Then, I put away the laundry from yesterday and decluttered my 3 items for the day:
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| 1/21 Decluttering |
1 hat (given by the cancer center, which I no longer need)
1 empty lotion bottle
It was another sunny, "cold" day, but it wasn't windy. In the afternoon, I called my friend S to confirm that she'll be home if I stop by her place around 3:30 p.m. When she said yes, I called my favorite Thai food place and ordered some items to take to her - when I was ill, she always brought me food and now, it is my turn to return the compliment as she is having a cough she can't seem to shake off. She's been to the doctor's, she says, and they've checked and ruled out pneumonia and flu. But, she's had this cough since before Thanksgiving and I am very concerned for her, especially as her husband smokes. I also picked a bagful of curry leaves to take to her, along with about 3 or 4 of her dishes that I had from when she brought food for my almsgiving and the tray of New Year's Day breakfast.
I picked up the food to take to her, along with an order of beef fried rice for myself, and visited her. She insisted on making me some appa or "hoppers" as they are called in English - a type of pancake made with a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut water and a cup of tea. Then, she sent me home with two more of the hoppers, a container of fish curry, and some homemade marshmallows! I froze the container of fish curry she gave, because I still have some of the fish curry I made!
On the way back from my friend's house, I passed by the cemetery where my mother's grave is located and I had the strongest urge to go in, so I did. At first, I couldn't find my mother's grave! I stood where it should be and didn't see it! I even called my daughter to tell her I couldn't locate the grave stone, and then, I spotted a corner of it! Her grave stone was covered with mud and soil! I was most upset! I managed to scrape most of the mud off and washed the grave stone with the half a bottle of water I had in the car. But I couldn't uncover the vase for flowers that is set in the ground, just below the grave stone. There were several other grave stones, too, which were in the same state! I went over to the cemetery/mortuary office to complain; they were just about to close, but I spoke to the receptionist and she took down my name and phone number and said someone will call me. In any case, I will be going back, next weekend to check on the grave site and I'll do so earlier in the afternoon, before the office closes.
After that, I went to the drug store to buy a replacement battery for my garage door opener remote, as the remote wasn't working. But the remote still isn't working, even with the new battery, so it may be that I need a new remote! The garage door and I have been going through a bit of a comedy routine this whole week! I press the remote button, nothing happens, I park the car in the driveway with the engine running, I get out and open the side gate, then go into the garage from the side door and open the garage door from inside (the button on the inside is wired, so it works), then I go to the car and the garage door starts to close on its own and I yell at it and run back inside to get it to open, again! We do this a couple of times, with me shouting at the garage door to stay open, telling it, "Don't you dare close on me! Please don't close!", until it finally decides to stay open long enough to let me get back into the car and drive it in! Once, it opened on its own, even after I had closed it from inside! I fully expect to see if wide open when I come home from work, one of these days. Sigh, I probably need a whole new garage door system!
I also went to the dollar store next door to the drug store to buy some bananas and grapes:
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| 1/21 Groceries |
1.94 lb. grapes @ $.99/lb = $1.92
1.82 lb bananas @ $.49/lb = $.89
My total came to $2.81
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| 1/21 Receipt |
I don't know if I will shop again before the end of the week, but I doubt it. I know I said I might buy some other meats to cook because I didn't want to eat what was in the freezer, but I changed my mind. And I still have enough milk for the week and a whole loaf of bread; I have lettuce, green beans, half a cucumber, several tomatoes, carrots, and 1/4 of a head of cabbage in the fridge, plus cooked green beans in the freezer, and I have mangoes, tangerines, and apples for fruit. All I really needed were the bananas and some grapes.
January Grocery Budget = $75
Spent to date: $40.14 + $5.58 + $2.81 = 48.53
Balance remaining = $75 - $48.53 = $26.47
Next week, I will need milk, eggs, and more fresh produce.
By the time I came home, it was past 6:30 p.m. My friend R called as I was making myself a cup of tea and we chatted for awhile. After that, I cleaned the bathroom and after dinner, I did the dishes. The rest of the items from my To Do list from yesterday will be carried into next week.
Friend S called me, later in the evening, to thank me again for the food I had brought to her. I am glad I was able to do that for her.
