JUNE 2022
Wednesday 2022.6.29
I'm a DIYer
Monday morning the doctor removed the catheter. I was so pleased to see that thing gone from my body. His nurse pumped some sterile water into me to see how my bladder would respond. I felt no need to void. They sent me home with an appointment to come back in the afternoon. I was so fearful. I dreaded the idea of using a catheter again. However, by the time for my appointment nothing was happening.
As I drove to the doctor's office I resolved myself to accepting another catheter. The issue can't be ignored. However, I remembered a friend did self-catheterization. So I asked the doctor about that. Sure, he said, we can teach you to do that.
Like, WOW! It's so easy and almost painless. I couldn't believe how simple it is. Insert the catheter gently, drain the bladder, remove the catheter and discard it. They set me up with nearly 20 of them and I'm on a schedule for more to be shipped to my home. And, better yet, it's all paid for by my health insurance. I feel better taking care of it myself. I feel like I'm in control. And, best of all, no hose in me.
Another advantage: With a permanent catheter I wouldn't know when my body is ready to do things naturally. This way, with self-catheterization, who knows? I might wake up one morning with an urge to use the bathroom and discover my body functioning normally again.
The wife of a good friend of mine is a nurse. She said sometimes it takes quite a while for the swelling to go down after the surgery I had. That's encouraging. It might be only the swelling. And that makes sense. The nurse in the doctor's office said every patient is different. At nearly 71 years of age, my body might take a little longer to recover.
A New Food Love
A friend here recommended a food product sold at Costco — Bibigo Beef Bulgogi Mandu, stocked in the freezer case. They're dumplings, not too different from my Chinese Pot Stickers. Four of them make a pleasant light lunch. Eight are good for a satisfying dinner. I love them. They're delicious. And they're not expensive either. The three-pound (1.36kg) bag cost only $13.79 for about 40 dumplings.
I don't fry them. Some people like them crisp. Two minutes to heat four in the microwave oven is fine with me. And I figure if I were to prepare some rice or other side dish to enjoy with them, I could get ten servings out of the bag at only about $1.40 each. So, economical too. I suspect my freezer will always have a bag of them ready at hand.
Meanwhile
Meanwhile, I continue to recover. It has been almost a week since my prostate surgery. I'm not expecting any miracles, but for my age my health is pretty good. I was told to be patient. At my age, full recovery could take two to three months. There is almost no discomfort. I'm taking no Tylenol. Although self-catheterization is not pleasant, it gets the job done and I'm okay with that.
I did feel well enough yesterday to sit in front of my video camera and shoot another Kitchen Vlog. I talked about my surgeries and the beginning of my recovery. All things considered — two surgeries last week — I feel encouraged I already feel able to shoot and edit a video. I uploaded it to YouTube late yesterday.
Sunday 2022.6.26
Feeling Better
I'm home. The TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) procedure was performed on Thursday morning. I stayed in the hospital overnight and I was released to go home around noon on Friday.
Pain was initially an issue. I was in the recovery room after surgery and there was a burning pain in my groin. The nursing staff gave me everything they could, orally and intravenously, to knock it down. Nothing worked. The doctor had cinched me up very tightly with the catheter, wanting a better flow after the surgery. They released that and the pain subsided immediately.
There was a hospital folder in which they kept a record of my meds and tests, etc. I was pleased to see a large label on the front that said: "Allergy Ambien Hallucinations."
This second procedure went a lot better than the first one, which was to remove the stones from my bladder. I had very little discomfort afterward (probably from all the pain meds) and my catheter flowed excellently during the day and night. I was a little annoyed the nurses didn't check up on me regularly. I called several times to say either the drainage bag was full or the irrigation bags were empty. However, they said it was a busy night and other patients were keeping them more occupied than usual.
They also didn't allow me to sleep much. I felt I would do better if I enjoyed a full night's sleep, but hourly they came into my room to take my blood pressure or make me swallow some pills or inject me with something. Although both hospitals operate under the same name, their procedures are different.
And just to explain, the bladder stones were removed at the local hospital. The TURP was done in the city hospital because they had an available operating room period on their schedule. I didn't want to go down into the city, but it was either that or wait longer, possibly weeks, before the TURP could be performed locally. I wanted that procedure done as soon as possible.
