Into the Freezer

 A few days ago, I cooked 2.5 lbs. of ground beef with onions and froze it in small packages. Tonight, I froze another 2.5 lbs. raw, and it is in the freezer. Four of the packages were large enough to make a meal that would serve four, so two meals for each of us. Sounds like leftovers to me. The last package was puny. But, I told Tommy I could make a meatloaf that would feed both of us a meal. Or, I could cook it for spaghetti. 

Edit: I know this sounds like tiny portions, but I will put this in spaghetti or make meatloaf or some other recipe to stretch it. If we want a hamburger, which we seldom do, we can always use a package for four meals and use it for two meals, one for each of us. It is flexible packaged raw.

The only way I got this work done was by having Tommy bring a cookie sheet type pan, the meat, a spatula, pint freezer bags, waxed paper. I worked from my lap and got nothing on hands, sheet pan or anything. I am careful. I scooped the ground meat onto a square of waxed paper and folded it to put it into the pint bag. It is labeled and in the freezer. That feels like quite an accomplishment since feeling puny, I was afraid it would the meat would spoil. Of course, I could have had Tommy cook it all in a pot on the stove. 

Tonight, I also made slaw on my lap. 

After a good sleep Monday night, and a very good nap today, I feel just a smidgen better. 

Tuesday morning, Tommy washed a load of underthings and nightgowns. So, tonight, I am hanging them to dry. I have not felt like doing this earlier. They will hang in doorways until tomorrow night unless company comes by. 

I got behind on reading newspapers to send to recycling, so I am working on catching up. I feel a renewed effort is worth it to send the papers to the animal shelter. Plus, we both want them out of the house. 

Today, I found one of the wildflowers is ready to bloom. These were embedded in a postcard from Johnson and Johnson. But, none of the Stella D'Oro bloomed, and I am not sure why. Not enough sun? We had clouds and a slow and gentle rain today. 

Dinner: Tommy had sirloin filet, slaw, leftover potato. I had hotdog with no-beans chili and cheese, slaw. I am not eating a bun with these hotdogs, just a little chili and a lot of cheese.

I had breakfast around noon: Special K, half a banana, milk. Then, at 3 pm, I had a huge salad with chicken, cheese, and Caesar salad dressing. 

We went out for a small chore at phone store. But, we did not take the password. I did not want to go home, get it and go back. Then, I did not want to get the milk we both needed. I just wanted a nap. Not only was it a good nap, I dreamed all my photos magically appeared on my laptop. 

The dog next door barked for a solid hour because the kids across the street were playing basketball. Of course, no one came out to quiet them. Surely, the mothers must become annoyed at some point. Or not.

What did you have for dinner on Tuesday night or this week? I am planning to cook chicken on Wednesday. What will you cook for this week? Are you lucky enough to have leftovers?

It Was Tuesday All Day

 I don't know what gets into Tommy some days, but he was easily irritated all day today. Over what? Anything. 

The rain that fell only lasted about 30 minutes, but it was a very hard rain with lots of wind. It almost ruined my flowers. However, it was mild rain in short spurts the rest of the day. Well, until night. I heard the wind roaring and the rain beating on everything. I wonder what my flowers will be like in the morning and how long it will take for them to recover. What happened to "April showers bring May flowers"? Today the May storms destroyed flowers. 

Tommy was happy when I remarked that he need not water the flowers today. He does it willingly, but I think a walker with big wheels would go through the grass more easily. I want to find an old one to keep outdoors. 

He washed some clothing for me. Now, before go to bed I must hang them to dry. We also need to carry the tuna to the bedroom like we were going to do yesterday. Why did I not do these chores earlier? Maybe it was the nap that interferred. 

We finished off the Mediterranean Pasta. Sooo, that means cooking tomorrow or finding leftovers in the refrigerator. I did not get mushrooms at Publix because I did not want to buy two containers as it was not bogo as I thought. 

I have 27 pages of introduction to This Side of Paradise before I can get on to the story. Do you always read the intro in books as I do? Usually, I read the intros if not always. In school I always read the intro. My professors would be very disappointed if they found out now I was skipping the intro.

