A good, quiet day

PG is feeling much better now.  She's finished with the temporary meds that upset her stomach, so her appetite has returned.  With her pain meds, she feels like getting out of the house again.  

That's what we did today.  Bought bird seed at WBU, then a stop at Whole Foods with the intent to pick up some buttermilk (for baking) and a can of Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes for pizza sauce.  They had the former but not the latter. and that's the second straight time they've been sold out when I shopped there.  

The manager at WBU doesn't look like a businessman, but he is, remembering customer names and pulling up their prior purchases.  

At Whole Foods, it's possible to pay simply by holding my right hand above a sensor and having it scan my palm.  Some places, I have to insert the card into a machine; at others, like WBU, I can tap the card on the machine, and now a few stores can receive payment information from a card that is in an app on my phone.  Whole Foods dispenses with displaying a card at all.  No need to bother with cash or a check ever again.  Except I make a point of paying cash at the small local sub shop to save them the card charges.

Cold, windy, snow-covered.  Remembering that in just a few weeks, they'll be in the past and there will be wildflowers along the road again.    Probably numerous rabbits in the yard, too.  

Budget tightening:  going to drop the lawn care services we used last year.  Researching liquid weed-and-feed and will pull the mower out of mothballs.  Might need to get it tuned up first.  

Worth remembering

PG was having back pain that neither physical therapy nor her chiropractor could make go away.  Eventually, she made an appointment with the family doctor, who prescribed meloxicam.  We were concerned that it's an NSAID, but it's a pain medication that treats inflammation as well, and doesn't have side effects of drowsiness or dizziness.  It's worked well in her case.  

Today, we did some shopping, and she was able to walk around with minimal pain in each of the 3 stores (Costco, Target, and Walmart).  Still, due to the prior pain she wasn't used to that much physical activity, so she went to bed and sleep well before me.

I'm practicing ghost notes, reading New Yorker articles about Dick Cavett and Eleanor Roosevelt, et aussi des articles du Monde de Maia Mazaurette.    

Sell!

I believe it's already been noted here that my blood test in early July showed higher-than-normal blood sugar and A1C levels.  After learning the results, I got serious about losing weight, which included cutting out Coca-Cola.  Apparently, that was too much for the local bottler.  

Reminds me of the old story of two guys who drove by a distillery one night.  The lights were on, and one man said, "They're making it faster than you can drink it."  The other one said, "Yeah, but at least I've got them working nights."

 

Saturday Evening Post

 

Done

2nd Covid vaccine shot this afternoon.  Very organized, even the long line moved quickly.  A half-day off with pay from the company, so it's all good. 

Then to the Bethlehem ShopRite for a few things we can't find at Wegmans, Giant, Redners, or even Weis.  John Martin meats, cheap seltzer, and it always seems like either Ben & Jerry or Haagen Daas is on sale for $2.88.  (The latter, today)

Then home.  Watched a half-hour of My Favorite Wife before giving up.  Not funny.  Next, Victor/Victoria for the first time in many years.  Watched 45 minutes before falling asleep.  Woke up around 6:00 with soreness in the left arm where the vaccine went in.

Is that it?  Yeah, that's enough.

Things I'm Not Doing

Just feeling like I'm in a rut.  So for a change, no French (radio or news), no writing (except for this), taking a ride during the day (taking BB to LVH today).  Reading Perelman and Benchley.

2nd dose of Moderna vaccine tomorrow afternoon.  Preparing for the side effects, hoping for the best.

No cats or rabbits in our yard.  Could that have been a coyote that one night?  Possible - coyote sightings have been reported in this county.  This was too dark to be a fox, too big to be a dog with that face and build.  Still holding on to hope that the little black pooshka simply moved somewhere else for reasons of safety.  When the weather gets cold, perhaps we'll see her again.

The moment I've been waiting for

No side effects with the Moderna, except maybe some extra tiredness.  But BB and I also shopped at the Bethlehem ShopRite and fought traffic to get to a post office (April 15, remember?  PA estimated tax due now, even if the main returns aren't due until May 17.), so it can't all be blamed on the vaccine.  We'll see what the 2nd dose, 28 days hence, does to me.

Back home, an evening of volleyball.  Nebraska took care of Texas State in 3 straight, among other games streaming on ESPN3.

"I owe it all to clean living..."

 "...and a Happy Heart."  Here I am, days away from being able to apply for Medicare (3 months before the age 65 birthday in July) and I'm walking around the block just like I did when we moved here in 1998.  Legs are strong climbing the incline, not even breathing hard.  Gee, I'm a lucky stiff.  

To help me stay that way, my 1st Covid-19 shot is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 1:30.  Had to schedule it a half-hour drive from here because everything else related to the hospital was booked solid.

My employer gives us four paid hours off for a Covid-19 vaccination, so BB and I are going to take some of that time post-Fauci Ouchi and shop at the ShopRite right down the highway.  

During the walk, I listened to "Cocaine and Rhinestones" a sort of "You Must Remember This," Nashville edition.  

Also during the walk, spotted four cottontails, nibbling at sunset.  

Across the street, in the "Mayor's" yard, walking around like he was evaluating the property, was Blott.  He strode down the driveway until he reached the sidewalk, and followed that until he was out of sight behind some landscaping.

Mid-week crisis?

 The remnants of a tropical storm are on the way, bringing heavy rain starting tomorrow.  As long as it's over by Friday morning, when I'm driving to Tabby's Place.  

Here comes the township leaf-sucker-upper.  Good thing I raked some more last night.

Awake early this morning, and couldn't get back to sleep because Pat and I had an early appointment.  Both of us had prescribed blood tests, and though we got there around 8:00, there was a waiting list and we didn't get out of there until 8:45.  Any time we spend together is good, so not a problem.

OK, researcher from the year 2070...

First enjoy looking up: 

‘Person, woman, man, camera, TV.’

Then these alternative answers:

Man

Woman

Birth

Death

Infinity

People of a certain age should be humming this now.

Some from a certain area of the country will will recall this.  (But you don't have to be a certain ethnic person to enjoy it.)

August 5 edit:  The certain ethnic references came from a show on Cleveland's channel 8 that featured classically bad movies with corny skits in between.  Yesterday, channel 8's longtime weatherman, Dick Goddard died.  Among many other things, he was an animal lover and sometime participant in the Houlihan/Big Chuck/Little John skits.

And thank you so much for the reminder...

Two days, three nights later

NBP, LVH

July 8