January 20, 2025 Monday--5am

Good morning!

Been dangerously cold up here.  Wind chills of 50-55 below.  Lots of "frostbite will happen fast" warnings.  I have frosty ice around the air conditioner.   

Yes, I could put the cover on, but there would still be ice behind the cover, and I don't really need the little bit of extra warmth it would give me here.  That's one thing that has been great about this apartment--it is well insulated.  Being on main floor and not facing the north winds helps, too, I think.  I stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than any apartment I have ever lived in.  

This might be because there are vents connecting all the apartments...which I have never had before.  That does cause me to lose any humidity I can muster with my little humidifier, too, though.  If it gets over 72 degrees in here I get too warm--lol!  With all the seniors cranking up their heat in the winter it can actually get too warm for me so that I have to shut off the heat and crack the patio door for a little while to cool it down.  But haven't had to lately with it being super cold again.  Even though I keep it set between 68-70 it has still been creeping up to 73-74.  

The patio door has gotten frozen shut so that it is really a task to get it open enough to toss seed out for the Critter Cafe--lol!  But just having that door open six inches for a couple minutes will cool it off in a snap when it's below zero and windy, so feeding the birds a couple times a day will keep it from getting too hot in here for me--lol!  I was more used to apartments where I could have it cranked up to 80 degrees and couldn't get it near even 68 degrees ever.  Or apartments where you could run the AC on high day and night and never get it below 80.  So this is a wonderful apartment for me.  Anyways, that's life in the deep freeze.

I was showing Leah in links the things I was planning to get for the new place in February but start using now.  A big woven basket for my various blankets I use for sleeping in my chair and new sets of soap pumps.  The automatic ones I tried on sale from Bed, Bath and Beyond are horrible.  You have to hold your hand under there like 3-4 times for a tiny dribble to come out.  I know Leah loves her (more expensive) automatic pumps and she even offered to buy them for me.  But I want to go back to my dependable hand pump type...plus want pairs so I can also refill dish soap and lotion to have less bottles at my sinks.  Even picked out absorbent stone holders for them...and a set of multicolored dryer balls I won't use till I move--lol!  

Well--Leah said she wanted to buy them for me!  Whoohoo!  So I got the new colorful woven basket for my summer and winter throws (which had been just piled on the floor all this time).  Love it!!!

And two sets of bottles and the stone holders for them.

You can see the Bed, Bath and Beyond automatic pump that didn't work at all to the left.  I will not refill the lotion with this particular lotion again!  LOL!  It was too thick to pour.  Even used packing tape to tape the two bottle end to end and let them sit for a couple hours and not much at all moved down into the black bottle. *sigh*  So it was a very long process...but I am patient and used to doing things a little at a time. ;)

Actually caught a bit of blue sky and white clouds one day.  Winter can be quite gray.

Finally they were all done and in place!  Bathroom has lotion and hand soap...

...kitchen has dish soap and hand soap.  I love them!

Leah had the new dryer balls sent to their house and told me they would be waiting for me in the new dryer.  So nice!  Told you I get excited about all these little things. :)

Turned out Dagan had to work later on Friday and not sure how late (clinic only open till 5pm for labs).  So Thursday after the boys got out of school he and the boys picked me up and we went to the clinic...where I was informed my request had expired. ??  Good grief!  I was even having a better day for leaving the apartment and everything.  Apparently Dr. Failing puts in the request for the next appointment that is set to expire in six months--so it expired in December and they didn't think to renew that when I had to schedule everything myself for January because they never did it for December.  Hard to follow?  LOL!  The lab ladies said they couldn't just call him, either.  (Why not?!)

So...we were in and out of the clinic really quickly.  The highlight for the boys was this butt-ugly vehicle in the parking lot of the clinic--ROFL!

The boys wanted Dagan to stop so they could get a good look at it as we were leaving.  I think they like it because it looks like something from Minecraft or a game of some kind--lol!  It doesn't look like a real car, I tell you.

Went straight back home so I could call Dr. Failing's office.  Left a message for his nurse.  She called me back on Friday morning and we are now set any time for the lab work.  But Dagan couldn't take me till this week...and with it being -17 degrees today and Martin Luther King Day so Dagan and Leah are off work...we are going to try for tomorrow over his lunch break.  I had thought I was going to be getting a needle in my arm and peeing in a cup at the time of the inauguration.  Seemed appropriate.  But was unaware D&L were off work today and it was going to still be frost-warning-cold out...so tomorrow makes more sense.  I think I'd rather be at the lab getting blood drawn--LOL!

Hopefully all will go well this week and I will get to the lab and to the CT scans on Friday.  I have to remind myself that if I can't...well, I will just have to reschedule them.  I can fast, etc...but there's only so much I can do.  This is also another checkup.  Not treatments, at least, anymore, right?  Not the end of the world.  

Meanwhile...we did have our Christmas on Saturday.  Turned out I was not up to leaving the apartment but was okay enough for them to pop over here for a short visit so the boys could finally get their Christmas presents from me.  Did any of you like Mad Libs when you were a kid?  I didn't know about them.  And the few times I did see them as an adult I thought it was just some kind of random word game and didn't know it had an actual name.  Anyways, the boys played with those for a while and each did a couple of them.  Good for teaching English grammar and reading skills, too.  Lots of laughter!  (And mentioning of many forms of "poo"--Liam is 7 after all--lol!)  They brought with Allie and my Christmas stockings.  And also a variety of sugar free hand-made chocolates (they bought at this amazing shop they found) that we all shared.  Delicious!  

Healthwise the week was about the same for me.  Better days and worse days like a yo-yo--lol!  But if I can still get all the usual daily/weekly stuff done and not get behind...well, that's a very good week in my book. ;)  Putting up with bad health bouts is not new...even if the types of bouts have varied since the cancer--lol!  I have to remind myself that a year ago I was working up to being able to sit at the table for more than five minutes...and to staying awake for longer than 3-5 hours. Made a lot of progress this past year.  I am very, very grateful...even if I do feel impatient sometimes. ;)  

I am warm in this toasty apartment with Allie--who does care when I'm having a bad day and will faithfully follow me back and forth to the bathroom--lol!  I have been watching the Agatha Christie series on BritBox.  Rather watch that today than anything else. ;)  Stay safe and warm...or safe and cool depending on where you live.  See you next week. :)