I Made a New Friend and Another Died

 When we go to the park, we end our trip by driving along the road that has ball fields on the right and houses on the left. Then, we turn around and come back along the road with the houses now on the right. We get a view into back yards which is very interesting. 

I was thrilled with the dozens of bee hives in one back yard. We, of course, decided soon that these held no bees. Last week, I commented to Tommy that I supposed they were not planning on raising bees since there is the third year the hives have been empty.

Tommy commented that they must be going to move because there were two moving vans in front of the house since he could see they from the park. I wanted something they had removed from one of their utility buildings.

We drove into our subdivision and went to the house. One of the movers went in and told the people we wanted to talk to them. The woman was very nice, telling us the were moving to Childersburg. 

I wanted to buy the four-foot Santa blow mold. She was adamant about keeping it. It was filthy, many years of filthy! But, she held firm and, of course, I gave up. We talked chickens, Hosta, and she gave me plants--Jacob in a boat. I think that is what she called the purple plant. 

As we were leaving, she said to me, "I wish I had met you sooner. Here we are moving and meet you." I felt the same way. She was very nice and friendly. Her husband had to call her away from our car to help move. He had gone straight back and gotten the Santa blow mold and stuck it into the bed of his pickup truck. I would place good money on the fact he would not tie it down and it would blow out. But, I kept my mouth shut. 

When we went to the park two days later, they had removed the hives and other items. I want one of the five foot chickens she left that are made in Mexico. I will have to see what she will take for them. No, I would never take things left in a yard where someone had moved out!

For some reason I was piddling around on my Facebook and found a curious notation under a picture of my only, that I know, transgender friend. I wonder about the notation and finally figured out Dana had died. Over several years, I had encountered her at group birthday parties and such. She was nice and I have no idea how she died in 2010.  I still talk with the other people who knew her, so I will have to find out. It is not that I am that distant from these people, but things happen to connections when you have been away as I have. 

So, I lost two friends this last week. 

Today, I announced I wanted KFC. Now, Tommy is not a person to turn down going out to pick up food. When I came here, I fully grasped how often he went out to pick up fast food! Today, it was delicious, as usual. We had to sit and wait for the biscuits. Of course, we did and were not troubled by the time involved. But, we were on the KFC lot for 45 minutes. UGH However, the meal was delicious. 

It is 8:30 pm and I now have to go in the kitchen and cook 12 large, fat, and full ears of corn. All the kernels except for meals will be frozen for this winter. I will freeze the kernels from two ears in each bag. And, then put those bags into one big bag. Thankfully, I have a huge pot for the boiling.

Monday night, I continued to crochet the granny square. I only made the first round the night before. It occurred to me last night that something was wrong, it was raveling from the start. So I pulled it out. Then, I was crocheting a very tiny cap. It fit right on my thumb! Of course, I had only made three groups of three double crochet. It was an easy fix, but silly mistake. 

My goals for everyday: crochet or do some handwork, read a physical book, listen to music, and exercise/march. Of course, I read on the computer, listen to Rod Stewart, and sporadically exercise this last month. I am going to buy an apparatus to listen to different music here in the living room. It won't be fancy, just cheap. Tommy's clock radio is awful when music is on. 

I had an appointment in Cullman today for the allergist that comes from Birmingham. Instead of my going there, he called me. He has sent me a prescription for allergies, head congestion. It is a spray. We spent so long at KFC that I just wanted to get home before dark. 

We are supposed to have four days of rain, so we will be home. How is your week coming along? Fun? Work? Education? Activities? Eating well? 

I'm Back

 Mentally, I feel much as I usually do. Tommy said for over two weeks I talked as though I had just gotten out of bed, that my voice was soft and sort of trailed off as I spoke. I can think. I can plan and carry it through. I can sleep at night and do not feel the need to sleep all day and into the evening.

Not once did I exercise/march

Today, for the first time in about a month, I went to a big box store. Before, I was afraid to go. Even so, today, I ran into three racks. LOL...maybe I am not 100%. 

I tried to use Fetch again, thinking it was my brain not working. Well, my brain works now, and I still cannot use it. I need help. 

I finally finished The Bird Way. Reading only as few as 4 pages some nights certainly did not make it a quick read. Now, I will start on Hillbilly Elegy. I have had this on my reading list for several years. Now, I will read it. 

Now, I have a divot in my nose. I think it is very noticeable. Tommy calls it a dimple. Who ever heard of a dimple on the end of a nose. Well, it is off-center. If it had been skin cancer, it would have been much larger. 

