OT August Chit Chat

[jendie]

Linda, I'm studying Accounting and other stuff to get credits needed for a Bachelor's degree, I'm only 32 credits away.

Thanks Howie and Ann.

Agate, that is so true about writing papers on my phone, especially since I have this horrible habit of dropping portions of what I want to say. Trying to get back to fix it is a real headache.

Virginia, yes, the doctor I'll be seeing on Monday is the one who started me on Rituxan. Seattle really isn't too far away, only about 75 miles, but there are many bedroom communities surrounding it that slow traffic down.

I live across the street from a hospital and their pharmacy delivers, but it seems that lately they don't take my insurance. I'm glad I use a pharmacy that sends my rx by UPS.

[Virginia]

Howie, you enjoy your evening and make some good pasta.

Agate, speaking of snow, I have one of the small post office boxes that are in clusters and are located throughout my neighborhood and mine is not right in front of my house. As far as teenage boys in this neighborhood I haven't seen one in years, but it would be too far to shovel anyway. If something comes UPS or Fedex then it is delivered to my door, but if it comes through the mail then it is put in that little post office box. I am sure I will work something out when the time comes that I really have to. I do not get to the Pharmacy and find that my prescription is not ready because they always call me. That is a plus.

I talked to a cousin that lives about 60 miles from Raleigh for about 2 hours today. I only have two first cousins left. She is one and her brother who is a Doctor in Chapel Hill is the other one. He and I only see each other at family events and since my Aunt died there has not been a family event on that side of he family.

I am starting to put a puzzle together. My good friend that lives in California by the name of Nuthatch forgot to warn me about small piece puzzles and puzzles where the colors are all alike. I think she should get in her chariot and come help me with this one. I haven't gotten very far because of talking on the phone and cooking and cleaning up the kitchen.

[Virginia]

Jendie, we were posting at the same time. I think 75 miles seems pretty far, but if you can't get the infusion any closer at least it is only every six months and may be well worth it if it does you as much good as it has Linda and Cherie.

When Rxs come through mail the best way is either UPS or Fedex, so glad you have that close by.

[jendie]

Virginia, I live in the sticks, the first 40 miles is mostly farmlands and unincorporated areas. My dr wants the infusion to be done in one of the clinics accociated with the hospital he works at. Finding a good neuro near me is a bit tough, plus a lot of them don't take my insurance, so I take what I can get and try not to complain too much.

[stillstANNding]

From the Pantry thread from Rose:

“Are you in Cape Cod? I LOVE CAPE COD! We vacationed there with my boys several summers in the 70s. What a lovely, peaceful, friendly place. Hope you are relaxing and having fun.”

Yes, we are at the end of the earth about as far from you as I can be. ;-(
Did you live in the Northeast when you vacationed here? I can’t imagine you traveled from California.
ANN

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((ANN)))))) ~

For 3 years we lived in Indiana, then we lived in Ohio for 3 years, before returning to California.

We found a charming motel right on the beach, and every year, the owners gave us the same room. We just opened the sliding door and walked a few yards to the beach. Jon and Michael loved to travel. We drove and made stops along the way.

We were there on August 9, 1974, when Nixon resigned. We were in our room getting ready to go somewhere, when the news broke on the TV. We were so elated!

We drove all around the Cape and environs, including Martha's Vineyard. The weather was delightful. The food was delicious, and the people were so nice. Fond memories.

How long are you staying? I hope you're having a wonderful time.

Love & Light,



Rose

[nuthatch]

Many years ago, before I had children, I worked at a pharmacy. Besides stocking shelves, waiting on customers, and assisting the pharmacist, I delivered prescriptions to private homes and convalescent homes every day. Many of the customers were elderly or recovering from an illness or surgery, but many were not. Quite a few were regulars. There was no charge for deliveries, but I was often given a small tip. I believe there are many pharmacies that still offer free deliveries. I googled "pharmacies that deliver in Raleigh, NC" and came up with quite a few, including CVS. Lots in Portland too. You just have to use the right words in your search.

As for the blister packs, it seems packing in general, is getting harder and harder to get into. I'm always asking DH to open something for me! Poor dexterity, arthritis, poor eyesight, or just general weakness can make the simplest task near impossible. The assisted living facility my mother was in got all the patient's meds that way. It made it easy for the med tech to keep track of all the meds for each patient, no chance of giving someone the wrong meds.
Tamper proof too. But if you can't get your daily meds out, what good is it?

Virginia, my chariot is fired up and ready to go, but at 8 mph, it will take a lifetime to get there. You'll probably have that puzzle finished and put away (in the attic?) by then!
I have been frequenting that puzzle site every night! Totally addicted!! They have thousands of puzzles to do and you can save what you're working on and come back to it whenever you want. You choose a category, then which picture, then which cut (spiral or classic are the easiest) then how many pieces (from 20 to 500 pieces).

There are many things about doing jigsaw puzzles on-line that I like. All the pieces are set at the angle they fit in the puzzle, you just drag them around into place. There's none of the frustration of having to turn or rotate pieces to fit. If it fits, it makes a nice confirming "click" sound, if not it's silent. You can't loose a piece. When you put in the last piece, all the cut lines disappear and you get to admire the completed picture.
Once you pick your category, puzzle, cut, and number of pieces, it then loads and comes up. Be sure to make it go whole screen by clicking the box (looks like an X with arrows) right next to the timer and pause button. Oh yeah, there is a timer in case you want to know how much time it took you to complete the puzzle, or how much time you wasted! I prefer not to know!

My DH thinks I'm nuts. I've told him how I love to sort things, so sorting puzzle pieces by colors, textures, etc. makes doing jigsaw puzzles enjoyable and relaxing for me. He just shakes his head, but every so often he sneaks in here and starts trying to find pieces and tell me what goes where. I have shoo him off!

Tonight I'm doing a street view, 300 piece, mosaic cut of Rothenberg ob der Tauber, Germany. Have you been there, Virginia?

[nuthatch]

Puzzle link - Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

[Sunshine]

Slowly the pain and stiffening have been increasing. All the post Shingrix gains are gone. If I don’t get any worse, it’s livesble. The stiffening is tough.

These diseases create such isolation. So hard to socialize like this.

[Cherie]

Sunshine....I am so sorry you are feeling so poorly.

[Virginia]

Ann, I was on the Cape in 2002. It was nice, but I was not on the quite part that you are on. We were where there was more traffic. We did go to the tip end that I think you are talking about, found a nice restaurant to eat one night.

Nuthatch, I stayed up last night until 3:30AM. I stopped the puzzle at 3 and then had to wash face, brush teeth, etc before going to bed. It is a 500 SMALL piece puzzle and my problem was that I couldn't get the pieces to stay together. I had put a pillow case over the end of my dining room table and was sitting there to try and do it, but of course a pillow case is doubled and it kept moving under the pieces and so I gave up. I slept most of the morning and started back, but found that it was never going to stay together so I just tore up what I had done and put it away. I need a large piece of paste board or something like that. One of these days I will run into something I can use.

Jendie, I now understand more about your situation. I do not blame you for wanting to go to another setting. I hope you do not have a transportation problem. Would love to hear how the infusion goes when you get it. I can't remember, but believe that you have only had one. Is that correct?

Sunshine, sorry about the shingrix fix wearing off. Maybe you were just having some good time and it happened to co-inside with the shot. As soon as I go to my PCP I am going to get the Shingrix shot. I'll let you know if I get any benefit. I hope you have another good spell soon.

[agate]

Virginia, you probably do need a large but not heavy board for a puzzle. I used to have a large piece of posterboard (I think that's what it was--it was only about 1/8" thick but flat and smooth) that I had used for blocking needlepoint pillow tops. I did puzzles on the board, and in the evening I'd lift the board up to the top of the fridge (to keep the cat off it). This was an alternative to the roll-up deal and worked better because the pieces hardly ever strayed. I did have to keep my hands steady while holding the board and lifting it, and that wasn't always easy--which is why the board should be lightweight but rigid. If it has any creases or bumps in it, doing the puzzle becomes next to impossible.

I no longer even have this board and never could recall how I happened to have it unless it might have been something of my dad's. He had a studio full of all kinds of papers and boards. An art supply store might be a good place to find a piece of board.

Puzzle specialty places do sell puzzle boards, sometimes with little drawers included, but they're really pricey:

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

Anyone remember marsbar, who was active here years back? I recall she was working at a puzzle store, and she posted some information about it. I looked into it because at the time I was very involved in doing puzzles. I didn't ever buy one there but was impressed by the assortment. Unfortunately, I can't recall its name!

[Virginia]

I looked in K-mart where I bought the puzzle, but could not find any of the roll-up things. That was a good site you gave me Agate. Thanks!

[Sunshine]

Virginia, glad you are getting the shot. It has a 90% effectiveness rate, the aching goes away within about 2 days.

I think it was the Stiff Person Syndrome symptoms that went away. I felt exactly like I did with MS but before SPS.

[Cherie]

2 days of glorious pretty steady rain and temps in the mid 70s.