Thursday, May 27, 2021

Worn Flat Out

I am so tired this evening. The kind of tired where if you start the dishwasher and the "Add Rinse Aid" light comes on you sort of want to cry. Throw in an egg, dropped and broken on the kitchen floor and it's gone beyond tears to a place where one feels as if she might as well just lay down on the dirty floor beside the broken egg and let whatever happens next happen. 
But of course one does not. One does get on the floor, but only on hands and knees to scoop the viscous stuff up and then to wipe it and then to scrub it with a cloth and Fabuloso and vinegar until that part of the floor, at least, is clean. 

And I don't know why I'm so tired. I didn't even take a walk. I suppose it's because I expended the other kind of energy- the kind required in a trip to town. I know I said on Monday that I hoped I had everything I needed for the rest of the week but not surprisingly I discovered that I didn't really although if the truth be known, we certainly could have survived quite well on what we have here in various freezers, cabinets, and refrigerators, not to mention garden. It's just that a new Aldi's has opened up in Tallahassee and I've never been to an Aldi's and there had been an article in the paper about it and I'm a sucker and thought I'd go see what this magical place was like. 
I knew I had to have a quarter to use a shopping cart and that the quarter would be returned when I took the shopping cart back and chained it back in its place. I knew they didn't bag groceries. I knew that their brands are limited, mostly to their own. 
I was prepared. I even had a few things that Lily wanted me to get after she had read the ads online. She'd been once before and knew what was what. 
And it was fine and I should be charmed by it because I'm constantly complaining about the multitude of brands available for everything in Publix and the prices are quite low, comparatively, and it was interesting to see what they had, to observe others, like me, walking slowly, slowly down the aisles to see what they held. 
I got what Lily needed and I got a few small tuna steaks, frozen, and cilantro and green onions and Thin Wheats (not Wheat Thins) and Havarti cheese and stuff like that. The only thing I got that was what I would consider a treat was a package of Medjool dates which I usually never buy because I could eat them all day even though they remind me so very much of candied cockroaches. 
Delicious candied cockroaches. 
I am not squeamish. 
I checked out and someone (I think the guy checking me out) smelled so strongly of weed that it permeated through my mask but he certainly didn't seem stoned. In fact, he reminded me of a drill sergeant, barking orders as I tried to follow the proper protocol. Not in a mean way, just in a no-nonsense/not very laid back way. 
So that was an experience and then I went to nearby strip mall where there's a Cuban restaurant and I ordered a sandwich to go and while they were making it I went to the little Asian market a few stores down and bought enough dill seeds and cinnamon sticks to make many, many pickles as well as curry paste, basmati rice, a red onion, and a box of halva with pistachios which is another thing I never buy because I love it too much. 
Sigh.
And then on to Costco where I wanted to buy my husband some shorts like the ones I bought him last week because he loves them but of course they were all out of his size, DAMMIT, and I got cucumbers and mixed nuts and toilet paper and I swear to god- I thought that the last time I bought toilet paper at Costco would be the last time I'd ever need to buy it in my life but that did not turn out to be true. 
No need to analyze that statement. 

