ALREADY, I MAY NEVER BE

         

          Today, Thursday, I took my car in to have it detailed as I do every fall. It’s too big and I’m too wise (old) to vacuum, clean the inside and wash and wax it myself. My friend Claudia picked me up and we went out to breakfast at a restaurant neither of has been to since we retired from the zoo.

          Tummies full, we decided to go to Swanson’s Nursery…indoor plants were 30% off plus it was wise people’s day so we got another 10% for 40%. Since we were in Wallingford, Claudia drove over to and through Ballard to the last road that heads north. It's definitely not the Ballard we remember from just a decade or so ago. Then, she took all back roads and almost all of them had water views. Some of the homes were astounding and I cannot begin to imagine the property taxes. One we passed was for sale for $1,850,000 and it didn't have much of a view. We also drove past the first house John and I lived in as a married couple. It’s been updated and added to and must be worth a bundle these days…too bad we didn’t take advantage of our landlord’s offer to sell it to us back in 1969.

          At Swanson’s, we began to wander around one of the indoor plant sections. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something glittery. When I looked, it was almost an entire wall full of Christmas ornaments…YES, Christmas ornaments!!! It had been all Halloween on our way inside.

          We did walk over and peruse all the offerings, but I didn’t see anything that would be applicable as this year’s grandkid ornaments. Still, seeing all that Christmassy stuff, kind of made me not very happy. You see, I have to make a decision about whether or not I’m going to decorate for Christmas this year. At the moment, I’m tending toward doing absolutely nothing.

          Part of the problem is that the Christmas tree I had last year was pretty much at the end of its life, so I got rid of it. That means I need to replace the tree and I seriously do not want to spend hundreds of dollars on a tree that will require effort to decorate for a measly thirty days of the year. I do know I can spend way less, but then the tree does look very fake. Then, too, there’s the boxes of Christmas stuff in the attic. I’d need to have someone come over and haul them out of the attic. And, it’s not that my kids or grandkid wouldn’t be willing to do so, it’s just that once it’s down, it takes a lot of effort to utilize.

          For those of you who haven’t been to my house, I have a lot of glass stuff sitting around all over the place. I love all of it and almost every single thing tells me a story. During the other eleven months of the year, this paraphernalia requires dusting, which I also hate and which doesn’t get done on a weekly (or maybe even monthly) basis. In order to decorate for Christmas, I have to pack it all up and put it somewhere else so I can replace it with Christmassy stuff. Lots of time and effort is required.

          When the thirty days of Christmas are over, it’s then time to dust and clean the Christmas gear and pack it away for another eleven months and ask someone to come back over and put the boxes in the attic. Once that’s accomplished, it’s time to bring out the ordinary stuff and dust and clean it prior to replacing it around the house.

          So, this leads to my quandary…should I decorate for Christmas or not. Yes, I love hauling out the decorations and taking trip after trip down memory lane with practically each and every ornament and display piece, but do I really want to take those trips this year? And, yes, when I’m returning the everyday things to their places, I also enjoy the trips they provide to times and events gone by.

          Finally, I no longer have Christmas events or many visitors to my home during the holiday season. Claudia’s advice is to do it if it’s something I really want to do for myself, that decorating isn’t for others. Maybe as the holidays get closer, I’ll have a change of heart/mind, but right now, I’m leaning heavily toward not decorating…I’ll let you know if I come to my senses (unless I’m already there).

THE BEST HOUSEMATE EVER

10/6/22

          As of October 6^th, Kuma has been my housemate for an entire year, and I cannot begin to express the love, joy, and fun, as well as the annoyances he’s brought into my life. I wouldn’t trade him for anything and am hoping that my life ends with him curled up against my back.

          I’ve written previous blogs about this wondrous puppy…I know he’s a dog, but he’ll always be puppy to me…but in the off chance I left something out, I’m going to sing his praises once again because that makes me happy.

          First, Kuma is a terrible nag and he does it without saying a word or even barking. I’ve been amazed at how he has adjusted to a schedule and how much having it change seems to annoy him…and me.  For instance, in the morning, he’s up and down off the bed at 6:30 am until I indicate I’m awake and getting up. Then he has to lick as much of me as he can reach and encourage me to pet him by taking my hand in his mouth. Then, once I’ve had my coffee and 7:30 am is nigh, he comes to the side of the couch and stares intently into my eyes until I get up and get moving, i.e., do my exercises. That’s his signal to get into his chair where he remains until I change rooms. Then he moves to the hallway outside the bedroom door. He waits there until I reach my last exercise and then he jumps onto the bed because he knows when I finish that one, I’ll lay on him and give him a full body hug, scratch, pet all while telling him what a wonderful Cutsie Putsie Puppy he is.

          When we went to the ocean last month, my son advised me to make sure Kuma was wearing his tags and remained on a leash…how much fun is that??? Yes, he wore his collar, but I let him off leash so he could run as fast as the wind up and down the beach. No matter where he ended up, I would always see him looking to check where I was and he always returned.

Lots more room

          Just recently, for what I thought was Kuma’s benefit, I made some furniture location changes and he has yet to totally adjust. Since the dining room chair with arms was really too small, I made my dining room table as small as possible with only four chairs. I moved the chairs with arms into a bedroom. Then, I moved the papasan chair from the back corner of the living room to the dining room in front of the fireplace. I also moved Kuma’s crate into the garage since I no longer confine him there when I leave the house. About the only time he’d go into the crate was when people came to visit. Since that doesn’t happen often, I can put him in the laundry room for that purpose.

          The first day this was implemented, Kuma walked throughout the house looking for “his” chair, or that’s what I assumed he was doing. When he received his breakfast treat, he turned from me and went to jump into his papasan chair which was no longer in its usual location. He looked a bit sad and confused and lay upon the rug to eat his treat. Over a week later, he’s finally becoming accustomed to the changes.

          I put a nice very soft turquoise blanket over the papasan chair. It is like the ones I used to put in his crate. For some reason, the fabric these blankets are made of encourages Kuma to chew, chew, chew. Every blanket he’s had has been chewed into tatters and it appears the turquoise one is going that way as well. I don’t know if it feels good in his mouth or if he can’t stand it against his fur.    He doesn’t eat it, so I end up picking up pieces.

Chewing Away

          Somehow, I began a very bad habit without thinking about it. I bought Kuma those yak bones because he loves to chew. Since they are kind of long, I initially held it while Kuma chewed. It didn’t take him long to figure out my holding the boney-bone was greatly preferable to holding it with his own paws. He even wants me to hold them when they become small and there might be a tendency for him to bite me. My son suggested I get a glove that would allow me to hold the boney-bone without getting bit…not sure I’m going to spoil Kuma quite that much.

          When I’m at work in the garden, Kuma has always done his best to get in my way. I finally found something that will keep him occupied for at least an hour or so. I was with a friend when she bought frozen beef bones for her dog. I bought a package as well and Kuma loves them. I give him a frozen one and it takes a bit of time before the marrow is gone and any fleshy remnants have been chewed off. Of course, he then wants me to throw it or hold it while he continues to chew, so I have to get my gardening done quickly.

          As I reported some time ago, a loving anonymous reader sent me a product called Pet Corrector. When you press the button compressed air comes out and makes a noise. Kuma doesn’t like it. Now I don’t usually have to even  pickup the container. A simple, stern “NO BARK” has him getting off the couch and taking refuge in the chair across the room. There, he continues to make soft barks/growls as if to let me know, “Fine, I won’t lean into the window and bark loudly, but you can’t make me stop this way over here.” I’m afraid to try it in the car for fear he’ll make some kind of movement that will cause me to have an accident. So, he still barks at dogs he sees from the car.

          On the trip to the ocean, Kuma was unbelievably good. Maybe it was because he was with his friend Chicken, but he didn’t bark at another dog while on or off his leash. Maybe I need to find a person with a dog with whom we could walk so he doesn’t go nuts when he sees another dog. I don’t know if that would work, but I hate being unable to take him places on a leash when he goes nuts at other dogs. Off leash, he’s fine, doesn’t bark and does his best to get the other dog(s) to interact with him.

          Finally, I’m probably a horrible pet owner, mainly because I share my food with Kuma. I know I’m not supposed to give him human food, but Kuma always gets at least a bite of whatever I’m eating. Amazingly, he loves most vegetables and waits patiently when I’m making salad for bites of carrot, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini. He really likes them though once I’ve put feta cheese, avacados and dressing on the entire salad. I had to laugh the first time I gave him cucumbers with dressing on them. I thought he ate them, but like some small child, he licked off the dressing and the cucumber chips somehow ended up between the cushions of the couch…clever boy, huh. Anyway, I enjoy sharing with Kuma even though it’s probably bad for him.

          I began this blog post last Friday on the anniversary of Kuma’s coming home and have worked on it off and on since then. So, I think it’s way past time to put the finished product out there. Hope you’ve enjoyed.

LICENSE TABS

          It only took me more than nine months to realize I had been driving around illegally and could have been stopped at any point in time. It only took two months for me to realize I didn’t have up-to-date insurance information in my car.

          I’m sure I would have continued to drive around blissfully unaware I didn’t have my 2023 tags on my license plate. I could have done the same with the insurance information. The only reason I discovered I hadn’t renewed my tabs when they were due last December or printed out insurance information the beginning of July was because I cleaned out my car.

          Now, I didn’t have to clean out the glove compartment. I planned on just making sure Kuma’s hair was off the passenger seat, that his nose prints had been scrubbed off the side windows and that the various detritus had been vacuumed up off the floors. I got that done and since I plan on having my car detailed after the upcoming trip to the ocean where my friend and our two dogs will undoubtedly bring in lots of sand, I figured I might as well go whole hog and clean the debris out of the glove compartments as well. My detail place doesn’t want you to leave stuff in your car.

          In the envelop that holds the paperwork the police would want to see, I had numerous registrations and insurance papers. I went through those and took out all the expired ones. That was when I realized I didn’t have the latest paperwork. I couldn’t believe I had neglected to take care of this business.

          John always gave me my car registration as a Christmas gift. All I had to do was stick the tab on the license plate and the paperwork in the car. The first time I had to do it myself was 2019 and I barely made it to the license place to pick up the tabs and registration before it closed on December 31. The next two years I managed to take care of business in a timely manner. I don’t know what happened last December. I did find the renewal reminder in the glove box as well, so I guess I had planned on doing something with it.

          Anyway, I’m getting on a ferry at 9:35 am and am planning on getting to the license place at 9:00 am to pick up the tab that will be good for only three and a half months. Hopefully, I can dash in and out and stick the tab on the plate on the ferry. Not complaining though since I’ve managed to get through the entire year, so far, without having the police stop and ticket me. I’m hoping my good luck continues for another seventeen hours. Fingers crossed, prayers said, candles lit, Buddha’s belly rubbed.

          I’ve also put a note in my calendar for December…RENEW LICENSE TABS!!!...and, I’ve made it a recurring note that will continue until I no longer need a renewal. Can’t wait to hear what my kids have to say about this…actually, I can definitely wait.

FURNACE FUN

 

          My thermostat has been blinking at me since June. It wants to have its filters cleaned. This morning it was 63 degrees in my house and I really wanted to turn the heat on but will not until I clean the filters.

          Back in January of 2001, I had to stay home from work for a week because I had a radiation burn under my right boob. When I called in sick, I jokingly told my boss I had to hang from the rafters by my knees so my boob would fall in the right direction and the burn could heal…and then I burst into tears. Little did I know then the house would become as cold as the attic. Anyway, I’m digressing from my furnace tale.

          I was always the first one up because I was the only one with a job that required my presence at 8;00 am. John worked for himself so he could set his own hours and was almost always still in bed when I left…more digressing. Anyway, I kept smelling something in the morning when the furnace came on. Since I had to stay home from work, I thought I was doing a good thing by calling the gas company…WRONG.

          This was Monday morning and my perception was that someone would probably come during my week at home. Instead, they came almost within the hour. I found out later it was because I said I smelled something. The serviceman checked things out, showed me how flames were climbing up the outside of the furnace, turned off the gas and locked up the furnace. There would be no heat until we either fixed the furnace or bought a new one.

          John was absolutely furious when he came home to find out we had no heat because I’d called the gas company. He told me he was aware of what was wrong and was “taking care of it.” When flames are climbing up the outside of the furnace, how can you be “taking care of it?” I was absolutely amazed at how angry he was, especially since I needed warmth since I had to stay at home. And it wasn't like we couldn't afford a new furnace. I thought we were really lucky the house hadn't burned down. 

          Since John had a project, he was working on, and since he was hugely pissed, he told me it was up to me to take care of the problem. What did I know about furnaces? Absolutely nothing. So, I called around and found a company that could give us a new furnace that week (the one that died was installed when the house was built in 1963). I opted to go for the electronic filter. I’d heard about them and it sounded like it would be perfect because it would eliminate a lot of dust. It cost extra.

          Meanwhile, it’s January and it’s cold. John remained furious and finally brought a couple of electric heaters home on Wednesday. I was pretty cold by then. I was also pretty pissed at his attitude because, after all, I was sick and should be taken care of...you know, "...in sickness and in health." I arranged for the new furnace to be installed on Thursday at 9:00 am.

          On Thursday, the furnace installer arrived at 8:15 am, and John quite rudely informed him he’d have to come back at the scheduled time of 9:00 am because he (John) wasn’t ready to leave home yet. I was positive John’s rudeness would cause the installer to not return that morning or to come back and install the furnace incorrectly.

          Fortunately, the man returned at 9:00 am and I apologized on my husband’s behalf. He took out the old one and installed the new furnace. By the end of the day, we had heat flowing through all the vents. I was very happy about that.

          Unfortunately, the electronic filter wasn’t a good choice. Every time something hit the wires, there was a noise like you heard with those bug zappers. It wasn’t long before John disconnected the electronic part…money down the drain, really, or would that be out the vent?

          I have no idea how often John cleaned the filters in the furnace. I wasn’t around when or if he did it. Eventually, a new thermostat was installed (by my HVAC son) that now flashes red when there’s a problem or the filter needs cleaning. I think it was the year after John died that AJ showed me how to remove the filter in order to clean it.

          There are actually four pieces to the filter. I take off the furnace front and remove the front large piece and then remove the back large piece. Then, I remove the two small metal screens which are the ones that are coated with yukky stuff. I don’t remember who told me I should put them in the dishwasher in order to clean them, but that’s what I do. It works really well and once they’ve cooled off and are dry, I can then reinstall.

Once that’s all done, it will be time to tell the thermostat I’ve cleaned the filter. What I wonder is if it is smart enough to tell me the filters need cleaning, why can’t it figure out the filters are clean? Instead, I have to go into the thermostat and confirm I’ve done my job.

The dishwasher just beeped that it’s done its job and the dishes are clean. I’ve opened the door and while everything cools off, I guess I’ll begin dismantling that electronic filter. I’ll feel accomplished once the filter is clean and back inside the furnace. Still, it’s just another one of those jobs I’d be happy to not have to do, but that’s the way it is when it’s just me, myself and I (and Kuma, but he has no cleaning skills) living the good life.

UPDATES...PIE, PIE IN THE SKY

           I’m absolutely positive, dear readers, that you want an update from my Labor Day post. I’m happy to report I did everything I said I was planning to do with the exception of cleaning the kitchen/dining room. I did that on Thursday as opposed to Monday.

          The blackberry pie almost didn’t come to fruition. Kuma and I went to ballyball hill after I went to the grocery store. I couldn’t believe how the blackberries had turned into small, dried lumps. I persevered, however, and managed to pick enough very small ones to fill my small cast iron skillet. Kuma had a fine time chasing the ball up and down the hill as I worked to fill my berry container. The first time I set it down, though, Kuma thought I’d picked the berries for him. I very quickly pushed his nose out of the bowl before he could gobble up the ones I’d managed to pick.

          Back home, I used one pie crust from the box I bought to make the pie. I really should have taken it out of the oven sooner…the recipe said forty minutes, but that was for the big skillet. Later that day, after the grilled flank steak and corn-on-the-cob, I had a dish of blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream…YUMMY!!!

          Thursday I had an appointment with the podiatrist. In the morning, I watered everything outside, did my office work, and then decided it was time to Swiffer up all the dog hair in the kitchen and dining room. Seriously, I don’t see how Kuma has any hair left. There was enough on the pad I had to use the hand vacuum to suck it off twice before tossing the pad. The rugs were washed as was the floor, so now everything looks very nice.

          Of course, it’s not going to stay that way for long. Almost every day I tidy up the house. This involves using the little vacuum to suck up the dog hair that’s drifted down the day before. The bathroom had quite a bit of hair which also included mine. There were also Kuma pawprints all over the floor because he’d gone out into the wet garden and neglected to wipe his paws on the way back in.

          The podiatrist was really a waste of time. I have one toe where the nail points downward and pushes into the footbed. If I keep it as short as possible, it’d not too big a problem. I was hoping for a better solution, but the doctor merely trimmed it more and said if that didn’t work, he could remove the nail. Whoa, I’m not going there, especially when he said it would just grow back.

