random thoughts – Day 2,285 (Wednesday) – flowers and stuff

It was the day after the show the night before. The show was great, I got home late, and I was tired. The morning air was cool and perfect for sleeping, but the morning light and the cat conspired to prevent me from doing so. The light was pricking my eyes open and the cat was licking my forehead. It was time to flee the bed.

Two tote bags crammed with costumes from the show occupied the kitchen counter. They greeted me in the kitchen as I headed to the coffee maker. After setting up the machine, I headed to the couch to start the morning email and games. After the usual amount of time, I realized it was just hot water because I had forgotten to add the coffee. Clearly I was still tired and definitely in need of the coffee. The situation was fixed.

Once awake, it was time to get things done. The freezer was checked. No miracles had occurred overnight and it wasn’t fixed. Things were cold, but not solidly frozen. I contacted the store in Worcester  I bought it from last August via online chat. The rep opened a service ticket and suggested turning the fridge off for 30 minutes to recycle some thing or other. That was easier said than done because the plug is low on the wall behind the fridge which is crammed between a counter and a wall. I figured I would try the electrical panel and turn off whichever lever controlled the fridge. The switches are labeled, but the handwriting is so terrible that I can’t make out most of them. I popped next door and StepDad came over to help me figure it out. He flipped switches, I watched the light in the refrigerator and when it went out, we knew which was the magic switch and it was labeled accordingly and legibly. Thirty minutes later, I set the panel switch back to the “on” position.

The online chat was quickly followed up by a call from someone in the service department who arranged for a service call and a loaner refrigerator to be delivered Thursday between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Effective tomorrow, there will be a refrigerator crammed into the dining room for an as yet undefined length of time to be determined by the availability of any replacement parts needed. It would have been today if the local service partner in my town wasn’t closed on Wednesdays. 

Halloween flowers at Dollar Tree.

Costumes were unpacked, hung, and crammed into the already full costume closet. Hair flowers and makeup were returned to their homes in the bathroom closet. Later in the day, I went out to buy paper towels and toothpaste. This just in – Dollar Tree has Halloween flowers on display (some with plastic eyeballs!), so now is the time to get your black fabric roses edged with orange glitter before they sell out. 

Although Wednesday is often grocery shopping day, no perishables or frozen items were procured in light of the current freezer situation. I'm already a bit nervous about the viability of the current freezer contents. 

I bought a basil plant and a hanging flower plant (20% off) from Tractor Supply. The basil was immediately repotted into a purple pot and set on the front door landing. For now. The hanging plant was intended for one of the two empty chains hanging from the carport, but the hook on the pot is too big to fit in the links so it was hung on one of the bigger iron hangers on the shed. I very nearly also bought a two-foot white metal rooster painted with flowers for the yard (30% off!) but talked myself out of it. For now, anyway. I make no promises that it won't happen tomorrow or the next day. 

Flowers for the shed.

Around 5:00 I headed to the hedges with the big cutters and did some shaping and trimming. The second rhododendron was also trimmed. There is still a long way to go with both overgrown monstrosities. And the poor forsythia, which was basically flattened by the roof replacement, needs some love and protection, not that I know what to do. That can be a problem for another day.

random thoughts – Day 2,282 (Tuesday) – show time

The final performance day of the belly dance season blew in on a cool, gentle morning breeze. It was another comfortable morning for sleeping and I dismissed the alarm in favor of more rest. The house, with windows left open overnight, was the perfect spring comfort level that I wished would linger for more of the year.

Despite it being performance day, I was calm, except for growing angst about the freezer. This wasn't something I wanted to start calling about. I didn't need extra stress before the performance nerves, which usually kick in until closer to showtime. The ice cubes aren’t as solid as usual, and the bread is feeling less than frozen. On Wednesday the freezer can be dealt with.

Setting up for the show.

My dance sister and I (and her fiancé) arrived at the venue at 5:00 so we could help set up for the audience and our costume changes. There were costumes to be hung in order of need, floors to be swept, tables to be moved, chairs to be set out, oscillating fans to be placed. The activity was a good way to work off nerves.

