Day Eleventy-Nine Thousand, 2020

So, we march on, figuratively, through 2020.  I'm just at a loss seeing all the media coverage of covidiocracy and racism and just downright nastiness.  I never really thought people were as evil and/or stupid as they seem to be this year. 

Is it the way the government is being led that is allowing people to show their 'true colors'? Do they feel safe exposing their true thoughts during this time? Was this stuff going on for years now---and it's just now that everyone has a camera that it's being brought to light? 

I know I don't have any answers---just a lot of questions. 

And the topics people are stuck on----taking a knee. In light of all the media coverage of mistreatment of black citizens, I understand why Colin did it. All the athletes that kneel for the national anthem are doing it to show support for "Black Lives Matter."  Until all people in our country are given equal treatment, are we really a land of the free?  

I know I never had to sit my son down and speak to him about how to act around police officers or what to do if he was pulled over by a policeman. Personally, I have never been profiled and followed around a store while I was shopping or questioned about my presence in any location. 

Racism is very real and still exists today. I mean, in our lifetime, we had to pass an Equal Opportunity Act to stop people/companies from discriminating against people that are different from them. This was passed in 1972!  I really wish some of these racist individuals could switch places with a black man or woman and walk a mile in their shoes.  

Not really looking for comments or to cause controversy. This is just my take on the situation. If you don't share my view, that is fine!

The other thing that is dividing our country is mask wearing. I never thought this would be an issue--right hand up to God. There is a pandemic happening now. If you wear a mask, you protect me. When I wear a mask I protect you.  Simple.  Again, I naively believed that most people are kind and care about others. And again, people proved me wrong.  It is not a violation of your freedom. Seat belts are mandatory and most people put one on because they save lives without uttering "my rights are being violated."    What about wearing a life jacket? How many people are screaming about that? No smoking in the majority of places......I could continue. But, these are things we do every day in our life that we could do years ago and now can't. How is mask wearing any different?

Are your rights going to be violated when they stick a vent tube down your throat to save your life?  

Why aren't people getting angry and acting out at the number of people that have died from Covid-19? (Over 163 thousand deaths)  Or at the fact that the US has more than 5 million cases? That's 5,000,000 cases!!!

OK. I'm done. If you are still reading, I am onto lighter material here. I just had to write that and get it out of my system. 

In really different, other news..........the work on the house continues. I am trying to use this time as I continue to stay home, to my advantage.  I bought these new lights for my newly painted foyer and soon to be painted bedroom. I love them. I am going for calm sanctuary vibe here. The paint is helping, and the new lights give me a sense of calm and elegance. I know they are not everyone's cup of tea, but they work for me. 

I am also having a small patio put in off my lanai, out back. It will be 6' x 12'. I can only go out 6 feet from my house and then I am in the common area so that is what I have to work with. My goal is to eventually make the area the entire length of my house. I am very excited about this. It will be nice to sit outside when it cools off in the evening and enjoy an adult beverage or two and watch the night sky for meteors! And, my friends, this is the month for the Perseid Meteor shower. It is peaking on the 11th! But meteors will be visible for another 2 weeks after that!  

Has anyone else gained weight during this pandemic? I have the Covid-5 working right now. I am back on the straight and narrow and eating clean and not drinking. But sheesh. The carb cravings never go away. If someone put a fresh loaf of crusty Italian bread in front of me, I would devour it in minutes. I love bread. I miss bread. But bread is kind of evil on WW. I know, I know, I can have a piece of garlic bread---but I don't want just one piece, I would be hateful having to limit myself so I don't eat it at all. (Honestly, how can anyone have just 1 piece of warm, crusty bread? It's unnatural not to want more! And if you can, please don't tell me, I do NOT need that kind of negativity in my life!)

I was going to go on a road trip north this month, but that didn't work out time wise. I may still do it. My friends, in Hooterville, offered up their house so I could quarantine there and still work. Then I would have the weekends to see my family (who I miss a LOT) and not have to take vacation days. But complications arose and the trip is being postponed. Maybe October--who knows. Sigh. 

I planned on driving up--going a different route to avoid I95 from Richmond on--shooting over to Knoxville and picking up I81.  For the trip home, I planned on taking the Auto Train. I hope this trip still takes place. I'd love to get out of my house and see my family and friends---even if at a distance!

I do have a cruise booked, leaving Ft. Lauderdale for a week at the end of March. I hope we have some semblance of 'normal' in our country and are free to move about---even wearing masks! I am excited about that. I haven't seen any cruise cancellations for dates in 2021---yet. Trying to be hopeful!

No trips to Phoenix planned in the immediate future. My daughter is still living out there (my son returned to Central PA) and they are strictly quarantining. I really miss her. I haven't seen her since last Thanksgiving. Facetime is great and all, but not even a close second to hugging her in person. 

So, that's the news (or lack of) for now. 

Stay safe and masked!

jilly

 

Burnin' Down the House and other Musings

Burnin' Down the House compliments of Talking Heads

to listen, click here!

Greetings from somewhere in a slightly “opened” area of Florida! I’m sure we can all agree the past few months have not been the greatest, but we are persevering as we figure all of this out.  I am fortunate and very blessed that I was already in a work from home job that was not impacted by the virus. My life has been going on fairly normally-if you can call wearing a mask and gloves outside my home “normal”

I tried to keep busy and one of my projects got completed about 2 weeks ago. I ambitiously decided to paint my foyer, living and dining rooms. The walls weren't too bad but Florida houses seem to have this textured drywall so I thought it took a lot more paint than it should have. But I finished and then noticed how awful the ceilings looked. I broke out my painting supplies and bought another gallon of paint. Oh My GOD, the ceilings were even more time consuming than the walls. My place formerly had those disgusting popcorn ceilings and what was left after that was removed was a very textured surface. 

I got about a six foot square section done and thought my arms were going to fall off.  So, I thought OK. I'll get a larger roller (I had been using the 4" ones) and an extension pole and this will go really fast.  hahahahahahaha

I got the new supplies and hooked up the extension pole with the new "for rough/uneven surfaces 10" roller. It sucks up paint like you would not believe. I hoist the thing up and over my head and after about two minutes, my arms again felt like they were going to fall off.  It was far too heavy for me. 

The issue was that in order get all the nook and crannies full of paint, you had to apply a decent amount of pressure to the thing. So after a small mishap involving the curtains at the sliding glass door, I decided this crap was going back to Home Depot.  I bought a smaller extension thing that went to 2 feet and hooked up my 4" roller to that and finished the damn ceilings. 

I will give you a glimpse of the new paint. The sliding glass door wall is painted in "White Lavender" and the walls are "Maui Mist". Depending on the time of day, even the Maui Mist walls take on a pale purple hue. I absolutely love it. I was going for a tranquil feeling and, to me, that is exactly what I got.   I am now in the process of picking out kitchen wall paint. I did paint that kitchen once, but I hate the color now. I painted a large piece of cardboard with each of the colors I am considering and hung it on the wall in the kitchen.  I do know I am painting the cupboards white and I may refinished the counter tops. 

Here is the a shot of the new paint:

At the moment, my place smells like Italian salad dressing. I’ve acquired a fruit fly infestation---from cantaloupe that was ripening on my counter top. UGH, UGH and UGH.  I searched my friend, Google, for how to get rid of them and quite a few sites mentioned using apple cider vinegar. At this moment there are 5 apple cider vinegar bowls set out throughout my house. Although they have attracted and killed some of the population, there are still many flying around, dive bombing me and overall just being a nuisance.

Update: As you can see, the vinegar method does work... but again, I smell Italian dressing all day and the little f*ckers are still flying around, although greatly reduced in number.

The kitchen counters have been washed down multiple times, the fruit taken outside to the trash and still they are hanging around.  I swear to God I swallowed one when I was sleeping. I woke up coughing in the middle of the night. Maybe they were attracted to my minty fresh toothpaste breath. Who knows?

My fly swatter is ineffective at killing them because the mesh-like holes are too large and I miss one every single time. The second strategy involved a rolled up hand towel and snapping it towards the area they’ve landed on. I can see there is a disaster in my future if I continue to use this method. I burn candles and sometimes incense and twice now I’ve come close to knocking over a candle. I will probably end up burning my house down if I keep this up.

