Tuesday, June 7, 2022
It’s hot, humid summer weather in southern Missouri. My back only hurts at night and I’m still going to the chiropractor. Today, Ray was driving pretty fast along the ridge. Not kidding, I think my rear lifted off of the seat on a couple of those hills. Tense and white-knuckled, I told him, “I bet the chiropractor will be shocked at how loosey-goosey I am this morning.”
Saturday night we watched the Springfield Cardinals lose to the Arkansas Travelers at Hammons Field. It was a good game though. A foul ball hit the net behind home plate and spilled a fan’s beer. And the Cardinals batted back to back out of the-park home runs.
The guys have been watching predictions about inflation and shortages of necessities. “Buy it now,” they say, “it’ll never be this cheap again and these shortages and famine will last for years.” I guess my fears of disease, war, ticks, spiders, snakes, bad grammar, and insanity weren’t enough, now dread of toilet paper shortages is back. Geez.
We filled up the Jeep this morning for $4.39/gallon. It was $4.49 almost everywhere else. Last week for at least three days, gas was $4.25 everywhere. It was eerie. I’ve never seen it for the same price at all the filling stations. I don’t know what’s going on. Add price-fixing to my above list of fears.
Squirrels have been dining at my birdfeeders. Well, we’re hosting squirrels, chipmunks, voles, and cottontails. Today, Ray bought a couple of squirrel baffles. He told the cashier, “I think we spend more on birds than we did on our children.” He may be right.
Ray flies back to Ft. Worth tomorrow for a week. He and Matt have been organizing the shop and garage. My back trouble saved—I mean prevented me from helping.
I’ve lost count of the recent mass shootings in the US. Putin is still bombarding Ukraine. New strands of COVID-19 are lurking about and the Monkey Pox is gaining ground.
Sunday, June 12, 2022
The guys were out of town this weekend and a downy woodpecker got in the garage. Nature taught him to fly up in danger which didn’t work out well for him in the garage when I tried to shoo him out. I left the garage open for nearly two days before he finally escaped.
Monday, June 20, 2022
I attended the Between the Pages Writers’ Conference in Springfield this weekend and pitched five picture book manuscripts to an agent. She liked one, so I’ll send it to her soon.
We found a cheap old 4WD pickup and bought it. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get out of the driveway regardless of the weather this winter. Last year we were trapped at the house.
We had a few hot days with temperatures near 100, but the highs are around 90 for the next few days.
A recent news story taught me a new word. Shrinkflation: it’s when companies package items in smaller containers but the price remains the same. Packaging seldom returns to the larger size. I’ve noticed it all my life, but I never knew there was a name for it, other than trickery or deceit.
Friday, June 24, 2022
Ray and I went to a nearby berry farm and picked blueberries yesterday evening. It was therapeutic. The temperature was about 85. This variety grew on tall bushes so we didn’t have to bend down to pick them. The farm supplied buckets, belts to attach them to our waists, and insect repellent. They charged us $3.75/lb. I picked a little over a pound and Ray picked over 3 pounds. We froze most of them and I made a spinach salad with some and added some to a lemonade pie.
Monday, June 27, 2022
We kicked off Elvis Summer at the new Baz Luhrmann Elvis movie last night. I loved the cinematography. It was a glitzy and glamorous feast for the eyes—being filmed mostly in Vegas added some sparkle. The story is a sad retelling of how Colonel Parker took advantage of the Presleys to fund his gambling addiction. The music and acting were great. It didn’t feel like it had been over two and a half hours before Elvis left the building.
Some critter is uprooting my potted plants on the porch and planting sunflower seeds. We think it’s the chipmunk.
The US Supreme Court overturned Row vs. Wade allowing each state to allow or outlaw abortion. There were protests across the country and an abortion clinic in Longmont, CO was vandalized and set on fire.