HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE

I had a very quiet New Year's Eve. I worked. I needed to invoice my clients. That's my big exciting day. 

Until tomorrow...

THE HOLIDAY IS ALMOST OVER

I had to work today. I procrastinated all week and now I have to work. I have a habit of doing this when it is a holiday. 

The gardener came back today and finished cleaning up the backyard. It always looks so nice when he is finished. We took out all the dead vegetable plants. I was thinking of planting some winter vegetables but I don't know. I probably would have had to start seedlings already because this is the rainy season and seeds would get washed away. In the Spring I just plant the seeds outside. 

I watched a really good movie on Netflix. Leave the world behind. Wow was it good. I can't tell you anything because it would ruin it. 

Until tomorrow...

SEND GOOD THOUGHTS TO MY CAR

I found out today that my car might be able to be fixed. I had heart sent over last week and this week when the garage got it, it was missing a part. So the guy at the garage ordered the part and they're supposed to be sending it. I'm hoping I will get my car back next week and it will be able to be fixed.

I finally got down to doing some real work today. While I was working the gardener showed up to finish cleaning up what I had done on Christmas weekend. Unfortunately the slight rain turned into a downpour and he had to abandon ship. Tomorrow I'm supposed to have the contractor and the gardener here but we'll see with this rain.

Yesterday when going to take my friend to lunch I dropped off some returns to Amazon. Unfortunately I also took a package that I wanted to keep and handed it to the guy at UPS. This morning I woke up and called UPS and got a very nice guy who dug through my returns (that were still there) and found my shirt. I'm going to go pick it up tomorrow if it's not raining. 

One of my neighbors stopped by to get his cookie/candy plate that I made for him and he brought me a super cool gift. It is a very old antique brass or cover candy mold. There are actually two of them of different molds. Now I'm super excited to make chocolates in them. I watched a guy on YouTube who made chocolates in an old silver metal mold. His chocolates came out great. 

Until tomorrow...

CONTRACTOR NEW DOOR

This morning my contractor has returned to finish the final little parts of my renovation after the water leak. He talked to me this week about replacing the door and making it a metal door. I am not a fan of metal doors because they can look very cheap. And the door that he's replacing is only about a year old.

Once he got here and took the door frame off I was glad he did. There was water damage around the door frame but it turns out it was not as bad as we originally thought. The door he bought looks wonderful. I would have never known it was metal and not wood. He found one that matched the door that was originally there.

I left the contractor to figure out what to do about the door and I went to lunch with a friend. We sat in a semi outdoor part of the restaurant. It was good to catch up.

Until tomorrow...

LUCKY TO THE VET AGAIN, I KNOW

We got up early this morning to take Lucky to the vet. I was a little concerned yesterday when lucky took a poo and out came a milky white/florescent blue liquid.

When I showed the doctor the photo, he said he doesn't feel it's anything to be concerned about. That shocked me. Instead he was more concerned with other things. We agreed it was a good idea to take an x-ray of her abdomen. Her abdomen looks good. We were worried about tumors. Then he ran a bunch of other tests to make sure she's okay. We'll find out the results in the day or two.

I'm supposed to be concentrating on work and getting very little done.

Until tomorrow...

DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

This week I am supposed to catch up on some work but I have been slow moving. I am anxious about getting my car back or if I will get my car back.  I started looking at small EVs. I really didn't want to buy a car before my trip but things happened. 

I got all my thank you notes in the mail. Do you write thank you notes? 

Until tomorrow...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I decided to make a Vegan Wellington for Christmas. It has mushrooms and pecans ground up into a ball inside the puff pastry. I made two of them and I'm going to freeze the second one. 

You have never seen someone so excited getting a fire extinguisher, power strips, a folding shovel and car emergency kit. I am planning a trip in the spring and I was thrilled to get items to take on my trip. 

My Christmas dinner was excellent. 

Merry Christmas!! 

