Inside Marcy's Mind
Having hosted the Aging aint for Sissie's podcast for two years, I wanted to expand what I could discuss. This podcast will touch on the fun of aging and whatever has crossed my mind! Please join me as I walk through life! #retirement #travel #fun #aginggracefully Link in my bio! Listen now!
#insidemarcysmind
#aginggracefully
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www.insidemarcysmind.com
Inside Marcy's Mind
Chicago Social Life and Home Hacks: Marcy's Tips and Tales
Have you ever wondered what goes on inside someone's mind as they navigate life's ups and downs? Join me, Marcy Backhus, for a rollercoaster of emotions and insights. I share my thoughts on recent political debates, the sheer joy of fall decorations, and the humorous experience of listening to my podcast while driving. Grab a drink and relax as I unpack the challenges of downsizing—finding happiness in keeping and sharing beloved decorations and how maintaining joy is crucial even in the most minor aspects of life.
From the transition of my husband Craig building a resort to my vibrant social life in Chicago, where I reconnect with friends and lead a book club and stewardship committee, to practical advice like the do's and don'ts of using garbage disposals gleaned from a professional plumber—this episode has it all! Plus, prepare for a deep dive into recent Medicare changes and a funny elevator mishap with my husband that will leave you smiling. Stay tuned until the end for a fascinating fact about why hot water freezes faster than cold. Trust me, you don't want to miss this engaging mix of practical tips and personal stories!
Hello and welcome to Inside Marci's Mind. My name is Marci Backus and I am your host. I'm not sure if I really like this music. You know, I really like the music for my other podcast, aging A for Sissies, but I really struggled finding music for this one. But I think it's okay, but it doesn't bring me as much joy as the other one, so maybe I'll switch it, I don't know. Then will it confuse you, will you think you're at the wrong podcast? Well, hello everyone. My name is Marci Backus.
Speaker 1:This is my podcast, inside Marci's Mind. It's about anything inside my mind and this week there's a lot of things inside my mind that I'm going to share with you, but the first was it's Wednesday. I'm recording this on Wednesday and I'm thinking about that debate last night. I honestly can't believe. A presidential candidate blamed immigrants in Ohio for eating people's animals. I have no words. I don't care what party you are. Come on, people. Really, this is the depths. We're going to go to be angry at immigrants, by the way, we're all immigrants. None of us, none of us, are not immigrants. So I, I, I'm speechless. I, I knew I would be, I knew I would be irritated watching it, but yeah, yeah, we're not going back. We're not going back. Anyways, that's enough of politics, because politics aren't fun this week. Well, first of all, grab yourself something to drink if you're home. Get yourself an iced tea, a nice coffee. I have a nice coffee here in my it's in my candy corn mug, little sip there. I don't have my cold voice, probably a little heady voice from the morning, but no cold.
Speaker 1:I did decorate for fall this week. I went out. All of our things are in my mother-in-law's house, which is another issue they need to leave and I've got us a storage unit. Yes, people, really nice storage unit. And here in the Midwest, where weather's a little inclement from time to time, it has this great Bay where you could drive in several like a big truck could drive into it and you can unload your stuff and take it to your storage unit and stay nice and dry and warm and I love that unit and stay nice and dry and warm and I love that. As you know, we left a big house and live in a small condo, so we do have about 10 by 10 area of boxes and things that we've kept. I did get rid of most everything we owned, but we do have things. So if you think we got rid of everything, we didn't. But I will tell you it's neat, it's organized and it will be going through again, because when I was moving of course, when you're downsizing from something so large to something so small, you have no idea what you need and I kept things that I've now realized we probably don't need.
Speaker 1:I've kept more holiday decorations than I need. When I was talking to my sister, cindy, about this you know downsizing she's like, oh, I don't want to buy any new holiday decorations. And I was talking to my sister, cindy, about this you know downsizing and she's like, oh, I don't want to buy any new holiday decorations. And I get that. But you know, I get rid of a few old decorations, bring in some new. You know, don't stop what brings you joy is what I'm trying to say. And, cindy, I'm saying this to you I don't know if I said it on the phone, I kind of did but don't stop your joy. If you enjoy buying holiday decorations, for God's sakes buy them, get rid of some of the old ones, give those to a friend. You have so many friends that my sister has all these young friends on her block. These young people. Share your decorations with them.
