Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Gratitude



I've found the last few posts here have been grumpy posts & I need to spend more time with good stuff & stop griping all the time.  So here is a small list of things I'm grateful for post:

1. I had my house painted & siding & sofit & fascia boards fixed & it looks soooooo good.   My door had been a mint green & now it's dark orange.  I'm getting new windows on February 6.  I'm going to have a brand new house, practically.

Before

After


2.  Speaking of my house, I am so blessed to have it.  It's not a fancy house but it sure suits me.  It's big enough, it's warm, it's affordable.  I'm in a neighborhood full of rent houses but the house next door is for sale & I'd love it if someone would buy it to live in, maintain & love.  It has renters in it now.  I don't know if they go or stay with the sale.  They are nice enough people but everyone here pretty stays to themselves.  I'd hate to have to move at Christmas.  

3.  I love my little job.  15 hours a week & my boss & I laugh all day.  We're getting busier which makes the day fo faster & Kaye is making more money & I love it!!  She deserves it.

4.  It's silly but last month, Elon Musk a strange little billionaire, bought Twitter & there are rumors everywhere that it'll crash & I'm grateful it hasn't.  I watch videos on Facebook but don't participate in anything else.  I signed up for a new sodial media thing whose name I cannot even remember but if Twitter dies I won't even go over there.  It's not that important.  I like the "friends" I've met on Twitter & will miss them but if it goes, I go.  I try to not discuss politics on Twitter (but sometimes things sneak through) but I'd miss my Texas Tech friends, my old movie people & just some nice people I've met along the way.

5. I'm grateful that gas prices have gone down & the stock market has gone back up a little.  Earlier this year I just figured I'd have to live a couple of years left but with the upturn in the market I might be able to add a few months back.

6. I'm sleeping better.  I halved my Melatonin dosage & it has help considerably.  My body is weird!

7.  It's Texas Tech Basketball season.  It feeds my soul.

8. While I'm surrounded by renters, across the street I have Leslie & her sister Natalie who own the house & they have an about to be adopted little angel named Armani.  We've become friends & they are sweet.  I'm happy I have them!

9.  I'm grateful I'm off tomorrow & I don't have to set an alarm.  Woohoo!!

Monday, November 28, 2022

Political enemies? Not that I knew of...



I have--or had, I guess--a friend for at least 40 years.  We worked together closely & became good friends outside work.   I've cared about her & her husband & her son.  But for some reason, she's dropped me this last year.

So, a few things.

We don't agree on anything politically.  She & her husband are lunatic Democrats & I'm more conservative.  I'm not a Donald Trump person but Biden, Harris & Pelosi are pimples full of pus as far as I'm concerned.  But I have made it a point to NOT discuss politics to either of them.  I don't have an explanation but apparently if I don't agree with her political views I'm no longer worth knowing.  

And the sad thing is that I don't really care. Our relationship has always been pretty one sided.   She doesn't want to hear about my life but has to call to tell me her husband has a health issue or about her  grandchildren or (recently) about her old girl scould leader dying.  I've been at her house & wanted to go to Fort Worth or anywhere else, it's always no! NO NO NO!!  No compromise at all.  So I usually go alone & she sure doesn't really like that at all. 

Last time I heard from her was in September to share something off Facebook.   I haven't had FB in about a year.  Part of it was because of this person.  She commented on every post & if I posted something she didn't like she'd comment or message me.  And I always told her sorry we didn't agree but even an exchange like that has been over a year ago. 

She didn't send me a birthday wish.  Yesterday was her birthday.  I thought about is a couple of days.  And last night I sent her a happy birthday message.  I told her I hope she had a good birthday.  Her husband answered that she had a good day.  Nothing from her.  (They share a FB account.  And car.  And cell phone.  I think it's all strange but that's just me!).

I'm really sad to say that I'm not as upset about this as I thought I'd be.  Friendships change I guess.  And if I'm dropped because I don't agree politically (as I suspect) it's not a great loss I guess.  


Thursday, November 24, 2022

Thanksgiving 2022

 


Welp, made it through another Thanksgiving.  

For the past few years, I've hosted my friend Deborah (and my cousin a couple of times) and cooked almost everything.  But this year,I decided I did not want the chore or cost of a dinner.  We went to Saltgrass Steakhouse instead. They had a turkey & dressing special but luckily they were doing a full menu too so I had a New York Strip & baked potato instead.  It was yummy.

My friend insists on paying cash everywhere while I use my credit card. (Gotta get those points!!).  Our dinner was the same price but because we did not explain well, they took all the cash to pay the actual bill & charged me the best so my friend did not get her change.  Luckily, she didn't Karen out & confront the waiter.  She assumed he'd padded his tip.   She maryrs through it feeling she'd been ripped off & it was all a matter of bookkeeping.  I figured out what happened after I thought about it for awhile & texted her to tell her I figured it out. (She was at family's house, no call) but she texted & maryred again saying it's all good...& pretty sure she still thinks she's a victim here.  The truth is I owe her the difference in what I paid & what I should have paid.  Hopefully she'll figure it out & not blame the waiter or the restaurant for ripping her off.   Sadly, she tends to be a drama queen & figure everyone is out to get her.

And I was going to leave a $20 tip which confused the hell of her.  But it's Thanksgiving & even this young man was probably getting paid ok, I appreciated him working so I didn't have to.  Friend questions my tipping alot but I'm a generous tipper.  And I was going to let her leave her own tip but she reluctantly gave me $10 so she ended up paying half.

When I got home, I made my mom's fruit salad--apples,oranges,bananas,pecans & whipped cream.  And I had a cherry pie that my realtor gave me for Thanksgiving.  Mom usually made a cherry pie too.  Basically, this part of the day tasted like home. 

I heard from Steve & Hope & cousins Glynneth & Judy & friends Dal & Kaye & Joe & I have a job to go to in the morning & have contractors who showed up this week to work on my house & tomorrow is payday & I am watching Great British Baking &  had a great lunch with a good friend so I'm pretty blessed.   

It's all pretty good.

Monday, November 14, 2022

So My Friend Is Mad At Me



As a single woman, sometimes I need a contractor.  I can do a lot of things but sometimes I need professional help. And finding a contractor is a chore. Sometimes my job is not big enough.  Sometimes I have a job they don't do.  Mostly, they just don't show up.  Apparently, it's a contractor thing. 

I need some fascia boards replaced.  That was my goal.  I had a guy (in my phone as Marty the Snail) who tried to get the job but he kept putting me off, mostly because he didn't know what he was doing.  First he & his son were going to scrape the fascia & then we talked about replacing them.  He kept putting  me off & when I called him about it he said he needed help from a building contractor & they'd be by tomorrow.  I spent half of my day off waiting for them & then he called 2 hours after he was supposed to be there on Saturday because he knew I was off again.  I told him to forget it.  He was talking about replacing not just fascia but the siding on the house!!  I could afford the fascia, not redoing the whole house.  He argued but I told him I was done.  Today he sent me the names of a couple of contractors who could do the job.  He did not say it but he wanted to get some general contractor money off the referral.  I thanked him & told him I'd found someone else.

And I have.  I put a post on a social media app called Nextdoor asking for a contractor & a guy came by on Saturday, at the time he said he'd come.  He gave me an amazing price to do the fascia, repair any sofit, repair the siding & paint the entire house.  I have new windows ordered to be installed in February & I'm basically going to have one snazzy house.

So her is the friend part. My friend wants the contractor's name so he can build little  "cat houses" in her backyard to house feral cats in the wintertime.  And I'm not giving it to her.  I don't want him to feel like he has to take a job where he's going to make little profit because I refer him.  And there was a problem with the last contractor I sent to her that she did not cause but she kind of got in the middle of.   And I'm selfish in that I'm tired of doing all the work to find someone & then because she doesn't take care of her home she takes up all of their time with piddle ass stuff & they don't have time for anyone else, mainly me.  She told me I hurt her feelings by not sharing the info.  But I stood my ground. She needs to invest the time in finding her own contractors.  I told her I found the guy on Nextdoor but she won't download the app because she's pretty sure everyone is looking for her private info & she doesn't want to remember another password.  

So, I was basically a bitch today.  In the old days I'd hate that but sometimes it's necessary.  But I'm taking her lunch tomorrow. And we are not talking again about contractor poaching.