Running Ragged

 

Pat and I taking advantage of the Wednesday Early Bird Special at Touch Of Italy this afternoon at 4 PM, just as the doors opened.

Pat's here but I've been running myself ragged. 

When Pat is here I try to take care of those backed up items that I've put off because I either don't want to do them by myself or can't.

Pat arrived late Sunday afternoon. That was fine. We enjoyed a movie in the Flynn Cinema, my in house 77 inch TV screen and surround sound system in my basement. 

Next day was the challenge. We drove to the Christiana Mall just outside Wilmington, which is a 93 mile (one and a half hours) trip north. We were going there to pick up my new iPhone 18. Involved was transferring the data from my new iPhone 18 from my old iPhone 16. Then Pat's older iPhone information had to be transferred to my old iPhone which I was giving to him. Also we had to repair both of our Apple Watches to our new iPhones. All told this took a little over two hours. Then the long trip back to Sussex County downstate.

I was having trouble understanding my Apple CarPlay in my new Hyundai Venue. Next stop then was the Hyundai dealership in Millsboro to see a salesman to have my questions answered. Then off too the new Weiss Markets to by my favorite Progresso Tuscan Soup mix. I buy about two dozen cans each visit. Weiss Food Markets is the only place where I can by the Tuscan Soup which I have almost every day for lunch. I've asked my local supermarket (Food Lion) to stock it.....several times....but the manager just ignores my request. I even gave him the label of the can and told him I've been shopping at that particular supermarket ever since I moved down here to Delaware. He could give a shit. I could tell by the way he looked at me. I even reminded him another time I was in the store and he just looked at me like I stepped off a spaceship from Mars. Ironically Food Lion sent me one of those random surveys about how I like their store and if I can "any concerns."  Well, for once I expressed my concerns about my request to stock that soup. You can guess the response I received from Food Lion....nada. 

After that I vowed never to complete another online survey again. But I just did again tonight, the VA sent me a survey. I figured I better complete that survey or else the Trump administration will kick me off their system. I can't chance that because that's where I get my meds which never cost more than $15. You won't see me getting a $500 bill for a prescription like my dear friend Spo. That's the main reason I stay with the VA medical system. Speaking of which I had my six month visit with my VA doctor. This time Pat was at my side. I introduced him to my longtime doctor, who is wonderful by the way. That visit went well. This was to review my labs which I took a week earlier. My labs showed I was very healthy and even my PSA score went down. Only one small problem, when they first took my blood pressure, like they always do before I see my doctor, it was 186 over 90. That's the highest it's ever been! But I told the PA that was because I had to pass a picture of Trump, Vance and the VA administer Doug Collins as I rounded the corner to see my doctor. 

This has happened every time since Trump's uncle mug shot has returned to all government buildings including the VA Outpatient Clinics. The American president who calls anyone who goes into the service "suckers and losers". Captain Bone Spurs himself who not one member of his family has ever been in the service. Who grandfather in fact immigrated to the United States from Germany to avoid the German draft. Draft dodging is Trump family tradition. And yet so many of my fellow vets still support this draft dodging coward. That and many to her reasons like his recent suggestion that Iran drop a nuclear bomb of the two California cities Los Angeles and San Diego because California didn't vote for him. Yes, that person. But I digress. The PA took my blood pressure again and it was down to my "normal 144 over 72. 

After the visit at the VA I decided to take advantage of having Pat with me and we visited one of our favorite Mexican restaurants Sol Azteca in Georgetown, just a bit down the road from the VA Outpatient Clinic. We got there about 4 o'clock and were one of the few diners because we were so early. I like this so much better than going out later at night when it's dark and the restaurants are loaded with noisy family and noise and chaos. I don't like to drive at night either even though Pat drives all the time when he visits me. We had a fabulous meal and I had a fantastic Frozen Lime Margarita in a quiet restaurant except for Mexican music playing lightly in the background. We could actually hear each other talking without shouting. And I had enough food left over for another meal at home. 

