I Just Could Not Help It

 Tommy knew I was joking. But, I hoped the doctor would appreciate my humor. I was in the dermatologist's exam room. I have complained about my left elbow that does not look too bad. However, it feels raw when I put it down on anything, especially the console in Tommy's car. The doctor has prescribed two things. Nothing has worked. I even keep a cloth to put on the console. That helps immensely. The point of my elbow looks a little scruffy, but not hardened or red or dark. However, it feels raw, like it might be bloody. 

This was the third time I had complained. And, no, this was an aside from my main reason for the appointment. He was looking on his laptop for a product he wished me to try for my elbow and another issue on my hand. As he was looking, he was talking and writing it down. He offhandedly mentioned it contained 'urea.'  My mind was turning as he was talking. I said with trepidation, worried he would think I was serious, "Can I just pee on my hand?" 

He replied with the fact that when he first heard of urea in med school, he was concerned about it. "It's not the same thing. But, I didn't know that." Well, I quickly told him I was joking. Tommy said he, too, knew I was not serious. It was just too good a line for me to pass up!

I joke like this with a straight face. People think I am funny or just dumb. I just had to share this with you. Have I embarrassed myself? 

Today, we had just enough gentle rain that Tommy only watered the plants on the porch. We had a chore and came home. I let him go in first so he could unlock the door. I got out of the car when he was inside. He went out to water a bit later, after I decided to take a nap. When I awoke, he told me I left the car running for 2.5 hours! Thankfully, I did not run all the gas out of the car.

The rain was just very local and light, no thunder or winds, so very nice for gardens. I think the blackberries are done for the year. Nothing seems to be happening on the blackberry plants. That will make maybe eight strawberries for the total harvest. I hope they do better next year. Five of the six canes look alive still. Maybe I will have seven blackberry plants next year. 

Dinner: Tommy had ham, corn, collards. I had a bit of Caprese Penne Pasta, couple of bites of roast beef, 1/4 cup mashed potatoes, 2 Tbsp gravy, and green beans and half a banana. There is enough of the roast beef and rest of that meal for Tommy. He won't eat the Caprese anything. It had pesto instead of whole basil leaves, so yummy. The grape tomatoes were delicious heated with the rest of the dish. I will have strawberries later.

I quit buying Red Delicious Apples at Publix. I bought a bag of Fuji, ate them without pleasure. I ate them for nutrients and fiber. Now, I have one large Granny Smith apple. It is tangy and tart! 

The list we made for Thursday, did not finish, added to for Friday, will now have additions for Saturday. It is all done eventually. 

Last night, when I could not sleep, I did a bit of decluttering and a bit of putting things in their place. I am the only one who can tell...lol. 

Tommy's favorite coffee mug says "I stole this cup from the desk of Matt Gentry."  There is a badge on the opposite side. Matt is the County Sheriff. He won this cup at a Christmas Party Dinner for seniors. I think it is cute he likes it. It helps me to convince him he does not need so many coffee cups. It's a decluttering tool. 

Do you ever say something so ridiculous in jest like peeing on your hand in lieu of urea? To your doctor? 

Kohlrabi?

 This morning the dermatologist removed more of the keratosis from my back. Fun times. It is so hard for me to get onto the table and turn on my stomach that he works on my face while I sit in a chair. I lean over the table for him to work on my back. I wear a loose blouse so I won't be entirely naked when he works at pulling up my blouse and blasting my back. The shirt I wore was a dressy tshirt. So, I carried a voluminous blouse and changed into it while he turned his back. It worked. 

We went to return something and that failed. The rules keep changing for returns. I can call corporate. Yes, I will! 

Of course, the dogs were up at 8 am. Thankfully, I had to get up at that time to wash my hair and get ready. I managed to wash my hair, bathe, scramble eggs, eat and spend time on the internet before leaving. Even though I don't blow dry my hair, it dries just fine.  I was efficient because I got enough sleep. It was not 8 hours, but it worked. 

We are going to get the birdhouse-looking thing that stops dogs barking. I don't know if the neighbors will object to this. I wonder. There is nothing over near the fence to hang it, so it will be very evident. Although it is birdhouse shaped, there is no way anyone would think it was a birdhouse. 

We dropped by a food giveaway. We received a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, ground pork, 3 roasted turkey legs, and package of two burgers with bacon and cheese, 9 red potatoes, two Annies macaroni and cheese, loaf of bread, bagels, asparagus, leeks, 8 cans of Hunts tomato sauce, and 8 kohlrabi. I certainly don't know how to cook kohlrabi, but I looked it up. I think I will roast them first to see if I like them. I don't want to cook them in a dish and waste the other items. Do you like kohlrabi? 

I took a nice nap since I had not gotten enough sleep Thursday night. Plus, the burning of the things on my back is very stressful. I feel like I need a recovery room after all the pain. Plus, driving/riding tires me. 

We took 4 cans of the tomato sauce and one kohlrabi to my friend Lynda. If she like the kohlrabi, I will give her more. 

Tonight, I will freeze the bscb, the ground beef, and the rest of the pork roast I cooked last night. We ate part of the pork roast, potatoes for dinner. I had salad and Tommy had peas. 

So, that was our day and nothing noteworthy or spectacular or profound. Well, I will save the profound for another post.

If the weather is okay on Saturday, we are going to a Poke Salet Festival. Poke Salet with scrambled eggs in them is delicious. I know it sounds gross, but it quite yummy.

Do you like kohlrabi? How do you like it cooked or seasoned? Do you like poke salet? 

Doctors and a List

My allergist called me for my 1pm telemedicine visit. I had talked to him a week ago when he gave me the nose drops. He was astounded at my reaction, calling it a "dramatic reaction"--my sleeping so much. So, he is sending in something else. I love experimenting with new meds. NOT! And, now the pharmacist has not received it two hours later and I want to get it while I am out. When I checked at 5 pm, it was in. So, now I need to try it out. I love being a guinea pig. NOT!

