February 26, Sunday
A cool, calm day in Moncton, this was. Janice and me spent a lot of it in The Promised Land, snoozing and her resting her bad leg keeping it elevated. She had the weekend off and spent much of it this way, as she was supposed to, to help it heal. She's making progress, albeit somewhat limited. * There's really not a lot to talk about as far as the day's goings-on are concerned. We did go to PF for a bit of a modified Shack Day workout, doing what we usually do for free-weights, except we opted out of drop sets for lighter weights and longer single sets. That doesn't mean what we did tonight was easy. You have to push yourself to get through these elongated exercises. I'm proud of Janice - she did everything, even weight-assisted pull-ups, where she couldn't before because of her knee. She also did nearly 4 miles on the treadmill, which is a giant leap toward her recovering...I hope. Our workout lasted a solid two-plus hours. I did the usual running a mile to start/walking a mile to finish, bookending the weights workout that included some ab stuff and an added farmer's walk and a lot of stretching. * We get home and take our showers... today was hair day for me; a bit of an event, because it's kind of a hassle washing this much hair, though I only have to do it once or twice a week. I've been treating my beard the last few days too, getting that natural brown tint back. * After the shower, it's mealtime... in the form of this frozen Pad Thai dinner that we bought a pack of at Costco a while ago. It was light and easy to make, just pop it in the nuker for four minutes. It was our first time having it, and it was really good, actually. We feasted on some cookies from my big baking session yesterday, bagging a few for Alexandra and Cole to have tomorrow, and some for Mama next door. Janice really, really likes them. * We watched Question Period, with the talk about why on earth Trudeau won't let CSIS do an investigation into Chinese election manipulation - seriously, what is there to hide?? - and then there's Polievre claiming ignorance over his party members fraternizing with a racist German politician. All of politics is just finger pointing and head games, really. * Then it was back to The Promised Land after folding clothes, getting Marbles the Kanga Kitty his meatstick treat, and then taking in the newest episode of 'The Last of Us', which was a considerably calmer, more storytelling episode this time out, and well told, as usual. After that it was 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver', and Janice was lights out after that, while I continued on writing this journal entry. I've been trying to keep them a little bit shorter and to the point. * And that's the kind of day it's been.
February 27, Monday
It's Monday right now as I type this alright - at 5:55 pm. Interesting stuff in the pipeline already. Fox News is being exposed big time right now. Rupert Murdoch basically confirmed under oath that his notorious channel has been lying about election interference all along, among other things. A very bright light is shining on the republican cockroaches and they're scattering big time. This is actually fun to watch! * It was a rough night of sleep last night for whatever reason - I think I fell asleep around 4:30 ish. Which honestly isn't too bad - could be worse. I slept during a lot of the day. Woke up to Janice coming home from work to tell me that the doctor called her, re: my KUB x-ray last week, and that I'm the proud owner of two kidney stones at the top of my ureter. One's 2 mm and the other 3 mm. This means lotsa water's going to be drunk in the hours and days to come. Last time I had a kidney stone in '15, it was over 5 mm, lodged in the urinary tract, and the urologist said I was a day or two away from actually losing a kidney. Thus, I claim the right to be proactive when it comes to any inkling of kidney stone pain. If a stone gets to 5 mm, that means surgery, and possibly a stent, like I had - and that shit is no fun. Especially if you're working a physical job like I was. I didn't call in sick once through that, but I definitely should have. Actually... I did take an hour and a half off to go get the stent taken out, then go back to work! * The plan for the night was a half-price Domino's Pizza for supper after we get home from the gym for Leg Day. So off to PF we go for what became no-weights Leg Day for me, and mostly cardio for Janice, while she rehabs her knee. This round of weights, for both free-weights and machines, will be all low to no weights and high reps. In my case this time, Leg Day consisted of 60 body weight squats, 30 side to side lunges each leg, 60 b/w sumo squats, Bulgarian split squats at 20 each leg, 50 b/w calf raises, and 30 b/w pistol squats each leg, followed by a trip around the gym with two 45 lb plates, 25/20/20 reps at 40 lbs on the crunch machine, forward and side planks, and of course the regular stretching and mile-long run to start and mile-long walk to finish. I was sweatin' like a racehorse thru this one. Janice did exceptional on the treadmill, now going up to 4 miles. * We picked up our pizza on the way home, got in and showered, then it was back downstairs for supper and Rachel Maddow, which was a bit bland to me this week. Shortly after that, we head to The Promised Land and endow MMH with his kitty chocolate, then settle in while Janice tackles her Cookie Jam games and I take in the news before writing this journal right here. * And that's the kind of day it's been.
February 28, Tuesday
It's been 45 years since Dad died today. That was on my mind much of the morning. I still remember waking up to Mom wailing about something, and Rick and Cindy in a panic, when I went downstairs to Dad's bedroom, where he went to sleep for the last time. This day, thus, started off quite sombre. * Pretty standard day otherwise. Nothing notable for weather, temps in the single digits and partly cloudy, had a rough night sleeping once again, what else is new. Still, I think I got sufficient zzz's to get me through the day, and hopefully not enough to stay awake too long at the end of it. * Janice comes home from work, and we pretty much just hang out and chat, making plans for dinner that would've been ribs, baked potatoes and corn, except we decided to hit the gym a little bit late for high-reps/low-weights machine Charms Day. So that's what we did - Janice put in a lot of time on the treadmill, which we need to really keep an eye on. But we were both able to do the weights, especially where it was almost all seated upper-body stuff. So we did things for biceps, triceps, and chest, plus I did a fair bit of ab stuff, and we stretched, as well as me doing my Monkey Walk once around the gym. Some days it's once, some days two trips, it often depends on what body part the weights were on. Janice actually did it with me today, with ten pound plates. I did my usual mile run at the beginning and mile walk at the end. * Then it was home on this chilly final night of February. * And it was a bit late for the ribs and potatoes, so we opted instead for bagels under the broiler with garlic spread and marble cheese, with a couple of hearty oatmeal cookies for dessert. 
That filled us up just fine. I've been doing the apple cider vinegar treatment for a few days now, in an effort to thwart the kidney stones issue. It's rough taking that stuff. If old socks in liquid form was a thing, it would probably have the apple cider vinegar label on it. Tonight it seemed to turn my stomach. I actually wondered after we ate if I might need to take Gravol or something. * After watching our usual stuff on the telly, it was upstairs to The Promised Land, where MMH was there to collect his goodies, and we settled into bed to call it a night. I'm hitting the pillow at a semi-reasonable time on this night. * And that's the kind of day it's been.
March 1, Wednesday
Well, I was able to sleep thru the night, for the most part, waking up around 9-ish,shortly after Janice headed to work. She doesn't get around very easily lately. She needs her brace on just in order to limp around, and she still needs her cane. She's able to walk on the treadmill at the gym easier because there are actually handles to grab onto. Today, she had a doctor's appointment, where she was able to discuss everything that's in need of attention. She asked for a script for Percocet for me, in the event that my kidney stones wake up and start playing ball with my urinary tract and wreak havoc on my abdomen. He understood perfectly and gave me one for 15 of them. I asked for 10, and wasn't sure I'd get them, so this is good. I still have a small handful from my last throat surgery two years ago. The second thing she asked about was about one of those mesh treatments for her bladder that she had several years ago - apparently, that has to be re-done periodically, so she was granted a referral for that. Then, it was about her knee - he had her lay on the table while he moved her leg around, and the telltale signs of a torn ligament arose. She was promptly booked for an MRI to get a closer look at it, and actually sent out a referral to an ortho to be seen ASAP, which tells you right there the condition of it. It probably needs a scope, but perhaps a more intensive surgery to get the ligament repaired, too. I push her at the gym maybe too hard, I'm thinking. I feel like I'm kind of responsible for this. * After she gave me the rundown on her appointment, we decided to go for a workout, for machine Shack Day, once again a sit-down affair for the most part. We still both got on the treadmill, but she wants to motor when she gets on, and I actually have to pull the reins in on her. For a long time, she was walking on an incline, and I had to put a stop to that. She's a feisty one that I have to keep an eye on, a bit like a kid! We did seven or eight exercises on the machines, including a Monkey Walk with 2 trips around... Janice insisted on