There is also the strange way my health rears its ugly head this time of year... Every year. I get skin issues, strange swellings, aches & pains--You name it. I've been having one thing after another for the last few weeks. I'm going to attribute it to the weather change. Our weather has been all over the map, but I don't have anything else to blame it on. You know how it is: When you have a lapse in the conversation you always bring up the weather. Lately, I've been dealing with a swollen ankle and lower leg pain, and I did nothing to cause it.
It could just be age.
Before we went to Kauai I was going to order myself a new camera lens. I had finally figured out what I wanted for my next foray into the photography world, and it was reasonably priced, but instead of buying then I opted to wait until we got back from our trip. I only wanted to spread the bills and expenses out a little farther is all. I'm pretty rational with money decisions. I guess that's one of my good traits. Anyway, I came back and was going to order the lens. The calendar had finally put me past the billing date of my Visa card, and because I pay it in full every month it was "clean slate" time. I went onto the website of my chosen retailer, and wouldn't you know it, they're a Jewish company. So what? Well, they had just shut the entire company down for a solid week to celebrate Succos apparently. When they finally did reopen, guess what? My lens was sold out and discontinued (it was not a recent model). That sent me on a quest to find another source. Everywhere I went it was the same thing: Out of stock. Discontinued. I think I finally have it on the move though. I guess I have located the last one in the world--Hopefully I'll get it. All I can say is: I'd better like the damn thing!
I also ordered myself a new camera bag the other day. I don't know if the harrowing tumble down the freeway last summer when it fell off the Harley had anything to do with it, but it's falling apart. The top zipper has a corner that no longer works. Fortunately, it has a zipper at both ends so I can still zip it up from either end, stopping just short of the bad spot. I have grown weary of the bag design anyway--It's just packed a little too tightly and I need a little more space. We checked out a few at a store this weekend and I liked what I saw in a particular brand and style, so I let the web do the rest of the shopping research for me and chose one similar to the one we saw in person. Same brand, different model. WAY cheaper.
The "doomsday media" is constantly telling us here in the northwest that we're in for a winter that's colder and wetter than usual. I don't know about the media. Sometimes it's like it's driven by retailers. A classic scenario is when they say something like, "...spokesmen say the price of gasoline may rise sharply in the near future because of..." then, lo & behold, it actually happens. It's magic! The media puppets can foresee the future! Well, maybe this latest one is for all the sellers of firewood, tire chains, outerwear, and heating oil. So what am I doing about it? Well, besides the fact that I have us fairly well stocked up on firewood, nothing much. One exception is that I am prowling around for a cheap, small Honda 3-wheeler for snow use. I have found that they exist in relatively low demand--Partly because they're small and underpowered (they're only little 90cc or 110cc engines), and partly because the media went on a 3-wheeler "witch hunt" several years ago and actually got manufacturers to stop making them. I know anything is dangerous in the hands of an idiot, but these little 3-wheelers I'm talking about are really, really fun in the snow, cheap to operate and practically indestructible. I guess I should get myself fixed up with some tire chains for my car and/or truck too. As much as I hate them, they're pretty necessary sometimes.
Well, that's enough for now. Time to finish the coffee and get moving.
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