Wednesday, August 18

I was glad to see this morning that we are back online.

I skipped my exercises this morning, because Hubbie and I had appointments to get fasting lab blood tests...his at 8:30, mine at 8:45. We arrived a few minutes before 8:30, and both of us were called back to the lab in no time. Besides a blood test, I was to give a urine sample. I didn't know that before I arrived, or I wouldn't have relieved myself just before we left the house. The lab had to make do with what little I could provide.

We were back home around 9 a.m., and Hubbie fixed us a breakfast of bagels with cream cheese and mulberry jelly, sliced fresh peaches, and mugs of steaming decaf coffee.

At 11 a.m., I returned to the clinic for a six-month follow-up exam. I drove the noisy diesel truck, since Hubbie was using the van to meet an appointment.

The doctor said my blood and urine tests showed perfect results, though she won't know about the thyroid result for a couple of days. But I expect it to be fine, too. The doctor commented on the bruises on my arms (of which there is one more added, thanks to the blood draw), and I told her that it is really inconvenient to sport these black and blue places during special event times. Right now, I have a couple of sizable bruises on my right arm, and about four on my left arm. She suggested that if I was really bothered by them, I should contact my cardiologist to see if she would cut my blood thinner to one tablet every other day, instead of one a day. I'll probably do that.

Back home, Hubbie and I settled for PB&J sandwiches and glasses of milk for lunch. Mother had lunch at her house and then came over to our house afterward.

After lunch, I shopped at both the stores that have sales every weekend. I had a $10 coupon for one store, where I bought intimate apparel at buy-one-get-one-half-price, plus the $10 discount. At the other store, I bought a brown shell for myself and two shirts for Hubbie (Mother will use these as Christmas gifts for him). The shirts were on sale at 70% off, and I used a 40% off coupon to buy the shell.

When I got back home, Hubbie was ready to commandeer the van to go to a chiropractor appointment at 3:30. It's been a day for doctor appointments. Glad to be done with them for a while.

While I was gone shopping, Mother put a pot of beans on to simmer. We'll have the beans with baked sweet potatoes, sauteed cabbage, and sliced tomatoes from the garden. The tomato crop is about to dry up. We'll miss them. Although I won't mind seeing the last of the extremely hot weather of this summer, I hate that there won't be anymore fresh , locally grown fruits and vegetables. Of course, there will be autumn crops of squashes and apples, etc., but I'm paticularly fond of the summer yields.

After supper, Hubbie and I went to the WDCS to pick up a few items, including green chilies for a Mexican rice dish for tomorrow night's supper. We also stopped by the pharmacy in hopes of paying for a prescription for a family member in another town, but was told we would have to call the other store directly. This after I'd been told an hour before by the store in the other town that I could drop by our local store for the transaction. I'm surprised that our local store can't oblige, since a competing grocery store is able to. Just another reason to do more of my shopping at the grocery store.

I'm getting more and more disenchanted with the WDCS (worldwide discount chain store) anyway, especially since they are in the process of "remodeling," which includes making aisles so narrow that two carts can't pass, discontinuing name brand food products in favor of the store's lower quality brand, and narrowing the scrapbook department into practically non-existence. I don't sew, but other ladies are frustrated that the store has discontinued its fabric department. It's getting to be a thoroughly unpleasant place to shop.

Later, we watched the movie, "The Confessor," starring Christian Slater. In this PG-13 flick, a priest is accused of murder, and another priest (Slater) has his faith tested as he attempts to prove the accused priest innocent.

Note: our do-good act for the day: as we were leaving the parking lot of the WDCS, we noticed a purse in a cart...the cart had been pushed between two cars and left there. No one was around or in any of the nearby cars. So Hubbie wheeled the cart into the store and let the door greeter (a person we know) take charge of the purse. The lady who lost it will be thrilled to get it back...I know, because I've left my purse in carts twice....once at this store and once at a grocery store. Each time, an honest person took it into the store, where I retrieved it later.