Christmas is Near

 We got lots done today. Of course, police, insurance, car rental and attorney made no contact as promised. 

Cleaner came today. She helped by getting junk from living room, threw away sweet potatoes. We store them in decorative boxes in living room, the best temp for storing sweet potatoes. 

Last summer, I had neighbor cut a Christmas wreath in half. My intentions were to put the pieces on the red mailbox. Cleaner fluffed the two pieces. I just stuck them on mailbox, hoping they would stay at least until morning. It looks beautiful! I have made a bow to go on top. I thought I needed more greenery, too, but after fluffing, it looks great. 

Tommy wrapped three tomato cages with a hundred-strand string of lights each. He got them hooked up to the electric with deers. Now, they look great. All we need to do now is clear off a couple of tables.

At 7:30 tonight, I received a call from nurse wanting to come by about 1:30 on Friday. I told her we had to be somewhere at 1 pm.  acted like I was being uncooperative. Really, I don't know how this company decides to make an appointment the night before. We actually do have things to do. She said she would call next week for an appointment. They won't make an appointment now before we get things lined up on our calendar. When I called nurse to talk about this, she has been a week without responding. I am puzzled. 

I refused to worry about this or deal with it.

Today, I decided I had better get cards addressed.  The few I got addressed just need a stamp. So, there.

The living room looks so much brighter after dusting! 

I keep remembering things I have for Christmas decorations that I cannot find. I tell her to stay on the lookout for these things. She does. She found two new phones, never out of the package. I told her last week I had them and sort of wanted to sell them and thought this would be a good time, so she wants to know price. Hopefully, they sell. I will charge half of price they were. 

She is also good at finding boxes I need to toss. She even goes out and breaks them down. Of course, I do pay her for helping. 

Christmas Day is near. It makes me happy.  However, the weather is not Christmas weather, warmer than most Southern Christmas Days. 

I still need to find my postage stamps! Is there any little thing you need to do or find that could become a big deal?

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 Chicken Salad Chick

January 18, 2024, next Thursday. Be there. No app needed. 

Monday night, we stayed up late once we had everything set for bad weather. I heard terrific wind and rain hitting the house, but I went right to sleep. This morning, there was no more rain when I got up, just wind. Tommy had to fight the door in the wind with his walker. 

He said he was trying to avoid the head of the baby deer that was lying on the porch trapped by a pillar, grill, and house wall. He put the two large deer in beside the car and house, straight. He said both were sort of crooked. So, I suppose that the wind got to them. Nothing seemed moved by the wind. Of course, he never looks in the back yard. Sooo

I called the guy about the cleaner he knew. I got voice mail and left a message. 

Tommy is peeling potatoes and carrots. We will put bscb and vegetables in a cooking bag for dinner and future dinners. 

We will, at least, box the two deer and Santa on one low bookcase. 

Tommy finished the potatoes and carrots, and I trimmed them, cut them, cut an onion. We got it all into the oven. I retired to my chair and promptly went to sleep. The potatoes on the stove for potato salad boiled too long, almost burning. They were almost dry and the texture of mashed potatoes. 

Dinner was not as good as usual. The potatoes baked in cooking bag were mealy, carrots were bitter, and the chicken breasts were chicken tenders that somehow were tough. It cooked long enough and was seasoned as always. Strange. But, it was food. Nutritious. Now, I am making potato salad.

I called the guy who knew a house cleaner. No return call. I am disappointed. 

Tonight, we are set to have a windy night, so the storm is not over. People did lose power in Birmingham. One person died when a tree fell on this car and killed him. "Just wind" is dangerous. 

So, a lot of nothing this post. 

For the past two weeks or so, when I get sleepy feeling, I lean my chair back just a bit, not all the way or even far. I take off my glasses and put a dish towel used for a napkin or something else I have in here over my eyes. I have the TV volume lowered just a bit. I always go to sleep and never sleep more than an hour. Today, Tommy woke me because the food had been in the oven for over an hour. ugh

Since Christmas, I have been saving in "favorites" recipes for single recipes or whole collections. You know the Christmas Santa and penguins I saved. Some of the recipes are whole meals, casseroles, chocolate, diabetic. I must have saved over 5,000 recipes. Now, all the recipes that show up are for Valentine's or Easter. Some of the recipes are possibly the same or variations. I will go through the ones for diabetics and for chocolate first. Recipes I might make will be printed. I did not save fish recipes or one that are hot or spicy. Hopefully, I can find some good recipes, good and good for me. Plus, it is good brain exercise.

Don't forget your free scoop at Chicken Salad Chick. 

My Brain is Still in Creating-Christmas Mode

 When we see mailboxes decorated for Christmas, I always "oooh" and "ahhh." Since my brain will be in Christmas decorating cheaply mode, I had another thought. I have a small wreath that I bought cheaply. Well, I hated it and bought a wreath of greenery only and put poinsettias on it. I found that small wreath and decided I could remake it for the mailbox. Maybe I will cut in in half and put both the halves, backs together, over the mailbox. It has a very full sparkly, gold bow. If the bow will not last in the weather next year, I can replace the bow the next year with a durable, red bow. 

