Grumpy McGrumperson
How are we all doing with the transition to Daylight Saving Time, I ask as I drink my third cup of coffee and glare angrily off into the dark morning? I swear to god, I swear to GOD that the next person who says “we do this for the farmers,” I will murder that person. Straight up murder. Stab stab stab right to the heart. THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK, PEOPLE. How would fucking with the clocks benefit people who work WITH THE SUN? You know who doesn’t change time? Saskatchewan. So do not come at me with such stupidity. DST started in World War I to save electricity. Today we live in a world of automation and blue lights, and I would challenge anyone to prove that any electricity is being saved at any time due to this ridiculous clock changing construct. WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END.
Unsolved Mystery
Speaking of madness, I was very surprised to receive a renewal notice for my driver’s license; I have had this license for less than eighteen months, when we moved here from Alberta. I made a renewal appointment for last week and I will say that it was as quick and painless as anything government-related could possibly be. I did ask the woman why my license expired so quickly, and she said it was because it was my first BC license. Okay? But also, no one in my family has a license expiring this year, and we all got them at the exact same time. Granted, my husband would have had a BC license thirty years ago, but this doesn’t explain my sons’ licenses. It’s a mystery, and not one that I plan to investigate further. I simply paid my $75, got my jowly, unsmiling photo taken, and went on my merry way. I look like such a bitch, I said to the woman who took my photo. We all do, she replied.
Money Money Money
The licensing fee felt like a cash grab; just one more cash grab in a world that is going broke. Last week alone I spent over a thousand dollars on groceries, which feels absolutely insane, as there are only three of us in this house. Almost eight hundred of that was at Costco; I hadn’t been there since January, and my staples were all at Desperation Levels, which explains a lot.
But I do wonder how people with limited means make ends meet. I am not a person with limited means, and I find my grocery bills to be insane. We don’t eat out or get takeout, and with the exception of a bottle of Reactine and a bag each of my favourite popcorn and my husband’s favourite granola, the thousand dollars of groceries was entirely made up of what I would call ingredients. I’m not walking around making it rain in the grocery store, and yet I spent A THOUSAND DOLLARS. Other than the occasional lone mini cucumber softening in the produce drawer, we consume everything I buy, I don’t consider myself to be a wasteful or even a spontaneous shopper – I have a Meal Plan and a List and I stick to both rigidly – and yet our grocery bills are wild. How is everyone managing this? I have no idea.
Five Long Years
I am feeling a little extra sensitive this week as I realized that this Thursday marks the five-year anniversary of the first pandemic lockdown. I am glad I have this blog to look back on, because otherwise it would be very hard to recall and believe the details. Even with the blog it’s hard to reconcile, everything was so weird and dystopian, and we all know how I feel about dystopian fiction, let alone living in it. I was scolded online for patronizing the library, once it reopened, as the virus could be living within the pages of any book at any time. THE VIRUS COULD BE ANYWHERE was the general feeling, and it’s enough to make a person spiral into madness. It was such a grim, terrifying time that then turned into a divisive, despairing time. How depressing it was, how we were all trying to keep our spirits up while life as we knew it devolved into chaos. Remember when people were putting paper decorations in their windows so that neighbourhood children would have something to look at on those walks of desperation that we were all on? In my neighbourhood, someone had a sign that said And the world came together as the people stayed apart and wow, did that turn out to be untrue. Spoiler alert: the world did the opposite of coming together.
Pandemic Hobbies, Five Years Late
On the topic of things people did in the pandemic to pass the time, last week The Squad (HI GIRLS) took a class on how to make sourdough bread. This was one of those pandemic hobbies I never got into, and I can with confidence say that I never will. Friends, making sourdough is complicated! There are so many steps! Then again, I am a person who for the past fifteen years has been baking no-knead bread, which is quite possibly the laziest bread-making methodology ever. The class was really fun, though, and should I ever want a loaf of sourdough, I will just buy it from the woman who ran the class. I think what did me in was the reveal that remnants of the dough, stuck on bowls or whisks, cannot be washed down the drain lest it block up the plumbing. I instantly imagined our entire septic system being clogged up from attempting to bake bread, and abandoned ship immediately.
Plus, I don’t think I could make anything as pretty as this:
My skills in the hand/ eye coordination department, not to mention the visual artistic department, are limited to say the least; see below.