And then I drove home, stopping at Lily's on the way to deliver her groceries and that was it. That's all I've done. Oh, yeah, I picked another gallon of green and purple beans (not hyperbole) and now my refrigerator has two gallons of green and purple beans in it, and one poor little cabbage that needed to be picked which I will use for cole slaw tonight if it's not eaten through from bugs. If it is, we can always eat green beans. 
This reminds me of a something I've been thinking about lately. I'm almost finished with the second book in the Lonesome Dove series and as I'm reading I keep wondering how in the world these Texas Rangers manage to live on the diet they eat which consists mainly of game, bacon, beans, and coffee. If they are very unlucky and are stuck in a situation where there is no game to be shot, they eat horses. I don't think they'd know a vegetable if they were slapped in the face with it and I doubt they'd eat one if they were presented with one. Fruit seems like an impossible dream. Where would they get oranges? Or even apples for that matter? Corn, yes. They do seem to get corn which mostly goes into a mush. Or tortillas. 
We are so precious, aren't we, with our many "required" servings a day of fruits and vegetables, our healthy fats, our whole grains. I suppose that the life expectancy wasn't very good then and there is that but I know that some of those men lived to a ripe old age. And I don't think that McMurtry was pulling these dietary details out of either the air or his ass because he came from a long line of ranchers in Texas and I think he based some of his characters on certain of his batchelor uncles. 
Well, one of the mysteries of life. 
And please understand that I am not contemplating a diet of game, beans, bacon, and coffee, nor am I recommending it. I just think that it's not unreasonable to go a little easy on ourselves when it comes to trying to always eat right. Our diets have become a sort of religion and when we eat what we believe we should not, we feel that we have sinned and some of us even repent and make amends by exercising more and yes, confessing our sins. Are Facebook and Instagram not filled with pictures and descriptions of the delicious, sinful food we sometimes eat? Which reminds me that although the cowboys probably did not eat many vegetables or fruits, they also did not eat much processed sugar, either, or processed anything so there is that to consider. 

I keep trying to upload a picture of the little dark gray chick but Blogger isn't having it tonight. It keeps telling me that there is a problem and to try again later. 

And I will. But not tonight. I'm too tired. 

Be well, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon



32 comments:

  1. First of all: I know JUST what you mean about the candied cockroaches! Omg, I love Medjool dates too and that's exactly what they remind me of! I get over it enough to eat them, though. I love dates, especially stuffed with a toasted pecan, wrapped in bacon, and broiled. :)

    As to the ranchers' diets: I'm intrigued by the idea that wild game and grass fed meats can be rich in vitamins and minerals from the grass they graze on. It's like when Eskimos could thrive on a diet largely comprised of seal fat: the fat stored all the vitamins from the plankton and algae they consumed. It was like concentrated sunlight. Human physiology is amazingly adaptable.

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    1. You are right about the grass-fed wild game. And I always think about the tribe in Africa that traditionally lived on milk and blood. And my god, they were the most beautiful people I'd ever seen. The Massaai?

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  2. Medjool dates are HEAVEN! I don't buy them often because, well..... I would eat every one. Just reading what you accomplished today makes me tired and wanting to lie down LOL. I hope you have leftovers to *make over* for dinner......
    and by chance, did you look for Pancit Kanton noodles at the asian market? LOL!! I'm tired and I didn't even leave home. Laundry, 2 phone calls, dinner prep, watered outside and took a shower. Can that really make one tired? It did, trust me
    Susan M
    Susan M

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    1. I looked and looked but...nope. Not there. A new Asian market is opening up soon. Perhaps I will find them there.
      Of course all of what you did could make you tired. Two phone calls would do it for me.

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  3. Well, you did a lot in town. I’d be worn out too. Blogger will only accept photos today if you drag them into place from your desktop rather than trying to upload them the traditional way. Rest up tonight dear friend. Being among humans can be exhausting.

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    1. Truer words were never said. Even if the humans are perfectly nice.

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  4. You have done a lot of shopping and it's only Thursday. Do you ever add up the miles you tread?

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    1. Sometimes I check my phone for the number of steps I've taken. Unless I've had a walk, they rarely add up to 10,000 but they do add up.

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  5. That amount of shopping would exhaust anyone. Just the Aldi's part would do me in.

    I waited and Blogger is finally remembering how to load pix, so I posted. I felt deprived waiting though.

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    1. Ha! Amazing how irritated I can become at a free app when it does not do what it's supposed to do.

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  6. I felt tired like that today, and your description of nearly crying so perfectly described the feeling and made me feel better. So, thank you. May we get some rest and not need to whimper tomorrow.

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  7. It's weird that the picture wouldn't load. Hope that's a temporary problem because I want to see that chick! LOL!

    Your description of the Aldi sounds so much like a London grocery store -- the employee smelling of weed, the shopping cart you need a coin to access. (Although here you need a pound, which is considerably more in value than a quarter. A quarter doesn't seem like much incentive to return a cart.)

