Prepare For the Worst – Part II

March 1, 2024 ~ JodiLea

All week, I have been doing just that. I secured my garden stuff on our deck, tucked in my avocado trees, and put my snow shovel by the front door. Stocked up on pantry and freezer items earlier this week. As long as the power stays on, I have 2 quilts to finish. If (when) the power goes out, I have knitting needles and crochet hooks.

Since last weekend, I have been bombarded with our county warning system alerts about a severe blizzard hitting our county and surrounding areas. These have come over our landlines, our cellphones, and emails. White-out conditions, hurricane-force winds, snow coming at 2″-4″ per hour, accumulating 27″ in one day. From Friday until Sunday, this will be going on.

Heavy snow is one thing, but the strong winds are the scariest thing in the forest. The sound of forceful wind beating the trees causes the imagination to go wild with visions of tornadoes and cows flying through the air.

Last night, we had strong wind gusts and rain. The temps have dropped dramatically into the snow zone. We may wake up to a winter wonderland. Or not. Either way, we are not supposed to be in the white-out, so we are not going anywhere except our chairs by the wood-burning stove.

Our sweet Bernese Mountain Dog, Ziva, is 9 years old now and NOT a fan of weather of any kind that has a sound. She loves to watch and play in the snow, which normally is quiet unless it arrives with a blizzard. Even when I give her anti-anxiety meds, she paces (trots) from room to room, outside and in. No one is going to sleep well this weekend.

The rain is thickening and slowing down as it turns into snow. I can see this while I watch out the window in my office. I say a little prayer, asking that the trees surrounding my house have deep, strong roots.

I wish you a less exciting weekend wherever you live.

TTFN

Prepare For the Worst

February 10, 2024 ~ JodiLea

You may have heard this saying, “Think positive, but prepare for the worst.” I think it is a practical idea, and it was suggested to me to pack a “Go” bag. In case of a natural disaster or something preventing me from getting home. Do I have one packed yet? No. However, in my defense, I do have a list of things to put in my ‘Go bag.’

I need to get a large box. I don’t have big enough bags. Since the theory is each carries their own load (bag), I probably will not be able to pack clothing and shoes. Besides the oral medications and the diabetic paraphernalia I need to keep me alive, I will not be able to carry much else.

It’s funny how our priorities turn around during an emergency. For example, if I spend a few days visiting my daughter, I pack my skincare, make-up, and hair products. I have a separate bag for craft projects to work on, my journal, Bible, and snacks. A third bag contains my meds, insulin, and pump supplies. I can carry those 3 bags myself, but only to and from the car when there is no urgency.

I decided to get a shoe box and put it in my bedroom. When I got low on skincare items, I would toss them into the said box and replace them in my cupboard. My travel cosmetics bag already has a few items in it. I don’t have to put cosmetics in it. I can use it for alcohol wipes, tweezers, bandaids, antibiotic creams, etc. I can set aside meds and pump supplies, already packed up, and then I would only have to grab insulin out of the fridge and an ice pack from the freezer.

Oh yeah. I need to bring my glucose monitor sensors. They are small, but the applicator they come in is huge. Those are lightweight but will take up a lot of space. Sigh. This is why I can never “pack light” or “go at a moment’s notice.” I am way too high-maintenance to travel well. Maybe I should invest in a pack mule. Another deeper and longer sigh.

Did you know that if you Googled “Go Bag,” you get 3,200,000 results? The ones that pop up first are trying to sell you bags, organizational notebooks to plan for a Go bag and survival kits. Scroll past those ads, and you will get to articles about How to pack one and how long it should last, ad nauseam. Advice from emergency services, State departments, and consumer affairs. After trying to read this information over to check if I was missing something important, I discovered I was…

Now, my Go bag is complete.

Farewell 2023

December 31, 2023December 30, 2023 ~ JodiLea

You began wonderfully; I woke up in my own bed, in my own house. Long story that belongs in 2022. The aftermath of all that we are still dealing with to this day. I am grateful that it was not worse. Enough about that.

In May I would be 65 years old. I was unprepared for the onslot of health insurance and medical institutes pestering me. My email inbox would have 50+ emails regarding Medicare. It is kind of spooky that the entire U.S.A. knows you are turning sixty-five. There must be a list somewhere.

Your winter was cold and long. The snow piled up – inches into feet, then yards. Before it could melt, another winter storm advisory was issued, and we were stuck at home for a few days. Again. Over and over.

Spring finally arrived around Memorial Day, and the first hot summer day was in July. In August, I finally thawed out from the winter of 2022, only to arrive home from our anniversary trip in September (Cabo San Lucas) to freezing temperatures. I was not happy about that.

Of course, by the end of this year, I was not happy about much. Things went south when I entered Phase I of the dental plan. We (the dental office and I) discovered that the temp dentures were too huge once my jaw’s swelling and healing progressed. At the end of July, my surgeon gave me the thumbs up to go into Phase II – the permanent dentures that would snap into place with the implants that were placed in my jaw. After 3 sets of dentures – the third time is not always the charm; BTW, none of them fit my mouth or even worked together.

The only reason I can think of for this is that no one had any impressions of my mouth when I had teeth. How could this be? I was always biting into that goop to send to the lab to make my partials and crowns. We are talking about YEARS of dental impressions, photos, and scans of my jaw. I have been crowned more times than all the Winsors in England. And yet, not one of those models that depict my original tooth structure and bite is to be found.

I have spent the last 9 months without the ability to chew. And yes, you CAN get tired of ice cream, milkshakes, and smoothies. So, I will be starting Phase II over again with a specialist whose office is a 2-hour drive each way from our house. This faraway land is called “Modesto,” and it is the land of specialists. My Endo is also there. I think the main reason hubby and I put up with this is that there are no specialists closer. And – Costco is there.

I just realized that if I’m snowed in, I can still have teleappointments with my Endo. Not so with a denture specialist. I may have to go another half a year of hiding my face behind masks. These weird situations like this jaw thing keep cropping up. Things that I never heard about anyone ever having to deal with before. If you read this blog occasionally, you know what I am talking about.

Then, just last night, after my shower, I noticed something on my scalp.
“Oh, please be a tick,” I muttered. I finally had 3 mirrors arranged to take a good look at the something on top of my head. I recognized the thing. It was not a tick. It was the same brown spot that had happened before, in a different place on my head that was cancer. Sigh.

Not going to make the mistake I did last time. I waited while it grew larger. I listened to my doctor tell me it was probably not serious, but we will watch it. By the time I had a biopsy, it was a large mass and a good-sized hole in my head when it got removed. To close the wound, the surgeon cut my scalp open with a huge ‘L’ shape that surrounded the hole, then he and his assistant proceeded to install stitches that would pull my scalp over the wound. by this time, the local anesthetic was wearing off, and I got to experience this reconstructive surgery without anesthetic. Do you know how many nerves are in the skin over your scalp?
Because I refuse to have another lobotomy, I will get a referral for a dermatologist ASAP.

I betcha there is a great Dermatologist- in Modesto.

Goodbye and good riddance, 2023.
Welcome, 2024!

TTFN