Watched

Tim needed an hour to tie up loose ends at the old house. I had some errands to run, and so I headed out to do them.

One of the places I needed to go was the Dollar Tree, strangely enough. I wanted to pick up tissue paper. I also wanted to pick up two bags of the polished river stones they sell cheaper than any place else. I am making a couple floral planters as a Christmas gift for someone who struggles with SAD. 

Now I haven't been to the Dollar Tree for a long time. It was crowded with shoppers. I headed for the party aisle where all the gift wrap and ribbons and gift bags and just about anything you need to make a party. I had to wait for a woman who was on one of those motorized scooters. She was looking and gift wrap and the tissue paper was on the lower shelf exactly where she was parked. 

As I said, I was not in a hurry. I had most of that hour left before Tim would be done. So I waited looking around me. When she finally moved on, I got my tissue paper, three packages.

The next aisle was toys. I stopped to look at the coloring books. I had gotten a deal on 24 pks of Crayola crayons the previous week at a store that was going out of business. If I could find coloring books to go with them, it would make a cute little bundle for the toy giveaway. I looked at the different coloring books, but they were pretty unremarkable, so I went on. 

The next aisle was craft stuff and the rocks I needed. They had black stones and multi-colored stones. They also had glass stones. I decided to stick to the polished stones. They were a better deal and would suit the set of pots I had at home. I put two bags in the cart with my tissue paper and headed on. I considered a basket to put the pots in. I could wrap it in cellophane and put a ribbon on it for a nice presentation. I considered it for a minute, and then just decided to go with a box. 

I pushed my cart around to the next aisle and pondered hair things for my grands but didn't see anything that struck me as 'right'. Down the aisle was hair product. I did study some hair gel. Hmmmmm....I wondered how it would compare to mousse. At that price, I figured it was worth a try. So I picked up a tube and wandered on

 

I stopped at make up. I was nearly out of blush. My pressed powder had lasted a couple years, so... But when I looked, they had a lot of products to choose from, but the stuff that looked like blush was something called contouring powder. Was it the same? There were a lot of different colors. I looked and pondered, and finally decided I would be better off sticking to the brand I have used for the last decade or so. 

While I was making that weighty decision, a man scooted up beside me and stood there at the eye makeup. The first thing I noticed was that he was much closer to me than I am used to strangers being, but like I said, the store was busy. Maybe I was in his way, just as the lady had been in my way when I wanted tissue paper. I shifted my cart down to make room. 

He'd pick up something and hang it back on the peg. Stand there seeming to study all the offerings just as I was. 

Because I am a people watcher, I watched him from the corner of my eye, wondering what his story was. He was a tall baldheaded black man in business attire. He certainly looked out of his league there in the make up aisle. 

Having decided against the blush I moved on. There wasn't anything else I needed, but I did take a moment to to look at some little geegaws that might be nice stocking stuffers. In the end, I decided not to add to the plastic waste and skipped those too.

I noticed the man standing up front, seeming to study the items on an end cap as I pushed my cart to the register. Once I was in line, he passed through a closed register lane and darted into the office. 

How odd. So he was the manager. But, why...???!!

My thinking was derailed for a moment by the cashier. We chatted while she rang me up, I paid for my 5 items and then put my cart away and left with my bag. 

It wasn't until I was driving down the road it struck me. He was watching me. A plain old 70 year old woman...but one wearing a bulky coat. Somebody who was in no particular hurry, pushing her cart along, studying the things on the shelves. Not really buying much... I had raised his suspicions.

I wasn't really mad about it. It felt uncomfortable, but it occurred to me that as a black man living in a very racially homogenous area (over 98% of the people here are white), it was a perfect opportunity to 'walk a mile in someone else's moccasins'. I am sure that man has found himself being regarded suspiciously. For no reason. Just going about his business. 

