I'm a Medical Mystery Tour

It was COLD yesterday. It's still cold today, -9 F, but Monday was brittle. I didn't have much wood in the box and didn't want Mark hauling in wood in the brutal cold so I pulled my chair over to the pellet stove and spent the evening there. That was warm. Mark brought a dining chair over and we sat by that fire. It felt rustic. Even though it's a modern piece of equipment.

I had a video consult Monday afternoon with my new primary, a Nurse Practitioner. She has the lovely lilting accent of the Caribbean. I like her. She said I am a medical mystery, that all the labs show me to be in excellent health. Then she said, we are not treating labs, we are treating a person. I felt a surge of love for this woman. She is going to order an x-ray of my lungs and also ask for an endocrinology consult. The other primary refused to refer me to endo. I have hope.

I made the best ribs and roasted potatoes last evening. Maybe it seemed better than usual because I had a more positive attitude, but that was sure a good meal! Tonight I think I'll make pizza. If someone actually listening to me makes me feel this positive, look out if something is done for me. Oh, Baby!

That's the news. I didn't get my laundry finished yesterday so it moves over into today. I'm listening to Stephen King's recent book, Billy Summers. I like Stephen King. I remember the first book I read by him, Salems Lot. I was living in an apartment with my toddler and it scared the bejesus out of me! I have continued reading his books through the years. I have another book that came available after a several months wait, If God Was A Rabbit, by Sarah Winman. I've read several of her books and like her writing. It's a little tidying and such this morning and an afternoon with a book. Not bad. 

Be Like Frieda

No worries here. -16 F? Big Deal. All that noise crashing around in the two-leggers heads? So What. Frieda has for herself a warm fire, a soft throw on an ottoman, a full dish of food and water and an upright (sort of) Homo sapien on a figurative lease to do her bidding. Who is the higher life form?

 

The Orange Ones

A cat and his dog.

Gatto is attached to Keetah. Right from the start, he never saw her as a threat. He spends a lot of his day laying on the floor next to her.

It's currently -9 F. It probably won't get above zero today. I have leftover soup so I don't need to come up with lunch. I don't mind that. The equines are staying in the barn today, mainly to keep the water buckets from freezing.

The boy above is Crabby Tabby, perhaps the one and only orange tabby without the over-friendly gene. He was a kitten in this photo. He and the other three, Mona, Blackie and Jiggs were born in the barn in 2015. Jiggs now is a full-time house cat due to the loss of a front leg. Blackie and Tabs used to be part-timers until Keetah came here. They do not like her. Mona never wanted to come inside.

This tabby, Murphy, showed up in the winter of 2012. He definitely has the friendly gene. I had an old house cat at the time who got along very well with dogs but would not tolerate another cat in her house. I ended up neutering him and giving him to my mother. He was Keetah's buddy who now lives with my son and their other cat, Twinks. 

I'm a cat lady. OMG.

Brrrr

It's currently 3 degrees F. An excellent day for soup.

I had a productive morning. I baked the bread dough I made yesterday and I made soup. It has been so long since I've made a white loaf of bread it looks wrong. Mark is supposed to be careful with how much fiber he gets and as you can see, there are beans in the soup, so I made a loaf of white bread. My contribution to the cause. I used fennel stems in the soup in place of celery, that was really good. Soup and sub-zero weather, like a hand and glove. 

I am feeling mentally better, even if not physically. Taking charge of myself, changing my primary, has perked me up. It feels good to feel good! 

I have a big mess to take care of in the kitchen. I am a messy cook, nothing like the professional son. He cleans as he goes, I pile things up. I think it's unlikely I'll change at this stage of life. It looks like a kitchen disaster happened. I need to clean up before I start it all over again with dinner. Stay warm, eat soup. Ciao 

Frieda Monster

Demonic Frieda

 I think all those prey animals I saved from Frieda when she moved into the house should send me flowers.

It has been several busy days. I didn't get to any blogs yesterday, by afternoon I was knackered. Matthew brought fried chicken and a couple of salads for lunch. It was all delicious and very nice to see him. He seems content with his life at this time and that is good. He is a cat guy and spent a lot of time with Gatto. The other two don't come out for strangers. Gatto was in his lap within minutes. 

