Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  Is anyone besides me thinking about unplugging till the election is over?  At least I'm not working much these days, so don't have to worry about accidentally rolling my eyes at client comments.  :)

2.  I had to cancel attending quilting at the library tomorrow.  Friday I got a call from someone at another local branch that needed to take a day off unexpectedly.  I love this branch and the people there, and I kind of owe them a favor, so was happy to do it.

3.  Cleaned out the freezer yesterday, and found I had what was needed to make a favorite dessert for granddaughter who is home from college.  Thought I would make it for Sunday family supper before she heads back to school.

4.  Rudy is loving the new sofa...and he's crowding me.  This is how I'm typing trying to type at the moment.  It's sweet and all, but in the summer, it will be too hot!  

5.  My Christmas present from Kasey in 2022 was an Aura picture frame.  It is digital and SO awesome.  She gave one to my mother-in-law a year or two before that, and I hinted heavily that I would like one.  I don't frame a lot of photos to display.  Now I just need the one.

With this one, you can send photos straight from your phone to the frame.  And not just that, but you can invite others to send photos from their phones to the frame too.  You can set the time for each photo to stay on screen, I think I have mine set for 15 minutes, then it switches to the next one.  It's really cool, and you can do all the setting of controls from an app on your phone.

Sounds like an add, it's not.  Oh, and if you are wondering why I am just now mentioning it when I've had it for over a year.  I just got around to setting it up.  It was really easy, so I have no excuse for putting it off so long.

6. Whoopee!  Tonight is Sunday night!.  Such a good night for PBS programs.

7.  I'm probably the last woman on the planet to know this, but I recently found a little sticky sleeve that sticks on the back of my phone. I keep my drivers license and my debit card in there, and now I don't have to carry a purse.  I always wear slacks with pockets, so I don't lay it down anywhere.  I'm going to have to add my food-expense credit card to it, and I hope it won't be too tight.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

 

1.  My shoulder has been bothering me a LOT all week.  Using our TENS unit on it helps the pain without having to take any meds.  Actually wore it to work one day.

2.  I've been cooking more lately.  Haven't been ordering from the subscription service since the delivery issues (leaving in full sun and fire ant mound).

3.  Carey is 2 months away from retirement.  Eeeeeek!

4.  I've given up Coke (-a-Cola).  It's been a month or so now.

5.  Been hearing about the shortages and delays as we head into the holiday season.  First it was toys.  Then that clothing delays were leading more people to thrift and try resellers.  Today I heard that some hard cover books may be hard to find, because just like shortages of wood for construction, there's shortages of wood for paper.  Time to come up with a plan for getting creative with gift giving.

6.  Anyone else take piano lessons as a kid and learn a song that goes, "I'm a little wooden soldier, on a dusty attic shelf, and it hurts my pride just cast aside all by myself" ?  After 50+ years, it is playing on a loop in my head tonight.  

7.  Looking forward to the weekend!

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  I left the office yesterday and heard on the car radio what had been happening in our nation's capital.  Eight hours later I am still sick to my stomach, and angry as hell.  

2.  I just went on a typewritten rant for 45 minutes.  Then I deleted it all.

3.  Then after sleeping on it, I deleted #3 also.

4.  Work has been crazy busy this week.  I wonder what the market is going to do today.

5.  I'm bringing back Frugal Friday File starting tomorrow.

6.  My tank's-almost-empty alarm came on while I was at lunch today, so I stopped for gasoline on my way back to work.  I have used this station and these pumps hundreds of times.  And yet.  I inserted my credit card in the slot where the receipts come out...and not just a little bit...I pushed it all the way in.  Argggg!  Luckily the attendant said it happens more often than you'd think, and it was an easy removal.  Whew!

7.  If I don't get some sleep, I'm going to be a wreck at work.  G'night.

 

Eleven random thoughts on the 11th...

