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A feeling of accomplishment
Nov. 12th, 2017 04:14 pmIt was rather a busy week. I had medical appointments on two consecutive days--tiring, but essential.
First was the foot and ankle specialist. While I was quite fond of my former podiatrist, I don't care for the umbrella healthcare group he's with, for one thing. The new practice was recommended by a friend of GK's, and I was impressed by how thorough they are. For starters, the first thing they did was to x-ray both my feet. The doctor came in and actually discussed them with me. In addition to the neuropathy, which I've known about, my foot pain is also caused by pronounced arthritis in both feet, with a side order of plantar fasciaitis (which has been a recurring thing for about twenty years, no surprise there, either) The arthritis, though--I've known I have it elsewhere, but my feet? That certainly explains why just getting out of bed some mornings is so painful. Sometimes the 15 feet from bed to toilet is a killer! I have a prescription for shoes to help alleviate the discomfort while out and about--a good thing, because I've literally been wearing the same pair of Earthshoes for two years now. He also trimmed my toenails and dremmeled my calluses--I've reached the point where I have a hard time reaching that far, and because of the neuropathy, I've accidentally clipped chunks of toe without meaning to. VERY messy! So this was done for legit health reasons...does that make it a medi-pedi?
The other appointment was a referral from the bariatric clinic to have a venous ultrasound study done on my legs. I harbor the fond delusion that I'm a badass about pain, but when the technician pressed down firmly against some of the tender spots to check the valves in my veins, I squealed a bit. Not loudly, but I certainly didn't endure in stoic silence, either! The best part was, the technician actually had the balls to tell me that there were no clots in sight (which was what the bariatric doc was concerned about) and I need to have the veins above the knee done.
That frankly amazed me, because I've found that most of the time, techs won't admit to anything, good or bad--nope, "The doctor will discuss that with you.". I understand why, because I've dealt with enough idiots over the years, and an incautious answer by a tech could probably stir up Armageddon, but those of us who have more sense find it a major pain in the arse.
As for this weekend, it's been pretty productive. I've been working on my room this week--I've finally gotten all the boxes off the top of my dresser, yay!, done laundry, hung up mountains of clothes, and managed to save a top I'm very fond of.
I know that the trend of tops with added embellishments at the neckline is pretty well done, but I've got a magenta/fuchsia/raspberry pink 3/4 sleeve top with wide black plastic chain threaded with printed chiffon at the neckline. I got it at, of all places, Cracker Barrel, 6-7 years ago. I was with Mb, browsing after we ate, and I saw it and fell in love. It was the last of its kind on the rack, it was my size, and I've always taken that to mean It Was Meant to Be. It was in a load of laundry I did, and when I took it out of the dryer, I was horrified to see it had a big stain right across the boobs. And did I mention it just came out of the dryer?! I wouldn't even donate it in that condition!
I've collected a bunch of lifehacks on Pinterest, and one I remembered was for just this sort of thing. I was pretty sure it was an oil-based stain, so I went into the kitchen and spritzed it with olive oil cooking spray. Saturated the stain and the area around it. Smooshed it into the stain--the idea is that it'll behave like a "fresh" stain, regardless of laundering. Gave it a moment, then grabbed the liquid dish detergent and massaged in a good dollop of that--it is, after all, designed to cut grease. I took it back and set the washer to "soak", waited til the water stopped running before I added that (had a few other things that weren't treated, but which would still benefit from immersion), and ended up letting the whole thing soak for about two days, because I was busy with other shit and kind of forgot about it. Anyway, cut to the point when I pulled it out of the dryer (again!), and this time, f there's a stain, I can't see it. So I ought to be able to wear it through one more season, anyway, at least until after surgery.
I've also been experiencing the urge to get really domestic and bake. This means getting a grip on my kitchen. This morning, I cleared off the one decent expanse of counter space I have--it really is an improvement--and went through and reorganized my spice cabinet. Now, hopefully, I won't have to take everything out just to find the paprika (or whatever). I built in some levels, with an empty cracker box at the back and an empty egg carton in front of that.Much better!
GK has decided that in addition to spatchcocking her turkey, she's going to make a cherpumple for dessert this Thanksgiving. (It's something like a pie inside of a pie inside of a cake?) She posted the video from YouTube that instigated the idea--I was gob-smacked, because that's pretty ambitious, and GK hates to cook. I personally think the cherpumple sounds revolting, but I still wouldn't miss this for anything.
My own plans are less ambitious. I *would* like to master the mysteries of pie crust simply to be able to but the make hand-pies and the like. I know, one can buy sheets of it at the store, but that seems like cheating. Not to mention most store-bought pies seem to be encased in oily plaster of Paris. I read an article recently where the writer conducted an experiment to see what produced the fluffiest, flakiest pie dough. She made it four different ways, with butter or lard as the shortening (butter was the winner), and with water or water with vodka as the liquid--the idea there being that the alcohol cooks off but the water is absorbed--the overall winner was butter with vodka and water. (There were pix of each of the four beside each other--it was pretty obvious!) I have vodka on hand; since I seldom drink the stuff, baking with it is a not-unreasonable idea--and butter is often on sale at this time of year.
