Isn’t it nice to wake up and then get back in bed? Such a luxury!
I woke up early feeling much improved from last night’s “gastro-rama,” climbed back in my cozy bed and woke up my mind with the New York Times’ Wordle (if you haven’t tried it, do so…you’ll become addicted in a good way!) Before my feet hit the rug again, I completed my online daily puzzles, Cryptogram, Crypto-Families, Quotefalls and Sudoku. Making these Daily Puzzles a part of my day helps me feel accomplished, especially on days that I don’t get much of anything else done.

Did you know:

Doing puzzles and playing puzzle games regularly also helps to form new connections within your brain cells, improving your short term memory. A study done by the University of Michigan even found that people who do puzzles for 25 minutes a day showed an improvement in their IQ scores by four points. Puzzles increase the production of dopamine, a chemical that regulates mood, memory, and concentration. Dopamine is released with every success as we solve the puzzle.

Fueled by dopamine, I tackled the catio and cleaned/rearranged the kittens living quarters and feed them breakfast. Purrs and silent meows thanked me. Delilah was her usual cheerful self and I fed her and Baxter side by side on his bed. I am consciously, consistently and carefully monitoring the dogs when they are eating, including hand-feeding them next to each other. Roxy places herself on the landing to remove herself from the situation and eats happily alone, but Baxter and Delilah have it worked out. They both respect each other’s food bowls and calmly take turns eating from my hand. Food aggression and resource guarding can be a problem for households with multiple dogs and it is important to create unity and trust among the pack..

So this happened….I went to the Trulieve website to re-order some medical marijuana only to discover from the CSR on a chat that my authorization has run out as of 12/29/22. My medical marijuana card is good for a year BUT apparently I have to meet with the Pot Doc every 7 months and cough up $195. I have an appointment with Dr. Melissa on February 3rd. Good thing I didn’t wait till my goodies were depleted!

So to sum up what I learned today:

You Need to Renew Your Marijuana Certification with a Doctor.
Florida medical certification and orders last for seven months, and you need to see a doctor once every 210 days. You don’t need to see a doctor when you renew your card unless your orders are due to expire.

I understand the need to regulate pot and it is CURRENTLY not a problem for me to venture forth to Sarasota, but I wonder how this requirement impacts those who are very sick and can’t travel. Sometimes rules need exceptions.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a local Acupuncturist. I am eager to see if she can relive the sciatic pain as well as the neuropathy in both my feet. Possible lunch with Sue and then at 3:30 pm, I am meeting Anna Cooke, the Editor-In-Chief for The New Barker for a photo shoot…more about this exciting opportunity to follow. The timing is great because it’s back to Chemo on Tuesday.