Phantom Smells ~ Phantosmia ~ Olfactory Hallucinations ~ Oh, And More Crisis

 

I'm 23 Unpublished and Scheduled Posts ahead now, it's a Record for me.  *LOL and Winks*  If I end up with Blog Block and don't Create Posts for a couple Weeks to almost a Month now, I'm still Golden and you'd never know.  *Smiles*  I'm up at almost 3:00 in the Morning coz I can't Sleep, I was having heightened Senses of Smell, of Aromas that were not even in the Air... of Cinnamon, Cloves and Oranges, it was Weird and Woke me up!   Phantom Smells isn't something that I can recall happening before, so it was unexpectedly Odd.  These Phantom Smells were strong, yet pleasant ones and even once Awake I was still smelling them so I went in to the Kitchen just to make sure nobody was in there making something with those Aromas?  There wasn't and eventually it all subsided, but, not for a while.  I Googled it and it's called Phantosmia or Olfactory Hallucinations.  It can be caused by Medical Issues so if it persists it says to seek Treatment... Splendid.

As it is I received a Bill from The Man's last Hospitalization of whatever our Insurances have not Paid them.  I'm going to ask if they've run it thru all of his Insurances first and then hit the VA up for paying it since they're the ones that transported him from the VA Hospital to a Civilian Hospital in the first place.  The VA Hospital wouldn't have cost us anything and why I took him there, coz Insurances lately are really balking to pay out even close to the amount being Billed, even if you have an Insurance AND a Medicare Insurance.  I don't know how many fucking Insurance one needs to have in order to have everything appropriately covered, but, apparently him having Three isn't nearly enough???  *Eye Roll*

  I get annoyed that I have yet another Insurance problem to remedy while I still haven't even remedied getting the Claim Paid Out on the Hazard Insurance for Storm Damage, so no Work has begun to replace that Roof yet still!!!  The initial Check is somewhere now between here and Ohio getting Endorsed so I can Deposit it and at least pay my Contractor something!!!  And now the Hospital wants a couple Hundred Bucks that they claim we have to now Pay, but I'm contesting that, we should be fully covered and dammit, I'm gonna make sure all Three Insurers that The Man has pay out all that they're required to before I pay a damned Dime out of Pocket!   As it is the Water Bill came in almost double, also likely due to all these damned Data Centers built and using up all our Water Resources!!!  I'm not paying double just so they can drain us Dry and use up all the Water!!!

And our Electric Bill almost doubled too and I highly suspect it's due to the Data Centers using up too much Electricity on an already overburdened Electrical Grid Serving Five Million Residents!?!  Nobody wants Data Center in their Communities and nobody was consulted or given input before they started building them and approving it all.  And, why aren't they paying for all the Water and Electricity they're using?  Why is the cost being distributed to Residents and doubling our Costs, we're not using any more than we ever did!!!  And we can't afford our Electricity and Water to double in Costs, but these Data Centers and AI Companies apparently have plenty of Money, so, Bill them and Tax the Hell out of them for all of this... they should be Paying all of us a Monthly Dividend for the Privilege of being allowed in our Communities IMO.  I want a fucking Monthly Dividend if they're here, every Resident should receive one if they've forced this upon us involuntarily.

Well, I got Woke by a Niece who lives in Texas calling me.  I knew it must be Bad News calling that early.  She's the one whose Mom Died of Cancer recently and she was her Mom's Caregiver.  She's been losing a ton of Weight herself and tho' she was looking Amazing at first, she'd gone to look like she was losing too much too fast and she claimed she wasn't on any Weight Loss Meds and thought it might just be the Stress.  I wanted her to get it checked out tho' coz she had Heart Problems too from the Stress and she's still so Young, only around 30 and has Three Children, a Teen Daughter and Two Younger School Aged ones, a Girl and a Boy.  Her Husband Works in the Oil Fields there in Texas so is gone a lot and she's mostly been Single Parenting while he's away Working.  Well, her results came back and she has Cancer too.  The same kind her Mom Died of and they're doing a Surgery to try to remove it on October 1st!!!   This is her with the Youngest Daughter, Above... her Mini Me.

The sudden Weight Loss for no apparent reason had made me think something was very Wrong and so I do Hope they caught it in time, it's Ovarian Cancer, but her Mom's had spread so much by the time she got Diagnosed that it was too late, it had gone everywhere.  And, as if that wasn't enuf, her Oldest, whose 15, was Diagnosed with Schizophrenia and had become a Danger to the rest of the Family, especially the Younger Children, she's tried to commit Suicide and tries to harm, or even Kill, the Younger Siblings.  She tried to push the Younger Sister in front of a moving Vehicle!!!  So, my Niece had to give up Custody, she couldn't have her in the Home anymore in order to keep herself and the Younger Children Safe, and putting her in Residential Treatment in various Facilities, even in other States, hadn't Worked.  The Meds don't Work, and with having 2 Schizophrenics in my Family, she knew I'd have a Point of Reference.  This Niece has Mental Illness, so did her Mother and some of her Four other Siblings, but not Schizophrenia, so she didn't know what to do.  It's very hard to admit your Child is Unsafe to be around and give them up due to an Incurable Dangerous Mental Disorder.  This is her with the Older Daughter Above and Below.  And with her Youngest, a Son.

