My Weblog

Have you ever noticed..........

that Satan is never satisfied? He stops at nothing to try to cause us to react badly, to cause us hurt, "to steal, kill, and destroy", etc. It DOES get old after a while, doesn't it? Today I received a very hurtful e-mail from someone I love dearly. I AM hurting, but I'll be taking it to the Lord. I refuse to respond in kind. There are some things people can say to you that make you question the way you've spent your entire life.......... So glad it is the good Lord who is our only legitimate judge. He knows.........

I have worked hard today. Mostly, I have spent a lot of time rooting out clutter. Still working on the "blended into the landscape" problems. Also, of course, outside watering, vacuuming, etc. 

I mentioned a week or so ago that I'd cleaned out the pantry. I also told you that I'd gotten rid of a lot of food that was past the "best by" date. I saved just a few items that were questionable. I tried making one of them tonight. Agh! Gross! I HOPE it was old because if it normally tastes like that, pity the poor family that has to eat it. Garbage, I tell you. I'll have to go dig around in the kitchen and try to find something else to eat because I absolutely can't get that stuff past my gag reflex.

I did not go get a dog today. I came close, but I didn't. My head took over and mastered my heart. I truly can't afford to feed another dog and possibly take on additional vet bills. I need to just wait...........

Tomorrow I go back to work for one day and then I have two days off. I work 4 days, very short shifts (4 hours) and then I get one day off. Then it's back at it for 5 days of 6-hour shifts. If this makes any sense to you, you're a lot more insightful than I am.

So, that's it. I'm truly not feeling too chatty right now. I just thought I should post so no one would worry about me.

 

A reasonably productive day, considering.........

Being the crazy person that I am, I stayed up til almost 2AM last night. So, when I got up this morning, about 4 hours later, I was not firing on all pistons. Is it any wonder I went back to bed? 

I finally got on a roll after I got up, however. I've watered outside. I've carried water to the swamp cooler. Mucho dog hair has been removed from the carpet. And the shredded zucchini is double wrapped. Six packages are frozen. I'll get the others taken care of tomorrow. I've now washed light colored clothes, dark clothes, and whites. The whites have all been folded and put away and the light colored clothes are probably ready to put away (mostly). I may end up doing a second load of whites. It's not that I had so many dirty white clothes. More that I forgot to gather up a few strays before I started the load.

One of my biggest accomplishments for the day was figuring out how to remove two toddler car seats from my van. My grandkids are now WAY too big for those. One of them still needs a booster seat, but the other is big enough not to use even that. I had no idea how to go about it and that's why I've put it off for so long. Today, in spite of the awful heat, I went about it very methodically and got them both loose. It was a struggle. I managed to move one into the garage. That was a struggle too! I'll try to deal with the other tomorrow--those buggers are HEAVY! It was so hot, however, that I worked on it just a few minutes at a time and then ran back into the house to cool off. Even cooling off did not stop the flow of sweat! That seems to be the way it goes these days--I get hot and then I seem to stay hot for long periods of time! I also managed to do a little cleaning in the van other than car seats. That might save a penny or two, not hauling around those heavy-weight things. And it will make cleaning out the messes I make in there much easier without those things in the way.

I also worked a LOT on the budget today. Brought my household expense tracking program up to date and have a pretty good idea of how much money has to come out of the envelopes for things for which I used the debit card. I don't want to be looking at those envelopes and thinking I have money when I don't! Besides there is a whole separate set of bills that has to be paid from what's in the bank. If I allow bank money to be used for envelope purchases, the whole world will turn upside down or something like that...........

I also spent a good bit of time just "picking up" or "straightening up". What do you call it? I have mentioned this before, but I don't SEE clutter. It just blends into the landscape for me. So, unless I launch a concerted effort, it doesn't get dealt with. Well, a whole lot of it was dealt with today.

