The Thrill Is Gone

Today's high temperature was: 77 degrees

The humidity was: 42%

Sunny and very pleasant

============================

Awake again at 7:30--I have no clue why I am suddenly waking up early.  I had a lot of pain in the base of my head and my neck--maybe that's what woke me up?  Tonight, I will try a different pillow.  I have three new ones that I am trying to find some sort of comfort with.  None of them are comfortable!

My appointment at the Food Bank was at noon.  I got there, got my cart and began my gleaning.  I could not remember how many cans of what I was allowed and then realized, I hadn't checked-in.  So I did that and got my check list.  2 frozen meats, 2 bread products, as many canned goods as I wanted--all of it, just so I didn't go over my 40# limit.  Last month, I think I told you I only came up with 12# and they were trying to load me up with stuff I never would eat.  Today, I got 24#, so I did better, so as to not upset them, and I managed to get a pound of ground beef and a package of Chuck Steak Beef Bundles, whatever they are.  I will put them in the crock-pot and cook them for hours or days and add some potatoes, carrots, onions and pretend it is a pot roast.

What really touched me today, a young woman with 3 small children, was in front of me in the line that winds back and forth through the aisles up to the check-out.  You could tell the kids clothes were frayed, but they were all very clean, with hair combed and well behaved.  As we strolled along, I found out she had a melanoma tumor removed at the U of M hospital.  She now needs chemotherapy and can't get it.

"Have you checked into getting the Obama health insurance?"

"Yes.  We tried right away, but, we don't qualify for any breaks in the price and we can't afford the six hundred a month premium."

"Are you on Medicaid?"

"Yes, but right now, we can only get treatment in an ER and they don't do chemo in an ER."

"Something isn't right here," I said.  "You are involved in the WIC programs and with DHS, right?"

"Yes both.  They just cut my food stamps down one hundred-fifty dollars this month."

"Yeah--I know.  They cut mine too."

"If it wasn't for the kids and my husband, I'd just kill myself.  I might die anyway, without the chemo."

"Now--you gotta keep going.  There are 3 other food banks in the county...run by the churches.  Do you know about them."

"Yes.  I'm enrolled at each one."

I'm racking my brain and telling her about the Michigan Health Care programs and telling her she HAS to call DHS and just keep bugging them until they help her.

Soon we were done and walked outside to our cars.  Each applicant gets one jug of laundry detergent and one pack of bathroom tissue each month--it doesn't count toward your total.  The toilet paper is like the kind in the public restrooms and I only use the laundry detergent on my blue jeans because it doesn't seem to clean anything else.  I handed the young Mom, my toilet paper and detergent.  

"I know you have a lot of clothes to wash and one pack of toilet paper isn't going to last you a week.  Please take mine--I have some at home to use."

Tears came to her eyes--  

"Thank you soooo much.  It was so nice to talk to you," she said.  "You take care of yourself and have a nice weekend."

"You too.  Hang in there!  Keep going forward...take care of your beautiful family.  It will get better."

As if I believed any of that!!!  This makes me so sad--sad and angry!!  She's not the only one of course--there was two other young Moms with children in the small food bank today and 3 other older women like me.  There was one bag of limp cut up salad fixings in the cooler--the lady behind me and I both reached for it at the same time.  I let her take it.  The supply of anything "fresh" was very limited today.  I call it fresh--everything is past the "sell by date".  I did manage to find a package of croissants--I use them for my lunchtime sandwich.  

I wish I had a million dollars--half a million.  I know, I can't save everyone, but I could have at least handed this young Mom a hundred dollars today.    Of course, if I had that kind of money, I wouldn't be in the areas where the poor are compelled to go.  Frustrating!!
================================
I went over to Dar's when I got home.  She doesn't understand her computer very well.  She has a camera and had pictures on it that she wanted to get off there and on to her computer.  I downloaded the camera software and showed her how to hook up her camera and copy her photos to her computer and delete off her camera.  She brought out her beautiful Caftan and I got to try it on again.

