Bfth's Boring Blog

 Are you spending more than usually would?  I'm not just talking about groceries or supporting your local restaurants by ordering take out. Are you buying more on line?  While I'm not completely out of control, I've been finding that I've been spending, spending AND spending!   So what HAVE I been buying (besides lots of groceries).  Well, I have bought wine; wine on line.  I've ordered wine and other alcoholic beverages on line in the morning and then picked it up in the afternoon.  I've gone more than once to  Total Wine and More  and I'm the only one in the house who drinks!  But I don't drink alone...so right before Memorial Day weekend, I ordered wine for two of my co-workers and had it shipped to their respective homes.  Of course, I messed up on one and didn't put a message in and so my co-worker actually thanked someone else.  (Someone else who had inquired about her wine preferences, but never actually send any wine. )  Wine IS essential dur

This Memorial Day looks and feels like no other.  There are no parades.  My local wreath laying ceremony was done privately over the weekend and will be steamed on social media this morning.  This year Memorial Day IS different.  But it doesn't make the holiday any less significant and we shouldn't let it pass by without honoring those who sacrificed their lives so that we could be here today.   How can we honor those of have fallen when we can't follow traditional ways?  What actions can we take to SHOW our respect for those who fought for our liberties?  (NOT your liberty or mine, but OURS.)  We can ACT and LIVE showing respect for our fellow man and today that looks a little different than it previously has. Starting in WWI, servicemen were issued gas masks for protection against poison gas.  Maybe they weren't perfect, but they WERE protection and certainly without them many more would have died.  Today we know that wearing a facial covering CAN help stop the spread

I am involved with 2 food ministries.  One is a food pantry, which I simply leave donations for when I have an opportunity.  The pantry is "open" once a month for those in the community (and even outside the immediate area) to get staples.  The other, is a monthly supper program.  Until recently, once a month I  was part of a group that cooked a nutritious meal (in most cases generous enough for more than one meal) then delivered them to people (mostly seniors) who were pretty much shut in.  With the pandemic both have had to change the way they do things.  Instead of a monthly food pantry, people in need had to make their needs know and then a delivery was made.  The supper program could no longer provide home cooked meal safely and instead shifted to a monthly delivery of a "meal" that consisted of pre-packed food (such as cans of soup and individual servings of fruit.)  The circumstances have brought challenges to both programs, but I haven't given up on eith

When I got up this morning things were going good.  Since that time, things have taken a little twist, but for the purpose of this blog I'm NOT going to focus on that.  I'm going to focus on what made me happy this morning. First of all, I woke up refreshed.  Sunday night/Monday morning I only got 3 hours of sleep.  Don't know why.  It wasn't like anything unusual was weighing on my mind. (I'm taking the "new" usual...I get that this is a stressful time, but there wasn't anything that was really nagging at my brain.)  I went to sleep Sunday night around 10:30 (which is LATE for me) and woke up at 1:30 Monday morning.  I tried to get back to sleep.  I got up.  I did some things.  I went back to bed.  I tossed for a while.  I got up.  I did a few more things.  I went back to bed.  By 4 in the morning, I completely gave up.  Somehow I made it through Monday without being too exhausted.  I went to bed early (climbed in just after 8) and with a little hel

When Friday rolled around again for the first time in LONG time, I said TGIF.  Why?  Because I was hoping that I (or maybe I should say we) would be able to move our lives (or at least part of them) back downstairs.   ( http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-virus-diary-chaos-in-time-of.html )    (PLEASE) I wanted to get back to "normal."  And by "normal" I mean the new normal because normal is not normal anymore!   Last week had been a LONG week.  I was waking up at 3:45 every morning (which is early even for me!) and not being able to get back to sleep.  (Well, in days of yore I'd get up at 4:15 so that I could get outside for a walk by 4:30-4:45).  The  whole week required thoughtful planning and although I'm usually pretty good with that, I was off my game.  There were so many "little" things that I forgot until it's too late.  (Like I should have brought up lunch for ME and not just my son.)  Even getting ready for a walk took p

Note:  Yesterday, I updated my Facebook page with this status:  " I am trapped on the 2nd floor of my house working and watching the destruction/reconstrution of my former family home...To get away from it for a minute, I go turn on the tv to TCM and they are showing "The Diary of Ann Frank." I am not kidding...there WILL be a blog post about this."  THIS is that blog post... When you are in the midst of a pandemic, there's bound to be a little chaos, right?  This past weekend had some challenges.  (SNOW?  In MAY?  In New Jersey??  Are you KIDDING me??) I KNEW this week was going to have some too.  This week is one of planned chaos.  (Can you plan chaos?  I think you can!) Let me backtrack...and I mean REALLY backtrack.  The house that I live in was built in 1923 and has been in my family since 1924.  (We're getting close to that century mark.)   There are still plenty of parts of this house that if they are not original, are pretty darned close.  Moving ahe

 I  had trouble sleeping the other night.  (No surprise there with all that is going on in the world!)  I had actually gone to bed early and had no trouble falling asleep; I took a child's Benedryl for allergies and to help me sleep.  Getting to sleep was no problem, but I woke up at 1AM and couldn't fall back to sleep.  Maybe it was all the caffeine I had during the day.  Maybe it was the chaos and stress that the day had brought.  Probably it was a combination of the both. When I was younger (but not YOUNG), I couldn't fall asleep until I said a prayer.  I always said the commonly known "Now I lay me down to sleep..."  But the only version I know is the "if I die" and I just didn't want to say that.  What I didn't know was that there are other versions.  I was not in the mind to go google at 1 AM.  (Even though I have in the past.)  I could have said the Lord's prayer or something else, but I wanted something specific to rest and calm. So a

I walked in the park this morning for the first time since March.  The park had been closed and only reopened on Saturday with the following at the official entrances.   It makes sense.  The last time I was in the park was a sunny Sunday afternoon and it was full of people.  Some who were social distancing and some were not.  The county park was closed, but people still were walking there.  It doesn't seem like a big deal if you are walking around the park, but so many things that once didn't seem like a big deal are.   I wanted to walk in the park, but the signs said no.  So I didn't.  Eventually, the police had to patrol the area, driving around the path in a car announcing that the park was closed (even though there were signs at the main entrances and the road that runs through the park was closed off with sawhorses.  (Which I saw some people drive AROUND!)  Finally the park put the orange "gate" (as seen in the above photo) around all the entrances.  That see

Tuesday I explored the new  Fresh Grocer .  It was a nice sunny day.  Thursday was also a nice day, so I decided it was time to order some more libation of the alcohol persuasion.  (After all it was nearly a MONTH ago when I picked up my last order...that doesn't sound too good does it?  Well, I have a bottle and 3/4 left of my 4 bottle order...that still sounds pretty bad.   Maybe I should just say that with the warmer weather I was craving more margarita and had almost finished the bottle of Jose Cuervo Rose Margarita?  Now that sounds HORRIBLE.  This needs to stop now!)  Last month I found a shop online which is in the next town over that has a good assortment of wines and liquors (although currently no Not Your Father's Root Beer).  You place your order (there is a minimum which is why I order so much; at least that's the story I'm sticking too) and they text or email you when it is ready to be picked up.  Last time I chose in store (which brings me back to my first

Mid-week grocery trip?  The lure of the  Fresh Grocer  called to me and as it was NOT raining (and actually sunny yesterday), I decided to go for it. Let me back track a bit.  While I am a regular ShopRite shopper (as you know if you've read some of my previous posts), in my town there IS a grocery store, but it definitely high end and even for small items is rather pricey.  In the next town over and within walking distance (if I'm in the mood for a long walk) was a Foodtown.  Being a savvy shopper, I always checked their circular to see if there were any deals on items I might need.  If they had a better deal on something, I'd stop by on my way home from work (again, these were the days when I drove to an office...remember them?)  Back in early March while working on my church's Sunday Supper Program (back when we could make meals in the church kitchen...now we work around that by simply delivering pre-packaged meals that aren't as nice, but still fill a need), t