saturday
Jun. 28th, 2025 05:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
summersgateWoke up at 4 this morning. Dave woke up soon after and we talked and held hands for a while. Hot. Then I left him to go out and turn the kitchen air conditioner on. Fed the dogs and cat and made macaroni tuna salad. I made it last week and it was so good that I got the ingredients yesterday to make it again. I opened a fresh bottle of sweet relish that I found in the pantry. A weirdo brand that I don't remember buying - Wickles Original. It's not bad, but it's different. It might have dill in it even though it's called sweet relish. I'm not a big fan of dill pickles. A whole different taste to my tuna mac salad. Unexpected. That's what I had just now for breakfast.
Three black and white pictures from the last couple evenings - misty landscapes - hot muggy days and recent rain:( Read more... )
Three black and white pictures from the last couple evenings - misty landscapes - hot muggy days and recent rain:( Read more... )
(no subject)
Jun. 27th, 2025 11:00 pmdolariQuestion for the Ancient among us on the Internet: Do you remember a text based program/app/website/gopher-thingy called "World Wide Window?" This would have been about 1993/1994 or so.
My college had it as what looked to be a text-only Web Browser, but it could have been gopher or a gopher front end. That's about all I remember about it. Any ideas what it was?
My college had it as what looked to be a text-only Web Browser, but it could have been gopher or a gopher front end. That's about all I remember about it. Any ideas what it was?
And now they are on the road again
Jun. 27th, 2025 11:05 amsusandennisWe had a lovely breakfast and a visit and a chat about their next trip here and then they got into the car and headed out.
It was really fun to have them here. They have a short list of places in the US they still want to see and those they want to revisit. And then I showed them, on the map, the route western from Charlotte through Asheville, over the mountains and then to Memphis and beyond. It's section of the country they have never seen that is very different from what they have seen. They think 2 years and that that might be their last trip.
It is 11:15 and the Pride parade is downstairs at 11:30 and I'm not going. Martha will shame me for it but I'm peopled out. I did my Pride bit for the year with the dolls.
I just want to put my feet up and knit and not talk to anyone for about a week. Or at least a day.
I do need to do a load of laundry.
Oh one interesting bit to note. Years ago, before Kripy Kreme donuts even had retail shops, you could get them in any grocery store always. Then they opened stores. I'm pretty sure, in the south, you could still get them at grocery stores, out here they have always been a shop only donut. Until now. We first found them at Walmart. I bought a box of 6. They were fabulously fresh! Then, yesterday, we were in a Target and they had them! I bought a box of 6. They were fabulously fresh! I told Scott and Julie that I have to buy a box everywhere I see them to let them know how much I approve of this third party retail scheme.
Also of note, TJ Max has some lovely clothes for fat girls. I did not know this until this week. I am now over clothed but not unhappy about it.
Julie pronounces Minneapolis Minini-apolis. It's very cute.
It was really fun to have them here. They have a short list of places in the US they still want to see and those they want to revisit. And then I showed them, on the map, the route western from Charlotte through Asheville, over the mountains and then to Memphis and beyond. It's section of the country they have never seen that is very different from what they have seen. They think 2 years and that that might be their last trip.
It is 11:15 and the Pride parade is downstairs at 11:30 and I'm not going. Martha will shame me for it but I'm peopled out. I did my Pride bit for the year with the dolls.
I just want to put my feet up and knit and not talk to anyone for about a week. Or at least a day.
I do need to do a load of laundry.
Oh one interesting bit to note. Years ago, before Kripy Kreme donuts even had retail shops, you could get them in any grocery store always. Then they opened stores. I'm pretty sure, in the south, you could still get them at grocery stores, out here they have always been a shop only donut. Until now. We first found them at Walmart. I bought a box of 6. They were fabulously fresh! Then, yesterday, we were in a Target and they had them! I bought a box of 6. They were fabulously fresh! I told Scott and Julie that I have to buy a box everywhere I see them to let them know how much I approve of this third party retail scheme.
Also of note, TJ Max has some lovely clothes for fat girls. I did not know this until this week. I am now over clothed but not unhappy about it.
Julie pronounces Minneapolis Minini-apolis. It's very cute.
friday
Jun. 27th, 2025 01:17 pmsummersgate
Life Is a Bubble.
Berdella got sad news yesterday afternoon that her grandson passed away. He collapsed with a brain aneurysm in the morning and was gone by the afternoon. Chloe and Johnny used to be babysat with him and his younger sister. He is Chloe's age. A shock to hear this.
