22 Days

 It's hard for me to believe we have been here 22 days. I'm still not completely unpacked. I have gotten past the point of waking up and telling myself, "I live here now, we don't need to drive 80 miles from Hartford anymore." I'm aware of a quiet acceptance, not full depression but maybe, sort of, a little bit. I realize it's because it's just cold and snowy right now. All the fun stuff starts after the snow melts off the trails. I realize after the weather is not so cold I will be able to sit out on the patio and listen to the birds and watch spring storms roll in. We have had lots of snow.

Following the plow

I might cut some boxes down into trays so I can fill them and slide them back into all that unreachable space in the kitchen cabinets. That way I will be able to pull stuff forward as if they were in a drawer. 

I might start hanging pictures. I unpacked my favorite vases. I have the clock hung up. We found a friendly Ford dealership. Since we bought a maintenance package that is in effect, it makes sense to go there. The dealership in Hartford was great. The one in Appleton was a dud. We drove through Greenville to nearby Hortonville and found friendly people and great service. We have an appointment to replace a wheel bearing on Friday.

Greenville was like being "home" again, rolling hills, trees, open spaces. 

I cannot find my saucepans. I ended up buying one the other day. How can three saucepans hide so well?

The landlady fired the guy who was supposed to be plowing the parking lot. He was doing the worst job, leaving piles of snow for everyone to dig through. The new guy is awesome.

My new (from January 1st) health insurance seems good. My medications have cost between $5 and $0, much better than $145 per month. I found a clinic in Greenville. There are clinics in Appleton and Grand Chute as well.

Hubby likes his job. That's the reason we moved here. 

I ordered a shelf. I have been typing "shelving on sale Appleton" every day and finally something came up. It will be delivered Friday and fit in this spot.

I'm running the dishwasher empty with some vinegar and baking soda. It is now leaking all over the floor. I cannot find a filter. It's old. Apparently no removable filter. Internet says clean with vinegar and baking soda. This was not the way I wanted to wash the floor.

That's all for tonight. I'm off to clean the floor.

Long Loom Struggles

 I can't tell you how many times I started over again trying to figure out how to turn around and go the other direction! I joined a Facebook group for help. Turns out I'm not the only one struggling with this. Before I continue, let me explain. Many people suggested videos on YouTube but each one I watched showed a completely different way to wrap, or cast on, I think it's called. I mean, really different, and fast.....everyone goes too fast. Finally some one posted a link to a video with step by step instructions. I'm going to link it below so I can actually find it again. First, here is a picture of where I got stuck.

My finger is pointing to the peg that has only one wrap.

Here is the cast-on. I'm not using the full loom.

This is the yarn. I learned that medium weight should be doubled, and I could have used the chunkier kind instead.

Here is the video:

In other news, we didn't take a walk. We might today. It's colder and snowing slightly but we know the Chickadees at Harrington Beach are hungry. The last time we walked there we were met by a chattering flock of about a dozen, but we had forgotten seed. Thankfully other people feed them as well.

And lastly, we had gone shopping and I saw a mortar and pestle like the one my mom had. Well, hers was wood and this one is bamboo, but almost the same. It gave me warm and fuzzy feels and was only $7.99, so it came home with me.

Have a great day!

5 PM EDIT.....it was COLD. We were bundled up so much that if one of us fell we would have bounced. We only took a short walk and left a pile of seeds on two picnic tables. No wildlife was around, probably all hiding in the holes in the trees. The wind was icy. We decided to head home.

Miscellaneous

 We went to Cermak Food Market in Milwaukee to buy some food items hubby loves and can't buy locally. Then we went to Parthenon Foods to buy some Albanian sausage, which is actually made by a man from Kosovo who lives on the west side of Madison. A couple more stops and we got home just as it started to rain. That's a good thing since they are saying "stay home" until Sunday night because they are expecting icing. Fine with me. I have a pile of laundry to do tomorrow.

I tried to bake Pecan Sandies with mostly almond flour instead of the bamboo blend I usually use. The bamboo blend is very low carb and very high fiber. I was hoping to balance that out a bit, but I ended up baking crumbs! Guess I either eat them with a spoon or crumble them up into a pan and do something with them.

