This and That, Nothing Much

After a stormy night, I awakened to news of tornado deaths. Thankfully, there was nothing except heavy winds and rains where we live. After an exceptionally warm Tuesday, the storms were to be expected. When we have exceptionally warm weather in the fall, we pay for it in tornado damage. 

When I ordered Glad Kitchen bags from the internet, the price was over $32. I cancelled that within three minutes. Today, going into the store saved over $12. Plus, it would take until Dec. 9 to arrive. Due to my procrastination, we only had three bags left. So, I saved money there. Since it is Tommy's money, he really likes it. 

Tonight, we had sausage and kale flatbread pizza with broccoli crust. I thought it was delicious. Tommy thought it was so-so. I mixed up a little fruit salad for me that Tommy won't touch--grapes, apple, banana. 

We went out long enough today to pick up meds for Tommy from a drive-up window and get two things--garbage bags and Claritin. I really wanted to browse, but I resisted. We did sit in the park for a few minutes. 

I don't feel well tonight. For more than 24 hours, I have had the feeling nothing empties from my stomach and gerd and hiccups plague me! Plus, three dogs from next door barked for over an hour today--one barks, one has a long woof, the other is a yappy, tiny dog. It is maddening. They did bark at other times, too, so this is continual noise. 

See? I told you nothing much.

How was the weather in your area? Tornado warnings? 

Seven Hells and Tornado Weather

 First of all, I am tired of blogging. I suppose I am sick of typing every day! There is nothing else I am missing or not doing. I just dread the idea of doing this. I will probably not stop. 

Thursday, we had known for a week that bad weather was on the way. But, it often just blows a lot and the conditions, rain and wind, keep us off the road for anything. Thursday was different. Our location was at the edge of the polygon for tornado path. We also knew that 4 pm should be the start of our problems with the storm moving through quickly. 

About 6:15 pm the wind was terrific. The lights blinked once, then again and again. I knew it was the end, so I started my lift chair to get up. Once the footrest went down, I only used it for a second or two more and struggled to get up with it slanted but not lifting me too much. Tommy was in the kitchen with his lift completely up. 

Since it was dark, I rushed across the room to get his led lantern. I turned it on and rushed as well as I could to the bedroom to get my lantern. I did yell for him to stand still while I brought the light. It was pitch dark where he was standing. 

So, we both had lanterns. That fact was the highlight of the next few hours. We looked through the door light and just saw rain and trees thrown about. He left the door open and I saw the neighbor across the street and one down out with a light. Actually, I only saw a light. Tommy looked out by opening the storm door, too. He said a tree was down on this neighbor's mother's vehicle. So, we knew how we lost power.

Then, I started fretting about the lack of cooking facilities. Tommy has gas, but an electric stove. I started, well, continued my lobbying for a gas grill. Finally, he said, "I thought you said you could open a can of green beans and eat them cold?" Well, I was not in the mood...lol. Finally, I ate ciabatta bread with a bit of butter, then half a hot Diet Coke Caffeine Free, then a can of tuna. Tommy had peanut butter sandwich. We lived. 

We listened to Barry Manilow on my boombox cd player. Then, we listened to the radio, something on NPR. I read with my booklight--some sort of book about words. 

Both our chairs were stuck very slanted, Tommy's more than mine. We were both hurting. At midnight this became a problem and we were hurting by then. Tommy tried to put his feet on his walker. That hurt, then he tried putting a plastic bag full of stored bags on the walker. That still hurt. I offered to put the ottoman in front of him. He rejected that idea. 

He tried sitting in the one chair I bought that does not lift. He did not like that. He even said he thought I would not let him sit in it. Oh, so not true! Finally, I offered to let him use my chair that was not so slanted. His feet were still hanging. Finally, I fixed the ottoman so he could use that. It worked. He said he slept about two hours all night and fitfully for most of the night. 

I had suggested he try to sleep in the bed with me. He cannot get on and off the bed and the two of us going to the bathroom all night would have been a nightmare. 

