Am I That Bad?

Now I am faced with finding an assisted living place, selling my car, stop going to writing conventions ("It's a hobby, Mom") and giving up my freedom in general. 

WHY

BECAUSE and ALTHOUGH:

• I've fallen three times since last June.

       Hey, I'm 72. It happens to seniors everywhere.

• It costs so much to keep paying insurance and a car payment.

       In rural towns, I need my car/freedom. 

       My car accident occurred three years ago; that didn't  necessarily make me a bad driver.

       Come November 2026, my car insurance costs will be halved.                     
       

       Upkeep is negligible for a 2024 Nissan model.    

                                                            

                               

• In the last three months, my bank balance has been in the red.

      I realize this is concerning. That's why I brought it up. I agree that I need help to                             manage my finances.   
          

        This month, I will take my first required withdrawal from my 401K, gaining over $7K.
      
        Publishing costs were higher than I expected.     
                                               
        Medical bills keep racking up.

• What I've done about it:

        Netflix will be canceled as of April 7  

        Changing Internet providers April 15

        Adobe canceled as of April 16

         BeFunky canceled as of April 18

• What is next:

       Talk to my doctors

         Ask questions at senior centers and/or Social Services

         Start touring facilities

         Think of stuff to sell

#agingsucks

#aging

New "Old" Cat Food Bowl

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Since the fast-feeder bowls always end up getting tossed to the floor, spraying kibble everywhere, I figured that Tulip would prefer a normal plastic bowl. So I started putting her food in it last week. Of course, that solved absolutely nothing.

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This is a new game that Tulip made up. She drags the bowl to the end of the table and pushes it off the table immediately. I think she just wants to eat the kibble off the floor. She then drags the empty bowl across the living room floor. If any food lands near the heating vent, she likes to bat the crumbs into it. 

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A future redo of the table will probably involve a stainless steel top and a surrounding nailed on "wall" that will stymie her escapades. 

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You know, Tulip has provided many puzzles for me to figure out. Why can't she learn from  my food treatments?  Tulip is much too smart for me.

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#Tuliptricks

#Tulipfood

#Mycatrules

Offloading Spectrum Internet and home phone

My Spectrum bill just jumped up another $20, edging close to $180 per month. Last week I decided to switch most of these services to Brightspeed. 

Their rep, John, kept me on the phone for over an hour. There was a problem charging my debit card because I had put a freeze on my credit. I fixed the problem, but did not hear back from Brightspeed.

Today a different Brightspeed rep had me fill out the required forms repeatedly (four times)! Déjà vu, right? 

I called Experian and requested that the credit freeze be lifted temporarily. Uh-oh; it already WAS, but their chatbot didn't hear me say, "Refreeze my account tomorrow."  The account was frozen once again today. So I went to Experian online to settle the freeze-thaw issue. 

Back to Brightspeed. All was fine from my end, but the Brightspeed rep still couldn't get the $50 down payment to work. That explains the repetitious form-filling that took over an hour and a half.

These two Saturday sessions with my future Internet carrier were frustrating. I feel like the monster in their print ads. (Oops; he's a troll). He may be smiling, but all I can say is,

"Grrrr!"

#Internetswitch

#Brightspeed

#Spectrum

#Customerservicefail

Breeze Litter Pellets

Tulip noshes on the unopened bags of Breeze litter pellets. I kept hearing the crisp sounds of teeth marks on plastic bags. There is no way I want the litter bags breached. Last night I draped a lap blanket over the four bags. 

I'm going to need to order more bags. Thanks to Tulip, I have recognized our Chewy.com needs.

🌼

On another note, Tulip acts like a snake about to swallow an ostrich egg as she tries to bite the edges of her food table. I'll add a picture later this week.

                                                                            🌼  

My sister asked why I don't feed Tulip on the floor. Well, I do, eventually, once she tosses here bowl down.

It hurts to bend down. Especially since my recent falls. I raised Tulip's Breeze box on top of the last upturned litter box.

#Tuliptrouble

#Tulipaddswoodtoherdiet

I keep falling

On Thursday I missed another monthly meeting of my writers' group because I tripped up a curb at Smithfield Library. This was much worse than last June. An ambulance took me to the hospital. I had 5 stitches in my left eyebrow, a CT scan and blood work that said I am anemic. I was feeling okay enough to go ahead with my book launch.

Unfortunately, I fell in the house Friday night and nearly could not get myself up. These were two hard falls in two days. My Medical Guardian necklace didn't detect either incident. Yet the necklace gives false reports all the time.

