Tuesday This and That

 Follow up on my check-up with the nurse practitioner and my metformin for weight loss journey. The
scale does not lie, there was no change in my weight.  I have been monitoring my caloric intake and going to the gym three days a week for weight training. Maybe I am building muscle?  

 She wants to continue the metformin for 6 weeks with an increase in dosage to 1000mg per day. We are trying to build a case for the Ozempic injection for insulin resistance/weight loss and appeal the decision by insurance.  Insurance declined it initially.  It being Ozempic. 

We did pick up the stuff from the online auction. The drive is about two hours round trip. We are able to take back roads and enjoy the scenery which is still very rural.  The small town where the auction house is located is struggling, with many buildings listed for sale.  It seems their primary employer is the large county jail that is adjacent to the small town. 

 At first look, most of it will be saleable. There are a few items that will go straight back to the thrift store. Most of which are home decor items, that are mass-produced for stores like Hobby Lobby, etc. I am going to start listing the remainder of the items today.  It will take me several days to get through all the stuff. 

The dove that was hanging out in the pole barn was actually sitting on two eggs, the baby doves are now sharing the nest with their momma. This is the second set of hatchlings this year for this same spot.  

Hubs is going to see the pain management doctor at the end of the week.  Hopefully, it will be a noninvasive fix for him and he can get back to his old self and back to work.  I have given him my TENS unit that I used before my rotator cuff surgery and we bought him a back brace belt that was recommended.  He has used neither. I ask him if he is going to and his response is yes, tomorrow. 

The grandkids are going back to school in a couple of weeks, summer for them has flown by.  I am taking my granddaughter to the movies today for a fun day out. Last Saturday, I took my grandson out thrifting.  He really enjoys going and looking for video games and stuff.  Lucky kid, he always finds something!

Hope you have a great Tuesday!

Wednesday, Online Auction, Gym Time

 Time just gets away from me! I am still staying busy with tackling daily lists and running around the grandkids.  They are getting older so any time I get with them ( even if it is chauffeuring them from point A to point B) is good enough for me. 

Early morning walk with Cricket 

Yesterday, I met up with to former coworkers for a brunch at a biscuit joint. This is the second year we met for brunch since I left my position pre-covid 2019.  We bonded as teacher assistants in an elementary school that (we felt) treated teacher assistants as second-class employees.  The grunts.  That being said,
budgets have been cut so severely that there are so few teacher assistants, and now only for ESE students, mainstream teachers are getting the short end of the stick. Brunch was really good as was the company.  I really enjoy these ladies. 

My gym time has been consistent for the last 4 weeks.  This has a lot to do with my husband being home with his back injury.  I miss having the house to myself lol, and getting up at 4:30 to go to the gym, walking the dog, and spending time on the porch drinking coffee  (by myself) and enjoying the crows keeps me grounded. His being home and not really able to do all the things he wants to do is frustrating for him and for me. I know, this shall pass too. 

I am still not able to remember where I put the new spray nozzle for the hose.  It has got to be here somewhere.  I have been cleaning out my eBay room and putting together a bag of stuff that will be going back to the thrift store. I was also able to throw out some things which I know won't sell or are not fit for the thrift store.  

On the other hand, I will be going to an auction house to pick up several lots I won via an online auction. Did I get carried away? Yes.  Do I need to NOT do an online auction for a few weeks?  Also yes.  Each lot starts out at $5.00 and for the most part, you can typically win with just a $5.00 bid.  The quantity of items in each lot varies. I won a tea set that was made in Japan for $5, and another lot was 20 Horror DVD's for $5.  

Today I am headed to see the NP to follow up on the Metformin for weight loss. I have not got on the scale as I can get carried away with daily weigh-ins.  I also need to decide today if I want to sign up for online counseling, I am still feeling "stuck" and lack the ability to move on with a couple of issues.  The weight gain and LACK of counseling most likely go hand in hand.  

Off to get the day started!

Wednesday, Heat Index, No List, Crows

I have an appointment in Orlando this AM, so my list for today will be brief.  Also, it is going to be too hot to do much of anything outside. 