At the dermatologist, I had some of the same places frozen. Cryo hurts! Then, he froze others, too. I asked about the peroxide treatment. He sort of poo pooed the treatment and said he never got into that. He said it is rarely done now. I may still get some 40% hydrogen peroxide and try it at home. 

He said I have no sun damage on my hands, arms, or face. However, the seborrheic keratosis is caused by the sun. But, he refers to it as SK. So, I am not sure what is going on. I have an appointment in one month. Hopefully, I can remember to show him the spot on my lip and another thing or two.  Yes, I need to write it down.

I was beat by 5 pm on Monday since I had only slept one hour on Sunday night. Plus, I spent two hours sitting in the car before someone was found to wheel me inside the doctor's office. At about 5:45 pm on Monday, I told Tommy I was going to bed and to call me about 8 pm. I could not sleep a wink because I was so stressed. I got up at 7 pm and did not go to bed until 1 am. 

Before I went to bed, I gave him a list  a list of food to eat, his choice--chopped chicken or slices of huge breast, salad, half the tomato we had, maybe something else. When I got up at 7 pm, he had his dinner--salad with tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, chopped chicken. I had sliced chicken, half a tomato, leftover green beans, and a bit of pasta with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. We basically ate the ends of things. There was no more salad for me. So, except for the chicken breast, there is nothing left of what we had for dinner. He never complains about these dinners and is glad to see we eat all of everything. 

On the way to the doctor I found five voicemails from Sunday night and early Monday morning. One was a reminder from a new doctor about confirming appointment for Tuesday and another from same doctor about Tommy's appointment at the same doctor. We have appointments at the same time to save a trip to the office. 

Then, there was a voicemail about not coming to the appointment because the doctor would not be in, that we should call back in December to make an appointment. Tommy had the identical message. I suppose they sent his message to me because I made both appointments. 

I cannot imagine the circumstances that would change a doctor's practice and presence within a few hours unless he caught covid. Now, I am wondering about waiting for an appointment or finding a new doctor. This was going to be our first appointment for each of us with this specialist. 

So, Tuesday, we were home and the allergist called, nothing else. At 6:30, I could not keep my eyes open and went to bed. He called me at 8 pm. I could have killed him. But, I got up and thawed/heated the meat loaf and opened a can of green beans and a can of corn. I could not cook. So, that was dinner. 

I had a list of things to do on Tuesday, and got one call made, not much of the list. Well, the list will be here tomorrow.

Halloween decorations are appearing outdoors. Nice. I will at least wait until October mine out. I saved the little plastic bags that were ghost decorations Tommy hung in the tree. I had bought them in a huge duffel bag of stuff--$3. AND, we are reusing. And, I need a mum, still. 

I Quit

 I refuse to take another Cymbalta. It is too distressing to almost fall, forget to breathe, disdain food, sleep too much. Plus, there are other effects. I certainly hope it does not hurt me to stop cold turkey after 17 days. So much for that med!

Today, I saw the dermatologist. He said he thought the place on my nose was skin cancer, but it was not. He said it was rosacea. That's weird. My cheeks were red today when I took off my mask. The mask does that to me. I have never been known for rosy cheeks. I am just about colorless in that respect. But, the tan spot on my nose is rosacea. How weird is that? 

He also froze ten spots on my back. I forgot what they are. But, the get bumpy and itch. I cannot reach them to scratch them. I have to get up and get the backscratcher. So, at night, I go mad from the itching for hours. Then, I have to get back to sleep. It is miserable and about half my lost sleep each night can be contributed to these itchy bumps. 

So, now I go back once a month to have these evil bumps frozen off. They are from my shoulders to above my knees. He will just keep freezing them until they don't come back ever. I don't consider them disfiguring, just itchy and irritating under bands of bra and panties. 

I napped through dinnertime. Tommy found food. I did not eat until midnight and had Special K, banana, and milk. About noon I had scrambled eggs and milk. So, I have lost a bit more weight. 

The day was beautiful, sun and blue skies. The hummingbirds are still eating the nectar I made them that was diluted by rain. Maybe the information about hummers shunning nectar left in rain and diluted was off. 

Don't Cut Off too Much of My Nose!

 The dermatologist pointed out that it had been 23 months since I had been in his office. If it were not for a suspicious place on my nose, I would not have gone in today. 

In the end, I had a biopsy on the end of my nose. This involved a couple of injections and slicing off a tiny sample. Daddy had skin cancer in almost the same place and had it removed. So, I have a bandaid on the end of my nose. I thought the place was a quarter of an inch in diameter, but it was much larger. 

He froze two places on my face. That blast is not what I want near my left eye, but it happened. Now, one itches so that I need to scratch it. 

For the last twenty years I have had a blackhead on my chest. Yes, embarrassing. I can get it out, but it gets larger. So, he used something to take plug out, treated it, and stitched it up. 

Now, I have to wait a week for the results of the biopsy. In two weeks, he needs to take out the stitches. I am quite sure the biopsy will show cancer since that is just a reality in my father's family. 

The first two days of taking the Cymbalta were rough. But, the hangover has diminished to only about an hour each day, thankfully. 

The heat was oppressive today. It was though a had a hot blanket touching my skin, palpable. It was 91F with heat index of 101F. Weather like this makes me like AC even more. 

Other than a nap, that has been my day. Now, I need to cook dinner in a pan in the oven--one small potato, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and bell pepper. Maybe Italian sausage with it will be Tommy's choice. Maybe I will thaw a baked chicken breast. 

Have you been out in the heat? How hot is it where you are? Have you ever had skin cancer? How did that turn out?