After we settled ourselves with the lanterns, saw the downed tree, and decided this was an all nighter, I to out more light. We have a set of three candles that use batteries. I took the tallest of the three and put it on the back of the commode. We did use the lantern to get to the bathroom, but this was just a bit of security. It seemed less treacherous to have some sort of light to illuminate the way. 

I have the round touch lights and plenty of batteries. I had batteries in one and put batteries in another and gave one to Tommy. We both had these and the lanterns right by our elbows. Tommy really liked these. He told me he used his to go to the bathroom. I could not understand. He said he held it over the commode so he could hit the commode. ??? He said he could not hold the lantern to see. Well, I am glad he did not drop it in! They are cheap, but still. 

When we left the house, we discovered that his metal shed was on its side. It was rotten and needed to be hauled off years ago, but he cannot move it, even in pieces. The only thing that kept it from completely blowing away was that there is a light wired in from the wall. So, an electrical wired kept it in the yard. The garbage had blown over and some garbage blew out. Many of my plants or pots of dirt had scooted across the porch with help from the wind. The two pots at the turn on the ramp had been blown onto the ramp so we could not walk. There is still trash from other people's yards in our yard. 

The temperature was about 70F before the storm. As the night wore on the temperature dropped to the 30s. We were so cold in the morning and left to get something hot for breakfast. Of course, he needed coffee. Hardee's lost power, so we had to find something else. I hate McD and BK sausage. I don't eat any eggs except those I cook. 

Sonic hamburger was $4.99, so I refused to eat. Coffee was expensive, too. We went to Krystal and ate two burgers and he had cheap coffee. 

I decided the car was too warm to go home and announced my intentions of not going into the house until the electricity was on! I had other things I needed to do. In the meantime, we swung back by the house often. 

As we drove into the neighborhood, our friend, L, was out bundled up with the hood up on her car. I had a thing to jump off the car that did not work the first time. I wanted to return it months ago, but Tommy insisted we keep it for an emergency. We only knew it did not work! So, we stopped and told her we would get ours from my car. 

Ours did not work. She had a broken jumper and finally got that one to work. We were all freezing and none of us had a warm coat, just light jackets. But this is the South! 

Auto Zone would not cooperate and come to the car and get the charger. It is too heavy for me to carry. So, corporate can take care of it for me. YES, they normally are very accommodating. But, this is Hueytown. 

We stopped by the place we bought the chairs to ask about the power packs. The woman who was helping up was not in. Today, Saturday, we will go talk with her. She was telling us about the best thing to get. Hopefully, we can order that from Amazon today. We never want to be in the position we were in today.

I went into Publix to get our lunch--two chicken breasts and pasta salad to share. It was what I wanted. We had hot coke and pepsi from home. We ate slowly and enjoyed the piping hot chicken. At some point during the day, I had a banana. I forgot to get applesauce for the car. Oh, I did get Wheat Things Lightly Salted for a snack and for home.

On February 22, 5G kicks in and neither of my phones will work. My intentions were to get one on Friday, so no electricity was a good excuse. AT&T in Hueytown has never been helpful. I promptly went to Verizon and got the new phone and for the first time since 1953, I no longer use Bell South/AT&T. 

Finally, around 5 pm, we came home. I saw Tommy at the thermostat once when we came in for a bathroom break. When we came in it was sooo warm. He had set the thermostat on 72F. He turned it back and we settled in to sit in chairs that were now working.  

I asked Tommy what we would have done if the electricity was off another night. He said we would go to a motel.  When I came in the morning, he was still asleep in my chair, so I sat in the non-lift chair. He had on a hoodie with the hood up and sleeping. When he went to "bed," he said a sheet was all he needed. Later, after we had heat, he said every time he got up to go to bathroom, he got another blanket or his jacket with hood.  In the bed I was toasty warm and only was chilly when I went to the bathroom. With carpet my feet were not chilly, and in the bathroom, I deliberately stepped on the rugs! I think the seating was the only thing along with how cold it was sitting in the chair with his feet and legs exposed underneath the blanket was the only reason he would have gone to a motel.

Every person on this street and many from the neighborhood were gone. People who had two cars, left in two cars! I know some have relatives. The new people moved in across from us on Thursday. That was a cruel welcome to their new home.

Every time I mention something new to Tommy, he throws a holy fit and is mean to me. But, as time goes on, he softens to the idea. That is how we have a freezer, dishwasher, and the lift chairs, among other lesser items. 

So, once again, I mentioned a whole house generator. He says nothing. That is a good sign. I have even been surreptitiously shopping online and talking to two friends.

When we stopped to help our friend with her battery, she came to the car saying, "Seven Hells! That is how mad I am." AT&T had disabled her phone, also, to try to force her to switch to 5G. I had been ranting about this to her, also. When I went to AT&T, she came in. When I went to Verizon, she was in there changing her service! 

The thing that was the most worrisome for me was losing what I had in the refrigerator and freezer. We got home two hours after the electricity came back on. The first thing I did was go to freezer and refrigerator. Everything in both was frozen solid. Only bread had ice crystals. So, I am not sure if the frozen items thawed all the way or just got a little soft on the outside, or what happened. I do know that I will throw out the chicken breast that was thawed completely and ready for the oven. 

We are drinking the milk until it tastes funny. I will use some of it when it goes bad for chocolate milk and make some buttermilk. But, I doubt I can save five half-gallons! The cheese stays. Not sure about the brie. I cannot find anything that looks like it got so warm in the freezer that it sagged and refroze, like the blueberries. I did throw out canned chicken that needed to go anyway. Tommy had been eating it on salads.

We can survive a minor outage. We can live with cold food. But, we are old and need some warmth. I think I see a whole house generator in our future, one with dual fuel usage. My friend told me where he got his for less than $800. When I called him on his home phone for generator details, he answered in Buffalo, NY. He had gone to his father's funeral. He was 104-years-old! 

Okay, we have to go see what kind of contraption that works these chairs without power to the house. Did you have consequences from the storm?

Just Damage; Easter Plans

Wednesday, we did not leave the house. It was rainy all day, so no drive or picking up meds, just staying home. Plus, there was a tornado watch from about 3 pm until 2 or 3 am over the whole area. Then, individual warnings were issued with the attendant polygons. Or, something like that. I had no sleep the night before, so I took a good looong nap. Tommy said the tornado sirens went off a couple of times and he was afraid they would wake me. No fear, I was out for good. 

We did not wear our St. Patrick's Day pins for each other, so he put them back in the six pack I found for 50 cents. Dinner was not St. Pat Day food. I baked chicken with potatoes and carrots, all sprinkled with Italian seasoning. Plus, I cooked the cabbage on the stove. We thought it was delicious. 

St Patrick was born in Scotland to Roman parents, so Italian seasoning is not off at all. He was Italian, not Irish. 

As for myself, I was so happy to have chicken breasts again. It has been about two weeks, and I miss it. More chicken is thawing so I can cook more on at least Saturday. 

As it turns out, there few injuries or loss of life from the day of tornadoes, thankfully. I think there were 27 tornado warnings, but the powers be have not sorted it out as to how many were multiple sightings of individual tornadoes.  There was an incredible amount of home damage for an EF1 tornado. 

UPDATE: In five states, there was only one death and it was in Mississippi. 

My few Easter items are coming out.  I have already bought Tommy his chocolate Easter bunny wrapped in gold foil. He allows me to have an ear so neither of us will be eating so much. It really makes him happy. He says it reminds him of his childhood Easters.

Have you started putting out Easter stuff? Or, are you still in the planning stage? What are your customary Easter treats? I really don't do much decorating.  