(Just call me Britney) 

My favorite restaurant reopened yesterday at 4pm. I am so excited! Part of me wants to wait a few weeks to go and the other part of me wants fresh seafood and frozen margaritas. Not sure what will win out. They opened with a smaller menu because all of their suppliers are not back and they have reduced capacity. Inside seating is 25% of capacity and outdoor seating has been set up to ensure six feet between tables. I really hope this will be successful for them – and all the local restaurants.  

I am soooooooooo sick of my cooking. I am not a bad cook, but I am used to eating out a couple of times a week. I want a meal I had nothing to do with preparing. Even getting take-out is not the same—you still have to serve it and clean it up—no thank you.  That is one of things I love about cruising—the whole dining experience.

And speaking of cruises, my Princess cruise to Tahiti in November has been cancelled. I am majorly disappointed. I cancelled a trip to Australia last fall in order to book this years’ trip. And the year before that the cruise line cancelled my Australia cruise. 3 years in a row-----------no vacay for this girl. I’m ready to go insane, or at least further insane.

I decided I definitely needed some sort of break so I booked myself into a place on Sanibel Island in July. Hopefully, the shelling will be fabulous and even if it isn’t, it will be good to get away and see some different sites.

I tentatively have a cruise booked for the end of March 2021. I hope things will be ‘normal’ or as close to normal as we’ve become. I’ve been reading about the plans to sanitize and the changes they are making to seating etc. and I am encouraged. Cruise ships were always very clean in past years, so I suspect the cruise lines will be far and above what the old normal was.

I’ve also read cruise bookings are up over 300% compared to this time last year. And as cruises cancelled during this pandemic, the cruise lines offered great cancellation compensation if you book another cruise. I am taking a credit from Princess for double the amount I had already paid.  The way people are booking, I would not expect to see any real bargains out there for the general public.

The thing that is taking all of my time is un-doing all the plans that were already done and filing trip cancellation claims for some of things that are not being refunded---vacation house rentals, airline tickets on small airlines etc. I need to get that finished up. And now, that I am finally done painting the foyer, living room and dining from top to bottom—including the ceilings, I should have some extra time. 

In other news, I just got aligners for my teeth. I had braces as a kid but over the years my teeth shifted. They are just a little crooked and it was bugging me so I took the plunge. This is day 3 and I have to say I will be glad when the 5 months are up and I am finished. My tongue and the sides of my mouth are scraped up and I’m having a hard time getting used to having them in my mouth. I now have a slight lisp—so attractive I know.  Plus, despite my mouth being bone dry, I have excess spit and risk drooling. But on the plus side, you really cannot see that I have anything covering my teeth.  Of course, with wearing the mask and all, that part doesn't really matter. 

Aligners are a great idea---you put in a new set every week or two depending on what they indicate and those first 2 days are achy. The pain is just like you felt, back in the day, when you got your braces tightened. Soup on the menu for a few days because even though you take the aligners out to eat, it hurts to bite down.

And, of course, my aligners do not fit perfectly. The top one does but I had to call them about the bottom one. They told me I could ‘trim and use an emery board to file any sharp edges. Ummmmm, didn’t I pay you to do that? So, when I call back I am going to ask for an entire set of new bottoms—trimmed and filed correctly this time. I’ll let you know how that goes.  

In other good news, our community pool here opened back up two weeks ago and people have been staying the required six feet apart, which is very good. Not a lot of people use our pool, but I am up there a minimum of 5 days a week, weather permitting, doing my hour of water aerobics. I usually don’t hang out before or after like I used to, but I’m sure over time, things will change.

Our beaches opened two weeks ago for sunbathing. There is a heavy police presence there trying to ensure social distancing. There is an officer walking the beach, ATVs patrolling the beach and a police boat near the shore patrolling. They took this very seriously and I am thankful for that. Because it seems like a lot of people here don't think the rules apply to them. 

So that' s the news from sunny Florida. I hope things continue to improve but will be interested in seeing if there is a serious uptick in cases of the virus. Of course, we peons may never know--from what I read some places are not reporting them truthfully.

I'll close with this:


Stay safe out there!
jilly

Self-Isolation - Day 23

And a lovely good day to you all. It's day 23 of self-isolation for me and I feel like I'm doing pretty well. The fact that I work from home gives structure to my days and forces me out of my comfy bed and I am signing on by 7 or 7:30am.

I have to give a big shout out to Anthem, the company where I work. They were so responsive to the crisis and their employee's needs  Our leadership teams are doing a great job of keeping us informed regarding what is going on in our company. They hold regular, short, meetings via telephone with us and inform us of how we, the employees, are overcoming challenges to provide our members with uninterrupted service and how we regularly go above and beyond to ensure the safety and health of our members.

I am proud of us and feel so grateful to work for a company that has it's members and employees best interests in mind!!!

Ok now onto more 'light-hearted' updates

I came across this image and it just made me laugh: Gotta love Snoop---if you haven't ever googled his videos where he narrates wildlife films, make-up tutorials, hockey.......you NEED to.  I promise you will laugh!

OKay, here is one of his videos: https://youtu.be/BFVVvVLMr-E?list=PLRhClsJn9IkRLPgdTMDCHTF6BspQivq79

In other news.........and no this is not fake news.................

• A 100 mph car chase near Seattle, Washington, Sunday ended when cops used spike strips to disable the vehicle and found a dog behind the wheel
• The pit bull's 51-year-old owner, who was arrested for the incident, claimed to Washington State troopers that he was teaching the dog to drive 
• During the pursuit, troopers were shocked to see the animal in the driver's seat and its owner steering and pushing the gas pedal from the passenger side.
• The man, who is from Lakewood and was not identified, was allegedly under the influence of drugs and taken into custody
• The incident unfolded Sunday afternoon after police received calls about a driver hitting two vehicles in an area south of Seattle and then speeding away,
• Axtman said the emergency services subsequently got multiple calls about a car traveling erratically at more than 100 miles per hour.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8170505/Cops-end-car-chase-DOG-wheel-owner-claims-teaching-animal-drive.html


And in some corona virus related news:
Our 'esteemed' governor has finally agreed to a safer at home initiative---kinda late in the game, don't ya think?  I have never trusted him. The main reason, his squinty eyes--among other things. I mean look at this:

But the order is now in place...........except.............this:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had issued a state-wide stay-at-home order, but its list of “essential” businesses that are exempt from the order has noticeably included “religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and houses of worship.” This comes out just days after megachurch pastor and vocal Trump-supported Rodney Howard-Browne was arrested for willfully violating social distancing orders and encouraging his congregation to do the same.

This is just insanity. The mentality of the covidiots--in politics, religion and general life is enough to almost make me want to get out there and personally knock these people upside the head.  Between this crap and the governor of Georgia saying he wasn't aware the virus could spread if you didn't have symptoms................God help us all.

And in my neighborhood, covidiocracy continues to be a part of my world. (I love that word by the way--I think it should be added to the dictionary)  We are on a state-wide stay at home order. What does my neighbor do? Well, his 'buddies' called and wanted him to go play basketball and golf. Basketball because the guy is like 6' 8" or so--maybe he thinks the virus doesn't rise that high? Anyway, the man is said to be highly educated, with like 8 Master's Degrees, and he GOES and plays with with these people and returns home late that evening.

First of all, if he doesn't care if he gets the virus, fine, But what about the person he lives with? I have news for him. LIFE is NOT all about what HE wants to do. The next time I see him, I am going to be tempted to climb up a step ladder and slap his face!   And now, I don't feel comfortable even being outside, 6 feet away from the person he lives with because I'm sure his germs are all over the place now.  ARghhhhh!

Here is one thing I have not missed: The season here in Florida known as pollination. Being indoors does have the one benefit! Last year, my eyes itched so bad, I felt like if I could just run a razor blade over the bottom edge of my eyelid, I would feel better.  I used a ton of allergy eye drops and was thankful I had daily wear contacts so I could put an uncontaminated pair in every morning!

