Hello, It's Me...

Here's a leaf from our
front yard.

No, you CAN'T get rid of me.  I'm back to torture you.  Sorry.  (Not really!)

A friend texted me two months ago wondering what was going on because I hadn't posted anything here since early May.  Up to now, nothing for FIVE months.  What a slug.

That's not right, though.  It wasn't laziness, but depression, pure and simple.  It's hard enough to do the caregiving thing when it has a definite endpoint, but when it's open ended and you don't really KNOW when it will be finished, well, it wears you down.  I didn't feel much like doing anything beyond those things that absolutely MUST be done.  You know - laundry, meals, housework.  Vacuuming seemed particularly obnoxious, as was putting away clean laundry - YUCK.

Plus, there was the festive COVID pandemic.  The proverbial cherry on top.

In my last post, That Knee had once AGAIN gone septic, necessitating a trip to the emergency room and surgery to remove the "hybrid" knee replacement (a temporary prosthesis) and install yet ANOTHER antimicrobial spacer (the fourth one).  Life felt like a neverending not-so-merry-go-round.  We were back to home health care provided by ME - another six weeks of administering intravenous antibiotics, to be followed by a TENTH surgery on that same blasted knee.

We had a surgery date scheduled and went to the pre-op appointments, and the infectious disease specialist dropped a good news/bad news bombshell - six additional weeks of  IV antibiotics and no surgery until after they were finished.  The New England Journal of Medicine had published a study a couple of weeks earlier indicating that joint replacements plagued with persistent infections appear to do better with twelve, rather than six, weeks of IV antibiotics.  

Well, DUH.  What genius came up with THAT revolutionary hypothesis???  When I've had sinus infections that didn't go away with one round of antibiotics, what do they do but give me ANOTHER?  I mean, REALLY?  It's just common sense - you'd think,

I DO get it though.  I know how insurance works.  Without a published study, it won't cover a treatment that isn't part of the usual "standard of care."  So the timing was perfect for the additional round of antibiotics.

So I was still kind of tied down.  BUT...  Because the surgery was postponed for an additional ten weeks, That Knee was allowed to more fully recover from the previous surgery and build up more muscular strength again, allowing a longer time of more normal activity than after the other surgeries.

AND... We had a MONTH between the end of the antibiotics and the surgery, so we both went a little crazy trying to accomplish as much as we could, plus fit in some fun stuff before That Knee went under the knife again.

So the surgery behind us, ORAL antibiotics were prescribed for twelve weeks (the first time AFTER a surgery), and, after five weeks...so far, so good. I don't want to jinx it, but That Knee APPEARS to be healing well, and That Man says it feels better than it has in over two years.

Although in some ways it doesn't LOOK so hot - kind of like a relief map of the Grand Canyon - it WORKS, and the leg is straight - correctly aligned.  Amazing.

In the meantime, lots has happened, and I'll be catching you up on it all, but not all at once!  (I bet you're breathing a sigh of relief!)

Staying Home and Keeping Busy - Jigsaw Puzzles!

It seems that staying home during the pandemic, everybody has rediscovered jigsaw puzzles!  Facebook is full of posts with pictures of completed jigsaw puzzles. 

My mom LOVED jigsaw puzzles.  We'd get one out and work it on the dining room table.  We didn't eat in there most of the time, so it was a great place for puzzling!  When I vacation with my sister, we often take a puzzle to work on.  One infamous night, we got a puzzle out at 10:00 at night, "just to find the edge pieces," and we finished it around 3:30 in the morning.  There must be something terribly wrong with us.

Here's the infamous 1,000-piece puzzle that kept us up all night on vacation.
It looks likes it's been framed, but we worked it on a bamboo and glass table.

I've been wanting to work a puzzle, but...we have cats - naughty cats.  That's why taking puzzles on vacation is a great idea - the cats stay home!  I needed a cat-free zone at home in order to get a puzzle out and not have the pieces turn into cat toys that disappear under furniture and down heating vents.  I ruminated on the problem and finally figured out where I could set up a couple of antique side tables that, pushed together, are the perfect size for working jigsaw puzzles! 

I also have one of those puzzle organizer/storage caddies with a large area for working the puzzle and trays for sorting pieces.  If you have to move the puzzle or put it away temporarily, everything goes inside the caddy, the puzzle stays assembled, and nothing gets lost.  Then, when you're ready to work on it some more, you open it up, and there everything is, ready for you to resume the puzzle!

So I dug out my puzzle caddy (it's a really fancy one - HA! - made of corrugated cardboard) and found an empty puzzle box next to it.  I put it on the tables and opened it up, and found A PUZZLE!  Maybe a little more than half assembled.  It is TOUGH.  I've found an average of 5 pieces each evening this week.  At least I'm actually finding pieces.  The first night I worked on it I almost despaired of finding ANY pieces.  You'd think it would be easy to distinguish between the different colors of the trees.  You'd be wrong.  No wonder I put it away for a while! 

But by golly, I WILL get the whole thing put together.  All 1,000 pieces of it.

Here it is, in all its glory.  You can kind of get an idea of what the puzzle caddy is like.

This is Not (Quite) What I Ordered...

With the shelter in place and stay at home orders during the past couple of months of the coronavirus pandemic, FedEx, UPS, and Post Office people have been mega-busy all over the country.  And Amazon has become my new best shopping companion.  LOTS of Amazon and other online shopping.

However, sometimes there are foul-ups.  My sister ordered something that simply never arrived.  At all.  She eventually had to cancel the order and request a refund.  A couple of friends had packages delivered to their address that they hadn't ordered.  The address on the package was theirs, but it wasn't intended for them.  And a couple other friends had to track down a package of theirs that got delivered to the wrong house.

I must admit I've only had a couple of shipping malfunctions, but they were doozies!

I ordered a few plants (NOT seeds) from Burpee - nothing exotic, and not a lot of them.  Six plants in all - three tomatoes, one bell pepper, one rosemary, and one basil.  I already had seeds.  I had ordered the plants quite a while ago, but I didn't worry - Burpee ships them so they arrive when it's the right time to plant.  So you could order a whole slew of plants and they would come in several packages.  You might get part of your order in March, part in April, part in May, and the rest in June.

I finally got the shipping notification.  My plants were coming via UPS in two packages - one a week ago Friday, and one the following Monday.  Oh, was I excited!  Friday came, and there was my package on the porch - upside down!  Oh good grief.

I opened the box, and there was potting soil everywhere.  UGH.  About half of it was still where it belonged, but that was just dumb luck.  I salvaged what I could, watered the baby plants, and brushed as much dirt off the leaves as I could.

So Monday arrived, and I saw the UPS truck pull into the driveway, so I was ready!  There was the second package on the porch - UPSIDE DOWN.  AGAIN.  What the heck???  Again, potting soil all over.

You had ONE JOB - keeping it rightside up!

I really don't understand this.  The boxes were clearly marked, "Live Plants" and "This End
Up."  I did get on the UPS website and sent them a "question" through the email link after clicking "Contact Us."  I haven't heard back.

In a different vein, I ordered two identical single items from Amazon.  I got the order confirmation email and an "it's shipped" email with a Post Office tracking number.  I checked the tracking number, and yes, there it was - the label had been made and the Post Office was waiting for the package to arrive so they could start it on its way to me.  Woo hoo!

I hadn't heard anything more a couple of days later, so I checked the tracking number.  The label had been made and they were waiting to accept the package.   Hmmmm...

A week later, I checked the tracking number and got the same package status.  Hmmmm...

I kind of put it on the back burner and got busy with other things. A couple more weeks went by.  I checked the order status on Amazon and it said the package was scheduled to arrive "TOMORROW."

I checked the status the next day, and it said the package was scheduled to arrive "TODAY," and if it didn't, that I could either cancel the order and try again or I could continue to wait.  Well, I was in no particular rush; it wasn't something I needed immediately, so no big deal.