===================
Tomorrow morning I am going up to Pearl's and try and get her new laptop figured out.  Her daughter got it for her for Christmas and Pearl hasn't been able to get on it since.  She has tried many times and now has at least 4 different usernames and passwords and can't remember any of them.  It may be a hopeless case, but I promised I would give it a go.
==========================
I am getting a bit weary of my dating site research--the thrill is gone.  Here are my matches for today:

Okay--this guy reminds me of someone who would be in a little,

run-down shack, posing as a church and yelling

REPENT, as he passed the rattlesnakes around.

Yesterday, I got one with the Cowboy hat and today--

Ta Dah--I get one with a motorcycle.

So many old guys with motorcycles.

Probably the only pleasurable feeling

they get between their legs anymore. 

I'm sure he is very nice, but, once again,

the stupid emblem on the hat!

Besides, he's short

Well now--lookie here--

I don't much like the 'stache, 

his nose is a bit weird,  but...

A really nice profile.  He's 6'4"  Doesn't list his income level--which is good.  I like what I am reading below:
He lives 15 miles away.  I just might message him.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
I'm an easy going, jeans and tennis shoes kinda guy. But, I can dress for whatever the occasion calls for. I enjoy life and love having fun. I try to hold myself to high standards. I accept people for whom they are. I don't try to change them. I’m honest and treat people with dignity, courtesy, and respect. I believe romance and affection are an important part of a healthy relationship. I like pleasing others and I am a firm believer that, “it really is more blessed to give than to receive.” I am a Christian, and although, not a writer by profession, I enjoy writing spiritual books, booklets, and articles, which I email anonymously, at no cost, to people all over the world. Born in Dearborn Mich., served in the Navy and, after attending the Univ. of Detroit, I moved to South. Calif. I spent my career working in Aero Space Financial Executive Management and retired in 2002. I have 4 children and 10 grandchildren, all but one living in Calif. Two of my grandsons are professional baseball pitchers. I moved back to Novi, Mich.4 years ago. I am both very emotional, and financially secure. I feel, and people say, I look much younger than I am. But, you need to decide for yourself; either by my “recent photos” or by meeting.

Men seem to regularly make the statement: "People say, I look much younger than I am."  They are so insecure, aren't they?  I have always been a tad afraid of men, but now, as they age, I see how really needy they are and it takes away their dominant power--or what I have always felt was their domination.  Or perhaps, I have just become so much for independent and don't worry about trying to impress them anymore, that I am more relaxed about men?  

"You don't scare me, you weird gender!  Instead of always being the people pleaser, so you would like me, I don't care now.  I can live quite a good life without you.  Be good to me or you're gone!"  HAH

Just An Ordinary Day

Today's high temperature was:  72 degrees

Today's humidity was: 54%

Until 5:30, then it started dropping.

Sunny, nice breeze

===========================

Strange day.  I woke up at 7:45 and got right up--feeling good.  Phone rang at 8:15 and it was AAA Service (the company I bought the furnace from), they were coming out, sometime in early afternoon to give me my free air conditioner inspection and replace a problem area inside the furnace closet, where the exhaust pipe goes through the ceiling.

I decided to try to ride my bike, for the first time in five years.  Merle had pumped up the tires for me over the weekend.  I was a bit wobbly, but I made it around the block--calves were screaming, but I am going to ride twice a day--weather permitting.  I think it will help my balance issues.

It was cool out--67 degrees, but with the over 50% humidity, I was starting to sweat by the time I got home.

There was a message on my phone---from AAA Service.  They had a reschedule and were sending out the repairman at 11:00.

Not my usual repairman arrived and...he had no clue that they were suppose to repair the cowling up on the ceiling, but he said, "I'll bet I can figure it out and fix it!"

"I'll bet you can too!  Go for it!"

First he had to do the air conditioner inspection.  He was outside for 45 minutes.  I wondered what was wrong, so I went out to see.  He was cleaning it!  I did not know they were going to do that--I figured they would just see if it was running all right and the refrigerant was at a good level.

Man--the unit looked great--considering it is 17 years old.  I do keep it covered in the late fall/winter and early spring.  The refrigerant level was good, but he brought a thermometer into the house, turned on the unit and checked the temperature coming out of each floor register.  Perfect!!!

I am never cold, but I have had to turn the thermostat up this summer and down last winter, compared to what I always had it.  He explained that the new furnace blower runs slower so it puts out more air capacity and thus the air feels cooler or warmer, and it doesn't run as much.  WONDERFUL!

