Its -14*C/6.8*F out there this morning. That is pretty cold. How grateful I am to be tucked up in my warm little house. My heart is thinking about any who have not got a warm place to shelter on this cold, cold morning. I cannot imagine such a fate and yet, I know that in my area alone, there are several hundred people without a home. As far as I know there is no homeless shelter here where I live. I don't know what people do. It pains my heart to think about it. I found this article online which is from the 10th of January. Some is being done, but it is no where near enough. I am not sure what the answer is.
If I was a much younger and fitter person I could do more about it, but now, all I can do is to throw money at it when and as I can.
I don't remember people being homeless in my younger years, although I am sure that there must have been people living in dire circumstances. I do not think the numbers were as great as they are now. I know that my grandfather left home at the age of 12 and used to be seen sitting on his older sister's doorstep looking for a handout, which had to be given in secret from what I understand. He was a troubled young man, a child really, at that age. I do not think my great grandparents were bad people. They had a farm in New Germany. I think my grandfather was just unwilling to abide by the rules of the home. I think he was a bit of a wanderer and got work when and as he could. I do know that he served time in Prison for the armed robbery of a local store when he was a young man, but mom always said he took the blame for someone else. I wish there was someone I could ask the details from, but they are all gone now for the most part. My Uncle Harold might know more.
Family history is such a fascinating subject. I need to be writing these stories down or they will be forgotten forever. There are some people who have very clear and concise histories written. I have an acquaintance Julie who has books and photographs, etc. of all of her family history. People have clearly taken great care to keep it down through the years. We, in my family, are not so lucky. It been mostly given by word of mouth and not really catalogued as such. I do keep journals, but that is not the same as keeping a family history.
Cindy and I went out yesterday afternoon to bring some supper to Dad and to do a bit of grocery shopping. We had not been together to do that since Friday. She did bring dad to hers on Sunday, but Monday was a snow day. We always make sure that he had some frozen dinners that he can heat up if need be and Cindy had left him with a few sandwiches for his lunch when she was there on Saturday as well. He was happy to see us. We puttered about his place doing this and that and visited with him for a time.
He always cheers up when he sees us. I know not being able to get out and about is depressing him a bit. He is even unable to check his mail because he has to walk to the end of his street and his mobility is not that good. He used to drive down. Tonight of course Hazel will be picking him up and bringing him to the Big Scoop for supper. I will be meeting them there. Sometimes Cindy comes, but she is not today. I will miss having her there.
I don't necessarily want to go every week myself, but my father has come to count on me being there and I don't want to disappoint him. Plus it is nice for me to get out and about as well. I do get out a lot with my sister also which is great. I think when I was living in Chester, other than church or grocery shopping I never went anywhere for the most part those last few years. Mind, Covid had put a huge damper on things as well.
I've been watching shows on Netflix about eating. First I watched You are What You Eat, the Twins Experiment, and then yesterday I started to watch What the Health. They really have me questioning the way we eat. Of course my friend Jackie has been telling me for years that Dairy is the devil. But I like Dairy.
Milk, cream, butter, eggs, cheese . . . I can happily live without meat for the most part and that doesn't bother me. But trying to find a healthy way to eat without Dairy is causing me to stress out a bit. There are just no great alternatives here where I live. Half the time the vegetables are really inferior looking as well. I was in the store yesterday and wanted to buy a cauliflower but gave up as every cauliflower I looked at had brown spots and looked bad. I am not going to pay $6 for something which has clearly seen better days. I saw some nice looking cheese (vegan) but it was $13 for a small piece so I didn't get that either.
I bought bread, and some fruit and a few other bits. But my mind is in a turmoil over it all. Last night for my supper I had a spinach salad with strawberries, blueberries and dried cranberries, with some toasted walnuts and a peanut butter cookie for dessert. The salad was a good choice, but the cookie, not so much.
Isn't she adorable? I so wish I had more time to play . . . I could quite happily lose myself in a pit of doll-dom. I love these dolls so much. Alas that does not pay the bills.
According to my Fit Bit I do not sleep very well. Most nights I only get between 6 and 7 hours and much of my sleep is very restless. I move around a lot, wake up a lot. I only deep sleep for a very short time. The rest is light sleep.
It is no wonder I find myself nodding off when I finally sit down to watch television at the end of the day. I spend most of the evening nodding off and on before I finally give up and go to bed. And then I do fall asleep right way, but it is short lived. I always wake up about half an hour later and then the restlessness begins. I do dream a lot it seems. Vividly. I often remember them, but other times I won't.
Right now I feel as if I could go back to bed, but I won't because I know I really wouldn't sleep if I did and In about 45 minutes Cindy will be calling me for our morning cycling session and I have things to get done before that happens.
I always like to be washed and dressed, my bed made, the litter box scooped, etc. I am a creature of habit. One day last week I stayed in my pajamas the whole day. That was really out of the ordinary for me. I was rebelling, lol!
It is hard to believe that here we are already on the last day of January. Hasn't the month sped by? Or is it just me who is feeling like it has slipped off the calendar far too quickly! I hope that is not a sign of how this year is going to go. I want time to slow down a bit and not disappear as quickly as it does. I am not sure what the secret to that is. I guess it is just that I keep myself very busy, which is a good thing. I would rather be busy than the alternative. I am never bored. I could use an extra three or four hours in every day!
And although I have wittered on this morning about not a lot at all, I find myself having to end this now with a thought for today as I am running out of time, so here we go . . .
A thought to carry with you . . .
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˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★
In The English Kitchen today . . . Quick & Easy Lo Mein Noodles. These were really delicious. They go together really quickly as well, once you have all of the veggies chopped, etc.
I hope that you have a beautiful day! Whatever you get up to, don't forget!
Careful with that fitbit. All smart devices are big surveillance tools used by big government and corporations to intrude on people's privacy, and gather data without their permission.
ReplyDeleteI suppose you could find a conspiracy around every corner if you wanted to. I cannot see what a fitbit would show them other than how much I sleep, how many steps I take in a day, etc. All health related. But I could be wrong and often am! xo
DeleteYou are really in a wintery time, cold and snow. This would be a good time for your Dad to to a 'sleepover' at Cindy's to see how he gets on. At least you are able to get out in this cold. I rely on frozen veggies at lot at this time of the year as fresh is not always good, and very expensive. But I love roasties and frozen just doesn't cook that way. Homeless is an issue everywhere, at least there are warming centers in the towns where I live. The homeless get a bad reputation here, because of a group who are stealing, setting fires, breaking into places etc. Stay warm, enjoy dinner out with your Dad tonight.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea Linda! Not sure my dad would be willing to leave his cat overnight. We can but try! As far as I know the homeless don't cause a lot of problems around here, but there has been an upsurge in petty theft. Not sure who is doing that though. Its a real conundrum everywhere! xoxo
DeleteSometimes in these parts, I think that stores have taken advantage of the covid mess, and are still selling very inadequate fresh stuff especially. I was in store yesterday hunting for few things, thought to get broccoli...but nope, not willing to pay anything for what should already be thrown in trash. I do have some frozen veggies on hand and we have gone to eating most fruit (other than apples) from cans. I got sick of throwing things out that never ripened. It seems many things in our countries have totally gone to waste. I am STILL waiting for the post office to deliver that pkg sent now over a week ago to my daughter. So far it has been in 7 cities...sometimes going back and forth between them. Go figure!! There ought to be a law against treating customers such!! If we were in charge, it would different, wouldn't it??
ReplyDeleteHugs, Elizabeth xo
That's crazy Elizabeth! Nobody seems to be willing to do their jobs today, or what they are being paid for. Its really inept of that package to still be moving around like that without being delivered! I would be a bit hostile! I think frozen and canned are the way to go in the winter months for sure as far as fruit and veg go! xoxo
DeleteI find veggies are still affordable if we follow the specials..but ythe fruit..very pricey here.Funny I saw a Doc on Tikitok saying you must eat cheese every AM..and then a funny one..a man saying hewas going to eat healthy..starts with oatmeal then shows a doc saying Oatmeal is for horses..and so on and so forth.Who are we to believe..LOL
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