Monday, January 17, 2022

a timely donation, a box, MLK/GOP, doctors, and covid

As volunteers at SHARE we'll bring something home occasionally that we want or need. The Elders generally take a few things like snacks or frozen pizza at the administration's urging. This week a box of dried garbanzo beans showed up which I've been keeping an eye out for at the grocery store and haven't been able to find because Marc wants to make falafel and it requires dried garbanzo beans. So, yay! Maybe there's falafel in my future.

I finally got the two trumpet flower pieces boxed up and ready to send out Monday. I always double box my work. First I wrap the piece in bubble wrap and put it in a box with preferably 2” extra space all around which I fill with foam so that it is well cushioned on all six sides. That box goes into a bigger box with ideally 2” of space all the way around that gets filled with peanuts, when I have them, bagged in the plastic bags that the newspaper comes in so they don't scatter, or foam or, in this case, some honeycombed cardboard that the new vanity came packed with and crumpled newspaper. I have very limited choices of box sizes out here for the outer box. The ideal size I needed was 14” x 16” x 15” Walmart has always had a medium size box 16” x 16” x 17” tall, easy enough to cut down the height. Did they have it on Wednesday? No. The medium size box they had was 14” x 19” x 17” tall so I was looking at taking the thing apart and cutting it down in length as well as height. But then Thursday someone brought in a donation in the old medium size box which I immediately claimed and cut down the height by 2” and got it done. Have to wait til tomorrow to send it out because MLK Day.

And so today the hypocrisy shines bright from the GOP and Republican congresspeople as they post on FB and tweet about what a great man MLK Jr. was and how he fought for equality in life and justice for people of color, really all Americans, while at the same time they are passing legislation that suppresses the vote of people of color or obstructing legislation that would expand the rights of Americans to vote and in some instances lying outright like our governor Abbott who tweeted “Nearly 60 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. articulated a vision of freedom, equality, & opportunity in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. He inspired hope in our nation. And that beacon of hope & liberty still burns bright in Texas.” while he and our Republican legislature are actively suppressing the vote and trying to prevent the history of this country's suppression of black people being taught in our public schools.

You might remember the last crown I got last October, they had a hell of a time getting a temporary crown, took like four tries before they got one that didn't break apart either before or while they were adjusting the bite, and the fourth successful one came off later in the day. When the permanent crown came in I asked the dentist if it was going to stay on considering the trouble they had with the temporary. Absolutely, he said, I'm using the strongest glue available. Well, Friday morning as I was eating my oatmeal for breakfast, it came off. Not only that, it's got a hole in it. I go in tomorrow morning.

And speaking of doctors, I went to the ophthalmologist this afternoon. You might also remember last January when I got my eyesight tested the optometrist said I was developing cataracts (as well as age related macular degeneration) and should go see an ophthalmologist late summer about it. A little late but better late than never. So good news, she says I am developing a cataract in my left eye but it's not bad enough for surgery yet and while she sees a few gray spots in my right eye she wouldn't call it macular degeneration. She seemed a little skeptical of the optometrist and wanted to know where I had gone. She says I have 20/20 in my right eye which is doing my far seeing and 20/50 in my left which is doing my close up seeing and could correct my vision with glasses but as long as I wasn't having any problems seeing or reading, which I'm not, it was up to me so I declined. Come back in a year unless things go south sooner than I think they will she says.

Covid finally hit my family. My grandson Mikey tested positive last Monday and Autumn tested positive after she got back from Ecuador last week, but not Jade so all the girls went and got tested Saturday. Autumn is still positive as is Robin now but not Jade or Sarah. The two boys and Audra are getting tested later this week. In other news Mikey and Audra and, of course, baby Paisleigh, have decided to move to Arkansas where her family lives, where Audra is from. There's a tiny house on Audra's parent's property that they are going to move into. This isn't surprising really, we all expected that they would move to Arkansas eventually. Gonna miss that baby though.

Minnie this morning...


What do you mean it's time to get up? 



28 comments:

  1. Sorry about the covid news, and I hope everyone will get well soon.

    I was sad about Paisleigh moving, though. You've so enjoyed her. And I've loved the pictures.

    I trust fervently that the packing keeps your glass pieces safe. It should, considering your experience with shipping.

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    1. Fortunately no one is very sick. And I will miss the baby, would like to see her before they move but hesitant about going over there with covid in the house.

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  2. You might need a different dentist....I say this crown thing is unacceptable. Glad you got all of the gear together to send, I nearly went to the post office to post a box today but was too lazy, lazy saved me time and gas. Sorry your kids are moving with the baby to Arkansas, a state that never enters my mind. Advantage of living there says google is that it is cheap and warm. Loads of nature to nature in.

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    1. It's not his lack of skill so much as the difficultness of this particular tooth. He's done 7 previous crowns for me that I have no complaint with.

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  3. Covid has been at bay for us. My step-daughter and her husband have come close to getting it because John works for the Lt Gov here in Texas. So far they have been negative and very healthy. Minnie reminds me of Xander. He loves to be loved and always wants to cuddle. He also loves to be wrapped in a warm blanket. Thursday it's going to be freezing cold and I suspect the puppies and Sweetie, our acquired cat that has adopted us since she had her kittens last year, will all stay inside under blankets.

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  4. It looks to me like Minnie is in the best place.

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  5. The point you make about politicians praising Dr. King and then trying to undo all these years of the changes he helped create is absolutely on point. Fucking hypocrites. They have no shame, do they?
    Yes, your family is certainly being affected. May everyone glide through it easily and come out the other end stronger and with doubled immune responses.
    I love how you refer to "The Elders." Haha! Little boys still wet behind the ears. But they have the priesthood!

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    1. They not only have no shame, they have zero integrity and basically just don't give a shit. Same to your family now that Owen has it. Everyone so far is not very sick. As for the Elders, if you ask them what their name is they'll say Elder and their last name, won't give you their first name so I tease them that they all have the same first name. Though Robin did manage to tease a first name out of one of them.

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  6. Hope everyone recovers quickly from Covid and it stops spreading through your family.

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  7. This virus is definitely still spreading. It is so sad to watch it hit our families. My niece and her husband had it, and their little three month wasn't feel too well either. I hope everyone recovers quickly there.
    Bummer about that crown. I hope the next one is perfect.
    Take care there and stay safe and healthy.

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    1. Thanks. No one is very sick so I guess they've got the Omicron version. The two granddaughters are vaccinated, the grandson is not.

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  8. Jeez, I feel like Minnie. People are coming down with Covid all over the place, and I want to hide under the blankets! I can't believe those Texas Republicans. But the people who support them have no shame.

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  9. Out of all the many things on this post I could comment on, what I really want now is falafel! Need to add that to the list of things for Mike to make for me. Ha!

    Hope all the COVID folks have mild cases & that you & Marc avoid it. And I'm sorry that the baby is moving, but yes it's usually nice for a new mom to be near her family.

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    1. She's been wanting to move back but Mikey wanted to be here with his father. Lot of drama at the house last weekend and everyone decided it was time for them to get a place of their own.

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  10. Yuk about the tooth, I hope you can get a better glue this time.
    But good news about the eye sight.

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    1. Having a new crown made, this time steel with ceramic coating, old style since whatever material they use now advertised to be a strong as steel wasn't in this case. The tooth is very worn down and the previous crown was very thin on one side and I wore a hole through it which is probably why it came off.

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  11. Oh man, I don't know where to start. Going backwards that dog is to die for cute!! LOL And as for Texas's Republican crew, "Just sweep it under the rug, Gus. No one will remember what really went on." I mean, really?? It does boggle the mind... So glad your eyes will hold for a while. Cataract surgery is simple and virtually painless. The bad part is having to put all those drops in your eye(s) for days on end, but eventually, that ends and all is clear. As for your crown, I hate to think about my own dental woes. You've surely had more than your fair share in these past few months. Don't even know if changing dentists would be worth the effort, considering that you've already been seen by two different ones. Hang in there and thanks for your comment on my blog about the virus. You're right... hate to admit it, but it's looking almost inevitable that everyone gets some form of it.

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    1. No, just the one dentist and the problem is not him or his skill but this particular worn down way in the back difficult tooth of mine. He's been bringing my dental work up to date since it's all old and failing. He's done 7 crowns for me that I have had no problem with. He's having a new crown made, this time the old style steel cap with porcelain coating. Doubt I'll be wearing a hole through this one.

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  12. Sad to be losing so many granddaughters in one swell foop. But to score a bag of garbanzos for falafel is a bonanza.

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  13. Now I'm focused on garbanzo beans. I can't remember ever seeing them in the store, but now I'm going to look. I'm on a black bean kick just now, and am loving them. It's a shame that Paisleigh's going to be less available for cuddles, but if I were to move out of Texas for any reason (which I can't imagine) Arkansas would be the place I'd go. I know it has a reputation as being hicksville, but it's a gorgeous state, and the people I've met there have been wonderful. I'd love to make one more trip there, but just now I'm making myself stay put to earn those dollars.

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    1. I've never been to Arkansas but I don't think I'd move there no matter how pretty. It's extremely poor and at the bottom of nearly every quality of life list. And it has a Democrat in name only senator.

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  14. Eek, covid is running rampant. May your family all have light cases.

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  15. So sorry to hear COVID caught up with your family too, I've got it and one other emember of our immediate family, so we have four who are Negative and Two Positive and I'm in Quarantine... the School Aged Kiddo can return to School Tomorrow they said. I Hope your Family members recover fully, mine will be a long haul since I caught Pneumonia too and that's a longer recovery period. As for the ReTrumplicans and the States they Control, the hypocrisy is nauseating and so clearly fake when they pretend to Care about any Social Issue. All they Care about is staying in Power, radicalizing their Base and trying to destroy Democracy since they feel they're losing Control and may never get it back in any free and fair election ever again. There are no longer True Conservatives in that party, it got hijacked and now it's morphed into a Cult.

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    1. Everyone had a mild case and is recovering. Hope you are better soon. I do hope that all these investigations are coming to a head soon exposing their heinous attacks of our democracy, voting rights, attacks on teaching our actual history. They don't just want to control the government, they want to control what we see, hear, and learn.

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  16. My son just ended his bout of Covid. All my kids are in MN, so no passing it on to us. I have not hugged my daughter or her children in three years! No visits at all. I have seen my son and my younger daughter when HeWho had his heart attack and then saw my younger daughter and my favorite grandson on Thanksgiving. Do you suppose we will be referring to life before Covid and after Covid from here on out? Sounds like you need a new dentist!!

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    1. Re covid, probably. Or not. It's become endemic, there will be not 'after covid'. We'll just get a covid shot every year. The dentist is good, it's just this particular tooth and the way it wore down. He's done seven other crowns for me that are fine.

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