Category: Random Stuff

This post is going to be a mish-mosh of stuff.  Just because I feel like it.

First off, you working stiffs should note this.  While I was still working, my blood pressure was quite often “on the edge” – like around, say, 145-150 over 90-92.  It wasn’t consistently that high, so I wasn’t on any meds (yes, I discussed it with my doctor).

Went for an annual checkup today.  118 / 62.  I’ve been retired for almost 8 months now.  You do the math!!

In other news, I get ‘spam’ comments on this blog from time to time.  Most of the time I read them, and then mark them as spam, and delete them.  I will do that to this one also, but I cracked up reading it.  See for yourself:

Comment:
of course like your web site however you need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I in finding it very troublesome to tell the truth then again I will surely come again again.

I think whoever this is needs to look in the mirror.  Don’t you?

And finally, I know I haven’t mentioned Kenn lately.  He’s been a little depressed.  Check out the links below.  He’s still smiling, cuz that’s just how he is.  He’s happy to see himself on line!  But he is sad about these trending events …

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-man-bun-tattoo-survey-1.4612725

http://metro.co.uk/2018/04/24/the-death-of-the-man-bun-and-other-male-grooming-trends-for-summer-7367561/

Kenn can’t help looking at himself!  (You probably knew that already)

Anyway.  I think that’s all for this post.  I’m still finishing up a painting, and working on my travel plans.  And I’ve been scraping wallpaper.  And I’ve been wearing my leggings out in public.  Dress code schmess code!!

Until next time, readers!

Spent this weekend at the beach with friends.  I don’t recall how this even came up, but we ended up talking about “9 to 5 (Morning Train)” by Sheena Easton.   For your learning pleasure, the parenthetical part was added later to avoid confusion with the Dolly Parton song “9 to 5” because they both came out in the same year.  Anyway, we got into a comedically (is that a word?) heavy discussion about the accompanying music video for it.    My recollection is that Sheena Easton was shown vacuuming and doing housework in the video, as she waits for her man to come home.  However, after doing a lot of Internet Searches (note, Mr. Brian, that I did not call it “Googling”) we were unable to find the video with her vacuuming.  The video we found shows her riding a train, with some suggestive moves to boot.  This stupid song became a topic of discussion for the rest of the weekend. Continue reading “This May Ruin Your Day”

Oh no.        Oh no.    I may have become one of ‘them.’ Continue reading “Oh No.”

Tomorrow I am getting my second floor and stairs carpet replaced.  I started prepping for this last Sunday – purging stuff, going through stuff, etc.  I really should have gone through all of it before now, but, at least I’m getting it done now!  Yesterday I literally took a car full of stuff to a homeless shelter, and Goodwill.  I think I have more to go too – but not quite as much.

I’ll take before and after photos so you can see the difference.  The carpet being replaced is from 1986.  It will feel SO GOOD to get it replaced!  (It’s been on my list for I don’t know how long)

So, today is my 8th month ‘anniversary’ of being retired.  Observations I’ve made lately:

For the most part, I’ve started driving a bit slower, and I don’t get stressed about getting to places (for the most part)

I am still really busy!  I guess because I have time to get done all the things I have been wanting to get done

My trip planning has changed – I used to have everything set up to the nth degree but now that is not my preferred mode of planning.  I’m a lot looser now.

And today is the third-ish day of my juice cleanse.  I started it Sunday afternoon (I ate breakfast on Sunday and then didn’t eat any more since).  I’ve lost about 5 lbs!  And I really noticed how many commercials on TV are food-oriented.  And I don’t know if I should admit this but this is the longest I’ve gone without a ‘drink’ in a long time.  Feels good though.  But, boy, my sleep pattern is messed up.  The good side is I got to watch two episodes of ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ in the middle of the night last night.

Anyway, I decided to write this post because I’ve gotten a couple really good reminder horoscopes.  I’ll leave you with those and update you next time with updates about the carpet!  So stoked!

The desire for perfection is a prison.  The need for acceptance is a prison.

The hardest lessons happen when we forget that life is a classroom.  Learning happens everywhere.

Talk soon!

OK, in my last post I mentioned a song by Circus Maximus called “Wind.”  I heard it on the radio the other day, and wrote it down on the back of an envelope that I had in the car (I had just deposited a check at the bank) because I wanted to remember it. Continue reading “Weirdness”

I remembered a few things after I posted the last post about my trip.  Here they are: Continue reading “Random Thoughts”

Just a quick post – I’ve received some comments about how small the photos are in the blog (and I’ve been thinking about their size also) so going to see if changes I made make a difference. Continue reading “Testing photo sizes”

I’ve had a few random thoughts rattling around in my brain the last month or so, so I thought I’d capture them here. Continue reading “Random Thoughts”

So, last post I talked about chickpea flatbread, prednisone, the weather, and other random stuff.

