Big News on the Homefront!

 2/26/2021

Jeff and I toured the community yesterday, that Stacey and I liked very much. It was good for him, to take a tour, and see what a nice facility it is.

Jeff is renting me a bigger studio apartment. The lease gets signed tomorrow, and I hoping that I can move in mid-March.

I actually have never lived alone in my 71 years. This will be a huge adjustment for both Jeff and myself. The community is closer to Stacey, and she and I are going to make my apartment "girly". 

Stacey is going to help me decorate my space. Under the sink, there is an opening. We discussed buying some kind of a colorful curtain for that space. I, would even like to see rick-rack as a trim.

Many things have to be bought or moved before I can move in. Stuff like a bed, dresser, big things like that.

I will chat with you next week. Have a good weekend.

P

Each day is filled with activities, and so, I must take my reclusive self, out to participate. 

Second Shot Today

 2/25/2021

Today, Jeff and I are getting our second shot. While I know we will still have to do the usual things, like wearing a mask, it just makes me feel a bit more protected.

This afternoon, Jeff and I are going to tour the assisted living community, that Stacey and I liked very much. The only available apartments, at the moment, are studios. I'm willing to live in a studio, while waiting for a one bedroom apartment. 

I hope Jeff likes the community as much, as Stacey and I did. I'll be on the younger side, but apparently, there is someone in their 50's that lives there.

I am mentally making a list of things that I need to bring and/or buy. I'm hoping that I don't have to wait a long time before a one bedroom apartment becomes available. In the big picture, the size of an apartment, doesn't really matter. What matters most is being able to participate in activities, and meet new people. I definitely need the interaction with people, even if most of them, are older than me. But, having said that, I know that, everybody has a story, and it will be fun to share them. I think of myself as a "teenager" with regard to the other residents! I guess we can all grow old together.

I'm hoping to move in, as soon as possible. I, will, of course, miss the house, Jeff and the dogs. The community allows pets, but I can see no benefit to bringing in a pet, who for much of the day, will be left alone. Instead, I think I will buy a big sized stuff animal of some sort.

It's a bright sunny day, in my neighborhood. I hope it's like that where you are.

P

 

 

Dentist Today And Other Things

 2/24/2021

For today's entertainment", I'm going to see the dentist. Argh. I didn't grow up in a time that children dentists were plentiful.

Over the years, with different dentists, I have come to shy away, as much as possible, going to the dentist.

When the boys were children, they went to a children's dentist, and they, now as adults, have no fear of seeing a dentist.

I, on the other hand, have "mushy" teeth. Another word, I suppose, would be soft teeth. Basically, as soon as I leave the dentist's office, I'm pretty sure that a cavity is already growing! That's not true, but it feels like that.

After my face plant on an asphalt driveway last week, I chipped a tooth, towards the front of the mouth. Yipee. Today, I'm going to the dentist to see what can be done to fix this tooth. Right now, it has a jagged edge, which is sharp and really noticeable. Have to fix that for sure.

We're getting our second shot tomorrow. We'll still have to wear masks, etc., but we'll be more protected.

Jeff and I are going tomorrow, to see the retirement community that Stacey and I thought was the best fit for me. I have a copy of the activities for February, and you can be as busy as you like.

I know this is likely to be my last great adventure, but it's time. A move will give Jeff and I space. For a very long time, Jeff has to wonder pretty much 24/7, what I've gotten myself into. Hmm - like standing on a chair, and breaking the chair! More bruises. But, no broken bones! Let's hear it for ice cream!!

While staying at Andrew's house, cooking shows, for example, are generally not recorded. I record all of the cooking and baking shows, but watch them when Jeff isn't around. For instance, this morning, I watched Spring Baking Championship, What amazes me with these shows, is the general lack of measuring cups and spoons. When they pour in flour, for instance, how do the bakers know how much to use. Baffles me every time. Of course, when trying to burn the kitchen down, I do no longer cook or back. But, on the bright side, I'm still able to do the dishes - yipee!!

From 2009, until today, I have kept a "Who's Who" phone list. I have made changes over the years. I add people, and also delete people. It's important, though nobody but myself knows this, it's good to be on the list!

Those are my thoughts for today. I'll be back in the chair tomorrow.

P

 

It's Beautiful Outside

 2/23/2021

After days of some combination of snow and/or ice, today looks promising. And, the weatherman, if we believe him, says that one day this week will be in the 60's. Definitely a cause for celebration.

