10 Things from This Weekend

It was a busy weekend...

1. A lot of people in my city got a photo of this sunset sky last night (I'm always looking up at the sky I'm not sure how I missed it!).  Of course everyone started talking about nuclear attacks...eeekkk  The photo above is from a sunset a few nights ago.
   
2. A new family just moved in across the street and they are so nice!  They just moved here from India and the wife is the best cook.  She sends me over yummy Indian food like upma for breakfast (see photo below, they come from a southern India state where all of their food is super hot and spicy!) and I send over baked goods like cakes and cookies.  I may never have to go to an Indian restaurant again--her food is way better than we can find in any restaurant here! 
   
   
   
3. Gas is getting stupid expensive here again :( It's kind of faint, but the price is $5.81 a gallon!
   
   
   
   
4. Speaking of food, I finally used some of the chickpeas I cooked to make hummus and falafel and I still have several more cups to use which I put in the freezer for now.  A one pound bag of chickpea makes A LOT of cooked chickpeas! 
   
   
   
5. I hope none of you were impacted by Hurricane Ian.  I was watching Ryan Hall and several storm chasers for hours on end during the storm.  What an incredible amount of damage in Florida!  FWIW, here is how to prepare for a hurricane.
6. Does it seem like everywhere you go there are long lines?  It sure seems like it here--lines for groceries and other shopping, lines at Walmart and Sam's Club, lines at restaurants and then when you get to a real person, it seems like customer service is sadly lacking.  Sometimes I feel like an alien in my own country like these people.
7. Speaking of this topic, here are several things that used to be normal that are now considered luxuries.  Ayayay
   
8. I was talking to an elderly man when I was in line at the bank--yes, another line with about 30 people and only two tellers :(  and he was telling me about how he had to move recently because his rent was increased so much he couldn't make it on his social security so he was working a part time job (he looked to be late 70s) and had to find a cheaper place to live.  It's terrible to see seniors priced out of their homes with basically nowhere to go.
9. It's still hot here!  It's still in the mid 90s and our air conditioning is still running :(  Our electric bill keeps going up, up, up and so does our water bill.  I am guessing our gas bill (which we use for heating) will follow suit later in the year when we turn on the heat.  Everything seem to be going up in price!  It's a common topic of discussion on most social media boards these days.
   
10. It's political season and we are being swamped with political/candidate ads--on TV, on the radio, in the mailbox, and even as text messages on our cell phones!  I will be happy when the mid-terms are done.

I guess I should have titled this 10 rants from this weekend...