All the local stores have summer items on clearance now. There are some great bargains if you have the cash and want to store the things until Spring and next Summer. I found a great propane grill that was originally over $400 and it was marked down to only $135 at target. The clerk even knocked off another 10% because I got the last one and it was a floor model with no box. Now that’s a bargain!
Summer Wrapup
I cannot believe today is the first day of September. That means that summer is almost over and we have to get ready for Autumn.
I like Autumn, but I have allergies to leaf mold. So even though the leaves are beautiful to look at, they make my eyes water and my nose get stuffed up. Sometimes I get a sore throat and sometimes my ears hurt, too. So I have about 3 weeks of misery ahead of me.
Star Gazing
My boyfriend has a new Android cell phone and he has been busy downloading apps for it. I have watched and most of them seem pretty boring. They are mostly for guys, I think.
There is a cool one that I saw, though. This one lets you hold the camera up to the sky at night, and the stars that show on your viewfinder are geocoded somehow. The app tells you what stars and planets you are looking at, what the constellations are by outlining them on your phone, and letting you take a picture of an eclipse. That was pretty cool.
Exotic Rides
Have you ever ridden on an exotic animal? There are pictures of me as a little girl riding horses, and then one day there was a circus and my parents paid for me to ride on an elephant. I barely remember that, but they took a couple of pictures, so I know it is true. If I can find those old photos I will scan them and put one up here so you can see I’m not lying. lol
Texting is Hard on the Old Phones
If you want to start texting people you really need to ditch your old basic phone. The new phones have keyboards and you only press a key once to have it register. The old phones need you to press the same keys repeatedly to advance through the alphabet. That is so time consuming and so easy to make a mistake. I am looking into getting a new phone next month when my contract runs out. There are some really good deals on the internet and some of them don’t even require a new contract. I just have to wait a month, then my thumbs will be getting a real workout!
Litter Patrol
Lately a nice looking older gentleman has been walking the neighborhood streets every afternoon with his dog. They are both pretty old and walk very slow. But I suspect they both enjoy the exercise and the time together.
Today I noticed that he has started carrying a canvas bag over his shoulder and he stops to pick up trash on the side of the street. What a nice things to do! I will stop and tell him that I appreciate his efforts next time I see him.
Four Play
Four Play is a jazz group that I like. Once in a while I like to listen to a jazz station and have some soothing background music playing while I sort through paperwork or other tasks. There are no jazz stations on the radio here, so I rely on the internet to stream music from a station on the west coast. Thee are two excellent jazz stations in California – one is in San Francisco and the other is in San Diego. Sometimes I think moving to California would be worth it just for the cultural experiences out there.
Street Concerts
I miss the days when people would just block off a city street and have a party. We used to blockade the street by the community center and have a street dance on Friday nights. A local band would play for free or sometimes we had a DJ. It as a family event – all ages would show up and dance in the street. It was a great way to spend time with our neighbors and the parents did not have to worry about getting a babysitter to have fun.
Best Burgers
Last night I made the best burgers. I decided to take some ground chuck, not regular hamburger meat, and mix it with some chopped onions. Then I sprinkled a couple of heaping tablespoons of dry ranch dressing into the meat. I added some ketchup to the meat for moisture and put them on the grill. Wow – they turned out so tasty – finger smacking good!
My favorite burger toppings is a slice of fresh tomato, a dab of mustard and a thick slice of vidalia onion. If you happen to have some leaf lettuce handy, that is good, too.
GPS Help
Sometimes I really appreciate having a GPS in the car. Most of the time I know where I need to go. But sometimes I get stuck in traffic and need to find an alternate route. If I’m in a part of town that I don’t know very well, the GPS really comes in handy helping me find a way around the traffic snarl or accident, without making a lot of wrong turns or heading down dead end streets.