Are your flowers or vegetables being beaten into the ground? Losing blossoms?

Boring Day in Retelling and Dreamworld Coke

Good news! My friend received her $3,000 bonus she was depending on. This is the main reason she has not made waves at her daycare job. Yes, she is afraid she is the troublemaker here. 

We tackled the list again today. There was still no a2milk 2%, so I bought four half-gallons of my milk and a gallon jug of his. 

Several days ago I saw a cryptogram book and decided we should try those for brain exercise. Well, no way was I going to exhaust my brain trying to figure these. Tommy took it willingly and decided he did not want to try those either! So, I took that back to Publix. 

While in Publix, I bought the toothpaste I needed. When I got home, I had bought a tube of Colgate. I am fit to be tied. 

The SAS shoes went back. If the wider pair are not okay, I will just get another pair of sandals. That was an arduous trip. 

Sunday night, I did not sleep one minute. When I awoke, I took my pill for my stomach and then immediately started eating. Well, my stomach hurt when I went to bed, so that caused me not to sleep.  We left for chores with my stomach and chest burning, feeling like throwing up. So, a trip to the drugstore for something to drink for my stomach pain was necessary. 

We drove around and purloined a pink bag of grocery ads. There is lots on sale but not much we need or want this next week. Some houses have multiple bags out, left there for weeks, so we try to go to those since they never pick them up to use or even to throw away. 

We spent from 1 pm until about 4 pm out of the house. I was exhausted and slept from 5 pm until 7:20. I only had chicken breast, one Lindt truffle, and applesauce. Tommy can get chicken and whatever for himself since he can decide. No, I will maybe eat a vegetable!

Unfortunately, on Tuesday, we will go out to finish the list. I have things from a store to return. Plus, I will probably get two more half-gallons of a2milk. I am quite sure the date on the milk will be sometime in December. The four I bought have a date of 11-27-22. 

After buying milk and making the one return, all our chores are in the house, thankfully. 

It is supposed to have a frost or freeze and I am not sure if geraniums and chrysanthemums will make it uncovered. I suppose the pansies will survive. Now that the weather is not so hot, the geraniums are putting out blooms. I certainly want to keep those around! 

A church member who was around helping with the youth when he was young, has died. She was in her 90s. I had a box of sympathy cards ready for him to choose one. These are made in the USA and cost around 50 cents each. He was astounded at the price of a box of cards when a neighbor died. After all, he only needed one card.  Now, he is happy to just pick a card out of a box and not have to go buy a card. 

We always try the new Coke flavor. The newest is Dreamworld. I gagged. Tommy said it tasted like Coke and Grapico and drank it. 

Tuesday, I will bake the chicken and vegetables. I do need to find the ghosts to hang in the tree. 

We like drama-free days! 

Tommy is watching Quantum Leam. I loved this show when Scott Bakula starred. Now, it is just boring. Do you like this drama? Did you prefer it with Bakula?

Have you tried Dreamworld Coke? Did you like it? 

Has first frost come early where you live?

Following the Drama, 424 % Increase

 About 4 pm yesterday, a couple missed their dog. Finally, they found it was in a storm drain in a pipe.  Tiger Lily is 14-yrs-old. Finally, at 11 pm the dog was freed from the 18-inch pipe. I was so stressed and shed a few tears. The news today covered the rescue and recovery. I was really afraid the dog might be so stressed physically that she would die. Another blogger was much closer to the action.

Another blogger had a comment that all the cough drops in Walmart in another city were sold out. There were no cough drops in the whole store. Well, I depend on Halls Mentholyptus to keep me well and get me well. I use them to keep sinuses clear when suffering from allergies. On Wednesday night, I told Tommy that we would not come home today until I found them and bought them. 

Publix was out of the kind I wanted but had plenty of everything else. Next, we went to CVS in the same parking lot. There, I bought two packages just to be sure I had plenty. The price has gone up and the number of drops has drastically dropped! 

Before--$0.98 Now--$3.19

Before--40 in bag Now--30 in bag

Before--2.5 cents each Now--10.6 cents each

Increase in price from Before to Now-- 424% !!!

Read that last again. It is astounding. 

Now, I wonder if the size/weight of the cough drop is less. 

Maybe the exorbitant price jump is because I bought the Halls at CVS. I have no idea. 

Maybe the problem is that I bought the bags of Halls Mentholyptus cough drops. Maybe another store would be not so expensive. 

The person who commented said she had to throw away her stash because the drops had become sticky. Sticky is not a real problem other than the fact the paper wrapper will not come off. Bummer when that happens. 

I got sick of the last five cough drops in a bag being ruined the next fall when I needed them. Sometimes it was 20 cough drops I had to toss. No, it is impossible to get the paper off. Once, I was desperate and put the sticky drop with residue of paper in my mouth and kept taking it out to pick bits of paper out of my mouth and off the drop! Early the next day, I did go out and buy more. 

Now, I take the whole unopened bag and stuff it into a quart Ball canning jar with a used canning lid and ring. The plastic lids are not air-tight or waterproof. Dropping in an oxygen absorber might work, too. No, that would dry them out too much. Two bags will fit into a quart jar. Now that there are fewer drops, three bags might fit.

Tommy worked so much today; I was worrying about wearing him out. He watered, carried in three cases of 24-pack water, repotted my yellow pansy into the bunny planter, peeled the last two carrots and the rest of the potatoes, moved all the dishes from left hand side of sink so I could wash color from my hair, put all dirty utensils on a pan for me over the dishwasher, emptied garbage twice into outdoor can, dragged the outdoor can to the road, and other stuff I cannot remember. It seemed he was up and busy all day. Some of these chores I had told him days ago I wanted him to do them, but he decided to do them all today. 

Planting the pansies was something I planned to do until I have been so ill. I do not need the air, pollen, the dust, anything to make me sick again. I told him why I needed him to do the gardening...lol. 

I sort of slept well last night and slept for almost 7 hours. I awoke in dire need of the inhaler and other meds and have overcome the desire for a nap all day. 

Wednesday was a day of deep blue skies and fluffy clouds. Thursday was very pleasant, around 80 and low humidity. I could handle many days like this. Trees are starting to shed a few leaves. Some are turning a paler shade of green, almost imperceptible. 

Thursday night, I baked two bscb, two carrots, and a puny bit of potatoes. The reason I baked only two bscb is because that is what was in the package I thawed. Tommy had zucchini with his meal. We have as leftovers--1 bscb, two tiny pieces of potato, squash, and zucchini. 

Does the Autumn air affect your breathing, asthma, or allergies? 

Have you had a hard time finding cough drops? Have you ever had cough drops get sticky? 

Thursday Relapse and a Bird

The doctor visits were cancelled. I had no sleep until about 10:30 am. It appears I had a slight fever last night. And, my congestion and cough were worse for about two hours this morning, So, I will have to try again.  

We went out for one thing--eyedrops. The retina specialist told me to get artificial tears with no preservatives for my eyes that get sticky along the lashes and make seeing difficult. Tommy went into Publix for them and could not find any without preservatives so decided we could go elsewhere. Since I could not imagine they had none, I told him to ask at pharmacy. Someone showed him. In his defense, he said these were separate from the other eyedrops. These drops sting and it takes about 30 minutes before I can see better. 

On the way home, we cross a creek right near his house. People fish from the banks. It looks so polluted I cannot imagine eating anything caught there. Tommy exclaimed, asking did I see the big white bird. As we drove along nearer the creek, we saw a beautiful, tall, white bird, a Great Egret. It was exciting as I cannot remember having seen a Great Egret. 

There were other pictures of the Great Egret, but the pose is like the one we saw. The all-white bird was majestic, about three-feet tall.

Tommy is watering. I think it rained everywhere else but here! I suppose with the forecast and recent past rain, it looks like this will be a three-week rainy period. I know some of you need rain, but I just don't like so much and especially when I need to go places. He is dead-heading flowers and will drag the garbage to the road. We do get an average of 58-60 inches of rain per year. But, I am ready for a little drought. 

