Turn.......

 

I know I am late again ~ this series has been out since 2017.  Not sure why I didn't watch it then.  Not sure I'm enjoying it now.  The main character is an idiot.  Why he continues to have a romantic relationship with Anna...it's just stupid and creates more risk than he already has.  Am I wrong?  I realize she is part of the Culper Ring, and they believe she was one of the few women involved.  Did you watch the show?  Romeo argued it wasn't accurate, but folks smarter than me say it is.  I suppose that I will see it through, perhaps I will enjoy it more as time goes on.  

So far my time off has been great.  I'm trying to de-clutter, which is tough to do.  You hold an item in your hand and wonder, do I really want to keep this thing?  Even though I haven't used it in over a year?  If the answer is I most likely won't use it for another year, I either donate it or throw it away.  It's easy for me to do this with clothes and shoes, but other stuff?  And why am I keeping my old high school yearbooks?  Or the two of my mother's?  And for heaven's sake, why am I worrying over it?  Mom probably never looked at hers either.  My sister has a metal container where she puts crap she's not sure she wants to get rid of.  Handy, because it's out of sight.  But I refuse to rent a storage unit for crap.  I'd rather just get rid of it.  

Usually I approach these jobs in a small way ~ I take one thing, make a decision and move on.  But contemplating a whole closet is over whelming.  Don't get me started on the filing cabinet.  It's full of old paperwork we no longer need, but I missed my opportunity to put it in the office shredding bin, as they filled it up on clean night.  

Well, I need to get busy, I plan to do a bit of sewing today.  Have a great week!

Love, 365    

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

 

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

I am well today ~ and busy with pie and stuffing and all the other food items for today!  Thanks to all of you for wishing us well.  

Love, 365

Happy Thanksgiving!....

 

Yesterday one of our hygienists brought his dog's 8 puppies so we could see them....oh, they are soooo cute!  Mom is a siberian husky who is all white.  Each of these little cuties has dark blue eyes.  Truthfully there aren't many critters cuter than a 4 week old puppy!  

I sent a picture to Romeo, and he barely commented.  I would say he is not ready for a new dog, which is just as well since we are going to the Grand Canyon in June.  The North rim only allows dogs on a leash during a day trip.  Even if they had kennels, I wouldn't put my dog in one where they barely have enough people to keep things going, much less keep an eye on dogs.

We had our annual "clean night" after work yesterday.  Twice a year after work (right before Thanksgiving and Memorial Day) we do the top to bottom cleaning, and get paid for the next day in addition to the holiday.  As usual it was exhausting.  One of the items I cleaned were the huge panels of plexiglass the we have in front of our desks.  We really can't stand them.  You can barely hear other people with a mask on, and when you add the plexiglass it's even worse.  I think they'll be up at least another year ~ really, who knows??  

So today I had plans to make rolls, pie, and cranberry chutney.  I only got around to the chutney, I really wasn't feeling that great today.  So if I have Covid I'm going to be really pissed off, because I took an extra day off, haha.  I don't know if that's what it is, I guess I'll buy a rapid test if I continue to feel like crap.  Just tired with body aches.  I am concerned, because I know quite a few vaccinated people that have Covid.  And it would be a real bummer to have it now, although there's never a good time.  

 

Well, I hope to be super busy tomorrow, so I'll wish y'all the best now!  Enjoy your time with your families and friends....and be thankful that you have them in your lives.

 

Love, 365  

Hurry up.....and wait......

Hahaha, I am not doing the shopping, but I loved this meme.....Romeo said it is getting crazy out there!  

This is us every year ~ big breakfast, snacking on cookies, waiting for the bird........

In the meantime, this is Romeo....

Tacos work every.single.time.  

So!  I work Monday and Tuesday, then I'm off for a week, since putting in for one single day of PTO gives me a whole week off.  We were told on Wednesday that one of our doctors is retiring, and should be gone by the end of February.  Now, all of us think he would likely hang out a bit longer, but the office manager is planning on retiring at the end of February as well.  I don't think our doc will stay after she's gone, she and he are very close.  It's what I'm hoping, anyway.  He is ready for retirement, believe me. 

