Distraction, organization and easy peasy dinner!

Everyone in this day and age needs at times a distraction from the horrors of the realities in this world, true?
So...turn off those techno devices and kick back and chill or even get out of the house and get some retail therapy, as us old timers used to call it!
 In our case nothing extravagant just a diversion from what we might have been doing if we hadn't gone out.
Destinations these days are a must, although in spite of gas prices we too have been known to just get in the car and go for a ride.
Today though was my mini project, more organizing, this time the top of the fridge; lately it looks as if a frat boy lives here with a high salt intake diet with all the chip type snacks up there.
Don't worry they are mostly skinny Hubby's and not that highly salted as one might think.
Mine are the gluten free pretzels, now low fat ones, occasionally pita chips with humus(kept in the fridge) and lightly salted sunflower seeds, Hubby's are potato chips, cheese poufs, Tostitos, shared with my homemade guacamole, and not one of those hand injuries oddly enough from clumsy me in the dealings with the avocadoes, ( I am the one who nearly cut off her thumb with the mandolin slicing a potato years ago,) cashews, also shared but not as often, and of course pistachios. The nuts are now all contained in the pantry and the chip stuff is in appropriate containers without chip clips and no longer falling over!
The sealed containers were purchased for $6.88 x 3= $20.64 x .07 for tax= $1.45 = total of $21.09 for the three sets of four different sizes in each one, including their lids, so a total of twelve containers plus their lids like Rubbermaid quality, but not. They do pop closed from the top middle.
Lids are white, and the containers are lightly opaque, albeit mostly clear.
Any-who a bargain, and everyone of the pieces were used and now have been stored appropriately either on top of the fridge, actually only three, the others are all in the pantry.
I have been trying to find containers for quite some time, many were in the hundred dollar range, but  way too dear in price for me, and so when I saw these I took them!
That was at Walmart, I know, I know some people have very harsh feelings about them, but I think they are trying harder especially with healthier food choices, more light and lower salt and fat free!
More women working there appear happy and I hope they are being promoted with an equal/proper pay scale.

Quieter again there with the snowbirds gone and we were able to find a handicap space without effort.
We also picked up a rotisserie chicken in the traditional flavor, that was all they had!
Usually you have a choice of lemon pepper, Cajun, or barbecue, oh well.
Lately we have been making homemade fries, healthier than frozen ones even and not that difficult to make.
Take two or three of your favorite potatoes we had bought this time gold ones and Hubby did do the slicing, peel, and then cutting them into fries shape, each potato yields many, sometimes one or two is enough, but this time I felt we could freeze the rest and take out some when we desired some more.
Put the sliced fries shaped potatoes into a pot of water, bring to a boil, let boil for ten minutes, then drain into a colander, and pat dry with paper or cloth towel.
Place separated on a PAM sprayed cookie sheet, lightly spray them on top too and sprinkle with sea salt also lightly or none if you so desire.
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for twenty minutes, for crisper fries broil for a few minutes, but make sure you watch them, then enjoy them! Freeze the rest and mark the freezer Ziploc with homemade fries and the date and cooking directions if you so desire.
Use when you like.
We also had left over antipasto from the full moon at Bocca Lupo's half price sale, large thin crust pizza and this time since they didn't have any small antipasto salads they gave us the large for the price of the small!
And more of my salad from the Firehouse Subs that I hadn't finished either!
So dinner was easy peasy!
Sure the fries had to be made, and oddly enough our good OXO brand peeler broke when Hubby started the peeling, but we had our old model with no padding no frills for ease of use, but still functions one and Hubby finished the peeling.
And making them yourself are so much worth it, without additives!
My right hand is swollen again otherwise I would have done it, I suppose my crazy/mad desire to remove all the plastic/paper/box containers and replace them with a more uniform neater more organized look took a toll on my right hand that has been black and blue bruised besides swollen too lately. But even though I know it needs the surgery I remember how long it takes to recuperate from it, four months for my left one back in August of 2001, sixteen years ago. I was younger and healthier then, now it could take longer, and I am a righty. Basilar surgery is major surgery no matter how you cut it, ha!

