The End of 2008

In honor of it being New Year's Eve and all, I am posting in colors. 

First, I want to say that I accomplished A LOT today, though not as much as I had hoped to accomplish. 

I set my alarm, and only hit the snooze 5 or 7 times before I grudgingly rose from my bed, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and began my day.

I left my house quite early, loading a laundry basket in the car and heading West towards Owatonna.  I needed groceries very badly, and Walmart was my destination as they have those little motorized cart thingies that make shopping easier for me.

I spent WAY TOO MUCH money in Walmart...I impulse bought a new bedspread and two matching pillow shams.  My old one is coming unsewn in a number of places and, though I still love it, it is time for something new.

I also bought a new mattress pad as the current one is now refusing to stay put on the bed.  It keeps oozing over the side of the mattress.  Very maddening.

I also bought a little drawer thingy.  Men use them to keep nuts and screws and nails and stuff like that in.  I use them for my beads and tiny bows and buttons and things.  My other one is plum full, and I just got given a whole bunch of crafty stuff by one of my mom's friends at her church.  Now it needs to get put away in a convenient way.

Another thing I bought was a coat rack that can be screwed into the wall behind my door at school for the kids to hang their coats on.  I've been wanting to get them something like that for YEARS.

Well, the time finally came.

The had the cutest little santa mugs on sale for half price, so I bought four of them.  They remind me of the santa mugs we had when we were kids.  They are different in shape, but still, they triggered the memory.

Before I left in the morning, I had gone through my box o' pills and made a list of everything I was low on.  I stocked up on vitamins at Walmart.  I got fish oil, Vitamins C, D, E, and Multi, Calcium, Cinnamon, and I also bought a new tub of vaseline (for my feet), a jar of Vicks Vapor rub, another tube of 1% cortizone cream for the shit on my face, and an antihistamine eye drop for my allergies.  I am about out of my Coconut Conditioner too, so I bought a bottle of that as well.

My little basket on the go-cart was so full I had to ask a clerk to help me.  He got me a cart andtransferred all the stuff into the cart so I could pay for everytihng all at once.

I was out of EVERYTHING, so I bought a ton of groceries.  My best deal of the day was 6 enormous pork chops which were on sale for $5.30 because they needed to be cooked or frozen by today!  So, when I got them home, I put two each in indiviual freezer bags.  They will taste good some night.

Anyhow, before I returned home, I decided to take myself out to breakfast.  I went to Perkins first, but it was so packed I'd have had to walk from clear across the parking lot.  The Happy Chef wasn't uch better, so I attempt the Kernal.  It was jusssst right.  I got a parking space very close to the door.  While I was enjoying my nice breakfast of eggs, hash browns, sausage links and pancakes, I called the Kasson Drug store to see if they had my Naproxin prescription done yet.  Which of course they didn't.

Except wait!  They did!  They are just not the sharpest tacks on the bulletin board over there.  So, when I finished up at the Kernal, I left a little drawing of the baby new year on a heet of paper with a five dollar tip for my waitress.  I just felt like making someone's day happier.  I would have liked to see her face when she saw it, but I had places to go and people to irritate!

So, off I drove to Kasson.  Because I took Highway 14, I came into Kasson next to the gas station, so I filled my car up with gas.  Might as well start the new yer with a full tank of gas, I figured.

The Kwik Trip had a New Year's Eve dea, going on.  If you bought their SUPER WASH car wash, usually $10, you could get it for $4.99.  The lady assured me my doors would not freeze shut, so I did it.  Glad I did. 

Then I went to the drug store and got my meds.  And then, home.

I had so much shit to carry in--I thought it was going to kill me.  But, I slide the first laundrybasket full of stuff to the door on the ice and snow walkway to the house.  Once I got it inside, I emptied it, then brought it and another one out to get the stuff out of the trunk.  That was trickier, sliding both of them to the house while carrying a 24 pack of diet coke in my hand.  Thank goodness for that cane.  It helped a lot.

After getting everything inside, I had to sit and recover for a little while.

Then I sat on the floor and sorted out everything that I had bought.  The stuff to go upstairs, I put in a bag.  The stuff that had to go into the kitchen to be put away went back in the laundry baskets to be slid into the kitchen.

First I cleaned out the refrigerator and threw away everything that was over the hill.  Then I wiped down the inside with Chlorox Clean Up spray and a rag.  Then, I put everything away.  There were a few dirty dishes, so I washed those up before filling one of the laundry baskets up with stuff to go upstairs and hauling it up.

I had to go to the bathroom anyhow, so it was a good time to drag it up.  I sat on my bed for a while after I went to the bathroom and combined the various bottles of vitamins and prescription drugs.  There is ALWAYS a little room at the top of the new bottle, and I was able to combine every single one of the new purchases with the existing ones for easier storage. 

Because I had been working so hard, I allowed myself a little time on the internet--only about 30 minutes--before going downstairs and getting back to work. 

Before I went back downstairs, I tossed all the dirty clothes and laundry baskets from up here over the edge and down the stairs. 

I went to the post office and got my mail and FINALLY AT LONG LAST mailed off that ancient swap to Anne.  Praise the LORD that is finally done.  I hope she likes it.  I put a ton of effort into it.

Now I need to make a bunch of stuff for Doris for her Marley girls in return for the wonderful Gene doll she gave me.

Also, I really need to finish the doll clothes I have been working on for Dave Kelley's granddaughter.  Once I've sewn up the ones I have cut out for her, it should be good.  She will have a darling dollie and a lot of clothes for her.

I also have promised to make some Ken and Barbie clothes for my "honorary niece" Cassidy from Texas.  I have to get this commitments taken care of!

When I went back home, I sacked up a ton of garbage.  I now have 3 orange garbage bags in my porch waiting to be disposed of.  Sigh. After that, I had a "cheeto" break.  I had bought a bag as a New Year's Eve treat.  After I had eaten a few, I sighed heavily, then attacked the filthy kitchen floor, sweeping and scrubbing it thoroughly.  I put fresh "piddle pads" next to the litter boxes by the basement stairway as my fuzzball always hangs her ASS over the side of her litter box and pees on the floor.  Sometimes I think she does it on purpose to pay me back for being gone.  And she always seems especially determined to pee on the floor immediately after I have just scrubbed it.  Maybe she doesn't care for the smell of chlorox clean up and prefers the stench of her own urine.

I was pretty exhausted after that filthy job--and I gave serious consideration to calling the Chinese place in Kasson to get take out for supper, but since I had just bought gobs and gobs of groceries, I decided against it.  I made myself a couple of hot dogs (fat free ones) and had a handful of green olives as a "vegetable."  (Yes, I know olives don't really count as a vegetable.  It's New Year's Eve for goodness sake.  Cut me some slack.)

While I cooked and ate my hotdogs I talked to my mom on the phone.  She was staying home alone tonight just like me.

When I had finished my supper and my conversation with Mom, I sorted my laundry.  I had intended to get that totally done today--and I didn't get a single load washed.  Alas.  But it is now sorted and ready to go immediately tomorrow.  I have set my alarm so I can get up and get at it right away.  I don't want to go back to school with my house being in chaos.

While I was down on the floor sorting laundry, I also picked up a ton of clutter and little bits and pieces of stuff that had collected on the floor.   I was very tempted to go ahead and vacuum the Living Room and Dining Room before I went to bed, but I was so tired, I just didn't have it in me.

So, I carried up the little screw box I'd bought in Walmart and got myself ready for bed.

The things I had planned to do today but did NOT accomplish are:

• Correcting all my homework
• Vacuuming the Living and Dining rooms
• Dusting the Living and Dining rooms (though I have done a little of that, the task was incomplete)
• Putting away all the clutter in the Living room and Dining room (again, this task was partially completed)
• Washing the clothes
• Sweeping and scrubbing the bathroom floor (all the other cleaning in there has been done)
• Sweeping and scrubbing the hallway upstairs.
• Stripping my bed, washing the old bedding and putting fresh sheets and the new bedspread on it.

Oh, well.  Tomorrow is another day.

I feel like I actually accomplished quite a bit, considering walking is difficult for me!

I did not get my goals dealt with nor did I have time to contemplate the old year.  Perhaps I can do that tomorrow.

I wanted to take a few pictures today and post the last of the old year's pictures, but I guess that will wait for another day as well.  It will be the first pictures of the NEW year instead.

I am guardedly excited about 2009.   I have a strong feeling of hope.  I think a big part of that feeling is that the fucktarded George W Bush is FINALLY going to be GONE from the White House.  GOOD RIDDANCE, TRASH!  Too bad he is too ignorant to see how badly he fucked over this country.

I don't see how Obama could possibly do worse.  I hope he does as well as I am praying he does.

That's it from the snowy land of Minnesota with the 10 degree below zero wind chill.

God bless us, every one.

HAPPY NEW YEAR





Hope these images stick.