nipperkin

It started night before last. Jan texted me that she was leaving Dick's room and could she drop off the laptop I'd taken over so he could watch the game. I was just getting ready to get into bed but stupidly said yes. Then, of course, she took 20 minutes to make the 4 minute walk. I wasn't happy with me or her.

And that might have carried over. Yesterday, I ventured out once to get my card keys fixed and ran into a couple of people who pissed me off so I stayed in my apartment after that.

Then this morning, all of volleyball pissed me off. The asshole was out assholing himself and another player was being a jerk and it was all I could do to keep a smile on my face and keep playing. oh and one guy hosts a charity breakfast every year and strong arms his friends to buy a table. He did this last year and I questioned his timing... A breakfast on any other day but Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday... So he did it again this year and strong armed half the volleyball players into going. But, this year he said 'I should have done lunch instead of breakfast.' well, yeah. Anyway, one of the other players just decided on her own that we won't be playing on Tuesday and called off the game. Of fuck the lot of you!

When I got home, I realized that this does actually free me up to go to the aqua exercise class next Tuesday so not a total tragedy.

I'm having lunch with Martha today in the dining room so I have approximately 2.5 hours to fix my attitude.

Oh and the Mariners lost. But so did the Yankees in front of their fans. It was sweet. No more Yankees this year. There is also a chance - very slim - that the Dodgers could still get eliminated. I'm holding on to the slim hope. The Mariners play again Friday night.

The next few weeks are full of events that I really would like to avoid but may not be able to. Fortunately they are spaced apart a bit but it's going to take a lot of work on my attitude. Ugh.

Yesterday I asked my doctor for a prescription for some steroid cream for a bad patch of skin. At 4, I got a note saying she would send the prescription to Amazon Pharmacy and within minutes I got a note from Amazon that they had a prescription. It was delivered here before 8 pm. Wild. Just wild.

Stupid Detroit with their stupid roof-less stadium.

Jim across the hall offered to sell me his Tesla "for next to nothing". It's a smaller one and comes not only with a charger installed next to my parking space, but also free (to me) electricity. I do not know what "next to nothing" means but I suspect it means way less than I could get for my car. But, even putting the Elon Musk ness aside, I just don't trust the company. It's probably fine and I'd be fine owning it. And it's only 3 years old so far less likely to have a problem than my car. But insurance and stuff. And how often do I need extra room? Once or twice every year or so.

So. I told him I would think about it but I have and no.

Also no to the new air fryer. I wanted a bigger one and I went too big. The touch screen needs pounding as opposed to touching. You need massive arm muscles to get the damn drawer out and back in. Plus, it does not cook that well. Stuff that should be crisp is not that crisp. And the settings are way off. The frozen pizza setting burnt the sucker black but the bottom was soft. So back it goes. Sadly, I tossed the giant box. Now I have to find a new giant box.

I spent too much at Costco. But, they had my coffee on sale.

Housekeeping called this morning to say my house cleaner was not at work today. They offered a sub but I said nope. It's fine I pulled out the dirt devil and did the heavy lifting. Now I am waiting for the rain delayed Mariner game to un rain delay.

In yesterday's first game, the Bluejays, again, humiliated the Yankees. They Yankees finally scored a few runs in the later innings but the damage had already been done. So sweet.

The Mariner game was not so sweet. It was tough. Every single inning. They won. But it was tough. But at least they won. Against, arguably, the game's current best pitcher. So that was lovely. So now we have at least two more games in this series. The next one is tomorrow.

Today are national league games and I really don't care. I'd like the Phillies not to lose but I'm not invested.

Yesterday I culled out some clothes and have a bag for the donation box. The bag is actually too heavy to carry so I need to get the cart out. For now I stashed the bag in the storage locker.

Night before last, I was too hot. The comforter - a pretty one - I got for real cheap from the charity shop is of a fabric that just doesn't sleep well. I swapped it yesterday for another one that turned out to be too light weight. So. Today, I'm going to swap it out for yet another one. I need to get rid of those that don't work. Even if I love them.

No big plans today. The sun is out but I'm going to swim anyway. I need to learn to live with the stupid fucking sun in my eyes when I swim. (And yes, I do have dark - really dark - goggles.)

