I’ve been running this subject thru my mind off and on for some time. I’ve been avoiding it because I naively thought things would get better. But they haven’t.

We all make mistakes. I made a mistake almost forty years ago and two people were affected. One of them will not let it go.

Every three or four years this individual indirectly throws it in my face by screaming at me, degrading me, calling me names, etc. Each time this happens the person is rip-roaring drunk.

We stop talking. Time passes. Something happens that causes our paths to cross. We act like nothing happened. We’re fine.

This past weekend I was under attack again. Before I would say something I might regret, I grabbed my purse and ran to my car. I took off. I drove aimlessly while sobbing not knowing where I was going, turning left or right without thought. I was in unfamiliar territory.

Up ahead I saw a very old little country church with a cemetery. I pulled in, parked under an old shade tree, and cried even more.

My phone was blowing up. One was my husband, one was my sister, and one was the name caller. Call after call. They all must have me on speed dial.

I ignored every call. I was in no frame of mind to speak to anyone. Looking at the very old graves in the cemetery made me think how lucky they were to be dead and not have anybody treat them the way I had just been treated.

After about forty-five minutes of driving and sitting in a cemetery, I texted my husband and asked him to meet me at the end of the driveway. At the time of the ‘incident’ we were at the name callers house. I told him I’d stop by to pick him up and that we were going home…unless he wanted to stay. He said absolutely not.

Using the GPS on my phone I was able to see that I was only a measly eleven minutes away. I must have been driving in circles.

I picked up my husband and we drove the forty-five minutes home in silence. All he asked was if I was okay and where did I go.

If you’re reading this and thinking that it would be a cold day in hell before you ever spoke to this person again, it’s not that easy. It’s a relative.

Relatives are hard to avoid. There’s holidays, weddings, funerals, birthday parties, etc.

And yes, this individual and I have talked this out at least a half dozen times. And each time I thought it was the last time. And each time I thought we reached an understanding. And each time I was wrong.

It’s eating at me today…but not as bad as earlier in the week. I’m keeping busy…but I’m tired.

People who commit murder and serve their time don’t have people throwing their mistakes in their face for the rest of their life.

If any of this sounds familiar because you are going through this in your life, please do what you can to make it stop. We’re not getting any younger and I know that when my time is up, I will go with a clear conscious.

Three days have passed since I wrote everything above. Last night I texted the individual and said that I thought we had gotten past all of the drama and can’t we just live in peace.

It didn’t fly. He told me he never wants to hear from me again. He said I fucked with his business by quitting.

Prior to this last blow up I was working for him a couple hours a week cleaning at his business. When everything blew up several days ago I told him I quit.

So I guess sometimes relationships can’t be repaired and I have to accept that this might finally be over.

I sincerely pray that whoever reads this never has this happen to them. It hurts to the core.

…as if we haven’t seen or heard enough about these two in the last couple of years.

Prior to this ‘wedding of the century’, other high-profile celebrities who threw an extravagant, over-the-top wedding, were ostracized for spending millions on a one-day event. All the while there are millions of people in this country starving, homeless, and living way below the poverty level.

So if you are the high-profile couple and want your day to be special without the world criticizing you for spending so much money, how do you escape the nay sayers?

A week or two before the wedding, you combine your resources and publicly donate twenty-six million dollars to various charities. Now who in their right mind would criticize you for that?

Let’s face it, the T & T wedding was only estimated to cost the paltry sum of twenty million…so by all appearances the charities are six million to the good.

Let’s talk about the guest list for two high-profile people. Estimated to be in attendance are at least one-thousand people, who are also wealthy, who left their kids with the nanny, stayed in luxury accommodations in New York City, and had chauffeured shiny black SUV’s pick them up and deliver them to one of the greatest venues in that city.

Now let’s throw in the paparazzi who stalk celebrities day in and day out. They had a field day trying to keep up with these folks, where they were staying, where they were going, what they were wearing, who was chauffeured to the wedding, and who walked.

And for an added waste of time, every local, national, and tabloid news program was giving America and the world a minute-by-minute update on this event for at least the last month.

The roads around MSG (Madison Square Garden) were barricaded off so that the hundreds, if not thousands, of delivery trucks could deliver all the decorations, lighting, sound systems, flowers, tables, chairs, linens, and God only knows what else.

Since all of those items were delivered under tarps and well hidden from public view, those same news sources had to speculate what each item was and what the venue MIGHT look like.

My favorite was watching some lady, without body guards, delivering what appeared to be the wedding dress. She walked across the street to the venue in front of hundreds of people to give the illusion that she had the most prized possession in this circus.

Seriously? Anyone who believes that she was actually carrying the dress and taking a chance that someone would try to steal or destroy it, needs therapy.

All the guests were searched to make sure nobody had a cellphone that might leak audio or video of this highly secret event. There was nothing secret about this.

So, with all that said, I do not watch any news shows and haven’t seen a minute of news since November 2020. But all of these documented deliveries and commentary were everywhere. They were unavoidable on Facebook, magazine covers, tabloid covers, etc.

So in closing, I always make a snarky remark when celebrities get married. And that comment is, “Well, that will last twenty minutes.” And that’s about how long most of them last.

I’ve got a different feeling about this one. I think these two might actually have a shot at successful matrimony, even with a Taylor traveling all over the world! Will absence make the heart grow fonder?

Stay tuned!

I wrote my previous blog about arriving in Greece. This blog is to say goodbye.

I leave in two days making this trip a little over three weeks.

Nothing much has changed since my first trip here sixteen years ago.

Sixteen years ago my expectations were high. Why? Because when you see any pictures of Greece, there’s blue water unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The buildings are as white as white can be, with blue roofs. It’s nothing short of a sales pitch telling you to come to the most beautiful country in the world.

Those white buildings with blue roofs are not on the mainland. They are on islands.

The water is SO blue that I don’t think Crayola has that color in their crayon boxes.

As I lay here in my bed looking out at the Argolic Gulf, our rental house sits on a cliff overlooking the gulf, I’m reflecting on the last three weeks and everything I have seen, done, ate, and the Greek people that I have interacted with.

I won’t lie. I am anxious to get home. I miss my home, my small garden, my flowers, and my daily sourdough baking. I didn’t miss my bed, which is what most people say while traveling, because the three rental houses we’ve had on this trip have had amazingly comfortable beds.

We are traveling with one couple who have been with us from the get-go, three people who stayed one week at the beginning of the trip and then headed to other European destinations, and another couple who joined us after two weeks. So in a couple of days the six of us will fly home.

