Grumpy Grampa Makes a Trifle

 

My husband is a cranky pants when ill and as of today he is much better and stopped his barking. 

Yesterday was his follow-up doctor appointment to check his progress and decide if he is well enough to return to work. I’m happy to report he was given the all clear with one week stair restrictions to be sure his lungs are recovered. Part of his job entails climbing stairs multiple times a day between three floors in the warehouse. 

Though we both work for the same company and location, I’m in a different department on a ground floor. I have been home to care for him by since the day he was found unresponsive. It will be nice to get back to work and back to normal. My husband is past retirement age but in America we all know you can’t live on Social Security alone. Our healthcare is partially tied into our employer, or we would have none it’s so expensive. Those are topics I’m avoiding for now. We both need to work is the point.

We have been lucky health-wise thus far to not begin the senior citizen medical roller coaster. Needing medication is scary, the price of medication here in the states is scarier. Over the years we started changing up our diet and exercise to be proactive, we also stopped smoking over ten years ago. I’m praying we will remain as healthy as our older family members that are still with us. His family lives well into their 90’s with my family in their 80’s. 

Sitting in the waiting room we were both apprehensive and quiet. We are lucky to have a medical practice that is a more relaxed atmosphere in a rural setting. The family doctor we use is a very knowledgeable young woman. It’s taken us trial and error over the years to find her after sampling other physicians in various practices. I remember the day I noticed health professionals were suddenly all younger than me, that was a defining moment. Interestingly enough, I unintentionally now refer to anyone age 40 and younger as "kids."

Once called back to the exam room he was seen first by the nurse who recorded his history for the last two weeks that landed him in the hospital emergency. His vitals were checked, all good. The only remaining remnant is an occasional coughing fit but it’s much improved. I’m blessed I never caught what he and my son had, it’s a nasty bug. I can’t even imagine how all of us would have managed. I told the doctor I need to go back to work so I can rest and I was serious. 

“Done and dusted” my husband announced as we left the office. He was given an order to get a repeat lung scan to be sure they remain clear with no after effects of pneumonia. The drive home was more upbeat at least. It’s been two weeks from hell, but could have been much worse. Prior to yesterday I spent outdoors doing more snow shoveling, and my son helped move our cars around for the snowplow that came. 

Tonight and tomorrow we are due a bigger storm with a foot of snow projected (about 30cm) and I will be shoveling a good part of late afternoon Sunday. Years ago my husband had a different health scare, that and he being older than myself I don’t let him snow shovel at all if possible. Not that he doesn’t try. He doesn’t like that I do it all but he knows a happy wife is a happy life. *Grin*

Our shopping day is Saturday but we opted to stop yesterday while out to get our essentials to stock up. The food store was already very busy with parking hard to find. It’s always this way when people hear a snowstorm is approaching. Today if we had ventured out it would have been much worse. I’ve carried an aversion to going in stores since last year when I caught a bronchial infection. Safe to say between that and the COVID mess  it made me a germaphobic. It’s amusing because in the spring and summer I’m always barefoot with my hands in garden dirt. 

The rest of today will be low-key. A sign my husband is feeling better is him making his favorite simple Classic English Trifle in the kitchen.Yes, my spouse is British in every sense of the word. Strawberry trifle is his go-to comfort dessert. It’s created in steps, is time consuming, but well worth it. It consists of a layer of strawberry gelatin with cake, cooked vanilla pudding, and whipped topping. It’s not an overly sugary treat which is why we like it. There are many variations on making it, this one is just an easy store bought mix from a small local British food store. 

Once the trifle is put together and chilled it’s a nice light treat for after dinner, whatever that meal may be. This is a small trifle, he usually does one that fits the whole glass bowl. It’s now late afternoon and time for tea and to get dinner started. Tomorrow during the snowstorm I’m going to try and get out in the thick of it and attempt some macro along with landscape photography, I used to do it years ago. I hope this post finds anyone who stumbles here at peace and in good health! 

 

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