What a Day!

Today, I had a bunch of errands to run, including:

1. Going to the post office to mail about 30 eBay packages.
2. Going to the bank
3. Going to Sam’s to get gas – prices near my house went up 8 cents/gallon; Sam’s was 10 cents less than the $2.559 at RaceWay
4. Going to the movies – I saw The American with George Clooney. It was okay, kind of slow-moving, not at all the exciting film they advertised.  Oh, there were a few exciting parts, but it was mostly slow-moving. And I hated the ending. Also, they showed a woman completely full-frontal naked. I did get to see George’s bare butt.
5. Going to the Florida Department of Revenue for help in determining how big a penalty I had to pay for forgetting my sales tax report while I was away. I thought it would be $50, but lucked out – I only had to pay the 46 cents I collected.
6. Going to Publix

In the course of all of this, I kind of forgot it was Tuesday and that my cousin was supposed to come over. Well, as it turns out, he did come over. He called to let me know he was leaving his house, but I didn’t get the message because I wasn’t home. But he’s a forgiving guy and tomorrow, I’ll make my way over to St. Pete where we’ll go to lunch together.

I didn’t walk this morning, but waited until it got dark and cooler and walked this evening. I was really in a good rhythm.

Well, it’s late and time to go to bed.

Until next time…

Thirty-Two Minutes This Morning!

Yep, you read it right – I walked 32 minutes this morning – a record for little old sedentary me. Not only that, but I was walking at a pace that allowed me to almost double my distance in the that time frame. And my knee doesn’t even hurt. I only felt a couple of twinges in one of my shoulders, but it didn’t last.

I had so much eBay work from the weekend that I was busy until about 3:30 taking care of paperwork, including a forgotten sales tax report for the State of Florida, invoice preparation and packaging of the eBay items I sold. Then, after the power came back on – it was out a couple of hours – I worked until 11:40 on more sales stuff. I still have a little more to do, but I AM BEAT! I’ll finish in the morning.

Sorry for the short post. Going to bed now.

Until next time…

Lots and Lots of Tapes Archived

Today, I archived lots of cassette tapes, mostly Ray Stevens, Merle Haggard, and the Statler Brothers. In fact, I processed a foot high stack of tapes. It’s tedious work, but I was reading and watching TV at the same time.

I did take time out from my tape work to practice with my hiking poles, even though my right knee has been bothering me. I knew I could give myself that excuse for not practicing, but I decided I would not fall in that trap. So, I put on my iPod, strapped on my poles and took off. I walked for 20 minutes and my knee never bothered me once. It’s been a little sore today since, but it actually feels pretty good right now.

While archiving my tape, I came across a show on PBS called Appalachian Dimensions. It was a two-part series about people who hike the entire Appalachian Trail – a distance of around 2000 miles through 14 states. Wouldn’t be great to be in such good shape to be able to accomplish such a feat, but I think it probably sounds more cool that it actually is – imagine the muscle pain, walking through all kinds of weather, the difficulty of some of the more mountainous sections, to say nothing about the challenges just to go to the bathroom out in the middle of the woods.

It would be ?fun? but I guess I’d better work myself up to a mile first. He He He!

Until next time…

One Light Bulb At A Time And Other Subjects

This morning I received an email from a friend with the subject One Light Bulb At A Time. Thought you might be interested in the info set forth:

"Walk worthy in the calling for which you were called"
    Never thought about this before but I will be reading labels
from now on!

One Light Bulb at a Time - an interesting idea 

A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read he following, obviously written by a good American..

Good idea...one light bulb at a time . . .

Check this out. I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in  China. The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose  attachments there. They were made in USA.

Start looking.. 

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job. So, after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track.. Let's get behind her! 

My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now.  I do not buy it any more .

My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico... now I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything..

This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value.. " I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price..  The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA in a company in Cleveland, Ohio. 

So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here..

So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets . .. . yep, you guessed it, bounce cost more money and is made in Canada. The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using  for years and at almost half he price!

My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!

(We should have awakened a decade a go..) 
 
Let's get with the program .. help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U.S.A.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Karen and I went to see the movie Going the Distance this morning. I would not recommend it to anyone. While the story was kind of interesting and funny, the language and some of the scenes were so offensive I nearly walked out. I probably should have, but I kept hoping they’d have their fill of the F-Bomb. I bet it was used more than 100 times. Don’t waste your time or money.

HIKING POLE PROGRESS

This morning, I went out early and practiced with my hiking poles again. I must be getting better at it because I walked further in the same length of time as yesterday. In fact, I went up and back on a side street. This may seem like small progress to those of you more athletic people, but I’m really having fun and don’t want to do too much too quickly or I’m afraid I’ll tire of it.

Even if I tire of it, I still plan to keep walking. I hope I get less and less awkward with them – I guess I will as long as I keep at it.

I hope to add another 10 minutes tomorrow.

ARCHIVING TAPES

After returning from the movies and lunch, I started archiving cassette tapes. It really looked like there were more tapes to do than in reality. Mom had multiple copies of several tapes. I can’t say anything though. Before I started keeping a list of my books, I used to buy the books I already had.

Until next time…

Much Done; Much More to Do

I got a lot done today. Not only did I nearly fill a big blue bin with stuff or Goodwill, but I almost filled up a box for my cousin and threw away a bunch of stuff.

In the course of sorting through stuff, I found a shoebox with a bunch of CDs in, many of which were still wrapped in their original packaging. I scanned the CD covers, reduce the photo size and put them out on eBay.

I’m devoting this weekend to going through a bunch of cassette tapes. Boy, between what Mom has and what Mark and I had, there are literally hundreds.

Oh, I walked almost twenty minutes this morning using my new hiking poles. I’m sure whoever saw me probably got a good laugh out of it. Every little while I had to stop and get the poles going with the correct feet, but I really enjoyed my walk. I took my iPod and listened to the first 6 songs on my ABBA album. That may explain why my rhythms were occasionally off – the tempo is different in almost every song.

Still, tomorrow I hope to walk a little longer though I have to be back to shower and change by 9:00 am. Karen and I are going to see the new Drew Barrymore/Justin Long movie Going the Distance.

It’s early, but I think I’ll go to bed and read. I haven’t had much of an opportunity to relax today. I DIDN’T EVEN GET A NAP!

Until next time…

Eat Pray Love – It Was Okay

Today, I went to see the Julia Roberts movie Eat Pray Love. It was TWO HOURS and THIRTY MINUTES long. And the slowness of the movie in some spots made it seem even longer. On the whole, though, I enjoyed the movie. There were lots of beautiful scenery from Italy and Bali. I can’t say I appreciated the scenes from India.

Except for getting some eBay packages ready and taking them to the post office, the rest of today I’ve spent goofing off at home. Isn’t that awful? But I’m retired so I guess I can do that once in a while.

Yesterday I finally got the hiking poles I ordered. I’ve been testing them in the house and tomorrow morning will venture out into the outside world with them. They are kind of tricky because you have to:

1. Set them at the right height (I got the 3-piece poles, but there are 2-piece ones).
2. Make sure you have the right type of foot on the pole for the type of terrain you’ll be walking on.
3. Make sure you use the proper pole (they come designated right and left).
4. Adjust the straps correctly.
5. Make sure you don’t scuffle (drag the pole foot along as you walk) the pole foot as you walk.
6. Don’t white-cane, i.e. make sure you don’t put your cane out front like a white cane.
7. Use the left pole when stepping forward on your right foot; use the right pole when stepping forward on your left foot.

I’ve gotten pretty good at walking down the hall with them. Tomorrow, I’ll probably make a fool of myself in front of everyone in the park. But, who knows; I might be incredibly talented at it. I’ve been finding it easy to lose my balance and think the poles will make it easier to walk. When I’m camping full-time, I plan to do a lot of hiking and walking.

Most of you who know me realize I’m normally a very sedentary person. I want to change that and hope these walking poles will make that possible.

Until next time…

TheBlaze.com and Lunch with My Cousin

Today I was up at 5 am and had my laundry done and all put away by 9:00. I also got some stuff ready to take to my cousins:

1. A small cabinet that just barely fit in my truck’s back/front seat area
2. My mother’s punch bowl and pedestal – it’s older than I am and very heavy, but I don’t know if it’s crystal or not – Dickie’s going to take it to a consignment shop for me
3. My mother’s costume jewelry – he’s going to take that to the consignment shop too
4. A wooden hanger for plants

After I dropped off the stuff, I took my cousin to the car shop where his car was – I was glad to save him the cost of a cab, then we went to Quaker Steak and Lube for a great lunch. Boy, do they ever have great onion rings. Since I had had chicken wings last night, I had a very good gyro sandwich and their home-made potato chips.

THEBLAZE.COM

I hope you all will check out TheBlaze.com, a new website from Glenn Beck. He’s hired actual journalists and they are uncovering a lot of stories we used to get from the mainstream media. I think this site will become the place where Americans go for the real news.

Glenn doesn’t really have much to do with the content. He doesn’t pretend to be a journalist. You may have to refresh your screen a few times because the site is very busy. There a couple of stories on there right now that will blow you away.

There’s a good mix of audio, video and print.

Check it out, will ya?

A SLIP … UP

I got a slip indicating I had a package at the post office. While there I checked my post office box and found a check. I guess it discombobulated so much that I left the package sitting on a little table by the post office boxes. Needless to say, I didn’t waste any time going back. As Pauline handed it to me, she said some nice gentleman brought it in and gave it to her. What a ditz I am!

I don’t think I can top that story, so good night.

Until next time…