I finally decided to go check out that dog. However, I was shocked to see that the shelter closes an hour earlier than I thought it did. And I didn't figure that out til it was too late to drive over there. The shelter is significantly south and somewhat east of where I live. So, I guess I will be doing that tomorrow. I decided that maybe this is the dog God intends for me to have. OR, maybe she and Parker will not get along and the problem will be solved. The truth is I see a lot of dogs available for adoption around here, but so many of them say they belong in a one dog home. This dog apparently socializes with other dogs. That's important as I can't exactly be around to referee all day. Anyway, I'll check it out.

Tonight I am hurting. Usually it's my back and, yes, I certainly have been made aware my back is not happy. But, far worse tonight are my ankles (particularly the right) and my wrists. A little while ago I stood up to go do something in the house and my right ankle just about buckled under me and hurt like the dickens! I'm not loving this! For years I thought I might inherit my mother's home in Florida. I had a dream of getting up in the morning, fixing a thermos of coffee, and driving to the beach (about 20 miles away) to sit and read my Bible and pray. I am now convinced that even if my mother's home were still available, I probably could never do that. It's very humid in Florida and people with joint problems do not do well in wet climates. I may have to be a desert dweller the rest of my life..............

I think that's it for today. I hope you had a blessed day!

Winding down..........

I'm tired. But I now have about 12 2-cup packages of shredded zucchini for the freezer. Each package is in a ziploc bag. Tomorrow I'll double wrap and freeze, but, for tonight, everything is safely stowed in the fridge. Now, I'm trying to clean up the mess though first, I had to empty the dishwasher and get all the clean dishes put away. I used 2 cups of the shredded zucchini to make zucchini patties for dinner. I have a few left over for lunch tomorrow. I had intended to buy more, but ended up getting 8.5 pounds of zucchini. I have pretty well decided NOT to go back for more.

Well, I have painted myself into the corner on something. I responded to an ad for a dog at the local NSPCA shelter. She is probably a perfectly fine dog from everything I have seen, read, etc. BUT, I've been praying for a specific dog. I cannot handle 2 additional dogs. So, if I take in this dog at the shelter, I do not have a place for the dog for which I've been praying. I also have to answer the question for myself as to whether not waiting for my prayer to be answered is a lapse of faith. Ugh! I need to figure this out by tomorrow.

I saw my two youngest grandkids today. It worked out well. It also gave my son-in-law an opportunity to check in at his office which he said he needed to do. I hated to do it, but I had to call him there. He tore off out of the house leaving the garage door open. I certainly do not have a remote for his garage door system. I was not going to leave the house with the kids and not close that door as there would have been no car there and easy access to the house. So, I disconnected the automatic garage door opener and closed the door manually. I did not want him to come home and think his garage door opener had quit working. He was concerned that I would want to take the kids back shortly and thought he ought to head home. I reassured him that we were good for another hour or more, but when we got back there, he was there, waiting.

Something happened at the house. I cannot go into details. I do want to note that it happened on this date, though.

The kids and I got along well. First, I wanted to deal with a question my DGS had the last time I saw him. I used to do a lot of scrapbooking. I scrapped in whatever order pleased me, but I filed the pages chronologically in binders. I printed every page 3 times and created 3 mirror image scrapbooks--one for my mother, one for my daughter, and one for me. When I saw the kids last time, I had already delivered one binder to them to be taken to their mother. I went in with the second. DGS wanted to know why there were no pictures of him in the binder I had previously delivered, just pictures of his older brother. I explained it to him again. I had explained it when I delivered the first scrapbook but apparently he didn't get it then. Today I took a photo along with me. It is the last photo I've ever gotten of the two of them. I showed it to each of them. I explained that years ago, before they moved into their larger house here in town, they had lived in a smaller one. When they got ready to move, I spent 4 days packing ALL their kitchen stuff. I nearly wore myself into the ground. In the middle of all that, I came across a big envelope containing photos. I looked through the photos and found this photo that I had never seen and had not been given a copy of. I took it. My reasoning was that their mother was busy and had probably forgotten to give the photo to me. I believed that had she remembered, she surely would have given me the photo. Each of them looked at the photo. Then I asked DGD if she could guess how old they might have been when it was taken. She guessed 6 and 4. I would guess it's more like 5 and 3. I think after all that, he understood why there are not so many photos of him..........I delivered the 3rd book today. There ARE photos of him in the 4th book. It took me a while to work my way forward from the 1890's...........

These two are peas in a pod. They have always been best buddies. DGS has had a speech impediment since he was a toddler. He's had speech therapy for quite a while and his speech is much improved. However, there are still some sounds he does not say quite right. I noticed he says "better" as though it is "bettah". Funny thing is his sister says the word the same way! I think she learned a lot of her speech from him! What do you think?

Last time I saw the kids, we were at their dad's house. DGS was fixated on some TV programs. DGD was less fixated on the TV but she was working on some sort of Lego project. I got a little conversation out of DGD and almost none out of DGS. I could have gone away feeling hurt, but, of course, they are kids. Can't get upset about them acting like kids, right? Today we went, just the 3 of us, to IHOP for breakfast. And I think they had fun. I got a bit of a start when I observed DGD's table manners. I looked over and she had picked up a big glob of scrambled egg and was holding it in her hands and taking bites off of it! I'm pretty sure she hasn't been raised in a barn; more likely she was just waiting to see if I'd notice. Yes, I DID notice. Subsequently she decided to eat with a spoon. I would have preferred to see her using a fork, but the spoon was an improvement. DGS ordered a breakfast off the adult menu. He has Celiac so he has to be choosy about his food. I'm just pleased he knows what he can and cannot eat and makes good choices. When his breakfast arrived, it was HUGE. I could not have managed to consume all that! He did eat about half of it so that was pretty darned good. 

I got an e-mail from my DD today, telling me what room my mother is in in the hospital in Florida. According to her, her grandmother is refusing "palliative care" and asking for me. Well, I just cannot go. There are a myriad of legitimate reasons. First, neither of them knows that I've been using an oxygen concentrator for two years whenever I'm at home. It's possible I could get portable oxygen, but that requires a prescription. And a prescription requires a doctor. And, getting an appointment with my doctor takes two to three months. Second, the doctor, less than 2 weeks ago, gave me the paperwork to get a handicapped plate or sticker for my car. Reason given: Cannot walk long distances. Can you see me trying to make my way across an airport? The Orlando airport (where I'd have to land) is gargantuan. I'd never make it. Then there's the problem of luggage. With this back, if I COULD make it through the airport, say in a wheelchair, what are my chances of also handling luggage? And if I don't handle the luggage, what do I use for $$$ to tip a porter. And IF I had the money to tip a porter, I would still need to figure out some way to get from Orlando to my home town which is a good hour's trip away. There is a shuttle, but it drops you off outside a bar a long way from the center of town. And, if I took the shuttle, I'd still need a way to get around town. A single taxi ride isn't too expensive, but multiple taxi rides would mount up. And, then there's still luggage to consider on and off the shuttle, from the drop off to some hotel, and so on. And, then there's the hotel bill. And meals for however long I'd be there. And, all that happens only because my DD has offered up her credit card for my airfare. However, that appears to be a loan and I have no way to pay that back. To me, it all seems completely impossible. Honestly, none of this would be a problem if her grandmother had not chosen to be in an assisted living facility in Florida rather than come to live with her family in Nevada. It was a bad choice, but not one over which I had any control.

I tried to call her. DD's e-mail said she had no phone in her room. I got the switchboard and got shunted off to some number somewhere that just rang and rang without an answer. Finally the switchboard came back on and they connected me to the nurses' station. I told them who I was trying to contact and they also switched me off to some number somewhere that rang and rang. I gave up for today. I'll try again tomorrow. Shouldn't the switchboard operator know which rooms have phones and which rooms don't? Even if the switchboard operator doesn't know, shouldn't the nurses on that floor know? I'm reminded of a line from a Matt Damon movie named "Rainmaker". The line is "stupid, stupid, stupid". Maybe if I pray tomorrow before I try again I will meet with better results or at least be less exasperated............