doing it with two ten pound plates. We did a little bit of ab stuff, along with the bookends of the running mile and the walking one at the end. I had Janice walking a bit slower. * Back home we go, handy to around 6 this time, because Janice actually had her appointment at one, so Alexandra went in to cover for her by taking her shift from then to 7. But Janice had to go back for 7 to 9. While Janice was gone for that two hours, I decided to do some research on the apple cider vinegar thing. As it turns out, it's apple cider fermented with yeast... that's not the kind of thing I need in me right now. Or ever! I've had yeast issues enough earlier this year and don't want to keep going through that. Thus ends the ACV treatment. I've been feeling uneasy the last day or two, and now I might have a good idea why. This kind of stuff only happens in the winter with me. It's like some kind of curse. * I found out today that KISS announced the rest of the dates of their End of the Road Tour, and the Maritimes are not on the itinerary. But there is a date in Montreal in November, so we're going to try to make it to that show. Tickets go on sale next week. * Anyway, I took to doing the laundry, then getting dinner ready for when Janice came home, in the form of those baked potatoes and ribs and corn. I baked extra potatoes once again to panfry tomorrow to have with sausages and mashed carrots. When Janice got home around 9:30, dinner was ready with no waiting, and we watched a little news stuff, followed by a good episode of AEW Dynamite. There's a pay per view this weekend to ponder. After that, we headed into the kitchen where Janice took a seat, while I made oatmeal cookies from this astoundingly great recipe I found a long time ago. It's a very simple recipe that yields 40 to 50 cookies, good size ones, too. And they keep Janice and me regular! These things are great for breakfast - or anytime, really. * After that, it was off to the Promised Land, where Marbles was beckoning with his incessant meowing. Which we love. He can talk as much as he wants. He got his kitty chocolate, we turned on the fan for the white noise like we do every night, and now I'm also going to attempt sleep. Not before I rubbed some Icy Hot on Janice's leg to try to alleviate some of the pain, which I can tell is evident through the night. It doesn't wake me up, but I notice it, and feel bad for her. I often stroke her head when she groans from the pain. I hate that she has to go through this. She says that the Icy Hot helps, though. * And that's the kind of day it's been.
March 2, Thursday
Last night just flat out sucked for sleep. I think I passed out around 5 or 5:30, and wound up waking up at just before 9. Just a general malaise kind of feeling and restlessness. It's getting frustrating feeling like this. I did eventually fall asleep, at something like 2 in the afternoon, and woke up around 5:30 or so. I pass time watching TV and reading stuff, but when I feel like this, with such low energy, it's hard to get motivated. * Janice was downstairs already when I woke up, so she came up when she heard me. She figured we both needed today off from the gym - I was in no shape to go, neither was she with how her leg is doing. There's weather coming through in the form of 20 cm of snow or more, and that always wreaks havoc on her, me sometimes too, but not in the same way this time. * We headed downstairs to prepare supper, in the form of panfried potatoes, mashed carrots and baked sausages. Janice grabbed a chair in the kitchen while I undertook the cooking. As I went on with it, I got more and more tired and spent. I felt a wave of nausea come over me and felt shaky, but continued cooking anyway. I was still kind of hungry, just not 'meal' hungry at that point. The panfried potatoes were great, though. I made them with garlic and onion powder, parsley, coarse sea salt and Frank's sauce, and they were fantastic really. I think the salt is what made the biggest difference, it's the first time I used it in this setting. I got the plates ready and we transported to the living room to eat while we watched TV. * Janice chowed down and loved what she had. I did too, but ate much more slowly, and actually had to take an extended break after eating the vegetables. As we watched the newest episode of 'Star Trek Picard', which was an improvement, I eventually nibbled on the sausages, and they went down okay. I opted out of my supplements, taking