I got out and about over the last few days, taking care of some things I needed to do last-minute. One day I got some cash from an ATM but needed change. I found a bank and went inside.

I was in line and a lady came out from the back to help. I asked her to break a twenty dollar bill for me; a ten & two fives was what I asked for. She then asked me if I was a customer. I said no, and then I was told they don’t do that unless you’re a customer.

I looked at her in total disbelief and said “What?”. She said I had to be a customer to get a twenty broken. I said “Really?!…That’s ridiculous.“. Times must be tough to charge someone to simply break a twenty into a ten & two fives. If your bank stoops to that low might want to shutter the bank. And, if the reason is for labor, then since you already stopped what you were doing to tell me this nonsense, your bank lost money. Never been treated like that before. The got my review on Yelp!

Yeah, it got cold and windy as expected. Right now it’s 8° F without the wind, the last few days the winds had a windchill reading of -30° F. I have kept a fire going but I have to try to keep the basement warm as well since it’s where the water lines are.

Usually I just turn on the fan to the furnace for a little while to circulate the wood heat and that works pretty well in moving the heat around evenly. Plus I turn the ceiling fan on low to circulate air plus to try to keep the living room from getting so hot camels appear. During this cold snap the furnace still kicked on.

I’m going to need to rent a wood splitter at some point. I can split some by hand utilizing my brute strength (🤣🤣🤣) but it makes my chest hurt from swinging the axe. If it were just a few pieces of wood I’d just power through it but there’s a pile needing split.

The dogs are not enjoying being locked up in the nice, warm house stretching out on the rug. Spoiled rotten animals. They do like to go out and run so we go outside a few minutes here & there so they can run but it’s just too cold.

My free broadcast TV is pretty much unwatchable. I can find very little worth watching. There is the usual overdramatized crap – hoarding, pawn shops, car customization, trucks on ice roads, kids’ dance competitions (which is all about the helicopter moms) – and some other unbelievable garbage, like white trash living, rich bitches who think they are celebrities, a reality show about little women, and one where somehow people think it’s a good idea to volunteer to go to jail for two months.

I find it funny that people are not smart enough to realize how much of this is staged BS. That person who pops into a scene, like someone going to a house to ask about a car for sale…did you ever think why you can hear them so well? Random people just don’t happen to have a microphone on.

Another thing people don’t comprehend is that these people are paid actors. One show I saw when I worked in TV was about gold mining in Alaska. One guy was always whining about money. All of the people on that show are making money, and my bet is if it takes off in popularity then their agent is negotiating for more. They are not hurting for money.

The only reality of these shows is it’s done for “entertainment”, which it isn’t. But, soap operas used to be a big draw on daytime television; at least that wasn’t passed off as real life. Because it’s not real life, just like today’s reality TV.

I got the computer hooked back up to the TV so I have more options. I may try the Verizon home internet at some point but it’s nice not having that extra money going out every month. But it’s still cheap enough to keep me interested.

I went through more stuff and organized some things in the basement a few days ago. I’m trying to clear out the area by the door in order to stage things and I made some good progress in doing that. I also got a cabinet hung up for storage.

I need to move garbage outdoors from the basement to make room but it’s way too cold to open the door to do so. I’m going to try to keep doing what I can but I hate moving things twice. It’s wasted effort and energy. If I can hold off I can move stuff directly outside next week and continue with the organization.

But, holding off is hard since I just want to get this process over with. There’s so much junk that was ruined and needs to be tossed out. I’ll probably be down there doing something the next few days since the weather will suck and doing anything is progress. I mask up since there’s dust and stuff that gets stirred up that pisses off my lungs. I have to be careful especially since there’s probably mouse waste; I’ll be spraying bleach to disinfect the floors and walls as I go.

Tonight I put together a good-sized batch of pico de gallo. It turned out pretty good, especially after I roasted the jalapeños in the wood stove! I do like most salsas (that doesn’t mean Pace) but I like pico better. It’s so much better made fresh. I piled some on top of a burrito with some shredded lettuce and enjoyed every bite.

In closing this post in the coming year I thank you for reading my blog and I hope the world becomes a much better place than it currently is, and I wish you all the happiest of holidays.

✌🏼