View From My Window

Tuesday, March 2, 2021 — Upward and onward… I’ve been unpacking the boxes of stuff that had been stored in the two upright cabinets in the laundry room. I packed the boxes a couple of days before the flooring remodel, so if I were to think about purging (seriously), I know I could possibly jettison a lot of the stuff that I kept and just let it go. I still might do just that. Tammy was here for 3 hours today, and I had her cleaning upstairs and downstairs. She says I am her only client. I smiled and said, “I can keep you busy!” So I’ve asked her to come back next Tuesday for another 3 hours. In unpacking the boxes, I decided what I would have her do–help me purge this house! It’s going to be wonderful!

Yesterday was a really eventful day. Robert drove his truck over to the repair shop so it could be smog tested for the registration renewal. I followed in the Honda in case they needed to keep the truck. After the testing (it passed on the first go round, thankfully), I paid the bill and told Robert I would see him back at the house. I was hungry so began fixing lunch as soon as I got home. Robert arrived about 15 min. later and was exhausted. At 6:15 p.m., I was at the computer and he came in and said he was tired and was going to bed. We discussed what had transpired that day that would have made him so tired and the only thing we could come up with was his driving his truck. The stress and anxiety took a lot out of him. I told him that pretty much put an end to any driving. He finally went to bed at 8:00 p.m. after deliberating on whether to take a shower or not. He did take a shower — I doubted he could sleep if he didn’t, but he forgot to take his evening pills and I didn’t question him so when I checked his pill box this morning, there sat his pills from last night. I really need to be better at keeping on top of his pills. He sometimes takes the pills from the wrong day/cup in the medicine box. When I went to refill his pill box this morning, I noticed that the morning pills from yesterday were there, yet I know for a fact he took his pills yesterday morning. That means he took the morning pills from another day. <sigh> Notwithstanding his severe fatigue, his ability to come up with words is becoming increasingly noticeable, and frustrating for him.

This afternoon I got my things ready for the post office and told him I needed to go to the credit union as well as the post office. He replied with his usual comment, “Why?” He really doesn’t want me anywhere but here at the house with him. I told him because I had to mail a birthday package and I needed to get $2 bills for the youngest grandson’s birthday card. He turns 15 this year so that meant I needed 16-$2 bills (one for each year of his birth and another to grow on). Karma was with me when I went to the credit union and the teller was able to go to their vault and pull out a stack of 100-$2 bills! I was all set to face the horrendous task of hitting every bank in Tehachapi, acquiring the $2 bills one or two at a time. (I had to do it this way a couple of years ago and vowed to save them through the year instead, which I did this time, but I only had 5 collected. They really are scarce.) Anyway, everyone’s birthday is taken care of until later in the year. (Though my great-niece is due to deliver her baby on the 20th of April — the day before my birthday!) I need to make a quilt for the little one.

Speaking of quilts, I have one in the makings — all the blocks are cut out and ready to be put together. When I get the top done, I’m going to take it in to the quilt shop and pick out the backing fabric and pay to have it put together. No more stressing over getting it quilted. I like doing the binding — I sit at night and stitch the binding down by hand while watching t.v. It’s a very enjoyable task for me.

I ordered a set of prayer flags from Amazon. Years ago, I would receive a set of paper prayer flags from the Save Tibet foundation, but somehow I got off their list so haven’t received any in years. One of my bloggers (Stuff from Ellen’s Head) wrote about hanging prayer flags and it reminded me that I haven’t had any for some time. I immediately set about searching for a nice set. I found a set of flags on Amazon.com: “Hands Of Tibet Handmade Tibetan Affirmation Prayer Flags Happiness Courage Love Tranquility Wisdom. Each String has six vibrantly Colored Flags and Handmade.”

There were hundreds of other flag choices, but this particular set spoke to me, reminding me of the need to remain strong and positive while weathering this life of caregiving to a loved one with dementia. Robert just rolled his eyes when he saw me hanging them from the railing of the deck. He tolerates my love of the metaphysical side of life. I told him seeing them made me feel calm, and they do. And when these are tattered and taken by the winds, I will order a new set, and I am resolved to always have prayer flags hanging from our deck so all I need to do to lift my mood is to look out my window.

Blessings to all. Be safe, take care and be good to yourself. You are loved and you are needed. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Tuesday, February 23, 2021 — Some days are just better than others. Today I acquired a set of dishes (free) that I believe match the ones our younger son and his wife own.

I’m almost positive they’re the same dishes. If they aren’t, they’ll at least go with them as their set is blue and white too.

And I totally spoiled myself today. Yesterday, I gave Robert one more chance to go with me to get a haircut. He declined. I honestly think he’s afraid to leave the house until after we’ve had all of our COVID-19 vaccinations, and I hope that’s what’s holding him back. I know people with dementia often develop bad personal hygiene habits, like not wanting to bathe or change into clean clothes. He’s not giving up his showers just yet, but has taken to wearing the same clothes for several days (fresh underwear and socks, but the same sweatshirt over a t-shirt). He did allow me to trim his beard and shave his neck a couple of weeks ago, but still… he’s looking very shaggy and close to homeless. I told him I didn’t like him looking like a bum and he said he didn’t mind at all since he wasn’t leaving the house. <sigh> I’m sincerely hoping this is just a temporary thing because he looks so much better when he’s ‘cleaned up.’ Anyway, I called the beauty shop and checked to see if my hairdresser could fit me in for a shampoo, haircut and blow dry. I usually only get a haircut, so this was a real treat for me. I told her I felt like being pampered and it did feel wonderful! I told Robert when she washes my hair, she’ll give my scalp a massage and I could really use a bit of ahhhh treatment right now.

And, I received word that the flooring guy will be here tomorrow morning, bright and early, to install the new floor. I have the two cabinets emptied but need to empty the 4-drawer file cabinet so it can be moved out into my garage. It’s going to be SOOOO nice! LOL

That’s all for now. Do take good care of yourself, and when the opportunity presents itself, give yourself a treat–whether it’s coffee and a pastry in a shop where you can sit and read, or just taking a walk by yourself when you haven’t had the time/opportunity to do that. Whatever form the treatment takes, be good to yourself. We all need to recognize that we’re special and we deserve to take care of ourselves, inside and out. Oh, and be sure to tell those you love that you love them — and practice safe COVID-19 behavior!! LOL You know the drill — mask, wash and distance. Hugs and blessings to all.

View From My Window

Monday, February 22, 2021 — SUCCESS! We received a call from Adventist Health Tehachapi Hospital about 3:55 p.m. today and the person calling wanted to know if we would be able to come to the hospital to get our first COVID-19 vaccination. They’d had a cancellation and we were on the list (probably multiple times, considering how many times I’d called and posted our information online). I said we could be there in 10 min. Robert had just left for a walk and I was snoozing on the couch. I quickly changed my top to a short sleeved one, grabbed my purse and keys and headed for the car.

I found Robert had only made it to the neighbor’s house, right near the end of the cul-de-sac. They were standing in the street talking, and I could tell that he had been on his way to do his walk when he stopped to visit with the neighbor. I pulled up, told him the hospital had called and we could get our shots if we could make it to the hospital ASAP. Whoo hoo. On the way to the hospital, Robert said they were talking about the next door neighbor, who had been taken to the hospital by ambulance earlier today. He’d had a caregiver or visiting nurse show up almost daily for the past several weeks–after his release from his previous hospitalization. He has had brain bleeds and strokes, so is not doing well at all. His wife has Alzheimer’s and is very frail. They have one son, who lives up in the Bay area. We haven’t seen the son for several months, although I know that he’s been in touch with them by phone. Sad situation.

