Was That This Year?

Okay, here's a rant. On many occasions, when stopped at a traffic signal, I glance at the surroundings and of late have noticed a proliferation of yard sale signs tacked/stapled/nailed/taped to trees and utility poles. In fact, I've had the dubious pleasure of watching someone put the sign on the pole. Just when I'm about to ask the sign putter-upper if he/she knows that the tree or pole to which he/she is affixing said sign is private property, the light changes and in my neighborhood, you better damn well be prepared to move the exact second the light changes. Or suffer the horn-blowing that is sure to ensue if one's foot is not immediately off-the-brake-and-on-the-gas.

Since I'm not the Private Property Police, it's probably okay that folks want to publicize the sale of tacky junque, which if they don't want it, what makes you think you do?

But it surely grinds my gears when the asshat doesn't have the good sense to come back and take the bloody sign down when the sale is over! Fact is, some of the signs have been on that tree/pole for months. Since we don't live in graffiti-ridden area, and most people are pretty respectful about littering, the yard sale signs are a singular blight on our small communities.

But I have what I consider a way to , if not eliminate these eyesores, at least decrease their numbers. I hope you'll join my crusade. It's pretty easy. So many people are "walkers" in the quest for physical fitness, slip a plastic bag in your pocket tomorrow when you leave for that constitutional. Keep your eyes open for unattractive yard sale signs littering your neighborhood. Since the miscreants have to put their address on their signs, cue ominous music: duh duh daaaaaah we know where you live. After you have collected all the signs along your route, return those suckers to their rightful owners. You can nail them on their tree; slip them under the door; mail them back; or if you're feeling particularly bold, knock on the door and hand 'em over. I suggest you only do the latter if you're sufficiently able to run fast!

Elections have a way of bringing out those odious lawn signs that pop up all over printed with Vote for Doofus thereby perpetrating another eyesore because the law that says the signs must be removed following the election isn't always enforced. I'll bet Mr. Doofus would like to have his signs back. You think so, too? Well, let's make sure Mr. Doofus gets those signs back - on his lawn. Be even better if Mr. Doofus didn't win. (Cue sound of gleeful cackling.)

At the Beach

A week at the Jersey Shore. Wildwood Crest, to be precise. The southernmost end of the Wildwoods. All that's left after the Crest is Cape May and the Atlantic. Ocean, that is. This was my third year of vaca with my youngest son and his family. DIL rents a condo and we do spend the week in comfort. This year's was beach-block. In the Crest, that's very desirable, because crossing the sand to get to the edge of the ocean is quite a walk in itself. In North Wildwood and Wildwood it's an even longer walk. The Wildwoods do have a lot of beach. If you are a beach devotee, you probably have heard that Wildwood is a loud, rowdy,raucous, drunken-party kind of town. You must come to the Crest. It's not at all like you've heard.

So we had a three BR, two bath first floor condo. Nicely furnished and clean as a whistle. Balcony overlooking the well-maintained pool and grill area.

Breakfast in the condo, sandwiches and snacks on the beach, dinner at one or the other of the hundreds of restaurants in the area. Some are good, some are very good and some are just revolting. One night of a seafood feast but we bypass the over-priced all you can eat seafood buffets and opt to cook our own feast in our condo. Shop-Rite has some excellent deals on crab, shrimp, scallops, etc. Our feast, with left-overs, cost about a fourth of what we would have spent at Urie's.

The boardwalk is as gaudy, glitzy, crowded as I remembered from my childhood vacations. The only difference - it was fun then. And it's still fun for the kids. At one spot on the BW, at one of the numerous pizza joints, there was a man tossing pizza dough in a showy manner. He delights in selecting someone, usually a child, from the onlookers and making the dough into a t-shirt. It is kinda cute and they take a photo which can be seen on Facebook. My eight-year-old Granddaughter, who is a ham anyway, was one of the lucky girls who wore this silly garment and had fun doing it.

Lazy days building sand castles and hauling buckets of sea water up the beach to moisten the quick-drying towers seems to be a lot of fun. For the kids. As for me, sitting quietly and reading my Kindle is fun enough for me.

A day in Cape May to wander the shopping district (high-priced clothing, for the most part), and roam the book store. Enjoyed watching the people climb into the horse-drawn open carriages for a half-hour tour of the residential streets with the charming Victorian homes. Forty-five dollars for one person, $60. for two and increments for each add'l passenger. We passed on the trip. Cape May does have a wonderful Zoo/Park and is run by volunteers. Wholly operates on donations and endowments. The animals are scattered about in native habitats, for the most part, and the fences that surround them are mostly disguised. We didn't go this year, but it is a nice way to spend a few hours.

The consensus? A week is too short.

Been a While

I haven't been around. Well, I've been around, just not around here. Had some bad days - not terrible - just bad. Then went on vacation. And it's been too bloody hot to even think let alone think of posting.

I've been like the weather. Dry. Very dry. We definitely need rain. Got some today, and while it's welcome, it's not sufficient.

I still stubbornly maintain my stance against the air conditioner in my window. Haven't installed it the last couple of years, and despite the intense heat and humidity of this summer, I'm holding fast. What the hell. My youngest son has central air in his house, and I have a key. Or a walk around the Dollar Store gets me a brief respite from the Dog Days. Their A/C is going whether I'm there or not so it doesn't cost them extra when I peruse the merchandise. Buy something. Don't buy something. They don't care. What's that across the parking lot? I do declare it's a Mickey D's. Stroll over and get a Smoothie. Sit and sip a bit. A stop at the market for some watermelon. Linger a while in the frozen food aisle.
A "cool" way to spend the afternoon.

Home for a chicken salad and sliced tomato supper. Nothing too heavy. A frosty pitcher of sweet iced tea awaits. Sit on the screened-in front porch with a good book and a tall cool drink. Sun is low in the sky and the ceiling fan in the bedroom makes the night tolerable.

No strenuous activity during the hot spell, except when the electric bill arrives. I can be forgiven for that big, wide smile, can't I?

Soon it will be Fall. Then Winter. The hot, humid weather nothing but a memory. And I have vowed never to complain again about being cold.

As for vacation, it was lovely. Met a magician at dinner; had a turkey platter that would have fed a small country; granddaughter got a pizza crust t-shirt. Come back tomorrow for details.