Watching every penny!!

 I don't know about the rest of you seniors, but inflation is killing me. I am living paycheck to paycheck. My IRA distribution has dropped 400.00 a month. 

I have a meager pension and social security. I remember the days when my dear departed wife would ask me to work OT to pay the mortgage early. Now I'm cutting back on the food bill, no luxuries allowed. When are elected officials going to tame inflation.

Looks like it will be a nice day today. Maybe I will go to Grassy Point  and see if grumpy goose is there.   :⁠-⁠D Beautiful day out. Saw a freighter go upriver. When I got home, I turned down the heat and opened the back door. The weather liars say it is supposed to hit 70.

Canadian Geese are cantankerous!

 I've had a couple of encounters with Canadian geese lately. I don't think they like me. Each morning if the weather permits, I go down to Grassy Point on the Hudson River and just relax. Watch the ships go by, people fish, that sort of thing.

A few days ago, I parked in the pull-off and a goose walked up to the car, looked right at me and honked. It then turned and walked away. And yes, I smiled! Well this morning it was a sunny day in the low 40s so I went there again.

After a short period of serenity, I left. As I pulled on to the road, A goose stepped in front of the car stared at me through the windshield as if I was interrupting its day. It wouldn't move, so I checked for oncoming traffic, saw none so skirted around it. As I left, I wondered if it was the same grumpy goose that I encountered a couple days earlier. It would be fitting because my sister says I'm a grouch. I can be grumpy, but only if I'm aggravated by bureaucratic stupidity.

That was my start for the day.

Sentimental mood today

 I have been thinking a lot about Regina today. She passed away almost 4 years ago. But as the grief counselor said, "think good thoughts". So here goes. For people of different religions and different political views, we were together 50 years counting our engagement.

She had never been to Virginia. After I was discharged from the Coast Guard, I went to Roanoke College in  southwest Virginia. While there she learned how to use a loom, stitch A quilt and became very good with needle point. When I had summer jobs with the National Park Service at Booker T  Washington National Monument, She even volunteered to do living history presentations dressed in period costume churn butter and make lye soap......and she put up with me and my friends with our obsession with Civil War history.

She had never been to Maine before. My family had roots in Maine and she grew to love it. There are Maine/nautical needle points all over the house. She loved the ocean and could stitch for hours listening to the waves crash on the rocks. We went to the Boothbay Region  as often as we could.

One of the things we did was go to Mystic Connecticut every year. She would attend a stitching retreat and learn new stitches or techniques or projects. While she did that I would wander around Olde Mystic Village or visit the aquarium.

Then there was the Bavarian Manor Inn in upstate New York near Cairo. It was a nice relaxing inn with a German style restaurant. Boy did she love their potato pancakes. The inn has a beautiful wrap around porch. Regina would gather all her stitching paraphernalia assisted by me and stitch all day moving with the suns arc across the sky. When we weren't on the porch, we were antiquing. There were several old antique places and true to her nature, she was always looking for Christmas gifts for Angela, Judi or Janet.

And don't laugh; but when I get in these moods, I like to watch Hallmark Channel rom-coms. It helps.

I guess you could say we had a good run, three kids and three grandkids later. Great times, she was my person.

Advice to those of you are being challenged by your waist size

 I am 75 years old and overweight. If anyone out there is in my predicament, I have one thought for you. See a nutritionist! Over the last couple of years, I have manage to lose 77 pounds. I am aiming to lose another 50. Its really hard so don't let it get out of control.

My nutritionist works out a meal plan for me with a certain percentage of fat, carbs and protein. We started off at 1800 calories a day. Then I hit a plateau. She readjusted it down to 1600 calories. I have a food scale which I use to measure out the quantities. Its a pain. But its working.

The other day, I almost gave in. I haven't had sweets for 4 years. I put in a request for Tootsie Roll pops with my regular Shoprite order which is delivered. They texted me and said they were out. My reaction was, "Thank God", because I knew I shouldn't have them.

What the Heck!!!!

 I just found out that my 13 year old princess of a granddaughter got called into the principals office. Guess why?

The other day, her school had "don't bring your back pack to school day". She elected to bring her books etc. To school using my old seabag from my days in the Coast Guard.

Some idiot in school said to her"what do you have in there , a rifle?". Next thing you know, she is getting the third degree from the principal.

What a bunch of hooey. It was the schools idea to hold this day and she innocently uses her grandfather's seabag, only to be called on the carpet by some local bureaucrat.  She is the sweetest kindest kid I know, so I am a bit miffed about it.

Reconnecting to the past

 In 1971, less than one year after we were married, Regina and I moved to Salem, Virginia. I went to college at Roanoke, fell in love with the state and met a couple,  The Thompsons, who became very good friends during our stay in Virginia.

7 years later we moved to New York and sad to say lost contact with our friends. Over the years, I tried to find them and had no success until recently. Well I was stunned to learn that M. had passed away some years ago. I found his wife G. and we reconnected. We both had very pleasant memories of our time together. But, it was tempered by the fact that my wife, Regina, passed away as well.

Fair winds and following seas M.

Reginas letters and cards

In my continuing effort to clean out the house, my sister and I ran across A treasure trove of letters and cards that Regina wrote to me when we were engaged. They date from 1970-71. I reread them a bunch of them made me smile while a few made me a bit sad.

She died A bit over three years ago. I miss her every day. Still wear my wedding ring. As far as I am concerned, we are still married. She was a treasure for sure! 😊