January 16 through 23
Jan. 24th, 2022 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chochiyo_samaSunday, January 16
Miraculously, I was able to wake up early enough to put my beef roast into my roaster and peel and add the potatoes, carrots, and onions and throw it all in the oven to roast before it was time to Zoom with DeAnn. In fact, since I still had half an hour before zooming, I was also able to fry my package of hamburger with chopped onions and make a big pot of chili as well. Now I will have food to eat all week. Yay me.
DeAnn and I had a productive Zoom meeting, then I ate a little bowl of chili and a little plate of the roast beef and veggies. Both were good. As soon as they were cool, I put them in plastic containers and put them in the fridge. I threw away some expired food and wiped up the dried blood that had leaked out of the meat packages. I also reloaded the small fridge in the kitchen with pop which I boldly put in there WITHOUT wiping down with bleach wipes. So far, I have not died.
The last thing I did was wash all the dishes except the roast pan bottom which needed to soak for a while. I felt good about all the things I accomplished today. I talked to Tammy on the phone and she told me my cousin Kari is feeling a little better. Apparently she had asked Tammy about invermectin. OMG. She won’t consider taking a vaccine to avoid Covid, but she WILL consider ingesting horse deworming medicine. How can anyone be so fucking stupid? I don’t get it. She is not a stupid person. Well, she is also a huge trumper, so maybe there is an intellectual deficiency. I can’t say.
Monday, January 17
This morning, I filled my pill caddy, called in my Eloquis prescription, filled the tiny pop fridge in the living room with Diet Coke, cleaned out my purse, sacked up some garbage, and gathered some things to entertain myself with while waiting for Mom in the parking lot. Before I picked Mom up, I went to my mailbox and got the package that awaited me. There was no other mail in there. I was able to mail off my Sequoia bill, which was $100 for four episodes of snow removal so far this winter.
I had to take Mom to her eye doctor today to get her macular degeneration shot in the eye. She was only in there about an hour. I listened to the audio book of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on YouTube, worked on my book of goals, and did some texting. Thank goodness the temperature was much warmer today than it has been in the recent past. I stayed comfortable in my car until just before the nurse called to tell me that Mom was ready to be picked up.
She was hungry for Kentucky Fried Chicken, so I took her to the drive through window. She got an 8-piece bucket with mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, and biscuits. I got a 3-piece meal. I have all the chili and roast beef in my fridge, so I only wanted a single meal of chicken. I also went through the Taco John’s drive through where I got a beef burrito with sour cream. I crave my beef burritos. I also got a large potato ole with cheese dip. We ate that on the road as I drove home.
While we were in the drive through lane, Joni called me to tell me that her endoscopy at Mayo Clinic in Rochester went well. They found some small ulcers in her stomach, but they did not find anything too scary. No signs of cancer, thank goodness.
I was pretty hungry as I did not eat anything before taking Mom to her appointment. So, when I got home, I ate my chicken meal. It tasted pretty good except for the mashed potatoes and gravy which was runny and nasty. After two bites, I tossed the rest in the garbage. Much later in the day, I ate the beef burrito for supper. It also was very good.
I watched a few episodes of Mysteries at the Museum in the evening. I enjoy those shows—they are full of bizarre historical stories. I learn a lot watching them. Useless information, for the most part, but interesting none the less. You never know when I might have the opportunity to win a contest or amaze random people with my knowledge of useless information.
Wednesday, January 19
This morning, I bagged up a bunch of garbage in my bedroom then headed into the kitchen to clean off, wipe down, and polish the kitchen table with Orange Glow. I washed and polished all the things on the table and tidied everything up. It looks really nice now. Next, I worked on the stretch of counter between the table and the sink. I took everything off that space, scrubbed the counter, and put the things that belong on it back. I had washed the two vintage bowls and refilled them with my potatoes and onions. I also keep a pressed glass serving bowl near them which is filled with my instant oatmeal packs. I keep another cut glass bowl on the table. It is filled with envelopes of instant hot chocolate mix. Also on the table is a small clear plastic storage box filled with a variety of tea bags. I used to drink tons of hot tea, but lately I haven’t been so keen on it. I am hoping to go back to my tea appreciation. I need to cut down on my soda pop consumption.
I ate some Triscuits with cream cheese and chili for lunch and made some tasty French toast for supper. I had bought some really delicious thick white bread that makes fabulous French toast. I had not had it for years until Nola (at Lerbergs) recommended it for me. She was right. It is just wonderful!
My Christmas gift from Mary arrived today—a complete set of the Wearever pots and pans just like the ones I used to have before I lent the to my irresponsible, lazy asshole nephew Kyle when he moved to an apartment in Mankato while (sporadically) attending classes there. He grew bored of hauling his stuff up to his apartment and left my pots and pans in his open trunk while he “took a break” in his apartment. When he finally toddled his ass down to his car again, my pots and pans had been stolen.
Wearever has since been sold out and changed to a cheaper made kind of pots and pans. Mary found a place online where the original merchandise had been in storage. So I got a beautiful, perfect set, complete with the Silverstone coating on the inside. The box itself was filthy—very dusty and yellowed with age, but it was well sealed, and on the inside, every pot, pan, and cover was in its own little plastic bag which kept it nice and clean. The whole set consists of two pots—one larger and one smaller, both with covers, a large frying pan, a small frying pan, and a Dutch oven with a cover. There was a little round metal piece with circular holes in it which is some sort of rack. Not sure what it is for, but when I have time, I will be looking it up. All the pieces are sitting on my counter, waiting to be washed thoroughly. I can hardly wait to cook in them.
If I can continue to make good progress like this, I will achieve my goal of getting the kitchen thoroughly cleaned by the end of January.
Thursday, January 20
I sorted and started my laundry first thing this morning. Then moved a lot of garbage and recycling to the breezeway with the intention of getting it into the outside bins as soon as possible. I made my grocery list and called it in, ordered some Schwan’s products online, and washed my dishes. I ate some Triscuits and cream cheese for brunch and warmed up some roast beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions for supper.
I tucked my bottled water into the headboard of my bed so it is available for my middle of the night thirsts. I didn’t get as much done today as my shoulder and knees were especially painful. Probably I over did it the other day. I just didn’t have the stamina to do more today. There were so many things I wanted to do, but I just didn’t have the strength and will to do them.
Friday, January 21
Today, I folded one load of laundry and dried the other. Now my laundry is completed for the week. Well, except to fold the load currently in the dryer. Today, I broke down a bunch of cardboard and moved it and more recycling into the breezeway. I dragged my kitchen garbage into the breezeway along with the box of expired canned goods I had cleaned out of the lazy susan a while ago. Then I cleaned the litterboxes in the breezeway. After I cleaned the litterboxes, I dragged two bags of garbage outside to the bin and threw them in. Then I dumped the heavier kitchen garbage in. I left it in the tall waste basket and just dumped it in as it is very difficult for me to pull the heavier bags out of the waste basket. The last thing I threw in the garbage bin was the smaller bag of cat litter scoopings. After that, I had to drag out two large bags of recycling, one smaller bag of recycling, and a bunch of cardboard. My recycling bin is so full that the lid won’t even close tightly. Nothing else will fit in there. The last thing I did regarding garbage removal was to sit in the open doorway and pitch the expired canned goods in, one can at a time.
Because I am, apparently, an idiot, I did not put shoes on before carrying any of that stuff out to the bins. When I first stepped out, my stockinged feet froze to the step. Of course, they did not freeze hard and came loose at once. But I was in and out of the house repeatedly as I could only carry one thing at a time out to the bins, so my poor little feet were practically frozen solid by the time I was done.
Larry, the Schwan’s delivery man, came in the midst of all that work. He is such a nice guy. He put all my frozen goods in the freezer for me. After he left, and I finished my removal efforts, I headed to my bedroom where I took of my wet socks, mourned my poor frozen feet, and got myself a fresh pair of socks and a pair of the “booties” that I had left over from my long hospital stay in 2019—the kind that have the strips on them that prevent slipping.
I rubbed my feet dry with a towel, smeared them with Vicks Vapor Rub and massaged them for a while to restore circulation, and put on the socks and the booties. The Vicks seemed to help them warm up quicker. The double layer of footwear seemed to warm them up quickly. In no time, they were back to normal—SAVED from possible amputation due to being near frozen solid. Ha. I am, of course, employing hyperbole for humor value.
Not long after that, Ross (from Lerbergs) arrived with my groceries. My order was not as large this time as usual, so it did not take long to put them away.
I had not talked to my brother Jack in quite some time, so I called him. We talked for over an hour. He told me he was going to go get some groceries, and I suggested he call Mom as she had mentioned to me that she needed milk but did not need enough other groceries to justify calling Lerbergs for a delivery. He said he would. Then I asked him if he could keep an eye open for a bag of potting soil if he went into Walmart. I have had my vine of philodendrum in an old mayonnaise jar full of water since Oliver broke it off while eating my spider plant, hoping it would root. It had planted itself in my snake plant’s pot. Then the “mother” plant had died. This plant originated from the plant my old school had sent to my dad’s funeral which was nearly thirty years ago. When I was cleaning the stuff on the table, I saw it had lots of little roots sprouting from it.
He said he’d try to remember, and I asked if he’d pick me up some Diet Coke as well, since the last of what Lily had bought for me before she went to Texas is already in the fridge. I also asked him if he’d mind picking up my mail for me. I had not checked my mail since Monday as I had not left the house. Too freaking cold!
He brought me a bag of potting soil and three 6-packs of Diet Coke just as the sun was going down. He also carried in my pots which were sitting outside. They were frozen together, so he sat them in the sink to thaw. So, at some point, I will be dumping out the dead stuff in them and playing my philodendrum in one of them.
I ate some grapes from the Lerbergs delivery. They were the most delicious grapes I have had in some time! I also ate some Crunch-n-Munch I had ordered from there. I didn’t do a very good job of healthy eating today. I don’t think I ate any protein at all.
Oh, well.
It started to snow just before full dark. Cora was on her way home from play practice and had told her dad she could hardly see to drive. It didn’t snow that much, but it snowed hard and the wind was blowing it all over the place. She made it home safely, however, for which I was grateful. She is still a novice driver, so I worry about her.
By the time it was full dark, I was done for. My shoulders and knees were aching horribly. I could hardly stagger to the bathroom and decided I needed to just go to bed ASAP and hope to wake up feeling better. So that’s what I did.
Saturday, January 22
When I got up this morning, I immediately went through the big bag of mail my brother brought me last night. I threw all of the junk mail in a bag for recycling and wrote out the checks for the three bills that arrived. I held back three of the catalogs that came as I really need new socks. A lot of my socks just need to be tossed. I may get about two week’s worth of new socks. I also need some rubber soled slippers that I can keep by the breezeway door so I can just slip them on when I need to take something out to the bins—that way I will avoid freezing my feet again.
The people from Sequoia came early this morning and removed the snow from my driveway, patio, and deck. I checked outside to see if my package from the pharmacy containing my Eloquis had arrived. Nope. Sigh. I will have to call and ask if they AGAIN forgot to mail it to me. After I use the pills that are in my pill caddy, I will have ONE Eloquis left. Since the door was opened, I threw a bunch of peanuts out on the deck for the squirrels and blue jays. I have not seen any squirrels today, but a couple of blue jays showed up to help themselves to their snacks. They are such pretty birds, but they are kind of mean little assholes. The biggest one always bullies the smaller ones. Greedy thing.
When I bought groceries, I bought a package of hot dogs and a bag of hot dog buns. I don’t buy or eat them very often, but I get hungry for them every now and then. I nuked two of them and had them on buns with shredded cheese and catsup. They tasted pretty good.
It started snowing again just before sunset. It’s supposed to snow all night, but not heavily. The news said maybe 3-4”. Just enough to make the roads sloppy. And, it is supposed to snow again tomorrow night at about the same time. I wish it would snow during daylight hours instead. I love to watch the snow falling from the sky. When it doesn’t start till 5 pm, you really don’t get to see anything. It’s too dark.
