That's still pretty old. From around the 1870's? That's a whole different world.
Probably. I'd have to check the provenance. I think my grandmother wrote our a brief history of it which she left inside the clock.
The past few days I have been trying to tweak the plaster on the repair I made to the dining room ceiling. I'm too OCD to leave it alone lol. I can't stand that I can see the outline of the repair so I have been trying to blend the edges. It looks better, but not perfect. I think I'm probably going to leave it the way I have it so I can get on to repainting the ceiling.
And I found an almost exact match to the striped wallpaper that QoH has in the dining room. The only difference is it's charcoal gray and white instead of black and white. I'm still contemplating whether I want to replace the old stuff or just paint the walls the same pale light blue color as in the living room.
Painting is a lot less work. So that would be my choice. :)
In other news, my father is in the hospital being operated upon at this very moment. His groin hernia got worse so the doctor advised surgery. I've been at the hospital as well all day to accompany him. Right now I'm at home waiting for the outcome.
Painting is a lot less work. So that would be my choice. :)
Less work and much cheaper than wallpaper which is obscenely priced like everything else these days. Unfortunately, I inherited QoH's flair for the dramatic, so I still want one wall to have that very flamboyant monstera print wallpaper (which is even more obscenely expensive than the striped one).
my father is in the hospital being operated upon at this very moment.
Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that. And if I recall correctly, he's the same age as QoH, so surgery is kinda serious. I hope he has a full & speedy recovery.
Will you be caring for him yourself or will there be any professional help?
I will probably be doing most of that myself. Although I am expecting a call tomorrow from a care organization to talk about alternatives. I am not sure what to expect from that.
I also had a cold throughout the entire ordeal BTW. :)
Ma Nature is here yet again and I haven't felt up to doing anything.
Although I am expecting a call tomorrow from a care organization to talk about alternatives.
When QoH was sick the 2 years before she passed, her insurance paid for physical therapy & home care people, but of course, QoH refused all that. Your father is probably entitled to something like that.
I also had a cold throughout the entire ordeal BTW. :)
😕
Anything good on TV then? :)
Not really. You'd think with 200 channels on the Dish there'd be something interesting. I actually had to resort to rewatching an episode of Feud: Capote vs The Swans that I had DVR'd. I've been enjoying that series, but it's only on once per week.
I was messing around with doing some repairs to the wall in the dining room early. The previous owner seemed to be quite inept when it came to drilling holes to put up curtain rods and things like that, and my parents never bothered patching the holes. I couldn't believe how many damn holes & plastic anchors were in the wall! And those aren't even the correct thing to use for masonry walls. Anyway, I pulled out all the stupid plastic anchors and filled all the holes with spackle. Next I'm going to paint the ceiling. IDK if we still have any of the color paint that the walls are painted stored in the basement, but if not, I'll have to buy some.
Are you gong to use a roller or a brush? Personally I prefer a roller.
A roller. And a brush for the edges.
I once again didn't do much today. I worked out a little and I filled a garbage bag with some clothes & stuff from QoH's room. I'm going to donate that and a couple other things to charity.
I got up at 7 AM. Ate breakfast. Then I helped my dad out of bed and into his clothes and down the stairs to the living room so he could have breakfast. Then I filled and turned on the dishwasher. Then we both waited for my mother to come out of bed so I could make her some porridge. I also called the thrombosis people to ask about my dad's blood thinning meds. Then I put some dirty laundry in the washing machine and had some coffee. Then I cleaned the sink and the gas stove. Then I dusted my parent's bedroom floor. After that I had lunch. Then I went to the supermarket to buy groceries. And then I rested. Then I made dinner. And then I wrote this comment. :)
It occurs to me that doing housework is somewhat similar to working out. ;P
Wow, sounds like you had a very busy day! I wish I had a dishwasher. Washing dishes is my least favorite thing. When QoH was alive, I didn't mind fixing food for her. It's the cleaning up I can't stand.
It occurs to me that doing housework is somewhat similar to working out. ;P
Oh yes, definitely. Especially when you are busy with it for most of the day.
