Signs of Spring

Here are some signs of Spring that I have seen:
- brilliant sunsets
- cars on the corner FOR SALE
- people renovating their homes
- robins
- birds making a lot of noise on top of my air conditioners
- me no longer wearing a coat

My dream of you (book), by Nuala O'Faolain. Don't know where I picked this book up. It was a so-so fiction tale of a travel writer who goes to a town to do historical research about things that happened around the time of the potato famine in Ireland.
A woman of the higher classes was vilified for having an affair with a tradesman....true or not?

I am an obsessive list maker. One of my lists is called "Computers to avoid at the Vineland Public Library". I just added THIS computer, number 9. I hate it when those little thingys are broken off, the thingys that hold the keyboard up at an angle. Invariably, ONE of them is broken, rendering the other one useless. Problem number 2 is that the keys are worn away and you have to type from your memory of what the keys are. Also, I hate the mouse. It is a Dell and very "reluctant". The screen is tiny but that does not really bug me so very much.

Where does the time go?

OK, so I was LATE getting to the library. I wanted to get my TWO hours on the computer (the bare daily minimum a person needs, in my book). I was puttering around the house this morning and called my cousin. We only see each other every 5 or ten years and don't communicate all that much, but I love her. She caught me up on most of the family down there in Cajun country and said she would be at Disneyworld during Mardi Gras. That was OK by me since my February is totally overbooked already.

I can't believe the head of the reference department just reprimanded me for having my wet ones next to the computer. She thought it was a beverage and then thought it looked too much LIKE a beverage and asked me to put it away. Yes, I do sometimes expect special privileges since I used to be a librarian. Strange that I get more special privileges at libraries I DIDN'T work at.

The chocolate castle clue (book): a chocoholic mystery, by JoAnna Carl(MYS Carl JoAnna at the Vineland Public Library). I picked this up at a "Cozy mystery" display. That is the kind of mystery I like but I didn't like this one so much. Silly with stupid characters and too many of them. There was the culinary theme, which I sometimes like. I ended up skimming this light-weight book.

Murder at a Vineyard mansion (audiobook), by Philip R. Craig (AUD CD MYS Craig Philip at the Vineland Public Library). This was a find, probably because it was read by Tom Stechschulte. I must get more books narrated by him. A main character, J. W. Jackson, used to work for the police solves crimes within the limited purview of Martha's Vineyard. I have been there and enjoyed hearing about the local landmarks. He has a nice relationship with his wife. So I am also interested in reading more in this series. I guessed who the murderer was.

Martin Luther King day

Trying to figure out whether trash is being collected on a regular schedule today. Could not determine this from the website of the city. I was going to volunteer for the code blue program as my volunteer activity for the day, but they are not having it (though I think it is going to just about cold enough). Perhaps I will pick up some trash? And I did help the lady next to me on the computer. I showed her how to make her viewable screen bigger. We are encouraged to have a "day of service" on MLK's b-day. Could go to see Selma, but saving it for a friend who is out of town this week.

Don't even think about it (audiobook), Sarah Mlynowski. An interesting premise. A home room gets the flu shot and it causes them to be able to hear thoughts. This causes a variety of happenings, some good and some awful. Then, their eyes start turning purple. Quite a few relationships come and go due to this ability. Then they are offered an antidote and have to decide if they want it. This is a young adult title that I borrowed from the Vineland Public Library.

Have to go to lunch now, which is good, cause hunger is making me shaky!

A fucking bitch?

That's what I was called today by a woman at the nail salon. I asked her if she had headphones to use with her phone cause the video she was watching was annoying. She had been on the phone the entire time she was getting a pedicure so I already thought she was rude. When she left she started off with "Have a nice day" and soon progressed to calling me "a fucking bitch". It seems that the video she was watching was of her nephew who had died yesterday. That didn't stop her from getting her nails done. I should have known I was in trouble when she called someone from the dryer station and asked if the person hadn't received her text. Then she said over the phone, "I'm not going over there, cause if I open my mouth, I'm gonna punch her in the fucking face". Such a high class of person we have in Vineland, New Jersey. How can I escape? I should have just ignored her or put in ear plugs.
It just occurred to me that she was probably talking about ME!