Maybe you would prefer to have me save it all for December. ??? I will move on, but I must create all year long to have decorations made cheaply ready by next Christmas. 

Not much was planned for today. Not much was accomplished. But, that is okay. Tommy laid the deer on the porch since wind is forecast for tonight. Rain and wind. Hopefully, the electricity stays on. 

We did do one errand. Then, Tommy went to Publix and bought milk for both of us and a few other things, mainly two bags of chips for him and cookies for me. I will ration them...lol. Everything but the milk was bogo. 

An hour nap was followed by dinner. 

Dinner was still leftovers--turkey breast or chicken thigh, sweet potatoes and cabbage. Tommy also had green bean casserole. 

We are discussing putting away Christmas decorations. Hopefully, action will follow. Maybe tonight. Keep your fingers crossed. 

Reading more, I learned a few things about lymphedema. It is all interesting and shocking. My friend died of lymphedema, diagnosed on her deathbed, undiagnosed for many years by multiple physicians to whom she turned.

So, it is too late to put away decorations. Maybe tomorrow. Tommy's arm where he was vaccinated is really hurting him. Mine does not hurt at all. Neither of us feel any other adverse effects, thankfully. Only one covid vaccine left us feeling blah and lying around. 

I was sitting here thinking about the mailbox decoration. I thought how nice the greenery would look on a red mailbox. I asked Tommy how would it be if I painted the mailbox red. He said, "I don't care. You can paint the post, too, if you want to." I am so happy. I will wait until a hot, dry summer day, wash it, let it dry, wipe if off just before I want to spray paint it. It will look good and work for Christmas, too. I may not paint the post it is on, just spray it black. 

Do you think a red post would look good?

How is the first week of 2024 treating you?

Are you working on your goals for 2024?

Good Things Gone Wrong Then Great

 The cleaner was supposed to be here at noon. I called her number about forty minutes early and asked her to wear a mask. Well, this was the number of the woman who referred her to me. Sooo, she did not find out early enough and had to go to the original woman's house for a mask. Cleaner said she did not use a mask because of her health. She has asthma and cannot wear a mask. I told her I wear a mask because I do have asthma. I wear it for my health. I have no idea where this will lead us. 

She finally showed up at 1:30. I had gotten up at 11 since she assured me she would be here at noon. So, I was exhausted by the time she arrived. Now, at almost 6 pm, I am nodding. 

The first thing I needed help to do was to assemble the deer family and help run the extension cord from the deer to the utility room. We worked on that from 1:30 until 3:30. Those deer could not be assembled in ten minutes for all three as one guy on video said! No way! 

She needed to get home to her eleven foster dogs, so Tommy paid her $30 for two hours. There was no cleaning, but that is okay. He was okay with it. He was dreading putting the deer together. He went shopping for us. She will be back at three o'clock on Friday. 

He bought the four things I wanted, all bogo. However, the size on bogo was not in the store. The manager gave him two of the smaller size free. That was a surprise. He also got two other things we need that he had reminded me to get and forgot.So, he did well. 

Tommy peeled sweet potatoes yesterday for a sweet potato pie. I trimmed them and he put them in a pot with a bottle of water. Then, we let them burn! I stupidly poured water into the pan of badly scorched sweet potatoes, and, of course, everything then tasted burned, even the parts that were only barely scorched. Soooo, tonight, we will do it all over again. I was so disgusted that I did something I knew better than to do. 

The lights are set with a timer to come on at 6 pm. It is 5 pm and pitch dark out, so I am antsy to see them deer lit. Tomorrow, we will reset the timer to come on at 5 pm. 

On Wednesday, I tried to spray flea killer in the bathroom. It sprayed me in the face. Yes, it was not pointed at me! I kept trying and sprayed me and everything I was not trying to spray. So, that goes back and I complain to the company. 

Thursday night, we went out after dark to see my deer family from the street. They are so beautiful and bright. Then, we checked out our neighborhood lights and a subdivision across the big road. It was fun until I could not stand Tommy driving into the opposite side of the street, almost into yards. I needed to come home...lol. The deer look great but lonely. 

Cleaner is coming tomorrow at 3 pm. Tommy wants to take me to a jewelry store on Friday! 

He cooked three pounds of ground beef while I chopped onions to cook with it. Then, I put one bag in refrigerator and two in freezer. 

I am waiting to see the deer lights go off at midnight. I am like a little kid that way. 

Does it bother you when workers don't show up when they say they will, especially if you will lose sleep getting up early? Plus, we had something to do and she thwarted that. 

Does a day ever start off with things going sideways and then, to your surprise, straighten out?

Do you know how bad burned sweet potatoes smell and taste?