We have a couple of weeks that will be cold. We've gotten off easy until now. I guess we are due. I'm going to make smoked ham shank soup and maybe some bread. I have a video appointment with a Nurse Practitioner Monday afternoon and an appointment for two back-to-back MRIs ordered by the neurologist in February. Otherwise, all things remain the same. Mark is more than halfway through radiology and is doing remarkably well. He bought a Powerball ticket on his way home, maybe this will be his lucky ticket. Uh-Huh.

My son sent me a text yesterday saying he's on PTO this week and would like to bring lunch today. So that is happening. Mark says, and I agree, he is worried about my condition. 

I was able to find a NP yesterday that I could make a video appointment with on the 30th. In the notes I wrote I want to change my primary. I need to let the neurologist know so he can give her whatever information he thinks relevant. 

So, that's the medical front. I need to spend some time cleaning up a little. Keetah just keeps dropping hair with no consideration for my waning condition. With only two of us, nothing gets particularly messy, but it sure gets dusty and dog-hairy. 

My Misfits order came this morning.

A dozen eggs for $3.00. Holy Wow!

Finally. Finally. Fennel. It's worth the wait. I got these beauties for just under $15.00, $3.69 each. At my local grocer they are $8.00/pound. Happy Day! Chard, eggplant and zucchini. Looks mighty healthy.

We had the Culligan Man out this morning, also. He needed to change filters and do whatever else they do with the filtration system once a year. He's a really nice guy, Keetah and Gatto liked him. His daughter has a dog named Keetah. My Keets came with the name, but Culligan Man said it is an old Viking word. Who knew? Not me!

I saw the neurologist yesterday. He was an attentive man who seemed concerned. He also doesn't think my problems are neurological. He said he was going to address some issues with my primary. He did, because about an hour after I got home I received a call from her nurse to schedule an appointment. I told the doctor I may change primary to a NP, he said if I do let him know and he'll send information to her. He has ordered an MRI of my upper back. The lower lumbar was done in 2021. Maybe he can get this ball rolling.

That's life in the frozen Northland, at least for me. Mark is using today for errands. We are in for some subzero weather into February, so today looks like the day to get things done. Ciao

Why Not?

I spent two hours of my morning mindlessly watching a Randolph Scott western on Grit TV. It seems it's Randy's birthday today and he is featured all day. The question is, what has happened to my life?

So, at 11:00 central time I got away from the tv and started the laundry. Again, what has happened to my life? I guess I shouldn't complain, but what the heck, it's a Monday and why not? In reality, if the pain were removed it would be a rather good life, having the luxury of frittering away two hours watching an old western, nothing tugging at me, nothing needing doing that cannot wait. Ok, never mind!

It had been foggy yesterday and then went into the low single digits overnight, giving us beautiful hoar frost this morning. That is a silver lining accompanying the cold. We are in for a couple of weeks of cold temperatures if the extended forecast is correct. It's been an easy winter, for the most part. No complaints. 

Winter is often beautiful. It's also brutal at times. It's easy for me to romanticize winter since I don't spend much time in it anymore. But, truthfully, I like winter. The horses are fine during winter, it's the summer heat and humidity that is hard on them. They grow thick coats, plant their muzzles in hay, back to any wind and eat. All day. 

Let us all put our backs to the wind, enjoy the moment, but leave the hay to the horses. Well, make hay if you are able!

Sunday Morning

no one can deny

even though one may try

he is the cat guy

Gatto took a leap at Mark from a kitchen chair, landing like a cartoon cat splatted against a wall, on Mark's torso. Claws dug in. He'd been trying to get his attention and didn't. Gatto wanted to be picked up and held, so like any self-respecting narcissistic feline, he took the situation into his own claws. After being unceremoniously put on the ground by a man yelping in pain, he got what he wanted. Don't they always?

Yes, It Comes Down to Fennel

Chicken and dumpling soup for lunch.

I nearly gave myself frostbite by peeling partially frozen tomatoes.

After a long dry spell Misfits Market finally had fennel in stock. They have the best price by a lot, so I've been hoping to see it on the site. I ended up spending more money than I intended so I could have fennel. I had to go to the cold pack to get enough for them to ship. My friend, Boud, knows what I'm talking about. It's ok, everything I got I may not have needed but will certainly use. A chicken roasted with fennel is in my future.

I think I'll light a fire in the snug, settle in with my book and forget about all the work piled up waiting for my attention. I'm the only one who notices. Mark, Keetah, Jiggy, Frieda and now Gatto, do not care. As long as they all get food, they are happy. Not a bad way to be. Ciao