Craziness

Bears, Coyotes & Raccoons

I find it amazingly surprising that my Easter Eve and Easter morning were consumed with a little bit of fear.

You see on Saturday night my neighbor called to tell me that the bears were out. Oh, crikey I thought, my bird feeders are still out!

I struggled with the idea of how I would go and get them without being eaten by wild bears. Humor me. After being locked away, feeling paranoid about Covid-19, I just knew the bears would ultimately get me!

Jack told me to bring Lili with me. She would protect me. But wouldn’t the bears get Lili?

After a few minutes Jack, Lili and I went out to get the feeders. Lili shot right up the hill towards the bears, but when I called her back, she was a good girl and came!

I felt relieved that I had gotten the bird feeders in when all of a sudden Lili began making a terrible ruckus at the back sliding glass doors. I turned on the light and I could just make out a creature I thought at first was a Fox. Upon further reflection, I realized it was a Coyote!

That thing did not move. It stared at me as if challenging me to come and get him.

I admit that this Coyote scared me more than the bears. You see, they will grab small dogs and run off with them. Ending their days on this earth in an awful way. A Coyote will fight with a dog of similar size and Lili is just slightly larger. Coyotes are bad.

This morning, as I was outside walking my little ones and Lili, Lili and Arnie took off as there was a Raccoon near our driveway. There I was, in my pajamas, running through my yard, yelling at the dogs to come back. Eventually, they did, but Lili was covered in mud, and I had to drag out the hose and wash her off. All before my first cup of coffee!

I’m still very concerned about the Coyote and will need to leash walk the two dackels at night. For a while anyway. At least until I know he has moved on.

It’s Getting to Me

This morning Jack decided I had to go out. He needed new batteries for his blood meter for his diabetes, as the current battery was close to death.

I had planned to go out tomorrow. I planned on wearing dirty clothes to the store, using head covering, facial mask, and gloves. I was ready for that. But suddenly, having to go out today, found me having a panic attack.

Would I make it? Would I be infected? Okay. I need to do everything I had planned for tomorrow, just one day early. I was terrified.

You see one of the cases here in my small town presents like this.

“A young woman was self-isolating at home with her children. She just went to our local grocery store and back and always wore a mask and gloves. Suddenly this healthy young woman is stricken with Covid-19. Was her husband also self-isolating? Well no. he works for the State for the highway Department and went out every day, without protection. Their carelessness has caused real problems for us in my little town. Several more cases have been reported and it all stems from that one, thoughtless couple.”

The cashiers, the workers, and even the patrons such as myself, are angry. Angry at being put in this position.

When I got to the store today I was all done up in my homemade hazmat suit. A few times I felt like I was having a panic attack, and I was grateful to the mask, as it kept me breathing and not passing out.

I found myself looking at people and wondering where they had been? Did they look germy? I saw a young mother with her little baby, who sat in the front of the carriage, chewing the basket handle!

***Shriek***

I was able to get our prescriptions, food for a couple of weeks, and I stopped and got Jack his wine. I picked up our mail, which had Anneliese’s prescription and a couple of bills. I was home by 1:15, wiped everything down in the basement, brought it upstairs, and then ran into the shower.

Then I prayed. I prayed that I didn’t pick up any germs while I was out.

I made my lunch (my favorite roasted eggplant) and now I am sitting here, in the warm sunshine trying to relax. I put my pajamas on after my shower and I feel delightfully clean and comfy.

Yes, a good way to unwind.

I am a Moron

When one has copious amounts of time on their hands they begin looking for things to do. It had been some time since I updated my Ipod (which I seldom use due to using Amazon Music on my cell phone). Well, two things have changed. The first being that I have a new computer, and would need to set up the new machine with Itunes, and second, my brain does not retain what it once did, thus I recalled nothing about setting this all up.

(Greta and the laptop.)

In fact, I stumbled all around Apple’s Web Page until I locked myself out of my account.

Call me crazy, but I honestly could not recall the sequence of events I needed to go through to get Itunes to recognize my Ipod.

I tried and tried to go through their unlocking process and finally, after about an hour I looked at the screen and realized I’d been using the wrong username! Yes, call me embarrassed!

Now that I have unlocked my account, I need to figure out how to get Itunes to talk to my computer. I’ve saved that joyous learning session for tomorrow, as I am just done in from today.

I know just enough about computers to be dangerous! Not really. I do pretty well, but since I got my last laptop, so many things have changed and instead of converting things back to a menu I know I have decided it is time for me to learn the new “better” systems. Forced learning. It’s maddening but necessary.

I have one little crocus that pushed through the earth today. It’s adorably cute and I have threatened Arnie that he is not to wee on it!

Our Lake has no ice left in it now and once again we have a moving, living, breathing Lake. I do so love the Lake at the beginning of Spring. So full of life.

