October Eve 2021

Already the end of September! Today's weather is in the 80s and the same is expected for tomorrow. Just when I thought it was the to retire the shorts for the year, it starts t get hot again. And I needed new jeans, so I went and got some at the outlet stores in Gilroy, CA. I've only worn one of my new pairs so far.

With this year's holiday season looking to be a repeat of last year's grim season, I am once again uncertain about dressing for Halloween, but may redo another costume this year if I choose to. In the past, I never redid costumes, but the current circumstances made me think otherwise. I'm hoping for at least a small celebration at work again this year. I began decorating the yard with the same stuff as last year, except the tape and the fake cobwebs. I went looking for extra decorations today, but have not found many. Still have yet to look at Target. Will keep you posted if I get more.

Homework Flashback

Seeing this recent parody video by the Holderness Family game me flashbacks to my school days:

 

I began remembering how complicated word problems get. Anyone remember how this was? I'm just glad I don't have to worry about this stuff anymore. And how many quadratic equations? I could never be of assistance for any of these things. Even without kids or students to teach, hearing this stuff still boggles my mind. What would I be doing now? Glad I don't have to worry about that 🙂

Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold

Fall officially starts on Wednesday. But the weather here hasn't been like that depicted in the photos above. It's been not too hot and not to cold recently. Though it's been hard to determine whether to retire the shorts yet and bring out the sweaters. That question never changes around here at this time of the year. 

And I am still undecided about when to bring out the Halloween decorations. This means putting the lounge chair away until next summer (it's been lying on the front lawn). An other decision that is hard to make right now because of the unpredictable weather. Though I am glad not to have been facing nearly 100 degree weather. Hoping it doesn't get that hot.

20 Years Later

I still can't believe it's been 20 years since 9/11. I can still remember what I was doing that day when I got the news. From past blogposts remembering the anniversary of 9/11:

One chapter in my memoir is titled "Tragedy in 2001," telling what I was doing in the months and days just before the attacks.  Here is a synopsis.  I was working at a restaurant under a new boss who began that summer after the previous owners sold the place.  The new boss was indeed a horrible boss, yelling at everyone, including his wife and their son. Work was now more like a prison camp, and it just got worse as the summer went on. Fortunately, I was able to get off for two different cousins's weddings, one in July and one in September. I ended up getting fired just before the second wedding; the horrible last day was the Sunday before Labor Day 2001. In the days that followed, I went looking for another job, to see movies and then to the wedding, which was just three days before the bombings. 

On the day of the bombings, after trying to keep up with the news on TV, I needed to be out and was I ever glad I made that decision. I saw that the Dollar Tree was opening in my town, so I went by to pick up an application and was immediately hired.

 Let's not forget that day.

Fall or Nothing

That is the title of a recent parody video by the Holderness Family:

I have not yet begun to decorate for Halloween (I usually leave that until the end of September) and have not been hoarding decorations for then either. It has been warm lately, though recent temperatures have not gotten to nearly 100. And I certainly won't be putting on sweaters until it gets really cold. It's not easy to tell when that will be in my neck of the woods.

Again, I'm the weather hasn't been nearing 100 degrees, but I know the warm weather will linger for most of this month. No sweaters seem forthcoming for at least a month.

And today I saw this on Facebook:

I have not been to Walmart for sometime now, but have not see Christmas stuff at Target or Dollar Tree yet. Last time I was at Target, I did not see any Halloween yet. I still miss Kmart as they always had a better Halloween selection than Target. The still-empty Kmart building would have been great for a Spirit Halloween store. But the only time a Spirit store came to my town was in 2014 and way back in 1999. The nearest one to me will be in Gilroy at the former Pier One Imports building. I don't know if I will get to the store. It's been years since I've gone to one of these stores and with the holiday season looking pretty grim like last year's, it is uncertain if I will be even thinking much about Halloween. I most likely will be decorating the yard at the very least. And right now Christmas is the farthest thing from my mind, though I can't see much of  celebration this year. Even before the coronavirus, celebration Christmas hadn't been a big thing in a our family in recent years. I don't see that changing much this year.

Toilet Paper & Coins

Just the other day I heard on TV that toilet paper hoarding was staring again. It was enough to make me panic and bring back memories of the beginning of the pandemic a year-and-a-half ago. I began picturing in my mind the empty shelves like these:

But today at the store, there was plenty of TP to be found. I snagged one 12-pack of the Safeway brand. I'd heard on the news that Costco (which I don't go to) was limiting the number of toilet paper packs customers could buy at a time. Even with the anxiety brought on by the announcement, I did not feel a need to hoard packs of toilet paper. The one currently at home has not yet run out, but I still felt a need to get one today. 

And another thing that occurred last year seems to be happening again--coin shortages. At least that's what signs at some stores are saying. I got a pizza yesterday at Little Caesars and did not have enough coins to give along with the $20 I gave. But the cashier was able to give the right change. And I used debit for the non-food items I got at Safeway today, not even thinking about the possible coin shortage.  

So far, neither of these has been trouble for me. But I now fear it may be, with everything these days seeming repetitive. ...

Chapter Break Bingo – September 2021

 Here is the card for September.

My Books:

1. Dinosaurs Before Dark--Mary Pope Osborne (1 square): Audiobook
2. Bird Summons-Leila Aboulela (3 squares): E-Book, New-to-You Author, Not in a Series
3. The Country Guesthouse--Robyn Carr (4 squares): Shelf Love, Physical Book, In a Series, Book Club Read, Weather on the Cover
4. How to Be a Pirate--Cressida Cowell (9 squares): Pirates, Library Book, Ship/Boat on the Cover, Demon, Short (Under 300 Pages), Travel/Journey, Enemies/Frenemies, Disguise, Beard/Piercing/Tattoo
5. Circe--Madeline Miller (2 squares): Single-Word Title, Historic Setting
6. Invincible Louisa--Cornelia Meigs (2 squares): Woman on the Cover, Free Space
7. TTFN--Lauren Myracle (2 squares): Set in a School, Love Triangle
8. Ace of Spades--Faridah Abike-Iyimide (1 square): Free Book

25 squares completed on September 21