Then he went out to the truck, came back in with a ladder, a piece of sheet metal and some screws and screwdriver.  Instead of the measly mastic tape that was up there, covering the hole, it now has a nice, tight sheet metal cover.  He did a great job and when the customer service lady called back to see if I was satisfied, I raved about this kid--all that he had done--gone above and beyond, what he expected was to be his job this morning.
========================
Watched my Soap and then jumped into the car and up to the Meijer store in Howell.  Remember, last week I told you I was never going to shop in the Brighton Meijer ever again?  I had a really pleasant hour of shopping in the Howell store.  These two stores are about 5 miles apart in distance--but miles different in atmosphere and customer service.
======================
Dar came over this evening and we sat and "vaped" together.  I told her "We look like two junkies with our pot pipes!"

She was in a good mood, but tired, so she didn't stay long.  We had a couple of laughs anyway :-)
==========================
Well--let's see my matches for today:

 He's got the cowboy hat, but

at least he doesn't ride a

motorcycle!

Oh Puleeze--a gold neck chain?

Didn't those go out 25 years ago?

I think his eyes are closed behind those glasses.

Tall.  Handsome.  Only lives 12 miles away--down by Karen.

The only thing?  He wants a marriage, but

when I was on a dating site 3 years ago,

he was too and still hasn't found Ms. Right?

He probably is a player too.

The guy on the left--not that twerp on the right.

This guy is way cool.  He is all into baseball and sports and he is tall.

He resembles Dave Rozema (Detroit Tiger Pitcher in the 80's)

they could be brothers.  Kind of like him.

The best of the group.  Nice profile.  Used to be an Executive, of course he might be lying, BUT, he doesn't list his income and I have found, those that have a lot of money never talk about it.  6'3"--which is why he looks a bit weird--really tall men sometimes look kind of funny--big heads, long, gawky necks.  He does have a nice smile and not too much of a turkey neck and he has hair!!  Only lives 15 miles away and it says his birthday was Monday--the day after mine.

I had 4 flirts today--two didn't have photos.  One was 83, the rest in their mid to late 70's.  They either didn't know how to put a paragraph together with correct spelling and proper grammar, or, they just looked weird.  One was an Agnostic, Liberal--we certainly would not get along.  Oh, I get along just fine with Agnostics, but not Liberals!  Well--I can get along with Liberals, but he stated in his profile that he was a "Strong" Liberal and that would lead to nothing good.  

It never ceases to amaze me that some of these guys come on a dating site.  Wanting a serious relationship or marriage and yet--the picture they post is horrid.  I want to message them and say, "Is that truly the best picture you have of yourself?"

One stated that he was "a sexy senior citizen--all my parts work!"  he was 80.  I doubt all his "parts" work, but even if they did--I have no desire to find out.  YUCK!!

A lot of them want someone to drive for them, or help them around the house, or be their nurse or their sex therapist.  One guy was open enough to state that he has COPD and diabetes--I've been there, done that!!

Perhaps I am way to snobbish, but I figure, if I am perusing the dating site, I will only save the ones who look like they aren't about to die, can drive their own car, have a bit of money and want JUST a casual relationship.

You are suppose to send them a Thank You message if they view your profile or send you a flirt.  Not happening!  The only guy I responded to was the tall, gawky guy above and that was only to wish him a Happy Birthday.

This whole dating site thingie is not near as much fun as it was when I was in my 40's and 50's!  Then it was personal ads in the newspaper's Companion Column and you sent snail mail letters back and forth and the guys were decent looking.  Now we are all too old to be pretty anymore.

======================

I had a brief moment of panic today at the Meijer store.  My food assistance has been $55.00 for the last 3 months.  So, today, I ran my Bridge Card through and there was only $15.00 on there.  The clerk checked my number and said that was my amount.

I must have looked like I was going to cry because she said, "A lot of people are coming in and there is less on their Card then they thought.  They must have lowered every one's food help this month."

Luckily, I had a Meijer gift card that my sister gave me for my birthday for $50.00 AND, my $15.00 assistance and I found some money in my billfold to make up the other $15.00,  WHEW!!.

