Sunday, May 10, 2020

DAY 58 DEAD TO ME

Day 58 since I left the house.

 Happy Mother's Day! This is a video of the card I sent my mother.


 I have been watching Dead To Me.  It is a dark comedy.  I really got stuck watching it and watched 2 seasons over the weekend.  It was really good.

Poor Lucky licked her front legs so much that she was licking her fur off.  I called the vet but they could not attend to her so I put the cone on her head.  She stopped licking but she is not happy.

Hopefully this will stop the licking for good.

Until tomorrow...

Saturday, May 9, 2020

DAY 57 GROCERIES ARRIVED

Day 57 since I left the house.

I got my second delivery of store bought food today.  Everything arrived but a bag of frozen broccoli.  I will be fine without the broccoli.  I stocked up on things like apple juice, sparking water, vegetable broth, apple sauce, and tomato sauce. 

The delivery was for today between 1pm - 5 pm.  I got a notification at 1:20pm saying the delivery was coming.  I got excited that it was coming early but then it didn't arrive.  I got a little nervous.  Two hours later I got another notification that the delivery would come in 45 min.  It was coming from far away and not from my local supermarket.  One hour later my groceries were dropped off.  It was so nice to have the items.  Since all of them are not going to be used for over a week, I put them all in the garage pantry or in the garage refrigerator/freezer to wait a week to use.  That way the coronavirus will be long gone by the time I go to use these items.  That is my system.  Rather than wiping things down, I just leave them alone for 3 (for plastic) days to 7 (for groceries) days by which time the virus will be dead.  Of course if I need something prior to those days, I will clean it.

I also got a box but I can't open it until tomorrow and I don't know what is inside it so it will be a surprise tomorrow.

Lucky is wearing a cone.  She has been licking her legs obsessively since yesterday. She kept me up all night with her licking so today I had to put the cone on to stop the licking. She is not happy.

Until tomorrow...

Friday, May 8, 2020

DAY 56 BLOG ANNIVERSARY

Day 56 since I left the house.

Happy 9th Year Anniversary of You Don't Look Sick - Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis Blog!!

Today was a surprise.  I got the day wrong that my gardener was coming to clear out my backyard.  This morning I got a surprise when I got a text saying she was on line at Home Depot trying to get bags to put the greens in.  She had no luck but when she got here she found some in my hallway going to the backyard that I didn't even know were there.  She must have put them there last time she was here.  Since I put them in the garage, I didn't think of looking in that location.  So that worked out!

This was a no contact gardening visit.  She arrived and I already had the compost bin outside and the door unlocked.  I said hello from the upstairs window and then she got right to work trimming the hedge in the front.  My delivery people and dog walker will be so happy.  Then she went inside my service worker entrance and went to the backyard.  She cleared out the jungle.


 She also bought me a tomato plant, some herbs and flowers.  She planted the tomato and the flowers.  I am going to plant the herbs tomorrow.  The backyard looks so great now.  I can't wait to move my table and chairs so I can sit out while I am quarantined.  It is such a great space and it was impossible to use it, it was such a jungle.  Even Lucky would not go anywhere but the little space on the slate.  She also only pooped and peed there too!  Today she was with the dog walker and when she came home she ran all around the yard and ran under the far away trees and made her mark right away.  She missed the yard.

Yes, you can see the bridge now.  And where the pond used to be.  Everything is so lush.

I also have an update on the claim with The-Insurance-Company-who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.  If you don't remember, I received a $355 bill in November 2019 for a doctor's appointment in 2018.  No bills prior to that.  Then I received a few bills in succession.  By December it was sent to collections.  I never had a bill go to collections that fast.  I was still trying to figure out what the bill was for and if I paid it already.  I don't know about you but I have to dig that stuff out of storage.  I tried to contact the doctor's office to no avail because then it was the holidays.  I kept being told it was because the doctor used the wrong code.  The doctor's office would not help me get it recoded.  Finally in February I got a nice person on the phone who explained to me that it was not a coding issue but that I used the wrong lab.  Well, that was not true.  I always used that lab; it was the lab at the hospital. Well, I had already asked for an appeal and was turned down so now I had to submit a grievance.  I was told it was a long shot but that I should considering I used the lab all the time.  So 30 days ago I submitted my grievance and today I heard back from them.  I won!  They are going to pay the claim.  (but I was warned this was a one time thing)  Woo hoo!  I was never going to pay it so I am glad they agreed to pay it.    Once I found out that collections bills from the hospital don't ruin your credit, I was going to dig in and never pay it.  I did the happy dance when I got the email that I won. 

Until tomorrow...

Thursday, May 7, 2020

DAY 55 ANNIVERSARY OF MOVING TO WEST COAST

Day 55 since I left the house.

I forgot to mention that two days ago was my anniversary of moving to the west coast.  I have been here for 29 years.  Wow!  Crazy!

I also forgot to mention that yesterday was the anniversary of Happi's birthday.  She would have been 15-1/2 years and it is the anniversary of when I adopted her.  I miss my baby so much.  Two nights ago Lucky slept in Happi's bed for the first time.  I didn't even put the two events together until today.

I have been coloring to relax. I got frustrated that I only had a few color pencils so I bought 120 colors of pencils. I also bought two other coloring books. One arrived today.


I made a new recipe today. White bean & Kale Bake.  Unfortunately I used the 4 cups of water and it took forever to cook. Next time I will use less water. I tasted it and it tasted awesome. It will be great tomorrow. 

Until tomorrow...

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

DAY 54 DAY OF PHONE CALLS

Day 54 since I have left the house

Today I called to check and make sure my primary doctor IS my primary doctor.  First I checked the website of The-insurance-company-who-shall-not-be-named and sure enough I still had the new doctor.  I tried to change it back and the website would not let me.  I had to call them and make the change.  The lady was nice and changed it right away.  Then I asked about my appeal and she said I would get an answer next week.

I also called the water delivery company and tried to straighten that situation out.  Four weeks ago they delivered a case of bottled water instead of a 5 gallon bottle that fits on my machine.  I asked them to come back on my next delivery date and take it back and never deliver single bottles again. They ruin the environment, that is why I get 5 gallon bottles delivered!  The guy never showed up. Now it is another delivery date.  I want him to take it back and take my empty bottle.

I got a notice I may loose the internet again so I am writing this early just in case.

Until tomorrow...

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

DAY 53 NO INTERNET

Day 53 since I have left the house

The day was going along great until the afternoon when the internet went out.  It said it would be 15 minutes but it was closer to 10 hours.  UGH!  That is all I have to say.

Until tomorrow...

Monday, May 4, 2020

DAY 52 DIFFICULT DAY

Day 52 since I have left the house

This was a difficult day.  I can't really write about it now but it was a difficult day.  I have a ton of support helping me through it.   That is all I want to write today.

Until tomorrow...

Sunday, May 3, 2020

DAY 51 TREASURES FOUND IN MY CABINETS

Day 51 since I have left the house

Last night I ate pasta for the first time since the quarantine.  I have been holding off for an emergency. Pasta is not my favorite but I was clearing out another cabinet and I found a big box of pasta with only about 1.5 inches of pasta in it.  I decided that was a waste of cabinet space so it needed to get eaten.  I went to my freezer where I had frozen sauce and some "meatballs" and voila dinner.  Probably also lunch at least two other times also. 

While I was in there I also found:
  • a plastic bag with an entire box of Earl Grey tea.  Don't ask why there was an entire box of tea in a plastic bag.  The only thing I can think is the box got broken and someone put the tea bags in a plastic bag with the thought they would look in that spot for the tea at another time.  That did not happen.
  • tons of partially opened bags of nuts.  All different varieties.  From pumpkin seeds to pistachios to walnuts to pecans.  I will not have to buy an nuts for a while.
  • Spring roll wrappers, udon noodles, soba noodles, rice sticks all shoved in the back of a cabinet
  • brownie mix
  • Waffle mix from a posh store
  • sweet potato au gratin mix
  • Brown rice pasta, lasagna pasta, stelline pasta
  • Taco shells
  • Stuffing mix
  • almond and ground corn meal (2 boxes)
I still have more shelves to go through.  I feel like the food Christmas has come.  Who knew I had so much stuff in those cabinets?  Quite honestly if you saw the size of my kitchen you would be shocked or impressed I had that much in there.  I do not have a pantry that is a whole room like some people I see on TV.  Imagine what I could store in a pantry room!!  I literally have three shelves in three cabinets.

More to clear out and have to eat.

Until tomorrow...

Saturday, May 2, 2020

DAY 50 KENTUCKY TURTLE DAY

Day 50 since I have left the house

Today was supposed to be the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby.  I have been watching the Kentucky Derby since I was a little kid.  I have had Kentucky Derby dress up parties and made virgin Mint Juleps.  I have made a Derby hat.  When I lived in England I even went to a party and placed bets.  To say I am obsessed is an understatement.  So this year because of the quarantine, what to do?

In came the Kentucky Turtle Derby!  It was sponsored by a whiskey company and it was fun.  They had the real announcer from the Kentucky Derby (Larry Collmus) and the real bugler (Steve) from the Churchill Downs.  There was a big circle and they put the turtles in the middle.



Steve ready to go?
When a buzzer buzzed, the turtles started moving toward the outside of the circle.  It was much faster than I imagined.  The announcer made it seem like a nail biter.  I was told it took 8 minutes but it seemed faster.  In the end What the Turtleneck? was the winner with Galapo-Go! coming in a close second.  Rocket to Nowhere was in third for the trifecta.  


It was all great fun and I didn't feel like I missed the derby quite so much.  I think it is great that people are being inventive and thinking up creative ways to fill the void when our beloved events are not happening.  Who would have thought turtles?

Until tomorrow...

Friday, May 1, 2020

DAY 49 FIRST FOOD DELIVERY

Day 49 since I have left the house

I had my first food delivery today.  They showed up on time and were very nice.  I felt bad I could not tip them.

Not everything made it in the bags.  There was no chips, tortillas, and french fries.  But I did get five tomatoes when I asked for one.  I thought it was great except you don't know what will arrive until it arrives.

I have a bunch of cans of beans, some more bread and muffins, soymilk, and pickles.

Until tomorrow...