This and That

The house is coming along slowly. I wish it were going faster because I am missing or have missed some good sales on appliances, cabinets, and many other things. I can’t get anything until the drywall is up and the flooring is down. Then I can measure and decide what to get and actually have a place to put it. I have nowhere to store anything!! Ugh! I know. I’m trying to be patient. Really, I am.

Last night, I was working a jigsaw puzzle in the kitchen and listening to an audiobook when all of a sudden, there was a huge crash in the living room. All 3 cats shot out of the living room and went into hiding! Scared the living shit out of everyone. It was Dad. Poor thing fell down. He’s ok but it sure sounded like he landed hard. He took my fan down with him and spilled his meds all over the room. I had a hell of a time getting him off the floor. I told him if he would stop being stubborn and use his cane, he could avoid falling, at least cut the number of falls down. The next time he got up he was using his cane. Today, not so much. Still stubborn. I guess that’s where I get it.

I decided to take my chances and purchase a LegXercise machine. I know it won’t help my pain or mobility issues. Please don’t insist that it will, like so many people do, because I know more about my issues than anyone else. Anyway, I primarily bought the LegXercise machine to help the circulation in my legs. It’s not painful to use, but I am feeling a bit of added pain after using it for 2 days. I started at twice a day for 15 minutes each time. Today, I did it once for 15 minutes.

I’m going to try my hand this week sometime at making homemade enchilada sauce and salsa. I’ve made salsa before but it’s been a long, long time. The enchilada sauce will be a new experience. Thanks to a dear friend, I have a tried and true recipe to try! Wish me luck!

It appears that Old Man Winter isn’t finished with us just yet. Snow in the forecast this week will slow work on the house again. Thankfully, we have propane and we don’t have to go anywhere.

That’s it for today, friends. Be good, be safe, and try not to strangle your MAGA neighbors for they know not what they have done!

Update and What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

Work on the house was slowed for a couple of weeks. Our contractor was sick and had some other difficulties. This past week, work resumed. I wish it was going faster. I am so sick of this old crappy house. It’ll get done, I know. Patience. I know. I don’t have much patience in my 60s.

We took BobCat to the vet earlier in the month. He had lost weight, 2 lbs. to be exact. I don’t think that’s accurate. He seems heavier to me. Anyway, he got his vaccinations. He was not happy with me until we headed home. They always know. They cry all the way and then not a peep out of them on the drive home. I was a bit worried about the poor thing afterward, though. He was lethargic for 2 days and he felt like he might have had a little fever for the first day. He snapped out of it. It’s not unusual for cats to have those symptoms after vaccinations. There are worse symptoms so I am grateful that his symptoms were mild.

I’ve just about had it with the USPS. I am signed up for Informed Delivery and receive an email daily letting me know what mail and/or packages I have coming that day. But what good is it when it’s wrong? I’ll get an email that says I have 2 packages out for delivery but they don’t come. When I check tracking on those packages, it says that they are “moving through the system” or “on its way to the next facility” or even, “awaiting sender” and I just blow a gasket! If it says “out for delivery” that tells me it’s in our mail carrier’s car. So how can it go from that to “moving through the system” or “on its way to next facility”? One package I tracked since Jan. 8th, when it was ordered. Every few days tracking would say something different, even “out for delivery”. But I never got it until Feb. 7th. Wtf? It just chaps my hide that the USPS continues to raise rates while their service declines.

Do you ever feel like you’re speaking a foreign language? Every single time (and I’m not exaggerating) I have to contact a business for some reason, the response is always wrong. It has nothing to do with my issue and it infuriates me. It could be a phone call or an email. I always have to explain the problem again, as if I’m talking to a moron…hey, maybe they are morons, I don’t know. I go round and round with sometimes more than one person. Turn me over. I’m just about done.

I’m not even sure what to say about what’s going on with our government these days. Maybe I’ll just keep my mouth shut. I think eventually none of us will be able to speak out against Trump. Freedom of Speech will someday be a thing of the past. I’m thinking of deleting my Facebook account. That’s the first place that will be scanned for “radical liberals”. I hate to leave Facebook because that’s the only way I can connect with family and friends. I deleted my accounts on Twitter (X) and Instagram, and I tried BlueSky but it’s so much like Twitter that I am deleting that account, too. Social Media has ruined this country. Ugh.

On a brighter note, Dad and I are having a “Super Bowl Party” tonight like we do every year. He and I are the only ones invited! Haha! Just a funny thing we do to amuse ourselves. I’m going to make hot wings and some kind of bean dip, not sure what recipe to use yet. I only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. Sometimes they are hilarious!

Well, I just wanted to let y’all know I’m still alive and kicking, well not kicking. More like having a seizure. Ha! Have a great week, my friends!

Update On All Things Sh*t

Ok, not all things are shit. There have been some good things happening since my last post. Our new house is coming along. The house is wired, and the water lines and sewer pipes are in place and awaiting the next phase. The HVAC is nearly ready for hook-up. The insulation will be delivered on Wednesday. The next step will be the drywall. Such happiness and hope! I don’t think I can bear another cold ass winter in this old house!

