Reading

Entry tags:

running

Official Photos from the Half Marathon

Wow, I guess this is how the real races do it? The bib number is used as something like an ID or something and AI can help sort out all the photos that got that bib number on. So it was easy to sort and find my own photos. And, it cost 220 TWD each photo, but if I just bought the whole filtered list (some 30 photos) then it's 990 TWD. Might as well buy the whole lot I suppose, so I did that.

Wow, it looks so cool when I crossed the finish line LOL.

Near the end of the run, there were a lot of photographers, and I did try to do a pose for them here and there, but there was a gal that kept running in front of my and making big poses and kissy faces at each and every cameraman that they then turned their lenses to her. None of the photos I found of me had that gal, so I couldn't show you.

Many of these street photos just show that I'm like... almost dying LOL LOL LOL

Meh, they shouldn't have had included the medal (and the 42km medal) shots in the package, but they really did that.

Haven't really worked through the actual trip photos (not that there was much of a trip this time) but yeah, I will eventually get to that!

Entry tags:

So Tired

For some reason, I was remembering that my mom’s friends Art and Pete dared me to eat a Gaines Burger (in the 60s and 70s, it was a moist dog food shaped like a hamburger patty). And I ate it!

I saw a Facebook post about someone wanting to be a “grocery buddy”. One of the people responding said that she had cancer and a 15-year-old son and her husband left for Tennessee. I’m wondering if I should help her. I also found the address of a local Little Free Pantry. Damn government shutdown.

Overslept and woke up at 8:30 AM. I really want to take a nap at lunch, but I have a meeting at which I'm taking minutes after lunch, so I'll take my shower instead. (I worry about oversleeping my nap.) Maybe I could nap after work.

My shower was attended by Oliver, Lily, Bella, and Gracie, so it was a full house. Gracie sniffed my butt right before I got into the shower. Dogs gotta dog.

I had non-stop meetings, so I didn't get a chance to contact the garage guy about the garage door.

My glasses fell out of my pocket and Gracie destroyed them. Again. I guess that I need to get really cheap glasses (no Transition lenses) for inside the house. That way, if Gracie destroys them, it won’t cost me megabucks. I can wear more expensive glasses outside. I ordered a pair of really cheap glasses for inside (plus I had points, so most of the cost was expedited shipping) plus a pair of “outside” glasses. I wanted to get two pairs of the cheap glasses, but they didn’t have a way to do that! I’ll order another pair later. Now it’s nap time.

Crashed out hard and slept for three hours. The dogs crashed out too. Usually they stir when I wake up, but I shut off the alarm and looked at my phone, and they didn’t stir until I sat all the way up.

My left arm really hurts. I think that it's tendinitis. I thought about going to the doctor, but I've had it before, and they'll just tell me not to use it and to take over-the-counter pain meds. I did find some Aspercreme that doesn't have a child-proof cap, and that seems to help a little.

Fed us all. (Oliver says, "About time!") Now I'm going back to bed.

Thursday is just relieved to have avoided the flooding and downpours...

1. Now, I've got an X-ray scheduled for next Tuesday along with the doctor's appt. They went ahead and scheduled it for me. Nice of them. Means getting there earlier - but that's okay. Hopefully, it's nothing but a sciatic nerve and arthritis. Friday, Monday, and Tuesday are doctors visits - oh well at least they are all in the same location. I wish it was closer to the subway stations, but it could be worse. Ten blocks isn't that bad. (Ten-Fifteen minute walk, with sciatica and a bad knee - it may actually be a twenty minute walk, I should give myself more time to get there.). I could take a car service - but I've neither the patience or the funds for it. Also they stress me out.

I'm collecting doctors again. Appear to have slight hoarseness tonight - thinking allergies? Also, hoping I've managed to avoid digestive issues by having tuna fish on gluten free sourdough deli toast, with small salad, cucumber, celery and carrot sticks. Did have a greek yogurt bar and chocolate for desert.

2. I really wish the fund-raising charity folks would stop sending me stuff? ( the stuff I've acquired from fund-raising folks ) (I figure if I put this out there into the Universe, they will?)

