Pig Out in the Park 2022

Here we are at the end of the month and I think I lost 6 pounds since August First. I got as low as 216 but then would eat something that popped me back up to 218ish.

I have an appointment with Dr. Mooney on Tuesday. I was hoping to get my weight significantly lower for the appointment but with the upcoming Labor Day weekend and a couple of visits to Pig Out, that doesn't look promising.

I had a blood draw today in preparation of the appointment. I just got a call from one of Dr. Mooneys nurses who said I look a little dehydrated. I don't feel like it but I guess I better start drinking some water. 

Blown Diet

 I managed to get down to 216.4 pounds. I believe that is my lowest weight since I started this diet back on June 27th.

Then, I blew it! We were invited to a Spokane Indians Baseball game by our friends, Bruce and Candace. Candace had a special invite from the company she invests with and had extra tickets. They not only got us in to the game, we had a free buffet. I ate 2 hotdogs (no bun) half a burger with a bun and another hotdog cuz it was Dollars in your Dog day. Plus, waaaaaaaay to many potato chips.

So I am not looking forward to weighing in tomorrow.

Lawns, Drains, Floors and Pools

For the first time in three weeks, I mowed the lawn today. The backyard really needed it but I could have let the front yard go another week, I think.

We got a visit from a plumber today who is also a member of our church. I asked Tracy to come by and give us an estimate for moving the kitchen sink to the window.

After much searching for pipes in the basement, and crawling around in the crawl space down there, he more or less came up with a plan and an early, preliminary estimate, which was between $2,000 and $3,000.

We still need an estimate for the new gas line.

After that we went to work on more kitchen floor demo. Susan was feeling good enough to pitch in and we made some good progress. 

I finished my day at the pool across the street and now I am beat and ready for bed.

Good night!

Lucky Guy

I've just come in from sitting on the front porch. It's a nice evening out after a day that was supposed to hit 100°. I have no reason to doubt that it didn't hit 100.

I didn't get much accomplished today. I had a doctor's appointment at nine with the Sleep Study guy and another appointment at 1:50 at Spokane Eye Clinic. 

My right eye has gotten tender around the tissue of the right eye. It's kind of itchy and when I mentioned it to Susan, she said I should call my eye doc. I got in to see Dr. Reilly at the North Nevada office. He said my eyes are irritated by the general atmosphere and it should clear up. He gave me some eye drops to take over the next five days. He said it would clear up.

He also told me a good joke. What's the difference between God and an Ophthalmologist? God knows he's not an Ophthalmologist.

Tomorrow's agenda involves mowing, working on the kitchen floor, and getting an estimate from a plumber to move the kitchen sink in front of the window.

It was a really nice sitting on the front steps this evening. I'm very lucky to have everything I have in my life.   

The Saga of Social Security Over Payment

I'm having a battle with Social Security. They say they over paid me last year by about $2,400.00 because I earned too much money. I am not sure if that is correct but I plan to fight it on general purposes. I probably owe it but will get some money back because it was vacation money used to cover my insurance through October of 2021.

Nonetheless, SSA said they were going to take my full payment due this month and about $900.00 of next months payment to cover the over payment.

However, when I checked my bank account last Wednesday, I had my normal payment in my account.

I went on line to my SSA Account to see if I could figure out WTF!

Since I first applied for Social Security, I had also applied for Disability since I believe I was no longer able to work. I have very low stamina and tire out easily. I don't believe I could work an eight hour day.

My plan was to work until 66 1/2 years of age before I retired. My total benefits would be close to $1,900 a month. Since I officially was retired in July of 2021, my monthly payments are about $1,600.00 a month.

If approved for Disability, I would get the $1,900 amount plus whatever had accrued since last July. It took just short of a year for them to complete my Disability claim. 

When I got on the website today to see why I had been paid, I noticed a note saying my Disability Claim had been 100% reviewed. It said I would be receiving a letter in 10 to 15 days to tell me the results.

I also noticed that it showed my next monthly payment would be $1,963.71...the amount I would have gotten had I waited to 66 1/2 years old.

So, what I think happened is: they approved my Disability Claim. They were going to send me a check for around $3,000.00 to cover the difference retroactively. They applied the $3,000.00 to my overpayment. They paid me as usual and I will receive a check from them in a few days for the difference. Probably three or four hundred bucks.

I'll let you know.

 

 

Stan on the Links

Well, I did it again. I went golfing.

Today Mark and I went to Esmeralda. We golfed nine holes although I paid for 18. I got a rain check for the other nine so I guess I’ll be golfing at least one more time.

I must admit that it was fun to be out there. We teamed up with one other guy named Nate. He just moved here from Woodenville and is starting Law School at Gonzaga next week. He played better than Mark and I, but not by much.

The good news is that I can finally get a golf score that’s less than my age. At least for nine holes!

Attack of the Covid

Susan started feeling crappy last Tuesday night. She took a Covid Home Test and tested positive. Since then, she has been sleeping in the other bedroom and keeping her distance from me.

I have been feeling fine, which is amazing to me considering our respective overall health profiles.

I have told several people that Susan has Covid and I feel fine…and they mostly freak out.

Today, I purchased a home test and tested negative. So I have that under my belt but I doubt it’s going to keep the Covid Pussies at bay.

In the meantime, Susan still feels tired and shitty. She has one more day of medication…Paxlovid…and then she’s on her own.

Clipping Trip

Today's weight was 220.0 pounds even. 

I have a good record of getting out and walking everyday. Last week I walked five miles and I'm on track to make 7 1/2 miles this week.

For quite some time, I have noticed the various yards along my walk. You can tell the people who care about their house as opposed to those who don't.

I have noticed this one house in particular where the yard is very nice but the sidewalk is a jungle. They pay no attention at all to the weeds that grow out of the cracks of the sidewalk and from the curb.

Don't get me wrong. I'm in no position to make remarks about other peoples yards. I have brown spots and dead spots and lots of weeds that could be removed. But I do make an effort. My sidewalks are mostly clean and my gutters are pretty. Even the branches of the trees along the sidewalk are pruned back so they don't hang in the path of people walking by.

And that brings me to my main point of discussion for today. Branches that hang down in the path of the sidewalk.

On my morning walk today, I took along a pair of hand clippers and when I encountered a branch that I deemed as blocking I cut it and threw the branch in the yard from whence it came.

The sidewalk on my street is quite nice and no trimming was needed. But when I got to Euclid street, which is a block north of the park, I was quite active with the clippers. 

Some yards took a snip or two while others required some major pruning. On tomorrows' walk, I will check to see how many of the clippings I left behind got cleaned up.

Call me a sanctimonious sidewalk sheriff if you like, that is a badge I will wear.       

Pain of the Day

 I have been fighting a losing battle against bug bites for the last three weeks. I’m not sure where I get them. It seems like they happen in bed but only to me.

It started a few weeks ago with a bite on my left arm. I scratched the hell out of it so it kept oozing and not healing. Then, a bite appeared on the bottom of my left arm. 

I’ve had bites on my back and most recently, on my right leg. It’s on the back of my leg right above my knee.

I’m going through a lot of anti-itch cream.

In weight loss news, I’ve been hovering at about 222 for the last week. Susan’s sister has been in town all week and we’ve been eating in ways that are not beneficial to weight loss. Todays weight was 221.8.

July BP

 I want to note that I had to replace my Blood Pressure Cuff in the middle of the month.