Happy Easter! Some Not Fun Stuff, Plus I Got What I Wanted!

  Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. I am fairly subdued this Easter season. I have been having some weird heart dances, higher blood pressure than I normally have, and have gotten over some swooney spells I was having a couple of months ago. They were pretty bad. My doctor ordered an ultrasound of my carotid artery, an echocardiogram, and a CT scan of my head. The insurance refused the CT scan, claiming my doctor said I had a problem with my nerves, and that wouldn't call for a CT scan. Apart from the fact that my doctor never said that, I still think it's terrible that an insurance company that has never seen me, gets to decide what I need medically, over my actual doctor who HAS seen me. My doctor was able to resubmit the request and it has been rescheduled. In the meantime, my heart continues to dance and my swooney spells have gone away. But a few days ago, I suddenly found a huge lump on the side of my leg, just below my knee. It was black too, like a giant bruise. The only thing was, I hadn't actually done anything to my leg to cause it. My hypochondriac mind immediately jumped to 'blood clot', and I ran for the emergency room.

Where I spent the next few hours.

  I was assured the lump couldn't possibly be a clot, due to it's position. (Blood clots occur in the back of the legs, apparently.) They were going to send me home, but when asked if I had any other complaints, I said my chest felt tight. Then they wouldn't let me go home. They tested my everything, including bloodwork, different bloodwork to check for a heart attack, an x-ray of my heart, echocardiogram, blood oxygen, pulse, etc.  As usual, everything came back perfect. My blood pressure was a little high, but the doctor said they expect that in the ER. I also figured it could have been my nerves because I was afraid. So now I have a follow up appointment with my doctor, and I still have that appointment to get my head examined. (Ha.) 

  I think the root of the whole thing is the lack of sleep I've had since Ken had his strokes last July. Since then I have slept through the night twice I think. Since the stroke affected Ken's left leg, arm, and hand, he needs help with his toileting, and since he also had kidney damage, he pees a lot. Sometimes it has been once an hour, or sometimes every two hours, all night and day. There have been days when I am completely exhausted and can hardly stay awake. He's improving though, (He was in the hospital again a couple of weeks ago with another UTI. Fortunately this one was less serious than last time, and he was only in for a couple of days. Thankfully, since I only had a very uncomfortable chair to sleep in this time. It was like torture.) He has been given something to help him more completely empty his bladder when he goes, which is supposed to help prevent UTIs.), and I have slept more lately. I'm hoping that will help. The ER doc said stress and lack of sleep could definitely be the cause of my heart flutters and blood pressure problems. I've had stress flutters before, three other times. Once was when my dad was living with us, when he had dementia. I had to go to the cardiologist, and he verified that it was just stress because nothing even showed up on my overnight monitor.

  This Easter is weird for me, because I'm not making Easter baskets for my kids. Even though they've been grown for a while, I still made their baskets up. But Ivy lives in another state now, and Emma lives in another town. We're also living on a limited income now, which makes money a bit tighter. I also added to our debt recently. I was taking Ken to his appointment at the heart failure clinic. It's a multilane one way street. As I got almost up to the turn in to the parking lot, I put my turn signal on, checked there was nothing in the left lane, and started, very slowly, to ease into the left lane.  I had barely gotten the edge of my front fender into the lane when a huge red Jeep vehicle came speeding up in the left lane and whammed into us. I stopped, but the red Jeep continued on, and bounced all over the street, and slid sideways. It ended up crossways in the left lane, ahead of me. I was still in the right lane. The guy immediately jumped out of his vehicle and got on his phone to the police. I had to get Ken inside, to his appointment, because he had been having very low blood pressure. He couldn't miss it. To cut a long story short, I was, of course, cited, because I was entering his lane. However, he is claiming that I hit him, when he is the one who hit me. The only damage to his vehicle is a scubbed passenger side front tire, and a scratched streak along under his passenger side door. That's how high his vehicle was compared to mine. Our car, on the other hand, has a crunched front fender. I had a hard time getting my door open after the crash, and the fender was rubbing the tire so bad, that I had to stop at the garage on the way home and have them pull it out so I could drive the car. The rim of my wheel is bent up, and my tie rod or something is bent. So I get a ticket and an insurance deductible. They'll probably drop us because we used them. 

  Anyway, on to the stuff that interests you more. As you might recall, I had my eye on the Mini Verse Make It Mini Spring set, with the deviled eggs. I manage to scoop up a lot of the Mini Brands sets free by getting the empty cases with the sample toys on them from the stores. But the only Spring display I saw was a huge one, about 4 feet tall, and attached to an endcap.

