2-29-2024 Leap Year

Greetings and salutations on another tenuous day above ground, dear Reader; welcome to my blog. Today is going to be a good day. This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) 

Here is today's Proverb since it's the 29th, which happens once every four years. 

About leap year, since today is the 29th: 

Duncan Steel, the author of “Marking Time: The Epic Quest to Invent the Perfect Calendar,” said the Romans chose to add the extra day in February for two reasons: They considered it to be an unlucky month, and it was the month that came before Easter. (source: Google). To keep going down that rabbit hole, I then asked Google "Why is February considered an unlucky month?" and got this: This new calendar had 355 days, the number of days in a month alternating between 29 and 30 days each month. However, the ancient Romans considered even numbers to be unlucky. To keep the odd number of days in a year, they decided to make February 28 days.

There are other facts about the origins of leap year but I'll leave it at that, of course I always encourage you to please do your own research! MAN almost nobody does their own research anymore and look at our country as just one of the devastating results. As a diligent person, the more I do my own research, the more my eyes are opened to what's really going on in the world right now.
We don't have much time left, World War III is imminent. It will be reality within the year. 

My eyes were opened by the Holy Spirit during the course of my researching world affairs beyond the confines of the mainstream media. 

I have already determined in my heart that I am willing to die to defend the ideals that this nation is founded upon. Americans no longer know the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution but you can read the full text for either/both by clicking those links. I'd like the reader to notice wording in the Constitution "excluding Indians"; there are traces of real racism even in this beloved declaration. We still have a long way to go, folks. 

The powers that be have us right where they want us and most people are totally deceived/ blind to what's really going on. I hope to change that though what will really happen as things get worse is that, due to me exercising free speech and informing the masses, one of these days they're going to come after me. 

I can live with that. 

There are things I value even above life including the ideal of free speech. There are bills pending approval right now which seek to control us and negate the guarantees we have for free speech. I know that due to age, health, gender I will be a very easy target for them to neutralize when they do come after me. To that I say this: to live is Christ and to die is truly gain.  There is no going back to being deceived once one's eyes are open. I am committed to using my voice as long as I have one. 

My asthma is still acting up today so I'm still taking Prednisone. Ah, Prednisone! I love it, but I'm a fan of all good things, including modern medicine as it's kept me alive since infancy, starting with the two bouts of pneumonia that I had before I even turned two years old. I've come close to death before, several times, and I can't say that I'm afraid as I know where I'm going. Do you?

This bears repeating:

Quotes on Wednesday February 28th, 2024

 Greetings and salutations, dear Reader! Today is a gorgeous, sunny day here in the American Southwest; the Sonoran desert is glowing with beauty this morning in the ever-warming Sun. 

I'm so fortunate! Well I finished the prescription of Prednisone that Dr. Wu ordered for me but I found an old bottle of my late mother's Prednisone so I'm able to continue taking it without having to get more from my doctor (or crossing the border into Mexico to buy it, and we're on the border so it would be a short trip). I love little wins like finding asthma medicine! 

Today I'm going to share favorite memes that I've saved from social media recently. 

I've been awake since the middle of the night (about two-thirty this morning) and I've signed and shared some very worthy petitions today for causes that I believe in and have already received an email from an Arizona senator promising me that they'll consider my cause (though I'm sure it's an automated courtesy). 

Y'all I am so tickled that I found more Prednisone! YAY! I'm just a big fan of easy breathing. I don't even care about the side effects because I'm breathing. 

Tuesday, February 27th, 2024

Greetings and salutations on another gorgeous day above ground, dear Reader. There's so much to talk about in the news today that I don't even know where to start; I'm still dealing with some exhaustion. 

I submit to you that contempt prior to investigation is a deadly plague on today's society. Convenience has made us all complacent and lazy. We've needed a revolution for more than two hundred years but that would require paying the price for freedom and people these days are hardly even willing to post their political opinions pursuant to an open, civil two-way dialogue. Folks, this is dangerous for all of us. The freedoms that we currently have are under attack on a global scale. 

The other day I got a petition in my email that sought to control our free speech. I've been on their mailing list for years but just now the organization's petitions are becoming more and more geared towards aims that would limit our freedoms. I didn't sign it! The New World Order is real, it's not in our imaginations. Independent journalists everywhere are exposing the truth. I am NOT "woke". I'm wide awake! 

