Coming Soon:

Root canal on aisle 3 please?
Selfie Awareness
Extra Blankets
Half Full

Catastic Help Wanted

Looking for a part time cat sitter for our family. 
Must have own transportation.  Non smoker (pot okay if you don't inhale).
Wanting someone who will spend quality time with our cats and not just watch our netflix (yes, we stream).
Positive and upbeat preferred.
Will be responsible for refilling "half full" bowls.  Plating the good stuff twice a day.
Some light labor is required as well (opening windows and doors for their cool daily breezes)
Birders a bonus*

Hipster

Stopped in to grab my standard hi cut cotton colorfuls.  Oh dear.  I find myself and a tiny lady having conversations about our severe search for our basic and didn't appear too specific cut/ style of undies. I mention tiny lady because as you can see the spectrum of sizes and we can't find our size...just a million options of other stuff.   Yes, an entire row of disarray and woven, torn and mishandled packaging of fruit of the looms (my fave), hanes, and the like.

We are both starting to feel slightly conspicuous and joke at our "under-banter."  "Goodness, pretty soon they may call security on us if we stay here too long."  I say. 

I long for a single package of a single digit # and am having no luck.  Her either. 

It's very nice to have so many choices and I'm really not complaining...okay, I am. 

hipsters

boy briefs

bikini

brief

low rise

high rise

no wedgie

wedgie

hi cut

low cut

no ride

first date

second date...etc!!

Juicy Couture

My friend says she wants to "juice."  "Great," I say.  We are texting.  We "talk" when we see each other in person.  You know, gotta keep up with the times.  The next few text blast from Stella sort of seem in a direction that she wants to use our juicer.  OUR juicer.  Not hers, as she doesn't have one yet.  "Nah, I say to myself, she wouldn't hit the produce aisle, then do a B-line to our kitchen counters and break out our Jack Lalane.  Or would she?  I reply "Great!!  I give you some of our favorite recipes."

She replies. "Gosh, I love you!!"  "Great way to say, / You are not using our dang juicer!!""

Well, she is right.  There is a fine friendship line we all should keep.  One is.  Thou shall get your own juicer.  A few vanilla coated reasons for this:

1/ We over shopped for ours and are slightly attached to it.  JCP, Sears, Ebay, Repeat, Purchase, Return
2/ It would be very noisy for our cats (or me) if you came and conquered the kitchen with your Kale
3/ My dishes are clean and I don't feel up to cleaning all the 1500 juicing parts
4/ I don't know how many miles of veg and fruit can acrue on the machine and...get your own
5/ In our house, "juicing" is an event...like a Sunday evening thing...like...uh...gonna be some major noise and energy flowing from the kitchen...turn on the breakers...etc.
6/ Get your own.  Love ya..but yeah:)

Pile On In

One reason to always keep your place tidy is in the event that you may actually have friends or family visit.  Since our family lives far away and our "local" friend list is noted on one hand, we tend to slip up a bit. 

Having OC(d) is a good thing.  I put the "d" in parenthesis as mine, isn't really a disorder as it doesn't interfere or cause disorder in my life.  There was a time...one, two, one two...that it did, which didn't last for long.  I have the kind of personality that isn't really compulsive and the whole cleaning thing...well...not extreme...the compulsive cleaning...not.

 I do despise clutter though and find that I am master of tote bags and random piles which are strategically hidden.  My girlfriend once said to me "I have too many totes!!"...now I know what she means, what she was talking about. That little stuff..recipes, dice, notepad from favorite hotel, ticket stubs with a coupon for next time you will go the NY opera house..etc. 

So, come visit people.  We are ready and tidy.  It appears that we are neatfreaks but we are not. 
Pile on in!!

Huh? Tennis Elbow, huh?

Tennis Elbow and hard of hearing?  How did I get these?  I'm still sort of young and I haven't played tennis in years. 

I'm going to blame it on the hair dryer.  Revlon herself has kept my arms toned for almost 30 years.  Blow drying the hair and using a round brush to smooth out the inherited curls.  The curls happened after four bad perms (I used to have straight hair).  Maybe this is payback for tampering with ones natural beauty?  This has caused overuse or Tennis Elbow.  Can't lift the forearem for a cup of joe.

