It's Friday, 3:30 pm, the start of the Memorial Day weekend - kick-off of summer. Last year at this time,

people were on lock-down.  Except for a few people (and maybe a few more) that had speak-easy connections.  So, party plans had been stopped ... uhm, by the hypochondriac-faction - who, perhaps, would go to a happening party...not some square-oid deal, where spurbs gad on about their portfolios, golf-club memberships, and other - yawn - square-oid spurb stuff...while, all along thinking,  if only they could score an invite from the (cough-cough - not covid) "cool" people? Hhmmm, maybe that's the basis of this entire covid-control thing - boomers' revenge for not having been invited to go to Woodstock, either.

This year, bans being lifted, there are certainly lots of people gearing up for the picnics, swimming, keg-parties...  

Well, around here, parties are either going to be postponed, or just be ...  meh, why bother.  Can't help but feel bummed out for local partiers around here.  Last year, a bust, and this year?  A wet blanket.  Tonight, it will be soggy, somewhat windy and in the low60s or high 50s.  Oh, and guess what's on tap tomorrow, and tomorrow night?  Rainy, somewhat windy and LOW 50s - just sounds party perfect...not.  

Bummed out for me too.  See, i was all geared up for a 3-day yard-party.  Monday is supposed to be halfway decent, but after two soggy days, followed by the cloudy Monday, why bother!  The half dead branches and the stringy vines will still be too wet to deal with.  

We need the rain, but we don't have to like it.

Going senile? Back in the summer of '68, grampa couldn't find a tool that he'd had just a moment ago.

Can only figure, the old guy had some things on his mind.  Things like, for starters, taking mindful steps.  His eyesight not being so great, anytime he was out in the yard, he was on-guard for chuck-holes - and knew where most of them were.  Filled in a few, but that and other things can be a full-time job.  Yep, a broken bone would jack him up.  Still, the grass needs cut, and the hedge out by the shed could use a trim.  He'd hire help, but he is doing all he can, on his own steam.  His finances are okay...only because he's careful with all that.

What's preying on his mind?  The inevitability of having to shell out money for a new lawn mower - the one he has, quit on him, again.  And his mind is exploring possibilities to somehow cobble it together - maybe long enough to get him through the summer.   Last year, he had figured out a way to keep road-worthy that clunker he drives.  And some other things, he was able to repair - little things, like a radio, an electric fryer... little things add up.  Anyway, it's 3pm, it's hot and his back is acting up again.  

Old minds focus on different things than young minds.

Like who said forgiving was easy? Evidently, not someone living in the real world. But Scripture says what it says. Oh, so wanted

to tell Ms.BusyBody ...   Uhm, yeah, i "act out" at times, and have to put, and keep, a lid on that.  But it could be worse - like, sadly, many women, could be doped-up on nerve meds.  Just plain creepy, have seen - on more than one occasion - some shape-shifting going on upon Ms.BusyBody's face.  Seriously, VERY, would rather be an obvious odd-ball, than submit to popping nerve-meds; those things are poison.

It just occurred to me, per a conversation about the DiSC training came up, how, back in the day, co-workers would bust on each other, but you don't see a whole lot of that, these days.  Guess not, with so many - especially women (who generally are the ones who perpetuate the drama, in the first place) on nerve-meds.  Btw, but not really, DiSC is borderline divination - i.e., witchcraft.

Yep, will not deny, being an odd-ball.

Want to post some stuff about Ms.BusyBody, because, frankly, don't [expletive] trust her.  But to do so, is way apart from the Holy Spirit. So, i'll keep a lid on it.

Gripe with gimmee-fests - the other side of it. Other people have their own troubles.

Their cars barely get them home, their kitchen drains stop up - on the same day ... or whatever other "first world" problem arises.  So, this widow will simply call the plumber, and the garage mechanic - and pay the rates that reputable people charge.  Have absolutely NO desire to fly the poor-widow card - Lord knows there's more than enough widows out there who couldn't scramble together a few hundred dollars, let alone  more.  Not that i'm even remotely close to wealthy, am tight with funds, and THAT'S why am able to handle unexpected expenses that are bound to crop up from time to time.

Which is why i adamantly buck-up whenever any one of those "invites" or announcements come in the mail.  Don't give a rip who sent it, 9.5 chances out of 10, the mailing goes right into the waste-can with barely a second thought.  A 0.5 recently happened, and - none too happily - sent a piddling $25.  And if the recipient thinks me a cheapskate, well alrighty then.

Maybe i missed that Sunday, but don't recall seeing anything in the Scriptures about the Lord commanding his people to hemorrhage their wallets at this and the next, and the one after that, money-show.  There are, however, plenty of verses about giving money to help people in need.  Big difference between the two.

Nope. Not buying it. Why? Because the snarling rage continues against former President Donald Trump. That's why! So, why

does the reviling against our former President continue?  Best i can guess is: lots of people just plain fffeeellll threatened (wha) by his manly-man ways.  What's really sad is: even men - and there's more than a few out there - seem to be put off by Mr.Trump's masculinity.   But that's just the half of it - though, the other half is related; from what i understand, he funded a goodly bit (if not most) of his campaign with his own money.  If that be true, well no wonder people are snarling.  

Lori Alexander doesn't host comments on her website (thetransformedwife.com)

Bummer, because her site attracted some interesting people, who posted their own blogs - where you leave your name, email and website.  A few months ago, Mrs. Alexander took some heat from a(tleast a) few scoffers, because she ... oh horrors ... she ... committed the terrible crime of ... of (whispering here) sh, sh, she ... deleted several comments posted by visitors to her blog.  Oh my :0

From what i gather, many of the deleted comments were just plain vile, and perhaps others simply evidenced the visitor didn't bother to read beyond the first few sentences.  By the way, Mrs. Alexander (and yeah, i LIKE posting that politically incorrect title :) is obviously a busy woman, one who doesn't have all day to spend in front of a computer ... bad on the eyeballs anyway.   So, it only stands to reason, there's only so much time to read forty comments, per blogpost - and either approve or trash each.  Meanwhile, the queue on yesterday's just grew another thirty-some.  So, guess some just didn't get through.

But lately, seems the Lady (oh, here we go, with more politically incorrect words :) has decided, atleast for now, enough already.  Perhaps, she wants to spend some time outside.  Maybe, she grew a bunch of flowers from seeds, and now it's nice enough for them to survive outside.  Meanwhile, inside, baking likely still goes on (thought i would give that up for the summer, but don't think so, store-bought cookies are nasty ... insssane amounts of (probably beet) sugar).  

Woah, break's over.

Per some stats over at "sightingsat60.blogspot, might get the red-pills to smirking -

they do alot of that.  But anyway, am positive such is NOT the blogger's (Tom's) intent.  Here goes: according to the article, less than half of women - 65 and over - are married, while over 2/3rds of men of that age bracket are married.  So, red-pills being the scoffers they are, are likely keying their typically gleefOOl statements - such as, legions of women are being left lonely, mwa-hahaha.

Surely the article has made its way to sites visited by younger people.  That said, here's the rest of it - and most likely, red-pills being red-pills, won't trouble themselves to give attention to the very next statement.  And forget about doing any simple math.  Mkay, here goes:  per the article, of that age bracket, almost 1/3 of the women are widows, while just over 1/10 of the men are widowers.

So basically, either married or widowed men - aged 65 and over - comes to just over 4/5.  Per the women, the total of wives and widows comes to just over 3/4ths.   So, that means a bit over 1/5th of the men are single, and a bit over 1/4th of the women are single.

Yeah, there is a difference.  Men tend to remarry - and men have the option to choose from, sadly, a number of desperate women, who will submit to a prenup (which essentially says:   i ain't providin' fer you, biche!)  And yet, i cannot help but to suspect that there are more than a few widows out there, who loved and cared for their ailing husbands, and then - after all the bawling and squawing - discover what a blessing indeed it is to live alone, and wanting to keep it that way.  

