Retail Therapy And Six Shots Of Espresso

 

So, the Yard Sale at Mando's deceased Friend's Mini Farm in Buckeye was Interesting.  The Guy had been a Hoarder, so, Yes, he had some nice stuff and a lot of junk, and it was a lot for the Widow and the Guy helping her to deal with.  They have Wild looking Chickens, Goats, a Horse, and the Widow is in poor Health so very reliant on the Guy helping her, who lives in a Trailer on their Property.  He's an Old Hippie but says it's all too much for him to manage, so, he's just doing what he can for her right now to dispose of as much as he can and clean up the Property.  I don't know if she has plans to Sell it once it's ridded of the cache of stuff?  The poor condition of the Hoard was overwhelming, I felt Anxious being around it actually.

But, The Daughter encouraged me to overcome my Anxiety to paw thru to locate The Good Stuff.  I'm like, I'm not gonna find Pet Semetary in here am I?   She had found a Petrified Cat Corpse in an Out Building, and that Story had Freaked me Out!  *LOL*  It was very likely a Barn Cat that had a Natural Death since the Out Building was Open to the Acreage.  Cats especially will go somewhere to Die.  But, still, I didn't wanna roll up on anything like that either!   So, I was going thru things with trepidation of what could be Found.  I have seen American Pickers Episodes where they find Raccoon and Rat Corpses, or even Living Wild Creatures Nesting, so, it happens in Chaotic or Unclean and not well Maintained Hoarded Up situations!

 Anyway, I found a small Antique Table that needs repair that has a Harp Carved in the Stand and Lion Feet on the Legs.   Some Old 1930's Movie Posters, some Old Cigar Boxes, a mini License Plate from Texas for a Recreational Vehicle.  A small mini Iron Jewelers Anvil, some mini Pool Balls, a few Vintage Toys, an Antique Carved Picture Frame.  An Old Wooden Hand Painted Advertising Sign for a Bar called "Delbert's" with a Mexican Bandido Cartoon Graphics Logo and the Artist's Original Sketch of it from the 1990's.   A bunch of Old and New Fishing Lures for The Man, of all kinds, which he was thrilled to get.  Since The Daughter had been helping the Guy organize for the Sale and she and Mando were staying to help with the Sale, he only charged me $40 for it all, which was a Deal.  There were almost 40 of the Fishing Lures alone!  Plus I sparked Interest with who else was showing up to Buy.

It's funny with Yard Sales, if you look excited to paw thru the stuff, other people then start showing Interest and Buying.  *Winks*   So, I stayed a while after I got my stash and pretended to show Interest in a lot of things just to get the Energy whipped up for other Attendees to Buy.  *Smiles*  I'd Cherry Picked the stuff I was Interested in and already Bought it, I was happy with my Modest Haul and what he only charged me for it.  He said basically the Widow just wants it all to go away and get cleaned up.  I felt Anxiety just becoz it was a Hoard and Chaotic, in the brief time I spent there, so I can only Imagine how she felt.  I'd be completely Overwhelmed.  I'm sure my Kids feel that way sometimes about my Stuff tho'.  Even tho' it's a lot of Good Stuff, it's still A LOT.  *LOL*

I think her best bet would be to call one of those 1-800-Got-Junk removal Companies to haul away what can't be Sold at this Yard Sale.  I think his Tools and his Sports Equipment will probably Sell, but the rest, probably not in a Month of Sundays, you know?   Sadly, he didn't take care of most of it and so the condition was the issue with even the stuff that might have once had value had it been properly stored or maintained.  But, he was Sickly a long time and so is she, so, they could not and probably concentrated on caring for the Animals as best they could.   The fine looking Rooster and one scrawny Wild looking Hen kept following me around like I was the Pied Piper!  *LOL*

The whole Mini Farm Community there was Hosting a Community Yard Sale, so tho' their Mini Farm Community is still quite Rural and out of the way, people were showing up.   I'm not big on Yard Sales so I didn't hit any of the others and most of what I drove past wouldn't have Interested me really.   And, I thought they were getting set up quite late for a Yard Sale, I'd expected we were arriving late at 10:00 a.m. and most were hardly set up yet!   In our Community Yard Sales on a Weekend begin around 6:30 a.m. and are a wrap by Noon, not barely getting set up and started!   Glad I went tho'.

