He's just here for the beer

I had a hard time falling asleep, even with earplugs. But there was no noise keeping me awake. I did some tapping on issues of the day. I woke up early to use the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep. Cecily got up early to do laundry, which did not help. Chris got up first and went upstairs in his pajamas. I got up to brush and swish and sew. Then I got dressed and carried my breakfast box upstairs. I made breakfast and ate it in the living room where the food channel was showing. When I finished eating, I picked up my breakfast box to carry it downstairs. Cecily and Marie rushed out to go to the grocery store. I wanted to go along, but she was in a hurry. I put my breakfast box away and sat down to read e-mail. Chris came down to cut his toenails and get dressed.
I heard the ladies come back from the store. I finished what I was doing and jotted notes for my blog then went upstairs so I would not miss the next trip to a food store. I took my laptop and sat at the dining room table to read e-mail. I took a hormone quiz. The resulting report said I was estrogen deficient. I don't that that is my problem.
Marie asked me to go to the Asian supermarket because I had expressed an interest in kimchi. We had fun roaming the aisles looking at odd foods. We saw bags labeled 'dried fungus'. They were mushrooms and surely the titles sounded better in whatever language they were originally printed it. When we checked out, the checkout clerk gave me a lovely Chinese calendar.
When we got back, I finished listening to an interview on hormonal balance. I watched another one and a TEDx talk on EFT. While listening, I watched Al put screws in all the chair backs to stabilize then. I looked up non-drug treatments for essential tremor. I found herbs, homeopathic remedies, ultrasound, and a wearable device.
Cecily told me that supper would be ready in 10 minutes. I went downstairs to take some digestive enzymes. Then I went upstairs to notify Michele in the computer room that we were getting ready for supper. Food began to appear on the table so I moved my laptop from the table, and sat down. The others gathered around and Chris said the prayer.
The main course was chicken cacciatori. (I can't spell that and neither can spell check). We also had iceberg salad, grilled broccoli and cauliflower and noodles, but Cecily had a bit of rice for me. It was all good. We ate leisurely. Then Marie brought in the leftover cake and icecream. I skipped that.
Then around 8, Brian appeared. When I had told him on Friday I didn't like beer, he had taken it as a challenge. So tonight he showed up with 5 beers, arranged in order of decreasing sweetness. First was a strawberry beer brewed in an open vat with ambient yeast. It was actually good. If he hadn't said it was beer, I would have called it a wine cooler. Second was a similar beer, peach flavored. Then the big bottle. I don't remember what it was called, but it wasn't good and when he tasted it, he said something was wrong with it. So then we moved on to the last two. I don't remember much about them except that I did not like them. We were all tasting the beers, except for Cecily. Brian asked us to hold on to our samples of the last beer and he added some of the strawberry beer to it. It was better that way, but the strawberry was best on its own, imho.
Cecily went to bed, we stayed up a little longer. Then Marie retired. We continued to talk until Brian had to leave, saying he would be back tomorrow with other samples. Apparently he is a brewer so he understands these things.
Chris was a little tipsy, probably because each time I tasted some beer, I poured the rest in his glass. That made him amorous. Michele decided to leave the room. Al turned on the TV to watch a football game. Chris and I went downstairs. We both brushed our teeth and he went to bed. I stayed up to write to my blog.

Sunday

I woke up early to use the restroom. I intended to go back to sleep, but Cecily got up early to do stuff in the kitchen and dining room. Even with the earplugs, it was too much noise overhead to go back to sleep. But I kept trying. At 9:30 she called downstairs that we had to leave at 10:30 for church. So Chris and I got up. I washed up and he took a shower. I got dressed and took my breakfast box upstairs to the kitchen and made breakfast. I took the box down again and ate breakfast in the dining room.
Not much later it was time to leave. Michele did not come with us. We piled in Marie's SUV and she drove us to St. Ann's, which coincidentally is the name of Al and Cecily's church in Chester. It was a big church, but not full, decorated for Christmas. We sat near the front. The man in the pew behind greeted us warmly. There was guitar music while we waited for the service to start.
Although there was a priest, it was a deacon that gave the homily. I liked that part and the Christmas hymns that we sang. But pretty much everything else left me feeling unprepared, like I hadn't done my homework. The liturgies they sang and tunes (if you could call them that) were unfamiliar. Chris had the service book turned to the right kind of service, but the words were slightly different and the tunes were completely different. I stood mute while it seemed everyone else knew what to say or sing.
At the end, when we were traipsing out, I wanted to take a picture of the banner with the large star on it. But Cecily said we had to hurry because we had lunch reservations. I had also wanted to share my experiences with the priest so they could make accommodations for visitors who did not know the words or tunes, etc. But we did not stop, heading towards Marie's car.
From the church, we went home. Chris and Marie changed clothes. She and Al took the dogs for a short walk. Then Michele and I piled into the 3rd seat of the SUV, while the others took the back and front seats. Marie drove us to Silverado's, a southwestern restaurant. We were shown to a corner booth. When the drinks were brought, I ordered green tea and took some digestive enzymes. We placed our orders and chatted until they arrived. Mine sounded so good, but there was so little of it, considering half of it was polenta with sugar in it. However since I had taken the digestive enzymes, I ate it anyway. Cecily and Al each got a small frypan of eggs, mushrooms, homefries, onions, etc. Cecily shared hers with me and still took a lot home. I think everyone had something left over but me.
Al paid the bill and we went home. The dogs were happy to see us. I sat in the livingroom to sew some binding. Michele left to meet some friends. Marie put on football. The others gathered to watch so I went downstairs to jot notes to my blog and read e-mail.
While I was sewing and listening to an audio, Marie came down to get the Christmas boxes. Then I heard people upstairs taking ornaments off the tree and vacuuming up the needles after carrying it out. Then Marie came back down with the boxes of ornaments and lights.
Later Faye called from Dad's house. She had some questions. Then I noticed the time. I went upstairs to see if supper was in progress. I sat in on the food channel until Cecily left to help Marie warm up chicken wings and meatballs and other leftovers for supper. I took some digestive enzymes. Michele came home. The table was set, so we sat down. Chris said a prayer and the meal commenced. After supper, some had dessert. I ate two dried orange slices dipped in chocolate.
I sat in the living room while Cecily did puzzles on her tablet and watched the food channel. The show ended at 9 and Cecily went to bed. Marie changed it to football. I sat with them awhile longer. Then I boiled some ginger and turmeric slices to make tea. I filled all my water bottles with it. Then I took them downstairs. I took my evening supplements and settled in to write my blog post. I plan to do a bit of yoga to relax before going to bed.
* Santa is riding a horse behind the bar at Silverado's *

Saved by the bead

I wore my earplugs to bed to dampen the sound of the sump pump. They also dampened the sound of snoring. But in the morning there were footsteps over head and the sound of the washing machine and dryer trilling out their progress. I did not feel like getting up, so I rolled over. But eventually, that feeling went away and I did get up. Chris was still sleeping, so I brushed and swished and sewed some binding. Then I cleared e-mail and played a round of Solitaire. Chris got up and took a shower, then carried his laptop upstairs. I took a shower and got dressed. I carried my food box upstairs to make breakfast. Cecily asked for underwear to add to her laundry load so I went downstairs to find some.
I visited Michele in the computer room. I braided her hair. I told her there were gifts for her under the tree, then I went downstairs. Cecily went to get two piles of gifts, one for Chris and one for me. We all gathered in the living room and opened gifts alternately. I opened two pincushions, a pair of socks and a ruler foot. These were all things I had asked for but totally forgot about. Michele opened a stuffed pony, a hair towel, and a box from Faye which had more than I can remember. But Marie remarked on the headphones with cat ears and Michele wrapped the scarf around her neck and wore it for the rest of the day. Michele also got a card and a check from my Dad. Chris got at least a dozen pair of socks. I don't remember what else.
After the gift opening, Marie went out to shop with a friend. Al asked if anyone wanted to go to Harris Teeter since Cecily wanted ice cream. Michele and I went with him. Michele bought a hair brush and I hoped to find a new wire headband since the end bead came off of mine and the wire was scratching my head. But there was nothing like that.
When we got back, I noticed that it was a sunny day. So I suggested going for a walk and taking a dog. Al said he'd come with me so we each got a dog. The dogs were excited to go, but after passing just a few houses, Rowan just stopped. She didn't sniff anything, just stopped. After watching Jasper get so far ahead, she ran after him and I ran along. But then she just stopped again and wouldn't move. After a minute or so, she turned around and headed back. So Al and Jasper came back, too. When we got the dogs inside, Cecily wiped their paws. Rowan laid down. I went for a walk on my own around the neighborhood. And it got cold.
When I got back, I asked Chris to unlock the car. I searched it for the little end bead to my wire headband. I had just given up when I saw it on the seat. It wasn't there before. Anyway, I brought it in. Al gave me some glue to glue it back on. Then I left it sit to dry.
Cecily had the food channel on, so several of us watched it. Then she left the room to obsess about dinner. I went downstairs to read e-mail and listened to Nathan' video until 6:30. Then I went upstairs.
I watched Al slice the pork loin. We gathered in the dining room for supper. Chris said the prayer. Then we feasted on pork, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, green beans and apple crisp. The pork and potatoes were good, but the sauerkraut was bland. I liked another brand better. After the main meal, Marie served cake and ice cream. There were leftover cookies from last night. I ate two of the orange slices dipped in chocolate.
Chris took his laptop and went upstairs with Michele. Marie went to bed. Cecily and Al and I
watched something called God Friended Me. Cecily went to bed before it was over. Something else came on afterward and Al changed it to college football. He explained the intricacies of draft choices and free agents.
I boiled some water to make tea. I brushed and swished while listening to Nathan. Chris came downstairs and got in bed. I stopped to write to my blog.
* Michele is wearing the scarf her aunt Faye gave her. *

