Random 5 for October 13, 2024 – Hearing aids, spam, comfort, food, timing

Gallery

Posted on by

The weather here has been spectacular. The foliage is just starting to turn but the temperatures are ideal. Cool evenings, warming up during the day.

Maybe the third time is the charm – I reported last week that the hearing aids weren’t going so well. I had a call with a rep who worked me through some issues, and I can manage them enough to benefit. I investigated returning and trying a different model, but I had bought these at a half off special that is no longer available. If I return them, any other model or brand would cost more than twice as much. My hearing needs a tweak, not a complete rework so these will stay. The cell phone connection drops occasionally and I know how to reconnect but it’s annoying. Eventually, I will upgrade my phone. Maybe I’ll try an iPhone. They seem to work better with aids.

How did that happen? – In the spring, I got some recipes in my email inbox. I clicked on a few that looked interesting. I got more. We are talking about five a day but it was fun. Fast forward to now, I’m getting at least 30 a day and they are not all from the same place, so blocking won’t work. A lot of the recipes are the same. I don’t know how to turn that faucet off. It is no longer fun. Now it’s annoying. Any advice will be appreciated.

Comfort – It’s been a sad time here. We have had deaths (feline and human), critical illnesses and other sad events. I am always looking for comfort. Something to ease a heavy heart. Routine helps because you can depend on it. No surprises. No thinking, just do what you always do. Brief exchanges with fellow coffee addicts at Starbucks, chats with neighbors, and comfort food.  Brownies have been very helpful. So have potato chips and of course mocha lattes. My teeth may fall out, but I feel better. (No judgment please! We do what we must do.)

There is a flip side – There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who eat when they get stressed and those you don’t. I’m in that latter group. If I’m upset, food makes me gag. While ice cream can slide down nicely, any kind of complex protein gags me. I’m depending on simple things like eggs to sustain me for the short term. You can do a lot of tasty things with eggs.

It never goes the way they say it will – My car went into the shop for a minor (in my eyes) sideswipe repair. The estimated time to repair was 10 days. That should have ended this past Friday — two business weeks. Before the guy who handled my job went on vacation last week (why do people go on vacation when a project for me comes up?), he called with info and said the pick-up day would probably be the Monday after. That is tomorrow. I called Friday and talked to a woman who said they will call when it’s done. No guarantees it will be Monday. I have a rental so technically, it’s no big deal but I much prefer driving my own car. Also, my Monday is chucked full of stuff and my Tuesday isn’t much better. It was the same way when we renovated our bath. Somehow an estimated six to eight weeks turned into nine. And the deck project too.

So how was your week?

56 thoughts on “Random 5 for October 13, 2024 – Hearing aids, spam, comfort, food, timing”

  1. I decided today & my friend agreed. My daughter found me an apartment-Oohh yuck. Bad neighborhood, guns etc.

    I finally decided I am allergic to the apartment! I talked with a friend and she agreed, if I am out & about I am fine. If I am at a friend’s house, I am fine. I walk into the apartment and start sneezing , then the coughing starts and nose running!

    I step outside for 15 minutes and I feel better, except for the headache. Back in and 5-10 minutes coughing and all starts up!!

    Apartments are expensive and now I have to find another. Which will probably take until I am 90! KHB

    Liked by 2 people

  2. I nosh on sweets when I’m upset. Oreos, Hershey’s Kisses. I become a kid again while tears salt the quart of milk I’ll drink, warm with honey.

    Hearing aids. As you know I have them. They act up like any other appliance. When I get sorrowful think, it’s lucky to be alive with such sophisticated technology. My father had one the size of a baguette that attached to his glasses. When he was tired of my mother nagging him, he’d go off the air, as he put it.

    You’re in mourning for Gracie. She hasn’t been gone that long. So eat, cry, then eat some more. And keep telling us how you feel.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Kate, I agree that there is a lot of comfort in routine. Just the regular everydayness of the things we do can give me the energy to keep moving. I have taken a break from all things doctor for a few months. Those every 6 month appointments were wearing me down more than helping. It worked for me. I had a photo blog I subscribed to on WordPress. The guy got kind of weird so I unsubscribed but I still kept getting more than one post every day. I couldn’t stop it. I have gmail and I finally hit the unsubscribe within the gmail account and that was it! I don’t know if you have that option through your mail account. When I am stressed or upset I can’t eat and my stomach turns on me. I hope you get your car back soon… one thing out of the way will go a long way. My week was full of Hurricane Milton.

    Liked by 2 people

    • That’s true and when the routine is interrupted, even by small things, like not having your own car, it matters. I have started to unsubscribe so we’ll see. I can block them through my email account but they are all different URLs which makes it all so much more work. I have to admit I printed a few recipes. I get the doc thing. Everything is done by specialists. My gyno wanted me to take Prolia for osteoporosis as I had gone through all the oral medications and they all disrupted my GI system. It’s a freaking shot. Her office doesn’t do them. They don’t come under her umbrella so I was referred to an endocrinologist. The shots are twice a year but I also have to see either the doc or a PA prior to each shot. And that’s how it goes. Nothing wrong with my endocrinology system yet I have to do that. Add that to all the others and there are a lot of appointments. I have an extra heartbeat. It’s not dangerous nor does it make me more likely to have heart issues yet the cardiologist who checked me out wanted me to come every year for a check up. I canceled that. I’ll go back when I have an issue. Oops! Looked like you hit a nerve with me this morning! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  4. No judgement – do what you need to do. You are having a rough time of it lately. I hope the car is back to you sooner rather than later, and also that your hearing aids get more useful and less of a hassle!