Happy night to all and share those blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!


       




   

Brain numbness

Feeling jealous and saddened.
I never knew either of my grandmothers for they passed away before I was born, one from gangrene legs due to diabetes in 1948, story is she wouldn't let them amputate, and the other in 1949 due to an automobile accident due to my grandfather having a heart attack while driving down from NJ to Florida for a vacation.
Both of those women according to all relatives accounts were very special women and both had large families by todays' standards, Dad was one of six, sort of a middle child, no real middle when there is six, ha and Mom was the eldest of five.
And me with all those first cousins from both sides. I think the count was twenty-five, and all those aunts and uncles too!
Most are gone now.
Yes, even some of those cousins.
And many had children, but smaller families and some didn't have any at all...
The ones that remain are scattered all over the country and maybe elsewhere?
My Mom passed away when I was thirty-one, she was seventy a week before her seventieth first birthday, she had a major stroke and lived only eleven and half hours.
Hubby's Mom has dementia and was banished from us to Pennsylvania by Hubby's sister several years ago, she might be ninety-six now, but she and we wouldn't know i.e if she's alive.
They don't talk, so that is why we don't know. The whole situation caused a falling out between them.
Number One Son works hard and many weekends, and lives hours away in this state, we get along well and remember to tell each that we love each other via phone calls weekly.
Number Two Son is estranged, his choice not ours.
So to me Mothers Day will be bittersweet as it has been for years.
I have been bothered terribly by seeing/hearing all the hoopla about the holiday.
It feels as if knives are going into my heart with each happy go-lucky ad and comments on TV Facebook, and emails.
Maybe if we had more kids, and I didn't have my tubes tied after my third four and half month miscarriage, too bad they did not know about Lupus Anticoagulant then that would have prevented those miscarriages by just taking aspirin. And I would have tons of love to give them and from all of them, maybe three or four or more or maybe not... who knows.
We love both our sons very much!
I did this two days before everyone's holiday so as not to spoil all of yours, not that this will.
I am no ones grandmother, I wouldn't be able to chase them anyway, not because I didn't want to be a grandma, because I have two sons that our eldest chose not to be a Dad, and younger might choose to be, but who knows if he will let us meet them?
We still have no idea why he has nothing to do with us.
Although, some people choose not to have children at all and will never feel as I do, and I personally do not know what to make of that, since my choice was to have them.
Oh I do know no one is responsible for your happiness than you! Especially our children, we should help them though to be happy adults.
And that is why I tell myself to do things that make happy happen?
But all the hype for the holiday is so loud and clear!
And aggravates me also nastily so clearly.
I do know I shouldn't let it, but its everywhere!
Like Christmas to a Jewish girl and so I had to have some of that too!
Now that's funny!
I made myself laugh, you too?

And now I will close to wallow in my... what only can be thought as self pity!
BUT NAH!
I will continue to soldier on...I do love all our soldiers, it's the wars that I hate!

Good night to all and share your blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

PS By Sunday maybe my outlook will/might be different. I do have a short attention span, my only redeeming quality for warding off true depression!

I'm not fixable.

I had my orthopedic appointment today.
The PA said as she went over my cervical stenosis and thoracic stenosis and herniations on the accessible DVDs she said that although the cervical area is slightly worse from its last MRI nearly three years ago the spinal cord has fluid around it only a small area within the neck has a bit less on one side and there are spurs here and there, pretty much the same as my thoracic area as well, and so since my main complaint is numbness she feels that it is my Progressive Multiple sclerosis causing all my symptoms. And that although I should come in for a look see whenever the neurologist chooses for my next MRIs to see if it is any different.
Meanwhile, I see my return to neuro, the one from eight years ago, next month.
So that is it for now medically speaking, oh yeah... no promises... that is...as far as beating my dead horse on this topic...perhaps!
Until they find a cure for MS! Probably sooner I will discuss.
Look please.
It might be easier than impeaching Mister T!
Toss up, not really he should be gone soon... I am trying hard to cross my fingers!( not so easy anymore.)
Still hoping for both cures!
Our country and our human ills.

 Moving on...

After the orthopedics appointment Hubby and I went over to Lowe's for toe kick trim for our kitchen cabinets, all these years we had not put them on.
Reverse engines and go back to about two or three days or maybe weeks ago... now fast forward, to just the other day, okay, continue...
I wanted Hubby to paint that part below the cabinets after washing the scruffy area thoroughly with some nearly toxic but not quite cleansing compound, but Hubby said he has the stuff out in the garage somewhere that is supposed to go on there, oops sadly it was a goner... dry rot and yucky dirt, embarrassingly not redeemable at all!
See that's what happens to things you forget about for a dozen years or so, oops!
Any-who, we now have new stuff and liquid nails to install it with, and Hubby gave me this time a time frame of TOMORROW, YAY!
See, I am easy to please... get your minds out of the gutter, nah, go there but come right back, since there is more to tell!
Bartenders Friend also was purchased there in the large economy size!
I don't know about you, but it does an incredible job on keeping our stainless steel pots and pans looking like new!
They sold it for a mere $2.08!
I know, cheap, especially in that size!
Never bought it there before, usually at the grocery.
But there just normal sized i.e.grocery.
See, I am easy.

After that we went up to Ingman's Marine where we had bought our Sea Hunt Triton 202 back in 2003, the salesman, Orion, or maybe O'ryan, (I haven't seen it written anywhere yet), there he has a pontoon boat for us, a 2017 Bennington fish 20 salt water that has a front opening that would be wide enough for my motorized wheelchair to go through! The price needs tweaking and he even came down to see our boat for a trade in the other day, and offered three times higher than over the phone, but we still need to tweak the price a bit, looking better though.
We have another place the BoatHouse also working on finding one, but theirs are the Sweetwater brand,  Bob with Rick, with our boat used as a trade in, now that the motor is fixed and purring great we have many more options. Hubby did hire the boat mechanic that our neighbor used too. The fix cost just under five hundred, $481, but it seems to be paying off already with the trade in adjustments going up, tripling and that by several thousands!

Oh we ate lunch at Firehouse Subs where I get my 370 calorie salad and Hubby gets his  NY steamer pastrami and corned beef with cheese and mustard sub, both of us had iced water with even real lemons and limes, less than fifteen bucks for the two of us for our lunch.

So in spite of me not being physically fixable, emotionally we all can work on that, yep and with me that seems to be nearly a fulltime job!
Looking for fun in all the old places.

Count those blessings please and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!



    


 

They're back.............

The Russians are here ha, ha, ha, ha!

Why me?
Do I look like a great asset for information on United States governmental issues????
The numbers might not be too clear, tapping on the screen may help to enlarge the PIC, if not you will have to believe me that so far just today I have had 166 pageviews from RUSSIANS! Only two less than Americans at 168!  Oh here we go, my minutia of knowledge: James stretch Comey Jr., he is six foot eight, anyway his timing has been way off first with Hillary's October surprise horrifically, and now our so-called Pres. DJ's him not getting the actual evidential proof out about the Orange Frothy Haired Guy's investigation into wrong doing with the Russians, shame on you Mister T, but Comey out!
And for some crazy reason my day is up for this function that goes only until 8 P.M. EST!
As I am writing this it is just a couple of minutes past six P.M. EST, and it takes me sometimes as long as an hour to pump one of these gems out, ha!
That was for the gem part...I do know I write drivel, but it is my drivel; so there! ( I am now doing what you cannot see and that is sticking my adult tongue out at you, or maybe not you maybe that person behind you or maybe all of you, ha!
You have fun your way and I'll have it mine!
Small things mean a lot... can you imagine any reason why this would create such interest with the Ruskies? (Hope that is not a racial slur.)
Yes, my grandfather was one of them, and he was a wonderful man.
He also had come to America in the early 1900's!
Genealogically speaking I am 96% Eastern European, 2% Irish, no wonder I enjoy St. Paddy's Day, 1% Italian, mangiare, and 1% Greek, opa, who knew!
Actually, I did for awhile since Hubby and I had our DNA tested by Ancestry.com a few years ago for our anniversary presents to each other.
Those were just my distribution of countries, Hubby's were many and much more diverse too to his surprise.
Interesting to have and really doesn't change much except for them telling you all these relatives are out there and many even might want to meet you!
Oh well...
Maybe they are on Facebook?

Moving on...

Today I did an experiment with my motorized wheelchair and my previous failure to maneuver throughout our home and so once indoors I have been reverting to my walker, since my landing stations are close. None more than ten feet from one another, tiny house!
So even though my walker does have a seat and is a hybrid with the ability to transform into a transporter I do not use it out in the world any longer for nearly a year now, in fact this Saturday it will be a year that I have my motorized wheelchair 5-13-16.
Oh, my experiment went rather well.
I even got into bed by making my chair go up like I do for the car seat.
I got a snack in my narrow galley kitchen, washed dishes, got out dishes for dinner too!
I went down the sunroom ramp to the accessible bathroom off that room.
I used the desk in there to make copies for my doctor's appointment of my lists of meds, doctors, and surgeries that I always take with me.
It's been two and half years since I was to these doctors, and I printed their forms from their site and filled those out too!
All time savers.

Moving on some more with an upbeat...

Our successful growing ability in spite of this nasty drought, xeriscape trees that actually do quite well with very little water! Those green bulbous fruits are young mangoes, mmmmm, oh so sweet, and grown from a pit years ago, this is our second or third year of fruits. Below is one of those County Extension's freebie trees, this one is a Crape Myrtle that had been stunted for so long that we had thought we had a dwarf variety, but now with this nasty drought it has decided to grow vertically and blossomed too beautifully! Aint nature swell!

Please do share those blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

Question America: Are we patients, clients or customers to the medical world?

I believe that we used to be patients, but as medical care became more exasperating we lost our patience, and consequently lost that status too.
Clients sounds too business like and when I think of that I think of more so of law firms.
Customers being the broadest of terms and also never what any of us people/persons/ human being with temporary/ chronic/ or fatal ills would like to be thought of, but due to the medical industry being a bottom line sort of consortium we have been cast into that cold no familiarity type of ranking. I suppose we all have our own bottom lines on the line these days while dealing with the medical professions.
If you think about it they are already like a monopoly in the respect where else can we go for medical treatment if not to doctors, walk in clinics and hospitals etc.?
Heart is missing way too often, except for a few of my friends who had gone into the profession when heart was a very important part of medical care. Although, like me many have retired.
Obamacare/ Trumpcare?
Do they really care?
Money, money, money has been the bottom line for those programs more so than actual "CARE", definitions of CARE are: 1.the provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance and protection of someone or something. "The care of the elderly"
2. serious attention or consideration applied to doing something correctly or to avoid damage or risk.
Thanks to:Merriam-Webster.com

Do the people putting our HEALTHCARE programs together even know what they are??????????
Pennies to make many medications, while the over charges to the public are obscene!
WHY?
Premiums for insurance policies go higher and higher when most "customers" have to do all the work for themselves!
WHY?
Doctors have more assistants than patients some days, when waiting rooms are empty. And when filled waits go into hours!
WHY?
Nothing is working right!
WHY? 

Again, today, I received a call verifying via robo call an appointment this week with the orthopedic PA, and so I called back to make sure that they received the MRIs reports I was assured two weeks ago they would have along with their DVDs, and no they did not have them, yet.
And so I called and found out that the person who assured me they would be sent from the Advanced Imaging MRI place had not sent them after she said they would be sent out that day, two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, now Carol in records there has said that tomorrow both will go out via courier, and should be there/Advantage Orthopedic Center, a few miles away from them, no later than late morning so if I want to check by tomorrow afternoon they should be there.

Geez, if I want to check?
Does anyone but me remember when people did what they said when they said they were going to do it and NOBODY HAD TO CHECK????????????

But of course I will.
This is my lot in life, and I sadly imagine many others, maybe even you?
Verifying our medical care. I suppose this puts us back in somewhat of control, but really????????

You see the issue is important to see my most recent MRIs of my brain, done 4-7-17 cervical and thoracic regions, done 4-11-17 to see if the brain is the cause, meaning my MS or my herniations and stenosis has gotten worse and is causing my problems and it can all be fixed!
Fixable me?
What a nice thought.

I will leave you all with that.

Good night to all folks and count your blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!


   

A correction... and more

Correction of 4-28-17 entitled, "Arbor Day!" post section in "moving on" to Bed Bath and Beyond and of the purchase of a battery type broom that they make it is not a Black Decker brand, but the Bissell brand Bolt plus model; at around seventy dollars, minus the 20% discount plus tax it is a very nice deal!
We have it ten days now and Hubby finds it simplifies his life with Gus chasing critters into the plumbagoes that its flowers stick to his fur, gives new meaning to the concept flower child! He becomes ensconced with very pretty blue flowers in his hair that drop all over the floor once inside...!

The laundry room's broom closet that holds our regular vacuum, brooms, dustpans, dusters, mop etc. is off to the right front of the photo, and to the left of that is a child's sized toy box that is used as a seat and as our laundry hamper, above that is a seagull wooden carved blue and white colored knobbed rack for leashes and the occasional jacket of Hubby's, and next to that is a nautical themed clock and a drop down shelf for folding clothes that is under that. The washer dryer combo is straight ahead, new, but replacing the identical one that lasted over twenty years, and it has cabinets above that hold laundry baskets, and to the right side of that are more cabinets the one above that used to hold our thirty gallon hot water heater, but a new forty gallon one is in the garage out the door to the right. Now it is additional pantry space for overflow paper goods and club soda etc., above where it had been and below in the other cabinets are laundry detergent, stain remover, white vinegar and baking soda all large economy sizes! Above the doorway we are looking in from is a large shelf that holds things like our roasting pan, sewing machine, and barbecue metal baskets and juicers, yes we have a few. The lowest cabinet to the right straight ahead has a roll out shelf with my craft supplies in that! It used to have a circular entry for Casey, our cat's litter box, without the roll out, Hubby made that, but sadly Casey passed away several years ago, (I was able to attain a solid door from the same company years after Casey had passed on. Still have the cat box door opening one though... you never know.) He was a quite handsome cat, a long haired orange tabby with amber eyes!

 

Oh, that is not where the battery broom stays, it fits nicely in the corner near its plug to charge. I took it out to take its picture.

You can just barely see the door to the garage there, and above that has a sign stating Captain's Quarters, meaning Hubby's workshop.

 

The laundry/mud room is compact, but just right for the two of us.

 

Moving on...

 

Hubby mowed the dust bowl again today, again due to popper uppers like green whiskers on what used to be our lawn.

Our whole state is under attack from forest fires; but we are very fortunate that they're none too close to us.

The humidity is down, but the wind can come up and spread the damn things! Fires that is; they are mostly caused by carelessness with cigarettes, weather related is less likely, people burning things when they shouldn't, the whole state I believe is under a no burn order!

What gets me is that Charlotte County here in Florida is selling fresh water from our reservoirs to Cape Coral for their fresh water canals that they diminished by watering their lawns with it and our county is 

making millions from that, but our fire warning is more severe than even theirs and so what if we need the water to help fight the fires here!

I guess with Hubby retired we are out of the loop to know how this is a practical idea.

Sure the money, but what if we need it?

Oh well.

I suppose I sound selfish, nah just prudent and logical.... but they were the ones who used up their water to have plush lawns forgetting the fire issue and that we are all in a severe drought!

 

It's just a few more weeks until rainy season, June first it begins.

I can remember one year it was so dry they were about to cancel the Fourth of July fireworks and then the rain came!

Unfortunately, here people think fireworks are for every holiday and Memorial weekend is coming up soon I sure hope it either rains or people use some common sense!

 

Share those blessings folks and we will too!

 

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

 



Emulate

*Emulate: to match or surpass, typically by imitation.
*Imitation: the act of using something or someone as a model
Let me get this straight now that blonde woman who ran for president in France was *enamored, a feeling of love for our President DJ and so she copied his style, political platform, ideas, etc. etc. and she lost?
Viva la France!
They are definitely smarter than whomever rigged our contest last November, and according to our pre-president statements that it was Hillary, so he suggested... that is until he won!
And then the rest of us who did vote for Hillary realized it must have been him that rigged it and that is what he was telling us the whole time, still no absolute proof just many of our logical, no other way it could have happened, not even if pigs were to fly that he would have won unless it was opinions.
Sure seems that way though... really!

 * all definitions thanks to: Dictionary.com

Moving on...

Today we chilled; although outside was the real chilly weather, last day of our "cold front" it was fifty-six degrees Fahrenheit this morning and eighty-two by the afternoon. By tomorrow it will be back in the upper eighties and nineties during the rest of the week, and still not yet summer here!
That is June 21st.

Believe it or not I saw the last of the Midsomer Murders shows, a UK mystery sent to Netflix last night, all 19 series with all episodes to date. I suspect that their "series" are considered the same in the UK as we call "seasons" in the USA, a lot of shows anyway you look at them and I did, ha!
The shows began in 1996 all the way through 2016, yes twenty years, and it was fun watching the cars and technology with phones, computers and methods of determining scientific ways to solve crimes/murders all change, fascinating.
The series still continues and so I will just wait until the newer shows are released to Netflix.
Grace and Frankie or is it Frankie and Grace, any-who, all caught up, recommendable.
Better Call Saul, didn't care for this one this time, maybe I will try it again, who knows. 

 So since our laundry was all caught up, and Hubby was feeling poorly, nothing serious, but we put Gus's park visit on hold. We have been trying to go when the weather permitted, and here in Florida rain and not too stifling with heat, so cool clear weather is when we would go!
But we stayed home, and chilled by watching more Midsomer Murders together, Hubby started way after me and he is just in the ninth series, but since I think I might have fallen asleep when watching and do not remember them all I sat and watched with him, and yes I was able to, thankfully!
We have only one smart TV that we get Netflix on and of course my laptop, so usually Hubby is in the living room watching on the Smart TV in there and I recline in the bedroom with my special hospital table and my laptop in there/here, where I am now writing this!
I also recharge it and my phone while here.
So it was nice to watch in the same room for a change.

Its just another one that I got Hubby hooked on there were others.
And he has made recommendations for me too, if we don't know each other after nearly fifty years who does?
Yep, we met August 31, 1967!
Both going to work for Ohrbach's department store at the Bergen Mall in Paramus NJ, where we met for the first time.
This was just before our senior years of high school but from two different ones, his Riverdell and mine Emerson, he ended up working in the men's department and they put me in the children's and infants, way back when!
My first job not baby sitting or working for my dad.
Hubby's second job, since he had worked at the Hackensack Fox Theater, first as an usher then as a manager, boy he was young!
We were both seventeen when we met!

Well that's all for tonight, have a happy one, and count all those blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!