From Va to DC

I got up at 10 hearing Dad moving around. Chris and I got up and folded up all the sheets and blankets and put the couch back together. I got dressed, and put stuff back on dining room table that had been moved for Christmas dinner.
When Dad was ready, I applied Poligrip on his dentures. I brushed and swished, and made breakfast. I ate it while reading e-mail. I shut down my laptop and packed it. I looked around for stuff to pack, and repacked my suitcase. I vacuumed the livingroom as Chris took out the luggage. We both said goodbye to Dad and got in the car.
Chris paused in the driveway to set the GPS at noon. Then he drove to DC in the rain. We listened to a Sherlock Holmes CD on the way. We arrived by three and carried our luggage in in spite of the rain. Marie said we could sleep in Carol's room since she was visiting her family in the Philipines.
I washed and sliced turmeric and ginger to make tea. I let it boil for a bit so the water would be darkly yellow. Then I divided it up among four water bottles. Cecily and Marie were making food for a party tonight. Chris got lunchmeats and cheese from the fridge and made himself a sandwich. Cecily said I could have the same, but on lettuce leaves. So I did that, and made two tasty roll-ups.
I sewed binding while watching food channel with Al and Chris. Then I went downstairs to check e-mail. I heard Michele come home, and later heard guests arrive. I quickly jotted notes for my blog, and then went upstairs to meet the guests.
It turned out to be Brian and Cindi whom I had met years ago. Later, Sam showed up, and then Pat, who had a box of assorted wines. Then Michele came in the door. I was surprised to see her since I thought I had already heard her come home from work.
Anyway, we all stood around in the kitchen talking. Then Al said we should move to the living room and sit down. So we did. There was more conversation and then Marie announced that the food was ready. We began moving toward the dining room where the table was set buffet style. There were chicken wings, meatballs, various dips, raw sliced vegetables, corn chips and crackers. I ate a few things, but left the crackers and chips alone.
Brian and Cindi had to leave. Most of us were in the dining room talking when Cecily said she wanted to talk too, so we should all go to the living room where she was. So, obediently, we did. The conversation continued. These were Marie's friends from high school. We covered political issues, football, education, early childhood, the Korean and Vietnam wars, living in Baghdad, escape rooms, etc. Cecily went to bed about 10. At 11:30 Marie thanked her guests for coming, and they left. Chris and I went downstairs to get ready for bed. I took my progesterone, which was running out. Then I brushed and swished and wrote to my blog, wishing I had taken some pictures today.
* This is Kurt, a faithful blog follower, showing off one of the t-shirts he got for Christmas. *

Dad and his new shoes

I had turned my phone alarm off, so I slept until we heard Dad moving around. Chris got up and emptied the dishwasher and returned it to the condition Dad likes. Then he came back to bed. I got up later, folded up the bed. drank water, brushed and swished. I sewed ties on a chair cushion. I got dressed and collected laundry, both ours and Dads. I put a load of lights in the washer. Then I collected recyclables and carried them out to the curb, unsure if the truck had already gone by. I helped Dad with his dentures, and put another vitamin C patch on him. Then I made and ate my breakfast.
Dad took a long time to make and eat his breakfast and then he fell asleep. So while he was occupied, I ran hot soapy water into a bucket and used it to wash out the recycling container that Dad uses to hold cans. It had spiders and a roach in it. But it came clean. I used the remaining hot water to clean the washer and dryer. I put in another load of laundry.
By then Dad was awake and he told me in no uncertain terms that he could have taken 5 walks in the time he spent waiting for me to take him to the shoe store. Chris carried the old printer to his car while I suggested Dad get his coat and cane. He was a little worried that we were going to take his scanner and old computer. We got in the car and Chris drove to Best Buy where he dropped off the printer for recycling. Then we went to Redwing Shoes. Dad's heels were worn out in the two years he'd had them. He wanted better shoes. Several people waited on him and the last guy fitted him with shoes that would only last one year. He used a bunion stretcher to make them more comfortable. I guess the bunion stretcher doesn't work on the kind of shoes Dad really wanted. Dad had said he wanted more socks, but they did not have the same kind he had gotten before. Chris followed the salesman and paid for the shoes. Dad did not like that and was worried that he couldn't use the receipt.
On the way home, Chris stopped for gas. When we arrived, Dad stayed outside while I went in for my scarf. Then we went for a walk. It wasn't as far as yesterday, but it took us 40 minutes. When we got back, I checked the mailbox to find one piece of mail – from a charity looking for money. Chris said the recycle truck had gone early this morning, so I brought the filled bin back to the front porch.
I sliced up some ginger root and turmeric root and made tea. I ate some radishes and gave some slices to Dad, who was making his salad. I listened to more of a video series. Kevin came by freshly cooked chicken. I could not resist eating a piece. I read e-mail. I heard Dad call the choir director and say he wasn't going to choir practice. He said he might not be able to sing the anthem. I looked it up on Youtube and played the choir version. Dad sat down to write a check. I scrubbed doors and jams.
When Dad finally finished writing the check (must have taken half an hour), he presented it to Chris. I wondered if it were for the shoes. Then he wanted to practice using his laptop.
I spent hours showing Dad how to open a file, scroll up and down, and minimize it. I tried to pretend I was giving each direction for the first time because he acted like it was always the first time he'd heard me say it. Finally I drew pictures of the icons on a piece of paper and wrote the name of the minimized file on it. Thankfully each of the three files he uses most often are in three different programs, hence the three different icons.
I showed him how to put the laptop to sleep. Then he talked about practicing printing files. So I had him wake it up and I guided him through printing his grocery list. But we had to print the pages separately and pick the printer from a list – not something he could do on his own.
I took my evening supplements while he took his and had a snack. Chris made the wireless printer the default option. I looked up how to make the cursor bigger and applied it to his computer. He liked it a lot. I liked it too, so much that I changed the cursor on my laptop.
Then I sat down to write my blog post for the day, hoping to get to bed soon.

A long walk

I heard my alarm ring and I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. But that never happened. Maybe an hour later, I got up because I heard Dad moving around. I drank water and brushed my teeth. I took my sewing bag to the den and sewed a few inches of binding while swishing.
Then I went to the master bathroom and took a shower. I dressed in a gray and black outfit. Dad was working on making breakfast, so I made mine and ate it. He was still working on breakfast, which consisted of measured amounts of two different cereals. And milk and strawberries. He is an expert at making simple tasks take a long time. So I started cleaning cabinets in the kitchen. There was no non-toxic soap, so I used a sliver from the soap I brought.
After eating breakfast, he got tired and sat down to rest. I kept cleaning until he asked me to help him refresh his knowledge of how to use his computer. We started by recording checks in his charity file, which he then printed out. It sounds simple but it took a lot of time.
I noticed that it was a sunny (if cool) day and I wanted to take a walk. Dad said he'd come with me. Kevin arrived. He started cooking while Dad got his coat and shoes. Then we walked for at least 50 minutes around the neighborhood. It was quite a walk for him. He told me he needed to buy new shoes tomorrow. I got cold as the temp dropped. When we got back I pulled the mail from the mailbox. 85 percent of the stack was from charities. I sorted the charities from the bills and handed them to Dad. I opened all the charity envelopes so he could have the name/address labels.
We moved to the computer room when Kevin came around with the vacuum. I replaced Dad's old health insurance card with the new one. I wrote the amount and due date on the bill.
Chris had been cooking dinner all this time. He had chicken and cabbage soup ready when Kevin finished cleaning the floor and left. I filled a bowl for me and Chris filled a bowl for Dad. But we found Dad asleep in the blue chair.
So Chris and I ate on our own. I ate while reading e-mail. When Dad woke up, we had a bowl of chicken and cabbage ready for him. I kept reading e-mail. I played a few games of Solitaire. I put the chicken away and the pan of vegetable casserole that Kevin made. I listened to more of the video series. Chris came up and asked me if he should stack the dishwasher and run it. I said yes. I found Dad on his laptop. We practiced opening and minimizing files and changing directories. He did well.
Finally, we quit so I could take my evening supplements and brush and swish. Then I listened to more of the video while I typed out my blog post. The video ended and I kept typing. Dad came over to ask me to change his vitamin C patch. I took the old one off and put a new one one. Then I remembered to put my own on. I finished my blog, then Chris and I opened the couch into a bed so we could retire for the night. Dad stayed up to eat.
* Dad is wearing his new shades. *