1.  Holy guacamole!  It is June 11th, and it's been over a month since I've blogged anything!

2.  Occasionally I make rash decisions that I stubbornly have to follow through on.  My mother called it cutting off your nose to spite your face, and I've long been prone to it.  This time I was dissatisfied with Sonic's app never working, and resentful about paying full price for drinks when you could get them half price if the damn app would work.  So I sent them a dissatisfaction survey and added that I'm was a really good customer but I won't be back, and I cancelled my account.  Yeah.  I miss you, magic ice!

3.  Since #2 will save me some serious change, I felt free to spend some.  I ordered a gallon-size stainless steel, insulated cooler to take to work for ice water, and a pitcher to filter the water before filling the cooler.  Our fridge at work is only large enough for a dozen or so bottles of water which we keep for clients.  I hate all the plastic waste those bottles mean, so I needed another way to have my own cold water.

4.  We've all heard that we should drink 8 (8 ounce) glasses of water a day, but the Mayo Clinic recommends 15.5 (8 ounce glasses) for men and 11.5 (8 ounce glasses) for women.  That seems rather generalized to me.  Other sources say to take your body weight, divide it by 2, and the result would be the number of ounces you should drink per day.  So let's say a person weighs 200 pounds:  200 ÷ 2 = 100 ounces that they should drink per day.  FYI there are 128 ounces in a gallon.

5.  Deer love to have their babies in our yard.  Right now we have a pair of twins here.  Yeah, they're cute and all, but they still drive the dog to distraction!  They are so tiny, and the mother jumps the fence and leaves them.  She always comes back, but in the meantime any activity panics them, and they can't figure out how to go through the open gate to get to her.  Carey was trying to quietly and calmly heard them toward the gate the other day, so they could get to mama, so that he could mow the yard.  Our neighbors took offence (no pun intended) and stopped their car and started yelling at Carey to stop scaring them.  Carey never said a word, just waved them off and continued about his business.  But the car and the loud voices frightened them so much they were jumping headlong into the fence.

6.  We don't really know any of our neighbors well.  I may be paranoid, but I think they gossip about us.  Carey saw a different neighbor outside the other day, and stopped to say hello.  The guy asked Carey why we trap deer in our yard.  Oh, geez.

7.  I seem to be spending a lot lately.  I may have to bring back the Frugal Friday File.

8.  Tomorrow is Friday!  YEA!!!

9.  Weekends are too darn short, and this weekend I have a long list of to-dos.

10.  One thing on the list is to make Rudy a new toy.  His 'baby' is a paw from an old stuffed toy.  Yes, it's played right down to just a paw left.  He still loves it.  :)

That's it between his paws.

11.  I overslept on Tuesday and was quite late to work.  I'd better go to bed.  G'night.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  A couple of months ago I subscribed to Freshly meal delivery service for six meals per week (two individual servings of three different meals).  Their meals are fully prepared, and never frozen, and they are pretty healthy (lean meats, spaghetti squash and zoodles [zuchini noodles] instead of pasta).  I was happily surprised when Carey didn't begrudge the expense; he's just happy to have meals ready at a reasonable hour that we don't have to go out for.  I did it because I hate grocery shopping, and don't relish coming home at 5pm just to cook every night.  Now that groceries may or may not be on the store shelves, and neither of us want to pick up the virus from other shoppers, we are both SUPER happy to look forward to the Freshly box at our door.

2.  Yesterday I uninstalled three games from my phone.  They were ones I liked, but I was wasting way too much time, so I just ripped off the bandaid.

3.  We found out that two of our clients have Covid 19.  They are recuperating as I understand it.  We are expecting some forms back from them in the mail.  I know the virus isn't supposed to live on paper for long, but still.  I'm the one that opens all the mail and packages.  (Note to self:  retrieve that box of latex-like gloves that have been languishing under the laundry room sink for years and stash them in my work desk...and put some in our cars too.)  

