a ramble

I suppose I'll take down the tree today.  In the past I couldn't wait to get the Christmas tree out of my way, and would always do the dreaded job on December 26.  In this house, there's an ideal place for the tree, so it isn't in the way at all.  I've enjoyed looking at my bubble lights every day.  My only complaint with this year's tree is that it never did have the fragrance a real Christmas tree ought to have; I guess I'll get a different variety next year.   
Our weather so far has been quite normal for winter in Missouri.  Last year the temperatures plunged and stayed below normal most of the winter.  This year, a cold front comes through and then leaves before it wears out its welcome, as any well-mannered cold front ought to do.  We've been getting a break before another sets in.  This kind of weather pattern makes winter much more bearable for me.   If the weather-guessers are right, Thursday will be warm enough for a motorcycle ride, with a high of sixty.  Unfortunately, strong winds are forecast for that day as well; that would take the joy out of the ride.  

Here's something to brighten up a winter day.  Actually, my mailbox was stuffed full of seed catalogs yesterday, but I tossed all of them but this, my favorite.  
I feel a peculiar scratchiness in my throat that might portend a cold.  I've gargled with warm salt water, and gone on a search in the master bath for the zinc nasal spray.  I crept in with a flashlight to do my search because that bathroom is about six feet away from where Cliff is sleeping.  I had no luck, however.  I'm not sure that stuff really works to ward off a cold anyhow, but it doesn't hurt to try... or does it?  I just did a search on the Internet and found out some zinc products may cause loss of your sense of smell.  
Cliff and I never consider a cold as "being sick", but rather, an aggravation.  We get a kick out of people who call every little case of the sniffles the flu, and every headache a migraine.  Some day we might be paid back for our high-and-mighty, holier-than-thou attitudes, do you think?   
We've taken glucosamine for years for our arthritis and truly believed it helped, if only a little.  Recently I read about a study that proved it does nothing, so we've agreed to stop taking it when our present supply runs out.  
Another supplement we both take is fish oil capsules.  Even Cliff's cardiologist approves that one.  Unless I find one that doesn't make me sick, though, I'm going to discontinue it for myself.  I wonder if anyone else has a problem with it.  
Speaking of the cardiologist, we got a bill from him for $650 that the insurance wouldn't pay.  Nice surprise, eh?  It isn't such a problem now, but once Cliff retires, doctors will be getting their payments about ten bucks at a time.  I'm just glad we can pay it at the present time.  I need to get in the habit of asking the people in the doctor's office, "How much will we owe after the insurance has paid?"  I don't like this kind of surprise.
Then I think about certain surprises other people have gotten lately, and I realize $650 is no big deal at all.  I'll pay it with a smile.

I have a cold

It isn't a serious thing, there's no fever or chills.  Yesterday it began with a terribly sore throat.  Now, we women learn early on that we must pamper ourselves when we're under the weather, once we're grown, because nobody else likely will; and that's what I do.  Last night before going to bed, I applied Vicks over my neck and chest because that's what my mama did when I was a little girl; somehow just smelling that stuff, I can feel my mama's hands rubbing my back and my chest thoroughly, smearing me up like a greased pig; that was so comforting when I was a sick kid.  
I don't take decongestants because they make me feel worse than the cold.  Consequently, I woke up at 2 A.M. all stuffed up and never went back to sleep.  That's no big problem, since I don't have to do anything if I don't feel like it.  Except pamper myself.  
When I came to my computer this morning, I noticed something on AOL health about putting a lemon and a hunk of ginger root and some honey into a blender, mixing it, and then straining it.  I didn't do that, but I did mix some honey with some ReaLemon Lemon Juice, and then added a little ground ginger.  Whoa, that was so soothing to my throat!  You must all try it, next time you have a cold.   Later today I had a cup of green tea and added some of the honey-and-lemon mix to that; very tasty.
Today my cold is at the stage where water is running out of my nose at the most inconvenient times, so I'm carrying a box of tissues with me everywhere.  I skipped my walk today, much as Sadie hates it when I don't go with her and Cliff.  
I wanted comfort food, so I made meat loaf, mashed potatoes, cooked cabbage and Harvard beets; oh, there's nothing wrong with my appetite!  Funny thing, Cliff seemed to think he was the one being pampered; it's one of  his favorite meals.  But I made it especially for me.  The oldest grandson happened to show up right after we finished eating and polished off the potatoes and most of the meat loaf.  
So, what do you do to comfort yourself when you have a cold?  What makes you feel better?


