My Weblog

Interesting Statistic

If one looks at real prices for items--2000 vs. 2024, we would find that the real inflation rate for those 24 years is 146%. Now what about the COLAs for that time period. Well, for the same 24 year period, Social Security recipients have received COLAs amounting to 81%. Therefore, over the 24 years from 2000 to 2024, we've lost 64.8%. Ask pretty much any Social Security recipient and they will tell you that things just get worse and worse. Maybe those folks didn't have the % figured to the tenth of a percent, but they do have personal recollections of what they were paying for a loaf of bread, a gallon of gas or heating fuel, or a month's rent. They would all tell you that there is no more fat to cut from their budgets. 

I personally would be so grateful if I could get back to a "zero based budget". In reality I am in a negative position every stinking month. If it were not for God's promises of provision, my mental and emotional state would be absolutely awful  All those expenses that I pay for every month are coming out of a small and ever dwindling savings account...........

What is a "zero based budget"? It is a system in which one looks at all the expenses one is likely to encounter over the period and either pays them or saves for them. For example, one pays the electric bill. But, I own a vehicle. I have 2 newish tires and 2 that are very old. The probability that I will need to replace a tire in 2025 is very high. As best I can tell, I could expect to spend around $180 on a tire. Therefore, I "should" be saving monthly about $15 so that when that tire dies, I can buy a new tire without panic. In essence I should be saving for every potential expense I could encounter. My previous HVAC system lasted 23 years. In a perfect world, I would be saving, monthly, enough to replace the "new" system in about 5 years. I desperately need a haircut, but if I just go out and get one, even the cheapest will have to come out of the money I have left in my tiny stash of cash to spend on groceries a few years from now because I am currently unable to fund that out of savings, even though I've known for some time that I will eventually HAVE to breakdown and get a haircut. 

I don't know if all that makes sense. I just know that I've done everything I know to do to slow the outflow of money. Dave Ramsey would say if you can't afford your mortgage payment, move. I've looked at that. I have a basic disagreement with the concept of rent. But, I've looked online. I've been in my house a long time so compared to the cost to rent an apartment these days, my mortgage payment is cheaper. Dave's answer to that would be "move to a cheaper area of the country". Well, I could move to some small town in Arkansas or Alabama, but I am concerned that the touch of arthritis that flares up from time to time would be much worse in those humid climates..........

 

Well, I did it........

I told you in my last post about the pain I am dealing with. I also told you I thought there was something out there, a cushion, that would help. However, I was having trouble with the price. I've been eyeballing this thing for months. So, I'm very familiar with prices and terms. It was supposedly up to 40% off a regular price of $85. It would ship on a business day and could be expected to arrive in 2 -5 business days thereafter.  So, the asking (sale) price was $66. On top of that would be tax and shipping. Previously, the "regular" price was shown as $72. I didn't like that they were playing games with the "regular" price in order to make the "sale" price look better. 

Lo and behold I found the cushion (same manufacturer/same cushion) on Amazon in the color I'd hoped for for $58 with free shipping overnight. So, by the time I am awake, it is supposed to be here, meaning we can begin to see if it's going to help right away. And that little miracle is part of the free shipping. Not to mention the additional savings on the purchase price. Whoopie! Now, let's pray it brings relief. 

UPDATE: GAME CHANGER! Oh, Glory Be! It was on my front porch, waiting for me when I got up. It was a tussle getting it open and unwrapped. I've been sitting on it for about 45 minutes now and I have NO pain! As long as it doesn't fall apart tomorrow, I'm going to be happy, very happy with this purchase!

When I was in the third grade, 8 years old, a kid from my class was practicing his baseball swing. (His name was Richard Stith--trust me, I'll remember it forever.) When he got to full extension on that swing, that baseball bat hit me smack on the tailbone. It broke, but my parents with no medical training at all decided there was nothing that could be done. So, no doctor. It's never been comfortable for me to sit for long periods of time. BUT, it's WAY worse now. At the spot where it broke, there's a good sized "knob" on the bone and so, when I sit, I'm sitting on that knob. The part below that moves from side to side, particularly when I am in the act of sitting. It moves and the muscle around it spasms and I stifle a scream. It's a fun game..........To make it even a bit more fun, it swells all around the bone and I walk around feeling like I have the world's biggest wedgie. Can you imagine? About the only thing I can do for it, short of taking a handful of ibuprofen and risking my liver, is to lie down for long enough for the swelling and spasms to subside. Problem with that? I can't figure how to lie down without sitting first.............

