Freaky Frugalite

We visited a lovely historic saw mill (still in operation, too!) Saturday. It was our first trip in many months. It felt good to get out, even though my unaccustomed leg muscles cramped from the drive.

Along the bank of the mill pond are a cluster of thistles. They caught my attention. They are beautiful in a scrappy, majestic way. Don’t you think?

The thistle is the national flower of Scotland. Why is that? Who would adopt such a prickly, stubborn, tenacious, proud plant for their national emblem?

Oh.

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This is unreal. This is the first time in about ten years of blogging that I have not blogged for such an extended period of time.

And I’m looking at my computer keyboard with its dingy, dirty white keys and wonder How the heck could I let this go for so long?! This keyboard is disgusting!

You guys have probably all forgotten about me. It’s OK. No scintillating stories here (I do have them, but sharing them is forbidden by my employer), no personal updates, not much. I guess I’m going through that “life change” where blogging has to take a back seat for a while. I work all day and by the time I get home, the cats and the dogs and the kids and the husband need me. And I’m too exhausted to concoct a tale and sit in front of this dirty keyboard, lol.

BUT. My mind is starting to slowly — slowly, mind you — think about blogs again. Such as “What a great story for the blog!” or “What a good photo that would make for the blog!” thoughts. But everything is so scattered, and then exhaustion takes over again. Whew.

But while I’m here, I’ll mention a few snippets of things that have been going on with me.

The news headlines scare me to pieces. I do not like this new America that politicians and apathy have built.

My gallbladder is doing better. I had a small bout of pain earlier in the week, although I don’t know what set it off. I hadn’t eaten anything different! Then, I had some stuffed grape leaves. Oh dear, the GB threw a bit of a fit, so right now I’m on an all-fruit diet with water (and coffee, on occasion).

By the way, did you know that you can use those coffee K-cups twice? Yes! And they make a pretty good second cup of coffee, too.

We had about 2 weeks of spring (cool, wet weather) before summer hit for a day. Then winter was back for a week. Now it’s looking like summer again.

Working AT the USPS is fun. Working WITH the USPS is frustrating. Enough said.

I read all your blogs when you update them. I have them in my mobile phone feed reader. I am SO GLAD I got a mobile phone. With it, I can still stay connected to my email, text messaging, everything. I love that little thing. It’s too bad I’ll have to chuck it once the Gubment uses it as a monitoring device.

The family and I try to get together one night a week and relax together. Lately, we’ve been watching movies: Captain America, Thor, and Marvel’s Avengers. All are pretty cute although I do not like the sneaky innuendos that the filmmakers inject in the movies. I used to be in the acting/drama business, so I am sensitive to those things. Our favorite is Captain America. I like Thor because I like Viking history and because the actor is so good and funny. The Avengers is OK. We will not watch Iron Man because of all the sleaze. It’s a shame that movie makers put that stuff in there. It’s wicked to market it to kids. But no love lost, lol.

That’s enough for now. I’m exhausted again and duty calls. Happy trails, my pals.

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It’s been a long time since I had an “outside of the home” job. I was a stay-at-home and work-at-home mom for over 20 years. I’d forgotten how nice it is to just COME HOME and not have the piles of work all over my desk. But I’ve also forgotten the most difficult part of working outside of the home: people. Oh yeah, dealing with people, that’s the rub. Well, here are some new things I’m learning (and remembering) now that I am much older and back into the fray.

1. People lie. Through their teeth. Frequently. Shamelessly. And according to the laws of human nature, people become VERY VERY upset when they are lied TO, but they have no qualms lying to others. What a crappy way to live. And the epitome of self-deception is that liars don’t think anyone knows they are lying when it’s actually all too obvious!

2. Scientific studies have proved that an “attitude of giving” makes you feel good. Moreover, God even said so (“give, and you shall receive…”)! Having a happy, selfless attitude really does make you feel good, but people still seem bent on misery. They are greedy, selfish (mefirstmefirst), scheming, and very, very unhappy. Um, HELLO. Everyone grumbles about the present state of our country, of society, of “kids these days.” But doesn’t anyone realize that misery is not inevitable? It’s up to us, one person at a time, to do what God Himself said to do. And we will be blessed!

3. I’m kinda envious of the older generation who have or will soon “retire.” They go globe-hopping across the world or have second or third homes. We younger folks get a little steamed because we know that, for us, there will be no “retirement.” A mere two generations in our country really got to prosper enough to be able to “retire” when they are old. For Generation X and on, there’s nothing — we have lived our lives scrambling from this low-paying job to another, and we all know Social Security is a joke. Inflation is gobbling up any savings of the current, older generation. There’s a huge deficit in the Social Security budget, and we all know why this is. It’s because more than 65 million children of Generation X — MY peers, MY friends, people I would have known and who might have changed our present circumstances — have been removed from our populace through abortion. THAT’s why Social Security is a mess. You can’t simply eradicate millions of people and expect no consequences. What a stupid, selfish country. Truly. I’m not being negative, either. It’s just the truth.

4. Some people get great, malicious satisfaction from making you “serve” them. That really rubs me the wrong way because I don’t like to be used as tool for other people’s sadistic intentions. But I can’t do anything about it. I am a slave to the job, a mere cog in the system. Although, sometime I do let a sarcastic comment slip out. But I say it with a winning smile, so it’s OK.

5. I’ve learned that when I am friendly, upbeat, and happy, most people respond positively. And most people just LOVE my dumb jokes! Well, some people.

6. People love flowers. It’s like they open up and bloom when they see the pretty colors. I’ve made a few new friends because we share a love for flowers.

I hope this is enough lesson learning for me. It’s a lot to swallow after returning to work for only 2 months. I can see why so many workers become cranky and calloused, but I am determined not to let that happen to me. I am MY OWN PERSON and I won’t be ruled by miserable people. I will focus on the joys. And I’ll keep bringing in the flowers and making new friends.

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As a kid, I watched a lot of sports competitions and programs on television. While I was never an enthusiast for swimming competitions, I remember being filled with awe as I watched the swimmers race across the pool. They seemed like googly-eyed fish, spurting across the surface of the water and taking the tiniest of breaths. How could they move do quickly when they came up to breathe for a mere split second every stroke?

I don’t swim, but lately, I certainly feel like one of those Olympiads. I’m racing across the pool and occasionally coming up to breathe. I see blurry outlines of the surrounding crowds and I hear their chatter, but I’m swimming, swimming, swimming.

I’m still working full time. Eventually, the job will go to part time — I’m sure you have heard of the “post plan” whereby small post offices will reduce their hours — while we’re waiting for that, I work 40 hours a week. The pay is good; it’s better and more reliable than the stay-at-home gig. But it consumes a lot of my time and energy. I come home tired and there are things to do here, too.

I still read your blogs; I don’t comment all that much because I do most of my Internet browsing on my phone, and typing comments is a blasted pain(and Google Blogger seems to frequently eat my comments). As a matter of fact, I’m using a phone app to create this post.

As much as I like my new job and the steady income, I find that time passes so much more quickly. And I must remember to come up to breathe, lest I sink!

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