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Entry tags:

meme

(no subject)

Friday Five by anais_pf

1. If you had to participate in one Olympic event, what would it be and why?
Cat tending because there would be lots of napping and eating involved.

2. What is the one song you always sing along to?
Any song I know I sing along to if only in my head.

3. Do you wear a seatbelt in the car?
Always. I had to attach a plastic doodad to it to pull it down so it doesn't go across my eye. Seatbelts are designed for 6 foot males.

4. Car, SUV or truck and why?
I have what you might call a small SUV. For the space. It helped in moving.

5. Are you a good/bad driver? Explain.
I'm a cautious one. I don't care if someone passes me or gets in front of me. I just want to get from point A to point B alive.

52/283-284: Grey

Waking in darkness, not knowing the hour and thus uncertain of the day, I lay listening for the sound of the mini-metropolis, but found it wrapped in the nocturnal silence of its autumnal fog. Had my mind gone that way, I might have convinced myself then and there that the world no longer existed, or had always been imaginary. Instead, I went looking for some image of certainty from the past, but found I'm no longer convinced that the past is real either. An intense need to take a leak was the only thing that made me believe that I myself was real. So the dream of the world must have been all mine. I berated myself for the poor job I'd done of it as I took a flawless piss. Where was that competence when I'd really needed it?

( Sunday Verse )

Death spurts

When someone dies here, they put out a small frame with or without their photo and with their name and birth and death dates. It stays for a week. I have seen weeks when there were 5 or 6 frames out. But, lately, like since Halloween, deaths have been few and far between. It's been a few frameless weeks. Until yesterday. When I got out of the elevator on the way back from volleyball, there was a group of non-residents getting in discussing funeral plans so I knew the no deaths string was broken. Turns out it was Harriet's husband. Harriet was the first person who ever left me a thank you note for my creatures. I did not even know who she was then. But now I do. She's a force. She's in charge of the pea patch program and next year will be head of the Food and Beverage Committee. And she has a giant golden retriever named Apple. She and Apple sometimes visit volleyball on their way back from morning walks. Also Apple has a job visiting folks in the memory wing.

I never knew her husband but saw them at the Abba cover concert last year. He needed a walker to move but clearly was ready to boogie. He kept getting up to try and dance and she kept getting up to try and stop him. Over and over and over again. He looked like a ton of fun. As most of us here, I have a healthy stash of sympathy cards. I'll drop one off for her on my way to swim this morning.

It's still dark out and foggy. Perfect for swimming. I think I'll go do that.

(no subject)

Happy St. Nicholas' Day

I hope he has free rein this year, and I hope he goes wild! For all of you, in particular.

Meh

Volleyball was a mess. We have one very bad actor and he was on his worst behavior this morning and several of the regulars were there so we quit early. Elbow coffee was not horrible but not great either. Again, good people missing and we did not quit early.

Sigh.

Yesterday I broke a light bulb and did not have a replacement but did have a couple of things on my list for Dollar Store so went there and got a bulb that kind of works. But mostly could not find stuff on my list. The Amazon smart bulbs do not work in my bedside sconces because they are dimmable fixtures. The bulb I got at Dollar Store says it's non-dimmable right on the box but I bought it anyway. Instead of stopping at Lowe's or Home Depot or even fucking Safeway, like a normal person, I just came home. The Dollar Store bulb at least doesn't flicker like the Amazon bulb but I still need better ones - one for each. Why am I being punked by light bulbs???

Anyway, Hazel and John need a new calendar and they always get their calendars at the Dollar Store and they came to elbow coffee to ask us to get them one next time we are there. So Bonny and I are going this afternoon.

I started writing this entry and hour ago and keep getting distracted - squirrel!

I have an Instagram account and scroll through daily. I rarely post anything but I do enjoy looking. There's a dude in London who has two sisters who sent him a giant box of advent adventures. Every day he must deliver a gift to the person on the card. Generally it's a first name and destination. He posts videos of his finding someone with that name in that place. It's charmingly delightful. fridgeplug

While I keep a short list of people I follow, most of my feed is people Instagram thinks I need to follow. I get a lot of 'babies with their Dads' and 'dogs with babies' and lately, it's Tai Chi for old fat people (kind of on point, that last one). At least, for now, I'm out of the fat boobs that need bras phase.

