My Reading Room

So my modus operandi apple wise is to leave them on the counter until it's their time. Then cut the next one into 8ths and put it in the fridge. I snack on a slice now and then and often have several with my lunch. Every day. And my go to is Fuji.

But yesterday, in Trader Joe's, they did not have any single Fuji's! They were very apple-light. So I got another kind that was on an end cap display. I pulled off the sticky labels and put them on the counter except the one I sliced up.

Today I had some cheese and crackers for lunch and some apple. OMG OMG OMG!!! What is this apple?? It's like the candy of fruit. And all crisp and juicy and perfect. But, what the heck was it?

With the apple situation as it was at Trader Joe's, I was pretty sure they would be rearranging soon and all I knew was where these were yesterday. So I just got back into the car and went right back to Trader Joe's.



And turns out that they are available at all the grocery stores and year round. Why have I never heard of them before???

I have a stash now. The Internets say 6 weeks in the crisper. I only got 10. No way will they last 6 weeks.

All I did yesterday was hem pants. I finished the last pair just before bed. Whew. They are all now in the wash. A totally done deal. Yeah.

Today it will be back to knitting. And yeah for that.

The pool was back to normal warm this morning which was delightful. Tomorrow's laps will be way better than yesterday's for sure. Two of our regular players are out for a few games so there weren't so many of us but we had a good time anyway.

I got the text yesterday to refill my Wegovy for the last time. Last time, that is, before my doctor check in. And then we decide whether to up the dosage or not. Honestly, I can go either way. I'm not sure I need a higher dose but then I wasn't at all sure I needed this in the first place and I was sure wrong there. So, whatever the doctor wants to do is fine by me.

I think I'll make a quick trip to Trader Joe's today. I have 3 things on my TJ list. Also it's house cleaning day.

Ok, laundry done. Everything put away. No newspapers today. I don't know if that's a newspaper issue or a Timber Ridge issue. It would annoy me if I were a regular but I'm not so whatever.

Oh Biggie is up here to cause trouble which means he wants something to eat. Guess I'll get going on the rest of my day.

Bonny always offers me her newspapers when she is out of town. I recently found out that the truth is her subscriptions are tied to a phone number she no longer has and making any changes promises to be a herculean task so... me. Which is fine. She gets the Seattle Times and the Wall Street Journal. I actually enjoy the Wall Street Journal. Last year I almost thought I'd get a subscription myself - digital, of course - but never did. Now we're back. The Sunday Seattle Times is no longer even a shadow of its former self but at least now I know I'm not missing anything. And the trash room is right next door.

I hemmed pants yesterday. Hemming black pants is not as much fun as you might imagine. I only got four pair done. There are so many more to do. If I were smart, I'd wear and then wash the ones I have done and once I'm sure they are fine, continue on. I think I'll do just that but I'm not going to put away my supplies. I'll leave them out as incentive to pick up the project once the proof is in.

Coming back from the pool this morning, there was a team of first responders coming in with a gurney. The had come in the wrong entrance and one of the residents had led them to the correct elevator. That resident is a man I know. Even knowing he has absolutely ZERO sense of humor, I conversationally as we were walking down the hall "This place is really hard to navigate when you've never been here." "It sure is AND they even had the wrong date on the brunch menu this morning." Yeah, life saving first responder misdirection and an incorrect date on a menu - equal horrors fer sure. (Sunday is the ONLY day they serve brunch so even the big clues aren't enough for him, I guess.)

Oh, there goes my friend, Maggie, out with her great granddaughter and her dogs. Maggie is very able bodied (her husband has Parkinsons) and lithe. Today she's got on very attractive slim jeans and boots. It is hard to wrap my head around a Great Grandmother is slim jeans and boots, but there she is. Neither one of my grandmothers ever even wore pants in public. I mean what if someone saw them????

Major League Baseball starts on Thursday. So this will be the last Sunday til Fall with no baseball game.

I have good TV to watch today and knitting to do and there is a puzzle going in the elbow. So my day is set. Guess I'll get it started.

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Whenever someone popular and old dies, he/she dies on my watch, on my phone, in several emails, and some alerts and then he/she continues to die all day long until we get to the evening news tonight where, his/her death will be BREAKING NEWS!!!!! A death well done.

We have a couple of robot vacuums around here. They are little R2D2's and they are named Sarah and Hillary. Today when I came back from the pool, there were 3 maintenance guys on the floor over Sarah who was on her back with her bits spilled onto the carpet. I said OH NO!!! Is she ok???? And instantly 4 old ladies who were in the mailroom next door came running out to see which of their compatriots had bit the dust.

I will say they were all a bit dismissive about Sarah and annoyed with me for scaring them. The guys said that a few twists of the screw driver and some lint removal and Sarah would be fine. The mail room bitties, I'm not so sure but I care less.

On my way down to the pool, I shared an elevator with Bonny who's off on her California trip. She's already bitching that it will be too hot. Doh.

Today I need to clean up my yarn act here in the living room. It's getting a little out of control. Stuff I'm not working on needs to get put away. Ditto crochet hooks and knitting needles that I am not using. Today.

Since I intend to take these shots every Thursday from now until I die, it does seem kind of silly to track the number. I'm still on .25mg. And I have 3 shots left. On April 7, I have a video visit with my Doctor to check in and get a new prescription - for the same dosage or for more mg's. The latest news I can find says that there will be a trial of Medicare coverage of Wegovy in July. I'm not betting the ranch but it would be nice to save some $. But, since it's dependent on the government, I'm not holding my breath.

We only had 6 people for volleyball which usually is not enough for fun except for today, we had just the right 6 and it was great fun. There is often a tech question for me. Things the other players hear about and don't have anyone else to ask. Today's was "What does end to end encryption mean?" I love their questions and I love that they are interested enough to ask.

I spent most of yesterday out of sorts but today is a different day and my sorts are back. And I intend to keep them.

This morning I'm off to Goodwill. They don't open until 10 so it's too early to leave, plus, except for my robe, I'm naked so not really appropriate clothing. I might stop at Uwajimaya and/or Met Market on my way home. I have a list for Goodwill but mostly I hope I don't end up with a car full o' stuff that I don't have room for here. Seattle Goodwill is always a hit or a miss - rarely an in between.

Guess I'll go get dressed and organized and then hit the road.

It's house cleaner day!! And we need to put away the finished puzzle and start a new one. And I could use a small trip to Safeway or Trader Joe's or, actually, even Costco but the latter is probably a next week thing. I do have one Amazon return so I might do it + one of the other two this morning.

Nothing else much going on. Bonny is going to Palm whatever, CA for two weeks on Friday and she's all a dither with getting ready. Jim Across The Hall is getting more anxious more often but his care givers are, at the same time, getting better at taking care of him. Jim Down the Hall has gone on a road trip with his girl friend. And everyone else is pretty much the same as usual.

I am grateful for our weather which is now just normal - we'll be in 50's and 60's and the occasional 70 until the end of June. No tornadoes. Maybe a random wind storm but probably not. The evening news is all about the newsworthy weather across the country. I'm grateful to not be any part of that. I've actually been watching SKY news and some BBC (BBC news is more cumbersome to stream on my TV, hence, the Sky).

Plus I'm really grateful for no utility bills. Also no real estate tax. I just got my annual reminder that my real estate tax bill was ready and this year... NOT MY PROBLEM!!! Woot Woot! Not owning real estate is really wonderful.

I'm still getting used to having electricity. And it's wonderful. As last time, when the electricity goes out, the elbow gets a lot of action. After dark, it's the best light and people just gather. Even though the power was actually on all day yesterday, the group took a while to disband. Nearly all day yesterday, there was comfortable conversation with various participants. It was kind of fun.

I had a lovely sleep. It's still wonderfully dark when I wake up. So I internetted and coffeed and leisurely wandered down to the pool where dawn finally showed up during my swim which was kind of lovely.

I've already done a load of laundry. A few months ago, I got wind that GE had invented a new and better filter for my washer/dryer and I bought one. I had been so frustrated by the damn machine for so long and turns out, it was just the filter. The new one makes all the difference in the world. I spent some time sucking out the extra lint from all inside the machine and now it no longer even builds up in there - just on the filter which is very easy to clean. I'm now back in love with the machine. And everything is clean and put away.

I have no other plans for today. I may watch the baseball but Spring Training is kind of boring this year. I may watch some scripted TV or I may just listen to my book. I have new crochet project in mind to do in conjunction with the creatures.

We had a fair amount of snow again yesterday morning but since then, nothing but melting. Our excitement appears to be over and we can now just revel in the joy of having electrical outlets that work.

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.

and

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.