I don't expect everyone who reads this to agree with me. That's fine and well. All I ask, all that can and should be expected is that you do your own research. If you rely only on the mainstream media then you're letting them brainwash you. At least give ear to news from other sources, too, so you have a broad look at the bigger picture! I still watch the MSM but they're not the only ones, I get a balanced look by getting my news from both sides. 

The good news is, as long as you're breathing in and out, change can and will happen. We get to choose how that all goes down, one choice at a time. Anyway, military genius General Patton said that we should know our enemy, so you can look at it that way. I think that loads of people who currently side with the left might find themselves doubting their current allegiance should they hear what independent journalists all over the world are reporting. 

...which is what I'm counting on by putting the truth out there as I see it and, should I learn facts to the contrary, that will affect how I think and feel. As it should be. A closed mind can be ripped apart by the ravages of reality. 

I'm not saying that you're evil if you happen to side with the left. I do think you're deceived and, from what I see in the MSM, the establishment is feeding you propaganda that has taken years and many experts to cultivate. I used to believe them, too, up until not that long ago actually. What changed it for me is when I started getting news from both sides. 

That used to be me, touting my political opinions before I got both sides of the story. I challenge you, dear Reader, to see what BOTH sides have to say about what's going on. That'd be the best thing you can do for yourself, especially in today's world. 

United we stand, DIVIDED we fall and they sure have us good and divided right now, don't they? 

2-25-2024

Well, the world has officially gone insane. 
Hello there; greetings and salutations again, dear Reader, on another deceptively beautiful day above ground. 

Facebook is in on the Nazification of our nation by way of censoring Free Speech. I tried to post a factual meme (about Joe Biden) and they immediately flagged it as false information, even though each of the allegations levied against Biden in the meme can be proven. 

So it begins, folks. 

This is the very kind of depravity that eventually winds up in concentration camps and prisons, as history proves out. 

Free Julian Assange. Free Leonard Peltier. 

Free Julian Assange as he's been held now for more than a decade without being charged for any crime. Neither the UK or US take responsibility for him when challenged, each ping-pongs it back to the other nation when confronted. 

Lately I've created more social media accounts, on TruthSocial, BitChute, and Rumble. Username for all = PatrioticVeracity.

These days my focus and energies are all about the things in Life that should and do really matter such as current affairs. I wish the rest of my fellow Americans would wake up and pay attention to what our federal government is doing because it all leads to the removal of our freedoms. 

Today I am still exhausted but I'll just power through like I've been doing for the last approximate month now.

Here is a link to today's Proverb.

and of course, some praise and worship:

👉On to other, (FAR) less important matters:

I love to watch Lapidary Dave videos on YouTube. In this particular video he showcases items found on the last day of this year's gem show in Tucson (and one of these days I'll go to the show):

It's 8:17 (a.m.) at the moment and I'm considering returning to bed so I don't yet have a plan for what I'll wear today either clothing or makeup wise but, given present energy levels, I am certain that it'll be another ponytail day. I probably won't bother to wear anything other than my main three pieces of fine jewelry which is what I gravitate towards the most often. 

The older I get, the less tolerance I have for anything artificial, vapid,  and/or shallow. 

That nap is sounding better and better; thank you for stopping by, dear Reader: make today a great one. 

Glad to be alive on 2-24-2024

Greetings and salutations on yet another fine day above ground, dear Reader. After spending two months in Kansas taking care of my beloved late birth mother, I finally realized yesterday that I am at a place of true exhaustion. Now that I've been to the doctor (and the better I feel) the more I realize the extent of that exhaustion.  Research taught me that I live with several chronic conditions which are known to cause exhaustion too, so that doesn't help. When I rest though I sleep like a rock. I'm taking all of my meds, as written, and resting as much as possible; what more is there?

Right now I've taken morning meds that included my beloved Prednisone and am now drinking coffee, wearing a few sprays of the delicate Elizabeth Taylor Violet Eyes perfume. It's another asthma-friendly fragrance y'all and the price is right (about twenty bucks for the big bottle). 

Someone said "My drug of choice is the love I get from Jesus. Just kidding...it's weed" as though the two were mutually exclusive.  Ignorance never ceases to abound, folks. Marijuana is legal here in the fine state of Arizona and we grow our own. The Rastafarians agree with me so go ahead and accuse that entire body of people who practice that religion of not loving the Lord as well even though marijuana is a part of their expression of faith. Pure ignorance and stupidity is precisely why our nation is currently in the toilet. 

