Groceries, Stainless Steel, Coughing

 I need to get better so I don't send Tommy into a grocery store. He comes out with too many snack foods, all very salty. Fritos, Doritos, potato chips. I would buy one bag for him when it was bogo. No, he gets both of them. He even bought two Ruffles for me, and I am trying to avoid salt. 

Last night, I managed to make a list from all three stores. Publix had the most deals. I did find green beans for $0.39/can. I had him buy one can to see if we liked them. It is a brand I have bought before. The use by date is 22 Nov 2023. Well, pooh! That is not very good. 

We got food we needed and was bogo, nothing else:

2 Doritos 2 for $10

Organic Baby Carrots  2 1-lb bags organic $3

3 half gallons a2milk @$4.99 not on sale

2 Jello pudding 2@$1.79

Kleenex 3 boxes for $5

Hall's Mentholyptus Cough Drops 2@$2.77

Honey Nut Cheerios 2for $5.46

Red potatoes 5lb for $3.49

pork tenderloin @for $8.99

on Wednesday we stopped at the farmer's market and bought squash. It was not small like I like, but reduced to $3, so less that the usual $5 and more squash. 

Spice Island spices are in glass containers. They were bogo, and the spices I needed are sold out. We got two rainchecks, one for the Spice Island and another for moon grapes. I just want a few to try.

I try to go shop before Thursday since some people do their weekly shopping on Thursday. But, he always assures me that there will be plenty for us. 

I had to send him back since he bought two pounds of baby carrots for $3.49 and not organic, just more expensive. Well, I did not send him. He asked if he should return, so I said to go. 

Earlier in the week, we bought four bananas. When I opened the first one, there were little black nodules all over the banana. I feared it was some banana bug. Maybe it was fungus. They looked the shape and almost the size of an apple seed. ALL FOUR BANANAS had these nodule-like growths. 

I was saving one piece of banana with the black things to return. All I had left was down in the main bag still in the garbage. We did get a refund and bought more bananas. We can afford to throw away four bananas. But, I refuse to do so. 

At the Pig a can of corn or green beans is free with the purchase of $10. I forgot what we will get tomorrow.

Coughing is all I do, it seems! I take guaifenesin for the congestion which facilitates loosening my chest. I do use my inhaler. I am exhausted!

The Hall's cough drops are already stuffed into a Ball quart jar to keep them from going soft and sticking to the little paper in which they are wrapped. Someone pointed out that vacuum sealing would be better. But, how handy is that for opening a dozen times? Plus, there are plenty of Ball jars in my possession, most bought on sale. I have thrown away a small fortune in cough drops over the years, yet I have not thrown away a cough drop in the last five years. 

We still use disposable tumblers even though we never use disposable plates, saucers, bowls or forks and spoons. The tumblers are the last things we need to replace. Glass is easily broken. Tommy has a set of smoke glasses that I hate and he does not want to break. Neither of us has the balance we had. So, I settled on stainless steel for drinking milk or whatever. They are expensive but will not be tossed. I had one stainless steel "glass" but it developed an "off" taste. Has anyone ever had that happen or know why mine did?

Tommy is happy he can watch Auburn on TV now that Disney and Spectrum are playing nice. I know he enjoys Auburn and Alabama and the Iron Bowl. So, we were going to figure out how to watch the Iron Bowl, at least. 

I am limp from coughing and typing at the same time, hoping for accuracy in my keystrokes. Tommy will heat our dinners--chicken for me and sausage patty for him, potatoes, carrots, green beans. He will take it all out of the refrigerator and I will fill my plate and heat it. Actually, some times he has filled my plate, heated it, and brought it to me. 

The heat is still here but not so brutal. Plus, the humidity is lower. Good deal! 

Does anyone have a theory as to why expensive stainless drinking vessel would develop an off taste?

Did you find any good deals this week?

Barely Here

 I am better. The fever is gone. The cough just seems to get worse. Exhaustion floods me. I know I will get better, but it seems a while off right now. Until this afternoon, I had not been out of the house except once. Still, I have not gone in a store. 

Sunday, I wanted a Whopper; Monday, a chicken tender; Tuesday, Arby's, a beef and cheddar, minus red ranch. Other than those, I had cereal, fruit, few vegetables, little bread. 

Well, I wrote the above and had to take a nap. Wednesday, I managed to clean up and slice up the potatoes Tommy peeled, carrots, orange pepper, and onion which Tommy cooked in the oven. I had meatballs from the freezer, and he had ground beef with onions, cooked to put in spaghetti or something. Later, I had half an apple and bowl with yogurt and blueberries. 

I am eating a bit more each day. But, the lethargy is deeper, it seems. I can talk but barely. One of the worst parts of this is the nasty taste the Paxlovid causes in my mouth! 

One day when Tommy was in grocery, I called and had him tracked down in the store to call me. Well, I told him to get me flowers. He said that he already had me something. "okay"  It was a pack of 9 brownies, not what I wanted. Of course, I ate them. It seems that before my birthday I had said I do not need cake and ice cream, that a brownie sounded better. Well, this was more than one brownie and had icing, not how I like a brownie. 

So, a few minutes ago, I mentioned flowers. Little reaction. I will have to get them myself with his card. He did mention yesterday going to a jewelry store to buy me a necklace. I need to hurry and get better. 

I wasted the peaches, letting them get very over-ripe because I could not even peel them. Same with plums. I was going to cut both and store. The peaches were delicious. Tommy did not even try one, and he likes peaches. 

There were three places I wanted to eat, but I did not feel like going there. Of course, that was for whole month, so maybe I will feel like doing pickup later, maybe next week. So, there was no celebrating. But, I did live to be 77! There will be other days. He did sing "Happy Birthday" to me on my birthday. 

He used the fertilizer spikes I bought for the Meyer Lemon tree. It seemed to green up some the next day. All the leaves were becoming sort of yellow. I thought it was just turning for Fall. Maybe not. 

We saw a sign on a pickup truck and decided to see what the people were selling. They were giving away free puppies. They were black lab with "some collie." They were mixed with Border Collie. That is what Sadie was. She was the only dog I ever had for my own. But, she was killed getting in the road at about 5 months. I really wanted one of these dogs, but we are barely able to care for ourselves, and the dog cannot be an indoor dog. Sadie came from the back of a pickup truck too, at Lacon Flea Market.

I keep having to rest. I touch-type very well, but this has been a burden to correct what I type. Believe me, it was illegible. It's like my fingers forgot where the keys are.

Okay, I am back to recovery mode. 

What did you accomplish today? 

Plans for this weekend?

Again, Unfortunately

 Covid again. I only didn't wear my mask one time this last week. Person got too close despite my warning. Now, tells me to be safe. Lost my voice and have to write notes to Tommy.

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. 

Bent Every Which Way But Straight

 

                                                                         (not him)

Tuesday night, I lowered my chair and was met with resistance and a weird sound.  The chair raising mechanism was toast, it appeared. Well, finally, it worked. Something had slipped under the chair and in the lift mechanism. The whole chair is now whomperjawed. The left side of the footrest is lower than the right. The seat lists to the left. The left arm is lower. This throws off my whole body. 

When I awoke this morning, my left knee would not hold me up. I slept like a log for about seven hours. I must have slept wrong on my knee. Or, the chair not sitting right could be the problem, maybe both.

After I got up from a nap, just now, the pain in my left knee is worse. I managed to get to my chair. Then, I had Tommy bring in my walker. Hopefully, using it to get to the sink to wash my hair will work. The pain is so bad, my knee just collapses. 

Now, Tommy is back to getting things for me. Usually, my knee stops hurting just as quickly as it starts. Not this time. I may have to resort to an aspirin along with the cream I am using. NOW, I cannot walk without knee collapsing and extraordinary pain. 

Thursday

Well, I just figured out Sunday is Easter. Walking is no better. 

Today, Tommy drove me to Publix--slaw mix, lettuce, carrots, milk, bread, apples, bananas, strawberries, Halls Mentholyptus cough drops, eggs, two chocolate Lindt Easter Bunnies for Easter. When I got in the car, I told Tommy I bought a slice of carrot cake to share tonight. He was very effusive with "Oh GOOD!" We enjoyed it. 

We picked up eight more covid tests. I am still negative. These tests were so hard and confusing. Okay, the directions left out things. So, I wasted the first test. There are six more. 

Tonight, I gave Tommy instructions to put eggs on to boil. Well, he put the lid on the pot. Why? I was timing them with lid off, but at least I managed to get in the kitchen to see it. He left frozen meat on the counter to thaw. Why?

Tommy's voice is suffering as he sounds like a very old man whose voice is soft but still low. I hope it comes back. He told me my voice is not back yet, either. He said it sounds hollow. I have no idea what that is. 

We planned nothing for this weekend as neither of us have much energy or ambition other than to eat well and stay well. 

He is having ham and I am having chicken breast. I think he is opening green beans. I made cole slaw in my recliner. So, we are back in the groove. Since I boiled 6 eggs, I had one with a sliver of butter on the hot egg. I will make one into two deviled eggs for me and the other four will go into potato salad. 

The eggs peeled perfectly since I used really old eggs. I need to color some just because it is Easter. We do have our chocolate bunnies, but I think we need colored eggs of some sort. I am not sure where my molds for Jello eggs are hiding. 

I forgot to call about getting the chair repaired. Since tomorrow is Good Friday, I doubt I will get much of a response.

On Friday, we need to go to the grocery store again since I did not get everything we need. Tommy is going in with an electric cart, too. Today, I hit a table with Easter cookies and pastries on it and was so embarrassed! They added a table in the aisle, so it was easy to hit. I did the same thing to the extra table with Christmas cookies. ugh! 

The Sedum Joy is regrowing after the winter. It always does. I think the Gerbera Daisy is the plant with all the green growth. 

What are your Easter plans? 

Have you ever broken a recliner or lift chair? How did you break it?

I Have Enough Now

 Remember when I could not get fluticasone with insurance? My friend in the military gave me three bottles. Then, I got 6 at Sam's for something like $20. I kept getting a notice from CVS that I had a prescription to pick up. Well, my insurance now supposedly does not cover my insurance. But, finally, after notices several days for a week, I went to pick up whatever it was. 

