MaggieMayhem

So, the extreme pain in my hip is bursitis. Doc has me on steroids and rubbing that gel into my joints. There is some improvement, but I can tell this will be a long haul.

Living in the basement now; Desi helped tidy up the guest room, and I got some done myself. A little bed, a tiny night table, and I brought down Larry’s urn, my Japanese vanity, some art, and my Lokis. Oh, and things like clothes, toothbrush and lotions. It is quiet and dark.

The work progresses. The bedroom ceiling and walls were not drying, so the paint had to be scraped off in huge swatches. Lucy hid under the bed and got semi-sealed in with the fans and dehumidifier. We left the zipper in the plastic barrier open a little, and she eventually came out, but she was freaked. Insurance covers the work because the water line to the swamp cooler froze and split. The guy was right, it would have happened anyway, but I think it would not have been as bad if he hadn’t left the water and the pump going when he left for the evening. I had to block him on Facebook, and his number. He even went as far to text me from another phone! Leave me alone means leave me alone.

I have a nice sitting area out by the back door, restful, except I can stare at the weeds too long. Am contemplating some nice metal wall art for that area too. Why not?

Screen time is up, which means my extreme dry eye is ramping up too. It doesn’t warn me while I am actually using it, oh no, my eye acts up while I am sleeping. Wakes me up, as it is extremely painful. Even the deluxe moisture drops do not ease it completely. As cliche as it sounds, yes, it feels like being poked with a stick in the eye. Ugh. So what am I doing? Wearing my reading glasses and using the not painful eye to post this. My eye patches are taped up inside the bedroom…

Straight up, I am having a bad day. Week. Month. Whatever this is.

Old news, I do not have COVID, my grand nephew did not. Rather he had two terrible infections, ear and sinus. A good diagnosis and proper medications took care of that. Other old news, cancelled the trip to Boston. Got the garden going, in progress. Learned how to order food from Instacart, my nieces helped, and I did go to the commissary once. DoD regulations, everyone had a mask.

And then things went to hell. Guy came out to do the swamp cooler. He left, but left the water on. Was it a bad pipe or did he do something wring? Not a clue. But water built up in the attic and poured through the interior walls into my basement family room. I was able to get the water off, but oh, the damage is done. Then the guy told me not to drag his name through the mud, which I had not done. He flat out refused to listen or to take any responsibility. Blamed the pipes, blamed Matt who did the winterizing, blame blame blame but not him. I had to block him on FB, and then his phone number because he jumped to texts about how I was being awful to him. Dude, you just flooded my house.

Now it is inspectors and damage mitigation, repair and restoration. One man wore a mask, but only over his mouth. One, not at all. I now have a sign, no mask, no entrance. Holes and water dimples in my bedroom ceiling. Stuff everywhere. Double recliner is soaked, not that I was using it, but I had the option. Rugs are trash. Friends did come over and do the heavy lifting, I am so thankful I have good people in my life.

Right now I am making sure some of my really nice stuff is moving into loving hands. I have way too much crap.

The neighbor took down the tree on the fence line, half dead thing, but wiped out an owl nest, all the eggs smashed. So that’s sad too.

And then two personal attacks in one day online. That hurts. Hurts too much.

Frell me, I just want a hug.

And here we are in the second half of March.
I went to LA for the Peter Wingfield friendship convention, stayed at the Marriott LAX. I had a very good time, meeting Peter and Jim and David was delightful. Spent too much money. Undoubtedly exposed to coronavirus.

Been isolating at home, do not feel well at all. Minimal symptoms, but a lot of fatigue and headaches, warm spells but not quite fevers, a little wheezy, dry cough. My grand nephew in NY has it but cannot be tested. Desi took me shopping right when I returned, hope I am not actually infect and did not infect her. We shall see.

I have had groceries delivered, and ordered coffee and mac nuts from Hawaii. Hopefully the packages were not infected.

I may have gotten myself kicked off Navyformoms. I may need to cancel my trip in May.

We had an earthquake, a 5.7, epicenter Magna. Pretty good shaker for this location. My friends are freaked out.

