Looking Like A Couple Of Old Stoners

 

I picked up my Real Heirloom Pumpkin Today at Wal-Mart, they had marked down their Pumpkins and had a good selection.  Hard to choose a favorite but this is the one I settled on.  I Photographed it from every angle so you could see all sides of it, it's a very large and heavy one with a good shaped Stem.  People were loading up on Pumpkins, Two Ladies near me who were shopping together had Two Shopping Carts full of the plain but large Orange ones.  Now that the Kiddos are Grown I don't go to the Pumpkin Patches anymore to choose one and I do prefer the Heirloom ones or the large Gourds.  Which, don't carve well, but I also don't Carve Jack O'Lanterns anymore either now the Kiddos are Grown.

While there I also picked up a fuzzy Halloween Print Throw Blanket that I liked the Graphics of, pictured further Below, and some Halloween Graphics Paper Plates and Paper Bowls.  And a couple of Fugglers for my Collection.  They keep coming out with new Lines, now it's Fuggstars and Nipple Fuggs.  *LOL*  They were just about Sold Out of both of these Lines, but had the Alley Cat Line, quite a lot of those.  I'm such a Big Child that I just Love these and got my 1st Fuggler from Europe before they were popular in the U.S..  They are one of those things that you either Love 'em or find them grotesque and Hate 'em.  *LOL*  My Older Female Cashier at Self Checkout commented how she didn't understand why the Kids Love them so much... assuming I was buying for a Child!  *LMAO* 

 

The Super Wal-Mart I went to had a good selection of Halloween and several Aisles of it that I hadn't seen at all Wal-Marts.  When I took The Daughter to her Friends to Work, we stopped and had Lunch at "TJ's Restaurant" first, a popular Family Owned Breakfast-Lunch spot in Old Towne.  We used to know all of the Waitresses and one was a first Girlfriend of The Son, but now only One original Waitress is there that we know.  Service has gone downhill too, it took over 30 Minutes for the Waitress to get around to taking our Order and then an HOUR to get our Food!!!  That's Bad Business and if they don't step up their Game I can see them losing Business with waits that long, tho' it was packed, that was way too long.  Our Waitress did Thank us for our Patience, I'm sure that can Negatively impact their Tips.  We got Takeout for The Man, his favorite, which is their Biscuits and Gravy and he did eat most of that.

When I was dropping The Daughter off for the Job, it's in the Mini Farms Community that Mando was Killed in.  We had to drive down the Street he was Killed and they've put up a Memorial for him there.  It's a short Street, with Raw Desert on the South Side of it and Mini Farms on the North Side of it, there on Roosevelt.  I'm shocked someone picked up speed to over 60 mph on such a short stretch of Road and hit him so hard it threw him from the Mini Farms side of the Street clear over into the Desert on the South side of the Street.  He flew into the Mailbox on a thick Post, breaking that Post in half and shredding the Metal Mailbox... you can still see the damage!!!  It is traumatic for her to drive by the spot he Died, but you have to in order to get to this Friend's Street, and she did want me to see where it happened.  I'm sure after Dark it's inky Blackness, no Sidewalks, no Lights at all out there... very Rural, especially given how much is still Raw Desert Land.  The Mini Farms are all very Old Homes and some Trailers on Land.

Rusty picked Princess T up from Work so that I didn't have to coz she got out early and I was still way over in the Far Far West Valley dropping her Mom off for that Job.   Rose will drive her Home so she'll get back in time for me to take her to the Job in Chandler Tomorrow.  The Niece messaged me that tho' she didn't Win her Poker Tournament but she Placed so still Won some Money and Cashed in it, so still came out ahead.   So she had Two Good Days at the Casino there at Desert Diamond, which is pretty close to where we live.  It's Owned by the Tohono O'odham Nation Tribe but isn't ON a Rez.  It's Land that got Traded to the Indians tho' for some other Land some time ago, so it is considered part of their Reservation, tho' it's only 54 Acres surrounded by the City.  Sixteen Tribes Own all of the Casinos in Arizona.   And the Tribe that Owns Desert Diamond just Purchased 11 more Acres by it.  Tribes are getting smart about Purchasing Land back now.  And they just built another Casino called Desert Diamond White Tanks on more Land they bought... that Nation Owns 5 Casinos now. 

I don't Gamble or Drink, so other than the Restaurants at a Casino, I've got no reason to go to one.  Even Vegas lost it's Appeal for me many Moons ago.  Even in it's Heyday, about 3 Days in Vegas was all I could stand before I bored of it.   We used to Own a 20 Year Timeshare at the Old Sahara Casino on the Strip and went every Year.  I used to take my Welsh Uncle {Mom's Older Brother} when he'd come for visits coz he Loved Vegas.  And when our Kids were Young and Vegas began their Family Friendly Era back then, we used to go as a Family.  The Son used to go with his Ex's Family every Year coz they liked to Vacation there and were avid Gamblers.  He said it wasn't as nice anymore as he remembered it from his Childhood, and he's not a Gambler either so there was little Appeal for him unless there was a New Casino to check out.  He said a lot of the Older Historic ones are now gone.  And the Slots don't pay out in Coins anymore like they used to.  He said the Buffets aren't as good either and are expensive now too.

Since this will Publish during Dia de los Muertos and after Halloween, I'll still be in the Spirit of the Season for a couple more Weeks at least in Real Time as I Create my Posts.  In Real Time it's the 17th of October, this will Publish November 1st.   I'm not quite as many Posts ahead now coz I slacked off for a few Days in Blogging, which is Fine when you're several Unpublished Posts ahead and have no sense of Urgency either.  *Smiles*  Plus, now things have slowed down and I've attended just about everything that there will be to attend for the Holiday.  The Desert Botanical Garden is doing something for Dia de los Muertos but way later than usual and only for a couple days, so I don't know it will be worth renewing my Membership for?  They're doing less and less now and I don't drive way over there very often now that Gas is so damned expensive.  So I'm not able to justify the high cost of a Membership if I'm rarely using it and they're doing less that I'd want to attend for.  It's almost $33 for Admission now without Membership, too Expensive.  And the new Restaurant that took over "Gertrude's" sucks.

So, I'm thinking of just letting my Membership lapse, it would have to be renewed before the Dia de los Muertos Celebrations.  It's $99 if I renewed it just for myself without including a Guest {then it's $129}, which is usually what I did, but honestly, rarely has a Guest come with me in recent Years.   But Thirty Bucks extra to be able to have anyone with me attending is not much extra.   So, I just don't know if I'll bother to renew yet... depends if I have earned enuf at the Antique Mall when renewal is due?   And I do like to Support a Botanical Garden's Mission Statement.  Sales have been so Soft that we only had a couple Paydays it was Stronger and then it flatlined again.  And, I really don't wanna fill-in for a lot of Shifts during the Fall and Winter when I could be doing other Recreational things while the Weather is great Outside... or working on things here at Home that need to get done.

As you can see I've been enjoying looking at Pumpkin offerings.  I grew some in previous Years, but haven't tried to here yet.  They're so inexpensive to Buy that I haven't bothered, would probably cost me more to grow my own and all the Work involved in tending to it?  *LOL*  Most of these Pixs of Pumpkin offerings were at the Wal-Mart, but both "Sprouts" and "Trader Joe's" have had really good selections this year too, and several Grocery Stores, so must have been a good and bountiful Harvest?    Below is me at our Luncheon Today, my Right Eye looks Weird, I don't know Why, it looks Fine now.  Mebbe it was just the way I was Smiling???  *LOL and Shrugs*  I could probably benefit from some Work, mebbe an Eyelid Lift?   Or mebbe just a Restful Week on the Beaches of Bora Bora would do the Trick and knock Years off and Cross No. One off my Bucket List too?  *Bwahahahahaha*   And before you say anything about that mound of Food in front of me, it was Two Meals worth, no way I can consume that much Food in one sitting!  The Toast was The Daughter's, she took most of hers Home too for later.

