RANDOM UNFOCUSED PART 2

An observation of life through the eyes of a senior citizen who may or may not be in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, but definitely has issues with memory, focus and crossing the thin line between reality and fiction. Said senior is also learning to speak her mind, no longer trying to please everyone, realizing her opinion counts too.

WHO’S NEXT, PARTS 2 AND 3

Two thousand nine hundred dollars. That is a huge amount of money for a senior on a fixed income. Honestly, it is the most money I have ever spent at one time other than on my house or my truck.

Yesterday we bought paint, flooring and other supplies to continue the renovation of our house to sell. My mind was spinning at the amount of money we were spending. Added to those numbers were square footage of the rooms we are working in, shipping costs, discounts for clearance and on and on. I don’t do well with numbers on the average day, now being under pressure I just wanted to walk away and cry.

This was at a big name, chain, home improvement store; the kind where the average employee is there just to collect a paycheck and has no experience with or knowledge of the department they are assigned to that day. And it shows.

But, the two sales people we were lucky enough to work with were kind, patient and friendly.

In the end, I was able to purchase what I needed, arranged to have it carried to and loaded into our truck. I was comfortable with the sale and felt I had paid a fair price. All because the employees did a good job, had great attitudes and showed a lot of patience. I will definitely shop there again.

The ugly side of the day occurred after our purchase was safely stowed into the bed of our truck. Turned the key, the engine roared but wouldn’t start. For three hours we fussed with it. Several people tried to jump it to no avail. My granddaughter’s roommate works for a car dealership a couple miles away. She borrowed their charging machine and came to help, but it didn’t work.

Then someone mentioned Triple A. Facepalm! I have roadside assistance with my insurance. I called the agent. She checked my policy, confirmed it would be covered and gave me the number to call to open a ticket. An hour later I was given the number of the tow company that was willing to take the job. (As I have mentioned before, we live on an island and on this day one of the ferries was down so people were waiting an average of one to two hours to get onto a boat. Because of this delay, many companies did not want their drivers tied up for so long as they charge by the mile, not the waiting time.)

I called and explained my daughter had gone to buy a battery and if that didn’t work, we would need a tow. We discussed the arrangements and the cost and came to an agreement. He only asked that I let them know as soon as possible if we needed the tow.

Forty minutes and a new battery later, the truck still wouldn’t start and I called the tow company to ask them to send the driver.

This is not the exact conversation, I don’t remember word for word, but it is representative of how things fell apart.

“Hi, I called earlier, I do need a tow.”

Grumble, grumble, “The office is closed, I was just going home.”

“I called earlier and arranged this.”

“Fine, let me open up the office again.”

Muttering.

“What do you need.”

“I’m in (city) and I need my truck towed.”

“That means taking the ferry and they are backed up. I’ve been at work since 6 this morning, this is already a 12 hour day for me. Look, we are into after hour charges, you won’t be getting any deals here.” Umm, I didn’t ask for any deals as we already had an agreed upon price and because my insurance was footing the bill.

All of this was said in a voice just one notch below yelling. It was obvious he didn’t want to do his job. I mentioned if he wouldn’t come get us we would have to sleep in our truck.

He obviously didn’t care so I told him to forget it.

I wonder if his boss will be able to forget the $657 (plus after hour charges) fee the employee cost him. Not to mention the damage to his company’s reputation when others learn how his employee left a disabled senior stranded in an empty parking lot overnight.

UPDATE: granddaughter’s friend called her friend who brought their truck and took all of our purchases to store in their garage. They said they will deliver them to the island later this week and they diagnosed the problem with our truck: fuel pump. May the karmic gods shine upon them.

We were able to get a ride to the ferry, caught the second to last boat of the night and slept in our own beds. Daughter was able to get another tow company to bring the truck home at about half the regular cost (before the after hours surcharges) of the first company.

And I got through the day without a single tear shed. Now that’s what I call a win.

HAPPY DANCE AND PUMPKIN SPICE

Our first year in the Pacific Northwest we laughed at the locals for calling 80 degrees a heat wave. We had lived in Nevada for 25 years, triple digits were the norm, the temp never dropping below 100 degrees at night was the norm, eighty degrees was T-shirt weather as long as you had a sweater in case you got chilled.

After 10 years here, however, we are suffering if the temp goes over 70 degrees. It’s the humidity, we tell ourselves, Vegas has a dry heat but here it is wet. Fact is, we have just acclimated and temps over 70 degrees are just plain hot.

The last month with temperatures over 70 and the last two weeks with it hitting high 80s and low 90s have been just unbearable for me.

