I made another exact cake I made a few days ago for Wednesday’s dinner guests. I’d purposely purchased two of everything for the cakes. Tom finished it off last night. It was a busy morning with friends Carol and Mark arriving soon, staying for three nights. They are driving from Boca Raton, Florida, and are expected to arrive around 1:40 pm based on a message I received from Carol a few minutes ago.

Before we headed out to the market this morning for ice and a few more items, the cake was out of the oven cooling for the layers of frosting I just added when it completely cooled. Everything for tonight’s dinner is prepped except last-minute cooking and serving.

We finally know our way to the market without using the Maps app. We’re finally learning our way around, especially now that we have a car for the next ten days. Food is expensive in the US, as I’ve mentioned many times in the past. Every quick trip to the store here ends up costing no less than $100.

Right now, since my heart events, I haven’t been drinking wine, thinking the sulfites in the wine may have been instrumental in precipitating the events, although I only drank low-alcohol wine and small amounts in any one sitting. After extensive research, I found that sulfites in wine may be very high in low-alcohol wine, both white and red.

I’ve always known I was sensitive to sulfites when I had allergy symptoms when eating dried food in my old life, which I haven’t had in the past 12 years. I never had a specific reaction to wine other than knowing that I could only drink a small amount or end up awake all night. I’ve always enjoyed a glass of wine during sundowners or dinner and lately haven’t had any.

Instead, we purchased a bottle of Bombay Gin, and on a few occasions, I’ve had one tablespoon of the gin with a diet tonic and fresh lime. I’ve yet to drink more than two of these gin and tonics for a maximum of two tablespoons in an evening with no ill effect.

You may say, why bother to drink at all? I’m a light-weight social drinker and enjoy a little something when socializing. However, I still don’t know for sure if the sulfites caused the horrible Afib that put me in the hospital less than four weeks ago and occurred again while on the 17-hour flight from Joburg to Atlanta. I hadn’t had any alcohol at the airport or on the four days after getting out of hospital before we flew away.

As I scoured medical reports online for days, I accidentally encountered a scientific report stating that women over 60 may develop Afib from taking an allergy medication I’d been taking for a little over a month when the events occurred. After considerable research, I wondered if sulfites were, in fact, the culprit. But I continued to research, not 100% sure it was the sulfites.

After digging deeper, I am convinced the prescription non-drowsy antihistamine I was taking was causing the cardiac events. Immediately, I stopped taking the drug several days ago and noticed my pulse has reduced considerably along with my blood pressure in the past few days since the drug is now out of my system.

No doctor has the time to research rare side effects for every drug they prescribe to every patient. I don’t blame the doctor or the pharmacist for such a relatively rare occurrence, which is most prevalent in patients who have asthma, are female, are over 60, and have coronary artery disease, all of which applies to me. I am now convinced that the drug was the cause.

However, it’s still vague about the sulfites in wine. As a wine lover, I don’t like giving it up entirely, and there are few sulfite-free wines on the market in the US, let alone in other countries. It may end up being a “trial and errors” process of trying a small amount of wine and seeing what happens. It may have been a combination of the drug with the sulfites. I’ll only know if I try again to drink regular wine in moderation, which I always did anyway.

Do not use my personal experiences as a point of reference. My research found that low-alcohol wine, predominantly white, has more sulfites than regular red wine. If any of this may apply to you, please contact your medical professionals for assistance.

The medical profession doesn’t know everything. Tom always says that’s why they call it “practicing medicine.” We all have the choice to do our own research, not from unreliable non-medical resources and internet chatter but from reliable resources, as mentioned above. Plus, some of us may have a rare reaction to a specific drug resulting in severe consequences.

One only needs to watch the endless commercials for prescription drugs on TV to see the risks many drugs pose to certain people. Most of these warnings are terrifying. And many of these drugs may save lives. It’s up to each person to be their own advocate or, if not possible, to assign this responsibility to a loved one willing to do the work and then present their evidence to their medical professionals, who may or may not agree with the findings.

That’s enough from me today. We’ll be back tomorrow with more and will continue to post with our friends here.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, May 20, 2013:

Gosh, we’re enjoying this simple life. This morning after our walk, we made breakfast of scrambled eggs with onions, Tom’s were topped with hand-grated white cheddar cheese, and mine were topped with Wholly Guacamole and Pace Picante sauce. On the side, Tom had crispy uncured bacon, while I had wild-caught salmon in the package, not the can.

It’s delightful to be able to purchase products here that aren’t available in other countries. We’ve stocked the refrigerator with such items as full-sized romaine lettuce leaves (which we can’t get in South Africa), large eggplants, zucchini, and robust stalks of crispy celery, things we’ve missed for years. No doubt, we’re getting spoiled.

Last night, we had one of our favorite dinners, lettuce-wrapped “unwiches” with slices of ripe red tomatoes, onions, cooked bacon, sliced provolone cheese, and Primal Kitchen’s bad-oil-free mayonnaise, made with avocado oil and chemical-free deli meats. What a treat! They were delicious!

With a salad on the side with homemade sour cream salad dressing, it was a perfect meal we’re repeating tonight. This morning, I cooked fresh bacon, washed the romaine lettuce, sliced the tomato and onion, and this evening, we’ll put it all together, wrapped in tin foil which we peel down as we eat it.

Today is Mother’s Day, an occasion celebrated in most countries. I am grateful to hear from our kids and have no expectations of anything special. We send love and warm wishes to all the moms worldwide to feel special on this celebratory day. We’d contemplated going out for brunch, but with all the moms and grandmas in The Villages, it’s unlikely we’d have ever been able to get a table. Also, our homemade meals are much more suitable, especially with me on a diet right now.

Years ago, Tom and I agreed it wouldn’t be necessary to purchase gifts or cards for one another, regardless of the occasion. We told the same to our children, and now we only purchase gift cards for the grandchildren until they are 18 years old. After that, love and warm wishes will have to do, as we’ve done for our adult children and their significant others.

With our baggage weight maxed out, neither of us needs a thing. Also, with our short time here, there isn’t anything that would be a worthwhile purchase to use while we’re here. We have everything we need.

Will we become spoiled with all of these “extras?” This morning, as we’ve been doing since we arrived, we washed the bedding. In only two hours, we had the bed remade with clean sheets and pillowcases. It’s all so easy. Tom enjoys having a dishwasher, and I like having a garbage disposal.

The whole house air conditioning keeps us oblivious to the hot weather, which we only experience in the mornings on our walk and when seated at the table on the veranda, which we do a few times each day. Also, sitting here in the living room right now with the TV on is enjoyable, something we haven’t done since we left the US. The digital service even has On-Demand so that we can choose a show.

Again, this morning we watched CBS Sunday Morning, a show we always liked in our old lives. Sure, this reminds us of our old lives, most of which we thoroughly loved. But, regardless of all these luxury amenities, we have no doubt this life is temporary. Although we don’t wish the time to pass quickly to be on the move again, we anticipate the future with hope and excitement.

We’ve always accepted the differences in other parts of the world and have made a point of adapting to our surroundings, however challenging they may be at times. Once we get settled in at a new location, in no time at all, we find workarounds, and as time marches on, we barely notice the differences, if at all.

Again, a Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and grandmothers out there and to all of you…be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, May 14, 2013:

No photos or a post was uploaded on this day, a travel day in the country of Jordan—exciting photos are coming tomorrow.