There were a couple of things that did not get accomplished yesterday, I just ran out of steam.  I will add those to tomorrow's list and see how it goes. 

I decided against making strawberry syrup from the tops of the strawberries.  I have plenty of strawberry freezer jam for a very long time.  Hubs tried it last night and thought it was SUPER SWEET ( it is) and made a face and added in a Yuck for effect.  

Whatever. I still like it and it looks like I will be the only one enjoying it. A little bit at a time because it is so sweet lol. 

It's the second day of Amazon Prime days, I really have not found anything I cannot live without. I do need to order more sneakers for myself and I will do that later today.  There was something else but I can't remember it right now.  

The crows came in to eat this morning.  They typically come in a group of four. The mockingbirds are still mad at them and try to attack them.  

The bird in the middle is the mockingbird buzzing by the crows. 

Not much else.  Time to hit the road and head south. 

Hawk, Freezer Jam, and Another List

 Had lunch with my middle son for my birthday.  We live in the same county but are still an hour away from each other.  This is an elongated county with a HUGE LAKE  that you always have to go around in order for us to see the middle son and his family.   It is so nice to spend time with grown children one on one.  No spouses, no grandkids.  Precious time for me. 

We have a hawk that hangs around our street.  He is usually on the powerlines and just hangs around hunting for his next meal.  

The other day, the hawk stopped by and perched on our broken-down fire pit and then spent time in the bird bath. I suspect he was waiting for the smaller squirrels that run up and down the trees in the yard. He hung out for about 5 minutes, and of course, the crows were long gone. 

 Yesterday was a busy day, I did get a lot of things accomplished. I started a new list for today both here and on my phone. Maybe I need to make a shorter list, as I don't quit until I finish every last thing on the list. 

List for Tuesday: 

• Gym 45 minutes
• Walk Cricket
• Plant more garlic ( instead of throwing it away)
• list three things on eBay
• Start cleaning fence panels ( may take all summer)
• move rain lilies before moving rocks
• Need to move more rocks 
• run to Target for watermelon ( we eat watermelon every night)
• Dust living room 
• vitamins  

Yesterday, I did make strawberry freezer jam.  I overestimated the number of strawberries I would need, so I ended up making two batches of freezer jam  12 pints and I still have two containers of fresh strawberries left.  

I may just freeze them whole and vacuum seal them for later or maybe make a cake or pick up some shortcake for strawberry shortcake.  We don't need the calories, but it still sounds pretty good. 

I did save the tops of the strawberries so I can make strawberry syrup for later. I saw several recipes for this on TikTok. Part of making the syrup includes water bath canning it for long-term storage. I have to pick up more jars while I am at Target.   This is new for me, so I will keep you posted.  TikTok creators say it is very easy... Ok.

We have been spending quite a bit on medical appt copays, most are specialists and the appt is $40.  So far this month, hubs has spent 180 on copays alone.  In a way, this is good for us as we need to learn to budget better for these costs.  In the past, it was not such a concern, but as we get older it seems to be something we will need to plan better for. 

We are still waiting on the result of hubs colonoscopy, he has a history of polyps. They should show up in his patient portal any day now.  He is still struggling with his back/leg pain (pinched nerves) but is able to get around better than last week.  He is still out on leave from work, it is so strange to have him home all day.  That is why I get up at 5 AM to start my day.  I have about 4 hours to myself until he gets up.  And it is nice to putter around the yard and garden in the AM before it gets too darn hot. 

Today I am picking up my granddaughter from gymnastics again. I have to set an alarm on my phone as a reminder to leave on time and not be late. My grandson is feeling cruddy, according to his mom, he has been running a temp for a couple of days and now is experiencing cold sores on his mouth. Hopefully, he is on the mend. 

Have you ever made strawberry syrup from strawberry tops?  

  

Weekly Menu and a Daily List

Here is a list of possible meals for us this week.  The meals can switch days but this will help me stay accountable and hopefully out of the grocery stores for random shopping which is so easy to do. 

Except I still want to make freezer jam as Publix has strawberries on sale for $.99 cents per 16oz and I will need
sugar and SurGel. I do have the jars, so there is that.  That is all I did pick up.  Spent $13.05 on 5 packs of strawberries, Certo and sugar. 

 Monday: eggs, air fried potatoes sausage patties

Tuesday: Grilled chicken breast, salad with fixins

Wednesday: Crock Pot Ravoli

Thursday: Soup and sandwich Hot dogs and tater tots instead

Friday: Pulled Pork and tater tots Chick Fil A 

Saturday: Turkey ( I have a whole frozen turkey to defrost and do something with) 

Sunday: Frozen Pizza ( on sale at Publix which I still need to pick up before the ad changes. )

I do better when I write things down and then have something to refer to later on and I can change this menu up If I find something hiding in the freezer. 

Today my to-do list includes going to the 

• gym
• planting garlic ( cloves that have started to sprout)
• paying bills
• cleaning a rolling shelf rack in the garage
• listing at least three things on eBay
• make strawberry freezer jam (will let you know how it goes lol)
• wash and put up clothes
• vitamins
• give dog a bath 

I will also be picking up my granddaughter from her gymnastics camp. That is always a pleasure, she is the apple of our eye.

Hope your Monday is fabulous!

Doves, Rocks, Another MRI

baby dove 2022

The momma dove has left the metal barn, but one of her babies is still hanging out in the nest.  The baby comes and goes, but for the most part, is still staying close to home.  The ladder is a favorite place for the momma dove to hatch her babies.  In fact, this is the third year for baby doves. 

Baby dove is content to hang out even when hubs is welding, drilling, and making a general racket out there.  Maybe it is both baby doves sharing the nest, but how could we tell?  They all look like doves. 

The landscape rock for the front bed has been moved from the back bed by the pool. When we first picked out the big river rocks, I loved it.  Now, I regret buying it and putting it around the pool deck. I cannot tell you how much we bought, but it was a lot! 

It probably took me a couple of weeks loading up 4 wheelbarrows full of rock to complete the one bed.  I would get out and start shoveling right when the sun came up to make the best use of the cooler mornings.

Rain lillies 

 

There is still another bed in the front of the house to fill up with rocks, but first I will need to transplant all the rain lilies from that bed to another bed that does not yet exist. That is another job in itself, first to figure out where to dig another bed and then to actually get to digging. It does not sound appealing in this current hot month of July.

Hubs is scheduled to see a pain management doctor at the end of the month. That is the soonest he can get in, and once he sees him he can apply for short-term disability depending on what the treatment will be and for how long. 

He is also scheduled for a prostate MRI as his PSA is high and the urologist is wanting to see what is going on.  That will take place in early August.  I am not sure why this MRI has a longer scheduling window as opposed to the Lumbar MRI he had to have.  That only was scheduled out less than a week.  Another MRI, another $500 for that scan. 

Front bed #2

He has top-tier insurance with the same hospital that is doing all the scans and we still have a high out-of-pocket for scans. I suppose if I pulled out the paperwork that he gets every year when renewing his insurance selection, it would state the costs associated with diagnostic exams. 

Today is Sunday, so nothing much will be accomplished.  Maybe a nap, and a little bit of Netflix.  

Tomorrow, Monday, I will be back to the gym early in the AM and then more tasks to complete around the house. I make a list in the notes section of my phone of the things I want to get accomplished for the day.  That has been super helpful to keep me on track and at the end of the day, I feel like I did not waste the day. 

Do you have a daily list of things to accomplish?  Is it written down or do you use your phone?   
 

Crows, Bad Back, and Back to the Gym

 The crows are still visiting and let me know when they are here in the morning.  It can be a bit noisy 
depending on the number.  I dutifully throw out peanuts every morning and watch them search out the nuts and take turns jumping onto and sometimes into the birdbath.

Our mower died, so June was officially "No Mow June".  In the past, this would have driven me crazy.  A messy ill-kept yard was just me.  This probably goes back to growing up in a military family where everything had to be just so.  High and tight. No room for exceptions. 

