Just playing today

Yesterday I treated myself to a $15 Memory Foam pillow at WalMart.  I've had such a problem these past months fighting various pillows that I just couldn't get comfortable  with during the night.  I'm sure most of the blame is because of my shoulders but I prefer to blame it on pillows too.  Anyhow, I was kind of looking forward to going to bed and when I laid my head back, I thought:  "Oh nuts!  This pillow is way too hard."  I kind of sound like one of the bears in Goldilocks, don't I?

Anyhow, I decided to stick with it (it did cost $15 after all) and by morning, I think I had adjusted well enough to give it a second night.  It didn't seem to help the nightmares any, however.  Last night I was having a problem with my checkbook.  The newspaper boy came to the door to collect --- only he was a she -- an older lady who wanted $880 for two newspapers I was having delivered.  One was the Leader and the other was The Seattle Times.  Meanwhile, in the kitchen, I was trying to cook up supper and it consisted of fried sardines made into patties.  Other weird things occurred, as well, but you get the general idea.  I go to goofy places in my sleep. Or....I'm just plain goofy.

I peeked out the blinds and held my breath hoping there was no snow.  The front street looked a little icy but I didn't plan on going anywhere anyhow.

They've cleared considerably since 7 a.m. and I find I do need to make a trip out.  At least down to the post office substation at our neighborhood grocery store.  I was determined to figure out how to print a postage label online.  I finally had a "conversation" with a postal lady who informed me that the reason I couldn't find a place to print a label for a media package (meaning my book) was that the service wasn't available.  She told me I was more than welcome to visit my local post office.  I told her that that was exactly what I didn't want to do!  You can print a label if you're sellling on Ebay and using paypal (cause I've done it) but to print media independent of ebay isn't happening.  Just another ripoff from the postal service as far as I'm concerned.

I've been playing around on my laptop most of the morning.  Changed my desktop background picture from this....

to this...

I've got various sewing projects sitting nearby to keep myself busy this week.  Mostly dorky Christmas presents.  One of them (I'm making half a dozen) is quite useful.

I'm making a big pot of spaghetti for supper so I'll have dinner taken care of for the next few nights.  Cooking has become a chore since I cook only for myself.  I often take things over to Jenni's house but I suspect she just tolerates me a lot of the time.  I bought a big sack of bird seed while at Walmart yesterday and filled half a dozen feeders.  I have a large family of quail living under the back deck and they come out regularly to peck in the yard or sun themselves.  I have to keep an eye peeled for the neighbor's cats who also seem to find my back yard a great place for stalking.

My physical therapy was a little easier yesterday.  Still hurt but not nearly as bad as the previous week.

I've started riding my exercise bike before my appt. hoping to limber up my knees a bit more.  She wants me to move my seat so I'm knees are getting more of a workout in my bedroom.  It's all I can do to get started on my bike at first but she's probably right and I will obey.

Going to have to get my lip checked out sooner or later.  The place where I split it open has a permanent scar (which is no big deal to me) but it does feel numb sometimes and I wonder if that's a concern.  I also wonder if it's my imagination.  Hard to tell when your personality is the type that worries about everything.  Yeah...I know exactly how I sound.  One of the top front teeth is continuing to remind me that a dental visit is going to happen whether I want it to or not.  I'm not in any particular pain but it does zing a tiny bit to touch it and I think my bite was altered as I sometimes hit it when I put a glass to my lips.  Having little things go wrong with your body sure makes you aware of how other people look.  I'm constantly being drawn to how teeth look on television people.  The pretty people, that is.  They all seem to have money for expensive work.

I'm also painfully aware of dancers and how nimble they are.  I used to be like that.  Well, maybe not that good but I was a hell of a lot cooler looking than I am now.  Ha!

I looked over Netflix shows last night and found a ton of good stuff.  Am seriously thinking I may rethink my cable channels and get back to the basic again.  At least it will save me some money.  I like having more stations but the commercials are way too long and frequent.  And the music channels seem to play the same stuff over and over.  My Pandora Channel has a better selection and it's free. I'm still contemplating a switch.  My budget is going to get tighter as the year progresses and I know I'm going to have to cut down somewhere.

I see Safeway has upped their price of bananas from 59 cents a pound to 64 cents.  Walmart is holding strong at 58 cents last time I looked.  All produce seems to be going up weekly.  I know a lot of it is weather-related and we're just going to have to deal with it, but when utilities and insurance and gas also climb upwards, it can get worrisome.

Yesterday was my grandpa's birthday.  He'd be 136 years old.  Ha Ha

Well, I'd better get busy on a sewing project now.  At least for a little while.  I like being able to jump from project to project when I get bored or tired.

Here's a cleaning tip I saw on Facebook yesterday...

Use with a little water or vinegar to lift even the most stubborn stains. Unattractive grout--Mold and mildew stains --Burner pans and casserole dishes? Use a few tablespoons of cream of tartar with hot water or hydrogen peroxide and clean any aluminum pans which have discoloration or any rusty drains, pans, or stains. Copper kettles? Mix some cream of tartar with lemon juice and rub the copper with it. A porcelain sink, tub, commode? Rub the porcelain surfaces with cream of tartar and watch the stains disappear. Fabric stains? Mix a few teaspoons of cream of tartar with some glycerin and use like spray-and-wash. Need a great nonabrasive cleaner? Mix 2 teaspoons of vinegar and 2 teaspoon of cream of tartar in a small dish (use 3 or 4 teaspoons of vinegar and 3 or 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar if you have more items to clean). Apply with your cleaning rag or scrub brush and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Scrub. Wash with hot soapy water.