Here’s the Thursday catch-up post.
Good news: I don’t need a kidney specialist.
There’s other stuff worth putting into print, too. So, here we go!
On August 2nd I Wrote:
5976 steps at 1:01 P.M.
Have a text in to Lydia re my ballot. I hope she has a printer so I can send it to her to print so I can sign it and email the ballot back before the August 4th election deadline.
UPDATE: Lydia didn’t get back to me, so my ballot didn’t get counted. But the good news is that everyone I would have voted for won (usually by quite a lot), so that’s good! I will be sure to get my midterm ballot taken care of as soon as I get it so I don’t run up against a deadline for that one!
Walked with Cindy, Oliver, Dogi and Harper this morning. It’s Sunday and I’m feeling like a slug. FINE, but weary. Didn’t get a lot of truly restful sleep last night.
Today is Val (Chase) Barrett’s birthday.
She’s lookin’ GOOD except for (sadly) having her arm in a sling from a fall. I think she’s seven months older than I am. If not, I’m older than she is by five months. Whatever! Close enough!
She was a Cle Elum classmate and has always been a gem, one of the few I actually remember super well. Her dad owned and published the Cle Elum newspaper — and there was a “sperm conversation” incident in junior high (that I have mentioned before in an earlier blog post) that I will never forget as long as I live. (Most of us were farm/ranch kids, so to have a junior high classmate ask the science teacher what “sperm” was after he mentioned the term threw us all into temporary shocked silence followed by uproarious bemused laughter as we waited for the teacher to explain!)
Val and I were among the few known CREATIVES in the class with aspirations to become actors and writers, so we’ve been kindred spirits forever. We did skits together, were in plays together, and had a lot of fun. She is delightful.
I need to tell her this and maybe add her to WhatsApp if she has it or is willing to download it so we can chat virtually. I’m sure she’d be delighted to know about the 100% positive lasting impression I have of her.
There are others as well from Cle Elum
Sandy and Corean “Corky” Scott (cousins), Becky Montgomery, Susan Rossetti (whose mother was my English teacher and my chief mentor/encourager, about whom you have read before in these posts; if not, do a search on Alpha Rossetti and several posts will pop up about her!), Launa Thompson (R.I.P), Gil Jacobs (R.I.P), Mike Mansfield, Melody (Ruhl) Griffin, the Krafts (Karen, Kathy/Kate, Ben, Fred, Ace), the Lindoff brothers (Duane, Billy and Bruce), Larry Fehr, and more. I wasn’t super close with any of them (because I lived six miles outside of town and only saw them in class or during class hours) other than the Krafts, who lived about three miles away and who we visited by riding horses, motorcycles or snowmobiles, depending on the season). Among the closest (meaning fondest of) others were Gil Jacobs, Larry Fehr, Becky, Corean, and Launa.
But Val and I were probably the most kindred of spirits
even though we didn’t hang out together the most. When we did, we were always in our element — writing, acting, presenting, doing something creative and dreaming of futures that would keep our spirits soaring.
Memories — amorphous, indistinct, not all pleasant, of course. But MOSTLY pleasant, in retrospect! I’ve been very fortunate. Truly! My life hasn’t been overly dramatic OR traumatic, my neurodiverse nature notwithstanding. I’ve bitched and griped plenty (in my journals), exposing my inner thoughts and reactions, but rarely have I ever DISPLAYED/EXPRESSED them in the moment. Had several memorable meltdowns as a child (when I was unable to name my distress in words) and once as an adult for the same reason, but I learned to mask them in the vast majority of instances. My DR. HYDE has remained pretty well contained for the most part. (T-Wrecks has exposed him for all the world to see but very few others have been able to drag him out of me: Mitch McConnell, my dad (at times)… Malignant narcissists and clueless MAGA cultists, mainly.
My sense of justice/fairness is ACUTE
Painfully acute. Seeing cruelty or mistreatment of any kind upsets me viscerally, even when I approximate it during a meltdown or an accurate assessment of a person or situation: e.g., calling someone delusional, deluded or brainwashed. I feel like a mother bear or cat defending their offspring! But I consider that a good/survival trait, not a handicap. Empathy drives me usually — even when I call someone deluded. I want to help them see REALITY and not the facade they’re seeing.
ANYWAY! Enough of that! This stream-of-consciousness stuff takes me places I don’t even know I’m going until I get there!
7:20 p.m. Cancel RED ALERT!
As you know, Cindy Winder and I are each other’s twice-daily wellness checkers. So, when she didn’t respond to my 6:05 text tonight, I tried calling her twice — at 6:50 and 6:55. No answer!!! So, then I emergency called her two vehicle-owning friends who live nearby (in case Cindy needed immediate transport somewhere after a fall perhaps) and asked them to check on her. (Asked two of them because the first one didn’t answer his phone or text me back right away, and I wanted to be sure someone was going to check on her STAT!)
Both of the neighbors got back to me within a half hour saying she’s fine and that her phone had been somehow switched to airplane mode. So, I got Cindy’s alternate number so I can try that one, too, before calling for a physical check on her.
All’s well that ends well, but it freaked me out not to hear back from her, let me tell you! I will be SOOOOO glad to be able to walk with her again tomorrow. You just never know when the last time is that you will ever connect with someone you care about will happen, and I was worried that it might have happened TONIGHT!
On August 3rd I Wrote
5522 steps at 12:07 p.m.
