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Finally, snow
14 Mar 2026 08:21Woke up yesterday morning to snow! Not a lot but some, the first snow we've seen this year. On 13 March.
Was not expecting that. Dh says his weather app had predicted it but mine did not so.
I did not end up coxing, we had an indoor workout, which was great because sitting immobile in a boat in 34-degree weather and with wet sloppy snow falling sounded like a recipe for hypothermia.
After, got home. There was a lot of more snow. We had a time getting down our street because some bushes on either side were very low to the ground, creating a very small windy passage. Heavy spring snow. We can see where this is going, right?
Dh got a shower as soon as he got in. I decided to sit down, check Discord, email, Bluesky etc since I'd been pretty much off of devices for the prior two days. Internet still veeeeery slow. I rebooted my machine, since Perry and dh didn't seem to be having problems. But I could still not get pages to load so I went to sit by the fireplace with my knitting, tea, a cat, and an audiobook.
And we lost power.
Dh went into work.
It came back late yesterday evening. And I seem to have reliable internet again, even on my phone. It looks like t-mobile had some problems last week, especially on Wednesday when nothing worked at all. We get our home internet from them too... Anyhow it's been a very disconnected week.
Was not expecting that. Dh says his weather app had predicted it but mine did not so.
I did not end up coxing, we had an indoor workout, which was great because sitting immobile in a boat in 34-degree weather and with wet sloppy snow falling sounded like a recipe for hypothermia.
After, got home. There was a lot of more snow. We had a time getting down our street because some bushes on either side were very low to the ground, creating a very small windy passage. Heavy spring snow. We can see where this is going, right?
Dh got a shower as soon as he got in. I decided to sit down, check Discord, email, Bluesky etc since I'd been pretty much off of devices for the prior two days. Internet still veeeeery slow. I rebooted my machine, since Perry and dh didn't seem to be having problems. But I could still not get pages to load so I went to sit by the fireplace with my knitting, tea, a cat, and an audiobook.
And we lost power.
Dh went into work.
It came back late yesterday evening. And I seem to have reliable internet again, even on my phone. It looks like t-mobile had some problems last week, especially on Wednesday when nothing worked at all. We get our home internet from them too... Anyhow it's been a very disconnected week.
A dis x 2 day
12 Mar 2026 22:16Disconnected and disappointed.
Internet has been spotty, so say the least, for the past few days. I've been pretty much offline since yesterday morning. In addition, we lost power yesterday evening (wind) and while the power came back on late this afternoon, the internet is still iffy. And btw, by iffy I mean both my phone and the wi-fi. Clearly something off with T-Mobile or/and the local tower.
Every once and a while, the phone would wake up and give me like 10 Discord notifications... but it didn't follow up with actually showing me the posts.
Disappointed in my knitting project. I have no idea what happened. So. I did the swatch thing and was pretty close to the numbers they said I should be getting. I followed the instructions. However, what I ended up with is a hat that is waaaaaay too small. I mean, circumference might be ok, but it's closer to a skullcap than a beanie. I've very disappointed. I suspected something was up when I finished the "regular knitting" section before the reductions, but I counted and decided to trust the process. Obviously, a mistake.
Ah well. I have more yarn. I will do some calculations tomorrow and start over again. Will not unravel this one yet, though.
Photos on Flickr.
Oh man, and the end, working with four double pointed needles? That are pretty awful, LOL.
Anyhow.
In a side note. Looks like the weather might go completely to hell overnight. We were about to sign out of rowing when Marilyn sent out of the line ups. I'm coxing, ðŸ˜ðŸ¤®, which means canceling is not cool. So I guess we get to slog through whatever weather the PNW wants to throw at us tomorrow, followed by freezing my ass in a boat. UGH.
Internet has been spotty, so say the least, for the past few days. I've been pretty much offline since yesterday morning. In addition, we lost power yesterday evening (wind) and while the power came back on late this afternoon, the internet is still iffy. And btw, by iffy I mean both my phone and the wi-fi. Clearly something off with T-Mobile or/and the local tower.
Every once and a while, the phone would wake up and give me like 10 Discord notifications... but it didn't follow up with actually showing me the posts.
Disappointed in my knitting project. I have no idea what happened. So. I did the swatch thing and was pretty close to the numbers they said I should be getting. I followed the instructions. However, what I ended up with is a hat that is waaaaaay too small. I mean, circumference might be ok, but it's closer to a skullcap than a beanie. I've very disappointed. I suspected something was up when I finished the "regular knitting" section before the reductions, but I counted and decided to trust the process. Obviously, a mistake.
Ah well. I have more yarn. I will do some calculations tomorrow and start over again. Will not unravel this one yet, though.
Photos on Flickr.
Oh man, and the end, working with four double pointed needles? That are pretty awful, LOL.
