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? 

Major Decluttering Project Started

That is the way it started, anyway. I told Tommy I was ready to start sorting the books in the living room on the table with the TV. I was utterly shocked when almost immediately he headed for the books, thinking he might say 'later.' Nope! He went straight to the books and started piling them onto his walker. 

There were about ten books on each side of the TV. Unfortunately, when I went through them, I wanted all but one. That won't work to get rid of anything! So, I went through them again. I think I culled out another five. This was discouraging. 

He mentioned the ones at the end of the hall piled on a hamper that has never been used. So, he went after those. I found more to let go and told him to put them by the road. We had ten books to put out for free. Well, it was late in the day, and no one took anything. They came back in and are separate from the other books. There are about 30 more books on the hamper. 

Getting them separated from the other books was a major accomplishment. They can be given away one at a time or give all to one person or entity. These are from the books I got free and read only a few from across town. They are not the ones Janet gave me. I hope she is doing okay in San Diego.

So, this is the start of major book decluttering. I hate to talk disrespectfully about books by calling it decluttering when I plan to share them. We won't take them anywhere! It's too hard on Tommy. Someone has to come get them. We have two friends in mind to ask first. NO, we will not offer them to the library. One friend may deliver them somewhere. Who knows? But, I am happy to start this project. I think there is a whole stack of Tommy's books in the bedroom he does not want. I am not supposed to sleep in a room with books!

I don't need suggestions as to where to get rid of books. I have contingency plans.

We went out for a few things, and I could find nothing. We forgot to go to Publix for bread. Leftovers were great, so no cooking. He filled the dishwasher. I started it. That was it. 

It was a good, quiet day. No rain, thankfully. 

How about you? What did you do or not do on Sunday? 

The Day Before

 

When we left the house, it was 86 and uncomfortably hot. I am not complaining as I like it this hot. Today, Saturday, we went to Sam's Club and found nothing we went to purchase. But, we brought home more cups and Cheerios. We ate a nasty hotdog. I will never eat one of those again. I might take a bite of Tommy's. Those are so long, so big around and so greasy. And, not healthful.

I have no idea why or how I put this image in twice!

Then, we stopped at BAM. I now have three books, two of those had to be ordered, but he went in to do it. I brought home This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam were ordered and are on their way. These are my kind of books. These are gifts, so it does not count as my buying...lol. 

Then, I stopped by Publix and got kalamata olives and feta cheese for a Mediterranean Pasta. I had this first with spaghetti, but I may use another past with it.  I am making this because I want it. Tommy won't eat it...too bad. It is my gift to me. After all, it is Mother's Day tomorrow. He will buy me dinner tomorrow. I have no idea when I will cook this.

Tonight, Tommy will chop and brown/cook ground beef with Vidalia onions that I need to chop. Some will be used tonight in jarred pasta that needs to be eaten. We will have cole slaw with it. 

I tried something new--Lindt Classic Recipe OatMilk non-dairy chocolate. It was delicious. I was not trying to avoid dairy, just tried it. I would highly recommend it. 

By the way, the keto brownie mix did not have laxative effects on me like the package warned. YAY!

The chicken was eaten slowly tonight. And, I drank lots of water. And, I did not choke. 

Do you have an esophagus that is narrowed and must be stretched? 

Have you eaten chocolate made with oat milk? Did you like it?

Have you read either of the three books he gave me for Mother's Day?

Do you eat the hotdogs from SAM's?

Very Busy Monday

 There is nothing growing in the culture. The antibiotics are not helping one bit. I still have an elevated temperature and chills all the time, chills like my fever is breaking. So, I don't know. Yes, I will take care of this.

Today, it was not going to rain, and I had things to do. And, we did it all, plus I was able to track down phone numbers I have not been able to find. And, I managed to make more than a few phone calls. 

Tommy had some books he wanted to purge. I asked for one and asked him if I could sell the others. So, we loaded up four books and took them to 2nd and Charles. That did not work out--$2 for one book and $4 for one other. Obviously, they did not want the books. I will put them on facebook marketplace.

I bought Spare and am disappointed in the binding. Wondering if this was just the cheapest means to sell a book on Amazon, Tommy went into Barnes & Nobles. Their binding is the same. He bought himself a cup of coffee and a piece of Godiva cheesecake for me. 

He went into Belk's for me and used my gift card he got me. I was able to shop via him, phone, and sales clerk. Remember when I ordered Butterfly Meadow by Lenox and one plate came shattered? Well, I had a $20 credit. He bought the three accent plates they had. So, I still only have five dinner plates, but that is okay. When I have four other people over to eat, I will worry about it then. Or, I can use the accent plate.

We had to wait an hour for 2nd and Charles to insult us! So, we had a tiny cheeseburger from McD, watched the cloudy sky, and window shopped from the car. I have never had the desire to go in Five Below, but I looked at what I could see. I still don't want to go in. I forgot what else we saw, what stores. Oh, Plato's Closet was another. 

I called a friend who has antiques and knows a bit about the book scene in Birmingham. He was not there but his employee said we would have no better luck at Reed's Books. Reed's Books is fantastic. I have bought and sold there before. The history books Tommy is selling are so large I cannot lift them. I am glad we did not carry my books! I don't sell books by weight...lol.   

Today, we were in a shopping center in a place called Trace Crossings, tony place. It was sad because there were so many nice shops closed. Some were empty and it was not evident what stores were there. Tommy was the first to comment on the sad state of the shops, closed and probably not coming back. This was not just a shop here and there, but rows of shops. We came home with no more stops, just what we left to do, except McD.

We did go out after dinner was in the oven and look for a pink bag with ads and coupons and found none. Anne, do they still throw these in your neighborhood? 

We are having chicken something. Plus, we have leftover slaw, baked zucchini and squash.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

2nd & Charles

 Going from the podiatrist to the SAS store, we passed 2nd & Charles. I immediately recognized the name even though I have never been there. CLICK HERE I have about 100 books to sell if they will buy them at all. No, these are not the ones my friend mailed to me. Tommy has every electronic he has bought for the last fifty years. He told me to drop them in the trash because they are old and no one will want them. He is so naive about stuff like this. 

He told me the other day and the week and month before that he wishes I would get rid of some of these books lying around. Well, books don't look like clutter to me at all. However, some of these do need to go since I have no bookcase. He is not pushing at all, just casually mentions the matter. 

When I told him I wanted to go there when we finished at SAS, he said okay and then wanted to take me back. I was just too exhausted when we finished going to the doctor and buying shoes. Both were high-stress occasions. 

Have you ever been to 2nd & Charles? Sold anything to the business?

I have tasked myself with helping my friend who worked at the daycare. I will get food for her, give her toiletries if she wants, the extra shampoos and such that I have stocked. Toothpaste? If she will use what I have, she can have it. If she needs something special that I don't have, well, maybe she can afford it if I save her money on other items. She is not picky about shampoo or bar soap, so that helps. 

She is still nauseated, and her nose hurts as does her head. I think her nose is broken. I have not seen her forehead that is bandaged over the stitches. But, the damage to her nose and cheeks and eyes is much less evident. 

The hall light is blown. We really need someone to change light bulbs. I don't dare try to get on a ladder! Since I cannot easily even step up a 5-inch step, I doubt I can.

It is late Saturday night and I must get something out of the house to declutter. Okay, I found a small aluminum pot, caked with something and battered. It is in the sink to catch grease we drain. I cooked a pound of bacon. Then, it will go into the kitchen trash. And, an old Utilitech flashlight that is corroded inside has been tossed. Those things will have to do unless I poke around in the box they were in. 

The day was lovely and mild, 75F. Best of all, the humidity is still in 30 % or so. Until 4 pm there were no clouds. I cannot say for sure after that. 

What is your experience with 2nd & Charles? How is your decluttering coming along? 

Books and Vegetables and Birds

 A thirteen-pound box of books arrived on my porch from a friend. Wow, what a gift to me. There was only one title I recognized, the one I will read first from this box. I was thinking about rereading it, so this works. If you want a really good laugh, read The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love, or something like that. I have read several of this woman's Sweet Potato Queen books, and they are all easy reads and humorous. Southern women will see the humor and recognize the women in the books. 

I finished Hillbilly Elegy. It was wonderful. I still am ready Salt Wars, Beowulf, and two other books I have started. So, I will finish four books and start on the Sweet Potato Queens book. 

Thanks, Janet!

Today, we went to a food giveaway. It was all vegetables. Sometimes, it is more balanced. Often it has lots of meat. Other days it has breads, chips, and sweets. This week's haul is superior--all beautiful vegetables. I will give half to my friend who is working her last day today, minimum wage and part-time. She will use all this. I gave her approximately half.

4 largish squash, dozen sweet potatoes, two messes of green beans, 4 English cucumbers, 1 eggplant, 6 apricots, 1 regular cucumber, head of cabbage. One bag had one eggplant and one bag had apricots. She gets the eggplant and 3 apricots. I hate eggplant and love apricots. Plus, there are two messes of greens. One mess is almost 2 feet long and huge. She can have that one. I will take the smaller bunch. I have no idea what kinds of greens these are. But, I like greens. I will probably cut the cabbage in half and share that. I did.

Just before we went there, we got a bag of red potatoes and a bag of Vidalia onions at Publix. We have more than enough vegetables. 

I think I have enough fresh vegetables to last a week and freeze lots, too. I am so tired today. Besides taking care of all the vegetables that were free, I need to wash the hummingbird feeders, fill them and get them back outside. Flowers need deadheading! And, the pork butt needs to be taken off the bone. I also need to freeze the ground beef. 

Friday night we still had the pork in the crockpot plus cabbage and greens on the stove and sweet potatoes, potatoes and squash on two very small pans in the oven. The house smelled nice. 

Friday night, we are having a bit of the pork butt along with a couple of potatoes and squash that are cooking in a bag with a bit of the pork juice and garlic powder.  I managed to scorch the greens. I am so furious at me. I told Tommy to see if he could get any greens off the top of the scorched ones. 

His plate was full--pork, potatoes, squash, cabbage, greens. I had pork, cabbage, potatoes, and squash. There is enough for several more days. 

Friday, when Tommy was watering flowers, the woman across the street told him how beautiful our flowers were. I was gratified when he told me! 

