I was looking for pictures of a French maid costume and found this gem to the right. I think the pressures on women to be waif thin are unrealistic and this should be a normal weight for a woman. So go ahead and eat the cheeseburger. I don’t mind one iota.
Photo Credit: http://www.comicvine.com/profile/french_maid/
I am new to these fancy Italian coffees and my intrigue has gotten the best of me. We don’t have a Starbucks, internet cafes, or anything similar to those in our little town.
I think the title means you are getting a chocolate flavored coffee. Isn’t an espresso an extremely concentrated form of coffee? I’ve been sampling some of the coffee machine offerings only offered in our local convenience stores. So far, my favorite is a cappuccino if I am using the term correctly. I can see how people can get addicted to these drinks. They are great hand warmers as well.
My grandmother just couldn’t start her day without a several cups of percolated breakfast coffee. The brand she loved best was Eight O'clock. You ground the coffee yourself in the store with a grinding machine which usually resided by the coffee beans. She also enjoyed her coffee with sweetened evaporated milk for which I could never really develop a taste for.
Ah, I just found this chart online to be immensely helpful. I always tell people online to “Google it” when they need an question answered. I should practice what I preach. I assume these drinks should have sugar as one of the ingredients.
Photo Credit: http://eocfoodservice.com/
Is your V8 running like a V6? Oh, I am barely going this afternoon – not firing on all cylinders at all. I better check my sparkplugs or my distributor cap. I didn’t get in the bed until almost 9am and my circadian clock decided to wake me at 3pm. It’s that eyes burning kind of tired feeling.
Well, tonight is Sunday night fried chicken around here as you all may well know. Charlie just has called me and asked me what I wanted.
“Charlie?” I said, “Get me the 3pc original recipe meal and substitute two orders of potato wedges instead of the traditional slaw and mashed potatoes.”
Charlie told me that my mother is once again getting a Whopper and fries as she normally does. Whoppers are such mediocre and sloppy burgers more lettuce than anything. Dad and Charlie want the Popeye's shrimp tackle boxes, and horsefly will have to eat his ubiquitous chicken tender dinner that he eats every night.
My ideal meal is a two large roast beef sandwiches from Arby’s with a large curly fries. Alas, my father has long ago deemed Arby’s too expensive. I wish I had a working printer to print out the coupon below.
Photo Credit: http://www.brandeating.com/2013/09/news-new-kfc-go-cups-easier-to-eat-in-car.html
Photo Credit #2: https://www.dealsplus.com/arbys-coupons/3077472p
I am going to ask Charlie why he is not in church on this fine glorious morning god hath made. He will probably fling a few choice explicatives my way Grinch style. The only time you will catch Charlie in church is either a wedding or a funeral and let’s hope neither one of those comes to fruition anytime soon.
Update: Charlie arrived just after 8.00am this morning. He was very early. On the menu where bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits, McDonald’s hash browns, and a large orange juice.
Thousands of years from now, archeologists will unearth relics such as this game controller and wonder what it does.
Photo Credit: https://stealthismeme.wordpress.com/human-evolution-chart/
![Maggie and Charlie[4][13]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCC-JEJR2e2wCu8Lh0TOFt0KMJiSXyuK6nZG2sHY-mV23LKymEG5gdlpU8b_hwBw8jbQsHn9d-MGHD0zmfvm2VjhNxEyxhACco7uuKV890zafpxsZ3ys5UBj0FuQ38dZr9AC44lXRLSmE/s1600-h/Maggie%252520and%252520Charlie%25255B4%25255D%25255B13%25255D%25255B3%25255D.jpg "Maggie and Charlie[4][13]")
“Coming!!!” I hollered loudly from my back bedroom as Maggie barked impatiently and ever jubilantly in front of the door with Charlie on the other side.
“Get your ass to the door,” I could hear Charlie say with a laugh.
Charlie performed my medication ritual and Maggie’s feeding ritual in blinding speed and soon was in the car to take Horsefly to the movies. Charlie’s visits are always whirlwind visits. He’s always been a fidgety, nervous man on a mission.