I had to move my bowl of Haworthia reticulata subregularis because they got too cold in the window. The still looked unhappy so I removed them completely and put them in a small pot. The bowl will remain empty for now.

Bowl with succulents, now empty

Haworthia I moved. Their roots look good so I am confident they will grow.

I got the acceptance letter for my new Medicare plan in the mail today. I think it will work out well regarding my medications (big savings). Estimate for my meds next year with this plan is a little over $500, for the whole year. If I had stayed with my old plan my medications would have cost me over $1700 for the whole year. 

That's all for tonight.

Patience

 We were watching something on YouTube about things not going the way you want them to, and feeling like your prayers are not answered, and sometimes it was for your own protection. 

I turned to hubby and said, "I felt the job in Jefferson was dangerous, driving back and forth 40+ miles each way at night, deer on the road, maybe drunks on the road, and a 12 hour shift cutting meat without your glasses. God was protecting you by saying no."

Hubby answered, "My brother just told me the exact same thing."

We felt good about the spiritual things we watched. Then we moved on to a video about cats and I started to cry. I watch cat videos all the time. I don't know why I started to cry. I told hubby it reminded me of Chrissy. I've been bummed the whole rest of the day, even though it was sunny, even though we drove to West Bend and I finally found a pair of joggers that are L . O . N . G enough to reach my ankles and in Medium size so they aren't so big it looks like two of me could fit in them. I can't tell you what a struggle it is to not be a common size, short and wide seemingly being the norm.

We stopped at Sendik's to buy some chicken and then went home. Hubby made himself chicken noodle soup because he has a cold (he went to bed early) and I took the breast meat and fixed it with lemon, green olives, onion and some pepperoncini peppers for zing. 

It's been bitterly cold, below zero at night. Tomorrow it's going to warm up and rain. My mini orchid is blooming again! The others might not bloom until spring. No signs of bloom spikes on those.

So why did I title this post "Patience"? I think because we need it right now because everything is so uncertain.

When all else fails to lift my mood, there are flowers!

Hopeful

We are hoping for a good offer from a company in Hartford. 

More details if it pans out.

Oh... the suspense 

LOL

In other news, the WIND WAS INSANE yesterday and today. It finally let up and now, thankfully, it is raining. 

Today we drove up to Sheboygan to buy chicken. That might sound weird, but we don't like the taste of regular store-bought chicken. We keep trying different brands and we eat a little and throw the rest away. We hate to throw away food. We have been buying chicken from different meat markets and so far we like Miesfeld's in Sheboygan best. It's only a little over an hour's drive so we stocked up. The wind was horrible all the way there and back.

Medication updates. I'm still weaning myself from the heartburn medication. I haven't taken any omeprazole but I am still using the famotidine once a day. 

I tried stopping the Jardiance. Today is five days out and I'm noticing a slight puffiness in my ankles and a tightness in my chest. Well, dammit. At least it took five days this time instead of three. That's my heart. No, I'm not dropping dead, but it hampers me without medication, apparently. The low carb way of eating has helped to heal my body in many ways, but I guess I still need a little help.

Let me explain. I have Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction and Mitral valve disorder. What that means is the left ventricle of my heart is a little stiff and slow to empty and my mitral valve is a little leaky. Back in 2021 when I was diagnosed I was having issues when out walking on the trails. I would become short of breath to the point I was having some chest pain. I would get dizzy and because I thought I might be having a heart attack, I got checked out. After all these tests I got the diagnosis. My cardiologist told me to eat whole foods and low salt, not "no salt", and continue taking Jardiance. He said there was nothing about my heart that would give me a heart attack, I was just out of shape and with the issues, need to stop and let my heart catch up. I had problems with heart palpitations, but other than that, I continued to walk with hubby.

Fast forward to the ketogenic way of eating. Electrolytes are very important, and once I started them the palpitations went away. I use salt, as much as I want, and little by little I got healthier. But the Jardiance is like a thorn in my side. I take it for two reasons, diabetes and for my heart. The way it works is by reducing fluid retention and by making me pee more and pee out sugar. It makes it harder for me to stay hydrated. I already ended up in the ER with dehydration and a bladder infection. The last thing I want to happen is for fluid to start building up in my chest around my lungs, which could happen with the dysfunction. So I'm seeing slight puffiness in my ankles and my breathing is tight. So...back on Jardiance and drinking extra water. I want to continue doing climbs like we did up Gibraltar Rock with no problems, no shortness of breath. I'm not slowing down just because I'm 74! Wait....did I say that?