          This appointment was far down on Broadway in Seattle. I don’t usually drive to or in those areas and today’s trip made me very sad. There’s so much garbage on the streets and sidewalks, people living up close to buildings beneath a big umbrella or even in a bus stop shelter. Broadway is also narrow with only two lanes, unless there’s a left turn lane which trucks and cars park in while making pickups or deliveries. There’s also rails in the road as well as electric wires overhead for the transit system. My memories of Broadway from eons ago do not match what I saw today at all.

          Finally, I read there were 60,000 children who traversed some pass below Mexico to escape their countries and try to come to mine. Altogether, there have been 250,000 people over that pass just this year. This brings me to my “pie in the sky” idea.

          A year or two ago, there was a chart online which showed how much money some members of the 1% had. It was set up in such a way that you flicked your screen to the left. Jeff Bezos was the richest of the 1% and I finally gave up flicking the screen because it seemed as though this illustration of his wealth would never end. What if Bezos decided to play God with all his millions and set out to rectify the world’s problems? Perhaps we could reach a goal where everyone had a home, food, health care, and violence was eliminated. Like I said, pie in the sky.

LABOR DAY

        

 It’s Labor Day. It’s raining. It’s cold. I’m wearing long pants for the first time in quite a while…it was 80+ on Saturday…my “I’m Sad” sweatshirt and socks. I guess summer is over, more or less.

          I’m feeling kinda sad for no particular reason other than it’s now September and before I know it, it will be time to decide if I’m going to buy another Christmas tree or give up that tradition. I’m not sure what the answer will be when the time arrives. Maybe my kinda sad is due to the change in atmospheric pressure because it rained and may still be raining for all I know.

          Anyway, since time is passing by so quickly, I really don’t have time to sit around being sad. I need to get my flank steak in the marinade so I can grill this evening…what’s a Labor Day without grilling? I also need to find my recipe for cast iron blackberry pie. I don’t know if I can cut it down enough to simply use my small cast iron skillet or if I’ll need to make the entire recipe. If I do use the big skillet, someone(s) going to get to share this pie.

          Of course, making that pie means Kuma and I need to go to our Ballyball hill so he can chase the ball and I can pick berries. Then, it’s off to the grocery store and the completion of some other errands. I was going to go to Costco today too, but that wonderful company has given its employees the day off. Why is it I like Costco so much and detest Amazon even though I use Amazon often because it usually has what I want/need and the prices are good. I think it’s because I see Amazon as an evil giant…kinda like the one in Jack and the Beanstalk…and Costco as more family friendly. I digress

          There’s also one more room to clean, i.e., dining room and kitchen. I need to Swiffer the floor, wash the rugs, wash the floor and put the rugs back. To pat my own self on the back, I did the rest of the house (except for the two bedrooms I don’t use) in the last few days. True, I could wash all the windows, but I’m not going to do that. Eliminating all the dog hair, detritus from the garden, dust from the various tables and tchotchkes is clean enough for me. Oh, I also did all the laundry, including stripping the bed and turning the mattress.

          Don’t you just love the internet and Google. I couldn’t find the proper spelling for tchotchke, so I typed in, “Jewish word for knick knacks,” and there was the correct spelling. I digress again.

          So, I’m not going to be sitting around here being sad. I’ve things to do, places to go, people to see. By the time I sit down with a glass of wine, I’m sure to be quite happy…or become so after the wine.

NATIONAL CINEMA DAY

 

          Sunday was National Cinema Day. Regal emailed me at the beginning of the week offering $4.00 tickets (actually $6.09 after taxes, etc.). Since I hadn’t been to the movies in a very long time, I decided to take advantage of this offer. And, since it was going to be a HOT Sunday, I figured there wouldn’t be a better place to spend the day than in an air-conditioned theater.

          I decided on two movies…Barbie because how can I not see this movie, the biggest grossing movie in all time; and Oppenheimer because who doesn’t want to know how the worst killing method was brought to fruition. I began with Barbie at 1:00 pm and transitioned to Oppenheimer at 4:00 pm. I didn’t even leave the theater between movies. I did have to wait about ten minutes before I could enter Oppenheimer, but I just played a game on my phone.

          It was rather surprising to see so many advertisements for stuff on the screen. The last time I went to the movies, there was a woman who entertained us with information and guests while we waited for the previews to begin. This time, it was ad after ad for one thing and another, and not many of them were for products you could buy at the concession stand. There was even an ad for a man who needs a living kidney. I could use my phone to take a photo of the QR code in order to become a kidney donor.

          There also were not very many previews, but that may be because of the writers’ and actors’ strike. They did preview Dune which is supposed to open in December, but I heard it’s been pushed back to 2024 because of the strike.

          I was a bit surprised by Barbie. I expected it to be rather frothy and perhaps it was, but the premise was a good one…too bad the premise isn’t the actual case in real life as opposed to Barbieland. Both Ken and Barbie were very attractive and did a good job of acting like dolls. A friend who raised three daughters loved the movie and said there were lots of things that I might not get not having had any Barbie experience. I suppose that’s true, but it did amuse me in several places.

          Oppenheimer seemed a bit slow and I sort of kept waiting for the end. It also moved forward and backward in time. I don’t usually have a problem with that sort of movie, but I did find myself wondering now and then where and when we were. The actor who played Oppenheimer was excellent and I did like the movie a lot. I didn’t know a lot about Oppenheimer or the Manhattan project, but I left the movie wanting to know more. I think I’ll be doing a bit of research in order to get my questions answered.

          I also didn’t know there were actually four different sites where research into making the bomb happened. Again, I have questions. They set off a couple of bombs at Los Alamos. Did it become radioactive? I don’t think I ever realized they set off small test bombs on US soil. I did know they made uranium isotopes (I think that’s what they were) in Oak Ridge Tennessee because my biological father worked there on that project. He and his entire crew died early from various cancers, probably the result of working at Oak Ridge. And, is any part of Oak Ridge still radioactive?

          See, lots of questions. I’d like to know more about Oppenheimer as well. He was a brilliant man with morals, at least that’s how he came across in the movie. At the same time, he was portrayed as a womanizer, but was he really? Did he or any of the people who worked at Los Alamos die of cancer?

          There’s one other thing that surprised me about spending six plus hours in a theater…my back was killing me Monday morning. I don’t know if it was the seats or simply the lack of activity. Still, I’d do it again.

          Anyway, I guess if I’m going to get the answers to any of my questions, I need to put my fingers to work on the internet as opposed to flying over the keyboard writing this blog.

MY CALENDAR

          My calendar for the next month, including this last week of August is getting quite full. I know I’ve complained about having too much to do in the past, but time is flying by and I still have so much I want to do. I’m just hoping I don’t exhaust myself in the process of meeting all the commitments I’m putting on the calendar.

          First, I have my fitness classes three times a week plus I said I was going to return to water exercise in the river in September. That may now become October because it means I’m committed every single morning for the entire week. I may need to go back to bed on Tuesday and Thursday mornings if I don’t have another commitment for that morning.         

          The first item on the calendar aside from fitness class, is another trek to Woodland Park Zoo with Xander. We only managed half the zoo a couple of weeks ago and he didn’t see the red panda. So, we’re going back. I’m sure it will also include another ride…or two…on the carousel and lunch someplace aside from Zeeks. I keep trying to interest him in foods that aren’t McDonalds or pizza, but so far have been unsuccessful. Maybe nine years old is still too young for him to adventure into Mexican or Thai cuisine.

I am going to return to my driftwood sculpture class the second week of September. For that class I need some new driftwood which necessitates a trip to the beach. The last day of August, I’m going to Double Bluff Beach on Whidby Island with a friend and both our dogs. I was told it has a tremendous amount of driftwood lying about and one of the beaches is off-leash. I’m hoping Kuma has a wonderful time and that I come back with some interesting driftwood.

          At the time of this writing, I’m also considering a trip to the Pacific Coast. Again, with my friend and her dog. It would take three days of a week and two nights in a hotel/motel/resort. Unfortunately, in looking at the weather forecast, it doesn’t appear as though it’s going to be terribly warm and sunny. That brings up the question of whether or not I want to go someplace that will be cold and windy when cold and miserable weather is just around the corner where I live all the time. I guess it will depend partly on how successful my Whidby island trek is when it comes to driftwood I can turn into amazing sculptures.

          Then, there are family commitments, all of which I definitely want to do. My aunt is 95 and recently fell and broke her pelvis. She’s back at the Foss now, but in the nursing section. I’m going to see her this coming week and believe I should attempt to see her fairly frequently. I’m hoping she comes back from this problem with a vengeance.

          There’s my favorite cousin. I promised in 2022 that I would drive down to her place for a visit. She almost always drives north for family events unless we all meet at Southcenter. Well, I failed to keep my promise in 2022, but it’s on the calendar for 2023. She’ll make me lunch. I’ll get to see her remodel. And we’ll have hours in which to chat about anything and everything.

          My favorite oldest son turns 53 in September as well. He’s gotten to the age where he insists there’s nothing he wants (that’s my line and I’m much older) as a gift. Before Covid and again last year, I made Swedish meatballs for him and the family for dinner. I don’t yet know if he wants to do that this year, but I’m game. When it comes to the meatballs, I’ve made them once, but he insists that the ones from Ikea are just fine which would necessitate a trip to Ikea and maybe a visit to my sister who lives nearby. I do have a recipe and it would be fun to host the entire family for the first time in 2023.

          There’s also a lunch on the calendar toward the end of September with a number of Woodland Park Zoo folks. I’m really looking forward to that although I don’t see how six of us can bring each other up to date in just a couple of hours…maybe I should suggest we each type out a short synopsis of our lives since leaving the zoo and bring handouts. No matter, it will be fun to see these folks again.

          At the end of September another best friend will have her birthday. In the past, I think she’s always gone with her husband to some enjoyable location to celebrate both their birthdays…his is a week later, I think. Anyway, she’s had a serious setback this year, so I think all her friends should rally round with cake, presents, cards, comradery on her special day. Maybe I should discuss this with her best friend.

          Amongst all the above, I’m sure there will be lunches and/or events that will take up some time…do have an additional two lunches on the calendar already. In addition, the garden needs a lot of work and preparation for the coming winter. Kuma also needs to get on the schedule and begin going on walks now that the weather is cooling off (at least I hope it is).  And, writing, I need to find time to write, whether it’s just these off the cuff blog posts or a more serious work.

          Finally, I hope you don’t see this as whining about being over-extended. I’m actually looking forward to everything I’ve put into this blog as well as the things that haven’t yet been scheduled. I do think I’m going to need to pace myself a bit better than I’ve done in the past. It may mean skipping a fitness class now and then and my body (and mind, what’s left of it) will let me know when it needs to rest up for the next adventure. I’m sure I’ll be reporting via this blog about my various events.

          And, then, before I/we know it, it will be October…absolutely scary how fast this year has flown by. 

PICKLE TIME

           Somehow another year has passed and I just put my last jar of Aunt Lola’s Dill Pickles in the fridge. That means it’s once again time to put up dill pickles. This is something I’ve been doing since my early twenties, so that makes about fifty years of making dill pickles.

          My Great Aunt Lola was the canning queen in my life. She canned everything from pickles to sauerkraut and actual mincemeat. Her house was on Beacon Hill and her basement was full of jars that contained everything you could possibly can. She had green beans, peaches, pears, cherries, blueberries, huckleberries…if you could can it, she did.

          The mincemeat with which most of us are familiar is the stuff that comes in a jar around the holidays. It’s mostly raisons and chopped apples. Auntie Lola made the real thing that contained actual meat. It was usually some form of venison, elk or moose because all the men back then hunted and brought home da meat. If memory serves, she made pies with her mincemeat and they were tasty.

          I loved her dill pickles as did John. Rather than just give me some…well, maybe one jar…she offered to teach me how to put up my own. The last sentence in her recipe was, “When someone compliments you on your pickles, don’t give them a jar. Offer to help them make some, otherwise you’ll run out in no time.”

          The first time I made dill pickles, I did it at her house. It was 1968 and Aunt Lola supervised each and every step through the process.  I’m still grateful for that because I’ve followed her recipe and instructions ever since. When Uncle Ike put the box of pickles in my car after we finished, she cautioned me about driving home because the jars were still warm and could potentially break. I’m proud to say I got them all home without any breakage.

          One of the things Aunt Lola liked to know, being a very frugal woman, was the cost of her canning projects. In 1968, it was thirty-three cents per quart for 18-20 quarts. In 1996, I figured out the cost and it came to ninety-nine cents per jar. This year I made twelve quarts and the cost was $4.63 per quart. That includes the cost of rings and lids plus a gallon of apple cider vinegar. I already had enough salt left over from last year and didn’t have to purchase any jars, or it would have been closer to six or seven dollars a jar.

          There was a time I put up somewhere between thirty and forty jars every August. That was because I gave them away to family, friends and coworkers at the holidays. For the most part, I believe everyone who received a jar was pleased to be a recipient because they really are the best dill pickles ever. Once I retired, I stopped making so many and cut back to twenty or less. I still gifted some friends, but also offered to teach them how to do their own the way I was taught.

          It’s been a few years, pre-covid I think, when I had three friends over. I had told them to let the cucumbers stand overnight in cold water and to scrub them clean before coming to my house. I did my cucumbers first and then supervised each woman as they did their own cucumbers. To my knowledge, only one of those friends still does her own. I gift one of the other women a jar each Christmas.

          Last year I taught Arayli and Amber how to make dill pickles. Arayli went home with five jars of her own. I texted with Amber and she is going one better…she is going to a U-Pick place and picking her own cucumbers…yay Amber. No one else in the family is interested in learning to make these fabulous treats. Perhaps once I’m gone and they discover the original recipe, someone will be eager to pick up the cucumber, so to speak. Besides teaching people how to make their own, I’ve also given the recipe away to countless folks. I don’t know how many went on to make their own pickles.

         

          A couple of things have changed over the decades I’ve been doing this. I used to peel a bulb of garlic for each and every jar. My hands would smell wonderful for days. Sometimes the skin would even peel as if I had been burned. I no longer peel garlic…my hands and wrists rebelled some years ago. Instead, I purchase the big pre-peeled bag from Costco. Since there’s so much to a bag and I don’t put up that many jars any longer, I usually try to share a bag with another pickle maker. Any that’s left over I chop, put into ice cube trays, freeze and use in recipes during the winter. 

          The other thing that has changed I actually did in the beginning. I let the cucumbers soak overnight in cold water and then scrubbed them one-by-one with a vegetable brush. When I complained about this to Aunt Lola, she asked me why I wasn’t putting them in the washing machine. Whoa, I can do that? So, for years, at least until my top-loading, not so electronic, washing machine gave up its life. I put the cucumbers in the washer, filled it with cold water, let it sit overnight and then spun the water and detritus out the following morning. The result was squeaky clean, bright green cucumbers. Now that washers are so “smart,” it’s not possible to do this, so it’s back to scrubbing with a vegetable brush…not so fun.

Great Aunt Lola’s dill pickles have once again been put up. They’ll be ready to eat in about a month and will be delicious over the coming months. At a time like this, it makes me feel very good to think Auntie Lola, wherever her spirit may reside these days, is pleased to know just how far her recipe and instructions have gone…and to know that I’m still pickling away all these years later.

PEEVISH QUESTIONS!!!

 

          How many of you have noticed the landscaping that’s being done alongside the new light rail adjacent I-5? I have and am amazed at the waste of funds. I’ve watched them grade, add topsoil and/or compost and then install nice plants. In one case between Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood, they had to do it twice because it rained so hard gullies formed on the steep hillside.    It even appears as though there may be a sprinkler system unless those white pipes perform some other function.

          Now, don’t get me wrong, I love nice landscaping, but what makes me want to bang my head…or someone’s head…against the wall is the fact that adjacent these new plantings are areas, some of them large, full of weeds that have been growing there forever. How long before those weeds transplant themselves to the new planting areas, especially if there is a sprinkler system.

          How hard would it have been to plow up the entire area and eliminate those weeds? I’m sure that wasn’t in the scope of work which is why it didn’t get done. I’d also like to know how the sprinkler system, if there is one, is going to operate. From where will the system get the water? Who’s going to be responsible for turning it off and on and/or setting the timers so it happens. Finally, who is going to weed these huge areas of new plantings? 

          This also brings up another sort of peeve. Along Highway 99 in Snohomish County, they have installed planter barriers between the north and south lanes. These contain some lovely plants and are beautiful. Again, it looks as though there may be a sprinkler system for them, but it raises the same questions raised in the previous paragraph.

          There are other street plantings throughout King County and Seattle that were lovely when originally created. Unfortunately, they weren’t watered or weeded so now they are just unsightly concrete planters full of weeds. This makes me wonder if any of the planners for the light rail or Highway 99 looked around and saw what was created in the past. I seriously doubt they did so.

          At a time when funds are so badly needed for education and a wide variety of other necessities that would improve our society, city, county, state, country, world, it seems a huge waste of funding to build planters, install plantings in new areas only to leave them to deteriorate over time. And, yes, I know the plantings beside the light rail are undoubtedly there to help stabilize the hillside. Maybe the highway planters are to keep drivers from crossing and crashing.

          I don’t have any answers to my questions. I just know it bothers me enough to write this blog about the projects and my questions. Maybe, as I continue to age, I’m just getting more peevish about stuff or maybe it’s my wisdom kicking in.

