Thursday Happenings--not much

 I have felt a bit better tonight. I only had about 3 hours sleep last night and then 2 this afternoon. 

The Conchita pimientos will not get my seal of approval. It is bitter and nasty. I think being in a can is why it is bitter. However, once in pimiento and cheese, it was better, tolerable. Miracle Whip saved the taste. 

Today, I had a can of Diet Free Decaffeinated Coke that had been the house two days and in the refrierator for two days. It was flat. I had Tommy taste it and he declared it flat, too. This happens once in a while, not sure how a sealed can of Coke can be flat after being open for thirty seconds. 

Tommy improved the kitchen. The drawer for utensils has an holder that slides back into the drawer continually. I am not going to buy the liner to keep it where it belongs. So, I asked him to take on of the Planter's Peanut jars, tall and skinny, and place it at the back of the drawer. It works really well. So, I no longer have to keep pulling the drawer further out to get the utensil I want. I am so happy. 

Since I have been decluttering the counter between the sink and microwave. I took out two cups from the back near the microwave. My favorite hot chocolate cup had the handle broken in two pieces and in the cup. Did I forget about this? How did it get broken? Did Tommy do it? Who knows? But, it went straight into the trash. The other cup was a dish to eat soup, wide and with a handle. It is in the dishwasher. I have no idea why these were on the counter. But, they are not now. How is that for decluttering?!

Kraft Medium Cheddar Cheese Chunks were $1.80 + 10% at the Pig. So, I had Tommy go in and get two, making it $1.98 each. He came back and said that there were only 6 on the shelf, so he got all six. Why? He was already complaining that we have too much cheese. Well, we have plenty now. 

We went to Publix for his milk, my milk, bananas, and bread. 

In a few minutes, I will start freezing two slices of bread at a time, placing them in a freezer bag for the freezer. I did this years ago. Someone reminded me of this, so I will do this so as not to have bread get moldy. 

Dinner: Tommy had chicken thigh, salad, corn. I had last two hotdogs, salad, green beans. 

Did you ever keep something broken for no reason and discover it later? 

Does your utensil tray slide around in the drawer, making it difficult to reach a spoon?

Stocking Up and Other Things

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Junk Food

 On Tuesday I felt I was recovering. Today, I felt even worse! This is one of those instances in which I have no idea what malady has me in its grip. My ears don't hurt or feel stopped up. Throat is not sore. Sinuses feel fine. I just feel weak and feverish. My eating habits seem to be the only things affected.

I had Special K, milk and banana for breakfast about 11 am, then was so hungry I had another bowl thirty minutes later.

Then, I decided I should lie down for an hour before we went out. Well, I slept a total of three hours and told Tommy to at least go to Publix and get our milk. I had mentioned earlier in the day what we needed and things on bogo. He brought those home even though I did not expect it. 

He gave me the receipt which looked weeks old with a thousand wrinkles. ??? He brought home--his milk, two of my a2milk, ice cream bogo, 4 Kraft Medium chunks--bogo, cherries $4.99/lb on sale, 3 bananas, keto bread, 2 huge bags of potato chips, 5 lb. red potatoes, 1 Corn Chex bogo. Then, he said, "I brought you a surprise." It was a bag of Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookies. OMG

I did ask for the ice cream and will only eat less than a half cup each day. The potato chips are his thing. I decided I would make pimiento and cheese. Well, there was no pimiento and the cheese was grated. Tommy volunteered to go back and get it for me. They don't carry Dromedary, so he bought Lindsay instead. I now have an opened jar, 7 ounces. Grating the cheese exhausted me. 

The keto bread was $6.99. But, worth it I thought. However the keto bread, Nature's Own has 10 grams of carbs while the Nature's Own Honey Wheat has 13 grams of carbs. I wonder if it even worth buying this keto bread. Besides, the keto bread is so chewy! 

Tommy went to the kitchen and found food for himself--slaw I made yesterday, leftover chicken, corn he decided to open. I did not want anything! There are two packages of chicken that need to be cooked--thighs and split breasts. Somehow, I with Tommy's help will get those cooked. I have had an incredible amount of junk food today, especially tonight. But, I will have chicken, slaw, and green beans tonight. 

We are watching "The Game Show Show." It is great because we get to see old favorites like The Gong Show, Truth or Consequences and more. This is the third session. I am not sure how many more installments there will be. Have you seen this show on ABC? 

Hopefully, all this junk food will cure me. What do you think? jk I know this is not right.

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. 

I Swear with My Hand on a Cookbook

 In order to get everything done and as cheaply as possible, I am doing Thanksgiving in stages. Today, I made a list of everything I will need for the meal. Next, I will check to see if I need to buy those items. Then, from this week onward, I will watch for sales for those items.

One thing I did was prepare Tommy and the refrigerator for the day. I told Tommy we had to keep the top shelf of the refrigerator clear enough to hold a turkey in a pan to thaw. For him, that means not opening a bottle of juice. Telling him this was also to help me remember not to buy too much milk, no matter cheap the price. 

Today, I tried to bend in front of the big freezer to find a turkey at the bottom. Since there is no light in the room, I am doing this blind, so to speak. I felt and felt until I thought I felt the rounded mass of poultry. 

