No Logos Today

My first Thursday without Logos.  Whatever would I do with myself?  I know.  The very thing.  Walt and I went to Costco.

Ever since I became a Compassion sponsor, I feel guilty whenever I go to Costco.

This is excess in the extreme, each aisle filled with large sized everything. I think of my kids living in places where this would be unimaginable.  But I shop anyway.

You never know when you're going to find something new and interesting.   There were lots of samples today but these were the best

There were four different flavors but I liked these the best, so we bought a bag.  However, I decided to pass on these.

We got away for less than I usually spend, which was nice.  I was telling Walt that when I go to Costco now, I have to factor in Blue Apron dinners and how much space there is in the refrigerator and freezer, neither of which hold as much as our old one did, so I can't get carried away with stuff to freeze.

We left Costco and I dropped Walt off at home, took a package to the post office and delivered my mother's laundry to her.  She is now doing weird things with her laundry and mixing up the hamper with the garbage can...and sometimes the odd bag lying around her bedroom.  Whatever was in with the undies this time, dissolved in my washer and left a weird substance everywhere in the dryer.  I knew it was hopeless, but I tried to explain to her the importance of putting only underwear in her hamper.  She was very confused and didn't have a clue what I was talking about but she could see I was upset and she said she would try to remember.  I know I have to change the way I do her laundry now.

We sat and looked at each other for an hour before I left.  I keep trying to find very simple topics to talk with her about, but we just talk about the same things over and over again an in between, I start to doze off.  I wish I could find something to say to her or do with her to enrich her day, but I have not been able to find that elusive thing.  Mostly we talk about how she knows she's supposed to be doing something, but doesn't know what and do I ever feel that way?

I came home and took a nap; Walt went down to the pub where he has gone for a beer every Thursday while I'm working, just for old times sake.  He also stopped in Logos to see how things were going and met several friends there.

Stocking up for the next four years

Simply Delightful

You know those drinking games some folks play?  Like you watch a political speech and every time the speaker says a certain key word you down a glass of beer or a shot of whiskey or something?

I started giggling while trying to write the Cinderella review today, thinking that you could get drunk if you read a bunch of my reviews and took a swig every time I use the word "delightful."

So many of the shows are...well...delightful that I am hard pressed to find a different way of saying it and I'm boring even myself.  I have visions of readers grabbing one of my reviews and seeing how far they have to read into it before I use the "d" word.  The production is delightful, so-and-so's performance is delightful, the little kids are delightful.  I can use the "d" word 3 or 4 times in one review, if I'm not careful.

Many, many years ago, my friend Stephen Peithman told me about a book that has become one of my bibles. 

For anybody who writes, especially advertising copy (which a review isn't, of course, but it's the same principle), this is a gold mine of different ways of saying the same thing.  It promises to be "the thesaurus to help you promote your products, services, and ideas."

I stick with the "Key Word Index," which gives me (almost) every possible word I might want to find a substitute for.  Words like "affluent, affordable, alluring, amazing, appealing, aristocratic,' etc down to "Zesty."  Find the word you want to substitute and the index takes you to a page (or 2 or 3) with possible suggestions for other ways to say what you're trying to say.

Check out "delightful" and it directs you to a page titled "Pleasure/Satisfaction" and offers suggestions such as "Imagine the fun you'll have," "the time of your life," "your passport to...," "entertains while it...," "hits the spot," "great family fun."  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.  Instead of "delightful" this time I went with "This is a production that will entertain all generations in the family."

There are times I don't know what I'd do without this book!

After I finished writing the review, I went off for my monthly trip to Costco.  I usually need to go to Costco for several reasons (a) we have run out of dog treats (that's usually the #1 reason), (b) I'm out of butter (it's $2.50/lb at Costco and nearly $5 at the local supermarket), (c) we need a new box of puddle pads for Polly, and (d) I have nothing left in the freezer to cook for dinner.

Today, I needed to shop for everything.  Bought two boxes of puddle pads, 2 boxes of dog treats (that's $50 just for dog stuff), 8 lbs of butter (Yeah--I know, I know), 8 lbs of ground beef wrapped in little "chub" packages, and a big lasagne that would do double duty -- dinner tonight and reheated tomorrow so I don't have to cook after working at Logos.