3. FB neighborhood page shot out a link regarding those pesky proposals on the ballot, which I shared with my brother. [Those ballot proposals took my cubicle mate by surprise, along with a bunch of others.] Now, we know how we're voting on those vague as mud ballot proposals. (Yes, I'm voting - it's a major election for NYC City - because of the mayoral race. The race is between Cuomo, Sliwa, and Zohran Mamadani. After losing the Democratic primary, Cuomo is running as an Independent, and Sliwa is running as a Republican (he was the only candidate running for Republican). The conservative newspapers are trying to get him to pull out - which of course he won't.
Oh, the drama.

4. Lots of torrential rain fall today. (Outside of Super being unable to turn off bedroom radiator today - I wasn't affected.) So, southeastern Brooklyn had flooding in various spots. They posted a ton of photos on FB of the various spots that had been flooded around Ditmas and Flatbush in Brooklyn. Kesington for the most part was fine - when I got home - mainly because they had fixed the gutters.

Flooding in NYC, West Chester, Long Island, and New Jersey

Flooding in BedStuy

Bedstuy Brooklyn Flooding

Post on Ditmas Neighborhood Page: "Cortelyou Road is flooded. If your car is parked near Tribeca Pediatrics you should move your car. The water is rising and is almost to the top a sedan's tires.

Never mind. Someone just cleared the drain. It's all good."

It really is just a gutter problem.

ME: Are we still on for the radiator valve switch off?
Super: We had flooding in 3 building basements.
Me: Okay, not today then. Maybe next week?
Super: Okay, thanks.

I hope the basement apartment is okay. Although, honestly, you'd have to be desperate or nuts to live in a basement apartment in NYC.

***

Eh, I'll catch up on memage tomorrow.

Have a photo instead.

(no subject)

I'm feeling marginally better than I was a few hours ago, but I did have to take a second dose of headache pills because my headache was still bad five hours after I took the first dose. I dragged myself out to buy bagels for lunches and frozen meals for dinners while I'm here, plus I filled up the car in preparation for our drive to Connecticut. I hadn't filled it since right before I left Connecticut to drive back here on 21st September and it was down to a quarter full. (Shows how little I use a car in normal times.)

I hope I can avoid driving anywhere else as long as I'm staying in this place, because the car parking space is quite challenging to get into. I have to reverse in, and it's between two poles so I'm terrified of getting too close to one or the other of them. Last night when I arrived it was getting dark so it wasn't easy, but I made it, but I was dreading having to go out again today because it was raining and everything, including reversing into a tight parking space, feels harder when you're driving in the rain. This morning when I came back from shopping I was manoeuvring in when someone else came along wanting to get onto the property, but my car was partly blocking the driveway because of the position of my parking space, so I had to try to quickly get far enough back to let them go past in front of me. My space is at the front of the property parallel to the road and outside the fence around the property; inside the fence is a huge area where there were four or five cars parked when I went out this morning, but apparently I'm not allowed to park in there, according to the instructions from the host for where to park and how to get into this place.

I think this place must be a walk-out basement because there are only windows on one wall - one in each bedroom and one in the one door. It's very dark without any lights on because the windows, which face north, are small and have black curtains.

I have no idea how many people live (or are staying) in the main house, but hardly any noise comes through here. I did hear footsteps a few times when I was trying to get to sleep last night, but they weren't too loud and didn't sound as if they were right over my head.

The Tofu Report

The research said to empty out the litter box and then lay in a healthy layer of tofu pellets and then cover with a layer of the old, used litter. Yeah, no. The new litter was too pretty and once I dumped it into the box, I knew my days of clay litter were over for ever.

They are pellets and not little rocks. And they are a white color so the whole box looks very different I did take some time to clean up all the clay crumbs and dust from the room. Soooooo nice to have that all gone.

Biggie anointed the new stuff immediately. Julio studied it hard several times and finally, by afternoon, decided it was ok. It's heavier than clay litter to scoop but so much less messy!! And... zero dust. It's so much cleaner. In the room where the box is, there are a couple of pellets on the floor but that's because I don't have the scoop/trash positioned perfectly yet and I spilled some when I was scooping.

There may be issues I haven't seen yet but so far, it's a win.

And speaking of win, the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers last night. Shocking and really nice. They only need one more win to take the Series which is really shocking. I am sure the Mariners could not have done this.

Nothing on the calendar today particularly. I need to go down to the front desk and pick up our floor's Timber Ridge Times and distribute. But, that can happen any time. I do need a shower and that can happen now.

(no subject)

For weeks I've been working towards yesterday, organising everything ready to move out of my house, and all along, I felt like I was moving towards a cliff and I couldn't see what was at the bottom of that cliff. Because the movers didn't arrive until after 4 pm, all day yesterday I was just waiting for them, filling in the hours until it was time to jump off the cliff.

After the movers left I packed the last of my stuff into the car and now here I am at the AirBnB, feeling like I'm homeless. I'm not, really, because my daughter says I can always stay with them indefinitely, but having my own little corner in her house is not like having my very own space where everything can be arranged to suit me. Anyway, right now my car boot/trunk is crammed as full as it will go, plus the back seat is also crammed, although I think there will be space for my daughter's luggage (if it's not too big), and I'm feeling a sense of panic about having so much stuff to keep in order. I have no idea where it will all fit in my daughter's place, although she says she still has storage spaces with nothing in them so I guess it will be okay.

I'm glad I've got this time to do nothing much for a few days, because right now I feel far too tired to be able to drive any distance. I expected to sleep well last night, but instead I had trouble getting to sleep and then I woke up far too early (around 4 am) so I had barely 6 hours sleep and I feel tired and headachey. I'm hoping I'll be more relaxed by tonight and will sleep better then.

This AirBnB is reasonably comfortable although the bed is more soft and squishy than I really like, and this tea-drinker and toast-eater is discombobulated by the fact that there are two coffee makers but no toaster. There is a microwave so I was able to make tea for breakfast, but with no toaster I just warmed some bread in the microwave instead, which was okay but not really very satisfactory. Also I forgot to pack sugar in my food box for the next few days, so I had to sweeten my tea with honey. I think I'm going to buy some sugar today.

Entry tags:

Day Off

I forgot to mention that a guy pushing a baby buggy called Bella and Gracie drama queens. (They were going nuts as he walked by.) He’s not wrong :)

I found a fleece-lined set of loungewear in Coldwater Creek’s catalog. It’s over $100 for a set, so pricey, but if I wear it all the time, it might be worth it. A perk of working from home! I tried eBay, Poshmark, Thred Up, Mercari, and JJill with no luck. I’m looking at the track suit at Costco that susandennis mentioned, but Costco’s site is down. I found something on Walmart’s site that might do. I ordered it in purple and pink. It’s certainly a lot cheaper than Coldwater Creek. I think that the Costco suit will be too long for me. I’m short and fat. Oh well. I found a nice set on Amazon and bought it in wine and lavender. They are nice enough that I could wear them to run errands. I guess that I’ll use the Walmart ones as pajamas.

When I was falling asleep, I realized that I didn’t do laundry but didn’t want to get up. I threw it in the wash as soon as I got up. I cobbled something together to wear to my singing class. I’ll change some of my clothes before I go get my hair cut.

I was a couple of minutes late to my singing class, but my teacher didn’t seem to mind. It was a good class. (We’re practicing major, minor, major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and chromatic scales. It’s hard, but I like that she pushes me.)

Fed the beasts and had lunch. Now I have some phone calls to return. I’m playing telephone tag with the doctor’s office. I reached the hearing aid guy, and he said to change the dome and filter on my right hearing aid.

I need stuff to do that won’t get me dirty before my hair appointment, so I think that I’ll clear stuff off of the basement stairs. I might also break down boxes. Oh, and open some packages. I got my new purse, so I transferred stuff from my old purse.

