My Weblog

Bargains and pants..........

A couple of weeks ago, Smith’s had ham on special. Not as great a price as during Easter, but my budget was tighter then…………. Anyway, I’ve had several “meals” of just spiral sliced ham. Then there was a special on eggs. I bought a good-sized stash. My last grocery shop included 2 Marie Callender’s frozen pie crusts. I made myself a quiche—ham, cheese, mushrooms, dehydrated kale, and eggs. I’ve been eating that quiche for days. I have lots of ham in the freezer and now I’m cooking the ham bone for broth. As Alton Brown would say, “good eats”. But, better yet, at a good price.

You know I watch a lot of youtube stuff. I decided to go for the strawberries I wrote about earlier because a youtuber I follow bragged about buying 28 pounds at a price slightly higher than I paid and cleaning, bagging and freezing them ALL in 40 minutes. To put it politely, I have to say she was “gilding the lily”. I timed myself. It took me 13 minutes to clean and bag 2 pounds. Now, I have to admit I have a shaky left hand. I don’t think it slowed me down much, but let’s say it cost me 1.5 minutes of 6.5 minutes it took to clean 1 pound. Okay that’s 5 minutes a pound. I wasn’t a speed freak but I worked at a steady pace. I’ve watched this woman cook on youtube—she’s no Julia Child with a knife. If it took me 10 minutes to do 2 pounds, that would mean it would take me 140 minutes for 28 pounds. That’s 2 hours and 20 minutes. There is no way I believe she managed the same task in 2/3 of an hour! Liar, Liar, pants on fire!

Speaking of pants, here’s a story for you. I was at work the other day. Fortunately my customer of the moment was a fellow employee. Someone walked up behind me and said, plenty loudly, “You have your pants on”. Excuse me, I am not the type to come to work without having my bottom covered! Can you imagine my shock? Besides even our do-as-little-as-possible management would not go for a cashier with a bare naked butt! Thank goodness, when I whirled around to see who was making such a comment, it was a fellow employee. She stammered out an explanation—I was wearing slacks and not shorts.  Who knew there were people monitoring my butt coverage! I do wear shorts (bermudas, in accordance with the dress code) when it’s hot outside, and long pants when it’s cooler or downright cold. Anyway, I’m not too sure about that woman! I will give her credit for poor judgment in her choice of when to speak and when not to speak………………….

That’s about it for tonight. Back to work tomorrow…….

Desperate Times

Written 5/27/2019

 

Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures. I am having a very hard time with my computer. It keeps shutting down with no warning. It comes back on quickly but then I have to reload everything I had open. Worse, Typepad doesn’t have an auto save function. So, every time the computer shuts down, whatever I had written vaporizes. I’m going to try composing in Word. That should save if the computer quits on me.

So, I had three days off and now I’ve worked two. I have tomorrow off again. During my 3 days off, I did a major grocery shop. Smith’s had strawberries for $.94 a pound, the lowest I’ve seen in years. I bought 10 pounds. I’ve now cleaned and cut up, bagged and loaded into the freezer 7 pounds of them. I have 3 gallon bags full. I figure I’ll come close to filling one more bag before I’m done. These strawberries were magnificent. Large, many of them a handful. Not bruised and fully ripe. I have concluded I got quite a deal. I’m tempted to go back for more…………

I also bought 10 bags of peanut M&M’s for $1.00 each. I work 6 hours with no lunch. I carry whatever I can think of to nibble on: string cheese cut into bite-sized pieces, grapes, grape tomatoes, dehydrated apples, grapes or bananas, protein bars cut into bite-sized pieces. However, sometimes you just need some energy. I will frequently buy peanut M&M’s because the peanuts in them slow down the rise in blood sugar and level it out. At the store, a bag the same size as I bought costs more than twice as much. Made good sense to me to buy at half price and just tuck a bag into my tote.

I suppose for the Holiday weekend, they were supposed to be feeding us. Saturday was an ice cream bar, Sunday was cookies, and today was sandwiches. I didn’t work Saturday so no ice cream for me. If there were cookies Sunday, I didn’t find them. The sandwiches today were a disappointment—lots of bread and not much “filling”. But, at least today, someone told me where they were hiding the food. I had to throw away half the bread and tear the rest of the sandwich into bite-sized pieces, but at least I found a way to eat some.

