Thursday, July 04, 2024

Fourth of July and the End of Summer

Wednesday
We had a good ride up, left at a good time it seems and just breezed north. We saw a lot of south bound folks out of Pittsburgh traffic headed to West Virginia. People probably bailing for the holiday on the Wednesday afternoon. I'm sure it'll be lovely in the mountains.

17 miles away from our destination, traffic was at a standstill. There was a giant plume of smoke in the distance and several emergency vehicles blew past us. As we approached, we noticed there was a trailer on fire on the side of the road. We all passed slowly, and the fire was raging when we got there. 


We still made it by 4:30. Miraculously. 

She was waiting for us, and after brief chit chat it was off to dinner at a favorite place. We talked and talked, came back here and talked and talked. Before we knew it, it was time for the 11pm news for one of us, and bed for the other two. 

One of the things she always says is that "Fourth of July is the end of summer." Her grandmother used to always say that, and perhaps from a farming perspective, you're done with a lot of stuff seasonally. She says it all the time. Doug was stressing it's just the start of summer. But perhaps that's just because we lived in New England so long, but I feel like here July 4 is the peak of summer. It's not over, it's the zenith of the fun and gorgeous long days here in Western Pennsylvania. 

It is a debate that rages on.

Thursday
Wide awake at 6am, fell back asleep. Doug's alarm went off at 7:30am. Thanks. Wide awake again. 

If it was my own home, I would have gotten up, put on coffee, but I'm afraid to touch anything in this house. I won't turn on lights, I won't get anything out of the fridge. Forget about the coffee pot. 

She's very particular about things and I just don't touch anything rather than do something wrong. Oh, and my computer forgot the wifi password here, so I couldn't just come sit out in the living room with zero coffee an futz with things left undone at work, just quietly with no other distractions. (note: Doug remembered what it was, thankfully. I didn't have to ask for it because that could have turned into a whole big thing of where's the sticky note the password is written on, etc...)

Mercifully, I fell back asleep and snoozed until 9:45. 

I had a wild dream after I fell back asleep that Linda and I were driving some guy around downtown Farmingdale NY who needed to get to the train station. "I need help, I need to get to New York City and meet with my accountant. It is very important. Please help me get there. But you can't tell anyone. You can't tell anyone I'm going to see my accountant. And my lawyer. Don't tell anyone." 

He lived in Farmingdale, but didn't know how to get to the actual train station. Well, I do. Just from being there once. We agreed to give him a lift, even though it was just around the corner. 

He was in the front passengers' seat, I was in the back guiding Linda. She drove through a municipal parking lot, which I believe is the commuter lot anyway but got up on the sidewalk, and drove up a ramp of some sort. I was telling her to stop because this ramp ends at a drop-off behind a building. We're going to drive off the edge of a 4 foot drop into an alley. She stopped in time, and I could see the train station stop from my seat. I told the guy he should get out and walk over there, but he said he couldn't. Linda put the car in reverse and I guided her back down the ramp, around the corner, and we dropped the guy off. 

"Don't tell anyone about this. I don't want anyone to know about this," the man said.

"About what?" I asked with a grin, and he smiled and nodded. And that's right when I woke up.

Getting up at 9:45 was on brand for me. Doug and his mom were in the living room chatting. His mom uses half-caffeine coffee. And she uses a 4-cup coffee maker. She has a 12-cup one but she rarely takes it out. I drink basically a full 12-cup pot of coffee from when I get up until lunch, and sometimes have iced coffee in the afternoon. 

When I got up this morning, coffee was made, and lo and behold, she'd bought us full caffeine coffee. Bless her. I could almost cry. Four little pots later, Doug and I each had our coffee and no headache on the horizon. 

And she bought me a whole half gallon of whole milk for my coffee, which is super sweet. I'll probably have to take home whatever I don't finish I bet, since she doesn't drink whole milk. 

It started raining around 6. Doug and his mom sat out on the patio arguing about politics. I came inside because there is a wasp nest on the underside of the bench. I have few phobias and fears, but flying/stinging bugs are the one for me. Doug's entire family is phobic of snakes. I'd rather hang out on the patio with a garden snake or black racer sunning itself on the rocks all day any day than deal with wasps flying around. And these two sat out there for hours, with wasps coming and going all around them. Nope. Big Nope. No way, nope. 

We had dinner, sandwiches again. I ate too many potato chips, had a roll with my sandwich, and my blood sugar is higher than I would want as a result. 

Fireworks in the neighboring towns and even down the street kicked in around 8pm. Still raging on at 10. Doug's mom's place is kind of on a ridge, and usually we could see fireworks for miles around but now there are a lot more trees in the way. Still, a really big noisy night out there. 

Digits down below. I'm going to retest the blood sugar after 11, just to see how it is doing. 


Wednesday digits

exercise: 8/12 hours.  No exercise but 6500+ steps by bedtime even with missing 4 hours of 250. 

blood glucose:

8am: 163
afternoon reading not taken, traveling
11pm: 136

food:

coffee/water
10:30am: english muffin w/pb; metformin
2pm: tiny little crispy chicken wrap from burger king. It was really tasty but small. Could have used 2. 
5:30pm: zucchini plank, nice salad, meatball, chicken parm. Gave my pasta to bonnie. 3 beers at the restaurant
7pm: metformin+jardiance
8pm-10: 2 more beers


Thursday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  17 minute indoor walk while Doug and his mom sat on the patio and I avoided wasps. 6100+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:45am: 170
5pm: 145
10pm: 179

food:

coffee/water
11:30am: metformin
12:45pm: 1/2 slice of sourdough (21 grams of carbs but so good), sliced turkey, one slice of swiss cheese, sliced tomato, iceberg lettuce, some cubed cantaloupe, scoop of potato salad
5pm: handful of triscuits, handful of cherry tomatoes
7:15: metformin+jardiance
7:45: roast beef on brioche bun w/horseradish sauce, potato chips, coleslaw, grapes
10pm: protein shake

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