Musings

We're still working on the wood stove install and the kitchen floor. Got the chimney adaptor part that my son picked up from his ex when he brought his daughter home. ALL the cement board is on the floor and the wall behind the stove and above the stove! Went three places today to find the tape for the cement board seams. Ended up buying fiberglass mesh tape designed for drywall because no one carried the other stuff. Oh well. We had appointments in town yesterday and by the time we got home I could have cared less if I ever saw "Town" again.

The waste of people infuriates me. It didn't help my disposition that we stopped at my sister's home - home of the ultimate waster. I brought her a bag of clothes and a full length mirror we had removed from the spare bedroom wall. There were four identical mirrors on one wall and we don't need all of them, so I'm passing them out to others. Anyway, my sister had 10 bags of garbage in her entry and was complaining about the high cost of garbage disposal. Yet, none of the bags was full; none of the cans or boxes were flattened, and she throws out things she could have brought to St. Vincent de Paul, which is across the street from her! Good grief!!!

It was garbage day in our neighborhood too so we kept our eyes peeled for anything usable. Didn't find much until we saw a clothes basket full of fresh garden produce. Propped against it was a sign that read: "Please take it. I'm sick of picking and canning!" We mentioned this to another neighbor this morning and he said the woman was out of work, her husband had left her a few months ago and she had four kids to care for. Yet she's given up on her garden produce. Maybe it's too much for her just now but it sure helped us out. None of our Swiss chard germinated; we didn't plant any green beans; and the Hubbard squash is still blossoms. Her basket contained spaghetti squash, green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and acorn squash.

While shopping we heard people complaining about the high prices yet most of their carts were full of prepackaged, microwavable meals. We stopped at a restaurant to have coffee and visit my waitress friend. She was in a disgusted mood too. Four tables of people were rude, demanding, and had left most of their meals on their plates. One of the customers then ordered a pizza to go at the last minute. She asked if there was something wrong with their meal and was told, "No, I just wanted to have something different to eat later."

I don't know. A whole lot of coddled, spoiled, short-sighted people don't recognize how much they do have right now. It scares me to think what they'll be like as conditions worsen and they're unable to cope with being "deprived." As my waitress friend said, "I could have fed my family supper with what those people left on their plates." She mentioned hamburgers, curly fries and a fish sandwich that had not been touched; deep friend mushrooms and Cheddar cheese fries that were half eaten; and two salads barely touched. They ate the soft drinks and chicken strips and smeared the dipping sauces on the plates, napkin holders and tables. Pigs would have been better customers.

At my sister's it was pretty much the same thing. She had baked chicken and left it sitting on the stove, uncovered for hours. Her son said he'd rather have a baloney sandwich and was pissed that there was none. Her solution was to give him a few dollars to get a sub sandwich at the gas station! Meanwhile the flies were having a field day with the chicken because she keeps the windows open but doesn't have any screens. She was not born with common sense and I doubt it will be developed any time soon.

The litter bugs were in overdrive this weekend and I picked up $3.20 in cans and bottles on our road. It's not even the holiday weekend!

Some people on our road have already closed up their camps and two were broken into Sunday. Guns and alcohol taken from both.

We went to look at a used car where the people were selling a vacant house. Didn't have an interest in the car but spotted a chest freezer sitting on the side of the garage. Was told it worked and they'd probably sell it. Walked over and opened it up only to discover they had left the food inside - rotting!!!!!

Unbelievable!

When we got home another notice from our least favorite property insurance company was in the mailbox. I won't bother explaining their latest letter. Suffice to say it's no wonder people go postal.

I look forward to us having our projects completed; our wood fire burning and our selves quarantined for the swine flu. The rest of the world is plain crazy and I want nothing to do with it.