Greek Orthodox Easter AND Cinco de Mayo

 I woke later than usual on Saturday Morning, The Son and The Man were already out pulling the last of the Weeds in the Graveled area by the 5th Wheel and East Side of The RV Garage Mahal.  Nothing usually grows there since it's Graveled up that side and in front of The RV Garage Mahal, but, with the Rains we've had, they'd grown lush, those damned Weeds.  Rob forgetting to unplug the Irrigation Pump had flooded that area some, usually it doesn't get Irrigation, no need to Irrigate Gravel.  *LOL*   So, it was Ideal to then pull those big Weeds while their Roots were saturated and come up easily.

This Morning I also killed another Scorpion that got into the House after we Irrigated!   Luckily this time it didn't sting anyone.   It's been a bad Year for those and we've had the Acreage treated by our Exterminator and Rob went around and also Exterminated, but, you can never get them all.  Especially on Acreage around a Mini Farm Community, since, it's the Ideal Environment for them to find Food Sources.  So, you just do what you can.  We're finding them in the same area of the House, so, suspect they may be falling down the Chimney of the Fireplace every once in a while?  Our House is built of Adobe Burnt Brick, so the little buggers can get good traction and we have a very large Wood Burning Fireplace and Chimney.

Anyway, I squashed it flatter than a Pancake, after The Daughter saw it on the Faux Wood Tiled Floor, they can't get any traction on a smooth surface like that.  But, they're bigger than usual this Year.   Once it's over 70 Degrees they become very active and often come inside to Cooler Environments if they can infiltrate.  We had Extermination done heavily before their breeding period begins and keep our Exterminator on Retainer.  Rob has the Product to Exterminate too, so when he does his Parents Property, he comes over and uses the rest on ours as a Favor.  They do the same with the Special Strength Industrial Weedkiller they use, share it by doing ours too.   I pay the Neighbor Brothers Monthly to do our Yardwork and Irrigation.

We all do some as well, the entire Family, it's a big Property and was my only hesitancy in Buying a Mini Farm, the Maintenance of the Land, not so much the House, which is a manageable size for Retirement.   The Villa Boheme' was too much House.   The Historic Property was as much Land as here, but, no Irrigation, so, we had it Desert Landscaped, and it was a Manageable Retirement Forever Home.  It was intended as our Forever Home until we had to Adopt The G-Kid Force and The System deemed a Home that Old as 'Unsuitable'.  *Eye Roll since the Kiddos had lived there all their Lives in Kinship Placement with no System restrictions... and were already 15 and 10... but... whatever*

Anyway, there are times I wish I'd just kept the Paid Off Historic Property and used it as a Rental until Family could move into it again.   Hindsight is 20-20 tho' and the McManse was Too Much to Maintain at the time, let alone having a 2nd Historic that wasn't Occupied anymore, to Maintain and keep Vagrants and Vandals out of.   In the Historic Barrio, Vacant Properties were impossible to keep Trespassers out of and I didn't fancy being a Landlord either, so, we Sold it.   I do regret having been pressured to do that involuntarily by The System, but it was what needed to be done at the time.  Se la vie.  If it ever came up For Sale again tho', we'd Buy it back.

My Shift on Saturday Night filling in for my Friend Gordon went very well.  But damned near the whole Shift was us Fill-Ins for People who should be working that Shift and weren't there!   The only regular Worker was Patrick, and he confided it was so much smoother working with us Three Gals that filled in for Two of the other regular Female Workers who didn't show up.  That eluded to what I already knew from Gordon telling me the same thing, since Submarine Lady was one of them.  *LOL*   And, I have worked a Saturday Night Fill-In slot before and had to work with the other Female, who my Friend Sherry filled in for.   Sherry joked that the Replacement Shift works out better when certain People don't show up.  *Winks* 

Anyway, I took a few Pixs for Blog Fodder of other Vendors Merch I found to be appealing.   I did Buy the Lead Image Souvenir Pin from Oklahoma that my Vendor Friend Dan was Selling.   I have some Vintage Oklahoma Reservation Pennants that it will go with that were from the Reservation my Dad's Family live on.   Loved this Brass Deity Statue, but, it was too expensive and I don't know that Vendor well enuf to Negotiate a First Cousin kinda Deal on it.   I have a couple of Brass Deity Statues that it matches very well tho', so, I might just throw an Offer out there and see what happens Tonight when I go in for my Regular Shift?  You never know what they might be willing to Accept?  It would be an item I consider a Primo Collectible I'd not regret Owning and Keeping.

