From Sunday to Now

 Sunday night, I put the brown rice into 6 pint jars and 3/4 of a quart jar. I will freeze each of these for three days, then store in a cool, dark place. Contrary to what is published, brown rice does not have a short storage life at all. One-quarter (1/4) cup makes 1 cup of cooked rice which is one serving. I don't think I have ever eaten one cup of rice!

Tommy could barely find room for one pint in the freezer. I won't be able to store all the rice in the freezer. I may put a couple in the refrigerator. Then, I can put some near the ac vent until we turn on the heat. One time, years ago, I kept brown rice in the boxes in a room that was not climate controlled. That meant that six months out of the year, the rice was heated by the sun. Then, I decided to store it in the freezer. I was eating this rice for four years. This time, I will be more careful. Brown rice does not have the purported short storage.

Of course, I slept little Monday night, just enough to barely keep me sane! However, we had an errand today, and I lived through it. I have been surprised. I did want to nap but managed without. Cleaner was coming at 4 pm after work. 

Yesterday, I wanted tuna salad for dinner. I ate one sandwich. That meant today there was enough for another sandwich. I decided that I needed to quit eating a whole can of tuna for a meal. Silly. Ridiculous. 

She helped me look for some shoes. I did not find the shoeboxes, but I did find two other pair I wanted to wear. She went out to the back door, opened the storm door, sprayed with roach spray, came back in and locked storm door and back door. There was an outside roach inside last night. Se moved my reindeer to a better place, a closet. 

She was vacuuming when I noticed the little place/container for dirt had nothing in it. So, we took the thing apart. She had to use scissors to remove the baseball sized wad of hair from the brush on the bottom and up the hose. After her cleaning it in here and outside, she could not get it together. Neither could Tommy. He never can, so I took it and put it back together. She re-vacuumed living room, hall, bedroom, and dining room. She had done all this and there was nothing in the little visible plastic cannister!!! After the cleaning and vacuuming all over again, the cannister was full. It is a wonder that the vacuum motor did not burn out. 

We planned it. Just before time to leave, I had her put color on my hair. It appeared she was doing a very good job. Then, half hour later, I washed it out. Of course, Tommy comes into the kitchen to spot for me...lol. 

Just after she came, I put the pork loin roast into the bag. Tommy got it into the oven. As soon as I washed the color off my hair, we had food! I had pork roast and mixed greens from a can. He had that and other vegetables. 

We are watching a 70s Zorro movie. Zorro is kissing a girl. I never knew he did that. I watched the half-hour episodes. Tommy tells me in the original Zorro movie, Zorro kissed girls. I am so shocked. 

I suppose I will have her color my hair from now on if she will. No one has ever done that. But, she is rough on my scalp. I can handle it. Well, I lie. A friend colored my hair and ruined my yellow kitchen floor. She let two huge spots drip and did not tell me. AND, she was a hairdresser. No, I did not twist her arm. She offered. 

She moved the huge box with three deer in it from one room to the closet of another room. She called me to see what she found. The ceiling of the closet was falling in and all black moldy. I told Tommy, panicked. He said it had been that way for forty years. He looked at it and shrugged. Yes, it had been that way for forty years. He looked and confirmed he knew it was there. So, he is going to live with mold. This is certainly hard on me trying to get this place fixed up! When I told him we were getting it fixed, he said Okay. Just now, he said it was only stained at first. There is also a water stain in the hall ceiling that he said has been there for forty years. There is a watermark over his chair, too, that I saw when I came here. He thinks he saves money. 

The beautiful weather today helped me relax in the car, put something over my eyes and rest. I think I did eat too many cookies today. When I want a Diet Coke Caffeine Free, I only drink what I want and give the rest to Tommy or toss it. I no longer drink it all because I opened it.

We are having a week of nice weather. For me, that means no rain. So, I can get appointments done instead of having to reschedule. Or, we can go shop for a car. 

I will leave another dinner of pork in the refrigerator and freeze the rest. Tomorrow, I will probably cook all the bscb. I forgot to cook the Brussels sprouts! Someone, remind me.

The carpet even looks better!

Do you become happy when the carpet is vacuumed? Or, when things in general look cleaner or less cluttered? 

Looking briefly at all the Halloween decorations has gotten me thinking about the holiday coming up. Are you thinking at all about Halloween yet?

Did you watch Zorro when it was a 30-minute show on TV? I never thought the mask hid his identity. 

Pants, remotes, vacuum, burger, slaw, weather, mattress, walker

 For a few days, I have been so sluggish. Nothing seems bad, but I am in a haze it seems. 

When I went to the grocery Saturday, I came home with two of the largest plums ever. Nope, did not buy them. I ate one. Was that bad of me? They would have thrown it away. 

I found someone to come vacuum Wednesday. That is too long to wait, but at least it is something. She want $25 to vacuum. I wonder if that is per hour. She had husband speak to me. She will bring daughter to translate for her. I wonder if the daughter helps. We will see. I do doubt I will have her again. 

We sprayed the house today and left to do things. I wanted to see if this guy in Bessemer who sells produce from his truck had things out. No. He will. I am sure he gets produce from the big Farmer's Market on Finley Ave, but I don't care. It's always delicious. The church was selling food, but I did not want to stop.  We had a small, plain burger in a parking lot with drinks we brought from home. Basically, we kicked around, wasting time until the stench from the Raid dissipated. 