After much research, Stacey and I have found, what we believe, is a good retirement community. I initially thought that I would do something called "respite care", which is temporary.

Most of the family thinks I would be better off with a one bedroom apartment. The cost, all in,  comes to just a little over $2,000. And, that cost will be the same, for the remainder of the year. We all know what generally happens after the first of the year - yup there is an increase. I've never seen any fee decrease!

Currently, I'm making a list, and of course, checking it twice, to see what I need for my new apartment. While moving is scary, but, I think I have found possibly, my forever home. 

I will be able to do activities, and also take scheduled trips to town. As far as the residents go, I will likely be the "teenager" among most of the residents, who are much older than me. I'm sure that even with the age difference, we'll have many opportunities to talk with each other.

I want to continue to blog, but Jeff will have to set me up to do so.

Second shot this week. Will still have to wear masks, but I'll feel more comfortable. And, because my ears are so small, Stacey gave me a piece of crochet (perhaps?) that has buttons on both sides of the mask. If I use the buttons, then my mask won't continue to slide down my face. 

I fell down while trying to get into Stacey's SUV. Problem was, my right foot didn't quite make it into the car. Nope, I lost my footing, and literally did a face plant on the driveway. I did get a ride to the emergency room, where it was decided that there was nothing physically wrong with my brain. Unfortunately, my fall left me with a very scary black and blue face. It's better now, but I told Benjamin that if was Halloween time, I wouldn't need a costume, just show everyone my really scary face!

The house is going to be cleaned today, although Jeff did a really good job of keeping up with the dishes, etc. Andrew's spare room bed, was very comfortable. But, even so, it wasn't my bed. When I came home on Sunday, I thought Daisy's tail would fall off, it was wiggling so much. I guess she was happy to see me! Let's just say that apparently she wasn't used to sitting in my chair, without me.

My neighbor will come visit me tomorrow. Perhaps we can play Scrabble. I played many games with Benjamin, and enjoyed do so very much.

Signing off for the day. I hope it's pleasant where you live and beautiful outside.

P

           

i'M bAAAAAACK!!!!

2/22/2021

Cinderella, has returned from her vacation. I stayed at Andrew and Stacey's house for a week. It was a most pleasurable, quiet (for the most part) and calm place to be.

While I was there, Stacey and I toured several retirement communities in person. Others were toured virtually. Truth is, that every place we went tour we took away, some positives as well as negatives. 

All of the communities we visited were warm and inviting. I suppose that could be just a "front", but somehow didn't seem to be the case.

At one community, the chef prepared a special lunch for Stacey and myself. The food was excellent. We even had dessert. The director found an empty apartment, so we sat at a table, where the two of us could compare notes. Actually, Stacey who took pictures and notes, summarized everything for me.

I had originally thought about a respite stay of 30 days. One of the biggest problems with that, is you have to bring in your own furniture. You can stay more than 30 days. But, my thinking is, that is that if I like a community, then why not just move in as a resident. Most places, rent from month to month. If you give them 30 days notice, before you move out, the lease simply ends.

At one community, there was an old woman sitting in her room with the door open. Keeping our distance, we asked if she was happy. Wrong question, wrong person. Her family put here there, and she is very unhappy. Truly, I felt sorry for her. My family isn't putting me anywhere. I'm putting myself somewhere. 

During a tour of some place, at day's end, my brain was a muddled mess. Go figure. Oh, back to my original thought. We met the maintenance man. He told me that if/when I move in, he would be happy to put handles on the cupboards for me. Also, hang pictures, etc. I liked him very much, he was very nice. And, even with the mask on, could see that my eyes were tearing up. As I walked beside him, and before he went back to work, he told me that the community was a very nice place to stay. 

I talked to the Chef at some place, and he gave me a copy of the month's menu. IF, I went there, I would really have to watch my calories! I really love desserts. And, if you're wondering, fruit is not a dessert for me.

While at Andrew's house, Benjamin and I played Scrabble. I haven't played this for a very long time, but actually did pretty well. I allowed Benjamin to win, because that was important to him. I also let him use an on-line Scrabble dictionary, so that he could look up a word. In my mind, that felt like cheating, but I was playing for fun. By the way, this old woman, with the addled mind, and no dictionary, held her own.

