Keeping On--Part Three: Surmounting Obstacles and Set-Backs

Six weeks from when I first got sick.  I'm a lot better, but my energy ebbs and flows.  But it's my eyes that keep bothering me.  They're red and itchy.  Some mornings they're still gooey, too.  The photosensitivity is the worst, since I love the sun so much, and it makes me feel so much better.


Not that we've seen the sun as often as we usually would in June.  So much rain has made it difficult to get anything out of the shed.  I really wanted to go through more of that stuff and get the space cleared so Brittany could use the shed for her stuff.  And, when it's not raining, it gets to 100° heat index.


Then, our washing machine broke down.  Again.  This time, it was the transmission.  To fix it would cost as much--or more-- than a new washer. It died 11 days before my payday.  That was a loooooonnngg 11 days.  A week later, I acceded to cleanliness and went to a laundromat.


It'd been 25 years since I was in a laundromat.  The number one thing I hated about laundromats was that they were so dirty.  The floors, walls, even the exterior of the machines were messy.  The bill-changers were usually broken and the soap dispensers empty.  Now, I knew there were nicer places, but I'd have to drive quite a ways to find them.


My brother told my mother about a place he used when he would travel.  It's a drop off & pick up place, but also a coinless laundromat.  It was clean (relatively) and neat.  So I went there.  Holy rip-offs, batperson!  It cost $3 just to get a card!  Then you had to load it with money to operate the machines.  The double-capacity front loaders were $2.89.  Dryers were 39¢ for ten minutes.  I was going to wash AND dry, but I ended up having three loads instead of just two and I was out of money.  Ah, so I had to lug three double-loads of laundry home to dry.  Well, I should've known when I saw that the place had a website and several locations.  On top of that, I forgot the laundry detergent and had to buy some at Ace Hardware.

But I had to keep on keeping on.

I can keep my eyes fairly comfortable with allergy eyedrops.  I change my pillow case every day and the pillow cover every other day.  And I have an appointment with my ophthamologist at the end of July.

There is little I can do about the weather, except pray.  I try to take advantage of any break, but I've resigned myself to leave the shed for another pick up time.

At the Soap Opera Laundry, the clerk was very polite and accommodating.  The clerk walked me through buying and loading the card, gave me tips on the best machines and the best deals.  The washers took about 30 minutes.  After I had loaded the wet laundry into the bags, I realized how heavy they were.  I left them on the cart and wheeled it to the front, intending to get the car and bring it to the door, since there was a sign that said "Carts Must Remain Inside".  The clerk, however, said I could take it to the car.  That was very helpful.  And when I brought the cart back to the door, the clerk came out and got it.  It was also a pleasant day.

Sometimes, just getting up in the morning is an achievement.  Keeping my mouth shut when I want to scream is an accomplishment.  And--sometimes--keeping on is...

...a monumental effort.      

Keeping On--Part Two: Accomplishments

More than four week after first getting sick, I'm still recovering.  I finished my antibiotic Saturday night.  On Sunday night I noticed a new manifestation--a swollen Mastoid gland behind my left ear.  I'm still a little weak, although able to do most chores and such.  My stamina levels ebb and flow from day to day.  So I googled all that on MayoClinic.com.  Wowser!  Possible conditions include mononucleosis, tuberculosis, lupus and cancer.  But, no worries.  I really don't have all the symptoms for those illnesses.  Most likely it's my body still fighting infection.  Viral or bacterial.  Whichever.  Self care?  Warm, moist compresses and NSAIDS*.  Got it.

Today I made the trip up to Target again.  I needed pseudoephedrine and I was not going to pay the $8.29 for it at CVS.  It's $4.54 at Target.  Can you say "duh"?  I needed to restock my medicine cabinet with ibuprofen, too, since it's the only NSAID that works for me.  So I made a list and got a few other things, too.  I went to the back of the store for the pet supplies and grabbed a box of Arm & Hammer scoopable cat litter.  The 28 lb size had 3 free pounds.  Great!  I had a coupon, too.  That always makes me feel good.  Until I realized the coupon expired--yesterday!  Arrrgh!  Oh well, deep breaths.

