Who'd a Thunk It?

Thursday, August 20, 2020

 Yesterday, Wednesday, I went to get the oil changed in my car. I already knew it was going to be more than the advertised $30 price on the sign due to synthetic oil. But I didn't count on having to replace two filters. 

When the guy came out with the old ones, it was readily apparent that mice had made a bunk house out of both. So the $65 oil change came up to $130 with the addition of the filters. I asked the fellow if there was a way to prevent the invasion of the mice. (I have known for years that mice use my garage all winter, if not longer.)  He said they could put a wire mesh screen over the reebersad and protect the whatsit. I asked how much that would cost. 

"Oh, the screen is free. We get a big roll of it and it's only a little piece. But the labor is two hours at $85 each."  I'll replace the filters next summer.

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The Comcast (Xfinity) technician just left. Boy, am I happy with his work! He started out with the box outside in the front, ascertaining that I was on a three way split, with a sloppy connection. He fixed that. Then he went around to the back yard and re-did all of that too long cable and lousy connection. Then downstairs, checking the cable in the cellar. Then he replaced the old TV box cut off about 3 feet of extraneous wire, replaced the modem, again trimming excess (coiled) wire. And now everything is ship shape and my modem speed is up to 100 (from about 10). He even checked to make sure that all of my devices worked (computer, TV, Harmony remote) before he left. Yipppee! 

I have to admit I had to giggle a bit when he had to go outside to get his cell phone to work. So there! It's not me. I really do live in the black hole of cell phone service.

I also found out the line that "customer service" was feeding me (on the phone) was hooey. That was the one saying they don't send out  a tech unless there is NO service. She even read me a 2 paragraph statement to that effect.

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A New Quick and Easy Keto Meal for Me! Ham and Egg Cups!

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Packing up my 'puter now to go to Emily's for some more baby sitting. I've already loaded my clothes and have packed up the food. Ciao!

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8-23-20

Here it is Sunday already and it has been a whirlwind of dishes, laundry, baby wrangling, and watching superheroes on Netflix with Emily. I love J and his sweet smile but, boy, is that kid active. Nana here decided on Saturday to take him out of the cart and let him walk through Lowe's and the supermarket. He had to hold my hand and, luckily, he didn't seem to mind. But he was running! I'm sure I looked pretty funny trotting next to this kid. At first, he was in the shopping cart at the supermarket and some particularly bouncy music came on. He liked it and began chair dancing in the shopping cart. When he got down and was holding my hand, he continued dancing and twirling. It was fun to see joy in action!

We went to the farmers' market in Bolton, Massachusetts. It was on the Town Common and it was a lovely circular setup -- with a paved walk which was great for pushing J. in the stroller. Right after a diaper change, I took him for a walk on the grass while Emily talked to her weaver friend. (Her woven scarves are gorgeous!) Then it began to rain. "I'll take the kid, you take the stroller," Emily yelled as we ran for cover. We made it to a covered bandstand area just as the heavens opened up in a very heavy downpour. 

The blue scarf glistens in the sunlight. Unfortunately, these scarves got wet in the downpour.

This is Angie, Emily's friend. Luckily, Emily brought the tent for her to use so she stayed dry during the rain.

I thought these gnomes were funny and I didn't see the masks until just now as I downloaded the photo.

These paper flowers were amazing and the woman had decorated each vase with something unusual -- a bow or a button, a painting, or a charm. Her bags were very colorful with a clear cellophane rectangle so you could see the bouquet inside.

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On Friday I drove from Worcester to Andover and got my hair cut by Sherylann. It looks great! And she got me some shampoo and conditioner for curly hair. The brand is milk shake so I hope I don't forget and drink it. (They don't call it conditioner, I forget what they call it. It's "product.") 

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I was just reading Dan Pedersen's blog and he was talking about what's "enough" and what he doesn't have enough of.

Here's my partial list.