Anyhow.
In a side note. Looks like the weather might go completely to hell overnight. We were about to sign out of rowing when Marilyn sent out of the line ups. I'm coxing, ðŸ˜ðŸ¤®, which means canceling is not cool. So I guess we get to slog through whatever weather the PNW wants to throw at us tomorrow, followed by freezing my ass in a boat. UGH.
-- My spouse is having so much fun playing with his AI programming agents that I have to remind him to quit work. It's almost 7pm. He's been working straight -no lunch break- since 9am and will continue. WhatEVER. 🤪 It's so strange because everyone hates AI and he's having a blast creating minions. He hates what it is doing and is going to do to the industry, and that the job prospects for Linnea are terrible (great time to graduate with a degree in CS, child!), but he's figuring cutting edge stuff out and is enjoying that at least. Oh. It was 7:30 when he finally decided it was done. Now he's reading something, no doubt about AI, on his computer.
-- This recipe. Easy-peasy and really flexible. I did some heavy mods the first time I made it, filling it with almond paste and adding sliced pears on top. The second time, I made it as written, minus the sugar crust on the bottom which I did not feel added to the experience the first time. This weekend I made it with a nutella (and a bit of flour) filling. Results were great all three times. Recipe comes together quickly, doesn't require the mixer, and cooked in exactly 32 minutes, LOL. I expect I will try it with an apple pie filing (homemade), with strawberry jam, with custard and chocolate frosting (dh is a fan of Boston Cream doughnuts) and mebbe if I can swing it with lemon curd. I'd fill it with marmalade but I'm the only one who likes that. Anyhow: Jelly Doughnut Cake.
-- Keeping myself honest: I'm going to post another chapter of my novel over on my other site tomorrow. I'm trying to make some progress with figuring out what to do with it, and how to do whatever I decide I'm going to do.
-- This recipe. Easy-peasy and really flexible. I did some heavy mods the first time I made it, filling it with almond paste and adding sliced pears on top. The second time, I made it as written, minus the sugar crust on the bottom which I did not feel added to the experience the first time. This weekend I made it with a nutella (and a bit of flour) filling. Results were great all three times. Recipe comes together quickly, doesn't require the mixer, and cooked in exactly 32 minutes, LOL. I expect I will try it with an apple pie filing (homemade), with strawberry jam, with custard and chocolate frosting (dh is a fan of Boston Cream doughnuts) and mebbe if I can swing it with lemon curd. I'd fill it with marmalade but I'm the only one who likes that. Anyhow: Jelly Doughnut Cake.
-- Keeping myself honest: I'm going to post another chapter of my novel over on my other site tomorrow. I'm trying to make some progress with figuring out what to do with it, and how to do whatever I decide I'm going to do.
More Fitbit woes.
29 Dec 2025 14:16So. My beloved Charge 4 died in August.
I bought another one off of Amazon.
It died, with a similar issue in September (?), and I got a third one. Note that it was at least free since the vendor did step up.
That one has been showing signs of death since pretty much November: every week or so, it dies, something about the power, and won't wake up until I get it on a charger. Once that is done, it will have lost all the data between syncs, the time is often off, but it still has plenty of charge, so that's not the issue. At first it happened once and then would be fine for a week or so. Two weeks ago, it died like 3 times in a row. On Christmas Eve, it died about 5 or 6 times, something only staying alive for 20 minutes. So I went out and bought a Versa 4.
I gave the Charge 4 a few more days but on the 27th it died in the middle of a hike and lost a few thousand of my steps for the day, grrr, so I had to do more steps to make my step goal.😡
I did move over from the Charge 4 to the Versa 4 as of this morning. It's been only a few hours.
And....
I fucking HATE the thing. HATE HATE HATE HATE.
Can't turn off the heart rate monitor which I hate, so I'll have to go in every day and delete all the data.
No longer displays how many steps I've taken towards the 250-step hourly goal. I hate that.
It's big and ungainly.
I'd go to the Charge 6 but it no longer has the altimeter and that's one feature I really want.
So yeah. I'm not too happy.
I am tempted to buy another Charge 4 off of eBay (I've bought out the amazon stock...) but I fear the problem is endemic to older devices.
I bought another one off of Amazon.
It died, with a similar issue in September (?), and I got a third one. Note that it was at least free since the vendor did step up.
That one has been showing signs of death since pretty much November: every week or so, it dies, something about the power, and won't wake up until I get it on a charger. Once that is done, it will have lost all the data between syncs, the time is often off, but it still has plenty of charge, so that's not the issue. At first it happened once and then would be fine for a week or so. Two weeks ago, it died like 3 times in a row. On Christmas Eve, it died about 5 or 6 times, something only staying alive for 20 minutes. So I went out and bought a Versa 4.