In between ballgames yesterday, I got the next puzzle going in the elbow. I got all the pieces upright and they edges separated. Today, I'll probably go out there and at least get the framing done. And then I have TV to catch up on. This baseball has interrupted our regular programming. Thank goodness for on demand streaming!

The picking up of the sofa cushion was every bit the nightmare I though it would be. Driving around in a web of undermall parking surrounded by downtown one way streets and traffic looking for a really horribly identified place with no signage. Well, there was a sign, actually, once you got there. Not helpful. I was so pissed off. But, I got the cushion and got the fuck out of there. I do not ever have to go back. Well, maybe next time Scott and Julie come from New Zealand but that won't be for two years. I'll be recovered by then.

I did go to Uwajimaya after. It's a decent sized store. I couldn't find the sandos but I got my noodle salad and a few other goodies plus a few dinners worth of Mongolian beef. And a banana milk cake. The beef made the car quite aromatic. It was fun to see all the stuff again. They are, supposedly opening here a store here next year. Their poke is my favorite but I did not get any this time. Should have. The noodle salad was not nearly as good as I remember it. And the Mongolian beef was a fail. BUT I'm still glad I went.

Then I also stopped at Daiso on the way home to get a couple of things that I cannot get anywhere else. Then, uneventfully, home. I was going to stop and fill the tank but it's not yet below the halfway point so I didn't.

This morning's volleyball was cut short. Linda and Bob are in Canada, Cecil was missing (he's the asshole so it's hard to count this as anything but a win), Wally had to leave early and Tina always does so we had a great time and then called it at 8. This gave me enough time to run take my Amazon returns to UPS. Turns out there was also enough time to pop into Safeway but I didn't think of that last bit until I got home. I may go later.

The first baseball game is at 11 just after elbow coffee but it is the one, out of the four today, that I really don't care about. Maybe I'll pop out then and also pick up some lunch. Then the games at 1 and 3, I do care about and, of course, the Mariner game at 5. Full day.

And now I have a fully cushioned sofa to enjoy it on.

I've seen every one of the 23 scillion Great British Bake Off episodes but last week's (which I just watched) was the first time I was truly lost multiple times. It was Back to School week and clearly I did not go to school in England.

First was school cake. Everyone seemed to know what this was except the woman from Ukraine... and me. Turns out it's a vanilla cake (or sponge if you want to sound posh) with vanilla royal icing and sprinkles BUT - here's a massive twist. They make some kind of vanilla custard that is not set. It pours and they pour this over the cake AND icing. I'm all over vanilla cake and I like royal icing. and I love custard but all three is a bit of overkill, in my book. And I never ever went to a school that served any kind of regular cake.

Then there were flapjacks. Now, in my world, flap jacks are just another name for pancakes. Not so in Britainville. They all made some kind of dense, almost power bar dense, oat thing. No relation to pancakes at all.

Then they made Summer Fete stuff - cakes and cookies and stuff reminiscent of Summer Fete. Never heard of Summer Fete in my life. I couldn't even make out what they were saying until they said it a bunch of times.

But, apparently plastic ducks with rings on their backs are a big piece of summer Fete as they get 'fished' in something called Hook a Duck. There is also something called Quoits which involves maybe rings and sticks? Again. never heard of it but no on they show gave it even a question mark.

So weird that after all those episodes, I get all these questions marks in just the one.

I watched 3.2 baseball games yesterday. They were all good except the last one. The poor Cincinnati Reds got matched against the We'll Beat You Up Dodgers and they did. Boston beat the Yankees which was satisfying. The rest was yawnerville. I'd kinda rather we played the Guardians and they got beat yesterday by the Tigers. And I don't care one bit whether the Cubs beat the Pirates or vice versa.

Today is another round of same. Same games, same game times. I think I'll skip the noon game and the 6 pm game and just watch the 10 am and then 3 pm games. This set is 2 out of 3 so, likely, at least one of these teams will win their 2nd game today and tomorrow's schedule will be lighter. As long as the Yankees lose. With a Dodger kicker (which ain't gonna happen).

Otherwise, that's it for me for news. John's still dying - Hazel was wheeling him around yesterday. His mind is starting to leave. Dick is getting better but not fast enough for Jan. Yesterday, he had her running back and forth getting stuff. Happily, the nursing wing is on this floor so at least she didn't have to wait for elevators.

It's a rainy overcast day so I'm off to swim some laps.

I am far more interested/invested in the baseball playoffs than I expected to be. Even the wild card games that the Mariners are not a part of. So that will be my day today.

And it's housecleaning day. My hardwood floors are a mess. I have hardwood in the entry and the kitchen (carpet everywhere else). It's lovely but ugh what a mess all the time. It shows every single little thing plus, I think, for the edges and corners, it goes to other parts of the apartment and gathered dust and debris. Ugh. The house cleaner sweeps and washes it and it looks fab again.

I got Julio in the summer of 2022. He was always meant to be Biggie's cat and he always has been. He's always run from me. He gets close sometimes when he's starving and I'm feeding. He will sleep on the bed at night but only if Biggie is there. But, a few months ago, he ran into the room and onto my lap. He then realized where he was and ran away. Yesterday, he hopped into my lap and let me pet him, not once, not twice, but THREE times!! So weird. I'll be interested to see if he repeats today.

My elbow is very much improved. I felt a twinge yesterday while swimming but that may have been my imagination. No problem with volleyball this morning at all. I'm still wearing the brace for both activities but no other time.

And, in other health related news... I remember last January when I had my annual doctor visit, we were discussing my COPD (which I am now sure that I do not have). I had been off the high priced inhaler for six months then and was fine. My lungs sounded fine. I still had coughing fits and was using the Albuterol (inhaler) and Benzonatate (pills) every once in a while. It dawned on me yesterday that I have not had a coughing fits or used either one of them in months. They are going to expire before I get to them. Pretty cool.

Tomorrow there are four baseball games - here they are at 10, noon, 3 and 6. I'm not going to watch all of them but do want to check in. Today there are none.

So I think my now long put off trip to Safeway will happen today. Nothing else on the calendar so the perfect day for it. Plus, I think I might stop in at Hobby Lobby. As much as I hate to shop there... I need yarn. Yes. I have a house full of yarn but no more baby pink and blue which are perfect doll colors. I only need a skein of each and that's not enough to justify shipping charges. So shopping with Jesus it is.

But I think first I'll swim. It's a nice, rainy day - no sun threatening.

I watch a fair amount of YouTube. It's kind of my go-to on the TV when I have 10-15 mins to spare. I've had an annual Premium subscription ($140) for the past few years because I have no tolerance for the ads. Last year they announced a cheaper hybrid. $8 a month (no annual but it would be, of course, sub $100). It's billed as 'fewer' ads. But the ads, apparently are only on some shorts, which I never watch and some music, which I also never watch. My idea was to try it out for a month. I set it up a few weeks ago and it kicked in last week and I forgot about it. Until yesterday, when I was watching some YouTube and realized my experience had not changed - only the price. Woot. It's rare that I save money on a TV subscription. But, I really hate it when there's no way to play annually. So much easier to keep up with.

Netflix and Hulu would get far more of my money if they would offer annual plans (with no ads). So now they get a month or so in rotation and then a few months or more off, lather, rinse, repeat.

Ok, time to get moving.

The Mariners lost last night which means they will not be seeded which means they will not get home field advantage automatically. Which is not a big deal. BUT it also means that tonight's game and tomorrow's game do not matter one little bit. I will likely watch on mute. I'm so over these broadcasters. Happily, tomorrow is their last Mariner game this year. We get network yahoos from here on out.

But the big Mariner news is the network. The network they have used to televise their games for the past 15ish years is being dissolved. The Mariners own the network and it sucks so dissolving it is a tragedy really only for the 25 people it puts out of work. Hopefully, they can find jobs elsewhere. It will probably mean that I can pay a little less to get the games on TV. It will not change the horrible broadcaster situation, more's the pity.

Elbow coffee was Bonny's National Shake Iut Day preparedness. It's not until October 16 but Timber Ridge has a whole Todo about it. Bonny and Dick are in charge of us but Dick is still recuperating so Bonny's doing it all (and it's kind of a heavy lift). She did a great job. Ingrid showed up early and quickly had a table pounding meltdown when Bonny asked her to move over a chair to make room for Joan. "If Joan wants me to move she can ask me herself!!! I am not an old person!!!" And then she left so the whole meeting was very cordial and productive since she wasn't there to complicate the situation.

Volleyball was good and I just folded up the laundry that I put in before Elbow coffee. So I'm pretty much all caught up except for lunch. I do want to go to Safeway but I'm too hungry to do it now. Maybe later or tomorrow.

I have TV to watch and I'm listening to Mary Roach's latest and it's about replacing body parts - Replaceable You. It's really good but complicated. I'm going to have to listen to the whole thing again. Also I want to listen to Project Hail Mary again. I read it when it first came out but I think I need a re-read.

But first... lunch. I am starving.

WAY out of sync here - I wrote this up yesterday morning just after the entry with Biggie sitting in the window hammock. And then just flat forgot to post it!

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I am at the center of a jillion coincidences OR the universe is just fucking with me OR I was taken by the rapture and what's left is stuggling without the business end.

I *think* all my issues are internet but I cannot be sure. The TV went first. Some apps just would not work. Would not load. OR would load and then hit a error. But others worked fine. Rebooting the TV did nothing. Rebooting the router did nothing. And then it would all work again. This has been going on for a couple of days. Yesterday the app for Mariners baseball worked on the phone but not on the TV. Then on the computer but not the phone. Then the TV and phone but not the computer.

This morning, I could not get to dreamwidth. I kept getting the default xfinity 'download the app' page. Which should mean that my own network has a problem. So I switched to Timber Ridges. I finally got in but then went to BECU and every time I hit the login button it just blinked at me. Finally I went to an incognito tab and was able to log in but everything else hosed. On my phone (using mobile data only) I got a bizarre security message.

Finally, I backed out of my own network which forced my Chromebook to make me re-sign in with a password and also rebooted the modem (when trouble shooting NEVER make two moves like this at the same time. Stupid). Anyway one or the other of those seems to have worked. At least on the computer side. I don't know yet about the TV.

In the middle of trying to put some critical info into my bank website, Bonny came in 'I need your help with the black box' and the phone ran - it was the vet's office. TAKE A NUMBER, PEOPLE!

The vet had called earlier to check on Biggie and I reported about the issues and she suggested I get a tech appointment for this afternoon and have them re-xray. so I did. 3:30. Hopefully, I either won't need it - he will have pooped. OR they can x-ray and cut. (He just came out of the bedroom and hopped up to the kitchen counter where his food is. And now he's actually eating. So who the fuck knows what's going on.) The vet person did say that Biggie's slightly un-normal behaviors could well be from the drugs he got yesterday.

I got the bank done and then Bonny. Bonny signed up to help with disaster preparedness because there was nobody else to do it. I told her I'd be her computer (some stuff needs to be recorded and reported) cause no way am I going to be the front person. She couldn't get into the box of stuff for our floor. Each floor has a black box of emergency supplies. It's one of those giant toolbox things that is hard to figure out if you have never seen one. I figured it out and showed her and we got what she needed and she said she'd be back if/when she needed computer shit.

And then I got dressed.

Oh and I played volleyball and my elbow did not hurt one tiny little bit! I was wearing a brace but still. On Tuesday it hurt a lot. I wonder if taking a day off from abusing it - since I did not swim yesterday - helped. hmmmm. Anyway nice to have it back.

Oh oh oh oh and the Mariner game - even having to swap out devices a million times - was fab. They won the division title and so a bye in a big step to the World Series. AND... Cal Raleigh hit his 59th home run and then, because why the fuck not, in the bottom of the 8th, he hit his 60th. With his parents (from North Carolina) in the stands. Pretty fucking sweet. The whole thing.

Ok, so now it's just Biggie watch until after lunch when I have to decide whether or not to cancel the vet appointment. If he continues to eat and be Biggie, I guess I will. I don't need to pay for another round of x-rays that will probably show nothing (since x-rays have a hard time showing stuff like the bit he ate).