tha dump

We went to The Dump today 

    We ended up getting a new rug for our great room.  Or living room.  Whatever you call it.

    The current rug is showing signs of wear, especially in front of the couch.

    I saw a gorgeous rug that I fell in love with...but it was way too big.  And sold.  But it was beautiful.

    For those of you who don't know, The Dump is a furnishings liquidator. When a business closes, The Dump gets their inventory and then sells it, often at cut rate prices.  They have a store inLombard.  And they are going out of business, so prices have been cut even lower.

    Sometimes the furniture is odd.  One time they had a  line green leather couch and matching chair.  

    A bit too loud for my tastes.

    We also saw another rug that was marked 8 x 10, but it was longer and wider than the other 8 x 10 rugs, considerably longer and wider.

    Anyway, the new rug weighs a ton and a half.  But the old guy working on the dock and I managed to squeeze it into the van.

    Tomorrow I hope the girls come over and we can remove the old rug and unroll the new.

    Then the games begin.  

    For $25, you can predict one of three things:

            When Bth pees on it

            When I spill one it

            When someone else spills on it

    You won't win any money, but you will help pay for it.

    When we moved into our Skare Court house we had a light cream or tan colored rug.  We had people over and one of them came into the kitchen and calmly  said, "We were just talking about what you would use to get red wine stains out of your carpet.  And do you have any?"

    No we didn't and ..... what the hell???

    For years we had a  couch  over that spot.  l don't think it ever came out.

    No red wine on this one.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

11th hour

 I am a little late tonight

    Blame it on the Bears.  That was quite a thrilling win.

    I was so "woe is me" yesterday that I forgot the big news.

    We dropped Jackie.

    Our morning help and I kind of got signals crossed, and Jackie hit the floor.  Normally she goes down soft, but this was a little harder.  She hit her head, but there is no swelling or blood, so that was good.  But tonight she has a bruised hand, which I think came with the fall.

    A big thank you to friend Kevin, who came over and helped get her up.  We had a gait belt on her, which made it a little easier on us and Jackie.  W got er up in less than a minute.  But we couldn't not have done it without Kevin!!!!

    Last night we watched Abbott Elementary.  I was curious, so I timed the show.  I came up with 21 minutes of show and 9 of commercials.  In a 30 minute show, almost 1/3 was  spent on commercials.

    Yikes.

    And I hate the commercials where people fight, drive fast, or hold footballs in front of their breasts.  And what is up with the woman in red with the huge hips?  

    The 2 commercials with the women and betting commercials seem to take up a lot of time during baseball and football games.  I don't think that is good, especially for youngsters  watching.

    I guess I am getting old.  But I just don't like them.

    But I liked the Bears victory tonight.

    Now, hopefully Milwaukee can come through starting tomorrow.

    And no, I still love the Cubs!  

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

reality

 Sometimes reality hits you, and it hurts

    It can sneak up on you and  WHAM!!!

    I am facing one of those moments tonight.

   VCCt is doing a show titled A Day in the Death of Walter Zawislak.

    My friend Molly Fader wrote the book, and my friend Dianne J. adapted it to a play.

    I loved the book!

    I am reading the script and it seems pretty good.

    Therein lies the problem with reality.

    Walter is an old man.  I am an old man. 

    As I am  reading the script I realize there is a lot of memorization.  And there are a lot of rehearsals.  

    I think, and that is a huge think, I can memorize the part.   But I don't have the time.

    I can't be gone 3-4 hours a night, 4 nights a week, for 6 weeks.  That is asking a lot of Jackie. 

    And a lot of me.  Dinner still has to be made, dishes done, laundry taken care of.......I just don't see how I could do it.

    And truthfully, that is hard to accept.  

    But life is what it is.  Reality is what it is.  I have to accept it.

    But I don't like it.

    Hopefully there is a role for me, a part  that doesn't require all the rehearsals and a lot less lines to memorize,

    Because that is reality for me now.

Peace and Love,

        Especially Peace

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!!