Bfth's Boring Blog

 Yesterday was an "interesting" day to say the least.  I had the day off so that I could do some last minute food shopping.  (I make a BIG salad that covers at least 2 meals.)  Then I had some "down time" before I started my drive to pick up my son.  I knew the roads would be busy, and that is putting it mildly.  Let's try to "map it out" shall we? Around 11:30, I left the Poconos and headed back to NJ.  I didn't want to do the long round trip drive in one go.  So I arrived back at the house around 1, which gave me about an hour to "relax" before the next two legs of the trip.  My son had a class that ran from 1-4.  However, he told his professor he would be leaving a bit early.  (Not early enough however.)  I said I'd pick him up around 3:15.  So I went to fill up my tank (not that I really needed it) around 2:15 with Waze  saying it would be the usual 45 minutes.  As I drove towards NY, I could see that it was ...

  My husband and I drove "home" to NJ yesterday so that we could attend a beloved annual event; Friendsgiving. It's an amazing, over the top (in the best possible way) event/party/gathering held by a family who live just a few doors away from us.  For us (more specifically me), it's a beloved tradition and a reminder of all that can be good in this world. These friends/neighbors moved onto "our" block when our son was about 5 and their daughter was the same.  We got to see the kind of people they are when we were invited to their son's 2nd birthday party.  It was held at one of those "kiddie" places (I believe My Little Gym) and because the weather had been bad (this was about a week before Christmas), for a while my son was the only guest in attendance.  So three little kids had full reign of the facility and had a ball.  It didn't matter that it was a small group, they had a wonderful time.  Others showed up and there was no fighting over...

 It's a rather gloomy looking day here in the Poconos.  Overcast, but thankfully not raining and not bitterly cold.  As matter of fact is was "warm" enough to put up some holiday lights outside.  Or rather to attempt to.  I purchased a strand of lights that are solar powered that I "draped" (and I am NOT artistic at all) over some bushes (prickly ones at that) by the side of the road.  I have no idea if they will actually work.  (Last year's attempt with other lights didn't, so say a prayer).  The only reason I decided to do this today was because the temperatures were in the upper 40s and who knows when that will happen again.  (Confession:  I'm a DO NOT put holiday decorations up until AFTER Thanksgiving in general.  However, in this bleak and too often cruel world that we have been thrust into, my new outlook is "if it brings you joy, DO IT!  Who cares what I or anyone else thinks about the timing...just DO IT!)  It's t...

I love cranberry sauce (even though I can't eat turkey).  I LOVE chocolate.  (Which is why it is such a sacrifice to give it up for Lent every year).  So when I heard of an "easy" dessert to make, chocolate covered cranberry sauce, I was all in.   I was all in all right.  I was all in a MESS. There are multiple variations of the recipe.  All call for a can of cranberry sauces.  All call for chocolate; be it dark chocolate chips or milk.  Some call for coconut oil.  Those that do say it is optional.  Since I didn't have any in the house I opted out.  Maybe I shouldn't have. I bought the cranberry sauce (no whole berry).  I bought dark chocolate chips.  I bought semi-sweet chips.  I bought milk chocolate.  I had visions of wonderful chocolate covered discs of cranberry sauce.  That is all they were visions... I decided NOT to wait until right before Thanksgiving to give it a go, as the recipes said they c...

  I have money.  I'm just saying this straight out.  I do have money.  I am able to support my family.  I am able to buy things, not without thought, but I can buy things.  However, "things" are starting to cost more and more (despite what people may try to tell you) and the only two things I can think of that are not going up are gas prices (which are lower than they've been, although I wouldn't call them low) and my salary.  (My annual salary will be less this year than last and most likely even more so next year, but that's another story and although I may complain about work, I have a job and for that I am grateful.) I think and worry about those who do not have enough.  People who need assistance who are not getting what they need.  Again, while I am grateful that the government is (supposedly) up and running, which SHOULD mean that those who are eligible will be getting SNAP benefits (for you old timers, that's "food stamps"), but wil...

November 11th, Veterans Day. It's a day when we should honor those who serve/served our country. Of course, we should honor them each and every day for the dedication and sacrifice they paid to this country. Not to one person. Not to a leader. But to the country and the Constitution that guides it.   It's a cold day here. And I could b**** about the snow and fighting bitter winds as I walked to the bus station. It was miserable. But I think about the veterans who served in climates that were incredibly cold or incredibly hot. Doing so not for a "ruler," or a political party.  Not for personal glory, but for a country.    I know I have; for without our veterans, we would not have a country.  Without the sacrifices of our veterans, this country would not exist.  Think about that for a minute.  Think about that for more than just a minute.  What that actually means. I am reminded of  the song "America, the Beautiful:"   "O...

 This is a story about English muffins.  Or maybe it's not.  Let's see where (and how) this goes. When I was a little girl, if I recall correctly, every morning before my dad went drove down to the train station to get to work, he'd have half a grapefruit, an English muffin and coffee for breakfast.  Or at least that's what I sort of remember.   Thomas' English muffins  were pretty much always in our pantry. Here in 2025, we still have them in our pantry.  Most days for breakfast my husband has an English muffin with pork roll (yes, its pork roll ) and cheese on it for breakfast.  We regularly buy them at the supermarket.  It's on the weekly shopping list and like most items, I just grab them and put them in the cart.  I don't necessarily look at the price; they are a grocery staple that I don't think twice about. We check out and the weekly cost seems to keep climbing.  (No matter what ANYONE says, prices in the grocery s...

 I've professed my love of the fall season.  It IS true.  I do love early autumn, but we've moved into mid-autumn and it's feeling more like LATE autumn (which would actually be towards the very end of November and December) and I don't like that much at all.  It feels too much like pre-winter or just winter and I am NOT fond of that at all.  I don't like cold.  I don't like dark.  I don't like winter.   With that said, I am glad that we have 4 seasons. Actually I think it should be 8 because as each season comes to a conclusion and a new one starts, it's kind of its own thing.  Like Winring (winter merging into spring), Sprummer (spring merging into summer), Sumtumn (you've heard that one from me before) and Auter (you know what I mean).  But I'm getting off the track, as I often do! We've definitely moved out of the warmer portion of autumn.  As I wrote on the first day of the month, Halloween was COLD.  (Bfth, why ...

  Election Tuesday has come and gone.  There are winners and there are losers, because that's the way it goes.  Some of the candidates I voted for won; some did not.  And that's the way it goes; as it should. Personally, I think the best news was about how many people turned out to vote.  The news I heard in my small town in NJ was that turnout was 78%.  Now that's a victory in my book.  It tells me that people care.  They don't just care about the "big," national elections, but they care about the local.  (Which well they should be in my book because local can really affect your day-to-day life.) Of course, in NJ, the governor's race was a big deal.  There was lots of money and negative advertising (on both sides).  Maybe that encouraged people to get out. What's more important is that people continue to come out and vote.  The next elections are about a year away. That may seem like a long time, but as we all know time ...

  It's election day:  the first Tuesday in November.  It's not a presidential election year, but that doesn't make it any less important to cast your vote.  EVERY election is important; every single one.  I know I've said it before and I'm going to keep saying it, because our votes are our voices.  We deserve; we NEED to be heard. But I said I did not vote today and that is true.  Why?   Because I took advantage of early in person voting. Last Monday evening, both my husband and I went over to the town community center and cast our votes. There was no line.  The people there were friendly and helpful.  It was easy.  It was the way it SHOULD be.  My son has also voted.  He is currently at college; so he asked for and received a mail in ballot.  He made his selections and he sent it in.  Again, easy.  Again, the way it should be. Voting is our right.  It is also a privilege.  It is something we CANNO...

 If you know who I am referencing in the title of this blog post, a round of applause and a gold star belong to you.  If you don't, perhaps this will help... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TxxBBjXBDQ Okay, so I've taken a little liberty with this.  I don't have a gopher issue, I have a GROUNDHOG issue.  And I don't know who is more annoyed, me or him.  Assuming it's a him.  With the persistence that I've seen, maybe it IS a her.  Does that really matter?  For the time being, let's just refer to my nemesis as "Sly" because that's what he (or she) is. Backtracking to last month, we DID have a new fence with three gates put in. ( https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2025/10/bfths-week-in-review.html ).  Prior to that the fence had much patchwork and hole that made it relatively easy for Sly to get in.  When I would spy Sly, I'd go outside and usually just the sound of the door would send Sly scurrying away.  And Sly is fast.  Wh...

  Halloween in the Poconos, or at least in my township, is different than what I am used to in NJ.  Here, the houses are farther apart.  Since I live on a private drive, we don't get any trick or treaters.  And while I appreciate the fact that it is a cost savings to me, I do miss seeing all the kids (and in some cases adults), dress up and show off their creativity.  With that said, there is a family in my neighborhood (not on my block) who are incredibly creative.  They've turned their lawn into a maze of horror scenes with lights, backdrops, animatronics, displays...I could go on, but let me show you.  (And my photos don't do it justice.)  Last year, we could hear "screams" on Halloween coming from the vicinity and I wasn't going out to investigate! This year, the family turned to local social media to ask for help.  Not for putting up the displays (which take about 6 weeks to complete) or monetary assistance (which would be understandable...