Pet Peeves and Other Observations

We're all trapped in our houses until historic storm Jonas wears out his welcome so I thought I'd start talking about pet peeves to get us all going.  Sure, I could read a book, watch a movie, do laundry, pick up around the house, change the sheets on my bed, but meh.  Those things are boring to me now and we still have at least 24 hours of this to go. This might be my cry for help.

I'll start with the obvious one.  How about all those terrible drivers when it snows?  Sheesh, the least little bit of snow falls out of the sky and no one can drive in this place!  Honestly, if only I could meet one of those terrible drivers I'd give them a piece of my mind.  Of course, I've yet to meet one.  Every single person I talk to complains about the terrible drivers but no one ever is that terrible driver.  No one ever says, "It's me! I am just the worst driver when it snows.  You nailed it!"

While we're on driving I have some other observations.  How come every time you're the last in a long line of cars and there's plenty of space behind you, the driver merging into your lane always speeds up and squeezes in between you and the driver ahead of you?  Why don't they just go to the end of the line?  Every time the last in line driver has to slow down to accommodate the other driver since there normally isn't a ton of space between the two cars.   Which leads me to another obvious observation, tailgating.  We all hate it.  We all do it.  We should stop tailgating.

Do you give the thank you wave when someone makes space for you to merge your car?  You should.   I've noticed that's coming back again.  How about when someone blasts their horn at you?  I wave then too.  We all make mistakes so whatever I did, I wave to say I'm sorry.

Finally on the topic of driving - if you're not good at merging onto highway traffic at the intersection, just stop and wait for your opening even if it means waiting for the light to change and all traffic to stop.  Don't drive to the very end of the merge lane and stop.  Now you're just sitting there and everybody else who does know how to merge into moving traffic will try to go anyway and then you'll think they took your spot - which you couldn't have found anyway - and so you'll try to jump in.  Frankly, I'm amazed that more people aren't injured or killed because of this. I'll tell you what my Dad told me when I was a new driver taking on the world, "It doesn't matter how fast you get there.  It just matters that you get there."  So sit and wait because it won't kill you.

Here's another observation.  How come people can't get the grocery cart over to the stand and they just leave it in an empty parking space?  Sometimes the cart is in the space right next to the cart stand!  This happens at all stores with carts, not just grocery stores, but we've all been to the grocery store lately so this one is on my mind.  I just wonder why it's so hard to do this.

How come when you're in the grocery store people will park their cart on one side of the aisle and shop on the other so they're blocking the items with their cart?  Or, when someone is looking at a group of items, people will wheel up in front of them and block them, then sometimes, but not always, they turn around and see the other person and say "Oh, sorry about that."  Sometimes I've noticed people will just leave their cart in the middle of an aisle blocking everything and walk more than 10 ft away to shop for items.  Now nobody can go around them and finally someone will push the offending cart aside and then the person jumps back over and says "Sorry!" It's almost as if people just aren't aware that there are other people using the store all at the same time.

Here's one of my biggest pet peeves - people who don't pick up after their pets.  We live in a really nice place with great walking paths and it's too bad that there is dog poop all around.  I have a saying that I'm trying to make mainstream "May you step in the dog poo tomorrow you didn't pick up today."  I think it should be on a sign and that sign should be posted all around the path system.  I get it that sometimes people forget their bags and sometimes yes, I get it, I have a dog, it's just not in a condition that it can be picked up.  In that last case I always hope it rains within the next 24 hours to clean it up.  We have so much dog poo around town though and there are free bags, let me repeat that FREE bags available in a lot of places, so that excuse kind of goes out the window.   Some people say they can't see it in the dark.  Bring a flashlight.

Here's a good one - complainers!!  Seriously, how about people who complain all the time?  Hopefully you all realize I'm making a joke here.  How about people who don't get jokes?  They're the worst!

So those are just a few of the Pet Peeves and Observations that have been on my mind.  Feel free to leave yours in the comments.  I'd love to read them.

We're Getting A Blizzard!!

Like a lot of people, I had plans for this weekend.  I was taking Friday off from work to travel to my sister's house in New Jersey.  On Saturday we were going to see "Wicked" on Broadway.  Twenty-four hours from now though we are getting a blizzard.  The words used to describe it so far include 'historic' 'mind-blowing' 'crippling' 'catastrophic' and so on and so forth, and so the trip is off.

Everyone around here is in a panic and so we are engaging in the ritualistic buying of bread, milk and toilet paper to protect ourselves from the snow gods.  I ran out earlier this evening to the Food Lion in Oakland Mills because I had heard that it wasn't busy.  It wasn't as busy as other grocery stores but checking out took forever.  I stood in line behind a family of 50 with baby carriages and grocery carts and I'm pretty sure they might still be there waiting for all of their items to be rung up.  I finally gave up and jumped into the long "12 items or less" line.

I did not go for the usual things, instead I realized that I needed batteries for my flashlight, peanut butter and microwave popcorn.  Full disclosure, I had already purchased the required ritualistic items the night before and stood in a line at Whole Foods in downtown Columbia.  I have paid my dues to the snow goddess.

I'm looking forward to the snow once its finished.  I bought snow shoes a few years ago and this will give me a chance to use them again.  Hopefully I won't be too tired from shoveling to use them.  Also, all of the batteries I got are not destined for the flashlight.  I lit up a tree next to my front door for Christmas with some battery operated lights and they've been fading.  With the snow coming I just thought it would be really pretty to have the tree nice and bright.  I'm sure my neighbors are wondering when the lights will come down since it's been several weeks since Christmas.  Frankly, I don't plan to take them down until the end of January.  I like driving up to my house at night after a long day at work and seeing the Christmas lights beaming out at me.

I wish my tiny townhouse had a garage for my car, but it doesn't and so I will have to dig it out after the snow stops and make sure the word "reserved" can be seen clearly on my designated space.  I'm looking forward to seeing all my neighbors out in the bright sunshine as we shovel our walks and dig out our cars.  Everyone complains about the snow but at the same time everyone also seems a lot nicer during snow shoveling.  Maybe it's because being tired from all the shoveling kills our mean streaks and desire to hide from one another.

I'm not looking forward to being trapped in my house all day on Saturday.  Any other time I can stay in my house all day and find plenty to do, but as soon as I can't go out restlessness takes over and I get a bad case of cabin fever.  I have plans for what I'm going to do and hopefully they'll keep me entertained.  I have a dog and he will need to go out and go to the bathroom and as long as I can see where I'm going and find my way back to my house, I'll take him for a couple short loops around the neighborhood.  Otherwise it's the backyard only for him.  With the death of Glenn Frey a few days ago I'm planning to watch "History of the Eagles" on Amazon Video.  I'll probably find something to blog about.  I may even make a batch of cookies to take to work when the world returns to normal.  I already know that books that hold my attention right now while I have so many other things I need to do will be boring on Saturday.

For a while after the snow stops the neighborhood will be a plush blanket (I hope) of lovely, white snow and everything will be sparkling and beautiful.  I hope on Sunday morning I can enjoy that while I drink some coffee and before I head outside to the work that awaits.  In all the beauty of the snow, I hope that all of us remain safe.  I'll make sure to dig out my HVAC unit out back.  I have a neighbor who is ~93 and so I'll check in on him to make sure he's okay.  I'll walk down the street to make sure our fire hydrant gets dug out and I'll make sure the mailman has a path to our mailbox and doesn't have to step through deep snow to deliver our mail next week.

I hope all of you, your friends and loved ones stay safe and warm this weekend.  Happy Blizzard!

My Dad is Legally Blind

Last spring my Dad chopped up a tree in his backyard and hauled some pretty heavy logs around.  He got quite a workout. Then a few days after that he woke up with some incredibly blurry vision in his right eye.  My 78 year old Dad has glaucoma and for the past several years the vision in his left eye has been diminished enough that he had mostly given up driving except for very short distance trips.  He has been relying on the vision in his right eye to see.  He called the Wilmer Eye Institute where he goes for his glaucoma visits and was told to come in.  He had suffered a retinal vein occlusion.

If you've never been to the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins I can tell you that the majority of people sitting in it's waiting rooms are seniors.  All of them are waiting for someone to stick a needle in their eye.  They're the ones who must not have been paying attention to the oath we all took in elementary school when we promised not to lie "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye....".