The Man and I did some Environmental Cleanup after I got Home, he had been so Jazzed that I Scored him so many great Fishing Lures.  He makes Necklaces for me out of the more Interesting ones and just takes the Hooks off them and we put them on Chains to wear.   Some of the Vintage Lures are probably worth some Money and were very Cool looking.  Even the more Modern ones were high quality tho', so it was a small fortune in Lures for far less than a Buck apiece, considering everything else I got.   I only unrolled one of the Vintage Movie Posters from a 1934 hilariously Campy Named Movie, "Of Human Bondage", starring Bette Davis, there were about 10 Posters total tho'.  Even if they're Prints they're worth about Ten to Twenty Bucks each.

The Cigar Boxes I got have great Graphics on them, some I've never seen before.  He had some Liquor Bottles that are Collector Series of Jim Beam and Porcelain, but they weren't of things that Interested me enuf to Buy any.  Most were a Bird Series, Vegas Dice, or Western Series.  They have decent Value and I looked them up for Value, but, they're a Hard Sell at our Antique Mall and I didn't want them for myself, so passed.  If something has Value but can't be Sold, then it just takes up too much Space and if it's breakable, the risk is there for damage.  And for some reason with Liquor Bottle Collectibles, if not in a Locked Case, people fuck with them.

  I once had a Liquor Bottle Bull and someone broke the Head, which was attached to the Cork and came off the Body of the Bottle, which they all do... but, broken, or lost, rendering it then worthless.   The Bird Series were nice, but if someone fucked with the Heads, it would be problematic so I just didn't wanna risk it.  Not to mention, I've seen Bottles languish in the Inventory of other Vendors for far too long.  They're just not highly sought after by Collectors.   Anyway, The Daughter got a few things for Helping out too, that she didn't have to pay for, and she was thrilled with it.  She didn't expect anything, but the Guy insisted... he gave me a few Smalls too and wouldn't Sell them to me.

Anyway, I had the most expensive cup of Iced Caramel Macchiato I'd ever bought at a new Coffee place near the Yard Sale called "Jackrabbit Java".  They put a shit-ton of Espresso Shots in it and it's quite good, but, definitely not Healthy to have very often, if at all, given how many Shots of Espresso are in it.  *LOL*   Plus, the price point is prohibitive.   Can't say I didn't enjoy it, I like a robust Coffee and this was as robust as it comes.   But the amount of Shots is really too much, excessive, and I didn't know in advance how much they put in their Macchiato until I'd already ordered and paid for it!  When she said the price, I said that was pricy and that's when she said how much Espresso Shots were in it, fuckin' SIX, well over the FDA daily recommendation!  OMG, that's completely Insane!  No, I'd never Buy another one!  *Argh!*

I Nursed it all day, and wouldn't risk another Stroke having that much Caffeine on the regular or in a single Day.  *LOL*  The Son was mad I even drank that one, but I'd already ordered it and I think they should advertise how much is in it.  But, I had no idea until after the fact and when the Young Gal then told me, they don't Warn you in advance what they put in their Coffee.  At Starbucks you ask for A SHOT of Espresso AS AN OPTION... and I'd never ask for freakin' SIX!   I probably wouldn't go there again... not that it wasn't good Coffee, just, that's an insane amount to put in a single Coffee and give someone unawares!  And, since I'm ADHD and Bipolar, it has the reverse effect on me.  I don't get Wired on too much Caffeine, I get very fucking Sleepy and so then it made me lethargic as fuck all day!  I could have taken a late Morning Nap after consuming part of it!!!  *LOL*  And went to Bed early!

The Son wanted me to watch a Series on NetFlix with him that was hard for both of us, called "Love On The Spectrum".   I did find it difficult to watch at first coz of coarse it's personal when you have a Special Needs Child(ren) yourself, so a lot of it hits real close to Home.  I got invested in the Series and the dialogue it sparked between my Son and I tho', even The Daughter, who from time to time watched some of it with us.  It is a very complex Issue, not only with Autism, but other Disabilities like Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities like Downs Syndrome, etcetera.  Everyone is Human with the same Needs for Love, Affection, Intimacy as Grown Adults.  Everyone deserves Rights to be protected in Love and in Opportunities and Education.

Yet, it becomes layered, since, some may never be able to live Independently or Raise a Family and that is the Reality of it.  It becomes complex and hard for the Person and for the extended Families as to how much is possible, or impossible?  It can have Legal complexities of many layers as well, especially if Children are conceived of Relationships that have a Seriously Disabled Adult(s), whether both are Disabled and how much they are, or a Union where one Partner is and the other isn't.  You want your Children to find Love and Happiness and Unconditional Love.  You don't want Situations to arise that complicate things tremendously.  Like, having to Raise Children they might produce and cannot Care for.  Just becoz you can have a Child doesn't mean you should.  But getting Sterilization Approved now for Severely Disabled is not as easy as wanting or requesting it, even Voluntarily.  And Birth Control does Fail, it Failed The Daughter Five times!

 

She was denied getting voluntarily Sterilized every time, from Baby 1 thru 4, even tho' no Court would allow her to Raise any of her Children, in both Countries.   Finally after Baby 5 she got a Doctor to do it coz she almost Died having that Baby.  It's very similar to what happens when someone, who may not be Disabled, but has Substance Abuse Issues... or both, has a Union or a Family, it gets very complicated fast.   And the Children of those Unions do have a tough row to hoe.  Some of the Hereditary Factors can be passed along, and even if they're not, the Kids exceed the Parent in intellectual capacity or daily function quite fast.  The Son said he found out about the Series from a Bro Podcast he listens to where apparently a lot of followers of the Podcast like the Show, for a variety of reasons.  It can be Touching, Humorous, and bring forth some interesting conversation about Disabilities and challenges.

He said the Host of the Podcast even now wonders if he's on the Spectrum himself for Autism and just has never been diagnosed and is just high functional?  That can often be the case, and a lot of Girls have trouble being diagnosed becoz Females can mask some forms of Disabilities better than Males can.   So, tho' more people with Autism seem to be Male, that might not actually be the case or the Reality, there may be many Undiagnosed Females.   I know getting The Son's Diagnosis was very complex and difficult as a Journey, even tho' I got him evaluated by numerous Doctors growing up.  As a Parent you realize something is amiss, but finding out exactly what, well, it can be complicated. 

I was initially told by Medical Professionals that my Son was Deaf, Retarded {back when they used the Word}, and his Behavioral Problems were often held against him until he had a Formal Diagnosis and had a measure of protection under the Disabilities Act.   Both to receive an Education and for Employability.  His Formal Diagnosis eventually was Mildly Moderate Autism, ADHD and Bipolar I Disorder... quite a mixed bag of challenges to overcome within Society and to Independent Living as well and the ability to successfully Support himself.  The Daughter didn't get her Diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder and Schizophrenia until her Teens. 

  The Young Prince was Seven when he was Diagnosed.   Princess T only ever got a Formal Diagnosis of Learning Disability and some Form of Anxiety Disorder.  But like me, she's very much struggling with Bipolar I Disorder, and I'm also definitely ADHD, but at a high enough Function level that Docs never could tell who was Raising you what exactly a Diagnosis should be.   My Parents spent Years trying to find out what was Wrong with me and how to successfully navigate the Raising of me.  *LOL*   My Mom had Mental Health Issues, but wasn't Diagnosed until she was an Older Adult, in her day people didn't even understand nor talk about such things.

Anyway, good Series, hard to watch for me tho'.  I felt very conflicted about the range of Emotion it evoked.  I could tell The Son felt the same.   And, for someone on the Spectrum, they often have Awareness of their differences and how hard it can be on their Family to Deal with, often in a way that means Extreme Parenting for Life.  Some of the Families in the Series are well off and have more options for their Disabled Kiddos and more opportunities provided.   The Families who weren't often had fewer options and opportunities afforded to them or their Child.   Another layer addressing the particular challenges of any Adult who will require Long Term Care and what that means. 

  

I don't know how to Feel about one of our Older Granddaughter's newest Tattoo's she just got for her 28th Birthday, which is coming up in just Days, it's very Dark.   I'm not sure the Symbolism of it?   I'm almost afraid to ask or to comment when she Shared it.   She's going thru a lot right now with her Divorce and what a Train Wreck her soon to be Ex is, along with Single Parenting Two very Young Kiddos, a Baby and a Toddler Ages.   I've seen many a Dark Themed Tattoo and I actually like many of them I've seen.  My Brother has a Grim Reaper with DNR Tatted on his Chest as big as the one Actor Danny Trejo has Tatted on his Chest.  He's been on Life Support 11 Times and so it had significance... I'm sure my Granddaughter chose this for it's significance too.

And it shows above her Neckline with many Shirts now.  She has a lot of Tattoos and most aren't Black and Grey either, so, it was an Interesting Choice and I will discuss it with her in a PM, not on her Feed like a lot of Family and Friends have on the Book of Faces.   Of coarse, back when I got my crappy small Color Tattoo Many Moons ago, was back when they were still Illegal.   And so there were no Tattoo Parlors and elevated Art Form, you got them in some seedy back Room of a Biker Shop by some Outlaw Biker Tattoo Artist and they resembled Prison Tattoos most of the time.  *Bwahahahaha, True Story*  So, I'm glad she had a Talented Artist whose done all of hers.  Princess T wants to eventually get a full Sleeve when she has the Money to Hire a renown Tattoo Artist to put it on her.

She Wrote back that No, she wasn't in a Dark Head Space when she got it, and Shared another one she'd recently got, also Macabre in Black and Grey, I liked it much better, it's beautiful, on a Butt Cheek, LOL.  {See Above}  She said she just has a Creepy Soul and likes her Macabre stuff, I can definitely relate to that.  My Algorithm on The Book of Faces picks up on my Creepy Soul and often sends me Feeds of shit they know I'd Like... they KNOW you, those Algorithms.  *Ha ha ha*  Her Artist is exceptional with the Realism Tattoos, which are my Fav Genre, I'd have someone with that level of Skill do any Work.   When Princess T is ready for hers I want to find someone Local with this level of Skill for her.

One of my Best Friends and a prior Roommate, recently sent me a Pix, she still looks exactly the same as when we were Young and she's a Beautiful Spirit too!!!  She was my Birth Coach when The Daughter was Born coz I wasn't Married and we were Roommates.  Her Husband was also a Lifelong Friend and he got killed in the Gulf War, so she had a very hard time with that, it was rough for her.   He'd already Retired, very high Ranking, but the DOD talked him into going in to do Consultant Work with and for the Government and she didn't want him to go, had a Bad Feeling about it.  Almost a Premonition, she and I often had those so she could discuss it with me and we wanted Mike to reconsider and decline.  But he was a True Patriot and Career Military Man.  If his Country said they still needed him, I'm not surprised he responded and agreed to.  That's what REAL Patriots do, they aren't Draft Dodging Cowards like the Orange Fascist is.

So, he went and only shortly In Country got blown up and she lost it for a great many Years Emotionally, which is understandable, it was such a Trauma.   So it ruined their Plans of growing Old together and Traveling.  He never got to see any of their Grandkids be Born or his Sons getting Married.   She Sold all the Properties they Owned, couldn't stand being around any of what they'd built together without him.  She moved in with her Oldest Son and his Wife for a long time while she was recovering from being a reluctant Widow.  Her Oldest is a Career Military Man too and she helped with the Two Grandkids and got along well with her Daughter-In-Law.   She's such a good Friend it's great to see her doing better now.  I didn't know if she'd ever Recover from the Loss and how he Died?  Or that her Brother, also a Career Military Man, is MAGA... we just don't understand that dichotomy?!

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