Bfth's Boring Blog

If you follow me on social media, or if you've read some of my blog posts, you know that I am an early morning walker; or at least for the months when it is warm enough (above 40) and safe enough (no slick pavement; I'm NOT ready to be that "old" lady who falls on the sidewalk and can't get up).For the past 7 years (give or take), I've been tracking my miles via the MapMyWalk app.  According to the app in mid June my lifetime stats were as follows:  DISTANCE 5,391.11 mi & DURATION 2.27 months.  I've had a few glitches over the year, but recently the app has been pausing on me and I've been very frustrated by that...hence last Sunday's post . I was so frustrated this past week that I started to look at other apps.  And so on the recommendation of a friend I switched over to the Runtastic app.  I tested it.  It worked pretty well  and I was happy with it, but I was a little disappointed that by using a new app, I was "losing" my 7 year

It had to happen sometime and it seems like that time is here.  The time when I am returning to "normal."  When I say that you know I mean "the new normal."  Not life as we knew it, but life has it will be until it won't.  A new phase that we will all have to go through.   A return to a semi-normal life started on the 23rd.  Three things happened that day that put me (and my family) squarely in the "welcome to the unknown world, where you aren't necessarily safe, but you need to be as safe as you can be."  Make sense?  It's a world I'm about to enter. It started with a return to the all-volunteer church thrift shop.  We've been closed since early March (I think the last time I volunteered there was on Saturday, March 7th for a brief time before heading over to the high school where my son was performing in the "spring" musical).  The plan was to be open 10-1 with only 4 volunteers, one of which was a specified cashier, and

Who doesn't like a gift?  I'll be the first one to selfishly say, I LOVE to get gifts.  Yes, I am a “gimme” person.  It's not something I say with pride, but it IS me being honest.  Surprise gifts CAN be even better.  But in our crazy world, sometimes surprises can make you a little uneasy.   Like so many people, we have been doing a lot more on line shopping.  We've been getting lots of packages.  (My sun parlor/music room is starting to shape up with our latest Ikea delivery, but now my dining room is a mess again because of all the boxes that need to go out for recycling next week!) We try to keep track of everything and when items are delivering but sometimes things don't arrive on time or arrive early.  My husband, in particular monitors because we've all heard about Porch Pirates.  When we know something is on its way, we are on alert.   Last Friday (my day off), I was sitting in my backyard reading when my husband came around the side of the house and

This morning, as with most mornings I went for a walk.  I started my MapMyWalk app to monitor my time and distance.  I usually take a photo during my walk as a record as well...although my photos do not show the full and true history of my walk.   I took this photo as I climbed up a hill this.  I was almost at a mile and I hoped to walk at four this morning.  However, shortly after I took this, the app stopped working.  The minutes continued to tick off, but the distance did not.  I stopped the app.  I restarted.  Still nothing.  I saved what I had.  I started again, nothing.  I restarted my phone and tried the app again.  Still nothing.  I kept walking, but as the minutes ticked off and no distance was shown I got quite frustrated.  I like a history of my walks. I like a complete history, one that is a full record of what I did and reflects the full picture, or at least as much of the full picture as I can get.   I've always been fascinated with and liked history, specifically A

I always take the last day of the school year off so that we can "celebrate."  I did so again this year; I put in my request at the beginning of the year.    Who knew...? Although we cannot agree on everything and perhaps cannot even agree on most things, I DO believe that we CAN agree that this has been one STRANGE school year.  When I dropped my son off for his first day of high school I could NEVER have imagined what was to come.  Who would have thought that March 13th would be the last day that he and all of his classmates would walk through those halls?  Who would have thought that the cast party for the musical on March 7th would have been the last social event he would attend?  It has been one STRANGE year. It was also a challenging year.  And I'm not just talking about the pandemic.  Even before that, as a family, we were facing some issues.  Being "stuck" together since March has made life difficult at times.  My son needed to learn the importance of th

No, it's not the last day of school.  No, it's not back to work.  No, it's not the start of a vacation.  It's Ikea delivery day!  Woo Hoo! It's time for the Ikea story to be told.  (Have you been waiting with baited breath since I first mentioned it  here  ?)    When we were planning to have our first floor living area painted, one of the things that my husband latched onto was making what was once a sun parlor (back in my grandparents day) and had become a music room (when he moved in with me and the room became filled with yellow Tower Record bags) into a more usable space.  The room was basically a holding space.  It held a piano that was out of tune and no one played.  It held crates of records.  It held cds and boxed sets.  It was truly a music room, but one that was not really usable.  There was a lamp and a chair, but it wasn't a room that we used.  I wanted to be able to use it.  My husband wanted to be able to use it.  It was time for a change.   My

I'm NOT a big fan of parables. (Although I am partial the Good Samaritan; I have some personal issues with the prodigal son.)  This being the end of the school year, this educational parable (although I'm not 100% sure that you might call it that) came to me.  When things come to me, I've got to share so...   My son, who is wrapping up his freshman year in high school, takes 8 classes/subjects.  Each subject is important.  As parents we encourage him to do his best in every subject.  He is smart, but not an extraordinary student.  While we'd love it if he came home with straight As, that's not realistic. (I suspect it's not realistic for most families.)  We encourage him (nag him?) to do his best work.  (Which doesn't always happen, but I suppose that's another story.)  With all of that said, he has struggled with some subjects.  Because we want a well-rounded child and feel that all subjects are important, when we see him struggling with a specific su

Just because it's Friday (although does it really matter what day of the week it is any more?), I thought I'd post some fun facts and general FYIs.  You might know some of this trivia, but maybe you'll learn something!  Who knows?   Starting off with a fun fact about me:  I've lived in the same town for all my 54 years (even though I went away to college; I still was a resident here and lived here during breaks).  I've lived on the same street since 1972, but not in the same house. Black Lives Matter George Washington, the first Commander in Chief lost more battles than he won (Source:  You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Cole) Black Lives Matter Charles Drew's research in the preservation of life-saving blood plasma saved thousands of lives during WWII and he is considered the Father of Blood Banks (Source:  American Chemical Society) Black Lives Matter In 1897 surgeons Johann Mikulicz (of Poland) and Paul Berger began using

It started locally in April, although it had been going on in the city before that.  Going outside at 7 PM and applauding/making noise for our healthcare workers (heroes in my eyes).  We supported them with signs and donations and we made some noise to show our appreciation. In my part of the world, the town horn used to go off at 6 pm.  It was a tradition.  You knew what time it was when you heard the horn.  Now it goes off at 7.    For me, I am usually inside watching the news (and trying not to get too depressed over how low humanity has sunk), until 6:58.  I call out for my boys, grab a noisemaker from a New Year's Eve long ago (that I saved in a drawer for some reason that was unknown and unnecessary until now) and the cowbell that I purchased this spring from a local shop that supports our high school athletics and go out on the front stoop.  I wave and call out to my neighbor across the way.  I give my son the cowbell.  My husband grabs a broken weather vane that once sat on

The school year (as it is) is almost over.  Summer (officially) is just about here.  (Even though it's felt like some on some days; and on others we're feeling barely into spring.)  So now what? Every year I have a plan.  I am a planner.  It makes me feel like I am in control.  (Because I KNOW I am not in control, but I like to give myself the illusion of control.  That may or may not make sense, but...)  My summer plans are usually in place by the beginning of the new year.  In some cases I start planning for the next summer before the current summer is over. I DID have plans.  They may not have been as  well planned out as I would have liked, but I did have plans.  My son was traveling to the Galapagos Islands with a group from school.  He was going to be away for his birthday, so I made plans for us to go away for the 4th of July weekend to celebrate a month early.  (We usually go to Skytop Lodge for his birthday.)  I tried to come up with a way for him to go to camp for a

Until this year, my most "memorable" birthday was the year that I turned 12.  That was when I had the chicken pox and spent most of the day watching the digital clock next to my bed flip from one number to the next and watching old movies on the little black and white tv in my room.  (I remember seeing Bela Lugosi in Dracula on channel 9).  But this year, 2020, my birthday (and I'm pretty sure this will go for everyone) is going to stand out.  How does one celebrate in a pandemic? There have been and ARE a lot of creative ways to celebrate.  When faced with the adversity, we can often come up with wonderful ideas.  I wouldn't say this was a "wonderful" birthday, but it was unique with memorable moments. This year my birthday feel on a Sunday, so I had the full weekend to "celebrate."  So here in all its thrilling glory is what this 54 year old did...   As usual, Friday started off with a trip to Shoprite.  As is typical, the weather was not g