The title references the "annual" medicalizing. I've had my fasting labs, my medicare "wellness" visit / interview, and my doctor's visit. Yet to come, the mammo.
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| The Prisoner proclaiming ownership of the house. |
On Friday the same gal that did the Medicare interview over the phone last year had me in person this year. She told me she'd already had omicron! Even with her three shots. But we were both masked, me in my N95, her in surgical.
I was mildly amused as the little "remember 3 words past distracting activity" test used the same three words as LAST year. I remember the words: sofa, orange, sunshine... because last year I put them into an image in my mind, of sitting on the sofa eating my orange as the sunshine streamed through the window.
In today's visit with the doctor, he went over my lab results, which were satisfactory. No med changes, just as there were none with the eye doctor. The sad thing about today's visit was that the nurse that took care of me had just lost her mother to Covid last week. Her mom was only 54! Unvaccinated. The little nurse had tried to convince her mom to get vaccinated, going over the possible things that could happen, but respecting her mom's right to choose. What did happen was that her mom got the virus, and it uncovered an underlying pulmonary condition she had not previously known was there. My heart goes out to every family that goes through this. It's not over, people. Be careful out there.
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Carl is soaking up Lacey's warm spot, beside her glass and book. |
I saw where Sidney Poitier died, at 94. Same age as my dad would have been, if he lived through today (his birthday). This time of year seems to be rife with celebrities passing, every year. They save up the whole year's worth to announce them at the end of the year... and it seems like a whole bunch.
You always knew the actors that you admired coming up were a few years older than you, but... when they start dropping like flies, the difference between your ages seems to shrink!
Saturday was bill and tax-paying day. I got really frustrated with the IRS website, because I had successfully paid estimated taxes on line using it during the past year, but they have changed their system to supposedly make it more secure. However, the way they have secured it made it impossible to verify my identity! Seems my driver's license uses only a middle initial but the IRS has my full middle name and the "primary" documents that are supposed to scan and be used to verify are split between the two. Sigh.
I've had this kind of problem with some so-called secure systems before. In the end I just gave up and wrote them a paper check and walked around the block to a "real" mailbox to send it. If they can't verify it's me, I guess they can't verify anybody else to be me, either, so paper, pen and ink it is! Glad I tried on Saturday, because if I waited for the due date, there would not have been time for the snail mail.
On Sunday I worked on my annual digital "clean-out", fueled by my experience with the IRS website. It took a while to root out the "how to" but I finally unlinked the Instagram from Facebook, and deleted that Instagram account. In the process, I found out that some "bot" had logged on as me, from Fort Worth, TX. Given the linked nature of the accounts, no great wonder the "hack" leaks I've seen. This could explain some of the goofy things I have seen in terms of "friend" requests that are obvious social attacks.
That's about it for news from here. I figured I'd best get a blog out there as I haven't had much to write about. I still have not formed any "restaurant lotions" as we are jokingly calling them this year, thanks to Alicia's voice to text auto correction of "resolutions".
With or without those lotions, let us take up the notion that the goal of life is to take care of the one and only body and mind we've been issued for existence on this plane, best can do... so that we will be able to do some good for others around us. Above all, be kind... you have no idea what burden someone else may be carrying at the moment you encounter them.
Life is good, savor it, and Spark on.🔥💖
Good job all around.
ReplyDeleteI've had a similar issue with Intuit. I've got a tax guy now since things got complicated and he's going to a full, on-line format using Intuits' cloud services. Seems my ID is tied up from when I used Turbotax over 15 years ago and now I get stuck in a loop as it doesn't want to recognize my credentials. Boo! I hate the thought of sitting on the phone with a customer service rep. Sigh, I'll give in eventually.
I think I need to do some digital cleaning out as well. I'm on too many things.
Carl is so handsome and Prisoner looks happy to rule the house.
Animals never seem to fuss over their appearance, do they? And yet, they are gorgeous, just as they are. OK, Carl gets bathed regularly, as in whenever he gets muddy. The cats take care of their own hygiene.
DeleteGood luck with your customer service folk.
Because of Omicron, I ordered new N95 masks over the weekend and the cloth masks will be retired for a while. DGD got her booster on Friday. So sad about the nurse's mother.
ReplyDeleteSidney Poitier died, at 94 and Betty White at 99. Long lives well lived for both.
Good luck with the tech snafus. So sorry about the bot. Hope you get it all worked out.
Have a great week. Warmer is predicted for us.
Jinx. I ordered a fresh pack of N95's over the weekend, too. Very glad your granddaughter got her booster. I feel for that poor young nurse and her family... she'd been trying to talk her mom into getting vaccinated for a whole year. I can imagine the inner struggle over not succeeding in that. I hope that she is at peace with her mother's choice, but having gone through something similar with my dad, nearly 23 years ago. When you're the one having to speak for them, it's easy to beat up on yourself at the outcome.
DeleteLong and productive lives for both Sidney Poitier and Betty White... but huge shocker of Bob Saget! Peter Bogdonovich at 82 last week, also.
Warmer here at least for this week, too! It got up to 41 this afternoon (F, of course). Have a great week and enjoy it!
Sounds very productive. Taking care of business!