There are so many little, piddling chores to do around here. I just don't feel like doing anything. Sooo, I took another nap...lol. Maybe I can get a few chores done after the nightly news...lol. 

On the news--Alabama is first in the nation in per capita deaths. Usually, we are dead last or next to last in measures.

What is happening at your house? Excess rain? Drought? Ever seen a Great Egret? Do you ever suffer from dry eyes? 

Lazy Saturday

 It is almost 4:30 pm, and I am still sitting. I have read two newspapers, have read on the internet, and had a sandwich for lunch and graham crackers for a snack. Yes, it was lazy of me. I deserve it today.

For about four nights I have not gotten enough sleep and supplemented that with naps. Friday night, I went to bed at 1 am and slept well until 5:45, lay trying to go back to sleep until about 6:30, got up and went to the living room. I am very quiet and never disturb Tommy. Around 8:30 I went back to bed, went to sleep immediately and woke at 12:30 pm. So, I slept 9 hours and felt wonderful. 

No, I did not get things done while I felt well. I was luxuriating in feeling well. That may seem silly. But, since I rarely feel rested, it has been nice to feel normal. 

Now, there are things to do--Me--wash hair; with Tommy--empty dishwasher, load dishwasher; Tommy alone--water flowers, but milk for himself. Of course, I will make dinner using the rest of the cooked ground beef, corn on cob, slaw. 

Oops! My clothes need to be washed and dried by Tommy before we do anything. Well, they need to go into the washer first thing. I cannot believe it is now 5 pm and this is just being done. We both forgot. Oh well.

Tommy said when he went to get the mail that three children were lying on their beach towels on the driveway next door. A little girl about 8 came over and dragged our garbage can back to where it goes. She seems so nice. Those kids next door are gems. I am shocked they are all so quiet with seven people, seven dogs, and at least three or four extra people. The dogs still bark all the time, especially around 6 and 8 am! 

So, it is get the washing started, start dinner and go buy milk. 

Do you ever feel so good that you hate to do anything and make yourself inordinately tired once again? Make no mistake--my back still hurts and so does my knee. But, I have felt not achy at all and not tired, rested. 

Success Thursday and Found Money and Favorite Furniture

At last, a day was not sabotaged by me or anyone else. I went to my doctor for a dozen items...lol. I had them written down, so we went over them, one at a time. Some questions took 30 seconds or less, some took more time. He looked at the knot in my calf and sent me right up for an ultrasound. It is "benign, not a blood clot." Whew! He told me to watch it. It is a knot on the muscle in my calf. 

None of my meds are implicated in causing dementia. The severe blow to my head Monday won't cause a brain bleed at this late date. 

I really like my family doctor. When I go with a list, we work through it. 

We picked up refills at two pharmacies. One pharmacy had no one else in the drive-up line. We waited behind 4 cars and for almost 30 minutes at the other pharmacy. Waiting in line is sooo tiring. Went to Publix for bogo catsup. Went to a furniture store to ask a question. I found a baby chick about a foot high. Someone gave me money as a birthday gift on Paypal, and I had forgotten to spend it. So, I did, and this huge chick came home with me. It is not my style or colors, and I don't know what kind of fat chick it is, but I love Maggie May.

Right now, a nap is after me, so I am surrendering. When Tommy wants to eat, he can heat up leftovers. Thank goodness for leftovers. Nope, changed my mind! Not napping even though I only slept three hours Wednesday night.

Someone is lined up to make a coat/hat rack for Tommy. I don't know what kind of wood to use but definitely not plywood. This one will be a box with a door. 

Then, I will surprise Tommy with a new bookcase to replace his rickety one that is about 5 inches too wide and made of some sort of wood covered with paper with a grain. There are three of these monstrosities in this house. He bought this one 40 years ago for this house. 