After we got our shots and waited the required 15 min. to see if there was any adverse reaction, we were told we could leave. I drove away and as I came out of the hospital parking lot, I asked Robert if he would like a Wendy’s Frosty. I said since we were so close, I thought it would be a nice treat. I told him I’d pay if he wanted one. He said yes, so off we went. Ten minutes later we were sitting in the parking lot, watching trucks moving in and out of the station and spoon eating our frosty. Another 15 minutes later Robert announced he was ready to leave if I was and so I took us back home, stopping by the mailbox on my way.

That’s all the news that’s fit to print for now. So far, so good. No reactions at all and I never even felt the needle go in–totally painless injection. We go back on the 15th of March for shot #2 and apparently, we can expect to feel some effects from that shot. No matter–at least we’ll be protected. Speaking of which, do protect yourself and those you love — mask up, wash up, and stay 6′ away from others. Our son even wears his face mask inside our home when he comes to visit. Oh, and be sure to tell those you love that you love them. It’s really important.

View From My Window

Friday, February 19, 2021 — Here’s the bird panel. I had it laid out on my cutting table and Robert spotted it and asked where it came from. I guiltily said, “From the 5 Hearts quilt shop. When I dropped off the quilt to be quilted, the owner showed me the completed quilt that she’d made with the panel and it was so inexpensive I decided to buy it.” He said it would make a nice quilt for his feet!! LOL Done! LOL I was afraid he’d complain about me buying more fabric, but nope, not a negative vibe at all. Joy, joy!

Well, that’s all for tonight. I have to go help Robert with the t.v. controller. Be safe, know you are blessed and there are those who love you and are thinking of you. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Thursday, February 18, 2021 — My doctor’s visit went rather well, except I was told my kidney function was lower than normal, indicating that I had kidney disease. Well, heck fire, just throw that onto the list! LOL I won’t be sharing this news with Robert, that’s for sure. He doesn’t need the additional worry and since it was just the first bloodwork that shows any kind of problem, it could just be a fluke. The good news is that when I signed out I mentioned that we really had been trying to get our COVID vaccinations and hadn’t been successful. The assistant went online right then and there and tried to get the two of us signed up and had a bit of trouble so she took down our names and birthdates and said she’d get us signed up and would be in touch. Out of sight!! We may get our shots afterall! Hooray…

After the dr’s office I headed to Home Depot where I did some major shopping: 1) picked up the flooring material for the laundry room, 2) bought a 72 spot self-watering seed starter kit, plant stakes and plant wire for the seeds/plants I ordered night before last from Park Seeds (once they’re started and large enough to survive outdoors, they’ll go into the garden railroad), 3) ordered the new washer and dryer and set an installation date for February 26th, and 4) bought trash bags for the kitchen, Swifer wet pads for the housekeeper. By the time I finished, I was exhausted physically and still had the bags of donations laying in the back seat — transferred from the trunk so we could put the flooring boxes in the trunk. When I was ordering the dryer, I had to select gas or electric and my mind just couldn’t wrap around which type we had–although I felt 99% sure it was gas, and so a call home was necessary. Robert answered after I started talking to the answering machine and said yes, it was gas. I thanked him and said I would be home shortly.

I headed home and on impulse stopped at Kohnen’s toget a Poor Boy sandwich to share with Robert. They were closed. <sigh> So much for that… decided I wasn’t meant to buy any food to go and would make hamburgers once I got home, which I did. I’d almost reached home when I remembered the donations on the back seat. I promptly turned around and then looked at the clock on the dash and realized the thrift shop was closed as it was 3:30 p.m. Turning back around, I headed home. By 5:00 p.m. I was in my p.j.’s and ready for some couch time.

Here are photos of the plants/seeds that are on their way:

https://parkseed.com/baby-blue-eyes/p/01416-PK-P1/ Baby Blue Eyes

https://parkseed.com/alyssum-compacta-seeds/p/00070-PK-P1/ Alyssum Compacta

https://parkseed.com/evening-primrose-seeds/p/01454-PK-P1/ Evening Primrose

https://parkseed.com/penny-purple-picotee-viola-seeds/p/51955-PK-P1/ Penny Purple Viola

https://parkseed.com/fire-spinner-iceplant/p/49650/

https://parkseed.com/red-creeping-thyme/p/v1806/

https://parkseed.com/snowtopia-bacopa-seeds/p/51051/ Snowtopia Bacopa

This new WordPress program is the pits so the photos aren’t arranged as I would have liked them. The one plant (Fire Spinner) is an iceplant, which I’m sure will freeze in the winter, but according to their page, this variety should do o.k. We shall see. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I do want to get the layout covered in flowering groundcover plants. It’ll be beautiful. I’ve already considered the time when Robert is unable to continue doing the watering — I’ll pay someone to put in a sprinkler system, either a drip irrigation (probably) or sprinklers and set it on a timer. I won’t allow the layout to just wither and die.

Not much more to share at this point so will close this with blessings for all. Take good care of yourself. I know I’m bad at doing that and I should take my own advice at times, but there it is. 🙂 I did get one quilt top and backing taken in to the quilt shop to get it quilted. When it gets done I will bind it, put my label on and donate it to the hospital. I have another one ready to be quilted (the one I pulled all of the stitching from) and I will quilt it and then bind it. While at the fabric shop, I was shown a panel of birds and bought it. Sucker!!! LOL I swore I wasn’t going to buy any more fabric until I’d used most of what I already have. But I couldn’t resist – it was inexpensive and so pretty. I’ll share photos next time I post. Do take care… and be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Thursday, February 18, 2021 — Fifty-four years ago today I was expecting our first child. Amazing time in our lives. He’s turned out to be a hard worker, loving husband (four months yesterday!) and helpful son. We’re very proud of him. He’s worked for the railroad over 25 years and his retirement isn’t that far away now. Seems strange to have a child old enough to be thinking of retirement, especially since we don’t feel that old ourselves. Robert has been retired for 22 years now. Time does fly…

The owner of the flooring company I called the other day was here taking measurements and we discussed the options for flooring in the laundry room. I told him we’d decided to let the bathroom floor go for now and just renovate the laundry room. I showed him the sample of “Click and lock” flooring that I picked up from Home Depot and he said that it was the latest thing and he highly recommended it for the laundry room because it’s waterproof. He e-mailed me a quote within a couple of hours and I accepted it. I will purchase the flooring material and he will supply the labor to clear the room, including removing appliances, my 4 drawer file cabinet, two 8′ x30″ storage cabinets and will take the deep sink off the wall and re-install it once the flooring is installed.