Speaker 1:One of the greatest things I did is I had a he's like a paper mache ghost. He stands about Probably four feet high and he's pointy. But I got him when we lived in Oregon, when we lived in Lake Oswego, and I call him ghosty, and he came out every holiday and he was always in our foyer and I loved him so much but it was time for him to go. I don't have anywhere to keep him or put him and I gave him to my sister-in-law, beth, and when I came to their house a couple of falls ago, there was ghosty and it made me so happy. Like other people can enjoy things too, so figure that piece out. But if you're also one of the ones, like Cindy and I, who are downsizing, if holiday decorations are your joy and adding to your collection is your joy, don't stop your joy.
Speaker 1:Downsizing isn't about stopping your joy. Downsizing is about finding a balance. How's that Finding a balance? So? So there's that about fall decorations and and what else happened this week. Oh, you know what's really funny this week? So, um, I was driving to physical therapy after the gym and have a little hip issue. It's gone now. Physical therapy is the best, but do your physical therapy. But I digress.
Speaker 1:Anyway, I'm driving along and I'm listening to one of my favorite podcasts and that podcast goes over, so it always goes to the next thing in your library and guess what it was inside Marcy's mind? And do you know what? I really enjoyed it. I'm just saying I never listened to my episodes like you listen to my episodes, first of all, I record them. Second of all, I listened to them, but I'm listening to them for editing purposes. I'm not listening. I'm sort of listening to the content, but not really and not in. It was kind of fun just to be driving along Like I would listen to any podcast. I'm kind of funny. I really did enjoy it. It was last week's episode and the burnt brownie episode and I I did enjoy listening. I found myself. I thought it would annoy me but I didn't. So I hope you're enjoying my podcast as much as I am apparently Speaking of burnt brownies. So this week I know that a lot of you have roasted this week it just hot, hot, hot.
Speaker 1:I have my friend mary, who I adore immensely, dealing with um evacuations from fires from where I used to live. I know there's a lot going on, but in chicago this weekend we had fall weather and it dipped down into the 50ifties and didn't get higher than the sixties on Saturday. I mean that was crazy, but you know what it did it. I first of all had gone out Friday and got my fall decorations let's go back to that, and then I'll get back to my coffee cake but I got my fall decorations out of my storage locker and came home and decorated for fall and I have a small space so I don't do a lot. But I bought oh see, here's the deal, cindy. I bought a new.
Speaker 1:I like a little throw to throw over me for my afternoon naps, which are a must, and for my mornings when I'm sitting having my coffee. I always have a candle going, no matter what the season is, even summer, the fragrance has changed, changed, but the candle always goes. And I love a throw and I bought the cutest one with bats on it. Freaking bats got bats everywhere. It's so cute. And my little cat pickles. She was scared of it at first, she was swatting the little bats, but now the cats love it. They always love my new throws. So, um, so that was my new little purchase out when I was at the Wally Mart out in the suburbs. When I when I'm out in the suburbs I try to do all my suburban things. So I did the dollar tree, I did Walmart. I have target downtown, so I'm good with target, but I go to my places that are easy to park, free to park, and I do all that.
Speaker 1:But so Saturday was chilly and I was using my new back throw and I was craving a coffee cake, like a real coffee cake, like like a Starbucks coffee cake, but better, you know, not cold and sitting in a case all day. So I looked at my ingredients that I have in the house and I thought a yellow box cake mix. I had Bisquick and. But the problem with Bisquick coffee cakes, if you don't have sour cream or yogurt, they're not very moist. So I got my coffee cake, I mean I got my yellow cake mix out, made that up. I always make it with water instead of. I mean, I make it with milk instead of water.
