We did what??

 Tonight for supper we had (gasp!) salad!!  Lettuce was on sale for $2.99 (did you ever believe you would feel that was a good price!). Of course, after I bought a tomato, cucumber and pepper it was a lot more. But, I really, really loved it!  I have 5 salad dressings in the fridge that haven’t been used in quite a long time.  Today is the last night of our cold snap.  (-42 with wind chill☹️). Tomorrow we start to warm up. It has been a long stretch. Even Lucky hasn’t wanted to be outside. (Out for a quick pee and back to his couch). Tomorrow we will go for at least a short walk.  Rrain tested positive for COVID this week, but her only bad symptom is that she is exhausted. Her breathing is good, which is what I worry about. I made onion soup today too. I am going to freeze a few bags for future use. And that is about all I did this week, except buy a  non-winning lottery ticket☹️. Love you guys♥️

Any bills these days shout.... EeeK

 Good morning all,

We brace for the cold here to day and tomorrow. The worst days, and then it gets mild again - maybe too mild as it calls for some 0 C days next week, and that could cause some ? rain, possibly? That would not be nice. The night temps in the greenhouse went down and I almost blamed the weather but that day brought with it some flickering of lights inside, and I took pause at the time but did not follow up with checking the heaters. Sure enough one of the two had gone out which often happens with the slightest flicker of power. So some manipulation and some taping of doors and a tarp on top and we are good to go again and hopefully get us through the - 35 C called for with wind chill besides. You folks have endured it already but we are just getting a taste of it now. And it has snowed every day and night meaning shoveling every morning. How i wish it were late Spring or Summer haha!

The comments about Coverage and insurance makes we wonder what I might be able to do. I have thought of inquiring with Blue Cross to see if it might be possible, but in meantime i depend on Harry's minimal coverage with his Provincial pension. I lost my great coverage from my work HOOPP when I reached 65 and was cut off.

Doing more cleanup in the house lately and it is amazing what one finds in boxes or hidden on shelves etc. But i could get used to this "purging" feeling - it is uplifting and therapeutic 😊

I go to my next Physio appt tomorrow and I am sure he will put me through the paces again, and likely give me increased exercises to continue at home. It is slow but it is improving (I think).

Time for some breakfast and then on with the day. Take care and stay safe and warm and bring on the sun!

Eeek! An ambulance bill!

 There are a lot of very scary things around, and one of them is an ambulance bill that wasn't expected.  But it turned out to be a good things.  We were forced to spend time talking to Blue Cross about whether we had any coverage, and it turns out that we have 100% coverage for as many ambulance rides as we want, as long as we keep paying our premiums. This is a separate program from any other medical related items.  We also found out that there is also a separate program for most mobility items such as wheelchairs and walkers, that would also be 100%, considering that we both have coverage, and both plans can be used in conjunction. After getting that information, we had to talk to the finance branch of Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service, and got all of our coverage information updated  No more bills, but I think we'll keep paying our Blue Cross premiums as long as physically possible.

Monday I saw a massage therapist for my whiplash.  When I left I kept checking my neck area to may sure I had my jacket done up and was wearing my scarf--the area felt so "light weight'.  Of course it was because she had worked all of the tension out of the area.  It came back fairly quickly, but now I want to make a few more appointments with her.  We have some limited coverage for this as well, but up to a yearly limit of $450.  When I got home we talked about maybe having to pay her full fee at some point, and felt that might be possible.

The other effects of the fall linger, especially in my tailbone, although she massaged that out a fair bit as well.  But today is not one of my better days, with general back and hip pain, so I gave the meeting in Lorette a miss, and spent the time in my studio, completely forgetting the beets I had put on for supper.  Thankfully, David rescued those.  Now he's making fried rice to go with Cathy's BBQ pork recipe.  There should be enough pork left over for Saturday's supper.

We received a very nice "thank you" note from the Gallery in Selkirk, along with a grocery store gift card.  I need to send a "thank you" for that, and hope to get to it in the next day or so.  Anything that helps buy groceries is welcome.  I added up last month's food costs, and it was the second highest ever, just behind September when we bought all the meat for the freezer.  I've started putting more emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables, and that can impact the final grocery bill, too.  However, I have to say that we're eating well. lol

On that note, it's time to say good bye.  Supper's ready.  Stay Safe ladies.

The most exciting thing this week

 just happens to be a new plunger.  Yep, A recalcitrant toilet and two very old plungers, neither of which was working. So off to the store.  David dropped me off to start the grocery shopping and headed to Lowe's, where he found not one, but two new plungers.  One was the old style that we're all familiar with, while the other was a very sleek machine with a pump action rather than a plunge action. The biggest event since Monday.

