On My Mind

Throwing pennies in the wishing well is pretty cheap IMO, you'll never get your wishes that way.

Just had eye surgery that went well.
But they gave me drugs IV.
That went even better!

In the U.S., we throw pennies in the fountains, wishing wells, and ponds.
If you find a penny, they are called pennies from heaven.

Yes, the Coin Star machine is also automated.

Listening to my favorite Christmas music. The Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. I have loved it since childhood.

I wish Vince Guaraldi would have recorded more music. Love his compositions!

You’re right, cw. We are becoming more and more cashless. Everything is automated now.

Before we decided to get rid of them in Canada a lot of people seemed to toss their pennies on the ground rather than carry them around 🤷🏻‍♀️
Of course now we are mostly cashless so I hardly ever use any coins or bills.

There is a Coin Star machine at a few markets. Dumping our saved pennies into the machine counter gives a voucher that can be traded for cash at the checkstand.

The U.S. penney has cultural and historical value.

At our house, we have "strange" coins too.
They are Canadian.
We keep them.

cwillie, I don't think our penny has changed...? The reason why they're still in use is because the government is not about efficiency, innovation or practicality. That's why we don't want it to control much of anything if at all possible. Now I will have to go have a gander at a penny...if I can find one in my house or the floor of my car.

I found a strange coin on the counter after my sister was here and it seems to be an American penny... are your pennies really almost as small and thin as a dime now? And seriously, why the heck haven't you done away with them yet?

Dick Van Dyke turned 98!

TNtechie, oyster sauce is a great addition to any Asian sauce. It is so deep flavored that you only use a tablespoon or so for 4 servings.

I love "thewoksoflife" for Asian cooking tips and recipes. I was so happy to learn how to velvet meat to get the restaurant texture and taste. It really makes a huge difference.

Need, yes indeed. I love all international markets. Happy to live in an environment that exposes me to all the great food around the world in my own backyard.

ITRR,

Asian markets are fabulous! I love different spices too. Wasabi has great flavor.

I love Indian food for the same reasons. Just the smell of the spices are enticing.

Need, we have a huge Asian market that carries food items from all over the world, it's the size of a Walmart. I love trying a couple of new items every single visit.

The best thing is trying all the spicy items and learning how the heat is in each spice. Like peppercorn oil has a deep heat unlike anything else or chiltipens being a super hot short heat. Love using Wasabi on non sushi. That kind of thing is so fun for me to learn.

Tucson is a small city with huge diversity, meaning we have some of the best international markets and restaurants that I have ever seen.

ITRR,

I love spicy dishes too. Do you have an Asian supermarket near your home?

TN, I love making dishes that can have substitutes and still turn out delicious. I find Asian cuisine is very versatile if your sauce is good. Kung Poa chicken is on of my faves but, hard to find good in Tucson

I am experimenting with different soups with an Asian flair, oh me oh my! Good stuff and finding some really good bases that make anything taste good. Last night I made a spicy soup mixed with shrimp, chicken, beef and a smoked hamburger patty needing used up, purple cabbage, green onion, the last bok choy and sliced white onion, oh yeah and noodles. Cleared our sinus right up, made us feel good and, best of all, tasted so yummy.

Real, and all the dishes we have developed variations of. I LOVE Kung Poa Chicken but even with all my travels the best version comes from a restaurant in a town where I onced worked. Traveling for a meal was off the table when caring for Mom so I worked on a recipe I could make. I ended up with a good spicy version with peanuts and a chinese tasting sauce made with rice wine and ginger but I have americanized the vegetables, using a frozen mix from walmart - sometimes the stir fry mix and sometimes the broccoli mix and sometimes both. It's good and it's easy to make.

TNtechie, I have the same thinking as your oldest son. When we go out to eat and the food is not comparative to the price, I think, coulda made this at home for less money and better quality, then I think of the actual benefits, no dishes, getting out of the house and often trying new cuisine from anywhere in the world. Then I think of the dishes I have learned to make because of those experiences, even when the food was sub-par for the price. It keeps me going out :-)

Anyways, he has his head going in the right direction and I will pray that he finds balance in ALL things.

I am soooooo very happy to hear that it is a blessing all around. Praise The Lord! HE will guide you in everything you seek from HIM.

You are doing a stellar job with your 2 sons. Keep up the good work, food insecurity is a tough one to overcome but, you are dealing with it amazingly.

May The Lord touch each one of you and bless you exceeding abundantly!

These boys have given me a purpose and in many ways my life back much sooner than otherwise post-caregiving. There are a lot of challenges ahead and I pray to God I am able to meet them for these boys. Physically, they have recovered. Emotionally, the scars will never completely heal but they are becoming memories and I try to focus on separating knowing "why" you feel a certain way and reacting with your brain along with your feelings. One example, the younger boy does not "need" a snack drawer in his room but he still feels better having it and it doesn't cause any problems so why not indulge your feelings? On the other hand, trying to save food in your backpack that isn't shelf stable can make a mess in the backpack and may make you ill if you eat it later, so let the brain be in control and pass on saving certain types of food. We cannot control many of our feelings but we can control how we choose to act on those feelings.