Speaker 1:So did that? Put that in a pan? Then I took about a cup of brown sugar, a cup of flour, I diced up an ice cold cube of butter, a little bit of salt and cinnamon and I chopped that all up. I used a oh my gosh, I can't think of the name of a pastry blender, but then that got exhausting. So then I just took two knives and did that thing and then I put that all over the top and then I put it in the oven and about five minutes into the oven is the butter's melting and everything's kind of getting gushy. I pulled it out and I scored my knife through it to kind of push that filling also into the cake. Let me tell you people that was a delicious coffee cake and I did not share it with my doorman, as I normally do anything that I make, because it was too dang good and it was a cold Saturday and it just made the house smell so good. So if you're in the mood, bake something Now.
Speaker 1:Craig doesn't like sweets, so he says it's a very blurry line to me, but I noticed he had some. I'm still on strike. If I didn't tell you, I might have told you Can't remember? I went on strike, craig dis. If I didn't tell you I might've told you can't remember I went on strike. Craig disrespected my cleaning in the kitchen. I was in the middle of something and he got in my way and didn't really see anything wrong with it. And so I just, I've been on strike for like a week and a half. I don't do his laundry, I don't cook. I've lost another three pounds cause I'm not eating dinners, because who wants to eat dinner? And he has to eat dinner every night. So anyways, I'm, I'm on strike. I was told on Sunday by Craig that I should go off strike because I he, he's not mean, I am, he just kills me. Anyway, I'm still on strike. But I did make dinner last night because I wanted to make a hamburger and, yeah, I offered to cook him dinner and he accepted gladly. But I love when I was told to go off strike. That's pretty funny. But nope, I'm on strike, I'm staying on strike for a while. You know, it's so funny when he told me to go off strike, like, does he realize that that means I go back to doing all the work for him?
Speaker 1:Laundry, dinner I don't know, I don't think he quite gets this, how this works Like I, I don't know, I don't think he quite gets this how this works. Like I'm enjoying myself, I don't have to think about dinner every night. I can eat a big lunch. I don't have to have dinner. If I want to have yogurt or cottage cheese, I can. I'm only doing a small amount of laundry because I don't create a lot of laundry. He creates way more laundry than I do. I don't know it just kind of oh, and the other thing was I've handled his dry cleaning. Living in the city, how you do dry cleaning is we have dry cleaning lockers in our building down on the plaza level and you stick your dry cleaning in there and it comes back done. It's great, but it's by Tide and there's an app for that. So I put the app on his phone and said do your own dry cleaning. So yeah, that's what's been going on here in the back of his house. I just had the weirdest little nerve thing on my leg. It felt like a bug, but it wasn't. Let's see what else. Ball decor we talked.
Speaker 1:Oh, a couple of things I've been watching on Netflix. I watched the limited run series of Perfect Couple on Sunday. I did that. I had a bed hangout day on Sunday and loved it, watched the whole thing. If you're on Apple TV, two things I'm in the middle of watching. Bad Monkey today Drops another episode. It's so good with Vince Vaughn. I think I've told you that, but one that I watched last year and the new the new season is coming out in October is Shrinking, and it's got Harrison Ford in it and a lot of really other good actors and it's about. It's just really good. If you, if you need something to watch, shrinking is is excellent. It's a great series and, like I said, the second season's coming out in October, so you're right on time for that second season.
Speaker 1:Oh, we've got some interesting news this week. So Craig um, when he left his job here and shook that, we came to Chicago, for he took a little time off and a company came and scooped him up because he is a valuable asset, just not in the house sometimes. Nonetheless, they scooped him up and he's been working part time for them. Well, they've got a project in Georgia that is starting and, for those of you that don't know, craig builds hotel, well, develops I shouldn't say he builds them, because other people do it for him, but he develops resorts. So there's a new resort that they're going to be developing down in Georgia. So they've taken Craig on full time and Craig will be gone during the week. Craig will be gone Monday through Friday for the next two years home on weekends.
Speaker 1:Now for those of you that don't know, for the next two years home on weekends. Now for those of you that don't know, this is how Craig and I lived the first 17 years of our marriage. All right, we're back. I had to take a quick stop. Craig came back from his run early this morning Kind of surprised me. Well, nonetheless. So that's changing in our lives, but change is good. You know, craig and I were talking about it. He's not ready to retire yet, so a couple more years would be good. The funny thing is we have good friends, mark and Christina, that are moving to the exact area where Craig is building this resort, and they've been talking about it for a couple years now. They just sold their place here in Chicago and are going to be moving there. Craig will be living in a house down there while he's there. So he's got some friends.
Speaker 1:So that's great and I have my life here. I have a very full life here. I think if this had happened in the beginning, it probably would have been harder for me, but now I've got my lady friends, which reminds me. Today I'm having my first lunch at Neiman Marcus. Joan is taking Pearl, myself and Lucy to Neiman Marcus for lunch. She couldn't believe I had never had lunch there. So we got to fix that and I'm excited about that. I adore all my friends here in Chicago and it gives me a very full life. So I have no problem with Craig being gone Monday through Friday.
Speaker 1:Back in the day I had the kids and they kept me busy, unless too busy sometimes. But yeah, that's a change, something new, but you know what changes, what keeps you young and changes what keeps your mind sharp. I also have the commitment. We have a book club that we are in charge of here in Chicago, craig and I, and I also am on the head of the stewardship committee, so that keeps me a little busy. It's an odd busy for me because normally I'm busy doing things I understand and I'm good at. Stewardship is a whole new thing to me, but again, these are the things that keep our brain going, so I am enjoying that.
Speaker 1:With that being said, you know what we're going to talk about today. This is a weird one, but I thought it was. I read this article and I thought, hmm, this is a really necessary things, the things we're not supposed to put down our garbage disposals. Now, funny enough, I don't have one here. This is a building that was built in the 1970s. It's solid as a rock. You don't hear a thing in here but plumbing systems and plumbing things. Back in the day, in the 70s, when this was built, um, they didn't put in garbage disposals, and the plumbing system that we have cannot handle it. If everybody does cause, garbage disposals really don't get rid of everything. As you know, you have a garbage disposal I've always had one. Your sink still get clogged. So, um, here were the, the scrape and dishwasher method here in our condo. It's taken a little getting used to for me, but I've gotten used to it and a lot less sink problems. But let's talk about we're never trained by our parents what we shouldn't put down the garbage disposal. So I'm going to give you a little tutorial today. So sit back, refill that coffee, iced tea, diet Coke, whatever you have.
Speaker 1:If you're driving along listening to me, you're lucky, because I really did enjoy that. I do love listening to podcasts and stories more than music when I'm driving, so podcasts have been very. I used to listen to talk radio back in the day when I was a sales associate for Clairol and I drove all over hell and gone. In Los Angeles I listened to talk radio all the time. That's where I learned Dr Laura and a whole bunch of other people, but I never really listened to music. I enjoy. I guess I enjoy talking and I guess I enjoy listening.
Speaker 1:So, anyhow, get ready, sit back and we're going to learn about those darn garbage. Anyhow, get ready, sit back and we're going to learn about those darn garbage disposals. All right, so we're going to talk about garbage disposals. They're pretty handy for getting rid of unwanted table scraps and unused food when we're cooking, but not everything can go into the disposal without a hitch. Some things are going to cost you some pretty heavy plumbing bills, and I've had those, I think the first thing I don't. Well, we'll wait. So this is a note from a professional plumber with years of experience dealing with the aftermath of misused garbage disposals. I can tell you the many homeowners are unaware of the everyday items that can wreak havoc on their systems. So I am here to save the day. I have my cape on. I'm going to swoop in and be the superhero of garbage disposals today, but you know, there's a couple of things I don't know.
Speaker 1:So the house we rented before we moved here. After we sold our house, we had a bar Actually it was a big like walk-in step down bar in the house and it had a little sink. But if any problem happened in the kitchen sink it wouldn't back up in the kitchen sink, it would back up in that stupid little bar sink. I hated that. I that that was the worst part of that house and it would happen randomly and I.
Speaker 1:But here's some things that are might surprise you. So one of the first ones that's kind of surprising is oatmeal shouldn't be put down the garbage disposal. Although the chunky breakfast food may seem to go through the disposal process easily, when it's wet, it can damage your disposal when the oatmeal dries. Save your sink and put your oatmeal in the compost or trash instead of down your garbage disposal. Oatmeal seems to be a material your garbage disposal blades can handle when the oatmeal is wet. But this plumber says the problem is when oatmeal hardens it gets very hard. It's like paste, people, and if you're putting it down every day, think about that. That's going to damage your blades and it's going to build up in time. This is an interesting one. I've put these down. Well, I put oatmeal down too. I mean eggshells.
