Thanksgiving,

28 Thursday Nov 2019

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It is all I can do to refrain from multi-tasking. I am alone, at home, J is at work, prepping for the Black Friday onslaught. (Don’t get me started. This should be a No Rant day.)

Truth be told, I love the silent house, silent except for the refrigerator compressor.

Thanksgiving is at 2:00 PM at my sister’s. I plan to go to a meeting at noon. The Y is closed today.

To all my blogosphere companions, Happy Thanksgiving.

Free (Frozen) Bird

27 Wednesday Nov 2019

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Today I got my monthly Social Security check deposited into my checking account. I also needed to buy stuff. We were running low on paper towels and bath tissue. BJ’s had a deal where, upon purchase of three qualifying items, a frozen turkey could be yours. I did exactly that. Some Swiffer© dusting products completed the purchasing trifecta. That was roughly $70. I also spent about another $100 on other items in the course of acquiring The Bird.

At this point I wanted the turkey just because they were giving The Bird away. Departing the store, after spending roughly $170 to acquire the “free bird“, (apologies to Lynyrd Skynyrd), I was somewhat ambivalent about my shopping coup. J and I might not live long enough to eat an entire turkey between the two of us.

When I got back to Knollingwood Townhouses, the yard maintenance people were blowing leaves around. I approached one of the yard guys and offered the frozen turkey to him. He gladly accepted this little bit of frozen largesse from the American cornucopia.

It felt good just giving The Bird away. Really good.

Yesterday

26 Tuesday Nov 2019

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Yesterday I went to a visitation for a young man I had never met. He died in an accident ten days ago. His mother and his three aunts were high school friends from over fifty years past. I remember one Christmas Eve where I sat with this family as their mother read the Christmas story from St. Luke’s Gospel.

When my brother died nearly five years ago, DM, the eldest of the sisters came to the wake. Her showing up meant a lot to me.

And I learned Betty Ann, his mother, and the youngest of the four sisters, had suffered a series of mini strokes four days after his death. This is in addition to having Stage IV cancer. I expressed my condolences to her; she remembered me after fifty years.

If you would ask me why I have stayed in my hometown all my life, I think this is why. I’m here to reconnect with my friends when I’m needed.

I just needed to be at this visitation for this boy I had never met.

Nap Again

24 Sunday Nov 2019

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I took a nap. I did not go to Mass. Like there is a sad in me I don’t want Him to see. Maybe He can’t fix it. Or perhaps this is the mourning the experience of which He blessed Himself.

Still I did take that nap. And have that acorn squash cooking in the oven to go with our pot roast.

Two Hours Later

That acorn squash was the best. It sat on the table, near the fruit basket, waiting for me to “deal with it”, as if slicing this squash in half, dusting it with spices, and putting it in a 375° F(191°C) oven was some major deal. It wasn’t.

I cooked the eye round in the slow cooker for five and a half hours after searing it. I put some mushrooms in the pot, along with an onion, some garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, fennel seed and thyme, oh, and a shake or two of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. Well-received. And I had a pear for dessert, a Bartlett.

Later, I will slice strawberries and bananas for J’s lunch, with the last of last week’s chili.

The decaf coffee is ready.

Self-Esteem

24 Sunday Nov 2019

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I looked at a post on a social media site where the poster, a young lesbian, stated she was “battling low self-esteem”.

And I thought to myself, “Who isn’t?”

Seriously. Persons from groups that have been subject to discrimination and stigmatization, like lesbians, may feel uniquely burdened by this emotional malady. But we all do, to some degree or another.

In our culture that differentiates between winners or losers, survivors or victims, eaters or eaten, low self-esteem must be the order of the day.

The only way out is to not “play the game”. By the way, that is easier said than done.

That’s all for now.

I Took A Nap

24 Sunday Nov 2019

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…..and something happened. It was like a switch had been flipped. Probably wasn’t the best time for a nap, 6:00 PM or thereabouts. But I slept for a while. And I woke up “Not Tired”.

When I awoke, I came downstairs to find the Pakistan / Australia Test Match Second Innings were on. The partnership of Rizwan and Babar captured my attention. Babar scored a century (100 runs). Rizwan put up a respectable number and is still batting at the tea break. Pakistan is having a strong showing in the second innings.

What I noticed, after my nap,was that a lot of discomfort, stress, and uneasiness were gone, also my seeming need to eat without restraint. Sleep deprivation might be a key part of my current problems.

Maybe.