The weekly meal planning appears to be working.  We're both eating better, but I'm taking cues from my time with Dr. Phil, when planning menus, so my weight has remained stable.  We appear to be spending a bit more on fresh food, but I'm waiting until the end of month when I total up my expenses, to find out for sure.  And I'm wondering if it really matters.  Most of our meat is coming out of the freezer, which is getting bare--not a bad thing.  Some of the meat has been there far to long.

For the past couple of days, I've been wearing the jeans I bought last week. They were a bit too small, but for $5 I figured I would wear them even if I had to tie the waist together with a rope.  But I got them on, and done up properly, and have been quite comfortable wearing them.  Bonus!

Best get busy. It's after noon and I'm still in my nightie.  Work to be done.  Stay safe, ladies.

Who needs a clean house😇

 The other day I looked from the landing into the basement and saw what a disaster it was. The next morning, first thing, I attacked it…. And it made a difference. The next day I was going to do some more but got distracted by Jim’s beer fridge.  Yes, it was thrown away by some one else, but he has been promising me for months that he would clean it. It is done now and I must admit that I have actually gone downstairs and opened it, just to admire the difference. Today I tackled “his” rec room. I moved all the furniture, vacuumed every where and washed all the floors. All the “stuff” piled on different surfaces I put in one place and told Jim to deal with it. And now, it is 9:23pm and I cannot move a muscle. I optimistically told everyone that I would do the sink and bar tomorrow but I think I will be lucky if I can get out of bed☹️.  But I did accomplish something. And the snow I need to shovel will melt by spring. I have boots if I have to get out of the house😜. Love you guys. 

Let it snow....

 Hi to you both,

An early morning note before I get going for the day. We really got hit with a lot of snow yesterday and last night and it is still snowing. You know what I'll be doing shortly. Outside I go and into the snow with shovel in hand. I think back to Nov and Dec when we were so smug enjoying the fact that it was still green out there haha! Now we pay for it.  Today i must go to the Library to return my books and hopefully take out another. Now that I am getting back into the swing of it again, I think I shall enjoy it.  Also this morning I have to move the cord and heater from the big greenhouse and put it into the little greenhouse to make two heaters working in there. This is where Harry has already planted some pots with seeds and the coming cold weather ( polar votex is it?) will cause some concern if the greenhouse cannot maintain its warmth. So we will leave the big greenhouse unheated until things settle down.

So I better get some breakfast and get on with it. Hope all is going OK with you both. Thinking of you... 👀❤

A special coffee break

 Had "coffee" with Loren and Amber Friday night.  Coffee is a misnomer, as I was  the only one drinking coffee, both Loren and Amber enjoyed chai latte, and David had nothing.

The big news is that Loren is going to Thailand in a couple of weeks.  He decided it was time for a break, did a bit of research, and organized a tour for himself, making reservations in B&B's.  He laughs and says that he had to make a choice between some home renovations and a trip to Thailand--tough choice--not! He did the same thing a few years back when he went to Spain and France.  Amber talked about what it was like when your child turns 18, and becomes a legal adult, especially when the child owns a car and has a job.  Yes, Jess has found herself a good job as a Nanny.  Amber, herself, has been told that her office will be going to in office work two days a week.  The other members of her team, including the Team Leader, live in B.C, and Alberta. This is also despite the fact that she has been working at home for several years--before Covid.  Purely as a means of getting workers into the downtown again.

Yesterday's horoscope spoke to me a bit.

    "This is an excellent day to think about your spiritual, mystical          and inner values.  It's perfectly appropriate to withdraw from the       busyness of things around you so you have a quiet time to think          about your world."

I've been doing this, to a certain extent, but my efforts have dwelt far more in the area of physical health than mental health.  Sounds like it's time to switch gears.

David visited the gerontologist for a re-assessment on Wednesday.  We now know that he has improved significantly since his initial assessment, 3 months ago, probably because of the stimulation from the whole Day Hospital experience.  After hearing how we've been managing everything, she told us that we were doing everything exactly right and to carry on.

Also last Wednesday, I made it to the group in Lorette.  There were only 5 of us, and we had a good discussion on politics, only to realize that we were all speaking to the same side of the discussion.  We also agreed not to have that sort of discussion when the group is larger.

That's it for today.  later I have to plan some menus for the next week, and a shopping list based on those menus.  Then some desperately need studio time devoted to my work.  I've been working on something for Gail that just didn't work.  I'll be glad to get back to donation quilts.

Stay safe, but enjoy life.