Oh! Fluticasone/Flonase! So, I went and picked it up for $1.45. Two days later, I opened the bag to put it away. There were three bottles of fluticasone. I can handle $.50 per bottle. And none of them will expire before I can use them. I don't need to think about this until the end of 2024. The three free bottles will more than cover what Tommy uses in a year. 

I was thinking about wanting chocolate. I told Tommy, musing about what I should have. I keep the little hot chocolate mixes, Swiss Miss, I think. I may have three all winter long. Plus, I keep chocolate chips and count out just a few, maybe 8, to soothe my chocolate craving. Tommy said the thought of chocolate made him feel yuck. Throughout this whole ordeal, I have not lost my craving for chocolate. 

Today, as we left the driveway to go on two errands, I discovered that everyone who lives around here has the suv type that has a pickup front. All this time, I have been clueless. I am just not in tune with cars. 

Now that Tommy has "recovered" and refuses to do anything I say he should do, he is not doing the things that helped him to get better. His OA was 94 and two days later, it is 93. He refuses to take a deep breath and cough. He just pants out a little cough and is happy getting out a bit of phlegm. He gurgles all night and all day and never makes a concerted effort to expel anything from his lungs and clear up the gurgling and low roar than emanates from his chest. He swears there is nothing in his lungs. This is not voodoo, witchy herbs, just breathing I am suggesting.

I wonder if his 50-year smoking habit is hurting him now. 

I am still very weak. Of course, my insomnia is not helping recovery. But, I do nap as usual. I was going to wash my hair yesterday and today. But, thinking about the energy I would expend makes me rethink. It is filthy and needs color. Oh well. There is always tomorrow or next week.

I had to throw out meat I thawed to cook. Now, I found more meat that Tommy swore was not in the refrigerator! The salad is bad. And, cooked chicken is going in the trash. Last night, I finally got a load of dishes in to wash. We have not used many dishes. But, they are all clean. 

Have you ever lost your taste or desire for chocolate? 

Puzzled

 Tommy is getting better. Sunday night, thanks to my ministrations, he was well enough to curse me, liberally using the F word toward me. Today, he is refusing my back pounding, saying it does not help at all. His chest is sstill gurgling! He is so smart that, you know, I just have to defer to his superiority. He refuses to breathe deeply or try to cough up anything. I guess he wants to stew in phlegm. He is lucky I don't have a violent bone in my body or violent thought in my head. 

I drove to get his antiviral this afternoon and he refuses to take it. He said the pharmacist said to wait until tonight, so ten hours after med acquisition, he will take it. There is no reasoning with him. The pharmacist told him this at noon. So, Tommy will wait until 10 pm or later. It makes no sense. It really is hard to feel sorry for him with all the abuse he is putting me through. 

Without his asking, I bring water and take away empties. But, Sunday, he was so ill, he asked me to bring him water. He also asked for cheese. That was just before his recovery and cursing me. I carried away five pepsi cans. He never asks me for a pepsi, so I am surprised he has three more empty cans.

Yesterday, when we went to pharmacy, I asked him if he wanted something to eat. No. Then, on the way back, I asked him again. He wanted fries. At home, he was gobbling fries. I have never seen him eat so fast. The day before when he ate the chicken noodle soup, he was eating it so fast that I was astounded. He just needs to get food in front of him. That is why I tempted him with fries since he loves them and rarely gets them. 

Since I plan to go to the grocery store tomorrow, I will push myself to wash my hair tonight. I need apples and bananas. Neither of us will run out of milk at the rate we are drinking milk. I may have to toss meat I did not cook. Too bad. My hands still shake at times. We may just get cooked meat from the freezer instead of thawing meat to cook. That is what the cooked meat is for. We will finish the taco soup tonight. Tommy said he can eat some of that. Okay, I checked and had to toss two meats I did not get cooked this last week. Too bad. 

Overnight Sunday night into Monday morning, there was some kind of weather that Tommy said shook the house. I sleep through stuff like that. 

It is difficult to keep things picked up around here. One day last week, I got up from my chair and Kleenex and cough drop papers and all sorts of stuff fell off me. When, I came back to my chair, I was shocked at the litter. 

Okay, off to heat up the taco soup and open a can of peaches. In a nasty tone, he said the soup should have more water because he wants liquid. He only wants water added and is getting mean about it. I will add cheese to the top of mine and water to his. 

Have you ever experienced anyone who gets nasty toward caregiver/helper upon recovery?

Ambulance

 Around ten last night, I got out the oximeter to put on Tommy's finger. I thought he might object. I told him to give me his index finger. He gave me his middle finger. No, not that way. Finally, I got the oximeter on his finger. Then, I struggled upright and to my chair. In about a minute after putting it on his finger, I asked him about the numbers on it. He said he would see and reached toward his table! He said I told him to take it off when I left him. I said, "Don't take it off." As usual he said that "take it off" was the last thing he heard me say. 

He tried to put it back on and could not. I kept saying "squeeze it" as he tried to pry if open sideways. He refused to quit breaking it until I raised my voice. I got it back by having him toss it to me. I held it up and showed him how to look at the notch and squeeze there. Well, this is not going well. Finally, he did get it on his finger but sideways.  I went over and put it on before he broke it. I can only stand so long, plus, I am still weak.

He cannot hear well along with his selective hearing. Now this. My voice has not recovered and is not strong. Communication is iffy. 