As it turns out, having grass that was a little scruffy for over a month did not bother me at all this time. It was out of my control and overall it really did not look that bad. Eventually, the mower was fixed and I was able to mow the yard on July 4th.  I sure hope that the repair holds out.  I am just not prepared to buy a new riding lawn mower at this time.  They are darn pricey. 

The hubs has been suffering with an injured back.  It came on suddenly, and the pain was debilitating. He saw his primary doc and was given muscle relaxers, pain meds, and anti-inflammatories. He was using my walker from previous knee replacement surgeries to get around the house and had to sleep in his recliner for at least a week.  An MRI revealed that he is suffering from a pinched nerve with disc compression in two of his lumbar discs. The report offers significantly more detail, but in a nutshell that is what he has to deal with for now. 

He has been on leave from work for two weeks, and may not be back to work for several more weeks.  Right now he is waiting to get in to see a pain management doc to see about pain management and whatever else they can do for him. He is able to get around much better right now, but there are still times when he needs to sit down and take a break.  Today he goes in for his colonoscopy (history of polyps) and Thursday he sees another doc about elevated PSA (prostate-specific antigen). Definitely a busy week for him. 

arriving at the gym at 6AM

I have been going back to the gym at least two days a week, with a goal of three times a week. This is
week three, so there has been continuity to this effort.  I will ride the recumbent bike for 15 minutes ( to keep my knees flexible) and then work out the upper body one day and then the lower body the next day.  I use the machines they have in the gym to accomplish the workouts but I would like to look into using more free weights.  I have also added walking a mile or so three times a week.  I definitely can walk more, but it is so dang hot and humid this time of year. 

Three weeks ago, I saw my doctor's Nurse Practioner regarding weight-loss help.  She put me on metformin to help with appetite control and weight loss.  She wanted to put me on Ozempric but insurance will not cover it for weight loss, only if I had diabetes, which is not the case. The metformin is helpful and I have been able to cut back and I am tracking calories. The NP and I have come to the conclusion that I am insulin resistant and that has contributed to my weight gain.  I go back and see her in a couple of weeks. 

June has been exceptionally hot this year where we are. The AC seems to be running nonstop. How is it where you are?  

Thursday in Review: Lunch, Doves and Rocks

Three loads of rocks, many more to go.

Yesterday, I had planned to go back to the gym to start chair yoga again.  It is a low-impact strength training/stretching exercise that is easier to do than regular yoga.  Instead of that, I got a better offer.  A long time friend called and wanted to meet up for lunch.  Lunch sounded much better than chair yoga. We became friends in 1989 when I started working at my kids' elementary school as a Teacher Assistant.  It was a great job, I had the same schedule as my kids and I made several lifelong friends as a bonus.

Lunch was great, we both had shrimp tacos  ($12.50 for three small tacos) with water and lemon as the drink.  I am finally at the age that I don't want to pay $2.00  ( sometimes more) for a glass of Coca-Cola. A beer maybe, but not a soda. She had recently lost both her parents within 3 months of each other, similar to when I lost both my parents within 6 months of each other.  Grief is like a monkey on your back, that is not always there but when it grabs you around the neck, you hardly know what to do with it. I encouraged her to take the free grief counseling that Hospice is offering. I did, and it was very helpful. 

Before lunch, I was able to get a few tasks completed which included walking Cricket, a small pile of laundry, and for a bit of physical activity, I have an ongoing task of moving landscape rocks from the back yard to the front bed that sits below the bedroom windows.  The rocks originally were placed (we moved them ) around the pool cage and looked really nice.   But, there are so many of them that they prevent drainage from the pool deck which caused pooling of water and eventually staining. We have NO pool ownership experience so we didn't know that the rocks would be a problem.

Momma dove on the nest 2022

I get my gloves on, and start loading rocks with a shovel into the wheelbarrow and then tote them to the front of the house. They are heavy, and the wheelbarrow is cumbersome.  But, I feel accomplished that I can fill the wheelbarrow, roll it into the front yard, and dump the rocks into the front bed.  I count this as my physical exercise for the day.  I am good for about three loads and then I have to give it a rest lol.   There is always tomorrow. 

