Tough Rows To Hoe And Shitty Hands Dealt

 In Real Time it's Sunday, The Daughter is doing a Yard Sale, the Guys are working on The Son's Car.  Mando thinks he can get it running and we don't have Options, so, might as well see if he can?  Mando is pretty handy at Handyman Projects, he's repaired a lot of things around here already and they're now working just fine.   The Daughter comes in every so often to Cool Off and help me with my Decluttering Project I've got going on in here.  Everything that shouldn't be in the Main House I'm trying to relocate to where it should be either Displayed or Stored, or Sold.

  I've got a fair amount of Inventory dragged in here again coz it's Climate Controlled and comfortable to Price things while watching TV or listening to Music.  I want some of it Priced by Friday and bring it in to the Showroom at the Antique Mall.  I don't know how the 4th of July Sale went there, Hopeful it did do some Trade Stimulation?   Sales have been in a slump due to the Fear about the Economy flatlining and Political unrest making folks nervous and feeling quite uncertain about America's Future.  We all need to have a Backup Plan to the Backup Plan, just in case.  Those without a Plan could be royally fucked.

The Kiddos did all the Yardwork already too, so the Property looks really nice again and will until the next Monsoon Storm hits.  They worked really hard and I appreciate it, I'm not up to doing it alone anymore, so Thank God for the Younger Generations living here to help with it all.  I don't mind Multigenerational Living at all, so long as they all work hard to get along and play well with others, it can work.  *Winks*  The Son did acknowledge he's been so Emotionally Raw that he's projecting a lot of his Anger which is Fear disguised, upon everyone else, so he's trying harder not to.

He sees his Dad and I declining in Health and admits it scares the shit out of him.  Coz he's the most likely candidate then to inherit the Shitshow and take over from me to be the Ringmaster of it, to take Care of more Disabled Loved Ones than he is.  That is terrifying, it's a Big Ask.  I Shake a lot and tho' I always have, it has gotten more pronounced as I'm Aging.   And tho' I Laugh it off and most of the Dark Humor Family Members can too, along with me, coz we're totally inappropriate like that, The Son and The Man don't think it's humorous and get really upset and scared about it.

I've had that Neurological Condition all my Life, I always Shook.  Docs never could pinpoint exactly Why, so, I don't worry about it.  Listen, I'm rolling up on my 7th Decade of Shaking, so no Big Deal to me anymore, I haven't dropped Dead from it.  So, whatever doesn't Kill you does just make you Stronger.  It can be annoying, sure, depending on what I'm trying to do, since, if I try not to Shake, well, I Shake even more, so then it becomes hilarious to me, becoz, well, Fuck!   So, while Organizing and Decluttering, some little Antique Cigarette Tin I just bought fell over and I was trying to make it stand back up.

 And I'm reaching and I'm Shaking and so it kept falling back over, first this way, then that way, over and over again.   And The Son is watching me, and knows I'm fiercely Independent and Proud, so, unless I ask for Help, best to just let me try to do something myself, until I admit I can't, get pissed off, or start Laughing hysterically about my inability to.  After a while even he had to Laugh, coz that shit WAS Funny... until he finally just helped me stand it back up, coz he couldn't take it anymore, letting me fail to after too long trying to.  *LMAO*   And we're all Laughing, quite inappropriately by then, levity and Gallow's Humor especially is like a Good Medicine after all to us.

And speaking of inappropriate Humor, Okay, I'm always NOT PC, I freely confess, I got Pearl Clutching inappropriate Dark Humor, I can't Help myself.  And we made a run to the Convenience Store just now and it's before Bulk Garbage Day and The Daughter Loves to Cherry Pick Curbside Treasures on Bulk Garbage Day, so she says, "Mom, did you see that?!"   And I hadn't as we whizzed thru our Mini Farm Neighborhood, coz, I'm not looking at the Bulk Garbage Piles with Eyes like a Rat as she is.  And I say, "What was it?"  And she says, "I dunno, it was Black and had Legs."  And, I couldn't Help myself, and I say, "Oh, so it was a Dead Brother laying beside a Bulk Garbage Pile and you wanted me to Stop... to do what, find MORE Human Remains like your Dad did on the Rez that Fateful Day recently?!"  *Bwahahaha*

If you're not a long time Dear Reader, Yes, my Brain Damaged Beloved who also has onset of Dementia, while doing Environmental Cleanup last Month on the Rez, found a fucking Human Jawbone and picks it up and casually walks it over to me!!!   And that whole Drama thus unfolded with turning it in to the Authorities, so, I'm not exactly wanting to find another Body or it's Parts, Okay?!  Never a good Optic if you find too many, just sayin'!!!  *Winks and Smiles*  She Shares my Wickedly Twisted Dark Sense of Humor and started hysterically Laughing too and said, "No, Mom, it wasn't a Dead Black Man, probably a Black piece of Furniture with Legs!"   But now she can't stop Laughing, coz the Image I Painted on the Canvas of her Imagination, is now stuck in her Head!

And she's walking around now Photographing Weird and Wonderful Shit we got all over the House and sending it to her Friend Sergio in Mexico, who already knows we're the Vida Locas... but he Loves us anyway.  He wondered how and why she's so Crazy, 'til he met me via Video Chats, and now knows, well, it's Hereditary, Clearly.  *Winks*   He's the one who has a Mansion on the Beach, helluva nice Guy and Adores our Daughter, I think he'd Marry her actually, if she wanted to Marry, which, she doesn't.   She Adores Sergio too and he's always kept at least One Room of any Home he's Owned for her and our Grandkids that are hers.  They stayed with him for Six Months during that time we were trying to get her Kiddos that were Born in Mexico across the Border.

Of coarse long time Readers know that tho' the Mexican side had no problem with them crossing, and coming to Live with me when their Mexican Grandmother Died, who had Raised them, the American side did.  Coz our Immigration System is so broken.   And nobody is even trying to actually Fix or Reform it.  So, after half a Year we all had to give up, and Sergio, whose a Wealthy Mexican National, and some other Wealthy American Friends of ours, had spent a fortune in Legal Fees trying, it was just Futile with this Administration in Power especially.  The Money the American side was trying to Extort was ridiculous and I simply wouldn't Pay it, coz, there were no Guarantees, just Extortion.  This Regime is adept at Extortion and Corruption, it's their Super Power.

Anyway, so, Sergio, along with several other fellas she knows, all call me their Mother-In-Law.  It's hilarious to the Family, coz, they'd all Like to foolishly be The Son-In-Law.   You'd have to be 'New' not to find the Humor in that.  *Winks*   The Man likes to Joke about the True Fact that his Future Father-In-Law even Warned him I'd turn out just to be like 'Her Mother', and that didn't deter him either.   And now, he'd of Served less Time for Murder than how many Years we've been Married.  *Winks*   And even as a Retired Special Forces Leader and USMC Sniper, he'd rather go to War again and assume the Risks than to dare Battle with me any day.  *Bwahahahahaha* 

 To be Fair, I am not Right... and as the Youngsters and Cypress Hill would say, Insane In The Membrane... and more than slightly Unhinged, or so I'm told.  *Winks*   And since there is no Cure for what apparently Ails me, this is as Good as it gets.  *LOL*   The Daughter's Pixs she took didn't turn out in focus too well, but, I'm using them in this Post anyway since I'm very Light on Blog Fodder and haven't been in Pathological Picture Taker Mode recently at all.   So, the Family Photos Relatives have Shared with me and the ones the Kiddos are snapping around Forever Boheme' will have to suffice for now.   Besides, the Adorable of all of our Family's Youngest Kiddos can't be beat for Uplifting Blog Fodder IMO, and I'm totally Biased about that!  *Winks*   My Cousins have been Sharing Pixs of their Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren too, since we're just that Old now and Proud of living long enuf to see them.  *Smiles*

And of coarse we've all been Sharing Blast From The Past Pixs with each other too of back when we were Young.  *LOL, Above, me in High School Mug Shot*  Yeah, that was reaching Way Back, but now we all have Pixs of all of us that we didn't previously have of when we were those Ages. And now Extended Family have added those Pixs to their Family Ancestral Photo Archives, which is Important.  Our Adult Kids and Adult Grandkids all wanted those Photos of their Elders when we were Children, Teens and Young Adults, many of which they'd never seen before of us.   And I'm trying to get the Younger Generations interested in becoming The Keepers Of The Past, since, my Generation won't become Immortals and we must Trust them to now pass the Family History along to for Future Generations long beyond us.

I have an abundance of Cargo to Pass Along to them all, they can Profit from the Sale of it or Keep what is meaningful or Sentimental and Nostalgic to them, I don't Care.   It'll one day be their Inheritance and something to sustain them or Horse Trade with if Money becomes Worthless or devalues to the point of absurdity.  *LOL*  What is Valuable can be very subjective, we all place Value on different things.  And what has Value one Minute can be Worthless the next, that I've Learned as you just keep on Living.

So, we went to the new Mediterranean Restaurant that just opened a Block away near "Sprouts" Grocer, it's called CAVA and we were duly impressed.  We'll definitely go again, even The Man claimed to like his Bowl {pictured above}, even tho' he's not a Fan of Mediterranean Cuisine like I am.  He kept asking me what he was eating, and even after explaining, he still didn't know what he was eating.  *Bwahahaha*  This was a modified Bowl for him, since, you can build your own and a lot of the Bowls are Spiced and he needs blander fare.  So, they did have an Un-Spiced Chicken Protein we could substitute for him and he liked it.  He is giving me what he didn't want of his Bowl's contents, so, there won't be any waste.  I do so Hate to be Wasteful, especially Food.  So much hunger in this World and distribution of necessities Globally is not good, the Haves have too much and the Haves Nots don't have enough.

This was my Bowl and I built it to include Two different Proteins so I could try their Spiced Lamb and their Falafel.   I got the Bowl contents that went with the Spiced Lamb this time around, but I'll certainly try some of the other Bowl Contents eventually.  Everything was exceptional and I ate every bit of mine.   They have interesting Flavors of Beverages and several are Lemonade blends like Lavender Blueberry and Strawberry Citrus.  I had one Glass of each of those, like them both and preferred the Lavender Blueberry just slightly more.

Tho' a Carb, I did indulge in a few of the Hot Harissa Spicy Crispy Pita Chips, which come as a small Side, which are Sublime!!!   OMG, crispy and a fabulous Flavor Profile for a Chip they make fresh there.   Good to put some of your Bowl contents on when you scoop it out with a Chip.  Unfortunately those Harissa Pita Chips are for a Limited Time.  Anyway, after we ate Dinner there we went over to "Sprouts" and did the rest of our Grocery Shopping for the Month.   They had a Special on some Virgin Olive Oil for $14 Off, so I bought Two of them, such a Deal!!!   They had quite a few BOGO items too, where if you bought One you got One for Free, another good Deal.   They had some Mixed Fresh Fruit for only $2 a Container, great Deal.  I'm finding the Health Food Grocers are offering better Deals than the Regular Big Chain Grocers now.

So, a Thumbs Up from us to CAVA, great addition to the Community.   I did get some Harissa Seasoning while at "Sprouts" to be able to make my own version of these Chips myself or to season Popcorn with.   I bought some more flavored Seaweed Snacks too while there, they have several flavorings of Seaweed now and I buy one of each every time I go now.   "Sprouts" has more varieties of Seaweed Snacks than anywhere else now.  I used to be able to get ours from "The 99 Cent Only" Stores, but they've gone Chapter 11 and Closed, I really miss that Store Chain, they were the best of the Dollar Stores IMO.   Now around here we have Dollar Tree and Dollar General and some smaller Indie Dollar Stores, but I still miss the Chain that Closed coz it was my Favorite in every way.  It was so much more popular than any other Dollar Store that I'm surprised it folded first. 

So many good Shops have Closed, either during or after Pandemic, so we've Lost a lot of them.   Even some really big Chains like K-Mart also folded.  And it's not over... many more are continuously Closing now.  I think Online Sales have put Brick & Mortar Stores in a bad spot and Tariff's now are finishing them off.   I don't Buy a lot Online, I don't prefer to Shop Online.   I definitely don't give Amazon my Business, so I'm not complicit in Bezos' rise.   I used to Buy more from some Auction sites like E-Bay, but, not so much anymore either unless it's something I absolutely cannot Source elsewhere and really, really, want or need.  And there's not much I really NEED.   And I try very hard now to curb the Wantings. *Winks*

So, Mando and The Son got the Car working and slapped a new Battery in it so all Body Parts now Crossed the repairs Hold and he's now got his own Transportation back and won't need to rely on me to get him to and from Work?  *Whew*   He had no other Options that were viable, so, it HAD to work and tho' he and his Sister's Boyfriend have had their Drama between them, they've made a Peace with each other and are trying not to Project any internal Emotions outwards upon others.   Most of the time it's not even Personal or about others when you're just struggling and Emotionally Raw.   I Rant at the TV or here on the Ole' Blog so that I'm not Projecting any of my Anger, Fears or Frustrations on People who have nothing to do with it really.   Life can be hard... right now America has lots going on that is scary and concerning stuff.  Everyone has their challenges and Issues of Life they're Dealing with at any given time.

I think working on the Car together was good for both Guys, they had a camaraderie during it that eased up some existing tensions.  The Son is very protective about his Sister coz she is a Vulnerable Adult and he's always concerned about whose around her and if they're the best influence or good for her.   But, at the end of the Day she is an Adult and he's not her Caregiver or in Charge of her Life, so I do have to remind him of that.   Do I think the Couple is compatible, well, only about half the time, but she's not compatible with anyone all of the time, she's a Paranoid Schizophrenic with Dissociative Identity Disorder!   So, which of her Four Alters you're Dealing with at any given time is Key?  If you are in the Presence of the Two Darker Alters, well, you're gonna be fucked no matter Who you are!!!  *LOL*   And, the Boyfriend is Dealing with a Terminal Diagnosis of Stage 4 Cancer his Docs can't do any more about for him, so... they both have their Emotional and Health Baggage to drag around daily.  Tough Rows to Hoe and shitty Hands Dealt.

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Whaddya gonna do, Life is complicated and Fair is Rare... Dawn... The Bohemian