The show went by in a blur. Everyone was in the opening number, which was followed by group dances, solos, and duets. Then we had two dances and a belly dance hand movement lesson for a complete costume change into our second costume. Then two dances for a complete costume change into our third costume. Then two dances for a complete costume change into the fourth costume. Then three dances and some chair relocations for the fifth and final costume. Suddenly, it was over. It went like clockwork. At the end of the night, I had a jumble of balled up costumes crammed into zipper bags. I hope there are videos of the show because I’d love to see all the dances that happened while I was changing.

And now, the belly dancing is officially done for the summer. I have several ideas for the new free time, and oddly, three of them involve dance, just a different flavor.

random thoughts – Day 2,281 (Monday) – peaceful, yet weird

It was a mostly calm and peaceful day with not a lot going on. The weather was a perfect sunny, dry, and breezy spring day and a welcome relief from all the heat. It rained overnight, which in my opinion (not that anyone asked), is the ideal time for rain. I made it to the credit union to deposit checks. Laundry was done. Vacuuming occurred. 

It wasn’t all sunshine and breezes, though. There were entries posted in the not so idyllic side of the life accounting books.

Waiting to file a complaint.

The evening walk to the mailbox was weird. The past few evenings of walking have been kind of eerie. I have been the only person out and about in the neighborhood at 7:00 p.m. No cars passing by. No people tending gardens or sitting under carports chatting. No dog walkers. Nothing. Just me. It’s unnerving. Spooky, like in a creepy movie.

Earlier in the day, I tried to put Kiki’s collar on her. Previous attempts were a disaster. Today, as soon as she realized I was attempting to violate the fragile peace agreement we have been working under, she bolted from the bed and disappeared under it for several hours. When she re-emerged, she was meowing up a storm at me in her “I’d like to speak to a manger” tone.

Also, there was an odd sound this morning. I couldn’t tell if it was coming from the water heater or the nearby refrigerator. It wasn’t especially loud, it just seemed different than the normal house sounds. 

Tonight, when it was too late to do anything about it, I realized the freezer may be malfunctioning. This is the refrigerator/freezer bought last September that is not even one year old. The ice cream, which is usually hard as a rock, was very soft. The ice cubes in the tray, which are usually hard and brittle and shatter upon removal, felt more wet than usual. The English muffins were not the usual level of frozenness. I moved the setting from “recommended” more towards “coldest” and crossed my fingers. I hope there are no morning surprises like a freezer full of thawed food because I will likely lose my sh*t in a very unpeaceful manner.

random thoughts – Day 2,280 (Sunday) – staycation day

The weather was much kinder today than it was yesterday or Friday, but that doesn’t mean it inspired me to do much. Earlier in the week and as recently as yesterday, I had thought I might go to Rietta Ranch, a big outdoor Sunday morning flea market near me. I haven’t been to this flea market in at least a decade.  

It opens early (6:00), and the advice is to “go early” because the good stuff goes fast. This morning, the bedroom window was open and the air was cool and perfect for sleeping, so instead of my usual 6:30 extraction from bed, it was a little past 8:00. By the time I fully woke up, it might be creeping way beyond “early” for Rietta. I decided to skip to the flea market for the same reason I skip most out-of-the-home activities – I hadn’t made a plan to go with anyone and doing stuff alone feels like too much work. Instead, I shopped online for yard decor and ceiling fans and read about plants.

Backyard view.

Around 11:00, I popped out the back door to put something into the big recycle bin. That’s when I noticed my car. Even living under the carport, it is currently crusted with gross greenish-yellow pollen that I’ve been aware of for several days and haven’t made getting to a car wash a priority. That isn’t the part I noticed. What I saw this morning was that the back cargo door was raised in the open position. This means that Saturday, at around 4:30, when I took the emptied yard waste barrels out of the back I didn’t close the door and it was open all night. Oops.

There was a flashback to my Honda CRV and the button on the remote that popped open the back window on the cargo door. Once, a friend hit the button while moving my car after I broke my leg. After a couple weeks of recuperating on the couch, I needed something from the car and learned the battery was dead, drained by the rear cargo light that turned on weeks earlier on when the window was popped. I don’t know if the Jeep cargo area has a battery-draining light because I rarely go back there, but I figured I was going to find out soon enough.