Dinner's ordered for pickup downstairs and Bobby's probably about ready to go so I'm done for now.

52/281-282: Grey

Oy what a day. Friday was a grocery shopping day of course, and though I got started ordering pretty early it still took close to four hours to get the job done. Safeway's web site was the worst I've ever seen it, and a computer crash didn't help. The chaos of the web site so discombobulated me that I forgot three items I really wanted to get, and was unable to find two others. Then there were two substitutions that had to be made by the store, and a final item was simply out of stock and unreplaceable.

I might get a nephew or niece to fetch a couple of the missing items, but hate to pester them about it already. But I also forgot to get my rent check into the mail, which I don't send from my bad mailbox here, so I'll have to have somebody take that soon too, so I can probably combine the errands. I may be stupid old guy, but I can still be clever enough to arrange some repairs on my mistakes.

Anyway, no sooner did I get the groceries put away when I had to take a nap, and the nap ended up lasting until almost midnight, after which I spent a weird remainder of the night being unfocused and confused. Now another overcast day has arrived, and I'm still unfocused and confused, and stull haven't fixed Friday dinner. A key ingredient is among the missing items, so I have to figure out an alternative meal, and the unfocused confusion has interfered. I should probably just bake a potato, as using the oven would help warm the place up.

Alternatively, I could just go get under the covers and go back to sleep. I've been up for about eleven hours now, and it's cold and I'm yawning. Again, old guy. There's so much stuff I should do but I probably won't. At least with the overcast the room will be dim, for decent daytime sleep. It's looking more appealing by the moment. The potato can bake anytime. It's not like the weather will turn warm.

Entry tags:

christmas

(no subject)

As you know, Bob, I bought some solar Christmas decorations (they look like colored light bulbs on silver sticks) to put outside. I put them in the backgarden to watch if they worked. Nothing happened and I thought, well, Dollar Tree. What I didn't realize until later, much later, was that there was a small cardboard tab that had to be pulled to activate the solar. When I made that discovery I thought, yes, that makes sense. They have to be activated..

I've put them out front and they're as cute as a bug in a rug. Only it's mostly rain and clouds here so they don't gather much solar and don't last late into the night. But I'm decorated for Christmas. And a couple don't work because I've broken them somehow.

Just stuff

Biggie takes 3 pills a day. He has a vet appointment next week. His old vet moved to Iowa. So this is a new-ish one. She saw him last fall when he ate (and then popped) the nose plug but she hasn't weighed in on his pills/food. The last vet gave him one of the pills to discourage him from eating weird shit. The other pill was in lieu of the hyper expensive food she had prescribed the year before for his urinary issues.

I'm thinking we drop the anti anxiety pill and see how that goes. And then also drop the other one and go back to the hyper expensive food. Expensive, yes, but easier over all. He's fine. He acts fine. He eats fine. He poops fine. He pees fine. He drinks plenty of water. He's fine.

Oh and the tofu litter? It's really really fine. I am never going back. It's cleaner with no dust or debris and I also feel like I need less of it to do the job.

This morning, I think I'll go out and get some smaller cash. I never need 20 dollar bills. When I do need cash, it's ones and fives. There is a little Christmas fair this morning to raise money for something. But Martha has a table so I have to go. If I want to buy something, it's much more considerate to have exact change and all I have are 20's. To today is a good excuse to go get some usable money. I set up the Chase account for this very reason but have yet to take advantage. The closest Chase branch is very close.

It's cold and rainy but not nearly cold enough for ice so no big obstacle for going out and the car needs to stretch its tires.

Misc boring bits then... news!

When I lie on my side in the bed, my eyes look out on Barbara's terrace. Barbara lives in Assisted Living. She's a lovely lady with very little vision left. Someone has hung a VERY bright set of icicle lights on her terrace rail. I can practically read by the damn things in bed. I thought about asking her to turn them off at night but then decided, fuck it, I can wear the eye shades that I wear in Summer. They aren't uncomfortable and do the job so problem solved.

