting to hurt so I will drink a little water with bitters And hope it goes away. More breadfruit (boiled again) for dinner. I'd consider a small portion of scrambled eggs but if I do, the remaining breadfruit will have more time to become overripe. I don't want to waste any of it. I will make a decision later. My hands are shaking badly today. It doesn't happen often and not usually as badly as this, but every now and again. Also, both insteps are starting to develop that "tight-tendon" feeling I've got behind my right knee. Right where the instep curves up into the shin. It hurts to lift my toes. It's two days since I took that walk. Perhaps this is not related to the walk at all? Today is the third day that I was unable to drink electrolyte muck. Nine days now (since I had any). Cramps so far mercifully limited to a couple mild ones in my hands, usually the thumbs. Oh, the blood sugar was 4.1 mmol/L this morning! A good indicator but it might just be an outlier, so we will wait until I take the Wednesday and Saturday readings. Might take one on Friday as well, so I have up-to-date info for Dr. Jacinto when I see her. She may or may not be interested. There is no reason not to test every day except I only get so many test strips to use. (50 strips every 3 months, so every 1.8 2 days. I do a fasted test first thing in the morning.) I was just thinking about a cup of tea. Now I'm thinking "No milk, no lime....." Netfoot didn't you apply for some kind of benefits recently? Will those take a while to kick in/get approved? If I am wrong I apologize! Link to comment
Netfoot February 11 Share February 11 3 hours ago, andidante said: Netfoot didn't you apply for some kind of benefits recently? I applied for assistance at the Welfare Board. I've not heard anything since, so I don't know whether the application has been processed yet. I was given a name & number to call if I hear nothing by the middle of the month. Which would be within the next few days. Once they look at the application I don't know whether there might be any assistance forthcoming. I can only hope and wait and see. 1 1 Link to comment
andidante February 11 Share February 11 25 minutes ago, Netfoot said: I applied for assistance at the Welfare Board. I've not heard anything since, so I don't know whether the application has been processed yet. I was given a name & number to call if I hear nothing by the middle of the month. Which would be within the next few days. Once they look at the application I don't know whether there might be any assistance forthcoming. I can only hope and wait and see. Fingers crossed that they will help you!! 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 12 Share February 12 (edited) Back form Garden Patrol. Nothing special to report. Recovered a kitchen towel; Mo kept just out of reach for the entire patrol as if he was going to get a swat on the butt for stealing it. He wasn't. He deserved one, but I generally don't direct more than a stern word to him for his pilfering, unless he has stolen something like my book, or my wallet. Dinner was pretty much the same as lunch except with the breadfruit boiled instead of fried as chips: Why is there so much of it? Because experience tells me that a tax will be levied upon it. Mo had the balance of his black-eyes & rice with corned beef. And then he came along and levied the breadfruit tax... I'm glad he eats well and isn't picky and difficult to feed. I just wish he wouldn't eat so much! And he is as slender as a cutlass blade. A little boy shouldn't have such a large appetite and remain so streamlined. Just transferred the bulb from outside to over the bed. No near-falls tonight. The problem is that the house was built by an idiot. Half the light fittings are screw and half are bayonet. Despite bayonet being unquestionably better, the influence of the USA (where they also drive on the right) is gradually swaying the norm here to screw fittings. But the builder didn't take any of that into consideration. He just bought the first fitting that caught his eye and as the house went together the fittings were all of a mix-up. Which means you have to keep a supply of two different type of spare bulbs. And since I'm out of bayonet spares I have to find which other fitting is bayonet and borrow the bulb. And I can't find a bayonet bulb in some quiet backwater like the laundry room, so I have to keep moving this bulb from over the bed to over the desk, back and forth, every day. Not sure what to do tomorrow. If my feet were not giving me trouble I'd walk down Rendezvous Hill and go job-hunting Worthing Main Road and along Bay Street, and hoping to catch a #16A bus back home from somewhere in the vicinity of QEH. I'm just not sure I can make it that far. I'm not even sure I can make it to Rendezvous Hill! (Mo had arrived for a cuddle.) Walking was never a problem for me. It takes time and tires you out, but I could always just keep putting one foot in front of the other until I get where I'm going. I used to walk home from Bushy Park (22 km) or the Vista (13 km) etc, if required. Now I can hardly walk to the bathroom. Even if I'm not wobbly, it's aches and pains. (Mo is now washing my left arm. Since I'm holding the phone in my left hand it makes typing a very slow process, with much error correction required - he's gone!) Been doing a little programming on my computer to make life a little easier when using that machine. Also been watching a few TV programs to pass the time. Nothing new. Did a Google search for TV shows to watch and got some recommendations but not tried any of those suggestions as yet. Getting too tired too fast. Actually found myself sleeping with my head in the desk again today. But then, sleepiness is a symptom of hypoglycemia. I'm listening to After The Rain Has Fallen by