The Worst!

It is still terribly hot but the forecast for the next few days looks like it will gradually cool down to the lower 100's, and then a few days later into the 90's.  Rocky wants to go out in the worst way.  I took him out for about 15 minutes and threw a tennis ball from the deck, which he loves to retrieve and bring back to me.  It didn't take long for him to get tired, but he's ready to go back out now.  I'm not!  He needs a good long walk, but not with these temps!

As usually happens when the weather stays hot and dry for a while, the ants come indoors looking for water.  They were in Rocky's water dish so today I have been offering him water but then pouring the excess out rather than let it sit.  I usually do the same with his food and he eats when he feels like it.  With the threat of an ant infestation I'm not letting anything sit out!

I never did like hot weather!  The year after I graduated from high school I went with 3 other girls to Miami Beach.  They spent their entire days on a towel on the sand, and in the hot sun.  I never did like to just lie in the sun, so I often took off by myself and explored Miami Beach.  That was back in 1959,  and I'm sure I wouldn't recognize anything in Florida today.  Usually Sacramento's terribly hot summer days are offset by the cool breeze that comes in by 6 or 7 pm.  Not this year - there is no breeze!   By the way,  the three girls I went to Florida with came back with stunning suntans, whereas I was only slightly tanned.  And I never liked oiling my skin up with suntan oils & lotions, and I'm paying for it now - ugly dry skin!  There were few or no suntan lotions in those days - only the oil and I didn't like that.

I will probably jump out of my skin when my electric bill arrives.  I try to not use the a/c unless absolutely necessary, and it certainly has been necessary lately.  I do turn it off when I go to bed and sleep under an open window.

This computer is driving me bonkers.  I just lost the last two paragraphs I wrote.   I am going to try again to use a Windows based computer, but my daughter has one for her work and says she has the same problems.  What is wrong with this picture?  If there is a computer expert out there I'd love to know.  I think my new computer will arrive in the next day or two.  I will miss the Mac, but am determined to stick with Windows this time.

I've been using a Mac for a number of years and the last two computers I've had, has exhibited this same problem.  I know I'm not the problem as I have always been an excellent typist and I rarely make a mistake.  The cost of a Mac is too high to deal with this problem which doesn't seem to have a solution.

Living alone I spend a lot of time on the computer and I really should cut down that time, but what would I do in its place?  Clean my house is one idea!

The Weather is Awful!

I never did like hot weather, and a week of temps over 100F is almost too much to bear.  Rocky is tired of being in the cooler house all day and wants to go out and play ball.  I threw it to him a few times and he happily chased it, but I'm not standing out there when it's still over 100 degrees!

 I may as well kiss my garden goodbye!  Yesterday I picked 4 ripe cherry tomatoes, but I seriously doubt I will get many more of any size or variety with the weather as it is forecast for the coming week.  I water the plants in the "cool" of the morning and again in the early evening, but it isn't going to work.  I think if we had decent weather that lasted until the plants had produced a few tomatoes, they might have withstood the heat for a week or two.  But it looks as if there will be no good harvest at all this year, and I'm glad I didn't try to plant squash or other veggies as I did last year. 

It isn't even dark yet and I'm ready to go to bed.  Rocky is just getting his energy together.  At 8:15 pm it is 102F. 

No photos!

I was thinking about taking a photo of my injured hand and posting it, but on second thought, it looks way too ugly!  The Urgent Care Center doctor put those little strips all across the cut to hold the skin together and they are still holding up well.  I took all the bandages and hand wrapping off and thought I'd let the air get to it.  It hurts a little less today than it did yesterday, but I think I still have a long way to go.  It's going to hurt like hell when I eventually have to take all the little tape strips off that are closing the wound, but I'll face that when I come to it.

I wish it would stay cool all day, but Sacramento almost always has chilly nights and the cool lasts up until mid-day.   Then it turns HOT!

I went out this morning and watered my tomato plants - I think there are 12 or 14 plants.  Six of them were put into the soil at one time and they are looking very good; the other 6 or 8 were put in a bit later and are very straggly!  I counted 5 or 6 cherry size tomatos on the plants, so I hope to get something out of all my efforts.  I honestly thought I would have to transplant them all to a new location by now, but it looks like i'll be here for a while until Jeannie finds something that she likes.  I believe she is considering having something built, as she did find a model house that suited her.  I'm just trying to stay quiet and keep my opinions to myself.  I don't like the looks of the near future, economically, and I think I'd rather put my down payment on a real house than to hold it in a bank!   To put things into perspective though, I will remind you that I am 80 years old and have lived through several trying world disasters as well as economic downturns.  So I am becoming more and more conservative in many ways, and the direct opposite in my political views!  (And who knows whether a bank would be safer or not.)

I think Donald is going to come over today and set up my new computer.   I can't wait to start using it and hope all my problems are with the old computer and not with my account.

Have a great day! 

Oooh! My hand looks awful!

The bandage on my hand looked pretty bad - it just looked dirty - so I removed it.  The wound looks pretty bad itself, but I am not going to try to put new bandages on.  The doctor gave me enough to wrap it a couple of times, but I think I'll just leave it uncovered.  If I went out of the house I might want to put some kind of bandage on it, but as it is I will hope the air will help it heal.  Sometimes it hurts so bad, and then it will stop hurting as quickly as it started.  It's weird looking - the doctor put small little strips to hold the skin together, and they are on there to stay!

I haven't been out to get the mail since last Thursday, and I wonder if there is anything good or just advertisements and junk mail.

I really feel bad for Rocky - I'm sure he wonders why we aren't going out for walks.  I might try one day this week to go for a short walk with him.  Jeannie told me I should hire a dog walker but I don't want to look for one, nor do I want to pay for one.  I wouldn't know where to begin to look anyway.  The man who walked Rocky back when I lived in the mobile home park, lived there as well and I'm sure he asked nearby dog owners just as he asked me.

I sure feel better this morning, probably because I got a decent shower.  I have been trying to hold my hand out of the water but this morning I just decided to let the water fall where it may and not worry about it. 

 

Welcome visitors

My sister and her husband stopped by to visit me yesterday.  They live in Nevada, but drive down to Sacramento often, and I enjoyed having company for a change.

My injured hand is in terrible shape, and hurts almost constantly.   I don't think I can take another incident like this.

The new computer  I ordered came a couple of days ago but I haven't done anything with it yet.  I'm hoping Donald can come by soon and get it running.  I think I could probably set it up myself - in the past I have had many new computers - desktops as well as laptops - and have easily set them up.  Now I sit and look at my new laptop and can't decide where to begin!  I suppose the logical thing would be to turn it on and see what comes up on the screen.  That's it!  I'm gonna do it!

To Keep or Not to Keep!

Just a quick post about my latest ailments and Rocky's part in my life.

If I don't have Rocky, then I am totally alone for 24/7.  I can no longer drive, and people aren't lining up in front of my house to take me places I need to go, or to just sit and have a chat over a cup of coffee.  Rocky brings me joy, if not always happiness, so without him I wouldn't even have much joy in my life.  I just can't imagine what I've become.  If you had known me all my life you would understand that I've been able to live a full and wonderful life, but should I now just say it's time to give up?  Rocky gives me something to live for, and that's enough for me.

So I don't know the answer.  I don't think the cancer has ever gone completely away, which is why I am scheduled to begin treatments again in September.  For that reason I don't have much motivation and energy, so taking care Rocky gives me something to live for.  I am just hoping and praying that I live another 10 years or until Rocky is ready to cross that bridge with me.

It's an f'ing way to end up!

New computer!

My new computer arrived this morning, but I'm waiting for Donald to open up the box and set it up for me.  I bought a new Mac, and I think the screen is either 15" or 16".  I am currently using a 13" so it will be a lot nicer for me.  I hope Apple didn't change everything from what I have now - these days I hate change in most things, unless, of course, there is a good reason to change.  Most of the time I think it's just to sell something new - nothing really different or more useful.

The weather is beautiful and I wish it would stay this way.   At noon it is a beautiful 73 degrees and going up to a lovely 84!  Next week will be different though - very hot and over the century mark.

My left hand still hurts so much and it's difficult to use it, especially to type on the computer.  So I'm not getting anything done today, but at least I have a good excuse!

 

Another "Accident"

Yesterday I was walking Rocky, and we were passing by a house that has a ferocious sounding dog behind a high wooden fence.  As we approached the property line of this dog, he began to bark loudly, so that Rocky sort of jumped back in surprise.  In that motion, the leash that I was holding scraped the back of my left hand.

I wasn't back home long before I realized I needed medical help, so Jeannie took me to an emergency medical place just a mile from my house.  The dr. who saw me was so nice - he cleaned the wound and bandaged it up for me - I think he used some sort of tape in place of stitches, but I'm not sure because it hurt quite a bit and when that happens, I don't look!  So all I know is that my left hand is bandaged up.  He gave me some extra wrap so I can change the bandage, but I couldn't do it one-handedly, so I tried to keep it dry in the shower this morning and will wait and see how things go.  I forgot to ask him how long I need to keep the bandage on.

Jeannie thinks I shouldn't walk Rocky any more because I keep having accidents with him.  It's a good thing we have a big back yard for him, although he doesn't like to be out by himself.  I sometimes throw a ball to him from the deck, but he gets bored with that.  He is pretty good on a walk, but other dogs make him lose his good intentions.  I'll have to say that the incident yesterday was not his fault.  I believe any dog would jump or back up when hearing what sounded like a ferocious large dog behind the fence, although I doubt if he's more than medium sized.  Rocky barks when other dogs go by, but nothing like the sound of this particular dog.  The opposite side of the street has no sidewalk, and there is very little space to walk and be safe from the traffic.

I have been feeling very depressed since this incident, and actually have felt that way for months.  It seems that no matter what I do, I shouldn't be doing it; no matter where I walk, I shouldn't be walking there, and so on.  I guess I should sit around and wait until senility takes over or until I die!   Aren't these supposed to be "golden years"? 

Another Beautiful Day in Paradise!

 Of course Sacramento is mostly sunny, and this year we have had almost no rain at all.  The summer temperatures are awful for the most part, but this week we will be mostly in the 70's!  We're finally getting the weather we should have had in May.  I'm happy when I don't have to close up the house and run the a/c.  And I like to leave the front door open so Rocky can see what is going on! 

Nothing new on the "new house front".  I think Jeannie has found she likes a particular model of new home, but they limit the number they build, so she is on a waiting list for a house to be finished by the end of the year.  When you reach my age it seems like 6 months is a long time to  wait!

In the meantime there are so many things I need to be doing here in my current place, but I'm not sure if it's health or age-related - I just don't have the will or energy to be taking care of things.  Maybe I'm just plain lazy.

Just came back from a walk with Rocky, which was cut short.  We were walking past a tall fence behind which was a dog that always barks ferociously.  He's behind a tall wooden fence, so he presents no problem other than to get Rocky worked up.  Somehow, in trying to maintain control of the leash, I slashed the top part of my hand.  It's a pretty big gash and looks very ugly.  I don't know if I could see bone, or if they might have been fatty deposits.  If the latter, I think it's a strange place to have fatty deposits - on the top of one's bony old hand!  I maintained control of myself until we got home, and then I shed a few tears - still shedding them to be truthful.  I covered the gash with two very large bandaids.  It hurts, but not enough to take anything for it.  I just don't take meds if I can avoid them.  Even the over-the-counter variety.  I may change my mind though.

What a day this is turning out to be, and it's only a few minutes after 10am!

I'm younger than I realized!

In reading my blog entries I see that I got my age wrong.  My mother was going on 83 when she died.  I am 80, but only going on 81 in November, and I'm definitely not going to die if I have anything to say about it!  And I hope to rack up a lot more years before I go!

Something from the past!

I discovered an old quilt in one of my boxes I've carried from house to house since I was a young girl.  It is twin size, and was made for me by my grandmother.  I believe she sewed the patches together by machine, but the quilting itself is all done by hand.  It is still in great shape except for the strip that goes entirely around the edges of the quilt.  So I washed and dried it today, and will decide if I will try to mend the edging.  I don't have a twin bed these days but I could use it when I take a nap on the couch, although I'm afraid Rocky will love it as much as I do.  The thing about quilts in the old days is that they were often made of old clothing and other cloth items that no longer served their original purpose.  So it really is a "blast from the past".

I was the first grandchild and my grandma and I had a special bond between us.  I loved her dearly and I know it was returned.  She lived to be nearly 98 (or maybe it was 99) when she was crossing the road to mail a letter.  She was then living in town and being a small country town there was very little traffic.  But someone came speeding up the road and it was estimated he was going 85 miles an hour when he hit my grandma, sending her body 75 feet from where she had been.  He was definitely inside the town limits, and was facing the bright morning sun; I'm sure he didn't see her.  He cried and admitted that he had killed her; when he hired a lawyer he changed his tune.  The judge ruled that since she was so old she didn't have long to live anyway, and the man got off scot free.  I hope he never got a decent night's sleep from that day on.  And the same goes for the judge!

I washed and dried the quilt and it looks beautiful, at least to me.  It is nothing fancy,  but was pieced together with scraps of material that I would probably have recognized when I was younger.  Old and outgrown clothing and fabric items were always sent to grandma for her quilts, and raising a large family she had probably a dozen or so quilts in her house at any one time.

I've often wondered if I have the longevity genes passed on by grandma.  Nearly all my aunts have lived into their 90's, including two that are still around!  My mother, unfortunately, died just before she turned 83, and I'm coming up on that age in several months from now.  I'm going for the 90's! 

Hurry Up and Wait!

 That seems to be the story of my life.  After looking at models in a new neighborhood, Jeannie has decided to buy a new house which will take maybe 6 months or so to be ready to move into.  It is very "open concept", and has a spacious in-law suite with it's own laundry facilities, patio, etc.  At the rate things are crawling along, I just hope I live long enough to enjoy the beauty and amenities of the place!

I'm feeling better each day and look forward to every tomorrow.  With all the complaining I sometimes do, I realize I have had a very fulfilling and wonderful life, and I'm grateful. 

I haven't had my hair cut since the pandemic started, well over a year now.  It is long, thick, and about the only way I can wear it comfortably is to pull it back and tie it.  If I don't, then it gets in my face, especially when I'm eating or drinking something, and it drives me crazy.  I think I'm about ready to make an appointment with my hairdresser.  She is very conscientious, moved her salon into her home, and is careful with cleaning and sanitizing.   While my hair is mostly gray, I still have some of the original color throughout so it doesn't age me quite as much as total gray would do.  Why, at 80, do I even worry about how old I look.  I ain't ever gonna look any younger!