Tomorrow I meet with DeAnn again on Zoom. It will be good to connect with her again.
Sunday, January 23
I did not sleep well last night despite being desperately tired. I am blaming it on my sore shoulder and knees. DeAnn and I had a very good Zoom meeting, and when it was over, I napped uneasily in my recliner off and on for a couple of hours. I had two more hot dogs on buns for supper, just like the last ones I ate, but these two were so salty. I could hardly choke them down. The last two I ate did not seem that nasty and salty. I was very disappointed. I didn’t feel like making anything else, so I ate them anyhow.
The two hot dogs and buns is all I ate today except for some tostado chips and oreo cookies.
I spoke to Tammy on the phone and she feels totally recovered from Covid except for being really tired. Sadie is on the mend, but still is not feeling well. She has a lot of pressure in her head and feels like she has a sinus infection.
It snowed around 5 pm again tonight. It did snow about 4” last night, and the Sequoia people woke me up early with the sound of their snow removal on the deck. I thought about getting up as I really needed a shower this morning, but I opted for sleep instead.
In the evening, I watched a movie called Pioneer Woman the cast of which included an ill-fated William Shatner. His character did not make it to the end of the movie. When that was over, there was a Walking Dead character study of the life and times of Daryl Dixon. It was kind of depressing to see how much all those actors have aged in the last ten years. But it was good to see some of the characters who were killed off a while back…especially Glen, Abraham, and Hershel. In real life, poor old Hershel has died of cancer. ☹ He was a very cool guy.
Not much else to say. Once again, I went to bed pretty early. We are very close to the anniversary of my sweet Stewie’s death. He has been on my mind so much lately. I miss him so much—even though it has been close to two years. He left me way to soon. And because little Oliver reminded me so much of my Stewie, I am missing him terribly too. I hope that his original owner is taking good care of him.
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Date: 2022-01-25 11:34 pm (UTC)Diana got her pills, both dogs fed. Still have to put stuff in her ears. I've been lax because she hates it and it is such a struggle.
Debating what to do today while the Aleve kicks in. My lower back and my left shoulder hurt today. More than normal.
When I got off soda I found transitioning to seltzer water was the way to go. I started with sodas that only had sugar, no high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners. Then I went to sodas that just had carbonated water and fruit juice. Then to flavored seltzer waters. San Pellegrino makes some good ones. Now I buy seltzer water and then add Monin flavored syrups. It is a minimum of sugar, much less than soda. The San Pellegrino I drink without adding anything as the flavors are strong enough.
I've been watching the Thin Man movies on the TCM app. I so want all of Nora Charles' hats. I like some of the set dressings too, lamps, tables, desks, chairs. I love this stuff from the 20s, 30s and 40s. My Mother hates that stuff because she grew up with it. I hate the stuff I grew up with.
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Date: 2022-01-27 11:44 pm (UTC)My right shoulder is giving me a lot of pain today. The arthritis formula Tylenol isn't doing shit for it today.
I also love the Thin Man movies. "Nora" has amazing clothing and accessories, and I love the furniture, curtains, lamps, and all too. I love their little doggy, but I can't remember his name.
I am considering converting to tea as my beverage of choice. I like hot and cold tea. In the winter, especially, hot tea is lovely.
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Date: 2022-01-28 04:11 am (UTC)My shoulder hurt for three days but today not so much. I was out with the dogs most of the day.
Asta is the character name but his real name was Skippy. Cute terrier. If I end up with a smaller terrier it may end up being Asta or Toto or Verdell, depending on what it looks like.
I don't care much for iced tea but I like hot tea. I don't drink coffee. It's usually hot tea or cocoa in the cold winter months and the seltzer water syrup mixes the rest of the year.
Didn't even have any eggnog this year. Or any of the cocoa and cookie I bought for my Mom and I to share. I'm sure the Squatter and his bitch drank it.