The Red Invitation

On Wednesday, I got through the last of the hard parts and finished the book written by the Great Granddaughter I never knew I had.

Available on Amazon

It ended on a high note, with her doing great things … a non-profit, podcasts, a goal of connecting with other adoptees/foster youths, create safe spaces.

How was I depicted in the book you ask?

"My GG (great grandma) does voodoo". LOL.

She’s not entirely correct, but she’s not entirely wrong.

Also on Wednesday, through the kitchen window, I noticed something red posted to White-Haired Neighbors' door.

If she had something posted to her door, it was likely I also had something. Opened the door, checked and sure enough … it was an invitation from management to attend "Let’s Give Thanks – join us for a Thanksgiving Lunch, Tuesday November 24th".

WHAT!? Now I’m getting scared.

First, management threw that Halloween Party on the 30th of last month, and now they’re hosting a Thanksgiving event just weeks later????. Like, why are they suddenly being so good to us?

No question, I won’t be attending because it’s a purely eating event, and I can’t eat anything they are likely to serve. Plus, and too, there’s likely to be that annoying bullshite ceremony where they go around the room, everyone says what they are thankful for.

That's a little too hokey for me. So, if photos are to be taken for posting to the Residents’ facebook page, one of the Usual Suspects will have to take them, forward to me for posting.

I had been considering heading to Long Beach for the Thanksgiving Holiday but then, I remembered how boring Long Beach had been during a former Thanksgiving visit. Not to mention, reviews on my favorite hotel in the downtown area, with a view of the Queen Mary, seems to indicate the hotel and area have gone down considerably, because the area has been taken over by the unhoused.

Confirming with granddaughter, she tells me it has gotten bad, for that reason … you can’t even safely walk in the area, the noxious smells, sidewalks littered with animal and human feces.

So, if I go, I’ll have to switch to a hotel she suggested that’s near the airport.

There’s also to consider that, if I go for Thanksgiving, I’m likely to run into White Grandma (whom the great grandbabies call "Pink Grandma" as opposed to Twin 1, whom they referred to as "Brown Grandma"). I’m just "GG", no color assigned, LOL.

I’m thinking, I’ll save the visit for closer to Christmas when I can do "Breakfast with Santa" with the toddlers at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Lastly, on Wednesday … the day when she who shall henceforth remain nameless on this here blog because she told me there would no longer be crafts on Wednesdays, those days supposedly reserved for doctor appointments and then proceeded to have sessions nevertheless, leaving me out of the notification process, the seniors had crafts. They made decorative plates.

Missed Opportunity

So glad I headed out yesterday, when outside was dry, for that lottery ticket to test the theory of luck, as a result of seeing those mushrooms.

Problem is … once inside the market, I got everything EXCEPT the lottery ticket. Didn’t remember it until I was already back in the car headed home.

Missed opportunity; so, I guess I’ll never know unless and until I see more mushrooms, promptly test the theory.

Seeing the heavy rain this morning, my thoughts went to it being a good excuse for not heading outside, down to the Community Room for the 11:30 Halloween Costume Party.

Then, around about 11:15, I saw Buttons (our 86-year-old) headed to the room, dressed as a Hippy, and then Upstairs Lady (the resident who has problems with her legs/Lymphedema) not in a costume, but bearing the weather nonetheless. It motivated me to put on the old Disneyland leggings, add a black top, do the face makeup.

Added a tail.

Head out for the Community Room in rain boots and holding an umbrella.

The place was jumping; about 25 residents and upbeat Halloween music – like Season of the Witch, Backstreet’s Back Alright, etc.

Staff was dressed like a box of crayons.

Soooo Cute

The meal was my favorite … Chinese Food, which has been on the list of foods my sensitive stomach can no longer tolerate for years; and which, if I cheat, will have me suffering weeks of discomfort. So, I settled for taking pictures, enjoying the aroma of Chinese Food while drinking coffee.

Insofar as costumes, in addition to the Hippy, we had an Angel, Priest, Tiger, Rich B-itch (dressed in a fur coat, rings on every finger, handing out fake $100 bills), Walking Dead Zombie. My little Hispanic friend and her husband dressed as Vaquera and Vaquero (Mexican Cowboys), and then there was me.

I'm nothing if not thorough, so I didn't forget Minnie's official gloves.

