random thoughts - Day 2,023 (Tuesday) - calls and caws

 It was another day of even more more of the same. Blah, blah, blah. Things hurt. Things were found. Things were accomplished.

Today, I was able to reach a human at the orthopedics office I'm trying to get an appointment with, after finding a different phone number than the one dialed yesterday. Even though my current insurance does not require a referral, I was told the ortho office has a policy that requires referrals, requiring me to reach out to my primary care office through the magical patient portal. The response from an assistant was that it's not needed by my insurance. Correct, but as I wrote in my original message, it's the policy at the orthopedic office and they won't make an appointment without it. A little later, someone from the primary office called me to confirm the problem needing attention and assuring me that the referral was being sent.

Meanwhile, I'm in pain. Throbbing, stabbing, cramping pain in the shoulder region. A lidocaine patch helped for a while. In the quest to find the tan suede skirt not found on Monday, a suitcase was opened and it contained all the fall/winter season office-type jackets. It is still not known if I'll ever need them again or not and they were hung in the closet while the job gods and jury deliberate. Still no suede skirt, and now the worry is that it was donated as part of a big clothing drop before the move. It wouldn't be the first time and probably won't be the last.

In the afternoon, I called the ortho office to learn that the referral had not yet been received and I still can't get an appointment. Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. Then I called my former employer financial institution to ask about closing two accounts I had methodically and strategically recently drawn down to zero balances. Luckily, this could be done over the phone. No branch visit required. Yay.

Bird on a wire.

The crows visited the front yard again with one in the tree and another on the power line outside the house caw cawing like they do. I could see them from couch from which I was watching the Turkish drama Shahmaran, which a friend recently told me about. The music is really good in the show and my Shazam app is getting a workout. There is a cool floor lamp in one of the homes and that inspired an online floor lamp search. It was found, is in the online shopping cart, and there is a very good chance it will be purchased before the week is done. 

Earlier in the day, there were noises on the roof that were weird enough that I got up and tried to determine which part of the roof was under siege. I looked up at the kitchen skylight and there was a crow trying to walk on it. The skylight is a bubble shape, so the bird kept sliding off. The bird left, and bless it's little heart, it came back twice more to try whatever it was trying to do. Maybe it is the equivalent of a birdie slide and it was fun. Each time the crow was sliding around on the bubble skylight, my cell was on the charger and I couldn't get a photo. Future photo goal.

I walked to the mailbox because my legs are still functional even if my upper torso is staging a revolution. In addition to collecting the mail, the plan was to drop the October lot fee check in the office mailbox. That's when I learned that walking on pavement made my arm, which had been kind of okay, hurt more. And halfway there, I realized I had written the check and then left it on the counter. I ended up driving back down the street to deliver it. 

random thoughts - Day 2,022 (Monday) - more of the same

It's a lot of more of the same -- aka "MOTS." Mostly anyway. 

Time is flying (still). It's Monday (again). The weather is crazy and we're back to summer temperatures (annual New England thing). The trash went to the curb with the usual one barely full kitchen bag and the empty bin came back to the top of the driveway (weekly event). I looked for a job (ongoing daily activity). 

In newer events, lidocaine gel patches were ordered from Amazon on Sunday because the system said they would deliver on Monday, but word was received today they are delayed until Tuesday. Or maybe Wednesday. Delivery dates shifting beyond the promised date (which is often the reason for ordering a specific item) are now the case more often than not. The value of the Prime membership seems to diminish daily. I grudgingly went to WalMart and bought some gel patches and they cost less (good to know). Amazon will be receiving theirs back.

The hunt for costume parts in the mess of moving was conducted in earnest today. Many costumes and parts were consolidated in the move, but several are missing in action, including a tan suede skirt that would be perfect for the Halloween events (maybe). That led to an online rabbit hole of costume parts shopping, too many new ideas, and a dozen new items in the Amazon cart to be revisited tomorrow (typical procedure). 

A message was sent to my primary care doctor about the totally jacked up shoulder area and the response was to "see Orthopedics." The primary office can set it up, but I'd rather not travel an hour for an office visit in their geography and they don't know any offices out here, so I'm now on my own finding one (fun times). It wasn't too hard to find a list of local orthopedics, but the phone number is a central number for what seems like a large practice and after sitting on hold for way too long with no messages or music to confirm the call is even still connected, I got testy and hung up. Maybe I'll have better luck with it tomorrow (delusions continue).

Frito pie. Sort of.

I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner because I love food. Lunch was veggie and cheese leftovers from Sunday's kitchen project. Supper was a version of the Frito Pie dish I had in Austin, Texas a million years ago at a marketing conference. I can't remember exactly what was in the restaurant version, but today I used rice, black beans, mushrooms, chopped broccoli, protein crumbles, hot salsa, and queso. There are leftovers. Life is good (still).

random thoughts - Day 2,021 (Sunday) - dance, pain, crow

Sundays are starting to settle into a routine. There is coffee, accompanied by the weekly job search certification with the unemployment office. There is the reading of emails. Then I move next door, cup of coffee in hand, for a short visit with Mom and StepDad before returning home briefly before dance group. 

In two weeks, we perform at the first of two Halloween events and we ran through our program today which is completely different from the program we did yesterday at the festival. 

Costume parts arrived this afternoon from Amazon, but according to past costume planning and the laws of probability and statistics, the idea will probably be change 100 times in the next couple weeks. The end result has as much of a chance of being completely different from the original idea as it does of going through several iterations and circling back to exactly the original idea. Time will tell.

The shoulder pain has expanded around the upper arm, into the bicep, and today's new development included the armpit. It's past the time for professional help on this one. Ice, tennis balls, and Tylenol just can't keep up. Driving was miserable and the Jeep seat and headrest felt like a torture device. This morning's drive included an icepack balanced on my shoulder. Weirdly, it didn't hurt while we were stretching and dancing but it was tragically temporary. When I sat in the car to go home it hurt all over again.

Crow in the yard.

There was a crow in the tree in the front yard today, perched on a delicate branch that looked nowhere near strong enough to hold it. It sat there calling and looking around and a couple times seemed to be looking into the living room window where I sat on the couch. Then it walked on the grass and pecked at some things before a couple more crows flew in and they all headed off on an adventure. 

After watching my crow friend, I headed to the kitchen for some slicing, chopping, layering, and baking of another vegetable, tomato sauce, and cheese masterpiece. This seems to be the food theme this week, made possible by multiple quick trips to the conveniently located grocery stores. 

random thoughts - Day 2,020 (Saturday) - dancing and whining

In the continuation of weekends busy with dance, today the troupe performed at an international festival in Keene, NH. Three of us who live near each other in the western edge of our dance realm carpooled to the event. We have several troupe costumes including lightweight skirts, but we had decided a couple weeks ago to wear our 25 yard skirts which are full and fun and look great on stage. The voluminous fabric is also hot, but the thinking was that it's the end of September and should be cooler. Except it was 80 degrees today, so yes, we kind of roasted. 