Sting. I like Sting. I liked The Police before and I like Sting after. I've got 14 of his albums and 9 from The Police. Anyway, I'm going to post this now, and try to complete a chapter of my book before I power down for the night. It will still be pitch black when a shrill bark in my ear will rouse me 'fore-day tomorrow to open the door. Yes, I can (and will!) go straight back to bed again after, but sound sleep so disturbed does not return swift, especially since the disturber won't give the disturbee a moments peace from then on. Edited February 12 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 13 Share February 13 Just found myself facing a page talking about the recent downtime. In short it said "If you thought we wuz woke before, just you wait!" Great. Garden Patrol was early this evening, around 7:15 PM. That's when I discovered there was no water in the pipes. I grabbed a torch to go out and check the water meter (because all too often the entire neighborhood loses water) and Mo thought it was Patrol time! So we went on Patrol then and there. As it turns out, the water was not cut off at the meter. But if course, tomorrow is another day... I had breadfruit for lunch and Mo had pasta. Both with a tuna fish sauce because I found a tin of tuna hiding at the back of the cupboard. Dinner was pasta & breadfruit for both of us, with corned beef. That is the end of the breadfruit, I'm sorry to say. But it was fab while it lasted! Not much left in the larder. Listening to Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley. You know, I sometimes feel it's time for me to depart. Never more so than when you realize that a figure of global significance has been dead for over forty years. When you see the college graduates that are soon to be running our world unable to answer a question like "When was the war of 1812?" Mo dances the Dead Bug at the foot of the bed, hoping for tummy rubs. And he is getting them but from my feet. I've been suffering from hand cramping today, mostly the thumbs for some unknown reason. I don't have any mustard to keep my the bed so I hope the cramps don't worsen. (Anybody tried the mustard remedy? Or able to confirm or deny it? Heidi tells me she had tried it and it works. She says she knows people who are plagued by cramps who keep a small jar by the bed. Maybe the sachets from a fast food joint would work at a pinch?) Only moderate wobblies today. And like yesterday, only moderate belly-cuttings following meals. TendonTightest in right knee seems to have dispersed but insteps still suffering. Writing more code on my PC today, interspersed with some TV watching. Watched something new called Tracker, about a guy who searches for missing persons, etc, for the reward money. It looks like it could be OK, except they are already setting the scenes for unwanted and unwelcome incidental family back-story drama. This is inevitable today. I just hope the incidental crap doesn't grow and grow to overwhelm the show. Must pop over to that thread (I'm assuming there is one) to see if anyone over there has anything interesting to say. Mo came, drank some of my iced water and departed. He roused me at 3:30ish last night but I threatened him with a pillow and he departed, not to return until 5:45. After that it was fun and games until I gave up and climbed out of bed. He was here a moment ago, and stole a small towel literally out of my very hand! I'm not getting dressed again to chase him outside. So I guess I'll recover that in the morning. Despite an early Garden Patrol, it's now nearly eleven. Better post this now. Will go looking for a Tracker thread and give it a read. Then read some of my book. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot February 13 Share February 13 (edited) I've never understood why the makers of jean (and other types of trousers) use such cheap, flimsy material for the very part of the trousers that get the most abuse - the pockets! These are were my good jeans. Now, I can't afford to wear them at all, in case I absent mindedly stick something in the pocket. And the pocket material is stitched into the side-seam, the waste waist-band seam and a part of the fly-seam plus is riveted in four places. So replacing the pocket is not an option. Even if I knew how to sew, or could find someone who did. Mozie doesn't wear trousers himself. But he is also very disappointed in this manufacturing practice. He came along to examine the jeans for himself. With a soaking wet tummy. At first I thought he'd been walking around outside in the wet grass. But he has perfectly dry feet. I don't know how he got a wet tummy and dry feet..... Edited February 13 by Netfoot 1 1 Link to comment
Mr. Sparkle February 13 Share February 13 I was standing in a bar a couple of months ago, blathering on about this or that. Then I felt something land in my shoe. I couldn't imagine what it was, but when I looked, it was half the change I keep in my pocket, which now had a big hole. Luckily, I keep my keys in my other pocket, which did not have a hole. Link to comment
Netfoot February 13 Share February 13 2 hours ago, Mr. Sparkle said: Luckily, I keep my keys in my other pocket, which did not have a hole. In my case, I keep my keys in that very pocket. And when they landed on my shoe, I was not wearing steel-toed boots but soft shoes, so I felt them land and was able to recover them. I keep change in the other pocket. I guess keys, coins and other heavier metallic objects will wear out a pocket faster so a hole is more likely in the pocket we keep that stuff in. But that doesn't explain why the pocket itself has to be made of tulle instead of canvas. Especially for Jeans, which are supposed to be hard-wearing, hard-working trousers. Link to comment
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