dang it

 Sometimes life does not go as planned

    Jackie wants to make spaghetti sauce.  She had me get out all the ingredients and I went downstairs to get some hamburger out of the freezer.

    I figured Beth was there too, so we played a little before she ran upstairs.

    I went back, grabbed the cookies and beef and went upstairs.

    That was either Sunday night or Monday morning.  I am not sure.

    This morning I got al the stuff together and went to get the now thawed in the fridge hamburger.

    I could not find it.

    We don't have that much in the fridge that I could not see it, so that only left one explanation.

    Yup.  It was still on top of the freezer in the basement.

    Now I am making it tomorrow. With the beef in the fridge.

    With the cost of beef as high as it is, that hurt.

    So to compensate, I did not get a coffee today.

    I did have a decaf tea on the porch and read for a while.  We won't get many days like this, so I am taking advantage.

    I also put together Jackie's new walker.  Directions say assembles in 5-10 minutes.....took me about 15,  which was not so bad.

    If anyone needs a well used walker, we have one.  Just let me know.

    The upcoming World Series will be historical!  It will be the first series with both teams playing in domed stadiums.

    So much for Goodyear blimp shots!  But I guess the roofs could be open in Milwaukee.

    Enjoy the beautiful fall weather....it won't last forever.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

re runs

 Sometimes I feel like life is a re-run

Examples:

    Today I mowed the lawn.

    I went to physical therapy.

    I went to Walmart.

    We had left over pizza for supper.

    I watched an episode of Ted Lasso.

    I already saw the episode, but with my hearing and Keely's high pitched voice, I missed almost everything she said!  So after watching it with Jackie, I watched on my own with closed captions.  I understand the episode better now, especially whatever Keely said.

    So re-runs can be good.  I liked the pizza, the lawn needed mowing, we were down to one leopard spotted banana, and I am close to the end of my PT.

    I have a series of stretches that I am supposed to do every day.   There exercises.  Takes about 15 minutes total.

    Do I do  them regularly?

    Hell no!

    Some days I do all 3, some days 2, some days only 1 and sad to say, some days I don't do any.

    When I do them I feel better.  My legs don't hurt.  My back isn't sore.

    So why don't I do them regularly?  That is a question I  can't answer.

    I finally finished taking the wood off the iron raised garden supports.  That only took me about 3 weeks.   But it is done, and I don't have to whine about it any more.

    I have gotten in the habit of having a glass of pastis before bed.

    This is an anise flavored liquor I first had in France with Dan on our 2011 trip.  It is very strong, and is served with a glass of water.  The water is used to dilute the drink to your preferred taste.

    It may be an acquired taste.  If you are curious, stop on over and we can share some.

    That would be another re-run I would like!

Peace and Love

        Esp[ecially Peace

back roads

I drove the back roads to Julia's today 

    If I go the fast way, it takes about 10-12 minutes.

    The back roads take a bit longer.

    Now, I am being honest here.  Brutally honest.

    I seldom drive above 40!!

    Yes, 40!

    I only saw 2 other cars on the route today.  Both going the opposite direction.

    And if there are cars behind me, I do go faster until I can find a spot to turn or stop.

    Why? you may ask.

    It is just. relaxing.  

    I watch the fields for deer and other animals.  Sometimes I stop and take a picture while in the car.

    I just find it relaxing.

    I do cross the Burlington Norther train line 5 times, but I have only been caught by a train once.

    I also look to see if friends are out.  If they are, I may stop to chat for a few minutes.

    I had a museum meeting today,  then watched the second half of the Bears game, and hauled some shelving units over to Julia's.  In return, I brought back  lots of cardboard boxes for recycling.  I am not sure if I will put it all out tomorrow night, or just part of it.  There is a lot.

    This was a pretty neat day...crisp, breezy, sunny, and dry.  Trees are starting to turn and leaves are falling all over the place.

    I grilled hot dogs for supper.  My grilling days are getthg shorter  and shorter.  Pretty soon I will be looking for help with bringing the grill into the garage.

    Just not today.

    Because I was gone for a ride.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

resist

 I went to a No Kings protest today

    It might have been the first one in Rochelle, I am not sure.  But it is the first one here I have attended.

    Usually the protest is in Oregon, but there was something about not being allowed to protest where there are ballot drop boxes.....or something like that.  

    Anyway, it was a beautiful day.  

    The majority of  vehicles passing honked, but a couple gave us a one finger salute and one yahoo in a white truck gunned his motor as he passed in front of us.  

