THANK YOU ANGIE!!!

          As long as I’m being grateful for assistance provided by my kids, I need to thank my daughter-in-law, Angie, for her help with my various computer/phone problems. And, it’s not just one time, but multiple times, especially recently.

          Back in November, my phone suddenly decided it didn’t want me to have access to my Outlook email. I let it go for a bit, thinking it might correct itself. Hey, sometimes those gremlins leave withoput being encouraged to do so. Angie spent at least an hour or more on the phone with me, the end result being I had access to my email on my phone.

          At the same time, Angie convinced me to get a new phone. It would only cost me ninety-nine cents a month for thirty-six months, my current phone was three years old, and the screen was cracked. It sounded like a good idea so I visited the AT&T store only to learn the offer was available just online  So, Angie ordered my new phone.

          Angie works at a school adjacent the Mountlake Terrace Pool. I went there one morning before my exercise class which Angie thought was held next door. That wasn’t the case, so she ended up doing most of the work in transferring all my information from the old phone to the new. I would say 99.9% of the information moved over and what didn’t wasn’t terribly important.

          It took a while for me to learn how to use my new phone as well as my old phone. During this time, my Outlook email on my desktop computer decided it didn’t want to play nice. It stopped giving me new emails and not sending out emails. All it said was “send/receive error.” So frustrating.

          Since I didn’t want to bother Angie with this, I endeavored to fix it myself, all to no avail. I took to getting my email via Xfinity, but there were problems with that, i.e., it took forever to reach my emails and apparently my Outlook contacts were not available through Xfinity, so unless I had memorized the recipient email or was replying to an email, my emails didn’t get sent.

          The most important gift Angie gave me for Christmas was a coupon for IT assistance. I availed myself of this offer this past weekend. Angie had a program which allowed her to “drive” my computer once I had downloaded the same program. It’s really weird to sit in my chair and watch my cursor move around the screen without my doing anything at all.

          The problem wasn’t an easy fix. We were on the phone for more than an hour while Angie tried a variety of fixes, most of which didn’t make sense to me at all. When Outlook email suddenly began downloading, I said, “It’s working. What did you do?”

          Angie’s response was, “You were watching. You saw what I did.” \

          "Yes," I admitted, "I was watching, but it still doesn’t make any sense to me.”

          I extended my profuse thanks to Angie for correcting my problem. I was/am so grateful. I also just had to ask, “So, this coupon, is it a one-time use only coupon or may I use it again?” Lucky me, Angie’s response was that it had no expiration date and I could use it more than once.

          It is my hope I don’t have to resort to additional requests; however, I made a notation on the coupon of the date I received assistance. Depending on the number of notations on that coupon at the end of 2024, Angie may deserve more than my profuse thanks…an extra special Christmas gift perhaps.

"Its what sons do for their Ma’s.”...

  

        is what my son said to me after I thanked him profusely for spending half his Saturday dealing with my problem. That may be the case, but this mom is still extremely grateful.

          There is a Facebook friend who always posts a public service announcement when the Seattle weather forecast calls for freezing temperatures. He offers great advice which I usually follow. Unfortunately, this time his sharing went in one eye and out the other.

          Early Saturday morning when I first got up, I noticed my Nespresso machine had very little water in its container. I removed it and took it to the sink where I twisted the faucet as I always do. Nothing happened. Not being fully awake, I twisted it again and was amazed at the lack of pressure behind the faucet. Even barely awake, I managed to yell several naughty epithets because I knew somewhere my pipe(s) had frozen. I also knew why…because I hadn’t left the bathroom cold water faucet dripping as my FB friend suggested.

          It’s been at least a couple decades since the Karlberg water pipes froze. I discovered the problem when I got up to get in the shower for work. No water, no shower, no work. It was a big deal and I remember John renting some huge blower thing to warm up the garage and the pipes located there. If memory serves, the pipe(s) cracked, so John had to use his plumbing skills. Unfortunately, his initial attempt apparently wasn’t quite up to par because the following Friday, there was once again no water to the shower. Two Fridays in a row…I’m sure my boss thought I made it up.

