Party Time

Once I awoke and waited for Tommy to wake up, we watched Meet the Press. Then, I put together the two Red Kiss candy dishes. It was a chore, batteries installed and the tension of wondering if the lights and remotes would work. Both worked. Once I had the fairy lights unrolled, I had to wad them up and stuff them into the kiss. I then put a handful of Hershey's kisses on top of the lights and battery. Of course, putting the glass candy dishes back in their packaging was another little chore. Finally, I finished. Now, I need to wrap them.

Since I don't want to use plastic for our little party, I need glasses. Tommy's smoke glasses are ugly. I bought two glasses for us to use with a Christmas dinner but he pouted all Christmas and would not even open his eyes or eat. So, I only have two, anyway. I can get another glass and use mismatched glasses, like that would even matter. 

But, I have another vision for glasses--stemless wine glasses. We don't need vessels for ice tea with a meal. Lynda loves sweetened iced tea. I have a $23 refund from Walgreen's, so maybe they have cheap stemless wine glasses there and I won't have to spend money. 

Of course, I can have ice with my huge-cube ice cube trays. I still haven't polished my silver dish I can use. 

No, I don't know when this will all happen. 

So, these are my plans and thoughts. 

Do you like planning special occasions, get-togethers?

Am I missing anything? 

There are disposable hand towels in the bathroom in a tray/dish with a candle. It is an electric votive and a pretty short dish/vase or something I found in his cabinet. I have two sets of three, pillar candles, battery operated. They flicker. 

If Tommy would agree to a place to hang a hand towel, I could use a cloth towel. But, since there is not one towel bar in the bathroom except one in the shower, I cannot just use a cloth towel! Since there are diseases going around, I suppose the disposable towels are better. 

I have a Fitz and Floyd small, oval, serving piece for sandwiches. I am thinking little ham sandwiches on Party Rye, cucumber sandwiches, and sausage balls. The glass serving dish shaped like a Christmas tree will have fruits and vegetables lined up across it in rows. That will work. I will use another of the Christmas saucers to serve cookies/sweets. And, there is a Christmas bowl for halos.

Our drink will definitely be non-alcoholic. When in one store looking for a muscadine juice which Lynda loves, I happened to see a bottle of blackberry wine--Mogen David. I think that is a step above Ripple, but it looked and sounded great. I think I could smell blackberries, maybe not. 

While in Publix, I saw a tray of 12 Christmas petit fours. I loved them and wanted them. Then I saw the price and changed my mind--$17.94. Never mind! The boxes of Christmas cookies look and taste gross. 

I wish I had my blow mold Santa, about 4 feet high and very old. Also, after many years I scored a Coca Cola cardboard Santa, life-size, of course. Yes, I would put both in here, right in the living room. The blow mold has a light bulb in it, so there is no need for another light...lol...in the whole house! 

I have a Christmas cd. I don't have anything else and don't want to depend on the radio...lol. Oooh, forgot that I have set of Christmas silverware. 

I have finally gotten everything worked out. All I need is to get the tree up. That will be about 30 minutes since it is only 3 feet high. I only need the glasses or one more glass so we will all three have a glass instead of a plastic solo cup. 

Great parties are my thing. All my entertaining supplies are either piled in a box or in the dump. So, this is starting over! This has been lots of thinking! It is not like I can just reach into a drawer or cabinet and get things out that I need. 

Busy Grocery Day

 Today, we left early (about noon) with a list in hand and did a quick shopping trip. First, Tommy went into Aldi's and they had no goat cheese with orange and cranberry. So, he bought two cranberry vanilla goat cheese. The man loves goat cheese. 

Food Giant had bscb for $2.19/lb. I bought about 6 lbs. of bscb. It is in the refrigerator thawing right now. Plus, since Tommy loves zucchini, I bought 3 for $2. The squash was not fit to bring home. I bought Ziegler hot dogs for the freezer since these have been absent in stores for most of the summer. 

At The Pig, I was looking for a telescoping backscratcher like I bought there before. They had none, so I left.

Publix had the most things on the list. I bought Beggin Strips bogo for giving to Lynda's dog when we go by with Lynda's permission. Her dog was as afraid of me as I was of her when I tried to give her a strip. Those things stink, not at all like bacon, but she loved it. My a2milk was 3 half gallons for $10, so I bought 6 half gallons, a 4 cup round bowl with snaplock lid bogo. Cella Chocolate Covered Cherries will be saved for Christmas. Yes, I will leave them alone. I don't want to have to go from store to store looking for them closer to Christmas. Herb goat cheese will be great and Tommy loves it. 

So, that was it for this week. They did not have the Kisses that were bogo. Publix has started giving rain checks, so I got one for the Kisses. I sort of looked for eggs, but did not get any even though I should have. Somehow, it is hard to pay $7.97 for 18 eggs. That is 44 cents per egg--still doable, but it hurts, not my wallet, just my feelings. I really feel for people who cannot afford to feed eggs to children. 

