It’s been a good week! Oh, there is always underlying crap (like the gut-wrenching, vicious, despicable attack on our democracy), but ultimately things are NOT TERRIBLE at the immediate moment. A lot of that has to do with how much of the country is emerging from the pandemic and it makes me so happy! It is SUCH a relief. Several of my favorite MSNBC pundits are back in studio with live guests at the table, and Colbert’s show is back in the theater with a live audience. The ENERGY of that is something I know we’ve never considered before, but his at-home Late Night show throughout all of this had been very low-energy, so the difference was palpable. The noise, the applause, the laughter! I missed it so much; I can just imagine how Colbert (and so many other performers) are bowing down to the gods to be BACK. What I cannot understand are people who are choosing to not be vaccinated. There are still some dangerous variances of the virus circulating out there and there is this:
“Those who are currently in the hospital or dying, have one thing in common: They are not vaccinated.”
What happened to these non-vaxxer people’s brains? (Serious question). And to be honest, I cannot drum up any sympathy (let alone empathy) for them. If they want to swirl the virus among themselves, so be it, and good luck. (And if kids are involved, then CPS needs to be contacted).
Tuesday of this week (the 15th) was John’s 68th birthday! (Gulp!) I took him out to lunch at the Lakeland Bistro in Allyn and it was a fun (and somewhat odd) time! No one appeared to seat us, so we went outside to the (at that time, sunny) patio and sat at a table with a big umbrella. It was clear that rain was likely so we sat there waiting for service with a bit of trepidation. However, there was a big umbrellaed table next to us full of senior citizens who were having a GREAT time, and they were incredibly entertaining! Also, we abutted a big lovely pond that was jumping with big trout! At times it was almost boiling with them! But then, the big black cloud above us finally let loose, and while we all gave it a bit of time to maybe pass, it didn’t. So we all grabbed our water glasses/serve-wear/etc. and ran inside (beneath a huge WALL of pouring water from the overflowing doorway gutter—yes, my hair was hideous—and found tables to park and dry off). Jeeze. Shortly after settling, the big table of senior citizens all started singing “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin. It was amazing.
Good food! I had their “Lobster Louie” and it was impressive! John had their chowder (too chunky for my taste; he said it wasn’t nearly as good at Alderbrook Inn’s), plus a Caesar salad. I also had another Bloody Mary (not as showy as Alderbrook’s, but it sure was nummy), and John had a glass of wine. It was all a lot of fun!! I think about birthdays: For so many years, they were always pleasurable, especially since my Mom made a big celebration out of them. Then, eventually, they became “meh.” And now? They are scary. To be honest, they are scary!
I discovered the night of John’s birthday (because I’d received a video of Quinn being adorable and the video included Nate) that Nate has not yet left on his summer Underway. When I questioned him about that via Messenger, he said, “On standby to leave any day.” Jesus. What irritates me is that it likely extends the time on the other end that he’ll be gone, which could mean missing Quinn’s 4th birthday in September. I’m crabby. And we all know that “on call” means you can’t really live your daily life.
We watched “In the Heights” on HBOMax the other night (it’s also currently in theaters) and it was really enjoyable. I’m not typically fond of “musicals,” (and I think John hates them), but I thought it was superb. I LOVED THE DANCING!!! And when I say I’m not fond of musicals, I look back and realize how much I loved Fame, and Flashdance, and Footloose, and yes, Westside Story. (So maybe it’s that I don’t like the OLD musicals). Also, I think it’s the DANCE that I enjoy the most (which does tend to be accompanied by awesome music). Man. I want to watch “In the Heights” again and pay closer attention to the dancing, especially after reading a great article about the choreographers and the vision of the movie. What a gem it was!
It has definitely been “June-uary.” So much rain, so much wet. And while the gray/wet has been a bummer, there is a big part of me saying, “Go, wet!” Meaning…we need the wet. Because I (and most of us) fear the fire season. It’s scary everywhere in our state, but here on our island, we tend to be rather frantic about the threat. Lots of timber land (although much of it has been clear-cut in recent years, which pisses me off beyond my ability to scream about it), and we’re dependent on volunteer fire pumper trucks. The next upcoming days are destined to be really hot. 90° Monday, which means Book Club will NOT be on the deck (which I’d hoped for), but in the air-conditioned house instead. Thankfully we had our windows washed this week so they will at least look crystal clear. (Right now, I’m hoping to get the rest of the house relatively sparkly. Gawd what a job that is…) Today, I’ve begun the task. (It truly is a multi-day thing).
I have an Alexa Show (Echo Show? What do you call it?) that displays photos every few seconds from my Amazon Photos account that I’ve uploaded several thousands of photos to. It’s in my kitchen, so when I’m preparing dinners or cleaning in there, I’m inundated with marvelous rotating pictures of Quinn, of our house being built, of San Diego memories, of Harstine sunsets, of the goofy cats. I love it. And then the kids gave me a “Skylight” picture frame that they (or I) can directly email photos to it to display on a large platform (larger than the Show). What’s fun is when they upload photos and I’ll be surprised with the new ones that suddenly appear. I have it set so I can see it from my spot where I sit at my computer. I may actually move it so that I don’t have to crank my neck to view it—but it would mean that the cats’ towel on the counter will need to be moved a bit to accommodate it. (The cats will survive). These are both GREAT and I highly recommend them. It amazes me how much I am *calmed* by seeing these pictures. All of them. I NEED these photos! For my mental health, for my happy health.
I’ve been a Retin-A user since I’ve been in my 30s. Every. Single. Day. No, not “Retinol.” I’m talking the full-on “Retin-A.” It was first my doctor that piqued my interest back when I was probably 35 or so (he felt I should be older than that to get the best effects, but he was highly impressed with it). “This is the holy grail in the fight against wrinkles! But you’re too young yet,” he said then. Around that time, my mom started buying cheap (but real) Retin-A in Mexico when they were down in Yuma, AZ where they spent winters. She picked me up some tubes and I got “hooked.” There were a couple of instances when we went down there to visit and we’d cross the border and I’d stock up. Here in the U.S., you need a prescription, and it’s like $45/tube. In Mexico, no Rx and it was about $3.00/tube. (Have I mentioned lately how much I HATE our medical/pharmaceutical system?) After Mom died, I confiscated a whole BUNCH of her Mexican Retin-A tubes and I was set for several years. Well, she died in 2006 and my supply is seriously depleting. Things have changed a lot about being able to easily go to Mexico (even our trips to San Diego to visit the kids were just not conducive based on the violence along the border, plus the fact that Navy personnel were forbidden to cross the border). I found some success at purchasing tubes online via Mexico for a while, and then all of a sudden my credit card was hacked. I don’t know exactly what I was thinking, but just recently I tried it again at a different Mexican site that seemed a lot more professional. They warned that it could take a good month to receive my order, even though it was considered “airmail.” Why I agreed to this I’m not sure, except I was kind of desperate. There was no easy way to get it! And yes, the prices had increased ($7/tube now, and for smaller tubes) and shipping was nuts, so I went the “airmail” route because it was considerably less. I did have doubts that I would ever receive my order. After a month had passed, I emailed the website to ask what the story was, and they replied with the supposed “airmail ID number” that I already had that hadn’t shown up anywhere as valid and the post office did not recognize the number as trackable. After five weeks, I requested a refund (also knowing that THAT would likely never happen).
And then. Yesterday. I received my order! I have to say, I was shocked! I was SO HAPPY!! And relieved!!
If you were to try/use Retin-A, whether through the cheaper (spooky) route, or via prescription, I guarantee you would be happy with the results. Unlike hair-growth scams or many supplements with sketchy promises, Retin-A works, and again I have to stress: Not “Retinol.” There are a lot of expensive products with Retinol, and it is NOT the same thing. You want Retin-A. I get the 0.05 strength. At first, my skin kind of burned after applying it, but that went away. You have to use a very small amount Every. Single. Day. Day after day. It’s part of your daily routine. I have found that it doesn’t work well underneath the eyes (which is a huge bummer, and they do make clear that you shouldn’t use it near your eyes), but at 65, I hardly have any crow’s feet, no wrinkles (except under my eyes), and even my forehead is line-free. I also think that my old doctor was wrong—that using it regularly since I was in my 30s was a good thing and likely prevented wrinkles. And it continues to keep them at bay.
I love seeing color again!
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
