Disappointed

 I actually feel like I am going to die! But, that is not all the reason for not posting. 

I finally heard from the stress test. No heart blockages or any problem with arteries. Instead of calling me in 3-5 days, it was almost two weeks with me calling several times inquiring. I am not happy about the delay.

Now, I have to see how long it takes for follow-up appointment. I had changed eating habits which were not horrible, but now are better over last two years. I have plans for changing two more things--using more healthful dressing for salads and going back to natural peanut butter. 

We went back to OM in Cullman and I got another laptop. This one has color that is off, too. The color of the screen right now is my fault, and I will fix it. So, set to exchange this one for different. better and more expensive laptop.

I ordered grow lights to grow Romaine indoors. Tomorrow, I will plant wildflowers outside in flowerpots. I have a postcard to put in a pot. The postcard has embedded wildflower seeds. I have five seed balls to plant. I gave Lynda one and cleaner will get one tomorrow, so three for me. This will be fun.

Tomatoes and squash are back on the agenda since we love both. 

At Chicken Salad Chick I was given the wrong chicken salad a few weeks ago. Finally, I called and the manager said to bring in the receipt. I did and that manager was gone. So, I got whole new meal from interim manager--Classic Carol scoop and loaded baked potato soup. Tommy got an Arby's Roast Beef. 

Saturday, I finally got in touch with Zaxby/s and my salad with just breading and tiny pieces of that was replaced. The manager replaced Tommy's meal, too and gave me a drink even though I told her I did not order a drink. So, no need to think about dinner on Saturday. 

There is still no response from my new endocrinologist I have never seen. So, I am moving on to a new, new endocrinologist. I am so swollen I am afraid. 

And, another doctor wrote me a prescription for a med I assured him I could not take! When will it end? 

By the way, my tacky, stupid, waste-of-time "crafts" paid my bills for several years, but it is too bad people cannot understand using these items destined for the trash and transformed into items people treasure. Yes, I had people write me years later praising my treasures. No one is throwing them into the trash. Actually, I rescued materials from the trash. Now, I make wooden birds from scrap wood. 

We could barely see out the car window because of pollen today. So, Tommy will need to clean it every day, but he will probably resist! I had him get Claritin for me when he went into Publix. He came back with the only type they carried--chewable/dissolvable. I touched it to my tongue to see the flavor. Yuck--peppermint, so I just swallow it with water. I certainly could not bear to have it dissolve in my mouth.

My allergies are starting to act up. Are your allergies bothering you? 

On the way to Cullman, 55+ miles along the interstate, all the trees were a tender green, just barely leafing. The Bradford Pear trees are blooming like crazy, and the woods are edged with redbud trees, looking like tatting along the edge of pulled work. 

This typing has exhausted me. And, this color is annoying. 

Gardens, Rain, Chipmunk, Delta, Endocrinologist

The neighbor had someone mow and use the weedeater on the lawn today as it was threatening to storm. It did rain quite a bit when he quit. He ran with the push mower after he finished with the riding mower. Tommy said he was running with the weedeater as it rained on him, getting back to his truck. So, it will look nice and neat for a week. 

That is the only bad thing about living in such a rainy place--grass needs mowing all the time. Of course, the tomatoes and other vegetables thrive, too.  In about a month or less, people will be begging for rain and gardens will be too dry. 

Because all vegetables were eaten except for two grape tomatoes and two tiny squashes, I did not plant one thing this year! I may have figured out what was eating my vegetables. Yesterday, I saw a little striped chipmunk scurrying along the ground under the ramp. I suppose they eat vegetables. They did eat all the roots and tops of my Hosta! 

I have only seen one cat in this neighborhood, one sighting, I mean. Cats will get the chipmunks and kill them. So, there are no natural predators for the pests. I wonder why so few people have outdoor cats. I have never felt this way before, but I am not going to fight to keep things alive and watch ripe vegetables disappear. 

Remember I bought Jimmy Dean sausage because Tommy cannot stand the Johnsonville sausage? Well, today I cooked the package of Jimmy Dean sausage and he loved it. So, I will have that ready for him to eat on mornings we leave town early and he would ordinarily stop at Hardee's. I hated to insist he eat something he did not like. He sort of enjoys stopping for his sausage biscuit. So, now he can eat this sausage he enjoys with bread at home unless I buy or make biscuits. 

