Week Starting with Sunday May 14th, 2023 (Navy Bean and Ham Soup Recipe)

 SUNDAY:  Chris prepared pancakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast.  I spent some time moving pictures from my SD card to flickr. Also, I packed myself a lunch.  Marlene called at eight thirty a.m. and said she was leaving her daughters house and would be there in an hour or less.  I finished moving pics and finished packing up.  Marlene arrived at about 9:40 a.m. and we hit the road.  Marlene forgot to bring her lunch, so she bought a slice of pizza and a salad at one of the service centers off of 90 in Ohio, where we stopped around noon. I ate most of my lunch and bought a couple of candy bars and slices of lemon cake at a convenience store at the service center and I gave one of each to Marlene. Our last stop was in Fredonia at a Tim Hortons to use the bathroom and I purchased a sandwich which I ate in the car during the last leg of the trip.   We arrived back at my house about 7:45 p.m.  I took the garbage out, started a load of laundry and called both Megan and Peggy and started to get caught up on the TV shows that I missed.  

MONDAY May 15th   I slept pretty well last night.  I didn't do much in the morning until it was time to go to the Y for the WALKING WITH EASE class.  On the way home, I stopped at LKPT ENERGY HOUSE and bought a Chocolate Butterfinger Shake. 

Supposedly, it was dairy free, but I had a bit of a reaction several hours later, which may have been caused by the shake.  Even so, it was worth it because it was delicious.  I talked with Betty and Elaine and Myrna on the phone in the evening.  I watched a few episodes of  SVU in the evening, and read some more in the book I am reading.  

TUESDAY May 16th:   I attended the Ladies Life Group at FREEDOM CHURCH this morning.  Instead of going out to lunch with the others, I went to KALEIDA hoping to have blood drawn.  I was surprised when the worker looked at the order and told me that I would have to go to Millard Filmore Suburban Hospital, and have my blood drawn at the lab there.  She wrote down the address of the hospital and I plugged it into my navigation system in my car and headed out.  I have been there before for testing done before my hernia repair surgery, but someone else was driving.  I got there easily and found a great parking spot close to the entrance that was right near the lab.  There was only one person signed in ahead of me, so it was not long before I was called in.  It took the clerk a LONG time to input my information and then she sent me to a room in the back and a few minutes later the technician came in.  He seemed to be having rouble finding the vein in my right arm and said he would have to switch arms BUT all of a sudden it started working TEN TUBES.  I had passed FeelRite on the way so I decided I should stop there on the way home to purchase some LACTO, and after doing that, I decided to go to WEGMANS instead of going to WALMART for the items I needed.  So, I did that before heading back to Lockport.  When I got home, I only had an hour and fifteen minutes before it would be time for Betty to pick me up to go to SOLID ROCK for spaghetti.  I put the cold items away and rested a bit before she came.  We sat with Becky while we ate and then moved to the table that Elaine and Sarah were at, and visited with them a while.  Peggy and David arrived and we talked with them a bit before we all left.

WEDNESDAY   I went to KALEIDA BLOOD DRAW for the fasting blood work.  I had to wait over a half hour to be taken in, but the blood draw went well.  I treated myself to breakfast at Denny's and finished reading my book.  I went home for a bit and then decided to do a few things before going to the noon class t the Y.  I went to the car wash next to JoJo's and vacuumed the inside of my car, dropped off a bag of bottles and took the book back to the library, and also dropped off some items at the Good Will.  Class went well, I walked 25 minutes.  I took a loaf of garlic bread over to Peggy at the church an gave her a message from Jan: that she does not feel well and won't be going in to help her this afternoon.   Then I went home and had a light lunch and laid down since I either have a head cold or allergies are acting up.  I think I slept close to an hour.  When I got up, I decided to do a home Covid test, which turned out negative.  

THURSDAY:  I had my appointment with Dr. Danaher this morning.  She had the results of my Doppler, the Artery Study, and most (but not all) of my blood work results.  She said everything was good including my cholesterol.  The Avorastatin must be doing its job.  Before going home, I went to LKPT ENERGY HOUSE and bought a Butterfinger Shake.  This time I specifically asked for dairy free.  I also went to FIVE GUYS and bought a small bag of fries.  Those two items were my lunch.  I vacuumed and did laundry and rested for the rest of the day.  I kind of accidentally found the movie READING KATE on TCT,

but I missed the first twenty minutes of it.  I feel pretty awful and I plan to do a home COVID test tomorrow morning.  My symptoms are kind of like they were when I had Covid in December of 2021.   Like a head cold.  I don't feel as exhausted as I did before, but my head feels worse than it did before.

FRIDAY May 19th

I didn't really get a good nights sleep, but what else is new?  I started out in my recliner and moved to my bed in the middle of the night.  I called the Y and left a message for Elena that I would not be at the class, due to being sick. I spent most of the day on either the couch or in bed.  I feel awful.  I tried a new recipe for FLUFFY pancakes for supper.

SATURDAY May 20th:  I slept pretty good last night.  But I still feel lousy.  I saw a picture and a recipe for bean with ham soup on facebook and since I had all the ingredients on hand, I started it.  

 

 Navy Beans & Ham Soup:

2 cups dry navy beans 

1 large onion

1 lb. diced ham

green onion for garnish, optional

Sort beans and rinse thoroughly. Add beans and 8 cups water to a large pot. Bring to a full boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and allow to soak for an hour. Drain and rinse again.

Return beans to pot and cover with 6 cups water. Stir in the onion and the diced ham. Simmer with a lid slightly tilted (ajar) for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until desired tenderness. Salt and pepper to taste.

I was concerned that it might be too bland for me so I used my garlic press and ground up two sections of the huge garlic that I bought in Michigan.  I also added two bay leaves, some ketchup and a can of chicken broth.  I also mashed up a half a can of carrots and added them near the end.  I made corn muffins but instead of milk, used a half can of creamed corn.  The soup over the cornbread was my lunch and it was very good.  I didn't do much else during the day.  I tried to take a nap starting at two thirty because I felt exhausted, but I could not fall asleep.  When I got up I started watching back to back episodes of SVU, and then I called Peggy and Betty to let them know I will not be in church tomorrow.  I took a shower and washed my hair.  I called THE INN AT WALNUT CREEK and cancelled my reservation of Tuesday night because I am pretty sure that I will not feel well enough to leave on Tuesday.