Also, while I was there, everybody showed me how to get to emails, calendars, etc. While, I'm certainly not a pro, I think I did pretty well.

I'm home now, sleeping in my own bed, with Daisy and Bella, taking up space, like they have always done. The girls missed me, apparently, because Daisy, really wanted to get in my lap, like we do every day.

Second shot this week. The first shot, neither Jeff or I, had no reactions. Hopefully, the one this week, will go as well.

Since I can't seem to keep masks on, because Stacey says my ears are too little, she has given me a crocheted "thing" (I don't know what it's really called), that has buttons on both sides. Basically, I put the mask on, and loop the strings around the buttons. I hope this works, because every mask I use keeps falling of my ears! I am also happy that there is at least one part of me that is small!!

I'll stop for the day. But, I'll be back in my chair tomorrow. I hope that during my absence last week, I didn't lose any followers.

Have a good week.

P

 

 

 

I'll be away for a week

 2/14/2021

I'm writing today to let you know that the blog will be silent this week. I'm going to Andrew's house. I'm hoping to find a community, that offers respite care, which is a minimum of 30 days.

Stacey and I are going to tour virtually as well as in person. Busy week coming up for me.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I'll be back in my chair on Monday. 

Remember, just because I'm going away, I really don't want all of you to go away!!

Patti

Where's The Snow?

 2/21/2021

Do you know, that I think being a weatherman, isn't likely to be fired, if his forecast doesn't come true. It was predicted that we were going to get inches of snow, and sadly that didn't happen.

After losing electricity, when Benjamin was a toddler, and we have an all electric house. This means, no heat, no cooking, etc. It's hard to tell a toddler, that the house is cold, and the food is as well. 

That storm, was the last one, where we didn't have electricity. Jeff promptly bought a whole house GENERATOR. Our girl, "Jenny" is big. Since she runs off the gas line, she can run indefinitely. Jenny is lovely to look at, but she was professionally installed, having met all required codes.

Once a week, Jenny has a short run. You can hear her, and the noise, if you will, brings me a lot of comfort. But, here's the thing, once Jenny was installed, we literally have never had a power outage for more than a few minutes. 

I had one neighbor asked, if the power did go out, could they run a cord that would connect to Jenny. Our answer then, as it is now, NO. This is the same neighbor, who didn't like looking into our back yard (probably Jenny's fault), so she installed two panels of plastic fencing across the back of her yard. I am a very patient person - truly. We could, of course, paint Jenny green, right now she is beige. But, then thinking about it, "frankly I don't give a damn" what the neighbors think.

This neighborhood, unlike living in California, wants to be in your business ALL THE TIME. What are you doing? Why are you doing "x"? I think one of your tall trees is going to fall on our house. We took action on that one, and instead of just pulling out THAT true, we removed all of the Cypress trees in the backyard. And, boy did that change the look of the yard.

I suppose in the spring, we'll have to consult with somebody, about which and how many trees/bushes we should plant. Here's what I do know - never going to put another another tree, plant, etc., right on the fence line. It's just better that way. Something I miss about California, is the cement block fences. I can't see you, and you can't see me. Perfecto.

The removal of 14 very tall Cypress trees, did take some time, and was noisy as well. After the trees were gone, they ground down the stumps too. This leaves the backyard, practically empty. We do have Wendy's cement bench in the yard, and personally would like to give that bench to Andrew. They have a massive backyard, and they could put the bench around the firepit.

Monday, I'm going to Andrew's house for a week. Stacey and I, will set up times to take a tour of some of the retirement communities. I had tried to do this on my own, but after a bit, I become very confused, and can't remember what I've been told. That's where somebody has to step in and take over my search. Most respite care in the senior communities are for a month. Staying that long, will give me an overview of the facility, activities and food.

I believe that eventually I will find a community that ticks off all the boxes. Once I move in, Jeff will have to take over the blog, since I won't have a computer, and likely no television either.

What I will bring to the temporary facility is books, art projects, some of which are not going so well. I am also taking out to Andrew's house, a few games: Scrabble and a Family Feud game, that also has some word search puzzles.  

I'm going to Andrew's house on Monday for a week. Stacey can help tour communities with me, if she has time. She is a very busy woman, and I don't want to add to her list of things to do, by visiting possible places. Stacey is very good to me, and there are no words that could express how grateful I am. Wendy, who lives farther away, and teaches classes, as well works with Elly for homework, etc.

Have a good weekend everybody. Even though Jeff and I have had our first shot, we will continue to do all the right things.

P

Here I Am

 2/11/2021

I missed yesterday (ya think). For most of the day, as well as this morning, I've been looking at senior communities. It's not only location, location, but amenities and cost. Obviously, cost has to be a part of our decision.

We are going to tour later this week, a community that, in a virtual tour, looks so peaceful. It has an ideal location, surrounded by a large green space. They even have visiting horses! How cool is that?

I guess the only downside is that my stay has to be for a month. I can leave after "x" amount of weeks, but will still have to pay for the month.

For this respite stay, I want to live in a studio apartment. This is far from ideal, but I'll be able to participate in all activities and the meals too.

If this turns out to be the one, then I would obviously want a 1 bedroom apartment. A big reason for a short stay in a community, is that I'll be among people. I am "somewhat" of a reclusive person, but the virus has made my world smaller and smaller.

I want a community that has lots of activities and good food. About the food, the sample menu looks delicious. Hence, I'll have to be really careful, about what I eat. And the pictures of the desserts, makes my mouth water. And I do like my sweets!! Since I've given away all my clothes that were too big, I must remain a steady weight. Heaven forbid that I gain weight, that would be very depressing.

The weather prediction for our area, was supposed to be 1 to 5 inches. All we've received so far, is a dusting. Not satisfying at all. If Mother Nature wants to have snow, then let's have snow. The one little storm we had, we let the girls out to play. During the 4 years they've been with us, this was, if I remember correctly, their first really snow day. They played outside, but were very quick about coming inside to rest beside the fireplace. 

More tomorrow.

P

Happy Monday

 2/8/2021

Happy Monday everyone. We had a little, as in dusting, snow over the weekend. With little snow, the only thing you have to do, if you want to, is use a broom!

But, the snow coming on Wednesday, at least I think so, is going to give us several inches. Or, at least, that's what the weatherman indicates.

Jeff went to the store yesterday afternoon, and the stores, were almost empty. Everybody was at home watching the Super Bowl. After dinner, we watched the game, which we had recorded on our Tivo. Okay, to be honest, ONE of us watched the game, and the other person did some reading. So, it was a peaceful kind of afternoon.

For dinner, Jeff made creamy chicken soup, with vegetables. It was really good, as always. Problem is, that I'm not much of a soup person. Jeff could have soup twice a day, as well as every day. 

In my spare time, I have been looking for respite care for myself. You go to a retirement community, and stay for "x" amount of days. Doing respite care, gives the caregiver (Jeff) a break. And, it allows the patient (me), to (a) live alone; and (b) decide whether I like that particular facility. Obviously, you can do respite care in more than one facility. Living in a community, you get to participate in all the activities, chef prepared meals, your own apartment, etc.

One of the communities I found, has nearly a full page of amenities. Beauty salon, meals and snacks, transportation to surrounding areas, and a whole bunch of other things. Anywhere, I go, I'll be the youngest person there. This would be sort of like being a teenager again!!

It's really cold, at least for me, and the fireplace, will be on for the day. Boy, do I love, and the girls do as well, love a warm room. The problem with having the fire going, is if the room gets too hot, then you get sleepy. And, it's possible that is a good thing.

Jeff has bought several games for me, and somebody else, to play. One of those games is Scrabble. I'm not sure how well I will do, but I'm willing to try.

To keep my brain from scrambling more, I play on-line games. But, I am not very successful, even when I'm playing a one person game! How sad is that? This is just a part of my life.

Took a little break for a Zoom meeting with the doctor who keeps my head from spinning out of control!!

Have a good day. Please be safe.

P

 

 

 

 

It's Friday

 2/5/2021

I'm blogging today, before noon. I'm so proud of myself. This morning, I changed things up a bit. Instead of watching the news, which is frankly down right depressing. Nope, today I watched a more peaceful show "The British Baking" show. You know what amazes me about this show, is that there is very little measuring of ingredients. The bakers just take out their jars, and pour the ingredient into the bowl. How on earth do they do that? Perhaps, what we don't know is that the jars only hold enough flour, etc., for what that particular challenge is.  

