I wish we had an island for conspiracy theorists.......

I work with a far-right wing-conspiracy theorist: Ms. Loud.  I think she's loud because she wants to make sure we've heard her.  I've written about her before.  Nice, but fruitier than a nut cake.😮

Honestly, that woman never stops talking. And she is never ever wrong.

This is how I get most of my critical work done before lunch, because I hunker down and do my thing so I don't get dragged into the conversation.  By the afternoon I guess she's said all she needs to say,   One of my co-workers was telling me about a documentary she recommended which contained nearly every conspiracy theory known to man.  Well, it ought to, it's 11 hours long!  I'm gonna pass, thank you very much.

She wears a mask at work only when necessary, so when she comes up to me I put mine on.  When she's not at work she never wears one, even in stores.  Has vowed to leave a store that enforces the wearing of a mask ~ I thought they all required it, but as in most retail establishments, they are loath to kick out paying customers, so many don't enforce it.  She also attends one of those "mega churches" that opened up at the beginning of June.  No masks.  Not much social distancing.  Over a thousand people there for services.  If she manages to escape contracting the virus, I will be surprised.

I had mentioned before that one of our hygienists has been out of work for a month.  After all the tests she's had done, there's no real diagnosis.  A UTI, a sinus infection, an adjustment to her blood pressure medication.  It's obvious to me that she is scared to come back to work, but doesn't want to retire because then she'd have to be home with her husband all day.  Our OM (office manager) is giving her a deadline now for next week.  After which she will have to admit she can't do it anymore and retire or job share with one of our other hygienists who wants to retire, but will job share with her for a year and then retire.  It is a mess.  Hiring a temp is so expensive that the OM has had enough of that, and wants her to make a decision.  We will see how that goes. 

So as you can see there's enough drama at work, which probably explains why I can't stand reality tv. 

Picked another ripe tomato yesterday, and the plants are loaded!  Right now I eat them as soon as they are ripe enough to pick (of course, that's a stupid thing to write, huh) no sharing yet, but I will be handing out a few to others who shared with me in previous years.

My church is finally opening this week, and I am reserved for a spot.  So far there are only 4 of us signed up out of 44.  The service on Saturday has never been that heavily attended, there were times when I was the only person.  Sunday services won't start until July 5. 

With the slow re-opening of businesses I don't have much going on except for work and home!  I hope all of you enjoy your weekend⭐

Love, 365

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all father's out there!  I understand the importance of having a great dad.  It's such a huge impact on the life of a child.  Thank you for being fun, goofy, a guidance counselor, and sympathetic shoulder, and the rock of the family.  Thank you!

Love, 365

Garden treasures.........

I have taken three tiny tomatoes off of one of my plants, and it is loaded.  So excited to have a vine ripened tomato, it has been so long!  When we have more than we can eat I plan to prepare some sun dried tomatoes, which will be great on salad, pizza ~ well I'll probably run out of them before I run out of things to use them in. 

Took a break from bread baking this weekend, since our freezer is stocked up and I just can't get anything more in there.  But I did make bread pudding from all of the stale pieces that I had saved up, and wow, that was really tasty and easy to do. 

Today I need to hem my newly acquired scrub pants ~ I am so happy that we can wear scrubs now, although I'm not sure how long it will last.  It's like wearing pajamas to work.

After a face-time happy hour with my sister, it sounds like I will be taking a road trip in 3 to 6 weeks to help her with clearing out Mom's house.  It's a big job, but we have help.  In the meantime I need to figure out who to hire to handle the estate sale.  Mom bought nice furniture, but kept it so long that most of her stuff is worn out, or so outdated that no one wants it.  I don't want it!  I don't want her silverware, or her hand painted china...none of that goes in the dishwasher 😆  Plus my kitchen is packed and I simply don 't have the room.  It will certainly be an experience. 

I hope all of you have a great week ~ a great start is avoiding the news.

Love, 365

What a wild strange trip it is.......

What a perfect title to apply to today....

Now that places are starting to open up, I realize that I'm really not ready.  First of all I wear a mask all day at work, and I've come to loath it.  So, not really sure it's worth it to go somewhere and have to put it on again. 

Or, not put it on and feel weirdly exposed.  Have you been getting out there ~ and do you wear a mask when you do? 

And now, for 😜

Love y'all......

365

Hits from the universe..........

 Romeo filed another complaint about our next door neighbor's backyard security camera that was ~ once again ~ pointed at our backyard.  This is a woman somewhat near my own age with a 50ish year old son that hasn't worked the entire time we have lived next to them.  That's 20 years.  He probably has mental issues, and for all I know is collecting social security disability.  I really don't know.  But the guy is weird, no question.  Creepy for sure.  He pulls out his military binoculars to peek into the homes across the street (not ours thankfully).  And there's the security camera thing.  It's not that we sunbathe nude.  But we should have a reasonable expectation of privacy.  It creeps me out to the extreme that anytime I might be watering the garden, or picking up dog poop, or just hanging out on the patio and never know if he is watching us.  Ugh. 

So, Saturday a cop came to our house to discuss the complaint.  He went and spoke to the owner of the house (the Mom) and in 10 minutes the camera was again pointing out to the street.  It's not really a win though ~ he could go out and turn it again in 2 minutes. 

What really got to me was that the policeman gave us the news that our other neighbor died about 10 days before.  I was floored.  And so sad!  She was very sick, but a nice enough lady.  It makes me feel terrible that I didn't know.  The stupid covid virus kept me from visiting.  I did text/call a couple of times to see if she wanted or needed anything.  But I'm kind of pissed at the universe for this one.  And no, it wasn't the virus.  She had a serious health condition.  :-(

So, this will be the third time that house has been sold since we've lived there.  Given the crappy neighbors we have on the right, I sure hope it works out well.

Love, 365

The downward slide......

My hollyhocks last year....this year they are twice as big!

Well, my Mom is back in the hospital.  She collapsed ~ on her first day back home from rehab ~ and broke her ankle.  Sadly my sister and I agree that was likely her last trip home.  After rehab this time, she will be going to assisted living.  It is a long and sad story that so many of us experience with our elderly parents that have so many health issues (Parkinson's, dementia, etc).  In the next month or two I will be driving to Texas to help my sister clear out Mom's house to put it up for sale.  It will be difficult.  Mom has lived in that house for over 50 years.  It is filled with memories, both good and bad.  Birthday's and estrangement, deployment and graduation.  I suppose those 5 years that I lived there shaped a good part of who I am.  It is where my babies went to be admired by their Grandmother.  Until I moved to New Mexico, I spent nearly every Christmas there, Thanksgiving, Easter......  Without those memories it is just a tired house, in need of some updating.

I don't know how Mom will feel about not going back.  It is where, up until the last four months, the place she felt most comfortable and in control.  Not long ago, she did tell my sister that maybe she should go to a nursing home ~ because she knew that her caregiver no longer has the strength to help if she falls, or has other trouble getting around the house.  Going in and out of the hospital has increased her dementia issues.  My sister visited her at rehab where Mom asked her where she was.  Still, even though we have some plans, everything is uncertain.  I'm not sure how long she will be in rehab this time. 

On the work front, our hygienist is still out.  The doctors she has seen seem unable to figure out what is going on with her.  I haven't heard about her COVID test, but I know I would have heard if it was positive.  She has debilitating headaches and very high blood pressure.  If I were her kid, I would encourage her to retire.  From what I've heard, she doesn't want to be home with her husband all day 😊  Another uncertainty....all we can do is wait and see.

We are having a rare rainy morning her in Albuquerque.  Usually we have storms in the afternoon and evening following a hot day.  It is so nice to see it, the air smells so fresh and scented with pinon, sage and lavender.  I love the smell of the desert when it rains.

Tonight I am participating in a painting class via zoom.  The subject:

Normally (haha) we would be at a pub or a bar, and drinking wine or beer while we paint....still should be fun!  And I need to replace the winter scene I painted last time I participated in one of these.  And make a run to the store for a few beers......alcohol does improve the painting process for me!

Enjoy your Saturday!

Love, 365