Got my hair cut and brows waxed. She did her usual good job.

Stopped at the local grocery store. I did more shopping than I had intended because everything sounded good. (Yes, I was hungry.) I forgot to get oat milk though, so I went back in. When I was leaving, I felt happy for no apparent reason, but I’ll take it.

While I was bringing groceries in, Bella and Gracie burst out the door, Gracie without her leash. So I was chasing her with the leash, but she’s pretty smart, and I was having no luck. I convinced them to go into the garage and shut the door, which confused Gracie enough to get a leash on her. Whew.

I was going to take a nap but it got late, so I’ll put the groceries away (done), eat dinner (done), feed the beasties (done), get the recycling out (done), and go to bed early. I certainly got my exercise chasing Gracie!

Gracie pulled me down the stairs and I fell again. Dang dog. She is a handful. I offered Bella a Milkbone-like treat for coming in. She came in but didn’t want the biscuit. I offered it to Gracie, and then Bella grabbed it!

(no subject)

The moving people kept changing the window of time during which they would arrive; first it was between 1 and 5 pm, then it was between 1 and 4 pm, then it was between 1 and 3 pm. At some point they called me and said it might be a bit after 3 but before 4, and they eventually arrived a few minutes after 4. Now I'm hiding out in the one room they won't be taking anything from white they all do their thing. I taped up all the boxes I packed, but they are re-taping them. I'm hoping that once they start carrying things out to their truck that it will go quickly.

My car is jam packed with things I will need to use while I'm staying at my daughter's, along with stuff I might not be using but didn't want to entrust to the movers, like my sewing machine. I was trying not to be taking too much in the car, but it turned out to be a *lot*. I hope my daughter won't be travelling with too much luggage, since we have to squeeze her into the car as well.

I'm exhausted just from waiting around all day. I did manage to go for a walk this morning, but apart from that I've just been loading my car up and waiting.

Beaux has a reprieve for now

I got an email from the shelter med people that Beaux's dental extraction appointment for tomorrow was cancelled. No explanation but he was scheduled again for December 18th and is on standby for any availabilities until then. He's not in pain or, far as I can tell, bothered at all by whatever is going on so it is of little difference to me.

Dana is doing well. Minor swelling. A little pain. But getting around and eating soft food and well supported by the extraction team. They called her yesterday to see how she was doing. Everything they said from how she was going to feel on day one to the fact that on day three she was going to have some delayed swelling has been spot on. It is really nice to run into a good team in the medical world.

Still no indication at all of any infection.

In other news, today was the first day that I got to play pickleball at the inside courts when I would not have played outside. It is cold but that isn't the problem. The wind is whipping around at 20 or so MPH and anything over 15 is impossible to play in. But we were snug and playing as if it was a lovely day out. Got in a couple of hours with the usual group.

Now we're just hanging out enjoying the free cool weather, a perfect 70 degrees inside with the back door open and the fans on.

Yesterday I paid off the credit card. We had so much on it with travel and wedding and dentists for us both that my credit rating slipped. So I moved some money out of the investment and paid it off. Now we spend the next year as frugally as possible and put all that money back into the investments.

Saving money is like losing weight. It is based on inactivity, doing less, as opposed to proactively doing more. We need to just NOT spend money and NOT eat too much. NOT as much fun as doing things.

But I so enjoy being able to move money into the bank account that pays the mortgage weeks ahead of time so it is there when the ACH comes through and I don't even have to think about it. And paying off the credit card each Friday. And never really paying attention to cost at the grocery store. Just get what we need when we need it. Small luxuries we still can do even while saving money.

I've got pickleball prepaid to next fall so I don't even have to think about that expense for a while. And taxes prepaid so the IRS should be a nothing this year. And a consistent set up to a savings account for our long term care due next fall. That was another expense I screwed up this year. I'd been saving every month in a PayPal account to pay for long term care but I moved everything to SoFi and forgot to take that into account. So I had to scrape up the money and pay without really having it. But I've got it set up now so it will be earning 3% or so monthly as I drip into it every payday.