Other than sweating and suffering in multiple layers and giant, heat trapping skirts, it was a good day with some highlights. For one thing, the outdoor festival was next to a recreation center with a proper toilet facility. For another thing, there were changing tents near the stage area, but we didn't know about those until after we'd already layered up in the parking. We've never had the luxury of a dedicated changing area and usually arrive on site mostly dressed. 

The performances ran ahead of the posted schedule and we were sent on stage early. That worked out okay for us, because a couple of us had other events they needed to get to.

Two years old on a stone lion.

Near the stage was a lion statue which immediately reminded me of a picture in the family photo album for most of my life. The black and white photo is of me sitting on a cast concrete lion statue at Benson's Wild Animal Farm when I was two years old. 

In the early days of our family, we weren't exactly renowned for our photography skills, and there have been years of mocking over decapitated photo subjects. Whoever took the photo at Benson's managed to crop out most of the statue but keep lots of the sky. Of course, we all know that two-year old me in my sun hat and summer shorts was the star attraction anyway.  

As soon as I saw the lion statue today, I knew I wanted an updated photo on a stone lion, and a dance sister helped me out. Several of us had the same idea and before we left the event site about half of the troupe had climbed onto the lion for a photo. Getting on that things was trickier than first thought. There was laughter.   

Older than two, on a stone lion.

The heat was a challenge, but the hardest part of the day for me was my neck and shoulder. It's been hurting all week, and today it chose to be extra painful. There were stabby throbby pains near my shoulder blade, and the day's bonus content was pain spreading down my arm to my elbow. 

Luckily, I drive mostly left handed so my right arm could hang out and not do too  much, but even without being engaged, driving hurt. Being a carpool passenger hurt. I was able to ignore the pain during the dancing and focus in the general direction of the audience I can never see very well without glasses. It hurt during the carpool ride back to my car and then driving myself home, including when I breathed. 

The afternoon and night have been dominated by an ice pack and tennis balls for pressure. It's feels better with the ice on it, and as soon as the icing stops, it hurts all over again. I'm extra cranky as a result of the hours of discomfort and glad there is nobody around to suffer collateral damage.

The most frustrating part is that I was at the doctor's office on Thursday. My shoulder had been hurting for several days before the visit, but it wasn't hurting while at the office and I forgot to mention it in the barrage of information and stress of being there a day early by accident. It would have helped a lot if I had been asked if there were any recent issues or concerns instead of if my "family history had changed" which is the stupidest question in the world. History covers past events, and if you want to know about recent stuff, especially if any relatives have new conditions, please rephrase the question for clarity. And please consider asking the patient if there are any recent issues. Rant over. Where is the ice pack?

random truths - Day 2,019 (Friday) - family tree

My Aunt Theresa researched the family tree for many years, back before the Internet and genealogy sites, when getting information required letters, phone calls, and visits to libraries, town halls, and records agencies for documents and photocopies. When I was in high school or thereabouts, I remember being at Aunt Theresa and Uncle Ted's house with my parents and she was talking about her research and some of the people in the Simonds family tree. 

Aunt Theresa was especially excited about two historic figures. One was Colonel Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (26 March 1753 – 21 August 1814), an American-born British military officer, scientist, and inventor. He was born in Woburn, Mass., and is known for improved fireplaces and chimneys, and also invented a double boiler, a kitchen range, and a drip coffeepot. He supported the British Loyalists and was a spy after the outbreak of the American Revolution, and as a result, in 1776 he was forced to flee to London. Thompson also studied heat and friction and performed groundbreaking work in thermodynamics. 

The other family member that Aunt Theresa was excited about was John Chapman (26 September 1774 – 18 March 1845). He is more commonly known as Johnny Appleseed and was born in Leominster, Mass. According to genealogy sources, Johnny is my first cousin five times removed. Our familial connection is through his mother, Elizabeth Simonds. The same year ancestor Benjamin Thompson was leaving his wife and daughter behind and fleeing to England, John Chapman's mother died while giving birth to her second son, Nathanial Jr., who died a few days later.

Honoring Johnny Appleseed.

Johnny Appleseed traveled the country and planted 1,200 acres of apple trees in large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, the northern counties of West Virginia, and Ontario, Canada. He planted from seeds instead of trees grown with grafting. According to Wikipedia, apples grown from seed are generally not edible but are perfect for making hard cider, which was in high demand in the early part of the nineteenth century. 

In honor of family tree relative Johnny Appleseed's birth, tonight, I opened a bottle and raised a glass of Welch's chilled sparkling apple juice. I love fizzy fruit juice almost as much as I love an apple crisp or a big glazed fritter, both of which I now deeply regret not buying during recent shopping excursions. Cheers to Johnny Appleseed. Now excuse me while I run out for an apple pastry.

random thoughts - Day 2,018 (Thursday) - check-up

A year ago, my annual medical checkup was scheduled as I checked out from that year's appointment. My doctor has three offices that are conveniently located within 15 minutes of the house in Lowell, and I usually scheduled my appointment for first thing in the morning at whichever location where my doctor or PA had an opening. That allowed for minimal delay before breaking the fast and being able to have coffee and breakfast, and I could usually be logged in for work on time or close enough to it to not be an issue. 

This year's annual checkup was originally scheduled for 7:45 a.m. on a Thursday in late August. Under the old life with a job, I would be home from that appointment by 8:30 or shortly thereafter and be drinking coffee and logging on for a day of remote work. As soon as I moved an hour's drive from the Lowell life, I called to reschedule. Luckily, there was an opening in September at the less stressful hour of 9:30. 

This morning I got up at my old workday early hour, showered, and checked email before taking the drive to the Dracut location of my doctor's office. The traffic on Routes 2 and 495 was steady but tolerable. There were stretches where we crept along at barely 30 miles per hour in the drizzle before things opened up and we could enjoy a couple minutes blazing along at the speed limit before the next slowdown. 

The road where the medical office is located had a school in the midst of student drop off and I and the rest of the through traffic got to enjoy knucklehead parents unloading small children from vehicles, not via the door on the sidewalk side of the car, but on the busy traffic side, into the path of moving vehicles. I have seen this potential disaster too many times for comfort. Are they trying to kill off their children? Someone please explain it to me.