Well last night I painted a bit of the ceiling. It was kinda tough trying to work the paint into the spackled/repaired area with the roller. And all that looking up hurts my neck, so the ceiling is probably going to take a while to complete.
And I stayed up until 3am watching movies. Amazingly, I still managed to wake up by 10:30 this morning. My sleep schedule has been way off for the past several weeks. I'll feel sleepy around 10:30 or 11pm, try to go to sleep, then just lay there and toss and turn for a couple of hours. I decided to just start staying up until I'm good and tired. That seems to be working for now. When I was still working my job I would go to sleep early and wake up early. Then the last year of QoH's life I didn't get much sleep because of her. Now I can sleep whenever I want, but my body doesn't want to cooperate. Damn perimenopause. 😡
I guess it's also a discipline thing. You need more or less 8 hours of sleep. Going to bed at the same time every evening and getting out of bed at the same time every morning will help with getting a good night sleep. It's a little boring sometimes but I do think that's how it works.
I seem to have gotten into a routine of going to bed around 2am and getting up around 10:30am now. Which is fine since I'm getting 8 hours. And most stores don't open until 10am anyway. Having to wait a couple of hours before I could go to a store annoyed me when I was waking up earlier.
In other news, last night I ordered a 100 pound weight set from Walmart. It was delivered earlier this afternoon. I got it on sale for $88 and I'm pleased with it. Now I have enough weights that I don't have to shift them all around depending on what I'm exercising. I can now keep 65 pounds for my bench press, 60 pounds on the leg extension machine, & 40 pounds on my EZ curl bar. If I want to set up my lat pulley outside, it'll be easy to just use the two 25 pound plates from my bench press rather than having to schlep a bunch of smaller ones outside. 🙂
I have my routine. I go pee right after I wake up, then I brush my teeth then go downstairs to fix myself a green tea. Usually I eat something an hour after I get up. I've never been able to eat immediately after I wake up. 💩 usually comes along not too long after I wake up..
Just make sure you don't drop them on your toes. :o
For the first time, I had an accident with the weights yesterday. I had put both 25 pound plates on my bench press bar and did three sets of 5 since it made the weight 5 pounds heavier than what was previously on there. I had trouble getting the last rep up, then because the plate is a lot wider than what I had on there before, I couldn't see to get it back in the rack and missed the left side. I ended up getting my hair pinned between the bar and the bench when the bar fell. I managed to pull my hair free without doing any damage and freed myself from being stuck under the bar. I was kinda pissed that the bar scraped up my new rack, but otherwise didn't do any serious damage to me or anything else.
And that is why I don't attempt to lift too heavy. Since I'm alone I don't have anyone to spot me or give me an assist if I fail at an attempt. I think the next time I do bench press, I'm going to have to use the safety bars so I don't have another accident. 😕
The only problem with the safety bars is I can't bring the barbell all the way down to my chest when I use them. The increments are too far apart to get them exactly where I need them. 😕
My estrogen was too high today and I felt all kinds of sick and weak so that messed up my workout earlier. I only managed to do leg extensions, some calf raises, and 10 squats. I had to go lay down after that. Then I did nothing but play on my phone and watch TV the rest of the day. 😕
Is there nothing that you can do to counteract high estrogen?
Actually, I think "high estrogen" is kind of a misnomer. The real problem is the progesterone and testosterone is super low. And yes, I have investigated. 🙂
I have been using progesterone cream, which seems to be working, but I'm going to have to start supplementing DHEA in an attempt to get the testosterone back up. In my research, all my current symptoms are related to low testosterone. I can't get T without a prescription, so the best I can do is DHEA which is a precursor to T production. It's also recommended to workout (which I already do) and up one's protein intake. The protein intake is difficult. I think I need to be consuming 120 grams ideally. Right now I'm struggling to eat 60 grams. 😕
More testosterone? Aren't you concerned that that will have unwanted side-effects?
I'm having all the symptoms of low T now. I was concerned about taking synthetic T because of the negative side effects, but I'd have to see a doctor for that since it's by prescription. The DHEA is an over the counter supplement and is just supposed to help one's body produce T on its own. It doesn't hurt to try.
You really can't get that from a normal diet?
Not really. I get 60-70 grams just eating normally. If I supplement with a protein shake, I can get closer to my goal intake, but I hate drinking those every day. 😫
I haven't started taking anything yet because side effects concern me. I've only been trying to eat more protein and working out with heavier weights. The low T symptoms are getting bad enough that I'm probably going to order some DHEA and give it a try, though.
Can't you just eat more meat?
I try to, but my body doesn't seem to want to eat as much food now compared to when I was working. I'm probably going to have to start eating more tuna and chicken breast. Looks like a trip to Sam's Club is in my future.
In other news, I dug out my old vintage Mitsubishi stereo and have been using it the past couple of days. It still sounds pretty good for 35 year old equipment. The only thing that doesn't work on it is the radio receiver. And the single CD player broke probably 25 years ago and I replaced it with a Pioneer 6 disc changer. My only complaint is that one of the speakers sounds like a woofer is slightly separated and making a buzzing noise, but it's not noticeable unless I turn the volume up really loud.
When I went to the thrift store a few days ago I bought an old Enigma CD, so I wanted to see how that sounded on a proper stereo. I was also listening to NIN Pretty Hate Machine and Iron Butterfly. Yeah, pretty eclectic. 😉
I want to buy Tool Fear Innoculum, but regardless if it's in CD 💿 or vinyl, it's damn expensive. It would be cool if I found it at the thrift store since they only charge $2 for CDs.
I think that would be kinda tricky. I'll have to investigate if there's a way to do it since it's old analog equipment. And my laptop is quite ancient as well. It's running Windows XP lol.
My best bet would probably be to get some new wireless speakers that my phone can connect to via Bluetooth.
I managed to get the desk repositioned in the dining room last night, but I had to drag a bunch of boxes of crap out from underneath it to be able to move it. Now the room looks like a mess again and I'll need to sort through those to see what I can throw away. I know that one box is full of 20 year old bills, so that'll be easy to throw away. QoH has so much stuff that it's frustrating dealing with it all. I'm getting to the point where I might start donating things because it's an easy way to get rid of it. I'd prefer making money, but I'm tired of looking at all of it.
Potentially thousands of dollars. For example, a vintage club-style boudoir chair that QoH bought at a thrift store years ago for $25: I saw one similar selling for $1,300 which is 🤯. And the one that QoH has was a custom made piece that is in excellent condition, so who knows what someone would be willing to pay for it. But aside from the color (yellow moiré fabric) that I don't like, it's very comfortable and I was planning to keep it. I was just thinking of making a slip cover for it in a color that I like rather than have it reupholstered which would be expensive.
A lot of QoH's knickknacks I could probably resell for what she originally paid for them.
Who knows. I might have a garage sale. Some people like that kind of crap. It's not figurines and stupid stuff like that. It's mainly fancy crystal vases, fancy picture frames, and decorative pieces.
It seems I'm going to have to do some renovating in our kitchen. It looks like there's some mold or something accumulating on the silicone strip between the countertop and the wall. I'll have to replace it, I think. Not something I've ever done before.
It looks like there's some mold or something accumulating on the silicone strip between the countertop and the wall.
😕 Yeah, ya definitely don't want mold in the kitchen. I'm having that problem in my bathroom with the grout between the tub and the wall. I really need to pull it out & re-grout. It's on my to-do list.
In other news, I brought up the small glass-top rattan table that QoH had in the basement and put it in the dining room last night. Now I have a place to eat at. I still have a small amount of clutter (compared to what was there before) to deal with, but it's much better than before. I'll be glad when I finally get it all dealt with and it starts looking like a nice living space.
How about your toilet? I've been watching youtube videos on how to efficiently clean my toilet which worked out great. But the toilet seats can not be salvaged I think and will need to be replaced.
Ever since the city expanded the water facility at the end of my street, the water quality has been crap and the hard water is a lot worse than it used to be. Both toilets have nasty brown hard water deposits on the bottom now in spite of them being cleaned regularly.
I've been watching youtube videos on how to efficiently clean my toilet which worked out great.
