I headed out early this morning to pick up a few groceries.
The vet called last night and told me to buy cottage cheese for Charlie’s tummy. That’s actually what I went into the store for.
But as sometimes happens, I completely forgot the cottage cheese. I only thought about it when I had my groceries on the conveyor belt. And of course there were people in front of me and behind me.
I have gone to this clerk quite a few times. She told me to go get it. Naturally it was all the way at the end of the store. I told her to go ahead and let the woman behind me check out. I just hate to make people wait because of my memory lapse.
Yesterday I had prescriptions to pick up at Walgreens. I went through the drive-thru and reached into my purse for my reading glasses. But they weren’t there. Oh great. I always have a separate pair of readers in my purse.
So I went inside and found a buy-one-get-one-free sale on readers. I checked out and then quickly drove to Home Depot just down the road to get a couple of three foot boards. The four foot shelves were too big for the other wall.
I picked out boards. They weren’t in great shape. We had decided on laminate shelves, which I am lamenting now.
They’re typically scuffed and usually there’s just a few to choose from.
And now, how are we going to paint the scuffed up places? Can you paint MDF laminate boards? Does anyone know?
I was in a hurry because I was meeting my daughter for lunch. She is the same way. So I knew she would be at the restaurant right on time for our lunch.
We had Chinese food. I got home and quickly figure out that the shelves he has already put up were 10 inch and not the 12 inch shelves I just bought.
If that wasn’t enough, I sat down with my laptop and put on the reader glasses I’d just bought, and realized that I got the wrong strength.
I put the boards back in the car and went back to trade the glasses in for the right strength at Walgreens. And then I headed back to Home Depot to exchange the wrong sized shelves.
After all that, I hope to not have to go into Home Depot for at least six months.
This morning after I bought groceries I headed to the vet’s office to get a refill of Charlie’s diuretic.
Seems like money just flows through my fingers like sand these days.
I paid Nathan some money. But then we made a deal that I would give him the iPad I had purchased last spring and only used a few times.
I know many of you just love your iPad, but it just didn’t resonate with me somehow. I couldn’t seem to make the transition from PC to Apple.
Nathan wanted to keep it. But he has a wife and two children under the age 2, and another son in Texas. He ended up selling it to get money to pay some of his bills.
I hated to see him have to sell it for much less than I paid for it, but apparently a new iPad had just come out. Thus the one I bought had gone down in price.
I found one of my wrist braces this morning. I still can’t find the newer one. I guess eventually I’ll come across it. Miss Ivy probably knows where it is.
Just now I caught her stretched out trying to get to the first shelf of my blue hutch where my dishes are. I quickly nipped that in the bud. So she’s gone back to her curtain tie.
Earlier she was messing with some of my books. Does Ivy want to learn how to read? Then she pawed at my pens I have in a mug. Ivy, do you want to learn how to write? Or do you just want to hide my pens from me?
She’s still putting toys in their water. I take one out, and the next time I go in the kitchen I find she’s plopped another one in there.
Yesterday I saw her chasing dust motes. Dust motes!
Cats could teach children how to never be bored.
Children these days seem to need their parents to entertain them. What???
I don’t recall having to entertain my children once they were past the toddler stage.
Heavenly days. Children can be imaginative and find ways to play. They can dig in the frigging dirt if nothing else.
They can play “pretend” like we did. Do they truly need expensive electronic devices to provide their entertainment?
You know how I can harp on this. It is an endless irritation to me.
Well, I’m an old fuddy-duddy. I just hope if the children are online then someone is policing what they’re doing.
Do they take their smart phones into the school room? If they do I feel sorry for their teachers.
We all know that teachers never get paid enough. Somehow there is never enough money allotted in the budget for them to make a living. Many have to work a second job to put food on their table.
Let’s hope that the top 1% in this country has received their huge tax break and are satisfied with it. And now some much needed attention might go to education and police officers, etc. These folks have such important jobs and never get properly compensated for it.
Last week I was talking to a woman a little younger than me down at the office. I learned that for six years she lived under a bridge.
