It’s not you, it’s me. Okay, that’s a lie…it’s you. I can’t take all of your caffeine anymore! I’m not that same badass bitch who bragged about slamming two pots before dinner. Now, I know you’re thinking about that stupid fling with the Celestial Seasons back in the 80s and how I came crawling back. The truth is that Lemon Zinger, Sleepytime and Tummymint never really did it for me. No, not even Emperor’s  Choice, all of that was really just to prove that I could give you up, but I knew I’d be back the whole time, they were, to me at least, literally–weak tea.

You see, I have a new doctor now, and she doesn’t just medicate. It’s also about what I eat and drink, and apparently not enough vitamins D and B2, but that’s beside the point, I was having way too much of you. No more than 16 oz a day, she said, so where does that leave us? And no, I’m not interested in your bastard offspring decaf. That’s a foul beverage trick and I want no parts of it. I know people say they’re fine with it, but I’m not one of them, I’d wind up right back at your doorstep, and then what? Yeah.

What will I do now, you ask? Smug bastard, ain’t ya? Perhaps you haven’t noticed that fancy new gizmo sitting next your shiny glass pot the past few days. Know what that is? It’s a loose leaf tea steeper, bud, and not for any weak-ass chamomile either. Oh, I see I have your interest now, huh?

I’ve found a brew to replace you, coffee, and it’s Rooibos. They call it red tea, but it kind of looks more like needles than leaves, I don’t care, really, it tastes great. It brews up to a beautiful color, it tastes good plain, chai or with vanilla and I can drink it after supper. You heard that right. I can drink it right before bed if I feel like it, so there.

I don’t think I’ll be back this time, coffee. We had a good run. I gotta go now, the tea kettle is whistling~

How’s it going, Partiers? Tonight’s tunes are all about feelings, moods, emotions, you know what I mean. So, we’ll take it where ever that leads and I’ll kick it off with a few~

I Second That Emotion

Hey there, Partiers! Tonight we’re doing tunes about time, any time at all. That means time on the clock, days of the week, months, seasons, dates or even terms dealing with time. Sunset? Sure, that’s a time. Forever? I guess that would fall within my roolz. Just…no Manic Monday, mmmkay?

3 am

A lot of us are trying to make our way in this world struggling with what they call “invisable illnesses.” Now, what that means is–we may look perfectly fine, but we’re not. When we hang our disability placard and head into the store we feel that look, would it make you feel better if I limped for you, lady? I’m not going to! I have intractable migraine and fibromyalgia, so while I may look marvelous, I might just feel like shit and I am not alone.

Hey, Partiers! This week at the Party we’re going untamed, and we’re featuring tunes, groups, artists, or lyrics with animals in them. I’m going to get us started with a twofer~

Blackbird

Several years back, when Mom was first diagnosed with senile dementia, we knew that things would change here at chez triv, but it was a gradual thing, at first it was mostly a case of CRS (can’t remember shit)–a lot of repeating herself and just asking the same question over and over again. Monday, Mom, it’s Monday. She liked to tell the same stories over too, like the time when she was young and my Uncle Frankie spun her but good on the dance floor and she twirled right into catastrophe and needed stitches, but was so drunk she wanted to go back to the dance…ah good times~

Over the next couple of years we struggled to find ways to keep her connected as she lost her ability to enjoy reading, Mom was always a big reader, and to play games, it never mattered what game we were playing, Mom was in, or to even sit around and have a good bull session, Mom always knew who had skeletons in their closet and if they weren’t in that closet, she knew where they were buried, and now all of these things were gone. So, more and more, Mom took to her room, watching The Golden Girls and simple things she could follow, no more police procedurals for her, where once she knew whodunit before the second act was half-way through, she couldn’t even follow them now.  

Hey there Partiers! You know those tunes you sing along to whenever you hear them? Sure you do. So, tonight we’re going for videos with lyrics to help everybody else sing along too. Hopefully, by the end of the evening we’ll all have had our fill of the intoxicant of our choice and be full out, head thrown back, singing along at the top of our lungs right at our screens~

Kryptonite

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As some of you may know, I’ve been writing for several years off and on about coping with a debilitating chronic illness, dealing with a special needs child, and becoming a full time caretaker to my mom, who is suffering with rapidly progressing dementia. I’ve written about difficulties with doctors, feeling guilt over not being an active enough parent, feeling the grief of losing a parent who is still sitting there right in front of you, and the strategies I’ve used to cope with these things. Half in the hope that what I wrote would help somebody else, and half because it helped me, just to be able to talk about it.

I did that for the series “Chronic Tonic”–which I was proud to be a part of, and try to carry on, but now I feel like it’s time to move forward, you know, broaden my scope. Because coping is not just about being ill, or dealing with a school system and your kid’s IEP, or even your mom losing herself. It’s about life. And it’s about family, and I have a big one.

I have the family I was born into, and that one is pretty big, my mom is one of nine, my dad is one of seven, and all of them procreated like crazy. But I also have another family, the family I chose, and who chose me, some of whom I’ve never met, but they’re family just the same. The illustrious internets have made it possible for us to go through hell and high water together, and that’s pretty much what we’ve done.

I’ve found that experience to be life sustaining for me. As the world in general seems to growing colder and more selfish, I find myself with a need for being kinder and more open. I know there are things I wouldn’t have gotten through without being able to talk about and have people who actually listen. Life throws all of us curveballs, and we could all use support when that shit happens.

So, I’ve decided to start something new. I’ll be posting a little something every week here from Hellpeckersville, whatever the week may bring, and from there we can talk about whatever we need to. What a mess this country is, the way we live today, the employment situation, depression, everything, and all the things we do to get by. The little islands of happiness we try to find along the way. Do you find that in art, music, food, inappropriate humor? Bring it.

I have a big family, but I have room for more~

Hey there, Partiers, welcome! You know, sometimes life hands you lemons and there just isn’t any sugar around to make lemonade out of those sour things. Whether it’s your job, family troubles, or heartbreak, there’s a tune for that, and tonight that’s what we’ll be featuring.

Trouble

Welcome to Party, Folks! Tonight we’ll be featuring tunes from the 80s. That’s right, anything your little heart desires from any genre from that decade~

Crazy Little Thing Called Love