gracegiver | Reading

Face. If no other ideas come to mind for what to draw, then sketch a face.

It's a cold day - upper 30s, but there's some sun at least.

I seem to be functioning at a slower rate than before the norovirus. It's now Life BN (Before Noro) and Life AN (After Noro). I have low expectations and that's okay.

I've started to shop more often at our nearby Family Dollar store. It's about 4 miles from home and that's pretty good. It's like a mini walmart with EVERYthing. It even has lawn furniture. I bought 2 plastic lawn chairs when I was in there this morning. I already had a bunch of the same kind of chairs that I bought years ago and they're not bad. You can't have enough places to sit when you are down back I say. I've been missing having a chair right beside the creek. We had a bench there last year but it was old and one of the seat slats broke. Dave will fix it one of these days but I don't want to nag so I'm just going to put the two chairs that I got at Family Dollar today in that spot by the creek. I think I will carry them down now...

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Happy Saturday!

I'm going to be doing a little maintenance today. It will likely cause a tiny interruption of service (specifically for www.dreamwidth.org) on the order of 2-3 minutes while some settings propagate. If you're on a journal page, that should still work throughout!

If it doesn't work, the rollback plan is pretty quick, I'm just toggling a setting on how traffic gets to the site. I'll update this post if something goes wrong, but don't anticipate any interruption to be longer than 10 minutes even in a rollback situation.

bill_schubert

Not great photos. Sixteen of the 22 we picked up. Maybe I'll be able to get more but I didn't want to disturb them too much. They were much more vocal yesterday when I took this. On the way down in the van they were all quiet and obviously terrified. Not so much now. They are beginning to get better. And noisier. Like dogs.

I went over to the shelter yesterday and did about four hours of intake assistance. Not exciting work since what they really need is to be sure the paperwork, all the computer entry, is done so they can get the dogs ready to be adversised and closer to adoption. But it is work I don't mind doing and it really makes such a difference for the staff who can focus on what they do working with the dogs. And I don't mind doing that kind of work. And I get to see the dogs all I want. I can always just go back and grab a dog and take them for a walk.

I thought that I'd be working on the Chihuahua intake forms but they had not even gotten to them yet. They had a different set of 9 puppies and a couple of adults that had come in the previous day. Entirely different but needed the processing documentation entered so I was doing that. It is an endless job. The staff is actually pretty amazing. They never seem to be overwhelmed.

susandennis

I went to bed too early and could not get to sleep. I finally did but then at 11:30, the electricity came back. I got up to plug in shit and turn off shit and then, of course, I could not get back to sleep. Finally about 2, I got up and watched the last 45 mins of a show I started in the afternoon. And then, finally, I went back to sleep. Julio and Biggie wanted breakfast at 5:30 so they got it and then I went back to sleep again until 7:30. I think, in all, I got plenty enough sleep.

My emergency hardware did great. Especially, my portable power station. It's the size of a children's shoe box and has all manner of DC outlets and 2 AC outlets and a big light. It cost me about $70. (not available any more so no link but look for 'portable power station' - there are a bunch the size of children's shoe boxes that have the outlets.) I charged it up when I got it in the fall of 2024. When I turned it on yesterday, the charge was showing 100%. I plugged my bed into it and got the head raised for sleeping. I plugged my toothbrush/water pick in and got my teeth ready for sleeping. My plans this morning were to have plugged my coffee pot in to make a cup, plug my induction plate in for scrambled eggs and my toaster in for, well, toast. All easy and doable. And, doable, probably for several days with no more charge required.

Another thing I could plug in but maybe wouldn't would be my toilet. For more than a decade now my toilet has sported a bidet that includes a heated seat. My ass is just used to the finer things and sitting on a ice cube is just a shock it does not appreciate. But, I guess, sacrifices need to be made. It (my ass) loved that the juice was back on this morning.

Timber Ridge sent an email last night saying breakfast would be served at 10 this morning, lunch at 1 and dinner at 5. They totally know how to handle buffets for all of us now. AND the meals today would be complementary. I'm guessing they are still going with that plan. And then tomorrow back to normal.

Oh and unlike last time, when the wifi came roaring back as soon as the electricity did which was very nice to see.

