I have not completely resolved the issue from Friday, but things are going our way!
Wednesday, I had to get up at 7:45 am, wash my hair, eat, bathe, and leave by 8:30 am. I did it. Well, I carried a piece of sourdough bread, half a banana, and a glass of milk in the car and ate as we drove. I waited in the car while Tommy had an ultrasound. By then, my hair had dried and I had consumed a pack of peanut butter crackers.
We were so far from home that it took an hour to get there. All the places I might want to go were on the way home. I returned the second pair of shoes to SAS. My left foot is so swollen that even a double wide shoe would not go on my foot. The right shoe was too loose!
The Salvation Army Store was the next stop. I found nothing in dinnerware, nothing in Tupperware lids, nothing in coats to fit me. Well, I asked Tommy to find coats in my size. He came back and told me where the coats to fit me were located. No, not the right size. I was so exhausted and had two items, so we left.
The prettiest white basket with a plastic liner caught my eye. At $4.99, it was a deal. Then, I spotted a Reed and Barton small round dish, not sterling. It was $1.99. On the internet the same thing sold for $15.99 to $65. It only cost $1.99. I have silver polish.
The trip to the thrift store was very pleasant except for the grumpy old man at the register. I kept saying I was sorry and I did not know. But, he would not let up. If I ever go there, I will avoid him. He kept getting louder and louder. The more I apologized, the meaner he got. We finally just looked at him and let him go on. He was going on break and was grumpy to other people leaving the store, so I suppose it was not just us.
The Salvation Army Store in Cullman priced itself out of business when The Foundry opened. One day at SA, I told them the item sold for $1 at the DT and the woman said in a haughty manner that they had trained professionals who had been taught how to price. Well, okay! The DT sticker was on the bottom! That store was too crowded. Two-thirds of the store was oppressive in the summer and freezing in the winter. When I asked why, I was told there was no heat or ac in the back.
Finally, they closed. I was sorry to hear that because bread makers were always $3 to $5. and I resold them all the time. Every one of the bread makers worked.
We found the SA in Hoover to be very nice. I had been there once before but had forgotten how like a department store it was. The clothing I saw was very stylish, clean, and in good repair. Of course, it was small sizes.
On Tuesday night, I went to bed at midnight and slept 7.5 hours, went to bathroom three times and fell right back to sleep, thankfully. I felt really well all Wednesday until about 7 pm when I wanted a nap. I did not go to bed.
We took the tablet to have it set up. Well, I felt silly since it took less than two minutes.
This afternoon, I convinced Tommy to let me read to him "Young Goodman Brown" since he had never heard of it or read it. The short story is by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I could not believe it took me almost 40 minutes to read it to him. Have you ever read it? October Farm's post today made me think of the story.
Tonight, I plan to go to bed at midnight. It's almost midnight.
Have you ever read "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne? I highly recommend it.
Wow you had a big day. Getting up that early to shower sounds like a nightmare to me, I am definitely not a morning person. My daughter showers at about 300am every morning, dries her hair and heads of to work.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite a ways from her home to work, she lives in St Charles County, and the hospital she works at is at the edge of St. Louis City. It's all highway, but it still takes a while to get there. Then after working all day as a nurse, when she gets home the first stop she makes is the laundry room to put her clothes in the washer and her shoes in the garage, because who knows what they could be contaminated with.
Then when she gets home she takes another shower because she feels ick from being in the hospital all day. One time I was asking her about getting up so early in the morning and showering and washing and drying her hair she said it makes her feel more awake. One time I was visiting someone in the hospital with her and I absent mindedly sat my purse on the floor. Oh she chewed me out, up one side and down the other about the germs on the floors in hospitals. I have never forgotten and done that again.
I know many people are perfectly fine with buying used shoes, but I never have, I always thought about athlete's feet that they might have but now I worry about getting plantar warts from them, since people I know have had those plantar warts on their feet and they really hurt..
I found an online shoe store for people who have special needs for their shoes. I will soon be buying a pair of shoes from them especially for swollen feet. The pair I am looking at is less than $70. The
Physical Therapist measured my feet especially for those shoes. They are supposed to be wide and deep at the instep for people who have thicker feet up and down-wise, plus the shoes come in a wide width. If they are really comfortable for me I will let you know how they are. The company is Silvert's. I normally wore a size 9 1/2 - 10 shoe size, my feet will require a size 12 in these shoes according to the measurements that the Lymphedema Physical Therapist measured.
Before my Lyphedema got so bad, by friend and I used to go Thrifting all of the time and had the best time. She is a small size and found the cutest clothes. They were quality clothes, that were so cute and sylish, she was able to wear them in the office of one of our biggest corporations here in St. Louis. I never had much luck finding clothes in my size, but I found a ring one time that was shaped like a bird nest and had what looked like an egg in it. The egg looked like old fashioned opal. It was $3 and change. I cleaned it up and saw tiny marks on the inside of the band that said what looked like 14k, but was so worn off it was hard to tell. I had it appraised at a jewelry store and it was worth $250 to $300. Now that was a bargain! It was a real opal in the middle, the bluish kind that is not so clear like the modern ones from Africa are. It looked like an Australian opal. It fits me perfectly.
I will look into the story of Young Goodman Brown. I like old timey books and stories.
Have a great day tomorrow!
susie,
DeleteI am still looking for an email from you and am not sure if it is lost or if you forgot.
That is a remarkable story about the ring. A jeweler can tell what it says. But, since you had it appraised, I suppose you found out.
That shoe store sounds like something I need to look into for myself. The doctor just ignored the swollen leg and gave me fluid pills.
When I have to get up early, I just suck it up and do it. I don't love it. I try not to set my purse on any floor when out, especially a doctor's office or hospital. I know they are gross with germs.
