Healing time

 I just looked at this blog and realized I've not kept up with it.    In fact, it's been years since I wrote anything here.  

My life has changed, pretty dramatically.   I'm going to write it down chronologically here.

2021 - June - My husband died, June 8th, exactly 6 months to the day before what would have been our 42nd wedding anniversary.   

2021- September Took my first solo trip, just an overnight one, 4 hours away, and it was hard.

2021 -December - Covid precautions were still in place, to fly, you had to wear a mask, but I decided I needed to be with family for Christmas and it was bittersweet.   But I did it.  

2022 -  Visited family again, by this time there were little to no Covid restrictions.  No mask needed on planes.  Managed to get to see family twice that year.  

2023 -  Decided to do a book signing combo road trip, ending in Canada for a couple months.    I holed up in the cutest little cottage, in my old home town, venturing out occasionally, and allowing myself to heal.  One of the best decisions I think I've ever made.   Later on in the year, I took a little leaf peeping trip, and got to see more of the country.  

2024 - so far this year, not too much, other than a small trip to Biloxi, with a friend, finished off my book, and published it, and now am set for more adventures.  I did have one adventure, and not a good one either.  My purse with all ID was stolen, and I'm now in the process of replacing it all.  And finding out that it could be a lengthy process for parts of it, but it is also fairly pricey as well as being incredibly inconvenient.  I am still planning on traveling, but those plans have been curtailed somewhat thanks to a thief.  

My newest book is out, and available for purchase.  The link is here:  https://bit.ly/4az2gG2   YANK MY CHAIN is the name of the book.    

Covid thoughts

As I write this there have been over 117,000 deaths so far from the Covid 19 virus, so far, the US alone.   That number is staggering to me, as it surpasses all the lives lost in armed conflicts since and including the Korean Conflict up to the present day. 
Think about it, if you combine the total lives lost in armed conflict from Korea, through Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iran and Afghanistan. 
At least those are the numbers I see posted as to lives lost.  Of course those are only counting the American lives lost.  
How many families were decimated and destroyed during those other conflicts.  Not just the Americans, but those in the aforementioned countries. 
I have no idea how to even gather those figures, so I'll just focus on one group, for right now. And that is the Americans.
For every person who has died from Covid 19, a family has been left bereft.  Mothers, Fathers, Children, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Nieces and Nephews, Cousins.  Every single family who have been touched by a death from this disease has lost not only a family member, but also maybe the family historian, the family comedian, the family screwup, the list can go on and on.

So many of those who died, were alone, no family, no friends were with them.  Just medical personnel, who are stretched beyond endurance to just take care of the sick, never mind the dying.  

People couldn't say their final goodbyes to loved ones, could not succor their families grief.   I can't even imagine how isolating that is.  I got to sit with my mother as she lay dying many years ago, got to say goodbye, say a final I love you.  So many children, spouses, siblings couldn't do that, and the grief has to be overwhelming.  My grief was tempered, I was able to share the ending of my mother's life with my siblings, we all were there for her and each other.  But not being able to be with a parent or child or spouse as they passed on, the grief and the ongoing guilt some feel has got to be overwhelming in the extreme. 

I don't know where we'll go from here, the pandemic seems to be ongoing, masks that could and in my opinion, should be worn in public, are not being worn.  

So many people have lost not only jobs, but businesses and livelihoods, and are on the brink or have passed the brink and are jobless and or homeless.   And there doesn't seem to be a definite end in sight. 

Just a few thoughts. 

It sucks getting older...

It sucks getting older, it really does.  
It's not the age or numbers part that bothers me, but that I am physically diminished, my mental acuity isn't as on point as it once was, my ability to see clearly, without glasses is gone.

So let me break this down a little.   

I made the comment at work last week that it really sucked getting older and was told that 'it's not a privilege accorded to everyone'.
I sat and thought about it, and thought some more and really wanted to revisit the comment with that person, but then decided I could maybe explain here.

I'm actually glad I am the age I am, for the most part.  I like the wisdom I've accumulated over the years.  A lot of the time I know when to pick a battle and when to step away.
I appreciate so much more now, than I ever did.  I know I'm getting towards the twilight of my life, if you want to be fanciful.
I'm just a few years younger than my father was when he died.  And that's a sobering thought.  I look now at my parents and try to remember what they were like when they were my age, now.
Back then, I thought they were kinda old.  Really, I did.  And in many respects, they were.  I don't feel as old as they were when they were my age, but we also live in a different time.  When you hit your sixties, you were expected to slow down, sit back, not participate in life as much.
It is different now.   I wasn't ready for a rocking chair, however much I would enjoy just sitting in one and rocking.  In fact, I was so much not ready, that at the age of 63 I started working again, in a restaurant, as a cook.

I don't work long hours, but I'm ready to put my feet up when I get home. 

However, what I started to say is that there is also a certain amount of frustration that comes along with getting older. 
I don't have the physical strength I once prided myself on, I have to ask for help, whereas once upon a time, hell would have frozen before I asked for help.
I'm shorter than everyone else at work, I think, so sometimes I have to ask for help reaching something.  However, I've been short most of my life and I'm accustomed to it.  I have workarounds that I've employed for years. Maybe I can't reach everything on the top shelf in the grocery store, but I can knock down stuff with the best of them.
 
I know my memory isn't as good as it used to be, and that is frustrating, but I've accepted it as a gradual part of aging.  When I want to use a word and can't remember it, I forgive myself, I've learned that the harder I try to remember, the longer it takes for that elusive word to be remembered.

I'm comfortable with myself now in ways I never was as a young woman, I'm accepting and forgiving of myself to an extent that still surprises me.

I'm OK with the wrinkles, the gray hair, the slightly looser skin on my body.

But it still sucks getting older when I can't do all the things I used to do.

I have to accept that I'm in a new reality now, and while it's different, it's not a bad reality, and I can live with that. 

Life's Definitions

Have you ever thought about how life defines you?
I was thinking about that the other day as I was working on my newest book.  I'd had a conversation with a friend, she introduced me to someone else and added, "She writes cookbooks"  I got this little glow going, and thought 'giggle' I'm a cookbook author, and laughed a little.  I'd kinda thought of myself as such, but really, all I did was put down some recipes, added some words to it, added some pictures I'd taken along the way, and put them into a book.
Then I realized, wait a minute, I've now done this three times.  I'm what is known as an 'Indie author' and have three cookbooks out, and people are buying them, people I don't even know are putting down their money, and buying one of my books, or even all three.
WOOHOO!!!!

Amazing, this journey, but one that my feet are firmly planted on.
I'm still writing, but have expanded my views and will be publishing a murder mystery by years end.

And who knows, I may even write more cookbooks, or expand and revise the current books.

BTW, if you're interested, they're all on Amazon.
Hygge- Danish Food and Recipes
Nibbles and Bites - A Compilation of Appetizers, Canapés and Finger Foods
Simple Shrimp Recipes - 25 + Easy Shrimp Appetizers, Entrees and Dipping Sauces

You can also check out my Author page  here .

And as for this blog, this is where I share random thoughts, rants and other stuff.   

Music everywhere

Music, Music everywhere and not a quiet place to think. 

I like music, really, I do. 
But why do I have to have it blasted at me everywhere?

I go to the grocery store, there's music playing, and not at a quiet level either.  It's LOUD...   When I'm trying to remember exactly what I can to the store for, I don't want to listen to music playing so loudly I can't think.  

I go to a bar to visit with friends, they have live music and I appreciate the talent but question why they need to make it so loud on an afternoon that I have to scream at my friends and can't hear what they're screaming back at me.  

Why this obsession with noise, whatever happened to quiet time? 

Why do we have to constantly be entertained?

WHY?

Customer Rewards Card? NOT!!!

