Wild Times... And Doom & Gloom Musings... Why Not?

 

The Kids renewed my NetFlix, yay!   I'd had to let it expire becoz I couldn't locate the Card at the Grocer, looked for over half an Hour and finally gave up.   Well, The Son walks right up to it, I felt like a Putz, it was even a bright color, hiding in plain sight!   Ever do that?  *LOL*  I'd been watching some of the Free Streaming Stations that have Ads while I waited for the Kids to get paid and renew our NetFlix Account.  I'd watched a couple of George Carlin Comedy Specials he made not long before he Died in 2008, just a mere couple Months beforehand actually.  George would have had a field day with Today's current Political Climate, he was always a superb Social Critic!

When I was at the Event a Fav Vendor still manages to get the Jeanne D'Arc Living Magazines I've Collected for Years.   She Sells them well under the Bookstore Cost and the Major Bookstores don't carry it anymore.   Now E-Bay and Etsy are usually the only place I can find it.  It's a gorgeous European Publication.  I used to get some of the European Magazines before they were even printed in English and the Imagery is sublime and makes them all Keepers, even Years later.  I was able to Score Three Copies at the Event, Two being half the price of the more Current Copy I Scored, but, from the same Vendor.   Her Spaces in the Antique Mall and at the Event are some of the most Editorial, she's Masterful at Visually Stunning Vignettes and Merchandising her Wares.  She utilizes a lot of Architectural Salvage for her Displays and Decor Backdrop of her Booths.

I've met her before, a Dour Older Lady, she's not the most personable Vendor, but, I have to applaud how she has Mastered her Business and her Booths are my Favorites.   Her Adult Daughter also has Spaces there and is quite personable, they are like Yin and Yang in Personality.   Her Mom tends to be All Business, No Pleasure or Socializing with her Customers, and very Seriously and unapologetically Aloof.  So, whenever I see her now Working her Booth, I just sincerely compliment her Work briefly and keep it moving, disengaging quickly.   When someone is not Friendly or forthcoming and is very Cool and distant if you try to pleasantly interact, I get the Hint instantly, but, don't Personalize it.  It's just how some folk are hardwired.   Their Personality is not how they'll be attracting or keeping their Clientele, their Skill at Merchandising clearly is what they rely upon.  *LOL*

 

The Daughter is gonna make Homemade Abondigas Soup Tonight, so we got all the Fresh Ingredients and some Pre-Made Meatballs from the Gourmet Meat Section of the Grocer.  The Adult Kids also made The Man and I Breakfast in Bed Saturday Morning, I could get used to that.  *Smiles*   The Man used to do that all the time for me before his TBI, since I always Worked Nights and so I slept in.  Since I'd be Working until Midnight during my Corporate Lives Careers and get Home around One in the Morning, not unwind and go to Sleep until about Three A.M..  I'm still pretty much one to keep the Hours of a Vampire, even in Retirement.  *LOL*   The Man is one to go to Bed early and wake up very early, keeping similar Hours as he did when he Worked too.  The Son keeps his Dad's Hours and both The Daughter and Princess T keep the same Hours as me.  *Smiles*

So, the Abondigas is in the Crock Pot cookin' and Amber came over to help her with it.   We'll probably give her some to take Home with her if it turns out really good... which it should, The Daughter is a better Cook than she thinks she is.   She doesn't have a broad repertoire of what she can do, but, what she knows, she does well.   The problem is, she only knows how to Cook for a crowd, so, there will always be too much.  She can't scale that shit down and we're not a small Family, but, we're not Jesus Feeding The Five Thousand either, you know?  *LOL*   At the Grocery Store I'm in the Produce section with her trying to guide her into how much of the raw ingredients she'll only need to feed Five to Six People Tonight. 

 And she's asking me the Crazy shit that she always does, in all Seriousness, and her Brother is dying Laughing and shaking his Head coz she says these things out loud and in Public.   She asks, "I know what I want and need, but, what's a Zucchini called before it's Fried, Mom?"  *LMAOROTF*   I deadpan, "A Zucchini... what do you think it's called Raw and before it's Cooked?"   *Bwahahahaha*   And she continues, in all Seriousness, "Oh, you mean it's called the same thing?"  *Now her Brother is walking away, Laughing so hard he's choking, Tears running down his Face, not wanting to be seen with us!  LOL*   So, then we find the Mexican Zucchini, Calabacitas, she wants and she's getting so many it would feed an Army, so, I put 3/4 of them back.   The same with the Carrots, Potatoes, Celery, Onion, Garlic, and Cilantro.

Of coarse The Daughter has never made her Recipe in a Crock Pot or on an Electric Stove, only over an Open Fire in Mexico Third World Style, so she's modifying how to alter her Cooking time etcetera using Modern conveniences and First World Style.  *LOL*   So, Amber is helping her with it all, she's made it with Modern Conveniences from scratch before, so between them, it should turn out okay?  *Smiles*   The Daughter had Lived for almost 19 Years in Mexico, much like my Dad grew up on the Rez in his day here in the U.S., without running Water or Electricity most of the time.   But, she learned to do without and make do, so now she's Grateful for any abundance and First World Problems are trivial to her and she gets excited just going Grocery Shopping and not having Food Insecurities.

I remember being Hungry and having Food Insecurities in my Past, it does make you more appreciative of abundance when you've known lack.   You don't take a thing for granted.   I always say I've been Rich and I've been Poor, Rich is better.  *LOL*   We just finished watching a NetFlix Comedy Special by Ms. Pat, if you've never seen her, she's Brilliant, but can squeeze Humor out of her tragic Life Situations that were anything but Funny.   She had her first Child at barely 14 and in the 8th Grade, she had Two Kids by Age 15, by a Pedophile 21 Year Old Boyfriend who was a Married Man and Fathered numerous Children by many Baby Mamas.  She went to Prison for Selling Crack to support her Babies when she was 16, she later got Happily Married and had Two more Kids.  She grew up in abject Poverty and exceedingly rough situations and dire circumstance. She Raised her Kids and took in and Raised Four of her Sister's Children, who were Crack Babies.   She has a knack for Story Telling her Truth in ways that are humorous, yet profoundly tragic at the same time.

 

The Daughter got impatient with the Crock Pot so has now transferred her Abondigas to a big Ole Tamale Pot instead on the Electric Stove, so we can eat sometime Today.  *Bwahahaha*   The Man was Surprised she didn't just build a Fire outside and Cook it the way she's used to doing it.  *LOL*   But, it's still well over 103 at just about Dusk, so, too damned Hot to Cook over an Open Fire Outside, otherwise I'm sure she would have.   *Smiles*   It's smelling sublime tho', so, I can't wait for it to be ready to eat.  She's been Cooking it for Hours already, she and Amber have way more Patience than Yours Truly to do Home Cooking from scratch.  *LOL*   My Adult ADHD just really would cause me to Spaz Out if any Meal took me half a Day to prepare and serve, plus, I'd be Hangry and Falling Out from Hunger!  *Smiles*  Patience just ain't one of my Virtues my Friends.

I've been like a Little Kid asking, "Is it Done yet?!"   *Bwahahaha*  If it tastes even half as good as that Sublime Aroma wafting thru the House tho', it was worth waiting for!   Too bad the Web don't have Smell-Around, or I could Share it with you, so, you'll have to take my Word for it, unless you've already smelled a good Abondigas cooking?  *Winks*   We've just gelled at the House pretty much all day except going to the Grocery Store this Morning on our Grocery and NetFlix Card Run.  LATER:  The Abondigas was fantastic, I had Two Servings of it, as did everyone else, so it's good she made so much of it in a huge Pot.  *LOL*  Amber had also brought over some Naughty shaped Chocolate covered Donuts shaped like a Penis.  I don't know where she got them, or if she made them herself, but, everyone got a kick out of them.