After the man had left, Robert turned to me and asked what I’d told him about his diabetes. I couldn’t understand why he thought I’d said anything at all about his health conditions and said so. He said he wondered if the man thought it strange that he (Robert) didn’t take charge of the discussion about what we needed done. I told him that since I was the one that called, he obviously felt I was the one that he needed to work with. I reminded him that I don’t make decisions without his input. I then asked him if he was o.k. because he seemed a bit down and distracted. He said he worried about his diabetes because he sees so many obituaries in the paper where people died from complications from diabetes. I told him I was concerned about my own health, but tried to not let it bother me. He agreed and said he was really worried when I went in for my eye procedures. He said he’d thought to himself, “Don’t mess up my wife’s eyesight. I need her to take care of me.” I kind of chuckled and said, “Yeah. If you mess up her eyes, I won’t be going anywhere anymore!” We kind of laughed at that and the tension was gone.

He really didn’t say much at all while the man was here talking about the flooring and what needed to be done. I think he felt strange that he couldn’t communicate like he would ordinarily do when dealing with service people. He’s leaving it all up to me. A bit later I told him the next thing I wanted to have done was to get the outside woodwork on the house painted. The eaves are bad and I don’t want to go through another winter without getting them fixed. He said he was worried about the money and I told him not to worry, that we had the money and it would all be fine. I told him that we couldn’t just ignore maintenance on the house because it would have to be taken care of if/when we were to ever sell the house. Best to get it done so we can enjoy it while we’re here. He agreed and said, ‘It’s only money.’ This has always been his mantra whenever we’re spending money. I’m usually the one that’s a tight-wad and he says, “It’s only money and you can’t take it with you.”

It’s strange that he’s worried more about the diabetes than he is about the dementia. I really don’t think he sees the difference in his cognitive behaviour now versus before he began having problems. It’s like the time when he wanted to pay $9,000 for an antique Chevrolet–even though he’s no longer able to drive. It’s as though there’s a gap between his perceived reality and what reality actually is.

One day at a time — one moment at a time. We will persevere. I’m still trying to get COVID-19 vaccinations for us. It’s really looking like I’ll have to drive us to Bakersfield to get them. I have an appointment with my dr. tomorrow for a medication follow-up and will ask if there’s any hope of getting vaccinated here in town any time soon. The kids wanted to come up this weekend but Robert said he didn’t want them visiting until we had our COVID vaccinations, so I told the kids not to plan on coming up until we told them we’d got our shots.

Do take care; know that we are all trying to do our best these days. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Tuesday, February 16, 2021 — I subscribe to several blogs written by other caregivers or professionals who work in the health care field of aging and dementia. As Elaine M. Eshbaugh, PhD writes in her blog, “When Dementia Knocks” https://wp.me/p5EpLw-1My there should be an orientation for Dementialand. https://whendementiaknocks.com/2015/05/12/what-no-one-told-you-about-dementialand/

Most evenings are a set routine for us; Robert watches Jeopardy, then Wheel of Fortune, then it’s time to walk on the treadmill for a bit and then he hits the shower. I’m at the computer during this time, but at about 9:15 p.m. I head for the living room and get the t.v. set up for a movie for us to watch together. He most likely won’t finish the movie, sitting by me and nodding off until he’s lost most of the plot of the movie. Then I shut the t.v. off and help him off to bed. He has trouble getting up from the couch and slouches while trying to stand. Hopefully, he will remember to check his pill box and see if he’s remembered to take his evening meds. I usually find he’s missed at least one night a week. I’m bad because I don’t always double check him, and I should. His gait has changed and he’s really wiped out in the evenings.

His mind is a problem for him most evenings — he’ll want to talk about something but can’t remember what it was he wanted to say. Or, if he begins to talk about something, he’ll stop mid-sentence and say he can’t think what word he wants to use. Last night, he wanted to tell a story about a boy he knew in his childhood town. I didn’t know how to help him come up with the right word because I had no clue what the story was going to be about. He hadn’t even announced that he wanted to tell me a story about this boy, so I had no words to offer. Ultimately, he was able to relate a story about a boy who had Down Syndrome and who carried around a piece of rubber; he’d hold the rubber in front of him and shake it. As long as he had that piece of rubber to focus on, he was alright and could find his way home. Without it, he would just stand in one place–lost. I don’t know why Robert felt compelled to tell this story, but he did. I didn’t know what to say at the end, so all I could do was agree with him that the boy needed the piece of rubber to focus on so he could be somewhat in control. That was the end of the story. End of discussion.

I ran errands yesterday morning. I had train couplers to pick up at the hobby shop, recyclables to turn in, and clothing and miscellaneous stuff to be dropped off at the thrift store. Then after all of that, I had a bit of shopping to do. Robert stayed home. He doesn’t like to get out much at all anymore, and he always cautions me to hurry back. He doesn’t like to be alone. He will usually tell me that everything can wait a day–he really doesn’t want me to go out at all. I tell him this time that the housekeeper is coming tomorrow (Tuesday), and then Wednesday the salesperson from the flooring company is coming to give an estimate on the laundry room floor replacement, so that puts me at Thursday and I don’t want to wait that long to do my shopping and picking up his couplers. So, off I go… it’s cold, horribly cloudy with fog and misty rain. I get back and he’s fine, but really glad I’m back. I wonder how long it will be before I won’t be able to leave him alone… it’s only because I’ve learned about Alzheimer’s from seeing what family and friends have dealt with in caring for their loved ones that I even have a clue about what to expect. Every day is different… yet they’re all the same. More and more, things are put onto my plate and I just rearrange my life until it all fits in. I’m blessed that I can take care of him and the house and our lives.

Be safe, be well and take care of yourself and those you love. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Saturday, February 13, 2021 — So what did we expect of our ‘honest and forthright’ politicians? The truth? Morality? None of the above? Yep. They didn’t let us down. You get what you expect most times, but especially when it takes courage to stand up and tell/vote the truth. This is the time when we are shown the difference between men and little boys. Fear of retribution? Self-serving, for sure. I hope people remember these days and the way things went south for this country.

On to brighter things–our weather is showing winter’s fury with winds and blowing rain. We actually got a bit of snow on the deck last night, and frost all over rooftops through the neighborhood. The temperature never got higher than about 40 degrees today — far too cold for a walk to the mail box and back. We played couch potato today–Robert binge-watched auto racing on t.v. and I alternated between the computer and my Kindle, napping inbetween at times. We let Ruby out for a bit, even though it was very cold out. She went and was back in about 30 min. LOL No all night carousing for her tonight!

I didn’t get much sewing done today, but I did recover my ironing board yesterday. Added another layer of batting and some fresh muslin and then covered the whole shebang with a nice holly fabric. I love Christmas at any time of the year and since I have a huge, almost full bolt of this fabric, I didn’t feel bad for cutting off a large piece to use on my ironing board. It looks and feels soooo good now!

Ruby approved resting place

Thankfully, the winter storm that passed through Thursday evening was all done by the time we needed to leave for Bakersfield yesterday morning. We arrived at the eye surgery center at about 9:45 a.m. and my appointment wasn’t until 10:30 a.m., but they took me back fairly soon after our arrival. This time, Robert stayed in the waiting room. Same procedure as before–drops to numb the eye, drops to dilate the eye and wait for the eye to respond to the drops. The dr. came in, we got in position and 10 clicks later he was done and my eyes were good to go. Literally! Awesome to be able to see as well as I can now, and I don’t even have my new glasses, which I expect to get next week when I go to CostCo to get my eyes examined. I’m even thinking about getting my hearing checked out and possibly getting hearing aids! Wonders never cease…

I have an appointment on Wednesday for a sales representative from the Tehachapi Flooring Co. to come to the house and advise me on a new floor for the laundry room. We’ve decided to let the master bath floor go at this point and just put an extra rug down to catch any water that falls from the shower door. I figure winning half of the battle (new appliances and floor in the laundry room) is better than nothing at all. I have my washer and dryer picked out but need to get my order in quickly so we can get things coordinated. I’ve been warned that there may be a long wait period for delivery. We shall see…

Meanwhile, know that you are loved — keep the faith in yourself and your path in this life. Be happy and be sure to tell those you love that you love them. Protect yourself and those around you by using a mask when out and about and keeping your social distance. Blessings will continue to flow …

View From My Window

Friday, February 12, 2021 — Success! I now have both eyes cleared of scar tissue and my vision is excellent (with my glasses, that is). The storm came in around 5:00 a.m. and woke us up from a dead sleep. It was hitting the bedroom window like a hurricane and my first thought was ‘Ruby!! She’s out in this horrific weather.’ We’d put her out last night as we’ve been doing almost every night now. She will actually go and sit in front of the door, waiting for one of us to spot her and open the door for her. She doesn’t come back until early morning, after we’ve got up and started our day. Once in a while she’ll stay in, but not like she used to.

Anyway, she’s in now and up on her cat tree, snoozing away. I’ve been going through my hard drive(s) and checking for duplicate files so I can back the hard drive up. I can’t believe the number of duplicates. Well, actually, I guess I can, since it was 99.99% sure that I was the one that created them. It’s truly hard to believe, but I have two internal hard drives and no less than 3 external hard drives and I need to get things cleared out to where one drive is my main drive and only one other drive is the back up drive. It’s a big swamp and it needs to be cleaned out, once and for all.

I did run across an old diary entry from 2012 that I thought some of you newer followers might enjoy reading. Before Ruby, there was Carl. Again, Carl was the next door neighbor’s cat, and he adopted us as his surrogate family. I admit it–I’m a cat magnet. LOL Anyway, I hope you enjoy this short story:

Carol’s Musings
Tehachap
Carl–the Lap Junkie
Monday, August 27, 2012

When the next door neighbor moved in just a year ago, they had four cats. Each of the cats had a special name, but I only got to know Carl and Bob. Half of the cats were indoor cats and you never saw them. The other half were a mixture of indoor and outdoor and one in particular, Carl, was one of the “ins and outs” and was hunter extraordinaire. Several months ago, Carl started appearing on our deck, mewing at the sliding glass door and rubbing the side of his face against the screen and anything else he could rub against there on the deck. I promptly bought catnip toys and brought them home for Carl to play with. Next came the cat treats… Carl got to be a twice a day habit — first thing in the morning and again late afternoon. As I dispensed the treats, I began to take a chair and sit there on the deck and talk to Carl while he devoured his treat. Eventually, one day he looked up at me as though asking for permission to jump up into my lap. I patted my lap and that’s all it took. The lap junkie was born.

“CARL”

Ever watchful of the hummingbirds…

And we love catnip!

Nothing else to report except that I got my map quilt pinned. I have two of these to make for my grandsons. This is the first one. The map is a panel that I bought at JoAnn’s in Palmdale. A friend had made one for her partner’s classroom and I fell in love with it. The colors are so vibrant–it reminds me of my childhood years, and I’m hoping that the grandsons like theirs enough to use them as lap blankets when they watch t.v. in the mornings.

This first quilt is finished now, and I have the border pinned to the second map panel. I need to get to the fabric store tomorrow to buy some fabric for the backing. I don’t think brown is a good color for a young boy. I think I’ll get a bright red, or perhaps an orange! I stitched around each state, and around the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River, and all around the continent, including the provinces in Canada and Nova Scotia. It turned out really nice, and I’m hoping that the boys like their quilts and that they get a lot of use out of them.

Be safe, be well, and please be happy. Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 — I could cry right now, but I won’t. I had an argument with Robert this morning, for which I later apologized. I’ve stated it before — we need a new washing machine and dryer. I want to replace both. This morning, I told Robert I’d had an epiphany on my drive back from my therapy appointment. He asked what that meant and when I told him that it was a ‘lightbulb’ moment, and that I wanted to go to Home Depot to shop for the washing machine because they also have flooring and I want the flooring replaced before we get the new appliances. His comment, “But the dryer still works!” My response, “So does the washing machine, but when I pull out the soap dispenser drawer I come away with rust in my hand and there’s rust on the floor and the dryer’s control panel is broken and can’t be replaced because they no longer make that model. I have to fiddle with the knob every time I use the dryer, because it doesn’t stay where I put it.

He came back in later and I apologized to him. I told him I didn’t feel good when we argued. He apologized too and said let’s make a pact to not argue for the rest of our lives. Were it only so…

I had a counseling appointment today and reminded Robert as I prepared to leave — I’d also reminded him yesterday, and it was noted on a Post-it note stuck to the front of the monitor, and on the calendar at the end of the kitchen counter. He asked if this was with the other members of the caregiver group I belonged to. I said, no, this is a one-on-one counseling. He asked what we talked about. I told him we discussed his dementia, how he was doing, problems that had come up since my last visit, and I told him things that I didn’t feel comfortable discussing with the other members of the support group listening in. He apologized for asking. I told him that was o.k. He said if anyone asked him where I was, he wouldn’t be able to tell them — even though I’d told him where the counseling office was located just this very morning. And I know I told him each of the previous times as well. It is what it is…

But once I got in the car and was headed to the appointment, I felt anger that he couldn’t remember what I’d said… and then my mind hit reverse and I told myself ‘he can’t help it.’ His mind just doesn’t register/keep things. I’m glad I didn’t lash out at him. I love him too much to do that. But back to the washer discussion, I told him I didn’t want to argue with him about it and he replied, “I’m beyond that.” i.e., he wasn’t able to bring anything to the table as to how I should look for (much less purchase) a new washer and dryer or arrange for the flooring to be changed. I realized as I went to my appointment that it’s all on me now.

A while later, I loaded the recyclables and the donation items in the trunk of the car and told him I was going to turn in the recyclables and the donations and I would be back. I took my phone and my Kindle. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but thought about parking somewhere quiet and just reading–perhaps buying something at a drive-through and parking in their lot, just to BE for a bit. I talked to my niece about it when I got back home (no, I didn’t go through any drive through’s, and the recyclables and donation items are still in the trunk of the car — both places were closed. <sigh> she said I needed to be better to myself. I’d said that when I finished with my counseling appointment, I hadn’t eaten anything and thought very strongly about going somewhere and having breakfast (I had my Kindle with me because I read while waiting for my appointment time at the counseling office). Needless to say, I went home and had a bowl of cold cereal.

Some day, I might have to learn how to be good to myself because no one else will be here to do it for me. Life can be so very difficult at times… Do take care. Be safe, and be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Sunday, February 7, 2021 — It’s happened before — I’ve said something to someone and the next thing you know, I’m receiving ads about the very thing I had been talking about. Bizarre?? Scary?? Yes to both. I know others have experienced the same thing and have been shocked by the coincidence. Or is it a coincidence?? If I were paranoid (which I am not, for the most part–99.99%), I’d think Big Brother had huge ears and eyes! LOL I’d had a conversation with my new friend yesterday as we stood in the Park ‘n Ride. She said she had health issues, including chronic pain and had discovered CBD oil/salve. She asked me if I’d ever tried it and I said, “No. I haven’t.” She said she used the salve about once a month for her pain. We then went on to discuss fabrics, long arm quilting machines, etc. This morning, I bring up my e-mails and voila! There’s an ad for CBD cream. Now what would YOU think if this happened to you?? LOL I’m a great believer in coincidences, but still…

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my eyesight is 150% better than ever before. Hooray!!! Cannot wait to get that left eye done, because now that the right eye is ‘fixed’ the left is revealed as to how bad it was/is. Interesting… and I was so unbelievably surprised at how quick, painless and easy it was to get my right eye cleared up. The assistant put drops in my eye and then said she’d be back and when my eye was dilated, she’d call in the dr. A few minutes later, she brought the dr in. I was asked to sit in the exam chair and put my chin into the cup of the machine, just as you would to get your vision tested. The next thing I knew, the dr. was clicking something and gradually, my vision cleared. Absolutely, painless and fascinating at the same time. I looked at the red dot, which at the beginning was a red star with fracture lines running out from the center. Bit by bit the fracture lines were removed and suddenly, everything was clear as a bell. I’d been very anxious about the whole affair, but my vision was so poor that I was willing to undergo any pain necessary to get my vision corrected.

I have to say that I can almost see without my glasses now. Unreal… what a blessing. And now I will adjourn to my sewing machine. I have some fabric that needs to be sewn!!

One sad note here — our eldest called a bit ago and said the wife of one of our long-time friends from Cajon Pass (our favorite train watching place) passed away from COVID-19. Such a sad moment–we never know when our time is up but this COVID-19 virus is taking people out long before their time. Apparently, she had other health issues so she was gone in a mere 5 days time.

Be safe, take care of yourself (YOU are important and so loved), tell those you love that you love them. We will persevere and we will beat this virus, but until that time comes, we must be vigilant and protect ourselves and our loved ones.

View From My Window

Saturday, February 6, 2021 — It’s been a busy day today. I received three boxes from my younger sister the other day. One of the boxes had nothing but fabric in it and I’ve been washing, drying and pressing fabric every day since. Then today I received a call from the woman I’d met at the sewing machine repair shop last month. She was in town and wanted me to meet her at the town Park ‘n Ride lot — she had some fabric for me.

This is the stash I received from my sister:

and this is the stash I received from my new friend, Lois:

Needless to say, I’m going to be extremely busy in the next few weeks! I’m going to need to find a long arm service, for sure. Not unhappy with that at all.

Be safe, be well, and be sure to tell those you love that you love them. We will persevere and we will beat this virus. Trust and follow the rules — mask and distancing. Blessings to all.

View From My Window

Wednesday, February 3, 2021 — We’ve had severe fog all day today; fog so bad we couldn’t see the outer perimeter of our back yard, much less the train tracks, the highway nor the hills across the way. And it’s been cold as all get out to boot. Robert checked the thermometer on the deck a bit ago and it was 30 deg.

Ruby wandered around the house like she was lost and finally Robert followed her to the front door where she put her paws up on the bottom edge of the glass inset. He asked her if she wanted out and she promptly jumped down. He opened the door and she hesitated for a bit then out she went. I don’t know if we’ll see her back tonight or not. She didn’t come home last night. We shall see…

I got new Zapatos!!! I’ve wanted new house slippers for some time and every time I have been in a store that sold house shoes, I’ve checked them out. Nothing called to me, so I have waited. Finally, a week or two ago an ad from Petco popped up alongside my Facebook page that showed “Bob’s” slippers by Sketcher’s. They had Kitty-kat faces on them and weren’t out of sight expensive, so I ordered a pair. They came today and I have to say that although they were a bit difficult to get on, they fit like a glove and feel very nice.

When I saw the cats, I knew I had to have them–a real cat lover HAS to have Kitty-kats on her shoes, yes/no? LOL

With the fog as bad as it was today, all Robert and I did was listen to music, play games on the computer and snooze. Lazy bones, the two of us.

Do take care, stay safe and be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Monday, February 1, 2021 — Had a really nice day today. I finished another lap quilt, though this one is actually small enough for a child and it’s going in a package to my sister, Paula, in Texas. I hope she can get it to our Great-great-nephew, Jessie.

I ran across yet another rag quilt that I truly forgot I’d created. I looked at the photo in the folder on my computer and saw the background things and knew/vaguely remembered the quilt. I think I donated it to the hospital, but I honestly do not remember. It’s like throwing birdseed out to the birds — out of the hand and into the air — gone and enjoyed by the recipient, but once it left my hands, it was gone from my mind.

Did I post a photo of this quilt before?? LOL Amazing… I’ve also run across items in the Depot gift shop (last time it was a quilt, laying on a shelf), and admired them then looked and found my label. <sigh> getting old is the pits! LOL But I’m glad I can still create!

The next quilt will be pieced cottons… another children’s quilt:

The pieced quilt will have sashing in white with cornerstones in the solid colors shown. When I finish THAT quilt, I plan on doing something with the blue print “Layer Cake” I received in the mail the other day. Robert brought the package in and said, “Missouri Star Quilt Co.” and I thought to myself, it’s fabric! I know it’s fabric and he’s going to ask me why I’m buying more fabric! LOL Nope, he didn’t say a word — opened up the package and handed the hunk of fabric to me and said, “Another quilt?” LOL Yeppers… he’s a keeper!

I have to say that I don’t buy all of my fabric, some is given to me. For instance, the flannel was given to me by the sister of a friend. I don’t know where she got it, but I have enough to make at least two more rag quilts. The rag quilts are hard on the hands (cutting all those fringes with scissors is HARD on the hands), so I will mix them in with standard, pieced quilts. Since my long arm friend moved to Arizona, I’m left to either do my own quilting (which hasn’t been that great a success so far) or taking them in to the local shop or to someone else in the area who owns a long arm quilting machine. Will have to check around for prices and turn around time. Needless to say, I’m still pulling stitches out of that quilt with the bad looping on the background. I now have my new Baby Lock machine back from the shop so will use it to stitch the quilt. Wish me luck!

Lastly, Ruby went out last evening and never returned. She was on the deck this morning when I came out of the bedroom. Robert had just said that he hadn’t seen her this morning, and there she was. He said she must have heard my voice. I don’t know but she took off again earlier and hasn’t showed up. We shall see…

Be safe, take good care of yourself, and remember to practice safe distancing and wear a mask!!! Be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Monday, January 25, 2021 — It’s a Snow Day!! LOL If we had small kids here, they’d be jumping for joy at the thought of a good snow day and no school. But with the pandemic, they wouldn’t have in-person school anyway, but still. A free day? Who could ask for more?

I guess we now have a cat inside at night. I woke in pain around 3:45 a.m. I got up to take 2 Acetaminophen and as I came to the office door that leads out onto the deck, I spotted Ruby in the glass. It had been snowing and here she was outside in the cold! I opened the door, grabbed a kitchen towel and tried to dry her off. Long story short, she got fed and when I was drowsy and wanted to head back to bed, I shut her up in the office. The only furniture she could destroy was the office chairs and I trusted she wouldn’t shred them with her claws. Robert got up this morning and when he opened the office door, there she was on my chair, pretty as you please. He then made an unbelievable statement–we’ll have to get a cat scratching pole if she’s going to be living here. Gads… I really think she’s going to become our permanent resident. We shall see. I did send a message to Cheryl, letting her know Ruby was inside and safe.

