At the Gentrified Kroger...

So on Sunday,I made a run down the local gentrified Kroger.

This is the Kroger they built when all the white people started moving into my hood.

And it's a big fancy Kroger, 2 or 3 times bigger than a normal grocery store. There's even a bar.

I like it much, even though I rarely go there. I think this time was the third time this year I'd made a run there.

I needed something simple like dental floss. And I needed to take my spare car for a spin.

(These types of things could've waited until Saturday... but that dental floss, tho...)

Anyway, I saw some fascinating products up in my beloved gentrified Kroger. Things that weren't there for me, but if I wanted, I could buy them!

I came across some marvelous jellies and jams.

I saw a Cabernet jam.

I guess that's what's up if you love your wine. That peach marmalade looks great. But I will not being paying $9.99 for that.

Nope.

So for the holiday season, we have a nice pumpkin preserves.

No, that's "preserved pumpkin". I won't be buying that. Not only am I paying $9.99, I'm not paying for something that I don't like: pumpkin.

Now if they served up some "preserved sweet potato", I may get that.

What's most interesting about the gentrified Krogers near my home (there are two), is that their are MULTIPLE AISLES of liquor and beer. Multiple. The one that I've frequented over the past decade actually has its own wine steward. This new gentrified kroger is only a couple of years old (if that). I saw no wine steward at this new store, but I sure saw some wine.

Down one of the aisles, I saw some wine bottles locked behind glass. And you know me... I thought I would investigate.

I was shocked to see some $149.99 wine!

Now, I am not a wine connoisseur. Not in the least. The most I've paid for a bottle of wine is $21.99. And the only reason I paid that much is because it had some chemical formulas on it, and as a chemist, I was immediately intrigued.

Now I was already bugging over $150 wine. But a closer look at the other wine revealed some wine that was a little more expensive.

a

$549.99!!

Wow!! 

Who pays that much for wine?  Grocery store wine?

WOW!

Not me. Nope. But this is the gentrified Kroger. I am sure someone paid for it. It is there for a reason, you see.

Hmm...

A trip through  that Kroger is a far cry from the Kroger over in SWATS.

At least I know where to go now if I want something super fancy!

Monday Night Musings

It is Monday!

The Monday after a long holiday weekend!

And it's more O_o for me... As I only really worked one day last week.

ONE DAY.

The time off was good, but my attitude needs to be better about the return to work. I must admit that I have today I have ran through a range of emotions - anger, sadness, lethargy, confusion. At the same time, I have gotten a few things done today. I remember driving to work this morning that I thought "Something great will happen to me today."  And just making it through the day - I receive that as my great thing.

Thanksgiving was good. The whole week was good. I happen to get a good bit of decluttering done, and even take some items out to the Goodwill. I have been in my house for 12 YEARS. So I have an abundant amount of stuff  that needs to go. I am starting in the kitchen which is easiest to do, and if I haven't used items in a year, they must go.  For real. And I must admit it is very freeing.

That brings me to the quote of the week. Not sure where I heard it, but I did hear it.

"A cluttered space is a symptom of a cluttered mind."

My mind is a bit cluttered. I need to be free.

I am working on my house, and I will also work on  decluttering my cubicle.  I will.

Pictures. So my sister made gumbo. I watched her do it, while I had the baby. It came out good, but I like seafood in mine, and she has shellfish allergies - something like that (it is very confusing). But she did a good job. There's no picture of that. When it was done, I split up and froze that stuff QUICK while Notorious J was calm.

But I also made what I wanted to make for Thanksgiving. I get a taste for traditional thanksgiving food every few years, but I try to do something different every year. Our family doesn't gather for thanksgiving, which makes me sad, so it is easier for me to just go get a plate of traditional food from someone's gathering. This year I stayed home.  My sister came over later (she'd made the gumbo the day before).

I made my stuffed acorn squash!

(And here's a picture of my acorn squash before roasting).

Here's the final product!

Oh it was so good. I thought I added to much quinoa, but that actually turned out to be the right amount. It was more filling.

Of course I mixed in WHATEVER was in the fridge. Here's my concoction.

I'd run out of pecans, so I substituted pistachios, which was GREAT.

The stuffed acorn squash is good because it makes for great meals this week. So I don't have to deal with leftover turkey. I deal with leftover squash. And this is something I will not get tired of!

I also made some red bell pepper-carrot soup. I don't have a picture of it, but I do have a picture of the roasted peppers.

Here's a link for the red pepper carrot soup. It is super easy and oh so good. I think I may have to make it more often. It's getting cold and I have to have something hot, and preferably good for me.

That made for a great  Thanksgiving. And this little guy did, too.

LOL!! Look at that expression on his face! I wonder what he's thinking about!?

Maybe he just has gas.

That is it for me. I am looking forward to having a great week. On purpose.

You do the same.

Happy Thanksgiving

Friday Freestyles

Friday!

And it is PAY DAY!

And as usual on payday, the blinds of my mind are at half staff. Pretty much closed, really.

And I am thinking of the upcoming thanksgiving holidays! I have a 5 DAY weekend!

Wow!

Oh the things I will get done. Or better yet, the DREAMS of the things I will get done.

And it is alright to dream.

I know one thing we will get done: gumbo.

I asked my sister what she wanted for Thanksgiving since she and I will be spending that time together. She thought about it and she requested the gumbo. I sent her the recipe that I posted on this blog years ago ("The Original Oldgirl's Gumbo Recipe").. (And until this day, that is my most popular blog post searched in google).

She didn't want to make it herself, though.  But she wants me to watch her make it.

*crickets*

Wow. And I guess I will do this while holding the baby.

"Okay, Kay.. Keep stirring that roux until it turns the color of a penny. Okay, Justin is crying right now. Let me take over while you breastfeed him.When you finish, come back and give him to me. And finish this roux."

Yeah. That's how that's going to go.

We can make gumbo. And the best part of that is teaching my sister how to make it. Now, no, we are not from New Orleans, and the recipe was not passed down from some family matriarch. But I lived there and I had my share of good bowls of gumbo, and I know what I like! So I have a recipe that I've used over the past 15 years that leaves me satisfied. So yes, I will watch her make it.

But I wanted something for myself. And that is this right here.

Stuffed acorn squash.

I posted up the recipe a year or so go ("An Acorn Squash Tale").

That is quick and easy. I will basically throw the french doors of the refrigerator open wide and stuff the squash with whatever vegetables are there.

So that will be our Thanksgiving. And we will watch movies, movies, and more movies.

Song of the Week. So I went to lunch with a coworker. This is special because I don't go out to lunch with people. I may go no more than 5 times a year. And I save hanging out for lunch for people who have a good positive affect on me and my life. We went to a local korean street eatery and bakery, Sweet Hut, in midtown. They play an interesting mix of contemporary pop music. It was all music from the past couple of years, meaning that I didn't know any of it. I do NOT listen to current radio at all.

But then they messed around and played some old Michael Jackson.

Man, I had to do ALL I could not to bust out crying.

I told my coworker, "I'm going to go back to the lab and pull the Thriller album up on my Spotify!"

And I did. My favorite song on the album is "Lady in my Life".



Oh how I miss Michael Jackson! He had his problems, but the music from 30-40 years ago was AWESOME.

The last song by him that I like that I listen to often: "Heaven Can Wait".



That song is SO good.

That's off his final CD. Sigh.

He died in 2009. That is over 8 years ago. Wow.

Gone too soon. Music was his legacy. I am glad we still have that!

Well I am off to my weekend. And it will be a GREAT one, whether it is or I imagine and dream it to be!

LOL.

You have a great weekend, too. On purpose!!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday: Moon Grapes

Someone brought these to work. And they were very excited about them.

"What are those?" I asked the coworker who brought them and placed them in the general area for all to enjoy.

"Oh, those are moon grapes," she said, with way too much glee. "I got them down at Publix!"

I nodded.

But I didn't get any. Nope. They look mad crazy.

I'd never heard of them. And I didn't eat any.

Those grapes look special, They look like something we would see while stranded on an island and we were starving for food.  And we came across a tree with some bizarre fruit hanging from it.

I would still wait for someone ELSE to try them first because they may be POISONOUS!

Nope. I passed on those. I may try them...

Maybe next time.

Of Wallets and Reunions

So... a couple of months ago I had the opportunity to attend a family reunion on my father's side of the family. I considered this a challenge because first, I don't really know these people, and second, the older I get, the more I don't care to deal in crowds. So with that said, I saw the family reunion as a great opportunity to not only be around my own kin, but as a much needed opportunity to tackle these minor social anxiety issues that are creeping into my life as of late.

The interesting thing is that my father's family is as quiet and calm as myself. This is hilarious to me, yet it makes me understand more about my personality.

And it also afforded another opportunity: running up on one of the popular local outlet malls.

I felt bad about this because, when having a phone conversation with a cousin about the location of the family reunion, my eyes lit up.  I said to her "That's down there by the Tanger Outlet. I want to go to the outlet! I haven't been there in 20 years!"

I was thinking that in my head and it somehow slipped out of my mouth. There's an Oldgirl at work that has a Michael Kors wallet and we discussed it maybe being at the outlet. Hmmm.

So at the reunion I heard the question a couple of times... "Did you get a chance to go to the outlet?"


Yes I did.

I stopped by Michael Kors. And I went to the Coach outlet, which was nearby. I didn't have much time. I should've gone down there a few hours early, but I didn't. But I bought a few items.

There was some odd 70% off  sale. I only went for one wallet, but hey, I saw some others that I wanted.  I purchased some wallets for around $100 total!

I only went into the Coach store to look around. But I bought that small Coach wallet also.

I wasn't all that interested in Coach, though.

Why?

Because I have a Coach edition car!

Look close!

I always tell people that you can attach a strap or handle to my car and it would be a very fine purse for a dinosaur!

LOL!

It was a good trip to the outlets, and a good family reunion. I was glad I went. My father's side of the family, and I've noticed this whenever I am around them, are some very kind, quiet and calm people. It makes me understand that part of my personality better. And it definitely helps me to accept myself as I am with glee.

Those important lessons (and a few nice wallets), are a good thing!

Friday Freestyles... Holiday Edition

It is Friday. And I am off because Veterans Day is tomorrow. So since Veteran's day falls on a weekend, we get the closest weekday off. And that is fine with me.

This has been a pretty quiet day. I have a 1000 things I want to do this weekend, but alas, it is all in my head, and it's all a dream. I will most definitely get 1% of those things done.  And I am fine with that.

It is officially Autumn. Yes I know that the first day of fall was awhile ago, but I know it's officially fall when I see this:



Disposable bags of leaves at the curb. My lawn man has been busy at work raking up leaves, I see!

So today, there is some HUGE child molestation mess going on with Roy Moore, who I think is running for Senate in Alabama. Now, you would think that this would mean automatic dismissal from the race entirely, but nope. What's going down in Hollywood is not going down in Alabama.

They are saying it was so long ago. And "if it's true" jargon is flying left and right.

What it says to me is that they are sanctioning pedophilia.

No one sanctions that. But a special case can be made when they are trying to get some things done, you know.

Got to erase that black man's legacy, by any means necessary.

That whole Roy Moore scenario happened 40 years ago. Sorry, but that would have had to have happened yesterday, and it had better been caught on camera. Then and only then will it be acknowledged and action taken. But not now. Nope. Pedophilia- who cares.

And this is my thing: this man is way heavy on the legalism and religiosity. WAY heavy. This is ALWAYS a signal that they have some serious ingregious mess going on in their backgrounds. If we pull back the heavy velvet black curtain of their lives and take a look, we will see some straight craziness. And that's what we have here.

Hmm... Just my opinion.

Quote of the week. This quote comes up in my thoughts a lot these days. It is from Abraham Lincoln.

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him some power."

Power magnifies character. Money does too, I should add.

And I am seeing it in context now, where all these powerful men are sexually harassing women. And we are seeing only the very tippy-tip of the iceberg. You know that. We would all probably pass out from stress if EVERY woman with a story of her run-in with sexual harassment surfaces.

Let's just say I've never met a woman who doesn't have a story to tell. Including me.

If you don't have a story to tell, consider yourself lucky.

Song of the Week. I love this song AND the cheesy video! "Don't look any further"



I LOVE that song. And that video is the cheapest EVER. Still great though, even better than these glitzy million dollar videos.

That is it for me. I am going to enjoy the rest of this day by working hard at crossing off stuff on my "To-do" list.

And I'm going to enjoy this weekend too! You do the same!!

Best of October 2017 - Grandma, Transport Chairs, and Grandchildren

This is the most important piece of equipment I've bought in the last couple of years.

It is a "Transport Chair". I'd gone to a pharmacy on the southside to buy it. (LadyTee had bought one for her aunt awhile ago and let me know where to get it).  I wanted it for my grandmother, as I take her to Emory Hospital for her medical appointments from time to time. She walks super slow, yet she somehow wants to blend in with the crowd and walk just as fast. That's not good. And I thought hard  about a solution to the problem.

So I decided to buy a wheelchair. And when I walked into the pharmacy to ask about a wheelchair, they told me about the transport chair. (Just that fast I'd forgotten the name of what I needed just that quick). They put it together and showed me how to use it.

My sister cautioned me on presenting this option to grandma. "The elderly don't take well to that type of thing," she said. I said it would be easier for us both. Well, I showed her the chair, told her the plan and she was all for it.

She took to it well, and she enjoys being transported back and forth.

Just like she took to her new great-grandson Justin well. I heard from my sister that she enjoyed seeing him for the first time!

I think this is her 6th great grandchild. There are now 2 girls and 4 boys. And she has gotten to spend time with them all. (Even though Justin was knocked out during his visit).

When I took her to the doctor last week, she talked about her time with Justin. And she could hardly get her whole story out without being full of giggles.It felt so good to see the joy in her eyes and hear the joy in her voice.

Later that evening, after I'd taken her home after her appointment, I thought about our time together. I thought about how she is like a child now, and how I prayed that I would have patience in helping her get to her appointments. I did, and I was happy for it.  And I was happy to talk to her about her about her new little great-grandson.

That had to be one of my best memories from October 2017. And it's something I'll never forget.

I Voted...

So yesterday was a big day. It was the first big vote day after the election of our beloved new president.

I wasn't going to vote, as I knew the major race for Mayor of Atlanta would be a runoff. But nevertheless, I voted.

I was in and out in, like, less than a couple of minutes.

What surprised  me the most was the "commotion" that  went on while I was there.  There were only 3 voters there at the time, and we were outnumbered by the elderly campaign  workers. They were in a huff because people were campaigning too close to the precinct. And they'd warned them to stay back, but they wouldn't.

And it became one of those...

"I done told you once. I done told you twice."

Let's just say they'd considered calling the police but EAGERLY decided to handle it on their own.

And I began to think - Oh no, it's about to go down. Maybe I should leave.

As I quickly jumped in my car and drove past the commotion, I saw that it was one of the people running for the local council talking trash.

I wanted to holler "I hope you LOSE!". But I didn't.

Well, she did lose. That is what she gets for breaking distance rules. Humph.

Alas, there is a runoff in our city for mayor. I am voting for Mary Norwood. Unless Keisha Bottoms come out swinging and do well in the debates, then uh... nope.

But I WILL tell you what was interesting... I remember that bizarre push last year to get the transgender bathroom laws. I think that failed, but I remember thinking "The transgender people are going to start running for some offices. Watch." And lo and behold they did, and they won some elections.

Hmm...

Then there's a slew of new minority and immigrant-turned-US citizen mayors and elected officials. A Sikh was even elected Mayor.

The white nationalist are gonna get enough of picking on people. Watch. Ya'll can march around in your golf clothes waving your tiki torches if you want to. People are taking note and running for office.

And if Trump's tax reform bi doesn't go through, uh... watch out in 2018.

Congrats to all who won their races.

Ten Tuesday Thoughts

1. It is only Tuesday, and I am already ready for the week to be over. I am SO glad that Friday is a holiday. That means a 3-day weekend for me, and I'm going to make the best of it.

2. I have 940 hours of sick leave. That works out to 23.5 weeks.  That is real close to 6 months of sick leave. It's good to have that much, but I hope I never get sick enough to use big chunks of time.

3. I have a terrible habit of turning my cell phone ringer and notifications off.  There is nothing worse than a ringing cell phone or notifications dings in our EXTREMELY quiet cubicle area.That's not the bad habit, though, as I am just being mindful of my fellow employees. The bad habit is not turning it back ON after my workday. Now, I will hear it vibrating and ringing if I am listening to something (music, talk radio) on my headphones, but it is a problem when I am not doing that,  or if I am running errands after work.  And at night when I get in the bed, I see I have phone calls. I need to figure out a way to remember to turn it on or put everything on low.

4. I hate these psychological dependences on cell phones. I remember when we didn't have cell phones, when you better stop and call somebody from a pay phone and keep it moving. 

5.  I am doing a lot of confusing paperwork right now. Might be best if I could work from home, but it sucks to need a piece of data from a computer in the lab... and not be at work, where I can just run to the next room and get it.

6. I tell you... Donna Brazille is pissed off. She is spilling much tea on the DNC. And she said if we don't like it, we can go to hell. Well alright, ma'am! I might get the audible version of her book just to see what the heck was going on during that election year!

7. I voted today. I wasn't going to, because there will be a run-off in our major mayoral race, but I did anyway. It took me all of 3 minutes and I was done.

8. One of the people running for a position was arguing with the elderly campaign workers. Apparently they were too close to the polls. (I think you have to be a certain number of feet from the polls if you're campaigning).

9. I wanted to holler out, as I drove by, "I hope you lose!!". I don't understand why anyone would want to fight with these old folks. And this candidate has been leaving WAY too much mail in my door. I rarely go through my front door. And I live in the hood. That mail in the door makes it look like I ain't home. She should know better.

10.  It was cold last week, but now it's warm this week. I believe it was even 80 degrees yesterday. This means I can still wear my capri pants, even if this is the last week to do so.

That's it for my Ten Thoughts on  a Tuesday!

Monday Night Musings

It's Monday once again. And this Monday was special because daylight savings time kicked in and we are suppose to celebrate this beloved extra hour of sleep. But I haven't been sleeping the best lately, and it was disturbing to wake up to CRAZY sunlight this morning. So I think I need to adjust what time I actually wake up. We will see.

Another Mass Murder. So here we go, once again, a mass shooting. A guy shot up a church and killed 25 people. And this time, there were children murdered, one as young as 18 months old.

This type of thing is beyond sad and tragic when it happens. My thoughts and prayers are with these victims and their families. My thoughts are always... what is the root of the problem? What makes one resort to running up in somewhere killing folk, because you know this whole thing has the most horrific of consequences. And then, to make things complicated, we are all conditioned now: we know the race and religion of the perpetrator right off.  If it is a brown or non-christian, non-white person, there is IMMEDIATE outrage. But when it's a white male committing these horrific acts, it is Oh poor guy... he has a mental problem.

Terrorism is terrorism. An overwhelming percentage are carried out by white men. And as per usual, it is another white privilege exercise. Because you know congress can't upset these gun lobbyists...

And now, the actual solution to the problem seems to be that you best go to church armed with a gun.

How CONVENIENT for the gun lobbies! Someone's about to make some money! 

Imagine that. A shooter comes in, and we all have a gun and we all start shooting. Wow.

I will be thinking about that for a minute.

My Weekend. I had a decent weekend, especially after the strange week I had last week. I had some sinus issues that were giving me fits, had me all stressed out and depressed, so much so that I had to take a sick day off from work. It felt good to wake up Saturday morning and be able to breathe correctly. And it was nice to leave the house and not be super cold. As a matter of fact, the days could have been mistaken for a spring day. I went and got a haircut on Sunday, and that turned out good, for a good talk with my barber afforded some work through some of my personal issues and complicated feelings about some goals I am thinking about for the new year.  A pep talk is always good for the soul.

Saturday night, I attended a VERY special birthday party. Mama Adrienne celebrated her 40th birthday.

40 is such an important milestone.  I would think that was my most important age milestone to date, and I can only hope it is one of her most important ones, too. I think she is celebrating all month, but I was fortunate enough to join her for one of her parties. And the cake... it was breathtaking,

It was a good time, even though I suck in group situations. I am working on it. But it was good to see her, as I haven't seen her in quite awhile. I can only hope her 40s will be yet another great decade of growth, change, and love in her life. I am sure ALL that will come to pass!

Sunday, my sister and Notorious J were over. I am so happy to be able to keep him and give her a

break. She was able to get some of her lesson plans done for the coming school week, and I was able to spend a good amount of time with him. I hate that I didn't get up early enough to cook Sunday dinner for them. I didn't think she was coming over, but she did! So we just had leftovers from the fridge. That is Sunday dinner enough. And I got a chance to spend quality time with my sister and little nephew.

Song of the Week. "Sending My Love" by Zhane. 



How wonderful, soothing and awesome is that song? And it makes me think of love.

*checking to see what year that song came out*

1994. Hmm... I was 24 years old. I can't really remember much of what was going on around that time. That song came out 23 years ago.

Oh, yes I do. *raises eyebrow at that year*

And I don't listen to much R&B now. Do we have any good R&B music now? Not that poppy ish, but some real sangers?

If I have to ask the question, then that is not good.

Oh well.

I am looking forward to a productive week. I was a bit miffed about coming to work today, so I had some communion before hand and blessed my whole week. My emotions and attitude have been a little left of center this past month and I am desperate need of some correction. So that is the direction I'm going in and thinking on. Damn these hormones of mine and this menopausal craziness.

Looking forward to a great week... on purpose.

And I wish the same for you.

Friday Freestyles

As always, this week has flown by like jet plane.

And I want to post, but I like a lot of pictures and visuals, and I can't get my pictures to transfer in a good time. I can get them to upload, but transferring them from my phone to my computer is a BEAST. I am not sure what that is about. I mean, it takes hours and hours. It's just odd.

Then there is that 5 or 10% of the time when everything happens immediately.  That's really odd.

So I think I will load up pictures/ideas on the weekends. It bothers me not to get some writing in any form done everyday. Sigh.

Anyway, just some stream-of-thought thinking. I have to solve those problems.

It is FRIDAY! And best of all, it is PAYDAY.

So as always, I will spend around 30 seconds imagining what it will be like to ball out of control with a whole check. Then I will roll back to reality and spend the next few minutes paying bills online. LOL

This has been a strange week, as I have only worked 3 days this week. On Halloween, I had to take off and take my grandmother in for her 6 month regular medical appointment. She hasn't been doing all that great lately, as my uncle took her to the emergency room the night before. But she was okay at the doctor's appointment, and she may have been suffering from some type of infection. She has some dehydration issues too. So there was much talk about that. But I got her to her appointment and back home without many issues.

And then on Thursday, I took off because I felt like crap. I sometimes have issues with my right sinus cavity and it was just terrible on Thursday morning. I spent most of the day in bed. I can remember the time I felt okay, when the pressure eased up some: 1:24 pm. I was feeling awful all morning, and I blew my nose at the time and it was as if flowers bloomed over my head. Thank goodness. I was impatient and full of anxiety all morning.

Picture of the Week. So I was folding clothes, and I pulled a piece of clothing from the dryer.

My nephew Justin's hoodie. How cool is that? It made me smile. Of course I have to rewash it in that ol' expensive baby Dreft detergent, but it was just funny to see a piece of his clothing mixed in with my own. For some reason, it meant much to me.

Song of the Week. So what I consider some good music came out this past week. Most notably, Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. came out with a VERY good CD titled 4eva is a Mighty Long Time.

A very good ADULT CD. Free of trap. Thank goodness.

It is very mellow, very jazzy, and has its moments of conscious thought. So good to hear adult rap music for a change.

One of the songs I liked features Jill Scott. "Higher Calling"



That's such a good mellow love song. I liked-ed it.

That is it for me. I am looking forward to the weekend. I think Justin will be over. It's always good to see him, as he is growing and changing by the day. He was here this past weekend.

He weighs 7 pounds, 11 ounces now, and he is 10 weeks old now. How cool is that?

WAY cool.

Have a great weekend!