Today we made the rounds to look for a dryer vent cover. The one I bought last week at Home Depot doesn't fit as the one I bought from Amazon last month didn't fit. My previous dryer vent covers have deteriorated from the weather and I need the pest guard to keep the nearby field mice from entering my house and setting up a family under my refrigerator like they tried to do a few years ago (I killed the dad and pregnant mama with dual mouse traps - I don't like to kill critters but I won't share my house with mice, no matter how cute they are). At my wit's end about finding a vent cover that fits (why do manufactures always change the size?) I gave up and called Scott, my local handyman to rescue me and Pat. Pat is still willing to fix the vent cover

Pat checking out the size of the vent cover

but right now I have no vent cover and I had to place a screen over that hole in my house where the dryer vent that comes out. I love living in my own house but there are always maintenance items like this to take care. Always. 

We took advantage of another off season restaurant meal this afternoon at four. We went to Touch of Italy with has 50% off of past a dishes. I got the Penne Rigate

My Penne Rigate pasta with Bolognese sauce and freshly graded Parmesan cheese 

which was delicious but at $27.95 regular price which I would never pay but at half price, it's doable. $10 for the house wine which was also very good. I can't afford regular restaurant prices anymore unless they're Mexican restaurants which seem to be less costly and offer more food. I ate this whole bowl of pasta, no leftovers to take home like I did yesterday. The Touch of Italy entrees may be expensive but they are worth it. They make their own pasta and have their own wine. Their food doesn't come from Sysco frozen food delivery trucks

Sysco Frozen Food deliveries early in the morning at Rehoboth Beach restaurants. On the truck it says "quality food". Don't believe that statement for one second. It's frozen food to feed the tourist masses at vastly marked up entrees and such. My taste buds still work fine and besides, I used to work at the Hampton Inn and that's where we got all our food. Frozen.

one sees so often unloading early in the morning in the back of restaurants to serve that defrosted slop to the tourist masses. If I want reheated frozen food I'll eat food that I have prepared myself and put in my freezer chest. It tastes better than Sysco's. 

Even though I had a fabulous meal at Touch of Italy I was exhausted when I returned home today. 

With all this activity I just got so stressed out today that my left eye started to bother me again. I have a stigmatism in that eye and whenever I get stressed it's like I have a speck dust in my eye. I laid down for a nap around 5:30 PM. Pat woke me up sometime after 7 PM. I didn't want to get up but he urged me to get up or else I wouldn't be able to sleep through the night. So here I am now at 12:07 AM, early in the morning writing one of my longest blog posts in months. I hope you're not sorry for stopping by. Usually I don't blog post when Pat visits because I just don't have the time but I'm taking the time to get back into my regular routine so I can lower my stress level. And it is working because my eye isn't bothering me any more. 

A short while ago I talked to Pat about this situation and we agreed that he will go out tomorrow on his own and look for those vent covers and do whatever else he needs or wants to do. He doesn't need me hobbling about, struggling to get out of my car and then hobbling on a cane. That Pat, just like Bill....so patient with me. I don't know how they do it. Perhaps that why I love them so much, they put up with me. I don't know that I would if I was in their shoes. 

That's it for now folks. 

Pat's On His Way!

 

Pat left his house in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada very early this morning about 3:15 AM. Right now he is in upstate Pennsylvania. He should be here at Casa Tipton-Kelly about 3 PM this afternoon. YEA!

Guess Who's Coming For Dinner (for the next two weeks)?

 

Rolling out the red carpet for my Canadian husband!

That special time is here again folks! Pat, my Canadian husband of almost a year, is coming for a visit! 

He will be here two weeks. I already have a lengthy To Do List on his desk in his bedroom. 

As you all know I'm not the handyman type. Pat is. Not quite as skilled as Bill was (Bill could build a house and was a certified electrician - Army and Air Force trained). But Pat can handle the small jobs which still need to be done before they turn into big jobs. I can do them half assed but I hate that kind of work. I'm a cook. I love to cook. Experiment with different recipes. Funny thing, neither Pat nor Bill likes to cook. 

