Sunday Progress and Disappointment

 This was a wonderful day because the cleaner came. We ended up talking too much or she could have gotten more done. I had her clean really well at the head of my bed and change the sheets in my bedroom. I wanted her to measure and cut paper for the drawers. but she can do it another day. 

She vacuumed the middle of the living, not under everything. 

Thennn, I could not show her what to do. I sent her into the dining room with a box to pick up things off the floor. She came back with the box full several times. I suppose she emptied the kitchen garbage can three times. There were cans of food 10 years old, papers of Tommy's stored in boxes with dates 20 years old. He allowed me to throw out the little red lids from KFC sides. 

I found some of my Tupperware he has had for ten years! I wondered where all my T had gone. She was grossed out by so many roaches, all dead. I told her I had put out roach bait. These are the big outdoor ones that come in the door in the dining area. She removed all the baits and we will put out more tonight. 

So many boxes, large and small were discarded. it is amazing how large the space looks now. Back when I was capable of doing all this, I was forbidden to do so. Very few things were mine. About 20 quart plastic freezer containers are in the sink. Tommy insisted they were good. "I got soup in those." "Where are the lids" "I don't know." "What will you use these for?" " O don't know, but they are good." "Actually, I can plant things in them and poke holes in the bottom." So, they are in the sink, ready to be washed. 

Whew! She just stood holding the tall cylinders, looking back and forth between us. 

Last night, I sat on my bed and let out a shriek. I had sat on the spring sticking out of the mattress. It had made a hole in my newest sheet, and there was a cut a little way away. I went to the living room and sat down, told Tommy to go look at my bed. He wanted to know what he would see. I told him about the 1/2 inch of metal through the hole and the cut. I told him if that did not impress him, I could bend over and show him the tear in my behind.

He came back out and told me to get the sale paper I showed him and decide where we should go to buy a new mattress. Soooo, we will do so. In the Rooms to Go ad, they list many good brands of mattresses. Now, I had a Serta Perfect, bought in 1980 that lasted 40 years. But, who knows if the quality of the brand is the same. So, I can get a mattress. Of course, we may not get a mattress from there. 

So, I am quite happy with a new mattress in the future and a lot of cleaning and tossing having happened today. I have pined for a mattress for weeks, so now he is convinced. 

On Saturday night I slept two hours. She left and I slept one more hour. Okay, it was an hour and fifteen minutes. 

The vacuum cleaner I bought when I first came here was only used for five minutes once and another three minutes another time. I cannot use a vacuum at all, any kind because of my back, not even the stick. It sat for three years. Now, I find out that somehow the dust is all inside the vacuum cleaner and outside the bag. The bag does catch some dust and all larger particles. This vacuum will get a really bad review on Amazon! I hate it. I paid the price for good filtration, hepa, and now the expensive piece of junk does not do the job. She had to spend about fifteen minutes outdoors, cleaning the inside. 

I have about a cup of chopped celery that I will add to a can of tuna and call it the start of dinner. Since I have only had a bowl of cereal today, I really need more to eat. Tommy is in the kitchen, probably making a salad and getting either ham or chicken legs. 

 

I Didn't Fall, But I Could Not Get Up!

 

Late on Monday night, Tommy casually told me he had an appointment today. I could tell he was apologetic or feeling he had not told me soon enough. Oh well! Sooo, we had to make plans. We had to get up at 7:30 and leave by 8:30 for a 9:30 appointment for his procedure--an endoscopy. 

Since he could not drive afterwards, his car was broken, as he put it, and I don't like anyone driving my car, especially someone who has diabetes and cannot eat, I chose to drive. I only slept 2 hours, so I am not so sure how I thought I was better to drive than him.

They told Tommy I could sit in the car rather than come inside since I could not walk so far. We kept in touch by cell.

I bought along things to do--check bank balance, paid three bills over the phone, complained about not being able to order online and use a gift card. The last call was the doozy--trying to restore an account with a Medicare agency rather than the new plan I agreed to use. 

Finally, Tommy was ready. I drove to the drive-thru to pick him up. I used his walker to run in for the restroom. When I came out he was stuffing his face with cheese crackers. I could not lift the walker to get it into the back seat. UGH A passerby I asked did help me. 

I staggered around the car and tried to get into my seat. I am accustomed to Tommy's suv which is higher. I dropped into the seat and Tommy felt it and commented. As I started off to the highway, Tommy was trying to talk--Oooo, owa, aoo, ooma, ooaao. I looked at him as he was gesticulating and getting more excited. The man must have stuffed all the cheese crackers into his mouth. 

