Injuries Abound (Klutzes R US)

Repeat after me "Suellen is a KLUTZ"

ROFLMBO

My right knee is going to need to be replaced due to arthritis, hoping it will last until after I retire on February 26, 2027.

And I have a knack for injuring myself that has to be seen to be believed!!
br>Came in the house one day last year and tripped over a freaking broom (not to mention, one hand was full of a cold brew and the other hand full of a Rebel energy drink). The cold brew landed right side up in the nearby garbage can, the Rebel landed on the floor, and it took me 15 minutes to get my fat body off the floor (I only wich I was joking)

Part of the reason that I am trying to clean and declutter is that everything in this house (other than the cat) is trying to either trip me or kill me

I have fallen or otherwise injured myself at work so many times that I've lost count (my employer is a bit of an ass about Workers' Comp claims so I usually do not treat ANYTHING as a Workers' Comp claim, I use my own personal insurance to cover anything or I just don't treat the injury, especially if it's minor.

Am dealing with knee pain (falls, arthritis, aging, etc), back pain (scoliosis, bone spurs, etc), and shoulder/neck pain due to a manual staple gun that tried to kill me!!

I am learning to pay attention to what I am doing .... not thinking of the next thing I have to do....and respecting my bodys' need for rest, relaxation, and being aware of my surroundings.

Yes...I am alive!! LOL

Okay I just realized it's been well over a year since I updated this blog. Still working for USPS (I retire in less than a year). Lost Percy Cat to a brain tumor in November 2005 and engaged in a war of whatever with my rude/inconsiderate/jerk of a new next door neighbor relative to the cat (and other things). I buried Percy Cat next to my carport--on my property-=and put a small piece of cardboard plus a rock on top of the grave to prevent the local wild animals from digging him up and eating him (gross I know but that could happen). The aformentioned rude/inconsiderate/jerk of a neighbor removed both rock and cardboard in approximately three days. I lost my temper!!

First I checked with management (I live in a manufactured home park) to confirm that the grave was on my property. It was. Management decided to put a larger rock (actually a square of concrete) on top of the grave with a sign saying "DO NOT REMOVE" I cried like crazy when I discovered that. BTW, the cat was over 18 years old, and he had lived with me since he was 1 1/2 years old. He slept on my head!! We were attached!! I was furious with next door neighbor and have pretty much remained so due to things other than the cat.

I had somebody build me a gate that extends from jerk's area to my carport, and I painted that sucker BRIGHT PURPLE. Percy's grave is behind the fence next to my carport.

You would think that that the new gravestone and sign would have been the end of it, but you would be wrong. I leave for work one day (night actually, since I work nights) and I notice that dear old rude/inconsiderate/jerk neighbor has a bunch of his stuff (rolls of wire, large garbage can, big hand truck, and bag of potting soil) leaning against my BRIGHT PURPLE gate and MY CARPORT). This man had already extended his property (with wood fencing) well into my area so I contacted management (not into confronting jerks directly) and they had him move the stuff onto his OWN DAMN PROPERTY but he moved it back SIX DAYS later. Contacted management again and I think they put the fear of something into him as it has stayed where it belongs (on his property) ever since. He has remained thoroughly inconsiderate/rude/jerk in any other area you can imagine but as long as he stays off my property I'm happy-ish!!

The house is an absolute disaster area except for the master bathroom/bedroom but I have the next 10 days off (paid vaction, baby!!) so will do my best to get it cleaned/tidied/decluttered.

Healthwise, lots of injuries but my asthma has calmed down (as soon as I got FMLA approved for my asthma, it started getting better), have started taking Align probiotic for my IBS (it helps a lot), started Ozempic (have lost about 20 pounds and have a lot more energy), am mostly med compliant these days (that means that 9 days out of 10 I take ALL of my medications).

Somehow a packet of negatives showed up in my bedroom so I took them to Walmart (only took 3 months to get them all developed) and WOW WOW WOW pictures of my mother at about 5 years old (she would be 97 on April 8 2026), pictures of my great grandfather (he died shortly after I was born), pictures of my maternal grandparents (both gone now). Not so WOW WOW WOW were the pictues of randome horses, cows, sheep (I kid you not!!) but I am planning on making a collage of the wierd pictures (I already hung up 99% of the other pictures).

Went to a family funeral in Wallowa (Oregon) and graveside service in Lostine (Oregon) in August 2025. I reconnected with family members and friends that I hadn't seen in literally decades so that was great even though it was a sad reason!!

I need to share an absolute COLOSSAL frugal failure. So I may have mentioned that I adopted a new cat the end of November (NO, he is NOT the frugal fail!!)

Mr Mittens is a scratcher. He has a scratching post which he uses but he much prefers my sofa(s) ....and I prefer them not to look like they've gone through a war. I looked locally for stuff to cover the arms of the sofas as I'd ordered some off of Facebook that never showed up (and the shop closed down). No luck locally, so tried Amazon. I found some and that's where the frugal fails starts: I bought two 2 packs ($24.00 each), self adhesive HA and trimmable.

First off it took one full pack to partially cover ONE arm of the dining room sofa (of course there wasn't coverage for the area he loves to scratch)---Self adhesive my rear end and the twisty push pins they sent along--half of them failed and untwisted when pushing in. Next idea double sided tape which I had to buy, wasn't expensive BUT...worked better at sticking to my pants than to the sofa or the covers.

Next idea: staple gun which might have worked had I not cheaped out and bought the $23.00 manual version. It took two hands to staple the material to the sofa, ok fine. EXCEPT for the fact that the using the staple gun pinched nerves/muscles in my neck and right shoulder. Urgent care, follow up with my PCP, multiple packs of heat packs to cover my shoulder, a hot water bottle, a muscle relaxer, AND now I'm looking at physical therapy as the injury will probably not heal on its own. I'm avoiding figuring out how much this debacle will cost me in total.

PS Anybody interested in buying a CHEAP staple gun? ROFLMBO!!

PS PS Anybody have any other ideas for cat-proofind the sofas?? Anybody suggesting that I get rid of the cat will be shot!! Not really, but I do love him a lot even despite his destructive habits (he is just doing what cats do) and he is a real sweetheart otherwise.

Another Update, Better Late Than Never

Still working for USPS, not as much overtime which is fine with my body and my brain (just not so fine with the budget). 1 year and 355 days until I retire (but who's counting? I for sure am counting!! LOL

Life is always interesting healthwise, lately it's been the bleeping asthma (which is not helped by working in a dusty environment. Also, always and forever, without end, the klutziness countinues....most recently tripped over a broom, wrecked my bad knee just a little bit more, scraped my right arm, and turned the air blue for the 20 minutes it took to get off the floor.

Still slowly working on getting the house back into shape, the most recent adventure was getting the insulation under the house replaced (with underlayment as well). A side benefit or two: 1) one of the guys doing the job hates spiders as much as I do so he cleaned out the spider webs and hopefully the arachnids LEFT. 2) the house is warmer between an enclosed carport, the replaced insulation, and the "newish" HVAC system

Well dang I did NOT realize that it had been so long since I updated this blog. In my defense, life has been crazy as all hell since about 2020, when I was hired by USPS (the post office here in the US, for those of you who are not based in USA)

Working lots of hours for the last 7 years, working nights, making lots of money, getting my house interior painted, getting my laundry room and kitchen/office floored, getting my house exterior painted, getting my 3 decks (front, side, back) sanded and stained (the side deck was rotten to the ground so it got rebuilt as well).

Next on the agenda is getting the flooring in the rest of the house installed (all but one room is down to the particle board that was used as an underlayment when this house was manufactured (1986))

I'm retiring in February 2027, so using the extra $$$ to remodel, renovate, repair, etc so I can age in place here

Am slowly moving away from PTR (Paid to Read email) as 1) the return is ridiculously low even for the minimal effort you need to put in 2) I make more $$$ from one day at the job than in a month of PTR 3) Surveys, receipt scanning sites (Coin Out, Receipt Pal, Receipt Hog, Fetch Rewards), offer sites (Swagbucks, My Points, Unique Rewards, etc) NCP all pay more than PTR for less effort. In addition the major hosting company for PTR is shutting down the end of 2024 and most sites are scrambling to find hosting.

I'd also like to finish writing/editing the books I write or have ideas for, start making the jewelry that I have TONS of supplies for, and start doing the other crafts that I have another TON of supplies for. I will probably also get a part-time sit down job after I retire as I do get bored easily (but by the time I retire I will have been on my feet for 7 years at USPS, 2 years at Safeway, 2 years at Market of Choice, and 3 months at Walmart)

Healthe continues to be an issue, bad asthma attack put me in the hospital for 36 hours in June 2024 (and my employer was a total butt about time missed). Take 9 pills a day every day (blood thinners, anti-depressant, diabetes meds [2], high cholesterol med, high blood pressure meds [2]

I have only one cat now and he is nearly 18 years old, sleeps on my head and howls like a banshee!!

2022 Update

got "converted" at work which means I am a career employee with USPS (rather than just a PSE), better insurance coverage, able to use annual leave, can accrue sick leave, contribute to TSP (Thrift Savings Plan), and contribute to retirement. Also means I can retire in about 5 years which I was planning on anyway but this way I will have more money (Social Security, TSP, Wells Fargo tiny pension, and USPS retirement). Still working a crapload of hours though as we are short staffed but I need the money anyway, to replace the HVAC system that died in December.

Goals for the next 5 years are: 1) get as close to debt free as possible between now and February/March 2027 (current vehicle will be paid off in 3 months) 2) get my book "Roommate Land" edited and published 3) Get my book "Stagecoach Blues" finished, edited, and published 4) Start writing all my murder mysteries and/or cozies and get them edited/published. 4) Complete the work on my house (windows replaced, carpeting or flooring in all rooms except kitchen/office replaced (kitchen and office flooring was replaced last summer, replace insulation, replace fridge and oven/stove, replace heat pump with mini-split). 5) get the landscaping up to par, front yard is nothing but a dirt patch now with some irises and Oregon Grape, and side yard is a mess as well. 6) Lose weight because if I do I can probably stop taking most of my medications or at least cut back on them, this would also probably decrease number of doctor appointments, ER visits, Urgent Care visits. 7) Replace this POS Dell Inspiron laptop with something that doesn't crash every 15 minutes.

I'd like to start blogging more regularly as it's a good release for frustration.

2020 and 2021 update

Been working at USPS since April 2020, the pay is good, the work is physically demanding which helps with at least maintaining my weight. HA HA. Management sucks but you can't have everything.

Spent a week at the beach (Lincoln City, Oregon) in April 2020. Will never stay at the Lincoln City Motel 6 again, it was cold, noisy (across the hallway from the ice machine) and dirty as well as being at least 6 blocks from the beach. Next time I will pay a pet fee at a CAT FRIENDLY place (and BTW, PET FRIENDLY does not equal CAT FRIENDLY)

July 2021, broke my big toe on my left foot at work and it's been a total shitshow trying to get medical costs covered. Took my manager a month to fill out the form I needed, and then the postmaster lost the form. Filled out another form and faxed it about a week ago, heard nothing so far. Also, had a possible migraine complete with tossing my cookies all over my bathroom floor. But the piece de resistance was a blood clot in my lung, my first ambulance ride ever (that was NOT on my bucket list!!), serious surgery to place a catheter and sheaths in my neck to drip heparin on the clot, 4 days total in the hospital, missed 10 days of work.

Been working on home improvements, my next door neighbor laid down new flooring (spiced oak) in kitchen and office area, replaced 3 light fixtures (over the kitchen sink, in the guest bathroom, and outside the back door), and rebuilt my eyesore of a front porch (the old front porch had holes in the steps, bowed siding, termite damage, and peeling paint). My earnings from USPS paid for the supplies and for his time.

Bird Shit and Other Blessings

So lately the birds (probably barn swallows) have taken to nesting in my carport and shitting on my car. I've lived here for 15 years and this is the first year this has happened.

I was bitching online about the bird shit and it hit me--as I was driving my car home to park it in my carport--that there are a lot of people who don't have a car. There are a lot of people who don't have a carport. There are a lot of people who don't have a house. These days, there are a lot of people who aren't even alive to see the birds!!

If the most pressing problem I have in my life is birds nesting in my carport and shitting on my car, I'd say I am living a pretty blessed life. Bird shit is nasty and inconvenient, but it certainly isn't the end of the world.

Another blessing in my life this year is a warm house, finally. My house is normally heated with an electric heat pump that is malfunctioning but working. By "malfunctioning" I mean that the defrost control panel and monitor need to be replaced.

I have a quote for the work of $425.00 which I don't have right now. I have to run the furnace on emergency heat OR the heat pump ices over and runs continually (this plays merry hell with my electric bill, and electric baseboard heat is very ineffective in keeping this house warm)

There is a local Facebook group that is helping people that are affected by Covid 19 aka the coronavirus.

I hadn't spent much time at home before the pandemic started and did not realize exactly how cold it was in my house.

When I realized how high the bill was AND how cold I was I posted in the group asking for a space heater. I got a space heater. I also got a former chimney sweep that cleaned off my roof--it was covered with pine needles and pinecones--and checked out my chimney (said it was good to go).

I had about 1/2 cord of wood that a neighbor who was moving out of the park sold to my next door neighbor for $10.00, and the second neighbor gave me the wood for free.

This was back in 2016, and I hadn't used any of the wood since then because the roommate I had at that time was a full blown alcoholic who could not be trusted to not burn the house down, I only wish I was joking.

Once the chimney sweep told me that the chimney was fine, I started building fires in the woodstove. I heat the house during the day with the woodstove, and let the furnace kick on at night so the pipes won't freeze.

Third blessing, a friend paid for a month of a Keto boot camp. I lost 15 pounds during that month and discovered that I slept better, had more energy, and best of all--95% pain free. Sugar is an inflammatory addictive substance, boys and girls, and although giving up sugar did not cure my arthritis it sure as hell made it less painful.

