Mister Magoo

Oh God! Wouldn't you know it? I broke my reading glasses. I ran down to the dollar store to pick up a pair but I couldn't decide which strength I needed so I picked the strongest pair. I thought that was what I needed but by the time I got home and tried them on everything seemed too big and too bright. It made me dizzy. I know these aren't like my old glasses. I guess I have to run back to the dollar store again and throw more money away trying to get the right glasses. 

My friend, Piette, picked on me because she knows I'm tight and I don't like wasting money on crap. The only problem with that is that I am always doing something stupid and wasting money. I thaw things out and forget to take them out of the microwave. I did that the other day. I also forget to water my plants or feed my pets all the time. I don't mean to be inefficient, I just haven't had the will to do anything. Every time I plan anything, something happens and sets me back again.

I quit feeding the birds outside when Daddy got sick. I was away from home too much and didn't have time to take care of them all the time. I wanted to hang our hummingbird feeders out this spring but everything has been so hectic I haven't even tried. I'm a total spaz and I admit my life isn't very efficient right now.

The other day I planned on going to the dentist so I got up and got ready. I had plenty of time to get to Dalton but when I tried to crank my car it wouldn't start. I couldn't even get it to turn over. I called the dentist's office to tell them I was having trouble. When I couldn't get a ride, they rescheduled my appointment. I'm glad because I was afraid they would gripe at me for not taking care of my teeth. I've been neglecting them, too. 

I'm not the only one that's having problems keeping up with things. Mama had two doctor's appointments this week and went to one a day early. I can't keep up with her, or Donny, or even myself. That's why I depend my FlyLady calendar so I can keep up with all the appointments and I'm also learning to use my cell phone for stuff like that. Now I need to remember to record everything.

Katie told me everybody seemed to be having a streak of bad luck. Scout and Colt broke down in Bob's truck and were stranded for about an hour before they got the truck running again to get back to Bob's. They were late getting home that day.

Katie and Bennett and I finally made a trip to Big Lots and I bought a couple of pairs of reading glasses. I liked the weaker strength reading glasses. I got a pair of glasses for three dollars. That's what I call a deal! I guess Piette was right. I am cheap.

I feel about a hundred percent better than I did a few days ago. I'm finally walking upright again. Better still, I don't need my cane. I'm still taking aspirin though. They take the edge off my pain but I hope I don't get addicted. I hate popping pills.

Katie and I made another trek to the store later on this week. This time we went to Fred's. We planned on making a day of it until Donny called and said he was locked out of the house. We had to come home and let him inside. I didn't mind. We had already had lunch at the Great Wall. It's a local Chinese restaurant. That was a real treat. I guess you have to take your fun where you can get it

I couldn't find my keys today. I was going to go with Mama to her doctor. I called to tell her why I wasn't at her house yet but she had already left me and was in the parking lot. She is so impatient. I guess when you get old you have to be. You don't know how much time you have left. Oh boy! Will the fun ever end?                            

AS ALWAYS

PIO

PBS 7-18-14 Friday 12:24 AM EDT

Weekend Review

Don has been working overtime recently. He was supposed to work 10 hours a day 7 days a week. Last Saturday he hit his knee on something and it swole up so bad he couldn't walk. He decided to take a vacation week off. By Tuesday he felt so bad that he went to the doctor. They took blood. The doctor couldn't syringe any fluid off his knee so he ordered x-rays. An observant nurse pointed out a spot on Don's knee that looked suspicious. The doctor took a biopsy. The doctor filled him up on prescriptions and sent him home.

Don and I went to the Diagnostic Center and got his x-ray. I asked about mammograms and found out you have to have a doctor's order to get one. While I was at it, I asked how much it would be if I didn't have insurance. The lady said $525, I think. I was flabbergasted! Every time you fart in a medical situation it costs you $500 dollars. Colt's episode cost over $400. Don's last medical exam cost over $500. I think that is standard procedure, or something. How in the name of heaven can you look someone in the face and charge them $500 to mash the hell out of them with two window panes that are screwed down enough to make you feel like you are going to pop and take a picture? No wonder most people can't afford to go to the doctor. The cost is exorbitant. 

