Costco

I went to Costco with Jeannie and family shortly after the store opened this morning.  I didn't get much but enjoyed just wandering around looking at things.  Jeanne wants to change their phone service but it is such a hassle to get the old carrier to unlock the phones so they can change.  I don't know if I said that correctly, and don't have a clue what it means, but that's how I think I heard it.

Fortunately, the phone kiosk is right across from a display of outdoor furniture, so I found myself a comfy chair and was soon joined by Autumn.  I did buy myself a package of two tops - they are simply called "Cool"  (the long-sleeved winter version is appropriately called "Heat").   I usually buy a 2-pack each season - they don't take much room and I don't have to do laundry as often.  They are good for going to the gym also.  Each shirt is made from 5 recycled plastic bottles "creating an eco-friendly sustainable product", so I can feel virtuous about wearing them.  They come in really nice colors and are so comfortable, and the 2-pack was on sale for about $8!

This turned out to be a 2-hour trip, but I always enjoy being with them and wandering around the store.   For another $8 I bought a nice large insulated bag to keep cold foods cool, which I've been wanting for a long time.  It holds pretty much, and with the heat of Sacramento summers I hate to even drive a mile or two after buying things such as milk or cream, etc.  I put everything away and took a nap!

I know I need to change my diet as I'd like to eliminate most grains, sugars, etc. to see if it helps with the thyroid symptoms.   It might work if I would just decide on the diet and get on with it.  I have eliminated chocolate and feel much better, but working with just one item is easier than modifying an entire way of eating.   (Note:  I doubt the chocolate had anything to do with thyroid, but a whole lot to do with digestion!)  I wish there was someone I could trust to give me good information; I've talked to nutritionists in the past, and it seems that things run in a cycle - so many years certain foods and beverages are a no-no; then it all changes and completely flips.  I've noticed that with coffee since I started drinking it when I was 14.  Every so many years they tell you to switch to tea (that'll be the day!) and then years later they tout the benefits of sweetened coffee in the morning.  I drink my coffee as I prefer it - unsweetened, medium strength, with half & half (or whole milk if I have to make do with it).

Every time I sit down with a cup, I smile and think of my sweet father.  He worked nights and when he came home in the morning he would have his coffee, and allowed me to have one as well.  At first he would add a lot of cream to mine (canned Pet milk was what they used back in those days) and eventually I could drink it the way I chose.  I've associated the enjoyment of coffee with my father and will never give it up! 

I can't believe I've written so many words about very little substance, but when I get started I tend to keep going.  I'm so grateful for the past few cool days and just wish they would go on year around!

Love the weather!

We are having a beautiful breezy day today in the 60's.  It will be short lived though, because starting tomorrow it will rise into the 70's and 80's.  I put all my "winter" clothes away and had to rummage through them for something to wear today.  I call them "winter" clothes, but it's difficult to find what I remember as winter-weight clothing in this part of the country.

I'm not doing much of anything today but just trying to keep a low profile, so I don't have anything to write about.   I'm ready to sketch my latest drawing attempt onto a canvas but taking my time!   My close-up eyesight is getting much worse, and a search online shows about half the responses say computer usage and looking at screens doesn't affect Macular degeneration one way or another, and the other half say it possibly could be a factor.   

I hope your weekend is going well, or quiet if you want it that way (as I do).

More weirdness

I woke up for the bathroom about 1 am this morning and when I looked out the window it was the weirdest foggy look I have ever seen.  Not the regular color or look of fog, but it was very thick and ugly looking.  I went to the living room and checked out those windows as well as the door, and nothing could be seen except that "fog".  When I went back to bed it looked as if it had lightened somewhat, but I don't like to worry about things in the middle of the night when I'm trying to keep myself from becoming fully awake, so I went back to bed.

About 2 minutes later I just had to look again - the "fog" was nearly all gone and it hadn't just risen up higher - it was gone!   I normally don't have a vivid imagination when it comes to things like this, but when things start happening that don't make sense, or at least if I can't figure out any sense to them, it makes me wonder.

Today is a bright sunny day in the 70's.  I decided I had been lazy for long enough, and since I have a housekeeping chore I'm trying my best to avoid, I went to the gym and had a nice walk.  I didn't stop anywhere else as I'm saving my cash for the market tomorrow.   I want to be sure to buy cherries - maybe 4-7# of them.  The ones I bought last week are so sweet and delicious and satisfy my sweet tooth.   (It's not exactly chocolate, but they really are good.)

Ok, I'm going to start on my work.  You may remember I had (ugly) venetian blinds at the kitchen window; I washed and rehung one of them but couldn't get the other ones to extend.  Joe fixed them for me when he was here, so now I need to clean the other set.  I'm just going to use vinegar & water on them.  I've been browsing online for kitchen window treatments but haven't found anything so far that I really like.  The blinds I have could be dangerous to me because they are fairly heavy and the hardware isn't holding them very securely.  It all needs to be replaced before I have an accident.  If it's going to happen it will happen to me!

