Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Tetracycline

This is an antibiotic I have to take twice a day for seven days following my surgery. That seems simple enough except that when you read the directions, things get complicated. You have to take it one hour before or two hours after a meal. I thought that I could get up an hour before breakfast, take the pill and then go back to bed. But, no, you can't lie down for thirty minutes after you take it. You also have to wait for two to three hours after eating certain products that contain milk, calcium and a host of other things. I mentioned to the doctor that the last time I took this I had a lot of gas and general stomach discomfort. He said that is common with antibiotics and that I should take an over the counter drug called acidophilus, a pro biotic contained in yogurt. I have to take that three times a day with meals, but it needs refrigeration after opening, so I can't keep the bottle on the table where I can readily see it. I have to remember to get it out and, of course, then put it back. The directions with the tetracycline also warn to stop taking the drug if I have shortness of breath, and a range of other maladies. At least it doesn't warn that it can cause suicidal thoughts and tendencies. There is a drug advertised on the morning news that has those possible side effects. Why anyone would take medicine that can cause suicidal thoughts and tendencies is really beyond me. It's interesting that the cost of the tetracycline was $2.05 and the cost of the acidophilus was $14.99. With all the pills and supplements that I take I hardly have to eat anything else. So, I must now get organized so that I take my pill on time. This whole business has me scratching my head. Oh, I had better not scratch too hard. My hair might fall out. I'd better check those instructions again.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Canoeing, Lunch, Surgery, Autumn

There are a lot of topics in the title so let's get going. Yesterday we decided to go canoeing because I didn't know how I would be at paddling after my surgery today. We went to Lake Lefferts in Matawan, our fall back site. It is a nice lake and the houses are mostly all hidden by trees, so, as Anne said, you think you are in the Adirondacks. It was breezy with a little chop on the lake so we paddled for an hour. There are three lakes, or one lake separated into three parts by bridges and you can spend an easy hour and a half just paddling. You can fish there too, but we just paddled. After that we went to lunch at the Brass Rail on Route 79 in Matawan. It used to be called the Poet's Inn. It has been redone inside and is very nice. they have a $5.00 lunch menu which offers soup or salad and a choice of 25 items. I had a corned beef and Swiss sandwich on toasted rye which came with fries and chicken noodle soup. Anne had a chicken breast sandwich on a long roll and cream of asparagus soup, which was quite good. The portions were good and the service was quick and friendly. If you hanker for a glass of wine, that costs $6.00 or $7.00.

So, surgery was today on my right shoulder. My appointment was at 1:40 and I was to call the office an hour before to make sure everything was on time. We were going to have lunch, but they wanted me to go over then, so I said I would. They took me in right away and it took about 45 or 50 minutes to remove the offending cells and to stitch me up. I am now carcinoma free, I guess and I hope.

Autumn is coming tomorrow night around eleven o'clock. I don't know if I'll stay up to witness the yearly event or not. There really won't be much to witness at that hour, so it might depend on what's on television. I love autumn. I love the change in the air, the leaves, harvest time (I don't do harvest myself, but I love that other people do it.) and all of the great food that seems to appear at this time of year. I like to experience the color as leaves change and I wish they would stay just that way for months, through winter actually. I now put socks on in the morning until the chill leaves the air. My usual summer attire, when the pool is open, is a bathing suit, tee shirt (any old one will do) and sandals without socks. As the weather gets cooler, I substitute shorts for the bathing suit and add socks and sneakers. When it gets really chilly, I might have to put on a sweat shirt and long pants. This will be my second autumn and winter as a retired person. My, my, that time went by alarmingly fast. I note that I have yet to become proficient at playing the banjo, piano or mandolin and that I haven't mastered, or tried to master, a foreign language. In my defense I should also note that this past summer was exceedingly hot and a great deal of time was necessarily spent in the pool as a refuge from it. I enjoy being outside in the fall more too. I did enjoy most of the times that we went to the beach, except for the time when we got sand blasted and bug bitten, but I enjoy long walks on nature trails in the fall. So, Thursday will be the first real day of fall and I should hesitate not upon my going out, but go out at once, lest before I know it, winter descends. Well, there's always cross country skiing.

Friday, September 17, 2010

A Medical Day

Today I had two doctor appointments. The first was with my GP where my vital signs were present, I got a flu shot and got my ears cleaned out. That comes from saying "What?" too much when the doctor is questioning you. I asked about the call I got from the colonoscopy guy's office when I was told that I was due for one since it had been five years. I thought the guidelines were for ten years when he didn't find a single thing the last time. The guidelines have changed and now it's five years. That aside, I was pronounced fit to proceed to my next appointment.