It's acting up something fierce tonight. I've had to bend over to pick some things up this evening. And, let me tell you it's a really painful experience. That's something new to me. Prior to this the pain has been as I try to sit. I'm working on a technique to make it less painful, but I can't right now think of a different way to bend over. And, take my word for it, these knees are not going to stand up to the challenge of squats. I think for the rest of tonight, I'm gonna risk the liver with a large dose of ibuprofen. 

So, there is a cushion on the market that really looks like it might help. It's split in the back where the problem is, relieving the pressure on what has become a very sensitive area.. I've been looking at it online for months. I just haven't wanted to spend the money. However, I think I'm gonna push the button on this thing. This pain is becoming prohibitive and really interfering with my life. If I can't bend over to pick things up or to tie my shoes, this place is gonna be a mess. If it's on the floor and I can't pick it up, I have no choice other than to leave it there and, potentially, eventually, walk on it. That's unacceptable to me. 

They are advertising a 40% sale. I think they've just raised the "regular price" and the "sale price" is really about 5% lower than regular. But, 5% is still something. I'll take it.

I just called my medical insurance plan and it turned out to be a pretty decent experience. Of course, the "advocate" was not a native English speaker, so I can only hope I got it right. Only one item, Urgent Care is going up. The copay is going up from $10 to $20. The Emergency Room on the other hand is going down from a copay of $135 to $40. I'm not sure on one of my medications. I have a hunch the guy was multiplying in his head and may have made an error, but if he actually got it right, the medication for which I pay the most is going down $10 for a 3 month supply. I have, however, found out that Good Rx has a coupon to save approx $50 on a 3-month supply of the generic. The last time I checked, my plan has no agreement with the co that makes the generic so without insurance it is over $800. I think though that in order to switch to the generic, I have to get a new prescription. And you know how I hate going to the doctor...........

Next, I guess I have to call Progressive. I've gone on-line and gotten a quote from them. However, the quote does not include my usual amount of Uninsured Motorist coverage. I specified what I wanted and their system converted it to the minimum. I can't therefore, compare apples and oranges. Besides, Uninsured Motorist is for me. If I'm hurt in an accident with someone who has no insurance, Uninsured Motorist pays the bills for medical care up to the amount in the contract. My thinking is that given the struggle folks are having paying for groceries, there are probably a lot more uninsured motorists out there, not to mention illegal aliens driving without a license..........I really don't want to compromise on this element if I don't have to.......

Well, that's it from me for now. Be blessed y'all.

Warning sign

I have dealt with muscle cramps for decades. They're very painful and debilitating. Lately, I've had warning signs. I have a repeated twitch around my left eye. Also, I can watch the back of my right hand twitch. It feels like bugs are crawling on it, but there are no bugs--just twitches. Currently, what I'm doing, I have a pile of potassium supplements on my desk. Every time I get an eye twitch, I've been taking another potassium. I have experienced a really intensely painful muscle spasm, particularly as I try to sit down. 

When I was 8 years ago, I was hit in the tailbone by a boy practicing his batting stance. He hit me smack on the tailbone with his bat at full force. I was and am still thoroughly convinced the tailbone was "broken". I've studied the "normal" anatomy and mine certainly does not match "normal". Anyway, it's displaced in some manner. And the act of sitting down seems to cause a muscle in the immediate area. It seems to spasm around the "displaced" bony protrusion . I can't even begin to explain the pain. It comes on very quickly and very intensely. Horrific. But the increased potassium levels seems to help. 

