Going fishing, a woozy head, a humble apology & what happened Desi?

Friday morning I awoke early and made a cup of coffee, then got right to work installing that new toilet seat I bought on Thursday, so I could do a quick photo-blog about it.

In hindsight (no pun intended) I'd like to offer an apology for posting a blog yesterday about my new toilet seat.  I have better things to write about and ruminate on.  It's just been something I've been after myself to do for a couple years, and was glad I finally got around to getting it done.  But I didn't need to write a blog about it for crying out loud, who wants to see my throne anyway?   So... I'm sorry.

It wasn't too soon after posting it, I was sitting in front of my tv and eating my breakfast and watching a show about the Amish, my left temple & eyeball began to build with pressure and pain.  Left me with no choice but to head into the bedroom, shut the door and lie down until noon.  I cannot shake the symptoms of this long covid.  It flares up every day, sometimes in the eyes, sometimes in the sinuses and mouth, and when it does it makes it difficult to eat or drink anything besides warm coffee.   

I should be sorry for sharing all that too, but truthfully I'm not.  I only share this stuff on my blog or with one person, my friend Diana.  It's not as awful as it was 2 years ago, but it has still put a halt to normal, everyday living.  

After the head stuff died down somewhat, I put on my shoes and combed my hair and made a beeline for the door.  We're supposed to get a couple inches of the white stuff Sunday night, but on Friday it was 60F outside with big 50 mph winds and I wanted to be a part of it.  I headed up the street to the church for the start of this seasons Fish Fry, but  it was only 2pm and they didn't open their doors until 4, so I got this slab of fish at the deli instead.  Doesn't it look good?  It was sizzling in the container on my walk home.

Finally, I wanted to share this:

Why does this make me sad?  This is a recent photo of Lucie Arnaz hugging her brother Desi Arnaz Jr.  The caption said it was a "rare" public appearance by Desi.   

Lucie was born in June 1951, making her 74 years old.  Desi was born in January 1953, making him 73.  I don't know what Desi's been up to, but he looks like a hermit.

I think this struck a nerve with me because just recently, a couple weeks ago, I began watching Here's Lucy on the Roku Channel.  Do you remember this show?   It aired Monday nights at 9pm on CBS, from 1968 to 1974.

It starred a wailing fiftysomething Lucy, a bellowing sixtysomething Gale Gordon, and Lucy's smirking, eye rolling kids Desi & Lucie as Craig & Kim Carter.  Sometimes the kids came across a bit square--"My brother owns all your records, Mr. Wayne Newton!"  but they usually played their rebellious teen parts well.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated with this pair--I knew they were real-life siblings and thought they were groovy.  I watched the show (when I could) just to see them.  Sometimes it would just be Mom & myself still up, and she'd say "Honey, isn't there anything else on tv?  That broad (Lucy) gives me a headache."   But sometimes we'd talk about Lucy's kids, and wonder about their famous lives.  

I don't know where I'm going here... it just makes me sad to see Desi looking so alone, and so old.  I'm getting my first social security check this week and that's nice.  But I'm getting old too, and that's not so great.  At the risk of sounding mean, I don't want to look as old as Desi here in a few years time.  I am definitely never growing a beard.

Doug the Handyman at your service

The other day, my blogger friend Margaret posted a picture of her guy John installing a new thermostat in her refrigerator and it inspired me to be a handyman too.

For the last couple years I've been wanting to replace my toilet seat.  You can't tell from the photo above, the lid is closed--but the seat is a real mess.  

DO NOT USE CLOROX BLEACH WIPES ON PAINTED WOODEN TOILET SEATS.

Over the past 3-4 years, the bleach from those wipes ate into the white enamel, causing streaks and splotches.  It gave the appearance of being an unclean seat.  

I walked up the street to my local hardware store (and was woozy and soaked when I arrived, I think I'm still recovering from that flu last week) and was surprised at the number of toilet seats they had.  Plastic, wood, soft close, padded, round, elongated.  Those padded seats looked nice, but I worked in Home Improvements in the 1980s, and padded toilet seats never seemed to last long.  

Also, I need the ability to stand on the lid if need be, to hang Damp-Rid bags in my bathroom ceiling in the summer.  Seats ranged from $14.95 to $32.95, mine cost $25.00.   I thought they'd be more.

Ta-da!  To be honest, I had a heck of a time removing the bolts from the old one, you definitely need a wrench for both the removal and installation.  But this new seat fits like a charm and now I won't have to go into a frenzied explanation if a houseguest asks to use my powder room.   