Tomorrow, I must pick basil if it has not bolted. It was scary to think of bending over on the porch when I was so medicated. I have a long list of items that I need to do! 

Tommy has been really good to get his food and bring me endless things I have wanted. For over two weeks, I just got up to go to the bathroom. Tonight, we went through the refrigerator to see what went to waste. The list was short--celery and a bit of salad greens. I got to see what was in there to plan when to eat what. 

I have calls to make and sugar water to make for the hummers, clothes to fold, painting, gluing and soldering (sort of), When you are discombobulated from being ill, do you have a list of things to do? 

Exercise Surprise

 I only did one minute of my "marching" exercise on Wednesday because I felt so horrible. Then, on Thursday, I struggled to get to the one minute mark. On Friday, I felt no sick, just weak and continued to five minutes of exercising. 5 minutes! 

When I finished, I asked Tommy if he was surprised because I was surprised. He said he thought I was only going for 30 seconds more, to 2.5 minutes. 

This still does not improve the ability to walk, just my stamina. I may get a cortisone shot in my spine. That will only stop the pain. I doubt it will help my ability to walk. 

Other exercises were sent to me by a blogger friend. Now that I am feeling better, I will start those tomorrow. These new exercises are easier than the marching, I think. They are mild, just what I need. 

Working my way up is just what I need right now. In the past I have known what I could do and quit several exercise programs because the person in charge wanted me to push past what was possible. Once, I stayed in bed, literally, for a week because I tried to please a woman who was sure I could do more. I know me! Tommy never encouraged to exercise one more step!!! Just now, I asked him why he did not want me to try more. He said he figured I had reached my limit. Good! He times me any time I ask, day or night, no matter what he is reading or watching on TV. I never ask him when he is not sitting in his recliner. 

To progress from 30 seconds to 5 minutes is something I am amazed at right now. I know I must do better and come back from the body condition I have right now. 

Has anyone ever pushed you to try harder, more, or longer and ruined your exercise?

Groceries This Week

 We made a quick trip out to pay a bill, get gas, and buy groceries. 

bread at bread store 2 loaves @ $1.19/each

deli fried chicken breast $2.69

grape tomatoes $2

Greek pasta salad $2.20

5 bananas $1.26

red delicious apple $1.13

broccoli $2.50

2 gal distilled water each $1.29

Diet Cokes Caffeine Free $6.19

Total was $20.82

Part of this was lunch in the park. We shared the chicken breast because they are huge. I bought the least package of Greek pasta salad. It was full of spinach, feta, and olive oil with the penne pasta. We shared that, too. I bought the tomatoes for the salad and for home. We drank water we had with us. We both figured this all healthier than fast food places and cheaper. I never eat the skin or breading. 

This was my day. I really must wash my hair this evening! 

Dinner will be the rest of the baked chicken breast, broccoli, tomatoes, and cheese in a casserole. 

Yesterday, I upped my exercise a bit and did two minutes twice and one minute after that.  I am incredibly tired and my heart is doing flip flops. I have no intentions of sitting or lying down, necessarily. But, dinner will be easy and I can wash my hair and exercise. 

Yesterday, some places in Birmingham received over 7" of rain. One city in the area had 9"!  It seemed we had torrents all day, but not so heavy. The lightning was truly frightening at times! 

If you are in this area, how much rain did you get? What are your plans for Mother's Day?

Doctors and The Chocolate Lounge Found and More Exercises

Tuesday, I had a long neglected appointment with a retinal specialist. Fortunately, this last year has not caused further damage to my macula. He kept reassuring me, but I still have to perform an Amsler grid test everyday without fail.  It is scary, but I have to determine if my vision is worsening with a graph. 

My macula started to pucker about thirty years ago. The doctor is talking surgery which I will not resist! The macula is scarring my retina. For me macular degeneration is scarier than heart disease. Not being able to see is a nightmare for me. With heart disease, you just die. 

This is just the beginning of doctor appointments that I have delayed. People keep telling me I don't look my age, that I look much younger. I suppose this proves you don't have to look old to have old people  health problems. 

Wednesday, I am off to see endocrinologist. Okay, back.

There was lots of good news and a little bad news. My AIC is up a tad. My cholesterol is down to where it should be, but he wants it lower. My blood pressure was 110/63. Thyroid level is finally okay. I have an ultrasound scheduled for nodules behind my thyroid. I believe more have developed. So, maybe this is all uninteresting. 