His OA was 89. I know that below 90 is not good. So, I called 911 and firemen in a huge firetruck and an ambulance came. They would not come in but had him come out. One of them got the lawn chair and put it in front of the door. So, his OA was 94, still not good but not critical. They said the ER would send him home with that level. So, I kept him...lol. 

He used the oximeter after struggling from the bathroom and his breathing was shallow. I was told to let him sit a bit before using it for a better reading. 

It is Sunday about 3 am and I am sitting in the dark listening to him breathe, shallow, raspy breaths. He swears all the gurgling in his throat is from his head not his lungs. Anyway, I did something for him the best I could, something I did for asthmatic daughter and anyone who was coughing and gurgling around me. 

He should have been lying on his stomach, but I had to settle for his sitting up. I had him cough out without taking another breath while I beat lightly or not on his back/lungs. He got lots of mucus up. I don't know what this maneuver is called. I did this for my daughter with asthma when her lips turned blue as she struggled to breathe. She, however, lay across the ottoman with head and arms hanging off. After she struggled and ran to the bathroom to get rid of the mucus/phlegm, her lips lost the bluish tinge. I fussed at my doctor for not teaching me this. 

I learned this from a special ed teacher. I saw her doing the pounding bit to a 12-year-old child's back who had cp and mental capacity of infant. I questioned her. She said it was because he could not cough, so she did this to compensate. When I asked her about my child with asthma, she told me how to have her flat on the edge of the bed with arms up and hanging over near her head. So, she helped me with the ottoman idea. 

Don't get bent out of shape at the word "pound." I am not hurting him, nor did I hurt my child. If you want, think "pat hard." Not one medical professional has ever been alarmed or corrected my concept. 

When I told him that tomorrow (Sunday) I am taking him to urgent care, he said okay. I know he is ill when he is so compliant. 

I need to get one of those devices where the person sucks on a tube and makes balls rise. I will get that for him, spirometer. 

Sunday afternoon

I sat up most of the night, listening to him breathe. I turned on the light, woke him and pounded on his back and he coughed and spit for so long it was scary. Finally, I slept from 8 am until 1:30 pm. Last night, he finally quit objecting to my saying it was in his lungs. 

When I tried to sleep around 4 am, I could hear something. I ran as well as I could and turned on the light, asking him what I heard from him. He was trying to cough and was getting stuff out of his lungs. I had lectured him on how he needs to stop letting it all rattle, how he needs to breathe more deeply. It is scary what I hear. I am trying to keep him off a ventilator.

One comment mentioned my thermometer might be off. I have taken it to three doctors and taken my temp as soon as the nurse did. Mine was the same temp, so I had thought of that. 

I suppose I ought to get in the kitchen and find our Campbell's selection for the day. 

Men are so difficult to take care of when ill. When Tommy does not fight me, I worry because he is very ill. Right? 

Trading Places

 My temperature is mostly normal. But, I am still dizzy and shaky on my feet. However, Tommy is not doing well at all. Finally, his temp is up to over 103F. He does not want to eat, might want some broth but will not say. So, I fixed the last of the can of broth I had drunk. 

On Friday night, I made sure he had enough Hall's Mentholyptus for the night. When I got up, he had used them all. So, I got my Ball jar with nice, tight metal lid and refilled his bag. He finally consented to an aspirin after he did not feel better after finding it was 103F. My bottle of 120 baby aspirins only had one left. He reminded me my pink bin for meds in the bedroom had two new bottles. I used the bottle of 120 aspirins to pour some in for him from the bottle of 120. I made sure to tell him to take four. I still have a bottle of 300 ready for us to use. The pharmacist told him to take Claritin, so I gave him a bottle of mine. 

He asked for something for throat pain. I finally figured out it was at CVS and went to get it myself. I did have him go with me even though he did not want to. I am still unsteady and needed someone to tell me if I were doing something dangerous.  He relented and went without a complaint. He refused a plain burger at BK but was very vocal about wanting a real coke. So, we did. I felt sooo shaky and was glad to have an extra pair of eyes, even if those eyes were sicker than I was/am. 

He has been refusing to use insulin because he has not eaten. I don't know if Hall's Mentholyptus has calories or carbs. What about chicken broth? The Coke certainly is sugary. Finally, I pressed him to eat because it would make him feel better to eat something. Men are so hard to take care of when they are puny or really ill. I offered to heat a can of chicken noodle soup without diluting it and that was okay. He wolfed it down, leaving a bit of the liquid. THEN, he consented to take the insulin. 

This is so hard for me. He had six diet pepsi cans on the bookcase near him, a bk cup and a plate and two saucers. He is always "saving" saucers to eat in later and usually yells at me when I try to put them in the dishwasher and then turn on the dw. Today, he said nothing. Several times, I have gotten the dirty dishes while he is in the bathroom, and he never misses them. 

I have had to get my own things since yesterday! I was doing a bit for me, but now do it all for both of us. Plus, I now do the med search in the pink bin. Life is rough when your carer needs your care and you still need a bit of care, too...lol. 

He said he did not sleep at all on Friday night, so, after the chicken noodle soup, he is snoring. At 5 pm, I had a peanut butter, MW, and banana sandwich. I suppose I will have the last bit of breast I cooked a few days ago. It is time. 

