Monday, July 21, 2025

Those Were The Days My Friend We Thought They'd Never End

 



I know, I used the Pix my Friends Mike and Leslie took of me Buying Pappi the Racooon in my last Post, but, whatever, I like it enuf to make it the Lead Pix of Today's post too.  *LOL*   I sure do Miss them and all the Shops like this one that have Closed over the Years.   Junquing ain't what it used ta be, and the Industry is faltering now, just a few of us hanging tough and trying to weather the Economic Storms of a shitty Economy now.   But, you have to accept the Ups and the Downs to weather stuff in order to last.   I can Outlast almost anyone, or so I've been told.   I am relentlessly tenacious, I ain't gonna Lie.  *Bwahahaha and Winks*




Today it's not supposed to get to triple digit temps, a Monsoon Storm is moving in and might dump some significant Rains.  Which will be nice, tho' it will be Humid and Hot, not pleasant when Humidity is higher.  I prefer a Desert Dry Heat even if it gets Hotter, if it stays Dry, it's preferable to me.   The House is clean and tidy since I got it in order for Hosting a Guest.   Our visit with The Son's Friend was really nice, she said she hadn't hung out for that long in ages, she stayed 'til around Midnight, since her Aunt had the Kids so she could have a good time.  She doesn't go out much, coz like The Son, she also has Autism, and isn't comfortable Socializing much usually. 




  She said it has helped her to Raise a Child with Autism, since, she understands how he is.  I told her I'm pretty sure I'm undiagnosed and on The Spectrum, I do a lot of things Autistic folks do, like Stimming, Fixating, Socially not always Reading the Room appropriately or saying appropriate things with a Filter.  *Winks*   Yeah, my Filter is either broken or missing entirely and I am Aware of it.  But, find it difficult, if not impossible, to filter information from coming out of my Mouth if it's been in my Brain percolating and just aching to come out and have Voice.  *Bwahahahaha*  So, if you can't handle The unfiltered Truth, or have delicate Sensibilities, we probably can't be Friends.  *Winks and Laughs*  I know a little bit of me can go a long way.  *Smiles*




I don't personalize it if you just can't connect with me, or don't want to, I can be a lot.  *Bwahahaha*  The Muchness overspills in Real Life and here on the Ole' Blog, my Stream of Consciousness is like a torrent and can't usually be easily contained.   I do Love to Write tho' and to take Photographs, I don't really Care if anyone will read it, tho' usually they can Visually absorb the Imagery even if it's a lot of it.  *LOL*   Can we really have too many lovely Visuals?   I think not.   The Kids said the Main Event Fight was a Draw, tho' they felt Pacquaio should have Won it, so it was a controversial decision.  The opponent was Old too, but Manny is Older, he's 46, but looks Amazing and still has what it takes to be in the Ring, which is impressive.  




But, at his Age, he doesn't need to take the risks, he's been a Senator of the Philippines from 2016-2022, and The Son wouldn't be Surprised if one day he's the President of the Philippines.  He is widely regarded as one of the Greatest Boxers of all time, he's Won 12 Major World Titles and is the only 8-Division World Champion in the History of Boxing and holds Six Guinness Book World Records.   He was the 1st Boxer to Win World Titles in Seven different Weight Divisions.   So, his resume speaks for itself and is unmatched even by the Heavyweights of Boxing.  I guess it was a good Fight tho' so the Kids liked it even tho' they said they didn't agree with the decision it was a Draw.   Boxing does Love a good Controversy tho', people talk of a controversial decision long after a fight ends.   Sidebar:  A lot of Shops are doing a Christmas in July Event, so it's been Fun to peruse that and early Halloween Decor being presented.






The Son is doing the Yardwork before the Storm hits, it's nice outside right before a Storm, Cloudy and Cooler than usual for July.   So, inside and out will look nice by the end of the Day.   I was upset that The Daughter ruined one of my expensive Designer Pillows by leaving it outside in the Sun, which messed it up, no idea why she even had it outside at all!?   So, I'll have to talk to her about it so she doesn't do that again with any of the others.   I may have to QC what she's got in the 5th Wheel and is using, so none of it is my favorite stuff that might get damaged?   I let her Decorate with most of my stuff to her Heart's content, but expect it all to be respectfully used and sometimes she's hard on stuff, depending on her Mental State of Being.   She never intentionally ruins anything, but her decision making is sometimes poor and she doesn't always make good decisions on a consistent basis.




Sometimes she will do the Craziest things and there's no explanation, she doesn't even know why or remember doing it.   So, she may have no explanation as to Why this expensive Decor Pillow was outside on a Table in the Sun and had been exposed long enuf to start being Sun damaged.  I took it back inside and it can be Salvaged, but I was distraught to see it had been left out there and got damaged.   I may have to do some Boro Mending of it now, to make the damage seem like intentional Distressing?  *LOL*   She claims it was deteriorating and she didn't have anything to do with it, and that could be True, she's not prone to lying, so mebbe it's just Age and environmental factors over Time?  Anyway, I'll think about Creative ways to mend it now.