As he tried to talk with crackers in his mouth, crumbs were spewing out. I was just horrified since we were in my car with light gray upholstery! Only cheese balls could have been worse. 

He was trying to correct me on the direction to go to get out of the hospital complex. As I objected, he just became more agitated and animated, spewing cracker crumbs. I did as he said, objecting all the way. 

His clothes and coat in his lap were covered in cheese cracker crumbs. I strictly forbade him to touch the crumbs or try to clean them up. 

First, I decided we would go by the carwash and I would vacuum him at the free vacuums. Finally, I decided we would go to a food giveaway then home where I would get his vacuum and clean him up. 

I went into the house, got the new vacuum that had been converted to a hand vac for something he did. I could not stand long enough to figure it out. So, I sat on a lawn chair. As I sat, it slowly sank into the wet ground. Do you know that sinking feeling? Tommy called for help after I could not get up holding onto the car door, him, or his walker. 

Do you know how embarrassing this was, just sitting in the yard, in a chair, and waiting for a firetruck to show up?

The two guys got me up from the chair. I just know all the neighbors were watching. But, they see me holding onto the rail of the ramp. I know they see! I immediately took the hand vac and got all the cheese crackers from the seat and inside the car. Two pieces of cheese cracker were squashed and left a nasty stain, but I can clean that with the spray for carpets, I am quite sure. 

The legs of the chair had dug into the ground six inches! At least. So, I have plans. Before today, I planned to kill the clover that has claimed this area, a quarter circle of sidewalk goes from the driveway to the front steps. Of course, the ramp cover most of the sidewalk, but the St. Augustine Grass has been replaced by clover. It is pretty and green all winter, but in the summer, it is just weedy and a home for dandelions and about a half dozen other weeds. 

Now, I will put something hard there. I thought about a brick patio type area. Then, I decided bricks would trip me and be hard for Tommy's walker. Maybe I will get the largest paving stones and hope I don't trip over the cracks between the stones. 

What I really need is something like skis attached to the bottom of the chair legs to keep the legs from sinking. 

At my house, I never had this problem. It was like my soil and deep roots were safe for chair legs even after a rain. Maybe I had clay. 

Today, I sat from 8:30 to 3:30 and my left knee did not want to cooperate when I tried to get up. Plus, my back did not like sitting in my very comfortable car. 

I really need a taller vehicle, something like Tommy's. A car is definitely not my thing anymore. Neither is grass...lol. I won't be trading cars but will try to get something except grass there. 

Tommy has never stuffed his mouth so full, so I suppose he was hungry. He certainly was not himself! He came home and gave me pictures of his esophagus...so funny. It is all pink. 

Dinner: chicken cutlet, salad.

Have you ever had a chair sink into the ground? 

Guess what book I received from Amazon today.

 

Nothing Happening Here, Just Sorting

 We needed to go to a Big Box store, so we planned it to get there before the church folks arrived and got all the carts. Tommy wanted to buy shoes to wear as one pair is too worn. He got some that look like crocs. I needed a few things and got some of them and forgot the others. I slept maybe 4 hours last night and have been just dying this evening. It got too late to take a nap. So, I am struggling. 

Tommy was resisting sorting socks, so I brought in a bag of tshirts too heavy for me. I dragged them. Sooo, he sorted the socks. Then he sorted the tshirts. There were at least 50. He is keeping the Auburn, Scotland and Dr. Who shirts. He gave me two to cut for cleaning rags. I can have more and the rest will be donated to a shelter. None are new but none are ragged, just no longer fit him. He is getting rid of all his Sam's Club shirts. 

There are sweatshirts and sweatpants somewhere, but I could not find them. I will have to look tomorrow. He is giving away a pair of shorts and swim trunks that don't fit. Lots is leaving.

He gave me his eclipse shirt since mine is probably destroyed. August 21, 2017 was a fun day for us. 

I am keeping about six fuzzy socks so I can cut off the foot to use the tops on a Swiffer for dusting/sweeping. I will toss them when done since I had to cut the tops from bottom to top for use on the swiffer. The thin ones, nylon, are tossed. 

Tommy will be furious, but I want to wash all the shirts he is keeping and the ones I will be using for cleaning. But, I brought in two blankets that were lying in a corner accidentally and told him they needed washing and he agreed. So, who knows?

Tommy used the new stick, cordless vac for about twelve feet. The fine dirt is disgraceful and lots of it. The hairs and other trash are quite a bit, too, more than I expected on a two foot by 12 foot strip. 

I have a busy day planned for tomorrow and I dread it. I have a list! ugh  Hopefully, I can sleep tonight. 

Was your Sunday restful or productive?

