ODDBALLS’ HALL

My sister had a quirky friend who was trying to describe where something was in a nearby town. It was next to the “Oddfellows’ Hall” but she didn’t really know about them and said that the place was “next to the Oddballs’ Hall”.

I always felt like I should belong to an organization called “Oddballs”.

This week the Monday Fox asked:
“Do you have any habits that your family or friends consider odd?”

“NORMAL” is a word that has never been used to describe me at any time in my life.

Ideas, boy, do I have ideas that some consider odd.

My tastes, also some consider odd.

Habits, well, as the Wednesday Fox asked her husband, I asked mine; he couldn’t or wouldn’t come up with anything. He was either avoiding a fight or he’s Harry Potter to my Dumbledore when Harry was asked if he was wondering why Dumbledore did something. Harry replied, “At this point, sir, I just kind of go with it.”

We’ve been married for 39 ½ years; he’s just going with it.

I just read that Angie mentioned doing accents in her post yesterday. I used to do accents all the time and voices, especially when I read stories to kids. Noone here understands that and so I have stopped, except to some family members. I still have trouble NOT doing accents if I listen to anyone speaking with an accent for any length of time.It’s a quirk, one that I have had to fight all of my life.

(It’s one of the oddities, I suppose, that The Husband just ‘goes with’. He listens to my voices and accents!)

I just put a number of otherwise disposable plastic containers in my garage. Some of the family think that this is odd. The problem is that when I send food items to others, I never get my containers back. One relative who does return my containers bemoans the hardship of it. The person would not even take things that I made for them because, oh-my-gosh, even with the fact that they have a dishwasher and are coming back anyway, it’s just too hard to return the containers. I say “Keep them”. No, they won’t. “OK, here’s an empty sour cream container and a plastic bin from spinach, happy now?” Yes, they are.

My mother, who gave away more Corningware and really good dishes than you could ever believe to make her food as presentable as possible, must be tearing her hair out from Beyond.

I used to be a packrat. I went down to ‘keeper’. I guess that I am now a packrat again. Honestly, with all that is going on in the world, I am afraid of shortages. When things settle down, the dump and St. Vincent’s will get a windfall from me. They are getting annoyed with me. (These are people who have things in containers that have not been gone through for years.)

I spend a lot of time at the computer. I write. I play, but mostly when I am there I interact with people, or I put on a podcast while I am doing other things around the house. I get in a lot of audiobooks and otherwise useful information, but they all get annoyed when I am not able to immediately hear or drop when is on.
I find it odd that they find it odd.

One big thing is that I am not someone who can hang around in their nightclothes. I get up and get dressed. Even when I am quite ill or recovering from surgeries or procedures, I have loungewear, which is not my nightwear, and I change into that. Family members tell me not to bother. It’s a bother to me not to bother.

So, you’ll never catch me at Walmart in pajama bottoms!

(Have you heard Lawrence Brown on YouTube do “Lost in the Pond”? He’s an Englishman who lives in the U.S. and expounds on the differences between the people and the countries. He is terribly funny. The other night I saw him talking about people going to the store in their ‘jammies’. He said of the English going to the store, “We may not dress in our Sunday best, but at least we make an effort!”

I always make an effort. That bugs people, too. I will not dress rattily and go out. I ran to the store for something quickly once and was horrified to realize that I was in a sweatshirt, and w I seldom wear those even at home. Another older ‘Brought-in’ looked at me and said, “I was at that game!” The shirt was a commemorative one from a long-past Superbowl. (At least I had that going for me.)

I like things to be clean. I have covers over all the furniture and fuss at anyone who dares to sit on a bed that has not had its bedspread put on, (and I wash those regularly).
I am a laundry freak.

I like to go grocery shopping. I like to see what’s new. I like to get inspired. I go to specialty shops even when I can’t afford much there just to see what is exciting.
(Yes, I said exciting.)

I like to cook. They are glad that I do, but people can’t understand that I find it creative and relaxing. No one could understand why I was not upset after being in a bakery, commercial kitchen, or personal home cooking all day that The Husband, when he was off work, did not have dinner waiting for me. Cooking in my own kitchen was relaxing, and when I could not cook what I wanted at some jobs, I could at home. (Now, if he had only cleaned more, but I digress.)

The only other thing that comes to mind is that I like rain. I like to watch rain, I like to watch storms. I don’t mind being out in the rain or even driving in it, as long as it isn’t torrential and I can’t see, (or fear that others can’t.)

It rained like we were under a waterfall about two weeks ago and I loved it…from inside my house, of course.

I probably have more, but there is a lot going on in my life.

How do you feel about rain?

Do you hang around in your PJs or nighties?

Are cooking or shopping chores for you?

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