I have enough of

weeds

hot weather

dust kitties

rude people

politicians

clothing

quilting fabric

pounds

I need more

flowers, perennials

social interactions in person

You know what? I don't really have a lot of needs. How lucky am I to be healthy, (too) well fed, have a roof ... the list goes on. I am really rich. But most of my wealth in in friends. Thanks, People!

I hope you all have a great week and don't forget your masks. I bought a new one at the farmers' market thinking it was plain black and when Emily opened it up to wash it, she discovered that it's covered in black bling! Woo hoo, just my style!

Cheers.

Well, That Was Different

 First: a groaner.

Did you hear about the farmer who drowned in a vat of chickpeas?

They think it was hummuscide.

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Last week, I spent Monday afternoon through Saturday afternoon at Emily's in Worcester. J was suspected to have a cold -- he had a drippy nose and the home daycare sent him home. 

I only had to provide childcare for one full day while Emily worked from home. It turns out, he was having an allergy attack. (My car was covered in yellow pollen when I left.)

Trying to be a good Nana, I busied myself washing dishes, folding clothes, and cooking. I had just gone grocery shopping when Emily called, so I brought quite a bit of food with me. Oddly enough, neither Emily nor J wanted to try the kimchi. 

J has learned the word "no" with appropriate head shaking, so suppertime has become an interesting exercise in "try this." Noodles with butter went over like a lead balloon. No pieces of roast chicken, no zucchini, no zoodles. Spinach was kind of funny: I put some chopped spinach in his mouth and he just let it fall out with a look of total disgust on his face. I hate to confess that we finally resorted to putting a tiny bit of ketchup on burger bites. I'm now calling ketchup "miracle juice." Otherwise, the kid would only eat string cheese and bananas and blueberries. 

He's a lovely, smiling toddler. My favorite was to watch him dancing with a children's video. He really can cut a rug! He has decided to steer his little car with his belly. Actually, he has learned that if he pushes with his belly, it activates the voice. He has all kinds of talking toys and books. It can be downright cacophony with four different voices and sounds going at once.

Add in three cats, one of whom is a senior citizen who needs extra love, and it was a busy week for me! But I was glad to do it and I was glad the kid didn't have anything I would catch!

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Zoodles for today's breakfast ramen (no ramen noodles).

Breakfast ramen

I never thought I would want one, but Emily gave me an egg cooker and I love it! It's a plastic dome that will hold six eggs and it will cook them either soft, medium, or hard boiled. The one above is medium. You put the eggs and some water in, plug it in and presto! perfectly cooked eggs. I'm in love.

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Monday

I'm baaaaaack! Actually, I just went for groceries and as I drove into the garage, the drizzle became a downpour. Boy, do I love my attached garage! It was just a cloud burst so I don't know if it will turn the drought aside.

The prices are outrageous. The cheapest steak was London broil for $6.49/lb. A recipe I have calls for rib eye -- not for this cheap Yankee! (I don't remember the exact price but it was something in the area of $14.00/lb.) I did splurge, however, on crab in a jar. It was hand picked. (How else do the do it? Machines?) I'm not going to tell you the price because I'm ashamed, but I really needed a treat.

On my way home from Worcester, I got gas for $1.98/gallon and today around the corner from me it's $1.99/gal. (When I left last Monday, it was $2.07/gallon around the corner.)

Oh! It looks like a rainbow is coming. I can't see it unless I stand in the middle of my street and it's still raining a tad, so I'll let you imagine it.

Here; you can look at a sunset from another day.

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I finally did it -- woo hoo! I won a game at Words with Friends!

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Yay! I got my mail in ballot for the statewide elections. Yay!

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Got great news from a friend who had a good check up at the Doc. Yay!

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Tuesday

Blink! At 3 a.m. I woke with a start and thought, "Did I turn on the chicken in the crock pot?!" Nope, I hadn't added the chicken broth either. After washing the pot, I started over with frozen chicken and went back to bed. That was after I googled it to be sure I couldn't cook chicken that had been at room temp for 9 hours. That was a big nope. Two hours max.