The nasal symptoms were relieved, somewhat, by using a Neti-Pot. An item I highly recommend when life returns to its new normal.  I found one on Amazon that has a built in water filter so I don't have to worry about brain eating amoeba.  (still cannot believe that's a thing-------and I have not heard about a case of that in years.................nor have I heard anymore about flesh eating bacteria. What happened to that stuff ? Is it still happening? Why are we not reading about it?)  Ok, got sidetracked a bit.

This is for real.

You know what this is? It's a POLLEN Cloud. It happened when they cut a tree down. Here is a link to the video: https://youtu.be/HhACzlPg4xc   

I miss being able to go see the orchestra. I will leave you with a video I came across on You Tube and it is fabulous!!!! Ravel's Bolero, played by individual members of France's orchestra and then woven together to this amazing sound:
https://youtu.be/Sj4pE_bgRQI

Of course, the actual piece of music is about 17 minutes--so if you would like to listen to the entire thing, you can by clicking this link!   https://youtu.be/mhhkGyJ092E


Stay happy, stay safe and stay home!   I'm off to paint the living room!
jilly

The Other New News

So, shelter in place is a phrase I never thought would apply to me. Funny how words or sayings that were new to us just a few weeks ago are now ingrained in our daily lexicon. Boggles the mind.

If all the maps and news briefs are correct, it looks like Florida's corona virus cases are going to explode soon  This does not surprise me at all. In addition to all the wealthy Northerners that have fled their homes to their second homes here, the fact that our governor is pretty useless setting any guidelines and locals didn't really get the message until they shut EVERYTHING down, we will hit the peak and probably surpass many states in infections and deaths.

Not a great message. But, I feel like it's true. Personally, I've been sheltering in place and saving a ton of money not eating or drinking in all my favorite establishments. But, it's not easy. Well, yeah it is for us introverts.  I have a friend here that is very much an extrovert. This is killing her. She 'feeds' on people to get her energy and she is extremely social--- and that's just not happening. I did meet her out back over the weekend where we sat six feet away from each other and drank and talked and looked at the stars. To me, the size of that 'gathering' was perfect. LOL  I have never understood the need to socialize and be out with a large group of people. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting together with four or five of my friends for an evening out, but afterward, I'm good for awhile.

All these people Zooming and Face-timing and streaming Netflix that now has chat capability and pause etc so your "group" can all be on the same page (I'm sure there are other ways to Remote Gather) I just don't get it. So many people don't have any idea how to be alone or just with their families.  I do Face Time and text my family and friends---I'm not that anti-social but I also don't feel the need to chat with them on a daily basis.

When I am alone, I recharge--being social is very draining. I'm totally serious about the saying "It's too people-y out there, do not recommend!"  This is another reason why I am so suited to working from home full time. The drama and interaction with people, in an office setting day after day after day was enough to make me take a mental health day once in awhile and also--my lifesaver---wear headphones all day, every day to drown out the yapping.

I do have contact with people during my work day. But it's pings on Skype or the phone. I can totally handle that. I will say that once in awhile, a co-worker-friend and I will have a non-work related chat and catch up on their life and life in general. I enjoy that.

So, what have I been doing to entertain myself? Well, as always I've read a ton of books. If you have Amazon Prime, take advantage of Prime Reading and Prime Music. Both are included with your Prime membership. I love not spending $13-$14 a pop for the latest best seller. If you belong to your local library, use their online service to check out E-books for a week or two at a time--also free! (although you wait a bit for newer books---but hey---free)  <-------your tax dollars at work!

I am also doing some painting. I find I need to move when the mood strikes me and get as much done as possible. So, the foyer and the accent wall in the living room are finished. I am going to brave Home Depot to get more paint and rollers and continue in the living room. Goal: to have the room painted by bedtime, Sunday night.

So what are some positive news stories I've read this week:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/26/tech/dyson-ventilators-coronavirus/index.html
The Dyson guy is making ventilators and will donate 15K of them, I think. Pretty awesome!

I saw these for sale:

If I had to pick one, I'd pick Rose. Everyone needs a little Betty and St.Olaf stories!  Get yours here:

https://www.delish.com/food-news/a31928956/the-golden-girls-tiki-mugs/?utm_campaign=socialflowFBDEL&utm_medium=social-media&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1keu2bGXsaA30U_9BCQD1sq6eCK_19f26Z0q1RVOH0bhZWuEb3BRNeGBQ

I also saw these things and now I think I need them.

