General – Page 14 – The Laughing Wolf

GiveSendGo Update Up

I’ve done an update on GiveSendGo to reflect what is going on and my thanks for those who prayed — and especially those who prayed my special prayer request. Those prayers were answered and we are on a very good path healthwise. That it is likely to push my moving to the SW off until next year at the earliest is frustrating in some ways, but it will, among other things, give me time I think I need at my new Church home. It will also let some other things resolve (I hope) so that maybe I can get on a more solid financial footing as well on the physical and spiritual side. As I noted there, this is the first year I remember since I was 15 that I didn’t make enough to have to file a tax return. That said, I have Faith I am on the right path for me at this time and that the right things will happen at the proper time. Thank you all for being a part of that and putting up with me.

Up In The Air

Posting may be off a bit the next couple of days. I was supposed to have that long-anticipated (and needed) cardiology consult today. However, as I walked out the door to see if I could get the car to run, I got messages asking me to call.

The consult has had to be pushed off until tomorrow. Just thankful that it is not for a longer period. I really need to get this done and find out what is going on/not going on.

That said, it is throwing my writing off a bit. Apologies about that, but more is on the way at some point. Thank you for your patience.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Experiment, On The Way

A truly substantive post is not likely today, just a head’s up. My schedule has gotten a bit awry, and I still live by routines, schedules, and lists more than I care to admit.

I got my smoker back from the housemate and got it into place and cleaned as necessary yesterday so as to be ready to go this morning. What I did not do, that I should have done, was to do a full function test. When I went to get started this morning, no go. I could not get it to light and limited trouble-shooting did not help. Given all I have to get done today, schedule demanded I drop back and punt, and as such am doing the pastrami in the oven.

Now, on the bright side, it guarantees even heat and it is the way it is done in several of the better pastrami places in New York. However, the smoke adds flavor and helps with preservation, which was the point behind pastrami in the first place. It was a way of preserving meat (and making a tasty product) in the days before refrigeration was commonplace. Really wanted to do it that way. Oh well.

This has thrown off the baking schedule rather badly, to the point I’m not sure I can do my normal baking today given that the oven really was needed for proofing and such. The pastrami takes 5-6 hours to cook at 250, which is way too warm for bread proofing, so, rethinking a number of things. So, recalibrating.

Also, need to spend some time today trying to figure out Monday and Tuesday. On Memorial Day, it is my tradition to go have a drink with the guys as it is the one day of the year I’m buying. I usually do this at Oaken Barrel down in Greenwood, but without a car…

I’ve decided to try to get the zombie car to at least get me to the consult on Tuesday. It may be that I’m there an hour or less; but, there is also the chance per the doctor’s office that I may get sent for some tests while I am there. As such, not keen on asking someone to potentially give up a day to help me. Renting a car is out right now (Memorial Day and Indy 500 have cornered the market as it were), and the cab companies are rather unreliable (per painful experience). So, will see how it goes.

May you have a good Memorial Day weekend! Enjoy yourselves, but take the time to remember why we have this holiday. As long as we remember them… For me, thinking that if I can’t make it down to Oaken Barrel, I may just pick up some really good hot dogs and enjoy them. Take care, be safe, and keep your things where you can find them in the dark.

A Request

Looks like I may have to spend today and part of tomorrow running around doing errands. Looks like the Grace period for my car is at an end, so one of the things I need to do is line up transportation to the cardiologist/medical consult next week. I remain very, very thankful that it ran so well and got me through all the events leading up to my Baptism and even on through Bright Week. In fact, it got me home yesterday, though it got interesting towards the end.

All that said, I hope to get up some decent posts this week. If I might ask a favor though, here’s part of what I posted at GiveSendGo:

Things are tight for us all these days, but today I want to ask for some specific prayers. I have an appointment coming up next week with a new cardiologist who is going to be reviewing my case and helping to rule in-or-out some of the “mystery” diagnoses that popped up in the records of one health group. The mystery is who made them and on what basis, which I have not been able to find out so far. If I go spend a day camped out at the central medical records office for that provider I might be able to find out, but when neither I nor my doctors can pull up that info on our own…

The fact is, I need a fresh pair of eyes to look over as much as possible. I especially need to have one particular diagnosis ruled as real or wrong so I can know if I will be able to move to the Southwest or not. What I can do, and when, rides on my health and my insurance coverage. The insurance I have right now will not transfer to any of the SW states. Getting new insurance takes time and things like pre-existing conditions comes into play. So, I need data. More importantly, I need good care.

Thus the specific prayers. If you could say a prayer that this doctor have the skill and experience needed; that he have the wisdom and compassion to provide the care needed; that he be as thorough as needed and that my insurance allow him to do all that is needed; and, that we get the data that is needed to assess my condition(s) and develop the proper treatment plan for same.

For all that I want the worst “mystery” diagnosis disproven, I’m trying to simply pray to “let that which is right be.” Whatever we find out, I will be glad for it as one way or another I will be able to start moving forward on a truly new life.

