DAY ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT OF COOKING COURSE

 Today I started cooking for my cooking course again.  I took a bit of time off to regain my health after getting my Covid booster shot, the heat and smokey air.  I am feeling better now and the weather is better so I am back to baking.  I started the first part of some French pastries to be unveiled tomorrow.

I had to get out of the house early today because my Covid test arrived this morning.  Oh, did I forget to mention that I ordered a Covid test online? After going to the dentist and having the very short fever I thought it was prudent.  I know it is a long shot that I have Covid but for peace of mind I took the test.  I spit in a bottle for about 20 minutes and then sent it back via Fed Ex.  Now I just wait for the results.  I should have them on Friday or Saturday.  

Until tomorrow...

TOASTED MARSHMALLOW DAY CREATION

 Today was another fun cooking day.  It was Toasted Marshmallow Day.  I took vegan marshmallows and used my butane torch to toast them.  Then I took vegan coconut caramel and dipped the marshmallows.  I then rolled the caramel coated marshmallows in shaved chocolate, pretzels and peanuts.  Yum!

I had a very busy day with a consulting interview in the morning, then a foster meeting in the afternoon and a doctor's appointment late afternoon.  

I started walking again with a 2 mile DVD walk.  

Lucky went with the dog walker and did great.  She was so happy with a bunch of tail wags.

That was my day.

Until tomorrow...

LEMONADE

 I made fresh lemonade straight from my lemon tree in the backyard.  I even used mint from my herb garden.  It is some refreshing and delicious.  

Lucky is feeling better.  I stopped the pain meds because they were making her crazy and in turn making me crazy.  She was waking up at 2am and 4 am.  She whined all the time.  They say this medicine makes dogs confused and dizzy.  Well, does it say it makes owners tired and grumpy??  She seems okay now anyway so I am going to send her with the dog walker tomorrow with strict instructions: no climbing and he has to not let her jump into the car.  Other than that she should be fine. He is so perplexed because they were walking on a flat surface when she started limping.  

I just relaxed today again.  The smoke dissipated for a short time and Lucky and I were able to go out back and read a book in the sunshine.  It was nice to be outside.  We also cleaned up a bit.

That was our day.  

Until tomorrow...

VEGAN CAJUN PASTA BAKE

 I think I know why I had a fever, at least I hope so.  I was told by the dentist that there was some infection around a tooth on an x-ray.  It wasn't much so she was not concerned.  Today my tooth and gum is hurting.  I think the infection has gotten worse.  I think I wrote about this tooth before.  This tooth has a problem but not one bad enough to take it out or do a root canal.  I have been grinding on it so much that it has caused the nerves to get irritated.  So irritated that the dentist can see it on an x-ray.  We were hoping that by getting the new night guard it would calm down the irritation.  It is too soon to see.

I took it easy today.  It was also horrible air in the dark orange and red zone.  That is bad for me to breathe so I had the house closed up.  It was also a hot day in the 80's.  We were all not too happy so we spent most of the day downstairs where it is cooler.  

I did make a very tasty dinner.  I took something my neighbor gave me and make a bake.  It was a Cajun vegan tofu burger.  I broke it up and added some things, spices and mixed it with pasta.  I put it in a baking dish and added vegan "cheese" sauce and then vegan cheese on top.  I popped it in the oven and cooked it for a while.  It came out so incredible and tasty.  I ate way too much.

It reminded me of the old hamburger helper but elevated and without the hamburger!

That is about all we did all day except watch TV and try to keep Lucky from running around.

Until tomorrow...

RELAPSE IN RECOVERY AND ROASTED RED CABBAGE

 Another fun day!  This morning at around 2 am I woke and I was burning up.  I thought it was just really hot in the room and the dog was next to me.  Then I realized the dog was not next to me and the room was not really hot, I was really hot.  I grabbed the thermometer that I had downstairs since I got the booster shot and it read 100 degrees.  I rarely ever get a 100 degrees reading since I am on steroids for my rheumatoid arthritis and steroids suppress your temperature.  I waited a fair bit and sort of watched TV and drifted in and out of sleep and took it again later and it was 99.6 degrees.  Then I did the same thing and some time later it was 99.1 degrees.  Then I fell asleep until the morning and my temp was normal.  I am not sure what happened but I blame myself for doing so much yesterday.  I probably over did it and my body reacted.  I did Google "menopause hot flashes" but I found out hot flashes do not raise your core body temperature.  Interesting fact I didn't know.  Plus I haven't gotten a hot flash yet that I noticed.

