Day Four: No New Year's Resolutions and Skillet Shopping

No need to make New Year's resolutions when I know in the depth of my heart what I MUST DO.  This takes the labor and anticipation out of the must do's.  It fits my personality with direction, character and ambition.  All comes to a head when I reach this point concerning a project.

Is LIFE a PROJECT or is it a whole lot more that description, definition, titles, books and notions seem to over simplify what LIFE is or isn't?  Tis a vapor.  A vapor.  Puff.  Gone.  

BUT making godly and wise choices while you have been given the opportunity to live, makes wise choices a plus.  They manifest BLESSINGS in the LIFE you are living.  I'd rather have blessings than curses weighted down with burdens.  By making prayerful decisions and selecting godly choices, our lives will be so much better off.

All the procrastinating goes to the wayside and full steam ahead takes over.  A welcomed sensation.  Though it is WINTER and those outside projects are put on hold until SPRING, I still have things to accomplish inside.  The slump of disappointment wages war with the flesh.  SLOW-MO kicks in and I have to rest and PRAY.

Then it happens...all systems are go and I wake from a sleep that has dreams and ideas.  My LIFE at the moment is one that has to take into account health issues, finances, retirement and getting a household shaped into being a HOME again.

Do you design your environment to include what you collected over the years?  Do you stream-line your HOME interior and possessions for ease?  What should one do in this journey called LIFE?  Trust God.  Pray.  Think about it.  

Do we downsize to the point of being uncomfortable not knowing who lives here in our home?  This doesn't look like me.  Just because you retire does not mean you have to completely check out of the business of life.  Aren't we suppose to surround ourselves with items we enjoy having in our HOME?  Cleaning might be easier if there isn't so much clutter about.  Less mental stimulation when there's less clutter and have order.

True, some people cannot stand "CLUTTER" or nic nacky things everywhere there is space to occupy STUFF.  I am in the middle of the road I think when it comes to having STUFF.  I'VE SAID BEFORE YOU REALLY NEED SIN IN YOUR HOME WHEN ESTABLISHING AN ESTATE.

These things being represented:
S = Sentimental things.
I = Investment options.
N = Necessary items.

Day Four
Paper cuts hurt.  When opening envelopes, I sliced my thumb.  Sting sting sting.  The bills are going to take some time to deal with and laundry needs attention.  

BUT FIRST yesterday I studied up on electric skillets and ran my new vacuum sweeper.  It's been over 12 years since I was in the market for an electric skillet.

Farberware isn't what it use to be as their skillets are made in China these days with glass lids.  Our old skillet had a healthy stainless steel body with metal lid.  It wasn't lined with non-stick coating.  This go round of shopping has been like hunting on a safari in the outback.  Maybe it would be an exaggeration to say this or surviving a concrete jungle, but my feet and back hurt.  The skillets are out there in the multitudes, but not the kind I want.

It's been tiresome to go looking.  I am older which requires more physical energy than I have to give.  The hunt has been daunting in a world that has so much out there in materialism items for sale.

Last time I went looking for photo albums like I have...I went bonkers.  No leather bound photo albums with photo sheets in them to fill with actual prints.  The CLOUD in the SKY that stores our photos isn't 3D Friendly to old women like myself that like to physically hold and look at pictures from a album.

No shortage on modern hip hop items that the younger generation thinks is the way to store IMAGES.  Cyberspace, on their phone, and perky contemporary books are all the rage for storing pictures.  IF YOU STORE THEM. Photo albums are a thing of the past.  

Wait until a younger person comes across a photo album and doesn't know what the heck it is.  Oh cool...look at this thing.  What is it called?

Making copies of snap shots/pictures that you are fond of shouldn't be put off.  Tragedies do happen with natural disasters, damages occur and accidents do happen that can rob you blind.  Having copies in the cloud is one way to help restore your loss.  That's a good thing to have access to.  I advise ALL to take advantage of having copies of important documents and pictures made and in several safe places to store.  This will make life a whole lot easier and ease the hurt of having lost them forever.

