It's Monday so it must be Bounty and Soul day

Volunteers unload produce from the Bounty and Soul truck, and then put the food in baskets for us to go by and take whatever we want, free.  Us seniors get some things that are pretty high priced in some stores, but have been donated for us to enjoy.  This week I came home with a baking potato for 2 (huge), a grapefruit, some cherry tomatoes, a lemon, a halo orange, a bag of 3 pounds of bartlett pears (unripe), a small serving of organic spinach...and I didn't take about half of the other things, 3 kinds of squash, eggplant, onions, cucumbers, bananas, apples and a few things I've forgotten.

Many of us will have plenty to eat this week, and certainly more variety in our meals.  The same outfit will offer the same foods at 2 or 3 other sites this week.  What a wonderful opportunity for those who don't receive government food subsidies, or maybe some do.  But this program is helping so many of us.  My refrigerator is full again.

I mentioned this beneficial outfit before in a post HERE.

Let's see, last week I used an eggplant and squash and onion and added some cheese, spaghetti sauce and Italian bread crumbs, drizzled some olive oil and made a faux eggplant parmesan.  And I still have some left over...so I didn't get any of those ingredients this week.  I was out with friends over the weekend, and each time I brought home a box to provide another meal...that way I justify ordering larger servings because they make 2 meals.

So getting to age 76, I've learned a few tricks...mainly to live more economically now that I'm on a "fixed income."  The only things not fixed are the prices of things I need to purchase!

There's a great thrift shop (locally owned and operated) that provides pretty much of my wardrobe these days. I've learned the Goodwill people aren't really as friendly when they refused to give a homeless man a coat (or maybe it was a shirt.) Either way, what's with these people?

Shhh, Introvert hibernating!

Retired. So it's me a few pounds heavier, and about 8 years ago...never knowing what was in my future at that point.  At that time I was still just recuperating from thinking about how to please others all the time...which was my job.  An Activity Director for the last 7 years of my career, starting with Assisted Living facilities, then finally for an Independent Living Senior Apartment tower with over 200 units.

I could do the job, and I loved some of it.

But I'm naturally an introvert, and would spend most weekends in bed, as well as come home from work exhausted.  Someone hinted to me this last week that there's a need to train Activity Directors so all seniors receive good quality of life.  Not me, I'm not at all eager to return to work.  I'm having enough trouble just taking care of myself and the cats, and now my health, and sometimes making something or another in clay.  Right now that's on the back burner...waaay back.

I'm pretty sure people think of me as a self-centered somewhat bitchy person when I'm around a group of people.  Not true, but I just don't want to "put myself forward," as extroverts naturally do.

So even blogging is sometimes difficult, so please be patient with my need to hibernate these days!

Catch up

 On this day was born Mary Hull Granger Phillips  in   1829,    grandmother of my paternal grandmother, Ada Phillips Swasey Rogers.  Died within a year of birth of her second child; her husband, William Phillips, then died early in the Civil War.

I have been busy away from this place for the last couple of weeks.  Sorry that I haven't been looking at my favorite blogs much, let alone writing anything.  And several ancestors were having their birth anniversaries in this time.  Today is the birthday of Mary Phillips, who moved back and forth from early Texas plantations to Georgia as a young mother.

I know this because some of her letters have survived.

And I spent many hours transcribing some of them.
Here are previous posts:
letters,
grigsby-bluff-letter-dec-9-1861
before-war-started-1856-texas
old-letters-transcribed

So since this is just a catch up post, I won't post any new letters here.  But I will think hard about making a new post soon about these wonderful ancestor letters.

Last week I joined forces with another woman who has led an annual event for the church, but who said she couldn't do it this year.  As this has been our biggest fund raiser I didn't want it to fall by the wayside, so I asked everyone if they could find one other person to help, and we could do it as a community, as long as J. told me how she had done it in the past.

I organized volunteers based on what J. told me we would need.  I am not a mind reader, so when she asked me things that I hadn't done, I had to just say no, I didn't do that.  I had no idea that I should have done whatever that was.  This is "crazy making" that my family used to do all over the place, but I didn't fall into the drama.   She had always had a good friend work with her, and I didn't fill those shoes in any way - I didn't attempt to.

I just did what I knew how to do, and I think the event went very well.  Pictures are here trillium-5314.

My body didn't do so well, and my psyche is more of an introvert, which to me means I am happily alone for long periods of time.  My body complained almost constantly and I had to take pain relievers all the time, as well as allergy medications.  I slept like a baby, missing many events that otherwise would have kept me awake at night.  I also lost my sense of smell.  I think I remember the musty dusty smell about Thurs. as we repacked all the donated items for the sale into boxes to be carried out to the parking lot.

I've got pottery to make, and some to sell.  I laugh at "some" as I've halfway inventoried what I have on hand, and the value surprised me (higher than expected!)

I also have been attending the Council on Aging low-cost lunch that is provided at the Lakeview Senior Center weekdays.  I don't make it to all the lunches, but manage to be there for most of them.

This program brings a diverse set of elders together, many of whom have more needs than I presently do.  Some don't drive and there's a van that goes to their home to pick them up and take them back.  I'm so glad to see that there are some good programs helping people...and this is certainly one.  I wish more of the homebound elders could join us.  I know Meals on Wheels exists, but probably was cut by our current ignorant representatives in NC.  I hope the Senior lunch program continues.

I read Ronnie Barrett's blog .timegoesby as often as I can.  She often speaks of aging issues, and many are pertinent to my life. 

I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon.  My life is so often put under a scrutiny of the medical profession these days.   I'm very grateful for pain relief and other medications that my blood pressure and a recurring shingles virus are controlled by. What must my ancestor's lives have been like when the few doctors were used mostly to set bones or deal with fevers?

 Of course I'm talking about the long-lived ancestors.