He is over here, sleeping, wheezing, and having trouble breathing, but he says no when he is awake. 

I may have to take over the remote...lol. He refused to allow me to touch it when I came here, like I even care! He has two remotes to figure out. I hate it. 

He only sees one doctor and is proud of that fact. I see a dozen at different points. He has no one from Thursday night until Monday morning. My allergist that I rarely see can take my call and help me out. I think this experience will let him see that visiting more than one doctor is prudent. My pharmacist will help. His at SAM's said he would talk to Tommy's doctor, so that leaves him with ONE person, still. His dentist does all teeth stuff. I use an oral surgeon, too. His dentist does everything. He has liver problems, but his MD treats that. I think at some point, he should see someone who specializes in liver problems. 

His MD has brochures for various prescription drugs all over his office. That bothers me. Tommy does take his meds religiously. But, he never questions. That bothers me, too. 

I have more broth for me and chicken noodle soup for him, so hopefully, we will not need anything.

Two Down

 On Thursday night, I slept a bit and sat up reading on laptop in living room. I went back to bed at 7 am and got up at 12:30 pm. Tommy was standing in front of his chair, lights off, very still, both hands on one arm of the chair. I asked him what he was doing. "Trying to stand up." He feels awful, has covid.

He tested. Afterwards, he decided to go to urgent care. Doctor prescribed paxlovid but phamacist would not give him Paxlovid until talking to his doctor on Monday. The pharmacist had questions and will not fill the prescription until Monday when pharm talks to Tommy's regular doctor. 

I can tell he feels awful. I feel a bit better, just a bit. I wish we felt better to face the stress of the weath warnings tonight. He is probably going to feel worse having to wait until Monday for med. 

My temp is normal. OA is 98. Cardiologist said so far, heart is okay. Later will tell if there is a problem. I have quit coughing except for rare fits of coughing. No more wheezing. Same with sneezing. Nose quit hurting. Now, I have pain and extreme tiredness all over, worse than normal for me. 

There is baked chicken from freezer, taco soup, chicken thighs, and a pork loin that needs to be cooked. I will somehow put two helping of the taco soup into the freezer. 

Ate a pack of crackers and a bit of taco soup. And, a spoon of frosting. 

Psycho frightened me again!

Not fun

 

Taking paxlovid

Temp down to 97.5

Need walker because I am too dizzy to safely walk. 

Sat up all night because I was coughing too much to lie down. Also, lots of sneezing. slept from 7 am to 10:30 am. No nap. I could only rest. 

Still have sense of smell and taste. Mouth tastes and smells like a garbage can. Nasty.

Ate pimiento and cheese sandwich and drank more of 20 oz coke. I threw away at least 4 oz. Tommy thought ice cream would be good for me so bought some when he went to store by himself. 

had  baked chicken breast slice in a sandwich with MW. Romaine was gone. I almost cried. had half a banana and half an apple. 

Feel miserable. Feels like someone punched me in the nose.lots of pain.

I really need to drink more water! 

think tommy shoul wear mask and I shoudl too. He says no, too late.

Covid

 Yes, working on follow-up. 

Cullman Trip and Pain

 Thursday, we went to Cullman to get my mail. Since I had only had 1.5 hours sleep, I was ready to come home quickly. 

I wrapped a box of Reynolds Cooking Bags and gave them to my 92-yr-old friends. She is tired of cooking. They often go out and get a sandwich for lunch and family brings meals to them. They are not so feeble they cannot cook. The just plain don't want to cook! I can relate. That is why we use cooking bags. Well, actually, standing at the stove to cook is no longer possible. 

We also took soup/tuna cans for a mutual friend who collects them from many people and redeems them. We use few cans, so it takes about two months to even get a Publix bagful. This is her casino money, so I am not much invested in this enterprise. But, we do it because the elderly couple want to help her. 

When I told her I was coming in town and could we drop by to leave the cans. She said a nurse was with her. So, we did other things for an hour or so. When I told her we were ten minutes away, she said she wanted me to see her, how well she looked. 

OMG! She looked like she had been beat up with a huge purple knot about her eyebrow and deep purple bruises all along her face, collarbone, and chest. She had fallen off her bed ten days ago or five, forgot which. She had no idea how it happened. She made sure we knew she had never fallen off the bed before in her life. Her injuries were brutal. She said she looked so much better now. Of course, she went to the ER, not sure what they did but I can imagine test on her brain/head and stopped the bleeding.

She has also survived her second round of covid! Thankfully, she was negative today. It scared me to think I was even standing in the yard with a positive person. She said it was so sad and lonely spending Christmas Day alone in her house with her husband. I am quite sure her family brought food. I felt sorry for her the way she said it. 

Just as we were getting ready to go out the door today, something fell on my foot. The pain was so intense! And, I was bleeding. A lot! I wrapped a tissue around it and left. I put antibiotic on it. Keep your fingers crossed it does not get infected. I will probably lose a toe or worse! I am not kidding. I have wooden birds and wings to attach. These are made of 2x6 and are about a foot long. Well, one landed beak-down on my toe, just behind the nail. It was a bare wood cardinal that got me. You can imagine how heavy it was. I worry about wood being the agent that gouged into me. 

