Coping

Yesterday I got a bid from a local contractor to replace my shed roof tiles, which have been leaking.

For the past week Bill has been trying to repair a leak in his downstairs toilet.  This morning he will make his third return trip to Lowe's to return parts that are not working.

For two weeks, every day that it is not raining I poke out the tent caterpillars' tents they are building in my wild cherry tree.

I just taped up the entrances to my Purple Martin house after a determined starling made it's fifth nest.  Said starling is now trying to figure out how to get in that hole to her nest.  

Yesterday I spent about two hours raking grass from our abundant spring rain fed luxurious green .98 acres of lawn.  My back is killing me.

I have yet to spread the mulch I had delivered three weeks ago.

My project to transfer old VHS tapes to DVD has stalled, probably until fall when the cold weather descends again, forcing me inside the house.

I have to wash my car.

Tomorrow I see my doctor to arrange for my once every five year colonoscopy. Oh joy.  Five years already?

I am so far behind in my blog reading, especially of my favorite bloggers Dr. Spo, Jon, Travel Penguin, and Lar.  

Am I complaining?  Ranting? Venting? 

I don't know folks.  Tell you what though, this is what I do know.  

I continue to enjoy some of my favorite activities and pastimes. 

I read two books at one time.  One in my bathroom library and one when I go to bed.  Presently my bathroom reading is a biography of Louis lV, the Sun King by Antonio Fraser. My bedroom reading (I just completed "The Royals" by Kitty Kelly) is now "Nancy", a biography of Nancy Reagan.  Oh no, I don't read Dostoyevsky. Tried reading "The Idiot" when I was in high school.  My head still hurts from trying to understand that book.  No imperious scholar here folks.  Just good old fashion juicy tidbits of gossip reading for  your favorite blogger.

So how to I keep my sanity folks?  I look out my bedroom window like I did this morning where I can watch the robins bathing (and pooping) my the birdbaths I have provided them in my oval planter right outside my bedroom window.

I listen to the Internet radio station "Antiques Beat" on my Bose radio while I write this blog and play online Scrabble (via Facebook).  By the way, anyone who wants to play online Scrabble with me, let me know! Warning though, if you don't make your moves in the allowed time I do force forfeit.  I am a fierce competitor.

Okay, this meandering blog post is long enough.  Tell you what, take some time out to listen to one of my favorite "Antiques Beat" musical selections. 

Bill Goes Grocery Shopping

Shopping at BJ's, back in the good old days when both of my legs were working - I hoping those days will come back again

Bill is at the local supermarket now, struggling to find a few items that we I need in this house.  

He just called on his iPhone a few minutes ago telling me "They don't have any Cottenelle wipes."  Well, actually they do, Bill just doesn't know where they are.

I've asked Bill to use FaceTime when he is at the store so he can show me where he is but he refuses to.  He doesn't like new technology and avoids the use of it whenever he can.  It took me two months to convince him to use his iPad. Of course he lives on his iPad now, he is rarely without it in his lap.  

I just heard the bell ring.  He's back from the store.  Let's see what he did and didn't get right from my very simple and basic list. 

A frustrated Bill

Well, he got everything right but not without some frustration, he had to ask someone at the store where the Cottenelle wipes were.  

Since my surgery almost two weeks ago I haven't been to the store because I've been on a walker.  I've only been once to my doctor's office and that was a major effort.  This Monday I visit my VA doctor and that too will be a major effort getting me in the car and out of the car and transporting my walker with me.  Before my surgery, I was able to go to the store with a cane and use one of those little go carts but I can't do that now because I have to be very careful with the healing of my leg.

This morning I was thinking why is Bill having so much problem shopping for me then I realized why.  We've been together fifty years and in all that time I've done ALL the shopping.  In fact, doesn't even go into the store with me, he prefers to sit in the car except when we go to Walmart or BJ's, at which time he will follow me as I push the shopping cart.

When I first met Bill the only food he had in his apartment were an assortment of juices in his refrigerator and canned foods like Chef Boyardee and canned vegetables, and Campbell's soup. At the time I thought it was cute that he never heated his canned food or even took it out of the can.  All he would do is open the can, put a scoop of mayonnaise on the top and eat the room temperature food straight out of the can.  He never used dishes or bowls.  

Since I like to cook, I began cooking our meals.  He would eat the left overs.  And it has been that way in the fifty years since we have been together. Once, just once, he cooked a meal for me.  It was steak and potatoes. It was a disaster. A DISASTER.  He's never cooked since.

For the first ten years or so I cooked the meals and we had a sit down dinner.  However, over the years our eating habits have changed.  We eat at different times.  I eat breakfast at 7 or 8 in the morning.  Lunch at 1 or 2 in the afternoon. And dinner between 7 and 8 at night.

Bill eats "breakfast" at 2:30 A.M.  Then "lunch" at 10:30 A.M.  "Dinner" he eats at 4 PM.  Needless to say we haven't eaten together, except on the rare occasion when we go out, together in years.  A few years ago when a friend used to stop over occasionally for a Friday night dinner that I cooked. Bill would eat then "late" at 6 P.M. but then excuse himself at 7 P.M. to go to bed.  Yes, Bill goes to bed at 7 P.M. and gets up around 2:30 A.M. in the morning.  Now you can understand why we have separate bedrooms on separate floors.  We live two totally different time cycle life styles.

Now, with my leg injury, and that I am incapacitated and can't drive, I have to depend on Bill to shop for my basic food items. This is very difficult for Bill because he doesn't know where anything is in the store.  He isn't familiar with the various ramifications of items.  Take yogurt for example. I wanted Dannon Lite and Fit Coconut Vanilla Greek Yogurt. He brings back Dannon Activa Greek yogurt and Dannon Strawberry Cheesecake yogurt.  Not the same folks.  He says "They're Greek yogurts, that's what you wanted."  Now I'm the first to admit that looking for items like this in the dairy shelf can be confusing but there is a PHOTO on the container of a coconut which looks NOTHING like the photo of the strawberry cheesecake yogurt.

I have to wrap up this posting folks. I see where I'm going on way too long ranting. 

I appreciate everything Bill is doing for me but this morning I realized that I have been doing all the food shopping for fifty years.  It is too much for me to assume that Bill would be as familiar with the store as I am, Shopper Par Excellence that I am. 
 

Checking out my groceries at the local Food Lion with my favorite checker, I used to go to Food Lion at least four times a week - they're probably wondering what happened to me - I'll be back!

So I have decided the next time foodstuffs have to be acquired the local supermarket, I'm going walker and all.  So what if I look like a helpless old man maneuvering around the store on his space taking walker. SO WHAT? Lord knows I've had to maneuver around other people in similar situations in the past.  Although I don't remember ever seeing anyone with a walker in the store.  An assisted care facility like when I visited my friends Bob and Jim but not at the store.  Oh well, I'm taking my walker with me when I go to the VA Outpatient Clinic this Monday which I was advised to do by my health care worker.  She said it was very important that I maintain balance and not cause damage by falling during my healing process, which could set me back significantly. 

Man oh man, what a bummer this leg injury is turning out to be.  I'm managing better in other areas like getting into my bed by myself and getting out without Bill's assistance.  I'm really good at taking sink baths and getting around the house here and even sitting at my computer like I am now with my injured leg elevated. 

Well, enough complaining from me this morning.  I hope you all have a wonderful day.  It looks like a glorious one out there.