4.  I need to make masks.  

5.  The social isolating hasn't been a big adjustment for me.  I understand how it is for a lot of people, but for me life isn't all that different.  I still go to work in my essential-industry job...our two-person staff in a large office means we have a lot of room for social distancing...and we are having appointments (but only by phone or web-conference)...so my life isn't drastically impacted.  What is hardest for me is that Carey and I are choosing to keep our distance from the kids.  I did go over yesterday just to take the girls' photo in the bluebonnets in their front yard.  No hugs!  :(  

6.  I can't say that there is no stress at all from current events.  I do think a lot about people losing loved ones, and jobs, and meals, and homes.  The idea that we can't bury all the victims seems straight out of Forever Amber.  And even in areas of low virus occurrence, families who are losing family members from other causes are unable to hold a service to say goodbye and feel the love and support of friends.  No weddings.  No graduations.  People dealing with heartbreak and disappointment.  

7.  And all I can do is make another donation to the food bank.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

Wow!  It's the first time I've remembered to post a Seven on the 7th in...forever!

1.  Realized recently that I have more paid vacation time coming this year than I thought.  Hot dog!

2.  Names, names, names!  Our office has more cases of what are commonly first names for both first and last than I have ever come across.  I am forever getting them backward when I go to type them in.  For instance (the following are samples, not our clients) Peter James, Bob Francis, Thomas Scott, Meghan Joyce.  And if that's not confusing enough, we also have tons of people with what are commonly two last names for both first and last; (more sample names) Kennedy Johnson, Porter Smith, Carson Davis, Anderson Cooper.  I've been thinking that it was just my imagination, that the frequency can't really be as high as I have been thinking.  But I've been working with lists of clients, and I started paying attention.  On each section of eight clients, roughly three had either two "first" names or two "last" names.  That's 37.5%.  Doesn't that seem a high percentage?  Whether it is or not, it is taxing my brain cells!

3.  Does anybody else hate those blue tinted headlights on cars as much as I do?

4.  

I just finished drinking my last Coke.

5.  My goal for this weekend is to get rid of all cardboard boxes from my house, break them down, and take them to recycle.  So many shipping boxes have just piled up...some with the delivered items still in them.  I will keep only the ones that I fill with donations to drop off within the next three days.

6.  I'm really tired of hearing about Covid 19 (Corona Virus); on the news, in company bulletins at work, in overheard conversations, even in my own head.  I thought twice before going to the store today, then once I decided to go and was parking the car, I actually saw a man walking from the store wearing a mask!  Last week they closed a mall in the nearby city to do a deep clean and disinfect after a recently cleared quarantined test subject was released, visited the mall, and then was called back into quarantine when a test result showed positive.  Oops!

7.  I finally downloaded an app so I could start listening to podcasts.

Now I'm off to start on my goal of getting rid of cardboard boxes!

Nine random thoughts on the 9th...

1.  I have so much to do, and I have been doing pretty much nothing all day.

2.  Rudy likes tv.  He loves the commercials for pet supply companies, and jumps up and runs to stand in front of the tv, sometimes standing on his hind legs to get a closer look or show his enthusiasm.  :)  So today I have the tv on in the background and not paying much attention to it.  A news-type show comes on, and they put up a photo of a man recently making headlines for killing his wife and children.  Rudy turns and begins walking toward the television...and GROWLS.  That was creepy.

3.  It has been raining for the last few days.  Pretty gloomy.  Kind of surprising how much rain we have been getting lately.  I think last month was the wettest on record.  But the sun is out at the moment, and very welcome.

4.  About a month ago I joined WW (new branding for Weight Watchers) online.  So far lost a little over 10 pounds.  It's very user friendly.

5.  I need to make a sign and hang it on the wall so I see it first thing every morning.  It should say, "For the time being, I am not accepting jobs out of town," as a script for me to have at the ready when the phone rings.  Either that or, "Just Say No."  I promised I wouldn't whine about this any more, so I apologize.  But I already went back on my resolve, and simply because I forgot to say no.

6.  It worked out in my favor, as my car was extremely low on gas, and the job took me near my favorite low-price station at just the right time.

