Fun and Frolic With Long-Term Love

Some other pics because I have a few minutes before PunkRock gets home from work:

My little Lenny WigglePants. He was helping me with the tree.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/dbOAA6TjndDQcGEZgdXjX37Mz3cxnMdeaubLqRTYikS

Gus and Leonard, on my living room chair which has been relocated to my daughter's bedroom. There's no room for it with the Christmas tree up!

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/rFo9kuF4uzubHvhxPz132616YA5CrtgxdazkWmE2FiI

Me, fresh outta the shower a couple of days ago. Actually, this is what I wore to go and see the new Justice League movie last week - I think I went on Wednesday with both SirGawain and DarkKnight. DarkKnight tried to give me shit about not dressing appropriately for the fandom, but I gave him a look and he slunk away in his Batman shirt. lololol

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/KYBYus9T3ApW4rDJi6bH7ntYQqxGe2rGdrSK1ITu0H7
 
Well I was supposed to go for a sleepover with SirGawain last night, but I got all the way out of town and realized that I still had the keys to my daughter’s car, apartment and storage unit. So I had to turn around and take them home, since DarkKnight needed her car to go to practice. Sigh. I was crazy hungry too, because I had skipped lunch because I ended up with no time between classes. I guess it went ok, since I ended up having Mission BBQ with DarkKnight (prime rib! Yummy!) and then spent the evening curled on the couch with my daughter watching Ultimate Beastmaster. I am fairly certain the show is a 10-episode advertisement for CrossFit. Lol

So today I have to get my daughter moved out and give the keys to the landlord. We were texting last night and things keep changing - another reason i got stuck home last night - but now it should be ok. PunkRock just left to meet my son at the apartment. There are some boxes in the first room so they’ll load up my vehicle to go to the storage unit and then take the old mattress/boxspring to the dump. When they get back, I’m meeting the landlord to give him the keys. Originally he wanted the keys this morning but he changed it up and now it’s this afternoon. Whatever. I sent him a copy of the letter from my daughter’s orthopedic surgeon, and hopefully he will have a check for me instead of making us wait. He said he’d give back her $650 deposit. I just want this over. I need to call and cancel her electric today.
 
The landlord is going to make us wait for the deposit. I’m not surprised, but whatever. The electric has been switched off and the renter’s insurance is canceled. I can’t think of anything else I need to handle at this moment. The final bills for electric and internet will make their way here in the next month or so, and I will deal with those then. Did I update on my daughter’s foot? She has another X-ray scheduled in two weeks. Same restrictions and still taking aspirin to help minimize blood clots. She is in a boot now instead of the splint. Her pain level has increased a LOT, but she’s hanging in there. When she goes for the X-ray, the surgeon says he will either keep her in the boot or switch to a cast. So we will see.

Holy fuck, y’all! God, I hate my period! I am always so horny and wanting sex during blow job week! Last night PunkRock gave me some amazing anal, and then I went upstairs to say goodnight to DarkKnight, and he put his dick in my face. Lol Apparently, he could hear me carrying on and it got him excited. I found that to be super fun, and surprising, because he has always heard me and never had a reaction like that before, that he has shared anyway! He said it was because when I came into his bedroom, I wasn’t wearing a bra and my tits were amazing through the shirt. Lol Okay! Then, after a bit, down in the basement bedroom, PunkRock and I got up to shenanigans again and I ended up getting titty-fucked. Gotta love it! I went to bed WELL sated. (My vibrator spent the evening being charged. Lololol)

Today is going to be super busy. After I write this I willneed to shower and dress, and then set up my Chem lab for today. I had two students miss the lecture on Tuesday. Sigh. After class, I am desperately in need of groceries! So I will have to clean out the fridge at some point to prep for those, and make a list. Oh! Before I pop in the shower I HAVE to buy presents for PunkRock’s birthday next week. I guess I am off to do that now!
 
I hope your daughter's recovery goes smoothly, and that you start feeling like yourself again soon.

Was this by chance the game that you were looking for on Amazon and couldn't find? I've played it several times, I really enjoy it.

Tasty Minstrel Games Colosseum Board Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938146476/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_qfliAbAXG2SRM
 
Nah, that isn’t it. Thanks though! :)
 
This morning is the funeral, so PunkRock and I will be going to that together today. He actually had the day off already, so the timing worked great. Afterward I am going to do some shopping for the holiday, I hope. Yesterday I managed to get some things for free, which is always amazing! I had $70 credit at a friend’s LuLaRoe shop, so I messaged my sister, and she chose some leggings for my niece and a Cassie skirt for herself. I also am getting a Maxi skirt for my brother’s baby mama. :) After talking to baby mama, I was able to get the items she requested for my other niece on Amazon with the credit card points we’ve accumulated. So no cost! I did get a $15 off any purchase (no minimum) coupon for a clothing store in the mall, so I am going to go hit that up this afternoon. I love a free Christmas! Lol

My sister actually called my last night and she wants my 13 year old niece toncome stay with us for the week after Christmas. I am down with that, so I hope it works out.

I need to pay some bills today too, so that’s less fun. Afterwards I am spending the evening with SirGawain. Things seem to have swung the other way in my head now, and I am super excited to see him. Like, what the actual fuck? This really is all new to me - I don’t understand why I am so mixed up.

Did I ever post about my plans for a Blessing Box? I have been unable to actually hit up any thrift or consignment shops yet for the cupboard/armoire to place in my front yard, but I seriously cannot stop thinking about it. It’s also going to be a priority today to pop in a few places to try and locate something suitable. Do a search for Blessing Box or Little Free Pantry - our house is seriously the perfect location for this, as the low income apartment complex is about a mile up the road and families are always walking by my house to go get ice cream at the shop at the end of the street. I think about it all the time.
 
I’m at SitGawain’s house right now, and he’s making me some sort of breakfast dish to eat tomorrow, so while he is doing that I thought I would update.

Squeeeeeeeeeee!

I found a Blessing Box! I am so fucking excited!!!! It’s metal and spray painted white, and it has sliding glass doors that cover the entire front side. 3 or 4 shelves. I should have taken a photo, but I didn’t, and now it’s in my car until I get home tomorrow. It filled the entire back section of my Rogue, with the seats down. After I bought it, SirGawain and I went to the grocery store and I bought about $40 worth of groceries to get it started - canned soups, Chef Boyardee, Ramen, Mac and Cheese, spaghetti & jars of sauce, boxes of raisins, some wet cat food, deodorant, chapstick, toilet paper and soap. Oh, and some containers of baby food too. I tried to get smatterings of everything. I am hoping I will just have to seed it and then it will generate donations. My friend that has one in NY is swamped with packaged food and products. He says it empties as fast as he fills it! I am keeping my fingers crossed that ours is just as popular and that it fills a need. I texted PunkRock that I found my cabinet and that when he gets home from work tomorrow, I will need him to put down some pavers as a base for it. OMG I can’t wait!

SirGawain pointed out that there may be complaints, but oh, I fucking hope not. There are tons of Little Libraries in my city, so if the city wants to give me shit over a Little Pantry - I will fight back if it comes to that. I hope my neighbors are cool with it though. I want it to be a positive thing that helps our community! I didn’t get anything to put it in that is perishable, though I hope to put some fresh fruit in it once I get it going.
 
Did you check to see if there are any permits or anything required by your city for the little pantry? Sometimes it's considered an unattached structure like a shed by city code. Other than that, it sounds like you have a great plan! There are a few around by town but none very accessible to where I am.
 
I did! The only permits required for sheds is if they are larger than 10x10 structures. Plenty of people in town have “little free libraries.” Mine is also not going to be on a cement post - it’s just a short cabinet, like a piece of furniture. And it has to be completely on my property - which it will be. :) My main concern is that I didn’t want it to be too tall - like someone could knock it over or claim it fell on them. It isn’t that large. :)
 
I broke up with SirGawain. I feel like a terrible human being, pretty much. I tried to make him understand that this is all me, not him. Which is trite AF, but still true. I am looking forward to getting back in therapy in January - I have to wait for an opening, of course, but also for our flexible spending account to recharge. I really thought I was over WarMan and our breakup, but I truly am not. I actively squashed down any NRE feelings and was hyper-aware of SirGawain’s feelings to the point where I was shutting down any emotions at all, in fear that he might try to hurt me. That isn’t ok. He told me that he never sensed that I was doing this and thought that I felt the same way as him. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

Anyway, it’s all over. I’m still a work in progress, and I will be off the dating market for a while. I don’t want to have a rebound like this again. SirGawain is a good guy, and he deserves someone who has their shit together.
 
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https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/ti9M7QRiYg85rMGBNVaP7GN7JEXUAifGK2yNjy19ER9

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/RUoIJjkQire6zQBzbXNjGO9S5lamvWFASbM91nP0Llo

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/wRCDoi1UbSws7Z7W8eg2mx7OLGjxGJMDdkElcVr47xU

It’s been up all afternoon, and we’ve had several visitors. I tell you, I am the one blessed by this box. I had one lady message me and tell me about her husband’s paycheck being $900 and their rent is $865. I was asked if it was okay to take baby food AND toilet paper, or would that be too much for one person? One lady was CRYING. Y’all, please think about doing one of these in your own community. I am in tears over how much this is needed. I am hoping I don’t get cleaned out overnight, but if I do, I will find a way to refill it. I am hoping someone doesn’t pick up the entire box and drive off with it in a truck, but if they do, I will make a new one. I am hoping we get donations, but if we don’t, we will make it work somehow.
 
We had so many donations you guys! All of them from strangers and the outpouring of generosity was just freaking amazing! I took a pic of what was left (after stocking the box all day) and we had a lot in overflow! I had to clear out a section of my game room to make space!

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/rvCZITgJhbpuVOl6gjELYvDtaWSrFRxzfEk9inPBmbT

Some neat stats -

I noticed a total of 10 tubes of toothpaste that were left at different times during the day, that were removed almost immediately after by a visitor. This item seemed to have had the shortest shelf life. I stocked none of these, but they appeared and disappeared with regularity.

Exactly 53 cans of cat food were removed from the box, and I never stocked more than 8 at a time. At no time was the box completely empty of this item though - our visitors were considerate of other pet owners! Clearly, our community needs assistance with feeding its animals. I didn’t have any dog food and no one donated any either, that I saw, so I can’t yet gauge the need for this.

Macaroni & Cheese seemed to be the most popular food item removed, though canned ravioli moved quickly as well.

Oh! We received 4 homemade scarves that are absolutely gorgeous! To me, they were a beautifully-made, super warm reminder of how wonderful the people in my city can be!

This is a pic of the box when we hit 24 hours of continuous operation. :)

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/xMuNKWOLmMT782ZsezcyD6MJGgGpmwM1w97Pmf3ianj

I was so happy! I cried 3 times today, y’all! People knocked on my door, introduced themselves, talked about their families. It was so wonderful!

Then it happened - someone drove up and cleaned out the box. It was almost 10 pm, and DarkKnight saw the vehicle drive away. “They had their arms full of stuff.” They left the homemade scarves, 4 cans of green beans and the tomato soup. Look at that photo I posted! The box was that full, but different items had cycled through. And, someone took all of it.

I am pretty bummed out. I have a sick feeling in my stomach. I am anxious now.

Worries: What if they come back and continue to empty us out? What if we run out of overflow and other people can’t be helped? What if someone breaks the glass and smashes up my box because they are malicious haters of all that is good in the world?

Yeah, see, that line of thinking just spirals and does no good at all.

So what is good? I am trying to focus on the positive!

DarkKnight did see it happen, and so no lasting harm was done - we grabbed stuff from the overflow and restocked.

I feel reasonably sure that the people who did this needed the food. They left two kinds that they clearly didn’t like. I mean, if they were taking it to sell, or to try and return to the store for money - they would have taken those items as well, right?

I know I have at least 3 Amazon packages arriving tomorrow - and 1 is full of diapers and wipes donated to a mom who requested some. She was so very happy and appreciative when I messaged her to tell her that someone had purchased these especially for her. Also, someone who lives in the state of WASHINGTON, who is a total stranger, is sending me two Amazon Pantry boxes full of food. I am amazed! The other package are the magnetic interior lights that PunkRock purchased for the box. We only have one light in there currently. Yay for site improvements! :)

Also good news - my neighbor down the street is very chatty and texted me a bunch tonight and she is excited to help out. She seems very nice and I look forward to meeting her soon.

Sigh. I need to shake the anxiety and focus on all that is positive!

Oh, I also had a few messages that threw me for a loop - someone had a broken furnace but no way to repair it, someone requested a ride to go deal with their totaled car - stuff like that. I had no clue how to assist them, so I started a couple of Facebook threads in different local groups and got people to give me some resources in the area. I’m hoping to scout them tomorrow and get information about the different organizations. If the info I get is helpful, I’m going to take flyers/pamphlets and post it on the box. I also made a Facebook page specific to my Blessing Box and it has over 100 members already. All of my posts that I made on different groups today had collectively over 2,000 likes and hundreds of shares. So many more comments too - people calling me amazing, and saying that I was an angel, etc. People don’t seem to understand that this experience has been so very wonderful for me - I feel like I am taking advantage in a way. I just put up this box. It cost me like $200 total so far. Yet, I get to meet REAL angels - people that are struggling but keeping their shit together, strangers that are true helpers, bringing boxes of soup mix, bottles of laundry deferent, sticks of deodorant. That is the amazing part.i did a little thing, made the first move. Everyone else is what will keep it going. I am lucky to be a part of it.

Keep your fingers crossed that no one smashes my Blessing Box, k?
 
That is awesome, Bluebird! I'm glad it's been such a blessing for others (and for you, too! ) It sounds like even if someone wipes out the pantry, others will come along to restock it. This is the perfect time of year for it, too. The director of our local food pantry once told me that winter time is the worst time for donations and the busiest time for need.
 
Awesome update. Bless you for thinking off others.

To keep folks from stealing donations to take back to places like Walmart or selling it take a sharpie to the UPC. Black it out and write a note on the packaging like from so and so's blessing box.

I send canned food, non perishable food and drink, and snacks in to my youngest son's teacher. She keeps it for those students whose families don't send in snack or to throw into a students backpack for the weekend.I also donate their old uniforms and shoes to the PTAs clothing bin. I would love to do a blessing box but the thieves and drug addicts ruin everything for everyone.
 
Well, returns to Walmart won’t work - a lot of the items are generics from many different stores! I think I will start black-lining the UPC codes though. I think the first clean out was a shock, but I don’t believe it was drug addicts, otherwise they would have taken all of the cans, I think.

Here’s what I wrote this morning. I have now been in tears three times today and it’s not even noon!
***********

Last night, the Blessing Box was cleaned out - twice. The first time was around 10 pm, and we were left with a few oranges, 4 cans of green beans and some tomato soup. My husband DarkKnight saw them drive away, and we sprang to action to refill from the overflow. At first I was anxious about the event - how can people be so disrespectful of others? Don't they realize that by leaving the shelves bare, others are going hungry?

When I woke up this morning though, I had a different perspective. The box isn't really all that large. Whoever emptied it needed those things, I am sure of it. I am hoping that the food and health care products keep them full and cared for over the next few days. Because honestly, that's all they took - baby food, cans of vegetable soup, and spaghetti. It only fills a tiny cupboard. It's sad that many people could have been helped, but one family will be full, and that's important as well.

I grew up with food uncertainty. I remember my mother telling me - as a 10 year old - to make sure to ask the mom at my friend's house for a glass of milk while I was there playing. That way I could get enough calcium in my body that day,

The family that cleaned us out had a baby. At least, they took the baby food. As a mom, I can empathize with the thought that maybe this haul could last til next payday. Maybe they can now afford to make that partial payment to keep the heat on. We have all been there.

This morning when I saw the Box empty again, I was sad, but determined. Since I had gone out of the sliding glass door on the side of the house, I didn't notice my front porch until I turned around. Guys - this photo is what greeted me.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/1Pq2YHSpEmanl1n6sms1jCny8fVj9YkA69xAZOF7Uh6

A package from someone in Smithsburg. Multiple packages from a complete stranger who lives in Washington state who read about the Box and wanted to contribute! Friends from New York who sent love and food and hope for Hagerstown.

I am not at all religious, but there is magic here. Everyone, I hope you have a blessed day. <3

*****
I haven’t posted yet, but I have even more tears because see, I have an overflow bin on my porch. So if the box is full, people have a place to put donations:

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/i8e136GVqn2sjYbU8sB7LYtMprZ3iQjBC3m6zy9a667

Simple right? Well, when I checked at 7 am, this is what greeted me:

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/RGMqS63PwoHKpuWxGlyTJuorUrAkIQmAbMVz462kG9M

Someon gave me all of their change. They took the time to walk up to my porch and pay what they could. I just lost it crying. Worth it. This has been so absolutely worth it.

And here is Milton, helping me unpack donated diapers and wipes! I messaged the lady who had requested them and she showed up immediately, grateful and happy.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/ynjvZ11fysGHqJwPtsaV8AWsZtGRK8GiwwNES8TQwBG

I received tons of snack foods - nuts, granola bars, slim Jim’s and cookies. And these (Leonard was very curious!):

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/VY9xEa403gS9TdI9p400mbb1xaJKBqfgLEKfhJUl9FJ

Ok, I don’t want to spam my blog with Blessing Box stuff, but today is a good day!
 
I'm amazed and touched by how much your neighborhood is embracing your little pantry. I didn't expect so many people to donate like they are. I am guessing that you posted your contact information or maybe the Facebook group, because people are contacting you directly about their needs and also a physical address to ship items to you. Bond has talked about doing either a little library or a little pantry, but we have a little library about three blocks away on the same street so it seems redundant. A little pantry would serve a greater need, but it comes down to location and we're not on the path that would serve those in need the best. We thought about putting one in front of B's house by the lake, but then she moved to suburbia.

I commend you for seeing a need and putting something in place. It's wonderful. You're wonderful.
 
Aw, thanks. It is definitely a wonderful experience so far!

Yes, I started posting about it on my own Facebook but very quickly started a dedicated page for just the Box. I belong to quite a few local groups, and some other interest-specific groups as well. I posted every place! All of them embraced the idea and some have sent donations! Two people from reading THIS blog sent private messages actually, and asked for more info. They are directly responsible for the event I held today!

Because of these “strangers” generosity, I was able to give out meat for the first time! It’s been our number one requested item, and I had no idea how it would go. I spent the morning - before my Chemistry class started - running around to different grocery stores and trying to get the best deals. Check it out:

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/hhuf05hA94ruYayIG6FieVKWgCn01K36gv81MmRPOYY

I picked all that up in the morning, and then after classes, I ran out and got these one-pound packs of ground beef. A local grocer was nice enough to break up some big packs of meat on sale and repackage it for me so I didn’t run afoul of health codes!

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/IRoNibup0vYqCypC2UmkZ9dtfGhMaAzzEs2Xsb0zumd

I really had zero idea of what to expect - would anyone show? Would theire be a line? I was nervous about having too much (my fridge was pretty packed) or too little.

Here’s what we gave out to everyone who knocked tonight: 2 cans of tuna fish, a pack of hot dogs, 1-lb of ground beef, and a 3-4 pound package of chicken drumsticks.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/DQkn1k5xB28eoU46R1c3ETKOdAK9FZKSHR7p7EuuRa7

We had three visitors waiting in their cars for us to open (we had posted online that meat would be available starting at 5 pm). Then there was nothing for a while, before we were hit with 3 people all in a row again. And then a couple of families. We gave out 10 packs total, and have 5 or 6 left to disseminate tomorrow throughout the day.

I do think a couple of things hindered us - it was crazy raining, and the sign I had put up on the Box disintegrated. I put up a new one at 8 pm and we got a few more visitors then.

So, thank you very much to my generous readers here who made this possible! Yours were the only cash & gift card donations I have received, and they came right in a row, within a few hours of each other the other day. Know that the families were very excited - and because of you - and only you - they now have at least 4 days of dinner options. Thanks bunches and bunches!

We did cycle through supplies all day, in spite of the rain. The lettering on the Box slid off, so I am going to get a wax pencil and try that in the next few days. But the Box stayed full, and not just from the overflow pile - people were filling the Box all day long. It was pretty great.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/lzFt7xTJcWBBJAup9h9I2o99sWWToZsXFcd71vgLytR

You can see the last sentence slipping - it’s completely gone now. So are all of those supplies - this was around noon, I think. and looking at that photo now, I don’t recognize any of that as still being in there when I went to restock right at 11 pm. Oh! And at 11:30, my daughter messaged me that the overflow bin on the porch was full, so I had to go grab all that and bring it inside. W00t!

Anyway - we also found ants today! Funny story - at one point I was with a visitor, and we were in the grass, pulling everything out of the Box, trying to empty it out and destroy the unwanted little pests. A neighbor drove by in her car and stopped, and yelled at us, saying that it was rude to take so much and we should be more generous to others and not just think about ourselves. I told her it was ok, but she wasn’t listening, and talked over me. She said, “I have been helping out with this box with the owner and it is very selfish, what you are doing! Pick one or two items and leave.” I stood up then and told her that I lived there, it was MY Box, and I didn’t know who she was. The lady was mortified and drove down the street after that.

The visitor was like, uh holy crap! I just laughed and told her I had no idea what was going on with people, and and I helped her fill a bag with pasta and toilet paper and then she left. The neighbor actually parked her car and walked back down to apologize and said she was just so upset to think that someone was there, ruining things in broad daylight! She introduced herself as the mom of the lady I hung out with yesterday, who donated a lot and says she wants to help. We’re cool now. I told her honestly, I want people to feel welcome and it’s ok if they take a bag full - I am not doing this to hoard food, I am doing it to get these supplies back into people’s kitchens and on to their tables! I think she’ll stop before giving strangers a piece of her mind now. Lolol

Anyway, things are still going well, overall.

Today is PunkRock’s 44th birthday! We ordered in pizza and ate brownie sundaes and he opened presents. It was low key and interrupted by people knocking for meat packages. I told him I want a special meat package later!
 
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I don't care if you update about your box all day long. Your little updates bring me joy.
 
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