I did not find Pet Ritz Pie Crusts. The Pillsbury I bought last time were not as good as the Pet Ritz. I found some pecans in the freezer. There may not be enough for a pie, so the top will be skimpy, but that's okay. I do have two crusts, but I need two more, at least.

We came home and I put the bscb in the refrigerator to thaw. Then, I took a nap. I wanted to see Dolly Parton, so I took a nap. Tommy called me 15 minutes before the show began. Then, between the two of us, I got the whole chicken from four days ago into the oven with three minutes until Dolly came on. 

I really love Dolly Parton, so it was hard to turn her off. The first hour was not good. So, we are watching Home Alone in New York. 

An Amazon package came while I was asleep. It had hair color, fairy lights, a plate rack, and an otc. That is all unwrapped and sorted. The new fairy lights are in the red Kiss and look beautiful. I did not put them on "twinkle" since that is rather disruptive near the tv, just on slow fade. I love the remote and timer that comes with these. 

I finally have an appointment with a cardiologist, two as a matter of fact. And, I got a refill called in, something I needed to do for days. So, today was a good day on the health front.

It has been a productive day! It was also dry and sunny, not very warm, though.

The day has not ended. After the news goes off at 10:30, we will load the dishwasher. It must be done. We have procrastinated. 

Has your day been busy? Productive? Laid back? Procrastinating? Weary?

Following the Drama, 424 % Increase

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

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

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

Before--$0.98 Now--$3.19

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

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

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

Read that last again. It is astounding. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beautiful Day and Problems Solved

 And, I got more sleep, albeit, in pieces. It was very hot, but I use ac liberally. There has been no sign of rain. We have gotten enough of that in the last few weeks. So, blue skies and white, non-threatening clouds are so pleasant. 

My 4.5 hours of sleep was certainly not enough and did not cover any deficit. So, I slept from 10:30 am until 3:30 pm, a whopping 5 hours. I have been awake an hour and am already tired. I will sleep tonight after such a miserable three previous days. 

Tuesday, I ordered a very long bath brush for Tommy. He misses his bath brush that was hanging in the shower. He never used it, but he is pining for a brush to wash his feet in the shower. So, Amazon has a 30" brush that he says will work. One of his two brushes was falling apart, the kind with the mesh puff. It took him two years to agree to toss it. I think the survivor is under the bathroom sink now. But, when he gets the new one, I am sure I can convince him to toss the old one. He now needs a little corner shelf for hanging things and for his soap. The old one left by the former owners in 1980, had mold behind it, visible one cleaner pulled it off the shower wall. ewww. Why does he do these things? 

The cleaner is not responding to calls. So, I will call her, leave her a message, asking her if she can recommend someone since she is obviously very busy. She should either come back or at least give me a name for someone else to help me. 

When I could not sleep for two of the mornings, I very slowly started cleaning up the little bits in my bedroom I needed to do myself. If you sent your child to clean and the child did the little bits I did, you would send that child back with strong remonstrations. I do what I can. 

For the last two dental appointments for cleaning, I have not gotten a free toothbrush like the dentist recommends. Before these denials, I had tried to find the same toothbrush model in at least a dozen stores and pharmacies. No luck. Last cleaning, they offered me one of three other models. I chose one. The bristles actually are little spikes on the end. They were causing pain and damage to my gums. 

I finally called the office and they told me where they order them. That was no help, but I made it work. I called and finally found the right place. As it turns out, the machine that manufactures the toothbrushes has been broken and will be repaired by the end of August and toothbrushes will soon be available to dental offices. When I called and talked to my hygienist again, she said no one told them that the machine was broken. So, she was happy to understand the mystery. 

Who ever heard of the toothbrush making machine breaking? Okay, I intellectually know it must happen. 

This is an old model, so I hope they plan to continue to manufacture this model. I will take the free one and plan to order a dozen more. Amazingly, they are cheaper by the dozen. In retail, this is never an option. I need my toothbrush! I did find another when they gave me two. Actually, I found two more in package. 

Over the last two weeks, I have "fixed" the problem of unloading the dishwasher. I have to hold onto the counter and lean over the door to get the dishes out. Then, Tommy stands to the side and takes the dishes from me, putting the dishes on his walker seat. Then, he has to take a load to where they go while I wait. This action of leaning and reaching really hurts my lower back. 

Now, I remove what I can put on the counter in front of the microwave. I don't tell him to help. I don't remind him. I don't even think about them again. Usually, this is four or five of the heavy glass dishes we use for storage and cooking and heating in microwave. He sees them when he wants to use the microwave. Just now, I asked him if this was okay. And, it is. I was getting sick of asking him to come help and his being "not in the mood" right then. 

Finally, I have gotten an appointment with the oncologist since I fear cancer has returned. The woman who gave me the appointment gave me the third degree to even schedule it. Strange. But, she finally said they usually tell her these things. So that is done. This makes about my tenth call to get in with an obgyn of any ilk. 