Her Daughter is a Smart and Beautiful Teen, but a lot bigger than her Mom, and dangerously Ill and has become a Threat to try to Manage.  So, Managing her Physically was becoming high risk without becoming abusive to protect herself or the Younger Children.  Right now her In-Laws have Custody of the Girl, but she worries that her Husband's Family are the type not to Believe their Grandchild has Mental Health Issues.  Some Families stay in Denial or are too Ashamed to admit anyone related to them has Mental Illness and they're of that ilk, Fundamentalist Religious Types in Texas tend to lean towards Faith Healing exclusively, often to the detriment of their Loved Ones who should have Medical Care and Intervention or Medications.  So, it's a mess and caused Marital Problems too, so she and the Husband are having Relationship Crisis now that she's been diagnosed and they lost Custody of their Oldest Child.  So, it's all so messy and I had no Words and could only offer Moral Support and Comfort as Aunt Dawn.  She no longer has her Mom, who was a Single Parent Raising them their whole Lives, and isn't close to any of her Four Siblings. 

My Heart aches for her and she's so far away that I can't offer Present Help like if she were here in Arizona still.  Our Families were always very close and Ride or Die with one another.  We Share a lot of History and tho' there's no biological connection, her Mom's Family are a Train Wreck so there really was no Bio Family there for them.   So my Family, and even my Mom and Dad, when they were still Alive, were closer to their Family than any of their own Relatives ever were.   The Kids all called my Mom their Nanna and my Dad their Grand-Dad, people always just assumed their Mom and I were Sisters.  And truly, we were like Sisters and she was just a Year Younger than me, and closer to me than she was with her Biological Sister.   Their Parents and their Brother had Died many Years earlier so there wasn't much Biological Family left.  The Father of Two of her Oldest Kids had been Murdered when they were little, and the Father of her Younger Three, she Divorced and was out of the picture when the Kids were still Young. 

So, I wasn't Surprised she called me during a Crisis, she knows she always can, any time, for any reason.  She just hadn't told me everything about the Older Child or her Marriage becoz she knew we were going thru a lot of stuff here as well.  But, Losing her Mom and then finding out she has the same Diagnosis now, Scared her and she said she can't afford to get as Sick as her Mom did, her Two Youngest Children still need her and she has nobody to be her Caregiver.  She's pretty sure that her Husband isn't gonna be there for all of this, he was already faltering when she was Caregiving for her Dying Mom.  I didn't know that, I thought he was still quite the Family Man.  But, nothing sorts People out quite like Trouble.   Just becoz someone is there for you during the Good Times doesn't mean they'll stick around for the Bad Times.

  And she knew here in Arizona, when there was a Family Member having a Mental Health Meltdown, they'd always Call me to come Manage the Loved One for them, including their Mom and even their Dad when he was still around.  I knew their Dad long before I knew their Mom or the Kids, he was The Son's Coach for Elementary level Sports.  Nice Guy, but, had Mental Health Issues and later on Self-Medicated with Alcohol and Substance Abuse and went downhill, which, isn't uncommon.  He's still Alive as far as I know, but I don't know he ever became Well enuf to be a Functional Family Man ever, so it's best his Kids didn't have him in their lives very much once he deteriorated with drinking to excess and abusing his Prescription Drugs and no telling what else, coz he was a Veteran too who'd been Medically Discharged. 

 I used to have to transport him to Mental Health coz nobody else would come get him when he went Off Rails, coz he could become Violent and very volatile.  I'd pop his Crazy Ass in the Passenger Seat and tell him if he got unhinged while I was transporting him, I'd throw him out of the Vehicle without even slowing down... and he'd settle right down coz he knew I'd do it... I don't make idle Threats.  And he knew if my Crazy and his Crazy had to Square Off, it might be Wilder than his Wife's Crazy coz even The Man wouldn't Go There.  And everyone knew what The Man had done for the Military.  *Winks and Laughs*  But I liked Kenny, Sr. and when he was Sane he was one helluva nice Guy.  Funny, Smart, Caring, Athletic, a Good Friend even, he'd do anything for me and my Family and was a great Coach when all our Sons were very Young and before he went totally Off the Rails Mentally and never came back from The Edge and the Brink of Insanity.  He was Institutionalized over and over again, but they kept letting him out and he'd Self Destruct all over again.

  Since, when he was on the Crazy Train, it was better for his Family that he wasn't in the Household and even my Crazy Friend had to finally admit, that things were becoming Unsafe for her and the Kiddos.  I told her, you do know you have to Divorce him, this has all become untenable.  I knew coz I had to Divorce my Psychopath Ex... or somebody would have ended up Toe Tagged.  And if it was between me or him, I was gonna make sure it was him, so it was best we ended it without a Homicide.    Some things are best put behind you and move on for your Safety and Well Being as a Family.  My Ex eventually got sent up and locked up for 27 Years without Parole, Problem Solved.  Kathie was bigger than me, but her Husband was more afraid of me... and not of her.  I felt she could have kicked his Ass without even spilling a Drink... but... it wasn't in her to I guess... but, he knew I would.  Kenny, Sr. had known me a long time.  *Winks*  I Bow Down to no Man and even that Criminally Insane Murderer backed down to me in Psyche Lockdown... Wisely so.  *LOL*  It is said that often your Misery becomes your Ministry.

 So, I know The Niece would never reach out to her Dad, even if he is still among the Living.  She also has a Schizophrenic Brother who isn't Safe to be around and nobody has had Contact with in Years, including us.  He's too Unsafe.  Nobody has heard from him since Dec. 2025 so he may not even still be among the Living, we don't know?  Nobody could even notify him of his Mom's Death.   And The Niece said her other Siblings and her Nephew, all of whom have very good Careers and make good Money, never came to their Mom's Funeral nor did they contribute to the expense of it.  She and her Mom's Older Sister, paid for it all, even tho' the Sister was estranged from her Younger Sister, she did the Right thing by her to have a nice Funeral/Burial.  The Niece says she hasn't heard from her Aunt since and probably never will now.

She lives in the Hamptons and is Wealthy, so she never wanted people to know she had a Seriously Mentally Ill Younger Sister, an Older 
Seriously Mentally Ill Brother {now Deceased}, and a Mentally Ill Nephew and Niece.  She only kept in contact with the Well Nephew & Niece, and Kathie's Oldest Grandson, all who are Well... and she had Raised their Oldest Sibling when Kathie lost Custody due to her Illness.  That Sister works for the CIA.  So it's a complex Family dynamic, not unusual when Mental Illness has such Stigma attached to it, that Families keep it Secretive about Loved Ones afflicted or pretend they don't even Exist.  Their Older Brother was SMI too, and after Serving in Vietnam in the early 1970's, went Mental and Killed himself. 

  He'd been quite Mental long before being Drafted and sent to War.  But they Inducted almost anyone back then, which is why they Discharged him from the Military after using him as a Killing Machine and then discarding him.  And even some Guys who go to War quite Well, come back quite Unwell.  And those who were Unwell to begin with become even MORE Unwell, like Allen did.  When Kathie's Older Brother lived in NYC he once walked down a busy well known Street there in nothing but his Military Brogans!   Yeah, they send Guys like that to War, yet let this Cowardly Prez fake Bad Feet to get out of the Draft or Serve their Country, coz they're Rich Fucks, and the Elite generally don't Serve anyone but themselves... go figure, some things will never change.

  And now that the Niece's Husband is never Home and always in the Oil Fields, she suspects he's been acting like a Single Man rather than a Married Man with a Family... she could be Right... and from what she told me she's found out, he probably is.  Her Dad bailed on the Family during Crisis and she's concerned her Husband may take the Easy way Out as well and Abandon them all too.  Now he's got a Sick Wife and a Child who may end up Institutionalized if his Parents can't cut it, and I suspect they won't be able to, God ain't Healed any Mental Illness that I'm Aware of yet.  I'm not saying He couldn't but He hasn't, and I'm a pragmatic person when it comes to realizing having Faith doesn't always mean Miraculous Healings will happen or that bad things won't happen, even to good people.  So, you have to be sensible about seeking Treatment for Illness, Disease and Disabling Diagnosis that do or don't have Cures.  You can be deeply Spiritual and still rely on Science as well, they're not mutually exclusive nor does it mean you lack Faith or don't Trust God.

Anyway, so that wasn't a great Call to receive very early on my Granddaughter's 21st Birthday.   I did get her a Chantilly Cake and a Quartet of Mini Fruit Tarts, which is what she said she'd prefer.  She didn't want me spending more Money and found out about the E-Bay Purchase... then I showed her another Lot of the Pop Mart Hirono Set of 20 and we decided to get that too on a Buy-It-Now Feature and she's splitting Cost with me coz it was a really good Deal and she didn't have any of those.  Turns out she had 2 of the 5 of the Halloween Set I had already Bought... so I'll keep those 2 coz they're Darling and they're Halloween Inspired in an Adorable way, so I can use them as Halloween Props.  She was more Jazzed about the Above Lot so I'm glad I showed her and just Bought 'em.   I counted 21 and it said 20 on the Listing, so, they missed One.  *LOL*

Princess T was having her Boyfriend, Rusty, spend more of his Money on him, she will lighten that Wallet.  *LOL and Winks*  So, he's at The Mall with her Today ON her actual Birthday coz they both took the Day Off to Celebrate her turning 21.  So she shall come Home laden with even MORE Gifts from her Beloved, he Spoils her Rotten.  Her Bouquets have been in my Living Room coz they have Lilies and they found out Cats are allergic to Lilies so she didn't want Eli getting Sick or Dying due to the Bouquets.   So, I've been enjoying her Birthday Bouquets more than she has been able to.   Can't wait for her to get Home so we can have some of her Birthday Cake and Tarts!  *Smiles*   So, we'll end with her Birthday Food Porn... you're Welcome... or... I'm Sorry.  *Winks*

*******

Happy Autumnal Vibes my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian

Alien Prober And Skeleboner

 In Real Time its Irrigation Day and the Day before Princess T's 21st Birthday, she has to Work that Day tho', so we're Celebrating Today instead and picking out her Pressies. The Son lifted the Gates before he left for Work so Princess T and I only need to start the Pump once the Ditch is full and then drop the Gates after our Rotation is over.  Rob helped The Son with our Yardwork coz our Weed Whacker is on the fritz and I don't have enuf Saved right now to Buy another Commercial Grade one.  You can't have a cheap one with this much Acreage or it won't last.  Rob used his and did all the Edging until he ran out of Gas for it, so 90% got done of the Edging after The Son did everything else in preparation for getting our Irrigation.  I helped bag up the cut Grass.  

There's times I think about going around to Neighbors who have Goats and Llamas and asking them if they would like to get all the Grass cuttings for their Livestock to eat?  But I never see anyone outside to ask them, I might this Week only becoz I don't want the bags of cut Grass sitting around until the Bulk Garbage Pickup which won't be 'til the 1st Monday of October.  And why waste it if Livestock would benefit from eating it instead of it going to a Landfill?  I have about Seven Jumbo Garbage Bags full of fresh cut Grass.  Anyway, it would also be a good way to get to know Neighbors in the Community I don't already know or have met too.

The Niece is now saying she might move out by November rather than December.  I think she is anxious and excited to get her own place now she's found something she can afford.  She already got a Storage Unit for her stuff and a Gym Membership to go take Showers at so she's not running up Costs and using up Hot Water for us, being so many live here.  I appreciate that consideration, coz sometimes if you're not the 1st or 2nd... or even the 3rd person in the Shower, you need to wait a bit to ensure you're getting Hot Water or at least nice Warm Water and not taking a Cold Shower.  *LOL*  Allen will be here by end of the Week, after The Young Prince has his Psychiatric Evaluation by the Social Security Shrink on Thursday.

They plan to spend the rest of September in New Mexico and then the Lease is up on the House Allen has been Renting there and he can then move to Arizona again.  Then he and I, will likely Share the Caregiving of The Young Prince, which will perhaps make things work out better for all of us concerned?  I don't know they're going to go thru with a Divorce if they can work things out that will be doable and not overwhelming?  We'll see, at least he's giving it a shot to try to become a Caregiver, but, since he has to Work, since his VA Disability won't Support them, he cannot be a Full Time Unpaid Caregiver yet, if at all.  It is hard for Families that need one and receive no Salary from anywhere in order to do it for a Loved One. 

 I gave up a prosperous Career and my Benefits, dumping even 60% of my Pension in order to do the Full Time Unpaid Caregiving.  Not everyone can make that much of a Financial Sacrifice, coz it does Negatively impact your Family, Lifestyle, and Quality of Life, to Sacrifice that much of your Earnings, Pension and Benefits for a Lifetime.  Becoz it is a Lifetime commitment when you have a Disabled Loved One requiring Full Time Caregiving for a condition that won't improve or has no Cure.  Either the Caregiver Dies or the Loved One Dies, that's the only way it ever Ends.  So there are no "Happy Endings" to it, none whatsoever.  So, if you at least received an Income from doing it, that would be ever so Helpful and perhaps more Loved Ones would and could then do it.  Coz it would stil be Sacrificial and not for the Faint of Heart.

Anyway, if Allen gets Approved for the remaining 25% of his VA Disability, and go from 75% Status to 100% Disabled Veteran Status, then he'd have more Options.  And IF The Young Prince gets Approved for his SSI Disability Status, then they could actually make it on their own without my Assistance, or less of my Assistance anyway.  Since I don't Plan on becoming an Immortal, that's important for me to have a Peace about for the long run and their Future when I'm Gone.  Serious Mental Illness has no known Cure and I don't even think they're working on any Cures, so, it's for a Lifetime to those Afflicted.  And The System, as it stands, is woefully inadequate and even negligent and dysfunctional in providing the level of Care necessary and needed.  Whatever is available is parsed out sparingly so, or, not at all and Denied.  So, I am Hoping for a Positive Outcome for them both.

Allen works very hard in spite of significant impairment from Disability.  But he really struggles and he doesn't have anybody since his Family aren't tight knit and they've had a very difficult Relationship with one another.  He has a much better Relationship with his Grandparents than with his Parents and it's my understanding he spent more of his Childhood with the Grandparents, who The Young Prince said are very Nice people.  I liked the Grandpa when I met him, he's sympathetic to having a Grandson with Disabilities and more accepting of who Allen just is, Loving him unconditionally and without Judgment, Pious Condemnation, or Self-Righteousness, which, is never Pretty. 

 The Parents, I liked them, but I think he overwhelms their capacity to Love him unconditionally and accept him as he is.  With his Mom being a Doctor, and even Teaching Medicine, I think she is totally Aware of his Condition... and not having a "Cure" can be a bitter Pill to swallow, even if you're not in the Medical Profession.  When you can't make your Child be Well, or there is no Cures, it's Emotionally rough.  And for the Fundamentalist Religious, having a Gay Child goes against the Doctrine they're Taught within Extremist Religions.

I remember Comedian Wanda Sykes saying it was harder to be Gay than to be Black, coz she didn't have to Come Out being Black.  That spoke Volumes right there!!!  And then she said when she Came Out to her ultra Religious Parents their response was, Oh, NO, Lord, why couldn't she just have it be Cancer!?  Yeah, OMG, can you only Imagine a Parent saying THAT!!!  Or thinking it would have been preferable for their Child to have a horrible potentially Terminal Disease and Dying horribly, rather than just being Born Gay!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I cannot even Wrap my Head around that Sick Mindset, it's so abhorrent, insensitive, inhumane and Cruel to me!  Not to mention not at all "Godly" or Unconditionally Loving, as Jesus would have it for us to Love one another, if we're truly Walking In Christ's Teachings, as a Positive Witness to Christianity, in my humble Opinion.  I consider it Bad and Extremist Leaning Religion, not a Relationship with God whatsoever.  Just a form and a fashion of Religion.  It's like I've always said, instead of Fearing the Witches, folks should have been Fearing those that would Burn another Human Being Alive in the Name of whatever Religion they Practiced!

Anyway, so Allen is once again estranged from his Family, mostly becoz he isn't going thru with the Divorce and is still preferring to have a Husband rather than a Wife.  He can't change who and how he is, he's tried, it doesn't Work for him and he wouldn't be Living his Authentic Self, but trying to be who he is not to please other people and conform to their Opinions and preferred Lifestyle.   Rather than his own, which, would be Mentally unhealthy and miserable in my Opinion, to stay in a Closet just to be accepted by your own Family and pretend to be Straight when you're not.  Clearly the Praying The Gay Away did not Work... coz, that's not how it fucking Works!!!   Such ignorance and misunderstanding, along with biased Judgment, really Frosts me. *Eye Roll*  No Wonder Gay Children and Adults have a higher rate of Suicide and can't endure such persecution and prejudices by Society.

Anyway, so, by end of Week we'll have one more here for a little while, which is fine coz Allen was helping The Young Prince clean up his Space so that I didn't have to.  To keep it Sanitary and Safe, I'd told Allen it was problematic and Too Much for me to Manage solo.  So his Mom had tried to help me with it, but she struggles with keeping her own Space Clean and Sanitary for exactly the same reasons, same Illness, same Manifestations of it.   And Princess T and The Son can't handle it, too upsetting to them both... and of coarse The Man can't, wouldn't even be Safe for him to try.  Allen I know can wade thru it more effectively and efficiently than I can if things have unraveled in there... which, they do on The Regular.  The other Day he came to the Door, peeking out at me saying he was Naked so I couldn't come in, he was wearing Bunny Ears... I guess nothing but Bunny Ears and Makeup... I didn't even ask... you have to possess a Dark Sense of Humor about it all.  *Bwahahahaha* 

The Son was joking, well, mebbe he was updating his _________ Page... which I won't mention here, lest it snag an Algorithm I definitely don't want hitting my Feeds or attracting who it might!?  *LMAOROTF*  And, The Son could be Right... there's some things best left unsaid and I don't really wanna Know.  *LOL*   Rob is helping me with Irrigation, he's very Helpful like that and doesn't ask for anything in return.  I often loan him things and they often loan us things so that we don't have to Buy everything if one of us has what the other Family needs to borrow.  That's what I like about this Community, they Work together to help one another out, most of them, especially the ones who've lived here the longest and become Tight Knit.  Some of the Newbies aren't that way, but perhaps they'll Learn to be that way when they see it's a preferable way of Being???  You can only Hope so.  Some of the Newbies don't have the Pride of Ownership they should have for Properties this expensive.  Mostly coz they come from higher Cost of Living States where these Properties would be considered a Bargain.

So, the Demographic that is Migrating is not necessarily the Best of what's coming from those States either.  It's the folks that couldn't afford to Live there anymore and perhaps they had no Pride of Ownership there either I highly suspect?  But, they made enuf off Selling a shittier piece of Real Estate there, that they could afford to Buy Luxury Real Estate here and not change their bad Habits.  That's my speculation anyway, coz I don't know why you'd otherwise Buy a piece of Real Estate close to or exceeding a Million Dollars and not take Care of it?   A Friend of mine was saying she'd rather they Deport the people coming from California and the East Coast than to be deporting Immigrants, coz the Migration of Americans from High Cost of Living States is what's fucking up Arizona most for the rest of us.  *LMAO*  She's not entirely Wrong.  But, it was Funny in a Dark Gallow's Humor kinda way.

Anyway, I have the Wild Duck Pair again floating on our Irrigation Waters like it's a Pond.  This one Duck Couple, Male with his Mate, goes from Property to Property doing that, it's hilarious, they've found a good thing.  I like seeing them float by as I'm doing the Irrigation, they're kind of used to People since they hang out in our Subdivision of Mini Farms, a Solitary Duck Couple that decided to take up permanent Residency here.  *Smiles*  They get plenty to eat and so are quite content going from Mini Farm to whatever Mini Farm next gets the Irrigation Waters.  We'll be done with Irrigation around 11:00 a.m. and then I'm taking Princess T to The Mall to do her 21st Birthday Shopping while I still have Money.  *Winks*  I'll let her decide if she wants Cake or not, she doesn't do not like Ice-Cream coz she's Lactose intolerant.

She wants to find a "Spirit Halloween" Store that is better than the Small one nearby which had a disappointing Display and not much in the way of Inventory we'd be interested in.  I'll get ready only after I finish Irrigation coz I don't wanna get soaked and have to change Three times this Morning, I'll do it in my Jammies 'til it's done and then Shower and change.  *Smiles*   Well, Rob just dropped the Gates for us, Bless him, so all I have to do is unplug the Pump to the Front and Side Yard when it's both full, they don't get Gravity Feeds like the rest of the Property, I wish they did, it would be easier and cost less every time the Pump goes out, and distribute Water faster too.  When they Suspend Irrigation for the Winter, Rob and Jason, his Cousin, both wanna change our Gates to face into the Property to be able to lift and drop them easier and mebbe figure out a more efficient Feed to the Front and East Side Yard too?  As we're all getting Older, Rob said we need to streamline our Irrigation as much as we can while we're still able Bodied enuf to.  He's only slightly Younger than me and their Parents are in their 80's.