Let’s see, I went to bed at about 8am this morning so I got about seven hours of decent sleep. Maggie is already back in the bed and I will probably rejoin her as soon as my medications take effect.
“I am cutting your hair tomorrow night so get ready,” Charlie said as he briskly walked to his Caprica. “Don’t wash it tomorrow morning. It is easier for me to cut it when it is dirty.”
I’ve decided this morning that I am going to just be thankful for all I have. I have a house and car that are completely paid for. Believe me when I say that homelessness in the winter is no walk in the park. That winter of 2001 when I was homeless for six months was a time in my life best forgotten unless I commit it again. Any homeless man out there would trade places with me in a heartbeat with what I have and what my life is like. So, I have to be a little uncomfortable waiting on medications. So what! My mental health is ten times better than it was ten years ago.
I also have all the food I want to eat. I have learned to shop within my limits/means and usually have nutritious food throughout the week. Helen cooks on Fridays – reminiscent of the wonderful country cookin’ like my grandmother cooked when I was a child. Today, I have two big plates of Helen’s leftovers to eat that mom is saving for me to come and get them. Sunday, Charlie brings us breakfast biscuits and then Charlie and my father bring fried chicken that night. The bounties on Sunday are always welcomed!
My computers are my life, both social, intellectual, and emotional. I have two of some of the fastest computers in my little town I would dare say. Handmade by me. I also have access to a world of information via the internet. Basically, it is like having a worlds worth of libraries at your fingertips.
How could I forget my dearest darling Maggie? The closest thing I will ever have to a child. My wonderful little furry companion who keeps us connected and safe in this neighborhood. I can’t go to sleep unless her back is touching mine as it usually does after I turn off the lights and pull the covers over us.
Yes, I do believe I have lots of things to be very thankful for. Yes, indeed.
Photo Credit: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Optimism-Quiz-Is-Your-Glass-Half-Empty-or-Half-Full
It makes you look in wonderment at what may be out there! It is certainly humbling to me that the photo is just one small patch of night sky in our galaxy.
It seems my life is forever a series of waits on medications. It is maddening. Just like some crazy addiction like heroin/methadone. I am also completely at the whims of family and friends on when I will get these medications. It seems like this never-ending circle and I am always along for the ride. I will feel really well for a few hours after I take my medications and then I start to go down hill for yet another day and yet another long wait. It is almost like an addictive cycle, yet I have no control over this cycle. I used to could just go buy a beer to quell my addictive tendencies.
Photo Credit: http://caregivermedicationsolutions.com/?p=27
My main goal was the Circle K in West Point across the river from us. You can save several dollars in taxes on cigar related products than in our little burg I call home in Alabama. It is only cigarettes they’ve taxed the hell out of in recent years. I wanted a five pack of Swisher’s Sweets cigarillos and a hot cup of frou frou cappuccino coffee. I lit a cigarillo once I was back in my car and my head seemed to spin as that cigar had a kick so hard it made me dizzy. I don’t smoke cigars too often these days. Sometimes I just crave the taste and especially the smell.
photo credit: http://www.cigar.com/cigars/12524/swisher-sweets/
 | Idaho (3-7) |
| Auburn (5-5) |  |
Dad’s car was wonderfully toasty warm as we drove to get my citrus drink tonight. I had asked him to take me and he gladly agreed. My car would’ve taken 15 minutes to warm up.
“Let me take a drink and see what it tastes like,” my father said as I climbed back into his Honda after my purchase. “Now I know why you are so hooked on those drinks. They are sweet, citrusy, and delicious.”
“Now, there is going to be a lot of drinking and wine imbibing going on at your brothers house this Thanksgiving,” My father then told me meaning I have to stay at home. “I will make sure you get a big plate chock full of food when we get home.”
My sister-in-law is a brilliant cook. I told my father to be sure to bring me lots of roast turkey as I love the sandwiches it makes.
“Don’t overload on tryptophan,” my father then told me chuckling. “You will sleep the day away.”
“I’ve already got the market cornered on that,” is what I wanted to reply with.
Tryptophan is the chemical in turkey that makes you want to nap or sleep after a big turkey dinner.