Have you found that making a doctor's appointment is more difficult? Often, I get a central office that asks me first who I am calling. Then, after being transferred, that office has a voicemail telling me to leave a message and someone will call me to make the appointment. Then, that person seems to be in training and does not smoothly make the appointment. I make the most important appointments first. So, if that office does not call me right back, I don't want to make lesser appointments and chance having to cancel if the first appointment needs to be on a day already filled. 

Do they need to hire more people? Are they depending too much on technology to avoid hiring? 

Forgotten Christmas Decoration, Tommy's Sandwich Creations

 Thursday night, we watched Coat of Many Colors, a story about Dolly Parton. There was not a bit of Christmas in it, but I suppose it was shown as a holiday special. 

The boneless turkey breast was delicious. We each had a meal from it. I imagine we will have at least two more meals each from it. Tommy added cranberry sauce I made to his plate. Friday night, we will have turkey breast, carrots and cole slaw. Tommy might want cranberry sauce again. 

For years I have wanted a life-size, cardboard, Coca Cola Santa. I have been obsessed. Last year, after Christmas I finally acquired one. I was going to bring it here and use it, but I forgot about my plan. But, it won't go to waste. Next year! I also wanted my 3-4 ft. Santa blow mold, too. But, it is in the back of my storage unit and not as easily found. We had several one-foot-tall Santa and Snowmen. I gave those to my grown children. Those are about 40- and 50-years-old. I love blow molds. 

Because of a crowded freezer, I took out some bread. Of course, we try to eat it instead of throwing it out. I told him there was pita bread to eat. I had some salami that I cannot eat, given to us on a charcuterie board and some white cheddar that was dried from being frozen. He came in and showed me his "pita sandwich." Inside the pita bread, he had salami and white cheddar cheese, and he had microwaved it all. He put mustard on it and seemed really happy about his lunch.  I provide "stuff" and he becomes creative. It's cute. 

I also make sure there is lettuce of some sort and tomatoes. He helps himself for lunch and sometimes adds things to his dinner. Of course, sometimes I do make a sandwich for him, but rarely. We eat lunch at different time.

Since I only managed to sleep six hours on Thursday night, I am already drooping at noon. 

Yesterday, I saw a sign that said $2.09 under the cartons of 18 eggs. I whipped around and went back. No, the sign was for a dozen eggs. No way! Eggs prices are the one thing that I have seen that are causing me alarm.  It sort of triggers my alarms. So, today, I found the last carton of 18 eggs and paid $4.29. It is okay since I want eggs! I will forego some egg eating and shop better. Some are boiling right now.

On Friday in Cullman, we saw gas for $2.82/gal. Of course, Tommy had filled up for $2.88! 

By the way, my Pfaltzgraff dishes, four-place setting. 16 pieces in total, only cost me $53. I opened my savings "bank" and had only to put a bit more with the savings to buy the dishes. I had not spent my bank money from last year, so this was sort of "free" money and dishes since that paid for the rest of the dishes. The dishes were free as far as it coming out of my pocket right now.

These were ordered from Walmart.com and they are made in China. They are not supposed to be good quality, but they look fine to me. Since I have never seen the originals, I suppose I am ignorant of what I am missing.

Someone is supposed to come on Sunday to help me get stuff out of the living room.

Do you own a life-sized Coca Cola Santa? What is the price of eggs where you live/shop?  So, it's the weekend. What are your plans?

Pfaltzgraff Winterberry

 Wednesday night, we saw more Christmas-themed sitcoms--The Mayor, Kenan, Young Rock, and The Christleys. I passed on Kelly Clarkson since I can barely stand to hear her speak. However, she is a fantastic singer. 

I finally put the batteries into the boom box and the quality of the music is great. Now, where did I put the white remote?

While I took a nap, Tommy put all the ornaments on the tree. It is so pretty! 

I have been wanting Christmas dishes for years. But, since I had Wedgwood "Strawberry and Vine (above)," I used those at Christmas and had an abundance of red on the table along with snowflakes. Well, I no longer have that pattern and it is discontinued. I wanted Lenox "Holiday" and changed my mind after thinking about the gold rim. So, Pfaltzgraff Winterberry service for four (head of this post) is what I purchased. Actually, it is prettier than Lenox "Holiday." I broke my bank, but it is my gift to me this Christmas. Actually, this is money I saved a penny and larger denominations at a time. Some of the money was found on the ground.

We went to Cullman today and I had one piece of mail. The rest was junk mail. I sat in the car once again at Office Max and gave the young woman a list and she shopped for me. I needed several items but settled for Lysol spray, 10 ft surge protector and a rack to hold envelopes/mail. The mail was crawling all over the table. The surge protector is dying, and I needed the Lysol right that minute. 

At the junk store where my friend has still not paid for the hamburger meal she asked me to buy for friend, I found her in bad shape. Her death seems imminent, within the year I expect. I have $14 credit for things I have given her to sell, things that I didn't want. I found two cute lamps, 2/$5. 

Double Luck green beans were $0.69 for each can. I got two and will get more, hopefully. I love this brand. Cream cheese was a 2-pack for $5 or 1-pack, 2 for $4. Guess which I bought. Even though there is a warning that cream cheese is scarce, I have not found this to be true. Have you?

By the way, did you sign up for $20 instead of buying cream cheese? It was in the previous post. 

I bought a can of Pet Milk at a high price, but I did it anyway! I cannot find the receipt, so I have no idea what I paid.

We are home. I must see if the lamps need rewiring.  Okay, only one lamp works. That's okay because I was going to rewire both or sell both as is. I love them, but for the right price... I can be fickle with my latest love.

A boneless turkey breast is destined for the oven and will be dinner tonight. Since it is 4:45, I need to get busy. Tommy is skinning carrots. The 3-lb. boneless turkey breast and a halved onion are waiting for the carrots. We will have a can of green beans.  5:15 and it is in the oven! 

Tonight, we will both have two chocolate covered cherries and one Hershey Kiss. That is it for the sweets and the dinner will not be high in carbs. So, we get Christmas candy for 11 days, but just a bit each day rather than pigging out and then going to buy more. Yes, I could and would and have done it. No more. 

What kind of pretty Christmas dishes do you use? Do you ration your sweets?

 

Saturday Doings

As DST ends,  the realization that it will be a long few months hits me. During the summer, we could be out at 7:30 pm and still not be driving in the dark. Some days, the sky was light until almost 8 pm. Now, we try to get home by 4:30. Starting tomorrow, we will have to home an hour earlier, 3:30 pm. The prospect is soul-cringing. Thankfully, some politicians are pushing for year-round DST. I am for it. 

 Earlier in the week,  I spotted a dime on the pavement at a store, forgot which one. Yay, for the dime. I need to take a stroll every time I get on an electric cart so I can search. Just kidding. 

While in a store, I bought the only Kodak camera they had. I was thrilled it was so cheap. A few days later, I was opening the box. It uses AA batteries instead of lithium. Grrrr. It is going back. 

For the last week, Tommy has been very compliant about the dishwasher issue. Only, he never moves. He is agreeable to all my statements, but never moves. On Friday late afternoon, I asked him to empty the dishwasher. by himself. There were only about eight articles in the dishwasher, including utensils. 

At 11:50, he asked me if I wanted us to load the dishwasher. I figure he thinks I might ask him to load it alone. I know he hates dishes at midnight because I wanted help at night and he refused, saying he was relaxed. So, for him to want to work late and mention it was a big deal. I was shocked and got up. The dishwasher was loaded. 

This morning, he washed the sink because I did not want him running water when the dishwasher was running last night. He also cleaned the skillet I used for burgers and want to use for scrambled eggs today. He has gotten everything I wanted since I awoke at 11 am. 

We went out and are now  back. Tommy and I both had calls in to our respective doctors for prescriptions. And, no one called his meds or mine to different pharmacies. We both had to get and emergency supply in order to have meds!  Friday, I needed to pick up 6 meds. They had four. One of those was wrong--a med I am allergic to. Right, I ended a sentence with a preposition.  Then, I went  back on Friday and got the right med. Still, I am missing a critical med, thus the emergency supply. Tommy's med is even more critical. This all started with the failure of doctors, not an employee or a supply chain. 

I went to the church yard sale and just asked the woman to come to the car. She is the one who said she could help me in the house. Still, I wait. Tommy offered to stop for another half dozen yard sales. But, I was too shaky on my feet and felt weak. 

Just now, he brought me the sweet potatoes, washed, for me to prepare. Now, I need to go in there and see what meat I put out. No? He is searching for the meat I want. Okay, we are chicken soffrito and brussels sprouts along with the sweet potato. 

I really feel awful, but I slept for two hours. No fever or other symptoms at all. Was today good yard sale weather at your place? It was 

Short Post

This week, I managed to keep up with the days and not get ahead of myself or the calendar. This week ended up sunny and bright, unlike the middle of the week. Tommy is not balking at helping me load the dishwasher, he is just not ready, I suppose. 

Consequently, there was nothing to cook in or heat in tonight, Friday night. I ended up opening a can of Hormel Roast Beef, made Idahoan instant potatoes, and either peas or green beans. Then, I had a banana. He eats the peas; I eat the green beans. His putting off the emptying and filling of the dishwasher is annoying me. Tonight was a $7 dinner, unlike even picking up burgers. 

We will load the dishes on Saturday. Then, Sunday they will be taken from the dishwasher. This makes my life less stressful when the dishwasher is empty to fill as I go. 