    Liked by 2 people

  7. That’s a pain with the added recipes – are they all coming from the same address to just block that address or direct them to SPAM? I subscribed to a health newsletter which I thought was a weekly update and soon I was getting daily e-mails but not from that newsletter, but other health newsletters and, when I went to unsubscribe, I got the “sorry to see you go” followed by a toggle-type list to ask if I am unsubscribing to all of these. I never signed up for “all of these”!! So maybe go back in again to unsubscribe and uncheck other subscriptions that THEY, not you, decided you needed. I get e-mails from Macy’s as a credit card holder. I direct them to SPAM as they send two to three e-mails a day! If I am stressed about something I will eat … but just snacks like Goldfish, so I really can’t have them around as I will polish them off in record time. Throughout my life, no matter the stress I had, I always had an appetite and my mom was the opposite, like you, she wouldn’t eat.

    Liked by 1 person

    • On the recipe spam, they are all different URLs so it’s not that easy. I’ve been individually unsubscribing to each. There is no list to check all. If this doesn’t work, I can block but that too will be individually. I know this stuff happens when you are browsing on the web but this is the first time I’ve gotten it in email.

      Liked by 1 person

      • That’s ridiculous isn’t it? I know I didn’t sign up for all those e-mails from different places, so some sneaky stuff going on there. I have signed up for e-mail newsletters and they just drop off for some reason. Crazy!

        Liked by 1 person

  8. I hate it when the internet thinks it knows what you need to see. It’s starting to make me afraid to open or click on anything. What if I’m somewhat interested in something today, but tomorrow I’ll want to expand my interests?

    I don’t like to drive a strange car either. My kids have no trouble driving my car, but I always turn them down when they ask if I want to drive theirs.

    I’m definitely the other kind of person. It’s hard for me to understand how it can be hard for someone to eat. It seems like I can always eat. Now my pregnant granddaughter has morning sickness and is finding it hard to eat anything. I do sympathize, but I still want to shout, like some old grandma, “Remember, dear, you’re eating for two.”

    Liked by 1 person

    • I have no trouble dropping 10 lbs when I’m in crisis mode. For perspective I weigh less than 105 lbs. normally. Each car is different and I don’t like to “waste” time figuring out where the dang stuff is. For this one, I couldn’t figure out why the radio didn’t go off when I turned the engine off (like my car does). I would manually turn it off. One day I realized it turned off when I opened the door. As far as the internet, I’ve come to be very wary of clicking on anything. I’ve gotten that flashing screen that blocks everything too many times from clicking on something on Facebook. I don’t know why such a large company can’t block those scammers but then again, my understanding of technology is low.

      Like

      • Oh, Kate. It must be awful to weigh 105 and then have a hard time eating. I hope you’ll continue to find ways to feel more relaxed and eat.

        My granddaughter was on the thin side when she got pregnant, so I hope she’ll soon recover from morning sickness and be able to eat.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Ah, technology and online searches, they sometimes lead to annoyance. I’ve done what other have suggested unsubscribed which works sometimes and mark as spam other times. I’m glad the hearing aids are working somewhat better. My truck is in the shop right now. Here’s hoping we both hear something tomorrow. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’m trying to let go of my irritation with all things technology. I have to admit, I did a lot of unsubscribing yesterday and this morning I wasn’t slammed with recipes.

      Like

  10. I’ve read that unsubscribing to something you haven’t subscribed to in the first place just lets them know they have a legitimate email address (to send more junk to). Best to mark the emails as spam before deleting (something I can do on my laptop and desktop but not on my phone or tablet).

    I just got new hearing aids and have a follow-up appointment this week to get them adjusted. For some reason, some things are WAY TOO LOUD, while others (like the play we went to the other night) are too soft. Hoping they can make things just right. Good luck getting yours tweaked.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I had a lot of that with my first pair. With these, I can do a hearing test on line and apply the results to my aids, then tweak myself. I learning a lot more than I want to but it seems to be working for me. At least so far! 🤞

      Liked by 1 person

  11. When I’m sad or stressed I don’t have much of an appetite. Chocolate gives me comfort. What a pain with the recipes. I see you’re unsubscribing, hope that works.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Same thing happens here with the garage. I understand eating when sad. I eat if I am happy, sad and anything else. I know I am truly ill when I am not hungry. I hope things improve for you.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Re your unwanted recipes: Is there an unsubscribe (as mentioned below) or can you spam them? We had a lot coming in and the spam option worked after a while.
    Glad you’re making progress with the hearing aids. Hubby has a test next week.

