Shopping trip

My daughter called me a little after 9:00 am to ask if I wanted to go shopping with her. The clincher was that she was going alone, no kids along. I love the kids dearly, but remembering having to shop with four little ones of my own I must say one of the joys of aging is that you no longer have to deal with taking kids into stores. It was a good day for me because she drove, and is willing to drive to places I wouldn't go near especially on a weekend. I didn't buy much, but I did get one of the most important gifts on my list. The best part though is spending time with my daughter. We don't have the opportunity very often, so I couldn't pass up the chance.

I am totally worn out this evening and will just sit in my recliner after a supper of sandwich and a beer.

Thanks to those who left me positive comments on my Ireland and Appalachian Trail blogs. I need to go over them myself and do some editing and fixing, as well as to add pictures. I have tons of photographs taken on my extensive travels, and as soon as I get a scanner working I will start posting them plus writing descriptions to go along with them. I have quite a few wonderful memories of Korea, Tokyo, El Salvador, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, etc., plus many photos taken on various trips in the US.

Someone asked why I would want to quit blogging, and the answer is that while I really love comments on what I write, I don't like criticism and ridicule. When the Mr. Angry Anonymous decides to leave a nasty or jerky comment, I just feel like throwing it all away, which is probably the exact reaction he wants. But I don't like to play games, and I would rather get out of the arena than to deal with the aggravation it causes me. He always waits until he figures I have become complacent and then BAM! I don't know how others feel about it, but I don't think I'm alone - maybe my skin is just a bit thinner. Once in a while I read a blog that I don't agree with, but I hope I never leave a comment that is hurtful or insulting.

I bought the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies, and will have a cookie baking session when Ara is home for Christmas holiday. I'm thinking of including the 5 yr old and nearly-4 yr old, although I can't imagine working in my kitchen in a group of 2 adults and 2 little girls. I wish I had a dishwasher, and I sure wish my new electric range hooked up. It's too bad (or maybe it's a blessing in disguise) that I am not set up for sleep-overs or we could really make it a fun celebration. I do hope to have Ara spend a night sometime, as I finally found Piper Heidseck champagne, which I think is the perfect tasting champagne, and I want to share it with someone. I really wanted to have some champagne to celebrate my moving into my home but I don't drink that stuff alone. Some things are just too social and need company for complete enjoyment (good coffee almost fits that description as well). But I can't let her drive home, so she will have to spend the night.

I mentioned previously that I was looking for an alternative to gmail, and I have tried two programs so far. Neither of them is any easier to use than gmail, and in fact, are a bit more complicated, or possibly less intuitive. I will keep searching. I will only try a program that lets me keep my gypsy97 name, which leaves out Yahoo. I tried to create a Yahoo account years ago and must have messed up the first try, so I will never be able to use it again there. I use Yahoo groups, but email isn't an option, and Hotmail is a windows program (I believe).

This morning when Jeannie got here she wanted to look at the ads in my Sunday paper while I was drying my hair. All of the sudden all of the electric went out, all through the house. I didn't know what to do or whether this was an outage throughout the park, or what. I went outside to see if I could see any lights anywhere, and stopped a gentleman out for a walk. I asked him if he had seen any lights or Christmas lights on and explained that I had no electricity. He said he was a retired electrician (am I lucky, or what!) and came over to check it out. I had no clue where the electric panel is, and it turned out to definitely not be outside. He said it is usually indoors and asked if he could come in and look for it. We found it in my bedroom closet, and he reset it so I had electric. When I take a shower I set my little electric heater on the bathroom sink and aim it toward the shower, but I turn it off before I turn on the hairdryer. This morning I set the little heater back in the living room and aimed it at Jeannie while I was drying my hair. I found out the heater and hairdryer can't be on at the same time, just as it was in my RV. So I learned to stop and think twice before I turn the hairdryer on, as well as to appreciate Frank, the retired electrician. It seems there are a lot of folks in this park who offer help to those who need it. Not everyone, but a lot of them.