Tommy's Bulging Wallet

 Today was a good day, not rough, just extremely tiring. We went to Cullman. The car drove beautifully. Skies were clear. I wore a light sweater since it was 44F when we left about 9 am. He refused to get a light jacket. I worry for him, but we have a throw in the car. 

We were going to pick up a lunch and then go to lunch and learn at the Ag Center. When we got our lunch, we picked up two for friends in their nineties. This is the guy who kept trying to touch me, to 'boop my nose" when I refused to let him hurt my injured shoulder. He was a pain once again. Next time, he will have to go to Tommy's window. 

We left their lunch and extricated ourselves and headed to the Lunch and Learn to hear about bulbs. I learned a lot even though I have been planting bulbs for years. I am always successful. 

We sat in the car and ate. We only ate one lunch. Tommy had the soup while I ate the salad. The soup was like chili with vegetables. I had the salad. We called to see what was on the menu. I brought chopped chicken to add to mine. It was a great salad after the chicken was added. 

I learned lots about bulbs and participated in the question-and-answer session. 

We were given bulbs just dug--lots of kinds of narcissus, spider lily, and some bulbs she did not know the kind. So, with our newfound knowledge, we have many free bulbs, about $30 dollars worth if we bought them from Lowe's.

Afterwards, we went to have the other fob made for Tommy's car. It was ordered but never came in, so that is for another trip. We then went to get my lens changed. I did not have my debit card, so Tommy used his cc. I insisted on repaying him. So, I went to bank and got over $200. He was thrilled to have 'real money' in his wallet. 

While waiting on my glasses, we went to DQ and got a horrible milk shake. I keep forgetting I hate their milkshakes. Plus, two milkshakes cost $10. 

As were on the way home, cleaner called me to say she wanted to come get the Rogue. When we got home, I called her. She and her friend came. I had just set down in my chair and pushed it all the way back. I thought I was awake when she came, but I could not talk and make sense or type out a bill of sale. I mailed it to her daughter and received a reply with her electronic signature. 

This bill of sale is an acknowledgement of the lack of title right now and an acknowledgement of money paid and received. She said she will not drive it. She just wants to get it before mower tries to buy it out from under her. Mower and cleaner are friends. 

She paid Tommy $500 cash. He was so happy to have money. He was showing me how stuffed his wallet was now. He is enjoying having money. Later, he said, "I suppose I should put most of this money into the credit union." So, he has had his ecstasy of having cash on his person, and he has come to his senses. He has $707 in tens and twenties plus one five and two ones. 

So, we have bulbs, maybe three dozen. 

We had to pay $10 each for the lunch and learn. I ate one triangle of baklava and Tommy had one bit of naan bread. I suppose free bulbs make up for lack of lunch I could eat and that he did not want. Okay, he had the rest of my lunch (Mediterranean salad and roasted potatoes) for dinner with another bowl of soup. 

The outdoor temperature was 61F when we came home today. Amazingly, it was only 56F in the house. We grabbed throws. 

I went to bed for two hours and got up still groggy. 

Now that I am up and have watched Nova, I will have Tommy's salad with more chopped chicken on it. 

There are still two more meals for other days. No, there are three salads and one soup left or something. I don't get the food math, but that is what he said. I may have to cook one day soon. sigh

The  Ag has a broom-making class next week. I want to go, but it starts at 6 pm. Besides, we have to pack and rest to go out of town. Maybe they will have it another time. 

I think I will sleep well tonight! 

Has anyone ever taken a broom-making class?

Do you plant bulbs? What kind?

Saturday and St Patrick's Day

 Saturday was not a bad day, but not necessarily an outstanding day. Except, I am here. I have slept 1.5 hours since 6:30 pm yesterday. UGH!

A piddling bit of decluttering occurred, mostly what I had cluttered on Friday and Saturday. Otherwise, it would get to be so messy. It was not enough to even mention. But, of course, every little bit of decluttering helps in the long run. 

