Posted on October 22, 2019
Yesterday, after having lunch with a couple friends, I went for my annual flu shot at the local Walgreen’s. By the time I got home, the arm that received the vaccine was red and splotchy. This morning it was really achy, as were the rest of my body parts.
I don’t usually react to a flu shot; but, after searching the internet, I learned that the achiness, listlessness, and slight fever I’m experiencing are characteristic of those who do. Evidently this year I am in that category.
So I cancelled my day, took to the couch with a sweatshirt and two blankets, and gave myself what I call a “mental health” day. It may be coincidence, but approximately 24 hours after I got the shot I began to feel better. Tomorrow I plan to resume my regular activities.
But it surely felt good to veg today.
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Posted on October 21, 2019
It seems to be the nature of the beast that one’s cleaning lady eventually becomes annoying. She doesn’t remember to dust the blinds. Or she doesn’t remove the fingerprints from the back door. Or she no longer does that one thing you absolutely want her to do. And when you remind her, she says that she does that thing every time.
I’ve had different cleaning ladies over the past thirty years and this has always been the pattern. It must be that old adage about familiarity breeding contempt, because a cleaning lady learns a lot about you in the process of cleaning your home.
But wait.
I’m here to say I have an awesome cleaning lady right now. And she’s worked for us for over two years, which is usually plenty of time for the honeymoon phase to be done. She’s always pleasant and punctual. And she is the first cleaning lady who bills by the job instead of the hour. I like this because I tend to want to chat a few minutes with anyone who enters my home. So if we talk about her children or her garden or my children or my garden, the meter isn’t running.
At the risk of being stereotypical, she comes from Poland. I had another woman from Poland twenty years ago, and her work ethic was the same. Perhaps being from that country should be the primary criteria for hiring. And I bet Poland is the cleanest country in the world too.
See more 10 Minutes in category Me/Family, Things to Ponder
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Posted on October 20, 2019
I have a friend, S, who is part fish. Perhaps in a former life she was a dolphin but is now consigned to a land existence. Still her soul is in the water. She swims about five times a week and often says how at home she feels there.
Whenever both of us are free, we swim on Sunday mornings at the local health club. It’s tricky because there are a lot of rules for swimming at this over-used, over-scheduled, not particularly attractive pool.
You have to book a swim lane in advance. You have to show up within five minutes of the time you booked or you’re cancelled. You can swim for only half an hour. You must do this; you must do that. There is a certain frustration about this that impinges on being in the water.
There’s more. If I wear my suit to the pool, I must remember to bring underwear. (This is something you forget only once.) There’s the shower before and after entering the pool. I do both, not for hygienic reasons but because my hair stylist said it is better for my hair to have it filled with unchlorinated water before entering the pool. The same goes for after swimming; you want to get that yukky stuff out of your hair and body as soon as possible. There are also issues about the lockers, but I’ll save that for another rant.
If it weren’t for S, I wouldn’t bother. She is so faithful about encouraging me to swim in spite of what a hassle it is. We persevere. But here’s a secret.
I don’t want S to know that I really do it because after swimming we go to KFC for chicken.
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Posted on October 19, 2019
This morning I went with two veteran hikers to walk the Warren Dunes. Even though I had the requisite hiking boots and poles, I didn’t know what to expect. Long story short: it was great.
Long story long: it wasn’t anything like I thought it would be. The three of us set out with F in the lead, followed by P and me. I struggled to use my poles and finally determined that they were not the right length for me. (They are adjustable.) F helped fix that as well as show me how to hold them. It made all the difference in the world! Which just goes to show that success and comfort in any activity depends on knowing what you’re doing. The adjustments F did made all the difference.
We hiked up and down for about an hour, and once my poles were adjusted it was really effortless. I’ve become a convert in less than a morning’s outing. Winter is coming, so we don’t have a lot of good hiking days left. Still, I want to pursue it.
The next time someone tells you to “Take a hike,” I suggest you do.
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Posted on October 18, 2019
Schu’s, a longtime St. Joe eatery, is re-introducing its $5 Chicken Dinner on Thursday nights to entice locals to dine there during the lean months. For those who don’t live here, that is the time of year when summer activities are shelved, when tourists don’t flock to the area, when the weather is sub-par. We’ve just entered that triple storm.
Earl and I are not particularly keen on going downtown in the summer when most of the license plates hail from Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. But once those drivers retreat, we look for all the bargains the restaurants have to offer. Which is why we ate at Schu’s last night and enjoyed fried chicken (two pieces, your choice of white or dark meat), mashed potatoes with gravy, and coleslaw for just $5. Truly, it’s an adequate meal. And there’s always dessert if one is still hungry.
In the supermarket world, the chicken is known as a “loss leader” because the merchant is relying on the customer to spend money on add-ons. Which we did. Even though our dinner cost a nominal amount, we each had two drinks. So our bar bill was substantially more that $5 per person. Which means you can give away chicken and still make a profit if the customers like cocktails.
Since we do, this is a win/win for everyone.
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Posted on October 17, 2019
No, this blog isn’t about the Better Business Bureau. Nor is it about Barbecue and Bourbon. It’s about that giant chain, Bed Bath & Beyond, and its advertising campaign.
I don’t know how long the campaign has been around, but it just came on my radar. I give it five stars for cleverness. A nerdy looking employee is approach by a couple who are filling out a wedding registry. The girl is outgoing and curious; the guy is attached to his cellphone.
Girl says to Nerdy, “What’s this?” spreading her arms wide.
Nerdy explains that it’s like online shopping, but it’s called offline shopping. One of the benefits is that you can touch things before you buy them. Girl is amazed but still unsure. She wants to know about shipping costs and time.
Nerdy says that it’s called Today Shipping because when you leave the store the item goes with you. Girl is now onboard. The BB+B logo flashes with the tagline: Think Outside the Screen.
Obviously, BB+B offers online shopping as well as the big box experience. But I like that it’s bucking the trend and encouraging shoppers to come to their stores. And touch things.
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Posted on October 16, 2019
Every now and then I receive a newsletter from a printing company in Marceline, Missouri. The most recent one asked the question, “Why are margins important?” And since this is a printing company, I knew the margins being studied referred to the white space around the edge of a page. I’d not ever really considered them before, even though I worked with graphic designers and printers much of my professional life.
According to the newsletter, margins “provide room for the reader to hold the book comfortably.” Call it thumb space. They also act like a fence to keep the text from being accidentally trimmed off. And they give a book “a feeling of openness” that is inviting.
But books and other printed materials aren’t the only things with margins. In business, the margin is the difference between the cost of an item and its selling price. In society, it refers to those living outside the mainstream; they are often among the most disadvantaged. In math, the margin of error is that amount allowed in case of miscalculation.
And in medicine, particularly surgery, the margin is that area around a cancerous tumor that is cancer free. The surgeon usually removes some of it, as well as the tumor, for further examination to make sure all the cancer cells were removed. Who knew this word did so much work?
Personally I like the printer’s use of it best.
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Posted on October 15, 2019
You might just be compulsive if you add completed tasks to your To Do List only to cross them off.
Or if you alphabetize the spices in the spice drawer. And the soup cans too. Or if the lid on a Starbuck’s coffee has to be turned to match something, perhaps the logo, on the cup itself.
Or if you set a full complement of silverware and a napkin, even if you’re just having soup. Or if you can’t eat a sandwich without cutting it in half first.
None of this marks you as truly paranoid. You can still function in today’s world. But just know that the rate of change works against you.
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Posted on October 14, 2019
Today is the federally recognized holiday that honors Christopher Columbus as the discoverer of America. Every school aged child is told the story. Although Columbus was Italian, he sailed for the Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He made four trips to the Americas and proved that the Earth was round instead of flat. He was a great man.
Except . . . most of this is bunk.
Columbus landed on various Caribbean islands, but never set foot in North America. (Actually explorer John Cabot gets the credit for being the first European to land there.) Several famous philosophers and scientists — Pythagoras, Aristotle, and Euclid –had already concluded the Earth was a sphere long before 1492. According to The Washington Post “the big question was not the shape of the Earth but the size of the ocean Columbus had to cross.”
Laurence Bergren, in his biography Columbus, notes that he committed atrocities against native peoples and terrorized the Spanish colonists. He isn’t responsible directly for the almost complete decimation of Indigenous Peoples, but he certainly set a poor example.
Which might make one wonder why we’re honoring him. Perhaps this holiday should go the same way as the Confederate flag.
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Posted on October 13, 2019
A week ago today I was in Minneapolis waiting for my son to cross the Twin Cities Marathon finish line. We’d had a wonderful weekend together, and I had mental material for several blogs. One was about the Chainsmokers, an American DJ band, that was performing at the venue across from our hotel. Another was about a brewery we visited. And the view from our hotel window that framed the beautiful Cathedral of St. Paul. And, of course, there was the race experience itself.
None of these blogs got written; in fact I’ve posted only one entry since returning home. It’s not that I’m overwhelmed with projects or that I haven’t wanted to write. In fact, I don’t really know what it is, but my keyboard and I have been estranged.
Hopefully, it’s short lived, although I probably won’t blog about the Chainsmokers. They don’t seem as relevant as they did last weekend. Still, the name baffles me and so does the group’s official website. Maybe you should just see for yourself by visiting www.thechainsmokers.com.
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