Staying Safe

 

Last week I shared with you my experience and I want to thank all of you for your kind words and encouragement.  I appreciate it so very much.  Since that time a lot has changed with me, but all for the good.  This experience could have caused me to retreat to the safety of my home and not want to leave it ever again, but I am not about to give that much power to another human being.  That a$$hole doesn’t get to choose how I live my life.  I choose.

 

The odds of this ever happening again are pretty slim, however I'm not naive enough to think it couldn't so I'm prepared.  Whenever I leave the house I am hyper-vigilant about my safety.  I already was, but I’ve upped my game considerably.  For one, my attitude and the way I carry myself has definitely changed.  I keep my head up, I look around and behind me all the time and I probably walk like a dude now, but I don’t really care.

 

I am weaponized.  As a city employee I know there are certain things I cannot carry on my person and there are some I can.  I simply asked a police officer for his recommendation on what I can discreetly carry without violating any rules or laws.  Based on those recommendations I chose items I knew I could handle, which is very important, because the last thing you ever want to do is give your opponent a weapon they can turn around and use on you.  Being discreet is also very important because you never want to advertise what you have on you and draw unnecessary attention to yourself.  With that in mind, if I ever have an encounter with law enforcement I know I need to be forthcoming and let that officer know what I have on me.

 

I carry my hydroflask with me whenever I am out in public.  It has a weighted bottom and I always have it full of water which I never drink.  Instead of carrying it like a water bottle I now grip it by the neck and carry it like a baton.  It is my first line of defense if I need one.

 

I wear a lanyard with my keys and my city ID.  Now I have a lanyard with pepper gel that I wear too whenever I leave the house or work.  I prefer a gel as it is sticks to your opponent better and is less apt to blow back on you if it is windy.  It still could get on me, but I have a better chance of it not.  That is my second line of defense.

 

My tactical belt that I always used for hiking is now what I use every day as my “purse”.  I removed the bear spray holster and replaced it with a much smaller discreet holster that holds a tazer.  You have to, have to, have to know how to properly use a tazer and it does require instruction.  This is my third line of defense and will incapacitate someone for up to five minutes allowing me to get away if my first two options fail.

 

I keep my cellphone in the front pocket of my tactical bag.  Once I’m away from the assailant I can then remove it and call 911 for help.  I keep my hands free at all times.  I do not get distracted or encumbered by using my cellphone in public.  I may occasionally glance at it to check the time, but that is pretty much it.  If I need to make a call or send a text I make sure first that I’m in a safe place to do so.  My safety is more important to me than that phone.

 

I am still me.  I still smile a lot at people and assume everyone is kind and nice, but if it turns out that they aren’t I’m prepared to whack them in the noggin with my hydroflask and get away.  In my mind I’m always thinking to myself “do not f**k with me”.  If they follow me and get too close to me I’m going to warn them, but if they keep it up I’m going to pepper spray them and if they dare to grab me I’m going to do whatever I need to do to get away.  End of story.  Once I’m away from danger I’ll call 911 and let the police deal with them.

 

Let me be clear.  I am not giving anyone advice on how to keep themselves safe.  That is a very personal decision and has to be based on what you feel you can do and handle.  I am not in a position to advise anyone on what to do to protect themselves.  This is what I am comfortable with and I pray every day I never have to use any of it.  Best case scenario is that I can simply be safe and just carry on with my life.  NO BAD DAYS!

 

 

Oh, Enough Already

 

One thing that has come to light since I retired is simply that I don’t need near as much of anything as I thought I would when I was preparing for retirement.  I had stockpiled quite a bit in order to ease the financial stress of no longer having full time employment.  I retired in 2022 and shortly thereafter became an empty nester.  Once that happened, the consumption rate in my household dropped exponentially.  Everything, and I do mean everything, just lasted so much longer.  I had to backtrack and realize that I needed to make some changes or things were going to get wasted.

 

The first thing to work on, and my greatest struggle, was all things kitchen related.  I quickly found I no longer needed all of the dish towels and dish cloths, cloth napkins, dishes, silverware, glassware, baking pans and food storage containers I currently had so I ended up doing a big purge and reorganization of my kitchen drawers and cabinets.  And then I went back a few months later and did it all over again.

 

At the same time I was also relearning how to cook.  I was making way too much food to eat and buying way too much when I went to the grocery store.  I had to learn how to scale back and buy everything in much smaller quantities or not at all.  I think this was the hardest part.  I also found I had too much food in my pantry and long term food storage so I donated and shared quite a bit in year two.

 

All of my adult life I’ve been in acquisition mode.  I’ve been a long time stockpiler and during the pandemic I became a bit of a small time prepper.  The way people were behaving at the stores with all of the panic buying scared me so I wanted to make sure I was better prepared and could take good care of my family.  I completely understand that a pandemic could happen again, or something else entirely, so I still feel that need to be better prepared, however now it is only me I truly need to take care of so I’ve had to adjust and readjust to what is most practical and realistic.

 

Often I find myself thinking I need to purchase or acquire something, but after some careful thought I will realize that no, I actually don’t.  I have enough.  Where I used to stockpile to bank things I’m now in more of a maintenance mode and on a much smaller scale than what I used to do.  Along with adjusting what I do in the kitchen I’ve also made major adjustments to my wardrobe as well as toiletry and housekeeping supplies.  I even took a Bath & Body Works sabbatical because I had way too many of their products.

 

It has been a process, but I’m now able to think about things and make better decisions based on how things are now.  My life is ever changing, but thankfully my circumstances are stable.  The key to my success is, and always has been, to be flexible and pragmatic.  As long as we are willing to ebb and flow, making adjustments as they are needed, we can take good care of ourselves and be well prepared which makes our retirement years so enjoyable.

 

My Tireless Retirement – Week 114

 

Summer has arrived here at my happy little home.  After work on Friday I stopped in at Trader Joes on my way to the bus station and picked up some grape tomatoes, a bunch of green onions and a couple bananas to add to the produce I already had at home.  That little bit of shopping should hold me quite well for at least a couple of weeks.

 

I enjoyed a very nice weekend.  Saturday I walked down and met a friend for lunch at my favorite neighborhood Mexican restaurant. M y friend had never been there and she loved it too.  After making pigs out of ourselves we came back to my house and continued our visit and she was able to see what I’d done out in the yard so far this year.  I truly cherish my time spent with my wonderful friends.

 

After my sweet friend left to go home I was able to get outside and plant the last of the perennials in my flowerbeds.  I planted another Shasta daisy, another English daisy, two more lavender plants and a new succulent next to my pond.  I am now officially done planting for this year.

 

The next day, on Sunday, I harvested my rhubarb.  It is my largest crop yet from my two plants.  I was able to make a delicious rhubarb crisp for dessert that night and put away two quart bags of sliced rhubarb in the freezer.  Because the rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid I could not give them to the chickens so I placed the big pile into the compost bin where they will quickly break down.

 

Rhubarb Crisp

Monday it rained all day long and I appreciated every drop as it watered all of my raised garden beds and the flowerbeds.  They really got a good soaking and I think the rain did wonders settling all the pollen we’ve been plagued with lately.  I harvested some more cilantro and this bunch I decided to air dry and put away in my spice cupboard.  I checked on my garlic and it is just about ready to harvest.  It should be ready by the end of the month, I think.  I’m very excited for my first garlic harvest.

 

I replanted my zucchini as something got it and gobbled it up in my garden.  I only had one plant survive from my original planting.  I also noticed my green beans had been devoured as well.  I decided not to replant those.  I do believe my rogue squirrels may be the culprits, its hard to say.

 

"New" microwave

Things I Did To Save $$: 

My twenty plus year old microwave decided that the zero button was worn out and no longer wanted to work when you pressed it.  That is definitely the most used button on a microwave so when it stopped working it wasn’t entirely too surprising.  I’ve used it a lot over the years.  I removed the microwave and swapped it out with the much newer one in my motorhome for a no cost replacement.  I decided I will not be replacing the one in the motorhome as it was rarely ever used.

 

Blueberry scones

Meals I Prepared: 

I began the week by finishing up some leftovers from the week before and then on Sunday I got busy in the kitchen and did a little meal prep for the week ahead.  I made a small batch of crack chicken in my slow cooker to go over rice, a batch of scones (recipe coming) and a rhubarb crisp (recipe coming). 

I also made up a batch of my great-grandma’s macaroni salad (recipe coming) as it not only makes a great side dish, but also I could just eat it as my main course.  In the freezer it just so happened that I had two chicken patties that needed to be used up as they were starting to get a little frosty as well as two hamburger buns leftover in the refrigerator from Memorial Day.  I baked those chicken patties in my toaster oven and had a chicken sandwich with my macaroni salad for two of my meals.  Everything I made last week was so delicious and thoroughly enjoyable.