I decided to just go ahead to the grocery to get things Tommy found in the Publix Ad. He had circled things--zucchini, cheese curls. He took back the receipt where we had been charged for Aquafina water when what he got was Dasani 2/$9. Two Aquafina 24 packs were about $15. So, because of the mix-up, he was charged for only one of the Dasani. That was a $4.50 savings. Plus, he recouped the almost $8 where he was overcharged.

Then, we went to Food Giant where he brought the ads out to me, and we examined them to shop right then instead of going back another day. There was nothing we wanted or needed on sale.

Because I am so tired, I wanted a chocolate milkshake or cone. We got a milkshake at DQ. Mine had something nasty and brown and hard. No, it was not chocolate. I become extra foolish when I am exhausted and cannot resist fattening stuff. I always forget that DQ has horrible chocolate milkshakes because I only get one about every two years. They discontinued the chocolate soft serve cones, my favorite ice cream from DQ. I did not want anything else.

In the meantime, I remembered I had not gotten carrots, so he went back into Publix for carrots and brought out chocolate ice cream, too. I forgot we need onion. Remember, my brain is rattled. 

We will have another white dinner, I suppose. However, I want slaw with my chicken. Potatoes will be for Tommy. I want chicken with BBQ sauce and slaw. 

For some reason, I still have the weight loss from the intestinal upset. And, I am losing more weight. That is a bad sign. I am certainly eating enough to gain the weight back. I will need to address that Monday with a doctor or appointment. 

Friday, we cooked six bscb, ate one between us, so have five left. I froze three of those in separate freezer bags. We will appreciate these on days we don't want to cook or have a late day out. 

I napped for four hours, getting up at 10 pm. I ate no dinner, just pbj sandwich and milk. I think.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We have absolutely nothing planned to celebrate the day. The shamrock on the front door will come down after dark. I bought the shamrock about three or four years a day at a clearance sale, so not much spent. I don't own anything green to wear; Tommy has a shirt that says "Elder" on the sleeve. It is something he wore to some sort of church conferences. I do have a button with a shamrock on it. 

Karolina and her brothers. Hallelujah - Karolina Protsenko & Her Brothers (youtube.com)

I love this channel.

Now, I need to get busy decluttering my table. I might do a bit more. This is the only way I can keep more clutter happening. It never seems like much, but it works for me. 

I  think a nap is in order since I never sleep more than 3 or 4 hours when I go to bed.

What are you eating or wearing to mark the green day?

Are you Irish? I am Scots-Irish on my mother's side. 

Blood Pressure and More Hail Damage

I got the doctor's office at 2:18, three minutes late. The woman made a great show of flipping her arm around, looking at her watch, grimacing and sighing...all over 3 minutes.

She told me the doctor could not see me because I needed a Medicaid referral from my primary physician. (I was seeing a specialist.)  I told her at least one dozen times that I did not get a referral from my primary physician, that another specialist sent me here. She absolutely refused and told me that was their policy and that it had always been their policy and I should know that.

She made sure she said "MEDICAID referral" as loudly as she could as I stood at the open window with people all around. I think it is not her place to announce to the office that I am on Medicaid. She finally shut the window and called people over to look at her screen. None of them looked like they knew what was happening, just shaking their heads.

This went on for about 30 minutes, with me standing and exhausted from no sleep. I kept repeating my story about the other specialist referring me. Finally, I said I would call them. The person who answered the phone at the doctor's office of the other specialist had no idea what I was talking about, and the person who might was on the phone. So, I held for about five minutes, all the time occupying her window space.

I finally got the right person and passed my cell phone to the receptionist in front of me. There was discussion. Finally, she told me she would let me see him today. But, her screen instructed her that I needed the Medicaid referral. She was just following directions.

Instead of putting me right back in line, I had to sit for another 45 minutes while people who signed in after me were called back. I drank all my water and felt terrible wanting more water.

Finally, I went back and had a bp of 190/96. I was alarmed and asked nurse if that was correct. At the end of her visit with me, doing a test and taking notes, she took my bp again--183/80 or something like that. She told me it was going down, so it was okay, that it was probably lack of sleep, ear infection, and problem at front desk.

