Monday, May 23, 2016

So Far - So Good

After a weekend spent doing my best impression of a vegetable, my legs are feeling better.  I will ask Oldest Son to help me change the bandages tomorrow.  I am using the same method used by the home care people last year.  They came here once a week after I got out of the hospital, changed the bandages and re-bandaged with non-stick pads smeared with an antibiotic salve.  But instead of wrapping my legs in gauze and Ace bandages like they did, I use the compression socks to keep the pads in place.   It just takes more than my two hands to accomplish this and Son has been really good to help, bless him.

Youngest Son called me a few days ago.  He tends to call when he is either taking a kid to an activity or when he is on his way to pick them up.  He has a speaker phone thingy in his truck, so sometimes I talk with him and sometimes I talk with the grands.  I love the way they stay in touch.

Anyway, I asked him to do me a favor.  He is my only kid with a truck, so I wanted to know if he could pick up a new single sized bed for me.   He said he could, but he had a better idea.  He said that he and his wife were going to be getting a new bed for my grandson.  He said I could have the old bed if I wanted it.  The mattress is nearly new and it is the size I wanted.  There is a bonus of four drawers and a cubby in the base of the bed, which will give me more storage space.  I offered to buy the bed from him, but he wouldn't hear of it.  Bless him, too!

Oldest Son brought me some herb seeds.  I have basil, cilantro, thyme, parsley, oregano and sage.  That's a pretty good start on my little window sill herb garden.  After lunch I will get them planted in the starter pots and see if I can actually get them to grow.

I'm also working on sorting out my dehydrated foods.  I package them in freezer bags and store them in banker's boxes on shelves.  That keeps them out of the light.  I have used vegetables stored that way that were 5 or 6 years old and they were just fine.  But I got lazy and haven't put the latest dried food in their proper boxes, so that is my project for the rest of the day.  Once that's done, I will know for sure what I have and what I need to dehydrate.

And that is the extent of the excitement here in my little corner of the world.  :)

12 comments:

  1. Vicki, I am so sorry about your attack of Cellulitis. It is a messy, painful ailment. My mother suffered with it after she developed it in a nursing home where she was having rehab. It lasted months but once over it she has not had it again for 5 years. Knock wood! I hope you have that good luck. It is hard to be immobile when you are such an active person. Which brings me to a question that has been on my mind. At 80, I and hubby have a terrible time handling a canner full of water. How do you manage to fill one in order to can and empty it when you are finished? Do you dip it out with pans? There is almost always a way to overcome age difficulties if you just can find the answer. Thanks for your insight. Julia

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  2. Vicki - so glad to hear that you're on the mend. And big kudos to your two sons for taking such great care of you.
    My excitement for the day was to go swimming for about 30 minutes and then come back home and walk the dog. That's it for me for the day. Will be spending the rest of the day finishing up reading some blogs and then watching a movie or two.
    I'm interested in your reply to Julia's question as well.
    Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC Canada

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  3. Julia...I haven't had an outbreak of cellulitis in a year and a half - at least not one of any significance. I believe I caught this one in time and my lower legs seem to be healing nicely. Right now it is more just a yucky nuisance.

    I will turn 70 in a couple of weeks, and much to my chagrin I find I don't have nearly the strength I once had. I use the smaller of my pressure canners for water bath canning and because it is just too heavy when full, I use a large sauce pan to both fill the canner with water and to empty it until I can safely carry it without the risk of dropping it. I find myself looking for easier ways to do many of the household chores. They get done - it just takes longer now. :)

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  4. SJ...I am so lucky to have kids who help out when needed. All four of them are always there should the need arise.

    Sounds like you have had a nice day. I had company this afternoon, so I haven't finished all that I wanted to, but it was fun just to sit and visit. I may putter around with some of it this evening or I may join you in watching a couple of movies. I have been watching some Agatha Christie stuff on YouTube lately - the Miss Marple series and the Hercule Poirot TV movies. I love a good mystery!

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  5. That's good that you are getting the bed and not having to take a hit in the cookie jar to do so.

    The only freeze dried food I have is what I buy. We don't have that capability although we have discussed it. It makes a lot of sense.

    I'm glad there isn't a lot of excitement going on there. I don't much care for excitement these days. Slow and steady is more my style now!

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  6. Harry...I'm really glad I don't have to dip into the cookie jar, either. Even for a cheap bed, it would have been more of a hit than I really wanted to do. I'm so lucky that my kids always seem to come through in a pinch. Or even without a pinch!

    I don't have any freeze dried food - only what I have dehydrated myself. I believe that the machine for home freeze drying costs at present around $3,000, while my dehydrators were about $60 each. Freeze dried is better in some ways, like the fact that it rehydrates quicker than dehydrated and in some cases comes back to more like fresh than dehydrated, but I guess I am so used to what I dry at home that I just can't justify the difference in price, even if I don't freeze dry at home but buy the product in #10 cans. If I want quick and easy, I just use my home canned vegetables. (Tightwad that I am!)

    Things have been fairly quiet here since the Minneapolis Police Department let it be known that if the BLM crowd tried to block the highways used by fire, rescue and ambulance services like they did earlier this year, or if they blocked airport access again, arrests would be made, charges would be filed and it would not be pretty.

    The Somalis are waiting for the outcome of the trial of three (the rest pleaded guilty) for attempting to provide aid to a terrorists organization when they tried to join isis. Whether things remain calm when the trial is over remains to be seen.

    I go along with not wanting much excitement these days. And I sure understand the slow and steady thing. :)

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  7. I'm fighting cellulitis again, too, but not nearly as bad as what you've got. Hope you heal quickly.

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  8. Thanks, Gorges...Seems to be healing, but it is a slow process. This stuff just is no fun at all, is it! This is the worst outbreak since being hospitalized a year and a half ago. But I think I caught it in time enough to avoid a repeat hospital stay. Seems the older I get the more things come unglued. :)

    You take care of yourself, my friend!

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  9. So glad to hear you are on the mend! You will enjoy your fresh herbs! Nothing like fresh basil to add flavor to any meal! In the summer I grow two deck planters full and always have enough left over to dehydrate to get me through the winter.

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  10. Thanks, Chickenmom...It is a slow process and I have never been known for my patience, but I guess it will all work out in the end.

    I am excited to be growing something again. I have a really bad track record when it comes to indoor plants, so I will consider this experiment an unqualified success if the plants just stay alive. :) The idea of being able to use fresh herbs whenever I want really appeals to me.

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  11. Sorry to hear your not well. Feel better soon

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  12. Thanks, Rob...Just a temporary glitch. It will be fine soon. :)

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