We have all the drama of teenage and childhood life. Right now my grand-nephew is sorta suffering through the first girlfriend breakup. I say sorta because he left the ballgame last night with a new girl (and her mother) giving him a lift home before the varsity game ended.

A minor(?) challenge over finances with older adopted son. I give him access to all the family budgets and meal planning (hoping to teach him how to make spending choices) and he is definitely learning BUT he is questioning the weekly restaurant meal. Doesn't think its worth it since we can fix a meal that just as good at home for a fraction of the cost. He accepts my explanation that its more than a meal: its entertainment and learning public poise and appreciating other cultures and foods. If we needed more money for something else we would cut the cost by going less often or choosing less expensive restuarants but while we can pay our bills and put a signficant amount into savings - it's okay. And we save to have choices; although my example of being able to buy new shoes for his younger brother when he outgrew his school shoes before Christmas was undercut because I "took" the money from the clothing budget category... We'll have a totally unexpected expense sometime although I may have made this more difficult by estimating/ budgeting expenses into too many categories. He's a fine young man but I feel my biggest challenge at this point is to try to teach him to "balance". He wants to see everything as good or bad (home cooking=good, restuarant meal=bad) and I'm trying to make sure it he understands context (restaurant meal can be good if you can afford it). I don't want him to end up like my dad and never take a vacation or go to his kid's games because "that's a waste" of his time and money. Daddy had deprivation in his childhood that impacted his entire life; I don't want that major impact on my adopted son but I don't know if I will be able to really change the script.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Tntechie, Yahoo!!! I have been praying for you and your boys. I am soooooo happy for all of you.

TN,

Yay! So very happy for you and your son! We adopted our little girl 35 years ago. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her. She was four and a half weeks old.

Congratulations on this wonderful news! You’re both blessed to be in each other’s lives.

When people told me that my daughter was blessed to be loved by us, I immediately responded with, “We are blessed to have an amazing daughter!”

Fantastic news! The judge completed the adoption process on my younger foster son today. He is mine and does not have to fear the foster care system anymore! His fear of being separated from his older brother _can_ be over, although I don't know yet if it will be any time soon.

Ana,

Yep, that’s another funny holiday movie. My favorite Chevy Chase movie is Funny Farm. I know that I have seen it at least a dozen times!

Everyone needs an escape from reality sometimes. Just watched Elf. Such a fun movie to watch! I do love the magical spirit of Christmas!

I love the classics like, It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street too, Charlie Brown and the Grinch are my favorites.

I know that Hallmark movies are popular but I find them to be mediocre and don’t watch any of them.

Need,

Yes . Time goes too fast

I can’t believe that this year is almost over! Anyone else feel like time goes by so much faster since we are older?

I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait to get older when I was a kid. Time seemed to move a lot more slowly than it does now in my late 60’s.

I look in the mirror and say to myself, where did the years go? I have a lot more years behind me than I have ahead. It makes me feel like we should make the most of the time that is left.

Burnt, having lived in Miami, FL and also just freshly returned from a visit to Chicago proper, I don't do wall-to-wall people well, either. But I don't like isolation, so the burbs are "just right" for me. The internet helps with the rural isolation but not other practical considerations.

Being in a very remote area in senior years... better hope that you can have your Depends delivered by drone or else have an entire room dedicated to a year's supply of boxes ;-) Maybe by then the medtech industry will have a procedure to fix incontinence safely and affordably. Right now it's neuromodulation, but you can't have dementia and use the controls for that device (smart phone) easily, or at all.

Living in rural areas also means very few social workers and county services, even fewer medical services and fewer yet care facilities. Fewer choices for caregivers.

I don't have anything against rural living but I'm a chronically practical person and I need to be careful about romanticizing what it will be like in my sunset years -- in my house on a hill and 2 full flights of stairs inside. My friend's Gramma (64 yrs old, so my age) just moved to a hobby farm in Wisconsin with her sickly alcoholic husband. Like hobby farms don't require much physical effort. Or money. Cue the smack to the forehead.

ITRR: You're welcome. And excuse that extra comma, but yesterday I was typing with dilated eyes.

Llama, Thank you for clarifying that, I thought you meant she wasn't backing up anymore.

You were very blessed that she decided to be safe vs. the alternative.

ITRR: I was implying that my mother willingly stopped driving.

@way

What a lovely mental image I'm picturing of a cat in a window seat chasing snowflakes. Get a picture of that if you can because I think that would make a splendid holiday card.

@Geaton

I wish I was out in rural North Dakota. I'm so tired of wall-to-wall people and traffic of a city. I hope your relative has a plan to move in a caregiver so they never have to move.