Like it or not, I am in a situation requiring isolation and this naturally limits options and most activities. I am fortunate for sure-a caring wife that takes care of me (from a distance of course) a comfortable bed with a temperature controlled heating pad and google fiber so I can stream to my hearts content. Being confined to this room and unable to sleep although I’m dead tired means YouTube is my primary means of activity. Be it interesting, educational, mindless or random, there is certainly something for, and seemingly by everyone. Watching woodworking, either new or restoration can burn up a lot of time, and art conservation by Baumgartner is slow and absolutely fascinating, but Jason Cammisa is a god’s send. When I feel more coherent, like after a meal, I look into something actually important. Yesterday, my digital copy of Consumer Reports arrived and the cover was Medicare Enrollment. The article was brief but answered my primary question: Should I continue staying within the “Medicare” program or venture out and join one of the supplemental programs. Initially, my medical insurance agent explained the difference between them and the possible pitfalls of switching and choosing to come back to Medicare at a later date. Maybe you can and maybe you can’t is what he said and the CR article corroborated that statement. I have had a pretty healthy life, but as I lie here with two totally dissimilar illnesses at exactly the same time, I think I will stay put again this year.

Not sure if others can relate to this but whenever I am bedridden, I search out and research topics of interest that I have promised myself to pursue for years. Several years ago during a bout with kidney stones, I binged heavily on fly-fishing, even taking a lesson prior to a planned fly fishing trip trip that was aborted the day before we were scheduled to leave. I never made that trip or any other for that matter. The seed is still embedded though-I purchased a nice fly rod at a recent estate sale. My focus this time is consciously random, but subconsciously it is health. Nothing sexy or inspiring, just living better which is soooo easy to talk about but soooo difficult (for me at least) to implement. I did catch a bit of “talks by docs” or similar on a segment on statins. My wife is not a fan but a recent heart scan showed buildup in the widow maker valve so after consulting several different doctors I am talking a low-dose statin and a red-yeast supplement. Sorry-back to “talks with docs”-their shtick wasn’t very entertaining but in the comment section I kept reading the same complaint, “sore and tired feeling muscles from statins” which caught my eye. That has been a recent (this year) complaint that I was attributing to age but after reading that I’m not so sure. Life only gives so many chances for a successful reboot so I hope I can find the inner commitment to follow through. That is of course after I research deserted places in Canada eh.