I Received Four Extra Hours on Thursday

 It felt like we were given four extra hours today. We were both ecstatic. Well, I was. We had one of those appointments today where the repair person would be here between 1 pm and 5 pm. Well, I just knew he would get here about a quarter to five. No. He was her at 1 pm. This is the guy who will repair my lift recliner. 

The whole undercarriage will have to be replaced. This will be pricey. He helped us beyond the chair carriage. I asked him what he knew about the battery to get my feet down when we lost electricity. He pulled out a box sitting on the floor and showed me where an nine-volt battery. It is just that easy. He does think the battery is good for only one use. Plus, he told me about the big battery case that must be charged and can be used without plugging it into the wall. I feel fortunate that he was so knowledgeable. 

About 12:30 pm we were out of here to do things we needed to do today. 

The thing we went to SAM's on Wednesday to buy was wrong. So, that had to go back on Thursday, and they did not have what we needed. The return was easy. Tommy got us a hot dog and diet drink for $1.38. These are the foods that will cause hardening of the arteries. So, neither of us need them. Thankfully, we live far from Homewood! 

At Publix, Tommy tried to return something and get another, different flavor. He had to bring it home because this was something not on the shelf. There were no nine-volt batteries. But, I did use the coin machine instead of rolling coins. Well, Tommy kept putting the job off, so I ended up just paying the coin machine to count pennies, nickels, and dimes. 

I had 75 quarters and thought I would just spend them a few at a time. I only saved about 20 cents by holding them back. These coins were what I had saved over three years. Some were picked up, some were from the bottom of my purse or pocket. All told, I have $30.28. This is my plant fund. 

Tonight for dinner, I will bake some chicken slices and vegetables--carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and sugar snap peas. Maybe this will offset the huge hotdog we had along with a huge bun and a huge diet drink. For breakfast I had blueberries, strawberries, cheese, and milk. So, the Sam's treat was the only bad thing today. 

It seems that when I have to stay home for a repairman, that everything I want to drive and do is urgent. I am antsy the whole time. Do you hate to stay home for someone who will come eventually? Once I waited all day and got a call that the repairmen had run late and I could wait another four hours the next week, not even the next day. I was fit to be tied. 

Today, was a good day even though we did not get everything done. And, Tommy was not so sweet today, but not as horrid as some days. 

We drove to Piggly Wiggly and Giant to get ads. 

He returned something at Big Box and the money was put back on the cc. 

We arrived home about 5 pm, having spent our free four hours doing things that needed to be done. So, essentially it frees up other days and hours. 

How was your Thursday? Did things go smoothly? Do you hate waiting in the four-hour window for a repairman to come? 

New Year's Eve

 We went out briefly Saturday midday and came right back to a nap...lol. Well, he watched football. One item needs more documentation, so no return there. I will fix it. I managed to get the cups we desperately need so that we don't have to wash a million glasses. I also bought a red bin, large one, for Christmas decorations. I found a box of nasty butter cookies in a pretty tin. After paying for the cookies, I dumped them all but six into a bag and gave them to the two children behind me. The tin had Santa on it and was cheaper than a tin at a yard sale. We replaced the lamp with another floor lamp. Done! 

At Publix, I returned the stemless wine glasses. They had huge bottoms, no roundness at all. They are ugly and hard to hold. The three coupons I needed to use on last night's purchase gave me cash back. Altogether, I was ahead $10 and used all but $1.11 on purchases. 

I found a Moscow Mule mug and got it, beautiful red with a painted-on white tree. I had a Santa mug for 50 years that I put candy canes in at Christmas. So, the red or green mug will work. Plus, I got cookie cutters. I had to buy three to get the star cookie cutter I wanted.

We dropped off red rice and two packages of Hamburger Helper to Lynda. I hate HH. 

NYE fare is decided--leftover taco soup, sausage balls, Ruffles and dip, regular grape juice in our 7-Up. Tommy says he does not like Ruffles, but I know he will have some. I asked what kind he wanted and he would not say, so it is done.  

At one place, I saw a Party in a Box but did not stop to examine. Great idea. Of course, decorating for NYE has never been a thing I do. 

Oh, I forgot to tell you. At the last doctor's appointment, I had lost five pounds. I don't know if it was different scales or what, but I had been cutting back a bit since the previous appointment since I was horrified at my weight.

A memory: One NYE, I went to a party where the doors were open, we wandered in the garden in party clothes. The host had built a fire that was driving us all outdoors! It was so warm that I wore a sleeveless, sheer outfit and needed not even a sweater. It was wonderful. The host was a musician. One room had a piano in the corner and about 30 instruments on the wall that anyone was welcome to use at the party. One man in the garden had a flute. I commented that he had gotten attached and must be planning to play again that evening. He said it was his own instrument, that many of the people at the party were members of some orchestra from NYC that was playing somewhere in Birmingham. It was a memorable evening. I even drove people to another party because I did not drink. 

What is on the agenda for NYE at your house? Of course, I will have no problem staying up until midnight. The day was pretty, clear and warm, in mid 60Fs, so I am sure people will be out tonight. I just hope no shooting is involved in celebrating. A child was killed in her bed in her home last week. The tragic, random shootings must stop. I digress.

Are you going out? Staying in? Having company? Treats? Staying up late? Having fireworks? Found any more markdowns? 

Do you have any special traditions for NYE?

When do you take down Christmas tree and decorations? Mine will come down Jan 1st. 

Happy New Year! 

Returns and Recycling

 Monday night, I was so tired  that I went to bed at midnight. I slept well, waking at least five times to go to the bathroom, but went sound asleep after coming back to bed each time. I awoke about 8:30 am feeling like I had been beat up. However, we were out the door for chores by 10 or so.  That means I did get my required 7.5 hours of sleep. 

A call from my gastroenterologist was comforting. My liver enzymes are right. I got no report about spleen, pancreas, or gall bladder even though they were studied. I suppose that is good news. The liver is not in the best shape but no worse than five years ago. I have all the symptoms of gall bladder disease. Over my objections, I have had all sorts of tests, and nothing shows up. I do not encourage these tests. 

We had one thing to do in the morning and one thing in the afternoon. I took back a jacket of sweatsuit fabric and got the right size.  When I bought it, a woman was standing in front of the rack. Instead of asking her to move as she had offered, I asked her to hand me a certain size. She did and I left. Well, I put it on at home and it was tight. She had handed me a jacket two sizes too small.  Today, I could not find my size and just one a size larger. It may or may not work. I bought smaller stemless wine glasses.

We took the recycling to Publix--paper, plastic bags, plastic bottles. We will give soup/tuna cans to someone else to recycle and recycle coke type cans ourselves. I returned the larger wine glasses. 

I mailed a few cards yesterday and have one to mail right now. I no longer hold cards until I get them all ready for the mail, now trying to beat the rush of cards and packages as I can at least for a few of them. It is after 5 pm and dark, yet we have to get my med that I need for my heart health. So, I suppose we will go out again. 

Today has been chilly, dry and very dreary! But, it has not dampened my spirit. IT'S CHRISTMAS! I am not in a buying frenzy, cleaning frenzy, or cooking frenzy, just have heightened feelings right now. 

Today, I bought low carb bread that might help with weight loss or at least weight gain. A comment from another blogger made me think twice--she loves a sandwich for lunch. I do too. I don't need so many carbs since I have diabetes. 

Okay, I took a bite of the keto bread. It is the best I have tasted. I tasted two other keto breads in the past. Miracle Whip will jazz it up. This is from Sprouts--Live Carb Smart, only 1 net carb per slice. Is that good? 

We drove the few blocks in the neighborhood to find a pink bag of ads and coupons. See, we did little today. We did offer a ride to a woman on a bike with too many, too heavy boxes and bags. A woman who knows her stopped and with a car more suited to her load and she went with her. We did try. 

Tommy's flashlight and headlamp are on the way. Lynda's Kiss has fairy lights and Hershey's kisses in it and needs to be wrapped. My grandchildren will get Amazon e-gift cards. Things are coming along. A cash donation to one very worth person needs to be delivered. I am set! 

Tonight's dinner--chicken, green beans, slaw, leftover sweet potatoes. I will bake the whole green beans in the tasty juice from the pork loin. The sweet potatoes had cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in them, but NO sugar. Green beans were not cooked, so he ate chicken, sweet potatoes, and slaw. 

We have everything we need for any possibility, anything I might fancy to cook, bake. There may even be enough milk until after Christmas. The only thing I might hurry out to get is a loss leader that might disappear like the cheap turkey breasts did.

The Tabernacle Choir is wonderful tonight!

Tomorrow should be torrential rains, maybe flooding, and high winds. We will stay in! We do need to put a plastic over the sewing machine, but nothing else right now.

Are plans at your house better formulated? Is everything coming together for you? Do you have snow or rain?

Since Sue Asked

 It's still Saturday, and I am exhausted. We left the house about 1 pm and arrived home at 5 pm. We needed to return things and decided to do it now instead of putting it off. I really wanted to go earlier, but that did not happen. Gunsmoke was on. 

Tommy did the returns while I shopped...lol. But, customer service computers or something was down for 20 minutes. An hour or more later, Tommy was going home, nothing else would do. I convinced him to go to another store for the returns. We did and he was out in a few minutes. Neither of the dresses fit and they were too hot. The stainless steel was 18/0 instead of 18/10, so that went back. 