I wrenched my back so badly that I sat in a recliner all last night. Couldn't sleep at all. I can't do much of anything until the back spasms disappear. I have a meeting scheduled for Monday that I may have to back out of.

Tulip's Getting Worse

Now the cat food table no longer has the plastic spikes on it nor finishing nails to hold them down. When Tulip started to eat the Contact paper on it, I pulled it all off. What remains is spotty, rough wood. Now she's trying to pull at the white mat to upset the water bowl sitting on top of it. 

My plans are to put more contact paper on the tabletop. I think I may have to nail the mat down so the water bowl doesn't get upended. Tulip still tries to munch off the trim on the table.

Where's her dish of kibble now? On the floor, to the right of the table. See the patch of blue?You might call this Tulip's moveable feast.

#Tulipmoveablefeast

#cat_hijinks

#Tuliptrouble

Water Works

Today I took a video of Tulip soaking her food table by standing in and pawing at her water bowl. Used two kitchen towels to sop up the mini-flood.

Right now, Tulip must be exhausted from her swimming; she is asleep near a kitchen window.

#tulip&water

#waterlovingcat

#tuliploveswater

Monday, March 2 -- I'm Annoyed...

...with Tulip. So what else is new? 

This morning, right after I filled her food bowl, she promptly pushed the full dish off the table. Kibble everywhere. One piece got lodged in the heating grate.

And, of course, she is daring me to spray her with the water bottle by trying to eat the plastic edges attached to the table. I may have to put a taller barrier on it. Or start putting her dish on the floor. That's no guarantee that she'll leave the dish alone. She pushes it everywhere.

The way Tulip picks up her dish to carry it around is cute, effective and maddening. She also flips the plastic mat beneath the dish, dumping that down as well.

I put nails along the edges of the table and hooked some of the plastic spikes over them. Tulip immediately pulled out two of the finishing nails and put her nose under the spikes. Make that three nails now. She knows to lift the spikes up. By tomorrow, I may have to replace the edges with wood. Or leave it as a jobbie for my contractor to do.

Another thought: I could replace her dishes to "regular" plastic bowls (not the slow feeders she's using now). I should bring the metal bowls and cat frame to my favorite thrift store. I have no doubt that Tulip would flip those bowls over in record time.

When I think about it, I should also donate the coffee pot I never use. Coffee is on my Do Not Consume list, along with gluten products.

===================================================================

Tuesday, March 3rd. 

After I took the picture seen above, I affixed a Velcro strap to the top right corner. Oh boy! Tulip just loves picking at it. 

Three more nails were dislodged this morning. This situation needs a better solution.

A Layman's Diagnosis

Today I got a layman's diagnosis for Tulip.

Diagnosis:  She is bored.

Proposed Solution: 

                                              Get another cat for her to play with.

To quote the late Nancy Reagan, I will...

"JUST SAY N🚫!" 

I give up!

I surrender!

Tulip has weaseled her way behind the retractable fence five times in the past two days. She's constantly/persistently & forever jumping on the kitchen counter.

Regrettably, I have come to the conclusion to just give up and not unfurl the fence. Maybe I can recoup some of the cost... if there's anyone on Facebook who'd be interested in buying it.

In the meantime, Tulip continues to explore the dishes (clean and/or dirty), play with the toaster lever, etc. Naturally, I am left with pawprints and tufts of fur.

I sincerely doubt that I can train Tulip not to jump on the counter. Sure, I've gotten lots of suggestions to use aluminum foil as a deterrent. But few people realize that, to Tulip, tin foil is just a crunchier type of paper. Guess I'll try it again, but I have little confidence in its efficacy.

Someone recommended hiring a cat whisperer such as Jackson Galaxy to retrain me (because he believes a cat's misbehavior is caused and can be fixed by the owner).

So, where is Jackson Galaxy when I need him? Oh. California.

                                                                                       

#catwhisperer,#JacksonGalaxy,#igiveup,#Tulipwinsthewar

Googly-eyed and bugabooed

Do you use Google?

I much prefer it over Microsoft products. I never get the Blue Screen of Death any more.

My one bugab👀 is that I'll save files one day; when I look for them later, I have no idea where they've gone. 

Where the heck are my files❓

Until my files are found, consider me...

G👀gley-eyed 

and 

bugabooed.

#Googleissue

#Googlefiles

#Wherearemyfiles

Progress with Tulip's Book

Yesterday, I sent out two press releases. It could have been one, if I combined the Excel worksheets; one Library and the other Media. Identical messages.