ReplyDeleteOver here still struggling through the necessary details and minutiae as well as the Big Ugly reality. It’s a dark time for me and not just in terms of daylight. I am doing what I have to now, and trusting a spring will follow.
((( hugs ))) May that 💐🌻🌷🌸🌹🌺🌼🥀 Spring come. Sooner would be better, but until it does, I'll just sit over here and trust with you, no details needed.
Delete❤️
DeleteYou've really been on the ball with things. I have to make some appointments. I finally can get a shingles shots next month and will get that done. I had to put in an order for new masks too.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a shock with the four deaths recently. It's very sad when it happens.
So true about the celebrity / icons passing... they are people, like you and me, but their long time exposure as actors / comedians made so many of us feel close to them even though they have no idea who WE are!
DeleteGreat stuff, getting through those things. I know I get so frustrated on our ServiceCanada site and there is no place to get help on the site either. I am thinking of clearing out some more Facebook things too. I am not that great with groups (I just never post) I get pulled into them but it is always a mistake for me.
ReplyDeleteIt's that time of year when "changing a light bulb" feels like a major accomplishment, too. Good luck on your digital clearing out!
DeleteI, like you, have either scheduled or been to all medical checks….Cannot stress enough the importance of vigilantly working with the various specialists to maintain your best health! A surface melanoma was discovered on my lower leg, it was excised, and I am recovering…due to the fact that I go to the dermatologist every 4 months, no lymph nodes were involved so no chemo or radiation necessary. Do be proactive Spark friends!! Thanks for the blog, Barb…it is important to lead by example!! Eissa7
ReplyDeleteSo glad your dematologist found and excised that melanoma. I had a suspicious spot on my arm several years back. I was alerted to have it checked by a co-worker, and while it wasn't full melanoma (yet) it was the kind that could grow into it, so it was removed and sent to biopsy. Turned out no cancer, but glad I got it taken care of.
DeleteSometimes just having a once-over done is the best thing we can do to alleviate any anxiety about our ongoing health!
Oh goodness. Yes, Omicron is a sneaky virus. Has ways to circumvent the vaccination/booster, but . . . at least it decreases the possibility of severe illness. Not a fun experience, but . . . at least better than it could be.
ReplyDeleteGlad there were no med changes and labs were good.
So sorry to hear that the nurse lost her Mom to Covid – unvaccinated. **SIGH** That’s usually the case, an underlying health issue . . . either known or possibly unknown.
I know . . . the passings of Sidney Poitier and Betty White, while not shocking, was surprising because they have gone on for so long and seemingly healthy. The passing of Bob Saget was very tragic. That one just resonated w/me as he was younger than me. I hadn’t realized that.
OH my goodness. Already seeing warnings that this tax season is going to be challenging, both because of the new regulations, and staff shortages. OY
LOVE Alicia’s restaurant lotions. LOL – better than resolutions, eh!
Prisoner looks absolutely regal sitting on the arm of that couch!
Take good care!
hugs
barb
1crazydog
Yes, it's always hard when someone younger than you passes... it's just "too soon". Having lost some relatives when they were quite young: 28, 32, 54, 66, 71... they all seem "too soon" to me!
DeleteAnd here, we're in the section of the country where Omicron may be the majority but there's still a lot of Delta in those hospitals, and it's more lethal. We haven't even got OVER the Delta wave before Omicron started showing up.
Stay safe, my friend! We can only do what we can do... so let's keep doing it!
Very happy to know about your clean results! I can't understand people who still reject getting vaccinated. What's with them? My two boys are among them. Argh! Unbelievable! So many cases to prove the mortal side of Covid.
ReplyDeleteYou gave me a good chuckle with "when they start dropping like flies, the difference between your ages seems to shrink!" So true but, fortunately, sounded funny to me.
Thank you for the kind suggestions for a better life.
I forgot to mention how I love those two beautiful photos of your pets.
DeleteLOL... pets make life better, don't they? Cute pup for your profile picture, too.
DeleteSorry about your boys... there's a lot of misinformation out there, and you mix misinformation with a pinch of stubborn independence and there are some tragedies that come of it. I feel badly for all who suffer, even if they just "bet wrong"... some day it could be you or me, betting on the wrong information!
Hugs & stay safe!
Prisoner and Carl are both beautiful animals that seem to love their environments provided by their humans.
ReplyDeleteGrocery store shelves here looking awfully bare -- supply chain issues? hoarding again? other? Hard to tell but we are on the cusp of the anniversary of our two-week deep freeze of last year.
Great for taking care of medical appointments and glad results are fine.
Stay warm and safe!
I had noticed more "spotty" substitutions on my on-line orders picked up curbside, too. If it truly is supply chain, I think we might expect it to last a couple of years.
DeleteHope we don't get a repeat of that two week deep freeze! It was not fun, and I had some furnace issues around the same time... but they got fixed, and we survived... right? Onward! Safe and warm wishes for you and yours as well.
The pictures of the animals on this blog are gorgeous! ❤️
ReplyDeleteNot airbrushed or anything, either. Animals are just gorgeous, naturally! Now, if we can all think of ourselves the same way...
DeleteStay safe and warm, sis. Heard from our sister with seniority last night... she and I are thinking we're going to buckle up tight for the next month.