I've been quite Nostalgic and Sentimental lately, looking back on some Industry Pixs during the heyday of it all.  Those were the days my Friend, we thought they'd never end...   And yet, they did.   And it was a whole lotta Fun while it lasted.  Everything now seems banal and unimaginative by comparison and a big ole' Yawnfest.  Ugh.  I'm almost afraid to see how my Pay Period ended at the Antique Mall, it's been so abysmal lately with Sales being so Soft unless you're a Pokemon or mass produced Crap Hawker.  The folks do like their worthless Crap and will spend Money on that rather than in Investment pieces these days.  But, we have become a disposable Society and so, the throwaway items Rule now.   The only thing I always buy that's disposable is Paper Plates.  *LOL*




Anyway, I did find a Brass Turtle Shaped Flower Frog when I was at Work Friday Night.   I didn't know if it had any Age to it but Online they were more than triple what I paid for it, so it didn't matter to me how Old or Young it was.  I Collect Old or Unusual Flower Frogs in various Metals, Glass, Crystal, Stone and Ceramics.   I bought another Two Antique Metal Japanese Ikebana Turtle Flower Frogs Online at Auction, the Seller had reduced the Pair by 50% of what they had Listed them at and had them on a Buy-It-Now Feature with low Shipping Cost, so, couldn't resist... now I'll have Three Turtle Shaped ones it's Officially a Collection.  *Winks*




My Friend Nina got me hooked on Japanese Antique Flower Frogs and Sold me some of hers.   Her Mom was Japanese and her Dad an American G.I., so she had a lot of great Antiques from Japan.  I miss her Spaces at our Antique Mall, which were fabulously Merchandised, her Art of Display is incomparable, and I miss her, she's a Dear Friend.  She moved to Texas where they will Retire.   The Metal Pair of Antique Flower Frogs shaped as Turtles from Japan are an incredible Score.   Some Retail Therapy has been in order since, well... Life has just been a LOT lately, hasn't it?   I'm busy doing a load of Laundry, then I'm all caught up on my Housekeeping for the Day.  We mostly had Towels and such since all the Kiddos went Swimming last Night after the BBQ, which turned out really good too.  And The Man and I didn't have enuf for a full load until we included the Beach Towels.  All the Kiddos do their own Laundry and Housekeeping.




The Guys are still working on The Son's Car, they're determined to get it Fixed.   Which is handy coz The Son didn't have a Peace about Buying anything right now or me Fronting for one either on his behalf, so, we'll see what happens?  Used Car Dealerships weren't really hungry for Sales it seemed so I didn't really wanna do business with an ambivalent Seller who didn't act like they Cared about you doing business with them.  Now that The Young Prince got his Phone fixed we talked at some length the other day and he's doing better now.   So doesn't mind staying in New Mexico for now and figuring something else out to get his Cargo and himself to Arizona eventually.  So long as he's not in Crisis I think it best to Move on his own Terms rather than an Emergency relocation anyway.




I could be out doing something since it's a Cooler than usual Day, but with a Storm moving in I don't wanna risk being caught out in a Monsoon when it hits.   Nobody has to Work on Sundays so it is our Day Of Rest, such that it is, tho' we always finds loads to do around here that constitutes Work.  *LOL*  We have leftover BBQ and some Chinese Takeout, so, nobody has to Cook either.   I may talk The Man into going and doing something tho', just becoz we can.  *LOL*   LATER:  We went out and did Environmental Cleanup, trawled some Goodwill Stores to look at their Halloween Merch... it was a lovely day, Cool, Cloudy and Breezy, stayed way under triple digits, very Rare for Mid-July.  It looked like Rain but never did, so we stayed out 'til almost Sunset just enjoying the Weather.   





I found an 1800's Canning Jar with Zinc and Glass Lid by 'Crown' at one of the Goodwill Stores for $2.  I found a couple of Orange Velvet Pumpkins with Real Pumpkin Stems for $4 each.   An Alice In Wonderland Tie Dyed "Liquid Blue" Brand T-Shirt for $4 with great Graphics of the Hookah Smoking Caterpillar on a Mushroom advising Alice.  {See Below}  Even Used they go for $25 Online.   For only $1.25 I got The Young Prince a T-Shirt that says, "I'm so Gay I shit Rainbows".  And I got a bagged lot of Thanksgiving and Halloween Paper Plates and Napkins for $3.   I had earned 50 Cents a Gallon off Gas at one of our Grocer Chain's Gas Stations.   And I got a couple of Clear Glass Ornate large Halloween Decor Apothecary Jars with Lids, one says "Arsenic" and one says "Hemlock" and they each have a nice Halloween Graphic too.  And a Bagged Lot of Creepy Porcelain Doll Heads for $5 that I'm going to put into said Jars for Halloween.




Below are the Style of the Apothecary Halloween Jars I got, these aren't mine but are the closest look to mine I could find Online, couldn't find a single one with the Writing and Graphics mine had.   I paid $12 each at Goodwill, becoz even Plain Apothecary Jars with Lids of that size are about $35 each at most Decor Stores, without the Cool Halloween Graphics.   I like Styling with those kinds of Jars becoz you can put anything in them to Display.   We went to Three different Goodwill Stores and each had a really good vast selection of Halloween Merch and some were New Old Stock from Department Stores like "Ross" and "Target" from previous Year Lines.





Trying to set up Auto Pay for some Creditors with the new Debit Card is proving to be a pain in the Ass.  Between Bots that Companies rely upon and Docu-Sign shit that I'm not at all comfortable with using Electronic Signatures, for obvious reasons, I don't like it and just am now telling them to bill me old school style.  *LOL*   So, getting all that straightened out is a headache I don't need, but, has to be done.  Other than that, everything is swell.  *Bwahahahaha*  Mando and The Son worked on his Car all weekend and got it running, all Body parts crossed it stays running?  They think the Electronics for the Auto Theft Device is what had kept shutting it off coz it's malfunctioning and so it's inadvertently sensing the Vehicle has been stolen???   So they overrode that, or think they did, which isn't easy, coz it's designed for Thieves not being able to do that.   So, The Son drove to work this Morning and I got to blissfully Sleep in like a proper Retired Person.  *Ahhhhh*  





Tomorrow I have my Diabetic follow-up with my Doc to see if my A1C has come down some with the new regimen and Ozempic switch?  I sure hope so, I'm weary of doing everything they tell me to and not seeing Positive results coz my faulty Pancreas is limping along but not optimally functional.   I've always either had Low Blood Sugar Issues or High Blood Sugar Issues my whole Life so it probably never functioned well.  It's just with Hypoglycemia all I ever had to do was eat every 4 Hours and not take any Meds at all.  When it switched over to being Diabetic, then Meds had to enter the picture when I was in my 50's and after a Hysterectomy packed 60 Lbs. on me.  I'd been a Naturally Skinny person before the Surgery caused Menopause and those days are now over.  *Le Sigh*  Whenever I get back to a Healthier Weight the Diabetes simply goes away... so that's my ultimate Goal, to get down to about 157, which at this Age is my Best Weight.  Any Skinnier and I look too Frail.





Princess T is 94 Lbs. and I used to be around 98 Lbs. as a Young Adult, top Weight even after having had all my Children was 128 until the Surgery and Menopause.   Now, dipping below 200 is hard for me.  And Insulin Resistant Fat is The Devil to rid yourself of.  *Le Sigh*  I don't have any different eating habits than when I was Thin.  For a Senior I'm very Active, moreso than most Women my Age.  So it's hard to know how to regulate Hormones enuf to balance my Weight out to a Healthier number?   The Docs initially felt Diet was key, but that's proving to be somewhat of a fallacy, No Carbs, Low Carbs, smallest Portions, eliminating Sugars significantly, not eating White or Processed Foods, drinking tons of Water, increasing Exercise while decreasing Caloric intake, really doesn't seem to have a significant or lasting impact.  You might as well be telling me to buy some Sparkly Red Dorothy Shoes, spin around Three times and tap them together!  *Winks*





Moving On, since talking about Weight or Health bores the shit out of me and too many Old folks do it incessantly, so I don't wanna turn into one of them.  Heaven Forbid, then I'd be Fat, Diabetic AND Boring!!!  The Trifecta of OMG, just kill me now!!!  *Bwahahahaha*   I did some Online Buying, which is Rare for me, but I got some things I couldn't find just regular Shopping and so I hadda succumb and just Buy what it was Online instead.  Princess T just Loves Online Shopping and waiting for stuff to arrive on the Doorstep like it's Christmas.  *LOL*  Me, I like the actual Shopping Experience more I guess, so doing it Online isn't the same for me, nor is getting a Box Delivered.  The Thrill is gone.  *Ha ha ha*  




Yet, I know it's the wave of The Future and I really need to just enter the 21st Century with the rest of ya'll and not be such a Dinosaur.  But, Believe it or not I'm having some Young Adults tell me now that some of the old school style stuff they think is Safer and better too!  You only need to have a few Negative Experiences New Wave I guess to be a Convert?  *LOL*   When I was telling some of the Creditors I wanna go back to being Billed, every single Young Phone Rep told me it's Safer and better to!   They don't even like Auto Pay anymore or having to go thru rigamaroles of dealing with Phone Bots, instead of a Representative whose Human, when they make Calls these days to sort out problems with their Auto Pay functions.  Yeah, mebbe it saves a Tree, but, I like having actual Receipts.  *Winks*





My Friends used to have this Bear they'd dress up and have at their Shows at various Flea Markets Industry People used to set up at.  I think I Need one now.  *LOL*   And Below is one of the Iconic Posters my Brother and every other Young Man of that Era must have had, of Farrah.   I'm Surprised actually that more little Girls of that Era weren't Named Farrah, I always thought it was a nice and unusual Name.  Our Poster Vendor at the Antique Mall had this Poster, so, we'll end this Post with Farrah Smiling at you with her fabulous Toothpaste Commercial worthy Smile, Great Hair that I always Envied, and showing Nipple... you're Welcome... *Winks*





*******

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

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