Laundry day. I have the process started. I forgot to turn on the lotion warmer before I left for volleyball so it's warming now. The paint roller enables me to apply a layer of lotion all over my back and then get dressed without oiling up my clothes.

There are a lot of seasonal activities planned around here and 99%, maybe even 100%, make me want to lock the door of my apartment with me inside. I have never been a fan of holidays but this year, I am really not. Don't know why and don't particularly care. Happily, I don't even have to explain myself to people. I can be what I want to be.

I got a really interesting email this morning from a French artist asking permission to use me in an AI art piece - specifically in an upcoming exhibit in a French High School. I cannot even believe that sentence. What a wonderful time we live in.

His name is Matéo Picard and his note was delightful. He was, oh so very respectfully, asking my permission to use my data. Of course, all of the stuff is out there for the world to see, no permission needed. He gave me a wide runway for landing a response of 'oh no, that's too creepy' which I really appreciate but do not need. I think it's fascinating. I have more than 25 years of daily journal entries, and photos back to the beginning of Flickr and Tweets and Bluesky posts and that autobiography I wrote and of course my now very old website. I mean there's a shit load to scrape from. It would be fodder for an artificial dummy but artificial intelligence could really go to town.

What amazing fun. And I love his website.

Ok the lotion is warm. Time to get greased up and dressed.

Still basking in the glow

I'm still not yet over the fact that I turn on my lamp in the morning and the light comes on immediately and does not flicker and stays on until I turn it off. Fucking miracle. I ordered more of those bulbs. One for the bathroom overhead fixture and two for my bed side lamps. All their bulbs work fine but the automation is flaky on each and they require 3 apps total. These bulbs will knock out two of the apps and delete the flaky.

Hazel dropped by last night. She says that the hospice workers are talking about letting John come back home (from the nursing unit). He has, apparently, after months of not eating, found his appetite. He was supposed to be dead way before now. But decided against it, I guess. She asked me to have Christmas dinner with the and their son. It was a lovely thought, but I think, no. I don't want to get chummy with the son and make it very easy for him to assume I'm ready to step in with their care/needs/etc. They both need a lot and I am just not up for it.

Also last night, I got an email telling me I'd been selected to serve on the Food and Beverage committee next year. I signed up for it the last two years but didn't make the cut til this one. Which turns out to be good. The new chair is sharp and nice and, hopefully, it will be interesting. It means two meetings a month and I already go to one of them so really just adding one.

Yesterday I changed the comforter on my bed to the winterwinterwinter one. It's about 14 inches thick. Of course, not really, but it is a very nice one with a lovely print and an even more lovely texture to it and burrowing under it, when it's cold, is the best sleep you can get. Ever. I finally have the temperature stable in here so that it's very cold at night and refreshingly pleasant during the day. The new thermostat they put in helps make controlling easier.

Also yesterday, I gave away my TV. I had a smallish TV in the bedroom that I never used. Last Summer I replaced it with a fan, which I never used and should probably get rid of, too. I put the TV under the bed. But the chaise cushion for the couch is also under there and it was getting crowded and bugging me. So I hauled out the TV (and was then able to push the cushion further in so you cannot see it from any angle) and bundled it up with its remote and legs and put it out in the elbow with a 'free' sign. It lasted an hour. It's such a lovely way to recycle shit. Easy peasy and someone is happy for sure.

I'm not sure what's on tap for today. I was toying with the idea of not swimming but it's so nice and gray and cloudy out, it's hard not to take advantage. So I probably will.

52/279-280: Still Chill Night

Monday and Tuesday did what they did, which was damned little, and apparently I survived them, only to find myself here, trying to survive early Wednesday morning. I will attempt to do that by going to sleep as soon as possible, trying not to think how I'll have to wake up and survive another day of daylight later. I've got a low grade headache, probably from my neck being out of place, probably from sleeping poorly and contorting myself into some sort of odd shape that might have made sense in a dream I don't remember having, but is highly impractical in the real world.

There was a rather late Tuesday dinner built around a large baked potato, and finished off with a bottle of Black Butte porter. For some reason (or perhaps none at all) my nose has begun to run. I don't think I could be coming down with a cold, as I have had no direct contact with other humans for more than a week, and with the onset of wintry weather have gone back to the pandemic era custom of wiping down my few bits of mail with those smelly wet disinfecting things. I'm thinking the runny nose is just one of those odd things that old age inexplicably brings on. I'm hoping it won't cause my nose to stop up when I lie down, because that happens sometimes, and it's hard enough for me to breathe these days anyway, even with a clear nasal passage or two.

Daily high temperatures keep getting revised downward, but next Friday is showing a high of 62, the highest in the fourteen days currently showing in the long range forecast, It's also the only sunny day in the forecast, though most of the remainder are only partly cloudy. It's not too horrible for December, and an email from the utility company today said I am on track for a bill of 69 dollars this month, which is a bit lower than last December's bill. I can probably afford to squander a few extra bucks at Safeway this month. I have my eye on a small bottle of Grand Marnier that's on sale this week. A drop of cognac is nice on chilly winter nights, and I ain't gonna live forever.

Bull and bear

I lost a shitload of money in my investments yesterday. I didn't even bother to look up why. I assume Trump farted or didn't and the captains of industry hit the panic button. One day last week, I made a ton of money in one day. Didn't look up that one either. I keep a spreadsheet (of course) of the totals with a very simplified chart and I just watch the line go up and down and up and down. My chart would make a great ski field.

On the other hand, Social Security did me a real solid. Last year they deducted $200 for Medicare and then an extra $400 for Medicare Part B IRMAA (which, roughly translated, means you made too much money). This was not unfair. Inheriting my cousin's investment accounts did the trick. That was in 2024. According to the fine print, Social Security only reviews IRMAA status every two years so I figured I was in screwed again in 2026. But, nope. I got the news today that I am officially IRMAA-free! So my 2.5% Cost of Living raise is more like 30% in real life. I'm perfectly fine with that.

Also amazingly wonderfully fine is the paint roller. I got the cheapest one ($5) - a 4 incher and it arrived yesterday. I lathered it up with lotion and wheeeeeee!! It goes on perfectly. All the books and crannies covered - even that spot in the very middle of my back that my arms believe is NoWomansLand. And it layers on the lotion evenly without big puddles. The spatula applies the lotion not at all evenly and also misses a lot of spots. This paint roller trick is the bomb, I tell ya. And fast and easy. I put the roller in a zip lock bag with the handle poking out the bottom. So now I just peel back the bag, slap some lotion onto the roller and
roll on a thin layer. Easy enough to do every day and not requiring special clothes to mop up the excess.

I'd love to get Google Gemini a big hug.

And in other news of success. I have this table lamp that I love. But it's failing. When I turn it on, sometimes it lights up and sometimes it doesn't and sometimes, it lights up 5 minutes later. My brother said he was willing to install a new lamp kit in it so I ordered one. Then last week, I had my own lightbulb moment. Maybe it's the light bulb??? So I black friday'd an Amazon smart bulb. And screwed it in. Alexa recognized it instantly with no action from me. (So I could eliminate the smart plug it was plugged into.) And... guess what? Issue totally fixed. The lamp kit is going back today.

It is house cleaning day and I have a nice collection of returns so I'll be heading out to UPS.

Pre-brothering

My brother has now been the coach of many a Let's Get Rid Of This Shit sessions. He's a great one for the job. Toss it is his favorite answer to every question. We have another session coming up in Janaury. I just retired some tech. It does not work well and I will never use it again but.... maybe and then I gave a very serious thought to putting it in a bag and putting it with the other stuff for bargaining power.

When he says 'Toss it' to something I want to keep, I could use it to offer up instead! But, the voice of good prevented me from finding an appropriate bag so I tossed it on my own today.

