Pizza for Thanksgiving Dinner

 It is not as bad as it sounds. I made a decision to finish the meal the day after Thanksgiving and just quit working and have a bogo pizza from the freezer.

I had asked him a dozen times to get out things so we/I could cook. He said okay and did nothing. There was no drama or anger. Finally, I asked him if he wanted to have a frozen bogo pizza and finish Thanksgiving meal the day after. So, we did. The Day After meal was great--turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce from fresh berries, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato pie. 

What was not done was my gravy with chopped boiled eggs, 2 deviled eggs, pumpkin pie, 

rolls, Jello salad. I think that was all.

A dinner plate will not fit into the new microwave, so that will go back. Apple Barrel red paint cannot be

 used as it too thick. That will go back, too. 

The extremely cold weather has required more heat and has dried the clothing hung up in the doors faster. I found a new dryer for $97. I believe it is a scam. 

Sunday, I will remove all the pumpkins and my one turkey from the living room. Then, Christmas will go up. 

It has been so long

 I have forgotten the exact order of things. However, we got up on Monday to go the Cullman to Office Max or Depot and the guy I needed to talk with was out of the store for the day. So, we planned to go on Tuesday, and I did not want to go. We went Wednesday and picked up our lunch from a church--grilled chicken with dish of bbq sauce, corn, green beans, little slice of butter bread, and two cookies. We also had the identical thing for dinner.

The guy came out to the car and took the burned laptop inside. He came back with info insurance and numbers for me to call. Then, I gave him laptop we bought two days or so after this one and decided to not even open. That went well. So, Tommy has over $1k back in his account. And, I should be getting a check for this one, actually that will go into his account, too. 

The sale on chairs interested me, but I would have to go inside. No luck with getting a new surge protector. I forgot what else I tried to buy. 

I found Miracle Whip bogo which made it $5.40 or something like that. Used the bathroom, went to PO, and came home.

The laptop had to sleep outdoors the first night. It camped out in the bathtub on a metal baking pan in a tiled showed stall for two nights. I was really afraid it would blaze to life again.

 

Unfortunately, this laptop cannot recharge, so it must stay plugged in at all time in order to use it. Plus, none of my passwords are evident. AND, it has a whine and scream and rat-tat-ing noise all the time. So, I cannot use it when Tommy is asleep. 

I got into my Yahoo account and into my blog, so all is better. 

A fly has been cruising the house, buzzing around me and any food we are trying to eat or cook. He even buzzed my hair. I could feel his wings making a breeze or something.  I resorted to running to Lowe's and getting fly strips. I hate those nasty-looking things. But, I hate the fly more. I even had Tommy stay with me in the kitchen while I was removing the pork loin and vegetables from the cooking bag. It has gotten dark and cool now, so he is sleeping, I suppose. 

My big chores for the day were replacing my electric candles' batteries and going through a tote bag of mail. The batteries in the Red Kiss were replaced and all eight batteries were put in the battery recycling Planter's Peanuts jar. Between Tommy and I, we removed pertinent information from my mail to shred and put rest in two places--paper to recycle or newsprint items to go the Animal Shelter.  

For some reason Belk's sent me a check for $8.98. And, Belk's sent me a coupon for $10 to use instore. 

Finally, I quit coughing. The guaifenesin made it a productive cough. So, it is gone. I only cough when I swallow something the wrong way. I am so relieved to be rid of the cough. 

Finally, I felt like going into Publix and shopping. When Tommy goes in, he comes out with all sorts fo chips and cookies. I have not been in a store for about a month. 

While I was in Lowe's shopping for fly strips, I noticed Christmas is going up. On the way to find the strips, I was horrified by an apparent boneyard. Someone was hanging skeletons and left them on a platform. They looked like a heap of bones, a boneyard.  It was spooky. I want a large skeleton and a stack of three pumpkins, but I will just dream about them. 

Oh, speaking of dreaming, I have been dreaming since I started taking melatonin. I was having an in-depth discussion with someone about the ceiling fans that can be screwed into a light socket in the ceiling. Tommy and I, another night, were having an equally scintillating conversation about something, forgot what. 

The humidity is incredibly low, so days, and especially evenings with low temperatures have been pleasantly not torrid or muggy. I don't rush to start the car as soon as I get into it. 

What fine chores have you accomplished? 

Has the humidity and heat become more tolerable where you live? 

Catch Up and Blanket

 Eventually, I catch up my sleep and have a good day afterwards. I got four hours, woke up, watched tv for a couple of hours, maybe only one. Then, I slept for a good five hours. Then, I felt like a million dollars. Feeling this way is important for several reasons. One--I can think. Two--I just really need the sleep like we all do. Three--I am assured that I am capable of feeling good and energetic, that my present state of pain and lethargy are not permanent. Of course, the fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are always there, and I don't feel normal for long. 

Finally, I found, rather Tommy found my little Ninja smoothie maker. But, the bottom part, the electrified part is still missing. I have no idea if the cleaner moved it or it got tossed. So, I will buy another if I can find the right one. At least, I will have more of the cups to use. 

For dinner tonight, I put in a four-pack of boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, and a 3-kabob pack of chicken, peppers, onion. I had to use a turkey bag because there were sooo many vegetables--potatoes, carrots, squash. There was a six-pack of thin breasts that I put on the eye in a skillet because I knew the long cooking time might dry them out. 

Tommy has three more dinners of thighs. I will have three dinners of breasts. There at least three days of vegetables. Plus, I need to cook pumpkin and cinnamon tonight. A can of vegetables comes in handy when there are few vegetables left that are cooked. 

There are still two huge packages of chicken tenderloins thawing. It seems the planning and cooking never end. 

I need another wool blanket. The one I bought, the ETSY USMC stamped blanket is just too small. I considered buying another, but I decided against that move. The ones online that are 100% wool from manufacturers are exorbitantly priced. My next plan is still under construction in my brain. When I get it formulated, I will reveal it. Does anyone have any other ideas or recommendations for wool blanket? 

Death Valley and Cutting Hair

 These two topics have absolutely nothing to do with each other. 

I absolutely want to go to Death Valley to feel the record-breaking heat. Neither of us can drive that far. Tommy would fund it. I am ready to go, just need a driver. At least, there would be no humidity. Right? Have you ever been to Death Valley? Experienced heat so high? I/We would leave tomorrow. I want to take my picture by the thermometer...really, I want to experience the heat. 

Today, I managed to do one more thing on my 8-item list I made on Sunday. I cut Tommy's hair. He was worse than a two-year-old! We are laughing now, but it was bedlam earlier. But, I can no longer stomp around in frustration...lol. 

Since I am not going outside the cut his hair and no one is going to sweep hair from the kitchen floor, we worked on carpet. He got a sheet from the car and spread it out. Most of the sheet is back near his chair and not out front in a more open area to work. He assures me it will be okay. Okay, we will start.

Then, he got a towel to put around his shoulders, the thickest towel he has. Last time, he used the same towel and pulled it up around his neck where I could not see the bottom of his hair, much less get electric clippers in place to cut. AAAGH!!! He got all ready with a roll of towel around his hair. I told him to feel how his hair was covered up. So, he flipped his neck hair out like a woman or person with longer hair... but straight out. He thinks i can cut that way because his lady barber did. NOOOO!

