Outrageous Winds, Minor Crummy Luck – & – Deranged Behavior

In my mid thirties, I briefly weighed 112 pounds, or just under 51 kilograms. While my guy then begged me to stop losing weight and keep myself around 118 or more, Wednesday’s wind would have knocked me off my feet. This day it pushed my fat body across the parking lot.

Once I returned home my husband told me he heard our pellet grill blown off the back deck. I disentangled the mess and can only hope it will be safe to use. We shall see.

On Tuesday I went swimming. Near the end of my laps, the female lifeguard bent down to me saying, “Ma’am, I promise you’ll want to get out of the pool now.”

I’d witnessed a strange exchange between a sketchy looking guest and the male lifeguard. The guest left, then returned, and I saw a call being made. As it turned out, this persistent swimmer defecated in the pool. I can only imagine his nasty act stemmed from mental illness.

I informed another swimmer and soon after warned two women entering the area. To lighten the mood, I added, “Fingers crossed, it’s just a candy bar.” The women knew this old movie scene and laughed, much to my delight.

Are you familiar with this relevant film reference? Either way, have you seen the flick “Caddy Shack”?

Another Look at the Bright Side

It’s a sorry fact that my husband has little interest in exercise of any sort. On the bright side, this and his love of food make negotiating easy. For example, he recently agreed to meet family an hour and a half away because it meant tasty German food.

On the flip side, his cute big eyes and adorable whiny mantra almost swayed me to drive him to our car’s oil change appointment. He offered lunch. Much less food orientated, I asked him to sweeten the deal. He asked what I wanted.

I requested a walk. We didn’t even set a place or precise date. Yet suddenly, now he’d resolved to drive himself. So I stayed home and cooked a big pot of stew.

Not an image of mine, but this recipe looks amazing...

Is there anything better than warm soup on cold days? Do you have a favorite comfort food?

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Looking at the Bright Side

Stepping outside Friday morning I witnessed a neighbor fall after politely shooing a dog next door. He almost landed on his face. I jogged over but, seeing blood gush from his right calf, I panicked and asked if his wife, a surgical nurse, was home. She had gone out.

Knowing he was on blood thinners, I dashed into their home searching fruitlessly for something to staunch the flow and ran back out asking what I should do. Less stunned now, he calmly told me where to find medical supplies before suggesting I just bring out a roll of paper towels. I returned with both but stood shaking and useless, offering little more than a hug.

Just days prior a doctor removed fourteen staples after a freak accident (he’d been walking around the foot of his bed!), gouged open that exact area. I’m ashamed to have done nothing much but stand there yesterday, eyes averted from the wound, when I should have called his wife. I didn’t know she would soon return.

Lucky for us both she did and charged over shouting, “What are you doing? What are you doing?” I can only imagine how angry the whole situation and especially that careless neighbor’s junk pile made her.

What stands out to me is how calm he stayed, complaining about ruining a good pair of jeans and kindly telling me to stop shaking. He even apologized to the scrap collector for bleeding on her driveway. This morning he sent a text message thanking me for my caring concern and love.

I need to share this with the neighbors, a lucky photo taken earlier this week...

 

Can you believe what appeared to be a catastrophic wound required just six stitches? And isn’t it funny this very same neighbor, in a dream last night, said his wife would provide me first aid training? -

A Dying Daughter’s Final Days with Her Single Father - I Have Nothing Else to Say

Memories

Sharing on his blog about how different cultures dry their clean clothes, Andrew reminded me of helping my beloved maternal Grandma at the clothesline. It’s neat that Andrew and I shared similar childhood chores despite living on different continents.

Now I can almost envision Grandma’s old fashioned washer. It had a ringer, two rollers squeezing water from garments one at a time versus our modern spin cycle. I don’t recall if this was all electric or hand cranked.

An Older Model, for Sure;
Thanks go to the stock photographer

Strayer’s comment reminded me of Grandpa’s opinion of cut flowers. While I don’t begrudge folks who regularly enjoy flower bouquets, seeing blooms thrive on their living stems is my personal preference. Obviously, I make exceptions. ~sheepish grin~ This brings a very specific story to mind.

One summer, a neighbor girl insisted on harvesting some of Grandpa’s flowers. Her boorish nature weakened my timid protests. My grandfather emerged from the house spouting righteous indignation.

I burst into tears. What’s her name ran home.

After her shamed retreat my Grandpa expressed sorrow. He never blamed me but knew favoring his granddaughter could, as we would term it today, exacerbate a toxic relationship. My love for him grew even stronger that distant day.

How do you launder your clothes? Can you imagine trekking to a river with a washboard and clothes basket like so many hardworking souls (past and present) around the world?

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Every Rose Has its Thorn

I went to the grocery store the other day to snag some relatively inexpensive half gallons of milk. The limit of five has restocked my freezer. That and some fresh produce were my main goals but I couldn’t resist the plethora of flower bouquets marked down following St. Valentine’s Day.

My husband approved my purchase since my birthday was a few days earlier and I asked for nothing special...

They aren’t as fragrant as those I recall from the 1980’s. In addition, a lot of petals landed on the floor while the thorny, dry woody stems made trimming them a chore. While roses are much cheaper now, I’d be angry if my full price bouquet rotted in under a week.

Do you purchase cut flowers? If so, did you know that a slanted knife cut allows the stems better water absorption than a scissor's pinch?
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Bargain Buys, an Unexpected Neat Find, and the Golden Tooth

I popped into my local grocery chain store to pick up medications from the pharmacy and some food items. Upon entering, I discovered the unbelievable and repeating deal of buy one get two free (!) sleeves of soda. I gave up the stuff for the most part but the occasional can of ginger ale or Doctor Pepper are enjoyable.

