random thoughts – Day 2,090 (Saturday) – technology

It was another morning with snow flying and creating a pretty scene outside the window while I drank coffee. The ground became coated, but it wasn’t anything that seemed to need shoveling and most of us on the street didn’t. The snow stopped, the sun came out, and the streets were eventually just wet.

An errand required a trip out of the house. The persnickety key fob, which was looked at and tested by the dude in the Jeep service department on Friday, is worse than before. The guy was going to pull the new battery he had tried in it so I didn’t have to pay the $10 sales price, but I think he neglected to put the old, semi-functional one back in because things are all kinds of nutty now.

Before the tech touched it, having the fob near the door handle would unlock the door, avoiding the need to fumble with fob buttons or juggle packages and bags. Now, I have to extract the metal key from the fob and insert it into the lock to open the door. To start the car, I have to touch the fob to the start button, then depress the brake and push the start button. 

Excuse me, the key fob is right here.

If the door is opened after the car is started, the dashboard displays the message, “Key fob has left the vehicle” like it’s Elvis exiting the building or something. But no, dear technology demon overlord, the fob and I are still right here in the car, and dear fobby appears to not be speaking to you at present. Hopefully the new fob will arrive on Tuesday, everyone and thing will be on speaking terms again, and this will be nothing but a memory by Wednesday.

This nonsense with unlocking and starting the car, constant dashboard messaging, the navigation system that frequently glitches out when I need it most, and the expense of fixing the many things expertly engineered to break on a profit-enhancing corporate schedule makes me really hate technology, in cars and elsewhere. I miss the pre-computerized cars that didn’t need a $300 key fob. I don’t need my appliances to communicate with each other or tell me I need milk. 

random thoughts – Day 2,089 (Friday) – tires and fob

The day dawned with a plan. A drive to Chelmsford was needed for a 9:30 routine annual medical thing. This was a change from the plan set 24 hours previously which was for me to sleep as long as I wanted and then sit around drinking coffee and applying for jobs, but it was favorable in that it avoided me having to get up at oh-dark-thirty next Wednesday to get to Lowell for the thing. After that, Mom and I could go to Fitchburg for a couple errands, which was the original plan set a day earlier.

I called Mom before I left to let her know it would be about 11:00 when we could begin our errand. Being a very cold morning, the remote start button on the fob was tapped twice to give the car a head start warming up. This, along with the heated seat and steering wheel, are possibly my favorite features, especially since the roof panels chose to become problematic and now whistle when driving at 50 mph or higher. It didn’t work. I ended up starting the car the old-school way – while shivering inside it. Once running, the car declared it was nine degrees, but the accuracy of that is questionable.

After backing out of the driveway and turning down the street, my nemesis the dashboard informed me that all four tires were experiencing low tire pressure. I returned to the comfort of my carport to inflate the tires with my recently bought inflater thing, starting with the one with the lowest pressure (28 psi). It sounded like the air was coming out as I fought to attach the gizmo to the tire valve, then the unit danced around the asphalt while it allegedly added air. It was extra hard to pull the gizmo off the tire valve. Despite the effort, the results on the dashboard were not greatly improved. I took a calculated risk, said “to hell with it,” and drove to Chelmsford. The tire pressure increased with the travel, but not by much.

The fob has been increasingly cranky, and in the past couple weeks, it randomly wouldn’t lock or unlock the doors or remote start the car. It was possible it was the battery, which hadn’t been replaced in June with the annual car inspection because I went to the local garage for the sticker instead of the dealership for an oil change, battery replacement, and inspection sticker. At least the doors still unlocked when the fob was near the handle so it wasn’t totally a lost cause.

Back at home, Mom’s plans had changed and the errands were cancelled. The snow angel neighbor knocked on the door to say he saw me freezing my ass off earlier (his words) and that he had a compressor and tire gauge and offered to help after he had lunch. We exchanged phone numbers and later he texted to say he could address my low psi.

During the tire inflation, the dashboard claimed the tires were still low even when the compressor gauge indicated they were at 35 psi. The compressor setting had to be bumped up to 40 psi for the car’s dashboard to hit 35. Talk about annoying dashboard technology. He joked the bill would be in the mail and I joked I would pay it in cookies and now it looks like I'll be baking for the snow angel/ tire inflater across the street which seems like the start of a Hallmark movie.

After the tire inflation, during which we whined about expensive and complicated automobile technology, the Jeep dealership was visited to have the fob checked. The car came with only one fob, which I didn’t learn until delivery and I have guarded it like it was the key to salvation ever since. The fob has a physical key inside, accessed by fighting a very tiny slider which was clearly not designed or tested by anyone who ever paid good money for a manicure. It required some swearing, but I got the key out of the fob to lock the door before going into the dealership service center. 

Problem fob and key.

The battery was changed. The fob was tested. There was no improvement. A new fob was ordered ($280 plus programming fee) and should be in on Tuesday. This seemed a lot easier than when I bought the Jeep and the salesman acted like it required an act of the gods to get another fob, promised to do so anyway and then didn’t, reinforcing every stereotype and negative impression I’ve ever had of car salespeople. 

Fun note – since the service guy opened up the fob and replaced the battery, it’s worse. It used to unlock from a short distance sometimes and always opened the door when the fob was near the handle, but now the key is required at all times to be inserted into the keyhole to open the door. This wouldn’t be bad if it wasn’t such a pain in the arse to remove, and once out of the fob, the key is a free agent and could be easily dropped. Yay. I look forward to crawling under the car to reach for the dropped key.

The day wasn't total frustration. The third time was the charm and after previous calls that never went much further than the AI bot assistant, I finally connected with a human representative at the the company that holds the Bank's 401k plan. Due to the merger, the plan is being dissolved and I needed to move my account somewhere. It was a relief to have that done with.

random thoughts – Day 2,088 (Thursday) – health and progress

The physical therapy is nearly done with good progress and one week left to go. Today, a patient arrived in a Santa onesie. During one of his exercises, he said it was a good thing no children were present to see the therapist torturing Santa and then he added her to the naughty list. My therapist and I chuckled over at our station.

Black tinsel tree.

Another healthcare related appointment that was scheduled a year ago was coming up next Wednesday. In Lowell. At 6:45. In the morning. This was great for the many years when I lived five minutes away from the appointment site. I would go before work and be at my desk right on time like it was any other work day. Driving to Lowell from Gardner for a 6:45 a.m. appointment is an entirely different story. I would have done it if there was nothing available at a later time, but I got lucky when I called to ask. There was an opening tomorrow in their Chelmsford location at 9:30 a.m.

Christmas Eve will be at my house this year, which was decided this morning in a conversation with Mom. It is the perfect inspiration get my arse in gear and finish decorating for Christmas and working on the guest room. A string of battery-operated lights was bought for the black tinsel tree and it was decorated with silver and crystal ornaments and a garland of tiny plastic icicles. 

