Two Months in Essex

Last Wednesday was the two-month anniversary of our moving day. 

We've done a lot of things in those two months.

• We bought new furniture: kitchen table and chairs, living room couch and chairs, bedside tables, Sleep Number bed. 
• We found a primary care physician and other doctors. 
• I got my Maryland driver's license and registration, including a Maryland Safety Inspection.
• We got a new TV and cellphones when old ones broke.

We did that even with a five day break to return to Connecticut and five days for Jeff in the hospital when I did virtually nothing then.

Of course, there's a lot more to do. I am trying my best not to get overwhelmed. I need to focus and stick to my plans.

I underestimated  how long it would take me to acclimate myself to a new area. I'm still using GPS to get around, but less often. I've been frustrated with the various grocery stores. It's been hard to find things/brands I like. It's getting easier; having kandykakes readily available helps. 

We were here at Halloween and the neighborhood is into decorating. Even a part of the trail/boardwalk was decorated. Unfortunately, Jeff was in the hospital, so we weren't up for celebrating. 

Christmas decorations are pretty big too. I did our Christmas decorating on Sunday. It's pretty sparse. We decided not to buy a tree this year. In January, we trashed our old shedding artificial tree and don't want to deal with getting a new one. Hey, we need furniture. But if there are good post-Christmas sales, we'll keep our options open. 

Looking ahead to ringing in the New Year in our new home.

Thanksgiving Movie Night: Plane, Trains and Automobiles

I wanted to watch a Thanksgiving movie, and this is the first I've thought of--Planes, Trains and Automobile. I knew the plot outline and had heard the film was funny.

Overall, I was disappointed. Steve Martin experiences one travel nightmare after another. It's relentless and becomes boring and unpleasant to watch. Also, the happy ending for John Candy was unearned.

Complaints

It didn't seem right to write about complaints on Thanksgiving Day. 

So, I saved my complaint about the food for today. I think this was our fifth Thanksgiving with Whole Foods meals. We ordered a different meal this time. 

First, a cider brined turkey, which was good. The maple mashed sweet potatoes and orange cranberry sauce were also good, and the gravy okay. The mac and cheese was runny--it had way too much liquid. Lastly was the green bean casserole. I generally don't like these. But it was supposed to cook for 30 minutes. I cooked it for 40 minutes and it was still far from done. My attempt to finish it in the microwave failed. I'll see if I can salvage it tonight. 

I've had issues with cooking times on other occasions with Whole Foods dinners, but I didn't expect problems with the oven. I'm still in a learning curve with the electric cooktop, and the gravy and mashed sweet potatoes were starting to burn, so I gave up on casserole. 

I really missed stuffing. I just assumed stuffing would be included. D'oh. Didn't look very closely at the order. Next time, I'll be more careful.

Thankfuls

Another Thanksgiving Day--our first in our new home. 

So, I'll start with that. I'm thankful that we bought this condo and  moved here.

I'm thankful that we finally put our Norwalk condo on the market yesterday..

I'm thankful for my health. 

I'm thankful Jeff's hospital visit led to him getting physical and occupational therapy and nurse visits at home.

I'm thankful for friends.

I'm thankful for Jeff. 

Done!

I'm happy to report that I crossed a big to-do off my list yesterday yesterday. I got Jeff enrolled in a Medigap policy. Bonus: we got a policy for about $200 less than I expected. 

I'm relieved that, to quote my law school professor Bernard Schwartz and Rocky from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, that particular sword of Damocles is no longer hanging over my head. 

In other news, our freshly-painted Norwalk condo is officially on the market. It's listed as "coming soon," and the pictures look good. Here's hoping people agree. 

A Little Late, But...

Two days later than I had hoped that things would get better. It took a little longer, but I can say things are looking better. 

Finding a medical supplement plan for Jeff has been frustrating. We had a broker in Connecticut to help us. I couldn't find one here. I called insurance companies, found that there were not many options for people on Medicare under 65 years. We think we have enough information to make a good decision.

Our health care navigator got Jeff appointments with a neurologist and a primary care provider. 

Let the good times roll.

Hoping for a Better Day

This has been a horrible week--so far. 

But it's only been two days, and I'm hoping that will turn around. 

Everything I do ends in a cycle of frustration. When I decide something or do something, it opens up a bunch of additional questions or things to do. Which leads to stress. 

The latest issue involves ordering a refrigerator for our Norwalk condo. I've already spent hours on this yesterday and today. Now I'm listening to a ringing telephone.

Maybe things will start looking up this afternoon.