Valentine Gnome and Frustration

 

                                                               Valentine Gnome  

How about another cute dessert? I would make this. 

TV's Funniest Phrases Seinfeld had #1, #21, and #50. "No soup for you." Did you find your favorite in the list? 

This amazon box had a cell phone battery in it and bubble for cushioning. Is that wasteful? I received an order yesterday that had three items, one in a breakable bottle. Each item was in a plastic bag, no box.  I wonder who makes the decision on which method of packing to use. 

I am not sure why I did not post this above on Sunday. I looked at the post up and saw Sunday, so I thought I had already posted. 

I am not sure what the alignment above is doing, so I will ignore it.  I had little sleep Saturday and Sunday night. Dogs next door sounded like we were being invaded by wolves or something dangerous on Sunday night/Monday morning.  

This afternoon I wasted a beautiful day in Lowe's getting no help. I had definite things in mind. Nothing panned out. I left empty-handed and disappointed and exhausted. 

1-I wanted something to seal cold air coming in around the bathroom window. Well, I was shown something to shut in the window, something to squirt in the crack, and told to get a piece of plastic and tape over the window. Then, get a window sealing kit. 

The space leaking is between the frame of window and tile. There is no way to raise the window unless I take it out. They were confused and could not figure out why the window frame would not raise. The draft stuff to squirt never works for me. I am either too stupid or clumsy to get it where it goes and how it goes. It would look so lumpy and nasty. I was told there is nothing to roll in a string to put in cracks.

I know I have seen something that looks like play doh that can be rolled into a long piece like a snake and then it can be pressed into the space. 

They tell me to just squish the foam into the space of 1/8 inch. 

2--No one could show me the Kohler commode that was installed. It is not round in front and elongated. It sort of is triangular with a bit of rounding in the front. So, need to find out about that. There is nothing about my bottom that fits this commode I have newly installed!

3--I want a new light to go beside the front door. I would like one that had an outlet for plugging in electrical things since Tommy has no outdoor electrical outlet. The guy did not even investigate, just told me that nothing like that is made. 

4--I wanted weed killer for St. Augustine Grass. It was up too high, so I just left it and did not ask for help. I would have had to have driven halfway across the store. I may just order it. 

5--I passed a display of new seeds. I asked the guy if he could get me some short carrots. He pulled off the top of the case where the carrots were and spilled about a hundred packages of seeds or more. He picked them up and put them willy-nilly back into the case and declared they did not carry short carrots. I know better, but I went on. 

6--floor cabinets--nothing there that was metal. Guy only muttered a bit. 

7--Security door glass and metal type for front door. Guy pointed in their direction. There was no one to talk with and there were no prices. 

Before I actually got to talk with anyone and had been on the cart five minutes, the cart died. Someone brought me a cart. The guy dragged the dead cart out of the way, and an hour later it still sat, not being charged. 

Can you see why I am frustrated and exhausted after not getting much sleep all weekend? 

A few minutes ago, I tried to walk to the kitchen and could barely stand to get dinner on my plate. I struggled back to my chair and Tommy heated it and brought to me. I have no idea what is wrong with my flank, maybe my kidney. Plus, there is a knot under my ribs in front on the same side. Whatever is happening, I at least need to be able to get to the bathroom. Last night, I was very wobbly getting up to go. 

Today was beautiful, a deep blue sky with some clouds that did not dim the brilliance of the sun. 

We are watching Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, so I need to get back.

Do you find that people working in some home improvement stores have no idea about the business in which they work?

Jesus and John Wayne

 Noon Wednesday.

The plumbers have been here for over an hour. We are getting a new commode. This one is only two or three years old. The jets in the bottom of the commode are clogged, so that the least bit of solid will not go out unless the commode is flushed up to six times. The water on the floor is from a worn-out gasket between tank and bowl. The alternative to purchasing a new commode was as expensive as the new commode. The bill today was $800. On Dec. 28th it was $389, so right at $1200 in less than a month.  

We agreed to get an American Standard last time in order to get it done and over with. Well, this time, I told him we only wanted a Kohler. He is not going to want to replace this commode in another two or three years. 

He abuses commodes! He will listen to me from now on.

On Tuesday night, I lay down a little after 6 pm. I told him to wake me a little before 7 pm. I really wanted to watch The Night of the Hunter. I was motivated to get up. Well, he called me at 7:30, 8:30, and 9 pm. I awoke at midnight with 6 hours sleep. It is noon on Wednesday, and I have still not slept. Ugh! This is a problem for me. Of course, I have nowhere to go. 

They have the water off, installing the commode, so I cannot eat what I want. I had tuna salad with no eggs. I washed the celery with bottled water. 

Thursday

I was exhausted yesterday. I took a long nap right at dinnertime, sleeping for another six hours right before bedtime. So, I slept none on Wednesday night. Today, I lay down at 2 pm and got up at 4 pm all on my own. Maybe I will be able to sleep tonight. I certainly need more sleep. 

The guy who put the sealer around the base of the commode left the product smeared all over the floor. I have no idea how to get it off. It does not matter since I cannot get down there to get it off. The first time I sat on the seat, it creaked, so I wonder if it is breakable! It continues to creak, certainly not Kohler standards. 

