Little by little I am whittling away at the 'remains of the day', or rather, of the week, my foam boxes in the fridge. Presently I am enjoying rice and black beans with pork from The Columbia. Mmmm......At Justin's urging, ahem, ahem, I am eating at home today, even though the cabana was open and food was being cooked over there. Such restraint! I was not totally noble about staying home and tackling the foam boxes, however. Starting yesterday already, I had the sensation of full ears, similar to what a person experiences on an airplane upon take off and landing. I could not really get them to clear entirely and I took an allergy tablet to see if that would help. It did not prevent me from doing normal things but the hollowness was quite annoying and not a little bit disconcerting. When Justin was here cleaning in the late afternoon, I told him about it and he was concerned, too, because of what happened with his ear. Since I had no other symptoms like dizziness or pain, I was not fearing what Justin was thinking. When I went to bed last night, I took another allergy tablet and hoped the ear would be clear in the morning. Even my pillow was noisy when I put my head down on it, such a racket feathers make when they compress!
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This morning the situation was unchanged so I made up my mind to have my head examined at the walk-in care clinic. When I did the walk-in thing, there was no one else in the place. NOT what I expected to find at a place like this on a Saturday morning! Without too much delay the nurse took me back for a quick history and I helped her to do her job. She read me the blood pressure results and began to write them down, and then turned to me, asking, "What did I say it was?" Then she wanted me to relate past surgeries and then I had to spell the procedures for her, like she had a brain fart or something. Perhaps I was not the only one needing their head examined today! I had to spell 'hernia' for her and then 'gall bladder'. Or was that part of my exam??????? I passed the spelling test and recollection tests.
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The doctor took a quick look into my ears and down my throat, asked me the appropriate questions, and then determined I merely have fluid built up in both ears for no apparent reason. He suggested taking no more of the allergy medications which was fine with me, but prescribed a steroid nasal spray to use several times a day. That was filled for me right there at the clinic so I was able to avoid going to the pharmacy on my way home. For an unrelated reason I was up before six a.m. and was quite sleepy yet so after a bit, I took a nap. Thankfully Judy J. called me and woke me up which I appreciate because I did not wish to sleep the day away. And guess what---my head seemed clearer, really!
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It was extremely windy today although partially sunny, and I could have spent the day poolside after all. Instead, though, I opted to remain inside and not be tempted to put my head in the water and undo my seemed improvement in my stuffed ears. The doctor suggested that I keep doing the swallowing thing that we do on airplanes and chew gum every now and again to keep the ears cleared. A prescription for chewing gum, indeed! I wish M & M's did the same thing gum does!
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Yesterday I got a few things needed from Wal*Mart including a package of paper for my printer and picked up a scrip. The nice man doing the 'roll-back' ads for Wal*Mart, Darrell, suggested I get the $5 box of Diet Coke which I did. Thankfully Justin carried it up from the car for me because it is not easy to handle, regardless of the price, still a bear to carry. As I was going through the check-out, the clerk struck up a conversation with me, asking what I was doing for the weekend, etc. and I told her enjoying the pool and going to a concert. She asked which pool and I told her the one where I lived and she asked more and more questions, even asking me how many bedrooms I had. The clerk at the next register sort of scolded 'Tequita', or similar, telling her not to ask those questions. But she persisted and asked me how much it cost to live here. I just looked at her and then she said her friend just bought a three-bedroom condo for $70,000. Okay, conversation over, and that really creeped me out! As I went to my car, I wondered if she was going to follow me home....not really, but it was just over the top, you know?
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Before heading home, I stopped to see my lady friends at Great Hang Ups for a bit. They had been expecting me on the day of my haircut because I had posted that I was going to get one. Must be predictable or something, but I sure fooled them this time! As we sat there jabbering, in walked LaMora Phillips and her daughter, Mary. LaMora had the ladies stretch and mount a crewel piece which she entered in several shows and won two blue ribbons and a red. Julia took a picture of her with the piece and ribbons for Great Hang Ups website. It was so good to see LaMora and Mary, though I occasionally see LaMora and Charlie at Wal*Mart or Kohl's! Now she was on my turf. She asked about Justin and said she adored him, which is sweet. It was good to spend this special time with the ladies again (Dee and Julia, that is) and get all caught up on their news. Dee was recently voted "Artist of the Year" by the Jacksonville Watercolor Society, quite a claim to fame....and I knew her when....!