When he came in, he told me two birds were dead on the porch, guessed they fell or were pushed from their nest. They were freshly dead from the condition of one burst open body, he said. ( I don't think baby birds burst open on impact. Maybe a big bird pecked them.)I wonder if there are more babies. These had no feathers, just some fuzz on part of their bodies. I wonder if the mockingbirds killed these babies. Mockingbirds have been hanging around here for a few days. 

SALT WARS Wednesday

 If you want something really delicious, try orange juice in your Coke. I love it. I think half and half is what I drink. I have not had it in ages because I don't need the caffeine or sugar. 

I have been wanting a Domino's pizza for weeks. We had one Tuesday night--large with double sausage on one side and double mushrooms on the other half. Tommy despises mushrooms, so he gives me the mushrooms that accidentally fall on his side. Wanting the full experience, I had a Coke and now my heart is beating too fast. I don't do this often. The pizza was sooo salty! 

Speaking of salt, I now have SALT WARS, by Michael F. Jacobson. I don't salt foods I cook but realize I probably get too much salt. Take the pizza we had tonight, for instance.  I put a smidgen of salt in my oatmeal and about 1/4 tsp or less in slaw. The book was new and I could not find it used, so I bought it. I don't need to be convinced that too much salt is a killer. But, I bought the book for the political contents, the forces that keep companies saturating our foods with salt, and for my health. 

When I was 36, I decided to quit using salt. I did. When I was standing in a line for blood pressure checks, I was telling someone about limiting sodium, how I ate (and still do eat) blackeyed peas without any salt or other flavors. After about 30 minutes it was my turn. My blood pressure was 95/55. The nurse said, "That is what your cutting down on sodium has done for you." 

I clearly remember when I was 12, I decided I would not eat the salt my family seasoned with and consumed. I was the only family member that did not put salt on watermelon, green apples, and sliced tomatoes. Gradually, the rest of my siblings followed my practices. I have always wondered why I decided to change my eating habits. I had no clue that sodium was a problem at twelve-years-old.

I am writing this on Tuesday night There are tornado warnings again tonight. After last Thursday, this makes me wary. However, the chance of losing the electricity seems lesser this week than last. At least, I hope so. We have lights! If it gets bad with wind like last week, I will keep my lift chair reclined with footrest up. At least, I can relax with feet up. Tommy refuses to take this precaution. However, I would let him use my chair for sleep. He knows that! Okay, charging my book light, preparing for the worst. `

I also received two more books. I bought a book about moths. I leave moths alone unless they are in the house. Last year, to my horror I learned that a pretty, white moth in the yard would soon become a pest and attack my garden. Now, I will know what to leave alone and what to kill.  The third book today was one I won from a blogger--Letters from an Iowa Housewife.  This is from Robyn's Simple Life. Thanks, Robyn! 

It is wonderful to have plenty of reading material. I still am working on the box of books a friend sent me. Right now, I am reading Salt Wars. The moth book is a browsing type book with lots of color photos. There is a lot of text, but I probably won't sit down to read it like I will the other two books. 

Wednesday morning

I slept well after several days and nights of fractured and poor sleep. I have not heard the news yet, but as I went to sleep we determined there was little chance of weather problems here, unlike the high chances last week. 

The grocery ads are out for the week, and there seems to be so few bargains I need. Bananas, bread, milk, and a bag of salad is all I need. Only the salad is on sale. I forgot that the bread I use is on sale, so we won't be making the trek to the bread store. 

For the last two days we have had to use the ac. Tuesday evening, the temperature in the house was 78! Spring is bursting through! 

The doctor has never told me to reduce my sodium intake. I just do it. Mostly! Except when I don't!  Are you guilty of over-indulging in sodium laden foods? How have you cut back? 

Today's Agenda and Ebay Surprise

 There are things that must be done today. Even though I awoke very ill, these will be done. Tommy is perfectly willing to help, but he needs direction. 

It is 2 pm. I just got out of bed for the second time today. When I awoke about 9 am, I barely made it in here. And, I barely made it back at noon for a long rest. 

clean off end table. Tommy did that while I lay down. I cannot stand and bend to do it. So, I gave him a bin and asked him to just take things off the table. Even when I try to twist to pick things off the table, I cannot for long. So, I have a bin of junk I can put in my lap or beside me to sort.

wash and refill hummer feeders. That is the next thing I do when I quit typing.

sort at least one box of patterns.  I think there are three or four more boxes. 

wash and trim sweet potatoes and bake enough for several meals.  There is enough baked chicken for two or three meals. 

gather and box books to give away. Tommy has about 100 in his bedroom. I may bring those in here to have him make the decision. I have about 50 that need to go, no decisions needed. All go.

empty and fill dishwasher. 

Make two very important telephone calls. 

Everything above here and some other things will get done today if it kills me. Oh, I won't be bringing Tommy's books to him. 

I ate nothing before 2 pm. When I did eat, I had a can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup. I don't dilute it, just eat it from can, heated. It seems more efficient that way and takes less time. I did eat the low-sodium stuff. A banana is next. 

This bit of illness is my October problem. I am medicating with otc, prescriptions, foods, and rest. Hopefully, this will not be another lost October. Maybe I won't have to take an antibiotic. Keep your fingers crossed. 