He did help me get food sorted and took something from the living room that had been put off for weeks on end. He also used his walker to carry food to the bedroom where the overflow lives. This is the bedroom where things of mine live in boxes--the sewing patterns and notions. There is other stuff, but nothing comes to mind. 

Saturday was horrendous, so I will leave that for tomorrow. I am exhausted and disgusted. 

Do things ever pile up and not get done? UPDATE: Things piling up does not necessarily mean just dishes.

Monday and Masks

I was going to cook all the bscb I bought on Sunday, but wanted a clean sink to do so. I told Tommy I was not cooking since I was not going to get raw chicken all over the kitchen. That dinner we bought was a disaster. 

At 9:30 I told him we were going to finish emptying the dishwasher and filling it. He readily came in and helped. It took only 15 minutes. I had to sit and supposed he would be in the living room soon. He came through with the garbage to take out at about 9:57.  I asked him what he had been doing since I thought he was getting something to eat.

"I was cleaning bits of food out of the sink. Then, I thought, that I might as well just scrub it out. So, I did." Good for him! He also wipes off the stove after I cook!

Today, about six o'clock, he said he was going out to pick up a prescription and to get gas and dinner. The day was gloomy at first and sunny later. It seemed the hummers do not come out as much on a gloomy day. I thought the blazing sun in front of the house might keep them away, but that does not seem to be the case. Do you find they do not come to feeders in certain conditions?

A few months ago, I told Tommy, " I PROBABLY BE WEARING A MAS K at least through 2022." Click on the red letters to see an opinion on my statement.

Tough Blueberries?

 Saturday night, I told Tommy he needed to come help with the dishes. The dishwasher was almost empty of clean dishes. Since I felt so horrible for four days this last week, I just used dishes out of the dishwasher and piled dirty ones in the sink. 

I handed him the few clean dishes after I stacked like with like items and told him where they went. He handed me the dirty dishes and I loaded the dishwasher all the while leaning on the counter. He was a great help. I staggered back to the living room, thinking he would be along. No, he stayed. I went in to see what he was doing. He was washing off the cookie sheets I had used to bake in the oven. 

Still, he stayed a long time in the kitchen. After he came into the living room, I had reason to go to the kitchen and was shocked. He had sort of cleaned out the sink. AND, instead of being wadded up, he had actually rinsed food from the two dish cloths and hung them--one over faucet and one over the sprayer. Then, he had a wet dish towel hanging over something on the sink. I had mentioned how I try to let things dry hanging over something instead of souring wadded up. He admitted he did not clean the sink well, just cleaned up the "gunk," his words. Monday morning, I was pleased to have dry cloths to put in dirty clothes. 

So, he listens!

While he was in the kitchen, I managed to fold clothes that I had put off. There is always something to do! Right?

I slept well and long Saturday night. Then, I napped when I lay down Sunday afternoon because my back hurt. 

The blueberry cobbler was sort of nor what I wanted, but delicious. Today, I heated some of the berries and they were tough. Tommy said they were tough last night. Actually, they were tough when thawed and even partially thawed. I tasted a few. Do you know why my blueberries were tough? 

Yikes! I Stepped on a Hornet!

 Okay, it was a stinging insect and huge. I stepped from sink to stove to get a dirty dish and felt something under my foot. I immediately moved my foot and saw a stinging insect that looked like a hornet to me. After gasping and moving quickly, I placed the bowl on top of it, overturned, of course. 

I placed my foot on it just right, obviously, so it did not sting. The hard outer part of my foot just in front of my heel pinned it down where it could not sting. It seems injured. I replaced the bowl with a plastic jar so I can capture it and identify it. 

There has been an insect in here about a half dozen times, the same stinging kind of insect. Remember the critter who came in the house and carried potatoes and made a pile in the corner of the floor next to cabinets? Well, one person looked said there was a hole. One day, there was a camel cricket in that corner that hopped into the middle of the kitchen floor. When I tried to hit it, the cricket hopped to the corner. I never saw it again, so I suspect it escaped through the hole it came from. 

Since it is impossible for me to get down and look for the hole, I put a large hand mirror on the floor, used a strong light and searched for it while sitting on a five-gallon bucket. When I could see nothing, I took hornet spray and sprayed it for about two feet along the baseboard/toe kick. Hopefully, this will deter entry for a few days until we can get the hole located and closed. 

I washed dishes for about 20 minutes today and Tommy dried. We quit when I found the insect. Since my back was killing me, I could not finish. Hopefully, we can get the dishes finished today. 

There is a list of things to do, not all items necessarily for today.  One thing I accomplished was figuring out why a doctor visit cost has not been paid. And, it is not my fault, just a glitch at the doctor's office. So, that is one item on the list finished.

Thinking about dinner, there is chicken, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, onions, potatoes. Now, how to combine? I suppose it will be baked on a pan in the oven. Chicken is cooked already. 

