Everything Fred – Part 181

11 December 2023

OK, yesterday was rough. I didn’t have any energy and it was hard just going from one room to another. It’s a good thing my house is only 900 square feet (garage included) or I wouldn’t have been able to make it. This morning I feel slightly better. It was my day to take a 2.5 mg prednisone. It’s day 7 of 10 where I take one every other day.

Today I break in a new chiropractor. My appointment is for 9 am and after I leave there I’ll head to Bliss Nails to get my toe and finger nails trimmed. Like I wrote previously, I can’t stand long nails on me.

It’s not that they are longer than I like. They are also (1) softer and (2) more brittle. They tend to flake at the ends. I’ll forego the mani/pedi this time. I think I remember reading in some of the cancer literature that it wasn’t wise to get mani/pedi because of something to do with the cuticles. I did feel my cuticles were sore after they did the mani/pedi last time.

I can only hope that I regain the strength in my hands so I can start trimming my own again. I really hate having to be dependent on others. It’s irrational but that’s the way I am.

After the nail trimming, I plan to go straight home and go to bed. I was awake at 3:30 am this morning and finally got up around 4. Technically, according to my Apple Watch, I got 5 hours and 4 minutes sleep last night. I can get by on 6 hours but 5 is pushing it.

During the last hydration infusion, Pat and I were talking and we got on the subject of Christmas trees. I was explaining I didn’t put one up any more. She asked if I had seen the Sandi Tree in West Palm Beach. It’s composed entirely of sand and is lighted. I’ve lived in South Florida for 39 years and never heard of it. Then yesterday, I was reading The Washington Post and they had an article on Christmas trees: tallest indoor, tallest living, etc. and included was the Sandi Tree.

Today I was reading the New York Times and ran into an article in the New York Times Magazine about pralines. I love those things. When I first went to New Orleans the smell of them drew me into stores to buy them. I’ve made very poor attempts and making them. I’ve bought the commercial versions but nothing equals those on the streets of the French Quarter. I found the article interesting because it said you couldn’t get a decent one unless you were at Meridian, Mississippi or south of there. I’ve never thought of pralines in association with Meridian. Mother would occasionally make them.

I clicked on the recipe and printed it out. I make make an attempt on them again when I feel better. I do think the weather may have something to do with it. High humidity affects recipes. For example, mother never made divinity in the summer when it was hot and humid. Good divinity requires low temperatures and low humidity. At least, that’s been my experience. Mother’s divinity was – well, divine.

So of course, I got the wrong time for the chiropractor. My appointment was not for 9 am but for 2 pm. I left the chiropractor’s office and headed to get my nails trimmed. It’s such a relief to get that done. Of course, in spite of the $10 price quoted in their brochure, it was $18. It was worth the price.

I never got the nap. After Bliss Nails, I picked up a prescription at CVS and headed across the street to Publix. I scored Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate ice cream. Usually when I look for it, they’re out. That alone was worth the trip to Publix.

I was back at the chiropractor at 2 pm. I like him. He made sense when he explained what he thought was wrong. In essence, he thinks I have bilateral sciatica. He performed some tests, popped a few vertebrae, put me on the rack and stretched me and then propped my hips up with wedges and let me rest. He’s assigned an exercise that I can do even lying in bed. He also wants me to take Vitamin B6 for my neuropathy. I’m scheduled for a Wednesday and Friday morning visit this week.

Stay tuned!