Ash Wednesday Musings

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I have been sick with a bad cold since our first weekend in Florida, so I feel I'm not signing up for any Lenten penances. I'm actually feeling better today after a good night, but am worn out from coughing, sneezing and many nights of poor, interrupted sleep. On the mend, I hope.

St. John Vianney was crowded for 8:30 Mass -- no handshaking for me, but at least I didn't cough on anyone (how I think I got sick myself). The homily was the usual Lenten fare, full of resolve and good intentions. My mind wandered to the Ash Wednesdays of my childhood in Temiscaming, when all the schoolkids would show up for 8 o'clock Mass and have breakfast afterward in the classroom.

My breakfast was always a disgusting tuna fish sandwich which had been sitting for several hours by the time it finally got opened at my desk. The tasteless white bread, often old and stale, was by then soaked through with fish oil. I would sometimes open the damp waxed paper and sniff the sandwich before squishing it small and putting it back, uneaten, in my paper lunch bag, also blotted with fish oil. It was not a "store boughten" lunch bag, but, rather, a re-purposed bag from my mother's paper bag collection, too large to be considered lunch-worthy and altogether too conspicuous. I was envious of some kids' colorful tin lunch boxes or neat lunch bags.

Some students had milk, either white or chocolate, purchased from the teacher. I think some of them had strips of tickets that they used every day for milk. I rarely had milk, even the palatable chocolate stuff, since it made me want to throw up. Instead, I sometimes drank Kool-Aid or a related product called "Freshie", transported to school in an old jar that still tasted of dill pickles.

Some kids had cheese sandwiches; others  had pastries; many had salmon or tuna like me. Apples and oranges were shared as we talked quietly among ourselves. The jokers in the class created something of a party atmosphere, and we all tried to stretch out the meal to delay the start of the school day. Despite a late start, it stretched on an on, literally "ad nauseam".  With thirty or more paper bags full of garbage sitting in the classroom all day, the smell was overwhelming.

By the next day, we were firmly into the Lenten long haul.

Establishing Medical Care in the Tampa Bay Area

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Two years ago I had hoped that my gastroenterology clinic at the University of Minnesota would be able to find a center for my Entyvio infusion which came due during our visit to Florida. It wasn't possible, so I had to fly back to Minnesota for the procedure, and then return to Florida, all within 24 hours.

The infusion for Crohn's disease is critical to my health, and I really don't want to miss with timing. I decided that I would get the job done myself this year. I started with Health Partners, my insurance company, in the fall and got no help at all, except to assure me that the whopping bill (about $21,000 a crack, of which ends up costing Medicare about $6,000, plus the cost of the doctor's visit -- maybe $400 or so) would be covered.

I sat down with the phone early one day, thinking this would take me all morning. I tried first with a university affiliated infusion center, but had no luck. I then looked up gastroenterology practices within a 25-mile radius, and chose the one with a website that had a patient portal. I was lucky on my first call. The receptionist at Gastro Florida patched me through to Gastroenterology Consultants of Clearwater, where I quickly got an appointment and received new patient paperwork within a week. Shortly after, I got login instructions for the patient portal.

I've received the usual email and phone reminders over the last week and my appointment was this morning. The staff, both customer service and medical, are personable, competent and professional. I left with the promise of a call about my infusion appointment, scheduled for March 13.

Easy!

Warm Weather Cold

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Unbelievably, I hadn't been sick since last year's flu. Should've known the reprieve couldn't last. On Saturday evening, I heard an alarming number of people coughing in church, and, not for the first time, thought about the transmission distance of germ: it's something like 20 feet.

Sure enough, on Sunday afternoon I noticed a salty taste in my mouth, a sure sign of impending illness, ever since I was a small child. I dismissed it as salt in the drinking water. No kidding: I decided that the water softener or something else made tap water too salty, and refused to drink anything but bottled water. By Monday I was getting a sore throat, and by Tuesday morning, I had a full blown cold.

Fortunately, I travel with DayQuil and we picked up some more. Slept well last night.

