A week of Doctors...

It is sunny ... loads of sunshine, but don’t let that fool you, it is cold and windy – very windy. Right now it is 17 degrees out with winds in the 23 mph range making in feel like – 1 degrees outside. So far this season our snowfall stands at 59.7 inches. Luckily for us near Syracuse we are not getting the snow etc that those up north are getting. With Lake Ontario warmer than usual and free of ice, the Lake Effect snow machine is pounding areas east of the lake. Route 81 North and South is closed between Parish and Mannsville due to heavy snow, low visibility and accidents.

The same area got hit last night with heavy snow and they expect almost 24 inches today. Here to the south, nothing so far. Yesterday a few Lake Effect snow showers, today nothing the ground, roads etc are bare.

Last week was “doctor” week:

Monday – take Thelma to Doctor to draw blood.

Tuesday – go to the Dentist for a cleaning, and unfortunately a full set of x-rays (total cost $169), then find out there are two cavities and have to schedule more appointments. Plus the Dentist “suggested” that perhaps I might want to have my wisdom teeth (I have three of the four still) removed so that I could floss better between my teeth. As if that is going to happen – I am not removing teeth that are not causing me any pain – get real!

Wednesday – go to my Doctor for review of blood taken a week earlier. End result as usual is I need to lose weight...10 – 15 lbs would be nice. The discomfort I sometimes feel is my chest is GERD, the funny feeling in my left side, probably a muscle etc, though could be enlarged liver – but he didn’t think so after feeling and pressing around. Cholesterol good overall but my HDL is low and Triglycerides are up a bit. And I’m now on the generic form of Zocor rather than Lipitor...same type of drug for cholesterol but way less expensive. Though even the Zocor is pricy I suppose. I checked prices at Eckerd/Rite Aid – 90 day supply of 10mg tablets $239, with my Onondaga County Insurance card it would be $149.75. When I said I would check around at other places, the receptionist got huffy and said “Well...you don’t have insurance so what did you expect?” I then went to Kinney Drugs and for a 90 day supply of 10 mg tablets it was only $89.35, though my Onondaga County Insurance card didn’t give me any additional discounts. So you can guess where I got the drugs filled.

Thursday – take Thelma to her Doctor to discuss blood work etc.

Friday – I stayed home, but when I got up and put my glasses on they fell apart, the left temple just fell off. It is one of those glasses where the left and right temples are spring loaded to keep them on your face, now the left side doesn’t work and though I did manage to tape it together so that I can see, they feel funny and sometimes it is hard to read as I suppose the bifocals are not in alignment. Means a trip to the Eye Doctor now to get them fixed.

So it was a busy week...oh I have also started the treadmill routine again...45 minutes a day. Then I also worked upstairs and got the Soloflex unburied and setup, now to review the literature and set up a workout routine. The trick will be of course to create something I enjoy doing so that I will stick to it as well as create a diet that centers on “good “ foods and not the processed, easy snacky stuff. Sometimes I wonder why it has to be so much work.

After Christmas

Since my last post Winter has taken a holiday *smile*. As of this morning our seasonal snowfall stands at 53.4 inches. So we have added relatively little since the 19th. We’ve had more rain than snow since then and the snow that we did have has melted away quite a bit, except for maybe the snowbanks.

My Christmas was nice and enjoyable. This year I decided to go one place instead of running around from place to place and always having to watch the clock etc. I went to La Fayette where we had the traditional Christmas breakfast and then we had a Ham dinner with all the family in the afternoon. There were a total of eight of us plus a pug dog. I didn’t get home until late that evening and it really felt good not to be rushed.

Then the next day – the day after Christmas I took down my trees (3) – the fiber optic, the ceramic and the artificial decorated one that sat in front of the picture window. Still not sure what got into me or why I did it so fast, probably because I’d put them up right after Thanksgiving and I’d had enough already. Still got the cards tapes on the china cabinet and the entertainment center draped in garland and ornaments and that will suffice for now.

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The computer is giving me problems, telling me upon startup that I have no paging files or that my paging files are insufficient...I click OK and it comes up but then sometimes it becomes unpredictable...sighhh. I found info on how to correct the problem which involves setting permissions and booting in safe mode etc and I may try it, but first I will do some more backups to ensure that I have the critical files I want to have and so forth. I am also considering getting a new computer...I have had this one since 1999-2000 so it has about lived out it’s usefulness I suppose. I know it doesn’t have all the latest gizmos and gadgets, nor space. I only have an 80GB hard drive and 512K of RAM.

Ah well, once the New Year gets here...in the meantime there is research to do.

Winter's blast looks to be bad this year

Some say the Nor’easter missed us, others say it was a glancing blow, but at any rate we got in total during the Saturday to Monday timeframe – 16 inches of snow, sleet and freezing rain. It started around 9PM Saturday night and continued all day and night Sunday slowly fading by Monday morning. Yesterday we added another two – three inches of lake effect raising our seasonal snowfall to 52.3 inches.

I shoveled twice, Sunday morning 5 inches or so of heavy wet snow while being pelted by various bouts of sleet. I did the usual three driveways...well usual at the moment. Normally it is just mine and the “Ladies” next door, but I am also doing Elaine’s for the time being. Her father was quite ill and died peacefully on Saturday at his home in Liverpool. Anyway it took me about 3 hours on Sunday. Then Monday I was back at it, only this time it took me 5 ½ hours. There was just about a foot of light snow, except for the first six feet of the driveways where the plow had thrown snow etc. I ended up using a variety of shovels to lift, plow and throw it out of the way, plus I dug out my Aunt’s car who lives a few houses down from me. She has a plow guy do her driveway, but he had left piles in front and besides her car and I couldn’t see her struggling with that.

All in all I certainly got my exercise and now I am suffering from it. It felt like I had done 1,000 or more sit-ups and I sat in my recliner with a heating pad draped across my stomach which put me to sleep...LOL. Then Tuesday morning I woke up and my left wrist ached terribly and it still does. I probably sprained it or something with all the lifting and throwing. At least the forecast doesn’t call for a whole lot of snow over the next few days.

The Weather men on Channel 9 did some research and came up with the fact that the last eight times we’ve had 50 or more inches of snow in December the rest of the season has added a whole lot more with the average being 159 inches for a season vs. the normal 110 inches. Their figures ranged from 192 inches to 124 inches...so it looks like we are in for a typical Central New York winter.

I can’t wait.

A Nor'easter is brewing...

Well it snowed yesterday, just about all day and then as predicted it stopped around 5PM. As it stands now we are at 31.6 inches of snow for the season. I shoveled last night the two driveways etc and a wide area in the street to prevent (or so I hoped) the snowplow from filling the end of the driveways. Unfortunately it didn’t work, though perhaps there was less than I expected, but still there was enough, which I shoveled this morning. Now we wait. Weather predictions are for a Nor’Easter this weekend, now predicted to begin after midnight Saturday and continue through Sunday night till around 7 – 9PM. They are talking feet rather than inches. At least 12 inches, though more likely to be 18 inches by the time the storm passes.

The storm hasn’t even developed yet – the wonders of modern technology and weather predictions. A low will develop off the east coast of the USA this evening and tomorrow, whilst on the plains of the Midwest another low has taken shape and is moving eastward along with a cold front. One low bringing cold air the other bringing moisture and it looks like the cold will arrive first and thus we get snow and lots of it. Had the moisture arrived first we would have gotten rain and sleet and then some snow, but that scenario apparently will not happen.

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The stress of the Christmas season is building...sigh. I believe I might be in good shape, but then I have these nagging thoughts that I am woefully behind in my preparations – for instance I haven’t made any cookies yet and though I have bought some gifts I have not wrapped any nor have I gone to the Bank for the usual Savings Bonds.

Plus my digestive system is off, by off I don’t mean the diverticulitis, at least the pain/discomfort I am experiencing des not appear to be that, instead I am having a burning pain/discomfort in the center of my chest right below the breastbone just about everytime I eat something or drink something other than water. Which leads me to believe it could be an ulcer etc. Of course I “SHOULD” go to the doctor, but I am hoping to wait until January when I have an already scheduled visit (cholesterol/status visit). I bought some Prilosec today and think I may try that and see if that helps any.

Then there is the truck, I need to get serious about replacing it or invest some money into it such as the muffler, shocks/struts and tires. I think the best bet since it is over 10 years old is to replace it, but that means I will need to go car shopping and deal with dealerships etc. I wonder if you can buy a car via Amazon.com...LOL.

And I just love, thoroughly enjoy and totally embrace winter driving through snow and ice...it used to not bother me, but every since I spun out one year and ended in the ditch I have grown overly cautious in my old age.

Oh well, for now, we will sit back with shovel in hand and await whatever the weekend brings.

Icy, Icy, Icy

Well in addition to all the snow...27.6 inches since December 1st this morning we wake up to ice. A thin coating of ice on the roads, trees and vehicles etc. An inch or so of icy granules in the driveway - time to break out the salt for the porch and steps. It could have been worse we avoided the worst of the freezing rain and sleet that went south of us. But the forecast calls for it to return tomorrow night into Wednesday and it could be much much worse.

Trees are up - three of them, a ceramic on the table, a fiber optic on a china cabinet and the big one in the front window. Now I remember why I haven't been putting them up the past couple of years LOL. On the big one all the strings of lites worked, until I put about three quarters of the ornaments on it then one of the middle strings went out...still haven't gotten around to checking it out. Here is a picture of the main tree, at least it is up.

More expense on my truck...the power steering went last Thursday as I was tunring down my street...$355.18 later with new high pressure hoses etc it is fixed. Though I still have to do something about the muffler as that is beginning to go at least there I have a warranty for some of the work. Probably should consider buying a new vehicle since the truck is a 1997 and it has been over 10 years since I bought it. It is such a hassle though....sighhh

Breakin’ in the New Shovel

Well the lake effect snow machine (courtesy of Lake Ontario and northwest winds) came through last night giving us about two inches this morning and it is cold...much colder than it has been. Officially as I type this it is 21 degrees out, but factoring in the wind chill and it feels like 9 degrees.

Wasn’t too bad though my thighs now are cold, they tend to get cold and remain cold for awhile. I must have gotten frostbit or something sometime as this happens all the time. Of course wearing nothing but sweatpants, t-shirt and my Laguna Beach pullover sweatshirt, probably could account for that.

Shoveled my drive and walk as well as Mrs. A’s and now Timmy has arrived to take of Elsie’s drive and walk. I need to talk with him as he collects metal on the side and I have that desk from the cellar now in the garage as well as another desk in the garage that I want to get rid of. So I will give him first choice one of these days. My other option is to take it all to the road for trash pickup – but it will never get picked up by the trash guys as the scavengers will grab it first...they always do. They took my couch within an hour or so even though one of the supports was broken as were the legs on one back corner. But it still looked good after 30 years and quality is quality if you want to put an effort into fixing things.

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Well here it is December, November has gone by and so no doubt so has my chance to reconnect with a long lost friend. I tried to keep November free as much as possible as I’d been told that they might be in the area for five days or so, but as far as I know there was no call, though in all honesty on the machine there were a couple of hang-ups when I was away for one overnite – but given the message I left on my machine I would have thought that a message would have been left. I figure my best chance was Thanksgiving week (though I was away part of Tuesday into Wednesday), but as I said no indication that it happened as scheduled, so we wait till spring and maybe then.

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Meanwhile, time to schedule appointments with Sears and get the PM’s done on the washer, refrigerator and treadmill. All under contract till 2009 and all waiting for me to decide when I am going to schedule these things. That plus calling Time Warner and getting Digital Phone installed. At this point the cost of cable, internet and Verizon phone service nearly matches what the cost of All-In-One would cost from Time Warner, plus there is caller id and so forth. So tis time to finally take the plunge I think.

Nostalgia

Isn’t it funny how certain things, a word, a movie, or an item can trigger memories? I was/am cleaning out my cellar going through boxes and boxes, re-arranging things and coming across loads of genealogical information in the form of old family letters, lots of letters actually v-mail items from World War II that my father sent to his then fiancé – my mother – and his parents, as well as letters from friends they knew in England at the time. Some are in said shape and doubtful if anything can be deciphered from them others are clean and crisp considering they have been stored in a somewhat dank cellar for several years (in excess of 10). Plus some have been through the wars as in 1972 when the basement flooded due to Hurricane Agnes when she deluged our area with torrents of rain and the creek along the back property line overflowed. The basement would not have flooded were it not for the outside entrance which acted like a funnel and channeled the water down...sighh

Anyway one project is to take those letters and transcribe them into the computer and then make a book of some sort – a window into the times from my father’s and others perspectives. A daunting task that no doubt will take hours (years) to accomplish, or perhaps I should scan them first and see how that goes, still daunting considering the number of letters etc...

But during my cleaning I came across a small Blue Fenton Glass Shoe ...

And memories came flooding back to me a bit of nostalgia. The shoe was a gift to my mother that I bought using my allowance and lawn mowing monies when I was 11 or 12. I remember going into the Valley Gift Shop (long since closed) in the Valley Plaza a store that was filled with various glass items, figurines, dishes, collectibles, cards, etc. One of those quaint family owned shops not corrupted by the corporate consensus and chains of mediocrity that we have so much of now. In fact the owners of the shop (I forget their name) lived three doors down the street from where I live and I remember they always had two poodles – which always seem to be in their front window and barking excessively at you as you walked by on the street...LOL.

Memories...