They told me how pleasant I was, an easy patient to care for, even when I was in the most pain. I told them there is a line in the movie "Harvey" I really like. Mr. Dowd's mother used to tell him, "'In this world Elwood you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.' Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant."
Things are a bit messy right now. Drainage, etc. I won't bother you with the details. I'm wearing the adult diapers I bought. It's easy to cut one off of me and throw it in the trash before taking a shower and then putting on a clean one. Otherwise, I dress lightly and I try to walk around my home often, per the doctor's orders.
There was one somewhat amusing moment in the morning while a nurse was helping me dress to go home. I saw something crawling across the floor. "What's that?" I asked, pointing to it. She said, "That's a spider," and she stepped on it. Good. If she saw it too, then it wasn't a hallucination.
Tomorrow I return to the doctor's office for my post-surgical visit. He'll remove the catheter and, finally, after many weeks, I'll be free of this inconvenience. A nurse at the hospital was a little amusing when she tried to teach me how to care for the catheter that was inserted after my surgery. I stopped her and told her I could teach her. I've been living with one for, I think, nine weeks. I told her what I've been doing to keep it clean, and I told her I even know how to irrigate it regularly so that it wouldn't get blocked — something she wouldn't be teaching me. The doctor taught me and equipped me with the tools and sterile water.
I managed a trip to Costco yesterday to pick up yet another prescription. I asked the pharmacist about it. She said it was to help shrink the prostate to help with urination. I told her about the TURP that was done on Thursday to reduce my prostate surgically. I'll take the pills anyway because they cause a useful side effect. They make me really drowsy. I'll swallow one close to bedtime.
And so life is beginning to return to normal. I know I have a few weeks, maybe several, before I am fully recovered. But I'm happy the worst of this ordeal is past and I can look forward to better days ahead.
Shirts
As part of my return to normal I directed my attention to tailoring shirts again. I had one started — the back was assembled. Today I'll assemble the fronts and attach those to the back, and maybe I'll begin working on the sleeves. There is no hurry.
Wednesday 2022.6.22
The Surgical Procedure Is Not Done, Yet
I went into surgery yesterday morning as scheduled. Two procedures were planned. One was to remove stones from my bladder. The other was the TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate). That's a procedure to widen the donut hole in the center of the prostate to allow the bladder drain so that we guys can pee normally.
The surgeon spent two hours removing stones from my bladder. They were bigger and there were more of them than he originally knew about from the CT scan that was done. Some were as large as 2cm. That's nearly an inch. He felt he couldn't perform the TURP because the trauma to my bladder was severe enough to require a little recovery time before proceeding.
I go into the hospital tomorrow for the second procedure. I could have delayed it longer, and I wanted to, but I also wanted to get past the worst of this stuff as quickly as possible. So I agreed to the earlier date.
Stones
The recovery of the first procedure was a little horrific. There was very little pain. The problem was bleeding. Skip down to the subheading about a neighbor if gross medical stuff makes you feel sick.
At one point well into the evening the catheter stopped draining. Two nurses tried to irrigate it to open the passage. They could squirt water in, but they couldn't pull any water out. They called the surgeon. He drove from his home to deal with the problem.
The issue was in the bladder, not the catheter. He taught them one useful little trick. Deflate the balloon that holds the catheter into place in the bladder. With that out of the way, it's easier to clean the bladder. Gently squirt water in with the syringe and then gently suck it out. He said it should work easily in both directions.
What he pulled out was syringe after syringe of black blood clots. He must have flushed out 20 or more syringes of that stuff until the liquid began to clear. He kept working on it until he was satisfied the liquid was sufficiently clear. Then he inflated the balloon again and I continued to drain properly through the night and into today. So far, all is working as it should. There is a little blood in the urine, but that's to be expected.
Pain
Thankfully, I'm not in a lot of pain. The doctor said the worst would be from occasional spasms in the bladder. Those happen occasionally, but as long as I remain still, sitting in a chair, I rarely feel them. It's movement that sets them off. Thankfully, Tylenol works well for me. Two are sufficient to keep me comfortable for several hours.
Difficult Morning
This morning was not pleasant. I started feeling dizzy; so I dropped to the floor and stayed there with my feet up on a chair to help blood flow to my head. When I felt able to move I got my bottle of Pedialyte and started sipping that. It was very helpful. I can't recommend that highly enough. It's great stuff.
