Jury Duty

 I have posted quite a bit here about jury duty. Especially how I seem to get called to serve more than the average citizen. I moved to another state and immediately received a jury summons. I sent in the questionnaire and was called a few months later. 

Here we are, six months post serving on a jury and I receive another summons. I must have out performed as a juror and they really want me back. I am thinking that this might be my next career. Maybe they can give me a raise?

I forgot to mention that RT received a summons/questionnaire at the same time of my first summons and has yet to be called. I would like to know how he has avoided jury duty all of these years. His advice to me was to not show up. Apparently, that is what he did the first time he was called for jury duty. I told him I can't do that because it says that if you don't show up for jury duty they will find and arrest you. And with my luck, they will find me and throw me in jail.

How many times have you been called for jury duty?

How many times have you served on a jury? 

Haircut

I went in for a much needed haircut in my small town. I just wanted to say thank you for your prayers. I did not get the crazy covid stylist this time and my haircut, and overall experience was a huge success.

Shower Bug

 On Saturdays I meet up with some friends for some friendly conversation and watercolor painting. We meet locally, one of the buildings here has a common area between stores. They have plenty of tables and some games out for customers to use.

This one Saturday, in the middle of my painting time, I receive a call from the child. She is in a panic and is talking a mile a minute. There are tears, a few screams and some pleas. My friend could hear some of the screams crying conversation. I immediately switched gears and put my mediator hat on and proceed to calmly talk her off the ledge.

The story goes...The child went to take a shower. While in the shower, she turns and notices a house centipede (long bug with lots of legs) on the shower curtain. Apparently, she jumped out of the shower, screaming. The bug is huge (she sent me a photo and yes, it's still on my phone - scary!). In my calm voice, I tell her she is a lot bigger than the bug and she can kill it. I wait for her to find something to kill the bug. She tries to waterboard it and finds that it is too big to go down the drain. And, yes, I tell her to grab some tissue, pick him up and toss him.

Once all is done and we are calming down I say, "Would you like to say a few words? I mean, he (the bug) didn't know he was big, ugly and scary. He probably has a family. Maybe we can say a few words to remember him." Between tears I get, "He's cute. I'm sad that I had to kill him. I'm sorry! I'm so much bigger than him. I feel sad."

The story isn't just about the bug and the fear. It's much bigger. It's about being faced with a problem (a bug, in this situation) and how you can handle it. Sometimes you can use a calming voice from the outside and a little encouragement. In the end, you find that you are able to handle all that comes your way. You also prove that you are fearless and brave. And, you also just saved your mom from said bug. (EEK!)

Music

Have you ever listened to a song and a memory comes to mind? Or maybe the song starts playing and a person, place or event comes to mind? I have a few songs that make the cut on these memories. 

The song, "Rio" by Duran Duran brings back memories of a dance routine my friend and I did to get extra credit in PE class in high school. It involved a lot of dancing, laughing and almost getting my head knocked off. We got to listen and dance to our favorite band at school plus we got full credit. A win-win for us.

There's the song, "Unforgettable," by Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole that I danced to with my dad at my wedding. My dad isn't much of a dancer so all I remember is him talking about how cute my nieces were walking down the aisle as flower girls. I also got to hear him say the classic line to me, during the dance, "Boy, this is a real long song!" It cracks me up because every time I hear that song, I think of that line.  

When I thought of this prompt, the song, "Rocket Man" by Elton John was playing at work. That's the song that I would play in the car after I gave Pippen CBD to calm him down before we went on a road trip. I pictured his mind, worries and anxiety jetting off into space. 

What songs bring back memories for you?

The Covid Haircut

When you think of Covid you think of Covid-19, the year 2020, Pandemic, Lockdown and Quarantine. Something that happened six years ago. Seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?

I went to get my haircut recently in my small town. "Small town," that's important. I have a tendency to wait a little too long between haircuts (4-6 months?) and my hair gets a little too long. It's at the point where it's overgrown and has no style to it. I asked the stylist if she had any suggestions for my hair. I knew I really needed a cut and it would look better, but I was trying to be friendly and start a conversation. I figured, why not get a few tips, have a conversation and make the time pass as she cuts my hair, right? Such was not the case.

The conversation started out friendly. She mentioned the dryness can be anything to do with age or even the weather (it was a rough winter). The stylist told me that her mother-in-law asked about dry hair and her hair falling out. "I told her that she's old, and that's what happens when you age. I told her it could be the weather because it's winter. but then I got real with her. I told her it's because she took the Covid shot and that her hair will never be the same again. The covid shot messes with your follicles." 

I was hoping for some tips, instead I got a rant about her mother-in-law and the "effects of the covid vaccine," according to this hair stylist.

I didn't know what to say. I was just trying to make some a little small talk to make the time go by quickly. I didn't want to discuss Covid or the effects of Covid / Covid Vaccine, especially when she has a pair of sharp scissors in her hands and is cutting my hair. I was hoping for a good haircut with some friendly conversation.

What did I do? I let her rant about Covid. She then asked what shampoo I use on my hair. I told her and she immediately tells me that (the one I use) has sulfates and is like putting floor cleaner on my hair.* She then decided that I needed to buy the shampoo that they sell. I said I would think about it.

I'm happy to report that I survived the ordeal and actually got a good haircut. This happened a few months ago and I am due for another haircut. I'm asking for patience and prayers at this time.

Have you ever experienced a strange conversation while getting your hair cut?

*The shampoo that I use is all natural and does not have sulfates, parabens, etc. I do my research on the products that I use.

Doctor availability in a small beach town

 I never thought about medical care in a small town. We moved to a small beach town and my thoughts were all on the location. Close to the beach and the cute downtown area. My last thoughts were, "Will I be able to find a doctor in the area?"

My first incident was with frozen shoulder, which happened to occur right before my trip to Europe. How convenient. I was asked for my current doctor, which happens to be the one in the town I just moved from. I made a mental note that I should find a doctor here in the area. I did a little research when I returned from my trip. I noticed that there isn't a huge selection of doctors here. Most of the doctors are, "not accepting new patients." I gave up on my search, hoping I could just stay healthy and not need any medical help.

A few months later I developed an ingrown toenail. Unfortunately, I ignored the problem for awhile thinking it must be one of my weird foot pains. I eventually looked at it and started to treat it. A foot soak. One foot soak to be exact. That should make it better, right? We have a lot going on at the moment and its quite easy for me to ignore the pain and keep moving. It all came to a head the Friday before a holiday weekend. I tried to get in to a foot specialist. It turns out that they decided to take the Friday before the holiday off but will call me to schedule an appointment, possibly for the next week or two. Do I wait till the following week or try to see someone now? What if my toe falls off before I make it in to the appointment? I decided to take the plunge and see someone at another facility. I found out that it was a swollen nail bed. Easily treatable and no vanishing toe.

I remember my grandparents visiting the doctor regularly. It seemed like they were going every week. I guess as we age we encounter more and more "weird" health issues which have us making a little trip to the doctor's office. 

Have you noticed an increase in weird medical issues (aches, pains, stiff neck, skin condition, etc.) as you age? 

Sourdough Starter Restart

 Went out of town for a few weeks and did not drop my starter off at a daycare facility.  When I returned home it looked a little frightening. The liquid "hooch" was green. I looked up green hooch and I guess there is a fix. After a little further research I decided that it was easier to just start over. 

If you take a look at the starter recipe that I use, you will see that it makes a large amount. This large amount does not fit into a mason jar. So, I spent my morning making a loaf of bread and some cheeze it crackers. 

Jury Duty - Small Town Version

Jury duty is your civic responsibility to ensure a fair trial and justice by peers. This is something that you should take seriously and be proud to serve. Jurors are chosen randomly and notified by mail. 

Random. Interesting. I have been called for jury duty numerous times in my life. I think I even blogged about one of my many times. My first time was when I turned 18 and that was Federal court. I remember being 8 months pregnant when I was "randomly" called. I was called so much that I considered it "my time" because my mom babysat the kids and I got to get out of the house. How many times has RT been called? Zero. And, he's jealous that I'm called so often. I do have to state that when I served, I mostly sat in the waiting room, I made it to the courtroom a few times, but never served on an actual jury.

As you know, we moved out of state. About a year after we moved, to my surprise, I got called for jury duty (shocking). RT asked why I always get called. I replied, I think it's a family curse (I haven't been able to prove this theory, though). 

 I know that I have posted about my many callings for jury duty but this is about my first time in a small town. 

I had to go to the courthouse which is conveniently located right in the center of town. An old building, probably built in the late 1800's. I made it through security and had to hike it up to the third floor (old building, remember). (I did find out later that they have an elevator for those that need it).

I sat in the courtroom and waited. New people entered every few minutes. It felt like it was the first day of school and you watched as new students walked into class. Wondering who was coming in and going to be in your class. Who is going to be popular, the class clown or the burn out.

A mileage chart was passed around that we had to sign off on. Luckily I am less than a mile from the courthouse so I did not have to try and figure out how far I drove this morning. I have never been asked about mileage in all of my jury summons. A little side note, our movers were coming that morning because we bought another house and were moving in that day, making us only two blocks from the courthouse. 

Back to the courtroom. It's a small town, so when people enter the room, they already know one or two people. In fact, one guy got up and walked up to a woman he thought they went to school together. Turns out they didn't, but they knew each other from somewhere else. Small town stuff. You don't get that in the big city.

Once we watched the video on how to be a juror, we waited patiently for the next step. After about ten minutes, the bailiff kicked us all out of the courtroom for a half hour. She told us we were not allowed in the courtroom during that time and could not leave the area. It's a small courthouse and here we all are waiting in the hall outside the courtroom.

Juries nowadays can take notes and ask questions. In order to do this, we have to write them down and submit them via the bailiff and the lawyers get to review them. I had quite a few questions and think I may have stumped the lawyers. As a result, we were sent out of the courtroom for short breaks.

This jury duty was the lucky one for me. I made it on to an actual jury. I was the alternate for a meth case. I had to message RT and tell him I will probably be there for the next few days (great timing, I didn't have to help with the move). We listened and took lots of notes. I learned A LOT about meth. In fact, I found out that it's cheaper to get it in a different town. I guess they upcharge it here. 

After a day and a half of testimony and witnesses, it finally came down to deliberation. One juror was excused due to childcare, and I had to step up and into that seat. No one wanted to wait until the next day, so, at 5:00pm, we started talking. They even ordered pizza. Yea, I told them I was vegan, which created a HUGE nightmare for the bailiff. Someone had to run to the grocery store and grab stuff for a salad for me (I tried to tell them I didn't need it and that I could just wait until I got home). I was very appreciative for the efforts they made for my dinner.

We made a decision that night. I have to say I was lucky to have such a great group of people for my first jury experience. There was no arguing or bullying.  All those crazy things you hear about on juries did not happen here. Everyone got to speak up. In fact, jurors would ask other jurors what they are thinking and ask them to express their views on the case. We came to a decision within a couple hours. I think the motivation was that no one wanted to return the next day.

After our decision, we came back to the (deliberation) room. The judge had a few kind words to say, thanking us for our service. The case that we heard was over two years old. I guess there is a huge back up of cases in the county. 

I have to say that being a juror was a positive experience for me. I'm hoping that next time, I will be one of the people that knows someone when I enter that courtroom. 

And, if I do get called "randomly" again soon, you better believe that I will be buying a lottery ticket that day. 

Vegan and Vegetarian Options at Restaurants

 When deciding on a place to eat, we (really, me) have to take a glance at the menu to make sure there are vegan options available for me.

I'm not sure what vegans and vegetarians did thirty or forty years ago. It's hard to believe they cooked every meal. Surely they ventured out for a meal or two.

Vegetarians and vegans have been around forever. It's not something new or a passing fad or the "in thing" that's happening now. In fact, vegetarians date back as early as 6th century BC.  Today there are roughly 16 million vegans in the US (that's about 1/5th of the US population). I think having a vegan option on your menu won't hurt your business. Vegans go out to eat, sometimes they are with their carnivore friends or family members. 

I have to say that the worst feeling is when you FINALLY find a restaurant, arrive and place your order for the one and only vegan option, they tell you, "Oh, we're out of that." And there is nothing else on the menu for you to eat. Some places have either a vegetarian option or a dish that I can ask them not to add the meat portion to the dish.  If they do not have an alternative, we have to find another option. That's when I'm thankful I can search for restaurants on Google Maps.

Have you ever left a restaurant after sitting down and taking a look at their menu? 

Wash Your Face

 My grandmother used to tell me the secret to having nice skin when you are older (no wrinkles) is to wash your face in cold water. So, I washed my face in cold water. I never gave it much thought, until we moved.

Our "new" house (which is really a 125 year old house) has some weird plumbing issues. The upstairs bathroom, where I wash my face, always has cold water available. I think I would have to run the hot water for five or ten minutes to get the water to turn "warm." In the winter, the cold water is like ice because we live so close to Lake Michigan. Apparently, there is a direct line from the lake to our faucet. So, basically, I use ice cold water to wash my face.

Thinking back, my grandmother grew up in Greece. I don't think they had hot water, unless they boiled it, so it was probably pretty easy to use cold water to wash your face. 

I'm not sure if I believe the cold water theory but I will still wash my face using cold water. I'm wondering if the rest of my body will benefit since my shower doesn't get too warm?

Do you use cold water to wash your face?

Sourdough Vacation Club

 I'm thinking of starting a little sourdough vacation club. For those people who have sourdough starters and want to take a vacation they can drop off their starter and we can take care of it while they are away.

This probably would have been a great business after quarantine. People going back to work and, who is going to watch the sourdough starter?

Luckily my starter is pretty simple and very easy to care for, so I am able to get away without a babysitter. Just keep it in the refrigerator.

Have you tried making sourdough bread?

Do you make your own starter?

Do you treat your starter like a newborn baby?

Who takes care of your starter when you go on vacation?

What time is it?

 Took the child to the doctor the other day. I sat in the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. At one point I looked up and was unable to find a clock. Luckily I had my phone with me so I could see the time.  What's up with not putting a clock in the waiting room? Is it so a patient has no idea how long we have been sitting there waiting for the doctor? Are the doctors afraid we might charge for our time waiting for them? How would that work?

"I sat in your waiting room for my 2:00pm appointment. They didn't call me back until 2:25pm. I then had to wait another 20 minutes in the exam room before the doctor showed up. I will be deducting $37.50 from my bill."

I think even as patients we should be able to deduct our time spent waiting for the doctor from our bill. If you set an appointment time and you make the effort to show up on time, the doctor should, too. If there is a problem, you should be notified. Everyone's time is important. 

Click it or ticket!

 I remember a time when seat belts were optional when driving or riding in a car. When I started driving, I always used a seat belt. I think our drivers ed instructor made us wear it while driving and riding.  If you were in the car with some of those beginner drivers, you were happy to wear that seat belt. I clearly remember when this one girl in our group had to drive. I think it was her first time driving...ever. She pulled out of school onto a major street.  All the cars are driving the speed limit, 40mph while our driver was going 10 mph. I sat in the back seat with another girl, and we could see cars flying by us and coming up fast behind our car. We had our seat belts on and all we could do was pray silently.

A few years later, Illinois police officers started pulling people over for not wearing a seat belt.  This was the start of the "Safe Driver" program. I remember being in the kitchen and having my dad tell me that I should make sure I'm always wearing a seat belt when driving. Before I was able to answer, my dad proceeds to tell me a story.

My Uncle George was driving his car and was pulled over for not wearing his seat belt. He was given a ticket for 80 dollars. My dad said if I get pulled over for not wearing a seat belt, then I would have to pay the ticket.

At the time, $80 was a lot of money, especially when you are making $3.35/hour at a part time job. I decided to wear the seat belt and save myself $80.

A little side note. My dad was never a big fan of the seat belt. I'm not 100% sure he used it all of the time when driving, but, hey, that was his $80 gamble.

Moving

 I'll try to hit all of the highlights and also try to make it brief.

We talked about moving for years. The move would take place after B finished High School.  Why stay in a huge house when there is only two of us, and pay ridiculous taxes?

People around us thought we were crazy.  That we didn't think this through. What they didn't know was this was an ongoing topic between RT and I. The only problem? Where would we move?

We had to prepare for this move. We lived in our house for twenty seven years, raising three children.  During this time, we had to sell our parents' homes and, unfortunately, some of their things became residents of our house.  We did not want to move all of the stuff that we accumulated, so, downsizing was in order.

Downsizing is just another way to say that you are getting rid of a bunch of crap.  OK. It isn't all crap.  It's just stuff.  Stuff that you haven't looked at in thirty years and, frankly have no desire to look at in the next thirty years.  There were quite a few million texts sent to the kids (by me).  Basically, "Does anyone want this?" And, frequent runs to the Goodwill. I think we were one of their main suppliers for the last five years.

This major "downsizing event" went on for at least five years. Why did it take so long? I don't think we were that serious going into it. We kept thinking we would have more time.  We will do it later. We might need it.  The last six months we were at our house we got rid of more stuff than the previous five years.

There were quite a few things we did to make the house look nice.  I'm still upset we didn't paint the laundry room years ago.  Why did we wait until we were selling it?

We packed up what we could and stacked boxes in the garage. Those first boxes packed, we had no idea what was in them.  Yes, we labeled them.  I wasn't allowed to go back and pull stuff out.

Our house was put on the market in the middle of April.  We wanted enough time to celebrate Easter with our family and friends, watch B enjoy her senior activities (prom, senior celebration), B's graduation and a graduation party.  All with the hopes of moving out at the end of June.

Our house sold (crazy, but it happened on our 30th Anniversary). After the grad party I realized that I had to quit my favorite job and get serious about this whole move thing. 

We packed the rest of our stuff, made a million more trips to Goodwill and two moving trucks up to a storage locker in the town that we would eventually live.

Oh, our house, the one we would be moving into was being rented through the summer, so we were homeless for a while.

More about the crazy move in another post.

Hot Cross Buns

 I realized I should have posted this a couple of Fridays ago or wait a couple more weeks for Orthodox Good Friday.

Well, here we go.

While cleaning, one child found his recorder and decides to give it a whirl.  What song does he play?

Hot Cross Buns.

If you have kids, you know that, "Hot Cross Buns," is one of the songs they teach you when you start playing the recorder. 

Each child went through the recorder phase.  Learning how to play, "Hot Cross Buns."  I can't tell you how many times I heard that song played on a recorder in my lifetime.  I heard that song so much that I found myself humming the tune.  Sometimes I couldn't fall asleep at night because I had the song playing over and over in my head.  I couldn't wait until the recorder unit was over.

While this child was playing, the youngest child found her recorder and joined the concert.

They have now formed a band and will be touring.  It's a one song set.  Check your local venues.  Definitely something you won't want to miss!

Count The Money

 Took a trip out east a few weeks ago.  While out sightseeing, I stopped in a little shop and purchased an item.  It wasn't very expensive, and I thought I would just pay for it in cash. I had quite a bit of change and thought I would use it for this purchase. I counted out the change, separating each dollar out so it was easy for the cashier to count.  The cashier, a guy in his early twenties, starts counting the change.  He is counting quarters as thirty-five cents.  Nickels are sometimes worth five cents and sometimes twenty-five cents.  At this point I realize that he has no idea how to count money.  After struggling to count out two dollars in change, I had to step in and help the guy out.  He finally gave up and put all of the money in the drawer.   Normally the cashier counts the money prior to placing in the drawer.  I think he was just frustrated and possibly embarrassed.   

When we left the store, I must have talked about this moment for a LONG time (sorry, RT).  But isn't that sad, that this generation has no idea how to count change?   I realize that as a society we might eliminate currency (paper and coin) but, to not be able to count, add and identify American currency?  And you live here?

I find that very disturbing.

Thoughts?

Moving

Moving.  Something I never experienced growing up.

I've moved twice in my lifetime.  Both times weren't that bad because I didn't have a lot of stuff.  Now, three kids and twenty seven years later we made the difficult decision to move.   Large home with no kids and high taxes.   It's a smart decision.  At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Going through items (not just my stuff) and trying to figure out what to keep and what to toss is very stressful.  I have been leaning towards the "toss" side.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

I have sent many "snaps" to my kids with photos with, "Do you want this?"  If I don't get a response right away, I ask again.  There might be an angry, yelling snap in there somewhere and eventually the item gets tossed in the garbage.

I think my kids avoid me and my messages.  They want the stuff but don't have the space.

I do have to say I came to a point where I thought it would be a lot easier to just torch the place.  Or, even better, so we still have a house to sell, make a pile in the yard and have a HUGE bonfire.

After going through stuff, I feel everyone should have to move every five years.  That way you don't accumulate so much shi# stuff.  

I think this has been a huge learning experience (well, I haven't moved yet, just got the house prepped for photos and showings).  I'm in a holding pattern because I don't want to make a mess.  I haven't killed anyone (yet).  Although I have come pretty close a few times.

I do feel that I have learned something from this nightmare experience.  Arson Bonfires are the way to go.

New England

 Spent some time up in the New England area over spring break.  It was so beautiful that I have decided that I plan on moving up there and writing a novel. (Doesn't everyone move there to write a book?)

County Courthouse

 I mentioned a few posts back about my adventure as a witness at the county courthouse.  Very exciting stuff.  What I forgot to mention was my walk from my car into the building (and back again).

We live in a decent area.  The courthouse is in a very nice town.  Nice homes.  Friendly people.  A place where you feel safe walking down the street.

I parked in the back lot and walked up to the building.  When I reached the doors, I realized that I had my cell phone with me.  That's a big no-no.  Cell phones are not allowed, unless you are a juror.  So, I had to run it back to my car.  For some strange reason, I felt like I was going to be mugged walking back and forth to my car.  There were a few police cars by the doors, and I still felt someone was going to jump me.  

I'm sure I was safe (I think?).  I still ran to my car after completing my job as a witness.

Has anyone else felt this way at their county courthouse?

The Mona Lisa

 I found a small photo of the Mona Lisa.  It wasn't at a store.  Instead, this small 4x6 photocopy was found inside one of my picture frames.  I figured either my husband or one of my kids was playing a game with me.  

So, I took the bait and moved the photo to another location and waited.  

It took awhile for my secret competitor to locate the photo.  One day, the photo was gone.  I searched for it.  I mentioned something to RT about it.  He seemed clueless.  Or was he trying to throw me off the trail?  

This game of hide and seek has been going on for quite awhile.  I was never quite sure who my competitor was at this game until....

The youngest child had a friend over.  This friend said, "Why is there a picture of the Mona Lisa up there?"  

The youngest child: "Shh!"  

Me:  Oh, you found it for me!  Thanks!

Turns out, the youngest child is the other player in this game.  She's pretty good, too!

Meanwhile, RT said, "Mona Lisa?  What are you talking about?"  

I guess he really was clueless about the Mona Lisa photo game.