Tuesday, August 7, 2012

As the days turn into weeks......

I can't believe that so much time has passed since I last posted. One day has melted into another

My daughter and granddaughter came here on Memorial Day and they have not left yet. My daughter was not well at all and it did give us a scare. Her blood pressure was dangerously high and her legs and feet were swollen horribly from water retention. With medication and careful rest, that has almost entirely cleared up. We are very relieved  about that.  Now that the weather has returned to almost normal for this time of year, I think they will be going home soon.  Believe me, I've been very grateful for central air on these hundred degree days and humid nights.

Looking at things from my daughter's perspective, it's hard to move back home when you're used to doing things your own way. From my perspective, it's hard to have someone living with me again when I've been alone for so many years.  We've have had some spats but we've also had some good bonding in which I've enjoyed having them here with me.  Probably we could get used to co-existing, but it would take some work on both our parts. She likes to stay up late and the TV is on until 5 in the morning most times. I go to bed earlier (by 11 pm or earlier) and am used to a dark quiet house. I have gone for a week and longer without even turning the TV on.....so you can imagine how different it is with her here.  No, I can't hear the TV from my bedroom but I fret over the electric bill.

Speaking of which.  I just paid a $280 electric bill.  I know it was mostly because of the horribly hot weather which kept the AC going 24/7......but it still hurt to have such a chunk coming out of the budget.  But I have to tell myself.....if I didn't have the AC I would have been tremendously miserable and probably sleepless.

I had to get new glasses. My bill was over $700 for two pair of glasses and one pair of contacts and that was just my part......I have optical insurance that took care of the rest. The total bill was $1350. I was very glad to hear that all the problems I had with my left eye did not hamper the vision. My prescription changed very little.

Today is my granddaughter's 10th birthday. We did have plans to take her to a friend's farm so she could interact with the horses but my ex called and said he would be by with a present for her so now we are stuck waiting for him. I guess I won't post my true feelings on this at this time, especially since we haven't heard from him since Christmas!

Remember the problem I had with the power company and my email address? Remember they sent me an email  to inform me that my email address wasn't working? Anyway I contacted someone a couple of rungs up the ladder from the customer service reps who answer the phone and asked if she could please fix this.....she promised she would. A month later I AGAIN received notice from them that my email address was not a good one.  I gave up.  I changed my email address with them, giving them one that I only use for shopping and/or less important things than bills.  Hopefully this will fix the problem.

Then I tried to reduce the cost of my ever-increasing phone bill (landline) and found out that they stripped away almost all of the features that I LIKE. I called back and asked for someone a couple of rungs up the ladder from the service reps (who messed me up originally) and she promised she would fix it.  Well, yeah, she did....but now my phone bill is $15 MORE than it was before.  I should have just left well enough alone.

This is one of the reasons why I won't complain about my property taxes.  I think they are a bit high but fear if I say anything, they will end up higher than they are now.  So I'll just shut up about it.

My son hurt his arm at work and will be off two weeks at least. At first they thought he'd have to have surgery on it, but thankfully, it's a torn muscle which popped up like a golfball was under his skin, and he will have to have therapy instead. He's worried he'll lose his job over it because he's classified as part time working full time hours. I'm really hoping he doesn't. His job consists of intense manual labor....he works for a disposal company.  Yep....not a pretty job....but it pays very well and SOMEONE has to do it.  Right?

Today is the day the people vote for millages, renewals and for who runs against who. I know a lot of municipalities are nervous asking for millage renewals because people are just fed up with everything costing more money.  I'm glad I'm not working today as voting day is a real mess at work as far as parking is concerned and then there are the lines in the hallway to contend with.

My daughter told me she was quitting smoking. I can't begin to tell you how proud I was of her. She lasted one week, then started sneaking them. This is a non-smoking household so no one was tempting her because they were smoking. Neither neighbor on each side smoke, so she wasn't smelling it. Nicotine is a horribly addictive drug and apparently she's not strong enough to kick it, which I thought she would be.  I'm disappointed and mad all rolled into one.  And yes I know how hard it is.....I quit smoking myself 22 years ago.

I'm going to try and get back into posting more often......and I want to really thank any of you that have stuck with me and continue to stop by to see if I've posted. You mean the world to me.  You guys are true blue!  Keep smilin'.

8 comments:

Coffeypot said...

I don't understand...you got an email telling you your email was wrong? What was wrong and, if it is, why did they send you an email knowing you wouldn't get it? It's like me, when I send out a test email, I tell everyone, if you don't get this, ignore it. The electric company is as big a smart-ass as I am.

happyone said...

Nice to see you posting and it was nice catching up with what is happening with you.

Sorry your daughter has been sick but glad she is better now.
My son smoked a long time. He tried to quite many times but would end up smoking again. The good news though is that one time it did work and he quit for good. So there is hope for your daughter. It just takes longer for some but one time it will work for her too.

Betty said...

Nice to hear from you again. I hope things get back to normal soon.

Forsythia said...

Sounds like you've had a busy summer. I cam empathize with your uneasiness about the TV being on all night. I follow folks through the house turning off lights still burning for no good reason. Hope things calm down for you soon.

Josie Two Shoes said...

HiVal! I was delighted to see your name pop up on my reading list today! I've been wondering where you were and what you were up to! I bet it's kinda hard to find quiet writing time with family in the house too. I love my daughter to the max, but we both know that after a week or so we're both better off in our own homes, we can get on each other's last nerve... too much alike I think! :-) I hope your kids are able to go home soon. I value my quiet life and privacy so much and would find it hard to give that up.

I can pretty much guess how you feel about your ex showing up with a gift. A better gift would be for him to be a real part of her life, presents don't equal love and relationships. UGH!

I hope your son's arm mends ok and he doesn't lose his job. I would think he might be protected if it's an on the job injury. It sounds painful. I've been having a hassle with my hands lately.. carpal tunnel, and you know how much I use them! This getting old/wearing out stuff is for the birds!

I dread seeing our electric bill this month too after weeks of well over 100 temps every day. But I agree with you, I couldn't live without it, don't know how we ever did!

Isn't it crazy what new glasses cost? It goes higher and higher every time I get new ones! It's everything nowdays. $100 bills buy what $10 bills used to buy. I hate it, it stresses us trying to do it, and I know it does you too. Guess we can all be glad we have a roof over our heads... so far, anyway!

I hope things go easier for you and your family from now on, you're long overdue for a nice quiet spell! Sending love and positive energy your way.

HUGS, Josie

Debbie said...

Hi Val,

Sounds like the same story from everyone one :( always something. My son moved back in for about 10 months and I felt exactly as you do.

My A/C went out for 4 days and I've been thankful every day since. Everything is costing so much and we all just have to prop up and support each other when we can.

Just know that the same crap is going on in other houses :) and you are not alone ((hugs))

lotta joy said...

I'm glad your son didn't have to move in with you too. I imagine having more bodies in your house created a need for more AC that you could have managed without.

It's sad how people in our age group learned a long time ago how to manage on less - or live without, but none of it got passed on to the next generation.

Joy Des Jardins said...

I've been in the same boat as far as posting goes Val. I'm not sure how often I'll post, but I hope to be more frequent.

I'm glad your daughter is feeling better...she was fortunate to have you around for support during that time. It's very different when your kids come home for a while, isn't it? Everyone is use to their own routine.

My air conditioners have gone non-stop; but I can't imagine being without them. We have finally gotten some relief from that horrid heat.

Good for your daughter for quitting smoking...a very hard thing to do; but so good for her.