Everything Fred – Part 308

30 April 2024

A guaranteed way to make it rain is to wash your car. Another way is to add water to your pool. I did that yesterday to the pool and this morning it poured down rain, then rained a second time and it looks like we are due for some more. The weather report did not include any rain chance last night but when I looked this morning it was at 55%. The rain at least added a little safety factor for when I’ll be away and Denyse will not have to add water when she cleans the pool.

Since Denyse is doing my pool, it must mean I’m on the road again! I’ll leave tomorrow sometime around 10 am and drive the Turnpike to I-75, then I-75 to I-10 to Quincy, Florida, just west of Tallahassee. It’ll take me around 7 hours with pit stops.

The next day I’ll be staying at Roosevelt State Park in their “lodge.” I miss the old lodge where there were lots of parties on the lower level. There was always some event going on there when I was a kid. It had a classy feel to it. It was like stepping back in time.

The Alfreda lodge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) back in 1934-1935. This is a painting by Margaret Craig Clifford as posted on Facebook by Bobby Roberts, December 27, 2022. The lodge burned on February 19, 1978. As kids, we never really knew where the name Alfreda came from. For a while, we thought it was Roosevelt’s wife until we learned about Eleanor. It was named after the wife of Congressman Ross Collins who was instrumental in getting the park built.

The lodge that replaced it looks nice but reviews say it is dated and needs improvement on the infrastructure.

This photo of the new Alfred Harris lodge is from Scottcounty.gov.

Somewhere in making reservations, either through a conversation with cousin Jimmie or with the park itself, I found out rooms 106 and 107 have been recently renovated. I chose 106. There is supposed to be a small kitchenette in each room. The old lodge did not have rooms to rent. The addition of the word “Harris” comes from Carl Harris who was the park manager for years.

I’ll be there three nights and visiting with Archie, Tanis, Jean, Roger, Jimmie and Stephen. From there, I’ll roam about for a while before I head home. I have no idea how many days I’ll be gone. What will determine the length of my trip will be how well I feel driving 7 hour days. The Jeep is comfortable but I don’t know if I’m up for that long of a drive. I’ll find out tomorrow.

After physical therapy today, I’ll stop at a grocery store to pick up some snacks for the trip and then gas up the Jeep. Then I’ll start loading the Jeep with most of my luggage and stuff and save the really important stuff (laptop, iPad, iPhone, insulin) until tomorrow. I’ll be posting regularly every day on the trip.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 307

29 April 2024

Surprise! The state of Florida sent my retirement check a day early. That’s always nice to wake up to. Of course, the majority of the check is already obligated.

Another surprise was my cardiologist’s office called and canceled today’s appointment. I’m rescheduled for sometime in June. By then I’ll have the results of my third echocardiogram. He’ll spend 10 minutes with me and listen to my heart and tell me to come back in 3 months.

I made my usual pilgrimidge to Walgreens to pick up two prescriptions. As I sat at the drive through, Chip, an old Coast Guard buddy called. He’s going through some significant health issues and he was updating me. He’s been very supportive of my problems and I hope I can be an ear to listen with him. Once a Coastie, always a Coastie.

I stopped for lunch at the Georgia Pig. It was packed and you had to put your name in for a place. I walked in about the same time as another guy and he told me to put my name in and we could share a table if one became available. It was in line that I met Russell, a retired Delta employee. He was wearing an LSU hat and off we went with stories and tales. He says they still play the Billy Canon runback every year at Halloween in Tiger Stadium.

We both ordered the BBQ Pork deluxe which comes with fries, Cole slaw and a drink. Service, once seated, was quick. The Georgia Pig makes a mustard based BBQ sauce that’s pretty good.

Russell grew up in Hollywood, Florida and, with Delta, went all over the world and the U.S. He was quite interesting and I enjoyed sharing a table with him.

I began overpacking for my trip. It’s hard to guess what to take but May weather in Mississippi can be iffy. Central Mississippi is about 10° cooler at night than South Florida. The weather service predicts rain on a few of the days.