Dinner--burger, slaw, lots of slaw for both of us. I only put a smidgen of salt in coleslaw, but put too much in today. Then, I over-poured apple cider vinegar in the bowl. I had already put lots of mustard in the mix. It was a spicy coleslaw tonight. Tommy thought the salt was just fine. Ick I suppose I should have put the other bag of slaw mix in with the strong one. 

Due to the beautiful weather and high temps, I did not wear a sweater, jacket, or scarf yesterday or today. I wore an airy, loose blouse that was not warm in any way. In the house I have not had to cover myself with a throw or use a jacket. Next thing we know, we will need ac on and I will need a throw again! But, for now, the temps inside and out are perfect. 

I think we will go mattress shopping at Macy's on Tuesday. They are having a sale as is everyone else. They do carry Serta Perfect, the kind I had last that I loved. I almost fell off the bed again. It seems I just sat on the bed, lay down and turned toward the other side of the bed. When I decided to turn back, I was too close to the edge of the bed for my comfort! It actually frightened me. I have a stool with a boom box on it beside the bed. I would put the boom box on the end table, but the boom box has an eerie, bright blue light that would keep me awake. So, it sits on the stool facing the box spring. 

Tommy's last walker weighed 10 or 15 lbs.; this one--25 lbs.  I am not sure how wide the last one was, but this one is 22 inches wide. He is ruining the corner of the wall. I put thick gorilla tape on the bottom where he was ramming the last walker. There was sheet rock all over the floor. He said he did not care. He manages to hit the corner higher with this walker. Plus, the tires are 10" and not 3". This time I will get one of those rubber/plastic corner protectors and figure out how to install that. He never runs into things in others' houses or in stores, but here he is not careful or caring at all. Of course, I will purchase that at the hardware store in Cullman. 

His pants are getting too tight, so he needs new pants. I had to point it out before he even acknowledged it. Is this a guy thing? If my waist band were two inches too small, a person would not have to invite me to buy new pants. Of course, for the last 40 years, I have worn elastic waistbands for health sake only. 

When I moved here, of course Tommy manned the remote. I had no desire for him to share it with me. Besides, it takes two remotes to work the TV. When he went to sleep, I would wake him to turn off the TV. One night about two weeks ago, he handed me the one remote and told me to keep it low, turn it lower so it would not wake me in the morning, and then turn it off. 

In the meantime, he has 'allowed' me to use the other remote to change channels. I wrote how where different channels can be found. I think I know how to use both as well as he does, maybe. I suppose this is a breakthrough. We use a soft, zippered pencil bag to toss the couple back and forth. I leave the bag on his walker when I go to bed. It works for us. 

I asked why two remotes. He said he never could get one programmed. I hate remotes I have to program. The next tv, we will each have one remote, not two different remotes. When he goes to the kitchen and we need to talk, if I mute the sound, we don't have to scream back and forth, not hearing each other anyway. 

Does it seem all guys want to man the remote? 

Do you know anyone who destroys corners, furniture, anything by hitting it with a walker or wheelchair? 

TEMU Redeems Itself...sort of

 

This metal sign redeemed Temu's reputation for the time being. Yes, I ordered it from China. But, you can probably go to a local farm store and buy one. Nothing was broken. The sign is thick metal and the paint is rusty around the edge.

I TAKE IT BACK! The sign has dings on its back. The thin little packaging does not protect anything. 

We ventured out on this dank, dreary day to get two of my meds. And, then the meds were not there. Different story for both, but I don't have them. Some days, getting meds is a real pain. First world problem? At least they will be forthcoming, so I suppose I should not complain. 

Laughter is good for a body. Today, we got our belly laughs and snickers. Mike and Molly has got to be one of the funniest shows around. The writers outdid themselves on the four episodes we watched today. I would highly recommend this sitcom, but delicate ears should not be allowed in the room.

Christmas Note: I will unstack the three tomato cages so I will have three trees next year. I had two cheap strings of lights, but gave away one string.  I left the cages stacked for convenience this year. 

By putting back together the vacuum cleaner, I saved having to buy a new one. Tommy took it apart to empty the dirt. He said he put it back together, but the first time the cleaner touched it, it came apart in three pieces. She tried to put it back together, but I took it because she was not even putting the right pieces together. I tried for a few more minutes, and we all gave up. Finally, on Friday, I decided I would get it back together or we would buy a new one. 

I took all the parts off that Tommy had put back on. Well, he had not put them on correctly, so the rest would not fit. It took me two minutes, and the vacuum is whole again. I am good at putting things together, fixing broken things. So, now he did not have to pay for a new vacuum. When I take things apart, I pay attention so I can get the thing back together!

Tonight, I made a blueberry cobbler with fresh blueberries and twice the amount called for in the recipe. Delicious.

Dinner: honey baked turkey, cabbage, green beans, sweet potato. 

Tommy is considering getting a different tub or shower, something we can actually use. Does anyone have any caveats, recommendations, or thoughts on brands or dealers, anything?

Do you watch Mike and Molly?