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Thursday, September 24, 2020

Big jobs, little jobs

Months ago Kathleen, my counselor, suggested I call Area Agency on Ageing to see if any programs applied to my needs. After a short, useless argument I said I would. Kathleen takes exquisite notes on my family and friends, my likes and dislikes, but has never bothered to write down I have been evaluated two or more times by this AAA. I am "in their books".

My particular need is someone to clean my floors; run the vacuum and sweep the vast expanse of linoleum. I had two girls from the park do it once this summer, but they're back in school. Laura came and did it once. I've vacuumed a couple of times in the year plus I've been here, but my back isn't compatible.

As I knew, this AAA has no program to vacuum my rugs. I can get in and out of bed, shower, toilet and brush my teeth. That covers their authority. We had the usual chat, and then the counselor told me of a new program they knew of that might be of interest. It was a volunteer shopping program; groceries to my door. 

I called the number given me and left a my contact information after an introductory recording. This was several months ago. I did have the satisfaction of telling Kathleen I was once again turned away by AAA, and the volunteer shopping program hadn't called me, either.

She asked me again this week and I reported the same, adding it's been six months; I'm long gone from the voice mail.

Not ten minutes later, I had a call from a nice person whose name I did not write down, so let's call her Jane. First we established I might be interested in whatever they were offering, then I helped her unburden herself of her feeling about the man previously in charge who had dropped so many balls the strings would never untangle.

This shopping program is funded by an agency Jane sort of avoided telling me the name of, but I will get it if this happens. The program funds volunteers who grocery shop and deliver to clients for no additional charge beyond the grocery receipt.

I told her I was not interested in a grocery shopper so much as a deliverer, who would carry the goods up seven steps and put them on my kitchen counter. If necessary, I would be happy to go shopping with them, and pay for the groceries, if that person also returned to my home and carried groceries up the steps.

This was a very novel idea and Jane would have her supervisor discuss it with me.

Which her supervisor did. It is such a novel idea the supervisor must discuss it with the agency that funds them, and get back to me. That hasn't happened yet.


In the meantime, the Christmas Cactus cutting I started rooting in January was overdue to leave its jelly jar home. It's in the new pot, but consigned to the deck rail, at least while overnight temps hold.

The potting soil, when I went to the shed and opened the bag, exploded with tiny little sugar ants, as my mother called them. Bazillions of them, running up my hands and down the bag. I filled another pot with soil to bring back to the deck, and left the bag wide open...like the little devils would look to the wide world in preference to a handy bag of fine potting mix.

I potted up the cactus, shooing away a lot of ants. Alright, I smooshed a few, too. Right now I'm torn between observing for a lack of ants (and I've seen none the last two days), a dip in an incredibly mild solution of detergent in water, or a trip to the hardware store for the final solution. Advice welcome.

35 comments:

  1. They have a volunteer program like that here, or at least I think they still do. It began with COVID.

    Just recently, I thought of moving something (can't remember what it was now) and immediately wondered who could help. Whatever it was, I could have probably done it myself, but times do change us.

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  2. Can't advise about the ants; we usually get an environmentally friendly/pet friendly spray but thankfully we haven't had ants in awhile. Probably too hot for them :) (doubt that)

    It would be nice if there was an agency that helped specifically the needs individuals require to continue to live independently but can't do all the things physically. Some help here and there but none everywhere. Good luck with the shopper to be the deliverer. That would be definitely something helpful for you.

    betty

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  3. Someone to accompany you and do the lifting on return...wow! Probably need an institutional feasability study to be made, presented to the appropriate body and funding earmarked...don't hold your breath.

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  4. If not for Covid19 and my avoidance of contact, I would love to be someone's shopper, carrier, or housekeeper. I need to do something more worthwhile with my time. I had issues with those little ants in my kitchen (I call them sugar ants too, although the exterminator called them stink ants). They are pesky to get rid of, especially with a pet who could get into the liquid Terro that everyone recommended.

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  5. Those programs are about employment for the people running them, I believe. I don't know how much help anyone actually gets. I wish you had access to more help. My cleaning family are great, and I had them come back for the first time since March.

    I wonder if grocery delivery services leave boxes right at the front door? that would be a bit nearer the destination.

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  6. I've always had luck soaking my plants in a detergent solution before I bring them in for the winter. Not sure if it would do any good if the plant continued to live outside.

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  7. There could be liability issues for the agency if a volunteer drove you to and from the grocery store if a car accident occurred. Don't be surprised if they won't do it. It's safer, from a legal point of view, to just have the volunteer do the shopping and bring it into your home.

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  8. Bazillions of tiny ants? I'd probably hit that bag with a flamethrower, but maybe that's a bit extreme for you. I just hate ants because they think I'm an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet.

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  9. P.S. we have agencies here who will have someone drive you to do your shopping and then home again, I haven't ever used them, but I believe they will carry the goods inside if needed.

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  10. High school students in Ontario are required to do a set number of volunteer hours to qualify for graduation. I remember my daughter participating in a program (that was administered by our church) to get her hours. She would go to homes of folks who needed a bit of help with this and that. She mopped and vacuumed in one home, did some gardening in another. Etc. Now with this COVID thing going on, I don't know if the young people are getting their volunteer hours anywhere.

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  11. Programs like that exist here. And will provide assistance (very narrowly defined assistance) to a rigidly defined narrow cohort of people in need. I hope they do get back to you - and are prepared to stretch their narrow envelopes.