Meals and Money and Tornado

In October or November of 2019, I bought 40 pounds of sweet potatoes. We are still eating them. Sweet potatoes last a long time if stored properly. Unfortunately, the best temperature for sweet potatoes seems to be in the living room underneath the coffee table that holds Tommy's 50 inch TV. The 2019 sweet potatoes will probably gone in a week or two. Only then will I start baking the 2020 sweet potatoes. Remember, I bought 50 pounds. 

The problems with shingles has had me so off for six months that I have not done things I should have, including baking sweet potatoes. 

Monday night dinner was scrumptious, if I do say so. We had meatloaf, sweet potatoes, green beans. I had no catsup, so I tried a healthier version. I usually put catsup in the meatloaf and on top. I used a small can of tomato paste and about the same amount of milk in the meatloaf. Tommy did open several fast food packets for me to put on top. I think I will not use catsup at all when I make meatloaf. Tommy never puts anything on his baked sweet potato. I use a bit of butter. The green beans were sodium free. 

The best part of the meatloaf dinner is that I froze the second one I made. I used two square glass pans for the meat loaves. 

Sweet potatoes are simple to bake, but I should freeze some at least for this dinner. Of course, a can opener on green beans is too simple.  

I have kept up with money spent on groceries this month. So far, we have spent a bit less that $200 for groceries for both of us this month. I have $10+ left. We won't need milk, but I might need one more banana to finish the month. 

Publix will have a2milk on sale this week, so my surplus will be spent well. Or, I can wait until Feb. 1 and start using next month's $200 f I spend the $10 this month. This amount I have spent is for things we ate and things for stock up. So, actually we have not eaten so much. But, I am using from the freezer, too. The bell pepper that went into the meatloaf was from the freezer. 

When a person is eating from the freezer, eating from stockpile, stocking freezer, stocking shelf foods, AND eating just-purchased food, it is hard to know exactly how much it costs to eat. So, I try to keep my spending under $200. We do eat at least three vegetables and four fruits each day. I should not eat that much fiber. 

Of course, this does not include other things about the house and meds. But, I rarely go wild with either area. I could go wild buying food, I suppose. 

The refrigerator cleaning and having all its shelves have been a joy. I cook what is there, eat leftovers and waste nothing at all. 

At 11 pm Monday  night, the ac came on. It is currently 68F but the bricks were warmed by the 70F+ we had today. With the heat in the winter, we are on alert for tornadoes. At midnight it is still 70F. And tornadoes have hit close by, well, about 12 miles from here as the crow flies. By 12:15 the temperature was up 1 degree to 71F.

Tuesday

A tornado did hit, killing one child, injuring many, and tearing up multiple buildings, some completely destroyed. 

Missing Vitamin and Tornadoes Forecast

When I first started taking melatonin, I used Natrol brand with B6 added. It seems over the years that the melatonin did not help me sleep as much as in the beginning. When I casually looked at the front of the bottle last week, I was shocked to see there was no B6 anymore.

After purchasing and taking a B6 every night with the melatonin, I have slept well. I wonder how long I have been taking melatonin that did not include the B6 vitamin. Without the vitamin, I had to take twice as much melatonin and then it took half or all night to go to sleep.

Hopefully, this new addition will allow me to fall asleep more easily from now on. B6 enhances chances of sleep.

Last weekend there were tornadoes with no deaths in Alabama but 30 deaths elsewhere in the South. This weekend the forecast is for more bad weather and tornadoes. GREAT! The chances here for tornadoes are slim, but Sunday is supposed to be bad, less bad right here.

When we went to Cullman, a mere 50 miles north, we saw damage on both sides of I-65 for about a mile, with trees snapped. Then, right before we got to the exit we took, there was another small area on both sides with more trees snapped.

I only worry that my garden will be damaged by hail. South of here, the weather will be worse. At least it is very warm. Hopefully, the basil, oregano, and rosemary will not blow off the porch since I transplanted them into really large, ugly pots from the junk pile. The pots they came in blew off unless I brought them in.