Another week went by, and I received an email from Amazon saying that apparently the package was lost and they were going to refund my money.  Fair enough, right?  It went further, saying I could try ordering it again if I wanted, or not, and just wait and the original order might show up after all.

Just three days later, I got a notification that the Post Office had received the package, and the expected delivery date was in two more days.  I thought, "Yeah, right.  Tell me the one about the three pigs."

Well, no fairy tale!  A package landed on my porch, and there were the items I ordered - FOUR OF THEM.  I didn't WANT four.  I don't NEED four.  But I CAN use four, and they didn't cost me anything.  Oh my.

As Dad would have said, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."  So I won't.

I Took THE TEST (What It Was Like)

Do you have COVID-19?  How do you know?  I mean, you could be asymptomatic, right?  Have you been tested? 

Because testing has been opened up, I jumped on the State site and signed up for an appointment the following morning.  (When I say I jumped on it, I mean I JUMPED on it!)

The testing location wasn't terribly close to home - about 25 miles, but pretty close to a straight shot without many slowdowns or traffic lights.

So I drove up to Elwood (Red Gold Tomatoland) for my test.  That Man grew
up there, so it was a familiar drive.  I told him the address and described its map location, and he said there used to be a Harvest Market right about there.  He has a good memory!  I turned off the main street at the Harvest Market, went a couple of blocks farther, and there it was - the National Guard Armory.  Well, that makes sense!

I walked up toward the door and stood (6 feet) behind another person waiting to enter. 

We waited.  And waited.  And....

WAITED.

Finally a State Trooper came out, told us they just weren't set up yet, asked us which cars we were in, and said he'd come out to our cars to tell us when to go in.  Fair enough!

Back to the car.

Waited.  And waited.  AGAIN.

Then out came the trooper, stopping at each car in the parking lot.  The nurse who was supposed to do the testing hadn't shown up, so a different one was on her way.  He said we could come back in the afternoon at any time and get tested if we wanted.  I told him I couldn't come back that day because I had another obligation (That Man's physical therapy appointment) in the afternoon.  So he gave me a phone number to call to reschedule the test.

I drove home, and when I called the number (just past 10 o'clock in the morning), I got a recorded message saying the office was closed at this time, the hours are 7:00am to 8:00pm Central Standard Time, and please call during those hours. 

Wait a minute - what???  It was 10:00 Eastern Standard Time which would make it 9:00 Central. I was WELL within their office hours!  But if they're not there, they're not there.  Nothing I could do about that.

I tried again around 1:00 - and got a recorded message saying due to high call volume, all representatives were busy, I could probably get faster service on their website (except the website isn't set up for rescheduling!), or I could stay on the line for a LONG time and speak to a real person.  So I plugged in the phone, put it on speaker, and proceeded to putz around with other things until my call was answered. 

Well.

I got a lot of little things accomplished; I was on hold for nearly an hour!

I was, however, able to get rescheduled for the same time and place on the following day. 

So through the country I drove, up to Red Gold Tomatoland AGAIN.  To the Armory.  Up to the door, and...

They let me in!

Of course, I had to wear my homemade mask, and upon entering the front door, use hand sanitizer.  I waited at the closed door to the drill hall until a nurse waved me in.  The previously tested person had just left by the back door.  The nurse stood behind a clear vinyl curtain attached to a PVC pipe frame and asked to see my driver's license, and then to step around to a table to the left, where she placed a form for me to sign.  No contact.

A nurse wearing a face shield waved me over to her for the actual test.  Out came the dreaded SWAB.  Of course, I had to uncover my nose for these indignities.  Up one nostril - WAY up.  "Do you need a tissue?  Some people say this makes their eyes water," she said.  Well, I could definitely see WHY!  Up the other nostril - again, WAY up!  Eeyow!  It was uncomfortable, to say the least.

It wasn't all THAT bad, but when you don't know what to expect and you're a little nervous it's difficult to stay completely composed!  It didn't take long, though, and soon I was shown the back door, back in my car, and heading home. 