I was probably a little dehydrated because I went to bed at around 8:30 and slept for 12 hours. There was no fluid intake during that time. That can make me feel a little dizzy. Now I'm drinking water again. So this afternoon I feel great. The spasms are fewer, less often.
Ambien
Avoid it! During the night the nurse offered to give me a sleeping pill. I was expecting to be awake all night; so a little sleep seemed welcome. She gave me half an Ambien pill, 2.5 mg. Then she warned me that some people experience vivid dreams on the stuff. That was an understatement. I dreamed constantly.
Some of the dreams happened when I was wide awake. I'd close my eyes and see my living room. Another time there was a wall in front of me. It had writing on it, like mathematical formulas. I knew it wasn't real, but I reached out with my hand to see if I could feel it. My hand touched nothing.
The hallucinations were the worst part. During the morning I thought I saw a pile of dark lint behind the hospital room door. Then it started moving. It was a huge pile, about the size of a football, of large black spiders. I warned the staff not to move the door when they came into my room. They moved the door anyway and the pile of spiders instantly disappeared.
I told them I was hallucinating. The male nurse took hold of my arm, as if he suspected I might go off on a crazy spell. I didn't. I sat on my bed and relaxed. I was fine after that. Someone told me that Ambien can cause hallucinations. I had the hospital put on my medical record: "Does not tolerate Ambien."
Like a Good Neighbor
On Sunday afternoon a neighbor came to visit with me. He and his wife also live in the trailer park. He went through the surgical procedure about two weeks before I did. His procedure was complicated by kidney stones and he was in the hospital five days. He is much better now. I think about how well he looks when I worry about the recovery time for my procedure. It won't be fun at first, but the time passes and in as few as two weeks I could feel a lot better. Full recovery might take longer, but I can put up with a few inconveniences as long as I'm not in any pain.
Meanwhile…
The hospital called to do a pre-surgical interview. She asked lots of questions. She also called the doctor to tell him about the dizzy spell in the morning. The TURP surgery is still scheduled for tomorrow. I'll be kept overnight for observation and, if all goes well, I'll be released to return home on Friday.
Sunday 2022.6.19
Happy Juneteenth
Today is Juneteeth, a holiday to celebrate the emancipation of enslaved people in the USA.
Happy Father's Day Too
Hopefully you gave your dad a really nice necktie today. Or maybe a pair of cuff links.
Tomorrow is the Big Day
Tomorrow morning I check into the hospital for my prostate surgery. I would be lying if I didn't admit to being a little nervous. I haven't been sleeping well. I was in the hospital once before for a biopsy surgery that was negative for cancer. I do remember how good I felt when I woke up from the anesthesia. I don't know how long I was out, probably not long, it was a quick procedure, but I felt like I enjoyed a full night of sleep.
I am especially not looking forward to the first few days of recovery. I remember the bleeding last time, and that was just a small incision for the biopsy. This time it seems like there will be a lot more cutting. The surgeon told me he uses a hot loop, which cuts and cauterizes to minimize bleeding. Still, there will be some. That's the worst thought.
I'm also not looking forward to what the doctor describes as "discomfort" afterward. In other words, pain. How bad will it be? What can I take to reduce it? I bought a new bottle of Tylenol. I also bought a box of adult diapers, just in case. The doctor said it might take a while before I fully recover my control.
But I am looking forward to being released from the hospital, probably on Tuesday if all goes well. I'll enjoy being back in my own home.
Yesterday I went for my Covid-19 test. I haven't heard anything yet, but I assume it was negative because the hospital hasn't postponed my surgery. So, as far as I know, tomorrow will be a "go". I've been good about staying home, not going anywhere unless I needed to, and when I did go out I wore an N-95 mask.
My goal, or maybe my wish, is to be fully recovered and back to normal by my birthday at the end of July. Five and a half weeks might be enough.
Noodles Romanoff
Even though I don't have a video yet, and might never do one, I added Noodles Romanoff to the Recipe Archive. I'm not sure how I feel about this side dish. I really like it, but unless someone enjoyed the box mix several decades ago when it was available in the grocery stores, they probably wouldn't have any interest. If I put a video on YouTube, I expect it to get many dislikes. And, to be honest, I think it deserves it. There would be no indifference. People will either like it or hate it.
