The trials and tribulations of 2020 and lucky black-eyed peas

So, I haven’t updated this blog much lately.  Guess I’ve just been super busy being depressed and quarantined. It's not all been lounging in pajamas and sleeping late, however. I have been working with Bowdabra blog as well as Make it easy crafts blog and there just isn’t enough time in the day.  I really do not understand it, but even though I have nowhere to go and the days seem endless, I never seem to get anything done! Perhaps it is the time change where it’s dark at 5:00 P.M. Or more than likely, the real reason is that when the days all seem to blend together and I feel like it's a scene from "Groundhog Day", it is hard to rev up my ambition. I've never before asked my husband so many times, "Is today Wednesday or Thursday?" 

 

Now that Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is on the horizon how are those decorations going?  If you are like me, it is a little bit here and even less there.  In the past I was like Clark Griswald from "Christmas vacation", going overboard with three trees and a multitude of decorations. Now, I’m more like the Grinch, just hoping the holiday would pass quickly and quietly.  Why the big change?

 

Well, the world has changed.  So many restrictions and so many fears.  Solitude while once sought after for a moment or two has become the norm.  Ok, so I’m not totally alone.  I do have my husband and even though he is the easiest man to get along with, spending this much time together is a bit challenging.  I get cranky.  He gets cranky. It can only go downhill from there.

 

And then, there is streaming.  We’ve streamed everything that is worth watching and now all that remains are some dubbed in B movies and dopey Christmas romances. I'm just not into the bad acting and hokey stories. I've suffered through the Christmas prince meets the Christmas pauper one too many times. Even the holiday music is annoying. Not in the mood for a holiday tale? Ask yourself, how many times can they make a movie out of a giant, people eating sandworm?

 

I've never been one to binge-watch, but this year I’ve binged entire seasons of old TV shows in one day. 

 

I have a new studio and I cannot get the inspiration to paint. It used to be I would relish an extra hour or so to paint and now I have endless hours and yet I can’t manage that first brush stroke.

 

And while we are talking, what’s up with the mail. I went to order a Christmas present for my husband in November and even though they charged quite a bit for shipping, it wouldn’t get there before Christmas.  Nope, no gift arriving before January, that is, unless one will fork over another $15, $20, $30 extra fees depending upon when you want it to arrive.  So Cyber-Monday is deceptive unless you want to spend $50 for that personalized “totally free and only pay shipping” coffee mug.

 

Shop local…love to, if I only didn’t have to wear a mask.  I am unlucky enough to have suffered my entire life with asthma.  Covering my mouth and nose causes an anxiety-induced asthma attack and I must leave the store within five minutes.  Ever try to leisurely shop while you are suffocating?

 

When the clock struck 12 a.m. on Jan 1, 2020, I was in bed with the flu or something similar that took me 3 weeks to get over.  So, I didn’t cook my usual lucky black-eyed peas and rice like I have done every year in the past.  I think that was the reason the year 2020 was so difficult. I jinxed it.   This January 1, 2021, come hell or high water I am getting out the black-eyed peas and cooking up a double batch.  

 

 

Are you pitching a tent for the Black Friday sales or are you sitting on the computer on Cyber Monday?

Black Thursday, Black Friday, Small business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are all names intent on removing money from wallets.  Here is my issue, however, they weren’t happy just focusing on Friday with lines wrapped around the building.  They had to take away Thanksgiving.  Now, the lines start on Thanksgiving Day.  They pitch tents and bring chairs and sit in the frigid cold. And for what, a flat-screen TV or the latest gaming system?

“Material-itis” is what I call it.  It is the need for material things over any other needs.  And are you truly honest with yourself? How much are you really paying for that 55-inch TV? Time is money.  You may not realize it but you are working for an object as you sit and sleep on the sidewalk in the cold.

When I was a kid, we got one gift.  It wasn’t extravagant.  It didn’t take three months of salary to pay for.  We didn’t make lists that contained things that were hard to obtain. Parents didn’t have to fight unscrupulous people who sit in lines to buy hard to get items so they can sell it for 10 times as much on eBay. Whatever we got we appreciated.  We didn’t get multiple gifts either.  One person, one gift that was the way it was.

Whose birthday is it anyway?  It’s not yours, it’s not mine, and it’s not theirs.  Who should really be getting the gifts?  And if he were to say what he really wanted, it wouldn’t be a material thing.  Do you think he would want a 60- inch flat screen TV, of course not? It would be easy to get him a gift.  He would want you to be kind.  He would want you to give to someone less fortunate.  It would be to buy something for a stranger without expecting anything in return.  Mostly he would want you to spread love, and love doesn’t cost a thing.  You can spread the love on Black, purple, or any color or day of the week.

So for those who are pitching those tents for Material gains.  For those who will push and shove and cut through lines for TV’s and more I say you are missing out on the true feeling and meaning of Christmas.  You are putting greed in your hearts instead of love.  I guess it will continue until you realize that one day those TV’s you worked so hard to get will be sitting in a landfill with all the other material things you once valued above all else. 

So this Christmas, I hope you are like me and steer clear of the sales that are nothing but a way to get you in a store, but if you do venture out, spread some love. Make someone’s day a little brighter even if it’s only because you smiled at him or her. And then you will see what Christmas means to me.

Frustrated with El Capitan!--a warning

I admit it.  I was stupid.  I just kept getting emails that there was a new update to the OS for my Mac. I didn't have a problem the last time I updated so I figured what the hay!

Big mistake.  As you all know, I'm an artist, craft designer and more and I use photo editing programs a lot.  Unfortunately when I upgraded to El Capitan I can no longer save any edited photos.  Cmon now! I've had several Macs, quite a few iPads and an iPhone.  I guess you could say I love-d apple products for their reliability and functionality.  Now I'm rethinking it all.

When I had a PC (Way back when) they worked ok for a while and then they sometimes crashed.  They'd just stare at you and not do anything until you made the three finger salute of ctrl+alt+del. They were slower.  The virus protection was wonky.

Then I went to Mac and it was heaven.  They never, ever crashed.  They were faster and just a joy.  No more three fingers salutes.  All that changed when El Capitan sailed into my life.

Now everything is a mess and I'm wishing I was still saluting with the 3 fingers on a PC.
Everything works when I edit until I go to save my work.  Yes after all the work...you click save and everything freezes!!!!  Not just one editing program but all of them.

And the best part it that none of the support for the editors can say anything but to use Chrome (which I hate) or Firefox, until Apple gets on the ball and fixes the bug.  I mean it's no longer a beta version, but was released at the end of Septembers.  Seriously I don't have time for all of this.

I know, I shouldn't complain, I should have researched a bit better, but even if I did the reviews are all over the place. Some think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Other's like me are contemplating throwing the Mac against the wall and watching all it's little pieces hit the floor.

And don't even try to send a message to apple.  It's impossible.  They've gone underground or are in hiding.  I can't for the life of me find a way to at least send them all the crash reports I've experienced.

So now I wait, for whatever update they feel like tossing my way.

My fault.  I was naive.  I just want to warn you all of the pitfalls of El Capitan.  Don't update.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all

Crystal

Thanksgiving wishes and my favorite Thanksgiving tale...

May your stuffing be tasty,

May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

- Anonymous

O'Henry's "Two Thanksgiving Day gentlemen"

Rushing it?

All the big box stores are talking about opening on Thanksgiving around these parts, rushing it do ya think?  It is barely past Halloween and I already see Santa’s at pumpkin patches!!  How long before we start seeing black Fridays in July?

It seems that every year Christmas shopping is getting earlier and earlier and honestly it’s all about greed.  Which big box will get the most sales…Wal-Mart, Target, or another?  But just for a minute let us think about the poor souls who have to forego Thanksgiving and work just to make the stockholders richer. 

The mom and pop stores of the world are shuttering their doors more and more and we, the consumers, are to blame.

If no one went to these sales on the morning of Thanksgiving, they might just wait.  If people didn’t camp out with tents in front of he big box doors, they might just wait.  If our kids didn’t demand toys and electronics that are available in small quantities (just to make the demand larger) they might just wait.  If Christmas wasn’t so much about things and instant gratification, they might just wait. 

I know I am steadily sounding like I am the Grinch who discovered what Christmas was all about, but I didn’t need to steal all the present in Whoville to come to this revelation.  I’ve always known it and there is no way I will get up from the table, tell my guests ta-ta and hit the stores on Thanksgiving.  And if others would do the same, they might just wait!