Hopefully, I can get to the park and get pinecones and pinestraw today, just what I need to be doing with allergies assailing my system. I need pine straw to put in the pot of dirt where the pumpkin lives. The pinestraw is for drainage so the pumpkin will last longer. The pinecones are for putting in the pumpkin for decoration and later for Thanksgiving and Christmas. At my house, I had three pine trees and never lacked for straw or pinecones. Maybe I had five pine trees. 

Just now, I received a box from ebay. Now, what did I order? So, Tommy cut it open and I looked inside. BOOKS!!! These are not going to go away until I read them Thanks. A blogger friend said she was going to mail books to me. It had slipped my mind. So, I now have a dozen really good  books to read. She know me well. I was thinking about getting a copy of Moby Dick. And, she sent me a copy of Cliffs Notes. Cool. 

I suppose it is a good thing so many books I don't want to read are leaving here to find new homes. 

Do you ever decorate with pine cones for any holiday? When I was a child, I liked to paint them silver for Christmas. I did that too as a young adult. I think I got silver paint to paint them one time. I remember drippy silver paint.  I loved silver paint! Did you ever spray pinecones for Christmas decorations. 

Okay, it is almost 3 pm, so I need to start on my list.

Plans and A Painted House

 I planned to start Hillbilly Elegy last night, but I left the book in the living room where Tommy was sleeping. So, I read the book I had in the bedroom--A Painted House by John Gresham. I love it and read 110 or more pages before I put it down and got to sleep at 7:30 am. There was a good reason.

We watched a movie--The Story of Will Rogers with Will Rogers, Jr. as his father. This was a conscious effort, a decision to stay up until 3:15 am. Since we have no place to go early, it is not a problem. But, my decision to read so long, while a decision, was not appropriate at 3:30 am! 

However, I never regret time spent reading. I did sleep until about 10:30 am, got up, went back about 12:15 pm  and slept until 4:30 pm. No complaints from anyone or suggestion as to what I should do. Okay? I just won't publish your comment. Got it? 

When I was getting a degree in English, I took 3 upper level literature course one semester. People, other English majors thought I had lost my mind. I was not the person who read the text assigned and came to class. I read other books, passages, and did not have a computer to read online. So, I read, and read, and read. Now, I am back on track with that. 

The stitches on my chest were removed Monday. For two weeks, it was bloody, red perimeter, and swollen and hurt it touched by my clothing. The doctor said it looked fine. Well, by Wednesday night, I can barely see where the stitches were located. This makes me happy since my clothing, purse, and seatbelt all hurt me. I am allergic to the tape on bandaids and did not have proper tape. 

Yellow squash zucchini are now cooking in olive oil and garlic. There are other things we can eat--baked chicken, carrots, slaw, salad greens, grape tomatoes and things I cannot remember. Tommy can choose his as will I. We have cherries, apples, bananas, red grapes, white grapes, and black grapes. Tommy will not touch bananas, and I won't touch red grapes. And, there is a plethora of canned and frozen foods--fruits, vegetables, and proteins. 

I may have to cook tomorrow...boo hoo. Okay, tonight, tommy wants a chicken Italian salami thing like a hot dog. That is a microwave job. 

Who loves to read so much you read what other people think is too much or too long? How long have you loved to read? Did you mind reading textbooks in school? Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? 

New Utensil, Missing, Gifts, Kidnapped by a Nap

Browning ground meat was always time consuming since I had to stand at the stove and chop and break up the chunk of ground meat with an egg turner/spatula. Now, it is more difficult. I was looking through a Rada catalogue and found the perfect tool. This is a meat chopper. I used it for the first time for the ground pork on Monday.

I used it with the head straight onto the meat, not at an angle as in the picture above. I love this utensil. I showed Tommy how to use it and he chopped most of the ground pork. This is not for pounding, just cutting and separating the ground meat. It is certainly a time-saver. I have seen a similar tool from some other company. Have you ever used one of these? 

Monday afternoon, we washed and dried most of the dirty dishes while the ground pork cooked and browned some. With a fever, dishwashing was so difficult! So, I started the taco casserole in the crock pot which will be more like taco soup. One by one, Tommy opened cans and dumped the contents  into the crock pot. We tracked down one of my five-pound bags of Uncle Ben's par-boiled brown rice. Finally, I needed one last ingredient. But I could not find it. Remember, it is dark as night in kitchen and living room!

Tommy looked for canned, diced tomatoes, too. None! None were in the stash in the bedroom. On the new shelves I finally found a 29 oz. jar of Hunt's tomato sauce! That would do. Diced tomatoes are better, but this is fine. 

If I had not found this can of tomato sauce, I would have had to run to The Pig to get it. I did contemplate putting a jar of spaghetti sauce in the taco salad. I doubt it would have mattered once I put in the taco seasoning. What do you think? Would a jar of spaghetti work for this spicy dish?

I questioned why I had no tomato sauce or bits, well, beyond one can. I know why. I had plans for frozen or canned tomatoes so did not stock up. I will solve this hole in food stocks by the end of the week! 

Tuesday morning

I slept better than I have in a week and awoke with temp of 98F. Remember, this is still fever area for me. Yesterday, I decided we would stay home instead of going for my mail. 

Gifts

For Tommy, I gave him four books, one on birds, a book on insects, a book on wildflowers, and a Field Guide to Tree of North America. He spent hours reading. For his birthday, I gave him a book about birds and the accompanying cd. 