Blast From The Past
One of the best books I read that featured the pandemic was called Unravelling, in which a woman talked about the efforts she went through to knit herself a sweater. She sheared a sheep, spun the wool into yarn, dyed the yarn, and so forth until months later she had herself a sweater. It was a very enlightening and eye-opening look at what goes into the creation of clothing, a statement on fast fashion, and a history of women’s undervalued but extremely important work.
If ever my value to society was determined by my skills in the fibre arts, well. It would be disastrous, is the short version. I am quite possibly the least competent person in the world when it comes to anything that requires hand/eye coordination, particularly in this realm. I famously almost failed home economics in junior high – and I was a very high-achieving student – because of my complete inability to sew. I swear the teacher passed me out of relief of never having to see me again. I took that class for three years and every single day saw me ripping out stitches and trying to rework them. Whereas my friends had tees and shorts that they could theoretically wear – not that any of them did, but they COULD – my projects had been ripped beyond repair. I have three clear memories from those days. The first was in seventh grade, when I had to borrow bright green ribbing for the neckline of my pale pink t-shirt from my friend Elise (HI ELISE), because my own matching pink ribbing had been destroyed from constantly taking out the stitches that had sewn the neck hole shut several times. The second was in ninth grade, when I would chattily sit beside my friend Tara (HI TARA) as the sewing machine whirred beneath her competent hands and I ripped out stitches, again and again. The third memory is how we junior high girls – for we were all girls – tormented our teacher, Miss Herget, by unthreading the serger. Someone would walk casually past the serger and then stealthily swipe their hand through, unthreading it, which would result in Miss Herget having a mini-breakdown. Every single class: WHO unthreaded the SERGER? she would scream, while we all silently assumed expressions of innocence.
To this day my husband will not let me near a needle and thread. I cannot even tie a knot in a thread; it ends up being several knots, not unlike a string of tiny anal beads. The last time I tried to sew a button on a pair of pants, back in 2001 or so, my husband found me bent over, sobbing, as I had somehow cut a giant hole in the seat of said pants. Was this karma for unthreading the serger? Who can say.
Weekly Reading
The Woman Who Stole My Life. Isn’t it great when you discover a well-established author? I don’t know where Marian Keyes has been all my life, but I do know she has a whole catalogue and I am going to read it in its entirety! I loved this book about a woman who is diagnosed with the very rare Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which results in her entire body being paralysed. Unable to talk or move, she is confined to her bed while her family resumes life as best they can without her. She ends up having a special connection with her neurologist, which leads to a whole new life in a whole different country. This book was so clever and so witty and so intensely thought-provoking, all at the same time. It’s about karma, and communication, and connection. Every single character was a complete delight. As a side note, I was both surprised and not to go on goodreads to discover that this book had a LOT of very poor reviews. This kind of tracks for me as any book I really love often has a low rating, and vice versa. I never a) look at goodreads for ratings and reviews, and b) take said ratings and reviews seriously. I am my own woman! And I loved this. Can’t wait to read more. Over 500 pages, and this book didn’t drag ONCE.
All In Her Head. We all know, or should know, that the medical community has long been misogynistic and has disbelieved or dismissed women and their health concerns. This book explores the long and dark history of how women’s health has been mismanaged, destroyed, or ignored by the largely male medical community. Yes, things are getting better, but vestiges remain, as seen very recently. Traditionally women have not been included in clinical drug trials because of our pesky old hormonal cycles, which is alarming to say the least. Drugs were not tested for female bodies, and then when those drugs didn’t work as they did for men, the it’s all in her head attitude prevailed. In any case, it’s just one more thing in a long list of things in which women’s concerns and lived experiences have been minimized and dismissed. This is an interesting and enraging book, and it sure shows that men have been really worried about women and masturbation. Hoo boy, masturbation was historically blamed for everything from nervous conditions to scoliosis. Thanks to Stephany (HI STEPHANY) for bringing this book onto my radar.
Friends, I hope you are all taking care of yourself, this week after time change. Drive safely, get your sleep, treat yourself gently. xo
I have to admit that anytime someone says they LIKE DST, I view them suspiciously. I guess you don’t work for a living? Or have kids in school? Or have any kind of schedule at all? I mean- who LIKES getting up in the pitch dark? Not just getting up in the dark, but running in the dark and then driving your daughter to school in the pitch dark??? Why, why, why? Having said all that… we actually managed it pretty well this year, but it took some work. Why do we have to go through this???????
I actually have a horrible memory of sewing a tennis racket cover in home ec. (In case you were wondering- no, I didn’t play tennis.) I’m not sure why that was the project. I managed to get through it, but it wasn’t pretty. It’s funny how “sewing” is actually a talent. Oh, I’m also in the “no-knead” bread club. I make a recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction and it always comes out great! Who needs sourdough.
Both those books sound good, but I’m especially intrigued by the first one. I actually know someone with Guillaume Barre- such a weird affliction. I’m going to see if my library has this book!
A tennis racket cover, that is the most random thing I’ve heard! We had to do t-shirts and shorts, “so we could wear them later” which, yeah right. What junior high kid is going to walk around in Bermuda length shorts made out of t-shirt material that they made in home ec class?
I HAAAAAAAAAAAATE DST!!!
I just remember how horrible the time change is with little kids. Ugh! It’s the only topic that unifies Americans, yet Congress can’t seem to change it. That right there tells me everything I’ve ever wondered about government! Stupidity abounds.
Speaking of stupidity, I have also been reflecting on the 5 year anniversary and all the insane things we were told to do and not to do (wipe down our groceries with Clorox wipes was a fave). It sure hasn’t taken many years to look back and realize the insanity of it all. We thought we were going to DIE if we got Covid!! Yes, plenty of people did die, but we saw firsthand that they were labeling Covid as the cause of death for everyone who tested positive. I could go on and on. And people wonder why so many don’t trust the medical establishment? Sorry for the rant.
Hahahah stupidity abounds indeed.
Oh GOD what a time that was. I have been doing a lot of reflecting about it and the more I reflect the more depressing and infuriating I find the whole thing. It’s very upsetting, and the tone of the public messaging was (I find in hindsight) terribly condescending and one that assumed everyone was an idiot. Also, wiping down groceries with bleach, my god. I also think a lot about the waste and garbage from single use plastics and masks, plus all the screen time for small children, plus the detriment to everyone’s mental health especially the youth…but it’s over now, and may we never walk that path again.
Marian Keyes fan here. Must read this one again. Her early books are of a different vein but a good read (if you like books about daily life, love, friends and how complicated it can all be, with a touch of humor thrown in).
Hi Ana! Well, that is EXACTLY what I like! I’m so excited, I have put a few of her earlier books on hold at the library, can’t wait for them to come in!
Oh, I was so terrible in needlework class too, Nicole. Looking back I think it’s because my mom did NOT want me to be good in “feminine” classes at school and I complied. She campaigned for years to have needlework removed from the curriculum at our all-girls school. My mom was well intentioned, but I wish I had learned to sew.
Your books this week sound amazing! That last book! I need it for class, I’m realizing.
And I’m going to go look at your recipe for no-knead bread now… (I threw together some seeds, AP flour, and greek yogurt together the other day and was surprised we got some very rustic looking and great tasting bread out of that!)
Your mom sounds cool though!
If you try the bread let me know! I have some dough in my fridge right this very second. It’s the easiest thing in the world, and who doesn’t love a nice crusty loaf of bread?
I’m intentionally going into work late today to avoid all the tired morning of daylight savings time drivers! Ugh THE FARMERS – I am telling everyone AS A FARMER that what matters is the total daylength, which does not change as a result of resetting the clocks. I plan my work around when we have 12 hours of daylight, or 16, and it does not matter one bit if that light happens in the morning or in the evening.
Grocery prices are INSANE. I used to buy myself a treat every once in a while, but now I don’t, I just can’t stomach paying $5 or $8 for something that used to be $3.50. I have seen boxes of cereal that cost over $10! Who is buying that, Scrooge McDuck? JD Vance?
YES THANK YOU DAYLIGHT HOURS DO NOT DEPEND ON THE CLOCK. Sheesh. The clock is not magic. It doesn’t have an effect on the actual sun.
I haven’t bought cereal in a while since no one really eats it anymore, but TEN DOLLARS??
I read an article yesterday about how no-one likes the time change, but the reason we can’t eliminate it (here in the U.S.) is that it’s split about 50/50 between advocates of keeping DST time and keeping ST, so any action would face resistance. Now, with the U.S. government obviously willing to take MASSIVELY unpopular actions, I’m not sure why this matters, but that’s what the article said.
We never made sourdough either, though we got as far as acquiring some starter from a friend.
I am working on a covid anniversary post right now.
p.s. I am older than you, but our required home ec classes in middle school were co-ed. We also all took shop. In high school they were electives open to anyone. But when Beth was in junior high, girls weren’t allowed to take computer science, so it varied by region.
Hahaha if only they would take on this unpopular action! We could only hope.
Home ec was coed and so was shop, but you had to choose one or the other, and I believe once you chose in grade 7, you had to keep that choice throughout the three years of junior high. I’m not positive, but I believe that was the case. Anyway, it’s probably better that I didn’t have power tools, and at least I learned a few cooking skills.
I read that if we don’t adhere to daylight savings, in winter it wouldn’t get light until 8am or after. With that being said, I’m happy taking a day or two to adjust! Your sourdough story..haha! That’s something we can agree on! Your grocery bill is why I don’t have a Sam’s Club (we don’t have a Costco near us) membership. I feel I would buy things that we don’t necessarily don’t need. But that’s just me and my shopping habits! Don’t worry, just like all things you’ll adjust to the new time soon!
In many parts of Canada, it’s not light until practically 8am in December anyway – where I used to live in Calgary, it was closer to 9am! There’s just not a lot of daylight at that time of year period.
A lot of people feel like you do about Costco – for me, though, I do use up everything I buy, but there was definitely a learning curve!
Oh, Nicole, you are the best! THE BEST! Your post made me laugh out loud so hard! Thank you for that. I needed a good laugh.
Yes people, let’s stop blaming the farmers for DST – the cows don’t care! The crops don’t care! Farmers work when the work needs to be done, day or night. Saskatchewan is brilliant! My admiration for the people & government there just tripled!
Poor Miss Herget!! Unthreading the serger every day!! I died laughing. Oh that’s so mean…but so funny!
I like Salty Nicole!
That woman, I am sure we gave her a nervous breakdown! Junior high girls are the meanest, and wow were we bad in that class. I can still remember that it took a solid ten minutes to rethread the serger and then bloop, one second to undo all her work. If I found out Miss Herget had a drinking problem, I would not be at all surprised.
Ugh, I hate changing time so much! Why are we doing this! I feel like in a world where we can’t agre on much as a nation or continent, we can agree that this is foolish. I know northern BC doesn’t observe DST either – not sure where the line is, but my friend in Fort St. John doesn’t have to deal with stupid, archaic practice.
I’m terrible at sewing as well. I was glad I could choose to take Spanish instead of home ec. I hated that the girls took home ec and the boys took shop without exception – until the Spanish elective came along. My mom is an amazing sewer but I did not pick up that skill. I was in 4H and had to take a course on sewing and wow was that challenging for our relationship. Actually nearly all of my 4H courses we not great for our relationship… She would take over to show me how it was done and then essentially do 1/2 or more of the project and I would just shrug my shoulders. I do enjoy knitting but haven’t done that since I had kids.
That last book is on my hold list. Another Guillane Barre syndrome book that is very good but quite sad is “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”. It’s non-fiction. They also made a movie out of it which I think was quite good.
Lastly, I literally laughed out loud when I read about you imagining clogging up your septic system because of a gd loaf of bread. And I don’t laugh out loud much TBH… I’m with you on not making bread.
My mom is also a great sewer – she would sew clothes and Halloween costumes, etc. – and she was endlessly frustrated with me and my incompetence. But we had to choose between home ec and shop, and honestly, given my really bad hand-eye coordination, I think I made the right choice. No one needs me wielding power tools.
The time change is not going well, Nicole! My kid is finally old enough to understand it and she feels so outraged, not to mention tired. This morning was a TREAT, I’ll tell you that.
LOL – I am as skilled as you are in terms of sewing. Nope, no thank you. Fortunately, my husband learned how to sew in medical school (stitches) and my child figured it out herself, plus both grandmothers can sew and so can a few of my friends, so I am all set. In the apocalypse I can write a heart-tweaking letter to request funding, but that’s about it.
It is SO weird to think of where we were five years ago. Mentally, I mean. I remember my husband disrobing in the garage so he wouldn’t bring in germs from the hospital. I remember wiping down all the groceries. I remember drive-by birthday parties for the first graders in our circle. Ugh.
I am intrigued by sourdough, as I enjoy baking and also enjoy eating sourdough. But it sounds like WAY too big a commitment, and I had no idea about the potential pipe clogging issues! Fortunately, our local bakery makes good sourdough when we need a fix.
I think it would have been extra-scary for you because, you know, your husband was actually working in a hospital. For the rest of us though, I’m not sure we all needed to panic about clothing changes. Although what do I know?
The drive-by birthday parties, that makes me want to cry remembering those.
I am a person of limited means (in the US, and NO, I didn’t vote for him!!) and, get this – my grocery budget is $30 a week. I live on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) since I went deaf. I’m widowed, and that small amount is my only income. (It’s also under threat by my government, yay.)
It’s just me in the house, and I don’t count cat food (for the cat, not me – ha!) in my grocery budget. What I do is pretty religiously menu plan for the week, make my list from that plan, and my list includes the cost of each item. I have a total at the bottom of my shopping list so I can see how close I am to my budget. If I can see I’m going way over, I’ll revise my menus to include more items I already have at home. I don’t eat prepared foods, I make everything from scratch.
It sounds pathetic, I know, but it’s actually pretty easy for me to stick to my budget this way. I make my own bread, buy green coffee beans (about $4/lb and not included in the grocery budget since it’s a once-a-year purchase) and roast my own coffee, I make granola, etc.
If I get to the end of the month and money is not tight, I get to splurge a little bit at the grocery store. Yay! 🙂
Wow, Wendi, that is so impressive! I am so impressed by you!
Fingers crossed that “it’s under threat” will not mean business and you’ll be able to keep it. What a terrible time in the States.
That’s odd about your driver’s license renewal situation. I’d do the same as you, pay the money, get the new one, move on. On a more positive note, the last time I got my new driver’s license my first photo was awful, so awful that the DMV woman had me sit for a second photo making sure I’d look good in it. Isn’t that too sweet? My point is maybe next time your photo will make you look less like a bitch— it can happen.
Hahaha Ally, it’s funny you should say that, because after the lady said “we all do” she did offer to take another photo, to which I replied “what’s the point, it’s not going to change.” We are not allowed to smile in our photos, to the detriment of my personal photo.
But isn’t it weird? Why only me?
Oh, I so agree about the grocery bills! I jokingly told my husband we’ll have to start eating every other day. Like you, I make menus and a list of ingredients and stick to them. And why does the cost of a product change wildly from one day to the next – tomatoes at $1.99 on Monday and on Thursday up at $4.99?
I took sewing for one semester in grade 12. I completed (barely) two of the four assignments and somehow managed to pass. I never tried it again, but I did become a good knitter.
I always become very aware of how many clocks I have in my life with the time change LOL. Other than that, I’m not bothered by it, although I’m team “get rid of it.”
I just finished reading The Glassmaker set in Venice from the late 1400s to 2020. It’s a good book, but it includes both the plague of the late 1500s and ends with Covid. Hard to believe five years have passed.
WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THE GLASSMAKER *immediately checks library*
Hahaha eating every other day! I will say I’m pretty excited for gardening season, not least because I will be able to have all my own greens and berries!
I hate the time change!! It’s worthless and beyond annoying. Sigh. I share your sewing/craft non-talents, although I do try to sew buttons on occasion and toys my dogs rip apart. I bought a sourdough making kit in November and I admit it is sitting in the basement closet. I wonder if it will ever see the light of day? Stay tuned!
Oh wow, Anna, buttons and dog toys sound like really hard things to master so I AM IN AWE OF YOUR TALENTS.
Yes, the groceries. My god the groceries. Ours were also over 1K, and OMG. Part of it is trying to shop more ethically and part of it is that we eat whole foods and they are expensive. But. Yes.
not Whole Foods the soulless chain — whole food like fruit and veggies and things to make from scratch) BUT I REALLY MISS WHOLE FOODS because LOCAL IS EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE AND WAY LESS CONVENIENT
I totally understood that you meant whole foods with lower case; I mostly buy those too and they are expensive. I will say local fruit and veg at the farm market is way less expensive, which makes me feel great, but of course the farm market is not open at this time of year.
Thanks for asking, I’m rocking a low grade headache this morning. I never get headaches so we’re blaming this one on DST. All I care is that it’s been warmer so hopefully winter is outta here.
I’ve been paying a lot of attention to my spending for the past few years and I can tell you to the penny how much I spend on everything except food. Part of it is that both the Hubs and I buy groceries, and we get a lot of non-food stuff at the grocery store and food stuff at non grocery places like Costco so there is a lot of ambiguity, but the real truth is even though I am obsessed with numbers when it comes to food I JUST DON’T WANT TO KNOW OKAY????? Whatever the number is, it is something that I cannot comprehend.
Ah Pandiverssary! I remember being so excited because most workplaces said they were going remote for two weeks but my work said right from the get go that no one was allowed back in the office for three months. And then how nice it was to get two hours back in the day from not having to commute, and all of the calm that came from not having to take the kids to their night activities. My first day home was Friday, and when I was out running on Saturday I’d heard we were supposed to stay 6 feet away from everyone but it felt rude to move from the sidewalk to the street when I saw people approaching. Then on Sunday I went out for a walk and by then somehow everyone had gotten the memo that the first person to move into the street wins. Ugh I remember when the library shut down to stop the millions of deaths that would be caused by us getting cooties by sharing books.
Yes, or when the library reopened and (in Calgary at least) I would have to phone them to tell them that I had gotten notification that my hold was in, and then the librarian would come outside and leave the book for me on the table that was there for that purpose, and every book was wrapped in plastic, just THINK OF ALL THAT SINGLE USE PLASTIC. What a time to be alive.
I also have a lot of non-food things on my grocery bill but I kind of just lump it all in with groceries, as it’s mostly pharmacy-type stuff, or the occasional pack of socks. STILL IT’S A LOT.
HELLO! I totally remember those days! This had me laughing out! I totally remember you unthreading the serger! I think that was the wildest class I ever took! So many stories! I’m sure we were hands down the worst class she ever had! I can’t imagine any class being worse than us.
We were the literal worst and I am sure we caused her a nervous breakdown. WHO UNTHREADED THE SERGER
WHY IS DAYLIGHT SAVINGS A THING?? WHY AM I YELLING?? Oh I know why…I’m exhausted. 🤣🤣
Hahahaha girl same.
Look, I don’t actually have a preference for DST or non-DST. I just want THE TIME TO STAY THE SAME. Hannah looked at me like I WAS INSANE when I put her harness on this morning IN THE PITCH BLACK. I am tired of trying to explain the concept of time to my pets is what I’m saying. I have only a loose understanding of it myself based on my inability to deal with calendars and clocks. OH! AND! AND! NICOLE! One of the clocks in my office has been changed AND THE OTHERS HAVE NOT and I am spending my day being VERY CONFUSED. Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll stop using caps lock. Only you know I won’t.
Yesterday I did something to my right lower back when I was working out. I was just doing a lunge. That’s all. When there was this STABBY STABBY (I did warn that I would probably use caps lock again) pain and I gently set down the dumbbells before collapsing on the floor. Can we blame this on DST? YES. Let’s do it. I am on Day Two of My Fragile Back and I am OVER IT.
Engie, I’m the same. I don’t care JUST PICK A TIME AND STICK WITH IT. It’s ridiculous!!!
The sole good thing is that most of the clocks in my house automatically change with DST (magic?) and I only had to physically change like four of them. That sounds like a lot but there are a lot of clocks around here.
Your poor back!!!
Favorite part: “I look like such a bitch, I said to the woman who took my photo. We all do, she replied.” Not-that-anyone-wants-to-say/hear-anything-about-the-stupid/terrible-U.S.-right-now, but they do let us smile for our driver’s licenses, though not for passports. “Oof,” said the passport acceptance agent, looking at my photo.
Another favorite part: “The class was really fun, though, and should I ever want a loaf of sourdough, I will just buy it from the woman who ran the class.”
I have just gone ahead and made a separate library list called Nicole Recommends. It upsets me that so many books that SHOULD be on the Nicole Recommends list are on the To Read list, but time will tidy that up.
“oof!!!!”
Awww I am so glad you like my book recommendations!!! xoxo
I think it’s wild that we change time twice a year. We CHANGE TIME. TWICE A YEAR. (caps in honor of Engie, btw.) I get so thrown off and everything feels wrong for a week or so. Also, in solidarity with you, Nicole, I have no hand-eye coordination. I have accepted this and avoid sewing, video games, ball-sports, etc. and am much happier staying my lane for these instances!
Solidarity!!! I was coerced into playing slo pitch in grad school and ended up in the emergency room when I took a line drive to the throat! These things are dangerous!
I do feel like it takes a solid 3-7 days to get back on track after time change too!
I must be in the minority, because the time change hasn’t affected me. Am I oblivious? Maybe I’m just not there yet.
When we lived in Arizona, they didn’t adhere to the time change and that was pretty cool from what I remember.
Groceries are insane, but I don’t know that I’ve ever spent close to that much. I know you buy a lot of produce, so maybe it’s higher UP there?
So weird about your DL. Maybe you’re on a Special Watch List; must have something to do with Parking Lot Shopping Cart Rage. 😂
I remember people leaving their groceries outside so they could ‘air out’, then wiping them down with bleach or spraying with Lysol. What a shit show we lived through!