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susandennis

Yesterday Google suggested I try toad in the hole in the air fryer. Take a drinking glass and put it into the center of a piece of bread and press so that you get a nice indentation. Then put the bread in the air fryer. Crack an egg into the indentation. Cook 400 degrees for 8 mins. Gooey center, perfectly crisply toasted bread. Just freakin' amazing. Except, 8 minutes is a lot of minutes. I think this would be a better breakfast on a non volleyball day when I'm not starving after 2 hours of jumping around.

But, still really cool. I think I might stick some bacon in there and try that. Next time.

I am really enjoying this little air fryer. I can't see putting the toaster oven back up any time soon.

I've been reading this book for a while - Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister. The plot is so good, I want to read it faster to find out what happens but the writing is so good, I want to slow down and savor it. Finally, last night, I got to the last 10% - the last hour - and figured out the basics of the plot. I still need the details but wow. Just wow. I highly recommend. Also she has other books so, if you need me, I'll be inside one of those for the next forevers.

I cannot wait until tonight so I will be finishing it off this morning.

My clothes have all dried so I can get them off of door knobs and hooks and out of the shower where I hung them all yesterday. I just remembered that Bonny still has a key to Myrna's/Dick and Jan's apartment, I think. If so, and I need to wash, I can use the washer/dryer in there. Cool.

The vet kind of fucked up some communications - not fatal, just not smart. As a result, I have Biggie's next prescriptions to go pick up today or tomorrow. Probably tomorrow. I'll bundle in a small grocery shop at the same time.

But no hurry on either.

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susandennis

The dirty cheap condo, closed today.

April 28 - offer signed - closed today, 16 days later.

They did sell for less than the already fire sale price. That buyer got a heck of a deal.

My offer was signed April 30. My closing will not be until the 20th and probably a week or more after that.

susandennis

My wonderful washer/dryer combo is, once again, broken. It spins and spins but does not dry. Again.

Thankgod I bought the extended warranty.
Thankgod I got an appointment this week - Friday.
Thankgod I can easily afford the $50 deductible - if this had been two months ago, I think I'd have just worn dirty clothes for the rest of my life.
Thankgod there is nothing in today's load that I need to wear tonight cause it is hung all over my house and far far far from dry.
Thankgod it is not housecleaning day.

It is the load where I washed my heaviest cardigan and also the heavy track suit. UGH. They may not be dry before it's even fixed.

I have enough clean, dry underwear to last until Friday.

Booking the appointment was a horror show but now I know how to do it. I just hope I never have to again. BUT if this is like last time, he has to order a part that will take no telling how long to get.

Fuck Fuck Fuck. I love this machine but its bad days are horrible.

Edit later... also glad I didn't have something scheduled for Friday and, if all else fails, and I have to give up the machine cause it's a loser, Timber Ridge owes me a washer and a dryer anyway. There was a set here and I had them move it out. I'll just have them move a pair back in. Shouldn't cost me a thing.

So not a tragedy at all.

susandennis

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I cleared off two closet shelves, added the box of stuff that's been waiting for a week and there are still 5 drawers empty. Now, that's luxury, folks.

Also that dark corner was becoming a kind of dump spot and the stuff that was dumped there now have new homes.

Trash gone, everything put away except for one box - a foldable - still out because Biggie has claimed it. Julio has an eye on it.

susandennis

Of all the U.S. weather, ours is the best. Unless you like it really hot. Here we are in mid-May and it's not yet 50 degrees out with rain. It's lovely. It will get hot. In August and maybe July. But not for long and not very and, when it does, it is desert dry so not at all sticky. It's really the best. I used to conjure on if I moved, where would I move. I even did some light research. Once I cleared the political and cultural hurdles, I focused on weather and no place I found even came close.

