wednesday

I am still watching the weather forecast today. I decided to reschedule my appointments that were in Durham on Monday. My CT and follow-up visit are rescheduled three weeks further out now.

MonsterMustDie is finding it very difficult to accept the weather forecast this week and my need to make plans to ensure we are prepared for undrivable roads, or worse, power failure at our house. We have no alternative way to stay warm or to power anything here if the electricity goes out for any reason. I probably won't know if I can get him and the cat out of our house on Saturday until the last minute. He does not think it will be that bad and does not want to leave the house when it snows. He is angry and told me not to push him on it. We have friends in Greensboro with a better place (fireplaces, outdoor grill, etc) offering to let us stay with them if we lose power but he feels like I'm telling him what to do.
So, for now, talking about the weather is off-limits until the weekend.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
114.2 lbs
21.0 BMI
34.3% Body Fat
70.3 lb Muscle Mass
48.0% Body Water
4.6 lb Bone Mass

Fit app: afternoon walk
Heart Points
miles

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
2 cups coffee with milk
1 chocolate croissant (300 calories)
1 serving Oatmeal (150 calories) + dried cranberries + cinnamon
Amy's non-dairy Burrito (310 calories) (60g calcium) (10g protein)
1/2 avocado (160 calories)

24 oz water

worrisome weather coming

Last night, Karen phoned and asked me if I had seen th weather forecast. The forecast had changed in the last 24 hours to something much more severe fro the weekend. Rather than dry with plunging temperatures after Sunday, the forecast is now for temperatures to start dropping on Saturday with an 84% possibility of snow. Then it becomes even colder on Sunday with the forecast of a Winter Storm - snow and ice in a Wintry Mix. Temperatures stay at just kissing the freezing point or well below it for the rest of the week.

I have three grouped appointments at Duke in Durham on Monday for my post-lung surgery CT images and return doctor visit. I really do not want to have to reschedule these appointments because I worry that I will have to wait too long for the new date to get all three together but it certainly looks like I need to reschedule them now. I will wait until Wednesday or Thursday and hope that, by some miracle, the forecast improves.

I also shared this in a couple of group texts - one with friends and one with family. My sister-in-law replied that my brother has been in the hospital since Saturday with a mystery neuropathy and an elevated white blood cell count. No one had told me this before. I know he had a lot of trouble controlling his blood pressure last year and that is the only health issue I am aware of him having recently... until now. She said they had to cancel their trip to Thailand that they just made plans for after cancelling a trip to Japan when she had heart bypass surgery.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
112.7 lbs
20.7 BMI
33.9% Body Fat
69.7 lb Muscle Mass
48.3% Body Water

Fit app: evening walk
20 Heart Points
1.55 miles

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee with half+half
1 serving Oatmeal + dried cranberries + cinnamon (150 calories)
Momo Fuku soy + scallion noodles (320 calories) (10g protein)
1 cup fresh spinach (7 calories)
2 boiled eggs (160 calories) (12g protein)
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
1 chocolate croissant (300 calories)
1 Aleve at bedtime

48 oz water

Here's an odd thing. We have a tote bag that I keep used grocery bags in to repurpose for wet trash, cat litter, etc. I reached into that today to pull out a new bag for coffee grounds, etc. before the household trash pickup today and the bottom of the bag was full of thin white flakes of plastic, like onion skin, that clung to everything including my hands and house robe. Apparently, some "biodegradable" plastic had disintegrated in the bag and coated everything. I threw the entire bag away, swept and vacuumed out as much as I could, and put my robe in the washing machine.

MonsterMustDie believes that I should not reschedule my medical appointments on Monday in Durham, NC. He thinks that as long as we park on the street that we should be able to make it out of the neighborhood on Monday and from there it should be smooth sailing to Duke. I hope so.

Monday

Yesterday, we had dinner at Karen and Bob's house. Good visit with conversation about family, history, and food.
We had beef ribs, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, cheese and crackers. Karen poured red wine for us to share.

MonsterMustDie is very excited about seeing the Peach Monks walk through High Point today. He is planning on leaving work early in order to see them here.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
114.2 lbs
34.2% Body Fat
70.3 lb Muscle Mass
21.0 BMI

Fit app: afternoon walk
24 Heart Points
1.81 miles

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
2 cups coffee with half+half
1 serving Oatmeal + dried cranberries + cinnamon (150 calories) 2 pieces salmon nigiri (190 calories)
1 yellowtail avocado roll (380 calories) (13g protein)
3 oz rotisserie chicken (120 calories)
1 gimme seaweed snack pack (25 calories) (1 g protein)
1 navel orange (70 calories)
Bolthouse Protein Plus (290 calories) (30g protein)

friday

Last night, in bed by 9:30pm. Woke up at 5:30am today.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
113.8 lbs
34.1% Body Fat
70.1 lb Muscle Mass
20.9 BMI

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee with milk
1 serving Oatmeal + dried cranberries + cinnamon (150 calories)
1 piece chocolate cake (400 calories)
6 Ritz crackers (100 calories) with Nutella (400 calories)
blue corn tortilla chips (140 calories)
0.79 lb hot plate from Whole Foods for dinner

thursday

Sunny and cold.
Went to an art opening at 5:00pm.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
113.8 lbs
34.1% Body Fat
70.1 lb Muscle Mass
20.9 BMI

Wednesday

This morning was absolutely empty. Dark and overcast outside.
The day ended up being pretty good. Karen and I had lunch together at Full Moon. Then we spent the rest of the day shopping and hanging out together. We went to McKay's bookstore in search of electronics for software testing. Then we spent the rest of the day shopping at the outlet mall.
When we got back to Greensboro, Bob fixed a few settings on my phone and made pickled red onions while Karen finished Chicken Tinga for tacos. I headed home, where MonsterMustDie was rewatching Big Hero. I showed him the clothes I bought and he approved.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
113.5 lbs
34.0% Body Fat
70.1 lb Muscle Mass
20.9 BMI

It feels too cold outside to walk today.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
1 serving Oatmeal (150 calories) + dried cranberries
1 gimme seaweed snack pack (25 calories) (1 g protein)
1 Orgain 30g chocolate protein shake (160 calories) (650 mg calcium)
Seafood Mornay alfredo with penne pasta
Buttered Rye Toast

tuesday

Today has been absolutely empty.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
113.8 lbs
34.1% Body Fat
70.1 lb Muscle Mass
20.9 BMI

It feels too cold outside to walk today.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
Momo Fuku soy + scallion noodles (320 calories) (10g protein)
1 cup watercress
1 boiled egg
shortbread cookies (400 calories)
1 gimme seaweed snack pack (25 calories) (1 g protein)

monday

I woke up at 5:30 this morning.
I rolled the trash bin downhill for tomorrow's pickup.
MonsterMustDie is planning on getting a haircut this afternoon after he drops off a package at USPS.
Drowsiness hit me about 1:00pm. I nodded off at my desk for a while. Fought it and had another cup of coffee and got dressed. Then I walked to the gallery to pay for yesterday's ceramics class and ended up renewing my membership to the gallery.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
113.5 lbs
34.0% Body Fat
70.1 lb Muscle Mass
20.9 BMI

Fit app: afternoon walk
28 Heart Points
2.26 miles

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee with oat milk
1 Orgain 30g chocolate protein shake (160 calories) (650 mg calcium)
1 orange
1 cup coffee with half+half
1 oz flax seed blue corn chips (140 calories) + salsa + sour cream (50 calories)
handful of gummi bears (140 calories)

another snacky day.

Sunday

It was much colder and sunny this morning.
I woke up at 4:15AM but I was able to go back to bed around 6:15AM and sleep until 9:00.
Went to a ceramics class this afternoon to make slab pots. I chose to make a souffle dish rather than a standard casserole. Saw my neighbor, Nickie, there.

Really felt too cold and windy to go walking today. I did not have adequate clothing to wear.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
Breakfast:
Momo Fuku noodles (320 calories) (10g protein) + 1 cup watercress + 1 egg yolk
1 slice of chocolate cake
Lunch:
1 pieces yellowtail nigiri (180 calories)
1/2 fresh orange
Dinner
1 serving chicken schnitzel (400 calories)
1 serving Spaetzle (200 calories)
OLLY Magnesium Gummy (336 mg Magnesium) (25 calories)

Friday

Looking forward to the rescheduled Zoom with Brian and Laura tonight.
We did not hear more from John about how Kathy is today. If all went well, she is back at the VRBO in Durham with Ian and John.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
114.0 lbs
34.1% Body Fat
70.3 lb Muscle Mass
21.0 BMI

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee with half+half
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
1 slider bun (100 calories)(3g protein) with lingonberry preserves
1 Dark Chocolate Almond Butter cup (105 calories)
2 Orgain 30g chocolate protein shake (320 calories) (1300 mg calcium)
3 pieces Turkish Delight

Thursday

I am anxious. Today is Kathy's surgery at Duke to remove a brain tumor. We are waiting to hear how things are going from John.
I had poor sleep last night because of muscle spasms/restless leg in my lower back. Woke up achey today.
I am bored. There is nothing necessary on my agenda today.
There are, however two things I've been putting off: joining Atrium Fitness Center and purchasing some art classes at the only place nearby that offers that.
I am also lonely, which the boredom is usually tied to. Both of these things would help with that but I've been spending so much money on various healthcare both for myself and the cat that I don't want to spend more money this month on something not absolutely necessary... unless I could figure out an activity to make money that would not destroy my life. Retail work truly destroyed any possibilty of having a social life or interest here for years with hardly any value at the end of it - 12 to 16 hours of work a week at minimum wage with an unpredictable schedule that eliminated my ability to do anything else.

We heard back from John late in the afternoon.