only my Zoloft and Align, because I didn't want to overwhelm my stomach tonight. I seemed to be okay. * Then we head to The Promised Land, where Marbles had his meatstick with a side of fingers. I loaded up our mini-fridge with Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale, as I began to once again feel this wave of nausea. I couldn't get into bed fast enough. Janice pretty much insisted I take Gravol to help settle me for sleep. I open up my laptop and did a search for digestive symptoms of long-haul Covid - and sure enough, I ticked off just about all the boxes in the digestive area. Anorexia, nausea, IBS, vomiting was in there - thank God I haven't dealt with that. But all the rest are a go. I had to go to the bathroom seven times today. It just feels like there's no end to this. From what I've read, it can last up to six months (!). I can't seem to get consistent. I'll have a good day, then two or three bad days. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat or drink. I've cut out alcohol completely, for frig's sake, I would've thought things would improve. But things just haven't been right since the onset of Covid. I'm just glad I don't have to work feeling like this. I know there are a lot of folks out there who do have to. * When I did sleep, I had vivid dreams about being back at work as a receiver in my old job - seeing co-workers again, all the drivers I'd developed a rapport with, and doing the stuff I thrived on. It was a bittersweet thing, because when I wake up, I know that's long gone now. The further into the past it goes, the harder it seems to let go of a lot of it. There are bad dreams I have, of how it all ended, but then there's ones with my old co-workers when times were good. Now instead, I spend those hours at home alone. Dealing with this Covid crap just makes it all really suck. * Friday is upon us, and Janice will come home and we'll have Saturday together. I look forward to that. She's resting semi-comfortably beside me right now as I hear the snowplow roaring on the streets outside. * And that's the kind of day it's been.
March 3, Friday
The snowstorm I talked about yesterday wound up bringing us around 20 cm or so of snow. A fair amount, but not something otherworldly or anything. Today temps are closer to the freezing mark and it's sunnier out. Not that I experienced it personally. Once I fell asleep last night, at a fairly reasonable time I might add, I ended up sleeping for nearly 12 hours. I didn't even take oil; but I did take Gravol because I was feeling quite unsettled. * Janice came home about ten minutes after I'd woken up. The plan was to go to the grocery store for her Mom, but that idea was postponed after her Mom said tomorrow would be fine, so we opted to stay in. So then, it was time to make fish & chips for supper in the oven, our Lenten season special. It was great again, and this time after 25 minutes in the oven, I turned the oven off and let them sit in there for another five, which crispified them to a crunchy delight. * We decided to watch 'Terminator: Dark Fate' that was recorded from the Sci-Fi channel a while ago. A pretty good show, though it just doesn't quite measure up to the finesse of James Cameron's directorial efforts. He wrote this one, but had Tim Miller direct it. Still, it was quite enjoyable. We'd seen it in the theatre but wanted to re-watch it. After that, 'Real Time w/ Bill Maher' was on. Russell Brand, Bernie Sanders and John Heilemann guested. It was basically the Russell Brand show because he hogged the bulk of the time. I don't agree with his anarchist viewpoints at all and find him subversive. * Up to The Promised Land we go, feed MMH his meatstick/fingers, and we settle in to watch some more telly. 'The Proof Is Out There' was on PVR, so we watched that - Tony Harris is a great host for that show. He brings a lot of gravitas to his commentary, as he is neither a skeptic nor a believer, and chooses to base his findings on evidence. Good late Friday night TV. * I rubbed some Icy Hot on the wife's knee before she went to sleep. It's not really improving. I'm hoping that the doc's referral doesn't take too long to go through so she can get this fixed once and for all. We decided to stay home from the gym tonight because, mainly, her leg just isn't doing very good. But also, yesterday was rough for me, too, so I welcomed the evening to recuperate a bit. * And that's the kind of day it's been.