I've decided that I need a dose of Alan Watts to deal with the things that are bothering me in my life right now. My usual reading of the news is not helping me. My personality trait of being a shy introvert isn't helping either. I need to get outside of myself. Back when I was taking care of mom and thinking about the idea of death a lot of the time I got a set of Sounds True CDs to listen to with Alan Watts' lectures. I listened to the first one but then (as I do) moved my interest onto something else and ended up giving them away to someone, I don't remember who. But it doesn't matter. I wouldn't want them back. It will be better if I listen to Watts on you-tube now. I love his voice and his phrasings. It's calming.
A bit of fun with chatgpt
Jun. 27th, 2025 11:17 ambill_schubertI've never known what to say to AI chat. There is one that you can pay $19/month for that will keep you happy and safe as a senior. Or something like that. In the past month or two I've asked a few questions but nothing that would qualify as a conversation.
But I thought I'd do a quick experiment and I input a kind of didactic statement to ChatGPT regarding man and God to see what it would say. I brought out my inner Archibald MacLeash. The AI told me how inciteful was my observation and proceeded to give me a nicely referenced discussion of my assertion. It was fun. I added some more information, another observation, and again was complemented on my discerning intellect. We went back and forth some and the AI was generally very supportive and encouraging. It was the nicest kind of place to be. Like my teacher finally realized I deserved an A+. I kept a copy of the exchange.
And, of course, my bullshit meter went off. Clearly I'm brilliant but not THAT brilliant.
So I thought I'd reverse my arguement in another session. I opened an incognito window so the AI would not know who I was and compare the two and took the oposing view of my same statement. This time with religion at the core of everything that might happen good in the country's future.
And got a kind of pat on the head. The answer was more 'Yes, but' as compared to the previous 'YES AND'.
If Chatbot is essentially a compendium of all of the Internet and much of the written word it is an interesting thought that the result skews towards rationalism over theology or whatever the two opposites are.
Oh, yeah, the reason I went down this path had been lost in my subconscious until I just wrote that last. There is an AI that specilaizes in the Bible (presumably the Christain Bible but no idea which one). My thought was that this is the ultimate echo chamber. Using an AI to bolster arguments that allow all the ridiculous contradictions that are inherent in humanity.
That is only allowed if I do it.
But I thought I'd do a quick experiment and I input a kind of didactic statement to ChatGPT regarding man and God to see what it would say. I brought out my inner Archibald MacLeash. The AI told me how inciteful was my observation and proceeded to give me a nicely referenced discussion of my assertion. It was fun. I added some more information, another observation, and again was complemented on my discerning intellect. We went back and forth some and the AI was generally very supportive and encouraging. It was the nicest kind of place to be. Like my teacher finally realized I deserved an A+. I kept a copy of the exchange.
And, of course, my bullshit meter went off. Clearly I'm brilliant but not THAT brilliant.
So I thought I'd reverse my arguement in another session. I opened an incognito window so the AI would not know who I was and compare the two and took the oposing view of my same statement. This time with religion at the core of everything that might happen good in the country's future.
And got a kind of pat on the head. The answer was more 'Yes, but' as compared to the previous 'YES AND'.
If Chatbot is essentially a compendium of all of the Internet and much of the written word it is an interesting thought that the result skews towards rationalism over theology or whatever the two opposites are.
Oh, yeah, the reason I went down this path had been lost in my subconscious until I just wrote that last. There is an AI that specilaizes in the Bible (presumably the Christain Bible but no idea which one). My thought was that this is the ultimate echo chamber. Using an AI to bolster arguments that allow all the ridiculous contradictions that are inherent in humanity.
That is only allowed if I do it.
A good time was had by all - the dets
Jun. 27th, 2025 06:54 amsusandennisTL;DR My friends came. They loved Timber Ridge. We shopped and shopped and shopped and shopped. And had a great visit. My feet are broken. I have an appointment with a new (to me) podiatrist on Tuesday. The Pride monsters were a huge hit and now it's back to dolls. My new window shades have a fatal error. Regular life resumes this afternoon.
The details.
Julie and Scott live on the South Island of New Zealand in a beautiful tiny town. They have been all over the United States in all the big cities. This tour - two months - is driving around - first Canada and then the western United States (except California).
Even in the biggest town in New Zealand, they shopping opportunities are not what they are here in the US. They just don't have the selection and they have the add on of 'shipped to small island far away' tax. So here, particularly Julie, wallows in all the choices available. The last time they were here, two years ago, they wanted to shop and, for some reason, we ended up down in Federal Way where we discovered chain shop heaven. Lovely stores of Old Navy, Skeechers, Walmart, Target, etc.
This time they wanted to go back to all those places plus they found North Bend Outlets on Google and wanted to go there.
So we started at North Bend which is not too far up the road. And a lovely drive. But the outlet mall there is a bust and a half. The stores were sparse and empty. But, they drive was lovely. And we saw other stuff.
So we came back here and toured Timber Ridge and Issaquah. They are pretty impressed with Timber Ridge. and Issaquah always presents nicely.
Tuesday we went back to Federal Way and did not miss any stores. Julie had a ball and Scott got new shoes and it was a huge hit. Wednesday, there was more shopping and we found the Issaquah troll which was way more impressive than I expected.
Yesterday, Thursday, it was into Bellevue to that huge, lovely, downtown mall. And then to the conveyor belt sushi place for lunch. Fun and delicious.
In between, we've been enjoying Timber Ridge. We've eaten in all the dining rooms and tried all the various serving options except lunch. All have been pretty impressive.
Today they leave. They are taking the next few weeks to drive from here via Salt Lake City and Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore to Chicago where they will fly to San Francisco and then home. It's such a wonderful trip.
Meanwhile, my feet are just screaming at me. Finally, on Wednesday, I sent a note to my doctor asking for referral to a podiatrist or any other suggestion. She got right back to me with a couple of podiatrist options and I was able to get an appointment here in Issaquah for this coming Tuesday! Yeah.
Oh and it's window washing time at Timber Ridge. I have a panel of three windows. The middle one opens. They use it to hang out and wash the outside of all three panels. It's a good system. Except. When the shade guy designed and the installer guy installed, none of us realized that the scheme will completely bar me from ever opening that window again. So no cleaning. Ever. I have now sent him a note asking what he can do about it. I'm guessing nothing. And it's not fatal. But they should not have been installed that way. Weird and a little annoying.
Today is the Timber Ridge Pride parade which is just about the same time Scott and Julie were planning on leaving and will block in their car. I suspect it will be a short parade and not interrupt the leaving for long.
And now I think I'm caught up. I should get dressed and ready. They will text me when they are up and we'll meet in the dining room for breakfast.
The details.
Julie and Scott live on the South Island of New Zealand in a beautiful tiny town. They have been all over the United States in all the big cities. This tour - two months - is driving around - first Canada and then the western United States (except California).
Even in the biggest town in New Zealand, they shopping opportunities are not what they are here in the US. They just don't have the selection and they have the add on of 'shipped to small island far away' tax. So here, particularly Julie, wallows in all the choices available. The last time they were here, two years ago, they wanted to shop and, for some reason, we ended up down in Federal Way where we discovered chain shop heaven. Lovely stores of Old Navy, Skeechers, Walmart, Target, etc.
This time they wanted to go back to all those places plus they found North Bend Outlets on Google and wanted to go there.
So we started at North Bend which is not too far up the road. And a lovely drive. But the outlet mall there is a bust and a half. The stores were sparse and empty. But, they drive was lovely. And we saw other stuff.
So we came back here and toured Timber Ridge and Issaquah. They are pretty impressed with Timber Ridge. and Issaquah always presents nicely.
Tuesday we went back to Federal Way and did not miss any stores. Julie had a ball and Scott got new shoes and it was a huge hit. Wednesday, there was more shopping and we found the Issaquah troll which was way more impressive than I expected.
Yesterday, Thursday, it was into Bellevue to that huge, lovely, downtown mall. And then to the conveyor belt sushi place for lunch. Fun and delicious.
In between, we've been enjoying Timber Ridge. We've eaten in all the dining rooms and tried all the various serving options except lunch. All have been pretty impressive.
Today they leave. They are taking the next few weeks to drive from here via Salt Lake City and Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore to Chicago where they will fly to San Francisco and then home. It's such a wonderful trip.
Meanwhile, my feet are just screaming at me. Finally, on Wednesday, I sent a note to my doctor asking for referral to a podiatrist or any other suggestion. She got right back to me with a couple of podiatrist options and I was able to get an appointment here in Issaquah for this coming Tuesday! Yeah.