It's late. Heading to bed. Goodnight.

 

Fun Times With Family

We had a wonderful weekend with my daughter and her hubby and his son and daughter. It was a late Christmas and we exchanged gifts. The following day we decided to visit Cedarburg Wisconsin. We will definitely be going back. What a quaint town! It's an old German town but unlike many other towns, this one saved everything! The downtown is full of old brick and stone buildings with massively thick walls and many with original wavy glass windows! The old mill has three floors of shops. We honestly didn't have time to visit them all. A river rushes through town. We all had a great time, including the kids. The youngest, the boy, observed that "Everyone in Wisconsin is so friendly and happy." My hubby and I have noticed that as well.

I managed to get through 95% of the photo album. My daughter loved looking at the pictures. We both agreed to leave it here so I can finish it.

I'm getting tired. It's late. I have more to write but it needs to wait.

Later.

Count Down

Tuesday.....4 days!

My hubby really needs to be home. He has done all he can. His mom is going to have a tough road to recovery. I am not going to elaborate, because I know he wouldn't want me to. Allah willing, God willing, she will recover and walk again.

We are getting warmer and sunnier days now, after 9 days of snow storms. Chicago and Indiana got hit the hardest. Milwaukee got a lot, too, being next to the Lake. Here in Hartford we had about the half the amount, and a couple sunny days in between snows.

Tomorrow my neighbor and I are having another Girl's Day Out. I am driving to Grafton and we are going to shop. Then I'm making home made pizza for her and her husband.

I also need to stop by the Pike Lake ranger's office and buy my sticker for the car. It will be good for the year, and for every State Park in Wisconsin. I was thinking to drive up to the road where I took a couple pictures last year, so I could capture the trees with the winter snow.Not sure that road will be open.

I am mesmerized by these two pictures. They must subconsciously remind me of some special time in my past Wisconsin adventures. I first set foot in Wisconsin the end of August 1969. I have loved it ever since.

The pictures were taken in November 2017, in this location (see red circle). If the road to the campground is open, I will be able to drive to the location. If not, I will just wait. I'm not planning to get stuck on any snowy roads.

In case you want to see the full map, it is located here:

Pike Lake Map (PDF)

I am off to bed.

Stuff

Before I got on facebook I used to keep in touch with my friends through email (who would have thought!!) Anyway, once in awhile I would write a "Stuff" email, just a conglomerate of whatever was going on. Stuff sounds good for today.

I'm backing up my computer, so I'm typing on a straight keyboard. My hands hurt already. I like hubby's computer. It has a big monitor. We are going to share it for awhile. I can always plug in my ergonomic keyboard.

We are having another run of gloomy weather. Last night, about 6:30, we were bored and decided to go shopping at Meijers in West Bend. Suddenly we found ourselves in fog. It was an adventure. I was keeping an eye out for deer. We made it there and back home safely.

I like shopping with my hubby. We have fun, unlike when I shop alone and I'm in tears by the time I get back into the car.

I ordered some Lithops. They haven't arrived yet. Waiting.....will share pictures when they arrive.

Hubby needs to visit his family next year. His brothers will try to meet up with him for a big family get together. He hasn't seen his older brother in 10 years and his parents and middle brother since 2014. Hubby has been working overtime and packing away the savings, both for his trip and for a down payment on something next year.

"Something next year".....not sure....condo, duplex, small single family. Houses are darn expensive up here. Example, my daughter in Indiana is trying to sell her house. She and her hubby did a total upgrade, everything is move-in perfect, and it has an acre of land. It is $50,000 cheaper than anything comparable up here.

Back to my computer...going through my pictures, making sure I have them all backed up. I am so sad now. There is no "getting over" or "letting go" of my daughter, only learning to live with the loss. It still hurts like hell.