At Publix, I found more turkey breasts for $1.49/lb. and bought two, cheaper than bscb. They are in the refrigerator thawing right now. I need a thing to seal this food after it is cooked. Kraft Cheddar Cheese was $3 this week, so I got two. 

This state is a hotbed of covid, flu, and RSV. Today, I noticed more people were wearing masks, mostly older people. And, they were all wearing the kind with a valve--N95, I believe. 

As soon as we came home, I went to bed, but I could not sleep. So, I am up again, hoping to get sleepy enough to get a nap.

I am sitting amidst a bit of clutter I just put down around my chair, on table, on ottoman. Tommy has a similar clutter he has assembled. I told him we had to get this cleaned up and soon. I will not let this happen again. He agreed we should get it out of here. We just came home, so exhausted, not just lazy.

When we had Lynda over, I needed something to hold frilly toothpicks. I asked Tommy and he had nothing. Of course, he finds things he has forgotten he has. I told him something on the order of a shot glass would work. I did have pretty cut glass and pressed glass to use. But that is gone. Well, he came in with a tiny pimiento jar. It looked wonderful to me. I put a red, lacy, Christmas ribbon around it. It was perfect. The pretty ribbon came from an ugly wreath I ripped apart. So, saving a jar and ribbon worked for me. By next year, I will have a new cut or pressed glass tiny container. 

Today the temperature rose to 72F. I think they need it in Buffalo to melt some of the ice and snow. It is amazing to me that the temperature rose from 7F to 70s. 

Dinner: leftover turkey, pan of baked vegetables--carrots, broccoli, onions, potatoes, celery. I am cooking enough for two nights. Saturday will be sausage balls and something else.

It is late now, and some of the clutter is still here with me. I always take away stuff I have put in here instead of putting where it belongs. 

Do you ever use a common item for a really nice item? E.g., jar instead of cut glass...lol. 

Boosted! Cooking, too and Tornado Warning

 It is hard to believe it is Thursday again! After little sleep on Tuesday night, I took a three-hour nap on Wednesday. I needed it and actually felt refreshed, a feeling I rarely have! I did nothing but piddle at decluttering!

Dinner on Tuesday was a hamburger without bun. I had melted cheese on mine. Tommy did not and had collards and a half a potato baked in oven. I had a half potato, too, I think. 

Dinner on Wednesday was a bell pepper half with a good amount of meat loaf, topped with the rinsed-out dregs of a jar of spaghetti with mushrooms. It was delicious. I had the rest of the slaw and the last tiny sweet potato. Tommy had collards and potatoes. I had mashed the potatoes tonight with dehydrated onions and butter and cooked in the skillet. 

That means the only leftovers in the refrigerator are about 1/4 cup collards, 1/4 cup potatoes. So, it looks like I have to cook Thursday.

Plans that did not happen:

The paperwhite bulbs were not planted in a pot. 

The pork tenderloin was not cooked. 

I did not make soup! 

SO SHOOT ME! I promise I will do all three things on Thursday. 

My feet are almost back to normal size. While my feet are not higher than my heart, it appears that having them raised most of the time helps. Plus, a diuretic works very well, too well. 

Tommy went into Publix because I was not dressed fit to be seen. All I wanted was two bananas. I always add, "and anything else you see that we want or need." Well, he came out with two boxes of Honeynut Cheerios and 2 bags of Ruffles. Oh, NO! He said he got one for each of us. He knows I love Ruffles and says he hates them. I have coupons for the Cheerios so I will take the receipt and the coupon in the get a $1 back. 

By the way, I had him get me only two bananas in case I did not like what he chose. Sometimes, if they are subpar for my likes, I only get two, also. 

Thursday, I got my Pfizer booster. Yay! 

The pork tenderloin is in the crock pot. 

In a bit I will plant the paperwhite bulbs. 

After Jeopardy, we will make soup. It is a rainy and damp day. The temperature is not too cold, 66F. but the lack of the sun and a tiny breeze makes it chilly. Just now, the lightning blinded me and the immediate and shockingly loud thunder had me shaking like I have not shaken in ages. My laptop fell off my lap, but I managed to catch it before it hit the floor. Since it is now 70 degrees, I hope tornadoes don't follow tonight.

While I sat waiting for my booster, Tommy found the milk for both of us and a few more things. We bought another bag of very expensive Halos, $5.99 for a dozen. They have not been on sale all year, anywhere. 

I donated and brought home 6 more beanie babies. These will make cute gifts. These are all in pristine condition and have tags and don't smell like smoke. 

There are no more leftovers in the refrigerator except for a smidgen of potatoes and collards. So, cooking tonight will give us more meals and leftovers. The refrigerator looks so empty. I suppose I need to put a turkey or turkey breast in there to thaw.

Okay, a tornado hit south of us. And, shelters in this town are open. Dearie me! Nothing much was happening here until the tornado was reported today.

Friday Doings

We went to Cullman on Friday. I retrieved a can of spray paint, the red paint I used for a cardinal. While at friend's house, we left soup/tuna type cans for a mutual friend. Her septic tank is going to require $6000 work. I am not sure what that is for, but she contacted 3 companies, and that is the cheapest quote.