I was going to go to the UPS store today, taking my Bernina sewing machine to get a price on shipping to a potential buyer who lives in Oregon. I messaged her last night and said if it was snowing today I wouldn’t be going out as our car doesn’t have 4-wheel drive. Will have to wait until the roads are clear. Thankfully, the UPS store isn’t that far away–about 5 miles.

Stay safe, stay warm, and please take care of yourself. I don’t see this pandemic ending any time soon, so we have to continue to hang tough for the long haul. May you be blessed in all you need in life, and be sure to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Sunday, January 24, 2021 — The 24th!! Wow, has this month ever flown by. One month ago, we were still in the throes of Christmas cheer, waiting for the big day to arrive! (Jan. 20th, for those who were anxiously waiting for the country’s leadership to change). It feels good…

The bad issue of the day is ‘deleting history’ on my computer. <sigh> Been there before, but you’d think I’d remember to not allow the virus protection program to ‘clean house’ on my hard drive. For starters, it deleted my history of playing the Mahjong Linker game. I was at level 35 out of 50. When the program came up I was back at square one and the program was showing me how to play. ROFL here… The second clue was when I went to log into Facebook and found I couldn’t. I bailed on that after several attempts to change the password. So I came here — and found my WordPress account had been chucked–well, just the passwords, but still. It’s been a pit of a start to my day.

Our skies are clouded over and it’s COLD outside, but breakfast is over, the diswasher is running and things are somewhat back to normal. I figure I’ll close this post here in a bit and allow the other half to play Spider Solitaire since he’s finished the morning paper and it’s my turn to learn the latest and greatest news.

So please, keep safe. Continue to take care of yourself and to tell those you love that you love them. We’re all in this together, and will always be there for one another! Blessings to you and yours …

View From My Window

Friday, January 22, 2021 — Today was really different, because last night was different. Yesterday evening Robert said he’d been meaning to say something to me — then he stated that he’d seen an ad in the newspaper for a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air for $9,000, and he wanted to go take a look at it. I was stunned–I didn’t really know what to say. He no longer drives–so why would he want this car. He said ‘all the parts are there.’ Translation–it still needs work. He’s having trouble putting a plastic building together and he wants a car to work on?? I didn’t know if he was joking or serious, but I made a kind of noncommital comment.

I tried to write about it last night but just couldn’t bring myself to put it into words. Tonight, he called out from the living room “$875 Million dollars!” I didn’t know what he was talking about, so went in to stand by him. I asked him what sold for $875M. He said, ‘No. The Lottery is $875 million! and it only takes one winning ticket and I’ll have my ’57 Chevy. Then, he proceeds to say that he’ll sit in the passenger seat and ‘allow’ me to drive him around while he waves at everyone we pass along the way.’

Last night, I had asked him what he would do with the car when he doesn’t really drive anymore. He chuckled and grinned and said, “I have a driver’s license!” (Yes, he does, thanks to my going online and renewing it for him.) He said he thought it would give him something to do — i.e., go out and sand on a spot here and there. My mind is reeling, thinking of him wanting to go out into his cold, cold garage to sand on a car, when he hasn’t followed through with the HO layout he was going to build. I never know how to respond to things with him. I am at a loss most of the time.

Today, I had my grocery list in hand and was ready to leave to go shopping, go to the mailbox and do other errands. He was fixing hummingbird food (he was at the computer earlier and I noticed a hummingbird trying to get food out of the feeders–both feeders were empty. I commented that he would have to make hummingbird food today. Didn’t say right now, but that’s what he did — jumped right up, leaving his game half-finished and went in to fix sugar-water mixture for the feeders. I told him he didn’t have to do it right away, it was just that I noticed the hummingbird trying to get something out of the feeders and they both appeared to be empty. He then commented that we were out of bird seed. He said he didn’t know if Albertson’s carried it. I told him I could go to Tractor Supply and get it there. He half-way suggested that he wanted to go along, and then backtracked and said it was obvious that I didn’t want him to go with me. I stood there speechless. When he does come with me, I’m limited in how much time I can spend in the store because he has no stamina anymore. I laid my keys down on the counter and told him he could come with and I could wait for him to make the hummingbird’s food. He then became curt and said, “No. Go ahead. I know you don’t want me to go with you.” I said, “I’ll be back.” and left. What could I possibly say??

When I did get back, he helped carry in the groceries and then the 35 lb. bag of bird seed. After standing and folding the grocery bags while I put groceries away, suddenly he seemed drained and said, “I need to sit down.” I told him that just bringing in the groceries had wiped him out. I added that this was one of the reasons I didn’t want him to come with me grocery shopping, because he just doesn’t have the stamina for it anymore. He agreed, as he sat down in his chair.

I look through my caregiver books for help in responding to the unthinkable situations and found nothing. It’s like, “You’re on your own!” And so I am. One day at a time, one caregiving moment at a time.

Be safe, be well — get your COVID-19 vaccination!! — take care of yourself. You are important. And remember to tell those you love that you love them. I will save the bathroom repair saga for tomorrow’s post. Talking about it here would just make me tense again … have a good evening!

View From My Window

Sunday, January 17, 2021 — I’m more than disappointed these past few days. I’ve been working on the latest quilt donation and was almost finished quilting when I happened to turn the quilt over to trim off the ends of thread from starting and stopping the stitching. I was utterly shocked to discover that the tension was off on almost every block I’d sewn. Out came the seam ripper and some small, very sharp scissors. I am still pulling stitches, and it’s been three days off and on ripping out stitches and cutting off the knots formed when the machine cuts the thread.

Those little bumps between the horizontal lines is the upper thread–it’s supposed to be layered/knotted between the layers of fabric, rather than sitting on top of the backing. You can see it’s very pronounced in the stitch line on the right side of the picture. <sigh> I know some quilters get so sick of a project that they fold it up and put it away for another day. I’m tempted to do that with this quilt. I’d already trimmed it and had it ready for binding. Note that when I checked the stitching around the edge of the quilt, I found that the tension was bad there as well, so IT will have to be torn out and redone.

Other than this, I did manage to get in to see the eye surgeon this past Thursday. He inspected my eyes and noted that the left eye also has scar tissue growing over the lens, so I’ll need the laser procedure done on both eyes. I’m scheduled to have the right eye done on the 28th of this month, followed a week later by an appointment to do the left eye. I asked the dr. if this happened a lot — i.e., the scar tissue situation — and he said, yes, it did, “About 40% of the time.” The things they never tell you! Ah me… I thought that I would be put under for the procedure and would need someone to drive us back home from Bakersfield, but apparently, the procedure takes all of 10-15 minutes, no anesthesia (gulp!) and I will be clear to drive us back home directly afterwards. I guess it’s a sweet and simple procedure. We shall see.

As we move through the days, dealing with the ever increasing threat of infection from COVID-19, I see the death toll continuing to rise to drastic levels. Today’s newspaper had no less than four pages of obituaries. Although I’m sure that a great percentage of the deaths came from COVID-19, not all of the obituary articles noted the cause, so we can’t be sure. Seeing all of these notices just serves to increase our awareness and insecurity when thinking of exposure to the virus. Thankfully, my family members have recovered and returned to work. I don’t know that having gone through a bout of the infection will leave them immune to a second infection. One would hope so, but I don’t know that it’s been proven just yet.

Do continue to take care of yourself and be extra careful if you have to go out. The virus is mutating and the odds are even greater these days that you will contract the virus. Tell those you love that you love them. Please know that you are loved and are never alone in this life. Blessings to you and yours — always.

View From My Window

Sunday, January 10, 2021 — What a lazy day this is turning out to be. Ruby has slept 90% of the day away–after polishing off two cans of Friskies cat food. I had been giving her half a can of tuna morning and night, but found the cat food far cheaper. After opening that first can of Friskies, I decided I’d go back to tuna. I just cannot tolerate the smell of that cat food. Ugh! There are two cans remaining of the 10 cans I bought at $.65 apiece, which were on sale. She gobbled the first can up and I wondered if she ate without really smelling the food, or if the food actually smelled good to her.

Our love affair with Ruby began when I would give her cat treats when she came to visit. That got expensive so I started buying dry cat food and giving her a handful as a treat. LOL Then it was, break out a plate and put 1/2 a cup on the plate. That naturally progressed to pouring it into a bowl until the bowl was close to overflowing, and adding a dish of water to wash it down with. This went along until I got a number of cans of inexpensive tuna with our monthly food distribution. I figured I could spare a bit of tuna as a special treat for Ruby. Can you tell where this is going?? LOL

Now, she’s at the door first thing in the morning, crying to be let in so she can eat. Then she proceeds to any of a number of sleeping places and proceeds to groom herself before settling down for a good nap. Ah me… I told the cashier at the grocery store as she was scanning the cans of cat food that I never thought I’d be buying cat food. Well, that was the first and last time of that for me. <shudders> I’m glad Ruby liked it because I know I won’t have any sitting on the pantry shelf, dying of old age.

She really is a love… and all of my attempts at distancing myself from her have eroded to allowing her back into our lives and with even more attachment than before. I can see how people get attached to cats. I went online to ask why cats sleep so much and was rewarded with the statement that cats inherently sleep a lot because of their hunting instincts. Their ancestors hunted for their food and slept off and on during the day to store up energy for their nightly foraging/hunting activities. Although the domesticated cat no longer has to forage/hunt for their food, they still maintain the urge to sleep. And sleep they do… LOL

Be safe, be well, and remember to tell those you love that you love them! And watch out for the cat if it gets underfoot. Falling over a cat is not fun! Nor good for old bones!

View From My Window

Saturday, January 9, 2021 — The following is a letter I submitted to the Editor, Bakersfield Californian newspaper in response to an article in today’s paper. The article was an interview with a Bakersfield resident who flew with his wife to Washington, D.C. to attend the Trump rally. The husband made some statements that I take issue with. I told Robert that I had a problem with what was being said by him and Robert immediately said, “Write a letter!” LOL (knowing full well that I would–and have).

_________________________________ # # # ______________________________

Editor, Bakersfield Californian

RE” Local section article, P. A3, Saturday, January 9, 2021, edition: “Bakersfield Trump supporter describes heading to DC rally before riot ensued.”

Resident Shaffer states, “He knew there were … other longtime Trump supporters like him who shared his belief that the states, courts and county agencies had not done their due diligence. … He didn’t really believe that the election would get overturned … but he thought that maybe congressional members would air some of the issues.”

I’m lost here. What ‘due diligence’ wasn’t done during the November 2020 election? Have I missed a report where evidence showed irregularities had been discovered? Was an act of fraud uncovered? Why would this election be fraudulent when the election that enabled Trump to take the office of President wasn’t considered a fraud? What was done differently? Could it be that people wanted a new leader for the country? Evidence speaks louder than words and we have yet to see any evidence.

Please help me understand what ‘issues’ you believed Congressional members would air. What did those rioters believe they were doing? Voicing their opinions? According to Ashli Babbitt’s husband, that’s what she was supposedly doing. I beg to differ–she participated in an unlawful act and paid for it. She went way beyond exercising her right to free speech. I’m glad steps are being taken to identify and arrest all those who participated in the attack on the Capitol. They must take responsibility for their actions and bear the consequences.

___________________________ # # # ________________________

I follow another blogger’s posts — https://ellenshead.blogspot.com/

Her latest post adds some very disturbing news to the already disgusting and sad state of affairs. It boggles the mind why some of the people who should have been expected to act more responsibly were among those who caused damage to the Capitol, who perhaps made the more egregious acts during the riot. Complicit assistance from within the Capitol is the least horrific part of this news.

I await news that the people responsible been located and are being held accountable, including those in political, military or police (including Capitol Police Force) positions. This goes way beyond what one would expect of Americans who believe in our country and democracy.

Take care … continue to be safe and to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Saturday, January 9, 2021 — All things work out in the end. Hopefully, this will hold true for the rest of this year and we’ll have an end to the COVID-19 crisis and a government that reflects the values of the people of this country.

Meanwhile, I finished the first flannel rag quilt. It turned out to be more of a doll size quilt than a lap quilt, but it’s still cute.

I have more flannel to work through, so there may be a succession of doll quilts to be donated. LOL

We’ve had some really foggy days recently. This morning was no different.

Looks like a good day to stay in and sew!

As I said earlier, all will work out in the end. Yesterday’s mail brought our new insurance cards–for the insurance we carried LAST year. <sigh> I’m thinking I may as well accept that my window of opportunity to choose a new insurance plan has closed permanently. It’s o.k. We can afford the bit of extra premium thanks to our 1.3% pay increase. NEXT year I hope to be able to navigate OPM’s system a bit better. We shall see. It’s always such a complicated process. They don’t make it easy, for some reason. But, we have health insurance and I like our doctors, which is far more than many people have going for them today.

Please stay safe–it’s getting far riskier these days to avoid COVID-19 infections (or variations thereof). Remember to tell those you love that you love them.

View From My Window

Wednesday, January 6, 2021 — Christmas has been taken down, wrapped up and stored for another 11 months. The new year is here and it feels good. I had several tasks that needed to be handled ASAP, the least of which was to get our new hot water heater inspected by the County Building Dept. I called the number on the form on Saturday and left a message. I was told that if I were to call before 8 a.m., I could possibly get inspected that very day. When I called on Monday to verify that they got my message, I discovered that I was on the call list for that day! Whoo hoo! Strike one off the list!

The second task wasn’t nearly as easily handled. I needed to call the government’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM). I received notification that Robert’s annuity statement was available for viewing. In the back of my mind, I was worried that the change in health insurance that I performed on November 9, 2020 hadn’t taken effect for some reason. Open Enrollment ended in December and so my chances of trying again were out the window. Reaching OPM by phone at any time is a herculean task. Talk about a busy line… it took me the better part of 2 hours of hitting ‘redial’ and re-entering the phone number (I often felt that somehow I wasn’t calling the right number because it would bring a recording of “All Circuits are Busy… Please try your call later.”

Finally, I got a ringing in my ear!! I didn’t have to wait long at all, considering how difficult it was to get through to the number. After explaining my situation, the representative said she didn’t see anything on our account that indicated a change in insurance and she would forward my situation to upper management. Apparently, I (who at times have the foggiest of brains) tried to sign up for health insurance that’s only available to postal worker’s! Uh… my husband wasn’t a postal worker. Perhaps that’s why I never received any kind of formal verification. <sigh> I don’t know what will happen now. I now wait for a call from the higher ups who can hopefully get us onto a new plan that’s a bit cheaper than what we now have. I have to hope…

Speaking of waiting, we went to Bakersfield yesterday morning for my appointment with the eye surgeon. Apparently (love that word!), my primary doctor’s office staff sent me a letter saying that I had authorization to request a referral. I really didn’t read the letter all that closely, so upon reaching the desk and signing in at the surgeon’s office, I was told I couldn’t be seen until they had a true formal authorization from our health insurance. The nice letter on the Dr’s letterhead didn’t quite cut it. Also in the back of my mind has been the niggling concern that a) I want to get my right eye fixed because it’s begun to actually hurt each and every day, and b) if my insurance changes, I will have to get a referral for a new opthalmologist/surgeon to repair my right eye. (I have scar tissue growing over the lens in my right eye, which was installed when they removed cataracts from my eyes a couple of years ago.).

For now, my comfort is that we’re still insured and it’s very good insurance. But it’s also very expensive insurance, something that I had hoped to have changed by the end of last year.

I also discovered a deposit from “Almost-ex” President Trump, which recovers 3/4th of the cost of the new hot water heater! Nice… gratitude all around here. I am grateful that neither Robert or I have COVID-19, and our family’s health is improving, day by day.

I will leave you with blessings for you and your loved ones. Be sure to tell them that you love them. Wherever you are on your path in this life, remember that you are loved, you are important, and you are here to learn. Be grateful not only for what you have, but for what you don’t have!

View From My Window

Saturday, January 2, 2021 — The second day of the new year and I’ve been sewing off and on most of the day. I worked on the scrappy quilt for a bit, finishing the quilting on all of the 5″ blocks. Now all I have left are the mini-four-patch blocks, which are smaller and although they would seem to be quicker, they actually take more time because you’re constantly stopping and turning the quilt around and repositioning it. But eventually, it will be done and I can trim and bind it.

I was gifted a huge bag of flannel pieces, and they’ve sat on my cutting table, taking up valuable space, for over a week now. So, today I put together a rag quilt, baby-size. I have a second one set to be cut and laid out, as well. Then there’s even more after that. I’ll manage to get at least three rag quilts out of this donation. Hooray for me!

All these quilts cost me is my time, thread, electricity and my machines. Pennies compared to the overall comfort value these quilts will bring to someone.

Other than this, I’ve read a bit and worked on our taxes. It’s the first of the year and the deed must be done. I figure if I get an early start on the preparation work, I can get in and get them done sooner. Then I won’t have it hanging over my head with the sand of the IRS hourglass running. LOL

There’s so many people coming down with the COVID-19 virus these days — it truly is an epidemic. It’s affecting whole families, as one person gets it and then the rest of the family begin developing symptoms. Please be extra careful if you must go out. Mask up, wash up, and keep your distance. And please keep positive healing thoughts for those who are fighting this virus. I know that even if they don’t have severe symptoms, the fact that they’re actively fighting the illness is stressful enough.

I happened to see my sister-in-law’s post on FaceBook the other evening — my brother-in-law has COVID, so I called to see how he was doing. Come to find out, he got the infection from his wife, who got it from who knows where. He said some people had come to their church and said they thought they’d been exposed a few days before, but because they didn’t have any symptoms they felt they were safe. No telling if they were right or wrong in not staying home, but they discovered they WERE infected. Don’t take chances–if you think you’ve been exposed, please stay home and self-quarantine.

And remember to tell those you love that you love them!!

View From My Window

Wednesday, December 30, 2020 — We’re getting down to the wire now–it’s almost 2021 and with the new year comes the hope that we will make headway on many things, number one of which is the COVID-19 virus. Sadly, several members of my family have the virus and the mother in me wants to be there with them to care for them. But, I can’t do that. All I can do is caution them to take care of themselves. They’re all adults (except for one member), so they know what to do.

I have to say that all of my admonitions about staying safe didn’t work the way I hoped it would. Part of me feels that the odds are against us, with each passing day bringing more and more infections and deaths. And now a variant on the virus has appeared and so we’re fighting it as well. From what I’ve heard, the symptoms for the new virus are pretty much the same as for COVID-19, but it’s more contagious.

It’s one hard row to hoe for us these days. We have to persevere. We WILL beat this. We must keep a positive outlook and know that eventually, this will be a bad memory for the world, and we will move forward to conquer other crises.

I’m making progress on the latest quilt, but I do miss the new sewing machine. I’ll have to break down and take it to Lancaster to be repaired, but I really don’t want to leave the house. Now there’s a conundrum for you! I’m using the Singer 9960 but if I try to go fast, the stitches are uneven. I think it’s the walking foot that isn’t staying in sync, so it’s just going to take me a bit longer to finish. It will get done and I’ll move on to the next quilt. One at a time…

It’s that time again–time to close this down and go sit with Robert and find something good to watch on t.v. I pray for blessings, good health and safety for all my family and friends. There are always things to be grateful for in this life. Please take a moment to put positive thoughts out to the Universe. We need all the positivity we can bring to our world.

Be safe (please!), take good care of yourself, don’t lose faith that all will be right with our world eventually, and please remember to tell those you love that you love them. Love is our one constant in life–treasure it!

View From My Window

Friday, December 25, 2020 — Another Christmas is at an end. We had a very good day today. I cooked a nice turkey breast roast and all the trimmings. No dessert, but that’s o.k., as we don’t really need the extra calories.

I don’t know that I wrote about the hot water heater springing a leak, but it did and now it’s shut off and drained. We’ve had no hot water for 2 days now and I now boil water to wash dishes and rinse them with cold water. We’re getting a replacement water heater, but not until NEXT Thursday! It was the earliest they could schedule the installation. I opted to go with a smaller size hot water heater because it saved us almost $1,000. I was surprised that the difference between a 50 gallon and a 75 gallon water heater was just about double the price. I also didn’t know that 75 gallon water heaters are only guaranteed for 1 year; 50 gallon water heaters are guaranteed for 3 years. We’ve had our current water heater for 13 years, so you could say we’ve got more than our money’s worth. I was shocked at the prices.

Did not expect the water heater’s demise. I know the car will have to be put in the shop fairly soon — the engine maintenance required light on the dash has been blinking. When it goes to solid yellow, I will call and schedule an appointment. And, I’m looking at getting some quotes to have the house’s exterior trim and woodwork painted. Some of the eaves will need to be replaced and I expect that will cost. Needs to be done, so there you are.

I hear the statistics for COVID-19 and it makes me sad and at the same time angry. People are still fighting wearing a mask, and at the same time, people are dying in ever greater numbers. We’re missing the boat here…

Do continue to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Please wear a mask and practice social distancing. You can never tell if someone near you is contagious or not, so why put yourself at risk??

Blessings to you and yours. Please say a prayer for all those who are fighting COVID-19. And be sure to tell those you love that you love them.