Here's the truth:

(I found this great meme on TruthSocial)

I am too busy focused on my own behavior to go around judging others since I'm not fifteen years old. 🤣 Emotional intelligence matters and I am increasingly grateful for my own (emotional intelligence). I'll never understand why so many people live their entire lives as though high school never ended. 
Enough about that, the subject doesn't deserve another second of my attention.

The weather is gorgeous and warm here lately; I love living in the desert. It just doesn't get any better than desert living. Today's weather:

The weather affects me (especially breathing) profoundly so I watch it like a hawk; Google is still good for that much.  

Here is today's Proverb: Proverbs 24

Praise and Worship: 

News from the LEFT:

News from the RIGHT:

I, like Donald Trump, find that success is the best form of revenge. Be blessed, dear Reader, and have a wonderful day! All comments welcome (but no one ever does). 

Updated to disclose that when I first published this entry I had confused left and right, but I've since corrected that. 

Happy Friday, February 23rd, 2024 UPDATED

 Greetings and salutations again, dear Reader! So far so good, it's already another gorgeous day above ground. This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Here's a list of the top trending topics for February; I haven't even heard of quite a few of the things on that list, but it includes an explanation of each one as you scroll down the list's page. You just never know what you're going to find here in this blog. 

Here is today's Proverb. And how about a little bit of praise?

It's morning, right after sunrise, here in the desert. The humidity's been a little high here lately and currently sits at 59 percent which isn't horrible, but it's higher than normal and I can feel it.

We were out of sugar substitute for a couple of days which is apparently all it took for my tastebuds to adjust to coffee with cream only. I've been drinking coffee every day since I started when I was nine years old and have always done it the same way: two sugars and cream in every cup (up until today at least). That's how my late adopted mother drank it, so that's what I did (up until today at least). It just doesn't taste right if I sweeten it now, at least that's how it is this morning. 

Since I feel better now, I think I'll wear that vintage pair of bell bottom authentic 70's jeans that I inherited from my recently departed late natural mother, may she rest in peace. They fit as though they were custom tailored to me. Of course 70's jeans means 70's shoes which I don't have a picture of but I do have a pair (mom's).They're brown leather platform heels featuring those metal details, I forgot what you call them (hobnail?). Anyway I'll wear them if we leave the house but I'm going to be barefoot today otherwise. OH goody, now that I have Prednisone I can withstand the fumes from coloring my roots (hair) and doing the nails on my hands and feet. I'll probably wait one more day though just to be safe, erring on the side of caution.

So far I've taken morning medication and read today's Proverb but haven't watched anything news-related today just yet. The search for more reputable news sources continues.

Updated because I just watched this:

If only every concerned American, hell, if every concerned human being would watch this one video! Personally I don't believe in the practice of contempt prior to investigation. 

I have to get ready for the rest of this day, get showered and out of my jammies as I have the energy to actually do so today. Be blessed dear Reader and feel free to comment below. Let's talk. 

Updated 2-25-24: So apparently the OP of that last video that I posted has DELETED it.

Breathing and other topics on the evening of 2-22-2024

Hello again, dear Reader! It looks as though I may be up for a while because I took 40mg of Prednisone late in the day (and one of the many side effects is insomnia) so I thought I'd come back here (and abstain from talking about politics anymore today). But I DO encourage everyone to read the previous post because I think many will agree with the points made, all comments welcome regardless. Anyway...

When I saw the doctor earlier today she wrote me five prescriptions and I got all of them filled right away. I tell you what, the older I get the more medication I seem to be collecting. At this rate I'll probably be on 40 different meds at some point in life,  I swear. Modern medicine is wonderful though, isn't it? There's a lot to be grateful for and I am. 

Now. What I'm about to tell you might freak you out but it's my blog so I'm going to say it anyway. 

This man is my hubby's (late) grand uncle by blood; they even look alike. However, he is nothing like his grand-uncle was!

Our relatives do not define who we choose to be is the point that I want to make with that. Each of us gets to choose who we are by the choices we make. Everybody's got choices:

I found a conglomerate of fashion forums the other day and created an account there though I don't know how active I'll be. I really like forums though as well as playing solitaire on Facebook and, of course, blogging. The goal here (this blog, that is) is a mix of journaling for relaxation as well as trying to put food for thought and positive vibes for everyone out there into the ether. With all the negativity and hatred dominating our current reality, I choose to throw the starfish back into the sea, one at a time. It's the small gestures from individuals that make the difference.  You know, every single one of us has a sphere of influence in this life; the only question is, how do you choose to employ that influence, for good or for bad? Good news: the choice is all yours! 