The priceless look

I woke up at 7:30 EST. I stayed in bed hoping to go back to sleep, but it didn't happen. So I got up. I went to the kitchen for water. I saw someone had put water in the measuring cup with traces of coconut oil in it. I fished most of the pieces out and decided to pour the rest outside. The temp was 36, so I put on shoes. I was in my pajamas, but it was going to be a quick trip. I went out the back door, leaving it ajar. I poured out the water, then came back. As I opened the screen door, it created a suction that pulled the locked door shut. I may have said a few unladylike words. I knocked on the door but no one woke up. I knocked on the kitchen window. Finally I walked around to the front door. Surprisingly, it was open. So I rushed in, hoping none of the neighbors saw me.
I drank water, then sewed some of the binding. I brushed and swished, and got on my laptop. I opened the Jackie Lawson advent calendar and clicked on the days I had missed. I watched more of a video from yesterday.
I watered the plants in the kitchen and living room. They did not perk up so I watered them again. I emptied the dishwasher. Dad wanted help restacking it because he wasn't sure what in the sink should be washed. His tremor gave him trouble, so I put denture cream on his upper denture. I looked up how to apply denture powder and thought that looked easier for someone with a shaky hand.
I made copies of his exercise sheets. I cut out the diagrams and taped them together to make one sheet. I posted it on the fridge as a reminder. I showed Kurt my EmWave2. We tried the EMF meter on it, and it turned yellow. But then we had trouble finding a spot in this house that wasn't yellow, so we were not sure we had a good reading. We tried my compass app. I found out that it worked better with the wi-fi on.
At my request, Chris took our food boxes and luggage to the car. Kurt cleared the diningroom table. I wiped the plastic cover, then put a nice table cloth over it. I put plates on the table. I fished out Grandma's vegetable dishes and meat platter. Faye arrived with a sweet potato casserole. Chris put it in the oven with the pork. She put glasses on the table.
Dad was just sitting, so I showed him the denture video. He seemed to like the idea. I called up some Christmas songs on Youtube and sang with Dad.
It was well after 3 and Kevin was still 20 minutes away. So we sat down to eat. Chris said the prayer and then we passed around the pork, peas, onions, mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut. It was all so good. Faye was done eating when Kevin arrived so she gave up her seat. Then Kevin filled his plate. Mostly the rest of us were done, just saving a bit of room for the sweet potato casserole. The oven ran cool so it was taking longer than expected. But Dad kept eating. And eating. When Faye brought the casserole out, everyone had some. It was sweet, which was good since we did not have dessert. Dad kept eating. I was hoping for leftovers to eat the rest of this week, but there wasn't much left.
After dinner, Faye put the dishes in the dishwasher and washed Grandma's china. Since Kurt wanted to leave by 5 and it was already after 5, we settled into the living room to hand out presents. I handed out mine first. Then Faye did hers. I was surprised to get a wheeled sewing machine cart! They are expensive, but she said Black Friday was good to her. She handed out the cards from Dad. Each one had a check. There was something for Patrick, too. Finally Kurt brought Faye's gift (from William) in from the car. He stood there with a large heavy box saying 'take a picture'. So I took his pic, but what he wanted was for me to photograph the look on Faye's face when she saw her new printer. It was priceless, but I missed the best part.
Then Kurt said goodbye and headed for his trip back to northern Virginia. Kevin carried the printer out to their car and stumbled over a root. So they left fairly soon after. I had a discussion with Dad about his safety while driving under the influence of Primidone. One foggy brain trying to convince another foggy brain that it was too foggy to drive, did not work. Chris tried to help me out, but Dad was not convinced there was a problem. While he talked, I took two short videos of him for future reference.
I guess things got pretty dull then, because Patrick left. Then William went home, too. I tried to catch up on e-mail. I had just started my blog when Dad asked me to help with putting out a week's worth of pills. It went well at first, with all the one-a-day pills but he got bogged down in the primidone, which he takes two days on and one day off. I was not happy to see him taking a statin and an nsaid every day. He should at least be taking CoQ10 with that statin. I took pics of his pill cases for future reference.
Then I sat down to write my blog. Dad obsessed about the pill schedule into February. I finished my blog and downloaded the pics and videos. I hoped to be in bed soon.
* This is Faye before we started, not her 'I don't believe it' look after seeing the printer. That one was blurry. *

Christmas Eve

I heard my phone alarm ring and did not know if it was 7:30 central or eastern time. But it didn't matter, I stayed in bed. When I realized I was not going back to sleep, I got up. I drank some water, and brushed my teeth and hair. I swished while starting the binding on the larger quilt. The house was quiet because no one else was up. Either Dad was sleeping in, or he was … I hoped he was getting some good sleep. I wrote my blog post for yesterday. I had to carry the laptop into the computer room to upload the pic. Then I posted it. I heard Dad come out of his bedroom, but he did not appear. I guess he went back in.
Later he came out dressed. He took a long time deciding what to put in the dishwasher. Chris took a bath before he was done. I made and ate breakfast. Finally Dad ran the dishwasher.
I made a batch of fat bombs and put them in the freezer to harden. When Dad was ready, Chris drove us to the bank. I thought it looked suspicious that Dad walked into his bank with two strangers who were helping him make a withdrawal. But nobody batted an eyelash. Dad introduced us to the manager, who just fawned over him.
Then Chris drove us to Wegmans with Dad pointing out every turn and traffic light. Chris let us off, then parked the car. He called my phone to find out where we were. As I helped Dad get what he wanted, I also sent Chris for Christmas dinner stuff. It was slow, not just because of all the people there. But it was faster than I expected after last night.
Finally Chris pulled the car up while Dad checked out. Then we walked to the car and put the groceries in the trunk. Chris drove us home. He unloaded the bags and I washed the cans and put the food away.
I got Dad to take his pants off so I could wash them, along with some shirts and some of Chris' stuff. While I was doing laundry, Chris took Dad to the back and gave him a shower.
I took the fat bombs out of their papers and put them in a ziplock bag. Then I mixed the rest of the coconut oil with raw cacao powder and poured it into the empty papers. I slid that into the freezer to harden.
I took some things out of the dryer, but the phone rang. Kurt said he would arrive earlier than expected. I listened to more videos while clearing e-mail. Then I stopped to help Dad do something and Kurt appeared. We talked about this and that.
Faye texted me that she was leaving for church. That reminded me that my watch was still on central time. I insisted we quickly get ready. I changed my clothes and Chris changed his. Dad was already dressed in his black pants and red shirt, so I put his shoes on. Then we all piled in Chris' car and went to Christmas Eve service.
We arrived too late to hear the brass quartet. But we got bulletins and candles and sat down in time to hear a flute player, and then the organist. Finally the service began. Lessons were read from the new testament telling the Christmas story. Between lessons we sang carols. The words were posted on the large TV screen at the front. It was very convenient. I listened to Dad sing and sometimes he was singing the tenor part, even though the music was not posted with the words. At the end, we were all holding lit candles and listening to the Christmas bell ring 12 times.
Kurt and Dad went home with Faye while I met the new pastor and caught up with people I knew from years ago. Chris and I went home later, discussing Dad's decline. When we got there, Faye was carrying in presents from her car. Patrick was there, too, going through the recyclables.
Faye and Kurt put presents out by the tree. Dad needed help finding his subs. I found three in the fridge and put them on the table as his request. In a few minutes there were only two and we searched for the third one. Faye found one in the fridge, but was it the same one?
I left Dad in Chris' care. Kurt, Patrick and I got in Faye's car and went looking for Christmas lights. She took us to a place near where she lives that had a display of skeletons. But we also saw colorful displays and elegant white displays.
We dropped Patrick off at his house and came back to Dad's house. Kurt and I got out, and Faye went home. Dad was eating in the kitchen. I encouraged him to drink lots of water to go with the magnesium and vitamin C that I had given him. Kurt reminded me to post to my blog. But my computer had rebooted and was locked up. I had to turn it off and back on to get it running again. After typing my blog post, I sifted through all the pics I took and deleted most of them because they were blurry. I chose one, and posted it and then went to bed.