So this morning, I decided to make hollandaise sauce for my egg. Last time it was too lemony. Reading the directions, it said I could heat the oil on the stove (which I did last time) or in the microwave. DON'T HEAT OIL IN THE MICROWAVE. Unless you want a half cup of olive oil spewed all over. Sigh. (Thank God, I was making half the recipe.)

I'm beginning to get the memo. Today is going to be a difficult day. Let's see if I can turn this around.

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I don't know how I missed this in Feb. 2014:

Facebook introduced dozens of options for users to identify their gender today - and although the social media giant said it would not be releasing a comprehensive list, ABC News has found at least 58 so far.

Previously, users had to identify themselves as male or female. They were also given the option of not answering or keeping their gender private.

User's can now select a "custom" gender option.

"There's going to be a lot of people for whom this is going to mean nothing, but for the few it does impact, it means the world," Facebook software engineer Brielle Harrison told the Associated Press. Harrison, who worked on the project, is in the process of gender transition, from male to female.

Facebook will also allow users to select between three pronouns: "him," "her" or "their."

The following are the 58 gender options identified by ABC News:

• Agender
• Androgyne
• Androgynous
• Bigender
• Cis
• Cisgender
• Cis Female
• Cis Male
• Cis Man
• Cis Woman
• Cisgender Female
• Cisgender Male
• Cisgender Man
• Cisgender Woman
• Female to Male
• FTM
• Gender Fluid
• Gender Nonconforming
• Gender Questioning
• Gender Variant
• Genderqueer
• Intersex
• Male to Female
• MTF
• Neither
• Neutrois
• Non-binary
• Other
• Pangender
• Trans
• Trans*
• Trans Female
• Trans* Female
• Trans Male
• Trans* Male
• Trans Man
• Trans* Man
• Trans Person
• Trans* Person
• Trans Woman
• Trans* Woman
• Transfeminine
• Transgender
• Transgender Female
• Transgender Male
• Transgender Man
• Transgender Person
• Transgender Woman
• Transmasculine
• Transsexual
• Transsexual Female
• Transsexual Male
• Transsexual Man
• Transsexual Person
• Transsexual Woman
• Two-Spirit

So I have figured out I'm a cisgender female. Big deal. It kind of makes me wish for the old Compuserve chat rooms. For you youngins, those were online "rooms" where you could chat in real time. Most rooms had a theme and some were actively trying to "date." This was well before match.com or any of those dating apps. I went into one room, identifying myself as male. Frankly, I was tired of guys with the fetching opening line of, 'Hey, baby, ya wanna?' But also, I wondered if I were a good enough writer to pull it off. Prior to that I wasn't looking for anything in the general rooms (no theme except maybe over 40 years old) except conversation with reasonably intelligent people -- and all I got were propositions. And, no, nobody had their pictures posted. 

So, yes, everyone thought I was a man. It was sort of interesting, but I was disappointed in how everyone was fooled. All I had to do was compliment some women and they spilled their guts while I played the 'strong silent type' lacing my chat with a few jokes. Granted, this was years and years ago, but I believe it's still happening. I'm reminded of how one of the Sister Wives on TV was catfished. She thought she was having intimate conversations with a man and it turned out to be a woman who probably was after money, but I didn't watch more to find out the motive.

I love Google, but it's too easy to look things up and, er, digress.

Catfish is a term for someone pretending to be someone of a different gender to dupe another. Why is it called catfishing? Here's an explanation below:

"At the turn of the century cod fish were in much demand on the east coast. News of the tasty fish quickly spread across the country all the way to the west coast. There was however a problem. How could they get the cod fish across the country and still keep it fresh?

They tried to freeze the fish and send it by rail, the fastest means at the time. But when it was prepared it turned out to be very mushy and lacked flavor.

Then someone decided to ship the fish live turning railroad cars into huge saltwater aquariums. When the cod fish arrived they were alive but when they were prepared they were still mushy and tasteless.

After studying the cod fish someone discovered that their natural enemy was the catfish. This time when the cod fish were put in the tanks, they placed a few catfish in with them. Those catfish chased the cod fish all the way across the country to the west coast.

This time when the cod fish were prepared, they were flaky and had the same flavor as they did when they were caught fresh and prepared on the east coast. You see, the catfish kept the cod from becoming stale."

I still have some questions as to how that term applies to humans, given this tale, because catfishing in humans has a nefarious purpose. But it's a good story, even if it's a fish story. I wonder if those cod were really skinny after running from their enemy for a week.

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More on my annoying day list: the new trash company has switched my trash pickup day from Monday to Thursday. I barely remember to put it out on Sunday night, now I have to remember a whole different day! The recycling will be picked up only every two weeks, which is o.k. if I can remember what week it is ... luckily, they have given us such a huge recycling container that I didn't even bother to put it out last week. In fact, it would do well used as a casita ...

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Wonder of wonders, Comcast is sending a technician out on the 20th. I sure hope they don't try to charge a trip charge.

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I just had a lovely time at Jon, Farah, and Sofia's patio next door. I brought my own chile relleno and Jon cooked the peppers on the grill for me. The stuffing was the previously mentioned shredded chicken from the crock pot. It all was topped with some store bought salsa. Yummy. We played some bocce which Sofia calls lawn bowling. It was fun and Jon talked about making a bocce court in his front yard. I suggested rather than adding pulverized rock, he might consider just shaving his lawn to a bocce-sized court. We might have to get a cappucino machine and get some cigars to bring on an authentic atmosphere. I didn't say in front of Farah and Sofia that in my youth I only saw old men, no women, playing bocce. It's a lovely night and just 74 F. so I've got the windows open.

Part of my good day yesterday was in receiving Dan Pedersen's "Final Passage, Mystery on the Alaska Ferry." I have started reading it and it's pretty good. I'm pretty sure I ordered his first book at the same time, so I'm a little annoyed to get book number two first. I think he has about seven books. Somehow, I don't know how, I started following his blog and he seems to be a very nice man who lives with his wife on Whidbey Island. I also gleaned from his bog that he has leukemia.

Well, I'm going back to Pedersen's book. Now that the TV is off, I don't really mind keeping company with a fan and the frogs chirping away outside. I'm just hoping the skunks are somewhere else. (But I did put the kitchen fan facing out just in case I have a smelly visitor.)

Have a great week. Cheers, Tina

More of the Same

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Checking under the kitchen sink today, I ascertained that I do not need to buy sponges nor a new mop sponge. I also found a new Keurig charcoal filter. Yup, cleaned the Keurig stem to stern, while the load of towels dried, and while the dishwasher chugged along. I scrubbed and disinfected the kitchen sinks while I was at it.

Needless to say, I am feeling much better. Today is the first day with no cold symptoms, just a bit of sinus pain but that's because it's raining. I made it rain by watering my container basil and tomato plant.

This is Phyllis' lily -- and her photo -- I love the really dark color!

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Tuesday, August 4

While making Maria Emmerich's ramen recipe, I learned a lot of new things.

1. Grate your ginger first. It takes a while.

2. You can't use Phyllis' giant zuccini for successful zoodles -- it wouldn't fit into the zoodle maker!

3. If you're trying to cook a soft egg in the microwave (even after you break up the yolk) always cover it. (Yes, cleanup on the microwave in aisle 1!)

4. Finally, no the chicken broth is not dark. You picked the box of beef broth. (It still tasted great.)

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Back Yard Blooms

Tuesday. We have another tornado watch. It's raining a bit but the storm doesn't look virulent. I really wanted to go out but "they" are telling us to hunker down until 9 p.m. At this point, it's the TV weather people saying that. This storm is coming from the southeast, which sounds like Connecticut. They had a touchdown of a tornado last time. Woo hoo! They just cancelled our tornado watch (5:30  p.m.).

However, the power went off for two hours starting at 8 p.m. We lucked out because some people in the neighborhood were without power for over 14 hours.