I made a few observations (or had some catch up thoughts) since then.

The first day I was on the prednisone (I was on it for 5 days in a 5-4-3-2-1 per-day type dose – I took the first 5 right after I went to the doctor, in the late afternoon), I woke up and thought, “Man, I feel great!”  I felt the best I had felt in weeks.  I got dressed and went out to run errands, including getting 7 bags of wood pellets (and BTW, in a previous post I said each bag weighed 50 lbs – I was incorrect – each bag weighs 40 lbs, and 50 bags makes a pallet).  As I was picking them up I thought – wow, these bags feel so light!  I really must be feeling better!  And that night I had enough energy to stay up and watch Jimmy Fallon, although disappointingly it was a rerun.  Now, the doctor had said prednisone can cause insomnia, but since I didn’t have to get up for work or anything, I wasn’t too concerned about it.  So, I stayed up late, but slept well.  Got up the next day, still feeling pretty darn good.  Stayed up late again.  And so on for a few days.

It dawned on me yesterday that the reason why the pellets felt so light was because I was on STEROIDS.  Duh.  I can now see why people like taking them.  I felt GOOD.

I was also lucky because prednisone is one of those drugs where you can either get ornery, or you can get happy.  Luckily I got happy.  I was in the best mood in a long time.  Not that I was in bad moods, but you get the point.

Of course, prednisone is one of those drugs with plenty of other side effects, so I was quite happy to be on it for only 5 days.  But, it was interesting.  Learned a few things.  My mom was on it long-term, and some of her experiences were, shall we say, harrowing, so I was pretty respectful of the drug when I got the prescription.  My doc and I had an interesting conversation about it.  I’ll leave it at that.

UPDATE:  I forgot one other thing – one of the ‘good’ side benefits of the prednisone is my IT Band doesn’t seem to be sore any more.  Granted, I have been doing exercises and babying it, but, until this week I could ‘feel’ it sometimes.  Don’t seem to notice it now!

In other news, it is getting warmer.  Current temp is 23oF.  Yay!  Except, there is precip coming.  In the form of snow, sleet, freezing rain or some combo thereof.  Honestly, if I had the choice I would pick colder with snow over the wintry mix.  Ice is the worst!  But, it is supposed to get up to almost 60oF on Friday.  What?!?

Today I started going thru my drawers to see what kind of stuff I have for my trip to Norway.  I found a pair of fleece-lined leggings that I forgot I bought.  I found a skirt I forgot I bought.  I found some other stuff I forgot I had.  Not even sure when I bought the stuff.  Better make sure it fits!  Good thing I didn’t just go shopping for this stuff, since I had it already (assuming it fits).  This spring I guess I’ll have to go through every drawer, and my closet, again.  It’s fun finding surprises though!

And on a final note, I am hooked on this chickpea flatbread.  Made it for lunch – pumpkin seed, arugula, leek flatbread.  Here it is – try not to drool too much!

Oh – one more thing – I got another wedding request!  This one will be unusual and fun.  It is a re-marriage I guess you’d call it, affirmation of vows anyway.  And they are doing it on their ‘previous’ anniversary.  And I am going to be in England so we’re going to do it via “What’s App.”  It will be short and sweet, but it will be unusual and fun.  Of course I’ll post about it after it happens (in February).

All righty then.  Back to doing something useful.  Talk soon!

Yes friends, it is still cold here.  Temperature right now is a balmy 12oF and with wind chill the ‘real feel ‘ is -14oF.  Yes, you read right – MINUS 14 degrees!

I did venture out today.  Thought I should drive the VW since I haven’t driven it in a few days, and I needed to get rid of a bunch of recycling.  The roads weren’t bad.  The drifting I noticed yesterday was less today.  Still numbingly cold though.  But I accomplished something outside today!  Even cleaned out the wood pellet stove (you have to empty the ashes and scrape the inner surfaces off roughly once a week or so).  Of course, that meant the stove was off for a half hour or so, but that was okay.

Before I get to my opinion of ‘Get Out’ that I promised last time, I have a health update.  You read my complaint a few posts ago about being sick for weeks.  That particular illness I was sleeping like 12 hours a night, for a while.  I finally felt like I kicked it a couple weeks ago.  Well, New Year’s Day I woke up with a scratchy throat.  I’m thinking “here we go again.”  Felt okay though, so went the NYD ‘Doke Appreciation’ hash, which was short and sweet.  The next day, felt a little worse.  That night, woke up, throat on fire.  Swallowing hurt like hell.  Throat hurt like hell.  Called the doc as soon as I got up and got an appt for that afternoon.  Went in there, and he was like, man, your throat is red!  The gland on the side of my neck was visible.  And needless to say my throat was swollen.  He was surprised I wasn’t “writhing in pain” and asked me if I wanted pain meds.   He also told me if my breathing started making a “hoooo” noise to get to the ER immediately because my throat was closing up.  (very comforting). Anyway, I am now on prednisone (my first foray into taking it) and antibiotics.  I felt 100% better the next morning.  I am forcing myself to not do all the stuff I want to do (like hashing today) and take it easy.  So far so good.

So, “Get Out.”  Well, it is not what the commercials would lead you to believe.  Honestly I’m not sure if I liked it.  It was … okay.  I don’t think it’s Oscar worthy.  Just my opinion.

Last night I watched “The Big Sick.”  I like Kumail Nanjiani – he’s pretty funny.  His thing about taking apart his dad’s VCR is hilarious!  The movie was decent too.  Thumbs up!

In cooking news, I made a chickpea flatbread this week.  What an easy thing to make.  Tasty, easy, good protein.  Look it up!

After doing some clothing testing for my Norway trip, I discovered that my current gloves aren’t going to cut it.  I got an email from EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) that a bunch of their stuff was 40% so I found a pair of gloves with high ratings that were on sale.  Tried them out this week.  Hallelujah!  They come with liners and I didn’t even need them (actually the gloves were warmer without them).  Now I need to figure out if I need a balaclava or not.

This post’s gratuitous photos include a glass of “Magenta Dragon” (a hard cider) from Liquid Alchemy – a mead and cider brewery in Delaware:

It was delicious!  And so pretty!

And, a photo of Kenn, learning something from one of his FB friends:

That’s all for now peeps.  Stay tuned for the next post!

Hi blog readers!

Just a quick check in – here are some photos from recent activities:

First is a photo of my finished garage – it is like daylight in there with the new LED tube lights.  And it’s nice and clean!

Next, one shot from the marching band – I took a quick photo while we were in between songs:

Next, some holiday greetings from Kenn:

And yours truly modelling my Koala “onesie” Christmas morning at the neighbors’:

OK – some errands to run – talk soon!

OK, so, last post I said I was going to try to make a Christmas Tree out of hangers. Continue reading “Redemption”

Yes, it has been a while since I posted.  I caught a terrible cold right after Thanksgiving.  I slept 12 hours EVERY NIGHT for like 3 weeks in a row!  And I didn’t feel like blogging.  So sue me!

I am feeling better but I still cough when I get up in the morning and I am still phlegm-y.  Ugh!

Anyway, I had people over for Thanksgiving dinner.  I made stuffed delicata squash, vegan mac n cheese, mushroom gravy, and stuffing.  Chris and Polly brought a really yummy couscous salad.  Here’s our meal:

So, what else have I been up to … I finished raking leaves, and I’ve been painting.  I got the first floor bathroom floor replaced, and am in progress with replacing the insulation in the ceiling of the garage.  Drywall to be installed tomorrow!  And got a bunch of crap cleaned out of there while I was at it!

I made a “leaf tree” for my ex-boss who is retiring.  We had over 240 people sign each leaf individually.  I painted the tree, and then pasted all of the leaves onto it.  First time I’ve used Rubber Cement since high school I think!  Her party was last week and she (and everybody) really liked the tree!

And, I joined a Runner’s World Challenge – at least 1 mile per day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.  I joined late because I was sick, and my IT Band is still acting up (although is much better) so I have been hiking rather than running, but, I’ve enjoyed doing the challenge anyway.  I usually do more than 1 mile.  And there is a Facebook page for it so everybody encourages everybody else, asks for advice, and posts their progress – it is world wide so lots of neat photos too!

  And we had our first snow! 3 miles on this trail

Here’s my latest painting:

Here is a little ‘colander art’ thanks to the sun coming into the kitchen the other morning and making a nice shadow!

Anyway, I think I’m all caught up now.  I saw a neat idea for making a ‘Christmas Tree’ out of branches wrapped in Christmas lights.  I’m going to give it a shot – I found some decent branches out in the yard.  I’ll check back in when I get it done!  Talk soon!

UPDATE:
I forgot to mention that I moved nine 50 lb bags of wood pellets yesterday – that’s 450 lbs!!  What a workout!  And I also helped a lady at the grocery store – she was doing self-checkout for the first time, and she needed me to walk her through it.  Anyway, I plan to make that branch tree today so I’ll do a new post later!