Day 8 of the Facebook Fast: Chores & Pains

I was up by 8 this morning and had some coffee and started the fountain on the patio just to hear the water. It is too bright and hot on the patio in the mornings, but I could stand and watch it for a bit.

Believe me when I say it was a pain. I hurt everywhere, particularly my gluteus maximus. I think kneeling over in the flower bed yesterday and climbing ladders and weed trimming did a number on me. My arms hurt. My neck hurt. My back hurt. My legs hurt. My butt hurt.

And they still hurt tonight.

By 9 a.m. I was in the yard using the weed trimmer to cut the rest of the weeds. I still have the railroad area and back of the house to do. My arms were hurting so I stopped. And my behind is not happy with me.

You'd think my glutes get a good workout, sitting all day but apparently that is not the case. Let me tell you, weeding your flower bed is the best workout your butt will ever get. It will give a huge pain in your neck, too.

At 1 p.m. today I attended the River City Writers' meeting. That is always fun because I get to see the other writers. Once that was done I came home and started on the mower.

Dave and Mike replaced the blades on the mower and I hope will be able to do the oil and filters tomorrow. I also need to do some more planting. There are other things I wanted to get done before Dave left, but I will have to just do them after he's gone. It was a good thing he was here to change those blades. Mike's leg is still a  problem and removing the deck, cleaning it, replacing the blades, and putting it back took both of them. I could not have helped Mike.

It is after 10 p.m. now and I'm still sore all over after a hot shower. I can hardly get up and down. It is amazing how much work you butt does when you try to get out of a chair, climb steps or get in and out of cars. It is awful.

Still, I feel better knowing those blades are fixed. I just wish we'd got more done. I know eventually I may be able to do the weed trimming without help but at the moment, it is really difficult. I've lost so much muscle mass and just have no strength. The work also causes severe joint pain after I do it. So, even if I get the strength, my joint problem persist. I'm not sure that the butt pain is also attributable to my walk on Thursday with Sarah. We walked 1.7 miles. Then, I worked on Friday morning pulling weeds. So, the combination is probably to blame.

I'm at Day 8 of the Facebook Fast. I hardly miss it these days. I miss talking to family and some of my friends. However, today, I got my report card from Rescue Time. My productive time so far this month is 62% higher than it was last month. Can you believe that? Sixty-two percent more productive in one week than I was in the whole month.

So, I'm letting myself feel good about this. If I don't hear from folks, well, I've been here before. When Jerry died, people stopped calling after a six weeks. There are people I haven't heard from in nearly 7 years. I'm not hunting them down. I found new friends. A

Thank you for sticking with me. 

Day 7: Face Who?

Weather: Warm & Sunny
Pain Level: 2 in the morning 5 in the afternoon
Mood: Not great

I started the morning hopeful I'd get some things done. My pain levels were low and that's an opportunity that I try to take advantage of when possible. I went to Lowe's at 9 a.m. to see about counter tops. I want to put a bar counter in the kitchen above some cabinets. I have to special order them and that is an expense I doubt I can afford. It was a thought.

I came back thinking I could get the weed trimming done. I got the front done and the flower bed weeded and the crepe myrtle trimmed up and with the help of a tall ladder, all the dead branches off. And that was when I crashed. No, I didn't fall off the ladder. It was noon. I didn't get 4 good  hours before I was wiped completely out, my neck hurt, my hands hurt, my right knee stopped working, and I felt as if I was going to pass out.

There was no one to take over so I had to leave the trimmer lying in the garage floor. I was too tired to care what  happened to it at that point. The mower is sitting in the middle of the floor too. I just don't care. I simply can't keep this up. Doing this yard work is just too much for me. By the time I get done, it is tall grass again and I have to start over.

I came in and around 3:30 I lay in the recliner and napped for about an hour, until people woke me up.

I was going try again before dark, but David said wait till tomorrow. I still have the whole railroad area to cut. It is virtually impossible to do that in less than two hours. After it is all cut, I'll do the yard.

And I have a meeting at 1.

Still the end of the day was pleasant. We had supper on the patio and I just sat there like a slug. David as Sarah had a good time together while I watched.

Day 5: Facebook Fast Turns to Feast

Mood: 
Weather: Cool & cloudy
Pain level: 2
Energy level: 6

A Pretty Lady

Here she is. Isn't she beautiful? I just love her. I had to move some stuff to put her in front of a mirror so you could get the whole effect in one shot. I am so trilled with this. It says on the bottom, Park Avenue Dreams. It is a Lenox figurine so I know it was originally pricey. I paid $6. I want to go back and get a couple of others but honestly, what am I going to do with them?

I'll have to pull out the one my mother bought me, and put them together. I keep that one in the china cabinet. It occurs to me I'm not enjoying it as I could. My new lady is standing on the table by the window in front of me.

Sarah Rambles

Sarah spent the night at her other grandparents. She had done that a couple of times now. I'm glad they're finally getting to enjoy her some. She had a great time the last few times she's been there. It gave me a bit of a break as well, although, you can't imagine how empty the house was and how much I missed her. She was my salvation after Jerry died and has remained my sanity. I pray for her all the time because the world is a horrible and cruel place and a light like Sarah should not be dimmed. One of her school friends said to me once, "I love Sarah. The teachers love Sarah. Everyone loves Sarah." There was not even a hint of envy in her voice.

Enough sappy stuff.

Tart Cherry Juice

I went to the Vitamin Shoppe yesterday and bought the Tart Cherry Juice. I've had several people tell me to go and get it because it helps reduce inflammation. The clerk said they sale a lot of it but you know, he's trying to sell a $25 bottle of juice. You take 2 tablespoons a day. I think I can get 30 days out of the bottle but it is still expensive. If it works, that will be every month but honestly, if I can get off some of this toxic meds, I'll forego bread. I started last night. I'll keep you posted on how it is working, if it works.

Note, if you are wondering what it taste like, it isn't cherries. It is wildly tart but not unbearably so. There is a mild underlying hint of cherry but it really has a rather odd taste. When I took it I was shocked that it tasted familiar and I spent the better part of an hour trying to figure it out. When I did I was on the phone telling my Aunt Phillis about it.

Anyone remember Black Draught? It taste like Black Draught!  I believe the Black Draught from my childhood had a black cherry flavor! And Black Draught was just a senna laxative. My aunt and I had a good laugh over this. When we were both children, Black Draught cured everything. I suspect it would have cured the plague (tongue in cheek). The irony of it all is that there is a common belief these days that cleansing the bowels is actually healthy. And that is all it was used for back then.

Writing Progress 

I'm well behind in my writing. Today I will have to finish up my checking account issue. For the most part I've figured it out but I must get all these things entered and pay the bills. I shouldn't spend until I get it all done.

Crochet Project

Since yesterday was totally non-productive in terms of real work. (The laundry is on the bed again and beds unmade.) I spent the evening watching some movies and doing a small crochet project. Felicia, my daughter-in-law, asked for coasters for her car. She wanted a wine color but they didn't have it at the store. I had this variegated thread left over from a previous project.

After several text, photos of the cup holders, and figuring out we had cars made by the same company, I whipped this up and put it in my cup holder. It fits. I've never considered putting one in the car holders but they do get rather messy down in the bottom and are rather hard to clean out. This will catch some stuff and soak up spills. They'll wash but I'm not sure how well the cotton will release stains. Sodas leave a rather nasty one but she's is a dental assistant so maybe she avoids too many sodas. I've never asked.

I will make the second one tonight and mail them to her. David will be here sometime tomorrow but she can't come with him. She'll get them probably by the time he leaves on Monday, actually  maybe even Saturday.

Multiply Memories

As you can see my Facebook fast has not starved me at all. I'm actually enjoying it because some of my old Multiply friends are commenting here and there and it almost feels like old times hearing from them. Now if y'all start blogging again so I can read yours and comment.  I don't think I've missed anything as much as Multiply. And you know, the company is totally bust now. I it flopped in one month. You can read the Multiply wiki here. I had no idea they had reached 2.7 million members before they sold it.

I was also astonished at how much the site encompassed, even though I was there from nearly the beginning until the end. It did it all. As I was reading, I also became aware that G+ is now doing nearly everything Multiply did except creating the personal website feature but actually, Blogger fills that niche for them. You can now even buy your domain. You can design your page pretty much anyway you want. There is unlimited photos hosting, YouTube movies, Blogger blog, and now the new Collections, which I think I'm going to like a lot. Someone said they were trying to mimic Pinterest but it isn't at all like Pinterest. It is more like a better way to organize your posts.

I still miss the interaction of Multiply but I think the problem is everyone sort of scattered and those who came to Blogger were confused as to how to proceed and just dropped out of site. I managed to keep contact with about 15 or 20 people and actually some of those I picked up after Multiply closed.

Well, enough reminiscing. I have several things to do. Dry my hair, finish the checking account balancing, clean up a bit. I pick Sarah up between 1 & 2. My friend Rae is coming over for at 3 for a couple of hours so her son and Sarah can play a bit. Then, I suspect our day will wind down. My, it goes so fast!

Day 4: Facebook Fading

I am sitting at this table with you and we're enjoying the sunshine, a gentle breeze, and good conversation. The flowers are lovely and I can smell the lemon and hear birds chirping.

O.K. so maybe I'm exaggerating but it is a nice place in my head. Actually, today, the weather is crappy again. What happened to spring, pray tell? I'm pretty tied of this. I think I'm going to have to go to the desert just to get some sunshine.

Weather: Cool, damp, cloudy

Pain levels: 3

Energy level: 4

Mood:

In reality half the day is gone and all I accomplished was getting Sarah over to her other grandparents. She wanted to go and since she is going to her Dad's for the summer, she needs to visit them. It will give me 24 hours of space to get a few things done. At least, that was the plan. All I really did was get up, feed her, get her some items packed and take her over. 

I did stop at the grocery to pick up some items. I also went to the thrift store looking for coasters. They didn't have any but I did pick up a suitcase for Sarah to use and a lovely figurine that I have no idea what I'll do with, but she was lovely and I wanted her. I suspect she was rather expensive when someone bought her originally. She cost me $8 at the thrift store but I suspect she cost well over $20 new. I'll post pictures when I unpack her. 

I had to work on the router a bit and now I'm going downtown to get the statement from the VA that will allow me to signup for some financial assistance for medical expenses at one of the hospitals. 

Later, I hope to do some writing on the short story. I've been organizing several group things and my own story is flagging. I doubt I'l be back on today. 

I'm not missing Facebook at all. That can't be a good sign.
 

Day 3: Approaching the Oasis

Today was an exciting day for Sarah. Her best friend from school came by this morning and visited for a couple of hours. Erin is a pretty girl with short dark hair and a big smile. When they saw each other they were ecstatic. I couldn't believe how happy. They were grinning and giggling. I was a bit envious. I don't ever remember having friends like that. I remember having friends, playmates, but I don't remember anyone ever being thrilled to see me. I think I'd have remembered that.

They played for a couple of  hours before she had to leave. It was so funny when Erin arrived. She had on this purple shirt with a dog on it. Sarah laughed and said, "I have that same shirt." In a bit she rooted her shirt out and went and put it on. They really were cute together and you could tell by the constant smiles on their faces that they were just so happy to be together.

After the company left, Sarah went to play with the little girl up the street, Harper. I sat down to do my bank account and pay bills... and nearly had a heart attack.

Mid-month is when I update my account and make sure everything is entered before I pay bills. I do the same at the first of the month. I remember doing it mid-month because I was extremely low on money and knew I was going to need to be very careful.

Imagine my feeling when I got into my checkbook program to find everything from the 5th of May was gone. All the entries I made weren't there. Not a trace. It appeared as if I hadn't done a thing since the first of the month. I knew it wasn't true because of the balance that was showing when I finished. Both the active file and the backup file were affected,which is very odd. I never figured out what happened. I only knew I had to fix it, fast.

First I had to do the May reconciliation. Then, I had to pull out every receipt for the whole month of May and review them to see if there were in the system.  After the 6th of the month none were there. So, I had to start entering them.

I have a system I've had in place for  years. Every dime I spend I get a receipt for and I put that in an envelope labeled for that month and year. Each month I start a new one. I keep these envelops in a file drawer and shred them about every 4 years. Yes, 12 months of envelopes x 4. But I can't tell you how many times in a year I've had to research a month for a receipt to prove something, to claim a warranty, to return an item that proved defective, or to prove I paid a bill. You have no idea how many times this has saved my bacon.

Today was a case in point. Had I not kept those receipts, I don't know how I would have rebuilt a month of the register. Yes, I could research my check register or the statement when I get it but the register was the problem and it is tedious reading over old bank statements. In this case, the statement won't come out until the 6ht. Then if you can even find what you're looking for the stores still want a receipt. If I can find when I bought it, I just go to that month and pull the receipt. My system paid off big time today.

I finished another coaster cozy in a couple of hours while Sarah was off playing. They look so nice in the living room. I'm very impressed and will be making more of these. I have two more of my hard coasters that need covers. I may take a look at some of the thrift stores to see if I can find some old ones to use to make as gifts. I use a lot of coasters. They're in every room in the house because I have wood furniture every where. And I don't mind people carrying a drink to the living room or cold water to their room at night. I just don't want it on the wood.

I was doing a lot of "business" stuff today which included calls, one related to medical bills. I found out that I may qualify for some help with my medical bills. That has been a slowly escalating debt. I either have to curtail my doctor's visits or lab work. The hospital is going to send me the paperwork to fill out. She thought I'd qualify based on my income. We'll see. I generally don't qualify for anything so I'm not getting too excited.

At some point Sarah came home, around 3 pm I think, with the friends and played outside until she decided to play in the "lake" at the bottom of the drive. I caught her with mud smeared on her face, hands, and a ball. She came in for a bath and change of  clothes and the other kids sent on their way.

I think she thought I was going to be roaring mad. It was rather amusing actually but I didn't laugh or even smile. I told her I was mostly annoyed because she could have played a couple of hours longer. She's been told before to stay out of that mud hole at the end of the drive. It is just filthy and with all the rain it just won't dry up. I asked her what she was thinking. She said, "I'm stupid." Of course I had to nix that idea, too. I told her, "No, you're a kid and you do dumb things sometimes." She didn't agree. Insisted she was stupid. But she smiled at me.

I went back to work while Sarah entertained herself. Around 6 p.m. I stopped . We decided it would be nice to just go and eat and relax with no phones. I left my cell phone in the car. We just sat in Dairy Queen and ate chicken and chatted.

When we came back we sat and watch Disney's Tarzan. I'd never seen it before but I really enjoyed it. She got tired and went to bed. I was going to work more on the data entry but I've had it. I'm headed for bed when I close this post.

Oh.. it is Day 3 without Facebook. Again, the first hour of the day is a bit difficult. A couple of times I found myself hovering over the icon on the task bar but I moved on to something else. I've had a about half a dozen comments on the blog and it was so nice to hear from them. I said people who wanted to hear from me or talk to me would find me. Jilly, in particular, has been absent for a while and it was great to hear from her. She's the busiest person I know but I do miss her blogs.

I'm still getting my land legs under me. I need a bit more organization and structure. I suspect it will take a bit. I'll have plenty of time when Sarah goes to her Dad's but I am sure going to miss her so much. She's become a good little companion at times.

What I have noticed almost immediately is that I'm actually doing stuff. Lots of stuff, without a lot of organization, but it is getting done in fits and starts. That's giving me fits. I have to reestablish some structure to my days.

Good night, my friends. I hope you have sweet dream and pleasant days.