Discovered a new author, about whom I am wildly enthusiastic. Unfortunately, none of my local libraries have any of his works, other than this audio book, Let me be Frank with you, by Richard Ford. It is the fictional meanderings in the mind of Frank Bascombe, age 68, living in New Jersey. These stories almost sound like a novel which takes place the Christmas after Hurricane Sandy. I enjoyed his cynicism and social satire. I am going to have to work to find his 3 or 4 previous novels.

Noisy people in the library. Trying to keep my mouth shut, although I feel like giving them a librarian-like shusshing. Also trying to block them out with my Youtube. Finally discovered that Youtube problems can be overcome by using CHROME to get on the Internet. Crafty little devils, aren't they? (Google) Shall I make a separate French and Spanish list on Google? Then I could more easily share with lovers of the language.

Advice from the cleaning lady

We were discussing how hard it is to walk up and down the steps and she mentioned a home remedy that has helped some friends of hers. Take one quarter teaspoon of borax in a glass of water and it makes your joint pain go away. I looked at her a bit quizzically and thought to myself, "Isn't that what I have at home to kill ants?" So, I looked it up on the Internet and yes, borax has MANY uses, just like coconut oil and apple cider vinegar.

Finished an interesting book on the Nook, Catherine the Great, by Robert K. Massie. She was quite a gal, with many lovers and children all fathered by different lovers and not by her husband. Got it from the Overdrive system, through the Vineland Public Library.

Was going to address "the law of unintended consequences" but now have forgotten the issue!

Slowly but surely

I am making a bit of progress on cleaning up the house and getting rid of stuff. My philosophy is, if it fell on the floor and got bent or dirty, out it goes. I am sure I cut it out or saved it for some good reason, but I know I can't deal with everything in that category.

Read a book called Pillow talk (book) on the Nook. It might have been a "free Friday" book, by Freya North. A woman is a jewelry designer in London. She runs into a man that she had a brief infatuation for many years ago when he was a guitarist in a rock band. He is now a teacher in an exclusive boys school sort of far from London. After a chance encounter, they get back together. There is also a theme of sleep walking and not very good parents. Her main influence was a woman she was visiting for a service project. They became very close and the woman left her a beautiful stone which she finally uses to make a fabulous bracelet which starts her career on its way.

Feel like I have no life except through literature and film. Cried over the last in the series of Call the midwife last night. Today was all caught up in a new audio book called Two boys kissing that I heard about when I witnessed two guys getting married recently. The minister who married them quoted something from this book and I just happened to see it at the Vineland Public library so I got it.

So ready for shavasana

That is the time in yoga at the end when we relax. I am SO happy when we get to it. Am in the mood for it RIGHT NOW!

Picture, with Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow, is one of my favorite songs and I am listening to it on Youtube right now. Funny, though, when my Mexican neighbors were playing it the other night, I couldn't even enjoy it. Something about the fact that they are just plain DOMINATING the entire neighborhood with their loud parties gets me all bent out of shape. I first heard the loud music as I was leaving my house at 3 PM. Got home at 9 PM and it was still going on. So, I called the police. Enough, already! So inconsiderate.

The opposite of loneliness : essays and stories, by Marina Keegan. Poignant stuff by a young woman. full of promise, who was killed in a car crash a few days after she graduated from Yale in 2012. Questions, musings, hopefulness, all made more intense by knowing what happened to her and her plans. Borrowed it from the Vineland Public Library (818.609 Kee).

Bollywood dance class

Went to a one hour class on Bollywood dancing at the Vineland Public Library. The teacher was in casual clothes and taught us the steps slowly. I had the usual problems of remembering all of the moves and doing some of them. I am not too good at jumping and doing things fast. The class seemed lost on the really young and the really old. The teacher kept giving us positive reinforcement ("Good job!") even though she wasn't really watching us. Some little girls were acting crazy (what did THEY have to eat?) and I couldn't keep myself from speaking to them..."Girls...we are TRYING to concentrate here". The teacher thanked me, but the mother was oblivious to their distracting behavior. One little plump boy tumbled to the ground, more than once. His explanation was, "I am not used to standing on my tip toes."

Don't know much about mythology : everything you need to know about the greatest stories in human history but never learned (book), by Kenneth C. Davis: This was a fascinating book. In the end, too many gods for me to remember, but interesting to see the similarities between various myths and religions. I was interested also to learn things that might come in handy while doing crossword puzzles. And there were some good quotes.

People around me are trashing Ancestry.com. Woman can't find name of her family in the newspaper database...she has found the names using newsbank which is supposed to be linked to Ancestry. Very frustrating interaction with customer support. She thought the woman was an idiot. My experience with Ancestry was to find my grandmother linked to the wrong parents! They even included a photograph of her gravestone, which I have visited. THAT is scary!

People watching

Otherwise known as....sitting on a bench and being judgmental. OK, my exercise teacher heard that on the radio but it is oh so true. Especially when you are down at the boardwalk, as I was a few days ago. I drew a picture of a woman I saw, but it was too complimentary. For two days now I have drawn a picture. Today, what? I wanted to draw an Amish person but I'd have to do it from memory or with them scurrying by. Had a not-very-satisfying breakfast at the Amish Market in Vineland. Frankly, I think they lost a lot of the "counter character" by moving upstairs. And my favorite waitress was not there.

Weather is disgusting out. Extremely windy and cold. At least it is sunny but you wouldn't want to spend any time out there.

Hanging out where I used to work. Can overhear them dealing with one of the many relabeling, totally redoing projects we used to do interminably. I guess it fills up the time and keeps you guessing. One thing about working, it gives you daily access to some "friends". Don't have that now. That is why I am always OUT and ABOUT. Feeling a bit self-righteous as have already completed my exercise and my Internet chores and it is only noon. The rest of the day is FREE (?). Signed up for a class tonight for which I have to drive 1/2 hour. Think I can handle it. Am LOVING this light longer stuff with the time change! Taking a class on making a memory box. Casting about for my artistic (or not) bent. Here is what I like the idea of....photography, beach glass jewelry, pottery, drawing, pastels, collage.

Can I sit next to you when I come back so I can listen to your music?

Overheard from a patron at the computers at the Vineland Public library. Of course, he wasn't saying that to ME. Guess I do not know the secrets of meeting men.

New book about assassination of JFK. Kind of shocked to read that over 40,000 books have been written on this topic? How is that even possible? I must say the details do sound MIGHTY suspicious.

Amusing comment from some guy about the new curved phones...."a solution looking for a problem". Why didn't I think of that? Still procrastinating about getting a new phone. A friend just switched to Sprint and got a new LG phone. She also got a FREE tablet!
I wouldn't mind having one of those. I was so looking forward to becoming eligible for an upgrade (it has been a YEAR now) and ending my servitude to Sprint (it has been 10 months now). Yet, here I sit, having NOT taken any action on the subject. I liked the comment I read in the Sunday New York times that marriage should be like cell phones, with a two year contract and an option to upgrade!

Listening to one of my favorite L'il Wayne songs on Youtube. Oh yeah, No love involves Eminem, too.

I miss bumper stickers

I saw two good bumper stickers today. There were quite a few on this car and you don't see THAT any more either! 

- "I listened to NPR before it was cool".
- "Are you hearing voices of crazy people?  Turn off FOX news".

Holiday weekend approaches.  I don't like holidays.  Nothing is ever happening due to the holiday.  I never have any plans.  I emailed my sisters and none of them have any plans either.