Photo Credit: http://www.accustore.com/success-stories/circle-k-arizona-fountain-survey.aspx
“Next time, call me on my cellphone if it would make you feel any better,” my mother replied. “I know that lonesome feeling. I can still get lonesome when your father is in the house. He’ll lock himself in his bedroom and talk on his cellphone for hours.”
“I bet I hadn’t cried since the day Rachel’s and my divorce was final over a decade ago,” I told her.
“What did Helen cook?” I asked her to change the subject to lighter fare.
“Helen cooked meatloaf and macaroni and cheese,” my mother replied. “It was a good supper. Your father is bringing you a big plate of food.”
Dad had told my mother that usually only men with mental illness problems cry like that and I scoffed when my mother told me what he said. I can’t ever remember my father crying, though. He was stone-faced even at his own mother’s funeral.
I had gone earlier to get another of my SoBe citrus orange drinks. I needed another dose of ginseng and orange and also lemon juice. We had a new clerk tonight – filling in I guess. I noted that she had the prettiest auburn hair flowing over and cascading down her shoulders and an even sweeter voice that reminded me of Allison Krauss. She sounded from the tone and inflections of her voice that she would also be a firebrand. I wondered devilishly what she would be like in bed? Note to self: the convenience store is probably not a good place to pick up women either.
I also feel I write too much on my blog overwhelming my readers and causing them not to read so I am probably just cut back to a few posts a week instead of three posts a day. lol That will be hard for me to do seeing how much I enjoy the craft of writing and having a blog with a few people reading entices you into performing the craft.
Photo Credit: https://tjohnsonmediagroup.com/radio/insiders/promotion/major/the-fugitive/
Photo Credit #2: http://www.farotech.com/top-9-5-best-blog-writing-tips-avoid-common-blog-mistakes/
“I made you some of Helen’s fresh tuna salad sandwiches,” she said. “And I want to give you some money to buy your citrus drinks for tonight.”
“It is just 76¢ cents,” I told my mother reminding her of how economical they cost.
My mother, the secretary, is so very kind and thoughtful about such things. Dad would never think to do such a thing. Though, he was glad I got my injection this morning and it was very worry free.
“Could you even thought you could do that without our help a few years ago?” he asked me later tonight. “You've come so very far in your recovery.”
Flattery will get you very far in my book…
I drove by the Circle K on Gilmer Ave. and prepared me a drink that was extremely deliciously satisfying. I arrived at home and it was 8:30pm so I was pushing it close. Dad could arrive at any moment now.
Dad arrived at about 9pm I think. I wasn’t paying close attention to the clock. Lately, he’s been sneaking up on us. We haven’t heard his car pull up and then we will hear a knock upon the door meaning he has arrived which sends Maggie into a flurry of barking. Maybe it’s all the loud music I’ve been playing lately on my computer. I am enamored with The Cinematic Orchestra these days. We have to listen to Iris DeMent’s song Let the Mystery Be and then my father will head on his way after medication time.
Iris DeMent's Let the Mystery Be
Tonight, dad was mainly worried about Maggie and the fact she can no longer jump up on the couch and do her normal routines. Dad said I may need to put the rug back down in the den for the time being.
“She looks so pitiful,” he said to me and she did look pretty pitiful. “Poor thing. We can have that rug steam cleaned.”
Which I would have had done if old Fuss ‘n Boots wouldn’t have complained about the $100 cost for this service.
Y’all? If I act strange or do anything out of the ordinary like write about crying like I did this morning, consider it a symptom of my illness and the need for medication. I’ve been writing this journal for well over a decade and that is the only time I could ever think of writing about crying. I was in pretty bad shape this morning.
Photo Credit: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/summer-tuna-salad-sandwiches/eae0bca0-67b4-4839-bfc6-6b1bee1b031e
Photo Credit #2: http://cortescarpetcleaning.com/?page_id=10
I knew things were going to be okay when my usual nurse, Rebecca, called me back. Oh dear god, it was so good to see her – a real sight for sore eyes platinum blonde and all. I could’ve grabbed her and smooched her on the cheek. he he
“I had to see my favorite patient this morning and to see how he is doing,” Rebecca told me as we walked back to an examining room.