I bought a set of reusable snack and storage bags. Hopefully, these work for me. And, I bought a bag of panties. The returns more than offset the purchases. 

Sue asked why I am going "no tp." (1) Toilet paper leaves residue, unseen stuff, that makes my lady bits itch! So, there you have it. (2) Canada's old growth forests are being leveled so we can wipe our butts.  Using a wad of leaves would exacerbate first problem. Using washable possibilities would still not erase our impact on the earth's resources. However, no tree would have to be cut for my use in the bathroom. And, I do reuse the washables. They add no more loads of washes to my life and are not an additional burden to the environment.

What will I do? I use wash cloths. Tommy has many yellowed tshirts that do not fit him and that were given to him by a cousin. He is not attached to them and they are too small. I may wash them and cut them up. If I had my serger set up, I would serge the washcloths in half. 

The washcloths work for liquid. As for solids I need to wipe, I rarely have much to wipe. If there are occasions where there is a lot of residue, I can throw away pieces of t-shirt. Or, I can use tp. I have many packages of disposable wipes, some flushable. NO, we will not flush them. But, we have options for all occasions.

At one point, there was no tp in my house. When my son came to visit, I asked Tommy to bring a roll. He did and took it back home with him when my son and his family left. He said I could keep the roll, but I didn't want it. This time, I will keep tp in the house and probably on the roll. 

Too icky for you? Well, I washed gross diapers for three children. It does not faze me at all. I hung the  washcloths in the sun and felt they were well-washed and good for reuse. After cloth diapers, washcloths are a breeze!

Tommy won't give up tp. He would need a whole t-shirt every day. So, he won't go there. TMI. I know.

I am still well, although the returns problems have made me very tired, exhausted, in fact. That's ok because I am not feeling ill in the least. 

Have you given up tp? What do you use instead? No, I will never use a bidet! Anything under the level of the seat is liable to get peed on or splashed, so not sanitary water. So, bidets are disgusting to me. But, you may use them...lol. I have enough problems with UTIs, but you can use them. Do not try to convince me. 

Hard and Happy Thursday

 Wednesday night, I went to sleep easily at about 2 am. My intentions were to get up at 8:30 and wash my hair, make breakfast and go to Cullman. I had things to do. Well, I awoke at 4:20 am and did not go back to sleep until 8:15. I washed my hair and bathed and made scrambled eggs and heated a sausage, and had it with a glass of milk. Tommy had 1 sausage and half a piece of bread. There was no grumbling about the sausage, thankfully. It was the Jimmy Dean patties. 

The day was beautiful with big fluffy clouds in a perfectly blue sky. The drive was uneventful. And, I had a mental list. 

• PO
• my house/lot
• WDG
• Publix
• somewhere to eat
• lake
• Farmer's Market
• Belk's

There were no surprises at the PO, and nothing urgent. We went to my place and sat a few minutes. I went to Warehouse Discount Groceries. Split fryer breasts were $.99/lb. The price seemed like a good deal even with waste of bones and skin. I decided not to go to Publix. At Belk's I returned several items and bought a blouse and dress on deep discount. Plus, I had a coupon. In Belk's I also caught up with an elected official I know. We got a little burger from Burger King and took it to the lake to eat and lingered a bit to enjoy it all. 

The Farmer's Market was the highlight of the day. I used a coupon for the market to purchase 6peaches for $6. At the eggs I purchase another dozen for $4, and got the remaining $2 of the coupon in 4 tomatoes. I always talk to this guy, a recovering drug addict, about chickens and eggs. He is making a new life for himself and is in love with chickens. I encourage him. 

I mentioned one of the eggs had a blood spot. We discussed why this happened. Then, he offered me one egg. As I got in the car, he gave me a whole dozen. I plan to scramble a dozen eggs at a time, and use them for four breakfasts for four days. 

So, I came home with 2 dozen eggs, 4 tomatoes, 6 peaches. As soon as I got home, I attacked a peach. It was so delicious! 

Then, I slept from 5 pm until a little before 9 pm. Before I lay down, I told Tommy to eat meatballs and spaghetti sauce, the cooked zucchini, and whatever else he wanted...lol. He ate meatballs with catsup on them and a salad. Fine. 

Just now, I tried on my two garments. The blouse is bright pink and almost to my knees, so I suppose it is or could be a dress. The blue sundress is the kind with elastic on the top. It sure squeezes me, but it is pretty. Tommy like both and said they looked nice on me. Both were on clearance and then I used a coupon. Good deal! Even using Tommy's walker, the trip inside Belk's was brutal. 