So, this led to much screaming by both of us. He refused to use anything thinner. He swears that the barber uses a towel up close, yes, a thick, big towel. He says none of them use a drape like they use on women. I do not believe a word of this. And, he refused to just keep wearing the tshirt he was wearing. 

Then, he just threw the towel down and let the hair fall on him. Fine. So, I cut it, almost falling, almost passing out. It was easy but hard. He is fine with the length, one length all over. I put the trimmer too high on his neck and hate the way it looks but he says it is okay. Whew. He said it is too short on top. It is always too long or too short somewhere. He really likes the length of the sideburns. One time, I forgot to cut one side. I am not a professional, but I pretend to be one when I get scissors in my hand. 

Any haircut is better than him going back to his lady barber. Tommy is no way balding, just thinning hair. Yet, she makes a low part about a half inch above his ear with long hair combed up. He looks ridiculous when he makes a part, gets it wrong and he had three-inch hair hanging over his ear. He thought it looked fine and would not let me redo it. 

I asked him how it felt when I first finished. He said it was not so heavy. Then, later, he said he could "feel air blowing through my ears." His scalp and ears would burn now with no hair to protect them. 

He is in the kitchen making white sauce on his own. Usually, I get out the skillet, spatula, butter, flour, and milk, measuring it all. Today, I just sent him in. I am making a familiar casserole with new recipe I am making in my head. I just found him stirring in a skillet with a metal spoon...all this time. It is a pot that cannot take metal spoon stirring.

Both our casseroles have 1/2 cup of white sauce, 1/2 can of sodium free chicken soup, less than 1/2 cup of brown rice, onions, green beans, broccoli, dried parsley, and water. Mine will have cheese. These are two servings in each square, glass SnapLock dishes. I am using the whole package of frozen broccoli. It could be healthier, I suppose, but don't bother telling me. 

Well, he went rogue and put one of the casseroles is a glass dish with no Pam! Plus, it needed more water for the rice. So, that was sort of a redo for the one casserole that was mine. Plus, I needed to put cheese in before it was stirred. 

The reason I mixed these separately and baked in separate dishes is because he hates cheese in this and I want it.  The green beans I put in were left from two nights ago, the French Cut ones. 

He is a great help with cooking, but sometimes.....

I have never seen John Wick and I love Keanu Reeves. So, we are watching that tonight. 

Have you ever seen a large, thick bath towel in a barber shop? 

Don't they use the capes hairdressers use? 

Sunday Storms

 As usual, I have had trouble going to sleep. Last night, it was a new and worse problem. Finally, at 8 am, I did sleep, awaking at 2pm. 

I think the reason I have felt so exhausted is a new sinus infection. I don't want to move! However, I know sitting is going to kill me! Thankfully, we have plenty of leftovers and frozen cooked meat in the freezer. However, I will finally cook the pork butt and make coleslaw. 

Tommy is out moving the blackberry bushes and covering them with tulle. I will make sure to put a rubber snake near them. There is a long cane on each, making it impossible to cover them. So, i will have him cut the cane. I hope that does not kill them. 

We called to have the recliner repaired in March. In April, someone came to look at it and come back in two to three weeks to repair it. Shortly thereafter, a box too large and too heavy for us to move, containing the metal mechanism to go under the chair. It was sitting where rain could hit it. The furniture store told us they would be out soon. Okay, and it has rained here two or three days each week. Now, in June, someone will come in two weeks to repair it. The charge for labor will be $230. I wonder if this was under warranty for parts. I have no idea. 

Well, Tommy just came in from sticking blackberry canes in dirt. He used a reacher/grabber to dig around in a pot. Why? He said he was making the dirt where he could plant. No planting, just poke it in. I cleaned the loppers thoroughly and oiled the cutting part and jaws. NOW, I will have to put grabber in sink because it has dirt clods in the soft part that makes it possible to pick up a dime from a surface. "It don't matter," he yells at me. Yes, dirt clods on the carpet do matter. By the way, he only uses this bad grammatical error when yelling about some dirty place that is just fine. 

I watched my father clean tools thoroughly before putting them away in his shop, so I came by tool cleaning honestly. If you do not clean yours, I don't care. 

Maybe I do the cane poking the wrong way. But, every cane I have poked into hard dirt has worked. Well, I push ten in the ground and four live. That was with the forsythia. Scuppernong worked. So, maybe blackberries will work and some of the six canes will be a new blackberry bush. 

I am weak and fighting nausea, so I need to go. There is more bad weather on the way, so all laundry is being done, dishes are washing, and we will eat early. Oven will be on before it hits. I have my flashlight at the ready. 

Do you poke blackberry canes into the dirt to get more blackberry bushes? If it does not work or that is not the way to grow more blackberries, well Tommy spent an hour cutting two canes into six pieces, digging up the dirt and planting them. I know they spread, but this blackberry bush is in a pot. I will put it into a bigger pot eventually. Oh, I know this is the wrong time of the year to do this.

Do you clean tools after using them? Oil them?

 

Stocking Up and Other Things

 Yesterday, I determined we would go to Cullman come hell or high water. No matter how little sleep I managed, we would go. I only slept four hours, if that.

Our first stop was the PO where I had six inches of mail waiting for me.

I have wanted to go to the store where I find the only pimiento that is grown and packed in the US. I had Tommy buy 10 of the tiny jars. That will last me for six to twelve months. Since I now add it to dishes without Tommy complaining, it might only last six months. That was my stock-up, not much, but all I had in mind right now. 

Then, I went to Publix for one thing and then did not get it. I decided to see if they had the items for which I received a rain check here. I made a mess of shopping and was exhausted when I left the store. I found Special K Original, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, and could not remember the third item, Angel Soft tp. When I saw maple syrup was reduced, I grabbed one of those. 

I checked out. I had gotten the wrong size Special K. The maple syrup rang up at the wrong price. Well, a guy up front was going to help me and got me the wrong Special K because I did not tell him what I had. And, I was mistaken about the maple syrup. The one on sale was smaller than the bottle I bought. Whew, so much to figure out. 

We had a BK sandwich and headed home. Once home, I tried to nap and could not. Usually naps are easy. 

There are two small packages of chicken breasts and the pork butt to cook, but I was not into cooking tonight. Tomorrow, the goal is to make a casserole of chicken, purple cauliflower, green beans, and pimiento and a can of soup. Plus, I need to cut the pork butt in half, freeze one half and cook the other, plus make slaw. That is the plan, but even talking about it tires me. 

Tommy was so happy to give me a 2023 dime he found Sunday under a car as he got back in his. He commented today that it was so shiny it was easy to spot. I think it was minted this week...lol. 

Tommy examined the flower he/we thought had two different kinds of flowers. He said there were two different stems side by side. They look like one. He said the leaves were different on the stems. I searched through 100 flowers and found two that looked like this one. However, none had poppy-like flowers on the same stems. I think the flower that looks like a poppy is a mallow. 

Remember I bought a new juicer and thought I had one already? Well, I took the stickers off the one I bought and washed it. Tommy was going to put it up and asked me where I wanted it to go. I told him. He came back in with two identical juicers! Yes, I did have one already. So, I put the stickers back on and put the receipt inside. I had put the labels on the back of the receipt since I just knew I already had one juicer. The clean juicer will be returned. Score! 

I had plants on the ground from porch and table after a brief and furious storm blew through here. Did you have wind or storm damage from Sunday? 

Saturday, Sunday and Berry, Berry Confused

 Saturday was slow and neither exciting nor boring. I still feel unwell, so nothing much done...lol. I did not sleep well. It seemed I was awake all night, but did sleep some, just not soundly. 

We did go to Publix to buy milk for me and apples. Tommy went in. Then, we got his insulin at Walgreen's and left it in the car for four hours or more. And, it was 91F today, so  I think it is ruined. He says it is okay. 

When he handed me a copy of some medical report to read, I did and he has moderate hearing loss even though he says it is all me. I did not mention I saw that comment. There is a new hearing aid advertised for $99. I have commented about it several times. Finally, I asked him if he thought that would help. Well, he is not against it. 

Saturday night, I put some shaved steak in the cooking bag and non-salt seasoning. I cooked it an hour and he removed it from the stove and discovered I had cooked the pad that is under meat. I suppose the people who use these know some of us cook these and do not put anything in the pad that is deleterious to our health. 

While it was cooking in the oven, I made cole slaw. Tommy brought everything to me and I made it in my lap as usual. He was doing something in the kitchen. Most of the time, I don't ask. Well, he had gotten out two small freezer bags of corn I had cut off the cob. Dinner was delicious--shaved steak, coleslaw, corn cut off the cob and frozen. 

The cole slaw mix I bought was delicious because it was full of carrots. From now on I will buy Dole. I like slaw with carrots, tasty and healthful. Other brands never have many carrots! And, this was only $1 at the Memorial Day sale. 

One day this last week, I made the Dolly Parton brownies. I will not buy them again. I like fudgy brownies, but these seemed juicy inside. It was strange. 

Saturday, when we got out of the car, my impatien plant was drooping. When Tommy watered about 6:30, He put a pie pan under it to soak water. At bedtime he took the pan of water away. I read impatiens don't like wet feet. Hopefully, they will continue to thrive in the hot weather and sun against the bricks. Maybe it will do better on Sunday. 

Sunday, the impatiens was fine. Hopefully, we won't let it get so dry again. Tommy watered just after noon since I told him morning was the best time to water. Then, around 6 pm, it drizzled, sprinkled, rained softly and quit. I suppose everything is sufficiently hydrated. 

Of course, I took a nap and Tommy had his dinner of soup on his own. Today, I cleaned and trimmed the rest of the strawberries, and put a bit of sugar on the sliced strawberries, just a bit to macerate. I want to have some tomorrow on a sliver of angel food cake that Tommy has been eating on for two weeks. 

Two Bell peppers and one red are sliced in two bags--one for Tommy's salads and the other to cook with onions for him to eat. 

It seems peppers get lost in the freezer and then turn to icy bag of green stuff. So, I won't be freezing any peppers until the freezer can be emptied and organized. 

Tommy washed a load of my clothing and I hung them and folded the ones he dried. Laundry never ceases. I remember the days of three children and diapers for six years! 

Two weeks ago, as we swung through the park, I saw flowers that I was sure were blackberries. Well, we did this for three or four days. Finally, Tommy said we have flowers just like that on the table. Hmm, do blueberry blossoms look like blackberry blossoms. I wondered and checked the blueberry flowers. Then, the flowers fell off in the park. I kept watching for the blueberries to form since I have seen those before many times. 

I was confused as to why the blueberries were so gnarly looking. Yet, they never changed, just grew a bit larger. 

Finally, today, Tommy came inside after watering and told me I had blackberries! What??? I did not buy blackberries! He told me I bought two bushes. Oh, yeah. I forgot. So, now I do have blackberries. 

Immediately, I made plans to protect them from the birds. I do have a plastic snake outside and one in here. Plus, I will get bird netting. If I cannot find that, I will buy tulle to protect them. It is just thing thing and comes in wide bolts. 

All this time, I thought I had only blueberries on the table. I do look at them, but since they are close, I suppose I read the tags on them and saw only the "berries" part of the word. The bushes are small, and there are not many berries, just a handful. 

Hopefully, I feel better this next week as I really need a new mattress. Everyday, I plan to go find one and just have no energy. 

Tomorrow, I need to cook squash and onions with garlic butter. Of course, I will like it but Tommy will love it. I also need to cook a box of sliced mushrooms for me since he won't touch those. I may put the last of the jar of spaghetti sauce over those. Yum. 

[Edit--I came home and was ill when we shopped. I rarely even look at the plants up close. So, my confusion about what plants I bought is due to being ill and neglect of the plants. Tommy did not want one of the plants I bought, yet the woman left it in our cart. So, who knows? Do you have blueberries or blackberries?]

Easy Memorial Day and Apples

Today was a good day. I slept 10 hours last night and awoke at noon. Around 7 pm. I took a nap until 9 pm. I did not cook anything special, but we ate well. For dinner Tommy had a chicken breast and a huge salad.

Right now, at 10 pm, I am boiling a pot of potatoes for potato salad for tomorrow. I will make mashed potatoes for Tommy tomorrow. My Victoza pen will not work--on a holiday, of course! For my dinner tonight, I will have keto bread, chicken breast, tomato, green stuff, and MW. It only has 6 grams of carbs, so I won't need the injection so much. I think.

Tonight, I will only add the chopped onions to the potatoes as I think hot potatoes on the onions makes the potatoes soak up more of the flavor. I really don't like cooking so late, but Tommy was peeling potatoes when I went for a nap. I could have stayed awake and miserable, but I chose sleep.

As for Sue's question--how do I find a crisp Red Delicious Apple. First, I look at the color. If the color is not bright red, sort of a darkish red and not shiny, it is never a really good apple. But, the main thing I look at it the blossom end. If it is really open, it is not crisp. I do look for green leaves at the blossom end. But, dark leaves and a closed apple on the blossom end is good. So, the main thing is the closed end.

I was really distraught at the lack of good apples, only mealy Red Delicious. An older produce manager told me that when the blossom end is open, that means the apple has been off cold storage and it might be mealy. 

Looking at the color just tells me which apples I want to pick up. Then, the closed blossom end. Then, the green leaves around the blossom end. The first time Tommy ever picked out an apple for me, he was dismayed--Do you know I had to pick up 19 apples to find this good one? I laughed and assured him I have done the same. 

Of course, I do pick up apples from the back of the stack without letting them roll off the counter. I have a theory the best ones are on the back. 

My reward for all this work is a satisfyingly crisp apple. 

How was your Memorial Day? 

Grocery Ads

Friday night, I was sitting in my chair and felt something on my right arm. Thinking it was a hair, I turned to brush it away with my left hand. No, it was a tiny spider. So, I was hurriedly trying to squash it and brush it away. I am not sure if it escaped. At almost the same time, I heard a mosquito buzzing in my left ear. So, I was fighting right and left. I am not sure if I killed the mosquito or not. I think this is the third spider I have ever seen in Tommy's house. Maybe I should investigate further and stop this before it becomes an invasion I will not welcome. 

Since I must drive to get the ad even after viewing it on the internet, I only usually get the Pig and Publix. This week, we did decide to get Food Giant ad. It had more deals than the other two stores. I barely felt like going for a ride in the car, much less going in and shopping.

I circled what I wanted and he shopped, calling me with questions. The bananas were not on sale, but he got me two. Pork butt was $1.79/lb and they were all gone. This store does not give rainchecks. This store had two ads, one for Thursday-Sunday. The other is from Wednesday to Wednesday. So, today was the last day for the Memorial Day ad. 

Lemons were 1lb/$2. Tommy called and said they were tinted orange. I was unsure but had him get a bag. It says on the internet that Meyer Lemons turn a bit orange when they are left on the tree too long. So, not sure and I don't feel like trying one. Red or gold potatoes were 2 five-pound bags for $5. Tommy chose red. 

Dole Cole slaw and salad mixes were 2 for $2, bought two coleslaws. Pictsweet frozen vegetables were two bags for $5. The only thing I wanted that was left was the chopped broccoli. This will be for chicken and rice. He picked out four Vidalia onions at $.99/lb. 

I only slept three hours last night after going to bed for or five times. Sleep would not come. Finally at noon I slept for three hours. Hopefully, I can sleep tonight. 

The people across the street were firing up the grill when we left the house at about 4 pm and there was a crowd when we got home a little after 5 pm. 

Tommy was tired so said he would water tomorrow. One of my blueberry bushes has blossoms. The other bush looks like a four-foot dead stick. 

The pillow for raising my legs has been here since the 24th and still is not fully "inflated." That is four days, two days more than the 48 hours it should have taken. 

Today, we did no decluttering, but we did get a few, very few, things back where they go. That is a little progress, right? 

Friday, the skies were murky with smoke from Canadian fires. Today, the skies were a brilliant blue. have your skies been murky with the smoke?  

Today, Tommy chopped the ground meat and browned it. While he was browning it, I chopped a huge Vidalia onion and half went into the ground beef. The rest will be used this week. 

Dinner: Tommy had salad with onions, ham, and another vegetable. I had a sandwich--keto bread, MW, huge slice of beefsteak tomato, and spinach and other greens. This was a 6-carb meal. 

I will try tomorrow and Tuesday and see if they have more pork butts. 

Did you find good deals this week? What are you having for Memorial Day? Are you cooking out? Going away? To a parade? Do you have veterans in your family?

Ads This Week

 Publix had no paper ads in the store on Wednesday as they had not received any. Last night, I pored the ads as well as I could on the internet. When Tommy asked about an ad, a manager said he was leaving right then to go pick up ads from another store. 

There were deals I wanted. By the time Tommy arrived at 1 pm, there were no mushrooms that were bogo. They arrived at the store and did not meet the store standards. Tommy would have gotten anything even though I told him they had to be really white. 

At Sam's when we went, I found 10 cans of tuna packaged together for a bit under $11, about $10.98. So, I got those since tuna is much more expensive nowadays. At Publix, 4 cans of tuna in a package are 2 packages for $6. That makes it $0.75/can, cheaper only 5 years ago. This is StarKist Chunk Light in water, 5 ounces. I told Tommy to get as many as he wanted. Since there were only 5 packages left, he got four. It seems "2 for" means you have to buy two to get the special price. He had remembered that. These will go fast at this price, so I will probably get four more before the ad goes off. Is this a sign of prices going down or just my good luck?

Planter's Peanuts in a jar are bogo, forgot what price. But, I will get these because he gets the ones with full salt. I get the lightly salted ones. 

There was a Publix bag for 99 cents. I had Tommy get that one. It is heavy recyclable polypropylene. It is smaller than I wanted but okay. As I took off the tag that ties the handles together, I decided to open it and see exactly the size. I struggled a bit and finally looked inside. This bag has dividers, four of equal size. Maybe they each would hold a bottle of wine or catsup. Interesting. I have never seen a cheap store bag with dividers. I will go over the ad again, and so will Tommy. But, I will wait for a paper ad. 

By the way, Tommy could not reach the tuna on the very bottom shelf so had to get a very young woman to get it up. So, the store put the best tuna deal out of sight? Not an accident! Well, I went back in later and the sale tuna was on a side of the endcap front and center.

When I went in to get the ad, I decided to shop. Tomatoes (bogo)are needed for Mediterranean pasta. We needed peanut butter, so I got Skippy Natural, 40 oz for Tommy, 15 oz size for me. I bought four more 4-packs of tuna, 16 cans in all. With the 16 cans Tommy bought this morning and the 8 cans left from Sam's purchase, we have 40 cans, enough for 10 months with dates of 2026 on the last 32 we got today. 

Tommy bought the thick tote bag with four sections. But, this afternoon, the manager had no idea, had never seen them. He was very jovial today and just gave me two bags. I kept asking how much are they. Free. Well, okey dokey.

I was getting faint, so I bought a banana and got a spoon from the deli and had banana and pb to get my blood sugar up a bit. It sure felt good to eat. 

Then, we went to the Pig to get the ad. I shopped because I did not want the free item to run out. Eggs were free with $10 purchase. I got those, 3 Vidalia onions. I got two little packages of sugar free Jello. The receipt is in the bag with eggs, so I am not sure what else I bought. 

When I took the eggs inside the house, I checked to see all were whole. They were. Then, as I held the egg carton, I saw a price of 99 cents on the carton with a marker. I picked up the eggs from the bin where the free ones were located. But, these were from another bin with eggs that were expiring on Friday, May 12, 2023. So, now I need to go back and get the exchange. Using the app may be hard, but they will do it, I know. Tommy was a little horrified when I told him I got more eggs. "We don't have enough room." Cooking tonight emptied on of the cartons of 18. So, we don't have the problem he thinks. 

I have said I was going to make salmon croquettes for the last week or more. Tonight, I did. Three eggs, a can of salmon, onions, oats, crackers, salt and pepper. They were delicious. Dinner: Salmon croquettes. green beans, slaw. I had strawberries afterward. We had salmon croquettes with pan fried potatoes and brown gravy. I think we had greens and navy beans. 

Hold me to this. I need to dehydrate celery and Vidalia onions. Both will go into Ball jars for use all year. I won't dice the celery since it is too much on my hands. Besides, I will only use it to put into soup. spaghetti, or on a pan to bake meat or other vegetables. The Vidalia may just be sliced, not diced. 

So far, the brownies have not had a laxative effect. whew! 

Rain came down in torrents tonight, blowing hard. Tommy beamed as he looked out the door. "I don't have to water!" Well, it was dark, so if it had not rained, it was too late to go out to water. Every day, he counts the blossoms on the Stella d' Oro. Today he was so happy there were eight blossoms. He commented that they are doing better than last year. I suppose it a second year thing. I will divide them for next year if that is a thing I can do to get more plants and possible more blossoms without buying a new plant. They are dependable. 

Do you buy Vidalia onions when they are in season? Dehydrate the Vidalia onions to use all year? 

How does your garden grow? I think I saw a blueberry blossom today. 

Eggsciting Price

 This week The Pig has eggs very cheap--$1.76/doz. When I got there I found a better price--$3.06/18 eggs or 1.5 dozen. PLUS, the carton of one dozen on sale was medium eggs, while the carton with 1.5 dozen was EXTRA LARGE. Since I always, well almost always, buy extra-large, I decided to get two cartons of 18 that were extra-large. 