Thank you for your patience, your encouragement, your inputs on so many topics, and your prayers. It’s going to be an interesting couple of weeks, but I will be the better for them.

Oh, before I forget: I haven’t been able to do as much with the guitar as I would like, given all that has been going on. Good news is when I can work at it, I’m not torturing the cats or the landlord (too badly). Hoping to start setting up regular lessons soon. Did find out that my ability to read sheet music took a hit, so literally doing both singing and the guitar by ear. During Bright Week I found myself a chanter, candle lighter, dishwasher, and more. It was during those services that I started to remember a small amount on sheet music and that I needed to go by ear.

More to come!

Without Comment

Friday has turned into my baking day, which also means it is laundry day, cleaning day, cooking project day, and a few other things. The sourdough for this week is proofing, the brine for an experiment is cooling, laundry is mostly done (need to put up last load), and I could shed a tear or two after going through my spice totes.

For a number of reasons, I keep my spices and salts (mostly) in two plastic totes. My cabinet space in the kitchen is quite limited, so I just keep a few things I use every day there. The plastic totes hold all the jar/container spices not in the kitchen (mostly alphabetized), and the second tote holds bulk spices and salts. I knew it had been a while since I had gone through things, but found some odd spices that were more than a decade out of date. Clear what I use the most… Threw away a lot of old stuff, though saved a few of the good bottles for other uses.

The title of this post pertains to the tale of the zombie car. Regulars know my car has issues and pretty much died a few months ago. While this tends towards what Sarah A. Hoyt refers to as “woo woo” I thought I would share this with you.

A while back, I volunteered to cook lunch for the Church. I tried the car, and it not only ran, but for the ten days of prep and cooking, it ran smoothly and didn’t leak a drop of any fluid. Now, about two days after the lunch it went back to spewing fluids of various types and running rough (to be polite). Right up until I stepped up to cover another lunch at the last minute. Ran like a top while I did so. Did the same thing a few weeks later as I cooked and we went into Holy Week. Looks like I’m going to be doing some more cooking and kitchen help soon, so hoping it will keep doing this.

Other than that, no comment. Am beyond thankful and have expressed my thanks. Well, I will say that I am not taking the Priest up on his suggestion to cook every week. Not in the budget… Wish it was.

More soon, off to finish working the bread dough and start the experiment (homemade pastrami). Once the bread is finished and in the refrigerator, think I’m done for the day.

The Freezer Issue

As I mentioned the other day, my freezer door came open a bit and I lost pretty much everything in it. It is an older model and doesn’t have an audible alarm, so by the time I found it…

The freezer is cleaned out and I think I’ve figured out what happened. Edited to remove a comment I decided wasn’t appropriate.

Since we moved here four or five(??) years ago, the landlord has been using the top of my freezer to store things. This led to my having to sand, semi-repair, and repaint the top of the freezer after bleach leaked and corroded the top. Most recently, he’s started putting heavy bags of cat food on top to keep them away from the orange cat.

I think that this weight resulted in flexing and bending of the top, with the result that the interior ceiling is now bent down and away from the frame. If you look above, you can see the gap that has been created. This has also made the door closing somewhat tenuous. It will close, but it can and will pop open at any nudge, and you really have to close it to get it to close.

I bought the landlord a container to hold the cat food, and have moved it off the top of the freezer. I’ve also put up an empty box with notes on it asking that nothing be put on top of the freezer, period. I don’t expect him to be happy about that, nor do I really expect him to do anything about the situation. If he does, great, but the short version is that I think I can get it to limp through the summer but I can’t count on it for the long term. I’m going to go buy a mechanical latch that I screw into place to hold the door shut. But, with the roof bent and the gap in place, it’s just not going to last.

Of course, this freezer model is no longer made by GE. I can go for smaller (no) or for larger. The larger, even on sale, could run up to $1,000. Not happening, at least not this year unless something radically changes. I’m almost scared to try to refill it even with the latches, but will see how it goes.

So, that’s what’s going on with that. Life goes on, and I do have faith that what is right will be. Now, to see what that is…

Slight Change In Plans

Was going to do a post today on metal containers (excluding #10 cans and such) but it will have to be later. Somehow, day-before-yesterday, the door to my freezer got knocked open. Not wide open, but just enough that it looked closed unless you got right up on it — and just enough that I lost everything in the freezer. Clean-up about completed, defrosting underway, and I’m trying to figure out what happened, how, and how do I make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Had switched from original plan to talking about metal for Long Term Storage given all the solar storms and resulting aurora. Seeing such is on my bucket list, sadly it was cloudy the night we could see it with the naked eye. At the rate things are going, however, we might have the opportunity here again soon. If you don’t know what a Carrington Event is, will have links up on the post to come.

More soon.

Short And Sweet

I had hoped to get a more substantive post up today, but things have worked against that. So, just a quick update.