I gave the Charge 4 a few more days but on the 27th it died in the middle of a hike and lost a few thousand of my steps for the day, grrr, so I had to do more steps to make my step goal.😡
I did move over from the Charge 4 to the Versa 4 as of this morning. It's been only a few hours.
And....
I fucking HATE the thing. HATE HATE HATE HATE.
Can't turn off the heart rate monitor which I hate, so I'll have to go in every day and delete all the data.
No longer displays how many steps I've taken towards the 250-step hourly goal. I hate that.
It's big and ungainly.
I'd go to the Charge 6 but it no longer has the altimeter and that's one feature I really want.
So yeah. I'm not too happy.
I am tempted to buy another Charge 4 off of eBay (I've bought out the amazon stock...) but I fear the problem is endemic to older devices.
Fitness trackers
7 Aug 2025 09:52OK, people, I need some help. My beloved Fitbit Charge 4 died this morning. It was sudden, no warning and its tragic demise threw me for a loop. My old beloved Fitbit Flex wouldn't connect but I had either Perry (!) or JoAnn's (!!) old Charge 2s in the drawer, got enough of a charge on the one I found and was actually able to get it up and running in short order.Â
Now I need a new device. Â
I was reluctant to continue with Fitbit because they're owned by the 🤮Evil Empire 🤮 but had to update the account anyhow so Fitbits remain a possibility.Â
I know at least Perry and Linnea have Garmin watches so I'll try on Perry's when he gets home today. I'm not fond of the watch format, I find them big on my wrist and as a result uncomfortable. I tried the Samsung watch at the T-Mobile store and LOL, the smaller one is larger than my wrist.Â
I looked at the Fitbit Inspire 3, the Charge 6, and the Garmin Vivosport 5, and unless something else comes up or someone convinces me otherwise, I am probably going to get an older Charge 4. Because they want to cram All The Intrusive Sensors into the damn bands, they've all removed the altimeter. Some (Charge 6) have replaced it with a built in GPS (which by many accounts is flaky) others just shrug and suggest you don't REALLY care if you track elevation/stairs. However, I do. I'm finding that the altimeter is a feature I'd miss: it gives me immediate feedback on if a walk (other than the yeah, I know it's the flat River Trail) was even the slightest big challenging, and I like having it on hikes. It also encourages me to take the stairs at work! :)Â
Wirecutter recommends the Inspire 3, but again, lack of altimeter. The Garmin loses a bit because of the design of the band: I dislike the molded plastic one and to get anything else requires an adapter etc.Â
I know long term I'm screwed because the Charge 4s in stock will eventually all find homes, but my old one lasted just over 4 years of daily use so hopefully there will be something else on the market by then.Â
Thoughts/ideas/suggestions?
Now I need a new device. Â
I was reluctant to continue with Fitbit because they're owned by the 🤮Evil Empire 🤮 but had to update the account anyhow so Fitbits remain a possibility.Â
I know at least Perry and Linnea have Garmin watches so I'll try on Perry's when he gets home today. I'm not fond of the watch format, I find them big on my wrist and as a result uncomfortable. I tried the Samsung watch at the T-Mobile store and LOL, the smaller one is larger than my wrist.Â
I looked at the Fitbit Inspire 3, the Charge 6, and the Garmin Vivosport 5, and unless something else comes up or someone convinces me otherwise, I am probably going to get an older Charge 4. Because they want to cram All The Intrusive Sensors into the damn bands, they've all removed the altimeter. Some (Charge 6) have replaced it with a built in GPS (which by many accounts is flaky) others just shrug and suggest you don't REALLY care if you track elevation/stairs. However, I do. I'm finding that the altimeter is a feature I'd miss: it gives me immediate feedback on if a walk (other than the yeah, I know it's the flat River Trail) was even the slightest big challenging, and I like having it on hikes. It also encourages me to take the stairs at work! :)Â
Wirecutter recommends the Inspire 3, but again, lack of altimeter. The Garmin loses a bit because of the design of the band: I dislike the molded plastic one and to get anything else requires an adapter etc.Â
I know long term I'm screwed because the Charge 4s in stock will eventually all find homes, but my old one lasted just over 4 years of daily use so hopefully there will be something else on the market by then.Â
Thoughts/ideas/suggestions?
Yes, it's Junuary. Summer will be here eventually. For now, well, I just still wear my down jacket.
1. Yesterday my twitter feed was all Bridgerton breathlessness, today it's all Kate Middleton (about 50/50 hateful vs breathless). I'm not overly invested in either, but I love seeing people happy or excited about things.
2. When BamBam does a cat loaf, he looks like a loafed cat. When Auri does a cat loaf, she looks like a loafed cat. When Twisp does a cat loaf, he looks like a turkey.
3. Bless them. Years ago, when we moved in, we had a view of the lake to the south. Then Jan, two owners ago, put up some shit trees on her fence line with her neighbors. Over the years, they obscured over 1/3 of our view, to our dismay, but hey, not our trees, and we didn't feel like we could say anything. Well, the current neighbors trimmed them big time, restoring a lot our view (and only marginally improving theirs), so we're quite happy and have thanked them profusely.
1. Yesterday my twitter feed was all Bridgerton breathlessness, today it's all Kate Middleton (about 50/50 hateful vs breathless). I'm not overly invested in either, but I love seeing people happy or excited about things.
2. When BamBam does a cat loaf, he looks like a loafed cat. When Auri does a cat loaf, she looks like a loafed cat. When Twisp does a cat loaf, he looks like a turkey.
3. Bless them. Years ago, when we moved in, we had a view of the lake to the south. Then Jan, two owners ago, put up some shit trees on her fence line with her neighbors. Over the years, they obscured over 1/3 of our view, to our dismay, but hey, not our trees, and we didn't feel like we could say anything. Well, the current neighbors trimmed them big time, restoring a lot our view (and only marginally improving theirs), so we're quite happy and have thanked them profusely.
Just a random thought
6 Jun 2024 21:53I am really concerned about the potential of a deep fake video being released days before the election, featuring something so heinous people will change their votes.
Three things for Sunday
28 Jan 2024 16:211. I made an appointment for when I get back to see about weight loss drugs. I don't know how this is going to go... I don't have a regular person, don't do screenings, avoid doctors like the plague.
2. I'm reading an actual paper book. I've read a few recently, but they've been daytime books, this is an in-bed book (I prefer to read non-fiction while sitting up, so I pay attention in a way I don't need to with fantasy, LOL). I noticed two things. One, it's big and bulky and annoying compared to my kindle. This... chilled me to the bone. When I'm reading the paper book, my eyes go straight to the right page, and I have to remind myself that no, eyes need to go read the left side page in a real-life book. Ugh. I never EVER thought that would EVER in ANY WAY be something my brain would have to use extra processing on.
3. Ugh. Linnea is down for the weekend -that's a good thing and Anne-Chloe came over for brunch so we had all three kids for that- but her train back to B'ham was cancelled because of mudslides on the line. Fine, that happens. There will be buses, Amtrak says, but they will be "late". How late? Because the last time, it was two hours late and we sat at the station waiting and waiting and waiting, we could have more easily driven Perry (at the time, iirc) up. So, ugh. Really don't want to just hang out at the station with no info.
2. I'm reading an actual paper book. I've read a few recently, but they've been daytime books, this is an in-bed book (I prefer to read non-fiction while sitting up, so I pay attention in a way I don't need to with fantasy, LOL). I noticed two things. One, it's big and bulky and annoying compared to my kindle. This... chilled me to the bone. When I'm reading the paper book, my eyes go straight to the right page, and I have to remind myself that no, eyes need to go read the left side page in a real-life book. Ugh. I never EVER thought that would EVER in ANY WAY be something my brain would have to use extra processing on.
3. Ugh. Linnea is down for the weekend -that's a good thing and Anne-Chloe came over for brunch so we had all three kids for that- but her train back to B'ham was cancelled because of mudslides on the line. Fine, that happens. There will be buses, Amtrak says, but they will be "late". How late? Because the last time, it was two hours late and we sat at the station waiting and waiting and waiting, we could have more easily driven Perry (at the time, iirc) up. So, ugh. Really don't want to just hang out at the station with no info.
I want to knit something. A hat. I found instructions that I can kinda follow.
I need yarn, circular needles, and stitch markers.
First thought: buy them all on amazon.
But. Further research leads me to think that the size of circular needles that this easy beginner project recommends are not the ones I'd need to do, well, any other hat project.
Circular needles of decent quality are kinda expensive ($23 for the size the project says to use). And, again, all the other projects I found suggest much smaller needles. (I get why the big ones, and the chunky yarn: will make it go faster, LOL).
Then I had an idea. So I pulled up a search engine to search for "used knitting needles King County", hoping the library system (which hosts maker labs) would have something like that.
I got a whole bunch of hits for the other kind of needles, not knitting. As well as suggestions about needles exchanges and personal sharps disposal and--
My search engine is probably going to try to get me into detox for the next six weeks.
I need yarn, circular needles, and stitch markers.
First thought: buy them all on amazon.
But. Further research leads me to think that the size of circular needles that this easy beginner project recommends are not the ones I'd need to do, well, any other hat project.
Circular needles of decent quality are kinda expensive ($23 for the size the project says to use). And, again, all the other projects I found suggest much smaller needles. (I get why the big ones, and the chunky yarn: will make it go faster, LOL).
