I have had a sort-of busy day already. Thankfully, I finally went in for a haircut. I feel lighter already! As well, my ears and neck are no longer covered with gray hair. It does feel pretty chilly though. I go to Great Clips, a national chain with a location just a few minutes from my place. They keep track of my preferred cut and can recreate it quickly. My grocery store also had a $5 off coupon. A double winner!
After that adventure, I went grocery shopping at Vons, a California version of Albertsons. It used to be a California version of Safeway, but with all the consolidation in that industry, it’s hard to keep track. Yet again, I was shocked at how expensive groceries are these days. I hope a change in our government can reverse some of that.
Later, I went to my ex’s house. I always buy her some treats that she is too busy or thrifty to buy herself. It is a little thing that makes me happy. Other than those adventures, today has been pretty typical, although we are expecting a big rainstorm over the next few hours. Akiva and I are safe and dry inside for the rest of the day. My Amazon Echo device is showing thunderstorms. My phone weather app just shows rain. From my experience, the Echo is always wrong. We shall see as the evening progresses. The electrical infrastructure in California is terrible. A single lightning bolt hitting a transformer and the lights are out. It also seems our governor has shut down all the power generation (except solar). Another reason our electric rates are outrageous.
My latest project is to throw stuff away. I have accumulated a ton of stuff: papers, clothes, shoes, and other things I just do not use. There is a charity in town that will take clothes and some household items. They resell them or give them to the poor souls who go to their food kitchens. I also have a lot of books. I hope to be able to donate many of the hardcover books to a library. I also have a sizable collection of music CDs, vinyl records, and movie DVDs. I plan to keep most of those, although I did give a Willie Nelson CD set to Aida. She has a friend who absolutely loves Willie. I was probably never going to listen to it again, so it is a win-win for all. Music is huge for Aida. Me, not so much.
Of course, my focus is on my books yet to be born. And maybe an eventual move to Florida, or somewhere else. There is always time in God’s universe, so I will let those things happen when it is their time. That philosophy goes with comment yesterday about being kind to ourselves. There will always be someone who wants to nit-pick everyone else. Ignore them. Most likely, they feel worse about themselves than you. I wish you all the best.
In case you wonder why I always say “all the best,” in one of my jobs, our CEO was Henri Dominque-Petit. Yes, that was a French company. He was always thoughtful and caring. He ended all his memos or letters with A Bien Tot. Obviously, that means all the best. Clearly, he had a big impact on me. Thanks for checking out my blog post!! And please follow the link below to check out the other awesome writers participating in this challenge.
Hi Karl–We’re trying to get rid of stuff, too. We have a basement filled with things we don’t need. We had a problem with moisture in our basement, now helped by a huge dehumidifier that covers the whole thing. We had mold down there, and we need to throw things away. That’s easier said and done with my husband around. When he was still working, I could sneak things out to the trash. Now that he’s home, it’s much more difficult to throw things away. He rarely leaves the house these days. I have to get better at sneaking things into the trash! I don’t want our kids to have to get rid of all this stuff.
Hi, Karl,
Nice post. Food is high in Europe, but I like to cook and eat fresh foods, so I buy it anyway. I started downsizing last year and made me a promise that I won’t keep anything that I don’t use. So every year, I give away or throw out things I don’t use.
I find it so loving and kind that you and Aida are still close. That is cool!
Have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
Hey Karl, funny you should mention discarding accumulated things. I just took several boxes of discards over to the Salvation Army in my neighborhood today. On the way I also had to dodge all the garbage and recycling trucks going through the neighborhood. I’ve been removing over 30 years worth of junk since before covid. It never seems to end. I also got rid of most of my VHS movies and music. That industry just kept on changing faster than I could keep up. I left my library of books at my mother’s when I moved out. I belonged to Columbia House book club and bought more books than I could count.
Have a good day!
Having a clearout is always good Karl, keep up the good work. Whay do you have a hankering for a move? Is that a serious thought or a fleeting moment. Food prices in the U.K. have risen dramatically as has car insurance. We are thinking of maybe down sizing to one car. I’m not really ready for that yet. I like some independance. But needs must.
Karl, if you haven’t looked for it during the last six months, then pitch it. We learned our lesson years ago. My wife saved everything from my daughter while she was growing up. We had walkways created because stuff was stacked to the rafters. We have a quad level home so the basement is small anyway (24×24). Anyway, our sump pump failed and I didn’t notice for a couple of days. When I did, the water was already cresting the bottom step. Once we had it fixed and a water-based system installed as a back-up, everything had to be pitched. I lost my treadmill, most of my 30 year collection of Playboy magazines, my eight-track player and cassettes, and most of my LP record collection. That was 30 years ago! You’d think we learned our lesson…my wife is doing it all over again with granddaughter’s stuff. I’ll have to sneak stuff out to the garbage every week.