By the way, I want to thank all of you for your comments, emails, and "smoke signals" letting me know you care about my loss of Blue.   You are such good people.

Morning roll call

I don't suppose I'm the only senior citizen who, upon awakening each morning, proceeds with a roll call of her body parts to find out how they're going to perform that day.  
The knees receive attention the minute I get out of bed and start to walk.  This morning, after several days of pretty bad pain, they didn't have much to say; I guess I'll forget about the call I had planned to make to my orthopedist.
  Taking my daily walk in the snow has not been easy on those poor knees; you're probably thinking, "So, why are you walking?"
As long as I can limp along, I will walk; it's good for body and spirit to get outside and move each day, even if the weather isn't great.  Worst case scenario, I will wear my knees out to the point where I'll get knee replacements.   
This morning's roll call received feedback from a normally non-complaining member, my throat; it was raw and burning.  Cliff has managed to pass his cold along to me, the first cold I've had in two years.  After gargling with warm salt water and taking a couple of Arthritis-strength Tylenol, I believe I'll make it through the day.  
All other body parts seem to be present and accounted for with no feedback, so I'll call it a good day.  
Our Dish satellite receiver began throwing fits on us just before Superbowl Sunday.  It would suddenly lose signal, reboot itself (I know that isn't the term, but you know what I mean) and start working again after ten or fifteen minutes.  It did this once a day, at different times of day, for three days.  I called Dish after the second incident and was told I'd have to call while it was actually happening.  Next day, it happened and I called:  I was put on hold for ten minutes, and by the time someone got to me, the problem was over.  The fellow talked to me awhile and asked various questions, finally deciding to send us a new receiver, for which we'll pay the postage.  
I let the box set on the couch for three days after it came, and finally decided yesterday to tackle it.  I couldn't make heads or tails of the instructions, so I called for assistance after hooking up all the wires.  With the tech guy's help, I got the receiver and remotes working.  
Afterward, though, Cliff and I noticed that the picture doesn't cover the full screen of the TV; there's a black area on all sides of the picture.  What's up with that?  I'm sure I could call and get help with it, but I think I'll just wait till our next-door neighbor's day off; he installs Dish systems for a living.  
Oh, and after I talked to Dish and they said they would send a new receiver?  The problem we were having never happened again.  I'd probably have been better off just sending them back their new receiver and keeping the one I had.
I hate trying to figure out technical stuff; it stresses me out.  
Oh, by the way:  Eight O'Clock Coffee still tested best in a Consumer Reports taste test.  Yes, they even beat out Starbucks.  

Thoughts on a cold morning

There's a benefit to having a hot tub that I would never have thought of before I owned one.

On winter mornings after I've been up awhile, my toes and fingers get cold. The thermostat setting is on 70, right where it usually is; but I just can't get warm enough.

Time to step out onto the snow-covered deck and get in the hot tub, because after fifteen minutes soaking in bubbly, 102-degree water, I'm warm for the rest of the day.

You'd think it would be difficult to emerge wet from that warm cocoon when the outside temperature is 23 degrees. Not so. I am so thoroughly warmed that even though I leave icy footprints behind me on the deck, I don't get chilled getting out of the water and into the house.

The thing that requires true grit is going out there, scantily clad, in the first place. But the shock of cold air hitting the body for the five seconds or so it takes to climb in only makes the hot tub feel that much better.

And in the warmth of the hot tub this morning, I was taken back to childhood.

