Wrinkles

My right eye is bugging the heck out of me.  Last year I had my cataracts removed and I'm healed from that.  I have progressive bifocal glasses that I'm pretty much used to.  HOWEVER, would you believe that I have a damned wrinkle behind the lens of my right eye.  It's like a perpetual dirty spot on my glasses.  It makes my eye tired.  I wash my glasses even when not dirty, cause that's what it feels like.

Medicare is involved.  Surprise, surprise that there are hoops that must be jumped through to get this taken care of.  Poor Rick.  I grumble and complain to him at least once a day about that darned eye and the "wrinkle" that's causing me the issue.

Doctor says it's a simple procedure to fix it, but because Medicare has it's rules and regulations, I have to wait.  There are certain parameters that need to be met so that he can "zap" my eye with the laser and have this taken care of.

I don't go back to the eye doctor until March, so I have a little over a month to grouch and complain and then feel bad to be so ugly to my dear hubby.

We get wrinkles as we age, but a wrinkle behind the lens in your eye?  A wrinkle that affects your sight, that is unnerving and irritating.

Ok.  I'm done complaining - for now!

Cuteness abounds!

This is Sophie!  She is wanting my attention as well as the treats I have for her.  Lily, on the right has just finished her tricks and treats and Sophie is "patiently" waiting for hers!!  She is up close and really being sweet; I couldn't help but take this super-close-up photo of both of them.

Domesticity?

Well, the good great news is that we are getting healthier!!!

Being kind of cooped up in the house has made me a little bit domestic.  On Thursday of last week our meteorologists were forecasting some horribleawfulterribledangerous weather.  So, I went to the store to get some items so we could hole up in the house and have good, healthy, comfort food.



This morning, I needed to take care of the chicken and the chicken broth I made.  I have a smallish pot of chicken and wild rice soup on the stove and enough chicken portioned out for creamed chicken for future use.  I think we'll have soup for lunch and then decide what to do with the remainder.  Might share with a neighbor, but if there isn't enough, I'll have to rethink that.

EDITED on Tuesday:  I did have enough soup to have one more meal for us and a meal for the neighbors.  I delivered soup and Orlando French rolls to them yesterday.  Always nice to be able to share.

I shredded the remaining head of cabbage that I didn't add to the soup and made cole slaw.  I made two kinds, creamy and the oil and vinegar type.  We are eating good, that's for sure.

The cook

Our meteorologists have been forecasting a very bad winter storm for today.  School was cancelled and this morning the temperature was 57F, but the prediction was dropping temperatures, rain that turns into freezing rain, then snow.  It all came to fruition.  In anticipation of the storm, yesterday I went to the store and picked up some groceries.  We are still not feeling very well, but I am doing better than Rick is.  I decided that beef stew sounded good and comforting.    I picked up groceries so that we will have home cooked and comfort food while we are huddled in our home, getting well and staying away from people who are sick.  We don't need more illness in this house.

I've made beef stew for years, but I've never written down the recipe.  I looked on Allrecipes.com and saw a recipe that used roasted vegetables.  Sounded awfully good, since I absolutely love roasted veggies.  I cut up carrots, celery and onion and roasted them for about 45 minutes while I got the beef ready.  Once I dredged the beef in flour, browned it and let it cook slowly till the meat was tender, I added the roasted vegetables and let that simmer.  I put biscuits in the oven and added potatoes to the stew.  Half an hour later, dinner was ready.  It tasted great and Rick ate well.  We have enough stew for two more meals!

I also bought two rotisserie chickens and boned them when I got home.  I have a bag of chicken bones, skin and celery, carrots and onion to make a rich broth.  The chicken is in a separate bag to be used for soup and for creamed chicken and biscuits later this weekend.  I also picked up some stuffed shells that will make a pretty easy and delicious meal for later, too.

I sure hope Rick starts feeling better, I worry so about him when he is sick.  Winter is a difficult season for him to deal with, he gets very "down" and I can't seem to help him.

NOTE:  This photo is not my stew, just a stock photo that I found online.

Turning the corner??

Well, here it is January 8 and I do believe (cautiously) that I'm "turning the corner" on this illness.  Last night I slept, in the guest bed, better than I have slept since I got sick.  That's a big deal.  This is my sleep readout from my Fitbit.

I am still having coughing fits and am still wheezing.  I have a few more days of antibiotics and cough medicine; also have my inhaler to continue using, so I'm hoping to get rid of this nasty bug.

Yesterday I did some cleaning up around the house, just a little sorting and one trip for Rick and me to take the trash outside and to the curb, for today is trash and recycling pickup.  However, we got a call this morning, and due to the icy road conditions, trash and recycling will most likely be late or even postponed.  No worries, they will be here to pick up when they can.

No school today, either.  When the children were small, we would always cheer for a no school due to snow day.  Once I was working at the school, it was so exciting to get an unexpected "calamity" day.  Even though I'm retired, I get excited for the kids and staff who get an unexpected treat of getting to stay home.  

Today is pickleball and I'm sorry to miss it.  Miss the women we play with, too.  I'm being as responsible and as safe as I can...don't want to infect anyone or have a relapse.  I know I'm not well enough to play...the coughing would be awful.  However, I'm eager to see my friends again.

Rick isn't bouncing back very fast.  I do believe he's suffering from seasonal affective disorder to a degree.  He doesn't do well with winters anymore.  He is sleeping a great deal and seems to have no "oompf".

Woe is us

Well, here we are, the start of 2018...lots of possibilities and a clean slate, right?  Well, illness has befallen the Burdette home and the two of us are so incredibly sick.  How sick, you say?  Sick enough to see a doctor in our group of physicians that we have not seen before.

We went to see the doctor and find that thankfully I do not have influenza; I do have bronchitis, was having an asthma attack (which I've not had before).  I was given a breathing treatment and a shot of steroids along with a prescription for an inhaler, an antibiotic and cough pills that both Rick and I are to take.  I liken the feeling in my chest to the concoction of molten lava and Rice Krispies.  Burns like Hades when I cough and the "snap, crackle and pops" make sounds come out of my lungs without ever moving my mouth.

                             AND                         

I do feel better today, not huge stride forward, but enough that I can get out of my chair without falling down.

Rick was diagnosed with neither bronchitis or the flu, but we are to keep a watch on him.  He was feeling a little worse when he first got up, but after a horribly bad start, he's in his chair and snoozing a bit.

Not fun being sick, EVER.  When there are just two of you and you are both sick, it's terrible.  We don't have children close, however I do have my sister and brother that are in the area in the event I absolutely had to have something.

Well, that's about it from here.  We are huddling down and not going out to spread our germs to anyone else.  Be safe out there...the germs are waiting to "latch" on and try to bring you down.  I'm nearly a fanatic on germ control...see what good it did for me!