Do share. 🙂
But the toilet seats can not be salvaged I think and will need to be replaced.
I had to buy a new toilet seat for QoH's toilet after she died. She had gotten so heavy that she was breaking toilet seats. Then when she started having problems with getting off the toilet I had bought her one of those high seats which got kinda nasty with 💩. I cleaned it frequently, but it still got nasty. Anyway, I didn't need a lifted seat, so I just bought a cheap plastic one to replace it.
The toilet seat in my bathroom I've had for probably 25 years. It's a nice wooden seat. I'm not rough on toilet seats. 😉
Where did you eat before? In the kitchen?
Either in my bedroom or at the counter in the kitchen.
Anyway, I was out and about today. I hit the thrift store circuit and found some good CDs at Poverello up in Wilton Manors. They have great prices and a shit-ton of different things. They only charge 50 cents for the CDs, so that was a great bargain.
I'm at LauderAle Brewery ATM. It's really nice here and the beers are excellent. They had a special today. $5 for a flight of 4 different ones. I think I like the Imperial Stout and the Canoli Blonde Stout the best. It's definitely better than Gulf Stream. I'll definitely be giving them a good review when I get home. 🙂
It always seemed warmer than the plastic one in winter.
Facts. I noticed that as well.
Did you have some interesting company as well or did you just go there for the beer? :)
I just went for the beer. I had been wanting to go there for quite a while. Since I was already up that way yesterday and the weather was excellent, I decided to go. It was also $5 flight Tuesday and you know I like a bargain. 😁
It's in an old warehouse that doesn't seem to have AC and they also have a large patio area. As long as the weather is nice, it seems like a really great place to hang out. The decor was nice and it had a very relaxed atmosphere. Plus they were playing good music. None of the resident monkeys 🐒 showed up, though.
Of course not, they're too busy brewing the beers. ;P
The last time I went up there to scout out the location, the monkeys were at the Park N Go business that's kinda catty-corner to the brewery. Maybe they were looking to be shuttle bus 🚌 drivers. 🤔 😉
Anyway, I did write a good review on Google and the owner of the brewery responded to it today thanking me, so that was nice. 🙂 I think I'm going to try to go there maybe every other month as a treat to myself.
If you're going to be a regular there then maybe they can give you a free beer T-shirt? :)
I doubt that they'd give me a free one. I know that they sell merch, so next time I'm up there I'll have to check out what they have. I'd like to have a t-shirt or tank top.
today was my mother's birthday. I feel like things went a little smoother than in previous years.
Oh? Did you have many guests? How old is your mom now?
I'm still tired though.
Yeah, we introverts don't like too much social stimulation. 😉
Not much going on here. Today was leg day. I was doing a little over 36 kg on leg extensions. I could probably do more weight, but I have to be careful with the stress on my knees. I'll just have to slowly work up to more weight. Hopefully my legs won't be too sore tomorrow.
She may have lost consciousness for a moment because she peed her pants. :/
How terrible. Getting old really sucks. 😕
Do you have weak knees?
My knee problems started in high school. We had an insane amount of stairs to climb. It seemed like they deliberately scheduled classes alternating between upstairs classrooms and downstairs classrooms. And our textbooks were very large and heavy, so we had quite a lot of weight to lug up and down.
My knees hadn't bothered me for years, but now that I'm stressing them with quite a lot of additional weight, I sometimes get a wonky feeling.
What's the alternative? Dead or getting younger like Benjamin Button? 😜
A wonky feeling? How do you mean?
Depending on the exercise, it can feel like there's strain on the joint or like it's a bit weak.
In other news, I attempted to clean the China cabinet today and the stuff inside it. Right off the bat, one of the plastic pegs that held the top right glass shelf in place broke when I tried to remove the shelf, so that turned into a project. Luckily for me, I had some extra plastic thingies in the basement, but I had to drill a new hole because the other one was glued in place and I couldn't remove it. After that, I didn't feel much like taking a chance with the other shelves so I just cleaned the outside of the cabinet with furniture polish. After a while I did come back and cleaned the stuff on the middle shelf, but didn't attempt to remove the shelf when I cleaned it.