Tomorrow at noon, is my humiliation appointment at the food bank.  I hope they have stuff that I can use--it will help.  Still with the price of everything going up and living on SS--it just isn't working.  I am telling you younger ladies--YOU GET A 401K at work and you put as much in there as you can!!!

I Waste So Much Time!

Today's high temperature was:  78

Today's humidity was:  55%

70% dew point

Heavy rains in the morning

Horrible humidity this afternoon

==============================

I know it probably isn't nice of me to post the old guy's pix and make fun of them.

I know it probably isn't nice of me to post stories about Dar and her friends.

I know it probably isn't nice of me to post stories about Pearl.

BUT--it's what I observe during my day and then--I get together with you my "girlfriends" and we all gossip and tell stories and laugh about the weird things that go on in our lives.  I guess, because you don't know any of these people, I feel it doesn't do any harm.  We talk about our "stuff" and then laugh hysterically together, take another sip of your wine and I puff on my vap pipe, LOL.
==========================
I walked up to Merle and Pearl's last evening, around 7:00 and we chatted.  Pearl had started a new medication from "our" doctor for her arthritis.

"Is it working?  Is it helping?"

"I think so."

"Well--I think you have to take any medication for a couple of weeks before you know if it is doing any good."

"I took it for four days and...I seemed to be better...so I stopped for two days."

Merle looks up from his newspaper and says, "If it was helping.  Why would you stop taking it?'

"To see if it was working!  If I stopped and the pain came back, then I knew it would work if I started taking it again.  Lord--don't you understand anything, Merle?"

Merle took of his glasses, turned to her and said, "If you took it and it worked...wouldn't you assume that it was going to continue to work?  You aren't suppose to take medicine and then quit and then start up again."

She turned to me, "I guess I goofed.  I should take it every day---right?"

"Yes.  That would be best.  You need to be consistent with all your meds."

Merle is back reading his newspaper, but I see him roll his eyes and shake his head.

I would think that after being married sixty years--you'd just kind of let whatever the other person said, roll off your back, instead of trying to correct them.  Certainly, he knows by now her quirky ways.  Oh well...
====================
Today, I trooped into Brighton, through the orange barrels, construction tape and orange and yellow cones, to get my hair cut.  It had been six weeks and even though, Pearl thought it didn't need cutting--it was beginning to get "prairie dog" tails that stuck out in the back.  Let's face it--I like my hair short, so it will just lay in place and I don't have to worry about it.  It will look perfect by next week.  It grows like a wild weed!

When I got home, it was only sprinkling and so I got some pix of my newly blossomed lilies--Freddie's lilies, I call them, because he got me a lily plant every year for Sweetest Day.

The planters on the porch are over-flowing

I was watching TV this afternoon, puffing on my vap pipe and all of a sudden, BREAKING NEWS--there is a tornado near Indianapolis!  I have two blog buddies who live in that area.  I dashed into the den and got on Face Book and pleaded with them to let me know if they were all right.  I really was scared for them.  They answered back right away that they were okay.  One had seen it and it hit sort of close to her, but still okay.  

I was worried because, you know, they are part of this girlfriend's group and would be sitting here, sipping a glass of wine, smoking a ciggie and laughing at my stories!!

=====================

and now--the candidates for tonight---

 He lives way up in the Northern most point of

our Upper Peninsula.

I love the UP, but I'm really not into Michigan Hill Billies.

YIKES

No--he dyes his hair--I can tell

Well now--you do know I love a guy with a

John Deere!  

5'6" -- 145# 

 Look at that emblem on his shirt.

He's a U of M fan!

YUCK!!!

 Oh My--there are no words!

Wait a minute--wait a minute, here!!!
What do we have listed here?

SWWEEEEEEEETT.

Oh my--a man with a new baby in his arms

gets me every time!

Occupation:

Teacher / Professor / Education

Income:

$35,001 to $50,000

Religion:

Christian

Height:

6' 0"

Body:

About average

Hair:

White/Gray

Eyes:

Blue

Ethnicity:

White / Caucasian

Status:

Divorced

Children:

Has 4 children

Pets:    None

Sign:

Leo  / Compatibility

Smoking:

Social Smoker

A little about me...

Well rounded - love my family but active socially, sports minded (golf being my favorite) but not to extreme, love traveling & seeing new places, friends consider me easy to get along with.

About the one I'm looking for...

Ideal partner would have great sense of humor, share common interests, have high self esteem and feel secure, be outgoing and friendly...list getting a little long, so I'll stop here.

He's only 72--but look at his profile!!  

You know I love intelligent men!  

He's 6'0". 

I am outgoing and friendly.
  

I get along really well with Leo's--Pammie is a Leo.  

Blue eyes--I prefer brown, but 

then...................................He's not fat AND NO 

FACIAL HAIR!!!

Me thinks it is time I paid for a month's subscription-- 

just so I can send him a message and tell him how 

adorable I think he is. 

I'm warning you Jean--hands off this one!!  Besides, 

he lives too far away from you!  AND he is a 

Conservative!!!

Well--Let's See What's Going On

Today's high temperature was:  78 degrees

Today's humidity was: 62%

Steamy, plus showers just to make it feel like a swamp

=======================

To celebrate my 75th birthday, I decided that I needed to quit smoking "real" cigarettes.  Can you believe?  I have smoked for 55 years, and as yet have no effects from that addiction.  HOWEVER, I know it is an accumulative effect...so any day now, I could be diagnosed with COPD or worse.

Why have I continued to smoke, when all my friends quit in their late 50's or 60's?  Can't explain it.  It was part of who I was.  I have quit several times for varying lengths of times. Then something emotional would happen and the first thing I'd want "to make me feel better" was a cigarette.

Now--I have been advised not to quit cold turkey.  Because the nicotine has become such an integral of my internal system--almost like a hormone--that if I quit all at once, I very well could have a heart attack or heart rhythm problems, perhaps, even an emotional break-down from the lose of the Seritonin in my brain--the feel good hormone--because---nicotine DOES make you feel good!!

So--Sunday, I traveled up the road to the Smoke Shop and talked to the owner, went over how I had smoked, what I had smoked and all that and then he advised me on two different kinds of Electronic Cigarette Vapor thingies.

I chose this one:

Sorts looks like a flash light, doesn't it.

 I did not want it to look like a cigarette in any way, shape or fashion.  This is a nicotine delivery system--much like the patches, gum or lozenges.

The battery is inside this

It can be recharged

 On top of that is the nicotine oil tank

 Which is filled with this

Nicotine Oil

They call it "juice"

Put the tip on last and

puff away.

This particular one has that button that controls the wattage.  You click on it 5 times and the light shows, red, purple or blue.  The higher the voltage, the more smoke--which is really only flavored vapor.

You can get different strengths of nicotine--similar to the nicotine strength of the ciggies you WERE smoking.  I made a mistake and got 18%.  I thought the top of my head was going to come off.  I have smoked ultra, ultra lights for years.  So, I had to run back to the Smoke Shop and trade it in for 12%.

Later on, you decrease the percentage of nicotine and you also can get different flavors of oils--coffee, strawberry, fuzzy navel, chocolate.  I can't see myself going in for flavors--but who knows.

You still get the nicotine--which is the addictive aspect of smoking, but gradually decreasing.  You still get the warm feeling of smoke in your mouth, you still get the flavor (I chose menthol) AND you still get the sight of the smoke as you exhale.

But--there is no smoke smell--as it isn't smoke at all.  It is merely water vapor--the oil being heated a bit when you puff the "flash light".

What you don't get are the other 7,000 contaminants in a real ciggie.  Just to name a few, arsenic, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide,  lead, ammonia--all the good stuff.

Dar has been using hers for the last 11 months.  She now has no nicotine and is using the flavors--she likes coffee best.  I don't know why she is even using it anymore.  There is no nicotine in the juice--must just be the pacifier effect?

Although I figure it's way too late for me to reap any health benefits from quitting, the price of a pack of cigarettes is so far out of sight that I certainly cannot afford them.  So--onward we go.

I'm just really glad I never drank alcohol--I would be a mess by now if I had.  Probably feel really good, but still, an unhealthy mess.
==========================

My Stack and Grow has filled in nicely, BUT--I see very little dark blue in there--so I took a picture, printed it out and made a notation to put the Dark Blue Tiny Tunia's in the second level next year.  BTW--none of the "fancy" garden centers around here will grow or sell Impatiens--something about a dust mold that occurred two years ago.  So--I bought a flat at Lowe's.  They are thriving!!!

=================================

You might get a kick out of this story:  Dar was over this morning--she had purchased a pretty, glass bird bath and couldn't figure out how to put the bowl on the stand.  It was a pretty easy fix--she had the stand upside down.

She just got back from a 4 day trip up north with her friend, Sheila.  Dar has never seen the Mackinaw Bridge or Mackinaw Island.  She said that most of Sheila's travel itinerary included places to eat.  They did manage to find a small shop that makes Northern Michigan Pasties.  Dar gained 3 pounds!  She would have rather seen some natural sites--the Falls and Big Spring and a casino or two--which are prevalent in that area..  

So--this occurrence made Dar's other friend, Jane, extremely jealous.   So, Dar is going to the west side of our State on a four day junket with Jane.  There will be natural sites to see and...Casino's!

The jealous triangle continues between Jane, Sheila and Dar.  Although, Dar swears she won't get in the middle of it and every time one of them starts to gossip about the other, Dar stops them and says, "Work it out."

Jane sneaks down to Dar's via the back way--between their houses (both on the same side of the street) and the woods.  If Sheila sees Jane walking down the street, she waits until she think she is at Dar's, then calls and tells Dar she had to see her right then because of an emergency.

If Jane sees Sheila walking, via the street, she waits and then calls Dar and tells her she has a problem and has to talk to her "right now!"

Jane and Sheila live directly across the street from each other, but Sheila and Dar work and take lunch together and that makes Jane mad because she feels Dar owes her that extra time too.

Earlier this spring, Jane had a lot of damage done to her place because of the ice storms.  She got her insurance company to pay for a new carport and roof and she paid to have all new siding and windows put in her house.  Quite an expense and it looks real nice.  New raised gardens put in and a lovely raised deck in back of her house with privacy fencing.

Sheila decided she wanted a new back deck put on her house and had that done.  

This morning, Dar told me that Jane is so angry with Sheila's spying and interference that she is putting her house up for sale and moving to another one, two streets over.  That way, she can walk down the far street, just down a few yards from me, and come up the street to Dar's and Sheila won't be able to see her movements!

The trouble is, Jane will never get the money she has invested in her new stuff, out of the sale of her home and the new house is a double-wide and going for $20,000.00, but--she's doing it anyway.

Dar says, "Does this remind you of third grade?"

"Sort of," I laughed.  "You know--it IS harder, or at least I have found it is harder, to have a 3-group friendship.  You need 4 in your group."

"Oh--do you want to join our group?"

"Ah...no thanks!  They get mad enough as it is if they call you and you tell them you are over here!" 
.
"That's why I tell them.  I am trying to show them, I have more friends than just the two of them!"
<which I don't view as very nice of her to try and add me to the mix>

"Well...I can't afford it, but if I could...you and I could take a weekend trip over to the EAST side of the state and drive them both nuts!."

We both laughed.  Just hope she didn't take that seriously.
=============
Well--let's see who we find today as one of my matches on Our Time:

 Now--he looks like a real, pleasant fella.

Plus--I hate beards!!!

======================================

Oh wait--I just went back and looked and--hm-mm, now.

Not too grizzly.  Kind of cute--although "cute" is a real hard word to use when viewing guys in their 70's!  He looks pleasant.  Hm-mm--he lives in Brighton.  He's 6'1"--he goes to church every Sunday--a Lutheran--well, I can deal with Lutheran's.  He has a summer home on Lake Huron! You know how I love a cottage overlooking the water! OH--oh--he's old=76.

Well now--what do we have here?  75--lives just 20 minutes south of here.  Doesn't say how tall he is, but looks kind of tall.  Wait--he reminds me of someone I know.  

Oh--now I remember.  My ex.

I am having a bit of fun with this dating site thingie.  You can put your profile on it without having to pay a subscription fee.  Of course, you can't message the guys, but.........you get to see what's "out there" every day.  I've got nothing better to do each morning, LOL.