The new dresser did arrive yesterday afternoon. But I wanted to enjoy the freshly cleaned apartment before I tackled the project. Every Tuesday afternoon, after the cleaner leaves, it feels like a fresh start. Everything is in its place and all the surfaces are shiny clean. My kitchen and entryway have hard wood floors. It's the first time I've ever had hardwood and I am not a fan. I love my carpet but also this floor grabs every spec of dust it can find and displays it triumphantly. By Monday afternoon, the corners are white with dust and crud. At one point, the idiot marketing person suggested that in lieu of the white carpet they so desperately wanted me to keep, I just get hardwood throughout. Fuck no. And, now that I've lived with it, double/triple fuck no.

So this morning, I'll assemble and set up. And then fill.

I'm seriously considering getting Comcast Wifi back. The free wifi here is mostly fine but when it goes down, it seems to take forever to get all my stuff back running successfully. Last night, there was a 10 minute outage which is ok but then I have to reset up the printer, the router, the echo devices... The network stays up but has no internet. So everything kind of half works but not really. It's just a pain. But is it a pain worth $xx a month? I don't even know what xx is and finding out is more of a pain. I have to deal with a special department and getting to that department is even a pain. So maybe an outage here or there ain't so bad.

Baseball starts early today so that will be nice background while I work.

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susandennis

It amazes me how complicated conveying real estate turns out to be. It's been more than 30 years since I did it but still... There is no mortgage involved at all - buyer or seller. No trust. No contingencies. No nothing.

But, 4 million hoops and this very annoying lady who keeps calling me wanting shit. Today, it's payment for some kind of info. She says she will send me a link to pay. Then she keeps talking. I said send me the link and I'll pay. And she keeps talking. HOLY FUCK WOMAN get off the damn phone and send me the link.

She finally does. I pay. And learn, for the first time, that this hoop will take until the 20th to clear.

Bret The Realtor who, until the offer was signed, communicated way too much, has gone to the crickets. So I have no clue what to expect. Is this the last hoop? Will I have to pay more?

WTF is going on???? Yes, I could ask but screw it. It will happen when it does and then it will be all over. But I am very glad I don't have a mortgage to pay off and a seller's mortgage company to satisfy.

susandennis

I have recently seen a fair number of headlines explaining what Genzers want/don't want, expect/don't expect, etc. Except, invariably I read it as Geezers which then turns the sentiment on its ear. And leads to LOL.

Yesterday I went down to aqua yoga early and spent 30 minutes swimming laps. I hadn't done that in a while. It was lovely and I think I'll do it again next Monday. I do wish they had more classes in the pool. And/or had their aqua fit classes at a different day/time. They have two aqua fit classes a week and they are 30 minutes after we finish up volleyball. If it were right after, I'd probably stay and do the class. But 30 minutes is too much time to kill when you are starving.

Today my new dresser comes. It will need assembly. I suspect it will not get here until late this afternoon. But, I will be glad to get the extraneous shit into it. I've had a bunch of it sitting out since last week when I made the decision and my closet needs relief, too.

The house cleaner comes at 1:30. I might pop over to the charity shop to hunt for more doll hair OR I might start a new puzzle in the elbow. I don't have to decide for a few hours yet.

I want to take a pill that will cure dry skin. Will one of you please invent that? Thanks. I don't like lotion - don't like applying it and don't like feeling lotioned. A pill would be so much better.

Yesterday, I spent several hours listening to my book and knitting. I discovered that my neck hates this. In the afternoon, I turned on one of those YouTube videos and that helped. I also owe my brother an apology. A couple of weeks ago, when his wife was in the hospital, he was bitching about his phone battery dying so fast. We have the same phone or close to it and my battery lasts for days. I figured he had a bad phone or bad settings or something. Thot snarky thots. Turns out, I now know he was listening to his book or music. Turns out, using the phone does drain the battery severely! Just turning it on, playing one game, and then turning it off - which is what I usually do - does not. But by 5 pm yesterday I was down to about 4%! Glad I kept those snarky thots to myself.

