"_____ __ _____ is a continuum care community that sets on 40 acres in Kent County, Michigan. I was fortunate enough to move into the independent living building when it first opened in October of 2021. Those early days were very much like moving into a college dorm as we learned our way around, attended orientation classes and got to know our neighbors. The uniqueness of all of us moving in at once helped foster a close knit community that remains today and along the way I wrote poems…
There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt. ~ Erma Bombeck"
I'm at that antsy time when I want to pull the trigger to get the book published but I know myself well enough to know there is probably a dyslexic-driven mistake in there somewhere and I need to let the content set a few days before proofing it again. Just yesterday I was showing my youngest niece a hardcover book I wrote about my husband back in 2012 and I was shocked and horrified when she read the title of one of the stories within and asked: "What's a Barstood Ranger?" I can't tell you how many times over the years I've looked at that mistake and saw what I meant to type rather than what I did type---Barstood Rancher. Thankfully, there is only one copy of that book in print so I only embarrassed myself in from of one person---well, in front of all cyberspace now that I've confessed it here. ('Confessed' originally spelled 'confused' until Alex did an intervention.) So I'll take the time to let the poetry book set before I click 'place my order'. One of my reading/writing disability comes from a place where I memorized spelling words rather than coming from a place where I learned phonetics. Writing Hell comes in the form of Alex not working on Saturdays when I write my posts but I just learned that she does not answer to Alexis. So whose got egg on her face this time?
Side-note: the idiom 'to have egg on your face' as a creative way to say you are embarrassed came from the theatrical tradition of throwing eggs at performers that the audience didn't like. Obviously, this comes from a century when eggs didn't cost as much as they do now.
Speaking of the price of goods have you done any tariff shopping? I have. I ordered a new coffee pot. I've needed one for a couple of months when I tried to clean my old one with vinegar and it took the paint off on the heating pad and it turned to rust. The pot works but it looks horrible. And my Waterpik infusion electric toothbrush and flosser had the good graces to spring a leak the day the tariffs went on. I did shop for a replacement part and they have them for other models which would have saved a ton of money. The replacements parts are under $20 while the new Infusion Waterpik is $173. I really didn't want to pay that much but I don't have room for two separate units and my gums have improved since I got my Waterpik. Once they add the 50% tariff onto the $173 it will be out of reach. I also stocked up on Burt Bee's products because they import the bee wax from a third world country that made the tariff list.
A 45/47 supporter---just after I was bemoaning the outcome of the election---told me, "You'll see, the minute he takes office the prices will come down and the stock market will go up." I know it's petty of me but I recently sat across from her at the farm table and asked the group at large, "Did you see how far the stock market fell today?" She didn't say a word and I was enjoying the fact that she was probably biting her tongue while staring at her bellybutton as a conversation about tariffs broke out.
Other news on the home front: I saw my orthopedic doctor yesterday and he gave me a shot of lubricating gel in my wrist. Since it's given off label, there is no way of knowing if it will last 3 months or 3 years---no statistics are being compiled. And it's private pay because no insurance company will reimburse you for off label treatments. My doctor says the insurance companies don't care how much success is reported in the field because they don't want to start paying for joints other than the knees which the gel was first designed for. I've had great luck with the gel in both knees and in my shoulders so I had no hesitation getting it in my wrist. Private pay was $183 and if I only get a year out of the gel, it will be worth it as I couldn't do anything without pain or dropping things. I suspect I will get more than a year but with all typing I do, who knows. The gel shot adds a padding in where the arthritis has destroyed bone.
Until Next Wednesday!