So, that's the good, the bad, and the ugly of my day. Tomorrow I have to figure out what I'm going to do about this dog and get all this zucchini double bagged and into the freezer. And then there's the extra project I wanted to tackle today that I haven't been able to even think about.............I hope your day was blessed.

 

 

 

Home again, home again........

I blew out of here this AM at 8:30. Way too early for a "day off". But I was off to have a good time. I had my two youngest grandchildren for about 2.5 hours! We went to IHOP and had breakfast. Then we drove out to see where Grandma's house is. It's been more than 4 years since either of them has been here and I knew neither could begin to remember. We did not come in because I just knew Parker would be thrilled to see them and probably knock them down. When he jumps up and throws his weight on a person, it's a pretty big deal. I think he is pretty much broken of that, but I'm not sure and I didn't want to chance it. Then I took them back home and delivered them to their dad.

I made another stop on the way home. You'll be scandalized, I'm sure, but I stopped and bought some "medical marijuana" pills. I want to see if it's effective for the back pain without causing any leftovers (like the headache I get from Tramadol). I bought 5 pills. That, I think is a good test. Besides I was not willing to invest in anything more expensive on a "test". I have been told that it will not make me high but it WILL relieve the pain. Even if it DOES all that's promised, I probably can't afford to do that very often. It's a shame but the pills produced by big PHARMA are much less expensive. 

I had tried to buy zucchini at Sprouts on Sunday. They were all out which they blamed on the hurricane. Who would think a hurricane in Texas would disturb a grocery store in Nevada, but, apparently, it did. Or, at least, it was a good story. They told me they'd get more stock on Monday. I couldn't face that parking lot two days in a row and I got sick yesterday and had to leave work early so there was no stopping by anywhere on the way home. But, I went there today and bought 8.5 pounds. I'm going to shred it and freeze it. I think the price is good through September 3, so I may go back for more. Kinda depends on how much of a chore what I have is. If it's really a PTIB, I'll probably not get more. Otherwise, yes, I will most likely get more.

I mentioned I got sick yesterday. About 10 minutes before I had to leave for work, I got hit with diarrhea. I left the house late, with a Pepto Bismol lozenge in my mouth. I made it a little less than half way and had to turn around and come back home. I was afraid to risk it again soon, so I called and told them I'd be an hour late. Then, I'll be darned if the Pepto didn't wear off about 20 after 1. I stuck another Pepto lozenge in my mouth and tried to stick it out. I had to ask to be excused from my register. And, while I was in the restroom, it almost seemed as though my intestines were "convulsing". I'm sure that wasn't the case, but it sure felt like it. I came home and no more than hit the front door til I took off running. As late as 8something last night, it was still cramping. So far today, it seems alright.

Anyway, today is the first of 3 days off in a row. Glory Hallelujah. First on my agenda is a nap. Then I'll start on the zucchini. I have another project in mind too, but I'm not ready to share it. 

Talk more later, maybe.

No weapon formed against me shall prosper

Today was a horrific day. We were busy, busy, busy. One customer right after another. Folks lined up at the checkstand. As usual, I took two pieces of string cheese with me. After an hour and 15 minutes, I managed to finish one. I couldn't get to the second one til more than 2 hours had passed. And I took half a pain pill during my first break. My back, which behaved wonderfully all day yesterday while I was home, hurt something terrible. I got my second break a little late. My back still hurt despite the pain pill, though not as bad. And as I went to get into the van to sit down, I got hit with a "charley horse" type muscle spasm in my foot and my leg. By the beginning of the second break, I'd only been able to drink about 15 ounces of water in the last 4 hours so I made sure I got some more water into me. I went back inside and the real battle began. I started to sweat profusely. I had "rubber legs". I more or less attached myself to the counter, fearing if I stopped leaning on it, my legs would fail me. I had waves of nausea. I was fighting the feeling that I was going to faint. Finally, I called the head cashier and asked to be relieved to use the restroom. I just kept reciting to myself "No weapon formed against me shall prosper" over and over (From Isaiah 54:17).............