In other news, the IRS sent me an email saying there was news so I checked Where's my Refund which is way easier than logging into my account and, sure enough, they are promising the refund in my account by Thursday.

Volleyball was called off for today yesterday afternoon. Elbow coffee starts at 10 but that's when they are serving breakfast downstairs so it may be a no go.

I may watch the Mariners game. I for sure will be putting all my emergency supplies away, hopefully for a long time.

mallorys_camera

The chicken flock waits beneath the porch to say goodbye to me when I trudge off to the office because I always give them tasty tortilla treats.

Only yesterday, when I went out, there were only three of them instead of four.

I went back inside and asked Icky, "Do you know where the other black chicken is?"

Icky shrugged, unconcerned. "She probably wandered off somewhere on her own."

When Icky is in residence, I leave the chicken wrangling to him. They are his chickens after all.

Still, this was weird. The chickens travel in their flock of four. Icky had only let them out of their coop about an hour earlier when presumably, there had been four. I hadn't noticed any feathers around, as one might have had a predator grabbed the other black chicken.

###

I went off to the Montgomery Schlock office where I literally spent three hours gabbing to Gary, my 350-pound coworker, and doing absolutely nothing else because there were no clients. Gary showed me the journal in which he chronicles his weight-loss journey and his financial transactions. He is 29 years old and has already accumulated $40,000 in investments, working Schlock and another job as a residential counselor at a home for adults with developmental disabilities. Gary is very, very smart—and very, very sweet.

"By the time you're 35, you'll have your life entirely where you want it to be!" I told him. "You'll have lost the rest of that weight, and you'll have someone who loves you and a house—"

###

Back at the casa, I puttered. And when twilight came around, I looked out the window and thought I espied all four chickens pecking for insects just outside their coop.

Icky was out.

So, I waited another 15 minutes and then went outside myself to shut the chickens up for the night—

Except there were no chickens at all in the coop.

I left the coop door open, ran back to the house, and began one of my weird, atavistic prayer rituals: Please, Universe, please! Make the chickens be okay!!!

How could this be?

Where could they have gone?

Frantically, I texted Icky.

When he got back an hour later, I accosted him equally frantically: "Did you get my text?"

"No. What?"

"The chickens!"

He went back outside, returning five minutes later, frowning. "Only two are in the coop."

Two?

But that was two more than had been there when I'd checked.

So maybe the other two were still around somewhere? Nesting on a brood of eggs they'd laid in some underbrush?

###

I spent the night reading up on Reddit on True Tales of Amazing Poultry Runaways & Returns. There are a lot of them.

Molly ran away for an entire month shortly after you moved here, I reminded myself. And you didn't see any evidence that a predator got the chickens.

Still, my heart feels broken this morning.

I don't hold up The Umbrella of Protection very well.

I can't take sufficient care of innocent little creatures that depend upon me.

I can barely take care of myself.

Why can't I live in a Universe where innocence & a pure soul are valued? Surely, in an infinity of parallel universes, such a Universe exists! Why am I trapped here in a world where competitiveness is baked into the evolutionary process so that only implacable indifference and occasional cruelty prosper?

###

Sórrow’s spríngs áre the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It ís the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.

rejectomorph

Groceries have been semi-successfully fetched, but Safeway was entirely unstocked with my favorite donuts. I chose a substitute, but not with any great pleasure. More annoyingly, I forgot to order a couple of items, and worse still, It turned out that I did order something that I thought I'd forgotten, which has created a dilemma.

The thing I thought I'd forgotten but didn't was a can of frozen orange juice, which the person who bagged the groceries put with canned goods instead of with other cold items, and thus I didn't discover I even had it until it had thawed. I had already put my old can of frozen orange juice into the refrigerator to thaw before I found the new one. I don't think it can be re-frozen, and I don't have room for another bottle of reconstituted orange juice in the refrigerator, so I don't know what to do. The perils of being a stupid old guy who shops at a store that hires stupid young people.

