Where, Oh Where, Is It??

So I'm feeling all kinds of virtuous because I have switched to decaf coffee. Why? I went (feeling even more virtuous) to donate blood and after filling out 53 pages of questions, she took my blood pressure and rejected me. "Did you have coffee?" she asked loudly and sharply. I replied that I had, indeed, had a cup of coffee. So I have switched.

I already knew that Intelligblends has a decent tasting dark roast decaf. And I can't beat the price of $0.39/pod so I happily ordered a box. The boxes have 100 pods and are unwieldy but the price is right. And they are biodegradable!

Anyhoo ... I waited for the new shipment all the while wondering how long it would take because I was running low.  I say was because I am OUT of coffee!! I am totally addicted to decaf!

When the coffee company sent me an email telling me that the coffee should arrive in one to two business days, I was thrilled particularly since there is a link to track the package. I went to my post office box yesterday -- no coffee. This morning I checked the tracker and look what I saw:

Tracking Number

4200100492612927004886230004661684 

Reference Number

3400794 

Status

InUSPSNetwork 

Destination

AMHERST, MA 01004

Carrier

United States Postal Service - Parcel Select Delivery Confirmation 

Date	Time	Description	Location
5/2/2018	04:48 AM	Arrived at USPS delivery unit	AMHERST, MA 01002
5/1/2018	10:14 PM	Processed by USPS	SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152
5/1/2018	02:30 PM	Delivery Exception	NORTHAMPTON, MA 01060
4/30/2018	07:00 PM	Arrived at USPS delivery unit	NORTHAMPTON, MA 01060
4/29/2018	05:46 PM	Departing Carrier Facility	Elizabeth, NJ 07206
4/29/2018	06:00 AM	Arrived at Carrier Facility	Elizabeth, NJ 07206
4/26/2018	12:15 AM	Departing Carrier Facility	COMMERCE, CA 900403416
4/25/2018	03:20 AM	Electronic Information Received by USPS
4/25/2018	02:22 AM	Electronic Information Sent to USPS
4/24/2018	06:46 PM	Inducted into Carrier Network	COMMERCE, CA 900403416
4/23/2018	07:06 PM	Shipped from Client	San Diego, CA 92121

Arrived in Amherst today at 4:48 a.m. Wahoo! But look closer -- the package arrived in Northampton, which is 7.8 miles away; then it was shipped to Springfield which is 25.6 miles away. Then it had to travel another 25.6 miles back from Springfield to Amherst.

I am not a mail professional, but even I can figure out it would have been shorter to bring it to Amherst from Northampton. The kicker is, I still don't know if it's in my mailbox because I have to drive to the post office to see if it's there. All new mail is put into the PO boxes by 11 a.m. -- but they just might have to send it to Boston first.

Oh, yeah. I did have coffee -- I drove to the Dairy Mart around the corner. I had to have some because the electrician was supposed to be here at 8 a.m. and spend four hours changing the electrical panel. I even set my alarm for 7 a.m. which is a good thing because one thing and another kept me awake until 2 a.m.

Imagine my consternation when, at 8:45 p.m., I called the electrician. "I forgot to write it down in my book. How about tomorrow?" But wait there's more.

As I'm grumbling about that, the doorbell rings. A guy I talked to yesterday -- who was supposed to CALL me between 9 and 10 a.m. -- has shown up all ready to wash the house. There's all kinds of green mold on the north side. At this point, I was not a nice person.

He's still here and I went out to see the progress a while ago. It looks fantastic. I'm really happy (and very sleepy). I may just have to take a nap after lunch.

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It's here! It's here! Of course the box of coffee pods looks like someone drop kicked it. Oh well, I'm going to make some iced coffee. It is currently 86.6 F. -- yesterday it went from 40s to 70 F. or so. We had one day of spring ... now it's summer!

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Two days later and I'm still complaining (will she never stop?) ... well, not really complaining. But I am hotter than uh, uh, uh. We had one day of spring weather in the 70s and now it's well over 80s by the end of the day. There may be some relief today since it's only 76 F., but the sun isn't out and the clouds may clear soon.

Since it was overcast and the rain had softened the ground, I went out and pulled weeds (I have the best dandelion crop in the US) for an hour. Somehow, my body hits the breaking point after one hour. And there's so much left to be done! I am determined, however.

As of yesterday, the house has been power washed and I have had a new electrical panel installed complete with (formerly missing) grounding rods. I sort of wish that the electrician hadn't informed me that he found two dead snakes which had been fried in the electric meter box. But I'm glad it was just their skeletons. 

Heat made the tulips pop.

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It's now May 11 and 59 F.  Which is a very good thing because I just spent 6.5 hours at UMass Commencement and if it were any hotter, I would have melted. I was one of 22 golf cart drivers and we ferried people with disabilities from the handicapped lot to the stadium entrance.

One young woman in her 20s had just had surgery on her hip and she had only walked for an 8 minute duration. I implored the security supervisor to let me drive her inside the gate as close as possible and he even told her where to sit so there would not be any stairs.

I took pictures but you don't really need to see me in a golf cart. Use your imagination. And even though I took pictures of the graduates-to-be, they were so far away that I don't think you can tell what that sea of black is.

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Last Saturday we went to hear/see Jim Gaffigan in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was an arena owned by Southern New Hampshire University.

We were up there with the birds, but they were really great seats!

From the left: Tina, Gracie, Sherylann, Emily

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I got some starter plants of lettuce and parsley. Again, the heat made them go !poof! and they grew like crazy. I had some of the lettuce today, making a chicken sandwich with lettuce instead of bread. It was good!

The lettuce is on the deck because it's on the north side and I was hoping they would stay cool. It's certainly cool at 59 today! Ooops, it's down to 55 F. at 8:30 p.m. I'm guessing it will get colder.

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I don't know what else I have forgotten to tell you. But I do have one story from today: some guys were talking about the offices that they worked in on campus. One was in IT and one was in Communications (which is a sort of IT department). The Communications guy asked the IT guy if he knew Ms. So and So. And he answered yes, but she had died a month ago.  She died two months after retiring! Nope, not gonna do it!! That's why I retired -- so I can enjoy it!

Everyone is envious of me. So if you're close to retiring -- do it!