A Taste of Spring

 We had our first 80 degree day of the year.  Since I have lost so much weight and a whole lot of inches, I plan on getting a jump start on summer by trying on all my summer clothing to see what fits.  This will let me know what will need to be filled in.  Of course the clothing will be bought closer to summer. A good closet purge is good every once in a while. Goodwill will get the clothes that are to big. I already know that I will need some summer weight long sleeve tops in light colors, especially white.

It was a great day for lunch and dinner outside too.  Now if the wait staff would stop insisting that all salads need salad dressing I would be extremely happy.  If I had wanted salad dressing, I would have ordered it.  If a salad is made with fresh and tasty ingredients no dressing is required. It dulls the flavor of the vegetables.  Not to mention adds a few hundred calories to a very healthy meal.  

I almost forgot to mention that yesterday when I was looking for a shirt, I fit into the petite size clothing. It has been decades since that happened last. Yes, I know it was the PXL, but it is moving in the right direction. Go me.  

A Few Trying Things Today

 Some days are harder than others at the grocery store. Today at Trader Joe’s they had my favorite jam filled cookies that are dairy free.  I really wanted to buy a box or 2 but left them behind at the store. I consider this a win for me.  Since I have passed the 20% total weight loss things are slowing down.  Although I am losing inches like crazy.  Maybe once my body is finished losing this round of inches the weight loss will pick up again.  I can only hope. 

I also found out that it is next to impossible to spin silk on a drop spindle outside when it is windy.  I put the spindle back into its bag and knit 4 rows of my doodling shawl. Then stayed outside until it became too cold.  

My right hand is still an issue.  I hope it makes a full recovery soon. It is driving me crazy.  

Just Tuesday

 I drove from one end of Tucson all the way to Marana then back to a grocery store by the house doing errands today.  Then it was lunch time and nap time.  

The biggest news of the day is that I folded socks today.  The first time since my hand surgery in January.  It is definitely baby steps.  But I will take them all in hopes of running in 6 months to a year.  

No Art Fair for Me Today

 Today did not go as planned.  A wardrobe malfunction caused a change in plans.  So I went shopping.  The bad news was the mall was a bust.  The good news is that with less product in the stores almost all the stores I went to were ADA compliant with a minimum of 36” between racks.  I am not sure why it took almost 30 years and a pandemic to make it happen.  

Even better news. The internet still works and I was able to order what I needed in a couple of hours.  Most everything should be here by Thursday.  

12,074

 I did 12,074 steps today. Which is 5.05 miles. John had to walk further to get less steps.  That is the penalty for being taller and having longer legs.  

Post Pandemic Shopping

 I am really beginning to hate post pandemic shopping.  Big retailers say come to our stores to buy what you need. So I went to the stores only to be told that item that they used to stock in stores is only available on line.  However they will order what they think I want or that they are over stocked with and not what I want.  

So now I try calling the store ahead of time when it literally across town.  I land up at an out of country call center where I repeat my question a minimum of 5 times and the person just wants to data harvest.  If we land up getting through to the store, they don’t carry it in the store. Then we get a callback from the out of country call center saying head on over they have them in stock. 

A Hint to Big Companies. Customers don’t like or need the run around that you are handing out. We don’t have to shop at your stores.  Customer service is job one, yes I said job one.  Without customers buying whatever you are selling you are out of business.  We deserve and demand good customer service.  

I am going down through sizes at a good clip right now.  When I lose a size, I really need to try on what I want to buy instead of just guessing.  Please try to do better.  Running companies has always been hard work.  Companies that are not well run fail.  Poor customer service can cause problems to your bottom lines.  Which leads to Chapter 11 or 13.  Both you may want to avoid if at all possible, it’s really bad for you if you depend on quarterly bonuses to pay you personal bills. 

Please try to make shopping like it was 2019.  When shopping was easier for all involved.  We need a reason to get off the computer and head to the malls.  The extra walking is good for us.  The selection should be awesome.  

The Tucson Version

 Last night it started snowing at our house.  Since we live in the Sonoran desert. This is a rare occurrence. I stayed up past midnight to watch the snow and get pictures. 

This morning the Santa Catalina Mountains looked like this. I also put today’s date on the barbecue instead of building a snowman. I don’t think my hand would have liked that. I just finished what John started. It was a fantastic idea.  

Four hours later the Santa Catalina Mountains looked like this.   

The snow did not last long. We did however get 1/2 inch of rain and melted snow in our rain gauge.  Some of our plants are worse for wear, others our fine.  I tend not to baby my outdoor plants.  The need to be able to survive on their own in our beautiful desert climate.  

Water from melting snow ran off the roof for at least a couple of hours.  So the ground got a good soaking.   I stayed inside, except to take pictures.