lights out

I wasn't able to go to sleep at a decent hour so I was sitting here watching old movies on Amazon Prime when it happened. In fact, I just got done with Dante's Peak (thank God because I was sitting on the edge of my chair, worrying for Harry and Rachel). It would have been a tragedy to interrupt that! But, suddenly everything went black. And, I mean really black! I keep a candle on the corner of my desk, so my first action was to feel for a match book in the front right hand corner of my top desk drawer. Candle, meet match. Voila! A little bit of light. I REALLY need to go to the restroom which is not good news--not much light from one candle--bathroom at the far end of the hall. Came back (very carefully--my balance reeks in the dark) and grabbed a little LED flash light on a tray on my credenza. That helped just a little. Found my way to the kitchen and grabbed my normal sized flashlight from the kitchen table. Found the scented candle on my dining room table and got that lit. Then worked my way around the dining room table to the wall unit and pulled out some more candles and got those lit. Finally got the itty bitty flashlight and the normal-sized one and went back into the bathroom. Almost one whole wall in there is mirrored. Set the normal flashlight in front of the mirror pointed at the ceiling. Used the itty bitty to point directly at my book and read for a while. It was getting pretty hot in the house, but eventually, the dog started barking. My flashlights and I came out of the bathroom to see what she was barking at to find that the lights were on, the oxygen concentrator was pumping oxygen again, and so on. Glory be!

It is extremely rare to lose power around here. I don't even think we've had rotating blackouts or brownouts. At least if we have, I've not heard about them. So, strangely, my first thought in this lovely 2024 time frame was "what if it's an EMP?" And then, having seen many, many advertisements for solar generators, I thought of that ad that tells us that we have 55000 electrical hubs and an attack on just 9 will collapse the grid. I monitored my blood oxygen, and even sitting still and relaxing, i was seeing readings as low as 86 with pulse rates in the one hundred and teens. I am going to have to really think about the $90 to ship my portable generator to be fixed under warranty. And then, I guess I'll choose between food for months to come and a solar generator. Ain't life grand?...........

I guess my neighbors are watching me. Three days ago, there was a knock on my door in the late afternoon. It was a Las Vegas Metro policeman, conducting a "wellness" check. Nice guy, a believer of one denomination or another. Someone from the neighborhood, claiming he hadn't seen me in a while, requested it. Well, it's hotter than hades outside and I don't go out. The heat really places a strain on my heart. I go out for a minute or two every couple of days to put some trash or recycling in the bins. I might open the door to grab a grocery order or Amazon delivery. And I run an errand about twice a month which places me in my van. That's it. Really! And, I'm perfectly content!

The solar system, at last, is working full bore. I'm so grateful for that. Sadly, I'll still have 12 days with NO solar due to a "communication error". But, for now, I am not on pins and needles, waiting for a service call. Finally, they gave me a credit for all the months the system operated at roughly 50%. And, even better, the customer service department finally told the collections department that there was a credit and I no longer owed them anything. Thank you, Jesus..........

I'm having a problem with some sort of flare up of an old injury. When I was 8 years old, I got hit on the tailbone (coccyx) with a baseball bat. My parents declared themselves medical experts and determined there was nothing to be done. Hence, ever since, just being in a seated position aches. So, I have had problems with long car rides or an office type job. But, lately, the act of sitting, trying to get into a seated position, is horribly painful. I think it might be a muscle spasm, short-lived but intensely painful. I am getting to the point where I fear the act of taking a seat. Tonight I am trying doubling my usual anti-spasm dose of magnesium and we'll see if that helps. If so, it will be a cheap "fix" for a wretched, nasty problem.

So, the last thing to talk about today is my goofy dog. This dog eats anything. I've been doing a lot of freezing of vegetables and dehydrating them as well. She has eaten celery, and zucchini. Also, I ordered some multicolored peppers which I am chunking up and freezing. Guess who wants a bite or two or more of pepper! I have actually held back from giving this stuff to her for fear she won't eat it and it will be wasted. But, it's "pass the blueberries, Mom" around here. Is that strange or what? I just keep thinking about that commercial for The Farmer's Dog. You know the one that starts off "No living being should eat prepared food for every meal of its life" and I give her another bite of whatever I have............

We're getting close........

Yesterday the 2024 olympics in Paris opened with a demonic explosion. Featured: a bunch of transvestites posed as if they were at the Last Supper, a rider on a white horse, a golden calf, and men's costumes which exposed their testicles. It's not smart to mock God. Last night Paris experienced a total blackout except......wait for it......a church which was brightly lit for all to see. No streetlights, no lights in homes or in store fronts, just at one church on a hill, all lit up as if to celebrate Jesus in a sinful world. And today, believe it or not, in Paris, a place renowned for spiritual coldness, what broke out on the Paris streets? A worship service, a VERY well attended worship service. 

So, if you think God is dead, put that in your smipe and poke it. 

Inching forward

Last night I made a tuna casserole. I am not a huge fan of tuna casserole, but I've managed to get a pretty good supply of tuna stashed. I only know 3 ways to use tuna--tuna salad, tuna patties, tuna casserole. So, I made tuna casserole. I added a LOT of green peas. The only other ingredients were some macaroni pasta, mushroom soup, and some tuna. I didn't think it was over the top delicious, but it was an inexpensive dinner. The casserole actually made several extra servings for later, so it also will save me some work for a lunch or dinner in the future.

I just chopped another bunch of celery and got it into the dehydrator. I think this will finally fill my quart jar with celery for later work. I'm wondering now if I should keep on and make some celery powder or celery salt. I think I will choose a different veggie or even a fruit to dehydrate next. I had stopped doing much dehydrating, but I recently got a vacuum saver that works on jars. I've never been able to get the attachments on my countertop Food Saver to work so I am grateful for this new item.

I am not gonna go any further with this post. I am dealing with pain in my neck that runs all the way over to my left shoulder. It's time for a dose of Ibuprofen, I think.

The last couple of days

The other night I made a big pot of ground beef veggie soup. It was fast, easy, cheap, nutritious, and delicious. I opened a one pint jar of home-canned ground beef and browned it in its own fat. I added 2 15 oz cans of chopped tomatoes with the juice. I added 3 cans of water. I also added about 1/3 cup of freeze dried chopped onions, about 1/4 of a pack of frozen O'Brian style potatoes, a 2 pound bag of mixed vegetables. I added a heaping teaspoon of beef-flavored Better than Bouillon, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. I I left it on the stove long enough to cook the frozen mixed vegetables and frozen potatoes. I have eaten 3 servings of the soup after making it and frozen 6 hefty servings for future use. I put pencil to paper and came up with a total cost per serving of somewhere around $1.10. I didn't get creative with spices, but one could certainly add Italian seasonings or Mexican seasonings or Greek to change the flavor profile. One could also use chicken or pork or sausage in lieu of beef. It could also be garnished with sour cream or various grated cheeses to alter the flavor profile. All in all, I'm no Martha Stewart, but it was "a good thing". I know I don't eat enough vegetables and this soup was chock full of 'em. Good for me!

In November I had solar panels installed on the roof. The array is supposed to be big enough to cover more than 100% of my usage. I did it on a lease contract wherein I pay a monthly fee and the company that installed them gets the tax credits. (My income has been so low for years that I've paid no tax against which to claim a credit.) When all this started, i didn't have a good understanding of how solar worked. It was winter with many days of overcast skies. So, when I didn't see credits arising on my power bill, I didn't think too much of it. However, over May and June, it has heated up substantially with unremitting sunshine. In June I got a power bill of $66 dollars, and I am due to pay $150 in a couple of days. On May 31, I began trying to get someone to come out and figure out why my system is barely performing. I was supposed to be generating more than 100% of the power I use, yet I've only seen anything being given back to the power company on 2 of over 200 days. I've called customer service several times as well as e-mailed the "customer service case manager" 3 times. Apparently my last e-mail got her attention. It was the e-mail wherein I explained that I could not afford to continue to pay for a flawed system and negligence on their part with regard to service. I explained that the system performing somewhere near what It should be (as specified in the contract) on 1% of the 200+ days it's been in existence meant I had already paid for the 1% benefit I've received for a cost of $1470. I now have a company scheduled to come out and see what's up tomorrow somewhere between 7:30 and 9:30 AM. 

It's 110 degrees outside today. And we're under an "excessive heat warning" from now through 11PM next Wednesday. I can't imagine what size bill the local power company will present me with payable the first week of August..........I have learned that the normal bill for someone with my system should be somewhere around $19.00. I have also learned that if it is light outside, overcast or not, solar energy should be being generated and captured by this system. I am very careful with my usage. I have LED bulbs throughout. I am careful with when lights are turned on. I have most things either unplugged or plugged into power strips that can be turned off to minimize phantom usage. I do not use the clothes dryer. I wash dishes only when the dishwasher is full to the gills. I limit myself to 1-2 loads of laundry a week. Two of the rooms in my house are closed off. I have solar screens and/or solar film on all the west-facing windows and blackout curtains or blinds elsewhere. These days, my thermostat is set at 79 during the day and 77 at night. I generally have a fan blowing on me to help me stay cool and I'm not above wrapping myself in a damp towel if necessary. I cook with gas. I avoid using the hot water unless I need it to cut down on the cost of running the pump to the gas hot water heater. What more can I do?

Well, anyway with my crazy insomnia, I'll probably have to stay up all night to be ready to receive the guys who will show up at my door tomorrow morning, but I will be looking forward to their appearance. And I promise, I will be monitoring the system via the internet daily. 

I receive mailers from T-Mobile about once a month, announcing the availability of prices lower than what I am paying AT&T. I went to a T-Mobile facility the other night and it was all bad news. I don't use a cell phone like most folks do. Part of the reason for that is that I have an old 4G flip phone. I can go a week at a time with neither an incoming nor an outgoing call. This is especially true since I learned how to block telemarketers' numbers from making incoming calls. I don't have texting on my plan. If I want to watch a movie, I watch it here at my desk on my desktop computer. So, there is very little usage on my phone. But, T-Mobile would actually cost me more than I'm paying AT&T. Apparently, since my phone is so antiquated, I have some sort of low cost program grandfathered in from AT&T. Oh well, I tried. Praise God for the grandfathered rate. 

 

Yesterday was grocery day; today is......

Do you know how that title ends? If you guessed produce day, you get the big green banana. Congratulations!

I have been working on filling one quart jar with dehydrated celery. I can no longer tell you how many bunches of celery that has already taken and my jar is just over half full. Celery is very high in water content. So, when it's dehydrated, you end up with tiny little chunks. It takes a lot of tiny little chunks to fill a quart jar. But, I'm going for it again today. Yep, I got another bunch of celery delivered yesterday. Today, I am chopping it and getting it into the dehydrator. I'm sick and tired of needing chopped celery for something I'm making only to find out the celery I thought I had is brown and mushy. Produce day is a better option, particularly considering my budget!

Next order of business is broccoli. Yes, you can dehydrate broccoli. But, in my opinion, it's really kinda nasty when it's been dehydrated and I'm not a fan of how it rehydrates. So, my broccoli mission will be cutting it up, blanching it, cooling it down in cold water, flash freezing it, and, finally (phew!) bagging it up and freezing it. Broccoli is one of my favorite veggies and my local Kroger affiliate advertised broccoli crowns for $.68 a pound. Compare that price to the cost of a 10 or 12 oz bag of pre-frozen broccoli. Quite a savings. I tried to buy 5 pounds of it, but they were out so they substituted not a bunch of broccoli, but somewhere between a bunch and the broccoli crowns they advertised. So, I do have some stems to deal with. I will just chop the stems, dehydrate and grind into an addition to my jar of "green powder". The stems are less fun to eat, but as green powder, they'll still add some nutrition to soups, stews, sauces, and maybe even casseroles. Or, I could fill some capsules with broccoli powder and use those capsules as supplements to my not so great diet.

I'm still sort of betwixt and between on the broccoli. I hate to start boiling large pots of water in the heat of the day. That will do nothing but make my HVAC system work harder. But, it's sort of a long drawn out process and I really don't want to still be working on it at midnight or beyond. 