Trips to Costco are the one time that I don't feel guilty about spending lots of money.  Heading back to the car with my cart heaped high with items that will get me through the next month, I could only rate the time I had just had at the Big Box Store as .... delightful.

Evil Costco

I couldn't figure out why I was so groggy while watching Jeopardy until I remembered that I had almost no sleep last night, unable to fall asleep until after 5 a.m., and then getting up at 7.  Normally I would have taken a nap, but it just never occurred to me.  Walt asked if I thought it was because of Peggy's letter...and yeah, I guess so.  Probably also why I'm up at 2:30 a.m. this morning writing this journal entry!  I went to sleep promptly at 10 p.m. last night and was wide awake at 1:15.  I hope that I will put myself to sleep writing this (so you can see how exciting an entry you are in for!).  I'm sure this will pass quickly.  I am really not feeling all that upset any more, but I guess my brain hasn't figured that out yet.

I took a run to Costco in the late morning.  We have one of, if not "the" largest Costcos in the countries, opening just a few miles from here a couple of years ago.  That monolith to excess!  I got used to buying in bulk when the kids were all home and it seems pretty ridiculous to continue doing it when there are just two of us, but old habits die hard. 

My plan had been to do my shopping at Costco this week, instead of the regular supermarket, but we were running out of some essential things on Sunday...and one thing you don't want to do, if you don't absolutely have to, is go to Costco on the weekend, when everyone who works is there and it is a madhouse.  So I went off to the local supermarket to buy "a few" things, intending to fill in where necessary, with a run to Costco.  (A good idea...when I got to check out yesterday, I was the only person in line!  That certainly would never have happened on a weekend day!)

Only my "few" supermarket purchases came to more than $150 so I decided to do the Costco run a bit later in the month, but I had specifically not purchased things that I knew I could get cheaper at Costco, like peanut butter, the special dog treats that I give our dogs, which I have not seen elsewhere, and the "puddle pads" that Polly is very good about peeing on, though relieving herself outside seems abhorrent to her.

Walt suggested I could just buy a few things.  And I really had all good intentions, but I am powerless over the lure of Costco.  I was doing well with just the few things I needed until I hit the meat aisle and saw the prices for the things I buy regularly.  Everything was much less than in the supermarket, but of course you have to buy in gargantuan sizes.  Thus I bought 8 pork chops, 8 lbs of ground beef, and a 5 lb lamb roast, which was easily half the price of anything I'd seen in the supermarket and will feed us for several days.

Though my cart was not heaping, as it usually is, everything I bought cost a bit and when I checked out, I had spent >$160.  I'd better not need to go to the store for at least a month, after paying $300 for groceries for two of us in the past two days!

I also stopped at nearby Michael's craft shop, intending, again, to just get a couple of things.  I needed extra strong glue sticks and some double stick tape.  I did get away for under $60, but just barely.  For someone who is not really "crafty," I certainly seem to be enticed by many things in a craft store.   My "composition journal" is coming along nicely, now nearly 70 pages long.   I love the spread I did for the Lamplighters.   

 I'm now working on pages to explain Cousins Day and include the rules to "65."

In the late afternoon, Walt and I went to visit our friend, about whom I wrote when we went to watch her having her head shaved as a fundraiser for the Baldrick Foundation's fund raiser to raise funds to fight children's cancer.

She had called me a couple of days ago to say that while doing a favor for friends (picking up mail while they were out of town for a couple of days), she fell down their stairs on leaving the house and had broken her hip and her shoulder.   She was calling from the hospital and said she would be moved to a convalescent hospital in a couple of days.

Poor lady!  My heart went out to her!  She's 78 and a professor at a community college in Sacramento.  I didn't know how long this accident was going to put her out of commission.

We visited with her for about 45 minutes, though she was flying high on pain meds and fading in and out of sleep. They were also polishing the floor right outside of her room and since she spoke so softly it was almost impossible to understand her.

Having recently been in the market for Senior Living places, I found the convalescent hospital, though a very nice one, very depressing, with that familiar smell of urine and disinfectant, and the people in wheelchairs in the hall with blank expressions on their faces.  I remember all that from my visits to my cousin Kathy, when she was dying.

As we left the place, I said a prayer that my mother would die in Covell Gardens and not reach that end stage where she needs to be moved into a place like this.  I think about things like that a lot these days, I discover!

Well, it's now after 3 a.m. and I think I'll give sleep another try and see if I'm successful this time. The dogs hate nights like this because they don't know where to sleep!

I Bought a Cane

While it certainly wasn't the most significant thing that happened today, it was a big deal for me to go out and buy a cane.  The wooden one I found in the house has been a big help with my sore knee but it is solid wood and would not fit in my suitcase, and it's also just a tad too tall for me.

So we went to CVS today and checked out telescoping canes and ended up with this one, which is adjustable probably down to a size that Bri could use, so that it can fit in my suitcase.  It does make somewhat of a commitment to my using it, of course.  My mother would die before she would let herself be seen using a cane, but heck, if it helps my knee feel better, I don't care what I look like.  It was a significant enough event today that I made this the photo of the day.  The first step on the path to the grave. 

We hung around the house again until nearly noon.  No plans to meet at Tom's, since the girls would not be home and Tom & Laurel would be working.  Instead we visited with baby Charlie, who is just a couple of weeks older than Lacie.  Charlie and her parents (her grandfather is Joe, Alice Nan's husband) are getting ready to move to Boston, but needed some place to stay for a few weeks, so they have moved in here.   Mommy Jocelyn thrilled me today when she told me that Instagram is now available for the android phone.  I have been using it all day, but Charlie was my first Instagram photo.

I had a package that had to go out by UPS, so we went to the UPS store and then stopped at a fun Japanese place called Sushi Teri, where we have eaten before. We both chose real crab rolls (as opposed to imitation crab things that are also on the menu).  There were delicious, but not a lot of them to serve two of us for lunch.

We also had a couple of gyozo each, but again, there was still room in our guts when we finished, so we decided to order dessert.  We both chose "tempura ice cream" with plum wine ice cream.  The waiter was back shortly to let us know that they had none of the pound cake they use to encase the ice cream before dipping it in tempura batter and frying, but would we like tempura bananas instead?  We decided what the heck and ordered two order.  Oh my!  ONE order would have easily served 3 people.

You can't really get perspective here, but that plate is about 10" across and those are two humongous scoops of ice cream.  The plum wine ice cream was a bit too sweet even for me, and the whole thing was so huge...but both Walt and I finished every little bit and, had we not been in public, probably would have licked the plate.

After that, we were ready for a siesta, so we came home and took a nap...

...then we met Tom, Jocelyn, Alice and Joe at Costco to do the big shopping for the BBQ on Wednesday. It was Charlie's first trip to Costco and she wasn't too sure about the place.

Bri, on the other hand, is an old timer and helped schlep food from Daddy's hands into the basket.

We had 3 carts full and have enough meat and fish to start our own butcher shop.

But we got it all loaded and we went off in separate directions.  The Alice/Joe crowd got food at a local Hawaiian place to bring home.  I had a very nice and informative chat with Jocelyn's husband, David, and then everybody else went off to bed.  I am obviously still at my computer, but hope to call it a night soon.

 Joe and Tom do battle with giant bears!

The Organizer

Jeri leaped up from the table and went to the counter to get a napkin and a piece of paper on which she could write. "We need a plan," she said. "Now what still has to be done?" Quickly we listed all the things that remained undone and that needed to be done between now and Friday morning.

We were sitting at In-n-Out Burger having lunch at 2 p.m. Jeri was feeling very guilty because she was there without Phil and texted him to apologize, saying I made her come without him.

In truth, she lied. It was a mutual decision. We wanted to go to the Subway next door, but service was so slow and I was aware that the puppies would be waking up hungry very soon, so we chose In-n-Out instead. We had just come from a big shopping at Costco.

Jeri has been just the tonic I needed. It's been so long since I've "entertained," that I'm at the point where I'm just frazzled and don't know which needs to be done first and feel like I'm spinning. But we had done most of the Costco shopping, for all the hors d'oeuvres and drink stuff. We had soft drinks (both Coke and Pepsi--Peach has called twice to make sure there will be diet Pepsi for her to drink), some fruit drinks, 7-up and water. Tom will have wine and Ed (my mother's stepson) has rented a keg of beer. If we run short of food, we can always drink ourselves into oblivion (which, knowing the alcoholic history of my family, is not entirely beyond the range of possibility!) There will also, of course, be vodka and tonic, because you can't have a party for my mother without vodka there.