I have been told so many different things by different people. I have had a few (very few) unusual, or if I may say so, spiritual experiences. I don't like to talk about them much. Maybe another time. One was when my dad died. I talked to a minister. He poo pooed my experience as emotional stress and basically hogwash. Some years later a different minister thought it was God's way of calling me into the Church. I have been told that my deceased loved ones sleep until the Resurrection. I have been told they live in a parallel Universe. I have been told their spirit lives in my heart. I have been told they watch over me and are aware of me grieving for them. I have had things happen that nobody ever told me would happen, but when I investigated, found out others had similar experiences. At least amidst all this conflict my husband has been the one understanding and supporting person I can rely on. Oh, and my older daughter, if it wasn't for her and my husband I might not have made it through the first month, or at least it felt like it.

I think my hands are done with this keyboard for today. My computer is backed up. We want to open it and clean it before I format and reinstall.

This and That

My friend couldn't come. Her grandmother was going into Hospice. My hubby was off work yesterday. We got coffee from Perc Place. I wasn't feeling well, so we didn't do a lot. I am better today, pretty much. Hubby took me shopping. He was happy he got me to laugh. I'm afraid he's going to go broke trying to "fix" me. He bought me some Capri pants and two blouses, all on sale at JC Penny.

I've been eating too much. I gained weight. My blood sugar has been high. I'm trying to pretend to care, but in reality, I do care because it looks like I'm going to survive this and go on living. I do care about my husband and my older daughter, and I want to be ok for them.

It's been 38 days. I'm exhausted. I've cried pretty much every single one of them.

I joined a couple Facebook groups for grief support, one for the loss of a child and one for sudden loss. I shared my story and shared pictures. The response was compassionate and from many, many people. But the groups quickly became overwhelming as so many people shared their own grief. I had to unfollow and step back.

We are still waiting for the autopsy report.

That's about all I feel like writing for today.

Back to Work

Hubby's vacation is over. It was great to have all the time together, and the week we spent helping my daughter and her hubby in Indiana was particularly rewarding. We all had a lot of fun in between the hard work.

Wednesday was hot and muggy with thunderstorms. Thursday turned chilly and breezy. I had some plants outside. but brought the small ones in, simply because it was going to be in the upper 30's and I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to leave them out. I brought the ones on this side of the screen inside. It's not supposed to freeze, so the others should be ok.

My daughter in Indiana has the prettiest petunias. I can't seem to find them anywhere, probably because the stores all carry plants from the same grower. When I get the change I will check out the local hardware store. Anyway, the petunia I'm looking for is pink with a white center and a yellow throat. The ones I'm seeing are missing the white center.

The cortisol test came back normal (chewing on the cotton swab). The blood test that went with it is also normal. That's good news. I'm still waiting for the other blood test for the ACTH (the test I had before that flagged high).

Our real estate agent set up a sharing portal for us, where she can upload listings and we can view and comment on them, or request info. We are concentrating on Hartford, even though it's more expensive. We have discussed options quite a bit, and staying here is the better option because friends and family are here. It's taken my hubby quite some time to "find himself" here in America, and I would have to say that Hartford is working out very well.

Hubby only worked half a day yesterday because he is training and translating for a new hire who only speaks Albanian. After he came home, he and I went shopping. Hubby bought me a new purse. He wanted to buy me two different ones, but I didn't think the other one was practical, so I talked him into just the one. He wanted to buy me shoes, too, but they didn't have my size in the ones I liked, and I didn't feel like hunting them down in other stores.

That's about all for now.

Tired

I don't know why I've been so tired. I mentioned it to my nurse when I went to see my doc. We thought the warm weekend might perk me up.

Nope.

I thought a really good night's sleep with no interruptions (hubby is off work...no getting up at 5 am) would help.

Nope.

I went to bed at 9:30 last night, woke up at 6:30, took my thyroid medicine and checked my blood sugar. 124 is decent for me. I should be feeling great, yet I felt heavy, like my blood sugar was 300. I went back to bed and slept till 9 am.

I called my doc's office, talked to a nurse. She asked some questions, I think to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack or something. She made an appointment for me for Wednesday and asked me to write down everything that goes on, so we don't miss anything.

Hubby woke up (he went to bed later than me), so we both got up. I ate some breakfast. I kind of noticed my chest might be a bit tight, so I took a shot of asthma spray. I'm wondering if that's it. I wonder if I'm not breathing right at night. I'm taking notes on everything.

