Sunday

After a somewhat restless night--woke at midnight, but happily, was able to sleep after being at the laptop for fifteen or so--I got up at 6:30, which was good. Breakfast at 8:00 and a really good crossword, which I completed--well, completely. Prepared fresh spinach which was part of dinner, then sat down to finally, at long last, prepare three of my scripts to send to Shannon...

...but, damnit, I hit a snag. One of them, Hell On Wheels, which is in rhyming couplets, kept modifying itself so one page slipped down to the other. I've been trying all kinds of things to fix it, but no luck. Will continue to work on it.

Additional snag: I continue to have a problem with my Office processor downloading onto Microsoft Word, which I don't have. Trying to send scripts to Shannon; maybe I'll have to print them out and send via the mail, but I don't want to do it.

Packed a lunch, took my cart, and walked to Telephone Road, where I knew there was a nice leafy area near the Hill Street Café.  It had tables, chairs, and umbrellas, as well as trees and other foliage--a nice place to eat. After, I called Stella just to chat; we'll get together one of these days. Bused to the mall where I went to Target and got broccoli and blueberries.

Ellen called at 6:00 just to say hello and we had a long talk. She thinks the Cricket phone thing for Jim may not work out. After talking to her, I'm beginning to think she's right--for a variety of reasons. Anyway, I was able to get my data off it, so we'll see what transpires after this. 

Slow day, as Sundays so often are; today should be more interesting. I'm going to call Office Depot about Word, then maybe go there and have it installed. 

Saturday

Called Diane and told her, even though Jim didn't want to meet on Tuesday, I would. She was pleased about that and we decided we'd both get Urbane Cafe's "bowls"--I love the salmon bowl, which comes on a bed a rice and with a variety of other sides. We will, of course, bring our own libations (as Diane always calls them)--wine for her and beer for me.

Went to Von's in the morning for a variety, including a Viola "chicken ranch pasta mac and cheese," which may sound questionable, but was really yummy. Jim and I both liked it a lot. I added sour dough rolls and strawberry ice cream, plus wine and beer, of course. We sat after and I explained about the Cricket phone to the extent I could. I'll be glad to give him when I figure out how to take my info off. 

Re the wine: I had both the red cabernet and my cream sherry near each other in the fridge and, after Jim had left and I was cleaning up, I realized I had actually served him the latter with lunch. Since this is a semi-sweet dessert wine, I'm amazed he didn't remark on it. Called him and in his sadly confused way, he just said, "it was good." Whether he realized it wasn't a dry or not, who knows? Maybe an effect of Parkinson's is a deadening of the taste buds? Dunno.

I gave Jim the three large bottles of apple juice I had picked up for him and he gave me a check for three bucks to cover it. He left at 3:00, after which I worked on assembling some of my plays to send Shannon.  I took a short nap, after which I had a very light dinner. Watched bios of Ava Gardner (I've been at her grove in the small town in North Carolina where she grew up) and Loretta Young.* 

*Weight Note: I've been trying to figure a way to stop the insidious weight gain I've experienced lately--it's slight, but ominous, as I've been over my comfort zone of 125 to 130 for too long. What's the problem? I believe it's because of snacking at 8:15 or so when I sit down for my hour of T.V.  Analyzing the situation, I think my ever sneaky inner self tells me: "You've done a lot today, walked a good distance, and accomplished this, this, and that, so you deserve to indulge yourself. Come on, relax and reward yourself: follow that bowl of blueberries with the pretzels, the crackers, the chips...won't hurt." Pretty clearly, it does hurt, so last night, I didn't watch the aptly named boob tube at all. The bios were on the laptop and happy day, I went to bed about 10:00 (late for me) and didn't indulge at all. I feel good this morning and think I'll follow this new regimen indefinitely.  

Friday

T.O.P.S.: Teeny gains, .03 at home and .02 at the meeting, for weights of 130.8 and 131.5, respectively. There were only four of us there and I took some pics, first of Sharon:

I don't know why she looks so grim in pictures; she's actually a very jolly person. Here she is with a it of a smile, with our leader, Lennie, who is virtually always smiling (note the witchy hat):

And here are the three of us, pic by Lora:

Finally, Lora, who picked me up and is just back from a month in Europe (she's a travel agent, by the way):

Anyway, we had the meeting; Lennie was the only one who lost. She and her 82-year-old husband, a retired minister, are going to Belize today, so he can scuba dive (!).

Didn't get breakfast until 10:30, but after that, I got a fair amount of exercise. I walked to Smart 'n' Final for three miles and got Jim his three large bottles of apple juice. Boy, they were heavy, good thing I had the cart. I was just coming in when Suzanne came over to bring me some persimmons; somebody had given her a large bag full, as they have a tree. She stayed to chat, so I didn't get lunch until 2:00. I then took back the curtain rod I had bought at Lowe's (found another one at Wal-Mart), walking from the transit center and back, about a mile and three-quarters. From there, I bused to Wal-Mart to get yet another rod. Home for good about 4:30.

Called Jim at 7:00 to tell him 1.) I got the juice he wanted; 2.) about the Cricket phone I'll give him; and 3.) that Dianne would like us to meet on Tuesday outside the Urbane Café, bringing our own. He's glad I got the juice, is confused about the phone, and no, he doesn't want to go to lunch on Tuesday with Diane and me. Why? Because his evaluation was postponed since somebody on the evaluation team had a death in the family. He doesn't want to "deal with it" (having lunch with Diane and me--what?) until after the evaluation. I did, chump that I am, invite him for lunch today, which he accepted. 

I'm getting more and more concerned about his mental state; his forgetfulness and confusion seemed very pronounced last night. I think I'll call Senior Services on Monday and ask if there's any way to get him help. Also, I think he's clinically depressed. I know, I know, I'm not a doctor, so what do I know, but there are signs I believe are indicative. 

Thursday

 Walked to Telephone Road and bused from there to the B & N shopping center. I was early by 20 minutes or so, but Diane was already there. We had our lunches (we bring our own) and a good, long talk on a variety of topics. She suggested that she, Jim, and I meet there next Tuesday, also bringing our own. I'm not sure if he might have class then, but I'll call him. She said Saturday or Sunday would be okay, too--I just think it might get more crowded.

We were there until about 2:00, then I left to walk to Cricket to ask about Jim getting my old phone. That's about a mile away and WinCo is on the route, so I stopped in. I had turned down Suzanne's offer of taking me the other day, but did need decaf, paper products, and veggies. Got what I wanted, then continued on to Cricket. 

The staff there was very helpful; they told me what I had to do to give Jim my phone, in particular, to take off my own pictures and data. I'm still a little unsure, but I'll see if Ellen can advise. Also, I want to make clear to Jim that there'll be a learning curve--you don't just pick it up and use it. We'll see how this works out, but I'm not entirely certain it will. I plugged it in to charge for a time and just got up to find it does, indeed, work. 

Didn't get home until after 3:00 and spent time preparing the spaghetti squash I had bought, then chopped two of the big onions. Had those and fresh salmon for dinner and yummy, yummy, yum. 😋  

Wednesday And Dudley House

Walked to the library over the footbridge to pick up--yes, another book. This is Bright-Sided, How The Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. I know I read it when it came out, thirteen years ago, but wanted to again.

From there, I walked to The Market, then Wal-Mart for this and that. I found a drapery rod for a quarter of what I paid at Lowe's for one, so will take that back. Couldn't find several of the items I wanted--and this is happening more and more frequently. It's starting to look like a third-class country and what now?

Jim called to ask if I have the app for Smart 'n' Final on my phone. Yes, sure, and he wants me to use it to get some "coupons" for some grocery items.  I explained that these are digital "coupons"; you don't present a piece of paper, just your phone. Since he doesn't have a cell phone, I told him I'd scan the codes and go with him to buy the stuff or get them myself (three bottles of apple juice) and he can reimburse me. Also told him I'd give him my old Cricket phone; this time, he seemed interested. (But first, I have to find it.)

Ellen called on her way home from work. I was pleased to hear the shower she arranged for Michelle, her partner teacher, went well and everyone enjoyed it. I called Diane to see if she wanted to meet for lunch today and yes--I'll see her at the Urbane Café at noon. 

The Dudley House docent covered dish: As ever, I had a good time. There were noticeably fewer attendees than in the pre-COVID years, but I saw a lot of old acquaintances, including Jan, who brought Halloween-themed appetizers:

Ha, I brought two of them home!

Lorraine, the "dog mom" (note hat) was there. Chatted with her and learned she had buried two

husbands, but happily, still has four-legged "Mollie." She is a descendent (great-great granddaughter?) of the original Dudleys:

Sheri, who is the chair (or president, or high muckety-muck) of the group, conducted a short meeting in her inimitable style.  Her dressing style is also inimitable; here she is with Jim last night:

I'm always bemused by the hair. It's surely a wig, but somehow, it suits her. BTW, that's a good picture of Jim; I'll email it to him. 

Connie K. did her usual historic talk of Ventura personages of the past. This time, she impersonated Orpha Foster, wife of the Foster who founded the Foster Library here. Coincidentally, I was there on  Tuesday. Here's Connie--love the hat!

 

Docent director Lynne was there with her ever-present sign-up sheet and I committed to working at the Christmas boutique on December 11, from 3 to 5. Before we left, I told Ken, Sheri's husband, I'd take a poster to display somewhere--may ask the library to put it up or put it in my window, as I did the Area 22 poster:

Anyway, it was much fun. Didn't get home until almost 10:00 or to bed an hour after that, but I slept well.

Out And About...

 ...most of the day, in fact. Early on, I tried to get into my Office word-processing site and it wouldn't open. I decided to consult the techs at Office Depot, who have helped me before. Thought I'd get there early as they probably wouldn't be busy then, so I bundled up  my laptop, stowed it in my cart, made lunch and added that, then took off and got there at 10:30.

But the joke was on me, as I was told their tech person doesn't come in until 1:30. What to do? I pondered, then decided I'd bus into town and get the book I have on reserve.  That required two buses and more than an hour and again, the joke was on me. When I got there and looked on the shelf with reserved books, I consulted the librarian and he looked it up. It turned out I had specified the Hill Street library branch, not the main one in town. Well, no prob, I'll walk there today.

By that time, I hungry, so I walked to my favored spot across from the mission and enjoyed my lunch. Bused back (also a two-bus trek) and got to Office Depot about 2:00. A nice young man named Jon got Office working, but it took a fair amount of time (no charge). Aldi Supermarket is just next door, so I stopped there to look for something for the covered dish. I just decided not to go to a lot of trouble, so bought some fancy rolls and Irish butter and will bring that. Didn't get home until after 4:00. 

Ellen called on her way home just to chat and that's always a treat. The baby shower she's organizing for her partner teacher is today after school; I asked her to let me know how it goes.  Called Jim to remind him about the Dudley House thing tonight--he had it on his calendar, so okay.

Monday

Spent a fair amount of time after breakfast sharing pictures on-line with Diane. After that, I packed my lunch and bused to Lowe's to get a rod for the Thanksgiving "tapestry" for my front door. Found it, then found a place at Lowe's outside with picnic tables and benches. I prefer a leafy bower, but that was okay; it was interesting to watch people go in and out.  Stopped at Von's on my way home.

The above sounds like it took a mere hour or two, but actually, it was almost 4:00 by the time I got in. Did some financial stuff--notably, changing my mortgage payment to reflect an increase of a hundred and twenty a month or $1440 a year. Why? Oh, some kind of escrow thing--so annoying. Went through more of the closet and selected some things to either give away to friends--Diane might want some of the clothes--or donate.  

Other than that, very little went on yesterday. Now I must decide what to bring to the Dudley House covered dish tomorrow--maybe some kind of rice or pasta dish?  A dessert? Appetizer? Hey, I'm bringing Jim, maybe that's enough. 😁