Hoodie with
special  powers?

Also bought today was a plain black super soft hoodie, and a Christmas hoodie printed with rows of candy canes, snowflakes, trees, paw prints alternating with hearts, and Black kitties in Santa hats. I have never been one to buy Christmas attire, but for $5 I couldn’t resist the cozy hoodie and changed into it as soon as I got home. It may have helped with the decorating, but it’s hard to tell. Over the next few weeks, further tests will be conducted on the motivational properties of the Christmas hoodie.

The guest room activity required emptying a deep bookcase to move it to the other side of the room where it won’t interfere with the trundle daybed should it ever need to be used. A smaller bookcase was placed in the spot where the other one had been and both were filled with books, which cleared some of the clutter from the room. Two shelves were stacked under the window between the bookcases for no particular reason other than clearing them from the so-called craft room. More progress!

random thoughts – Day 2,087 (Wednesday) – angels and blue tooth

Tuesday’s snow began at 9:45 a.m. and at 10:30 p.m. when I went to bed it was still snowing. I don’t know when it stopped, but a weather post indicated Gardner got 7.5 inches of snow. At 5:00 this morning I heard noise in my driveway. It wasn’t loud, it was just there, and I slid out of bed and peeked out the window to see someone on a riding snowblower with a headlight clearing my driveway. I thought it was StepDad.

As I drank coffee, the sun rose above the trees. It cast a long shadow of the tree in the front yard onto the snow. The silver tree in the front window made reflections onto the wall above the window and the leaded glass window in the front door made reflections on the wall. 

Later, Mom called. She and StepDad were wondering who had cleared their driveway, mine, and the house on the other side of theirs. I told her what I saw and so far, our collective best guess was the guy across the street who helped me yesterday. Later, StepDad came back to my house with his walk behind snowblower and cleared the front walk and the area closest to the car. It appears that my guardian angel has a couple companion snow removal angels.

I was definitely not sad that I didn’t need to shovel and instead invested the time in applying for jobs. This was followed by looking at dental and vision plans and calling my dentist’s office (again) for further counsel on the coverages they accept after finding a list on their website of the one they stopped accepting throughout 2025. That’s when I learned my dentist has its own office plan similar to some of those offered by the big insurance companies and I could sign up before my appointment today and it would cover the x-rays and the discounts would apply to the visit.

I arrived in Fitchburg early enough to visit a gas station before my appointment. Stupidly, I took a wrong turn and ended up at the same station where I had trouble with the gas pump turning off a week or two ago. The nozzle placement is an ongoing situation, but it happens more at that one station from hell.

To complicate things, someone from another car came over to ask me how I like my Renegade because she is considering buying one. So there I was, on a bit of a time crunch, fighting with a gas pump, swearing up a storm in my head due to said gas pump, and trying to hold a civilized conversation. It was a lot. I immediately pointed out the gas tank issue, which has been an ongoing battle since 2021 when I bought the Jeep. To emphasize my point, the pump turned off every few seconds and I was trying very hard not to swear out loud (and said so), ended up spilling gas, and in the end I finally said “fuck it” and gave up on pumping gas. When I put the nozzle back on the pump the display showed barely three gallons added instead of the half tank I wanted, so it was a colossal waste of time. And the other person just kept patiently waiting for me to answer her questions and talk more about 2017 Jeep Renegades. 

Part of me wanted to tell her to shut the hell up so I could focus on filling my tank and get to the dentist, but I didn’t and was nice to her. I told her what I liked about the vehicle, plus the troubles I had with the roof panels not closing (twice), the surprisingly small cargo area, and she witnessed the gas nozzle challenge.

Ha! I have Bluetooth!

As for the visit in the dental chair, it went as well as it could have. The dentist and the assistant were really nice. The problem broken tooth was examined, x-rayed, photographed, and capped with the strongest material they. I now temporarily have a blue tooth. Literally. Like Papa Smurf blue. 

I asked if I could now receive music though my new blue tooth (which would be really cool) and we all chuckled but maybe they were just being polite to me like I was polite to girl at the gas station earlier. In two weeks, I will return for the tooth to be checked and preparations made for a crown. Until then, I need to avoid biting hard things at that tooth.

random thoughts – Day 2,086 (Tuesday) – whine and snow

During May, June, and July, thanks to the bank merger that put me out of a job and group health insurance coverage, I had the senior citizen thrill of enrolling in Medicare and shopping for the extra plans that cost money to cover all the many things Medicare doesn’t (basically everything) and provide lifetime penalties for delaying enrolling certain features. It was actually lucky I was so close to qualifying for the old people’s coverage after the merger. I think. I am now allowed the privilege of paying hundreds of dollars a month (and have three ID cards!) for Medicare Part B, a Supplemental Plan that supposedly isn’t limited to network stuff, and a prescription drug plan that I enrolled in August 1^st and which sent a letter in October that it is being discontinued December 31 so I got the thrill of searching for another one all over again. 

In June, at my regular dental cleaning and while I still had Blue Cross Blue Shield medical and dental insurance, I mentioned a tooth that had recently begun to hurt if something smallish like granola, seeds or grains from bread, a crunchy chip, etc., hit it just right. The dentist looked at it and declared he didn’t see anything.

After the summer highlighted with the stress of unemployment and moving, I felt like I could finally pause for breath. That is when the pinched something or other in my neck bestowed me with roughly ten weeks (so far!) of misery, specialist visits, x-rays, and physical therapy.

A couple weeks ago, as the light was appearing at the end of a long tunnel, the tooth started acting up again. The pain from seeds and such was more frequent and it became mildly sensitive to cold but only sometimes. I kept forgetting to call the dentist or remembered and received the answering machine message because the office was closed for the day.

My annual eye exam, booked a year ago, hit the calendar last week with a reminder text from the office. After confirming the appointment, the office called me about my insurance. They saw that my BCBS was no longer in effect. We learned together that my vision discount plan is not accepted by their office. The appointment was cancelled. 

I finally remembered to call the dentist late in the afternoon the day after Thanksgiving and got the message that the office was closed. On Monday, I remembered to call early and got an appointment for Tuesday. As in today, during the forecasted time for the snow storm and which would require going there directly from physical therapy, but I was willing to take on the challenges of weather and time.

Early this morning and remembering the cancelled eye exam, it occurred to me that the dentist probably didn’t have my new insurance info and I called the office. It wasn’t good. The supplemental plan I have has a dental discount program that my dental office of the past 12 years isn’t currently part of. To pay out of pocket for the visit is $200 and I don’t know what that includes besides someone looking in my mouth.