Another issue is #2, you know, potty. I have been having issues for a long time. I have increased fiber, but I have an issue with supplements causing gas. I brought that up at my doc appointment. I was wondering if it's because I use splenda. She didn't think so, but suggested I try MiraLAX and make sure to drink lots of water. OMG that stuff smells and tastes like plastic. I'm only getting mediocre results. And yes, I push water all the time. I eat yogurt, drink probiotic yogurt, eat cereal with fiber. I've been toying with the idea of trying Metamucil but I'm concerned I will have too much gas.

Well, I will take all my notes tomorrow. The doc will order some more tests, and I will check in here when I find out what's going on.

From Menard's...hubby bought me a step stool to sit on when I'm needing to do stuff in the frig, and a little solar snail. I'm hoping the entrance light doesn't keep it turned off.

Sunny Saturday

We have a warm spell, so I have my windows cracked open and plants lined up on the window sill. Eventually I will be able to open the outer window and set the plants against the screen. Then I can close the inner window as needed, leaving the plants almost outside for the summer. I can only do this with the ones that are small enough to fit between the two windows.

This apartment has old-style "storm windows....an inner window and an outer window with a space in between, that is supposed to be a "dead air space", but it's not, it's really drafty, so I'm glad we don't need to pay for heat here. In nice weather I slide the outer window open and place my plants next to the screen. This works great for my smaller plants because I can close the inner window without removing them.

I'm in trouble this year, though, because I've increased my collection. Last year half my plants fit in the window and the other half stayed on the plastic shelf. This year I will need to squeeze them together and maybe even put some outside. They can't stay in the lower shelf because when I use the air conditioner it will blow cold air on them.

Yesterday my daughter was off work so we went shopping together. Steins Garden Center did not have the awesome succulent collection they had when we went there the first time. My daughter bought me the succulent in the picture above from Walmart. I bought her a couple from Steins. I was looking for a bright green Lithop and didn't find any, but we had fun.

My Lithops (above)....alive and doing pretty well. They seem to be the one difficult plant that I don't kill, at least not often. Three are splitting (dividing). They must NEVER be watered when they are doing this. See those fat leaves? They are full of water. The new leaves must draw the water out of the old leaves. A pair of Lithop leaves makes a "body". A Lithop can divide into many bodies but each body cannot have more than two leaves, unless it is splitting, in which case the outer two leaves will die.

The longest I ever kept a Lithop alive was one I never watered. Yes, you heard that right. I misted it, just once in awhile, to keep it from shriveling. Over the years it divided into 4 bodies. Then I heard they can be watered, so I watered it. Poof. Since the Lithop on the left, in the picture above, is in a very tiny pot and isn't dividing, I have watered it lightly, about once a month. I bought the one on the right the same time I bought the one on the left, last August, I think. Since it is diving, it gets no water. The two in the middle are new, and seem to have survived Walmart's haphazard care.

Not in the Mood

I haven't been in the mood to write. Well, actually, I have, but I haven't been in the mood to publish my thoughts, at least not all of them.

I think hubby and I have the late winter blues. We enjoyed the week of spring temperatures. We had a mini vacation in Madison. We want to go back. Downtown Madison has coffee shops everywhere, along with multi-cultural food and plenty of unusual shopping.

Hubby wants to find a better job, one that he is more satisfied with, and with better pay. We don't care where such job may be, as we are willing to relocate.

We both love walking nature trails. The trails are muddy, another thing that bums us out.

We didn't know how high the state income taxes are here in Wisconsin when we moved here. We thought no place was more expensive than California, except New York. That's kind of depressing, along with the low wages. Hubby doesn't want to change states. I don't either, not really. Where would we go?

We ate at an Albanian restaurant when we were in Madison. It was nice. Afterward we shopped an a Turkish market that also carries some Albanian items. When we were leaving we noticed another store with Halal meat. We didn't stop in as we wanted to head home because of the changing weather.

We enjoyed the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, and want to come back when things are green and blooming. They have trails.

I guess I found some stuff to write about after all.

I-Pass is for Anyone

The worst part about driving between Wisconsin and Indiana is navigating the tolls through Illinois. For some reason I don't remember it being that confusing years ago when we would drive up to the family cottage. But that's when tolls were 35 cents for a car, and everyone went through them.