My work for the day is done, think I'll go make a late breakfast.  🛠

Kuhn's before & after--and a little guilt, and a little rage

The picture on the top is my home away from home, Kuhn's Supermarket.  It's your average 1960's-sized supermarket, and has always suited me just fine.  I've been shopping there 35 years.

The bottom photo (I took this Saturday) shows the NEW Kuhn's they're nearing completion of, and it's MAMMOTH.  It's the size of 3 of the old Kuhn's lined up next to one another, and is slated to open this summer.  When I walked to the store on Saturday and saw Mike (the manager) I expressed my surprise and asked what they intend to put in there.  One of the cashiers said "We're going to have our own bakery, pizza shop and a big hot foods station, right Mike?"  He said yes, and a few more surprises.

I'm excited, but a little nervous too.  I know life is all about progress, but do we really need a superstore in my little neighborhood?  My belly may be rounder than average, but there's only so much it can hold.  I'd love to know what they're going to do with the original store.  More to come... stay tuned.

This may sound silly or dumb, but I did something the last two nights and I don't feel great about it.  When it comes to tv, I watch the Roku Channel & Peacock for free.  I watch HBO Max & Paramount Plus, which I pay for.

I pay an annual amount of  $139.00 a year for Paramount ad-free, and $159.00 a year for HBO Max ad-free.  They are both coming up for their yearly renewal in March.

So, two nights ago I'm looking around for something new to watch on HBO Max, and wasn't that impressed.  Curious, I went to my Accounts page, than my subscription page and saw a "Cancel Subscription" button.  Wonder what would happen if I clicked it?  So I did.

Right away I got a "Don't Go" pop-up, and an offer of  $40 off my next renewal on March 21.  I never had any intention of canceling, I was just playing around.  But sure, I'll take a $40 discount.

So last night, I'm sitting here watching Paramount Plus and thinking "I wonder if I could do that again?" and went to my Paramount subscription page, saw my annual payment was due March 3 and clicked 'Cancel Subscription'.  I got this.

I hit "Redeem Offer" and just like that, my annual price of $139.00 dropped to $69.00 on my billing page.  

(If you subscribe to HBO Max or Paramount, and pay an annual amount like I do... you might want to check this out, and save yourself a few bucks too.)

The thing is, I wasn't looking to save and wasn't planning to cancel either.  I like both services very much and feel I get my money's worth (especially as I don't have to sit thru any ads).  But it was my understanding Paramount Plus was underwater and here I am, squeezing them further?  They're just a big corporation, right?  I still feel guilty.

Finally, is anyone using TurboTax Online to do their taxes?  I'm ready to hurt somebody.  I get on there to do my taxes, I keep getting interrupted with "Do you want  Expert Help?  Say the word!"    

After completing the Income portion of my taxes (where they graciously offered to download my investment documents from Vanguard and I accepted)  I kept getting "Before we can proceed, you need to review."   I checked the various numbers I'd entered with the numbers on the forms they downloaded, they all matched up.  But every time I hit proceed, I got "Unable to continue, you need to review."

Finally an emoji of an Asian woman appeared, saying "Expert help is here!  Click on me to take over for $59.95!"  NO THANK YOU, ASIAN LADY.  I gave up and signed off, and went to bed.

As I lay there in the darkness, I wondered if it was something on their end, not mine.  I got back up, looked at the online document and what they downloaded.  That's when I noticed Turbotax chopped off the "CO" in the payer name.

VANGUARD FIDUCIARY TRUST CO  (the Payer Name on my investment form)

VANGUARD FIDUCIARY TRUST        (the Payer Name that Turbotax downloaded)

I added "CO" to the Payer Name they downloaded to my tax form, hit enter--and sure enough, the "review" box disappeared. So, they wanted me to pay them an additional $59.95 to locate THEIR typographical error??

If that Asian lady emoji had a neck, I'd strangle it--just kidding!  Okay, deep breath... relax... back to my taxes.

Recovery from the flu, love in the afternoon & I can't forget LC now

Friday morning I awoke with a damp undershirt and wet hair; took my temp, 98.6.  I guess I was cured?  Got out of bed, woozily stumbled into my kitchen and made a cup of coffee.  Went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth... I was out of breath.  Went back into the bedroom, began pulling my germy blankets off my bed.  Had to stop & catch my breath.  Sat down for a break, turned on my tablet and read a morning email from my sister Shawn asking how I was doing.  

I said I was recovered but pretty weak and had trouble catching my breath.  She said she was worried I may have developed pneumonia.  I didn't know how to respond to that.  As the morning moved into afternoon I got progressively pooped and canceled my plans for the day.  I read mostly and slept, and was in bed by 8pm.

This morning I awoke around 4:30am with a SOPPING WET undershirt, soaked bedsheets and a dripping head.  I guess yesterday's "break" was only a trial run.  I scrambled out of that wet bed and into the shower, put on some fresh clothes and stripped off my sheets.  Sprayed my mattress topper with Tide Sanitizing Spray (I love this stuff) then pounded that new topper for good measure, flipped it and turned it and remade the bed with my favorite crisp Indian cotton sheets.   

Feeling a lot better than the day before, I sprinted down the hall to the laundry room (it was empty and no one was on the calendar until noon).  Took all my germy bedclothes down there, got some hot suds going and came back to my apartment and made a cup of coffee.  Sat down on the couch and turned on my TV for the first time in a week when I heard a knock at my door.

When I opened it, there was Sally--a special needs woman who lives on the third floor.  She's in her late fifties and is a tiny thing, not even 5 feet tall.  She was holding a red envelope and smiling, and gave it to me.  It was this nice Valentines Day card above.  I read it and thanked her for the sweet card, and said "Sally I wish I could give you a hug, but I've been sick with the flu all week and just made a recovery this morning.  When you have a cold you're only contagious for 3 days, but when you get the flu you're contagious for a week."

She nodded okay while slowly tip-toeing backward.  I know Sally pretty well, she's a real germaphobe.  Good for her.  

After Sally left, I headed back to the laundry room to put my washed bedclothes in the dryer.  The right side of my face began to hurt and swell along the jawline.  Hello LC (long covid).  I felt like it's saying "Hey pal, I gave ya a break but you didn't think I was gone for good, did ya?"  Nope.  Came back to my apartment, got an ice pack for my lower face, worked on my shopping list for tomorrow.  I'm craving crusty rolls and polish sausage and hot mustard, potato chips and maybe some grapefruit soda.  This has been a long week.  I'm having microwave chocolate cake tonight.

Finally, turned on Peacock to search for something good to watch and found this movie that was just playing in theaters at Christmas, Song Sung Blue starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.  

They play a real life couple from Milwaukee, Claire & Mike Sardina who fell in love and formed a Neil Diamond tribute band that lasted from 1989-2006.  How is it I've never heard of this before?  I just finished watching this and it's so special, so wonderful my heart's about ready to burst.  I love these two.

I hope this wasn't too boring a read, I really wanted to thank everyone for your kind comments to my flu-post earlier this week.  It really came out of nowhere, but I suppose things like the flu always does.

I hope everyone reading this is enjoying their Valentine's Day, thanks again.

It's the flu, at least that I know for certain

This is going to be a first for me. I'm going to post a blog while laying on my back.  I just wanted to say I may not be writing or reafing other blogs right now, apparently I've got thr flu.

The irony here kills me--my last post I wrote about being good from the neck down (because of probiotics).  And then on Sunday, I'd just finished a nice dinner of baked chicken, roasted broccoli & mashed potatoes and was settling in to watch the Superbowl (of course I'm a Steelers fan but my friend Margaret's Seahawks was playing) when I got an increasingly painful stabbing in my stomach.  Gall bladder attack.

It's been awhile but it's not something you forget.  It lasted from 8:20 to 10:30, by the time it ended I was so worn out I went to bed,  Fell asleep, woke up at 1am with a bad fever and every inch of my body in awful pain.

And this is the only place I've been since Sunday night, in this bed. It takes everything in me just to get up to use the bathroom or to get some juice & water.  The fever has been awful, keeps climbing up to 103.8 then dies down after a couple hours, then back up again... last night I could not get a wink of sleep, I asked AI what to do.  It suggested a very cold wet washcloth on the head and that did the trick.

I haven't had any coffee since Sunday mormng, and this is from someone who drinks 4-5 cups a day.  I just realized, is my brain having caffeine withdrawal?  It's been aching nonstop since Monday.

Also haven't had a thing to eat--well, 2 bites of the top half of a Thomas' English Muffin.  Just the thought of any food makes me queasy.

Anyway, this morning it occurred to me--what if this is covid?   I had a couple test kits in my medicine cabinet, took one, it came up negative (below).   But the box says "EXP DATE:  11/25".  That's only a couple months, right?  That shouldn't be a big deal right?

