Friday, July 30, 2021

Recovery Day #32!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 2:15, changed my AD, watched a little of the Olympics and returned to bed at 3am. I quickly fell back asleep but woke up at 4:30 with a strong desire to urinate. Of course, I didn’t make it to the toilet in time so I had to change my AD again. I went back to bed, finally waking/getting up at 7:45.

Teresa left at 8am for her gym class or classes in Viva Envigado.

I left at 9am and walked to the mall. (Usually the first of the month I walk to Parque Envigado to pick up supplements in a tienda naturista and my medicine in Todo Drogas. I have enough supplements for another month and I’m hoping I can pick up my medicine in the CaFam pharmacy in Exito.) In CaFam I had no problem finding what I needed.

(Later at the apt I did a price comparison and the 86,950 I paid at CaFam for Atorvastatina was 24,897 at Todo Drogas. The 27,500 I paid for Zopiclona at CaFam was 14,901 at Todo Drogas. Quite a difference in price.)

I went upstairs to Bancolombia. I had a 5-minute wait before I was allowed inside. My number was O184 and they were serving (or had served) O181. Thirty minutes later the O’s hadn’t changed. Ten minutes later they quickly moved to O182 and O183 so I got my things out to be ready when I was called. Next I saw them calling O185, they skipped me! I waited a couple minutes and they went to O186. I then went to one of the reps that allows people in and showed her that they skipped me. She talked to cashier #2 and she soon took me. I picked up the cash my brother sent me then used the cash I sent myself to paying 4 bills. At one point the cashier dropped one of my post-it-notes but couldn’t find it under her desk. It took a couple minutes, but she finally found it on the other side of the partition on the next cashier’s floor.

I took the remainder of the cash to Av Villas where I paid the rent for the apt.

I went upstairs to the 3^rd floor to get a haircut at Celebrity Barber Shop. As I entered I only saw 2 barbers and neither was Daniel. I asked the receptionist if Daniel was there and available. She took out her cellphone and made a call. She then looked past me and I saw about 6 barbers sitting at a table in the food court. Daniel came right away and gave me the usual premium haircut for 65mil.

I called Teresa and she told me she was in a long line at the Deborah Arango library for her vaccination.

In Exito I bought 3 bags of milk and a couple bananas and returned to the apt by taxi.

I texted Liga de Ajedrez and requested to withdraw from the chess tournament that starts next week.

On the afternoon news, five hospitals in Bogota report no Covid-19 deaths. I assume they mean in the last 24-hours and I also assume that must be unusual.

I left the apt just after 1pm and had the menu of the day at Asados Rogelio. Only problem is I asked for rice but no arepa and they gave me an arepa but no rice. Still not bad for 16mil. I walked to Parva where I had a café con leche for an hour or so.

On my way back to the apt I stopped in our neighborhood Exito but they still don’t have the brand of eggs we prefer.

When Teresa returned she reported that they were only giving the vaccination to 24-year-olds. That’s hard to believe.

I texted Mu to see if they were open. They replied, “due to a lack of product, we will only be serving customers in the restaurant this weekend, no deliveries”. Teresa really wanted to go so we left the apt at 7:15. First challenge was getting a taxi. The portero called and reported the line was busy. Teresa took the number and she called and I could hear from her speaker phone that she was on hold. Fifteen minutes later a taxi pulled up and the passengers were slow getting out and paying for their ride which gave us time to confirm the car was available. The next challenge is Teresa mistakenly directed him to an area of Avenida Poblado where she said he could do a u-turn. I directed him down past the Primax gas station then down a couple blocks and after a couple right turns we were on Calle La Buena Mesa on our way back to Avenida Poblado where he could make a left turn. Soon we were in bumper-to-bumper traffic because of the construction. We moved about 4 car lengths every time the far ahead traffic lights turned green. We finally got past the construction and hit bumper-to-bumper traffic again on Calle 7 the final few blocks before the restaurant. We got out and found a short line of about 3 parties ahead of us to enter. We could hear a crowd above us in the patio area enjoying themselves. We were finally taken to a small table in the upstairs patio and I hit my head going up. The waiter noticed and was concerned and even offered me ice but it was just a graze. On the downward side they had a warning sign about the “low bridge”. There was a long table with about 20 mostly gringos with a few Colombianas. Luckily, they had already finished eating so we wouldn’t have to wait behind them for food service. We had the large order of ribs with fries and we each had a Coke for 105mil, including tip. We each ate two ribs and I ate a lot of fries and we took the remainder to go. Outside we had about a 15-minute wait before we caught a taxi to the apt. This time we took Avenida Las Vegas and arrived at the apt by 10pm.