But the worst local news of all is in the weather forecast. Friday, March 20, one week from today, is the vernal equinox, the first official day of spring, and the forecast is saying the high temperature that day will be (gasp!) 91 degrees. 91 fecking degrees! I've been hoping for a mild spring, and now this! And March 19, the last official day of winter, is going to be 90! 90 degrees in winter! Good grief, what will July be like? I fear finding out.

But I had an artichoke for dinner. It was tasty, and easy to prepare. I even remembered to soften the butter. It doesn't make up for being without my favorite donuts for two weeks, but at least the day wasn't a total loss.

susandennis

We still have tons of snow. But, we are seriously lacking tons of electricity. Puget Sound Power shows most of Issaquah and the surrounding areas are all dead zones with no ETA. Timber Ridge is not dead thanks to a marvelous generator but... We have lights in the hallways and power outlets in the elbows and the elevators work and the kitchen works.

But... no power in our apartments. I, somehow, am getting a teensy bit of wifi and I have my phone which does pretty good for internet except in the bedroom.

They can rig the generator to include hot water if this goes on for days. Last time it was 6 days.

Also last time, as soon as the power went out, Bonny packed up and went to her daughters. But, now her daughter is not speaking to her. OOOOPS Jackie has worked for weeks on a gynormous Kiwanis charity dinner tonight which will now not happen. Jim Down the Hall leaves in the morning for a massive road trip with his son, IF they can get out of Issaquah! He told me tonight that he plans to hook up with my brother!

Jim across the hall is now pretty convinced, I hope, that it's more than just him and he didn't cause it.

I have my emergency lights, two lanterns, spare batteries and a big battery that takes nearly any kind of plug there is and I can recharge it in the elbow if need be. So... all is sure not terrible.

And... it's still snowing!

summersgate

I love rainbows. I got it done and hung this afternoon. I think I'll keep it for myself, I like it so much just as it is.

It's been a dark and windy, rainy day outside today.

susandennis

and

mallorys_camera

Who's winning the Iran War?

Russia!

Trump just suspended economic sanctions 'cause the U.S. needs that Russian oil!

If anything can convince you that war in particular and nationalism in general are nothing more than a lethal playground squabble, that particular bit of info should be it. No need for sophisticated analyses. The playground bully—that would be the Trump administration—is always arbitrary when it comes to enemy lists.

Between scarcity & price gouging, gas will be $5 a gallon by the end of March, and increases in the price of fuel will be baked into every good that relies upon transportation. In the consumer price index, what goes up does not go down, so we are looking at permanent price increases.

The economy was already struggling before Trump miscalculated Iran. Revised estimates for GDP growth during the last quarter of 2025 are just .7% while January inflation was 3.1%. We are running very fast just to stand in one place.

###

Is any war a "good" war?

I would say military actions undertaken to quell forms of ethnic cleansing are probably justified. Genocide should be prevented. Thus, WWII was a "good" war; ditto the 1995 NATO airstrikes that ended the Bosnian War.

But what are we looking at exactly in Iran?

I am beginning to think the Universe would be much better off without human beings.

susandennis

Well, that was an adventure! By the time I got my car out of the garage it has stopped not snowing. It was actually coming down fairly steadily in huge flakes. But, I ventured on, slowly. I had left way early. I didn't have any trouble really. Until I got out of the car. I have boots. But 1. They are way up high in the closet and not worth the trouble getting down and then I was going to have to take one off when I got there anyway plus 2. I forgot.

It was wet and slushy and felt pretty slippery but I made it inside. And was greeted warmly by the receptionist who thanked me for coming on in! I got all entered into the system and paid my copay and then went upstairs to my doctor's waiting room. Before I could even match butt to chair, I heard "Susan?!". I laughed at her and complained that last time she did not even let me get my game up on my phone and this time I didn't even get to sit down! She countered with "more bad news, he's all ready for you."

I was back in my car by 8 am for my 7:50 appointment in the snow! I went downtown and picked up my packages and then stopped at UPS to turn in my returns and then home.

Still snowing and there were a couple of dicey spots. I had a hard time get out of the parking spot in one case and then, I was stopped, on a hill, waiting to turn left and slid a little. So I was very glad to get to my garage door. But then it wouldn't open. No big deal. I called security and he came down, opened the door, and pointed out that had I just cleared the snow off my license plate, the door would have opened fine. And it was the security guard who doesn't really like me anyway. Another notch on his belt. Bone. Head.

