Three Beautiful Things 03-27-2023: Talking with Dr. Bieber's Nurse, HelloFresh Tacos, New York City Booms

1. Yoke's didn't have Voltaren, so I trudged out to WalMart and purchased a tube. Back home, I read the literature that came with the gel and called Dr. Bieber's nurse to discuss whether Voltaren gel is safe for me to take because of my kidney disease. As we talked more, she told me my description of my inflamed big toe sounded like gout. I almost went into my history with being told on three different occasions it's not gout, but didn't. I decided to follow her advice and make an appointment to see my PCG on Wednesday. Regarding Volaren, she told me if my problem is gout, that gel wouldn't do anything for it. 

Okay. I set the Voltaren aside. I'll talk with Mark Smyly on Wednesday and see what he thinks. 

In the meantime, as I write this, my toe is in the best shape it's been in since the redness and swelling began about ten days ago. I do, however, have other discomfort in my left foot, so I'll discuss all of this with the PA on Wednesday.

2. Back home, after working at my new desk on some bills and filling out (more) medical forms, I sprang into the kitchen and opened up a bag of ingredients from HelloFresh to make black bean tacos.

It was simple. I just cooked up some sliced green pepper and onion, added some stuff HelloFresh sent to make a thick sauce or filling, added black beans and two cheeses to the mix and, when the cheese melted, I put the filling onto warmed up flour tortillas and we folded the tortillas into tacos.

3. Debbie and I watched the last hour of the first episode of Ric Burns' documentary, New York. This second hour emphasized the rapid growth of New York City in the first half of the 1800s, both in population and as a center of finances and industry. We learned a lot about former New York governor and New York City Mayor, DeWitt Clinton, who envisioned the immense economic benefits of building the Erie Canal and was absolutely right. The canal opened access for goods to be transported much more easily out of and into New York City and into and out of the vast lands west of the mountains of the state of New York.