(I bought three bottles, only two of which show here)

We also solved the decoration problem with a trip to Woodland's new huge Target, and I also treated myself to a deep fat fryer to make cooking Mexican won ton easier.

We were quickly checking things off of Jeri's list and it felt good. As she was in Europe, Jeri is a great support system and her unflagging enthusiasm and refual to think negative becomes infectious

We've decided to buy birthday cakes because there has still been no word on the new stove and I'm afraid that I'm not going to have enough time to bake two big cakes and decorate them. While I'm disappointed that these won't be "home made," I'm also relieved because it's one job I don't have to do. I ordered an undecorated sheet cake, so at least I'll be able to decorate it, but won't have to worry about the baking part.

I still have to make Mexican won ton, and stuffed jalapenos. We'll also have tortilla chips with cheese sauce, and I am thankful that I have a crock pot to heat it up.

Jeri was just what the doctor ordered. It's all starting to feel more "do-able."

Blindsided

The dogs love jerky treats, which come in a nice plastic box and last about a month. I've only found this particular brand at Costco. The dogs are out of jerky treats and we need to stock up on meat, so I decided to drive to Vallejo and go to Costco.

I drove 20 miles to Costco and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Kaiser medical center in Davis.

Oh--it's not as bad as it sounds.

You might remember a few months ago when I got lost in Vallejo trying to find the freeway in the dark after leaving Costco. Today I took the wrong off-ramp and got turned around, in the daylight this time. At one point I was stopped at a long stoplight, took my glasses off to clean them, and the nosepiece snapped in two.


You need to know that the only reason I can find my glasses in the morning is that I put them in the same place each night. It's the ONLY bit of my life which is organized because I am blind as a bat without my glasses. Here I was at a busy intersection with glasses that were broken, 20 miles from home, and lost in Vallejo again.

I was trying to drive around Vallejo, one-handed, holding my glasses together over my nose.


I finally decided I could see cars, just not signs, so I took them off completely, figuring that two handed semi-blind driving was safer than one-handed driving. When I wasn't finding Costco, I decided I really needed my glasses so went to put them on again, but one half of them slipped out of my hand and I couldn't find the lens. I wore only one lens, fortunately the one for my "good eye."

I remembered that Costco has an optical department, if only I could get there. I finally got to Costco, miraculously, and tried to grope around to find the missing lens, which I finally did, on the floor of the back seat.

I stumbled into Costco's optometry counter crying "help!" feebly. Of course they had nothing there to help me, but they did have scotch tape and so they taped the glasses together. They didn't fit on my head right and because they didn't set right, my vision correction wasn't quite right, but at least I could see.

(I was also quite a fetching image.) I managed to do $200 worth of shopping, even half blind, and loaded it all in the car, putting the glasses on the front seat because the tape was starting to come apart and the glasses slipped off my nose every time I bent over to pick something up.

I drove directly from Costco to Kaiser, hoping that all the frozen foods and meat would not spoil in the car while I went in to see about my glasses. In the Ophthalmology department, they found out that I am 6 months overdue for an eye exam and they could fit me in two hours from then so I made an appointment.

On my way back to the car to drive home, look for my old glasses and unload the food, I noticed that there was nobody in the lab area and so I decided to pop in for a mammogram, this being October, which is mammogram month, of course. You have very odd conversations when strangers are manhandling your breast tissue like you would knead bread dough.

I drove home, unloaded (most of) the groceries from Costco--at least those which needed to be refrigerated or frozen -- and then got back into the car again to go back to Kaiser for my eye appointment.

The doctor discovered I needed a diabetic retinopathy check too, so he did that, I ordered 2 pairs of glasses (for the first time in my life getting prescription sunglasses, since they can't do transition lenses on my prescription), and came home to collapse.

Fortunately, I have my old glasses, so at least I have something to wear while I'm waiting for my new glasses!

(note the red on the bridge of my nose, which is what you get from wearing glasses held together with scotch tape all day!)