Starting This Sunday.

Because my life is so routine, I've decided to only publish once a week. So, here's what's going on in my little world.

Wind chill brought daytime temperatures below zero for several days in a row. Started out at negative four this morning. Had to put booties on Bandit for our walk. Here's our daily walk distances for the week: (last) Sunday 2.16, Monday 2.15, Tuesday 1.75, Wednesday 1.71, Thursday 1.69, Friday 1.86, and Saturday 2.34.

Sue called and we chatted for about an hour. She is still recovering from that sinus infection, but sounds a lot better. After talking with her and getting her input, I'm ripping out the sewn border on the wall hanging and hand sewing a "knife edge". Should look a lot better.

Made cat food for the ferals so they can have a bit more food during this cold snap. It's a lot less expensive than store bought.  Romeo likes it, but Tigger and Henry aren't thrilled with it.

Wayne popped by for a couple minutes yesterday. He dropped off a turkey dinner for me and picked up the mortgage and some apple crisp that I made in the morning.

Friday. Christmas Eve.

Took Bandit to the paved McDowell Community Trail by the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, so we got our two miles in today. Was a nice walk even with him stopping every few feet to sniff. At least he didn't get too muddy.

Spent the bulk of the day watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maiden on Netflix. Wasting my life away.

W stopped by to wish me a Merry Christmas and to toss another $50 at me and to tell me he loves me. *sigh*

Am tired of being depressed. Not sure what to do about it.

Thursday, 23 December.

What a cold, snowy day. It did have it's bright spots though.

Just took a Benadryl and gave Bandit one too. Mine for allergies. My left eye was starting to swell up, so I took a Benadryl last night and another this morning. Winter is barely here and already my face is showing signs of chafing. Used some hydrocortisone on my left eyelid. Seems a little better today.

Bandit got a dose because his ears itch. The cats gave him ear mites. 

Nancy was one of the bright spots. She stopped by right after I woke up from my Benadryl coma to drop off treats for Bandit and I. The house was a bit sloppy. Nothing that ten minutes didn't take care of, but I was embarrassed nonetheless.

Linda called and I stopped by her place and picked up a container of goodies. So much for the diet.

Another bright spot was an episode of Star Trek Discovery. 

Used water bottles as weights for the 15 minute workout today. Remembered to take my vitamins too. 

Gonna watch some tv while these meds take effect. 

Wednesday, 22 December.

Cold and damp out today so Bandit and I only walked 1.6 miles. The wind gusts add a bone chilling effect to the cloudy, dismal day. Pellet like snow fell most of the day although there is little accumulation right now. Simply a dusting of about a half inch.

Hard to snap myself out of this sporadic blue funk. I miss Mom. And Gran. And Debbie. And Dad. Thank God I still have the friends I made in NC. And Aunt Judy and the rest of the family.

Didn't do anything really productive today, although I did manage to get through the 15 minute Senior Workout. 

Diet is going okay. Haven't given up the late snack yet, but have switched to low calorie stuff like Jello and cool whip for the !most part.

Still not feeling great. Really tired.

Tuesday. 21 December.

Yesterday I got birthday phone calls from Aunt Judy, Aunt Barbara,Wayne, Jacob and Susie. Jake and I talked for about an hour about animals and Star Wars and life in general. That boy has the gift of gab! 

Other than that it was a quiet day. The only other thing I did was balance my checkbook. 

Started free-hand  embroidering the flowers at the junctions of the sashing. Got one completed. Will be working on that today. 

Winter Solstice is today. Now the days will start getting longer. Grass is still mostly green. Doesn't feel like Christmas time, but I have been singing and listening to Christmas music at random times for the past couple weeks.

Haven't felt all that great today. Runny nose and super tired. Fell asleep on the couch after lunch. Got up and took Bandit for a walk on the trail between Browntown  Road and Custer City. Did 1.9 miles. Now it's barely 6 p.m. and I'm ready to sleep again. Guess I'll head back and change into my jammies and take a Benadryl. Put an end to this runny nose

Monday, 20 December 2021.

