Tuesday, May 21,2013

I woke up at 6:30. Today is laundry day so I stripped the bed. My walking companion wasn't there so I came through the front. Had my cigarette but no coffee. I took a shower, had breakfast and was upset because my bag had been thrown in the 'lost and found' bin but I was able to retrieve it. (It wasn't only my stuff that was thrown in the bin though. There's this rule at the shelter where nothing is supposed to be left on the table and chairs. When we go to the sleeproom to go to sleep everything has to be cleared from the tables and chairs).

Breakfast was eggs and bagels.

My van trip to my doctor took a while and I had to walk about half a block get there.

My doctor's visit included a lot of things but at least I got the 'go a head' to take motorcycle lessons.

I also got a prescription for an eye exam, a dental referral, and for some more tests to be scheduled. There's a lot I have to do.

I had to wait a while for the van and it was so hot outside that I went back inside and sat down and waited for the van.

Back at the shelter I smoked a cigarette outside and sat with some of the other residents.

I found out that Big Daddy has to leave the shelter by June 1st.

Lunch was meat wraps.

I'm also trying to get my information together so I can take a college course or two. I have to get a copy of my high school transcripts and my own high school closed down 2 years ago. So I'll have to figure a way to solve that.

I also completed the crochet bag but have to wait until he can pay me.

Dinner was spare ribs and sweet potatoes.

I'm still finishing up on making copies of my appeal papers so that I can file them on Thursday.

I went to bed at eleven.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Woke up at 6:30

Had cigarette on the way to the front and then had coffee inside.

Breakfast was two pancakes per person.

I worked on making copies of my court papers so that I can file my appeal on Thursday.

Big Daddy, as restless as ever, went to take a walk.

I have been practicing walking with my cane.

The weather is gray and dreary and drizzling off and on.

I'm still working on copying my court papers.

I used the computer here to register for a Pell grant so I could take some courses at the local community college.

Lunch was pasta, spaghetti sauce and meatballs.

I continued to finish my legal work, stopping occassionlhy to go outside and have a cigarette.

Dinner was ham, sweet potatoes and green beans with crackers and cheese for dessert.

I finished my 3rd set of legal copies and decided to take a break from it. I wanted to work on finishing my crochet bag so that I can get paid.

I went to bed at 10.

Friday, May 17, 2013

I got up a little after 6. I was rushed last night because I was trying to put things away and ended up having to take my coat with me into the sleeproom. I went out the back way, came to the front and took a shower.

My stuff was a mess because something had spilled on them!

Breakfast was eggs and sausage.

After breakfast, I worked on straightening my stuff from storage.

I also got a ride from the shelter so that I could go get my cane. I had to go all the way to Upper Darby because that was the closest place that my medical insurance would pay for. It took 40 minutes to get there and forty minutes to get back but I made it in time for lunch.

Lunch was chicken patties and bread and hash browns.

The crochet club met at 1:30 and I was trying to learn the granny stitch. It still seems that I have to work on my tension. So I'll be making some dish towels to work on my tension.

Dinner was steak slices, noodles and green beans.

Big Daddy came back to the table angry.

I continued to work on the bag and then I went outside for awhile.

Dig Daddy was outside as well and he had gave me this "mysterious" speech about 'if he didn't see me anymore....'.

It turns out that he was still angry at the guy who smashed his window. He went looking for a big tree branch and then he went to hit the same guy! The police were called and so was the head director of the shelter. Big Daddy was allowed to stay but the other guy had to leave.

During this whole thing another of the residents was high and he kept talking crazy. He ended up getting arrested.

I went to bed at 11.

The sun

Another glorious morning!!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

I got up at 6:10. Left out the back way with another resident and had a cigarette while walking to the front of the shelter.

Breakfast was pancakes and sausages.

I finally finished the yellow bag and gave it to one of the staff members. She said she liked it and actually paid me for it!

Big Daddy returned to the shelter. He said that he was alright.

Lunch was beef turnovers and hash browns plus a donut for dessert.

I worked on preparing my appeal papers for filing. They are due by May 25th which is on a Saturday.

Dinner was sausage, noodles, corn and a donut for dessert.

I spent some time outside in the breeze (although it was warm outside).

I played bingo, did some research on the computer and then designed and printed a flyer for the shelter.

I went to bed at 10.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

I woke up at around 6. Had my cigarette outside and then came in for coffee.

Breakfast was oatmeal and scrapple.

I got ready to leave for my 8:30 van ride but we left early - like 8:10.

My appointment wasn't until 10 am so I used that time to work on my crochet project which was to make a small carrying bag for my own cellphone.

During my physical therapy session a heating pad was applied to my knee for about 15 minutes. Then I did some exercises and pedaled an exercise bike for 9 minutes and my distance was 1.1 miles.

