Random 5 for October 20, 2024 – Elections, bad stuff, cars, Pictures, aging

Gallery

Posted on by

Please release me let me go – I live in an election battleground state. It’s not a good thing. We have been inundated with ads, polls, mail and commercials since the beginning of the year. I voted last week. We can vote by mail or in person. After years of standing in line in the rain or cold (election day always means bad weather) I have opted to vote from the comfort of my home. Done. Yet I’m still subjected to commercials, polls and vile posters. The worst comes from PACs (Political Action Committees aligned with but not connected to a specific candidate and they always have a one topic agenda) with lunatic claims that a 6-year-old can figure out aren’t true. Can’t wait until it’s over.

Go away October – So far October has been a nasty month. Losing my beloved cat at the start put it on a bad course but it got worse. I picked up my car from the collision repair place. It was supposed to take 10 days (2 weeks) but it took 15 days (3 weeks). If I had been off that much in my job I would have been fired. We have almost two weeks to hump through. Hope nothing else bad happens.

My baby is back home!

Speaking of cars – Or maybe it’s muscle memory. I drive an SUV, so I sit higher than in a regular sedan. My rental car was a basic sedan. It was new and adequate, but I felt like I needed to take an elevator to the basement to get into it. Fast forward to picking up my car – the first time I got out of my car after three weeks in a low car, I almost fell out. The ground was farther down and the step steeper. Then I did that again and again. I wonder how long it will take my body to adjust without killing me.

New pics coming soon! – My stepdaughter was here over the weekend, and she took pictures of the beloved husband and me. (I told her we needed current photos for our obits! I don’t intend to use high school pictures.) She took 87 thousand and we got a few good ones. I want to replace my blog photo with a more current one. My sweet cat Morgan obliged me, and we have a few of the two of us.

Speaking of photos – They don’t lie. As you age, you get shorter and hunched over. I can see it in the beloved husband but was surprised to see it in me. Good lord I’m getting old! My innards still feel young…at least most days.

So how was your week?

66 thoughts on “Random 5 for October 20, 2024 – Elections, bad stuff, cars, Pictures, aging”

    • You are a battleground state too. Our roads get totally shut down when the candidates visit which is often. It’s been a nightmare! Just a few more days before a different kind of chaos starts.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Yes for sure! I remember how bad it was when a candidate’s plane came in at ABE – totally shut down 22 which gridlocked the rest of the valley. And you are right, no matter how it turns out, there’s going to be chaos as a result, I’m afraid. Whew.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. I’m just catching up on your posts. I’m so sorry about your cat and month. I’m grieving with you for what it’s worth. This will be a very good year to have over.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Getting older is a very humbling endeavor. I babysat the great granddaughter yesterday while the parents did grocery shopping. OMG…I had forgotten how exhausting it can be with a fussy baby. Poor sweet thing, I feel badly since she’s probably experiencing growing pains as well as teething. When she finally fell asleep, I felt as if I’d been pulled through a knothole. Not that I didn’t love every single second of it but good lord, babysitting is not for the faint of heart for those of us over 70! Here’s hoping this week will be gentle. I look forward to seeing your newly updated pics.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fussy child? Don’t think I’d be good at that either. Especially since I had no kids of my own. I find I “ration” my activities. One a day is golden. Stacking them up (unless it’s all on a route) is not.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. I’m always shocked when I look into a mirror. I seem to be aging daily! But I FEEL the same. I sound older because I seem to snap, crackle and pop whenever I move and I groan a little upon sitting or standing. But otherwise, I feel the same. I’m going to be the first in line to vote so I won’t have to wait long in the line. I want to make sure my vote counts but I am sick of all the ads and mail and texts. I don’t remember it being like this in the past.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. hugs for a better november for you… we hear you for the car… we got a mini peugeout for the time the black mariah was at the service guy, it was special… I tried to bring my butt inside but at the place where my common suv seat is was only air… I landed with a weird noise in the seat like falling bag of potatoes.. oy!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Since 1991, we’ve all been voting by mail in Washington. I think everyone loves it. I mailed mine off yesterday.