When I make him a salad, he complains I give him too much. So, now, I tell him to go fix a salad and he comes back with a huge plate full of salad, three times what I serve him. He found carrots shreds and uses it all the time, along with salad greens of all sorts. He keeps all things salad very organized in the refrigerator. Plus, I keep other vegetables sliced or diced for him. Tonight, we are having spaghetti and meatballs and salad. He will have sliced zucchini, bell peppers, and carrot shreds on top. 

He hates mushrooms, so I have a little jar of mushrooms that will go into my sauce once I dish it up. His will not have a mushroom at all. I would hate it if someone insisted I should eat something I hate. But, I tell him to pick out mushrooms and I will eat them. 

Although I have had some positives from my endocrinologist, I am replacing him! He is not giving me refills on items I need. He has started to become lippy with me, too. I do not need a smart mouth when I am in need of help and advice. At my last visit, he did not refill anything even though we discussed what I needed! My friend told me who he goes to, and I will try him. 

More cases of covid19 are seen here in Alabama. I was going to go and have the stents put in arteries. Now, I am once again hesitant to go anywhere near the hospital. Of course, Alabama is the least vaccinated state in the Union at 32%.  

Have you found that striped chipmunks get into your garden? How do you eliminate them? Are you hesitant once again after the Delta variant has become more prevalent? What percent of your state is fully vaccinated? 

Christmas Gifts for Teachers

 After the endocrinologist listened to me, he then told me the results of my labs. It seems my cholesterol is down, liver and kidney fine, blood pressure down, AiC down, Vitamin D level up but not high enough, everything okay but weight up by about 20 lbs. I pointed out how swollen I was everywhere! As he got up to listen to my heart and chest, I asked him why I was swollen like a tick. He stopped and sort of bent and laughed so hard. Then, I held up my foot to show him. He pressed my calf and agreed I was swollen. This is NOT fat! Well, not all of it.

Since we were near Cookie Fix, we had our cookie fix. We had Chocolate Decadence. Mmmm!  

I had an appointment for Monday at the oral surgeon in Cullman for an extraction. So, Thursday night, about 10 pm, Tommy told me I had better eat if I wanted anything since I was going to be sedated on Friday morning. I was so puzzled since my appointment was for Monday morning. He gently reminded me the appointment was Friday. 

This stunned me and I argued a bit, insisting my appointment was on Monday. But, he pronounced that I had forgotten. So, I told him to get me up at 4:30 am and we could leave the house by 5 am and make it to the appointment. Well, I did not go to sleep until 3:30 am.

He woke me up and told me it was 5:00. It did not register, but I washed, dressed, brushed my teeth and left to comb my hair in the car. Once in the car and seeing the time on the digital clock, it registered and I screamed a bit. He swore I told him to get me up at 5 o'clock. My argument there was that if I were telling him something wrong, he should correct me! 

After all, he does correct me even when I am correct. It is not like he is shy about telling me I am wrong!

I don't set this little cheap clock with tiny buttons I cannot see. I kept messing up the time. So, he offers to call me. I need to invest in a larger and easier clock. 

We were 9 miles from the interstate exit and about 15 miles from our destination at 6:30 am. Traffic was heavy. I called the office and told the woman we were on the way. She said nothing. Nothing! So, I asked if she were still there. She said she was looking for my appointment, and it was on Monday.

So, we got off the interstate and went to Hardee's and drove home, all in driving rain and in the dark on the way up! I am beyond disgusted.  And, tired. 

When my children were in 7th, 5th, and 1st grade, all needed Christmas gifts for their teacher. My son, the 7th-grader asked me if I would make pumpkin bread for his teachers. He had five teachers and a coach. Whew! AND, he asked if I would make pumpkin bread for the other coach, too. The fifth grade daughter had at least two teachers. Okay, I can do this. 

I made two loaves at a time, and had two loaf pans. I baked for all three of them so they would be ready for the last day of school. All in all, I baked and sent at least ten loaves. I baked six loaves the day before, and the morning of last school day, I baked two before they left for school and came home and delivered the last two, piping hot so he could run out to the car between classes and get the hot loaves. 

My son said his teachers were so happy, especially the ones who got the two warm loaves. The two who received the two piping hot loaves exclaimed about the fact it was still hot. At least one started eating the freshest pumpkin breads right on the spot. 

My children have never been so happy about taking gifts to their teachers. You see, my three children loved pumpkin bread. 

I have sent food treats to teachers but not necessarily for a Christmas gift, but this was the first time almost all teachers got something hot all at once. Did you send baked gifts to teachers at Christmas? I mean something not meant to be given to students as treats, just for the teacher.