I also am the proud owner of some spinach that is going in the dehydrator. Dehydrated spinach rescues my menu plan over and over. Spinach spoils rather quickly. I keep a stash of pre-made frozen entrees in the freezer for all those days I "just don't feel like cooking". So much easier to nuke something pre-made than having to do the whole big production of making dinner from scratch. And just a few days of putting it off and I've got spoiled fresh spinach on hand. It sure helps to have some of the dehydrated stuff around. Spinach, too, can be ground into powder and added to the green powder jar. But, spinach is much more acceptable when dehydrated, in my opinion, than broccoli.

I am amazed to report that Instacart actually got my order right yesterday. Sure, there were substitutions, but they didn't do anything stupid and costly. So, kudos to them this time. Last time I received a pack of corn tortillas and a loaf of bread for free. This kind of thing--free stuff--has happened before and I've attempted to give the stuff back to the store or to have them add the additional cost to my bill. They don't want to be bothered. So, these days, if it happens, not knowing what else to do, I just thank the Lord for the blessing. 

Speaking of my not so great diet, I have been working hard on upping my game. I have been eating blueberries every day for about 2 months now. I love when I can get them on sale. I've learned, however, that I am eating 1/2 cup a day and a "serving" is actually a full cup. I have to marry a well-off, well-preserved gentleman before I can indulge myself in that many blueberries a day. They were on sale this week at $.99 for a 6oz package. I bought 3 but I should have bought 20!

Well, that's it for now. Miles to go before I sleep..........

putting it off til tomorrow

It has been ghastly hot in Nevada for several weeks. We had a full week of "Extreme Heat" warnings. It is finally cooling off a little today. Can you imagine--a high in two digits? Hard to fathom given recent experience. While I will grant you that 97 beats 107, it's still hot. And getting my van going is a challenge. It sits in the sun and is thoroughly oven-like for a good `15 minutes once the A/C starts pumping. So, today the high was 97. But, tomorrow it's only supposed to be 90! I need to pick up a prescription, but I think I will wait one more day. 

Also, I figure I have one more day's work on the "devil tree". That should enable me to take it down all the way to the ground. That darned thing is on the west side of the house so there's no shade to be found. I think I will wait 'til tomorrow on that as well. Then I will drown the stump in vinegar, hoping to kill it completely. If that doesn't work, I know there is some sort of stump-killer poison I can get at a nursery or even at Lowe's. Then, I will go back to work on the hedge along the entryway which is, fortunately, in the shade most of the afternoon. 

I have complained here in the past about the trash guys mishandling my weekly pick-up. Because I am certified as "disabled", I am eligible to have them get the trash bins from the front of the house, empty them, and return them to the front of the house. It took me 6 months and several phone calls to the route supervisor but they are finally getting it right. Because of the "devil tree" project, I have a 3rd trash bin out there which I am using for cuttings off that evil tree. I line the bin with a contractor's bag and use binder clips to hold the bag in place. This keeps the bag from slipping down and, therefore, I don't have to risk bloody holes in my arms from fishing for the top of a bag that has slipped down. These guys who took 7 months to get the basics down have been pulling the bags out of that bin and getting rid of them for several weeks now. I'm really grateful for that as sometimes it gets quite heavy. My complaint is that they keep taking my binder clips. I suppose I could have complained about that too, but I decided that since they are going the extra mile, I would just buy more binder clips for me to use and them to subsequently enjoy, LOL.

I have been working on doing a COMPLETE fridge cleanout. I'm coming along pretty well considering that bending is pretty painful so I can't accomplish a whole lot in any one session. I've ditched some green and black science experiments and come to the conclusion that I am well-stocked on pasta sauce, salsa, and better-than-bouillon. It's an old fridge but it seems to remember how to sparkle. It makes me very happy as well to have more order in there as I've reorganized everything as I go along. It's lovely how much more room is in there when one eliminates the science experiments and organizes the contents. 

Summary for the day: I am definitely no speed-demon, but I am making progress! Thank you, Lord.