Speaker 1:Another common food people throw into their garbage disposal is eggshells. However, those seemingly harmless little eggshells can cause a lot of damage on your disposal, getting stuck to parts and potentially clogging it. Eggshells can easily turn into tiny granular waste, which is responsible for clogging it. Eggshells can easily turn into tiny granular waste which is responsible for clogging pipes. If you are a huge egg eating family and they are out there and you have been having plumbing problems, it's your eggshells. So think about that. It leads to blockages and even reduces the efficiency of the garbage disposal. The membranes of eggshells wrap around the impellers, causing significant clogs. Again, these are something and I know in LA you are. I don't know if it's all of California, but I know LA has to have a compost bin now. So those are compost bin materials Now fibrous vegetables.
Speaker 1:This was my first learn that you can't put everything down the garbage disposal. So I was living in one of my first apartments and I was making scallop potatoes to take to Thanksgiving or Easter or something for my family Going to be a grown up, and I clogged my garbage disposal with potato peels. Nope, potato peel should not go down the garbage disposal. Nope, potato peel should not go down the garbage disposal, so fibrous vegetables can do a number on your garbage disposal, with strands of vegetables getting wrapped around the blades. Keep vegetables like corn, celery, asparagus, away from your disposal and instead put them in the compost or garbage. I'm going to tell you. Celery, potato peelings, all of that is bad and some of these things just seem innocuous, but they're not. You cannot put celery down your garbage disposal because the stringy fibers will wrap around it and damage it.
Speaker 1:I think we all know not to put bones down. I don't deal with bones very often, I don't, but sometimes people throw away small bones and thinking that the smaller size can make them harmless. Even small bones can damage the blades and motor of a garbage disposal, causing it to malfunction or even break down entirely. Chuck bones into the trash instead. If you have dogs or cats, do not do that. Take them to the outside trash.
Speaker 1:Here's another one, and Craig and I stopped doing this years ago when I did realize this coffee grounds. So we used to. You know you have the filters that you throw away. Sorry, there's the morning. Sirens have started up already in the city. Sorry, there's the morning. Sirens have started up already in the city we used to use the paper thing, so you just throw them away. Well, then you think you're all slick and fancy and you get the gold filter that goes in your coffee. Then you don't throw it away and then you start putting the grounds down the sink. So we went back to the paper ones, because it's easy just to pick it up and throw it in the trash. So coffee grounds may appear small and harmless, but again, the fragrant remnants of your morning coffee never actually dissolve. They never do. Instead, the coffee ground clumps together and make a thick paste. This paste gets stuck inside the pipes and is responsible for clogging and slow drainage.
Speaker 1:Coffee grounds are perfect for composting, however, as they add nitrogen to the soil. So, um, yeah, I mean. The thing is we just don't think about it. And if you think about why this giant building you know 54 floors doesn't have garbage disposals, it's because people are going to put all this stuff down and it's going to cause problems, right? So it makes sense that we don't have them. When we redid the kitchen, I asked if we could get one put in and they said no. So again we're back to potato peels. They're full of starch, which causes the peels to form a thick paste and that can cause a problem in your pipes. It's that starch plus. It's just, it chokes it. It's terrible.
Speaker 1:Fruit pits well duh, we shouldn't put fruit pits down. Um, their hard centers are better for composting and going down the drain. They can just they. They're, they're, only they're. Wow, marcy, okay, start over. They're mainly going to hurt your blades in your garbage disposal and you know, if you hurt the blades that then it's not going to work effectively. And you don't really know that, because who puts their hands in the blade? I don't know about you. Anytime I've ever, ever it freaks me out. Anytime I've ever had to reach in a sink with a garbage disposal to get anything out, even though it's just. It's the things that horror movies are made of. Let's be real. So we don't want to be reaching in there and getting things out.
Speaker 1:Grease and oil we all know this. Anyone who's cooked with grease and oil you should have a can under your sink. Who's cooked with grease and oil? You should have a can under your sink. You should have a jar. You should have something that you put your grease and oil in. That should never, ever, ever, ever, ever go down the sink.
Speaker 1:Now I saw a really cool kind of hack. Take a piece of aluminum foil and set it into your drain and kind of make it like a mold of your drain and then just pour it into the foil. Let it harden in the foil, then throw it out. That's kind of a good one. I just use paper towels, sop it up and throw it in the trash. Um, that's what I do, uh, but it creates a form. It's going to clog your pipes, it's going to have smells, it's going to trap other debris because of its gooeyness. So either have, dispose of it in the trash, let it cool down, pour it into your trash. If you need to get rid of it, do the little hack that I said with the foil, or I always used to have. Now I don't here because my under sink is not as big. I always had a coffee can under there and just poured it in there.
Speaker 1:Here's one I didn't know about Pasta and rice. Keep pasta and rice out of your garbage disposal. Cooked or uncooked, pasta and rice usually expand and then swell inside your pipelines when exposed to water. This can create blockages or improper drainage. Never would have thought about pasta and rice, ever in a million years. I know rice causes a lot of problems. I know it also causes problems in your dishwasher, but those are things that now see, these are not things that we're educated on by our parents, right? We just assume we know. We assume they knew. I don't think my mom knew either. I'm sure my mom was put in pasta and rice. I mean I think we all knew the oil thing. But the rest of it, I hope you learned something today. That's our fun little talk about garbage disposals. You know one needs to always talk about their garbage disposal.
Speaker 1:Again, you can get all of my podcasts anywhere you get podcasts. You can get me on Apple, spotify, you name it, I'm there. If you just want to go to my website, which is InsideMarci'sMindcom, you can find all of my episodes there. If I've spoken to anyone on the podcast, their information is there. We have Nita Wenrick's going to be coming up in October.
Speaker 1:We're going to be talking about the changes to Medicare. If you watched the debate last night, you've heard some of the changes on the medication part of Medicare. There's changes every year, just like with any insurance. Ugh, that's the other thing. Today I have to buy my own insurance. I'm coming off of Cobra and I have 16 months until I am on Medicare, so I have to go back into the free exchange again. I have to use well, I'm not using the Obamacare because I don't qualify, but if I did I would. I just have to go straight and spend thirteen hundred dollars a month and then still pay to go to the doctor. That's just, it's insane. I've been paying twelve hundred, so another hundred going into the free exchange is not a bad thing. Anyways, that's what's been happening with me.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you were here with me. If you need to talk to me inside Marcy's mind at gmailcom, feel free to email me. If you have a subject and you want to be on my podcast, I would love to have you. Next week I'm going to be interviewing Jeannie Gormick. We talk always about the loss of loved ones, so I'm curious to see. She's got something new going on and she wants to share it with you, so I'll be doing an interview with her. Craig will be traveling next week so I won't have to worry about him coming in from his run. And now I can hear him squeaking, cleaning the glass. I don't even know you might be able to hear it in the shower. It's insane Squeak, squeak, squeak. Oh, you gotta love people, you gotta love them. Oh, this is a funny story. Quick story before we end, and I tell you something you need to know.
Speaker 1:Yesterday I was on the elevator coming up. It stopped on the Plaza level. Craig was standing there, got on the elevator, didn't even I was right in front. He looked right at me, didn't even know it was me. I see him go to push the button. I'm like Craig, I am your wife of 33 years. This woman starts cracking up. She goes, really, I go, yeah, I go. I've already pushed the button. I'm in here, like you didn't. He did not even see me, I just blew my mind. It cracked the lady up. This lady was laughing hysterically, I'm sure, all the way to her door. It was pretty fun.
Speaker 1:Anyways, just sit back, hold tight and we're going to learn something more, something you didn't know. If I've already told you things, all right. So here's our fact today. Did you know that hot water turns into ice faster than cold water? I didn't. Hot water turns to ice faster than cold water because it has more convection currents than cold water, causing it to cool down much more quickly. So if you want to make ice in your, if you have the old ice trays, or if you're making some round ice or some fun ice, use hot water. It's going to make ice a lot faster than if you start with cold, did you know? Know, now you do go out and do something positive. Bye.
