I Am Probably the Only Person in Alabama with This Habit Today

 When I was about thirteen, my mother put covers on us in the summer. No matter how much we objected, she covered me at night when I only wanted a sheet. She tucked it up around my neck. I was too old to have covers pulled up, but she was a good mother and saw a child needing to be kept warm. Well, she had thryroid problems. Today, it was 82F degrees and I wore a jacket zipped to my neck to go out of the house to get in the car and stay in the car while Tommy went into Publix. 

Yes, I know I need to get this resolved, and I will. However, I cannot believe how much like my mother I am becoming. That is not really a bad thing. I have only worn a sweater with a scarf all winter and sandals.  It does seem that I am the one who inherited all the physical problems from both my parents. It is not fun or good! 

Today, I looked over the Publix ad and Tommy made a list as I dictated while surfing the ad. He loves Fritos and Cheetos. I thought he would buy only one since they are bogo. But, he bought two. He drinks too much Pepsi, but bought them since they are b2g1. He is allowed vices but I wish they were not sodium and caffeine. Of course, I prefer cheese and chocolate. 

Thursday night we had Chicken Parmesan and green beans. I think he had cabbage and a big salad. Friday for dinner we are having chicken breasts, thinly sliced, and roasted with potatoes. I will have green beans or Romaine and tomato for a salad. When we have green beans, he gets what he wants, about a quarter of the can, and I eat the rest. Friday night, he had a salad with his chicken.

Tonight, I had to find more Hall's Mentholyptus cough drops. Of course, they were right in the Ball canning jar with a metal lid, sealed tightly. They have been stored for two years. As you may have discovered, cough drops get sticky. The paper is almost impossible to remove. I have resorted to sucking on a cough drops with bits of paper, then fishing the paper out of my mouth. Usually, I buy these on sale or with a coupon, meaning I have more than I need. So, I buy them cheaply and then toss them. Not frugal. Keeping them in the glass and metal keeps air and moisture out, preserving the cough drops for another season. This definitely saves money. 

Tonight, storms could cause us to lose electricity. I hope not. Tornadoes are possible. I hope not. But, I do worry about folks in mobile homes. The weather has been very warm, never a good sign with storms. 

Finally, I found the number of the woman who can and will answer my planting questions and the grow light questions I asked here. I can get the information on the grow lights indoors and the watering system for potted plants I grow outside. Tommy does not need to be dragging a hose in the heat this summer! This summer, I will go back to growing vegetables in a addition to the flowers I love.

Are you familiar personally or otherwise with cold and thyroid problems? I can now understand why my mother covered a teen and three others with blankets every night in the summer in a home in the South without ac! And, she closed the windows and turned off our fans!

Amazon Delivery

Amazon certainly is making it more difficult to shop, especially to return items. I ordered the Lenox Butterfly Meadow dinnerware above with rewards from the last three years. I love this pattern. This will be our new dinnerware. I had a dozen of the salad/accent plates I used for anything less than a full meal, mostly when I had company or for a sandwich for me. Of course, as you may have guessed, they are gone. I would rather have bowls than mugs. I only use a mug or cup when I drink hot chocolate, about once a week for three months of the year. 

Each piece has a different flower and butterfly, and the name of the butterfly is on the bottom of the dish. There are several iterations of Butterfly Meadow--blue, hydrangea, and a Christmas set. This also comes in melamine and paper goods. 

A second thrift store had turned up nothing in the dinnerware area. 

As I pulled out the last box from the larger box, I heard tinkling. All six salad plates and all six mugs were fine. So were the first five dinner plates! The last dinner plate was in several pieces plus shards and almost microscopic pieces. I spent time picking tiny shards from my blouse, pants, arms, the quilt on my chair. I felt where I could not see. 

One piece was exactly between my legs on the quilt. Tommy helped by guiding/telling me where there were tiny white specks on my blouse. The sun was shining on me. I could see sparkles where I could not see a piece of white or color. I tried to pick the sparkles from me. 

Finally, I took the quilt to shake in the yard. I could see lots of tiny pieces, smaller than a flea. Then, I had to open the plate box completely and shake more tiny shards into the trash. Tommy took the quilt to the washing machine. He will have to go out after dark to dry it. 

THEN, I managed to call Amazon and talked to a woman in India. When I got her to slow down, I could understand her just fine. I am getting an Amazon promo. Now, to find a place to buy one piece. The Monarch Butterly plate was the one that broke. I know about replacements.com, but that site is not cheap or even reasonable some of the time. 

Tommy found a card and asked me if it were important. Yes, that is the warranty. So, I have that if I break another piece. It is 50% off to replace anything broken.

I had ordered four pair of leggings from Amazon that were advertised as "long" but were still six inches above my ankles. I got those returned without a great deal of hassle today with the same person. The Amazon return policy is getting stiffer. 

Online, where delivery instructions are located, I requested the deliveries be placed on the left side of the door. The box was there! Good job. 