I did go to The Chocolate Lounge and (Tommy)  bought two chocolates for a total of $7.15.  It is located in a business that says "Art Camp" at 1925 29th Ave in Homewood, Alabama. The chocolate lounge is an old-fashioned looking candy counter and on a table with chocolate truffles on  footed cake  plates with covers. The guy said they order these from Texas.  I know, I know. I go to the doctor about diabetes and eat chocolates!

The bread store was on the way home. My favorite bread that is usually $3.59 was $1.09. The two loaves had dates of May 5, 2021 and May 9, 2021. So, none of it will be stale. If I can get one loaf in the freezer, I will put it there. 

Today, I did my sitting marching for TWO MINUTES! I felt no worse than the first day I exercised for 30 seconds. A blog friend sent me a page of similarly easy exercises, so I will add those. I must be a bit more fit. 

Friday Bits on a Saturday Now Sunday

We have had no internet or wifi for the last 30 hours. It seems the storms tore up multiple places and ripped up Spectrum's system. However, we have no idea what happened or where, just not here. So, it is Sunday 

At least twice a day, I do my 90 second exercise. I no longer feel like I will die at the end of 30 seconds and am sure of dying after 60 seconds.  And, the push to 90 seconds is easy. But, instead of going for more time, I hope to go for more repetitions during the day. 

Having adjusted my medicine times, it appears I can still sleep for 8+ hours...sometimes. I no longer take the Claritin at night. Plus, I make an effort to take all of it by 9 pm instead of midnight or later. And, I take the Melatonin at least one hour before bed instead of when I go to bed. Also, I go to bed when I first become tired. I still need a nap or two some days, but I limit my sleep. I am not sure if this helps or not, but it seems I can take a four hour nap and still go to bed two hours later.

The new blanket, Vellux, feels so gross to my hands. It's yucky. But, it kept my feet warm on the two cold nights I used it. I still may return it. 

When we were listening to the lecture/book talk, we kept hearing a bird call. Tommy mentioned the fact to the people who work there. It turns out that there is a wild peacock in the woods behind the pavilion.  

Those pine woods are all planted since the 70s. We passed them on the way to the bowling alley when I bowled in a morning league. My youngest was not walking when we first went there for my league. She was the cutie with the bunny at Easter. 

I showed her the cows and she fell in love with all cows. She liked cows more than cats, dogs, or bunnies. When I was trying to get her ready the morning we bowled and she was not eating or cooperating with dressing, I reminded her we were going to see cows. Before she was a year old, she would cooperate in the morning if she heard we were going to see cows. So, that spot and the woods reminded me of her baby predilection for cows in the morning. 

Friday, we took bananas to the neighbor whose father died. She has two little boys. So, I supposed someone might like bananas. I only kept five of the reduced bananas and gave her about six.  Her little boy is so cute and friendly. There is nothing like cute smiles from toddlers. He is the little boy I saw standing in his yard looking at our Easter Egg tree. So, I suppose we are friends.

So, with the storm damage to Spectrum, we are back. 

Did a child of yours have a special feeling for an animal other than cats or dogs? 

At the Dentist

At the dentist office I went to the bathroom before I sat down to wait for the receptionist to invite me back to have my teeth cleaned.  As I came to sit down, I spotted a coin--a dime. I sort of exclaimed--Oh, a dime as I moved to pick it up. A woman sitting closer to the dime said that dime could have been hers if she had seen it.  We both laughed. But, I had it. 

After my cleaning I received two toothbrushes instead of one, tiny container of dental floss, and a small tube of toothpaste. The dental floss is mint, so I am saving it for my Pink Purse project. I think the toothpaste is what caused severe gum pain. I am so thrilled with two toothbrushes since I cannot find these for sale--Soft GUM. One was a pretty lime color and one was a pretty yellow.  

Tommy was sort of insulted I wanted the sink washed AGAIN. But, around 11 pm Sunday night he wandered off and scrubbed it. When he got back I asked him if he didn't feel better about having done a good job. No, he said his back and hands hurt. But, the sink shone mightily. He does enjoy what I cook. I suppose buying a pizza or hamburger would keep the sink clean!

Sunday, I did my marching exercise twice in two hours. Here, at the end of the day, my feet are barely swollen.  Now, I just need to do it more often each day like my plan was. I am still at 90 seconds of marching. So, keeping my feet up, exercising, and getting more sleep helps. My sodium intake is low, so lowering it is probably not possible.