After my session I wanted to pick up my Prozac and sleeping pill prescriptions and get some cigarettes. I was able to do that that and then was taken back to the shelter.

It was about 2 when I got back so I missed lunch but the cook made me a plate. Lunch was hamburgers and French fries.

I finished the rest of my crochet project.

I also found out that my cane was ready to be picked up. I managed to be able to schedule the outreach van to take me to the medical supply place in Upper Darby. I'm told it's a 40 minute ride.

I also managed to complete my writing project today and I also have laundry to do as well! Whew!

I don't think I ate dinner because I had that late lunch.

Later during the evening around 8, Big Daddy and his girlfriend came to the shelter.

The girlfriend couldn't stay but Big Daddy signed the sleep sheet. He took his sleeping pill and went to the back to watch TV. When it was time to go into the sleep room, he got up, went into the hall, fell and banged his head pretty hard. An ambulance was called and he was taken away.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Oh the joy of my "normal" day at the shelter! I got up at 6. I had my cigarette and I had my shower just being grateful that no one was banging on the shower door.

Breakfast was grits and scrapple.

I thought I had an appointment today but it turns out that its for tomorrow.

I talked with one of the caseworkers about the problem I was having with the processing of my Social Security process and she said that since she was going there in a few minutes that I could "hitch" a ride with here.

It turns out that I will have to call a number that is to their office in another part of the state.

Lunch was ham sandwiches, soup and crackers.

I talked to Big Daddy and found out that he was fired from his job! He's not in a very good way though because of it.

I talked to the head of the shelter and she told me that it was possible for me to get into the residence of my choice.

I missed taking my blood pressure medication on Sunday and I really felt weird so I'm back to taking them again and I feel much better.

Dinner was fish, rice and stewed tomatoes.

We're all kind of worried about Big Daddy. If he doesn't come back to the shelter soon he may be kicked out!

Since today was laundry day, we had to sign for our sheets and then we went to the sleep room to make our beds.

I went to bed at 10.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Morning came and we were anxious to get back to the shelter. Guess what? Big Daddy's truck wouldn't start. We called to have it jumped but it still wouldn't start so it had to be towed to a repair place.

We waited and waited but by 2 o'clock in the afternoon the truck still wasn't ready. So I and Big Daddy's girlfriend decided to take the bus back (to the shelter).

I made it back to the shelter by 4 pm. By this time I was so hungry that I ate my saved hoadie and decided to skip dinner.

everybody at the shelter wanted to know where we were and what the heck we had been doing.

I was tired and cold so I went to bed at nine.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

I got up just before 6 and went to the front. We're kind of worried about Big Daddy because he's not answering his phone.

I had some coffee.

Had breakfast,

Finally got in touch with Big Daddy. It seems his truck stalled and he was stranded. We got another resident to drive us to where he was stranded and we gave him a jump.

Meanwhile back at the shelter we decided to give another one of the residents a going-a-way party. The problem was that we couldn't find him. We drove around looking for him but we couldn't find him.

Unfortunately a fight broke out and the back of the window of the truck got broken. Then we found the guy that we were looking for and we "kidnapped" him. We had some beer and some whiskey and decided to stay overnight at a motel.

Friday, May 10th

I got up at around 6 am. Went out the back way with another resident and we walked and smoked our way to the front.  Breakfast was cream of wheat and I had my coffee with that.

After breakfast I alternated between going outside and having a cigarette and being inside working on crocheting the bag.

It was starting to get quite warm outside.

Lunch was a meat wrap type taco thing plus we had some leftovers from the barbecue.

We had our first meeting of the crochet club and most of us decided on starting off with a simple project - a crocheted bag for our cellphones.

I also found out about my next creative writing. We are supposed to write something - a contribution - to add to a blog. So I have yet to do that too.

Dinner was ham, rice and mixed vegetables.

After dinner we went for a ride in Big Daddy's van and we had some whiskey.




It started to rain real heavy so we stayed in the van and didn't get back inside the shelter until 10:30.
I went to bed at 11.

Thursday, May 9th

I woke up just after 6, made my bed and went to the front day room.  Had a cigarette outside and came back in to some tepid coffee. Breakfast was eggs and scrapple. Big Daddy left for work. I continued to work on the yellow bag. It was nice outside so I worked on the bag outside. Lunch was pork/sausage patties and mashed potatoes. After lunch I got copies of my legal papers. Unfortunately it wasn't enough copies so I have to get more copies made. I also continued to work (inside) on the bag. Big Daddy came back early from work and he took me to the apartment complex where I wanted to live. We were shown models of the one and two bedroom apartments. I liked them just fine and it is close to where I used to live. Next we drove over to my home and I saw that my mother's car was gone but I had already known that because a neighbor called me and told me so. I stopped by to see my neighbor and my bunch at my library. On the way back we stopped for hoagies and cigarettes. By the time we were finished it was around 9:30. The shelter has a 10 pm curfew so we just made it back in time! I went to bed at eleven.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

At about 1 am I felt my feet cramping up and I had to get up from the bed because no matter which way I turned in bed I couldn't get rid of the cramps.  I went to the staff member and told him about the cramping and he wanted to know if I wanted to go to the hospital.  I told him that if I just walked around maybe the cramping would go away.

