Shopping and COVID19

 Now that the numbers are lower in Pima County.  I am venturing out to the supermarket very early to do a quick shopping trip. I mask up and hope for the best.  For the most part people are respectful of my need for space.  It is still weird to see people older than me not masking up.  The snowbirds seem to be the worst.  When they should be the very people who should be wearing masks.  I just make the assumption that they do not have the vaccine either and give them A wide berth. I have also noticed that these same people seem to be the ones that ignore the no pets allowed only service animals.  Also very few people use masks in the bakery area. When I get back to the car I use hand sanitizer before I get into the car.  After I get the groceries away I am worn out.  I can literally do nothing for a few hours because I worry about space around me. Who is spreading the virus. It is all very trying.  It may sound really weird but I long for the pre COVID19 days when people would just turn their backs to me because they did not know what to say after Eric died.  At least shopping was leisurely and relaxing back then.  

I am also wondering how low the COVID19 numbers need to go before we can resume outdoor dinning for lunch   Dinner is out of the question because the science has shown that the numbers go up as the day goes on. Then when will it be possible to meet up with friends.  Maybe even go to an event with people outside first. Then inside  I am hoping that Omnicron is the last major variant. 

Another thing I noticed is that I had a very bad sinus headache for most of the day.  It was very windy. However when the wind died down the headache went away and I had energy again. I am going to have to ask the doctor about that one.  I have know for years when the barometric pressure went crazy I would always get a headache.  I wonder if the wind thing is related.  

Absolutely no knitting was done today.  It was to windy to walk outside.  Remember the days when the weather was to bad to walk outside and we went to the mall to walk and then have a quick bite? We are still not there yet.  I did get 45 minutes on my Cubii2 though.  

A Rare Good Day

 Any day is a great day where I get 9 hours of sleep the night before.  This lead to a fantastic day of exercise.  I was feeling good after the first mile so I said what the heck.  I started the second mile knowing that if I ran out of steam John was just a phone call away.  I got a little dicey near the end.  I sat on a neighbor’s fence until I caught my breath.  I then finished my walk.  My first 2 mile walk in a long time. I did come home exhausted. Took off my sunglasses. Grabbed a mug of ice water and hit the couch.  I did not move for 2 hours.  After dinner I got a 45 minute workout on my Cubii2.  I am feeling pretty good. 

I am hoping that I have more good days than bad days. I just need a few less days of brain fog   A few more less days of tired hands .  

Out of Sync

 I am a little bit out of sync with my mind being in one place in time and space and my hands being stuck somewhere else.  Which lead to my whole body being outa sync all day.   So not much got done today.  I did manage to make it around the block for a walk, but had no energy to do Cubii2 after dinner.  I did notice that there were 2 very large parties on the next street over on my walk.  With over 1,000 new cases a day of COVID19 in Pima County right now, I am pretty sure that this is not the best idea in the world.  

I did manage to get a few rows knit after lunch today, but that was all for my hands.   Also when I can’t hold the knitting needles I have tended to do jigsaw puzzles.  I got 6 finished today.  The most amazing thing is that no puzzle pieces were left on the floor thanks to my amazing puzzle app.  

When we were talking to the kids today I explained  to the kids and John that my iPad Air (1st edition) was showing up with unusual colors in a lot of apps.  They said that the touch screen was dying.  They also said the next version would not be out until March.  I really hope my iPad lasts until then.  So I will do a backup this week just so I don’t lose anything.  Technology we can’t live with it or with out it.  

I am Grumpy

 I have been having a really hard time with social isolation lately. I am beyond the blues. I am at the point I feel this will never end.  Now the are saying because of a shortage of a basics like IV fluids it’s best not to leave the house.  I can really see their point. People have forgotten how to drive and lost the ability to be nice.  We also hit a grim milestone today, 900,000 people have officially died of COVID19 in the United States.  Unofficially I am sure it is much higher.  My prayers go out to the families. 

In other news climate change researchers say the the weather for the last 50 years has been getting more extreme.  So if I have this right I was not even a teenager when the weather started going to hell in a hand bag.  It’s just getting worse.  What does this mean in the long run, because 50 years is a drop in the bucket in weather years.  I guess I will  have to find the article by University of Arizona researcher's. 

The only good news is that I am caught up on laundry.  I will not have to do any until Sunday.  

My Ramblings

 Its Girl Scout Cookie time and I have place my order. Two of my daughters nieces are selling cookies this year and they both got an order.  I kept it equal.  Their mom is an absolute saint for agreeing to keep the cookies that I ordered for her kids.  I think this is a win on so many levels. First I don’t have cookies at my house. Second she has extra snacks for her kids. Third it helps the girls.  Fourth I don’t have cookies in the house.  