Happy Birthday to me! Donated to No Feline Left Behind for my birthday. They capture feral cats, neuter or spay them and then return them to the area where they were captured. Little Bit is one of the cats they've helped. 

Yesterday I finally decided on a border pattern for the crazy quilt wall hanging. Transferred it to template plastic and painstakingly cut it out with an Xacto knife. Tried to get those pens I bought to show up on the blue inner border and gave up. Am going to have to wing it - one element at a time. Either that or figure out a different transfer method other than using the sulky. Will Google it later.

Made a pork roast yesterday because it was a cold and damp day. Sliced it up and put some of the browned part on a mixed salad drizzled with roasted red pepper Italian salad dressing. It was yummy. So yummy that I toasted a Hawaiian sandwich roll and, with a spoonful of sweet baby rays bbq sauce, had a fake pulled pork sandwich. The remaining pork will be shredded and put in the small crock pot to make real pulled pork later today.

Making beef stroganoff for dinner tonight. Probably only having orange juice for breakfast to make up for the high calorie menu. Nineteen degrees Fahrenheit outside right now with a predicted high of thirty nine. Bitterly cold. Won't be walking two miles today unless the winds die down.

Perhaps I will do some baking today. Pumpkin muffins sound good.

Just took a swig of fresh coffee and noticed Bandit grooming Romeow. What a sweet puppy. No wonder everyone loves him! Now Romeow has hopped up on the couch with me and is curled up on my feet. He makes a nice furry foot warmer. 

Spoke with grandson Jacob briefly yesterday... Their telephone has charging problems. He's such a nice young man! Respectful... Intelligent... Kind... 

Guess I'll get my day started while I wait for the portable heater to warm the bathroom so I can luxurious in a warm bathroom while I shower and dress. Nothing much to say anyway.

Day 9 double D vitamin, St. Johns Wort. Have been sleeping better, not as many trips to pee.

Friday. Day 5.

Caught myself in negative self talk for not accomplishing everything I thought I needed to do yesterday and stopped short. 

Because I really did get a lot done. Besides the ADL (activities of daily living) I grocery shopped, went to the Post Office, got vaccinated, picked up a dry goods order at Wal-Mart and cut and sewed the two inch border on the wall hanging. Mitered corners, I might add, that turned out quite well with only one rip back and resew.   

But I didn't do the Senior Workout and went off the healthy diet and over ate. What can I say? I like fluffer-nutter sandwiches.

I can't change that, but I can try to do better today. PTSD has been bad lately. Wish I could stop the flashbacks.

On today's to-do list is Laundry. At least one load of lights and darks. Vacuum and mop as well. Am going to see if Nancy wants to take the pups for a walk this afternoon as well. Bandit does better if he gets to see/sniff another dog. He must get lonely too. Might jot an outline for that kids book I've been writing in my head.

Day 6 of double vitamin D and St. John's Wort. Vitamin C and B12 added yesterday.

Thursday. Day Four.

Almost two miles walked again yesterday for the third day in a row. Three days straight of exercises as well. Still can't use the hand weights the whole 15 minutes, but getting closer.

Today's the big day: Booster Shot! 

Worked on the turtle dove ornament yesterday. Still not done. 

Cut the pink sashing for the crazy quilt wall hanging and have two of the mitered corners sewn. Of course, one of them has to be ripped out and sewn again, but it's getting closer.

This morning our walk felt rather warm. Looked at the temperature and it is 52 degrees outside. Amazingly warm for December. Very similar to what January is like in the Charlotte, NC.

Wednesday. Day Three.

Spoke with both Gretchen and Billy yesterday. 

Sent Bill $50 so he could buy propane to heat the camper he's living in now while getting his house livable. 

Gretchen got her bloodwork back and is cancer free. What a relief. 

Still haven't heard from Diana about what happened with her sister. Guess I'll text her later and see if she responds.

