Some changes to my blog

I'm tired of the spam comments - probably two for every post - so I'm going to activate the annoying word verification. I'm sorry, because I welcome valid comments and hate to set up obstacles to commenting, and if I still get the spam after a few weeks I will go back to no word verification. Blogger does a good job of catching them before they become visible to readers, but I don't want to enable the idiots who send out this spam. I also changed a setting that allowed my blog to come up on a Google search - I don't remember even selecting that one - but googling won't lead to my blog any more.

I think one of the thinks I dislike most about television is the commercial advertising. Ads are even showing up on public television, and they aren't just the "brought to you in part by the John & Marjorie Doe foundation"; now there are commercials from oil companies, in quiet, pious tones, telling us how they understand that the planet has to be protected and that they are doing their part to be green.

But today I saw the only commercial I don't mind watching on any channel. I think it is for Subaru, and shows four dogs getting into the vehicle which is towing a large boat. They arrive at the lake and three passenger dogs hop out, watching while the driver dog expertly whips that thing around and backs the boat trailer to the ramp. The expression on the driver's face is priceless. It makes me think that if I could have trained Lady to back up my 5th wheel into the camp site, I might still be RVing.

Speaking of Lady, I had to make a run to Petsmart where I dropped $100 on food, wet and dry, and glucosamine tabs. Those tablets cost double what mine cost, so this evening I thought I would see if she would take mine instead. I wrapped some wet food, chicken & duck grill, around it and tried to get her to take it from my hand, which she refused. I put it into the dish with her supper and I think she ate it, at least I hope she didn't hide it behind the dish or elsewhere. Do any of you give your dogs people meds? The joint tablets contain just about the same ingredients, except mine aren't liver flavored. I'll see how it goes.

I painted 4 closet doors today and needed a nap! I notice spending even a short time painting I end up with a backache and knees that hurt. I'm determined to do a little each day to clean up the small touches and things left undone. I'm tired of living in the middle of what looks like a burglary!

My kind of weekend!

This is the way I love to spend the weekend - doing NOTHING! I've been outside four times in the last two days, dog walks twice a day. I'm getting ready to fix supper and still have my pajama top on - I did throw on a pair of jeans for this afternoon's walk. I never thought I would come to this, but the thought of going anywhere and getting into traffic just isn't my idea of fun. I've turned into an old fogey!

I am nearly out of primer so I will have to make a trip to Home Depot tomorrow. I wanted to paint the wall behind the stove before I put up the new range hood - yes I'm still without a range hood, but more importantly, without a good light to cook by. It looks nice even with just a coat of primer, and I think I can use painter's tape around the edges of the range hood if I have to when adding the top coats. I also primered a couple of doors as well as two closet doors. That leaves me four closet doors but I just couldn't get in the mood to finish them this weekend.

There is one thing I have done all my life and have never learned my lesson - that is, I neglect to close overhead cabinet doors. I should have a dollar for every time I've run smack into one, and now because of my limited area of vision (or maybe just because of my limited attention and concentration on my surroundings) I am running into them more often. Ouch, that hurts!

Speaking of painting, I have noticed a worse problem than I thought at my living room window (on the side of the driveway which isn't painted yet). I believe I will have to replace part of the interior wall, and hope I can find some cheap laminate paneling that will blend in. Then I'll have to con one of the young men in the family (or maybe more than one) to rip out the old and put up the new. It shouldn't amount to much, but the paneling is in such bad shape from water damage that I know I have to fix it.

I'm watching two hummers at my bird feeder, one smaller than the other. The little guy was there first when the big one came along, but junior held his ground (or should I say he held his perch) and there was no problem. Maybe the small one was a female and no territorial threat? I should learn more about hummingbird behavior. At any rate, the small one stayed on the perch and the larger one hovered while sipping the nectar. I just love those little birds.

I mentioned my limited vision, and while I am anticipating getting new glasses, I no longer have the blurriness which was driving me crazy. I can basically see fine, although I miss a lot in my peripheral vision. It may sound crazy to most people, but I know and can sense that part of the donors are a part of me now. They will always be with me and I think of them and appreciate them every day. I wonder about others who have had heart or kidney or other transplants, and whether they have the same sensations. It's like I'm never alone now.

I need to get supper cooking, but it's tempting to just eat the fresh bread and to cook the chicken tenderloins tomorrow!

Visit to eye surgeon

Dr. G. took out two more sutures which reduces the blurriness considerably. A little progress at a time is better than none at all.

We discussed how the insurance is refusing to fill the Rx for eyedrops until a certain number of days, which is set by the accountants or whomever it is at Blue Cross who determines these things. I told him I would like to get my meds from Mexico, and he confided that he gets his from Canada. I've checked the few prescription meds I take, and it would cost me much more to get them from Canada. I have a good insurance plan, although they are getting tighter on refills and how long they determine a prescription should last.

Do any of my readers get their meds from Mexico in the mail? I know you can walk into a pharmacy there and bring back a 6 month supply of meds, but I really can't afford to make a trip to Mexico. Just wondering if anyone has found a source they trust, and if so I'd appreciate an email response.

I have been feeling like a limp dishrag lately - I have cramps and pressure in my lower abdomen, right where my bladder is. I don't have any other symptoms, no fever or any symptoms of a kidney or bladder infection, so I don't know what it could be. I find I want to sleep a lot more and have been napping during the day, which I don't like to do. I also do NOT want to visit my doctor until and unless other symptoms appear. As I replied to one reader, the entire Medicare system would move towards bankruptcy with all the tests that would be ordered, "just to rule 'it" out". I don't feel like serving as a guinea pig for all their hi-tech equipment. Medicare has been the best thing that has happened for senior citizens, and it is going to fail because of waste, fraud and abuse by doctors and equipment manufacturers. My opinion - you may not agree.