So I did some walking around and the cramps went away slowly so I went back to bed.

<p>A lot of us were coughing and sneezing during the night.  It seems a lot of us (including my self) were sick.

<p>I woke up again around 5 am because I felt the cramping coming back.  I got back up and walked around again and then laid  back down again.  I didn't wake up again until the 6:30 wake-up call.

<p>I made my bed and went out the back door with another resident and we smoked a cigarette on the way to the front of the shelter.

<p>After the cigarette, went inside and had a cup of coffee.

<p>Breakfast was french toast and a sausage patty.

<p>After breakfast I went out to smoke a cigarette but it started to rain really hard so I came back inside.

<p>Lunch was interesting because it was supposed to be a barbecue.  It kept raining off and on so it took awhile.  The head of the shelter wanted pictures so I used her camera to get pictures and "capture" moments of the barbecue.  I took about 25-30 pictures with her digital camera.  Students were also suppose to come in from a nearby college.  I captured pictures of the arriving.  We didn't actually get to eat lunch until 2 in the afternoon but it was worth the wait.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, corn, beans and salad!  We (and the students) feasted!

<p>Big Daddy came back from work early and we were off to do his laundry (and drink whiskey).  We did some shopping and bought hoagies for dinner.

<p>We got back to the shelter but Big Daddy realized that he was out of cigarettes so we, along with another resident  went to get some.  He was paying one of the younger residents to help clean his van.

<p>We got back to the shelter around 10 pm and I went to bed at 11.

Tuesday, May 7 2013

I got up just before 6:30. It's laundry day so I stripped my bed and put the sheets with the others.
<p>Went out the back way with another resident and smoked my last cigarette on the way to the front.
<p>Went inside and had some coffee.
<p>Breakfast was turkey bacon and eggs.
<p>I'm working on a tapestry bag now that I have run out of yarn for the blue and white bag.  While I'm waiting to get more yarn on that I can work on something else.
<p>Lunch was cheeseburgers and french fries.
<p>After lunch I worked on the strap for the tapestry bag, stopping once to have a cigarette (that someone gave me
<p>It started to rain real hard so me and another resident got in her car to keep from getting wet.  After about 20 minutes the rain let up and we went inside.
<p>I went back to the tapestry bag and also got one of the caseworkers to look at the doctor bill I got.  Since my current medical insurance didn't pay the bill the bill was sent to me.  It's for $122 and the caseworker is going to see if my earlier/temporary medical insurance will pay for it.
<p>Dinner was pork chops, mixed vegetables and rice.
<p>I finished my crocheting projects and did some practice stitching.  I'm almost out of yarn and need some white and blue yarn to finish the bag that I'm doing for someone else.  I was also able to renew my library books online.
<p>Big Daddy finally came back from work and he showed me his new van.  It's not a new model.  It's about 7 years old but he says as long as it can get him where he's going, he's fine with it.
<p>We decided to take a trip to the store but before we left a staff member came over to talk to us.  Afterwards we drove to the store, came back and decided to "hook" up with one of the other residents that we saw walking to the bus stop.  But when we got there we saw the police with someone and we decided to go back to the shelter.
<p>Once we got back to the shelter we saw the police cars driving by and we decided to see what was going on.  When we got to the front of the shelter one of the residents was being led out in hand cuffs by the police.  We were shocked and we couldn't find out clearly what had happened.  But it did have something to do with drugs.  This all happened around 10pm.
<p>We went inside the shelter, got our sheets and blankets and went to bed at 11.  I was so tired that I didn't even  make my bed!

Monday, May 6, 2013

I got up just before the 6:30, went to the bathroom and then made up my bed.

I came out the back way with another resident and smoked a cigarette on the way to the front.

I went inside and had my coffee.

Breakfast was pancakes and scrapple.

I'm very low on cigarettes and I still feel a bit sleepy.

I continued to work on the bag.lasangna

There are some things I have to do but I'm procrastinating. I have to make copies and there are two bills that I have to take care of. I have to do those things as soon as possible.

Lunch was lasangna.

I'm still working on the bag but I ran out of blue yarn so I'm un-twisting some old yarn and that's going to take a while.

Dinner was barbecued chicken, potatoes and stewed tomatoes.

I continued to un-twist the yarn.

Two people had to leave today. One was a woman who had een here awhile. It's rumored that she has funeds afailable and that there is an apartment waiting for her. The second person was a younger guy who was going to New Hampshire with his girlfriend who is pregnant. There were supposed to be getting a ride but the ride never showed up. They wanted to stay at the shelter but the assistant director said they couldn't. So they loaded up their bags into a baby stroller and started walking.

Around 6:30 a fight broke out. I was sitting near the front so I don't know how it started. The police came and made one guy leave the grounds.

This time I went to bed at 11.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

I got up around 2am to go to the bathroom but I went right back to bed. I woke up to the 6:30 wake-up call.

I came to the front and went outside to smoke a cigarette. I came back inside and had to wait a little for coffee.

Breakfast was waffles.

I'm running out of cigarettes and that is bugging me no end!!

Now that I'm jfinished the bag I'm looking at other kinds of stitches that I can do from some books that I checked out of the library.

Lunch was tuna fish or lunch meat sandwiches and I already had some potato chips that I could eat with that.

While I was looking at other stitches and practicing them someone admired the bag that I made and they want me to make them the same kind of bag in two different colors. I wanted to get started on that right away.

I went outside and smoked my last cigarette. Hopefully I'll get a lot more soon!

Dinner was ham, noodles and stewed tomatoe.

Mostly after dinner I worked on the bag.

I went to bed at 9.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

I woke up at 6, made my bed and went to the front. I had my cigarette and then came back inside to have coffee.

Breakfast was french toast, turkey bacon and eggs.

I just lulled around until lunch time continuing to work on the bag.

Lunch was tiny hamburgers.

I went shopping with one of the other residents who has a car and then we went to look at the flowers for sale. It was a very nice day outside so we stayed outside and took a nap in the car.

Back inside I continued to work on the bag then I was invited outside for a drink. It was about 4 of us drinking and we stayed outside and drank all the way up to dinner time. Dinner was stir-fried chicken but we had hoagies for dinner. After dinner we continued to drink until around 8 and then came inside. I went to bed at 9.

Friday, May 3, 2013

I got up just before 6am. I went to the bathroom and made my bed. I went outside to smoke a cigarette and then came back inside to make coffee.

I have a 9:30 am appointment to see my physiciatrist and a meeting after that to go look at my apartment complex.

Breakfast was oatmeal and fruit.

I left in the 8:30 van for my appointments.

My session with my physiciatrist went OK. I told her about what's going on in my life and how I felt about things.

My second meeting was more disappointing. I found out that I wasn't going to my apartment complex after all. I just can;t tell you how disappointed I was!

I got back to the shelter around 3:30 pm. I missed lunch so I made some popcorn but then there was the dinner call.

Dinner was sphagetti and sausages.

I continued to work on the crocheted bag stopping every now and then to go outside and smoke a cigarette.

I went to bed at ten.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

I woke at the 6:30 wake-up call. I left out the back way with another resident and smoked a cigarette as we walked to the front. Heard a rumor that one of the female residents is being kicked out today because she was caught smoking in the bathroom.

I waited a bit for my coffee but finally had some.

Breakfast was waffles and sausages.

I took my medications.

Yesterday about 7 people came from a shelter in Pottstown. It seems that shelter closes during the summer and some of the people there were being transferred to here. As a result, the shelter is quite full today.

Now that I (finally) finished the blanket I'm continuing an older project that I had to stop because I ran out of yarn. Now that I have the yarn I can finish it. I'm making a black "hoodie".

Lunch was sandwiches and tortilla chips.

Since it was nice outside I chatted with a few of the residents outside. The sun was beating down on me so I came back inside. I still have 2 writing assignments that I still haven't done yet. They are due on Wednesday.

Dinner was ham potatoes and beets.

I continued to work on my "hoodie" though I'm thinking about turning it into a bag because the sides aren't even.

We had crackers for a snack.

I also "hitched" a ride on the van to get my prescription renewals.

I went to bed at ten.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

I got up a little before 6 and the shower was actually free! I took a shower and then had a cigarette outside.

I'm really going to have to do something with my hair! I need a flat iron or a hot comb. (The hot comb would be better). But I was told that hot combs are "old-school" but with my hair a hot comb is essential!

Breakfast was pancakes and sausage.

I had a physical therapy appointment early so I left with the 8:30 van.

My physical therapy session consisted of starting me off with a heating pad to relax my knee. Then I did several exercises and then I worked on a cycle machine for a few minutes.

I was back at the shelter by 10:30.

I still continued to work on the blanket.

I met my case worker from Central again and she talked more about looking at apartments - specifically the one I have in mind!

Lunch was a salad and Italian meat wraps.

So far I have had three cups of coffee trying to stay awake.

I still continued to work on the blanket.

Dinner was a choice of ham or roast beef (I chose the ham), rice and mixed vegetables.

After dinner I continued to work on the blanket and I finally finished it and got paid! He was very satisfied with it.

I went to bed at 10