Can you imagine living under a darned bridge for six years? I was speechless. Stunned. What kind of a country are we that people get to the point where they have nothing but a bridge over their heads?
She’s lived here for about 18 years. And she’s so kind. She cooks for the elderly who live here. She’s always doing good and taking care of others.
I admire her resilience and generosity. And that what happened to her didn’t beat her down and make her bitter. Instead it made her stronger and obviously increased her empathy for others.
Something, somewhere, has gone terribly wrong. Things have gone awry and the world seems tilted on its axis in a very precipitous fashion.
Well, I don’t know how I got started on all this.
When I start typing my daily post, most of the time I have no idea where I’m going with it.
Sometimes I do. But for the most part, my fingers just start typing.
I’m so glad to know that I’m not the only one who has days where everything I touch is messed up from the word “go”. I misplace things, forget grocery items, have to return the wrong things I’ve purchased…I hate those days! They seem to go on forever! UGH…Home Depot…don’t get me started on that store! Ivy is very curious, even for a cat. I’m amazed at the things she takes an interest in! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Love and hugs!
Wow! Just last night I was having a conversation with a friend about how forgetful we’re both getting, LOL! You start to question yourself – am I getting senile? Do I have some kind of dreaded brain disease? Geez Louise! I’ll forget a word – or a name, or the classic – go to the store and don’t pick up something I really wanted to get. So now I make lists when I leave the house. And half the time I forget I have the list in my coat pocket! You can paint MDF – there are lots of tutorials about how to do it online. I do believe that some people have used just plain old chalk paint without any kind of surface treatment (sanding) and it comes out fine as long as the piece is waxed afterward and doesn’t get a lot of surface wear. They’ll be fine painted with plain old enamel or high gloss paint (so you can wipe down with a damp cloth for easy cleaning), as long as they’re not exposed to a lot of water or very damp/wet conditions. We’ve had our second measurable snow. They said flurries last night – woke up to more than an inch this morning and on the radio were three reports before 5:30 a.m. of spin-outs on the entrance ramps to the expressways. You would think people living in SE Wisconsin where it snows in the winter and we get black ice would KNOW better, geez. It’s supposed to get up to 41 today, though, so it may all melt away. Sure looks dark and gloomy out there.
Forgetting. I feel like I’m the champion forgetter. How many times a day do I start for a room or the refrigerator or a cupboard drawer and by the time I get there I forget what I was after. It’s getting to be annoying. It seems like so many tho’ts pass through my brain every second that I lose track of what the original one was. I am so easily distracted it’s not even funny.
Yes, Brenda, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. EXCEPT..it may not. I was reading some political coverage last night about how off the wall Trump has been lately–like refusing to go to a rally honoring some war heroes–can’t remember exactly which war–because he didn’t want to stand in the rain because his hair would get messed up! Did anybody else read about that? Several articles quoted a number of reporters and Washington govt. folks saying that with so many Democrats winning the recent primaries he’s pretty much gone off the deep end. Tantruming and ranting about various things he doesn’t like, kind of like a little kid who’s not getting what he wants. Anyway, I think enough people are beginning to see what a loose cannon he is that he might not last out his term. I felt somewhat heartened, anyway, after reading those articles. So don’t lose hope, folks, I think he’s going to shoot himself in the foot eventually.
Interesting times we live in, yes?
Snow here today and cold, cold. Take care and give some love to those little sweeties from me.
No, I didn’t read that. Sounds like fake news to me just to get people riled up!
Hi Brenda,
I can’t even remember what all I read on your blog that I wanted to comment on, lol! All I can do is laugh anymore because I forget things all the time. I hate it! I have an app on my cell phone called Color Notes. They are like digital sticky notes.
I write things on them all the time, & can refer to them later.
Not just to do lists, but names of books, things I know I’ll forget, measurements, names of new people I meet, payment dates, etc, etc
About Ivy: my sis had a cat who always drug his toys to his water bowl. It was cute, but annoying too. Who knows why they do it?!