Okay I need to close this up and try to eat a bowl of cereal or something.  (It jsut has to be cold.  No hot foods.)  Thank you for reading, hope everyone out there is well and Margaret I sure was glad to hear who won that game. 😊

All things considered, my system is looking good from the neck down

First things first, I'm a little bummed.  I woke up this morning "smelling long covid"  (the distinct odor of burnt hair & eggs in my nostrils) and a sore face & neck, and mild burning around my eyes.  Hoping it doesn't last the whole day.  But yesterday (Friday) I woke up feeling pretty good, and it stayed that way throughout the day.  I walked thru a pretty heavy snowstorm at 10am to get a haircut, then to Kuhn's for some spicy pineapple ham for breakfast sandwiches and some fried fish, stewed tomatoes and jalapeno macaroni for my Friday dinner.

Came home to find a voicemail from my old friend Roger, and we got into a lively discussion about the future of Star Trek and physical media.  All nerdy stuff and a lot of fun.  Late last night while 45 mph winds whipped thru the city and dumped another 3 inches of snow, I made some hot cocoa and wrote a new blog about our talk--then changed my mind about posting it this morning.  (But if you want to see it, let me know!)

I just wish I could be thru with these long covid symptoms once and for all.  It makes no sense how it can come on so strong for days, then vanish overnight for a day.  At the start of this past week I was looking at the Senior Center's monthly activity calendar and saw they had a lunch outing planned for Feb 11 to the Walnut Grille, a very nice restaurant.  I haven't been on a senior lunch outing since September, so I sent in a request to join them for lunch that day.

They kindly responded and told me I couldn't come, they'd already reached their quota of people and suggested next time I let them know sooner.  A week's notice wasn't enough?  Bummer.  I plan to make something extra special for dinner on Wednesday.

Anyway, I'm getting off track here.  I may boo-hoo about my chronic post-covid discomfort or missed lunch opportunities, but I don't take the good stuff for granted either.  Back in October I wrote a post (it's right here) about my IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), something I've been wrestling with for 10 years.  I was diagnosed with it in 2019. 

Weekly bouts of painful stomach cramps (some have sent me to the ER), extreme bloating that lasts for 3-4 weeks, extended trips to the bathroom several times a day, constant dosing of Pepto-Bismol for chronic diarrhea or Dulcolax for week-long bouts of constipation.  

Then one night on the news I saw a story where probiotics was helping people with their IBS symptoms, contacted my doctor and told him about the story.  I must've studied and read reviews on 25 different brands, until settling on the label Physician's Choice.  They weren't cheap, but not terribly expensive either.  Around $40.00 for a 60 day supply.

It occurred to me just recently that in the last 3 1/2 months, I have not taken a SINGLE dose of Pepto, Mira-Lax, Gas-X, or Dulcolax.   That isn't a "That's nice, Doug" thing--that's huge.  I was accustomed to using these products daily.  I did have one "gallbladder attack" (I'm not sure that was it, but it felt like it) a couple weeks ago, but it only lasted 30 minutes.  Not 2-3 hours like it always used to.

I told my friend Diana this the other night, and said "It could just be a coincidence, but I've been dealing with IBS issues daily for years.  And 2 weeks after I began taking those probiotics in October, they stopped?"  She said "Oh yes, I'm sure it's just a coincidence!"

Just thought I'd share that update, since it's such a positive one.  If you ever wrestle with such things, this might be something to consider.  I sure hope I didn't jinx anything and wind up in the bathroom all day tomorrow!  I also hope this wasn't TMI.  I think I'll grab a cup of coffee and a couple cookies, and re-read that Trek blog I wrote last night.  Maybe I'll post it after all. 😏

Dumb but True Stories, Vol. 3: All I need now is a shawl and a Tweety-Bird

Recently I told my friend Diana that it was time to start living vicariously, and when she asked what I meant by that, I said that after years of eating only Corn Chex I was going to try every flavor of Chex cereal available at the market.

Wheat Chex, Chocolate Chex, Honey Nut Chex, Peanut Butter Chex, Cinnamon Chex, Blueberry Chex.  (There's also a Strawberry Vanilla Chex, but it's not at my store.)

I have to say I enjoyed both the Chocolate Chex and Peanut Butter Chex cereals very much.  

It was only after I finished both boxes that it occurred to me, why didn't I have a bowl of both cereals mixed together?  "Hey, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!"  "Well, you got your peanut butter on my chocolate!"

Remember those old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercials from the '70s?

Anyway, the Blueberry Chex was last on my list.  After having a bowl, I called Diana and told her I felt sort of funny.  She asked what I meant.  I said I had an overwhelming urge to wrap a shawl around my shoulders, buy a tweety bird and take up knitting.  The cereal made me feel like Granny from those old Warner Bros cartoons.

Diana asked what the ingredients of the cereal were.  I said "The others are hearty corn or wheat.  This one is rice lace, dusted with Blueberry Powder and Rosemary Extract.  If that doesn't sound like little old lady ingredients, then I don't know what does."