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    1. I was thinking the same thing, Steve- a quarter? Really? But it must work. I saw everyone pushing their carts back to get their quarters and saw no carts in the parking lot.

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  8. It's definitely okay to go a little easy on ourselves 0 not just in eating right, but sometimes in doing right too - we are all of us less than perfect: as parents, people, preachers even... we are all of us human.

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    1. We are all perfectly imperfect humans. You're right.

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  9. Ennui. Saps the life out of us for no discernible reason. Possibly a post-Lis/Lon visit and birthdays letdown. You had a lot of good times with folks you love the last few weeks so some of these quieter days are bound to feel a bit blah. It's okay to just be--even if there is a bit of an edge to it.

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    1. I don't think it was the let-down. I'm fine, really. I was just so tired. Probably going to town did it.

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  10. I am an Aldi fan. Have been for 10 years. I typically go to Aldi and then straight to my regular grocery store. That way I get what I can at Aldi first and only have to get what is still needed after that at the other store. If you go there regularly you'll end up with your regular things of theirs you like. And if you ever buy something you don't like you can return it really easily.

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    1. I can see exactly how good a plan that is- to go to Aldi, see what you can get, and then to the regular grocery store for the rest. Of course, I go to Costco for things I like to buy there too...
      A little too much some days.

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  11. I am a picky eater and don't really like fruits because of the texture and veg because most of them are bitter. I do eat them, but reluctantly. It's not just me, it runs in the family. I read an autobiography of Oliver Sacks and he wrote that he pretty much lived on cereal and sardines so I quit worrying so much.

    I was wondering why you don't just order your groceries online. I wouldn't like it myself, I like to see what I'm buying and I like to wander but it causes you so much stress.

    The tired you describe sounds more like depression, when everything little thing is too much. I'm sorry sweetie. It will pass. Sending hugs and love.

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    1. Cereal and sardines? Oh my word. Well, I'm sure there are worse things to live on. I wonder what his favorite cereal was.
      I can't order groceries online. I'm like you- I need to see what I'm buying. I don't think it's the shopping so much as just the dealing with being in public.
      The depression thought came to me too. Felt a bit like that.

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  12. I finally took a trip to see the wonders of ALDI not so long ago. Just found it like LIDL, only maybe a little bigger I guess (but they were both started by brothers so it shouldn't be surprising they are alike, I suppose). Oh and thanks for the tip on Lonesome Dove, I've just downloaded a sample to my kindle. I did the same with Miss Benson's Beetle the other day, ended up buying the book and stayed up till 2.30 a.m. to read, so I guess I'm as tired as you are right now (but it's all your fault)!

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    1. If you read Lonesome Dove straight through, you'll be up for a week! I'm so glad you liked Miss Benson's Beetle. It's charming, isn't it?

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  13. there's an Aldi about 30 minutes down the road and I've even been there several times but not since the highway construction started happening along that section. it's closer than the Costco which is 40 or 45 minutes away. I wish they sold those dates in smaller packages because while I like them, they would dry out before I ate them all. I've got ennui too but I know why. my heart broke because I am a stupid git.

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    1. The package of dates I got at Aldi WAS smaller which is why I bought them.
      What do you mean your heart is broken? You are not a stupid git, Ellen!

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  14. i love aldi even more now that i pay someone to shop for me with instacart.

    as to the texas rangers, it makes you wonder if they all had the scurvy...

    xxalainaxx

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    1. Right? Did their teeth all fall out? It's possible.

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  15. I watched 2 of my grandkids today and I will need the whole long weekend to recover! Stephen is 5 and Elli is 1 and a half and I seemed to have lost the energy I had when I was a Mom and had 5 kids to raise. I just don't remember the all day every minute care that it seems to take. So I am exhausted from that tonight.

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    1. Yes- it is harder to take care of kids when we're older and my theory is that we're still tired from raising our own.

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  16. Everyone seemed to have the Blogger glitch with Photo Loads for a day... I just put my Post on Draft 'til I could add pixs when they fixed whatever it was they were toying with.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.