Speaking of which, we had a couple of thousand in our investment account and I got a wild hair to buy some stock. So I bought $1000 of SoFi. I like what they are doing and love their service. Turns out to be a good bet. I didn't buy on the low but nearly so. I've made $500 on that thousand so far just about three months out. The bottom may drop out but I think SoFi is a solid company and will actually grow to be a major player. With any luck the stock will slip some and I can buy more.

I let an algorythm manage the IRA funds but in a separate account we've got a bit of money and I bought Walmart, SoFi and S&P. I also had some Cisco on a paper stock in my safe that I just added to the portfolio. So I now track them and all are doing well. Of course, as I said, the bottom may fall out any time. I don't much need to tap this money. If we need emergency funds I take it out of the IRA and pay it back to the investment. I've got minimum distributions sometime next year or so anyway. If the stocks I'm managing dip I'll just wait. They will come back up. May take a few years but they will do fine.

Time for a shower.

Where's Waldo

I went in to make up the bed and get dressed and found this.

I'm surprised that I saw him before I flung the comforter in place.

( Read more... )

These guys invented cat hijinks.

Tofu - finally a good use

This week's big project is moving the cats from clay litter to tofu litter. I've never approved of tofu as a food but as a little, it has promise. The promise of staying in the litter box. I've been fighting clay litter ever since I moved in here with hard wood floors. It sticks to their paws and ends up all over the place and especially grinding under my shoes on those wooden floors. So. I did my research. I asked gemini and I asked chat gpt and they both said - wood or tofu with tofu being better for what I want. The goods will get here from Chewy today.

We had a giant bolt of lightning and then loud clap of thunder last night. Only one set. It was very weird. Thunder and lightening is exceedingly rare around here any time of year but especially now. I kept waiting for more but never got any more.

I canceled Netflix and Hulu this morning. I'm caught up with Netflix. ABC and Fox both stream on Hulu but, at least now, there is nothing on either that is worth $20 a month (and, yes, I can get it cheaper but I do not want ads). I can get Netflix back any time. Hulu, of course, will be disappearing but they will just transfer all their shit to Disney and raise the price.

I need some background watching, stuff that I don't have to watch intently. Like Law and Order or vet shows. I'm working on my YouTube algorithm but also, I've got House Hunters on HBO. And, I have, recently, just turned off the TV and listened to my book while I knit. Habits change.

I ordered a track suit from Costco. They have started (a year or so ago) carrying some plus size clothing. Nice stuff. Online, of course, not in the stores. Anyway, I cannot remember how I happened on this, but I had been in the market for a track suit. Something comfy, that fit, that looks good enough for me to wear downstairs sometimes or to and from the pool. $16? OK. I assumed the fabric would be shit and/or it wouldn't fit. I'd just take it to the store and return it. It arrived yesterday.

So for a fat girl, off the rack clothes that fit are unicorns. This is a real unicorn.

It fits perfectly. The legs are the perfect length, the elastic stays on my waist without even tying. The pockets are deep enough for my cellphone. The sleeves are the perfect length and wide enough to easily fit my flappy upper arms. The fabric is great. It feels like a hug and looks really nice. I got green which is really more brown. 16 fucking dollars. So of course, I ordered another one. Black this time which I do not need but fuck. unicorn for $16. Who cares if I don't need it.

Biggie's getting bored and thinks sitting on my laptop might fix it so I think it's time to go get dressed.

Entry tags:

A Gray and Rainy Day

Oh, I forgot to mention that the garage door won't lock. Sigh. I need to call the garage guy about it. Right now, the garage is empty, but it's annoying that the wind opens the door.

I was unable to get the child-proof (make that adult-proof) cap on the Icy Hot off. They know that people with arthritis might use it, so why do they make it so hard to open? So I did without. It took me a while to fall asleep because my arm hurt.

Woke up with my alarm at 8 AM. Dozed for about 15 minutes.

I want to nap over lunch, so I'll take my shower after work.

Ordered a bunch of dog treats. I need the bribe for Bella to come in! I'll need to get more for Gracie after the fence is put up!

Yay, I got my slides done at work. Now I’m off until Thursday.

I’m looking for another eye cream because the one that I’ve been using is freaking expensive. I’m trying Rodan and Fields, which still isn’t cheap but is cheaper. If I like it, maybe I’ll try their moisturizer.

Home Depot has a really cushy chair with an ottoman that I kind of like for the library/music room. And they have a really cushy-looking mattress. I’ll have to check them out. I saw a Beautyrest mattress in the Beautyrest online store that I like, but I'll need to check their return policy if I buy it online. I think that a new mattress will be my Christmas present to myself. I like plush mattresses, and my mom’s mattress is very firm.

Fed us all. Now I’m gathering the garbage but taking breaks because I’m tired. Done. It's raining. Got some stuff off of the porch. Now I'll post, feed the beasts again, and go to sleep.

Tuesday is contemplating getting its right leg amputated

Not having a great week so far health wise. While I was nursing my hip, knee, back and leg - the exterminator popped up - requiring all sorts of physical hijinks in the kitchen afterwards - basically cleaning floor, removing dishes, cleaning counter with disinfectant wipes. And cleaning dish dryer mat which was a mess - and needs to put in the washer.

Exterminator: Let it all sit undisturbed for two hours.
Me: 2 hours?

Not happening. He left at 5:30 pm. I compromised. It's sitting. But I did clean the counter top with disinfectant wipes.

But hey, I've accomplished a lot - considering I came home wishing someone would just shoot me and put me out of my misery. Took a shower, talked to mother (who called while I was attempting to apply lidocaine and Aleve pain relieving menthol rub to my knee and hip), exterminator and cleaned portion of kitchen.

Me: can you kill the flies.
Exterminator: sure, but I don't see any.

Now that he's gone, the five that I can't seem to kill have returned.

***

On the health front - yes, it was really hurting today. Not helped by the fact that I'm having problems sleeping. ( Read more... )

Some potential good news? Primary Care Doctor finally gave me a referral on the knee. So I scheduled an appointment for November 4 with an orthopedist for my knee. If I wasn't working - I'd have been able to do it earlier. But scheduling it around working hours is dicey. Also I don't want back to back doctor's appointments - not with a bad back and knee. I three doctor's appointments this coming weekend (I'm taking Monday off as a Personal Day, and Tuesday, Election Day, I get off). Getting older seems to result in acquiring lots of doctors?

Me: I need to vote, but it hurts more and more to stand, or walk - and the voting place is about six to ten blocks.
Mother: Can you not vote - if you hurt?
Me: I'm contemplating it - since I'm finding it hard to care. But I really should vote.
Mother: Well, if you hurt - don't. (this is the woman who was in League of Women Voters when I was a child and went door to door telling folks to vote - she campaigned for Jimmy Carter.)

***

Work humor

So the Press Office at crazy agency likes to send out emails weekly on power switching on the tracks near the support facility - informing everyone it's happening and they may not be able to catch a train at specific times during the day - whether we all care or not.

Press office: power switching is taking place, so plan accordingly.
Engineer: do we get any pants?
2nd Engineer: fantastic question
Email recipient: you realize this is being sent to 4000 people, right?
Email recipient 2: can you not press reply all?
Press Office: This is being sent to about thirty people on the list, so please stop replying all.
Engineers: so we aren’t getting any pants?

Moral - BCC is there for a reason.

***

On Monday, when it was sunny, warmer, and I didn't hurt quite as bad - leg wasn't as bad on Monday for some reason or other, God knows why - I took a walk up the pier, not that far, just to pier 5. (It goes up to pier 20.)
I took photos of the NYPD boat, a big yellow and black barge, and the helicopter port.

Here's the NYPD boat. Isn't it cute? (NYPD not to be confused with ICE, honestly - there are currently the MTAPD, Port Authority PD, NYPD, State Troopers, National Guard, ICE, and the NY Sheriff's Department. And I'm probably leaving something out? We have cops on horses, cops in cars, cops on subways, cops on trains, cops on bicycles, cops on motorcycles, cops on foot, cops on boats...hardly a shortage of police officers. I see them everywhere. People who whine about not enough cops in NYC need to have their heads examined.)