Then I had an idea. So I pulled up a search engine to search for "used knitting needles King County", hoping the library system (which hosts maker labs) would have something like that.
I got a whole bunch of hits for the other kind of needles, not knitting. As well as suggestions about needles exchanges and personal sharps disposal and--
My search engine is probably going to try to get me into detox for the next six weeks.
This is one reason.....
1 Jan 2024 16:06... I love my spouse.
1. I have an MSI laptop. It was a POS pretty much from day one and I hate it. The keyboard started crapping out about 3 months after I bought it from Costco but I couldn't replace it because I was in the middle of a graduate program and could not be without the laptop for the time it would take MSI to repair it, Grr. Keyboard was unreliable but still vaguely functional until about 2 years ago when it became unusable.
2. So I've been using a bluetooth keyboard since. It's bulky and annoying but it works.
3. We are going to Yurp in February and ugh, what to do? I mean, I don't want to lug my keyboard internationally, especially since we might not be renting a car so train etc.
Solution 1:
Buy a new computer. I don't strictly need it and I really didn't like that expensive solution. It would have worked, of course.
Solution 2: drop in a new keyboard. That was my preferred solution but... all the available keyboards are drop-shipped from China and one month isn't enough to reliably get one here.
Solution 3: Dh had said we could just take his Surface, which, fine, but I hate the tiny keyboard on that thing. So... he suggested I bring along my bluetooth keyboard to use with the Surface. Lightest most portable solution yet!
This is one of the reasons I keep him around. I never went down the path of how we could share the Surface because I hate the keyboard on that thing.
😃
1. I have an MSI laptop. It was a POS pretty much from day one and I hate it. The keyboard started crapping out about 3 months after I bought it from Costco but I couldn't replace it because I was in the middle of a graduate program and could not be without the laptop for the time it would take MSI to repair it, Grr. Keyboard was unreliable but still vaguely functional until about 2 years ago when it became unusable.
2. So I've been using a bluetooth keyboard since. It's bulky and annoying but it works.
3. We are going to Yurp in February and ugh, what to do? I mean, I don't want to lug my keyboard internationally, especially since we might not be renting a car so train etc.
Solution 1:
Buy a new computer. I don't strictly need it and I really didn't like that expensive solution. It would have worked, of course.
Solution 2: drop in a new keyboard. That was my preferred solution but... all the available keyboards are drop-shipped from China and one month isn't enough to reliably get one here.
Solution 3: Dh had said we could just take his Surface, which, fine, but I hate the tiny keyboard on that thing. So... he suggested I bring along my bluetooth keyboard to use with the Surface. Lightest most portable solution yet!
This is one of the reasons I keep him around. I never went down the path of how we could share the Surface because I hate the keyboard on that thing.
😃
New cell phone
7 Dec 2023 09:09My old cell phone was... due for an update. It was already old when I got it in 2019, it's ancient now, hasn't had a security update in years, doesn't have 5G, and has long since run out of space.
I love that phone. I detest changing phones and indeed hold onto them as long as I can.
But then the fingerprint thingie stopped working reliably. And the apps crash constantly. And the phone hangs. And--
Got myself a refurb Samsung.
It was time. I have the new phone, I'll start transitioning to it over the next few weeks (I have to build up CandyCrush boosters and use up the ones on the old phone, LOL) and probably switch over towards the end of the month.
But now I must name it. My previous phone was DaisyBlue. She has a clear case and a pretty sticker! Obviously, can't get a photo of the phone with the phone, but this is the sticker!
I don't want another clear case, so I'll probably not go the sticker route this time.
The other thing I am thinking of doing is getting two cases this time! I know, what a splurge! One of them with a popsocket or other holding device to use while hiking or travelling.
Sorry, random stuff this morning. It's pouring again.
I love that phone. I detest changing phones and indeed hold onto them as long as I can.
But then the fingerprint thingie stopped working reliably. And the apps crash constantly. And the phone hangs. And--
Got myself a refurb Samsung.
It was time. I have the new phone, I'll start transitioning to it over the next few weeks (I have to build up CandyCrush boosters and use up the ones on the old phone, LOL) and probably switch over towards the end of the month.
But now I must name it. My previous phone was DaisyBlue. She has a clear case and a pretty sticker! Obviously, can't get a photo of the phone with the phone, but this is the sticker!
I don't want another clear case, so I'll probably not go the sticker route this time.
The other thing I am thinking of doing is getting two cases this time! I know, what a splurge! One of them with a popsocket or other holding device to use while hiking or travelling.
Sorry, random stuff this morning. It's pouring again.
My not so secret vice
10 Nov 2023 13:27I do three things when listening to pollical shows on youtube, audiobooks, or music.
1. Slowly teach myself to knit and practice that
2. Microsoft Jigsaw
3. Play CandyCrush Saga.
Today I got an email from King with the following image in it:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've played over 8000 levels of CandyCrush. At least they don't tell me what percentage I'm at, because that was cringe. I mean "Only 2% of players have reached this level" translates to "98% of people stopped because they wasted so much freaking time at this game."
But.
I have never given them any money, so eh.
And!
Dh said when I reached 10k levels, we were going to throw a party!
Somehow, I love that idea.
1. Slowly teach myself to knit and practice that
2. Microsoft Jigsaw
3. Play CandyCrush Saga.
Today I got an email from King with the following image in it:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've played over 8000 levels of CandyCrush. At least they don't tell me what percentage I'm at, because that was cringe. I mean "Only 2% of players have reached this level" translates to "98% of people stopped because they wasted so much freaking time at this game."
But.
I have never given them any money, so eh.
And!
Dh said when I reached 10k levels, we were going to throw a party!
Somehow, I love that idea.
Rock needed
7 Nov 2023 11:41Anne-Chloe is leaving for a week in Dublin tonight. I'm jealous. She has a friend who ditched the US (Irish grandparent) the second she graduated from HS, and has been living there so a place to stay. Lucky her. That means she and Linnea will have seen the Book of Kells, and Perry, dh, and I have not yet, grrr. Trip needed.
A neighbor is logging their lot. It's about 1 acre, there was about 1/2 acre cleared years ago, but I guess they decided they needed to clear the lot entirely. The sound of chainsaws is making me sick to my stomach. Then comes the thud of another 100+ year old tree hitting the ground. Then a brief pause before the chainsaws pick back up. It's been several days of this, most of last week as well. ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Most of last week and yesterday, I kept my headphones on. But my mom had a bad night, up at 4am (Perry who was about to leave, got her to go back to bed), then again at about 6am, when I suggested she sleep a bit more, then up for the day at 8am. As she often is after a bad's night sleep, she's distressed, keeps asking about my dad, and is not always clear in each conversation if I am her daughter or her sister, so when I tell her, she isn't sure if I mean her husband or her father. But not consistently, so it's hard to know what info to give (if I remind her I'm her daughter, she gets pissy on top of distressed). Anyhow, that means she's been talking pretty much nonstop about this since she got up so... no headphones to mute the sound of saws.
I've managed, while not eating anything out of the ordinary, to gain 5lbs since Thursday. I just want to cry. The weight comes on easily with no explanation, and it's going to be as rough to get it off again as it was the first time. Basically, I've not lost anything since early September and it's fucking hard to be hungry all the time AND not lose weight.
I hate that I am not a good caregiver.
I just desperately need a few days without my mom, and that's not happening until Christmas at best, and even then, my sister will be here (but staying at a hotel) and I'll still be responsible. Sister still thinks her construction will be done by December, but lol, I saw the status last month, and considering how slow they've been progressing? Not happening unless they've managed to sic lawyers on their contractors.
Bluetooth is a fucking POS protocol.
There. Where's my rock? I need a rock to crawl under.
A neighbor is logging their lot. It's about 1 acre, there was about 1/2 acre cleared years ago, but I guess they decided they needed to clear the lot entirely. The sound of chainsaws is making me sick to my stomach. Then comes the thud of another 100+ year old tree hitting the ground. Then a brief pause before the chainsaws pick back up. It's been several days of this, most of last week as well. ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Most of last week and yesterday, I kept my headphones on. But my mom had a bad night, up at 4am (Perry who was about to leave, got her to go back to bed), then again at about 6am, when I suggested she sleep a bit more, then up for the day at 8am. As she often is after a bad's night sleep, she's distressed, keeps asking about my dad, and is not always clear in each conversation if I am her daughter or her sister, so when I tell her, she isn't sure if I mean her husband or her father. But not consistently, so it's hard to know what info to give (if I remind her I'm her daughter, she gets pissy on top of distressed). Anyhow, that means she's been talking pretty much nonstop about this since she got up so... no headphones to mute the sound of saws.
I've managed, while not eating anything out of the ordinary, to gain 5lbs since Thursday. I just want to cry. The weight comes on easily with no explanation, and it's going to be as rough to get it off again as it was the first time. Basically, I've not lost anything since early September and it's fucking hard to be hungry all the time AND not lose weight.
I hate that I am not a good caregiver.
I just desperately need a few days without my mom, and that's not happening until Christmas at best, and even then, my sister will be here (but staying at a hotel) and I'll still be responsible. Sister still thinks her construction will be done by December, but lol, I saw the status last month, and considering how slow they've been progressing? Not happening unless they've managed to sic lawyers on their contractors.
Bluetooth is a fucking POS protocol.
There. Where's my rock? I need a rock to crawl under.
Three things for Friday
3 Nov 2023 10:161. I asked our music teacher if she would be willing to come over and hang out here. Hopefully my mom will sleep late and it won't be too much of an issue. Heidi might have to teach a class from here, but if so, we should be back, it would just be a quiet overlap. Part of the issue is that WSDOT is closing roads and exits to the freeway around UW and that makes getting home something that will take longer than expected. Ah well, we'll figure it out, I think.
2. youtube's ads are really pissing me off. I have an adblocker, but when they demanded it, I did ad them to my exceptions list. Of course, they're shitty google scum, and it's not just an ad at the start of the video, it's ads every 2-3 minutes on videos that last maybe 7-10 minutes? I'm probably going to be cutting down on my political viewing as a result. You can skip the ads in the middle of the videos, but most of the time, I'm listening not watching, and either teaching myself to knot, playing Candy Crush or doing a Microsoft Games jigsaw puzzle so pausing to dismiss the ad is a pita. Add to that that the ads are all crappy clickbait take advantage of the gullible type. When I see shit like this I am again reminded that after Trump's stupid comment, I could have sold homeopathic bleach pills and been a mega-zillionaire. Right now the workaround is to bring up the share button and watch the video in the embed. Again, if it was ONE or even TWO ads at the start, I'd grit my teeth and bear it. Interrupting twice in ten minutes is egregious.
3. Some bready thoughts. Perry bought me a bag of 6 cardamom rolls from the Norwegian bakery last weekend and I've been having one in the morning in addition to my usual skyr. I love love love cardamom. These are not sweet, even less sweet than Finnish pulla (I love that too), but just a wonderful plain not enriched roll with cardamom. I need to learn to make them. Which brings me to my other November project, this one for Perry and me. Dinner rolls. I've never found a recipe that balances 'fussy to pull off at the last minute' and 'good'. David's aunt Greta used to have one, I'll have to ask if she still does. Perry and I have tried recipes over the years, but nothing was ever a repeat. I think this year I'm going to start baking a few batches, or maybe half batches now, and pick the best recipe in that way. Perry coaches every day and food that goes to the boathouse does NOT come home, so we have an obvious outlet for extras, LOL. So. Anyone have a good roll recipe to share?
2. youtube's ads are really pissing me off. I have an adblocker, but when they demanded it, I did ad them to my exceptions list. Of course, they're shitty google scum, and it's not just an ad at the start of the video, it's ads every 2-3 minutes on videos that last maybe 7-10 minutes? I'm probably going to be cutting down on my political viewing as a result. You can skip the ads in the middle of the videos, but most of the time, I'm listening not watching, and either teaching myself to knot, playing Candy Crush or doing a Microsoft Games jigsaw puzzle so pausing to dismiss the ad is a pita. Add to that that the ads are all crappy clickbait take advantage of the gullible type. When I see shit like this I am again reminded that after Trump's stupid comment, I could have sold homeopathic bleach pills and been a mega-zillionaire. Right now the workaround is to bring up the share button and watch the video in the embed. Again, if it was ONE or even TWO ads at the start, I'd grit my teeth and bear it. Interrupting twice in ten minutes is egregious.
3. Some bready thoughts. Perry bought me a bag of 6 cardamom rolls from the Norwegian bakery last weekend and I've been having one in the morning in addition to my usual skyr. I love love love cardamom. These are not sweet, even less sweet than Finnish pulla (I love that too), but just a wonderful plain not enriched roll with cardamom. I need to learn to make them. Which brings me to my other November project, this one for Perry and me. Dinner rolls. I've never found a recipe that balances 'fussy to pull off at the last minute' and 'good'. David's aunt Greta used to have one, I'll have to ask if she still does. Perry and I have tried recipes over the years, but nothing was ever a repeat. I think this year I'm going to start baking a few batches, or maybe half batches now, and pick the best recipe in that way. Perry coaches every day and food that goes to the boathouse does NOT come home, so we have an obvious outlet for extras, LOL. So. Anyone have a good roll recipe to share?
If I had money...
14 Aug 2023 10:53If I had loads of money, I'd go to Southern CA and AZ and sunny states and give homeowners some money for the option to eventually put solar that I'd own on their roofs. And I'd start a utility company. Or I'd hold on to those options and sell them to a real utility company, LOL.
My sister has never forgiven me for not running with my before-Uber idea of, well, Uber, but it was for moms by moms, a hybrid taxi/carpool. Anyhow.
ETA. Also, why is every single suburban parking lot not covered (which would be nice, for shade) with solar panels on the roof?
My sister has never forgiven me for not running with my before-Uber idea of, well, Uber, but it was for moms by moms, a hybrid taxi/carpool. Anyhow.
ETA. Also, why is every single suburban parking lot not covered (which would be nice, for shade) with solar panels on the roof?
Pride? Well, kinda...
