bhayling

The alarm woke me up from the strangest dream. It was a snow-pocalypse. Snow-mageddon? I was standing out in the snow – so much snow – and in the distance I could see a high drift of snow, not like a mountain of snow, more like a really tall but thin drift of snow (like, several stories high) that looked like it could collapse at any moment. And then it did collapse and it was scary. All that snow falling. If it had been a wave, there would’ve been a tsunami. I can only think that my subconscious is telling me how much I’m going to hate the upcoming winter and any snow we get.

I didn’t do any shopping this morning, but I did freeze my ass off at McD’s. I don’t know what’s going on with this owner; the person who took my order said that she has complained to upper management before, but no one does anything. Someone (a former employee who still has connections with other employees) told me that he’s refusing to turn on the heat until it reaches 30 degrees outside. Well, I would like to inform him that it ~has reached 30 degrees outside, thank you very much.

(I looked it up once before, and there is no law/regulation as to how warm a business has to keep their premises, unfortunately.) But I did send a complaint via their website. I also plan to look them up on Yelp or something to leave a bad review. I figured that might get their attention. What’s the best place for that? Update: I left the same review on Yelp and Google Reviews.

I drove mom to her treatment, did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for a couple walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. I stopped at Sunnycrest on the way home from mom’s to get more beef sticks for Pip. Given the option, Pip chose leftovers for supper again instead of having me cook something new to add to the leftovers in the fridge.

I watched some HGTV programs and did a skim re-watch of Top Gun to take some notes. I’m also excited because I was going through the guide and found a station that I love, but that Spectrum was not carrying when we switched. Nat Geo Wild! I get to see my vet and zoo shows again!! Sciatica pain was very low level again today. Hopefully this means it's really on the way out this time.

Temps started out at 25.9(F) and reached 53.2. There was some sun, but it was still cold.


Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay today. ( more back here )

I had a chiropractic appointment this morning. Sciatica was noticeable today (a sharp-ish pain below my buttock at the top of my thigh), but not horrible. I hit Walmart, Agway and the Pharmacy while I was downtown. I also picked up Chinese for lunch.

(They opened early, which excited me because I thought I'd have to wait 20 min for them to open before I could order. So I ordered and returned 20 min later, but even though the food was ready, the cook was still the only person there and he obviously did not do cashing out. So I had to wait for that person, who was a good 10 min late. Then they realized he'd made the wrong thing for me, so I had to wait for him to make the correct thing. *head desk* It took as long as if they'd just opened on time at 11am.)

I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, went for a walk with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered. Supper was leftovers, which was nice for me. *g*

I watched the current ep of Tracker and some HGTV programs, and finished Top Gun: Maverick. Which has given me a bunny separate from what the person at fandomgiftbasket asked for. o_O It felt nice to be able to be home all afternoon without having to run mom to an appointment.

Temps started out at 25.9(F) and reached 49.1. There was sun, but it was cold.


Mom Update:

I did not see mom today as Sister A took her to her treatment. I did speak to her on the telephone and she sounded good. She said the appointment went well, but walking into the building was hard. (I did not say ‘I told you so’ about keeping up walking at home over the weekend. Yes, it was difficult.)

I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, swept the hallway, went for a walk with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and changed kitty litter. I also softened a gallon jug of honey on the stove and poured it into canning jars to give to my family. (We have one more that’s been sitting around that needs softening, plus the bee-guy (who keeps hives at the garage, and used to keep them on our property at home) has told Pip he has more honey for him, so we need to use up the old.)

I’ve been wanting to do this for months (see: procrastination) because I wanted to send a package, including honey, to Alaska!niece. She loves it and it’s hard to get up there, and very expensive.

I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie and part of Top Gun: Maverick. I also attended Ireland’s Sweet 16 birthday party. (I can’t believe it!)

My buttock/leg started to hurt the longer we were at my sister's house. It had been feeling a bit better, but it's like, the farther away from an adjustment I get, the more it hurts.

Temps started out at 31.8(F) and reached 52.0. It was sunny, but felt cool.


Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay. ( more back here )

I had my third (and final) chiropractic appointment of the week this morning. I feel like I’ve reached a plateau on getting better; the pain isn’t horrible, but it’s a little bit worse than yesterday (more noticeable when I sit, for instance), instead of how it was getting a bit better everyday. Especially after an adjustment, which I was starting to think of as a magic bullet. And now three days without an adjustment.

I hit Walmart while I was downtown to return and pick up more clothing items for mom to try and some of the groceries she requested. (She now has two tops and two pair of jeans that fit her, so we’re pausing there for a bit.)

I drove mom to her treatment, hand-washed dishes, did a load in the dishwasher, filled my gas tank, went for a walk with Pip and the dogs, finished up the chili for tomorrow’s supper, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered. Supper tonight was leftovers.

I watched an HGTV program and a Hallmark Christmas movie.

Temps started out at 45.1(F) and reached 53.4. There was a little bit of sun in the morning, but it didn’t last long. We got a bit of rain in the late afternoon.


Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay today. ( more back here )

I had a pedicure this morning. Today’s color is an even orangier-red than last time’s. I was worried about sitting so long, but it wasn’t bad, until I had to lift my leg. Thank goodness my sister took mom today because I’m not sure I could’ve done both. (The problem with driving a vehicle is that you can’t shift to get comfortable. You are forced to sit in the same position with pressure on the spots you don’t want pressure.)

While I was downtown I hit: the Dollar Tree (birthday cards – Ireland is going to be 16 this month!!), Walmart (to return and pick out more clothes for mom – she’s lost so much weight that her clothes just hang on her, so I’m trying to find the right size in everything from shirts to pants to undies), Price Chopper, and the Pharmacy.

I did a load of laundry (new uniform shirts for Pip, so I had to remove the outer packaging, remove the inner cardboard, rip off the tape strip everyone uses these days, cut off the cardboard tag because why just have the one, and unbutton ten shirts *head desk* There’s a reason I put this task off for months), hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter.

I also made up the base for chili (basically browned the ground beef with peppers and onions and a little pepper and garlic powder) for one day later this week. I grilled tiny lamb chop thingies for Pip’s supper.

I took a nap, had an apple with caramel dip for my afternoon snack, and watched some HGTV programs. Thankfully pain is still a little bit less than yesterday. It's getting better each day, but is still very uncomfortable when I sit.

Temps started out at 45.3(F) and reached 64.4. There was sun most of the day, which was nice, but it was not super warm.


Mom Update:

I did not visit mom today, but I spoke to her on the phone. ( more back here )

I had another chiropractic appointment this morning. Apparently I misunderstood; the pinch isn’t in the sacrum, it’s in the lower lumbar region. Which is one of the spots in my back that started hurting as the pain in my buttock/leg lessened. The chiropractor said that is expected, as the pain will eventually be felt where the actual pinch is, rather than where it radiates to. Almost forgot to mention that the pain is less again today, in part, I'm sure, because of the adjustment.

I hit Walmart and CVS (for mom’s prescriptions) while I was downtown. I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered.

I watched the current ep of Tracker and some HGTV programs.

Temps started out at 58.8(F) and reached 61.3. It rained most of the night and was supposed rain most of the day, as well, but it was more off and on than steady. We’d have periods of rain, then the sun would come out, then more rain, then sun . . . It was also quite windy. (Pip told me that the pot one of the mums was in had blown into the field. I was like o_O how could that happen? Apparently the plant was blown over, and the pot blown right off it! Who knew that could happen?)


Mom Update:

Mom was doing well today. ( more back here )

After not paying any attention to Hallmark/Hallmark Mystery, I have been posting about them a lot lately. AND this weekend I watched two shows/movies that I’d like to share with you.


1. Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Buried at C is the second movie in the Haunted Harmony Mysteries. In the first movie Murder in G Major, Gethsemane moves to Ireland where she meets the ghost of a musical composer and helps to solve not only his murder, but the murder of his wife. (This is not a spoiler, it’s right there in the description of the movie and she meets the ghost rather quickly.)

Gethsemane is played by Tamera Mowry-Housley and the ghost Eamon is played by Risteard Cooper. The friendship that forms between the two of them is wonderful. In the second movie, Gethsemane and Eamon team up to solve another murder, and her brother appears, so we get to learn more about her background. The only thing I don't care for is the love triangle. At this point Gethsemane denies that there's any 'love', just friendship, but it's obvious that the two men in question are competing. (Yes, I do have a favorite in this competition.)

I enjoyed both of these movies and would recommend them. Obviously, since I’m making this post. o_O


2. Mistletoe Murders stars Sarah Drew (as Emily Lane) and Peter Mooney (as Detective Sam Wilner). The six episode first season aired on Hallmark+, but is currently airing on Hallmark Mystery before season two (which will also air on Hallmark Mystery). The first two eps of season one aired on Friday and I just watched them last night. I enjoyed them quite a lot. I especially like Emily as she is very competent and has a secret past (which has not been fully explained, but it appears that she has all the tools she needs to help solve murders). I like the growing relationship between Emily and Sam, but I especially like the relationships between Sam and his daughter Violet, and between Emily and her friend June. Oh, and between Emily and her two cats. *g*

I hope the rest of season one, and then season two, live up to these first two eps.


Have you seen either of these? If so, what did you think? If not, have I made them sound interesting enough to try?

(I should add that I watched these movies/shows without needing the emotional support of my phone.)

I hit Price Chopper, the Bakery, and Agway while I was downtown. Again, I got breakfast at the Bakery. I actually had to remove my coat, scarf, and even my sweatshirt when I walked into the bakery. What a difference from the current temp at McD’s, where I have to leave all of that stuff on.

The pain from the sciatica is slightly better than it was yesterday, but as I mentioned then, the constancy of even slight pain sucks donkey balls. You’d think it would be a relief to know it’s ~less, but not so much.

I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for a couple walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. I finished up the spaghetti sauce and that’s what we had for supper.

I watched the current ep of Matlock (with mom), some HGTV programs, and a Hallmark Mystery movie.

Temps started out at 45.1(F) (we were expecting 35!) and reached 66.9. There was sun in the morning, but it clouded up in the afternoon. It was an unexpectedly nice day.


Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay today. ( more back here )

I had another chiropractic appointment this morning. I had a nice few minutes when I woke up, because there was less pain. (It wasn’t gone by any means, but it radiated down my leg less. Unfortunately, that meant it felt sharper right in the middle of my butt cheek.) The good feelings about this went away when I had to sit in the car, because putting any kind of pressure on it made it hurt more. I did ice it again before leaving the house.

The chiropractor touched the same spots as yesterday, and only two of them hurt now, so the icing has helped the inflamation go down. He said those were the two areas he had to adjust, and told me he believed that’s where the pinch happened. He thinks I did something to screw up the sacrum, but I can’t think of a single thing. You’d think it would have to be something major, but maybe it doesn’t have to be, given that the whole area is a bit screwed up already. I’m scheduled to see him again three times next week (he’s not open on Friday, sadly, so a whole three days without another adjustment).

I iced again when I got home, then put together an escalloped potatoes and ham dish for supper, and then took a short nap. I delivered the checks I wrote out for my aunt and had my annual eye appointment. I had to have my eyes dilated, which is never fun. I thought I’d be getting new lenses (there have been itty bitty changes each year and I’ve had these glasses since 2021 already), but it turns out she thought we could put it off again another year. So that was good news. The bad news is that I now have a cataract. Nothing to be worried about ~yet, but something to keep an eye on.

Other things accomplished today include: did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for a walk with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, filled the gas tank, and scooped kitty litter. When I got home from all my errands, I iced again and took another nap. A long one; I just got up to put the escalloped potatoes in the oven and went back for more nap time. I don’t know if I’m so tired because my body is healing, or because I’m dealing with the chronic pain of it all. Or both.

Temps started out at 37.6(F) and reached 54.1. Despite the temp being above freezing when we woke up, it must’ve been much cooler overnight because there was frost on the towels Pip put over the mums.


Mom Update:

Mom seemed to be doing okay today. ( more back here )