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Monday, October 22, 2018
Monday, October 15, 2018
NEW BLOG; NEW CHALLENGE
Since I've reached the limit on the number of blogs I can post on EightyGo, I've started a new blog called LIVING WELL AFTER 80 @ livingwellafter80.com
It's been a wild ride, trying to learn how to do all this at my age. I'm grateful to techies at the Vigo County Public Library, and Ivy Tech Community college for generously helping me get started on building my own blog. Love you guys!
I learned so much from Blogger. They did everything for me. Now, I've had to find out about widgets, plugins, dashboards, web hosts, Word Press and it just goes on forever. In my defense, even the young people who helped me through the process were puzzled at times. They make WordPress sound easy, but these folks had a tough time with it, too.
They say that the best way to keep your mind sharp at this age is to learn a new language. I haven't mastered Spanish or German, but I feel that I've learned a new language.
Last, I will be forever grateful to my supportive husband who has seen me disappear into my computer for hours and days at a time. I hope you will continue to follow me on Living Well After80 @ livingwellafter80.com
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11TH
There are a few days in your lifetime that you remember forever, in great detail. Where you were, who you were with, and how you felt.
For me, that first huge memory was Nov. 22, 1963, when Kennedy was shot. My firstborn was one month old, and I can remember the sun shining in our apartment window in Evanston, Illinois. My husband was at work in downtown Chicago. I know I was wearing a black sweater, and my son had on a little white sleeper. For about an hour, I simply sat and listened and watched, too stunned to move. Suddenly, the stay-at-home moms came out of their apartments and onto the sidewalk, and finally gathered in my apartment because it was the largest and could hold the most people. And we talked and watched TV, and no one had any thing to eat or drink for hours.
On 9/11, it was a different story. My husband was able to take walks then, and he had a radio plugged into his ear. It was a warm , sunny day and we were both wearing sleeveless shirts. He heard it right away, of course, but when he told me what had happened, I thought at first it was a hoax, or he was mistaken. Even then, we had no idea how extensive the damage, or how many people had been killed. Finally, we passed a house where a young man whom we had never met came out from his doorway, and asked us if we had heard what happened. So it was true. We shook our heads, and mutely turned away, too stunned to reply.
Looking back, it seems strange that we were at war, but war was never declared (how did that differ from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?) and life went on pretty much the same for those who lived far from New York & DC.
Monday, September 10, 2018
DOCTORS WHO DON'T LISTEN
A visit to a doctor can be a dehumanizing experience, which is why I usually try to avoid them. But lately, I had an issue with vertigo, and called for an appointment with a specialist affiliated with a teaching hospital.
Upon making my first appointment, I was coldly informed I
would have to wait three months before I
could be worked into his busy schedule.
That should have told me something, but I thought it best to wait,
rather than going to one of those walk in clinics where a twenty something,
just out of med school, would misdiagnose my problem.
The doctor introduced himself, and asked about my
symptoms. I began to describe them in
detail, but after about 15 seconds he
seemed to lose interest. When I stopped
talking, he ordered some tests.
After they were done, I waited about half an hour before my doctor returned, accompanied by a young intern. That
was when I began feeling like a guinea pig, as he calmly informed me I should
probably have an MRI of my head just to rule out something very ominous. Being somewhat claustrophobic & loud noise averse, I didn’t like
that idea, so he prescribed some OTC meds and said to come back next month..
The medication was helpful, but
I was still having some symptoms . On the
second visit, I waited a full hour in a
freezing cold room until he showed up. This time, he had another intern who
stood mutely at attention as the doctor tried to find me on the computer and
determine just exactly why I was
there. I wondered if my case would be
interesting enough for a case study—probably not. But I definitely felt less like a human being
than a “patient,” He asked how I’d been
getting along, but when I tried to ask him some questions and carry on a
conversation about my symptoms, he lost interest. The poker faced intern stared at me as if I
were a specimen under a microscope.
There was no mention of an MRI, so perhaps the doctor decided not to waste any more time with a person who balked at having an
expensive, unpleasant test. Okay, I get
it. He doesn’t do simple. At any rate,
he told me to continue with the meds, and suggested I come back in six months.
Finally, I got on the internet and found some simple ways to alleviate my problem. The internet cares about you! Key in a word or a question, and you’ll get a whole list of links that tell you everything you want to know and answers all your questions.
In defense of physicians, and especially surgeons:
psychologists say that doctors gradually become less empathetic as a defense
mechanism against the painful procedures they must perform. And, too much empathy could make a doctor
less objective when making a diagnosis.
Last but not least, if they got too emotionally involved with each and
every patient, they’d be worn out. And so, at the end of the day, patients are seen not as persons,
but as part of an overall system.
see my new blog @ livingwellafter80.com
see my new blog @ livingwellafter80.com
Thursday, September 6, 2018
STUFFED PEPPERS ARE COMFORT FOOD
Have you seen the size of green peppers this season? This hot, humid summer has produced the
largest, shiniest peppers we’ve seen for a long time. And their superabundance this time of year
means they are bargain priced. So what
are you waiting for? This is one of the
most people pleasing entrees you can imagine.
Yes, it’s going to take some extra pans and a little more time than
usual, so pick an afternoon when you’ve plenty of time to spend in the kitchen. And if you know someone who’s having a tough
time, you might make an extra batch and
bring them this farm fresh comfort food.
Most recipes don’t itemize the pans and dishes you’ll use,
but you will need:
A smaller sauce pan to cook the rice.
A 10 inch skillet.
An 8X8X2 in. baking dish
This is going to take up a lot of room in your kitchen, but
it’s a labor of love, so clear the counters, and go for it!
STUFFED PEPPERS
6 large green peppers
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 cup cooked rice (see package directions)
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt (cut this in half if you watch your sodium intake)
Cut a slice from the stem end of each pepper. Remove seeds
and membrane. Cook peppers in enough boiling water to cover for 5 minutes;
drain.
Cook and stir the crumbled ground beef, onion and garlic in
skillet until beef is light brown. Stir in rice, salt, ½ the
tomato sauce and grated cheese. Pour remaining sauce over peppers. Cover dish
and bake in 350 oven 45 minutes.
Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer. Sprinkle with remaining
cheese. 6 servings: 290 calories per
serving.
Enjoy!
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DECLUTTERING DIARY: DAY 93
See my new blog post @ livingwellafter80.com
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