I completed a quick pre-sleep routine before going to bed at 11pm.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 66,924 ð 71,621 ð 77,266 new cases and 316 ð 321 ð 300 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday Colombia has a total of 4,757,139 ð 4,766,829 ð 4,776,291 new cases with 119,801 ð 120,126 ð 120,432 deaths.  Medellin has 386,625 ð 387,338 ð 388,040 cases, an increase of 684 cases from July 29^th to 30^th. Envigado has a total of 28,709 cases, an increase of 42 from July July 29^th to 30^th.

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Recovery Day #31!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 1:45, changed my AD, watched a little of The Handmaid’s Tale and returned to bed at 2:30am. I quickly fell back asleep finally waking/getting up at 8am.

Teresa left at 8:45 for her gym class in Viva Envigado and I left the apt at 10am. I walked to the mall, printed a couple chess notes, and bought a package of 16 Clasico pañeles (ADs) in Exito for 54mil. (I wonder if they are more or less expensive in the Pasteur pharmacy, or Todo Drogas.) Teresa said it might be cheaper if I bought a case in Pricesmart. I don’t remember seeing them but she says she did.

Teresa joined me 5-minutes after I arrived in Santa Leña. She saw something on her cellphone that the Feria de los Flores is only open to those who have been vaccinated. I texted some friends and Steve says Santafe mall has the Pfizer vaccine so I’m trying to get Teresa to go get one. She’s concerned about long lines but I don’t care – I want her to get vaccinated. Even if it isn’t Pfizer some protection is better than none.

I tried, again, using World Remit to send myself cash. Again as soon as I asked to send my USD to Colombia to receive in pesos it changed the ‘Send to Self’ option to ‘Bank Transfer’. I continued a couple more screens and it allowed me to change it back to ‘Send to Self’. Yay. When I gave it my debit card information it said it sent an authorization request to my USAA app. (A few months ago when I finally received my 3^rd stimulus check I downloaded the USAA app and used it to deposit my check. When I confirmed the deposit was there I thought, “I’m not going to be needing this again” so I uninstalled it.) I requested secondary authorization but for some reason I didn’t receive it as an email. I downloaded a USAA app again but I couldn’t remember my Userid and password. I called USAA and had a 25-minute wait to talk to a representative. Brittany assisted me in resetting my password and I was back in business but I had to start over with the World Remit payment. (In the middle of this a thunderstorm came through and I feared losing my internet connection.)

I had an hour nap after lunch. Teresa started hers right after I finished mine.

I beat Teresa in parcheesi today 2 games to 1. She might not beat me consistently but she sure likes to talk smack.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 63,248 ð 66,924 ð 71,621 new cases and 290 ð 316 ð 321 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday Colombia has a total of 4,747,775 ð 4,757,139 ð 4,766,829 new cases with 119,482 ð 119,801 ð 120,126 deaths.  Medellin has 385,916 ð 386,625 ð 387,338 cases, an increase of 712 cases from July 28^th to 29^th. Envigado has a total of 28,657 cases, an increase of 45 from July July 28^th to 29^th.

 

Joke of the day

Apparently, I pack an apple in my 5-year-old’s lunch so it can get out of the house for a few hours.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Recovery Day #30!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 3:15, changed my AD, watched a little of The Handmaid’s Tale and returned to bed at 4:15am. I quickly fell back asleep finally waking/getting up at 7am.

I left the apt at 9:15 and arrived by taxi at the San Diego Ophthalmology Clinic by 9:50. I showed my appointment at the information desk and they gave me a number and directed me to…all I understood was Juan Valdez. Nearby the Juan Valdez I saw a number display and 5 minutes later I paid the 239mil for my procedure. They then sent me around the corner to another larger waiting room. Finally, just before 11am I was invited into the consultation room where I found Dr. Montoya was there with a younger doctor. She checked both my eyes with another strange machine and told me she would be consulting with her consultation group and would call me for an appointment. I told her about my difficulty finding the eye drops she prescribed and she told me to call her secretary for a pharmacy that carries them. Before I left the building, I checked the clinic’s pharmacy but they didn’t have them either. I took a taxi to Viva Envigado and called Teresa to inform her I’d be having lunch there. She told me she made pasta so I quickly printed some chess notes and returned to the apt by taxi.

I had a nap after lunch.

I had to remind Teresa to call the secretary then the pharmacy. I asked her to see if they have domicilios (home delivery) and if not be sure to get their address. At 4pm she got through and I understood it would be delivered today.

How uncomfortable this is. I try to pee a little into the toilet before putting on a new AD. Then, because I’m straining a little to pull the new pair up, I end up peeing into the new AD. It wouldn’t be so bad if it hit the absorbent part, but oh no, it has to hit the waistband that will soon be around my waist. It appears that any kind of even minimal exertion like sitting up, standing up, sneezing, laughing and I start peeing.

I beat Teresa in parcheesi today 2 games to 1.

At 8pm the portero called and I went down to the porteria where I paid 96,400 pesos for 2 bottles. From the receipt I see the pharmacy is called Serfamed and its in Laureles at 034 412-9677.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 56,635 ð 63,248 ð 66,924 new cases and 275 ð 290 ð 316 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday Colombia has a total of 4,736,349 ð 4,747,775 ð 4,757,139 new cases with 119,182 ð 119,482 ð 119,801 deaths.  Medellin has 385,266 ð 385,916 ð 386,625 cases, an increase of 709 cases from July 27^th to 28^th. Envigado has a total of 28,612 cases, an increase of 27 from July July 27^th to 28^th.

 

Joke of the day

My husband wants to make cauliflower crust pizza, so now I have to run to the grocery store and find a new husband.

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Recovery Day #29!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 2:15 (it was raining), changed my AD, watched a little of The Handmaid’s Tale and returned to bed at 3:15am (it was still raining). I quickly fell back asleep finally waking/getting up at 6:45.

I took my shower right away then changed into my last clean AD. That gave me 3-4 hours to get to the mall and buy more.

I left the apt at 9am and walked to the mall. I printed some chess notes, recycled a plastic bottle, and had coffee in Todo Fresa. Teresa called me at 10:30 and asked where I was. She soon joined me. She told me her friend Patricia was on her way from Santafe mall to join us. In the meantime, I went to Exito and bought a package of ADs. Back at Todo Fresa I borrowed a pair of scissors, opened the package, removed one and headed to the restroom. I wanted to use the handicap stall for a bit more space but it was occupied. I peed a little, and changed my AD. When I stood up to take off my pants the toilet auto flushed. While I was sitting, putting on my shoes, I was hoping it wouldn’t auto flush again and soak my pants. I deposited my used AD in their garbage can and returned to Todo Fresa. When Patricia arrived, she reported it was raining outside. Teresa was on the phone so I took the opportunity to quiz her a bit. Her 62-year-old husband had his prostate removed on February 2^nd. It wasn’t laparoscopic but he hasn’t had any problem with impotence or incontinence.

When we left we stopped in Exito for a few things. I stopped at the pharmacy for my eye drops but they didn’t have them. In Medipiel Teresa bought 2 containers of shampoo and got a 3^rd for free. She bought a couple other things and got a free large umbrella. We went across the street to La Bahia where we had their menu of the day for 13mil each.

I understand  La Bahia is now open for breakfast at 8am. We returned to the apt by taxi.

I don’t think we’re going to get close to 80 degrees today as at 1:30 its only 72 degrees.

Troyclough accepted my draw offer dropping my rating by 2 points. As long as I beat him with White, I’m okay drawing with Black.

I waited an hour to reach the 4-hour mark before changing my AD.

I left the apt at 3pm and walked to the Pasteur pharmacy in La Buena Mesa. Not only do they not have my eye drops but if I understood correctly, neither does any other Pasteur pharmacy in the area.

I had coffee in Parva for about an hour before returning to the apt.

I had Teresa call Todo Drogas and they don’t have my eye drops either. Tomorrow I’ll ask my doctor where I can get them – maybe there is even a pharmacy nearby the eye clinic.

The evening news reported various migrant groups landing in Necocli and turning north towards Panama on their way to the US.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 51,939 ð 56,635 ð 63,248 new cases and 269 ð 275 ð 290 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday Colombia has a total of 4,727,846 ð 4,736,349 ð 4,747,775 new cases with 118,868 ð 119,182 ð 119,482 deaths.  Medellin has 384,430 ð 385,266 ð 385,916 cases, an increase of 629 cases from July 26^th to 27^th. Envigado has a total of 28,583 cases, an increase of 43 from July July 26^th to 27^th.

 

Joke of the day

My Fitbit had stopped working, which meant I wouldn’t get any credit for all the steps I took during my upcoming Zumba class. Luckily, my husband came to the rescue. Handing me his Fitbit, he said, “Here, take mine. I need the exercise.”

Monday, July 26, 2021

Recovery Day #28!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 1:15, changed my AD, watched a little of The Handmaid’s Tale and returned to bed at 2:15am. I quickly fell back asleep finally waking/getting up at 6am.

I had a nap after breakfast. When I got up just after 9am Teresa had already left for her gym class.

At 11:30 I cleaned myself up, got dressed and left the apt at noon. I arrived at the El Boulevard café in Torre Medica on Calle 7 where I had chicken breast, rice, salad, Coke and an apple muffin for 22,500 pesos ($6).

Next door I arrived for my eye doctor’s appointment 15 minutes early. I saw the doctor 30 minutes after my appointed time. I informed her that I probably goofed by stopping my eye drops after the first bottle went dry (10 days later) and she agreed. We decided to try again and I will keep taking them until she tells me to stop. She checked my eyes and again something has changed. I agreed to yet another test at the San Diego clinic this Wednesday at 10:30 for 239,000 pesos.

I left and quickly caught a taxi back to the apt.

I had an hour nap in the afternoon.

Episode 8 of season 8 of Alone finally showed up on Medellin TV and Teresa and I watched it in the afternoon.

I have 3 ADs left which should be just enough for me to make a trip to Exito tomorrow to buy more.

We had some rain in the evening.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 51,209 ð 51,939 ð 56,635 new cases and 267 ð 269 ð 275 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday Colombia has a total of 4,716,798 ð 4,727,846 ð 4,736,349 new cases with 118,538 ð 118,868 ð 119,182 deaths.  Medellin has 383,527 ð 384,430 ð 385,266 cases, an increase of 826 cases from July 25^th to 26^th. Envigado has a total of 28,534 cases, an increase of 41 from July July 25^th to 26^th.

 

Joke of the day

I was driving with my young twin grandsons when their mother called. As we chatted over the car’s Bluetooth speaker, one of the boys yelled out from the back, “Hey, Mom, guess who this is? Is it me or Luke?”

After a slight pause the boy’s mother remarked, “And he’s the smart one.”

Sunday, July 25, 2021

Recovery Day #27!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 2:15, and changed my AD. I watched a little of The Handmaid’s Tale and returned to bed at 3:15am. I eventually fell back asleep finally waking/getting up at 6:30am. I think I’m going to need a nap later.

I left the apt at 8am in a steady rain and met Glenn with Bianca at the gas station across the street from Otra Parte. We had to wait a few minutes to catch a taxi. Because Bianca was wet he struggled, successfully, to get her to sit on the floor and not on the seat. We got out at Calle 10A & Carrera 37 in Poblado. We walked across the street to the Click Clack Hotel. This time the security guard didn’t say anything as we entered. Steve was already there although at first both of us mistook him for a water. The center part was open to the rain but we found a table in the back. Steve and I both had the French toast which was pretty good. When it was time to pay there was no charge as previously agreed to by their email.

Steve went on his own and Glenn, Bianca and I caught a taxi back to Envigado. They got out at the usual location just before Jumbo. I continued on to the turnaround by the bridge and was dropped of right at my apt.

As I entered the apt Teresa was just leaving to spend the day with her mother at Santafe mall.

For lunch I ordered BBQ wings from Go Wings. This time it only took about 25 minutes to be delivered but I forgot to add French fries to my order.

I watched more episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Did I mention the new calendula flower tablets taste like chalk?

Just before 6pm Teresa called me and asked me to meet her at the porteria so we can go for pizza. I thought she was crazy as it was pouring rain. MT was still with her and we each had a slice of pizza with two drinks for 32mil at Antica Pizza. Rain had lessened considerably by the time we left but we still had a 5-10 minute wait to catch a taxi back to the apt. The taxi driver chatted nonstop (almost like a performance) all they way to our apts.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 49,746 ð 51,209 ð 51,939 new cases and 270 ð 267 ð 269 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday Colombia has a total of 4,705,734 ð 4,716,798 ð 4,727,846 new cases with 118,188 ð 118,538 ð 118,868 deaths.  Medellin has 382,546 ð 383,527 ð 384,430 cases, an increase of 911 cases from July 24^th to 25^th.  Envigado has a total of 28,493 cases, an increase of 32 from July July 24^th to 25^th.  

T-shirt of the day

Strong current.

Saturday, July 24, 2021

Recovery Day #26!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 1am, and changed my AD. I watched a little of The Handmaid’s Tale and returned to bed at 2am. I eventually fell back asleep finally waking/getting up at 7:30am.

I left the apt at 10am and walked to the mall. I printed some chess notes, recycled a couple AA batteries at Home Center and had coffee at Todo Fresa.

I left at 11:30, bought a couple things in Exito and returned to the apt via taxi. On the way I noticed a dark cloud over our apt but didn’t think it would amount to anything.

Just after 12:30 we had a downpour that lasted about 20 minutes.

I tried to watch some Olympics but had some problems with my new TV system.

I’m registered to play in the Flower Fair chess tournament August 4^th to 8^th but I am going to play I if I’m still wearing ADs. Hoping for a miracle, I’m going to wait until next Friday to decide.

I had a nap after lunch.

I beat Teresa in parcheesi today 3 games to 1.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 45,343 ð 49,746 ð 51,209 new cases and 252 ð 270 ð 267 new deaths.

·        Around the globe, coronavirus infections have surged again, driven by the Delta variant, with daily case counts more than 40 percent higher than a month ago. The trend is hitting both highly vaccinated areas like Western Europe, the United States and Israel, and less-vaccinated nations of Africa and southeast Asia.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday Colombia has a total of 4,692,570 ð 4,705,734 ð 4,716,798 new cases with 117,836 ð 118,188 ð 118,538 deaths.  Medellin has 381,768 ð 382,546 ð 383,527 cases, an increase of 973 cases from July 23^rd to 24^th. Envigado has a total of 28,459 cases, an increase of 41 from July July 23^rd to 24^th.

T-shirt of the day

Are we having fun yet?

Friday, July 23, 2021

Recovery Day #25!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 1am, and changed my AD. I worked some on the computer, watched a little of The Handmaid’s Tale and returned to bed at 2am. I fell back asleep quickly finally waking/getting up at 6am.

Teresa left just before 8am for a gym class in Viva Envigado.

I left at 9am and walked to the mall with a bag of Cheerios. I met Glenn in Juan Valdez and gave him the bag for 25mil. We chatted for a while then I went upstairs and made an ATM withdrawal. At the tienda naturista I bought a bottle of Calendula tablets. The ones I had been buying were 180 400mg capsules from PipingRock (4 for $25 plus shipping). These are 100 500mg chewable tablets from Funat Laboratories for 25,750 pesos ($6.75). We’ll see if they work as well as the others. Lately, I have had little to no problems with the osteoarthritis in my lower back since I’ve been taking the Calendula (Marigold flower) capsules.  (Back at the apt I tried one and, though it’s supposedly mint flavored, it certainly isn’t tasty.)

I had a café con leche and slice of carrot cake in Santa Leña

This photo is of my café con leche with a slice of carrot cake. 

No, I know my cup of coffee isn’t overflowing as I mentioned before but I had already taken a sip.

The following video is from my seat and starting with their “kitchen” and ending with the mall entrance (quite a way in the distance) from the metro.

At 11am I was getting ready to leave when Teresa called from Crepes & Waffles ice cream downstairs. I recycled a plastic bottle and met Teresa and MT at the ice cream store. Teresa asked if I needed anything from Exito and I gave her a small list. She said they would wait for me there. In Exito the only Vaseline I found was a large jar with another small jar free. I skipped it. I bought milk, coffee, and more ADs. I stopped at the pharmacy and asked about Vaseline but again was told all they have is a large size. Again, I passed. Hopefully I can find a small jar in the pharmacy by Parva.

We quickly caught a taxi back to our apt.

I received a reminder of my eye doctor appointment for next Monday at 1:20pm.

I started working out my arms again with my 7# dumbbell.

We both took a nap after lunch for a little over an hour.

I left the apt just after 4pm in shorts and sleeveless t-shirt. I stopped at the Pasteur pharmacy to buy a small container of Vaseline. The pharmacist asked if it was for dolor (pain) or ardor (I had no idea). I said “dolor” and she sold me a small container for 2,700 pesos. I walked to Parva where I bought a loaf of pan sano. The salesman showed me a smaller loaf they now sell but I went with the larger. I texted my brother and with his help and an English dictionary I figured out that “ardor” means “intense heat”. Actually, I don’t know which symptom is correct.

I had a café con leche for about an hour and returned to the apt before dark.

I still occasionally feel a tweak in my surgical area.

I think we topped out at about 84 degrees today.

I think I’ll be watching a lot of the Tokyo Olympic coverage.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 41,310 ð 45,343 ð 49,746 new cases and 249 ð 252 ð 270 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday Colombia has a total of 4,679,994 ð 4,692,570 ð 4,705,734 new cases with 117,482 ð 117,836 ð 118,188 deaths.  Medellin has 380,480 ð 381,768 ð 382,546 cases, an increase of 760 cases from July 22^nd to 23^rd. Envigado has a total of 28,417 cases, an increase of 37 from July July 22^nd to 23^rd.

T-shirt of the day

Whatever.