areolas

According to the vet, Biggie should be writhing in pain, not eating, not peeing. Biggie, shockingly, is not following the script. I think he's basically miffed about the lack of Temptations. But, he's also not wild about the new food. He'll eat it but he's kind of like 'where's the good stuff, woman??!!' And he's not writing, just crawling all over me so I'll get up and get him some treats.

I broke my rule and volunteered to go to Safeway and get Joan some bananas. It is the very last time. I am not doing that any more. But my mouth did not get the memo so I went and got the bananas because I told her I would. The last time.

I figured out the wifi repeater issue and my signal is really strong and I think I know how to keep it that way.

Oh and Fitbit told me I'd been over doing it and should consider a rest day - hahahaha Oh Fitbit, your algorithm is not made for old fat people but it's sweet that you try.

Now for an evening of TV and knitting.

Timber Ridge - the place where I live - is in a small kind of bedroom community of Seattle called Issaquah. Issaquah has a population of about 40,000. It's been raining here in the Pacific Northwest. A lot. But, Timber Ridge is on a hill. And, yesterday, I went to the vet's and back and only saw large puddles.

But, last night, I was watching the national news on ABC when all of a sudden they were showing a national news guy standing in water reporting that Issaquah Creek (which runs through the town) had overflowed its banks and folks downtown had been asked to evacuate! Then I saw several photos of places very nearby that I know well that had replaced their parking lots with deep rushing water.

So wild to be so close and so surprised. I do feel isolated here in the cult but I thought that was my imagination. Turns out, nope.

Thinking back yesterday, the vet did ask me if I had had trouble getting there and I just kind of brushed it off as weird. Sorry, Dr. Vet.

So now I'm high and dry as usual but also way grateful.

Biggie seems fine. Normal. Yesterday morning when I got up, I gave him gabapentin which the vet techs really appreciate as he is not very fond of stuff they do to him. Usually, it just makes him a giant stuffy after about 2 hours and he stays that way for the rest of the day. Yesterday, he never really settled down. He was staggering when he walked so I know he had it in his system but he was feisty as ever and the tech did report he was not happy with their working on him. Last night all he wanted was to sit on my lap which is not handy or usual but fine. This morning he seems back to usual. And is still peeing just fine. And eating fine and now waiting for his morning Temptations. Sorry, buddy.

Chewy is being a little slow to fill the order for his new food and it's beginning to piss me off. They need approval from the vet which they got yesterday. And I uploaded again this morning. And still the order says 'pending approval'. Even if they ship it today and it arrives this weekend, it will still be Monday or Tuesday before it gets up here. Maybe I'll go back to the vets and buy some there to tide over. The problem is they only sell 7 lb bags of the kibble. I don't want to store that much. Plus I have 4 pounds being delivered from Chewy. Ok. am in chat with Chewy now...

Hazel stopped by last night. She had somehow gotten her tablet into safe mode. Easy fix. She plays solitaire on it a lot. It's one of the few things left that she can see enough to do. Then she asked me if I'd come help John with his computer. I used to do this quite a bit BUT then their son took over and I was happy to relinquish. I do not know where son is now but Hazel said they had gotten scammed by BECU and gotten it all fixed but then it happened again yesterday. The way she was saying it did not make sense but that's Hazel for you. I told her that no, I would not be able to help. I learned my lesson with Myrna's computer and Myrna's son. She assured me that this was different. But, touching someone's banking on a computer leads to nothing good. I told her to contact Brandon or Michael (our two IT guys) and they would help him. She was ok with that and I was so relieved.

Someone (son?, Timber Ridge?) tried to talk Hazel to moving into Assisted Living. John is still living in the nursing wing. She refused. But she really needs it. She keeps locking herself out of her apartment - multiple times a day. Now they apparently are having banking issues.

While I have sympathy, their problems are not mine to fix. And my trying will only make things worse. I learned my lesson the hard way. But, at least I learned it.

Ok Chewy was able to remove the 4 lb bag from my order so I'll go to the vet's today and buy some there.

But, after I swim. My leg does not hurt today so I need to get back to walking. Walking to the pool counts.

Yep, that's Biggie's Latest Adventure. The vet did an ultra sound and you can see one big one. She was surprised that Biggie didn't have any symptoms. It should be painful but while he considered it an indignity and annoyance to go the vet, he's not showing any signs of pain. But taking him off the medicine and back on to Very Expensive Prescription Food turned out to be the best option. We go back in 4 weeks and do another ultra sound. Unless he shows distress or can't pee and then we go back immediately. And, even if all goes smoothly for 4 weeks, if the rock is still there, probably surgery. Again.

Both Biggie and Julio like the expensive food, very much. so there's that. Do not tell Biggie, tho. but Temptations are a thing of the past. As are lickables. I bagged up the food and treats. I'll take them to the cat food bank.

The vet gave me some food samples. And I stashed some cans away when I switched them last year. So I've got enough on hand til the Chewy order gets here. I hope. All I've got now is canned stuff. No kibble, no treats but, hopefully, the Chewy order will be here soon.

Why in the heck did I not remember to get some grated parmesan when I went to the store to get the grated cheddar??

Also today I have a pain in the leg. It's in the middle of the thigh of my left leg. The right leg is usually the one that hurts. And this is a very weird pain plus a fair amount of weakness. The chairs at the vets are all really low to the ground and I was not sure I'd ever be able to get out of them once I sat down. It feels like if someone were to massage my thigh really hard, it would fix it. Hopefully it will fix itself today. I can at least walk around the halls here safely as they all have nice railings.

I was downstairs yesterday before the festivities but they had already lined up all the chairs. It was a weird sight.



It looked very different and couple of hours later. It was really fun to watch the parade. The employees dressed up either in costume or in really nice non-work clothes and they merrily high 5'd the old people. And, according to accounts, had a marvelous time. Very fun.



The Timber Ridge dog park is like a dog pond today but the rain has kind of stopped a little. All around us there are massive floods. The interstate is closed just north of here due to a giant mudslide. We're breaking water records all around.

I need to get a load of laundry started.

On Thursday, Biggie has a vet appointment at 9:30. Volleyball ended at the regular time this morning (8) and I stopped and picked up mail on my way home and then had coffee and breakfast and farted around on a few websites and then got up to look for my earbuds then back down again for more internetting and now it is 9:25. So... I think, Thursday, I'll have ample time to get there without being rushed or late.

I still haven't found the ear buds. I've had them out and charged them up within the last couple of months but even in the case, the damn things are so small, they can easily hide nearly anywhere. I guess a grid search will have to happen today.

And I'm going out. Shredded cheese and Amazon returns.

Amazon Prime video lets you add subscriptions to other streaming services. Initially, I thought this was cool. Especially when Apple+ won't let me sign on, much less give them money. I was able to see all the Apple+ I wanted via Prime. So, when the black Friday sales hit, I grabbed some deals. Turns out not to be the great deal in all cases. The HBO/Max you get via Amazon Prime is NOT their entire catalog. That was a bit of a blow. Ditto with AMC+. On the up side, both are monthly so I can cancel any time but still. Had I known, I'd have gotten the HBO/Max special via their website where you do get everything they offer. AMC+ doesn't matter. There's only one 6 episode show I wanted to see - "The Assassin". I'll watch it and cancel the subscription and know better next time.

Today is cookie day. Every year volunteer bakers all over Timber Ridge make all kinds of cookies and take them down to the meeting room. Then they are distributed into boxes with each box getting about a dozen and a half home baked cookies. They will be handed out to each employee tomorrow at the Employee Christmas Party. I signed up to help put cookies in boxes. I also volunteered to help dispose of any that get broken. I'm a giver.

But, I'd better get dressed first.

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.

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.

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.

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.