Reflections of My Life

MarciKS said:
how on earth did he manage to get banned?
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It is a 30 day ban. He just got over another 30 day ban about a month ago. I think they have workers who have the job of watching certain people and he is one of them. I have about 10 friends who get banned pretty regularly. I saw it mentioned somewhere that FB is banning conservatives getting closer to the election. Maybe. Sonny shared a meme that he got from another person, though this time he does not have any idea what it was as they took it down.
 
Yesterday, I emptied out my extra supply of canned foods and put them in a container under my bed. Most of those are foods I got from a food pantry and don't usually eat because they are mostly canned soups. But in a pinch, they would be handy. I will give them a little bit at a time to my son if and when, he needs food. Now I have room in the cupboard for other things, like food that I do eat.

I made cabbage and noodles in the IP yesterday. I forgot that I wasn't going to put the noodles in it. So I used up the last of the noodles and not going to buy any now. I keep trying to get back on the low carb food plan, but always fail. I think it is because I buy something on impulse and then don't want to waste it. So I am going to be careful to buy only from my list from now on.

I follow a lady on YouTube who shows her one meal a day and it is a keto meal and always looks good. She is 78 and drives for Ubber and also shops for Instacart. She says she gets up at 4:00 AM and does not eat until 2:00 PM after work. Which is her only meal of the day. For her and her husband. She gives a lot of good advice and is helpful because her advice is directed to people over 60.

Today I am planning on going outside to the park after my Saturday cleaning routine is done. Unless I am too tired out, but I need to get outside every day from now on.
 

katlupe said:
Yesterday, I emptied out my extra supply of canned foods and put them in a container under my bed. Most of those are foods I got from a food pantry and don't usually eat because they are mostly canned soups. But in a pinch, they would be handy. I will give them a little bit at a time to my son if and when, he needs food. Now I have room in the cupboard for other things, like food that I do eat.

I made cabbage and noodles in the IP yesterday. I forgot that I wasn't going to put the noodles in it. So I used up the last of the noodles and not going to buy any now. I keep trying to get back on the low carb food plan, but always fail. I think it is because I buy something on impulse and then don't want to waste it. So I am going to be careful to buy only from my list from now on.

I follow a lady on YouTube who shows her one meal a day and it is a keto meal and always looks good. She is 78 and drives for Ubber and also shops for Instacart. She says she gets up at 4:00 AM and does not eat until 2:00 PM after work. Which is her only meal of the day. For her and her husband. She gives a lot of good advice and is helpful because her advice is directed to people over 60.

Today I am planning on going outside to the park after my Saturday cleaning routine is done. Unless I am too tired out, but I need to get outside every day from now on.
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Yup, I am trying to go low carb also, but it is very very hard
 
It looks like Sonny is back on Facebook. Yesterday he sent them a message back asking them to review it and they did and within minutes he was off the ban. I figured out what it was that he got banned for and it was not bad really. Someone just going power crazy I think.

I did not make it to the park yesterday. But today, Sonny is coming up and bringing his scooter so we can cruise downtown. I love doing that. We have a ton of fun. I charged up "Jazzy" during the night so I am ready. I have the leftover cabbage and noodles for our meal so we don't have to spend any money.

You know it had been many years since I watched Little House On The Prairie. Now I am watching it from the first episode on. Every show contained a lesson in it. Showing how their family dealt with many life events. Like the loss of their baby or the plague. I am enjoying it and watch a few episodes every day now. Thankful that I can watch for free since I am a Amazon Prime member. I know in future episodes they even dealt with the race issue. I have also been watching YouTube videos that are interviews with the different cast and crew members. Those are really interesting! When they filmed on location, they pretty much lived the way they did on the show. No electric and had to run a generator which was too loud when filming. Very hot there but no air conditioning if filming. I am still on season one.
 
katlupe said:
It looks like Sonny is back on Facebook. Yesterday he sent them a message back asking them to review it and they did and within minutes he was off the ban. I figured out what it was that he got banned for and it was not bad really. Someone just going power crazy I think.

