Confessions of a Grandma

Yes, I have to give credit where credit is due. Mike made a commitment to himself and has stuck to it.  He has made several adjustments in diet habits and it really seems to be paying off.  His feet and ankles are no longer swollen and he has lost a bit of weight.  He had a check-up at the cardiologist today.  His blood pressure was 120/76, lowest reading in a medical setting since I have known him.  One medication was swapped for another and three were dropped entirely.  Of course, he did have a number of tests done today--and he has to see his regular physician for a possible bladder infection.  We will have to wait for those results, but today was good news. Oh, and my jeans fit again after the shock of travel bloat.  It has turned cold, so the jeans came back out along with a couple of sweaters.  Winter jacket, hats, and mittens are put away for the season though.  I'm just firm about that.  So that was good news for ...

I got smart today and took my bike ride early...before the wind kicked up to 30-45 mph.  The wind has been relentless for the whole month of March and it has been colder than usual (but not that bad relative to other areas, so I do not complain. Usually, March is the nicest month here. Mike's swollen ankle has gone back to near normal.  His blood test showed a high level of uric acid which indicates gout.  We thought he had gout before, but the uric acid levels were not so high back then.  He of course wants it to be something else because gout means diet changes.  I am hoping I do not have to become the diet police.  On the other hand, it might mean fixing just one dish for the both of us--lots of vegetables without salt.   We need to follow up with his primary care physician at home for a review of the medications and how they may be impacting his kidney function.  So many meds mean too many side effects.  At least congestive he...

I have re-adjusted my computer table so that I can look out the window.  I don’t know if that will work out.  I can see a clear blue sky and palms waving in the wind.  I have not gotten much writing done at all. Yesterday was warm, but so, so windy.  I worked for a bit on my quilting project and made a trip to the library to restock my reading supply. We joined some friends for salad and pizza supper and that was fun. There was an article in a recent AARP magazine about healthy habits.  These included: socialize spend time out doors take a nap have sex eat chocolate drink a glass of wine or a bottle of beer. I guess that our Florida lifestyle is a pretty healthy one for us then.  I try to work all those things into my week. I can’t say I am missing the VT winters.  The romance of huddling by the fire while a Nor’easter batters the outside only lasts a short time.

This bougainvillea has been in constant bloom since we got here in December.  I have pruned most of the rest of the bushes around the place, but I am not prepared to tackle this one.  I'll need long-handled lopers and lots of protective leather clothing before I attempt a haircut on this baby. Now that Mike is on so much medication, including blood thinners, I hate to even allow him to help with these pruning tasks.  One little cut and he looks like that old Saturday Night Live skit about Julia Childs.  (She cuts her finger and blood is spurting everywhere, if you haven't seen it.)  I did just read in the local paper, though, about a product--I think it was called Wound Seal, but don't quote me on that--that is a powder that you pour onto a cut and it forms an instant scab to stop the bleeding.  I'm thinking I will get myself to Walgreen's down the road and stock up on some...just in case. ****** I was severely irritated to read this in an article in W...

Some people are hat people and some people just are not. If you are female and you ever expect to get invited to an English garden tea party, you'd best be a hat person. Please, if you get to attend a Royal wedding...hats required: I am not a hat person in the sense that hats do not really do much to flatter me in any way.  I am a hat person in the sense that I realize that I need a warm and woolly one when I am out walking in the cold and I need a wide brim when I am out in the sun.  I do try to time my outdoor activities so that I shower and wash my hair (hat head) after they are done rather than before. I am also a hat person in the sense that I like to knit hats.  Recently, I completed my first somewhat successful felted hat.  Felting, if you wonder, is knitting something over sized out of wool and then shrinking it. I have attempted some hats before but ended up with small containers.  Actually, I kind of like the contain...

When kids came to my parents' door saying "trick or treat!" my dad would always say, "I'll take the treat." Happy Halloween The sun made an appearance today and I was happy to see its face. It wasn't sharing a whole lot of heat though.  I went out for a walk just a bit after noon and I noticed that my shadow was about six feet long as I traversed to the north with the sun behind me.  Coming south at the end of my loop, the sun was shining right in my eyes.  The wind was pretty bitter, but we have not had the dumps of snow that they have had in southern New England, so no complaints.  I was out and I was getting exercise and it felt good. I was tempted to make the trip to Rutland, VT for the Halloween parade.  School bands from that county and area businesses submit floats and my son-in-law put together a float this year.  He has a roofing business.  Grandson Dane was apparently quite excited about Halloween this year and was greatl...

Whew...a long trip home.  Under the most ideal of conditions, the trip between Venice and Jericho is every second of 24 hours.  We split up the trip over three days.  It is doable in two days, but then we find ourselves out of it for another two--so best to just take it a bit slower. When we find a place to spend the night, I run the bed bug routine.  Strip the sheets from the bed.  Inspect along the seams.  Wait for the whole body itch that starts in my head to subside.  It's pretty worrisome.  I have not ever found  bed bugs, but I have found places that are way too grimy.   At this point, though, we have made the trip enough so that we pretty much stay in the same places along the way and know the places to avoid.  And sometimes, "Under New Management" doesn't mean any improvements were made. The drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia was our best taste of fall this year.  It was clear and sunn...

Last Thursday, Mike left for an appointment with the kidney specialist at 10 a.m.  He had his blood work done the day before.  It was supposed to be a fairly routine visit, I thought.  At noon, I got a phone call from him.  He was sitting in the emergency room at the hospital where the specialist had sent him. This is not the kind of phone call I enjoy getting. Two hours later, he called to say that they were going to keep in the hospital overnight.  The doctor took his blood pressure--very high--and a pulse--racing like crazy.  (Although Mike says he had no symptoms, no idea that his heart was beating nearly out of his chest.) Four hours after that, he called once again to let me know he was finally in a room.  Six hours sitting in the emergency room staring at the walls, no food, nothing to drink--I'm sure that helped the blood pressure situation.  Plenty of nurses, though, all looking for veins to hook up IV's and whatnot.  Let's hop...

I'm offereing this guest contribution to my blog today--in honor of the fact that I will not have to go on more blood pressure medications as long as I continue to do well on the DASH diet.  I had a doctor's appointment today and my blood pressure was down from last fall...and I still need to lose a few pounds. Living Healthy: Why It's Easier Than You Think Living healthy is so important to us 'old folks'. I have always been a health advocate, so I've always been interested in living healthy. My husband, however, was a little harder to convince. By the time he was in his 40s, he had high cholesterol and needed to exercise more to lose some weight. He took his cholesterol medication, but kept on with his junk food and sedentary lifestyle. It was when he was 54 that we found out that he had more serious health problems that could have probably been avoided if he would have taken the doctor's advice when he was younger. Living healthy doesn't mean fo...

My first little ripe tomato...almost too cute to eat. Beautiful salads for our lunches Last fall at my annual physical, my doctor was concerned about my blood pressure numbers creeping upwards.  I monitored at home and it seemed fine, but when I went back for a follow-up visit, my blood pressure was high again.  Then at a second follow-up, same results even though I was watching the salt and taking daily dose of atenonol. My doctor wanted to put me on a different medication, but not just before I would be away for three months as it would require monitoring.  A little scary.  My insurance will not pay for doctor's visits in Florida, only trips to an emergency room.  That seems like a not very practical or cost-effective way to monitor blood pressure and the effects of a new medication, so we made an appointment for yet another blood pressure follow-up in April. In the meantime, I have checked and recorded my blood pressure readings for a week in late January ...

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, I went to the Cabot Factory sock sale, then out to lunch, with my sister.  On Sunday, I took the grand kids out to lunch.  Wednesday was an unexpected lunch because of trapping ourselves in the basement.  Thursday, of course, was a full day of feasting and nibbling.  On Friday, we made our annual pilgrimage to Giant Grinder and Modern Bakery on Franklin Street in downtown Hartford.  Then we went out for a soup and sandwich supper on Friday night.  In between all this eating was either work on sanding/finishing stair treads or driving.  Healthy food choices?  Exercise schedule?  This is how I can gain five pounds over the holiday season, and I just decided not to do that. So yesterday and today, it's out for brisk walks and pull out the vegetarian recipes and the exercise bands.  This morning, I made a big pot of oatmeal.  I used to eat a lot of oatmeal breakfasts but then I got out of the...

I think a day could not BE more New England-November than today--dark, dreary, cold to the bone, and raining.  A cup of Constant Comment tea and few ginger cookies--that's all there was to be done on a day like this. I did get the results of my blood work in the mail today.  Everything--most of which I haven't really a clue about (total alkaline phosphatase?  AST?  Albumin?)--was within normal limits.  My cholesterol has gone down a whopping 20 points over the past year.  The "vegetarian inclined" diet changes have paid off there for sure.

THE very worstest thing about a warm day in the fall when you live in the country is the g*#!d*#! flies.  I could spend the whole day vacuuming them out of the windows.  And, of course, last week I washed windows--just in time for the g*#!d*#! flies to spot all over them. Ick! I went for my annual physical yesterday.  As usual, my blood pressure was high the first take in the doctor's office, but this time it didn't go down with subsequent readings--averaged out at about 160/90.  Yikes! Now I have to go back and have it monitored again.  I think it was because I was somewhat dehydrated.  It is my opinion--unsubstantiated by any science--that all the ailments known to women stem from dehydration.  I drank lots of water last night and this morning my BP was 118/56.  On Thursday, I'll get my fasting blood work done.  Last year my cholesterol had gone up quite a bit.  With the increased fruit and veg intake, reduced meat and ...

I started out for my exercise walk yesterday.  It was cool and I had a brisk pace going when I realized that it was just too easy!  I had to run for some intervals to break a sweat and get the old heart rate up enough for some aerobic benefit.  I ran to a telephone pole, walked to the next, ran to the next, etc.--unless it was steep uphill or on the paved road.  Old-woman-running is a sight that the general public probably should be spared.  Hey, at least I don't wear spandex exercise clothing.  At one point I actually did and could get away with it, but now...like I said, there are just things that the public should be spared from viewing.  Anyway, I probably ran a mile out of the 3.7 mile loop and did about the same this morning.  Believe me, I did get the heart rate up and a slow burn blazing in the buns.  I'm not sure where this burst of energy came from, but I hope it goes away because it is slightly annoying. Maybe...

Mike's woke up with a swollen and very painful toe on Sunday morning.  He was trying to remember stubbing it.  I say, if you stub a toe or break a toe, you know it right away.  I diagnosed him with gout--something my father had bouts of and something my brother gets serious attacks of sometimes.  After looking it up online, Mike is inclined to agree with my medical assessment.  This is, I'm sure, just another thing that he will fail to mention to his doctor at his next visit.  At the D'Angelo family reunion, one of his cousins was going down the list of who had poly cystic kidney disease that is a genetic disorder that runs rampant in that family line.  Mike claimed he "didn't know" whether or not he had it...and he's not ever mentioned the family history to his doctor.  I have threatened to accompany him on his next visit, and I am threatening once again. The family reunion on Saturday was lovely, by the way.  It was held at Mike...

When my son was born, at the end of the '60s, it was common that the hospital stay would be five days for a routine, no complications birth.  By the time my daughter was born, in the early '70s, that was becoming not the practice, but I had insurance and my doctor told me he'd keep me in hospital for five days.  Really, it wasn't bad.  I got to lay around in bed all day and watch television.  My meals were all brought to me on a tray.  Babies were brought in on a feeding schedule or for showing off to adoring relatives who stopped by in the evenings.  Otherwise they were all kept in a nursery, and the crying emanating from there surely was not my baby.  It was a five day reprieve from reality and after going through childbirth, I deserved it. Also it gave me time for the drugs to wear off. I'm thinking about this for two reasons.  First, my sister called to announce the birth of her third grand child--a boy, son of her youngest son....

Mike's doctor sent him for some screenings after his last physical. Mike had no complaints or concerns, but he has reached a certain age apparently where the medical profession feels compelled to look for stuff. It was major effort on my part to get him to go for a physical several years ago, but he has been good about going since. He also sees a dermatologist on a regular basis now. He always comes back and says, "Great! Everything's fine...What? This bandage? Oh, he just scraped off a suspicious spot. It's not the bad kind of cancer" OR: "Why are we being charged for surgery? Oh, they took off some polyps during my colonoscopy. No problem." Granted, these have been small things that were easily fixed, but he might have mentioned it, I think. After the tests, he got a report from the doctor. Everything looked fairly good but there was a mention of small tumors on the kidneys of "unknown origin, probably not concerning." "Mike...

When I first started teaching, our teachers' union had a workshop on the state retirement plan for teachers. My eyes tend to glaze over and my attention wonder when anything financial is under discussion, but somehow I did take away from that session the image of a three legged stool. The presenter said that the state teachers' pension was only one leg of a three legged stool. The other two legs were social security and personal savings. The intention was to get us thinking that the quality of our retirement was more under our control if we planned wisely and saved for the life we wanted for our retirement years. Well, who at the tender age of 21 or so believes they will ever retire? And who, on a beginning teacher's salary in those days, was very successful at socking away spare cash? And once a young family starts to grow, who even has enough for mortgage and groceries, let alone spare cash to stash in a piggy bank? No one in my social circle, for sure. But as time passed...

My first husband was a community spirited, giving back kind of guy, and that is extremely admirable. He may have gone too far, though, when he convinced me, many years ago, to go with him to donate blood. As he pointed out at the time, I was young and healthy. I should feel a responsibility to help those in need. It was an easy thing to do. He did it on a regular basis. They give you juice and a donut when you are done. Okay, all ready. I went with him to the Congregational Church where the Red Cross was having a blood drive. The volunteer greeting us at the door gave me a sticker: "Be nice to me. It's my first time!" Goody, a sticker. What am I? In first grade? I was given some paperwork to fill out. Obviously, the purpose of the sticker was to prompt others, workers and donors alike, to say, "Don't worry. It doesn't hurt a bit." A nurse pricked my finger and knocked a drop of blood into a little vial of some kind of liquid. I think the drop was su...

I took my walk downtown Saturday, stopped at a craft fair, scooted through the farmers' market and stopped in a couple of the shops. I was looking at some candles when I all of a sudden started to get a little sneezey. By the time I got home I knew for sure I was coming down with a cold. My head is stuffed up like the vacuum that time I inadvertently sucked up a stray sock from under the bed--no air getting through. I have a three point headache--behind and right between the eyes--my ears itch, my throat is scratchy, and my nose is raw and red enough for me to enter the Rudolph look-alike contest. I miserable! I went to bed early last night after a healthy shot of quality brandy. I took an hour nap this morning and a two hour nap this afternoon. I made myself a big pot of spicy chicken noodle soup and I've been sipping on that or green tea with honey while I'm awake. At least the high fluid intake conspires with my bladder to get me out of bed and shuffling on into the bath...