Today was cold and windy, so when we left the house to make returns and buy more milk, I put on the lightest jacket I have. It was too warm. So, about 11 am when we went out, I was the only person in the parking lot with short sleeves. It is going down to freezing tomorrow, so I will dig out a sweater when we go out. The wind blew the car door closed on Tommy's hand and left a huge blood blister, so it still hurts! The wind was brisk!

Today, I got none of my calls made. So, I am rolling that to tomorrow. And, I did not nap at all, not that no nap is a loss since I was not sleepy. 

All my plants have plastic bags covering them. Tommy will be up early enough to remove them tomorrow. Only the succulent is not covered. 

Tonight, I put two large burgers in a skillet and turned it on. Tommy went in the kitchen to make his salad, so I asked him to turn it down a tad. Well, he turned it up, left the kitchen and the burgers burned to a crisp! Ack! Not good and not healthy. We each had a hearty salad--romaine, tomato, pickled beets, onions, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers. Well, I did not have all that. I had feta, tomato and pecans on my romaine. If there are cut up vegetables in the refrigerator, he loads them onto his salad. 

This was a good day with pretty weather, not too cold, and I felt well. The new dishes are in the dishwasher, so I need to finish loading it and get the butterflies on the shelf. Bits and pieces are decluttered every day. I hope to see more clear floors, drawers, and tables soon.

Besides baking chicken and vegetables, I am going to make taco soup, and cook a pot of beans. 

Is it freezing at your house? Had a frost? Did you have anything to cover to protect from a frost or freeze? 

Have you noticed Amazon is tightening its belt and rules? 

Do you have a good winter meal planned?

Saturday and Sunday

 Saturday night, I put all eight amber, pint, Ball canning jars and the rings into the dishwasher. I don't put the lids with the seal in water that hot as I feel it will lessen the sealing. I plan to use them for items that I keep in jars. At least they will keep the light from affecting food. When I start dehydrating again, I will use pint jars as I always have. 

Saturday night, I decided to go to bed at 7:45 and take an hour nap before a movie came on that I wanted to see. Well, that was not to be. Tommy was knocking around. Apparently, he spilled a Diet Pepsi on his table. He went to the bathroom and washed out the hand towel in the bathroom sink. I suppose I heard him rattling around a plastic bowl that lives in the sink. 

Then, I heard loud fireworks going off for a few minutes. I was up and madder than a wet hen. My heart was pounding before I left the bed, so rushing to look out the front door made me nauseous and dizzy. I pulled open the door and looked out. It was the very nice neighbor across the street. They quit shooting off fireworks. I suppose they thought I was angry and quit, but the damage was done. I could have seen pretty fireworks. So, I got up to watch since I could not sleep and now they think I wanted them to quit! I did before I got up. 

We had a BLT for dinner. I had a peach, too. Delicious. There is enough bacon to have another tomorrow. 

It is about 3 pm on Sunday. I just awoke ill. No wonder I was ready for bed at 8 pm Saturday night! So, I have it all assembled--water, inhaler, meds, pillow. Hopefully, I will be better by bedtime. I hate summer colds although this seems more in my chest. Running a temp in the summer is the worst. 

Tommy reported a hummingbird sighting when he awoke and later when he ate breakfast. So, I suppose they are coming all day. We are going to get flowers and hang them on another shepherd's hook near the front porch or ramp. Maybe you are tired of hearing about hummingbirds, but we are excited. Now, we just need hummingbird books. 

I had scheduled two people to clean at 3 pm today and awoke and called them to cancel. I hate that. Tommy is watching a program--Saturdays in the South. It appears to be about football and racism. Interesting. However, it has multiple segments and this series will last until 11 pm or something. Ack! 

There is no telling when he is going to help me with dishes. I have the dishwasher emptied and half-filled. But, he needs to come and just help empty the sink and hand dishes to me. 

We were out of the house from 6-7 pm. It is nice to be out and nice to be back...lol. 

Do you find getting a cold or chest congestion in the summer is more miserable than other times of the year?

Tulips and Snow

 When I awoke about noon, Tommy said there was snow on the ground at 8 am but not falling. By the time I looked out, there was just a little deep in the grass around a small tree. So, I missed that. 

I put the vase of tulips near my lamp beside me, sort of under the shade. I suppose they like that light because they grew taller so that I could not scoot the lamp over. One tulip started blooming then another last night. This morning, four are in the process of blooming. Of course, I check on them every ten minutes! 

There is no bread, so I just had cheese and a diet Coke for breakfast and then banana and milk. I won't die without bread! I might make pancakes or biscuits or something bready. I need something hot. Hot chocolate?

I think every dish in the kitchen that I use is dirty. I just did not feel like washing anything as long as I had something else to use, I suppose...lol.  At any rate, they will be easy to wash with the dishwasher. 

Amazingly, the temperature is still below freezing--26F. Tommy took my laundry out and now must go out again to retrieve it. 

Yesterday, I received an email informing me that my delivery of the pedal thing was delayed. Okay. Then, about 8 pm, I received an email saying an assistive device was in the mailbox. I decided it was too late and cold to go out. 

Tommy went out about 2 pm, and there was nothing in the mailbox. So, I called and the assistive devices are somewhere according to the cs person at Amazon. They may have been stolen or be in someone's mailbox, just not ours. I really wanted those. But, I was assured that if they were not here at 7:01 pm, that they would automatically be reordered and redelivered. 