March 4, Saturday
The day arrives, and we slept in. Way in. Till, I think 2 or 3. Someone came around knocking at the door, but the both of us were too tired to get up to check it out, so if you're reading this, sorry about that. We never get visitors so we don't expect it at all. * The plan for the day was to do Janice's Mom's grocery list, and maybe get a few things ourselves. I spied a recipe, an extremely simple one, in my recipe binder for Coca-Cola meatballs in the slow cooker, and it required more BBQ sauce than we had, so perhaps a visit to Costco was in order. Plus we needed the meatballs. And gas. Waffles wouldn't hurt. We're nearly out of fish for our fish 'n chip Fridays, too. Our Gatorade Zero is low so we might as well get some of that. Plus we need more butter. And margarine. That's how it is when you go to Costco to get one or two things, they multiply pretty quick. We also got garlic bread for life. * After we finished up at Costco, it was off to Sobeys for Momma's grocery order. Janice gets around with a cane all the time now, so it's kind of important that I go with her. Sometimes you can't make it on your own, even on a beautiful day like this when your head spins with shopping enough that it gives you vertigo. Then you get stuck in a moment you can't get out of, so you walk on. * Once we're done at Sobeys, we drop the groceries off to Momma, and I spied her little kitty Lolo checking me out from around the corner. I resolved to give her some salmon treats courtesy of her friend Marbles next door. 
Momma gave us a homemade lemon meringue pie, she knows that's my favorite. Very sweet of her - literally! * We unload everything from the car, and prepare for the gym. After two days off, it was time to sweat again. We were both feeling pretty good today and up for it, so we actually looked forward to it. Friday and Saturday nights are our favorite times to go, because it's usually a lot less busy. It was machine Leg Day today, and Janice couldn't really partake because of her knee, so I figured out an alternate program for her to get her blood pumping, involving warming up her upper body with 5 lb weights, and then using them for resistance in some taekwondo exercises involving punches. It worked out (no pun intended) quite well for her. She's a second degree black belt, and trust me when I say you don't want to be on the receiving end of her punches. She hits hard and knows exactly where to hit. For myself, I did seven machines with lower weights/higher reps, then did a few ab exercises, and the usual Monkey Walk around the gym for a personal record 3 times with two 45 lb plates. In my early 40's, I used to be able to get around the gym at the Y seven times, though that gym is considerably smaller, so I kind of surprised myself in doing this. I started the workout with a running mile and finished with a walking one plus a little extra, as Janice did 4 miles walking on the treadmill herself while I did other things. I kept a close eye on her. She did very well, and it's important to her to keep in motion, though we need to be careful with her. * We headed home after venturing to Canadian Tire to get some clear Gorilla Tape, to reinforce the weather stripping on the doors, and we could smell the meatballs cooking in the slow cooker with the BBQ sauce that I set before we left for the gym. All it is, is a bunch of ready-cooked frozen meatballs, lots of BBQ sauce - Red Bull in this case - and a can of Coke, all stirred up and put in the slow cooker on high for three hours. I made that with the garlic bread, and some mashed carrots and turnips to round it out. It was a good combo, though Janice didn't really care for the Costco garlic bread, which I actually found quite good. But we were both full and satisfied. Of course, before all that, we did take our showers. * We watched W5 on the telly, about a Canadian woman incarcerated in Hong Kong for unknowingly being a drug mule from an online romance scam artist. It's amazing the filth that people will stoop to to take advantage of the vulnerable. Then we watched the newest 'Ancient Aliens' episode. That's always fun to watch, no matter what you believe. It makes you ponder things you might think off the cuff are ridiculous, but then stop to think, "wait a minute..." * After that, it's time to clean up the kitchen and head to The Promised Land, where MMH was awaiting his meatstick treat after doing his Kanga Kitty routine, and we settled into bed after I rubbed some more Icy Hot on Janice's knee. A Big Bang Theory mini marathon was on, so we left that on while we surfed and chatted. * We wound up staying awake longer than we expected. It's now past 5, and Janice is on the verge of sleep, while I'm about to finish up this journal entry and proofread the week's entries before posting. Marbles is camped on my lap and it's about time to call it a night. * I started last night, as well, starting up what might be another blog page "Dreamstate" related to my dreams. I'm trying to make it interesting, and as dream-like as I can. * And that's the kind of week it was.
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