Monday

Only one of us did any work today. And, it was not me. I awoke at 8:30 after a long, good, hard sleep. By 10 am I was exhausted from sitting. By 11:15 I was back in bed, telling Tommy to wake me at 1 pm. He did. And, he woke me at 1:30 and 2 pm. Finally, I got up at 2:30 pm.

While I was watching TV when I awoke, I was so cold. So, I picked up a heavy fleece jacket and zipped it up. When I went to bed, my intention was to take it off. Instead, I got into bed with the jacket on and covered up with a quilt and a comforter. When I finally got up, I was having chills.  98.9F temp and my normal is 97.2. It is just enough to make me feel yucky. 

But, we went into the driveway and I cut his hair. I cut it sitting on my walker, and the first thing I did was to completely cut off one side burn, clear to the skin. I left a stubble on the other sideburn. About halfway through, he said it felt so good to get the weight off. lol 

I know what my illness is--my chest. I have had a dry cough and then productive. I know this will be gone in three days, but I hate it. 

After I got up from my lengthy nap, Tommy started telling me all he did--washed my clothes, put some in dryer, and got them out, watered my plant that was not looking too healthy, made his lunch (cheese sandwich), got the mail and something else. Now, I have dinner to make and clothes to either hang or fold. 

So, This probably means I cannot get the second Covid shot. But, I was told it should be done before six weeks, so all is not lost. 

I did 30 seconds of my exercise just to keep it for another day. I am afraid I will regress if I don't exercise at all.

The weather is beautiful today, mid 70s, sunshine and few clouds. Is your weather pretty? Do you ever use clippers for cutting hair? I think I need to watch a video again. 

Rest and Productivity

 When we get the dishwasher loaded, I tell Tommy it is time to scour the sink with Barkeeper's Friend. Once he did not get up and scour the sink. I was mildly complaining to him. He told me from now on, just tell him to do it. So, I do. 

Well, the last time I told him, he said, "Why does it have to be washed EVERY time?" He sort of wailed like he was in distress. I laughed so hard! I mentioned being clean as one of the reasons for cleaning it at least once a week. When I pointed out that it is easier to clean and takes less time if it is not horribly gunky. I think that may have made an impression on him--the part about not taking so long.  The sink is completely emptied about every five days. So, he is not ruining his hands scouring. I do not demand excellence every day...lol.

Monday and Tuesday caught up with me on Wednesday. I did nothing except ride to doctor's office and go in and buy two cookies at Cookie Fix. That finished me off. 

For Wednesday dinner I put about 8 Brussel's Sprouts and 8 meatballs out for Tommy to microwave along with salad fixings. Then, I went to bed for an hour. When he called me, I told him I needed another hour. But, in 30 minutes I got up, never having slept at all. Still, I did not eat dinner. Then, I only slept from 1 am to 5:30 am. So, here on Thursday, I have no plans to do anything except making potato salad with all this celery I bought at Easter for $0.99. We will have leftover chicken, sliced tomatoes, and potato salad. 

Of course, since he won't eat cold potatoes or eggs, this will be tricky. Now, it is 6:20 pm on Thursday, and there will be no potato salad. Whatever. 

I have done one minute and 30 seconds of marching and may do another set. 

We went for a ride and got ice cream. The sun was so bright that I could not keep my eyes open! Although I did nothing physical, I did manage to make five very productive phone calls that should have been done earlier. Now, it all the people I talked with do their job, it will have been a super-productive day. Do you ever have just phone call days that are worth every minute you spend as opposed to days when you cannot reach the right person or get a positive reaction? 

Sunday Searcher

 A friend turns 90 on Monday, so I wanted to get her a gift. She loves to garden, so I decided to get her an azalea bush. Well, I should have thoght better! We left here and drove a bit to get to Lowe's where there were no working electric carts. So, a guy got a wheelchair and I was pushed erratically though the garden center. One employee just wagged a finger and said "over there." Another, thirty minutes later, said, "on the rolling stands." 

The young guy who was pushing me kept showing me roses and petunias. It was not his job to know the plants. Finally, after great tribulations and insults, I called for a manager. The manager of the garden center came and wondered why I could not find the azaleas. Well, I did not want Encore Azaleas, the kind that are supposed to bloom for 8 months. They don't and were $29 or some outrageous amount. 

As it turns out, Lowe's does not carry regular azaleas, Coral Bell, the color I want or any color of that sort. I left after the manager helped me and went to another big box store. Just the thought of searching for an electric cart made me ill and more exhausted. I could not stand being in the parking lot, so we left. 