Set up a date and time for my Book Launch in Selma.

 

I need to make multiple small copies to pass to my friends at BCCA, HCAA and Scrabble.

#tulipbooklaunch

#booklaunch

#catbooklaunch

I changed my mind...

Instead of revamping both the Ebook and the paperback versions of The Trouble with Tulip, I'm going to republish them on Amazon. Why? Another Neuse River Writers member said the profit I'm making is more than she gets. The only thing is, it costs quite a bit to order author copies. I don't think I can demand more than $20 for the book. 

Now I'm going to have to set up a place for the book launch. First, l need to update the press release.

🐱

Today I started changing existing photo files into cartoons.  I hope that kids will like to color the images. I have about twenty pictures amassed so far. I'm going to search Amazon for other coloring books.

Box of Tulip

Whether Tulip comes across a laundry basket or a box, she loves to plop her body inside.

This particular box - covered with a cat blanket - is no exception. 

Do you think she knows that she's sitting in the midst of books about HER? She won't be able to nibble on the pages because of the protective blanket.

#TulipBox

#TulipGuardsHerBooks

It's "curtains" for Tulip

What I mean is, I hung blankets in lieu of curtains to keep Tulip out of the venetian blinds at night. Two lap blankets are doing the trick.  I pull them back in daylight hours and let them drop for privacy at night. This might mean nothing to anyone reading this, but to me, it's an innovative solution for my long standing issue of Tulip-messing-with-the-blinds.

The red one is on the north side of the house.

The blue one is on the south side of the house. 

You might ask, why not install curtains, Barbara? 

My answer is, I know better. They'd be chewed upon until they'd resemble lace. Thankfully, as long as Tulip can push the blanket aside so she can look outside, she hasn't bothered with the blankets.

#Tulip_blinds

#catsolution

#TulipBlinds

Bread Pudding

On Saturday, I made bread pudding. It was still tasty, even with gluten-free multi-grain bread. 

Not thinking, I left the recipe on the stovetop. You know what that means:

Tulip got into it.

The paper had become brittle over the years. So much so, it produced a singular crunchy sound, not the typical close-to-silent sound of paper towels when they are being decimated.

Some Winter Storm!

All I've heard for the last few days is that a major winter storm is heading our way. Then the forecast was amended to a dangerous ice storm.

The temperature has not moved above freezing. Tree branches were covered with a layer of ice (so pretty!), so we might end up getting some downed power lines.

Trust me: I am an unskilled photographer. Today I took two photos from my back porch, one of which is shown above. When I faced the camera in the opposite direction, the yellow porta-potty next door was the only thing to grab one's attention. 

#BensonNC

#TulipHouse

#bigwinterstorm

Ravioli Meal

It was an ordinary day when I opened a jar of Alfredo sauce. The home phone rang, so I walked to the living room to answer it. I was gone for only a minute.

That's when I heard the familiar sound of something falling to the floor -- a sound which invariably draws me to the source. Tulip had dumped half of the Alfredo jar's contents, as well as the jar lid, to the floor.

I never knew that cats liked Alfredo sauce. Tulip never got a taste of the cheese ravioli.

New Lows for Tulip

I have two sets of file boxes I bought from Temu.  They are stacked in groups of three and packed with books, papers, etc. The goal was to be Tulip-safe, yet more accessible than plastic bins.

Today I discovered that Tulip can open them.  The first time, I had a hard time convincing her to get out of the box. I closed the cabinet and went to my regular Scrabble game.

When I got home, lo and behold, one of the bottom doors was open. As per usual, she started emptying the bottom cabinet.

Two packs of business cards (one is outside of the shot) were spread out between the kitchen and living room. (Thankfully, both wads were rubber banded together.)

Tulip may not realize that the second set of these cabinets is in the office. It's only a matter of time.

#thetroublewithtulip

#catexplorer

I should have known better

While I was in the office, Tulip stopped by briefly. Nothing scintillating was happening, so she returned to the living room.

I could hear her noshing on paper. WHAT NOW?

....found today's mail where I'd left it, on my recliner. It was a seven page letter from Aetna. Three pages were damaged.

Eureka! I think I've got it!

My website is looking better all the time. 💻

For the banner, I still want to put the slogan I started with:

"Life is better with books and cats"

I'm a bit frustrated. The header consistently shows up at the bottom of the books, no matter how many times I reorder the four choices. 

Once I add a few tweaks, I'll be done for a while.

===========================================================================

UPDATE January 20th

OOPS...I don't have it. Tried to add a logo to the ABOUT page. Definitely goofed up. Now nobody can access the page.

