Softer than Soft Food and Books Gone

 On Monday night, I went to bed two hours earlier than usual. I was hoping to get more sleep. However, I awoke after 1.5 hours and could sleep no more. Finally at 8 am, I was able to sleep. Since I needed to get up at least by noon, I still got little sleep. I will keep trying to get more sleep. At 5 pm, I needed a nap. So, that is how it goes with me.

Today, I tried to only eat very soft or mushy food. Applesauce and cottage cheese, soft oatmeal and raisin cookies, banana, milk, a spoon of peanut butter, and slaw. Bread is too hard, unbelievably. I wanted cold chicken, but Tommy toughened and hardened it in the microwave! It was inedible! I was dismayed! Earlier, I had the innards of a turkey sandwich--deli turkey, tomato, Romaine. The one bite of delicious bread hurt me. 

I am so hungry and may have another bowl of oats in a bit. It is hard to sleep when I am hungry. And, I refuse to eat in the middle of the night. 

The car ac is getting worse as it is not functioning properly more often. Heat is stressful, and neither of us need that. Riding in a hot car contributed to my need to sleep at 5 pm. 

We shopped the last shopping day for last week's ad. The squash was all too large. I got two bananas, Diet Coke Caffeine Free, Miracle Whip-2, grapes, Alouette spread, and Juicy Fruit gum for Tommy. MW was $5.49 instead of $8.49. MW is a real win. Bananas weren't on sale. I just needed bananas.

For dinner Tommy had chicken, squash, and sweet potatoes. This is all leftovers. Good for me not having to cook. After having had slaw and too-hard breast for dinner, I will have oats now, and half an apple. I slice it and cut it where the peeling is about 1/8 inch wide. It does not get proper chewing, but at least it goes down. I need the fiber, trust me. I forgot about the squash and sweet potatoes. 

Maybe I will fold some clothes later tonight. Maybe not. Maybe we will work on books tomorrow. Today, we called a church and offered them the books. We put them out for them. I have no idea what they will do with them. Some of the books are new, never read, pristine dust covers. 

Do you go in the last day of a grocery ad to get things you need? Sometimes, I have forgotten something. Sometimes, I wait until the last day just because. 

Almost 4 Hours Sleep, Steak Butter

 This was my list of things to do on Tuesday. Some are pushed to Tuesday. Those are noted.

Tuesday--Over six pounds of bscb cook. 

Emptied food storage containers, leftovers, eaten. 

Tommy emptied dishwasher, hand washed some dishes.

I washed popsicle maker.

Some done. The rest pushed to Tuesday--Fold two loads of clothes--kitchen towels and my towels.

More books sorted in hall and living room. 

Tommy--Bought keto bread, milk for me, milk for Tommy.

All that was on four hours sleep, but I am fading fast. It was lovely and hot outdoors! I have watched the disasters unfold in Hawaii and the West where the hurricane is dropping water on the desert. All the sun streaming in the living room just shows and emphasizes all the dust in here. Ack! 

I did watch The Miracle Workers at 9 C. Next week is the last of the End Times Series of Miracle Workers. Does anyone else watch this on TBS?

Once again, Tommy got very loud and vehemently declared he would not eat something. Two days later I noticed he was eating it and ate it for several days. He said he would never eat any of the Steak Butter, that it did not sound good. I explained it was to put on a steak when cooking it. He still was loud and in denial. I told him it had no steak in it, that it was for putting on steak but it would work on bread. He is so funny. He did tell me it was not as good as what I made. Okay!

Dinner for Tommy will be leftover baked chicken, baked squash, baked carrots, sweet potatoes. All yellow/orange. 

For dinner I did not feel I could chew anything because of TMJ. I had a bowl of oatmeal, half a banana, 8 inch carrot baked, green beans, piece of keto bread. I did have half an apple, sliced thinly so the peel could be chewed a bit. I could not eat chicken. Bread crust was too hard. Not really, but it was just too hard for me to chew. Even cheese I ate earlier was too much to chew. 

I was talking to someone from England who said condensed milk was diluted over there to drink. Same with evaporated milk. Now, I know people drink Pet evaporated milk diluted. But, I have never heard of anyone drinking Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk. Have you? I know some people from England read this blog.

Usually, I take a nap when I sleep so little, but that did not happen today. 

Do you put butter on steak? 

Squash Casserole and Pineapple Popsicles

 

I have been searching for a squash casserole recipe and none are like I used to make. I think squash, buttered bread pieces, and cheese in layers is what I made. However, there may have been other ingredients. So far, I have found ingredients I am quite sure I never used--crackers, mushroom soup, garlic, eggs and other things I cannot remember. I lost so much in the house! 

Late tonight, I made popsicles again--crushed pineapple and Greek yogurt. Tommy went to the store and was gone for 1.5 hours, going on 2 hours. I worried something had happened to him. I asked what took so long--apples, he said. He has to sort through so many to get good ones for me. He was astounded that he could find no plain yogurt in the small size. He asked if Greek yogurt was okay. I thought he might object. 

These two times I have made popsicles, I have managed to make the exact amount for two popsicles. I am trying two at a time in order to find what we like. I am thinking of what I can make next. I will use the leftover crushed pineapple in cottage cheese. Maybe he will want the same thing again. I am planning banana for my next popsicle. I have no blueberries or strawberries at this time. Maybe something else from a can, like peaches.  

I would make a smoothy recipe with green stuff in it to use for popsicles, but I cannot find my smoothie blender glass. The last cleaner moved it somewhere!

Tonight, we had salmon croquettes, leftover slaw, and a can of green beans. There are croquettes for tomorrow and a dab of beans, and a dab of slaw. Lunch maybe? 

I have had problems with TMJ so chewing much of anything bothers it. The croquettes are perfect. Even the crust on bread is a problem to chew, making my left jaw pop with eat chew. 

Last week, I ate a loaf of sourdough bread that came from Publix. I love sourdough, but this was so tough. I kept on gnawing on it for the love of sourdough and this week, I am suffering. So, nothing that requires chewing is on my menu. Even chicken and ground beef are too much to chew. 

The ac on Tommy's car is going to require close to $1000 to repair. But, we cannot live without it--no suffering until fall. He has not suggested that, but it could be an option if we did not have ac weather into October!

Do you have a squash casserole recipe from the 70s that does not have lots of ingredients? That is the best way I can describe it. 

What is your favorite homemade popsicle flavor? 

TMJ

 Thursday,  at 5 pm I decided that I wanted to get a mum. I am not crazy about the yellow, orange or red. I wanted a pink mum, but this looks like it will be pale pinkish purple. That will work. Friday, I will put it in my huge wire chicken. The chicken needs a coat of paint, maybe later. I forgot to get a small plant for my concrete rabbit. Hopefully, I can get a pumpkin or pumpkins this weekend.

Okay, my ear problem is TMJ, according to my diagnosis. I thought and thought about what could be the matter. Then, I read lots. 

My new nose drop has loosened up the ear congestion, and swelling, and kept the pain away. Wednesday night, when I was barely in the bed, I heard grasshoppers, thousands of them. I heard Tommy in the hall and asked him about the grasshopper sound in my bedroom. He came to my door, listened, assured me there were no grasshoppers to be heard in my room. I thought they were outside my window. Nope! However, Thursday morning I was awakened by a horn sound in my ear and a momentary rushing sound of air. Weird, but I could not get back to sleep. My ear or TMJ induced ear problems are driving me nuts. 

I now have an appointment with my oral surgeon. We will see. It is not until November, so I hope I can hold on with the tinnitus. Tinnitus has been constant for years, but it was white noise and soothing at night. Maybe it is time to stop it. 

Today, Friday is a beautiful day. The skies are so blue and the ruby-throated hummingbirds are enjoying the feeders. We do have a few things to do outdoors and one place to go. this will be a good day for doing outdoors or driving anywhere. 

Of course, I took a nap. I didn't want to get up because of the nasty crowded kitchen counters. I have about a 12" square place to mix, cut, or whatever. Dishes were in both sides of the sink and on that little space. Tommy just procrastinates about helping me with the dishes. Next time when dishes need emptying from the dishwasher, we will do it during Jeopardy, the show he will not miss. If he complains, I will tell him this will be dish time from now on if he cannot do it earlier. Okay, that would be mean, so I will warn him--now or during Jeopardy. That will get him on his feet. It took us less than 15 minutes! 

I had a meal kit--$16.99! I did not pay that. It was chicken, frozen, had asparagus, basmati rice, apricots, onions, yellow squash, harissa sauce.  I am making it my way instead of by directions. It should be good when finished. It was not thawed or cooked. I thought I should heat it, but it was raw. So, it will be good. I think the harissa sauce will be too hot, so I will use something else to season it.

I left out the harissa sauce. We tasted it and I thought it was too hot and Tommy said it did not taste good. I also left out the apricots and we ate those out of hand. I did put in the squash and onions. Leftover green beans went into the mix along with Campbell's low sodium Cream of Mushroom soup. It was delicious and eventually had enough vegetables for two servings even though this was supposed to be two servings of vegetables, too.

Since I must be out early Saturday morning, I need to dig out a sweater. I won't be needing a sweater any other day for at least the next two weeks, so it will be sleeveless tops for me. 

Have you ever had tinnitus? What did it sound like? This has been going on for years but just now got bothersome. Do you have grasshoppers, sirens, white noise. Is it bothersome?