Monday, November 02, 2020

November 2, 2020 Monday--11:30am

Good morning!
Well, first off...I was able to read every word of each of your comments but this time after I posted them to my blog none of them showed up in my inbox so I could respond to you.  And I have been in and double checked my settings like six times...should be working.  Well, I can comment on your blogs...so far--LOL!  
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I know I could go back to how I did it years ago and comment publicly on my blog.  I don't know if I remember how, could figure it out, but don't really want to, to be honest.  I have just really preferred a private email conversation...for years.  I know a few of you always respond with a direct private email instead of the public comment on the blog and that's great!  The comments that come to my inbox after moderation--well, I don't actually get an email address.  It's through Blogger somehow.  But many of you have connected via email in the past and so we know we won't lose touch no matter how Blogger messes with us--LOL!  And some of us have connected via snail mail, too!  So--if you don't want to lose touch feel free to email me soulcomfort (at) gmail.  And any of you who would like to do snailmail...let me know via email.
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I have padfolios that I set up for letters.  Each one has a letter I shall answer and I pick out paper and an envelope and address it...so they are ready to go.  I think there are ten here right now.  (Much easier to reach them and my pens when I am settled into my chair with my lapdesk now that I have lazy susans everywhere--LOL!)
I may be slow to respond (quite often), but maybe you can see why.  I do love sitting down for a quiet, personal, paper-chat with each of you.  Thank you for being so patient my snail mail friends.
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Anyways, back to the past week.  I made Halloween cards for the boys and a sympathy card for my BFF from high school's mom.  I moved all that furniture to the garage.  Made room for my old end table.  You can see the indentations from where the feet were on the red end table--hardly any room between it and the patio blinds.  (Sorry about my finger in the corner of the photo--LOL!)
It looked like this one on the other side of the room by my big chair.
Leah dropped off the old oak end table on Tuesday.  Look at all the room I have now!  Much easier to open and close the blinds, I tell you!
The bottom two out of the three drawers are filled with cat toys--LOL!  ;)
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Also on Tuesday I had our video call with Leah and--the big news--Ian lost his first tooth!

A bottom one in the front.  He tucked it into a little pouch for the tooth fairy.