The last sting I had was a  bumble bee inside my sandal. I thought it was a stick stuck into my sandal, so I just kept walking. I cannot imagine how this did not sting me, but it was writhing around under the bowl, so I suppose I injured it. 

As a child, I was stung often by honey bees. Have you often been stung? As a child or an adult? When was the last time? Are you allergic to insect stings?

He Is Paying Attention

 The other day, Tommy was going to take out the garbage. He usually asks me if I have anything to add. Sometimes, I get the garbage from the bathroom where I now throw all tp. Then, I might have something in the bedroom. Often, I have a little bag of trash I have gathered from around me or lunch. 

After he took the garbage out, he told me he took the skillet where I scrambled eggs and wiped it out into the trash with half a paper towel. Wow! Good for him to take the initiative on that. 

He also knows I want to wash every dish towel or dish cloth in the kitchen. So, he asked one day about a dish cloth, asking me if he should wash it. I had not added to the wash in the kitchen. I had asked him to take the kitchen things out and wash them. 

After I made the taco casserole, I asked Tommy if he wanted taco casserole again or would he rather I just freeze it. He hesitated for a moment and offered--wouldn't it be good to have something in the freezer when we are gone for so long you don't feel like cooking? I froze it. He listens to me, catches on, and gives it back to me. One night, I had been out for too long and we did have taco casserole! 

Things go more smoothly and efficiently with his  brain added to mine...lol. It really helps. 

I hang items from the wash on hangers and then hang them in doorways--my clothing. Towels and wash cloths are dried.  There are not enough doorways since I never put one in a doorway he must go through. So, I am going to get a rod to hang in one doorway. It comes with two little things to put in the doorway so the rod rests on it and will not fall with heavy clothes on it. That way, I can hang towels on it too. Currently, towels are dried. Since this will cut down on his trips to the washer and dryer and cut down on electric use, I am quite sure he will agree. Okay, I asked and he agreed. 

Dinner on Wednesday was so easy since it was another box lunch like lunch--ham, greens, peas and snaps, and cornbread. Thursday was easy, too. Leftover chicken plus newly cooked cabbage, and newly baked sweet potato. Since I awoke late and had to take a pill and wait an hour, I had for brunch at noon--a banana, milk, and a boiled egg, adding no salt at all. Then, this Thursday afternoon I had less than a tsp of peanut butter. I feel good about my food intake today. 

So, I just ruined my good eating record on Thursday. I took a spice cake mix and drained peach slices and added that to the cake mix. It was delicious. We are freezing the rest for another day. 

Leftover sweet potato and cabbage will be saved for Saturday evening since we will be gone part of Saturday. For Friday night, I will cook and chop lots of ground beef, put some in spaghetti for Friday night. I will freeze chopped and cooked ground beef. 

We sorted a bit more food, denoting some to give away. Plus, more was dated. That helps a lot to know what to eat when and what we have. Now, I just have to put it on shelves. It may not get done today, probably tomorrow. I want to sort a bit more today. He does that for me since it is in the kitchen. The more he must use a lantern, the easier he will take it when the ceiling lights are installed! Besides, the cans are in boxes or on chairs, and standing hurts me so. 

To answer  a question--the machine is not like a bicycle and the pedal goes round in a circle. The pedal goes in the shape of an ellipse. But, it is not just back and forth. Did I make it clear?

Friday

I can barely walk and back hurt me so that it was 6:30 am before I went to sleep. ugh! I think the machine made my spine problem worse. But, I am not giving up.

Oh, this is something funny that Tommy does. When he heads to the kitchen, I ask him to look in the pot I have on the stove and tell me what is happening. He comes back and tells me there are tiny bubbles all over. I ask, "Boiling/"  He says again--small bubbles. Or, large bubbles. Or, not much water. He does not know words like-gently boiling, hard boil, rolling boil, boiling dry. There are other things he says to describe the state of food, but I cannot remember. It is amusing. 

Does it help to have someone in the house sort of pay attention to get things done fully and in an efficient manner? Does anyone in the house have a funny way of describing the state of food?

Sleep, Dishes, Elliptical Came

 

Okay, it is settled. Special K red Berries is great, delicious. However, the bananas edition leaves a lot to desire. I will never, ever buy it again. It smells of chemicals, artificial flavoring, I presume. Plus, the bananas are mere slivers and feel slimy. I am glad the expiration date is in November since it might take me a while to finish the box. Have you tried either? What is your opinion? 

After sleeping from 3 pm to 8 pm on Wednesday, I went to bed before 1 pm and slept until 11 am. And, I already feel a nap coming on. It is only noon and I feel exhausted! 

The kitchen is full of dirty dishes. Plus, I have the new set of matching Pyrex SnapLock to wash. I see a full day of work in the kitchen with liberal rest periods for my back. 

At least dinner will not involve lots of standing since we can eat the last of the chicken. Sweet potatoes and cabbage will round it out. 