About 4:30 pm, I saw a hummingbird who lingered at both feeders and returned twice. When Tommy was coming into the house, it flew right in front of Tommy who sort of dodged it, thinking it was just a big bug. 

I missed the pecan man. Rats! I need to make arrangements to get pecans. 

The Food that Built America, Amazon Return, I DO NOTWANT TO COOK!

 On the History Channel we watch documentaries such as "The Food that Built America." This is fascinating. Last year, it was about people like Heinz and Nestle. This year, it about the 20th century and Reese, Hershey, and others. I suppose the last episodes we watched were all about chocolate. At any rate, the viewing is superior to murder shows. 

If we are going to be forced to veg out, these documentaries are a better choice than most television, not that I don't enjoy a good Young Sheldon. Have you seen these food history documentaries?

After I ordered two assistive devices, I was informed the package had been put in the mailbox. No, it was not there. Since we waited until the next morning after the 7 pm delivery, we are not sure whether the deliverer lied, if it was put in the wrong mailbox, or was stolen. At any rate, another was sent out. 

On Tuesday, we finally received a package that was "delivered" on Monday. I suspected it was the original. Then, on Wednesday, I received the order again. Today, when I called to return the duplicate order, the woman immediately said, "YOU HAVE RESTORED MY FAITH IN HUMANITY!" Since I was puzzled, she had to explain it to me...lol. 

I could not keep that order and sleep at night. What kind of people would keep a duplicate order? She told me to use it or donate it. Well, we can use the duplicate. 

Earlier today, I tried to make an appointment for an eye exam but the woman took my number and said I would get a call from the scheduling department and no I could not talk to them now. Is this the way appointments are made now?

Unfortunately, it appears I may have to cook tonight. bummer Maybe if I search the refrigerator, I can find something to eat without cooking! Do you ever not want to cook and must? If I were not feeding Tommy, I would scramble an egg and have some green beans later and eat applesauce. I am afraid he now expects food!

Have you seen these food documentaries? 

Saturday Stuff

Only one of 13 items fits that I chose at Belk's. And, I really do not like it without the matching top. If I could set up to sew, I could make things! Tommy refuses to open a bedroom with window, small ones, but they are windows. He insists I can sew in a room with an unusable light fixture. The window is large, but it has two pair of drapes on a curtain rod, not a drapery rod, so I cannot draw them. Still, not enough light to sew.

I am going to ask him to pay for my clothing now. LOL He is all about how much it will cost him to use ac in one more room and to call electrician about the light fixture. He is over here "cleaning" a plastic knife for reuse later. He is using a dirty napkin and hands that are dripping with watermelon. This knife has been reused for months. UGH!

Finally last night, I was able to sleep after two days and nights with only about nine hours total sleep. When I got up midmorning, I was out of my med for my stomach. After calling, stalling, and getting dressed, it was 12:30 before I got the med. I went to Publix to get milk and could take my med then.

We got small burger from BK because I wanted to look for yard sales in the area. Well, he drove down a five lane road with undeveloped land. ??? I pointed out it would be hard to find a yard sale here. He said it would be a hell of a lot easier than driving down Allison Bonnet. Yeah, because there a re lots of side roads intersecting and people advertise with little signs to their neighborhood. He said we could search the neighborhoods. I was ready to go home but got three new pink bags with coupons in them.

When I went into Publix, I got me two gallons of milk and bought one of the personal watermelons--little round ones. I asked a manager if he could slice it into two pieces and put one into the huge plastic bags I see people carrying full of lobster. He did and put in two forks since I had told him I wanted to take it to a park and share it with a friend.

I asked Tommy how much he thought it cost. "Oh, about a dollar." When I told him it cost $3.99 after $1 off, he said DAMN. I asked him how much two ice cream cones or two milkshakes cost. He actually figured both in his head for me...lol.

We did eat some in the car under a tree and thoroughly enjoyed it. At home I managed to slice one of the halves in half and put  a quarter for each of us in a mixing bowl. At least nothing slid off anything else I had.

Plans right now are to finish planting around 5 pm and water again. We are not planting enough to warrant planting in the heat.

I did not walk yesterday, but will today. I will get there with the habits, but after a hard day yesterday and two hours sleep, I could not have walked safely. However, I did manage to make a pouch of brownies.  Yesterday, before the brownies--chicken sandwich, banana, romaine and tomato salad, baked chicken and carrots. So, I suppose brownies were not too bad.

Dinner--baked chicken, carrots, onions, potatoes I cooked all this in one dish. All was leftovers from two different days. I avoided waste.

Do you ever figure the high cost of fruit to the cheaper cost of chips or something and realize that the higher priced fruit is a bargain? Or, do you have to point this out to someone?