I couldn't resist

I stopped at the Park office this morning to pay my rent, and chatted with the two ladies there for a while.  On the counter in front of me was a plate of thick buttery cookies, and I think I knew immediately that I would walk out of the office with a cookie in my hand.  A few minutes later I did just that.  It tasted pretty good, but in the two blocks from the Park to the gym I began to feel the effects of the sugar.  Now it's not that I don't ever eat sugar - it is in most foods, natural (such as fruit) and packaged.  But this cookie packed a punch and must have been loaded with sugar.  I didn't like the effects of it at all.

So someone broke into the office and stole a lot of keys.  It takes a key to enter the laundry, one to open the machines, another to open the money box, and a couple of other necessary keys that were explained to me but which I've forgotten.  At any rate, there are a lot of locks and keys to repelace.  But the problem is that one of the keys is critical to accessing the money and not even the company who provided the locks can break them, plus the company is on the other side of the continent!  

At least they aren't blaming it on the homeless, who seem to take the rap for anything that goes wrong.  I feel nothing but sadness that people are sleeping rough in the weather we've been having, and it's better here than in many other places.  It's not just the fact of being outdoors in the bad weather, it's not having the clothing or the equipment to keep warm and dry.  And I can never forget that many homeless have served our country and are suffering with PTSD.  I remember having a great uncle who came back from WWI with shell shock (now called PTSD).  He had family who took care of him until he died of old age, but if he lived in a large city with no one to care about him, he would have been on the streets.  I don't like to generalize and realize there are two sides to most stories.  But it makes me sad.

I have a long "ToDo" list for today but don't know where to start.  Sometimes I just don't do anything!

Joe brought his daughters by yesterday for about an hour.  Alyssa, who is in 2nd grade, had an assignment to ask an older person in her family about their experiences at her age and grade.  I did my best, but feel like I came from a different planet.  Questions such as "What did you wear to school?", gets the answer "Dresses".  "But Grandma, what did you wear when it was cold?"  "Dresses".  "But what if it was really cold?"  "Dresses with knee socks!"

In trying to answer these questions, and there were a lot of them, I had a good trip down memory lane.  I realize how relatively simple my life was compared to today's young generation, but I am so glad for the experience of doing without, because I can have empathy for today's folks who must do without, for whatever reason.  It is not the children's fault anyway.  

Exercising

I'm feeling pretty good today, and still experiencing the after-effects of working out at the gym last night.  I'm still taking it relatively easy so as not to aggravate my ribs, but what I do sure has me feeling great.  There is a machine Jeannie always uses that I had no idea what it was supposed to do, so I asked her last night what part of the body is it good for, and she replied "The Butt!"  Well, I decided I'd try it, and don't ask me why a 75 yr old woman is concerned with having a fine butt, but we'll see how it works.  I tried the machine and it actually feels pretty good, and will be part of my routine from now on.  I even spent 5 or 6 minutes in the sauna, an accomplishment since I usually don't stay more than a couple of minutes.  It probably wasn't as hot as it often is.  I also walked this morning on the treadmill - just about a mile and a quarter at 3.5 mph, plus a 4 min. cool down.  Not all that much, but I think I feel better when I do it at least 5 days/wk.

I got my rent bill this morning which includes utilities, and nearly fell over.  And to think I'm not even warm, but I guess the gas heat once in a while, plus the electric space heater, keeps me alive.  There isn't much I can do unless it's to replace all windows and doors to get some air-tightness.  I'm leaving the gas heat setting on 55 from now on!

Still waiting on the locks being replaced on the laundry room equipment, while the laundry is stacking up.  I haven't done towels for quite a while, and although I still have plenty of clean towels, they take a lot of room in a laundry basket.  When I go to the office to pay my rent I'm hoping to get a little more info on the "laundry room caper".

Someone gave Ara an airline voucher for a free trip that has to be used by this weekend, so she is flying here on Friday and going home Sunday.  It's a quick trip but it's nice to see her often.

It's pretty gloomy looking outside today although the rain doesn't start until tomorrow.

I wish I had more to say, but the story of my life is pretty much uneventful right now and nothing much is happening. 

  

Better Days

Better days are here so the east can begin digging out from the blizzard, and we have about 5 sunny days to look forward to.  I need to get out one of these nice days and start pulling weeds, although more rain will just bring more of them on.

I think I watched CNN for 2 days straight during the blizzard.  They had great coverage of the eastern areas hit by the storm, and not one mention of anything political.  I turned on the TV yesterday and the first words I heard were "Donald Trump" so I guess the networks are back to the "same old, same old."  I hit the OFF button in a hurry, and for the most part it's stayed off.  Why we need something like 10 stations carrying the same tired chatter over over for 24/7, is something I don't understand, and it will be this way for the next 9 or 10 months, I'm afraid.

Fortunately I have two books I just purchased so I've spent my time reading, as well as on the computer.  YouTube has some good channels and videos, but most of it is junk, to me at least.  There are a lot of voices predicting gloom and doom, especially in the world political and economic arenas, and I just won't watch that stuff anymore.  It can really be depressing if you let it. 

I stayed indoors all day yesterday because of the rain, so today I'm itching to get out and about.  I thought about going to the gym and using the treadmill, but so far I haven't even gotten dressed and it will soon be time for lunch.  I need to do a load of laundry but the Closed sign is still on the doors of the laundry room across the street, and I wonder just how long it will stay closed, and for what reason.  UPDATE:  I called the office and was told that someone stole all the keys to the machines in the laundry room.  It will take at least a couple of weeks according to the person I spoke to, to get new keys made.  That seems like a really long time to me.  I didn't ask where the keys were stored that they could be easily stolen.  I haven't noticed any police cars at the laundry room or at the office, but I could easily have missed them.

Has anyone else noticed that the sun seems to be setting in a totally different place the past few months?  It makes me wonder if there has been some kind of a minor pole shift.  It might just be attributed to the season, but I think it's a long ways away from where it sets in the summer and fall.  It's more southwest than where I usually see it.  It would be just like me to take notice of it after all these years!  

 

Wild Weather

The weather in the east is truly amazing, and reminds me of a few blizzards I have been through when I lived there.  There is something exciting about making the preparations, getting food (and drink) in, battening down the hatches, and watching the storm's progress on TV.  I've been doing that today - watching the progress of the storm, that is.  My granddaughter is in Philly, a niece is in NYC, and my son and his family are out in the Hudson Valley.  I hope all of them are prepared.

It has been especially interesting watching the behaviors of people who are urged to get off the roads early.  I laughed to myself and thought "those high powered execs in DC are too important to get off the roads when told to.  (I'm including govt as well as corporate officials, as both seem to live in a parallel universe.)  And by golly I wasn't far from wrong - the DC and Northern VA area still have people out getting stuck in the snow.  There have been an astounding number of accidents today in this area, and it puts the responders at risk.

The folks in NYC are having a good time and taking things in stride.  Most of them don't drive anyway, so they are throwing snowballs at each other in Times Square.  Oh how I wish I could be there this weekend.  A TV reporter noted that the line was out the door at Whole Foods, and out the door and down the block at the nearby liquor store.

So it has been raining here much of today and will be the same tomorrow, and then we should have a week of sunshine.

I have my air reservations made for my trip to NY in April.  Wish me luck.

Brought down a notch

I did a loan of laundry this morning but when I walked across the street to dry it, the door had a sign saying Closed Until Further Notice.  There have been numerous machine out of service lately, but I think it's to do with the fact that they enclosed the only open space (small, at that)  in the entire Park, which is next to the laundry, to make a dog park.  They were busy digging for weeks before all this was accomplished, way more than would have been required to plant the fence poles.  They've continued to dig around the area even since the opening of the dog park.  I think they messed up the plumbing out of the laundry room.

So I took my basket of laundry and went out to find a laundromat to dry it.  I cruised through several shopping areas to no avail.  I finally had to drive over to a part of Rancho Cordova that is not the best, to a laundromat I knew was there.  

So I went inside and found a spotless and immaculately cared for laundry, every machine working, and a full time attendant who was wiping down all the machines, sweeping the floor, etc.  From feeling pretty uppity about the area, I was brought down to reality.  You can't judge a book by its cover!  The laugh is on me.

Last night I cooked chicken and made the best chicken vegetable soup I've ever made; I am waiting for the left-over soup to warm up for my lunch.  I also have enough broth and chicken to either make more soup, or maybe soup and chicken enchiladas.  Not wanting to mess with tortillas and wrapping the enchiladas I might just go with soup.  My daughter-in-law Sarah made the best enchiladas for our Christmas gathering, and I know I could never match hers.

It's nice to have a couple of dry days between the rain.  I haven't heard one person complain about rain, and I think everyone is hoping it continues for the next month or so.

Rain and Wind

I  could hear the rain on the roof during the night, but this morning the winds came through.  They aren't constant, but seems to blow in bands, regularly spaced and timed, just like it is shown on TV weather maps.  We are going to get some accumulation out of this one, although the big problem is usually that the storm drains can't handle it.

The snow bunnies are back from the mountains.  Jeannie called me around 6pm and said they had just gotten back, and that they had a wonderful time.  Autumn loved the snow, and Arianna loved the dog.  My sister has a big golden haired labradoodle, (the size of a large standard poodle) and I'm sure the dog enjoyed the little girl as much as the little girl enjoyed the dog.  Arianna has a slight allergy to dogs and cats, mainly when she pets and plays with them and then touches her eyes.  I'm relieved that they had a safe and fun trip - I don't think I worried nearly as much when I was younger.

I'm off to work now.  That sounds weird to me since I've been retired since 1996, with the exception of a few volunteer jobs throughout the years.  The rain is still coming down and the wind is blowing, but it looks like the sun is trying to break through the clouds.  

I thought I would die!

First, let me say it's an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous day here.  It may turn cloudy later in the day and will probably drop some moisture, but for now it is perfect!

I only see my chiropractor every two weeks now, so this is the first since my accident on the treadmill.  I'm doing much better although I still had sore ribs.  He did a mild adjustment on my neck and then on my ribcage, and that's when I thought I would die.  It was like everything happened all over again - the pain, having difficulty catching my breath, etc.  Before I left his office I felt 1000% better, and now that I'm home - dare I say it - I have no rib pain at all!

I'm sure if I had gone to my regular doctor when this happened, he would have ordered x-rays plus prescribed heavy duty pain killers that would have caused problems with my heart.  Who knows what else he would have done or told me to do or pills to take.  Thank God for chiropractic and for me finding one of the best around!

I have all the ingredients to make creamy chicken vegetable soup, but I'll probably do that tomorrow.  I put the chicken in the freezer when I brought them home, and two large chicken breasts will take a while to thaw.  I work at the library tomorrow, and hope to increase my hours of work.  I like the idea that I was only committed to working one hour each week when I started, as it gave me a chance to adapt without stress, and also gave the vol. coordinator a chance to see how I work.  But now it makes sense to add an hour or two since I have to drive there anyway.

I want to start clearing unused items from my house, and organizing what's left.  The trouble is that I just don't know where to begin.  I think I have a mental block against decision making.

I hope Jeannie & Donald get "down the hill" from Lake Tahoe before another bout of rain and snow hits the highways.  It is a curvy road that is totally downhill all the way, no matter which route you take - US (Freeway) 50, or I-80.  I think I-80 between Reno and Sacramento is the worst highway I've ever driven on, but US 50 has some stretches that aren't divided highway and some people will go the long way around to I-80 to avoid it.   I love 50 except when arriving in the town of Lake Tahoe itself, mainly because of the slow traffic, people walking everywhere, and the crowds in general.

It's time for me to get started doing something - I've been taking it easy for too long.