I thought I'd better mix the music options up to appeal to a broader audience; anyway, I only post music that I know and enjoy, regardless of the genre as my taste in music is all over the place.

Since I got to see the doctor and obtain medication today I'm already looking forward to tomorrow; this time the asthma was with me by the time I got back from Kansas (about a month ago now) and just persisted and grew increasingly worse until today even though I've been alleging that I was getting better; I really didn't figure it out until after the first dose of Prednisone kicked in. My doctors are wonderful though; they listen to me which is one of the primary requirements that I have of medical care providers. After all, each of us is the best source of information regarding our own bodies and doctors would be remiss not to consider the patient's input. In fact, I submit to you that they need that information from us. We have to be our own best advocates y'all. Maybe now more than ever.

One of my new prescriptions is another allergy pill so I officially take two prescription allergy medications now. It's alright as long as it works! The prednisone is really working it's magic right now and I feel SO much better than I have for about a month! I'm just one of so, so many who suffer when the weather changes; there are millions of us. The doctor wasn't surprised at all when I asked for Prednisone due to the time of year and the shifting seasons, she's great about that. That ER doctor the other day was something else, y'all; I mean, no breathing treatments and then telling me take potentially dangerous amounts of Symbicort, what a fiasco that ER visit was. I didn't get angry about it or anything but even today I'm still baffled as well as disappointed about it. It's the one and only time that I've EVER gone in for asthma and NOT received breathing treatments, not even one. Maybe I'll go to the other area ER next time; fortunately there are two to choose from. I'd say that most things in this life all boil down to this: the choice of the individual. 

Perspective on February 22nd, 2024

 Greetings and salutations, dear Reader, and welcome to yet another beautiful day above ground. My breathing is much improved today and I get to see the doctor this afternoon so it feels kind of like Christmas. I so did NOT want to have to return to the emergency room. This morning I'm wearing a few sprays of Calvin Klein Euphoria and my breathing is just fine, so YAY! 

Based on everything I'm seeing from both sides in the news, I am absolutely certain that the United States will find itself in World War Three within the year. Mark my words. Folks I sure hope you're getting your news from both sides. I firmly believe that's the only way to get a well-fleshed-out picture of what's REALLY going on. 

Here's some perspective from the right side of the aisle but I encourage my friends from both sides to at least hear the things he has to say:

And here's some news from the right. This is the kind of story the BBC features on their website. To my liberal friends/readers: please recommend your best sources for news to me below in the comments please, and thank you.

Here, look at this. The movie was released in 2005 but it's eerie how relevant it is for our current reality.

One of my favorite movies of all time as it resonates with me on a deep level, it always has. One thing that I know is that, as long as both sides are devolved to the point of levying ad-hominem attacks we have no hope. People used to have respect and a sense of decorum that has largely disappeared, including all the way from the poorest citizen to the most powerful businessmen and politicians. Politeness and manners no longer matter in today's world. I cringe every time but I hear character assassination and name calling on BOTH sides, both the right AND the left. BUT, it is impossible to work and negotiate with someone that you don't have a respectful dialogue with! So the left and the right spend time and energy attacking each other instead of doing their damn jobs to serve the people of this nation, we who pay their salaries by way of tax revenues. The art of real negotiation requires a vastly different mentality and approach than what we currently see all around us in today's world. Don't believe me, watch half an hour of news, even mainstream media's in on it (but they're part of the global, rampant corruption that's killing us). 

Guys, how do we fix this on the large scale? For my part, I refuse to speak ill of others, including my friends on the left and the politicians they support. Instead of character assassination and name calling, we need to focus on facts and be lead by those and those alone. Left or right, we are one people but instead of fighting like children we need to start acting like the adults we claim to be and stop the madness. We CAN disagree with each other without resorting to the unintelligent immaturity of name calling. 

Wednesday, February 21st, 2024

Greetings and salutations, dear Reader, this is another beautiful day above ground. It's not very cold outside which makes me very happy. I'm on a second cup of coffee and today I was even able to wear a few sprays of Ariana Grande's Cloud (perfume). As an advocate for myself as a patient, I went and read this website about Symbicort:

https://www.mysymbicort.com/

and noticed that it says DEATH is a possible side effect if users take more than the recommended twice per day doses. Which I do not think the ER doctor was aware of. 