I feel much relief since we have a new leader and the inauguration occurred  peacefully. Hopefully, the peace will last. 

Just before noon, the elliptical machine came. I struggled to get it into the house and did not succeed. Tommy had to come to the door and pull it in from where I dragged it onto the door sill. This thing is really heavy. I hurt myself. Even in my strongest days, this machine would have been a challenge to move. The box was huge! 

Tommy got it in the house and out of the box. I had to drag it to a place where he could get by in the living room. Then, I took his walker and sat on it to pedal. I spent 15 minutes trying to use it. LOL I kept stopping and starting and adjusting the walker to get in the right position. 

 It seems I may have a popliteal cyst behind my left knee. It hurts like I do, but maybe not since there is no swelling. I powered through the minor but sharp pain. After 15 minutes on the seated eliptical, it took another 15 minutes to get my heart and breathing back to normal. I am out of shape. 

I plan not to use it again until this evening. I may seem like a wimp, but I do not want to overdo the exercise. If I can work three times a day, I may eventually be able to just sit and read like they advertise. A chair at the right height is going to be essential.

This machine "only" weighs 24.2 pounds even though it feels like 50 pounds. I remember picking up a 50 lb, child with relative ease!

This is called a Sunny Eliptical. It came fully assembled, thankfully! Sorry about the fuzzy picture. It has been 30 minutes since I finished with the elliptical and my arms feel like I have done exercise that involves my arms. Wish me luck with this endeavor. 

Does anyone have one of these? Have you ever used one? Have you heard anything about its merits?

Sunday Dishes and Cinderella

 As you may remember, Sunday was to be dedicated to washing dishes and cooking. I was going to cook hamburger meat, chicken, and ground pork. 

Well, most of the dishes are washed and the hamburger meat was cooked and chopped for spaghetti. The chicken was still rock hard and I suppose I did not put out more ground pork. 

We were bad last night, staying up until 5 am to watch The Glass Slipper on tv with Leslie Caron. This was a wonderful movie and artful retelling of Cinderella. It was well after 5 am when we got to bed. I told Tommy to wake me if I were not awake by noon. It took me about 3 minutes to pass out. I awoke at 10 am to go to the bathroom and then slept soundly until he woke me. I would have slept until 2 pm if he had not come in and called me. 

Before I went to bed, I reminded him of the dishes we were going to wash on Sunday morning. He agreed. Well, Sunday, he was watching things on TV and I hate to have to beg him or demand. Finally I assured him we were going to wash dishes. Also, we needed to get out of the house, so we got free ice cream from BK and sat in the park, after which we drove around until 4:30 or so. 

When we came into the house, I went straight to the kitchen and told him we were doing dishes. Well, 20 minutes later, I had to come into the living room and ask him. He said he did not know I was washing dishes. Ack! 

While he was finishing the dish drying, I put ground beef on to cook in a too-small skillet. I was out of the mood to convert jarred spaghetti with onions and garlic and other things. So, I suggested we just eat the crumbled brown meat and a salad. He was perfectly okay with that. I put cheese on top of my hot meat. It was like eating a cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato with a fork. And, it was delicious. So, tomorrow night I can make pasta and sauce for another meal. 

Another reason I did not make spaghetti (actually, the main reason) was that the one pot for pasta had burned bottom of cabbage so I could not boil pasta. He spent an hour on that pot. So, time was late, too. 

Monday, the temperature won't be above freezing for most of the day, if any. We will not go out at all. 

I need to number all these loose pages and put them in a 2" D-ring binder and read every page for evidence I need and apply those little page markers for the attorney. I must wash my hair. I really need to cut it. But, getting my hair washed and getting evidence prepared are the two most important things. We will see. 

Have you ever seen The Glass Slipper with Leslie Caron? I think I saw it for streaming somewhere. I highly recommend it. There was a longish dance sequence right in the middle that was not unbearable. Tommy even enjoyed it. Leslie Caron was thick in the waist and thighs, not emaciated like actresses today. It was refreshing to see she was cute, sexy, and acceptable just like she was. 

Cooking All Day. . .

Okay, not all day. Tommy, who can never stay awake for 30 more minutes at night after midnight managed to stay awake and alert until 3 am for a movie he wanted to see--White Heat. It was good and had James Cagney. But, it was after 7 am before I finally went to sleep...ugh.

I awoke at 11:30 am and thought about cooking. Since I am supposed to wait an hour to eat after I take a pill, I waited. I was famished and had to eat. Then, I discovered I had no bananas!

About 1 pm I gave Tommy a pound of Navy Beans to sort. Well, I asked him. I usually do it over the sink with water in about five minutes or less. He took over an hour. I said nothing because I don't care.

In the meantime, I washed so many dishes and at 6 pm am not done. I can only wash a couple of pieces and then must sit.

When he finished sorting the peas, I brought him 3 pounds of potatoes to peel. That took over an hour, too. He barely skims off the skin and leaves many little black dots on the skin. You may eat those; I want them gone. So, I redid them and put them in the kitchen. He did do the hard part--peeling. Navy Beans are in the crockpot.

I could not find the package of beef ribs I thought were in the refrigerator. He looked and found them still in the freezer. sigh  Potatoes and beef ribs are in the oven, salted and peppered. I have no onions and forgot bell peppers and celery.

Then, I had him slice  the head of cabbage. His hands do not bother him. Plus, all I can find is my paring knife. I asked him to peel off the outside leaves first and came in to find him just peeling the whole thing...lol. Then, I had to show him how to slice it.  I will put ham in the cabbage or in the peas, not sure.   I had put water in the crockpot before I put the peas in. When I checked the beans, there was NO water. Thankfully, I caught it in time.  I don't smell scorched beans, so hopefully all is well.

I made coleslaw since I now had a clean bowl to mix it.

All the vegetables will last for at least three days after I freeze some of the one pound of cooked beans. The meat will be gone by Friday.

We have an outing planned for Saturday, so I want to cook chicken for sandwiches. I will put out chicken to thaw today.  Soooo . . .

ham
ribs
coleslaw
cabbage
Navy beans
potatoes

Jackie Clay said coleslaw can be frozen. I will try that. Also at least two helpings of the beans will go into the freezer for later.

This is more cooking I can usually do in one day. I think I am so sleepy and bone-tired I have lost all feeling. Plus, I have washed soooo many dishes.

I managed  to knock a small Corelle bowl off the counter and it shattered into so many pieces with 4 large pieces that I can find.. Okay, I cannot get rid of italics. There is no broom here, so Tommy is going to vacuum it. Is it gone? Yes, it is.

I have no idea why I have no onions or bananas! Me tired? Definitely.  I went yesterday out to the store especially to get Navy Beans. Then, we looked in the huge garbage bag of cans from the food bank and found two pounds of Navy Beans. We will have them later.

When I was reading the Birmingham newspaper and saw a new Jazz Festival in town. I was absorbed in wondering if we could get in with our problems walking. Usually, we have to walk so far I cannot make it. I pondered this, giving up going but really wanting to go. THEN, I read on and Anne in the Kitchen's son's name was in the paper. At this point all I know is he is one of two people's names. I am not sure if he is first person playing, joining the venue or one of the person's in charge. I don't even remember the venue. Now, I really want to go.

It's 7 pm and dinner will be done about 8 pm.  Maybe I can get some dishes washed that I used. I  went in and I had forgotten to turn on the oven. So, I had a bite of cabbage. I love cooked cabbage. I love everything in the list of what I cooked. I should have prepared the two pounds of carrots.

Mmmm...we had beef ribs, potatoes, and cabbage for dinner.

Now, there is light!

Wednesday morning, I awoke about 10 am very tired, exhausted. I was back in the bed by 1 pm, feeling a little less exhausted. By now, 10 pm, the antibiotic and decongestant are working.

However, the vertigo is still a problem. Last week, I fell, or maybe I told about that. I did everything I could to overcome the dizziness. I almost hit the 50 inch TV then almost fell on Tommy in his recliner. I repeated that move tonight but recovered and did not fall.

Tonight, I felt like I could trust myself to replace the starter and fluorescent tube over the sink. I stood on a stool and had to use pliers to get the starter in correctly. Then, I put the bulb in wrong and corrected it. Thank goodness I have light. I washed the stainless steel sink several weeks ago, but it was filthy, not even halfway clean when I had light on it. ugh

Tommy has a new job. He dries the crockpot and the canner and lid. He very willingly does it.

When I first came here, he took all the dirty plates out of the refrigerator. He complained I used one skillet and did not wash it immediately. I told him I would wash all his dishes on the counter when I had light. I washed that skillet the next ay. Well, now I have light but a filthy sink. He uses dishpans, so that will work when I get one clean! He is not entirely lazy, just cannot manage lots of things. And, then they pile up!

I don't know what was said on Tuesday, but he said to someone, "We take care of each other." I almost cried. `

The yellow mum has no intention of blooming, so the store gave me another, saying I did not have to bring back the first. I chose pink in full bloom. Just now, Tommy took out the garbage and offered to water both mums. I took him up on that as I don't want to fall off the porch!

Tomorrow is the day I will make the taco casserole. I would do it tonight, but Tommy goes to bed by midnight.

The plastic containers from cottage cheese are disappearing daily. He has not noticed.

Today's high was 84F. I am getting a little panicky about not having a light coat and sweaters for everyday. The one I wore yesterday is not enough coverage. AND, I do not have scarves. Bare arms are better than bare neck and upper chest. I was once very ill and since then, my neck and chest need covering. I usually just wear a one layer nylon coat just to keep the wind off. Everything I have found has been too warm for my nature.

I am loving the Halloween decorations across the street. Do you have any Halloween decorations up? Do you love Halloween?