Reflections of My Life

Yesterday evening I had to shut all my electronics off again due to a storm. This time the guys who kind of care take our building and us (they are tenants like the rest of us, just a thing they do now to help our manager and maintenance man) had us all go out in the hall (no windows) because we received another tornado alert on our phones. Said to take cover. Our windows are huge so if we did have one hit here Rabbit & I can go into the bathroom (no tub though) or the hall. No tornado that I know of (I will know more after I get on fakebook).

We all ended up talking with each other and having a good time. Took the fear of the tornado away. It is funny that we all live next to each other and sometimes we don't see each other long enough to talk with. After I came back in I plugged in my television and just put the fan on instead of the air conditioner. Quiet the rest of the night.

Today I will do laundry and probably not much else. Well, routine stuff........Rabbit's cage, dumpster, meals, dishes, etc. Our manager told us yesterday to stay inside while it is so hot (hot for our area might not be the same as your area). Bad for people our ages and our health issues. So many people do not drink enough or get more electrolytes (important for people on low carb, keto or carnivore food plans). I carry mine around with me.

Yesterday my experiment of boneless skinless chicken thighs cooking in the IP with a jar of salsa came out perfect! I will be eating that again today. When I put it away in the refrigerator I put it in the dish for the Hot Logic. So that can be plugged in and just heat up over several hours. Not heating up the kitchen or using any other pans. I will eat it right from the dish I stored it in. I love this little thing!
 

Last night we were supposed to have another bad storm but it passed us by. Got lucky!

People think I am silly for unplugging my electronics when I hear a storm coming in. But I have lost a printer due to it and the printer was not on. Just plugged in. My friend has lost 3 modems because she works from home and had to keep her computer online. My cousin's teenage son was on a front porch with others during a lightning storm when he was struck by it and killed. My neighbor across the hall told me he saw his friend killed by lightning and it was horrible. He cried when telling me about it and it happened many years ago. I could tell more. That is why.

When I was younger I was not afraid of it either. Now I am not as afraid as I was when I lived in my previous house. But I have great respect for it. Besides if my computer gets hit by it then I cannot afford to replace it at this time. Or it could start a fire if it is a direct hit.

I have a friend who lost her whole house due to a lightning strike. My parents lost an electric dryer in our house in FL due to lightning. And in their house up here the electric pole outside their house was struck and it also ruined the stove and the dryer. Had to go a few weeks with no power till NYSEG fixed the pole and wires to the house.

Do Surge Protectors Protect Against Lightning?
 
I had to order groceries for my son this morning. Set up the delivery for 12-2 PM.

Yesterday I called the mobility transportation company called Get There. The rep I spoke to told me that they don't own the vehicles or employ the drivers. What they do is find the transportation for the client (me) for the date and time needed. So I will see if I can get a ride to and from my doctor appointment. If it works out I will set up transportation in advance of every appointment I make.

Sonny is having a procedure (not sure what it is....an operation? Sounds like it) on August 22nd that scares the heck out of me. He said his doctor is going to STOP HIS HEART!! And then restart it!!! How can they do that? What if it does not restart? They say, "oh sorry. That didn't work out." I am really afraid for him to have this done. But he says he has no choice and that he trusts his cardiologist.
 
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katlupe said:
Last night we were supposed to have another bad storm but it passed us by. Got lucky!

People think I am silly for unplugging my electronics when I hear a storm coming in. But I have lost a printer due to it and the printer was not on. Just plugged in. My friend has lost 3 modems because she works from home and had to keep her computer online. My cousin's teenage son was on a front porch with others during a lightning storm when he was struck by it and killed. My neighbor across the hall told me he saw his friend killed by lightning and it was horrible. He cried when telling me about it and it happened many years ago. I could tell more. That is why.

When I was younger I was not afraid of it either. Now I am not as afraid as I was when I lived in my previous house. But I have great respect for it. Besides if my computer gets hit by it then I cannot afford to replace it at this time. Or it could start a fire if it is a direct hit.

I have a friend who lost her whole house due to a lightning strike. My parents lost an electric dryer in our house in FL due to lightning. And in their house up here the electric pole outside their house was struck and it also ruined the stove and the dryer. Had to go a few weeks with no power till NYSEG fixed the pole and wires to the house.

Do Surge Protectors Protect Against Lightning?
Click to expand...
All my extension gang sockets have surge protection. I wouldn't be without them, I;m sure it's saved my expensive tech on a few occasions..
 
katlupe said:
I had to order groceries for my son this morning. Set up the delivery for 12-2 PM.

Yesterday I called the mobility transportation company called Get There. The rep I spoke to told me that they don't own the vehicles or employ the drivers. What they do is find the transportation for the client (me) for the date and time needed. So I will see if I can get a ride to and from my doctor appointment. If it works out I will set up transportation in advance of every appointment I make.

Sonny is having a procedure (not sure what it is....an operation? Sounds like it) on August 22nd that scares the heck out of me. He said his doctor is going to STOP HIS HEART!! And then restart it!!! How can they do that? What if it does not restart? They say, "oh sorry. That didn't work out." I am really afraid for him to have this done. But he says he has no choice and that he trusts his cardiologist.
Click to expand...
Sonny's procedure does sound scary. Maybe you should research it so you'll have more information and feel more confident .
 
katlupe said:
I had to order groceries for my son this morning. Set up the delivery for 12-2 PM.

Yesterday I called the mobility transportation company called Get There. The rep I spoke to told me that they don't own the vehicles or employ the drivers. What they do is find the transportation for the client (me) for the date and time needed. So I will see if I can get a ride to and from my doctor appointment. If it works out I will set up transportation in advance of every appointment I make.

Sonny is having a procedure (not sure what it is....an operation? Sounds like it) on August 22nd that scares the heck out of me. He said his doctor is going to STOP HIS HEART!! And then restart it!!! How can they do that? What if it does not restart? They say, "oh sorry. That didn't work out." I am really afraid for him to have this done. But he says he has no choice and that he trusts his cardiologist.
Click to expand...
@katlupe , I'm sorry Sonny must undergo a procedure, but the point is to help him. Try to hang onto that... better health for Sonny!

I know you're scared, of course. I'll be sending positive vibes to you and prayers for both of you. If Sonny trusts his cardiologist he must have good reason.. 🌹
 
hollydolly said:
All my extension gang sockets have surge protection. I wouldn't be without them, I;m sure it's saved my expensive tech on a few occasions..
Click to expand...
I have surge protectors but if I had a direct hit it would not save my equipment. Even though they are probably rare the time my printer was hit was because it hit the inverter with a direct hit. My parents' house had a direct hit to the electric pole outside. I feel more confident turning everything off and unplugged.
 
Not having a good day at all. Putting a container of Keto Chow in the refrigerator and it slipped out of my hand and spilled all over my floor! There is 3 tbsp. of melted butter in it.......so you can imagine how slippery that will be. I finally got it wiped up but now have to mop. Then I can make the rest of the shakes. I am using Dawn to clean the floor and my long spongy mat that is in front of the sink and counter. I knew I was not looking forward to cantaloupe ice cream!
 
As I transitioned to my life here I found it hard to interact with friends I had made online. Due to not living on a homestead anymore. I still find it difficult at times. Most of those friends are still on their homesteads and don't have much in common with me. The friends I had on fakebook who were not part of that group of friends will often say they can't understand how I lived that way so long.

What they don't understand is that I wanted to live that way. It was hard but I thought there would be a time when all those hard jobs would disappear and I would have those conveniences that everyone takes for granted. It never happened.

I "googled" my user name to discover comments I had made on other blogs and forums back in 2009, 2010 & 2011. Mostly about canning, gardening, off-grid living, self-sufficiency, etc. It caused me to take a look back at my life. I still wonder what I am about now. I had no choice but to move from there to an apartment in the city. Even after six years I find it hard to define myself now.
 
katlupe said:
As I transitioned to my life here I found it hard to interact with friends I had made online. Due to not living on a homestead anymore. I still find it difficult at times. Most of those friends are still on their homesteads and don't have much in common with me. The friends I had on fakebook who were not part of that group of friends will often say they can't understand how I lived that way so long.

What they don't understand is that I wanted to live that way. It was hard but I thought there would be a time when all those hard jobs would disappear and I would have those conveniences that everyone takes for granted. It never happened.

I "googled" my user name to discover comments I had made on other blogs and forums back in 2009, 2010 & 2011. Mostly about canning, gardening, off-grid living, self-sufficiency, etc. It caused me to take a look back at my life. I still wonder what I am about now. I had no choice but to move from there to an apartment in the city. Even after six years I find it hard to define myself now.
Click to expand...
I would feel the same in your shoes Kat... You lived one type of life most of your life... out in the great outdoors off-grid, married.. lots of animals to take care of, fit and able... and then now find yourself living almost a complete opposite life...living in a city studio flat , single and with disabilities.. this has to really mess with the mind a lot... not that you're unhappy with where you live essentially.. but just that the whole thing is verrry different to how you lived the majority of your life... 🤗
 
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Today has been a productive day. I wrote a new blog post. Then spent hours cleaning my shower. Not that it was that dirty but I have problems getting things that are on the floor. Like the corners. One corner had my little 3 tier shelves where I keep my shampoo, conditioner and body wash. I took it out and took it apart to wash it real good.

That front corner of the shower where the shelf stood was dirty. I have spraying stuff on it to try to clean it. I am using the mop to scrub it but it is still hard to clean. Plus I am not strong enough to navigate the mop very hard on it. I am not giving up though. Soaking it right now.

Now I am fixing chicken for supper. Might not finish the shower till tomorrow but it doesn't matter. Just me here.
 
My friend called me yesterday to see if I was affected by the Microsoft outage. I wasn't. Told her I don't have any Microsoft products in my computer. She works for the hospital from home and in the middle of working her computer screen went crazy. She ended up taking a vacation day. She sounded stressed. She is still working and is a year younger than me. Not because she loves her job. She doesn't. Complains about it constantly.

If I lost the internet I would miss it. Sure. I am on it all day even though I am also doing other things. I come back to it through out the day for a bit. Especially when I am cleaning. I am trying to write more blog posts because that is how to keep it more active. People like to come to a blog that has recent posts. At first when I changed my topic from homesteading to a senior citizen on her own, it was hard for me to come up with topics. Now I am really living it. I am a senior citizen on my own.

Back to my friend, she is always saying something is going to happen. She thinks we will end up with no technology, no food in the stores, not able to use vehicles, etc. The normal "preppers" mind set. Even when I was living that homesteading life, I never thought that way.

My thought was that if you lost your job, had a blizzard, was sick and could not work, you could have enough food stored to live. Just storing food is not going to save the world. I did have times back on my homestead when I did rely on my own canned foods and the solar panels and wind turbine. Now not sure what I would do. I haven't really worried about it too much.
 
Today is a kind of can't make it's mind up type of day... sunny-ish..breezy-ish.. a lot cooler today than previous days at 75 deg ...

It's 2.30pm now.. and I've done nothing all morning really.. except put laundry away....

I'm going to go into the garden in a few minutes and check out some plants.. my recently planted variety of flowers into 1/2 barrels are absolutely flourishing...

I've just paid some bills... left me with a very low balance which I don't like that at all..

I could have just paid the minimum on the Balance of my cards and left myself with more money .. but I hate to do that, I much prefer to pay the whole outstanding balance in one go... ...so I have to curb my spending this month. Still, I have 2 full freezers & fridge.... and a tank of fuel.. so that'll suffice very well until next pay day
 

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