Thursday Thoughts - heading for that Golden Gate I hope that I won't be too late

1. Most of my Thursday Thoughts titles reference song lyrics, after the hyphen. This one - San Francisco Days by Chris Isaak - is known to me from The Affair. One of my other favorites - Homecoming by Josh Ritter - is known to me from Billions. Keep it up, soundtracks of Showtime shows.

2. This Thursday Thoughts snuck up on me with being off Monday, getting home from the shore Tuesday night, trying to do all the laundry/make the bed/work at night/order food/be paying attention to MFD's campaign meeting immediately after getting home, packing up to go back to the shore last night after I got my hair done by the fabulous Kristi at Sensational Scissors. I'm looking forward to having tomorrow off.

3. MFD starts canvassing (read: going door to door for those not familiar) this weekend, and this is where we really begin living separate lives. The next two shore weekends are long-planned for me, and after that I am full in on my property manager role. He’ll be door knocking at home with awesome volunteers (Want to be one? Please? A few hours on a Saturday or Sunday once a month or more from June to October?). This separate but together will require a lot of patience and organization and coordination and of course you know I am short on the former, long on the latter two. But Tuesday night after a campaign meeting my most worrisome thought came while I was in the bathroom. When people are in my house and I’m not, will they think we are people who pull toilet paper from underneath? BECAUSE WE’RE FREAKING NOT, regardless of how MFD has put it on. Okay? Please know that. In all seriousness though if you can spare some time to door knock on weekends with his crew or during the week after work with me, or if you can write postcards or make phone calls, please let me know and I’ll put you in touch with his campaign manager. You do not need to live in the district to help him get elected. If you’d like to donate, you can do that here.

4. Gus stayed home this weekend. I hated leaving him there but it’s too much for every weekend at the shore due to all the walking. And Bruce Springsteen might have been Born in the USA but he is not good with the people in and out for canvassing. He is completely insane with joy at people coming in and very distracting and jumpy. So I have these two.

5. I hope you all read Abby Wambach's commencement speech for Barnard College and plan on being fucking wolves if you're not already. Also in that family, Abby's wife Glennon's organization Together Rising brought it this week, sorting out the very complicated immigration/kid issues and raising a shit ton of money in no time for those kids. Let's all be good humans.

6. That warms my heart especially with all the racist apologists and excuses going around this week. Every time something like the Roseanne shit goes down, I am reminded that the greater population doesn't know jack shit about free speech and its applications. Every time someone is fired from a private employer as a consequence of their actions people are all FREE SPEECH THOUGH. That’s not how freedom of speech works. You are free to say what you like. You are not free from the consequences among peers and private employers. Freedom of speech exists to protect citizens from government tyranny. Not to protect people refusing to examine the inherent racism in all of us.

7. And all the deaths in Puerto Rico. Things I say every day: it can’t get any worse/this has to be the bottom. But it can and it isn’t.

8. I won’t end on the dumpster fire every single day has become under this circus of an administration that has us watching the Showman while the men behind the curtain  carry out the true goal: systematically dismantling everything that protects the people of this country - consumer protections, education plans, environmental protections, etc. It's fucking nuts. You know what's not? Loving yourself. Thanks Alison for this awesome post and inviting me to be a part of it. I shared it yesterday but I'm sharing it again today because it's powerful. Love yourselves, people. No matter what and despite everything.

9. Reminder:

10. E-card of the week:

Still not getting comments you leave via email, still raging at blogger.

TGIMyF. 

May 2018 Recommendations

Amazon links are affiliate links

Birkenstock Mayari Sandal - From the never say never file: I have ripped on numerous people close to me for wearing Birks. Then I realized my old lady feet need more support in a more polished style than my OOFOS. And here we are. Let me tell you, I have walked all over Ocean City in these, miles, and my legs and back and knees all felt fabulous after every time. I find myself wearing them daily. I can't argue with that and I take back all of the bad things I said about Birkenstocks. I thought the thing around my toe in this style would bother me but they fit like a second skin by the second day.

Champion Women's Jersey Banded Knee Capris - I've been holding on to Old Navy capris for years. They are faded and terrible but I need capris with pockets and couldn't find any I liked until I got these. Lightweight, pockets, good to throw on to walk the dogs. One must have pockets for poop bags, you know. They're true to size and they wash well.

Iced tea - I used an iced tea maker for years but have recently been going old school making it - boiling water in a tea kettle, pouring it over tea bags (I've been using Luzianne or Boston's Mint-In-Tea ), adding a little sugar or honey and the juice of one or two lemons, and filling up the rest of the gallon with ice cubes or cold water. You guys, I am not a huge sweetened tea drinker, but DAMN this is good. So delicious and so much cheaper than buying it. I find the making of iced tea soothing. I love seeing a sweating glass of iced tea on an outside table. And since we're in iced tea season, can we just touch on the fact that it's iceD tea and not ice tea?

Gooby Escape Free Sport Dog Harness - Bruce is a major puller and I have tried three or four harnesses, this is the only one that is a little loose on him when he's relaxed but holds him well when walking.

Frozen dog treats - My dogs go nuts for these.

LOVE YOURSELF. And read that post by Alison.

Bloggers who use blogger, anyone else having their comments not delivered via email?

What are you recommending this month?

TWTW - the Memorial Day one

Friday started with sunrise + final house walk through. I was working by 8 and the first renters of the season were here by 9.

Early dismissal at 2 had me on the beach by 2:15. I had frozen yogurt, took a ton of walks, had a rest, hung with the dogs, and read a book.

Saturday we were up to walk at 3:30 am then again at 7 am. I fawned over my new water cooler with reusable five gallon jugs, made Gus a king bed, and realized Bruce can get in and out of the window when I lift up the screen. This dog is too smart. 

Debbie and I hit the beach and it was perfect weather and people watching. Michelle, Bob, and Amelia came down for a bit so we had dinner on the boards with them.

Face and eye masks where we could not look st each other because we would laugh and our masks would come off. Michelle and Bob got to see that fright show also. Hilarious.

Sunday we took Bruce to Asbury Avenue for donuts, coffee, and shopping at our favorite Blue Lotus. Bruce met Ollie. We love Ollie. We followed our outing up with porch time and people watching.

Gus started acting weird so I took him to the emergency vet. His anal gland ruptured and he might have a tumor, we’ll follow up in a few weeks with his regular vet. MFD was on his way down and met me there while Debbie stayed with Mae and Bruce. We had shredded buffalo chicken sandwiches and veggies followed by naughty snacks while watching Jersey Shore Family Vacation. Gus is doing okay now but is unfortunately in the decline of his life and we will be watching him and his comfort. 

Monday we were up at 5 then back to sleep until almost 10. It felt decadent. Dog walks and Band of Brothers, house cleaning when guests left, and a late lunch st Ike’s thanks to Debbie. I painted my nails (OPI This Color’s Making Waves) and read while the town quieted down, then we went to Aunt Betty's Ice Cream Shack and MFD went fishing and The End. 

Weekly food prep: still eating weekend food today. I'm heading home tonight, hair appointment tomorrow night and back to the shore after that so I will pick up again down there. I know burgers are on the menu for the weekend. 

How was your weekend?

Thursday Thoughts - how many years can a mountain exist before it's washed to the sea?

1. Painting Monday night: a bench and one of only two closets in this 118 year old house. Guess which one was more exciting?

2. How to lose friends and alienate people: This is not an isolated incident for this vehicle and our driveway at the shore. Last year, diplomacy. This year, woman on the warpath. Guess which one comes more naturally?

3. I'm sucking wind. Lots going on at work, trying to keep up at home, and back and forth to prepare for our soft open at the shore, which is what I consider Memorial Day weekend to be - to get me back in the landlord frame of mind and put the house on notice that it's time to shape up. Spring felt like only a week long this year so we were behind on a lot down there but we're in solid shape now, with only wish list items left to do after this weekend. I'm looking forward to another season of nice people staying with us, three of the weeks are returning guests and the rest are just friends we haven't met yet.

4. Tuesday night I went to bed at 11, was up at 4:30, then up at 5 for good. I was on the 5:45 train in to work Wednesday, home to clean up and pack up and to the shore by 9. My dogs were like wild jackal assholes and I was grumpy as fuck by 10:30 last night. So at 11 pm I jumped on my bike still wearing my work dress and took a ride on the deserted boardwalk to blow the stink off the day.

5. Fuck trump's domestic gag rule, fuck every person who said no one was coming after women's rights when this chump got elected, fuck the NFL for their new national anthem policy, fuck every member of congress standing in silence while trump attacks the rule of law that is vital to keeping us from authoritarianism. Fuck the non-response to Santa Fe and all the other school shootings. Fuck facebook for defaulting everything I share to public again, just about fucking done with facebook.

6. Sweet haul from the OCNJ library earlier this week. Rest in peace Philip Roth. I studied him in my Jewish Lit class in college and enjoyed his work. Thanks for your stories. That's Roth, Anita Shreve, and Tom Wolfe this year already. Damn.

7. Anyone else have a partner obsessed with grass growing like it is akin to inventing fire? Kim, I've already counted you up there.

8. I made zucchini pie and egg roll in a bowl Tuesday. Neither are winning awards for prettiness but both are damn good.

9. Reminder:

10. E-card of the week: I'm ready. You? I'm hoping for an early dismissal tomorrow to make it a three point fiver.

Go get 'em today, tiger. 

Dogs need summer refreshment too

Humans aren't the only beings that like frozen treats. Dogs do too.

Ingredients
1C organic pumpkin
1C greek yogurt
1C peanut butter
(make sure  none of those things have xylitol, it is deadly for dogs).

Directions
Mix well - I used an immersion blender but you can do it by hand. Put in ice cube trays, about a quarter of the way full in each. Freeze for 24 hours.

My dogs go nuts for these.

But now, back to people. Happy birthday to my sister-in-law Sarah today!

TWTW - the one where love is all around us

Let me cut right to the chase - I came home to poop on the dining room table on Friday. Yes, you read that correctly, We all got Bruced and i has to restrain myself from setting the table on fire. I have literally never. MFD is going down if he leaves a dining room chair out again. Once I collected myself from seeing a pile of turds on my table, I quickly changed and we headed to the wedding of our neighbor. Congrats Dana & Mike!! It was a fun night and we met nice people. And since it was literally around the corner from our house, I got two loads of laundry done before I fell out around midnight.

Saturday I woke up to pouring rain so I finished laundry, watched the Royal Wedding replay, and finished a book. I also packed for the shore, ran and unloaded the dishwasher, picked up around the house, blah blah blah.

Our oven was supposed to get fixed but we found an even bigger problem with it. While that was going down, I picked up very local honey to help with allergies, got flowers at Home Depot and planted them, and returned something to Target where I ran into Stephen & Aubrey and the best niece and nephew ever. I've sucked at maintaining my flowers the past two years so I cut back and added two more perennials so hopefully that helps. We still need some mulch and hanging plants but at least the bed is done. Oh and I'm not typically one to comment on this but WTH is with the price of gas right now?

Saturday night was Gail's engagement party in Rose's awesome house in the middle of nowhere. Such a gorgeous old home and a really lovely area about an hour away from us. I am extremely happy for Gail and Shawn and we had fun reminiscing about the day they got together at Crystal's bachelorette party. It was great to see everyone and catch up. And and and you guys there was a fucking hotdog bar. It was like I died and went to heaven. 

Sunday we headed to the shore to get our last push done before Memorial Day. This doesn't mean all the work is done, but it means what needs to be done before anyone comes in is taken care of. The stuff that will be done after is the stuff that will be nice to have done but not necessary. The day we do this is always an ass breaking day. In the middle of it when everything is torn apart and seems like it will not be put back together, l like to take a break to sit downstairs with my dogs while I curse softly to myself. Today included moving all beds and cleaning under them, moving couches and cleaning under them, cleaning blinds and baseboards (pro-tip: use dryer sheets for baseboards), tightening hooks, adding hooks, touch up paint, spackling the closet for paint later this week, cleaning all window AC units and installing the ones not in the windows, removing all extraneous blankets and personal shit, dealing with weeds, putting the porch furniture out, taking the living room rug outside and beating it, and removing the old pink cabinet and putting the new one in. I was originally going to paint that pink after Memorial Day but decided not to because I like it in the room as is. I'm going to paint a bench in the kitchen pink instead. I need my bright pink furniture in there. I still need to paint the closet, touch up paint in one more room, paint some trim, put the games back, more weeding, make shower cleaner, and make hand soap. I'm tired in advance. 

But around 5 I had to sit down and be done. We biked the boards and had dinner at Hula Grill, which we can never get into in season. 

We hit the beach and did not beat the rain home. I love when a storm is coming in and the sky is split all over so there's different light everywhere you turn. 

We watched Jersey Shore Family Reunion and I painted my nails (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Cherry Fast) and toes (Wet n Wild megalast I Red a Good Book) even though more painting is in this week’s forecast. After the rain we walked the dogs to get ice cream. It was still humid AF but gorgeous.

Weekly food prep: I am so back and forth this week between here and Philly, I did nothing. So basically eating out of the freezer or english muffins or eggs or cheese and crackers. I'm already thinking about my Memorial Day weekend menu. 

How was your weekend?