#learningmygooglewebpage

#reluctantwebdesigner

#googleblogger

A Busy Week for Tulip

What hasn't Tulip gotten into?

In the living room:

A camouflage mesh curtain (shown on the right side above) separates one end of my house from the other. It used to close itself with magnets. A few days ago, Tulip was actively trying - and successfully freed one magnet.

Two office activities: 

• Anyone can see the daily detritus left behind from the half-eaten fabric and cardboard bins. The evidence ends up all over the carpet. Besides denuding these bins, Tulip has begun to eat the uneven pile carpet. Bad, Tulip!

• Wondering where my cat found a yellow piece of paper to chew, the answer was on the wall above the printer. NC Representative Wiley Nickel's address and phone number were written on a Post-It note there. She bit off a corner of the post-it note.

                    

What's Next? 
I expect she will start "cleaning" the office wall that faces me where there are other notes.

#TheTroublewithTulip

#Tulip

#cat_destruction

#PaperEater

Knock It Off

Yesterday, I was going to do two things at once: I put a bottle of Ensure on the counter, then turned around to take my morning meds. Then I heard something hit the floor. Forget the pills!

Tulip broke the bottle. The result was a large puddle of pricey chocolate milk.

This Ensured that Wednesday was off to a bad start. 

But don't take this literally, Tulip.

Knock it off! 

Found!

Nobody can accuse me of being a Suzie Homemaker. 

My house has needed vacuuming for WEEKS. Until today, I only swept the back hall as needed. (Stepping on litter pellets is akin to walking on Lego blocks.) Today, I girded myself to haul out the green Bissell Super-Sucker machine.

As expected, the machine unearthed the usual dust bunnies; no surprise there. But, wait -- there was so much more!

When in the living room, the one question I often ask myself  is, "Where are all these little bits of paper coming from?"  Of course, You-Know-Who is responsible. (And if you don't know, you haven't been paying attention).

It was surprising to find a folded News in Review and a packet of Post-It-Notes beneath my recliner. The newspaper was dated December 19, 2025. (It was there only a few weeks. Now, if it were from 2024 or earlier, I'd be worried about me). 

Beneath the companion recliner, I came across a jump drive. I can't remember when I last needed to handle one of those. Who knows how long it had been there? 

When I confronted Tulip about it, she ignored me. Right now she is curled up, sleeping behind me. She looks as innocent as the day is long.

Housework has done me in; I need a cat nap too.

AHA! Conquered (sort of) the Banner

And let me tell you, it was not easy. I created so many versions in Google "Word," Google Sheets, and tried converting the documents to JPEG and PDF formats. Some were twice as tall as I needed. So, after much trial and countless errors, I'm sort of done. . . for now. 

Today I borrowed a book from Smithfield Library..."Getting Started with WordPress."  Chapter 2 is about blogging with Google. I have trepidations about uploading the books from Amazon onto the website.

So my banner looks like this: 

Tomorrow I will tackle uploading images from other sites. My web changes show Merilee's Journey twice and doesn't contain the proper link. There is so much to learn!

I feel like a dunce! I went to the web with the intention of copying a picture of a dunce cap, but I'm not interested in paying for a vector or PNG image. When the dunce cap was created centuries ago, it was meant for really intelligent people to wear (according to Wikipedia). Dumb people rebelled, so the meaning changed to quite the opposite. The appearance of the cap changed as well, to more of the fool's cap. 

If my website looks weird...

It's because I am trying to teach myself how to make changes to things.

Technical Issues Part II

• When checking KDP Amazon today, the book is still not released due to unclear images. 

• In the future, if I ever do a book with a lot of pictures, I will insist upon text with the insertion of jpegs.

• My job this week is to learn all about Google's Blogger. Trying to do it myself is proving to be a challenge.

A Key Issue

I have been touch-typing for over fifty years. Still, there are times when I would like to peek at the keys. 

Check out this pic of my laptop's keyboard. 

The keys used most often are Left Shift, E, R, T, and A. Soon to be worn into oblivion are S, H, N, M and CTRL; all are beginning to show wear and tear.

Technical Issues

My ebook was launched a few days ago. Now it's not.

My paperback was launched. Today it's not released. The 2-page cover was uploaded, but everything after the cover sits on its left side. You won't believe how much agita this has caused!

Now I realize I don't know how to update the blog. I had one guy do everything for me.

The laundry list of Things That Need Updating grows ever longer.

2026 has not started well.