 The rest of the day was uneventful as was dinner.  Simple grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.  I did go out and water a few of the Lowes rescue plants that I planted in the backyard and clean out the birdbath for Friday.  The crows do enjoy it and the crows amuse me.  I also checked in on the momma dove that has built a nest in our pole barn.  We have had doves nest in the same place for the last three years. It must be a safe place away from the hawks and crows to hatch their babies. 

Tomorrow the drywallers are coming to patch the holes in the walls left by the plumbers that did the re-pipe.  Fun times. 

Wednesday in Review

The stitches in my gum (post gum surgery) were removed and I am thankful it was a quick and almost

painless process. I still get to go back in two weeks for a check-up of the healing process. The area is still swollen a bit and tender.  I was instructed to continue to swish with salt water after meals.

Today was my monthly haircut appointment.  I have been seeing my stylist for 33 years, which may tell you we are similar in age.  We both graduated in 1978, but from different schools.  He cuts hair in Orlando, and I live about 30 minutes north of Orlando but will travel to see him for a haircut and a highlight when necessary. Pretty sure I will be blonde forever lol.  

Afterwards, I hit up Publix for beef bones for bone broth.  We have been using chicken feet for bone broth but for the last two weeks, we could not find any chicken paws at Walmart or SavALot. I like the chicken bone broth better flavor-wise, but for now, we will have to make do with beef bone broth. I use the InstantPot to make the bone broth, and it really makes quick work of it.  My husband and daughter swear by it, my husband says it helps joint pain and my daughter says it is great for gut health. 

The second stop of the day was Target. After dropping off the Publix groceries, I went to Target to stock up on toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, paper plates, and Gatorade.  The paper goods were bought in prep for hurricane season. Just one less thing to worry about if and when a big storm comes through. I also picked up another watermelon, the one we got from Walmart earlier this week was kinda tasteless. But we are going to eat it anyway. Hopefully, this melon will be better.  We enjoy watermelon as a nightly snack, so I try to keep it on hand. 

The summer afternoon storms are here and they definitely cool things off.  Temps are in the high 90's with high humidity.  Outside chores are completed in the AM, walking the dog, watering any plants that need it and start cleaning the vinyl fence panels in the back yard.  I haven't counted them, but maybe when I am done I will let you know how many and how long it takes. It is a yearly chore that I try to get done before it gets too hot, but I  put it off until the heat gets here.

If you live in the south or are experiencing high heat, what do you keep your thermostat set at to keep your house comfortable and to not break the bank?

We try to keep our AC set at 78 degrees and keep the fans going to keep it tolerable and afforadable. 

Happy Thursday!

Nasty Summer Cold

Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday were a complete loss due to a nasty summer cold/sinus infection?  that snuck up on me.  Fever for two days and recovery for two days, and a lot of naps in between.  I tend to suspect it may have been triggered by the gum surgery to remove an infection from a tooth that had a recent root canal.  Maybe the infection traveled to the sinuses, (the gum surgery was on an upper tooth)  But, who knows? 

 Today there is no fever and I am actually able to get a few things done.  Cricket had her walk before it gets too hot and the crows were fed and their birdbath was cleaned and refilled. You know when you are sick, not much if any housework gets done.  So there are sheets to wash, clothes to put up, and floors to vacuum. 

The rest of the day was packing up a couple of eBay orders.  The first order was a vintage webbed beach chair.  I picked it up for $2 and it sold for $54 plus shipping.  There were also a couple of smaller orders, that were much easier to pack.  

 

I did get to Target to pick up a couple flats of their eggs.  There are 30 eggs per flat, and typically they cost $2.89 a flat.  The price has almost doubled to $5.89, no surprise. We are big fans of boiled eggs as snacks and go through a lot of eggs.  I also picked up a watermelon for $5.89 and some bananas.  As a way to add more protein in our diet, I decided to try Target's brand of protein waffles.  Will keep you posted. 

Today I get the stitches in my gum removed. I will be so glad when this is over. That is later on this afternoon. Before that, I have a few rescued plants from Lowe's to plant and a bit of watermelon rind to plop into the compost bin.  

Hope your Tuesday is grand!

Tuesday with Endodontist

Tuesday morning chores included watering the front bed that is being filled with the rescue plants from

The crows before the mockingbirds showed up

Lowes.  They are perennial and will hopefully come back year after year. I was only able to plant one plant in the bed, and I still have at least 5 more rescue plants to place in our yard. 

I fed the crows their morning peanuts. The mockingbirds are here as well and they are antagonizing the crows. I suspect that there are mockingbird nests in our trees and they are protecting their babies.  

The mockingbirds are determined and fierce. Divebombing and chasing the crows, but the crows are standing their ground.

I scrubbed and washed out the trash cans.  They were full of flies from rotten freezer meat that I had thrown out when both fridges died. We are so grateful that the trash was picked up today and that we did not have to wait until next week. That would have been awful.  

I have 5 eBay orders to pack up and I am committed to listing at least 4 items a day to keep the eBay algorithm happy.  So far so good,

The endodontist appt was a follow-up to a root canal on a tooth that had a crown but was severely infected.  The endo did the root canal two weeks ago but said I had to return for an apical surgery procedure.  

The infection needed to be cleaned out through the gum.  Anxiety was high but this guy is so darn good!  He is quick and effective.  The procedure took about 15 min and I go back in a week to have the sutures removed. I am so happy that this tooth will be saved.  Fingers crossed. 

Dinner was crockpot ravioli. Easy and tastes pretty good.  When I buy hamburger, I brown up a couple pounds and freeze it in smaller quantities.  This way I can defrost what I need quickly prepare a meal.  I pick up the frozen ravioli when it is BOGO at Publix.  

We are starting a new project.  Remodeling our master bathroom.  This project was initiated about a month and a half ago.  It was interrupted by the repipe of the whole house due to a home inspection to get new homeowners insurance.  We just had the repipe inspected by the county, and now we can move forward on the bathroom remodel.   Do you see all that money just flying out the door? Repipe, new fridge, and bathroom remodel. Well, it could always be worse! 

Long Memorial Day Weekend Review 2022

Saturday:  Walking the dog, dodging raindrops, and figuring out what to do today.  I will be listing items on eBay and it has been a while since I have felt like listing.  I like the ability to bring in a little side income with a few sales here and there.  The generator is online.  A loose connection was the issue.   Thank goodness that is resolved. 

The first half of this year I was NOT into eBay at all.  Listing and shipping seemed like pure drudgery. So I did the next easiest thing.  I would go into my live listings, END 20 listings a day, and then SELL SIMILAR of the same 20 listings.  This was my way of tricking the algorithm (if that is even possible) into thinking that I was adding NEW listings daily. 

It did work and I did generate sales.  Nothing spectacular, but enough to keep things going. Then I did not even do the minimum of ENDING listings and SELLING SIMILAR. I got lazy and there may have been an extended episode of depression. I did see my family doc and he did start me on a mild antidepressant.  I had a reaction, lips swelling, eyelids swelling.  This was remedied with Benedryl.  We tried a new antidepressant and that has been working out just fine. 

Sunday:  Church and then a quick trip to Lowe's to rescue some marked-down perennials.  I do love the mark-down rack at Lowes.  Then I headed over to Goodwill.  They had just opened and I was able to beat the crowds from late church.  I did get a few cute things to flip.  

Rack of mark-down plants.  There were 
five racks of plants to choose from. 

We were supposed to go to Leesburg and check out Rural King ( similar to a Tractor Supply) and bump around up there for a couple of hours.  No sooner than I finished lunch than my stomach kicked in with something that was not agreeable.  

I was in bed for a couple of hours with a heating pad.  Luckily it subsided and I could get up and function. I am rehydrating the rescue plants, mostly Lantana.  It can take the Florida heat and the small flowers will attract butterflies and bees. 

For better or worse, I saw on TikTok where a gardener would put an egg (in its shell) in the hole before adding the plant.  I thought, why not?  I will plant them tomorrow morning before the heat kicks in. 

