Things to celebrate

Last night was the big concert in Erie. Tim needed to go to the Home Depot. As long as I was there, I wanted to stop in at the Salvation Army store. I was looking for a plant stand really, but did not find it. However I did find a Farberware Slow Cooker to replace the slow cooker I am now afraid to use due to cord damage. 

And a nice shirt. 

Anyways. we had supper out at a place with a terrific salad bar. Tim enjoyed his barbecue. I enjoyed my salad. 

We drove to Warner Theater, and as we guessed, it wasn't jam packed. 'Asia' started off with 'Only Time Will Tell'. Asia has been through many incarnations, with many different musicians. Their new lead singer is John Payne who replaced John Wetton who died 8 years ago. So while they played a bit of the hits, they also, understandably, wanted to showcase their recent stuff too. It wasn't horrible, but I wasn't familiar with it. 

One thing though: I don't get the whole 'rock star persona' thing. It's very strange watching a 60+ year old man leaping around the stage, leaning forward, bug eyed and waggling his tongue for the crowd. What is it with the tongue thing? I guess I'm too old for that too, right AC?

Everyone was waiting for Lou Gramm to take the stage though, and when he did, he was surely worth the wait. A pudgy 74 year old walked out dressed in jeans and a denim shirt looking perfectly ordinary, like anyone you would pass on the street and not give a second look. He proceeded to bring that house down. 

The crowd went nuts as one hit after another thundered off the stage. All familiar. All songs that everyone knew the words to. Sure, Lou's voice was not so high as it had been (he had a brain tumor that involved damage to his pituitary gland years back, and this changed his voice). There was a microphone that they were having some difficulty with. But you know what? No one cared. The band was top notch, the man is legend AND. EVERYONE. KNEW. ALL. THE. WORDS.

 There was no mugging.  There was no leaping about, unless you counted the saxophonist who came off stage during "Urgent," and marched up the aisle playing the solo while everyone roared. It was a solid hour and a half of pure entertainment, without the nonsense. Everyone's tongues stayed right in their mouths where they belonged. It was a great night. 

We walked out of there with all the rest of the old folks and drove the hour home remembering what it was when we heard that music for the first time. 

We were dragging tail this morning though. Ugh.

We had an appointment at the bank. You know, I just gotta say it. There was a very elderly woman and her (I'm guessing) grandson. He helped her into the bank. We followed them through the parking lot. They smelled horrible. I mean, like extreme. She was obviously very frail, and filthy. I mean, dirty socks that I think had once been white. The elastic was gone and they drooped around her thin ankles. The backs of her legs were smeared with something. I hated to guess. The grandson was dirty with shaggy black dyed hair. He smelled too, although he was not so obviously dirty. 

We had to wait for our appointment, and so we took two seats outside the office of the man we needed to see. 

The tellers knew these people by name. They went up to a window, and they were asked to wait back by a sign until they were called. The smell filled the lobby. This is not hyperbole. The young man grabbed a chair for the woman, and shoved it over to her. He came back and grabbed a second chair for himself, and they parked themselves in the middle of the lobby. 

The customers at one of the windows left. The teller asked if the woman had the withdrawal slip she needed. She didn't. The teller pushed one across and the young man went to get it and returned to the elderly lady. I saw the teller surreptitiously spray something on her hands and then fan them at her face. 

We got called in by then so I did not see how the rest of that played out. Our appointment was a half hour, and when we walked back out into the lobby, the smell was still very noticeable, although the people were gone. 

Tim and I talked on the way to the car. I hope someone is watching out for that woman. It really made me concerned about elder abuse. 

After we finished there, we drove straight to the protest. We were surprised to see about 150 people there. Even more amazing was that there were a lot of honking horns and thumbs up from passing vehicles. There were raised fists in support. There were a few people flipping us off or gunning their engines in disgust. We do after all live in a red county, but most people waved using all their fingers. That is quite a shift. A big rally in my town in 40 people. We generally get a lot of insults. It was different. Today was different. It is hard not to be encouraged by that. 

We had a birthday party to go to, which involved buying two cards. Tim just grabbed himself some chicken wings. I drove so that he could eat. As I was going towards the exit, a truck backed out of a parking spot, evidently forgetting that there was two lane traffic. I hit the brakes sharply. Tim said mildly. "Well...I got one of them." The container was on the floor upside down. 

It is raining, and it will turn to snow. I can't really complain. There are people in this country right now who have a lot more worrisome weather. Still, I just can't help longing for spring. 

Cray Cray

 I cannot even wrap my head around these 'proposed changes'. Who comes up with these things? Let me tell you who. Rich people who need workers, and are completely willing to break your children to do it. End meal breaks? 14 year olds working overnights? What about school? MAGA, my ass. 

Today we worked in our kitchen doing the tiling. We got the long wall done while listening to the live updates on the stock market. After a long morning, Tim said, "What was it he said yesterday? This is the Golden Age of America?" 

Yeah. That's what he said while he was gleefully making his announcements. 

Nuts!

To quote a sage, "Nobody can believe it!" 

He has a new book out.

But enough about this sad state of affairs. 

Did I ever show you this? It's right inside the front door. My brother in law made the hat rack.  

I came home and repotted three plants. I'm sure they'll be fine, although they appear a bit bedraggled right this moment. Plants aren't the most grateful life forms I've ever known. 

I broiled a chicken breast and sliced it up and made a grilled chicken salad for supper, which hit the spot for both of us. 

We figure that we will spend a half day up at the new house tomorrow and be able to finish the tiling. We'll come home, clean up, and head out to see Lou Gramm in Erie. 

Then: 

Now: 

Wonder if, all these years later, it still feels like the first time? 

Anyways...the old fogeys are headed out...and yes. I have earplugs. 

Let's end on a laugh: 

Oh gees. I forgot one: 

Today

 This morning was an odd morning. I woke up, and I couldn't get back to sleep to save my soul. I had a tiny headache, but it didn't seem like enough to keep me awake, and then my mind started wandering from one thing to another like it does. I finally got up and took something for my headache, came back to bed, and managed to fall asleep, only to be jolted awake by my cell phone alarm. I shut it off. Why it was set? How did it get set? Who set it? I assumed that it was for something, so I got up and logged into my computer portal to check for appointments. I had none. I had one for tomorrow, but nothing today. 

I finally decided to go back to bed, but I couldn't fall back asleep because I kept thinking that there had to be something that I was missing. By the time it was actually time to get up, I was bleary eyed and short sleeped. 

Tim wants to build a shed to store his 'stuff'. He'll drive me crazy, the pack rat, but I figured I'd just let him go build his shed. 

That's the nice thing about working on only one project. If I want to take a day to do laundry and get groceries and the like, I don't feel like a terrible person. I absolutely did not feel the slightest bit guilty about not helping him build a shed for stuff he really should be thinking of getting rid of anyway. IMHO. 

So I got up when I felt like it, and had my coffee and breakfast in front of the computer. 

A memory popped up on facebook from this day back in 2017: 

I woke up to Tim standing beside the bed in holding his work gloves, saying, 'I can't believe that I overslept today, of ALL days...' Half asleep, I looked at the clock and it was 2 AM. I sat up in bed, confused and realized that Tim was sound asleep in bed, snoring gently.  

Eight years later, it made me laugh again. 

Anyways, so it was one of those days where there is nothing to report. Laundry is done. I got out and got a few groceries. The cat is tickled that I bought cat food. I stopped at Goodwill because I need a couple planters to repot a pothos that is surely rootbound and in need of dividing. They didn't have any planters, but that didn't stop me from having a bit of a nosey. I found a pile of plates, those collector type plates. Probably a dozen of them. They were painted with birds of all different kinds. One with cardinals. Another with blue jays. Blue birds. Robins. Chickadees. Gold finches. Birds I didn't know. And they were really beautiful. $1.49 each. They had the hangers. I picked them up, looking through and I was so tempted. Sooooooo tempted. Except we're downsizing. And where would I put them? I stood there holding the plates. 

I turned to a woman standing nearby. "Do me a favor, will you?" 

She looked surprised but said, "If I can..." 

I said, "Look me in the eye and tell me that I do NOT need these plates. Say it in a firm voice, like you really, really mean it." 

She said, "YOU. DO. NOT. NEED. THOSE. PLATES." She sounded like she really truly did mean it. 

I put the plates back and said, "You're absolutely right. Thank you for pointing that out." 

She was laughing as I walked away.

I ran my errands in a downpour. In the west, the lightning seemed to jag straight down to some unfortunate piece of ground far away behind the mountains and the thunder echoed across their peaks. It was a doozy of a storm, and I do love a good thunderstorm.

I found two planters, nice ones. Ceramic, and on clearance for $5.49. I consoled myself that $11.00 was not too much to spend on something that I really did need, especially since I had been so brave about not getting the decorative plates. 

I felt quite virtuous by the time that I explained this all to Tim when I got home. 

He did not look convinced. 

"And look! I got you Twizzlers!" I said. "The big bag!"

Anyways. 

I put together a nice supper. I had a half pound of sausage that I needed to finish off. I browned it with onion and peppers and mushrooms and some rosemary and thyme and a dash of cayenne. I added chicken broth, some diced tomatoes and simmered it together with lentils. 

It was one of those 'no recipe' hits. 

So that was today. Tim ran out later on his daily trip to Lowe's. 

They are really getting to know us there. 

He's still talking.

 And this is what we need to see, right here. 

It's not only that he's talking, but that he's speaking eloquently. He has not had a bathroom break. 

I'm not sure why the link I shared yesterday changed to private. He has held the floor for 23 hours and 50 minutes. If he holds it for another half hour, he will hold the record for the longest speech, beating out Strom Thurmond at 24 hours and 18 minutes.  (Late Edit: He has done it!)

But it is not about that. It's not about records. It is about galvanizing our government to stand up and resist the unconstitutional activity we are seeing unfold before our very eyes. 

I sent another e-mail to John Fetterman and Glenn Thompson, suggesting that they see Cory Booker as the role model. This was what they were elected and sent to Washington to do. 

I am watching this now, and I know that I am witnessing history. I know also that when these awful days are done, Cory Booker's name will be writ in the history of our country. 

Today, we met at the lawyer's office. Bless the man, we expected to go there and tell him what we wanted, and go back next week to sign a contract. He had it all laid out on his desk. He wrote in a few pertinent details, asked his questions, and wrote the contract out today. Mia was not prepared for it. Neither were we, but we walked out of there with the signed papers. 

She said, "I was so sure that I was going to get here and find out that this was an April Fool's joke." It wasn't, of course. Her family is meeting up at her house to celebrate with pizza today.

Happy Stories

"This is not right or left. This is right or wrong." Cory Booker, March 31st. 

Cory Booker is filibustering on the floor of the senate right now, and vows to continue as long as he is physically able. 

https://www.newsweek.com/democrat-talking-long-hes-physically-able-protest-trump-2053378

Back the video up to the beginning to listen, otherwise it will take forever to buffer. 

Please stop what you are doing and go here to thank him: 

https://www.booker.senate.gov/contact/write-to-cory/form

We got the sink cut out of the counter top.  Tim stressed mightily about this. If he would have screwed it up, it would have been a $400 loss. He measured, and measured again. I measured and measured again too. Finally, there was nothing left to do but to cut. He did. We set it all in place, dropped the sink in and it was perfect. The putty is curing right now. 

Tomorrow we meet at the lawyer's office with the woman buying our house. Hopefully, once our lawyer knows what we need, he will be able to draw up a contract fairly quickly. I know that Mia is chomping at the bit to get started. Tomorrow, we will go over to the house with her. We're going to mark the wiring for her, so that she knows what wire does what. It will make it easier for her. She also wants to do some measuring and get some numbers. 

It's also a big day for our new tenant as well. She is officially moving in tomorrow. We'll have to meet up with her as well at some point. 

Daffodils are out! 

We all need happy stories. Feel free to add your own happies in the comments.

And finally, just for laughs. 

Plugging along.

 We did not get a lot done today. I put the finish on the countertops. We used something called Rubio Monocoat, which is something Tim's cousin gave him the last time that we were at the Hardwood Mall in Emlenton. Like, 4 years ago or something. I think he forgot he had it. It was just a small bottle, but I rubbed that in, and it brought out the grain beautifully. It's not shiny, but it gleams. Tim's sold on the product. 

Tim has the sink marked out but he wants to cut out the countertop outside to avoid raising all the dust inside. Just about the time that decision was made, the skies opened up. It was raining cats and dogs and showed no signs of letting up. 

We unpacked the range hood, and he's pleased with that, but he did not like the wall mounts with the kit, which would require another trip to Lowes. 

We do get in trouble at that store. Friday we spent $600. Yesterday we spent $300. Today, well...as long as we were going to be there...Tim wanted subway tile instead of the square tiles. (Inconsequential side note? We have 3 boxes of the square tile in the basement.) But he wanted subway tile with black grout. Picture below has nothing to do with our actual kitchen...just meant to show you the look he's going for. 

Don't know how or when that popped in his head, but since we have a black composite sink and the appliances are stainless with black, well, it kind of works. Browsing around last night, I discovered that they had the subway tile he wanted. 4 x 12 for 79¢ each, which by my calculations, we would need about a hundred to do the job, which is kind of economical. As long as you don't consider the 3 boxes of square tile that we have in the basement already, which we actually paid nothing for. Someone had the boxes in their garage for years, and weren't going to use them, so we picked them up because we could use them. Well. We could have if Tim hadn't got an itch about the subway tile. Anyways, so we picked up another $100 worth of stuff today. 

I said to Tim on the way out the door, "We need to stay away from Lowes for a while." He cheerfully said, "We can do that. We've got everything we need for the kitchen." Which is very cool. 

We are still working on the raised beds. 

 I've dropped down below the milestone weight I was struggling to reach. I was dropping weight and then sort of 'plateaued' a few ounces above that milestone. I ran out of lettuce for my evening salad, and didn't have time to get more, so I had a small helping of the regular supper I had for Tim (venison roast with vegetables, lots of vegetables). I had small suppers for the next couple days until I got to the store, and much to my surprise, I lost two more pounds last week, which dropped me under that loss. It is my second 'milestone', so I'm pretty happy with myself. 

My appointment is Thursday, and I will be interested to see if the A1C has dropped from that 6.4. December was my first high reading. With the weight loss, I think that I'm proving that I am serious about this. I haven't had dessert since January. No sugar in my coffee. Two meals a day. High protein, low carbohydrate, and lots and lots of water. 

I didn't watch the news today, at all. I did catch that JD and Usha went to Greenland. The trip was supposed to last from Thursday to Saturday. However, once Greenland got wind that it wasn't just Usha coming, it was JD and an entourage, the invitations were revoked one after another. They could not find anyone that would host the group, and so they went to the only place they could: Pituffik, an American Space Base. 3 hours later, they head home 

(DOGE? DOGE, can we talk about government waste?) 

It appears that the EU and Canada are standing strong. European citizens are being told to stockpile 72 hours worth of food. (Experts are advising that this should be the minimum.) They are preparing for crisis. Because of us. Because of the aggression of the United States. 

I cannot tell you how unbelievably sad this makes me. 

For everyone out there wondering what is wrong with the United states, remember this: Only 17% of Americans approve the Gaza plan, 18% approve the annexation of Canada, and 19% approve the president's plan for Greenland. I hope that's a little comforting.

https://www.livenowfox.com/news/new-polls-little-support-us-takeover-canada-greenland-gaza

While we're on the topic of government waste that somehow DOGE has missed, there's this:  Trump has spent 26 million dollars flying to Mar-a-Lago to play golf every weekend, and he rakes in significant amounts of money by from the government for meals and rooms at his club for his security team.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/17/trump-golf-taxes

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/03/trumps-golf-habit-costs-taxpayers-millions-author-says-there-is-a-dirty-secret-about-the-president-on-the-links.html 

Elon is supposed to be leaving DOGE in May. I find that hard to believe. We'll see. 

Now we're cooking....

 No pictures today, sorry. But the kitchen is taking shape. We hung the upper cupboards. We set the lowers in place. We have the counter top in place, but not yet attached. 

The countertop comes with a story of its own, and you will see what a hard ass I can be. We were looking at countertops at our local big box store, and I saw what I wanted...live edge teak. 

While I saw it displayed with a price, I could not find the product. Tim liked it too, so we thought that we'd ask about it. Perhaps it needed to be ordered. How long did a special order take? So we tracked down an employee who couldn't look the product up on his phone, so we followed him to his desk. He looked the product up and said that it was not available and that it couldn't be ordered. 

Disappointed, I said, "Well, I don't know why they would show it as an option." He shrugged and said, "I agree with you." 

Now we had already told him that we intended to purchase countertop that day, but he made no move to assist. Shifting 10 foot sections of counter top requires employee assistance, but he leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head and so I said, "Well. Let's go pick out something else, then." 

We went by ourselves, and we settled on our next choice. I didn't like that nearly as much as I did the teak. Perhaps we could locate the product on line, but really, we just want to make forward progress, and really, so I gave in. It will need to be finished. (Feel free to hop in with suggestions). 

So...we still needed to get it loaded on a cart, so we headed off once again. I found two employees who tried to direct us back to the other employee (still sitting at his desk with his hands behind his head). "No," I said firmly. "He's not interested. I'd prefer to stick with someone else." They both looked surprised but they said, "Sure..." and off we went. 

I have the receipt, and the two of them will get good customer feedback. I will not give negative feedback about the other employee. Who knows? Maybe he was having a shit day. It happens. But, credit where credit is due.

Today, I watched my kitchen take shape. and it was pretty exciting. 

We went back to Lowe's afterwards. I want shelves instead of upper cabinets in the corner, and I knew the brackets I wanted. 

We also wanted to look at range hoods. Not necessarily to buy today. We still have the backsplash to install, and so...we thought we could wait on that. We just wanted to find one that we both agreed on. 

We did too. 

We both liked it. 

It was also $180 off. 

And it was the only one left.  

It's been kind of a spendy-spendy weekend. 

But...I'm excited about the kitchen.