My food stamp card reloads at midnight. I've already booked a ride to the grocery store. Now I must check the sale ads--!
Love to all.
.
First was the foot and ankle specialist. While I was quite fond of my former podiatrist, I don't care for the umbrella healthcare group he's with, for one thing. The new practice was recommended by a friend of GK's, and I was impressed by how thorough they are. For starters, the first thing they did was to x-ray both my feet. The doctor came in and actually discussed them with me. In addition to the neuropathy, which I've known about, my foot pain is also caused by pronounced arthritis in both feet, with a side order of plantar fasciaitis (which has been a recurring thing for about twenty years, no surprise there, either) The arthritis, though--I've known I have it elsewhere, but my feet? That certainly explains why just getting out of bed some mornings is so painful. Sometimes the 15 feet from bed to toilet is a killer! I have a prescription for shoes to help alleviate the discomfort while out and about--a good thing, because I've literally been wearing the same pair of Earthshoes for two years now. He also trimmed my toenails and dremmeled my calluses--I've reached the point where I have a hard time reaching that far, and because of the neuropathy, I've accidentally clipped chunks of toe without meaning to. VERY messy! So this was done for legit health reasons...does that make it a medi-pedi?
The other appointment was a referral from the bariatric clinic to have a venous ultrasound study done on my legs. I harbor the fond delusion that I'm a badass about pain, but when the technician pressed down firmly against some of the tender spots to check the valves in my veins, I squealed a bit. Not loudly, but I certainly didn't endure in stoic silence, either! The best part was, the technician actually had the balls to tell me that there were no clots in sight (which was what the bariatric doc was concerned about) and I need to have the veins above the knee done.
That frankly amazed me, because I've found that most of the time, techs won't admit to anything, good or bad--nope, "The doctor will discuss that with you.". I understand why, because I've dealt with enough idiots over the years, and an incautious answer by a tech could probably stir up Armageddon, but those of us who have more sense find it a major pain in the arse.
As for this weekend, it's been pretty productive. I've been working on my room this week--I've finally gotten all the boxes off the top of my dresser, yay!, done laundry, hung up mountains of clothes, and managed to save a top I'm very fond of.
I know that the trend of tops with added embellishments at the neckline is pretty well done, but I've got a magenta/fuchsia/raspberry pink 3/4 sleeve top with wide black plastic chain threaded with printed chiffon at the neckline. I got it at, of all places, Cracker Barrel, 6-7 years ago. I was with Mb, browsing after we ate, and I saw it and fell in love. It was the last of its kind on the rack, it was my size, and I've always taken that to mean It Was Meant to Be. It was in a load of laundry I did, and when I took it out of the dryer, I was horrified to see it had a big stain right across the boobs. And did I mention it just came out of the dryer?! I wouldn't even donate it in that condition!
I've collected a bunch of lifehacks on Pinterest, and one I remembered was for just this sort of thing. I was pretty sure it was an oil-based stain, so I went into the kitchen and spritzed it with olive oil cooking spray. Saturated the stain and the area around it. Smooshed it into the stain--the idea is that it'll behave like a "fresh" stain, regardless of laundering. Gave it a moment, then grabbed the liquid dish detergent and massaged in a good dollop of that--it is, after all, designed to cut grease. I took it back and set the washer to "soak", waited til the water stopped running before I added that (had a few other things that weren't treated, but which would still benefit from immersion), and ended up letting the whole thing soak for about two days, because I was busy with other shit and kind of forgot about it. Anyway, cut to the point when I pulled it out of the dryer (again!), and this time, f there's a stain, I can't see it. So I ought to be able to wear it through one more season, anyway, at least until after surgery.
I've also been experiencing the urge to get really domestic and bake. This means getting a grip on my kitchen. This morning, I cleared off the one decent expanse of counter space I have--it really is an improvement--and went through and reorganized my spice cabinet. Now, hopefully, I won't have to take everything out just to find the paprika (or whatever). I built in some levels, with an empty cracker box at the back and an empty egg carton in front of that.Much better!
GK has decided that in addition to spatchcocking her turkey, she's going to make a cherpumple for dessert this Thanksgiving. (It's something like a pie inside of a pie inside of a cake?) She posted the video from YouTube that instigated the idea--I was gob-smacked, because that's pretty ambitious, and GK hates to cook. I personally think the cherpumple sounds revolting, but I still wouldn't miss this for anything.
My own plans are less ambitious. I *would* like to master the mysteries of pie crust simply to be able to but the make hand-pies and the like. I know, one can buy sheets of it at the store, but that seems like cheating. Not to mention most store-bought pies seem to be encased in oily plaster of Paris. I read an article recently where the writer conducted an experiment to see what produced the fluffiest, flakiest pie dough. She made it four different ways, with butter or lard as the shortening (butter was the winner), and with water or water with vodka as the liquid--the idea there being that the alcohol cooks off but the water is absorbed--the overall winner was butter with vodka and water. (There were pix of each of the four beside each other--it was pretty obvious!) I have vodka on hand; since I seldom drink the stuff, baking with it is a not-unreasonable idea--and butter is often on sale at this time of year.
My food stamp card reloads at midnight. I've already booked a ride to the grocery store. Now I must check the sale ads--!
Love to all.
.