Monday:  It was yard workday.  I mowed and hubs did the edging and blowing off the driveway. We had an early start to try to beat the heat.  It took us about 1 1/2 hrs to finish everything.  

Afterward, we had a bit of lunch and then jumped in the pool to cool off.  We spent about an hour in the water, it's still very cool, almost too cool to enjoy.   

Cricket got her weekly bath, and clothes were washed and dried.  They may get put up today, maybe. Dinner is canned salmon patties in the air fryer with brown rice and broccoli. 

Half of the plants did get planted, will try to get the rest in the ground tomorrow. I think I have enough plants for now and I probably don't need to go back to Lowes anymore.  

Hope your Memorial Day was relaxing and fun-filled. 

Whole House Generator Update

New Fridge 

The generator saga continues.  Yesterday, the fridge in the house AND the garage fridge are both toast. Done and done.  Luckily, our oldest son had a spare fridge and brought it over last night.  I shoved all I could from both fridges into that one.   It is so darn full lol. 

My husband and I both looked online last night for a new side-by-side fridge. We checked Lowes, Home Depot, and a local appliance retailer. They are expensive.  We want one with ice and water and that adds to the price. Our current one has ice and water and we are a bit spoiled with it. 

I decided to go to Home Depot this morning and see what was available on the floor.  Luckily, I found a discontinued floor model very similar to our current one on sale.  The original price was $1999.00 and it was marked down 50%.  I went ahead and bought a 5-year warranty as well.  This is not something I typically do but since it was a floor model I decided to go ahead and get the warranty. 

The warranty price is based on the purchase price of the item, so again we saved 50% on the warranty.  The salesman said if we do not use the warranty that in five years we can get 30% of the cost of the warranty back.  We do have to pick up the fridge, they do not deliver floor models. Which is fine. 

The new fridge is in place and most of the items that were in the borrowed fridge are not in my new fridge.  Last night, after switching the bad inside the fridge and bringing in the new fridge, the hubs was sure that the new one did not work.  It was not cooling. I think he was super frustrated with everything and had no patience with anything last night.  He wanted to return it.  I just kept quiet and decided to wait until this AM and see what was going on in the fridge.

We have thermometers in the fridge and I checked the temps this AM and made the executive decision to just go ahead and load in the new fridge. We have the warranty and we still have the spare fridge.  I am willing to chance it but I do not think it will tank. Fingers crossed. 

 Hoping today will bring a solution to the actual generator problem.  Meanwhile, I will carry on with daily chores, washing the floor and getting a load of clothes done. 

Have a great Friday!

Whole House Generator Start Up Fail

 We  purchased a whole house generator maybe two years ago, and quite possibly it could be three years
ago.   Anyway, yesterday, the gas company came out to make the final connections from the gas line to the generator. 

After he completed what he had to do, the hubs and my son ( an electrician) and via the phone my other son ( an electrician - he installed the generator to the house) did the actual start-up on the generator.  It did not go well. 

When the power was shut off in the house, the generator should recognize this and after a minute (to make sure it is not just a quick power flash) will kick in and run to power the whole house.  This is the perfect example of what should occur. 

What actually happened, is that after multiple attempts by the generator to kick on and sustain power to the house ( which it could not) is that half of the light bulbs in the house blew.  A power strip that was connected to the main TV, Internet, and Home security, started to smoke. Which means it did its job and protected the items plugged into it.  But, the smokey smell was definitely concerning. 

The electrician son that was here ran several scenarios in his brain as to what the frick was going on. The electrician son on the phone ( who installed it) was in a panic as to what was going wrong.  The rest of us were sitting in a hot house sweating ( 94 degrees yesterday) while they were trying all the tricks of the trade to get the generator online and functioning properly. 

After about an hour the generator was taken offline, the house was back on regular power and that is when we figured out the more light bulbs took the hit and died. We did get a new power strip for the main TV, Internet and Security system. 

Fast forward to this morning, I am getting bone broth out of our freezer side of the fridge in the kitchen and the floor is wet, and all the frozen stuff in the freezer is starting to defrost.  Luckily, we have another fridge in the garage.  I shoved all I could out of this freezer into that freezer and what did not fit, went over to my daughter's fridge/freezer.  

It could be worse, ALL the appliances could have been fried. What is going to happen is that the one son electrician who may or may not have crossed a couple of wires is sending out a generator expert to see what is actually going on with this generator. We should have answers and be back online Thursday.  Hopefully. 

How was your Tuesday?  Do you have any experience with a whole house generator?

Weekend with the Grands

The weekend was busy, we had the grandkiddos and they spent the night Saturday night.  When they

Cricket surveying her yard. 

come over, we had a plan in place.  We need a plan, things to do for them so they don't sit around and flounder and get bored. 

Target was our first stop, the kids had a budget of $25 each to spend.  We ended up spending about $30 dollars each. It could have been much worse because we tend to give in pretty easily.  The next stop was a comic book store.  I have never been to a comic book store and it was an experience to be sure.  If you watched The Big Bang, well, then you pretty much know. 

 Lots of comic books, interesting sci-fi decor, and a variety of customers similar to the clientele on Big Bang.  We did spend about $30 for everyone to get what they wanted.  Next was dinner.  We ended up at the drive-through at Wendy's.  We tried to go into the dining room, but that was locked. It was a drive-through only.  Ordering for 4 people with different wants at a drive-through is quite an experience.  For the most part, we all got what we wanted. 

Afterward, we headed home and watched the kids play out back with their new Nerf guns.  The weather was perfect, cool with a nice breeze.  We did play games when we came in, the kids got their baths, had a snack, and eventually fell asleep around 10:30.

Sunday, the kids and I went to church and Sunday School, and afterward, I dropped them off at their house and I came home and took a two-hour nap. Dinner was take-out pizza.  We were wiped out lol.

This week we are both home, hubs is off for a week and a half.  Lots of things to get done around here, the list is growing and never ending. Tomorrow, the plumbers are coming to re-pipe the house.  A necessary evil so we can get a better home insurance policy. Honestly, I am not even sure what the policy will cost us, I can only get through one huge event at a time. 

Another Milestone In The Books

 Two weeks ago I submitted my last bit of paperwork to the Florida State Retirement System to initiate
my monthly payments.  Now, my retirement is a mere pittance, as my time as an employee in the school system was MANY years ago when I was making maybe $6.00 an hour.  I know, BIG money.  It may buy a tank or two of gas for our truck. 

The day-to-day around here does not vary too much.  I get up early, check eBay orders and eBay email, and pack up orders if there are any.  Spot clean and pick up around the house, run errands, and maybe hit up a thrift store. I did renew my eBay store subscription for another year, and I think this will be my last year selling online.  My store will be having lots of sales to reduce inventory. 

I have been purging and getting rid of stuff daily.  It may be little things or a couple of big things.  The goal is to move or rehome 5 items a day.  This week I am going through old photo books that my mom had.  They are mostly photos of hers while she was a young woman transitioning from living and growing up on a farm to her life in the service. 

With the purge, I have been going through my mom's jewelry.  My dad bought her necklaces and bracelets that she never wore. She was not a big fan of jewelry, she only wore a watch, not even her wedding rings. I distributed a few pieces to my kids, well the ones that wanted any of the pieces. The rest I will sell.  In fact, I already sold her 10k gold class ring at a local pawn shop.  It was my first time in a pawn shop and I was nervous.  But the transaction went fine and I will be going back. 

I posted of few of the pics on her hometown Facebook page to see if any family members of the people in the pics wanted the pics.  A few did and I mailed those out.  The rest of the album is going to the town library, they reached out and asked for it.  They will use it to document the history of the people and of the village. The town or village she grew up in has consistently had a population of around 600 -700 (maybe a bit less today) but the residents are passionate about their history. 

Today's agenda:  

Pack up a couple of eBay orders

Purge a few items   Taking to Thrift store Monday. They are not accepting donations today.

Vacuum and Mop kitchen floor

Run to the post office. 

That's enough for now lol

Hope your day is awesome!