Bfth's Boring Blog

 By the title of this post, you might think I'm making long range medical plans.  I'm not.  What I am doing is plotting out times for vaccinations because that's what you need to do in today's world.  You need to get vaccinated and you need to plan for it and around it. In my immediate family there is my husband, my son and myself.  That means 3 flu shots.  It also means two Covid booster shots.  (My son is not eligible and only got his 2nd vaccination in June, so IF he needs one, he wouldn't get it until December at the earliest.)  This all takes planning and with a family of three it's not too hard, but it still needs to be carefully thought out. Today my husband was in the doctor's office for his quarterly check in.  The nurse asked if he wanted a flu shot while he was there.  He already had scheduled a Covid booster shot for Tuesday so he wanted to make sure that it was okay to get it today.  It was.  She asked if I wou...

 I know in the past that I have complained about bad customer service.  I try to also rave about good customer service.  This post is not just a rave about great customer service, it's about kindness and caring.  And I'm also looking to anyone who is reading this for a suggestion as to how I can truly thank this person.  (Is cold hard cash too cold?) Once or twice a year my little family heads to  Skytop .  Since I have food allergies, I rely on the restaurant staff to take care of me.  In my many years I've been going for the most part, they've done a bang up job.  There have been two instances where I've had a problem.  The second and most problematic time, I was able to have a serious conversation with the resort's manager and since then things have gone very well.  This is not just because the resort takes food allergies seriously, but because there are certain employees who really understand the severity of food allergies....

  As you may well know (if you read my blog posts), I "work" (which means volunteer) at a thrift shop.  Working there also includes donating items that I no longer want or need.  I also regularly donate to my local food pantry.  Based on the donations we get at the thrift shop and how full the food pantry donation bin often is when I drop off my own donation, I know that there are a lot of people in my community who feel as strongly as I do about helping and caring for the community. So what I am about to write here might seem a bit harsh but...I've seen a lot in my years of volunteering and donating.  Of course this is only MY experience...  Disclaimer complete. When you are making a donation PLEASE do so with thoughtful consideration.  You may wonder why I am saying this and you also may think what I am about to say is just common sense.  (And it is.)  Whenever or wherever you are making a donation, make sure that it is something that can b...

  Just last Friday I wrote about the fact that it was the  middle of October and I hadn't turned on my heat yet.   That changed yesterday when the temperature in the house when I got up for my morning walk was 59 degrees.  The heat turned on and I released the thermostat from the hold function (so the heat would have always gone on if it hit below 59, but would have never gone above that) to run its regular cycle.  (So that it goes down to 60 overnight and then makes its way up to the upper 60s during the day.)  While I like not having to use the heat (saving me money), I recognize while I enjoy warmer days, it SHOULDN'T be quite so warm at this time of year.  (Nor do I want snow in May, which it DID do in May of 2020...yes it was just flurries and it didn't stick, but NJ should not have snow in May.)  So, I have been thinking about climate change/climate crisis. Funnily enough, on Sunday, I attended a service that addressed the problem from a Chr...

This is the first time in my memory (and I'll admit that my memory isn't all that great) that we've made it to October 15th without turning the heat on.  As a matter of fact the windows are wide open and I'm wearing a sleeveless top.  It is the middle of October, isn't it? I'm not complaining.  I like the warmer weather.  I've often said that early autumn is my favorite time of year as the days are (supposedly) warm and the nights are cool.  I tend to think of early autumn as any time after Labor Day to...well I guess mid-October would be about right, so why am I talking about this? As far as I can recall, there have always been some pretty chilly days towards the end of September.  (Which is why I got married before the middle of the month.  I figured it wouldn't be too hot and it wouldn't be too cold.  I was right...of course I should have also realized that it might not be sunny, but that's another story.)  When my husband (who was then my...

  It's not Friday the 13th, it's Wednesday and there are a lot of random thoughts rushing around in my mind.  None of which would make a proper blog post, so I thought I'd just throw them out here and see what happens... Since today is a Wednesday, it is NOT an early day at school.  As I may have mentioned 4 days a week, my son has to be in school by 7:20 for choir (which is period 0) and we all know how much teens LOVE to get up early to be in school.  However, Wednesdays are (usually) the one day a week he doesn't have to be there till 8:15.  BUT...this Wednesday is PSAT day (remember pre-gridding from a little over a week ago?  Here's a reminder of that and all the other fun October tests going on:   https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2021/10/i-need-guidebook-or-road-map-or.html ).  So he has 3+ fun hours of testing to look forward to before lunch, then 6 shortened classes.  However, th...

  This past Sunday my family and I walked in the park as part of raising awareness and funds for the  American Foundation for Suicide Prevention .  As you know from my many posts (most recently  this one ) we do this as a family every year that we can.  (Last year was virtual so while we did raise funds, it wasn't actually a walk.)  This year was the same, yet different from previous walks.  We checked in and got our t-shirts, we visited the tents set up around the perimeter and got buttons on which we wrote who we were walking for.  And then we walked around the lake (in the drizzle).  Much like any other year. What was different?  While there were a lot of people there (more so than a "regular" rainy Sunday), the large groups weren't there.  We had been given staggered time slots.  Due to church commitments, I had to request the last slot of 11:30-12:00.  So many of the people who had registered to walk were al...

  Every week (usually on Friday) I go to the grocery store.  (Usually Shoprite as they have the best prices in my neck of the woods.)  And every week I always buy at least one thing extra.  Not for me, but for our local food pantry. What I buy depends on what is on sale.  And, of course it has to be something that the pantry needs and can use.  (So no refrigerated or frozen items.)  I'm not spending a lot of money.  (I don't have that much, but then who does these days.)  Less than $10 a week out of a weekly grocery bill that is growing rapidly.  (I long for the days when I could get away with spending less than $100 a week...its come close to doubling now and there are only 3 of us in my family.)  So this is not a big deal.  It's not breaking the bank. Sometimes I buy food like pasta or pasta sauce.  This week there was a really good deal on tuna, so that's what I got.  But more often than not I purchase items t...

  I know the photos aren't that good, but the first is of a lipstick in the front pocket of a pair of pants from Talbots.  The second is the same pocket with a credit card in it.  They can barely fit!  What is the point of a pocket if you can't put something in it? It is 2021.  Why are women's clothes, specifically pants and skirts minus pockets?  Women need pockets too.  Seriously, we are not carrying pocketbooks all the time. (Ha!  There's a title...maybe now I know WHY they are called pocketbooks because we don't have the pocket!) Which brings me to the next question. Why when these items DO have pockets are they so teeny tiny?   What is the point?  I could barely jam a lipstick or a credit card in there.  Can you imagine if I tried to shove my driver's license and a car key in there?  It just wouldn't work.  So what is the friggin' point? Even the back pockets are pretty small.   I could get half a mask...

 I am a dedicated walker.  I've written about that many times, so you probably know that.  When the weather is right (no rain, no snow, no ice or other hazards), I'm out there in the morning doing my miles.  I'm a morning walker because if I don't walk when I first get up, I'm not going to do it. However, one of the most important walks I do happens once a year.  It's not in the morning.  It's in my local park.  I don't do it alone.  It's the annual Out of the Darkness walk to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  ( https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=2421617#donate) . My family and I have been walking together every year since 2017, which is when the when walk started in our town to honor one of our own who we lost to suicide.  He was certainly not the first we lost and sadly he will not be the last, but a very important conversation was started as a result an...

 Something!  Maybe I need to get a PhD in Education or in Educational testing?  I'm not dumb, but I'm not a genius.  I think you maybe need to be a genius to figure out the new testing schedule in our school district for the month.  (And hats off to the teachers who have to wade their way through this.  I think we need to include a bottle of wine or whiskey along with your paychecks.  Seriously!) It all started when my son said he wouldn't have choir on Monday.  Choir is period 0, which means getting hi there before 7:20 and since he's not a morning person, a "regular" school morning is always a reason for rejoicing.  However, I didn't see any notices from the teacher about no class.  My son said there was testing and the schedule was affected.  So I checked my email and I found (dated Sept 30): I didn't see anything for MY son for today.  But I didn't look hard enough.  However, just before 7:30 this morning I got this re...