New Refrigerator Delivery

My new refrigerator that I ordered from Home Depot arrived yesterday. This is the second attempt at delivery. I had to send it back because as you can see it was damaged.

A new delivery has been scheduled for next Friday. You read that right, I wait another whole week for my new refrigerator. In the meantime, I've thrown out a lot of old food and the rest I've stuffed in the small refrigerator in my basement next to Bill's bedroom that was only used for his late night ice cream treats. I hope that refrigerator doesn't break down. To say I'm frustrated is the least of it. I've since checked the reviews on Home Depot appliance deliveries and no surprise, they're all bad. Maybe I should have checked before I purchased this refrigerator. The really frustrating part is that I'm dealing with Spanish speaking people at every turn, even when I called their Hotline to report that I was refusing to accept this damaged refrigerator. Finally, after not getting through to the girl on the other end of the line because her primary language wasn't English, I asked to speak to someone whose primary language was English. She told me she couldn't promise that. She did transfer me and she was right, This time I was speaking to a guy whose primary language was obviously Spanish. And like the girl (woman?), they were both reading from a script. They weren't really listening to what I was asking. I wanted to make sure that the upgraded water line that I ordered was also with the refrigerator. I didn't see it with the one that came yesterday. They told me if I ordered it, I would get it. Well, I didn't see it yesterday and I didn't want to send this next delivery back because the correct water line wasn't there. 

Life in the fast lane. But as Pat often says "It could be worse, we could be living in Syria." I've updated that "It could be worse, I could be living in Gaza."

It's bad enough we're living in the good old USA with the Orange Felon on a mission to destroy our country as we know it. Now I'm wondering who would deliver my refrigerator if the ICE goons descend on Delaware and start arresting these delivery guys who don't speak English. 

Thursday Thoughts

 Good morning folks! 

I've been so busy that I missed my weekly Wednesday meme. So I developed a new meme called "Thursday Thoughts." 

Here goes!

What's My Latest Change?

My vintage iMac computer finally has been put out to pasture. It was no longer compatible with You Tube. I couldn't have that so I had to switch to my new iMac computer that I bought last year but have only used to do my Turbo Tax tax return for last year. 

What's On My Mind?

The delivery of my new refrigerator. Yes Virginia, my twenty year old GE Profile side by side refrigerator could no longer keep my food cold so a new refrigerator was in order. Delivery was supposed to be yesterday but there was a delay. The delivery from the manufacture didn't make it in time to be loaded onto the truck the previous night for deliver yesterday. This after I had cleaned out my garage and refrigerator waiting for my delivery. The best laid plans of men and mice or something like that. Now delivery is scheduled for tomorrow. In the meantime I have my little downstairs refrigerator that was only for Bill's ice cream and my prebiotic sodas is stuffed with what was in my old refrigerator. Still more to take out of my old refrigerator. Good time to clean out even though it still hurts to thought out food even if some of it is over three years old.

Who's Been Here?

My new Computer Guy. With all the changes of my computers it was time to call in professional help. I've been using this one company for the past several years.  They're good but this time they outdid theirselves. They send over a young man who was fabulous! Friendly, knowledgeable and willing to share information about what he's doing. And best of all he was so patient with me, old man that I am who frequently gets confused these days. Of course it also helped that he was also gay, which I discovered after he referred to his eighty-four year old partner (he's thirty-five). He probably shared this information with me when I told him how old I was and all I wanted was my computer and peripheral machines to work. I told him my whole life is my home office and my computers and my blogging, You Tube, FaceTime and Zoom calls. I just want everything to work so I can have a stress free day. I don't need any more aggravation this time of my life. He understood and then proceeded to show me by how much he helped me. He's coming back tomorrow by the way because my new printer (which, of course, isn't compatible with my new computer). Everything is vintage in this house, including me!

Where Am I Going?

To the thrift store today of course. I'm a day late.

Who Deserves A Slap In Their Face?

All the sycophants in the Trump administration who continue to enable this absurdity that is our president. Every day I wake up convinced I just had a bad dream and then have to come to the realization that we are a global embarrassment. When is this going to end? When is it going to end?

What's My Latest Order From Amazon?

I ordered a garden memorial stone of Bill for a garden out front of my house. Bill had built a beautiful white picket fence out there that the Comcast decreed had to be removed so they could have access to their equipment. That garden is thriving but was missing something. This memorial plaque is the perfect answer. 

Who Deserves a Fist Bump?

The weather. Finally! After a brutal summer of heat and humidity finally some normal weather. I can now get outside and do more work but my physical limitations are still in effect. I did so much yesterday that I almost collapsed last night before I could get into bed. Yes, I continue to push myself to my limit. That limit is arriving sooner these days. 

Regular followers of my blog will notice that I changed my "World of Wednesdays" a bit to suit my personal lifestyle. I no longer have the "What I'm Reading" header. I read one book at a time and only when I go to bed. It can take me at least a month to read a book. So there goes that category as other categories in my weekly update. 

Oh, here's my latest 

What I've Been Eating

I'm back to sauerkraut and pork. So easy to make in my Crock Pot with onion, apples and caraway seeds. I have this delicious concoction with fresh corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. Delicious!

Have a great day everyone! I'm off to the thrift store!

You Tube Account

 

My "Vintage" computer

What a nightmare day I had today!

I can't sign in to my You Tube Premium account.

I think the problem is that I'm trying to sign in on my 2014 iMac desktop computer. My latest IOS update if macOS Big Sur 11.7.10. Talking to Apple Support this morning I was told the latest update is macOS 15.6.

A couple years ago Apple Support told me I had a "vintage computer." Which I suppose is appropriate since I am vintage. Apparently one of the security updates has caused a browser conflict thus preventing me from accessing my You Tube account on my vintage computer.

Man oh man folks, everything is wearing out on me. First my refrigerator now my iMac computer is faltering. 

I spent a couple hours with Apple Support today but to no avail. I have a more recent iMac that I bought last year to do my taxes on my computer since my present iMac didn't support the latest Turbo tax software. But I prefer to use my vintage iMac because I have my heavy Bose speakers connected to this computer. I need those speakers for the base when I'm playing my You Tube shop music (DColor) accounts. I'm not sure I can hook those speakers and sub woofer to my new computer. I'll find out tomorrow because I called in my local Computer Guy to help me move things around.

