Monday Meanderings - 4.6.2015

Between the overall decline in postal mail volume (some 12-15% annually) and the fact that we now do so much of our correspondence/business over the Internet (thus helping to bringing about the aforementioned decline), it is becoming more common for the postal person to pass us by on his daily rounds. Some days we don't even get a circular or letter wanting to sell us some "senior-related" product - like hearing aids. Some days we don't even get bills! We refer to that as, after finding the mailbox empty, "either he hasn't been here yet, or nobody loves us."

Before my sister gets any ideas, I need to tell you that I made some similar statement about the paucity of mail I was receiving after I went off to college. She, bless her heart, proceeded to sign me up for every mailing list she could get her hands on. I don't know how many magazine tip-ins and printed "send me more information" ads she filled out, but it wasn't long before the workers in the post office at ACU were commenting on the volume. And once started, like spam email today, it was impossible to stop.

Graduating and moving a few times ultimately pared the volume, but I think I was still receiving catalogs for Women's Extra-Large shoes long after moving to Austin, years later. So, don't get any ideas (I'm talking about you, Pat). Walking out to the mailbox is a form of exercise now. Actually getting mail is not the big deal it once was. We will still feel loved. Trust me.

Went to Fran's for breakfast on a Friday a week or so ago, and there was a sign that said "Closed for 24 hours." On Saturday, the sign read "Closed - Spring Cleaning." A week later it was still closed. For some time now, the service at Fran's has declined significantly, so we sort of figured the place was going to close for good and this stretch of signs seemed to confirm that.

Mind you, there has not been any turn-over in the kitchen staff, and the food is still very good. That's why we kept checking back. And sure enough, this past Saturday the sign said, "Open for breakfast this Saturday." And they were! Maybe there was a new coat of paint on a wall or two in the dining room. Hard to tell. There was even a full complement of waitstaff tripping all over each other (literally). More than we can remember seeing in a couple of years!

Since I couldn't cram anything new into my bathroom medicine cabinet, I decided it was finally time to clean it out. It wasn't all that hard. Almost everything found in a medicine cabinet has a "use-by date" on it. So the cleaning consisted of checking the date to see if the expiration was in the current decade (don't judge; you've got 'em too.) If not, toss it.

But toss it where? I'm well aware that one should take certain environmentally-friendly steps when disposing of old meds and such. I finally decided that I could make 2 stacks. Those things that were so old they had lost all potency -  the packages marked expiring before, oh, let's say before the current century, and the other stack consisting of things that probably needed a hazmat suit in order to handle it. As a bonus, if I get one of those suits, I can also deal with the things that are multiplying in the very back of the refrigerator, too.