The only trip we have planned is one to the Christiana Mall outside Wilmington. That an hour and a half drive. I ordered a new iPhone 18. I have to pick it up at the Apple Store at the Christiana Mall. I could have had it delivered but it wouldn't be until the end of the month (October). Pat will only be here two weeks and I want to give him my iPhone 16. He needs a new iPhone. I'm on that lease plan with Apple where I can get a new iPhone every year or keep the one I have for two years until it is paid off then the phone is mine. These days since Casa Tipton-Kelly household income is cut in half, I have to be much more careful with expenses. Every dollar counts with the rising cost of living. I just paid my auto insurance for six months. You don't want to know. My "free" health insurance (Medicare) Part B also went up substantially. Thank goodness for the VA where I get my meds which I only have to pay fifteen dollars for, no matter what the meds and I use a lot of meds to keep this old body going.

I was going to take a trip with Pat to my former hometown of Downingtown PA (2 1/2 hour drive each way) for my monthly high school class (of 1959) luncheon. I cancelled out though because my former best friend from high school won't be there (he has another commitment). Not that I have anything against the other former classmates but I wasn't that close to them and a five hour trip in my new car ("The Princes") doesn't justify the expense nor the time. Making hard choices at this time of my life folks.

This morning I gave blood at my local VA Outpatient Clinic, also called "labs." I see my VA doctor next week. I see him every six months now that I'm nearing my Exit Date. It's going to be interesting to see if my PSA has taken any more leaps. Doesn't matter if it does, I'm not subjecting this tired old body to any more procedures. Not doing it. So far so good. I get up in the morning and I can hardly move but I attribute that to my advancing arthritis. I hope it's not the prostate cancer spreading to my bones but if it is, I'll deal with that if and when the time comes. As I've said many times before in this forum, although I have a good life now, when I go to bed I usually think about "is this the time not waking up.?"

That's the way I want to go folks, just slip away in my sleep.

But for now I have some good living to do the next two weeks. That's why I'm rolling out the red carpet for Pat. It will be nice to have a driver again and someone else in the house. Get's lonely here at times even thou Bill has been visiting me the past two night with that burned out Christmas light.

Have a great day everyone!

My World Is Shrinking

 

Me at eleven years old without a worry in the world. Year 1953. 

My world has been shrinking this past year.

Yesterday I woke up with a mild case of vertigo. Have you ever had vertigo? It's awful. The best way I can describe it is remember when you were a kid and you spun around then tried to walk straight but you couldn't? That's what vertigo is like. Everything is spinning. One time I had it so bad Bill had to take me to the emergency room. It lasted all day. The only way out of it is to take the medication they gave me and get a lot of rest. My vertigo wasn't that bad yesterday that I had to go to the emergency room so I just rested. I couldn't even read. I always like to read before I go to sleep. And I certainly could't drive yesterday. I did want to get a few items at Food Lion but driving was out of question.

I could go out today but we just had a nor'easter roar through here last night and this morning. I don't want to get the Princess wet. I'll go out tomorrow. 

Having that vertigo again yesterday reminded me of how vulnerable I am living alone here. In the past Bill would drive me if I had to go someplace. Now that function is up to Pat and of course he's not here. He's in Canada waiting for his green card approval which could take another year. Week after next he's coming down for a thirteen day visit which he's been doing every four months. I try to schedule my doctors' appointments for when he is down here. Next Friday I have to give blood for my six month labs checkup at the VA. The following Tuesday I see my VA doctor. Pat will be with me then. This will be his first time seeing my doctor. 

Having this vertigo incident reminded me yesterday that I have to have a backup plan when I can't drive. I can have my food delivered and I can even have remote visits with my doctor via TeleHealth. That's how I visit my VA doctor now, it's just at the VA Outpatient Clinic in Georgetown. I used to see him in person but now he works from his home and sees all his patients via TeleHealth.

I like to get out. But I don't like to do long trips like visiting my former hometown in Pennsylvania. Bill and I used to take those visits almost monthly for several years after we moved down here. That's a two and a half hour drive up and back. I don't do that anymore. And of course with all the road construction down here in Sussex County this year I only go north on Route One to Milton and Food Lion. I can't go south on Route One, traffic has been backed up all summer while DelDot builds new roundabouts to handle the increased traffic in this year round tourists destination that Rehoboth Beach and it's environs now hold. When Pat comes down the week after next, he does all the driving. In the Princess. Pat's a good driver and I enjoy being chauffeured around. He does spoil me.

But back to my world shrinking. Ever since Bill died two and a half years ago, I have limited my driving. I used to take Bill out at least once a day for a drive, sometimes twice. I of course do not do that for myself. And when I do go out I only go out if it is absolutely necessary for food shopping or the occasional stop at my local Ace Hardware. Thank God for Amazon. I'm a Prime member and believe me I take advantage of my membership by ordering items I want on my computer and having them delivered to my front door in the next day. Amazon has spoiled me. I don't care that Mr. Bezos had bended the knee to The Convicted Felon In The White House, Amazon makes my life easier and that's all I care about. I'm not going to punish myself just because of the brazen cowardice of people like Mr. Amazon.

Well, I've rambled on enough for today. The rain has stopped. I think I'll take a refreshing walk outside. My daily walks are good in two ways. Clears my mind and keeps the blood flowing in my tired old body. And I always feel good after a good walk.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

How The Sausage Is Made

Today I will take you behind the scenes to show all my faithful followers where my blogging emanates from. My home office!

I finally have a tripod on which I can place my iPhone camera without breaking all my fingernails. I also have a remote control where I can position myself before I turn on the camera. No more scenes of me rushing to my position for videoing after turning on my iPhone. However, this morning's video is a little jerky because I'm still not smooth at this thing. Give me time. 

The last several weeks I've been in a depressed mood. Can't exactly explain why other than I still miss Bill terribly which I know now I will the rest of my life. I just have to deal with it. Thank God I have Pat in my life. Week after next he will be here for a couple of weeks. Always a treat when Pat is here. 

Fall has finally arrived here in southern coastal Delaware where I have been living for the past twenty years. Just on time to as the Winter Solstice began a few days ago. I am so tired of the heat and humidity of this past summer. It was suffocating. Most days I had to spend in my house. Lately with the cooler weather I can get out and take my daily walk in the Oyster Rocks development (they have better roads) behind my development. I couldn't take these walks in the summer heat and humidity. It would probably kill me. I can't breathe in that heat and humidity. Since I've been walking my legs feel so much better. They tend to swell up if I don't walk. Especially if I spend too much time at my computer as I am doing now. 

I noticed lately my sleep pattern has changed. I wonder what this means? I usually have a later dinner from 7:30 PM on at night. About an hour after I become seriously tired. I try to stay up until at least 10 o'clock but lately I haven't been able to manage it. So I go to bed around 9:30 PM. The thing is I get up around 4:30 AM in the morning. I'm ready to go. But then around 9:30 AM I'm tired again and I take a short nap. In the afternoon I take a long nap. That's my Serious Nap. Usually about an hour to an hour and a half. Pat always calls me at 6 PM to make sure I'm awake. I think I'm entering into serious Old Man Territory folks. 

I think a lot of my current funky mood has to do with the political situation in America now. I won't go into all that mess but you all know what I'm talking about. I will say this though, I'm confident the Dems will win big time the midterm elections but I'm not sure if the current criminal administration of Trump and his thugs will accept that outcome. Fasten your seatbelts folks, more chaos will be coming this November and especially January 3rd when the House is expected to verify the new members of Congress, which I'm sure the current criminals in charge of the United States government will to accept. We live in perilous times folks. To tell you the truth, I'm glad in a way that I'm at the end of my life and I won't have to endure this worry anymore. I have enough to deal with my current physical state where I can hardly walk.

Speaking of which, I think I'll try and take my daily walk now. 

Thoughts On A September Sunday Evening

 

Pat was surprised that I have this original Duane Eddy album from the early Sixties

Well folks, I've been in the dumps lately. 

I don't know exactly but perhaps a lot of it has to do with the current political climate in the country that I live in. I'm trying to avoid going on a political rant but with the prices of everything going up, and the threat everything going to hell in this country, it's hard not to get depressed. So I'm going to think of good things. Pat is coming down again in a couple of weeks!

He'll be here October 4th and stay until October 17th. I already have a rather long To Do List for him. Pat is more of a handyman than I'll ever be. 

I am still in the process of cleaning out my garage and basement of items no longer needed. Mostly items Bill had like old paint, thinner, insect sprays, garden poisons, etc and et al. I'm not getting rid of his tools. Nor his other items. However, I am selling all of our old jeans on eBay. I sold some of my old jeans (I've never thrown away old raggedy jeans) on eBay before Bill's strokes. Pat and I are also going to sell all my old LP albums and original 45's that are still in the original store bags with receipts. At one time I was collecting those 45's. All from the Sixties and Seventies. 

It will be good to have someone in the house. While I enjoy living alone, being alone all the time isn't good. I think that was also contributing to my recent depression. Pat has his own bedroom on the other side of the house. When I go to bed at night I often hear strange nosies. I always feel more comfortable knowing that there is someone else in the house when I hear these strange noises in the night. Bill used to sleep downstairs in his basement bedroom. Even though I've slept apart from both of my husbands, it's nice knowing that they're in the house.

Fall is coming which is helping with my mood. Way too many hot and humid days this past summer. I was often trapped in my air conditioned house for most of the summer. I'm looking forward to working outside now that the cooler, less humid fall weather is making life outside more bearable. 

Have a great week everyone! 

Random Thought On A Rainy September Sunday

 

This morning I woke up to the usual rain and humidity we've been having here at Casa Tipton-Kelly for the last few months of summer. No dry summer this year. 

I recently began a regular walking routine in the morning back in my neighboring development of Oyster Rocks. They recently had their roads repaved (at a cost of $300,000) and it is pleasure to walk on that nice flat road. Here in my development, Covington Chase), the roads are on an incline and uneven. Not pleasant for my arthritic legs. I need my exercise but these days it's painful for me to walk. Not only with my stooped over posture but my legs ache. That was always the one thing I had, I could walk and walk until I got bored. These days I have to listen to my body. When my body says "Enough!" I go home and take a nap. Yes, that's about my life now. 

I mostly stay home these days. I don't like to go out in the heavy summertime traffic. When I do I go out early in the morning to at least avoid some of the traffic. Just last week there was another serious accident just a bit down the road from where I enter the dreaded Route One, also known as Coastal Highway. Route One is a speedway. Entering it one takes one's life into one's own hands. 

When Bill was alive I used to take him out at least once a day for a ride, sometimes twice a day. These days I only venture out once a week or maybe twice. I only go out for grocery shopping and doctor's appointments. There is no other reason for me to go out. I would like to go down to the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk and take a walk with the sea air breeze wafting through my clogged up nostrils. But fighting that traffic and paying $4 to park for half an hour just isn't worth it to me. There is nothing else for me to do in Rehoboth Beach anyway. No interesting stores which only sells overpriced tourist junk imported from China. Restaurants? Way overprice and I don't like to eat alone. So that's out. And I have no interest in hooking up with friends. What friends I had have either died or drifted away into their own lives. I enjoy my own company.

Pat will be down next month. I enjoy being with Pat. We'll go out to a couple of my favorite Mexican restaurants that aren't located in the high rent area of Rehoboth Beach. We'll also go to our favorite Italian restaurant for their off season specials. Oh, an update on Pat's green card status. Nothing. I have heard nothing. I read where those applications could take from eighteen months to two years. I doubt if I'll even be here then. Whatever, whatever. Given the current state of the U.S. government these days, I hold out little hope. If we get his green card, then we can proceed with Pat moving down here. If he doesn't, well, there isn't anything I can do about it. I've pushed worrying about this event way into the background of my everyday concerns. I just don't care that much anymore. 

In the meantime I continue to mark time here until one day I am no longer here and reunited with Bill. That's what I look forward to these days my friends.