We had a really good time having Lunch together and talking shit... we are so inappropriate when we get together and are both incorrigible!  *LOL and Winks*   We were Laughing our Asses off as she said I was Becoming like her Nanna in my Old age {my Mom} coz I was taking Creamers and tiny Jams and putting them in my Bag... and so she grabbed the whole Metal Organizer full of Condiments and Joked, here Mom, see if that will fit in your Bag!  *Bwahahahaha*  We Laughed so hard our Sides hurt.  The Man is even worse than me, he would try to take the whole Bottle of Cholula if he could get away with it!!!  *LOL and Winks*  If a Steakhouse has nice Knives he's looking at them with Evil intent and I have to say No Honey... we can't Lift their fancy Steak Knives that have the Restaurant's Name Engraved in the Blade!  *LOL*  But, if I find any Branded Restaurant stuff at Chazzas, I do Buy it.  *Smiles*  And the Kiddos Joke with me and say, Mom/Gramma, you did BUY this and didn't just put it in your Purse at the Diner, Right?  *LOL*

I do Confess to being a notorious Pen Thief tho', if you have a Ballpoint Pen and you give it to me to Sign something, you may or may not get it back if it's a really nice Pen.  *Bwahahahahaha*   And The Daughter was also Joking coz she had her Enamel Pot Leaf Earrings on and her Marijuana Print Sweatpants on, and had a Cute Cheech and Chong Print T-Shirt that she layered over her White Tank Top, and I've got the Dreadlocks, so she said we looked like a couple of Old Stoners.  *Bwahahahahaha*  The irony being, neither of us partakes... tho' she has tried it on some occasion, but nobody would Believe it looking at us.  *Smiles*  I remember my Grandkids saying all their Friends would tell them they were sure their Gramma knew where to get the Good Kush...  *Bwahahahaha* 

 And didn't Believe them when they said, Oh, she doesn't partake, hasn't ever Smoked anything and doesn't even do the Edibles.  Nobody Believes it, not even at the Dispensaries when I take the Kids to pick up theirs.   And any time I pass by a Rastafarian they give me a Rasta Greeting too.   Old Swarthy Woman with Dreads down to her Ass, gotta be Rasta, Right?  *LOL*  Anyway, I could and should do some work in The RV Garage Mahal Tonight but I lack the ambition to, so won't.  I felt like I did a lot Today and yet I didn't, but my Energy level is zapped all the same.   And I'm Tempted to binge watch some more NetFlix of that Series I'm addicted to, I've finished Season 2 already now of "Mayor Of Kingstown", I might have developed a Minor Crush on the Main Character, that Jeremy Renner plays, he's got Swagger in it that is Sexy and he does play a Bad Ass real well.  *Smiles & Winks*

Of coarse The Man had to critique how well the Actor "Plays" a Bad Ass, coz he himself was a legit Bad Ass for Reals.  *Winks*  And of coarse I tell him that's why I Married him.  *Double Winks*  Of coarse we don't let him Kill people anymore.  *Smiles*  But he would Eyeball those Vintage Sniper Rifles anytime we were at "Cabela's".  *Bwahahahaha*  And he can still pick off a Milk Jug at over 300 Yards with a Hunting Rifle and without any effort, so he's still one Helluva Shot and Maxed Out every Range he ever Fired at.  He said when he was a Sniper, if you heard the Shot, he wasn't aiming for you... and if you Ran, you'd just Die Tired.  But, he's quite Lethal with or without a Weapon, which is precisely why he never wants to ever get into a confrontation that someone starts, and would rather walk away from any Drama some Fool initiates.  And, it's why, with Dementia setting in, we have to ensure he doesn't feel Threatened or needing to Defend himself, or have an intense Flashback now, it could go badly.  And I'm quite Aware of that Fact and so is the VA.  It's probably good he has a Crazy Wife.  *Winks*

We're much more likely to Die of the likes of this tho', happily so... but we do partake in Moderation of Foods that aren't Diabetic Friendly.  And for the most part Behave ourselves, but like my Dear Ole' Dad always said, Ya gotta Die of Something!!!  *Smiles*  Dad would be Smoking a Cig while on his fucking Oxygen!!!  *LOL*   We don't have to be in Chandler until 1:30 p.m. for The Daughter's Job.  I'll hang out at "Merchant Square" Antique Mall and a couple other fav places over there and probably Lunch at the Mediterranean Restaurant.  They have a GOODWILL close to where I drop her off too, so I'll see if they have any Halloween Merch left?  Everything closes early on Sundays so by 6:00 p.m. hardly anyplace will still be Open, but she should be done by 5:30 p.m..  The Son made everyone Breakfast this Morning and his Dad ate his well without having to be coaxed coz it was Spam and Eggs, he Loves Spam.  He seems in a better Mood too than he has been the past couple Days, so not as ornery.

The Weather seems to really impact his Moods a lot, if the Weather is Stormy, he's Stormy Acting too.  I Doctor Googled it and Yes, inclement and extreme Weather significantly affects people with Dementia by impacting and worsening Cognitive Symptoms, impairing Physical Safety and disrupting Daily Routines.  Well, now I can make Sense of it why he tanks Emotionally and Physically when the Weather tanks.  He has impaired Temperature Regulation, so he can't tell if he's dangerously Hot or Cold anymore and will fight me on how he should be appropriately dressed for whatever the Climate changes are.  He has increased Confusion and Agitation heightening his disorientation, anxiety and irritability, increasing the Sundowner Restlessness too. 

 Luckily he wants to go to Bed real early and Sleeps in later now too, he seems to require more Sleep and I feel that might make him feel more Restful when he's Awake and gives us all a Break.  Gloomy Days heighten his Depression and he often misinterprets Shadows as Physical obstacles.  His Sleep disruption intensifies when the Light on Stormy Days is just lower, he'll think it's Bedtime in the Middle of the Afternoon with the Low-Light of Stormy Days.  Luckily he doesn't Unsafely Wander so we haven't had the complication of Silver Alerts.  *Whew*  My Mom never did Wander either, I guess some don't.   Above is my Soft as a Bunny new Halloween Throw Blanket I got for Ten Bucks, aren't the Graphics wonderful?  I'll be mixing in some Political Satire Memes that came in my Algorithm Feed that I thought were good.

It looks like a Big Storm is brewing and we're getting Irrigation by Mid Afternoon too, so things will be very saturated.  The Niece will help The Son with it coz The Daughter and I will be in the Far East Valley for her Job, so we won't be here to do it and Princess T is at Rusty's.  The Niece wants to Learn how it's done anyway so she can Help with it.  The more the merrier to get that done, it comes less often in the Fall and will be suspended for the Winter.  Then resume in the Spring and ramp up thru Summer to more often.  I've got to invest in a Commercial Grade Weed Trimmer, but that will set me back close to $400 so until I know how much it's gonna cost me to get the Roof Replacement started, I don't wanna outlay for it yet. 

 The Contractor didn't get back to me on it but I know he's madly busy with how much Storm damage was done and by now some might be getting their initial Checks from Insurance Payouts too?  You won't get the bulk of it 'til the Job is Done and Inspected tho'.  So the Homeowner is stuck with Fronting the Money to get the Job Done and then wait for reimbursement, which sucks.  The whole reason I have fucking Insurance is so I'm not ever Out of Pocket for damages!  I'm fortunate that Princess T will Front for me and let me pay her back when the Final Check comes in, she's the only one who has Thousands Saved Up.  Everyone else is living Paycheck to Paycheck or Pension to Pension.  Costs have almost doubled on everything but Wages and Pensions haven't. 

  I've got a couple Grand only in my Emergency Savings but that's for Taxes we'll likely owe, so I try not to tap into it for anything else.  Seems every Year we Owe more Taxes than previous Years, while not making more Money, it makes no Sense.  I remember back when we used to always get Refunds when we had our Careers!  Now we're Living on Pensions, Disability and Social Security and Owe MORE?!?  How does that Square?   I don't think Seniors should even be Taxed on Pensions, Disability or Social Security Income.   Especially when the Obscenely Rich don't pay their Taxes and the IRS never comes for them to Collect it either.  Plus they get massive Tax Breaks when they don't even NEED it, they've got sufficient Money to Pay their Fair Share.  Anyway, that's how The System is currently structured and since just about all Politicians are Funded by Mega Donors they give preferential Treatment and Favors to, it won't change either.  We have the best System and Justice that Money can Buy... that's just the Reality of it.  

The Niece and The Daughter's Childhood Friend Amber are now getting along fabulously.  They have always Hated each other since Childhood, vying for The Daughter's Time and Attention and jealous over it.  *LOL*  She's happy now that they discovered they actually could be good Friends with each other too!  *Smiles*  Sharing Friends can be hard for some people.  Not for me coz I don't want anyone demanding too much of my Time or Attention, so I will gladly Share all of you with anyone you like to spend time with too... so there.  *Bwahahahahaha*  I am fiercely Protective and Guarded of my Time and my Attention, I don't have a lot of either one.  *Ha ha ha*  There's not enuf of me to go around as it is so I have a very full Dance Card and basically feel all Friended Up.  I do Like people and get along with just about anyone and everyone, you've got to be a real solid Asshole for me not to be able to get along with you basically or dislike you intensely.  But, solid Assholes are out there living among us... I have no Time for them.  *LOL*

Well, the Job in Chandler got cancelled and re-scheduled for next Sunday, which is fine coz the Weather turned Bad and started Raining and I don't like driving in Storms.  Before the Rain we burnt up all the Yard debris that had fallen off Trees and Palms during the last Storm and sat around the Burn Bins talking and having our Collective Pyro Moment.  *Smiles*  I'm glad we got it burnt up before it got too wet to burn.  The Lantana debris was fragrant as it burned.  I had some fragrant Pecan Wood that had broken off the Pecan Trees of our Neighbors and a few Pine Bough Branches that broke off our Trees, lots of Palm Branches, the Dead ones often self-shed, especially the Boughs that hold Palm Seeds.  The Wind has been so strong that it has damaged a lot of Landscaping around the City.  We've only had minor Tree and Palm shedding of Dead Branches thankfully.  So, I don't have anything I have to now do. 

What I didn't know was that The Man had been so Cheerful and gotten dressed by himself coz he thought he was going with us!!!  Ruh-Roh, No, he wasn't, that would make hanging out for Four Hours while she did the Job and dragging him around like an Anchor just exhausting for me and not relaxing as it's meant to be.  But, whatever, I think I'll just take him for Ice-Cream instead now and that will make him Happy.  LATER: The Weather cleared up after a short Storm and turned out glorious!   Quite a Surprise, so, after our Ice-Cream at "Baskin-Robbins", we went to the Estrella Mountain Park and did Environmental Cleanup while enjoying Nature.  They had more Storm damage there, this Year they've had a lot of significant Storm damage there and had just recovered from cleaning up the last one which downed many Old Trees.  This time it tore the Canvas Tenting off that Shades the big Playground, so that was Closed off for major repairs.  We went back to "Buffalo Wild Wings" for Lunch on the $19.99 Special. 

But it took him almost an Hour to eat just 2-3 French Fries and none of his Hamburger.  So his whole Meal had to come Home with us as Takeout.  I'm getting very worried about him not being able to Eat most Days.   He did have his whole Ice-Cream tho', and had eaten his Spam and Eggs Breakfast, but no Lunch or Dinner Appetite at all.  He was in good Spirits all day tho' and we had a good time out and the Weather turning Glorious was wonderful.  The Kiddos did the Irrigation and we got a good Head of Water.  But, our Neighbor Manuel behind us who gets his rotation after we get ours, must have forgotten it was coming so didn't take on his Water!!!  This meant that The Son had to just lift the Main Gate so we wouldn't Flood, we took on more Water than we should have to help Neighbors Downstream not Flooding due to someone forgetting their Rotation and not taking on their Water.  We got our Rotation almost an Hour early coz someone else had forgotten Upstream too!!!  We think it's the Newer Residents, never had this problem before.

Anyway, so we got a lot of Water and did what we could.  The Niece was Taught by The Son how we do it, so now she knows and can Help.  She bought Pizzas, Garlic Bread Knots, and Cinnamon Bread Knots for Dinner.  She also had Won at Poker again enuf to pay for my Desert Botanical Gardens Membership for another Year!  Renewal is due this Month and I wasn't sure I could afford it with the whole Roof situation being an outlay until the Settlement finalizes by the Insurance and Mortgage Companies when it's completed and inspected.  For me to Front the Money to get it done was totally unexpected and puts us in a bind financially and causes undue hardship on something I feel the Insurance should have totally covered and Paid Out 100% on.  None of this Bullshit of saying they won't pay for $5,100 of the Cost as a fucking Deductible on an $11,000 Replacement of a destroyed by Storm Roof!!!  That's only covering slightly more than 50% and stiffing us for the rest even tho' our Insurance Premiums are high.

Anyway, I've traded in another 13 lbs. of Aluminum Cans I did Environmental Cleanup of... it netted me Ten Bucks.  I watched "Halloween Cookie Contest", "Halloween Wars", and "Halloween Baking Championship" Tonight, which was Fun.  The Niece tried to watch it with me but fell Asleep not halfway thru on the Sectional's Recliner portion, so I'm not bothering to wake her, she looks comfortable enough.  I'd Napped Today briefly on our Hammock Poolside coz it was so nice Outside.  But it must be Mating Season for a certain Species of Black Birds with Red/Orange Wings coz there were literally Hundreds of them swarming in the Pecan Trees and making quite the racket!  Looked like a Scene out of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" {1963}.  Individually the Songs they sing is lovely, but Hundreds of them was loud!!!  Google says they are Red Winged Blackbirds and the Younger ones are Orange Winged until they Mature.  The Flock was massive. 

Anyway, the Finale' of "Halloween Wars" is next Sunday and the Finale' of that Haunted House Mansion Renovation "A Very Haunted Renovation", is on this Tuesday.  The Food Network will be morphing into Christmas Competition Shows starting Nov. 2nd already.  I'm not as intrigued by the Christmas Competitions, it's mostly Cake Artists and not Sugar Artists or Pumpkin Carvers.  There's so many Cake Shows that I just can't get as Addicted to watching them.   So when all my Halloween Shows are a Wrap I'll be back to not watching much TV at all again.  And I don't Decorate as extensively for Christmas either, nothing on the Exterior and usually just a Tree and a small Vignette on the Interior anymore.  I like having a Christmas Tree lit up in the Living Room, it's Magical for Atmosphere.  But, I'm not sure if I want a new Tree that's Smaller for this Year or not?  I have so many other Trees that I probably should Donate one or some of them I am not using, but I do tend to rotate which we use.  I don't think Princess T has room in her Bedroom to put one up anymore?

 

And both she and I have been scaling down what we do with the Trees each Year.  I have a large Collection of Christmas Ornaments and have been thinking if I should wade thru them again and Sell Off some?  Last Year I did Sell some and Donated some.  But my Christmas Storage Closet sure could use some Purging and Editing to make it easier to get to all of it.  Right now it's filled to the brim and we don't even use much of it anymore if it's a hassle to even get to it.  I bought some Neon Ornaments for this Year's Tree so I know I'll use those as the main Theme and Decorate around what will compliment that Theme using the new bright cheerful colorful Ornaments.   I got them at SAVERS in Two Bagged Lots for a pittance and was attracted to them.  I've thought about when I FINALLY get The RV Garage Mahal in Order and Styled, I'll put up several Trees in there to Display Ornament Collections Year Round to enjoy them longer.  Which is why I've been reluctant to get rid of Christmas Trees I already have.   And New Trees are Crazy expensive.

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We're moving into Dia de los Muertos Celebrations now for November 1-3... Dawn... The Bohemian