Patriot Acts
It's been pretty dead all day aside from a few Meat Packer issues. I feel guilt about not doing much. Partially because I don't have my usual Friday motivation. I think because our weekend is totally shot between this wedding tomorrow, Mother's Day Sunday and the fact it's a bit cool and looking like rain outside again. Yesterday's rain I loved. Today's... I'm just kinda over it.
The Sparrow is off today and cleaning. The septic guy came and went. One of the "to-dos" finally getting done. We ran to lunch where I had two glasses of Dr. Pepper, which has left me feeling gross. I showed him the Boss's house and then we got back here and motivation levels just dropped. He's trying to keep cleaning. I've not tried to do any work.
I cleaned a bit of the back garage yesterday, though it is far from done. All the plants in there going outside are out now. I swept all the crap on the floor into a pile. I really want us to get the gym equipment moved into there. Even if it doesn't get used right away.
We were talking again about getting the office put together. Unfortunately, it all costs money and even though we just got the Sparrow's bi-monthly paycheck today more than half of it is gone to the extra mortgage payment. And knowing the rest needs to last us two weeks till his next check, I just feel like we can't go crazy spending. Not to mention the septic cleaning was $325. We aren't broke, but I always feel like we are. I want to hit the mortgage even harder, but there's just no money left. And with everything just costing more it has eaten away at the financial freedom we once had. Three years ago we were doing extra mortgage payments and buying whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, and there was always still money in the account. These days checking is almost empty by the end of the month.
Thanks Biden and liberals!
I thought about cutting the lawn, but it looks like rain. I thought of maybe going out and pulling weeds, in anticipation of mowing some other day. It's after 3:00 so technically I can stop worrying about work unless someone calls. Those two garden beds need to be put together. The back patio still hasn't been cleaned up for the summer. Any of a dozen things that could be done, but I'm just kinda blah. It's one of those days.
We have been trying to think of ideas for displaying our postcards, as they are currently in this like plate stand thing on a table in a stack. When we were at Ikea a few weeks ago we saw this pegboard thing I thought maybe could work for displaying them on a wall. I did some Googling this morning and had an idea for using some kind of metal panel, perhaps framed, the postcards could be clipped or stuck to with magnets. In fact, I thought back to my childhood and how our old patio door had those decorative aluminum panels on the to keep the dogs from ripping through the screens. Some of them, at least in the old days, had fun, retro designs. I thought maybe we could figure something out with one of those. We tend to be real slow walkers with DIY projects, but this one has some potential. And we have a blank wall where this thing could hang.
I just figure since we do tend to get a postcard at least every couple weeks from someone, it'd be fun to do. It seems our little postcard project is catching on a bit. We sent out our May ones at the beginning of the week, commemorating Liberace's birthday, and the Sicilian, Lezzo and the Doctor all texted about loving this month's selection. Lezzo said her mom and sister both love the idea. I dunno, it's just fun to see people really getting enjoyment out of it (unless they are just bullshitting me). We have our June one ordered already, as well as the Fourth of July cards. Though we still need to get a non-holiday July one to send. We've decided on months with holidays we are likely going to send two... one for whatever holiday and then some other random event.
I spent the week writing out all the postcards I decorated for Fourth of July for that senior card group I participate in. I had decorated most of them weeks ago and they've been sitting in a stack. I want to get them written up and sent off to the guy so he has time to address them all and get them out on time without being rushed. I was feeling quite patriotic writing them up, which got me listening to some John Philip Sousa and then eventually Neil Diamond's 'America'... which led to us watching 'The Jazz Singer' the other night.
My mom was obsessed with Neil Diamond and I had vague memories of the film as a kid. Specifically the part where he's wearing blackface. Overall the movie wasn't great. It was hard to cheer for the lead because he came across as grossly selfish, choosing his career over his wife and blatantly showing interest in the other female lead while still married. Then getting a divorce, they put on the wife character, which made it no less creepy for him to almost immediately hook up with the other woman. Then having a kid with her out of wedlock. All while dealing with his father and wrestling with the traditions and expectations of his Jewish heritage.
I don't think even in 1980 Hollywood any celebrity was looked upon that positively that an audience would cheer a self-absorbed singer abandoning everyone to be a rock star. I suppose my watching it with the "current year" lens only made him seem more despicable since modern celebrities are all narcissists, psychopaths and pedophiles.
The music was good, but the movie was a real dud.
Bringing it all back, I do love his song 'America' and it really chokes me up sometimes hearing it because, as bizarre a twist as it is in my life, I really do love this country... or at least the idea of it and the goals of those who founded it. Things have fallen from such ideals since, but I feel like the more I see liberals hate on and defame this country the more I see how lucky I am to have been born here. The more they hate our history, the more I look into it and find fascination with the events and the unique characters that have played their parts in it. Right now thinking about it all really makes me want to watch a Western.
Speaking of, I found this website that sells these apparently handmade retro and Western style button down shirts the other day and one of the Western ones with cats I ordered for the Sparrow for his birthday. They had a lot of cat ones, a whole series of "atomic" ones with spaceships and fifties imagery. They even had several Mardi Gras shirts. It got me thinking about wanting to buy some new clothes again. Spicing up my wardrobe with something other than plain T-shirts or shirts with pictures and phrases on them intended to piss off braindead liberals. And with the weight I've lost from all the healthier eating (sans the Dr. Pepper today) I am finally able to wear the belt and buckle I got when we were in Colorado. It made me wish I could tuck my shirts in comfortably on occasion instead of always dressing like a slob.