QoH has so much delicate stuff in there that it's probably going to take me a couple of days to clean it all. It's tedious and I tire of it very quickly.
It's important to take breaks often when doing something you don't like to do. Divide the task into manageable pieces. But do not postpone a planned task. Thus ends the lesson. ;P
Yeah, I cleaned a little more today. My OCD got the best of me and I cleaned the glass doors on the thing again because I could see streaks and that drives me nuts. I'm not sure when I'll make another attempt at cleaning the stuff inside.
Do you actually have OCD or are you just using it in a more stylistic sense?
No, I do not. It's just a sort of slang for perfectionist tendencies.
Maybe you could just sell it and have the buyer clean it? :)
There's a lot of cool stuff in there. I'm planning to keep all of it. There are a couple of carved ivory figurines and a carved soapstone vase from China that are legit antiques/artifacts and are irreplaceable.
Anyway, good news about QoH's estate. The court has granted me ownership of the house, so as of today I'm officially the owner and the probate is closed. 🙌🙌🙌
Now the next pain in the ass thing I have to do is apply for homestead exemption so I don't have to pay as much taxes. Hopefully I can do that online and won't have to make a trip downtown to the property appraiser’s office.
Eventually 100%. I went on the property appraiser’s website this morning and looked for some clarification on a couple of things. It seems as though I cannot file for the exemption this year because 1) it's past the March 1 deadline and 2) I wasn't the legal owner as of January 1. Hopefully mom's exemptions will still apply to the taxes at the end of the year. I will definitely be able to file under my name for next year.
And then it seems as though the property appraiser needs to send me paperwork. I'm assuming that will be after everything is legally recorded at the county level. I think I'm probably going to call down to their office on Monday just to ask for clarification on all of it. I'd hate to assume and then miss out on a tax break.
Maybe $800? I'm not really sure. That was the sum that they said most people get.
The next thing I need to do is transfer the titles of both of QoH's vehicles into my name. I was putting it off because it costs money and it's a pain in the ass having to go to the auto tag agency to do that. 😫
I was thinking of selling my dad's truck. I was just going to put both oth QoH's vehicles in my name, but drop the insurance from the truck since it isn't driven. I'm reluctant to sell it because QoH bought it new & got it serviced regularly. It never had any accidents of major problems, so I know it's a reliable vehicle even though it's almost 30 years old. I have no idea about my dad's truck. He always bought used pieces of crap and never checked the car fax on them. When I sold his Volvo, it turned out that it had 3 major accidents on its history and I could only sell it for half of what it was worth. The buyer wasn't even going to try to resell it, they said it was going to be sold for parts.
Not much going on today. I went to bed early last night because I had a headache and no energy all day. I ended up having some pretty wild dreams. I woke up around 7am, but laid in bed until 8 or so. I ended up going to Aldi around 9:30am. I had gotten a prepaid debit card from the phone company as a refund in the mail yesterday, so I used that to pay at Aldi.
When I got home, I felt full of energy so I made a Monte Cristo sandwich and made a couple extra pieces of the French toast bread so I can make another one tomorrow.
Then I did a pretty good upper body workout. I did a max 100 pound lat pull down, then took 5 pounds off a couple of times and did reps. I think I did 3 sets of 10 at 85 pounds to finish.
I also got the DHEA & 5HTP that I ordered delivered today, so I started both of those. Hopefully they'll benefit me.
A friend suggested that it would help me sleep. I've been having some difficulty sleeping the past few weeks. I did take one last night, but it felt kinda like taking a stronger version of benadryl. I think I'll try taking it a bit earlier tonight and see what happens. It didn't really make me fall asleep right away, but after I had gotten up to pee, I felt very groggy then slept for a solid 7 hours.
Are you feeling okay? Are you worried about something?
I think maybe all the stress of the past few years finally caught up to me.
In other news, yesterday I went up to Wilton Manors and Oakland Park to do some thrifting. I scored 4 more 50 cent CDs at Poverello in Wilton, then drove up Dixie Highway to the thrift stores in Oakland Park. I scored a new with tags on pair of Tru-Spec EMT pants for $5 at the Chabad thrift. It looked like a uniform store had donated their entire stock. I'm thinking about going back up there on Sunday to see if I can score any more. I didn't really look for my size in the giant heaps of clothing. I was just lucky to find my size on the top of the heap. It looked like mostly larger men's sizes, but I didn't dig because I was already tired at that point and nothing was marked with a price. It seems like the guy who runs it determines the price when you come up to pay. I was shocked that he asked such a cheap price since they are normally around $50 in a retail store.
After that, I decided to return home via Wilton Drive which turns into 3rd Avenue when you get to downtown Fort Lauderdale. As I was approaching Broward Blvd, there seemed to be some type of emergency in progress since every cop car and emergency vehicle in town was swarming ahead of me. When I got up to 2nd Street, they had the bridge blocked off. I thought maybe someone fell off the new building that was being built next to the bridge. I ended up having to divert to the Andrews Avenue bridge to get south of the river. Anyway when I was driving home from there, I heard on the radio that a huge piece of the crane they were using had fallen off the building and onto a car on the bridge and bounced and landed on a second car. And a construction worker had fallen to his death. This all happened maybe one minute before I got there. And the cars that got smashed were on the southbound lanes like I was. So needless to say I'm thankful that it wasn't me.
So that was my eventful Thursday. A friend suggested that I should play the Powerball with that kind of luck. 😬
The kind of luck where you almost get crushed? Hmm... ;P
Well, I was delayed because of a couple of traffic lights, so I had good luck as far as not getting smashed. 🤪
And I went and played a couple of Powerball brackets a while ago. I had more luck as there were no customers ahead of me at the convenience store. Usually when the Powerball is over $1 billion like it is, the line to play is out the door. 😎 And I keep seeing some of the numbers that I played, so I'm crossing my fingers. 🤞
So a higher possible payout means the odds of winning it get lower?
Yep. And unfortunately, I did not win. I didn't even get 1 number out of 2 plays. 😭 And that is why I never play the damned thing. 😒
Anyway, yesterday I mowed the front and side yard, but was too tired to finish the back yard. And my legs were still sore from the previous night's workout. I suppose I'll finish it some time today.
I was wanting to go back up to the Chabad thrift store today to see if I could find any more of those Mil-Spec pants in my size, but I don't feel like driving up there. And they are only open a few hours today. Plus, I got sucked into watching the women's college basketball tournament because of the hype around Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa. Today is the championship game, Iowa vs South Carolina, so I'm going to watch that at 2pm (about an hour from now).
$4. Since I never play it, I didn't realize it was $2 per panel instead of $1 per like the regular lottery. 😒
Do you like basketball then or was it really just the hype that made you watch it?
I'm not a fan of basketball at all. It was the hype. But they did play very well and made the game interesting. South Carolina won the championship. They were undefeated for the season and I can see why. They played really tough defense.
Anyhoo, today was the eclipse. We only got 40% in Florida, but I still went outside to watch it and got some eclipse rays in the process. 😎
Today I went to the park to walk the 2 mile loop trail, then I went to the county animal shelter to see the cats. After that I went back to the Chabad thrift store in Oakland Park and dug through the mountain of pants because for $5, I was determined to find a few more that were my size. I ended up finding 4 pairs. 🙂
Then I went to the Poverello thrift store and found a set of those shoe stretcher thingies for $5. I had been needing some of those for a couple pairs of shoes that I have, and it was a good deal.
I stopped at the cat cafe after that and played with those kitties for a bit and had a nice chat with the lady who works there.
Then I stopped at the Korean grocery store that they opened near where my dad used to live. They were kinda expensive, but I bought some baby boy choy, bean sprouts, and rice noodles 🍜 that were reasonably priced. Then I came home. I think I was out for 5.5 hours today, so I'm a bit tired now.
To stretch leather shoes. Mainly for the front area. I find that the toe box areas can be too snug, so you can use this contraption to stretch the leather out to make the fit more comfortable.
Then again, I usually don't buy shoes that don't fit well.
Me either, but I think my feet are bigger than they used to be, so some shoes that I've had for a long time don't fit the same.