It's even more confusing when the GPS is saying to stay left but we need to merge right to pay. One time we took an exit because there was a sign to pay. We didn't know it was a darn exit. It is also frustrating when you are in the left lane and must merge across all those lanes just to pay the toll. We discovered were weren't the only ones. My daughter and her hubby had encountered similar frustration. We both independently decided to order I-Pass. Our's will arrive in about 2 weeks.

Since hubby had 3 days off and work was slow, we made another trip down to Indiana. We visited some old favorite stores and discovered they weren't a big deal anymore. We also visited my former neighbor, the gabby one. She behaved herself and didn't gossip. It was a rather nice visit. Before we left I walked across the street to knock on my other neighbor's door. She didn't answer. She might have been in the back of her house or the garage. I knocked again, louder, and then left. She hasn't reached out to me. At least I tried.

We drove on to do a little more shopping, pick up pizzas and drove out to my daughter's. Since it was during the week we all went to bed early. We were up and ready to go by 7:30 am because my daughter needs to lock the door with a key. There were thunder storms and rain all night. It turned to sleet. The roads were Ok, though. We visited a couple antique stores but didn't stay long. The forecast said the weather would get worse throughout the day and the icy slush was supposed to freeze solid. It was just sunny and cold in Wisconsin, with a couple inches of morning snow, so getting north of the bad weather was a priority.

Following the salt truck on country roads in Indiana

On the way home, driving past the enormous Amazon Fulfillment Center in Kenosha Wisconsin

In spite of the weather it was a good trip. As usual, we had fun laughing and sharing stories. 

Alexandrite

I did it. I bought an Alexandrite / Neodymium crystal toothpick holder. I couldn't pass up the richness in color, bright pink under incandescent light and a moody blue under fluorescent. I bought it from the Etsy store South Florida Collectors. They have one more, if you are interested to buy it.

It all started back in the 1999 - 2000 time frame. My younger daughter was living in Indianapolis at the time. We (her dad and I) had gone down to visit, and made a day of shopping the sprawling antique shops in the area. We came upon a glass case with quite a few nice pieces displayed. There was a small green item, perhaps a candle holder, that my daughter bought for me. 

But I could not take my eyes away from a small lavender vase. I never saw lavender like that. It had no sheen, no rainbows, or other enhancements you normally see in glass. No, this had a life of its own. It was lavender that hinted that it wanted to be pink and blue at the same time, like a living color inside of it. I was so taken by the color my daughter bought it for me. 

My vase lived on a window shelf, so I could enjoy it in the light. It was always more pink in the sunlight. I didn't think much about it. Then one night I noticed it lost its color! All traces of lavender and pink were gone! It was just a dull, pale, lifeless blue. I was shocked and saddened. How could that be? How could color "leach" out of glass? It was not possible, but yet, here I was, holding my beloved lavender-pink vase that had gone dull blue. With a downcast heart I returned it to the shelf.

The next morning the pink was back!

So now I had a mystery. That evening I looked and again saw my vase had paled to blue. I took it off the shelf and held it under the kitchen light....ahhhhh, the kitchen light. I had recently changed bulbs to curly fluorescent! I still had some incandescent bulbs, so I took my vase over to one of those lights. The pink returned! I began searching the internet for answers. Oddly, none could be found, so I gave up. 

I stumbled upon the answer a week ago. I was reading an article about dichroic glass, which changes color depending on how light sines through it. I took the "changing color" part as a clue, so I searched, and stumbled upon Alexandrite or Neodymium glass. FINALLY I had an answer!  

Alexandrite is vintage but not antique. Neodymium was discovered in 1885 and first used as a glass dye in 1927. Several different companies produced it, each with their own slightly different chemical formula. You can Google it to read more if you are interested, but basically Neodymium absorbs certain lightwaves so it appears to change color under different lighting. Neodymium - Wiki

Here are some pictures that demonstrate the dynamics of this glass.

Daylight 

Incandescent (old-style light bulb)

LED

Fluorescent

As you can see, the vase on the left is aqua under fluorescent lighting. Different glass companies used different formulas, which gives the variety in color.

I'm in the Mood for Hearts

Those of some natural hearts that turned up in my life. Spud Heart, from a bag of potatoes, Strawberry heart, from a box of strawberries, and Stone Heart, in the desert in southern California.