It's a good thing that I didn't increase my doses by that much, though in the last couple of days I did use it more based on what the ER doctor said (to take it every four hours for two days). Based on my research though I'm back to taking it just twice a day and if I need to I'll just go back to the ER and refuse to leave without a breathing treatment. I'm grateful that I DO feel a little better today but I'm not out of the woods yet, unfortunately. It's always wise to be careful about these things and remain vigilant in self-advocacy as medical patients.

Well our computer whiz friend got the new operating system installed on my Mac desktop and it's pretty awesome, though I had no issues with the old OS. The monitor's colors are somehow more saturated and vivid now though and the computer responds even faster than it used to (and, like I said, I had no complaints before the upgrade). That was terribly nice of him to do for me and I appreciate it; I should be good for a while now.

American politics is such a cluster right now. I think that everyone's lost their damn minds. When I watch news from the left, Trump and his supporters are vilified. When I watch news from the right, Biden and his supporters are vilified. Same old story, nothing changes. Based on what I SEE going on though I am still leaning to the right big time. And regardless of my present bend I think it's important to continue to get my news from BOTH sides. It's the only way to really make an informed decision come this November.

Because this IS America, the land of free speech, I want both sides to have this freedom, period. I don't agree with the weaponization of our federal government and feel that the corruption in high places has literally never been as bad as it is right now. I don't know that Trump is the answer but I DO feel like a regime change is in order. Look at the Texas border; look at New York City. Look at our NATION, guys. Fentanyl deaths everywhere. I mean the last few years have seen our nation devolve into chaos under the current regime and that's not lost on me.

Anyway, enough about politics. 

Something that amuses me which I recently noticed is that, when I have an adversary in life they always end up giving up/ going away. Hilarious.

I'll leave you with this this classic Hank senior song.

Killin' Time on Tuesday, February 20th, 2024

Greetings and salutations on this gorgeous day above ground, dear Reader. It's almost ten o'clock in the morning here; the sun's been up for hours and it's already a very warm 53F out there (but the full desert sunshine makes it feel much warmer than that). We put the geranium back outside feeling like it's that time of year; hopefully overnight temperatures will continue to not dip into freezing territory.

Today I discovered after my first shower that Calvin Klein Downtown is another delicate, gentle fragrance that doesn't exacerbate my asthma so I posted a brief little review toward that end to let the perfume community know. It's also not one that's widely owned, there are less than 700 people listed as owning it. And the price is right, I think mine was around twenty bucks USD so I don't mind the lighter performance (in fact, the light performance made me feel secure in wearing it today since I'm still a little asthma sick). Other than that, I'm just killin' time albeit not in the way they sing about here in this great, classic song:

That's an awfully cheerful song with pretty morbid lyrics actually. Ah well, it's great country music and I love it! At least it's not political, right? Here's another one. I really love this next song, it's awesome including even the lyrics. It has a lot of meaning for Terry and I, he dedicates this one to me all the time (so sweet!)

I wish they'd set Leonard Peltier free. That's been a long time in coming but at this late date I doubt it's ever going to happen. It seems like once they put a popular, controversial public figure in jail that's it. All of those murderers running around loose but let's keep our political prisoners locked up forever. I don't claim to understand this mentality but that's how it is.

I'll be so glad when this round of bad asthma subsides and I can again breathe freely, normally. Spring hasn't officially arrived but I'm here to tell you that, at least here in the Sonoran desert, Spring is upon us. My allergies are testament to the fact. I just wish that I knew precisely which allergen/s are responsible for my current state. Maybe the doctor will give me something else for allergies when I go in on the 22nd, I sure hope so. In the meantime I'm taking montelukast twice a day instead of the prescribed once.

Right now my Macintosh desktop has a temporary operating system that our friend installed for me and he'll put the permanent OS on this machine sometime soon. After that I'll have the admin password to install software; I won't be sharing any screenshots again until after that happens since I can't install Gyazo back yet, not without the password. I'll be glad to have my updated machine back once he gets finished with it. 

Anyway I can't tell you how TIRED I am, working hard to breathe all the time. It's getting old and I'm pretty over it.  