One day, we had several stops to make. We did all of them with time to spare and had to wait for an hour for the next stop. Since it is too far to go home, we just sat in the shade and listened to the bird cd. Finally, I leaned my seat back and was kidnapped by a nap. This was such a pleasant experience since I was just going to rest my back.

Speaking of resting, I need to do that right now.

Saturday Wind Up on Sunday

I screamed. Tommy was startled and asked me what was wrong. I somehow erased the whole post! I hate that. 

Saturday, he paid $10 for someone to vacuum the back end of the Rogue where we had two bags of sweet potatoes placed. I could taste dust in the front seat. He does not have an extension cord long enough for his little house vacuum to reach out there. Neither of us can vacuum at a commercial place. It is clean anyway! 

Dinner was so delicious, if I do say so myself--pork loin roast with bbq sauce on it, carrots cooked in the pork juice, green beans. Between the two of us, we finished off the whole can of beans. I froze a dinner portion with pork and half the pound of carrots that I cooked. There is enough pork in the refrigerator for two more meals. 

Also, at the yard sale, I found a fabulous, white, oval tablecloth 64" x 100". It was appliqued and embroidered. And PINK. I paid $1 for it and could sell it for a pretty penny on the internet. I am torn. 

In a big Tupperware bin, I am collecting things for my Big Pink Purse project for 2021. I bought 12 cosmetic bags for a quarter each. They still have a $6.99 price tag. From now until next year, I will collect things at a low price, but nice, new things. Except for the purses or backpacks, nothing will be used or limiting. 

If I win one of Sluggy's giveaways, I will add those to my Pink Purse stash. Well, I will have to eat the chocolate. 

Kathy, your prize is on the way! I mailed it Saturday morning. 

Saturday, I bought 4 books for Tommy, a bird book, a tree book, an insect book, and a wildflower book. I know he will like all of them. Later, I will buy a cd for bird songs. He will love that. I am going to give half of these for his December birthday and the other half for Christmas. He has binoculars bought by one of my followers. Well, she provided money to buy something for him. 

Tommy always asks me, "What kind of bird/tree/flower is that?" Most of the time I know. He knows lots of birds, too. When I was in hs, I had a tree book and an insect book. We had to have a leaf collection, an insect collection i biology. So, I learned a lot. I suppose I have forgotten lots, too. I really hated sticking pins in insects! Did you have to stab insects for an insect display?

He doesn't know it yet, but he is getting me books for Christmas. I will put a wish list on Amazon or someplace for him to choose.  He can do that and that way he will get me something I want and need...lol. 

Sunday is slipping away as he watches lots of movies, and, of course, I am lured by them.  I work during commercials. Of course, I cannot work steadily if it involves standing. 

My seat on my walker came loose and parts were lost. I did get parts to attach the seat. So, that needs to be done today. It is 65F at 2:30, and very nice out. 

I am still placing things on the kitchen shelves! It never ends since I can neither work fast nor for too long. Today, I may bake an apple pie, maybe not. If so, I will freeze for Thanksgiving.   Don't hold me to anything...lol. Today or tomorrow, I will bake the turkey.   

Have you started Thanksgiving cooking?                                                                                                                                                                                                         

New Books, Curb Shopping, Food Deals

 We went to the free book place and, as I said, we took 8 of Tommy's books. I think we got 21. The next time we go, we will return as many books as we got in the two trips. I wanted to get books before they were exposed to rain or just damp air. As before, some books have never even been opened.

We cruised a bit, not much. This area has fraternity and sorority houses besides grand old homes used for student apartments. I saw a pile of junk and we stopped. I scored a tiny ironing board, the kind you put on the counter to use. Then, a sheet caught my eye. It was clean, new and MINE. There was a tiny rip near the top hem where it looked like the sheet might have been caught in a tug of war. It may be turned into curtains. It is going into the washing machine. 

I knew we would both have low blood sugar if we did not take something to eat. So, I asked him to grab crackers and juice. He got two of both, not what I meant but okay. 

So, it was my idea to wash the chairs early in the day, but I wanted books, and we left. At 4:30 or maybe before, he got up to wash chairs. About halfway through, I asked him if he would like these chairs instead of his dining chair. The answer was an emphatic YES. 

My plans that he did not dispute--take off seats and have new ones cut, get new padding, upholster with fabric he likes and maybe get it laminated, put slides on the bottoms of the wooden legs. My kitchen chairs were never used on carpet, so I put the carpeted slides on the bottom. His chair will be on carpet, so I will put the smooth glides on his chair legs. These are the things on a nail that is nailed in the bottom of the chair leg. I asked him if he wanted the chairs painted or like they are...like they are--wood. There is hope! 

He got so much dust on him and nasty water. So, he is covered in dust that looked like the residue of sanding seams. The white stuff was not paint, mostly sheet rock mud since it was thick in places. All but two or three specks did come off. I took a fingernail and scraped off some tiny immovable specks. My emery board will take care of the other few. It took a little over two hours. He is in the shower.

These chairs are very sturdy. There are two stretchers on the front and both sides with only one stretcher across the back. The original papers were still stapled to the bottoms of the chair. There is no zip code  on the address which were officially implemented in 1963 but in use some places during WWII. I am going to research the company and find out when these were made. If made in 1962, the chairs are 58 years old. I sat on one of the chairs and they are large enough for my ample bottom that they were comfortable. 