Then I had another problem. I was trying to access my You Tube account on my new computer but I couldn't get my Magic Mouse to work. This is the "new and improved" mouse that has the lightening cable and plug on the bottom. The mouse I use on my vintage computer has to double AA batteries, which I much prefer. On my new computer I couldn't get my Magic Mouse to work and if I can't get the cursor to move, how can I do anything on that computer? I'm sorry that I always seem to be bitching about something but this is one of those days when one problem leads to another problem. The Domino Effect. 

I was just thinking last week how everything was going smooth in my life. Well that has ended.

I want my You Tube account back with my Bose speakers and sub woofer. Hopefully this can all be solved tomorrow. 

Routine

 

The past few days have been difficult. 

I think this was triggered by the failure of my refrigerator not keeping my water cold. Yes, something as silly minor as that. 

I have my routine which gets me through most days since Bill died almost a year and a half ago. Anything that disrupts my routine, throws me off balance. Now I have to get ready for the delivery of this new refrigerator this coming Wednesday.

That means cleaning out my old refrigerator. Thank goodness I have another refrigerator (smaller) downstairs and a freezer chest, also downstairs in my basement. 

I also have to clean off all the magnets adhered to my old refrigerator. Then the biggest challenge of all is the route the new refrigerator is going to take into my house and the route the one one is going to exit. That is through my garage and the three steps up into my kitchen. I have grab bars on both sides of that entrance from my garage to my house. I hope they can maneuver the new refrigerator in though those grab bars. I really don't want to have to unscrew them. 

Change. That's what I don't like. I just want to live out the rest of my life going through my daily routine which I have become very comfortable. Any disruption in that routine makes me unhappy. 

Refrigerator Conks Out!

The new refrigerator. By the way, this price was only available for the floor model. I would have to take this refrigerator with me today which was impossible. What? Carry it out on my back? And how would I get it in my house? It's a bargain for somebody but not for me today. But this is the model that I ordered that will be delivered next Wednesday, August 27th, 2025. Bill would like it!

 I noticed it a couple days ago.

I went to get a swipe of cold bottled water from my twenty year old GE Profile refrigerator. As I put the plastic Deer Park bottle to my lips, anticipating the stimulant of cold water entering my mouth, the water was .....almost room temperature! Oh uh! 

Don't tell me! Is my GE Profile refrigerator, which has faithfully served me and Bill for these past twenty-five years finally going to buy the ranch? I'm afraid so folks.

I pulled out the refrigerator this morning and vacuumed all the dust out fo the back. Thinking that would help. It didn't. I read that perhaps I should clean the coils. I don't know how to get to the coils and I'm not going to start taking my refrigerator apart because I don't know what I'm doing. 

What to do?

You know what folks? It's time for a new refrigerator! I noticed that both of my neighbors, on either side of me, whose animals I watch, walk and feed when they are otherwise occupied, have nice, big, modern refrigerators. Both have the freezer compartment on the bottom which I find much more convenient plus I believe more efficient than the side by side that I have now. Also, my water dispenser hasn't worked for years, that's why I have bottled water. By the way, I can't drink the tap water here in Slower Lower, it has so much chlorine in it, that it tastes like swimming pool water. 

My old refrigerator Sept. 19, 2019
That's Bill on his ladder doing something with the ambient lights

So I checked Home Depot's website this morning. Viola! They have a sale going on. Super! I can save over one thousand dollars to buy one of their models that they are discontinuing. Even though that model is being discontinued, it's perfect for me. There is only me in this house, I don't need one of those floor to ceiling, walk in refrigerators like Pat's friend Paul and Deb have. I just need a refrigerator to keep my left overs cold, keep my bottled water cold, provide ice (which my old refrigerator has continued to do thank goodness even though the water dispenser ceased to work years ago). I have another refrigerator (smaller one) and freezer chest in my basement, next to Bill's bedroom. That was originally intended for his ice cream and my freezer overflow because the freezer on the GE Profile that I have now isn't big enough. This new refrigerator which is a Whirlpool, has plenty of bottom freezer space and easy access. 

My new refrigerator will be delivered next Wednesday, August 27, 2025. Probably no nap for me that day. Hopefully this all goes smoothly. And no, I didn't get the extended warranty which would cost $270.00. Just the standard one year warranty guaranteed by the manufacturer. 

If my refrigerator was going to go out, this was good timing. I have extra money from what I expected to pay for my school/real estate taxes. This is perfect for me because when I come into an unexpected windfall of money, I like to buy something useful with that unexpected cash flow otherwise that money would just blend in with the rest of my household expenses. New every time I use my new refrigerator I will be reminded of my good fortune this year. 

Each day is a challenge folks. I do believe Bill's guardian angel is watching over me and helping me navigate what is left of my life. I truly do.

Larry

 

Lois and Larry Meredith, Wedding Day September 1962 (I was supposed to be best man at his wedding but I had to attend my uncle's funeral. Couldn't be two places at once)

My experimentation with monetization of my blog is over. What a disaster! I should have know better.

MY BAD!

I started writing a blog twenty years ago because I like to write. Ever since I was a teenager and had sixty plus pen pals to writing letters to newspapers and TV shows (most of which were even printed and addressed on those same TV shows), I just like to write and share my life and express my opinion. And I think probably because what my great aunt Grace May told my Mother many years ago when she found out that I had that many pen pals. She said "What's the matter with Ronnie? Doesn't he have any friends?" When my Mother told me that I was stung. Yes, my feelings were hurt. Probably because I knew she was right. I didn't have many friends during that early time of my life. My one good friend Larry Meredith (since passed away) was it. I knew people in school but they were all acquaintances, not friends. I certainly didn't have any close friends other than Larry. 

Larry, far left, Stuart (who I talk to every Sunday at 10:00 AM Sunday on Zoom) and me 1957. When we all had lots of hair!

Looking back on it I think I was friends with Larry because he was also a social out cast. We had a lot in common except he was straight and I was gay.

Larry ogling the "scenery" at the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk June 2011. Larry didn't mess around but he did like the girls. I snuck this quick picture of him.