One thing I hear frequently from other’s in our group, and from eavesdropping during our meals is, “This doesn’t taste like what we eat at home.”

And it shouldn’t. We are about six thousand miles from home so I doubt it would ever taste the same.

Case in point. One of my very favorite Greek dishes is called pastitsio. I make it at home and think, of course, that mine is the best. While traveling once I ordered it and it tasted exactly like mine. Once.

That other twenty times I ordered it over the course of eight trips to Greece, no two ever tasted the same…and some were actually inedible.

Every cook, every village, and every country does it their way.

If you visit here or any other country, it’s highly unlikely that any of the food will taste like home.

Don’t expect the people to drive like at home, park like at home, eat supper at the time you do at home, etc. You’re not at home!

Last night, a Saturday night, we went to a nearby village by the sea, Xiropigado, for dinner. Three different restaurants we went to were all closed. A couple from that village were getting married so the whole village closed for the celebration. Imagine that happening where you live…especially on date night Saturday night! We drove to another village, Kiveri, by the sea and found another restaurant.

We chuckle at this because it’s so different than what we’re used to at home.

From all houses we’ve rented over the years, most have had sea views. I enjoy watching early morning fishermen leave for that days catch, watch the sunrise, and having my coffee.

I do hope for anyone who reads this, to have an opportunity to travel, at least once, to another country where you have an opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture. It’s an amazing experience.

The picture I have attached to this blog was taken last night, from my bed, and on the right you can see the lights of the small village of Xiropigado, where a newly married couple started their lives together as one last night.

Kalinichta (Good Night)

Before I start my letter to the country of Greece, I should give you a little background.

My husband is Greek. He has cousins in southwest Greece in a tiny village called Vromoneri.

We came to visit the first time in 2010, and are currently in Greece for our eighth trip to this amazing country.

It’s so amazing that I should be a spokesperson for Greece tourism.

However, the country is not without its problems…just like every other country.

So if you’re saying to yourself that you’ve always wanted to go to Greece, you’re not alone.

In 2025, Greece welcomed a record-breaking 43.31 million foreign travelers (a 6.4% increase from 2024), generating over €23.6 billion in travel receipts. (This information was found on Google).

When we visit other countries, it’s best to roll with ‘their flow’, abide by their rules and laws, be polite and respectful, and learn a few key words in their language to show you’re trying.

But, since I’m not a newbie in Greece, there are a few things I’d like to tell them that might be beneficial to future millions of tourists. Here we go:

Dear Greece,

I am proud to say that I have visited your country eight times. I will be back for more.

Your people are friendly, the food is amazing, we’ve had outstanding accommodations, and I’m disappointed that I can’t live here at least three to four months a year.

But…and there’s always a but…for the love of God please build some parking structures and parking lots. Where I’m currently staying, the main village doesn’t have one single solitary public parking space.

We can find places to park and then walk a mile to our destination. Or hire a taxi from our parking space to our destination. We are all retired with the usual aches and pains that come with old age. This isn’t just a problem in our current location. We have experienced this in every location, mainland and islands, during all eight trips here.

If some enterprising individual wanted to buy a piece of land, build a parking structure, and charge for parking, he would be wealthy in no time at all.

Next subject. On our first trip here in 2010, every trash can and dumpster were overflowing into the streets and blowing around everywhere. We were told not to worry because there was a garbage strike going on. Ok…no problem. Settle the strike and get back to normal.

Folks, this is their normal. Seven trips here, islands included, still have overflowing garbage cans and dumpsters that are blowing around the trash. It’s not only unsightly, it’s a health risk.

This country is over run with cats. I think a cat is their national symbol. They have never bothered us and the cats are well cared for by the locals. There are cats congregating around all the overflowing garbage. And we know that two cats can create a lot more cats. They are in all outdoor spaces including restaurants and shopping areas.

I would tend to think that it would be easier and more effective to clean up the garbage problem than to do something about the cat epidemic.

In the United States we would find raccoons, rats, opossums, and dogs in overflowing garbage areas. I have never seen a squirrel, rabbit, rats, raccoon, or opossum here. Maybe the cats take care of these critters.

In closing, people who travel here for the first time most likely come from areas that aren’t familiar with parking problems and / or over flowing trash.

With the tourism numbers rising every year, I think you can afford to address some of these issues.

Respectfully,

A Greek fan for life ❤️🇬🇷

Generation gap has been around since the beginning of time. Each new generation today has a label of Gen X, millennial, Gen Z, etc. I have no idea what any of those are.

My label for the current generation (twenty years old and under) is Useless.

I wonder if anyone would want to be labeled that.

They don’t want to work to pay for gas or auto insurance because mom and dad take care of that. Mom and dad want them to focus on getting good grades, go to college, have a career, and raise another generation of Useless.

Harsh? Yup. The truth? Yup.

My husband and I are retired and we’re leaving on a trip in a few days. We’re going to be gone almost a month.

Being the organized, proactive person that I am, I started out months ago with a list of things that needed to be taken care of before we leave

One of the things on the list was to find someone to take care of our yard, flowers, veggies, etc.

We have always used the neighbor’s…dad when their kids were little and the kids when they were teenagers.

We, in turn, get their mail and take care of their yard when they travel.

So two months ago I texted ‘J’ who was in college but would be home for the summer. I told him the dates we would be gone, asked if he could take care of the yard as he has done in the past, and I always offer him a ‘bonus’ if everything is still alive when I return. It’s our little joke.

He said ok.

Two days ago, five days prior to my departure, he calls here looking for a ride to the bus station to catch a bus to take him to the airport because he’s going out of town, indefinitely, to visit his brother.

Wait! What about my lawn?

This is a kid who is an honor student, second year of college, scholarships, robotics team, etc. We’re not talking about some slouch.

So I’m scrambling to find someone…and I did.

I can tell you from experience that something similar happened to me when I was a teenager, and when my parents found out, they cancelled my trip and I had to honor the commitment I made.

I spoke to J’s mom about this as she was on her way out the door for a week-long business trip and she volunteered her husband to take care of my yard.

I didn’t say it, but I thought it, that you (the mother) call up J and tell him to cancel his trip to honor his prior commitment. I knew I couldn’t say it and even if I did, it would never happen.

So we’ve got another generation in the works that don’t want to work, pay for their own cars, gas, and insurance because mommy and daddy take care of it.

Ok, admittedly I’m old school. Love it. Don’t deny it. Think that if we followed some old-fashioned guidelines, our society and future would be brighter than it is right now.

And if you’re wondering about the time it would take to mow my lawn once a week and water everything daily, I can tell you that it takes twenty three minutes to cut the lawn and less than ten minutes a day to water. I live in the city and have a small city lot.

He would have made $500 for that little bit of work for just under a month.

I stand by the term Useless for this younger generation.

It appears that all of a sudden Facebook has become a dating site.

If you’re over fifty or over sixty or over seventy, there’s a place for you. If you live in any particular state, there’s a place for you. If you want to live off the grid, there’s a place for you. If you have a motorcycle, there’s a place for you. The list of options is endless.

First, I wish there was an easy way to delete all ads and sponsored posts that don’t pertain to me. I’m sure there is but I’m too lazy to start looking how it’s done.

Second, some of the pictures that people are posting of themselves (men especially), couldn’t get a nod from a blind person.

There’s no thought into the picture taking. The majority of them are selfies, taken from about belly height, and all you see are multiple chins and lots of nose hair.

I’m not against advertising for a partner. I did about twenty-five years ago and met my husband. He obviously was online also.

However, we wouldn’t have even thought about taking a selfie, through the mirror in the bathroom, with wet towels and moldy tile in the background.

My husband wouldn’t have taken a picture of himself disheveled, unshaven, and not smiling to post on his online profile. I wouldn’t have taken a picture of myself with no makeup and my hair in hot rollers to post on my online profile.

We both posted pictures of ourselves that were current, taken by another person possibly at an event, and we were both smiling.

Then let’s talk a bit about what you’re writing about yourself on your Facebook post.

Every day these things are popping up with mostly the guys writing, “I’m looking for a LTR ( long term relationship). And that’s about all the info they’re sharing.

There’s no mention of where they live, how old they are, or what their hobbies and interests are.

Does common sense even play a roll in the thought process of how to get someone interested in you? Obviously not.

Then just for fun I start reading the comments. Most are favorable wishing the spouse-seeker good luck.

Here and there someone comments about shaving or showering or smiling, etc. I’d be willing to bet those comments fall on deaf ears.

So, if you’re in the market for a partner, spouse, significant other, or just a roll in the hay, please put some effort and thought into your online profile whether it’s on Facebook or a dating app.

If you have a membership to Costco, you might get as excited as I do every time I go there…which is every two to three months.

It’s not far from my home and I could go more often, but then I would spend more money, more often.

I have a standard list of things I buy but the most fun is looking at everything else the store has to offer. There are always new items.

If you play your cards right, and are hungry, you’ll be lucky enough to try all the free samples that are available to shoppers. You could eat your entire lunch and dessert for free.

If you miss all the samples, there’s still an amazing hot dog deal at the little cafe…and you won’t be disappointed.

Speaking of the cafe, I find it interesting that there are so few tables to dine at when there are hundreds of shoppers in the store at any given time. Just a thought!

I glance at other people’s carts to see how full, or how empty, they are. Sometimes I spy an item that I might like and I ask a perfect stranger, “Where did you find that?”

We went to Costco two days ago even though we were there two weeks ago. My husband bought tires from there a couple of months ago and one of them had a small leak. It would take about one and a half hours to repair so we went shopping.

I’m sure I’m missing out on many amazing products and food items because of my ‘standard list’ of things to buy. However, recently I discovered Costco’s amazing baking-related items at a fraction of those same items at the grocery store. Flour, bread flour, brown sugar, confectioners sugar, walnuts, pecans, etc.

Sure, you have to buy larger quantities but the savings is amazing.

I bake competitively and also have a little side hustle of various sourdough offerings.

Yes, I crumbled and joined the sourdough explosion…on my second try at it.

About two years ago I attempted to make my first sourdough bread. Many failures later I stopped all together. A year later I was going to conquer sourdough come hell or high water…and I did it!

It’s easier than I thought because I let sourdough intimidate me the first time around. With over fifty years of baking under my chef’s hat, I told myself that I’m bigger than a loaf of sourdough bread and I wouldn’t be defeated.

And now I can’t stop.

The more I sell or give away (to family only), the more rave reviews I get, the more I bake. I’m baking about four to five days a week. It isn’t only the bread. I make scones, muffins, cookies, cakes, and the ever requested sourdough pancake mix. This mix makes the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life.

Only two questions I have related to Costco:

1. Why do some customers come to Costco, fight for a parking space, fight the long checkout lines…all for one rotisserie chicken?
2. How do I get a job in the purchasing department at Costco? That has to be like Christmas shopping every day for free!

…for the last time.

I met Shirley fifty-two years ago when we were both in the same prenatal class at the hospital expecting our first babies. There were many other couples in the class but for some reason, we hit it off.

Although we lived within thirty minutes of each other for the majority of the last fifty-two years, we only saw each other about twice a year. We’d meet for breakfast or lunch on a weekend since we both worked full time.

Her oldest child and mine ended up in the same high school. They were friends. We were tickled they were.

The majority of our relationship was through phone calls. Hours and hours of calls…weekly in the beginning for many years…and slowly turned into monthly, then every couple of months, and then a couple of times a year.

Life just simply got in the way.

We were there for each other thru the birth of other children, family deaths, divorces, and any other life-altering event that required the ear of a good friend.

About ten years ago Shirley was diagnosed with cancer and I don’t recall what kind or where. The doctors weren’t too concerned, they put her on pills, and no radiation or chemotherapy was necessary.

When she retired a few years ago, I remember her cancer requiring more attention than in the past.

Pretty soon she was scheduling anywhere from two to four doctor appointments a week. She also joined the Y and went swimming for exercise.

Since the beginning of this year I reached out thru phone calls every couple of weeks…and left messages. The calls weren’t returned. I didn’t give up.

Last week she called me and told me the cancer had progressed. It was in her liver, bones, and a few other places. The end was near but the doctor did not give her a timeframe.

I was out of town when she called me and asked if I could come and visit her next Thursday (today) and she said yes. She asked me to send her a text as a reminder. She’s in her home, on hospice care, and has a friend living with her full time. The hospice nurse stops in every day.

When she called me last week, she sounded great, we caught up on several months of our lives, we laughed a bit, and she said she was at peace.

Her minister came to visit her several times, she made her funeral arrangements, met with her kids to give directions on what to do with the house, money, and possessions. Everything was in order.

I stopped for a bouquet of flowers on my way to her house this morning. Another car pulled in the driveway at the same time I did. It was her friend Jackie…her friend since they were thirteen years old.

We walked in the house together, the TV was very loud, and I could see into the living room. A hospital bed, other flowers that people dropped off, the start of garden vegetables in a tray in the north window, and the house cleaner than I had ever seen it.

Shirley was a hoarder. I tried for years and years to offer my amazing organizational skills to help her get the house in order. She always refused.

The friend who is living with her has literally gutted the house, cleaned it, did some lawn work, and so much more.

I made my way over to the hospital bed. She was bald, very pale her eyes were closed, and she had a ‘puke bucket’ under her chin.

Apparently she has been throwing up all night. I told her I was there and that I brought her flowers. She said she was sick and I should go home.

Jackie and I went into another room and talked about Shirley’s condition, what’s failing, all the things still remaining in the house, and Shirley’s final wishes.

I made my way back to her bedside, told her I loved her, and left.

Jackie will call me when it’s over.

RIP Shirley. You were in one of the best friends anyone could have.

The airline industry really took a hit during COVID. Thankfully, the money they received from the government kept them flying.

Recently I saw that one of the airlines is cutting all beverages and snacks on flights that are less than 350 miles. That should save some money.

I remember back in the day when the Biscoff cookies that most airlines serve with beverage service were a treat worth waiting for. Now, not so much.

Why? Because at one time only one airline served those cookies and now most of them are. They are wearing thin. But that’s the least of their problems.

Granted, I fly a lot more than most people do and should consider myself blessed to do so. But for the love of God, there has to be another snack to serve besides those cookies and no-name pretzels.

In recent travels I’ve been bringing my own food from home. Cheese, crackers, fruit, etc. I feel comfortable doing this and have not noticed anyone else opting for home made snacks.

And let’s talk about airport food. A totally separate entity than the airlines.

I flew home three days ago from visiting my son and his family. First things first, I purchased a bottle of water. $5 I believe.

My go-to airport snack is a bag of Combos. Those are cheese-stuffed pretzels. Small bag $9. In the airport while waiting for my connecting flight, and seeing that it was late afternoon, I decided to get a sandwich as my supper.

One ham and cheese bagel was $21.67.

Let’s face it, as a traveler the restaurants know you have no other choice but to buy their food if you’re hungry. You’re literally being held hostage. And if you wanted to leave the airport, and you have a long enough layover, you could seek out less expensive food, but it’s not worth the hassle. It’s cheaper to just stay there and pay those outrageous prices.

Off topic for a minute…

I went to a parochial grade school where we were taught that the nuns and priests, in addition to a vow of celibacy, also took a vow of poverty.

What has changed? On my last flight there were two nuns, fully dressed in habits, sitting in first class playing games on their iPhones. Is this the ‘new religion’ like we have ‘new math’?

I work part time at a local auto repair shop and a couple of the local parishes bring their cars in for service. They are all Lexus’s. 🤷‍♀️

Back to the main topic…

Fuel prices right now are very high which in turn makes airline ticket prices soar. We’re traveling internationally next month and purchased our tickets several months ago. Thank God we did or we would be shelling out at least another $500 per ticket.

Earlier I mentioned that I visited my son last week and returned home this past Monday.

When I got to ORD (Chicago), it was wall-to-wall travelers. Multiple flights were delayed or cancelled. Why? Air traffic control management issues is what we were told.

Found out that 90% of domestic airports have a shortage of air traffic controllers. That is a very uncomfortable feeling.

But what’s the solution? You can’t force people to go to air traffic control school. It’s an extremely stressful job and the money isn’t that good.

I’m also noticing that the more I travel and the more airports I fly thru, the more expansions of airports are taking place to accommodate our ever growing, ever traveling population.

So what’s the answer to the this? I don’t know. All I know is that millions of people every single day are putting their trust into a business with more headaches and challenges than they can count.

Let’s not even talk about the recent multiple government shutdowns that affected the airline industry and its safety.

I’d hate to think that it’s going to take a disaster of monumental proportions to get someone to sit up and take notice.

We’re all guilty of armchair quarterbacking. We see someone doing something that may not be a good idea and we watch while shaking our heads.

We do it with family, friends, and even strangers. Nothing good has ever come out of, “Here, hold my beer and watch this.”

How we live our lives works for us for the most part. We’ve developed systems and habits that make our days flow.

But…there’s always a but.

A family I know with two young children are about to make, in my opinion, a mistake of monumental proportions.

For a little background they are financially successful. Successful enough to afford a gardener, pool boy, nanny / housekeeper. The kids are in several activities, have many friends and weekly playdates, get together with the wife’s family every Friday night for dinner, and usually have no less than two or three kids birthday parties every weekend.

To say they have a hectic schedule is putting it mildly.

Now, it’s a good thing they have all the hired help they do because with a schedule like theirs, how would the grass get mowed, the laundry done, the pool get cleaned, the house cleaned, etc. You’re all aware of what it takes to keep up a house. And their house is a very large sprawling ranch.

Because the kids activities are after school, early evenings, and / or on weekends, they generally don’t get to eat dinner until about 7pm.

Because the kids go to school, bedtime is between 8:30 and 9pm.

Are you exhausted from this schedule? You probably live it but don’t have the hired help they do.

Now for added excitement, exhaustion, or entertainment, depending on how you look at it….

Drum roll please!

They are adding a puppy into the mix.

If you’ve ever had a puppy, you know it’s a lot of work, chaos, mess, frustration, etc. They are cute and once they get past the puppy stage you tend to forget the headaches you had early on.

It’s not my business. It’s not my problem. However, when I found out about this puppy yesterday, I actually cried…for the puppy. That lasted about two minutes and then I broke into hysterical laughter that lasted about fifteen minutes.

All I pictured was the added chaos, stress, and the kids saying they are not going to pick up poop in the yard when asked to. Or walk the puppy when asked to. Or give up screen time to play with the puppy when asked to. Or to feed and water the puppy when asked to. The list is endless.

So from my armchair perspective, the decision to get a puppy at this time is a mistake of monumental proportions.

However, they can always hire someone to take care of this puppy!

According to AI, this is the definition of the snowball effect:

The snowball effect is a process where a small initial action, event, or problem grows in size, significance, or intensity at an accelerating rate, much like a small snowball gathering more snow as it rolls downhill.

For some time now it has dawned on me that the snowball effect in relationship to elderly people is going to cripple this country.

I got hit in the face with another snowball yesterday. Here’s what happened.

Four years ago I retired. Like anyone who retires, we apply for social security, Medicare, and Medicare Part B.