When a woman's husband passes into eternity, what's a widow to do?  Shake her fist at the Lord, demanding (with a few expletives for affect) that He return her husband?  Yeah lady, good luck with that.

Doctor visits - talk about gimmee-fest. It's a scheduling scam,

where two very routine tests are scheduled on different days.  That means two separate co-pays.  But i don't care about that.  What really burns me up is: that means using the extra leave from work - leave that i don't want to use.  Yep, here we go again with those conservative working-class values...ya know, saving.  Where i work, unused leave becomes cash upon retiring - which is why, i plan to hang up my skates in early January (2023) and yeah, when you save leave (instead of squandering it) the cash value is TAXED, bigtime.   Guess that's the main rationale used by members of the "earn and burn society" as they tool their way to their next casino-convention. 

By the way, a few years ago, the boss lady downstairs called a meeting about something.  One of the agenda items was:  leave policy ... ya know, you're supposed to call in, if you need to take unscheduled leave.  Well duh!  But evidently, such no-brainers (a.k.a.  common courtesy) need to be explained - after all, not everyone was raised right.  Anyway, Miss Janet's words went like this, "earn and burn, and then they get mad at us."  Thing is, if you squander your leave down to zilch, and then something bad happens - like your beloved cat gets sick and needs care, calling off is not an option, if you want to keep the job.  Down on 8, we had a manager (not just some data entry clerk) who got canned for taking off, while having no leave balance.  

Needful to say, if you get sick (be you a leave squanderer, or a careful saver - for 20 years running) they can't can you for taking unpaid leave, if you have an FMLA on file.  And once again, those protections are a result of a Christian culture - meanwhile, in 3rd-rate land, if you get sick and can't work ... yer fired, that's karma baby, now get th' eff oudda here, and go die in th' effing gutter, luzer.

But i digress.  Getting back on track, the only reason why i even made the appointment was:  because it's been over two whole years since my last visit ... uhm, why go to the doc if you're not sick?  Anyway, don't want to be dropped as a patient.  Last time was there, (pre-covid) was because of a cold that wouldn't go away.  Where i work, if you're out sick for more than three days, they want to see a doctor's slip.  Good idea!  Sick that long, might take more than guzzling orange juice to get rid of.  And pre-covid, coming to work coughing, with tissue in hand, then touching the copier lid and twenty other things that other people touch ... gross.

And yeah, i get it:  doctor's office lab facilities get tied up quick.  And while i'd be more than happy to schedule for late September, they don't see things that way.  Guess they've seen more than a few healthy-as-a-horse people come walking in (half irritated on account of having to leave that spreadsheet half done), only to find out, per the test results ...  So, they want the tests done, but if there's anything wrong, there's a part of me that doesn't want to know.

HMO, health maintenance.  So, godda comply, because i value having decent health insurance.  Might need it someday.  Not wild about having to to sacrifice a few hours of leave, but oh well :/

i will NOT apologize for living in a first-rate country AND living in a safe neighborhood.

Neither will i apologize for having been born to parents who provided us kids warm clothing and a safe clean home.  Parents didn't cravenly tremble before bizarro statues (of demons).  Parents who didn't sell their kids off to the nearest sex-slaver, in exchange for a cheesy pair of kicks and 1/2 a bottle of hooch.  Nope, my folks chose to get up and go to work for a living :)  

The difference between first-rate nations and the third-rate ones isn't economics.  The reason why the latter nations have but a few living in luxury, while most the rest slowly rot in slums, is all about satanic worship.  Yeppers, kiddos!  If ya don't believe that Jesus Christ is Lord of lords, the only other option is broad-road satanism.  

Anyway, isn't it odd, how first-rate nations were the same nations which had beautiful Christian churches.  And isn't it really odd :) how technology began to take off not long after the protestant reformation - ya know, the same guys and gals who wanted the Word preached and written in the language that common people understood.  And not only that, but also wanted people to actually read the Scriptures for themselves.  

Meanwhile the nations who worshipped ugly statues, and mindlessly did the ohm thing, and they lagged behind.  But fortunately, it was the first-raters who helped them build and run decent hospitals and schools, install and maintain drainage systems (so people didn't have to wade through turd-creek when it rained).

Today was the very first day (since March 2020) that i was glad to have my mask up.

We had a zoom (or whatever) meeting, and because i don't have video on my puter yet, i sat with a co-worker who has that stuff.  So, of course, not being 6 feet apart, we had to mask up.  Well, during the meeting's proceedings, caught myself making faces.  But the mask hid all that. :)

Phrase of the day: milestone announcent. In other words: send a gift card, or better yet,

send atleast $50 - because sending only $25 is just an updated poor-gramma sending a measly $10 (which she could barely afford back in '80-something.  These hallmark-holidays/occasions are nothing but financial manipulation.  And most of us have taken the bait atleast one time or another.  Every year, millions of people go ever further into debt because they're convinced, they must continue playing the facade.  

Could start this next sentence with, "as a senior citizen..."  Bunk.  Even when young, very much resented throwing money at people - especially people who, any other time of the year, didn't know i existed.  Resoundingly YES, am tight with money.  Frankly, over the years, had i participated in the $tupid facade - being that a $20 here, a $50 there can, after awhile, add up to one or more unpaid credit card balances/home equity loans.  

So, who'se gonna help me if i end up in financial dutch?  Silly question.  Frankly, (having come from a social darwinistic background - which is very hard to shake) the best anyone - who doesn't have even remotely near  half a million in the bank - is to remain independent for as long as possible.

Retirement is looking better, but still a ways away. Right now, an annoying conversation, which this post is an attempt

to tune out the bs.  It's one nosey person giving advice ... oh yay, the other person is getting off the bus and fixing to cycle away to his mc.job.  And of course, per the lecturey - rather one-sided conversation - which is thankfully over, the cyclist with the mc.job is also a "co-parent."  Yep, another white-washed word.  In other words, per the stats, another child who will likely grow up in poverty, or next door to it; is prone to not do so well in school, and will have less of a chance to secure gainful employment, or own a house, acquire even a few thousand for a rainy period, have a life-insurance policy...  Yeah, those patrician things, valued by both the middle class and the wealthy.  

And not at all surprising, the conversation included an upcoming vacation and some day-cations over the summer.  Uhm, where do borderline underemployed people come up with the money for boat rides, theme-park tickets and concession stand item$?  The young child's mom probably has a car and an almost sustainable income, but still, daycare for one child runs about half a rent payment for a modest apartment.  Anyway, the nosey older lady ... oh nuts, now she's talking at me - about a subject that i really don't know much about.

"For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not ; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not : for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath a husband."  Galatians 4:27 

"Will I have enough to retire?" That question is asked by people with a half million

tucked away, as well as people with a few thousand.  Anyway, hoping to retire soon - because age is catching up (never thought i'd have stiff joints) and feeling scared, asked myself the same question.  

And a voice came out of the past.  When i was still living at home, and soon to leave the nest, i had told an older relative that i was scared (because adulthood means paying rent and such).  He asked me, "how are your finances?"  i was working and paying rent to my parents - but that rent was hardly a third of real rent.  His question took me a bit by surprise; it sounded like a no-brainer.   Paid my auto insurance on time, and if i wanted to buy something, it was either cash or saving till there was cash for the item.  Also had some savings, not alot, but some.  Anyway i replied, "my finances are fine."  Here's what my early 40s relative said: "then they'll be fine then."  

That fear went out the window then (late 1970s), and the fear has gone out the window now (early 2020s).

But the Reality is:  Jesus Christ is Sovereign.  Even a little-bitty proton will only move His way, or no way.