I Need a Break!

I notice that I'm doing a lot of complaining lately and I really don't want my blog to be like that.  A rant now and then is one thing.  I'm feeling so down lately and it's hard for me to snap out of it.  Normally I try to be a positive person, but with what is going on in the country and in the world, it's hard to maintain positivity.

So if I skip a day posting a blog, don't worry - I'm just not feeling up to it.  

One thing I keep forgetting to post about is our crazy California weather in the northern part of the state.  I read last week that Lassen Volcanic Park has finally opened on a much limited basis - the 32 mile drive through the park still has snow on the roads in places.  And the campground I worked at, Butte Lake, finally opened for camping about a week ago.  I remember starting my camphost position about the middle of June several years ago.  I wish we had some of that "cool" here in Sacramento, even if we had some snow to go along with it!

I'll be back when I'm back.  Enjoy the week, everyone.

Still working on the paneling

When I moved into this house I found water damage to the paneling around the driveway side window.  There was a lot of damage in the house from water leaks around the windows, but  this window was definitely the worst; as I was painting all the paneling, I went ahead and painted the damaged stuff figuring it would have to be replaced and I would just repaint.  Here it is, several years later, and when the window was replaced it became obvious the paneling had to be taken care of before the trim could be set around the window.

Steve came over yesterday with Quinn, intending to install the new paneling pieces, which we had already purchased and had cut to size.  Quinn had other ideas.  She was all smiles until her Daddy set her down, and then she cried and screamed until he stopped work and picked her up, at which very moment the crying stopped.  It took him a long time to even get one piece set in below the window, and he still has to install the piece along the top.  Then he can finish off the window trim and I can finally repaint the paneling.  He will try to come back today with Liam.   You may wonder why I didn't hold Quinn and try to stop her crying - she would only smile at me from her Daddy's arms, but I would have had WW-3 if I had tried to hold her.

There are several things that need to be finished off after the window replacement, and I'll be so glad when it is all done.  I'm trying to touch up the paint around the window in the spare room, where the replacement left an area uncovered that had been painted previously.  The trouble is that I can't see well enough to keep from getting paint in the wrong place, but I am going to just try to finish it and hang sheers which will cover up my sloppy work.  I used to be such a meticulous painter and it makes me sad to see that I really can't do it anymore.  But it has to be done and I'm not going to ask anyone to help me do it, so I'm on my own.   It's easier to live with mistakes that you can't see very well!

There are so many things that need to be replaced or repaired in this house, but I'm getting too old to even care, and am not going to pour a lot of money into a nearly 60 yr old mobile home that was probably crap from the moment it was built!   But it's a roof over my head and I am not dependent on anyone else for shelter, for which I am eternally grateful.

Noisy Choppers

I'm sitting in my somewhat cool house enjoying the peace, and then it started.  Helicopters going overhead, police choppers I assume, saying something over loudspeakers that I can barely understand.  They are evidently looking for someone and enlisting the help of the public.

They will often do that if someone escapes their custody or has done something wrong, but sometimes it is the case of a disoriented person, as I get the idea it is in this case.  From what I gather an elderly person is missing.  The loudspeakers make the announcements sound so garbled I really don't know what it's all about, but I hope it ends well. 

I find the amount of air traffic increasing dramatically, and I don't like it one bit:   commercial jets; military planes; helicopters; planes spreading chemtrails, etc.   Add to all that noise the racket made by everyday traffic - a heavily traveled boulevard about 2 city blocks away to the north, and freeway 50 about 2 city blocks to the east; power equipment including leaf & debris blowers; the incessant barking of dogs; the maintenance equipment used in this mobile home park, especially the Bobcat machine that goes back and forth daily, and more.  I really envy those of you who live in a more quiet or even rural environment.

I fixed myself a wonderful dinner this evening starting with a big filet of wild Pacific cod, plus vegetables topped with shredded cheese.  I had quit buying cheese because I found myself using too much of it, but I think I bought this to spread on tortilla chips and melt in the microwave.  I haven't used my m'wave for food for ages, mostly storing crackers and such in it.   I really don't like even using it at all, but hate to get rid of it "just in case".  With all I ate for supper, plus all the blog talk about ice cream, I find myself craving something sweet.   I think a beer would suffice but I have none in the house!   I did find some dark chocolate chips in the fridge though.

Ice Cream

You may remember my post of several days ago where I admitted that I ate an embarrassing amount of ice cream in a 12 hr period, the stuff I bought when my granddaughters came over for the day.  After eating so much of this ice cream I felt really sick and had abdominal cramps for nearly a full day.

I watched a YouTube video this evening about how Breyers Ice Cream and Breyers Frozen Dessert do not melt!   Hard to believe, isn't it.  The youtuber filled bowls with about 4 varieties of Breyers Frozen Dessert and did the same with Nestles, all different flavors.  He also tested the "real ice cream" from both brands, and a frozen yogurt.

The next morning he checked them after being left out all night:  all the Nestles flavors and the frozen yogurt melted in the bowls as well as in the ice cream tubs which he also left out.  The Breyers products were still unmelted and in their original position - shaking the bowls and the tubs back and forth didn't make them move at all.  He finally poured the samples into the sink - the Nestles products were completely melted but the Breyers products just sat there in their original shapes.  There is something added to that ice cream to keep it from melting, and I believe that is what made me sick.   I have probably eaten large amounts of my Kirkland organic ice cream and it is melting as I'm spooning it up.  After overeating the Kirkland (Humboldt brand) I have felt full but never sick.

It's really weird and I'm glad I stumbled upon this video - I don't know if I would have believed it if I had just read an article about it, but seeing it with my own eyes was a real "eye opener".   The guy who made the video kept saying to not eat this stuff as it's bound to make you sick.  I would attest to that. 
 

It's been a long day!

I had an appt. with my chiropractor this morning at 11:00, and then an appt. to get my hair cut at 1:45.  I had a lot of time to kill but it didn't make sense for me to come back home in between the two appointments, so I fooled around at Arden Mall, where Jeannie & I had been last weekend.  I lost my Serengeti sunglasses somewhere during the afternoon and went back to the restaurant and a couple of other spots, but it was hopeless.  

I got my hair cut very short - not as short as I had really wanted it, but I think my hairdresser didn't want to do anything drastic, and wanted me to get used to a shorter cut before taking it further.   I have another appointment in 5 weeks and I will decide then if I still want a "boy cut".

While waiting for the hairdresser I leafed through a Glamour magazine (it was either that or Men's Journal).  I was stunned!  I don't normally look at magazines except in a waiting room and there are usually more interesting ones than Glamour.  The issue I picked up was pure porn!  I'm not prudish by any means but I don't care to look at such explicit photos.  Wow!  Times have certainly changed.

I am really tired of walking around and being in crowds and traffic.  I dislike malls to begin with.  There is so much redundancy; I wonder how all those shoe stores stay in business, or women's attire, or sport clothes, etc.  It gets boring very quickly when you realize that they are all carrying the same merchandise, or so similar it's hard to tell the difference.  This mall is two stories, so they have double the traffic and stores.   On the other hand I'm glad for all the folks who work at that mall that they have jobs!   And no, I still don't want to shop online except in occasionally rare circumstances.

Under the weather

I've been suffering for nearly 24 hours with really severe abdominal cramps, that come and go - fortunately they aren't constant.  I don't have any other symptoms except a feeling of the blahs, but that could be due to the weather.  I have been going over in my mind what I've eaten in the last few days.

You may remember I bought two 1-1/2 qt containers of ice cream for when Joe's girls were here.  I ate the remainder of one of the containers two days ago, an I'm ashamed to say I ate the second one last night.  That's a lot of ice cream and a lot of sugar.   I think it could be what makes me feel so ill now, but I'm not a doctor, even though I usually diagnose my ailments as well as any doctor!    I have no other symptoms - only the abdominal cramps - and I think it has to be something I ate.  I just took a long nap and am thinking about what I might have for my supper, which is certain to include some mixed vegetables.  In fact, I may make my meal out of the veggies alone.

Today is the last day of low 90's weather, and tomorrow it goes back to much higher temps, a reason to feel sick in itself! 

I just got an email from eBay explaining the long wait for my coffee grinder as it is on the slow boat from China.  They asked me to give the product a 5 Star rating if I can, and if I want to give them less than 5 stars to contact eBay first.   I can't tell you how sorry I am that I didn't look closer at specialty stores here in Sacramento, even if I had to pay more for a similar product.  I guess I've always had an impatient streak and it sure has been activated by this purchase.

Visit withthe eye surgeon

I made the drive to his office this morning, the longest drive I will have to do this week.  Tomorrow will be the hairdresser where I am going to get a real buzz cut, but it's just about a mile short of the eye doctor.  I really don't like that drive anymore.

I have great respect and admiration for my eye surgeon, and always leave his office in a good mood even when the news isn't anything to be glad about.  My macular degeneration is getting worse, and he told me about new advances in surgery, but of course he can't guarantee success.  I declined for now - my age and the state of the world make me feel that I don't want to waste months of what is left of my life in bandages and recuperating from any kind of surgery.   I don't like what is happening with my eyes, but for some reason I've accepted it from the very beginning.  He again told me I won't go blind, which I will take as a real plus.  My vision especially in low light leaves a lot to be desired, but I will manage.

I have to go back in about 3 weeks for an appointment with their optometrist to see what they can do for me in the way of new prescription lenses.  I'm ever hopeful.

Tomorrow I have the hairdresser appointment, the following day will be with the chiropractor, and on Thursday I will take Ara's car to the mechanic for an oil change and overall checkup for her.  That will be a breeze as his shop is less than a mile from my house!  I like staying close to home these days.

I must have set my Serengeti sunglasses down someplace yesterday and left them.  It is really a blow in this bright sunlight, and the next pair of prescription lenses I get is going to have sun darkening features as well.    In the meantime I will just have to get through the days.   Too bad I don't see well in low-light situations or I could switch my driving habits to the evening hours.

I tried a new food today and was surprised at how well I like it.  I have always tried to keep a stash of easy to fix foods set aside for emergencies - power outages, and the like, or situations where it might not be possible for me to get out to shop for groceries.  I've been hearing a lot about Spam lately, and I have known people from Britain and Ireland that remember eating not much else during the war years.  I decided to try it, and fried a couple of slices with sauteed veggies for my lunch today.  It really is good, although the next variety I try will be the low sodium version.  It comes in 4 or 5 varieties now and  is fully cooked so could be eaten as is if the power goes out.   To think everyone I grew up with sort of made fun of it.  I grew up in an era when we didn't have a lot of extras, and being prepared if the power went out for a few days or hours was just something we took for granted.   In those days my Mom did a lot of canning in the summer so we always had a supply of foods in jars in our cool basement.

I don't know what was happening with my computer last night, but I thought it was going to require an expensive fix or a new computer.  I can't understand why a game would mess it up, but I deleted the game and it's been good so far.  I asked myself if I would try a smart phone and just get to the internet from there, but nah, I hate those things and I'm no better than  all the folks with their noses stuck in the phones.  This morning in the dr.'s office I counted 11 people, 7 of whom were staring intently at their phones.  At least two were with a spouse and they looked at the phone together, so that left me and one other person thumbing through magazines.  If I had a smart phone I'm sure I'd be fixating on it.

I need a nap after the stress of driving in traffic this morning.  It messes up my evenings however, and I go to sleep later.  I really prefer being an early bird.