Is it me? my house? or what?

Wow. The minute I crossed the state line into Idaho my allergies attacked me.

I was--and this was a surprise to me--perfectly fine in Utah. Like a regular, normal person.

But now my eyes are itching again. And watering mercilessly. I'm sneezing, blowing my nose, clearing my throat. The whole bag.

But life must go on. At least, I hope so.

Maybe it's my trees.

Home again, home again, jiggety jog

I'm searching for another way, a better way, to say I'm tired. Better than I'm really tired.

Whatever. I am really tired.

Drove home today from Provo, worst part being Provo to Bountiful, longest part being the rest of the way home. I've filled up with gasoline and washed my car, done one load of laundry, and surveyed the water in my garage. Long story, involving my freezer out there and Lola and the GFI switch.

Haven't the energy or desire to clean up the garage, Lola having done the hardest part--cleaning out the freezer and chucking the spoiled everything.

Because. I haven't unpacked yet. Haven't even got all the stuff upstairs.

I need a little sympathy.

And some sleep.

I have an open mind, after all

It was my dad who taught me to like avocados. We had a small tree in our backyard. I suppose those are the avocados we ate.

Daddy put slices of avocado on toast and mashed them, then added pepper (more than I do), and that is how I preferred to eat them, just like Daddy. But then I watched my sister-in-law, Lynne (now deceased; Daddy always called her Lynnie) put mayonnaise on her avocado, so I tried that. I don't use as much mayo as she did, but a little is good.

I make the bread, and that is good, too. Homemade whole wheat bread, toasted, fresh avocado with a little pepper and mayonnaise--pretty darn tasty.

And now let's talk about bacon.
After I wrote a post complaining about how thin bacon is sliced these days, my friend Joan called to save me. Really. She said I should use precooked bacon, available at Costco.

I silently turned up my nose at the idea. But then I thought, "Why not?" And I have been using it and happily. It's good, easy, and quick. What's not to like?

Now. If I could only buy a decent tomato.

Some various

Amazon local has an offer today for house cleaning.

$39 for two or three hours of house cleaning.

I do not understand the offer.

*     *     *

They're working on the streets near my house. Long waits and tie-ups. Funny how we feel about such things. Clearly, the streets needed repair and repaving, but do they have to do it right now?

*     *     *

Just home from my good friend's funeral. All her children there, of course, and all looking happy. I don't mean happy today in particular. Just happy with life. Glad their mom was "not perfect, but the perfect mom for them." I know she's proud of them.

Andrew and Lola went, too. Andrew on his own, Lola with me. They had good reunions with their Lynn friends. I liked to see it.

Those were the good old machines.

I want my old washer back, except that it was leaking ugly thick grease.

But my new washer is designed to keep me out of it. Keep me from lifting the lid and repositioning the load when it gets off balance and won't spin right.

It's out there now making a lot of noise as the tub bangs against the drum. (Are those the correct terms?) And it won't complete the spin cycle.

Please don't tell me things to try. I've tried them.

Well, yesterday

I bought a new TV so I'll have one downstairs and can watch conference without having to be in my bedroom.

The new TV is in the kitchen on that little movable shelf/cart by the window. But it doesn't move anymore because I took off the wheels.

Samsung, 32" and just about the right size for that spot. I also bought an indoor antenna, because I don't have cable or anything like it. I know. That's weird these days--no cable or dish or direct tv. Kind of like me refusing to be on Facebook.

So there. That's done.

Apparently some April Fool's jokes aren't funny

One April Fool's Day I played a joke on Joyce, my good friend. We lived in Caldwell, on Canyon Hill, a respectable neighborhood, kept our freezer in the garage and kept lots of Joyce's family's food there along with ours. Like our beef, freezer jams; their pork or lamb. And so on. We almost always left the garage door open.

That particular April 1st I called Joyce and told her someone had come in and stolen everything from the freezer. Everything. Joyce was doubtful. She knew what day it was. But I said, "No. Really," Then I said I guessed it was only the food they were after because they left the tricycle belonging to my daughter. A convincing detail and a nice touch, I thought. 

Joyce was shaken. It was a lot of food, really a lot (big freezer) and represented money and work she and her husband had expended. I told her I was so sorry and every bit as shaken. Our slaughtered steer. And so on. We both had big families.

I have no recollection of how long I carried on the "joke."  Not too long. I'm not mean, you know. So eventually, and we're talking minutes here, I said, "April Fool." She was relieved but not terribly happy with me.

Several months later, someone did break in and steal our food. By then Joyce and Ferris had bought their own freezer and kept their food on their own property. When I told her about the real theft, she said it served me right.