Here's something you might be interested in.
"Make Do Or Do Without, says Mrs. Sew-and-Sew!" --from a WWII era British Propaganda Poster.
15/Sep/2010 16:23 hours.
I had just finished coming from the Vista Community Clinic, after seeing my new Primary Care doctor. The celluitis has taken off in my right leg really heavy-duty. So, I'm now taking Keflex (1 500mg capsule w/fluid every six hours. Taken w/o water, the caps tendency to break open. The resulting taste is not unlike spoiled maple syrup...yuk!) to try to hammer the infection into the ground.
I cross Vale Terrace Avenue, hoping to catch the bus home and get dinner started. It then occured to me that I needed to replace my regular brown-plastic framed glasses, and that the Catholic Charities Thrift Store was within a six minute walking distance.
So, I hie on off to the Thrift Store. As soon as I get there, I unsling my backpack, place it next to the counter, then head over to the bookrack I also need to replace two hardcover books ("Cauldron" by Larry Bond and "Red Storm Rising" by Tom Clancy) that I had to ditch due to heavy wear.
I found both books ($2/a book for hardcovers), then walked over to the counter where the used eyeglasses were kept. I paitently waited, then asked the counter clerk for assistance. She pulled out the eyeglass display and left me to my work.
Now, you might be wondering why I'm getting a pair of glasses at a thrift store, instead of an optician's office. Well, if you remember last year, Medi-Cal had stopped paying for eye exams and new glasses. Before then, a paitent could get their eyes checked once a year, and new glasses every two years.
With Medi-Cal no longer doing this, I have to resort to OPCs (Other Peoples' Cheaters) to obtain my eyeglasses. It's a matter of trying them on until I find one that lets me see properly. If I'm unsuccessful? Time to hit the highway and find another thrift store.
Well, the first pair I tried...WE HAVE A WINNER! Lenses were nice and unscratched, arms intact and working properly...and metal frames, to boot! (My plastic-framed ones are, to put it chartiably, The Second Most Effective Form Of Abstinence Enforcement Known To Man) The glasses were $3.
Then I decided to look around the kitchen appliances section, hoping to find a toaster oven or a new blender. Then I saw what would be my fourth purchase...a new Rival Electronic Grill...brand new and in mint condition. Like my Faberware "Electrobachi," the Rival is an open-topped, electric-powered grill. Definitely not a George Foreman-type (which has grilling surfaces on both the lid and the main element. Good for burgers, but lousy for chicken, pork chops, beef. or marinated foods).
The purchases rang up to $17. Cash out, cash in register, purchaes bagged...out the door and on my way to the bus stop. Got home around 17:45. Got the main, then set about to put my new grill to good use. Cheeseburgers on the grill tonight with a dollop of ketchup.
The grill plugged into the same cord I use with the Electrobachi, which connects to a killswitch inside the apartment. It heated up like a champ, did the deed, and proved easier to clean afterwards. I'm keping both grills, but the Midnight Griller (so named because the ceramic outer shell is jet-black in color) will be going through a few more grillings to "shake it down."
However--no grilling tomorrow...Crock Pot Night!
Oh, and my new glasses not only work rather well, but look a heck of a lot better on my face!
--LPR
"Make Do Or Do Without, says Mrs. Sew-and-Sew!" --from a WWII era British Propaganda Poster.
15/Sep/2010 16:23 hours.
I had just finished coming from the Vista Community Clinic, after seeing my new Primary Care doctor. The celluitis has taken off in my right leg really heavy-duty. So, I'm now taking Keflex (1 500mg capsule w/fluid every six hours. Taken w/o water, the caps tendency to break open. The resulting taste is not unlike spoiled maple syrup...yuk!) to try to hammer the infection into the ground.
I cross Vale Terrace Avenue, hoping to catch the bus home and get dinner started. It then occured to me that I needed to replace my regular brown-plastic framed glasses, and that the Catholic Charities Thrift Store was within a six minute walking distance.
So, I hie on off to the Thrift Store. As soon as I get there, I unsling my backpack, place it next to the counter, then head over to the bookrack I also need to replace two hardcover books ("Cauldron" by Larry Bond and "Red Storm Rising" by Tom Clancy) that I had to ditch due to heavy wear.
I found both books ($2/a book for hardcovers), then walked over to the counter where the used eyeglasses were kept. I paitently waited, then asked the counter clerk for assistance. She pulled out the eyeglass display and left me to my work.
Now, you might be wondering why I'm getting a pair of glasses at a thrift store, instead of an optician's office. Well, if you remember last year, Medi-Cal had stopped paying for eye exams and new glasses. Before then, a paitent could get their eyes checked once a year, and new glasses every two years.
With Medi-Cal no longer doing this, I have to resort to OPCs (Other Peoples' Cheaters) to obtain my eyeglasses. It's a matter of trying them on until I find one that lets me see properly. If I'm unsuccessful? Time to hit the highway and find another thrift store.
Well, the first pair I tried...WE HAVE A WINNER! Lenses were nice and unscratched, arms intact and working properly...and metal frames, to boot! (My plastic-framed ones are, to put it chartiably, The Second Most Effective Form Of Abstinence Enforcement Known To Man) The glasses were $3.
Then I decided to look around the kitchen appliances section, hoping to find a toaster oven or a new blender. Then I saw what would be my fourth purchase...a new Rival Electronic Grill...brand new and in mint condition. Like my Faberware "Electrobachi," the Rival is an open-topped, electric-powered grill. Definitely not a George Foreman-type (which has grilling surfaces on both the lid and the main element. Good for burgers, but lousy for chicken, pork chops, beef. or marinated foods).
The purchases rang up to $17. Cash out, cash in register, purchaes bagged...out the door and on my way to the bus stop. Got home around 17:45. Got the main, then set about to put my new grill to good use. Cheeseburgers on the grill tonight with a dollop of ketchup.
The grill plugged into the same cord I use with the Electrobachi, which connects to a killswitch inside the apartment. It heated up like a champ, did the deed, and proved easier to clean afterwards. I'm keping both grills, but the Midnight Griller (so named because the ceramic outer shell is jet-black in color) will be going through a few more grillings to "shake it down."
However--no grilling tomorrow...Crock Pot Night!
Oh, and my new glasses not only work rather well, but look a heck of a lot better on my face!
--LPR