Email me, please.
My husband and I often drive to Nashville, TN to shop at two Goodwill stores. They are set up like a nice consignment store might be. With clothing separated into styles, sizes, colors. I have bought many pieces of clothing there that still had the original store tags. 90% of the clothes I wear to the office are from Goodwill. It also came in handy when I lost weight. I went from a size 20 to a 12.
ReplyDeleteAlice,
DeleteThis one was similarly arranged and very nice. I was near a rack of white blouses that was stunning. I can imagine how handy this would become when losing weight and needing clothing to wear to work. That is a great weight loss. My range would be larger!
I took a class in college (and, actually, it was the first college class I ever attended) called "Literary Genre: The American Short Story." "Young Goodman Brown" was one of the stories we read and discussed. I'm also pretty sure several of my h.s. classmates in my h.s. English class chose it to read for their oral presentation--several times/year we were allowed to form a group of 2 to 3 classmates, pick stories from a selected group of authors relevant to the current classwork, and present the class with a 3 - 5 minute "symposium" almost, on the story/stories, all for "extra credit." (Oh, how our education system has degraded. This would never be allowed today due to standardization.) In the high school class, our teacher had us do these presentations instead of holding class parties on early release days or the days before holidays. In any case, since high school, the American Short Story has been one of my favorite genres of literature.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...interesting...you mention "Young Goodman Brown" in a post that also mentions the Salvation Army. I DO NOT CARE HOW INEXPENSIVE THEIR MERCHANDISE IS, I will NEVER step foot in a Salvation Army, nor put a cent in their kettle until they stop espousing anti-LGBTQ+ in their beliefs. I understand they deliver services to LGBTQ, but their public beliefs help marginalize people. Those beliefs include opposition of marriage rights, among others. Theise beliefs help continue discrimination.
Meg,
DeleteThat class and story was a great introduction to college! We never had those things you mentioned in school. I am much older, but there were good things I remember that do not exist today. Disruptions were not tolerated, so all was calm. Back then, those kids probably dropped out which was not a good thing, either.
I was not aware of SA stand on LGBTQ, so I will look into their stance.
What were you saying "I'm sorry and I didn't know" about to the grumpy man? I think your story lost details that I'm not following. I'm not sure what I might have read in the past for school. That short story does not stand out in my memory.
ReplyDeleteSam,
DeleteHe told us we were in the wrong line. I was puzzled. He said the line started at the register that was nearer the door. Then, he said I should have gone to the other side of the line of cash registers, the ones behind him. He said he did not call me over, so I should be behind him. He then calls people to him. It was so bizarre a setup. I did not argue, just kept apologizing and said I did not know. He was rather insulting and loud. He could see I was struggling with my walker and Tommy was on a walker. He persisted, not that I expected special treatment or anything, just for him to lay off with the recriminations. I was at what I thought was the end of the line.
There were four cash registers in a square. I was in the lefthand and back register. I was supposed to be in the righthand back register. I certainly would not go to a front of the square. I did not see signs but there may have been that were not visible where I chose. I was in such pain that I am not sure at this point. I did look up and saw no signs, but they could have been on the other side of the square of registers.
Just now, I asked Tommy about the situation. He said after a while I sounded a little hacked. However, he did say that I said nothing except I did not know and I was sorry. Tommy said there was a sign up on the ceiling. But, he said it was 20 feet away. We were on the opposite side from the sign just because we had gone to that side of the store. The whole ordeal was ridiculous! I figured the less I said, the sooner he would shut up.
He could have redirected us, but he grabbed the basket and silver dish and proceeded like he was going to check out our merchandise.
I'm sorry. That's a ridiculous way to treat people. I know they hire people with special needs, and maybe he was mentally unwell to be so angry over minor confusion. Regardless, that doesn't excuse the behavior.
DeleteSAM,
DeleteThanks. I was baffled by the whole experience. Things like this make me feel very weary.
Sorry you had to deal with that grumpy old fool. I'm sure it was nothing personal; he was just some loser who wanted the whole world to know he was IN CHARGE and ANNOYED. Just like every other old man out there. Boggles my mind how they imagine anyone cares...
ReplyDeleteYour shopping sounds like fun! Can I ask why you don't use a portable, lightweight wheelchair while you are out with Tommy? You could sit and he could push. He needs a walker anyway, right? Of course, he would obey your directions like a squirrel on acid. So maybe that's not the greatest solution...
I've never read Young Goodman Brown. For anyone else who wants to read it for free:
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/english/f1124y-001/resources/Young_Goodman_Brown.pdf
I want to read it right now (only 10 pages) but I have too much work to do. So I'll save it for a treat for later.
I read the part in second paragraph to Tommy. He laughed hard. It is hard for Tommy to push a wheelchair. Bedsides, there were places where I had to lift the walker to get through tight places. I would never ask him to push me in a store.
DeleteI read it from another site, but thanks for the link. I can always read ten pages. The problem is I will want to read more.
IF one of your feet is that swollen it sounds like you may have a lymph node issue on that side of your body. There are massage exercises that can help with that.
ReplyDeleteKim,
DeleteI have seen two doctors who just go "uh." I will see again. third doctor?
You might want to try Vapor Thrift Store in Vestavia. I pass by it all the time and it is always covered up with cars.
ReplyDeleteThere is also Kings Home Thrift in Pinson, and Lovelady Thrift (?) on Old Springville Road. I have driven by both of them before and, judging by the cars in the parking lot, they seem to have a lot of customers
Anne,
DeleteThanks. I would have never guessed Vapor was a thrift store as it sounds like a vape shop...lol. I will ask Tommy about these locations.