Hello Sandy! Part 3

October 30th - 11:30 am

We can hear chain saws in the distance, so crews are out working. According to the local radio station, the local utility says that it could be a week to ten days before full power is restored to the county.  Oh joy.

5:00 pm - Just got back home
We went out to see if we could find so gas & survey the damage. Drove down to the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, got gas, and drove down to Paramus.

Drove back up Route 17 in NJ.  Power on in some areas, off in others.  When we got gas on the GSP, we drove right up to the pump.  On Route 17, the gas stations that were open had really long lines.

We stopped at an Olive Garden, but the wait for a table was at least two hours, so we left and drove up the road some more. Went to a place called the Mason Jar in Ramsey, NJ.  The wait was only a half an hour, so we waited.

After lunch, we drove across Route 202 in NJ, to Route 59 back here in NY.  Drove down Route 59, around downed trees and power lines.  Found an open Radio Shack, so we bought some extra batteries.

Drove back home, around more downed trees and power lines, hoping that the lights would be back on, but no luck.  So we wait.

Almost forgot about our portable DVD player.  Watched a John Denver concert DVD before I went to bed.  Not that I've been able to sleep much.  It's too damn quiet!!

To be continued....

Hello Sandy! Part 2

Tuesday October 30th - 8:30 am - Still no power in the apartment, but the lights are on in the hallway.

Went for a walk to see what things looked like in the neighborhood.  Not as much damage as I expected.  A few branches down, but not too bad.

The traffic light on the corner was out, so it was a game of four way chicken.  Looked up and down Route 59, one of the main roads through the county, and saw no lights on in any of the stores, but no trees or power lines down.

Talked to the building porter, who said that some apartments have full power, some have some power, and some, like us, have no power.  Just peachy.

One of the most frustrating things is not being able to get through to Mom and Aunt Carol, and my sister Billie.  The cell phone is useless, but the land line is working.

10:30 am:
Mom was finally able to get through to us.  She and Aunt Carol, who live in Toms River, NJ, only lost power for an hour and a half.  Thank God, because Aunt Carol relies on oxygen 24/7.  They had several portable tanks that would have lasted for a few days, but I'm glad they didn't have to use them.

I was able to get through to Billie, at last.  She's without power since last night too.  Her motor scooter got knocked over by the wind.  Hopefully it's not damaged too bad.  Billie's land line doesn't work, but her cell phone does.

All of the stray cats that I feed out the window have been around this morning, so they all made it through the storm okay.  Thank you Saint Francis.

I'm worried about the food in the fridge and freezer, but I'm more worried about Jimmy's and my insulin.  We are making sure not to open the fridge too often, in an effort to keep stuff as cold as possible for as long as possible.

Hello Sandy! Part 1

This is my diary of Hurricane Sandy and her aftermath.  It is admittedly rambling, and disjointed, but that is how I felt during those hours, so it fits.

Power blipped a couple of times between 6:30 and 7:00 pm Monday night, October 29th.  At one point, we had power in some areas of the apartment, but none on other areas.  At around 7:06 pm, power went out completely in the apartment.  Checked out in the hallway, and the lights were on.  Weird.

Wind was wicked.  Top speed of 75 miles an hour were recorded in the county.  The rain never got that bad.

A few large branches fell from one of the trees on the front lawn.  The branches blocked part of the street, until the super and a couple of helpers moved them out of the way, and onto the lawn.

Spent the night listening to the radio, and playing games on my Kindle.

New Meter. UGH!!

My wonderful health insurance company has decided to change what glucose meters that it covers, so I had to get a new one.  It was free, but that's not the point.  I've been doing blood sugar tests with both meters until I run out of test strips for the old meter.  The readings are anywhere from 5 to 30 points different, with the new meter always giving me lower readings.  Now what do I do?  Crapola!!!

Recommendations

I have two movies and two books to recommend.


Movie #1:  The Avengers.  It is awesome!!


Movie #2:  Dark Shadows.  Johnny Depp is at his campy best.


Book # 1:  A Night To Remember by Walter Lord.  Amazing actual accounts of the sinking of the Titanic.


Book #2:  Dropped Names" Famous Men And Women As I knew Them by Frank Langella.  A very interesting read.


I now have over 300 books on my Kindle, over 100 of them are cook books.  LOL!!

Changes again

Wow.  I can't believe that it's been over a week since I last posted.  The blood sugar has been good.  I've had a couple of low episodes, but nothing like before.  I saw the nutritionist on Wednesday, and she's made a couple of changes.  I'm taking less of the slow acting insulin (27 units instead of 30), and I have to write down what I eat at each meal.  I also have to check my blood sugar before I go to bed. She wants me to eat more vegetables with my meals.  That shouldn't be a problem.  I can eat celery and/or carrots with breakfast, and I usually have a salad with lunch and dinner.

Big doings tonight!

The shelter where Billie & I volunteer is having their annual fundraiser tonight.  Someone donated tickets, so for the first time, we get to go.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm going to have to take a nap sometime this afternoon.

At least the sun's out

No rain today, but it's gonna be a chilly one.


Blood sugar was 89, so we're starting the day off good.

Gray day

Went to see our friend, singer/songwriter Danny Quinn perform yesterday afternoon.  It was a great show, as always.


Blood sugar this morning was 88.  Kewl beans!  I did have to take a glucose tablet before lunch yesterday, but the low episodes are fewer than they were.

Damp day

I'm feeling really stiff due to cold damp weather, but my blood sugar was 85 this morning, so that's good.  I had a high of 160 yesterday, but I was a bit of a bad girl.

So far so good

Blood sugar this morning was 92.  Had a reading of 63 before lunch yesterday, but I didn't feel too bad.  The new regimen seems to be working.

Day Two

Blood sugar was 81 this morning.  My high yesterday was 132, two hours after lunch.  No low sugar episodes.  I can live with that.  Blood sugar two hours after breakfast, 109.  Very nice.

Day one

First day on the new regimen.  Blood sugar this morning was 89.  So far so good.

Compromise

The endocrinologist finally called back.  She wants to try cutting the oral meds in half and see what that does.  I'll still be taking the slow acting insulin at night.  If I'm still having low sugar episodes, we'll talk again. I'll give it a week.

Waiting is a bitch

I left a message for the doctor almost 2 hours ago, now it's just a waiting game.   Cue the Jeopardy theme music.

That's it!

Another low sugar morning.  I'm calling the doctor and telling her that I want to go back to slow acting insulin in the morning, and fast acting insulin before meals.

UGH!

I'm paying for doing too much yesterday.  I feel like crap.  Woke up to low blood sugar, and a nasty headache.  Jimmy has a appointment to see if he can get new orthotics today, so I can't take a nap until we get back.

Busy day

Bestest bud Billie was off from work today, so we had a hang out together day.  After breakfast, Walmart, BJ's, back to Walmart, Wendy's, and then home again, I'm pooped.

UGH!

It's been a rough couple of days.  Jimmy's back is really bad, so he's totally miserable.  Both of us have had our blood sugar all over the place.  Add to that we've both felt like crap.  How is your weekend going?

Love this!!

http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/6qpz