Back In A Bit

Hubby Tony and I have decided to play hooky from real life for a couple of weeks, which includes going laptop-free. That means there will be no blogging or checking in. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone's been up to down the line. Until then......

Five years ago today: Counting Everyone, No Matter Where They Live

Swiftly Flow The Days

This morning Mevely wrote about a half birthday she received, and finished her thought with "Funny, I don't remember growing older".

I replied, telling her the statement made me think of the beautiful Fiddler on the Roof song "Sunrise, Sunset", with the line "I don't remember growing older / When did they?" I appreciated the song's sentiment when I was in my 20s, but now decades later I understand it on a whole deeper level. 

Since I've been humming the song all day, I thought you might like to share it with me. 

Professionally Pedicured

In the past few weeks my heels have been dry and cracked. I tried multiple soaking/exfoliating/moisturizing sessions, but eventually I realized it was time to get a professional nail technician's help and made appointments for today. (Two of them. A couple of years ago Hubby Tony came to a pedicure appointment with me and he decided he's a fan.)

I get my toes professionally pedicured a couple of times a year. Every strip mall within five miles of my condo has a nail salon. When we moved to this neighborhood I randomly chose one, and they've gotten my business ever since.

The session today was everything I wanted it to be...starting by cranking up the massage chair while my feet soaked in warm water. That soak was followed by cuticle maintenance (bye-bye hangnail on the right pinky toe), nail trimming (especially the edge of my big toes where the nail tends to grow into the skin), and filing. Next was a manicure scraper exfoliation, followed by a squirt of lotion and foot/lower leg massages. For the last step the technician wrapped warm towels around my feet and legs for several minutes.

At this point Tony's service was done, but I continued on with the rest of the pedicure. I left the salon with pops of color on my nails that will make me smile every time I look down at them. Five years ago: A Day Of Adventure

Searching For Words

Most days I sit down for a mid-afternoon snack, a cup of coffee, and a crossword puzzle. Last Christmas Hubby Tony gave me some New York Times puzzle compilations (Tuesday-Easy and Wednesday-Medium), but I've just about gone through them. I will add replacements to this year's Christmas list.

Without a crossword puzzle to complete, I've been working my way through a book of Word Searches I received as a white elephant prize a while back. The book was published by TV Guide Magazine in 2015, but the puzzles reference material ranges from the 1960s up to the publication date. So far, this has been one of my favorites:

Capitalized words are those to be found

About a dozen of the 'top' shows were unfamiliar to me. When I searched for them on the internet I found out that most were short-lived, only lasting for one or two seasons. 

If you were watching television in 1979, how familiar are you with these shows? Which ones don't you know?

Five years ago today: Tracking Down Trolls

Nature Is The Living, Visible Garment Of God

According to Wikipedia the phrase "Nature is the living, visible garment of God" was coined by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Part One of his play Faust. 

Here are some "garments of God" from my camera roll. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of where most of them came from.

Five years ago: The Basking King

Maybe He'll Be Cuddling Soon?

It was a little over a week ago when I told you about Foster Cat Pimento's latest medication issues. Last Friday he completed the courses of ear drop and antibiotic wipes, but still continued to give me the stink eye every time I got close to him.

This afternoon I was stilling on the bed working on my laptop. The cat sauntered in, looked at his favorite spot at the foot of the mattress, looked at me, and then back at the bed. After a quick cat brain calculation he jumped up and settled in.

Ten minutes later I decided to take a nap myself. As I was stretching out, Pimento woke up enough to make sure I wasn't getting ready to grab him, then went back to sleep.

Five years ago: Crisper Component

Not Fall Yet!

An organization Hubby Tony belongs to had a potluck picnic for this afternoon. The event used to happen in the summer, but for the past few years it's been held in mid-September so the weather would be moderate. This year Mother Nature didn't get the memo; the high today was forecast to be 98°F. (For comparison, the record is 101°). Oy!

Our section of the alphabet was assigned to bring a salad or side dish, and I had decided to make roasted vegetables with pesto. Last night I went to the grocery store and bought broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and a red onion. It wasn't until I got home that I made the connection between 'roasting' and running the oven in hot weather 😏. Even though the cooking process heated the kitchen up, I was thankful that thanks to the temperature it was easy to keep my dish warm at the park.

Big bowl of veggies

When we left the house it was 95°. The sun made it feel even hotter, and the air was still. Fortunately, the park pavilion was shady. A couple of fans placed on picnic tables got a nice cross breeze going, especially when I took a seat right in front of the one on the food serving table.

We were there for about three hours. It was nice to talk with friends and catch up with people I hadn't seen in a while. Shortly before the main dish arrived (fried chicken from a nearby restaurant) one of the organizers decided the fan by me should be turned off. That made it even hotter, and it was even worse when the table I chose to eat at was close to the west side of the pavilion and started to lose its shade as the sun moved across the sky.

