Reflections

 Someone once asked me, "Why is your junk 'stuff' and my stuff 'junk'!  This after I complained of their junk laying around on top of all my stuff!

 Now I've been trying for the better part of the last year to go through our stuff and get rid of all the junk so that it can become someone else's stuff and junk up their house!

 All this because I don't have enough things to put all the said stuff on and in. It is all still in boxes from when we moved from a three bedroom, two-bath, house where we lived for 13 years, you guessed it, accumalating stuff!

 And for some reason, it all keeps changing piles on me. "I know I put that in the junk pile – why is it back in the stuff pile?"  and "What happened to my …" "It's over in that box of junk!"

 So now I'm at it again, having to move stuff around to make an office out of the spare room full of junk, that is still mostly packed after moving. And I need to do it before winter sets in, because it's warmer in that room and I'm sick of everything the way it is now anyway. 

 Here's where creativity comes in – how to use some of your stuff in such a way to hold the rest of your stuff and then try to hide the last of your stuff, so it doesn't look like you have too much junk!

  So I didn't make the two week self-imposed feat of writing 5000 words. Amazing, but my brain couldn't take it!  But as I have some general rambling to do, I'll add it on the count. Actually it probably is more like complaints about things there is no one to make the complaint to.

  For instance brown beans – aka pinto beans – I put some on to cook, not a lot, just about two cups. I put them on to cook yesterday. They cooked all afternoon and evening; put them back on this morning and they've been cooking all day, and they're still not soft! Oh, they're done, but not soft like back home. No wonder you see them in more recipes from the south and the southwest. It's closer to sea level and things boil and cook up faster and softer. Since when have you heard of Nebraska Ranch Beans and Rice? Never, right!

 In northeast Okalahoma, you could start cooking them early in the morning, and they would be okay, but better the next day. In northeast Texas, you could start about mid-morning, and down on the Gulf, you could start them in the afternoon and still have them for supper! Up here (north Tennessee) you have to cook'em about three or four days!

  So I decide to make some instant pudding. Doing all this writing is taxing and hot and I need a quick cool snack. Notwithstanding, I gave up icecream for a while, because something in it sets off hotflashes. I took up eating frozen strawberries in cottage cheese with cool whip, ahhh, wonderful, but even more wonderful are the frozen peaches! Then I ran out of the cottage cheese and enjoyed the fruit and whipped cream. Great! Now all of that is gone and I need some kind of cool treat to beat the heat. Hence the instant pudding.

  Now, before we go on, I was wondering – just what the heck does 'notwithstanding' mean! I mean it fit in there nicely, but what exactly does it mean? I get however, hence, nevertheless, furthermore and be-as-it-may, but notwithstanding, do I get notwithstanding!

  Returning to the program already in progress: Someone (bless their heart) gave us a cheap no-name-brand box of pistachio pudding. I mix it up – it thickens up, I get a couple of bites – it unthickens! Now it's runny; even after some time in the refrigerator. So, recalling that I saw another box in there, I tried again, using the first box as part of the liquid, right – wrong, this time it didn't thicken at all! What to do? It's like sweet cold soup. Ah, I could heat it up and see if it would thicken, but then that defeats the purpose of 'instant'. Instant means now, not after cooking it and then cooling it back down, since I'm wanting a cool snack not just sweet soup!

  So back to digging – aha! Found a couple of boxes of Jell-o brand instant pudding. Nah, they're lemon flavored. Wait, here's a box of vanilla. That can be mixed with the pistachio, right? Wrong again! now yes, it's finally thick, but taste terrible! I don't recommend it at all! Yuck!

  If only I had some cool whip to put in it! Oh, well…

  Well, I'm missing the deadline! Yes, it is tonight at midnight, which is almost here and there is no way that I can write almost 2000 words in time. It's like I waited on purpose so that I would miss it. Strange, I know, but I have done everything the last two days to get out of writing, instead of finishing. I now believe that it must be called 'stress'. Yep, because now that the deadline is here, there is this relief. A sure case of sabotaging my own efforts.

  But of course, I'm going to make a really good last minute push to get some more words in. I may go ahead this week and finish my 5000 words even if it goes pass the deadline. After all, it was a first time experiment in the first place.

   So I thought I would talk about a few things I have been doing lately. Such as what books I've been reading. Ardell, author of the blog, Requisite Danger, did a comparison review between some of the James Bond books and the Bourne Trilogy, and since I loved the Bourne movies, I decided to read them. I am just finishing up the third one. And yes I really did enjoy them. Although, the language got a little strong, especially in the second book, but thankfully it was in spots and not every other word. Also a lot of the violence could be skipped over when it gets too graphic. 

  I am really glad that I watched the movies first! The movies were not like the books, which would have been disappointing if watched after reading the books. But as it were, the books being different only adds more to the story, and in some places, a totally different story, so it was great.

  Ok, drum roll please!!! At midnight I had — 3279 words! — whooohooo! Pretty good, for the first time. This is the most I have written in a consistence space of time, for probably – ever. ((My brain feels exhausted!))

  Now, I'm quitting writing for tonight and going to finish my book (the Bourne Ultimatum)! Maybe I'll think of some more words to say later! Bye…