Today, I picked kale, red lettuce and Romaine for a salad. We are having spaghetti tonight as it is about all I can handle--just pour it out of the jar onto boiled pasta. Tommy is breaking up the salad greens for himself, drying them, too.

Tommy took red lettuce and Romaine to our neighbor next door. He mows our yard and picked up years of limbs and sticks. All the neighbors around here help Tommy with the yard and garbage. We will take some to the neighbor who is going to give us alligator meat he grills. He is the person who brings tommy's empty can back to the house.

I was only outside for about an hour and not active all the time. I have to go sit in the car when I am exhausted since there are NO chairs or steps to sit on. His ramp is over the steps.

Since I love spaghetti, dinner will please me. I went out and picked all three herbs. I dare not put basil in Tommy's bowl of spaghetti as he hates it will a passion....lol.

If you take melatonin, have you noticed it no longer has B6 in the tablets? Is it warm where you are and do you have a prediction of bad weather this weekend?

Beauty After the Storm and Walking Plans

Yesterday, Saturday, saw tornadoes and death, but today dawned with a lovely blue sky and pretty clouds. Even though it was in the low 50s, I did not wear a coat and only wore sandals without knee highs. I stuck my toes under the American Airlines throw/blanket and was not cold at all. After church we decided to go for a drive and got burgers.

When Tommy was ordering, I knew his blood sugar was dropping. I tried to get him to stop in a parking lot to eat. Then, all spacey, he refused a bite of his burger and insisted on holding it, which he did for 5 minutes, driving crazy with one hand. It was falling apart and dripping on him. He did not care!

We got onto two-lane road that had very few shoulder areas. He tried to ride the outer white line, then swerved back toward traffic. Finally, I said I had to go to the bathroom and he passed all the gas stations. I begged him to pull into a church were there were still cars. He passed them all. Then, I told him to pull into a driveway. He asked why. Because I want to go to the house. Finally, I gave a bloodcurdling scream as he headed off the road. After demanding he stop now, he pulled over to a wide shoulder. I got out, grabbed my purse, braced myself and grabbed the keys from the ignition.

While I can barely get from house to car, I walked to a house, got no answer, walked across the highway and up a driveway to another house. A guy answered the door and called 911 for a welfare check. I knew Tommy's blood sugar had gone up with the passing of time after the hamburger.

When I got back to the car, Tommy offered to let me drive. He said it was since I was so insistent. It has to be his idea...lol. He did get out of the car and use the roof rack to get to the passenger side. I followed him along and behind him since I never know if he will fall or just decide to step into traffic. (I cannot help him up, but I might drag him off the pavement all the time trying to get traffic to miss him.) Then, we just waited.

A firetruck blocked the highway and ambulance followed to shoulder. I got out and told the guys what was going on. I knew his blood sugar had risen--100 was what it registered. Tommy knew who he was, who was president and his birthday. The guys said between 60 and 100 was what they used for determining if he was okay. Tommy told them he would let me drive.

He told them he could be the navigator because I was frantic not knowing where I was. So, with me driving and him giving me crazy directions, we got back to civilization. When I stopped at a store for bread, I took the keys since I was a little gun shy about his mental state.

As we drove back, he told me he knew something was wrong because he had a funny taste in his mouth. If he does not kill us both, I may be able to convince him sooner each time that he is in trouble. That is the first time he has admitted he knew something was wrong.

Of course, I never take oj and pb crackers to church. That changes now. We have been home for two hours after the incident, and I am still shaking.

Yesterday, I decided I would take my walker and walk past two houses and then come back here. It will hurt me, but maybe it will build some stamina. I may only be able to walk to the next driveway at first. We will see. After the distance I walked today, I may not be able to walk for several days. Walking will not cure my back problems and might make it worse.

The wind and rain were fierce here yesterday, beating the porch, front door and all the front windows. Thankfully, no tornadoes came our way even though several touched down and killed three people near here. This morning, I found everything on the front porch was on the ground. I have found pots overturned, but never on the ground, always on the porch. How did the weather affect your area, home? Area?