Torrential rains yesterday.  Ceiling leaking again.  I guess a leaking ceiling never gets any better, only worse.  (One can always HOPE, can't one?)  So here are my main problems today...

- a leaking ceiling (roof)
- a dead bat somewhere in my house
- a barking pit bull next door
- cell phone battery is inexplicably dying and I need to make some phone calls
- rash on my leg is starting to itch again

Other than that, life is just hunky dory.  I will try and think of some GOOD things now...

- the competition at the health club is almost over so I can stop feeling inadequate
- I am starting to walk better due to losing weight
- everybody is very well behaved over here at the Vineland Public Library
- I rebooted my laptop and overcame the nonfunctioning
- Serena Williams is one hunk of a woman (I just perused Tennis magazine)

Getting behinder

. 

Books by the bed at home - eleven.  Have taken to reading every time I wake up in the night.
Also binged on cereal and fruit last night.  I shouldn't really have cereal in the house, especially the kind I like to buy even though I know I shouldn't.  I buy one healthy cereal and one "fun" (sugary) cereal.  Have "neighbor anxiety" which makes it difficult to sleep.

Yelled at the neighbor kids again yesterday.  The barking dog threw me over the edge and I rushed out in a frenzy of discontent.  Would I have the nerve to do something so rude and aggressive if they weren't defenseless foreigners?  They actually went and told their mother (who we NEVER see) and came over and rang my doorbell.  So I went out and next door and halfway up the steps and talked to A.  She feels we are harassing her by calling the authorities to come and investigate dog situation (I am not the only one who is calling).  I feel she has no concept of being a good neighbor.  When it came down to it, she says she is allowed to have a dog and dogs bark.  P., the pitbull,  barks many times a day and not in a nice way.  She also tears stuff up and spreads it all over their yard and mine and deposits unmentionables on my property.  I gathered up such and placed it on their porch.  I really should be nicer to the kids and may wait a week before taking further action.  I really want them to leave.  Also, a couple of guys were seen arriving with suitcases yesterday.

I did finish two books yesterday.

Book review: The complete potter, by Steve Mattison.  A good overview of making pots.  Each page includes one or two topics/methods with beautiful photos of procedures and finished pieces, giving credit to the potter and explanations of the pieces.  This book is available at the Vineland Public Library (738 Mat)

Book review:  The sweet life in Paris, by David Lebovitz. Started reading this BEFORE I went to Paris in May and was determined to finish it.  According to David, only 20% of Americans have passports and we are used to foreigners on our turf and not so good at dealing with them when they are on their own turf.  "The unspoken rule if you plan to live here - but equally good to adopt even if you're just coming for a visit - is knowing that you're going to be judged on how you look and how you present yourself.  Yes, even if you're just dumping your garbage."  I guess I should have mentioned that David is a chef from New York who moved to Paris.  The book includes several great recipes such as floating island (made by Julia Child and my grandmother) and Gateau Breton (made only one day a week at a bakery near the Pont Neuf where I lived after college).  I didn't copy the recipe for Ile flotant on page 28 because it looks really complicated and takes up three pages and I don't cook.  When people ask him how long it took him to become fluent in French, he points out that even the FRENCH are not fluent in French.  "One of the first words I learned in French class was raleur, which means 'someone who complains'.  Maybe it's la grisaille, the dull, gray skies that hang over Paris, causing la morosite ambiente, the all-encompassing gloom that blankets the city at times."
I learned a lot of good words in this books, like that there is a name for the prized crusty end of a baguette.  It is called le quignon.  This is a valuable introduction to life in Paris and equally fun after you have been there.  I borrowed this book from a friend.

 

 

Dancers wanted

One of the many changes I noticed yesterday as I was driving down Delsea Drive was that one of the "jinxed" properties is reopening as Double D Gentleman's club and they want dancers.  I know a few jobs available and I know a few people looking but they do not match.  I am sure there will be lots of "gentlemen" in there.