Have a good weekend, and see ya when I see ya!

Something in the Air

When I was carrying a load of laundry across the street this morning I noticed a strong, sweet smell in the air.  It was almost sickening in some places, an overall floral odor.  On the way back to my house I looked up and noticed chemtrails in the sky but I didn't put the 2 together.  On my second trip with laundry I noticed the smell again although the trails were dissipating  and the odor was as well.  I don't know if there is a connection between the two, but it sure seems like there could be.  Which makes me wonder, what the heck are they spraying on us, and why.

I mentioned it to an elderly couple in the laundry building and the woman suggested they may be spraying for mosquitoes.  I might go for that explanation but it seems to me that they wouldn't use chemtrails to do it, and would fly small planes much lower to the ground to make sure the spray is evened out.  I have heard that a mosquito problem is expected this summer due to all the rains which means standing water where they can breed.

I got a message from Ara this morning that Donald & family had returned home early in the morning as the part of Yosemite they were in (Autumn's field trip) was evacuated due to flooding.  I found several articles with a Google search about evacuations because of  flooding.  Several rivers have already gone over their banks threatening the Yosemite Valley floor and cutting off access because of flooded roads;  the recent warm temperatures are  making the snow melt in the Sierra.  I keep an eye on the American River every time I cross it and can see when they have let water out of Folsom Lake to make ready for the snow melt to hit there.  It will be a doozy this winter with all the snow in the mountains, and we are in for some possible rain during the coming week.  We probably won't get much rain here, but it's what drops at those high elevations that matters.

So Ara wrote me to just go back to bed, that Jeannie would drive Arianna to school.  She followed that up with another msg that the family was sleeping after packing up and leaving in the middle of the night, and that Arianna wanted me to wait with her at school since Ara has to drop her off early so she can be on time for work.  Of course I went, and this time I found the route so easy I can't believe how I got so mixed up yesterday.

I enjoy getting up at 6am because it gives me more day to enjoy, but it limits nap time so I can go to bed at an earlier hour. 

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has noticed chemtrails plus a strong floral odor at the same time.  It wasn't like a "flower bed" type aroma, but a yukky sweet smell that filled the air.  I need to go back in an hour or so and take my clothes off the line, and hope it's all gone by now. 

What a difference !

The swamp cooler has my house feeling so comfortable, much more so than in other years.  I can only figure it's the windows contributing to the wonderful inside temps.  I'm told you need to leave one or two windows cracked when using a swamp cooler, and whatever the reason I'm cool as can be and very happy!

Jeannie & Donald are with Autumn on a field trip this week - last week they were with Arianna on her field trip.  So the whole time Ara is staying at their house to be with the left-home child!  It has been a problem with Arianna because Ara has to be at work so early, so this morning I drove to their house, followed them in my car to the school, and then stayed with Arianna for about half an hour until school started.  Autumn is in band which practices early in the morning, so there wasn't a problem arriving at school early during her week at home.

I have been to their school many times although mostly riding in their car.  I followed Ara this morning but when it came time to return home I turned left on a street where I should have turned right.  I wasn't sure of my mistake until I had driven a good distance in unfamiliar territory, but finally got myself turned around and back home.  I wanted to cry, but I won't let myself do that.  A few people honked their horns at me this morning.  (I didn't drive Arianna to school myself, which would have been the most logical, because I will no longer drive a child anywhere unless it's an emergency - not with my deteriorating vision.)

Knowing how Arianna loves pork, I bought a big container of pork carnitas which we will have for dinner this evening (I'm joining them).  And because she has so many food allergies and can't eat anything with dairy, I bought a coconut-milk-based  ice cream for dessert!  I won't touch anything coconut, but it's for her and not for me.  I'm just looking forward to the carnitas with rice and maybe a corn tortilla or two.

I took my Serengeti's to the eyeglass repair shop, and for $58.50 they will be repaired by this afternoon.  I'm willing to pay that much because it would cost me over double that amount to replace them, if I could even find some like them in that brand.  I don't think they will ever be like the originals, but I'm hoping they will be comfortable enough to wear this summer.   The nice thing about the lenses is that they have more of an amber tint which lightens my view considerably, and which is really important for someone with mac degeneration.   

And speaking of macular degeneration, I know my driving days are numbered.   When I got lost this morning I was wishing I had a GPS that worked.  I have two, neither of which has enough storage to hold billions of "Points of Interest", which are mainly retail establishments.   That is overkill if you ask me.

And before anyone suggests I get a smart phone for the GPS feature, I want to say I've ridden with many people who use that type of GPS, and their phones are constantly held in their hands so they can refer to them.  At least with a dash or window mounted unit I could take a quick glance at it.  As it is, I was telling my son this morning that if I'm going to turn right 8 miles ahead, I drive the entire distance in the right lane so I don't have to ultimately change lanes.  That's how limited I am with taking my eyes off the road.  When I'm following someone who is driving, such as my granddaughter this morning, they automatically drive in the lane with the least traffic because it's much easier for them to get over at the last minute, whereas it's nearly impossible for me.   So a phone in my hand while I'm driving could be deadly!

With the high temps in the house yesterday my fan quit working.  The light still comes on when I turn it on, but nothing happens.  So this morning I made a quick trip to Walmart to buy another large fan.  Unfortunately, it is on a stand and I have to assemble it, but as cool as it is right now I don't need it.  I don't think there is a whole lot of assembly required, but it's more than what I would like to do.   I think cooler temperatures are heading our way by the weekend, and it will stay cool for a week or two with some rain possible.  I wish we could enjoy rain throughout the year rather than just winter/spring and then arid for the rest of the time.   One of my kids came home from school years ago with a saying I had never heard:  "You take what you get, and you don't pitch a fit!"  

Death by Chocolate Averted!

I didn't touch any chocolate at all yesterday evening, and kept away from most snacks.  I slept so well, but what is best I didn't take anything for heartburn because I didn't have any heartburn.  This is the way it used to be, before I became addicted to chocolate.  I have always loved chocolate, but exercised some self-control until the past year.  I'm sure there are other things in my diet that will alert me sooner or later.

This is going to be a weird day and I knew it from my first waking moment.  I have a nice tall Lasko fan that I use all summer, and I've been running  it the past two days because it is starting to get hot in the house.  Joe will come over sometime soon and remove the cover to the swamp cooler, and that should help tremendously.

But the fan has been making strange noises periodically, sort of like a screw got loose inside the housing and is blowing around.  But the weird thing is that I have it in front of me, directed at my favorite chair.  I got out a small fan and realized I needed to clean it before I used it, so I set it on my little table in front of the chair, right between me and the big fan.  All of the sudden I noticed the small fan blades were turning and I hadn't plugged it in.  I checked the cord to make sure; finally realized the big fan was blowing the back of the little fan and thereby turning the blades.  I had a couple of moments where I wondered "what is happening to me".  This is just one of a series of little odd occurrences today.

It is 80 degrees and going up another 10 by this afternoon.  I now remember why I hate Sacramento in the summer!

I've done two sketches on paper since yesterday, and now just have to get the motivation to put them on canvass.  I'm still working on the small ones, but if I find a good subject I would like to try a larger canvass again.

Speaking of painting, I went back to watching a Bob Ross video last night.  I think I've watched about half of his videos - I'm on Series 12 out of about 24.  Each series has 13 videos, so that is a lot that I've watched, and a lot remaining.

I'm really disgusted with YouTube and although I've certainly searched for a way, there is no contacting Google to complain!  When you call up YouTube you are shown about 8 or so video possibilities that they think you may be interested in.  Supposedly it is done by computer based on past videos watched.  As of about 2 wks ago I have started getting suggestions that are written (and I can only assume are spoken) in Chinese, Russian, and other languages.  How would their analytics come up with that.  Also, they show me titles of a cartoonish type, sports, rock & movie stars, and other subjects I would never in the world have shown any previous interest in.  

I haven't yet ventured out today, but I think a trip to Walmart is in order to try to find another fan or two at a good price.  I will be moderately comfortable when I get the swamp cooler going with a couple of strategically placed fans.  Like using the small space heaters in the winter I don't notice much increase in the electric bills, and the same goes for 
the fans and swamp cooler.  If I run the furnace for 5 min. every winter morning to take the chill off, I can see a drastic increase in the gas bill.  I know a/c would do the same with the electricity, so my frugal self can deal with a tolerable level of comfort and lower utility bills.

Hey, I grew up in the 1940's in Cincinnati when there was no a/c even in business establishments, and hot humid summers.  The winters weren't much better until the old coal furnace was stoked and fired up each morning, and then we all jockeyed to get a spot standing on a heat register with warm air blowing in order to get dressed!  Those were the good old days?  I have good memories of them. 

Some days you can't win!

As you may remember, I've been searching for the pieces of my broken Serengeti sunglasses.  I about decided to try to find a new pair, when this morning I came across them!  I knew if I had patience they would eventually show up.

After walking at the gym I took the glasses to an optical repair shop near my house, but couldn't figure out why the door was locked.  It dawned on me when I read their business hours on the door - Tues through Sat.  So I'll go back tomorrow.

While driving to the gym I was lamenting my suffering of heartburn/indigestion, which I thought I had cured with the probiotics.  It hit me like a ton of bricks that I knew the answer.  Last night I looked online for foods that cause heartburn and chocolate tops the list!  I have become addicted to dark chocolate, and just about every evening while I'm sitting and playing with my computer, I munch on chocolate chips as well as gourmet chocolate squares.  No wonder I've been suffering!!

Starting this minute I'm going to avoid chocolate for a while and see if it helps.   The evenings are so long for me, especially if I succumb to a daytime nap, and I snack & use the computer.  Gotta stop both - I notice the beginning pangs of carpel tunnel syndrome now and then.