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Entry tags:

nature

winter

On Friday, I saw icicles that were 5 feet long hanging off the metal roof of a low slung hardware store in a small town. Nice!

I also saw a great many houses with icicles caused by ice dams. This is bad, bad, bad. Ice forms at the edge of the roof and then melting water cannot drip off. It backs up and, usually, leaks into the building. My former house suffered from this and no amount of ventilation or insulation or anything else could prevent ice dams from forming. It was stressful, frustrating and expensive. I think it had to do it being a four-square, hip roofed house built in the 1920s. Every time I see ice dams on a house I feel a surge of gladness that I no longer have to deal with this problem.

The best icicles are on a sunny day in the late winter, after a wet snow that sticks to the evergreens. As the snow melts in the sun, short icicles form at the end of the branches, like a fairy tale image of winter.

This morning's low temperature was -11F / -23C and the big warm up (sarcasm) for the afternoon is 4F / -15C. But on Tuesday the prediction is for 36F / 2C. Ahhh....

Sunday

Picture 6 cat treats sprinkled on the carpet and two cats sniffing and then going to to their naps. That's zero star review of the approved cat treats. Julio ate one yesterday. Biggie did, too. This morning, Biggie did his usual begging for treats so I sprinkled the 6 out on the carpet. He sniffed at them and then gave me the stink eye and wandered off.

He peed a little - a very little this morning but then hopped out of the litter box and spent five minutes actively playing with Julio. He sure does not seem in pain or even uncomfortable. Just annoyed about the treat situation.

Nothing much going on today at least that I know of. I plan to go for a swim after I finish this. And then watch my usual Sunday morning TV and maybe some puzzling.

Cat Attitude

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.

Saturday

Volleyball this morning. There were a lot of people and I play on the edge so balls don't get to me frequently which is fine. Today, I spent all of my non-ball time doing various water aerobics. It was great. I did a lot of in place high knee kick marching and twisting and stretching. Made the whole thing more fun.

Elbow coffee was a small crowd. John and Hazel are getting older very quickly. They keep getting locked out of their apartment - forgetting or losing keys. Bonny took them down on Wednesday and they got two new keys. Yesterday morning, when I got back from the pool they were in the hallway waiting for security to let them in because they had forgotten their keys. Today they missed elbow coffee because they had a conference call - their credit union, their son and them. Because they say, the credit union keeps scamming them. The good news is that they are here and not out there on their own.

Biggie does NOT like the new treats. Not one bit. But they both like both the wet food and the dry.

I have a dead wifi spot in my bedroom and I have a wifi extender. I can see that the extender is improving the signal very much but I can't convince my phone to use the extended signal. This will be my project this aft.

Bonny's out of vodka so 'you want to make a Costco run on Monday?' Sure, says I. I'm very low on coffee.

And that's about it for the hot news here. We are, today, a dry day between rains. Still really grateful to live on a hill.

Entry tags:

Just Create - Ice Edition

What are you working on? What have you finished? What do you need encouragement on?

Are there any cool events or challenges happening that you want to hype?

What do you just want to talk about?

What have you been watching or reading?

Chores and other not-fun things count!

Remember to encourage other commenters and we have a discord where we can do work-alongs and chat, linked in the sticky.

Issaquah made the NZ news!

I just got a link about our floods that actually does mention Issaquah from my friend Scott in New Zealand. He was quite amazed as am I.

I did pop into the vet and, turns out, they do carry the smaller bags of kibble and they had plenty and they had treats which are not Temptations but Biggie won't turn 'em down. Chewy is really dragging its feet over this order which is very non-Chewy like. But, I have enough for the weekend and I'll just go back on Monday and pick up some cans if I need to. The vet is very quick and easy to get to with very easy parking.

Timber Ridge does this Christmas Gala thing every year which is lovely if that's your cuppa. They open up all the dining rooms and spread out with all kinds of food and drink and it's a big party. If all you want is dinner, you are kind of SOL. I went the first year with a bunch of people and it was fine. Last year I just wanted food and it was a PIA. So this year, I'm just pretending all the dining opportunities are closed. My freezer is packed to the gills and I will not starve.

I noticed this morning that the inside of my car is disgustingly filthy. Well, not quite that bad but still it needs some love. I thought to myself I should be sure and get it cleaned up before my brother comes in a month. Then I thought hmmmmm I could put this on his Todo list!! hahaha nah. We have a very excellent strong vacuum system just around the corner from my parking space. I just need to roll it over there and do the deed. It's a very small car - so a very small job.