I'm at the grocery store, find the BOGO's and hurry up and place them in the card, I may not need them right now, but I do love my Naan, and Pistachio's and oooh, I did come here specifically to buy chicken and they had a BOGO on that as well, so I grabbed two packages of frozen chicken breasts and threw them into the cart where they landed next to all the BOGO's I'd already grabbed. 
I filled up the card with a few more items, headed to the checkout, presented my loyalty rewards card and was told that it is being phased out and here's the new one. 
Cashier:  We'll activate it for you right now, and then when you get home, just go online and finish registering it. 
Me: OK, thanks
Cashier:  It's really simple, just give them all the info they ask for.   Here, see you've already got 38 points that you can use at any of the following stores or restaurants or?   And every time you shop at one of the linked stores you can earn more points to use.
Me: Why not just lower the price here at the store?
Cashier: Oh no, we can't do that, but you can buy gas or a meal or shop at a department store and get points towards your purchase somewhere else.
Me: OK, fine I get it, can we just check out now?
Cashier:  Here's your card, now don't forget to go ahead and finish registering the card so you can get those great bonus points.
Me: I just want to get great deals here, I don't really care about the rest of it. 
I go home, put the card aside for a couple of days and then think, alright, let me look at it.  So I do.  I start to fill out the forms and believe you me there were forms on forms on forms.   And then I get to the point  where they want me to allow them to release all the information I just gave them to their 'partners' so I can get in line for any great deals they're offering.
Ummm, you want me to give them my email, birthdate, phone number and everything else that you want everyone in the hacking world to have. 
I get it.
NOT!!!
I stopped right there and tweeted about it, and guess what they tweeted back and told me I could opt out at any time.
Ummm, excuse me, they already have all the info, what makes you sure that they'll not sell it ad nauseum to every scammer, and everyone else out there who wants to sell me the latest greatest deal.

I already don't stay at Marriot Hotels, and I don't want a free stay as a thank you.   I haven't called about the Back Brace as seen on TV, and my computer is not infected by some kind of malware that only some poor slob in a third world country can fix if I allow him or her access to all the info on my computer right now. 

I think I'll just stick to shopping at stores that don't require me to carry a card as proof  and use all the info from that to prove that I'm a loyal customer there.

Really?

So, I'm in the grocery store, pushing my cart, looking at the produce, weighing in my mind what I want to make for dinner for the coming week, and deciding how much room I have in the fridge.   A lady comes up behind me, proceeds to SQUEEZE the tomatoes, and then drops them and says very loudly that "all they have here is crap:".  

I may be an anachronism here but I try to handle the produce with gentleness, picking up tomatoes, turning them gently in my hands to see evidence of bruising or over ripeness or other reason not to buy them. 

It's no wonder produce prices are going up and the garbage bins in the back of the store are almost overflowing with produce that some asinine idiot handled so roughly that it's not saleable.   

I wish I had the room and inclination to grow my own, but I don't so am forced to go the store and buy my produce that some idjit has handled roughly, without consideration for anyone else but them. 

Noise Barrage everywhere

Am I the only who is bothered by the constant barrage of 'noise' that we are subjected to?  

I was in a store yesterday, and the music was blaring.  Not just as a background noise, but LOUD.  I had a couple of things I wanted to pick up, but honestly, I left before getting it all, as I simply could not think with the music blasting at me.

I'm not an old crotchety person, or at least I don't think I am.  But what ever happened to quiet in stores and restaurants?

Most restaurants now have two or three TV's tuned to different stations, one of which usually has the volume turned up to the point that having a quiet conversation with your lunch or dinner companion is almost impossible. 

Personally, I don't need to be entertained all the time, nor do I want to have my meal out interrupted by a TV blaring at me.   

I like quiet times, in fact I'll even go for a walk by myself so I can have quiet time.  My dog doesn't seem to need to talk at me all the time either, she's just as happy hanging out quietly with me. 

Too bad the world isn't like that.

Cook book fun

Awhile ago a friend suggested to me that I put together a cookbook.  I have to admit to thinking "Gee, what could I possibly come up with, theme wise that is.
So I stuck the idea on a back burner, kept the heat on, stirring it from time to time.  And every so often, taking it off the heat, letting it cool down, then putting it back on to simmer some more.

And...

I think I finally have a final recipe.

I think.

I'm going to concentrate on appetizers, or starters, or nibbles or whatever you want to call it.

Because, I just love making appetizers.   And since we host a Tapas Night at our house most months, it just seemed like a perfect fit.

Now comes the hard part, deciding on not only which recipes make it in, but how to define each section.

Some seem easy, but others, well...  Not so much.

At any rate, I'm at work on it now and maybe by years end I'll have something to share.

In the meantime, I'm off to the kitchen to play some more.

Who says you have to grow up and stop playing with food.  

Back in the kitchen, again and gone again

A couple of years ago I wrote about how I'd resigned from cooking at our local senior center.  I was sad, but relieved at the same time.

I knew I was going to miss going in every week, was going to miss my great volunteers, a couple of whom have since passed on.
And I did.
I missed the people, I missed the kitchen, I missed the adrenaline rush I would get every week, racing against the clock to make sure that lunch was ready, right at noon.

And we made it most of the time.  There was a time or two that we were late, not more than 5 minutes or so, but I'd say we made it with seconds to spare, most weeks.

Well, I got back in the kitchen again.
Started in January, and got that lovely adrenaline rush again, racing against the clock, and made it, every single week.

I was the kitchen manager this time round, I set the menu's, make sure we made enough food.  And that can be a tricky little detail, cause I never knew how many people we were going to be feeding.  I  ran out of food a couple of times, well, ran short that is.   I totally overestimated how many people would come in and had a surfeit of food left over.   But that was just part and parcel of the whole experience.

I really enjoyed watching our numbers climb week by week, most weeks that is.

But, it was time for me to bow out again, I just didn't have the time to devote to cooking every week.   Not only was I going in once a week to cook, but I had to take time to plan menus, take time to do the shopping, the prep work and it got to be too much.

I did enjoy myself, the volunteers were fantastic, the food was well received and it was a positive experience.

All good things do come to an end sometimes, and this was one of them.

So...
I'm back in my own kitchen again, experimenting, having fun and have the occasional offering to the Kitchen Goddess, otherwise known as the garbage can.
But that's life.  

Clothes and pipes and carpets...

I think I'm ready for a break, a complete break from my everyday life.

In other words, I wanna run away, go on vacation, go somewhere where I don't have to think about the mundane. 

I don't want to think about the leak that's got water dribbling down a wall, making puddles, and which made me find out just how many clothes I have.  

I did not want to face that.

It's sobering, very sobering to look at piles of clothes and get irritated because you have to find a place to put them so that the plumbers and carpenters can get to the wall in your walk in closet. 

And realizing that you are so fortunate, not only do you have a house, you have a walk in closet stuffed with clothing, more clothes than you realized you had.

The leak was fixed, the wall repaired and the clothes, they're still here.  I'm not quite ready to part with any of them.  

But at least I got them sorted out, and found a couple of treasures I'd forgotten about. 

I guess I should mention that this happened a few months ago, but I'm just getting around to telling you all about it.

Grocery Store conversations

One of my fun things is to go grocery shopping. 

Yeah, I know, but I like it.  But what most people don't realize is all the fun conversations you can have with total strangers in just about every section of the store.  And the valuable information people will give you.
Let me give you an example.   I was in a large chain store last week, up in the 'big city', and was quite frankly aghast at the price of lamb.  I was making some gyro meat, and needed ground lamb for it. 
Have you seen the price of ground lamb?  

I mean it's ridiculous.   In other words, button your shirt or your heart will jump out.    At any rate, I was talking to my friend about it, and discussing buying some lamb shoulder chops and then grinding the meat myself.  I figured I could also dry roast the bones, and I'd have the beginnings of a good mulligatawny soup as well.    We were overheard discussing the benefits of DIY processing the lamb, how it was a pity that it was so pricy, etc.  

The next thing I know a gentleman who'd overheard our conversation about lamb jumped in with some very good tips on where to go for decent, well, almost affordable lamb.  Including one place I'd never heard of.   We had a lovely conversation about lamb, and prices and I found out about a couple of stores I'd never heard of.

I love these random conversations, I may never see these people again, but have gained so much knowledge and a good handful of tips from random grocery store chats. 

Meanderings...

I haven't posted anything here for a long time.  Life has been getting in the way, real life that is.  The kind where you go day to day, and sometimes hour to hour trying to keep your head above water, and hope you don't sink before you learn how to swim.