 

Macaroni Salad

One of you lovely readers had asked for my potato salad recipe last week.  Truth be told, I don’t really have a recipe, I just make it.  I have scaled it back a bit to a more manageable size so I’m not eating it for a month.  But, I just parboiled four small potatoes (the ones that make their way to the bottom of the bag) until I could just push a fork into them.  My tell that they are ready is I can remove the skin when I scrape them with the side of a fork.  I cut up the potatoes and combine them with three chopped hard boiled eggs, a big chopped dill pickle, about a heaping tablespoon of finely diced onion, some mayonnaise, a healthy squirt of yellow mustard, salt and pepper to taste.  It’s a pretty simple conglomeration, nothing fancy, but it is pretty tasty though.

 

My garlic bed

I hope you are all doing well and that you have a fantastic week ahead.  Take care my friends!  Let me know in the comments what has been keeping you busy lately. 

 

FYI - My retirement week runs from Friday through Thursday.

 

REAL Food Recipe - Refried Beans

 

In my opinion there simply is no comparison when it comes to homemade refried beans and the ones you buy at the grocery store that come in a can, they are far more flavorful and much healthier.  You know exactly what is in your beans.  Along with being easy to make they’re also very inexpensive making them a very tasty, economical and nutritious item to add to your meal plan.

 

Refried Beans 

2 cups dry pinto beans

2 cups dry black beans

½ large onion finely diced

¼ cup rendered bacon fat

Salt, to taste 

Thoroughly rinse and sort beans removing any pebbles or deformed beans.  Place in a large mixing bowl and cover with plenty of water.  Allow to soak overnight.  In the morning drain the beans and place in a slow cooker.  Cover with two quarts warm water and allow to cook on high for six hours, until beans are super tender and soft.  Check the beans periodically, stir and add water if needed. 

Once beans are cooked heat large pan over medium heat and melt bacon fat.  Sauté onion until tender.  Begin spooning in the beans along with their liquid and mashing with a potato masher until relatively smooth.  Continue adding and mashing beans until you have incorporated them all into the onions and fat.  Allow to simmer over low heat until thick, stirring often to prevent scorching.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

I like a little consistency to my refried beans so I’ll leave some whole beans in them but you can puree them smooth with an immersion blender if you prefer them that way.  You can also use vegetable shortening in place of the bacon fat for a vegan or vegetarian version.  I prefer to use bacon fat as it adds that authentic flavor to the beans that makes them absolutely delicious.

 

Once cooled, you can place the beans into containers and freezer.  This recipe makes approximately 10 cups of refried beans for about the price of purchasing a 15oz. can at the grocery store.  Use with tacos or to make burritos or simply as a side to your Mexican meal with a little cheese sprinkled on top.

 

 

 

Are You Safe?

 

I’ve been keeping a secret from you, one that I had never planned to share.  However, it has been nagging at me that I need to share this event with all of you because I do believe my experience may possibly help someone else.  I don’t want anything bad to happen to any of you and I always want you to be safe.  I also want to warn you that this post contains some adult language and content in case you’d rather stop reading now and move along.  I can’t share all of the details because this incident is now making its way through the judicial system and I certainly do not want to do or say anything that would compromise that process. 

Back in March while out and about living my life and minding my own business I encountered a stranger.  The moment I saw this person I instantly knew he was up to no good.  He just had that vibe about him and I found myself on high alert.  He started following me as I was making my way to my intended destination and when he thought the time was right he grabbed me.  I was able to shrug myself away from his grasp, spun around and confronted him in a very aggressive manner.  I was instantly pissed! 

At first he was surprised by my response, but then I could tell he was taking this on as more of a challenge and I think he found it rather amusing.  He continued to follow me.  I made my way into a building I knew was full of people to get some help because I could tell he was relentless in his pursuit of me.  In my mind I was already anticipating he was going to grab me again and in a more forcible way so I was already planning to punch him in the throat, kick, scream, claw, pull his hair, stuff my fingers into his eyes, even chew his balls off with my teeth if it came to that.  What I did know is I wasn’t about to go anywhere where we’d be isolated from people long enough to give him the opportunity to grab me again. 

As I made my way through the building in search of help I tried several evasive maneuvers to shake this guy but he stayed right with me, even walking right beside me at times as if we were a couple.  Unfortunately the security guard I was seeking out had stepped away from his post and I quickly realized I needed to find someone else to help me so I kept moving.  I circled around and the stranger stayed right with me until I spotted someone I knew and I was sure would be able to help.  I walked right up to him and told him “I need your help.  This guy has been trailing me for a while and I can’t get rid of him.”  Even when I said these things this asshole wouldn’t move off.  He stood directly behind me and waited. 

The person I had approached to help me realized immediately that this was a dangerous situation.  He escorted me to a place I could safely wait behind a locked door while he got help.  My helper said that when he walked out of that locked room the guy was still waiting outside for me.  By the time he got back with the security guard the stranger was gone.  My helper made it his personal mission to safely escort me to my final destination making sure this guy was nowhere in sight in the process which I was eternally grateful for.  He also assured me that he would follow up and make sure this incident was properly reported and investigated. 

Fourteen hours later this guy was booked into the county jail for assault and attempted kidnapping of another woman.  Since then I have spoken with police and told them about my encounter with this little bastard.  After review of camera footage they were able to see what had happened with me as well as the guy turning his coat inside out and putting on a hat as he left the building to evade capture.  Obviously this was not his first rodeo, he had definitely done this before.  It has since been confirmed to me by the police that he is a pretty bad dude with a long history of criminal and drug behavior and he was wanted for outstanding warrants on similar offenses.  I also learned that sadly the second victim leading to his arrest was hurt pretty bad.  

You may be wondering, had I put myself at risk?  Could I have avoided this situation altogether?  Is this because I started riding the bus?  Is it because I walk a lot and do things alone.  No.  It was noon, in the middle of a weekday, and I was on a busy street surrounded by a ton of people and traffic.   This guy was bold.  He was on the hunt and assumed I’d be an easy target, possibly due to my age and being a woman out on her own that day.  The police officer told me I did all the right things to keep myself safe and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I was very lucky. 

You may be asking why I didn’t call 911.  Well, unfortunately at the time my cell phone was buried in the bottom of my backpack and I was afraid to take it off to try and dig it out because I felt like I needed to keep my hands free and at the ready.  I wanted to make sure I could fight this guy off again if I needed too.  In my mind I thought I may go down, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to make it easy on him. 

You also may be asking, did this mean I had a bad day?  Nope!  This entire situation lasted twenty minutes.  Granted it was a long twenty long minutes, but only twenty minutes nonetheless.  Everything that had happened up to that point was good and everything that happened afterward even more so.  I am eternally grateful to my helper and since this happened we have become friends.  We have talked about the incident many times and he always wants to make sure I'm doing okay.  I had loads of emotional support and several offers to help with anything I needed from my fellow city employees.  One of them sent me the sweetest and most supportive text message later that evening.  I knew I was safe and I was okay.  NO BAD DAYS.  Let me know if you would like me to expand more on how I’m making sure it stays that way.

 

Micro Decluttering

 

After nearly a year long decluttering journey I now find myself in maintenance mode.  I want to keep up with my decluttering to not only get rid of stuff I no longer need, want or use, but also to make sure I am not going to refill my home.  Even as I look around my house I often feel like I still have too much stuff.  But in reality, everything I’ve chosen to keep is what I am currently using in my current stage of life.  It is a good place to be.

 

Since retiring I’ve been on a mission to use things up around here.  My plethora of craft and sewing supplies has seen some major improvement as I’ve completed projects and shared some of my stuff with others to help them complete projects of their own.  I still have more than enough supplies to keep me going for a good long time, I’m sure.

 

Other than the charger I am currently using
everyday this is the only extra electronics cord I have

My linen closet used to be jampacked

I’ve been whittling away on toiletries and household supplies too.  When I retired I had quite a stockpile of things I thought I would need and use.  For the most part I was correct about what I wanted to have on hand, but I have been surprised at the fact that I don’t use nearly as much of anything as I thought I would, especially now that I predominately use my own homemade laundry detergent and I also dilute a lot of products with water.  I use a whole lot less of pretty much everything so things just last longer.  I’m still in the process of keeping a more manageable supply on hand and progress is being made.

 

Still working!

For the most part my current wardrobe is working out rather well for me.  I did add a pair of blue jeans last year for work as well as three more pair of socks to replace a few pair that had worn out.  This year so far I’ve added two bras, four pair of panties, a tee shirt and a new pair of walking shoes.  Twice now this year I’ve gone through my closet and drawers and pulled out anything that wasn’t being worn.  As I’ve been doing my laundry I’ve eliminated items that are worn out past the point of mending or repair.

 

Office supplies

Papers, labels & envelopes

I went through my office supplies and took some stuff into work that I know will get used.  I’ve gone through the junk drawer and tossed out a few items that I’d found in the house that I had yet to find out what they belonged to as well as a couple business cards I no longer needed.  I went through my wallet and tossed out some old receipts.  I went through my dayplanner and got rid of old lists and notes.  I went through the first aid and medicine bin and got rid of some packaging after making sure everything was still within date.  I recycle my junk mail and shred my sensitive paperwork on a regular basis so I don’t have piles of papers sitting around anywhere.

 

The junk drawer in the kitchen with
my everyday charger in the upper left corner

My latest declutter pile including
some extra cleaning rags I really don't need

These little micro declutters, as I like to call them, are making a real impact around here.  I’m staying on top of things and it helps me so much to keep it all neat and tidy.  No overstuffed drawers that are hard to open or close and no closets that pose a danger of something falling on you if you open the door.  No stacks of anything waiting to be dealt with exist here.  Not in this house, no way!  Everything is clean, neat, tidy and organized, just the way I like it.  My home is my sanctuary and I absolutely love it!

 

My Tireless Retirement – Week 113

 

Oh my gosh!  It’s June!!  It was another great week my friends!  I began with a nice long five day weekend over Memorial day.  I was off from Friday through Tuesday and I think I was a little past due for some good solid time off.  I’ve been working a lot of hours to help out with short coverage and to be honest, I was tired.  After a good night of sleep and a quiet slow start to my Friday morning I was ready to have some fun and I decided to have myself a “Mall Day”.

 

I hopped onto the bus and rode over to the mall to do some bra and undie shopping that I’d put off as long as I could.  It isn’t my favorite type of shopping, but now it is done and I’m thankful.  I also picked up a new pair of walking shoes at my favorite discount shoe store.  With all of the extra walking I’m doing now I felt it appropriate to add another pair of good supportive shoes to my wardrobe.  Once I was done shopping I hopped back onto the bus and headed back home.  It made for a very nice and enjoyable afternoon.

 

I spent the Memorial Day weekend puttering around in the yard.  I watered, planted, pulled weeds and mostly just enjoyed being outside and admiring the results of my hard work.  My cucumbers and zucchini are poking up through the ground now so that is super exciting.  My girlies have been laying eggs like crazy lately.  I think it is because of all the weeds I’ve been giving them.  They do seem to be rather happy these days.

 

My maple tree has a few dead limbs on it so I now have a new project outside.  Hopefully by removing these limbs the rest of the tree will be able to remain healthy and I won’t have to remove it.  I was able to get the first limb cut off and half of it cut up and into my wheelie bin.  I’ll cut up the rest of it once the trash man empties my bin this week and then I’ll get the rest of it cut up and refill the bin.  My plan is to only do one limb at a time to make it manageable and so I don’t have to contend with a big pile of junk sitting in my beautiful yard as I work to dispose of everything.

 

Things I did to save $$: 

By being patient on working on my limb trimming project I’m able to better utilize my already paid trash fees and not incur any additional fees or use up fuel in my truck by taking a load to the dump.  Taking care of the tree myself rather than hiring it out saves me a boatload of money. 

The BFF bought beer, ground beef and buns for Memorial Day and I happily let him.  I made sides to go with the burgers using items I already had on hand. 

After decluttering and reorganizing some craft supplies I had a nice stack of various sized Ziploc bags to wash out and reuse.  At this rate I can’t imagine I’ll need to buy any Ziploc bags again for at least a year or more.  I have gobs of them in the drawer to use now. 

I gave myself a haircut saving at least $35 plus a tip.

 

Meals I Prepared: 

I started off the week with leftover cheesy chicken and broccoli with rice.  The holiday weekend made a great excuse to enjoy NY strip steaks from the freezer with leftover pesto orzo and some asparagus. 

I made a pan of chile rellanos to have on hand for quick and easy brunches.  I hadn’t made these in ages and they were so good.

 

Grilled burgers and potato salad for Memorial Day left me with plenty of leftovers to get me through the remainder of the week.  It was definitely a good food week.  Delicious!

 

You know those hand soap dispensers I’m constantly refilling with homemade foaming soap solution?  I’ve had them for years!  Well, the pumps have all worn out on them so I temporarily lifted my Bath & Body Works moratorium after receiving a 20% OFF coupon plus a FREE ITEM coupon in the mail.  I took the bus back to the mall on Tuesday and picked up five (that was the deal they had going) new hand soaps to replace the ones I’ve worn out and have two extra to use as gifts which I got 20% OFF on and a bottle of shower gel to make more refill solution as my FREE item.  I spent a total of $22.90.  That purchase should pretty much hold me for a very long time.

 

How was your week and your holiday weekend?  Did you do anything fun and exciting?  Any big plans for June?

 

FYI - My retirement week runs from Friday through Thursday.