Running out of options to avoid the heat. Went to the pool for an exercise  class (aqua aerobics) and came to the library.  Didn't use the computers at the pool because there is an older man who monopolizes them and I don't want to be near him.  Ever since the day when he knew I was waiting for the computer and he paused during his FACEBOOK session to watch some TV, just like someone who didn't have a care in the world.  So, just my luck, that SAME MAN is getting a card at the Millville Public Library and sat down right across from me.  Running out of time, anyway and you have to BEG for more time.  The librarian only gave me 1/2 hour.  Can't wait to get home where there is only ME, MYSELF and I.  Too hot to go out shopping for a dehumidifier which I desparately need.  Also my back is "out" and I cannot carry a heavy piece of equipment.  My purse is even more than I can carry.

What to do when the weather forecast is 95-100 degrees for the next four days?  I DETEST such weather.

Forgotten

 

This is the best I can do copying the photo that I took this morning on my Sprint LG Rumor phone.  I stopped to take another photo and spotted this mailbox full of old moldy mail.  Sad....

Seems like the past few days I have spent TWO hours a day doing errands.  Every day I am buying gas.  Today I went to my arthritis exercise class at 8 AM, went to the bank, then had to drive ALL THE WAY across Vineland to get to the Grapevine office so I could get "hard" copies of the paper where an article about my commune in the seventies is starting to run, then got the gas (good price of $3.27), then took pictures and on to Bridgeton to pick up my emergency supply of Ambien.  Found out that you can PAY for drugs any time you want.  It is just the INSURANCE that says you can't have it yet.

Photo series I would like to make...mailboxes,  laundry, trees.  I really need to get a new camera.  My phone is unsatisfactory.  Everything is too far away and dark.  I could try my old SLR and see if they still make FILM.

Distracted driver

Yup, that's me.  Here are some of the things I do in the car...
- Rummage for hand wipes
- Apply lip gloss
- Remove and replace audio books on CD
- Answer the phone or listen to my voice mail
- Look for napkins or kleenex buried somewhere near the passenger seat
- Get out paper and pen and write a list
- Try to get poorly functioning pen to function

Had to stop for a strawberry shortcake today.  Totally wicked, but by the time I get back in town, strawberries may be DONE!?

Book review: Fodor's Paris 2011.  OK, I KNOW it is 2013, but this is the most up-to-date one in the local libraries.  I borrowed this one from the Vineland Public Library (914.4 Fod). I DID learn quite a bit from it and took five pages of notes.  I think my mother told me to never take a library book on vacation in case you should lose it.  I skipped over a lot of stuff on restaurants and shopping.  I can't afford to shop HERE, so why should I do it in France?  And how much effort do I want to go to to get to a restaurant I can't afford?  I think I am more into the if-I-happen-to-run-into-it sort of voyager.  Many helpful things in this book, like the best days to do this or that and that French people are going to be giving me the once over and that they don't like LOUD Americans. Neither do I!  And info on telephone and the necessity of a lot of polite banter when coming and going.  Book includes a large map.  I am going to miss it, but I might buy a more up-to-date book or perhaps even a DIFFERENT book.

What the hell version is this?

I swear these songs change on Playlist.com.  Now I seem to be listening to a version of Halo on which Beyonce cannot even be heard!  I am deleting it right now.



Didn't really understand the name of my new nail polish for this week, My boyfriend scales walls.  So I couldn't even explain it to my Vietnamese nail technician. I looked it up and it is from the Spiderman collection.  This wasn't really what I had in mind for Paris.  The Guidebook recommended just clear polish but that is too extremely plain for me.  They said that French women don't get French manicures.  Neither do I!  I was really looking for a very pale barely white. 

Just registered for the Cancer prevention study 3.  While I was filling out all of the forms was feeling bad cause my memory is so bad and I had to confess that I actually eat very few fruits and vegetables and that I spend an inordinate amound of time SITTING...reading, at the computer and driving my car.  It was all so depressing that I had to come over to use the Internet and listen to music.  Was not really in the mood for exercising.  Especially because it is so HOT and humid today.

Am all stressed out due to upcoming trip(s).  So many undone things.  I haven't finished even ONE of the four books I was supposed to read before hand.  And I realize I am RUNNING OUT OF TIME, to find things, buy things, prepare things,etc.

Audiobook review: Pimsleur basic French.  Finished listening to these 5 CDs in the car.  It was instructional and amusing.  The conversations were silly and dumb with a great emphasis on eating, drinking and shopping.  I did find them helpful for getting the feel for the language, and even though I am fluent in French, I couldn't always get it right.  The pronunciation is the hardest part.  There was a lot of repetition (sometimes TOO much).  I borrowed these from the Vineland Public Library (448.342 Bas) because it was all CDs and no books, easier for me in the car.  Had a great time laughing about the conversations with a friend on a long drive.

Suddenly humid

Wow, it is going to be over 80 degrees today.  Having a hot flash just thinking about it.  That is getting a bit over my limit of comfort.

I only watch a few minutes of TV each day.  Happened to catch Matt Lauer at the top of One world trade center at the moment the top spire was raised, lowered and attached.  1776 feet tall - is that a historical date or how many people died on 9/11?  We now have the tallest strictly office building in the western hemisphere.  Ain't America great!?!?  Other interesting facts were that it takes the workers 40 minutes just to get to the top to do their jobs each day!  And that the first businesses will get their keys in 2014.  I happen to be going to New York next Saturday.  Must add this to the list of things to do (it is short, so far).  Feel kind of bad that I haven't visited the site at all in ten years.

Book review: Winter journal, by Paul Auster.  I didn't/don't even know who Paul Auster is, but according to a Henry Holt & Co. ad I saw in the New Yorker, he is "one of the great writers of our time".  I did enjoy this memoir...which detailed all the places he has lived (in order) and traveled and the decline and death of his mother.  Also there is a New Jersey connection, which I always like to know about.  And he wrote this when he was 64, about the same age as I am.  I liked the first paragraph - "You think it will never happen to you, that it cannot happen to you, that you are the only person in the world to whom none of these things will ever happen, and then, one by one, they all begin to happen to you, in the same way they happen to everyone else."  I recommend this book.  You can borrow the large type edition from the Millville Public Library (LT 92 AUS).

Book review: Peaches for Father Francis, by Joanne Harris.  In which the characters from a previous book called Chocolat come back to Lansquenet, a small village in France.  There is an interesting addition of an Islamic theme and the push and pull between the cultures.  There is a bit of a mystery about who caused a fire and who is the covered up woman and why has she come to town.    Our heroine, Vianne, returns to the small town to straighten out some things. She gets very involved and has trouble getting back to her life in Paris.   I borrowed this book from the Vineland Public Library (FIC Harris Joanne)

Three book reviews

The art of living single, by Michael Broder: I picked this up at a used book sale.  Even though it was published in 1988 and written by a man, I found it helpful.  It offers a positive take on deciding how you want to live.  How to meet people if that is what you want to do or how to live on your own instead.  I think I will redonate this book back to the library.

Everyday paleo, by Sarah Fragoso. Borrowed from the Vineland Public Library (613.282 Fra). I looked at all the recipes which are nicely illustrated with large photos.  The author provides exercises for individuals, couples and parent and child.  I don't think I am going to follow this cave man diet. It seems that you just eat meat, vegetables and fruits.   The shopping list for one week included a list of 81 ingredients!  I have no food in the house and have more demands for my cash other than grocery shopping.

Brain on fire : my month of madness, by Susannah Cahalan. Borrowed from the Vineland Public Library (616.832 Cah).  The author deteriorated into a person with strange and inexplicable symptoms, such as facial twitching,  drooling, and paranoia.  Finally one doctor diagnosed her rare autoimmune disease, possibly anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis, and administered appropriate treatment.  She makes the point that possibly others now and in history have suffered from this disease and been misdiagnosed and thought to be crazy or possessed by demons.

The fish McBites diet

By the time I got around to writing about The fish McBites diet, McDonald's has done away with them!  I know that they weren't really good for me (fried and with tartar sauce) but the snack size fitted  (fat?) my budget and my calorie limits (almost).  I did read an article about how they weren't such a great success, but boy did they come and go fast.  I called it a meal.  So when they gave me the bad news (I had to drive to the first window to get it) I just ordered my "fall back"  food, a cheeseburger and small fries.  Combined with the Tastykakes (chocolate peanut butter patties) and the cereal for a bedtime snack, it wasn't such a great diet day yesterday.  But somehow the scale was down this morning.

Shall I change this blog since it is now PRIVATE?  Could be just ideas for future writing projects, if I ever get around to that.  Perhaps I will feel less pressure to write as often?  (It IS very time-consuming and for what?)  Now it can be my personal, private diary/journal.  Other ideas for blogs:
- a real fake identity with a name and all
- less mentioning of places and people?
- a better focus - reviews?
I think the problem is that I don't want to be read and critized.  It only took one criticism for me to take my blog private.  And I never really got compliments. (or readers, for that matter).  I think I have the blog idea backwards.  Most people write it so that their FRIENDS can see what they are up to.  I wish my friends would NOT see what I am up to.  I don't mind if STRANGERS know.

Here at the Vineland Public Library.  I am HOT (the prespiring kind of hot).  But it is nice to be retired and know that at any moment I can go outside and admire the flowers.   
PROS :
- can get two hours on computer (although today it is too crowded)
- chairs are comfortable with padding and good back support
- mice are nice
- only 15 cents a page to print
CONS:
- screens are small
- playlist.com will not work
- room to spread out can be limited
- have to wait one hour in between sessions if it is crowded (actually, that has never happened to me)
- sitting here with previous patrons

And that's why we sent you to private school all them years

Said a mother to her son.  Overheard at the counter at the Vineland Amish market this morning.  She was criticizing the public school system of Vineland New Jersey.  (He didn't look like he turned out all that great).

I am having a relaxing day, killing time in Vineland.  Made it to my 8 AM Exercise for arthritis class (my goal is to get to one of the two weekly classes).  Then I head for the baked oatmeal breakfast at the Amish market.  Oatmeal started off as a diet food.  By the time I get done with it it is NOT a diet food.  I load it up with bananas, raisins, hot milk, and brown sugar.  And I have a sneaking suspicion that "baked" oatmeal already has eggs, flour and sugar already added to it.  Then I stopped by to make a hair appointment.  Next I went to my previous place of employment and visited a few people.  Now I am using the computer at the Vineland Public Library.  Already had to ask my neighbor to stop cursing at the computer.  Those old librarian habits die hard!

It is such a struggle trying to lose weight.  Unwanted (unnecessary) pounds are part of my excess STUFF. Maybe if I eat sensibly and exercise EVERY day for a VERY long time, I could lose some weight?  I was rather pleased today, though, when I had my body fat percentage checked.  Maybe there was an equipment malfunction but, according to the stats, my body fat declined from somewhere in the 40's in January to somewhere in the 20's in April.  (Strangely enough, they measure this in the middle of the top part of your arm instead of pinching your midriff). I guess it was in January when my self improvement campaign started.  When my "home away from home" became the Fitness Connection instead of my CAR.  Possible diet plans:
- Eat one meal a day and have 100 calorie snacks at intervals the rest of the day?
- Behave myself all the time and only have one "treat" after the weight goes down five pounds?
- Paleo diet?
- Gluten-free diet?
- Spend an entire day at the Fitness Connection?
- Curb the nightime eating? (I may have to wean myself off of the Ambien to accomplish this)