The sun is shining brilliantly, so the cold does not matter at all to me. Of course, if I had no heat or food or means of surviving, the sunshine would not thrill me. 

What yummy foods are you cooking up to keep the cold at bay and your tummy warm? I think we will have leftover roast, share the one potato left, green beans and Suddenly Salad Ranch and Bacon with grape tomatoes. Temperature at your house? 

Is it cold yet? Good News

 Bananas are within arm's reach. Since it is wet all over the northern half of the state, the roads will freeze tonight. Thankfully, I have bananas. Otherwise, I would now be out getting bananas if I did not have any. 

First world problem? Yes, I have so much more than bananas. 

Last night, amazingly, my feet were warm. So, I slept well. Now, my feet are almost skinny again. I need to keep them skinny for my comfort. And health. We still keep the heat at 64F, so I am not sure how I kept them warm. AND, I keep my feet on the ottoman.

However, I am still barefoot and in short gown. Tommy dresses more warmly. I have a light, soft, knit jacket I often slip on so my arms will not get cold. It is going down to 14F tonight, so Tommy has gone out to hang a bulb in his washer so it won't freeze. 

Good News

My allergist has been approved to receive the Moderna vaccine! I have had my name in for a month. This vaccine will be for those who are patients of the allergist. So, now the doctor must receive the vaccine. I am much relieved he is approved since I had a bad reaction to a vaccine and so did my infant daughter 4 years later. 

How cold is it at your house? What is the projection for tonight?

Is anyone having a vaccine at an allergist office?

Cold! Forcing Flowers

 Today has been a miserable, cold day. It is the sort of cold damp that goes right through clothes and everything. The car was cold inside for at least 30 minutes. We went out, did what we had to do and came home. I had no ambition to do anything else. 

Being indoors with lamps on suited me just fine. It was nice to have my laptop. Two days ago, my laptop screen went black. It warned me first, but the warning was only seconds long. Usually, I just need to plug it in where the cord has slipped from the laptop. Sometimes, the connector in the middle of the cord separates. Once, the cord was unplugged from the power source. 

This time, I checked all connections and nothing helped. The laptop still would not power up. This has never happened. I checked to see if the plug was connected to a reliable power source. So, I unplugged a lamp. Still no power to laptop. 

I went to bed very discouraged, imagining how much a new cord might cost or how much it would cost to buy a new laptop or have this one prepared. The next day, I was not eager to turn it on. Finally, I did and it started right up. It appears that I only have 79% power. I am not sure why it is this low since it has been plugged for hours. 

It is 4:45, but I am going to take a nap. The living room looks so bare without Christmas. I may buy paperwhites to force. Do you ever force flowers? Anything other than paperwhites? I may try to force daffodils. 

Cold Here

Wife texts husband on a cold winter morning:
"Windows frozen, won't open."

Husband texts back:
Gently pour some lukewarm water over it, and then gently tap edges
with a hammer."

Wife texts back ten-minutes later:
Computer really messed up now."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Tommy has kept the heat on 64 F. I am not cold enough to put on many clothes. His house is evenly cold...lol. I had some trouble with his bedroom being cold, but am over that. I just need flannel sheets because his sheets are cold. My cotton sheets were not cold. And, I had flannel ones!

I am living barefoot and with short sleeves or sleeveless and short night gown. Didn't I tell you I was warm-natured? Tommy keeps a blanket over him and shirt, pants, and socks on.

However, at the first sign of getting a cold, I need to bundle up.

This las week has been nothing but vertigo and feeling ill. I took Tommy's Benadryl to take care of the ear thing/vertigo. But, I was hung over the whole next day. Last night, I just refused to take one again. Today, I did not sleep half the day and generally felt more perky.

We went shopping today for food and things needed around here. I will post that list later. We had not been out of the house for three days.

Tonight, I put on my headlamp and dug around in Tommy's freezer. I found one of his ice cream cones with chocolate and nuts. He was very happy. And, he let me have a bite. When I bought lots of cheap chicken this spring, I packed some in a cooler for him to take to his freezer. So, there is that and lots of other frozen meat. I suspect we will not need meat for another six weeks. And, by then the sales on turkey breast will come around.

Tonight, I finally got dinner done by ten. He was irritable and very hungry. We had another sausage patty and sweet potato. "I thought we were having beans, too?" he was sooo disappointed. But, I gave him his ice cream cone..lol.

We did not leave the house until about 4:30, so I knew he needed to eat. I had to tell him I was hungry because he did not fall for me drinking half the little bottle of oj or one of the pb crackers. So, we had dollar burger from Hardee's. He waited in the car for me to shop. When I got back, he had finished the oj and all the pb crackers. Whew. So, I was not afraid for him to drive. If he would have fallen for the oj and pb crackers, we could have saved $4 on the two burgers. !!!

Did I tell you? I have lost 20 pounds, hopefully more by now.

It is so cold and dark and I have to go to utility room to get clothes to hang to dry. Yuck. I miss my laundry room!