A Fun Opportunity To Do Good

Hubby Tony found a two hour volunteer opportunity for today in the area affected by the May tornado. He asked if I was interested in signing up. I was.

This one took place at a church not too far from our last shift. When we arrived, I knew we were in the right place when I saw the banner indicating the church was a location for FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) assistance. After figuring out which door to go in, we found the church office, where we were greeted by an assistant pastor and escorted to the food pantry area. 

The food pantry was a large room lined with rows of donated perishables (fruits, vegetables, bread, and pastries) and a few large displays of processed snack foods. Looking at the packaging, I could tell by the price tags or brands where they had come from.

We had to wait for about ten minutes for the manager of the food pantry to show up. She told us they were normally open on Thursday, but closed today for the Fourth of July holiday. However, several people showed up looking for food and no one was turned away.

There were four one-time volunteers, and several people who knew what they were doing. Since there would be no official food pantry until next week our first task was to bag up the bakery products to move to another location where they could be frozen. By the time we were done, a minivan and two sedans were crammed with boxes and bags of bread, rolls, bagels, and buns.

Unfortunately, some of the fruit and produce was past its prime, so the next step was to separate the good from the not so good. Eventually the discarded stuff filled a huge cardboard watermelon box, which was moved to a pallet outside so the janitorial department could deal with it.

Close to the end of my shift I was able to help a lady get her food. I pointed out the different items, and she told me if she wanted them or not. After she made her selections, one of the permanent volunteers got her a bag of meat from a chest freezer in the back area. I walked with her to her car and put her things in the back. When we were done she thanked and blessed me, which made me feel good.

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I couldn't believe how fast the two hour shift went. After we signed out, the food pantry manager invited us to come back again. As we were walking out the door, a driver from the food bank arrived, saying he had pallets of donations to drop off. There was a big panel truck with the food bank logo in the parking lot.  It would have been interesting to see what it held.

Five years ago: Financial Freedom

Six Means Coffee

But since it's after dinner I better make it decaf.🤣

You Dot This

What about you? What do you need today?

You're Going To Give Me Money? Sure!

Yesterday I received a post card in the mail that indicated that I might be entitled to a payment from a class action lawsuit. Usually things like this go straight into the recycling bin, but when I turned it over and started reading I learned that in this case the "entitle to a payment" information was correct.

In this case, the defendant was Lee Enterprises (the owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper). Allegedly, they disclosed subscriber's personally identifiable information to Facebook without consent.

The records indicated I was a class member, and the postcard encouraged me to fill out a claim form with a provided login and password. This morning I went to the website, logged in, filled out the form, and chose my settlement delivery method. Before I signed off on the application I had to agree that:

"I am a person in the United States who, from December 1, 2020, until March 4, 2025, have or had a Facebook account, and was a subscriber of a Lee publication during that time."

A hearing on the proposed settlement is scheduled for early August. If the Court approves the settlement I will receive a payment 90 days later. The payment is anticipated to be approximately $41.01. Definitely not a huge amount, but enough to have made it worth my while. 

Five years ago: Time To Count

An Arachnid Good Deed

Every couple of weeks I see a common house spider in the laundry room or master bathroom. During my years of being a "boy mom" to three sons I got over my fear of most creepy crawlies. Now I figure that as long as they stay out of my way and build their webs in inconspicuous places, they're keeping my home insect free.

Two nights ago I went into the bathroom at bedtime and was surprised to see a spider in one of the two sinks in the double vanity. It was trying to climb out, but between gravity and the slick porcelain it couldn't quite get there. I used the other sink to brush my teeth and went to bed.

The next morning the spider wasn't anywhere to be found in the sink, so I was surprised when it was back again later in the afternoon. (Had it been resting in the drain underneath the stopper?) After spending a few minutes watching it's futile locomotion I decided I would give it a little help. I draped a piece of toilet paper from the bottom of the sink up to the vanity, tucked the end under the drinking cup, then turned out the light and left. When I checked five minutes later the spider was gone back to whereever it normally hangs out.

I haven't seen it again.

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Is This A Positive Or A Negative?

Did you realize that today is the midpoint between January 1st and December 25th? Yep, it's Halfway to Christmas.

And as fast as time is flying the holiday season will be here before I know it.

Five years ago today: Scrap Spice Shelf

Hot And Humid Activity

I live in the large part of the country that's currently dealing with a heat wave. A heat advisory (with heat index values-the combination of actual temperature and humidity-of up to 108 degrees started on Saturday. Originally the advisory was set to expire this evening, but then it was extended until Thursday night. I hope that's correct!

Every summer the area has at least one heat wave, so the extremes are nothing new. But they're still annoying. On mornings without commitments, Hubby Tony and I have been arranging our schedules to try and beat the heat. Right after breakfast we grab water bottles and go out to walk.

At that time of day, the angle of the sun is low enough that some of the sidewalks are shady. Sometimes there's a sprinkler system going that I can walk through.  If we choose a route that includes stores I can use the bathroom and refill my water bottle. (And then find a chair and sit for a while in the air conditioning).

By the time our walk is finished I can't wait to get into the air conditioned condo and take a cool shower. My biggest challenge is making myself do anything other than sit around for the rest of the day.