Groceries

We stayed in bed late because we were up so late. I did not have my sleep alarm set. My phone probably rang, but it was in the other room and I was wearing ear plugs that Chris gave me.
Anyway, I got up, drank some water, made green tea, and finished the binding on the green wallhanging. I checked e-mail and ate a pre-made breakfast. I listened to another video. Then I shut down the computer and packed. Chris carried stuff out to the car while I made sure nothing was left behind. Then we checked out and were on our way.
We continued the book on CD by Clive Cussler. At the beginning of the book, the main characters talk about wanting a calm quiet vacation where no one is trying to kill them. I remarked to Chris that they'd better shoot the author to get that. Well, Clive writes himself into his books. There was one scene where the couple are in a pickle and an old man drives up to give them a lift into town and points them in the direction of their next clue. If they'd have shot him, their lives might have been easier after that.
We only stopped once on the way from Bristol to Midlothian. We called Dad from the car so he could let us in the house. Faye appeared while I was talking to Dad. He was in his usual brain fog. Faye and I chatted and then she gathered up all the trash from all the little places that he accumulates it. We talked about food for Christmas day and looked up recipes. She got the tabletop Christmas tree down from the attic. Then Faye took Dad and me to Fresh Market. She left and we shopped. It was slow going. At one point, he had to use the restroom so I put a bunch of things in the cart. His confusion made decision-making difficult. But we eventually got most of what was on the list. The potatoes looked bad and they were out of frozen peas. They did not have the sauerkraut I wanted either. When we got in line to pay, I called Chris. He was there before we finished. The checkout clerk told me how much they liked helping my dad and how cute he was. She mentioned that he always took his own groceries out and brought his cart back. Chris helped Dad get the cash out of his wallet. I watched the line of people behind him grow, but no one said anything. I wondered how he does this all on his own every week. Then we took the food out to the car and Chris drove us back to the house.
Chris brought the bags inside while I helped Dad out of the car. The food was put away in short order, which hasn't happened before. (There was also clear space in the dining room, which hasn't happened since long before Mom died. )
We all ate something from the fridge. I tried to eat the leftover chicken curry, but it had gone bad. Dad said he thought we wanted to eat it at Christmas time, otherwise he would have eaten it after Thanksgiving. I ate half an avocado, some chicken, some carrots, and some brick-hard cheese. I gave Dad a packet of vitamin C. As we talked, I noticed that Dad was much clearer and more coherent. I wondered if his meds were causing the brain fog. He said the primidone made him dizzy so he had to balance the dizziness against the strength of his tremors.
Dad wanted to run the dishwasher but I convinced him to wait because we were going to bed. I called William to see how he was doing, and he was planning on going to work so he must have felt much better. Then I brushed and read e-mail while swishing. I drank some kava tea. Chris opened the couch and we dressed the hide-a-bed. I turned off as many lights as I could and we went to bed. Lying in bed I realized that I hadn't posted to my blog. Oh well, first thing tomorrow.
* These are the banana cookies that we ate on the way. *

Bristol here we come

We stayed in bed late. I won't say why. But when I did get up, I tried to follow the usual routine. I sewed some patches together. I brushed and swished, and made tea. I filled more water bottles. I put a chunk of frozen lemon in my drinking water, plus some fire cider. I found my packing list and went around the house looking for the items on the list. It was kind of like a scavenger hunt. Chris laid out the suitcase on the bed and I filled it from the laundry basket and my dresser. I added items to the food box. I ate breakfast and checked e-mail. I watered the plants. As I finished packing, Chris took items to the car. Finally we were ready to go.
We pulled out at noon. We put a book on CD and listened to it all the way. I dozed off several times but still followed the story- more or less. We made one pit stop. When it got dark, the moon came up and it was really big, at least at first. I tried to take a picture of it. By the time we got to Bristol, it was regular size.
We checked in at the hotel, carrying in all but the food. Then we went to a grocery store. I wasn't very hungry because I ate seed crackers and banana oatmeal cookies on the way. I bought a pound of seafood salad at the deli. Then we went to Five Guys where Chris bought a burger and fries. We went back to the hotel and carried in the food boxes and the prepared food. I took some digestive enzymes before I ate the salad, and some activated charcoal afterward, since I did not know what was in the salad.
We read e-mail for awhile, until 8:30 Central time. We watched one episode of Travelers and discovered it was the last one. So then we decided on Lost in Space. We watched the premiere episode, then went back to e-mail. I made a cup of kava tea and listened to some videos by a man named Nathan Wheeler telling his life story.

Packing everything but clothes

I shut off the alarms as they sounded. I stayed in bed until after 8. I did some squats. I changed my machine needle and sewed some patches. I wound some brown thread on a bobbin to put in my sewing kit to finish the binding. Then I took my morning supplements and swished while reading e-mail.

I searched my email for a recipe calling for sandalwood and bergamot essential oils, but did not find one. I put on a few drops of sandalwood essential oil. It smelled so good. I looked up all the benefits and wondered which one I was after. I boiled tumeric and ginger to make tea, then simmered it for awhile. I put some in water bottles and froze the rest as ice cubes.

I made three breakfasts and packed 12 days worth of each ingredient into a box. I ate one of them. Then I drove to the Asian store for kimbap, but there was none. Just not a good week for kimbap. I looked through the store for sunflower seeds, but they only had them in shells for bird feeders.
Then I went to the Korean clinic. Dr. Grace was not there. Dr. Lee gave me a container with a whole kimchi'd cabbage that Dr. Grace had made. He gave me his traffic ticket to look at. After reading all the fine print, it seemed there was a possibility that he could pay online and not have to go to the courthouse in February. But I accessed the online system and there was no record, yet. We bid each other a Merry Christmas, and I left.

I drove across the street to the neighborhood WalMart store, certain that they would have raw organic sunflower seeds. I searched the entire store and only found roasted sunflower seeds, but at least they were not salted. I bought those and went home.
I parked, got out and looked for my keys to open the mail box. But the keys were not in my pockets, the pouch, or my purse. I thought it must be some kind of record to lose my keys as soon as I exited the car. When I put down everything I was holding, the keys were draped over my hand. Sigh.
I opened the mailbox and found a Christmas card. Then I took it and the kimchi and sunflower seeds inside. I tried some of the kimchi and it was good, though it would have been better with kimbap. I typed up a list of foods to avoid, etc from my Viome recommendations. It took a long time to switch back and forth from the open window to the document file. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I finished.

Chris came home from work. He had a package from the post office for me. When I saw what was in there, I knew it was from William and Karen. So I called William to let him know it had arrived. I was sorry to hear he was off of work with back problems.
I made seed crackers and a batch of banana cookies. I was going to add turmeric, but apparently we are totally out. I ate some frozen watermelon. Then I heated the last of the liver in the toaster oven and made a salad while it heated. I took the cookies and seed crackers out of the oven where they were crisping.
Chris was doing laundry, so I started to wrap packages. I looked for special scissors to make name tags, but could not find any. I tried to create them in Paint, but could not find any borders. So I searched for and downloaded a template and just added the names. I printed them out and wrapped packages and taped the tags on.
Chris wasn't quite ready yet. So I opened air tube headset. I listened to part of a youtube video to experience the sound. They work well.
Then Chris was ready to watch TV. So I brushed my teeth and swished during the first episode of Travelers. Then I drank my kava tea during the second episode. But that one ended on a cliffhanger, so we watched a third one. Then Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog with a cold sock of rice on my shoulder. The pain has me worried.

* Looking at this uncut kimchi'd cabbage reminded me of the time in Korea when I asked Suk where to get good kimchi and she literally pulled one out of her purse and handed it to me. Ah, good memories. *

The case is solved

The sleep app woke me and I fell back asleep. I got up after 9. It was raining the rain we were supposed to have last evening but I prayed would hold off until after our choir caroling.
I swished and finished sewing a basting stitch around the quilt. I turned on the router and boiled water for tea and soaking nuts. I started reading e-mail.
The maintenance man came to fix the screens. When he was done, he took a window with him to repair. I made and ate breakfast. He came back with the window, but it would not slide into the door. So he took it away again. I got dressed and packed up quilt. He came back and this time the window slid in. He left. I wrapped the brown and purple binding on a toilet paper tube. Then I put my machine in the car and headed out.
I had a hunch to go to the church to check for my ID. It was lying in the wet grass near my usual parking space. I picked it up sopping wet and put it in the footwell of the passenger side. Then I went to quilting.
Either not many women came, or they came and left. Just a few were gathered around the tables talking. I set up my machine by Pat. She said we had to leave at 2. I sewed the binding on while listening to Pat and the others talk. I finished at 1:30 and packed up. Everyone else did too. When everything was put away and the blinds were closed, we headed out. I went home, using my ID to get on post. What a relief!
When I got home, I checked the mail – none. I took everything out of my pouch and ironed it dry. There was a $10 in there so I ironed it too, but it reacted to the heat so I backed off. I read some e-mail and put on an interview. I sorted through fleece scraps to find some nice colors for a rug. I ate some nuts and a piece of chocolate. I opened the doors to let in fresh air. It was surprisingly temperate outside.
I heated some liver and onions. After eating it, I found myself looking for more food. So I went for a walk even though it was raining. When I got back, I made and ate a salad. I played Solitaire while listening to interview on EMFs. I brushed my teeth and swished.
Then I moved my laptop to the guest room and tapped with my buddy on Skype for 90 minutes. When we were done, I returned my laptop to the dining room. I re-heated my tea and took a unit of testosterone. We watched two episodes of Travelers. Then I took the progesterone and magnesium and vitamin C. Chris made his sandwich and went to bed. I stayed up to blog.
* This is the wreath I hung on the door yesterday. It doesn't show up during the day against the black door. The directions call for spritzing so it won't dry out. Well, in this rainy weather, it should be just fine. *