          Fortunately, I had filled the water container in the fridge so I was able to water both my Nespresso and Kuma. I had my latte and waited until 8:00 am when I texted my son AJ…”I regret to inform you my pipes froze. Going to call plumber neighbor at 9:00 am.” I got a text back, “Call me.”

          The end result was AJ came over and figured out where the water had frozen. It was the hose bib at the front of the house. He thawed it with his heat gun; and let me tell you, the sound of water gushing out of the open faucets was music to my ears. He told me the cover I’d put on the hose bib was actually worthless.

          AJ’s assistance didn’t stop there. He went off to Ace Hardware and bought a heat strip and performed the installation. There was already a heat strip on the other side of the garage door which wasn’t plugged in. He plugged that in too. n.b. When John redid the water line from the street, he brought the pipe in to the right side of the garage door, then up and over and down the left side. I think it was the second Friday when he installed insulation over all those pipes.

          I made AJ a latte and he played a bit with Kuma, having bought him a Cow Ball when he was at Ace…it’s been Kuma’s favorite toy since. With hugs and my deepest gratitude, AJ left to go home and relax for the remainder of the day. I collapsed on the couch, grateful my problem hadn’t required his entire day or one of those huge heaters. As I’m relaxing there’s a knock on the door and it’s AJ. He’d returned with a ceramic heater which he installed on the left side of the garage. He didn’t trust that old heat tape and wanted to make sure the water remained fluid. He provided me with instructions so I would know how it functions as well as when to turn it on.

          Now, he’d solved my original problem when he left for home the first time, so he really didn’t need to do anything additional, sort of go that extra mile, but he did. My thanks and hugs were even more generous when he left for home the second time. Saturday night AJ texted to make sure I’d turned the heater on as instructed. I replied I had and once again professed my thanks. His responding text was, “Its what sons do for their Ma’s.”

          Aren’t I the lucky (and profoundly grateful) mom though!!! Yes, I am. Yes, I am.

LOST ANOTHER YEAR, MAYBE FIVE, OFF MY LIFE

          When my children were growing up there were events that increased my heart rate, made me sweat; and, I was absolutely positive, took at least a year off my life. Children now grown, I thought those kinds of experiences were far behind. I was wrong.

          If you read my blog posts, you know I have a wonderful companion in Kuma, my Cutsey Putsey Puppy. I cannot begin to describe how his presence in my life has provided such positive benefits. As a result of this relationship, I believe I lost not one, but more like five years off whatever life time I have left. Allow me to explain.

          Since early last fall, I’ve had a heating pad plugged in so I can turn it on, lean against it and allow its heat to improve my back pain. The cord comes around the end of the couch and up to the pad itself on the couch. Kuma was laying on the floor chewing away on his boney-bone. I was reclining, watching television. Things were calm and peaceful with only the folks on TV talking over Kuma’s noisy bone crunching.

          Suddenly, Kuma began to yelp and cry and carry on. I sat up and looked down at him. The heating pad cord was in his mouth and he was being electrocuted. I pushed the coffee table away and grabbed the cord. I gave it a yank. It didn’t release. I gave it another HUGE yank and it came free.

          Kuma was trembling and looked shocked (pun intended). I gathered him up and held him close. His expression seemed to say, “What the fuck just happened?????” While he was recovering, I pried open his mouth to look for burns and didn’t find any…thank God. When he began licking his back leg, I thought perhaps there was a burn there, but nope, it was just wet from where he’d peed himself. Yes, Kuma had peed and defecated during his electrocution. I felt so bad and kept him close until he wanted to be free of me.

          It took about an hour before Kuma returned to his normal self, encouraging me to throw his bally-ball, play tug of war, and act pretty much as he always did. Still, I worried, so much so, that after we went to bed and Kuma was sound asleep, I woke him up just to be sure he was breathing okay.

          Once Kuma seemed okay, I went online and looked up electrocution of dogs. I learned I should not have grabbed the cord, but unplugged it…hey, I could reach the cord more quickly. I learned it was a good thing I didn’t touch Kuma because I could have been electrocuted as well. I also learned I should look for burns which I had already done. There was additional information about long-term effects. Lastly, I learned I should call Kuma’s vet.

          The following morning, I called the vet and explained what had happened. To the information Kuma had no burns, I added the fact Kuma was eating, drinking, playing and doing his business outside as he normally did. The receptionist told me they’d get back to me after she talked to the doctor.

          That phone call didn’t come until close to the end of the day. It was reassuring and told me the only thing I needed to be aware of was Kuma’s respirations. When an electrocution happens, some times within about forty-eight hours, the animal’s lungs will begin to fill with fluid. I had read that online as well.

          I’m happy to report Kuma is doing just fine. He acts as though absolutely nothing happened at all. As for me, well, last Sunday night I actually wondered if I should call 911 for myself. My heart rate was extremely high and I was sweating as if I’d run a marathon. While I didn’t resort to 911, I have come to the conclusion Kuma is responsible for my losing another year…or maybe five…off my life.

          The only really important fact, however, is that Kuma is just fine!!!

SLEEPLESSNESS

 

          Every so often, I have a horrible sleepless night. I go to bed and expect to go to sleep after I read a bit or watch some old program on TV. Hours later I’m still wide awake. Numerous times, I’ve turned the light off and on, read another chapter, or run through channels in the hope of finding an old and mundane program that will allow my eyes to slam shut. Nothing works.

          The way my body feels beneath the covers reminds me of taking speed in my hippie days. Those criss-cross pills kept me awake and electrified my entire body. That’s what I wanted back then, but not tonight. Now, I take sleep aids which, on these difficult nights, seem to have no effect whatsoever.

          I toss and turn, try to find a comfortable position all to no avail. No matter how my body is positioned, something hurts, itches, cramps or jerks as if I have no control over whatever part of me thats affected. Besides, when I do find a position that seems as though it’s going to work, that’s when whatever door in my brain hides the monsters I’d much rather ignore bursts open and allows them to erupt out of whatever portion of my mind they inhabit.

          The first fiend is always how lonely I feel, even though Kuma’s warmth is pressed against me. The idea I’ll never ever feel another body adjacent, skin to skin, legs entangled, arms wrapped around each other is dispiriting. I long for the sound of my husband’s breath, even his snoring. My inability to reach out and feel his heartbeat beneath my hand leaves me feeling like I’m alone in space without a tether.

          Frustration at my inability to go to sleep comes and goes as the minutes turn into hours and always increases my heart rate. My head hurts and makes me to wonder if I’m having a stroke, or even a heart attack. This is always followed by thoughts of how long it would be before someone found me, dead or paralyzed. My car doesn’t leave the garage every day, and I don’t always go out and about the neighborhood. There are days where I don’t talk, text, or see another person. These thoughts are scary and also cause my heart to beat faster, which only increases my frustration.

          It also seems like when the door holding these thoughts opens and allows them to run amuck, I contemplate various past events or actions. This leads to wondering what I could have or should have done differently. It’s ridiculous to even think about that because they are all in the past and there’s absolutely nothing now that could change a single thing. It’s an exercise in futility. Still, these revisitations are always uncomfortable and add to my irritation and exasperation.

          Ordinarily, I don’t get up and resort to some activity. This morning that changed. I thought perhaps if I allowed the thoughts to flow out through my fingers, I might feel better. I’m not sure I do. My eyes are dry and tired. My body aches in so many places just sitting in this chair is uncomfortable. I’m exhausted and angry.

Most normal mornings at this time, I get up and go to the bathroom; then return to bed for another couple hours of sleep. I wonder if I do that now if sleep will finally come. A couple of hours would be better than none. I wonder if instead I should just make myself a latte, turn on the living room TV and dispiritedly welcome the day. Whichever choice I make, I know today will be difficult because I am so disheartened and fatigued.

My inability to sleep was not a conscious choice, but how I’m going to face today definitely is. Whatever selection I make, i.e., return to bed or stay up will lead inevitably to my day…whether it will be horrible, well, it's up to me to choose.

ALREADY, I MAY NEVER BE

         

          Today, Thursday, I took my car in to have it detailed as I do every fall. It’s too big and I’m too wise (old) to vacuum, clean the inside and wash and wax it myself. My friend Claudia picked me up and we went out to breakfast at a restaurant neither of has been to since we retired from the zoo.

          Tummies full, we decided to go to Swanson’s Nursery…indoor plants were 30% off plus it was wise people’s day so we got another 10% for 40%. Since we were in Wallingford, Claudia drove over to and through Ballard to the last road that heads north. It's definitely not the Ballard we remember from just a decade or so ago. Then, she took all back roads and almost all of them had water views. Some of the homes were astounding and I cannot begin to imagine the property taxes. One we passed was for sale for $1,850,000 and it didn't have much of a view. We also drove past the first house John and I lived in as a married couple. It’s been updated and added to and must be worth a bundle these days…too bad we didn’t take advantage of our landlord’s offer to sell it to us back in 1969.

          At Swanson’s, we began to wander around one of the indoor plant sections. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something glittery. When I looked, it was almost an entire wall full of Christmas ornaments…YES, Christmas ornaments!!! It had been all Halloween on our way inside.

          We did walk over and peruse all the offerings, but I didn’t see anything that would be applicable as this year’s grandkid ornaments. Still, seeing all that Christmassy stuff, kind of made me not very happy. You see, I have to make a decision about whether or not I’m going to decorate for Christmas this year. At the moment, I’m tending toward doing absolutely nothing.

          Part of the problem is that the Christmas tree I had last year was pretty much at the end of its life, so I got rid of it. That means I need to replace the tree and I seriously do not want to spend hundreds of dollars on a tree that will require effort to decorate for a measly thirty days of the year. I do know I can spend way less, but then the tree does look very fake. Then, too, there’s the boxes of Christmas stuff in the attic. I’d need to have someone come over and haul them out of the attic. And, it’s not that my kids or grandkid wouldn’t be willing to do so, it’s just that once it’s down, it takes a lot of effort to utilize.

          For those of you who haven’t been to my house, I have a lot of glass stuff sitting around all over the place. I love all of it and almost every single thing tells me a story. During the other eleven months of the year, this paraphernalia requires dusting, which I also hate and which doesn’t get done on a weekly (or maybe even monthly) basis. In order to decorate for Christmas, I have to pack it all up and put it somewhere else so I can replace it with Christmassy stuff. Lots of time and effort is required.

          When the thirty days of Christmas are over, it’s then time to dust and clean the Christmas gear and pack it away for another eleven months and ask someone to come back over and put the boxes in the attic. Once that’s accomplished, it’s time to bring out the ordinary stuff and dust and clean it prior to replacing it around the house.

          So, this leads to my quandary…should I decorate for Christmas or not. Yes, I love hauling out the decorations and taking trip after trip down memory lane with practically each and every ornament and display piece, but do I really want to take those trips this year? And, yes, when I’m returning the everyday things to their places, I also enjoy the trips they provide to times and events gone by.

          Finally, I no longer have Christmas events or many visitors to my home during the holiday season. Claudia’s advice is to do it if it’s something I really want to do for myself, that decorating isn’t for others. Maybe as the holidays get closer, I’ll have a change of heart/mind, but right now, I’m leaning heavily toward not decorating…I’ll let you know if I come to my senses (unless I’m already there).

THE BEST HOUSEMATE EVER

10/6/22

          As of October 6^th, Kuma has been my housemate for an entire year, and I cannot begin to express the love, joy, and fun, as well as the annoyances he’s brought into my life. I wouldn’t trade him for anything and am hoping that my life ends with him curled up against my back.

          I’ve written previous blogs about this wondrous puppy…I know he’s a dog, but he’ll always be puppy to me…but in the off chance I left something out, I’m going to sing his praises once again because that makes me happy.

          First, Kuma is a terrible nag and he does it without saying a word or even barking. I’ve been amazed at how he has adjusted to a schedule and how much having it change seems to annoy him…and me.  For instance, in the morning, he’s up and down off the bed at 6:30 am until I indicate I’m awake and getting up. Then he has to lick as much of me as he can reach and encourage me to pet him by taking my hand in his mouth. Then, once I’ve had my coffee and 7:30 am is nigh, he comes to the side of the couch and stares intently into my eyes until I get up and get moving, i.e., do my exercises. That’s his signal to get into his chair where he remains until I change rooms. Then he moves to the hallway outside the bedroom door. He waits there until I reach my last exercise and then he jumps onto the bed because he knows when I finish that one, I’ll lay on him and give him a full body hug, scratch, pet all while telling him what a wonderful Cutsie Putsie Puppy he is.

          When we went to the ocean last month, my son advised me to make sure Kuma was wearing his tags and remained on a leash…how much fun is that??? Yes, he wore his collar, but I let him off leash so he could run as fast as the wind up and down the beach. No matter where he ended up, I would always see him looking to check where I was and he always returned.

Lots more room

          Just recently, for what I thought was Kuma’s benefit, I made some furniture location changes and he has yet to totally adjust. Since the dining room chair with arms was really too small, I made my dining room table as small as possible with only four chairs. I moved the chairs with arms into a bedroom. Then, I moved the papasan chair from the back corner of the living room to the dining room in front of the fireplace. I also moved Kuma’s crate into the garage since I no longer confine him there when I leave the house. About the only time he’d go into the crate was when people came to visit. Since that doesn’t happen often, I can put him in the laundry room for that purpose.

          The first day this was implemented, Kuma walked throughout the house looking for “his” chair, or that’s what I assumed he was doing. When he received his breakfast treat, he turned from me and went to jump into his papasan chair which was no longer in its usual location. He looked a bit sad and confused and lay upon the rug to eat his treat. Over a week later, he’s finally becoming accustomed to the changes.

          I put a nice very soft turquoise blanket over the papasan chair. It is like the ones I used to put in his crate. For some reason, the fabric these blankets are made of encourages Kuma to chew, chew, chew. Every blanket he’s had has been chewed into tatters and it appears the turquoise one is going that way as well. I don’t know if it feels good in his mouth or if he can’t stand it against his fur.    He doesn’t eat it, so I end up picking up pieces.

Chewing Away

          Somehow, I began a very bad habit without thinking about it. I bought Kuma those yak bones because he loves to chew. Since they are kind of long, I initially held it while Kuma chewed. It didn’t take him long to figure out my holding the boney-bone was greatly preferable to holding it with his own paws. He even wants me to hold them when they become small and there might be a tendency for him to bite me. My son suggested I get a glove that would allow me to hold the boney-bone without getting bit…not sure I’m going to spoil Kuma quite that much.

          When I’m at work in the garden, Kuma has always done his best to get in my way. I finally found something that will keep him occupied for at least an hour or so. I was with a friend when she bought frozen beef bones for her dog. I bought a package as well and Kuma loves them. I give him a frozen one and it takes a bit of time before the marrow is gone and any fleshy remnants have been chewed off. Of course, he then wants me to throw it or hold it while he continues to chew, so I have to get my gardening done quickly.

          As I reported some time ago, a loving anonymous reader sent me a product called Pet Corrector. When you press the button compressed air comes out and makes a noise. Kuma doesn’t like it. Now I don’t usually have to even  pickup the container. A simple, stern “NO BARK” has him getting off the couch and taking refuge in the chair across the room. There, he continues to make soft barks/growls as if to let me know, “Fine, I won’t lean into the window and bark loudly, but you can’t make me stop this way over here.” I’m afraid to try it in the car for fear he’ll make some kind of movement that will cause me to have an accident. So, he still barks at dogs he sees from the car.

          On the trip to the ocean, Kuma was unbelievably good. Maybe it was because he was with his friend Chicken, but he didn’t bark at another dog while on or off his leash. Maybe I need to find a person with a dog with whom we could walk so he doesn’t go nuts when he sees another dog. I don’t know if that would work, but I hate being unable to take him places on a leash when he goes nuts at other dogs. Off leash, he’s fine, doesn’t bark and does his best to get the other dog(s) to interact with him.

          Finally, I’m probably a horrible pet owner, mainly because I share my food with Kuma. I know I’m not supposed to give him human food, but Kuma always gets at least a bite of whatever I’m eating. Amazingly, he loves most vegetables and waits patiently when I’m making salad for bites of carrot, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini. He really likes them though once I’ve put feta cheese, avacados and dressing on the entire salad. I had to laugh the first time I gave him cucumbers with dressing on them. I thought he ate them, but like some small child, he licked off the dressing and the cucumber chips somehow ended up between the cushions of the couch…clever boy, huh. Anyway, I enjoy sharing with Kuma even though it’s probably bad for him.

          I began this blog post last Friday on the anniversary of Kuma’s coming home and have worked on it off and on since then. So, I think it’s way past time to put the finished product out there. Hope you’ve enjoyed.

LICENSE TABS

          It only took me more than nine months to realize I had been driving around illegally and could have been stopped at any point in time. It only took two months for me to realize I didn’t have up-to-date insurance information in my car.

          I’m sure I would have continued to drive around blissfully unaware I didn’t have my 2023 tags on my license plate. I could have done the same with the insurance information. The only reason I discovered I hadn’t renewed my tabs when they were due last December or printed out insurance information the beginning of July was because I cleaned out my car.

          Now, I didn’t have to clean out the glove compartment. I planned on just making sure Kuma’s hair was off the passenger seat, that his nose prints had been scrubbed off the side windows and that the various detritus had been vacuumed up off the floors. I got that done and since I plan on having my car detailed after the upcoming trip to the ocean where my friend and our two dogs will undoubtedly bring in lots of sand, I figured I might as well go whole hog and clean the debris out of the glove compartments as well. My detail place doesn’t want you to leave stuff in your car.

          In the envelop that holds the paperwork the police would want to see, I had numerous registrations and insurance papers. I went through those and took out all the expired ones. That was when I realized I didn’t have the latest paperwork. I couldn’t believe I had neglected to take care of this business.

          John always gave me my car registration as a Christmas gift. All I had to do was stick the tab on the license plate and the paperwork in the car. The first time I had to do it myself was 2019 and I barely made it to the license place to pick up the tabs and registration before it closed on December 31. The next two years I managed to take care of business in a timely manner. I don’t know what happened last December. I did find the renewal reminder in the glove box as well, so I guess I had planned on doing something with it.

          Anyway, I’m getting on a ferry at 9:35 am and am planning on getting to the license place at 9:00 am to pick up the tab that will be good for only three and a half months. Hopefully, I can dash in and out and stick the tab on the plate on the ferry. Not complaining though since I’ve managed to get through the entire year, so far, without having the police stop and ticket me. I’m hoping my good luck continues for another seventeen hours. Fingers crossed, prayers said, candles lit, Buddha’s belly rubbed.

          I’ve also put a note in my calendar for December…RENEW LICENSE TABS!!!...and, I’ve made it a recurring note that will continue until I no longer need a renewal. Can’t wait to hear what my kids have to say about this…actually, I can definitely wait.