While Diana rolled her eyes, I shivered and told her I had to go.  I wanted to make a hot cup of tea and watch my story, then look at old photos and organize my pill bottles.

Not wanting to be a Grannydug again anytime soon, I went back to my regular Corn Chex (and Grape Nut Flakes, that's been my favorite since I was 12).  But a couple days ago, I was at the store in the cereal aisle, and saw the Blueberry Chex, and told myself "Just buy the darn cereal Doug, it's not made for grannies only."  

I headed up front and got in Jessie's aisle (the 21 year old checker who likes to tease and call me 'Boomer', I wrote about her before here).

Jessie smiled at me, and asked how my day was going.  She's a nice young woman.  When she got to the Blueberry Chex, she said "Oh, you'll really like this."  I said "Do you like it?"   She said "No I've never tried it.  But it's the only cereal my grandmother eats, she loves it!"  

I can't believe it, again: Five recent things with surprise happy endings

Shortly after I posted my last post "I can't believe it, 7 recent things" a few good things happened to me and I just wanted to share.

1.  I think YouTube was eavesdropping, but that's okay

This past Friday night I was sitting quietly on my couch reading, when the text alert sounded on my phone.  I jumped to grab it, and do you see that yellow cup with juice on the right?  That's where a cup of hot coffee was, and I knocked it over, splattering the carpet below.

I had a 12" round, dark brown coffee stain on my carpet.  I blotted up as much as I could with paper towels, sprayed it with Resolve Carpet Cleaner, scrubbed it... went to bed.

When I got up Saturday morning, there was a 12" round rust colored stain on the rug.  Oh no!  I googled "large coffee stain on carpet" and AI suggested I make a baking soda paste, smear it on the stain, spray it with vinegar & water.  I did all this, the stain remained.

I decided to take a break from that damn spot and watch some tv.  I clicked on the YouTube channel.  The FIRST thing I saw was "How professionals remove rug stains".  How did they know??  A man demonstrated spraying a stain with 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, placing a wet kitchen hand towel over the affected carpet and "ironing it away" with a steam iron set on High.  I did that and look above.  My stain is gone.  Thank you YouTube, you saved my carpet and I never even asked.

2.  I'll tumble for ya 

After I finished admiring my rug, I jumped in the shower.  I dropped the soap, and when I bent down to pick it up, felt my left foot slide forward and did a literal flip in the tub, smashing the guard on the side of my tub and literally flying out of it.  My head smacked into the side of my toilet, knocking it over, water gushed everywhere.  I landed on my back on the floor with a really loud SLAP, face up, heart racing, out of breath.  

And aside from a slight scratch on one leg, I am fine. (I righted the toilet, Steiner is coming to inspect the "o" ring and replace the water guard.) 

It was such a hard fall, I could've easily gotten a concussion, deep laceration, broken a limb or even my back.  I just got up and walked away.

3. Curse you Xfinity!  Thank you Xfinity!

On Friday I saw a commercial for a couple of movies premiering on Peacock this week, and wondered if I should sign up.  I'm already a regular subscriber to HBO Max & Paramount Plus, I don't want to pay for a third streaming service.

I jumped on my Xfinity account (it's how I get my internet) and saw I had a couple messages alerting me I was a "Platinum" member now, I should check out my perks.  Yes Xfinity, I know all about your so called perks, I'll pass.  Unable to find any deals for Peacock, I clicked on the "Your Perks" message out of curiosity and saw a mobile phone discount, yawn--and an offer for Peacock Premium, for free.  I contacted Customer Service.  For real?  Yep!

4. The folks at Falk Pharmacy are life savers

Last Saturday there was a fat yellow envelope in my mailbox from Falk Pharmacy in downtown Pittsburgh.  (Since Rite-Aid closed in my neighborhood, I get my prescriptions delivered thru the mail now, from Falk.)  I opened the envelope, it's a refill of the Amlodipine I take for high blood pressure.

Why'd they send these? I didn't request a refill, I've got plenty of pills upstairs.  I call them up, the pharmacist said that according to his records I was down to 5 pills and with a big winter storm on the way, I may not have mail delivery anytime soon.  I said thank you, hung up and chuckled to myself.  Worry warts, when did we ever go without mail?  I check my old bottle, oops--only 5 pills in there.  He was right.  And later that night, a foot of snow.    

And because of our city's snowplow shortage, we didn't have mail delivery for a week.  Falk, you are one awesome pharmacy.  

5. Speaking of good folks...

I somehow managed to find some great people online to look at my blog and read my latest post, and you are one of them.  Thank you.