Dinner Tuesday night--either we go buy something or have a hotdog with chili with no beans and cheese and the leftover mashed potatoes from last night and whatever is in the other three containers. He said the hotdogs and leftovers would be okay. I think I need KFC.

I cannot list books now since I need to put hotdogs in the microwave. Okay, Tommy had hot dogs and bread and chili without beans, mashed potatoes, and cantaloupe. I had cheese and no bread, no cantaloupe. Good enough!

Ronco Pasta--In the last batch of coupons that are thrown in the little pink bags, I found Ronco coupons--75 cents off two packages. Well, I have six coupons and can only find two. I will find them. I went to the Pig and found no Ronco spaghetti, just vermicelli and thin spaghetti. I cannot stand either. 

But, Ronco Rotini was there. I bought two bags for $1.54 each. The 75 cent coupon doubled. So, rotini was $3.04-$1.50 doubled coupon=$1.54 or $0.77 for each bag of rotini. That will be four servings or two meals, less than 20 cents per serving for this ingredient. 

I will save the 5 coupons left to try to buy at the Pig when they have more Ronco spaghetti. 

Bananas--1.825 lbs. bananas reduced to $0.29/lb and I have 5 bananas for $0.53. These have bumps and bruises, I am sure. But, you never can tell. I will mash and freeze at least one cup of these and eat the rest, probably just one. Okay....There was exactly one cup of mashed banana from four of the five bananas. This morning, Wednesday, I ate the other for breakfast in a sandwich. 

Speaking of Piggly Wiggly, I tried their cheese because it was cheap. It was fine, not quite as tasty as Kraft, but not like some other cheeses I have tried. So, I am sold when I cannot find Kraft cheap enough. 

That was Tuesday--free books, Ronco coupons used, curb shopping, bananas cheap. 

Wednesday morning I awoke after five hours sleep and finally got up because I was hot. I feel better, but not well by any means--lower temperature but not gone, less pain, less congestion. Now, it is Wednesday afternoon and after a four-hour nap, I feel even better, but not completely well. 

How was your bargain hunting or finding lately? Any sales? 

Monday This and That

Last week, there were no batteries to use in the blood pressure cuff. Last week, we got batteries for the electric flyswatter and forgot about the medical device! Monday night, I loaded up the batteries and took my blood pressure--110/73. I think it was so high because I struggled with the cuff and put it on wrong. After sitting still for a bit, I will try again. 

The doctor wanted me to take my blood pressure when my heart is acting up. Now, I need to get an oximeter. Speaking of medical things, I dutifully put on my oxygen generator nose things and slept all night. When I got up for good the next morning, I had not turned on the generator! 

Monday, Tommy and I both needed to mail a letter, so about 6 pm, we headed out for a drive, too. The drive was cut short  because it was getting dark. I will not be happy when DST stops. 

Washing the chairs is the only thing on the agenda for Tuesday. It is the absolute last day since there will be rain on Wednesday.  I was adamant and Tommy agreed.

We tried the Armour Roast Beef and it was as good as the Hormel. It seemed like less meat, but maybe less fat. ??? I think I will go ahead and open the Hormel so the taste/fat tests will be close together. Tommy peeled and diced a 2 lb. potato and I opened a can of green beans. It was a delicious dinner. And, there is enough for another meal of mashed potatoes. Seriously, the potato was the largest I have ever seen and weighed at least two pounds.

When the pink paper came last Monday, there were two 75 cents-off coupons. I got a second set of coupons and wish I had gotten another set or two from driveways or  streets that never use them. 

Several times a week, one of our phones or a credit card or mail falls between the console and seats. It is so frustrating. It is also impossible for me to get my hand in there. It hurts. Tommy has larger hands but can force his hand in the crack. When we went to get his oil changed, he used it. Minutes later, I bought a light for his turn signal. Then, I used the card for my oil change. We went one other place in his car, he wanted to use it again. But, he could not find it. So, he used another card. We looked everywhere for his card. 

As he was looking in my car, he saw trash and cleaned out my car completely! He said he did not notice the trash under my seat when he cleaned the floor for my mats. He went out and cleaned my car of trash so it no longer has trash anywhere! 

The first thing he said, even before I walked away as he was looking in my car, "Oh, I see a quarter." When he came in, I asked him how much money he found, he said 36 cents--a quarter, two nickels, and a penny. So, he found money this time. He is going to put it in his change container in the car. We both use from it all the time.

Then, he searched his vehicle for the card and dropped his phone between his seat and the console. Much later, I noticed lots blood on his arm and paper from a Kleenex or napkin stuck to it. He had a three-inch gash on his arm. Ramming his hand between the seat and console had cut him and caused a wound that bled profusely and still has a large scab on it almost a week later. He used napkin and packing tape but would not allow me to bandage it. 

Last Fall, I wanted to get a foam thing that protects pipes from freezing to put between each of our seats and the console. He was furious, yelling at me. Later, in the winter I bought one piece. He was furious again. Well, after he was cut so badly last week, I suggested we find it and I would put it in place. He knew exactly where it was in the back of the Rogue and got it out for me without me asking. It works very well. I have no idea why he is so resistant! 

He thanked me for putting the barrier in, and we have not dropped anything down there since.  The piece of foam was cut and used for two pieces in his car with a piece left over that I can use in my car. 

All the pool noodles were gone from stores when I bought the pipe insulation. Those would have worked just as well and were on sale after Labor Day.

It is 10 pm and the temperature is 60F. I may need to break out a sweater! Can Fall weather be here for good? I doubt it. Summer is not really gone around here. I am still wearing sleeveless clothing. 

Tuesday now. We are going to the free book place and taking eight of Tommy's books to leave. I did not ask him. He just got busy removing books. I kept one. You are not going to believe what I kept.

THE KLINGON DICTIONARY

No, I have not lost my mind. 

But, I am getting sick--slight fever, sore throat, full head, body/muscle aches that are unimaginable. And, my toe hurts! I am ramping up for October, the month I am usually ill. So, allergy meds, aspirin, Vicks Vaporub, and Campbell's chicken broth are my life after we go to the free book place. I dare not wait longer since it is going to rain. 

Do you have someone resistant that comes around eventually? Do you have anything between seat and console to keep things from sliding down?

More Accomplished

 Sunday afternoon, Tommy got up without my mentioning the sweet potatoes and took them all outside and sorted the good from the bad. Now, we can buy another 40 lbs. I am going to cook the remaining dozen sweet potatoes. I have cooked chicken, so this oven full will not be hard for me to do. 

Tommy always has joined in with my recycling. But, when I came here, he did not want to recycle cans. I mentioned yesterday that we have too many bags of plastic bags and we should throw out the old bags of bags. He reacted with alarm, saying he wanted to recycle them at a store that recycles bags. What a shock. So, we will do that today. We need to get out to go somewhere as it keeps us feeling less cooped up. 

Okay, we went to Publix with kitchen garbage bags full of bags and an employee took them in. Wow, the place here has more room.

Hopefully, the chairs will get washed. I am not too hopeful, though. No, chairs are for Monday. He is cutting coupons and I am listing books.

I mentioned I wanted to go to the "take a book; leave a book" store outside a store in Southside. He asked if I wanted to go now. So, we went. Unopened books have a spine without signs of opening and they are stiff. You know the feeling. 

I know I took 13 and left 0, but it is a long way to this place, a 40 mile trip. I will return 13 books or more when I go there again.  

I  chose 13 books~~ N denotes never opened, so obviously new and never read. 

N To Engineer is Human--role of failure in successful design

N Born To Rock--heavy drinkers and thinkers

Dog Years--Mark Doty

The People's Almanac

N ABCs of Bridge

Literature: Today's Young Adults--how to teach it, not what I thought but useful.

N How to Be a Bridesmaid...just to see what they say. pristine dustcover.

For Her Own Good--150 years of the experts' advice to women by Barbara Ehenreich  I read this before and it's gone.

Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet

A Discovery of Witches--I thought this was about witches through the years. I think it is a novel, but the back cover says it is a book about books. I will look it up and see. Okay, it is a novel so I probably will not read it.

Midnight Song by Henry James--I love anything he wrote. Correction: This is "Henry James' Midnight Song", not what I thought. It is a fin-de-siecle mystery set in Vienna. It might be good after all. 

In Praise of Play by Robert E. Neale This sounds good, research, I think.

N Everything, Everthing "soon to be a motion picture" Why, yes it was a movie. Pristine dustcover

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince--hardback Surely, this was read only once. First American Edition

When I picked out a book from this outdoor, exposed-to-the weather bookcase, I opened it, put my nose in and breathed deeply. Ten of these books have the same faint odor of a woman's house. None have even the slightest whiff of mustiness. I wanted to go here before it rains because I sort of figured someone would put out books in this week of dry weather and humidity.  Actually, all these books look so great that I think they threw out the old ones that had gotten wet with rain blowing. 

From the condition of all these books and the subjects, I believe the whole lot belonged to a professor and a maybe a bibliophile. The subjects spoke of erudition. There were about 500 new (not wet and musty) books replacing the mess I found last time I was there. 

Okay, it is Monday and almost 4 pm. It looks like no chair washing will happen today...sigh.

I love Hormel Canned Roast Beef. But, Armour Canned Roast Beef is about $1.50 cheaper, so I bought two cans, one to try now and one to save in stockpile. Tonight, we will try the Armour brand with potatoes or sweet potatoes and two other vegetables. I will let you know. 

What do you recycle? Do you have to take it to a recycling place or does it get picked up at your curb? Do you have a free book place? 

Free Books and Other Happenings

Friday, when I went to the meeting for physical tests and took samples of my body (nails, poop, and saliva), I had planned a trip to a former friend/professor's home. She has dementia and is not living in her home. I just wanted to see the house where I spent so many holidays and activities. She was generous in her hospitality. It sold. But, I have no idea who bought it. It is sad when a brilliant mind is lost in this manner.

There is a store catty-corner from her house. I loved to go there and buy individual ice creams. They allowed customers to open a box and take out one frozen item or more, just what the customer wanted. For a long time, the store was closed. Then, I found it open on Friday. I did not stop for ice cream. I stopped because there were four 10ft shelves with free books. FREE BOOKS! Of course, I had Tommy stop while I shopped. I got three books. As it turned out, two were so musty I could not sit and read them. I even worried about getting it on my clothes.