Anyhoo, I went to Greynold's Park yesterday to do some hiking. This time I did the trails around the lake on the southeast side of the park. To my surprise, there were coral rock bluffs and elevation changes close to the water and that made it a bit of a challenge, but it was fun. And the weather was really nice, too. I think I was there for 2 hours.
Apparently feet don't literally keep growing as we age but they can get wider and flatter.
And I think having a career where I was on my feet for 8 hours or more per shift contributed to the widening & flattening lol. Also, shoes don't seem to run true to size anymore. I was always a size 6, but now I'm having to buy 6.5, 7, & 7.5 depending on the shoe.
I could be wrong but IIRC you never used to like taking long walks, right?
It's usually too hot for long walks, but we've had very pleasant weather for much longer than usual this year. And I was doing a lot of exploring at Greynold's. There were lots of interesting things to see there.
Never! The park is pretty much a big square and everything in South Florida runs on a north/south grid. And all the trails were pretty well worn, so no chance of me getting lost.
In other news, I've decided to go to a couple of events near my birthday. The first is a metal flea market up in Port Saint Lucie which is a couple hours drive north of where I live. A few of my friends from school live up that way, so I'm planning to meet up with at least one of them. Also my cousin & aunt want to meet up.
And I bought a ticket to see the comedienne Jiaoying Summers up in Boca Raton on May 16. That cost me $50, but I got a 4th row seat neat the stage. I figured what the hell, you only live once. Might as well enjoy myself. 😉
I know that they are supposed to have food. And it's at a brewery, so probably beer, too. And since it's metal themed with 6 bands playing, I would imagine that they will be selling band merchandise. Probably jewelry, too.
Yeah, besides $50 doesn't seem that much?
The ticket was $38, but by the time they tacked on taxes and other fees it was $50. It's worth it, though. The more videos of this comedienne that I see, the more I like her. She's wild and pretty quick witted when it comes to audience interaction. And since I'm pretty close to the stage there's a chance of getting roasted by her. 🤣 I think it's going to be a really fun experience.
Just don't heckle her. Comedians usually don't like people interrupting their set.
I wouldn't heckle anyone. She's the one who engages with the audience. It might be fun to have a witty repartee lol.
I've been to a few really funny comedy shows. One of the most memorable was getting to chat with Vinny Pastore between sets at a charity fundraiser. And the Haters' Roast was definitely memorable. And Trixie Mattel. 😁 And I got to help get Greg Proops an Uber after his show at the Broward Center.
QoH got to see Joan Rivers at an event one time. I'm really jealous of that. Joan Rivers was one of my favorites.
I don't know that I can one up her, but I am pretty funny myself, and certainly not as shy as I used to be. I think it's going to be a really fun night. 🙃
Well I went up to Tree Tops Park today to go hiking. I was there for 2 hours and I'm exhausted now. But it was a really nice day for it. There seem to be a lot more trails now. The last time I went there was when I was in grade school.
You seem to be enjoying your newfound freedom in a very literal way. :)
Yes, and as you know, going for walks in nature is very relaxing and good exercise.
Unfortunately, after I left the park yesterday, my car started acting up. It felt like it didn't want to go into gear for a moment, then the check engine light came on. When I got home, I checked the error code and it corresponded to a bad camshaft sensor. That's kinda serious since it can screw up the engine, so I'm currently at the mechanic's. Of course they also found a broken engine torque mount, so I'm having that replaced as well. In total, it's probably going to cost about $500. Which sucks, but car repairs have gotten really expensive along with everything else. And it's much cheaper to repair it than to buy a new car. And since I'm going to be driving some long distances next month, I don't need to have it breaking down when I'm far from home.
Do you have some kind of car repair service company in the US for when you're underway?
Yes. I'm a member of AAA. If anything happens, I can call them and they'll send a tow truck to come get me. They also do jump starts & fix flat tires. It's well worth the yearly membership fee. I just renewed, and I think I paid $100.
I personally don't celebrate it at all. It's too boring and I don't care about the whole thing.
🤣🤣🤣 That's the spirit!