BACK TO SKILLET SHOPPING.  Shopping by internet, ebay, Amazon, catalogs, etc. makes it somewhat easier to shop from home than actually venturing out into the world to see first hand the product you are going to pay good money for.  There's the loss of the middle man, Showroom Displays and dare I say: SERVICE?  How many of you have found that customer service is suffering and a thing of the past where Mom and Pop Stores actually wanted your BUSINESS and would HELP YOU???  They actually WANTED your business.  They were helpful, courteous and were willing to locate that item you were looking for FOR YOU.  You did not have to get out of the check out line and walk clear across the store to where you picked the item up and PROVE to the clerk that their price was what you said it was instead of what the checker rang it up.  AND yes, sometimes the check out price is higher than the sticker says if you are lucky to have a sticker on the item and not have to read off a price sign on the shelf.    

So many times I have paid businesses and services for their service then end up doing their job for them.  I pay another then do it myself.  Many children out there think they just have to show up for the job and get paid for that.  Weak.

Now the electric skillet lined with non-stick coating in the body of the pan is popular.  Knowing that over time the non-stick coating can come off/break off into the food being prepared in the skillet causing HEALTH ISSUES that you don't want in order to stay healthy after you swallow the toxic coating.  Research tells me you do not want the non-stick anything.  Then there's the glass lids...glass lids can actual explode.  Let's face it:  glass lids are cheaper to manufacture than steel lids.  

Excuse me...did I just say that?  You mean companies look for ways to make their merchandise  cheaper than it once was to make but sell the thing for a higher price than they can to pass the sales prices as if their product is still made out of a more durable material?  Don't I sound like an old hen clucking about the good 'ole days?  I do.  I do.  I do.    

So like any good old Lady, I put on comfortable shoes to shop in and went looking for electric skillets to see what the major stores carry first hand.  What I found out was electric skillets are lined with non-stick coatings and come with glass lids.  

AINT SHE A BEAUTY

Took an active part in the hunt.  Went to a multitude of stores in various towns.  Lots of energy and time to do this.  Changed my course of action.  Caught my breathe and shopped the internet for more options.  I checked out electric skillets on the internet, then called Sears at the Mall to see if they have PRECISE HEAT 16" rectangular surgical stainless steel electric skillets with metal lids and no non-stick coating.  

Sears has online that they have these available to the customer that can be shipped directly to your HOME or to K Mart for pick up.  They will not ship them to the Sears Store at the mall.  Then if anything is wrong with the item you will have to make your peace with the mail order business, not Sears themselves because you did not actually pick it up from Sears, but K Mart which is owned by Sears.  

Can you get anymore complicated than that?  

The sweet young thang on the phone said that shopping by phone with me was difficult since they had over 400 options on their site.  Okay.  So this is the most difficult thing she will do for the day for a paying customer.  Okay.

Visited with my Husband about our dilemma.  He already knew I was difficult.  grins.  He took the reigns and ordered a New PRECISE HEAT skillet for us that should be shipped to our HOME within the week.  Wonderful.  We shall see how this turns out.  By the way Sears lost a sale.  Okay.  I'm difficult.

Perhaps I should declare a new years resolution to stop shopping in person and just stay HOME.  HOME where the heat is on, hot coffee in my favorite mug at arms reach, music in the air and no interruptions by co-workers or people with road rage while I drive below the speed limit because I just want to.  I'm difficult that way.

This mail order business reminds me of when over a hundred years ago the Pioneers and other civilized citizens ordered items from Catalogs and then waited for these things to journey on the train or be at the local mercantile.  Ordered from Sears Catalogs I believe.  We can literally live just about anywhere in this country and still get OUR STUFF through the mail.  That should be somewhat comforting to an old Lady that lives on the Prairie in a small Town nestled in the heart of the FLINT HILLS.        

I have ranted today.  Must be because I needed to on Day Four.  
The active mind in an old body does that sometimes,
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