I have other hearts, earrings, a necklace, more heart shaped rocks, and my best heart, the one beating inside my hubby's chest.

Today my hubby and I drove to Brookfield to do some shopping for winter clothes. Hubby bought a thick, warm jacket for $15, perfect for work, warm and not expensive. He also needed warm boots. He bought nice ones rated to -25 degrees for only $25.

On the way there we were talking. I told hubby that bird woman upstairs was coming home as I was heading down to the basement to wash clothes. In case you didn't know, this apartment building has a locked entry door. I noticed she was standing there in the frigid cold fumbling for her keys. This woman has never answered when I say hello. I opened the door to let her in. She looked surprised, frightened, and stepped back. "Come in", I said gently. "Thank you", she answered in a tiny voice. We each went our own way, but I was happy that maybe I made a difference in her life. I told my hubby I don't think she is bad, I think she is afraid of people, autistic, maybe.

The locked entry doors, frosty from cold

Hubby told me his mom had her surgery and she's fine. She had fibroids. Then we were talking about health. Hubby recalled how we were turned away from a clinic in Indiana. It was a clinic I had visited many times in the past. We were turned away for "only" having the "Bronze" level of Obamacare. He told me that made him very sad. It wasn't the first time health care in Indiana kicked me to the curb. I could write stories for pages. Hubby knows the stories, the denial care, the never care, the "go away you have no insurance" non-care.

Then we laughed about how easy California is. Before we moved I applied for coverage in California. After we moved we received a letter stating that we didn't qualify because our income was too low (hubby hadn't started working yet, we only had my social security), so they enrolled us in MediCAL, California medicaid. I was shocked! 

In the state of Indiana this was a big NO-NO! Immigrants can NOT have any kind of Medicaid services unless it is to save a life, in which case the state of Indiana will then sue for repayment.

We drove to the local office. The lady told us, "Oh, you're fine, we even cover undocumented immigrants in California.

Again we laughed about when we tried to cancel it. The lady sat there with a dumbfounded look on her face. "Why would you want to cancel it?" she asked. "Because we no longer qualify," I explained. She told me no one "gets off" MediCAL, it just expires by itself. Ok, awesome! Free health care. Wisconsin also has expanded medicaid, although hubby has insurance through work and I have Medicare.

Hubby said to me, "We've both had a hard life, I think we are really blessed now. Life is easy here." "Yes," I answered, "but you work so hard." "I like to work," hubby answered. He seemed so at peace, so at home, finally.

Surveys and Stuff

About a month or so ago I signed up for some online surveys, mostly to alleviate boredom, and, well, to see if I could make some chump change in the process. I don't need to work, but I worked from home for 12 years, and in a way, I miss parts of that arrangement.

I think the best of the three that I signed up for is VIP Voice. I managed to get a $25 Amazon gift card from them for logging everything I ate for seven days. I also received 200 points for each day I completed, which I will enter into a drawing for some cash. It only worked out to $3.60 per hour for all my trouble.

Many times I don't qualify for surveys....why? Mostly because I'm not fad shopper or a restaurant chain eater or a TV watcher or a junk food junkie. Gee, I just don't fit into all that commercialism.

Some surveys are a bit tedious. It helps to save receipts, because they ask where, when, how much, etc. Other surveys let me type in our favorite places like Perc Place and the Milwaukee Ale House, and then go on to ask me about every restaurant chain in America. Have I heard of them? Some. Did I eat there? Mostly not. Did I see an ad on TV? uhhhhh...well, no TV, so, no.

The shoe and boot dilemma. I have big feet, I hate that, but they are what they are. And they are wide, and I have bunions, which runs rampant on my mom's side of the family.

My hubby loves to shop for himself, but then he wants to buy something for me.

Anyway, hubby has cut back his shopping drastically because we are saving, but he did buy some Skechers about a month ago. The store had discount prices, so he wanted me to buy some winter boots.

Hubby... "Get something nice, even if they cost $60 or more."

Me..."No way am I paying $60 for something I'm going to wear in the winter slush."

Hubby..."All right." (slightly downcast....yes he's feeling guilty for spending money on himself)

To make him feel better I start trying on nice boots, in the $60 to $100 range.