Based mostly on the insurance situation and partly on the coming snow, the appointment was cancelled so I can figure something out for standalone dental insurance coverage or find a dentist that takes the discount plan. After PT, I visited many web sites in search of info and called the group that helped me choose my coverages a few months ago. A call to talk specifically about dental and vision coverage is scheduled for the 16^th and now I get to look forward to spending even more money and potentially have a fourth ID card. Can't wait!

Early-afternoon, as the snow that had begun falling at 9:45 continued to steadily descend from the sky and accumulate on the ground, there was a debate about whether to make macaroni and cheese or layered zucchini with sauce, cheeses, and other vegetables. Or maybe both because there were no plans to leave the house and I was feeling all domesticated. 

While macaroni cooked in the saucepan, veggie chopping commenced. A sliver of raw zucchini was popped into my mouth and the tooth that was the subject of the appointment for which I would have been sitting in the dental chair at that very moment if not for the insurance stuff, broke off around the filling. The chunk sat on my tongue and I was glad I didn’t swallow it. It seems the “figure something out” clock had already run out (with nothing figured out) and I called the dentist office where they were on their way out due to the snow. I now have an appointment on Wednesday afternoon.

My hatred of the American healthcare system is at an all-time high. Who the hell decided that a person’s job should be the gateway to comprehensive health coverage? And that, no matter what the plan, eyes and teeth require separate coverage (especially where dental problems can contribute to issues like heart disease, stroke, and dementia)? Of course, there is no money to made in a healthy population or cures and the system needs to keep us barely alive or at best at some perpetual level of unwellness for as long as possible so they can continue to rob us of premiums, deductibles, co-pays, penalties for not having coverage or buying it at the wrong time, and whatever new crap they dream up.

Looks like I never touched it.

I went outside to shovel and burn off my aggravation. Halfway through clearing a couple inches of snow from the driveway the guy across the street came over with his snowblower and finished it off. That let me work on the front walk and front stairs and I was grateful. 

Six hours later, it was still snowing. The front stairs, walkway, and driveway looked like I never shoveled at all and I hope it stops soon. There will be another winter workout in the morning (after coffee).

random thoughts – Day 2,085 (Monday) – in motion

Working on a project with a friend has been exactly the kick in the derriere I needed to break an inertia cycle that has gone on for far too long. I sprang out of bed ready to tackle the tasks mentally mapped after the learning experience of the earlier effort over the weekend.

After the first setup.

The project involved some photos, so while the setup was set up, later in the day things moved into another, different little shoot. The idea was potential images for this year’s holiday cards because I still like to torture myself with the self-imposed torture of it. Based on past years, I’m a full ten days ahead of the usual timeline that has me sweating, swearing, and grasping for ideas on a deadline. There are already two potential backup layouts done in case the snowstorm we’ve been promised for this week isn’t as photogenic as I am hoping.

Thank goodness that with all the stuff that was shed before moving, a black trifold presentation board that had been used for a roller derby project years ago wasn’t one of them, and more importantly, I knew where it was. During the move, it was taped around some fragile artworks. The past couple days it has served as a photo backdrop. For one phase of things today, it had a front load frame attached to it with painter’s tape so I could change various pieces into and out of it quickly. Later, the frame was removed for the next phase of things.

The new ring light cantilever stand and the cell phone tripod got a workout. It was a lot easier to control things when the lighting could be adjusted independently of the camera.

Wreath on the door.

The energy of working on a project propelled me to other activity during the day. The floors were vacuumed so I could empty the cannister before the trash went out. The dead mums were finally removed from the front stairs and the solar lanterns were brought into the house. Wreaths were retrieved from the shed and hung on the front and back doors. I took a walk down the street to the mailbox. 

A mirror that belongs on a dresser and was taken apart to be painted black in the fall had been “temporarily” (ha ha) stuffed in the shed when the old paint wouldn’t sand off. This afternoon, it was taken from the shed, reassembled, and set back atop the dresser for the winter. Maybe next spring the dresser and mirror will finally be painted to match the accompanying chest of drawers done in the fall.

Once I'm in in motion, I can stay in motion. I just need a little kickstart.

random thoughts – Day 2,084 (Sunday) – cards and treasures

It was another gray day with a side of snow flurries followed by rain. In other words, the perfect weather for staying home and testing a new ring light/cell phone floor stand setup. The dining room is now a makeshift photo studio with a touch of Christmas decorating chaos with storage totes, delivery boxes, and stuff strewn about.

There were challenges, including the floor base not sitting level (possibly a flooring issue) making it impossible to get the cell phone level. A day planner stuffed under one side solved the leveling problem. After a series of photos was shot and analyzed, it was concluded that having the cell in its own holder independent of the lighting might be a better idea. MacGyver-esque solutions were attempted using materials in the house. One possibility included setting the phone in the center of a roll of duct tape. It fit, but kept tipping and causing parallax error.

Skip-Bo.

The latter half of the afternoon was spent at Mom’s with two of the nieces and the nephew playing Skip-Bo. During a lull in the action, an internet search for a cell phone tripod provided a result for one at Ocean State Lob Lot, around the corner and down the street. As soon as the card games ended and we all scattered, I went to the store.

During the search for the tripod, other treasures were found. A pair of dark red boots I’ve looked at the last three times I was in the store and successfully talked myself out of buying because I have an abundance of footwear were 30% off today and were bought. Ornaments were 30% off and I got a box of black and silver balls and a string of lights for the black tinsel tree. It turned out a bulb is missing on the old string, along with the little bag containing spare bulbs and fuses, which are probably in the big tub of lights that were donated before moving. And the string of new lights is much too long for the tree. Errrr.

Treasures.

After wandering the store gathering the extra items and not finding the tripod, I finally asked a store team member for help. The item was in the makeup aisle. Huh? Even better, it was in a plain brown box with “Torjim” printed on the side. I would never have found it without help.

The new tripod is pretty cool. It works for cameras and cell phones and has a bubble level, a feature not included in the much more expensive camera tripod bought years ago. Tomorrow there will be more photos.

random thoughts – Day 2,083 (Saturday) – snow and sparkles

Morning sun and light snow.

The Friday snow flurries continued through the night and left the neighborhood blanketed in a thin coat of fresh flakes for the morning. The rising sun cast long shadows across the lawns and soon, into the windows at the front of the house, flooding the living room with sunlight. It was pretty. 

I was mistrustful of the coated street and assumed it was slippery. I have wiped out on innocent light snowfall before thanks to ice beneath it.  Before long, a couple cars limped along the tiny incline of the street and seemed to prove me correct. Then Mom called to say she slipped and nearly fell in her driveway because it was slick under the snow.

There was an errand planned for the morning, and luckily, the snow on the asphalt had melted off and the streets were just wet by the time I was dressed, sufficiently caffeinated, and ready to roll. At The Good Earth Farm and Garden Center a sign informed that photos could be taken with Dominic the Donkey. Several people stood nearby waiting for their moment with Dominic. Once out of Gardner, the ride along route 2A included stretches of road where I was the only vehicle and it felt a little creepy in a Twilight Zone sort of way.