First, the medical consult I’ve been after for so long is still on for the end of this month. I had gotten worried as some materials had not arrived, and I was worried the (hopefully fully resolved) mail issues might have impacted things. Took an hour or so, but the good news is that no it didn’t, yes things are still a go, and I should have the materials (including things to fill out) soon. It will be a relief to have a fresh set of eyes check things (and me) out and possibly switch to the consultant as my regular cardiologist.

Second, storage posts will continue soon. Going to go over some things, but a post on sealing bulk storage will have to wait a bit. For good reasons I hope. May jump around a bit from the plan, will see.

Third, this week has been busy! It is Bright Week at Church and it has been an interesting time. Short version is that thanks to illness and such, we have been shorthanded so I’ve done what I can as gopher, dish washer, or other. Been good to spend the time down there and learn about a lot of different things. Great discussion over coffee this morning with the brother of our priest, who is also a priest. Hoping he helps out again tomorrow.

Hope to get something solid up tomorrow, but have to make bread on top of attending a morning Matins/Liturgy. As I’ve discovered store-bought bread is dreck, will be VERY glad to get back to regular backing. Hope to try something very different tomorrow, and if it goes well will share.

Meantime, be good, be safe, keep your family and friends close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Changes

Or, what I’ve been up to these last few weeks… As some of you know, I began attending a new Church last year. I had been searching for a new Church home, but had not found one in the local or even semi-local Catholic churches. Three different routes pointed me to a Church downtown, so I went down to a men’s club coffee to test the waters.

Turns out the online schedule was wrong, but the wonderful couple in the bookstore that is part of the Church made me welcome. They got the Deacon to come talk to me, set me up with multiple booklets about the Church, and pretty much got me to promise to come back to the Sunday service.

While a bit unsure, I did so. After talking briefly to the Deacon, I took a seat on a back pew (what would be the visitor’s pews in a lot of churches) and was joined fairly quickly by a seasoned lady who introduced herself, talked to me a bit, and the next thing I knew I had a liturgy book and other materials in hand, and she explained what would happen, why, how, and when. She also made sure I knew what to do (and not do) in the process.

After the service, they have a “coffee” that I call a lunch. My new guide introduced me around, and to say I was made welcome is an understatement. Her son-in-law (who took the wonderful photos of me being Baptized) took me under his wing a bit, and I “helped” him out during the Christmas Market they do. I put that in quotes as I didn’t do all that much, and was not allowed to overdo it (since I was still recovering from my latest surgery). I think I’ve only missed a couple of Sunday’s since, and those were either due to weather or health. Along the way, “Matrushka” (“mother”) as I had been asked to call her, presented me with a number of prayer and reading books.

The short version is that I found a new Church home. Last Saturday, the day before Pascha (Easter), she became my Godmother as she and her husband, the “retired” priest of the parish (now my Godfather), sponsored me and stood with me for my Baptism into the Eastern Orthodox Church. That night, I took part in my first Pascha midnight service.

You might have gathered that the last few weeks, especially Holy Week, have been a bit busy. There have been a lot of services and a lot of prayers (and even an exorcism), and I don’t think two years of catchumen training could have prepared me for it. I will say that it was an honor to be a part of the reading of Acts that preceded the midnight service.

This week will be a bit busy as well. There is nothing scheduled for today, and I have been (firmly) instructed to rest and take it easy. Tomorrow starts another round of special services for Bright Week (the week after Pascha) and while not required I am going to do as many of them as I can.

There is more to come. Please be patient as I take care of the important things so I can do more on temporal things here.

Good Monday To You!

More soon, I hope! The lunch for the Church went well, and it appears they liked my vegetarian gumbo as they almost took enamel off the dutch ovens scraping it all out of both pots. Have already been asked about doing a proper gumbo once fasting is over. Long weekend, and we have been having special vespers at different churches each Sunday evening. Between it all I’m exhausted and having to do more resting today than I would care for.

Have a post I hope to get done today, up later. More on long-term storage and that it applies to much more than food.

That said, it turns out I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday for which I have to do an early-morning fasting blood draw tomorrow. Going to be interesting as my GP is not easy to get to via bus, so may have to try to limp the car down there. It’s actually not a bad walk from the closest bus stop; but, the ride down takes about two hours with all the stops and you then have to cross one or more major roadways/highways without the benefit of crosswalks or lights. My insurance allegedly provides rides, but the system for that requires almost a week notice, is a mix of online and text messaging that is not easy, clear, or convenient and there is no way to get human help that I can find. Which means if you make a mistake, or the system makes a mistake, your only option is to cancel that appointment and start over. My thoughts on the set-up are better left unsaid as I’m really not supposed to be using such language anymore.

Also, lots going on at Church the next couple of weeks. The week of the 28th I may not be on much as I will be down there almost every day. We have a massive cleaning of the Church coming up next Saturday as well, and I will be helping cook breakfast (more a brunch really). Was asked if I could do some more gumbo, but may go with a jambalaya for time and pot considerations. I keep doing this I’m going to need a couple more dutch ovens and at least one more good pot. Oh, going to do speckled heart grits for the brunch as well.

So, thank you for your patience. There is more to come (I hope).