The Dracut office was quiet when I arrived. Despite a week's work of system emails and text messages where I needed to confirm my appointment, update my information, be reminded again of the appointment, and check-in online for my appointment, the receptionist couldn't find me on the schedule. My doctor wasn't even at the office today, she was in one of the Lowell locations. That's when we figured out it's because my appointment was scheduled for tomorrow. Friday the 26th, not Thursday the 25th. Just like it says in my daily planner which was on the desk all week and was now in my purse. Oops.

The receptionist was an absolute sweetheart. She called the other office where the doctor was working today and asked her scheduling assistant if they could squeeze me in. They could, as long as I got there within the next 15 minutes. I thanked her and headed to the other office. And all was good.

The assistant noted my weight and blood pressure. Now that I'm officially old, I got the fun test of remembering three words and drawing the time on an analog clock. The challenges were "banana - sunrise - chair" and "4:45" and I aced it so I guess that means I'm technically a genius even though there were no official declarations to that effect. 

My weight was lower than a year ago, which I suspected based on my shorts and "good" jeans fitting again and was probably due to the months of packing and unpacking. If it follows past patterns it won't last long.

Relaxing in the exam room.

There was time to relax in the paper outfit and decompress from the rushing around and feeling old and stupid and screwing up my appointment. Staring at the items in the exam room was preferable to the lobby with game shows with forced drama, fancy lights, dumb technical effects, and contestants attempting to display puzzlement over questions to which a five year old would know the answer.

Even though she was already running late, and even though I was squeezed in to an already tight schedule, Dr C didn't rush though my visit. I saw her annual disappointment when I confessed once again that I still usually forget to take vitamins. Just like every other year, I promised to try and do better. She told me to do muscle building exercises and asked if I was dating (no) and told me I should date and to date younger men because the ones who are older than I am likely expect to be taken care of. I got a flu shot and a pneumonia shot. Lab test orders were placed. Blood was drawn in the on-site lab with the personable phlebotomy technician who was fun to chat with. 

And I was on my way home, back into the traffic, which was much lighter at 11:30 than it was at 8:30. I was hungry and lacking caffeine and couldn't wait to be home. Hopefully, there won't be a need for another visit before next year. There is time to look for a doctor closer to home, but I really like my doctor and the in-office lab, so maybe it will be worth it to stick with her for a while longer. Maybe I can convince her to move her office closer to me. 

random thoughts - Day 2,017 (Wednesday) - fog and food

Foggy morning.

Overnight, there was much needed rain. I was first alerted to it by the sound of it hitting the kitchen skylight. At 2:17 a.m., I woke to the sound of heavy rain hitting the roof and it was comforting. I know the time because I like to play the "what time did I wake up?" game and checked my phone.

The morning fog and soft misty rain softened the view of the world beyond the windows. The neighborhood was muted like a watercolor painting or like looking through sheer curtains and it was pretty. The tree across the street that is changing into its autumn coat was shrouded in fog.

Later in the day, the fog had lifted or burned off or gotten bored and wandered away. The colors in the yard had sharpened. New ferns seem to be growing in the area that had been mowed several weeks ago. 

After the fog.

The muscular aches and kinks of earlier in the week subsided a bit today. Whether it was the result of the day of rest and stretching or just the benefit of time is unknown. I'm just glad it's improved.

The rain and fog bred the desire to be inside, specifically in the kitchen. Once upon a time, the kitchen activity of interest would have been brownies or some other baked goods. Somewhere along the years, I've stepped away from baking sweet things and shifted to savory dishes. 

Today, sliced vegetables were layered with tomato sauce, seasonings, and cheese and baked. Fresh out of the oven, it was lunch. Later, because I have no qualms about eating the same foods or versions of foods for days, it was reheated and plated with mini spinach ravioli for supper. It was comforting all over again. Tomorrow, more ingredients may be added. Or not. It's usually on a whim.

random thoughts - Day 2,016 (Tuesday) - achin' arse

 The past few weeks have been peppered with annoying aches and pains that make me feel like I'm 100 years old. It started with right side stabby gluteal kind of pain. Then it shifted northward to the right side neck and shoulder. Or more accurately, it was overshadowed by the neck and shoulder situation, because the glute thing didn't actually go away. 

At least the multiple pains had the decency to not act up at once. Until today. Everything hurt. Not crippling, just very annoying. 

On the floor.

When I was young, Mummu would roll my sore back with her wooden rolling pin and it always felt better. More recently, I had the fancy-level membership at Planet Fitness and would go there to sit in the massage chair or lay on the water massage table. The current home remedy of a singleton with no gym membership is to lean on a doorframe and press the offending area into the edge of the wood. At least with the aches on the same side, I could be efficient and press two aches with one door frame like a bear rubbing against a tree. 

It was uncomfortable enough that I didn't go to dance group. There was debate about whether dancing would make it better or worse. In the end, I stayed home and leaned on the door frame, laid flat on the floor, hugged my knees and rolled my back on the floor, and did some stretches. Hopefully, tomorrow it will feel better.

random thoughts - Day 2,015 (Monday) - pjs, roofing, and food

This morning had some interesting activity in the street. The lady across the street hauled her trash and recycle bins to the curb mid-morning while dressed in her nightgown and slippers. She reappeared in the same outfit a while later to add something to one of the barrels. Around 11:00, there was loud conversation in the street and a tall man in a bathrobe and slippers was walking in the middle of the street. He was retrieving his beautiful brown dog that had gotten loose and was temporarily lounging on nightgown lady's deck. A fully clothed care worker stepped down from the deck to facilitate the return of the wayward dog.

It's been a few days since I walked down to the neighborhood post office where all the mailboxes and various neighborhood messages live. Usually, there are reminders about overfilled trash bins, the speed limit, and the occasional missing pet. It seems I may have missed an important announcement about it being pajama day and I was completely out of the day's dress code, fully dressed in camouflage pants, a brown pullover hoodie, and shoes. 

There was 1:00 appointment with an estimator from a large roofing and siding company. I was late thinking about lunch because first I wasn't super hungry, and then there wasn't time for it before the appointment. I had been told to set aside 90 minutes for measurements, conversation, and estimate preparation, so a late lunch seemed okay. 

Two guys showed up in separate vehicles. Unlike the previous estimate with the guy who talked about himself the entire time, this meeting was educational and I learned a lot about the various layers  of roofing materials and their functions. After all the measuring, sample roof and siding materials were discussed. An image of the house on a laptop screen had different roofing and siding colors and styles applied. That exercise changed my mind about the style of siding I thought I wanted. 

The cost was a head-spinning eye-opener, but that might have been because by the time the sales dude began calculating that, two hours had passed and I was becoming very aware of the missed lunch and approaching a weakened state. The full-on sales pitch took us well into hour three and I was beginning to glaze over. I finally told the estimator I don't even buy a pair of shoes this quickly and there was no way I was committing to a such a major, non-urgent expense on the spot. This needs a spreadsheet and a couple more estimates. And no, your special one-day only discount won't get me to commit to your price, but it seems to be a popular tactic. 

Creamy butternut squash risotto
and sauteed veggies.

When they finally left after 3.5 hours, I sprang to the kitchen to make some food. It was a box of butternut squash risotto and frying pan of vegetables sauteed in olive oil to the rescue. The risotto was a spontaneous "hey, I'll try this" purchase and I will definitely buy it again once I figure out what store I got it from. The veggies included radish, broccoli, green beans, carrot, and zucchini, which are always on my "buy it again" list. I also may need to add pajamas to my shopping list if it turns out walking around the neighborhood in them is a real thing. 

random thoughts - Day 2,014 (Sunday) - sunshine and market

Orchestra under the pavilion.

The blue sky and sunshine were a brilliant backdrop for a Sunday Funday. The dress rehearsal for our dance performance next weekend was followed by a quick ride to Fitchburg for the Nordic Market and Classic Car Show at Saima Park. The market had vendors selling mugs and giftware, baked goods, honey and beeswax candles, tee shirts, and more under the open air pavilion. When I arrived, the FSU Community Orchestra was playing and the beautiful music wafted through the air. The on-site sauna museum and library were open for visitors. 

The day's candy yield.

The memory of packing and moving is still fresh because the unpacking isn't even finished, and I am acutely aware that I don't need any delightful framed graphics or coffee mugs with fun sayings no matter how cute they are. I bought some salmiakki, a Finnish black licorice candy that is definitely a love it or hate it item. I happen to love it, and even got a milk chocolate bar with salmiakki in it. Later, a bag of Australian black licorice was bought at Dollar General with some coffee. There may be a licorice comparison taking place.

After the market, there was a stop for gas and air in the tires. It was chilly overnight on Saturday, and all four tires needed air, as warned by the graphic on the dashboard display. It was another weird air pump, with no display setting or dinger at the 35 psi level, and I ended up overinflating three of the tires. I don't understand the Fitchburg air pumps, and boy, I miss the ones in Lowell and Dracut. 

Back at home, the rest of the roasted vegetables were heated and devoured for a late lunch. Fortified by the healthy greens, the apple peeling and slicing, butter melting, and topping mixing happened for the apple crisp assembly. 

Fresh apple crisp.

There were seven apples from Mom, which was enough for two 8-inch by 8-inch baking dishes of baked deliciousness. One was delivered straight from my oven to Mom's kitchen next door. The other dish was for my house, where two pieces of it were supper. Tomorrow, more if it might be declared breakfast because there are few, if any, stupid rules about food and time of day at my house.

random thoughts - Day 2,013 (Saturday) - windows and apples

Turkey parade outside the window.

The morning sun hit the front bay window at an angle that highlighted how streaky the glass panes were. Because the sun was still hitting the front of the house, the dining room windows at the back of the house were cleaned. Some, but not all, were cleaned when I first moved in and I couldn't remember which. 

Later, when the sun was busy illuminating another facet of the house, the front living room windows were cleaned. Sunday morning sunlight will be the test to see how thoroughly and well the windows were cleaned, but the view of the four turkeys parading along the lawn was extra clear today.

Roasted veggies.

Recent grocery store visits yielded vegetables bought with the intent to roast them. Today, there was some roasting of green beans, brussels sprouts, radishes, and broccoli tossed in olive oil with salt and pepper. 

The plan was to roast enough veggies to have a lot on hand for upcoming meals, but as usual, the small crispy charred bits were eaten directly from the baking sheet. Then, the first plate of roasted vegetables turned into a second and before long, there wasn't much left for other meals. Some, just not as much as originally hoped. But everything that was scarfed down tasted great. It's unlikely I would eat an entire baking sheet of raw vegetables, not without a stomach ache anyway, but once they are roasted, it's a different story.

There was supposed to be an apple crisp baking bonanza today using apples Mom got last week during a Vermont apple picking day trip. The plan is one pan for me and one for Mom's house. The Betty Crocker moment was delayed from Friday when it was discovered during the ingredients roundup that there was no brown sugar, the ingredient that makes the topping delicious. 

Ingredient round-up.

Today's grocery store visit was specifically for brown sugar, but once again, the apple crisp baking didn't happen. There had been a mental debate about baking the apple crisp before the vegetables. The vegetables were roasted first when it was noticed it was already 2:00 and there had been no lunch eaten yet. Suddenly, roasted veggies were the momentary obsession. After the veggies, the interest in apple crisp had waned. 

Maybe there will be an apple crisp made on Sunday. Or later tonight. Or whenever. It will be soon-ish.

random thoughts - Day 2,012 (Friday) - assembly required

Pieces of the 3-D furniture puzzle.

On Thursday, a narrow storage unit was found and bought from Amazon. The plan was to shift the dresser over and put the cabinet next to it in the alcove between the two closets. 

The cabinet arrived today, and the afternoon became one of light assembly work. As I tallied the number of home-assembly pieces built by my hands over the years, including three six-foot tall bookcase/shelf units, I decided I might have enough experience to get a job assembling floor display furniture pieces from a box.

The pieces were removed from the box and laid out on the floor. There were dozens of wood/pretend wood pieces and probably close to 100 screws, dowels, and connecting bits, plus tools. Instructions have come a long way since my first assemblies in the last century. Instead of confusing and poorly translated text, there are now detailed illustrations. As long as you can read Arabic numerals and the modern Latin script alphabet, you can probably figure out the instructions. 

Dresser plus cabinet.

The assembly took a couple hours because work expands to fill the time available and I had no other plans. After waking up with a crick in the neck, it was an entire day with neck and shoulder pain. My head turns to the left easily, but not very far to the right. The right trapezius has been screaming all day. The smell of the Icy Hot patch has opened my sinuses and I can taste the smell in the back of my throat. At least working on the three-dimensional wood puzzle let me focus on something else.

The narrow (8-inch wide) cabinet is now installed to the left of the dresser. Inside the compartments are fashion scarves, which were residing in a plastic quilt bag on the bedroom floor since the move. Bit by bit, things are coming along. 

random thoughts - Day 2,011 (Thursday) - victory and defeat

The scales of life seem to demand that each small victory must be counterbalanced by a defeat. At least that is how it felt this morning.

Dresser nook!

On the small victory side of the equation, the chest of drawers alcove was completed (at least until I decide to rearrange things again which could be as soon as Friday). A small area rug from Aldi, bought on Wednesday for the paltry sum of $3.99 was the catalyst, a great find after never hearing back from the carpet place about a remnant and persistently procrastinating on the follow-up. After trimming off a few inches from two edges of the Aldi rug to fit the space, the dresser was set on it. Then came the handcrafted dresser scarf (bought years ago at a church rummage sale), a framed embroidery piece (housewarming gift from friends), some black lacquer pieces, and a lamp. It felt great to have completed another little nook. 

Then it was time to hit the desk for job applications. There have been some great sounding jobs each week that I've jumped to apply for. Today's application involved uploading a resume, then filling in additional info for each employer, then uploading writing samples. I have a portfolio document with a variety of writing including billboards, customer testimonial ads, financial educational articles, event handouts, product literature, and recruiting materials. And ... the file is too large to upload to their system. I tried to delete a few pages from the PDF, but I don't have a version of the software that will allow that and I'm not willing to buy a subscription for something rarely used. Even worse, I can't find the source document in the original program it was created in to delete a couple pages and save it again. There was some muttering at the computer, but without an audience, yelling is kind of pointless and I don't want to freak out my feline housemate.

I tried to print the info that was already entered in the application session to capture the succinct, fresh, new writeups of job information for employer and accidentally closed the browser tab and blew away the entire application. The "Save and Continue" button clicked after each entry to move to the next appears to have been purely decorative. The only things saved were my name and email address. Hooray for technology. I think the robots are winning the revolution. The day's victory was feeling slightly overshadowed by an annoying defeat.

Electro Bolt!

In an attempt to gain another small victory, a small-risk, moderate-gain activity was undertaken. The hammer was fetched and the picture hangers came out. The extensive artwork was pawed through and a couple framed selections were chosen. The guest bathroom now has a framed photo titled "Circus Carriage Wheel." The back door entrance area now hosts a thrifted Electro Bolt poster that I wanted to mount on the electrical panel door, but it's too large. I finally figured out that one of the light switches under Electro Bolt is for a motion activated light at the back door. 

Things are beginning to click into place. The victories are ahead again. 

random thoughts - Day 2,010 (Wednesday) - sleep and sequins

An experiment has been underway this week. Instead of keeping the alarm at the old workday wakeup setting of 6:15 and then hitting snooze three or four times before finally getting out of bed, the clock has been set to 6:30. Then, when it goes off, if I'm still tired, the 'stop' button is tapped and whenever I wake up next is when I wake up. The wakeup times under the new process have been in the 7:15 to 8:00 territory. With no job in sight, it feels less important to adhere to the discipline of a (no longer relevant) morning schedule established to get up, drink coffee, relax, and get to a desk to be logged in for 8:30.

More brown than
orange, but still good.

The sleeping later part has been great, but it has led to broken routines and the day feeling shorter. This morning, when I opened Wordle, it was a welcome message instead of a streak tally because I forgot to play on Tuesday. Today, it's back to a win streak of one. Ugh.

Mom and I took a spontaneous trip to Amherst, NH this afternoon to a consignment store we like. The leaves along the ride are beginning to change. The consignment shop was loaded with Christmas decorations, but we were there because I wanted to look at some kitchen stools pictured on the website. On the website they looked orange, but in real life they are brown. It's not bad, just less exciting than I envisioned. I sat in them. Wandered around. Looked at other things. 

Despite the color difference, I bought them because the price was great, they are the right height, the earthy color still works in the kitchen, and they are much more comfortable than the shaky metal stools with wood seats that constantly need tightening. Luckily, they fit in the back of the Jeep and I was able to take them home right away. Now it is more likely that I will eat at the kitchen counter instead of on the brand new couch. 

Sequins and denim.

We visited a multiple vendor antiques market on the way home and saw some nice reproduction furniture, bona fide antiques, and modified more recent items. There was a creepy sad clown painting, lots of china and dishware, crystal, military items, vinyl records, books, and tons more. 

My eye was caught, as usual, by sparkly things in the form of flowers made of sequins. There was a denim jacket and jeans heavily embellished with sequin flowers. They really could have jazzed up denim days in the office. If it had been the right size, and if I wanted to start a career as a country singer or queen of the rodeo or something, I might have shelled out the cash. For now, I'll keep the sequins confined to the belly dance costumes. 

 

random thoughts - Day 2,009 (Tuesday) - phone calls and flora

The phone call to-do list gained a new entry today. It all started with a text that my cell phone payment was overdue, which was a surprise because I was sure I had paid it via online bill pay with the credit union. The bank transaction activity was checked and it was verified that the money came out of the account and the bill payment had a confirmation number. Then I called the credit union to ask what else might be checked. The outgoing payment was confirmed. The call center rep also helped me with some other account business, which saved me a visit to a branch and was a bonus.

The next call was to Verizon to ask what they could check based on the payment date and confirmation number. There will allegedly be a call back from a Verizon rep and I can also check the app. Unlike when I was a teenager and could spend hours talking on the phone, I had phone exhaustion after two calls and that was that. The day's planned calls were postponed. 

New favorite ramen? We'll see.

Other tasks were also delayed. The grocery list is short and there is no danger of starvation, so a trip to the grocery store was postponed, but there was a trip to Ocean State Job Lot. The Primary objective was a 2026 journal in the style I have bought there for about seven years. The styled they've carried for ages doesn't seem to be available this year so I had to settle for something else. A second potted mum and another solar Buddha lamp plus some curry ramen from a brand I didn't know were also acquired. Sweet and salty snacks were successfully avoided. 

Ideally, the mums will be set into the ground, but that will require digging up a stretch of grass along the side of the house. The front of the house is overcrowded with overgrown hedges, rhododendron, and hydrangea. The hedges were trimmed as much as they could be without losing all the greenery. The rhododendrons can't be trimmed now without losing the buds for next spring, which was learned the hard way at the Lowell house after a massive trim of the equally overgrown plants my first fall there was followed by a flower free plant the first spring. 

random thoughts - Day 2,008 (Monday) - pending

 It was a delightful day at home. Light cleaning. Trash and recycling day. Reviewing the inspection report and developing the list for the handyman. There was a call to the unemployment office with the intention of asking what the "issue" is in the ten weeks of pending certifications that read "This week is not being paid while an issue is resolved." 

A reddit thread about Massachusetts unemployment was scrolled while I was on hold not quite listening to the rotation of recorded messages. In what felt like a miracle, an agent came on the line after only 40 minutes. The status of my certifications was checked and I was told they needed adjudication and they were moved to the adjudication department. An update would be provided by that department. I still don't know what the issue is, but it felt good that a helpful human looked at it today and I was able to cross an item off the dreaded "phone calls to be made" list. There are still too many items on there.

There was a good amount of time spent sitting around watching Nashville on Netflix. I liked the show when it was a new and I was living not far from Nashville. I still like it, especially seeing the scenes set in places I visited like The 5 Spot and Ryman Auditorium. When I still lived in Tennessee, I applied to be an extra on the show and received a couple dates for filming. Then, as luck would have it, family arrived from Massachusetts to help me pack to move back home, and I couldn't very well split for entire days to be an extra on a TV show. 