(no subject)

Finally got the call from the moving company customer service person to say the movers will be here between 1 pm and 5 pm tomorrow. My heart sank, because if they don't get here until 5 they won't be finished loading until well into the evening, and as an extreme morning person, this will be hard for me. I'm just hoping they will be earlier rather than later, but trying not to get my hopes up too much. The silver lining is that I won't have to rush around first thing in the morning getting the final things ready to go, plus I should have time to go for a walk sometimes in the morning.

365 Questions 2025

26. What makes you feel secure? Knowing I've got money in the bank. Having a few basic possessions around me when I'm staying overnight anywhere away from home.

27. What is your favorite sound? One of them is hearing a baby laugh.

28. What are the top three qualities you look for in a friend? Intelligence, sense of humour, loyalty.

(no subject)

I can't wait for tomorrow to be over. I'm at the point now where I'm shoving various bits and pieces of stuff into nooks and crannies in my suitcases, knowing that when I want a particular bit or piece, I won't remember where I stashed it. I do have habitual places where I always pack important things (like spare glasses or nail scissors for example) when I'm travelling, so there are some things I know I'll be able to find if necessary.

I've been waiting on tenterhooks all morning for the phone call from the movers telling me what time to expect them tomorrow. I'm afraid to go too far away from my phone in case I don't hear it (because I can't hear it when I'm at one end of the house and it's at the other) so contrary to my normal habit, I'm carrying it with me everywhere. I was hoping they'd surprise me by ringing yesterday or very early today, but no such luck.

The phone rang when I had just taken a bite of my sandwich while I was having lunch, and I had to chew and swallow as quickly as possible in order to answer it, but it turned out to be someone trying to sell me extra moving insurance, not the call I was hoping for. Since I'm not moving a whole housefull of furniture and other possessions, I am not taking out any insurance above the basic $10000 policy which came with the moving price, so I was polite but short with the caller.

Entry tags:

Virgin by F. Paul Wilson

They followed the path of ancient scrolls into the Judean desert. They unearthed one of the greatest discoveries of all time. The perfectly preserved body of the Virgin Mary. Soon the world would know the wonder of her healing. The sick are made well. The weak are made strong. But with the miracle of her return comes an omen of evil.

I’ve read several of Wilson’s books and enjoyed most of them. But every once in a while he writes one that has some major flaws; this is one of them. It had a promising start, but went downhill from there.

To start, I wasn’t crazy about the female protagonist. She’s supposed to be almost saint-like, but is anything but when it comes to having her way. I suppose that’s the main driving force of the story, but it made it hard to care as to what happened.

Which is another problem. Was this supposed to be horror? Because a lot of went on could only be explained by a supernatural force. If it’s supposed to be god, he’s got some major problems. It felt too much like “I’m going to mess with you just because I can” sort of story.

And the ending was sort of weird. And one of those endings that’s not really an ending. I’m so glad that the book isn’t part of his “Secret History of the World” series; I don’t think I could have stood that.

( Mount TBR 2025 Book Links 1-45 )

46. A Path Where No Man Thought: Nuclear Winter and Its Implications by Carl Sagan
47. 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
48. Curfew by Phil Rickman
49. The King's Justice by Stephen R. Donaldson
50. Virgin by F. Paul Wilson

Virgin

Snow on the mountain

Most of our mornings, recently, have been foggy but this morning, so far, it's very clear and there is definitely snow on the mountain tops. Let's see if this crazy zoom can get it. Yep! Just shot this from right here sitting at my table. Amazing. Amazing that this is my view and amazing that this silly telephone can take such a picture.

My chauffeur service got canceled. Hazel came by late yesterday to say that they did not get the appointment after all. She was with John so I told them both that they do not need me. They only need to go to the front desk and asked for a ride and they can do that at the last minute if they need to. I'm not sure they believed me but next time they come ask, that's what I will tell them ... again.

The front desk manager actually called me yesterday - after I sent an email asking - and explained that what they offer is concierge Uber an Lyft service. You go down to the front desk and request a ride. They make all of the arrangements and the car picks you up and takes you wherever you want to go. THEN when you are ready to come home, you call the front desk (or, like in Hazel's case, have the doctor's office do it) here and tell them you are ready and your ride comes to where ever you are and picks you up and brings you home. No cellphone needed. No app needed. Not even a credit card. The payment goes onto your Timber Ridge account. I think that is slick as shit, honestly.

Not to mention it takes me flat off the fucking hook. Whew. It's not just the one drive, it's the future of being the person she depends on and then involved with her medical care and grocery store trips. I fell into a rabbit hole with Myrna which resulted in my making decisions that were not mine to make (and making some of them very wrong) and my being beat up by her family for being so involved. It was a hard, but a good lesson. I just need to remember it. The line between being nice and kind or getting sucked in is not that fine. I just need to pay attention.

So today's ONLY to-do is to go out to the elbow this afternoon for an hour and work the jigsaw puzzle while Tatitania cleans my house. Tough duty. But, hey, I can do it.

Oh shit, I just saw where the baseball game last night went 18 innings. THANKTHELORD I can just ignore it.

I was thinking about making a trip to Goodwill this week since I'm so pool-free but then I remembered that this is the one week, for sure, when a casual trip to Goodwill is not even possible. Halloween. Oh well, just as well. I do not need more stuff.

I have had a nice spell of not too much spending and zero Amazon returns! The rain jacket I ordered from Columbia arrived and it works fine. I'd love for the arms to have a bit more room but I can deal. And, of course, we are celebrating by having one of the first non rainy days in a while!

Day 2

Dana's extraction went as well as it could have. The doc was great and she improves by the hour. At our age it is like getting hit on the head so recovery is way slower but she is clear eyed and moving around and taking care of herself. And reading the instructions of what she is supposed to do.

I have zero on my schedule today intending to be here for her. I don't think she'll need me but I want to be around just in case.

In a couple of days we'll have a feeling for whether she escaped infection. Given her history that is the most likely potential problem. Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile I'm just kind of hanging out. There are two MLS playoff games each day this week so I'm watching one in the evening and one during the day. It is nice. Amortize my Apple MLS cost. I suspect that Austin FC, playing tomorrow night, will not go beyond first round but I'm hoping they will surprise everyone. They are playing the team, LAFC, that many people pick as the likely playoff winner. The first game is in LA which means it doesn't start until 9:30 central time. I always hate West Coast teams. Except when I lived on the west coast then I really loved the timing.

And, of course, I've got to get up early on Thursday morning for our next family tooth extraction, Beaux.

Entry tags:

Choir Night

I woke up at 6, hit Snooze for a while until Gracie thought that was enough, and took the dogs out. I decided to go back to sleep for a while. Woke up at 7:45. Checked my calendar, and I have meetings before and after lunch, so I need to take my shower now.

I asked my boss if I could take Wednesday off because I have a hair appointment in the afternoon, and she said, "Yes".

Things are heating up at work. I hope that I get everything done. Somehow I wound up with the most slides for a Zoom meeting that we're having next week.

I was NOT amused that someone (probably Gracie) chewed through the strap of my purse! I knotted it up and left, but I'll need a new purse.

Choir went well. I stayed late to try out for a solo part. There were two people who were really, really good, so they should get parts. As for me, I'll see.

I decided that I needed Ben Gay or equivalent more than I needed my smoothie, so I went straight to the grocery store after choir. I got Icy Hot with lidocaine, which should cover all the bases. My arm is driving me crazy. The result of the massage didn't last long. I also decided that I wanted bagels for breakfast. I might get the smoothie on Wednesday, when I'll be off.

I'm feeling stronger though than I did last week. Nothing from the doctor, although someone called from her office on Friday but didn't leave a message.

Anyway, I need to feed the beasts and crash.