Thankfully, I do not have to cook tonight. It is all leftovers! Yay! Not that I mind cooking, but right now it is rather intense cooking three meals a day, seven days a week.

Friday found us watching as State after State began shutting down. I think we are very close to this happening here. We’ve been told to stay home unless we need to get prescriptions or food. Basically shelter in place with no running around.

This being said, Jack and I stayed in our pajamas all day. I mean really, who is going to care if we are in our comfy clothes? Certainly, the dogs do not care.

So here we are comfy, with doggies draped all over the furniture in the house. It’s a peaceful scene, really.

I have done only cursory housework and cooking. I’m perfectly happy to keep ~~playing with~~ programming my new computer!

I also learned how to use my Bluetooth device on the laptop to listen to music!

And I have to brag about two things. The first was I had trouble getting my email accounts to work correctly. I called my local carrier. Due to the Virus, the Techs are working from home. I had the unlucky experience of getting a guy with a name like “Keanu”, who was working from his living room.

His TV was on full blast, enough so that I could hear screaming from the show. Also, his dog was barking and this added to the chaos.

Now I tried to remain calm, after all, he is a professional, right? But as I attempted to explain my problem, it became clear that he had no desire to help me. He told me to do two things and then told me to switch to a better email program. Ah, what?

I hung up feeling furious. Then I remembered what Brad told me. Sit down, and work through the problem systematically.

I compared my old computer settings to the new one. Now wouldn’t you know the problem was in the last place I looked! Ha!

The next tech type victory was learning to sign in to the online WW Classes. They are having online workshops for us because the Virus has shut all the in-person workshops down. Thursday I could not connect, but on Friday I figured it all out! Yay me!

Life goes on, and if we are all lucky, no one we know and love will contract this Virus. Please stay safe and healthy!

Maribeth

Too Many Mugs!

I decided over the weekend that it was time to clean out the coffee, tea and mug cabinet. I swear the mugs have multiplied on their own over the years. I simply do not recall having that many.

Lately, I am only using my Tervis Tumbler mugs, as they keep everything nicely hot for an extended period of time. I also wanted to place a variety of teas in the cabinet instead of leaving them on the shelf.

What I found in the cabinet was amazing. Coffee filters from previous coffee makers. Instructions from two coffee machines ago! It was mind-boggling.

True to my word, I began to wash the shelves, and then put aside mugs I have not used in years. I also pulled out any little thing that does not belong there.

The cabinet is now clean, organized and I almost cannot stand the neatness! Haha!

The 8 piece set of Pfaltzgraff mugs is packed carefully away in a labeled box and the odds and ends mugs will go to the recycling center.

I was on a hot streak now, so I opened the cabinet with all the plastic containers in it. Many are without covers now, some were never right, so I went through and moved some to save and others to send to the recycling center.

After that, I finished the laundry and noted that I was a little bit tired (at 4 PM). So, I made a lovely cup of tea and then sat down to enjoy it.

Not too much to do on this Tuesday except getting Jack to the Orthopaedist for a procedure for his Dupuytren’s Contracture. I hope that this will go well and he will get full use back in his hand.

My Sunglasses

A few weeks ago, during my daughter’s move from one house to the next, I came home from helping, in the rain and the next day, in the sun, I reached into my pocketbook for my sunglasses. They were not in my purse. I checked my tote bag. Nope, not there either!

Then I searched my car. Then I searched Jack’s car. Then I came upstairs and searched in the kitchen. I went to the lost and found at the grocery store, to the post office, and at WW.

I could not remember the last time I’d had them, and this really bothered me. We’ve had a lot of gray rainy weather, so I could have lost them anywhere!

These are not just any old pair of sunglasses. These are prescription sunglasses.

Meanwhile, I got out my old pair of sunglasses and used those. I was not happy and quite honestly, due to the fact that I was close to turning 61, I was afraid I’d developed some sort of memory problem.

Then on Saturday I got to my daughter’s and we went out to her car to go to Savannah’s play and as I got in I spotted my glasses case on the floor of her car! Of course, they must have fallen out as I either got in or out of her car. She drives a low sports car and I am always joking that I need a crane to help me get out of it.

So, the mystery of the sunglasses disappearance is over and I am once again driving with my favorite pair on my nose!

And I am so happy that I did not misplace them, but simply had them fall out of my bag! Whew! Another aging bullet dodged!