At home we figured the price per egg that we paid. Well, I did pay more for each egg. Cost per egg for medium eggs was 0.15 cents and cost per egg for extra-large was 0.17 cents. So, each egg was $0.02 more.  Okay, a bit more? I doubt it. Medium eggs weigh 55-60 grams. Extra-large eggs weigh 65-70 grams. Since there is a range within each designation, I would have to weigh each egg which I will not do. However, I do believe that the extra-large were actually a smidgen cheaper based on weight which I have not determined. The actual cost per egg, regardless of the size of egg is 15 cents for the sale-priced egg and 17 cents for the ones I bought which are larger. 

I told Tommy I was going to buy 4 dozen, and he did not react well. He said there was no room. Well, I looked and it is crowded in the refrigerator. We need to eat the produce stacked on the one large shelf at the bottom above the crispers which will not easily move in and out, so not used at all. I may go in there and see what is wrong. And, I might go buy more eggs as they will be this price through Tuesday. 

Oh, we still have a carton of 18 still left from a few weeks ago. When I can stand to stand, I will scramble nine, at least, and eat for three mornings. Right now, we have three cartons of eighteen. 

I sprayed the bluebird and hung it up. Maybe the cool and damp will not be good for it. I can sand and respray. We moved all the plants on the porch to the table or corner of the ramp. Tommy won't have to do it. I believe rain is better for plants than tap water. 

Tommy washed clothes and I hung them. Now, the bathroom rugs are in the washing machine and it's getting dark. He put them in when I turned on the dishwasher, so he stopped it. I suppose he will go out after dark restart the machine and then go back to bring in the rugs. 

Last night, I decided I would put in the pork roast early, but I forgot, so that is for Sunday. Plus, we still need to cook the three packages of thighs that are thawed.     

Dinner: Again Tommy had thigh meat and I had chicken breast. He had zucchini noodles, like a salad. Plus, baked carrots and potatoes. I had carrots and mustard greens. We will both have strawberries and blueberries. 

Edit: free item at the Pig was 20 count pack of quart freezer bags, Ziploc, I think.

Short Cooking Video That I Love

 I love this VIDEO.

There is something about it that I love. It is nine minutes long, but wonderful.

The Video Below, not so much. Oh shoot. Just click on the words Video Below in the sentence before this sentence. 

Well, I discovered there are several other videos of this family cooking over a fire and eating with their hands.

How do you feel about these videos? Interesting? Makes you hungry? Relaxing? 

Discombobulated Sunday

 I would have taken notes as the day went on the explain it. I think it started when I tumbled over and into the walker. Of course the story would involve sleep or the lack thereof. 

I rarely know if the cleaner is coming on Sunday, so I get up anyway at 9 am. Saturday night, I did not sleep a wink. So, at 8 am, I got up, got ready, ate, and waited. Around 10 am, I went to bed. I slept for a few hours, got up for a while, laid back down and slept a bit. 

Before I staggered off and collapsed again, I put chicken drumsticks in a cooking bag. Tommy peeled four potatoes, and I trimmed them. He arranged them, added the onion I peeled and sliced,  and I put the drumsticks in and closed the bag. I had seasoned the chicken and put a bit of water into the bag. I think I was in the bed before he got the pan in the oven. 

I told him to get it out, have dinner and put it in the refrigerator. Well, I awoke just as he was taking it out. 

I never did get the day combobulated. I mainly lived through it. I could not sleep through Sunday night, so I was up and went back to bed a 8 am and slept until 11:30. 

Tuesday started off late but well. Maybe I have combobulated it all today. The other day, Tommy took my flip phone in to get pictures from my phone. It does not have a place to put an sd card like my last one did. So, I was to take it in to Walgreen's and they could put it on a disc. But, the pictures I wanted were not accessible. I was told to get the charging cord, plug the usb into laptop and other end into phone. We will see. 

I am not exhausted at all, barely tired. It is a miracle. And, knee is not hurting. So, we will go out and plant one flower and two packages of seeds. The oregano is coming back! 

Sunday, I was discommoded every way I turned. But, today has gone smoothly. But, Tommy is in the mood to argue loudly. 

Tommy finally got the mower on the phone. So, the yard will be mowed this week. About time. Our is the only shaggy yard on the street. 

Tommy will have chicken legs, carrots, potatoes, and zucchini--all leftovers. I will have frozen chicken breast, a bit of potato, carrots, and salad. 

Tommy needs to find more frozen meat to thaw so I can cook it. I need to bake some of the sweet potatoes we bought last September. 

Do you ever have a whole day that gets discombobulated? 

We Are Back

 It seems we are over the worst of covid. However, I tire easily. Tommy said he does, too. I can tell by looking at him as he does things like bringing in the groceries. 

Late Thursday night, my left knee quit hurting as quickly as it started. That meant the trip to the grocery store was not painful. However, after I came home from the grocery, it started hurting a bit again. I have to use the walker around the house, but the pain is less. 

Tommy went into Publix when I did and bought pepsi and Coke. He is drinking about five cans a day. I drink maybe a whole or half. Today, I bought zucchini, milk again, cookies, tomatoes, bag of onions, and something else. 

Tonight, we cooked. YAY! Carrots, potatoes, zucchini, onions, celery. We had the frozen, baked chicken we thawed last night. Tommy put bbq sauce on his. We forgot about the slaw.

When Tommy had a fever, he had the reddest face I have seen. It looked like he had a suntan and red feverish face on top of that. No matter how high my fever, I just have pale pink cheeks. When I was making slaw, he said it would hurt his throat because of the vinegar. So, I made the slaw with only a tsp of vinegar. It was sweet. However, he refused to try it, afraid it would hurt his throat which, apparently, hurt much worse than my throat. Today, when he got out of the shower, he said, "It sure feels good to get wet and clean all over." 

It is going to rain all night until early tomorrow. I hate that the grass will be wet, or that it might be raining for Easter Egg Hunts. We may go watch the one in the park like we did other years. 

Yes, we survived covid, but we both tire very easily, me more than Tommy. 

Nothing Sunday

 Of course, my lack of sleep is front and center again. Three hours for Saturday and two naps on Sunday seems to have me back to my normal pain level...lol. And, we are rewatching Home Alone and Home Alone 2. We are so predictable and boring. I know. 

Saturday, Tommy took a small bin and emptied the table to my left. It was stacked with all sorts of detritus of my life. I took a wet tissue and cleaned part of the glass. Now, I need to get a toothbrush and try to clean the area between the glass top and the wood rim around that top. The glass is beveled and there is a metal piece between the glass and beveled wood. 

Tommy took items off the top because I could not stand and bend to do it. And, I could not twist my body around, either. I just hope I can complete the cleaning of the top, by which I mean the fiddly place between glass and wood. He refused to allow me to use anything as a coaster, so for three years I have had sweaty glasses, bottles, and cans on it daily. It is a miracle the surface is not ruined. Amazingly, there is no damage. 

The sorting of the bin will yield lots of fodder for his new shredder. He loves ripping up paper, so I hope he enjoys the shredder. 

When I finish cleaning this table, even before I sort the bin, I will start on the table to my right. It has larger items, not so much paper at all. Both tables are 25 inches square. Huge! The table with the glass top was given to him by his last girlfriend when she moved out of state. He has an identical glass topped table in the corner of the kitchen. The table to the right of me is one I found on the curb and asked him to bring it here for me about five years ago. He thinks it is his. Not so. Oh, the love seat he had was also hers. 

Both tables have a full shelf underneath. They are very handy, but dust catchers. Picture a half inch of dust. Yes, it was that bad when I moved here, but he would not allow me to remove it even for my health. Dusting either table shelf is beyond me! I will attach a towel to one of his canes to dust those as I sit since bending that far would be impossible. 

This is the second time we have watched both Home Alone movies. Tommy just informed me we are watching them Thursday, too. They will have little sections of commentary during the movie. I wish we could just see the commentary. But, it's okay. 

Dinner: leftovers--chicken, rice, broccoli, butternut squash. I froze the leftover taco soup and chicken cooked with carrots and potatoes. Tomorrow, I will cook the other package of bscb with carrots and zucchini. 

I have finished buying present for Lynda and have NOT opened the Kisses for her! I need to assemble it and wrap it. I don't think she reads this blog, but you never know. Now, I have to figure out what to get for Tommy. I will probably leave the flashlight as one of his Christmas gifts. The upcoming birthday is all set for gifts.

This week, temperatures will be in 70s for three days and 60s for two days--my kind of weather! 

How was your weekend? What are the plans for your week? Do you just hate dusting? I didn't when I was younger.

Saturday Recovery

 We went to bed at 12:30 after a hard day on Friday. I got up at 1:45 to get something from my table in the living room. Tommy was sound asleep, holding the remote and tv on. I spoke loudly twice and told him to turn off the tv. He acted confused, and rightly so. Then, he just closed his eyes. I hate to yell at him, so I just went back to the bedroom. Just now, he said he turned it off. 

I got up once more in the night to go to bathroom. The next time I woke was 11:15 am. I felt bruised all over. It is 8 pm and I still feel bruised all over. I had a sandwich for lunch and ate peanuts a few minutes ago. 

There are leftovers--baked chicken breast and vegetables to eat, but I made something else. Chicken in soup, rice, cheese, 12 ounce package of broccoli, and pimientos. There is still taco soup, so I will freeze the rest of that tonight. There is still the other package of chicken thawing. I will cook it and have many packages of frozen breasts for other meals. 

Tommy had to help me with this dinner, heavy help. It was also too heavy for me to try to put it in the oven. Dinner is late because I didn't realize how long it would take me. 

Today, I started decluttering by cleaning out a bin of paper. Tomorrow, Tommy will go through the paper and get my name and person information off. I usually just rip my name off and put it in something gooey and wet. He cuts it off and takes scissors and gives it a good shredding. He will do this for hours each time. I remembered the other thing I wanted to get him for his birthday--a shredder. His birthday is on Dec 9th. When I have mentioned this before, he has yelled mightily and objected. I see this paper as a detriment to decluttering paper. So, we need this. It will help with decluttering. 

Saturday, I went to visit the Tupperware lady who told me she would be there on this date. She has a tent in a parking lot and brought things to my car. 

I went into Publix to get one thing on bogo and they did not have it out. I bought $43 worth of stuff that looked good and they finally found the item in the back--$5 more. In my defense, the pork loins were a good price and delicious. I will only buy this one quart of eggnog. 

The Christmas cards for the exchange finally got stamps. I forgot where I put the Christmas stamps, so these got winter flowers in the snow. 

That's it. Nothing else was done. I am in my snuggly nightgown with pockets. Dinner will be done soon. A Christmas Story is on TV. I love this movie! I asked Tommy if he ever wanted a BB gun when he was a kid. No. However, his father did buy him a shotgun for Christmas when he was about twelve-years-old. !!! His eleven-year-old brother received a shotgun the same Christmas. They lived in the city of Birmingham! 

Dinner had an off taste, not sure why. 

When you were little did you want a BB gun or get a shotgun? 

How about your husband? 

Your brothers or sisters? 

Children? 

Do you love A Christmas Story, also? 

A Beautiful Beginning and End to Sunday

Plus, it was good all day...lol. 

Today dawned bright, beautiful, and cold! Cold is okay as long as it is sunny and dry. I slept well and long! We went for a short drive, and while we were out, I stopped by The Pig to see if I could find pie crusts. I did. The place was so crowded! Pie crusts will probably be on sale in the Tuesday ads since I bought them this week at regular price. I don't want to take a chance. I did buy two, thinking we don't even need one pie. However, I will make at least one pie for Thanksgiving and pie when we actually eat a turkey dinner the next week. So, today, I bought another package of two. 

This next bit was cute, funny, sad, not sure. But, definitely not a criticism of skills. He just does not know. Really, I need to record every word spoken between us as he swears I always get it wrong. 

For some reason Tommy decided to load the dishwasher when I was ill this last week. He said he loaded the utensils into the dishwasher door and "they are all pointing up." That was really nice of him. When I am ill, I am so lethargic. Then, when I was starting to feel better, he said he put all the plates into the dishwasher. Wow, he is getting very helpful. But, I felt guilty. 

When I put in dishes later, I noticed all the plates were facing in one direction. This way, the water stream hit the backs of half of them. So, I started changing half of them, the ones to the right, placing them backing the sides of the dishwasher where they were facing toward a side. He came by as I was doing this and I showed him how it should be done and why. PLUS, the instructions said explicitly to place all dishes facing toward the center of the dishwasher. "So the water from the center hits all dirty surfaces." I kept changing them until they were right and not trying to get him to fix them. 

He put the plates in again on Saturday and said he got them all facing in the right direction, just like I showed him. I was shocked. Picture this.  The plates were paired facing each other. Two by two. Of course, with the edges of the plates being curved, this configuration practically assured that no water of any amount or force would hit the dirty side of any of the plates. 

I was laughing inside and called him to come and let me show him something. Then, he swore up and down that he did it exactly as I showed him. He said he watched me. Well, obviously he watched and did not see. After a few loud words from both sides, I knew he was just too defensive to listen. Still, he brings it up that I showed him a different way. 

It was cute what he did. Funny! But, I did not laugh or scoff. He is so defensive and has never done anything wrong. EVER. He has never said anything like "sorry" or "I did not know" or "I misunderstood." His answers--"I have done it that way since I was 10." or "All my relatives did it that way" or "everybody I know does it that way" or "that is exactly the way YOU told me to do it." 

When I went to sleep at 7 am on Saturday morning, I awoke at 1:30 and felt awful most of the day. However, I was sleepy early Saturday night and went to bed about 2 am. I realized I have not slept well when I don't wear my new pocket nightgown. When it was wet and hanging to dry, I did not. It has been hard to sleep when the blankets keep sliding off my shoulders. Hopefully, sleep won't be too hard from now on with my shoulders warm and the rest of my body. Of course, I love the length, but it could be six inches longer.

These nightgowns are going to be my day dresses. I hate pants all day! Yes, they will be nightgowns, too.

It has been over 24 hours since I last saw my phone! I take it to bed every night, put it on the nightstand until morning. On the way to bed I sometimes put it on the counter in the kitchen or on bathroom vanity. Often, when I get up in the morning, I find it where I put it on the way to bed. We have looked everywhere. Of course, it is off so I cannot just call my phone. Okay, I found it. I had carried a clothes basket with the new sheets and other things to the bedroom with my phone on top. The basket was beyond my bed, and with no light in the ceiling, I could barely see it. Okay, a day without even using my phone is rare. And, no one called me. 

We were watching Gunsmoke one day when Tommy exclaimed that they all had blue eyes. Five scoundrels were onscreen. I think it is 6% of the people on earth have blue eyes and 100% of the cast of Gunsmoke screen had blue eyes. Tommy commented that Hollywood sure loves blue eyes. Of course, Matt, and Kitty both have blue eyes. 

At 9:30 Sunday night, Tommy went into the kitchen for us. I told him if he would gather everything, I would make a pumpkin pie. So, he is there searching for the spices, cans, and eggs. I could have gone in and stood while he got things out. This will make things so much easier on my back. I even had him get out the right measuring cups and measuring spoons. So, I need to get out the mixer and a bowl. Good deal! I think I can get a pie into the oven without spilling it more easily than he can. I will start at 10:30 after the news. So, I suppose pumpkin pie will happen at midnight.

Okay, the pumpkin pie will be out at 12:15. Actually, it is two pumpkin pies. So, one for each of us. I am a pig when it comes to pumpkin pie. Mama made a pumpkin pie that was about 3/4 inch thick or whatever goes into a regular bought pie pan, not deep dish. I certainly hope it doesn't taste bad. 

I knew I had a can of Pet Milk, but it had a date of Jan 2022, so I had him take the top completely off. It seemed clabbered. The new can was smooth and no clots. 

Pumpkin is my favorite pie of those I make. And, I don't even want one if I did not make it. 

What is your favorite pie that you make? Do you like pumpkin pie?

Dogs in Clothes, Rotten Raspberries, Tommy "Cooks"

 I did a double take because my noisy neighbors had a new dog. No, the black dog had on a grey dog coat/sweater that has four legs. So, the black dog appeared to be a light gray dog with black feet. 

Lynda's dog was in the yard with a red coat on and looking proud. Lynda said she came right over and stood still to get the coat on and pranced around afterwards. When Lynda wanted to take the coat off, the dog kept backing off, wanting to keep it on. Funny. 

Remember how I bought three containers of raspberries and had to take back two? Well, I got two more to take their place. AND, they were bad, too. So, I took those back, got my money back. No more raspberries. One container is frozen.

Then, I went to one store, bought three more warm nightgowns and a few miscellaneous items. The truth is--I don't remember what I bought! We had one more chore and came home about 4 pm. Since I slept well, warm in my new warm nightgown, I did not feel a need for a nap. YAY! 

Thursday, I put a chicken in the refrigerator to thaw. About noon today, I put it in a stockpot in the sink, filled it with water to thaw it. After we watched the news tonight, we baked it. I say "we" because Tommy was heavily involved. I told him I would give him credit he earned. 

I stood at the sink, hanging on and groaning in pain, he turned on the oven. He got out a pan, the cooking bag from the box and held the bag while I put the hen inside. He got the carrots from the refrigerator, opened them, and helped get the baby carrots into the bag with the chicken. I managed to put the fastener on the bag to shut it and poked knife holes.  Then, I hobbled back to sit in the living room. He made all this prep go faster with less pain for me.

Oh, before I put the hen in the bag, he got the flour out and sort of shook some from the quart jar into the bag. I did manage to shake the cooking bag to coat it with flour. He got all seasonings from the cabinet--salt, pepper, rubbed sage and sprinkled them on the breast of the chicken before I put the hen inside. He put two pieces of celery on top of the hen. He sprinkled powdered onion and powdered garlic on the hen, too. His help is indispensable! Then, he put the chicken in the oven. 

The carrots and celery came from the food giveaway. I had two little snack boxes that had vegetables and hummus. So, I used all the carrots from the two boxes and celery from one of them. There is a bit of broccoli and three grape tomatoes left. 

While the movie was on, I chopped celery and onions. I used the ones I had chopped for dressing. So, there is more chopped. Later, I will take the rest of the breast off the bone. He will remove the rest of the meat from the carcass. 

Dinner--We had baked chicken and carrots and mashed potatoes, Idahoan Three Cheese. There will be meat left for another meal and two lunches. He can have all the potatoes. Carrots are all eaten. We will have a salad. Since dinner was so late, I had crackers and cheese and he had a bagel. 

If I feel like it tonight, I will feel for another turkey, turkey breast, or chicken in the refrigerator and put it in the refrigerator to thaw. 

Very few foods taste right lately. It must be the antibiotic I am taking. Tommy said the mashed potatoes tasted okay. I could barely eat them.

Tonight, we watched Christmas in Connecticut and The Bishop's Wife. To say they were both wonderful is an understatement. 

Tomorrow, the plan is to stay home! I will bake the sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving and remove the skins.  

How do your dogs feel about wearing clothes--sweaters or coats or tshirts, whatever you put on them or try to put on them? Or, do you believe dogs should not wear clothes? 

Do you need help or get help in order to get a meal on the table in a timely manner? I can do this and take longer and hurt more. But, he comes to me and helps when I ask. It saves time and pain. 

What are your plans for Saturday? 

Saturday Football, Amazon Problem

 

See the package? See the narrow porch? See the ramp? Picture compliments of Amazon.

By noon on Saturday, I have gotten rid of another box. I put the two thermoses back into the bottom cabinet since they can easily be removed for applying contact paper. Another box will go to the curb with two nasty, pitted aluminum pots and a flashlight that may or may not be any good. The other free box will go to the thrift store since no one wanted it. 

Okay, later in the afternoon and I have emptied two boxes and cleared up precious floor space! One box is at the road with free stuff. He will cut up the other box. Two boxes of instant flavored oatmeal packs are in the trash along with old pepper. There was a plastic piece that was broken and appeared to come from a coffeemaker. One covered dish will go into the dishwasher. I did find a sticky JC Penney bag with Christmas items--about half dozen paper plates with maybe a dozen cocktail napkins to match, and very large luxurious feeling plaid Christmas napkins, two dozen or more. So, we will use those. His gas heat makes things sticky when kept and not used and washed for years. 

This afternoon will be devoted to planting spring bulbs in pots. I will be wearing a mask. There are pink tulips and purple that I will plant in the same pot. Alliums will be on their own. Of course, this won't take all afternoon since Tommy is planning on watching the Alabama game about 2:30 and Auburn around 6 pm. He will likely go to the thrift store to drop off a load without balking or wanting to watch TV. 

Yesterday, as we sat in the car in the shade for thirty minutes in another neighborhood, five little boys at a house were playing outdoors. Suddenly, two of the little boys very unselfconsciously faced a bushed at the front corner of the house and relieved themselves. They continued their conversation and playing. This must be their normal bathroom. The five boys were between the ages of 4- and 6-years-old. They ran, jumped off the porch, climbed, rolled, and all in good spirits. There seemed not to be an ill thought for the whole thirty minutes. You could see they were laughing and talking, but it was not loud at all. It was fun to see their antics. 

Every day, I learn something new about the family next door. I thought there was a man, woman, and four children. It turns out there are two women and four children. Tommy today said the guys we saw moving do not live there. The person he thought was a man is not! We really don't care who they are, but it sort of shakes the foundation of who the neighbors are since Tommy told me there was a husband and wife! Four dogs still continually bark and bark at us when we are in the yard. That bothers me. Their personal lives do not!

Well, I managed to let Tommy become interested in Alabama game instead of going to the yard. I took a short nap and certainly don't care, but the plan for bulbs is shot. He will be rooted to his chair when Auburn comes on, so I am letting it go. I will be cooking a pan of vegetables--zucchini, yellow squash, and onion. If he peels potatoes, I may cook a pan of potatoes. Both can go in the oven at the same time. I would cook them together, but potatoes take longer to cook. A preformed, very thin burger will round off this meal with plenty of vegetables for another day. I have chicken breast. 

Friday night, I did some mending that has been here while I was ill for the last month or so. It seems I start to get things under control and then I start getting sick again. Tommy notices how I do things like carrying my plate back to the kitchen, throw away Kleenex, toss water bottles, and generally move from my chair. 

I just now had the most infuriating encounter with a delivery person. I saw a plain van pull up in front of the house. Then, a delivery person loped to the house carrying a package. THEN, instead of using the ramp, he ran and put it on the porch beyond the ramp where Tommy would have to drive his walker past a flowerpot to retrieve the package. He is not that stable. If I got the package, I might tumble off the very narrow porch, too. 

After I scrambled out of my chair, I rushed as best I could to the door, opened the door and bellowed at the driver who was on the other side of the van starting to get in. I suppose all the neighbors heard, too. I yelled, "Can you see the ramp? Does that not tell you we have trouble walking and you put the package down where we cannot reach it? Bring it to the door!" 

Delivery guy: "I didn't want to put it in front of the door." 

Me: "There is plenty of room next to the door! Put it there." 

He disappeared, climbed onto the porch, brought it to the left of the door. I told him to hand it to me since he was there and I was holding the door open. I don't understand what is the problem with using the ramp. Another ten seconds? 

I would have had to close the door, get my shoes, and struggle to get out the door, pick up the package, throw or place in the house and struggle to get back in, and pick it up again, so did not feel bad about the extra five seconds he spent picking it up and handing it to me. 

I went straight to the delivery notification to report this, did so. The guy gave me five months rebate on the monthly Prime delivery charge. Okay, let's see if the delivery changes. I have complained about tossed packages, all beyond our reach about a dozen times. Does the ramp say to you that people here might have mobility problems? 

So, we are between football games. I only catch the replays. Tommy has gone to get the potatoes and I will  be washing and slicing the rest of the vegetables. At least, we can now get to the refrigerator and open it. I may piddle at decluttering as the night goes on. 

The flowers and herbs are done on the porch. Nothing will happen out there until allergy season slacks for me. We will do a bit for Halloween.

Do you have problems with deliveries? USPS is just as bad. 

Wednesday Continued Through Thursday

 When the guys emptied all the cabinets in order to have them clean inside the cabinets, there were boxes of stuff just stacked in the floor filled with items. Well, Tommy was upset that I was going to throw out his stuff. I was not. So, Wednesday night, I tired of having the top of the box that sticks out scrape my leg when I tried to walk in the kitchen. He was adamant that it was all junk and needed to go in the trash. Eventually, he was raising his voice. I could see one of my Tupperware lids and did not know what else below was mine. He did not want to put FREE on the box and place it on the side of the road. He insisted either trash or thrift store. I was having neither. He did not even want me to go through it, saving him the effort. I insisted I had to look at the contents. 

So, he begrudgingly brought the box in for me to empty and go through. There was another one of my T lids. AND, all his good glasses, here from forty-years ago as housewarming gifts. He calmed down a bit when he saw those. They are now in the dishwasher. I did toss a lid lid from a pitcher he wanted tossed this summer. And, there were stored deli containers and tops, none of which matched--trash. I found two of the Kraft Parmesan shakers I washed and a sandwich box that I kept. 

We tossed the carafe from a long-gone coffeemaker. He has the carafe from the last old coffeemaker in the cabinet to use to put water in the new coffeemaker. So, that third one was definitely redundant. He wanted to toss it, so I did. I kept two decent pieces of plastic for gardening. Three of my Ball jars, lids, and rings were in the box, so they were rescued. I imagine this is the last box he will want to toss without looking in it first. So, one box decluttered. That ordeal with the arguing and taking things from the box exhausted me. He had insisted all the boxes were junk. Now, we know. Don't we? 

Drinking tea the last two days has kept me from drinking diet Coke. I just love unsweetened iced tea. Tommy actually got a bottle of water to drink instead of coffee or a diet Pepsi. 

In the Publix ads this week, Miracle Whip is on sale for something like $5.49! I am shocked. By buying at this price, I can save $2.50. Really? How lucky for me. $7.99 will never leave my cc for MW. So, now the hunt will be on for sales on Miracle Whip. I remember when I would cringe when the full price was $4.99. On sale, MW would be $2.50. sigh

I looked through the Publix ad this week and found nothing to circle. I gave it to Tommy. Later, I looked at the ad to see what he circled, and nothing was circled. He said he found nothing. So, back to bummer ads so far this week. I will check the others later.

At The Pig I got a six-pack of Cokes free with $10 groceries--vinegar, zucchini, and something else. When I look over the ads at home and think what I need and is not exorbitantly priced, we will get the 24-pack of water for $.98 by buying another $10 worth of groceries. 

Tommy was driving in front of Publix. People were pulling out of parking places while others were waiting and creeping along, as were we. All of a sudden a woman sort of bounced off the front of our car, putting her hand on Tommy's hood as if to shield herself. I thought he had hit her. No. She was just bouncing off with her hand, not hit, though. She had walked toward us, and then she immediately stepped in front of the car. Tommy slammed on his brake. If she had not been involved with her phone, she would have seen us. The event frightened me even after I realized she was not hit. When she could walk in front of us and was not hit, she immediately went back to her phone. Some days I wonder about people! 

There is a Knorr's Spanish Rice Mix that I believe I got free from The Pig sitting here. I will put a package of thighs in the crockpot to cook on Friday. In about an hour I will put the mix and one of the bell peppers into the crockpot. Tommy loves bell pepper in Spanish rice, so this is for him on other nights.

Maybe we will go through another box! I love decluttering, especially now that I know Tommy is agreeable to going through this junk that was in his cabinets. 

Do you ever have to urge someone you know to declutter or at least watch while you declutter. Take note, I am not trying to get him to get rid of anything. He would have lost his good glasses if I had given in to his wish to be rid of it all and drop the box into the garbage can outdoors.  

Tonight, I am putting carrots, potatoes, another bell pepper, and an onion in the oven. The chicken I cooked last night will be served tonight, too. It was delicious, but I had no onions. I put garlic powder and celery seeds and olive oil in the bag to cook. 

Thursday night, I am somewhat better but tire easily when I think I can work a bit.

Have you had a close call that scared you when you or driver almost hit someone talking on a phone? What have you decluttered lately?