Tag Archives: problems

SNAFU

Posted on by
6

When it rains, it pours. My Granny used to say, “If it ain’t one thing, it’s something else.” That pretty much nails it.

Yesterday morning, I dropped my laptop. It was in the padded case I carry it in, but apparently, it hit just right and hard enough on the kitchen floor to whack the corner. It didn’t seem like it hit very hard, but now when I open it, the lower right corner pulls away from the screen. The laptop still works but I have to leave it open for fear of making matters worse. I can’t afford to buy a new one or have someone repair it. Geez. I just purchased it June of 2023 so it’s virtually new.

This morning, Dad went to take our trash up to the dumpster. The damn car won’t start. I had to cancel my curbside order. I may have to cancel my vet appointment for Alice’s checkup tomorrow afternoon. We have AAA but Dad’s so damn stubborn. Instead, he decided to try to charge the battery himself with his handy battery charger. I hadn’t heard anything in a little while so I went outside to check on him. He was standing by the car with the hood up and charger in his hand, just thinking. He said it wasn’t going to work because the charger won’t plug into the extension cord. I saw right away what the problem was. He had the male end of the extension cord in his hand and the charger cord was also male. I told him he needed the female end of the extension cord to plug the charger into. I switched that up for him and then it worked. Poor old guy. He thinks everything will be so simple but he just can’t think through the process so it ends up being a big hassle. Anyway, the car is charging. We’ll see what happens. 

If that’s not bad enough, Dad has put us in a potentially critical financial conundrum. I guess that would actually be worse than any of the other problems we have going on right now. Dad’s a wreck about the whole thing and I’m pretty damn stressed out, too. When the solution or end of the situation has arrived, I will write more about it. Until then, please wish us luck! 

Well, that’s all for now. I’m headed to the shower. With any luck, I’ll make it out of there alive. 

aunt-debbie

What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

Posted on by
2

LGBTQ+ Rights Being Eroded

I wish I knew what the hell was going on in this country! Every time I turn around, there’s a new bill targeting LGBTQ+ folks and it’s alarming and just plain wrong! I’m pretty sure every single one of us knows someone who is in the LGBTQ+ category! I have family members, friends, and acquaintances who are LGBTQ+…so what’s the big deal? Jesus never said, “Love everyone except those LGBTQ+ people!” I get so angry when I hear people going on about letting others live their own lives or preaching to others about how they just need to be themselves. So, why can’t people let others live their own lives and walk their own paths even if they are LGBTQ+? Too many hypocrites out there…just saying.

Water Heater Blues

Back in early February, our water heater blew an element. Up until yesterday, we were using half-assed hot water. The water was being heated but not as hot as it would be with both elements operational. For months, we’ve had to rush in the shower before the hot water ran out! Rushing in the shower is not a good idea when you’re disabled! Anyway, Tuesday night, we heard a big BANG! POP! It was the same sound we heard when the first element went out. I thought, Oh great. How long will it take for Dad to do something so we don’t have to take cold showers? He actually got to it yesterday and it took him all day but we are now running the water heater with two elements. I can finally take the time to scrub the months-worth of dried skin off my legs and feet!

The Family You’re Born With vs. The Family You Chose

Some of you know a little about the family drama I encountered a couple of weeks ago. I’m not angry. I’m just sad that it has come to this. I no longer give a shit. They are still family and I love them but I have a better support system with friends I have never met in person! Those are the people I consider family. Some are blogger friends, and some are friends on Facebook. I just want to say thank you, to all of you who have been there for me, who check up on me and Dad, and who have provided a ‘safe place’ for me to vent. You know who you are! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

That’s all for now, friends! I hope you’re having a lovely week! What’s eating you?

The Dumbest Thing I’ve Done In A Long Time

Posted on by
12

Usually when I do something “dumb” it’s actually just a minor inconvenience. For example, I have inadvertently thrown a fork in the garbage or covered the cat food scoop with cat food when filling containers. Just minor inconveniences, nothing that really amounts to much. I can’t even recall the last time I did something so dumb that it caused a real problem.

Last night, however, will be remembered and called upon every time I laugh about someone else’s “dumb” episode. Let me explain…

Yesterday, I was making lunch. That’s usually a struggle but I had made homemade spaghetti sauce the week before, and cooking the Italian sausage and pasta was simple enough. I made myself a fiber drink (generic Metamucil, yuck) mixed with orange Tang. I make this drink in a blender bottle that has a stainless steel mixer ball in it. It mixes really well with that ball! The water wasn’t very cold so I sat it in the refrigerator to chill while I was waiting for the pasta. When everything was done and ready to eat, I sat down and forgot about my fiber drink. When I did remember I was too full to drink it.

Last night, I was getting a yogurt snack from the refrigerator and saw that fiber drink. I took a drink and it was way too thick to even think about drinking. So, I thought I’d just dump it. Well, knowing that it doesn’t take much for the kitchen sink to get clogged, I figured I’d just flush it down the toilet.

Flushing the drink turned from a good idea to dumbass mistake because as I poured the drink in the toilet I heard a clank, but it didn’t register in my brain until after I hit the knob that the little stainless steel ball was still in the bottle! “Oh crap!” I gasped in utter disbelief. I quickly stuck my hand down as far as I could to see if I could grab that ball, but it was gone!

After a good hand, wrist, and forearm scrubbing, I told Dad, “You’re going to kick my ass!” He asked me what the hell I did because he heard me bitching in the bathroom about how stupid I am. I explained my intentions and what had happened. In my defense, the toilet was still flushing correctly so I thought I had escaped being really, really stupid. No such luck! After a few flushes, the toilet started to back up. Oh no!

So, this morning Dad got out the snake to see if he could knock that little ball loose. He couldn’t. He soon realized that he was going to have to remove the toilet and unclog it that way because the ball was most likely hung up in the little turn in the toilet bowl itself before it gets to the pipes. He can’t do that by himself and I’m about as much help as tits on a doorknob these days, so I called my son.

My dear son came over, tried the snake again just in case and lo and behold he knocked that ball loose!! Thank goodness! We all chuckled a bit over this “dumb stunt that mom pulled” and I threw a pizza in the oven to feed my boys.

Dad did tell me that it was a good idea to flush the drink and that my intentions were good. It just didn’t turn out as expected! He said, “You know what they say… SHIT HAPPENS!”

Boy, it sure does!