HOUSEKEEPING

 

          A very long time ago, when my mother was younger than I am now, I would wonder why she didn’t completely clean her house. It wasn’t that it needed vacuuming or dusting all over, it was more the minor little things that she overlooked. For instance, her bathroom was always clean, but the dust on the shelves was thick. Didn’t she see all that dust? Didn’t she care?

          Well, I’m older now than she was then and I’ve become a horrible housekeeper. I look back and remember what a terrific job I used to do in my youth. A visitor could arrive any old time and find a clean house empty of dog hair, dust, and miscellaneous crap. Back then I even washed my own windows, inside and out, in a single day several times a year. Now, I pay someone to wash them inside and out once a year.

          I think perhaps the pandemic had a bit to do with my housekeeping downfall. For two years or more, no one came to visit. Why vacuum or dust or deep clean when it’s just for me, myself and I. None of us mind a bit of dog hair, dust, paw prints, etc. Now, it’s pretty much become a habit.

          It’s probably not a habit I’m going to change any time soon. True, I do clean the bathroom every week (usually). True, I do take the little vacuum around the house and slurp up dog hair dust bunnies. True, I do the dishes and keep the kitchen clean, but there are days when the everything goes into the sink until there’s no more room. It’s also true I do laundry and change my bed on a regular basis. But the weekly vacuuming and dusting I performed back in the day no longer gets done. It gets done basically when I cannot stand it any longer…and my threshold for these chores has become amazingly high.

          Whenever I know I’m going to have company, as in more than one person, I do get off my bottom and pull out all the stops. Then, I vacuum, scrub, dust, clean and carry on until everything sparkles. That’s the way my house used to look even back when I worked full-time…I cleaned on the weekends. So far this year, I’ve held one event where more than one person came to visit. As you can probably figure out, that’s the only time I worked my ass off to make my house look terrific.

          In writing this blog post, I was reminded of Erma Bombeck, an American humorist very popular for her newspaper column which described suburban home life. It was syndicated from 1965 to 1996. Erma also published 15 books, and most became best sellers.

          Anyway, Erma Bombeck wrote a column entitled, “If I had my Life to Live Over.” I think she knew she was dying when she wrote it. In any case, I’ve always remembered, not necessarily lines, but thoughts/ideas from that column. It dealt with things like having people over regardless of how messy the house was so she could cherish that time with friends and family.

          I like to think of Erma when I don’t feel like cleaning. If company should arrive, well, I’ll just value the time we get to spend together regardless of the dust, dog hair, messiness. Time with friends or even just with me, myself and I, doing stuff we enjoy is far more important…am reminding me, myself and I of that daily, sometimes more than once.

BLISS

           There are mornings, and this is one of them, when as I get out of bed, I’m contemplating just how many hours it will be before I can get back in the bed. It’s not that I want the “big sleep,” but more like my bed is the most comfortable place. I like laying there, snuggling my pillow or Kuma, watching TV, dozing and finally sleeping. It’s probably the most blissful activity in my life and doesn’t require a huge effort on my part.

          Yep, less than eleven hours now and I can enjoy that bliss once again. 

STAR TREK AND SPACE

 

          Every morning I have an email, “Space via IFTTT.” There’s always a photo of some star, galaxy or looking at space from an earth location. These photos always amaze me. I’m not a scientist nor have I done much studying or research about the heavens, but still, the information that accompanies the photo is almost beyond belief to me.

          I’ve always been a big fan of outer space…not a big enough one to actually go to school and obtain enough education to make it my profession. The closest I’ve come to something like that is “Star Trek.” I was fairly young when this became a hit TV show and I didn’t give a lot of thought to the science, whether it was made up or real, behind it. I went on to watch “The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine” and “Voyager,” but pretty much stopped there. I didn’t watch “Enterprise” or all the ones that followed. I often said that if an angel came down and offered me anything, I’d choose to serve on the bridge of the USS Enterprise under Captain Picard…love that Jean Luc.

          I am once again watching “The Next Generation.”  The Heros and Icons channel broadcasts all four above mentioned Star Treks beginning at 8:00 pm every night but Saturday night. It’s been long enough since I first watched that it’s like finding a new series all over again. I don’t continue beyond 10:00 pm because my eyes are closing.

          What I find myself wondering now is how much actual science went into the Star Trek programs. I would very much like to meet Gene Roddenberry, and yes, I know he’s passed on. What an imagination he must have had to come up with the original series and what imaginations the writers who followed him and kept the series alive must have had as well. Did they have an education that included space? Did they do a lot of research? Everything that is discussed, discovered, and included in these programs sounds authentic and potentially real.

          Then, there’s the way in which even the original Star Trek utilized the idea that we humans…and nonhumans…were all alike. It began with Lt. Uhura who was black and continued on through so many different kinds of “aliens” through all the Star Treks with Lt. Commander Worf, Cardassians, Betazoids, Romulans, etc. The programs taught without seeming to do so.

          Anyway, back to those IFTTT photos and accompanying information. The information includes things like cosmic winds (how can you have wind without atmosphere?), tidal streams (without water or a moon?), dust lanes, stellar explosions (without oxygen?) and a wide variety of other nouns for which I have no understanding.

          Then, there’s the term “light years.” Just how far is seven hundred light years? I once looked up just how far a light year was only to be shocked and amazed at the distance. How are they able to tell that light from a stellar explosion reached the earth in 1006 AD and that the results of that explosion are still expanding? How do they determine what is an aging star and what is an expanding star? I find myself asking all kinds of questions about the information provided and lack most of the answers.

          I haven’t mentioned the photos. Some of them are absolutely amazing. They look as though they’ve been painted by an artist. The colors are so vibrant and the notations often explain what chemical or elements cause a particular color. It also talks about infrared light versus other types of light. Almost all of it is beyond my poor brain’s ability to understand, but I’d frame just about any of these photos for my wall…they are definitely art, at least to me.