I did not get gas. Another day. It will be more expensive but around here, it's always expensive so big whop. On the news last night, they said that gas might soon be up to $4 a gallon. It's been $4 a gallon here for several years.

It is now 10 am and it is still coming down. (The receptionist at the doctor's office said she heard it was supposed to go until noon.) It's very pretty. I've killed the rest of the morning just piddling around on the internet while watching the snow fall. I gotta say, it's not a bad way to waste time.

I may do some more of it.

fauxklore

Book Clubs: I forgot to mention that I had two book club meetings in February. One was a sort of re-organization meeting for Crones and Tomes. And the other was for the Travelers’ Century Club book club, which discussed The Long Road to Cullaville: Stories from my travels to every country in the world by Boris Kester. Boris joined us for the discussion and was fairly interesting. By the way, there was a little blurb about me as co-coordinator of the book club in The Centurian (the TCC monthly newsletter). In the meantime, my longest running book club seems to have completely fizzled out. I did send an email to the members asking if we have officially disbanded and have heard absolutely nothing back.

MIT Reception: Last week, I went to an MIT Leadership Circle reception at the International Spy Museum. This is one of those things you get invited to by giving enough money annually. They had a nice assortment of heavy hors d’oeuvres (along with beer or wine, though I opted for sparkling water). That was followed by a talk on cryptography and the problem of verifiability by MIT Professor Yael Taumann Kalai, I have to admit that much of her talk went over my head. I only stayed briefly for coffee and dessert afterwards. The venue was a bit disappointing, as we didn’t really get to see the museum and the conference room area we were in was a bit too small for easy mingling. I still had some enjoyable conversations, but it wasn’t one of the better MIT-related events I’ve been to.

Loser Brunch - Philadelphia: For those who don’t know, Losers are devotees of what used to be the Washington Post Style Invitational, a humor contest that continues via Substack. There are a couple of big parties every year and brunches more or less monthly. On Saturday, I made the long drive up to Philadelphia for a Loser Brunch. Most of the drive wasn’t too bad, but my GPS took me through central Philadelphia, which was particularly slow, due to the flower show. And the last part of the trip involved a maze of narrow streets where everyone was driving over 40 miles per hour despite a speed limit of 25. I was able to park just a block away from the house where the event was. We normally do brunches at restaurants more or less around the D.C. metro area, but the reason for this one was that Judy had just moved from Florida and can’t really go to public venues due to severe fragrance allergies. And we were leveraging off another big name loser having moved to a retirement community not far away, as well as yet another one who was in town from Greece. There was a wide mix of interesting conversation, some of it involving topics dear to my heart, e.g. MIT and the Boston Red Sox. I contributed a container of dark chocolate coated cherries Cindy had given me. The other chocolate she gave me I will eat, but I have an aversion to cherries which give me flashbacks to childhood cough syrup experiences. Anyway, it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

Visiting Eric: I leveraged off the trip to Philadelphia to visit my friend, Eric, who has been at a rehab facility there for a long time. I won’t talk in any detail about his medical condition, but it was pretty depressing seeing how weak he is. His room (well, his part of a shared room) is full of books and he spends most of his time reading. I brought him a dozen books and I hope he’ll enjoy at least some of them.

After visiting him, I drove to a hotel near the airport, where I stayed overnight. The hotel didn’t include breakfast, but there was a very nice little diner reasonably nearby. I love old-fashioned small town diners and had an excellent omelet with hash browns, toast, and coffee. The drive back wasn’t too bad, at least until the Beltway, which was a slog. Overall, it was a pretty good weekend trip, but it reminded me why I normally take the train when I go to Philadelphia.

Stafford Challenge Week 8:

7 March 2026 - Trust

8 March 2026 - International Women’s Day

9 March 2026 - Early Spring

10 March 2026 - To Do Lists

11 March 2026 - Next to Illegible

12 March 2026 - Anagrammatic Irony

13 March 2026 - Twists of Fate

summersgate

We had a dusting of snow this morning. The daffodils won't be giving up, I'm pretty sure about that.