 

Monday February 19th, 2024

Greetings and salutations again dear Reader, this has been another beautiful day above ground. I'm still asthma-sick but it has improved a little bit and I'm glad for that. I love steroids, y'all, specifically corticosteroids because of how well they treat the symptoms. I understand the negative side effects; for example, Prednisone. I asked for Prednisone at the hospital yesterday, and they refused to give it to me just because I'm diabetic (and steroids raise glucose levels). They didn't even give me a breathing treatment, man. It was insane. Anyway I DID get the prescription that I needed (Symbicort) and was able to get that filled right away so it all turned out fine. Because of that I'm starting to feel and do better so yay. 

Regarding the challenge of perfume where asthma is concerned, today I wore some Hypnose (Lancome), which is a very delicate passionflower/ice cold vanilla. It's ephemeral but beautiful, like a delicate snowflake. Normally I'd reapply it at some point, or switch to another fragrance later in the day but not today, not while my breathing is still compromised even though if I wasn't sick I'd be wearing one of my heavy hitters but no. Anyway I started a thread asking for people to suggest some delicate, asthma/allergy-friendly perfume options and thanks to several great responses, my 'wants' and 'test' lists have grown big-time in the last day.

So today was another day where I've kind of had to take it easy. I'm using coffee to help breathing which does work to a point (I happen to adore coffee anyway); right now I'm drinking the final cup of two total pots that I've had today and every cup has been great. 👍 I highly recommend coffee as an at-home asthma hack, even if all you do is inhale/breathe the steam from a hot cup of coffee I swear that it helps. It might not be as effective as a rescue inhaler but when you add coffee to the other measures you're taking to treat the asthma, it's just adding another weapon to your arsenal as it were. Maybe I can find some cool allergies hacks online? It won't hurt to look and see what other people are doing to help their allergies. For my part, I'm taking two showers a day to keep my skin clear of allergens for one thing. It does seem to help so I'll stick with it for now. 

Hubby's watching a video about the truckers and New York right now so it's hard for me to focus on this; with that I'll close for now. Thanks for stopping by and I wish you well, dear Reader! 
Until we meet again be blessed.

It's Late Afternoon on Sunday February 18th, 2024

 Hello again,  dear Reader! It's warmed up to 72F right now with full, warm sunshine and all day today it's been a beautiful day. 

I ended up going to the emergency room and will be taking my Symbicort every four hours for two days (normal dosing is twice per day, day and night, two actuations each time). They were able to write me a prescription (for the Symbicort, that is) since my doctor's office is closed until Tuesday due to the upcoming federal holiday which is (I think) going to be on Monday. I've taken the Symbicort twice now and can't wait until it really starts working as I am still having dyspnea as a major symptom, causing labored breathing. It's like I just finished exercising but I'm not doing anything physical in nature, just sitting calmly at the computer. I don't like  it. One thing is certain and that is that Spring is right around the corner, my allergies are proof of that!

I'm so glad that I have some very gentle perfume options like Guerlain Teazzurra, a delicate tea/chamomile fragrance. I refuse to let asthma keep me down! I'll exercise when I want to, love and own the animals that I want and the same goes for perfume! Anyway it's been well-managed for years and rarely flares up unlike today. Hey, isn't it great that the emergency room is open 24/7? RIGHT? 

Truth be told though I probably should have skipped fragrance altogether and I might be feeling better now if I had. Ah well, it's done. I plan on a second shower here in a little while anyway so I'll just skip it (perfume) then. 
I've finally got it figured out (staying on top of American politics). To learn the wrong things that both sides are doing, the only smart approach really IS for me to watch news from media sources on both sides (remember I mentioned watching BBC news in another post). Well that's the only way to get the whole truth. That way I know what each side is doing, good or bad. Since the mainstream media isn't giving us the truth, I'm relying on independent news sources instead. On the right, I enjoy Tucker Carlson and Stephen Gardner. On the left, I do believe the BBC to be a good news source. Sure, some may argue that the BBC is still mainstream media but I think they can be considered an exception, originating in the UK.
But I don't give either side my 100 percent. Not in this day and age of rampant corruption in high places. God help us all and I mean that quite literally.

Anyway, at the moment I'm still only up to very passive activities (like blogging, surfing the Internet, etc) due to this blasted asthma. I hope that you're doing well reader and look forward to feeling better myself. It's all good though. God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good. 

Early in the morning on Sunday February 18, 2024

Greetings and salutations on another fine day above ground, dear Reader. Right now it's cloudy and 44F outside in the predawn darkness. I'm running heaters and drinking coffee, bundled up in my jammies and a hoodie. I wore a few sprays of Cartier Baiser Vole this morning but think I might be too sick with asthma for perfume today; I've already got a doctor's appointment coming up on the 22nd so I plan to just wait until I see her. I've used my rescue inhaler several times this morning and my chest is still tight and I'm still wheezing. Oh well. Maybe I'll use the rescue inhaler again, what a pain in the rear. 