In related news, the same situation happened this summer with a show that was taping locally. After I applied, the house sold, and when I received the taping dates I was again deep in packing. The dates included wardrobe guidelines and all that stuff was already deep in the moving pod. It might be a coincidence of timing, but it almost seems like the key to me selling a house is to sign up for TV show extras casting.

Later in the day, two dance sisters came over and we worked on the three troupe dances for the Halloween performance in just a few short weeks. One dance we've done a couple times, one was new for last year and I didn't learn it because I was on vacation on performance day, and a third is new for this year. It was fun and we'll do it again. 

random thoughts - Day 2,007 (Sunday) - potty talk

It was day three of the dance troupe trifecta. Friday was a rehearsal, Saturday was a performance, and today was regular troupe time and practice for another performance in two weeks. Then, we will immediately launch into preparations for a Halloween event in mid-October. Fall dance season has arrived. 

Potty party of two.

Today delivered another dance peripheral potty tale. Yesterday there was a portable potty at the event with a warning note on the door about it being "grody." Today, a visit to the ladies room in our new practice space had a surprise. The space is used for events and the large ladies room has two toilets and a sink. Not two stalls. Two toilets, side by side, with no partitions in the big room. Talk about a potty party. Curious, I checked the men's room and saw it has the normal count of one toilet in the room. Lucky ducks.

Going to the ladies room in pairs has a whole new feel at this venue and I have questions. First, WHY? Is this a new trend in toilet facilities that we should expect to see elsewhere, or did the contractor just forget to add the stalls here after the plumber installed the bowls? Does someone really think we want to hold hands while we pee or something? Insanity. Please advise. 

random thoughts - Day 2,006 (Saturday) - outside and in

The weather was great for Hubbardston Lions Club Field Day and dancing outdoors. There were light breezes, some clouds, neither too hot nor too chilly. We've danced at this event several times, and this year we had a new program and new costumes, so even if people saw us perform in past years, today it was fresher. 

Potty with a warning label.

The event vendors had honey and beeswax candles, soap, and lip balm; hoodies; jewelry; baked goods; cosmetics; and lots more. There were critters to learn about and interact with including a big tortoise, a snake, and some very fluffy chickens. There was a bouncy house and space with giant bubbles and balloon art. Entertainment included a capoeira demonstration, our belly dance performance, and live music. There was something for everyone. 

One source of entertainment was a porta potty with a warning label. A piece of paper taped to the door read "Bathroom out of service - You can use it but it's grody." Now there's an 80s flashback word. Do people really say that again? Gnarly. 

The afternoon included a visit from friends who delivered a couple chairs and a case of wine that had been stored at their house before the move. Now the wine rack has a reason to exist. We got the mirror attached to the console and later I got all the crystal returned to the cubbies. The dining table will be fully restored to order tomorrow. Or the next day. Or soon.

We almost removed the two window A/C units but I have no idea where to put them. For the next month or so, they will remain in the windows until I figure it out.

My friend even figured out how to get the recently bought Buddha solar lantern to be a lantern. It's entirely possible it was illuminating before and I just never checked it after dark to see it, but now it is illuminated and verified and the top step is lit. Now I definitely maybe want more of the Buddha solar lantern. We'll see. Maybe not.

random thoughts - Day 2,005 (Friday) - job apps and dance prep

Even without the schedule of Monday through Friday work and days where I can do whatever I want, Friday still has the special feel it always did. For now. Maybe with time and prolonged unemployment that will change. 

This morning was invested in sitting at the recently set up desk, butt in chair, applying for jobs. Two applications took most of the morning, and a third was bailed on when the step immediately after uploading a resume was a series of screens requiring inputting the same information on the resume. Insanity. Based on the many applications already submitted that don't demand this archaic step, I thought we were finally past that. Dear company based in the Framingham area, please join the current century. Seriously.

Pan fried bow ties.

After the job applications and the accompanying frustration there was dance practice, harder now that the sofa eats up space in the living room, but it sure is nice to sit on. After the practicing, there was lunch of pan fried leftover bow tie pasta tossed with black olives, roasted tomato carrot, and pesto sauce tossed with the last of the cream cheese. The tasty lunch was followed by some lounging about, adoration of Kiki, and word games on the phone. 

The dance bag was inventoried and costume components gathered for Saturday's performance. Veils, paillette hip scarf and halter top, black top for under the halter top, petal skirt, shoes for dancing on asphalt. Check! 

The practice space we used for years is in a building that was sold last spring and the  new owner made some changes that were not beneficial to us and the yoga studio we sublet from. We are now in a different (larger) space in a different town. 

New dance space!

The drive to the new space, much like the drive to the former space, is along winding, wooded country roads. One stretch of it passes a lake that sparkled in the evening sunshine. There are no shopping plazas along the way and I may have Family Dollar and Market Basket withdrawal pains, which were regular stops on the drive home for many years. 

We ran though our dance program and figured out spacing for the smaller number of us tomorrow. We have gotten really good at adapting our configurations to the number of us available for any given performance and tomorrow we'll have two lines instead of three. Costume colors were plotted. Tomorrow, we dance!

random thoughts - Day 2,004 (Thursday) - head screams and ice cream

This morning there was a phone call from a roofing estimator asking if we could push our appointment by a half hour due to a family emergency, which was a great question because I had forgotten there was a 10:00 appointment for an estimate for roofing and siding. It was booked barely 24 hours earlier, but not because I sought out a roofer, they had sought me via a phone call from an unknown number which I generally ignore. 

Lately, it's different, and unknown number calls are answered because I have resumes and job applications out there in the wonderful world of looking for work and there is a temporary self-imposed mandate to answer calls from unknown numbers because the chances are pretty good that a call from a company or recruiter in receipt of my resume won't be a number in my contacts. So I answered the call.

Like most of the unknown number calls, it was a sales call. Yesterday, it was a lady from a roofing and siding company calling to see if I was interested in either for my property. I asked for clarification on the address, because there have been a lot of calls recently from realtors asking about selling and service companies asking about buying at the Lowell address. Sorry kids, that transaction already sailed.

This was another instance of this, but the company also services Gardner, and I might actually be interested in roofing and/or siding for the new house, depending upon the cost. Both have some minor issues, so it isn't an urgent situation, but it might be better to deal with it sooner rather than in five or ten years. So Lily booked my appointment and verified it with the office manager and then kept on chatting. Forty minutes later, after hearing way to much about a divorce in process, two previous divorces, a thieving ex spouse in jail, and her starting over and questions to me about how to know when it's time to cut ties and move on (as if I was a life counselor or some qualified professional), I finally extricated myself from the call. 