Five years ago: The Office Comes To The Cat

Diverse Different Things

Some days it's difficult to find something noteworthy to post about. Other days there are an embarrassment of riches. Today was one of those. Hubby Tony and I spent an entire afternoon (and early evening) visiting places we had never been to before in a small section of the city.

The inspiration for the whole thing was a heat advisory warning, which made us concentrate on inside activities. Hubby Tony and I take Foster Cat Pimento to the vet, there are several interesting storefronts. One of them is the Miniature Museum of St. Louis. Then, a couple of months later I saw a story about the museum on the local PBS station and added it to my list of places to see. The museum is only open on the weekend, so a hot Saturday in June seemed like the perfect time.

The two-story storefront in the Bevo neighborhood had an incredible collection of dollhouses and buildings of all types. Each of the displays had a push button to light up the interior (which was very helpful to see the tiny details). For example, the tiny Monopoly board on the right hand side of the floor in this one was about an inch one each side!

I enjoyed looking at the displays, but I suspect that if ever I went back I would see a completely different set of details. There was that much!

After we left the museum we headed one neighborhood to the east to visit Dad's Cookie Company in Dutchtown, where they have been making cookies since the 1930s. We thought about getting some of their Original Scotch Oatmeal, but after the friendly clerk gave us samples of two different types we ended up with a half pound of peanut butter chocolate chip and a bag of imperfect (broken) toasted coconut. The old-fashioned store put our purchase in an old-fashioned paper sack marked with an old fashioned stamp that had the address and their obsolete letter-based phone number.

Not too far from the cookie store was St. Anthony of Padua parish, where we went to Mass. I love old, ornate churches and this one definitely fell into that category.

Before mass started the priest was walking from the sanctuary back to the narthex, greeting people as he went. He stopped and asked where we were from, and after the service he told us to drive home safely.

For dinner we ended up across the street from our original location at Das Bevo (originally called Bevo Mill). The building, along with it's windmill, was built in 1917 by the Busch brewing family as a rest stop between the brewery and their farm in the county.

Due to the weather the biergarten was closed, so we ate in the bierhall-a large room with paneled walls, beamed ceilings, and large chandeliers. Tony got a loaded wurst brat with sauerkraut and grilled onions that came with fries. I chose a German-ish Mushroom Spaetzle, and added crumbled bacon.

Even after a filling dinner there's always room for dessert. We weren't too far from the South Grand branch of Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard. I had never been to that location before, but now I can say I've crossed it off my list of places to visit. The menu was the same, and my Johnny Rabbit Concrete (with hard shell chocolate and maraschino cherries mixed into vanilla custard) was as good as it always is.

Five years ago today: Rockery

Summer Starting Point

The Summer Solstice occurs this evening at 9:42 PM, which begins the Northern Hemisphere astronomical summer.

Hubby Tony and I talked about how we would celebrate the event, and decided on something cold and creamy. When we went into Aldi for a few things a box of frozen lime bars jumped into the cart. 

The bar was the perfect combination of cold, sweet, and tart. A perfect beginning to the new season.

Five years ago: Recycling Road Trip

Cats, Cats, And More Cats

Five years ago: Eat Your Vegetables!

All About The Papa

In the United States and some other countries, today is Father's Day. In our family, June 15th is also Son Donald's birthday.

Donald usually comes over to our condo for a birthday dinner. Because of my Covid quarantine (which ends tomorrow!) I checked with him  to see if pushing off his celebration until next weekend worked for him. It did. That left today without much on the calendar. For years Hubby Tony has been gracious enough to combine celebrations together, but today it got to be all about him.

The first event was breakfast. In order to beat the heat, right after rolling out of bed we walked to the Sunny Street Cafe for a great meal Later in the day we drove to the movie theater to see The Phoenician Scheme. Tony watched the baseball game on television. For dinner I made pork chops, sweet potato fries, corn on the cob, and applesauce. For dessert, Tony contributed his birthday pastry from Panera.

We also celebrated the young fathers in the family. This morning we forwarded some words of wisdom I found on Facebook- a post titled Ten Things To Remember On Father’s Day (For Dads Everywhere) from The Paps Fam. Their words touched me, and I decided to also share them with you.

1. You matter more than you know.

    Your presence, your voice, your steady hand-these shape lives. 

 

2. Little eyes are always watching.

    Even your smallest acts teach the biggest lessons. 

 

3. You don’t have to be perfect.

    Just present. Just real. That’s what they’ll remember. 

 

4. Love doesn’t always look loud.

    It’s in early mornings, late nights, quiet sacrifice. 

 

5. Your words carry weight.

    Speak life, speak hope-they’ll echo for years. 

 

6. Showing up is a superpower.

    Even when you’re tired, your presence speaks volumes.

 

7. It’s okay to be soft.

    Strength is found in kindness, in hugs, in “I love you”. 

 

8. You are building legacy.

    With every bedtime story, every scraped-knee pep talk, every prayer. 

 

9. They’ll remember how you made them feel.

    Safe. Loved. Seen. That’s what lasts. 

 

10. You’re not alone.

      There’s no manual for fatherhood-but there is grace for the journey. 

 

Five years ago today: Describes Me To A T