My 8 month old orange tabby puts his favorite toy mouse in his water bowl; I’ve had 6-7 cats and never had this happen. He also refuses to keep a collar on. He’s chipped and an inside cat but if he should get out I want people to now he’s not a feral. I’ve been driving around the city a lot lately for appointments and shopping; so many homeless people around and it breaks my heart. As a retired teacher I appreciate your support for public schools!
Sounds as if we all are falling apart today !
I am 70 so I guess it is time !
I have done many of the same things that all have talked about here .l tell you when we forget the way home we all need to really worry .I have already forgotten where my car was parked in a parking garage so I guess the next will be the way home .
Today my insurance case manager nurse called to check on my lab results from one of my doctors I have so many different ones it gets very confusing .
I couldn’t find them anywhere my hubby said you had those labs yesterday in a folder .Well they still haven’t been found .
Good thing I didn’t go out in the car today I probably would have forgotten my way home .
Oh well we must all keep on trucking in this crazy tilted world .
Hugs to you and yours !
Wonder if tonight is a full moon ,that is when all the crazies come out !
Hope none show up at my door they would feel right at home .
Have a great night !
Brenda, for the damaged boards, why don’t you use the left-over you have of the Qardz Problem Surface Sealer that you used on your town sheetrock walls where you tore the wallpaper off. It seals and binds unstable surfaces.
Also, just wanted to remind you that all persons who file income taxes get the tax break…not just the 1%.
Brenda, they say that stress causes short term memory loss. Perhpaps the stress of Charlies’ illness is causing you to forget things.
I personally have to write everything down lately. I am sometimes afraid because my mind is getting a little wacky.
As for kids being bored…don’t get me started.
Have a great night!
I HATE days like that where every little thing seems to go wrong! And add to that my wallopping case of “menopause brain” ~ Aaaaargh!!!
Tomorrow is another day ~
Brenda,
If you don’t have any Kilz, do NOT despair! If you lightly sand the shelf to give it something for the paint to hang onto, you can use primer and then paint on top of the primer with the color you wish.
Have 14-yr old twins with us and had a day with both kids home sick and bored. I handed them a bag of mini-marshmallows and two boxes of toothpicks and they spent the entire day creating the most wonderful buildings, creatures, etc. Doesn’t take much – just imagination!
BTW, I often have to tack post-its on myself to remember what I’m running up and down stairs to retrieve. By the time I’d get to the other area, I’d forget or get carried away with another thought/project. Gotta love those post-its!!!
We all have a choice – can’t change a lot except for our reactions to the things in our lives. We can choose to be cranky or joyful – it’s always a choice. Humor helps – as I always have to laugh at how easily I get distracted. But it’s always a choice. I vote for a smile and kindness. Gratitude and appreciation.
Hugs to you, Charlie and Miss Ivy,
Pippa
I write a list when I go shopping, that way I’ll remember to get everything I need. I’d remember what I needed til I got sidetracked with talking to a friend or old neighbor when I was a teenager or something new in the store that caught my eye. Then I had to back track what I needed…easier with a list. ?
Wow! It boggles my mind, what that poor woman had to go thru for 6 years of her life living under a bridge! The bitter cold, the scorching heat, the bugs and ewww rodents! She could write a book on how she survived her every day life for that long without a helping hand! Thank God she found someone caring enough to help her! Now she’s paying it forward! What a remarkable, caring woman she is!
It makes me even more thankful of what I have!!! That sure puts on a new perspective of life!
You’re right. It does put things in perspective.
j., I don’t know you but I want to tell you how heartening your response to me was yesterday when I was feeling so low about living with my daughter and her attitudes. I don’t know how things will be resolved, but I appreciate so much your encouragement and empathy. And I do not intend to leave my house. I know that would be a bad decision for me. It was helpful to read about how you dealt with your similar situation with your daughter. Thank you so much for reaching out to me.
Hi Naomi! You are welcome! I’m so glad that I could shed some light on such a touchy subject! Things will get better for you! I’m giving you a virtual hug! Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and take care! J x
The more you stress, the more you’ll forget. To me, if something isn’t written down, it doesn’t exist. My husband is always trying to delegate problems to me, telling me to take care of this and that. I tell him that if he doesn’t write it down, I deny everything. He is too lazy to write anything down, so it’s not my problem. Deflect!