Until tomorrow...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE

The highlight of my day was getting my turntable to play music. Over 15 years ago when I moved the needle on my turntable was destroyed from the movers. Because my turntable is so old, it was very very difficult to find a needle replacement. 10 years ago I went from place to place trying to find a replacement needle with no luck. But a month ago I found a place and they had my needle. I wasn't completely sure that this was going to work but I bought it and sure enough it works. Once I got the needle I then could not get the turntable to play. So tonight on a whim I pulled everything out and found the problem. Right before I went to bed I got it to play the first few chords of the album that was on there, the theme to All in the Family. I am so excited to play my albums again.

I spent most of the day cooking. Surprise! I made a spinach leek quiche. Then I made the potatoes for tomorrow. And depending on how I feel tomorrow I'm going to make a vegan Wellington.

Besides taking Lucky on two walks, that was pretty much my Christmas Eve.

I hope you have a very happy and safe Christmas Day. 🎄🎅🏻 That is if you celebrate Christmas. 

Until tomorrow...

MERRY EVE OF CHRISTMAS EVE

I woke up this morning and I felt better. Last night I had a heating pad on my chest for a few hours. I think that and the medicine made my esophagus and chest feel better. It lasted a good portion of the day. 

I iced the rest of the cookies and made plates for my neighbors. There are chocolate cookies with peppermint icing, coffee chocolate candies, and chocolate cups with peanut butter/white chocolate, almonds and craisins. Someone already told me the chocolate/peanut butter ones are the best. How can you beat the combination of chocolate and peanut butter? 

Lucky and I delivered the plates to the neighbors. Lucky got dolled up for the occasion. 

Then I worked on my advent puzzle. An advent puzzle comes in a big box with 24 little boxes holding puzzle pieces for a section of the puzzle. It makes staring at a 1,000 piece puzzle a little easier. I have one little box left tomorrow, #24. Then the puzzle will be complete. 

Until tomorrow...

TORTILLA CHIP

Last week I accidentally swallowed a chunk of tortilla chip. Now you may ask how that could happen. I was eating tortilla chips and chewed a bunch in my mouth, swallowed it and then realized I hadn't chewed one piece. The tortilla chip was in my esophagus and as the day went on I could feel the tortilla chip going down my esophagus. I of course googled it, and found out that drinking a can of soda can help move the impediment along. I could still eat and drink but I could feel the tortilla chip.

Before you say how could you possibly do that, it is more common than you think. In fact I met someone today who had done the same thing.

The pain in my esophagus was where's the next day and then the third day it started to feel better. I ate some actual food and not just soft food. On Tuesday it started to feel worse. Much worse. So I called the doctor and I got an appointment for today to have an endoscopy.

So this morning I went and had an endoscopy done. The endoscopy showed everything was fine and my esophagus and just to be on the safe side my doctor took some biopsies. So either the chip made a little tear and it healed already or something else is going on. I suspect that the chip has triggered my costochondritis. That is inflammation that goes into your chest rib cage from different reasons including trauma.

Anyway, that was the majority of my day. I was lucky that a friend could pick me up from the endoscopy and drive me home. We sat and talked for about 2 hours when I got home because I hadn't seen him in person since 2020.

Moral of the story make sure you chew your tortilla chips.

Until tomorrow...

CHRISTMAS TREE

It's five days until Christmas. I mailed all my packages. I ordered my food delivery. My tree is decorated. I think I am ready. 

As you can see I had a Christmas light issue. I was half way done putting the lights on the tree when the second strand stopped working. I had to buy another strand but now the lights don't match. 

I checked in on the part for my car. It was shipped even though the guy I spoke to was out sick for the last two days. It should arrive on Tuesday. My plan is to get it over to the garage as soon as it arrives. I have things to do dnd a week without a car has been tough. 

Until tomorrow...

LATE CHRISTMAS PACKAGE

My meditation group is so supportive. It is great to have people who want the same thing. 

Yesterday the package for a family member was delivered to my home. It was supposed to go to the family members house. It was my mistake. 

Today I wrapped it and took it to the post office. For those of you not using Click and Ship, it is so easy. I print the labels out at home, then put the item in a box at the post office, slap the label on the box and tape it up. I don't have to send in any line. 

Until tomorrow...