7.  I have recently developed a big knot on my left hand.  I'm assuming it is a ganglion cyst.  It isn't painful, but it isn't attractive.  My kids think it looks awful, and Jared called it my 'hump'.  I told him it was funny he referred to it as a hump, because I had decided to name it Igor (in honor of Young Frankenstein).  :)  If its size doesn't decrease, I suppose I will go to the doctor about it eventually.  It's right over the area of my hand that was crushed in the car accident, where the new bone is always tender, and I just don't look forward to pushing and prodding in an exam of it.

8.  I love October!  My birthday is coming up.  I tend to round up my age, and then I start forgetting that I round up and start believing I'm already older than I am.  Then eventually it dawns on me that I'm younger than I've been thinking I was.  LOL

9.  It's a lot harder to think of nine random thoughts to share than it is seven.  I resolve to circle the 7th on my calendar every month so I don't forget.  Because, you know, my random thoughts are so share worthy.  :)

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  My blog has gotten repetitive and boring with only What I'm Reading Wednesday and Frugal Friday File posts lately.  Fingers crossed I will have some time soon to be able to get out and about and have time to write about it!

2.  We have hit 100° F (38ish C) and continue to hover around there for the past week or more.  Ugh!  So hot.

3.  The heat makes me do impulsive things to get more comfortable...like cut my hair off:

 

4.  Our public library is undergoing a big building project.  I don't know how it could get any better, but I'm looking forward to seeing the planned improvements.  The big news this week is that they are also changing its name.  Now that's going to take some getting used to.

5.  On my way to the chiropractor today, I got stuck in stopped traffic for a good thirty minutes as a work crew was putting in a stop light on a two-lane section of the highway.  I came home a different way, but still had construction delays.  It seems every route to or from our home is undergoing construction at the same time!  Our county is undergoing extreme growth (2nd fastest-growing county in the U.S.)

6.  Speaking of growth, the empty lot next door to us has surveyor's stakes up.  We may have construction right on our doorstep soon.  :(

7.  Today is my Catie-bug's birthday!  Thirteenth...a teenager.  She is away for the week, so I had to text my birthday wishes...but that's a fitting method for a teenager, no?

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  Feeling SO very thankful.  There was a bit of a crisis this week.  Not my story to share, but there were tears and prayers and a safe and speedy (though it seemed like an eternity)  resolution thanks to a very smart woman with a lot of love, a strong will, a cool head, and technical skill.

2.  There are still long lines for gasoline.  And the inconsiderate drivers!  Idiots turning from straight-only lanes on red lights, people not pulling off of roadways to sit and wait in lines meaning that there is no possible way for through traffic to proceed.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

3.  I only have ten books left to complete the 2017 reading challenge.  It's feeling doable, though it is getting harder to find books that fit the categories that are left.

4.   It is time to change the mantel decorations, but I haven't done it yet.  The current mantel decor has been up so long I don't even see it anymore.  It hasn't started to cool off at all here yet, so it seems too early for pumpkins.  I'll have to give it some thought. 

5.  I haven't made a menu plan and shopping list yet either.  I've been able to come up with meals from the pantry, but a menu plan would decrease the last-minute stress.  Yesterday I found and made a new recipe for Baked Spaghetti, which got favorable reviews from the guys.  It feels like I've been relying a lot on pasta, though, and should be enjoying the fresh summer produce while we still have it.

6.  I have to get busy on my sewing machine!  I have blocks that are overdue, and quilting at the library day is only days away.  Also have quilt retreat coming up at the end of the month, and a week of 9 to 5 before that.  Aaagh!

7.  I think I need chocolate.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  It rained 2 1/2 inches in the early morning hours.  Boy did we need it!  The thunder and sound of rain woke me up, and it was so soothing to fall back to sleep to those sounds.  So soothing that I turned off the alarm when it went off.  Thank goodness I wasn't scheduled to work today.

2.  But it did make me super late for quilting day at the library.  :(  About lunch time I stopped by to visit for a little while, but I didn't stay to sew.  

