1.8″ of rain yesterday, about six hours long (over half the rain in one hour). It more than doubled the monthly total. Finally, a little mud. The forecast finally looks wet with a chance of it actually happening.
The spaghetti is gone. Still pondering its replacement for the next thaw. A rib eye is certainly an option, now that it’s finally cooling down a bit. Forecast shows high 80s for highs this week, acceptable for broiling. Until then, I’ll work on the neglected loaf of bread with quick fix and the few remaining spuds. I’ll know what when I regain my appetite, after all that pasta.
Tonight after midnight is payday. Truck insurance is due in September. Nothing else looming outside the usual. I just need to behave.
Appointment with the cardiologist on Friday afternoon. Taking one carvedilol a day, it seems to be balancing side effects and desired effects rather well.
I made a bank run this morning, being partly cloudy, and I didn’t go by Popeye’s, even for a biscuit. I have plenty of the chicken in the freezer. Got gas at four corners, it was $3.55 outbound, and $3.38 inbound (cheapest is $3.35). It cost me an extra 15¢ for the convenience. (Life is tough.)
The old Brazos River TX 105 bridge is gone. Now it’s just a bend in the river. How many times had I crossed that span, breath held? The new one is much nicer.
So now I’m financially sound and there are no other transactions for the rest of the month, the fridge, freezer, and pantry are loaded, bills are paid for the month, gas tank is full. I can kick back and relax at home for a while.
Sketti sauce in the fridge. I’ll need to get some more shredded parmesan if I don’t want to use the grated toward the end of the batch. I’ll probably need bread by then. (Life is tough.) About to make avocado spud (bacon) for lunch.
Still waiting for all that rain that was supposed to fall.
It looks like we had a little over a quarter inch of rain. There was also an AC compressor installed in the rain next door. I felt sorry for the crew. But otherwise, it was a joyous and much needed event. More seems to be on the way, maybe.
Tolerating the meds relatively well the last few days, except for one morning waking up.
Finished off the jambalaya and tuna mac. I’m thinking spaghetti, as it will be cool enough to boil pasta daily. It’s been awhile. I’ll probably make a store run in the morning.
Looking at the forecast, trying to find the best day for a turnaround to Navasota. Friday morning seems to be the only constant without a chance of heavy rain. Can I get a biscuit without grabbing chicken at Popeye’s? Maybe if I get shrimp.
Slowly crawling toward autumn. There is rain to the north, east, south, and west, but none here. Close, but no cigar. There has been a little in the last couple of days, but it’s hard to spot the difference. More may be coming in the coming week, but there are no guarantees. Temp today has yet to reach the 90s.
Made tuna mac to go along with the jambalaya. Myka is thrilled with the TJ. Plenty to eat in the fridge and elsewhere. No need to make a store run for the weekend.
Been on and off the hypertension meds, according to how bad the side effects get. BP is not getting that high. Two weeks until my appointment with Dr. Z.
Nothing going on lately. Not taking the risk of exerting myself in public, and I’m taking it easy at home too. Skipped the jam last night. Lots of hanging out in the office, living a digital life for the time being.
Jambalaya just made the fridge. Myka had three shrimp and is a contented kitty. Spare ribs are gone, the two fat tacos were yummy. The chicken, shrimp, and scallops all went in the jambalaya, about half the pork loin, the other half is diced and remains for spuds, tacos, etc.
Check arrived, need to make a morning bank run before long.
Cardiologist appointment on September 2, the soonest I could get.
Rain is possible for the next two days. Hoping for a bunch of it, but not holding my breath.
Mid-August in the Lone Star, the last leg of summer. The edge is off the heatwave that kept us in triple digits for a little over three months. August popcorn showers have finally sprouted, taking the high down to the upper 90s. It’s not a huge gain by degrees, but it is by human experience.
Now that I have alpaca in my wardrobe, I’m not so shy about autumn and winter. I’m not looking forward to the cold, but we could very much use the rain that the season brings. We are in exceptional drought now, which is one category worse than extreme drought. We need water, any water, in the worst way.
Tomorrow is a phone day, pay storage and call the clinic, be social. A store run in the evening, giving them time to restock from the weekend. It will be in contrast to the lazy stay at home weekend.
I have been lazy in the kitchen. The jambalaya has not been prepped, but balancing trash day and meat freshness has been my excuse to being lazy. But I haven’t eaten the spare ribs either, so honesty here demands a lazy label. Part of it has been my sleep schedule. Part of it is the meds, but the cutting boards haven’t been horizontal this weekend.
I was tempted to drop $270 on a luxury. I restrained myself. I settled for a $30 luxury. That is much more inline with the restoration of my bank balance. Waiting for a check in the mail. I’m in decent enough shape financially, despite the wimpy bank balance, so no complaints, as long as I behave myself.
Still no appointment with the cardiologist going into the weekend. I am managing to hold my own for the time being, though I still get winded with minor exertion.
Seeing a little rain this week, not buckets, but some. Better than none, and it’s keeping the temperature down. Not going to argue with that.
Thawed chicken, pork loin, and spare ribs, as the fridge was getting thin. I’m thinking jambalaya after I make cheese risotto. Made a light store run for flautas, brats, cornbread, and mini-eclairs. That will hold me over the weekend. Thawed and cook the last burger pattie from the first batch.
Staying put most of the time, getting plenty of sleep.
COVID hit the compound in Elgin. The neighborhood is reportedly quiet.
It looks like things are in process for me to see the cardiologist, Dr. Zoldhelyi, whom I saw five years ago with the diuretic reaction. CAT, echocardiogram, etc.
The x-rays show that my lungs are clean, no congestive heart failure, no aortic aneurysm, no tumors. Only thing it showed is that my back is a little worse, but that I already knew. So it’s the meds, which the weekend proved. I am temporarily off both valsartan and carvedilol, while I wait for an appointment. I had a minor adaptation, but I’m doing okay now. Blood pressure is in the same range as when I was taking them, staying below 160 on the systolic. I’ll resume later, when they have cleared the system, 2 days.
I’ve been sleeping a lot. No loss of appetite. (Cornbread, sausage gravy on spuds, Popeye’s, deli turkey, tamales.) The brisket has vanished. I may feel up to a store run this evening or tomorrow morning for a few items. No big hurry.
Getting through this episode has my focus. Not doing much but wasting time. I’ll get productive when I feel up to it.
The breathing problem seems to be the carvedilol, at least in part. I am temporarily off the med, and the breathing issues are improving markedly. But not completely. Blood pressure is a little high. I’ve been able to sing very winded songs without extra breaths, the pathways are open.
The big fears of the doctors (congestive heart failure, etc) were shown all negative by the blood tests. Again (except for the fasting related tests, I wasn’t warned), I nailed everything. X-rays were clean. I’m not sure exactly what the x-rays showed, if they showed the aorta. That is my one big question, related to the sensations that still remain as my system dumps the beta blocker.
But breathing during exertion is much improved. Not perfect, but definitely improved. Sleep seems to help.
I skipped social gatherings because of this issue. The jam, Beto’s town hall. But I have gotten the chores done. Only thing left is cooking the sausage gravy and subsequent dishes.
Thawed brisket and Popeye’s. Cornbread in the mix. Smoked turkey (bacon/provolone). Tamales. A proper summer menu. Carrot cake, German chocolate cake, ice cream sandwiches.
Ice went up to $2/bag. It’s still the cheapest ice in town.
My PCP wants me in for an appointment to run some tests, just to be on the safe side. Tomorrow morning early, while it’s still reasonably cool.
No patties yet. I added 4 lb of the ground chuck to the upright freezer, leaving 1.5 lb in the fridge, which should make 6 patties. That will hold me until I get this breathing issue behind me, and when ground chuck goes on sale again. (And I use some of the 6 lb, in 2 lb bags, currently in the freezer.)
… …
Made 6 burger patties and froze two 2 lb bags to join the existing one. It wasn’t the 14 patties I intended, but it will hold me over until the weather cools. And I didn’t lose any of the chuck. It will get used.
The stump across the street was ground today by a different tree service than the one that cut down the tree. They used a Barreto 30-SG. It was rather impressive. Now there is a mountain of 2″ wood chips.
I didn’t press burgers this morning. The ground chuck and sausage are still in the fridge unopened.
I’ve been having breathing issues lately, and they flared this morning. I fell asleep with Myka in the office, and she needed out and bit me on the arm, enough to make marks, but not enough to run blood. I was honked a bit, and she was let out. I medicated the bites, and I was up. But my breathing was problematic and didn’t improve. So I went back to sleep. When I woke a little over three hours later, my breath is better.
I think the issue is medication related, possibly the hypertensives. A number of things have crossed my mind, lung cancer, COVID, and more, but none of them fits the symptoms. Difficult breathing is one of the listed side effects of valsartan. And my legs have been puffy from edema, another listed side effect. So I think that I’ll skip a dose or two and see what happens. I’ll be notifying my doctor today via their online message app.
Hopefully I’ll be up to pressing burgers and sausage tomorrow morning.
I got 5.5 lb of ground chuck (2 lb goes to the freezer for sauce) and 1 lb of pan sausage (actually 2 lb, but 1 lb is for gravy) for pressing into 4″ patties tonight. 14 – 4 oz burgers and 8 – 2 oz sausage patties. I’ve already cut the freezer paper, so now it’s just waiting for the right temperature to set up and get started. Weigh and stage, then press and wrap, then package and freeze. A little labor, but well worth it to be able to thaw one pattie at a time.
After a few days of cloud-cooled weather, we’re back in triple digit territory. It was nice while it lasted.
I renewed my driver’s license online yesterday. I could have waited, but there are no other extraneous expenses in August. I got paid on Saturday, so it seemed the proper time. Another eight years, and then I get the scrutiny for being too old to take for granted.
Six more weeks left of summer, give or take a few. It’s been a long one.