Next up was the cardiologist. This is the conversation as he entered the room with a woman doctor?, PA?, nurse? in tow. No "Hello" or "How are you?" [Of course, if he had said that I would have said, "I don't know. That's why I'm here."]:

Doctor: "Are you still retarded?"
Me: "Yes."
Doctor: "For how long?"
Me: "Since September and I highly recommend it."

The woman must have thought we were both insane.

I like my cardiologist. My vital signs were present there also and, even though I had lunch between appointments, I lost a whole pound between doctors' offices. Not enough though. I still have to lose more. Then we discussed Rochester and movies. He is a real movie buff. His parting words were that I shouldn't move.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Fall, Chores, What Next?

We got the pool closed for the season. Hopefully, I won't have to open it again because we will be moved by the time June rolls around. Not much progress on that front so who the heck knows. In the meantime, I have been doing some house chores like painting outside windows. But, of course, one doesn't just paint, one scrapes and caulks before one paints, which is more tedious than the painting part. Also, I do not like being on a ladder high above the ground. I feel that if God wanted us to be able to reach high on the side of our dwellings he would have given us longer legs or instructed us in the Bible to build shorter houses. I hope our next house is a ranch because I don't mind too much getting up that high. A ranch qualifies as a short house in my opinion.

I feel good that I got three windows painted. That may not sound like much, but it took two days, mostly scraping and caulking. There are a lot of windows in this house, but I think they don't all need painting. The ones I did were the worst. There are still more windows to do and there is the never ending task of sorting and disposing of stuff accumulated over the years. Some of the stuff is really just stuff (junk) and is easy to throw out. Other stuff isn't junk, but isn't stuff we want to keep anymore. Our kids don't seem all that anxious to have a lot of it, so I will proceed to Plan "B." Plan B is to secretly bring these things to our children's homes and hide it there while they are otherwise preoccupied. That may seem underhanded, but I believe that's how we got a lot of these things ourselves. My parents, I believe, would just bring stuff and leave it. Then they actually moved in, then died, so we wound up with all of their things with no one to complain to about it. I haven't died but I still think it's a good plan. If anyone complains I'll act all innocent.

So, what's next? I'm sick of all this house stuff and I think it's time for more relaxation. After all, I'm retired. Isn't that the time I'm supposed to do all of the things I always wanted to do but didn't get to do while I was working? I certainly didn't dream about scraping, caulking and painting windows. I mean I'm not that bad. I will have to concentrate on more enjoyable things to do, but I do wish that this house situation was more finalized because it leaves a hole in my thinking and planning. I don't like holes in my thinking. I think it is time for lunch now. Anne is a a Master Gardener meeting so I have to fend for myself. Peanut butter and jelly, here I come.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Ribs

The spare ribs turned out pretty good. I don't know why they are called spare ribs. It's not like the pig had an extra pair that he donated to the cause. Anyway, it took about two hours to cook by the indirect method, that is to build the fire on each side and put the meat on the grill in the middle. We used a rub consisting of equal parts salt, black pepper, brown sugar and paprika, plus a few other things to add interest. We then added barbecue sauce from Stick Fingers in Charleston, SC flavored with Tennessee whiskey. I credit Scotch with helping to make the meal a success. No, I didn't apply the Scotch to the meat, I applied it to me, or rather in me. Whatever the reason, it all turned out swell.

The Sequence Has Started

The weather has gotten cooler and Fall is fast approaching so it is time to cover the pool. I have started the sequence of adding the winterizing chemicals and by Saturday I should be ready to put on the cover, maybe Sunday. The pool is not so inviting as it is in the high heat days of summer and more leaves are falling in, so I think it is time. We went to the beach at Sandy Hook yesterday afternoon. The crowds have gone home, but the flies didn't. They don't seem to respect the fact that I sprayed Deep Woods Off on my legs. But, I shouldn't be surprised. After all, this isn't the deep woods, it's the broad beach. I guess I need a different kind of Off. Besides the flies there was the wind. It was blowing sand at our backs constantly. Anne went in the water and I was contemplating the same, but she didn't stay in complaining of those small, one celled jelly fish, plus cool water. It was the first time this summer that we had a land breeze and hence the flies.

I must not tarry long at my writing because I am cooking spare ribs on the grill and I must attend to my duties lest I produce a meal not worthy of me. I'm using an indirect grilling method, so we'll see how it all turns out. I will report, but only if it is a success. If not, I will just ignor the topic and write about something else.