So I chose to go with Humana for my Part B. My husband retired about 8 years before I did, chose Humana, and had been satisfied with it. I simply jumped on that bandwagon per his suggestion.

One of the perks of choosing Humana was a seventy-five dollar quarterly spending allowance for supplements and over-the-counter items. Anything from bandages, personal items, toothpaste, etc.

You simply go on their app and choose what you want, at the beginning of every quarter, and they ship it to you. It’s a nice little cost savings for frequently used items.

Remember, this was exactly four years ago this month that I jumped on that bandwagon.

Since then, that seventy-five dollar quarterly spending allowance went down to sixty dollars, then fifty dollars, then forty five dollars, and yesterday it dropped to thirty-three dollars.

Being that yesterday was the first day of the new quarter, I went on the app to ‘purchase’ a few items and noticed it dropped to thirty-three dollars per quarter.

That’s just one of many things that affect senior citizens.

Many members of the medical community are searching for the fountain of youth so that we can slow down aging and live longer.

So where is all of the extra money for social security payments, disability payments, etc., supposed to come from to support an increasing elderly population in addition to all the new retirees?

Then, let’s talk about staffing. Let’s face it, very few people want to work in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, memory care facilities, etc. So that means that while more of these facilities are being built to handle the elderly population that continues to grow, the more difficult it’s going to be to staff them.

Almost fifty years ago my grandparents were put in a nursing home because my grandma had Alzheimer’s and my grandpa was limited due to a stroke. For a little background on them, they never owned a home. They did own a tavern with living quarters in the back. After they sold that, they moved to an apartment, on a bus line because they never owned a car. Being that they lived during the depression means they knew how to get blood out of a nickel.

Their children, my mom and my aunt, had no idea how much money their parents had until they went into a nursing home and had to disclose their assets. $265,000 (the equivalent of almost one million dollars today) went to the nursing home until they passed. There was nothing left.

Some cultures believe in taking care of their own. Great in theory until the cared for can’t be left alone which could mean the end of date night for you and your spouse, the end of weekend get-aways, the end of family vacations, or attending their children’s activities for the evening. There are sacrifices to be made all the way around.

I’m not trying to make this sound like the elderly people should be disposed of after a certain age, but, the folks that had a decent retirement are having their funds eaten up by rising costs everywhere across the board. Which means if they end up in an assisted living facility, when their money runs out, some government agency is going to have to come up with funds for their living expenses and health costs.

My mom is currently in assisted living but because she can feed, dress, shower, and toilet herself, she’s at a Level 1 care (the least expensive) and that’s running $5,000 per month. She is private pay due to an inheritance she received but in two years she will be out of money, will need to go on Title 19, and move to a studio room from the one-bedroom unit she currently has. She will be ninety-six next month.

It’s simply snowballing with no end in sight and honestly, I have no suggestions on how to solve this. Jobs in the medical field are growing by leaps and bounds…faster than nurses and doctors are available.

My husband had a procedure done at a nearby hospital about two months ago and the nurse who was taking care of him told me she’s a traveling nurse. She said she makes great money and travels to wherever she’s needed due to a nursing shortage. There’s another expense…covering her growing salary and travel expenses. And we’re all paying for that.

In the meantime the senior citizens of today will continue to exercise, take more supplements, eat healthier, and enjoy their lives until they no longer can.

I won’t lie…this situation scares me to death.

I jumped onto the sourdough bandwagon for the first time about two years ago. I compare the time and effort of sourdough to that of babysitting a hyper-active toddler…they both must be watched constantly.

So I gave it up for about a year and decided to try it again. So far it’s much better.

I’ve had more successes than failures. There are two recipes that turn out amazing each time so I stick with those.

Trying other items like sourdough crackers, scones, cookies, and muffins has had some successes and failures also.

The one thing that I personally think is amazing is my sourdough pancake mix.

My oldest granddaughter, who has successfully set up a sourdough ‘bread shed’ at her home, actually developed the recipe for the pancake mix.

The first time I tried it I announced to everyone around me that it makes the best pancakes I have ever eaten.

My husband, without prompting, said the same thing.

I think we have a winner here.

So I decided to make several batches of the pancake mix, designed labels and purchased Kraft bags from Amazon with windows for the packaging.

I chose about twenty different friends and family to be my guinea pigs. All I asked was that they make the pancakes as directed and to let me know one way or the other how they liked them. I wanted honest feedback.

It’s been crickets ever since.

Maybe three friends got back to me with feedback and they absolutely loved them.

Not a word from the rest. I’ve texted, emailed, called, and when pushed they have responded with ‘it’s good’.

AND?

And nothing.

If someone, anyone, gave me something for free, with a simple request for feedback, they’d have that feedback within twenty-four hours.

First, I don’t procrastinate. I’m one of those that when I receive an invitation in the mail for an event and it requires a RSVP, I do it immediately before opening any other mail.

Second, I believe in helping out anyone who’s trying a new venture. Remember, word of mouth is the best advertising.

So now I’m second guessing my new pancake venture. I’ve got a small investment in this project so I wouldn’t be out a ton of money if I shut Nana Bakes down.

Please try to support any one and every one who’s trying to make a difference.

I’m not talking about the dreams you have when you’re sleeping. It’s more along the lines of wishing.

If you’ve ever purchased a lottery ticket or a scratch off, it must momentarily cross your mind what if this is THE one?

The few times I have purchased lottery tickets, I don’t check the numbers until the next morning. I really want and value a good nights sleep.

If I checked the numbers before bedtime, I will be disappointed that I lost and might have a difficult time falling asleep. Mentally I have to return everything I mentally purchased on the assumption of winning.

If I checked the numbers before bedtime and I was even a minor winner, I’d have to call everyone I know and then nobody would get any sleep. 🤷‍♀️

Everyone has wishes, and dreams, and it’s not our place to judge others about theirs. One of mine is to have the wedding of my dreams…because I never did. I talking about the whole enchilada.

I want the wedding dress that people will talk about for weeks and months to come. I want to be the center of attention for one day. But seeing that I’m pushing seventy years of age, it’s not going to happen.

But…what infuriates me is that anyone I’ve told about this dream, which has been several of my girlfriends, has only been met with less-than-encouraging responses.

Responses like, “What a waste of money” or “You’re too old to have a wedding like that.”

Plus I’m already married. In my mind that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have a vow renewal. So I stopped wishing for that…or telling anyone about that ever again.

I have been blessed beyond words to travel to Europe multiple times. My favorite destination is Greece.