The irony is that yesterday I had felt pretty good and ran several errands.  Pet store, book store and Jewel.  I avoid Jewel, usually, but they had the Yoplait yogurt on sale and they have a big selection of flavors at Jewel.  Target is kind of hit-or-miss with the flavor choices.  I had printed a coupon for the yogurt (on my new printer--yay!), but forgot that at home.  There is just no way I can go to the strip mall at 87th and Harlem and not go to the book store.  Anyway, there isn't any Target in that direction from my house.  So, I've been able to get more shopping done, which is an accomplishment.

After I started on the antibiotic, I began to gradually gain strength and endurance.   Not a lot and some days were better than others, but it was improvement--even with the side effects from the antibiotic (which were not inconsiderable).  I was back to doing most chores and I sporadically picked away at cleaning out.

One day I grabbed a couple of big garbage bags and got behind the storage room closet.  I filled two of those big black bags and got them out to the bins.  Another day I assembled another bookcase.  Then I began to bring books into the storage room as I felt up to it.  I also boxed up more books to sell.  And I boxed up some items I was able to rescue from behind the closet.  After a week or so, I had cleared enough books from my bedroom that I was able to bring my printer upstairs!

One day, my daughter said she found a second-hand sofa that was in better condition than ours.  Oh yeah?  A few days later, while she was out, she called to say they (her and the bf) were bringing the newer sofa home.  Would I move the other out of the way and vacuum?  It took a supreme act of will to not only move the old sofa and vacuum there, but I wrestled the old sofa outside (during a rare lull in the rain) and covered it securely with a tarp.  Several hours later, they come home with the newer sofa.  In the driving rain they brought it in.  It's deeper (front to back) than our old one, so more room for the kitties to curl up next to me.  Nice.  I was ready to collapse on it and stay there for a week!  We just had to get rid of the old one that was sitting to one side of the drive way.  Fortunately, this occurred just before the "big item" garbage pick up.

Once a year, our waste management services will pick up large items at no extra cost.  Maximum of two items.  ^snort^  Two?  Like that would do us much good!  Besides the old sofa, we had a mattress, box spring, large mirror and a bulky outdoor chair.  But I remembered that last year we were the only house on the block that had large items for pick up.  So I asked my neighbors--just the ones directly next door on each side--if they were going to take advantage of the pick up this year.   If not, could I put items with their garbage?  I got the go-ahead from both sides, so that was great!

Pick up is on Tuesday.  Regular garbage pick up has usually come and gone by the time I get up at 8:00 a.m. or so.  This means I have to put the garbage out on Monday.  So Monday afternoon I started dragging the stuff to the end of the driveways.  I took the mattress and box spring (two trips) to our neighbors on the left, because I could pull them across their front yard without tearing up their manicured lawn.  The sofa I shoved down our driveway.  Then I pulled out the hand cart and put the large mirror next to the sofa.  Last, but not least, I went to the back yard (where I discovered we had wasps again!) and took the bulky wooden chair and it's cushion and tossed it over the fence to the right of the house.  Then I walked--more like slogged at that point--around the house and dragged the chair and cushion to the end of that neighbor's driveway.  Whew!  We have a wooden bench in our driveway against the side of the house.  I had thought I wouldn't like having a bench there, but I have used that thing several times while working outside.  It's a great place to catch my breath and work up some more energy.  I certainly used it that day!  I could have found something else to get rid of, but I had no more energy to pull, push or drag anything else anywhere, except my self into the house.

When the garbage came the next morning, I was still upstairs.  I thought about running down and making sure they took everything, but I really wasn't up to hurrying.   When I went downstairs, I was dismayed to see the old sofa still sitting at the end of the driveway!  Everything else was gone.  Maybe they would be back?  Was it too big?  I had removed the tarp but put clear plastic sheeting over it because we were suppose to get more rain.  Did they not realize it was garbage because the sheeting was over it?  After breakfast, I finally called the company.  The lady was very nice.  She took the information and said she would contact the truck for our area.  She thought that it was likely they ran out of room and would be back for it later, but she'd make sure.  Well, they came back for it--at 7:30 that evening!  But it was gone and I felt like I had lost 200 pounds!

Over the last couple of days I started bringing some of my daughter's stuff from the storage room to her bedroom.  Tabitha and Khai think it's great because I leave her bedroom door open while I'm doing this.  They rarely get a chance to go in her room anymore.  So they run under my feet as I'm carrying boxes and bags.  Until I want to close the door.  Then they scurry away and I have to round them up and drive them out.  There's a good reason that doing something difficult and frustrating is said to be "like herding cats."