Of course, I stupidly offered to stay a little longer if there are issues, but I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen....me staying, not that there won't be problems :D

Have a wonderful week!

Love, 365

 

Disappointment......

 

Romeo and I have had an appointment to get our passports for a month.  Today was the day.  I gave the lady all the paperwork.....and after a minute, she tells me my Mother's name is not the same as my application.  My Mother's name is incorrect on MY birth certificate.  WHAT?  You know, I've had the birth certificate for awhile.....I never scrutinized it.  

After several phone calls, and waiting for 30 minutes on hold with vital records, it was explained to me that I need to request a certified copy of her birth certificate ~ because her death certificate won't do (why the hell not, but whatever).  Then I send that, with a copy of my ID and a check for $27.50.  At the rate governmental agencies move, I figure I'll be waiting awhile for that.  Isn't it nice they want me to pay for their mistake?  I thought so and said so.  Although I tried to be nice and told her I know it's not her fault, but wow.  

Romeo's passport application is done.  I don't know how long I'll be waiting, but I am really frustrated.  Then Romeo shows me some attitude, that I guess I should have just been, Oh! No problemo, I am nothing if not happy to face any challenge.  For pete's sake.  

Ranting cause no one else cares....haha

Love, 365

PS: All in all it will cost me nearly $60 to fix their mistake.  I have to pay $30 for a certified copy of my Mom's birth certificate......I'm bleedin here 😒

28 weeks and 5 days, but who's counting?.....

 

Monday's bake......one person said it was possibly the most beautiful sourdough boule she's ever seen.  I say she is wrong, I've seen lots more that were more intricately scored than mine, but I appreciated the sentiment :-)  I think it's too dark, but I didn't set my timer for the first half, so there ya go.  It did prove to me that I can make bread any day of the week, I just have to get up 15-20 minutes earlier.  

I have 28 weeks left until retirement.  Every week my co-worker and I discuss how long we have left.  She's planning on retiring the same day I am. If she goes through with it, it will be the very first time I will lead a "trend", haha.  This was a tough week.  We are short handed again, with one less dental assistant and another person on vacation.  

We have one hygienist that is very popular ~ to the point that many of her patients would rather wait 2-3 months to see her rather than have their cleaning with someone else when she's on vacation.  Is that something you would do?  I always have to laugh (to myself, not out loud) when the person gives me the reason that "she knows my teeth".  What they really mean is she knows their quirks and likes/dislikes.  She just left on vacation for a week, and I dread it. She gives me a list of people to call, so that they know she will not be in.  What I have discovered is that she gives me the list of people she likes....there are plenty of others that become upset when they arrive and are informed that she isn't in.  Some begrudgingly stay and see someone else, some refuse to see another hygienist and reschedule ~ which means we've paid someone to come and take care of her patients and now they're going to be tapping their fingers for an hour.  These are the types of situations I will not miss when I am retired.  

Romeo and I are going to begin the process of obtaining our passports. Neither of us have ever had one before.  I am hoping to do some travel, but Romeo doesn't like long flights...so not sure how that is going to work.  Perhaps if he doesn't want to go to Europe I can go on a group tour.  I certainly would not want to do a trip like that by myself.  One of the main reasons we want them is because our driver license is not considered a "true ID" because some years ago our state began handing out licenses to undocumented immigrants.  So, either you put together a huge amount of paperwork to get this "real ID" (yes, that's what they call it), or just go get a passport.  That's the main reason.  If I don't do one or the other, I will not be able to fly to Texas, is that not stupid?  And if we take a few road trips up north (he was born in Ohio, and I have tons of family in Pennsylvania) we could actually go a bit further and visit Canada again. We were in Toronto years ago, and would love to go again.

I have been up since 3:30 am......stupid time change.  Even though "fall back" is an easier change to swallow, it's still annoying.  Why, oh why do we have to do this, when no one wants it?  I think over 70% of Americans don't want to deal with DST anymore.  I don't even care which one they decide to make permanent, I just want the madness to stop!!

Have a great weekend!

Love, 365

Autumn at it's best................

 

Yesterday Romeo and I took the majority of the day to travel on the Sandia Mountain tram to the top for a hike ~ he had said maybe we shouldn't (since it's my short weekend), but I mentioned that this is likely the last weekend in the 70s (I think the high was 74) that we will have.  Certainly next weekend's forecast is at least 10 degrees below that.  What a glorious day it was ~ in fact today was just the same, it was a beautiful day.

As you see, the skies were blue like a robin's egg...the breeze was mostly felt as you approached the edge.  An edge that is quite spincter tightening in places, lol.

One of my favorite photos from the lot.  I have so many in my collection.  But each time I go, there is something different, whether it be the season, or the weather.  

I posed as a tree-hugger :-)

I'm not sure what Romeo intended to convey.....haha

We meant to get going to see the aspen trees turn gold, but we were late for that.  They are gnarly trees once all their leaves are gone.  The grow tall in order to reach the sun, and the high winds common at the crest of the mountain create these tortured shapes.  The golden leaves were tattered and scattered on the ground.  

After the hike (nearly 6 miles of ups and downs and rocks and stairs ~ yes there are stairs cut into the rock in places), we were starving.  There is a wonderful restaurant on top, near the tram.  By the time we arrived, there was a 30-45 minute wait, so we left and drove to El Pinto which is a popular New Mexican restaurant in town.  It didn't escape my attention that it took about that long to drive there.  :D

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend too!  

Less than 30 weeks to retirement....

Love, 365

Flummoxed..........

 

There are a growing number of folks that are convinced that the earth is flat, and that we've all been brainwashed that the earth is round ~ headed by NASA, our government, and likely other organizations.  I watched about 3/4's of the show Behind the Curve.  That was all I could do, I just couldn't do it after that.  And, perhaps more importantly, it was driving Romeo crazy.  

The very first part was narrated by a flat earth believer, Mark Sargent.  He seems like a reasonable person, who apparently truly believes the earth is flat.  Then things take a rather weird turn.  

Not much of the FEB's (flat earth believers) actually have any proof.  They have some experiments that seem to support them.  But mostly they are talking about believing what they believe and then working hard to support their theory.  It's not based on having a theory and then applying the scientific method to find the truth, but sticking with working on proving their theory....and if their test doesn't prove it, trying another test until they find what they're looking for.  I watched as they were trying to use some special gyroscope to prove their theory, but when it didn't work (this was to prove the earth doesn't rotate), they kept trying with different processes.  As far as I know, they failed every single time.  

Neil Degrasse Tyson describes this movement as an anti-intellectual movement that borders on the end of civilization as we know it.  Hmmmm.  I think his frustration has influenced the vehemence of his words😡, lol.

There was quite a bit of film that had absolutely nothing to do with the theory.  A guy who makes a "flat earth motorcycle" ~ the possible romance between Mark and Patricia Steere (who is apparently well known in FEB you tube videos) ~ a dating service for FEB, because who else would date someone with those beliefs? 

Some of these people are making a lot of money off of the believers of this baseless theory too.  One guy spends hours (and is quite talented) making flat earth models that are very elaborate.

Anyway, it was interesting.  I watched because I wanted to see their "proof", or at least understand why they are convinced that the earth is flat.  I have come away agreeing with one of the psychologists that commented here and there ~ there are those who, for some reason, do not want to believe in the "establishment".  It's a thing.  I've had experience with this, and I bet you have too.  People that insisted when the vaccine first came out that it would be "the mark of the beast" or that there would be some kind of tracker in either the vaccine or the freaking band-aid.  

If I could ask a FEB a questions, it would be "then why is the moon round, the sun is round, the planets are round"?  I'm sure they have a theory on that too.  Romeo would shake his head at me for even engaging in such nonsense.

Love, 365 

Mean people, possible puppy, and other adventures.....