As for the woman under the bridge, it’s shameful that so many people live that way, even people who work full-time at jobs. It’s no longer just the drug addicts and crazies, but diligent people who just are paid ridiculously low wages.
And people who have had medical costs bankrupt them. That happens a lot in this country. I have had to file bankruptcy myself over medical costs that were so exorbitant I could never pay it.
Wages are going up, at least in Texas.
In and Out Burger is paying $15.00 an hour and some other businesses have followed suit. Who would have ever thought you could make $15.00 an hour flipping burgers! I think it’s great though.
The unemployment rate across the board for all is lowest in history right now and no one thought the GDP could reach the heights it has.
There is still plenty of work to be done, but a lot more people have jobs now than they did a couple years ago. The woman who lived under the bridge for 6 years, but no longer has to do that, is a testament to the improved economy and she has been able to improve her life. That’s a wonderful story. I’m so happy for her.
Keep the Ivy antics coming and little Charlie boy is precious.
I live in the metro Atlanta area and it is hard to find quality workers. We nearly have 0 unemployment. We have three children and are happy about the tax cuts we have received.
Most everyone who has children are very pleased about the tax cuts. I am retirement age but am still working full time. It was nice to see my take home pay increase due to the tax cuts.
As for social security, it’s not given free as some would believe. However people who are disabled can draw against the social security pool although they may be young and have not paid in as many years. My husband and I have been working for 51 years and paying into that system and are still continuing to pay in as we are both still employed. It’s probably a good thing that part of the older generation is still active in the workforce, because most businesses will tell you it’s hard to find quality help right now as the unemployment rate is so low.
Re painting your boards, i’m a believer that everything can be painted after proper primer, Next trip to Home Depot, check out Kilz etc . I’ve successfully painted melamine, Formica counter tops, laminate flooring after using the right primer. Good luck
Thanks for this info. I know I have several primers in the closet. I’ll have to see if one is Kilz. I don’t think they are.
Hi Brenda!
We don’t currently have a cat, but we do have my sweet Bear. However, both of my daughter both have 2 cats each living with them in their respective condos. I’ve read several times that Ivy keeps dropping some of her play things into her water bowl. Apparently, both of my daughters have 1 of their cats that loves doing this too. When I used to go visit one of them when she still lived nearby, there eas always a toy in the water bowl. I would free it from the bowl and lay it on the cat mat under the bowl. During the same visit, when I would venture back in the kitchen, sure enough, the toy would be back in the water dish. I won’t tell you how long it took me to before I finally learned that I was wasting my time trying to win that battle. The cats I had growing up never did that nor the one we had for 17 years, ‘pre-Bear’. I love hearing about Ivy’s antics. She is pure unadulterated curiosity! She and Charlie are perfect companions for you. I hope Charlie’s tummy settles with the cottage cheese.
I wonder what the compulsion to put toys in the water is?
Hi Brenda,
I totally get the forgetfulness. I am constantly forgetting things or forgetting what I was going to do. It makes us feel like we are 100 years old some days. One day I was out with a friend and we got in the car and she looked over at me digging in my purse and said what are you looking for. I said my sunglasses I cannot find them. She said Kris they are on your head!!!! OMG I just wanted to cry I felt so old and crazy. Instead we laughed about it. So I get what you are saying. I also hope things change in this country for the less fortunate. Even middle class is getting hit hard with things these days too. So hard to get ahead. Have a great Friday and wonderful weekend.
Hugs,
Kris
Yes, it is hard on the middle class. They need a break for sure. I am always forgetting my glasses are on my head.
Your post today, could be about me. Forgetful, buying the wrong size, wrong color, wrong item, and having to go back to the store to exchange the item, or buying something, and then when I get home, and putting it away, I see I already have the item. At least some things don’t have an expiration date, and will eventually get used. DH and I don’t own a cell phone, or an iPad. Guess we really are old fuddy duddies.
I agree that many children have no idea how to “play” anymore. I grew up in the 40’s, and we didn’t have fancy things, but I don’t remember ever being bored. No TV, no computers, just a quieter time. Used to enjoy listening to the radio, The Shadow and Fibber Maggie and Mollie, were two favorites. Paper dolls, crayons and coloring books, paper and scissors, a doll house w/furniture and little dolls, were played with. My 3 sons growing up were building things, had Forts outside, went fishing, swimming, riding bikes, playing ball, there was always something they were doing with the neighbor kids.
I also, think the world has tilted on its axis. Living under a bridge???? That is so difficult to believe. This woman is a survivor and MUCH more. She is proof that outstanding and wonderful people are in the world. Well, I am rattling on here, enjoyed talking with you today..Have a good day with Charlie and Ivy…
Yes, she truly is a survivor. When someone says they lived under a bridge, you just have no idea what to say. It almost seems beyond comprehension. Beyond surviving.
I write everything down. Then check off as I get it. This world is spinning out of control. I feel sorry for the little children..
Yes, I write things down. Then I lose the paper.
My 9 year old granddaughter loves her electronics. BUT she has a wonderful imagination and can make anything a game or some type of play. She also loves writing stories and illustrating them.
So electronics aren’t always bad. I think it depends on the child and how much they are allowed to use them.
Oh, I don’t think electronics are bad. But some parents seem to think they are babysitters for their kids.
I am an old fuddy dude too! I completely agree with you about the hard imes many are having during this booming economy. So many are being left behind while others take far more thann their share!
The top 1% did not need that huge tax break. It angers me every time I think about it. Then politicians start groaning about social security and Medicare and how that is taking all the money out of the coffers. Well, I’m not to either one yet. But those people deserve that and expect that. Giving more money to the richest of the rich is just ridiculous. While people go hungry or live under bridges.
Some politicians do not understand that people pay into medicare and social security from their first jobs until their last. They have actually stated that we get it for free. Essentially it is insurance coverage. We pay in and then take out when we have the need. And the 1% used to pay 90% tax rates in the days that people think of ‘when the USA was great” like the 50s. Now we are lucky if the 1% pays any taxes.
I agree 100 percent.
Absolutely! I worked 46 years – part time in high school and then full time when I graduated from high school a few months before turning 18 and worked all those years, paying into the system believing the promises of the politicians, until my health told me it was time to retire at age 63. I had wanted to eek it out until 65, but I’m glad I didn’t! Now a certain party continues to talk about stripping away Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid benefits in order to pay for the $1.5 trillion dollar tax cut that went primarily to the richest and largest corporations in the world (who are still parking their money overseas) and the richest of the rich – some 200 people in the United States. The kicker, of course, is that the tax “cuts” expire for everybody except the top 1% and the corporations by 2027. So poof – they want to disappear our retirement and medical benefits and the alleged tax cuts (my taxes actually increased by several hundred dollars) will be disappearing for most of us, as well. I’m amazed my head hasn’t exploded,
Ivy Lou has to find ways to entertain herself since Charlie is an old coot and views her as crazy! lol
Yesterday my day was about like yours! One of the crazies I did was put a wrong number on a withdrawal slip from the bank and I was looking right at the number! lol Some days it doesn’t pay to go out.
My granddaughter who is 8 loves the outdoors and will entertain herself for hours out there doing anything. She loves to find roly poly’s, puts them in a jar but turns them loose when she goes home! She’s a trip.
Your granddaughter sounds wonderful! She entertains with old-fashioned things like we did. Warms my heart. I too can stare right at something and copy it down wrong. If my mind is going at 61 I can’t imagine it in 10 years.
I remember when I was a kid, we spent our summers up in the country and I was never, ever indoors! I would play for hours at the creek, build a fort in the woods, play wiffle ball, or go for a long walk. We would swim, swim, swim…and make mini food out of play dough. I would climb a tree with a good book and stay there until I finished the book. I never wanted to go inside! Kids nowadays have no clue how to entertain themselves, it’s so sad.
I have always been adept at entertaining myself. There is nothing wrong with kids having electronics. Unless they can’t manage to do anything else.
I agree with everything you just said about the inequity of life……and I’m looking for an important piece of paper I had in my hand yesterday.
I think I would lose my head if it wasn’t attached.