"Ouch! They pinch my bunions!" I ask for wide. They don't have many in wide. They still hurt. They seem to run small, but the next size up is too long and they slip. We give up.

Next we try Cabela's. Years ago I got a decent pair of ankle boots there.

None of the Woman's shoes or boots come in Wide. None. Nada. Zip. Zero.

The sales lady asks if I want to try Men's. I take a look. I try one pair. They are as heavy as bricks, and chunky. We give up again. I'm not sad about that because the prices were way up there.

Then we go to Walmart. I try on a pair. Perfect! Comfortable, no pinching, waterproof, and only $19.98. Hubby is happy I have boots and he is amused by the price.

In other news, hubby got his new phone, an iPhone 7 Plus. He gave his old phone to me. It is a Samsung Galaxy S4, and good enough to be my first smartphone. I kept holding out because of the expense. We share a data plan, and we just keep data turned off and connect with WiFi, unless we need otherwise.

I've been having fun with my phone. My daughter has a live wallpaper that I had been wanting so I got that. I also installed a couple others. They are Night and Day, Aurora and Snow. They all have lots of stars and a moon and night, plus sunrise, daytime and sunset. I enjoy them. Here is a link to Day and Night in the Google Play Store

Day 25: Missed Again

Well, we were busy. We went looking for shoes for me, didn't find anything (normal for me, to not find anything). Then we popped into a couple stores we never were in before. Then we ate at a restaurant that we won't go back to (not great food, but the coffee was good). That was all in West Bend. Then we came home and I cooked hubby's lunch (for work) while he took a nap. After he left for work I decided to take down and put away all the fall decorations. I got out my lights but have no way to hang them in the window, well, that I can reach, anyway. I was disappointed to realize my LED candles won't sit on the too-narrow window ledge. Unless I tape them to the glass, it will be the first time ever that I haven't had LED (or some other type of electric) candle in the window. I took some fake flowers and glued them to an embroidery hoop and hung them on the door. So that's why I'm late posting.

Moved the flowers and raised the LED candle so you can see it. Too bad the hall light is so bright you can't hardly see it

Day 20: Happy Birthday Hubby!

We had an enjoyable day with my older daughter and her family. We were going to walk at the Lion's Den in Grafton, but it was closed for hunting season. We were bummed about that, but decided to make the short drive north to Port Washington. It turned into a fun shopping trip. My daughter and her hubby completed some of their early Christmas shopping at Port Washington's unique shops. We took a frigid walk in the wind around the park and took pictures of Lake Michigan. Then we went to Smith Bros. Coffee House to warm up and then shopping. Afterward we drove back to Grafton and ate dinner at The Ale House overlooking the Milwaukee River. Hubby and I had been there earlier in the year with his cousin. It was good, but maybe next time I won't have fish and chips. They seemed greasy this time. There are other places to eat in town. Time to explore more. Here are some pictures:

Port Washington, two lights that mark the harbor entrance

Bundled up against the chill, we took turns at the lookout

I zoomed in and cropped to you can see the waves out there on the lake

Grafton

Day 15: Shopping, Walking

My hubby bought a jacket, which seemed to fit great, except the sleeves. We really didn't notice until he wore it while driving and the sleeves crept up his arms. We took it back. He got another style. It fits great, and was $10 less. Hubby tried to find me something and I insisted that he not. I never knew a man who loved shopping more than a woman. If we had the money he would need his own walk-in closet. Just give me a couple pairs of jeans and a few tops and I'm fine.

It was a foggy, gloomy day all day. Finally, about 2 hours before sunset there was a break in the clouds, so we went for a walk along Pike Lake.

The colors were soft and muted

I call these "Poldark clouds". They are the same color as in the intro

Poldark is on Masterpiece Theater on PBS. One of my favorite shows.

I decided to try doing some surveys to kill time and alleviate boredom when hubby is at work. I think I've earned about $10 in 3 hours time. That's pretty low, but they are supposed to offer higher paying ones after some time. The biggest drawback in signing up for one survey company leads to half a dozen others. It also takes some judgement calls. For instance, the offer for a free iPhone 7 came along with an agreement to receive texts and/or phone calls from advertisers. The list must have had 200 companies on it. No way!