On Wednesday I got a video call from the boys.  Ian wanted to tell me all about it and show me his golden dollar coin from the tooth fairy!  So exciting!  I read more of The Seventeen Little Bears (that was my mom's when she was little). 
Looks like it was quite well-loved.  I think by me, too, as I vaguely recall.
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We also call it the old-timey bear book.  Fun to explain how a family could have 17 children in the first place.  And how the kids used to take metal lunch pails to school...
...and how when people went into the small shops they really used to leave their babies in the carriages outside...and that's how the baby bears got switched while papa bear was inside the post office.
The two papa bears got the right babies back.  Men always wore jackets and hats when they went outside.   Women wore dresses and aprons.  (I remember my grandmother's did.)  Times have changed in almost a hundred years.
We have three more chapters to go (and the baby bears have been switched by accident twice!).  Goodness! 
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I've talked to my mom a couple of times.  One of the hospice nurses tested positive and had seen Mom, but she's feeling fine so far.  That's the only case we know of and the nurse had no symptoms.
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On Thursday Leah and her brother Aaron went to Costco and Leah picked up Ian's work for the month at the school.  Groceries were dropped off in the parking lot--masks and distancing.  I did laundry and worked on Christmas presents for the boys to order in November.  This year it is board games!  :)
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Friday I set up the bullet and finished with a master list of supplements to take and when that is now on the frig.  
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Critter Cafe is always busy since it's been so cold.  But it has all melted away and now this week they're predicting 50s and 60s!  A couple days ago they were saying 40s and 50s...so even warmer.  After freezing cold and snowing 4-5 times...will be quite the change this week.
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Saturday I did the banking for the month.  Amazon has been awful the past two months.  I have ordered from them once a month for years and never had any problems.  The last two months they have been subtracting amounts and adding back in amounts--many of them!?  When you just have a total for one order of several items...well, I could just add up all the Amazon charges and it would come right to the penny.  Even when I ordered all the household and personal goods, etc, with my stimulus check.
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Now it is suddenly such a chaotic mess that I can't tell what is going on.  All I can do is add up the totals of what they have added and subtracted and see if it matches mine.  Doesn't--but the bank says I have ore than I know I do so I will wait and see how this goes.  I thought September was a fluke, but October was worse.  Example: $9.04 taken out, added back in, and taken out again.  There were four different small amounts that were taken out and added back in...and then others added back in that didn't match a single amount--just a total mess.
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I have decided that I am ordering one item at a time.  Separate orders.  Then I will have specific amounts I can track.  Good grief.  Amazon may not like it but it's their own fault and I pay for Prime...so that is what I plan to do.  Not sure for how long, but I need to be able to track my limited funds closely.  Has anyone else seen problems with Amazon and your banking lately?
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Blogger...Amazon...DVD player is dead...
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But...the good news!  Leah brought the DVD player back to Costco on the chance that they'd exchange it.  Don't have the same one anymore but they gave her a refund!!  So I'll have to order a new one.
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And Halloween pics made me smile.  Liam and one of the carved pumpkins.
I thought this was so clever!  Leah strung glow sticks across the yard by the sidewalk and made a sign to help themselves.
Ian and Liam didn't go trick or treating this year.  But others did in their neighborhood...so that was a great solution, I thought.  :)
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Sunday my pill boxes arrived.  I ordered two sets of one week rainbow colored AM and PM pill boxes.  
I need to have various supplements & vitamins four times a day eventually so this is the way I decided to do it.  Easier than trying to keep a tracker on paper for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before bedtime pills.  I just needed to make a master list for when I set them up each week so I can keep track of which new pill is added as I test them out.  
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Since Leah just got the supplements, she dropped them off late last night and I am setting these up today.  No rush, as the first thing I am adding is actually not a pill but flax meal to my eggs.  [Manageable, but not a big fan.  She wants me to try to take 2-3 tablespoons a day--and I probably only added less than half that.  Going to take some getting used to--LOL!]
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Anyways, I tried adding this video through the new link on Blogger but I can't tell if it is going to work until I post this.  If it doesn't work I will go back to using YouTube.  Regardless--this is something Google made for Leah--I know they do random things that pop up on your phone with pictures--but I have never seen anything like this!  Have you?
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Well, that's it for this week.  I didn't get as much done as I had hoped to, but that is nothing new--LOL!  It was a very nice week, despite the frustration of things not working right.  Maybe my election anxiety is sending out bad vibes to my very apartment and its contents...
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...if so you'd never know it by Annie.  She's been happy and doing great.
(Just to add to the frustration...that, by all cell phone appearances, was supposed to be a closeup--LOL!)  
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Time to try to get the paragraphs and pictures centered and the random space gaps closed up if possible...to see if adding a video works this new Blogger way...post the video on YT if it doesn't...and then call Dagan to wish him a happy 46th birthday!!!
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Till next week!  
Thinking positive! 
Those in the US, be sure to vote if you haven't already. 
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"Imagine a country whose citizens--maybe even its leaders--are brave, calm, and open towards each other; a country whose people realize that all human beings belong together as one family and must act accordingly; a country guided by Common Sense."
Br. David Steindl-Rast

17 comments:

Rita said...

MY comment--probably in vain--to get your comments in my inbox. But I shall read each word and your thoughts mean so much to me. We need to stay in touch, even if Blogger is trying to rip us apart--LOL!

My Tata's Cottage said...

You sure have some real cuties over here. SO nice to visit with them one way or another. Grateful to see their faces :-)
Hoping your week is blessed. I am praying I will hear from Karl. Sent a message. Hoping he is getting stronger although the stress of losing his mom makes me very sad. Take care and I always enjoy seeing you here. HUGS across the miles XO XO XO XO XO

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Rita. I love this post and the pictures/video of those cute grandsons. We voted at least a couple of weeks ago - now nervously waiting to hear the outcome of the election. I like the quote at the end of the post. I hope you can read this comment. Have a good week.

Janie Junebug said...

Costco will exchange or provide a refund for pretty much anything. It's an open secret that you have now learned. Oh, the excitement of the first tooth lost. I loved it when the kids lost their teeth even after they knew that I was the tooth fairy. It's great that you have toys for Annie right where they are needed. I paid a bill in full recently (not Amazon) and received a bill for two cents.

Love,
Janie

Far Side of Fifty said...

I am anxious to see the results of the vote...but not stressed about it...it is what it is.
That was a cute video of the boys:)
Looks like just the organizer for your pills. Could you put flax seed in yogurt? I have read that you should grind the seeds...and not take them at the same time as you take other medications.
I know that I can never tell what is what with Amazon...they bill at the time they ship...but mine always adds up. We had a real problem with a package for our daughter that was never received...but after six weeks and lots of emails they finally sent a replacement.:)

Jon said...

I don't know what's going on with Blogger, but I'm unable to leave comments on some blogs - and I've heard from several people who have trouble leaving comments on mine. Things that used to be simple are now frustratingly complicated.

I smiled when I saw the photo of Ian and the first tooth he lost. When I lost my first tooth it was the exact same one - in the lower front. I can't remember how old I was. Five or six??

I love the Seventeen Little Bears book - those antique books are so unique - and it's great that children are still enjoying them after all these years.

Bonnie said...

Happy Birthday to Dagan! That video of the boys is so cute! I love that picture of Annie. She looks so good and I swear she looks younger! It was such a good match to get you and her together.

We have Amazon Prime and use it a lot for shopping since we are trying to not go out much. I have not had the banking problems you had but I do hate how they show the Amazon purchases on your charge card bill. I don't like how it just says Amazon with a dollar total. That makes it very difficult to check to make sure all the charges are correct not knowing what each item is on the bill.

We are voting tomorrow no matter how long the line may be! I am sure uneasy about the election and how some people may react to the results. Did you hear that many stores in cities are boarding up their store fronts before the election in case of civil unrest afterwards? It is so sad to see what has been happening in our country.

Take care Rita!

Lady Fi said...

Awww - cute shots.

DJan said...

I'm glad to hear you're doing so well, Rita. I love the cute pictures of Ian. And your video came through just fine! :-)

Anvilcloud said...

The video worked and was well done and that boy is soo cute.

Taking all of those supplements is like a days work in itself. :)

Have a good week.

Divers and Sundry said...

It is nice to know even if blogging crashes and burns we have email to keep in touch :) Congrats to Ian on the tooth! The illustrations in that book are precious and remind me of books I used to have. Amazon Prime is something we have, too, but we haven't noticed the kinds of problems you have. That's a great jack 'o lantern! We've noticed more birds lately. We never know why sometimes we get more kinds.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Yes, the video worked for me, too Rita. Like you, I am anxious to watch the election tonight. I am sure we won't have a clear winner UNLESS there are landslide votes, which I don't expect. Too much division in the country for that. Loved how Leah put out the glow sticks. My choice, too, but no kiddies came by this year in my neighborhood.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

A post that had me smiling and nodding happily as I read along

Jenny Woolf said...

Ian looks so happy with his tooth! And that movie - are you saying Google did it automatically ? it looks professionally edited. Amazing. What a lovely thing to have. (The video worked fine, as you will have guessed!) Reading old books to kids is so cool, they are always interested to hear about the old days.

pearshapedcrafting said...

I'm pleased you got your space sorted it looks great too! Ian does look happy. How great that the video had such lovely clips. Sorry to hear of your other problems, sounds as though you are going through a technical glitch phase like us! Amazon is acting up and the TV cuts out sometimes - missed the end of Strictly last night!!
Take care, Chrisxx

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

I have read that other bloggers are also having issues with comments. My choice has not been to reply to comments within the comments. Many other bloggers follow your lead of sending email replies, which is very nice. I also do some emails and snail mail, but time management is not my strong point and seems I always fall behind, but eventually things get done! It is wonderful to keep in touch, more so now. For me, Amazon ordering is done item by item and so far not for household staples as we do weekly shopping in person. Lately, I have bought a few DVDs on ebay vs Amazon which was was more costly, even for used films. Cute photos of the grands, as always and Happy Birthday wishes to Dagan.

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

Congratulations on Ian on losing his first tooth! Quite a milestone! The The Seventeen Little Bears looks like a book that the girls and I would have enjoyed reading when they were little. Hold onto that book! I checked to see if it was available in the Minnesota library system. It is not in one library! It's too bad that classic books like that aren't available. They should be.