3.  When I left the library, I headed to the clinic in a neighboring town where I get my port flushed.  I had had an appointment there on Friday.  The nurses in the chemo department are the ones who flush my port (just port maintenance, no chemo for me).  Sometimes they are really busy with chemo patients, so I always take a book with me in case there is a long wait.  This time I barely had time to get my book out of my purse before they were done with me and I was ready to go.  So thinking it was still in my purse, I walked out and forgot my book.  It drove me crazy all weekend.  I have to work for the rest of the week, so if I didn't get over there today, I wouldn't have another chance till next week.  Also, they have a bookshelf in the lobby...a sort of little free library...that I was afraid staff might put it on, and it might get picked up by another patient, never to be seen by me again, but it was still in the chemo room on the nurses' station counter.

4.  On the trip over, there is an intersection that is at the bottom of a hill which impedes vision of vehicles stopped and waiting for the light to change.  At the hight point of the road, crews had put an electronic flashing traffic warning sign:  Caution...Slippery Slope...Ahead.  It made me do a double take.  I don't know...it just seemed more like a fortune cookie message than a traffic warning.

5.  I was giving myself a hard time about wasting the time and gasoline to make the extra trip.  However, I remembered that I hadn't yet picked up a key for the branch that I will be working at next week...and it is right down the street from the clinic...so at least I managed to kill two birds with that stone.

6.  On the way home I made a dreaded grocery shop.  I made the menu over the weekend. The freezer and pantry are now full.  We are set for awhile.  I love when I have that job out of the way!

7.  Tonight I am making fried rice for supper, and I'm attempting to make homemade egg rolls for the first time.  I'd better go get to it!

Seven MORE random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  I took a three hour nap.  Since I never went to bed last night, that's okay.

2.  I vacuumed the entire house today.

3.  I heard an article on NPR today about 'flying ant day' being a distraction at Wimbeldon.  Just like Wimbledon, the ants decided to swarm around here a few days ago...lucky me!  But thank Heavens my ants didn't fly.  Here is a disgusting photo to creep you out and make you take pity on me.  

And that is just a close up of one pile of them.  They stretched the entire width of my kitchen window between the wall and my sink.  <<SHUDDER!!>>  I took the photo to text to my exterminator so he would hurry to my house!  :)  The only good thing about them was that there were no live ones.  The treatment from last year was still strong enough to work.  By the time they made it into the house, they just piled up and never got any further.  Still it was time to re-treat, so I'm glad it's done.

4. My 'wedding' rings have been missing for the past couple of months.  I wasn't too worried, because though I couldn't remember in the slightest the events surrounding my taking them off and putting them someplace other than their normal resting spot, I did vaguely remember putting them someplace 'safe.'  I was a little hesitant to tell Carey, but I don't wear them much, so it wasn't something he noticed.  Also they aren't my real wedding rings.  The only one I was really worried about was the anniversary band since he had it made for our 20th anniversary (20 years ago!).  It has real stones, but they are tiny.  The three-stone ring is fake...well, the gold is real, but the stones aren't.  I got it when I returned a pair of hideous earrings he bought me for Christmas once.  LOL  They look nice together, and are WAY more comfortable than the rings I actually got married in.

Anyway, today I cleaned out my purse.  I removed everything from every little pocket.  And lo and behold, there they were on a key ring that holds keys I have to keep but never have to use.  I feel better.  They were someplace (relatively) safe.  :) 

5.  I'm making a pasta salad with grilled chicken for supper tonight.  Everybody likes it, and it is nice to have in the fridge to have small meals as wanted for a few days.

6.  I think it is time to change my mantel decorations, but I think I will wait till after my friend comes next week.  Patriotic is still okay through July, right?

7.  Let's see...what else?  How about a confession?  I watch reruns over and over and over.  Seinfeld, Big Bang Theory, Golden Girls, and Frasier are white noise around here.  Rudy's favorite is Big Bang...he likes the animated commercials.  LOL

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  Today is my sister's birthday.  Tomorrow is Bobby's.  Next week is Jared's.  And later this month is Beau's.  It's a big month.

2.  Next week my best friend from childhood is coming for a short visit.  I'm hoping that we can arrange a brunch visit with the third member of our trio who lives in the nearby city now; she has to report for jury duty, but we are crossing our fingers that she doesn't get chosen.

