Thursday

First, let’s talk about Wednesday. Yesterday was my day to stitch with Debbie. We missed last week but I think it was her turn to come here but I needed to go by Chad’s to drop off some things and pick up some things so I asked Debbie if I could come there. Of course, she agreed. We also discussed meeting at her location for the foreseeable future. When she comes here, we go to Panera and there are a lot of people coming and going in there between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. We meet at Debbie’s in an unoccupied office at husband’s office when I go there and we rarely see another person. I was thinking with the flu kinda out of control these days, it might be better to avoid people as much as possible. Even though I have to drive an hour to get there, it actually takes me close to half an hour to get to Panera here because of traffic and a long term road closure. I kinda like the drive – it’s very peaceful and in the hour on the road, I see very few other vehicles.

The drive home yesterday was not so relaxing. I don’t drive after dark so I always leave there in time to get home while there’s still a bit of light. The deer can get crazy around dusk so I keep my eyes open. Yesterday, I left Debbie and ran by the grocery store, which wasn’t off my path. I needed buttermilk and it was easier to get it there than go into town here. Then I ran by Chad’s. I knew he wasn’t home but Nicole was. Addie was off with a friend so I didn’t get to see her but I stayed just a few minutes so I could get back on the road. About 20 miles outside their town, the fog became so thick, I could barely see in front of me! It stayed like that ALL the way home. I was a bit concerned that I wouldn’t even be able to see the road I needed to turn onto off the highway but there was very little traffic so I was able to slow down, take my time and really look for the road. I found it and made it home but it was not a fun drive back. Thankfully, these type conditions are pretty rare here.

Today has been crazy . . just crazy. I even sat down once this afternoon and felt tears welling up in my eyes. I told myself to get a grip. Nothing happening was a big deal . . just everything happening at once.

Vince had a dermatology appointment at 9 this morning and an appointment with his GP at noon. He had planned to run some errands (I.e., shop) between appointments but the dermatology was faster than he expected so he called and told me he was coming home. Fine, I told him I would fix breakfast.

One of the things we’re trying to do is to eat at least 7 fruits and vegetables per day and try to eat at many different ones as we can each week. I really have to be purposeful with the fruits and veggies because we generally have breakfast and one meal. We’ll have maybe one fruit and fruit juice with breakfast and then maybe two veggies with dinner and sometimes a salad. Most days I’ll eat a piece of fruit in the evening. Some days I don’t get the 7 fruits/veggies so I’m determined to do better.

It’s hard to see in the photo but I used 1-1/2 red bell peppers, two cups of fresh spinach, two cups of fresh mushrooms (sliced) and four eggs. I kinda made a deconstructed omelette by adding a bit of cheese. With the apples that I had canned, and the mix of cranberry and elderberry juice we had to drink, that was 5 fruits and veggies.

By the time I had breakfast ready, Vince was home. He sat down to eat and said “What do you have the thermostat set at? It’s freezing in here!” I had been cooking so I hadn’t noticed but it was funny because I was barefooted (without socks!) and my feet were cold. The infrared thermometer was sitting on the counter so I grabbed it, pointed it at my feet and the thermometer said they were 67 degrees. I thought that was weird but figured the thermometer wasn’t working on feet.

When Vince asked about the temp, I realized it was a bit chilly so I went to turn up the thermostat. NO!! It was set on 69 degrees and the house temp was 57 degrees. Something wasn’t right. I switched the heat over to emergency (or auxiliary) heat and still . . nothing. I told Vince . . we have a problem. That was third or fourth time our heat has been out this winter! Every time it’s been out, our regular heat and air guy couldn’t get here so we had to use someone else. The first time we used one guy . . the second and third time we used a different guy. Vince said “Let’s finish eating and I’ll call “B”, the regular guy and see if he can get over here.

Just when Vince started to call B, I looked out and said “There’s a man walking up to the door!” Vince got up and went to the door. It was Josh, our tree cutter. We have a pretty big tree (that I HATE to lose) but it is rotting from the bottom. If that tree falls, any way it goes, it’s going to hit something . . the fence (and HVAC unit), the house, the solar panels or where Vince parks his pickup. Josh checked it all out. It’s too wet for him to get his equipment back to the tree now but he said it’s fine til the leaves are out. That will be too much weight for it and it will probably fall so he’ll get back to it soon.

Next, we have two recliners that need parts and the loveseat we bought less than a year ago has a saggy spot. Vince had called the furniture store and they said they would send someone to look at it. Today was the day — why not . . everyone else was here! They’re going to order parts for the two recliners. The loveseat . . they’re going to pick it up and take it to an upholstery guy to add more stuffing. I’m not real happy that they aren’t offering to replace it because it isn’t in a spot where I sit often and I would have expected a brand new, name brand loveseat to last a bit longer than that but the guy who came out said “Some people have to have this done just after a few months!” I know which brand I will never buy again. Hopefully we will not be buying much furniture anyway.

Between all the people coming and going, I was able to get dinner done.

We had cannellini beans, smothered pork chops, green tomato salad, and smothered cabbage (that actually scorched a bit because the a/c guy wanted to show me the new radio in his truck because we were talking about me wanting a new radio in the Highlander). I count dry beans as a veggie but I do not count white potatoes as a veggie. Don’t ask me why . . and don’t ask me why I said that because we didn’t have white potatoes tonight . . but now you know. I also counted the green tomatoes salad as just one veggie even though there are carrots in there too. So tonight’s veggies were beans, cabbage and green tomato salad. With our meals, that gives me 8 fruits and veggies and for a snack, I had a banana so I got in nine servings today.

It was a busy day with three service people here and Vince having had two doctor appointments. Tomorrow he takes his car back to Discount Tire to have the tires changed. They didn’t have tires for his car in stock . . I don’t know . . do they keep any tires in stock? Maybe . . I don’t know.

Tomorrow should be a more relaxing day around here.