Shiny thing #1.

On the return leg of the morning outing, there was more traffic. I made a stop at Back in Tyme, which is the shop Mom and I tried to visit earlier in the week but couldn’t find. Waze had the destination set on route 2A, but it is actually on a street behind 2A. The shop advertises “reclaimed furniture and home décor.” 

The shop was filled with affordable décor items and ornaments. I came close to buying a framed painting, but talked myself out of it with the knowledge of the too many art pieces still not hung on the walls that are nearly impossible to bang nails into.

The shop that succeeded in getting my wallet open was Pease Orchard Gift Shop. The tiny shop was loaded with sparkly sun catchers and handcrafted jewelry. I got a dangly thing with a slice of a yellow stone with beads and a faceted crystal ball because the yellow was perfect for my kitchen. Then I added a wood stick with strands of faceted discs and pointy crystal things which was a soft pink when the sun shone through it. After the snowflakes and icicles come out of the bay window it will likely hang there, but for now it is temporarily hung on the corner of a mirror where its full splendor is somewhat stifled. 

Shiny thing #2.

On the return trip past the shop with the Dominic the Donkey photo site, Dominic stood quietly, waiting for more visitors next to a human who sat in a lawn chair. I almost stopped, more to pet the donkey than to have a photo, but kept driving. It felt like the sort of thing that would be more fun with a companion than as a solo operator and there were things to be done at home like finding display spaces for the new shiny things.

random thoughts – Day 2,082 (Friday) – not black friday

It was the best Black Friday in ages and I saved a fortune. That’s because I stayed home and stayed off the Internet shopping.

Morning energy was invested in attempting to coordinate a semi-local non-retail diversion for the day. The top idea was to visit a museum sort-of halfway between my town and that of an acquaintance. The location challenge was to minimize drive time in the hellacious Black Friday traffic for both parties. It was harder than it sounded.

There aren’t that many museums between the two locations. Website results had a standard butt-covering disclaimer that “Black Friday may affect operating hours” with no way to confirm before the posted regular opening time. Many museums now have a ticketing system where you need to arrive within a designated window of time. Late in the research, the person at the other end of the challenge said they were thinking of MFA (Boston) which is basically in their backyard and a solid hour-plus from mine on a quiet day that isn’t the primary shopping day of the entire year. The idea was dropped.

Oh, silver tree.

Inside the protective bubble of my home, safe from traffic jams and road rage (mine), I added a string of dark beads and more ornaments to the silver metallic tree in the bay window that was started on Wednesday. Another tension rod was located and more beaded snowflakes and clear icicles were added to the center window. Two small green trees were set on the buffet and trimmed with pine cones and small iridescent glass balls. In a questionable dietary choice, half of a small sweet potato pie and a slice of pumpkin pie were consumed.

Outside the protective house bubble and within the independent weather system that is the snow globe of Gardner, snow swirled and blew and fell in spurts that were occasionally interrupted with patches of blue sky most of the day. The back yard collected more of a coating than the front. The street looked cold and wet and potentially slick. I was glad to be inside, warm, dry, putting up decorations, and not in traffic. Screw Black Friday, I made my own Silver Friday.

random thoughts – Day 2,081 (Thursday) – thanksgiving dinner 2025

The family dinner time was set for late afternoon because my youngest niece was working until 4:00. This was great news. It removed all the usual Thanksgiving morning hecticness. I could sleep late! Instead of setting up the family Canadian poultry stuffing recipe Wednesday night, I could do it in the morning. Yes, my Southern friends, I know that technically it is “dressing” because it won’t be cooked in the bird, but I’m back in Yankee land where my family calls it stuffing and it includes stuffing mix as an ingredient.

Anyway. The “sleeping late” ended up being exactly the time I usually get up. I knew it was time to get up because the dream I was in took the usual weird turns. In the dream, I was on a west coast beach with friends who I kept being separated from. We were returning home at 2:00 (coincidentally the same time Mom and I planned to be at my sister’s). I wasn’t packed yet. Friends were disappearing from the beach area, presumably to prepare for departure. I couldn’t remember where we were staying. Handsome men kept trying to make conversation but I couldn’t chat because I needed to go. (Pray tell, where are the chatty handsome men when I am awake??) In the dream, as I searched for my shoes and my friends and my lodging I was thinking “this is weird, it must be time to get up.”

Once caffeinated and alert, the stuffing production commenced. The recipe, written in Mummu’s perfect “Palmer Method” script, had been retrieved from a file box Wednesday night. In Lowell, a framed photo of it lived on my kitchen wall, but the kitchen in this house is all cabinets (actually quite great!) and practically no walls and I haven’t unearthed the framed version from the move yet.

There are questions involving the recipe that I wish I could ask Mummu. For instance, the three stalks of celery listed in the ingredients are never addressed later. Are they cooked in the skillet with the onion and meat mixture or added later with the stuffing mix and potato? Speaking of potato, the recipe specifies “2 cups of instant potatoes.” Does that mean to add two cups of the potato flakes, or does it mean to prepare the potatoes with water, milk, and butter and use two cups of that? I did the first option on the celery and the second option on the potato. It seemed more logical. Clearly, as a youngster in Mummu’s kitchen I should have paid closer attention to what she was doing instead of slinking around and eating all the olives, sweet baby gherkins, mixed nuts, and chocolates she had me set out in pretty glass dishes.

Ten of us sat around my sister’s table. There were two younger nieces and their boyfriends, the elder niece with her husband, Sis and her husband, Mom, and me. We feasted on the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner with stuffing, potato, vegetables, macaroni and cheese, gravy, cranberry sauce, and rolls and it was delicious. Stories were told. The entertainment value of AI videos of cats playing musical instruments were discussed. There was laughter. In all ways it was good.

random thoughts – Day 2,080 (Wednesday) – with pie

At the Spine and Pain Center.

The week of appointments that kicked off with a wrist surgery follow-up on Monday and physical therapy on Tuesday continued with a follow-up at the spine and pain enter today. And finally, an answer of sorts. Apparently, the curve in my neck is not quite correct. I need to continue with PT. There may be an MRI in my near future (depending upon insurance). The rest was a lot of words I forgot before I left the building, but I figured the visit notes will contain it. There just aren’t any visit notes in the patient portal yet.

On the way home, there was a stop at Walmart to check for the little clear corners that hold photos but none were found. It wasn’t a wasted trip, though. I left with a pecan pie (for me), a sweet potato pie (theoretically for dinner at my sister’s house on Thursday but probably for me), a pack of hand sewing needles to boost my dwindling collection, and a tension rod for the living room window because I can’t find the several I already own.