    The crowd was not huge....but this is a red county.  There were maybe 75 people there, but I am a lousy crowd estimator.

    I saw a lot of people I knew, which is always nice.

    Tonight friends Renee and Wendy came over and we enjoyed pizza and hearing about their recent trip out west.  They covered a lot of ground.  It sounded like a great trip.  We always enjoy their visits.  And Renee brought apple pie, which is always a bonus.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

It's a toilet bowl brush!!

Well, I'll be

 I learned something but will soon forget it

    Why will I forget it?  Because it is not important to me.

    Why did I learn it?  Because I was curious.

    And since I am not a cat, curiosity did not kill me.

    Jackie ordered 2 tops from Nordstrom's, or a branch of Nordstrom's, I am not quite clear on that.

    The tops came today.  They were mailed from Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

     I thought that was a made up name used in comedy skits!  Like, "You should open that show in Rancho Cucamonga."  

    Or, "I'm gonna hit you so hard you will think you're  in Rancho Cucamonga."

    It doesn't sound like a place that really exits.

    But I was so wrong!

    It's a city of about 180,000 in California.  It ranks as the 28th largest city in the state.   As a comparison, it would be the third largest in Illinois.  

    The location makes it a great spot for the logistics industry.  Warehouses.  Shipping.  Manufacturing.

    It sounds like a pretty nice place to live, except it does not seem to have a downtown center.

    And it was named after a Native American who lived there when Mexico possessed it.  It even had what is believed to be the first winery in California, established in 1839.

    That is what I spent my time doing tonight.  Musing over a topic and settling on Rancho Cucamonga.

    Now, every time Jackie wears one of those tops, I will think of Rancho Cucamonga.

    And I probably will giggle a little and wonder why the name sounds familiar.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

story time

I'd like to talk about 2 things I read

    And no,  they were not in the Trib!

    One was in our AARP magazine and concerned a 70 year old woman who met a nice looking gentleman in a bar.  Not bar hopping, but a local spot.

    They hit it off immediately.

    He was an art dealer in New York.  Drove a luxury car.  He was suave, good looking, kind, and generous.  She fell in love.

    After several months they moved in together.  He often forgot his wallet, needed extra cash to pay a bill, was waiting on a commission.  He took frequent trips to New York.

    You can see where this is going, right?

    He conned her out of several thousand dollars.  When her family finally convinced her to go to the police, the investigator found several women the guy was dating.  The luxury car belonged to one of them.

    He eventually was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay back almost $2 million to the women he had conned.

    There is a special place in Hell for people like that.

    The other story is much sweeter.

    In 1893 the Century of Progress was held in Chicago.  The World's Fair drew a lot of people with it special displays and products. 

    A candy maker from Germany set up a chocolate making factory as a display and they made chocolate.

    Now, according to Neil Steinberg of Every G--damn Day, chocolate was not popular in the US.  Caramel was, but not chocolate.

    A caramel maker from Pennsylvania had a plant in Chicago to cut down on transportation and supply issues.  Chicago was the center for both.

    He visited his plant in Chicago and the fair.  He was impressed by the chocolate factory and when the fair closed on Oct. 30, he bought all the chocolate making machinery and moved it to Pennsylvania.

    Milton Hershey thought caramel was a fad and would soon die out.  His belief in chocolate seemed to pan out.

    I just thought that was a neat story.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

 

I don't know

 I have hit a brick wall

    Tonight I am mentally and physically tired.

    Jackie had a doc appointment in Sycamore, so we went to get our  toenails done afterward.  

    That is normally a relaxing experience, but not today. 

    I had a dream last night and a sensation I never experienced before.

    In the dream I was in an elevator, carrying a dog that had a paint can stuck on his hind end.   The elevator was on the outside of the building.

    We stopped on a floor and a woman wanted to get on, but she wasn't ready.  So I shut the door and she started yelling at me.

    Here's where it got weird.  As the elevator was descending, it was shaking.  I could feel the shaking!  In fact, it woke me up!

    I don't know if  I reached the ground floor or if I got the paint can off the dog's butt, because once you wake up from a dream, it is hard to go back.

    I think the experience has damaged my psyche!

(Catch that Wordle lovers?)

    I did sit on the porch to read and have a cup of tea.  Decaf, because it was 4 p.m.  It was a gray day, but I enjoyed my time out there.

    I admit I did get a little chilled.....so my porch blanket came in very handy.

    I look like a nun with a bad habit.

    Yuk.   Yuk.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace