It has been a quiet day on the prairie. I spoke briefly to Jim and then to Jason on the phone today but other than that have spent the day in silence. It was very windy today with gusts up to 40 MPH. I almost had to put rocks in my pockets when I took the girls some water this afternoon.
I have been working on deep cleaning my kitchen – washing the cabinet fronts, washing all the woodwork, filled all the pump bottles of hand soap, dish soap, etc. Am not done yet but getting close. Feels good to get the kitchen really clean. Tomorrow I will do the dining room.
I was expecting the shipment of my new injectable cholesterol medication today. When I went out to do chicken chores I walked around the house to see where it might have gotten put. I couldn’t find it. I drove down to get the mail and decided to check my neighbor’s house and sure enough the package was on their front porch.
The medication came in a big box in a styrofoam cooler with ice packs. The ice packs hadn’t melted completely yet. They also sent a sharpie container to put the used injection things in.
I let the two injection things sit out for 40 minutes and then injected my first two shots. I had a bit of trouble getting them to click and start injecting but played around and finally figured out what I was doing wrong. I could feel a slight pinch when they entered the skin but it didn’t hurt. The medication went in very quickly and it clicked and I was done. That was easy. I will give myself two shots every four weeks.
I was going to put them in my stomach but when I had trouble getting them to start I switched to my thighs. I have to press the thingy pretty hard into my skin to make it start. I’ll see if my legs get sore or not.
The prescription receipt said the retail price is $1,495 for six shots or a three month supply. Yikes! I got it for nothing as insurance covered all but $141 and then the pharmacy had some sort of foundation they work with that covered the rest of it. I change prescription insurance companies in January so am hoping the new insurance will cover it as well. I didn’t know about this when I changed my insurance companies. It took a month from the time the doctor prescribed it before I was able to get through the red tape to get the medication. I’ll have to start the process for the next three months supply a month before I need them.
I took five calls on the hot line last night. They were all a bit challenging but thankfully not imminent suicidal calls, although several were having those thoughts. There are so many hurting people out there right now. The isolation of COVID is really starting to hit people, especially with the holidays coming up. I talked to a new mother that is overwhelmed with all a new baby brings and the isolation is really hard for her. No one can come give her a minute’s break except for her husband who needs to man up and help her out more. It was another one of those calls where you want to go to the person and give them a hug and a break for a bit.
I have a piece of salmon thawed to cook for dinner tonight. Not sure what I will fix tomorrow night. I can only eat salmon once a week or so. Not one of my favorites but it is quick and easy to fix.
I took another long nap this afternoon. I hadn’t slept very well last night again. I kept waking up and had trouble getting back to sleep. I turned the hot pad on this afternoon and got nice and warm and fell asleep quickly and slept really good for about an hour. Woke up feeling rested.
I may get on the hot line again tonight since I took a nap. They have been so busy and can usually use another counselor to help handle the volume of calls they are getting, especially at night.
Nothing planned for the rest of the weekend except more cleaning. I am finding lots of dirt so it is good that I have this time to dig deep and get things cleaned up. It is a great feeling to have a completely cleaned house. Maybe I can keep it up this time and not let it get away from me again.
Jim will be home Monday unless he decides to stay a few more days to get more done. He has so much work to do there that he may decide to do that. There isn’t much going on here so it is a good time for him to be there to get something done.
We don’t have big Christmas plans. We will Zoom with his sons on Christmas Day and with my kids on the day after Christmas. Sure hoping next year it will be safe to gather again.
Spending a day in silence has been good for me. I have been able to work at my pace and take my time cleaning. I forget how valuable silence is for me and how it fills me. I have had soft Christmas music playing in the background and I feel very peaceful this evening.
Grateful Project Get This House Clean is happening, grateful the medication came in and I was able to successfully inject myself twice, and grateful for the silence that filled the house today with grace and peace.