For today's chore, is going to be to pull out all the plastic tops and bottoms. I'm going to stack them on the table. If I have an orphan, out it goes. When Jeff and I were working, we would take our lunches in a plastic container. And, now since we don't work, I should only keep "x" numbers of these containers. On one site, it says to keep only 7 of most of your plastic containers. 

First, I worked on my clothes, and did a fine job of organizing the remaining clothes in my closet. At first, I wanted to arrange the clothes by the arm length - sleeveless, etc. Thinking about it now, I'm probably going to rearrange my clothes by color. How cool would that be?

I have already set our Tivo to record the Super Bowl on Sunday. For me, I basically watch for most of the time, really great commercials. I understand baseball, it's not the least bit complicated. But, football is entirely a different game. There are markers, violations (I guess you could it that), and some marker thing that does something! Yup, you can see that I don't know "jack" about football. Now, the sport has  women, who are coaches and referees, and that's huge. Another step up the ladder for women!! And, yes people that also means a break in the glass ceiling.

Today's women don't have to put with all the nonsense, that we older women did. You don't have to ask for permission to go to the bathroom, for example (it's really true). I have a job, first one actually, and I would bring in roses from Dad's yard. Before I knew it, the roses were removed from my desk. Why? Because one of the partners decided he liked the roses, and off they went. Women, in the early 70's basically put up with a lot of shit.

I had a boss once, that actually threw a stapler across the room, and missing my head by inches. When you had a baby, you were given 6 weeks to return to work. Or, you already know the alternative. 

At one job, which luckily didn't last long, I was working for someone who had been hired to do statistical work. One morning, he gave me a box of something (can't remember what) that I was supposed to come up with an answer of how many of "x" were in the box.

In that same position, one of the men challenged me to take a very large number, and divide it until I got to zero. I'm not very good at math, so I literally spent hours, trying to do this. Which after all the laughter died down, they told me that the beginning number would ever get to zero. So, how stupid did I feel. I finally went to HR and explained that I couldn't work in that department. They found me a milder department, and then everything was better.

For one interview, I walked literally somewhere between 5 and 10 miles away. I had on heels, and was late for my interview. Since I had no money, I walked to and from the interview. And, it was the middle of summer. By the time I finally got home, my Grandmother took one look at my feet, which were blistered, and took over helping the blisters to heal.  At this same job, my description was typist, The company was a title company, and my job was to type out all the measurements (if you will) of a particular piece of property. Something like, the north west side of the property is parallel... While you typed, you were making holes in the punch tape. Before we could go home at night, we had to show the floor manager, how many properties we had done for the day. Eventually, I was called into the real manager's office, and was fired. He told me, that I would never, ever be able to find a job that involved typing, simply because I wasn't any good, nor would I ever be able to support myself at typing. Boy, did I prove him wrong.

I remember going back to my desk. There were standard paragraphs that went into the beginning of every title. Okay, now I'm back at my desk, and I'm only 18 and still full of spunk, so I took scissors and cut into every piece of tape that I could find. Obviously, if a future employer wanted references, I cringed having to use the title company as a reference.

 I made my living for more than 40 years typing on typewriters, and on computers. Once the age of computers came along, all of us in the office, had to learn how to use this thing.

As the years went by, I worked for many companies, and my skills at "typing" became better and better. My last job was at Marriott headquarters, working for an attorney. I was able to type as fast as he spoke. That's a skill I was very proud of having. 

Unfortunately, as the years went by, and my memory lessened doing things like using a computer, became and still is, a struggle. At one time, I didn't have to look at the keyboard, my fingers knew which key to push. Today, I can still type fast, but if I have to use a symbol on the keyboard, I literally have to search for it. This is very depressing to me. Even so, I type every day.

Happy Friday and I hope that all of you will have a nice weekend. Since I don't know which teams will play on Sunday, I'll just watch the game, until I fall asleep!

P

 

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

 2/4/2021

After the snow, which was actually very little, today, the sky is blue and we're having sunshine. Makes me feel very optimistic about today.

Yesterday, a neighbor across the street, that I've never met, came to the house to visit with me. Our visit mostly consisted of usual questions: what did you do, how many children, and stuff like that. She's coming back next week, and Jeff has bought me a Scrabble game as well as a Family Feud brain game book. On one side of the page is the question, for instance, "What do you see in every house in America". You write down your answer, and then there is a word search for you to do yourself. I'm pretty good at word search. While I was in the hospital, I only had one word search book with me. I searched for all the required words, and after that, just searched for words. It was a lot of fun, but then again, I'm easily amused!

