Nothing new to write about, and I'm determined to write mostly positive things.  It's easy enough to find things to complain about and I'm too happy to be complaining, although what I'm happy about I couldn't tell you. Being alive, I guess, is a good reason.

I have picture frames and photos spread from one end of my living room to another, on every surface.  I don't know where to start - most of the photos were removed from frames when I sold my house.  I did save a bunch of frames, but wish I had kept all of them.  I donated about 30 of them to Kiwanis and kept the rest in storage.  I hope I can get Jeannie to come over and help me one of these days - she has a good eye for placing pictures on the wall.  I don't.

I know it's a peronal choice that everyone makes who sells their house and belongings to enter the full-time RVing life style.  I'm referring to downsizing, getting rid of "stuff", and whether or not to rent storage space for at least a while.  I have always been a little sorry that I didn't store some of my furniture and furnishings, things like the pictures, my TV and DVD player, and the many things that make a house a home.  Back to the storage question, I was only living in the RV for about 2-1/2 years, and would probably have been better off if I had kept more of my furniture and belongings.  But hindsight is 20/20, and I just want to present the downsizing point of view from my own experience.

Jeannie and Donald are going with Autumn's kindergarten class tomorrow on a field trip, so I will go over and stay with Arianna.  I need to be there around 7:30 a.m., which is early for me these days so I will have to go to bed a little earlier tonight.

I think we are going to have sunny 70F weather the next 3 days, and then the temps will drop and rain might appear a few days after that.  It's hard to know what to wear because it's cold in the morning hours, and again when the sun starts to go down.  I'll probably just wear sweat pants and a T shirt, and a sweatshirt over that.  I'm glad I bought 3 sets of sweats while Target still had them in stock.  I'll take them to Lassen for wearing in the evenings spent by the campfire.  I don't drink a beer while I'm wearing the uniform, so changing into something comfortable and popping the top on a can of Miller Hi Life after dinner is a Hi point of my day!

More on unwanted emails

I think the spammers believe that anyone named gypsy must be a man, because the mail seems to be slanted towards a man.  I never actually open them up but the inbox sometimes shows the first few words, such as "Hello mighty man".  I recently received one that I thought was funny, the subject of which was "Help me cheat on my husband".   I wonder how many people actually open up these obviously stupid emails.

I need to stop watching Animal Cops Houston on TV.  Lately I've seen several episodes featuring German Shepherds, and I want one.  I'd like a small female shepherd.  I love big dogs and can't imagine myself ever wanting a very small one, but I'm thinking something between 60 and 70# would be just about right.  I also love black labs, but don't have the energy for even a middle aged lab.  It's all dreaming though, because I don't think I could afford to feed one much less deal with vet care.

  I remember old days as a child when we took our dog to the vet for a checkup and booster shots once a year.  It probably cost $10 in those days!  I think dogs were healthier back then, and I heard of such things as distemper and rabies, but not the list of serious diseases of today.

I miss Lady, and Smoky before her.   

 

In yesterday's post I mentioned having bought soy-free eggs, and Shadowmoss commented she had never heard of them.  I found this info on the internet, and will repeat it here in case there are others who also wonder about it.

"Soy has become a big part of the human diet post World War II, with the result that there are many people with soy allergies today, and many people today are trying to reduce or eliminate soy protein from their diet.  Soy is the cheapest protein available today, and it is a major component of most animal feeds. Cheap soy protein allows chickens to grow the fastest, and produce the maximum amount of eggs during their peak laying cycles. If you believe you are allergic to eggs, it could be that you are in fact allergic to soy protein that researchers have now found soy to be present in egg yolks. Almost all commercial eggs, including those that are organic or marketed as "Omega 3" eggs, are from chickens fed high concentrations of soy. So if eggs are a part of your diet today, so is soy protein, whether you realize it or not."

I don't think I eat enough soy products to be bothered by it, and have never had any kind of reaction to eggs.  I find that organic eggs, soy or no soy, taste much better and fresher and remind me of eggs from my grandmother's hens many years ago.

My granddaughters Autumn and Arianna stayed at my house yesterday evening while their parents went to a movie, and it was fun being with them.  The TV was off most of the time, but we did watch a few episodes of Phineas & Ferb, which I'll have to say I enjoyed.  My grandsons in NY introduced me to this cartoon a couple of years ago.  I'm not much fun when it comes to television though, as I have no DVD and all other equipment that make up TV watching today (not even a flat screen).  I even have to scroll through the guide because I only remember the 5 or 7 channels that I watch.

It seems that one part of the country finally gets a break in the weather but another part flares up.   I hope all of you in the South Central states keep safe. 

I will be spending another night with my old friend, Ben Gay!  I walked with Jeannie this afternoon for about an hour at Mather Field.  The place was crowded - games at all the soccer fields, a drum group with cheerleader practice, basketball, skateboarders, and many more.  By the time we stopped I could feel my legs aching so I am sure I will call on Ben this evening.

At 9 am sharp I was at the Farmer's Market, as I had run out of strawberries and vegetables.  I also paid an astronomical price for a dozen organic, soy free eggs, but since I don't use a lot of them I guess I don't mind getting the good ones. 

Now I'm eating my supper a bit earlier than usual because Jeannie & Donald are going to a movie and they will drop the girls off for me to play with.  Grandma's snack cabinet is pretty well stocked, so I'm good to go.