Above is one of my Nieces with her Mini Me... her Youngest looks exactly like she did at that Age, it's like she Cloned her.  *LOL*  Her other Two, the Older Daughter and the Younger Son, look more like their Daddy.   Below is Friend Aliyah on the last Day of the Halloween Event at "Sweet Salvage".  I don't know how the last couple days went, hopefully Stronger Sales and better turnout than the 1st Two Days where they didn't have any Social Media Advertising?  I felt badly for the Team coz they'd put so much hard Work into it and this is supposed to be their best Event of the whole Year, only the Christmas Event in November usually comes close to rivaling it.  Since other Halloween Events were Killin' it, I have to attribute it to their lack of putting anything out there to entice attendance and incentivize folks to turn out and make it a Destination.  You do have to remind people in advance for them to show up or even know what you're doing and when.

Princess T and I are going to a smaller Mall nearby rather than the larger one further away, which Surprised me, I'd thought she'd choose Arrowhead Mall over Desert Sky Mall.   I don't mind coz the one we're going to is One Level rather than Two Levels and less to traipse around on hard flooring that ends up hurting my Hips.  A lot of Mall Walkers do it for Exercise, but I find that their Flooring makes me hurt more than Walking on any other type of Ground.   And I'm not big on Malls now, they Closed most of those I enjoyed going to and had the types of Shops I'd actually Buy from.   Now the Specialty Stores tend to be prolific at Mall for Urban Youth Clientele, Tennis Shoe Stores, Baseball Style Hat Stores, Urban Fashion for Young People that you see Hip Hop and Rap Artists sporting.  Even Princess T doesn't Buy those kinds of Fashions or wanna look like that and I'd look ridiculous and don't wanna look like that either anyway even if I was still Young.  *LOL*

Now, this ensemble that my Friend Carol was Selling at the Event, I Loved everything about it all and would wear it if it came in my Size, which, it didn't.  It's for the Slender Woman like Carol is and tends to run Small.  Even some Pants I did Buy a few Shows ago I had to give to the Daughter coz tho' it said One Size Fits All... Nope, they don't.  I could squeeze them on but it wasn't comfortable and would rip the Seams if I bent or squatted or sat!   Rather than return them I just gave them to The Daughter to wear, but I was really disappointed and should have tried them on before Buying them rather than Trust the Sizing and what it claimed, but was inaccurate.   These Fashions at full Retail are too expensive NOT to fit properly.  Love this Look tho' and would totally wear it, the Snowflake Fossil Votivo Silver Necklace looked great with it too that my Friend Cyndie was Selling.  Tempting not to Buy it actually, but I Resisted Buying Jewelry coz I knew I have to indulge my Granddaughter on her Milestone 21st Birthday.  Can't do both.

 

We're still waiting on the Pump to get enuf Water into the very Front Yard and East Side Yard before unplugging it... it's pumping slowly, but then it always does even with a strong Pump, the distribution is slower than a Gravity Feed, which is pretty rapid and much more efficient and effective.   Whoever Designed the Irrigation for this Property didn't do it as we would have done it and re-doing it is gonna cost and be a lot of Labor, so if we didn't have Friends/Neighbors willing to tackle that, it probably would never get done to improve it and change the way it is.  I'd also prefer cementing the Irrigation Ditch, not covering it, just cementing the Ground so Weeds don't grow and it would be easier to Maintain and not have Water loss by seeping into the Ground and being muddy and slippery.  

 Our Ditch is way deeper and wider than most tho', and it runs behind our Property and the Neighbor we Share it with that lives directly behind us.  Some Properties don't Share a Ditch with a Neighbor and have very shallow narrow Irrigation Ditches for distribution, either in their Front Yard or Side Yard Streetside if they're on a Corner Lot, so I'm glad we have a big deep one instead.   Our new Neighbor behind us, Manuel, is Younger, probably the Age of my Older Grandkids, so he's capable of his end of the Maintenance, tho' we usually are the ones doing it coz Rob and The Son don't wanna rely on someone else to get it done Right or not get it done in time for the Water to come.  You can't have Debris or Weeds growing thick in it or it hinders distribution and clogs things badly.  As it is we sometimes have Neighbors Upstream who slack on that and then Debris flows Downstream and cocks things up for all of us Downstream of them, causing Work we shouldn't have coz they were either Negligent or Lazy, mebbe both.  It's irresponsible, but, some folks aren't all that responsible, it happens.

I'll probably take Princess T out for Lunch as part of her Birthday Celebration while we're having this Birthday Girl's Day Out Bash to get her Pressies and enjoy ourselves.   Her Grandpa will have to Celebrate at Home with mebbe something Simple like Cake, coz he can't Walk far and taking that Show on the Road means we would have to be in Caregiver Mode and not Birthday Celebration Mode making it all about her and not all about taking Care of his Needs.  So, I'm leaving him Home with The Young Prince until The Son gets Home from Work around Noon or 1:00 p.m..   The Niece is at some Job Interview, she's got a Job she took, but a better offer presented itself for a Remote Job where she doesn't have to commute and pays better, so she's applying for it and the 1st Interview went so well they're sending her to a 2nd one, which seems Promising. 

 Her New Employer won't be Happy and she could be burning that Bridge behind her... and I do Hope she's making the Right decision?   The Job she now has she knows everyone, has worked there before, and has good Benefits... she's made poor choices in the past of who to work FOR.  So, this new Offer could be iffy???  I dunno.  Sometimes when something seems too good to be True, it's becoz it is.   Who you're Working for matters... and I'd just move cautiously with any Company I didn't know or I'd never Worked for before.  Anyway, she's Grown, her decision to make, she could afford to live in a better area if she gets this Job so I don't blame her for wanting Quality of Life too if she's gonna be doing Work that should be well compensated for.   And Computer Programming and Designing for Companies is so iffy right now overall, that none of them knows when AI will completely eliminate what they do anyway. 

 So, get yours while there's still some left seems to be the best tactic really in case it all implodes for Humans and displaces them all.  The Great Fuckening is already in high gear and happening with no pumpking of the Brakes so far.  There might not even be any Brakes to actually Stop it now, we just aren't sure and don't know.   I know some Jobs haven't worked out for her so I Hope at least One of these does, coz she's had lengthy Unemployment Periods between Jobs even with all the Skill and Experience she has.  It's why she ended up Homeless and Broke... and a lot of folks may find themselves in that Situation when AI replaces and displaces 40%-60% of the Workforce within possibly less than 2 Years.  That's a lot of Unemployment, Lack and Desperation Society will be facing then.   It could collapse an Economy.   If more than half your Population has no way to Earn a Living anymore, shit will collapse, it's not sustainable.   Fewer will be paying into a System already on the brink of Bankruptcy.

  And to Survive, things will get hairy fast.  No wonder the Elite are Doomsday Prepping and Buying Bunkers.  They can Run but I don't think they can Hide for long enuf frankly.  Especially since most of them are the Cause of what will happen.  LATER:  Well, I had to schlep everything I'd put out for Big Kenny to look at away coz a Storm is rolling in and he never contacted me yet.  He'd said he'd call on Monday and a lot of the items needed to be inside, not outside.  So, that was a lot of Work for nothing, but, whatever, if he doesn't Call this Week I'll just tell him I Sold what I was ready to let go of and just put it in the Showroom instead.   I don't Care who I Sell it to and for Full Price always beats Selling it for Picker Price to a Friend as a Favor.  Now that I'm mostly left with Smalls to Turn, I'm in no big hurry to unload things that were large and I had no room for in my Antique Mall Spaces.  That's what I typically Sold to Industry folks and freed up Storage Space and not having to transport it or hire someone to move it for me.

So, anyway, I found an Unpublished Post languishing without a Publication Date, forgot I even had it so set it up to Post on The Daughter's 45th Birthday on the 14th of October.  I rarely forget to finish a Post but for some reason that one slipped thru the Cracks.  I don't know it was finished, but it was long enuf to just Stop and give it a Publication Date.  *Smiles*  I didn't wanna delete it coz it was loaded with Imagery and the content was still worth putting out here.  It will just probably be out of sequential order coz I don't know when I even Wrote it?  A Mystery of a Forgotten Post.  I did take Princess T out for her Birthday and then found out she did get her Birthday Off at Work after all, which is great, she has Plans with her Boyfriend to go on a Shopping Spree!  I thought he'd already spent all his Money on her, Guess not?  *Bwahahahaha* 

She didn't have me spend that much on her, she knew expenses have been so high for me, so was considerate and spent more on herself than I spent on her, but we had a Big Time at The Mall.  I took her to a really good "Spirit Halloween" Store that was on the way, it Rocked and had their usual big Display, this Year it was a Horror Summer Camp Theme.  We probably spent as much time there taking Pixs as we did visiting The Mall, where we hardly went in any of the Stores, but Bought her Anime Figurines from the Asian Kiosks Machines they Sell them at mostly.  I bought her Two of them, she bought herself a slew of them.  *LOL*  I took her to "Wildflower Bread Company" for Lunch.  We didn't Buy anything at Spirit Store, even tho' we had a 20% Off Coupon.  I only Bought some Halloween Metal Cute Characters Earrings at "Hot Topic" for myself, called The Animals have gone Mad... all Six of them for only $10 with my Military Discount!!!  Wow!

Princess T took a bunch of Pixs of me, I should have moved slightly, huh?  *LOL*  I'm not usually in front of the Lens so I stood there like a Stone Statue, frozen in Time.  *Ha ha ha*  Without even the Swamp Monster behind me being activated eliciting a response.  *Smiles*  We had such a good time there tho' and Surprisingly they weren't busy at all and weren't having any Sales either, that's not a good Omen, usually their Stores are packed!  This one had good Merchandise, just not anything we were ready to invest in coz their pricing had gone way up from last Year.  Likely a direct result of Tariff bullshit Negatively impacting all that is being Imported and made or grown outside of the Country, which, is damned near everything!!!  Example, the one thing I would have considered Buying is another Novelty Halloween Cross Body Bag, I've gotten one every Year... but this Year, Sixty Bucks... nah uh, that's Crazy compared to previous Years for a similar item.

So, No, I did not Buy the Ghost Face Cross Body Popcorn Bag at Sixty Bucks, even with a 20% Off incentive.   Coz that's almost Double what they Cost last Season.  Even tho' we made no purchases we enjoyed ourselves taking loads of Pixs and walking around beholding all the Halloween Offerings.  We noticed that for a 2nd Year in a row their offerings for Dia de los Muertos were pitiful and scant.  A Surprise and missed opportunity since it is Celebrated here in Arizona strongly and I'd imagine they'd Sell a lot of it.  But, perhaps not Nationally, and it is a National Chain.   We were Surprised at the Naughty Costume Section, which was risque' and huge!  We had a lot of Fun with that as you can see by Princess T Modeling some of it Below and Joking, it almost seems like we're in a Sex Shoppe Gramma... *LOL*!  I don't remember their Costumes ever being this Edgy either and wonder how many will be Buying them?  *Smiles*