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susandennis

I decided to move in here before I sold the house because I am an idiot. It was the ultimate counting chickens before eggs situation. Nothing said that the money would not be there eventually but circumstances change. Now, all of the boxes are getting ticked finally and it is such a relief. Last night, my Timber Ridge rent was sucked out of my checking account and, for the first time, I'm not stressed to the gills about next month. Of course the condo sale could still hit a pothole but I don't think it will.

The only item on the agenda today is aqua yoga. I like the stretching and moving of the class but I also like that my friend, Martha, is always there and it's a nice little touch point with her. But, she won't be there today. She has a doctor's appointment. Last week we were the only two in class. This week I may be by myself. Which is fine. Lori, the instructor, is really nice and fun and accommodating to any and all situations.

There isn't much baseball today. And, just before I went to sleep, the book I'm listening to took an interesting turn so I might just settle in here this morning with my knitting and my book - at least for a bit.

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susandennis

I have a healthy number of annual subscriptions to streaming services. I like making the decision once and I like the savings an annual subscription provides. Hulu and Netflix do not have annual subscription options to their no ad plans (and I do not want to see their ads). So I only buy them a month at a time or not at all. I generally log in, activate my account and immediately cancel the subscription so I am guaranteed ONLY a month. But, Hulu slipped right by me and today I bought an extra month. Annoying but there are a couple of things I didn't get to yet, so I'll suffer. Canceled now.

They brought out the cushions for the chairs on the patio outside my window and they arranged them all nicely. There are bags of topsoil lined up ready for the planting of the annual flowers that the volunteers do. I guess that's happening this week.

Also out my window is a little dog park. It used to be a putting green but just before I moved in, they changed it to an off leash area. People were still bitching about the change when I moved in. Myrna still kept a putter and balls in case they changed it back. They did a great job. There are a couple of benches and an foyer gate. But it was rare to see dogs out there until a few months ago. Now there are dogs out there every day. There's a little one out there running and jumping right now.

The cats would be jealous except they are napping.

My plans for the day start with getting dressed. Then I am going to walk to the other side of the complex and walk back and pick up mail all before everyone else gets going much. The goal is to be back here before 9. I can do it.

There's a big Mother's Day Bruch buffet thing going on and there will be lots of visitors from outside. They even offer valet parking which is a nice touch. I will be in here - a Mother's Day Free Zone. I will have a freezer buffet. I need to eat the food in my freezer. It's not getting any younger. I do not need to save it for the apocalypse or a rainy days and... I need the room so I can add more food to my freezer!

I did have a fabulous dinner out of it last night so I need to do that again.

But, first, I need to get dressed and make the bed.

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susandennis

Yesterday, I ran out of kibble so I ordered up some for delivery today along with some other stuff on my 'next day' list. Then I needed one more small thing and thought of Silvervine Sticks. They liked them ok when we tried them in the condo. And I figured it was worth another shot. They were in the living room staring at me when I opened the box. I tossed out one and Julio was fastest. I tossed out a second one and Biggie landed on it. That was 10 minutes ago and they are still gnawing on them - both of them! I've never seen them equally like anything except Fancy Feast.

The Mariners game is on Apple TV on Friday. This will be the only game broadcast without their usual clown broadcast team. So I figured I'd buy a month of Apple TV. There are a couple of shows I wouldn't mind checking out. But, now Apple won't have me. The account was locked and they made me change my password. I did. Successfully. Then they wanted answers to security questions. Here's the thing on security questions, I'll fill in the obvious one - Mother's Maiden Name - correctly. The rest I use a word that only I know plus the last word of the question. So let's say my word is cvc. If they question is Where did you go to school? The answer is cvcschool. I've been doing this this way for a couple of decades. Since my answers to their questions don't work for them, I know I never gave them answers. When I click on new security questions, please, I get "Cannot Reset Security Questions". So no joy at all.

Turns out that 1. I don't really need to see the Mariner game, it starts too late for me anyway and 2. The shows really aren't that interesting to me. So fuck 'em.