9 Jun 2023 11:27Considering the colors I had available, I think I did an ok job at a Pride phone screen, LOL.
Our network was originally called 'internal chaos', to differentiate it from 'external chaos' that was the other side of the router.
Router upgrade, name changed to 'chaos'.
Router upgrade, name changed to 'chaos central'.
Router upgrade, name changed to 'entropy'.
Then, last fall, while I was in Vancouver BC taking care of my aunt, dh set up our new router.
He called it "MyAirPurifier", because, tbf, the thing does look a bit like a tiny air purifier.
And I was all...
Because as far as I am concerned, MyAirPurifier is waaaaay too reminiscent of MyPillowGuy and, well...
I've been at him to change the router name since November, and it hasn't risen high enough on the priority queue, but today, he had to do a factory reset on the router, so fingers crossed....
Router upgrade, name changed to 'chaos'.
Router upgrade, name changed to 'chaos central'.
Router upgrade, name changed to 'entropy'.
Then, last fall, while I was in Vancouver BC taking care of my aunt, dh set up our new router.
He called it "MyAirPurifier", because, tbf, the thing does look a bit like a tiny air purifier.
And I was all...
Because as far as I am concerned, MyAirPurifier is waaaaay too reminiscent of MyPillowGuy and, well...
I've been at him to change the router name since November, and it hasn't risen high enough on the priority queue, but today, he had to do a factory reset on the router, so fingers crossed....
It was a nice weekend, if a busy one!
1. Still looking for some titles for my novel. My two current top choices -which are the only two fucking titles I've been able to come up with that make even vague sense- are You, Me, and Maybe Tomorrow and A Hand at the Edges, or something to that effect.
2. Can't get my Kindle, my beloved Paperwhite purchased in 2013, to read epub files, at a time when amazon has abandoned mobi and gone to epub and more and more of the books at the library are in that format. I'd get a new Kindle, but as usual they put too many features and degraded the experience. The main thing I hate with new Kindles is the fact that the screens are flat. My older one has a bezel around the reading area and it keeps grubby fingers off the screen, and just feel better to me. The reviews on the newer ones are not as good as on the older ones. Ugh. I hope amaszon figures this out.
3. My aunt's birthday was officially 21 March, same as my MIL's. We celebrated MIL's yesterday, with pot roast and a vanilla cake with chocolate filling and chocolate buttercream. This should be it for a while, I'm so done with cooking, cakes, and celebrations, LOL.
1. Still looking for some titles for my novel. My two current top choices -which are the only two fucking titles I've been able to come up with that make even vague sense- are You, Me, and Maybe Tomorrow and A Hand at the Edges, or something to that effect.
2. Can't get my Kindle, my beloved Paperwhite purchased in 2013, to read epub files, at a time when amazon has abandoned mobi and gone to epub and more and more of the books at the library are in that format. I'd get a new Kindle, but as usual they put too many features and degraded the experience. The main thing I hate with new Kindles is the fact that the screens are flat. My older one has a bezel around the reading area and it keeps grubby fingers off the screen, and just feel better to me. The reviews on the newer ones are not as good as on the older ones. Ugh. I hope amaszon figures this out.
3. My aunt's birthday was officially 21 March, same as my MIL's. We celebrated MIL's yesterday, with pot roast and a vanilla cake with chocolate filling and chocolate buttercream. This should be it for a while, I'm so done with cooking, cakes, and celebrations, LOL.
Unexpected bit of nice
25 Mar 2023 15:02Husky Open this morning. Perry's V8 boat came in 2nd, after UBC, with an pretty ok time. We watched the WWU women (alas without Linnea) who did ok, then headed down to a nearby State Park on Puget Sound to tromp through their extensive trail system. Alas, there was a trail running event going on (would have been nice if there had been a note of that on the park website, btw), and the trail to access all the other trails was full of runners, both starting and returning. So we visited the freezing beach and then went to a local park for a quick walk, nothing extraordinary, but the weather was nice. (Unlike this morning, where there was s-word on the ground here. My poor dafs. If they don't perk up by tomorrow, I'll cut them since their lieing face down almost in the dirt isn't a great thing, sigh).
Since we were in the area, I asked dh if we could stop by Ikea on the way home to see if my earbuds case had been turned in. I had contacted Ikea's Lost And Found and they said they had a 'case open' but I didn't hear anything but figured eh, I'm in the area, may as well.
And... it had.
I honestly did not expect to ever see that case and earbuds again, and I'm quite honestly thrilled.
Since we were in the area, I asked dh if we could stop by Ikea on the way home to see if my earbuds case had been turned in. I had contacted Ikea's Lost And Found and they said they had a 'case open' but I didn't hear anything but figured eh, I'm in the area, may as well.
And... it had.
I honestly did not expect to ever see that case and earbuds again, and I'm quite honestly thrilled.
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