It’s All In A Day

On Saturday I:

Walked the dogs, hung the bird feeders and had a cup of tea.
Made breakfast, cleaned it up and got dressed.
Went with Jack to a WW II Museum in Wolfboro, NH.
Drove to Jack’s favorite Chinese Buffet for lunch.
Was able to eat white rice, egg drop soup, and some plain cookies.
Came home, got Heavenly Jam Batch #1 on the stove.
Sterilized the lids and caps and jars.
Cooked the jam for an hour, added the pectin and cooked it another 20 minutes.
Canned 12 jars of Peach Jam at 4 PM.
Got out a 7-pound chicken and seasoned it, tied it up and put it in the rotisserie to cook for 2 hours.
I got Batch #2 going on the stove.
Sterilized the lids and caps and jars.
Cooked the Jam 1 hour, added pectin and cooked another 20 or so minutes.
Canned 12 jars of Peach Jam at 6:30 PM.
Cooked two baked potatoes.
Sat down for a few minutes and then the chicken was done and I served dinner to Jack and me.
At 8 PM I finished the dinner and the cleanup and I could sit down!
Bedtime will come in a few minutes, and quite frankly I am exhausted!

Nite-Nite!

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time

Last week I was shopping online at Amazon.com. I was looking for a book on Highclere Castle, the real Downton Abbey. I came upon a book about Highclere Castle and the origins of the castle and the owners of it.

The reviews looked good, but since I wasn’t sure, I thought I would order myself a copy and then if it was any good I would order one for my sister Melodie.

My copy arrived and I was thrilled when I looked it over. So many details of the Castle and so many beautiful pictures. I sat right down and ordered it for my sister. I knew she would just love it!

On Saturday I was contacted by Amazon that the book had been delivered. Since it was pretty early in the morning I wanted to make sure she got the package before the rain set in, so I sent her a text.

“Did a package arrive for you?”

Well, my phone rang almost instantly! She was laughing like crazy! You said between giggles “You will not believe this!”

It seems that my sister had the same idea. So about the same time I ordered this book to review, she had done the same thing! When her mail carrier arrived he delivered two packages with the same book inside!

At first, Mel thought she had ordered two of them! Until my text! Then she knew that we had done this again.

So often we have similar ideas right at the same time! But this was pretty spooky! We are both still laughing about it.

Great Minds…

Dishes

Why is it that you get the cooking bug at the same time that your dishwasher has broken down? Now I do not mind washing a dish or two along the way, but my gosh, you should see the mounds of dishes that I have been washing!

My cousin Janet jokes with me because she actually likes washing dishes. She finds it relaxing.

For me, I could list about a dozen reasons why I really do not like to wash, dry and put away dishes, but I’m trying to remain on the positive side of things!

Today I made Italian Meatballs to go with the Spaghetti Sauce I made the other day. Jack likes meatballs with his spaghetti! Well after mixing the meat and then shaping the meatballs and using my cast iron skillet, I found I had a ton of dishes!

One thing is for sure. You are never really lonely in life. The dishes and the laundry will always be there for you. Right now the dishes sure are keeping me company!

Hopefully, the parts will arrive for my dishwasher by early in the week and my repairman, Barry can get it all fixed up!

A Scary Event

Well, we brought Anneliese into the Canine Ophthalmologist and her right eye is actually worse than her left eye. She is in a precarious state with these Corneal Ulcers, but I will give her the ointment for her eyes and keep her as quiet as I can. And hopefully, we will have some healing.

The ride home waws rather eventful, as we had a road rage incident with a burly truck driver.

We were in a line of traffic on Route 11. The truck in front of us was bothering Jack because he couldn’t see, and all he wanted to do was pass and get by him.

Bad idea.

Finally, he started to pass and I told him not to because on the other side of the road the traffic was closing in fast, and the truck driver sped up and came on the passenger side of the car trying to almost push us into oncoming traffic.

This is an example of the truck that nearly ended our lives today!

I could see the truck driver’s angry face. I was scared and screaming. I felt I was going to die.

Somehow we made it into our lane, and disaster was averted. But the truck followed us all the way from Rochester until Alton.

A police car started following us and so at a scenic pull-off, we pulled off. That’s when the trucker pulled in, tried to block us into the pull off. The trucker jumped out of his truck and came toward our car! I told Jack not to open the window or get out of the car. I told him to drive away.

The trucker smashed his fist on the driver’s side window and windshield! (It did not break, thank God!) I was screaming again.

He followed us for a long time and I was telling Jack that if he followed us to Meredith, we needed to drive to the Police Station. But the truck did pull off.
I am feeling terrified. I am so scared this trucker will look up our plate number and find our address.

This guy was furious and a maniac!!!

I went to the New Hampshire State site and looked up the Law for this incident. It clearly stated that the truck driver was at fault. In the Law, it says, if a car starts to pass you, you are to back off and pull closer to the right side of the road to make the pass easier for the passing car.

And then to follow us and try to destroy the glass windows on our car, well, that is under the heading of road rage.

The truck was a simple yellow boxed van truck and I couldn’t make out the license plate. Oh, how I wish I had!

So by the time we got home, I was feeling pretty stressed out. I did have a chance to make dinner and clean it up before collapsing in my chair with Arnie and watching another episode of Downton Abbey.