No surprise, I didn't win ... never do.

The Universe knows I don't need the validation nor the prize.

Costume winners were the Rich B-itch taking 3rd place, the Angel taking 2nd Place and the Zombie taking 1st place.

I expect it will be quiet around here for a while, but you can never tell.

Same Thing

Out walking this afternoon, I ran into the Lady With the White Dog – building in front of the grassy knoll, upstairs unit, diagonal to my line of sight, and a close friend of my former Next Door Neighbor.

Asking how NDN was doing, she said she’s going to visit her this week, asked if I wanted to tag along.

She looked surprised when I declined, asked why.

"I’m just not a person who visits", said I. "NDN will tell you that herself, because I never visited with her when she was living next door".

She seemed a bit stunned … "You didn’t talk to her!?".

"We talked all the time. I just didn’t visit with her in her unit. That’s not who I am".

I’m not sure she understood, but she let it go saying, "I probably should stop visiting her myself, because I come back mad. She has it so good over there … the area, the grounds, her unit, the people are so friendly, and I just don’t understand why some people get all that she has and I don’t".

Now, it was my turn to be stunned.

"You get jealous?!" asked I.

"No. Not jealous. I just don’t understand why some people have that kind of luck and I don't".

Don't Understand/Jealousy …… Sounds like the same thing to me, but I didn’t say that. Instead, I said, "We’re not chopped liver over here. We don’t have it bad. Everyone has a fit, and I personally love it here …… It’s affordable, clean, no one bothers me, it’s near to everything I need. I’ve lived in worse. I’ve lived in better; but I’ve been content wherever I was because it’s in me to be".

She didn’t look convinced, but said, "I guess you’re right. It’s better than being homeless”.

Fortunately, another neighbor walked up, giving me an opportunity to excuse myself from the conversation, continue on with my walk. However, the conversation stuck with me, as I found it so interesting to run into a person who actually coveted what someone else had in that manner …… got upset/"mad" because …… "Why can’t I be that lucky to have what she has".

The Universe gives us what we need.

Other than that, all’s quiet around here …… not a lot of Halloween decorations going up, which is bummer, nothing to see on my walks.

The Baker is doing well …… actually held Bingo for the seniors this past Friday, and the room was packed.

I know because I had to deliver flyers for November bingo games to the room.

I didn’t linger. I was just in, handed Baker the flyers, and was gone. But she texted me today to see if I felt better.

WHAT?!!

"How did you know I wasn’t feeling well?", I texted back.

"When you came in with the flyers, I could see in your eyes that you didn’t feel good and you didn’t stay. You didn’t walk around and talk to everybody" and that she thought it might have something to do with her husband’s Celebration of Life.

She’s partially correct, as that was how it started, and it’s pretty darn amazing that the Baker could see that just by looking in my eyes, put it together.

She’s deeper than I thought.

At any rate, I let her know "I’m just working myself through some emotional trauma" and no, I don’t want to talk about it, I’m better working through it on my own.

Friday is Management’s Halloween Party. I’m tempted not to go, but inasmuch as I’ve got a costume already thought out, think I’ll go just long enough to catch a few photos.

The Game's Afoot

Outside yesterday was perfect walking weather, so I went three times around the complex for a mile and a half in thirty-seven minutes.

Nowhere near fast enough for a 5K, but not bad for my age.

Looking for Halloween decorations, as I walked along, I saw my Little Hispanic Friend has her patio decorated.

Doesn’t look much like Halloween, to me -- more like Fall, but okay … it’s something to see.

Today was a little warm, but walkable. So, I suited up. However, because it was warm, I only managed a mile in thirty minutes and spotted this ……

Lovely. Definitely Halloween.

Earlier in the day, I’d received a message from the Talker, asking that I post to the Residents’ Facebook page, photos taken at today’s Crafts session.

WHAT????

I posted the photos, but did not express my surprise to Talker that Crafty Lady had hosted Crafts today, because Crafty Lady had told me Crafts was suspended for the remaining Wednesdays of this month due to doctor appointments.

If you will recall … Crafty Lady cancelled the previous two weeks of Crafts Wednesday -- the first time for heart palpitations, the second time for a swollen knee; and not only did she say the remaining Wednesdays of this month were doctor appointments, but that Crafts might be switched to another day in future …… she’d let me know.