I've learned a lot the past few months about myself.  I've been a caretaker to an ill person, have learned that there are yucky things I can do that I never, ever, ever, thought I could do.    And I have to say, I admire nurses more now than ever.  I've only had to deal with yucky stuff this one time in my life and not on a day to day basis.

So, if you know a nurse, have a nurse in your family, take a minute and say thank you to them, they deserve it.   They deal with this stuff all the time, and maintain their sanity. 

And I cannot forget CNA's or Certified Nursing Assistants, I've met some awesome ones the past while as well.   So many of them have passion and compassion, a great sense of humor, and a gentleness when dealing with ill people, and I hope those ones go on to become nurses or other associated medical professionals themselves.  Although they are already. 


So here's Kudo's to all the medical personnel out there, you are appreciated and noticed.  

Just wanted to say that. 

In Memorium

I got word the other day that a woman I knew from childhood had passed away.   I would like to call her a friend, cause even though I might not see her but every few years, and we always chatted a little when I saw her.

I first met her as the pesky little sister when her family moved into a house next door to ours.  Well, it was up the hill a little ways, cause when you live in the country you don't live right next door as you do in suburbia.   Her older sister and I played together as children, more from proximity than real friendship back then, and as we got older, we developed separate friends and interests.   And then I moved away, far far away.  And I'd see Delma from time to time when I was back in Duncan.   We always exchanged pleasantries, and I told her she had an open invitation to come visit me anytime she came to the States.   I would like to think that if I had stayed there we could have been real friends.   All I know is, she was always smiling, always sweet and I liked being able to talk with her, even though it was always very brief.   I wish now I'd tried a little harder to stay in touch.  But then we connected on Facebook and I got a glimpse of her life, and it was a rich, full life.  She had a life partner, she had children, she traveled, and documented that in pictures.    And I was so glad to see that.   

And now she's gone and as cliche as this may sound, the world is a smaller and colder place without her.   

Small towns, gotta love them

I was just in town, had to visit the grocery store, visit the post office, etc.    As usual, I ran into someone I knew, chatted for a minute, then we went our separate ways.  It's very unusual for me to go to town and not run into someone I know, and we always say hello.  So different from where I used to live, I rarely, as in count on one hand, ran into people I knew there.  And even if I did, the only exchange was a curt nod, an acknowledgement that you were seen, if you were lucky.   Or if you knew the person well, they were usually in a hurry to get done and go somewhere. 

   I needed to go to the post office next, and as I'm driving there, I spotted a young bear, just meandering across the road, taking his/her sweet time about crossing.   I was about a half a block away, and before I could liberate my camera from underneath the groceries on the front seat, it was gone.  Now, this wasn't really on the outskirts of town, this was a half block off of what would be Main street in most towns.  But we do abut a large forest, and it's not uncommon for bears to come into town for a snack.   Especially if it's garbage day.  

But as I was getting my mail, it made me think of a couple of instances where living in a small town was really great.   When we first moved here, before we really knew anyone, our mail was delivered and one of the letters came postage due.  Well, the mail person left a note, saying that we owed the post office some 30 cents or so, not a lot of money, but she had gone ahead and delivered the mail anyways.    I had to go into town a day or so later, and I stopped at the post office and showed the postmaster the note and said I owed someone 30 cents.   You know, he wasn't even surprised that I made the effort to pay it.   And then there was the time I accidentally put a letter in the box outside and forgot to put a stamp on it.  I realized it as soon as I dropped it in, so I went inside, told them what I had done and purchased a stamp, knowing that it would be affixed and my mail would go out.   

There are many pluses and a few minus' to living in a small community, but I don't think I could go back to living in anonymity any more.   I like it here.   

Anchors, the good kind

So I'm lying in bed the other night, thoughts swirling around, and then memories started surfacing, and I had fun ping ponging around in my mind and memories.   Some of the images that were brought to mind, brought other remembrances to the forefront and then I started tracing some of those thoughts, memories and images back.  

What can I say, I have trouble falling asleep right away, I think they call it insomnia, but I call it FREE TIME, cause I can think, with no distractions.  Well, apart from the dog having chasing dreams and yipping in her sleep or the bird muttering to herself in her cage or my DH snoring away.   But I can tune all them out and just think.

Which is sometimes a good thing.  And sometimes not.  

This particular night I was thinking over a conversation I had with a friend about another mutual friend and it was not gossip, really.   We were both talking about the fact that our mutual friend and her husband had sailed around the world, in fact they've spent most of their married life on a sailboat, sailing where ever they wanted to go.   And it made me think.   I said I wasn't that adventuresome, I need an anchor, a place to call my own,  to go back to, or leave from.   And I've had that for most of my life.  Which means I could fly without worry, could explore, experience, learn knowing I would always have a place I could go to.    I've actually done a lot of stuff most people would not have done.

When I was twenty I moved to Europe and spend a few months in my birth country, I got to see so much of it, and I regret now that I did not explore more, but while there I did get to see a little of a few other countries.   However, I always knew I could go back 'home'.  

I left my family behind and moved to another country when I got married in my early twenties.   In retrospect I'm surprised at myself, but my family gave me the stability and love and support that meant I could do just that.  I didn't need to move away to get away, I knew I could always go back.   Maybe not to my childhood home or a physical home per se, but to family.  I still had an anchor.

Then circumstances happened that meant we could become snowbirds while still in our forties.   I was able to leave my home and go to another state and stay there for months at a time, because I knew I had my home to return to.  Again, an anchor. 

Then as life happens, we finally embarked on a journey where we didn't know where we would end up.   We sold our house, and lived full time in an RV for a few years.  I had no anchor, well, not a physical one.   I knew if I had to, I could go back to my family, and for a long time that was good.  I still had an anchor that while not a physical one, it was a loving one.  

And now I'm anchored with not only a house but have the freedom to continue to explore, when I choose.  Not a bad thing, all in all.

Blogs, defunct, ongoing and occasional.

Every so often I'll click on the 'next blog' button at the top of my blog.   And just see what's out there.   You would not believe how many blogs are out there.  Have to be millions and millions of them.   And so many of them have bloggers who posted a lot on a regular basis and then, nothing.   No explanation, no reason, nothing.

Some of the blogs are interesting, a lot are boring, some well written, others not.    As with people, they encompass the full spectrum of wishes, dreams, anticipations and all that life offers.    Some blogs are heartrending, others full of hope and dreams and then ___________ nothing.  And every so often, I find one that makes me laugh out load.   Some are so full of beauty, whether it is words or pictures, you just stay there and soak them in.      

I think if I stop blogging about this and that and nothing in particular, I hope I will have the sense to just take down the blogs.  Or I could bequeath them, hmmm.   Of course when it comes to recipe blogs, please leave them up.  I've found so many great ideas, hints and of course, recipes on defunct blogs.   I just wish that the authors had kept them up.   But that's just selfishness on my part.   But I do bookmark them for those times when I want to read more of them, but just don't have time at the moment. 

I've laughed at some, cried with others, marveled at the crafts and expertise that some people exhibit.   I'm always in awe of genuine talent, whether it be cooking, photography, crafts, writing or commentary.  

So go ahead, explore, read new blogs, you never know just what's out there. 

Thoughts

Haven't shared any thoughts here lately.  Maybe cause I haven't had many?  Nah, I've had plenty of thoughts.  Some good, some not so good, and some that made a fleeting, and I do mean fleeting stop.  Not even long enough for me to grab hold of and wrest the meaning of them out.  

I've thought a lot about my sister who passed away a few years ago, I miss her so much, but not as much as her kids do.   Both of whom are married and have children, well one of them has one child and the other couple will welcome their second child in the fall.   My sister would have been over the moon with joy over all of them.  And I can just see her ping ponging her way between both households being Mormor or Farmor or maybe just Grandma or some other version to the kids.  I would have had phone calls from her telling me of the latest triumph one of her grand daughters had done, she would have shared every new tooth, every bump and every triumph.   If she was still here. 

I've been thinking about my parents too, my dad who called us up and told us that he was glad he'd lived long enough to see Mt. St. Helens erupt, but was so saddened by the loss of life and habitat, but still, it was a natural wonder.   And while it was bad, he was awed that he was able to witness even a small part of it.   He shared how they had ash falling on them, and they were so far away, all the way up on Vancouver Island.    

And I think about my Mom as I go outside and tend my plants in pots.  Mom and Dad both had awesome green thumbs.   I swear they could plant rocks and have Dahlia's come up.   I was just outside counting the lemons on my Myers Lemon tree.   I have it in a pot, but this year, thanks to my brothers advice to make sure I feed the pot weekly I may get more than 3 or 4 lemons.     Can anyone say Lemon Meringue pie or Citronfromage or Lemon and Ginger cookies or, never mind, I'm getting hungry for lemon anything.

I've been admiring my parsley plant, poor thing gets eaten every year by the Swallowtail butterfly larvae.  And then it comes back again.  I think I'm going to have to go and plant some more parsley just for those little guys.  And hope they leave me enough to cook with from time to time.

So there I go again, just thinking of stuff.      

What idiot designs public restrooms ?

Sorry I had to yell there, but honestly I have to say this.   
What kind of idiot designs the stalls in public restrooms?  
 I'm not talking cleanliness here, although I have a couple of ideas on that one, but just the basic sense of design.   And if I offend you by talking about toilets, don't bother reading any further.

Let me give two examples.   And see if you can follow along with me on this.

I walk into a nice large restroom, lots of aisle space, and then go into the stall and cannot close the door without brushing against, no, almost having to climb on top of the toilet to close the door behind me.   All I needed was an extra inch or two, and it would have been fine.  And there was more than enough aisle space to get that extra two inches.   Of course that might have explained the footprints on top of the toilet seat.   I am not exaggerating, well, not that much, but really?   Who wants to get up close and personal with a toilet, unless it's in your own home and you're the only one who uses it and cleans it every day.  

Example number two.   I'm in a large chain store, run into the restroom, it's actually pretty clean in there, and there is room to close the door without climbing onto top of the toilet, but...  The toilet roll holder protrudes so far into the space you have to perch on the side of the toilet cause there's no room, and you have to reach back to get to the toilet paper.   So here you are, you've managed to hit the toilet, then you have to contort yourself to get to the paper and well, I'm just not built that way anymore.  

And the cleanliness thing?  Well, what's wrong with a poured concrete or other floor that can be hosed down?  Just shut the restroom down every few hours and hose off the floor.  Have  a drain that can handle it and voila!  Clean floors.   Of course it doesn't take care of the other idiots who can foul up a public restroom in seconds flat and who don't even care.  

My complaint today is the space inside the stalls, and I wonder if anyone else feels the same way.   I do care, but for now this is my space and I can complain if I want to.

Young music, old bodies

We were at a local watering hole a week or so ago, and there was a musician, well, two musicians on stage, playing the music of my youth.  And as I walked into the venue, I looked at the audience and saw the graying hair of the people rocking along with the music, and thought, gee that's so cool even the older people are really enjoying this music.  For a moment, well, almost three and a half moments, I was a young person again, then I realized that, hey, I'm one of them. I've got the grey hair, (it may be hiding amongst the golden strands, but it's there).   

I'm looking at the stage seeing the gray hair of the singer, tied back into a ponytail and listening to the music of my youth, time has marched on,  the music has stayed young but the bodies show the years that have passed.   Grey hair, or just thinning hair, grey beards, we're all showing signs of age, but the music, it has stayed young.   

Time was, the audience would have been young, and the singers younger still, but at least we've all aged together, some more gracefully, some not so much.     

Life has happened to many of us, most of us have embraced life, ridden the waves of fortune and despair, and come out of on top.    We've weathered storms, broken marriages, deaths of parents, children, spouses, pets, and we're still here.  We've won and lost, and we're still here.   We've worked, squandered, played, despaired, and we're still here.   

And for a moment or three, as we listen to the music of our youth, we can go back in time, when our skin was still smooth, our bodies young, our ambition fresh and new, and we're still here.