Oh Mylanta It Is HOT!!!

 Oh, Mylanta it is HOT, 107 Degrees before 10:00 in the Morning, but I needed Groceries, since we just got Paid.  I went to "Food City", which is the Latino Supermarket nearby.  With it being the 1st of the Month it was bedlam in there, but, I had need of things and clearly everyone else just had gotten Paid and had need of things too.  *Le Sigh*   I already saw many price increases that were hefty enuf I didn't buy those items and opted for something else still not inflated in price due to the Tariffs.  They always have good Deals and a lot of fresh product at the best prices, but I still spent $108 on necessities.   I'm making Homemade Vegetable Soup with a lot of the Produce I bought, Caldo de Pollo Bouillon, and Chicken Stock Broth.  They had the Bouillon on Sale so that if you bought Two Jars of it you got a Third Jar of it for Free, Saving $5, so I got Two Caldo de Pollo and One Caldo de Rez.

And becoz I had Caldo de Pollo on my Mind, I bought a Bowl of theirs from the Deli and ate it for Breakfast.   It's excellent and I try to replicate it at Home sans the actual Chicken, coz, I mostly prefer the Veggies in it.  But most of the Deli Staff speak and understand very little English and my Spanglish sometimes doesn't convey well.  So, telling her I wanted mostly Veggies and not much Chicken in my Serving, she only heard Pollo apparently, and gave me the biggest fucking chunk they had, it filled the Bowl!  *Le Sigh & LOL*   I brought the Spanish Rice Home for The Man and also Saved the large Flour Tortilla for a Bean, Onion and Cheese Burrito I'm making for Lunch.  I had bought some gorgeous freshly made Flour Tortillas while there, made daily at their Deli, and even some MISSION Chalupas Tortillas, which are Fat and Soft.

  And you know what?  I've spent so much time sequestered inside Caregiving after The Man has gotten Home from the Hospital after his Surgery, that it's almost like I forgot how to be around People!   Seriously, I was finding myself getting easily annoyed about foolish things like people just stopping dead in an Aisle and blocking it, or someone with a lot of Kids unable to control them coz it's like Herding Cats.   Normally these things wouldn't annoy me in the least, but, at least I was aware of my heightened irritability and didn't allow it to fester or be projected outwards at anyone.  I stayed civil and patient, but, Lord have Mercy did it take Effort!  *Whew*  I came Home a bit physically tired from the restraint it required of me!  *LOL*

The Man could tell instantly that I hadn't enjoyed Shopping like I normally do.   Especially Grocery Shopping, which I do actually enjoy coz I'm a Weirdo like that.   I could Honestly be a good Personal Shopper. *Smiles*   I told him that "Food City" had been a Payday Shopping Experience and was quite the Human Sideshow, so, it was exacting a toll to do it this day.  *Ha ha ha*   I'm glad he hadn't insisted on being in tow like an Anchor, he's still not feeling quite up to anything and so hasn't even asked to tag along.  This is how I know the remaining Blocked Artery is either making him feel quite Unwell, or Scared of it shutting down before they can unblock it with this 2nd Surgery?!  So, he's Behaving, which is highly unusual for him, and Happy to just sit and watch his Programs quietly and without any Man Drama for the Kiddos in my absence.  *Whew*

And becoz her Brother has decided to try to get Sober, The Daughter thought she wants to try to also.  But, there's a marked difference in their respective Alcoholism, he's Autistic and Bipolar... she's a Paranoid Schizophrenic.  So when he Drinks it Magnifies his Disability and makes it more difficult to be around him.   When she does, it takes the Edge Off her Illness and she's a lot less Crazy.  Plus, she gets the DT's and he doesn't, she rarely overdoes the drinking, he will Binge Drink, tho' she needs a Mike's Hard Daily to Deal with her Psychosis and Mental Demons, as well as the Physical dependency upon the Alcohol to replace Psychotropics she can no longer take, in order to Self-Medicate.  So, she went into a Mike's Meltdown after Two Days of having none... and I'm like, "How Crazy are you gonna be Sober?" 

  It wasn't looking so good... that she'd be Mentally Stable without at least One a Day.  And her Drama was getting pretty epic before 8:00 in the Morning already, so, it was clear to me total Sobriety might not be the best Idea for her if she Mentally goes Off Rails without her Mike's Hard?   She was hysterical, in Pain and Taking to the Bed.  So, I talked her into having just The One, and I went and bought it, with a 2nd one for Tomorrow.   Then she wasn't so Unraveled Mentally and not suffering Physically as well.  In fact, our Doctor advises against her trying to Quit entirely, becoz the Mental Illness is so profound and it does take the Edge off her level of Crazy, who knows Why?  She doesn't like Medicinal MJ that much or that would be a good substitute.  Medicinal MJ is actually very Helpful for a lot of Mental Illnesses, Alzheimers and Dementia, so I may start putting The Man on some of the Edibles to slow the progression of his Dementia.

So, anyway, The Son seems to be doing Okay with whatever he's doing to scale back and eventually Quit, so I think he can do it.  I don't think she probably can or even should tho'?  Our Docs weighed the Physical Cost against the Mental Cost to her and it was agreed upon, that to remain Un-Institutionalized, mebbe she needs something every day.   She does really well, better than in her Teens, 20's and 30's, now that she's in her 40's, so Time has mellowed it out some.  But when she's losing it, she's really losing it and we try to avert that happening.  She gets panicky becoz she knows she's unraveling and has some Awareness beforehand, then after it's in full swing, she won't recall a fucking thing.  And we've Lost Days, Weeks, Months and even Years before, so, we're trying to keep her Stable enuf to be Present in the Here and Now with more consistency.   And we've Mercifully had more consistency.

The Son's Girlfriend is coming over this Afternoon so I know he won't be Drinking at all, which is good.  He's making Jalapeno Cheese Poppers and I can't remember what else he's got on the Menu to make and will accompany my Vegetable Soup?   Like most Menfolk he Loves to BBQ and is quite the Grill Master.  And I like BBQ and I like not having to Cook.  *Winks*   The Crockpot Meal, pictured a little further Below, isn't really like Cooking once you prep the stuff to put in there and forget about it for a few Hours.  *Smiles*  Plus, I know with a Homemade Soup or Chili, everyone will eat of it thruout the Day once it's done and we just then set it to Warm.   I am a huge Soup and Chili Fan, I like to eat it and I don't mind making it often either.  I am no Culinary Jedi tho' so whatever I make is quite limited.  It turns out real good, but I would have many failures if I tried new things.   So we stick with what I know to be my Success Stories.  *LOL* 

I would have trouble getting a Traditional Meal with several Courses all out on Time like you Culinary Jedi make seem effortless.  *Ha ha ha*  The Man used to be the one who Cooked coz he was excellent at it, but with his TBI and now Dementia, he can't be in a Kitchen unsupervised nor does he remember how to do those things he once knew.  So, it ends up being upsetting for him and his Safety Prompts in a Kitchen Setting would require intense Supervision to ensure he remembered them, so, it's not worth it to ask him to Cook anything.   Princess T dislikes Cooking as much as I do, luckily her Mom Loves to Cook, she's a very good Cook in fact.  And if you don't mind her destroying your Kitchen to do it, we let her have at it and run damage control behind the epic mess she makes later.  *Le Sigh and Smiles*   Like Allen and The Young Prince, who both were excellent Cooks, but could Trash a Kitchen doing it, I am conflicted on how often I want my Kitchen destroyed like that to get a good Meal out of it made for me?  *LOL*  The Son Cleans as he Cooks, he's very OCD and Autistic about how things go.

I've been Craving Fresh Fruits as a Snack so I got half a Cantaloupe as a Berry Bowl.   It won't Photograph worth a damn for some reason and I tried both my Cellphone Camera and my Old School Camera but it still seems slightly out of Focus in both?   So, I'm using both just becoz it's making my Eyes wonky to decide which one is best in Focus... or not?  *LOL*   I'll let you all be the Judge.  The Son had me to Photograph his Jalapeno Bacon Poppers before he grills them later on, they looked very Editorial, even Uncooked.   The hilarity being, the Kiddos tease me about Photographing my Food as Blog Fodder, but when they make Food that looks pretty and turns out Editorial, they ask me if I'd Photograph it for my Blog?!  *LOL*

Princess T has had to Work late and she was so ready for the Weekend she resented it coz she and Rusty have Plans after Work.  Nobody likes the Female Supervisor of her area that took over for Kyle.  Anyway, she likes all her Co-Workers and has made many Friends there, so, that Woman is the only Issue, it's just unfortunate she's their area's Supervisor.  Anyway, now she's off for Two Days she is Free At Last.  *LOL*  She always has a little Venting Session after I pick her up, on the Ride Home, and I know it helps her to feel Heard and sometimes ask what I think.  I don't give unsolicited advice, sometimes the Kiddos just need to Vent about their Work and aren't seeking or soliciting advice or your presumed Solution.  *Smiles*

 

The Son's Girlfriend is here now, so he'll probably be firing up the Grill and cooking these Jalapeno Poppers.  He used up most of my Bacon, but that's Fine, these are very good and everyone Loves them.  They are relatively Labor Intensive for him to make but he seems to enjoy doing it.   He was glad I had some Colorful Toothpicks for him to use, made them look Festive.  The Daughter and I Re-Organizing the Kitchen, Cabinets and the Pantry Areas made a huge difference in knowing what we have.  I still have to Purge Drawers of any unnecessary or unused Utensils and give them to The Daughter to Sell at a Yard Sale.  I Sold all of my Vintage Utensils, but these would be Modern, and so not appropriate to Sell at our Showroom.

I picked up a Vintage Sock Money at SAVERS and Two Bagged Lots of some New Old Stock Vintage Mini Dolls like I kind I remember as a Kid.  They must be quite Vintage coz they still have the original Price Tags and they were 19 Cents and 39 Cents each from Ben Franklin and Skaggs Dime Stores, made in Hong Kong!  {See Below}   I'd say they're probably from the 1950-1970 Era, mass produced Dime Store Dolls, such a Score to find Two Bagged Lots of New Old Stock of them for $3 a Bag.  Some weren't in their Bags/Original Packaging anymore, but most were.   And Online they're Selling for about $24 each at Auction when you can even find New Old Stock of them!!!   That's Key, finding New Old Stock still in Original Packaging and probably never Sold is Rare when something is very Old.   How many still exist like that... is uncertain?

It's Cool to get such a good Selection of them, there's only a couple that are duplicate of the same Doll/Swaddling.   I actually remember when Bus Stations, Train Stations and Rest Stops had Vending Machines that Sold this kind of thing as you were Traveling.   I remember Buying things like Mexican Jumping Beans and Magnetic Black/White Kissing Scottie Dogs out of those Vending Machines, as well as these kinds of Dolls too.  I remember my Brother and I liked the Mexican Jumping Beans and would set the tiny harmless Moths Free when they hatched.  You usually got 3-4 in a little Lucite Box out of the Vending Machines that Sold them.  Very Nostalgic to think about some of these Simple Toys that brought us so much Joy.  Simpler Times, much Simpler playthings that totally captivated us.   Modern Kids require so much stimulation by comparison.

I decided to look Online and see if they still Sold Mexican Jumping Beans, I guess they do, tho' supply fluctuates due to Environmental and Weather Conditions, and limited Harvests, in Mexico, where they come from.  They're not known to attack other fruits and plants, just the Native Seeds in Mexico and Southwestern U.S. Sebastiana Pavoniana Shrub.   Some think it to be unethical to have a Novelty Item that houses a Living Thing, but we personally never overheated our Beans, heat is what makes them move/jump.   And they always seemed to hatch just fine and are tiny but attractive little Moths.  Whether they could find their Plant to feed and propagate for another generation probably depends on where you are living.  If not in Mexico or the Southwestern U.S., probably not.

Of coarse I fell down the Rabbit Hole of Mexican Jumping Bean Trivia Online once I recalled that Novelty Toy.  *LOL*   So, here's some Pixs of the Toy and the Adult Moth the Larvae in the Bean eventually produces.  They are teensy so this is a drastically enlarged Pix of one, I remember them being so small and delicate, with Wings usually folded tightly after hatching and boring a Hole out of the Bean they'd developed in.  LATER:  Everyone must have liked my Veggie Soup coz barely a single Serving is left!  The Son's Jalapeno Poppers turned out excellent, I ate Five of them!  Then I ate the last serving of The Son's Haagen Dazs Coffee Ice-Cream, so I'll have to replace that.  *Smiles*  I owe his Girlfriend a little Pint of that Earl Grey Tea Van Leeuwen French Lactose Free Ice-Cream.  It's an unusual but delish flavor profile of creamy sweet Black Tea and Bergamot Orange.

I like unusual Flavors best, so I was glad his Girlfriend introduced me to that Flavor of Ice-Cream coz I might not have thought to try it otherwise.  Some other fav unique Ice-Cream flavor profiles I like are Ube, Taro, Pandan, Thai Tea, Baklava Ice-Cream, Honey Lavender, Mango, Yuzu Blossom, Acai Sorbet, Sweet Corn, Jackfruit, Kulfi {which has Cardamom & Saffron}, and Matcha.  I'm seeing some unusual flavors I haven't tried yet, but would prefer to sample before buying even one of those smaller sized containers of it first.  Some I've seen at Baskin-Robbins just seem gross and I know I wouldn't like them.  And what's with them putting Dill Pickle Flavor in so many things these days?  I do Love Dill Pickles, but not as flavoring in anything but a Dill Pickle!  SONIC right now has a slew of Dill Pickle flavored things on their Summer Menu!!!  Why???!! 

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Try to stay Cool this Summer my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian