Grocery Store Pickup Results

 Well, the pickup process was actually a bit confusing.  I had set a pickup time for 2PM and I expected that meant I should just arrive there at that time.  No, not quite!  I received an email the evening before that said my order would be ready between 2-7 PM.  What?!

I would receive a "notification" when it was ready.  But they didn't tell me what form the notification would be in.  They had my phone number and email address, and I had unchecked mobile phone text.  Searching their site and even talking to a chatbot didn't reveal anything.  

So in the morning, I called an 877 number to a centralized location.  The agent there couldn't answer my question, but did give me a number to the store customer service desk (CSD).  Amazingly, the CSD couldn't tell me how I would be "notified" either, lacking a smartphone app.

However, some good news!  No sooner had I hung up with the CSD than I got a call from a store shopper saying my order was ready to be picked up.  She even said the shallots were rather soft, did I still want them". (no).  I explained I had some mobility problems but would be there in 15 minutes.  So she said she would keep watch for my arrival (green Subaru SUV).

I got there and got out of the car and someone came out with a cart of bags.  Wrong person, LOL!  But she went back inside and found the right person.  That person came right out, loaded the bags into my car.  Even refused a tip.  She said she was paid to do pickup orders.

It was a wonderful experience and I will do it again.

There were 2 minor problems.  I had clicked on "no substitutions" for every item.  I ordered minced horseradish and got "creamy".  OK, I can live with that.  The other seems to have been my fault.  I wanted Breyer's chocolate chip ice cream and got regular chocolate.  I don't like regular chocolate.  But after reviewing my original order, it appears I clicked the wrong one.

Well, my good neighbors across the street are taking care of 3 grandchildren.  I bet some of them like regular chocolate ice cream.  It will be a gift; they have certainly done more than enough for me!

I haven't tested it yet, but I bet the items I ordered this time will be close to the top the next time.  The Safeway digital loyalty card section notices my routine preferences, so I expect the online ordering one will also do that.

Grocery Store Pickup

My right hip is causing enough problems that I can't go through the grocery store to choose items, even with the roller/walker I bought.  Can't manage the roller and a shopping cart at the same time.   So I decided to surrender and get store pickup.  I can drive without any difficulty.

I have had a few CT and X-rays of the hip, but nothing is "for certain" yet.  I'll tell you all when it is.

I say "surrender" because I am fussy about fresh fruits and veggies.  I'm sure I will get hard peaches and limp lettuce.  I think my "fussy" days are done.  I can use the roller in small shops where I am buying small amounts.  But my grocery-shopping is bountiful.  

So I tried out shopping online at Safeway (and I'm sure other stores are about the same).  It was difficult.  OK, it was the first time...  I had to look up categories and scroll through pages of items by popularity to find what I wanted.  They seem to think that everyone wants only canned, frozen, and prepared foods.  And I suppose they are right, but I'm not in that group.  

So I went through veggies, fruits, condiments, and a few other categories.  Finally finished with 48 items.  And then couldn't check out!  Went around in circles with the cart and "continue" several times.  Finally saw a small chatbot button and tried it.  It's pretty stupid, but eventually I figured out the right question.

Apparently, even though I was signed in, I had to sign in again.  I guess that the 2nd sign-in actually registered I was placing a pickup order.  Even then, I had to go through my entire shopping order to undo "allow substitutions".  Seriously, if I am ordering yellow peaches I don't want a white nectarine.  They should have a button at the top to say "no substitutions" for everything.

I wish I was a young coding expert working for them who could do things like that.  But then, they probably just order delivery food every day.  And just mentioning that the store cashiers are baffled at things like bok choy or parsnips.  Well, OK, I understand.   If it isn't something you buy yourself, you don't recognize it very well.

But I finally managed to get to a payment page!  After that I got an email confirmation on the order.  I sure hope the stuff is decent quality...

I'll tell you how this all went tomorrow.

The Wildlife Is Vanishing

Yes, true worldwide, but I'm thinking of the local ones.  And specifically my yard.  

I keep a mostly organic yard (OK, I spray individual poison ivy plants).  But I do things to help the birds and bees and other stuff thrive.  Half my backyard is left semi-wild.  Lots of small trees for bird-nesting.  I have black oil sunflower seed in one feeder for most songbirds, 2 thistle seed feeders for the purple and gold finches, and 2 nectar feeders for the hummingbirds.

I have 5'x3'pond for frogs.  With plants and debris at the bottom to support aquatic insects.  I have butterfly bushes, pollinator plants, and plants that insect larvae can develop on.  

I used to see some possums and raccoons at night.  I used to hear thousands of Spring Peeper frogs in the swamp across the street in the Spring.

But that has been changing.  I noticed a few years ago that the Swamp was quiet; no Spring Peepers calling in the thousands.  I used to see deer in my front yard and the neighbors in snow prints and visually.  I used to see snow prints of other various critters.

When I moved here 37 years ago, there were no cardinals, finches, etc.  But when I set up feeders, I got up to 6 pairs of cardinals, a bunch of purple finches, a dozen goldfinches, and various smaller birds (titmice, wrens, woodpeckers, etc).  Sometimes, the sunflower seed feeder was mobbed by starlings (I did tend to chase them away as they would just empty the feeder in a few hours, leaving nothing for the other birds and the stuff is somewhat expensive).   I haven't seen it mobbed in a few years.

I think we are in trouble.  If my generally organic semi-wild yard can't support cardinals, finches, and other small birds with good food, something is going very wrong.  If there are no frogs in the pond, something is very wrong.  If the deer (those damned landscape-eaters) are becoming more rarely seen,  something is very wrong.  

My hummingbirds haven't come back this year.  I haven't seen a single butterfly.  I haven't seen a possum on the deck at night.  I haven't seen many bees (Honey or Bumble) and it has been warm enough for a month.  I haven't seen any hornets (not that I love them).  But still, that is not a good sign.

Something is going bad, and I think we are causing all this.  As Pogo said "We have met the enemy and it is us".  

 

Last Daffodils and Good Deck Pots

The daffodils are fading.  This is from a week ago on their final days. 

Fortunately,  my cherry tomato pot has these survivors from last year.

The pansies are finally blooming better.  They just didn't do well over Winter.

Several different color combinations.  When I bought them in Fall, there were no blooms, so it was all random.

I like the purple ones.

I'm not sure if these are asters or tithonia.  Regardless, I will enjoy them.

These are Moonbeam Coreopsis.  They have been growing in that pot without much care for about 15-20 years now.  They might outlast me.

The star-gazer lilies are growing again.  They are about as old as the coreopsis.

I need to go off the deck and the pictures of the yard flowers...

May 4th

 May The Farce Be With You this day!

Adventures In Driving

 Last month, my cable box partially died, so they sent a replacement.  But they wanted the old one back anyway.  The store in town only handles wireless services.  So I had to either get a shipping label and stand in line at UPS or drive 10 miles.  I hate driving!  But as I posted yesterday, it hurts to stand.  So I decided to drive.

I've lived here 38 years.  But I almost never drive south.  So first, I tried to avoid the highway and take a bypass.  I got lost.  It took 15 miles and 20 minutes to get 5 miles heading south.  And that wasn't the worst part!

I was using a County street book map.  In the town where the cable equipment return was, there were only 2 turns to make off the highway to get to them.  I couldn't find the street.  You are gonna laugh at this...  The book map is oriented north.  I forgot I was driving south!  I got the streets all backwards.  And right turns were left turns.  😭

It took me over an hour to find a place 10 miles away!  At least the drive home only took 15 minutes.  👍

NOW What?

It's always something, right?  The morning after the DR exam, I discovered it hurt to stand up.  My right hip feels weak.  Oddly, walking is not bad and sitting/sleeping causes no problem.  I can't figure out what is causing it though.  I didn't fall, bump a table corner, or do anything strenuous.  There is no bruise or swelling.  I can push on the sore spot and even pound on it without pain.  

But standing hurts!  Standing at the kitchen counter to prepare dinner is miserable.  Same with preparing the cat bowls, and that is 6 times a day.  

I sure hope this heals on its own, fast.  I have 2 velcro knee braces for occasional use.  Today I put one on the right knee.  Sometimes pain is caused in one spot due to a problem in another.  And I used the other above that as close to the hip as I could get it.  

That helps slightly.  So does standing with my feet about shoulder-width apart.  And so does keeping my right foot slightly behind the left.  But "slightly" is not much!  I'll be doing a lot of sitting.  Fortunately, I have plenty of computer work to do.

I hope this isn't a problem re-emerging from the ladder fall in 2021!

 

Dr Visit

I put off the annual exams because of Covid, but went today (been 6 years, actually).  More questions from the Dr than I remember from past visits.  Alcohol and tobacco usage, diet, sleeping habits, socialization, happiness level, activity level.  All of which make sense.  I keep up with medical advice from trustable sources.