Ornaments on a tension rod.

At home, pecan pie was consumed (not all of it). The new tension rod was installed in the upper part of the center section of the bay window and some ornaments were set on it. There are more ornaments that could be hung in the window, but more tension rods are needed. As soon as I buy more and take them out of the packaging, I'll probably find the ones that are currently missing.

Later, a trip was made to Aldi but when I arrived, I couldn’t remember why I thought I needed to go there. I never remembered the specific item but still managed to gather a bag full of groceries for what might soon be considered a pantry hoarding situation.

random thoughts – Day 2,079 (Tuesday) – sew what

Small sewing machines in
an antiques shop.

On Sunday, while shopping with Mom in an antique shop, I saw a display case filled with small sewing machines in pretty colors. It sent me right back to my early childhood and the apartment we lived in on Laurel Street in Fitchburg until I was five.

Suddenly, there I was, at a table in front of a window in the kitchen of our first floor apartment, stitching away with my pink plastic sewing machine. This wasn’t just some pretend toy. It used a real needle and thread to create actual stitches and was probably early training to prepare us to work in the factories. Mom was nearby doing Mom things, so I wasn't unsupervised.

During my sewing of whatever it was I was making, I put my fingers too close to the action and the needle went through the pad of my index finger. I don’t remember, but I probably screamed, because Mom was at my side quickly. As I recall it (and this could be wrong), Dad did a fly-by to assess the situation and promptly exited the kitchen and Mom liberated my finger from the needle and the machine. After dragging her to the display case in the shop, Mom confirmed the pink machine and me sewing my finger with it. I had often wondered if I imagined it.

My early brush with domestic arts blodshed didn’t deter me from sewing and it effectively taught me to be more careful. Mom taught me how to lay out patterns on the grain and cut and stitch, and in seventh or eighth grade I made myself a maxi dress with a cap sleeve for the junior high chorus performance. I chose a polyester knit fabric with a cream background with maroon flowers. I laid out the fabric on the rug in the living room, checked and rechecked the fabric grain, pinned the tissue pattern, took a deep breath, and cut out the pieces. Then I stitched it together on Mom’s full-size Singer machine that lived in a brown wooden cabinet.

We weren't a frequent photo-taking family so there are no photos of my dress. The only time I remember wearing it was for the concert in the school auditorium. I remember almost fainting from standing still for so long. I remember singing “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King and the popular World War II song “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” but not if those were in the same concert or if we had more than one concert.  And I still remember that pink plastic sewing machine from when I was four or five, and the dress from junior high.

random thoughts – Day 2,078 (Monday) – thrifting and gas

It was another unusual Monday with a follow-up at the office of the surgeon in Chelmsford who worked on my wrist last February. One of the unexpected bonuses of the recent neck and shoulder pain situation is that I completely forgot to obsess over my wrist for the past couple months. The wrist is good. There will be a visit in February to discuss removing the plate.

Dishware!

After the surgeon’s office, there was a visit to St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in Lowell. There was a lot of great housewares at great prices and I bought some pieces that work for both Christmas and the kitchen with the green counters and woodwork. 

The score included a green glass lidded bowl, a three-cup Pyrex baking dish, a square red fancy plate, a light green oval plate, and a mug that says “OMG my mother was right about everything.” I can’t wait to show up for our morning coffee at Mom's house with the mug. I also scored two collapsible storage bins and six frames for $1.45 each including four front-load frames that have already been cleaned and are in service for a project that is underway. Not bad for $18.

On the way home, I stopped for a much-needed car wash and some gas. At the gas station, while fighting with the gas tank that demands very precise placement of the nozzle and keeps clicking itself off if the angle and insertion depth are not exactly right, the driver from the car behind mine appeared at my side. He asked if he could show me something and I waited for the big reveal of something amazing. Nope. The big life hack he was eager to share was the tiny lever to lock the gas nozzle so you don’t have to hold it. And it instantly clicked off. He kept trying it, despite me telling him the nozzle has to be exactly placed or forget it. I told him he didn’t have to keep trying, I’ve been dealing with this quirk of my vehicle for four years. After the 50^th time that it clicked off I gave up and called it done. When I got back into the car, the tank was only showing ¾ full and not the full level I was aiming for. At least the car was clean.

random thoughts – Day 2,077 (Sunday) – country road shopping

The chilly weather left a skim coat of ice on the bodies of water passed en route to dance this morning. The reflections on the surrounding water were interesting, but it was another case of narrow and winding country roads with no safe place to pull over for photos.

Troupe dance day involved using our newly acquired red veils and red hip scarves. They are so new, we laid eyes on them for the first time today. You may wonder why we are buying new troupe costume parts mere weeks before a show in the middle of the year’s extra expensive holiday season. I wonder the same thing. It looks like I bought myself a red hip scarf and veil this year for Christmas. It is not what I had in mind, but that is how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

After dance, it was an afternoon out with Mom. Snow began spitting before we headed out, but it was nothing that lasted. We visited four more local shops that are on The Country Roads Tour. Today it was Smith’s Country Cheese (Winchendon), Soulful Body & Mind Apothecary (Baldwinville), The Kitchen Garden (Templeton) and Country Bumpkin’ Antiques (Templeton).

Chicken wire and beads.

I love the cheese shop and it was my favorite stop until we visited the apothecary where I bought a sun catcher made from an embroidery hoop, chicken wire, and beads. I had seen something similar online a couple years ago and thought I wanted to make one.  I have a ton of beads (probably not much of an exaggeration) and a dozen embroidery hoops bought at thrift shops over the years, but the absence of chicken wire in the craft supply arsenal was the roadblock. Now I don’t have to worry about it. 

We tried to visit a shop with reclaimed furniture and home décor, but when Waze said we had arrived, there was nothing resembling a shop in sight and I turned into a daycare center parking lot to try and figure it out. I backtracked down the same road with no luck and decided to head home. On the way back from the shop we couldn’t find there was a sign for an orchard on the tour, but I didn’t see it time to make the turn. I was kind of done with shopping by then and kept the car moving in the homeward direction.

random thoughts – Day 2,076 (Saturday) – food, friends, music

Sobernaught at the BAC.

The day was full in many ways. There was my sister and brother-in-law’s annual Friendsgiving potluck event at the British American Club in Fitchburg. As usual, the food and desserts were plentiful and delicious. There was catching up with relatives who are not seen very often and friends seen only once a year. Late in the afternoon, Sobernaught, my BIL’s band played. I didn’t stay too long for that portion. It was a bit loud, but more importantly, I needed to prepare for the second chapter of the day. Unfortunately, I neglected to pace myself with the food. 

Slambovian Circus of Dreams
at The Bull Run.