We open windows and run fans all night trying to pull in cool air. I wake up at 5 and open the doors for the same reason. Around 9 we close up everything and put on the portable AC unit. By 5 oclock hunger forces us to cook dinner on the BBQ and then we sit, sweating and watch TV till close to 8 when it cools down enough to start working outside.

“I feel fall.” My best friend from childhood, who also lives on this island, said that to me once. I didn’t understand it at the time, but I do now. Last week, in the middle of the hottest days of the summer, we had one day that was cooler, when there was a bit of a breeze. And that breeze had a sharpness to it that spoke of fall.

It was that crispness that only comes in late September or early October when the winds are whipping red, orange and gold leaves off the tree to crunch underfoot. When people are starting to pull on gloves and scarves, not of necessity but as a justified fashion statement. The time of year that every retailer markets their product with a touch of pumpkin spice. Not one of my personal favorite flavors, but it does bring joy to so many, so “Yeah, pumpkin spice!”

It is my favorite time of the year. I have always preferred the colder weather to the heat (I can always add more clothing to get warm, but there is only so much I can take off to cool off.) And so I do a happy dance, well a figurative happy dance as I am the most uncoordinated dancer ever.

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES

Just some pearls to cheer myself up:

From a classmate of my son’s when he was in preschool (lordy, it's been 40 years!): Octopus have 8 testicles.

My granddaughter on our recent road trip when we smelled skunk: Eww, weed and stinky sweat socks. (Fact of life now, most kids know what marijuana smells like, fewer have a relationship with sweaty socks.)

Granddaughter at age 4 when asked what she wanted for dinner: Food.

HIGH ANXIETY TO SILVER LININGS

I wrote this four years ago.

My anxiety level has been really high this week. If ignored it usually leads to a deep depression, so I have spent a couple of days looking for the good in everything, the silver lining to the gray clouds in my mind. Here are some of the things on my homestead I have found to make me happy.

The blackberry vines have gone crazy with all the rain we had this year, they are growing into and over everything, I have spent hours cutting them back. But they are loaded with fruit which means free food for the family and the animals. And some will go into my first attempt at making wine.

I found a downed fence this morning, I had to take the time to fix it today instead of going back to bed as I wanted to do. But at least I know how the goats keep escaping. And the physical activity helps to keep the anxiety at bay.

A couple of weeks ago this little momma hen came walking out of the bushes with five babies in tow. Having chicks this late in the season means five little mouths that won’t be able to forage, five little mouths I will have to buy feed for and get no return (if they are girls, they won’t start laying eggs until January or February,) five little bodies that will need a supplemental heat source until all their feathers come in. But I also get several weeks of fluffy cuteness like their first dust bath, the little cheeps as they talk to Mom or their cries when they get separated from their flock.

And they provide company for Little Leo, a mille fleur bantam rooster. Fully grown at 18 months, he is half to a quarter the size of our other birds. He likes to hang out with all the new chicks because they are closer to his size. Though he gets a little confused when they grow up bigger than him, so he then “adopts” the next batch of chicks. He makes me laugh.

The sound of flowing water. The pond is functional but not finished. I will be spending the next year or so adding rocks, plants and fish. But now I can sit by it, close my eyes, listen to the water and imagine it in its finished glory. And relax. https://youtu.be/1kwRSD1RC6c

Although I didn’t have much time to garden this year, some of last year’s plants came back on their own. They are called volunteers, usually growing from the seeds of plants unharvested last year. So we will have some freebies: tomatoes, green beans and squash most likely.

UPDATE to that last story: Physical activity is but one method I have learned to fight depression. I will never be “cured” but I am learning to cope with it. Years of self analysis, attitude adjustment, meditation and identifying triggers have also helped.

Sadly, Little Leo went missing last year, probably dinner for a racoon, eagle or hawk. Nature is glorious, but fierce and cruel.

The pond was a wonderful experiment, but we had to fill it in after 2 years to make way for the horses. I learned a lot and one day will have a bigger pond. I learned about invasive plants and how they can take over a pond, clogging the filter, turning the water green and slimy. I learned that the chickens will dig away at the decorative rock and try to drink the water. I learned a bigger filter is always better.

The blackberry wine (prison wine as it is sometimes called) has been on my shelf for 4 years now. I am afraid to try it, but not willing to toss it out. Is it true you can go blind from drinking improperly made moonshine?

MORE HAPPY DANCE MATERIAL

She’s home! Almost thirty hours after breaking down, our little truck is home again. And at half the cost the first tow company wanted to charge. After such a miserable day yesterday, silver linings are everywhere, you just have to look for them.

Watch for further ramblings of an unfocused mind; coming soon to this space.