Walked with Cindy, Oreo, Lucy and Ivy this morning.
Started a new crockpot soup at 8 a.m. so I have lunch or dinner tonight. Had to borrow a small can of sweet corn from Deb because I realized I was out. I will replace it and get more next trip to town.
Eating celery sticks now.
It’s cool and cloudy today. Perfect for me.
Deb hasn’t listed this property yet. She is still reviewing the contract terms.
My Kidney Doctor Appointment Is This Wednesday
… instead of next because the doctor had to change his schedule for some reason. I’m glad. The sooner I hear his assessment, the sooner I can adapt or receive confirmation that all is well and I don’t need to change anything.
Dog Dentistry is Scheduled for 8:30 Tomorrow
Dogi and Oliver get their teeth cleaned tomorrow, so I will be DRA. Cristina’s vet tech again. Looking forward to it.
UPDATE: The dentistry appointment went very well. The dogs recovered side-by-side and were up and about again before noon. No pictures were taken this time, but it was pretty much the same setup as before.
At Christmastime if I can swing it
…I’m going to by myself a macaw or sloth or monkey sculpture that I’ve had my eyes on since I arrived here almost a year ago. I’ve been telling myself “NO!” but they’re “talking to me” even after all this time, so they can no longer be considered an “impulse buy.” I can already envision them in my home making it look more like Costa Rica than it does right now! They’re over $100 USD each, so maybe one per year. Or one upon gaining pensionado residency approval, if that happens before Christmas. I need an OCCASION to give myself permission to get one! They’re luxuries, not necessities! I’ll take a picture of them at some time so you can see why I love them so.
I just hope no one else snags them before I can — but so far, so good!
I Make Excellent Crockpot Soup
Enjoy making it, too — a first for me! (I’ve never been much of a cook.) Prep time is only about 15 minutes.
I chop the vegetables (celery stalks and leaves, potatoes, and whatever else I may have on hand that can be added), dump in a package of pollo y fideos soup mix, add mixed fruit juice and water, spice it up some, and then place a sliced, frozen chicken breast into the crockpot. I set the timer for about five hours.
About an hour before it’s ready, I add the celery tops, a can of sweet corn and start the timer for another hour.
To serve it, I put a ladle or two of it over a half cup or so of brown rice, add a little cheddar cheese, black bean frijoles, a little Lizano sauce and sometimes a handful of mixed nuts and then heat that up for about two minutes when the crockpot soup is already hot; when it’s cold right out of the fridge, I nuke it for five+ minutes or until the whole dish is piping hot. It’s exquisite! I usually eat it once or twice a day. Never get tired of it!
On August 5 at 1:45 I wrote
5700 steps so far today.
It’s pouring rain!!! Sure hope it lets up before Cindy and I leave for Clinica Sanchez at 3:15 or I might drown on the walk to telephone pole #70 (at the bottom of my driveway). That’s a exaggeration, but my feet and legs could get mighty wet even with an umbrella overhead!
Thunder off in the distance…
Less rain now (five minutes later).
A mosquito or spider bit the top of my ear a couple days ago. It is still swollen and occasionally itches. I’m keeping an eye on it. (Update: It’s fine now.)
The kidney doctor appointment will cost $130 USD. If a test or tests are ordered, it will be more. I’m hoping for a good report. Don’t need any pricey complications or medications cropping up until I get CAJA coverage (and hopefully not even then!).
Just dug up last year’s kidney doc visit in the States in case Dr. Zuniga doesn’t get my medical chart from the clinic. I’ll get another box of kidney drug while I’m there if Dr. Zuniga agrees it’s what I should be on.
5:23 p.m. GOOD NEWS!
Dr. Zuniga says I don’t need to see him (a kidney specialist) again unless my present health status changes. He says my kidney function is adequate and not degrading significantly enough to require monitoring by a kidney specialist. We wrote this in my chart so the docs downstairs and the lab know what to test/check for but he said he doesn’t expect to ever have to see me again as a patient who needs extraordinary care or monitoring.
That was refreshing to hear!
He said to stay on the kidney medication I’m on (probably for life), and that the warfarin I’m on (to prevent blood clots) is actually great for my kidney. He said to be sure to drink enough water to stay hydrated and to have my Vitamin D checked next time I go to get an INR check. (I have Vitamin D tablets and zinc to help metabolize the Vitamin D if I do need more than I get from the sunshine exposure here in Costa Rica.)
Today, I took a bus to Grecia to get some colones and groceries
I hopped on the bus at 7:10 a.m. and shopped (plus ate half a sandwich at Subway) within an hour, so I was able to catch the 8:25 a.m. bus back home.
The 8:25 bus takes people to Achiote and San Francisco, so I was able to enjoy an alternate route coming back.
(The bus I usually take detours up Calle Rodriguez before getting to my stop.)
This morning’s bus detours to Achiote before it gets to my stop, and is actually ten minutes shorter than the usual bus. I will rarely be able to catch the 8:25 return bus because I usually have more shopping to do; I arrived to it literally as it was taking on passengers.
But it’s an intriguing route; very steep. So steep that there was one big bulldog whose property was so sloped that he could walk from the yard at the high end of the property onto the overhead, cement-topped gate that looms over the driveway! The bus went by there too fast for me to get a picture of this phenomenon, but I laughed out loud to see this big, fat bulldog sitting on a gateway that was about 15 feet off the ground!
Sorry, no photos today. I’ll try to do better next time!