Testing Another Ant Bait
I'm trying something a little new with ant bait. I know my ants like chicken and a mixture of finely chopped chicken meat mixed with boric acid powder makes an effective bait. The challenge is to get the meat chopped fine enough.
I ordered a pair of 8 ounce Vitamix cups from Amazon. I can reduce the chicken to a paste in one of those cups. Add some boric acid powder, give it another whir, and the two should be blended together so well the ants can't avoid taking the bait back to their nest.
I put one of the bait packets outside near an ant trail and I put a large brick on it so that a cat or raccoon couldn't carry it away. So far, the ants have been going to it. Maybe if I can eradicate enough ants outside, they won't come inside.
And, Finally, Shirts
On Saturday I cut another shirt. Today I might get started on the assembly; maybe not. This is a project to help me get through the next few weeks. I have enough bed sheet fabric for three more shirts; so that will help pass the time while I'm in recovery. It's better than watching daytime TV.
Wednesday 2022.6.15
History in Advance
"A house divided against itself will fall." Those words are attributed to Abraham Lincoln. They go back even further to Jesus Christ (Matthew 12:25 and Mark 3:25).
I've been watching two programs on CNN lately. One is Watergate: Blueprint for Scandal and the other is the January 6 Committee hearings. Watergate is narrated mostly by John Dean, White House counsel during the Richard Nixon administration and who gave arguably the most consequential testimony against Nixon. The Washington Post reporting by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward was influential too. I read the book, All the President's Men too, and I have a copy of the Blu-ray documentary of the same name (and the 2013 documentary All the President's Men Revisited).
Interestingly, both the Democrats and Republicans were united at the time in their recommendation to Nixon that he resign from office.
Let's be honest. No empire can stand forever. History has recorded the rise and fall of many of them. Probably the most well known is the Roman Empire. Although there were several reasons for the collapse, one major cause was division — the western part of the empire was divided against the eastern.
The Anglo-American empire (England and the USA) will not stand forever. Great Britain was once an empire on its own, having colonies and lands around the globe — The British Empire. It also once boasted the most powerful navy on earth. The USA might be the strongest military and economic power in the world at the moment, but how long will that last?
I have long believed the USA will someday be just another France or Canada or Spain, simply another nation on the globe. Future history books will try to explain the rise and fall of the nation, much as they have of Rome, Egypt and the Ottomans, among others.
What will bring about the decline? Probably division. This country has been divided against itself in the past. It lead to the Civil War. If not for the factories in the North supplying the Yankee troops with arms and ammunition, the war might have had a different outcome.
This country seems to be dangerously divided against itself again — not geographically, but politically. Never has it seemed the Republicans and Democrats were so against each other. Why? Greed for wealth? Lust for power? Both? Such avarice has brought down past empires.
I would even go so far as to say: If (and when) this nation does fall, future history books will name people like Newt Gingrich and Mitch McConnell among the architects of the decline. Their shortsighted vision, looking only to the next victory over their opponents, blinded them to the long term consequences of their actions, undermining the foundation of this great nation.
I Scream for Ice Cream, or Not
As planned, on Sunday I made the base for my Vanilla Ice Cream. I followed the recipe exactly because I had all the ingredients — no shopping required. After chilling it overnight I churned it in my ice cream maker. Surprisingly, it only took ten minutes to make.
How was it? Delicious, but I can't say I enjoyed it enough to spend a lot of money on a new machine to make it. I like pizza a lot more, but not enough to invest in an Ooni pizza oven. What I currently own works. So, okay — good enough.
Monday's Pre-surgical Appointment
The surgeon went over some of the finer details with me. Nothing too gory. What to expect in recovery time and what to expect from my body afterwards. He discussed the risks, which are few for this type of surgery. He put the probability of complications at about 3%, too low to worry about.
Recovery will be several weeks. Initially there will be some discomfort. Prescription strength Tylenol might be enough to keep it tolerable. There might be some inconveniences, like an urgency to go pee but I might not make it to the bathroom in time. Adult diapers might be necessary for a week or two until I recover full control.