If it hadn't been for the nurse being a no-show the first day, it would have been a quick, smooth process.  But you know how the first day of anything is - glitchy!

I got my results in less than 72 hours - NEGATIVE! 

Now we KNOW.

Keeping Safe and Busy at Home

I hadn't done much sewing for a long time, and then suddenly...the coronavirus pandemic! 

My first two masks - one that ties, and one with elastic.

When the pandemic began, face mask patterns were posted all over the internet.  How else were we going to get any, when they were difficult for medical facilities to find?  But how could we make our own when the craft and fabric stores were closed?  And the craft and fabric departments of the big box stores like Walmart were pretty much emptied of appropriate materials.

I got out my sewing machine and found a couple of barely-used sheets in the linen closet, and a little seam binding, medium-weight interfacing, thread, and elastic in my sewing supplies.  There was only enough interfacing for four masks, so I got online and found some on Etsy.  I had to move fast before it disappeared!  I found a FEW packages of seam binding at Walmart.  The guys wanted masks with ties rather than elastic, so that ate up the seam binding pretty quickly.  In the end, I was able to make thirteen masks.

Since I was in the sewing mode, I got out some old "craft cuts" I'd stashed in the antique dresser in our guest room and unearthed a few months ago.  Craft cuts are lengths of cloth with toy or decor patterns and instructions printed on them.  These included a flowery teddy bear, a Humpty Dumpty, two fairly realistic loons, two cuddly "Victorian" sheep, and a coyote and cactus.  I thought why not FINALLY get around to making these items (I've had them in my stash for only about 25 years) and getting them out of the dresser and into the paws of The Grands.  All I had to do was buy a monster-sized bag of Poly-Fil(tm) to stuff them with.  There were two at our local Walmart - what luck! 

Humpty Dumpty was super simple.  The loons were a little more involved, but not much.  The bear was a BEAR to assemble!  So.  Many.  Pieces.  And lots of easing to do to make the pieces match up correctly.  He still has no face at this time.  I had to order black embroidery floss online; there was none to be found in the stores.

I'd post pictures of the stuffed stuff, but I'm still working on them - only the coyote, cactus, and sheep to go.  And the bear's face, of course!

Shortages - What We're Doing

Finding things at the grocery is still hit or miss.

Several weeks ago, when the pandemic had just started, I had used the last of the chicken in the freezer and headed to Kroger.  No chicken.  AT ALL!  There was SOME pork and beef, but no chicken!  When chicken finally appeared in the meat department, there was a sign on its refrigerated case that said customers were limited to two packages of chicken.

That situation continued until a couple of weeks ago when all the meat cases were consistently full again.  Woo hoo!  Unlimited meat products!

Then some of the meat and poultry processing plants started shutting down because they had sick employees.  And now, the signs are back up.  I went to the store yesterday, and there was some chicken, but no skinless, boneless breasts.

And there is still no flour, sugar, yeast, dried beans, or rice.  There are canned beans, but not much variety.  You can make chili - there are plenty of kidney beans!  Hardly any toilet paper or paper towels - still!  I grab what I can find, and there are those signs - only ONE package of paper goods allowed.  There is bleach on the shelves, but just a few jugs.  At the beginning of all this, it couldn't be found at all.

Frozen vegetables have been hard to find, too, and not just recently.  Almost as soon as the pandemic was acknowledged, frozen vegetables in the stores disappeared.  You can sure tell what people DON'T like - that's what's left - lima beans, for one (yuck!), riced cauliflower, edamame (soy beans), broccoli cuts (which are mostly stems).  No peas, green beans of any kind, broccoli florets, cauliflower, mixed vegetables, corn, mirepoix mix (diced onions, carrots, and celery), or chopped onions.

I've been searching for chopped onions for a couple of weeks because I'm getting low (one package left).  Yesterday, I finally decided it would be a good idea to just buy some onions, chop them up, and freeze them myself.  There weren't many onions in the produce department, either!  But I did get some.  Better than none!