Finally discovered how to place the pillow at night to relieve knee pain so I could actually sleep. Still tired, so I might just unmake the bed and take a quick nap....NOT!!!

The fresh coffee is ready, so it's time to grab a cup and try to accomplish something. Felt ornament is dry; time to sew and stuff it.

Gonna relax today to give my leg/knee time to heal. Almost two miles again yesterday. We went on the path and the uneven surface really did a number on my ankles. Short walk this morning so Bandit and I will walk around the yard when I put the bird feeders back up.

Day 4 double vitamin D and St. John's Wort.

Tuesday. Day Two.

Tired this morning. Woke up at 1:30 a.m. and had a hard time getting back to sleep. Didn't want to get up when the alarm rang. 

Leg felt like it was on the mend until day 2 of doing HASfit workout. Now it's propped up on pillows with ice underneath. 

Goal today is finishing the turtle dove ornament for Aunt Judy so I can ship it out Thursday. Need to paint Lena's first Christmas ornament before then as well as addressing Christmas cards.

At some point I need to get an online Wal-Mart order ready to pick up on Thursday. Almost out of bread. Used the last of the milk this morning on breakfast  cereal. Should get a list ready for TOPS too.

Henrietta is sitting on the kitchen table looking out the window at what I've come to think of as kitty tv. Bandit is sitting on the rug near me staring at me. All the animals give me such joy and laughter. 

Third day of double vitamin D and St. John's Wort.

Monday. New Week. New Life.

The first day of the week seems an appropriate day to begin the rest of my life. Started out mostly the same, feed animals, walk dog, clean litter, gather garbage and tote it to the road, play a couple computer games on AARP. 

Then I switched it up and did fifteen minutes of senior citizen exercises on YouTube with HASfit. Was a bit shocked at how much I've let myself go. I mean, the mirror was telling a sad story, but I'm very weak. Bandit is too, do he's going on a diet and exercise regimen too.

Finally took the seam ripper to the crazy quilt wall hanging and renewed the sashing. Sewed the outer part of the frame and positioned it all on the backing fabric. Not sure I like how it looks. Might have to put a solid pink between the blue and the print to bring it all together. Next step will be a template for the sashing embroidery. 

Washed a load of clothes and will fold it when we go to bed later on. Cleaned and organized that area. Nice when things look neat.

Bandit and I just came in from our evening walk and I've changed into jammies and am lounging around the rest of the night. We walked not quite two miles today.

Supper is in the oven and NCIS is streaming tonight. Time to elevate this knee again and give it some ice.

Day two of double dose of vitamin D and St. John's Wort. Fleeting headache in the afternoon.

Sunday.

Did I mention I hurt my knee/leg the other day? It's bad enough that I've actually been putting ice on it several times a day and propping it up throughout the day. Yesterday I knew W was coming over so I stupidly ran the vacuum through the house and walked way more than I should have. Hurts to bend and straighten. It's the ligament on the inner side, probably the medial collateral ligament. Was hard to sleep last night and nothing much got done yesterday after the visit.

So... Lots of good things happened yesterday. W actually hung out here for about an hour. Was nice to visit with him even though it's a double edged sword.

Susie and Lucinda both called me to chat. Those couple of hours seemed to fly by. Also texted with Onnie. She and I are birds of a feather. It's nice to have a few kindred spirits out there.

Only one real disappointment yesterday. CBS the cable channel was featuring Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman last night. Looked forward to watching it all day. Well, there were wind storms all day and reports of power lines down throughout the region. Sure enough, the power here went out at 6 p.m. - a short two hours before the shows were set to be broadcast. I asked the cosmos to please have the power restored before they came on and made the nest of my time by reading The Shell Seekers by camp light. 

Lo and behold, at 7:45 p.m. the electricity was restored. I sent a quick thanks to the heavens and to the Penelec electricians and once the internet modem had reset, quickly tuned into the Paramount plus live stream. Got myself a snack, filled the water glass, propped up the pillows and settled back to enjoy these great Christmas shows. Promptly at 8 p.m. an announcement was shown advising subscribers that the shows were not available for streaming. 

I had to laugh. 

Found out I can purchase it on Amazon for roughly three dollars, so that's what I'm gonna do. (Imagine me giving the tv a raspberry at that point.) Making lemonade with those sour lemons.

Keeping the knee propped up is the main task today. Am grateful for the vat of soup in the fridge so I don't have to cook today.

Gonna veg out on mindless tv for a bit.

Friday Fun.

After our morning walk, Bandit and I went to the shed to grab and refill the bird feeders. Little Bit, the female feral, scooted inside the shed and wouldn't come out when I called like she usually does. I shut the door so Honey Bun couldn't get in too and continued the task of filling and hanging feeders. When that was finished, she still wouldn't come out of the shed. Poor Bandit got put back in the house and I spent a good twenty minutes trying to get her out without letting Honey Bun in. Sliced open my finger in the process.

Now I'm watching a bit of Good Morning America and sipping on my second cuppa coffee. Throbbing finger cleaned, treated with Neosporin and bandaged.

Worked on the crazy quilt wall hanging and realized I'm much better at hand sewing than machine sewing. The results weren't pretty. If I work on it at all today it will be with a seam ripper to realign one of the sashing pieces. Was sad cutting off some of the sewn elements to square up the blocks. Lesson learned though. Future crazy quilt blocks will have much wider margins. Decided to embroider the sashing after backing it with heavy duty interfacing. Will use a simple repeatable flower and leaf pattern. 

The outside temperature today will reach an incredible 47 degrees. The only must do today is a trip to the spring on Taintor Road and filling the water jugs. 

Thursday Thoughts.

Yesterday on our evening walk, Bandit noticed Mishka and Sierra running in the ball field. Naturally, we joined them. Bandit ran with the pups and I visited with their owners, Tim and Julie Myers, before heading back home.

We were a little later than normal getting back to the house. Sure enough, we rounded the corner to the back yard in time to see the deer scampering away from the bird feeders. They had emptied the larger feeder and were about halfway through the smaller one. Gathered all four feeders and popped them in the shed for safekeeping. Felt bad shooing them along when I noticed two late fawns. Those doe are going to have a rough time foraging this winter. 

Yesterday I did an inventory of the meat in the freezer. Discovered a pork roast that needs cooked. Need to add the food in the refrigerator freezer as well. Looks like I won't be starving any time soon. Lucky me seeing that the extra food stamps we've been getting for the last year ends with the new year. Then the SNAP benefits go back to the minimum $39 A month. Better than nothing!

Also made an appointment to get my COVID booster at the hospital next Thursday. Not looking forward to the side effects most folks have been reporting, but will be glad for the extra protection it provides.

So far today besides regular chores I've shoveled and swept front and back sidewalks and porches. Did a bit of deep cleaning on the back porch. Have the kitty blankets in the dryer. The ferals haven't been sleeping in the new house. Am thinking of moving it under the front porch if I can figure out what to rest it on so it's not sitting on the ground. Adjusted the air flap so it covers more area. Will see if that changes anything.

The new quilt fabric is laid across the ironing board as are the crazy quilt blocks. Time to get started on the wall hanging.

Am making homemade vegetable beef soup for dinner tonight. 

Note: Diana's sister died yesterday. 

Moving Forward.

Couldn't sleep last night, so I watched an inspirational talk on YouTube by a woman who had a Near Death Experience [NDE] titled "She Died Suddenly & Met God, What He Told Her About Energy Will Shock You". Yeah. Imagine me watching something semi-religious. Anyway, the main thrust of the talk was that you have to move forward. As long as you try, you're going to prosper. But if you sit around doing nothing you'll be wasting your life.

She also talked about the importance of forgiveness and both positive and negative things.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm trying so hard to forgive myself and feeling like a failure. Some days I think about how my life is so empty. Not every day, but often enough that it interferes with my life. I need to stop doing that. Beating myself up is a useless pursuit.