Since my journey started at the pharmacy, however, I passed by the clearance shelves. And wow, did I score big. It’s a shame that many party planners passed up overpriced snack items. And I sometimes think many folks don’t realize these shelves exist along the back wall.

I do not care at all about American football
but this seasonal find is awesome.

My neatest find came about due to the fact I was trying to find a cheaper carton of eggs than what we usually purchase. These wheat free wraps are like pillow-soft flour tortillas. I ate two today, wrapping one around bacon and cheese and the other with cold fried chicken and lettuce.

I found these on sale, too;
otherwise, I may have to pass on them.

 

 

As for the golden tooth, it isn’t but should be. My husband’s twenty-one year old root canal failed and has an underlying infection. I figured he would just have it pulled at his advancing age. But I understand it’s about quality of life. Still, the cost of another root canal is around three thousand US dollars. And that’s after the other thousand dollar dental surgery he had on another tooth.

The front of this same grocer had shelves stocked with tasty pistachios at a way higher price...

To be petty and complain from within my happy household, I despair of ever traveling again. And I miss visiting North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a modest trip, really.

Do you make a point of checking clearance items, wherever you shop? And do you find yourself overlooking products new to you while shopping for staples?

A Very Productive Day and a Surprise Family Reunion

The first point is a long overdue post. On January 28th my husband needed a computer part replaced. Knowing this installation might take a few hours we wanted some diversion. I found the perfect place, Jungle Jim’s international market. He appreciated my idea; the man adores different foods.

Not only did driving surface roads prove easy but I discovered a branch of our new Internet service provider therein. My guy’s honorary military discharge grants some small discounts. This latest requiring in-person verification, we expected another road trip until that day.

We also replenished favorite foods. The shrimp chips were too pricey, as were many items. Various dried noodles are a different story. Despite the recommended shelf life, most types don’t spoil for a long while.

We also stocked up on pickled herring. It’s in the German section.

On that note, my brother and I planned a meeting with our spouses at a German style sausage house in Columbus, Ohio last Sunday. The distance is almost perfectly halfway between our residences.

What stores do you frequent? Does your grocer offer international products?

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It’s Another Day in Paradise

This title is an homage to my friend Scars. His lifelong crippling pain left him with acerbic humor. I like to think his commentary doubles as a positive affirmation; his spirit is inspirational, for sure.

Meanwhile, our cellar flooded yet again, the most recent of countless events. This time we’re going to remove the oft saturated carpet bits. We should have done it decades ago. The multiple times it’s been pulled up and replaced upon getting professionally dried have left ragged edges.

Our first occurrence happened in spring of 1995 (!) when I didn’t disconnect the garden hose before the previous winter’s freezing temperatures. Turning on the faucet poured water onto the downstairs carpet until I discovered the source of the sound. My father should have taught me this, but alas, no…

This week’s leak came from our furnace humidifier. It started small and my husband changed the filter, which should have ended it but instead made things worse. The serviceman who came out determined that the new filter wasn’t properly seated, disabling proper flow through the pipe system. The money spent wasn’t a total waste; this guy said the water flow was too high and turned it down. My restating this fact finally comforted my husband.

Fortunately, a fan running on high seems to be drying the carpet. Perhaps next month we’ll hire the junk removal service we engaged last year. Those folks will take away all the half empty paint cans, etc., as well as sections of carpet. Everything is reportedly recycled in an appropriate manner or receives proper disposal. I’ve been bagging up obsolete electronics and whatnot.

Can you believe three water heaters failed over the decades, each dumping their entire contents? Isn’t it a silly but fun theory that our home hosts a mischievous water sprite?
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Only Me

This year I supported a Youtube content creator by purchasing his page-a-day calendar about animals. Mamadou Ndiaye’s Casual Geographic clips are both witty and educational.

Dumb me, I bought a 2024 version. I decided not to let this bother me as the snippets remain enjoyable.

 

Do you enjoy nature shows? Is there one particular animal you most appreciate?

Lucky Us

The other day my husband and I foolishly didn’t assess the snow piled at the end of our driveway. I got stuck and we spent perhaps twenty minutes digging/rocking the car out, even adding some fresh cat litter for tire traction. It’s a good thing we left early for his dental appointment.

A neighbor helped me shovel upon our return home. He’s perhaps thirty years old and said he took a pain pill for his back, planning to clear our entire driveway. We convinced otherwise. Our cars can power through several inches, after all.

Interestingly, the young gentleman offhandedly reminded me that the paved portion between sidewalk and street is called an apron in US lingo. I suppose it’s due to tapered ends resembling an apron’s skirt.

Meanwhile more snow fell, as did darkness, and while shoveling gets harder as the years pass, I grew determined to retain passage. Discovering a light powder had fallen I grabbed my shop broom.

Dragging and even pushing light loads proved easier than expected. I proceeded to do the same for several neighbors. One fellow came and helped, shoveling more of my driveway after seeing me. He felt guilt despite the times he’s done the same winters past.

Our area seldom sees more than a few inches of the white stuff or we’d consider purchasing a snow blower. Perhaps we’ll hire a service in future years. I wish our drifts could be air dropped over fires around the world. ~sigh~ At least we’re getting plenty of ground water here.

My mother gifted me this
waterproof fedora
decades ago...
Cool, no?

Do you enjoy seasonal changes? Do you have a favorite? -