So I wear my velcro forearm band and now have the sudden urge to hit the courts.  It doesn't help that Wimbledon was on last week.  Thank you Serena and Djokavic...(Novac if that's easier). 

I'll wait for it to heal though, before I go out and get "real tennis elbow"...huh?

Jacket Not Required

It's winter and chilly and I really should be wearing socks.  There is a chill in the air, like possibly coming from Canada or somewhere cold this time of year.  Central Coast is a mild tempered as far as weather goes. 

I'm heading out to pick up some sundries...usally extra toothpaste which we can never have enough of.   I do opt for the heavy cotton jacket.  I'm only running to the Dollar Store anyway.  Open a new pack of hand warmers and stuff in my pocket.  It's risky...to go in flops and face the possibilities.  I have Raynaud's syndrome, too...(lack of circulation on the fingers and toes).  Despite this, I go for it.

Too hot!!  Ugh, the constriction of a coat with the sun shining through the windshield on the 3 mile drive.  It's intense.  How do folks move with all the wrapping on?  How do you signal with such a frock on?  I get to my destination, park and immediately tear off my bright yellow hoodie.  Wow, that was close!!  I could've gotten in the store and got all tangle up in the Easter decorations (which I avoid, anyway), or completely trip over my thoughts of being over bundled.  So thankful I left unnecessary baggage in the car.  I'm free!  I can move!  I'm able to punch in my pin number easily without some exterraneous sleeve dragging me down.

We are very fortunate to have mild winters and are thankful.  I'm happy to be wimpy and be able to murmer about wearing a single jacket. 

Trash Talk

Recycling.  I do my part, or at least I try to.  I could improve a bit more...and am always looking at new  ways to do so.  Have always been "green," or at least since they made it mandatory in my little beach town way back in the late 80's.  Green bin, Gray bin...etc.  Different colors, different stuff.  Back then one could get fined for putting recyclable in the trash. 

Last Tuesday, I found myself outside tossing trash from one bin to the other and being a crazy lady grumbling semi-softly.  We often (if we don't take our own plastics or cans to the recycle place) bag it up for folks looking to make extra dough or/ and super earthy recyclers (probably the former), who help themselves to our green bins on trash day.  I'm very happy that they can and utilize what resource, circumstance (hopefully temporary), or ....that they can.  We put it separately next to our Mexican Palm tree, so as not to overtly junk up the 'hood, and write "free"  "cans and plastics" on it.  It's gone pretty quickly as our little suburban area is nestle next to a public park.  Lots of walkers and "Ventura Blvd shortcutters" pass on our little block of terra. 

So, the whole reason behind me writing this versus watching the Ohio State game or Sugar something...is not to avoid football, especially college football....oh nooooo...:)

I saw the sweet gentleman get a few "missed" items from our recycle bin...actually blue...oops!
He just tossed some plastics that would to to the recycle place back into our trash.  Wha?  That's worse than What?  It's sort of like being perplexed but with saying a super short word after dropping ones chin.  It just sortta bugged me.  I'm so happy that he is getting some extra income and one time I even handed him a bag of water bottles (yeah, I know, wasteful...but at least...).   Please:)...my life's/ self/ wannabe is "kindness" and yet...I felt sort of betrayed.  He means no harm.  He is helping himself and the earth.  It's early morning and he also adds some color to our neck of the  Palms.  The thing is, "How many bins is he tossing recycles into the trash?"  I must get off of my non existent and biodegradable soapbox.  It's now 7-3 Alabama.  Oh, it's 7-6...I stand corrected.

I'm making a little, but large fonted note for the recycle bin.  I will encourage anybody that can use and cash in on our schtuff...but please just sort it and return it to the  "was sorted" bin.  I have one more day to think of a pleasant way to say it.. Tuesday is science project night and also"recycling."  I noticed that a few on the strata don't but, it's okay...I've ordered some 3 arrow decals on ebay (made from buckeye leaves) for our community mailbox. 

Yah Yah, so if ya can...please recycle, reduce, reuse and all that extra ...to be continued:)