More of that feeling of wanting a change. I think subconsciously my birthday coming up is making me feel old again.
The Sparrow is off today and cleaning. The septic guy came and went. One of the "to-dos" finally getting done. We ran to lunch where I had two glasses of Dr. Pepper, which has left me feeling gross. I showed him the Boss's house and then we got back here and motivation levels just dropped. He's trying to keep cleaning. I've not tried to do any work.
I cleaned a bit of the back garage yesterday, though it is far from done. All the plants in there going outside are out now. I swept all the crap on the floor into a pile. I really want us to get the gym equipment moved into there. Even if it doesn't get used right away.
We were talking again about getting the office put together. Unfortunately, it all costs money and even though we just got the Sparrow's bi-monthly paycheck today more than half of it is gone to the extra mortgage payment. And knowing the rest needs to last us two weeks till his next check, I just feel like we can't go crazy spending. Not to mention the septic cleaning was $325. We aren't broke, but I always feel like we are. I want to hit the mortgage even harder, but there's just no money left. And with everything just costing more it has eaten away at the financial freedom we once had. Three years ago we were doing extra mortgage payments and buying whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, and there was always still money in the account. These days checking is almost empty by the end of the month.
Thanks Biden and liberals!
I thought about cutting the lawn, but it looks like rain. I thought of maybe going out and pulling weeds, in anticipation of mowing some other day. It's after 3:00 so technically I can stop worrying about work unless someone calls. Those two garden beds need to be put together. The back patio still hasn't been cleaned up for the summer. Any of a dozen things that could be done, but I'm just kinda blah. It's one of those days.
We have been trying to think of ideas for displaying our postcards, as they are currently in this like plate stand thing on a table in a stack. When we were at Ikea a few weeks ago we saw this pegboard thing I thought maybe could work for displaying them on a wall. I did some Googling this morning and had an idea for using some kind of metal panel, perhaps framed, the postcards could be clipped or stuck to with magnets. In fact, I thought back to my childhood and how our old patio door had those decorative aluminum panels on the to keep the dogs from ripping through the screens. Some of them, at least in the old days, had fun, retro designs. I thought maybe we could figure something out with one of those. We tend to be real slow walkers with DIY projects, but this one has some potential. And we have a blank wall where this thing could hang.
I just figure since we do tend to get a postcard at least every couple weeks from someone, it'd be fun to do. It seems our little postcard project is catching on a bit. We sent out our May ones at the beginning of the week, commemorating Liberace's birthday, and the Sicilian, Lezzo and the Doctor all texted about loving this month's selection. Lezzo said her mom and sister both love the idea. I dunno, it's just fun to see people really getting enjoyment out of it (unless they are just bullshitting me). We have our June one ordered already, as well as the Fourth of July cards. Though we still need to get a non-holiday July one to send. We've decided on months with holidays we are likely going to send two... one for whatever holiday and then some other random event.
I spent the week writing out all the postcards I decorated for Fourth of July for that senior card group I participate in. I had decorated most of them weeks ago and they've been sitting in a stack. I want to get them written up and sent off to the guy so he has time to address them all and get them out on time without being rushed. I was feeling quite patriotic writing them up, which got me listening to some John Philip Sousa and then eventually Neil Diamond's 'America'... which led to us watching 'The Jazz Singer' the other night.
My mom was obsessed with Neil Diamond and I had vague memories of the film as a kid. Specifically the part where he's wearing blackface. Overall the movie wasn't great. It was hard to cheer for the lead because he came across as grossly selfish, choosing his career over his wife and blatantly showing interest in the other female lead while still married. Then getting a divorce, they put on the wife character, which made it no less creepy for him to almost immediately hook up with the other woman. Then having a kid with her out of wedlock. All while dealing with his father and wrestling with the traditions and expectations of his Jewish heritage.
I don't think even in 1980 Hollywood any celebrity was looked upon that positively that an audience would cheer a self-absorbed singer abandoning everyone to be a rock star. I suppose my watching it with the "current year" lens only made him seem more despicable since modern celebrities are all narcissists, psychopaths and pedophiles.
The music was good, but the movie was a real dud.
Bringing it all back, I do love his song 'America' and it really chokes me up sometimes hearing it because, as bizarre a twist as it is in my life, I really do love this country... or at least the idea of it and the goals of those who founded it. Things have fallen from such ideals since, but I feel like the more I see liberals hate on and defame this country the more I see how lucky I am to have been born here. The more they hate our history, the more I look into it and find fascination with the events and the unique characters that have played their parts in it. Right now thinking about it all really makes me want to watch a Western.
Speaking of, I found this website that sells these apparently handmade retro and Western style button down shirts the other day and one of the Western ones with cats I ordered for the Sparrow for his birthday. They had a lot of cat ones, a whole series of "atomic" ones with spaceships and fifties imagery. They even had several Mardi Gras shirts. It got me thinking about wanting to buy some new clothes again. Spicing up my wardrobe with something other than plain T-shirts or shirts with pictures and phrases on them intended to piss off braindead liberals. And with the weight I've lost from all the healthier eating (sans the Dr. Pepper today) I am finally able to wear the belt and buckle I got when we were in Colorado. It made me wish I could tuck my shirts in comfortably on occasion instead of always dressing like a slob.
More of that feeling of wanting a change. I think subconsciously my birthday coming up is making me feel old again.