“That burned didn't it?” Rebecca asked as she administered my injection. “I could feel it in the way the needle went in.”
“You’re fine,” I said. “Don't worry. I am a big guy and can handle it.”
Dee Dee had my next appointment card ready as I walked down the hall. “War Eagle!” she said to me as she handed me the card with a smile even though we suck this year. “War Eagle!” I replied. “And thank you for the expediency of the way you get me in and out of here.”
Photo Credit: http://favimages.com/tag/precipice/
![008 copytired[3]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKAs1ft4wJFeH79UUsksvzaUyYQBeMe32Pd5MSrTIMiESKG1UDIdn4ELTLo9Yo1F23ZnwP3K5pZDyFmBGLARWDSjNAxUIkfmNx2USJBIRWo29XUhPByMwaLxN17px5Dtc7P4eV5R9dRs/s1600-h/008%252520copytired%25255B3%25255D%25255B3%25255D.jpg "008 copytired[3]")
Maggie’s confused as to why where not in the bed yet. I just told her we are headed that way after I warm two more biscuits to be eaten with strawberry preserves. I am very much looking forward to this time with my very furry little friend.
I scrambled some cheese eggs, fried some strips of bacon, and cooked several of those frozen White Lily biscuits in my toaster oven. The biscuits weren’t half bad – a little heavy and dense, but extremely edible. They needed more shortening mixed in with the dough, then they would've been perfect, light, and fluffy. I ate mine with a dab of butter and a spread of Smucker’s strawberry preserves. Maggie had two plain biscuits and some cheese eggs for her meal. If you don’t look quick, you’ll miss it as it will be gone.
Well, I got that old rug rolled up, out of the den, and into my spare bedroom. Now, Maggie can’t jump up onto the couch due to her paw pads slipping on the hardwood floors. She feels like she is going to fall. I need to find a mat (bath mat?) of some kind that won’t slip so she can make her jump. She finally managed to get onto the couch once, but I had to help her down with much protesting and whining beforehand.
I have just gotten back from the Circle K down the street to get my SoBe citrus drink for the night. The clerk and I were the only ones in the store and there was no one pumping gas. It felt like the whole town was deserted. There wasn’t a car to be seen on the streets coming down from my house and on the usually very busy highway in front of the convenience store.
“You have a very safe night,” I sincerely told her with a smile upon leaving.
“You, too, sweetheart,” she replied as she counted the handful of change I had given her and then stuck it in the register.
I came home and got a load of laundry started so I will have some fresh smelling and clean clothes to wear to Kamath Medical this morning. Body odor is a big no-no for a socially anxious person. You don’t want to stand out in a crowd or make yourself conspicuous. Inconspicuous is the goal – blend in with the crowded masses.
Photo Credit: http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2008/10/perfect-buttermilk-biscuits.html
Photo Credit #2: http://www.sistersshoppingonashoestring.com/circle-k-polarpopcup-sweepstakes-and-gift-card-giveaway
Do you ever just cry? It’s abnormal in men I think or they would never admit to it and or they hide it well. I had a big desperate sounding sob just a moment ago. I poured my eyes out. I feel so completely alone this morning and my world seems so dark right now. It seems all I have in my life socially is my parents, Facebook, and this journal. My brother and sister have nothing to do with me – ignoring me for the most part. I gave myself a good cry and then wiped the tears away. Stiff upper lip as the British would say. I could really use a good cigarette and a stiff six pack of ice beer right now, but we all know how foolish that would be of me. This too shall pass as they always said in Alcoholics Anonymous.
“Here’s an extra 3mg Risperdal to take if you get to feeling especially mentally ill,” my father told me for which I thanked him very generously for his generosity.
That’s not something my father normally does – not playing fast and loose with my medications like that. He also didn’t stay long as he stepped out into the rain and ran to his car. He has gone to do their grocery shopping at Kroger for the week. It’s a nasty night to be out buying groceries.
Maggie keeps nudging me on my right thigh trying to tell me she’s either hungry or needs a back scratch. She wants me to bring her food dish full of food into the den with me most likely.
“Wait one hour, doll, and daddy’s going to fix us a grand breakfast,” I told her as she wagged her tail beside me.
I dare not say the words “hungry” and “eat” or Maggie will go into singular of purpose mode thinking only of food and all things that revolve around it.
Photo Credit: http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/08/16/know-placebo-effect-biological-genetic/
Photo Credit #2: http://www.thesouthinmymouth.com/what-were-eating-out-3/
My batting average is terrible, though. I think Wendy even has me on block now or she is not following me anymore. My ex-wife has me on block and Laura only talks to me if she needs to ask me a question about her medications to be relayed to my father.
I had felt that I was at the point I could have a serious relationship again. I guess my social anxieties are still getting in the way. It is my social gaffes and cluelessness that have gotten me in this situation so far. I thought if I actively and very forwardly pursued Wendy it would woo her to my side. That didn’t work so well. She got aggravated with me about it and pushed me away. I was too forward to the point of being pushy I think. I guess she thought I was the stalker type of guy which is nothing like the guy I am. I was just gambling I guess and I lost. I was dealing with a strong willed redheaded woman.
And yes, I can really tell I need my medications tonight. Dad will arrive at around 9 or 9:30pm I hope with tonight’s dosage and I will have to wait until 9am in the morning for my injection in the old derrière. He also has to buy groceries tonight for him and mom and I am so hoping he comes by here first.
Photo Credit: http://meischeepinfred45.soup.io/post/466255153/Many-tylenol-3-equals-a-lortab-5
I am fixing to go rearrange my den and retire this old area rug under me. It will make this room look a lot better. I also always find interesting capsules and pills that fell over the course of time when I do this as well. I’ve already found a Tylenol #3 moving the recliner which has codeine in it. That’s like Maggie finding tasty crumbs after I’ve eaten something.
Now I can get in here and really sweep the floors good and then mop them to make them shine.
Photo Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/90846117458138891/
-- 4:38am --
Well, y’all convinced me on going back again. I timed it and It takes ten minutes for me to drive down and get a drink and then drive home. The clerk was counting cigarettes as I walked in the door. Some lanky, scruffy looking black dude was buying Pennzoil motor oil. I headed to the soda fountain, fixed my drink, and was driving home within minutes.
A very early arrival tonight as Johnny Otis pulled up front of my house and Maggie went bananas. It was a very fortuitous 8:30pm. Dad likes it when Maggie’s joyous barking at the front door gets all the dogs barking in the neighborhood.
Dad was having me play gospel, bluegrass, and old folk tunes tonight. We first listened to May the Circle Go Unbroken.
“Momma always loved that song,” my father told me.
“These are all funeral hymns,” I told him. “You’re not about to kick the bucket soon, are you?”
Dad laughed as he handed me my handful of medications.
“I just think it is beautiful music from an era long passed,” he said. “Play that Iris DeMent song I dedicated to you.”
I have to agree with my father that I do like that song, Let the Mystery Be. I love Iris’s voice and her brazen candor about religion in that tune!
Photo Credit: https://isoas.wordpress.com/category/iris-dement/
“Andrew, this is your momma,” she said as she always says. “Come and get Maggie’s heartworm medications and her Vienna sausages.”
A few short weeks ago, mom showed up at my house with Maggie’s flea medications and her treats.
I hurriedly dressed and drove over. I can’t see to drive at night worth a poot. That’s why I am no longer a semi driver even though I have a commercial driver’s license. The phone begin ringing again when I finally arrived back home and I had just sat down in front of my computer in the den. It was my mother calling a second time.
“Did she chew up and eat her medicine?” My mother asked anxiously.
“Yes,” I replied. “And now she is eating her Vienna sausages daintily on the den rug. She’s a pretty happy and content little dog at the moment.”
“Good!” The Secretary said happily. “That’s one less thing I have to worry about. Thanks for doing that sweetheart.”
Now? I have an hour to wait until the medication ritual begins. The pharmacy closed about 45 minutes ago.
Photo Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/36rvxv/ultimate_hot_dog_style_guide_xpost_rfood/
I will say this about our Wal-Mart. They have an awesome and excellent produce department. Everything looked fresh, crisp and appealing. Much of the types of produce they sell can only be gotten at that one store in town. I picked up some fresh dill and deeply inhaled after crushing some between my fingers.
I was shopping for breakfast foods and had about $50 dollars that was burning a fiery hole in my wallet. I couldn’t get the breakfast foods last night under the close scrutiny of Johnny Otis at Kroger. He would say that I was living beyond my means and would also want to know what I was doing with $50 dollars cash in my wallet which he would consider a very big temptation. (Mom actually gave me the money to get the newly released and highly anticipated computer game Fallout 4.)
I got several cartons of ex-large eggs, Hormel black label bacon, cheddar cheese, butter, two cartons of Bavarian style buttermilk, and some frozen White Lily biscuits that looked very promising as far as their taste is concerned.
Photo Credit: http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2013/07/03/biscuits-with-sausage-and-mushroom-gravy-southern-baking-retreat-in-nashville/
The Secretary called me while I was in the grocery store and reminded me to get a large bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce and the canister of La Choy chow mien noodles. I thanked her and told her I had almost forgotten the soy sauce.
“The soy sauce is what makes that dish taste so good,” she told me.
I saw Jermaine for only a few short minutes tonight as I was checking out.
“Hey fella,” I told him as I gave him a mini man hug as he sat in his motorized cart.
I have developed a certain kindness and fondness with regards to Jermaine lately. At first, he drove me crazy. I was actually glad to see him tonight. He wanted to know what I was cooking this week and said it sounded delicious.
Dad said to come on and we will get them through the self checkout lane. We unloaded my groceries into my car and walked back inside to get the two sodas. My father was very gracious and kind about the whole affair. We still got in and out of Kroger in record time.
Photo Credit: http://www.amazon.com/Pop-Tarts-Strawberry-Unfrosted-Toaster-Pastries/dp/B00BBF6YT4
Photo Credit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MT-MOUNTAIN-DEW-PROMO-COIN-TOKEN-11-NASCAR-HOTWHEELS-RACE-CAR-OLD-STEEL-CAN-VTG-/251926560575
I am sitting here waiting for my father to arrive for grocery night and all I can think about is the two Mountain Dews allow myself to drink once a week. Drinking ice water certainly can get old at times. Its got to be better than all the sugary sodas and tea I continuously drank a few weeks ago, though.
Mom just called me and told me my father was on the way. Here we go folks!!!
I know for certain I am getting two large boxes of unfrosted strawberry Pop-tarts and a gallon of whole milk to savor them with. I also want a box of Krispy Kreme cream filled and chocolate coated doughnuts (I always say this and then the price completely overwhelms me when I am in the store). I am going to have a good gander at the deli’s cakes and their prices as well. They always have the most tempting soft baked cookies. My ultimate weakness is oatmeal and raisin.
My main sustenance and meal source this week is going to be my mother’s recipe beef chow mien. It will feed me for quite a few days. It’s basically a pound or two of ground chuck, a head of cabbage cored and chopped up in quarters, and a cup of good soy sauce. I will probably double that recipe tonight and freeze the rest. Let that concoction boil down until the cabbage has wilted and then you serve it on a bed of hot steaming white rice and crunchy chow mien noodles. Zhuànglì (Magnificent)!
Photo Credit: https://www.blueapron.com/cookbook/all/chinese
“You’ve been having a lot of little debits to iTunes,” my ever vigilant father told me tonight. “How much does an album cost?”
“Individual songs cost around $1.29 and most albums cost from $9.99 to $12.99,” I warily replied wondering what was going to happen next.
“Your mother told me you can get iTunes gift cards at Kroger,” dad then said. “Let’s try to limit it to two albums a month and you can use some of your grocery money to pay for it.”
Like my grocery budget needed to be stretched any farther.
It’s Sunday night fried chicken and it was in full force. Charlie was busy cleaning up my kitchen and taking out the trash. It sounded like a construction crew was busily working in the other room.
“Now dammit John!” Charlie said brusquely and angrily said as he walked through the den. “Just be goddamn glad he’s not using that money to buy cigarettes and beer.”
My voice of reason, Charlie, had spoken.
Photo Credit: https://usgiftcodes.com/