It's not like I smoke or drink much, but less is always better.  I probably won't change that, much.  A cocktail while I am preparing dinner and 2 small glasses on wine with dinner aren't exactly binge-drinking.  And I'm not the most face-to-face social person (but I did attend a small party at a neighbor last week, and everything went well).  And I just generally feel pretty happy with myself.  Some people can't stand being alone; I have no problem with that.  And the Dr agreed.

The tests went great.  Reflexes good, diet great, mental alertness better than average (he asked a few odd questions), general activity level satisfied him.  He had me stretch a few times, touch my toes standing up, and reach across my back to have my hands meet (they did, barely).  So, in general, he says I'm in better than average condition at 73 (and 74 next month).

There was the always weird prostate exam.  Woo-Hoo!  But he found no problem.

The technician said my EKG results were excellent.  I'm not sure about the blood pressure.  It was 163 over 80.  She said the systolic is always a bit high in the stress of an exam, so maybe reality is 140 over 80 and she said not to worry about that.  

I have to visit a separate office for a blood panel and a different one for a cancer screening.  And another for one of those general allergy tests (where they stick a board of needles in your back and see if one spot puffs up).  

There were also question about family medical history.  None have died of anything that seems genetic (well Mom had Parkinson's).  The main cause of death in my lineage seems to be old age.  So I might reach 2050.  100 would be cool (if it was in good health).  But personally, I'm willing to "check out" if things get too difficult.

But it was a really positive visit and I'm glad I went.  I even (oddly) feel healthier.  😀

Found The Missing Camera

I found it in the washing machine.  Which doesn't make sense.  Knowing it was missing, and looking for it everywhere, I took all the clothes out of the hamper a few days ago and felt around all the pockets and did not find it.  From any logic, I could just as well found it on the roof.

But there it was...  I've taken the memory card and battery out and I'm letting it sit to dry for a couple weeks.  Maybe it will work after that and maybe not.  And maybe the memory card and battery will work and maybe not.  No rush since I have a new camera, but there are pictures on the memory card and I would like to get at those.

In one sense, it is good to have a mystery solved.  On the other, it is sad to ruin a camera by carelessness.  Fortunately, the cost is not a problem.  And the replacement is identical, so there is no learning curve involved.  

I've taken more pictures with the replacement, but I am too worn out from preparing taxes, Binq's vet visit and sorting out general clutter to process them today.  I'll catch up.  

Flower Report

Spring is such a lovely time of year.  I love daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths.   The tulips don't last very long (in terms of years) even when planted in wire cages to keep the voles away from the bulbs.  But they vary in lifetime.  I have some 10 yer old red tulips.  The fancy ones die young.

And once, I planted some yellow tulips among the yellow daffodils.  What was I thinking?  They showed up like ice cubes on snow.  LOL!

The hyacinths live longer, but they need cages from the voles too.  Tulips and hyacinths are vole-candy!  But the daffs are slightly toxic and seem to live forever.  I recall driving past a Washington DC hillside where Lady Bird Johnson had them planted in the 60s.  40 yers later, they were still growing and blooming wild.

So I love daffodils...

I planted a front yard box of a mix of early and late varieties 30 years ago.  They are still growing great!  Here are the late ones (and they are fragrant, which is unusual for a daffodil).

Some of the surviving red tulips...

In the daffodil bed, I planted a few caged tulips, 9 each cage.  Some still last.

But what happened here?  I don't recall planting any mixed colors in a cage.  And I'm pretty sure they don't change colors!  

My guess is squirrels.  I've read that sometimes squirrels dig up bulbs (thinking they are nuts they buried) and replant them elsewhere.  That doesn't really explain why "all in the same spot", but who knows how a squirrel thinks?  I do know that there are crocuses in my lawn where I never planted them.

But I enjoy whatever Spring flowers I get...

And speaking of flowers...  The pansies I planted last Fall had a hard time of it over Winter.  I thought none would ever bloom!  But about half of them are perking up now, so I will enjoy what I can of them before Summer heat kills them off.  

Years ago, I put in a flowerbed edging of "species" (old simple ones) daffodils and purple&yellow crocuses.  The voles ate the crocus bulbs (mostly), but the daffodis remain.

They looked like this, back then...

This last is the cat memorial garden.  I took the boxes off (don't worry, I know where each one goes) and covered the area in cardboard last Fall.  By Summer, all the weeds should be dead.  

And then I'll put down weed-blocker fabric so the kitty-angels won't be insulted with weeds.  OK, OK, I know they don't actually care.  But it matters to me.  I look at the spot often enough.  And they were my daily companions...