Long story....but I need to tell it.

I recently de-cluttered in a BIG way. I moved from a 12-room house to a 5-room "Grandma's House" near my daughter & her family. Prior to moving, I invited family members to get their stuff that was stored at my house, and I offered items to friends and family that really wanted them. Then we had 3 yard sales, donated 2 U-Haul trucks full of items to Goodwill, donated 30 boxes of books to a small library that needed them, and made a few private sales on-line.

Well, that should have taken care of the 30 years worth of household goods that I no longer wanted in my new house, which was already nicely furnished and move-in ready. All I needed was my toothbrush, clothes, and a few family treasures I wanted to keep.

However, I also have a large collection of valuable vintage items that I had to put in storage. I rented a climate-controlled unit and paid for the $3,000 maximum allowed insurance offered by the company (Public Storage). I packed everything in new boxes, some of them purchased from the office at that facility.

I recently went to the unit with my daughter and her husband to get some items and we discovered...TERMITES! Several items were completely destroyed and some were seriously de-valued due to the damage. The insects were coming from a broken seam in the concrete floor and eating through a collection of toys from the 1950s, many still in their original boxes, (which were also destroyed).

I have a loss of nearly $4,000 and filed a claim with their insurance company, not expecting to get the full amount. But I was shocked when they told me I was only covered for $250 vermin/insect damage, with a $100 deductible! (read fine print). My homeowner's insurance does not cover this at all.

Well, I guess I have really de-cluttered now. And I have learned a valuable lesson.

If you want to keep your stuff, make sure you have room for it and don't trust anyone else to take care of it....Especially not PUBLIC STORAGE!

Or just let the bugs have it. :-p

My Name Is Phyllis

Greek mythology tells of the beautiful princess Phyllis, who was The daughter of a Thracian king. She fell in love with Theseus' son Demophon. The young man had ended up there while sailing home from Troy, and the king gave him part of his kingdom and married him to his daughter.
After some time Demophon missed Athens so much that he asked to go home for a while. Phyllis agreed after he had promised he would be back soon, and off he sailed. Phyllis was left waiting at the altar on her wedding day by her intended, Demophon. Phyllis waited for years for him to return, but finally died of a broken heart. In sympathy, the gods transformed Phyllis into an almond tree, which became a symbol of hope. When the errant, remorseful Demonphon returned to find Phyllis as a leafless, flowerless tree, he embraced the tree. The tree suddenly burst into bloom, a demonstration of love not conquered by death.
 In all mythologies, however, Phyllis always ends up as an almond tree (hence her “foliage” or “leaf”-like etymology). Other historians surmise she was transformed into a hazelnut tree.
Either way, she’s a nutty tree.

I was born on December 27th, which is National Fruitcake Day.

It just so happens that I LIKE FRUITCAKE, especially with lots of NUTS.

That pretty much sums it up.

Random Thoughts

The thoughts in my head don't come from outer space. I claim them as I create them and they are mine.  The blood that runs in my veins are full of history.  My body is aging, but I often feel like a child full of joy and wonder as I discover more of the world around me. There are also moments when I feel like a victim of time as the days left to me are fewer than the days of my past.

I don't have a deadline (and the focus here is on the word DEAD) and there is no way of knowing if all I want to do will ever get done.  It is popular now to have a "bucket list" of things a person wants to see and do before they die.  I don't have a bucket and if I did it would have a hole in the bottom. My list would be so long that just making it would be a waste of precious time.

As I sit here writing these words a little voice inside my head is saying "Turn it off and go to bed."
I can turn off the computer.  I can slide under the covers on a very comfy bed.  But I can't turn off my head so easily. I will lie there and sleep will elude me as random thoughts drift in, until I get back out of bed because I am still wide awake.  Sleep will come when my body is exhausted and screams "TURN IT OFF AND GO TO BED!"

I read one more chapter of a book, eat a peanut butter fold-over, and brush my teeth (again).
I go to bed.
Damn, I gotta pee.

Things To Do (?)

Yes, I am also a Procrastinator. I started this blog 4 months ago, and this is my second post after all that time. Well, I did write a comment a few weeks ago, but I must've clicked something wrong and that post is now somewhere out there in cyberspace.

It is now 4:35 AM and I am totally NOT sleepy. A week ago, I made a list of ways to improve my life, as follows:
1) Eat healthy food and less junk food or snacks.
2) Stop smoking - Use E-cigarette for nicotine replacement.
3) Make a dental appointment to repair lost filling in one tooth.
4) Go to bed before midnight and get up earlier. HA. HA. HA. Well, that one is shot, so how about the other three?

1) I have been eating healthier food. It goes great with my stash of Oreos, Chips, chocolate peanut clusters, and Little Debbie cakes.  Hey, I did give up ice cream.
2) The E-cigarette is great!  Since I never smoke inside my house, I can now vape when I'm indoors, and go outside for a cigarette (or two, or three).
3) My dental insurance doesn't pay until I've been enrolled for at least 3 months. I just applied for it, so in 3 months I will probably have more than one filling to repair.   I put off getting the insurance for over a year...procrastination applied here, obviously.

Now it is almost 5:00 AM, and I WILL be going to bed early in the morning.   Heck, I might as well stay up and watch the sunrise. Then I can sleep a while, and get up....at least by early afternoon.

I am a Night Owl.  I was born at 6:40 PM on a cold winter's day in December.  That was the first day of my life and the beginning of my day, as it has been ever since.  Wrapped up and warm in my mother's arms, I was soon taken out into the cold air for the long journey to our home in the country.

I am a child of winter.  Summer heat drains me of energy.  I breathe better in cold air. I come alive between the hours of 6:30 and 7:00 PM. Sunset is to me what sunrise is to Morning People. I eat an evening meal, and the night ahead of me holds whatever happens in those dark hours when most people are sleeping.  I may read a book, clean the kitchen, browse the internet, or just sit on my back porch and listen to the sounds of the night.  Occasionally a Great Barred Owl comes to visit the neighborhood.  I hear him hooting in the dark, and wonder if he is speaking to me.  I wish we spoke the same language, but in a way, I believe we do.  We both are night creatures and while he may be hunting for food or perhaps a mate, I am also hunting. I am seeking those who stay up late, sometimes all night, and want to communicate in the language we know...the voices of Night Owls.