My husband is Greek and has several first cousins who live there, so in addition to visiting with them and other islands, I have fallen in love with the people, the culture, the food, and the laid-back way of life.

We are visiting Greece again this year and it will be my eighth trip there. So my dream of living there isn’t just because I went once and had a good time.

Anyone I’ve told about Greece and casually mentioned how magical it would be to live there, has drawn responses about the state of their economy, their socialized medicine, their poorly run government, etc.

Well I’m here to tell you that although those are very good arguments for not living there, my argument would be how warm and friendly I have found the people. And how delicious the food is. And how beautiful the village squares are where friends meet for coffee and talk for hours. And how blue the water is. And how you have not lived until you ate one of their tomatoes or apricots. The list is endless.

So I may walk through this very short existence we have on earth looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, but these are my dreams.

If someone shares their dreams with you, please don’t squash them like a bug on a sidewalk.

Dream with them.

If you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably scrolled and have seen a string of Reels for viewing.

A lot of them are confusing because you have no idea what you’re supposed to be looking at.

Many are of babies / toddlers eating a new food for the first time, learning to walk, crying, and a million other things children at that age do. Note to parents: you may think your kid is cute and is the only kid on the planet that has ever made a face while trying new foods, but I assure you that Adam and Eve’s kids did the same thing.

And if I see one more video of a gender reveal, I may petition Congress to sterilize every female in this country. Whoever came up with this idea should be tarred and feathered.

Ok, admittedly I’m older than dirt. When I was bearing children over fifty years ago, the only thing I did to advertise my pregnancy, other than a protruding belly, was a shirt I wore that said Under Construction with an arrow pointing down to my stomach.

My mother thought that was in poor taste.

Let’s make this even more interesting. My mother’s generation didn’t have pictures of pregnant women. The pregnant women, in a family photo, stood in the back behind other people so as not to show anyone that they actually had sex and got pregnant.

Ok, back to the Reels on Facebook.

There’s TON of Reels showing viewers how to ‘reset’ their house. That means that they do the dishes, throw in a load of wash, wipe down the counters, mop the floors, pick up toys, fold blankets, take a few gulps of water / wine /coffee in between these tasks, and then they present a tidy house to the viewer.

Really? This is not newsworthy. Since I was five, including today, I made my bed every morning. When we’re done eating I do the dishes. When it’s Tuesday the floors get mopped, the rugs get vacuumed, and the furniture gets dusted. The bathroom gets cleaned daily.

I don’t need to ‘reset’ my house every Sunday night. Never did. Not even while working full time, raising kids, cooking meals from scratch at least five nights a week, took the kids to their activities, coached little league, and put on the best performances for Christmas and birthday’s that I could afford.

The women in these reels act like they just invented cleaning a house. How did this get to be headline news?

If you stop making ‘how-to’ reels, editing them, and posting them to Facebook, you just might have more free time to do things that don’t annoy the rest of us.

New technology never stops. It doesn’t even slow down.

Look where we are today with computers, cellphones, GPS, cameras catching our every move, and a million other things.

I can open my garage door, change the temperature in my house, and several other things right from my iPhone.

My oldest son is a huge fan of technology and runs his entire life using his iPhone. When I visit him, I’m shocked at what he’s capable of operating with that device.

But, last week I had the biggest shock of my life, from Mr Technology himself, my son.

In 2013 he bought a Tesla car. By today’s standards it’s way behind the current Tesla models. He takes good care of it, replaced the battery once, and it painted three times, and he loves the car.

Two weeks ago he needed to have his car in the shop for a couple of issues. The dealership gave him a loaner. Not just any loaner but a brand new self-driving car.

I heard these things may exist someday but I didn’t know they were already available. Could have something to do with the fact that I haven’t watched the news, read a magazine or newspaper in almost six years. I’m sure I’ve missed a few other things also.

Anyhoo…he FaceTimed me the other day and mentioned this loaner car and how it drives itself. He was explaining what this car can all do while he’s not controlling it.

For added excitement he took ‘me’ along for a ride. He didn’t have to touch the steering wheel, the directionals turn themselves on and off, the car knows the speed limit but if you’re in a hurry, there’s some button you can push to move things along, and any destination you enter into the GPS, it takes you right there.

I simply cannot imagine that my Type-A, be-in-control-of-everything personality will be parking a car like that in my garage any time soon.

Out of curiosity, and knowing how much my son is like his mom, I asked him how he likes the car, and how he is freely giving up all control to a piece of computerized metal with four wheels.

And by the way, my son lives in Miami. Many times I have experienced their bumper to bumper, five to seven lanes wide, people darting in and out, horn-honking traffic. Now let’s see how that fancy-shmancy car handles that!!!

The first day he had to drive it home he could not give up 100% control. He tried. He was jumpy when the car was driving itself.

The second day he said things were a little easier giving up control.

The third day happened to be Valentine’s Day. He took his wife and kids out for a nice dinner and the car got them to the restaurant and home without him touching the steering wheel once.

Here’s the kicker. The fourth day he had a really rough day at work. It’s about a thirty to forty-five minute ride home. He got in the car, tapped the screen for his home address, and sat back.

He woke up from a sound sleep in his driveway.

I have no words.

Without fail, every time I travel somewhere new, I fall in love with the place, start looking online for property to buy, read the history, and spend my time immersing myself with the locals.

Pine Island, FL is no exception. It’s near Cape Coral and my son suggested I go there.

We spent January in Cape Coral and rented a four bedroom house through VRBO. That’s a whole story in itself.

Anyhoo, we rented the house with the idea that we would invite family to come for a week at a time and share the sunshine away from our Midwest winter.

The first week our visitors were both of my sons and their families. My youngest son and his daughter went exploring one day and when he returned he said, “Mom, go to Pine Island…it’s got your name written all over it.”

Since it was only about ten minutes away, my husband and I drove over there. From the moment we drove over the first bridge and into the village of Matlatcha (pronounced Mat-lashay), I knew I was ‘home’.

This has happened to me several times before when I have visited somewhere I’ve never been before and a feeling comes over me that feels like all is right with the world.

My husband on the other hand did not share that same feeling…and never has.

That first visit to Pine Island was just a quick drive through to see what there was available to residents and tourists. As I was oohing and aahing at everything, my husband was trying to set a new world record for speed. He couldn’t get off that island fast enough.

I knew that if I really wanted to enjoy this new found treasure, I’d have to do it myself. Or with my sister who was arriving the following week, and would find this place equally as amazing as I did. Her husband would be less than tickled pink.