I have still not been able to get duck eggs.  I got up early and went to Lee Lee’s. Lee Lee’s is still out.  I wish that I knew who else sells them in Tucson. Its not a COVID19  thing, this was happening long before COVID19.  Specialty foods like duck eggs and goat cheese seem to have a natural cycle. I just have to live with it.  I know they will be back soon.  

Winter has hit in Tucson, not like back east. It is expected to get into the 20’s tonight. No snow or rain in most of Arizona, with the exception of the mountains.  We have left a tap running so we will not need a plumber tomorrow.  I am so glad that I have my new gloves to keep my hands warm tonight.  I am also glad that I have a Bluetooth key board for my iPad.  Now I don’t have to stop typing to warm my fingers up.  The iPad touch screen is not very fond of cold fingers.  I just have to remember to hit the shift key for capital letters. 

Despite a very bad body day I did manage to get a lot of things done around the house.  I did however fall asleep near the end of folding laundry.  I did feel better after my nap. I have one load left to fold.  Not to bad in my humble opinion. Don’t get me wrong I still have more laundry to do but there is no more room on the cloths line. I did sleep through dinner preparation time so we did a freezer dive for dinner.  This leaves the last of the chili for dinner tomorrow.  Yeah, I don’t have to cook dinner tomorrow night.  

A Recipe Hack

 Yesterday’s dinner was an adventure in making.  I have not had corn bread for a couple of years now. I have just needed a piece for a while now. I just love the taste and convenience of Trader Joe’s Cornbread Mix, The mix as prepared by box directions has 14 grams of fat and 40 grams of carbohydrates. That would wreck havoc with my body. So I needed to think about a redo.

As per the box the recipe calls for 1 egg, 1/2 cup of oil and 3/4 cup of milk.  As you can see a whole lot of fat. 

So here is where yesterdays hack took a weird turn. I found my bottle of vegetable oil in the cabinet.  It still had 5 months to the Best Buy sell date. I opened it up and it had gone rancid. Great I had already opened the box and cracked the egg. What was next? To find a different oil of course.  I had some olive oil, now I know in some countries they use olive oil in cakes. Cornbread is more like cake than bread, so I thought why not give it a try. The absolute worst thing that could happen is that the experiment would be tossed. 

So here is my change to make it lower in fat. 1 egg, 1/4 cup of Olive Oil, 1 cup of water. The egg has 5 grams of fat. The olive oil has 54 grams of fat. For a total of 59 grams of fat divided into 9 servings brings the fat content down to a more manageable 6.5 grams of fat per serving. Compare that to 14 grams of fat if you prepare it by the package directions.  It is still higher than I like to go but it is definitely more manageable.

I followed the package mixing and baking directions.  I cooked it for 40 minutes. This is the time it took for the toothpick came out clean. I did notice that it did not brown on top the same way as when following the package directions. I then let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting. 

The corn bread was lighter and more cake like. It was still on the sweet side. It did not need additional Margarine. I knew that I had made a good hack when John went back for a second piece of cornbread. John never goes back for more cornbread. John usually just eats 1 piece of the 9 and leaves the rest of the pan for me. This is why I don’t make it very often. John also made sure to wrap the cornbread up so he could have more with dinner tonight.   

Try it and let me know what you think about it.  

A Rant

 Today was not a fabulous day.  It took me all day to run and empty the dishwasher. It it got done.  I got up early despite a bad night. I got to Trader Joe’s early, all I can say it is winter in Tucson.  I was not in the store 5 minutes when some older lady started walking off with my cart.  She apologized and said she could not tell the carts apart. Then kept on apologizing.  Then there an older gentleman who got stuck in the frozen food aisle, he just stood there. Ten minutes later when I realized that I had forgotten something and went back, he was still in the same spot.  

I really wish people would pay more attention to the older people in their lives. Ask me how I know how hard it is to be the sandwich generation.  Despite having 2 kids at home. Volunteering at their schools.  Doing community service projects. Carving out time for me. I still found time to make sure my father in law got to all his appointments.  Made sure he had all his shopping done. Took him out to lunch and family time.  I also helped take care of an uncle too. Took him out to lunch. Checked in on him. Did errands for him.  

There comes a time when you have to step up and become the adult.  There comes a time when you have to say no, you can’t go south for the winter. Where you have to reverse roles. It is not fare to put someone with mild dementia in a situation where they are all alone and confused.  They probably should not be driving either.  The accident rate goes up in the winter in Tucson.  When our snowbirds get confused they drive in the bicycle lanes which is dangerous for everyone.  They ignore traffic signs and lights, that might be a visual or cognitive problem.  They confuse the break and accelerator pedals.  They will drive 20mph in the fast lane in a 45mph zone.  They will drive here even when they lost their drivers license back home because we are the Wild West.  It is a state law that you have a valid license to drive here.  

Please be kind to the elders in your lives.  They have great stories to tell.  If after everything I  have said you still want to send your elders to Tucson, please take advantage of the many care companies and adult living homes. 

Thank you.