    The photo I’ve been using is from 2018. I just looked it up. I didn’t think it was that long ago. I’m not eager to get another photo, but I suppose I should. And yes, I’m definitely shorter that I used to be. I used to think I was average. Now I’m short.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Lucky you! And you are not a battleground state so yay for that! When I worked I voted at 7 a.m. when the polls opened and the line snaked around the parking lot. The polls were run by people who were at least 80 and they were slow as molasses in January. Don’t miss those days. Voting by mail in my state is a relatively new thing. I started out kind of short and it didn’t get any better! 🙂

      Like

  11. I hate it when obits have high school photos of anyone past that age. Glad you got your car back. I hope the rest of your year is better.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Considering all my classmates are in their 70s it’s jarring to see a photo of an 18 year old! Some women use their wedding photo which isn’t all that much newer. When I check the obits (to see if I’m in them because why get dressed then?) I scan the photos first, then the names. Then I read for the places they worked in case I knew them from my working days.

      Like

  12. Glad you have your car and I hope the rest of October is better. I didn’t mind having my photo taken when I was younger, but now I see I’m aging and I don’t like it.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Dearest Kate,

    Oh, the news and repeat–repeat of things is boring indeed. Also those silly ads start now till early December for your Medicare insurance. Hate that!

    Yes, I’m driving a SUV as well. Our most elegant and much loved car was the Mazda Milenia S but trying to get in and out with a bout of sciatica did it for me. What a difference that extra height makes.

    On Tuesday I went to early voting and what a line. It didn’t make sense to park at a handicapped spot and then having to stroll and be on your feet for almost half an hour! Got worn out. But at least it is DONE!

    We certainly get shorter as we age, nothing what we can do about that.

    Don’t think that my stepdaughter would come from Rotterdam to take pictures…

    Hugs,

    Mariette + Kitties

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Same here with the ads for the election as Michigan is also a battleground state. Both candidates and VP candidates have been stumping here several times a week, or sending “big name proxies” with more this week. I don’t have TV, but the all-news radio station is full of ads, as is watching weather forecast videos on YouTube. Every video is preceded by an ad. I can’t vote as I’m a Canadian citizen. Sixteen more days – thank goodness.

    I drive a sedan – same care for 15 years in September! I have days where I sink down in the seat and think it never was that far down. I got a new battery a few months ago and the mechanic was about my height, so I know he didn’t adjust anything. I hate when they play with the steering wheel, mirror and seat up/down, back/forth.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I had to readjust everything. I picked it up at 8 on Saturday morning and it was brisk. I turned on the steering wheel and seat heaters but it still was cold. I checked the heat and they had it below 60. Yikes!

      Like

      • I hate re-adjusting everything. If my car was at the mechanics all day, they’d call it was ready and when I was still working, I’d walk to get it (three blocks) at the end of the day. They close at 6:00 p.m. They park all the finished vehicles out in front of the shop and squeeze them in so tightly, I had to re-adjust everything, then I had to wait ’til a few cars pulled away so I could get out. It took me a while until I felt like everything was the way I had it. Below 60 degrees will not do! I had the seat warmers on a couple of times, plus the heat and my car stays in the garage!

        Liked by 1 person

  15. I am glad your baby is back. I fret when both of our cars are not in the garage. I definitely relate to the adjustment between gettting in different cars. We have a MINI we bought two years ago and it is LOW. Didn’t seem like a big deal then but now SSNS and I practically crawl out it. The other vehicle is a SUV and I could use a little step stool. Light bulb moment—why not a little step stool? Getting out of the SUV I just turn to the side and slide out nearly dislocating my hip as it goes over the higher edge of the seat. We have been waiting on hurricane windows since March as Debby, Helene, and Monster Milton tried to drown us or beat the crap out of us. Hoping we will have the hurricane windows for next hurricane season that starts in June 2025! Thankful for hurricane shutters.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Your car is adorable – no wonder you missed her. But I know you miss Gracie more. I like your excuse for new pics. One must plan ahead. Elections go on for too long and require too much money. Maybe we will know who is president at least by the first of the year. May November be a better month for you!