My latest "Marie Kundo" exercise, is to take out all the plastic boxes, lids, bowls, etc. and get them organized. I have a large number of plastic boxes, that were mostly used for lunches, when I worked. The suggestion is that you keep more than five. But, I'd feel better if I saved seven. And, then of course, you have to find the appropriate lid. This could take me some time to get this cleaning out process completed. My reward for doing this, means there will likely be more room in the cupboards.

For Christmas, I was given a "1949 Yearbook", and I love it. Some of my followers, were born around the same time, while others of you will not. I loved the statistics. The show Lone Ranger, ran for five seasons, and 221 episodes. I remember watching this show, likely because my brother liked it. Unlike today, houses in 1949, generally only had one television. And, there was no remote, so if you wanted to change the channel, you had to get up to do so. Walking to the television was some sort of exercise. 

Best picture in 1949 was, "All the King's Men", a movie I've never seen. The winner of the U.S. Open received prize money of $10,000. Second prize was $10,000. Today, the winner received a $3,000,000 prize, oh and least I forget, the sought after green jacket.

Ticket price to watch a baseball game was a nickel. And, the cost of food, when you think of today's prices, were really low. For instance, a dozen eggs cost just fifty-two cents, and today the average cost is $4.00, up to $7.00 per dozen. There were advertisements, including one with Ronald Reagan, for the cigarette brand "Lucky Strikes". This is the cigarette that my Dad smoked.

So, there you have it. I know the average salary in 1949 was $3,100. And, the average salary now is $87,000. I know that there are many people, who earn approximately $22,464 a year. Based on the prices of everything today, it would be difficult to pay for things like: rent, food, car and house payments, etc. It gives you ideas of yesterday and current amounts of money.

Have a good day everyone. Until tomorrow.

P

The Johns Hopkins System

 2/3/2021

Years ago, our family doctor retired. We needed a replacement doctor for Jeff and I. I don't know why we did, but both of us opted to take our medical needs to Johns Hopkins. And, we're glad we did!

At the time, probably 13 years ago, I called Internal Medicine looking for a doctor. Interestingly, on I think, the first Monday in a month, internal doctors post how many new patients they could take.

Our present doctor, had room for two new patients. So I signed up Jeff and I, and we have never looked back. Besides their downtown Baltimore location, there are satellite facilities closer to home. Over the years, when we send an email or phone our doctor, a response is usually emailed, within minutes. Jeff and I really lucky to have such a great internist.

We know take all our care from Hopkins. They have a feature that allows any Hopkins doctor to look our history from "my chart Hopkins". And, they can, of course, share our visits with all the other doctors. It's a very good system, and we have never been disappointed in our care.

Yesterday, was one more example of how efficient they were when it came time to get our vaccine shots. In the news, you see a lot of people spending many hours, in the cold, These people are hoping that when it's their turn, there will still be vaccines available for them.

Jeff and I were able to schedule an appointment for our shots. The system couldn't have run any smoother. We checked in, and then directed us to a waiting room of sorts. I think there was perhaps a dozen people ahead of us. 

Once it was our turn, we each had our shot, and then spent 15 minutes or so in "recovery" if you will, to make sure that we were good to go. I don't believe there was any walk-in patients, and I'm pretty sure you had to be part of the Hopkins team. We were on our way home, probably within 30 minutes! And, they gave us an appointment for the next shot. I know we still have to do all the protective things: face masks, etc., but somehow receiving the vaccine makes me feel more secure. And, since I almost never leave home, so I feel really protected.

I've been looking to go to a senior community, seeking respite care for Jeff. I looked into one facility, and 14 days there costs $860.00. That's a bit more expensive, than I thought it would be. I'll have to do more research. It would be helpful, if I momentarily left the house, and stayed at a senior living community. This is not the same thing as a resting or nursing home. I'll see what's available. It would be really good for Jeff.

Still very cold outside, and the fireplace is going all day, and it's wonderful. Daisy and Bella take turns sleeping in front of the fireplace. There is, from time to time, a power struggle. Most of the time it's Daisy (smaller dog) who wins the spot!

Have to tidy up a few things before my neighbor comes here to visit. The cleaning lady was here yesterday, but I still have a few areas that need my touch!

