The insects which delight me

Yes, for the most part, insects (bugs, critters) are these EwwEww beings which cause me to run for the broom to scoop them away when they are inside of my home yet there are several which I love to see when they are in flight.

Dragonflies which science states have been around since the dinosaurs walked this land are beautiful to see with their iridescent wings which capture the sun’s light and the long lean body which zips around as it searches for its next meal. When I used to cut my lawn, I would see fluttering around, chasing the bugs which tried to escape my mower thrashing down the grass.

Fireflies with their bottoms which light up when they are looking for mates, little sparks in the darkness as they dance through the tall grass and woods. When we lived in PR, we would see the cucullos which are native to the island, occasionally when visiting my grandparents since they lived in the campo (the countryside) within acres of land which did not have a lot of streetlights around. When twilight came, my brothers and I would try to catch a few, being careful to not hurt them. They would walk on our hands, flickering that slightly greenish yellow color and then fly off to do what nature needed them to do.

Of course, I cannot leave butterflies and some moths off this list. Butterflies with those colorful wings, drunk ass hell flying to dodge birds and their delicate look are truly magnificent. Many moths get a bad rap, but they have some lovely ones too like the Luna moth with its soft green wings and the rose maple moth that looks like two starburst candies were smooched together. So beautiful in their own ways.

Being extra, extra careful on a TEAMs call

Last Wednesday, I had a Microsoft TEAMs call which I took on my cellphone as I was getting ready for work. Making sure both the camera and mic were off, I took off my jammies and stepped into the shower, bathing as I half listened to the conversations in the background. My showers are quick and done, usually within a good six or seven minutes unless my hair needs washing, then you can add an additional two minutes. Once done, I stepped out from the shower, haphazardly threw on a towel and very carefully picked up my cellphone to then again carefully let it fall onto the bed without accidently hitting a button which could potentially activate the camera. Trust me, I have seen too many videos of zoom calls gone wrong to not be in abject horror of something happening to me. I refuse to be that coworker who flashes a piece of boob or other body part.

Feeling like I sometimes waste time off

This is a three-day weekend with Monday being Memorial Day, so I am able to take that extra day off from work. Yes, it will be hectic on Tuesday when we return but it’s nice to have that one additional day off. To rest. To disconnect mentally. To do a lot or do nothing.

Sometimes though, I do feel as if I am wasting my time off. This Saturday, I went to my three local spots to stock up on food and water refills and then spent the rest of the day doing a small batch of laundry and quite a bit of nothing much. Today, Sunday, I did another bit of laundry (completed the bed sheets and clothes left), binged a bit of Netflix and then visited my parents for an hour, played with their doggo and came back home to. Hours spent doing minor things.

Sometimes I feel as if I “waste” my weekend not going out, discovering new places, hanging out with friends, spending money all around town and instead I am home. At least I am fulfilling the restful part which I so need. I am very much someone who needs that disconnect from the world. To hide out for a day. To be a bum and home. Yet it does not stop the terrible thoughts that I should be doing more because people tell you not to waste your time… even though I don’t consider this wasteful. At least not to my mental peace.

Today the sky was this absolutely beautiful blue

As I stepped out from my car to get into the building where I was going to do some work today, I took a moment in that 90-degree heat to stop and look upwards. Between the blaring sunshine and the small patches of clouds that were around, the sky was this blue shade that made me wish I was laying on in a field on top of a blanket just gazing up at it for hours. It was that deep baby blue which is the same shade of some people’s eyes which seem to pierce into your soul when they look at you; it’s what we see of our oceans when it’s caressing the sands and dancing with sea foam. It was soothing for that short time I gazed up, letting my brain drink in the beauty of that shade.

My stomach just said Awwooawwwgurglegurgle

Sitting here with my headphones connected to my laptop and my insides are growling and making weird bear like noises which can be air running through my intestines. It is a low frequency, and it gurgles a bit which makes me crack up but also makes me worry that later on there will be… a lot of gas. At least I live alone and don’t need to worry about suffocating a boyfriend… though I will worry about it possibly happening to me. Ah the fun things our bodies do. It just gurgled again. O_O

Love homemade pasta but it’s a lot of work

I love tinkering in foods and making things from scratch is a lovely and delicious idea… but it is honestly so much work. Let’s take pasta. I went through a phase where I made pasta for myself on a handful of occasions. Got everything going, considered buying the KitchenAid pasta attachment but when I saw it was $100 for a meal I only make once in a blue moon, I pulled back on the purchase. Saw a manual one in a store but it needed to be attached to the counter with a weird holder and then the pasta had to be hand cranked and was also a pain to clean so I went with a cutting board and a wooden rolling pin to thin out till flattened and cut the pasta for the thickest spaghetti I’ve ever had. It was crazy tasty but all the work beforehand took away quite a bit of the fun of it. It was even more devasting when I saw that a certain seller in my local supermarket sells fresh made pasta for just $3 and it’s a perfect serving for two meals for me. I store away my cutting board and wooden rolling pin, save my arms from the required strenuous labor of having to squish down the homemade pasta and buy the pre-made one which tastes just as delicious for less than five dollars.

My knees are beginning to cause issues

Mami has rheumatoid arthritis, mostly one of her knees and it is truly beginning to cause her pain to the point that she is going to get an MRI soon and look into possibly surgery. The other day we had to cancel my parents 50th wedding anniversary because she was unable to even stand for long periods and had to use the wheelchair which had aided my brothers during their accidents many years ago to even get around their house. Luckily Pop is not with any physical issues so he can do lot of the things around the block when her body acts up.

One of my aunts living up in NY has a pretty severe case of rheumatoid arthritis on her hands. They are becoming less usable to her as time goes on and I know my uncle is also doing whatever he can to help. This getting older deal sure is taking a toll in ways that I am really worrying on my own troublemaking knees. Our physical wear and tear begins when you least expect it, I tell you.

The frightening alarm

I recently upgraded my home alarm system and installed all of the entry sensors, motion detectors and indoor camera myself. While I was making my decision on which one to purchase, I viewed a few Youtube videos and saw how well this system worked.

Two days ago, and after a long day at work, I was sitting peacefully in my living room and watching some television when a quick storm passed by at 6:15pm. The sound of the wind picking up outside and then the rush of the downpour was calming and nice until the power blinked off for a split second. It caused my microwave to reset and my tv to power down, but the worse thing was that it triggered the home security system to momentarily alarm. It was loud. Spooked the socks off my feet, I swear. Now, I want to be made aware if – Heaven forbid – someone tries to break into my home but hearing that loud noise is also going to freak me the heck out.

If it happens when I am home, I know it is going to be one heck of an adrenaline rush and will probably have my heart will want to pop out of my chest.

The wide foot

My feet are a bit wide. Wide enough that I have difficulty finding shoes sometimes. A lot of shoes in places come in the M size – they’re pretty with thin straps or meant for thin feet. Sure, the shoe companies have improved upon their sizing and make quite a lot more choices for feet like mine.. and some which are even a WW – extra, extra wide which is wonderful. It can still be a hit or miss though. Some wide shoes just don’t fit great for X or Y reason – the stretch of the wideness needed a bit more or the fit just is not working but I do give them kudos for giving us the little extra we need. Still I do find myself struggling to find a lot of shoes I really love dearly so when that Cinderella moment of the perfect fit for my slightly un-perfect feet comes along, I stock up on the pairs if I can.

Never used Door Dash or any similar service

Part of it is that I am a tightwad when it comes to my money, part of it is that I am not overly trustful when it comes to who touches my food or comes to my home. I have never used any kind of delivery of food items to my home (okay, I did up Instacart once was when my car was out of commission, I had no food at the house, so I ordered from my supermarket, but all of the food was enclosed and none of it was cooked or able to be touched).

No one from Door Dash or any kind of delivery of a specific dining place has come to my home. First off, if I want something that badly, I will make the trip and either go through the drive thru or walk into place my order and then return home. It’s understood that there is going to be a surcharge for this service, and I am not about to belt out anything additional that is not needed to be spent. The other reason is you are fully trusting whomever it is that is bringing this to you to deliver it unblemished. I eat out because I need to, but I am always wary of how well folks wash their hands or overall cleanliness. Recently I was out eating at a local place and the guy near the hibachi was coughing his face off without any face guard on. Luckily, I had already gotten my food but seeing that tainted the experience for me and I will not return there. Even long before Covid, humans have been and continue to be a germy little being and some folks have no problems spreading theirs.