I love that song. "I wonder if I'm past the point of rescue". 

Being a perfume collector is a funny thing for an asthmatic. I'm a big time pet owner too and probably shouldn't be, except for the turtle since she has no hair or dander. But I love our creatures and wouldn't have it any other way. I think the air purifier helps to a point; I hope it does anyway since that's why we bought it. The doctor will get me sorted out soon enough though, I'm sure of it. In the meantime I'll just either skip perfume or go with one that has never bothered my breathing if any today.

November is fast approaching and it's looking like our only choices this time are both people who've already done the job (POTUS). Oh, well. Maybe someone else will throw their hat in before November. Hey (and feel free to leave remarks here in the comments section below this entry) why does talking about politics piss everybody off? Seriously, I think it's impossible to talk about that subject without at least one party in the conversation getting offended and it doesn't seem to matter how respectful the two way banter is either, people still get all pissed off. Yesterday my nephew came to show me his newly published book and we started talking about politics and he got all pissed off (not AT me but just in general). It's the strangest thing! People do the same thing when religion comes up and I just wonder why both of those topics are inherently so explosive/ divisive in nature. It beats me but if you know why, I'm all ears. I just think that grown, mature people should be able to have those conversations, that's all. 

I'm going to start watching BBC news, too, so I get a well rounded dose of current events from both political perspectives, I think that's the best approach (even though we're mostly getting propaganda from BOTH sides but such is the current state of affairs). 

Oh well. Back to the topic of collecting things... perfume collecting is a tricky matter for us asthmatics. Sometimes a perfume that has never bothered me will all of the sudden start triggering my asthma and when that happens I give that fragrance away. It happened to me with Paloma Picasso's eponymous fragrance as well as with Mugler's Angel. But my jewelry and gemstone collecting hobby has no such side effects though it's a costlier past time to be sure, or can be. That's why it's good to know how to test materials for their authenticity, especially metals. I can't tell you now many times I've ordered something marketed as solid sterling silver only to quickly disprove that claim by way of a magnet (non-ferrous metals are not magnetic). International listings on eBay are bad about this so when I buy jewelry on eBay I stick to American sellers only; this works out great as I haven't been duped since I started staying with American sellers. I find that sterling silver is probably the most counterfeited. 

Ok so you guys use the comments section here and let's figure out why people get so pissed off about politics and religion. I'm interested to know what everyone thinks about this. Please make the most of the day today dear Reader. I hope that it's a good one for you; thanks for stopping by and take care.

2-16-2024 and 2-17-2024

 Greetings and salutations on another day above ground dear Reader. I'm dizzy from all the politics I've been watching lately so I think I'll take a break from it for a little while. (that was all I felt like saying yesterday so I didn't bother publishing the post and saved it for today). 

There's a topic in Fragrantica right now about choosing a song that you dedicate to yourself. The first time I posted in it I posted this vulgar song in jest (caution, explicit lyrics):

Days later I went back in and posted this one as the serious answer. I'll put the lyrics here too so you can get the gist of the song without having to listen to it:

Lyrics

I keep trying to find a life

On my own apart from you

I am the king of excuses

I've got one for every selfish thing I do

Tell me what's going on inside of me

I despise my own behavior

This only serves to confirm my suspicions

That I'm still a man in need of a Savior

()

I wanna be in the Light

As You are in the Light

I wanna shine like the stars

In the Heavens

Oh, Lord be my light

And be my Salvation

'Cause all I want is to be in the Light

All I want is to be in the Light

This disease of self runs through my blood (through my blood)

It's a cancer fatal to my soul

Every attempt on my behalf has failed

To bring this sickness under control

Tell me what's going on inside of me

(Whats going on)

I despise my own behavior

(Despise my own behavior)

This only serves to confirm my suspicions

That I'm still a man in need of a Savior

I wanna be in the Light

As You are in the Light

I wanna shine like the stars

In the Heavens

Oh, Lord be my Light

And be my Salvation

'Cause all I want is to be in the Light (yeah)

All I want is to be in the Light

Honesty becomes me

(There's nothing left to lose)

The secrets that did run me

(Your presence have defused)

Pride has no position

(As riches have no worth)

The fame that once did cover me

(Has been sentenced to this Earth)

Has been sentenced to this Earth

Tell me what's going on inside of me

(Whats going on)

I despise my own behavior

(Despise my own behavior)

This only serves to confirm my suspicions

That I'm still a man in need of a Savior

I wanna be in the Light

As You are in the Light

I wanna shine like the stars

In the Heavens

Oh, Lord be my light

And be my Salvation

'Cause all I want is to be in the Light

All I want to be is in the Light (There's no other place I want to be)

(No other place that I can see)

(A place to be that's just right)

(Someday I'm gonna be in the Light)

(You are in the Light)

(That's where I need to be)

(That's right where I need to be)

So there it is, the song I identify with the most, my life's theme song. What's yours, dear Reader?

2-15-2024

 Hello again dear Reader! I'm so glad that I was able to learn a work around for using Fragrantica from my Mac desktop. I can interact IF I log in from an incognito window. Voila! I mean I hope it gets resolved soon of course, but am mollified in the meantime by the work around. 
Now I'm going to talk about other stuff. 

Well for one thing I don't understand American mentality with regard to dealing with communist countries like Russia and China. WHY are we enemies, because we don't like the way they run their countries? What business is it of ours anyway? I mean, live and let live to ME means minding our own business and paying attention to our own government instead of hating other people because they do things differently. I mean it's such an old fashioned, out dated, ineffective way to approach the world really. "I don't like you because you choose to have a different government from us". No, that hearkens back to the McCarthy days when people were blacklisted, their lives destroyed. Now I'm not a communist. I love this screwed up country, I was born here and here I'll some day breathe my last. But I'm a thinking, logical, relatively reasonable human being. I think that our current government is the most corrupt in American history. I think we're on the brink of civil war. I think what's going on with the influx of illegals is insane and will come back to bite us in the ass probably sooner than later. I think we need a revolution. Hopefully when Trump wins in November he will be able to spearhead a 180 from the top down. The current regime is focused on destroying us from the inside out and it's working. Now I feel like we as a nation need to welcome LEGAL immigrants and create a space for them to pursue their own versions of the American Dream. That's how the nation was formed (after the white man stole this continent from all of the natives which is a whole 'nother topic but I digress). Here's a song that would make a good modern national anthem, it's the truth. 

ANYWAY. Today I wore Flowerbomb Nectar for my scent of the day. I really love that fragrance. Then this evening I topped that off with a couple of sprays of Jessica Simpson Fancy. 

A message to Fragrantica admins with screenshots

 Well today is the fifteenth and I haven't been able to use Fragrantica since the 12th. I can interact either on my Android phone or if I open and use an incognito window (in chrome). This all started on the 12th in the afternoon sometime, I don't know precisely when but the last post on that day is time-stamped. While I was in the middle of posting, doing my thing, all of the sudden it changed and I lost the ability to interact. 

1. The perfumes do not load beyond their name in the forum. This is an ongoing issue. Here is a screenshot from my posts history:

2. Images do not load in the forum, only on the home page and in fragram. But in the forum, in the history of the posts I've made, images and not even any placeholder text or links show, it's blank where images are supposed to be. In the following, if you look at the post in Fragrantica there are several images in the post that are not showing here.
Here is a screenshot from my posts history:

3. videos seem to be unaffected, both in the forum and my posts history. videos play without issue.

4. there is no blank field now where the message field is supposed to be (when you go to post or send a message, that box is literally now a blank field and there is literally nowhere to type, it's just a blank screen where that text field box is supposed to be. Here is a screenshot that I took from my messages inbox where I am trying to interact:

5. The segment on the right of the screen near my avatar/thumbnail where we choose which perfume we're wearing, view the perfume timeline, etc, that portion is GONE for me in all places on the website. Here is a screenshot. 

6. Forum information is not showing completely. Look at this the default forum page, the entire sections where the lastest post's time stamps are located on the right is instead a blank/ empty field. The screenshot:

You can enlarge any of the screenshots by clicking on them. I was certain to include the URL so you can see precisely which page each shot was taken from. 

UPDATED: I discovered not long ago that I can interact IF I use an incognito window on my desktop. I posted a few times that way including about this issue. I have cleared my browser's cache, restarted the computer, logged in and out of my Fragrantica account, none of it has worked. OH and I use a chrome browser. 

Thank you for your help. I'll keep checking Fragrantica as well as here.