All of that seems unpleasant, almost unacceptable, except for the fact that it's a means to an end. I know someone who went through the exact same things I am going through. He is fine now, fully back to normal. I try to keep him in mind to stay focused on the end result. I want my life back and I'm on a path to get it.
On Monday morning I check into the hospital for my surgery. If all goes well, I'll be released the following day. Hopefully I'll feel well enough to blog about it on Wednesday, even if only briefly.
Noodles Romanoff
More than a year ago I did a Kitchen Vlog in which I tried to reproduce the flavor of a boxed noodle mix I once enjoyed when I first started to learn about cooking. Back then, boiling up some pasta and adding a powdered mix with milk and butter was about the best I could do. But it got me started.
My first effort at reproducing the original wasn't very good, but it was edible. Occasionally I would return to the challenge and for my latest attempts I felt I really needed to measure the ingredients carefully, especially to record the formula so that I could repeat my success again in the future. What I found was this:
One serving of dry pasta, about 3½ ounces (100g)
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon sour cream powder*
½ tablespoon cheddar cheese powder*
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt to tasteCook the pasta in salted boiling water until tender, 10 to 12 minutes, then drain. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until everything is well blended and smooth. Season with a little salt, if desired.
*The sour cream and cheese powders were ordered from Amazon. The original Noodles Romanoff included an envelope of sauce powder in the box; so I went with powders to stick closely to the original flavor and texture.
It was pretty good, as close to the original as I can remember, considering that I last made those boxed noodles several decades ago. Supposedly, Betty Crocker Noodles Romanoff disappeared from grocery store shelves in 2003. I don't know when the Noodle Roni brand was discontinued. Whether this recipe will make it into the Recipe Archive here on this web site or as a video on YouTube, I don't know. Maybe.
Interestingly, I did a little more research on the internet and found a recipe that was nearly identical to mine.
Sunday 2022.6.12
Ribs
I have an odd relationship with ribs. I'm okay with the flavor. They're not something I crave. But I enjoy eating them. In the Costco meat case there are St. Louis style ribs that are already prepared with a dry rub. Each package contains two full racks. I bought some and portioned them into three ribs each, putting seven in the freezer after vacuum sealing them in pouches. The eighth portion I slow cooked in my air fryer, 220°F (104°C) for two hours, turning them over every 30 minutes.
They were good enough. I enjoyed eating them. I'm not sure when I'll get around to cooking another portion, but I like knowing I have them. If anything, they will be something easy to cook when someone is coming for dinner.
I Learned Something New This Week
I have a small vacuum sealer. Envelopes of about 8 inches fit into it, as opposed to the 11-inch bags my former sealer used. What do I do with the larger bags I still have? Cut them down and heat seal the edges? I tried that, but the machine wouldn't vacuum the air out. Why?
After a little experimentation I learned that the little channels that allow the air to be removed go in only one direction. Having figured that out, I successfully vacuum sealed the racks of ribs for freezing.
This is good to know because I need to buy more sliced pepperoni for pizza. The last batch wasn't vacuum sealed and the meat oxidized. The slices taste okay, not spoiled, but they don't look appetizing. When I made my latest pizza I put the pepperoni under the cheese to hide it from view.
Politics
Did you watch the prime-time hearing from the January 6 Committee? I did. I remember watching the events unfold live when they happened nearly a year and a half ago. I didn't think of it as an attempted coup back then. I believed it was an insurrection, maybe the beginning of a revolution. Now that I know about Donald Trump's involvement in the riot, encouraging those who stormed the Capital building, I see the events of that day and in the weeks that followed as an attempted coup orchestrated by him.
The next hearings will not be in prime time. They will start at 9:00 in the morning, 6:00 here, which is too early for me to get out of bed. I set up my cable box to record them.
Not everyone will agree with me, of course, but I have long believed that future history books will name Trump as the worst president in USA history. Although he might not be convicted for his actions, I believe those books will say he organized an effort to overthrow the election process in an attempt to hold onto power. I can't imagine what might have happened if he had succeeded.
Toys
I'm still looking at possible toys to gift myself after I make it through the surgery on the 20th. A friend suggested an Ooni pizza oven, mostly because he wants to come over and cook pizza in it. He is far more enthusiastic about the idea than I am. I mentioned it in Wednesday's blog. A Karu 16 with accessories would cost about a thousand dollars. No thanks.
Now I'm looking at ice cream makers. I have an old Deni that uses a canister that needs to be stored in the freezer for at least 24 hours before using. The Deni is mostly plastic and I have removed the covers more than once to get the machine working again. I did that again this week, not that I had any plans to make ice cream. I just needed to see what condition it was in. The plastic gears inside needed lubrication before they would start spinning.
I bought the device at Costco many years ago. I almost never use it now. I've replaced the canister once. I think I originally paid around $40 for the appliance. I got my money's worth of usage out it. I even used it in six videos I uploaded to YouTube. Collectively, those videos earned a total of about $19. My homemade ice cream videos are not popular on YouTube.
So, any purchase of a new ice cream maker has to be done without any thought of videos. I would never recover the costs. Although, yes, I would make more ice cream videos, regardless of how unpopular they might be.
As a little aside, I didn't start creating videos as a business endeavor. Some people do and they make a lot of money. Making cooking videos for YouTube is a pastime to enjoy in my retirement. With that as my goal, I've done well.
The thought behind any purchase of a new toy has to be the goal of enjoying the use of it. I use my electric coffee grinder every morning and I am still pleased with that purchase. I use my induction cooker several times a week. I really like it. I used my Instant Pot and my air fryer this week.
How often do I eat ice cream? Never. I don't even think to buy it when I'm in the store. Mostly it's because I've made my own and homemade is far superior to the stuff sold as ice cream — even the high quality good stuff.
Ice Cream
All this thought about a possible ice cream maker got me thinking. I really should try using that Deni again. I might decide it's good enough to keep. No need to buy a new one. So yesterday I put the canister in the freezer. Later today I'll make a batch of ice cream base and put that in the refrigerator to cool overnight. Tomorrow, after my pre-surgical appointment with my doctor, I'll make some ice cream. I'm thinking Vanilla Ice Cream. It's my favorite.
Shirts
Proceeding, slowly, but getting done. Yesterday I assembled a collar and attched to the body in the morning. In the afternoon I assembled the sleeved.
Wednesday 2022.6.8
Same Ol' Same Ol'
These days, it seems like I don't have much to talk about, unless it's my health or shirts.
On Monday it was with some pride that I finished the last step of a shirt I was tailoring. That shirt was special to me because it was the first one I ever assembled with channels for collar stays.
It also pleased me that at my advanced age — 71 next month — I'm still able to learn something new. My hands don't work with the same precision I once enjoyed— I used to repair typewriters — but I manage with the help of a few small tools. Thread a needle? More difficult at my age, but I use a piece of fine monofilament fishing line. Thread the ends through the eye of the needle, then loop the thread through the fishing line and pull it through the needle. It's a lot easier.
I told a friend how I learned to construct a collar with stay channels. He responded, "Where would we be today without YouTube?" You can learn so many things on YouTube. It's the first place I turn to when I want to learn something new. Which leads to…
I Learned Something New This Week
Many of you know I tailor my own shirts, which means I have a sewing machine (actually four of them), one of which is a Brother XR3340. I wondered how much metal there was inside and how much plastic. According to the manual there are no consumer serviceable parts inside. The machine never needs oiling.
I went onto YouTube to look for a video of the machine with the covers off. In one video a man repaired a machine that seized up. It froze solid. He found the problem — a bearing in the bottom of the machine. The bearing had caused a little damage to the shaft on which it was attached. In the comments some people said that bearing is a common problem on this model. I thought, "What if I were to be pro-active and lubricate the bearing now, rather than wait until the machine locks up?"
The trick I learned had to do with the case screws. There are nine, in different shapes and sizes. How do you remember which screw goes where when you reassemble the machine? The guy in the video used blue painter's tape to stick each screw next to the hole where it belonged. Brilliant!
So I opened my machine and I not only lubricated that problematic bearing, I oiled anywhere else that looked like it could benefit from a little lubricant.
Health Stuff
I have been pleased that my twin brother and his wife have been contacting me regularly to check up on me as I approach my day for surgery. It's a little difficult to feel close to them because they live on the other side of the country in Florida. I'm not sure, but he might be feeling a little concerned that he could be facing the same surgery himself someday. He's already experiencing one of the symptoms I had about a year or two ago.
He enjoys an advantage I don't have. He and his wife are avid golfers. He knows many older gentlemen who have gone through this process and he feels assured he will have plenty of support if he ends up where I am now. I have a few friends here, but not as many as he has. He is more gregarious than I am. I'm friendly, but unless I am regularly associating with people all the time, it isn't as easy to make friends. I have no interest in golf.
There's Always the Weather
It has been warm here. Mid-80s might be mild when compared to some parts of the country. Typical though for this time of year, the mornings are overcast and the sun comes out in the afternoon, if at all. However, no complaints from me.
The news has been reporting forecasts of really hot weather for the western part of the USA during the coming weekend. I live on the coast; so this area will be mild.
Toys
I've been thinking of rewarding myself with a new cooking toy after I get through all this prostate trouble. A friend suggested an Ooni pizza oven. For the Karu 16 along with the propane gas attachment (I don't want to cook with wood) I expect to pay about $1,000. I've spent as much for a cooking toy before, but those appliances get used everyday, or nearly as often. How often would I use the Ooni? Once a week? Two or three times a month?
How often do I use that sun oven I bought in July of 2020 for $475? I used it only a few times and the last was on December 27 of the same year. I wanted to see how well it would work when the sun's energy was at its lowest level. It worked well, but unless I think about it, I don't plan for it. And it never paid for itself. So far, the sun oven videos on YouTube earned less than $50, combined.
It seems like it's a lot easier to talk myself out of something than to talk myself into it. I make a pretty decent Griddle Pizza using my stove top and the oven broiler. There is no wait time for a pizza stone to heat up. If the dough is ready, I can cook a pizza in less than ten minutes.
Plus, think about the price of a Costco pizza. The cost of the Ooni would pay for 100 of those 18-inch pizzas. Nope. I think the Ooni is out.
Sunday 2022.6.5
One Down, Three to Go
On Thursday I met yet again with the urologist who will do the surgery on my prostate. This time it was to learn how to irrigate the catheter myself to prevent it from blocking. He equipped with five sterile syringe things, five sterile jars and a 1 liter bottle of sterile water for irrigation. He didn't say, but I assume I discard the syringe and jar after use. He did say to pour some water into a jar, fill the syringe, and then irrigate the catheter three to four times, pushing water in and then sucking it out, to hopefully remove anything that might be blocking the tube.
Too much information? As I said in my latest Kitchen Vlog, I believe it's best to open up about these things rather than hold them all inside. I'm trying to think of my mental health as well as my physical health.
I just want to keep this catheter functioning another two weeks. The last one clogged after 2½ weeks and the previous one was blocked after three weeks. It has already been 1½ weeks and I have two more to go before my surgery. I don't want to endure the pain again of having a catheter changed. It's awful. Hopefully, with these irrigation tools I'll be able to keep things open and functioning properly.
Meanwhile…
The check-in time for the hospital was moved up from 9:30 to 7:30 AM. That has me worried a little bit. The person I need to rely upon for transportation to the hospital is sometimes disorganized. So the rule is I will wait until 7:00. If he isn't at my front door by then, I'll drive myself to the hospital and we can make arrangements to get my car later. It should be safe in the parking lot overnight. The hospital is open 24/7. There are always people coming and going. Besides, who is going to want anything from an old 1993 SUV with dirty and peeling paint.
Plan B
However, I felt I needed another level of confidence. Am I obsessing too much? Maybe I'm just being proactive. I started an account with Uber. If my friend can't drive me home from the hospital, I'll take an Uber and then order one again later in the day when I'm safe to drive my own car home.
Water
By now you likely know the water situation in Southern California. It's bad. The meteorologists are saying we are entering our third year of "megadrought." People in some areas are not allowed to water their lawns, ever, until the drought is passed.
I have no lawn, which is helpful. This week I found yet another way to conserve water.
I have a reverse osmosis water filtration system under my kitchen sink. Those are well known for wasting a lot of water when they recharge the storage tank. I plumbed mine with a bypass valve that diverts the wasted water to a bucket.
There is always laundry to do. So this week I poured the water into the washer when it began filling for the rinse cycle. It's clean water. It might not taste as good an filtered water, but for rinsing laundry it would be just as suitable as regular tap water.
How much water am I saving? Two gallons? Okay, that ain't much. But at least I feel like I'm doing something more to conserve.
Shirts
I need projects to help pass the time and to keep my mind off my medical issue. So this past week I washed the second set of bed sheets and put them in a hot dryer to pre-shrink the fabric. Then I cut my next shirt.
Once again I can say how much I really like having that little portable Haier washing machine. It's so easy. Just attach it to a water source (a connector on my shower), put the drain hose in the tub, plug it in and do laundry. When I'm done, roll it into a closet until I need it again.
These shirts will be a dusty blue rather than smoky gray.
Success
I just love succes. Don't you? Yesterday I stitched my first ever collar with channels for collar stays. Thanks to a mock-up I did earlier to understand the construction, the collar went together perfectly.
Wednesday 2022.6.1
Twenty Days and Counting Down
On the 20th of this month I'll be in the hospital for surgery that I hope will solve the problem with my prostate. Many older men like myself have had the surgery and very few saw complications afterward. You'll be reading more from me as the day approaches.
I Learned Something New This Week
Many of you know from this blog that I have some citrus trees in large planters around the outside of my home. I mostly want them for the greenery (my yard is all stone) and they look good, actually kind of extra fancy for a mobile home park. One of the trees is a Meyer lemon. What do I do when a lemon is ready for harvest but I have no immediate use for it?
Something I learned from the internet is that the lemons can be placed in a ziplock bag and stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. The bag helps prevent the lemons from drying out, as they would do if simply left on the kitchen counter. Now I'm curious to know how long they might really last.
I'm Eating Again
Last week I described the horrific pain I endured in my urologist's office. He wasn't there, but a female doctor who shares his office did a procedure. I seriously doubt she had my welfare in mind. I really believe she saw an opportunity to perform a billable procedure. Make some money.
After the episode of nausea the following morning, I couldn't cope with food. I wanted nothing. The only food I consumed was one piece of toast and a fried egg before going to bed. That continued for three days.
Monday I made a light lunch, a little plate of cacio de pepe spaghetti, which I also blogged about last month. It was enough to hold me until well after dinner time.
I wanted something to eat in the evening, but it had to be something easy; so I used my pressure cooker to make a delicious pot of Split Pea Soup. I also used my Vitamix to purée the soup so that it would smooth, something I could drink out of a mug rather than use a bowl and spoon. It might seem like a lot of work, but I was also thinking of future ease. I can heat some in a little pan, maybe add some milk because it tends to thicken over time, and drink the soup from a cup. Truly easy, and delicious.
If you never made Split Pea Soup, I can't recommend it highly enough. Soup is comfort food anyway, at least for me. This pea soup is especially comforting, and even more so after the nightmare of the previous week.
In the evening I sat down, mug of soup in hand, to watch the latest documentary on CNN. It was about the French Chef, Julia Child. I'm glad I recorded it. I'll watch this one again.
Shirts
I continue to distract myself somewhat from my medical woes by tailoring. It's something I can do well and there is nothing wrong with having a few new shirts hanging in the closet.
Yesterday I finished the last of the shirts. They were assembled, complete with buttons and button holes, but I hadn't slit open the holes yet. I did that in the morning and then set about to learn something new.
One of the issues with tailoring shirts is buttons. When an old shirt finally wears out, there is a decision to make. If the elbows wear through, I can usually cut the sleeves back and hem them to make a short sleve shirt, which is always welcome in summer. Sometimes the back wears out, in which case I discard the shirt, but not before saving all the buttons. They can be used on a new shirt.
I like a button-down collar, but that requires two sizes of buttons. Not every shirt I eventually discard has all the buttons I want. Some of those shirts were purchased rather than tailored by me. What do I do if I don't have the small buttons for the collar?
Yesterday I went onto the internet to learn how to make a shirt collar with channels for the little plastic collar stays you often see in dress shirts. But what if you don't have stays? That, thankfully, is easy.
I'm sure you've purchased items that come sealed in rigid plastic packaging. Some of those packages have broad areas of flat plastic. I saved one of those, trimming off all the unusable corner and side pieces. Then, using a stay from one of my shirts, I traced it onto the flat plastic and cut out new stays. This is also handy for replacing stays that became deformed in a hot dryer when you forget to remove them before laundering. With a little light sanding around the edges the new stays are ready to use in a new shirt collar.