CHRISTMAS SHOPPING, SENIOR STYLE

 

This year all my gift shopping was done at the supermarket. I put together individualized gourmet bags containing cookies & crackers, chocolate truffles, flavored teas/ coffees, dates, nuts, jams, etc.; items that don't require immediate refrigeration.

With the current price of groceries these have become luxury items! And remember this time of the year groceries add specialty items that disappear after the holidays.

We are older ladies who don't need another bauble or dust collector, plus we already have a plethora of fragrant candles, faux fur throws, hand lotions, and scented soaps; but we still like to eat.

One Christmas, a friend gifted me with a large bottle of PURE maple syrup. Most on the store shelves are just maple-flavored corn syrup. Groceries do carry the pure but it's far more expensive, however it's worth the price and healthier. I love the taste over ice cream or plain Greek yogurt with a variety of nuts, ditto for honey.

Most of my friends, like me do not drink alcohol; one who does can't anymore for health reasons, doctor's orders.

Food gifts are always welcome as long as it is something the recipient can eat and enjoy! Besides gourmet, many supermarkets also have an international section which is interesting and fun.

Other items seniors appreciate are eyeglass stands and large print anything; also gift cards & movie passes. And since many of us live alone I would add hand sirens and mace.

Also postage stamps, especially eye-catching commemoratives with exotic flowers or birds, even movie stars. Years back some featured the gorgeous likenesses of Marilyn Monroe & Audrey Hepburn. 

Nowadays I purchase gifts only for a small few since most of my friends have either died or moved away. This makes the ones remaining all the more special and precious.

STROLLING & SCROLLING IN THE SLOW LANE

 

I'll admit I'm not an interesting person, I'm aware of that. However I'm not trying nor want to be a social influencer. From what I've seen most of these are bad influences, probably why they are popular. I just want peace and serenity.

In the past I've known a lot of drama that was unwelcome. I would have been happier without it. Thankfully those human toxins have been expunged from my life either thru death or banishment.

But now there's Facebook! Around Thanksgiving I posted that no matter the holiday I always make deviled eggs. I was taken aback when someone posted beneath it in all capitals: "YOU ARE THE DAMN MOST BORING PERSON! HERE'S A NICKEL TO GET A LIFE & DON'T FORGET YOUR 3 CENTS CHANGE!"

This hateful statement came from one of my 500 plus so-called Facebook friends of several years, although a remote one. This was a man whose friendship invitation I was foolish enough to accept. And this was his first ever post on my page. I did not know this stranger from a piece of dirt!

Of course it was upsetting! I've been attacked for my politics before but this was personal. If that was his opinion why didn't he just unfriend me? Why did he feel it necessary to post that!

Naturally I was tempted to reply I enjoy my boring life and to stick that nickel up his butt hole where he keeps his manners, also to mind his own business. But I felt that would open the flood gates to trolls.

It didn't merit a reply so I just blocked and deleted. Still steaming, the next day I posted all in capitals: "WHEN I CLICK TO BLOCK SOME PEOPLE I WISH IT WOULD SIMULTANEOUSLY DELIVER AN ELECTRIC SHOCK THAT WOULD SET THEIR HAIR ON FIRE!!!" -- And I meant every word of it.

Geez, what the heck was this person expecting from me? I'm a 70 plus senior woman on a fixed income with doctor bills and health issues and don't forget runaway inflation! I can no longer afford to do all the fun and interesting things I used to do only a few years ago. Mostly I'm homebound these days.

Even going out to lunch with friends or by myself has become a rare luxury.

However I've no problem finding ways to entertain myself. I enjoy writing (novels & blogging) reading news stories online, watching movies, & creating new recipes or coming up with new twists to old ones -- and Facebook but not always!

Too bad if my lifestyle doesn't impress anyone!

If I want drama and excitement all I have to do is sit down to write. Always I've a novel mapped out in my head or in progress on my computer. My creative well never runs dry.

And my dull life has produced many fascinating books filled with flawed people displaying their ugly character warts as they engage in mischief that goes against the better angels of human nature. Inspiration is everywhere!

And I might add that I've seen hundreds of Facebook pages; frankly I don't think I'm any more boring than anyone else. I notice lots of meals posted. These are of no particular interest to anyone except perhaps the person consuming them. Yet I understand why they are posted. These are part of their lives just as my deviled eggs are part of mine!

I'm allowed to be boring; in fact I revel in it!

THANKFUL

 

Frankly I'm not in a celebratory mood this holiday season. 2022 has been a stressful, sucky, and expensive year for me.

However on this Thanksgiving I must remind myself of the many things for which I am thankful.

For one, the recent hurricane did no damage to me or my property; this seems miraculous since it came ashore here.

Also I am one of the few people I know that never came down with even a mild case of Covid. I attribute this to the fact I wore a mask overlong. The reason being to hide my bandaged face.

And I am indeed thankful that despite the dermatologist's prognosis I didn't end up with a disfiguring scar although my face had a pit that was deep and wide. And I refused to pay a plastic surgeon for stitches because this was sprung on me directly after surgery; I had not budgeted for this! Yes, I now have a scar on my face but it's so slight you can barely see it.

However this did not happen by magic! I never allowed my wound to dry up. I kept it constantly moist with petroleum jelly. I bandaged up before bedtime and before going out. So now I don't need any stink'n plastic surgeon!

Often this area still stings and pinches, but I'm told this is a positive thing. The nerve endings are returning.

After paying over $2000 in all at a different Dermatology Clinic the latest biopsy on my nose thankfully proved benign. However the chronic itch remains and can't be explained.  I should have just bought a tube of Cortisone cream and saved myself a whole lot of money. But I realize that chances should never be taken with the possibility of a skin cancer!

Those expensive blood tests revealed a high hemoglobin count. Since I've never been a smoker I was told this is due to an excess of vitamins.

Yes I do take lots of nutritional supplements. That's the reason my hair has grown back! If I stopped, people would be calling me cue ball and melon head behind my back. Now I'm thankful they don't have the opportunity!

Plus I take a lot of these supplements to keep my acid reflex under control. The alternative is an agony akin to torture! It's as if someone shoved a flame-thrower down my throat and duct-taped it to my body! Prescription medication has side effects as well as long term consequences, no thank you!

The cooler air has returned! (Ahhh) Hope it lasts thru spring or at least until I can afford to have my old and dead air-conditioner replaced.

And of course I'm thankful that sanity prevailed in the recent Midterm Elections, in many states anyway.

UNBELIEVABLE

 

A hurricane in November!!! October had been so cool and comfortable I thought we were safe until June. I started filling up my freezer for the holidays. The thought of having to throw all that out made me sick! I couldn't believe a hurricane was on the way and heading straight for us. But that's what you get with global warming, climate change, etc; a stink bug by any other name is still a stink bug.

Yes Nicole was only a Cat 1; but we were hit with one of these my first October in Vero Beach back in 1999. -- Power was out for a week! And this is a bad spot for outages period! Plenty have occurred when the sun was shining and the wind was like a fairy's breath from the south. I was in a constant state of anxiety.

I noticed that no one in the neighborhood was boarding up, but my main worry was a lengthy loss of electricity. The TV news was reporting mass outages up and down the coast and the thing hadn't even hit land yet.

Hurricane Nicole came ashore in Vero Beach around 3:00 AM. I slept thru the landfall. I was in disbelief when I awoke to my fan still running and bedside clock working. It felt like a miracle. Hurricane Ian had left the neighborhood a bigger mess and all we got was the outer feeder bands from that one.

I looked with sadness upon the damage this Cat 1 had wrought upon other parts of Florida and I was filled with disbelief. Hurricane Nicole had come ashore here and yet my neighborhood was barely touched. But despite this you can bet my already high insurance premiums will skyrocket again!

Immediately after I viewed the Midterm Election results which I had been dreading; it was no exaggeration that our democracy was at stake! The network TV stations had been elusively storm coverage. Of course they ran the results on a tiny strip at the bottom of the screen, but I was unable to decipher anything due to my posterior vitreous detachment.

However the AM following the storm I gave out a big sigh of relief! There was no Red Wave except perhaps a ketchup throwing fit at Mar-a -Largo.

But unbelievably we are stuck with zealot Ron DeSantis as our governor again! (EEK and YUK!) My take on this man is that he's a dangerous and delusional creep and a giant Trump turd.

Now even his lord and master the orange blob has turned on him and even gone so far as to threaten him.

This should come as no surprise. When his traitorous followers were ready to lynch his then pet Mike Pence during the insurrection Trump was all for it! The fact that anyone ever supported this vile man in the first place is what's truly unbelievable!

SOME LIKE IT COOL

 

Hot, hot, and hotter! That describes Florida most of the year.

A repairman told me my air conditioning unit was on its last legs and he doubted it would last throughout the summer. Well my A.C. lived on borrowed time for 4 years after that. I held my breath every time I turned it on and kept the temp at 80 until last summer when I raised it to a miserable 82 to keep my rising FPL bill down.

Early in October it finally gave out. Thankfully it had gotten me thru one more summer. And in October the temperatures had dipped just enough that I was comfortable without it. Plus we even had one cool spell where I needed a blanket on my bed. This felt welcome and wonderful!

Due to expensive doctor bills: I'm awaiting the results of another biopsy for skin cancer plus I've got a root canal scheduled for later this month. One of my 3 cracked teeth crowned during the pandemic has gone bad. And now my property taxes are due! So it will be spring (knock-on-wood) before I can afford to have the unit replaced.

However we're into the cooler months, right? -- Wrong! Summer returned yesterday Nov. 1. It was 86 degrees in my house. My tolerance for heat ends at 84! -- I hope it's not going to be one of those kinds of winters!

Every fan in my house is on as I walk around in my birthday suit keeping a tall glass of ice water nearby at all times. 

Trying to sleep in this heat is even worse, although I slept with 2 fans running; one on the ceiling the other beside my bed. I have a satin top pillow for my hair but last night my face stuck to it from sweat.

After midnight I grabbed my pillows and moved to the foot of the bed to get the effect of the fans more directly. But they were just blowing hot air around.

What is really depressing is waking up to a hot morning knowing it's only going to get worse as the day rolls on.

The temps are supposed to drop a bit later in the week. It can't happen fast enough!

THE ALMOST TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR ITCH

 

My scar now healing is blending in well, contrary to the dermatologist prognosis no plastic surgeon necessary. I was beginning to feel confident again.

Then, while washing my face or applying sunscreen I felt a teensy bump on the right side of my nose inches from my skin cancer scar. With it came a chronic itch that lingered for months, one that often woke me from sleep.

Since I was unhappy with the previous dermatologist a friend recommended hers. "It's a family run business, highly qualified and as nice a group of professionals as you'd find anywhere," she said.

On my way into town I drove there to schedule an appointment. The receptionist curtly informed me they weren't taking any new patients until February. --This was back in July!

Another friend recommended her dermatology clinic. Ironically it was located in the building next to the dermatologist I didn't like. I was given a September appointment.   

I waited over an hour in crowded waiting room which was humid and stuffy with only a fan due to a malfunctioning air conditioner. However the exam room was almost freezing.

Despite my age, I do not qualify for Medicare or Social Security, nor do I have health insurance! It cost me $180 just to walk thru the door!

From there I was sent to a lab for blood tests. The doctor ordered 13 in all costing me $1400. -- I nearly fainted from the shock! I only needed one prior to my previous surgery.

A cream was also prescribed. It must have contained crushed diamond chips! Even with my Publix discount the price was $ll8 for a small tube. The pharmacist told me it wouldn't be ready until evening. I refuse to drive in the dark due to my vision so I told them I'd pick it up in the morning. This turned out in my favor.

At home, among my junk mail I found an OPTUM Plus Pharmacy Discount Card. Thank goodness I didn't throw it out! This brought the cost down to $40 which felt too good to be true. There had to be a catch! I kept expecting this company to contact me stating: "We own you now, bitch!"

I read up on the cream. It was for cancerous & pre-cancerous skin. I followed the instructions to the letter waiting for it to do its magic. However this expensive cream turned out to be absolutely useless!

I'm on the hook for at least one, probably more follow-up appointments. My fingers are crossed there will be no more surgeries or I'm going to need a bank loan!

A neighbor told me, "We have health insurance but it's expensive, we pay thru the nose for it!"

I told her, "I don't have it and I pay thru the nose too!"

So either way it's costly! -- HEALTH CARE IN THE U.S. SUCKS!!!

POWERLESS

 

Exactly two weeks to the day before Hurricane Ian struck Florida's other coast we experienced an awful storm here. I remember that evening well. It was filled loud booming thunder, constant scary lightning, and strong winds whipping branches around. We were overdue for a power outage I told myself. This is a particularly bad spot for that. And worse, all our outages are lengthy ones.

Around 2:00 AM I awoke in silent darkness. The room was hot and stuffy. My air conditioner & fan were off and no neighbor lights were shining in.

That latest outage lasted from around 2:00 AM to 2:30 PM. Past experience has taught me that when FPL gives you a time power will be restored to add another 6 hours and when it arrives to add another 6 to that!

For breakfast I made tap water tea which I let steep while I washed and made the bed. The tea was room temp but the morning was hot so I didn't mind. Then I grabbed a couple oat & nut bars from my hurricane pantry.

If I wanted a hot meal I would have had to build a fire in my back yard. No internet, TV, or even phone since all I have is a landline. Instantly I was back in the Stone Age! Nor could I leave my house since my garage door is electric. -- There is a manual way to do it, however it won't stay open.

I was worried sick about the food in my fridge & garage freezer. Thankfully both were only half full since this is hurricane season; however food is so costly now any loss is expensive.

During the day between naps I caught up on my mending and scrubbed the kitchen floor.

When power was finally restored at 2:30 PM I prepared a big celebratory meal! My food had held up well with the exception of ice cream which was soupy.

Two weeks later I viewed the devastation and death wrought upon the other coast by Hurricane Ian. Suddenly everything came into perspective. Seeing the tremendous amount of destruction made me sick, sad, and scared. I felt terrible! So many people lost everything and are now homeless. Next hurricane or the one after could do that here! I had been fortunate -- this time!