Expired medications
Do you have vials of expired medications stashed somewhere in the back of a shelf, like I do? They say: do not dispose of in the trash or in the toilet. I am an obedient kind of girl. A rule is a rule kind of person. When we first moved here, almost five years ago, I found that the police office in Cary had a bin where you could drop them off. Not the whole vials though. I had to stand there and open them one by one and empty them in the bin. They stopped doing that. The police have better things to do than dispose of expired medications, I guess. Then I read about a program that offered a one day a year drop-off. Yeah right. That never worked. I continued my research off and on, until I found, in December, that the hospital where Mike was for two days, would take them. But when I came there, nobody knew anything about it. I continued with Google and finally found there was one Pharmacy, in downtown Cary, where I could drop off what felt like my contraband. What a discovery! It is an old-fashioned Pharmacy, with an eating area with cafeteria tables and benches, a store with many articles, cards and gifts, and in the back was the Pharmacy, where, on the side, was a bin that said: Expired meds. for disposal. I came prepared, with a ziplock bag containing what looked like candy. I’m so delighted to have found that place so close to home, that I can’t wait to go back there, perhaps only for a cup of coffee and to browse the merchandise. Oh, and on another shelf I found some more contraband! So I will have a reason to go back again soon. But just not now.
January Covid Threats
More and more people are testing positive and go into isolation, or getting Covid for real and even have to go to the hospital. Yes, even here where we live. Until yesterday, we were not informed of the fact that one of the key Associates got Covid on Christmas Day and is now in the hospital, poor soul. After two vaccinations and a booster we felt so safe, so secure. But as it is, the threat of the rapidly spreading Omicron is real. We have ordered the official, “best” KN95 masks, and a set of do-it-yourself 15 minute Covid tests from Amazon. On our way home from the Wound Clinic last Friday, we saw miles of cars from both directions heading to a “Covid Testing Station; Registration required” in a side street: stop and go.
You know, in a way it conjures images of my mother’s experiences when we were incarcerated by the Japanese, and she had to get registered. The threat of not knowing what would happen to us, the loud commands and brutal treatment must have scared her immensely. Can you see her, a young mother with a toddler and a three-year old, not knowing what was in store? And then experiencing three years of harsh punishments, malnutrition, diseases and no medication, without any indication that the war would soon end? On a small scale that is what we are going through now with these terrible viruses. We are being punished with headaches, fever, breathing difficulties and even death. It has lasted for two years already and the end is not in sight! We ask ourselves, will it ever end or will we have to live with it for the rest of our lives?
We, in our cozy cottage, are doing the best we can to stay safe. We have cancelled appointments with the dentist, ophthalmologist and more; cancelled a flight from one of our children who wanted to come and visit. I just shopped at Costco with Instacart, groceries delivered to the door. The only doctor I saw last week was the dermatologist, who took a slice of my recovered wound (from the time in November when I fell off a step-stool) and sent it to the lab. Now I keep my fingers crossed that it will come back negative, benign, and not cancerous.
Let there be Light!
On January 10 we celebrated our 61st Wedding Anniversary. It was a wonderful, relaxing day, with fond memories of the reunion we had in the house on the beach last summer, to celebrate our 60th. Our son searched online for the kind of gift appropriate for a 61st Anniversary and could not find any, other than diamonds for a 60th. But what he brought was magnificent! Lights! A long strip of LED lights to put on top of our bookcase in our fairly dark interior. It replaced a four-year old strip, which had dimmed over the years.
For the same celebration, I did a fantastic kitchen remodel. I created four windows with an ocean view! I had noticed that the Anthuriums I had never flowered again; and the orchid was not even growing new leaves. They needed light. I put them on the kitchen counter under the fluorescent light of the overhead cabinet. But plants need to be in a window sill, not on a kitchen counter, I thought. Right? So I went to work and in a few days, one Anthurium is sprouting two flower buds, the orchid is showing the start of a blossom stalk between the leaves, and the new Amaryllis (not in the picture yet) grew three inches! Take a look at my windows and let me know what you think!
It’s a Wonderful World!
Until next time,
Ronny