So far, the plan is for me to arrive at Roosevelt State Park on May 2nd. It’s about 6 hours from Quincy, Florida where I’ll spend the night. I’ll try to treat Tanis and Archie to a late lunch. On Friday, the cousins, Archie and Tanis and I will try to do lunch at Ichibana in Flowood. Notice we are doing lunches. The problem is that none of us want to drive at night. That afternoon (or morning before lunch) I’ll see if my cousin Charles is up for a visit.

As far as I am concerned, I feel better today. The neuropathy is ever present but at least isn’t painful today. I did notice that the combinations of medications I’m taking is giving my urine a distinct odor. Shades of asparagus! I suspect after I compete all my treatments I will be classified as a toxic waste site by the federal government. I’ll apply for funding as soon as the classification is made.

Either late this afternoon or tomorrow my neighbor will do my annual tree trimming. The biggest problem is the coconut palm which is loaded with mini canon balls (in a hurricane). His crew goes above and beyond what I expect and my yard looks great for several months after he finishes.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 306

28 April 2024

“Wash behind your ears!” A phrase I never remember my Mother uttering. She uttered a lot about other things. “Keep your elbows off the table.” “Chew your food.” “Don’t wash your food down.” “Chew your food with your mouth closed.” But I never heard wash behind your ears. My Mother neglected my hygiene. I always knew to wash “down there” because of her. I scrubbed my pits to rawness. I even learned to clean the inside of my ears but never behind them.

I always attributed the phrase to some book I read, like a passage out of Dickensian novel. Probably about some street urchin taken in and sent to bathe. You know how those urchins are. “Please sir, may I have more.”

So any way, I was sitting in front of the tube and rubbing behind my ear and realized it was kind of gritty, kind of like toe jam (Mother taught me about toe jam). It was behind both ears and I got to thinking, “Oh my god! Have I been going out in public all these years with ear jam.” People were probably shunning me because of dirty ears. “Don’t talk to him, he doesn’t wash behind his ears.” I’m abashed by my lack of hygiene.

Trust me, ever since I found ear jam behind my ears, I’ve become a reformed behind-the-ears washer. I am now acceptable to go out into public. Friends no longer shun me. But why, oh why didn’t they say something. They are always eager to let me know if my pants are unzipped or if I have a piece of food stuck to my lips, why not tell me I have dirty ears?

How did I get to the ripe old age of 75 and not know about this? What else do I not know due to Mother deficit? Halitosis? Messy cuticles? Crepe skin?

Maybe it’s a good thing everything seems to be online these days. Zoom meetings don’t show dirt behind the ears and the people online with you can’t smell your breath. They don’t even know if you showered before the meeting. There’s something to this social distancing concept. Maybe Gen-Z has it right.

On another note, I started pulling out my camping kitchen equipment for Roosevelt. The room supposedly has a kitchenette but in case it doesn’t have pots and pans, I have my camping stuff available and my drip coffee maker. I have plenty of oatmeal and also freeze dried food.

Tomorrow is my six month appointment with the cardiologist. He’ll spend 10 minutes with me and tell me everything is great. Tuesday I have a PT with Shannon and then Wednesday I head for the Magnolia State. It’s a little early for magnolias but there should still be plenty of spring wildflowers.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 305

27 April 2024

It’s been kind of a bleh morning. I went to bed at 9 pm last night and did my usual multi-tours of the bathroom for most of the night. I finally got out of bed at 5 am, had breakfast and checked emails. It’s also wash day. The only thing I can get excited about that is fresh linen on the bed.

What started out as a bright, sunshiny day has turned into an overcast one and we’ve even had an unpredicted shower. We could use a lot more rain since we are in our dry cycle right now.

Yesterday, I called Dinnen Electric to come out and change the timer to the pool pump. It quit working and I wanted it replaced for when I am in Mississippi. I was going to skim the leaves from the pool this morning and then run the pump manually for a couple of hours. When I looked out the window, the Great White was working which meant the pool pump was working. Miraculously, the timer seems to be working again. I’ll need to call Dinnen Electric and cancel the timer order.

I’m starting to get organized for the trip. Today I sorted pill packets for morning and evening meds. Opening the packets and inserting the pills is quite the feat. The arthritis in my hands gave me trouble opening them and then trying to pick up the pills and put them in the packet was a challenge due to the neuropathy. I had completed the morning packets when I looked over and realized I had forgotten to include a baby Aspirin. Back to opening and adding the pills. Fortunately, I had enough medications on hand to meet my needs for the trip except for Omeprazole for my esophageal reflux. I quickly went online and Walgreens fill the prescription which should be ready by Monday.

