Hi everyone. How is it the last Wednesday of May already? I seriously can’t believe it. Anyway, I’m joining in with the Wednesday HoddgePodge again. Here goes.
1. It’s National Wine Day (May 25)…do you like wine? Red or white? Dry or sweet? Do you have a favorite? Have you ever been to California wine country? Or any other wine region? What’s a dish you make that calls for wine?
I can’t stand wine! One day, when one of our staff was retiring and had a little leaving party at my care home, somehow we had white and red wine (don’t ask me how we got it, as normally we aren’t allowed alcohol in the care home). Some staff convinced me to try a little of the white wine. I took a sip and blurted out: “Ew, this is gross.” Then they gave me the red wine. When I took another sip, I yelled: “Yuck, this is even worse!”
I don’t think I’ve ever been to any wine region. Not consciously at least and I don’t care to go there either.
2. What’s something you’ve whined about lately?
The staffing shortage in health care and particularly my care home. Literally half the team left within the past year or so and, this past Monday, the manager informed me that they may need to get temp workers to do my one-on-one shifts too rather than just the general shifts. I know rationally that the manager can’t help the staffing shortage, but emotionally, well, I feel rather overloaded.
3. Last time you were “wined and dined”? Tell us about it.
I honestly can’t remember. My husband and I haven’t been eating out since before COVID, I guess.
4. Three cheers for_____________________.
Care workers, of course. I know the workload is crazy. I can be a pain in the butt at times, but I do appreciate their work.
5. This will be the last Hodgepodge in the month of May. Somehow next Wednesday the calendar rolls into June. Before we go though, sum up your May in twelve words or less.
Eventful, an emotional rollercoaster ride.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I have been busy with preparations for visiting my sister and her family so I can see my new niece. She was born last Thursday. As regular readers of this blog know, I created a sort of mobile for my baby niece. Here is the picture (I’m holding it in my hand because I had nothing to hang it onto).
I wanted to gift my sister something for her birthday (which was on May 13) too and saw she wanted a membership to a positive parenting website. I am positively surprised (no pun intended) that she’s interested in that approach, as it’s vastly different from our parents’. I didn’t end up buying the membership for her, but hope she does keep this mindset.
I also am happy to share that the handheld drill and drill bits I wanted for drilling holes in my polymer clay pieces for jumprings finally arrived. I had ordered them last Wednesday and the website said handling and shipping would take up to three business days. Apparently they took three business days before they started collecting my order. I need to drill the holes so that I can attach jumprings to pieces in order to make earrings. Since the gift I did buy for my sister, is a pair of earrings, I intend on making her another pair out of polymer clay just for fun.
I also intend on making one more unicorn, because my older niece also deserves a little present when her baby sister and mother both get something.
A Multitude of Musings 
Your comments after tasting the wines made me laugh!
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Thank you, I’m glad I gave you a laugh.
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The Mobile you created for your new niece is really sweet. Hope you have a good visit.
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I hope so too. Thanks so much for the compliment.
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The last time I had wine I learned it was on my allergy list! Since I cook and bake allergen friendly foods, it’s cool. It was just a surprise to find out that wine is now something I can’t have. How did I find out? I woke up all puffy looking like the guy from Fraggle Rock who says, “Look Ma, I caught a Fwaggle!” Good look right? Then someone told me that American Wines have started to use casein in the fermentation process…and there was the answer. No more wine for the lady with the casein allergy!
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Thank you for your comment. I’m sorry wine, at least the American kind, is on your allergy list. I’m glad you didn’t have a worse reaction though.
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I hate wine, too. My parents love California wineries, but I have no desire to go.
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Oh, so glad I’m not alone. Thanks for commenting.
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I try not to drink alcohol as it often triggers a migraine, but I do enjoy an occasional bit of red wine. Must drink tons of water afterward! I whine about everything lol…
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I don’t have migraines, but I can imagine alcohol would trigger them. I mean, I already get a slight headache from having a few sips of wine. (Of course, a migraine is much worse than a simple headache, I know that.) I am glad in a way that I don’t like alcohol, as it worsens the sedative effect of several of my medications. LOL about you whining about everything.
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Ohh! I missed wine day. I do like wine. Rose is my favourite. I am not a fan of white and red wine, they are yucky.
My eldest works in a care home and they are always struggling with staff shortages which is such a shame. It is not good at all for the residents.
What a cute mobile. It sounds like your sister has the right idea when it comes to parenting. x
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Thank you for commenting. I had rose once because my sister had brought a bottle when she visited me for my birthday, but I don’t like that either.
Thanks for the compliment on the mobile.
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Congrats on your new niece…that mobile is so cute. I agree that healthcare workers should certainly get three cheers.
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Thank you so much for the compliment on the mobile.
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Sorry about the staff shortage. I know my son in law in Montana, who is a charge nurse, is very frustrated by it. Yes, I agree, care workers are worth three cheers! The mobile is so cute. Enjoy your visit with your new niece, your sister and family.
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Thank you so much for your kind words! I completely understand your son-in-law must be frustrated. Here in the Netherlands, some are calling for more care tasks to be done by informal carers (ie. family) or volunteers, but I can’t see how that’s going to solve the problem in the long run. I mean, for now it might, in that just not enough nurses can be schooled to accommodate the increasing need for care especially after COVID, but in the long term, there just aren’t enough healthy people to care for the increasing population of elderly and chronically ill people. At least, that’s what I’ve heard and it worries me very much, as I’m only 35 and likely to see this thing (they’re talking 2040 or so) happen while still heavily care-dependent.
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Definitely! I am 70 and I worry about myself. My father lived until 96 when he passed away about 3 weeks after the shutdown. He lived alone. My mother in law who is 94 still lives alone in Houston. There generation
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Sorry, I hit the wrong button. Their generation seems to live longer. They grew up with hard work and foods that were not injected with chemicals. They didn’t have fast food or junk food to eat. I’m trying to get my own body back but it is hard because I have stage 4 COPD. My oxygen levels are still good so I am fortunate for that.
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You may be right. I’m not sure, since I don’t really know the stats about longivity of people of each generation and, of course, my generation hopefully still has time to prove that they’ll live to be really old. That being said, that same report that said by 2040 there just won’t be enough healthy people to care for the sick and elderly, advised that those living unhealthy lifestyles should pay higher health insurance premiums (we have universal healthcare here in the Netherlands) and that more healthcare funding should go to prevention rather than treatment. Neither would help me, as I don’t currently have any chronic illnesses that are lifestyle-related, do live a fairly healthy lifestyle given my disabilities (I mean, I can’t really exercise all that much but I do try, I am overweight but do try to lose weight, etc.) and yet am heavily care-dependent due to my multiple disabilities. It’s also rather easy to blame the individual for their unhealthy lifestyle, when it’s not us individuals who asked for processed, high-sugar, high-fat foods, cigarettes, or the like.
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