The case of the disappearing ID

The sleep app woke me early and for some reason I got up. I was in the kitchen when my alarm went off. So I got an early start to my day. I decided to sew the two-color binding on, but realized that to get the purple on the back, I would have to sew the binding to the back. And the only way to do that would be to trim the backing to fit the front. And to do that, I had to baste the edges together. So I started basting. But I ran out of time. I left it on the machine and went on to making coffee and exercising and meditating.
I started cleaning around 11. I mopped the bathroom and kitchen floors. Faye called and we talked for awhile. Later the UPS guy came in a U-Haul to pick up my watchband. I had it in a small box and was worried that the label he had was too big. But he took it. I finished cleaning then washed up and got dressed. I called Beverly to meet me at the Asian store for kimbap. But when I got there, they were out of kimbap. I went to the Korean clinic and gave Dr. Grace a gift. Then I went out to the parking lot to give Beverly her gift. She gave me a bag of fleece scraps. After she left, I went back inside to help the Korean doctors.
He had a form for renewing his business license. I looked it over, and told him what numbers to use. Then she told me all about her daughter's boyfriend while I soaked my feet in an ionic foot bath and used the shoulder massager. There was a foot massager which followed the foot bath. She told me I should come by on Friday and she would give me her homemade kimchi, which is very special. Then he told me he was stopped and given a warning because his insurance card had expired. I checked his e-mail and was able to go to the website and pull up the new ones. He printed them out and then I noticed that they had the wrong address. I tried calling the agent but there was no answer so I left a message.
She hugged me and I left. I drove home, using my ID to get in the gate. I heated some liver and onions in the toaster oven and made a salad. When I had eaten, I hung the wreath that Cecily sent. There was a message on the outside of the box saying not to hang it in a space between a front door and a storm door. Say what? Oh well. That's the only space we have.
I was eating seed crackers at 6:10 when I realized I had to leave right away to get to the church by 6:30. So I threw on my coat and headed over. As soon as I arrived, I ducked into the office to put the bank bag back. Then I joined the others who were talking about the stops we would make. We piled into 4 cars. I rode with the pastor. We went to one house on a winding steep road. Jennifer handed out books of Christmas music and jingle bells. We sang a bunch of songs and then bid the couple goodbye.
We went to a second house, and did the same thing. And a third house. It was Dawn's house and she used to be in the choir. It was nice to see her again. Then we went to the church so everyone could get their own car. I followed the pastor to Jim and Barbara's house where they had decorated to the nines and put out a spread. It was the annual choir party. I ate some almonds, some shrimp and some cheese. Jennifer told me how she made her macaroons. Doris told me all about milking cows. Then I noticed the time. I thanked Barbara for the party. I bid Jim goodbye. He said I should stay for the singing. Then Bill gave me a hard time for wanting to get in Gate 8 before it closed. He didn't see any reason why going out to Gate 9 in the dark was a problem.
I left in a hurry. As I drove, I fished through my purse with my right hand, looking for my ID, but I did not find it. I figured it would appear in the light. When I got to the gate, I handed him my previous ID. He noticed it was expired. I explained and gave him my driver's license. He punched holes in my expired ID and let me go.
I went home and parked. I searched the car and my purse, but no ID or hanging pocket. I called Jennifer and she said she'd already left the party. She texted me Barbara's number. I tried one of her macaroon and it was really good. Then I called Barbara. She said she'd look around and get back to me. I checked the car again. I checked the pockets in three different coats just in case. She didn't call for so long that I thought I had given her the wrong number. So I called her back. She did not find it, but the pastor was going out to search his truck. We watched two episodes of Travelers. I went to bed with Chris. While he slept, I got up to write to my blog. Still no word on the ID.
* A selfie I took with our pastor since I might never see him again. *

Viome results are back

I woke up hearing my alarm. I did not set the sleep app. I think I went back to sleep, but I still got up by 8. I sewed the purple strip to the brown strip. Then I remembered to brush and swish. I turned on the router and soaked the sprouts and boiled water for tea and nuts.

I sat down to read e-mail and saw my Viome results had come in. I can't say I was overly impressed with the specificity of the results. There was a long list of foods labeled either Superfood, Enjoy, Mimimize or Avoid. I was hoping for a list of foods I am allergic to, but instead, the Avoid foods are because of plant viruses detected in my sample and things I don't have the microbes to digest well. Sadly that includes cashews, garlic, chick peas, bell peppers and cucumbers.

I got dressed and cleaned up the house a bit since the maintenance man said he was coming back this morning. But then Housing called to check on all the open work orders. They said they would schedule him to come tomorrow afternoon between 1 and 4. The buckle fell off of my watch again, so I took it off and laid it aside for later. I put my computer to sleep, grabbed what I needed, and went to quilting.

When I got there, Susan and Anita were making the covers for dog beds. I looked at all the barn blocks Jane got last week for her birthday. Each one was different. Beverly laid out fabrics to design another barn block. Anita had hers, but I guess she wanted to do more with it. The others talked about what projects to do next year. Josephine was giving out car trash bags that she had made as Christmas presents. I chose a red and white one. Linda was giving out hand warmers. At the end of the meeting, I gave Beverly the bag of potholders I had made, but to my surprise I had brought the wrong ones. We went out to her car and she gave me a gift – a glass mug with “Yes you do need more fabric” etched on it.
After that, I went to the Asian store, but they had no kimbap today. But she had the pickled garlic that I have been asking about for two or three months. My Viome report said I should avoid garlic, but I felt compelled to buy it. Maybe the pickled ones aren't so bad.
I went home, and ate half an avocado, and a fat bomb. I listened to interviews while making breakfast. After eating, I went for a short walk because it was a nice day and I was out of time.

I went to church to count money, arriving at 2. There were so many checks that I had to continue on the back side of the paper. There was no one there to distract me and that was great because the job took every second I had. I barely got the reports printed off and shut down the computer, then had to grab the money and run. I made it to the bank with only a few minutes to spare.
Once the deposits were processed, I headed home. The car said it was 50 degrees, but it felt colder to me. I got the mail and put the recyclable bin back in place. Chris was sitting at his laptop when I came in. I had no mail for him and he had no mail for me. Liver and onions were cooked in a pan on the stove. I put some in a bowl and ate it. It was very good. Chris said the maintenance man had been here and replaced the wall switches, and did something to the mold in the bathroom.

I checked e-mail. I reported my new watchband as defective to Amazon. I had Chris take the new band off of my watch. I put it in a box and wrapped it up for UPS to pick up tomorrow and return so I can get my money back.
I tried to print the AVOID food list from Viome, but highlighting what I wanted did not help. I sent a message to their customer service. I found a list of the microbes and viruses in my sample. I suspect there are many more that they can't test for yet.
I went through some more e-mail, then quit. I ironed the strips I sewed this morning to make binding. We watched two episodes of Travelers season 3. Chris made his sandwich and went to bed. I stayed up to blog and swish and take vitamin C.
* These are the gifts I got in the last two days, some of which I forgot to mention. Lauri gave me the needle cushion that looks like a tube of lipstick. Rebecca gave me the stylus that doubles as a pen. Beverly gave me the glass. Linda gave me the round hand warmers, and Josephine gave me the bag. I hope I got the names right. *

Oven is fixed

I woke up hearing water running. It seemed like Chris was taking a really long shower. But eventually I had to get up to use the bathroom and discovered that the toilet was making the noise. Chris had already gone to work. I fixed the toilet and went back to bed. My alarm rang at 7:30. I silenced the phone and called William (because he had called last night during the party). He wanted info that was on my computer so I had to call him back later. Then I got up. I swished and sewed, then turned on the router.
I was boiling water for tea and nuts, and soaking sprouts when a man knocked at the front door. He had a part for the oven and lost no time installing it. When he finished, I mentioned the light switches that weren't working properly. He said he could fix them, but I needed to submit work orders. As soon as he left, I called Housing and left a message.
Chris had left the bread machine out as a signal that he needed bread. I added the ingredients and set it in motion. Then I made seed crackers. They came out extra crispy so I guess the oven gets hotter now than it used to get. I made a new batch of spice mix. I read e-mail for a bit, then made and ate breakfast. I opened the package of SwissShield Naturell RF Shielding Fabric. I wrapped the fabric around the router but to no effect. Dang! That is expensive stuff!
I was getting ready to head to quilting when William called. I talked to him briefly, then loaded two projects in my cart and rolled it to the car. I went to quilting. I set up my machine, initially doing more talking than sewing. Then I worked on nine patch blocks while listening to the ladies talk. Lauri and Alice whom I don't see often stayed late to sew with me.
When I got home, I checked the mail and brought my sewing gear inside. It was such a nice day that I had to go walking. I went to Housing to make sure they got my message this morning. I also submitted a work order for mold in the bathroom. I finished my walk in a hurry to get back. The man said mold had to be investigated within an hour of reporting. Chris was home when I got back. I told him the oven was fixed. Then the man came back. He checked the mold in bathroom, and looked at the storm window. After he left, I checked the mail Chris brought from the post office. The watch batteries had arrived. I asked Chris to put one in my watch. But the buckle on the new band fell off as soon as I tried to put it on. Chris stuck it back on, but it fell off a second time. I went to Amazon and reported it as defective. They wanted to know how I was going to return it. While I was considering that, Chris put the buckle back on. I tried it again, and this time it stayed. I decided to wait on the return, just in case.
I put some yucca root in the toaster oven to heat. I ate the last of the beef and pulled some liver from the freezer to thaw for tomorrow. I made a salad and ate it while reading e-mail.
I cut strips for binding, going for the two-color effect since there is no color (other than white) which will look good with the front and the back. William called at 8. I got some strips joined while talking to him.
After the call, we watched last two episodes of DS9. I kept a cold rice pack on my left shoulder. The final episode must have been twice as long as a regular episode because it was almost 11 when we finished. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog as fast as possible and get to bed.
* This is from Sunday morning. *

Pastor's party

I woke up with congestion, and wished I had used a vitamin C and glutathione patch last night. I did the usual swishing and sewing and checked e-mail briefly. Then I took a shower and put on the vitamin patches. I got dressed and collected stuff to take to church.
I got to church just in time to practice with the choir. I gave a bottle of magnesium to Cecelia. Jennifer gave me two pieces of some almond bread that she made. I showed her my emWave2. I went to get a bulletin and talked to Ron. Then I sat by Don and waited for the service to begin.
It began with three kids dressing up like Mary, Joseph and the angel, standing around the manger. Mary wasn't much older than Jesus. So cute. Then Susan read a kids version of the birth story. The kids sang Away in a Manger and Susan said a prayer. Then they took off their costumes and sat with their parents and we all clapped. During another part of the service, we all lined up to hang Chrismons on the trees up front. The girls hung several and had a good time.
After the service, I stayed to talk to someone, then put my choir folder back in the rack. I shook the pastor's hand and wished him a Merry Christmas because I might not see him again. He retires at the end of this month and we will be on vacation. He thought we would run into each other sometime.
Then Cecelia and I went to our cars. I got the rotary stuff from my trunk and gave it to her with brief instructions on how to cut the borders of a fleece rectangle into strips. Then she went home and I headed back to base.
When I got home, I checked the mail. There was a bill for Chris. I changed clothes and ate some of the almond bread. I gave a little piece to Chris. It was quite good and I wouldn't have known there was no sugar or wheat flour in it.
We went to Publix for our weekly groceries. When we got back, Chris put stuff away while I washed all the cans of soup and coconut milk. I made two weeks worth of supplements while he boiled eggs for lunches all week. Then I made and ate breakfast.
After breakfast, I went for a walk. I picked some pine needles, and made pine needle tea, when I got back. I searched for a hood pattern online, but it was hard to find the kind I wanted. Finally I found a balaclava pattern and printed it out, but it was too small.
Our neighbor came over with caramels for Chris and an orange and lemon for me. I ate a can of soup. Then I washed a dropper bottle and filled it with fire cider. I printed out a label for it, then had trouble finding a substance to glue it to the bottle. After that, I put it in a clear treat bag and tied a red ribbon around it.
I changed my clothes and we went to a party at the pastor's house. I had totally forgotten about it. I gave the fire cider to the pastor's wife. Chris and I talked with lots of people, separately. I had a bottle of water and some cheese. It was after 8:30 when Chris alerted me that our gate was closing soon. We said our goodbyes and headed home. We came through the gate with 4 minutes to spare, but I think the second guard closed it after we drove through.
We brushed our teeth, then watched two episodes of DS9. I kept a sock of cold rice on my left shoulder. When the episodes were over, Chris made his lunch and went to bed. I stayed up to blog and put on more patches, hoping to sleep well.

A good start for horsetail

I did not use my phone app last night so I could sleep in. And I did – until 9! Chris was already out of bed and sitting at his laptop. I did the usual morning stuff. My sewing project was drawing and stitching some wedges. I watered my sprouts and heated water for tea and nuts. I read e-mail and listened to more EMF interviews. One recommended stress reduction. So I hooked up the emWave2. It seemed like when I looked at it, I lost the green light, but when I ignored it and paid attention to the interview or whatever web page I was on, the light would go green.
I made and ate breakfast during the interviews. I started stacking the dishwasher and Chris went to take a shower. While he was gone, his phone rang. Michele's name came up so I answered it. She had a computer problem. As we were discussing it, my phone rang. So I went to the bathroom and told Chris that Michele was waiting to speak to him. When he was dry and dressed, I handed him the phone. I saw that Jennifer had called, so I called her back. We talked about the Better Brain summit, and choir issues.
After the call, I went for a walk into the forest and back. The temp was in the 50's and the air was clear and fresh. When I got back, I found three pots and planted the horsetail in them. Then I trimmed the bigger plants and rearranged all the plant pots outside into a small group so I could construct a greenhouse of sorts with sheets of plastic. I think I will still bring in the horsetail when the temp drops below freezing.
I ate some beef and a can of soup for supper. I picked a handful of dandelion to go with the sprouts as a vegetable. Then I spent too much time on the net looking for ornament tutorials to post to the Yongsan Quilters facebook page. I also caught up on the Jackie Lawson advent calendar.
I made another saucer and decided it would be the last one. I ate some blueberries with pecans and coconut flakes. I worked with emWave2 again, trying to get the ear sensor to register my pulse. The device kept turning off because it thought no one was there. I went to the product web site to see if anyone else had the same problem. I learned that they offer training sessions, but I didn't want to spend that kind of time learning to use the thing.
Soon after 8, we watched three episodes of DS9 because they are all part of the same story line. Chris says there are only 4 episodes left. I typed up my blog quickly so I could get to bed as soon as possible and rise on time tomorrow. I had forgotten to recharge my mp3 headphones so I won't have their help getting to sleep tonight.
* My pepper plant has had peppers for a long time. Finally one has turned yellow. *

It's too easy being green

I woke up just before 7:30 with the sleep app. There was no compelling reason to get up, so I stayed in bed. I think I went back to sleep. I got up at 9. After the usual brushing, swishing and sewing, I turned on the router to read e-mail. I took a break to make a new batch of mouthwash. I listened to interviews from the EMF summit.
I looked up treatments for bursitis. One doctor connected it to an imbalance in calcium. In the comments sections, someone wrote that they ate some avocado everyday. That reminded me that I had an avocado that needed eating. So I ate it, then noticed that my arm did not hurt. I didn't see how that was possible.
I called Housing to see how the work order for the oven was coming. But I got a message saying it was not a working phone number. I wanted to walk over there, but it was raining, again. ( How much rain can there be?!!! If it were colder, we'd be in deep trouble, literally.) So I drove to Housing, reminding myself to be nice even though I was upset. The man said there was no work order for our oven, but he submitted one and put a rush on it. I told him his phone wasn't working. He was very surprised and immediately put a message on the Housing Facebook page. I submitted a separate work order to fix the storm window that fell out of the screen door. He said it would take longer than the stove. I was ok with that.
I went home. I read a little more e-mail, then made some vitamin C mix. I filled a water bottle and went to visit my massage therapist. While waiting for her to finish, I looked around the store, and saw a shampoo bar that had none of the bad stuff. Then she was ready for me.
We talked for a long time before she started the massage. The conversation always turns to EMFs and big pharma, and pesticides and how to stay healthy. The massage was very nice. Then I met her in her office to pay and write down for her some info on shungite and Stetzer filters. She told me she takes CBD oil and it helps her sleep at night. She promised to send me some info. I bought the shampoo bar at the front desk and drove home.
When I got home, I checked the house mail. There was one piece of advertising addressed to a previous resident. Chris told me the repair man had been there to look at the stove. He needed a part and will be back next week. I ate some steak while checking e-mail, then made a salad – the last one. For dessert, I ate blueberries and cinnamon with coconut flakes.
I opened the EmWave2 which came in the mail a while back. It wasn't charged so I hooked it to my laptop. The lights came on. I clipped one end to my ear lobe and it tracked my pulse. I inhaled and exhaled to the rhythm of the blue lights. Soon the light at the top turned green. That was too easy. I went back to read the directions. Apparently it is on the lowest difficulty setting.
Then it was time to tap. I moved my laptop to the guest room to talk to my tapping buddy.
It was my night and the tapping went long. Afterward, I moved my laptop back to the dining room. Soon Chris was ready and we watched two episodes of DS9. Then he went to bed. I took my evening supplements and sat down to type up my blog. I took a break to open two Christmas cards that came yesterday. Then I finished my blog and went to bed.
* The EmWave2 measures heart rate variability to induce a state of coherence. *

Navigating the hurdles

The sleep app woke me. I pulled my infrared heating pad over me and let it get hot. It did not make me sleepy. After a bit, I got up to brush, swish and sew. I turned on the router. I boiled water to make tea and soak nuts. I put a sweet potato in the toaster oven. I read e-mail and listened to an interview from the EMF summit. I took a testosterone troche. Yesterday a book came in for the quilt guild. I put a pocket and labels in it. Then I made breakfast and started a new batch of sprouts. I read e-mail while I ate. I also looked up how to get a commercial NPI and sent the link to Dr. Lee. When the sweet potato was cooked (about 90 minutes), I ate part of it and put the rest in the fridge.
It was a little after noon when I headed out. I found package on the porch, went back inside and opened it. It was stuff I ordered from Amazon for Christmas. I headed out again. But this time Mother Nature called. Third time is a charm. I answered, and left for quilting.
When I got there, they were finishing up eating lunch. It was their Christmas party. I didn't bring any food since my oven doesn't work and I might be contagious. Maybe I shouldn't have gone, but I wanted to pass the labeled book to Pat for the guild. And I stayed to chat. The pool table was full of quilt magazines that were up for grabs. But it didn't look like many had gone. I picked up two. Then I sat at the table and talked to Pat and Leanne. I also bought a large jar of honey from Christy who raises her own bees.
About 2 we started to pack up. But it was almost 3 till we actually left. On the way home, I stopped by the Korean clinic. Dr. Grace looked at the mole removal sites on my face and seemed satisfied. I sat down with Dr. Lee to get an NPI number. But I came across a statement that a sole-proprietorship doesn't need a business NPI. So we were back to calling the IRS. There was a long wait, almost an hour. But the lady who answered was very helpful. She told Dr. Lee that if he didn't have a TIN, that he needed to get one and here's how. So after the call, I went to the site and clicked the links and filled in the form. All he needed to do was pay the $200+ fee and it was done. Then we had to wait for the proper e-mail response. So we looked at the other requirements for credentialing, which included a CV. I looked that up for him and found a sample for him to follow. The e-mail we were waiting for came in and he whited out some blanks to put the new number in. The last problem was a residency certificate. I looked it up and it was another IRS form which they would send for a fee. Gee whiz. I wasn't sure it applied to him, but told him about it anyway. He had his work cut out for him. Before I left, Dr. Grace gave me more packets of onion juice and jujube juice.
When I got home, I checked the mail. There were Christmas cards and a small package. I went in the house and opened it. There were several small horsetail plants.
I cut myself a piece of beef and ate it while reading e-mail. Then I made a salad, though not as big since the greens were getting low. Cecelia called, wanting me to bring tools for cutting a fringe edge on fleece. I listened to more EMF interviews.
My tapping buddy had rescheduled for Friday so at 8, Chris and I watched two episodes of DS9. Sadly we are in the last season. Afterward, Chris went to bed. I stayed up to blog and finish an interview. During the interview, I stopped to put the horsetail plants in water. I also put several vitamin C and glutathione patches on because my massage therapist texted me that she had an opening tomorrow afternoon if I was feeling well.
Finally I finished all my tasks and went to bed where Chris was waiting for me.
* I looked through the book Distinctive Dresdens after I labeled it, and took this pic for my file of inspiration. *

Another stabbing

I woke up at 7:20 with the sleep app. I stayed in bed until 8 when mother nature called. I brushed and swished and sewed a 16-patch block from 4-patch blocks. I opened the back door and the storm window fell out. I put it back in, but a prong is broken off so it will likely fall out again. I made coffee and swished again. I took my morning supplements and read e-mail.
I exercised, then started meditating. I played a paraliminal CD that came from Learning Strategies. I also tapped on a past event.
When all the meditation and tapping was over, I cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen. I washed dishes and pitchers. I took a shower, then made tea and boiled water for nuts. I watered the plants. When I came back to the computer, I saw that it had rebooted itself. But there wasn't time to start it up again.
I jumped in the car and headed to the Korean clinic. They were glad to see me. I tried not to get too close because my nose was congested and I didn't want to infect her. He wanted me to check on the latest submission to insurance. I checked on the interface site and then called them. After a long wait, I talked to a lady who said I needed to call BCBS. The lady at BCBS sent to me a website with a long form. I had Dr. Lee print it out. I started filling it out, but there were blanks where I did not know the answer. I asked Dr. Grace if she had found health insurance because the enrollment period ends on Saturday. She hadn't, so she and I waded through screen after screen of info and questions. I hope we answered them all correctly. Finally a plan was recommended where she did not have to pay anything but had a really high deductible. She was skeptical at first but then enrolled.
Then she took me to a treatment area and had me lie down. She put a wet paper towel over my face and stabbed at what was left of my mole with a burning stick. She said I was the only patient that she ever had to do twice. While she was at it, she also stabbed away at another mole on my cheek and one on my rib cage. That last one hurt even more than the first two. I decided to keep all my other moles. She cut away at the dead skin and I worried that she would get some live skin between those blades. Then she put neosporin on them and some kind of plastic dots. She claimed I was very healthy since the moles did not bleed.
I was ready to go then, but Dr. Lee asked about the forms he had printed off. So I tried to fill in the blanks again. At the end of one form, it asked for a letter 125C (or something like that). I googled it, then had to call the IRS to get one. But the man who answered the phone would not speak to me. So I handed the phone to Dr. Lee. The man asked questions that Dr. Lee did not know how to answer. I tried to suggest the right answer, but the man said he would hang up if I spoke another word. So I let the two of them try to communicate on their own. Eventually the man put Dr. Lee on hold, and after a while, the connection dropped. I tried calling back, but there was a message saying the IRS was closed for the day. I suggested Dr. Lee try again tomorrow, but I did not remember which menu choices I had made to get to speak to a person. Dr. Grace begged me to come back tomorrow. They gave me onion juice and jujube juice, then let me go.
It was after 7 when I got in my car. Thankfully I had texted Jennifer earlier that I wasn't coming to choir practice. I drove home and brought in the house mail. Chris was sitting at his laptop. I opened all the mail that Chris had laid on my chair. One package was a new watch band. At my request, Chris replaced the old one for me. I checked my phone for messages because Jennifer had called. But I heard two messages from Dad. So I called him, but apparently they were old ones. We talked for a little while, but I was hungry, not having eaten all day. I had some steak, then made a large salad. I ate while checking e-mail. I brushed against my face and one of the dots came off. The area was quite red, but not bleeding. I put a Band-Aid over it to protect it from future brushings.
It was 8:45 by the time I was ready to watch TV. We saw two episodes of DS9. Then Chris made his lunch and went to bed. I stayed up to blog, brush, and swish.
* This is a tablerunner that someone got in the swap game on Monday. *

Cold inside and out

I got up with a slight sore throat, which upset me. After all I have done to avoid catching his cold, here it is. Sigh. Best stay home and keep it to myself. I looked outside. It was so foggy and frosty that I was sure everything must be closed. I brushed and swished and sewed the last circle on a saucer. I boiled water for tea and nuts and to disinfect my toothbrush. I checked e-mail, and there were no announcements of closings. Hmm. I took out the recyclables. Visibility was better there. I put the storm windows down in the screen doors.
I took a packet of vitamin C. I ate a fat bomb and an orange and powdered vitamin C. I watched an interview on 5G. It was a really good explanation. People are worried about the cell towers in sight of their back yards when they should worry more about the routers, cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc inside their houses. 5G just means 5th generation, The actual gigahertz will be much higher. There are great inexpensive meters on the market, but they won't register the ghz of fifth generation.
While I listened, I took half a gram of C every 5 minutes until the sore throat stopped. I massaged acupuncture points for cold and flu. I caught up on the Lawson advent calendar. The ski game was a little too fast for me. Beverly called to tell me that lots of people asked about me at quilting today. I really wanted to be there, but was afraid of infecting all those older ladies.
I went to church to count money. Linda was waiting in the parking lot. We brought the necessary stuff to the fellowship hall where there was more room. She sorted the envelops by number and I looked up numbers for the loose checks that had no envelop number. The she called out the numbers to me and I recorded the checks and cash on a sheet of paper. We also did the deposit tickets. It was then that I realized I had put a memorial check in general fund deposit instead of the capital fund deposit.
Then we went to the office where I showed her how to enter the data in the computer. She did well. It was about 4:30 when we finished the reports. Then I thanked her and bid her adieu as I headed to the bank. I made the deposits and went home.
It was cold out and getting colder. I made and ate salad, and read e-mail. Even though I had food and a gift for the modern quilt guild party, I skipped it so as not to infect anyone. I ordered some shielding fabric. Then I went to the Stewardship meeting at church.
I was thinking it would be a small meeting and I could handle a few issues quickly. But the new head-elect of Stewardship came, as well as the At-large guy, and Tim. So the two heads talked about their agendas and I tried to interject actual business. I told them that I was training Linda to count money. I was afraid I needed permission to do that, but they were all enthusiastic about the idea and suggested I look for more people to train. Bill wanted to hold the meeting to an hour, so I did not get to ask my last question.
I came home, and read some e-mail until Chris was ready. Then we watched two episodes of DS9. He made his lunch and went to bed. I stayed up to blog and take more vitamin C.
* This is the wallhanging that I unwrapped in the dirty santa game yesterday. *

Dirty Santa strikes again

I heard my sleep alarm go off while I was in the bathroom. I came in to turn it off and two messages came through, signifying that the phone had not been in airplane mode all night. This is the second time it has happened and I can't understand how I let it slip.
I went back to bed and pulled my special heating pad over me. It had just gotten hot when I heard the front door open. So I turned it off and got up to greet Chris. His boss had sent him home saying he was feverish. He did not feel hot to me, but he had taken something.
I started my morning routine. I sewed several sets of patches. I boiled water for tea and to soak nuts. I put a bag of white tea in my morning container of water. I think it has naturally occurring fluoride in it. I took calc-fluor and the testosterone troche. I listened to an interview.
I called my dad to see how he was doing. He said he was trapped by the snow, and worried about shopping for Kevin, and checking the pipe heater under the house.
I got dressed and took vitamin C. I made and ate breakfast. I checked out my collection of gift bags and tissue paper to find something suitable for packaging a tea cup. I also went through a few plates before I found the right one for the food. I put a package of goat cheese in a decorative glass cup. The seed crackers and jicama were already in baggies. I wrapped it all in a kitchen towel. Then I headed out (in the never-ending rain) to quilting.
I got there earlier than usual. But the food was already out and as soon as I put my contribution on the table, the ladies said grace and lined up for lunch. We sat at two long tables, and there was barely enough room. I didn't take much since I had just eaten breakfast. Others ate well and took a sampling of all the desserts. But they could not finish what they took. I got compliments on the seed crackers and jicama, and several requests for the recipe.
After lunch, we played the dirty Santa game. When my number was called, I wanted to steal the embroidered egg that Debbie had. But she had trouble walking and I didn't want to make her get up, so I chose a large flat present from the table. It was a beautiful red and white embroidered wallhanging. However, someone stole the egg from her and then another stole the wallhanging from me, so I stole the egg and then it was out of play. Whoo-hoo!
Carolyn was the one who opened the cup and saucer I made. And Rebecca stole it from her. So that made me feel good. Most of the ladies left after the game. I stayed to quilt since there isn't enough room at home. Rebecca stayed with me and did needlepoint. I finished around three and we turned out the lights and left.
On the way home, I went to the post office to pick up the mail and a package. I mentioned all the mistakes with our house mail and the clerk said it came from a different post office, and that they were aware of the problem.
When I got home, I handed mail to Chris. I chose another gift bag and packaged another cup and saucer for tomorrow morning. I turned on the oven to see if it worked so I could make more seed crackers. But the results were not so hot. Kurt called to ask advice on buying a gift. But he got another call before making a decision.
I quilted a potholder and cut red circles for the center. Chris cooked steak and mashed yucca root. Both were good but there was something incredibly satisfying about the root. I made and ate a salad and listened to interview on EMFs.
I took some vitamin C and ate an orange to help with absorption. We watched two episodes of DS9. I brushed and swished and then finished listening to the interview while Chris checked his e-mail one last time. After he went to bed, I finished my blog post and then worked on the second potholder.
* The embroidered egg *

If only I could sleep like that

Chris got up early because he was coughing and he did not want to wake me. I went back to sleep and got up sometime after my alarm went off. I brushed and swished and sewed some sets of patches together. I took my morning supplements and drank water while reading some e-mail. Then I took a shower and got dressed for church.
I took Pastor's pants and headed out. My choir folder was already in the car. I let the car warm up briefly, then drove to church – in the rain. Where is all this rain coming from?
When I got to church, the choir hadn't assembled yet. When Pastor was finished with Sunday School, I gave him his pants and would not let him pay me. Then I warmed up with the choir.
After warmup I talked to people in the vestibule and got a bulletin. Then I sat in the front pew next to Don. The service started with the choir singing, coming in a few at at time. Then we stood up for the 4th verse and invited the congregation to join us.
From there, it was the usual Advent service with the lighting of the candles and such. Afterward, I stood in line to greet the pastor. I told him that I knew of a tailor in case the sewing I did didn't hold. Then Linda talked to me about helping to count money. She can't come regularly but wants to help out.
I drove home and then changed clothes. Chris was still coughing and a little congested. I doused my toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide and cleaned my ears. I also took some vitamin C. Then we went to Publix for groceries. They did not have the raw organic sunflower or pumpkin seeds that I usually get for seed crackers. I got an assortment of root vegetables and fermented veggies because that was recommended in an interview.
When we got home, we put away the food. Chris turned on the oven to cook a roast, but the oven would not cooperate. So no beef roast and no seed crackers. I made and ate breakfast. Chris filed a work order for the oven and then took a nap. While he slept, I plugged my headphones into the back of the desktop computer. That allowed me to listen to interviews while navigating my sewing table and machine. So I worked on saucers.
When Chris got up, he was not hungry. He wanted to watch TV early and go back to bed. So I heated the rest of the onion soup for supper. I also ate some pickled garlic and some of my sprouts. Then we watched episodes of The Jetsons. I never noticed before how similar they were to the Flintstones.
While watching, I drank my kava tea and braided my hair. I have been braiding my hair every night for several weeks. It was totally weird and uncomfortable at first. But it is getting a little better now.
When we finished the DVD, Chris put it back in the Netflix mailer. Then he laid out his clothes for tomorrow and went to bed, still not feeling well. (I was a little jealous that he could sleep so easily). But it was only 8:30. So I put on another audio and listened through headphones while I worked on more saucers for exchange gifts. I had to stop myself at 10:30 even though I wasn't done sewing. Donning my heaviest coat, I went outside to put more plastic over the plants to keep them from freezing. Then I sat down to write my blog and get ready for bed.
* The latest one. *

Home, home in the rain

I shut my sleep app off and rolled over. Chris was already up. I went back to sleep but a hot flash woke me up. So it was about 9 when I got up.
I brushed and swished. I paired up a whole pile of squares. I sewed some and left the rest for sewing another day. Chris had the router on already. I drank my water and read e-mail and listened to an interview or two. I made and ate breakfast.
I put on my coat and went with Chris to the tailor to pick up his pants. They needed a clasp put on. I asked if they do embroidery and the guy said not any more since it took so much time. I totally understood.
It was raining all the way home. I kept my coat on for awhile in the house. I heated a bowl of onion and beef soup. I started a new batch of seeds since the current one is almost ready to eat. I dealt with more e-mail. So many of them are for end-of-the-year sales. Any inventory they have left on Dec 31st gets taxed. So much decision making for me, since the sale prices of things I kinda want are so tempting.
I finished sewing the bottom of the green cup. Then I started more saucers, but calling them hot pads because the cups take too long to make. I searched both my laptop and the desktop for an e-book on dental health that I bought years ago. It took an hour or more to find it. It was in a directory marked 'old_puter'.
I put on my heaviest coat, got my umbrella, and braved the rain to get our mail. None of it was actually for us. It was junk mail. But one piece was for someone down the street who might want their alumni newsletter. They'll have to wait.
I cracked three eggs in a Korean bowl and put them in the toaster oven. When I took them out, I added cashews and coconut flakes. It was actually good. Then I worked on the hotpads some more.
At 8, we watched three episodes of DS9. I took my last dose of testosterone for the day. I wonder when I will actually feel some effect. The pharmacy talked about the possible effects, but I feel nothing. I wrote my blog post and went to bed, so I would have a chance of getting up on time tomorrow.
* A work in progress *