Sunday's To Do List:
- Laundry - Put away - DONE
- Groceries - DONE
- Declutter - DONE
- Visit friend S (pick curry leaves to take to her) - DONE
- Family room - dust, vacuum
- Kitchen - do dishes (DONE), sink, stove, counters, mop floor, fridge
- Bathroom - toilet, sink, litter box, floor- DONE
Monday's To Do List:
- Go to the office
- Take trash cans to the curb
- Family room - dust, vacuum
- Kitchen - sink, stove, counters, mop floor, fridge
Today, I am grateful for:
- I was able to repay my friend S for all her generosity in a small way by taking some food to her in return
- Friend S making me hoppers and sending some home with me!
- Another sunny day
- Phone calls from neighbor T and friend R
- Chatting with daughter
How was your Sunday? Are you ready for Monday?
By the way, daughter sent me her pictures for the past week and I posted them, here.
Lots of weird stuff happened to you! So do you think the graves are sinking into the ground?
ReplyDeleteI have no suggestion about the garage door opener, we haven't had a garage since 2002! I would definitely try a new remote before calling in a repairman, especially if the wired button works fine. Maybe there's some interference with something else in the area? Here is an article about troubleshooting the problem. Do that before you even order a new remote! https://removeandreplace.com/2014/12/20/garage-door-wont-open-with-remote-control-from-outside/
Good luck!
Nathalie, thank you so much for the link! I took a quick peek, but I need to go back and really study what they are saying. But, one thing I did read there was to try to open the door with the remote from inside the garage to check if the remote itself is working! I tried it, this evening, but it didn't open the door all the way. However, there is one other thing - when I checked the garage door opener company website, late last night, they said that sometimes, if you install a LED light bulb in the overhead unit (the light comes on when the garage door is opened), sometimes, that blocks the radio waves from the remote! I just recently replaced the bulb and it might be LED - I need to remove it and put in another bulb to see if that might solve the problem. Can't do anything before the weekend - I no longer like to climb ladders when I am on my own and in the dark! During the weekend, I might be able to get a neighbor to change the bulb for me. I am thinking I probably need a new remote - this one I have is now over 20 years old!
DeleteI don't think the graves are sinking, although there are some really old ones that appear to do so. I think they were perhaps digging a new grave and some of the soil was allowed to wash out over the other graves. Or, maybe it was due to the rain that we had, earlier. But there were tire marks on the dried mud, so that means vehicles probably drove over stuff (they do use ride-on mowers to mow the grass) and that probably helped to move the soil/mud around.
I love your daughters self portraits!
ReplyDeleteI move things that don't get sone to next weeks list too and it seems ike every single week something doesn't get done.
They are rather cute, aren't they?
DeleteI always tend to overestimate how much I can get done in a day/weekend/week. Sometimes, I think it isn't so much a To Do list as a Wish To Do list! LOL!
How sad to find your mother's grave in a poor state. I'm glad you were able to make a small difference and draw attention to it at the office. I regret that we are 3000 miles away from our parents' graves so cannot keep an eye on them. My mother is buried in a "green" cemetery with a cherry tree planted over her grave and a small plaque to identify her. My father's grave has been tended for decades in the war cemetery. I was able to visit it a few years ago and in the distance I saw a team of men in hazmat suits spraying the gravestones to keep them free of moss. My father's gravestone was immaculate!
ReplyDeleteI am concerned about your garage door malfunctions as it could be dangerous to you. I hope you can get it fixed. We have avoided buying a garage door opener because we figured that in a power outage we might not be able to get the car out, nor the generator which is stored just inside the garage!
Bushlady, I am glad your parents' graves are being well maintained. I rather like the idea of a fruit tree growing to mark a grave.
DeleteI am going to change the bulb I put on the garage door opener mechanism to see if the LED bulb is what is causing the malfunctioning. Need to wait until the weekend to do it, though.
When there is a power outage, my garage door can be manually operated. There is a cord to pull which disengages it from the electrical circuit and then, it can be manually opened and closed. Maybe you could find a similar garage door opener?
Sorry about your garage door.. Hopefully, it will be an easy/not expensive fix.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Judy. I had to disable it, the other night, as I found the door had opened up on its own! Need to see about it, this weekend.
Delete