I did not make it to the park yesterday. But today, Sonny is coming up and bringing his scooter so we can cruise downtown. I love doing that. We have a ton of fun. I charged up "Jazzy" during the night so I am ready. I have the leftover cabbage and noodles for our meal so we don't have to spend any money.

You know it had been many years since I watched Little House On The Prairie. Now I am watching it from the first episode on. Every show contained a lesson in it. Showing how their family dealt with many life events. Like the loss of their baby or the plague. I am enjoying it and watch a few episodes every day now. Thankful that I can watch for free since I am a Amazon Prime member. I know in future episodes they even dealt with the race issue. I have also been watching YouTube videos that are interviews with the different cast and crew members. Those are really interesting! When they filmed on location, they pretty much lived the way they did on the show. No electric and had to run a generator which was too loud when filming. Very hot there but no air conditioning if filming. I am still on season one.
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You know, I watch The Waltons a lot...we have Dish... and Murder she Wrote and Columbo and other 80's shows that do seem to be much better than most of the ones they put out today. Hallmark does do a very good job though in bringing out new "mysteries". Know what you mean by the lesson themes these old shows focused on.
 
Liberty said:
You know, I watch The Waltons a lot...we have Dish... and Murder she Wrote and Columbo and other 80's shows that do seem to be much better than most of the ones they put out today. Hallmark does do a very good job though in bringing out new "mysteries". Know what you mean by the lesson themes these old shows focused on.
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The Waltons will be my next show. My two favorite television shows of all time is these two.
 
Yesterday, Sonny came over and brought his scooter and we went all over town. I was on "Jazzy" and he was on his scooter. It was a lot of fun. We explored some streets I hadn't been on before. Then we went to the store and on the home his scooter's charge died! We were about 2 blocks from my place so he had to walk back to get his car. That is the second time that happened to him! I always watch my charge on Jazzy and he laughs and says, "they have plenty of charge."

I removed myself from the RCIL program which is the program for having an aide. I just could not stand having someone coming into my apartment and doing my cleaning. Then having to redo everything after she left. She only was here twice, but it was enough for me. Plus I could not get her to set a routine schedule for coming here. When she cleans the lady across the hall's apartment, she brings her little girl if there is no school and she is a handful. Then she mentioned to me about how sick and mental all the people are in her family so there will be times when she won't be able to come or to even let me know till later???????? What kind of a job is that? I can't believe everyone was telling me how good she is..........makes me think I am too picky and expect too much of people.

So one of the jobs I kept saying I could not do.........changing my sheets and putting my bed together. It is in the corner of my apartment and right against the wall. Can't move it. I did it slowly and once I had that fitted sheet on it, I knew I could do it. Now my bed is made just right for me. I don't need anyone else to do it. Now I just need to find some real pillows for it.

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Every morning when I wake up, I need to have something to look forward to. Very first thing is my bunny running around because if I get up very early, like I did today, he is happy and runs in circles around me or this area near my computer. I noticed the area around his eye looked like he had hurt himself. Yesterday I really looked at it and I think his nails must have done that when he was cleaning his ears. They are too long and I have let him get away with avoiding me clipping them. Yesterday, I clipped a bunch. Today I plan to do the rest. I can only do a few at a time because I have to hold his back down and with my other hand hold the paw and clip at the same time. While I am bending down......which I have a hard time doing. If I hold him or put him on my bed, he has in the past, peed on me and my bed (it was brand new at the time and now I have an spot on the mattress).

Coffee is my next thing I look forward to. I have it already to go in the coffee maker. Just flip the switch. I love the smell! My Daddy started me on coffee long ago as a child. My mother would not let my brother and me drink coffee or tea as children. It was milk with our meals. Juice or water otherwise. Soda was a special occasion thing like if we went fishing and swimming and had a picnic. Or Saturday nights, ice cream was a special thing with staying up late and watching tv with my parents. Sometimes we made ice cream floats with the soda. Soda was like 12 cans for a dollar and my Daddy would buy all different flavors.