    Liked by 2 people

  14. I’m definitely a comfort eater when sad or stressed, but like you, I think, comfort foods. Warm carbs, salty carbs, sweet carbs… Give yourself a break. Grief is individual and you will get through it in time. Remember the happy times when you can.

    You can try individually unsubscribing from whatever email lists you’ve gotten hooked into. At least they aren’t ads? I really hate getting a bunch of spam, even if it’s recipes. I think I’d mark them all spam and hope for the best.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’ve started with unsubscribing. I’ll mark them as spam if that doesn’t work. Eating in times of stress is really a good thing. Hunger which is often not noticed doesn’t make the feelings go away. I like my carbs too.

      Like

  15. Some sites decide to send spammy emails even if you’ve just visited their site. Ugh. I unsubscribe and then move them to my junk folder (aka spam). The laptop is pretty good about ‘remembering’ and I don’t end up getting them in my email box. But with different systems, there are different solutions. So if you’re on a Microsoft computer, it may be different than say Apple. Good luck.

    Glad you’re making progress on the hearing aids. Hopefully the final wrinkles will be ironed out soon. 🤞🏼

    Liked by 1 person

    • I hope so. Hearing aids are not like glasses. You can’t put them on and wow you can hear. Nope, nope, nope. You have to get used to the feel of something in your ear. Then you have to figure out what level you are comfortable with. Even when I was working with a specialist, I kept having him turn them down. I kind of like my quiet world. I don’t need to hear every appliance work. Just the people.

      Liked by 1 person

      • It’s always seems too black and white with hearing aids. Hopefully the guy you’re working with will be able to tone things done so the brain doesn’t get too overloaded with stimulation. It’s maddening-I empathize with you.

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Kate, I have an iPhone SE, and it works great with my diabetes sensor. So maybe that will help, bc you did say that the aids were for the iPhone to begin with. Good luck!

    Liked by 1 person

    • The aids worked first with Apple but the updated version, which I bought, is supposed to work with Androids. I have “version 12” for the Android OS and there is an issue with that version across all manufacturers. It does pair, it just drops more frequently requiring rebooting or turning the aids off and on. My carrier has iPhone SE 3rd Generation and iPhone14 (plus all the high end ones which I don’t need). I have time to decide.

      Like

  17. Dearest Kate,

    Life is never easy and talking about a hearing aid, that is a most annoying and expensive device. They promise a lot but it is not possible to restore the actual loss. I know my husband suffered most from that in the end of his life. Being a music lover, that fell totally by the sideway because of it.

    Wishing you good luck in that!

    My Pieter was always so grateful for any repair, ours was from Costco so a two–and–a–half hour one–way trip was the price for that.

    Spam I’ve learned to deal with rather well by logging into my gmail.com and selecting from there. Also the unsubscribe at the very bottom at times does work.

    You are lucky if you can still indulge in comfort food, I cannot due to my severe health issues. But the routine is a very important thing in our life—even for my three kitties!

    Hugs,

    Mariette + Kitties

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Glad to hear (no pun intended!) that you’re sleuthing your new hearing issues. I sort of had to strong-arm my wife into using her phone app because she was satisfied just pressing the buttons on the hearing aids to make changes. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I didn’t want her to be unfamiliar with how the app works. She’s grudgingly agreed the app can do more than the buttons. 😁 Good lord, things have not changed with side mirrors. I had one replaced/repaired about 15 years ago and it took forever as I recall. I hope the guy is back tomorrow. – Marty

    Liked by 2 people

    • Me too. My window to pick it up tomorrow is small. Early morning or late afternoon just before they close. They close at 5. That’s inhumane. I’m working on letting it go but on Tuesday I’ll be going some distance and would prefer to use my own car.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. The most effective diet for me is the abject misery diet, whenI’m just too sad to eat . This is rare, since I love food. A little misery and I’ll hit the chocolate. But serious tragedy and sorrow? It’s hard to choke anything down. I think mochas are a good substitute and I’d buy you several if I were closer! (Or drop off a Starbucks gift card.)

    Liked by 1 person

  20. I’m glad that you and your hearing aids are getting along better. I’ve never had the kind of spam situation you describe. I’ve no idea how you’d stop it short of unsubscribing.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. I do a lot of online searching for recipes but that hasn’t brought me any unsolicited recipes or solicitations to join up fortunately. I never “join” – just copy what I want and leave. Unsubscribing should work for you! I know the feeling that “something is missing” in the household when there’s a major change – a death or an addition, etc. It’s something you can’t ignore – just understand it’s one of the things we go through when the family dynamic changes….it’s hard – very hard. Glad the aids are “mostly” working out for you!!!

    Hugs, Pam

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Glad the hearing aids are helping some. All these devices hooked to our phones is enough to drive one insane. As for the emailed recipes -do they have an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the emails? That’s my only suggestion. I wish I were the kind of person who eats less under stress…I would weigh at least10-15 lbs less than I do now!

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’ve started unsubscribing. Hope it works at least somewhat. Eating less isn’t always a good thing. I can drop weight and my blood pressure goes down. The only good thing is that I don’t monitor my salt intake.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.