Of course we never talked about that difference in our friendship and I certainly wasn't interested in him that way, but we had so much else in common. His father was a truck driver like my father was a truck driver. He father also belittled him constantly like my father did to me. We were both the favorite of our mothers. 

Yes, Larry and I clicked in many way and he was my one true friend back in my teenager years.

Larry and I (me far left in back and Larry far right in back, our friend Stuart far right in front row) in a class operaetta  - we're scarecrows!

After school we lost touch for many years but reunited around the turn of the century. His mother, who I exchanged Christmas cards every year, put a note in her 2000 Christmas card to give Larry a call because he was down in the dumps because he had just lost his job at the bank where he worked. WOW! Here we both ended up working at banks! Both in the operations departments of those banks. He worked in a Wilmington Delaware bank and I worked at a Philadelphia Pennsylvania bank. Neither one of us could afford to go to college so our career paths took us to banking operations jobs, which paid a lot less than a college educated banking administrative job. These days with automation and AI, our jobs wouldn't even exist. 

I contact Larry and we renewed our friendship. We talked almost every day on FaceTime, even when he contacted ALS ten years ago. I watched him slowly deteriorate as ALS took a toll on his body.

Larry on FaceTime with me January 6, 2017

Then one day I could no longer contact him. I found out through a mutual friend, and former classmate of the both of us, that Larry's son had posted that his father had died. I never met his children, two daughters and one son, so I guess that's why one of them contacted me when Larry died. Larry donated his body to science as he often told me he would. His wife died a few months after he died. I can understand why, because they had been married over sixty years and each was totally devoted to the other. Larry had the distinction that his wife was the only woman he had ever been "with." That was one area that I could not claim similarity with Larry. I've been around the block more than a few times. Interestingly, my Mother told me the same thing after my father died. She told me that he was the only man she had been with. My Mother like Larry a lot. Larry's mother like me a lot. Interesting isn't it how things like that work out? 

Here's what is also interesting, I started to write this blog entry about my disastrous try at monetizing my blog and I went down a different road, eulogizing about my longtime friend Larry. That's probably why I wouldn't even make money writing a blog. 

By the way, I checked into YouTube about opening an account there and monetizing it. I checked a couple how to videos and I decided I'm not going to do it. Too much work for too little gain. Fuck it. 

I like to write as my friend Larry like to write. He actually had some of his material published. I haven't been there yet. And I don't think I will. 

I would rather write about subjects like my friend Larry and other friends I have made since I got away from home and my father's belittling influence over me.  Once I got away from home, and I joined the Army I realized that I was just as good as anyone else in this world. I gained a lot of self confidence. However there are still those moments when I have my doubts. When I think "Am I good enough?" But then I quickly dismiss those thoughts because I am good enough. 

I miss Larry. Oh how I would have liked to share my recent disaster into monetizing my blog. He would have understood and we would have had a good laugh over that.

I miss Larry. 

Me and Larry with our third grade school teach Miss Elizabeth Ezrah. We were in her third grade class in 1951 and I thought she was old then! Here she is at Simpson Meadows in 2004, she was over a hundred years old! And yes, she said she remembered us. That was the year I met Larry, 1951. 

My Blog Is NO LONGER MONETIZED!

 Well, that was quick! 

Take note: 

MY BLOG IS NO LONGER MONETIZED!

A few minutes ago I decided to click on the:

CLICK HERE message at the top of my blog just to see where it would take me. 

Much to my surprise a pop up came and said my computer was INFECTED and I had to call this number (one indicated) right away! 

Yes Virginia, I was about to be rerouted to Mumbai India and get scammed.

The bastards are at it again!

I quickly exited my computer.

Turned it off.

Called Apple Help line, just to make sure it is a scam (it was, I was told) and then to clear my History, which I did.

I also ran my Malware program and all came out well.

Then I went into my blog and removed AdSense, the monetizing program provided by Google.

And here I am back at Square One.

I should have known better. You don't get anything in this world for free. Especially in today's Internet free for all environment. 

I am really disappointed in Google, that their AdSense program lets scammers in. Of course there is no Google help line. 

Actually, this is all ending well. I didn't like all those ads, especially the pop up ones, corrupting my blog.

So to the followers of my blog I am happy to tell you that I'm back to where I began twenty years ago (2005).

My personal blog with the great title of "Retired In Delaware" (you just know some companies want that title) is back to where you have known it for the last twenty years or however many years you have been following it. 

My apologies to anyone who accidentally hit one of those "Click Here" baits and got the scam message their computer was infected. Really, my sincere apologies! What an awful thing! Shame on Google for not preventing that with their AdSense program. 

My Blog Is Now Monetized!

Me mowing my lawn July 7, 2008. I have since progressed to a riding tractor to mow my almost one acre of lawn. I have no photos of that.....yet.

By now my regular blog followers have noticed that my blog is now monetized. Yes, ads are on my blog!

Me, one who hates ads has succumbed to the almighty dollar. 

Well, one thing I have to say is that Google (the company behind Blogger.com) has done a nice job of placing the ads. Also, the ads are appropriate for my blog, the senior citizen that I am. Good job Blogger!

Now, how much money am I making? Would you be surprised to know that I'm not going to buy that condo in Palm Springs anytime soon? It took me three days to earn $1.07! At this rate I'll be long into my next life before I earn any signifiant money. Oh well, I was always curious how many people read my blog. Now I have an idea. I'm just one grain of sand on the world wide beach of bloggers. 

As the logo says to the right of this post:

"Life Is A Long Lesson In Humility"

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lawn to mow. I save sixty dollars every time I mow my own lawn*.  

*I can't mow my lawn in very hot and humid weather. I pay my local landscaper Jose Sierra $60 to mow my lawn, which I have mowed once a week. This summer has been particularly brutal with the hot and humid weather. Today the temperature is 72 degrees F and although the humidity is still high (97%) I can manage to mow my lawn myself. I have a very cool John Deere zero degree turning riding mower. An added bonus is I really look butch when I mow my lawn. Always a plus!

A World Of Wednesdays August 20, 2025

 

What's On Top Of My Mind

My increasingly limited physical ability. I think my eighty-three years of age is finally catching up with me. I find at about ten o'clock or so, my physical energy quickly ebbs. Gone are the days when I could work non stop. These days, especially since I ended my care giving days about a year and a half ago, I find I  quickly run out of energy. So much so that I have to head for bed lest I collapse on the floor. I'm still freaked out about how I passed out in the Walmart parking lot last June when Pat and Glenn were visiting me. I pushed myself to the limit then and see what happened? I conked out and didn't even know it. Next thing I knew I was looking at the clouds in the sky above me after I passed out and landed on my back. I obviously crumpled like a cheap suit. These days when I feel myself getting weak, I stop doing whatever I'm doing (including typing this blog) and head directly for my bed in the Tipton Cinema. I was lucky last year that Pat and Glenn were with me when I hit the ground like a sack of potatoes (my Mother's term for whenever she passed out which was several times when she was in her eighties). 

Where I'm Going

You got it, the Restore Thrift Store again tomorrow. At least once a week I have to go and see what new treasurers await me. I also have to stop at my local Ace Hardware to checkout their handyman service. Gives me another excuse to see that guy who works there that I've developed a crush on. He's seventy-five years old. Just a young guy. Nothing serious but I do like him. I'm still getting married to Pat. He's my honey.

What I'm Eating

I was going awhile with my homemade hamburger/cabbage soup but I've made it too many times. My taste for it is gone. I'm finding in my old age I'm losing the taste for a lot of my formerly favorite foods. I'm back to Progresso Tuscan Bean soup for lunch. For dinner I've been eating frozen chicken fingers (baked in my air fryer), Portuguese roll, French Fries and corn on the cob. I tend to eat the same food until I get tired of it. My tomato plants will soon become a crop of sweet grape tomatoes at which time I will make pasta salad. Always a favorite. I don't eat much in volume these days but interestingly enough, my weight stays the same. That little pot I have is going to stay with me to the end.

Who Needs A Good Slap

Trump. He needs a punch right in the face. I'm sick of him and this cowardly Republican enablers. Never in my lifetime did I ever imagine that what Trump is trying to do in this country would be even possible. The Republicans in Congress are absolutely failing in their oath to protect the Constitution and don't even get me started on the Supreme Court.

Who Gets A Fist Bump

The State of Delaware for their reassessment of school and property taxes. My tax bill is now two thirds less that it was last year. The inequity of the tax assessments here in Delaware, especially all those million dollar properties in Rehoboth Beach who were hardly paying any taxes while we new retirees who moved to Delaware to escape the taxes from the adjoining states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York were paying three of four times what they were paying. Never in my lifetime did I ever expect to see taxes lowered for a segment of the population but believe me, this was long overdue. Now to hear the squeals of complaints from those who could afford to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a two and three digit Delaware license plates but complain about paying their proper share of the school and real estate taxes. 

What I'm Planning

Pat finally received Bill's death certificate today. His next interview at the American Consulate in Montreal is September 4th. I feel confident that he will get their approval for our marriage. Now it's time to make those marriage plans. Here's something else I never imagined, that not only would I get married once in my life time as a gay man but TWICE. I am so looking forward to joining my Patrick in marriage.

What's Making Me Smile

California Governor Gavin Newsome's social media postings mimicking Trump's childish social media postings. The Fox propagandists are having a meltdown over it. I love it! 

Sometimes Good Things Happen

 

2025 School/Real Estate Tax Bill!

Sometimes good things do happen! 

Not often but sometimes, good things actually do happen.

For months now I've been dreading receiving my 2025 Annual School/Real Estate tax bill. 

The reason is that Delaware this past year had a long overdue reassessment. You know what that usually means don't you folks? Reassessment is MORE taxes. 

The main reason I moved to Delaware twenty years ago was that I could no longer afford to pay my former home state of Pennsylvania's outrageously high school/real estate taxes. As a matter of fact, most of the retirees from surrounding states such as New Jersey, New York, and Virginia move to Delaware expressly for that reason, to escape the high taxes of their home states. Of the fifty-seven new homes in my development, fifty-six were retirees from surrounding states, mostly New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. 

My school/real estate taxes in Pennsylvania were approaching six figures (over $10,000 a year). I was only able to manage to stay in Pennsylvania for the last five years before I moved because my Mother was giving me and my brothers an annual gift of $10,000 a year of savings she had accumulated during her lifetime. Once she stopped doing that I had to move because I literally couldn't afford to live in Pennsylvania anymore. Pennsylvania not only has high school/real estate taxes but a sales tax, state income tax, a township tax and a personal property tax. When I worked in Philadelphia I also had to pay a wage tax of 5.625%. Pennsylvania just got too expensive to live in, I had to move. 

When I moved to Delaware I found out that the taxes that two of my neighbors, who moved from New Jersey, were paying. Their taxes were approaching $20,000 a year! Yes, for the "privilege" of living in New Jersey and you know how those Jersey politicians were using that tax money. Yes, the same way the Pennsylvania politicians were using it, waste and excessive salaries for state legislatures for jobs that weren't even full time. 

We all left beautiful homes that we planned to live out our final years. I remember my late friend Bart, who moved to Delaware from upper New York State. There was hardly a week that went by that he didn't wistfully bemoan how beautiful his country house was and how high the taxes had become. Same with my neighbor Marty and her husband Howard who had also moved here New York State. Of course Bill and I had a beautiful home on almost eight acres of wooded land that we had built in 1980. To his dying day Bill always sadly remembered how much he missed our home in Pennsylvania. When the new owners defaulted on their mortgage and the property went into foreclosure, we would often drive up and visit our former home. So sad. Even to this day.

I had friends in Delaware that I have known for years (all passed on now) and knew how little they were paying in property taxes on their homes, only hundreds of dollars, including my one friend Ed who was a millionaire. He was paying less than $400 a year in taxes. My friends Bob and Larry were also paying less than a thousand a year in taxes on their homes. In addition to low school/real estate taxes, they didn't have to pay sales tax, state income tax or any other nuisance tax like a "County Tax" or personal property tax (on stocks and bonds in an investment portfolio). So when I was faced with paying a $9,000 plus tax, I had no choice but to move to Delaware, much to the consternation and disappointment of my Mother. My move affected my relationship with her at the end of her life. Another sad fact of outrageously high taxes for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. My surviving brother still lives in our modest eleven hundred square foot one bath ranch home in Pennsylvania. Last I saw his taxes were $4,400 a year. 

Pennsylvania attempted offer "relief" to retirees by offering seniors to earn credit for volunteer work like working in school cafeterias.  Yes, I can imagine my eighty year old mother working in her local school cafeteria a certain number of hours to earn a $50 credit to a maximum of $500 credit towards her taxes. That's your venal and corrupt Pennsylvania State legislatures "relief" offer to retirees. California had the right idea to offer seniors relief on the ever rising school/real estate taxes. They freeze the tax rate once a senior has lived in their home for a certain number of years. However, once they sell their home the new taxes are one percent of the total sale price. Now that's fair! My friend Glenn, who lived in Los Angeles took advantage of that tax relief when he became a senior. And then when he moved to Palm Springs he could transfer that tax relief to his new home. Some states get it right. But these eastern states like New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, even though they are mostly dominated by Democratic legislatures, are just greedy and unrealistic. Both parties, Republicans and Democrats are equally guilty. Tax more, spend more. I am so thankful to the Democratic controlled state of Delaware and Sussex County for this unexpected and pleasant surprise. Now I can breath a little bit easier knowing that I can easily pay my real estate/school tax bill for whatever years I have remaining on this earth. I'm not religious but thank God for this act of grace!

One Democrat Finally Fights Back!

 Good morning from your favorite blogger here in Delaware! 

Finally, a Democrat is who is fighting back to Donald (Tiny Hands) Trump!

Many people are saying "It's about time the Dems took the gloves off!" 

By the way, what's with some Dems saying "Newsome isn't the perfect candidate but we're glad someone finally is showing some fight." Not "perfect"? Come Dems, stop with the Purity Test! 

Here are some samples of how California Governor Newsome is trolling Trump and driving those Fox ("Faux") News hosts nuts. They're complaining that Newsome's posts are "childish" and yet his post perfectly replicate the childish Trump (Tiny Hands) posts. 

Route One Traffic 8 15 2025

Just got back from another Stuck In Traffic Rehoboth Beach Summertime Fun Times!

What was I thinking? I get a notice from TD Bank this morning that unless I posted a transaction in my account within the next thirty days they are going to make it inactive. Then after a period of inactivity (I didn't check to see how long) they would escheat the balance of my account to the state of Delaware. Hey! I don't have that much money ($2,695) in that account but I sure as hell don't want to give it to the state of Delaware or another other entity. I've already had that happen once years ago when I had a convenience account at a bank in Provincetown, Mass. I think I only had about three hundred dollars in that account (actually a substantial sum, this was in the Seventies) but it disappeared into the ether (state of Massachusetts) because when I made my annual summertime trip to Provincetown I found out they had close my account. Money gone!

So when I get these notices from the banks (by the way, the Provincetown Bank never sent me a notice or if they did, it got lost in the shuffle of my life back then, I was much more active then than I am now), I pay attention! I write out a check for $100 and drive down to the bank to make a deposit to keep my account alive for another six months. Why don't I close the account you ask? Because I have a TD bank account in Canada and they are connected. I never know when I'll have to use my Canadian TD Bank account again. I used to use it when I visited Pat in Canada but I can't do that now because of the Orange Jesus. I'm afraid if I visit Pat in Canada I won't be able to come back to the U.S. Why? Because the border guards sometimes check one's iPhone, including Hidden Files, before they let you across the border. I have a lot of anti-Convicted Felon images on my iPhone photos. Yes Virginia, this is the era we are living in now where freedom of speech and expression can get you into trouble. I never thought I would live to see this day but here we are. May I live long enough to see this evil go away but for right now I have to face reality. No visits to Pat in Canada during this Reign of Intimidation, Threats and Corruption. 

So I want to keep my TD American account active. I write out a check for one hundred dollars. Hop in my car and head down Route One........ON A SUMMERTIME FRIDAY AFTERNOON! What was I thinking?

About forty-five minutes later I arrive at the Rehoboth TD bank branch, a trip that normally takes about seven to ten minutes. Yes Virginia, I sat in my 2010 Red Subaru Forester in this hot summer heat inching along Route One until I got to the TD Bank branch office. 

I made my $100 deposit and vowed to myself never again to take my Subaru or any other vehicle down Route One on a summertime day for any reason. 

NEVER! 

Monetizing My Blog

An update on monetizing my blog.

It ain't going to happen. Even though I dislike ads on blogs I had considered monetizing my blog to earn a little extra money. 

Like many people today, in The Convicted Felon's economy, I'm finding my fixed income isn't keeping pace with the ever rising costs of every day living. It's especially noticeable with grocery shopping, although I don't need that much food to keep me going. I have ruled out ever going to restaurants again, probably forever. Besides, what I cook for myself is way better than most if not all restaurant fare I have encountered. I would only eat out again for social purposes. I used to like cooking for people in my home but not anymore. Too much trouble. And it's the other costs of every day living like heating, Internet, electric, lawn maintenance. I can keep up for now but I don't know how much longer. I do have a nest egg which I may have to dig into eventually. That's why I have a nest egg but I would prefer to keep that nest egg there....just in case.

When Bill was alive his modest Social Security income contributed to the household expenses here at Casa Tipton-Kelly. Also, my part-time job at the hotel helped with expenses, especially my quarterly trips with Pat. Those two sources of income are gone as are my quarterly trips with Pat. Which is just as well because of my mobility problems now. 

I broke down my wall of resistance to monetizing my blog when I realized there was a possibility of adding to my household income by doing something which I like to do, write. And after twenty years of blogging, surely I developed a following which I hadn't kept track of. 

So a couple of months ago I submitted my request to AdSense, Google's ad platform. I was expecting immediate reaction and approval but I was wrong. When they finally did get around to getting back to me I was told I have "little content." Well, that flabbergasted me. I naively thought my blogs had "content". Here we are back to my high school English class days when my essays were criticized mercilessly and little if any encouragement was offered. Actually no encouragement was offered which is why I came to dislike English class and it's heavy emphasis on reading Shakespeare. Is there anything more BORING than reading Shakespeare? Maybe "The Mill on the Floss" by George Eliot, which was my big project. I never did finish reading that boring book. I think I still have that book!

So folks this is good news and bad news. Probably more good news because for those of you who have been following my blog all these years (I started in 2005), it looks like my blog will continue to be ad-free. In the meantime I'll look for another source of income but my options are limited. I can sell just so many vintage jeans on eBay. My other option is to cut back and hopefully The Convicted Felon with his tariffs won't affect my expenditures that much. I don't buy toys from China. 

A World of Wednesdays August 13, 2025

 The hot and humid days have returned to Casa Tipton-Kelly here in southern coastal Delaware. The last week or so we had normal summer weather which was really nice. I'm old enough to remember that most summers were like the last week, highs of eighties and medium humidity. This morning I woke up to ninety-seven percent humidity. My multiple windows in my living and sun rooms were covered in condensation. Egads! Here we go again. I won't be mowing my grass today. I can't take the heat and humidity. Jose will be by later to mow and trim. 

Now here we go for my weekly recap of "Wednesdays":

What's At The Top Of My Mind

The same actually, what the Convicted Felon in the White House is up to. I continue to be very concerned the direction my country is going in with the complicity of the coward Republican lawmakers who have failed in their Constitutional oath of office. 

Some of the clowns that inhabit Trump's corrupt incompetent cabinet

AG Bondi, FBI Director Patel and Jeanine Piero, this trio of clowns were window dressing on one of Trump's press conferences, they know he's lying every time he opens his pie hole.

Take this concern of mine as a given every week. In the meantime here is another concern that is top of my mind this week:

All the vines that are rapidly taking over my circle of holly trees bordering my back yard. It seems like these vines grow overnight. Two of the most aggressive vines are the Virginia Creeper and the honeysuckle vines. I pulled some down this morning but I'll have to get out there today and crawl under the holly trees and snip those monster vines off at the root. Those vines will kill the trees. I've even seem them eat abandoned houses. When the human race is long gone from this world, those vines will reclaim the earth. 

Where I've Been

Same old, same old, Food Lion (supermarket), Restore Thrift Store and Pepper's Greenhouses. I'm quite content to visit these three businesses. They provide just about all I need in my life at this time. The folks at these establishments all know me well, we're like old friends. We are old friends! I would like to go down to the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk and breath in some of that salt air from the Atlantic Ocean but fighting Route One traffic just isn't worth it. Driving on Route One is like Russian Roulette, sooner or later I'm going to have an accident. I'm not concerned about hitting anybody. I'm concerned that some idiot from out of state (and in state) will hit me in their frantic rush to the beach. It just ain't worth it folks. I'll stay home until fall when, hopefully, the traffic tapers off.

Where I'm Going

This morning I'm going to Food Lion again and Pepper's Greenhouses. I'm out of apple cider and I need cash money to pay Jose after he mows my grass today. At Pepper's I need to buy more iron grates to prop up my autumn chrysanthemums. Sometimes Jose brings a helper to week whack around the edges of my backyard oasis. Jose is good at trimming but his helper is brutal, when he weed whacks, he cuts half my flowers down. I've tried asking him to lighten up but he doesn't understand me or pretends not to understand me. He always has a scowl on his face. I think he does it on purpose. I haven't seen him in the past several weeks though. I suspect he's in hiding from Trump's Ice Gestapo goons.

What I'm Eating

Not much. I find as I get older my appetite is dwindling. Lately I have been eating fresh corn on the cob (at one dollar per ear!), which I love. I also found some frozen chicken bits that don't have garlic powder in it. I like garlic but not the garlic powder that permeates most frozen foods to compensate for the lack of flavor. Just give me plain old breaded chicken strips (fingers) that I can bake in my air fryer for fifteen minutes. I also am having Portuguese rolls. Ever have Portuguese rolls? I developed a taste for them when I used to vacation in Provincetown, Mass in the Seventies. I've never been able to find them until recently I discovered that BJ's Wholesale bakes them in house. I get a package of six of them, take one out, cut it in half and freeze the rest for later consumption. I only have half a roll. They're very chewy. I like chewy. I don't like "bubblegum bread" like Wonder bread. Never have, even when I was a mean little kid. Tasted like air to me. Tasteless air. I know my Mother wouldn't like chewy bread. She did make good southern biscuits though. 

Who Gets A Fist Bump

The Democratic Texas lawmakers who fled Texas to delay Trump's latest attempt to rig the election. They have done this at great personal sacrifice to themselves and their family but at least they're showing some backbone and courage, something that the now corrupt and cowardly Republicans are unable to do. Overall though I don't feel as if the Democratic leadership is fighting hard enough. The Democrats need new leadership. "Strongly Worded Letters" by granny glasses wearing can't talk without reading a scrip Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer won't work. The Dems have to get down and dirty and fight the Republicans just as hard as the Republicans fight to win. The Democrats have to stop playing by the rules when the Republicans aren't. Michelle Obama's decree "When they go low, we go high." What the fuck Michelle? Yeah, when I'm bullied I'm going to turn around and walk away? I've never done that in my life. I punch back. And guess what? It always stopped the bullying. Actually I was only bullied three times in my life. Seventh grade, ninth grade and in Basic Training in the Army. Each time I fought back and the bully regretted he even tried to bully me. Know how I fought back. With my fist. Yes. Each time. Solved the problem.

Who Gets A Slap

The CEO's of these charities like St. Jude's and the ASPCA who get millions of dollars in compensation while their commercials flood the TV for more contributions. Hey CEO's, why not take a cut in your seven figures salaries and donate it to your own charity? Just saying.

What's Making Me Smile

Bill stopped by again this week via that burned out Christmas light.

Bill always knows when to come by and let me know he's still with me. His visit this week was especially welcomed because I was starting to sink in depression. Nothing serious, just the usual feeling sorry for myself being alone. I usually am able to pull myself out of that deep dark well but seeing that burned our Christmas light blink I know that Bill is still with me and waiting for me to join him. That knowledge of what awaits me when I end this life, makes me smile.

Marriage Date Tentatively Set!

This morning I had an epiphany. I know now that Pat and I will be married this year. How do I know? Since I've reached four score and plus years I find I often can foretell the future. Even though Pat hit a snag with his recent visit to the American Consulate in Montreal to get his K-1 VISA for our marriage, that was just a temporary setback. He only needs an original copy of Bill's death certificate to complete his interview and approval for us to get married. I sent Bill's death certificate to him last week. I expect him to receive it this week. Pat still has to get a physical, which I am confident he will pass, then we're off to the races. We'll have ninety days to get married.

Our wedding plans came to me this morning. We'll get married at the county courthouse in a civil ceremony. The same place Bill and I got married July 3rd, 2013,

Me and Bill married at the Sussex County Courthouse Georgetown, DE July 3, 2013

which just happened to coincide with our forty-ninth anniversary of the day we met in Philadelphia in 1964. This time I'm planning on getting married on my 84th birthday which will be November 9th, 2025. That's a Sunday which is very convenient for the friends I have invited to my wedding. I've already invited five people. They have all accepted.

Like my first wedding, this will be a basic but beautiful ceremony. The only money I'll spend is the $125 for the marriage certificate, up from $100 that I spent for me and Bill's marriage certificate. I'm not into big weddings just the way I wasn't into big funerals. That's fine for some people, but for me, and Pat, we just want a simple ceremony.  

On February 22nd, 2017 Pat and I attended Dr. Spo's marriage to Someone in Palm Springs, a simple yet beautiful ceremony. The love in that room just as genuine and heart fulfilling as any massively expensive wedding with hundreds of guests! Nobody had to tell us to smile for the cameras!

Someone and Dr. Spo, me and Pat on the right, Fearsome Beard, Cubby and his husband on the left, February 22, 2017 Palm Springs, California. An absolutely beautiful ceremony!

That's the plan now folks! 

By the way, if anyone had told me years ago that I would be married TWICE in my lifetime I would have thought they were crazy. And just how crazy is this? That I have met and two such wonderful men in my lifetime? Never in a million years would I have believed this life that I have been so fortunate to have led. Especially now, that at eighty-four years old I wouldn't be languishing away in some assisted care facility but about to begin the next wonderful chapter of my life? 

Pat and me June 16, 2014

I am truly blessed in this lifetime. To have known and married to such wonderful and yet totally different men. 

Route One Traffic August 2025

Yesterday I dared to venture out on the dreaded Route One, Coastal Highway. 

I was lucky! I just missed this traffic tie up. 

Usually, during the summer tourist season I do not venture out on Route One from Memorial Day until a couple of weeks after Labor Day. Why? Because there are always accidents and the traffic is usually backed up. I have better things to do with my time than sit in traffic. And forget even venturing into Rehoboth Beach, which I would love to do. I like to walk on the boardwalk and people watch but it is just too crazy during the summer season. This is so ironic because when I used to live in Pennsylvania, I yearned to visit Rehoboth Beach. And here I am, only ten miles up the road from Rehoboth Beach, and I don't go out. 

The reason I went out yesterday was that I want to get some more of that dill pickle hummus at Aldi's. Aldi's is located on the strip on Route One as one enters Rehoboth Beach. It's easy for me to get there because I have a red light each way, I don't have to make any of those dreaded U-Turns on Route One. 

So, with my heart in my mouth I headed out on Route One about five o'clock yesterday afternoon. Yes, the traffic was heavy but it was moving. 

I enter the parking lot of Aldi's. Plenty of parking, which is a blessing. Not always a factor when visiting other stores on the Route One strip. 

I go into Aldi's and scoop up all of their dill pickle hummus and head out to my car. I see on the ground two small rugs. I think about it for two seconds then I scooped them up two! Two free rugs! Why not? Someone else would just pick them up. Obviously someone was loading the back of their SUV and these small rugs fell on the ground. 

When I pulled into the Aldi's parking lot I heard and saw an ambulance. I can't remember the last time I was on Route One during the summer that I haven't heard and seen the screaming sirens of ambulances. I just hate it when I'm in traffic and the ambulance wants to get around me. Where do I turn? Thank God I was in the parking lot this time.

As I pulled out the Aldi's parking lot with my bounty, I see the southbound traffic is stopped. Ah ha! As I drove further up the road I see the cause of the traffic tie up, there was an accident (a fender bender thankfully, no one was hurt). Traffic is at a stop. I just missed that by a half an hour! Believe me, you haven't lived until you have sat in a half and hour to an hour traffic tie up while the police and EMT's clear up the latest accident on Route One. 

I think my five containers (I cleaned them out) of dill pickle hummus will last me until Labor Day.

The Aftermath Of Pat's K-1 VISA Visit

 

Me and Pat, March 2014 at a Mexican restaurant in Millsboro DE, the restaurant has since been torn down but our love for one another is stronger than ever!

Pat has calmed down after yesterday's fiasco in Montreal. I feel so bad for him. You think you do everything right. You're checked and rechecked and yet you missed one dot. Didn't cross that "T" here. 

"No soup for you!" Go to the end of the line!" As the Soup Nazi said on that memorable Seinfeld episode of many years ago. 

We're not back to Square One. But Pat does have to reschedule another interview online. But he was told yesterday that he would be "ahead of the line." 

I was hoping we could get married this summer but it seems more likely that by this fall the Tipton-Flynn nuptials will take place. 

The K-1 VISA Saga Continues

 Pat has returned home.

Downtown Montreal (yesterday)

The six hour plus drive from Montreal to Hamilton completed without incident. 

He has cooled over and recovered (somewhat) from the shock and disappointment that he failed in his first appointment with the U.S. Consulate to obtain his K-1 VISA.

I mailed off a copy of Bill's death certificate almost immediately after Pat informed me of this latest hitch in our year long effort to get married. This time I only paid $7. 67 to mail the death certificate. I mailed regular mail and now that the Canadian postal workers are taking a break from their constant strikes and going back to work, Pat should get Bill's death certificate sometime next week. When I had to mail him my certified copy of my birth certificate, I used registered mail. That cost $78! Still took a week to get to him.

I was bummed out all day but I have also recovered. I have to say I'm not really surprised that there was a hitch/glitch. I think both Pat and I felt the same way prior to his interview this morning.

We're concentrating on the positive now. We have each other and we'll plow through this latest roadblock. 

Keep on keeping on. 

Pat Flynn in Montreal August 6, 2025

Right now, as I type this blog entry this morning at 8:24 AM, Pat is at the American consulate in Montreal being interviewed for his K-1 VISA approval. I have to admit I'm nervous, probably more so than Pat. 

Yesterday Pat made the six plus hour drive from his home in Hamilton, Ontario to Montreal, Quebec (391 miles) for his interview this morning at 7:50 AM (yes, as I type this blog entry).

Hold on! I just got a FaceTime call from Pat. He has to go back! He didn't have an original copy of Bill's death certificate. He is so frustrated now. I feel so bad for him. Now he has to make another six hour trip to Montreal, rent another vehicle, secure lodging again.

Thank goodness I have extra originals of Bill's death certificates. I'll leave now and mail them to Pat. This time regular mail to Canada. Last time I sent the original certified copy of my birth certificate by certified mail. That cost me seventy-eight dollars. Regular mail this time. So far this whole procedure, which is almost a year old now, has cost us almost $2,000. 

Again, I feel so bad for Pat. Now he has to make that six hour trip back to his home in Hamilton. A wasted trip this one.

Keep on, keeping on. What choice do we have? One hurdle after another. I'll draw the line when they want to check my iPhone.

A World Of Wednesdays August 6, 2025

 

What a week! 

This "World of Wednesdays" rolls around pretty fast. So here's is what I've been up to this past week:

What's Top Of My Mind:

Pat's interview in Montreal this Thursday for his K-1 VISA. Once he get's his approval, which I think he will then we have ninety days to get married. That will not be a problem. We already have that planned out. The problem is that he has to live in the United States with me for at least six months of the year for three years. The problem is how he is going to pay for his medical insurance? Right now we're doing one thing at a time. Get approval for his K-1 VISA. We're sure we're not the first elderly gay couple getting married and confronting this medical insurance problem. Anybody out there in the Greater Blogosphere who is reading this post have any experience in this situation? Any insight would be most helpful!

Where I've Been:

Busy day today. This morning I had my six month audiologist appointment. They cleaned my hearing aids (earwax) and asked how my hearing was. It's fine. While I was in the vicinity I took a short drive to Redner's Supermarket with is another one of these wannabe Wegman's. Their footprint is big and they have a lot of stuff but they're no Wegmans. And on top of that, they're expensive. Way out of my budget. Back to Food Lion for my more modest tastes. However, I did use their gas pump for the first time. I've been using Royal Farms to get gas but they don't keep up. I'm used to just driving in my regular pump, tapping my credit card, gassing up and then spinning out to home. But they're so busy with all the trucks, landscapers and construction workers with all their big vehicles and equipment, that many times all the pumps are taken. When when I can find a pump available, it won't take my credit card. The tapping function ended months ago. I went in and pointed that a fact out and was met with a blank stare. Uh, okay. No clue. When I am able to find a pump, I put my credit card in manually and then can't get it out. Now there is a message "If you have problems getting your credit card out, slowly pull down to the left." Really? I have to play around with taking a chance this soulless machine is going to suck up my credit card? That almost happened once and I started to panic. No use going in and telling one of those minimum wage workers (they no long get minimum wage, they start at $15 an hour, four more dollars an hour that I was making at the hotel with my twenty years hotel front desk experience - where did I go wrong? Again, a subject for another blog post.) I managed to secure my credit card but now I'm stressed out every time I go to get my gas at Royal Farms. My visit to the gas pump at Redner's was stress free. And I was able to tap my credit card!

Where I'm Going:

To the Restore Thrift Store (Habitat For Humanity): 

Yesterday I made my weekly visit and I spied an accent table that has been marked down to $13.75. Oh I want that table! But do I need another piece of furniture here at Casa Tipton-Kelly. Of course not! But I think I can rationalize a reason to buy this bargain. Of course in the back of my mind I hope someone else has already picked up this treasure since I saw it yesterday and I won't have to further clutter up my house. But that is a nice accent table! I just know I can find a spot for it!

What I'm Listening To:

My Bose radio station, Pandora. For months I've only been listening to continuous "shop" music on my premium You Tube channel but until they update their playlist I'm back to listening to my Pandora channel, which is called Thumbnail; a mix of big band music, polka (yes, polka!), Jackie Gleason, "beautiful music (Percy Faith) and eastern snake charmer and Indian music. Yes, I do have electic taste in music. None of the current musical tastes (?) no, God Forbid Broadway show tunes. I HATE BROADWAY SHOW TUNES!

What I'm Eating:

Frozen breaded chicken. Just plain breaded frozen chicken. In the evenings during the long daylight days of spring and summer, I don't have a lot of time preparing food for dinner at night so I like something that I can just pop into my Air Fryer. Lately I've been having a boneless pork chop with a citrus onion marinade but I can't have that every night so I like to mix it up. In the past when I have brought frozen chicken (usually Tyson), they jam garlic powder in the chicken. I like garlic but garlic powder gags me. Too strong! Not like my men (to borrow a phrase from my favorite blogger Spo). I like my men elder, small, slight and a little on the goofy side. Hey! What can I tell you? I'm not  your average Gay Guy who likes bears and young, blonde California surfer types. 

Who Gets a Fist Bump:

My local Delaware State House candidate, Alonna Berry, she won yesterday!  First time in a long time that I've voted for a winner in an election. It seems the last five years or so I've voted for losers, even those who won office like Joe "Dead Man Walking" Biden. What a great way to start of the day by waking up to the news that she won!

Who Gets A Slap:

The Texas Republicans who are trying to rig the next election for The Orange Jesus by creating five new House seats by gerrymandering redistricting. Five slaps and a punch in the face I say! I hope I live long enough to see The Convicted Felon and his enablers frog marched off to prison for their corrupt and traitorous actions. 

What's Make Me Smile:

Just talked to Pat on FaceTime this morning. He's on his way to Montreal for his 7:10 AM interview at the American Consulate for approval of his K-1 VISA. If he gets the approval I asked the lady in the photo above to be a witness to our wedding plus the lady who took this picture. Both of them championed Marriage Equality in the state of Delaware for many years and were responsible for finally getting that bill passed. I thought it was appropriate because me testifying before both houses and the subsequent photo of me that was circulated on the national news media was how Pat "met" me. He saw my photo and liked what he saw. The rest is history. And how appropriate that these two ladies would show up out of nowhere at this time, when our marriage is so imminent. If I was religious I would say "God is good" but I'm not religious so I'll just say "This is the right thing to do. Thank you guardian angel!"