I have a nice bookcase about 60" tall that my parents paid $11 for in 1957 at the Goodwill. It has a waterfall front, so you can imagine it is 50 years or more older than the shabby one here. Mine is not rickety at all, 90 years old. I found an identical one for $40 a few years ago, so I have two! Besides being sturdy, the finish is in good shape. Yep, I like "brown furniture."

At the bread store, I put the bread on the counter to pay for it. Right there on the edge nearest me was a quarter ready for me to pick up. I could barely believe my good luck. 

I picked up a wand for watering to make it easier for Tommy. He is out there, watering, and holding the wand about six inches from the nozzle. He does not believe me when I tell him to hold it out to spray the plants! I cannot even watch. No, I am not just watching, but I can see from my chair where I sit. 

Friday, there are plans for three chores. Let's see if we can pull this off.

Do you like old "brown furniture?"  What is your favorite piece of furniture in your house, not the prettiest, not the most stylish, not the piece in best shape, just a piece you love, cherish or would never get rid of now or ever? The piece could be the prettiest!

Busy Day

Almost 9 pm. I am exhausted again tonight. At least we were only gone for 8 hours today. With beautiful weather  and sunshine, even bad experiences would not bother me. I think it only was in low 40s today, but with brilliant sunshine.

We left at noon to go to Cullman and stopped to get a $1 burger. We brought our own drinks. I threw out most of my Coke at the gas station because I would finish it eventually if it stayed in the car. So, I saved a few calories today.

There are days we leave with a list and do not get it all done. Today was one of those days when there is no waiting anywhere.

First, I went to a food bank where I get to choose. Usually, I have to sit an hour. Today, as I was signing in, the woman came out and told me to go in. I got:

1 gal milk
frozen chicken breasts
frozen ground pork
box of chunky chocolate chip cookies
6 donuts
rye bread loaf
bag of mini bagels
slider buns
green beans, 1 can
peas, I can
Wheat Thins
body wash that I got to refill my soft soap dispenser
2 perfect, huge Granny Smith apples. Do I see an Apple Betty?

Every bit of this will be used! The bread can be frozen.  I never get bread or sweets over vegetables or meat. The person says, "Three breads." And, then "one off this shelf."  He likes bagels, I like rye, and the slider buns will be for meals or to take a cheese sandwich with us.

I went to a store where I found 16 oz. clamshells of strawberries 2 for $3. I got four packages. I see strawberry shortcake in our future. I make my own shortcake, sort of a slightly sugary, buttery drop biscuit.

Since we both did not have milk at home, we decided to buy milk in Cullman so we did not have to go shopping tonight.

I was going to get my car tag today, the last day to do so since I do not want to go back tomorrow. But, I realized the long would be too long for me to stand. Scratch that off the list! I can get it Tuesday and sign a statement that I have not driven it to avoid a penalty.

Then, I had to go to the Social Security office. Luckily, there was no one ahead of me. It was strange that the place was not jammed or at least have a few people. So, that chore took only ten minutes.

The trip to Publix was uneventful, but I now have enough bananas to last through Monday. I eat one every day.

My yard is still there with pretty daffodils. I only had one letter at the PO, but it was something I was awaiting. I found stacks of coupons on the counter near my box. We drove around the lake in town and wondered if they are putting in new camp areas and picnic tables. The track team was running around the lake on the walking/running trail. That seems less dangerous than running along the streets. We went to my storage unit.

I went into one store and did not like the service, so left. I forgot to go to the shoe repair/cobbler. Bummer on both counts.

We went to my friend's junk store and she was not open. Two men were on the other side of the building. One was her nephew. My friend is in the hospital.

Then, we stopped at the permanent yard sale and went to the one next to it. I found a pretty dish, about ten inches across and a 1 inch rim around it, $1. It has pink roses on it.

At Belk's I returned four things and bought nothing.

Then, we went to a community dinner. The menu is on  the table with pens. We circled what we desired and it was brought to us. I got shredded lettuce, chopped meat, black beans, sour cream, shredded cheese. Tommy got that and the hard taco shell, taco sauce, corn. I got plain meat and put one tsp of taco sauce on the meat. Dessert was chocolate cake and ice cream. I only ate about two bites of cake and six tiny bites of ice cream. My food was delicious. He enjoyed what he got and ate a whole bowl of salsa with chips before dinner. He has told me he does not like salsa! ???

