Another day

 The weather is coolish but not cold. 69° right now, but a cool wind blowing in rain. More rain. We have had aclotvof it, but knowing how desperately some areas need rain, I will not complain. 

We have gotten nearly 14 inches of rain, this year, which is surprisingly considered just a bit above normal. We have 2 more inches on the way. 

So. Water is running high. You know what else is high? Gas. It has gone up 60 cents since May 1st. 5 days!

BTW: I am still optimistic and hopeful. I still dream of a better, kinder world.

Also, if I ever saw that horse, I would have to bring him home because he looks so sad. 

We drove back to Meadville today. At my appointment yesterday, I gave them a thank you card with a gas card tucked inside. That got a lot of attention. The card traveled around the office staff and people came out to tell that 'I did not need to do that'. I said that I liked the idea that the next time they had a Debby Dim-bulb standing in front of them all a-fluster, they could pay it forward. We all laughed together. I like that.

Today I went back for a followup. It is a longish drive and the first thing I do is tell them I am here. She remembered my name. The second thing I do is head for the bathroom because it is a long drive. 

When I came out. I admired a wandering jew that they had. I had a huge one that did not take to being moved from one house to the next. I asked if they would mind if I took a clip. The receptionist said, " I can do you one better " and handed me a cup with a rooted cutting. This is really just the friendliest little clinic. At the same time, they all wonderfully efficient, which is very comfortimg.

Something unexpected was that my shoes attracted a great deal of attention. People loved them. 'They look handmade!" "Where did you find them?" 

That surprised me because I really don't know that I have ever been walking past someone and their shoes caught my eye.

But they are sweet shoes.

I said. "Goodwill. Our store runs 79 cent sales, and these had the right color tag. They also were my size." And they were all suitably impressed.

So it was a good day for me and my bejeweled feet.

Over the weekend, I tried something new. I made ricotta cheese. It turned out very well. I have a lasagna in the oven that Tim is very excited about. 

So. That was today and it was a satisfactory day.

Well...except for the gas.

Food for thought

Gloom, despair and agony on me

 May 2nd. We woke up to snow. What the fresh hell IS this????!!

I am not a hardy character like Red who cheerfully deals with nonsense like this.

LATE EDIT: Kate too. She deals with this kind of nonsense too...and is far more complacent about it than I am. 

Normal service will resume when and if normal weather resumes.

Almost May

I was looking for a car part on line. I went to two or three web sites, but when I typed in the car make. Model and year and the part I was looking for, each time it came up as no parts available. 

In the middle of it, my phone rang. It came up as 'potential spam'. I did not answer the call. It was immediately followed by another phone call listed 'verified caller. Wyoming' 

I am a curious woman. I figured that the two calls had to be related. They were different numbers, but from the same 307 area code. So I answered it.

An unmistakably Indian accent said, 'are you looking for a passenger side fender for a 2008 Lincoln MKZ?'

(Side note: I was not driving the car. Actually, nobody was driving it. It was parked and quietly minding its own business when it was hit.)

Cautiously, I said 'Yesss...' while wondering how those searches were visible to him. 

"What color?" he asked. 

"Silver."

He said, almost instantly, "I can get you one for $146."

I said "I don't even know who you are."

He said, "My name is Lucas Anderson."

"Not to be rude, but I received two phone call within two minutes of each other. I don't know who you are, or how you figured out what I was looking for. Also, your accent is not a Wyoming accent. I am not comfortable handing out my credit card information under these circumstances."

He earnestly began to explain why I should trust him.

Unconvinced, I hung up.

Don't know if I am paranoid and missed out on a good deal, or whether I dodged a bullet. 

I was surprised to hear to receive a bulletin on my phone that a woman and baby down the road are missing, considered endangered. I do not know her, but it is something that grabbed my attention. I don"t know the back story but am hoping for a happy ending.

Other than that, it was a quiet day. I received a call from the office staff to see if I got home okay last night. They also had a cancelation and asked if I wanted the appointment. 

Less lead in time = less stress.

I said yes. I can hand deliver the thank you card and the gas card to them. 

May is a busy month. My daughter and son in law's wedding reception. My youngest daughter is coming stateside for it.  My son and his family will be here. We have a trip at the end of it. It was a lucky break to get that earlier appointment. 

The Governor of Louisiana called off the elections in his state until the maps can be redrawn to eliminate black majority areas. I mean they are not even hiding what they are up to. 

The White House posted a picture of trump and the King labeling it 'Two Kings'. 

The Republicans posted a picture of the King wearing a MAGA hat.

Mike Johnson denies we're at war.

The GOP voted today to end the government shut down without their exorbitant ICE funding demands. 

One positive sign at least. The rest of it is insane.

Frost warning tonight. Ugh.

Let's end with a laugh.

I cannot even...

I had an appointment today that i was heartily dreading. It was at 1, about an hours drive.

I was so anxious about it that I was wide awake at 4 am. I tried to fall back asleep, but I was so filled with 'fret' that it was not going to happen for me. I finally just got up and made my coffee and grabbed a package of BelVitas. I sat in the dark drinking coffee and reading blogs. 

It helped. 

A little. 

Tim got up. He had a bunch of stuff on his agenda, so I was on my own. 

I tried to comfort myself by going on a tear around the house. Scrubbed the bathroom, folded laundry, vacuumed, unloaded the dishwasher, tended to plants, cleaned the cat box, stuff like that. I made up my mind to leave at 11:30. I needed gas, and I was waiting to get it in Titusville. It is usually 20 cents  gallon cheaper and it was on the way, so it made sense.

So very methodically I set about getting set to go.

Shower (check)

Dress with great care (check)

Make up (check)

Hair (check)

(Did you ever notice that ticking boxes is a great distraction from thinking about things you'd druther not think about?)

Teeth (check)

Shoes (check)

Purse (check)

Raincoat (check)

Phone for directions since I did not know the area

(Check)

Full charge (Check)

Resolutely, I headed out the door and got myself on the road. When I got to Titusville, I was surprised to see that gas had gone up 20 cents over night. I decided to see what it was priced at on the way.

I had absolutely no idea how much I was going to regret this. The first thing I discovered is that there were no gas stations on my way.

Not to worry though. I knew I had enough gas to get me where I was going. I also knew that there were plenty of gas stations there. No worries. So I made my way through the heavy rain, trying to enjoy the Amish countryside.

I was on 'E' when I pulled into town. I had planned well enough that I had plenty of time for a fill up. I pulled into the first station I came to. I grabbed my wallet and it was then that I began to stress big time. My debit card was not in my wallet. I knew instantly where it was: at home on the table. I had been trying to renew the car registration on line. It would not accept our the card we use for online. I thought try my debit card. That did not work either. I brought the computer out to Tim to see if he could figure out where I was messing up. After trying it, he said, 'Never mind. I will just do it in person at the DMV. 

So much for convenience!

I logged off the website AND I NEVER WENT BACK TO GET MY DEBIT CARD! Now I was an hour from home, driving on E, and I still had my appointment. I was just sick. I got to where I was going, tried to call Tim from the parking lot. 

Did he answer his phone? No he did not.

Was his voice mail full? Yes it was.

There was nothing to do but walk into that appointment. I explained what I had done. She assured me it was fine. They took credit cards over the phone, so when I managed to get hold of Tim, I would be all set. She was so easy going about it. I was a little dumbfounded. 

Long story short. I survived my appointment. In the billing office. I did manage to get ahold of Tim. He read me the card information and I handed it to the billing person. I then began to explain about my gas situation. Did he know where a bank branch was? I had all my ID. 

 

The clerk interrupted. 'Don't worry about that. We got you a $20 gas card from the station across the street.'

I was flabbergasted. Tim was trying to talk and I was staring at the clerk, and I am embarrassed to say that after the whole stress filled day. I actually got teary. 

'Oh gees. You don't have to do that...'

She laughed. 'You have paid us enough that we can afford a gas card!' 

True, but...

In the end, I got home frazzled, but in one piece. Grateful, too.

 In all the hubbub I had skipped lunch. I knew I would be late getting back, so I had planned an easy supper. I split a loaf of Italian bread while sautéing onions, peppers, mushrooms, and some of the good sausage we made with Levi and Mattie and the kids. I spread the bread with spaghetti sauce, topped it with the meat and vegetables and sprinkled it with mozzarella cheese. 

Our pizzas were just coming out of the oven when Tim walked in the door from his day. 'Smells good! I didn't eat lunch today! I am starving.' 

So we sat down and ate.

All's well that ends well.

What do you think?

Tonight was Tim's final birthday hurrah. The man loves Journey. We have seen them twice and enjoyed both shows. I mean what's not to love. Familiar songs, songs that we know all the words to, songs from our youth. 

Of course, that was many moons ago. Steve Perry doesn't play with the group. In fact, only one original band member is still with the group that tours under the Journey name, which has always made me wonder at what point does a band actually become its own tribute band? But, as I said, we enjoyed both concerts. The new lead singer does a good job.

Compare this to the original Journey with Steve Perry. (Enjoy the 80s)

Well tonight we went to the Titusville Ironworks to see what is billed as the number one Journey tribute band, E5c4p3. We enjoyed the show. It was interesting to talk to another couple who have been to see the band 4 times. The woman said that the band actually has followers who follow them from venue to venue. She says after awhile they begin to recognize each other. Like I said. Interesting. 

Anyways, for comparison: the lead singer was very good. So the question begs an answer: which provides the more authentic experience? The 'actual' Journey with its one original band member, everyone else replaced or a tribute band with a good lead singer and a studied, polished band? 

I dunno. 

This made me think of Mr Shife right away

Quiet day

Today is Tim's birthday. It was a quiet day. We went to the gym. I work out for one hour. He works out for 30 minutes. He ducked out to buy his birthdsy present. He wanted a retractable air hose for his big air compressor in his garage, and then swung back to pick me up.

On the way home we stopped at the grocery store for strawberries and heavy whipping cream. He wanted strawberry shortcake for his birthday. Easy enough. His supper of choice was a simple one too. He loves mashed potatoes and hamburger gravy. He does love mashed potatoes. 

It is hard to believe we are both turning 69. 60 was a shock, and now a mere eyeblink later, we are looking at 70.  Just seems so strange. 70 is old! We aren't old!

An acquaintance posted a video of John Fettermen singing 47's praises on this Iran debacle. Another acquaintance responded with a reference to cults. They are two 80 yesr old white headed, bearded gentleman, both veterans. Both men of strong convictions. The poster blasted back with he 'was not raised to bash people on social media'. 

I smiled to that. Social media didn't exist 'til both of them were full grown men. My fingers itched a little because he unfriended me years back after I let him have it for calling Hillary Clinton a c*nt. He sent me a friend request years later, claiming I had unfriended him.

I scrolled on and left the two of them going at it.

We spent a quiet night not watching the news.