Tony was also feeling the sun's heat. We finished our food, had some dessert, then decided to say our goodbyes. The car's temperature gauge registered 102°, and even with the air conditioner on full blast it took forever for things to cool off.

Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow

A friend introduced me to this beautiful poem. I hope you like it,  too.

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry,

Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

 

One of these days is Yesterday,

With its mistakes and cares,

Its faults and blunders,

Its aches and pains.

Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.

All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday.

We cannot undo a single act we performed,

We cannot erase a single word we said.

Yesterday is gone.

 

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow,

With its possible adversities,

Its burdens,

Its large promise and poor performance.

Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.

Tomorrow's sun will rise,

Either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds—

But it will rise.

Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow

For it is as yet unborn.

 

This leaves only one day: Today.

Any man can fight the battles of just one day.

It is only when you and I add the burdens

Of those two awful eternities—

Yesterday and Tomorrow—

That we break down.

It is not the experience of Today that drives men mad,

It is the remorse or bitterness

For something which happened Yesterday

And the dread

Of what Tomorrow may bring.

 

Author Unknown

  

Five years ago today: Cookies And Conversation

The Fun And The Not So Fun

It feels like in the past few weeks there has been a lot of activities on my calendar. Yesterday and today were no different. Some of the activities were fun. Others, not so much. 

Wednesday 

I was scrolling through Facebook after lunch and saw a post on the cat shelter's "Volunteers and Foster Parents" group that said there was a spot available for that night's Cats and Mats Yoga. Usually the event is a fundraiser, but they were offering it to volunteers as a "thank you for helping the kitties".

I was the first one to respond, and soon received a message that the spot was mine. This was the second time I have done yoga with the cats, and this session was very similar to the first. All of the furniture had been pushed against the walls to make room for the yogis (and felines). The instructor took her place in the front of the room. Some of the 15 cats in the shelter made themselves comfortable on mats:

And some were content to survey the event from above:

The instructor said we could follow her cues or play with the cats. I did a little bit of both. The hour went quickly. When I got home Pimento the Foster Cat was very interested in smelling my hands for unique scents.

Thursday 

A week ago I went to the dermatologist for a skin checkup. The doctor did a great job of checking every portion of my skin. Each year I end up with a couple of precancerous lesions that get zapped with liquid nitrogen, but this year she identified a suspicious-looking spot and took a biopsy. The result came back that I had a Superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma (a common type of skin cancer, which is typically slow-growing and rarely spreads to other parts of the body). I made an appointment for this afternoon to have it removed.

From walking into the reception area until walking out the appointment took a half hour. In the examination room the physician's assistant numbed the area. The physician scraped away the lesion, cauterized the area to stop the bleeding, and then for extra insurance hit it with a blast of liquid nitrogen. The assistant put ointment and a bandage on the area, told me to take care of it for two weeks, and walked me to the payment desk. 

When the numbing wore off I had some mild pain. Nothing that I can't handle, but it would be nice if it wouldn't stay around long. 

Five years ago today: The Unknown SMSer

Scaredy Cat

Two weeks ago I discovered more lumps on Pimento the Foster Cat's skin. I contacted the shelter to let them know, and they asked me to make an appointment at the clinic to have them looked at. The appointment was last week. Pimento came home with three prescriptions-all to be administered for ten days: a tablet (twice a day for five days, then a stepped down dosage for another five days), an antibiotic wipe (twice a day), and ear drops (twice a day).

Pimento is not a fan of any type of medicine. I anticipated the tablet would be the most difficult to administer. I was wrong. We put a spoonful of wet food in the bowl, bury a piece of medicine inside, and add a couple of kibbles on top to hide the medicine's texture. He inhales everything and licks the bowl.

Even though we use the food as an incentive for the other two medicines, their administration has been problematic. Every few days we have to come up with a new way to attract him/grab him/dose him. The saddest part of the whole adventure is now Pimento doesn't want to have much to do with us. I can tell that he wants to be friendly, but if I cross his invisible safety line when I walk by he will get up and move. Once we are in bed with the light out he will jump up and nestle next to Tony's legs, but there are no cuddles on the couch.

I hope that once this medicine regimen is finished and Pimento is healthy again it won't take him long to get back to his regular habits.

Five years ago: Pushing The Pedals

I Love A Parade

StockCake

This weekend is the Manchester (Missouri)  Homecoming, a three-day community festival and carnival. Hubby Tony and I used to live in the city and still attend church there. When the pastor put out a call for people to participate in this morning's Homecoming parade Tony and I decided it would be fun to be a part of it.

The theme was "The Great Outdoors". There were hundreds of people participating in the parade, but the committee had everything well organized. Our group carpooled to the starting area and found our place in the lineup about two thirds of the way back. The organizer handed out bags of giveaways to the walkers. Right before the parade started we gathered for a group photo, then we waited for our turn to start moving.