From the potluck, I went the home of friends so we could travel together to The Bull Run in Shirley. Every year around this time the band Slambovian Circus of Dreams plays a show there. Seven or eight of us convene at the table for food and the show. My usual order is the Mushroom Lovers Bull pizza with various mushrooms, truffle oil, and cheese. Much of the pizza came home in a box due the overeating during chapter one of the day. There was no room for dessert. 

The food was great, catching up with people not seen for a year was fun and the bands sounded good. Overall, the day gets an A.

random thoughts – Day 2,075 (Friday) – onions and more

Onions were needed. There is a recipe to be made Saturday morning for an event in the afternoon and on Thursday night it was discovered the lone remaining onion was soft with loose skin and seemed quite unappealing. Luckily, Friday was available for onion acquisition.

After wasting most of the day, I rallied, put on shoes, and headed out to Aldi mid-afternoon. The mission was to buy a bag of onions and some backup boxes of cornbread stuffing mix which were on sale for 79 cents. It should have been a quick in and out trip, barely a few minutes.

At the carriage area, an apparent newbie was yanking on the front carriage from one of the columns of carts with a force that might have dislocated a shoulder of a more frail person. Then he tried the second line with the same force and no luck. I told him he needed a quarter to release the cart and would get it back when the cart was returned. I offered my cart, already liberated by the magic power of a coin, knowing there was one more quarter in my wallet. The Aldi newbie fished a quarter from his pocket, handed it to me, and  grumbled that he “never heard of such a thing as needing a quarter for a cart.” I said “yeah, that’s Aldi, and it’s why there are no carts loose in the parking lot.” He charged forth into the store. I could only imagine the reaction to the merchandise and self-bagging. I didn't see him again.

Beyond the food items.

A stockroom u-boat loaded with produce blocked the first aisle and beyond the u-boat were Brussels sprouts. I grabbed a bag. There was a leisurely stroll through produce. Yellow onions were located. Chopped walnuts were on sale and bought just in case. The legendary Aldi Finds “Aisle of Shame” occupied a lot of time. Recent Facebook chatter in the Aisle of Shame group has had rave reviews about the plush lined leggings, goldtone stemware (with “Love is Blind vibes”), reversible holiday signs, and more. Before long, the seat of the cart held black platform “warm-lined sneakers” and a two-pack of black base layer shirts so I could contemplate them during the rest of the shopping. Disinfecting wipes were added. And sour cream.

By the end of the trip, one item had become 12 and an hour had passed. I had been to the “Aldi Finds” aisle four times, partly because an annoying woman yammering on speaker phone was blocking a section of the displays and it was safer to temporarily exit the aisle than ram her with the cart. No golden stemware was found. The alleged flannel pajamas and shirts were not flannel at all and I wish retailers would recognize that flannel is an actual specific fabric, not a marketing concept like “cozy.” The vision of the full closets and drawers at home led to the sneakers and base layer tops being put back on the shelf, saving me $25. Overall, it was a successful shop.

random thoughts – Day 2,074 (Thursday) – waiting room

Through the magic timing of me arriving to physical therapy a few minutes early, and the therapist running a few minutes late, I sat in the very crowded waiting room for longer than usual. It turns out that Thursday afternoons have walk-in hours for something related to hearing aids. I was glad this was the only afternoon appointment, because the waiting room is much quieter at 9:30 am than 1:45 pm. 

Anyway. Despite the crowd in the room, it was quiet, except for two women seated in the area near me, They sat in two chairs along a wall and near the entrance to the PT area. An older woman in a wheel chair was parked in front of them and they ignored her. The two along the wall chatted loudly. Really loudly. I considered jumping into the conversation I couldn’t block out, but instead tried sending them the telepathic message “shut up!” It didn’t work. They did not shut up nor did they lower the volume.

I imagined being direct and telling them they are not as quiet as they might think they are. I did not do this. Maybe they should book appointments for hearing tests. Based on their stories I was forced to hear, they specialize in telling people off and I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of one and become a future story.

They sat there rehashing every not-perfect customer experience they ever had (going back decades), and how they made calls to corporate headquarters and wrote letters and how in some cases, the offending party later called with a personal apology. Then they began talking about their mother, who was the woman in the wheelchair. They wondered about her status in the queue and discussed whether they should continue to wait or all leave and come back another time. They finally asked the receptionist and learned there was one person ahead of their mother on the list. They decided, without much consultation with their mother, to wait. Luckily, my therapist came through the door to collect me and I was able to escape the loud talkers and retreat to the peace of the PT gymnasium.

random thoughts – Day 2,073 (Wednesday) – pain-free and tasty

The reduction of pain and discomfort made for a good day. It wasn’t uncomfortable sitting at the desk so the job applications, which are never fun and are almost always mentally painful, at least weren’t also physically uncomfortable.

A photo from a recipe in a Facebook post inspired an immediate trip to the kitchen. Within minutes I was slicing and layering carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, and canned diced spicy tomatoes in a baking dish. Feta cheese was added for the final minutes of the bake. Inspiration comes from everywhere and lunch was a success.

Round two - with cheese and
chicken added for supper.

At supper, the tastiness of lunch was still on the brain and the baking dish with the rest of the veggies was pulled from the refrigerator. Chopped roasted chicken, whipped cream cheese, tomato juice, and a splash of creamer were added and it was round two the oven. Thirty minutes later, it was finished with grated Italian cheese blend. Lunch was good and supper was even better. The chicken made it more filling. The only regret is that it is now all gone and there is none left for lunch tomorrow.

random thoughts – Day 2,072 (Tuesday) – satisfaction

Another Tuesday, another good physical therapy session. Exercises for upper back strength using stretchy bands were added to the list of neck exercises. The manual cervical traction and muscle pressure felt great, and afterwards, my arm and hand were less sparkly than before the session. It all felt very positive.

The big kettle of chicken soup started on Sunday was finished today after a post-PT trip for carrots and frozen mixed vegetables. After it simmered a couple hours, I fetched a pot from Mom’s and returned it a few minutes later, filled with hot soup, officially kicking off soup sharing season. It’s easy to share soup with Mom when she’s right next door and I don't even have to find a container to deliver it.

Miss Kiki!

Miss Kiki, the Beauty Queen of South Gardner, has been operating at an increased level of need for admiration and petting. It’s exciting. My house rule (established when I had the dogs) has been “if the critter can communicate what they want/need, they can have it,” so when she approaches and pauses close enough for me to pet her, I do. Today, she approached for petting, then as bonus content, laid herself out on the rug and let me rub her belly.  

She really doesn’t ask for much. There are face strokes and head to tail petting (usually on demand) and Temptations Treats before bed. So far, it’s been a mutually beneficial arrangement. 

random thoughts – Day 2,071 (Monday) – road trip

Crispy morning.