I went to Publix and bought a few things, went to another store and bought one thing, got the mail, found gas for $2.85, got a burger and flew home. We did not want to be out when the roads froze over. There were lots of icicles hanging from the rock/boulders that line the road where the way was cut for the road. 

At one store in Cullman I found the six-pack of Minute Maid orange juice that we depend on in the car and bought two at an exorbitant price--$4.49 while it is usually $3.30 or less. I also bought one jar of Mayo for $1.25. I bought a moderate-sized package of TP. The shelves were skimpy. I also bought two more boxes of Ziplock Holiday decorated bags, quart and gallon. 

Back in Hueytown, Tommy got his covid booster at Publix. I found his bogo Pepsis, really b2g1.  I will get my booster when I am certain the uti is gone and I won't need additional treatment. 

I am looking for Halos or similar item, but have not seen them in the stores. I did not want either of the oranges. And, I do not want citrus from Florida. Produce from Florida does not have high nutritional value like other states' produce. 

About 10 minutes after Tommy had made four trips with heavy groceries, his coat rack fell on him. I tried to warn him but got an aaaaah out of my mouth. He set it back and loaded his clothes on it and it fell three more times. He was distressed. I volunteered we would buy him a new one tomorrow or I could glue it and clamp it. He is adamant about not fixing things and said he is sick of me doing so. Sooo...

I am going to call all sorts of stores and shop the internet since I don't have the energy to traipse from store to store. This is the old me talking. 

I asked him if I could have the hat/coat rack. "WHAT FOR?" He became angry when I said I could fix it and use it. He wants me to throw it in my storage unit, not glue it here. I don't understand. I really intend to fix it and give it to him. It is the ugly bentwood kind. 

His arm is very sore from the covid vaccine. So, we won't go shopping for a coat rack today. I will continue at a snail's pace getting Christmas out of here. Friday was busy. Saturday will not be busy. 

Chicken and Rent and Big News

Tuesday was pretty quiet except for the excitement of picking up a prescription for me...lol. Oh, and we bought bread at the bread store. That was exciting/infuriating. The woman grabbed the bread by the center, and it still has several squashed slices. I mentioned it and she denied squeezing it. Whatever! 

I lay down for an hour because my back was hurting. Even though I needed sleep, the pain was too much for sleep. 

Last week, I bought two packages of bscb. I paid more than I like to pay.  It was not my $1.99 but bogo at $4.99/lb. This is still a bargain because there is less scrap. They call it wing meat, but it is not flesh. Plus, the joint where the wing is attached is usually there, full of tiny cut and broken bones. It is just a waste of money. This week, I am going back to get two more packages of bscb.

I bought $10.70 pounds and paid $25.09.  That was for 9 breasts. I am glad we are not big pork eaters as I suspect the price will go through the roof for pork soon.

We had a salad with the chicken, very little chicken. Tommy got his own and added shredded carrots and grape tomatoes to his Romaine. 

I put two of the cooked breasts in the refrigerator. I put two into two quart freezer bags and stored them in the freezer. The other bag of chicken is in a gallon freezer bag. I didn't want to think I could cook it and then procrastinate and let it get any older. Each breast makes at least two meals. So, ten meals are cooked. And, eight need to be cooked. Okay, the protein part of the meal is cooked. Vegetables are easy. 

My friend Charlie took the vaccine as part of research and also had a booster. I knew he had the two doses of vaccine, just not the booster. This was before the vaccine was approved, so he is fine with all the experimenting on him. 

He has forty rental houses. Not one is paying rent! And, some of them are not going to get the help they can. He is annoyed. He is making no money and still must do repairs and pay taxes.. I wonder why people would not rush out to get help with rent. Maybe they are wanted or in some sort of trouble. I realize some people might not be able to get there. What other reason would people not try to get rent assistance? 

Big News--Burger King finally fixed the three potholes in the route to order.  They did not put a dab of asphalt down in the potholes and call it good. They put a huge, long and wide patch. I hope it holds. They even got their speaker fixed so we can communicate with the person taking orders. Yes, we go there one a week or every ten days. 

Do you get annoyed at paying for bscb and have part of it not be meat?  Does anyone squeeze your bread leaving a dent where several slices are not straight? 

Saturday

 

The ground beef has been chopped and cooked. Tommy did a great job of chopping it very finely. I cooked part of it for dinner with leftovers for another meal. I froze about  third of it. And, I put another third in the refrigerator for another meal. I figure we will have six meals, three for each of us or more out of each third, from 2.5 lbs of beef. I thought each package held more. It was separated into thirds with each package giving us four to six meals. 

Tommy was looking forward to meat loaf, but I had cooked all the meat, so I put out another package which should get us a total of four meals, two each. 

I am officially declaring Hamburger Helper nasty! I made the cheeseburger box and hated it. And, why does it need two cups of milk? So, no more. 

Maybe I have covid. Tomorrow, if I feel so awful, I will be going to have a covid test. The antibiotic and prednisone are helping but not much. No, I am going no matter how I feel. This is bad. 

About what the doctor said about the thyroid ultrasound--the recommendation to wait a year for another ultrasound came from the doctor who read the ultrasound. He is not the doctor who sent me for the test. The doctor who sent me did so after I expressed concern that another lump was in my neck. It hurts. So, he said, "Do you want me to order an ultrasound?" When I agreed, he immediately ordered it. I have every assurance in my head that he will see this nodule is removed. I can feel it when I swallow. 

At last, the rain is letting up. I have spray painting to do outdoors, so I have been in a snit to get outdoors. Well, maybe I will feel like going out. I want to walk and just end up in bed. It was a pretty, peaceful day in the park today. 

This and That

For Mother's Day I received a box of candy and a dozen yellow roses. I love yellow roses and pink roses. Red roses do nothing for me. When I was about eleven-years-old until I was eighteen-years-old, we lived in a house with a pump house covered in yellow roses. The pump house was not a short one, but tall enough an adult could stand easily in it. So, there were lots of roses. I was confused when I saw a short pump house. I don't think we had well water there. 

Tommy ordered me a DNA test for a gift, just what I wanted. I am really looking forward to getting the results from the spit I send them. 

Monday, I felt so awful, just exhausted, so I made slaw and heated up meatballs and carrots. It was actually really delicious. For lunch, we each had our leftover bbq from Sam's BBQ. 

Next week, I will be getting a blood test for covid antibodies. The doctor is all for this. Have you had one? 

My dishwasher is still not repaired. I am so sick of washing dishes because I cannot do them all at once. Yes, I miss a day or two now and then. Calling about that again is my top priority. 

This video is amazing and HEARTWARMING.

About the magazine IN STYLE--I have received this for a year, from where I knew not, and have enjoyed it and passed it on to someone else. I finally figured out why I received it when I received an offer with the last copy. It seems that this magazine can be sent to someone else if I buy a subscription for myself. Sooo, thanks whoever sent it to me. 

Tinnitus has not returned, thankfully. That was the most bizarre and disconcerting thing I have ever experienced. But, I still feel unwell and weak. But, I am grateful not to be waylaid by noise.  Still, I need to know what to do if it ever happens again. 

My to-do for today is cooking several packages of chicken and a ground pork. Plus, I have one little cleaning project. If the little cleaning project is successful, it will turn into a huge cleaning project. 

So, have you or are you going to have a covid antibodies test? 

Freezing, Friend Found, Yard Sale, Weather, Covid

 Friday, Tommy showed me a yellow dandelion. The yard thinks it is spring. I am going to pick dandelion greens from other plants I saw. That will be a salad or part of a salad. 

I called the police department in Huntsville. They did a welfare check on Charlie and called me back. They got no response when they went to his home. The officer asked me if he had property on the other side of town. I told her he had about forty houses. She spelled his name wrong and asked me if that was right. She said he had called numerous times about problems. Yes, that would be my friend. People steal things like the sink and water heater when they move out of his rental properties. 

She had a different phone number and would not give it to me. She said she would call and call me back. A few minutes later he called and said, "I am not dead." He had gotten a new cell provider and could not carry his phone to the new provider. His home phone is not disconnected. He said he was pissed because he had been paying the bill. If his home phone had worked, he would have returned my call and would have given me his new cell number. So, I have it in my phone now. Whew! 

Three pounds of processed cheese are divided into six  bags. Five of them are in a larger bag, and the loose one is for Tommy to use. The other six little packages of cheese from the second 3-lb. bag are in the freezer. I realize this will not work for slices on a sandwich, but it can be sliced to use. It would just mold in the refrigerator since it will be months before we can use it all. I used gloves to handle the cheese as touching cheese is one thing that causes it to mold...eew. 

Likewise, the chicken chops are in little bags and in the freezer. I think it must have been previously frozen. Hopefully, it will not hurt us to refreeze it, thaw and eat. The four pound packages of unsalted butter are in the freezer. With what butter I have in the freezer already there will be no need to buy more. 

The four pounds of cheese are unsalted. I never use or buy unsalted butter. I can use 1/4 tsp of salt with each stick used in a recipe. Then, it will be the same as salted butter. 

Yesterday, I started researching and "collecting" recipes for my holiday favorites, and "editing" them where they are the ones I used for years. I cannot print at the moment, so I read the recipe to Tommy. He never minds writing things for me. It was easy to find a pumpkin bread that works since I eliminated all the ones that called for "pumpkin spice." eeew

I found a very large, pretty, scalloped  glass bowl at a yard sale last week. Plus, I found an ancient colander that is much like mine I had for over 50 years. This one is nasty, but is salvageable. It cost me nothing. The kid did not add it to the cost of the bowl, so both cost me $1 instead of $1.50. We were too far gone to give them the two quarters difference I owed. 

Last Sunday we passed sign after sign advertising yard sales for the Friday and Saturday before. So, we determined we would go out today looking for yard sales. Of course, this weather will prevent sales. 

So far, today, the bad weather is nowhere near us. Tornado watches are far enough south that they are no concern to us. Even the rain is just a bit. the clouds are allowing the sunshine through at times. So, not so bad, just conditions I don't want to be outdoors or on the roads. When I was younger, nothing deterred me...lol. Are you experiencing Delta caused  conditions at your house?

On Friday I talked to a woman who works at a business I have frequented. She had covid19. So, this is the first person I have actually known who was a victim. 

Do you use unsalted butter? Often? I have never used a recipe that called for it.