Tomorrow, I’ll start pulling out “camping” equipment such as my coffee pot and other kitchen items and start filling the suitcase. As usual, I’ll overpack.

Jimmie sent me three more photos from her morning walk. I really appreciate it.

Torch Lily, Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia sp.)

I remember the first time I saw Red Hot Poker in a botanical garden. It certainly catches your eye. It’s native to Africa and has, of course, been introduced as an ornamental in the states. It belongs to a family of plants I’ve never experienced: Asphodelaceae. Calflora.org lists 5 genera and 6 species and all are non-native.

Biota of North America Program lists 5 genera and 6 species but different species and genera for the family. Even the taxonomists agree that the family is a mishmash and catchall family. Generally, the leaves are in a rosette pattern and a central flowering stalk is sent up. As an example of a plant in the family you may be familiar with is Aloe vera.

Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra eximia)

My first exposure to bleeding hearts was in the Pacific Northwest. I found the Pacific bleeding heart after a long search. Of course, when I did find it, it was so abundant I was tripping over it. This is a plant genus that would possibly be found in Tishomingo State Park in northeast Mississippi and my major professor, Dr. Pullen, asked me to look for it. It is found in Tennessee so there was a possibility. I never found it. I’ve since found it in North Carolina.

Flaming Katy (Kalanköe blossfeldiana)

I was introduced to a similar plant as a graduate student at Ole Miss called Mother of Thousands. The reason is everywhere the leaf was notched, it would produce a tiny plantlet.

Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) Image from Wikipedi

As the “babies” fell off the plant and rooted, the “mother” would secrete a chemical to retard the growth of any plantlets around her. Only when she died did the tiny plantlets begin to grow significantly.

Flaming Katy certainly stands out with those red flowers. It’s a native of Madagascar.

It’s time to fold clothes and put them away.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 304

26 April 2024

I think I shocked the people at physical therapy today. I used my new walker. Shannon came running out of the facility and asked if I was OK. When I told her that two nurses had recommended I get a walker, she immediately replied “two non-PT professionals. She then brought out the two other models and explained that the one I had was for people that were in constant danger of falling. The one with two wheels on the front is for a more mobile person – like me – and the one with 4 wheels is the Cadillac and has a seat for people to rest if they like. She then told me I didn’t need a walker and the cane was just fine. My possibility of falling went from 46% to 38% from the last two evaluations. Of course, when I got home and started to clean leaves out of the pool, I fell the last few inches. My Apple Watch asked if I had fallen and did I need help. Nope. I finished cleaning out the leaves.

What’s interesting to me is I went to several websites and they explained the difference among the various types of walkers but very little was said who needed one and why. Shannon cleared that up for me. I may still use it in the middle of the night when I get up from bed and go to the bathroom.

My cousin Jimmie knows I haven’t been walking lately due to the sprained ankle (better today) so she sent me some flower photos from her walk!

Spring is certainly the time for Azaleas. Here’s a little known fact. Azalea is a common name. The scientific genus for Azalea is Rhododendron. So, Azaleas are of the genus Rhododendron and Rhododendrons are of the genus Rhododendron.

This is a member of the Caryophyllaceae family and if it looks a bit like a carnation, that’s because carnations belong to the same family. It’s commonly called Rainbow Pink or China Pink. The scientific name is Dianthus chinensis.

These used to grow in the yard of the house I was renting with three others when I was in graduate school at Ole Miss. It’s called a Dutch Iris but I have no idea why the moniker. I found them coming up at different points in the yard so I dug them up and lined the path to the front door with them.

This is Bearded Iris. When you look closely at the petals and they attach to the stem, there are short “hairs” and thus bearded. There were a lot of these planted in yards in the Burgundy region of France when I was there years ago but it is called the flour-de-lis. The Fleur-de-lis is based on an Iris but not the Bearded Iris. Instead, it is Iris pallida (Sweet Iris). To confuse you even more, Iris pallida is also a bearded Iris like above.

Thanks for sharing the photos! Spring has apparently sprung in most of the South. Here in South Florida, the weather stays pretty constant and we don’t really see a change in seasons.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 303

25 April 2024

It was a restless night – one of those that required a pee break every hour on the hour. I have no idea why, just that I seemed to need to urinate a lot last night. I predict a nap in my future today.

Last night was Key Largo with Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor and Lionel Barrymore. It was released in 1948 so it’s as old as I am. Claire Trevor won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1948 as an alcoholic night club singer. What I didn’t realize is that it was the fourth and last pairing of Bogie and Bacall. The first three were To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, and Dark Passage. I’ve seen all of them and To Have and Have Not is the best of the four.

I wasn’t too impressed with Bacall’s performance, but then it could have just been the vehicle. Bogie played Bogie and Barrymore played Barrymore – always in the wheel chair.

I think the thing I most identify with is the shooting location – supposedly in Key Largo, Florida. It was filmed entirely in Hollywood using Hollywood magic with the exception of some clips showing the bridges over the Keys, but there is a certain magic to the Keys.

Tucker behaved himself but pouted that Chris cut him off at four treats. Of course, the pout was for me since I’m feeding him the treats. At one time, he even huffed at me.

My echocardiogram is set for the 15th of May, the day after my May Herceptin infusion. Might as well get all that done when I get back. I haven’t received a call about the orthopedist so I wonder if I was supposed to do that on my own. My ankle is still sore and tender but better today.

By the way, the Katharine Hepburn brownies are just OK. They certainly did come out gooey. I don’t think I’ll make the recipe again but it was fun to make.

Sometime today, I’ll start the packing process for the trip. My main concern is taking some food with me to Roosevelt State Park since there’s not a lot of options in the nearby town of Morton for eating out. Usually on these trips a cup of oatmeal and coffee are fine for breakfast but lunch and dinner could be a problem. I’ll pack some freeze-dried food as a precaution.

The main chore is getting the suitcase down from the overhead in the utility room. That means climbing up on a ladder and you know my statistics on that. I’ll be extra careful and hopefully make it without falling off.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 302

24 April 2024

Where has April gone? It seemed to go by so fast! At least I feel better today. I did a light clean of the house: vacuum, mop, bathroom, trashcans, etc. and then tackled the inside of the refrigerator. Something on a top shelf leaked and coated every shelf under it in red. It wasn’t blood (I don’t keep meat anywhere near the top shelf) and I couldn’t find anything leaking as I removed stuff but it took a while to get the thing clean.

I don’t mind cleaning a fridge if it is not too dirty but when it was like this, it’s a real chore. Not that I clean it very often.

I did order a walker today. I didn’t realize how complicated it is to select the proper one. I chose a standard (no wheels) as it gives the greatest support. Then you have to worry about what type of handles you want on it. Next it’s setting the proper height – arms should form a 15° angle with the walker’s top. You step into the walker with your weakest foot (my left) but don’t extend it past the walker. You then follow with the other foot by pressing down with your hands on the top of the walker. Whew! I’m tired of thinking of it.

After cleaning, I headed to Walgreens to pick up my happy pills (Cymbalta – double the old dose) and then to Publix to pick up my Lyrica prescription. The difference in pricing from Walgreens ($112.38) to Publix ($14.14) is amazing. Dr. Velez recommended using GoodRx and I think I’ll definitely start comparing pricing with that app.

I can only hope Dr. Velez is correct and that the combination of Lyrica and Cymbalta will help alleviate the neuropathy problem. It was exceedingly painful last night – both feet and hands. Today, it’s not nearly as bad as yesterday.

While at Publix I stopped for some chicken tenders and potato wedges. I was hungry and not very particular. The parking lot at noon was totally filled. It’s my “old” Publix that I don’t shop any more unless it’s an emergency and it certainly has gotten a lot more busy,.

Tonight is movie night with Chris and her time to choose the film. We both will have to keep an eye on Tucker. Last week, I went to the bathroom and Chris went to the kitchen and while we were both gone, Tucker reached up on the coffee table (no small task for his small size) and seized the bag of treats that Chris brought over. He was put in time out and given a severe talking to.

This morning’s New York Times had a recipe for Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies. I was intrigued and clicked on it. The recipe is simplicity itself although it does dirty a few dishes.

Here’s the recipe.

1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I used pecans)
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325°F

Melt butter in saucepan with cocoa and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes then transfer to a large bowl. Whisk in eggs one at a time and stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine sugar, flour, nuts and salt. Add to the cocoa-butter mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour into a greased 8 x 8 inch square pan. Bake 30-35 minutes. Do not overtake. The brownies should be gooey when cooled. Cut into bars and enjoy.

Stay tuned!

Cancer Update – Part – 94

23 April 2024

Apparently, things have been difficult at the cancer center at Holy Cross. I was not wrong that someone failed to schedule my today’s Herceptin treatment. They have a new person on scheduling and they thought it would be more logical to schedule sessions individually, one at a time for each patient. It didn’t work and some of us fell through the cracks. They’ve gone back to bulk scheduling for a patient. It was lucky I caught it and called in about no appointment for today. Once I had everything rescheduled, I had the hematologist/oncologist appointment first and the Herceptin infusion second – usually the reverse.

I had a long conversation with Dr. Velez. First, there’s some good news. My last Herceptin infusion should be June 25 or July 16. The reason there’s some question is Dr. Velez has to go back and hand count every appointment and take into consideration the one that I missed due to Covid. That means I don’t have to go through August of this year.

We discussed whether or not to do another Signatera test to check if I have any breast cancer cells floating around. My last test was in November and the score on the test was zero – no cancer cells. They drew blood for that test today and it’ll be a few weeks before I know the result.

I also asked about another echocardiogram. He intends to have that scheduled before the last Herceptin treatment. Herceptin sometimes leads to heart failure.

We discussed how Gabapentin was not working for my neuropathy. As a consequence, he’s re-prescribed Lyrica. That in conjunction with Cymbalta may have more effect. The Lyrica is 75 mg twice a day and he’s doubled my dose of Cymbalta.

I also asked about what happens after Herceptin. I remember him talking about another test, the Grail test, that checks for 40 types of cancers. It costs $849 but it is pretty definitive and sensitive. He gave the example of a person undergoing a colonoscopy and being told he was clear and then taking the Grail test and coming back positive for colon cancer. They were able to catch it early and treat.

This brought me to my come-to-god moment with Dr. Velez. I started as tactful as I could – you know me – tactful to a fault – not. I told him I understood he walked a fine line between trying to be upbeat for his patients and their chances and then weighing the outcome. I said he might wish to consider the patient a little more. I explained that I was a single, gay male who had never been in a relationship and 75 years old. The one great joy in life I had was hiking and the neuropathy has robbed me of that. I frankly told him I would not go through this again.

It may sound paradoxical that I’m thinking about the Grail test to determine if I have any of the 40 cancers it detects but if I do have some other form of cancer I’d like to know just for the amount of time I have. I pointed out that when he convinced me to do the regimen I’m on, he gave the example of a woman who refused treatment. He said without treatment, there was a 75% chance of cancer not coming back and with treatment there was a 95% chance of it not coming back. I think he was a little stunned with my frankness and confession I would not go through the process again.

It’s a quality of life issue. I’ve given up hope that the neuropathy will go away or even be mitigated. It’s quite painful to walk any distance and the one thing I enjoy most in life has been taken away from me.

I will point out he’s refused to give up on the neuropathy, hence the Lyrica re-prescription and the doubling of the Cymbalta prescription.

Lastly, he’s had the scheduler to make an appointment with an orthopedist to check my ankle. He’s concerned there may be a ligament tear.

I walked out of the examining room and directly to the infusion center and they seated me immediately in Pat’s section. There was a little lagniappe today in TJ, a massage therapist, making the rounds giving out free neck and shoulder massages. Yes, I took advantage of his offer. He works at the Healthplex on Dixie Highway and he was excellent. I’ll go there and see how he does on a full body massage. The rates are $99 for an hour which is very reasonable for Fort Lauderdale.

My blood tests came back with the same readings as always. There are some low levels of red blood cells and hematocrits and neutrophils but nothing to worry about. Pat has pretty much convinced me to purchase a walker. I’ll probably order one from Amazon and see how it goes.

In summary, some good news, some heart-to-heart with the hematologist/oncologist, a possible new massage therapist, and the probability I’ll be on a walker for a while.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 301

22 April 2024

Today has not started out the best. I don’t feel well. The neuropathy in my left had has decided to be painful and my foot neuropathy is playing catch up to the hand. My ankle is still sore and I’m limping around the house.

I called first thing to schedule Herceptin infusions. Apparently, I have to wait on a call from “infusion scheduling” in order to get anything done. I’ve begun to wonder if anyone in the world is designated to answer an actual question on the behalf of a patient. You seem to be channeled over to someone else every time.

I also called the doctor’s nurse, Danielle and left a message with her. Speaking of the doctor, chem fog is real. I ran across a name in my address book a few days ago and didn’t recognize it. It also didn’t have any accompanying information with the entry and I was about to delete the contact when I realized the name was of my hematologist/oncologist. I’ve only been seeing him for almost a year.

Hopefully they will get the infusion problem solved. I don’t know why it falls to me to schedule infusions since I don’t know how long I’m to have them other than sometime in August of this year. I certainly don’t have the authority to order more on my own. You’d think the hematologist/oncologist who ordered them would re-order any that are needed.

The reason this is important is Jimmie and I scheduled our trip to Mississippi based on my infusions. May 1 would have given me plenty of time to recover from tomorrow’s supposedly scheduled infusion and I would return to Fort Lauderdale a couple of days before my next one. If they don’t get me in rather quickly, it’ll throw the schedule off.

I also have physical therapy today at 1:50 pm. I’m not sure what I can do with two sprained ankles but I’ll see what Shannon suggests. Right now, I’m borderline canceling everything and going back to bed.

We are scheduled for some needed rain today. Otherwise I’ll have to add water to the pool. We are predicted for 100% today but when you look at the breakdown, it’s scheduled for late this afternoon and only 15-20%. I’m not sure how they predict 100% rain and then say it’s 15-20% but I’m not a weatherman.

Sorry to be in such a whinny mood today. It’s just one of those days you want to curl up in a fetal position and stay there. I promise to do better.

Stay tuned!

Everything Fred – Part 300

21 April 2024

I have no idea what happened yesterday but it was like I ran into a brick wall. John brought over BOGO from HoneyBaked Ham and after we ate, we were sitting around talking (actually, he was sitting, I was folding clothes) and I started to feel badly. The neuropathy in my hands and feet started to ache and something made me nauseous. I told John I was going to lie down. He’s good about taking a hint. I hate I did that to him but it couldn’t be helped. I stayed in bed pretty much the rest of the day. I didn’t even get to FaceTime with Jimmie.

Today I feel a little better but not to the extent I have in the last few days. I did get 8 hours of sleep. I decided to try to walk a little this morning but realized when I started out I wasn’t going very far. I did manage to walk the equivalent of “around the block” but headed back to the house after that. My ankles are still very sore. The one thing I did notice that a neighbor had crashed his truck or either someone ran into him. There was a lot of front end damage to his new pickup.

I also realized that I’m not scheduled for Herceptin treatments. This happens periodically. They schedule me for a bunch and then I don’t realize they haven’t continued scheduling them for me even though I put them on my calendar. Monday I need to call and see if they can schedule me some more appointments. I probably need to see how many they do and put a reminder on my calendar to call them again and schedule.

My main concern is they will not be able to work me in on Tuesday which will throw off my May trip schedule. I’ve tried to schedule the trip around the Herceptin treatments so there is enough time to get over the effects of the treatment before I go on the trip.

I need to pick up a prescription today. It seems that’s a very frequent occurrence. At least the pharmacists know me by sight now. I’ll also probably stop and pick up some groceries.

Every day, when I go through my daily routines, I feel older. I remember what it was like when my grandparents got to the point that simple things because difficult. Just as an example, when making the bed this morning, I picked up a pillow and my arthritis in my hands let me know I did it wrong. How have I gotten to the point that I can pick up a pillow incorrectly? I’ve also learned I cannot turn around too quickly unless I want to lose my balance. Bending over to pick something up off the floor is like doing a complicated yoga exercise. I’ve learned not to try to throw something in a garbage can from a distance. Instead, I walk over to it, get dead center and drop the item close to the lip. I guess the good news is I can still move pillows and still pick things up off the floor.

Stay tuned for more aches and pains.