It's not kicking my Ass yet to have Worked Two Nights in a row during a busy Weekend, so, this Third Night might not Tap me Out, we'll see?  *LOL*   I had a Customer on Saturday Night that Touched my Heart, he was a very large Adult Male with severe Autism, there with his Mom and his Aunty.   He was very much like Dustin Hoffman's Character in the Movie "Rain Man", a Sweet Natured Man with the most severe Verbal Autism on the Spectrum.   Worst cases are Non-Verbal... but, it made me Grateful for how High Function The Son and Allen truly are.  Sometimes I Forget and am having expectations that aren't Fair and are probably too high.  Meeting someone like this Man made me realize how much worse it could be... and how much more Heart rendering.

Anyway, his Aunt was Grateful that I knew how to Calm her Nephew.  He was Buying a Snoopy Pin and liked one of Snoopy on a Doghouse.  But then his Aunt made the mistake of giving him another option of Snoopy holding a Basketball.   Then she wanted him to make his own decision and he was finding it overwhelming and began repeating that it was a very hard decision, a very difficult decision, and stimming badly.  He was wringing his Hands and rocking back and forth, becoming quite anxious, holding his Head and panicking.  Now, I might add that this Guy was about 6'6" and powerfully built, a lot of people with Autism are also way stronger than they even look.   So, if he'd gone into Meltdown, as docile as he was Calm, it would have been difficult if not impossible to manage him.

So, I interjected, using his Name, since his Aunt had identified that as she spoke to him.   I said that to me it had looked like he was drawn to the Doghouse Snoopy most when he first walked up so that would be a very good decision.   I do this with The Son often when he's getting Stuck in Autism Mode.  It can often help them get unstuck and yet still make it be a decision they are comfortable with and might have even made themselves, if they hadn't gotten too anxious and overwhelmed.  He repeated, Yes, a very good decision several times and then chose that Pin Happily and was back to being delighted to have bought something Special for his Collection.  He had been able to agree with me that Woodstock was a great Peanuts Character too, he could somewhat hold a conversation, but, it was limited and not necessarily comfortable for him unless he liked you.  He seemed to like me right away, so formed a connection to engage.

Socializing for People with Autism, especially the more severe on the Spectrum kinds, can be very difficult.   And, it Touched my Heart, since this Big Guy was such a Beautiful Spirit, which was evident.  But, with a very tough Row to Hoe in Life with the condition he had at the severity it is, and would be his Hand Dealt for him and his Family for Life.   My Guess is, when something happens to his Mother, if another Relative like the Loving Aunt, doesn't take over, he'll be Institutionalized or put in a Group Home IF he can function with others who have considerable Disabilities to where that's their Placement.   And if the Family isn't wealthy enuf for a exemplary one, that would not necessarily be great Placement.   I'm Thankful Allen and The Son can support themselves and live Semi-Independent Lives with some limited Help from Family. 

I had brought in a lot of Inventory and one of the Vendors, Tina, was bringing in her Grandchildren to Shop our Spaces.  They are very Young so Collect the Toys that Princess T is Selling.  I told her I'd give a Discount and boy those Kiddos lightened her Wallet, as Grandkids do.  *LOL*   The Granddaughter, who was the Oldest, and looked to be about 6-7, about wiped us out of Tiny Foods and LPS.  *Smiles*  The Kiddo floated away on Cloud 9 tho' and the little Boy had also Scored whatever it was he wanted, he was about 3-4 and both were the Cutest Kids.

We went to Dino's Greek Restaurant since it was Greek orthodox Easter AND Cinco de Mayo Today.  They fell on the same Day this Year.   We shared a Tiramisu for Dessert, he had all the Chocolate parts since I can't eat Chocolate.   The Meal comes with a choice of Two Types of Soup or Four Types of Salad to choose from.  The Man chose Greek Bean Soup and I chose Greek Salad.   And they bring you a side of Greek Bread and Red Dyed Easter Hard Boiled Eggs.  The Main meal has Steamed Veggies, Greek Potatoes and Spit Roasted Lamb, with Pita Bread and Tzatziki.   Of coarse I Photographed all the Food Porn for Blog Fodder.  *LOL and you're Welcome*

I deliberately had a light Berry & Collagen Health Shake for Breakfast, so I would feel hungry enuf for a large early Dinner and just skip Lunchtime, before I go to Work Tonight.  *Smiles*   We only ate about half the food and brought the rest Home as Leftovers to eat later.   The Tiramisu is very light and airy, so there's always room to Share a Serving of that, it is Sublime.   I also Photographed one of the Lambs on the Spit being Roasted Outside.   All the Local Greeks will be eating there Today for Orthodox Easter, so, there were lots of large Family Gatherings.   One Table near us, had some visiting Greeks that had also gone to Jerusalem for Easter... and then on to the United States.  They live in Greece, but clearly had Family here in America that they met up with and Shared Greek Orthodox Dinner there with. 

