Time Well-spent

 Jan 3, 2005-- 10499 steps

The nurse came, the one Tommy described as 'rough.' The visit went well. She put lotion on my lower legs and feet. I cannot reach that far. Vitals were good. 

I saw cleaner. She approached me and wanted to know what was up. She said I never answer or call her back. She said she left messages. My inbox is full, so, NO. I told her so. She swears I never ever called her or left a message. YES, I did. So, with her failure to admit she did not get calls from me, it is over for me. 

With her excessive texting and her daughter and boyfriend here all the time, sitting outside and texting her, I am definitely over her 'help.' They were out in driveway cleaning out boyfriend's car. The daughter (19) ends up in house talking to mother when mother is supposed to be cleaning. The bf ended up at door, but I did not invite him in!

I am slowly filling all dates preordained. Tommy and I both keep a day planner, but we keep the other's information. 

My neighbor has had bronchitis and RSV. She brought home four prescriptions and had been banned from going to children's houses to see grandchildren's Christmas toys. I was asking her to come over where I was in car, but told her for my sake and hers to stay home. 

Since I slept almost three hours on Thursday night, I was desperate today for a nap-three hours. 

We cannot get out the red boxes for Christmas decorations. We have one she left out, so it will all go into that. Of course, we will start next Christmas very disorganized, I think when I get someone to help me, I will  make organizing Christmas a task I will pay to have done when it is finished. 

Now, it is time to do the lymphedema therapy. 

Robins have acted like it is spring. There are thousands of dandelions all about. There are none is our yard, though. Today, we saw a bluebird in the yard. Nature does not know there will be very cold weather this next week. 

When we do lymphedema therapy and I use the pedal machine, I spend 5 hours in therapy/exercise! So far, it is paying off. Tommy can see torso is slimmer and my face. Even my double chins are getting fewer and smaller. Of course, the weight loss happened earlier.

Okay, apple pie is on its way. 

How many hours do any of you spend in exercise or physical therapy? If you don't want to say, no problem. 

Have you seen many robins and bluebirds this year? Are dandelions in bloom where you live?

More Health News

Jan  2--12,000 steps

 In the last few months, I lost 33 pounds with little effort. Before, I had found some of my blouses were too tight to wear. Now, my favorite red blouse is loose! I need to try on the others that were too tight.

I think I become dehydrated during the pedaling. I am woozy even 30 minutes later. I cannot walk! Well, I can walk but feel like I might fall. 

Friday, the plan is to take extension cords from Christmas trees and reindeer. Because we have something else to do, the deer and trees may only make it to the front porch. The wreath can come down, too. The nurse is coming too, my least favorite of the workers. 

The ot person who just checks in and records vital signs and progress came on Thursday. I learned lots about hunting birds with dogs. I thought they just took a dog out to find birds shot down. It appears the dogs are very specifically trained. If the dog did not see the bird go down in the water, they can signal the dog to get its attention and point right or left. We learned more, but you probably already know the information. 

The leg therapy is helping greatly with lymphedema. But, the pressure is destroying my toes and feet. The pressure on my foot hurt the arch behind my toes so much I limped for over a day. I need to figure out how to turn down the pressure. 

I still have an excess two pounds from my lowest weight before Christmas.  It will come off. 

It is 5:30 am. Acid reflux has me sitting up. I do have med for that but it is linked to dementia. I accidentally woke Tommy, but he was snoring in less than a minute. Good! 

We collected the store ads today. Tommy went through them and said there was not much on sale we would want. I will check tomorrow. When he ran out of Diet Pepsi, he refused to drink one of my Diet Coke Caffeine Free. Now, he has been drinking them for almost a week because he ran out of Diet Pepsi. He was drinking four each day. When we find his drink b2g2, maybe he will switch to Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi. Since he was drinking four Diet Pepsis with Caffeine, that might be why he was getting so agitated. He takes bp med, so he should ditch the caffeine. Well, that is my opinion. 

Maybe I can go lie down without problems. 

Do you drink caffeine free drinks if you drink drinks that normally have caffeine? 

t

Rhapsodizing over a Machine

 Jan 1, 2025

steps 15,556 

The machine I have is working miracles already. Well, I am working it for miracles. 

I have to move the Legxercise machine in front of me each time I use it and then move it away. I thought it must weigh fifty pounds. It is heavy, but only fifteen pounds! When my daughter was a year old and weighed fifteen pounds, she was light as a feather. I cannot imagine cuddling this heavy machine! 

Sorry to go on and on about this machine, but I love it, love the results. Tonight, I was lying on the bed when I felt strange feelings in my abdomen. I concentrated to see what the feeling was. It was muscles. For the first time in a long time, I could hold in my stomach. My muscles worked! I could not really hold in my stomach much, but the effort was felt. 

I suppose the loss of face fat is due to loss of weight, but I wonder if improvement in lymphedema could cause the smaller face.???

Like I said, my feet are so much less swollen that I do not realize I still have my sandals on. I imagine in a few weeks I will have to tighten the buckles that I had let out. I found my Mother's ring I had misplaced, and it is too loose, even after moving it to a larger finger. My hands did not look or feel swollen, but I suppose they were. My knuckles have never been enlarged, so they look the same they always have looked. 

My left knee and left hip bend more easily to get into the car. Life is better. 

If we are going out of town overnight, I will carry the Legxerciser with me and use it in the motel room. I may have a duffle bag it will fit. I don't want to live without it now. After three days, I am hooked. 

Riding my bike was a supreme joy when I was a child, teen, and adult. I even rode it when pregnant and had people call my obgyn to tell me to quit. He did not. I put three-year-old on seat behind me and the one-year-old in the basket and rode them to pool and around town. 

So, this new machine is wonderful for me in many ways

Do you ever love a piece of machinery to exercise?