Fourth blessing -- I've been spending a lot of time cleaning and decluttering my house for the last year.

I thought I was finished with this job a few months ago and then realized that I still had a lot of stuff that needed to be sorted. I took pictures with my phone of all my unframed pictures and then uploaded them to Facebook (will be uploading them to Google Drive and One Drive as well).

I went through the bathroom, the office, the kitchen, and the entertainment center that I had re-purposed as storage in the master bedroom. Several boxes of stuff went to the free table in my mobile home park clubhouse (this included multiple unopened tubes of toothpaste, 5-6 staplers, 5-6 staple pullers, cleaning rods for guns that had been sold 12 years ago, and other assorted usable stuff that I didn't need but was too good to throw away).

I got rid of nearly all of my reusable drink cups, because who needs 40 damn drink cups?

I call all of this a blessing because it has given me something productive to do while waiting for word on the THREE jobs I have accepted that are on hold because of the coronavirus. It's also a blessing to have something to do that doesn't require leaving the house and also keeps me from feeding my face 24/7.

Payouts in January 2019

Amazon Gift Cards:

Life Fun and Everything: $25.00
Fetch Rewards: $10.00
NCP: $10.00
Paid Viewpoint: $15.09
Google Opinion Rewards: $10.00

Serve:

Cathouse Mails: $3.28
Marino Mails: $2.86
Wallaby Mail: $3.76
Wine N Roses PTR: $2.52
Heather Conzett: $2.75

Mini Update for 2020

In my last post, I had gone from Market of Choice to Consumer Cellular to UNEMPLOYED. October 11, 2019 I started a new job as an electronics associate at WalMart. So all is well? NOT.

I was fired from WalMart for excessive absenteeism on January 2, 2020. I missed a lot of work due to one sinus infection after another (2 visits to Urgent Care, 1 visit to the ER, 3 rounds of antibiotics -- and of course the antibiotics caused other infections in unmentionable places as well as upset my stomach no end),

Here's the really special part, I was at home sick (having called out) and received a phone call to come pick up my final paycheck. Being fired over the phone was a new experience for me, and it's an experience I wouldn't recommend to anybody else!!

I had applied for unemployment benefits in between Consumer Cellular and WalMart but had never claimed any weeks. So I reopened the claim on January 2, 2020 but of course they had to investigate my firing so it took 3 weeks--21 days to the day--to be approved for benefits. I'd received my final paycheck on the same day I got fired, and that was the only income I received until Monday January 26, 2020 when I received a check for 2 weeks of unemployment benefits. I will continue to get unemployment benefits for several weeks, and I am also on SNAP and OHP.

Just to add to the total joy of the situation, the same day that I was fired I discovered that there was a broken and/or leaking pipe under the house. The park manager came over at 1:30 AM (yes, in the very early morning) and turned off the water. The guy who usually works on my plumbing was injured and couldn't go into crawl spaces. NONE of the other plumbers that I called ever called me back or they had an hourly minimum so I finally ended up (AFTER THIRTEEN DAYS WITHOUT ANY RUNNING WATER!!) with a handyman that was recommended by a fellow park resident. It turned out that a pipe under the kitchen sink (under the house) had just simply burst. Matt fixed it the day after I called him

I brought buckets of water from the clubhouse to flush the toilet for 13 days. I did laundry at the clubhouse too and finally asked the park manager if I could use the clubhouse dishwasher to wash dishes as the kitchen was starting to smell pretty ripe. I used baby wipes to keep myself clean and boiled bottled water to wash my hair. I was so happy to finally get running water again after thirteen days without any.

The park manager paid to have my heat pump partially fixed. It had been icing over the last 2-3 winters and it turns out there were two reasons: the filter hadn't been changed in FIVE YEARS (they need to be changed every 3 months) and the defrost control board and sensor both need to be replaced. I'm looking to buy the parts on Amazon and have Matt install them if it's something he can do.

I have been lucky with Amazon gift cards for the last several years. If a site pays with Amazon, I jump on that (also if the site pays with Serve--American Express prepaid) I can reload my Amazon balance with my Serve card. Some sites also pay with virtual debit cards that can be used to reload the Amazon gift cards. Apps and surveys work the best for me, as most of the PTR sites I belong to are slow payers.

I've purchased cat food, cat litter, decorative fencing, two toilets, a Christmas tree (artificial), a fitbit (actually my 2nd fitbit as the first one got washed accidentally and died), my Kindle, a box of Godiva chocolate, a SAD (seasonal affective disorder) light, a swimsuit (which ended up getting returned because it didn't fit) and a years supply of vitamin D.