She said all this in a text message so, if the sh!t later hits the fan, which it may very well do down the road, she cannot deny saying it or write it off as a miscommunication/misunderstanding, as I've got the receipt.

Now there are a few ways I can take what Crafty Lady did today. One, she is a simple flip flopper. Two, for some very very very misguided reason, maybe because of her Deputy Sheriff days of being a bully and Di no longer around to screw with, Crafty Lady is trying me.

I think it's the latter …… deliberately done.

In my mind’s eye, I can see a smug manipulative look on her face, as she waits for a text message from me asking why she didn’t tell me Crafts was on today and/or expecting me to chase her down about next Wednesday.

She’s not as important as she thinks she is …… at least not to me. So, I’m going to chill …… erase her.

I can and have done that before with people who needed erasing. It starts with, whenever the person touches my mind, I say, "Erase, erase, erase".

If you do that long enough/often enough, the person no longer comes to mind. You forget them, forget even their name.

In addition, as soon as I can figure out how to do it, I’m going to block her from my phone contacts.

I want to unfriend her on Facebook but, if I do that, she might lose access to the Residents’ Facebook page, not see the photos; so I’ll leave that alone and, instead … I forgot what you call it, but there’s a way to suspend her posts from appearing on my page.

People like Crafty Lady don’t like not being paid attention to … not chased. So, my guess is she’ll eventually try to contact me out of guilt, find herself blocked, panic and try not to exactly smooth things over about not letting me know about Crafts today, but pretend it didn’t happen, just go on as before.

There is and will be no before. She’s erased.

Inasmuch as she won't be able to contact me, I doubt she’ll see me until Management’s Halloween Party, where I fully intend to avoid/not see her, because she’s erased.

BTW, the photos Talker sent show the Baker attended Crafts. She’s brave/strong, handling the loss of her husband well …… at least in public.

Columbus Day ???

Would you believe that, the day of the Celebration of Life, it was 100◦ and that later that night it rained. It’s been raining every day since.

That’s not a complaint. We desperately needed the rain. It’s just that the switcheroo in weather was so extreme … from excessive heat to dark gloomy wet cold.

While at the Celebration, I learned we came thisclose to losing another member of the Usual Suspects.

While on a cruise that included 85 church members, she became deathly ill, unable to walk or breathe. Ended up hospitalized for 40 days, where it was determined she’d contracted a respiratory infection. They think it had something to do with the recycled water on the ship.

Saying, "I almost died" she added that while hospitalized, she’d been asked to step up on something, twisted her foot, broke her ankle.

That was some vacation, and out of the 85 on the cruise, only she and one other were impacted by whatever bacteria caused the infection.

She fortunately survived, is back now wearing a cast from the broken ankle; saying she feels okay, but I can hear a difference in the way she speaks … her voice has a raspy sound to it.

It wasn't long ago when, one other of our Usual Suspects left the complex to take a vacation, fell, broke her hip, ended up in rehab.

It's kinda spooky.

I forgot to ask if the other lady, that contracted the infection, had survived.

On the dysfunctional family front, the Great Granddaughter that, until last year I never knew I had, has written a book, available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback, about growing up adopted.

"Everyone knows what it feels like to start somewhere you never expected to stay, to look at your circumstances and wonder, can something beautiful really come from this … when everything around you seems determined to keep you small. We call it struggle. But sometimes, struggle is where strength takes root".

"In From the Concrete, Alanah Jones explores the journey of becoming through seasons of uncertainty, growth, setbacks, and transformation. Like a seed forcing its way through concrete, this book speaks to the courage it takes to grow when the environment around you was never designed to make growth easy".

Recap

"I’ve been married for 52 years", said Hoochie Mama who was sitting next to me at today's Celebration of Life.

Hoochie Mama is the resident who moved in 2019 and quickly earned herself a reputation of being desperate because she’s so aggressively came onto the men, made a not PG-rated cupcake at a decorating event, couldn’t have a conversation without mentioning that three-letter word that starts with s and ends with x; and, more recently, came to an event as a moocher, tried to cut in line and, once in line, began grabbing chicken, eating it as she moved through the line grabbing at the other food.

Her behavior was disgusting, embarrassing and discussed at length by everyone who saw it, prompting me to provide the Baker with meal tickets for future events.

So, anyway … Impressed at 52 years, I said, "I don’t know how you guys can do that ─ Stick with one person year after year. I couldn’t stand being in a committed relationship for more than 6 months".

Then she held up 5 fingers, saying 52 years with 5 different husbands.

Laughing, I said, "It doesn’t work that way. You can't total them up". Whereupon she got a little miffed, said, "It does for me!".

Okay. Whatever. My instincts were right when I saw her walk through the door and heard myself say to myself, "OH NOOOOOO!".

Then, when her eyes landed on me, it was "NOOOOOOOO" again.

When she walked over, placed her hand on the back of the chair to my right, asked if it was okay to sit, I just kinda shrugged my shoulder while in my head I heard myself say, "It’s okay to sit anywhere but here".

She sat.

I was reluctantly polite when she engaged me in conversation, but I shut down after she got miffed over "It doesn’t work that way".

Fortunately, I saw Hell on Wheels (HOW) at the door. She was being escorted in by her daughter and her daughter’s drop-dead handsome hunk of burning love boyfriend, who had all of us ladies breaking our necks to get a good look at him.

They located HOW at the other end of the table where I was seated, to my left. So, I slid down to the seat nearest HOW, leaving two seats open between myself and Hoochie Mama.

Hoochie Mama noticed, seemed to know I wanted away from her, let out a little laugh about it.

I was really surprised to see HOW, especially since she was sitting upright in a wheelchair after being told she’d be bedridden for like the rest of her life.

She said she’d been through it but was "tough". Then she looked at me and said, "You’re tough too".

Interesting that, having not seen me in a couple years, while she was in care facilities, bedridden in her unit surrounded by nurses, and then in and out of the hospital, that she could look at me and see something that made her say that.

Anyway, Hoochie Mama was forgotten by me and HOW and I had a pleasant conversation about what’s been going on around the complex.

Just before the speeches began, and a slideshow was shown of the life of the Baker’s husband (They'd been married 40 years), HOW’s daughter and her drop-dead handsome hunk of burning love boyfriend sat in the two seat that were open between myself and Hoochie Mama, with the boyfriend, lucky for me … or so I thought, sitting right next to me.

He generated nothing, no heat, no aura. I felt no sense of anything. He felt empty and, when he spoke/commented on anything being said by speakers, his vocabulary seemed limited to "That’s awesome". He told a passing woman wearing Frankenstein earrings, "I like your earrings; they're awesome". Then, when clapping was done, he went overboard … big arms overhead, big hands coming together slow and loud.

I wrote him off as an empty vessel, a big dumb, clumsy oaf, delicious to look at but good for one thing.

I’ll leave it up to you readers to figure out what that one thing is.

Di was in the room.

I guess management lifted the ban, allowed her to enter the Community Room, attend the Celebration of Life.

At the end of the slideshow, it was announced the show would be on loop, everyone was invited to eat. So, once people started getting out of their seats, moving, lining up, I took it as my opportunity to do as Bob suggested, pull an Irish Exit and did.

The hardest part of the Celebration for me was when I first walked in, the Baker walked up to me, I hugged her and asked how she was doing. If she had fallen apart at that time, I would have done likewise; but she said she was "Okay, for now" and actually seemed to be.

In fact, during the entire Celebration of Life, the Baker seemed the one to handle it best, even said that the activities she spearheaded would continue.

Talker and Crafty Lady told her not to worry, that they had her back. That she should take it easy and they would continue the activities for her.

I know she can count on Talker. I’m not so sure about Crafty Lady as she’s prone to start/stop, have heart palpitations, a swollen knee.

Do I sound snarky … bitchy? Probably because, though I maintained during the Celebration of Life, I came home with a migraine and I don’t get migraines.

I don’t know if I picked up something from the big dumb oaf or Hoochie Mama.

Endings

Yesterday’s crafts session was, once again, cancelled. Last time, it was heart palpitations. This time it was a swollen knee, with Crafty Lady saying she has doctor appointments scheduled for the remaining Wednesdays of this month.

She said she’ll let us know if she decides to switch to another day, but I sense she’s losing interest in hosting the class and, truth be told, by the time she decides what she wants to do and when, I probably will have lost interest, found something else to do with my time.

