I am a craftsperson, not an aquifer.

I have more clocks that need manual changing now than I have had in years. This is because here, nestled in the hills in a concrete building no clock gets a signal from anywhere so they don't change themselves. I have one that periodically checks in with my phone via Bluetooth but really only about once a week. The rest all need me. I changed them all last night before I went to bed.

I woke up this morning at 4 and then rolled over until 6:30 when I finally got up to realize that the ceiling clock I was looking at is the one I forgot to change so it was really 7:30. hahah. My bed says my sleep score for last night was 97.

And then I realized my wall calendar was still February. It never ends!!!

It's foggy and rainy so my swim was wonderful. No glare through the windows. The weather report says it's going to be that way all week.

No plans for today at all. I may do a load of laundry but I also may not. I wasn't particularly hungry for dinner last night so I have excellent leftovers for today.

I decided to move the few keep papers I have from storage into the house. I have a wonderful little 3 drawer thing in my entry way and I toyed with replacing it with a file cabinet but decided against it. These are the times I wish Seattle Goodwill was closer or I was not as lazy. But I ended up ordering these little rattan file holders. They are overpriced but they will be easy to slip into small spaces and should hold all I need.

Guess I'd better go flip to March before I forget again.

On the way to Dollar Store, I saw my check engine light was on. I thought I had an OBDII thingie in the plug but turns out no. I used to. Oh well.

I got my goods and came home and the car didn't explode. I'll take it into the car place next week. I really don't need it for anything until Friday.

I was in the storage area and thought I'd put the tax return papers with the other tax return papers but I'll be damned if I can find the stuff. I have maybe a 2 inch file of misc papers and another inch of tax returns and I cannot figure out where the fuck I put them. I know where they were before we did the reorg when my brother was here. They are in one of those plastic shelf things for magazines.

There aren't that many places to put things in this house and storage area. I'm just flomoxed. I did find the condo sale papers. I was holding them out until after the tax return.

I don't really need the other stuff but it bugs the shit out of me that I can't find it.

Today, I received in the snail mail, a single sheet of paper telling me my tax return had been filed electronically. WTF? Stamps aren't free or cheap. Email works a lot faster. Holy crap.

A long while back, they served fried okra on the dinner buffet and it was fabulous. I bought extra and froze it then heated it up in the air fryer. It was better than fabulous. I love fried okra but I hate cutting it, breading it and frying it. So, on a whim, I asked the food and bev people if I could buy a batch of fried okra. I didn't care when, I didn't care how much. They said 'sure' just let us know when you are ready. Then I went on Wegovy and I wanted to wait a bit to see how that would go.

Finally, last week, I emailed that I was ready. They said $15 for 3 lbs. I said great. And today they made it happen. 6 gynormous bags of fried okra. For $15!!!



I put 5 in the freezer and pulled out 3 handfuls to crisp up for lunch. 2 would have been plenty. But so yum.

What a happy camper am I???!!!!

On Thursdays, I play volleyball, pick up and deliver the Timber Ridge Times and give myself a shot. All before 9. But today there is no Timber Ridge Times so my schedule is already fubared. But, now I'm caught up.

Yesterday I spent the day inside my apartment seeing no one after we got home from the vet's. Probably today I will do the same. I did get the sleeves on my new jacket shortened and I started a new yarn project which I may or may not continue. And I started a new book by a favorite author which is so far a disappointment.

The cats' water fountain quit fountaining. I'm ready for a new/different one anyway so it works out fine.

I got offered a job. Legit pay job. The company that makes the financial software I use, wants to hire me. Part time for kind of customer service. I appreciate the offer but I just can't squeeze it into my schedule. My finances are now so dirt simple, I really only use their software to collect the data which, honestly, I could do manually nearly as easily.

I just cut off all my fingernails. It always makes me feel like I should donate them to some forensic endeavor. Probably I'm just watching too much crime TV or reading too many crime books.

Somehow my kitchen has gotten itself into a mess. So first I'm going to get dressed and then I'm going to clean it up. And then I'm going to ... ahhhh the joy of retirement.

Biggie takes 3 pills every morning and 2 at night. He's pretty good about it. But, on vet days, he takes two additional ones and, turns out, 5 pills in one morning is 2 pills too many. And now he's under the bed in a drugged sleep. In an hour and a half, I have to get him out from under the bed and into the carrier which he will not like. And then to the vet which he will like less.

While I was swimming this morning, I decided that unless there has been massive forward progress, this is the last trip for a while. He has crystals in his urine and a high pH and bladder stones. But, he's had all of those things now for months. He's happy. He's eating well. He's pooping and peeing like every cat should. So torturing him every month is beginning to feel just mean. We're on to a quality of life issue here - his and mine. It's a risk but one I'm ready to take.

Nothing else going on today. I got a new jacket/sweater/hoodie on Amazon that I really like but the sleeves are too long. The internet says that hand sewing really needs "steel needles made for fabric" so Amazon is bringing me some today. Now I wonder what all the needles that I have now are made from and for. I'm willing to try new for $5.

I probably should do a load of laundry today, too. My hamper is full.

But first the vet's and probably I should get dressed.

I just don't see eye to eye with the people here. We don't share the same hymn book we are not on the same wavelength. And it's me that is pretty much the one off. Big things and little. I've learned to just shut the fuck up most of the time. And I do enjoy spending time in my apartment with me. So it's not a disaster. I'm not wrong but I am on the side of the fence that has plenty of room.

Thankgod I don't run this place or have any decision making powers over any of it.

There is a woman here who does 3D plastic canvas needlepoint. Her stuff is on display this month and the legend near the display says she has done (and has) 50 of them - nearly every one in the Mary Maxim catalog. Holy fuck how and where does she keep them all? I can see doing one or two but 50? It's like me and the miniature kits or Lego kits. When they are done, then what?

I did hear back from the CPA who said he would follow up with admin today. I think my return is just stuck in a pipeline. But, it is done. I just want it done, done.

No plans for today. I will have to crack out of here this afternoon for the house cleaner. I'm fine with that sacrifice. There's a puzzle in the elbow that needs attention.

Hot Uncrustables News!!! Toaster toasting is good BUT Air frying (with a touch of butter on both sides) is AMAZING!!!!! I mean it. So good.

Now the Jims.

Jim Down the Hall. The birthday party was fine. The cake was a fail. Gail (his girlfriend) is sweet but she is no baker. Turns out the icing was the key and she couldn't get it so she slapped on German Chocolate Cake icing which has coconut which is evil. So I didn't have to eat a bit of icing and only ate the cake part which was good but not the one his daughter made last year.

The hit was the gift his son gave him. It's the coolest. It's a giant book (like 24"x14") of the front page of the Washington Post on his birthday for every one of his 90 years. It's fascinating. And a true genius gift for an old person.

Jim Across the Hall. As I predicted. He threw the Tighty Whities out. Our trash room has two chutes - one for garbage and one for paper recycling. And a milk crate for bottles. He has, for a long time, just dumped whatever he wanted to get rid of into the milk crate - chip bags, half eat hambuger, unfinished salad, whatever. It spills out onto the floor. I told the Health Services direct several times that this presents a hazard for those on our floor. Joan is going to slip on a tomato slice and that will be the end of her. I used to clean it up. Noelle used to clean it up. We all decided not to do that any more. Timber Ridge needs to take responsibility for the problem. Jim is not going to change except get worse. Yesterday afternoon, this is what I found in the milk crate.



I sent the photo to health services and suggested they tell his family that having shit delivered to him is useless as it will get tossed. I suspect it's going to have to get way worse before anyone does anything. I also suspect that his family is not stepping up to the problem but that's pure speculation. I just hope Timber Ridge does not let it go on until someone gets hurt.

Who does not love a good line chart? I sure do. I asked Gemini today if there wasn't some easy, simple website that would take my weight data from Wyze (or Fitbit since Fitbit reads Wyze) and slap it into a website for easy tracking. Gemini game me a list of websites - with no links which drives me nuts. Also the first three were no longer available - including Fitbit's own dashboard. But, down at the bottom was this one labeled as 'simple'. TrendWeight. Some dude set it up for himself but made it pretty damn robust and still very simple. And it has a share URL for you...

When I'm using a new app, I generally pay if pay is an option. I want the ads to go away and I want to support the developer. BUT if it's more than $5, I think about it long and hard and often maybe even delete the app and don't use it at all.

This TrendWeight thing was so clever, I found myself venmoing the dude $10 without blinking an eye even though his page about paying clearly says in a couple of different ways that he does not need or want the money. It's not the money, it's the thank you with teeth.

I had a lovely swim today but I hit a batch of my music that needs to be deleted. I think it's from when I was on a Beats Per Minute kick. I'm off that kick. I'll swap it out today.

In fact, I think I'll do it now.

I could not get that toasted uncrustable out of my head so I decided to have it for lunch today after all - or at least try it and put the idea out of my misery.

From freezer - 3 on my toaster - to me. Chef's Fucking Kiss!! It's my new thing. Never again will I eat a raw Uncrustable. Toasted for me from now on and that also solves the problem of I want one, but they are all frozen.

This is big. Very big. This was grape jelly. I think there's a honey one in the bottom of the freezer, that would be maybe even better!!!!

Laundry done and put away. Pockets sewn on two robes that were slated for the bin because their pockets were not useable. They are not really robes - they are long zipper hoodies. Really old but since they are used to walk through the parking garage to the pool, I don't care.

Jim Across The Hall got his haircut and a shave this morning and he was so excited, he rang my doorbell to show me. It does look nice.

It's the other Jim's birthday tomorrow and his girlfriend is baking a cake - it's the same cake he has every year and he brought it to elbow coffee last year and it was soooooooo good. So tomorrow we are having cake!

I got the prescription refill text from NovoCare so new shots are on their way.

QFC has great poke bowls and crappy everything else. Safeway has far better and far more selection and no poke bowls.

Neither has loud power washing going on like I still do here. Yikes it's loud. Maybe time for some puzzling.

My swim was luxurious this morning until the last 5 minutes when the sun came out and blinded me. I had thought about lowering the shades before I got in but it was so cloudy. Lesson learned. I just quit 5 minutes early. Then I got back here and Biggie would not let me at the computer. But now he's otherwise occupied and here I are.

I spent a fair amount of time yesterday organizing my now totally dirt simple finances. It was mostly moving inactive accounts out of sight and setting up some targets for the others. I do not track every penny, but I do want to be able to look at a glance and see where my money is going. Mostly I want to ensure I know where the truly discretionary hot spots are in case I need to trim back for some reason.

Yo, Biggie, so far you are not discretionary but keep up that annoying behavior like this morning and that could change!

I've got nothing on the agenda for today and I'm not feeling very people-y. I have the second half of yesterday's lunch for today and enough for dinner so I might not even leave here again today. Oh wait, I need to take the trash out.

I did watch the new Dick Wolfe show CIA last night. I'm giving it one more episode. It sucked but maybe that was just the groundlaying. His stuff is usually so painless and easy to watch while knitting.

And that's it. That's my action packed, fun filled, crazy old lady life. It may not suit everyone but it's really nice for me.