Going Over the Rainbow. This started out innocently enough as a little story picture which I thought would go with the rainbow, sun and cloud that I'm crocheting as a mobile for Rowan. (I do love rainbows). A girl wants to visit the rainbow. And I thought I was done with it, but the middle part was bare and needed something. Then it suddenly turned into a story of the aftermath of war. I know that there is war and awful fighting SOMEwhere on earth ALL the time. It's a fact of life for humans to be fighting and killing each other, I guess. It's what humans do. But I am having a hard time resting easy in this country which is such a big part of the latest killing. As a species we should be done with this by now wouldn't you think? That man got elected on the promise of no more wars. Then he almost immediately changes the name of the Defense Department to the Department of War and starts to throw his weight around to start fights. He has lied to everyone from the beginning. But they still want to believe in him. It's all so outrageously stupid and evil.

susandennis

I woke up, got coffee, fed the cats, sat down at the table next to the window and WHOA!!

It was still snowing then, a little, but now it has stopped. I can see some traffic and several cars have come up the hill to the garage without issue. It is 7:05 and I have an appointment with my foot guy at 7:50. I'm going for it. Once I get off this hill, I suspect there will be nothing on the roads.

But, what a treat! Sorry I didn't get to see it falling. But, at least we got one - teeny tinsey - snow this winter.

After the doctor's, I need to stop at the Amazon Lockers and pick up a package and then at UPS to return one. Then I was going to get gas but it's probably too cold and I probably won't.

rejectomorph

Whoa, falling asleep at the computer again. It was a figuratively long day, or must have been, as I've already forgotten most of it. It got into the eighties, and I do remember the afternoon heat hitting my face when I went out to check the mailbox. There was nothing. I need to sign up for postal service notifications, so I won't waste energy by going out to the mailbox when I get nothing.

I've planned on doing that for a couple of years now, but the executive dysfunction has gotten strong in this decrepit brain. Maybe I'll do it today, after I've slept, but probably not, as today will be grocery shopping day, and that will keep me (and the computer) busy for a long time. I wonder if I'll even remember when tomorrow comes?

Sneezing and nose running. Damned pollen. I should start drinking a bit of tea in the evening, with a bit of local honey in it. That used to help a bit. Damn, another thing to be remembered.

bill_schubert

I got this message from my boss at Texas Humane Heroes:

Hi. We are trying to help a shelter that took in 42 dogs today. They need us to pick them up tomorrow at mineral wells shelter. We are taking 6 single adults 1 mom and puppies. You can take our vehicle. Would you be able to pick up? I’m sorry it’s last minute

Of course I said yes. It was a six hour round trip drive. Fortunately they have a really nice van with cruise control and the trip is on back roads, not Interstate.

We brought back

4 mothers with 12 puppies between them and 6 adults for a total of 22 chihuahuas mutts. They mostly look like foxes. I'd add a picture but Flickr is down so maybe tomorrow.

It was a PIA drive but getting the dogs out of a bad situation and into the shelter here was really worth it.

And, no, we don't have any new dogs.

Yet.

susandennis

Way back decades ago when I first moved to Seattle, I discovered the first week that the main branch of the Seattle Public Library was 1 block from my office. My first Seattle BFF. I was a very frequent customer. I was a beta tester for their first - command line only - off site log in. I could search for and put a hold on books from my desk at work. In the early 90's!!

A long the way, they tore down that library and built a new, spectacular one that has many floors and a walkway that you can browse the stacks just by walking from the top floor to the bottom in a spiral walkway. For a while after I left that IBM office, I still worked downtown and still visited the library often.

Then I worked from home and discovered a the perfect branch library next to my swimming pool. Then I changed pools and found another perfect branch next to my favorite grocery store. Then I went pretty much all digital and just read audiobooks that I got from their app which is what I still do today. Do no tell them I no longer live in Seattle.

I mentioned the 5 book recommendation service they offer and today I got my recommendations and I am blown right out of the water.

Here is my request:

I love a mystery/thriller/police procedural set in the UK AND a legal thriller set in the US (early grisham) AND weird stuff like The Road to Tender Hearts and Bright Creatures.