Years and years ago, my parents live in New York City. I was in college and my brother was in New England in boarding school. Mother and Daddy had moved to New York City after we all left home so coming home to the new 'home' was an extra special treat.

One time, I don't remember the occasion, but my brother and I ended up there at the same time. Mom asked us what we wanted for dinner and we both agreed fried okra would be the VERY BEST. Mother's reaction was 'oh you clowns! you can't get okra in New York City!!' 'So, if we can, will you please fry it up?' Knowing she was safe from that duty, she said 'sure'.

AND we set out. I don't remember our even having to go too far. I think it was maybe the third store we tried - a Grestedes - they had two boxes of frozen cut up okra and we GRABBED it! Not that there was competition. It was clear they had not stocked it the day/week maybe month before but we didn't care. As we stood in line there was a woman behind us eyeing our treasure and inquired with a little bit of accusation "what in the world are you going to do with that???" I wanted to say science project. I forget my brother's response but I'm sure it was even better.

Mom was kind of impressed, actually, and we had a delicious dinner.

Today, I ran into the woman in charge of special catering today and asked her about the possibility of my ordering up a giant load of fried okra sometime. "Sure, we can do that, just pop me an email when you are ready and we'll make it happen." WOOOOT!!! Mom would be jealous, I think.

Monday

Yesterday, I ventured from my apartment one time. I took some trash to the shoots - two doors down. And that was it. It was lovely. Martha came by for Amazon help. She wanted to join Prime for her free month so she could Christmas shop. It was not entirely straightforward but we got it done. And I had the conversation I've had with others around here about banking online.

"Aren't you worried about getting robbed?"
"Nope. I check all of my accounts first think in the morning. If they try to steal from me, they won't get much for long. How often do you check your accounts?"
"Oh, I check them every month when I get the statement."

So, bank account robbers... feel free to hit up all old people the day after the statement comes out. You have a month to enjoy the profits.

Plus, in texts last night, she said she could not find an 8x8 pyrex dish with lid on Amazon. I found about 20 of them. So she called around and will drive to downtown Bellevue today to pick one up from The Container Store. "I hope it's ready before 2, I hate that traffic."

Different strokes for different folks.

After she was here, she was on to drop off a photo for the newsletter this week. She and Richard have a wedding anniversary coming up and they wanted their wedding picture. She showed it to me and, frankly, it's about the most perfect wedding photo I've ever seen. And they look just the same but older. And Richard had a whole lotta hair back then. Next year will be their 60th. (I'll grab a copy Thursday when the newsletter comes out and post it.)

I was so very tempted to copy yesterday today and not leave this apartment. Some non-volleyball mornings, I wake up ready to swim but on the days when I'm not, I'm hesitant to force myself. I don't want to not like swimming. This morning was nice and foggy but it did not look like it was going to last so before I could spend any time in debate, I just slapped on my suit and hit the road. It was a very good swim so I'm glad I did.

I tried Movie Sunday yesterday. I have MADD. Movie Attention Deficit Disorder. I tried watching 4 different movies and did not last 30 mins into any of them. They all had potential but I didn't have the patience. I'm just not a movie person.

Biggie has, apparently, worked through his issues with the egg crate foam topper and has now taken to sleeping with me again. The lights go out, he hops up and snuggles into the bowl my spoon makes. We settle in. And here comes Julio who tries to settle in but cat words are exchanged and they both leap up and leave. I go to sleep. When I wake up to pee, Biggie is there and, usually, Julio and they stay the night although Julio usually gets up first. Then me. Then Biggie.

One side effect from watching TV news is exposure to commercials for every weight loss/diabetes product and there are a million of them. It occurred to me last night that the good news is all those fat dancers who couldn't get work because they were fat are now fully employed because they are fat. Sweet.

Ok, it's after 9 and I really do need to get dressed and make my bed.

Remembering

Still no cure.

52/278: Gasp

Brain saying nothing, though it gibbered mindlessly on waking from an unintended nap a short time ago. All WTFy and late, lost Sunday gasps for air and goes down for the third time, probably never to be seen alive again. Maybe the corpse will be dragged from Yesterday Lake tomorrow, bloated and beginning to reek, but the chances it will speak then are nil. The story is gone, nothing will remain henceforth but this imperative, snatched from oblivion at the last desperate moment:

( Sunday Verse )

Frost is on the pumpkin - well really roof but if we had pumpkins...

It's 29 degrees and we have frost on the roof. First time I've seen it this year. Nice. But the sun is coming up so it won't be there long.

Sun is coming up so the pool will be blinding plus it's time for a day off from swimming. My skin needs it. Bromine is the stuff they use to keep hot tubs healthy. It's way better in many ways than chlorine. It doesn't smell, at all. It doesn't eat your swimsuit over time. It doesn't freak your eyes out when you open them under water. It disintegrates in sunlight so it can only be used indoors. It's wonderful to swim in but... it dries out your skin quickly and thoroughly. (The gym I used to go to also used bromine but they used way too much. And my mouth also dried out. I used to chew a piece of gum on the way home every day.)

My old age skin is really bitching. I itch everywhere most always. I can reach everywhere fairly easily to apply lotion which helps except my back. I've tried a million things and some work better than others but mostly, it's just a PIA to get lotion back there. I have a t-shirt for that purpose. It's a very old one that is very soft. I slap the lotion on thickly with a spatula and then put on the t-shirt and just live with gooey back until it dries. Last night I gooed myself up so today, I'm going to just let it marinate with no swim.

While I was letting it dry, however, I did do an AI search to see if there was some trick I hadn't thought of. The response was a rather long list of various ways to get lotion on my back. I had tried all of them but one...

Black Friday Sale Purchase ... Small (like for trim) paint roller!! hahaha Yep. Amazon is bringing it to me this week. It actually might work fine. OR be a total fail but for $12, I'm going to give it a try.

Today will be a good day for laundry. And maybe a movie. I never watch movies and think maybe I should once in a while so I'm going to designate Sunday as movie day. At least while baseball is not in season.

Yesterday I finished the middle one at elbow coffee and Martha wanted it so I said fine but first a photo. Bonny had on a nice, white top which was good for background. So those are her hands.

Also, she told me yesterday that once a year, she and her friend, Chris, who lives in another part of Timber Ridge, practice getting up from the floor in the middle of the room with nothing to hold on to. Smart! I think I'll do it on the first day of every month.

Look! I remembered to post before December started this year!

Hello, friends! It's about to be December again, and you know what that means: the fact I am posting this actually before December 1 means

karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.

The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.

( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )

Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.

On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.

52/277: Staying Foggy

I think I overdid dinner tonight. I fixed everything left in the package, and it turned out to be too much, but I didn't want to waste any, so I finished it, and now feel like I will chunder momentarily. I probably won't, but I intend to stay close to the chundermug anyway, just in case. I didn't get an afternoon nap either, so I'm ready to sleep now— doubly so since it is very chilly again tonight. Overcast and fog keep the valley cold.

The warmish week we were supposed to get after the beginning of December has been reduced to a single mild day. Annoyingly, the possibility of rain has also been deferred, and reduced to mere chances of showers on the 1th and after. That is depressing me so much that I'm even readier to go to bed, which I will do right now. Oh, I wanted to bake a cake today but forgot, and now it's too late, and I wouldn't want to cook something so fragrant as a spice cake when the smell might make me upchuck anyway.

Entry tags:

christmas

(no subject)

I bought a six foot artificial tree. I don't think I've ever had enough room in the places I've lived for a tallish tree and I saw a sale at the hardware store. It looks like a $30 tree but it's just background for the glamor you add, right? I hauled out the Christmas gear. One set of lights didn't work and got tossed, one set blinks and there's no stopping it. I tried.

I found only one box of balls. They are so old and fragile that even though they're plastic, they shatter like glass when they're dropped. The cat proved that to me. But I have small sets of angel ornaments to pop on. No cats have, as of yet, expressed interest in climbing the tree.

The overachieving neighbor has set up her outdoor lights. Winking and blinking at us.

The SEASON is officially opened.