Confessions of a Grandma

 I did my bit and followed our Governor's advice to not Thanksgiving dinners only with household or with one person who lives alone and to not rush out to Black Friday sales. I cooked a scaled down but more than adequate Thanksgiving meal for Don and myself.  Kevin also came for dinner since he lives alone and also works from home. It was relaxed and satisfying. Since it is my usual preference to skip Black Friday shopping I can't say that was much of a sacrifice. I did take the trip to see Amy, Kristen and Dane. I took them the makings of several meals. Dane is doing a hybrid schooling plan but Kristen and Amy are not working. This is the time of year when appeals from all kinds of worthy charities come my way, but I am going to keep my giving mostly "in house" this year. We all wore our masks the whole time. Dane and I went out for a long walk. He asked me if I would mind going up a steep hill, then laughed and said, "You'll have an easier time than me. I d...

Happy Thanksgiving U.S.A.

 I have now officially become a person who has reading glasses in every room. Having worn glasses for most all my life  -- with a complicated and very expensive prescription to boot -- it was an adjustment getting used to not being able to see to drive but not being able to read. I do have a prescription for distance correction in my left eye with progressive lenses for reading. With the medicare benefit (one time after cataract surgery) they only cost me $480. But I really like being able to use cheap readers.  Don is accusing me of trying to be like Gayle King with a pair of glasses to match her every outfit. Since most of my clothes are blue and white, it's hardly the same but he does like to tease. But then my niece and nephews were teasing me about my mask matching my outfit at their dad's outdoor funeral service.  Maybe I am just easy to tease.

Even for the retires, a Monday is still Monday. But I guess I am not the only one these days.

 Most people would consider me a fairly neat and organized person. I shelf my books alphabetically by author, separate shelves for fiction, nonfiction and poetry. I am fussy about neatly folded sheets and towels in the linen closet. I sweep the kitchen floor most everyday and have a schedule for other household tasks. My closets are neat and organized. No one calls me a slob.  I have met my match. Don:      I see that you had chips with your lunch. Me:          I did, but how would you know that?                 I can tell my the way you closed the bag.                  I closed it exactly the same way as you do, rolled up and clipped. But, NOOO, not exactly the same way. the bag closed by me You will no doubt see the very obvious differences: See how much lower on the bag the clip is placed. No doubt as God intended. Much less o...

This has happened to me a number of times now.  Here I am at a gathering, perhaps a holiday party, with my peers -- other white, privileged individuals of a certain educational and economic status -- when someone loudly announces to no one in particular or the crowd in general, "God, I HATE liberals," or "I HATE ALL Democrats!" What am I supposed to do? Some one I don't know or some one I thought was actually a friend announces that he/she/they hates me. Was it unwittingly done or on purpose? Do I walk out of the room or engage in a conversation? So far such statements have not been directed at me specifically, but they are hurtful. And where does it come from, this hatred so forceful that spittle sprays through the air? Well, at least the coronavirus will spare me that experience this year. Hatred is the tip of an ego iceberg developed over lifetime experiences. Hatred may see the "other" as bad or dangerous, but it reveals much more about the hater...

 As part of the never ending suckage of the year 2020, during the last week if October the University of Vermont Medical Center was hit with a cyberattack. It has not been resolved as yet and a cyberattack defense unit from the National Guard has been called in to help. The FBI is also involved in checking all devices for malware. The system includes six hospitals, home health and hospice systems, and over three thousand doctors and nurses in Vermont and northern New York. At least three hundred medical center workers have been reassigned or have been put on leave because they cannot do their jobs. Medical appointments for chemotherapy, mammography, biopsies and other patient appointments have been affected. Apparently the healthcare system is a target of high-level ransom attacks. This is really scary stuff! I don't even understand the full implications of such attacks but I do know it is not a feeling of safety.

I'd like to say it's all over but the shouting** but it appears that there will indeed be a great deal of shouting before it's really over. I am among the group that has wondered, from the time he first burst on the scene, how is it that people (and so many of them) are taken in by this person? I do have at least one family member and several friends who remain Trump supporters. They say it is what he has done for the economy. Some of these people obviously enjoy a very good income but others don't have the proverbial pot to piss in. Hope springs eternal? Now I am not fabulously wealthy but I have enough for a comfortable retirement. I really didn't start thinking much about my financial future until the 1990 when my aunt gave me a small amount of stocks. I did have a retirement fund from my employment so my contribution and social security were taken out before I could even miss it, but that gift, as my aunt had hoped, got me interested in being more vigilant abou...

 I was actually seriously contemplating a permanent move to Florida. Change of plans. I will stay in Vermont, where obviously I belong.  Not having a place in Florida will free me to travel more and I would like that. By the way, the bright blue state of Vermont re-elected our Republican Governor Scott with 70% of the vote. He has handled the virus extremely well and didn't even campaign. 

 Instead of putting scraps into the trash, I have been composting kitchen and yard waste for years. The process starts with using a separate container just for table scraps.  Some people buy a special container that comes with a filter in the lid that is meant to control odors. Some containers are so fancy the can be kept on the kitchen counter. There are also biodegradable liner bags that make the emptying a whole lot more pleasant. Well, maybe pleasant is a bit of a reach. Cheaper--wrap scraps in newspaper (if you still have that around) and through the whole package into the compost bin. Options and a range of prices are on view HERE.   The thrifty way is to just use an emptied coffee can. I use an old plastic ice cream bucket. It takes time for compost to happen so the next step is to have a place to leave the accumulating table scrap. Again, there are all kinds of bins that one can buy. There are plans online if you're inclined to build your own bin. If you have the...