Category Archives: Ramblings

10 Things I Haven’t Done In Six Months

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Like so many people, Dad and I have made staying at home our new normal. Since mid-March, we’ve been keeping a low profile, and it really wasn’t much different than our pre-pandemic lifestyle. We’ve always been homebodies, so we weren’t too concerned about staying home for a few weeks. We spent March 12th -15th getting appointments out of the way, getting medications refilled, picking up groceries and supplies, etc. We had lunch and drinks at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We didn’t think this would be our last time sitting in a restaurant or that this pandemic would still be going on 6 months later!

It’s been lonely, depressing, and boring. I can’t imagine another 6 months of this! Although we don’t live exciting and adventurous lives, we still miss those little things like going to the grocery store or Walmart when we need something, having lunch out, or seeing friends and family on occasion. It’s funny (not-so-funny) the things you miss when you no longer have them.

The following is a list of things I’ve not done since March.

  1. I’ve not been in a grocery store. We always kept our freezers and cupboards stocked even prior to the pandemic, so we didn’t have a lot to get the last time we were out. Mostly all we needed was a few canned goods and we were set for at least 2 months. Thankfully, we’ve been able to get just about everything we’ve needed online since then.
  2. I’ve not been to Walmart. It was always nice to be able to pop in and pick up my medications, try on a few pair of shoes or sweaters, etc., plus the occasional kitchen or bath item. Now, we either do without or find it online.
  3. I’ve not been inside any public establishment. We’ve only been to liquor store, bank, and pharmacy drive-thru windows. We’ve used only curb-side service at out favorite Mexican restaurant, twice. Oh, and we got gas twice in the car and once for the mower.
  4. I’ve not had a haircut. OMG! I need a haircut. I cut my bangs once myself and I’m about to do it again. My hair hasn’t been this long in years. I prefer it short.
  5. I’ve not been out with a friend. I used to meet up with this friend or that friend for lunch and/or a little shopping. Now, I see only one friend periodically while social distancing outside.
  6. I’ve not worn any make up. I never wore much make up before, but now I wear absolutely none! I stopped wearing eye make up several years ago because I can’t see well enough to put it on anymore. But I still wore a little foundation or BB Cream, and maybe some concealer when I planned on going out. If I was feeling exceptionally brave, I might attempt a little mascara with the use of my 10x magnification mirror, but that was rare!
  7. I’ve not had a doctor’s appointment. I saw my Nurse Practitioner on March 12 to have my medications renewed for another year, and had them transferred to a different pharmacy with a drive-thru window. Thankfully, I’ve not had any issues that need a doctor’s attention. Fingers crossed that neither one of us will have to worry about that for a while.
  8. We’ve not taken the car for a check up. Taking Ol’ Blue in for a check up, tune up, or other ‘procedure’ has been postponed indefinitely. We will be needing new tires very soon though, so I need to be thinking about that!
  9. I’ve not taken my furbabies to the vet. My furbabies were due for their vaccinations in May and I’ve put it off. I don’t think I should put it off much longer. I’m feeling very guilty about not doing it. It’s just so stressful thinking about coming into contact with COVID-19 and bringing it home to Dad.
  10. I’ve not been in anyone else’s home. Ugh. I hate not being able to stop in to see someone if I wanted to. I didn’t do a lot of that before for a few reasons: I can’t walk up/down stairs, I always feel like a bother, and with chronic pain being an issue, I just don’t have the energy. It was still nice to have that choice.

Since the above things are not part of my normal life – at least not for a while – I have to occupy my mind with other things. I try to keep my brain sharp (hahaha, if that’s possible!) by doing word puzzles, brain games, and the like. I’ve started another jigsaw puzzle. I’ve been writing more offline – as in personal self-exploration type, and legacy journaling. I’m considering another online class…just can’t decide which one yet! One thing I really need to do more of, is exercise. That’s a hard one for me because of the pain I’m in. It’s so easy to just say, “Not today, maybe tomorrow.” So, on that note, I will leave to go do some exercise on my Air Walker. I just hope I can walk afterwards.

Have a relaxing, SAFE, and fun Labor Day, my friends!

aunt-debbie

Just Call Me Quasi

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I slept in my lift chair last night…I mean, this morning. I had a Mudslide and was up until after 3am. I don’t know how long after 3am because…umm…the Mudslide. I decided my chair would be a better place for me because when alcohol enters the picture, I’m more apt to fall on my ass trying to get ready for bed.

I slept well until about 6:30am. Not a lot of sleep but I did sleep better than I do in my bed. I’m walking better as well but I have a kink in my neck and an ache in my upper back. When I looked in the mirror, I noticed my hair was sticking straight up…in the back. I looked like Quasimodo for fuck’s sake.

I have to apologize, my friends, for not posting Friday’s Funnies yesterday. I promised myself that I would try harder but time just got away from me yesterday. When I looked in my file for memes I realized I never saved one meme all stinkin’ week anyway! I just haven’t been on social media much lately. It’s actually been nice. I’m thinking of deleting a couple of my Facebook pages and maybe my Instagram account. I don’t use that one much anyway.

I crashed at about 10am, as I thought I would. I was falling asleep sitting up. I dreamed that I looked out my bedroom door, which was on the opposite wall than it really is, and saw the back door. Under the back door, I saw a huge gap between the bottom of the door and the floor and thought, “No wonder I get so many bugs and critters in my bedroom.” I then Googled (still in my dream) ‘Why do I see a gap under the door?’ and Google’s answer: ‘Perhaps you see something that really isn’t there.’ Lo and behold, I looked again, and there was no gap under the back door. See, Google is always helpful. Even in dreams. Then I woke up and realized only an hour and a half had passed. Maybe I should Google “Why is Debbie losing her mind?”

I crashed again at 2:30pm. Another hour and a half of sleep. Still looking a bit like Quasimodo, I realized sleeping in my lift chair at night instead of my bed probably isn’t the best place for me, Mudslide or not.

Have a great Labor Day weekend, and be safe and not sorry.

What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

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Well, first of all, I’ve been writing and re-writing this post since Saturday. Every time I read it, I feel like it’s not good enough, sounds stupid, or “that doesn’t make sense.” So, I’m starting over and writing as it comes and if it’s not good enough, too damn bad. If you disagree, then that’s fine. These are my feelings and opinions, and NOT up for debate. 

*When I was growing up, through old movies I watched with my Dad, I learned that it was wrong to shoot or stab someone in the back. It meant that you were a yellow-bellied coward. You should always look your enemy in the eye. Have a fight that is fair. No back-stabbing. No bullets in the back. It all seemed so logical at the time and it still does.

Why would you shoot someone in the back anyway? Unless you were a yellow-bellied coward… 

Fast forward to 2020, August 23rd to be exact. A young black man, father of 6 children, was shot 7 times at close range….IN THE BACK! Jacob Blake is his name. He is paralyzed and will have life-long issues. Three of his children watched their father being shot in the back by a police officer.

Police officers need to be trained better! They need to be taught to never shoot a man in the back! What a cowardly thing to do. I don’t care if Mr. Blake had a knife or not. I don’t care what his past was. (No, he did NOT rape a child.) He didn’t deserve to be shot in the back! I don’t care if there was a struggle. A person walking away or running away poses no threat to police officers. If Mr. Blake had a gun and was shooting at the police as he ran away, then that would be a different story. But he didn’t have a gun. The officer who fired those shots was following Mr. Blake at very close range. That officer also put 3 of Mr. Blake’s young children in danger! They watched from the backseat of the vehicle in horror as their father was shot! What if one or more of those bullets had missed Mr. Blake and ricocheted, hitting one of those children? 

This event and others like it, are occurring more often in this country and it sickens me. Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people and injured others, but he’s alive. Had he been black, they would have shot him dead. I could list dozens of incidents but it’s exhausting to even think about it. I’m so disillusioned and disappointed in people. I do support police officers. They do a dangerous job in protecting the public but ANY police officer who shoots a man in the back should be held accountable and by that, I mean fired. PERIOD.

*On the subject of COVID-19, I’m sick to death of hearing our POTUS continually ignore science and experts in the field. What the hell is wrong with him?! 6 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the US. OVER 183,000 of those people have DIED. Now, I’ve heard him pushing herd immunity. It’s just another attempt at ignoring the severity of the COVID-19 problem.

Scientists say that in order to achieve herd immunity, 50% to 70% of the United States population would need to be immune (either by infection or vaccination) to stop the spread. That’s 165 million to 230 million people! The death rate from this virus is about 1%, which sounds like such a small number BUT that could mean 2.3 million people in the US would have to die. Some research suggests that herd immunity could be achieved at just 20% of the population. That would mean 600,000 people would die.

Haven’t we had enough deaths in this country? 

 

*I’m disgusted with Trump for so many reasons… Too many to list here, although that post may come some time in the near future. I just can’t understand WHY it’s so easy for Trump’s followers to believe that Joe Biden is a terrible person and unworthy of the title of POTUS… but so difficult for them to believe that Trump is a despicable, dishonest, racist, ignorant, narcissistic, hateful human being when it’s all laid out for the entire world to see. 

*On a personal note, my littlest grandchild, Hudson, turned 2 years old yesterday. His party is Saturday and unfortunately, Dad and I won’t be going. If you follow my blog, then you may recall that my Dad is 83 years old and at high risk for contracting COVID-19. A birthday party is just not a risk we’re willing to take. This terrible virus is affecting us all. I’m not one to ignore science, neither is Dad, so we continue to stay home.

Depression comes and goes but we are doing more to occupy our minds. Jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles and other word games, movies and tv series’ keep us busy. So does food, but I won’t mention the tendency to overeat or the weight I’ve gained! On the flip side, Dad has lost weight. He’s getting so skinny and try as I might to get him to eat more, he just doesn’t have much of an appetite. It could be the heat, too, so thankfully we’re looking at some cooler temps as we enter into the Fall season…or more commonly known in my house as “Sweater Weather.”

Signing off for now. Be good to yourselves. 

A Better Day & A Little Chuckle

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I’ve been trying to get my mojo back. I decided to force myself to do some of the things that I enjoyed prior to COVID19, and/or prior to becoming disabled. It has not been easy. Having to rest every 10 freakin’ minutes sucks any joy right out of whatever task it was I was trying to complete.

I think I mentioned in my last blog post that I had the bell peppers to make my famous-not-so-famous Stuffed Bell Peppers, thanks to a great friend who went to the grocery store for me. I made 4 of them and rough-chopped the remaining 4 bell peppers and popped them in the freezer for my Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup. Dad and I each ate a stuffed pepper for lunch and then the last 2 at dinner. I wish I had made more! I was exhausted afterward…and in between…resting every 10 minutes, as I mentioned. I was not in any shape that day to be working in the kitchen anyway, because I was working on only 2 hours sleep the night before, if that. My pain level was so high I ended up getting out of bed at the butt crack of dawn. I was so tired after making the peppers, I took a nap. Then I took another later in the day.

Today, my pain level wasn’t so high and I actually slept pretty damn good for a change. I don’t know whether that was because of the lower pain level or if it was thanks to the Mudslide I had before bed. When I say before bed, I mean right before bed! I took the last gulp as I was headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth! Haha! Anyway, I had a pretty good day as far as pain goes, so this evening I made my Granny’s Banana Bread. It’s more like cake than it is bread because it’s sweet and heavy but it’s delicious nonetheless.

As I was pulling the banana bread out of the oven, Dad changed the tv over to watch SpongeBob SquarePants. He said, “SpongeBob is more intelligent than any of those assholes speaking at the RNC.” Sadly, that’s so true. Now we shall eat banana bread and watch ol’ SpongeBob for a few laughs.

Have a great night, folks!

aunt-debbie

Wednesday? Right?

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It has been a while since I have written anything. I can’t get motivated and nothing inspires me these days. I’ve been in a great deal of pain, so that doesn’t help. Along with the pain comes depression. It’s depressing to be disabled but add to that the fact that we are staying home and each day is the same as the next. Every day I ask, “What freakin’ day is it?”

I missed last Friday’s Funnies post. I looked in my file and found 3 whole funny memes and I didn’t have it in me to look for more. Nothing seems funny lately. Maybe this week will be better but I doubt it. I still have only 3 memes.

I miss my life, such as it was, prior to the pandemic. I didn’t do much then but it was more than I’m able to do now. At least then I had nothing stopping me from going to the grocery store, Walmart, or wherever I wanted to go. Dad and I miss our Saturday outings for lunch. Who would have thought that one day a week in a Mexican restaurant would mean so much?

I made my famous-not-so-famous Stuffed Bell Peppers yesterday. I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. It was rough but my peppers turned out delicious and were made possible by a great friend who went to the store for me. She picked up bananas, too so that I can make my Granny’s Banana Bread. It’s actually more like cake because it’s heavy and sweet. The items my friend picked up were things I can’t get online. Since I live out in the middle of nowhere, stores won’t deliver and our local Walmart doesn’t do curbside pickup. Thankfully, we can survive without the items I can’t get online! 

Well, for now I have nothing else to write and the hummingbirds are waiting for their sweet water for the day. They drink it almost as fast as I can make it! 

Have a great day!