Don had been hobbling around like Chester in Gunsmoke. Anybody remember him? He hasn't been able to get outside and work in the garden so Colt and I have been taking care of it. Colt planted beans and tomatoes and I planted some okra.

Don called his doctor to find out about the x-ray and biopsy. They told him it was good news. He didn't have melanoma but he does have gout and needs to be taking another medicine. I hope his knee will get better so he can walk normally again.

Friday I mowed the entire yard, back and front. I usually break it up in a two day job. It was so nice and mild I didn't get tired like I usually do so I mowed the backyard without stopping. After that I had to mow the front yard and get it over with. It didn't take very long. This weekend is the yearly Battle of Resaca  reenactment so I wanted the yard to look nice.

I must have really pushed myself because I started limping around like Don. Every time I sat down for too long my legs locked up and I couldn't walk. I stumbled around like a spastic until I worked the soreness out of my legs. Now I can appreciate Don's pain. My soreness will wear off. I'm not so sure about his.


Colt and I rigged up two flagpoles so I could put a couple of Confederate flags in the front yard for the Battle of Resaca this weekend. People coming and going up Dixie highway will see them. That was my small contribution to the spirit of the occasion. That's all for now.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Catching Up

I've been dragging around for a while with an ear ache. My home remedies aren't getting me very far. I go from boiling them out with hydrogen peroxide, to pouring alcohol down them in the hopes of drying up the sore place. I don't like going to doctors.

I hope I don't mess up the crystals in my ears. I've had vertigo because of misplaced crystals, and that is a miserable feeling. I'd just about as soon die as go through that again. I couldn't lay down because the bed was spinning, and I couldn't sit up because I felt like the whole world was spinning. It was like riding the tilt-a-whirl without any of the fun. It made me want to throw up. I don't know how anybody can function like that.


A friend who was a nurse told me about the crystals in our ears. They help us maintain balance. She told me of a remedy to get the crystals corrected. She advised me to sit on the edge of the bed and then fall to one side (left or right) and then sit back up. Then I should fall to the other side (left or right) and sit back up. I had to rest when I fell over because I was so dizzy. It was slow going, but my balance finally cleared up so I must have gotten the crystals back where they belonged. 


I was so happy with the cure for this problem that I bragged about it to everyone. When I told my cousin, Nancy, about it she laughed at me and called me Crazy Pam with crystals in my head. She thought I was nuts. I finally ran across an article about the crystals and how they affect your balance. Check out Inner Ear Rock Slides Lead To Vertigo at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103463398  for more information about those darn crystals.


People say drugs are bad but you don't need any drugs when you feel like you're in a carnival fun-house when you move your head. Ye gads! Getting old is not easy. There's always something going wrong and making you realize you are not immortal.


Have you ever stood up and noticed your skin didn't? I call it elephant skin. I look all wrinkly around my knees. It reminds me of when I used to wear hose and they would always puddle around my ankles, only now it's all down my legs. Gross!


I've always thought they should have a handbook for life. Maybe break it down by age. I wish someone had warned me of the fun facts of old age. I've got old age spots all over me, and my skin is starting to feel like an alligator's. Sometimes I have a fun evening of plucking unwelcome hairs as I peer into a small magnifying mirror. I think about the three little pigs and the big bad wolf. Something about ... 'not by the hair of my chinnie, chin, chin'. Why me, Lord?  Why me?


There are other things, more personal things, that I'd rather not discuss but believe you me getting old affects everyone. If you live long enough it will start working on you. It suffices it to say, you'll understand when you get old


I think I'll go rest now. I'm feeling old.

******

AS ALWAYS

PIO


I'm sorry. I've tried  "twenty ways to Sunday" to fix the link to the article above. 
In the mean time, I'll keep working on it. Thanks
Yeah!! I FINALLY GOT IT