How’s your apocalypse going?

Hey, I got my hair cut after nearly three years. Last time I can remember was when Nancy trimmed it in the parking lot of Area 51. That was in the summer of 2017. Still down to my collarbones, but looks a lot spiffier.

I cleaned the coffee maker. It had gotten gunked up and was dripping slowly. A little vinegar and elbow grease did wonders. The heating plate is getting weird, so it will need to be replaced eventually. The retro models on Amazon look pretty sharp, and the reviews are passable. I decided to clean my toaster too. That did not go so well. The sticky grunk on the sides doesn’t want to clean off even with magic erasers. I am treating myself to a nice retro model in mint green It will look fantastic next to my Jadeite glass.

The toilet paper drawer needed restocking. The center partitions are sprung, so I pulled everything out. I packed up the electric toothbrush, tossed the baby wipes, and put the curling iron n the box to go to the thrift shop. Found the extra towel bar. I might install it. Why not? The question is where… it is a very small bathroom.

I cooked the pack of bacon which had been in the deep freezer. Larry and I got it with intent to cook it and take it to Burning Man. Well. Best By date on the package was 21 Jan 2017. Three year old bacon, still tasty. Still, wow.

I have fudge makings, and sweet potato snack cake, I do not want to look at those dates.

This morning was odd for me, I was so hungry all day.  Small breakfast, snack, early lunch, second lunch, late snack.  I am still hungry.  Washed my hair.  Watched the Outlander premier.

Finally got small chores done.  Did a mini thatch on a small patch of front yard.  Emptied the rain bucket, poured water down my leg, soaking my patched working jeans.  All my clean sweatpants and leggings are downstairs. I have other leggings, but they just are not as comfy as my velvet ones.  Jammy pants in the laundry too.  I tried on my other jeans, I have sized up out of the 20s.  Two pair are nearly new, but have elastic waists.  I hate them and rarely wear them, so into the thrift shop box they go.  I looked at the Woman Within sale, but their jeans suck, and the few I liked were not cheap in any case.  So, I looked on ebay.  Voila!  My size, the right brand and color, and cheap.  Well, cheap for jeans.  Old Lane Bryant house brand, now defunct.  I got two pair, because I got rid of two pair.  Yay.  But do I need three? Do I need a couple a size down?

I took apart the kitchen fixture and put in a new bulb.  I am a little unsteady on the stepstool, so I didn’t put the cover back on yet.  It is heavy glass.  Opened the over the sink fixture and put in a new bulb.  I thought it was a double, no, it was just a weird single.  The CF in it was beginning to dim.  I found three nice LED bulbs and put them in the ceiling fan.  Cleaned the blades.  They have been dirty for almost two years.  Cleaned the cat box, brought up coffee.  Got the bacon towel I no longer want in the thrift box.  Did the dishes, washed the cutting boards.  Ordered insulin for Harry.

These are all small things, but they are things done.  I still must do the trash, tomorrow is trash day and the kitchen bin is full.  I don’t mind the trash at all.  I just feel so lethargic.  And hungry, why am I so hungry?

The vision is creeping forward, but still, the world is smudges and watercolors.

I finished the Lokis, including the indulgent and fancy Rainbow Bridge Loki. I even touched up Lady Loki. I have a classic comic book evil Loki to attend to, but not just yet.

I got the chickens upstairs, and have been doing basic chores. Laundry, mostly. Did the finances, which is always a little confusing. There’s more money in the account than I have balanced. Better than less, yes?

I got the Stars and Moon sign up near the backdoor. I tried to do the moon and star hanging but it didn’t look good. I will try later.

Slowly getting the foods out of the house which aggravate my benzoate/benzoic acid sensitivity. I’d been putting cinnamon in my coffee grounds, eating soft cheeses, and cranberry and blueberry sauces/dried fruits. It all adds up to flu symptoms. Damn, that’s some of my favorite foods. I also gave away foods and seasonings which I simply will not use. I won’t quit eating things like cinnamon toast, but I will back off of it. The provolone in the fig and pig may be what gave me the runny nose.