Ken, looking suspicious by the Spring display.

  Recently Fuzz and I went to the only store I had even seen that display in, and it was GONE! Gone, and probably just thrown in the trash. That was the only store in town that even had the Spring series. I was disappointed. But then we walked around to the other end of the aisle, where the clearanced toys are, and there was ONE Spring ball! I wondered if it was actually clearanced though, because it didn't have a clearance sticker on it. Fuzz suggested taking it to find out. I agreed to that, and we continued our shopping. I had something else to do before going home, and I had to get back to Ken. So we finished our individual shopping and went through the checkouts. I totally forgot about the ball, because I was tired and in a hurry. When we got out, Fuzz handed me the ball. He bought it for me. I asked if it had been clearanced, and he had no idea. We had to look at the receipt. It was not. They must just have only had one left and had just tossed it on the clearance shelf to get rid of the display. (Sniff!) I told Fuzz he could consider it my Mothers Day gift.

  So I took the ball home, anxious to see which set I had gotten. I mean, there are four sets. What are the odds I would get the deviled egg one? I was hoping, but how good is my luck? Well, I could see this showing through the ball. Looks like a good sign!

  Oh yeah!

  Things were almost certain at this point! I mean, the package has the deviled eggs pictured on it! This must be the one! 

  And it is! What were the odds of that?!

  The set comes with a two piece table, tongs, a bowl to mix the 'eggs' in, and a spoon to mix it with, a chicken shaped tray for the prepared eggs, a container of already halved boiled eggs... 

...a jar of  'mayonaise',(The resin for holding everything together. Of course, you never get the resin in the sample toys on the boxes.), a jar of  'peppercorns' to use for eyes on the eggs...

 and a container of little orange things to use as beaks. (Carrot pieces maybe?) Cheese?

There's also a little bunny head that clips on to something. I'm not sure what you're supposed to clip it to though.   

  The directions aren't the clearest. Kids are going to understand this? And why do they start at the bottom of the paper and go upward? I read from top to bottom. Or am I just old fashioned?

 

  One thing that's a cool little detail is, the eggs themselves have two different textures. The whites are sort of rubbery feeling, and the yolks are rough.

  I'm going to have to use some tweezers to put the little faces on. Those tiny tongs are never going to work with my fat fingers. I'm not sure I want to do all of them. It would be nice to have some plain ones too. Tammy World thinks they taste fine just the way they are.

  She's wondering if you remember her Easter dress I made for her a few years ago. She did quite a photo shoot in it, which you can see by clicking on the highlighted link.

  I'm making curried eggs today, which I have been doing for Easter for years. We're also having sauteed Hosta shoots from our yard. (Well, the shoots are. They didn't come out of the yard sauteed though...) We haven't had any the last two or three years, due to 'circumstances'. (i.e. house fire, living at Emma's, etc.) We used to do it though. We had a batch yesterday, and they were pretty good. There's been quite a crop this year. And yes, I mean Hostas, those plants with big leaves that flower and grow in your yard. They are quite edible. In fact, they were originally for eating, and only became strictly decorative when they came over here. They can be cut at four or five inches tall, up to two or three times, and will still grow back and flower in that season. Anyway, have a good day. I'll see you again soon.

Of Dolls, Clofoutis, and Social Security, and a Sad Farewell

   I had several things planned for the holidays, but I just never found the time to do them. I saw some toys at a Burlington store that I thought might interest those who like to do dioramas or 1/6 scale houses. 

 They might interest them, until they see how the scale really measures up.

  Not sure if they would still have these at Burlington, but if they really interest you, you might be able to find them online. They're by Arcady.

   Remember way back in 2022 when I did a post on some Friends Forever Club dolls I found at Dollar Tree? 

The two at the top.

Well they still have them, and they finally got the clothes too...

...and even wig sets! 

  They also have some little anime' looking dolls too.

  I have become the queen of finding marked down produce, so Ken can eat healthy. I happened across some severely marked down cherries a few weeks ago, and thought it would be the perfect time to try making clafoutis. I had some when we were in Paris, and it has haunted me ever since, (along with the pastries we had. I have been spoiled for anything else now!) 

  It turned out quite good, but I'm no French chef.  

  Recently I've been sitting around here, trying not to freeze, because our house is really cold. Not quite as cold as it is outside, but freezing none the less. And it has been VERY cold outside. I had to cancel both of Ken's therapy days and a doctor appointment, because it is so intensely cold that I didn't think it was safe for him, with his diabetes and poor circulation. So he has been doing some exercises at home, (and trying to get out of them!), and a little walking to keep from stiffening up. 

  I also had a doctor appointment last week, since I have been having swoony spells. I went to have blood work done They gave me a 'lay down chair' this time, because I told the that the last couple of times I have had weird reactions to having my blood drawn. (The last time I got a bit weak and sick, and the time before that I went to the car and cried all the way to the library. I just went crazy emotional and couldn't explain why. I did well this time though. ) And my blood work came back like Mary Poppins: practically perfect in every way. The only thing that was even slightly off was that my cholesterol was up by 1 point. How that happens when I haven't had meat or animal fat in 37 years, I don't know. I don't even drink near the amount of milk that I used to, or eat as much cheese. And with the price of free range eggs so high, I almost never eat them. I do eat some stuff with eggs in, but mostly lately I have been eating mostly things without. Anyway, the doc also ordered a CT scan of my head, an ultrasound of my carotid artery, and some kind of test on my heart. She did give me ear drops too though. She said my left ear had fluid, and my right ear was red inside. So I have been having Fuzz squirt the drops in my ear. My swoony spells were fading by the time I got to the doctor anyway, so I'm guessing it was an ear thing. I still have to have the tests done, as long as they will be paid for. That's because we STILL haven't got any income coming in. We are still waiting on Social Security Disability to kick in, even though the guy who examined Ken in December said it was a no brainer. I have been told that he didn't qualify for SSD, and instead will get Social Security Disability Insurance. That sounded worrying, until I was old that all that meant was that he qualified for a different kind of SSD. Apparently it's the kind they put you on if they assume you will be able to work again in the future. I don't know about that. The wonderful thing about SSDI is that they require a 5 month waiting period since you applied, before they will pay you. Fortunately, that's coming up in about a week, because we are running out of money.  Unfortunately, unlike the other kind of SS, they don't give you back pay from the time you applied, because they think you should have had five month's worth of money just laying around. I'm serious. They think that 5 months without money is 'reasonable'. Sure it is. 

  If you're wondering why people who haven't had income since July were shopping at a Burlington, (or anywhere else), well, we had a large gift card, due to Ken wanting to keep the horribly fitting suit he bought there, for Emma's wedding,  instead of the fairly decent fitting suit we got elsewhere. As with most things, he procrastinated until he was too late to return the suit for a refund, (and he had lost his receipt anyway), so we had to take a gift card. So we had Christmas shopping money to spend at Burlington. I also spent a lot of it buying marked down pajama bottoms and warm shirts for Ken. He's lost so much weight since his strokes, and is now cold, so he has needed a whole new wardrobe of pants he can actually keep up when he walks in therapy, and long sleeved shirts to keep him warm. He owned a couple of button up long sleeved shirts, but everything else was short sleeves.

  We had some sad news right before Christmas. Our cat Mow, who had been living with Ivy in Indiana for the last few years, was an old man, and had to leave us. I drove all the way to Indiana to be with Ivy on the day. She is heart broken. We got Mow when she was 10 years old. He was the best boy. I always said he was practically a dog. He was well behaved, didn't destroy things or climb on the counters, and  came when he was called. We will all miss him very much.

 

    So that's what I've been up to lately. I don't have much chance to do posts, but I'll try.

Christmas Dolls and Stuff, and a Request for Your Prayers and Positive Thoughts

   I know you haven't heard from me for a while. I'm still here. Kens doing better, and I have been spotting some interesting things while out shopping. Here are some I thought I'd share with you.

  First of all there's this year's Holiday Barbies. There were three at our local Meijer.

  These included the Barbie that used to be called the Hispanic Barbie. Not sure what they're calling it these days.

 She's made from the Teresa head sculpt. I have always been partial to this sculpt, and I have a lot of different dolls made from it. This Holiday doll kind of reminds me of Mary Ann, from "Gilligan's Island", when she hit her head and thought she was Ginger. ("Mar-ey Onn Ann isn't Mar-ey Onn anymore, because she thinks she's Gunger. And Gunger isn't Gunger any more, because she thinks she's Mar-ey Onn." )

  There was the usual blonde Barbie.

  Then there was the African American Barbie.

  She has sort of a surprised look about her. Maybe she's shocked that she was the only one of the three to get two bent arms instead of just one. What's the deal with that?

  As you can see, they were $45. That seems a lot, but I'm not sure that isn't cheaper than some years.

  There was also an additional Mattel holiday doll, Mariah Carey.

  I supposed she has sort of become synonymous with Christmas., Sort of the female Bing Crosby.

  This endcap shared space with the Wicked dolls, before they got recalled. They were gone pretty quick, although I think some of them dribbled out of Kohl's for quite a while afterward.

  I am still amused and kind of surprised by the huge display of Snoop Dogg merchandise at Walmart! It isn't really their thing. And there's so much of it! There must be 6 or 8 feet of shelf space for the stuff. 

The Snoops on the Stoop were sold out.

There are a couple of different sized Snoop on the Stoop dolls, and, to keep him company, there's Martha on the Mantel. 

Kohl's has Hallmark ornaments I never seem to see at Hallmark. (Mind you, I don't knwo where there IS a Hallmark anymore!) The X-Box is a little big for 8 inch kid dolls in 1/6 scale, but will be perfect for 12" guys like Ken, etc.

The Golden Girls TV is perfect for 1/6 scale.

It lights up, has a screen with changing lenticular pictures, and plays sound clips from the show.

  As for Ken, he got out of the hospital after about 4 or 5 days, and was back to walking 50 feet with the therapist two days later. He was very sick though. He had a very bad UTI, and they were afraid he was bleeding internally, because his red blood count was so low. It was down to 7, and they said that if it went any lower, they would have to give him a transfusion! They finally found out that he had no internal bleeding, but that the low red blood count was because he had such bad infections. They found he also had infected pockets in his colon too, (diverticulitis.). But they changed his antibiotics, and things got better. He's now doing well, and pretty much back to where he was before he got sick.

  But it isn't Ken I'm asking for all your positive thoughts, prayers, and well wishes for. (Well, him too.) My sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I have previously asked for others, that you send all your positive thoughts, prayers, or whatever you believe in. Now I am asking for my sister. We don't know much about her cancer yet. If you believe in the power of collective positive energy, or the power of prayer, or whatever, please use some of it on her.   

Doll-A-Day 2023 #65: Bratz Flashback Minis Plus Totally Tiny

   Today's doll is a bunch. They're Bratz Flashback Minis.

  Have you seen these? I never liked Bratz dolls, but these are pretty cool. They have replicated the old Bratz dolls in mini form, right down to their original packaging! They're perfect little 1/6 scale, or Barbie sized miniatures. I was lucky enough to get the empty display box in a store recently. I say lucky because, as with many of the mini toys and blind bag toys displays, this box has some of the actual toys right on the box. That's them at the top of the picture above. You might want to check stores for the empties, because when the box comes in, it has these toys on it for display. When the box is empty, it's thrown out and a new box, (also complete with example toys), is put in it's place. I assume a lot of them go to employees, but you never know when you're going to be given the empty. Just ask.

  The toys come two to a blind pack, at a price of around $8. (You can still get the advent calendar on Amazon for $22. It includes 25 goodies. But be forewarned.  Five are the mini cosmetics, ten of them are the dolls, and ten are the boxes for the dolls- excuse me, the 'mini replica packages'. So really you're getting 15 things. But $22 is still a better price than for 15 things than the $8 for 2, as long as you get free shipping.) As the display box says, there are 24 to collect. The series includes individual dolls, (including one guy), a doll double pack of twins, a car, a styling head, a motorcycle, and make-up sets. And even more neat, since it's mini: the make-up is real. You can actually use the tiny make-up.

  But anyway, let's look at the stuff I got for free on the display box.

I ripped the display bit out of the display box so I didn't bring the whole thing into Emma's house. We bring enough stuff in here. The picture of the box above is a stock photo. This plastic shell full of toys tears off the box. It contains four toys: three dolls and a car.

The mini packages are replicas of the real thing. 

 The only difference is that the toys are hooked into the display box with plastic flaps that slide into the cardboard backing. (Unfortunately, they are taped on too.) To make them look exactly like the real packaging, those flaps need to be carefully cut off.

But look. They did even bother to make the back of the package too.

The packages are shaped just like the real things too. Some have the rounded edges and some are flat on the sides, depending on how the real thing was. Pretty well done.

And the packages do really open...but it's not easy without tearing them up. I don't think I'll try right now.

  Since I was never into Bratz dolls my favourite thing is the car.

  The other freebies I got on display boxes recently were these Totally Tiny ones.

Dollar Tree has these. This is the display box for the first series blind bags. 

The sample toys displayed on the box are a piece of toast and a pair of eggs, which are one piece. I've gotten two empty display boxes so far, so a couple of dolls can have free breakfast. As you can see there three sets of food, in the blind bags, available. But they really aren't much of a surprise, because it's easy to tell by feel what you're getting. The eggs and toast feel flat.

The taco and churro can be identified by the feel of the churros especially. And the cookie and macarons are the easiest, because those three stuck together macarons are pretty distinctive.

  So there you are. Freebies await you. Go forth and collect them. See you tomorrow for another doll.