Kathy was in surgery for about three hours (about what we were told). The surgery was successful. She’s in the ICU and we hope to go back to our VRBO tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted.

and later

We just got to see her in the ICU. Surgery went well and she says other than pain, she’s doing good. I’ll keep you posted.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
112.7 lbs
33.9% Body Fat
69.7 lb Muscle Mass
20.7 BMI

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee with milk
1 slice marzipon stollen
1 Aleve tablet
Chicken & Orzo soup (200 calories) (14g protein)
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
3 pieces Turkish Delight
mushroom flatbread (360 calories) + prosciutto (60 calories) + arrugula

Couldn't sleep so I had 1/2 of MonsterMustDie's CBD gummy at 12:00AM.

wednesday

I slept badly with a back ache and restless legs last night. Woke up achy this morning. No idea why.
Our Zoom with Brian and Laura has been rescheduled for Friday night.

10:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
111.8 lbs
33.7% Body Fat
69.4 lb Muscle Mass
20.6 BMI

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee with milk
1 slice marzipan stollen
1 salami, cheese, sauer kraut slider
Palak Paneer with Basmati Rice (450 calories)(16g protein)
3 pieces rosewater Turkish Delight
1 Orgain 30g chocolate protein shake (160 calories) (650 mg calcium)

Tuesday

Looking forward to Women’s Night Zoom meeting this evening.

9:30 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
112.7 lbs
33.9% Body Fat
69.7 lb Muscle Mass
20.7 BMI

Fit app: evening walk
9(?!) Heart Points
2.25 miles
6,122 Steps
I guess that somehow, stopping for one short conversation with a neighbor blew away my "Heart Points" tonight. I'm probably taking this too seriously. :(

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
two 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
OLLY Magnesium Gummy (336 mg Magnesium) (25 calories)
2 cups coffee with Half+Half in the morning
2 cups tea with honey in the afternoon
Lunch and dinner were finishing off the rest of the leftover blackeyed peas and holiday ham.

monday

What will I do today?

9:30 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
112.2 lbs
33.8% Body Fat
69.7 lb Muscle Mass
20.6 BMI

Fit app: afternoon walk
Heart Points
miles

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffe with half+half
1 gimme seaweed snack pack (25 calories) (1 g protein)
1 Orgain 30g vanilla protein shake (160 calories) (650 mg calcium)
1 slice of marzipon stollen

sunday

Too cold to join the hike this morning.
We went to Trader Joe's and picked up frozen entrees, Triple Ginger Brew, and beer for MonsterMustDie.

9:30 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
112.2 lbs
33.8% Body Fat
69.7 lb Muscle Mass
20.6 BMI

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee with eggnog
1 bowl oatmeal (150 calories)
1 gimme seaweed snack pack (25 calories) (1 g protein)
This was mostly a day of nonstop snacking on leftovers.

saturday

MonsterMustDie is painting the fireplace again today.
Medicare turned down my claim against Novant Health.
Because I had cabin fever, I drove to Deep Roots Market and Sprouts Market. My haul was paper towels, hemp milk and fresh tumeric(based on seeing Elizabeth Ingram using it), more salad greens, and chili lime tortilla chips. I wanted to get my favorite oatmeal-cranberry-walnut cookies but I still have too many sweets at the house leftover from the holidays.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
110.7 lbs
33.4% Body Fat
69.0 lb Muscle Mass
20.4 BMI

I felt too cold to walk today.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
1 cup black eyed peas
1 slice mushroom quiche
1 cup brown rice
1 cheese souffle (leftover)+2 tablespoons cranberry-pear chutney
1 slice marzipan stollen
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement

friday

The plan for today is house cleaning and putting up holiday decorations and baking the cheese souffle I ran out of time for yesterday.
The decorations are still sitting in the living room but I did make the cheese souffle. I could not find my large souffle dish but I had 5 smaller souffle dishes to spread it into. It was a good endeavor for something I haven't made in years. I lost my original "Never-Fail" recipe with the companion fresh cranberry-pear sauce and had only been making it on special occassions since being diagnosed with high cholesterol in my 30s. I used Alton Brorwn's cheese souffle recipe and kinda improvised on the cranberries, which are out of season now, using dried cranberries with much less sugar added.

9:00 AM weight: (WYZE scale)
110.2 lbs
33.2% Body Fat
69.0 lb Muscle Mass
20.3 BMI

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
1 roll with lingonberry preserves
tossed green salad with balsamic dressing
2 small cheese souffles with cranberry-pear chutney

New Year's Day 2026

We hosted a New Years Brunch here at Casa WereMonster.
I made garlic kale and black eyed peas. Karen and Bob brought ham. Alexa and Don brought their wonderful mushroom quiche and chocolate cake. Marcia and Michael brought cornbread. It was a good, hardy meal shared with fine people. Conversation was great and it was the first time in quite a while that we got to see everyone. MonsterMustDie splurged and bought a bottle of champagne to share. Those who could still imbibe had champagne and those who could not had some of the delicious triple ginger brew that Trader Joes sells seasonally.
I think I'll sleep well tonight.