We always lived in drafty old houses, and my bedroom was upstairs in all of them, far away from the coal oil space heater that kept our homes warm. Mother made sure I had flannel sheets in winter, but even those were terribly cold when I first crawled in; so on the coldest of nights, she filled the hot-water bottle from the teakettle and sent that upstairs with me, to put next to my feet. It seemed at the time like the finest of luxuries to have my feet so toasty warm.

Another wintertime memory: when I suffered a bad cold or the flu, Mama would make my bed on the couch for the duration of my illness, and regularly rub Vicks onto my chest and back. To this day, Vicks is the only medication I use for colds. I've learned that most "cold medications" only serve to make me feel worse... grumpy, tired, and dried-out.

Right now my relatives are saying, "And that's different from your everyday self in what way?"

OK, but I'm even worse when I take that junk!

And it's a fact that, used for too long a time, those non-prescription decongestants can actually make symptoms worse.

"Over-the-counter cold medications. Nonprescription decongestants and pain relievers offer some symptom relief, but they won't prevent a cold or shorten its duration, and most have some side effects. If used for more than a few days, they can actually make symptoms worse. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that parents avoid such cold medicines for children younger than age 2. And they are evaluating the safety of these medications in older children.

• Keep in mind that acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can cause serious liver damage or liver failure if taken in high doses. It's common for people to take Tylenol in addition to flu medications that also contain acetaminophen, which can lead to drug overdoses. Read the labels of any cold medication carefully to make sure you're not overdosing."

I got that information from "Cold remedies: What works, what doesn't" at Mayo Clinic.com.

I'm going to now make the same mistake I make every single winter about this time: I'm going to announce that I haven't had a cold or the flu this season.

We all know what's likely to happen next, right?

Hopefully not, though; because I'm walking in favor and living the dream.

A cold-free winter?

Not quite. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in my AOL journal that neither Cliff nor I have had so much as the sniffles this winter. No colds, no flu.

"Let him that standeth take heed, lest he fall."

Both of us now have minor colds, right here in the middle of April. It's still probably a record year for us, because I usually get at least two colds per winter. So I won't complain.

On the subject of good fortune in health, I was thinking this morning about how blessed I am on some other counts: I've never had a wart; I've never had a cold sore; and I've never gotten poison ivy.

I got a call from the doctor yesterday telling me results of a recent blood test: My total cholesterol is high, but that's OK because my HDL (good cholesterol) is high and the LDL is normal.

Cliff's smiling this morning because he had a egg-and-cheese sandwich. I limit eggs around here; although I've had people tell me there's no limit on eggs these days (and it's true that only 25% of our cholesterol comes from what we eat) the American Heart Association still recommends no more than two eggs per week for people who have had trouble keeping cholesterol down.

Better safe than sorry. Besides, Cliff loves his "loaded oatmeal"... rolled oats cooked in the microwave with cinnamon and raisins, with banana and walnuts added.

I realize this is a pretty dull blog entry, but I have a slight case of the doldrums; so this is the best I can do.

another Church-less Sunday

I like going to Church on Sunday. It just seems to make the rest of the week go better, as well as reminding me where my priorities ought to be.

But for the last two months, my Church attendance has been sporadic. Some Sundays, it's the severe weather that keeps me home. Other weeks, it's a coughing cold. Last Sunday, I was out of town.

I've had three colds this winter, which isn't unusual. Most winters I'll have two or three colds. This year, though, the coughing of one cold barely starts to let up before I start sneezing with a new one. Mighty peculiar. And frustrating.

I'm sure this third time will be the charm, especially since March is drawing nigh.

I could go to Church with this mild cold I have today, but a big proportion of the members are elderly. I don't want to be the one who infects them with a germ that could lead to pneumonia in a person ninety years old. Yes, I said ninety. I'm sixty-two, and I'm one of the younger attendees there.

I've baked a Texas sheet cake (recipe from Ree). I have roast to cook and taters to mash. If I can borrow a tiny bit of sugar from my daughter, I'll make yeast rolls... and hope somebody shows up to help us eat the stuff.