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Thursday

The power went out last night (Wednesday) and I was a bit frantic because I only had 32 % charge on my cell phone. Rhonda up the street texted me and said she had a charger with more than one port. So I took my mini LED lantern and walked two houses away. Wow, was it ever dark! Couldn't even see any stars. We quickly figured out I didn't bring the right cable but I still stood on her front porch talking. That is until -- oh, my God! -- a skunk let loose. I quickly walked away. I guess I'm always interrupting skunks' naps.

As I walked home, suddenly the hair on the back of my neck stood up and it felt as if someone was right behind me. I yelped a bit only to sense someone running in the middle of the street. He did have a light, but I didn't see that until he passed me. And to further jangle, every 6 seconds or so, he blew out his air in a big snort. (Why was he doing that? someone asked. How the hell do I know?) I thought he must be mentally unstable to be going for a run during a black out and running in the middle of the street. 

The power was only off for about a half hour. Just as I was going into my garage to see if I could open the door (and charge my phone in the car), the lights came on. That is also when I discovered that I had left the car in the driveway thinking that I would go out later. I didn't. Oh, well.

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Thursday was a busy day for me: Went to Bed Bath and Beyond for a battery for my bathroom scale; went to my PO Box; went to the pharmacy; went to the grocery store (only for mushrooms and it's right next to the pharmacy); went to Target.

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Went to Target. As I was approaching the electronics section one of the two 12 year old  (TYO) was saying to a male customer , "And an old lady was yelling at me." I'm thinking not all old ladies are hard of hearing.

Me: I need a battery powered phone charger.

TYO 1: Like for ... ?

Me: If the power goes out, I want to charge my Android.

TYO 1: Oh, you need an external battery. (Isn't that what I just said?)

Then he turns to TYO 2 and says: She needs an external battery to charge her phone. Show her where they are. 

The hand over is because another customer -- a guy -- showed up.

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Friday

I just spent 45 minutes scrubbing my white garage door with a hard bristle brush and Mr. Clean. The &^%$Lawnmowing Guys had sprayed the door with grass clippings. They hadn't washed off in the storm(s) so I had to do it. It was as if the grass clippings had been glued on. I am not amused. And it's still not right but that was all I could take in the sun.

Saturday, 8-8-20

I finally decided to check out my new phone charger and it wasn't fully charged. The guy in the store didn't bother to tell me that I needed a USB cable that plugs into an electrical outlet. I found one that goes to a camera, but I was really ticked that he didn't mention that. I still like the cover. It's mostly white with a purple swirl. Just now during the most critical part of a Law and Order, the TV has frozen and then gone to black. Oh, it's only on this channel. So I'll never know if the good guys win. 

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On Friday I picked up a puck, which is a wifi gizmo that the Munson Memorial Library lends out. It creates a wifi network. It seems to be much faster than my Xfinity network (they are also my cable TV). My Xfinity network has been "unstable." They are also known as Comcast, btw. I spent about a half hour on the phone with customer service and the end result was 'normally we would send a technician out, but due to the pandemic, we only send one if there is no service.'

While I waited for Sue, the Branch Librarian, I enjoyed the garden and snapped some pictures.

I had been thinking for a while that I wanted to find my bocce balls. Yesterday, they jumped out at me in the garage. Don't be silly, they are in a nifty black carrying case. No, there were balls rolling all over.

Sofia (next door) and I played a couple of games on my front lawn. The grass is too high so we had to put the white ball on a pile of leaves so we could see it. I'll have to find something else to raise it up next time. The kid beat me. Every. Time.

It was kind of like playing Words with Friends. I never win.

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I'm having great fun with my new wifi mouse that I picked up at Target. Yes, I had one years ago, but it was kind of kaput. This one is bigger and it's teal. :)

It's almost Sunday (11:53 p.m.) so I will close here. I'm pretty much at the end of my productivity although I might get the clothing out of the dryer. I'll empty the dishwasher and dish drainer tomorrow. 

I hope you all are having a great time. I have been having a good time making some of Maria Emmerich's recipes. The trouble is, they don't look as beautiful as in her book so I haven't taken any pictures. Maybe I should take a picture of the pictures in her cook book! They taste great.

Cheers!