Next, I went to Publix where I knew the plants would be much more expensive. We sat in the car for 30 minutes waiting for a cart. Why do I try to shop on Sunday afternoon? I went in and only found some three inch pots of plants. I had settled on those on sale 2/$5. And, they were not flowers. Then, I saw a plant up high, a red azalea. Aha!

More than half the buds were dead. The manager of the floral department came and I asked him if they were reducing it or could they dead-head it for me. He said, "How about I give it to you for free?" FREE? He said yes, and I was happy!

My friend loves to dig and plant flowers. I knew this would fare better with  a little neglect than flowers and still she would have flowers to make her happy. That is why I did not settle for something else when searching for azaleas. 

I took it to the car and went back to get Tommy's cereal. Luckily, Cheerios were bogo. And, they were heart shaped. Tommy ate the last of his cereal Sunday morning and only told me after the box was empty. I have asked him to tell me ahead of time, but he doesn't. I decided that a package of expensive chicken was cheaper than eating out and better than eating meatballs again. So, I brought home a small package of expensive chicken. 

We arrived home 3 hours after we left and I was exhausted. I deadheaded the azalea, watered it and put it out for an hour in the late afternoon sun. It looked much better when I brought it in. I have addressed the card and will take this to my friend tomorrow. I will put it out in the morning and transport it in a sunny place in the car on Monday. 

I waited until the hour and did my one minute of "marching." Then, I just went to bed for an hour. I was going to cut Tommy's hair, but was too tired. When I got up from the rest/nap, I did two more sets of one minute and an hour apart. 

Right now, I am waiting for the chicken, potatoes, and onions with dry Italian Seasoning to bake. We will also have a salad. One breast or less will be dinner. Another portion will be here for Monday night. I may make a chicken sandwich for our lunch when we go out on Monday. At any rate, I won't have to cook until at least Wednesday, I hope.  There were three breasts and we might have eaten half of one breast. 

To finish my Sunday, I will load the dishwasher. I suppose I will wash my hair before setting out for Cullman on Monday. 

Monday

I slept almost 6 hours last night. I only had a one hour nap on Sunday. Sometimes, a short nap does not work. I just get more tired and cannot sleep. I also took a good slug of my liquid melatonin before bed last night. 

The azalea has been watered again and is outdoors once more. The tight buds are now showing a bit of red. I don't know if it will bloom more before I can get it to her. There are actually two plants in the pot. I hope she will separate them when she plants them. 

This post is way earlier than I wanted to post, but it is either now or evening, so it will be now. 

Just being out exhausts me! Do you find that the older you get, the less you can stand shopping?

New, Minimal Exercise Goal and Plantain

Per the plan, I did nothing at all on Saturday. And, I did it well. I actually slept for almost six hours on Friday night. Amazingly, my feet were barely swollen when I awoke. I sleep through all the storms with thunder. 

Exercise 

The elliptical exerciser did not work out. The pedal exerciser was not right. So, I figured out something I can do with no equipment. 

I push Tommy's walker against the front door and "march" in place. He uses a stopwatch on his phone and times me. When he said "30 seconds," I was shocked. I already felt like I was going to pass out from the exertion. I could only last one minute. That was Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

My next goal is to do one minute on the hour each day and at least five times. Don't snicker or belittle. It is hard for me. And one minute five times each day is more than I have been exercising. 

There are two egg cartons here, waiting for recycling. We are trying to find places to recycle cans and plastic bottles. I hate putting them in the trash. 

Every time we go to Cullman, gas is ten cents cheaper per gallon than it is here, so Tommy is eager to save money and we stop. 

I have a plantain and now cannot figure out how to cook it. Someone said, "Just bake it like a potato." I see so many recipes on the internet and need to know how you cook it and like it. I am not looking for a recipe with a dozen ingredients. And, I don't want to waste it. This plantain is huge. One of the things that confuses me is some recipes are for "plantain bananas."  Is there such a thing? 

Okay, I am off to my 10 am one-minute exercise. 

Goals Today, My Feet

 HERE is a video where my Victrola is shown. It is not mine, but identical to mine. Enlarge the video and lower the volume. It is on the left of the video.

I awoke Saturday morning and my feet have a "foot" shape with little swelling and almost no pain. So, after three days of minimal exercise, things are improving. YAY! And, I slept better without foot pain in bed.