The truck to pick up donations comes on the 29th.  I really need to be a lot better before then so I can haul everything out to the driveway.  That pick up will be like losing 500 pounds!  I can hardly wait!


*non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Keeping On--Part One: Aquisitions

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. — Albert Einstein

 I've been sick.  A virus that morphed into Sinusitis.  Not particularly unusual for me, but the virus laid me flat for a few days.  On about day 5, I realized I had Conjunctivitis, which I tend to get when I have a bacterial sinus infection.  The doctor would not prescribe an antibiotic over the phone, which really frosted my cookies.  Twisted my knickers.  Annoyed me.  I decided to ride it out without benefit of antibiotics.

The first week was a complete loss as far as being able to do anything beyond making breakfast.  My mother stepped up to the plate--kind of.  She unloaded and loaded the dishwasher.  My only accomplishment that week was to get my laundry done.

I got paid in the middle of the second week.  I ordered groceries from Peapod.  I fortuitously received a "Free Shipping" coupon via email.  Then, when I opened my account, I also had a "Take $10 off" promo because it was my second time ordering from them.  I found a few sales and bit the bullet for a few regular priced items.  I was a little dismayed by what they didn't have.  They did not have No Sugar Added Nesquik nor Cream of Wheat.  There were some items I just refused to buy though them since the price was outrageous.  Like the Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula.  I get the big bag--approximately 17 lbs--from Target for $12.49.  Last time I bought it at WalMart, they had it for $11.99.  I've seen Jewel have it on sale for $13.99.  I was prepared to grin and bear it at the $13.99 price.  But Peapod's price was $17.99!  Holy catnip!  At this time, nearly two weeks later, I still have not gotten out to get that cat food.  The bin is getting mighty low, and I think the cats have started plans for a mutiny.

Towards the end of that second week, I was feeling a bit better, although I had lost my voice.  So I went to Target.  I had a list and was pretty good at sticking to it.  When I got to the cat food aisle, they were all out of the Indoor Formula!  Arggh!  They did not have Brawny paper towels, nor Angel Soft toilet tissue.  I looked at lamps because my mother needed a better reading lamp in the living room.  The one I wanted--or rather, was willing to get--was $70.  We had agreed to only go to $60.  It was a torchiere (a style I am not fond of) with a task light in the middle.  It was a bronze finish with a little marblizing in the shades.  More tolerable that all that chrome junk.  (If you like chrome, fine, buy I make no apologies.  I abhor chrome.)  Anyway, I passed on it, thinking I'd do some internet research.  But, on a whim, I figured I'd stop at Menard's since it is just down the street from Target.  Thankful that I had no frozen goods.  With a surge of excitement, I entered the yawning portal to DIY heaven.



I grabbed a basket, optimistically planning to need it for the lamp I was sure I would find.  That was when I remembered where the lamps were.  On the second floor.  Yes, this Menard's has two levels.  No biggie, you would think?  I go up to second floors in stores all the time.  Carson's has two levels.  So do Sears and JC Penney and several other places.  But Menards has only half-walls around the second level.  And those half-walls are glass.  My stomach gets squidgy around half-walls on upper levels.  Glass half-walls are a whole extra level of squidginess.  More like squinky.  (I don't know if "squidgy" and "squinky" are in Webster's, but they work for me.)  I zeroed in on the elevator and my squinky stomach lurched.  Tough tootsies, I told it.  We're going up to look at lamps.

The elevator made horrible groaning sounds.  And three sides of it were glass.   I kept my face to the doors and held my breath as we groaned and grunted to the second level.  I had to make my way to the lighting section in a big U.  Surrounded by glass half-walls.  I stayed as far away from those walls as possible, my stomach lurching every time I had to swerve close to those glass half-walls.  Fortunately, the lamps were not near the glass half-walls.  I found one very similar to the one at Target within minutes.  The lamp was on sale for $26!  I looked it over carefully, making sure it was what I wanted.  Yep, similar color and style.  Done deal!

I meandered through the light bulbs, buying the newest, long-lasting bulbs for the lamp.  I opted for bright white for the task light.  And the new bulbs are now available in 3-way!  Awesome!  With my purchases ensconced in my basket, my stomach was better behaved for the trip back down.  Although I still kept my eyes on the doors of the elevator.

As I got off the elevator, I saw mirrors nearby.  I had looked at mirrors at Marshall's and TJ Maxx's Home Store, but they had been a little pricey.  I found a nice simple walnut-look framed mirror for the hallway leading to my bedroom.  So I got the lamp we wanted, a mirror, and expensive lightbulbs--all for less than the lamp at Target.

When I got home, I assembled the lamp and set it up for my mom.  It's not too bad.  I really don't like torchieres.  Did I say that already?  Well, it bears repeating.  The bulb for the task light said it was equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb.  Well, when my mother turns that task light on to read, you could land a 747 jet in our living room by that light alone.  If we were anywhere near a large body of water, ships would be coming aground in our front yard.  You think I'm exaggerating?  We live in a flight path for Midway airport.  I am seriously concerned about small planes crashing into our house.  My mother, however, loves it.  She says it's the best reading light she's ever had.  O--kay.

After my shopping adventures, I felt horrible again for two or three days.  Back to dragging myself around.  The beginning of the third week was Memorial Day weekend.  My daughter and her significant other were going to hit the sales at Best Buy and other stores.  She announced that she was going to buy me a new laptop.  I thought she was joking and just smiled.  She looked at me and said "I'm serious.  I'm buying you a new laptop to pay off the rest of the loan."  My heart stuttered.  I had loaned her money for a down payment on a car five years ago.  She'd been paying it back in dribs and drabs and still owed me a few hundred dollars.



I am now the proud owner of a new HP Pavilion laptop.  The screen is a bit smaller, but I love it!  I have to laugh when I play some of my Facebook games.  This has so much power, the little avatars in the games look like they're on speed!  Like someone hit the fast forward, they scurry around the screen.  I especially like it in Treasure Isle, where the little figure digs for treasure.  When a treasure chest is uncovered, the avatar jumps for joy.  On my old laptop, the jump was like slow-motion.  On this laptop, it happens so fast I can barely see it!  It has Window 7, Blio (which is for eBooks, yay!), and so much more!

My brother was going to send me his old printer.  When we found out what my daughter was buying, we discovered his old printer wouldn't work with my new laptop.  My mother insisted I get a new printer.  I kept saying it would have to wait until the end of June.  I had just gone to the doctor (finally) and didn't even have a day's worth of antibiotics in me.  To appease her, I said I'd research printers online.  I selected HP printers, since I knew it would be a snap to set it up with my laptop.  I had only one firm requirement: it had to have photo-quality printing.  I also had a couple of preferences:  it would be a printer-scanner-copier; and it would be wireless.  With a little research on the HP website, I found two I liked.  After searching a few sites like Amazon and Google Shopping, I was finding the printers to cost around $75 or so.  A big problem is that when you buy a printer nowadays, you don't always get the USB cable with it.  That cable is what you use to connect the printer to your computer.  Why are they not including it?  I have no idea.  Sounds stupid to me.

Anyway, a couple of days into my printer search, I went on eBay.  I found quite a few of the model I wanted.  I selected only new printers.  When I sorted the list by price, there was one that was quite a bit cheaper than the others.  Hmmm, what was wrong with it?  It was listed as "new--other" meaning it was not used, but may not have all the packaging.  I read the listing carefully.  The seller was including the USB cable AND ink cartridges.  The seller had a return policy and the purchase would be covered by eBay's Purchase Guarantee.  The pictures showed the printer and accessories and even the packaging that comes with a new printer.  It was a Buy-it-Now price of $38.99.  Why so cheap?  The original box was beat up.  Dented and torn, they couldn't sell it in their retail store.  Even with shipping of almost $18, the total was less than $57!!  I reread the details and checked their return policy again.  And I went for it.



The printer came today!  I immediately set it up and installed the software.  So simple!  I printed the test sheets and alignment page and it works!  Also, an extra power cord for my laptop came today.  I could use the laptop without the power cord--for awhile.  Actually, a long while.  It lasted more than three hours on it's battery.  My old one lasted 30 minutes--if I was lucky.  But I like to have any extra cord, just in case.  Now I have to get a cover for the printer.  Too much fur and dust in this house to leave it uncovered.

I've had plenty of excitement during my illness!  Keeping on shopping isn't all that's been happening around here.  Part Two will tell more.  Keep on checking my blog!