Hearing a knock knock on the door just after noon today, I took a look through the kitchen window, found Head Maintenance Guy standing there.

Opening the door, I blurted out "Don’t tell me there’s a surprise inspection".

He didn’t smile.

With a serious look on his face, he handed me two pieces of paper – one an envelope, which he said had already been attached to my door.

Because he looked so serious, I opened the envelope and found an "In Loving Memory Of" card, gasped and teared up as Head Maintenance Guy said, the Baker’s 88-year-old husband had passed and, instead of Bingo Friday, there will be a service in the Community Room tomorrow at noon.

Since Head Maintenance Guy said the envelope had already been attached to my door, before he came up with his Notice, I checked the camera and saw the Baker’s daughter had brought it upstairs the day before, the 7th, at 10 o’clock.

Inasmuch as I’ve been housebound to escape the heat, if Head Maintenance Guy hadn’t had his Notice to deliver and had he not knocked on my door to let me know of the card having been attached, there’s a good chance I’d not have opened the door today or tomorrow, would have missed the service.

Actually, I would have preferred to have missed the service because I really don’t want to go. I empath and it’s going to be an emotional event that I’m already feeling, am working hard to maintain.

Considering what happened earlier this year, I don’t think I can handle it. However, being close to the Baker, her granddaughter, my not attending would be clocked. So, I’m going to have to at least make an appearance, show my respect without associating it with what happened earlier this year, try not to let the room full of grief get inside me … end up falling apart.

I don’t see the Baker recovering from this loss. Maybe she'll leave the community, move in with family, maybe stay in the community but be forever changed … because I now know from experience that a loss like that does change one.

Inasmuch as the Baker is the Cheer Captain around here – the one spearheading bingo and events, with the rest of us as supporting characters … me doing the flyers, taking pics, others cooking, setting up, providing prizes, whatever she needs doing, the bell is probably going to ring on Bingo Friday and future events.

It’s going to be very sad and very boring around here for a while. I may have to start popping into Kesha Tuesdays for tea.

What Head Maintenance Guy had come to my door to post was a Notice indicating "Annual Certification Letter, First Notice". The paperwork I’m required to submit, proving that I’m still poor enough to continue living here.

My last recertification was just this past January … we’re only in October, so it’s way soon for another round.

Some of you might recall I blogged about my getting through that last recertification by the hair of my chinny chin chin, because they added up what I had coming in monthly through sources of income, THEN they added to that what was in my savings account AND my checking account, essentially adding the same money twice, which made me look well off. Plus, because the automatic bill payments for rent, utilities, etc., had not yet been processed, my bank accounts had been flush with cash. Once the Assistant Manager totaled everything up, I came across as a rich b!tch and qualified by the hair of my chinny chin chin … less than a hundred dollars under the cap.

I’ll have to make sure not to recertify this time until payments have processed, brought the accounts down to reflect reality and for sure not until closer to January, even though the notice says "I strongly urge you to not put this off".

Me thinks that, now that office staff no longer accepts checks and money orders for rent, everything now goes through Rent Café, they probably don’t have enough to keep them busy, so are creating work to do.

At any rate, we’re supposedly having a Residents/Management meeting on the 20th. I’ll ask should I ignore this early notice and recertify in January per usual or not.

Keep it Simple

Other than the three days of doable outdoor walking weather early last week, it’s been a steady climb and excessive heat warnings.

Summer just won’t let go, so I’ve been pretty much housebound, A/C running 24/7.

News did reach me about an incident in broad daylight about some random guy walking behind one of the old ladies, pushing her down, running off with her purse.

It’s unknown to me if he followed her in from outside the complex, or whether he was already inside waiting for an opportunity to victimize, but I was interested in seeing how management was going to warn residents this could happen here or if they were going to address it at all.

They kinda sorta did address it in wording on this month’s Activity Calendar, issued yesterday … "Safety Reminder: Please be aware of your surroundings and help us keep our community safe. Please keep all pedestrian gates closed at all times. Do not open the gates or provide access to anyone you do not know. If you see suspicious activity or someone attempting to enter without authorization, please contact the appropriate authorities".

I’m assuming "appropriate authorities" to mean don’t bother the office or maintenance guys, call the cops.

So, anyway, more reasons – besides the oppressive heat, to limit walking to the indoor walking pad rather than the great outdoors.

Speaking of which, manager of the indoor walking gym stocked the coffee bar with chocolate muffins yesterday, but made them healthy by adding chopped walnuts.

The resident organizers had me design/print, and they’ve already distributed and posted, flyers for this month’s Bingo Days, plus a Halloween Party on Friday, October 30.

THEN, I find included in this month’s Activity Calendar, a flyer indicating management is hosting a Halloween Costume Party, Friday, October 30.

I’m assuming the two groups will combine their efforts

As you all know by now, I love cosplay and, at the end of Halloween last year, when it seemed I kept running into people who wanted to unload their problems onto my listening ears, I came up with a great idea for this year’s costume that I kept to myself at the time.

That idea was to wear blue leggings, a blue top, walk around with a sign indicating “Psychiatric Help 5¢ … The Doctor is In” ala Peanuts character Lucy Van Pelt.

A lot has happened since last year. I am no longer pumped -- not even Skelly is bringing me the joy it once did. Besides, based on past cosplay around here, clever costumes are lost on this audience. So, if I cosplay at all, I'll keep it simple with my regular skeleton leggings or the red/white Minnie Mouse leggings and Disneyland ears.

She Ready

The front door is not the Headless Horseman used last year/year before. Instead, when a doormat popped into my feed that made me laugh out loud, I switched from that, which terrorized my previous neighbor …………

To this …………

"Not all Witches live in Salem" is not as terrifying as the Headless Horseman but nevertheless might give my new White-Haired Neighbor some pause ………… cause her to think twice about who she’s living next door to, LOL.

Crafty Lady gifted me with Halloween window stickers she found when clearing out her storage facility in Murietta. So, I used them in the bedroom window.

I hope more neighbors get with the program, because I love walking around seeing patios and doors decorated for Halloween and Christmas.

PIVOT!

Today's crafts session was cancelled due to Crafty Lady having heart palpitations.

She's been having heart problems for a while and, back in April had an operation … something about putting a watchman in her chest.

Her heart problems have not gone away but, so long as she takes it easy, its somewhat manageable. Only she’s not been taking it easy lately.

I saw, a few days ago on her facebook page, that she was working on cleaning crafting supplies from storage she has in Murietta and, just yesterday, also as seen on facebook, she was working on putting together a dresser, rearranged a room for more space, hung an extra curtain panel, so no surprise that today she’s having heart palpitations and her body hurts.

She’s got to be more mindful of her condition … what she can and should not be doing because she can’t die before I do as she’s one of the three points of contact set up to contact granddaughter and Twin 2 when I die.

I wasn’t intending her to be a point of contact, but you might recall when some of the organizers had finished their craft projects, were off planning what to do for the seniors come Thanksgiving, Crafty Lady found out they were doing something with her not in it, got upset, said "I guess I’m not invited to that!".

No matter what she's doing, others are not allowed to leave her out of what they are doing.

There was also the time when Talker and another resident were having a conversation on the opposite side of the Community Room, while Crafty Lady was busy doing something else. However, because she (Crafty Lady) wasn’t included in their conversation, she accused them of talking about her.

All to say she invited herself to be a point of contact for my family.

How that came about was I awoke July 31 from a dream where I was attending one of our events, stopped by a round table … We don't have round tables in the community room. Some tables are square, others are rectangular, so I don't know what that meant inside the dream, but there I was stopping at a round table where was seated Meat Man and a woman I did not recognize.

After chatting with them for a bit, I bid them goodbye, saying "I'll see you at this event next year". Then I heard myself correct myself saying, "Oh, wait. I won’t be here this time next year".

A clear indication to me that I’ll be dead before July 2027.

I took the dream in stride, began making preparations, starting with updating my family contacts sheet with the office and cancelling my eye appointment for new glasses, because it wasn't worth the expenditure. I do need new glasses, but it's not worth it if I only have a year or less to go.

I later that day was in the Community Room filling out the form for the office, telling Talker and the Baker of the dream, that I was giving them a copy of the form/adding them as neighbors allowed to enter my unit, giving a key to the Baker, asking that if I suddenly go missing, not seen for a time, please check to see if I’m still breathing, contact family if not and Crafty Lady blurted out, "Add me to that".

I couldn’t very well say no and really, since she long ago got over that thing she had for me, which made me uncomfortable, I find her to be okay and the one with the most family, friends, resources to be helpful to granddaughter and Twin 2.

So, now that she’s factored into the equation, she can’t go before I do.

I also, at that time, sent Twin 2 and granddaughter a copy of the form with instructions to trust Talker, the Baker, Crafty Lady, but avoid our MAGA neighbor at all costs, LOL.

Now that Meat Man himself has surprised me by moving out of the complex, I’m not sure if that throws a monkey wrench into what the dream told me. It said I would not be here that time next year, not that he would not be here that time next year.

Now that he won’t be here that time next year, I’ll just have to wait and see if the dream still holds true for myself.

So, anyway, with crafts cancelled today, no tutu for Skelly, I pivoted to thinking about that grass skirt I made and wore at the Resident’s End of Summer Event.

Skelly and I aren’t the same size, but I figured I could make it work; began looking through my crafts stash for shells I knew I could probably turn into a Hawaiian lei.

Lo and behold, I found blue tulle fabric I didn't know I had or why I had it.

I worked a little magic with it and Skelly is just about ready for tomorrow's debut on the patio.

The Problem With That Is

The month of Halloween is two days away. That’s close enough for me, so I yesterday began hauling Halloween out of the storage area.

Because Crafty Lady wants to glean her supplies of pink and violet tulle fabric, her plan for tomorrow’s crafts is tutus.

Though I’ve made and worn countless tutus, when I was doing 5Ks, I don’t know that these old ladies would be interested in making a tutu or that their fingers can handle threading tulle through tiny holes in fabric ribbon, the push pull twisting tightening. I know my own fingers struggled at times, needed a rest, when I was making that grass skirt, but I’m down for a tutu as Skelly’s Halloween costume this year.

Having pulled Skelly from storage, my intent was to take his waist measurement, so I’d know how much fabric ribbon to cut and form into a loop.

The problem with that is, Skelly doesn’t have a waist. I'd forgotten …… he's all bones.

If Crafty Lady follows through with tutus tomorrow, I’ll think of something – probably not in a loop but more a wrap around and, if she doesn’t do tutus tomorrow, I’ll come up with something else for Skelly this year.

Believe it or not, we had Thunderstorm warnings yesterday. Nothing came to fruition, but whatever was going on with the weather made for manageable outdoor walking – cool with a breeze.

I had been thinking I’d be the only one anxious enough for the month of Halloween to begin, but saw there’s a neighbor even more anxious than I.

I also noticed management, after having made my White-Haired Neighbor remove her tea lights from the railing, under the rule that nothing is to be attached, has not been enforcing that rule across the board.

Lights attached to rail

I guess this neighbor below thought it pretty/decorative to have woven this monstrosity onto the bars of the rail.

WTF …… it's attached

Elsewhere is a fascinating old style windmill this neighbor managed to source.

A funny thing happened when I popped into the corner market on Monday for eggs.

Refrigerated items like eggs, butter, etc. are towards a rear area of the market next to an opening for workers to enter/exit pushing cartloads of dairy supplies and a spot over against the wall for products being sold at a discount.

Just outside the opening, across from the eggs, is a rack of sweets, like hand pies.

As I pushed my cart past the hand pies towards the eggs, a regular looking guy was in the area of the opening, talking to himself, like he was trying to decide on checking out the discounted items just inside the opening, then seemed to have gotten distracted by the pies …… picking up one, making what seemed to be spontaneous out loud utterances about them. I recall hearing "Ummm …… Apple", but couldn’t make out whatever else utterances he was making.

I didn’t think he was crazy. He seemed glazed over, so I thought he was high.

So, anyway, he wasn’t in my way. I grabbed eggs, checked the date on the carton, turned around to head out of the area when he, evidently having passed on the pies and instead had entered the reduced products section was coming out. He didn’t run into me because I held back, let him pass and, when he passed, his glazed eyes took me in and, with that same faraway here but not here look he had on his face when he made spontaneous utterances about the pies, he uttered out loud, "Ummm, nice tits".

Thing is, I'd recently purchased a brand-new bra …… was trying out a support, rather than the minimizer I usually buy. Having just received the support the day before, this was my first time wearing it to decide if I liked support over minimizing.

"Nice tits" pretty much sealed the deal. I've ordered two more in different colors, LOL.