The doctor said he was not worried about the bp, that it was probably just the confusion at sign in. I told him about her attitude and saying "Medicare" so many times and so loudly. I told him she did her job with a lack of grace, and that no one else in the office or at other doctor's office knew what she was talking about. I dropped it because he obviously had heard about it and I really, really like him.

When I called the office of primary physician today, the other doctor said I would have to see primary. I told woman since doctor had moved 40 miles away, the office was my primary. At any rate, I was told to keep checking my bp. GAH...I told her I did not have a bp machine. She told me to come by and they could take my bp. That conversation probably drove my bp up again.

My BP is always low, sometimes alarmingly low. 88/53, 120/68, 110/70...things like those numbers. A week before the delivery of my last child, I had been arguing with an upholsterer, rushed to car, drove to husband's office and ran up the steps, over 12 of them, and immediately went to ob appointment. My blood pressure was 90/60. Yesterday, Tuesday, I think that the prednisone and pseudoephedrine and receptionist on top of only 45 minutes of sleep is the problem. However, I did not feel well today, WEdnesday, sort of foggy.

I refuse to really worry about the bp. I only have one more prednisone. But, I really must take the pseudoephedrine. I never take the pseudoephedrine before going to any doctor because I have found that my bp will be just a bit higher, but not dangerously or even disturbingly high.

By the way, people who need to know, some friends, and others know I have Medicaid. But, I prefer to be the person who tells strangers with no need-to-know.

All this time in the doctor office, exbf was sitting in the car with water bottle and a Reader's Digest. I didn't bring snacks since he had just had lunch. However, it was dinnertime by the time I got out of there. Give him a RD and snacks, and he will sit anywhere happily.  Plus, he naps in the car. He is a gem except when I am ready to kill him!

When I went out Wednesday to get my free DQ, I had to pass Aldi's, which was closed as was Arby's. So, I suppose there was hail damage. I saw even more businesses than we had seen yesterday and on the same stretch of road. Exbf said that when he went home yesterday, one car dealer had an empty front lot, that all vehicles were jammed together behind the dealership. Wednesday, there were new vehicles with intact bodies and windows.

My utility bill I just received was exactly half of last month's. I told you it had been warm! However, for a week solid, I ran the ac, so it will probably go up next month, but not to the level when using heat.

Thursday
I still feel tired from earache and meds. But have not gone to have bp checked. I saw more businesses closed that I did not see were closed yesterday. Every other car in town seems to be an insurance vehicle.

I had food from food bank, stuff that I will not eat. The person who gets them south of town could not leave her register because she was only one there. I saw three guys on corners begging, so I gave the whole box to a homeless guy. He was really grateful and had a huge bag from McD and another bag of something. Yay, my car front seat in cleaned out of big stuff.

Read the comments from yesterday, post before this for interesting other information.

Do you have normal blood pressure until meds or problems make it go up?

How Monday Actually Went Down | Tuesday, Too

Monday, The first thing I did was go with him to see what he should do about his retirement, social security, and disabilities. He gained knowledge and now knows in which direction he should go. While there, I was offered a drink and took Diet Mt. Dew...more on that later.

I took his pants back to Wm that I gave him for Christmas. Finally, I found a pair, new style they carry that obviously is the style to replace the kind he has worn.  It seems that took forever. He has dress pants and some ragged stained ones. This pair will be perfect for everyday.

Before lunch, we took Coke/aluminum cans to salvage place. We had garbage bags full in the back of his vehicle. He just backed up; they took them out; I went another building and collected money. I need to use my can crusher on these so three huge bags will only be a half bag. But, it hurts my arm and hand!

We ate lunch at DQ, using a six dollar coupon that covered two drinks, chicken fingers, fries, a slice   of toasted, buttered bread. I did not eat half the slice of bread and brought it home.

At Publix, I bought a half gallon of a2milk. I had had the last half cup Monday morning before we left my house.