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I’m glad you finally got your car back. I understand about the muscle memory adjustment between a sedan [my car] and a SUV [husband’s]. I feel like I have to be super careful getting in and out of his giant vehicle while I about tumble out of my low-slung car.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. We voted from our home as well. Check that off, and if only we could stop the calls, mail, and signs. If they all got together and took some of that money to put to a good use, we might not have the homeless issue we are facing. Besides not wanting to have an accident of any kind, one does not want to be waiting on a collision repair shop. It always takes longer than they estimate. We had some casual family photos taken two years ago. I was thinking we both looked good until I saw the photos and had to laugh out loud at those two old folks. It’s a lot easier to look out of this body and think of how you looked say between 50-60. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  19. I’ve been forcing myself to accept that “whatever will be, will be, que sera”. I do have to say that, while I have never had a passport or gotten the ‘Real ID’, both are things I’m thinking about in case I feel the need to get out of Dodge after the elections.

    I lost my beloved PT Caravan in 2022 when parts for the Caravans were no longer available. I let myself get talked into a Chevy Equinox LS which was just too big for me. I only drove where necessary – putting on a total of 537 miles between annual inspections. I was at the dealership for repairs only the dealership could do and took my car title with me because I was going to look while I was waiting. Drove away in a Ford Escape. It is lower than the previous cars, but it’s like having a mini-SUV and I don’t step up OR down to get in and out, so that works for me!

    I don’t need new photos. I won’t have a written obituary. My circle has grown quite small – only 1 family member and only close friends. I can’t see spending hundreds of dollars on a write-up that no one is really interested in.

    Even at our age, there are easy exercises to help us maintain upright posture. I’m over 2 inches shorter than I was at my tallest, but I do manage most of the time to stand/sit up straight!

    Liked by 1 person

    • I wanted the photo for my blog mostly and it’s nice to have a few of us as a couple. We don’t do selfies or get our picture taken often. Exercise won’t fix it. I’m convinced my husband has scoliosis which is a side to side curvature. I’ve got computer hump. 🙂

      Like

  20. Yes, PLEASE let this election finally be over. I saw two people have such a fight over our two candidates. The one for Harris was actually threatened by the hysterical Trumper. I ran.

    Yes, you had a rough October with the passing of Gracie. If you don’t mind me saying, next to that even the car delay pales.

    I’m sure that you look better than you think. We’re our own worst credits.

    Here’s to a good week. When you get sad, think of nice things like in Peter Pan…coffee, your new bathroom, me…well…I needed a third example and I happened to be handy. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  21. It will be nice to be political-ad-free soon. I HATE seeing photos of the “now me” – I much prefer my skewed “vision” of me looking older with fewer wrinkles, an actual neck, no bags under the eyes (stop me now please!). My hubby has bad back issues so has been hunched for several years now. We do look rather pitiful but we’re on the right side of the ground so I won’t complain (much). Glad you got your wheels back. My Buick is a sedan but our new car is an SUV – I do have to remind myself it’s MUCH farther down to the ground when getting out of the SUV – feels like jumping out of an airplane!

    Hugs, Pam

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Only once did I get a nicer car while mine was being worked on. It was HUGE, though, and I felt like I was driving a bus. Kinda wanted to take it to Vegas, but had to settle for LA freeways and soccer tournaments. Sorry you are having a January kind of October. We all want the election to be over (as long as the orange fascist doesn’t win, of course).

    Liked by 1 person

  23. I am doing well, the MAGA supporters must be making life hard eh? Yeah, tbh, we do look hunched over… too much time on the computer.. lol

    Liked by 1 person

  24. So sorry about to hear about your sweet kitty, Kate. 💕 🐈 I’m surprised we haven’t gotten more political flyers in the mail. We finally got a sample ballot a few days ago.
    My son and his wife lost both of their cars in the hurricane in Boone, NC! He should have his new vehicle next week and she’s still waiting for the insurance to finalize her claim.
    As far as those pictures go, they don’t lie! It’s surprising when you think of yourself as you were in your 20’s and 30’s and then that picture shows up! 😂

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Glad you got your car back. We drive a Dacia Duster now and that is considerably higher than the Citroen Picasso. Maya has no issues jumping in the boot, loads of space for her and she can stretch out without us losing rear passenger seats. Had we still had the I10, then she would never have fit, even taking the back seats out completely!

    Liked by 1 person

  27. A little more than two weeks left before the election, thankfully. I don’t dare watch tv in live time. Best to record so I can skip the dreadful political ads. They are nonstop in PA. I can see the hunching over in my hubby…now I’m afraid to see any pictures of me. This aging thing is challenging, but what’s the choice?!

    Liked by 2 people

Comments are closed.