Great Saturday Shopping, Price Drop

 We went to the Festhalle Farmer's Market and I found homegrown tomatoes. The market only allows farmers within the county to sell their produce and products. There was everything to imagine. I found tomatoes and squash to bring home for $5 each, so $10 spent on produce. We bought apple fried pies, also known in some parts of the country as hand pies. We both wanted peach but by the time I went to the car for cash, peach was gone. So, apple fried pies were delicious. 

Tommy loves fast food. We got burgers and sat in my driveway. It was so peaceful! I offer to make a sandwich from chicken, bologna, anything he wants, but he says he wants something hot. And, I am not averse to having a Whopper with cheese, lettuce, and tomato! 

For the last year or so, I have been struggling with plastic bags that tear up before I can even put anything in them. So, I finally called customer service. The woman sent me three coupons for $4 each with an expiration date of today! So, I had to work fast, considering I only got these coupons a week ago. I bought a box using one coupon and still had to contribute $1+ tax to the purchase even using the coupon. 

Today, I decided I needed to spend the other two coupons in Cullman or go to the store once we got back home. We only want to get into the house and relax when we drive so far. So, I went into Publix and found what I wanted had been on sale. I got two boxes of bags for $7.50 and had two coupons for $4 each for a $3.50 product. I spent $0.63 for tax on two boxes of storage bags, 180 in total. I spent $0.63 cents for tax. Good deal! 

We dropped off the dozen shirts, so that is gone. 

Gas has gone down again to $3.43. 

Tommy saw a large hawk flying along with two mocking birds chasing it. Mocking birds are vicious and fearless. I have seen them terrorize cats and crows, now hawks. 

I had a nap when we got home. Tommy never wants a nap, he just does...lol. Friday night, I slept about an hour, if that, so I needed a nap. 

Tommy is out watering flowers. Next spring, we will have an irrigation system that goes from pot to pot. I saw one on someone's porch. So, they do exist. I had no idea, just wished it existed. 

Believe it or not! I put out a package of woody chicken to thaw! I am so disgusted and irritated. I will cook it, but only because it is thawing. 

Tommy spends hours using a reacher picking up bits of trash from the carpet around the house. Right now, he is putting together a cordless, stick vacuum cleaner that has a hepa filter. This won't be for the whole house and dust that has been here for about 16 years, but he can at least get up what he sees and wants to get up. In four hours the battery will be charged and I suppose he will be using it all over the house. Of course, the cleaner will use the corded, more powerful one. So, YAY for a vacuum he can use instead of a reacher. 

About the hepa filter, I need it. Regular vacuums just push out dust into the air. With almost twenty years of dust, I suffer. It would be worse having it pushed back out into the air up where I breathe. 

Tonight, for dinner I am combining stuff already cooked and leftover--half a jar of spaghetti sauce, spaghetti noodles in the refrigerator, and ground beef we cooked last night. I will probably add some zucchini to the sauce. No, I sliced zucchini and squash, he got slices of red and orange peppers, and some grape tomatoes to a huge bed of salad greens. So, he had a hearty and healthy dinner. 

Around midnight, he tried out the little stick vacuum using his walker with one hand and the vacuum with the other. After three minutes on a "clean" carpet, the dust bin was full. This was in front of his chair, in front of the front door, and toward the hall. 

Do you have a full-sized vacuum or a stick? Does the stick seem to do a really good job? 

Are you going to markets that limit vendors to farmers in your county? 

Have you ever observed a mockingbird terrorizing crows, hawks, and large birds? This happened daily at my house, but I cannot see out well here. 

New Vacuum Cleaner, 2 Questions

 I did it. I ordered a new vacuum cleaner. I had a Kenmore from 1966 to ~1985, bought for ~$100. Then, I bought a Royal for about $500 in the mid 80s. The Kenmore only had a porous hose that I was not aware of at the time. It worked perfectly other than the leaky hose. The Royal still worked but the attachments and hose all went to the dump. 

Miele was the brand I wanted, but I went with a Kenmore since I have had good luck overall with Kenmore appliances. 

Have you ever had a Miele or Kenmore, Royal vacuum? 

Selling points: bagged, canister, HEPA filter. Price--$249. I could not find all those attributes in a cheaper vac that I trusted. 

It is advertised for pets. I have long hair, and Tommy is hairy enough to stop up his sewer line. So, maybe this will work for us.

Christmas memory: one of the first things I bought for a decoration after getting married was a little plastic tree to sit on the table. It was clear plastic, came apart and had little flattish cups on the limbs to hold Christmas candy. I think I paid about $1.50 for it, but it almost broke us. What did you buy your first Christmas that you still have or had for a long time?