This weather is wonderful. It has been 68F for hours today or above. Of course, as soon as I arrived at Publix, it started pouring. Thankfully, it was only sprinkles by the time someone brought me a cart. Everything I went to buy was bogo--frozen broccoli florets, Chobani low-fat Greek yogurt. Bread and bananas were not on sale. My a2 milk was on sale, but will get that another day--$3.99 for half gallon. We did not look at ads yet. Nor did we collect the ads from The Pig, and Food Giant. 

I just received a book I ordered--Jesus and John Wayne--How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. 

"Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping, revisionist history of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, revealing how evangelicals have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism―or in the words of one modern chaplain, with “a spiritual badass.” from the back of the book."

It looks to be a page-turner. Have you heard of this book?

The weather prediction tonight has temps in 50s next week and NO RAIN? I can handle that! 

Plumber, This and That

                 

 The water delivery part is much higher than it appears in this photo.                                                                                                                                                      

Twice today, I have spilled food on my new necklace! Once was milk that ran out of my mouth, down my face, dripped off my chin, and then onto the necklace. Actually, it did not run out of my mouth. I just tipped the glass up too far. The other time was something gooey to wipe off. At least I can give my new necklace/chain a bath and not worry about food making it turn permanently. My last good necklace was full of mends so it looked knotty. Gone.

Today was only 50F with a breeze, sometimes mild and sometimes stiff. Tommy came to the car complaining that he did not know it would be so cold. He had on a short-sleeve shirt. I told him to go get a coat. He did, but I am sure it was because he was so cold. The wind blew right through my clothing. 

The plumber was scheduled for 10 am. He called about 10:45 and said the job he started yesterday was taking longer than he thought. Finally, I went to sleep in my chair. Tommy told me he called and was five minutes from here. I had no idea where I was or what Tommy was talking about. I had only slept two hours last night and had Tommy wake me for when the plumber was supposed to come. So, I was discombobulated. ugh! 

I told the guy how it went down with the mess of water. No, I did not spill water. I checked for that when it happened. No, I could not see where it was running from. So, the four of us stood there and watched the hot water run full force for about five minutes, just like it happened when it flooded the counter. I had bought a faucet yesterday, so told them to put it in. We had the kind of long handle that controls hot to cold and turns from right to left. There is a joint there that sort of has a ball configuration. Usually, that is where this kind of faucet leaks. The plumber and helper kept wiping their fingers back there. They could only get a smear of water on their black gloves. We could not replicate the leak!

I meant to get a shiny chrome stainless steel faucet like the sink. The faucet is nice. I hate the pull-down sprayers. But, I ended up with the right faucet, just in a brushed steel. I was not going to sit around and wait for them to buy another faucet at Lowe's. I should have because this will be here a long time. Besides, it was installed before I figured it out. 

I asked plumber to show me where the filter in the dishwasher is located. He had no idea, even after looking. I thought he showed it to me when he installed the dishwasher. So, I can look on the internet since I have no idea where I put the manual. I miss my file cabinet. 

The caulk or whatever it is called was put around the commode, too. He thought it should not be there. He said if the seal failed, I would never know it and it would leak under the house. I know it would rot the support for the commode. ask me how I know. But, I know that roaches and fleas were coming in there. Plus, someone told me snakes could come in the house there. Tommy is deathly afraid of snakes, so he said nothing about that. They had to go to Lowe's for a tube of caulking. 

He put this commode in. One of the bolts holding the seat on is loose and the seat swivels. So, he tightened that. Neither of us can bend to reach it. We really know how!

Tommy got out a card to pay. The plumber only takes cash and check. We all looked at each other for a second after Tommy said he did not have enough cash and no checks. Then, I pulled out my checkbook. It is a good thing I did not make a payment today that I was going to make. 

Tommy ordered checks before they ran out. When he ran out of checks, he called again. Somehow, he will get the money back to my checking account. This has never happened before. He rarely writes a check. Nor do I. However, last week, forgot where, the vendor would not take a card. I wonder why. 

So, $389.00 later, we have a new faucet. The Moen faucet was on sale, probably clearance, for $89. That is $478.00 today. 

Then, we headed off to Belk's for something I wanted on sale. Somehow, I cannot order online at Belk's even though I have no problems ordering other places online. The woman helped Tommy order online by doing it for him. My card would not work! I panicked. It was only expired, so the lady did an override to update the card. Neither of my Belk cards worked. So, I had to take care of that when I came home.

We figured up how many boxes of freezer and storage bags in quart and gallon sizes--22 boxes. However, only one box has quart storage. hmmm...how did I do that?

I opened the coin bank jar where I put change all year. This is the rare coin I find and change that I get in transactions. I had a grand total of $6.98. Tommy has a penny jar and another for other coins. He has put this away for several years. He said he never has a chance to spend it. 

Dinner: last tiny bit of green bean casserole, baked zucchini, turkey. Tommy had the same and sweet potato. That is the very end of Thanksgiving.  We had four meals, and there is more turkey breast in refrigerator and some in freezer. Besides the meals, we have both been having turkey sandwiches and turkey on salads. 

How much of Christmas dinner do you have left? 

How much do you have in your coin jar? Do you have a method of saving coins?

Have you found places that no longer take cards, just checks or cash?