January 3, 2023- No stinky feelings

Rainy cold thirty nine degrees.  Gray, cold and Gray, wet, cold and Gray.  A Tuesday that is a Monday because yesterday was a Federal Holiday.  I generally don't feel good about Tuesdays that are Mondays and this one did not disappoint me.  

I did not sleep well last night.  The moon was bright.  Wayne was snoring.  The bed was uncomfortable and the couch was not much better.  I feel like I am complaining and that is stinking feeling. No stinky feelings this year.   There it is a New Years resolution! 

I experienced  a late afternoon shower today.  You know when the casserole is baking away in the oven and it's not quite time to make the salad.  I love the warmth at home when we run the oven.  I love the dry heat from the oven that smacks you in the face.  The oven heat allows you to keep the body warmth of the shower a little longer.  I'm warm about to eat and comfortable.  

Here is where I try to convience you I have a spa available on a daily basis. Might as well make it a big story.  Did anyone receive one of those shampoo bars for Christmas. Bath and Shower items are still good gifts right?  I did from Vunella. Lavender is the scent which I find pleasing. The lather is quick, cleans my hair and rinses out really easily.  I think I have some special soap dishes designed for these bars coming in the mail. I also got to use the Lady Speed Stick gel douche. I need to bump up my Spa game.   I do have waiting in the wings, some of those shower fuzz balls.  I should have tried one of those...

Tomorrow is the big destroy clutter day.  I've got this list that was posted on Facebook and I'm going to start.  I don't know how far I'll get, but maybe it will make a noticeable difference and lots of trash for trash day.  I've got to do something about the top of my dresser and the desk.  I just don't have any good ideas on how to get ahead of the desk.  It's one of the spots in the house that just drives me crazy! Wayne is starting early by throwing out the Chocolate Chip cookies he just found from Kentucky Fried.  The clutter of Christmas is gone. So hopefully this destroy the clutter of this space. 

 November 21, 2022

It is cold out.  Especially if you were just (one week ago) home from the Bahama's.  It was 90 there we sunbathed.  Wearing of the Winter Coat is now required.   It's cold here.  The ground is frozen, which means any snow will stay around and not melt into the ground and disappear.  Shoes are required, that is if you don't want frost bite.  It was meatloaf here for dinner. While setting here we could eat Mexican food and drink tropical drinks while sitting in the sun.  The water was warm and crystal clear. The Cruise line had warned us about Seaweed, but we saw very little.

Barbara is going to try ant teach me to make pie crust with her secret pie crust recipe.  I know that I should tell her that one of the few times my father told me mean things was over pie crust.  But as he said, "It is important that you realize you could pattern that stuff and sell it as cardboard"  It did not hurt, because it was the truth. Most of the times my father scolded me so, I really needed the rearranging of my mental perceptions, while trying to stay away from the Thanksgiving food glut.  

Have you seen these giant skeletons dressed up for Thanksgiving?  Or Christmas?  I thought that the guy was great at Halloween, but now the skeletons have morphed into Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!! Have you seen him decked out with the mistletoe? Maybe next year each skeleton will be sold with a selection of Thanksgiving and Christmas attire?   Am I missing the boat for not selling giant Skeleton costumes?  

I will not shop on line at the Cat's instructions! So the cat and I while shopping on-line yesterday for new Cat tower, shut down my banking because of a fraud notification. Today I had to go to the actual bank, explain to the bank manager how I obtained the fraud notification.  She was very quick to point out that it was my debit card and not the cats.  Banks don't let cats have debit cards.  I wonder if he had a job.  However the tone of her voice made me not ask that question.  Chance has no plans to get a job anyway.  He never leaves the house.   I have new debit card and pin number. I will not shop on line at the Cat's instructions!

Chapter 12 Pge 14

So today we left the house at 6:30 AM and it was dead dark.  You know the kind of dark where you leave the porch light on when you go out to the car or you will break your neck.  Not that there was any snow it was 43 degrees out!  Who ever heard of 43 Degrees just before dawn in Maine in December.  I don't want to sound like I'm complaining ...because if Maine in Winter was like this all the time....well that's another post.  

One of the best parts of today.  I'm at work it's 7 AM the phone is ringing, the co-worker on the other end of the line wants a Window which was ordered weeks ago changed (grille pattern thing).  Anyways I was totally lost and just started to giggle.  Dead silence on the other end of the line.  I said wait a minute, put the phone down and just continued to giggle.  When I got control of myself, the voice on the other end says "Did you take your medicine today?"  Which made me giggle again.  

Where does this feeling come from?  The hardest call of the day was someone who was very vocal, profane and mad..even before I could complete my greeting!  I just let him run his course and then offered him an installation technician, which slowed the force of the blow.  The point is not even this guy got to me...Why?  What has changed from last week to this week?

The laundry now there was another possible pit fall on the happiness road.  Done tonight in a different place, which was very busy, lacked carts and tables.  I just plowed threw and came out the other side still smiling.

I decided that one of the things that make a blog interesting are the pictures..so I'm adding this one just to have a picture.  Tomorrow I will try to take a picture to add to the blog!  