As soon as we got back to the house, I called my sister and shouted, “Guess what I found?”

So for the next several days when I needed groceries, I headed to the island by myself.

Sure, there was a grocery store closer to the house but I wanted to get as much island time as possible.

After some research I found out that there are nine-thousand permanent residents and that number doubles during tourist season. The island suffered a lot of damage from Hurricane Ian, including the loss of two bridges, which are on the same road, and the only way on or off the island other than a boat. Some damage was still visible.

The island is self-sustaining with everything from doctors, lawyers, physical therapists, schools, two grocery stores, a VFW Post, Moose Lodge, and Elks Club…and bingo on Friday nights at 6:30! There are several churches, gas stations, farmers markets, several nurseries with amazing tropical flowers and colorful pots, boutiques, and so much more.

Yup…I could live here!

The other thing I noticed, and could really get into, is that there are sidewalks everywhere and each time I visited the island, people were walking or riding bikes. It just seemed so simple and so peaceful.

When my sister and her husband arrived, they were barely unpacked and I said, “Let’s go to the island.” She ran to the car. Her husband wanted to go along so my husband rode along also. BIG mistake. We were back to the house in under an hour.

The next morning my sister and I went back alone! The main roads are like a ‘T’. You drive onto the island from the bottom part of the T and after a bit you can only go left or right. From those major roads are many side roads…and of course they all needed to be explored. Right?

It was stone crab season so several places were selling those along with shrimp and other seafood. We found a seafood store that was amazing with scallops, shrimp, seafood dips (the best crab dip ever), and a variety of fish so we bought some fresh grouper.

I could keep going on and on about how much I fell in love with this little community but I hope I’ve painted a picture that you can envision.

I wish everyone could experience this magical, peaceful place.

When Ancestry first came out, just like lottery numbers, many people thought they’d send in their DNA and poof, they were going to find out they are related to someone famous.

I never thought I was related to someone famous and I’m not. I sent in my DNA for a personal reason.

It was interesting to find out that although my mom’s side of the family is 100% Polish and my dad’s side of the family is 100% German, I am not half Polish and half German.

Somewhere along the ancestral trail someone strayed…to the UK. I’m 25% British.

I found this out about six months before William and Catherine got married. I told anyone and everyone that since I am now British, I was expecting a wedding invitation…and shockingly it must have gotten lost in the mail.

I’m sure there have been many surprises in the last almost forty years that it’s been around. It’s made some people happy, sad, angry, caused fights, a few divorces, etc.

The one thing that I love about this world-wide DNA search tool is the number of cold cases it’s solved. Since I love watching true crime shows, I’m seeing more and more law enforcement agencies use this tool to solve new and old crimes.

Ancestry has not had any impact on me or anyone I know. Until two days ago.

I was on the phone with my oldest granddaughter discussing recipes. We both love spending a lot of time in the kitchen and we both bake in competitions.

During our conversation she blurted out, “Oh my.”

I asked what happened and she said that her husband’s DNA match results just came to light on Ancestry. Turns out his dad is not his biological dad.

He is an only child of a couple who did not have him until they were in mid-forties. He knew he was an invitro baby and was told by his parents that they went that route because of their age and that his mother had trouble conceiving naturally.

My granddaughters husband is in his early thirties and I’m sure this was a shock to find out.

Turns out that bio daddy is on Ancestry so they were able to look him up and see what he looks like. Also found out that he has at least two half-sisters.

Bio daddy might be a serial sperm donor. Time will tell if anyone else crawls out of the Ancestry woodwork.

So a day later he called his mom to tell him of this discovery. She didn’t deny it, explained that they used a sperm donor because of the reasons previously mentioned, and that they were hoping he would never find out.

It’s their choice how they handled it but I don’t know that I would have kept it a secret. He’s not mad but probably has a lot of thoughts running through his mind. Knowing him, I don’t believe this will affect his relationship with his parents.

Me, on the other hand, may never recover from that lost wedding invitation from Will and Kate

As most of you know, there’s a saying that says, “Rules are made to be broken.”

But which ones?

Parking in a Handicapped parking space because you have to run into the store for a minute? Speeding? Driving after a few cocktails when you probably shouldn’t have? Didn’t tell the cashier she gave you too much change? Bring a pen home from the office? Printed out personal documents at work? Almost everybody does some of these things but the bottom line is, are these breaking the rules and / or stealing?

Years ago I was a checker at a grocery store. Occasionally there were meetings and in one of the meetings it was mentioned that if we see someone eat so much as a grape from the produce department before paying for the grapes, it was stealing and should be reported. Even prior to that I have never eaten anything while shopping until after I was checked out and in my car. But I see people do it all the time.

From little on I had the fear of God instilled in me. My parents sent my sister and I to a parochial grade school. Church every morning at 8am. Everything we learned was religious-based.

There are Ten Commandments and probably almost everyone has broken at least one. But to this day, as old as I am, I still try to follow the rules, dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’.

What prompted this subject is something that happened yesterday. It’s not the first time this has happened but since it was fresh in my mind, I wanted to talk about it.

My husband smokes. Never in our house or anybody else’s. He smokes in his car but after all, it’s his car.

We’re on vacation and have a rental car. There are two stickers in the car that say No Smoking. And until yesterday he hasn’t.

Yesterday morning we left our vacation rental to drive three hours to my son’s house to visit for a couple of days. Three times he smoked and I reminded him that it specifically says ‘No Smoking’. He said he didn’t care. I mentioned that when he returns the car, they may smell the smoke in there and charge him extra for that. He didn’t care.

Him not caring about a potential extra charge also surprises me because he is very conservative with his money.

For those of you who are concerned about my health in the car while he’s smoking, I used to smoke, grew up in a household where both parents smoked, and I crack my window to get fresher air.

There have been times in the past where we were driving somewhere and I had a headache or wasn’t feeling well and asked him not to smoke…and he wouldn’t.

I think most of the things I’ve mentioned are just so common that we don’t think about it. And besides, everybody does it, right?

I’m just wondering where we draw the line, what do we report to management, or is it ok because everybody does it?

Take a moment and think about something you may be doing that would be considered stealing or breaking the rules.

I’m old school. Raised to be a housewife and nothing more. My folks NEVER mentioned the word college.

My mom taught us to cook, clean, wash, iron, bake, hang laundry, sew, remove stains, etc. That was my entire childhood.

Since that’s all my sister and I know, that’s who we’ve become. We did have jobs outside of the house…me an Office Manager for almost thirty years and my sister a waitress for over forty years.

Outside of those jobs, our life was our homes, husbands, and children.

We cooked and baked from scratch, always looked for new products to clean with, new ways to remove stains…you get the idea.

When we were kids we hated living like this because in our small neighborhood all the other kids were playing outside while we were held hostage as indentured servants by our mom.

Today, both of us almost seventy years old, are glad we have the skills we do because we don’t know many others who can do what we do.

Who do friends and family call when they need a seam repaired, a button sewn on, a recipe, or a helpful household hint? Yours truly.

Many years ago I was driving somewhere with one of my sons, who by the way possess the same skill set as me, and he saw a pretty girl walking down the street. He made a comment about how beautiful she was and I replied with my usual reply, “But can she cook and clean?”

His reply was that it didn’t matter as long as she continued to look that good for the rest of her life. He said that if he married her and she continued to look that good, he would work full time, do all the shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing, etc.

In reality, how long do you think that would last I asked. He was young (late teens) with no concept of what it would be like to actually live like that.

My sister and I raised our sons to be self-sufficient. We both have friends with adult children, married and single, who don’t know how to boil water. They do, however, know how to call for carry-out, drop clothes at the dry cleaners, and to ‘call the guy’ for any repairs that need to be done around the house.

I’m blessed that both of my sons are successful. The oldest, although completely capable of doing anything, prefers to hire out for everything. He’s got a gardener, pool boy, housekeeper, nanny, etc. His children do not and will never possess the skill set he was raised with. His choice.

My youngest son, prefers to do everything himself. He will clip coupons, cut his own lawn, shop for bargains at the grocery store…but has not passed any of those traits and skills onto his sixteen year old daughter.

The one thing I know with one hundred percent certainty is that if both of my sons lost everything, they would know how to survive.

Those beauties they see walking down the street will not survive.

I got up every morning and the only thing I thought about was going to bed at night. Eight o’clock couldn’t come fast enough.

It happened about twenty five years ago when I was in a very dark place in my life.

Right now it’s happening again. I’m not in a dark place (mentally) but in a dark place (physically).

Most people would think I’m crazy for feeling this way considering where I am. I am in a warm climate for a month…away from the cold Midwest winter.

My husband wanted to come here. Initially I was onboard and for the first time in my life, I was not involved in the planning of a trip.

He found a VRBO rental. We’ve used VRBO many times in the last twenty years as we’ve traveled to various places. I’ve always done all the planning because when I travel, I want to be as comfortable where I’m going as I am when I’m home.

When my husband found the rental that we are staying at, I looked at the pictures and thought it looked nice. The listing had everything we always look for…a pool, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, washer/dryer, etc. We want the extra room for family when they visit.

Several months before our travel date, I did a little online searching of the area to see what there was to do while we were here.

The first thing that popped up online about this community was that since a hurricane went through several years ago, this community has not rebounded as quickly as others. The all-knowing Internet said that poor local government, poor water quality, and a few other things are the reason there are over 25,000 homes for sale in this county. Whoa, that’s a lot of for sale signs.

The more I read, the less I wanted to come here. I put my ducks in a row before I approached my husband with my concerns. He didn’t seem concerned. As long as we had a roof over our head, a car, access to groceries, restaurants, and attractions, everything would fall into place.

His reassurance didn’t ease my concerns. So much so that I didn’t start packing for this trip until about two hours before we needed to leave for the airport. Maybe I was setting myself up mentally for failure.

Travel day went smoothly. Rental car pick up went smoothly. I was starting to feel better.

Until we arrived at the rental. Then I wasn’t feeling better.

The exterior of the house we rented looked NOTHING like the exterior in the picture on the VRBO site.

This was the first time this has happened to us in twenty years of renting like this.

It should be noted that all the other times we rented through VRBO, we dealt with the owners directly. They were at the rental when we arrived. They showed us around the house, had binders with phone numbers, restaurants, attractions, churches, etc.

This time we were dealing with a management company and a lock box code to get into the house when we arrived.

The concrete driveway and sidewalk were almost black and in desperate need of power washing. The white front door was filthy. The welcome mat was so filthy, the word ‘welcome’ was illegible. The doorbell was hanging off of the wall. The landscaping was nothing but mud. Overgrown bushes, lawn ornaments with paint peeling, and very dirty windows.

If this is how the exterior looks, what awaits me on the other side of the door?

The interior is sparsely decorated, dirt along the baseboards and in the corners, and patio curtains that are stained.

The bedspreads and bedding are old and dingy. To say the least, I am not happy. My husband thinks everything looks fine.

It should also be noted that the only thing in the kitchen besides very old peeling Teflon pots/pans and dishes, is salt and pepper. Any home we’ve ever rented has a welcome basket of fruit, cookies, foil, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. This place was stripped bare.

I contacted the management company and spoke to a woman, Christine, who appeared to be responsive and understanding. She was going to send over new curtains the next day if I wouldn’t mind hanging them. That was eight days ago and still no curtains. A power washing company showed up two days later to clean the driveway and sidewalk. Five days later two housekeepers showed up to clean all the baseboards and corners. The washer that leaks and the ice maker that doesn’t make ice still aren’t fixed.

Since we are here for a month, I assumed someone would come once a week to clean since there are no cleaning products here. Any rental we’ve ever stayed at for more than a week included weekly cleaning services.

I called Christine and she said we are responsible for cleaning the house each week while we are here. She said if I text her a list of cleaning products I need, she’ll have someone deliver them. That was two days ago and still no cleaning products. We are being charged over $800 for cleaning services so it must be for a final cleaning after we leave.

Now let’s talk about the heated pool that was advertised in big bold letters in the VRBO listing for this house. I called the first day about the pool being cold and was told it would require an additional $1,000 for the month to have the pool heater turned on. My husband never saw that in the listing and when I questioned it, it was pointed out to me that it’s at the bottom of the listing, in a paragraph with other miscellaneous items, in a very small font.

I want to go home. He doesn’t. I’m counting the days until we go home instead of counting the minutes we get to stay.

I’ve been in this dark place for over a week now and can’t seem to pull myself out of it. My sister and her husband arrive tonight for a week. Maybe that will help.

I follow Mel Robbins and have been using her words as inspiration for myself, as well as saying the Serenity Prayer ten times a day. Maybe this is deeper than a dirty rental house.

Thanks for listening…

The picture is what we were supposed to get…and didn’t.