Today, a half-hour later than scheduled which was good because I had forgotten and it gave me time to eat some yogurt drizzled with honey, the consultant arrived. I was in the middle of practicing dances for the performance on Saturday. He apologized for the tardiness and the family "emergency" (he added air quotes there) which was because a two-year-old had put something in the toilet and clogged it up. There was grumbling about a wife and his daughter next door and how he had to clean up the toilet mess and that is why he was late and I was thinking through most of it that I do not care. Like for real. This had nothing to do with the cost of a roof and is robbing precious time from my day.

This guy kept talking. He used to work for Sears. He used to run roofing crews. There was a crew in Lawrence that was recently visited by ICE and their schedules out there are messed up now. He used to live in Leominster. Now he lives in Hudson. He spent a lot of time talking about himself. And his wife. And his kids and grandkids. And still, all I could think (screaming in my head) was I DON'T CARE. This has no bearing on the potential cost of a new roof or siding on my house. I don' know if this was supposed to be some sort of bonding attempt but it wasn't working.

He then launched into some actual roofing conversation and kept referring to metal roofs, which were ruled out on the phone a day ago due to issues with metal roofs and skylights, at least according to the manager in the office. The magic word was supposed to be asphalt. There was a dissertation about the regular sales guy being on vacation and how he was covering. 

After 90 minutes of torture, there were finally some figures scrawled on a piece of paper and some rambling about a 5% discount if I book today and how materials costs have been going up so even though the estimate is guaranteed for a year, it could change with materials costs (so it's not guaranteed at all, apparently). 

Did he ask me any questions about the house? Only when it was built, and then he contradicted me and threw out a later date, even though I know the date from the purchase paperwork and a metal plate on the back of the house. There was a comment about how I wasn't easily entertained, at about the 80-minute mark. Correct. I was not entertained by a rambling, babbling dude flipping through three-ring binders with lists of past customer names who were references and rambling about who knows what. There was no simple conversation about roofing materials or color, despite a sheet with small samples attached. There was a not-so-soft sell about committing today or at the very least by the weekend because the regular sales guy will be back from vacation on Monday. I reminded him that his company called me less than 24 hours ago, despite me being on the national do not call registry, and no, I was not prepared to make a very expensive decision right this minute. 

There is now a sheet of paper here with some barely legible scrawled figures  representing an estimate. I was starving by the time he left and launched directly into lunch. Bow-tie pasta tossed with pesto and roasted tomatoes soothed my nerves.

Under the tarps at Kimball Farm.

Several hours later, the day improved dramatically when I met a friend for ice cream at Kimball Farm Ice Cream. It's apple season and we indulged in warm apple crisp with ice cream (vanilla for her, pumpkin for me). The decadent "dinner" was delicious, but the yellow stripey flying things were super annoying, flying into our ice cream and apples and all around us. We moved to another table, with no improvement. We started walking and they followed us. It went on until the sweets were gone and the paper bowls were in the trash. 

We walked around the property in the beautiful weather. There were quite a few people at the driving range, and a few people at the batting cages and mini-golf, but the bumper cars and boats and the gift shop were empty. What a difference a school night in September makes. When we were in there in July, the parking lot was packed, and so were the walkways, various food concessions, and all the activities. 

Getting to the beach was a total failure this past summer. Like the several preceding summers, I didn't even try to go, although this year was extra crazy busy with moving and such. But at least I had some fried seafood (July) and great ice cream (today), so I didn't completely fail at summer activities. And I'll try to do better with autumn events.

random thoughts - Day 2,003 (Wednesday) - sofa, so good

The living room now has a sofa. I was the ninth delivery of the day, and it arrived around 1:45 this afternoon. The feet were attached and the sofa was placed in the designated space along the area rug that had been shifted three or four times in the past two days. 

During light conversation with the delivery team I learned it was the last stop of the day and their next destination was lunch at Sawa Asian Cuisine and Lounge, which they highly recommend. We also chatted about other local popular restaurants Duguay's and Gardner Ale House and then they were gone. They also informed me the feet on the couch have rubber pieces to keep it from sliding. 

New sofa, slightly angled.

The rest of the afternoon was consumed by rearranging the living room rug and furniture for the umpteenth time. The sofa has been moved three times, using a combination walk / hip check maneuver. It was parallel to the back wall. It was sharply angled to be parallel to the TV. It is currently slightly angled towards the TV. The area rug has moved in tandem with the sofa. 

The armchair, continuing its recent grand tour of the living room, is in its third location for today, and it's 27th variation since arriving. While sitting on the sofa tonight and looking at the TV and the armchair, a fourth sofa location option has been developed. The merits of repositioning the sofa (and the rug) tonight or waiting until morning are currently being debated. 

Desk in the living/dining room.

The bookcase that was in the living room is now in the guest room. The desk, relocated today from the guest room to the living room, is in its second placement. It fits. I'm not sure I love it there, but the options are few. It feels a little wobbly but I can't find the Allen wrench used to reassemble it one or two weeks ago to tighten it up. 

For the record, it is infinitely more comfortable typing at the desk with a keyboard and mouse than being crunched in the armchair with the laptop balanced in my lap as I cramped up into a semi-permanent pretzel pose as it has been for the past five weeks.

The console, temporarily shoved in the dining area to facilitate the sofa delivery, is back against the far wall of the open concept living / dining room / entryway where it will likely stay. Crystal glassware still covers the dining room table because I wasn't able to attach the mirror to the console. It weighs a ton and I can't for the life of me figure out how I attached it by myself at the house in Tennessee. Until the mirror is attached, the crystal can't go back into the console and there can be no eating at the table. But, the table situation resulted in the clearing of a spot of the kitchen counter with the stools to allow for eating like a grownup, so that is another sliver of progress. 

The constant furniture rearranging of the past couple weeks feels like a total body workout and I may need to continue the activity purely for the physical benefits. It's certainly less expensive than joining a gym. 

random thoughts - Day 2,002 (Tuesday) - mess making

No dining happening here.

Every time it seems like a room is set up at the house, it has been messed up soon after. The crystal from the console, removed to facilitate the installation of the floating TV shelf by relocating the unit, is still all over the dining room table. It was a lovely couple weeks of having a neat and functional dining table. And dang, I have a lot of crystal. The console is temporarily set near the entryway, but needs to be moved out of the way for the couch delivery.

In preparation for the couch delivery on Wednesday, the bedroom, which had been my roomy oasis of peace and tranquility, today inherited the heavy cedar chest that had been dominating a small wall in the living room. On moving day, I had somehow forgotten about the cedar chest, which was odd, because I use it all the time to store out-of-season clothes and some vintage pieces that are in limbo waiting for me to decide what to do with them. The result of my forgetting was that it was plunked in the living room to be dealt with later. And now, it's later. 