Another light in the kitchen burned out. Not sure if I have an appropriate bulb, or if I can reach the fixture. I noticed because I was cooking a pack of pork stew meat. Usually, it would go in the slow cooker with beans and green chilis, but I went with stir fry. Used the plum sauce. Finished off the minced garlic. It all was depressing, because the pork, the unused beans, the garlic, the plum sauce, all was bought on shopping trips with Larry. So I was in a darker than usual kitchen, cooking sad food for one. I understand those folks on r/widowers who up and move away from a home filled with memories.

Raking the mucky moldy leaves was the plan, but it snowed and then rained.

Watched a lot of crap TV today. Crap is about right for my mood today. This week. Maybe even this month.

My vision is improving,I can see around the house. Screen time is still limited, as it gives me headaches too quickly. I can see the keyboard now using an older pair of prescription reading glasses. Still, it feels as though I am looking at the world through dirt and smudges.

Went out shopping with Desi. I cannot see at a distance well at all, and I get fatigued rapidly. I think it is from not moving around very much, and simply from straining to see. I am exhausted.

I am still working on my custom Lokis. Even though miniature painting is meticulous and hard on my eyes, I enjoy it.

I’ve been enjoying broiled “pig n fig” sandwiches. Probably not good for me at all.

Cats are being fur jerks. As usual.

Imbolg, indeed. There’s four or more inches of snow outside, and an overcast but bright sky. All that lovely white is reflecting into the house, filling the rooms with light. I feel as if I am being punched in the eye. Ah well.

Normally, I try to stay on top of my banking, all done online. None of m banking apps are on my phone, only my laptop. Here’s the thing, I can put my phone up to my face, into the zone where I can see the screen. Using the laptop, like I am now, requires glasses. But between the blurry vision and the new lens in my eyes, I cannot see the screen or keyboard easily. My prescription glasses no longer work in mid-range. I got the credit cards paid, but doing the line by line balancing of the checking is not happening. Fortunately, I am never close to the edge in checking, so it will be fine. Everything is fine. Fine.

The good news is I can walk around the house and kind see in lower light. The dirt and dust is piling up, no doubt, but I can;t see it. Lifting and moving things is difficult. I need to shovel the snow, but no. Yesterday was mild, but I couldn’t do the leaves. Even moving the laundry around hurts my face. Weird. Art is right out, and my project Lokis will be rolling in soon. They can wait.

Oh, this entry? On the laptop, using touch typing and spellcheck. I learned how to touch type when I was substituting the typing class for 8th graders in Yokosuka in the 90s. Useful skill which I shrank from when I was in high school.

Ugh. This time the eye surgery was more painful. Light is really getting to me. Hiding in the bedroom because the rest of the house is too bright. Still, my vision is improving incrementally.

Ordered some canned beverages on Amazon. Delivered right up against the front door, so I had to go out and around. Gee, thanks. Bumped then down to the basement by setting them on the stair and going backwards, moving them one or two steps at a time. Stabbed one of the cans while taking off the plastic wrap. So much fun. Cleaned the cat box while I was down there. Stinky. Messy. Bending over is also painful. I want to clean the wax jars, to take the peanuts out, bring up the metal chickens and take down the silk flowers, but no. Perhaps later.

I told myself no more Lokis after Lady Loki. Promptly bought three project Lokis. Also, a remarkable leather wallet on Etsy by a talented artists in Ukraine. Sigh.

The wheelchair came back. That helps ease my jitters. I know it would have been longer had I not pushed. Ah well.

Jett died. She was supposed to have a little longer, but was gone in days. Far, far too young. I cannot take this much more. No more dying, please.

Went to see Dolittle. Cute little movie, requires suspension of belief start to finish. Fluffy fluff fluff. I did not stop and eat Chinese food. I wanted it though. Bought hot sauce. The Blueberry Hell is good, but too hot and overpowers the berry sweetness.

Eyes are not enjoying the drops. Surgery tomorrow and I do not feel at all relaxed or optimistic. Cross your fingers for me.