(health, 354, garden, shopping)

[elainegrey]

Happy things!

I have four lovely plants from a fancy nursery that i was able to pick out myself:

* a thornless Opuntia, the type cactus that provides nopales and prickly pears
* an ostrich fern, which is a reliably considered edible fern (I have Southern Lady Fern growing wild which is also considered edible in some articles. Maybe i'll try them after trying ostrich fern.)
* a swamp milkweed (because why not)
* and an Indian Pink selection, which is a red and yellow native flower that should agreeably mix in with the eastern columbines.

I have a CPAP ordered, and they accepted a prescription written on their competitor's form.

Lunch was a salad with lettuce, spinach, lemon balm, and arugla from the garden, rose petals from the incredibly scented rose, plus strawberries, pecans, and asiago cheese.

It's a gorgeous day, i should go walk.

Not so happy:


* sister canceled our visit at her arrival time. I dunno if she's being yanked around by contractors and doesn't know until the hour before (as she knows i'm not really available in the hour before). I am tired of the short notice cancellations.

* The nurse finally got c---.com's prescription form signed by the doctor and sent to c---.com. I called and it turned out c---.com DOES NOT HAVE A NORTH CAROLINA LICENSE. Which means no CPAP for me from them.

* I called my insurer for recommendations of where to get a CPAP. She asked for an email address i gave her one of many, it turns out instead of any messaging within the insurer's website they use "Optum Messenger". I have a different email with "Optum Messenger". I got caught in a snarl of account security messages, some of which would NOT arrive, some which would, and when i finally get in, no message. SO i try making a new account with the email i gave the insurer rep, that goes south, sideways, and to Helena Handbasket. I gave up because Christine had found a vendor she thought would be good.


* I will have to take at least an hour off work today because of the CPAP nightmare.

Comments

[tamena]

I swear ANYTHING medical any more takes 3952395 times longer than it needs to or should. I'm sorry you're dealing with that, it never seems to end

yay on plants!! You should post a Plant-a-Day from the property =) it would be neat way for some of us to learn more and you can show off your pretty plants!

[elainegrey]

That is certainly a lovely idea about posting: we'll see if after the CPAP i "have more time."

[tamena]

I hope the CPAP helps you as much as it helped Jeff - he definitely felt a lot better when he was using it. I know he's lost a literal person in weight but I sort of wish he'd try it again because he's always complaining of being tired

and the plant idea? We'd even take one a week cause we're generous and caring like that LOL
anything you post plant wise would be awesome I think, you have a wealth of knowledge in your head to share that I know I personally would love to try to learn

[egret]

So much sympathy for dealing with medical administrative tasks which should have been done by the doctor's office if we had a working society. It is so frustrating.

The plants sound lovely! Especially the beautiful salad. I've never eaten rose petals. Are they good? Do they taste like they smell? I like Japanese pickles because I think they taste like perfume.

[elainegrey]

Rose petals -- at least from the rose i'm eating -- are broadly like flimsy lettuce. It's not a tea rose; those might have a different texture. (I'll share a photo on Friday, probably.) This rose smells heavenly, but it is hard to pick that scent or flavor out in the salad for me. Mostly, the color is a delight. The best way i have found so far to extract is a long steeping in the fridge: one rose and some spearmint to make a refreshing tea. The rose seemed stronger a few days in. I might try a more intentional long steep and then see about making a rose syrup that way.

I will have to look for Japanese pickles!

[amaebi]

I am glad that you are feeling some traction in the garden, though not in the medical/familial universe.

Sheesh things are hard.

[amaebi]

Oh, here's a happy thing. Having bought Juneberries on the grounds that their acid requirements aren't as exigent as those of blueberries, I learned in late winter that Junberries require pH 5.5, as compared with blueberries' 4.5-- still very acid. So I sighed and forswore them.

But they aren't dead yet, and we'll see.

[elainegrey]

I tell myself that the perfect conditions, like soil sweetness and so on, really matter when trying to make a profit but might not be so much of a constraint when just for the pleasure. I hope they thrive and produce enough to give you all pleasure.

[amaebi]

I'm with you, but there's a mighty lot of space between 5.5 and our over-7!