It took about half an hour til it all began to pass. By that time I had 21 minutes to go before I was scheduled to go home. I felt weak, but I worked the last part of the shift and ended up working 8 minutes over til someone finally relieved me. Honestly, I still felt nauseated and weak when I left. They wanted to send me home early, but I stayed--I was not about to be defeated and lose hours! Believe me, I drove home VERY carefully.

It's about 9 hours since I took that half a pain pill and 5 hours since I got off work. My head hurts (which is the usual reaction to the pain pill wearing off) and I'm sitting here eating crackers because my stomach still feels off. I did lie down and sleep for about 1.5 or 2 hours as well.

I don't know what it was. The pain pills I use when my back is really awful are kinda laughable. At least that's the way some people who take the heavy stuff react. And I took only half. I've taken them before, numerous times. I purposely cut them in half because I know it will relieve the pain and I can still be coherent and continue working. I honestly don't think it was the pain pill. Somehow, I think I got dehydrated again. I kept after the bottle of water as best I could, grabbing two or three swallows as often as I could without holding up the line. But, normally by the time I'm due for my second break, my 30 oz are about gone and I am supplementing with the 25 oz bottle I bring with me each morning, fresh from the freezer. 

I discussed the fact that I seem to be constantly on the edge of dehydration with the doctor when I was there about 10 days ago. He told me to cut the amount of potassium I was taking and I have. Nevertheless, I still think it was dehydration and I'm just angry about it. And frustrated. And I don't have a clue what to do about it. So, please pray for me with regard to this. I have to go back there tomorrow and work another 6...........

There was one piece of good news throughout the day. I mentioned that I am scheduled for only 5 4-hour days next week. Friday is payday and I'll be paid for 50 hours in 2 weeks. But I was concerned about the following payday, the one that includes next week. I learned today that we (the store) "made bonus" for the quarter. I think that is the result of gross sales. Anyway, it means that even if my prayers do not bring any additional hours, God has already provided. I am SO grateful. Of course, I'd love if that could be "extra money", but I'm grateful for the minimum as well. 

Well, that sums up my day so far. I think that will end up being a summary of the whole day as I have no intention of pushing myself tonight. I'll see you on the flip side.

Thankful..........

I am home and I have been sitting for about an hour. I am so thankful to be home. And I am also very thankful for the job, even though it's a crazy-maker sometimes. My schedule for the week of September 2-8 was published today. I want to run around and yell. I have no clue why, but I am scheduled for 5 4-hour shifts. Now what is that about? Remember me? I'm the one who asked for more hours...........Before that, I was getting 5-hour shifts. Now I'm supposed to commute and work only 4 hours a day? I dunno about these people.

Here's a funny story: Today a customer gave me a gift. I would guess it to be handmade. It's a bracelet. I'd say it's some variation on macrame' though there may be some new-fangled term used these days. Anyway, It has 2 dangling beads on black string. These strings are used to cinch up the bracelet. The sides are black macrame. Across the top is a silver colored decorative item with rhinestones. If you look at it one way, it looks like a man's handlebar mustache. If you look at it another, it could be some of those ladies' glasses that have "wings". The center part of the "wings" or mustache is turquoise. Of course, what do you do when someone gives you a gift of jewelry? You put it on, right? Yeah. Well I was at the register, as usual. And, I went to give someone change for a cash purchase. I closed the cash drawer and did not realize one of the beads was inside the drawer. So there I was, my left hand more or less tied down to the machine, trying to ring up customers' purchases one-handed. You have no idea how hard I tried to look nonchalant, but, of course, I couldn't pull it off. So, I just poked fun at myself and prayed I'd get another cash customer soon so I could open the cash drawer.........Finally, a customer spotted a tiny opening on the far right side of the register where the drawer and the rest of the machine met. I managed to get myself loose by working the bead through that tiny opening. And, boy did I feel like a goofball! 

The last round of hires included 3 guys, none of whom seems to have an ounce of ambition. Nor, do any of them seem to appreciate the value of a J-O-B. All three COULD do the job easily if they wanted to. It's the want to that is missing. The little head cashier sends them all over the store to do stuff. "Take this cart of 'go-backs' to Lumber." "Climb up on the ladder and put the newly arrived shipment of chips in top storage." Anything to get some work out of them. And they mumble and call her names behind her back. The new head cashier gets torqued at them. Today, one of them came in and decided he had a headache and needed to leave. Of course, that leaves us short handed. She had to juggle bodies to keep all her bases covered. No wonder she was torqued. Earlier in the week one of the others called to say he was sick and couldn't come in. These are 3 guys in their late teens or early 20's and they're pretty much just a problem from the start of their shifts til the end...........

Now they've hired 3 girls/women. One is definitely an adult, probably in her 40's or 50's. She has eons of experience in retail, including hardware stores. The other two are much younger, but both of them seem to have SOME ambition. I hope they prove to be better than the last bunch. We do not know anything about the new HR person. But, she's making rumbles as though she intends to do things promptly and push for the enforcement of some rules. We shall see how all this works out.............

I worked today. We were busy. I came on at 10AM and I had two pieces of string cheese to eat. It took me til 11:15 to get a chance to open the second one! And it moved that fast all day. Tomorrow I am off--the dreaded one day off only. And then I am back on for the holiday weekend. Oh goodie! 

Today one of the 3 new girls had to work on the register where I normally work. She was complaining how cold it was there. Yessiree, girlee. There's a reason why I pull a sweater out of my locker every single day. A sweater when it's in the high 90's. Yes. Really. 

So, darn it all, I know I will end up doing some running around tomorrow. I will hit a couple of grocery stores and I have to get gasoline in the van. I will almost certainly do some laundry tonight. Don't know what else will happen on this one and only day off...........

Well, that's my day so far. The best news of all is that the surface of the ground is still wet from this morning's rain. So, I am not watering outside tonight. That's just fine by me! 

Rare event.........

It's raining! I woke up to the sound of rain and a little bit of thunder. Wow! My first thought was just to enjoy it. Then I realized I won't have to water tonight which saves time, wear and tear on the old bod, and $$ on the water bill. It's all good! And I even have functional wiper blades on the van!

Here's a clue as to my exciting life. I was looking at the windshield yesterday and specifically at the sticker that was placed there reminding me to come in and get my oil changed. It gave me the choice of 6 months (which is now) or when the odometer hits 70711. Well, the odometer is still at 68xxx. It will be a while til I rack up another 1xxx-2000 miles. Why? because I go nowhere, LOL. I go to work, I come home, and sometimes I make side trips to the grocery store or the bank. Sometimes I really get adventurous and make a trip to a grocery store without even combining it with my commute! See how daring I am! 

Yesterday on the way to work I got stuck behind a guy who was either drunk and needs to have his license revoked or just needs to have his license revoked, drunk or not. He was going slowly but there was no chance of passing him because he kept wandering into the other lane. He had at least half of his vehicle in that lane twice and crossed the line into the other lane a total of 7 times after I started counting. So, I hung well back and just prayed for him to turn off which he finally did about two major intersections before I got into the neighborhood of the store. Phew! 

Work was pretty uneventful yesterday. I THINK the new head cashier came out of the restroom crying. I'm not sure, but it sure seemed like it. I have no idea what that was all about. Toward the very end of the day, a strange thing happened. I have no idea why but my machine refused to print out a receipt. I called for help and she sent someone else. Sadly, she sent the person who wafts clouds of patchouli behind and around her. Good Lord, the scent is overwhelming. She had no idea how to fix it. Then someone else came down. They didn't know either, but printed out a copy on the printer up in customer service. I coulda done that. I wanted to know why an original never printed. THAT is still a mystery...........

It threatened rain pretty much all day yesterday, but no rain came. I even checked the sky before I watered last night and it was pretty much cloudless. Pretty happy the Lord changed his mind on that one, LOL.

Last month's power bill was $100 higher than the bill from the month before. I was shocked but I sucked it up and paid it. But, that bill was for the period when we had that horrific hot spell where we hit 115 or so several days in a row. I had high hopes this month's bill would be significantly reduced. Well, yes, I guess it is, but not as much as I'd hoped. It came down $40. That's a blessing, but $100 would have been a better blessing. I don't ask for much, do I?

I got a coupon in the mail from Office Max/Office Depot. It was for $10 off on a $50 purchase. I get coupons from them all the time, but usually for things like office furniture or printing services--things I don't need. I happen to have NO back up ink right now and I've been saving up in the "office" envelope to fix that. Well, the coupon seemed like a good opportunity for that. I stopped at the store after work. I noticed the prices seemed inflated so I walked out with nothing. I checked Amazon, Target, and their own website. I would have bought two ink cartridges. One was overpriced by $4. The other was overpriced by $3. So, that coupon was actually worth just $3. Yes, they DO price match but IF they price match, they won't give you the value of the coupon. I think that qualifies for "false advertising". What do you think?

Oh well, I'm going to get ready for work. I had to laugh at the Weather Channel today. I checked it when I got up and it said the probability of rain was 20%. I checked it an hour later and they had updated it to 40%. Meanwhile, rain was coming down pretty darn steady. If it's raining, isn't the probability of rain 100%? Maybe it's common core math? 

Later, maybe........

 

One difficult task complete.........

I have finished the pantry clean out. And what a job it was. For the bottom 2 shelves, I pulled a step stool over and sat on it. That spared my back from having to bend. I have hauled 4 bags of "garbage" out of this house! Some of it was food I just knew I would never eat. Some of it was stuff that was MANY years past the "best by" date. I don't put a lot of stock in those dates, particularly if the stuff is sealed airtight and well wrapped. But this stuff wasn't. I found cereal that has been around for so long it smelled funky. It's "left the building" now!

When I started all this, I felt guilty about throwing stuff away. But, now, I'm relieved to get it out of here. At least now I have freed up some storage space. I plan to put some small appliances in the space I've cleared. 

I did pull some things out that I'm going to eat. It is not the sort of thing I would normally buy or eat, at least not these days. But, I own it. And I don't intend to feed myself a steady diet of this sort of thing. So, I'll eat what I can of it, pat myself on the back for being frugal, and move on.

I also found some unopened containers of juice. I've been adding much more water and much less juice to my morning smoothies. I'm well aware there's a LOT of sugar in bottled juice and not much nutrition. Nevertheless, I do add SOME juice and it may as well be from these containers til I've got it used up.

I think, all together, I've carried 4 trash bags out of here from this mission--two tall kitchen trash can liners and two Trader Joe's brown bags. Phew! I pity the trash guys who will show up in the neighborhood tomorrow. I hope they don't get a hernia! 

I guess, having completed the pantry (which I started to avoid working on the fridge), I'm now going to have to go back to cleaning the last two shelves in the fridge. Ugh! 

I inquired about my mother tonight. I tried to call both Saturday and Sunday and got no answer. According to the update I got, she is walking a bit more and handling trips to the bathroom better. She is having trouble chewing/swallowing but I guess they're getting some food into her. She complained to me, over and over, that she couldn't eat with the false teeth she has. Apparently she thinks they don't fit right and she doesn't want to wear them. And when she does, they make her mouth sore. I guess she's gone back to the dentist several times and has worn out her welcome there......... I suggested she ask to be put on a soft diet. I'm told she is ON a soft diet now but still not eating. I know she thinks these people are rotten cooks. Maybe she just doesn't like what they're serving her. But, apparently the "crazy words" and refusal to get out of bed have passed. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers! 

For years now, maybe even for most of my life, I have survived with limited finances. If it weren't for the job I currently have, I don't have a clue where I'd be or how I'd eat. But, the Lord is faithful. I've quoted to Him, over and over, "my God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus". Sometimes I barely squeak by, but somehow, I DO squeak by. I spoke to "the blessed" one several weeks ago and asked for more hours. He scheduled me for 2 weeks of 6-hour days. That was good. But, lo and behold, for last week and this week I was scheduled for 5 hour days again, a total of just 40 hours for the pay period. That makes things really tight, particularly with some other things going on in my life. I've been praying for more hours. I felt like I should speak to the head cashiers about it. So, each of the head cashiers now has my phone number. Today I was asked if I could come in an hour earlier tomorrow. Thank you, Jesus! You bet I'll go in an hour earlier! I am also on the schedule from Wednesday and Thursday. Do your thing, Jesus.............. I have Friday off, but it's a single day and then I'm butt up against 3 days on again. I'm hoping they don't need me Friday........

The eclipse was a bust here as far as I'm concerned. We had cloud cover that just made it impossible to see much of anything, whether you had "eclipse glasses" or not. In fact, it actually rained enough here this morning that I didn't feel I needed to water tonight. Folks at work said if you got beyond the western mountains, you could actually see what was going on. For me it was a workday and I was inside the store. If I looked up, all I could see was the ceiling. The sky was dark when I was commuting, but whether that was from the eclipse or a pending intermittent thunderstorm, I'd be hard pressed to say.

So, another day. And, thank goodness, a day when I actually accomplished something after I got home from work. I feel much better when I have that kind of day. I hope your day was a blessed one. Mine certainly was!

Early Sunday morning.......

I gave up and went and laid down about 8:45 and actually slept about 2.75 hours. Then I got up and started in again. The kitchen is cleaned up, at least as much as I can at this point. I will need to wipe down the jars of jam with vinegar water before I can do anything with them. They get a rough, whitish film on them from the hard water. AND they're supposed to sit, undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours after they come out of the water bath canner. But, the sink is empty and the dishwasher has done its thing.

I've been working on the pantry. That lead me to the "baking cupboard". We don't want to talk about the bottom 3 shelves of the pantry yet, but both the upper shelves in the pantry and the "baking cupboard" are considerably emptier and better organized. When I worked on the shelves that hang on the wall in the kitchen and the drawers and bottom shelf of the fridge, I filled 2 trash bags. Today I've filled another. Everything has been wiped down and looks clean and neat and organized.

Where possible, containers were consolidated. Stuff that was out of date and stuff that had no expiration date but that I knew to be old went into the trash. I also got rid of a few things I knew I'd never eat anyway. 

As to the canning, I ended up with 10 half pints of blueberry jam. It's out of this world good. There is one jar that was not quite full enough, so that's in the fridge. I had to stop myself from "tasting" it! 

At this point, I am ready to declare myself done for Saturday. About time! Saturday was kitchen day. Sunday will be laundry and whatever cleaning I can get done in the rest of the house plus some desk work. Oh, goody..........

You don't live here.........

It's kind of a ramshackle place, somewhat rundown and in need of work. Most days, you'd be right in thinking that not living here is a good thing. But maybe not today. Today I made a batch of blueberry jam and it is out of this world good!

Normally, I only use recipes I find that are endorsed by Ball. I figure they specialize in canning products and they should know their stuff. Besides they put out the ball canning book which canners refer to as the "Bible" of canning. But I got daring and went with a recipe on food.com. I altered the recipe just a little.

First, the recipe called for frozen blueberries. I had fresh. Second, the recipe called for 5.25 cups of sugar. I read the comments and numerous people commented that the recipe was too sweet. Others commented that they'd used less sugar successfully. So, I used about 4.5 cups of sugar. Perhaps I should also mention that I didn't "crush" the berries as directed, but rather used my immersion blender. Oh, and the recipe called for 2 pints of berries. I had no way to measure pints, but I used a conversion table which said a pint equaled 2 cups. So, I used 4 slightly heaping cups. 

I think I am actually going to go ahead and make the second batch today. My original idea was that I'd make one batch today and another tomorrow, but I'm SO excited at this glorious stuff I've created I kinda don't want to wait. Besides, who wants to do the cleanup and set up twice if they don't have to. 

It is late afternoon, and normally the house is boiling about this time without canning going on. But, the temperatures have been going down of late and the a/c is doing a better job. It's 99 here right now, and that might seem ghastly hot to some of you but it sure compares favorably to 105 or 115! 

I am thrilled to have found this recipe and to know that I can make more of this stuff whenever I want using frozen blueberries. That's super!