 

Do you ever read those articles that pop up on your phone ~ I get them every day.  Usually there is one or two that I find interesting.  Today, Time Magazine had an article on why people seem increasingly rude lately (although "lately" is incorrect).  One of the reasons listed is that we're now unused to dealing with others during the pandemic.  Hmmm, perhaps.  It seems more likely that we're just so frustrated with all the pandemic brings, we're taking it out on each other.  And although the article didn't mention social media, that gets a good bit of my vote too.  People can't get enough of it, haven't you noticed?  Now that we can't have any magazines (honestly, didn't they already state that the virus is very unlikely to be transmitted from surfaces??), there's not much to do unless you bring your own book.  If you're already feeling rather pissed off all the time, social media is comparable to using gas to light a match.  

It's become a bit rough out there.  I haven't experienced much of the rudeness, just people who don't want to wear masks anymore.  Otherwise, most people I've encountered haven't been mean just for the sake of it.  The story is different on airplanes, in cafe's, and retail.    Crime is definitely up in our area too.  Hit and run accidents have been more common.  I think I'd rather stay home or go for a hike.  But I am missing having a dog.....

One of our hygienists has a dog that is pregnant.  The dog is a blue eyed husky.  Romeo hasn't said anything about wanting a dog, but when the puppies arrive, I'll show him a photo and see if he wants to do it...although he did say we should go for a smaller dog, since they tend to live longer ~ but prefers larger dogs.  Ugh.  Not sure that adopting a dog for longevity is the best way to go, although we both like Corgi's and Scottish Terriers.  

We're supposed to go to Costco today.  Wish us luck!  Yikes!

Enjoy your Saturday

Love, 365

Oh, how I miss breakfast.....

 

Even as a kid I was a big breakfast eater.  During my teen years, when body image is stupidly geared to thin thin thin ~ well, lets not go there, it was an unhealthy time of my life.  I feel as though I've always had issues with my weight.  Peer pressure, social pressure ~ women are always under fire to be thin.  There's a reason why most magazine and clothing lines advertise with tall thin women.  Oh, for the Renaissance, when it was popular for women to be chubby.

Sigh.

When we age, most people ~ men and women ~ put on pounds over time.  For me it really started coming on when I turned 60.  None of the usual tactics worked anymore.   I tried exercising more, counting calories, etc.  Nothing worked.  The scale stayed stubbornly the same ~ or crept up, despite my efforts.  Then I read about intermittent fasting.  The basic idea is limiting eating during an 8 hour period.  Because Romeo and I enjoy eating dinner together, I chose the 12-8 period.  Oh, how I miss breakfast.  The eggs, the toast, the pancakes, the waffles....bacon.  All postponed until noon.  

I have to say, by 10:30, my tummy is rumbling.  I drink two cups of coffee, then I go for water to stave off the hunger pains.  Which, truthfully, has limited results.  

I started this on a trial basis, and have been sticking with it for the past three months.  So far I've lost 6 pounds, which doesn't sound like much, does it?  It's been more successful than anything else I've tried. When I traveled I didn't follow the plan, but I didn't gain any weight, which was amazing.  

But boy, I sure do miss breakfast.

Love, 365

Hiking and baking........

Look closely at the sign.....at some recent point in time a kid ~ or kid at heart ~ put a little toy dinosaur on it.  A bright blue one.  Sometimes you see small cairns too.  A few months after the pandemic came, people were painting rocks and placing them along the trail.  Seems like every week there were new ones and the collection was fun to keep up with.  

 

I loved this Halloween display that faces only the park.  Very clever and cute.  

Bees, still busy out there.  Lots of blooming plants still around here, but I loved that I caught this one on a lowly dandelion.

Not long ago I saw some suggestions on how to take photos from a different perspective, so I placed my phone on the ground beneath this dandelion for the photo.  I was pleasantly surprised, but I need a little more practice.

Yesterday I baked a new Greek desert ~ ravani.  I'm not sure it turned out very well, but I have no way to know, never had one.  It's really too bad the recipe didn't explain to take the cake out of the pan before you pour on the syrup.  It would have turned out so much better if I had, I rather squished it getting it out.  I'll have to ask one of my cowokers (she's made it before).  So, I guess I'll keep it in the fridge until Monday.  All in all, rather disappointing. 

Sleep well!

Love, 365