Allen arrived this Morning with Tyson, he said there was Snow on the Mountains coming in to Phoenix, but we still have 105 degree Weather here in the Valley. The Mornings are Cooler tho' and the Evenings are Cooling Down too, so that's when I try to get everything done. We're letting Tyson run the Pasture again coz Allen secured every Gate we thought he might be pushing open with that big Bulldozer Head of his. *LOL* So, hopefully he'll behave and not lose his Freedom again? So far, he's behaving. Allen wanted to be here for The Young Prince's moral support before the Psyche Eval by the Social Security Psychiatrist. In a way, the more unstable my Grandson is during the Eval, the more beneficial it might be to his Case... he's getting really Paranoid and agitated about it already. He said if they don't allow me in the room he'll tell them he doesn't feel Safe enuf... which is Fine, I should be in the Room as his Advocate and Caregiver.
I really enjoyed that new Show about renovating a Historic Mansion in Ohio. I guess the Owners couldn't get any Local Contractors to work on it due to it's Haunted History and they were worried it would deteriorate to where it would have to be razed if it wasn't renovated. It's gorgeous and huge, it's in Ohio, and the Designers are already doing a spectacular Job on each Room they're assigned to renovate. Right now they're split into Two Teams coz there were originally Six of them, but one Woman only lasted a single Day before getting too Scared and quitting!!! So, they didn't have to eliminate anyone on the 1st Challenge due to that, so they had the Fabulous Five still for Episode Two. Which they ran right after Episode One, back to back, which was a nice Surprise. Sadly, one of my Fav Designers got eliminated in Episode Two, but I knew he'd messed up on his personal challenge and would be the one going Home.
But, they beautifully renovated Two Bedrooms, a Living Room and a Parlor so far. So, "A Very Haunted Renovation" could be my fav New Show now. The Winner will get $50,000... and that gorgeous 1800's Historic Mansion will get a complete Renovation in the Process, Win-Win. I'd like to see that Show do well so they go across the Country Saving fabulous Old Mansions in a Tasteful way so they aren't Lost. It's expensive for Owners to do it and if they can't get Contractors to do it then the DIY is limited, we found that out with our Haunted Historic Home, we had a difficult time finding Contractors, they were legitimately Scared. Coz it does stir up Activity when you renovate/remodel or change things in a Home with Spirit present. My observation of this Home they're renovating is it's seeming to be more Poltergeist Activity, which is mischievous, but not necessarily malevolent or Demonic in nature.
Politics, you know what I get most upset about, Public Figures who in Private will say things, but in their Public Role won't out of Fear. Coz if you have a Public Role it doesn't matter what you say in Private. If you don't have the Cajones to say it Publicly, just shut the fuck up you Cowards! I can't Respect anyone who won't boldly Stand for something in Public, yet in Private will claim they do. Nuff said, and it makes for impotent Governing when they are flaccid like that. We have a bunch of limp Dicks in our Government right now. And those who do boldly speak out are being punished, but they've got the Balls to do it anyway, so, Respect, even if I don't always agree with them becoz of what they aligned with in the Past, admitting what they Own of the Mistakes made is always preferable to making things better in the Present and Future. We're all a sum total of our Failures and our Successes... our Mistakes and what we got Right.
Okay, that's all I have to say about Politics and the Fuckening for now, it's too dire and too Depressing to allow to Torment me all of the time, so, I Move On. Princess T and Rusty came Home last Night from having gone to Malls all over the Valley it seems, laden with her Gifts, he's probably broke now but Smiling broadly at how Happy she was. She gave him one of her Tarts coz he's never had one before, which, she found hard to Believe you can be in your 20's and never had a Tart! *LOL* She's having him experience all kinds of Cuisine's he's never had before and he's finding he likes some of them. Like Vietnamese Food, which, he'd never experienced before either, and now they eat it all the time together regularly. A lot of Families are like that tho', they haven't Experienced very much outside of what they know... of Cultures, Cuisines, Locales, Travel, even just different Neighborhoods than theirs!
She did spend all his Money, she showed me everything he bought for her, it was a LOT, and he'd already bought her a lot before then in advance of her Birthday. He enjoys Spoiling her and she's liking being Spoiled. They had a good time, he even went Lingerie Shopping with her at "Victoria's Secret", how many Young Guys would do that? And she got some adorbs Sexy Lingerie and Sexy Undergarments, she's at the Age and Size they make the Cutest things even in your Intimates. They went to some far Eastside Malls that she hadn't been to since Childhood, coz we don't Shop many Malls even on the Westside very often. We're not Mall People devotees... or even Big Box Store devotees. She showed me all her Haul, it was all so Cute and mostly her Collectibles and Wardrobe. The Chantilly Cake was excellent and so were the Tarts, she gave me a Tart too.
She still has Today off and all of what she took off for her Birthday was Unpaid Leave, but she didn't mind so long as they allowed her to take it. I didn't mind either, you only turn 21 once and it is a Big Deal. Today she's just languishing and her Mom is supposed to be Home Today and did buy her a Gift to still give her. The Daughter hasn't been Home for a while since she's stayed at the Properties she's working at right now so they didn't have to transport her back and forth to do the Jobs. With not having her own transportation she needs to rely on who can get her there and get her Home for when she gets her Side Jobs to earn a little bit of self-support. It's never enuf to Live on but it Helps and keeps her busy and well connected in the Circle and Sphere of Influence she has of Caring People who are Friends. Her Friend Danae even got her a new Free Phone. The Free Phones often break down or just break coz they're Free after all for Marginalized folks to be able to have Emergency Phones available to them and unable to afford a Phone Contract and Service.
I talked with my Best Friend since Childhood Today, she's the Caregiver for her Developmentally and Physically Disabled Brother, he's my Age, she's in her 70's now. She Inherited her Brother's Care when her Parents Died, but his Point of Need is exceeding her capacity now so she's trying to get him evaluated and approved thru Medicaid for Nursing Home Care, which he desperately Needs now. He's no longer continent or ambulatory, he's cognitively seriously compromised at about a 13 Year Old Level of Intelligence and Comprehension, and he's falling a lot and she can't pick him up. He's got terrible pressure Sores on delicate Body Parts, the Home Care Nurses they send often don't show up or take appropriate Care of him, so it falls on her and the Respite Care she's supposed to receive she hasn't received in over Three Months now. I know she's doing the Right thing, but it's still the hard thing. The Facility is one her Dad was in and a good one, if they'll enroll and accept him to receive Care there.
It's close to their Apartment, so, she can visit him often there and I think it will meet him at his point of Need more appropriately and allow her to have a Life finally. Her Parents Died Decades ago so she's Cared for him a long, long time and it has Negatively impacted her Quality of Life, Career, and Relationships. But it's still difficult to make this decision for him, since he's incapable of making the decisions for himself and has never been able to live Independently and without Extreme Full Time Caregiving. He was Born with Spina Bifida. Their Mom Died in her 40's from Cancer and their Dad Died later in life of Parkinson's Disease, his Care way back then was Ninety-Nine Dollars a Day, he was a Retired Veteran of the Air Force but the VA Nursing Home wouldn't take him either so they had to find a Civilian one that would.
He succumbed to what I consider some Neglect since he choked to Death on a Meal. In his advanced condition he should have had Supervised Meals. So, even the Best Facilities can have Issues and why she's Scared about putting her Younger Brother in one... he's a particularly Vulnerable Adult. I don't know he has the Mental Capacity to tell her if he was experiencing Abuse or Neglect so she'll still have to be vigilant that he has the Right level of Long-Term Care. Especially his Wound Care, which could end up Life Threatening if the Dressings aren't changed regularly enough or get infected or worse without anyone seeing or knowing. In Private Areas of the Body, most Visitors would never know or see. She told me even his Wound Care Nurses often aren't doing the greatest Job of keeping Dressings changed or secured, or even showing up when they are scheduled to and so she has to do it. The Hospital Wound Care had to be discontinued coz he took Bad Falls while there. So, that's also a concern.
They keep messing up his SSI Disability Benefits too and recently owed him almost a Thousand in unpaid Disability Income he should have gotten to aide in his Support and Care, which burdens his Sister to provide it on her Dime. Luckily she won't have to liquidate all of her Assets in order for him to Qualify for his Benefits/Services since she's a Sibling. If it was a Spouse or one of his Dependents, she'd be really screwed. Spouses and Children of those requiring Long-Term Care are expected to Liquidate all Assets before it will be Approved, leaving them basically destitute in order for the Loved One to receive the Care desperately Needed and they can't provide. As it is she still is forced to continue doing it until they make her Brother's determination even tho' she cannot do it anymore, it's putting her at Risk to try now. Making critical decisions for a Loved One is always so difficult to have a Peace about tho'.
I was just thinking that all my Themed Events I look forward to for Autumn are over now except perhaps what The Desert Botanical Gardens might do for Dia de los Muertos. Recent Years it's been less and less tho' and I'm not even sure I wanna renew my Membership since I've gone so infrequently this past Year to use it. When I go often it's worth it, but with the price of Gas and so much else going on I haven't now, plus they no longer have a Restaurant there that I wanna eat at now that "Gertrude's" is gone and replaced by what's now there in it's place. I won't ever be a Fan of a $30 Taco or Burger, no matter how High End you try to make it. It doesn't even appeal to me anything they have on their Menu now and their prices at the new place are ridiculously high IMO.
When I looked it up they won't even have the Ofrenda Altars or Procession until November 6-9, which is way after it should be. They used to have the Ofrendas up {several of them by different Artists} in October and running thru earlier November when Dia de los Muertos is actually Celebrated customarily. Now it's one Ofrenda for only Three Days almost a Week after when it should be. And they used to tie it in with the Pumpkin Festival for Kiddos to get their Pumpkins to carve for Halloween, guess they aren't even doing that if they're Hosting this so late and well after Halloween, I dunno? They had a Two Year hiatus prior to 2025, which was unpopular, so they brought it back last Year and it was a Shadow of what it had been in the past... now it's so delayed I don't know if people will think it was cancelled again? Traditionally it will be Celebrated Nov. 1-2 and major Celebrations and Parades usually begin starting October 31st... both in the United States and in Mexico.
Becoz we have Loved Ones who are of Hispanic Heritage both here in the U.S. and in Mexico, we've always Celebrated that Holiday as well as American Traditional ones. And my Mom enjoyed it becoz in her Culture they have a similar Tradition and Celebration Honoring the Dearly Departed Loved Ones called All Saints Day on Nov. 1st and All Souls Day on Nov. 2nd, on the same Time Frame and very similarly actually. High Church of Wales, which is the Anglican Church my Mom was Raised in, similar to Catholic and their recognition of Saints, but without the Pope, uses that Holiday/Holy Day to recognize all known and unknown Saints, Honor departed Loved Ones and visit their Graves in a Celebratory way and leave Offerings. My Dad's Culture had reverential Practices Year Round for the Ancestors and Spiritual Traditions and Rituals, not confined to specific Days. Plus every Tribe has their own distinctions.
Dad and Mom knew we'd be Raised within widespread Practices here in America that neither of their respective Cultures necessarily ever Practiced but they incorporated and allowed us to grow up Celebrating and Learning about from other Cultures that were not their own. It's how I also chose to Raise my Children and the Grandchildren we Raised. They have experienced the diversity of many Cultures and Learned to Respect even those we don't personally Culturally or Religiously have. I may disagree with the ways of some Cultures and Practices, but we don't have to always be in complete Agreement with one another to get along and be mutually Respectful of one another's differences. That's how I was Raised becoz I come from a Culturally blended Family and I'm Thankful of that exposure and tolerance for what and who may be different than I am. But with the understanding that we Share our Humanity as fellow Human Beings, in more Harmony and Loving Kindness extended despite whatever differences we may have. Imagine if everyone could or would do that.
They have had some nice Candy and Caramel Apple offerings at Events but OMG the Prices have been sky high, so, sadly, I haven't had any yet coz I won't pay $9-$18 for one, Yikes! The Arizona State Fair is October 1st thru November 1st this Year and I may go. I skipped last Year and do Hope this Year the prices are affordable/reasonable? I just looked it up and it's $12 for Military/Veterans and $14 for Seniors, so that's a good Deal. That is prompting me to set a Date to attend then, probably earlier when it begins than later on, and probably on a Weekday rather than a busier Weekend. Unfortunately Mon-Wed they are gonna be Closed and that nixes the Monday that Princess T has off Work for me not to have to provide Transportation. Tuesdays Nurse Remi comes so I would stay Home that day anyway. So, a Thursday or Friday would have to be the alternative Midweek, ugh, disappointing but doable if I can get Rusty to pick her up from Work on the Day I decide to go.
I used to go with a Grandchild when they were Younger and one Year I went with The Daughter while she was back from Mexico and hadn't been in over 20 Years. But it gets expensive to have someone in tow and when I go it's more for the Atmosphere of it than to spend Money per se. I don't go on the Rides anymore at my Age, I don't want or Need to Win anything on the Midway that are the Prizes, I haven't even attended the Free Concerts they Host at it for Years now, coz it's in the Evenings and I never go at Night anymore. I don't like going that far Downtown in the City at Night if I can help it, risk factors considered at Night and being Alone when I go. Old Lady traipsing around the City Alone at Night is just risky business. I mitigate and minimize Risks, always have, always will. Why expose yourself to unnecessary risk factors in Life? Above and Below my Friends Carol and Monica are Modeling some of what Carol Sells at the Event of Wardrobe and Accessories. She still Owns Brick & Mortar Stores in Historic Downtown Glendale, in Historic Cottages there, but now does Events too, mostly in Phoenix.
Those Pants that Monica is Modeling I bought coz they claimed One Size Fits All, but, didn't, and so I had to give them to The Daughter. *Sob* I could get them on but they were too tight thru my Hips, uncomfortably so, and I was worried about ripping seams and do not like wearing tight Clothing either. I really liked them too... dammit! The Daughter looks Cuter in them tho', so, whatever... *Shrugs* I should have tried them on first and lament that I just Believed the Label Claim that they'd fit anyone of any size. I didn't think I was a Size so big they wouldn't fit, so it's disheartening when they don't. *LOL* I don't have delusions of being a not Big Woman, but sometimes I'm Surprised at what Sizes do NOT fit me that are Larger than I expect would be too Small.
I like looser Clothes so I intentionally often Buy larger Sizes than I am for comfort, but when they say something is XL it should fucking fit me I figure! Coz... Damn... I don't feel like I'm morbidly Obese now... but then again, I don't feel like I'm Old and Geriatric either and I guess I actually am by Societal Standards... so... fuuuuuck! *LMAO but Sighing* But, I have nice Wardrobe and it all fits so I don't mind so much when something just doesn't, I like to IMAGINE it's just running Small... *Bwahahahaha* You know, an XL in China or India where they make all this stuff, may not be the same as an XL in America, Right? *Winks and Laughs* That's my Story and I'm sticking to it anyway. *Ha ha ha* I've got about 15 Minutes before I have to leave for Work now and I didn't Price a damned thing to take in with me, probably should have, didn't have the motivation or desire to look up more Pokemon Cards right now tho'. If a whole bunch more Sold out of our Locked Case tho', I should and may have to. Can't Sell 'em in piles sitting here at Home unpriced, can I? *Winks*
Michelle and I always have Fun working together, she's filling in all Month for a Female Co-Worker who was gonna be off a Month, I'm filling in for Ed all Month. Michelle got Widowed last Year when her Husband, who was 72, Died of a sudden Heart Attack. Her Step-Granddaughter was having a Baby Tonight so she kept checking to see if the Great-Grandbaby had been Born yet, they were inducing and it has been a very long Labor and the 1st Child for this Granddaughter. She's very close to the Step-Daughter whose the Mother of this Granddaughter having the Baby. It was her Husband's Daughter from his First Marriage, but she was closer to Michelle, the Stepmom, than she ever was with her Biological Mom. Michelle said the Bio Mom is 80 now, and never was a good Wife nor a good Mother, very Narcissistic.
Even after Michelle's Husband Died, her Step-Daughter still lived with Michelle, overall for Three Years, after having a Divorce, and even after her Dad had Died. She said they had the best Three Years together and it really helped them both thru the Grief and Coping with losing him last Year so suddenly. The Step-Daughter got Re-Married last Year again and she said she misses her a lot coz they moved to another State now, but that she's happily Married. I don't know if this Granddaughter lives in another State too? She only has been Married a little over a Year, and is in her late 20's, first Baby for the Couple. Michelle said that they do worry coz the Step-Granddaughter is very immature still, and so is the Husband. So her Step-Daughter is worried if they're even ready yet to be Parents, coz they act more like Teenagers than Adults in their later 20's. Being a first time Parent is always a bit scary and new tho', so perhaps they'll be just fine I told her. It changes you when you become a Parent.
Rachel, our Night Supervisor asked me if I'd work this Friday Night, I can, so I agreed to, will help comp more Space Rent and Sales are decent so I'll be able to keep more of the Check with less overhead expenses. It was slow Tonight tho', not busy like the past few Wednesday Nights. Less than 300 Shoppers thru the Doors, which is about half of what we've been having on Wednesday Nights, but, more typical for a Midweek actually. Jackson is our other Co-Workers, it's his usual Shift. We all work well together and the Kids who Work behind the Registers are a nice bunch I enjoy too, so it was a nice Shift. We didn't have to Work too hard and there wasn't much to do so we mostly Socialized with one another so it wouldn't be too boring and drag on.
Am I Surprised tho', not at all... it's always quite the Cluster Fuck to receive Disability Services and they haven't always sent us to the most competent Docs they tend to use to make determinations. So, anyway, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise. Even when the SSI Caseworker talked to me I was under the impression the Mental Illness was what they wanted to Evaluate for his Case... even tho' we did also say he has Seizures too as a Medical Condition. I don't know how The Young Prince will pivot about seeing a Medical Doctor about his Seizures when he'd braced for a Psychiatric Eval? He doesn't like seeing any Doctors and I don't even know if they've told this Doc he's also Seriously Mentally Ill as well? It will all be very Interesting. Just about all Paperwork I have on file is not for his Seizures since that Accident that caused them happened when he was living in New Mexico and he didn't even tell me about being hit by a Car coz he didn't wanna Freak me Out! But, he had to tell me about his Seizures and that's how I found out when he came back Home to live!
Now when I talked to my BFF in Texas she was telling me that Social Security has been more Interested in her Disabled Brother's Mental Acuity and Capacity than his Physical Medical Issues, which, in his Case are more debilitating, more serious, and requiring the Residential Care she's trying to get him placed in. So, you just never know what The System is gonna Fixate on that might not even be the bigger problem and the most Disabling condition someone even has whose applying for and trying to get approved for Placement, Services, Disability Status and Support Payments. It would be quite a Surprise tho' if my Grandson Qualifies for SSI and Services more for the Seizures, than he ever did for having such Serious Mental Illness tho', that's for sure!!! I gave up trying to figure out Qualifying and Disqualifying Factors many Moons ago tho' and it all changes constantly depending on if you're Flavor of the Month.
Happy Autumn from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian
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