Now it is 1 pm and I have not even watched Jeopardy yet. I hate to get behind schedule!

Famously wet

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.

Entry tags:

nature,
spoonie

sparkle

Last night I woke up a few hours after going to sleep and saw a Cheshire cat moon. It was a dusky orange smile in the sky.

Actually, I saw two Cheshire cats, as I have double vision.

This morning the sun is shining. There is fresh snow on the ground. In the field are prairie grasses, which are 5 to 6 feet tall. The dry grasses are a pale peach color. Everything is frosted. A breeze is moving the grasses and the frost is catching the sunlight. It is a glittery, joyful wonderland.

It's 3F. I have to drive an hour to my PT appointment. So it's a down coat, two pairs of socks day. After this appointment, I have 9 days in which I don't have any visits to the clinic. Hurrah!

Bladder Rocks

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.

Legs and back

My legs and my back are very whiny these days. There are three things causing this. 1. I'm old. 2. I'm fat. and 3. I'm lazy. The first one is absolutely not fixable. The second one is fixable but the sacrifice is not worth the fix to me. I'm not at all interested in changing the way I eat or what I eat.

But, there's a slim chance I could make inroads on the third one. Godknows I have the resources right here at my finger tips. My swimming laps is not really worth that much. I don't use my legs much at all and I don't swim fast enough or tight enough to even move the needle on the cardio scale. It's better than sitting on the couch but only marginally. I need to walk and stretch and walk and stretch. There are miles of weather controlled, flat walking trails literally outside my door. There is an entire gym of fancy equipment a short walk away.

Yesterday, I conscientiously walked away more than usual. I made extra trips downstairs to the lobby area and went the long way round on a few of them. I clocked maybe a third more steps than usual. Today the plan is to spend 30 minutes in the gym. 15 on the elliptical and 15 on one of the bikes (which are more chairs with pedals). I'm convinced I have the motivation to do this today. Tomorrow it may be gone but today, I'm going to do it.

This afternoon is the employee Christmas party. As is the Timber Ridge tradition, the employees gather in the back dining room by department groups. The residents line up on either side of the hallway between that dining room and the large meeting room. Then the employees parade through the cheering residents. It sounds cheesy and it is but also a big crowd pleaser with employees and with residents. Of course the employees get the afternoon off, a big party with music and dancing, a box of homemade Christmas cookies and... a cash bonus. So they are looking forward to it the most.

I woke up at 2 and had a bit of a problem getting back to sleep but then did and slept right through to 7 which is way late for me so now it's 9 and I have yet to even get out of my PJs. So I'm going to do that now!

Timing

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.

Random Monday

I had a, mostly, online friend who died a few years ago. He was Jewish and always bitched incessantly about Jesus music this time of year. He always acted like it was an unexpected insult. It amused me every year. Now when I hear background Christmas music, I think of him. I'm pretty sure that would piss him off.

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I think I'm a fairly good communicator. I try to consider my audience and how they might receive what I'm trying to convey whether it is in writing or orally. This journal is a great test. I am surprised how often I totally miss the mark. I can tell by comments when the point I was trying to make landed somewhere off in never never land. It's humbling.

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I am soon to be 77 years old. Multiple times a day, nearly every day, I find myself thinking 'when I get old, I will...' or 'I'm never doing that when I get old...' And then I find the brake pedal and realize, doh!

Out in the wild, people drop dead of 'natural causes' every day at ages much younger than 77. Of course, here at the cult, where the average age is mid-80's, I'm quite young. I'm pretty sure that's how my perspective gets skewed.

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I am out of shredded cheese. Not out out but close to out and I use that stuff on everything so this needs to get remedied. I might wait until tomorrow when the house cleaner is here. Or Bonny usually goes to the QFC on Mondays because that's when the new flowers come in and she does love her fresh flowers and she could grab me some cheese.

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I've had my swim. I need to empty the dishwasher and probably get dressed. Oh and make the bed. And then...

Entry tags:

nature,
spoonie

smalls

Yesterday I saw a white mouse! Twice! It was hesitantly coming out of a tunnel in the snow.

Seeing unusual animals always seems like I've been given a blessing by nature.

I have done exercises from the physical therapist every day.

I'm reading another book by one of my favorite authors, Joan Dejean: 'Tender Geographies: Women and the Origins of the Novel in France.'

It won't be long before the daylight begins to lengthen.

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.

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.

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.

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.