The parade had honorees, local politicians, floats, bands, Scout troops and packs, sports and cheer teams, and a couple of community organizations. The two-mile route wound through subdivisions and ended at a school on the west side of the city.  My task was to hold one side of the banner that gave the name of the church. Behind the banner there was a group handing out candy, stickers, and rubber ducks with the church logo. Next came the Cub Scouts, followed by several Jeeps (to represent the outdoors).  

Our group was behind the school district Step team. One of the members pulled a portable speaker and played fun, upbeat music. For the most part the team walked, but whenever things slowed down they would go into a formation and do a 30-second performance.  

At the end of the parade we realized there wasn't enough seats in the Jeeps to drive everyone back to the church. Several people, including Tony and me, decided to continue walking. By the time I reached the car at noon I had completed my steps for the day!

Inoculated

Now that it's meteorological fall my thoughts have turned to preventing flu and COVID.

Based on my research it seems like the best time to get a flu shot is in early October so it lasts for the entire season. The best time to get the fall COVID vaccine is generally September or October, but I've heard of several people getting sick so I decided to try to do that sooner rather than later.Of course the vaccine has been caught up in politics, and the whole system is chaotic right now.

Public Domain Pictures

Last week I walked up to Walgreens with Hubby Tony so he could pick up a prescription. I asked the pharmacist when boosters would be available. He said they had received the serum but were waiting for insurance companies to agree to cover the costs.

Since then I've checked the pharmacy website a couple of times, but earlier today I read Dkzodys post about getting the latest COVID booster I checked again. Appointments were now available! 

Because we had no other plans for Friday night Tony and I made appointments and had a 'date' getting boosted. 

The paperwork process was a little clunky. The associate who checked us in grumbled that she had done the job successfully all day but was now getting a computer system error message. She overrode the message, and fifteen minutes later Tony and I were walking out of the store, wearing matching bandages on our shoulders as proof.

Five years ago today: A Small Sign Of Normalcy

No Thank You

Tomorrow I have my yearly appointment with a dermatologist to get my skin checked.

I've been going to the same multi-doctor practice for years, but I recently learned the practice joined up with a large regional company and my doctor retired. I had my choice of one of several new, young doctors; I chose the one that I could get into the quickest.

For several days the new company has been sending me texts and emails asking me to download their app so I can do things like check in online. I have been politely ignoring the requests. I have no idea how secure the app is and don't want my personal information floating through cyberspace until I learn more about it. They can ask all they want. I will just make sure to get there early enough to fill out their paper forms and show them my insurance cards.

VectorPortal

Five years ago today: What Are The Chances?

Frankly, The Frank Was Great

Today's adventure happened because I had a hankering for a good hot dog. 😁

I was looking for a dog  that was plump and juicy and had a casing that "snapped" when I bit into it. They're standard at barbecues. However, there is no option to barbecue in our condo development. When I did some research last night I quickly realized that the go-to restaurants for good hot dogs were closed for the Labor Day holiday.

This morning I was reading an email news compilation from St. Louis Magazine. Close to the bottom of there were links to several articles in the magazine; given my recent search for a good dog I thought the one called Hot Dogs or Brats? was timely. In the article several local restaurateurs weighed in on the topic. One of them (Gerard Craft) mentioned his current favorite was Wally's, which is an enormous gas station and travel center less than ten minutes from my house.

Although I was pretty sure I knew what the answer would be, I asked Hubby Tony if he would be interesting in combine a walk with a trip to Wally's for lunch. He said yes, so I started investigating what we could do.

Wally's is right off Interstate 44 in Fenton. It's not too far from several county parks along the Meramec River. Buder County Park was the closest, a little over a mile away from our final destination. That's where we decided to go.

We left the car in the parking lot at Wally's. According to my map app, if we were driving the trip would have involved multiple turns. However, on foot the walk was a straight shot down one road, parts of which had been closed after the 1993 flood.

Faint road lines and a directional sign

Buder Park is in the river flood plain. I had never been there before, but soon figured out it had soccer fields, a radio controlled model plane flying field, drone flying area, a small archery range, and one pavilion. Tony and I stopped to watch the planes before continuing on the loop road around the park. The last part ran next to the river and we could see glimpses of the trail on the other bank.

When we returned to Wally's both Tony and I were ravenous. We did not stop at the huge merchandise side of the store, but headed straight to the bathroom to wash our hands (passing through the liquor section on the way). With clean hands we passed by the huge soft drink wall, the jerky bar, the pizza station, and the popcorn station on our way to the barbecue carving/sandwich station. Both of us grabbed a foil-wrapped hot dog, but chose slightly different toppings (mustard for both of us; onions and relish for me, pickles and hot sauce for Tony). I decided we needed a bag of kettle chips to share, but I passed on anything from the bakery station, ice cream counter, or coffee bar.

We took the food back to the car. I opened up my dog. It had been cut in half and griddled so that all the surfaces were nicely browned. When I took the first bite the casing popped like it was supposed to, and it was a good thing I had a napkin handy to catch the juice.

Five years ago today: Get Out Of The House, Get It Done, Get Home