Of course, I had that moment where I thought oh, god did I get Covid but I was okay today with no fever or anything.  I obsessively took my temp and my pulse ox.  I am fine.  I took it very easy sitting on the couch.  Now I have gone to bed at 8pm.  

It was a horrible air day today so we had to keep the windows and doors closed. Everyone is talking with a rasp here from breathing in all the smoke in the air.  

Lucky is not limping anymore but is favoring that leg so she is staying home too.  I am giving her pain killers to keep her immobile.  She is not happy about the bad air since all she wants to do is lay outside.

I made a fast and easy dish today.  Roasted Red Cabbage.  It turned out really good.  

It is yellowish because I put spices on it: turmeric, onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Yum!

That is about all for today.  It was a busy day doing nothing.

Until tomorrow...

DAY OF DOCTORS

 What a day!  Or what another day!  I had a doctor's appointment first thing.  Well, that's not true.  I called the veterinarians office first thing to see if they had a cancellation.  They did!  Then I had a video appointment with my primary doc.  He agreed with me that I need to change RA doctors.  My current guy is not aggressive enough: telling me I only need to see him once a year, telling me that it would be hard to change medications because there weren't meds I could take, telling me to go outside maskless during the Delta surge and not understanding that I need someone who will not just wait for things to happen. So I now need to find a new doctor in the middle of Covid.  

Then we discussed how my Orencia is not working.  He explained that the medication may have been working fine until I went off for the Covid shot.  The Orencia suppresses my immune system.  Then I got the two Covid shots which basically stimulate my immune system but since I am not taking anything to suppress it, my body goes haywire.  Then eight weeks later I go back on the Orencia and the Orencia is no longer able to suppress my immune system.  It is no longer working.  I have given it since 4/24 to work and it hasn't so I think it is time to chuck it in and figure out another plan.  That plan is not long term steroids.  I just refuse.  I will take the pain rather than go back on high doses of steroids for long term.  Okay, I say that now.  I may change my mind if things get really bad but I am not there yet.  

I don't think I will go back on the Orencia next week as planned.  I only have one shot left so this would be a good time to change to another drug.  It will take 1-2 months to get on another drug because The-Insurance-Company-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named is a pain in my behind.  There has to be prescriptions and authorizations and appeals and appeals of the appeals.  You would think I was trying to take Heroin on the health plan.  They will want me to go back on Enbrel or Humira.  I have to explain that one bout of Meningitis is enough in a lifetime.  All this to say it is a long process and the doctor has to be up to the fight.  Last time I had to get on the phone and advocate for myself with the insurance company.

The Primary doc and I discussed other things including my issue with my neck and arm from my fall back in 12/2019 pre-Covid.  But that will have to wait until things get better with Covid for me to deal with.  I just wanted to make sure I was not doing permanent damage since I am getting tingling down my arm.  He said not to worry.

Then I took Lucky to the vet to get her checked out.  She has soft tissue damage to her leg/foot.  They aren't sure because as soon as we walked up she ceased to limp and acted perfectly fine.  Then the minute she got home began limping again.  Maybe it is a cry for attention, I don't know.  They gave me drugs to keep her immobile and said to keep her home tomorrow.  I am to see how she is over the weekend and I have an appointment I already scheduled for Monday.  If she is fine I will cancel and if not I will bring her back.  She is sound asleep now but was limping earlier.  It is like my car when I bring it to the shop, it never makes that noise in the shop.

Then I went to the dentist to get my temp crown replaced.  It ended up being more complicated.  I have had a lot of pain in my mouth for the last few weeks.  She did x-rays (do you know x-rays do not show cracks in your teeth?) and poked around.  Here is the latest diagnosis: Stop gritting and grinding my teeth.  Well, that's not going to happen.  She put the permanent crown on.  She tested the crown she put on last time and adjusted it since it was causing me pain.  She thinks it was taking a lot of the weight since the temporary didn't take any and it was not adjusted right.  She checked my other crown that I thought was feeling funny, it is not loose.  I have a tooth that is sensitive and will most likely need a root canal down the road since I keep grinding on it.  It has a bit of infection.  All the teeth that I spoke of have inflammation and she wonders if it is because of my RA and that is why my teeth are hurting me.  Interesting theory.  I am going to ask my doctor.  I am to contact her in a week to give an update.  Then in a few weeks we are going to adjust my bite.  With all these crowns and grinding my bite has gotten screwed up which also is hard on my teeth.  

There you go.  My day of doctors.  

Until tomorrow...

WASHER, LUCKY, VEGAN BAKE

 What a day!!!  Yesterday the washer stopped working during a load with a blanket in it.  I washed this blanket many times so I was surprised that the washer stopped.  I dried the blanket and decided to leave it until today.  

I went down today and there was a little bit of water in the bottom of the washer.  I used a towel to sop it up and then turned the drum of the washer and the water went away.  I turned on the washer and it turned on.  I took the two towels that I used to sop up the water and put them in the washer.  It turned on and started washing.  I waited a few minutes and it was going fine.  I listened and it seemed to go fine.  Then it stopped around 30-40 minutes.  I went down and it stopped with an error again and this time there was 2" of water.  Ugh!  I left it to drain a bit and went to call for service.  

The service guy was so nice and he had a date for this Friday.  I was so happy.  I got off the phone and the text date came through and it was for 9/3.  Not this Friday.  I called back and they explained it was an error but the Friday date was gone.  Ugh!  So the Friday of Memorial Day weekend between 1-5pm.  Wonderful.  

I go back down and have to deal with the 2" of water that can't sit until 9/3.  I bail it out with a small bucket and put the super wet towels in the dryer.  Luckily I had finished all my laundry before it broke.  

I made a Vegan Kale and Leek Bake for dinner.  It is really good.  It is a bit cheesy and creamy.

Lucky came back from the park limping.  The dog walker said he turned around and she was suddenly limping.  He doesn't know what happened.  I gave her some stuff to make her sleep but it is hard to keep a Chihuahua from moving around.  I am not sure if it is her paw or her leg.  I called the vet and they said give it a day and see if she is feeling better with rest.  I have an appointment on Monday but I am on standby.  It is the opposite paw as Happi. Seeing her walk on three legs brings back memories.

I am feeling better today but I probably overdid it again.

Until tomorrow...

A LITTLE RECOVERY SET BACK

 I thought I was getting better but I had a rough day today.  I had a terrible headache, was foggy and so tired I had to take a nap.  I hope tomorrow will be a better day.

I was worried I did too much today.  I ran the dishwasher and did two loads of laundry.  The second load of laundry had a problem.  The washer stopped part way through and the load was soaking wet.  It was a heavy blanket that I have washed before.  I had to take the stuff from the washer and hang some outside to dry and put the rest in the dryer and run it for two hours to dry the stuff.  Tomorrow I will try to figure out what happened and call for service if I have to.  

I made Sheet Pan Oven-Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans and Carrots.  So good!  I just love oven-roasted veggies.  I have a ton to eat for days.

That was pretty much the whole day!

Until tomorrow...

I FINALLY ATE REAL FOOD TODAY

 It is National Cuban Sandwich Day today.  Since I was feeling better, I decided to make a Vegan Cuban sandwich today.  It was easier than I thought.  I cut a few corners but it ended up tasting really good.  First I soaked the Tofurky in a mustard and dill pickle juice mixture.  Then I put vegan mayo and mustard on two slices of bread.  I put vegan cheese on both slices of bread.  I placed dill pickles on the slices in specific places.  Then I took the Tofurky and put it on a frying pan to heat it.  I put the heated Tofurky on the cheese slices.  Then I put the two slices of bread together (so the pickles are opposite) and put butter on the outside of the slices.  I put the butter side in the frying pan and put my heavy pot top on top of it to weigh it down over a low temp.  Once it is toasted, turn.  Then toast the other side.  The cheese melts and the bread toasts.  It tastes amazing.  The mustard and pickles gives the Tofurky a bit of spice.  Delicious!!  

I am feeling good enough to actually take a shower and put on real clothes.  I am still really tired and my arm hurts but I am feeling well enough to eat a little and get out of bed.  I even changed my sheets because I could not stand another night on those sheets that I have been on for four days.  I plan to wash them tomorrow.  I was too tired changing the bed.

Until tomorrow...

SLOW RECOVERY TODAY

I still had a slow day recovering from my covid vaccination booster.  I woke up and thought I would feel much better. I ate some breakfast and felt better. I fed the animals and then I started to feel tired. I got into bed and fell back to sleep. I stayed in bed all day. I watched Reminiscence on HBO but fell asleep in the middle. I ate again at 5 pm. I haven't slept this much since my last covid shot. 

Before I got the vaccine I made vegan beans and rice my way with kidney beans, tomatoes, sriracha sauce and brown rice. It is great comfort food. 

Until tomorrow...