NECESSARY MEDITATION

 Things in my life are a little crazy right now. Work is constant, my car is gone to be fixed (maybe?), Lucky is a lot right now and Christmas. Then today it rained. We need the rain but I was not amused. 

I am currently typing on my old laptop (the one I spilled hot tea on) downstairs. I have to use a detached keyboard since some of the keys are not working 100%. It makes is good for a second (backup) computer. I am happy the laptop is still usable. I was worried it was going to be toast. 

Today a package arrived at my home when it was supposed to go to the east coast. It was quite a surprise when it arrived. Now I have to wrap it and ship it myself. It may have been their fault or it may have been mine. I shipped a bunch of packages (big family) and heard I made a mistake on another package's address as well.

I have been meeting with my meditation group four days a week but something always distracts me during the meditation. Dog, work, foster kid...  I need to work harder on practicing my meditation time. Meditating really helped focus me in my work. 

Until tomorrow...

DID SOMEONE SAY CANDY?

My poor Lucky has an upset tummy and she is not happy about it. We were up at 11pm, 1:30am, 3:30am, and 6 am. I felt so bad for her.

I finally put the string of lights on the tree. The bulb color is not the same shade but it will do this year. I worked on the puzzle again. I am trying to finish it by Christmas. 

I made candy today. I took the rest of the chocolate cups and added peanut butter/white chocolate, almonds, and craisins. 

Then I made these chocolate clouds. I used coffee chocolate this time but I think something went awry. The chocolate tastes amazing so I put it into molds. They turned out fabulous. 

Until tomorrow...

PRODUCTIVE DAY

What a productive day!! I had to wait for the postman and it took almost all day. The postman was coming to pick up my Christmas boxes for family and friends. He finally showed up around 5pm. Meanwhile I  broke down all my empty boxes, cleaned up my living room, put my new string of lights on the Christmas tree and worked on my puzzle. 

Until tomorrow...

SHOPPING FOR CHRISTMAS

Today was another acupuncture appointment. I am blown away by how much it helps for pain and healing. If you would have told me a few years ago that I would be getting acupuncture, I would have laughed. I'm as surprised as you are. She is working on my elbow today. 

I arrived early and walked up and back at a little strip mall. I ended up getting a card and do fancy Christmas decorations for cookies or cupcakes. It has holly leaves and berries. Very festive. 

I walked into a fancy store and the greeter made fun of my mask. I don't care. I'm not getting sick!

Until tomorrow...

THOTTLE NEEDED

I had to go do a work thing so I decided to finish my shopping. This year I bought almost all my gifts locally. Trying to help the local economy. 

I am taking taxis everywhere.

Update on my car: the car needs a new throttle. Since my car is so old, they could get one. I asked my neighbor to help. He has five old cars and is constantly fixing them. He has a Hudson and Rambler as well as others. He found the part and I ordered it to be delivered. It will take a week. 

Until tomorrow...

DENTIST

I went to the dentist today. Good news my teeth looked good and I no longer have to wear my Invisalign all day anymore. I still need to wear it at night. 

Until tomorrow...

MY CAR BROKE DOWN

Today was the appointment with the orthopedic surgeon to find out the result of my MRI. Surgeon to help my situation with my elbow. He gave me a referral to physical therapy and to see a neurologist. The neurologist is supposed to run an Electromyography (EMG) test to see why my hand gets tingly. 

On the way driving home, my car died. I was stopped at a red light and when I pressed the gas, the car turned off. Lights started flashing. I turned it back on because I thought I stalled. More blinking lights. I tried to direct traffic around my car. Then a park worker stopped to assist. He pushed while I drove. I got in a location out of traffic. I called a tow truck and it took over an hour to come. I had it towed to my car place. My car husband thinks it might be a fuel pump. I'll find out tomorrow. I'm just happy it did breakdown on my weekend trip! 

I had my arthritis group tonight. We had a zoom holiday gathering. We played holiday jeopardy. 

Until tomorrow...

HOLIDAY SHOPPING

I got the report of my MRI on my elbow. It doesn't say anything I understand. But it basically says nothing is wrong. I see the doctor in Wednesday. 

