This is an I-post all about me.  That makes it tedious. 

I have stuff in my head all the time that I want to post, but every time I narrate myself to sleep with a funny/insightful/bitter/dramatic post, I wake up thinking what's the use.  I'm mad about stuff.  That Gibbs character and then Obama making fun of the left irritates me because it's blindingly stupid.  But I'll still vote Democratic in the fall.   I'm mad at the media too because I can't stop hearing about that crazy woman who is not big-white-handed Sarah Palin. 

I'm happy about stuff.  The abusive drug dealer that lived next door for 4 months is gone.  His wife knocked on my door and asked me to write a letter about what I'd been hearing so that she could get a restraining order against him.   A neighbor had called the police on them once because you could hear him all over the complex yelling and threatening her and the kids.  And they had constant company, people walking up to windows and back in forth in front of their door which happened to be right next to my bedroom window.   It seems that their son got hit by a car while riding his bike (no helmet but he'll be relatively fine).  That same night, her abusive drug-dealing husband, after threatening to shoot himself and the driver of the car (who was backing out of his driveway), got drunk and went down to the hospital, caused a scene, stole his wife's rent money and made off with the kids.  My upstairs neighbor and I wrote letters for this woman and now my "Open-da-fuckeen-DORE!" neighbor is gone.  The wife and kids remain and it's still like living next to a family of jackhammers.  The good news is I can do my job from home and will be moving to BFE next year.  I've had it with the expense and noise of the city.  Scary too.

I'm happy because people who read me before I disappeared know that I was estranged from 2 of my daughters, and now things have healed miraculously.  My oldest daughter, 34, moved to the NE and is doing very well.  We have spoken on the phone for about an hour at a time on 3 separate occasions.  She sounds great.  My youngest daughter lives with me now  and is fairly irresponsible, but she's 18, and doesn't go to school or work (she's out printing resumes now), so she doesn't get child support, which means I have had to check out the food bank.  I don't feel as ashamed of that as you might think.  I spoke to my boss and there is no possibility of a raise at all in the near future, but supposedly my job is safe.   Also a couple of my neighbors, when they heard about the food bank said, "where is it?"  And my upstairs neighbor and I go together.

I got rid of my cable so haven't watched Madmen in ages, which is the only thing I really miss.  I'll see it eventually.  BTW, I like Betty. Say what you will about her, but she was present in that marriage.  Making chicken salad, sleeping alone, getting all dolled up for Don's stupid dinners and parties.  I felt very sorry for her (1 or 2 seasons ago) when she kicked Don out and was carrying on without him because he was god-knows-where.  Then she did try to forgive him for lying to her about HIS NAME, but he really was the man who did not care to be there and now he's not.  I wasn't crazy about Henry Francis at first, but he does seem to be interested in what takes place in the life of his wife and her children.  That's one up on Don. 

I like not paying for cable.  I have learned to crochet and have made many hats and scarves and dish towels and dish cloths.  They make great gifts. I can even make grocery bags.  Cotton yarn is so versatile.   Fisherman's yarn makes great hats.  There is a store here in town called Twisted that sells outrageously expensive yarn.  I never shop there but it's adorable.

So I am broke but I have my fun, and I have a plan for retirement, to buy one of those tiny houses, about 500 sq foot and put it on a plot someplace no one else wants to live.   At least I'll have a garden and my dog will have a yard.  If we do it before she dies.  

 I love shopping at Goodwill with a friend of mine.  I get the Land's End and Eddie Bauer stuff that seems to last forever, same with housewares and coats.  I got a London Fog rain coat last year for 10.00, and it's in great shape.  So this is probably why I do not post.  I do not want to sound like I'm complaining.  I really am not.  I'm really just trying and it seems kind of boring.  But boring is better than being a nervous wreck, which I was when fatgut wife-beater lived next door.  It's also that when you compare what you want to write to what other people have written, it seems not to be artful enough.  

on that subject, I have not found any amazing authors, but a book I read recently that had one outstanding story was "Unkempt" by Courtney Eldridge.  That was one story out of about 10.   I bought it at Goodwill. I have a bunch of authors I wrote down from The Guardian and I will hunt for them next time I go.  For now, I really had better get some work done.  Just checking in.  always love OS.  Really I do. 

P.S.  Vote for Mumbletypeg's Terroir of Tuna Casserole on Anthony Bourdain's web site.  I forgot the name, sorry.