3.  I have a long list of things I need to get done before my friend arrives.  This place is a disaster!

4.  And I am running out of time.  Monday is an all-day quilting day at the library...with two more squares due for our exchange quilt...which I have not even started working on yet.

5.  And speaking of quilting, I am so excited!  When I was at work on Wednesday I got a text from my sister-in-law.  She included a photo of a quilt that was given to her (and Carey's) parents early in their marriage.  It's in her possession, but she says it's ours if we want it.  SCORE!!

My husband's family is not as sentimental about old things as mine is.  Thus I have a bit of a reputation as a pack rat with them.  Oh, let's be honest, they think I'm a hoarder; but, hey, it has paid off to my advantage more than once.  I am not sure they have any idea what good stuff we have ended up with.  I'm not sure they think it's good stuff!  

I'm really happy about this quilt.  Since Carey's mom had gifted me with a Grandmother's Flower Garden top that she pieced, which I had machine quilted and gave to Kasey for her birthday this year, this one will be set aside for Jared if he is interested in it (or if he ever finds a wife who is).  That way each of our kids will have a quilt that belonged to their grandmother that has 'grandmother' in its pattern name.  I'll have to find out from Carey's mom who gave this one to them, and then figure out how to put a label on it with the information.

6.  Okay, I may be a hoarder.  This week while working at cleaning my desk area I found myself moving a container of piano keys out from under it.  We had to dismantle my childhood piano (couldn't find anyone to take it, and it was too expensive to repair).  I made Carey save the keys...intending to make an art piece out of them.  Yeah.  Hoarder.  Now I'm thinking about how to sell them on ebay.  Surely someone else might think it's an interesting project idea too.

7.  I've been having trouble sleeping...or rather not sleeping.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  Today is Caitlyn's 12th birthday.  We had a fun day out together.  She had a gift certificate for a manicure that a friend had given her, so I took her to use that for a French manicure (yeah, I know, a 12 year old.  Don't judge me.  I didn't buy it for her.)  

Then we had lunch at a favorite little Tex-Mex place (this is their child's plate btw)...

...on we went to Target just to browse...she found a shirt she liked and a friend...

...then we went to Bahama Buck's for a shaved ice.

She said her mother had always told her that she was born at exactly eight in the morning, but recently they looked at her birth certificate, and found that she had actually been born at 7:52 a.m.  Which is funny, because how many people really know the exact hour of their birth to the minute...well oddly I do too.  My mother was always a number person, and she thought it was funny, and worth my knowing, that I was born at 6:53 a.m.  Why?  Because it meant I was born exactly seven minutes to 7:00 a.m.  And you know what?  Caitlyn was born at exactly eight minutes to 8:00 a.m.  😊

2.  I am still reading last week's book.  LONG chapters.

3.  I made popcorn last night.  I  made too much.  I left the extra covered in the pan overnight and nibbled some a while ago, and it's still pretty good.  I've had staler at the theater.  It's Purple Amish Country Popcorn that I ordered from Amazon.  A friend made it at the last quilt retreat, and it was good enough to make me want to buy some.

4.  Summer is here!  Hot and humid.  😥  That's not tears in my emoticon, it's sweat!

5.  Pet peeve #1:  people who think it's okay to take helium filled balloons to someplace like a graduation and never think twice about impeding the view of possibly hundreds of people behind them.

6.  Pet peeve #2:  Shoppers in the market who leave their cart in the middle of the aisle, and walk away from it and over to the next aisle to pick something up, coming back to the gridlock their abandoned cart caused, and walking away without a clue how inconsiderate they have been.

7.  Pet peeve #3:  People who let their dog bark and bark and bark at deer without quieting it or bringing it inside.  Yeah, this one is what MY neighbors will be saying about me, if I don't let Rudy in right now.  (LOL  This one was an actual 'pet' peeve.)

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  Tomorrow is election day...finally.  