But coffee was my favorite drink. Daddy would always make our breakfast.........whatever you wanted. Hot dogs cut up in pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, whatever. So he was up early and I'd get up to sit in the kitchen with him. He would pour half a cup of coffee and fill the rest of the cup with milk and add sugar for me. He'd warn me not to tell my mother. It was our secret.
 
katlupe said:
Every morning when I wake up, I need to have something to look forward to. Very first thing is my bunny running around because if I get up very early, like I did today, he is happy and runs in circles around me or this area near my computer. I noticed the area around his eye looked like he had hurt himself. Yesterday I really looked at it and I think his nails must have done that when he was cleaning his ears. They are too long and I have let him get away with avoiding me clipping them. Yesterday, I clipped a bunch. Today I plan to do the rest. I can only do a few at a time because I have to hold his back down and with my other hand hold the paw and clip at the same time. While I am bending down......which I have a hard time doing. If I hold him or put him on my bed, he has in the past, peed on me and my bed (it was brand new at the time and now I have an spot on the mattress).

Coffee is my next thing I look forward to. I have it already to go in the coffee maker. Just flip the switch. I love the smell! My Daddy started me on coffee long ago as a child. My mother would not let my brother and me drink coffee or tea as children. It was milk with our meals. Juice or water otherwise. Soda was a special occasion thing like if we went fishing and swimming and had a picnic. Or Saturday nights, ice cream was a special thing with staying up late and watching tv with my parents. Sometimes we made ice cream floats with the soda. Soda was like 12 cans for a dollar and my Daddy would buy all different flavors.

But coffee was my favorite drink. Daddy would always make our breakfast.........whatever you wanted. Hot dogs cut up in pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, whatever. So he was up early and I'd get up to sit in the kitchen with him. He would pour half a cup of coffee and fill the rest of the cup with milk and add sugar for me. He'd warn me not to tell my mother. It was our secret.
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I love hot dogs, I love pancakes. But I could not eat them together, 😂. And I don’t like the flavor of coffee. But I LOVE the fact that your dad made you breakfast. 😍
 
I have managed to do the chores I thought I needed an aide to do. But I did them in about a couple of hours. It did not kill me. I swept and mopped the bathroom and kitchen floor. I had about 8 gallons of water sitting along the wall and I had to move those to do it. I wanted the floor cleaned under those. When the aide was here she did not move anything or even close the bathroom door to clean behind it. I know, I am too picky.

Then I cleaned two wood stools I have. One is about 8 inches tall and I use it to get stuff out of the cupboard and it has my little garbage can on it. The other one is a tall one that I sit on when working in the kitchen or washing dishes. I brought both of these with me from my house two years ago. They have never been cleaned. The top part looked okay, but I put them on a wood chair and sat in my computer chair to clean them. I just sprayed with PineSol and scrubbed with a sponge. They are so clean now, they look new......well not quite, but newer.

This might sound like a little thing to get excited about. But I used to do a lot of work and now when I thought I could not do it anymore I felt sad. I was thinking the other day, what is my purpose now? My son doesn't help me. I have to look out for him and I feel he has gone crazy right before my eyes and there is nothing I can do about it.

I am not a real social person. So being alone at home is not a hardship for me. I always plan to do something but sometimes my legs hurt too bad. Instead of walking with my walker every day to take out my garbage and go around the block or park as I planned for exercise, I have to use "Jazzy". I promised myself last night that I am not going to allow myself to start getting depressed. A lot of people are a lot worse than me. My mom was. She kept saying that last year that she wanted to die because of all the pain. I have never been that bad. So I say, "chin up, kat, and press on."
 
katlupe said:
I have managed to do the chores I thought I needed an aide to do. But I did them in about a couple of hours. It did not kill me. I swept and mopped the bathroom and kitchen floor. I had about 8 gallons of water sitting along the wall and I had to move those to do it. I wanted the floor cleaned under those. When the aide was here she did not move anything or even close the bathroom door to clean behind it. I know, I am too picky.

Then I cleaned two wood stools I have. One is about 8 inches tall and I use it to get stuff out of the cupboard and it has my little garbage can on it. The other one is a tall one that I sit on when working in the kitchen or washing dishes. I brought both of these with me from my house two years ago. They have never been cleaned. The top part looked okay, but I put them on a wood chair and sat in my computer chair to clean them. I just sprayed with PineSol and scrubbed with a sponge. They are so clean now, they look new......well not quite, but newer.

This might sound like a little thing to get excited about. But I used to do a lot of work and now when I thought I could not do it anymore I felt sad. I was thinking the other day, what is my purpose now? My son doesn't help me. I have to look out for him and I feel he has gone crazy right before my eyes and there is nothing I can do about it.

I am not a real social person. So being alone at home is not a hardship for me. I always plan to do something but sometimes my legs hurt too bad. Instead of walking with my walker every day to take out my garbage and go around the block or park as I planned for exercise, I have to use "Jazzy". I promised myself last night that I am not going to allow myself to start getting depressed. A lot of people are a lot worse than me. My mom was. She kept saying that last year that she wanted to die because of all the pain. I have never been that bad. So I say, "chin up, kat, and press on."
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What is your purpose? Take care of your adult disabled child as best as you can; care for your boyfriend as he clearly needs you and enjoys your company; remember those who are gone because as long as you remember someone they are never truly gone.

Be a friend to all of us on the forum and brighten our days with your posts; and on and on and on. You have many purposes, which is why you get tired, you are a busy woman. 😍
 
It has taken me awhile to figure out what to write my blog about. My following was people who are or were into modern homesteading. Many had followed me from various homesteading forums that I belonged to. One was a NY homesteading forum that I was an administrator for and we would meet in person time to time. Another was Homesteading Today, which one of the largest but changed after it was sold and everyone went to Facebook. I wrote four blogs and two were about life on my Peaceful Forest Homestead. Many of my friends on Facebook and Twitter were those followers. Since I moved here to Norwich, I have trimmed my friend lists considerably.

As for my blogs, I can't not write. I have always written from a very young age. Something compels me to write my thoughts or stories in my head. I now have only the one blog left, hosted by Blogger. I opted for a free one mainly because it is the one I started with. It originally was Homesteading On The Internet and I started it on Yahoo360 before 2005. In 2005 I switched to Blogger. I know it is owned by Google and I hate being so into the tech giants but not much I can about it now.

I do not make money off my blog since I took down all the affiliate links with the exception of the ones I put in the text of the post. Not often. But if I write about something I bought on Amazon, I include the link to it or products like it. I cannot make additional income living here due to my apartment rent being based on income. If you make $100 or more extra, you have to let them know...........you know what that means! Yeah, MORE paperwork! No thanks. Not worth the little bit of extra money.
 
I am considering experimenting with using that Instacart thing to see how and if it works. And if it is worth using. I keep thinking about it. Even though Sonny comes here and drives me to the stores, I find it difficult to shop. Especially wearing that mask. I just wanted to hurry up and get my stuff and get out of the store. I did buy a pillow which I needed, but not sure I can use it for sleeping unless it gets better with use. I can shop Walmart online but no fresh stuff. And some items say in store only. I have been losing my enthusiasm for shopping there since the quarantine started anyway. I don't think it had anything to do with that.

Yesterday we even stopped at the Label Shopper store because they were having a big sale. Well, I thought it was a thrift store and it ended up being a new store with brand labels at cheaper prices. I was not comfortable shopping while Sonny waited nearby while I was looking at stuff. I suppose I would have done better if he had left me off and came back in an hour. They had a nice selection but I was not into shopping yesterday.

So even though I try to be frugal when I shop, I still read labels and don't purchase any old thing. Shopping online is much easier for me and I usually get what I want even if it cost more money.

Yesterday we had a nice day and came back to my apartment and had a rotisserie chicken and potato salad and then took a nap. I wanted to rest my legs straight out and Sonny had been up since 4 so he was tired out too. It was a nice quiet afternoon.
 
I went to Tops this morning and got some groceries. They are having a sale and got a few things that were buy one get one free. I messaged Jeff (my son) to see if he needed anything and he asked for coffee. So he met me along the way home and got the coffee from me. I get so upset with him over various things, but after I got home, he had messaged me thanking me for getting it for him and telling me how much he loves me. With a lot of hearts. I can deal with his problems easier when I see that.

Right now I am coloring my hair. Sonny usually helps me and I do it at his house. I decided to try it here and you know what.......it is easier. I have better lighting. And by the time I am doing it at his house, I am tired out. Usually he has made a meal and the kitchen is full of pots and pans and dishes and I have to do it in his kitchen sink. They are bigger than mine, but hey, I am doing it now. Not stressed at all. I spread two old sheets that I usually use for Rabbit on the floor and have not dripped a drop yet. Another thing I can do myself!

My neighbor across the hall who uses the aide I had hired, told me she did not show up today and when she tried to call her, her phone was blocked. Yes, I think I made the right decision to change my mind about having an aide.

I feel good today. I was careful at the store to not buy any foods that are not good for me. I might go back tomorrow to get a few things that I had no room for today. I wanted a spaghetti squash and it would have made my shopping bag too heavy. I hang it on the back of Jazzy on the head rest so I try to be careful not to load it too much.
 
Yesterday was a wonderful day! Sonny and I went to Bowman Lake State Park. It is not far and we try to go several times a year. When I left my house to move here, I left the forest that was completely around me there. I used to spend a lot of time in it. So it rejuvenates me. Sonny picked up a chopped salad from Subway for our lunch to take with us. It was a beautiful day and the trees are changing color fast.

A small group of people came walking by with about 5 little dogs on leashes. Three were Dachshunds, which Sonny loved since he has one. One was a terrier and one was a small Husky looking dog, probably a puppy or a mini something. They stopped and talked to us. The park was pretty much closed up except for being able to go in and sit at a table or walk on the trails. We were at the tables near the beach and nobody else was there. Then a couple came and they were far away from us.

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Glad to read you got out to enjoy the weather & colorful leaves.

Saturday , hubby & I ended up in Westville ,New York state.
Went to the farmer's market there,, was the last day, for it.

Next stop was, to Mayville NY, Hartfield ( former airport for small planes) where there is an indoor flea market.
You had to wear your mask, several folks wandering about in the flea market.

I bought hard cover books & hubby found a tool he thought he couldn't live without.
 
Sliverfox said:
Glad to read you got out to enjoy the weather & colorful leaves.

Saturday , hubby & I ended up in Westville ,New York state.
Went to the farmer's market there,, was the last day, for it.

Next stop was, to Mayville NY, Hartfield ( former airport for small planes) where there is an indoor flea market.
You had to wear your mask, several folks wandering about in the flea market.

I bought hard cover books & hubby found a tool he thought he couldn't live without.
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That sounds like a good day. I looked up Westville and Mayville to see where they were. Both are about 4 hours away. Every time someone on this forum mentions a location I google it just to learn where or about different places. Sounds like a fun day, especially going to a flea market!
 
I believe you can spend your life always being frugal and getting the most for your money, then one day you say convenience is more important. Even more important some days then being healthier. I always read a label before I purchase.........or should say I always did. Now I find myself saying......forget that! Buying something that is already made. Like the side salads instead of making my own, which is what I used to do. Mine were always better and I knew what was in them. Buying a package of cookies instead of making my own. A box of brownie mix or cornbread mix. Of course now I am only cooking for one.

Preparing a meal for one person, if you are making a whole meal with side dishes still uses the same amount of bowls, utensils, pans, etc. I really enjoy sitting at my computer to eat and that is what I do. Sometimes I am on YouTube and it is like when you sit in front of a television to eat. Which the experts always say you should not do. I do it anyway. My computer is on my table and it is a dining table.

I have to eat a softer food diet now due to my dentures. I cannot eat with them. I remember once long ago, must have been in the 80's being in a restaurant with my first husband and my best friend (at the time) and her husband and seeing an elderly woman taking her dentures out at the table and being disgusted. Like "yuck" and not even imagining what caused her to do that in the first place. Now I know.

I also remember as a CNA in a nursing home making residents put their dentures in (or me putting them in for them) for supper. Many times a resident's dentures would end up being picked up with the tray by the food service. As a CNA, I had to follow the rules. That was one of them. Dentures in for their meals. Whether they could eat with them or not. Dumb rule.

Now I carry a little can with me and if (which is very rarely, usually the local Chinese restaurant) we go out to eat, I sneak my dentures in the can while I eat. Sonny does not care. He never wears his. I think he wore them twice that I know of. I worry about how I look without them so much but my friend from downstairs was surprised the other day when I mentioned them. She said she didn't know I had dentures. She has been in my apartment talking to me for an hour or more and I did not have them in. ??? I should worry no more about that.
 
Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the cooler weather and the trees changing colors, but not their leaves dropping off. It is one of those pleasures that does not last very long, like a dish of ice cream. It is still pretty warm here though. 46 degrees when I got up this morning at 5. I still don't have to turn my heat on. This building holds the heat from the day before. Bricks.

I got behind on writing out my budget sheets for October. I did mine yesterday and will do Jeff's today, when it is light out. That is the one thing I have found to save me the most money every month. Writing out the budget for each month by hand. I keep it on a clip board next to my computer so I can keep track of it all month. I mark off each item I pay when it has gone through my account. I do the same with Jeff's account. Since I am his payee representative for his SSD check, doing this for him is even more helpful. I keep all these budget sheets in a loose leaf notebook after the month is over. Then if I die and he will have a new payee rep, probably from Social Services (I think) they could see how I did his budget and maybe that would help them.
 
This time of year, used to be a busy time for me. What I did not harvest from the garden, my friend and I would buy bushels of from our local produce market. We would split the cost and then I, of course would can my share. Or store in the pantry or root cellar. Now I will just buy some canned or frozen. I don't have much luck storing fall vegetables in my apartment, even without my heat on.

Regardless of not gardening or preserving food anymore, it is still my favorite time of the year. I am getting a lot of things done that I started working on and never finished. I don't know why I just let things sit. Now I make a list the night before of things to do and try to get most of them done.

When I lived with my husband in our house, his negativity would affect me so much. He had created that little homestead by clearing the trees around it and also by planning for and getting horses. He did not start the work on the house unless something went wrong and had to be repaired. He built a barn, cleared an area for the horses and basically worked outside all day. The inside was horrible! It was hard to live like that for as long as I did. 20 years. I loved the horses and two were mine. But he had made so much work for himself, and racked up so much debt due to building a solar system, that we had no money. Not much for food or other expenses.

I started selling on eBay and became a Powerseller, selling off my own things. Not his. I sold guitar strings also. Many different brands. I did better with those on eBay than Amazon or Stringbaby. It got to the point where I could not use the money I had made from selling to buy more products. Debt and trying to pay for household bills. I was stressed and could not think of anything but getting out of there. He was angry, always doing his work yelling and swearing at God. Hated the horses by that time. Blamed them for everything. He would get mad if a cat meowed during the night or even got on his lap. He was not always like this. But when they say not to work too hard, they are right. It got to him. And he got to me.

He was miserable especially when the weather changed and winter was on the horizon. He had cut wood. He knew he would be shoveling snow. Oh, that was a job he hated more than anything. He complained that he never had any alone time. We lived in the middle of acres of state forest. He could have all the alone time he wanted. He had 2 Harleys and a nice truck that was too big for me to drive. I was not comfortable in it. I had nothing. I could only go somewhere with him to drive me. I felt trapped. Miserable. I cried every night when I went to bed. I slept downstairs since I could not go up and down the stairs. Plus I never trusted the two wood stoves burning at night and was afraid we'd have a fire. The cook stove was old and had leaks and I could see the shadows of the flames on the wall. It was scary at night.

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