Later in the afternoon, after I had finished reading a book, I decided to try starting the car. It worked, so I took a ride to drop the just-finished book back at the little library at the end of the street and then onward to the local credit union that isn’t my credit union. The closest location for my credit union is a couple towns away, but with the magic of technology,  I can withdraw money from my credit union’s account at other institutions’ ATMs and  make deposits in person, but today I wanted to know if I could deposit checks into my account using the not-my-credit-union’s ATM. I now know that is not a transaction option available to me and I’ll have to go tomorrow and visit the humans.

The evening air and temperature (in the 70s!) were comfortable and I thought about continuing the trimming of the overgrown hedges and rhododendrons. Then I thought about driving down the street to dispose of the trimmings before the rain that is predicted for tonight turns the contents of the trimmings barrel into a wet mess. The refreshing breezes, the absolute quiet of the neighborhood, and the view of the lush woods of the backyard conspired to remind me of a long-ago vacation cabin as I sprawled on the couch, reading a book as if I were on a vacation. Instead of yardwork, I did the next most logical thing and stayed in vacation/staycation mode reading a book. It was perfect.

random thoughts – Day 2,279 (Saturday) – slow motion

The day’s performance was at a small-town festival under a sunny, cloudless sky. There was a light breeze and it was slightly drier and less oppressive than Friday. but overall the word of the day was still “HOT.” There were hiccups, which usually happens.

There was no amplification system set up for our music when we arrived. Luckily, we arrive at least an hour before our stage time, and there was time to sort out the situation with the event organizer. Speakers appeared and were set up on the church steps behind our designated performance area on the hot pavement.

Baby donkeys!

We had a couple minutes to ooh and aah over the baby donkeys, baby goats, and larger goats with an alpaca. There were also bunnies in the pens with the young goats. So cute! The smell of the animals hung in the air. 

We learned the band scheduled to play before us hadn’t arrived yet and we were asked to take the stage earlier (this happens). That worked for us, as we were eager to get out of the heat as soon as possible. As we checked our placement on the pavement, the band finally arrived and parked in front of where we were planning to dance. Maybe they missed the seven of us standing in a cluster with our costumes sparkling in the blazing sun.

The organizer got the band vehicle moved to another location to unload their gear. There were a couple tents at the edge of the common right in front of us for a built-in audience. One of those was staffed by people in colonial period clothing including a woman in a dress, apron and white cap and a guy in colonial dress with a tricorn hat.

For two of our four dances, I was in the front row and during one of those dances, the guy in the colonial ensemble had a mishap that unfolded behind the guy taking video for the event as we were dancing. Somehow, the guy and the lawn chair he was sitting in tipped over sideways in prolonged, comical, slow motion. I saw it happen and it seemed like forever before anyone in his group came to his aid as he lay on his side on the ground, still in the chair. While dancing, I wondered if I shouldn’t leap to action to help him up because nobody else seemed to be moving. His crew finally mobilized and came to his aid. 

Later, our music cut out during the last dance. We learned the tablet it was playing from overheated. Yikes. After the dancing, I dropped off some stuff at the car, took off the spangles and returned to civilian life to visit the vendor tents. 

Back at home, despite the curtains and shades blocking the sun, the house temperature had crept back up to 83 degrees, almost the same as outside. I sat on the couch under the ceiling fan set on high speed. As I thought about the poor guy falling over in freakishly slow motion, I started laughing and couldn’t stop.

Bunny and trimmed tree.

Several hours later, I ventured outside to explore trimming the rhododendron and the tree out front with long, dangling branches. It was cooler outside than inside so the windows were opened and then the trimming began in an unhurried manner. The cargo area of the car was loaded with a giant flowerpot and a cardboard box filled with new trimmings, plus a trash can with yard waste that had been collected weeks ago. It was all brought to the neighborhood yard waste drop area. 

The next stop was WalMart to buy some ice cream. The store brand pints are quite good and cost a mere $1.87. One serving provides 25% of the daily recommendation of calcium, so as a reward for the yard work and to cover the calcium bases for the day, I ate the whole three serving container. A bunny meandered and dined in the front yard under the just trimmed tree.

random thoughts – Day 2,278 (Friday) – melty

It was melty again today, and a steady 85 degrees inside the house, even with windows, shades, and curtains closed. I really miss the central A/C at my former homes in both Lowell and Tennessee. It’s on the list for this house and moving up the ranks quickly. Historically, I haven’t been very bothered by heat, but so far, this year is killing me already.

Turkeys in the neighborhood.

I walked to the mailbox early in the afternoon and a faint breeze was perceptible and kept me from keeling over. Seeing two turkeys in a yard one street over from my house was a treat. They seemed unbothered by the heat and humidity.

Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80s by noon when the dance troupe takes to the unshaded stage area at an outdoor festival. In preparation, today we changed our costuming from the heavy long skirts to lighter fabric skirts and cut the dance list from five dances to four. We like what we do, but aren’t really interested in heat stroke while doing it.

The contractor stopped by today to pick up a check and while he was here, still sweating from the job site he had just left, he installed the window A/C unit in the bedroom for me. The room is currently chilling at a more comfortable 75 degrees for overnight, while the rest of the house continues to hold steady at 84 degrees. Kiki is puzzled about the bedroom door that has never before today been closed as the room chills.

A decision will need to be made about the overnight bedroom climate control. Keeping the door closed and the A/C on will require Kiki to be on one side of it or the other. Any restrictions on her mobility and access have been imposed by her. For example, she refuses to walk into my bathroom. She only goes about two feet into the kitchen for food and water and scoots back out. She hasn’t seen a closed door since Lowell. This new development could be interesting.

random thoughts – Day 2,277 (Thursday) – socializing

The steaminess of the day made me glad I had the option to be indoors, at least until it was time to head to an outdoor event in Lowell. The City of Lowell hosted an event recognizing non-profit organizations, and I attended as part of the contingent from The Brush Gallery, one of the honorees.

The traffic heading east on Route 2 was lighter than the volume heading west, but I-495 was the usual crap shoot with congestion at Route 2 and even worse at the Lowell Connector. The A/C was blowing chilled air, the radio was playing alt-rock music, and I wasn’t on a tight timeline, so it was all okay as far as I was concerned.

I went to The Brush Gallery before going to the event, and was able to look at the Lowellscapes show, which opened last weekend as part of Lowell’s bicentennial celebration. It looks great. Each photographer has a wall of work, and the images cover varied scenes in color and black & white. Some of the images are from several decades ago, so it’s a nice mix of old and new.

Entertaining the kids.

From the gallery, three of us headed to JFK Plaza outside City Hall. The sun was blasting full force and it felt like a concrete sauna. Areas of shade and a periodic light breeze kept the crowd from keeling over. I saw a couple former bank colleagues and more fellow board members from my time with The Brush and it was fun to catch up a bit.

Long lines formed at the food trucks serving ice cream and chicken on one side of JFK Plaza, and the grill setup with hot dogs and hamburgers on the opposite side. Two jugglers in hot pink pants (that I now want) roamed the crowd and were a hit with the young kids in attendance. 

The group of teens standing nearby was not as impressed as the youngsters and I could hear their commentary about the tragedy of the little kids who will now grow up wanting to be jugglers. As I see it, there are worse things. And they kept the people in the long food lines entertained/distracted, and there is value in that. It was pretty impressive when one of the jugglers had a bowling ball, a big knife, and a bowler hat in motion.

There was a recognition ceremony for 65 or 70 local non-profit organizations. I must have spaced out somewhere along the proceedings, because when The Brush was recognized with a banner and a photo, I was not with my people in the photo tent next to the podium. Oh, no. I was at the ice cream truck ordering and then consuming a cup of cold and creamy “berry spice” ice cream (blueberry and black raspberry).  It was delicious, but I felt dumb when I looked over and saw the artists and board members from The Brush grouped for the photo. Oops.

Library book sale treasures.

Next door to City Hall, The Friends of Pollard Memorial Library were having their spring book sale. It was steamy in the room crammed with tables piled with books. Floor fans were a popular stop for a quick breeze during the shopping.

I went there in search of The High Calcium Low Calorie Cookbook. My target may have been too specific and I didn’t find a copy of that title, but I did find The Deliciously Cheesy Cookbook. My deli drawer is full of cheese and I can’t wait to get busy. I also got a couple paperbacks to continue my reading frenzy without interruption, so it was definitely a success. And a fun night overall.