This afternoon, I took out the food processor and got started.  I filled five quart-size freezer bags with onions.  I had to process them in three batches, but I got it DONE.

Nine onions in these bags.

         

One large-ish cucumber.

I figured I already had the machine out, so what else needed processing?

One entire bunch of celery.

Well, cucumbers - why not?  That Man likes them on his salads.  I was on a roll.  And how about celery?  That can go on the salads, too, and some can be frozen for cooking.

So I sliced and chopped my way through a pile of produce.  FUN!!  Except all those onions killed my eyes - ouch.  Better than doing it by hand, though.  I got to play with my sorta new toy, plus I feel like I've accomplished something I needed to do.  Always a good thing.

Anyway, food shopping has become a competitive sport and I'm doing the best I can with what I can find.  I hope you're having luck finding what's on your list!

Sloppy Joes (From Mom's Recipe Card File)

Like everyone else staying home because of the coronavirus pandemic, we've been eating at home, which means I've been cooking and cooking and cooking.

When I want to make something I can count on to please everyone, I often fix Mom's "Barbecue," or Sloppy Joes!  It's a simple, all-pantry-ingredient recipe (except for the buns) that we never tire of eating.  Great comfort food.  I make it about every other week.

I make a large-ish batch so I'll have leftovers.  It freezes well, but we usually end up eating it all in a couple of days.  Something else I like to do is to mix all the sauce ingredients up and freeze that.  Then all I have to do is grab a container of sauce out of the freezer and add it to 2 pounds of lean ground beef and 1 cup of chopped onions, browned.  I usually make two to four containers of sauce at a time.  So convenient!


Sloppy Joes

2 lb lean ground beef
1 c chopped onions
1 1/2 c ketchup (I like Heinz)
3/4 c sugar
3 T mustard
1 T prepared horseradish (or to taste)
1 T vinegar
1 1/2 t celery seed
1 1/2 t Worchestershire sauce

Brown the ground beef and onion.  If not using lean ground beef, drain; if using lean ground beef, cook until nearly all the juices have evaporated.

Add the remaining ingredients, simmer about 20 minutes.  Serve on sandwich buns.

I Scored Potatoes and Onions This Morning!

Onions and potatoes seem like odd things to get excited about, don't they?

Well, I'm the designated forager, so I hit the stores yesterday to pick up some milk, bread, and a few other things.  They were busy, but not absolutely jammed like they were on Friday.  Friday was hit by kind of a double whammy - not only were people stocking up for the coronavirus emergency, but the forecast for Saturday was for 3-4 inches of SNOW, piling one stressor on top of another.

I'd planned a St. Patrick's Day dinner for us - corned beef, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and Irish soda bread, plus I wanted some rye bread and sliced Swiss cheese so I could make Reuben sandwiches with the leftovers.  Well, no potatoes, onions, cabbage, or rye bread most places.  Hardly any sliced cheese of any kind anywhere.  I did find one loaf of rye and a few onions.  I caught sight of some toilet paper, but it wasn't on my list.  Still no rice or dried beans - also not on my list.

I did get a little tickled walking down the boxed dinner aisles - no boxed macaroni and cheese, which I expected, but I also noticed that the shelves for Hamburger Helper were nearly empty!  I don't know exactly why I thought it was funny, but it just struck me that way.  Still plenty of ice cream and wine, though!

Anyway, I had a few potatoes at home, but they were starting to look poorly, so that was one thing I really wanted.  I was able to use those sad-ish potatoes with the corned beef because they would be boiled, but they wouldn't be good enough for roasting or baking or mashing.

Last evening the grocery ads arrived and looking through them, I saw POTATOES and ONIONS advertised!  So I planned to hit Kroger this morning.

I got to the store about an hour after they opened.  SCORE!

I was able to buy two five-pound bags of potatoes and a three-pound bag of onions, so we should be okay for those things for a couple of weeks.

The stores still have low stocks of many things, but the situation is improving - the supply chains are starting to catch up.  So be patient!  It's on the way!