Sam Squared

     My heart, mon coeur, is a bit fuller after Sunday's comments. How nice to get such special comments and encouragement to blog about anything. Lucette commented in French, giving me the opportunity to try to reply in my horrible remnants of the language that 40 years ago, while not fluent, was fairly capable. Maybe it's sparked a new passion not through duo lingo or the Facebook advertised three hour sales pitch guys, but to find local language classes. Peut tetre.       I think I shared that I spent the summer I was 18 in an exchange program and lived with a family in Solies Pont, France not too far from Toulon. I've long since lost contact with the family. They were frequent hosts and I bet they had dozens of foreign youth and young adults in their lives, too many to track. In fact, two English girls overlapped my stay by a few weeks. Somewhere I have faded pictures but did not do a good job saving or organizing after my parents home, to our firs...

      I'm still doing my Friday Fiscal Wellness Checks but have been slacking in other blogging. I'm trying to figure out if there's anything to actually blog about without me going down either politically driven frustration path or bits of whininess about widowhood and feeling left behind in life path. So, on those days, which has been most, I've just not been blogging at all.       I thought I'd try and breath a little life into this space and at least maybe share some things we might chat about in the comments or share snippets of outings. I'm also trying to come up with lists of topics I want to research or explore and use the blog to capture. I don't know how well this will go, but if you're of a mind to, feel free to hang out with me.      My wander around a garden center in January was a tiny bit of a morning brightener after the doctor. I thought the inside would be much bigger than it was, but there was still a good assortment o...

                                      As a reminder in case you feel repetitiveness to my Friday posts, I copy the previous week, delete the old and update as I go along the week. This will help me add as the week goes on. Here's my recap of Friday, January 23 to Thursday, January 29. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/Saving on needs Another look in the clearance section when I mostly was at Walmart to get some steps in as it's so cold. The only clearance things I bought were 3 bottles of Meyers hand soap clearance for $1. If you know that brand and the quality, that was a huge savings.  My sister and I ended up sharing two entrees that came with an appetizer at the birthday lunch. We both had leftovers for another meal.  I was happy to learn I didn't have another co-payment/ deductible for my, dentist appointments this w...

       This is going to be a no comments post.  It was -12 when I met my daughter to get the dog. It was still dark and gloomy well past 7:00. I've another dentist appointment and will have another numb mouth, followed by pain as the novacaine wears off. I'm worried about my daughter, her friends, her neighbors, and anyone publicly stating enough of the ICE tactics is enough. If this weekend hasn't made you think the same, I pity your soul and you can live in your smugness that you are aligned with the deranged administration . Trump's a walking talking stooge, but also a sociopath that somehow duped the stupid that he's brilliant. His handlers feed his ego while dismantling basic human rights, communities, and the constitution. Let me be clear, no one wants criminals on the street and that is not what this occupation is about anyway.      I've been watching The Tudors. I can't help seeing Season 3 is like watching today's news. The deteriorating ...

      Little by little ( and do I mean little) I'm working on various parts of my 2026 aspirations/ goals to be content list. I seem to be doing fairly well on the social front despite hibernating as much as possible. Purging is happening by removing items either through donation, gifting, or trashing. My next door neighbor was ecstatic to accept this child size camping chair for her soon to be one year old and I was happy it found a new owner.      I've vowed to bring into the house nothing but consumables, and then actually use said items, unless it's a real need or problem solution-the rare exceptions. Now in full disclosure and honesty to myself, I loosely applied several purchases to the exception. These include the blood pressure monitor, a rechargeable handheld vacuum (pet cleanup and the big vacuum gets heavy lugging it floor to floor for controlling pet hair and mess), and an assortment of Command hooks for bathroom organization and hanging picture...

                                    As a reminder in case you feel repetitiveness to my Friday posts, I copy the previous week, delete the old and update as I go along the week. This will help me add as the week goes on. Here's my recap of Friday, January 16 to Thursday, January 22. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/Saving on needs I was almost lured into a false sense of "saving" after receiving a 30% off Kohl's offer, + $10 Kohl's cash for every $50 spent. I even filled a cart, but ended up deleting it all. I got my shopping fix, but realized $50 on items not needed was not saving a penny. I didn't buy anymore alcohol for book club/card night, and used up more leftovers from other holidays. Everyone usually brings a few bottles/ cans of their preference as it's not expected that the host provides a fully stocked bar. I always have ple...