There did seem to be quite a bit of Phallic Obsession going on with the Costumes this Year.  Down to the Knees I might add and over 8" Obsession... Princess T asking me, do they even make Condoms in XXL? *Bwahahahahaha*   Anyway, we had a lot of Naughty inappropriate Fun in that section of the Costume Department.   And the Names of some of the Costumes was Naughtily Clever... "Alien Prober" and "Skeleboner"! *Ha haha*  I felt bad for the one Employee working there at the Registers, she looked Bored out of her Mind and probably expected more interaction than was present.  It was a nice Store in a good location, so I Hope it picks up for them as Halloween gets closer?  Tho' people are Buying for the Holidays well in advance now and with Inventory being lower than usual, even if Pricing is higher than usual, I think they might just Sell Out of a lot of things if you don't get yours early on?

I watched "Halloween Baking Championship" and they had back to back Episodes, which was unexpected and enjoyed.  What Surprised me is how much Prize Money can be Won by the Winner this Year and they have $1,000 Bonus Wins for each Challenge for that Winner too.  The Winner this Year gets $35,000 all to themselves.  By contrast and comparison a whole Team of Three on "Halloween Wars" only gets $30,000 to split between them!  So, either they're Cheaping Out with their Contestants, who have much harder Challenges and higher Expectations for Excellence IMO and have to put out bigger more elaborate Creations of a higher Calibre, or, the other Show has a bigger Budget or better Sponsors, I dunno?   I like both Shows, the Baking Championship one I watch more for the Halloween Costumes of the Judges, which are Spectacular, than for the Quality of the Bakes and Decorating, which, can be more Amateurish IMO than with "Halloween Wars".

I was Surprised that Carla Hall didn't come back as a Judge for the 2026 Season of it, and was replaced by Aarti Sequeira.   I liked Carla as a Judge, she's hilarious, Aarti is more Serious and subdued in Personality.   I miss Carla already, tho' they've made some Cute Costumes for Aarti and she's a competent Judge.   And, of coarse there will be much, much more Visuals of the Season in Future Posts coz now I'm loaded up with fabulous Imagery and most of it turned out Okay... tho' some didn't and that was disappointing.   At The Mall both Gals and Guys were approaching Princess T and telling her how much they Loved how she looked, she never knows how to respond to random compliments from complete Strangers coming up and gushing flattery like that, it makes her a bit uncomfortable even tho' it's complimentary, coz she's not at all Social.  *Smiles*  The Guys mostly come up if they don't know I'm with her, so she said I'm like her Force Field Shield to keep Rando Males from approaching her.  It's always Surprising how many Rando Females do tho'.

She was out of her comfort Zone wearing Yellow, but her Bag is Yellow and she wanted to compliment it so had a Pale Yellow long Sleeve Shirt on.   She has the Right complexion to pull off Yellow or Purple, I'm too Sallow in a Ruddy High Yellow Complexion way with my Skin Tone, so they're both Colors I have to avoid wearing or I look Jaundiced.  *LOL*  I'm not opposed to that Color Palette but it's not for me and I don't look good in it.  She's rarely owned anything Yellow so wasn't sure if it suited her, but she got loads of compliments wearing it, even tho' it was a Simple ensemble and she didn't spend much time getting ready to go out.

I wanted her Pixs with her Gifts to turn out and sadly they didn't, I have no idea why either?   Out of focus and not good quality or flattering and there was no cleaning it up with Photo Editing either.   These were just some of the best of the worst... Le Sigh.  She got a lot of these little Dimoo Characters from the Japanese Kiosks at The Mall.  They're all Blind Boxes, which, I don't like that but the Kids seem to dig it and the Surprise of it even tho' for the Price, you don't always get what you really wanted and can end up with duplicates while trying to Score a favorite one.  Brilliant Marketing Strategy for the Sellers, kinda a rip-off for the Buyers IMO.  She did get several she liked tho'.  But she did end up with one duplicate, Luckily it wasn't one I got for her in the Blind Boxes I covered the cost of.  *Whew*   I like the Pop Mart Hirono Figures best, I think they're Cuter and more worth the Money.  Better Pixs of some of what Characters she got are pictured Below... along with Pixs of the whole of a Series if you were to Collect each they put out:

See, I would totally Cheat and Buy specific ones I know she wants off some of the E-Bay Listings with a Buy-It-Now sure thing Feature to avoid having to Bid against anyone either.  *LOL and Winks*  But, she wanted me to go with her to a Kiosk instead, Blind Box Surprise and have the Fun of opening them and being disappointed with some of what she got.  *LOL and Sighs*  I do not see the Appeal of getting a duplicate or a figure you're not so crazy about adding to your Collection.  I'd want the ones I wanted most if I'm Investing in a Collection, that's where we differ.  *Smiles*  She was fortunate that MOST of what she got she was Happy/Delighted with... only One duplicate *Whew* tho' it's at least a Cute duplicate... and one that neither of us was that Crazy about her getting... ah well.  She doesn't know I went to E-Bay and ordered a Lot of 5 she'd Jonesed for.   Shush, our Secret.  *Winks*  She won't Care that Gramma Cheated when she gets a whole Set with zero disappointments in it.  *LOL*   I waffled on getting a Lot with 20 in it coz I wasn't as thrilled with the Selection... quality versus quantity... I went with the quality of the figures being better ones.

 

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Happy Halloween from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian