Saturday, September 07, 2019

The lavender at the Y is turning with the season

I love my Saturday morning classes at the Fauntleroy Y. It's a very positive way to start the weekend!
this morning I chatted with the other guy in the class and, afterwards, had a joke as usual with Katherine the instructor. I then got a cup of coffee and looked around the grounds for something to photograph. It never fails!
We are out of the season where there are new flowers; it is now time to record the maturation process. This is a metaphor for life!
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Later this day I took Arthur to the vet for his annual blood work. It was also time to re-order his meds - $280 of it for a 90 day supply. I spend more on medical care for my cats than I do for myself, and I don't do for them everything the doctor suggests. It's a problem.

Friday, September 06, 2019

Mr Pie Says ...


"Mr. Pie says: "The best thing to do with fruit that is starting to get a little old is to stew it, put it in a pie shell, and bake until your kitchen smells like Heaven."

Kiara had gotten some very nice peaches but the last of them were going soft. I put them in the crock pot the other day. Today I harvested a little rhubarb and cooked that, then mixes that and the peaches into a crust  - experimenting with my silicon pie pan - and topped with frozen berries. Of course I inclued a lot of brown spices - cinnamon, allspice, etc.

The smell was heaven and the taste was good too!
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After work (and before pie) I took my car to Miencke to fix the taillight. I'm used to changing bulbs in the front part of the car, but the tail lights are sealed in with screws that I don't have the tools to deal with. Luckily and very kindly, this shop fixed it for free. I will have to go back there next oil change!

The Best Wedding Ever

Biggest wedding I ever went to was planned for a year by a co-worker using her work computer. She was not subtle about it; she was visiting sites during work hours to get the best of everything - and her monitor was clearly visible to everyone who went by her workspace.
It was a really fun wedding too. Everything was perfect, especially the bride who was extremely good-looking and (to be frank) way out of the league of the perfectly nice but underemployed groom.  When they'd moved in together they'd given away a futon that had become surplus, and I had a chance to chat with him a bit. His interests - whether artistic or employment related - didn't seem to align with hers, but I just assumed that it was true love, which is a thing that can happen.
There were a couple of odd things at the wedding. One of the guests was one of her ex-boyfriends, who was there at her invitation and without a date. He was determined to show that he was a good guy and supported her. IIRC he left very drunk.
Another thing I can't talk about much was meeting someone who I knew from way long ago who was the second gay person I'd ever met. He was obviously still not out. He knew I knew and for a moment there was in his eyes a look of shock and apprehension.  What can you do? There really isn't any way to say "Don't worry guy" in public that wouldn't just make things worse for him.  I nodded and said how happy I was to see him after all these years, and we have not spoken since. I hope he is well.

As for the bride: couple of years later she's with another guy. It may be just by chance that he is much wealthier and better looking and she met through work.
I believe that she just wanted to have a wedding. The business of marriage was not really for her, but she really enjoyed planning the show and being its center. Too bad she could not have simply hired an actor and not hurt the fiance

Ever get the feeling someone is watching?

Cool cloud formation on the way to or from my bus stop.
(Of course I had to walk to just the right spot to get it to look sorta like a face)

Tuesday, September 03, 2019

Arthur Underbedkat

Every morning and evening, I give Arthur his meds. Some days it's quite a game locating him; if he's had time to wake up and think about it, he could be anywhere.
I try to leave him alone when he's under the bed, so it's like his private refuge. But today I had to go to work and get him medicated so I enticed him away from the back corner under the bed and ... the deed was done!
I posted this photo as my daily FB with the comment
I appreciate that caring for children is harder than caring for cats .... But at least children can't hide under the bed when it's time to get their meds!
Well! I never imagined just how many parents were following my feed. Suffice it to say there was a LOT of comments to the tune of "Are you sure? Oh yes they can!"
I sit corrected haha!

Monday, September 02, 2019

Labor Day Weekend

Sunday I drove over to the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System with Cyril to work on cleaning up the Healing Garden. It was that famous manual labor I've heard so much about - and avoided as much as possible. In the end, it was greatly neatened up and I felt good about it.
In case you haven't heard the of this, the Healing Garden is a partnership with the community to convert wasted space into something nice and useful for patients and staff - sort of a "Friends Of The Library" program for a VA hospitals! The community contributed funds, the University contributed expertise … let me know would you like to try this in your region. Here's our video: https://vimeo.com/181831898
That evening I watched a movie from the library: "I, Tonya". I pretty much understood where she was coming from, what with the beatings and the desire to escape by working hard. (I hope I had better judgment though). I also loved the Roshomon-like quality, in presenting the contradictory stories and letting the viewer decide which story was true, if any. I watched all the extras on the disk, including a fascinating short video on the special effects that let them put the actor's face onto a stunt double's amazing skating moves. This technology could be abused.
Monday I saw Kiara briefly as she zoomed in and out on PAX weekend. I did a lot of tinkering with Toastmasters stuff. Mostly, I relaxed and did not try to get too much done.
This evening I met Hannah and Julie for a beer at Beveridge House. They are great for a chat!

Sunday, September 01, 2019

Must Be Legit!

I Go this email from square@JKKKGFGGGGJJ12.COM which included a handy link to click on to fix the problem.
I don't remember issuing a refund to anybody, but it's got a logo so it must be legit!!!