I stopped at the Apple Store after my doctor's appointment, to see what could be causing a couple of problems I'm having, including not being able to see many of the photos posted on other's blogs. The tech asked me if he could adjust my screen and I agreed, but I hate it. Everything is scrunched to one side of the screen and all the print is greatly reduced in size. I can take care of the print size for some things, but this even affects the tool bar. My vision isn't all that great to begin with, and now it's more difficult for me to see, plus I don't see why I need a 17" screen if everything is condensed into 13" of screen. But I am a technological dinosaur, so what do I know. I may fool with it but then I'll probably screw it up and make it worse.

Finally, on a higher note, I witnessed a very nice thing this morning while walking Lady. A man and woman were approaching on the bike/walking trail, and the woman carried several plastic trash bags. She was picking up trash along the way, including old coffee cups, plastic bags, and who knows what else. I think it is so edifying to see a citizen getting involved in trying to make their area of the world a cleaner place.

Still around

This will be short and just to say I don't feel very well but I'm still among the living. I have a few symptoms that don't seem related at all, and no fever at all. I've slept a lot today and plan to get a good night's sleep tonight.

See ya later.

Thankful for family

I was at Home Depot at 8:30 this morning to buy caulk for the top of the window that leaked yesterday. I stayed up late, having to constantly empty the 4 tumblers I had set across the sill to catch the leaks, and every time I got up to go to the bathroom during the night I checked the glasses again. I wouldn't want many nights like that.

I asked Jeannie if I could borrow their stepladder, so they came by with it this afternoon. I thought I could do it myself, but Donald did the caulking for me, so hopefully the rain forecast for the next two days won't cause me any more trouble. He and Jeannie also took down the old range hood which was unbelievably greasy. I plan to clean and paint that part of the wall soon - I would normally do the ceiling before the walls, but since this one section has cabinets overhead I think I can go ahead and paint. Then we can hang the new range hood. I still need to get the dishwasher and a ceiling light fixture, and then I can paint the entire room. It's going to be tedious with all the hardware that will have to be removed.

I am so thankful for the help I have received from my family in getting this place livable, and feel I am getting there little by little.

Shoes; roof

Yes, I bought two pairs of shoes yesterday (that is, 2 matching pairs). I just wanted to take fewer pictures to show them because I have such trouble adding pictures to my blog. I get the banner that says "Your pictures have been added", but there are no pictures there, so I have to keep trying over and over again. The Heflingers have cork soles, and both they and the Birks are super comfortable to wear with no breaking in period.

The roof fix seems to be working well after a day and night of heavy rain. There are no leaks in the laundry room/porch which is where the big problem has been, due to a botched up job of enclosing the porch to make a room. When I climbed to the top of the ladder to see how it looked I didn't have my camera with me. I need to buy myself an 8 ft stepladder so I can at least wash windows on the outside, and possibly see what's going on on top of the roof. I don't feel comfortable going up ladders at all anymore, especially the extension type ladders. I used to be so agile and nimble as a mountain goat. How did I turn into this old lady who loses her balance once in a while and can't walk straight some of the time? And has lost her peripheral vision and nearly runs into people in the supermarket, and hits the corners of the aisles with the cart when going around the end of the aisles?

Where I am having trouble turns out to be the living room window on the north side. I found a lot of damage to the paneling when I took down the curtain to paint, and now I know water is seeping in on the top of the window frame. I have towels along the windowsill underneath the leaks, plus and big water glass and two cups side by side catching the drips. I have had a significant amount of water coming in, and have emptied the glass and cups several times.

I really don't know what I can do about it because of the continuous rain. I would like to talk to someone (who knows what they are talking about) at Home Depot and maybe get a caulk or tape to put along the top of the window, but I just didn't want to drive out in the rain today and don't know if I can apply anything while it is raining. Then, how do I dry up what is wet between the inner and outer wall?

The cause of water damage on the opposite side of the room seems to have been corrected by the roof fix, as there has been no problem there.

The rain is a welcome event except for the trouble it's causing me with the window. I'm hoping that the Folsom Lake level rises (not sure if that's where our tap water comes from). I noticed the past couple of days that my clothes have a noticeable smell (and yes, that is the clean clothes). It was driving me crazy all day yesterday, so today I did two loads of laundry and took them over to the laundry room dryers with an umbrella to keep the rain off them. I normally can't stand fabric softener, the feel or the smell of it, but I cut a sheet in several strips and hoped the drying clothes would smell more fresh. I don't think it worked although they seem a bit better. I think it must have something to do with low water levels. It's not a terribly objectionable smell, but it's not very nice either. I haven't noticed it until now because I filter water through a Brita pitcher for both me and Lady, and I recently changed the filter. Without the Brita I would normally notice an odor when drinking water from a glass, the same as when you get a strong chlorine smell in some areas that heavily chlorinate their water.

The day has been pretty much of a blah, listening to the constant drip of water into the glass & cups, emptying them, and trying to get my clothes to be fresh smelling. Maybe I can get myself going early tomorrow morning and see what I can find to stop the drips.

Camera found, 2nd post 1/19/2012

I found my camera and in response to a couple of inquiries took a shot of the new shoes. The beautiful socks were handmade by Karen, and you can check her blog to find info on ordering the beautiful products she makes.




Now I need to go someplace I can wear the shoes, although I wouldn't go out wearing them in the rain we are likely to have for a while.