Colder than a witch’s tit…

Which leads me to the shit part of this post. The weather has been colder than a witch’s tit. The last 2 nights were down in the single digits and tonight will be the 3rd. We always keep our water running to prevent the pipes from freezing. Running only the cold water always works. We have never run the hot water in the same manner and never had the hot water pipes freeze up. They say there’s a first time for everything and this was a first. The hot water pipes froze up, but hopefully not busted. It’s too cold to crawl under the house to check. Not that I could do it and Dad really doesn’t need to be doing it but he might insist if it were warmer. Anyway, maybe our contractor will check for us tomorrow when he comes. He wasn’t here today for his own reasons. 

Withdrawals suck…

Last week was a bad one for me. If you follow this blog you may remember me posting about my meds not coming when they should have which led to me having withdrawals. Now, don’t give me that “omg, she’s an addict” crap because I am not an addict. There’s a difference between being addicted and being dependent. I am dependent on my meds so that I can function. I had gone 3 days without my gabapentin, which has terrible withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it abruptly. It was not a good 3 days as I had insomnia, massive sweating (in a 40-degree house, mind you), and heart palpitations. I had headaches off and on, and I was moody as hell. Wouldn’t you be moody on zero hours of sleep in 3 days?  I finally got my script in the mail but not before I got an emergency 10-day supply filled by a different pharmacy. Needless to say, I saved the 10-day supply in my “extras” stash. 

I think they need more training!

I blame the pharmacy for not filling the gabapentin automatically as they do the other meds I take. I had forgotten to order them myself because it was right before Christmas. I also blame the USPS. Even though I expected a delay due to the snow we got that week, I did expect my delivery when Informed Delivery told me it was out for delivery! But instead, it was 4 days later before it was actually delivered. The roads had been perfectly fine. If the mail carriers can’t do the job correctly, then they need to be replaced. Still the fault of the USPS. They have a lot of nerve raising the rates for every damn thing and then reducing the quality of service! 

Not much else going on…just trying to get through this cold spell. I’m wearing my Sherpa blanket hoodie, which I found on Amazon a few years ago. It’s been a lifesaver in this cold ass weather! I hope you’re staying warm…or cool, depending on where you are!

Have a great week, my friends!

 

 

Brrr….

What a cold, miserable weekend! On Friday, Dad and I were nearly killed on our way to town to pick up a curbside order. Some idiot came around a curve on the wrong side of the road, on OUR side of the road, and coming right at us! He finally correct his path and we were all saved from sure death.

It seems that everyone gets in panic mode when a snow/ice storm is coming. I understand that people need what they need so they go to the store to get it. They get into a rush, trying to get done before the roads get bad or before it starts to snow. I get it. But slow down! Your toilet paper, milk, and bread won’t do anyone any good if you get killed in a car crash. I try to keep my cupboards and freezer stocked somewhat so I know that if I get snowed in and can’t get the car out of the driveway, we won’t starve or run out of toilet paper. We have extra toilet paper (cheap stuff) saved in a cabinet for emergencies only. We don’t use a lot of bread or milk but even if we did, we still have other things to eat and drink.

It was so terribly cold last night! The low was 18 degrees. I was on well house duty. We have a heater in the well house on an extension cord that runs into the house. I let the well house warm up and then unplug it for a bit. It helps to keep the water from freezing, along with letting the water run a little in the bathroom and kitchen sinks. Been there, done that. If the water freezes, the pipes bust and then we’re screwed until everything thaws out. So, I didn’t get much sleep last night. It’s rough sleeping for an hour or so and then checking the temp… I’m so tired that it wouldn’t surprise me if this entire post is a disaster!

Anyway, an update on the new house! The house has been wired, although no fixtures or outlets as of yet. Today the roads were a bit icy in my area and worse north of us where our contractor lives. He wasn’t able to come today. Better safe than sorry, right?

Right now it’s still cold as hell. I’m wearing fingerless gloves while typing this. Headed to the kitchen now to fix some lunch. Here’s the current temp:

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Now, stay warm, y’all. 

aunt-debbie

Progress and Hope

I mentioned previously that we finally have hope to finish the new house. Today will be Day Two of work on the deck/porch. Fingers crossed it will be finished by day’s end. Handyman seems to know what he’s doing. When that is completed, I’ll be able to go up the ramp, enter the house, and give direction as to where I want electrical outlets and things like that. It has been years since I was able to go in that house! I will be posting photos as things progress.

I am cautiously optimistic about this whole process. I can’t help but think about my ex who was all talk and no workie. And I don’t mean that he talked too much instead of working, as my DIL thought I meant. What I mean is that my ex always talked big about doing this and that but he never did what he said he would do. I’m praying that Handyman does what he says he will do.

It will be nice not to worry about the leaky roof, the sagging floors, or cracked walls. Not to mention all the cracks and crevices in this old house that allow all kinds of bugs and spiders in. I’m envisioning us in the new house. I’m thinking positively now that there’s a little light at the end of the tunnel. Another positive note is that my youngest sister has shown interest in coming to live with us so she can help me with the cleaning and cooking and looking after Dad. I just don’t know how much longer I can do it on my own.

Please cross your fingers, or pray, whatever you do….that we will be in our new house this time next year or sooner! And in case you don’t know, I appreciate that you take the time to read my blog!

Until next time,

aunt-debbie