I can’t believe Tom is still under the weather. He naps on and off all day. He still coughs but no longer sneezes as much as he did, but he’s not himself. A few nights ago, I noticed I had a slight cough and it has continued but otherwise, I feel fine. I ordered sugar-free Hall’s cough drops from Amazon this morning, which will arrive this afternoon. It saves us from driving to the closest pharmacy.
Today, I am busy with laundry. I made plenty of pizza for both of us yesterday, and all I have to prepare today is a salad for me. The pizzas are delicious, and we’re both looking forward to more over the next few nights.
When Tom wakes up from his nap, we’ll head back to the UPS store, a ten-minute walk from the condo building. When the Railroad Retirement Board finally called me back, they explained I’d sent in the enrollment form for Part B Medicare too early. So today, I have to submit it again when they refused to hold it until after January 1.
It would be suitable for both of us to get some more fresh air, but when I asked Tom how he felt about going out, he said he wasn’t up to it. So, I will head out on foot shortly and finish this.
Last night, while in bed, I was chatting on Facebook Messenger with my cousin Gayle, whom I haven’t seen in 50 years. She suggested we have a “cousins get together” after we leave Nevada at the end of March. I love the idea of seeing my sister Julie and the cousins. And the cousins are very interested in seeing what Tom has done on Ancestry.com for my mother’s side of the family.
Gayle reminded me I am the family’s matriarch, the oldest of the remaining cousins. This made me laugh. When I think of matriarchs, I can’t help but think of elephants. She and I giggled over this. I discussed it with Tom, and we are considering driving from here to California, spending a few days, and then heading to Apache Junction to see his sisters, where we’ll spend a month, or we may do it the other way, here to Apache Junction and then California afterward on May 1st. Either way is fine with me. It’s “six of one, half dozen of another.” We’ll figure it out.
I just returned from the UPS store. Tom gave me good directions to find my way on foot in the maze of shops and restaurants. I have no sense of direction, never had, but I managed to find the store. The worst part of the outing was handwriting the envelope to the Railroad Retirement Board. My handwriting is illegible, but I did my best. I asked the staff if they could read the address, and they said it was fine.
I will wait to hear back from Railroad Retirement when my Part B benefits begin, most likely on the first of February or March. Next week, I’ll talk to the insurance rep about a supplement and prescription plan. Then, I will be fully insured. We don’t need dental benefits or vision benefits. We care for those services in South Africa, where prices are low.
We’re all set for tonight’s dinner. When I returned, I made a salad, finished hanging up the rest of the wet laundry, and settled down to finish this post. Based on my cough, I don’t think I’ll be working out today. After years of working out, I discovered it’s best to rest with a cold or virus.
Hopefully, in the next few days, we’ll both feel 100% again and can get out and experience this lovely location further. We hope you all had a fantastic holiday season.
Be well.
.Photo from ten years ago today, January 2, 2014:
