That Cricket in our Master Bathroom never fucking Died and it's very active at Night chirping away! So, I'm up at an indecent Hour and only 7 Unpublished Posts ahead now, pretty soon I'll be Blogging in Real Time again. *Smiles* Oh well, I don't Care... I have either been on a Bloggy Bender and very prolific, or stalled out completely with Bloggers Block. It all evens and balances out usually in the end. I had a lot of Imagery to use for Autumn and a lot of Activities to Blog about, but that's coming to an end after Autumn. I kind of hibernate during Winter as far as interesting Events and Activities go coz there just aren't that many to engage in. The Weather in the Desert is usually stellar during Winter tho', so we get a lot of Snow Birds arriving to Winter here, and Tourists just wanting some Sunshine and good Winter Weather. So, prices go way up and Locals don't do as much coz until prices go back down when the Visitors leave, it's not practical, we're not on Vacation and we don't own 2nd Vacation Homes. The Visitors usually are more affluent than most Locals are. But they spend a lot while here, so, that's Helpful to the local Economy.
Anyone who lives in a Tourist or Snow Bird destination knows that without them, the Economy would suffer greatly. So, you can have conflicted sentiments about it, both good and bad... for a whole lot of reasons. Renters know Rents will spike while they're here, so the Locals better be locked in to a more affordable Lease by Renting and Signing one during Spring or Summer. Not that there are any affordable Rentals anymore even then, there aren't. And, everything is costing more so the Cost of Living is spiking while Earnings and Wages are stagnant. Good paying Jobs with Benefits and Full Time Hours are also scarce, so most of the Locals Employed tend to be Underemployed. Which makes the Employment Stats look better, but it's not really much better than Unemployment if you can't afford essentials even when Working becoz of being Underemployed. When the Stats come out of Created Jobs, they always fail to give Statistical Data of how many of those Created Jobs pay a Livable Wage or have Benefits and are Full Time Hours guaranteed? I have Two Family Members Working currently but they make Minimum Wage and don't always get Full Time Hours or have Benefits. They could not even afford Rent and the Basics, if they didn't live here with us.
The Niece isn't Earning enuf at the Job she'll soon be ditching, now she got the better paying one that will sustain her. She was contemplating working both Jobs to ensure she could afford Rent and Basics in a better Neighborhood and be able to have Quality of Life. But, she felt she might fold under that much pressure and responsibility, juggling Two demanding Careers, which are High Tech level Jobs. Even the best White Collar Jobs now that require expertise and experience, aren't paying what I think they should be. But that's a whole other Blog Post for another day. Let us just say that except for a few key Locations in the Country, which I can Count on One Hand, they're drawing all the Best and Brightest from around the Nation and everywhere else does not have those Opportunities to make a good Living anymore. Andrew Yang verified my suspicions of this in his Book I'm Reading, of where the Money is at and where the Best and Brightest are ALL Migrating to at the exclusion of everywhere else in the Country. Even the Career Fields are narrow now at where the Money is at... and they will become even narrower with AI displacement and replacement.
The Son took us out to Breakfast, he'd invited The Niece too but she'd already eaten, so it was just he, The Man and I, we went to a new "Denny's" near the House. The Man was able to get a 55+ Senior Menu Salmon Meal for only $11! It was Brunch time so he didn't mind ordering something that wasn't really Breakfast related, The Son also got his Dad some Biscuits & Gravy and Sausage Links for later, coz that's something we know he'll eat too. I got the Berry Crepes with Breakfast Red Potatoes and a Ham Steak off the A La Carte Menu. Their Breakfasts had way too much food for me and it was less expensive to just pick my own preference and portions sizes off the A La Carte Menu rather than the Senior Menu which didn't have Crepes as an option. They did a good Crepe at that location and all the Waitresses were dressed in Costumes for Halloween, which was Cute. Lots of Kids coming in were also in their Costumes. We went to a Wal-Mart for me to get some Cat Food and refills for my Halloween Night Light Air Fresheners I bought from Wal-Mart. They don't interface with other refills brands.
But, I was glad coz they were actually less expensive there and had far more options for Scents, so I got about 15 different Scents for the Four Night Light Air Fresheners that I have. I really like them in the Bathrooms, Kitchen and Dining Area to scent the Home and offer Lighting that is a Novelty and illuminates all Day and Night long. You might recall I got a Ghost one, a Haunted Mansion one, a Tombstone one, and a Black Cat against a Full Moon one. They last just over 30 days as an Air Freshener, which isn't bad for the cost of the refills they use. I don't like the New Individualized Pricing and Tracking Monitors on the Shopping Carts and Facial Recognition that Wal-Mart is using, most things in the Store no longer even show a Price, but the Air Fresheners and Cat Food did and I memorize it to ensure I'm only getting charged that when I get to the Registers. This time they didn't try to jack up the prices upon checkout, but they have before and I've caught it and challenged it. Let the Buyer Beware now of all the unscrupulous illegal practices victimizing Consumers using all this new Technology. Also, check the Weights on everything, coz the packaging is often deceptive and you're not getting the Weight they say it is, often almost half of what the Pricing says the poundage is!!! And you're paying by the Pound, so that's significant!
Wal-Mart got Fined about 38 Million, but when they're making Billions, they don't Care and are still doing what they got Fined by the Courts for doing illegally. If you do the Math, it would be like Fining someone making $69,000 a Year only $4 for an Illegal Act, so that's no deterrent to stop, cease and desist, is it? They aren't the only big Corporation doing all of this either, and precisely why I Shop Small whenever I can. And it's why AMAZON is operating at a Loss, they aren't intent on making Money right now, they're intent on driving everyone else out of Business so they'll have the Monopoly and eventually be the only Game in Town, then they can charge whatever they want to and you'll have no other Options. Same with AI, right now it's operating at huge Losses, but the intent right now is insidious for the Future, Trust and Believe it is not to make life better or easier for any of the rest of us, it never was it's Intention to. We're like Sheep being led to the Slaughter by the Wolves and other Predators. In Life you're either Predator or Prey, that's just the way it is. And if you're gonna be the Prey, at least be Informed Prey and keep your fucking Heads on the Swivel to Survive this.
The Granddaughters are now sending Pixs of the Great-Grandkids in their Costumes. It's an avalanche of Adorableness. I look forward to seeing what the Great-Grands wanna be and what Costumes they want each Year that shows what they're most Into. Sometimes I know which Characters or Movie it's from, sometimes I don't and have to ask. *LOL* I'm not Raising another Generation again so what the Littles are Into now I don't always keep Pace with as a Great- Grandparent. *Smiles* This Year both Granddaughters who have Kiddos were just themselves for Halloween, no Costume. Their Younger Sister, who doesn't have Kids, is more likely to dress in Costume coz she's a Special Effects Artist and often Works for Haunted Attractions Creating their Special Effects this time of Year. Her and some of her Work is Below, she's the Edgy one and she is so much like The Young Prince that they could have been Twins, tho' they are only a Year apart in Age, she's a Year Younger than he is:
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So, anyway, I'm not sure what the Great-Granddaughter Below is supposed to be or who, but mebbe it's all her Mama could get her to wear, I dunno? *LOL* Picking Costumes is never a Hill worth Dying on when they're Little, whatever they will wear and wanna be, is just Fine. *Smiles and Shrugs* I remember when The Daughter was Young sometimes she just wanted to wear her Nanna's Lace Curtains draped around herself and a Tiara, and I didn't Care, that was Costume enuf! She thought she looked like a Princess, they have very active Imaginations when they're really Young and can Imagine so many things beyond the Scope of whatever they have on hand. *Smiles* For Years I only had to find The Son someone's discarded Martial Arts Dogi in his Size {White Jacket or Top of a Martial Arts Uniform} at a Chazza with whatever color Belt came with it as his Costume. He never took Martial Arts coz I was always afraid with his Mental Illness and Autism he'd really hurt someone if he knew lethal combat, but he'd Imagine himself as a Ninja at Halloween. And he could use damned near anything as a Weapon so we also had to choose wisely what Pretend Weapon he had for Halloween lest he test it out on his Sister for it's effectiveness as Weaponry. *LOL & Smiles* Mostly my Kiddos all had Homemade On The Cheap Costumes for Years.
Right now her Older Brother is refusing to put on a Costume, so he may or may not just go as Himself? *Bwahahahahahahaha* These Two, like their Mama, are full of Piss & Vinegar, she has her Hands full as a Single Parent now she's Divorced and the Apples didn't fall far from that Tree. She was always a very High Maintenance Child from what our Oldest Daughter said. So, it's the great Generational Payback. *Smiles and Winks*
Now, the Chill Granddaughter, who was her Mother's Golden Child of the Trio of them, has Chill Compliant Kiddos for the most part. Tho' her Middle One can have her Moments of displaying Piss N Vinegar, and the Oldest One can be a Diva sometimes, they like dressing up and Voguing for the Camera more than their Cousins do. Of coarse, their Mama and her Husband have been Pathological Picture Takers like Gramma Dawn and so they really had no Choice. *Winks* Their Lives have played out in front of the Lens pretty much and I Love that! And like me, that Granddaughter does ALL of the Events and so the Kiddos have Grown Up around doing all kinds of Activities and Experienced galore, they are well Exposed to damned near anything and everything going on. Whether in Costume or out of Costume. Tho' their Mama is very Into Dressing the whole Family in Themed Outfits that Match usually. It's Rare when she doesn't. Their Closets must be quite abundant with Wardrobe for every Occasion or Theme or Season. *LOL* But fond Memories are made with these Kodak Moments that they'll appreciate later in Life.
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