 

A bag of goodies

Today I bought eyebrow stuff, concealer, and even mascara.  But I made a huge mistake - I also picked up a 10X magnifying mirror.  Shouldn't have ever looked at it - I applied the eyebrow stuff and concealer and then took a look in the magnifier.  Holy crap!  I didn't realize how bad I actually look up close.  That's what people with young, normal vision see, so I'd better hang around with old folks wearing thick glasses!

I also filled up my fuel tank - at $.40/gal. higher than the last time I bought gas, just about 3 weeks ago.  I remember when the price per gallon hardly fluctuated, and I will never understand the extreme ups and downs of today's prices.  

I wanted to buy my grandkids some Valentine's Day candy - you know, the little hearts with goofy sayings on them.  These tiny little hearts have a list of ingredients you can't believe, the first two of which are sugar and high fructose corn syrup.  I remember those things from when I was a kid, and I would wager they didn't use corn syrup, so why today do they need a double whammy of sweet stuff?  Needless to say the grands aren't getting candy from me.  As I was going through the checkout some unseen hand threw a York Peppermint Patty onto the conveyor belt, and before I realized it I was having a real blast from the past in the form of chocolate and peppermint cream.  Heavenly!

What a storm they are having in the northeast.  My d-i-l and the kids stayed home today, and my son came home early.  I'm so grateful for the sun that is shining here today, although I would like to be in a little snow now and then.  My son Steve and his family are heading for Lake Tahoe today, and I hope they have their chains along.  A few years ago they drove my F-350 up the mountain and while everyone was chaining up the Ford was waved through.  I miss that truck. 

A few comments

I received a comment from Anonymous to my dilemma about not finding an eyebrow pencil.  I used Clinique cosmetics for years, although I quit wearing make-up when I lived in Ireland, and I am anxious to get to the mall and visit Macy's cosmetics dept.  The powder sounds like it will be perfect - I think much better than a pencil.  I might also get some concealer for the circles under my eyes.  Maybe I'll be gorgeous if I try hard enough!

Another commenter, sgsmith, read of my weed problem and suggested Preen.  I used that product way back when we had a small vegetable plot behind our house in Cincinnati - Preen is not toxic to anything but weeds.  

Phil suggested that I can check out books electronically from the library for use on a Kindle or similar device.  That would be handy especially when traveling, however, I don't have a Kindle or plans to get one.  I'm too old-fashioned to ever give up the look and feel of a book.  I also have trouble with electronic devices in the last year or so, from telephones to computers to whatever.  

One of my latest purchases of dubious equipment was the cable that supposedly would transfer files from one computer to another.  I plugged them in the appropriate computers, clicked on the icon on each computer screen, but get the message on each computer that the file isn't installed.  Of course the instructions don't say diddly about installation, and I'm really frustrated with the whole thing.  I could have bought a pretty good flash drive with a ton of memory for what I spent on the crap cable.  I'll ask Donald to take a look the next time he's over - he is not only a super cook and baker, he is a computer genius as well as good with all hi tech devices.

I'm trying to get rid of all the negativity in my life from the earliest times until now, so I won't complain about technology from now on, unless I fall off the anti-negativity wagon. 

Tomorrow is Friday again and I keep tripping over myself trying to catch up with Time.  I usually try to stay off the roads on Friday because the traffic is so heavy - not just on the freeway either.  I went out today and on the way home (in heavy commute traffic) I saw that my fuel tank is getting dangerously close to Empty, so tomorrow morning I will drive to Costco for gas, hopefully before the roads get congested.

My trip to Walmart yesterday wasn't too bad - I got my glasses adjusted and they fit so much better.  I also picked up a couple of items I needed, one of which was a bottle of I-Caps which Walmart carries (the advanced age formula, or AREDS).  I looked for an eyebrow pencil but couldn't find one to save my life - many eyeliners but no pencil.  I have resigned myself to grey in my hair, but grey eyebrows makes me look old.

After having sunny days for a while, tomorrow and the next are going to be rainy.  I'm not happy about it, but it is necessary to have rain this time of year to get through the long dry summer.  So I pulled a few weeds this afternoon, knowing that two days of rain will just bring on more.  I have tried a vinegar-salt mixture as well as Round-up, but nothing seems to prevent new weeds coming up.

I hate to use Round-up, but like mice and other rodents, I just cut to the chase and try to get rid of them permanently.  In the case of mice I am not a catch and release person, and that's one thing I am worried about dealing with in the cabin at Lassen this summer.  There are mousetraps all over the place, but I wouldn't bait a trap to save my life, much less deal with the trapped varmint.  Anything else is a no-no idea in the National Parks, so I'll have to figure it out.  I know many readers won't agree with my point of view, but it's my point of view and I stand by it.  I was warned last year when I worked there that hantavirus is a real threat, and was told how to try to prevent potential difficulties.

I have been reading a lot lately, have quite a few books from the library on hand, and have a few still on order.  I plan to visit a local used bookstore to see what I might buy to take along this summer.  The Friends of the Library book sale seems to contain a lot of junk to sift through, although the used bookstore is more expensive than I like.  I've seen used paperbacks cost more than the original marked price of the book!  If they have what I want it is still cheaper than ordering from Amazon and paying the shipping & handling, plus I'm supporting a locally-owned business.  I'll have to admit though, that Amazon often sells books you simply cannot find elsewhere.

It's time to fix my supper now.  I wish all of you in the northeast and northern plains the best in getting through the storm that is expected tomorrow.  When I see what they are forecasting for your area I am sorry to be complaining about a couple of rainy days.