The Post Office

It has been brought to my attention that I might be obsessed with the post office.

This all started with one of my many my announcement that I was going to the post office. My family thinks I go all of the time. They wonder what I do there. Why do I have such a need to always visit the post office?

In my defense, we had a P.O. Box set up when we moved here. I have tried to get rid if it but it seems "someone" is having a problem notifying companies of our current address. I get emails from the post office* letting me know there is mail. I even get a photo of the letters! Along with visiting the p.o. box I do enjoy sending out cards, letters and small packages to friends and family. I do sell things online that I need to ship. And, hey, it's only a few blocks from my house.

Personally, I don't think that I am ALWAYS at the post office. I probably visit more than the average person. I live in a small town and the postal workers are quite friendly here.

I do have a confession to make. I've always wanted to work at the post office for a day just to see the amount of mail that passes through and how it gets sorted. Long enough to see the operations but short enough so I don't go postal. 

The other day I was rushing out the door. RT was asking me where I was going. I said, "For a walk." When I came back home, I had to confess that I went to the post office. RT said that I am starting to hide my numerous post office visits.

Maybe I do need an intervention?

Do you like going to the post office? 

How often do you go to the post office?

*OK, maybe I am a little attached to the postal system.

Blue Pants

 Growing up, my dad always wore blue pants. In fact, his work or personal "uniform" was blue pants with a white button down short sleeve shirt. Didn't matter what time of year, it was always the same every day. At work. At home. They weren't just an ordinary pair of blue pants, they were work pants. 

My dad's wardrobe consisted of multiple pairs of these pants and shirts. I guess it made getting ready in the morning easier when you wear the same thing. It also made it easy to find him because you know what he is wearing. I have yet to figure out if this was crazy or pure genius.

It has been hard for me over the years to wear blue pants without thinking they look like work pants. For the longest time, I couldn't even let RT wear navy pants.

This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I put on a pair of blue pants. Unknowingly, I grabbed a white t-shirt. When I went downstairs for breakfast I realized I looked like my dad. Well, more like I was dressed like him. RT complimented the pants choice and said, "they look good." I tried to explain that all I see is my dad's clothing choices.

Is there an article of clothing you don't wear because of childhood trauma?

 I was at our old house and picked some of my kale growing in the garden. I came home and made a soup using the kale. I immediately realized I have become my grandmother.

My grandmother would visit us and pick grape leaves in our yard. She would then make dolmades (Greek stuffed grape leaves) for us using the leaves she picked. 

If I start to wander onto other peoples property and do this, RT might have to reign me in a little or explain that it is hereditary.

Do you pick random plants and make a meal out of them?

Naked Barbies

 I must really want to bring the traffic with that title! 

I have mentioned in previous posts about my journey wading through my storage locker. Trying to go through the boxes and get rid of what we don't need. It's not the quantity of stuff, more like the quantity of memories the items hold.

My recent unearthing was a Barbie box. Barbies, clothes, Kens, furniture, tiny shoes. As I am going through the box I realized that all of the Barbies are naked. I started thinking back to my child playing Barbies and recall the dolls were left naked. Was Barbie not digging the outfit she was wearing at the end if playtime? Does she feel more comfortable in the box when she is naked? Do the Barbies mind hanging out together when they are naked? Do we need to stage an intervention to get Barbie to start wearing clothes?

Did you play Barbies when you were young?

If yes, did you leave your Barbies naked?

Sign in to Pay Bills

Security online is a must these days. When you visit some websites, they ask that you create an account. Along with creating the account, you are asked to come up with a password. Suggestions are usually random: 1XyZ47#aBc7 . If you don't want to challenge your brain to remember some random number letter sequence, you can come up with your own password. 

I signed into one of these accounts so I could pay our bill online. Please note. I signed in. That means I entered my login and password. I clicked on "pay my bill" and was asked for my password again and some random questions to make sure I am me.  I guess I could be posing as myself. Oh, yea, and those pick out all of the wheels in the photo questions. Somehow those never work for me.

I started thinking about all of this security just so I could pay my bill and thought if someone really wants to pay my bills, let them! I won't get upset. In fact, they can pay all of my bills.

Are you a random password person or do you like creating your own unique password? 

How long does it take you to forget your unique password?

Shake Down at the Local Walmart

 We don't have a lot of shopping options in my small town. The big name stores we do have: Meijer, Walmart, Hobby Lobby and Marshalls. We just got the Marshalls about eight months ago. It was a real big deal for us.

The local Walmart is on the small side and is definitely third world (it's a little shady). You usually can find what you need. If you can't find it, you probably don't need it. Or someone thinks you will be fine without it.

I made a quick run to our shady local Walmart. I had to pick up a few things. I made it through self checkout (I had a great cashier) and was heading for the exit. At this time, I am approached by security the greeter asking to see my receipt for my white vinegar purchase. Maybe that's a high steal item around here? I don't know. I hand over the receipt and tell him it's the last item I scanned. There are probably five or six items on my receipt so it shouldn't be difficult to find the white vinegar. In the meantime, a friend of mine comes up to me and we start talking. I realize the sheriff greeter is struggling to find my white vinegar. I go through my bags and show him all the items that I purchased (still while talking to my friend). My friend realizes the stressful situation and says goodbye. I finally take the receipt from the sheriff and point to the last item that says, "Wht Vinegar" (aka white vinegar). I'm not sure if that registered with him, but he did give up on me. 

I think the sheriff was upset he wasn't able to bust me on my white vinegar. Let's be serious, if I'm going to steal, which I'm not, but if I was to steal, I don't think it would be a $3.00 gallon of white vinegar.

Small town life. You gotta love it.

Would you steal a gallon of white vinegar?

Get Rid of Your Shi#

Recently I posted about give something away day, a day set aside to share a little of yourself and all of your life extras hanging around your home.

I finally got a hold of the book, "Nobody Wants your Sh*t: The art of decluttering before you die." I'm always up for a decluttering, organizing, minimalist book, article or podcast. This one sounded like it had a humorous side. After clearing out both my parents and my in-laws house I don't want to leave too much stuff for my children to wade through after we die. 

There is a book out there about Swedish Death Cleaning. Basically, decluttering your house by getting rid of stuff so it's not a burden to your loved ones. It will also make your life and home easier for you to manage. 

When we moved (the big move out of state) I got rid of a lot of stuff. I was accused of not being sentimental. Just for the record, I do keep a few things that mean something to me, but I'm not going to keep EVERYTHING I have accumulated during my entire life time (can you imagine?). I feel some items come into your life (either by purchase or inheritance) and are not all meant to be kept forever. I realized after that big move, I should have let go of more stuff. Luckily (or unluckily) I moved again within a year and a half of that big move and I now had another home full of stuff to make disappear.

We are down to the last of the boxes and some really hard decisions need to be made (tossing stuff). You have the non-sentimental person in one corner and the sentimental person in another corner. I'm not sure if this is going to work. Prayers for my marriage are being accepted at this time.

Have you gone through the process of a death cleaning?

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.