June 28 through July 4

Sunday, June 28

It's Sunday, so I had to fill my pill caddy, of course.  I scraped the dregs out of the soft cat food dishes and washed them and gathered the recyclables and put them in the bin.

I enjoyed the heavy thunderstorms that rolled through in the afternoon while eating Ruffles potato chips with Top the Tator sour cream.

I miss new episodes of The Walking Dead.  Sunday without TWD is depressing.

Monday, June 29

I was surprised to get a phone call from my sister Joni this morning.  We had a nice visit that lasted about an hour.  She had a big mess to clean up--one of their pipes broke and her basement was flooded.  

After we hung up, I got a wild spurt of energy, so I swept and scrubbed the bathroom, living room, and kitchen and then did the dishes.  It doesn't sound like much but I worked hard and was exhausted after doing all of that.  I settled into my chair and watched and deleted stuff off the DVR.  

I made a can of Clam Chowder late in the day and called it good enough for the day.  I had some Schwan's cheesecake "bites" so I ate some of those later in the day.  Just a little snack.

There was a brief but enthusiastic thunderstorm in the early afternoon--it rained really hard but didn't last long.

I saw on FaceBook that my cousin Melanie and her family was selling fireworks, so I told her I'd by $100 worth and give them a "tip" if they delivered them--the tip being my delicious pumpkin bars.  She was eager to jump on that opportunity.  

Tuesday, June 30

Those cheesecake bites must have been potent little bastards.  My blood sugar was 191 this morning!  It's usually MUCH lower than that!

I had another productive day.  As soon as I was up, I baked the pumpkin bars and set them aside to cool for a couple of hours.  Then I sorted the laundry--I had an extra load today as my bathroom rugs needed to be washed again.  I got the bedroom swept and scrubbed, and I got the office rug half way vacuumed.  By then, the pumpkin bars were cool, so I frosted them and set them up on top of the water dispenser to keep Peaches from licking the frosting off.  She does that if she has the chance.  

I baked a box mix of brownies, adding walnuts and vanilla chips to it to make it a little nicer.  I had made enough extra frosting to cover the brownies as well as the bars, so when they were cool, I frosted them too.  I stored them inside  the oven once it was cool so Peaches couldn't lick  the frosting off them too.  Goofy kitty.

Melanie came to drop off the fireworks and the pumpkin bars after dark.  She brought Hadi with her.  Neither wore masks.  They'd been at the fireworks tent all day, meeting hundreds of strangers--all eight of the kids were there all day too, none wearing masks.  Melanie's opinion is that we should just let the disease "sweep over us" so we'd have "herd immunity."  I guess the mass death and overwhelming of the hospitals is something that we are just supposed to accept and "live with" as her hero tRump suggests.

Sigh.  She is my cousin and I love her, but MY GOD!  She is as dumb as a box of hollow blocks.  She is an anti-vaxxer too.  Sigh.

I had a bunch of books I had collected for using with the kids at the Refuge when I did art and crafts there.  It is closed now, and I don't need those books for anything, so I put them in a small overnight type bag that I'd received as a reward for spending a certain amount (don't remember how much) from one of the catalogs I buy clothes from.  I always accept those gifts, but I usually don't keep them.  I gave it to Hadi, and she was delighted with the books and the bag.  

They didn't stay long, thank goodness, as I viewed them as contaminated.  I wiped down everything they touched (which wasn't much) with bleach wipes after they left.  Glad they only stayed about 10 minutes.  

Hadi volunteered to come and set them off for me, but I thought it would be fun to give them to Cora and Caleb as we used to do when they were little.  

Wednesday, July 1

My blood sugar was back down again today, so it was a temporary thing, apparently.

Lily doesn't get the Shopper, but I do, so she came over and got my mail for me for the Shopper which always comes on Wednesday.  Before she arrived, I went through my last batch of mail, recycled all the junk mail, and wrote out the bills.  When she came, she asked me to look at the Fareway and HyVee ads to see if there was anything I needed.  I wrote out a list for each store--I didn't get much.  They had Sparkling Ice on sale, 10 for $10, so I had her pick that up as well as some spring pasta salad, raspberries, deli sliced ham for sandwiches, Vidalia onions, Diet Coke, and whole wheat flour.  

While she was here, she noticed that my Culligan water jug was empty, so she helped me boost a fresh jug up again.  I can do it by myself, but it is hard.  

After she left, I went through the new mail recycled the junk, and wrote out another bill or two.  Now I am up to date again. Then I called Sorenson's Appliance about getting a new refrigerator.  Mine is still freezing the vegetables in the veggie bin.  I have had enough of it.  The guy sent me an email with details about the fridge I had asked about--it is about $1,400 for a nice stainless steel Whirlpool.  I'm going to order one next week as he says it takes a few weeks to get one shipped.  I have about $1500 in my savings account right now, but I had to totally gut my savings.  I had to write out a check for $500 for my 6 month's worth of car insurance today.  I hate to cut myself too thin, so I would like to wait till I get my next cash dispension.  But I am tired of spending so much money on groceries only to have them frozen solid in the fridge.  

I texted my cousin Jim who owns a lot of rental properties and asked him if he'd like to take the fridge--Sorenson's will haul it away, but, other than freezing the vegetables, it works great.  He could put it into one of his rental properties.  Just warn the renter that it will freeze anything in the bottom bin.  

He said he'd take it, so that's good.  

Since we were chatting via text, I asked him if he'd be interested in putting a deck/front porch on my house.  Not necessarily this summer, but I would like to have him come over and give me an estimate.  If he does that, I'd also have him give me an estimate on what it would take to put a "catio" out the back door of the breezeway.  That would need to be enclosed with screens.  I would put a chaise lounge chair out there for me to sit on and Peaches could enjoy the sun and air in safety.  I'd see about having planters put on the front porch to plant a small veggie garden out there.  Maybe a few flowers.  I'd also like to have some sort of swing on the front porch and a bird feeder in front of the picture window.  Squirrels welcome too.  

I ate the last of my roast beef for supper today. There was no more cabbage or onions left, but there was still ample potatoes and carrots.  

Lily brought the things she'd picked up for me later in the day.  She is so wonderful to pick that stuff up for me.  I put away all the stuff that needed to be refrigerated.

Thursday, July 2

I woke up to discover a big, juicy puddle of puke in the middle of the doorway to the bedroom.  Thank goodness it was light enough for me to see it, so I didn't step in it, slip and fall, and break a hip.  That would have been cute.  

After taking a refreshing shower, I gave the toilet and sink a thorough scrubbing and laid down the bathroom rugs.  Next time I order stuff on line, I may have to buy a new rug set for the bathroom.  Mine are looking pretty ratty.  

Then I went into the kitchen and did the dishes.  I wiped the Sparkling Ice bottles down with bleach water and put them in the little pop fridge in the kitchen.  I took the big bag of recycling to the outside bin.  My "garden," one tomato plant in a pot, looks beautiful.  It has two or three blossoms on it, so I may have at least a few tomatoes on it!

Becky Lassan came and mowed my yard.  She did it with a push mower in the heat of the day--and it was at least 90 degrees!  She was wearing long sleeves, too.  Wow.  She said she needed the exercise.  I was able to pay her for the month of July.  I've been paying her monthly instead of per time as I don't want to waste my checks writing them out weekly.  I don't go anywhere to get cash these days, so everything gets paid for with checks.  

I made out my grocery list for my local grocery store and called it in.  I love having the groceries delivered as Ross carries them into my house and right into the kitchen.  It's hard for me to even carry a bag into the house, much less big boxes!

I took a package of hamburger and a bag of chicken out of the freezer to thaw so I can make something for the next few days.

Friday, July 3

I loose fried the hamburger, thinking I would make it into tator tot hotdish, but it turned out I didn't have green beans.  Sigh.  I didn't want to call and add anything to my grocery order, so I think I will just use the hamburger to make soft shell tacos.  I ordered taco shells with my grocery order, but they must have misunderstood me as they gave me tortillas instead of shells.  It's okay.  I like soft shell tacos too.  I am a little disappointed, but if that's the worst thing that happens to me this week, life will be sweet.

I did get some tortilla chips and shredded lettuce, so I can make a taco salad instead if I want.

I turned the chicken into my favorite chicken and rice hotdish.  That always turns out delicious.

I cleaned my cat boxes while waiting for Lily to come over to drop off a jug of milk.  She had bought an extra 1/2 galon of milk that she can't use, so she brought it to me.  While she was here, she watered my little tomato plant for me.  

It was hotter than hades again today--over 90 again.  

Ross delivered my groceries pretty late today.  I was beginning to think he forgot about me.  But he brought them in, and I spent quite a while wiping them all down with bleach wipes and putting them away.  I did the dishes after that.  

Usually there are fireworks at Beaver Lake on  the 3rd of July, and I thought about driving out there to watch them, but I just didn't feel like it.  It's so hot.  So, I stayed home and cuddled Peaches.

Saturday, July 4

My dad would have been 89 today, but he died at age 64.  Hard to believe he has been gone this long.  

I haven't done much today.  I ate the rest of my spring pasta salad for lunch.  I watched and deleted some stuff off the DVR.  And now I have caught up with the week of DW entries I got behind on.  I just found out the regular fireworks show is still on in Owatonna.  It's still hot, and I am feeling way too lazy to drive all the way to Owatonna.  I like fireworks, but I'm tired.  

I'm watching and deleting stuff off the DVR again.  I wanted to work on the office today but I didn't feel a shred of motivation.  Maybe I  will get a little will power tomorrow.  

Not much else happened today.  It's only 6 pm, but I don't anticipate doing anything else of note today, so I'll just  wrap this up for now.