          It’s apparent from each day’s communique that the galaxy, make that galaxies, are continually expanding and growing or, for some, merging, or others have stars that have reached the ends of their lives. I find myself in awe of the people who are astronomers or astrophysicists. Their brains must be amazing, and it always sounds as though there is a new discovery, or discoveries, every single day. How exciting.

          I always thought I’d like to be an archeologist, but now I think if I could go back and begin again, I’d look toward stars and space instead. Better yet, I’d still like to serve on any one of the USS Enterprises and “…go where no one has gone before.”

USHERING

 

          When I was working, I always wanted to volunteer at the 5^th Avenue or the Paramount. I knew people who did, but whenever I checked into the possibility, the theaters didn’t need any more volunteers.

          I now don’t remember quite how my friend and I decided we would volunteer. I also don’t remember which one of us took the ticket by the stub and looked into the possibility. Doesn’t really matter.

          We began volunteering at the Village Theater in Everett the beginning of 2022. Then, we became volunteers at the 5^th Avenue. We both really like it and we’ve seen some amazing shows as a result without a cash outlay. I believe we are going to do it again for the 2023-2024 season.

          We take turns driving. For Everett, we have to drive up I-5, but for the 5^th Avenue, we drive to Northgate and take the train. I think the volunteer coordinators for both places began to wonder if we could tell time. For some reason, we were always late to Everett. For Seattle, somehow, we managed to stay on the train several stops past University Street which is where we wanted to debark. Good thing the planners leave a cushion for us late arrivals. Eventually, though, we finally got our shit together and began arriving on time.

          As ushers, we are the keepers of the doors. We keep attendees from going into the venue until the proper time arrives. There is wine, soda, maybe beer, cookies and other eatables available during the wait time for the early birds. Once the doors are opened, we greet the attendees, “Good afternoon.; Enjoy the Show.; Can I help you find your seat?; and give them a program. Once it’s time for the show to begin, we close the doors and find our allotted places from which we can watch the show. We’ve usually been told about the intermission and end, so we can be ready to jump up and open the doors. When the show’s over, we thank people for coming and tell them we hope they enjoyed the show.

          Then, it’s time to clean up after the show goers. We go row-by-row to pick up cups, bottles, programs and other detritus. We’re provided with gloves for this job, but it’s amazing just how little is actually left behind by the folks filling those seats.

          My favorite job is greeting and scanning the tickets of people coming through the doors. I’ve only done that once, but I’m hoping I can request that position this year. Once you get in the groove, it’s quite possible to catch the fact that some folks just don’t look at their tickets or maybe their calendars. The one time I did the doors, I had two sets of people who showed up on the wrong day…one was for the week before and the other for the week after. Staff take these folks under their wings and try to make arrangements so they can attend that particular show. Just depends on whether there are seats available.

          I know we tried to become ushers at the Paramount; however, it’s a whole separate system and those volunteers also work other locations, i.e., Seattle Rep, Moore, Neptune, ACT. We were unsuccessful, but I now know someone who has been doing it for years. She told me they definitely need volunteers, so I’m going to reach out to the volunteer coordinator and use my friend’s name. Perhaps that will get us in the door and we can stretch our volunteer wings.

          The 5^th Avenue will be showing “The Little Mermaid,” “Cambodian Rock Band,” “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” “Something’s Afoot,” “Spring Awakening,” and “Clue.” We haven’t yet been asked to sign up for shifts at the Village Theater, but I’m sure we’ll do that as well. Now, if we can just get on the volunteer list for the Paramount et al., we’ll have even more events to work and enjoy.

SHOPPING

 

          One thing I’ve really missed in my retirement is shopping. I always loved going to various stores and finding wonderful clothing on sale. I can think of only one time I actually purchased an item that wasn’t on sale. I thought it was on sale but it wasn’t; and I liked it so much, I just had to have it even though the actual price was $158.00.

          What brought on this reflection was putting a bunch of tops on Buy Nothing. They’re all perfectly good, but they just don’t fit me as well as they once did. I haven’t gained a lot of weight, but I do have more of a tummy than I used to plus I’ve developed muscles in my old age. That’s what happens when you go to a fitness class three times a week…you develop muscles.

          Anyway, it’s not that I couldn’t go shopping and buy myself whatever I wanted whether it was on sale or not. It’s more that I don’t need much in the way of clothes beyond what’s already in my drawers and closet. I have jean shorts and tank tops with shelf bras and that’s mostly what I’m wearing in the summer. I do have a couple of dresses and skirts if I want to not wear shorts. In winter, I have sweats and jeans and sweatshirts or flannel shirts to go over my tank tops.

          I don’t know what I’m going to do when all my Champion tank tops wear out, and having had them for more than ten years, they are slowly beginning to show their age. Champion doesn’t make 100% cotton tank tops any longer and they are very hard to find, even online. I’ve mistakenly bought some that are more poly and her sister ester, that stretch as well as the cotton tops, but I don’t like the way they feel. I’ve also bought some stretchy ones that don’t have the racer back. Instead, they have thin straps. I feel as though these are more underwear than outerwear.

          Ah well, what goes around comes around, so eventually, I’m sure they…whoever they are…will begin making cotton tank tops again. I just hope that happens before I have to resort to the other ones in my drawer. True, I could put them on Buy Nothing, but I’m keeping them in reserve just in case.

          About the only shopping I do these days is Costco and the grocery store. At Costco, I rarely look at the clothing they have available because there’s nothing I need or I don’t like the product. I have two heavy shirts I bought at Costco a few years a go and I don’t care for the way they feel or smell even when they are freshly laundered. Maybe they’ll go on Buy Nothing next.

          I do have to admit that at Costco and the grocery store, I buy myself whatever I want. I still look at the price of the item, but if it’s something I know I will eat/use, I buy it no matter the cost. I deserve it. I’m worth it. I enjoy it.

          You could say I still enjoy shopping, I guess. It’s just a different kind of shopping than I used to do…more for the inside as opposed to the outside.