Can you believe I left chocolate cake and ice cream?

The dinner was packed, but I did not know one person there. When I left, I saw a woman that I could have sat with. Well, there was a woman who said she could not be friends with me because her Pentecostal church would not like her being friends with me because I did not go to her church. She got in trouble and was chastised publicly for going to the lunch with music. Sad!

Today, I worried about his blood sugar since I know what he has to eat. I offered on the way down to drive home, which I did. I really need to learn how to get to his house...lol. When I went to the store where I found cheap strawberries, I bought a tiny bottle of chocolate milk for me. I knew he would not like that. So, I got him a single package of peanuts. He tore into them and ate them all right in the parking lot. We were so far ahead of the dinner, that we had plenty of time. He did not suffer from low blood sugar at all. Well, he may have been heading there since he had nothing but the hamburger patty that was not carb all day long before I got the peanuts.

Do you ever plan chores and how much time it will take, only to have everything go your way and end up with time to spare and nothing to do? It certainly beats the opposite dilemma of nothing right and being rushed.

Chickens and Other Stuff

I read online of the new ordinances in my city. When I had chickens, they were not allowed. However, over half of the houses on my block had chickens. No one would admit it, but chickens were evident.

Now, 6 hens are allowed for each house. No roosters are allowed. The coop can be no larger than 120 sq.ft. Mine lived in a Rubbermaid box, so I was within the limits. And, only four hens lived in my dog yard. I cannot wait to have chickens again.

Monday was spent recovering from Saturday and three hours at church on Sunday. Tuesday was recovery time, too.

We determined we were not leaving the house until Friday when there is no rain or storms.  I think that is prudent. So, we have been here, doing little. Tonight, Wednesday, I muttered that I wanted Chic fil A. When Tommy said okay, who was I to resist. I paid. He swears I said KFC so he went there.  The chicken was delicious as was the gravy and mashed potatoes. We got a breast each and shared the biscuit and potato/gravy portion. I had sweet potatoes and slaw fixed here. The streets were dry and there was only a slight WARM breeze, so we broke our promise to stay in until Friday

It was over 70F degrees here, even at 6 pm. It's nice out but scary. We know in the South this means tornadoes. But, where exactly? The news stations here do a great job covering weather for hours if necessary.

Tommy took my clothes to the washing machine, went out and put all but one pair of panties in the dryer, and then got in the dried clothes. I took a nap while he worked...lol.

Tuesday night I slept well until I awoke soaked. An hour later I had Tommy feel my last six inches of my hair that was still soaked. When I got up before six, he turned the ac on for the rest of the day. The heat and sweatiness has caused me to have a sore throat. He had the fan on all night and only turned the ac on at 6 am or so. When I awoke and sat up, I felt my sweaty chest and sweat dripped from my chin to the back of my hand. I am telling you it was hot in that room.

After he brought in a load of wet clothes for me on Tuesday, I hung them on hangers and across plastic boxes in my bedroom. They are all dry, so now is time to fold.  I made cake mix cookies from a cake mix--red Velvet. That was easy.

There is nothing exciting here. Our Valentine celebration is a cookie apiece ordered from Cookie Fix in Homewood. Anne mentioned it on her blog, Anne in the Kitchen. We pass it all the time, and I have commented I wanted a cookie. We don't have time to stop on the way to the doctor, and afterwards, I am too wiped out to care. Now, we will get one. Any place called Cookie Fix must be delicious.

Tonight's plan is to fold clothes and then soak my feet in vinegar and water, and get a load of dark clothes ready to take to washing machine tomorrow. Exciting? Not really. Maybe I will wash dishes. Maybe I will file more papers. I might exfoliate my feet and legs, only my legs that show in pants. LOL

Are storms in your forecast? Tornadoes? Flooding? Folding the clothes? What then?