This was not the first time my Dad had required an injection to his eye and it hasn't been the last.  The injection worked immediately and my Dad's vision was restored.  For about two weeks when it diminished again.  The best way to explain what had happened to his eye is that he had suffered an eye stroke, and not just one.  The loss of blood and oxygen had caused part of his retina, the part he uses to focus, to die.  The injection merely cleared away leaking fluid and as his retina died, my Dad's vision was lost.  He can sense light which makes his eyes very sensitive and so he wears dark glasses quite a bit.  He is considered legally blind.

My Dad is a voracious reader.  He has spent a good deal of his life buried in a book.  His mother used to have to kick him outside to play because he spent so much time indoors reading.  The other thing my Dad finds great enjoyment in is his computer.  Finally, gardening has been another interest of his. When I realized that his vision would not be restored, I began searching for a stem cell study that might regrow the veins and retina that were lost.  There is no such study.  At least, none that I could find.  There is no treatment or reversal for this condition.  Fluid continues to leak out, slower now than initially, which further impairs my Dad's vision until he gets another injection to clear it away.  Hopefully that will cease after more time has passed and the frustration of further vision loss will go away.

My Dad's regular physician has been zealous in treating his high blood pressure which was the cause of the vein occlusion.  While no one wants to lose their vision, I think it could have been more serious.

One of the things that concerned me most was how my Dad would respond emotionally to what had happened.  I think at first he believed, especially after that first injection, that his vision would be restored.  When the final diagnosis came back the following month my Mom described it as "a bummer".  Yes, definitely a bummer.  However, my Dad has been in great spirits throughout this experience giving me one more reason to admire a Dad I already hold in high esteem.  I would say the same about my Mom in this situation.  She too could be angry and frustrated - my Dad has become not quite wholly dependent on her.  She drives him to all of his Doctor's visits and anywhere else he needs to go as he can no longer drive himself.   She doesn't have the time to herself that she once enjoyed and worries a lot about my Dad.  Yet, she's been in good spirits throughout.

My Dad's new vision status has been a learning experience for all of us.  Other than the medical side of things, how could my Dad retain his independence and still enjoy books and his computer?  My Dad can see well enough to walk the dog and so he's continued to do this.  Every afternoon you'll see him out walking with Mickey for about 45 minutes.  He can't cross the street any longer because he can't see whether or not a car is coming so his route is a little different but he's out there.  He can see well enough to still pick up after his dog.  In the kitchen, he is still able to cook and he makes dinner regularly.  Last summer when we went to the ocean, he still got in and went for a swim.  Luckily it was a very calm ocean while we were there because he told my nephew "All the waves look giant to me!".

Reading was the biggest loss for my Dad.  A lifelong learner he does not seem interested so far in learning to read Braille.  Initially I did a lot of research and found that his Kindle could read to him.  He has one of the earliest models that had some experimental technology included that is not available on newer models.  It reads in a monotone, but it was a good stop gap while we learned what else was out there.  Audio books abound these days with actors doing excellent jobs telling the story or reading the information.  However, it's not as easy as just handing a device to someone and then off they go.  My Dad can't write down instructions and then read them later.  He has to memorize all the steps that need to be followed.  Also, my Mom is not the technical one in the family.  She loves her iPad and she uses email but that's where it stops.  She too has to learn whatever I'm teaching my Dad because I'm not always available to answer his questions.  There are things that you and I would never think about when listening to audio books.  Can you pause the book?  Can you start right back where you left off?  For example, a book on CD is fine, but you can't always pause it where you want and then start back up.  My Dad would need to find the track he's on and figure things out that are much more difficult for him.

Understanding what resources are available to someone with my Dad's status has been critical to ensuring my Dad stays independent and can engage in activities that he loves.  When you are legally blind, you are eligible for free services and tools that you would not be if you were simply low vision.  My Mom and Dad attend the "Low Vision Support Group" at the Bain 50+ Center every Tuesday morning where they've found out a lot of information.  My Dad is a US Veteran as well, so he gets additional services and tools.  One of the first things we received was a book reader with cassettes from the Library of Congress.   While the Kindle got us to a certain point, the book reader is so much better.  Its simply audio books in a different format using a device that my Dad can operate.  While my Dad can't read to himself, he does like listening to all the books.  He receives 5-10 books in the mail and then as he finishes we drop them back in the mail again to return them.  You can choose the books you want to read or you can just choose categories and the library will choose for you.