Chapter 12 Page 13

The hardest thing to do in writing a blog is to face the blank page, I've allowed myself to be put off by the blank page.  So with a push by the man and the real desire to want to do this, I'm going to try again. If you keep working at it will work!  

 Yesterday I spent the day making the above ornaments with my friend Diane.  Other than a few pictures here and there it had been a real long time since I had fed my creative side.  It was a great day!  Diane had a few things, I had a few things.  (Thanks to Michaels and a great sale), so for less than $20.00 I made 6 ornaments.  

I was energized and jazzed by these creations, so I came home and made Banana bread, got out yarn and started to cut that for toilet paper roll ornament hats...now will the hat's get made?  I'll post a picture so you can see if the creativity will continue! 

CHAPTER 1 PAGE 4 OF 2013

So today I was late for work...but I did catch this picture of the sun rising over the Maine Mall.This is the next to last light just before work and the light just happened to turn red as I approached and as a matter of fact stayed red long enough to get my camera out and snap this picture.So God was smiling upon me...at least early this morning.   

By the time I got to work things went a little south, as the coffee in my new shinny coffee cup came sloshing out as I unlocked the door!All day long I had that wiff of coffee with cream ever time I moved my right arm.    I'm beginning to think that I've gotten so old that even the coffee cups are able to outsmart me!!

Nothing really new at work...but I did walk at lunch today for the third time this week...I know it doesn't seem like much..but it does mean that for 3 days I've kept up with a New Years resolution.How long do you suppose the average American goes before giving up on a resolution?

I came home to find that the man needed some blood work.  Nothing serious..just normal check up blood work..but here's the thing..he can't have it taken at the doctors office (insurance won't pay).Instead we have to make the appointment at the lab, drive 58 miles to Portsmouth, NH to get a blood test that "possibly" could cost up to $200.00 (which is his total yearly deductable).If we don't go to this lab..then the tests are an out of pocket expense and won't count against the deductable. Health Insurance!  What a racket!  Just one more rant, I gained all this information from machines...either the internet or a telephone call where you didn't speak to anyone, but just pushed buttons.  I really want to go back to the days where you could talk to a real live person who spoke English!

So I ranted and the man ended up taking me to dinner at Mulligans in Biddeford. I'm always happy there.  Lots of people a little on the noisy side, but the food is cheap and good.  Not fancy restaurant food, but the kind of food you get at your mother's kitchen table!  So my belly is full ..and it's just about Dead Files time...I know I'm suppose to be cutting down on TV...But it's a guilty pleasure and it's Friday night!

Chapter 2013 page 2 of 365

I wanted to be able to post a picture of either today's sunrise or sunset.  Living this far north I was unable to make that happen as the sun was just peaking up over the horizon as I was getting to work, and when I left work the sun had already drifted off the horizon.  So I traveled both to work and home in shadows.  That's one of the problems with Maine in the Winter..you seem to be always living in the shadows and cold.  Maybe by next week I'll have the sun to look forward to either on the way to work or on the way home.

Going back to work after 4 days of rest and relation is always hard, but as work days go this was an easy one.  My friend and I walked twice around the shopping center next to our store at lunch.  It was cold and blustery but the fresh air and sunshine were great!  I need to remember that good feeling of entering the warm building from the cold outside, so that when I get so engrossed in work, I'll get up from my desk and walk at lunch.

Driving home in the gathering darkness, there were only three house left with Christmas lights.  I'm missing the multicolored lights twinkling...one house had those tiny white lights woven around greenery on a fence, the second was a red star on the front of a house, the third was a lone Christmas tree in a back yard...show's that the season is now over.

I did some dusting, (keeping things neat and tidy) and made a really healthy dinner of chicken and peppers, so I am trying to keep up with those resolutions. 

So I couldn't give up the idea of adding one of my images...This one was taken last year at just about this time, so its not a far throw to imagine this scene as being here and now. 

Chapter 2013 page 1 of 365

 I borrowed the title from a Facebook post ...but it's a good title for a blog on New Years day....I don't know if the cold and snow...the post Christmas let down or just the fact that New Years has become a time to reflect...I'm just getting old... The picture is new..just taken today Sebago Lake, from a frozen boat launch.  It will most likely be a couple weeks before the lake freezes solid..but you can feel the cold in the air, the ground and the lack of sound...

For the most part I'm really content in my life...great man...warm house good cat good relationship with my daughter...what more could one want...yeah there is that wonderful job that makes you feel satisfied that you just love then again there is the money...I'm worried that in being contented I'll stop searching for something more.  So maybe my 1st resolution needs to be to spend more time searching...I'm not sure for what..but I need to be extending my reach beyond the current confines of my life...

Weight, yes if I'm being honest I've added a few more pounds in my contentment than I should have..so second resolution is going to be to see if I can't loose a few pounds.  Step one walk everyday at lunch.  This should also work on reducing the work day stress.

One of my Christmas presents this year was an Colby MP3 player...to replace the expensive I pod that Trouble (the wonderful cat) helped me loose.  I'm really pleased with myself in that I've figured out how to get music on the player...now to figure out how to make play lists, which brings us to resolution 3...more music and less TV in my life...

So that's it my Three New Year resolutions:

1. Extend My Horizons
2. Loose those few extra pounds
3. Less TV and more Music.