While I do not believe in destroying books and the deal was to return the books, I threw two in the trash. Guilt consumes me. The free books were a good idea, an excellent idea. Inside storage would be better. But, I am not in charge. Basically, I got one free book.

Free items on Friday:
Banana Boat Ultra Sport Sunscreen Lotion, 8 fluid ounces, 50 SPF
3 package of peanut butter crackers
1 package Nekot cookies and peanut butter
1 package wheat cracker with cheese filling
2 tangerines
4 bottles of water
hat with 2 inch brim...not wide enough for sun protection.
"Sanctuary" collection of short stories by Honors students at various universities
"The Greening of America" Charles A. Reich
"Arkansas Three Novellas" David Levitt

"Sanctuary" is not musty, so I can read it and keep it.
"Greening..." is very musty. It was published in 1970. I would have found it interesting to see how the world of 1970, fifty years ago. viewed the world in terms of pollution, the environment and what the solutions could be.
"Arkansas: Three Novellas" would have been interesting. Too bad it was so musty.

This "Free Book" setup was an excellent idea, but since it is outdoors against the building, everything either became wet or just in the damp air. I found it interesting that the historic novels, mostly romance, were under the category of History. I wondered who made that determination to classify.

Today, I have too many dishes to wash. I want to make a peach cobbler if I can find a large enough pan to put it in. I cannot get my one larger Correlle casserole scoured clean. I will try one more time before I ask Tommy to help. He has more finger and hand strength than I.

He made a face last week when I mentioned cream cheese with chives. Then, he asked today if he could have some. Of course. Then, he ate some in a sandwich. I would never have made a sandwich with it, but he liked it.

Today, I awoke at 9 am after going to bed at 1:30. There was so little light outside that I thought it was 6 am.! I stayed in bed for another hour and it still was gloomy outside. It has remained so. The only window that is uncovered is the fan light in the front door. It is too high for me to see outside. He won't allow me to open curtains!

He has pinch-pleated drapes and curtain rods, not the drapery rod where the hooks go into holes where they can be opened and closed. Since the drapes are just butted against each other rather than lapped a bit, they are gaps all over the place where anyone can see in. ugh I try to keep them closed. I may resort to paper clips or packing tape.

Did I say? He said to throw away his cpap. I will do that today.

Progress: I have been determined to get things "gone" a little at a time. He has a little two-seater table with chairs in the kitchen, besides the dining set in the dining room section of the kitchen/dining room. The tiny table has little leaves about six inches long. The table is probably 2' x 4' with leaves open. This is where he goes to give himself an insulin injection. It is a mess and dirty. Slowly, I have removed one thing at a time. I noticed things started clearing out. He is removing things, too. I am proud of him. lol.

It is dinnertime and I was determined not to cook. There are leftover green peas, two baked potatoes in the the refrigerator. I dug around in the freezer and found two frozen chicken thighs. They are in the oven heating. I also put out a bag of ham that is cooked and sliced. it does not appear to be have freezer burn. The last time I gave him a bag of ham to freeze was in December 2018. We are eating so much that I cooked and gave him.

Heaven Help Me in the Dollar Tree

Small items in the bathroom have been commingling with disastrous results. I carefully planned how to remedy this confusion. I have seen the long dividers for utensils used in junk drawers and such. These are about 10"x3" and look just right. The ones at the Dollar Tree are cheaper than ones at WM.

I headed to Dollar Tree for one item only--small mesh lingerie bags. I want these to use for produce instead of plastic bags. The damage to the earth caused by plastic makes me sick to my stomach, yet I continue to use some plastic. The reusable bags are 3/$1. I bought two packages. These are so small that I can wash them in the sink after using them  for produce. Hanging them on the line will be easy.

While in the store, I remembered the dividers. I found no long ones, but think the square and rectangular ones will work out, maybe even better.  I remembered a conversation with Tommy about how I lose small things in the freezer or that they slide out when they are small. I got another two plastic dividers to hold single servings.

I passed a display of books and decided I would buy two interesting looking titles. Then, I saw a little crossbody bag of plastic that looked just right for my purposes. Of course, two dishes caught my eye--one heart-shaped dish and another star-shaped.

Oh, I passed a bottle brush. I have been wanting the old-fashioned kind with bristles. WM bottle brushed were too expensive for my tastes. This one only cost $1.

Thankfully, I was hurting and could not shop any longer. I was horrified that I spent $22. It is a good thing I was at the Dollar Tree instead of Macy's or even Belk's! I have not been in Macy's in 10 or more years.

Remember the hypertufa? Well, it was molded over a plastic pot. But, it will not come off. I told the teachers that my pot had four holes, sort of like straws and 1/2 inch long. I was assured it would be okay. Well, it is not okay. The hypertufa filled the holes and the concrete makes it impossible to remove the hypertufa. ??? Maybe a screwdriver and hammer will remedy this predicament.

My yard is a mess. The mower guy has been moved to the third shift and sleeps most of the day. Although it has not rained in two weeks, the grass and weeds have taken off.

Do you ever get carried away in the Dollar Tree or your favorite cheap place? Share please.