The computer has been a little more challenging than the books.  My Dad had just purchased a new all in one MAC with the big retina display when he lost his vision.  Now we know all about the accessibility features on that computer and he's had several tutoring sessions from people at the VA who came to his house.  The other night I noticed my Dad is getting much better at using his computer.  The computer will take longer to get used to than the books, but I think eventually my Dad will use it for all the same things he did before.

We're all getting used to the fact now that my Dad is legally blind.  Sometimes we can be a little over protective, "Dad, watch out, there's a step here, can you see it?" because we want him to be safe.  When we're out and about I notice that someone turns around to make sure my Dad is still with us as he has to follow someone when we go someplace new.  When they shop my Dad used to head off in one direction and my Mom in another to meet up in another location in the store or at the cash register.  My Dad doesn't like to do this any longer because he feels that he'll get lost.  I'm hoping he and my Mom will make the move to new cell phones that include apps for blind people that would help my Dad navigate around stores and other places.  Also, if he got lost he could just call my Mom and say "Come get me, I'm lost."

It's pointless to wish my Dad could have his vision back.  Instead I hope every day that it doesn't get worse, but if it does we're prepared.  We're in a good place right now and slowly but surely my Dad is adapting to all the new devices and the new world he exists in.  Physically and mentally my Mom and Dad are in great shape and have been enjoying a wonderful retirement.  As we age we all get to deal with something that throws us for a bit of a loop and this was my Dad's loop.

Sure, I Can Stop Eating Meat.....

A little over a year ago now, I watched the documentary "FOOD, INC." and decided that except for fish, I was going to give up eating meat. I was already part of the "Meatless Monday" crowd thanks in large part to my Mom who insisted I be part of it along with my Dad and all my siblings.  Yes, we're all grown, two of us are married and have kids but your Mom can still get  you to do stuff.  It was not unusual for me to eat at my Mom's house on a Monday and so it was easier to go along with what she said.  I didn't really take it all that seriously though until I watched the documentary.

I'm not going to tell anyone why I think they too should give up meat because I think everyone is already familiar with those arguments.  I know I was and still hadn't given it up. What I do want to talk about is how hard it really is to give up meat.   Let me be honest here, while I mostly gave up eating meat I still eat meat, not just fish, which is why I'm writing this post.  I did not give up eating meat because I don't like meat.  I love meat.  It tastes really good and I enjoy it.  I gave up meat for all the other reasons.  Primarily I gave it up due to the animal and human abuse that are inherent in the way we produce meat and secondly because giving up meat is good for the environment.  Of course there are also health benefits to giving up meat but that was far down on my list.

I told my family I was giving up meat and everyone was really supportive. When I eat at her house, my Mom will make sure I have fish to eat if she and my Dad are eating chicken. I didn't make my Dog stop eating meat, but I did start paying closer attention to the food I was buying for him.  I did a little bit of research to find him a sustainable and organic option.  Now I just had to stop eating meat.

I'm single and while I like to cook it's really hard to cook for one.  I tend to head towards easy and convenient options and that's where my frustration started.  We are a meat eating nation and finding tasty vegetarian options is tough.  For the first week it seemed really easy.  I'm not a vegan so I still eat eggs and dairy and that provides plenty of options at breakfast.  I love a grilled cheese sandwich so that made a nice dinner and I experimented with different types of grilled cheese.  However, I don't think it's a good idea to eat that much cheese on a daily basis.

I buy my lunch at work and that was one of the first challenges.  We have a decent cafeteria onsite at my office, but all of the selections at lunch seem to have meat included.  Whether it's a sandwich or a hot meal.  We do have a salad bar and I will make use of that as much as possible, but I've noticed that variety is important in what we eat.  After a while I can barely bring myself to look at the salad bar and I'm walking around looking for other choices.  The cafeteria offers a meatless sandwich, but there's only one type and like salad, you don't want to eat it all the time.  How do you find something that is meatless and still tastes good and doesn't leave you looking for more to eat?

