Don't you hate it when......

 

So, this is our new doctor visit.  I haven't had one yet, but Romeo has, and said it was super easy.  My insurance called me a month ago and said they offer a yearly "health assessment" and wanted me to schedule it.  So I did.  Then I changed the day because they had Saturday appointments.....which was today.  

~We hiked a short one today, so that I could be back in time.

~I decided not to go to the church service I signed up for because I didn't want to cancel and reschedule again.

~They were supposed to call me today at 9 am, but by 9:30 I figured they weren't going to call.

Now I am annoyed.  I would have gone to the service.  By the time I figured they weren't keeping their end of the bargain, it was too late to go.  So, I have their number and plan to call them on Monday to ask what happened.  Although I am really irritated, I suppose something happened that prevented the person who was to call from doing so.  

Otherwise, life is moving along.  It isn't exciting.  It's not new stuff, just a rehashing of all the usual stuff.  For the time being work is as it usually is.  Ms Loud is now spouting off a theory that the entire economy is going to collapse in the next couple of months.  She has sold one of her rental properties and is currently buying coins and gold.  I am ignoring her, mostly because...well, because it's her.  

My garden, pitiful as it is 😋 is still producing.  The tomato plant looks rather sad, but hey! there are still tomatoes on it, I picked three off this morning.  The pimento plant is now fruiting, but wow, it really takes a long time.  The serrano pepper is putting out fruit, and for some reason Romeo is freezing them.  I plan to make salsa with them so I suppose if they were previously frozen I suppose there's no harm.  They are really hot, so I'll have to be judicious on how many I put in!  I am already planning next year's garden, and plan to put in at least one more raised bed for next year.

Today is also dog bathing day.  This is not my favorite chore.  Sioux hates baths ~ I suppose most dogs do (although if there's a stream or a lake, she'll jump right in).  We are all enjoying the hikes in the foothills (we live a block from the open space), but she just really gets dirty, and sometimes she rubs against the tires of the cars in the garage, and those black smudges just don't come off without soap and water.

So, sounds like fun, huh?  

Cool heart-shaped cactus....

Enjoy your weekend!  

Love, 365

The Dog Days of Summer.......Siriusly?

 

 

Days of the Dog Star....

https://www.history.com/news/why-are-they-called-the-dog-days-of-summer

Seems like a lot of areas are experiencing a heat wave.  But the Dog Days of Summer don't have anything to do with our puppies....but the dog star Siruis, which used to make it's appearance during the hottest part of the year.  We are breaking a few records here in New Mexico.  All I can do now is hope the garden pulls through for that last crop of tomatoes.  I've really learned a lot (or re-learned that is) about how to put my garden together for next year, and I plan to add a few raised beds for herbs and a few more veggies.  Oh, do you need any Greek Oregano?  Because that darn thing is taking over.......

This past week was soooo much better than last week.  Ms Loud took Monday off, and was in a much better mood the rest of the week.  It's a relief, like having a nice rain.  I guess those anti-maskers are not doing well with being forced to comply.  Our numbers are going down.  Why aren't they making that connection?  

The three of us took a very long walk this morning, since it was my day off.  It was so nice to spend time together, just walking.  We always need to check the dog for cactus spines now, we've found one in her leg, and last week I found one mixed in with her wiskers.  Poor poochie!  She didn't complain but it did bleed a bit.  So, now we check to make sure she doesn't get an infection.  She loves the long walks....she spends the rest of the day sleeping except for meal time 😃

We've settled into such a routine.  I suppose it's the only thing to do.  I make bread on the weekends, Romeo cooks during the week and I do on the weekend.  And even though Romeo is happy enough to stay home, we are planning a trip to Ruidoso in the fall, and a visit to White Sands.  It is such a beautiful place, with all of that gypsum sand.  In less than two months the weather will be beautiful....I can't wait to go!

I hope all of you have plans to get away, even for a few days....

Love, 365

The long and short of it........

 

 

Me (on the front left), my cousin Kathy and Barb and Earl.  No one has figured out the little girl on the upper right of the photo.....

This past week was the week from hell.  I worked an extra day, to help get caught up from short staffing from the week before.  That alone is exhausting.  I know.....it's pretty hard to feel sorry for someone who works 34 hours a week on average.  Just remember, I'm not used to it....😀

On Tuesday, there was a complaint from a patient that one of us (I give you one chance to guess who) wasn't wearing a mask.  That was bad enough, but on Wednesday, there was another complaint.  So, although we could take off our masks behind the plexiglass, if a patient came up to our desks, we put it on.  I put mine on whenever a patient walked in the door, and kept it on until the waiting room is empty.  

During the Thursday morning meeting we were told that we must keep our masks on at all times.  

Now, Ms. Loud had even brought a pulse oximeter to the office ` it measures your oxygen levels in case you don't know.  She claims that wearing a mask gives her headaches, changes the pH of her body, increases the carbon dioxide levels.  She's a staunch anti-masker.  

As we are walking down the hall towards our desks, she leans over and whispers that if she gets a headache, she's going home.  Which doesn't really sound too bad, except she and I were the only staff up front that day of our usual 4.  So, I freaked out.  

To make matters worse, she did nothing much at all that day.  Normally when there are two of us, both of us sit up front.  Her desk is behind me, with her back to the waiting room, which is where she stayed all day.  Oh, she answered the phone.  But she didn't help with checking anyone in, or with anything else that required her to face the waiting room, so that she could take off her mask for most of the day.

So, even though this was my "short" weekend, I was never so happy to see Friday come to a close.  I hope she retires soon, although I doubt it.

Next week should be better.  I am counting on it.

Love, 365

This and that and in between......

I think I mentioned that my employer requires that we stay home for 5 days & if we remain symptom free, we can return to work.  I have enjoyed it, I must say.  I don't really feel too bad for my co-workers who are probably working their asses off, I've already done that for two of them.  The way I see it, it was "my turn".  But I figured I would file for unemployment for this week, since it wasn't my choice, and you can't get a test unless you have symptoms.  It won't be much $$, but it will still help!  Hope I don't have any problems.......

Just found out that there are (again) two residents of the assisted living facility where Mom is at that tested positive.  They had just "enjoyed" about 10 days off of lock down, and now they are back in it.  I think this is going to continue to happen, sadly.  Because in Texas, no one tells you what to do.  Actually, that's really true everywhere.  People are stupid.  And apparently feel invincible.  So many that don't consider that that person you're visiting without a mask doesn't realize they have Covid, because they don't have any symptoms.  

During the shelter-in-place order, lots of people who had an interest in bread baking suddenly discovered they have lots of time on their hands and decided to explore sourdough baking.  I've been doing it for years, but I noticed this Facebook page called Perfect Sourdough.  It both inspires and annoys me.  Here's why:

Actual photos from the FB page.  Decorations gone mad.  It's obviously more about how pretty you can make it instead of how delicious it is.  And yeah, I'm a tad bit jealous.

Then bakery owners have to get their two cents in.....I kinda like the flower design....

Blue pea flower?  I just don't get it.  Is that a flour?  Or does one grind up the flowers and add it to the dough?  Why would I want bread that is blue?  

Oh, I get it.  Lol.  

Don't get me wrong, I see posts of mistakes too.  One spectacular fail was bread that was in the oven for 6 or 7 hours and looked like bricks.  That one was a good chuckle, and others ask, what did I do wrong?  I am enjoying the posts so far.  All I have to do is unfollow and remove the irritation.  But I have seen some really great tips that I've experimented with.

Friday. 😒 So, after this weekend, it's back to work.  I suppose I'm ready.

Love, 365

How Covid has changed the travel industry ........

😆

Any one interested in flying?  Southwest is continuing to keep the middle seat vacant until mid-Sept, or something like that.  Excuse me, but that's not near enough space between me and who ever.  I always thought that the air on a plane is recirculated, although I know they use hepa filters.  I guess that's just not comforting to me.  Viruses are small, very small. And the idea of sitting in a plane with lots of other people ~ who may not behave as paranoid as I do ~ just seems like an unnecessary risk.  Hence my driving to Texas, which is about a 11-12 hour drive.  But not wanting to do that drive all in one go, I stopped in Ft. Stockton Texas to spend the night.  Spent about $70 which isn't too bad. 

Trains?  Nah.  Same problem.  Too crowded and wow, it takes so long.  I would be bathing in hand sanitizer every 15 minutes. 

Which leaves driving.  A car or if you're lucky enough to have more money than I do, a camper or an RV.  Because I have no room for a camper, and I figure that the cost of one would cover many nights in a hotel/motel, I have discounted that option.  Driving takes me back to when I was a kid, when we would load up the station wagon (remember those boats?) and travel across country.

La Quinta used to be a respectable hotel chain.  Maybe it still is.  But not in Ft. Stockton.  There was hair on the floor of the bathroom, and when I went to sit in the recliner, I found one of those big round cheeto type snacks.  So I stuck to the bed, which had the appearance of freshness.  When I left the next morning, I wrote a tiny note (because the only piece of paper was an old envelope in my purse) that there IS a tip here somewhere, you just have to find it.  And how gross it was to find that cheeto.  Which I put at the top of the note.  I put the $5 in the cushions of the chair where I found the cheeto.

The Best Western I stayed in in the lovely town of Las Cruces (which really is a nice town, when it's not 98 degrees outside) was very clean.  Very fresh.  Nice clean bathroom.  I tipped the same amount, but it was on the dresser with a note (they had a small note pad & pen) of how appreciative I was at the cleanliness of the room. 

Many years ago, I realized that the women who clean those rooms are not paid well.  So I try not to make too much of a mess, dump all the towels I used in the tub.  Did nothing to the bed though, I'm not crazy.  And I always tip at least $5.  Oh, sure, $20 would have been better, but times are tough. 

Last night I pondered us traveling to Boston, but the drive is 31 hours.  Nope.  No way.  I guess we'll wait until Covid is much less of a problem, which likely means after the vaccine comes out.  Who knows when that will be?  Maybe next fall?  If we're lucky.  So we made plans to travel to White Sands, New Mexico this fall, and soon to the Very Large Array in Truth or Consequences.  I've never seen it, and it looks pretty cool for a day trip. 

Are you doing anything to get out of town? 

Love, 365

The long drive..........

Sunrise on "the acres", my sister and brother-in-law's small Texas ranch....

I have already written of the heart wrenching ordeal of helping my sister clean out my Mom's house ~ soon to be up for sale ~ so I won't go there again.  Although sis had mentioned once that she hated the idea of me taking vacation time to come, and maybe she could handle it, before I left she had changed her mind and was glad I had. 

I wish we could have had some fun, but with Covid in the background, there was no where to go and nothing much to do.  We do enjoy hanging out though.  She pretty paranoid, so limits her grocery shopping as much as possible.  We have entered times when being paranoid is a good thing.

By Thursday, I was ready to come home.  I missed Romeo and Sioux (the dog, ya know).  I missed the low humidity of the high desert.  I missed gazing at the mountains and just plain ol' being at home.  I wasn't excited about the drive so much. 

The first day I drove from Comfort, Texas to Las Cruces, New Mexico.  A distance of about 550 miles, and over 8 hour drive.   It was mostly uneventful with the exception of the heavy downpour just outside of El Paso.  I was beginning to hurt from sitting for so long, and by the time I checked in to the Best Western I was in pain.  I looked up and down and in both pieces of luggage for the Advil.  Never found it until the next day, where I discovered it was in the car 😕  I slept for about 10 hours and felt fine in the morning.  I guess just sitting and driving is more exhausting than you would think.  Of course, considering how much pain I was feeling in my joints, I was sure that I was coming down with Covid.  Which is both silly and not....no matter how careful I am, I always make mistakes.  Rubbing my eyes, or some other part of my face is probably my most common one.  I do keep a tissue to do that with, but now and then I forget.  So far no temperature or any other symptoms, for which I am grateful. 

Apparently the availability of tests is an issue again, and when Ms Loud came back from her trip to Montana she wasn't able to be tested (they required symptoms in order to do the test) ~ we need a negative test before returning to work ~ so the docs decided that if you leave the state you need to stay home for a minimum of 5 days symptom free before returning.  Since I returned yesterday, that means I am off this week.  Which I am honestly looking forward to ~ I can bake bread, catch up on some things.  I think Ms Loud isn't too happy though because she texted me yesterday asking when I returned from Texas.  All of us at the front desk have been working short one or two people for the entirety of July, and now into August.  In all, 2020 just continues to suck the big one......

Have a wonderful week!

Love, 365