One of the SusanDennis' who uses my email address is looking for a new job. As long as she's using my email address, I'm not liking her chances. Another one met with a charity this week to find out about funding a scholarship. They got back to her very quickly and I have all the dets if she wants them.

Ok, so now Biggie just stole Julio's stick. There is going to be stick drama here today.

Last week I picked up a box of Trader Joe's sour cream donuts. The box held 6 which I thought was a good number. I ate 2 that day. They were OK. Especially for cake donuts which aren't my fav to start with. I froze 4. Here's the take away: There is no restoration of these donuts that works. I tried, just thawing, sauteing, nuking. Ugh, ugh and ugh. Lesson learned.

Today is the 10th. The last day of the meal month. I have $.50 Which is a win. Not a $0 win but a win anyway.

Elbow coffee starts in a bit and that's my only obligation until Monday afternoon. Nice.

I fell down another YouTube Rabbit Hole this week. Restoration of rusty shit. I watched a guy take a crusty rusty old hand crank Singer sewing machine and restore it and sew a pillowcase on it. It was fascinating. Yesterday I watched a rusty crusty old Olympia typewriter come back to life. These are two different channels BUT they have they have the same trick that sucks me in. Sound but no music. You can hear the clanks and the swishs and the pings but there is much that is silent. And no music at all. None. It's heaven. Oh and they are not short. They are like 20-30 minutes long so you can click on one and sit back for the adventure.

I have not been doing my back exercises and not been walking around as much and I need to stop and start doing both of those things but I cannot get motivated.

My latest tweaks to the doll pattern have been amazing. There has always been a step or two of the process that was fiddly and not fun. Now there are no such steps. I've enjoyed making them and now even more so.

We don’t have sufficient information to reset your security questions.

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susandennis

My USPS Informed Delivery shows yet another love letter from the IRS in today's mail. Fuck Me. At least this time, the letter was also in my IRS account online. They want an additional $106.02 for 2024 because I did not pay enough estimated tax. Fair. BUT still with all the federal money shenanigans going on and all the crap you've given me in the last year, ya couldn't let just one tiny one slide????

I paid. But, honestly, I don't have warm and fuzzy thoughts about the IRS.

Before I moved here, I had a room plus full of sewing shit. It was all very well organized. I knew where all of everything was always. I did not bring 97% of it but the 3% I did bring is not at all organized. I went to put in a simple hem last night and never even found my straight pins. (I did remember where they were just as I went to sleep.) I have too much/not enough sewing shit now. My sewing jobs are all fix it/mend it/tweak it. Quick jobs that I do not want to spend any time on. Having to hunt down what I need to do the job needs to take way less than, not twice as long as. So. New plan.

I ordered a small chest of drawers with 6 drawers. And it will hold sewing shit and other miscellaneous craft stuff and if there is more (excluding yarn), then it will have to leave. Chest arrives Wednesday.

I signed more closing shit yesterday. It would be nice to have an outline of what's happening when but also I'm not stressed about it. Whatever happens when is fine as long as it ends up with me and cash riding into the sunset.

No baseball today until 4 pm. I have yet another Amazon return to take to UPS but, I don't really need anything else. I did all my errands yesterday including getting the tank filled. I might wait until this weekend or next week.

I think I'll change the bed linens and then go downstairs and get the menus for next week. (They do post them online but, annoyingly, not until Monday.) The back up here for more doll making.

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Yesterday's walk around London was fun. There were eleven of us in the group and the weather behaved itself (although the wind was cold, there was sunshine). Guy, our leader took us on a route which included the Inns of Court and other things both familiar and new including statues, a couple of churches, Templar knights and ancient gates.

I was meeting everyone at Temple Station, so I walked through the Victorian Embankment gardens on the way and stopped to admire this monument for Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) which is one of my favourite statues. More under the cut.

( Read more... )

It was a good walk and we ended up in a very small pub for lunch before saying our goodbyes. Guy refused to allow us to pay for the walking tour as he said he enjoyed our company. He has promised to schedule another walk in the summer which I'm already looking forward to!

susandennis

Yesterday afternoon I was listening to the Mariners game which was a pretty good game. And knitting. I had YouTube on the TV because I'd just watched Jeopardy and a video caught my eye (congrats, YT Algo). I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the game and knitting and watching guys make amazing resin/epoxy sculptures out of colored pencils and colored sticks and random little pieces of wood mostly all on a lathe. It's fascinating.

Then I got to wondering if they weren't all killing themselves with that resin dust like my favorite sculptor of all times, Duane Hanson. Then, of course, I fell into the internet's Duane Hanson hole which is far richer than it was a few years ago when I last fell into it. I love the internet. At the end of the 1990's, the Bellevue Art Museum had a small exhibit of some of his work. I dragged everyone I knew over there to see it. It was amazing and the only time I ever got to see his work in person. The internet was a baby and had never heard of him.

Today there may be a trip to Safeway. Nothing else on the agenda beyond the usual. I might not be done yet with resin/epoxy videos.

No more condo news but then the only thing left is signing and getting the $$, I think.

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susandennis

Last night as I was drifting off to sleep, I came up with an idea for my dolls and monsters. It's a down-in-the-weeds way to the leg separation which is way easier than the way I have been doing it. It took a couple of trials/errors today but I now have it nailed. I'm so impressed with me.

So Bret The Realtor who sends all the useless and wasted emails and texts, somehow figured NOT telling me that a random insurance lady is handling my closing and will be calling me. Looked really spammy to me but I did answer but nearly hung up as she was using the rapid banter of someone who knows you've been briefed and are expecting her call.

I'm thrilled to be selling this condo but now I'm ready for closure!

My vet now has an online pharmacy!! Yes, I can get the prescriptions filled at Chewy and other places but their having their own partnership makes it all way easier. I finally got her to write prescriptions for six months worth but ordering online and having them shipped is just better.

Of course, they send the email announcement and I go to set up an account and log in. It has a lot of info about Biggie and Julio filled in and ready but NO prescriptions. Biggie takes methionine and clomipramine and there are about 400 choices for each. I have no clue about the details. So note to vet. It will work out but, the world needs a lot more QA.

For lunch I had Trader Joe's Bulgogi with mushrooms from the freezer and an onion that was just about to give up the ghost. Over microwave rice. It was delicious!!! I have two more meals of it. Yum.

susandennis

I sent a WTF note to the CPA's office yesterday afternoon. I sent it to the partner guy that I first worked with. He called. He said the woman who did my taxes was on vacation. OOF on the email, BRO! But at least I got the info. Taxes on the sale of my house will be about $6k. No more. And I don't have to pay in advance but I can. So I adjusted the three remaining automatic estimated tax payments. Then I took the money for them from the money I had set aside for HOA payments and put it into the account. Now each payment will be made on time without my intervention from funds that are there and waiting. Nice nice nice.

But then... Bret The Realtor called to tell me the inspector found a leak in the dishwasher. He needed my signature on a form. Fine. Then... he sends form. I sign and get a receipt. He sends email that the form is coming. He sends text that he just sent the form. This is all in the span of 3 minutes.

Please lets close this thing so you can go back to the land where this kind of communications are loved and away from me. He said the leak was not a problem but it sure sounds like a problem to me. He said he was meeting with Paul The Seller yesterday at 4 to discuss. I did not hear from him again - after the 'just sent the email for signing' stuff.

When I read about a book that sounds interesting, I go to Libby (e and audible books) and search for it. I currently have access to three different libraries via Libby. It's a fabulous resource. Usually, what I want is not available yet so I put it on hold. By the time it, and I are ready, I've totally forgotten how I found out about it or why I wanted to read it. Sometimes by that time, I'm over it or it does not turn out to be interesting or has too many readers (I do not like audio theater) or the wrong reader.

Last night, it was time for a new book. And one of my holds came available. I started listening and knew this was not going to be for me but I was also 'watching' the Mariners game on the MLB app and it was a good inning so I kept the book going. And... dang, if it didn't hook me in! I'm only an hour in and it could still go south but so far, this plot is sounding delicious.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Oh! Just heard from Bret and got the inspection report. Really interesting. Nothing huge but interesting. Apparently current code says extra electrical outlets are needed in the bathroom and laundry area which would have been very handy. And, there is a leak. And, he points out the source. And there are a few other little things. Bret says that Paul wants $1,200 credit at closure and he'll deal with anything that needs dealing with. And, for me, this is a Great Deal. Bret's sending along the paperwork to be signed (along with the extra communications telling me he's sent it).

Today is laundry day. And I need go down to the Bistro (our little 7-11) and place an order to use up the rest of my meal money for the month.

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I went to London today to catch up with two exhibitions at the National Gallery - the weather was cold (15C/59F and windy).

The first exhibition was José María Velasco: A View of Mexico which highlights his lovely landscapes of Mexico. Velasco was born in 1840 (and died in 1912) and this is the first exhibition about a Latin American artist to be held at the National Gallery. There were some lovely landscapes showing the area around the Valley of Mexico (where Mexico City now stands) in the last 19th century.

Some things that caught my eye under the cut - I particularly like how detailed all the paintings are (in some it would appear he used binoculars to see the detail in the distance), and his use of light.
( Read more... )

After a break for coffee and some sustenance, I went to see Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300 ‒1350. The exhibition was large and was incredibly full of people (so it was hot in there!). I ended up seeing most of it briefly, but I think I shall try and go back to examine some of it again when it's less crowded. Under the cut for photos the exhibits that I thought were really interesting despite not being in the exhibition for very long.
( Read more... )

It was good to fit most of the two exhibitions in. I shall return at another time.

susandennis

I've long been a fan of casual games but I like the old ones before they were all about wild graphics and coin collecting and buying up. The old Fishdom, for instance, was way different than today's version and I like the old one better.

I scooped up the APK's for my favorites a long time ago and while they don't install perfectly, they work.

I have a genre of monogram apps that used to be free on Amazon and now are $2. I can easily download them onto a Fire tablet but my last Fire tablet died last year. You used to be able to load them on any android tablet with their Amazon App Store app. But, alas, they yanked that.

So I found an APK of that and loaded it onto an old tablet and it worked. But, when I got to my new tablet, no bueno. Android 14 put the kibosh on all my apk's. None of them work. (There is a work around but it requires a windows or Mac computer and I do not have either nor do I want one plus the work around probably won't work around long.) Happily I have two very old - like Android 8, tablets that will play them until they die but, sigh. The end of an era. It was good and fun and now it's gone.

So that was yesterday. Also yesterday was the Cinco de Mayo concert of our head of security. He pulled a lovely little band out of his electric keyboard and did a great job. The first half of his songs were English but then he turned to Spanish and wow. Those songs really showed off his pipes. It was very entertaining and fun.

Volleyball was fun today. We had a new player which is pretty rare.

This morning is a trip to UPS for returns and a stop at Hobby Lobby. I hate to shop there because of their politics BUT they have stuff that no one else does. Like hearts for my dolls. I've tried 3 different kinds on Amazon and none were close. At least at HL they are cheap.

I was thinking about maybe getting my phone fixed. I cracked the screen a while back when I was not spending money. The crack is in the top right hand corner and not really in the way, it just bugs me. I just rode around Reddit and discovered that getting it fixed will cost about $350. I think I'll now consider that crack a feechur.

This is house cleaning day. Sweet.

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susandennis

So I went down and got the tablet. Tablet, case, keyboard, stylus, charger wort and cable. Oh and mouse. I wanted it all integrated... keyboard attached to case or tablet. Extra points for stylus storage. But, that's not what I got and, apparently, only exists in the high priced spread or not at all.

The case isn't even magnetic so when you shut it, it does NOT turn the tablet off. Lame.

BUT, the tablet itself is so snappy!! I've been using the 10000 year old one for so long, I was really used to s l o w. But this one is great with a great display.

I went back to Amazon to see if one of the 47,973 flavors of android tablets had what I wanted, OR if they had a tablet with the same specs (24 GB RAM 128 GB ROM) but without accouterments for cheaper and no. So, I think I'll just keep and enjoy this one.

susandennis

It's a bright and sunny Monday morning. Not my favorite but at least the sun has now left my table so I can sit here comfortably. And, I don't have anywhere I have to go outside and everyone else loves days like this so fine.

I have new technology that was just delivered to the front desk. I bought a new tablet. My 1,000 year old bedroom tablet is just too tired to compute anything. Amazon has a bunch of android tablets with accessories (covers, attachable keyboards, etc) for under $100 so I shopped and found one that looks suitable. BUT if it doesn't operate quickly and easily with the aps I want, it will go right back.

My recent austerity kick has really changed my buying habits. That with the easy availability of a nice Dollar Store and a couple of nice groceries. Just because I have the money does not mean I need to spend it and, when I do, the goods better be perfect. UPS is also easily available and I know how to return shit.

For the record, both chromebooks are now fully charged and functioning fine now that they have switched spots. But, turns out this one, that used to be by the couch where the lighting isn't as good, is filthy. Geesh. I need to get out the cleaner.

Every night, when I get into bed, I write something about the day in my One Line A Day book. I am in year 3. So I peak back at the previous 2 years. This time year before last, I was happily ensconced in my soon-to-mine-no-more condo, with no plans for the future. Last year, Myrna was still alive and very much kicking and I was seeing my first Spring at Timber Ridge. I have more than 20 years of this journal here online but other than the occasional fact checking, I have no desire to slog through it. But, these snippets are an easy fun way to remember.

So this morning I'll go down and get it and set it up and try it out and then maybe get in the car and go to UPS to return it. :) Then, this afternoon I have aqua yoga followed by a Cinco de Mayo concert by our head of security.

A while back, they combined security and maintenance but, just recently they separated them and added disaster preparedness and first aid to security and hired a couple of young guys. I just saw one walking all around looking and checking everything outside. They are due to get official uniforms soon. They also locked down our front door. You used to be able to wander in off the street, no problem. The front desk people would ask you to sign in but most of the time they were too busy to notice. No more. Now, residents can't even get in unless security buzzes the door open. And, you used to need a for to get into the garage. Anyone with a fob could get in. The new system requires you to have your license plate in the system to get the doors open. So now, if you know the place and get very lucky, you might sneak in but mostly, you need a resident to let you in or you go through security. I never felt unsafe or vulnerable before but I sure don't now.

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susandennis

I went to Trader Joe's I hato get more washed cut green beans but then discovered they have frozen ones... blanched and ready to heat and eat or maybe just defrost?

I had a bowl of already made up but beans, scallions and sesame dressing already made up. When I ate all but a little of that, I filled up the bowl with the frozen beans and put them in the fridge. The next day, I had them for dinner. Perfect! Well, they need to be shorter but otherwise. I ate those.

Then this morning, pulled out a bowl full from the bag of frozen and left them on the counter for a couple of hours. Then I but them up and added the scallions and some peanuts and dressing. Delicious!! Way easier than doing my own washing/blanching.

Then I was pulling out one of my pie crust rolls to snack on but, instead, unrolled it, cut it into 2 pieces. I buttered them and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar and popped them into the air fryer. 5 mins. Perfect cookies.

Oh and speaking of cuisine... they fired the chef at Timber Ridge. I wished they had fired his boss but maybe it's a domino situation. Guess we'll see. (The chef, like many chefs, had a grossly exaggerated sense of his own importance. He often said more to the wrong people in the wrong places than was politically prudent. He lived on thin ice. And he was pretty much an asshole.)

So far, all of the teams I am interested in are losing. I'm feeling a little responsible.

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