I found myself eating chips and other snacks that had no meat in them like nuts during the day and then when I got home it wasn't much different.  I had some Brie in the refrigerator and some fig jam - perfect for dinner.  Still, it was too much cheese in my diet though.  I made myself eggs benedict for dinner on more than one occasion.  I threw a baked potato in the oven and put 'fixins' on it as a dinner.   Still, I worried that what I was eating just wasn't all that healthy.

I wandered around Whole Foods and Giant searching for easy to make, vegetarian meals.  Salad kits are a good grab and filling.  Since I hadn't given up fish I found myself eating a lot of shrimp and salmon.  I really didn't want to eat fish every single day though.

I started a Facebook group, "My Favorite Veggie Recipes", for my friends and I to share so we could all have more choices.  One of my favorite recipes from that page is a grilled cheese that uses Avocado and mozzarella.  It's a nice change from the average grilled cheese.  Everyone who posts in that group has usually tried the recipes which is helpful since a lot of vegetarian recipes aren't that great tasting.

I did start to realize that there are a lot of great tasting dishes that are vegetarian.  Eggplant parmesan, Spinach Lasagne, and zucchini pie are just three recipes that I loved growing up as a kid.  My Dad makes a killer Onion Pie and my Mom an Artichoke Souffle. It's really about experimenting and finding what works best.  For example, today for lunch I cut up an avocado, put a little bit of salad dressing on it and it was delicious and while high in fat, pretty tasty.

The cafeteria did get on board with offering other meatless options besides the salad bar.  One of the reasons for that is we have a lot of non-native Indians who are vegetarian working in our offices.  If the cafeteria wants to survive, it has to cater to everyone's needs.  They offer a taco salad made with veggie crumbles and I've now purchased veggie crumbles from the grocery store to see if I can cook them up myself.  I can recreate the taco salad, make tacos and I'm wondering if I could use them in a cheesesteak sub?  The first veggie crumble I tested I overcooked - which is very easy to do with the non-meat meats.

What giving up meat really means is a lot of experimentation and an open mind.  I've decided that it's okay if I eat Grilled Cheese more than once in a week.  If I do, I'll have a salad the next day at lunch.  I also ask other people I know who don't eat meat what they cook or buy.  If I make a large meal, I can always freeze some of it to eat later.  I used to make a turkey chili and if everything goes well with the veggie crumbles, I'm going to try and make it with that instead to make it meatless.  I also have to learn to pack my lunch once in a while.

Before giving up meat I didn't think as much as I do now about what I was eating and it's made me more aware of whether or not what I'm eating is a healthy option.  I eat a lot more fruit.  I'll grab a bag of clementines at the store - they're easy to peel and taste good.  Also, I don't say I'm going to be meatless for life.  I say I'll be meatless today and see how it goes.  If today goes well, then tomorrow I'll try to be meatless again.  So far this past week I've been fairly meatless.  I did eat some meat.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I'll try once again to not eat meat.

My Cold Remedies

It's cold out today and I can really feel it in my bones.  Since that warm spell two weeks before Christmas where I found myself sitting on my back deck, I feel that we've been in a gloomy season.  Little to no sun and damp makes it hard to get my enthusiasm together and head outdoors to exercise and walk the dog.  Add a slight head cold to the mix and I've found the perfect formula for keeping myself indoors and not getting much accomplished.  On a more promising note, it is bright and sunny this morning.

I have all kinds of things I think I'm going to do when I am driving the car or in the shower.  I make 'plans' that a lot of times I forget about or just don't follow through on.  It's my nature to be a procrastinator.  I wrote yesterday about some of those plans that are now actually down on 'paper' as it were.  Nothing trips me up more than a cold though.

This current cold is a gift from my Dad who shared it not only with me but with my Mother as well.  Thanks Dad.  I'm pretty sure I picked it up not when I drove the two of them home from my sister's after Christmas but when I helped him with some tasks on his computer.  I touched the keyboard - kiss of death.  Family colds are the worst as you see them move through the ranks and headed your way and there's little you can do to stop it.

This cold is mostly a head cold - congestion and sneezing and a general tiredness.  It's not serious and shouldn't keep me from going about my normal routine.  I hate being sick at all and have found through the years several 'curatives' that I have no scientific data to prove they work except for my own personal experience.