Sunday night’s icy rain lingered as a light coating for a lightly crispy Monday morning. Most of it melted from the latest blanket of the never-ending oak leaves and pine needles. The carport gutter, cleaned out just a few weeks ago, proudly sported spiked oak leaves like a holiday dinner table centerpiece.

This afternoon, Mom and I took our road trip to visit some local shops on the annual “Country Roads Holiday Tour” and (hopefully) kick off the holiday shopping. We intended to go last Thursday but I started feeling really crappy, we postponed, and I spent the next couple days on the couch.

The big challenge with going today was that many of the shops on the list are not open on Mondays. Or even Tuesdays. In some cases, even Wednesdays. We made it to three of the 20 shops today, and will visit some of the others later this week or some other week.

The first stop was The Good Earth Farm & Garden Center (Gardner), which has lots of gardening, pet supplies, and interesting gift and small décor items. A friend advised transplanting my Christmas cactus, but I couldn’t remember what size pot it’s currently in, so no flowerpot was bought. The cat toy selection was great, but Kiki already has an insane number of toys that she neglects (cha-ching!) and I moved on.

Red Apple Farm (Phillipston) has lots of jam, jelly, relish, pickled eggs, fruit, fudge, baked goods, and take and bake foods. We bought donuts. Back at home, I learned that pumpkin donuts are quite tasty.

The third and final stop for the day was The Country Store (Petersham), which is a café/eatery with gift and grocery items including cheese, baked goods, candy, craft beer, and specialty condiments. The gifts and artworks are spread throughout the store, including near and behind the tables where people were eating, which made it feel very awkward to be shopping. “Excuse me, let me squeeze behind your seat and overhear your personal conversation to look at this basket of images printed on book pages.” Weird. The wood stove was roaring and cozy. We were in there for maybe 15 minutes and hours later, my hair smells like I’ve been sitting by a campfire for a week. At least wood stove smoke doesn’t mess with my sinuses like scented candles and perfumes do and I can still breathe.

Clouds in Phillipston.

The clouds were dramatic and captivating during our ride. The best views with distant hills and low, moody clouds were unfortunately on the winding and narrow-ish country roads. There was no safe place to get a photo and/or I wasn’t willing to terrify my mother by stopping the car on such a road to take a photo. I’m sweet like that.

random thoughts – Day 2,070 (Sunday) – little delights

Sunday morning
sun patterns.

The morning sun comes through the textured glass window panel at the top of the front door and casts shapes and patterns on the wall. I love it every time I see it. It’s a simple joy, on the list of little delights with seeing the turkeys, neighborhood cats, crows, and other critters in the yard. 

This morning Kiki sat on a windowsill in the bay window, tail flicking, whiskers twitching, intently observing the crows walking on the front lawn. I sat on the couch, coffee in hand, watching her watching them and feeling thankful that the cold symptoms of recent days are now gone.

After dance class, there was a visit to my sister's to spend time with family. We sat around the dining table catching up, trading stories, sharing photos and videos on our phones, and eating crackers and dips. It was simple, but it was also everything.

Pasta, veggies, and
tomato pesto.

Later in the day, there was the simple satisfaction of a quickly assembled supper that tasted amazing. It took only about 30 minutes from chopping board to bowl, with vegetables sauteed in olive oil and butter, mixed with rotini and tossed with a jar of sundried tomato pesto mixed with half-and-half for a creamier sauce. A sprinkle of grated Italian blend cheese and black pepper finished it off. It was so quick and tasty. Or maybe it was extra tasty because it was nearly 4:00 and I hadn’t eaten anything all day except for some crackers and dip after dance. Tomorrow’s leftovers for lunch will refute or confirm today’s level of taste satisfaction.

The kitchen skylight has a delightful bonus feature. In addition to providing wonderful natural light (from the sky!), it also serves as a precipitation detection system. Many times, my first clue that it is raining is the sound on the skylight. It’s fun. Tonight, the skylight had a sharper, crispier tone than recent nights. It took a while to penetrate the background noises of the washer, dryer, and furnace, but once I was aware of the added instrumentation to the household symphony, I stepped into the kitchen and looked up. Ice crystals bounced and gathered on the surface of the domed skylight. Out front and under cover of darkness, frozen rain covered the hedges and assaulted the lawn.

The bed is made with freshly laundered sheets, and clean pajamas await. It is nice to be inside for the night, warm and dry with calm sinuses and a happy belly. The small things can really be the big things. 

random thoughts – Day 2,069 (Saturday) – snow day

There have been several days with snowflakes floating in the air, but today was the first time there was a coating of it on the ground. I slept late, and stumbled into the living room still half asleep. It was a surprise when I looked outside and saw the light covering on the lawns. The asphalt street and driveways were clear, and the woods out back had less coverage than the grass out front.

While admiring the snowfall, I noticed a house up the street now has a for sale sign out front. Being a nosy neighbor, I looked it up online to see the listing price and the interior photos and proceeded with my day.

After shaking off the initial morning combination congested/runny nose situation, the cold symptoms tapered off. The snow disappeared from the lawn around the same time. Later, the local wildlife began to appear. A tabby cat with white paws and later, seven turkeys passed through the snow-free yard.

The symptoms continued to improve. When I found myself on the couch pounding down a six-pack of mini Baby Ruth bars after a lunch of leftover pizza, it seemed the corner had been turned and it was declared the last day of the self-directed convalescence. I probably could have gone out in the world and done things today, but the choice was to indulge in the hermit life for one more day. I had already dressed in the officially designated "not leaving the house" fleece pants and there were no destinations in mind.

random thoughts – Day 2,068 (Friday) – yes, and ...

On Wednesday, a friend shared info about a one-night improvisation class taking place at the community college in my new town. She and her husband had signed up for it, and she was letting several of us know about it in case we were interested. Within a few minutes, I uttered the fundamental rule of improv – “yes, and…” – and enthusiastically signed up for the class. 

Improv has always seemed like fun, but any classes I saw in the past were expensive, many towns away, and ran for many weeks. The low fee, location a few miles away, and commitment of just a couple hours on a single Friday night made this class exciting. It seemed like a great chance to do something completely different. Yes, and ... maybe meet some new people, which is the fantasy used for years to drag (trick) myself out of the house.

Thursday, ick season caught up with me and a very messy head cold blossomed in my sinuses. Yes, and ... I was parked on the couch like a Victorian-era invalid with a box of tissues for the rest of the day. Daytime and nighttime medicines were ordered from the big A, to be delivered Friday, just in case the ick continued. In my sometimes overactive imagination peppered with heavy doses of denial, I thought Friday morning would dawn with me feeling fully rested and restored to optimal health with the ick nothing but a foggy memory and fresh cold meds relegated to the bathroom closet. Nope.

On Friday, I awoke at 8:30 after a solid ten hours of slumber. Fresh frost glistened on the neighboring lawns and roofs. The head cold had slithered southward into the uppermost respiratory region. Sneezing and coughing were amplified. The previously runny nose was congested until I got out of bed and gravity kicked in. Yes, and... then it was simultaneously congested and runny. Ewwww. Things were definitely feeling worse.

The day's view.

Attending the improv class was deemed out of the question. The daytime cold formula helped, but it was still too much for a mask and the tissue consumption was excessive. I resigned myself to another day and night on the couch fortified with soup, tea, a box of tissues, "Woodoku"on my phone, and Love is Blind on Netflix. For anyone keeping track, I’m now up to season four.

Hopefully, the improv class at the community college will be offered again. Yes, and ... if it is, I will sign up for it again.

random thoughts – Day 2,067 (Thursday) – physical

Place of physical therapy.

The first physical therapy appointment was this morning. The location couldn't be more convenient, within a couple miles of the house. The therapy session took a two-pronged approach after talking about the various twinges from the home exercises and my now extra long showers with the hot water beating on my neck and shoulder. The therapist provided manual cervical traction and some shoulder muscle pressure which felt great. After that, it was a series of exercises, some involving stretchy bands. Overall, it was pretty good and the arm and hand tingling was definitely minimized for most of the day.  

After the very productive PT, the day careened sideways. My sinuses kicked into snotty overdrive and it felt like I had suddenly been gifted with a full-blown cold. Instead of going to some small local shops with Mom, I parked myself on the couch under a blanket.

Tuesday’s kettle of vegetable soup, which had been supplemented with salsa and spicy diced tomatoes for Wednesday’s lunch, was boosted again today with fresh spinach, garlic, mushrooms, celery and grated ginger root. Multiple bowls of soup were consumed while wrapped in the blanket.

After lunch, the rest of the day was spent resting and recuperating with season three of Love is Blind (2020) on Netflix. There is no real reason to watch this show other than it’s easier to watch all the old seasons (which I did not watch when they were “fresh”) than to find something new to watch. It’s obvious I watch too much Netflix when I’ve seen every one of the “Top Ten This Week” features and most of the “New on Netflix” shows. If Netflix viewing paid by the hour, I’d be rich.

random thoughts – Day 2,066 (Wednesday) – aurora

Last night, driving home from dance class along some back roads and the regions major roadways, it was dark. It was a lot of the usual sights along the way. There were trees along a stretch of Route 117 and in another spot, orange barrels with reflective tape placed around a new looking rotary. A few idiots blazed down Route 2 much faster than the speed limit. There was nothing unusual seen along the way.

Back at home, feet up, TV on, I popped open Facebook and the feed began filling up with photos of the aurora borealis in pinks and greens from friends in the Midwest, Tennessee, New Hampshire, towns around the former residence of Lowell. I went outside to have a look. Many times. At first, it was cloud cover. Then it was more clear, but just a dark sky and sometimes a star.

Not the aurora,
sky version.

I looked upwards from the front of the house, and then from the back. I looked up through the skylight in the kitchen. Nothing. Just like the last time the aurora was allegedly visible in my area, I saw nothing and my camera captured nothing. The biggest difference was that this time I wasn’t alone and cold on a gold course in Dracut, I was alone and cold in my yard in Gardner.

Hope was finally abandoned and I went to bed. While doing the final doom scroll before sleeping with even more aurora images, I saw a really cool photo someone had posted of the aurora outside their window, which they took while laying on their floor. When I woke up at 2:46 this morning, I raised the shade and looked at the sky, hoping for something like the window picture seen earlier. Photos were taken, but it was more nothingness.

Not the aurora, TV version.

Once again, the aurora borealis was visiting my area and I saw nothing. There were even more aurora pictures this morning. The closest thing to the aurora I saw was the newly frequent error message about "an issue with my streaming device" (also known as the Xfinity issued cable device) while watching Netflix.

To say I had another raging case of aurora envy would be exactly correct. Allegedly, it may be visible again tonight. I’ll be out in the yard, or maybe I’ll take a drive in search of a more open area with the hope I’ll get to see it.  

random thoughts – Day 2,065 (Tuesday) – critters and therapy

Morning turkey visit.

The turkeys were in the front yard this morning and I still get stupidly excited when I see them. The sky was spitting snow which meant it was cold and also a great day to start a new pot of soup. Chopping commenced and soon the kettle was full of cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and onion with olive oil, before being joined by canned diced tomatoes, water, and two packets of onion soup mix. 

Once the soup kettle was going and set to simmer for a couple hours, I got all inspired and hospitable and called to invite Mom for lunch. At noon, Mom and StepDad came over and the three of us lunched. It was fun.

Kiki as a gargoyle.

Kiki has returned to posing like a gargoyle on the arm of the chair after a break of several months. Currently, the two pillows that came with the small couch are parked in the chair because they are too bulky to fit on the couch and allow someone to also sit. It might not be too much longer before Kiki registers a complaint about the inaccessible chair. 

After lunch, I had the long-awaited physical therapy evaluation. The way the whole shoulder/neck mystery has played out so far, I wasn’t even surprised to hear the physical therapist didn’t have the x-rays that were done two weeks ago, even though the practitioner that ordered the x-ray and the PT are all part of the same medical group.

There was a questionnaire before I saw the therapist, and it included a long list of activities with yes and no answer options for existence of pain. Most made sense, but I couldn’t answer a couple. Can I “raise a bag of groceries to waist level?” That roughly equates to setting the groceries on the counter, so okay. That was followed by “raise a bag of groceries overhead.” Seriously? In what situation would that be needed? Can I “throw a ball?” Ummmm, had I known it would be a test question I might have tried it at home. Can I “lift a small suitcase?” Probably. It seems more likely the small suitcase would the thing needing to be lifted overhead, especially on a plane, but, hey, they went with groceries on that one.

In the exam room there were lots of questions, measurements of mobility, and pulling up of my head to take pressure off the neck which felt really good. There was some muscle poking and pressing and I got to use my highly scientific terminology which included “there was just a little rice Krispie pop,” and “my entire arm and hand feel like sparklers.”

The actual physical therapy begins Thursday morning. I left with a sheet of exercises to do at home, which will be pretty easy to remember because four of the five exercises are in the stretch routine we do every Sunday before we dance and I already do them at random during the day. Now I just need to make sure I do two sets of ten once or twice a day (depending upon the exercise).

Dance group was good, even with four or five people missing due to illnesses. It’s officially ick season. The ten of us in attendance worked on three dances and we adjourned on time. Several people wanted to get home to watch Dancing with the Stars. I wanted to get home to eat crackers and the rest of the cranberry and jalapeno dip. Tomorrow, I need to visit the store for more dip and also some chicken because I think the dip would be great mixed with cold chicken in a sandwich on multigrain bread.