Don't let's go to the dogs tonight

Returning some library books today. I really need something new to read. Got too much nonfiction going. That is more difficult to deal with.

I read The confession, by Beverly Lewis. It is book number two in a series called The heritage of Lancaster County. Kind of schmalzy. I think Lewis was in the forefront of the Amish romance craze. or "bonnet books" as I used to call them when I worked in a library. All of them have a picture of an Amish girl on the cover wearing a lace cap. Actually, this one doesn't, but... I read the book cause a friend of mine has something to do with The confession, a musical put on in Bird in Hand, PA. So this is a story of a girl who finds out in the first book that she has really been adopted and she is not really Amish. She feels different and just can't bring herself to marry the bishop so in the first book, she gets shunned. The second book involves her search for her birth mother and a case of mistaken identity.
Her birth mother (rich) is searching for her, but others are trying to keep them apart for their own nefarious gains.

Don't let's go the the dogs tonight : an African childhood, by Alexander Fuller, is a coming of age story that is quite unusual. I listened to the audiobook and was intriqued (and sometimes put off) by the variety of unpleasant things she had to put up with. A mother who was often drunk or crazy, dust, heat, sweat and cigarette ash falling into her food, rats, snakes, civil wars, terrorists, and on and on. Glad it was HER and not me. She seemed to love it, though. She lived in many different African countries with her family farming tobacco, raising cattle, etc.

I was just feeling good about my day but then found myself rushing, trying to visit a friend, put in an appearance at a funeral and then get to an appointment in another town. My day plummeted between the funeral in Woodstown and the appointment in Vineland. I rushed through the receiving line, traffic was slow, I took a wrong turn, I underestimated how long it would take, there was construction, a light refused to turn green, my hives were itching. I was highly stressed by the time I got to Vineland. In spite of all of that, the weather today is beautiful and seasonably or unseasonably warm.

1-800-GOT-JUNK?

You bet I do. Saw this roadside sign just as I was pondering the plethora of signs by the road and the fact that they always arrive, but they never leave. I think someone should take responsibility for removing the signs for craft fairs that happened over a month ago and candidates who tried unsuccesfully to unseat longserving politicians. Even Hurricane Sandy didn't seem to make a dent in them. I think I saw an art project at earth911.com for re-using these roadside signs.

Gas prices going DOWN in Vineland and going up in Bridgeton. What is with that? Nothing gives me more of a thrill than finding the cheapest gas price in the neighborhood.

Still have hives. Antihistamines did nothing, anti-fungal pills did nothing. I consulted my alternate health book which I keep at home for those diseases in the middle of the night and NO INTERNET occasions. It said if you still have hives after 6 WEEKS go see the doctor. I went after 24 hours cause I am a bit of a hypochondriac. I don't know why, I just love going to see my doctor. She says don't come back for three months, but I am always looking for a reason to come back sooner. Actually. hives are pretty unpleasant. Now I have a REASON for that creepy crawly feeling, I just don't know what it is. I want to scratch but I am trying not to.

You've got non-compliant written all over you

What the Physician's assistant told me today. Having some skin problems and was attempting to treat myself with over-the-counter medications, but it wasn't working.
She told me I wasted my $27.00 I spent last night at Walgreens. Realize I have not been careful about spreading germs around on my own body and also I know that my diet is awful. Days go by and I do not eat a fruit or a vegetable. So now I got a bunch more medicines prescribed and was told unpleasant things such as take only brief COLD showers with no soap and don't scratch the itch. Are you trying to torture me, or what? I am already freezing with this weather.

"The election was not a murder....it was an auto NON-erotic asphyxiation". So said John Stewart the night of the election. I thought the comment oh so clever but then I repeated it to someone who had no idea what auto-erotic asphyxiation even was. I think he is very funny. Stephen Colbert I do not get. I keep thinking, whose side is he on? No ones, I guess.

I have been spending so many nights at home that my battery ran out on my Nook. Yes, I do lead quite the exciting life. I have a basic disconnect between not wanting to be home all evening and not wanting to be out driving around in the dark.

I think I felt some endorphins

Just went to exercise, second time this week. The Arthritis Foundation exercise program is done mostly sitting down. I love the teacher. We do a little bit of Tai Chi too. I am a paying member of this health club, but have only been twice this year. Let's see...at $26.66 per month, that is $319.92 per year and $159.96 per visit. I have been meaning to get back to exercising for several years now. I was afraid if I stopped paying, I wouldn't get back in with the deal. (One of the many things I do which don't make much sense!) But I like the feeling that, anytime I want to, I can walk right in.

Now I am visiting The Megabyte cafe, a newish business in Millville, New Jersey. The cafe is at 110 N. High St. in Millville. Killing time til the library opens and I can make a couple of printouts. Due to budget cuts, most of the libraries don't open until 10 AM now and they close at 8 PM. Have a nice table by the window, having my morning coffee, using the wireless with my laptop, and enjoying a delicious English muffin, heavily buttered, with strawberry jelly on top. Life is good. We didn't get too much snow down here...just enough to make an attractive dusting.

Ran across Rachel Maddow on TV last night. Boy she is great! She is a political columnist on CNBC. Her show is called TRMS, I guess? She showed a chart with pictures of all the nine white men who made rude comments about rape and abortion and pointed out that they ALL lost. It is so easy for liberals to "gloat" right now, but she gave it a very humorous skewering. I only watch TV going around the dial, I never hardly ever watch anything on purpose. If it is on and I am home I may watch it. OK, I take it back, I do watch 60 minutes on purpose.

Some good news for a change

Pretty happy about the election results. One Democrat I voted for did not get in, but it is next to impossible to overcome Frank LoBiondo. I console myself with the memory that my FATHER liked to vote for him (a Republican) even though my father was an Independent with liberal leanings. And my father has been dead for 10 years, just to give you an idea about how long this guy has been our Congressman. It is just a good feeling when your family and large groups of your friends are on the same page politically. Happily, two Democrats got voted in to the local freeholder board. I think that means that two Republicans are off snd we are back to a Democratic majority. Believe me, it really does make a difference!

But that is the only good news. The weather is horrible, cold, raining, forecast of SNOW and excessive wind gusts. They are calling it a Nor'easter. My choir practice has already been cancelled and that was my big event for the day. Acquaintances have tales of ripping out and rebuilding their seashore homes, some can't even GET to their homes yet. Sad story of a man who died two weeks after his son died. Perhaps of a broken heart, who knows? It is hard enough to lose ONE member of your family, but two is really scary. This cold and dreary winter weather has me missing work or feeling like I do not have enough to do. At least work distracted me from the hideous weather.
It is going to be a LONG winter and I HATE it already.

Things I love:
- Someone asked me to be a volunteer yesterday
- Went shopping and discovered that Peebles has a club where you get 20% off every Tuesday if you are over 50
- Those new roofs they have over the McDonald's ordering lanes
- Flannel sheets
- Warm nightgowns
- Playlist.com when it is working correctly (like recently)

Things I hate:
- Winter
- Dark
- Cold
- Rain
- Sitting in a waiting room and being forced to watch some horrible interview show with everyday Americans discussing their husbands who slept with their sisters or other distasteful topics
- Donald Trump is an idiot

Tried to watch football last night

I tried to watch the Eagles play the Saints last night, but it was too painful. Such a brutal game. I couldn't stand watching Michael Vick get sacked so many times. All in all, it was a rather COLD and lonely evening. And this is just the BEGINNING of winter. And I even have heat and electricity, unlike many New Jersey people right now.

Finally, I just went to bed. As long as I stayed near the middle of the bed, it was OK. Kind of cold near the edges though. I put another blanket on top of my blanket and my comforter. Yes, it seemed like a "three dog night".

Election today. When I got there, I saw that there were TWO questions on the ballot. I thought there was only going to be one. Seemed to be a bit of confusion amongst the other people, too. They would spend a very long time in the booth and then come out without pressing the final button. Multiply that times millions of people and you will see why there will be many questions about the results and methods of the election. I actually had to wait in line for a few minutes. Usually, there is NOTHING going on at my voting place. My nephew voted for the first time today. I hope he will carry on the family tradition of voting.

Playlist suddenly working

Keep developing systems so I can continue to use Playlist.com, no matter how frustrating it gets. So, I was listening to every tenth song, chosing each one individually as I have learned I have to do and suddenly, they started playing in order again, like perfection. Don't know why or wherefore!

Yesterday yet another reason to not be home. Went on an excursion to hear a reading of a play. Actually, it was more like a reading and a singing. A quite intimate affair held at Eastern State University, a Christian college over on the Main Line in Pennsylvania. The people performing outnumbered the audience, which is why I say it was intimate. Holy spirit has been in the works for about 13 years. The subject is Nashville, orphans, politicians, interracial dating, love, drugs, deception, religious fundraising...it was a pretty complicated plot. The first half lasted two hours. Lots of original songs and humor and pathos. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the length and the unfamiliarity of it all. We were all in a big rectangular room looking out on the fall trees. Performing ("reading") were about 30 people. It was a long afternoon and all the cookies got devoured (I didn't get one). I liked the fact that the audience (friends and family) used the same bathrooms as the "stars".

Tomorrow, the election. Got to get the Democrats back into the majority on our local freeholder board. I just remember the HORROR of events when the Republicans gained the power. They promptly "fired" a bunch of people who were doing their jobs just fine and put "their" people in. Also they screwed up our local library system in a feeble attempt to save money, They essentially ruined a shared system which had been developed over twenty years and was working nicely. Now the county library system is in a shambles and different subgroups are going in different directions. This is a real pain the the ass for the library user, which is what I am now.

Just finished a book called One last thing before I go, by Jonathan Tropper. About a divorced man dealing with his mistakes in life and deciding whether his life is worth saving. He had a hit song once, a wife, a daughter, and some guy friends in similar circumstances. it is an easy, humorous read.