Sore throat with a cough?  I mix equal parts honey and apple cider vinegar together and take it a spoonful at a time.  If I have a serious, painful cough that wakes me up in the night I keep it right beside my bed.  Not only does it make my throat feel better but I'm convinced the vinegar is a germ killer.  In fact, the other night I mixed it up and after a spoonful or two I felt better within an hour.

Tired?  Aspirin (or Tylenol).  Just two aspirin really pick me up and while I'm not 100% it helps me with my get up and go.  Remember, I'm not a doctor, so if you decide to follow what I do to cure myself, read ALL the instructions/directions on the bottle and consult your own physician.

I drink a lot of hot chocolate when I'm not feeling well.  The hot beverage keeps me breathing, soothes my throat and I'm pretty sure chocolate is making me feel better.  Chocolate is the answer to a lot of my issues.  Hot chocolate is my go to when I don't feel well.

Pineapple juice is my cold beverage since I heard that it acts as a cough suppressant and kills cold germs (and bonus, keeps you regular!).  I don't know that it actually makes me feel better yet, but it does taste good.  I don't normally drink juice since most of it is pumped full of sugar, but I make an exception when I don't feel well.

Finally, and the hardest one to do, exercise if it's just a general cold is important.  There's something about bouncing around as you walk or run that loosens things up and keeps you breathing and breathing always makes you feel good.  If you're a swimmer, go ahead and hop in the pool and swim. Go running or go biking if those suit your style, or if you're like me, head out for a decent walk with the dog.  Don't sit on the couch and start working on your next blog post.......

Yesterday I forced Alby and I out the door to a romp in the park (the undeveloped side of Blandair).  Yes, it was gloomy, and yes I was congested, but I felt a million times better when I got home.  I heard several of you coughing through "Star Wars" last night at the Snowden UA theater.  If you're reading this now, hopefully some of this will help you and may the force be with you.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to one and all!  Whatever happened in 2015 I hope this New Year everything is better.  This is only my fifth blog post, not because I don't have a lot I want to share on a blog, but because my laptop died in 2015.  A Dell that has been inconsistent since I purchased it two and a half years ago, the hard drive finally went kaput.  Luckily the folks at Gadget Guru were able to recover nearly all of my data, including emails.  My entire life was in that laptop and it was a relief to be able to get that data back.  So, I sit here now after weeks without my laptop on a brand new MacBook Pro.   So far, so good.

I'm looking forward to 2016.  I'm not going to make resolutions so much as try to improve on what happened in 2015.  I have some vacations planned that should be fun and some around home activities that will keep me busy.  Alby and I will welcome a new foster on January 10th, the same day I'm planning to start attending a Yoga class.  Of course, I plan to exercise more and eat less in 2016, but then, don't we all plan for that?  I think if it weren't for the candy season that starts at the end of October I might be able to achieve that goal, but I have a terrible weakness for yummy candy and cookies and cake....well, you get the picture.

In 2015 I made the decision to stop eating all meat except for fish and I mostly did well, but there's a lot of room for improvement in 2016.  In fact, I have a post keyed up for talking about just how hard it is to totally give up meat.

In 2015 my Dad's vision took a turn for the worst and he was declared legally blind.  He's handled the whole situation admirably well.  He has had to completely relearn how to use his computer and of course he can no longer drive.  I plan to talk about that in a future blog post as well.  It's been a huge learning experience for our family and there's a lot to share.

In 2015 I had also wanted to spend more time reading books.  I felt that between my job and technology my attention span wasn't what it once was and that I hadn't been reading nearly as much as I used to.  I read some, but not as much as I had hoped to do.  In 2016 I'll see if I can work on reading more.

I joined the masses at the end of 2015 and went to see Star Wars on Christmas Eve and yes, I'm planning to see it a second time today.  I read that JJ Abrams thought of the original movie as a "Boys Movie".  I guess he never met any girls, because all of my friends loved Star Wars.  Even though the last three weren't that good, I still watched them.

Finally, in 2016 I'm planning to 'think globally and act locally'.  While all we see on the news is the spectacle of another presidential election, I think what happens in our own backyard has a bigger impact on our daily lives.

Here's to a fabulous 2016 for one and all!