Rainy Day

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I love a downpour, especially in Florida. The rain clears away dust and pollen, and for a little while surfaces seem clean and fresh. We postponed our lunch at Leverock's for a couple of hours, thinking that the "shower" would clear, but it certainly did not. We did go out later and shloshed through big puddles for a late meal that served as an early dinner. Leverock's clam chowder, Caesar salad an breadstick for both of us. Delish and just right for the day. I tried a real cocktail -- it was called something like "rose primrose". Served in a large stemmed glass, it tasted something like gin and tonic, with mint leaves and four delicious blackberries. Light pink and bitter, not at all sweet. Reminded me of the days when I drank campari and soda -- different, of course, but a similar, satisfying bitter taste.

Farmers' Market

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Corey avenue Sunday morning market is an adventure. Yesterday, Bob drove me there -- traffic in St. Pete Beach is crazy busy this year and I, a nervous driver, find the thought of it intimidating.

The usual vendors were at the market but I wasn't alone so I didn't walk around the way I usually do. Instead. I hit the main seafood vendor and the fruit/vegetable market. We bought a pound of salmon (tonight's dinner), shrimp, potatoes, green beans, oranges, apples, a lemon and a lime, all for $33.

When we got home, I looked up how to boil, peel and devein shrimp. The first time I did this several decades ago, the shrimp were tough and tasteless, so I never tried again. I learned how to do the job online and didn't overcook the shrimp.

The shrimp were delicious. We had a nice appetizer before dinner and will have the same tonight. I think the shrimp would be easier to handle raw, so next time I'll try shelling and deveining before boiling.

Back in the Swim

:"My pool"

After months of daily swimming, I had to quit my Y morning routine in December after my shoulder injury. I did swim every day on our cruise, but "il faut le dire vite" -- I was so careful of my shoulder that my "swim" was more like a soak in a big bathtub.

I got in my first swim in St. Pete on Thursday evening -- very tentative at first but I'm more confident and stronger each time I get in the water. I find the water too warm and very salty, but I guess those are minor complaints.

 I still can't do a front crawl for more than a few strokes, but my breast stroke is painfree and about 50% of my previous strength. I'm gradually introducing my favorite backstroke (back crawl).

I'm doing about the same distance  I was doing in December, though in two sessions (morning and evening), instead of one. My goal is to be almost back to my pre-injury status by the end of March 

Back "Home" in St. Pete Beach

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Boca Ciega Bay

This is a different year. My sore shoulder (getting better now), Bob's cracked ribs (ice storm a few weeks ago) and uncertain weather (storms across the country) made it easy for us to decide on a fly-cation this winter. The snowstorms until we left on Thursday were relentless. Gave the shoulder a good workout and Scott did the rest. On Wednesday, he plowed and shoveled for over an hour while we got ready for our trip.

Son Chris picked us up before 7:00 a.m. to take us to the airport. The streets of St. Paul (never good in the winter) were even worse than usual after the previous day's snow, so we were happy to get a ride to MSP, where cars were parked 3 lanes deep for passenger drop-off. The plane left a little late after de-icing but we still got into TPA at about 1:30. Car pick-up at Budget took a little time but we were well treated  by customer service. The lovely rep  upgraded us to a brand new Dodge Journey, all for $1493 (tax is half the total). It's tricky to rent a vehicle for more than 30 days but State Farm (our insurer), Hotwire and Budget figured out how to get the job done.

I like this inexpensive print on the wall

We checked into our condo at about 4:00 p.m. A little more red tape, due to management and staff changes -- former manager is now "away" for a while. Credit card would have cost nearly 3% of the total (a chunk of change), so I wrote a check. I rarely write a check so I had only three in the checkbook, but I managed and we finally got into our condo. Fortunately, we had stopped at the liquor store so we poured a well-deserved drink. I ordered a delicious seafood dinner from Skidder's and walked a couple of blocks to pick it up.

We've seen the maintenance guys for a few problems (AC, garbage disposal, Bob's side of the bed falling off the box spring), but the people in the office are very responsive to the slightest issue. We move up from 403 to our usual 608 next Friday.

The weather is consistently sunny and hot (80F).