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  12. I read your post with great interest. It is sometimes very difficult to find help with the exact task you want help with. If your requirements don't fit within their guidelines, then you miss out.
    With your past experiences I can't see you holding your breath waiting for help to materialise.
    Alphie

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  13. I wonder if Medicare would be able to provide some kind of help with getting someone to do basic house cleaning? Or maybe they could help cover the cost of it. There should be some kind of program like that as I know there's a big need.

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  14. I wish we had the same sort of service here in England, I cannot clean floors but vacuum fairly easily, but it looks like all bureaucracy for you and no direct action.

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  15. Hari OM
    That sort of service is definitely available here (and in OZ I think), so no reason it ought not to happen for you, Joanne. - then again, our supermarkets all now provide online ordering and door delivery; sadly, since COVID, the drivers are no longer permitted to bring the shopping inside to the kitchen and I have to lug it all up the stair to our flat. My back us most unhappy about that! YAM xx

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  16. You would think it would be easy to launch that kind of help wouldn't you? Once bureaucracy gets involved it's a whole other issue though. They probably have to have meetings, with minutes, and discussion papers and mission statements. It's carrying the groceries up the stairs for an old lady folks! Maybe the local high school could help. Here the kids need volunteer hours as part of their curriculum.

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  17. As some of the others mentioned we do have shopping services like that here in Australia, volunteers but ‘working’ under strict guidelines. They take people out shopping/or shop for them...some possibly bringing your bags indoors. Then there’s what used to be called Home Help run by local councils semi privatised now I think - used to be free (like meals on wheels) Now user pays a percentage government picks up rest.
    Great to see you finally got you4 cutting into its new home. It’s a nice/ thick/broad leafed one. Might not flower this year but watch out next year, good things are coming.
    You have to be careful opening bags of potting mix, you can get really sick, some lurking legionella bacteria can cause problems if inhaled.

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  18. Oh no! I would get anything with those tiny crazy ants as far away from my house as possible. We've had an attack of them every summer in our house for about three years. I kill them with diatomaceous earth inside my home. It is safe for my little dog if he doesn't inhale a bunch, which would make him cough. Diatomaceous earth is safe for kitchens. I once read on someone's blog that they had cut open their bag of potting soil and poured it into the unused wheelbarrow to make a fairy garden there. As she poured it into the wheelbarrow there were a million cockroaches running all around in the wheelbarrow and over the sides of it. Ever since I read that, I take any bag of potting soil out away from the house to open it up and pour it out. Your potting soil ants have reinforced the idea of keeping the potting soil away from the house.

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  19. I know that our Giant delivers to your door but there is a charge. We did that twice but then went to “pop the trunk” pick up. There is also Amazon, but you have to pay the yearly fee to get free shipping. The food bank that I worked at now delivers food to the doors of at risk/older/ handicapped people. This is new since Covid. Perhaps that may be the case where you live. It might be a resource for you to look into. If not, they may refer you to someone who can help.

    The ants are beyond horrible this year. I am thinking it has to do with all the rain we have had.

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  20. I really hope that the agency who funds that program can see the benefit in that sort of shopping help. And can work it out soon!
    This is all so hard. Our society and culture just isn't set up to help take care of those who have taken care of others their entire lives.
    I have no answers. Not even for the sugar ants but I would say to just get rid of that bag. Not worth the cost of a bag of potting soil to risk getting them in the house.

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  21. if you haven't seen any ants for two days I wouldn't do anything. my go to for ants, and we have fire ants, is dish detergent and orange oil in water. I apply liberally to the ground and pots alike when they get invaded. plant advocates are horrified, say it will kill the plant but it hasn't ever killed any of mine. but then I do flush with clean water several times after. sometimes just flooding the pot with water a couple of times a day for several days in a row will convince them to move out.

    you'd think with so many people out of work that someone would jump at the chance to pick up some cash doing odd jobs for older folk. is there a community bulletin board somewhere you could post a job opportunity?

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  22. Burocracy( can't spell this) can be terrible dense. Simple things they cannot get though their heads.

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  23. I must write a post about my dad's experiences with these do-good agencies that don't do anything good that you need. One was when they made him attend a weekly old-persons' group which had activities like quiz games (Next question - what's the capital of France - here's a clue it begins with a P). He chucked that in as soon as he could get away with it and went back to being on his own at home reading literature and listening to classical music.

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  24. Ants, moths, hiss, boo. When a moth flew out of the cupboard yesterday, I knew we had another infestation. Husband always says I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but I decided to clean the shelf where he keeps his bread-baking stuff. Much evidence of moth infestation. I called him to see it. He was appalled. I hope he's learned his lesson.

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  25. Every spring we get sugar ants too. Keeping them out of the house is a chore. The ant traps are minimally effective.

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  26. They do have a program like that here.

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  27. I'd go with the detergent. Most plants love it and most pests don't.

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  28. Good luck with the shopping program. I hope they listen to your suggestion. I think the cactus looks great. No advice for the ants. Sorry.

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  29. I imported a colony of ants up three floors in a potted plant, and they began to raid the kitchen in regiments by night and day. I normally like ants, but I had to buy one of those plastic domes with tiny doors which contain ant-food laced with a poison they take home to kill their nearest and dearest by night, and they soon disappeared. I felt bad, but they were in the wrong place. Our 3rd floor kitchen has been ant-free ever since.

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  30. Good luck with getting someone to carry your groceries up the steps.

    I've never had an ant problem so can't advise on that. It's woodlice that find our garden very congenial. Luckily only one or two of them manage to get into the house.

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  31. Go for the final solution lest those pesky ants decide with the colder weather, they'd rather be inside!

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  32. The Christmas cactus looks good. I hate those ants, they bite and then I swell up. I wish robotics would advance faster than they are, one of those autonomous Boston robots could be just the thing for hauling grocereis.

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