I don't like sentimentalist, romantic stuff or stuff with children (Tender Hearts was a rare exception). I'd rather my protagonist be Reacher with less fighting. No Harlen Coben or Lee Child. And contemporary, please.

While I mostly read ONLY fiction, I will actually pre-order anything that Mary Roach writes and I enjoy AJ Jacobs as well.

Misc favorite authors - don't need recommendations from these:
Michael Connelly
Harry Bingham
Noah Hawley
Nick Louth
Lee Goldberg
Tim Sullivan
Michael Stagg
Peter Grainger
Andy Weir

I'm currently reading Thomas Perry's latest and so far it's really a disappointment.

I honestly expected to get a list of books I've already read or heard of and rejected.

I got exactly the opposite! Five books I've never heard of by five authors I've never heard of. I could not be more delighted. Here's what I got exactly:

I’m Andrea, a librarian with The Seattle Public Library. Thanks for using Your Next Five Books, our online service for readers, to find suggestions for contemporary UK mysteries and US legal thrillers. Your list of suggested books is here, in our catalog, to make it easier to place holds if you're interested: Your Next 5 Books: UK mystery, US legal thriller.

Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall - In a compromise to save her marriage, Detective Nicola Bridges has moved back to her sleepy coastal hometown. She arrives just in time to investigate a cryptic murder - the owner of the local pub, Jim Tiernan, has been found dead in the middle of the highway, wearing stag antlers. To investigate, she'll enlist the help of inexperienced Detective Harry Ward, and dig into the town's secrets. Author Chibnall is best known as the creator of the TV show Broadchurch.

The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell - In London, Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp and his team dig into two seemingly-unrelated cold cases, triggered by natural/accidental deaths: a heart attack at the theatre shines light on the decades-old disappearance of a girl from a boarding school; and a drowning connects to corporate embezzlement. Meanwhile, Caius navigates entitled members of the upper crust.

The Holdout by Graham Moore - Ten years after a high-profile trial where the jury acquitted a teacher accused of killing one of his students, the jurors have reunited to participate in a true crime documentary. Maya Seale, defense attorney and juror, was instrumental in getting the rest of the jury to acquit. Now, at the reunion, a fellow juror is found dead in her room, and Maya goes on the run to figure out who killed them, and the truth in the original case.

Proof by Jon Cowan - Lawyer Jake West's life - both personal and professional - is on the skids, but when his best friend and colleague is killed and Jake becomes a suspect he takes it upon himself to investigate. Digging into the last case his friend worked on, Jake finds himself embroiled in a complex and politically charged rat's nest.

When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory - This is the "something weird" on your list! Like The Road to Tender Hearts and Bright Creatures, there is a real grounding in characters. So - in this science fiction road trip novel, JP (who has terminal cancer) and his friend Dulin join a bus tour traveling cross country to see the Impossibles - strange sites that appeared 7 years prior when it was revealed that everyone was actually living in a simulation. As JP and Dulin get to know the others on the bus, their friend trip turns into a madcap adventure that interrogates the very nature of reality.

And the link in the first paragraph takes me to the list actually in the library - showing availability of the audiobooks with 1 click hold or 1 click checkout!!!!

This is the coolest thing evaaaaaaaar!

susandennis

Timber Ridge is nestled into a hillside in a range of hills at the base of mountains (hence the name). So we don't get much in the way of windstorms directly. BUT our utilities are apparently located in a trailer park. The first gust and down they go! Last night, though, they mostly hung on. We had flickering electricity around 8 and 9. I don't know about cable TV cause I wasn't watching it. At 1:30, I was awake to pee and so were the gusts. Bam. Nothing. Sooooooo quiet. For really no more than a minute.

The microwave clock got it and Alexa did - my two Alexa bulbs flew on brightly as did my three emergency lights. I told Alexa to kill the lights and she did one. I just put on my eye mask and went back to sleep. This morning I had to go around to the emergency lights and turn them off. They plug into outlets and, turns out, they work REALLY well!

So volleyball was all 'did your microwave clock die?' And as each person joined we had to have the same conversation over and over again and several times since it's hard to hear in the pool and they can't hear that well anyway.

This morning the landscapers are back with all manner of bushes and shrubbery.

The food and beverage meeting yesterday was exceedingly tedious. But I managed to get through it without insulting anyone, I hope. They all think I'm great because I volunteered to be the secretary and take the notes on my magic tablet.

Today was Shot #8. End of box #2. I have box #3 ready and waiting in the fridge. I have my video apt with my Dr. in 3 weeks. And then I'll get box #4.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the foot guy to get another cortisone shot. For some reason that escapes me now, I made the appointment for 7:50 in the morning. Which is fine, just a weird time and a bit early even for me.

Today I might do some puzzling but mostly I think I'll just hang here and avoid people as much as I can. I might order dinner - reports are that the lasagna is excellent and the portion give great leftovers so I'll order up some of that.

summersgate

I made a cygnet for Char. Now I'm wondering what to do next. I have a pattern for a sun, a cloud and a rainbow. Those would be cool to make into a mobile for Rowan. He'll arrive late May. But first I might make something for Kathy's great grandchild Zaden so I'll have that ready to take with me to Florida next month. He's just a little over a year old so I should be thinking of a larger size toy than my most recent amigurumis.

For affirmations in my paper journal this morning I had these two:
I am willing to seek PEACE today.
I am willing to TRUST today.

mallorys_camera

Sara Crewe is my spirit animal at the Middletown Schlock office.

Yesterday, one of my clients, an incredibly handsome man—another prison guard!—wanted his 2024 taxes done, but nobody told me he wanted his 2024 taxes done; in fact, Leslie, the dour & humorless assistant manager, actually scanned his tax documents into the 2025 folder.

I started a 2025 return.

And it wasn't until I picked up his W2 and noted that it had been issued in 2024 that I realized the mistake.

I abandoned the 2025 return and completed the 2024 return.

But there was no way for me to delete the 2025 return.

And Leslie made an error and processed his payment for the 2025 return.

Somehow this became my mistake!

Oh, the Leslie grumbles & side-eye!

Means to an end! Means to an end! I kept reminding myself.

I mean, who gives a shit what these people think? It's not as though they impinge upon my real life in the slightest. Schlock is not going to fire me; they need the asses in the seats. And I want the $$$$$!

T-34 days.

###

Also yesterday I had this muy disturbing neurological symptom.

My hands began to shake as soon as I arrived at that office.

I have what neurologists describe as an idiopathic tremor. My mother had it, too. Much of the time, my hands shake a little. Generally, the mild tremor does not interfere with anything else I'm doing (like typing or keying in data), but yesterday my hands were actually fluttering as though I was conducting an invisible orchestra.

I actually had to turn my first client of the day over to one of the other preparers and race off to the closest cannabis dispensary. Cannabis calms tremors. I prefer not to use it if I have to do mental acrobatics, but you know, you gotta do what you gotta do, and it worked to steady my hands so I could do my four other clients of the day.

But clearly, my body does not like going into that office.

###

The last few days have been an eerie faux spring. On Tuesday, temps actually hit 80!

I had the day partly off because I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. My doctor is still across the river because who wants to deal with finding a new primary care physician, right? So, I drove over to Hyde Park and after the appointment, I took off for my old tromping grounds, the Vanderbilt gardens:

Felt strange to see all those bare trees & fallow flower beds when the temperature and humidity were signaling high summer.

Plus, the Goddess of the Cell Phone was still surrounded by snow:

I came across four women sitting on a bench in the woods. And they were such a charming sight, I asked to take their portrait:

We all ended up chatting for half an hour. My new best friends!

And honestly, we could have been best friends.

Except we're not.

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gracegiver

Feral Rose

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Page generated Mar. 25th, 2026 09:43 am

Everything is connected. Everything is changing. Pay attention.

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saturday

Performing some traffic maintenance today

Doggies

Snow is melting and the lights are on

Chickens

52/375: Steamed

4:10 pm

friday later

It's now 1:50 pm in pix

The Iran War

Old people are such boneheads - especially me!

A Fairly Social Week

friday

Surprise!!

52/374: Achoos, Achoos, All Fall Down

22 chihuahuas

Amazing

A fine blow job

thursday

Faux Spring

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March 2018

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