(no subject)

In May, my long time primary care physician retired. I was supposed to be assigned to another doctor at the same clinic, but (unlike Scott) I never got the letter telling me who I was supposed to see. At the beginning of this month, I ended up having to call the insurance company to see about getting reassigned. That was annoying, but it was over quickly enough.

Today, I saw my new doctor for the first time. I'm not sure yet what I think of her. My visit was relatively straightforward. I need two prescriptions and a referral for blood tests (due to one of my meds, I need a cholesterol and fasting blood sugar test every six months). The whole thing took quite a while, however, because UHS has switched over to a new computer system. It's supposed to be a good thing because it unites all medical records from all throughout the University's medical system, but it's got a steep learning curve. My new doctor spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to input my medical data (daily meds and various diagnoses) into the system. Ordering the blood tests was cumbersome because she had to try three or four different things in order to find an accurate reason for the blood tests.

The whole trip out was physically exhausting, more so than I expected, due to the heat. The bus stop I used for the trip into town has no shade, and the bus company eliminated the stop that was a block from the clinic (I only had to walk two blocks, but I'd have loved the shorter walk). I thought about eating lunch on campus, but I couldn't face walking to a restaurant and then walking back to the bus stop, so I just came home.

We have a softball game tonight. Fortunately, it's at a field with plenty of shade. I'm making sure I get plenty of fluids in the meantime.

(no subject)

Tuesday evening, Scott, Delia and I went to Blue Nile to celebrate Scott's and my nineteenth anniversary. Delia was the one who suggested Blue Nile. She's been wanting to go back since we went there for Mother's Day. Scott and I were not averse. We all ate too much, and all three of us had iced tea (Blue Nile has a cinnamon tea that tastes a bit like Big Red gum). Delia hardly touched her tea, but we were pleased that she tried it.

Yesterday, Delia had a field trip at camp. They went to a nearby park that has a creek running through it. They looked for crawdads and fish and tested the water in a couple of different ways. Delia mentioned the pH and nitrates.

In the evening, Scott's Babylon 5 game met. We were one player down. We resolved a couple of plot points. I had to take time in the middle of the game to go outside to retrieve Delia because I'd pointed out to her that she's allowed to cross our street this year. There are kids who live across the street, and she was playing with them. She came right away when I showed up, but she was sorry to leave. Today, she's made a couple of trips out, looking for other kids, but it's so hot that nobody's outside.

Being allowed to cross the street is a big step. We haven't allowed it before because sometimes cars come far too fast off of the cross streets. She's nine now, though, and it's past time. I'll worry about her doing it, but it's something she needs to do, a step toward independence. I want her to do this. There's a girl a year older than she is who lives across the street and around the corner. That girl doesn't come our way. The neighborhood kids go to her place and play with her and her older sister.