Please stay well. Perhaps if everybody has been vaccinated by summer, who knows, we might be able to ditch the masks!

P

Today's The Day

 2/2/2021

Today's the day for Jeff and I. It's our turn to get vaccinated! I have never in my life, enjoyed getting a shot. But, today is different, big time different. It's been a fairly long process to get an appointment. I hope, but don't know for certain if we'll have to stand in line. Taking no chances, I'm bringing my walker along, just in case.

Since we're having our shot at a Hopkins facility, perhaps there might not so many people there. Fingers crossed.

Jeff has taken over the hiring a "sitter" for me. Yes, it's come to that. For the most part, I can't be left alone. I'm impulsive these days, and that's why I thought standing on a chair to get something from the cupboard, would be safe. Sadly, it wasn't, but other than bruises on my leg, and damage to my ego, I'm okay. This old gal has very good bones. I drink milk, and eat ice cream, which is a wonderful substitute. for milk!

Tomorrow, I'm getting a visit from a neighbor, whom I have never met. Our neighbored, isn't known for being chummy. Tomorrow, I'll have some company in the afternoon. I always look forward to anything that is going to be different than my usual days. I'm so lonely, but have to ask Jeff to take me somewhere, and he's working, for the most part, 12 to 14 hours a day.

Since I have my clothes all sorted out (mostly), the next challenge, and it's a big one, is organize all the plastic boxes and lids together. Generally, I find a bottom but no lid, or the other way around. Very frustrating, and I hope to fix this situation. You shouldn't have to go through multiple cupboards looking for tops and bottoms! If I find, that I don't have a matching pair, then I'll toss them out. Most of the time, when you throw away something, like a sock, because it has no mate, You'll eventually find the missing sock!

I hope you have a great day. Please be safe. We're getting closer and closer to having these needed shots, which will still require the wearing of masks.

P

Monday Update

 2/1/2021

Yesterday, we finally had snow. Not the "foots" that Scott likes, but enough snow that needed shoveling. When we first moved here in 1986, a neighbor told Jeff that after shoveling, the driveway should be cleared often. 

Scott, very generously, gave Jeff his snow blower. He has a tractor with an attachment that deals with snow. Maybe it's a plow, but I'm not sure. Jeff went out to the driveway, and with the snow blower, made quick work of moving snow from the driveway.

This snow was really the first snow that the girls had experienced. They loved being outside, and particularly Daisy just ran and ran. Unlike, Bella, Daisy has more energy and when given an opportunity, races around several neighbor's yard, and then comes right back. Let's just say that when the girls came inside, they both parked themselves in front of the fireplace!

We get our first shot tomorrow. Our appointment is with one of Johns Hopkins facility in our area. Fingers crossed, that if we do have to wait our turn, there won't be a long line. Here's hoping.

After talking to Andrew last night, and sometimes I forget that he's an adult, he had several suggestions about meals being delivered and the hiring of a companion for me. Jeff has taken over the hunt for a companion, and several people, have already sent him a reply.

Jeff posted a "want ad", if you will, on a site where you can see the bios of people who want jobs. I don't know the particulars of his posting. I do feel bad, that this is just one more thing on his plate. He has a full-time job, and on some days and weekends, he's working way more than 8 hours a day. So, you can see, that I try not to get in the way of his working. Getting paid to stay home, with no rush hour, makes it a bit easier to keep working. And, his accounts love him.

I had posted on the neighborhood's bulletin board, that I was looking for a companion. The posting received many people who are looking for much needed money.

But, in the end, after talking to Andrew, who had many suggestions, about prepared meals delivered, and the more realistic price range, for somebody to come and "sit" with me, and be kind. At the moment, and for other people, than myself, are lonely. I already have somebody who cleans the house once a week  I can still do laundry and put dishes in the dishwasher. But, I'm been pretty much banned from using the oven and cook top. Something about starting a fire in the microwave, so Jeff fixes all the meals now. Boy, did he get the wrong side of our vows "for better or worse"!! I am currently the worse part of our marriage. There are times when I actually wish that I could have dementia, so that I wouldn't know what I don't now. Did that make sense? At the moment, my memory trips me up. Why? Because I'm still aware, some of the time, that I think I know how to do something, and in reality I really don't.

The weather is all over the place right now. I'm hoping wherever you are, that certain kinds of weather (hurricanes, and the like) have not impacted you personally.

P