Our Weekend Off in Amish Country...

So, Saturday was a good day for me and for us. Cassi went to Pa's house for the weekend. Rob was off work for 5 days (he only works a 3-day a week schedule). First, I got up really early and called the doctor. Rob got what I have been dealing with for 3 weeks. Stuffed up, then draining. Sore throat, coughing that won't stop, and overall tiredness. For me, when I started this, it was at the end of school and I actually lost my voice for a few days. Cassi got it too, but only lost her voice for 2 days.

But, anyway, Rob was able to get into the doctor. A virus. Rob got the z-pack and a cough syrup with codeine. Then, the lady at the front counter suggested I see the other doctor because I'm still coughing. Now, Rob has told me about these doctors he deals with at work who are only in the biz for the money they can make prescribing all these drugs to the nursing home patients. I just never had an opportunity to experience one myself...

Well, my wait was over...

First, he talks about his famous and rich kids, how they are going to pay off a $400k house in 2 years becuase they are realtors, etc. etc. You see where I'm going...

Then, he looks in my ears (after the hearing aides come off). He has me breathe. He asks me what I've been taking for the symptoms, which are Sudafed and Dimetap. Also, because Marie had allergy problems at the same time I got sick, I figured it was my allergies kicking in. Also, because I was continuing to just cough, I figured my asthma was starting back up. You see, I've got bad allergies and asthma, but the asthma has been good for the past year or so, without any flare ups. My asthma is definitely related to my allergies and heat.

So, he gives me this breathing test. Just 1 test to blow into this little machine to give a pressure number. Comes up normal. But, after I do this blow, I start coughing and can't stop. From one test, he decides, "No you do not have asthma."

Huh? Come again? I was diagnosed with asthma about 11 years ago. It's just not active 100% of the time; it's a more moderate form. I was hoping he would prescribe to me my ventolin again for the asthma symptoms. Nope. He prescribes to me the most expensive medication on the market, Singulair. Of course, this medicine is the best for asthma. But wait, he just said I don't have asthma.

Then, he throws me another loop. "Do you get indigestion?"

"Yeah, about once a week." Wasn't sure how to answer because it's not everyday. AND, I typically know when I'm going to get it.

"Well, your coughing is probably caused by GERD (acid reflux). The acid in your stomach is going up into your eusophagus and then going down into your lungs. That's what you're coughing. Not many doctors diagnose this."

HUH?

"So, I want a chest x-ray and blood work done. I want to see if you've got H Pylori bacteria in your stomach. And, I'll prescribe for you Prilosec. And, if the results of the tests come back negative, you'll have to go see a pulmonary doctor to determine if you've actually got asthma."

Rob had been turning his head the entire time. I know he wanted to deck this guy. We went out to the front counter. I told her I wanted to see my doctor this week. I got in to see her on Tuesday. She D/C'd all of the tests and meds he prescribed. We are pushing to not have to pay for the appointment. It was a waste of time and he falsely diagnosed stuff on me that doesn't need to be.

Anyway, back to the good day. The rest of the day was great. We picked up his medicines and came back to the house. Rob wanted to take camera with us. I suggested we pick up some cheese. MMMMMMMMM! So, we also brought along the cooler and ice.

We got down to Amish country and stopped at a furniture place. One of our goals was to price and find a color for our dining room table. You see, when we got the house, we inherited a HUGE dining room table. The only thing, the seller took the chairs. So, we are trying to find chairs to go with the table. But, the other problem is the coloring. At the 2 places we stopped at, they both told us that if we purchased the chairs stained from them, they could sell us the stain to re-do the table ourselves. One place said if we re-did the table first, as long as the stain was a spray, they would stain the chairs with our stain. Sounds good.

Then, we visited the cheese houses. There's one place, called Heini's (yes, we call it like the your butt). They have a HUGE cooler with dozens of types of cheese that you can sample. Hmmm. Lunch! I'm not a big swiss person, but their one brand of baby swiss is to die for. Then, we went into some of the shops. We enjoyed a bowl of homemade ice cream. (I really need to make some with Cassi this summer.) It poured a little rain while we were in a store. We found a gift to give to Dad for father's day. The Amish guy had this computer (yes, not all Amish are afraid of electric). On the machine, he was able to use a sort-of printer that burnishes into leather and cuts into wood. So, I found a nice money clip. The magnets are pretty strong. On one side, it says, "I Love You Pa From Cassi" and on the other side, a photo of Cassi will go into it. Marie, don't tell dad because it's going to be a surprise from Cassi.

I picked up an Amish cookbook. I'll share some of the recipes soon. I'm still reading it all. There's a recipe for twinkie filling and other goodies. They even have a recipe for home made root beer.

I bought a few sticks of taffy that I ate that day. Oh, and when we bought the cheese, baby swiss, bermuda onion, and co-jack, I also purchased a tube of strawberry filling. For my birthday, I'm making a strawberry pie.

After we were done, we headed over to our old campground to visit with friends. The one couple's camper we went to had the food. There were 3 of us couples there catching up with each other. We hadn't seen them since last fall when we left. We actually tried to get a spot again this year, but the owners decided not to reply to our email. Their loss. That's okay. We'll just go down to visit. And, our friends Bob and Betty who live in Wooster have offered for us to come stay with them overnight.

We had din-din and chat. Although, after a little while, we started getting eaten by the mosquitos. Time to go. We got home about 11pm. While in Amish country, we also went into an Amish-run hardware store. They had EVERYTHING there. We found supplies for making wine. We purchased a juice kit for making wine, although it will probably, more than likely make wine coolers. Mmmmm. Dan and Rob are working on the process together. It'll be fun for the 2 guys to work together.

Okay. I'm going to close this for now. I'm going to try to write about our floor project, along with pictures.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )