Following Directions!

 Following Directions!

 

Some folks are just better at following directions than others. Apparently, the old woman has some difficulty doing things the way the directions call for. Substitutions to a grocery order was the problem today. Of eight items ordered, three were delivered. Yes, it made the total bill MUCH less expensive. On the other hand, only a bit of meat came into the house today from Market Street. Maybe next time the little box allowing substitutions will be marked—or not. Seems the only thing in my memory that was NOT allowed to be substituted was the type of milk ordered. Hmm.

 

Brushing my teeth has become problematic. The odor of whatever is in the water lines is about enough to keep thirst from attacking. Have even begun to use gallon jugs of water for cooking and tea or coffee. Ordered three cases of Ozarka water that DID get delivered. All three flats fit perfectly in the wagon that Jennifer had sent here. So now the wagon is parked in the living room next to the door. The young man was very careful to line them up just exactly so that they fit into the space. That worked out very well.

 

Maria came today, and now the house feels and smells great. She is so very thorough with her work. She even washed the dishes from our lunch. It really felt good to have someone to sit down with me to eat. And she did not mind having a prayer before our meal. Put her fee under her phone and loaded her up with a dozen eggs and some ripe bananas for whatever she makes. It just does not pay to buy more than three bananas around here. Yes, banana nut loaf would be good, but that would mean lighting the oven. While the temperature is not all that bad today, having an oven lit simply does not appeal.

 

Maria’s father has dementia, so she can’t leave medicine bottles around or he would take all of the pills at one time. He has told her that he does not want to live any longer and won’t eat. That is hard on a child to watch. Daddy refused to take the pills he was supposed to have, but that made sense to me. He was already on Hospice and knew he did not have to do anything he didn’t feel like doing. Stubbornness runs in the family tree. And he was tired of hurting. Understand completely.

 

The twins did not make it here today. Not sure they will be here tomorrow, but certainly hope so. Yours truly has to give up the lifting and pushing for the time being. It is frustrating not to be able to do all the things that are routine around here. But such is life and aging. Lying down to get the kinks out of my back sometimes helps, but overall, the best answer to the problems is just to get someone else to lift, bend, twist, and otherwise maneuver things. We learned a type of patience as children—waiting until we were old enough, big enough, or responsible enough to do the things we wanted to do. Now the process is somewhat reversed. Aging means that slowly but surely the things we want to do have to be approached quite differently—or not at all. Shaking my head here.

 

Haven’t talked to Sterling in a couple of days. Hope all is well up in Northwest Arkansas. He goes to see a surgeon on the 8^th of this month—the same day that Barbara Mathews sees her surgeon. One is going in for hernia repair and the other for removal of some infected and inflamed intestines. Neither sounds too wonderful to me. No way for me to go help Jacqui and Sterling. And am guessing that Barbara will have some help when she gets home—at least hoping she will have someone to take good care of her.

 

The wind has been pretty wild the past few days. One wall of the old Speegle house blew inside and has spread that pink fluff all over the place. Despise fiberglass! That junk was all in the air and in the trees after the ’79 tornado. Not a tree out this way was not decorated with either metal sheeting or fiberglass—or both. Have no idea where all that horrible stuff ended up, but the city opened up a huge ditch out beyond the old spillway in order to bury everything that could be dumped into it. Not sure what fiberglass does to ground water, but if it could cause problems, it will.

 

Have cucumbers growing in the green house and want to pick up some tomato and pepper plants to put in containers out there. First have to go buy a water hose, some air hose for the compressor, some soil, and potting medium. Here’s hoping that all gets done this week. But this is Wednesday, so we will see. Anne did not make it today and said she would be here tomorrow. Hope she gets here this time.

 

Lay down earlier to try to relax my back a bit. Those muscle relaxers that Dr. B prescribed are fairly adequate for spasms, but not when the old woman has been doing more than her share of whatever it takes to get as sore as a poisoned pup. No, have no idea how a poisoned pup feels, but the sound of it seems to work.

 

Maria suggested a love seat to replace the couch today, but Jenn thought another recliner would work. It may just depend on what is available locally. Not too keen on buying anything second hand since so many places have bed bugs or roaches. Bleah! We once had a couch that was a nicely framed seat that could be wiped down easily and dusted. The cushions were washable, too. That would be great if it were available now in something smaller than this current couch. We will see.

 

Honestly dread opening my AOL browser lately. How this world even functions sometimes is beyond anything remotely resembling common sense or human kindness. And no, it is not the guns that cause all the deaths. Folks can kill with vehicles or even sabotage. We need to see some mental help given to those who need it. The fences over across at the State Hospital are high enough to keep most folks inside the grounds, but those folks are totally out of control most of the time. Not sure the employees even are allowed to defend themselves any longer. Insanity works on too many levels in our society!

 

Know less than one of those little feathered dinosaurs out back. At least they seem happy. Maybe scratching around in the dirt is the best way to relieve many problems. Or not.

 

Hope that those who are suffering from frustration and incomprehensible dissatisfaction can find answers to those feelings soon. Let us all respond to others with calmness and understanding—even when the problems have nothing to do with us. Empathy in any situation can help even if it is not the total answer.

 

Thanks to Keith for the pictures and his poetry. We all need something uplifting each day—even if it seems to be all sunsets and sunrises. Those are actually promises, you know.

 

Rest well, and remember that God gave us this life to help us learn to love. Do your best for you are loved.