A Little of This and a Little of That

It has been a rough week. My back has been bothering me but is a little better today. There is really nothing they can do for it but surgery. I refuse to do that so I will manage it with OTC pain killers and exercises from my chiropractor.

Hubby tore his meniscus in his left knee. It has been bothering him for a while but he finally was able to get in to see the orthopedist who made this diagnosis. They gave him a cortisone shot. It seemed to work the first day but he says he is in pain now. Next step is an injection of gel. Final step is a knee replacement. So I have been busy most of the week taking care of him. We also had doctor appointments yesterday and Hubby has 2 next week and I have some tests one day also. Needless to say I have been really busy and exhausted each and every day.

Fortunately, I have wonderful neighbors who have been bringing our garbage cans up from the road after they have been emptied. Then all I have to do is open the garage door and put them away. I was grateful last week because we had a lot of snow and this week because it was 22 degrees and extremely windy. So I will be baking homemade banana bread for them and their families soon. They think I don’t know who is doing it but my outdoor cameras are showing me who it is.

However, we did not get take out for meals. I was tempted but resisted the urge. I made all of our meals all week. We had pork chops one day with Spanish rice, soup twice, and red beans and rice with smoked sausage. Leftovers were eaten for breakfast along with bacon and eggs and chicken salad. Today we should finish the chicken for brunch.

The grocery deals were not that good this week so I didn’t miss those. I may get to Aldi and Dollar Tree this morning very early. I haven’t looked at the Top’s ad for next week yet but unless they have really great deals, I will not shop. It will be too crowded.

We have been craving filet mignon, baked potatoes, and a salad so I will defrost the meat today.

We were supposed to have Christmas here tomorrow with some family but one of them is sick and they don’t want us to get sick. So it has been changed to Sunday but most likely that will end up getting cancelled. We were looking forward to it but things happen. At least I have all the stockings filled but they can wait until some future time.

Since I was sitting a lot because Hubby wanted me to watch some taped shows with him, I wrote 23 Christmas cards out and got them mailed. I have one friend who is almost blind so I will call and chat with her soon.

I am so happy that Christmas money envelopes and all 5 stockings are done. I would not want to be running around now gathering those things.

We are not putting up our tree this year because of Eloise. She would either knock it over or become an ornament in it.

We continue to work on our budget for 2025. We were bitterly disappointed when our pest control company sent us notice of an increase in our quarterly cost. I just paid $202.+ for the past three months. Now it will be $234.+ a quarter or $936.+ a year. That is a yearly increase of $ 128. per year. I was not happy that every year they raise it but this is the largest increase. I hate spiders, all bugs and bees and wasps. So we are researching what we can do. We also have traps that they put food in each quarter to get rid of the voles that ruin our lawn. If anyone treats these things at the their home themselves, I would love to hear about in the comments and any products you use. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I hope you are all getting your Christmas food at the stores and your gifts done.