Oh and it's window washing time at Timber Ridge. I have a panel of three windows. The middle one opens. They use it to hang out and wash the outside of all three panels. It's a good system. Except. When the shade guy designed and the installer guy installed, none of us realized that the scheme will completely bar me from ever opening that window again. So no cleaning. Ever. I have now sent him a note asking what he can do about it. I'm guessing nothing. And it's not fatal. But they should not have been installed that way. Weird and a little annoying.
Today is the Timber Ridge Pride parade which is just about the same time Scott and Julie were planning on leaving and will block in their car. I suspect it will be a short parade and not interrupt the leaving for long.
And now I think I'm caught up. I should get dressed and ready. They will text me when they are up and we'll meet in the dining room for breakfast.
thursday
Jun. 26th, 2025 07:46 pmsummersgate
I'm really liking working this way - on multiple pictures at the same time. Not having to feel like I need to have something "done" each day.
Here's a picture of Rainy with her ears up. They look big. They are rarely raised like this. She just woke up.
Went to Berdella's today for women's group and on the way home I stopped off at the Sugar Creek Care Center to see about volunteering there. It is only 1.6 miles away and I could actually walk there if I needed to. They have more opportunities to have interactions with patients as a volunteer than I am having at the hospital behavioral health unit right now - I only see the patients from afar most the time I'm there or I don't see them at all. Helping with bingo on Tuesday afternoons sounds like something I can do at the Care Center. I'm hoping I get a call about doing that. The lady in charge of volunteers remembered both mom and dad from them being in there getting over injuries. Some of the workers remembered brother John visiting patients there too so that was nice.
Time to take the dogs for a walk down back before it gets dark. I didn't want to do it earlier because of the heat and then we had a big thunderstorm and it was too wet.
Brisket
Jun. 26th, 2025 04:16 pmbill_schubertI've found a system to cook brisket that is not too complicated. It is smoking in the outside cooker for a few hours then into the oven to finish. The oven has a controllable temperature so I can ensure it is evenly finished off and not dried out. It is kind of a chore to do it especially in this heat but the payoff is huge. I end up with a lot of brisket that I slice and vacuum seal in half a dozen bags and freeze. It freezes well and we can pull out a bag of it to cook with eggs or add bbq sauce to and make sandwiches or just finger food.
Big bonus. Zoe has to take pills two or three times a day and is resisting the standard rolled into cheese slices. I discoverd that if I chop up the brisket really finely and mix it with flour and peanut butter and a little beef broth I can make pill pockets that she loves. It is not expensive, not too difficult and she loves it.
I'm off to buy a brisket tomorrow to cook this weekend.
Big bonus. Zoe has to take pills two or three times a day and is resisting the standard rolled into cheese slices. I discoverd that if I chop up the brisket really finely and mix it with flour and peanut butter and a little beef broth I can make pill pockets that she loves. It is not expensive, not too difficult and she loves it.
I'm off to buy a brisket tomorrow to cook this weekend.
Mostly quiet day
Jun. 26th, 2025 10:51 ambill_schubertIt's 85 and humid right now so I'm done outside (at 10:51). I walked the dogs and worked on the chicken coop a bit. I cut the metal panels for the coop roof, something I've been putting off for weeks. It was a PIA but it is done and I'm down to half a dozen things needed to finish, none of them too hard. I'll take pictures when it is completely done. And get the chicks.
Today and tomorrow are rest days. I'll cut the grass tomorrow morning and do some groceries today but that's it. I was playing pickleball yesterday and tired out quickly. I think I was still tired from working at the shelter on Tuesday. So I decided that today and tomorrow would be recovery days with no real exercise and minimal physical projects. Cutting the grass takes about half an hour so it hardly counts.
I'm going to shower and go to the store and then just rest and watch Whitechapel.
One of the perks of moving to SoFi is that they offer up to $300 once you start direct deposits. I think I'll end up qualifying for the maximum $300 so I'll apply that to Google Store and between that and my phone trade in of $140 that just cleared, the phone is about $90. It is a much better phone in ways I can't much describe. The battery charge is obviously much better than its 3 year old predecessor. It is also quicker and better at recognizing my face and finger print. It is nearly an identical phone feature wise. I can hardly find anything of significance that has changed. But it was a good time to upgrade. My trade in was maximized and my old phone will go to a good home and not be trash sitting in my drawer.
As long as I'm upgrading I decided not to wait for Microsoft to declare my PC unsafe, which will happen in October. My now seven year old computer is still going fine but the Win 10 is done and the security of Win 11 requires hardware that I don't have. I'd upgrade and stay in the MS family but for that. Much as I hate to lose the PC I'm moving to a Chrome mini Asus. It has a ton of outputs that will support local USB drives and my two monitors with ease. And will sit under my main monitor or mount on it or something. Not sure how I'm doing that but it will free up a lot of space.
The only thing I lose, the only thing I use MS for really, is the ability to play Halo. I've got a one game collection that has a half dozen Halo versions in it that I've been playing for years. I will not like losing that but will figure out something else. Maybe save up for an Xbox.
Right now, though, I'm going to have a sandwich and a shower.
Today and tomorrow are rest days. I'll cut the grass tomorrow morning and do some groceries today but that's it. I was playing pickleball yesterday and tired out quickly. I think I was still tired from working at the shelter on Tuesday. So I decided that today and tomorrow would be recovery days with no real exercise and minimal physical projects. Cutting the grass takes about half an hour so it hardly counts.
I'm going to shower and go to the store and then just rest and watch Whitechapel.
One of the perks of moving to SoFi is that they offer up to $300 once you start direct deposits. I think I'll end up qualifying for the maximum $300 so I'll apply that to Google Store and between that and my phone trade in of $140 that just cleared, the phone is about $90. It is a much better phone in ways I can't much describe. The battery charge is obviously much better than its 3 year old predecessor. It is also quicker and better at recognizing my face and finger print. It is nearly an identical phone feature wise. I can hardly find anything of significance that has changed. But it was a good time to upgrade. My trade in was maximized and my old phone will go to a good home and not be trash sitting in my drawer.
As long as I'm upgrading I decided not to wait for Microsoft to declare my PC unsafe, which will happen in October. My now seven year old computer is still going fine but the Win 10 is done and the security of Win 11 requires hardware that I don't have. I'd upgrade and stay in the MS family but for that. Much as I hate to lose the PC I'm moving to a Chrome mini Asus. It has a ton of outputs that will support local USB drives and my two monitors with ease. And will sit under my main monitor or mount on it or something. Not sure how I'm doing that but it will free up a lot of space.
The only thing I lose, the only thing I use MS for really, is the ability to play Halo. I've got a one game collection that has a half dozen Halo versions in it that I've been playing for years. I will not like losing that but will figure out something else. Maybe save up for an Xbox.
Right now, though, I'm going to have a sandwich and a shower.
wednesday
Jun. 25th, 2025 08:39 pmsummersgate
I took this picture in the night last night during a sleepless spell. This is how I want to work for a while - just paint something kind of random on 3 or 4 different pages, let them dry and then paint a little more on them in spurts. Work in layers. Have fun with abstract doodle type art.
Didn't go to volunteer today. I've been feeling crappy with whatever this is that I have, plus Dave was using the truck today so I couldn't get to the hospital anyway. I spent a lot of the day resting. Dave went to Chloe and Mike's old house and helped Mike finish clearing stuff out. It is DONE now.
Flower. I finished it while sitting at the picnic table down at the creek this evening.
So hot today. I was talking to Johnny this afternoon and it was 100F there in West Reading. High 80s here but it's so humid it's awful. Hm, I just looked up West Reading and that's where Taylor Swift was born. Ha.
tuesday
Jun. 24th, 2025 05:05 pmsummersgate
Trees. I've been very lax with doing art-every-day. I started this on Friday and finished it yesterday. Embarrassingly simple. That's okay. I've been busy with not feeling well the last few days. I had another visual migraine last night (it always makes me tired later) and ever since Saturday morning I've been feeling really tired and nauseous. It would come and go. We had the June birthdays party here on Sunday. And on Monday we helped Chloe and Mike get more stuff out of their house. I probably shouldn't have gone along. I wasn't much help. I'd carry something to the truck and then have to sit for 5 minutes to get the energy back to carry something else. Made me feel guilty because everyone else was working hard. It was a hot day. Today felt even hotter.
![IMG_20250620_125442746_HDR[1].jpg](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/egg_shell/1265782/5389319/5389319_original.jpg "IMG_20250620_125442746_HDR[1].jpg")
I took this in the restroom at the Riverside Brewing Company in Cambridge Springs on Friday. I wanted to show that big photo that is on the wall behind me. It's of the old Riverside Inn which burned down in 2017. They built the new Riverside Brewing Co on its site. They used some of the timbers from the original building and when you walk in the door you smell smoke. My one memory of the old Inn was a time when my mom and I went up there around 1980 to a craft show. I made macrame purses back then and we sat in a long hallway lined with other crafters. My mom seemed to be very pleased that we were there. Reading about it now I see it had a history of being a fancy mineral springs resort with a golf course, casino and ballrooms. It's a fancy place now too but set up more for live music.
Fail again
Jun. 24th, 2025 11:14 ambill_schubertI'm not likely to go back to the shelter. They might need dog walkers but if they do it is in the afternoon and I'm not built to walk a dog in 90+ heat. I went today and found what I had feared. Fifty to 60 dogs build up a lot of cleaning issues. Laundry and bowls and toys. They have two commercial washing machines and two commercial dryers and a three deep sink set up. to wash and sterilize the toys and bowls. There is a lady I met last week who is a volunteer that works there four or five days a week. She is on vacation for a couple of weeks. She does the laundry, cleans the toys and bowls and sorts the donatoins. Laundry is washing, drying, sorting and putting on a shelf. Far as I can see she gets no help of any signficance. There is not a full time staff assigned to the area. Nor was there a plan to have any of it done while she is on vacation.
Surprise. The place was a shitstorm pile of stuff to do. I thought it would be but never thought that no one would be there to work on it. There was not. I put in two hours and made a decent dent that will be completely run over in another 24 hours of dog generated bowls and laundry.
At near the end of the two hours one of the staff who was cominig back to collect clean bowls and toys said thank you. Other than that my existance in two hours went completely unacknowledged by a hello or fuck you or anything.
So I won't be going back I don't think. I can't fix their issues and helping them will only make them think that they don't really have issues.
I hardly even saw a dog.
So it goes.
There was an ADHD test I saw on my phone yesterday. I started to take it but it was too long. True story.
I'm in cool down mode right now. Then shower and I'm not sure what else. Dana has a medical appointment that starts in five minutes. The location is half an hour away. She hasn't left yet. I'm staying in my office. No need to be around that kind of stress.
Surprise. The place was a shitstorm pile of stuff to do. I thought it would be but never thought that no one would be there to work on it. There was not. I put in two hours and made a decent dent that will be completely run over in another 24 hours of dog generated bowls and laundry.
At near the end of the two hours one of the staff who was cominig back to collect clean bowls and toys said thank you. Other than that my existance in two hours went completely unacknowledged by a hello or fuck you or anything.
So I won't be going back I don't think. I can't fix their issues and helping them will only make them think that they don't really have issues.
I hardly even saw a dog.
So it goes.
There was an ADHD test I saw on my phone yesterday. I started to take it but it was too long. True story.
I'm in cool down mode right now. Then shower and I'm not sure what else. Dana has a medical appointment that starts in five minutes. The location is half an hour away. She hasn't left yet. I'm staying in my office. No need to be around that kind of stress.
i am not a warm weather creature
Jun. 23rd, 2025 11:25 pmtsuki_no_barait was SO HOT today. SO. HOT. i worked from work because for all its faults the ugly building where i work is arctically cold in the summer.
my roommate is GONE and all her stuff is GONE and she left me her orchids (two, small ones) and some random food and some random cleaning products but she is GONE. she came back saturday with her parents and her mom took over the dining room table to pack the remaining ceramics (and said something along the lines of "it doesn't look like there's been any progress" so i reassured her that even tho there were a bunch of things left it was SO MUCH BETTER than it had been and there was SO MUCH LESS STUFF) and her dad dealt with the plants outside (sort of) and my sister and i packed around them. eventually they all left with almost everything - my roommate left a bunch of stuff in the fridge and freezer - she was going to come back sunday but texted me that night to say she was on her way and then she and her dad reappeared and took what was left. and then i was alone. :D just me and my sixty boxes.
(when i got home thursday night my roommate had moved everything into her room and i thought it was the emptiest the apartment had ever looked since before we moved in.)
my sister came over saturday morning and helped me pack until we ran out of tape and while we were out getting more my roommate showed up with her parents. we filled sixteen boxes in like three and a half or four hours which was super helpful and then she had to leave and i lay on my bed in front of the fan to get out of my roommate's way and after she left i did some more. and friday i worked from home and packed some and the woman who wanted my bookcases came and got them and i just enjoyed being in the house alone.
and on sunday i got a late start and packed boxes and contemplated my navel and tried to cope with how hot it was. so hot. ugh.
i'm all caught up on resident alien and it is such a weird show but i really like it.
i should be packing but i am intimidated by the kitchen.
my roommate is GONE and all her stuff is GONE and she left me her orchids (two, small ones) and some random food and some random cleaning products but she is GONE. she came back saturday with her parents and her mom took over the dining room table to pack the remaining ceramics (and said something along the lines of "it doesn't look like there's been any progress" so i reassured her that even tho there were a bunch of things left it was SO MUCH BETTER than it had been and there was SO MUCH LESS STUFF) and her dad dealt with the plants outside (sort of) and my sister and i packed around them. eventually they all left with almost everything - my roommate left a bunch of stuff in the fridge and freezer - she was going to come back sunday but texted me that night to say she was on her way and then she and her dad reappeared and took what was left. and then i was alone. :D just me and my sixty boxes.
(when i got home thursday night my roommate had moved everything into her room and i thought it was the emptiest the apartment had ever looked since before we moved in.)
my sister came over saturday morning and helped me pack until we ran out of tape and while we were out getting more my roommate showed up with her parents. we filled sixteen boxes in like three and a half or four hours which was super helpful and then she had to leave and i lay on my bed in front of the fan to get out of my roommate's way and after she left i did some more. and friday i worked from home and packed some and the woman who wanted my bookcases came and got them and i just enjoyed being in the house alone.
and on sunday i got a late start and packed boxes and contemplated my navel and tried to cope with how hot it was. so hot. ugh.
i'm all caught up on resident alien and it is such a weird show but i really like it.
i should be packing but i am intimidated by the kitchen.
New Zealand and feet
Jun. 23rd, 2025 06:33 amsusandennisFeet first. No pain last night. Whew. I discovered that my Merrells, the clogs, are ok to walk in if I wear socks so that's what I did yesterday. We didn't walk a lot but some and it was fine. I didn't get the sharp pains in my feet. I have now bought what feels like a million pairs of shoes online. I will, likely, return most of them, but, hopefully, I'll find one or two that don't hurt and aren't butt ugly. I did find a couple of possibles that looked very promising but their return policy either sucked or looked suspicious, so, no. Oddly, Zappos had nothing.
Today we'll be going to at least two shoe stores, so that might yield something.
Scott and Julie arrived yesterday in fine form. The Timber Ridge guest suite situation worked fine. There are two guest rooms on this side of the complex. My brother stayed in one that was nice and roomy. The other one, turns out, is not and that's the one Scott and Julie are in. It's a small room that is perfectly adequate and, since they haven't seen the other one, they are quite happy there. But, note to self, get 1301 and not 1300 next time.
We went to downtown Issaquah last night and ate at Jak's Steak House. Reddit says that it is not nearly as good as it used to be and, to be fair, a lot of people never thought it was good but I sure did. And, judging by the crowds and our experience, it has not deteriorated one bit. We got a lovely table by the big windows so they could watch the goings on in town. Our food was really good and there was lots of it and there was not even the tiniest bit to take home as leftovers.
Then we walked two blocks over and took Julie to her first ever Dollar Tree visit. She was entranced. It was fun.
Today, they want to go to North Bend. I love how they now get on the internet and scope out their choices. Scott wants pants from Columbia, they both want shoes from Skechers and the ride to North Bend is so pretty. We'll be back here in time for dinner, if not earlier.
They are the easiest people in the world to be around. I love having them here. They brought me THREE jigsaw puzzles! And wonderful high end hand cream - 3 different kinds.
Now I need to pop into the shower. We're meeting for breakfast before our adventures.
Today we'll be going to at least two shoe stores, so that might yield something.
Scott and Julie arrived yesterday in fine form. The Timber Ridge guest suite situation worked fine. There are two guest rooms on this side of the complex. My brother stayed in one that was nice and roomy. The other one, turns out, is not and that's the one Scott and Julie are in. It's a small room that is perfectly adequate and, since they haven't seen the other one, they are quite happy there. But, note to self, get 1301 and not 1300 next time.
We went to downtown Issaquah last night and ate at Jak's Steak House. Reddit says that it is not nearly as good as it used to be and, to be fair, a lot of people never thought it was good but I sure did. And, judging by the crowds and our experience, it has not deteriorated one bit. We got a lovely table by the big windows so they could watch the goings on in town. Our food was really good and there was lots of it and there was not even the tiniest bit to take home as leftovers.
Then we walked two blocks over and took Julie to her first ever Dollar Tree visit. She was entranced. It was fun.
Today, they want to go to North Bend. I love how they now get on the internet and scope out their choices. Scott wants pants from Columbia, they both want shoes from Skechers and the ride to North Bend is so pretty. We'll be back here in time for dinner, if not earlier.
They are the easiest people in the world to be around. I love having them here. They brought me THREE jigsaw puzzles! And wonderful high end hand cream - 3 different kinds.
Now I need to pop into the shower. We're meeting for breakfast before our adventures.
The [not] new car (LOL)
Jun. 23rd, 2025 04:06 pmelusivekBut before about the car, this is an official photo of the yoga event thing I went on Saturday. I've made the decision, I am going to join their studio. I've booked a trial session for coming Sunday, and then I'll see which package I'm going to join after seeing what facilities they have in their studio.
Apparently, Boy-boy (orange cat) is now very good friends with Frankie. Boy-boy isn't very orange-cat-y. He's not boisterous as they say tabbies are, he's a scaredy cat really, so, it was surprising to see him now sticking to Frankie so much. I guess because the Baby cat sometimes bites Frankie so he doesn't always like the Baby lol. Serves her right.
So I picked up the Mini Cooper yesterday. Oh boy how I hate it already haha. It's so... low. Starting the car is so cumbersome. You place the key (that's more like a... totem figure) onto a slot, then you step on the brake, and press the start button. It's like switching on a computer. As I expected, the swiper and the indicator lever are swapped, the window button is not on the door of the window, but in the middle console, where the radio is, the handbrake is partially blocked by that middle container compartment thing which I tried to push it away but it doesn't budge. What else. He didn't tell me how to control the air-con, but he said "just leave it on, it's fine." Hey, I remember since when I was a kid, the rule was to "let the engine warm up first before switching on the air-con," maybe new cars now don't have this worry? If one thing is good, it's that this car's air-con is REALLY COLD. (Mine was a bit wonky, which I asked him to check out as well)
It is very fancy though, all race-car like and such. It's a 3-door, so backseat passengers will have a sucky time getting in and out. The aroma the mechanic is using is such a.... old Portuguese guy fragrance LOL (mechanic is not a Portuguese guy, but as I understood it, he bought this car second hand from a Portuguese guy.... still using the same fragrance?????)
Today when I drove over the bridge, I had a momentary panic because there's a speed limit on the bridge, but I couldn't see the speedometer. The dial there was just for the gear shift (it's an automatic transmission but the dial shows the gear the car's in) and I totally didn't see the speed figure right in the middle. Also, fancy car has a back camera when you put the car on reverse. But damn the camera is crooked LOL. The first time I tried parking I was like "why is my car not straight?" Then I decided to just park normally by looking at the mirrors instead of the screen and figured, oh yeah, it's crooked to start with.
Apparently, Boy-boy (orange cat) is now very good friends with Frankie. Boy-boy isn't very orange-cat-y. He's not boisterous as they say tabbies are, he's a scaredy cat really, so, it was surprising to see him now sticking to Frankie so much. I guess because the Baby cat sometimes bites Frankie so he doesn't always like the Baby lol. Serves her right.
So I picked up the Mini Cooper yesterday. Oh boy how I hate it already haha. It's so... low. Starting the car is so cumbersome. You place the key (that's more like a... totem figure) onto a slot, then you step on the brake, and press the start button. It's like switching on a computer. As I expected, the swiper and the indicator lever are swapped, the window button is not on the door of the window, but in the middle console, where the radio is, the handbrake is partially blocked by that middle container compartment thing which I tried to push it away but it doesn't budge. What else. He didn't tell me how to control the air-con, but he said "just leave it on, it's fine." Hey, I remember since when I was a kid, the rule was to "let the engine warm up first before switching on the air-con," maybe new cars now don't have this worry? If one thing is good, it's that this car's air-con is REALLY COLD. (Mine was a bit wonky, which I asked him to check out as well)
It is very fancy though, all race-car like and such. It's a 3-door, so backseat passengers will have a sucky time getting in and out. The aroma the mechanic is using is such a.... old Portuguese guy fragrance LOL (mechanic is not a Portuguese guy, but as I understood it, he bought this car second hand from a Portuguese guy.... still using the same fragrance?????)
Today when I drove over the bridge, I had a momentary panic because there's a speed limit on the bridge, but I couldn't see the speedometer. The dial there was just for the gear shift (it's an automatic transmission but the dial shows the gear the car's in) and I totally didn't see the speed figure right in the middle. Also, fancy car has a back camera when you put the car on reverse. But damn the camera is crooked LOL. The first time I tried parking I was like "why is my car not straight?" Then I decided to just park normally by looking at the mirrors instead of the screen and figured, oh yeah, it's crooked to start with.