When I pulled, I finally dislodged a turkey breast. YAY! When I put this one in the oven, I will dislodge another turkey or turkey breast. I swear with my hand on a cookbook that I will never, ever buy another whole turkey no matter how cheap it is.  They are too much bother for me to hold and put in a pan and then into the oven. I barely got myself standing after getting the breast loose from the freezer. 

Tonight, I decided to cook the two chicken breasts in a chicken, soup, rice, green bean casserole. I might put cheese on the top if I have what I want to use. Otherwise, it will still be delicious. Tommy said to put broccoli in the casserole. So, I put in frozen broccoli florets, bought on sale, bogo from Publix. I did add a tiny jar of pimiento. Tommy does not like pimiento, but if I drain the juice, he says it is fine. So, I drained it. It looks like a pretty Christmas dish. There will be several nights of leftovers from this. 

I mashed 2.5 large bananas, one too ripe even for me. These will be used in a banana bread. Maybe this will be made before Thanksgiving, maybe not. Don't hold me to anything cooking-related...lol. 

PAM is going to kill me! I staggered out of the kitchen to find an inhaler. I know I can put a smear of oil in a casserole. Why do I do this? Yes, I might get the device that will mist oil in pans. 

Today, about 4:30 pm, Tommy looked to see if we had any mushroom soup. He said we did not, so we headed out to Publix before it became too dark. When we got home, I found lots of cream of mushroom soup. He did not look in the place where I put it. Oh, well. We were going out for bread, anyway.

I told him to get low sodium soup if he found it. Well, he called and said there was a no salt variety and a low sodium variety. The low sodium variety had 750 mg sodium and the no salt had something like 5 mg sodium. I still need to examine all the other ingredients in the no-salt can. That will be done soon, maybe tonight, maybe not.

This morning, we spent time in the kitchen. I washed about two dozen snap-lock lids for the glass baking/storage dishes. Tommy dried them and organized them so much better than I would have. He had found a bin I bought from DT and keeps the sizes together. While he was drying, I finished cleaning out a drawer.  He has held onto fuses since before his fuse box was changed for a breaker box. So, more in the trash and less stored useless items. 

Just now, I asked him how long it had been since he had a fuse box. Never. So, he has had a breaker box since he moved in here in 1980. The fuses were from the last owner! He has kept their stuff for over 42 years. He had no idea where the little light bulbs were from or if they worked as they were from the previous owner! 

It is getting chilly out. Tonight, tiny children were still in shorts and shirts. 

At 11:15 am, I was ready for a nap since I slept less than 5 hours. Of course, I always hope for sleep, so maybe tonight will be better.

The ads start today, but I found nothing of great interest to me. How about you? Any good sales? 

Decluttering, Feeling Puny, Spaghetti

 There has been no rain in three weeks. Last week, we had 0.003 of an inch of rain. Or, was it 0.03 of an inch. Either way, that is not a lot of rain. Combined with the leaves falling and something growing to which I am allergic, I am fighting a battle to the end of the month! Humidity is 29%, just the way I like it whether hot or cold. 

The first time I was ever ill the whole month of October, I had just gone back to school, taking a heavy load. I failed one class and dropped another. The class I failed was a humanities participation class, 1 hour! Other students asked me how I failed that class. Easy! You don't ever show up. These were lecture, dance, theatre, and always on Friday night. I went to class on Tuesday and Thursday that semester, plus one class on one Saturday, and a Sunday class. Going on Friday was just something I could not handle. So, I failed. I was beyond annoyed at my state of health. Every year since then, 30 years ago, I have been ill every October. 

Ground beef is now $3.99/lb. and boneless skinless chicken breast is $2.99, prices I have not seen so low in almost a year. Hopefully, this will be a trend, lower meat prices. 

I had a coupon for a free loaf of bread. There was a bogo sale for the same bread. So, I should have been able to use the free coupon to "purchase" one loaf and get another free. I explained all this to Tommy when he went in to get it. But, did he get that deal. No, he gave up a coupon AND paid for a loaf of bread. If the coupon could not be used that way, I could have saved it until bread was not bogo. Did he do that? No! So, I have to go back and get some sort of satisfaction. He wasted a coupon. 

We took four little plastic grocery bags with things in them to the Thrift store and put them in the donations. Tommy insists that t-shirts should go in the trash here at the house. Finally, he said they had to go for donations even though these are old and will bring money. He wants to drop all old electronics into the garbage in front of the house. I really don't understand his thinking. But, three small bags are gone from the house. 

I have had a 42 ounce can of pimiento waiting to open and share with my neighbor for over a year. I finally did that, so one can and clutter off the counter in the kitchen. We took it to her on the trip to grocery and thrift store. There were seven people/cars waiting at the pharmacy drive-through, so we will do that another day. 

I am struggling to stay well. But, in a few minutes, I will wander into the kitchen where he is cooking ground beef for spaghetti. I will add caramelized onion, garlic, and olive oil to the jar of pasta. We can have a salad. 

On Monday, when I awoke feeling on top of the world, I looked for otc meds I keep in a bin in my bedroom. I try to never let my otc meds run out. Since I struggled to find dental floss in the store about 18 months ago, I had bought a box of six from Amazon. And, where was it now? So, I uncovered my favorite dental floss, Glide Pro-Health Original. I have no idea if the shelves are stocked with what I need, but my bin is stocked. If there is any on the shelf, it is probably higher than the price I paid last year.