Can't highlight text and menu drop downs are empty gray boxes

Using 6.1.4.2
Office 7 Home

I keep my journal in a writer file. I leave the file open all the time so i can quickly jot down a few sentences…

At some point the ability to highlight a section of text to copy or cut quits working.
When this happens and I click on any of the menu items, the drop down becomes an empty gray box.

If i close the app and reopen the file it works again…for a little while. Then the behavior re-occurs.
I have only been using Libre for a couple of months. This just started happening a few days ago.

TIA.