I know, our Friends and Family are Crazy like that, anything for a Laugh.  No matter how inappropriate, so, you might not WANNA Laugh at it, but you probably will anyway.  *Insert Inappropriate Laughter despite yourself!  Winks*  They tried to give one to Princess T to Shock her, but, she declined and said the one she got on First Fridays was better and showed them the pix of when she and her Gay Boy Posse were there... you be the Judge.  I would have to admit, hers was definitely better...  Wild Times at First Fridays apparently!!! *bwahahahahha* You'd be hard pressed to Shock anyone in this Family.  *LOL*  

I will have to Work Tomorrow Night, my Allergies have eased up so I am feeling better.  It's been Helpful that our Home is now an appropriate temperature and properly Climate Controlled again.  That one Dollar Store nearby is still Closed becoz they still haven't gotten their Air Conditioner fixed, it's been almost Two Months now!   That's enuf to permanently Close a Business, it's a Dollar General and we shopped there a lot, so I really Hope the AC Problems don't destroy that Location?  It's not looking good tho' and they can't be happy with the Landlord.   SAVERS is in the same Strip Mall beside the Dollar Store on one side and a Day Care on the other side... they're not having problems, so, each Store has an Independent Unit I guess? 

 Sometimes when I'm Typing too fast I'll accidentally also bring up some Mystery Tab I didn't know existed, like an Incognito Tab Function!  Have no Idea how I access these crazy Tabs for Mysterious Browsers while Typing super fast either?   So, I then have to Google what it was... that was a Private Browsing Function, who knew?  *LOL*  I didn't even access it how they tell you to!  *Crazy*  I guess if you Type so fast you Lock Up your Computer, it Spazzes Out and just defaults to a hidden Browser you don't even know it has, becoz that WILL make you Pause, I dunno?  *Smiles*  I DO Pause and am like WTF is this?!!!!!  It scares me coz the Incognito Browser looks Ominous as fuck, Black, has a little Spy Icon, I thought I accidentally hacked into something by Mistake?! 

 I mean, when I looked this shit up they have in depth Tutorials on how to Access it and I did it completely unawares by not doing ANY of that!  I somehow bypassed the usual function without even trying or knowing it! *LOL*  Seems my research revealed to me that it would be a Function probably used by cheating Spouses, viewing Porn or something you're trying to Hide from other Eyes on your PC and assume you're getting some legit Anonymity on the Whole Web?  Not so BTW.  So I got quite a kick out of reading the Q&A on it from other inquiring Minds, becoz Gallow's Humor is my Jam.  *Bwahaha*   It's not some pretty legit Anonymity just yet, but some like Tor are heading in that direction apparently if you respect the whole Spy Guy or Gal ways of doing shit.  *LOL*   Now I'm more Educated on what my Device CAN do tho'.  *Smiles and Winks*  But No, I have no use for an Incognito Function, I Own my shit 100% in Life, I don't need to Hide or Deceive what I do or say.

Us, we prefer to be Pirates, not Spies.  *LOL*  The Daughter had done one of those Online Games that can put your Pix into a Costume and she chose a Pirate and it turned out so Cute I Saved it, tho' it doesn't copy or blow up well.   I Wish it would, it's a good Pix of her.  I was able to get the "Click to Play" off, but then it pixilated the Photo more, so... this was the best it would reproduce.   It kind of reminds me of the Glamour Shots they used to do in the 80's, remember those?  You felt like a Movie Star or Model when they put professional Makeup on you by Pro Makeup Artists, did your Hair with Pro Stylists, and then had Professional Photographers do their Magic.   My Brother being a Pro Hollywood Photographer had said that is how they always did things with Models and Celebrities, they don't just look like all that Naturally.  Now the Online Filters do what the Pros did all the time with Airbrushing and making everyone look like a Super Model or Star.   You mos def would look like the best version of yourself.  *LOL*

We did make a Trip to the first "Spirit Store" that has opened for The Season, I took loads of Pixs with Princess T's Phone and will Save them for closer to Halloween.   Or at least for another Post if I don't have the restraint to wait that long.  *Ha ha ha*   I liked that their Theme for their Main Display this Year was Carnevil.   So it was the Evil Carnival and just so Cool and Editorial, I LOVED it.   I did a Carnevil Theme last Halloween on our Front Porch and I'll likely repeat it this Year and just change up a few things.   We face the Main Road so a lot of Traffic goes by on the Main Road, just separated by a low Wall and our Frontage Access Road directly in front of our Homes that runs parallel to the Main Road.   So, tho' our Community has Aged Out and has few Children, so fewer Trick-Or-Treaters these days, I still Decorate the Front Porch for Halloween.   I might go back to SAVERS and Buy this Creepy Vintage Carny Plush Hobo Troll on Half Price Day Monday.

Above is a Satellite shot of the front of our Mini Farms Subdivision, we're Fourth from the Right on the Frontage Road.   Which is the darker strip of Asphalt in front since they just resurfaced it, the Main Road slightly lighter Asphalt.  There are some ridiculous sized McManse's and Million Dollar Plus Listings in our Mini Farm Community, the Two First Homes to the Right and East of ours are in that range.   But, most are around the $700,000-$800,000 range now and Modest Homes on Acreage.   Only Five short Years ago when we Bought you could get in here for under half a Mil, not anymore tho', the Real Estate Values have exploded and Doubled since then.  Which is why there is no longer any Affordable Housing and even Rents are higher than our Mortgage is now.  I feel Fortunate our Timing was Ideal and Interest Rates the lowest in History.   I have a fascination with Satellite Mode on Google Maps, I really do.  It satisfies my Curiosity about my City and World around me.

With Satellite Coverage I discovered that the Investor that bought our Villa McManse has also chopped down the Beautiful Topiary Trio of Ornamental Citrus Trees we had in the Back Yard in Big Cement Saucers.  It had been part of a very expensive Professional Landscaping Front and Back that a previous Owner had Invested in and the folks we Sold the Property to destroyed almost all of to turn it into an Air B&B Party House.  They put up a Tent instead in most of the Back Yard, but all Landscaping back there was removed and most of it in front too and they put Parking Pavers out there to accommodate too many Vehicles, looks Tacky.   Love it since the HOA there is The Devil, and the Bougee Neighbors sucked too, and I Hope it made them shit Kittens.   Serves them right for harassing and running off Good People from the Community, now they get and attract the folks they Deserve.  *LOL and Winks*  

 Oh, and I also discovered why the Solar Lender had been bothering ME with Questions about the New Buyer of the McManse.  I had been questioning why they were contacting me at all, I was released from all liability during the Sale and Transfer of Title.  Well, The Tea has now been spilled, apparently the Buyers defaulted on the Solar Loan and so now the Solar has been Repossessed and taken off the Roof!  Yeah... interesting, guess the New Investor Buyer has Financial Woes!!!??   Awwww, Greedy Intrusive Investors Buying Up into Residential Areas to turn it into Party Central... it's Bad Karma my Peeps, so I have no Pity.   Perhaps fewer folk than they anticipated wanna Party in Waddell out in the middle of practically nowhere and around haughty pain in the Ass Neighbors I guess? *LMAO*  Listen, tho' the Investor Buyer Closed quickly and bought it at Ask, I didn't Like the Bitch, Okay.  She was an offensive picky Pretentious Rich Bitch out of Cali, trying to exploit Arizona and ruin our State too. 

 Yeah, no better than the Pretentious Community she was Buying into, that nit-picked about trifles during the Inspection and I refused to indulge her since I had backup Buyers galore.  So... Fuck her, I didn't Cowtow to her as a Seller and I Hope she loses more than the Solar Units she Bought.  Payback Karma in Life is a Bitch too Bitch, Touche'.  I'm so glad to be back around decent Neighbors who are a True Community and look out for one another, a Joy to be a part of.   I'm getting asked all the time if I wanna Sell this Property and Nope, I don't, few wanna ever leave this Community.  Up there in Affluent Subdivision Hell filled with impressive McManses, people couldn't leave fast enuf, the turnover was constant. The best Neighbors left right away and it was rather humorous that the Pretentious and the HOA couldn't understand Why?  *Eye Roll just look in a fucking Mirror you Bougee fuck Morons, it ain't becoz of these fabulous Houses!*  I Loved my McManse, even tho' it WAS a Lot of House that required Staff really to Maintain.  *LOL*  

Seriously, I paid less for that Million Dollar Listing than I did for this Mini Farm, when the bottom had dropped out of the Luxury Home Market and they could hardly give them away.  And it would have been Ideal to House Three Generations with an abundance of room for all and everyone's Cargo too.  *Smiles*  The Community/HOA and Location were the Problem, not the fabulous Home.  It had all been greedily Developed Wrong, with very little infrastructure to accommodate the amount of Residential Properties they dumped into a Rural Area that was mostly Farmland and Pristine Desert up against a gorgeous Mountain Park of State Trust Lands.   So, greedy Developers and greedy Home Builders were the First Problem.   They got around 15,000+ Residents dumped into there quickly and no real infrastructure Planned to Serve them.  Just a "Promise" of something allegedly "Coming".  *Eye Roll* Some of the Original Buyers had already waited a Decade for "The Coming" when we got there, now it's Fifteen Plus Years and not a whole lot has changed.

  Secondly, Zoning there was Crazy and didn't attract Commercial Builders at all, since it was an Unincorporated Area, Waddell isn't even a Town or City actually, just an "Unincorporated Community".   So, no Shopping, Gas Stations, Convenience Stores, Grocers, Service Industry or Dining whatsoever anywhere close by.  They did eventually build a Dollar General Years after we left.  So, they also had no Emergency Services for literally Thousands of New Residents, just an inadequate Volunteer Rural Metro that had One Fire Truck and One Ambulance.  But Shook Down every Resident for a $100 a Month Fee in spite of you already Paying high Taxes that should have included Emergency Services!  If you didn't Opt In, they threatened to charge $35,000 per Call to respond if you had a Fire or Medical Emergency!  Oh, and they never disclosed any of this when you're Buying a Home out there either.

Now I got everything and pay far less for it, in a proper City with adequate Services and somewhat more responsible Development.   Tho', I am miffed that much previous Agricultural Zoning has been changed in the past Couple Years to Create more Subdivisions and enormous Apartment Complexes to dump more Residents and potentially overwhelm this infrastructure too if they don't upgrade it considerably.   Development in general is Greed Driven by Obscenely Rich entities that Grease the Palms and Pockets of whoever is in Charge, we all know this unfortunate Fact of Life and of Capitalism run amok.   I'm not against folks making Money responsibly and within reason.   Look at everywhere as a Community and not just as a Commodity and protect the Natural World and Natural Resources as you go.  It will be at your own peril Long Term if you do not.

But Greed not checked, and allowed to become insatiable, also becomes dangerous and exploitive, and that's not Good News for the Average Citizen or for Mother Earth to be able to Manage either.  But, Progress is quite Subjective, not everyone Shares my Concerns, well, at least not until it all goes Sideways as I Predicted it would given the Clues you could have picked up on earlier.  *LOL*   When I see the majestic Ancient Saguaro dying off at exponential rates, even exploding, I'm like, yeah, Humans need to be paying better Attention here, it's an ominous Sign folks!   When you replace Natural Desert with Man Made shit and wide expanses of Concrete, Asphalt and a shit ton of Residents and what that requires to Sustain them, well, it Heats up even quicker than Climate Change is gonna AND your Resources are gonna be spread too thin... such as... WATER in a fucking Desert already too populated to be Sustainable!!!  Well, they didn't call it the Wild, Wild West for nothin'...  Wild Times!!!  Whoo Hoo and Yippee Ki-Yay Motherfuckers!!

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Well, my Ray Of Sunshine Posts aren't nearly as well Received by Dear Readers as the Doom & Gloom Posts, so... Ta-Da... a good Train Wreck Post to Entertain ya... LMAO... Dawn... The Bohemian