Grilled cheese and tomato lunch. 

But first, it was time for lunch. A grilled cheese sandwich with mustard and sliced tomato was cooked up and then devoured with some potato chips. Yum. The eat-in kitchen counter is still a big mess, but grocery shopping has been in full force, the pantry is stocked, and the cooking and prep area is functional. I won't starve.

The hardest part of relocating the cedar chest was accepting the infringement of the bedroom space. The room that was so spacious is now a bit more crowded. The physical act of emptying it and dragging it across the carpeting was easy. But the living room feels extra roomy bordering on empty, which will change again tomorrow afternoon. 

After moving the cedar chest, it was the perfect time to begin the the seasonal wardrobe change. Sleeveless and short sleeve blouses were traded out of the closet and replaced with long sleeve flannel. Lightweight merino wool and cashmere sweaters started filtering into the drawers. It feels like an admission that summer, during which I failed to do any summer fun activities, is over. 

The Tuesday night dance group started the new season tonight, and I felt a little bit like a kid on the first day of school. The nerves kicked in when I couldn't find my storage bin of hip scarves, coin belts, veils. and tops. The last time I saw it or even thought about it was July when it was packed into the moving cube. Now it's somewhere in the confusion of boxes waiting to be sorted and dealt with. My yoga pants were found in a drawer, which was unusual because they usually also live in the sequin covered storage cube. The Tuesday dance bag still had a couple hip scarves and a veil, and the addition of my water bottle meant I was all set to roll.

The ride to Hudson from Gardner is much nicer than it was from Lowell because Route 495 is no longer a factor. We worked on a new dance and it was fun. The pace of the dance is a little fast, so it was challenging. 

Back at home, Kiki had emerged from her under the bed lair, and greeted me with meowing. She seemed a little stressed by the cedar chest missing from the living room, possibly having a flashback to what happened the last time furniture started disappearing. Or maybe I'm just imagining things and assigning my stress to her. 

random thoughts - Day 2,001 (Monday) - tea and shopping

For several nights since the weather got crispier, I've been wanting herbal tea at night. There have been a couple challenges to this simple desire including the absence of a tea kettle or microwave oven to easily heat tea water. A saucepan was enlisted one night but pouring water from the saucepan into the mug resulted in a lot of hot water all over the stove and counter. 

Finally, a tea kettle.

For several years while in Lowell, I considered buying a tea kettle and even went shopping a couple times for one. Any tea kettles found in stores I was visiting had lids that were jammed stuck or spout levers that took two hands to open or the colors clashed with the kitchen. As a result, the purchase was never made because the built-in over the range microwave and its beverage setting were working fine, despite mugs that got too hot and burned my lips and hand. 

Last week, while in Ocean State Job Lot, several brushed stainless kettles and one red one were found. That day, I was on a mission to find runners for the kitchen and laundry room and dismissed the tea kettle. Sunday night, I wanted fruit tea and skipped it due to the tea kettle/sauce pan situation.

Today, a tea kettle was procured. The red one was still at Ocean State for $9.99. The shopping didn't stop with the kettle. Finally, after years of searching for the house in Lowell and a month of searching for the new one, a piece of yard art I don't hate was found. And it was on clearance at 30% off. It's a 16-inch solar Buddha head lantern and will sit on the top step near the front door for now. When spring gardening takes place, it may be thoughtfully placed in a flower bed that is still to be planned. 

Buddha head lantern.

With two items in the cart, momentum happened. Sugar wafers. Coffee. Chocolate bar. Gummy candy. Sparkling cider. Brownie mix. Canned frosting (whipped chocolate; caramel). Definitely another occurrence of overachieving. 

Now that the Buddha head lantern is at the house, I think I want a couple more, especially if it turns out the little solar panel works and it actually illuminates. But where is the line between enough and too many? Two? Three? Six? A dozen? 

Should I go back tomorrow and buy the rest of them and figure the rest out next spring? The idea is tempting. There were also some fall plants that I didn't buy because there is currently no spot ready for planting them, but maybe buying them is the incentive needed to start digging. 

random thoughts - Day 2,000 (Sunday) - stuff and drama

On March 17, 2020, when we were sent home from the bank to work remotely, I started sharing a daily brain dump / ramble. I never thought that 2,000 daily blogs later I would still be at it. But hey, here we are. There has been a pandemic, remote work, hybrid schedule, summers lost to all work and little play, a bank merger, unemployment due to said merger, a house sale due to said unemployment, and a move to a quieter life. It hasn't been all bad.

TV corner shelf.

Day 2,000 had an accomplishment thanks to big help. The living room was rearranged for about the millionth time and the floating shelf was installed by StepDad today. I sort of helped, but my measuring and marking skills aren't what they should be and he really did all the work. 

The TV and cable box are now housed in a corner and on Wednesday afternoon when the couch is delivered the living room will be mostly done. The wi-fi router is proving challenging. Right now it runs from a splitter from the same cable outlet as the TV until a better solution found, which probably won't happen if I continue to not call the cable company.

Until Wednesday, the once tidy dining room table is buried in plants and small art pieces that were on the shelves in front of a window (relocated for the shelf installation), and crystal stemware removed from the mid-century console the TV used to live on, which was emptied to be moved across the room. The console will need to moved again to allow for the couch delivery. The whole house setup thing has felt like a never-ending logistics case study from my old production operations management class. 

Soup prep.

After the shelf installation, soup season was kicked ff with vegetable and lentil soup, inspired by the dreary morning and desire to use up some of the produce. Spinach, broccoli, carrot, onion, and celery were sauteed in butter and olive oil, then mixed with a can of lentils and a quart of vegetable broth from the freezer. It was delicious. 

After lunch, Mom and I went on a little road trip to a consignment store in a nearby town. The place was large and had a wide variety of stuff. There were china sets, tea cups, collectibles, clothing, vases, home decor (old and new), costume jewelry, military clothing, and all sorts of other stuff. It was fun. After that, we went to Marshalls and Market Basket. 

Kiki enjoys the view.

Kiki enjoyed looking out the window that was liberated of the shelf in front of it. She set her sweet little front paws on the sill and spent time looking through and over the hydrangea out front. Then I freaked her out by taking the mattress off the bed to set a bed skirt to cover the box spring. She was under the bed at the time, and once the mattress was slid off the bed and propped against the wall, the yowling began. 

Luckily, the bed skirt arranging and the operatic trauma drama ended quickly and calm was restored. At least until I cleaned the litter box in preparation for trash pickup tomorrow and the next act began. Little girl had a lot to say tonight.