2.  Carey and Kevin are grilling steaks for dinner.  I haven't grilled lately, because I couldn't psych myself up for cleaning the grill.  Now that Carey's cleaned it, I will be using it again.  :)

3.  A new replacement Kindle was delivered today.  I bought a re-manufactured one which is the same model as my old one (Kindle keyboard).  It's charging now.  This one cost $30, which since it had free shipping with Prime, was basically the same as a replacement screen would have cost...and then I would have had to put in the screen myself.  Time will tell.

4.  Went to bed about 1:00 a.m.  Woke up at 3:30 a.m. with a terrible headache.  Took Advil LiquiGels and fell back to sleep around 4:00.  Awake at 7:00 to take care of Rudy and get ready to quilt at the library.  Now I am absolutely dragging and can't wait to crawl into bed tonight.

5.  I really need to go clean off the dining room table since we have company tonight.

6.  I really don't want to clean off the dining room table.

7.  I'm too tired to think of a seventh random thought.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  Made another visit to the chiropractor today for my shoulder.  It is helping, but it is not perfect.

2.  I am trying a new recipe for dinner tonight.  

3.  Rudy was neutered and chipped yesterday.  The surgery did not slow him down in the least.

4.  I am meeting an old friend for lunch on Friday.  We didn't know each other well when our lives took different paths, but we liked each other and had similar interests.  The other day, she found my email address on a handmade item I had given her, and she decided to try it.  I am so happy that my email is still the same!  We seem to be back on a similar path, and we live closer together than we used to.  I hope we click again!

5.  Friday is Grandparent's Day at Chloe's school.  It's the last one I'll get to celebrate with an elementary school program.  ...sigh...

6.  Worked all last week and yesterday.  Glad to do it, and glad it's done.  

7.  Getting ready for a garage sale at the end of the month.  So far my preparation consists of making lists of things to include.  The next seven days I should have a chance to make some actual progress.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  I wish it were cool enough to have the windows open again.  It just seems too close in the house...stuffy...stagnant.  

2.  I saw a tip on Pinterest awhile back about how to remove the ink name/ingredients/manufacturer info printed on plastic tubs that sour cream, yogurt, etc. come in.  It said that wiping with a rag which has been saturated with 100% acetone would easily remove the printing, leaving a blank exterior on the container.  Not so fast.  First I tried the the nail polish remover that I had on hand which was not 100% acetone: no affect whatsoever.  So I purchased the real stuff.  It removed some of the printing after much strenuous rubbing.  I didn't want to use an abrasive scrubber, because I didn't want to scratch up the exterior.

Here's the lid of the container after several minutes of work.  And since the tub part of the set is round rather than flat, and has way more printing than than the lid, I decided it was more trouble than it was worth.  Another Pinterest myth busted...at least in my book.

3.  Today is Caitlyn's 11th birthday.  Where does the time go?

4.  I seem to have strained my shoulder somehow again.  It's been hurting for a week or so.  The last time it was feeling like this, I kept the TENS unit on it pretty much non stop, and as I recall it helped quite a bit.  Need to figure out where the TENS unit might be.

5.  I do so much better when I make myself a to-do list.  I haven't  made one this week yet, and I NEED to do it to focus my thoughts.  The laundry alone will make a whole column!

6.  I tried a new recipe for supper tonight: Jicama Shrimp Salad.  It also has black beans, red onion, avocados, and grapefruit sections.  It was very fresh tasting with the sweet crunch of the jicama.  But it is kind of a lot of prep work, what with sectioning the grapefruit and all.

7.  Gotta go get the trash gathered, truck comes early in the morning.  Yes, I waited till almost midnight.  That's the way my days have been going.  Procrastinating (with a capital 'P').

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  This is the fourth day I've worked this month...only ten more to go.  So many days scheduled at the same branches means they may notice my wardrobe repeats.  Normally I don't work more than a day or two a month at the same branch since leaving full-time work, so I scaled back my work wardrobe dramatically.  Ah, well, I'll switch up the accessories and call it good.

2.  "If a 'g' comes at the end of a word, the pronunciation is a hard 'g':  bug, frog, jug, mug, pig, wig, zigzag."  I really, really hate it when people type 'frig' as an abbreviation for refrigerator, when it should be 'fridge.'  A former co-worker used to use it all the time.  One day I wrote in the margin, "Did you know this means f*ck?"  I see it all the time in Blogland when clicking over to check out recipes or projects I see on Pinterest.  I never, ever correct anyone on their blog, but I figure I can vent on my own.  I don't think I've ever seen it on any of my favorite blogs, so I'm not trying to call anyone out here, and I truly hope I'm not offending anyone.

3.  Monday as I was running errands on my way to quilt at the library, I noticed a clicking noise.  I got out to check my tires and found this.  :(  

The tire was still inflated, and I was very near the library, so I headed straight there.  I texted Carey the photo, and he texted back that he would come and change it for me.  So happy he was home to do it. I used to actually like changing tires, but the spare on my SUV is really hard to get to, and I'm not sure my knees are up to it these days.  I happily quilted while my man came and took care of it.  

4.  Costco trip required this weekend.  Prescription refills.  Pecans.  Dishwasher tabs.  New printer?  

5.  We are down a car this week (unrelated to tire problem above).  Sharing hasn't been too bad...yet...as I've been working in town this week.  If repairs aren't finished by Monday I may have to rent a car.

6.  I have made no progress on cleaning out the storage shed.  I just realized that maybe knowing that is what I really should be doing, I instead booked up my month full of work days.   The heat will be on us before we know it, and then...I know me...I will put it off till fall. 

7.  I was so happy to see 5 o'clock yesterday.  I really must get more sleep.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  So tired of the political bull$*!+.  Zero good choices.

2.  I have been waiting for an ebay purchase for 2 weeks.  No problem with seller; my dissatisfaction is with the postal service.  According to tracking number it was mailed two weeks ago in Massachusetts, then traveled to New Jersey, then to Washington State, where it sat for several days.  Then to Dallas, then to San Antonio for a few days.  It now indicates that it is at my local post office, which supposedly attempted to deliver today, and supposedly left a notice that my "receptacle [was] full/item oversized."  There was no notice left in my receptacle or on either door.  In fact there was no mail at all left in my empty receptacle.  Granted the item I am awaiting is too large for said receptacle, but no more so than has been delivered many other times, when they drive right through the open gate, up the driveway, and ring my doorbell.  Irritation has set in, because I have to be gone tomorrow, and rain is predicted.  Do NOT want package to be rained on!

3.  CPA has finished our tax preparation.  Getting a refund.  Yippee!

4.  Got annual blood-work results back; good numbers.  Yippee!

5.  Today was quilting day at the library.  We were working on a quilt to donate to the library for a raffle fundraiser (in appreciation for the use of their facilities).  Fabrics are all from the Downton Abbey collection.  We got most of the top pieced today.  Borders will be added later, making it a nice large quilt.  The series finale aired here last night.  We are all fans, but we couldn't discuss it, because one of our group hadn't seen it yet.  I kept accidentally letting facts slip about finale events...all of them false.  I know...I'm a pill.

6.  My head is so congested tonight; I'm a mouth breather.  The humidity today was high.  Great.  My favorite part of warm weather.  Not.

7.  Still enjoying banana cake.  Mmmmmm.  :)

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

 

1.  I have been in a crappy mood today.  Ask anybody (e.g., Carey).

2.  I made stir-fried rice for dinner tonight.  It wasn't as good as usual, but it had more vegetables, so it was probably better for us.

3.  I have still not learned the channel numbers for the new cable system, nor have I mastered using the new remote.

4.  I still have not done anything about the printer not working.

5.  I did not leave the house today.

6.  I should probably leave it tomorrow for my own sanity, if not everyone else's (e.g., Carey).

7.  Maybe tomorrow I will go buy a powerball lottery ticket.  It's up to $700 million.  If I won, I would buy the vacant lot next door, and build a house on it so people (e.g., Carey) would not have to be around me when I am cranky.