ZERO COSTCO VISIT

          

 Today I went to Costco. Big deal right? Well, it really was a big deal because I walked out empty handed!!! How about that!!!

          My purpose in going there was to have new connectors put on my hearing aids. I’m having a hearing test next week and wanted to make sure the aids were in tip-top shape. I was told it would be about twenty minutes before they’d be ready.

          I went and ordered a slice of cheese pizza. No need for a soda since I had my water bottle from exercise class. While I ate, I looked at my phone…like every single other person there…before I took up watching the folks who’d gone through the checkout line and were leaving. I’m always amazed at the amount of product that ends up in other people’s carts. I don’t think I’ve ever bought that much stuff at one go in my life. But then, I haven’t ever had a huge family to feed either.

          Finished with the pizza, I decided to walk around and look at all the stuff I don’t ordinarily look at. Usually when I go to Costco, I have a list, know where what I’m there for is located, so don’t wander up and down the other aisles. It was interesting.

          What was more interesting, at least to me, was my thoughts about all the products I saw. There were so many that I would have loved to buy except for one small thing…well, two small things. First, my need for anything I looked at, including the women’s clothing, is pretty much nil. I already have more than enough stuff to use and wear without adding anything else.

The second small thing is cost. I’ve determined I’m going to be frugal this year. No spending to gain something I merely want as opposed to need. I don’t know how successful this new campaign will be as the year progresses, but so far, I haven’t purchased anything that wasn’t/isn’t necessary…good for me, right? Right!!!

I must admit that as I walked out Costco’s door, I felt very proud of myself even though there was a bit of regret over what I’d really liked but denied myself.

WATER

 

       Water is a resource that doesn’t get much of my attention. I don’t think the majority of my family and friends spend too much time thinking about water, especially here in the Northwest where it rains a lot. I admit I spent a bit of time thinking about water as I drank a lot of water the past couple of days, plus I’ll probably continue as long as my diet includes the ham in the fridge.

You see, on Sunday I baked a ham. I had ham for dinner and boy, was I thirsty. Then, I had ham for lunch and dinner yesterday and if I had been thirsty on Sunday, by Monday evening, I was as parched as the Sahara. This ham-induced thirst led to my epiphany.

Water, ice cold, ice cubes clinking against the water bottle. Gulp after gulp was wonderful. I couldn’t get enough. The feel of it’s iciness in my mouth, cascading down my throat and into my stomach. I was sure I knew what those characters in the old cartoons that crawled across the desert felt. I could hardly get enough water. I filled my water bottle at least three times yesterday afternoon and evening. Of course, that resulted in countless trips to the bathroom.

During this craving for water and more water, I tried to imagine what it would be like to live someplace else in the world where water is scarce, a luxury that I couldn’t afford to guzzle. That made me think about the various stories that report on how our water resources are in danger of becoming rare even though the world has so much water.

Still thirsty, I decided I didn’t want to reflect on a life that wouldn't allow me to drink all I wanted, especially not when my water bottle was in need of a refill and my thirst hadn’t yet been fully quenched.

REJUVENATED!!!

        

  Again, what a difference a day/night makes. I slept very well last night and woke up rejuvenated. Did a fairly major house clean and baked a ham. All that’s left for today is to prepare whatever I’m eating with my ham and take a shower/shampoo for the day to be complete.

          That doesn’t mean I dusted every single thing in the house because I didn’t. Have to leave something for me to do tomorrow. Actually, beginning tomorrow, I’m going to devote at least an hour, maybe two, to driftwood sculpture. I’m anxious to finish “Shipwreck” and will post a photo once it’s done.

          I also took advantage of the rain stoppage. Initially, I went out to put the garbage bins at the street. I cleaned up after Kuma and got the garbage and recycle bins down the driveway. I put the food scraps, etc., in the yard waste and realized there wasn’t much in there except last week’s and this week’s food scraps. So, I decided I’d have a quick go at pruning my hibiscus since it wasn’t raining.

          I clipped and even pulled out the heavy-duty pruners. Somehow, I managed to finish both bushes before it began to rain hard. It didn’t take all that long, although I had to stop and make Kuma go in the house. He wouldn’t stay in his driveway or front yard. I need to figure out some way to keep him localized if he’s going to be out there with me.

          So, lots done today and I’m pleased with moi. Guess a day of rejuvenation is very worthwhile.

WAS I REJUVENATING???

 

I think there’s a saying about how, “what a difference a day makes.” Well, in my case, it’s more like, “what a difference a night makes.” As I type this I wonder if I go back to bed for the second time today (Saturday) whether I’ll get up feeling more like the way I felt pretty much this whole year so far, or if I’ll get up still feeling “blah.”

There wasn’t anything unusual about my night. I believe I slept well and yet I could hardly keep my eyes open the first time I got up at 6:30 am. I was back in bed before 7:10 am, Kuma watered, latte drank and slept for more than another hour. Sitting here typing I feel like I could go back to bed for the whole day. I have no energy whatsoever and it’s hard to keep my eyes open.

It's not like I have a huge “to-do” list, although I do have one. It’s not like I worked my ass off yesterday. The human body, or at least my human body, is a wondrous mystery. Is it trying to tell me something by being so tired? Am I too out of tune with my body to recognize the message? Is my mind playing tricks on my body? I just don’t understand how I can go from feeling great one day to feeling so tired in simply a matter of hours…hours that were supposed to re-energize me.

So, I guess I’ll simply ignore the to-do list and take myself back to bed and see if more rest will give me more energy. Lord knows I really hate feeling the way I feel right now.

Well, Kuma and I did spend the entire day in bed. I put on Netflix and watched most of a rather boring program, “Runaway.” We did get up to make and eat lunch, but that was it. Now, as I type this so I can post it, water is heating to boil spaghetti noodles for my dinner. The salad’s already made and it won’t take long to fix some garlic bread.

I guess I could be rather depressed about “wasting” an entire day, but I’m going to choose to look at it as a necessary rejuvenation…nine great days followed by one that, I hope, will renew me for another nine plus???

A WIDOW'S DINNER INVITATION

           

Long ago I heard or read about how much a widow’s life changes once the husband has passed. I haven’t really thought about that very much in the time John has been gone; however, just recently, listening to a friend talk about inviting a couple to dinner, it popped up in my memory…I guess it took my old 286 six-plus years to grind that information to the forefront.   

          I have to admit the information I filed away all those years ago definitely had merit. When John died, family and friends were very solicitous, but as time passed, invitations and connections ceased or became rare. I cannot, well, I guess I could, tell you how many of my friends are half of a couple; and while I may see/talk to/lunch with the wife, an invitation to the home for dinner, or really any occasion, is rarely, if ever, issued. This also applies to married family members.

          It’s as though my widowhood has turned me into a pariah. I’m a good enough/close enough family member/friend to warrant a weekly phone call or visit or lunch date, but not so much when it comes to issuing an invitation into the home of that family member or friend.

          I haven’t done any research to see if this is applicable to the majority of widows and probably won’t. There’s the potential to find out that this “isolation” isn’t applicable to most widows, that it’s only applicable to me because I’m not really such a great family member or friend.

Regardless, eating dinner on my own the majority of the 365 days of the year is lonely but I’ve become used to it. And it’s not like I spend all of those days here in my house on my own. I’ve lots of activities and interests that keep me occupied in positive ways; and while I could spend more time than this wondering if there’s actually something wrong with me that prevents those invitations, I choose to end this blog post and get on with the life I have.

A POTENTIAL SOLUTION???

 

The other day a friend and I were talking about the state of the country/world…it’s definitely very very sad. I thought of something that might result in improvements; and I’m a bit hesitant about sharing that idea because who knows who/what may come knocking on my door, but I’m going to share anyway and hope you, my dear reader, will come to my aid (bail me out) if necessary.

Now, I’ve heard, or maybe even read, about how folks think someone should perform an assassination of one particular person. That’s all well and good, but would the replacement be any better…most likely not. I do think, however, that multiple assassinations could result in some changes.

Were I to be in a position to do any such thing, I’d choose to eliminate a number of the billionaires that keep getting mentioned. I keep reading how the “master” is only satisfying what these billionaires want. With the exception of a couple of those billionaires, I have no idea who all those billionaires are. I suppose were I completely serious about a follow-through, I could research and figure out who these people are.

How would this improve the country/world you question. I really have no idea and I wasn’t the least bit high when I came up with this idea. I most likely assumed (ASS of U & ME) that without the head of these companies, the pressure on the “master” just might cause a cessation of some of these hostilities.

Of course, these billionaires have probably developed a plan that would continue on even without their leadership. That’s what I’d have in place were I to be one of them. But I live in HOPE that somehow, someway, sanity will return to those making the decisions that are so horribly, and maybe even will continue to, affect all our lives in a negative way, and by our lives, I mean all of us who are not billionaires.

Anyway, there’s my solution for what it’s worth…most likely not even a single penny. And, apologies to the author whom I cannot remember who wrote the book about the cabal of billionaires who controlled the world.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MY WORLD???

 

Just when did the country/world decide to go absolutely insane??? I mean, really, China is doing this, North Korea that, Russia continues its war with Ukraine, and now the United States has gone so far beyond bombing potential drug carrying boats to invading Venezuela, kidnapping the elected leader and his wife. If that’s not enough, the United States wants Greenland and is toying with the idea of an invasion there.

          I also saw a cartoon/meme where the idiot in the White House and his cronies in China and Russia are talking about “spheres of influence.” Seriously, what happened to the United States of America being a leader that provides a democratic example of how a country should be governed??? What happened to, “…by the people, for the people….”???

          Since I live in a “blue” state, perhaps that’s why I see so much information that’s totally negative about what’s happening. I wonder if folks who live in red states see the same information; and if so, why aren’t they terribly concerned about where the United States is headed? I just DO. NOT. GET. IT!!!

          I lived through and participated (to an extent) in the Vietnam war protests and know it was my hope, and that of so many others, that there would be no more war in our lifetimes. Of course, it didn’t happen because it wasn’t long before the Mideast erupted and the United States just had to get involved. From that point on, it seems to me that my country has participated, in one way or another, to promote overseas difficulties. Perhaps I’m just terribly naïve, but is there some huge reason why we cannot have peace.

          Writing this blog piece, I thought of a book I read a very long time ago. I’m sure if my 286 grinds long and hard enough, the title and author will come to me, but for here and now, I’m just going to share the book’s ultimate message. There was a cabal of powerful and wealthy men (billionaires now) who met infrequently to talk about where the world needed to go next in order to continue their ability to amass wealth. This group would decide what needed to happen, and then find and fund a way to make it happen. Since it was fiction (but was it really???), the long term goals weren’t easily  had, and heros and  heroines saved the day/year/century.

          I feel like this author’s message is coming to fruition. My question is where are those heros and heroines today…we need them desperately.