Digital painting

I had one of those days yesterday... 

The previous day, my medicines were not ready at the chemist. So I had to go out again yesterday morning.

So yesterday morning I went in and the person looking for my medicine said the prescription had not been put in, but I had not been told that the previous day.

It took 3 hours chasing up my medicines, and finally the prescription was put through from the doctorless surgery. And luckily the chemist's had all my medicines.


But I was absolutely exhausted with the time and effort that took.


I had no energy left, but I still had a couple of other things I had to do yesterday  morning. 


And going back home I passed the Country Store, where I needed a bale of straw. That night time badger, KissyKissy, has pulled out all the straw from my feral cat pods. My feral cat pods were made from old cat travelling baskets, and consequently the entrance is a bit big for them. KissyKissy is pulling out all the straw. I need to redesign them with small cat entrances,  or make some different ones, and I need to put the cat straw back in to keep the cats warm at night.


I went in the entrance of the country store and I'm pushing my walker. And I am immediately confronted by a turnstile, one of those that used to be on public toilets that drops as you push it around thus preventing you pushing anything in with it. 


I am gobsmacked, I can't even think for a moment. I have no way of getting into the shop. Then there are a few people behind me in those few seconds. A man comes in front of me and says I'll lift your walker over the barrier for you, and another person who I cannot see is behind me and holds my back so I don't fall over and the man in front of me who is now on the other side the turnstile with my walker has to move the turnstile for me because it is too strong for me to push. 


I say thank you.


But my confidence is knocked. I feel disorientated because I've had to be helped through an unnecessary turnstile into a shopping store. I don't want to shop there anymore. So l  go to the equestrian department to try and get my straw, but it has moved to the pet department. There were some other things I wanted but I just want to get the heck out the place.


On the way out I saw a mother with baby in a pram and she was just standing in front of the turnstile looking just as bewildered and I had moments before. Another lady came along and told the mother to walk through the turnstile she lifted the baby and pram over the turnstile to the mother, and then the mother was able to get in the store.


As I went back to my car I saw a woman in a mobility scooter who would have stood no chance getting through the turnstile, she would have had to shout for help. But there was only one member staff in that massive store, and she was on the till.


I had one more thing I wanted to do, but I just wanted to go straight home. I parked the car, got my walker out. But then I noticed that my front tyre was not straight, it was sticking out a bit and it was a busy side road and somebody could have shredded my tyre. So I left  my walker outside the car, and I got back in the driver's seat, and I had to start the engine to be able to turn the steering wheel. In the meantime a woman outside the car is going frantic lifting up my walker thinking I'm going to drive off without it, and is trying to put it in the car and I'm saying no no no. Finally I get through to her why I'm in the car and the walker is outside the car, and I still haven't had a chance to get the wheel straight yet. She's at the driver's window at this point and she said, oh I'll do it for you so she puts her hands through the open  window, and turns the steering wheel for me (!!!!!!), And says there I've got that straight for you now. I mean I'm sitting in the driving seat going to do this for myself and she did it for me...


I can't do anything else but say thank you to her,  although I'm feeling, well I don't know what I'm feeling at this point but just feeling useless and stupid and inconsequential, and  whatever else.


Finally I get home. And there is a no reply text from the doctorless surgery. It is signed practise manager and he apologises for the mix-up with my medicines. You have no idea how frustrated that made me feel because I'm being sent a text that I cannot respond to. There's no way of responding to this doctorless surgery,  everything they send is a no reply text and if you want to go further with anything there is the normal telephone number which I cannot use with being deaf. Oh yes I bought all this up with them but they don't come up with an answer. 


Then I notice my smart meter. Scrolling continuosly across the entire smart meter screen is a message which says "YOU HAVE EXCEEDED YOUR WEEKLY BUDGET ALLOWANCE". It won't stop. No amount of pressing the screen to turn that bit off will work. I cannot get into any of the menu once that message in capitals is scrolling across the screen and it does it all day. I was going to turn the screen around, but then I lost my temper with it and it landed in the naughty corner.


Fortunately, or unfortunately, when I retrieved it from the naughty corner this morning it still works. It does this once a week for a  full day. And you cannot stop that message scrolling across the screen, constantly chiding you.


I use no gas because the boiler broke down so I turned the gas tap  off. It is just electricity and I have a couple of oil filled radiators which are used to heat up my bedroom and the front room when needed. And at the lowest setting they use very little electricity. They turn on and off as needed and they retain heat in the fins which is why I like them, and when the temperature in the room drops below a certain amount then they heat up again. And it works very well for me. And I use my electric throw which is very very economical. And my electric bill for the week in this very cold weather might be anywhere between £9 to £11. So this smart meter was grumbling at me that I had exceeded my weekly budget allowance and my total bill for that week was £11.54.


I don't know anyone else who uses that little electricity in a week, And that is my total power consumption. 

What I pay in my direct debit each month more than covers my usage, and the energy company also have a pot of my money which is my reserve fund in their coffers in case of unexpected usage from me.

I know the word I wanted now to describe yesterday, it was a feeling of powerlessness.


I know I'm on a short fuse at the moment because of the last two days, and I was due to drive and see my friend today, but it is a 60 mile round trip, and I did not feel like it this morning (especially as she is like a stuck record and complains about her husband who is disabled each time we meet, and I just didn't feel like listening yesterday) and so I've cancelled it, I said I'd see you next week because the next bit of stupidity I get from a person or organisation, they will get all my frustrations and I know that's how I feel.


I felt relieved once I cancelled her and now I've got the day to myself just to do my things


I have just thought does anybody know what a "stuck record" is nowadays? 


There is one other thing that's been really frustrating these last two days, and that is an online application form to renew something. But it doesn't tell you what documents you need before you start the process, and I get two pages in and it says you need this document, and we need the details on pages so and so, and I go and get that document and come back to the screen but it's timed out and I have to start at the beginning again. And so it went on. I checked the council  site and it has an outreach thing at the local library but that is closed all this week, and should be open on next Monday so there's nothing I can do about it. I went there a few years ago when I needed to do something similar with this,  and she just did it for me in almost seconds. Well about 10 minutes.



Wild life nighttime camera...


Cats Amy & Jade


The little black cat, with the bit of white on its neck is Ammy (short for Amethyst), but I am fed with wrestling with spellcheck which keeps changing it to Amy, that I have finally given in, and am now calling her Amy. She has been in previous videos but she was almost impossible to see. She is a cat that remains hidden even in daylight.


At one end of the swing was Jade's dry biscuits. They have always been there. No other cat has eaten Jade's biscuits before, ever. Neither has the fox. Although cat Merlin, not in this video, unless he has tucked himself away on the swing, now eats Jade's biscuits.


The other black cat you can see with the white back legs is Jade who always resided in the middle of the swing (once Midnight relinquished his post to become a house cat). 


You see Amy first, considering taking some of those cat biscuits. But it is like she keeps checking on whether the cat position in the middle of the swing is vacant but decides against it. However, this is the boldest I have ever seen Amy. 


Then later, Jade tries. They are her biscuits, and so she jumps and eats...


https://youtu.be/oUvs2E4pyrM 



Creative is a digital painting begun in ZenBrush3, and finished in Procreate. 

Time for breakfast....