I used to have a hot tub back in the day................and I used it almost every night for years. It was the only place I could relax. And believe me, when my kids were teens, I desperately needed to relax. But that's another whole story....I digress.

I have been missing it lately and this one would fit on my lanai---barely. So, who knows....

I about peed my pants laughing when I listened to this guy. Super funny--the guy sounds just like him. https://twitter.com/i/status/1242515702688485376
Another link: https://god.dailydot.com/jl-cauvin-trump-impression/?fbclid=IwAR1JdVwRPI6IphgVts5nhxcxsplSQVT-3ijwc5zcLlwy4WW_FVVXPV5Dd-Y

This is just what we all need----------------My carb cravings continue..........
https://people.com/food/girl-scout-cookies-are-now-available-for-purchase-online-for-home-delivery/
OH yeah-----  What's your favorite? Mine is Thin Mints.

If this woman could live in a well for 3 years and never bathe, you can easily suck it up and stay in your comfy home..............http://powerfulmind.co/lockdown-whiners-slammed-by-holocaust-survivor-grandma-who-hid-3-years-in-a-well/?fbclid=IwAR0y-ueVTzKe2B7iQuCBepZ5VoziyZ7GeYb3QAlI2Xta1-4qTmW1MMOmCgs

And I'll close with some random facts for your amusement:
There are no mosquitoes in Iceland.
How long do you think the dashed lines on the road are?  Most people are way low when they guess.... the actual distance is 10 feet!


Be safe and take care............until next time....jilly

In Search of OTHER News

Here I am in Florida, self-quarantining, like a good citizen. It's been a few weeks and I'm going a bit crazy! So, what can I do to mitigate that feeling? Go up to the community pool and do a water aerobic workout?  YES! No.................all the people here that have friends and family in Michigan or New York seem to have flown them all here. Are ANY of them doing a 14 day self-quarantine? Ummm. NO!  Instead they sit up at the pool all day, crammed together at one or two tables, eating and drinking like it's just another day in paradise.

I was able to go up there the other day after work and sit down at the opposite end of the pool area from them but between being annoyed at them and listening to the THWACK of a bean bag hitting a wooden board every few seconds (Yes, they turned the shuffleboard court into a CORN HOLE paradise) I was beyond irritated and quite afraid I would snap and start screaming at these fools. So, I haven't been back.

They closed our beaches so that's out of the question. Those EFFING spring break kids would not go home and kept crowding the beaches, ignoring all the rules. What I want to know is where the F are their parents? Why did they allow them to go in the first place? They actually interviewed 2 young women today, looking all dejected because they flew the whole way from Ohio yesterday to enjoy the beaches and  "stuff" and now there is nothing to do, everything is closed.  Again, where are the parents?

Every day lately, I ask myself "are people really that stupid"?  And the answer is YES! Until they shut everything down, there were people packing the bars and restaurants like it was just another day. Yes, most people will not get really sick---but what about the people that have underlying conditions or the elderly? They could easily carry the virus to God knows where. But hey, they need to have a beer and a piece of fish and they COULD NOT WAIT.   Arghhhhhhh.

Alright, rant over........for now.

Ok, I can clean my house. Oh, yeah, I already did that. And cleaned out my closets and on and on. Hmmmmm. I know........................................I'll start writing my travel blog again.  But you are in your home and will continue to be for quite awhile yet.............Yes, I know, but I am sick of corona virus news on 24/7. I am sick of the covidiots that continue to make news for being assholes.  What did we talk about before corona virus?  Do you even remember?
(I am really having this conversation inside my head as I type!)

I want to know what happened to all those vaping issues that were all over the news a few months ago. Have teens stopped dying? Is it safe to vape?  Where are the articles about that?  (please discuss among yourselves)

What's going on in Syria, Iran, Iraq????? Is the violence going on the same as ever? Not one news story to be found.

I'm not really seeing stories about the stock market any longer either. Hmmm. Maybe because there is nothing to brag about to help someone's reelection in November. I looked at my stuff and it was not pretty.
And you know, that $1200 stimulus package is not going to help people that have lost 30% of their portfolio in the last month. Had this country LISTENED to the warnings way back in January, I'm pretty sure a lot of all these problems would be much, much smaller than they are now. Had our leaders taken this seriously and truthfully informed the country............well we all know. And honestly, so many people think this isn't for real or doesn't pertain to them to this day, we are going to hell and no one is driving the handbasket.

Wow, that was dark.   Ok. It gets happier---I promise!

Here is a helpful tip I discovered the other night as I was lamenting the fact that yet another candle has burned it's way to the bottom of the container, yet there was still wax all over the sides. I got creative!  I thought if you could remelt the wax, it would all settle in the bottom of the container and presto, another couple of hours of burn time.

I thought--double boiler---that would work. Except I don't have one. So, I took a large saucepan, put in a few inches of water and inverted my vegetable steamer and put that inside the pan and then put the jar candle on top of that. Turned on the heat and in about 5 minutes. BOOM all the wax melted. I removed from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes, then took the wick out with tongs and when the wax started to set up again, pushed the wick gently back into place.  You would have thought I discovered a cure for this virus--I was that pleased with myself. Walkin' around my place all tall and sassy..........like a damn boss.
Pictures for your enjoyment:

Here is an article on choosing the best bidet. Something most Americans have never even thought of before toilet paper hoarding became a thing:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/cnn-underscored/best-bidet/index.html?iid=CNNUnderscoredHPcontainer

Personally, I never even saw a bidet until the first time I went to Italy. The place we stayed had a toilet and a separate bidet. Well, you know I just had to try it out. I have to say, it was a bit odd the first time I used it. But when you think about it--only using toilet paper is sort of gross. I think that is why those adult baby wipes are becoming so popular. We use a moistened wipe to clean our children's behinds, but once you use the toilet---paper only is good enough for you. And we call ourselves a first world nation! HA.

Back to the bidets though. The second time I saw them, I was in Hawaii. My hotel room had a standard looking toilet, but a control panel on the wall that activated some crazy things on/in the toilet. The one thing that was pretty cool, was there was a toilet seat warmer button on the toilet. LOL But there were bidet controls for water pressure, oscillating, front and rear cleansing and a dryer.
Click here for pictures from my blog.

Now onto something completely different:
https://www.cnn.com/videos/travel/2020/03/26/reporter-vs-bison-herd-montana-travel-orig-ch.cnn/video/playlists/cnn-travel-environment-and-conservation/
Just a funny video. The man's eyes.................LOL

A pleasant diversion for art lovers!
Here is a link to a lot of museums offering virtual viewing:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-culture-guide-for-socially-distanced-art-lovers/

That is one of my resolutions when I can get back outside and out and about. To visit the museums that are within a few hours drive of me. Heck, there are a bunch in St. Pete and so far, I've only visited the Dali Museum--which I loved!
Click here for pictures and a summary of my day there with Miss Lindsey.

You either love 'em or hate 'em. 
Personally, I love 'em but only when very stale!
https://www.wfla.com/news/peeps-production-stops-but-easter-is-taken-care-of/

I always enjoy the Peeps Diorama contest every year!  2018 winner!


I like this one too:


Cravings?
So, is anyone else experiencing CARB and SUGAR cravings? I hope it's just not me. I was eating really clean for months and last week started these intense cravings. And the worst thing for me is a Publix right across the street that has a bakery to die for. And even more "disturbing" is that they are so darn friendly, they will split up a box of freshly iced donuts and let you pick just the ones you want. See that pack of fresh cookies we just baked? You don't want a dozen, well yeah I do, but I'm gonna ask for 3............NO PROBLEM And boom, there they are in your cart just waiting for that icy cold glass of milk. Sigh.   Of course I have no pictures to share because I already ATE everything.

And for all you daredevils missing some adrenaline, check this out:
https://youtu.be/DCjTozEeLMI

And finally, I'll leave you with this....................
https://www.facebook.com/MermaidMusings/videos/2817794534981630/?t=8

Peace, tranquility and continued good health to all.     ---We got this!
jilly

If you enjoyed reading this, please sign up for an Email notification to alert you when there is a new post here!