I’ve had three charley horses between yesterday and today. I don’t understand that as I’ve been taking my potassium and magnesium supplements religiously. When this stuff starts, I am concerned that worse things are set to follow. Sending up mucho prayer about that!

Allergy season is kicking my butt. Drippy nose, sneezing, burning eyes……….not much fun. I have access to 3 different meds for allergies and ALL of them make me sleepy…………

Signing off now. Going to paste this into a Typepad document.

Copy and Paste again...........

You’ll never guess what I’m drinking. I broke down and made myself a green smoothie. It was meant to be. The stars aligned and I happen to own bananas, strawberries, pineapple (canned) and spinach and a clean blender. See, I told you it was meant to be! Perhaps the extra vitamins and minerals will help these bothersome charley horses………..

The downside of the smoothie is that I, of course, made a LOT of smoothie mix so I have leftovers. I’ll have to find some pint size mason jars and get that stuff stored so I can clean up the blender jar again….

We have received an e-mail from corporate. We are supposed to be getting raises. Now, theoretically, we will be eligible for raises to be paid in early June and late October. Of course you have to be in the correct “class” of employee and I have no clue whether I qualify. I sure hope I do. I think this may be some effort to put us, salary and wage wise, on a more equal footing with our main competitor.

Communication in any large organization is generally faulty. Yes, the company for which I work is no exception. Effective January ’18 the company required that those eligible for a military discount (veterans, retirees, and active duty personnel) register with us in order to get their discounts. We made it easy for them—they could simply stop by customer service and in a matter of 2 or 3 minutes, we’d register them free of charge. From then on, they could give us their phone number and get their discount without having to pull out identification proving themselves to be “qualified”. The discount is 10% across the board except for labor—for example, if an installer is being arranged by us, we don’t discount their labor rate. We also don’t discount gift cards, for obvious reasons. It required more trouble for cashiers, but simplified things for those eligible for the discount.

I picked up a rumor a couple of days ago that we’re back to asking for ID. I confirmed it yesterday and found out why. Seems there’s been a lot of “sharing” of phone numbers. Worse, some have even “sold” qualifying phone numbers on e-bay. Morale of this story: people will always find a way to lie, cheat, and steal if given the opportunity. Now, of course, all the cranky little old men and women are giving us an earful when we explain all this to them. Retail is a challenge!

About heaven...........

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

By now, you probably know I watch a lot of youtube videos. Recently I got myself sidetracked from my usual choices of videos to watch. Instead, i found myself watching a lot of "true crime" videos. Most of these videos centered around murders. The victims varied from a woman who was involved in an adulterous relationship to a man who was a wife beater to a rich woman who had money someone else wanted to innocent children. It seemed, without exception, that some family member would say they'd see the deceased again in Heaven.

Some of the victims were "good people". Others had obvious sin in their lives. There was rarely any mention of a religious affiliation let alone a "born again" experience. Yet, family members were comforted with the idea that somehow they would all meet up again in Heaven.

My question: How were all these people going to get to Heaven? The "come as you are party" occurs here on earth, not in heaven. Quite frankly, I don't know. I take a pretty broad view on this question. I personally believe that God gives everyone one last chance. I base this on the story of the repentant thief at Calvary. His "confession of faith" had to be the equivalent of a deathbed confession. I had a cousin who was very rebellious as a teenager. He had pretty much forsaken his religious upbringing. He was in a motorcycle accident and never recovered from the injuries he received. In fact, he was unconscious throughout until his death. Yet, I heard people comfort his parents with the idea they'd see him again someday. Both of his parents were ordained ministers. As a kid, I was pretty sure I knew where they would end up. I was a whole lot less sure about him.

As an adult, I've read of believers who have had near death experiences who had time only to cry out one word--"Jesus". And death was averted. If God will save a life under such circumstances, how much more likely is He to save a soul. I personally believe the utterance of that one word at the moment of death is sufficient to save a soul. Why would anyone call out to Jesus at a time like that if they didn't believe in Him? And, isn't faith all that is required to gain admission through Heaven's gates?

Yet, I'm sure many do not call on Jesus or God in those last moments of life. Maybe they don't have time........what about the guy who commits a murder and is chased down by a cop and shot in the head? Unlikely he called on God before the bullet hit at 1500 feet per second, I think.

And, I am enough of an evangelical Christian that I believe we must each choose for ourselves "whom we will serve". I cannot bring myself to believe that infant baptism by someone else with the decision made by someone else will do it.

I believe the Church has soft-pedaled "the narrow road" in favor of platitudes, happy stories such as "you'll all be together again" or "this separation is only for a time". And thus perhaps we make people feel better by telling them untruths and half-truths. Remember, "narrow is the road and small is the gate and 'only a few' find it".

I'm still here

I haven't posted in a while for numerous reasons. First, I am thoroughly bored with what I have to post about--either the job or which of the various parts of my body are acting up on any given day. Pretty boring stuff, not just for you but for me. Second, among the problems with posting is my unhappy left hand. It is weak, with tremors, and it surely doesn't type very well right now. It makes creating a post a painfully slow process. But, I'll give it a try.

First, I've concluded we have not killed the kidney infection. I have known something was wrong, but couldn't pinpoint what it was til yesterday at work. After my break, I figured out that I had a dandy case of "flank pain" just like I had before. My legs often hurt when I have to walk, but the "flank pain" hits the hips hard, so it's a different kind of pain. Symptoms of this round of the UTI include the "flank pain", crazy burning when urinating, possible fever (battery is gone on my digital thermometer), fatigue, nausea, urinary frequency and urinary urgency. I think, also, the lingering problems with my left hand are part of it. I think the antibiotics I took were insufficient to deliver a death blow to the infection so it has flared up again. I'll have to see a doctor.......which is something I abhor.

I posted recently about being extremely angry about what happened at work (See a post titled "I'm calmer now"). I did a little exploration and learned the following: the day began with the capo in charge/no head cashier. The head cashier who took over from her is new and part-time. Apparently, she is still "in training" and not supposed to be left alone up front, but she was indeed alone up there. And, when she came in, the capo had repeated an error she's made before in that breaks had not been given as they should have been up to then. So the trainee was left alone and behind the 8-ball.  I suppose, in a way, it's good that I was the person who got the shortest end of the stick. The poor trainee would surely have gotten a tongue lashing from some of my compatriots. Barring a tongue lashing, perhaps a back stabbing. I've kept my mouth shut. I tracked her down this past Sunday and told her I figured out what had happened and I hoped I was as decent to her as I thought I was. She seemed to agree that I had not been hard on her. I try so hard not to be an embarrassment to Daddy.................

Anyway, yeah, I'm still here.

 

 

 

I'm calmer now.............

but I was really angry yesterday when I left work. The good part of the day was that I got to spend the day in Lumber. The bad part was that I paid a price for the privilege.

I reported to work at 7AM as scheduled. I got my 9AM break in a reasonably timely manner. 11AM rolled around and no one came to relieve me for my second break. I waited and waited and did the "I've gotta pee" dance. If you call to remind them you're still waiting, you run the risk of making them mad--I've had that happen with a head cashier screeching at me into the phone. I held out to 11:50, just sure my relief would show up any second. At 11:50, I finally called. I was told they were waiting for one particular person "to come back" so they could send her down to relieve me. I was told they'd send her down in just a few minutes. At 12:23 i called again--33 minutes later. I was told they were sending someone right then. Apparently there are people in that store who walk slower than I do. 17 minutes later, my relief showed up. That's a REALLY slow walk. And, it wasn't the person I was told would be coming. I went outside for my break and came back in at 12:51. I think I managed to not sound really angry when I said "I'm back from my second break. We have 9 minutes til my shift is over. Where would you like me?" At that point, I was told to just go home. So, I lost a few minutes pay and waited very close to 4 hours for a break.

I really was spittin' mad. Thankfully, I held my tongue. The head cashier on duty was new and a part-timer. Additionally, she was on alone and she came on to a "shop" that had been "run" by the front end capo di capo. That person has been known to "forget" to send anyone on break during her time up there, putting the head cashier who came on after her way behind the 8-ball. I like the new part-time head cashier and she's always been friendly to me. I think she was just stressed out. However, I couldn't help but notice that there were 4 people in customer service as well as 3 registers open in the front end. Surely one of those people could have been pried loose before 12:40...................Sometimes, when the front end is particularly busy, one of the managers will open a register--no managers in sight yesterday. Or, maybe not salvageable if you're new, you're in over your head and trying to redeem someone else's mistakes.............I am going to speak to the new head cashier about it, if only to clear the air between us...............

I started a post Friday stating that my back and legs had been remarkably good that day. Allergies, however, were bad--my eyes burned like they had hot peppers rubbed in them and I sneezed and snuffled all day--in spite of benedryl. By Saturday I had both allergy problems and back and leg pain. I was released to come home about 20 minutes early. The odd thing was that before I got the van out of the parking lot, my eyes settled down as did the congestion in my head. Sunday was a repeat of Saturday. So, all things considered, in spite of the screwed up break, being in Lumber was a blessing. I managed to stay at work only by medicating my back with muscle relaxers. I've continued taking them today and it feels better. Hopefully, that is still the case in the morning.

I had a grab and run shoplifter Saturday. The thief got away with a $169.00 Drill/Driver. I have now decided that 1) I will not take my hand off pricey merchandise until either a card is in the card processor or the cash is in my hand, and 2) I will not remove the anti-theft "turtle" from merchandise until after I've been paid. Those "turtles" make such a nasty piercing noise they've been the first thing I've attended to in the past, but not so anymore. I'll have to learn to deal with that obnoxious noise...........

Well, that's it for tonight.

 

Creature of Habit?

It's a little past 9:30AM. I've gathered everything to go to work--sweater, thermos cup of coffee, tumbler of water, tote bag--and headed out the door. Of course, I said goodbye to Parker, reassuring him I'd be back home after a while, telling him I had to go earn the money to buy his dogfood, and admonishing him to be a good boy while I was gone. Now he's in the backyard and I'm back in my chair. After I'd gone outside, it hit me that maybe I didn''t have it quite right. I came back in, checked the notes I'd made last night, and realized I'm not due at work til 1PM. I wonder what they'd have done if I'd shown up 3 hours early..............

I hate to do it--my hair and make-up look just about perfect--but i just might lie down for a nap. Likely, that'll ruin the "perfection", but I'm kicking off three days in a row and whatever rest I can get may be beneficial...........

In the alternative, I could do a little work around here.

I made hard boiled eggs in the instant pot last night. Then I mixed up the ingredients for deviled eggs. I ate one in lieu of "breakfast food" this morning and more than a few last night in lieu of dinner. I LOVE doing the eggs in the IP because they are so easy to peel. Many times in the past I've lost patience with the process of peeling hard boiled eggs. Sometimes I called for reinforcements and Joe would come to help. Peeling hard boiled eggs just was NOT in his skill set. I was remembering last night how many times I'd tell him "you have to get under the membrane" and his deer-in-the-headlights look in response. You'd eat the eggs he peeled but you'd NEVER take them to a party--they were mangled but still tasty.

That's all for now.............

 

 

Could you stand a praise report?

I have told you often enough about the pain in my legs. It seems only fitting I tell you it is getting better. I can now walk, without a cart to support me, from the van to the far end of the store's front end without thinking "I'll never make it". The pain is not totally gone but is lessened a lot. Such a relief!

I'm home today, working on things around here and trying to figure out which local grocery store has the most values for me this week. I think it's Smith's, the Kroger affiliate. They have pineapples for $.88 each with no limit on the # purchased. If they are decent, I plan on buying at least 10 so I can preserve some. They also have a BOGO on boneless beef roast. I'll have to check the price, but that offer has potential.  I usually find wonderful things in their markdown areas as well.

Still plugging away on catching up on budget stuff. At least, I am finally within a month. That's not much to brag on but I've been out of whack on that for a while so this is the best it's been in months. I guess I have quietly revised some of my budgeting procedures. I was paying everything in cash--everything for which I did not do bill pay. However, when the legs were at their worst, it was a life saver to be able to order groceries for delivery and to just use my debit card at the gasoline pump instead of traipsing into the store, standing in line to hand over the cash, walking back to the van, pumping gas, back into the store to wait for change. So, part of my paycheck is now going into the checking account to cover these purchases and to make up the deficit that comes from not enough Social Security every month. And so, I have more or less abandoned the Dave Ramsey envelope system. I think what I'm doing now is better. It seems to me I used money more freely before because it was available in the envelopes.............

Remember the wound on my arm from my battle with the wind, the shopping cart, and the car door? The scab has finally come off. As I suspected (it was a deep wound), it's gonna leave a scar. It doesn't bother me--I earned it.

And, with that, it's time to get on to other things. Have a blessed day.............