I was exhausted when we got home and I still needed to bring things in from his car. Dinner was the herbed turkey breast, cole slaw, and butternut squash. I did not realize I bought the steamer kind until I read the cooking directions! grrr But, I microwaved the bag and dumped it in a bowl, a cereal bowl was sufficient because there was so little!  We both had a smallish serving, and I gave him the rest to take home, a regular serving

Not wanting to put butter or sugar on this, I put about two tablespoons of maple syrup. Much of the maple syrup was left in the bowl, so we had little of a sweetener. It barely had any flavor at all, barely enough. But, that's okay with both of us.  So, turkey breast, butternut squash, and slaw was dinner. He declared it very good and said that he had missed having squash. Hmmm, he has never mentioned that to me.

The carrots were never cooked as I planned, nor the potatoes. This week all that will happen. I will bake and freeze in portions for him.  The potatoes will be cooked and put in the bag with carrots. This will make him happy.

After he left, I went to Publix to return something and could not find the receipt. It was no problem, but I took a store card instead of cash. I meant to make the return when he drove me to buy milk. But it is done and I received full value.

Now, I am waiting for The Good Doctor on TV..

Tuesday
From mid-afternoon on Monday until now, Tuesday night, I have had the worst belching I have ever had. It is not polite, easily squelched, and sort of worries exbf because this is highly unusual for me. I have no idea why it started or how to stop it or treat it.

I did not take my pill for the acid reflux until about 6 pm yesterday, way too late.  I took another about 5 am this morning. I do not have the pain from yesterday, but the horrid belching continues. I have just had to rest today, at least not do anything worth writing home about.

Does anyone grow butternut squash? Since they can be stored, it seems like a good crop. But, I bet raccoons, squirrels, rats, and chipmunk like them, too!

Recipe Found, Free Cone etc

Okay, I found the recipe. A blogger I read stepped forward for me. Cheapchick had posted the recipe and a picture. Thank you. I cannot wait to try this.

If you fill a Christmas Child shoebox, the DQ in my town will give you a free ice cream cone. I have no idea if this is available in all their locations. Their cones are expensive--$2. Of course, I prefer the free sandwich that Chic-fil-A gives for a filled box.

Frost is expected in some areas tonight. It has been pitch dark for an hour, but I need to go take care of the potato plant and cover it. The plant is about four inches tall but still has tiny leaves. The leaves are growing larger, but they still are not full size like the should be and will be.

Today, I got my hair back. My hair had not left, but it was surely a mess. The last thing J did was to trim my hair, just the bottom. I cut my bangs and finally put color on it. I had messed up the last two colorings, so this time I did it right. Once, I washed the color off after only ten minutes. The time before, I missed places. now, I feel decent for the holidays. Of course, the color and bang trimming will have to be done twice before the end of the year. My bangs grow faster than the rest of my hair. My stylist said so. I feel ready now.

Since I cannot bend too much and not for very long, today, I did some more cleaning of the refrigerator shelves. Well, I dragged out things to toss or to put where I can see it. The wiping of the shelves will be another occasion. I cannot do it all at once anymore. I spent two minutes today.

I did one more thing in the yard today. It is so minor but is shaping things up. I had two of the little nursery three packs that had dirt in them sitting on a table. They were dumped into another larger pot of dirt. All this will go into the trench from the water line installation that still is a dip in the yard. I only have one more large pot to empty and repair. Then, all my pots are ready for next year.

If I had the energy. I would wash the little three cells to use for starting seeds in the spring. But, they will have to go in the trash.

My neighbor dragged the hose back from the trash. I think I can salvage it for another year. I had him drag one of the trash cans back into the chicken yard so I can get the paper plates and such picked up. I need to get ready for chicks.

Things happen slowly around here. And, this is my Friday night. How about yours?

Your turn
Are you going to fill Christmas Child boxes this year? If you color your hair, do you ever miss places, leave color on for the wrong length of time, or wait too long to apply color. Have you gotten your pots and garden stuff ready for the winter? Have you ever been ready to toss something but snatched it back at the last moment to rescue it and give it one more year, one more chance? Have you found that with injury and/or age you move more slowly and accomplish less?