Three main goals today: 

*finish washing dishes

*finish cutting hair

*cook and freeze ground beef crumbles

Wednesday, we picked up the box lunch and one for dinner. We have met friends at the lake to eat and visit. The lake park is still closed, so our friends we meet invited us to eat in their back yard. It was a cold and dampish experience since they back up to woods in the neighborhood. This was our only human contact without a mask in two months. 

I am behind on reading and commenting on blogs, so maybe I can get that done today. 

Minor goals:

*move food tp shelves and bedroom

*move boxes to bedroom

*remove boxes for Tommy to cut up for trash

*bring shirts in for him to sort

What are your goals for the rest of today? What goals did you do on Sunday? 

Okay, I am off to enjoy the mid 67F weather, blue skies and puffy clouds.

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?

Weight, Exercise, Fingernails, and Blogger

Yesterday, Monday, I did not walk due to all the rain and the fact I slept a lot. Plus, I sort of forgot. I asked Tommy on Saturday how long I walked--he said 2 or 3 minutes. Nope, more than that, I hope. I need to walk 15 minutes every day. So, I am hoping it was more like 10 minutes. Whatever time it was, I will have to work up to my goal.

When I awoke Sunday, I weighed myself in only my panties and before I ate. I was down 1 pound more than I have been in years. Monday, after eating breakfast and lunch and drinking 10 ounces of milk and 16 ounces of water, I weighed 3 pounds less than Sunday. I wonder.

I have consistently had four slices of bread each day. I know. That is a lot. However, eating lean chicken and vegetables and fruit seems to have made a difference in my weight. Well, the chicken two days was full of Feta and the next was in some sort of breading with cheese.

Sleep has come more easily since I cut back on the Melatonin. Now, my back itches most of the night until i give in and take allergy meds.

Is there a place to check spelling on Blogger? Why do i have to come back to the present post to start a new post? Is there are place to solve these two problems? Surely, there is a spellcheck.

Why does the "i" sometimes capitalize itself and sometimes not?

I decided to buy a glove for my left hand before i cut off a finger. It is metal and mesh. It is like ones used in the meat department and in the produce department in the grocery store.

Speaking of cutting my finger off, I asked the doctor last Wednesday about my accident. I told her i let it bleed freely several times, washed it in soap and water, held it closed, wrapped it tightly to help stanch the bleeding, put mupiricin on it, kept it very dry with a glove for three days.

She said i did "exactly the right thing." Since it still hurts deep inside, she took a look at it and said it was going to be fine. But i still need the metal mesh glove! I have too much cutting to do to take any chances.

I just noticed that my fingernails are incredibly stronger/thicker now. Usually, my index fingernail is not hard and bends easily. Now, it is steel hard like the other nails. I have lethal weapons on the fingertips. The only difference is the 50,000 units of Vitamin D that I have been taking since. February 2020. I just now noticed the index finger nails because I hurt my eye with an index fingernail. 

New Things Around Here

First of all, I am going to exercise more. Don't get excited. I walked down the driveway, two driveways to the right and then to property line on other side of Tommy's yard. All this was while using my walker. I suppose I walked 400 ft. That is probably a record for me. Using the walker made it possible. There are days I have trouble walking to the mail box. Some days holding onto the ramp is all that gets me to his car.

I have tiny squash on my squash plants. I wondered if the blossoms were being pollinated. I do have two different flowers on the front porch for their blossoms and to attract pollinators.

Plus, I have moved watering to twice a day instead of once a day. I want fat little squash and tomatoes.

Today, I had the urge for a doughnut. We went to the donut shop at a little before 7 pm. They close at 2 pm! And, YES! I was only going to buy 2 doughnuts, one for each of us.

On the way home, we decided to go to Sonic for some ice cream, something small and cheap. We sat and sat and sat. Finally, we saw a man who did not look like a server and Tommy asked him how long it would take and would drive-thru be faster. The guy was nice. He explained that there was only one cook, and the rest of them were making the ice cream and drinks. Some people were ordering $50 and $75 worth of food. The drive thru was back up because they were working on a $75 order.

Tommy told him we only wanted a hot fudge chocolate sundae. They guy said he would get them. When Tommy tried to hand him his card, the guy refused it. Afterwards, I felt glutted with sugar. THAT is why I came home and decided today was the day I took a walk every day from now on.

I have been trying to encourage Tommy to take a walk with me, but he refuses even a bit of a walk. So, I am going forward without him. I know that one day he will join me.

Walking/exercising, baby squash, and an extra watering each day is all that is new. But, it is a start. I don't want to overwhelm me...lol.

Dinner--baked chicken and carrots, salad, water, fruit.

What is new in your life?