April 21

Tuesday:  Today it feels like I did a whole lot of nothing. I did get up early enough to be at Meijer's by 7am, which is when the old folks are allowed to shop on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Younger people aren't allowed inside until 8am. And I did get a very good deal on a spiral cut honey ham that was marked $33.50 but I only paid $8.10--a nine pound ham! Evidently, Meijer over-purchased their Easter hams. Anyway, I cut it up into 5 different sections, froze four of them, and I'll use the first section for the rest of the week in sandwiches, salads, with eggs, etc. 

Matey joined me for breakfast. It seems his favorite cereal is the same as mine! Special "K" protein with cinnamon!

 He gets very excited when he hears the cereal pouring into my bowl. He likes bananas too and enjoys the peel as much as the banana.

 The annoying part is that he absolutely will NOT stay off the side of my bowl. I start out with a pretty full bowl and he flies right over, sticks his head in the milk and then shakes his little feathers which scatters the milk on me ... mostly just my face ... but still!

 He's not one bit shy about sticking his face in my bowl ... look at him!

While I was at Meijer this morning, I picked up these medications. I read an interesting article on what to do if you become sick with COVID symptoms but don't know when you are seriously sick enough to seek medical care. Since COVID is a lung illness, they encouraged meds that loosen up mucus, suppress and calm unnecessary coughing, but get the most for your bang with every cough by making the fluid slippery and easier to expel from your lungs. They also suggested a medication to open up your breathing passages, as well as Tylenol (or any Acetaminophen) to supress fevers and aches. I got generics of most everything they suggested.

They also said to do an exercise with a cotton ball. When you are healthy, put a cotton ball on a smooth table and then inhale deeply and see how far you can blow the cotton ball. Do this 10x. When you are sick and you begin to feel discomfort in your chest, re-test your cotton ball distance. Do it 10x in a row. If the distance has diminished greatly, that's a clue that your lungs are becoming incapacitated (which isn't good). If you cannot blow that cotton ball very far, you need to seek medical help. They also suggested putting 1 drop of peppermint oil (which, unbelievably I have--but that's a long story) into water that has just come to a boil. Turn off the water and inhale the peppermint fumes for 15 minutes each hour. This will also open up your passages. You see, a lot of people will still be getting this COVID sickness for a long time yet--but it doesn't mean that you can't try to fight it and avoid getting seriously in trouble. I liked the tone of this article because it was reasonable and logical instead of being hysterical. So ... I am all prepared.