I was passing by that store today. I was so curious, so I stopped in to talk to him. He wasn't in, but the assistant manager wasn't letting me out of there without an explanation

 

I told her it was nothing and that I wasn't mad or anything, just curious. Was stealing a big problem in a dollar store? (Answer: yes.) Does the manager spend the day watching customers from in the office? (Answer: well...not all day...) Does corporate really ride staff about loss prevention? (Answer: yes, with an interesting look exchanged between the cashier and the assistant manager. I sensed that this was a very big deal.)

I said, "Well I was just curious." The cashier offered up "That would have irritated me..." I assured them again that I wasn't at all irritated. I just never saw myself as a shady looking person, but he is probably fearful of getting in trouble and losing his job...and it was an excellent opportunity to understand what it is like to be regarded with suspicion.

It was an interesting experience. There is so much injustice in this world. Being on the receiving end of it certainly was an eye opener. 

Shocker.

I made a pot of spaghetti sauce today. The day after spaghetti day is always 'pizza day', a quick and easy meal. Usually I throw together a pizza crust, but I had a lot of small jobs to do, so while we were in town yesterday, I thought to pick up a loaf of Italian bread. Easy, peasy. Split it. Spread it with the leftover sauce (which has peppers, onions, mushrooms and sausage in it already) layer it with pepperoni, top it with cheese and pop it in the oven until the cheese is bubbling and there it is...supper.

So, like I said, we were at the grocery store. I picked up a loaf of bread and was shocked to see it priced at $6.49! For one loaf of bread!

That is a lot of dough for a loaf of bread, don't you think?

I got quite a few small jobs ticked off my to-do list today, including whipping up some pizza dough. 

We are supposed to get our first snow this week.

The week in review.

The political jokes are writing themselves at this point. We are watching this presidency unravel in real time. For the love of all good things, let's talk about something else. 

The toy drive is picking up steam. We have got a pretty nice selection of stuff, and I get a rush of joy every time I walk into that storage area. We had a little work bee last week, sorting and cleaning, and I really have to say that the five people there are a perfect team. Once again, this is something that seems to be taking on a life of its own. I love that.

My cousin, Father Tim is out of the hospital but staying at a guest house. He looks great and is walking a mile and more. He is pushing himself. I told him that he would be home for Christmas. He is determined to be home for Thanksgiving. The first time he is back in the pulpit, we will be there to celebrate that with him and Noreen.

All those pre-midterm jitters have wrought good things. I am nearly done with Christmas shopping. I mean seriously done. I have Tim's gift to order. A couple sets of pajamas. A gift certificate. A bottle of vodka. I have even got quite a lot of wrapping done. 

The Amish Christmas is done as well. I have a joke box to put together and I am still picking up books as I see them for the tote. But, other than that, they are done. They all love to read, and they are all over that tote to see what books are inside. None of their things are wrapped yet. The kids are already getting excited. It is such a fun night. Last year, there was a major snowstorm. We made our way there but we were late enough that the kids thought we were not coming. Boy, were they pleased to see us pulling in!

There was a barn fire in the community on Tuesday. The barn burned to the ground, and set brush and trees on fire, but the house was saved. Levi has a huge order for the saw mill. He said, "They'll clean up the site. They will pour concrete on Saturday. The frame will go up Monday. The roof on Tuesday. They will finish it all up on Wednesday." Harder to replace will be the winter's worth of hay that was stored inside. We have been invited to watch.

We had quite a mystery here, one that we still have not managed to solve. Tim had an early bit of work. I had a meeting later in the morning. When he backed out, he heard a little 'thu-thump' at the back wheel. He stopped the car to see what he hit, but saw nothing. He continued on.

Much to his shock, when he got to town, he saw a spray of blood at the back fender. He called me to say he thought he must have hit a cat. 'No,' I said. 'Houdi and Fred are inside.' He worried about the outdoor cats. "I just gave Possum breakfast. We still have six chickens." We decided it must have been Phantom, but we would not know until when/if he showed up on the porch for supper. 

That night, we waited, filled with dread. We were gratified to see him  trotting up on the porch that evening just as usual. It looks like we will never know what Tim hit in the driveway. 

I went to a murder mystery dinner with my sister tonight which was a lot of fun. Our tablemates were great fun.

Her granddaughter had her first accident. A deer jumped out in front of her car. The car is likely totaled, but the important thing is that she and her brother were not injured.

So...that is life since election day. I will get around to all your blogs. I have some major catching up to do.

The midterms

 Democrats took both the Senate AND the House. Mike Johnson is no longer Speaker of the House. 

This is huge. 

Trump tweeted that he had 'tremendous power' if the Democrats won. 

It will be very interesting to see what happens next. I am headed for bed. I will sleep better tonight than I have slept in a while.

Late edit:

Trump says he accepts the results of the elections and also says he thinks he can work with Democrats. Quite a change from last night's defiant vow to 'veto everything and there is nothing they will be able to do about it'. 

Makes one almost wonder if Republicans would have shown some backbone he would have backed down months ago. 

The best news I have heard? The promise that the first order of business will be to impeach Hegseth.

Final thoughts? Look at this collection! Diversity is back, baby!

Right Now.

Contrary to anonymous' claims, I do not think voting blue is going to change everything. We are not going to wake up Wednesday morning, expecting sunshine and roses, and everything righted in this world. 

All I know is that you don't fix the car until you get it out of the ditch. 

 Vote. 

It means everything.

Explainin'

 Sorry for the absence. 

All is well. Well...as well as it can be at this point. I am awfully preoccupied with these midterms. Although it looks promising, I cannot bring myself to write those words. At the same time, I can't bring myself to not think/write about it.

So...I wait with bated breath. 

This made me laugh:

Dutch investigative reporters are claiming the have linked Jared Kushner to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. How deep does this rot go?

Elon Musk is helping Russia develop their satellite security. Isn't this treason? 

 This situation in Alaska 

Not sure why i can't link, but try this: 

Dan Sullivans: Alaska Senate race roiled by spoiler reporting : NPR https://share.google/8wzZQWvHXCAcIxIXR

This gives the Republicans a great opportunity to freak out about cheating Democrats. If she did this, it was stupid, and it lends an aura of illegitimacy to the election that we did not need.

But...the election is Tuesday. 5 days away. 

This exchange sums it up:

Man, election day is coming up soon and I still don't know who to vote for. I just wish there was some way to decide easier. Maybe if a candidate would just send me an unsolicited text, spam phone call, run a TV ad or even blow up social media and tell me how terrible and corrupt the other candidate is it would help me make up my mind . . . Holy crap the election can't get over quick enough.

So what have we been doing? We got the house in town sided. I tried to find a before picture, but it is in my drafts and I can't quite bring myself to hunt it up. But take my word for it, it is a big improvement.

26 windows in that house, all replaced. Roof replaced maybe 5 years ago. I hope that there is still a market for houses next year. 

My cousin, Father Tim is on track to be released from the hospital. He can't go home, but he and his wife will be at a hospital owned Family House to recuperate. It will be his first time out of the hospital in 5 months. I sent him a Christmas card to remind him that we believe he will be home for Christmas.

In my effort to not think about politics, I am pleased to say that I have most of our Christmas shopping done. I can't quite believe it myself, but here we are. I need to start wrapping.

Measles were reintroduced to the Amish community through a wedding. Someone not of the community didn't know they were getting sick. 

Mattie said, "I don't know if the children will ever have school again."

People are deliberately exposing themselves to measles for immunity. 

Levi mused, 'our elders talk about measles like it was nothing, but this seems worse. People are getting this and winding up in the hospital."

I know they both worry about this a lot. I am glad they are all vaccinated. 

That is about it for here. At least all my mind can come up with, right now. 

KELLY S.

 Hey Kelly, I received an email from you that contained a link and nothing else. I did not click on the link of course, but wanted to let you know you may have been hacked.