I went for a quick shopping trip to a local store. I decided this year to buy locally and support the economy. I've purchased enough from Amazon. I hope folks like what I got. 

Until tomorrow...

ROAD TRIP BACK HOME

My trip home from my godmothers was so much less dramatic. Lucky and I drove about 3 hours and we were home. Note to self: do not leave at that time on a Friday.  It was uneventful and we did two pit stops for Lucky to pee and me stretch my legs. 

I ordered some food because I was too tired to cook. 

Until tomorrow...

SHOPPING WITH LUCKY

I'm still on my weekend trip. I assisted planting flowers after our trip to the store. Lucky came with us. 

She was really good. She is now stuck to me like glue. 

Until tomorrow...

ANOTHER ROAD TRIP

Lucky and I took another road trip today. First I had to go to the eye doctors to get my eyes checked. I take plaquinel so I have to get my eyes checked every six months. I don't want to lose my eye sight. 

I had to get my eyes dilated. Then I had to drive for hours. It only bothered me for about an hour. 

What bothered me more was that Google, trying to save me time, sent the whole way on back roads. It took me 5 hours to go what normally take 3.5-4 hours. At the last 30 minutes my phone died and I didn't have a charger. I had to stop at a gas station, ask to charge my phone and ended up buying a charger. 

Until tomorrow...

ELBOW MRI

Today was the MRI on my arm/elbow. I went all the way into the tunnel in a strange position. I had to lay on my side in the fetal position. My bum was touching the side of the tunnel. I had to keep my arm straight during the whole procedure. 

I should get the results tomorrow. 

Until tomorrow...

IS IT CANCER?

Spoiler alert: No it is not cancer. 

I had three spots I needed the doctor to look at and none of them are cancerous. I guess wearing that hat and swim shirt helped. Also the sunscreen. 

Until tomorrow...

HEARTBURN AGAIN

I had a meeting with my guy doctor. Unfortunately I have been having heartburn again. A few years ago I had horrible heartburn and had a awful test done. Then I had to have an endoscopy. Everything is fine but I had to start suculfrate every day. Of course when I was feeling better I stopped taking the medicine. 

I have to start taking suculfrate again. 😝

Until tomorrow...

NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

I promised a photo of my food. Here is a photo of the chili. 

Yes, those are green olives! It is a bulger wheat chili with green olives and two kinds of beans. 

I'm still working on the photos of the other recipes. 

Yesterday I finally found a place that has 🤞🏻 a needle for both my turntables. It has been a 10 year quest of mine. I have one turntable from the 1980s and another from the 1950s. The 1950 turntable is in a console and has a reel-to-reel inside. The console weighs a ton. I just want to make it work. I miss albums. 

Until tomorrow...

FINISHED THE CHOCOLATES

I woke up this morning with a decided to cook. First, I made vegan chili with burger wheat. The secret to it is green olives. 

Simultaneously, I made vegan bolognase sauce with plant-based crumbles. This tastes delicious. 

Then I made the filling for my chocolate cups. Since my hazelnut was destroyed, I used pistachio paste. It tastes okay. I put white chocolate, chopped almonds, golden raisins and pistachio nuts in the filling. It is not as good as the hazelnut paste but will do in a pinch. 

I will post photos tomorrow.

Yesterday I had to take Lucky to the vet in a rush. She was dehydrated again. She has kidney disease so once in a while she needs some fluids. Today she seems much better and went on a short walk. 

Until tomorrow...

MAKING CANDY

As well as other things, to day I made some candy. Chocolates, to be exact. It is going to be a two day process. First, I tempered some chocolate and painted it into molds shaped like a cup. Then I put the molds in the fridge and wait. When I tested one, it kept the shape. Tomorrow I will fill the cups with some goodies. 

I just love making candy. 

Until tomorrow...

WASN'T TODAY MY DAY OFF?

Today was supposed to be my day off but my clients were unwilling to let me take a day off today. I had a phone meeting various people emailing me about emergencies. So I ended up working about half the day.

I went to the acupuncturist and she worked on my left arm (the one that hurts). To be totally honest it feels better we'll see how it feels tomorrow when the acupuncture wears off.

Until tomorrow..