I couldn't help but Smile when overhearing the Greek Patriarch of the Family when he was recounting the Trip to Jerusalem.   And how the Catholics and Greek Orthodox squabble in the Holy City Pilgrimage Sites during Easter.   Ahhh, Organized Religion, and various Denominations of it each thinking theirs is the only way and not getting along with others who share a different viewpoint or Denominational and/or Spiritual preference... or not.   This is why I'm not fond of Organized Religion of any kind and just prefer Non-Denominational Spirituality as my own Faith walk.    Some of the most Ungodly Behaviors and Actions I've ever Witnessed in Life were committed by those who are Fanatically Religious and overly zealous and judgmental about it.  It doesn't present nor exhibit a Positive nor good Witness of any Religion IMO.

You couldn't help but overhear that Man's conversation about Religion since he was very loud and I think wanted his Opinion to be overheard by everyone in the whole Restaurant?   Or, so it seemed.   I found it to be obnoxiously comical.   So, The Man and I just Smiled at each other and tried to ignore the conversation going on as much as one could when someone is loudly Opinionated.  *Bwahahahaha*   Other than that one Guy, whose entire Table, a very large Gathering, were trying to be very Polite and not wind him up... everyone else in the Restaurant was just enjoying the good Greek Food and Music.   The Family that own the Restaurant are awesome and we've watched their Kids grow up and get ready to take over their Parent's Business now.

 

I just Love the Red Dye used for the Greek Easter Eggs, so Vibrant and such a Rich Blood Red, it's a Dye Traditionally made using Red Onion Skins.   In this pix it's not as Red as it really is in Real Life, it's a Deep Blood Red actually.   Below is my Greek Salad.  I didn't photograph The Man's Fasolada, which is a Greek Bean Soup... which is made with a Tomato Based Broth.   I snagged an Image of it Online that looked very much like his did.   It was his first time trying this Greek Soup, he liked it but found it to be a little Spicier than he can handle.  Usually he has the Greek Lemon Chicken Rice Avgolemono Soup.   But, I like him to at least try new things he's never had before.

He had a small Cup of the Soup, not a large Bowl like the Cribbed Image Below, but, it looked the same.   Anyway, on the Home Front I'm now addicted to Binge Watching Two more Series on NetFlix.   One called "Baby Reindeer" which is based on a True Story about a Young British Male Comedian that feels sorry for a lonely Middle Aged Obese Woman who turns out to be a Stalker, who is mentally deranged and had actually Served Four Years in Prison for Stalking previously.   She was intelligent and had been a Lawyer, but had been disbarred for Stalking and clearly could potentially be unhinged enuf to be Dangerous.  It's riveting, especially since you know it's based on a True Story.   And in Real Life got messy due to inevitably Fans of the Series digging Online to find out who the Real Life Stalker was... and were able to.   Life imitating Art imitating Life so to speak.

The other Series is called "Evil" {2019-2024}, a Psychological Supernatural Drama Thriller.   This one overlaps Clinical Psychology with Religious Exorcism, to investigate claims of Possession and whether the afflicted are Mentally Ill... or... Possessed.   Yeah a very controversial Topic to be sure, but fascinating in how they approach it on the Series, which was ultimately Cancelled... and... one doesn't have to speculate as to Why.  *Eye Roll*   The Son thought he wanted to watch it with me, but, unlike the other Series we're watching together... he couldn't manage this Topic well.   He can sometimes get too immersed in a TV Show that isn't Real and argue with the Screen Characters to where he gets too wound up Emotionally.  

Plus, with being SMI, this one hits too close to Home with him, where Mental Illness being misunderstood and misdiagnosed, is so common.   So, I had to turn it off and will have to watch it alone, since, clearly it Triggered and upset him.  Especially when one part of the Series had a Woman undergoing an Exorcism, that he felt was Mentally Ill and should have been getting appropriate Psychiatric Treatment for it.  Rather than thinking she was Demon Possessed and subjected to a Religious extreme Practice that could be more damaging to her Psyche.   Anyway, the Series actually is good in that it plays the Devil's Advocate between Science, Psychology and Religion, with Characters who are Skeptics and ones who are Staunch Believers.  I find it Interesting and Thought Provoking.

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Blessings, Love and Light from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian