It's Been a Hot Hot Summer

 I did some Work in The RV Garage Mahal, it is harder when you can't operate the Auto Big Door now due to that Motor burning out, no Air Flow. Alas, it's finally getting to the Climate where some parts of the Day I could otherwise work in there with Good Air Flow if the Big Door can be Open, so, poor Timing for the RV Garage Door Motor to go out.  It's an expensive replacement repair so it won't get done anytime soon on our Laundry List of Home Maintenance Priorities.   If I win a Lottery, well, then I could knock out that List in short order.  *Bwahahaha*  Ah well, shit happens, what can I say...   The Vision shall be on Pause until I can get in there more comfortably and tackle it in earnest again.  In the meantime, I get Inspiration from Images that Inspire me.

Princess T's 19th Birthday is late next Month, so she was worried about me being Tapped Out financially with Home Maintenance Issues.  I had to assure her that Yes, she'll still have a Birthday.  *LOL*   She pre-orders her Pressies Online from some Discount Site she J'Adores and really does have legit Quality Merch On The Cheap and exceptional Customer Service.   It's an International Seller that provides Free fast Shipping too, American Online Sellers can't compete, No, not even Amazon.   The American Sellers Online have disappointed her with crap low quality Merch, higher prices, high Shipping Costs and taking Forever to Deliver the Product.  So, she sticks with a Seller who Performs.

Besides, our Family avoids buying anything Bezos or Elon, since we don't want to fund more Cock Rockets and American Worker Exploitation practices for those pretentious Pricks.   Sure, one could say an International Seller might also be exploiting their Nation's Workers too, and they likely are, but, it won't be my own Neighbors or Family Members directly.   Also, I strongly Support Small American Businesses primarily and will gladly outlay and pay more to promote and sustain them, just not the American Billionaire Boys Club, greedy insatiable Bastards.  But, Dawn, how do you REALLY Feel about it?  *Bwahaha*  Yes, I have very Strong Opinions... AND... I Swear a lot.  *Winks*

And I just saw another overly PC Commercial about Alcoholism and now they're calling it "Alcohol Use Disorder"... okay then, whatever... LOL and an Eye Roll.  The speech I gave Princess T was, if you don't wanna become an Alcoholic, Don't Drink... pretty Simple actually.   Look at the ratio of Alcoholics in the immediate and extended Familia and realize, it's just not for you to be able to manage Alcohol Use, so, CHOOSE not to fucking Drink, Okay, it's not Rocket Science GF!  *Eye Roll*  Now she's 18 and Grown, her Choice.   But, watching her Mom and Uncle struggle with Alcoholism and other Substance Abuse Issues, it portends a Bad Outcome should she Choose to use Alcohol or Drugs too.  It's evident she should just avoid and refrain from using both, better Outcome, so, don't be Stupidly rebellious and reckless.

She and all the Kiddos know I always cut to the chase.  So they don't throw any Shade or Blame my way for Bad Choices they voluntarily made and I abundantly and bluntly Warned against doing.  My response then is, "You're Grown, so, figure and Work it out now... I can't Reason you out of something that took no Reason to get into."   I see a lot more Youngsters choosing to Smoke again... for a while it fell out of fashion to get addicted to the Cancer Sticks.  But now, seems they're finding less to Live for, and waste Money on Supporting as an expensive Addictive Habit, I just dunno?   Mebbe we're just dumbing down our Young People, I have my druthers about our Educational System declining into a Free Fall and whitewashing what they don't want the Kids to have Knowledge, exposure and disclosure of.

I do want the best possible Future and Joys for my Grandkids and for my Great-Grandkids.   I feel fortunate to have lived during the Eras that I have, they weren't Perfect either, but, each Generation can strive to do better and be better.   I'd like all Future Generations to have a better  Life and more than I have had, that's what my Parents and Grandparents desired for us too.  I think even those without Children would like to see the World situation improve and be better for those to come after us.  It's just the Greediest folks who don't care about anyone but themselves.  I do think it's why Greed is one of the Seven Deadly Sins of Mankind with only Pride coming before it.  If you've ever met a Greedy Human, they're quite consumed by it, and very seldom able to control it being their dominant Nature.

The Grandkids have been Sharing some of their Pixs Online.  I'm glad they are Pathological Picture Takers like me, since all our Adult Kids were definitely NOT.   The Man never takes Pixs either, but I'm one to take Pixs of everything.   My Parents rarely took Pixs coz they didn't own a Camera, one of the first Gadgets I ever bought was a Camera and my Younger Brother became a Professional Photographer in Hollywood so he Invested in really expensive equipment, since he wasn't an Amateur.  He taught me a lot about Photography, even tho' I'm an Amateur and never Invested in high Quality Cameras, I got better at it.   With Today's Tech Advances, almost anyone can take Pixs like a Pro tho'.  I still remember when my Brother had a Dark Room to develop his Pixs and how involved it all was.  He also did side work for Developing Photos Commercially.

And the Kids now use Online Tutorials for Learning everything and anything, so they get pretty good at it being just self-taught.  I Wish I could apply Makeup like my Grandchildren do!  They all look so Beautiful when they've applied their own Makeup and done their own Hair, Manis and Pedis, they've never needed to go have it done for them.  Tho', every so often they might indulge themselves to have it done Professionally, they really can do it that well by themselves actually.  The same when they take Pixs, I can't tell the difference between those they took themselves and those Professionally done.  Of coarse I'm highly biased and think all our Grandkids are Brilliant.  *Winks* 

And now the Great-Grands too... just look how many new Teeth this Great-Grandson already has!!!   He gets clearly as excited and Happy as I do with a Good Meal!  *Bwahahaha*   I had about this much of a Cinnamon Raisin sticky Bagel with Whipped Cream Cheese this Morning all over my own Face!   Yes, the Kiddos here were Teasing me about it, since I hadn't looked in a Mirror yet to realize how much sticky Cinnamon Sugar I had smeared on my Face Hours later.  *Smiles and Winks*   Princess T got mad at her Mom and Uncle for NOT telling me and just being Amused about it at my expense.  *Bwahahaha*   "Hey, you're supposed to be looking out for Gramma and Grandpa!", she scolds them.  And without missing a beat her Mom says, "Oh, we're supposed to do that Every Day?"  *LMAOROTF*  They might have let me go to Work like that?  *LOL*

Okay, see the Antique Typewriter Key Bracelets below?   I now Own the Black Key one, the Vendor that makes them was Selling them cheaply, I wouldn't put that much Work into it to Sell them that inexpensively.  I should have probably bought both in hindsight.   Just Buying an Antique non-functional Typewriter and cannibalizing it wouldn't be Cheap and would cost more than Five or more times what I paid for this Bracelet.   Anyway, it was at our Phoenix Location Downtown, they had a lot of new Vendors, we have a fair amount of new Vendors too, lots of Turnover during the slow Months, when many Vendors fold and Tap Out if Sales get Soft for them.  Some wouldn't make it anyway, you can usually tell which just won't cut it.   But, we do lose some Good ones too.

The Man and I are using a different Recycle Center to turn in our Aluminum that isn't so picky about not accepting flattened Cans.  They took all our Cans without complaints so that's where we'll go now, a shame, since, we have used the other Business for Decades.  But, if they're getting fussy and the other one isn't, we'll gladly switch and take our business elsewhere.   We had a lot of Cans to turn in but I didn't want to bother sorting out anything that was crushed or flat, that's how we find a great many of them when doing our Volunteer Environmental Cleanup.  Those from Home are intact, but, they all can be recycled, it's all Aluminum.   If they still had Humans doing the sorting rather than Machines that can't think or reason, it wouldn't be a problem what shape the Aluminum is in.   The Money made off Recycling bought our recent Purchases at SAVERS.

We had Brunch at "Colado's Crepes" after doing our Environmental Cleanup, they're Celebrating their 10th Anniversary.   I had the Tropical Crepe with an Iced Caramel Macchiato, The Man had a Peach Crepe with a Peach Blossom Iced Tea.   Both come with a scoop of really good Vanilla Ice-Cream.   It got to 111 Degrees again Today, still breaking Records Daily of high Temps and number of consecutive Days over 100 Degrees.  No end in sight, so, by about Noon you have to just go have a Siesta, too Hot to do anything Physical.   We pulled about 25 Lbs. of Aluminum Can Trash out of the Nature Preserve though this Morning, I feel good about that.  If people can pack it in full, it's a Special kind of Lazy to not then pack it out empty and leave it as litter in the Environment.

I did get that huge Cigar Smoking Troll at SAVERS on Half Price Day.  There was a long line to get in but what I'd come for was still there.  There were some thick Cast Iron Pumpkin Molds that can double as Halloween Candy Dishes since each half a Pumpkin Mold has Three Legs so it stands up... and a Paper Shredder, which we really needed the latter since ours Motor had burnt up, rendering it useless.  We got some Hard Cover Books and Vintage Band T-Shirts and Tie Dye T-Shirts too for Resale to Restock Inventory in the Showroom and keep well stocked.   At the River in the Nature Preserve it was lovely, hardly anyone there so it was so Peaceful and lots of Wildlife.   So, it was a nice Morning and we only called it a Day once it hit 111 Degrees.   It was nice to get Outside for a while tho' and in the Sunshine and Fresh Air, it's emotionally uplifting to be out in Nature.

I was looking at inexpensive Riding Mowers Online and didn't realize how inexpensive you can find some now.  Our Big John Deere Mower will cost a lot to repair, so for now The Son said he'd go halves with me to Buy a New Mower if we can find one at a decent price.   I had no idea you could find a Riding Mower reasonably and well within our Modest Budget, which is a relief.  So, we'll probably go look at some now we know we can easily purchase it without financing and pay Cash without going over Budget.   The Son had talked to TJ and it seems both Brothers really don't want to do what we already Paid them to do in August since their Dad won't let them use his John Deere and ours isn't operational right now.   

They did do the Irrigation, but, with neglecting the Yardwork, the flow was not good and the Pasture is high Grass up to your Calves now and thick.  I don't mind it being lush, but, it looks better maintained of coarse and that's what I Paid for.   They didn't do any of the Yardwork I Paid for in August, so I could have neglected it myself for Free and Saved myself the expense of Hiring them.   Anyway, The Daughter and The Son talked to both Brothers so they know I'm not Happy that the Yardwork never got done and what I Paid for was Irrigation AND Yardwork.    Rob did get one of our Palm Trees Trimmed, but, I never asked for that, I didn't want it Trimmed actually, I like them being Natural.   So it will be better for me to just take over doing both ourselves starting in September.  I'm not Paying someone for something they're not doing as agreed upon.

Below is One of the Two Antique Pharmacy Metal Cabinets I bought One of... I already had some at Home that I didn't Score as Cheaply, so, again, probably should have bought both.  *LOL*   But, my crap Budget constraints right now come into play, dammit.   These look Cool and are great for Storage, usually when I've found them the Vendor wants way too much for them.  I've never seen them as Cheap as this Vendor had them.  I got this one about 80% lower than what most Vendors ask.  The Man had asked me if I was sure I didn't just wanna Buy them both, and, I should have... but, I stuck to Budget and was Proud of myself for not giving in to Temptation.   When The Man got his Antique Metal Gold Pan that Vendor had Three of them.  We couldn't even recall the last time we'd ever seen just One!   He got it about 75% lower than Online Auction prices.

 

I'd given The Young Prince a Vintage Footstool that Opens on Top and has Storage, it had an Antique cross stitch Seat, they Arted it up and sent me the Pix below of what they've done to it.   I had to Smile, I had no Words.  *Smiles*   But when I gift something to any of them, it's theirs to do with whatever floats their Boat.   Princess T is absconding right now with a lot of my Antique Art, Antique Mirrors, and Antique Frames to Decorate her Room with, it looks so good, she has a similar Aesthetic to me actually.   I told her anything is Fair Game to Decorate with if I don't already have Placement for it yet.  So, she's been having some Fun with that.

 

LATER:  When I went in to Work we had No-Shows again and the Fill-Ins arrived Late, so, it was too busy early on in the Shift for those of us that weren't fully staffed yet.   It's been happening a lot lately, people absent for a variety of reasons, it's becoming chronic now.   I missed last Sunday myself, but its rare I have to call in Sick, so, I am not habitual about not fulfilling my obligation for Shifts I'm expected to work.  I did find out that my Friend Dan is in the Hospital, so I may have to cover for him on Wednesday Night longer than I expected, I didn't know he was sick enuf to require Hospitalization again.  I really do Hope he recovers fully, his last Hospitalization was very lengthy after his Senior Fall last Year.   He's not really been the same since that accident, but, he had been looking so much better that I was Hopeful he was improving.

The disturbing thing is, every Senior I know from Work that has taken a bad Senior Fall, has never truly made a complete recovery from it and took an obvious decline after it.   You try not to dwell upon that observation and it makes you more self aware of trying not to do anything that could cause a Fall and a similar outcome.   I know Dan's Wife Rita had told me that she had concerns post Fall about how it had negatively affected him in ways he probably didn't even have a full awareness of.   He's a very robust Man for his advanced Age, you wouldn't know he's over 80, her either, they are vibrant Seniors.  But, at that Age, healing is a lot more difficult and recovery takes longer.  I don't know how he'd fare if he couldn't work anymore, he's more Active than many who are Decades Younger than he is.

 

If he isn't able to return and has to give up his Shift I don't want another permanent Shift so they'd have to find someone else to permanently replace him.   I'll cover for him as long as it takes if it's going to be temporary, but, after what I heard Today, I really don't know how realistic it will be for him to return and at which point Management will acknowledge he won't be returning and they'll need to give that Shift to someone else?   They do know I made it clear I'll do it temporarily for Dan's sake so he can return if that is his intention and he's able to.  It's more a favor I'm doing on his behalf, I don't really want Two Shifts for a really extended period of time.  I know that doesn't even sound like much Work, but, with my other obligations and commitments, it is for me.   I don't have to GO to Work anymore, I just wake up and it's all around me.  *Smiles and Le Sigh*

Plus, I haven't been feeling 100% myself lately, but, not exactly sure why?   At first I thought Allergies, which, it could be, but I'm fatigued a lot more than I feel I should be and have sweating spells even when it's climate controlled to where I shouldn't be feeling so sweaty.   I'm way past that stage of Menopause, I've been Post-Menopausal for Years now, but, it's like those Hot Flashes you got during Menopause.   I did Dr. Google it and some people do experience Hot Flashes Post-Menopause, and I'm like, Awww shit!   Mostly it is at Night and is causing some Insomnia since I'm so uncomfortable when feeling overheated and soaked with Sweat.

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Looking forward to the Coolness of Autumn, we're SO ready for it... Dawn... The Bohemian