There are of course people who use it as an excuse to go out and party.
Naturally. Any excuse to party 🥳
How large of a group of people do you mean?
Thousands.
You recently went to a number of events that had a fair number of people IIRC.
Not really. When I went to the market thingy a couple of months ago, there weren't that many people there. Probably less than 100 and that's including the vendors. Plus it was spread out over 2 streets.
The comedy show that I'm going to is in a very small venue. I'm not sure how many it seats, but it looked like less than 100. The Metal Market thingy will probably have lots of people. I'm not looking forward to that aspect of it, but it'll be an adventure. And my cousin Dawn is going to meet me there. I haven't seen her since I was a toddler, so I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with her. And if we don't like the event we can always leave early and do something else.
Whenever I go to a park, it's always on a weekday and sparsely crowded. The one exception was a couple of months ago when I had gone to Anne Kolb Nature Center and much to my displeasure, the parking lot was full of snowbirds' vehicles. But the park itself was fairly empty because they all discovered that they could park there for free and walk over the bridge to the beach. And even then, the beach wasn't nearly as crowded as it usually is on a weekend.
Yes. I think she grew up about 5 miles from where I live, but QoH didn't get along with either side of our family, so I only saw my cousins when I was still very little. I'm not sure when Dawn moved up to Port Saint Lucie. I think she told me, but I forgot.
Dd you find her on Facebook or did you run into her IRL?
My cousin Tim (dad's nephew from youngest brother) who was helping me after my dad died told me that she was on FB, so that's how we reconnected. And she had DM'd me on there a couple of years prior, but I never saw it because I don't use the app and I was using my old phone back then that wasn't compatible with the FB app.
I also reconnected with her sister & brother on FB. They are all my dad's eldest brother's kids. Debbi actually lives much closer to me, about a 30 minute drive up the turnpike. Their brother lives in one of the Carolinas, I can't remember which.
Anyway, Dawn is supposed to be meeting me at the Metal Market on Saturday. I'll have to text her about times. And I looked up the event on FB. So far less that 300 people said they're going, so hopefully it won't be too crowded. If we don't like it, we can leave. And where Dawn lives isn't that far away, so we could always go to her place.
No, they are all double digits older than me. I think Dawn is 16 or 17 years older.
Anyway, she and her mom (my aunt) are on a cruise 🛳 in Jamaica. They are supposed to be back tomorrow. Dawn said she would meet me at the event after she gets back, but I'm not sure what time that'll be. I didn't see her check in on FB today. I guess it doesn't really matter, she has my phone number and I have hers, so I suppose I can text her tomorrow morning.
Whatever happens, I hope you'll have a good time. :)
I had a great time! All the bands were pretty heavy. Mind Virus had the best set. I bought one of their t-shirts. My cousin & her husband came for an hour. It was nice to see her. She's pretty cool.
A few hundred, I guess? It was hard to estimate the way they had the vendors spread out. There were definitely a lot of cars. I managed to find a spot in the grass in front of the warehouse. The event was in the back, so it was a bit of a walk, but not as bad as where other people were parking down the street. But at least it was a free event and we didn't have to pay to park.
I guess you guys had a lot to talk about? A lot of catching up?
Not too much. We did agree to meet up again at her sister's house the next time she comes down to visit. That will definitely be easier for me since that's only a 30 minute drive.
Do you have any other family you'd like to visit? I assume they don't all live this nearby?
I have one cousin on my mom's side who lives in St Augustine. I wouldn't mind seeing him, but I'm not driving all the way up there to see him. I'm friends with him on FB, but I can't recall if he's ever expressed any interest in visiting.
Anyway, I've had enough people-ing for a while. And I don't care to drive any long distances for a while, either.
My next event is Jiaoying Summers comedy show up in Boca Raton on the 16th. At least that is only a 25 minute drive up the turnpike.
In the meantime, I really need to go to the auto tag agency and have QoH's vehicles' titles transferred to my name. I also need to apply for my passport. But neither of those things will be happening today because Ma Nature is here and I don't feel like doing anything.
I can and have been since it's technically legal to do so while the insurance is still good. But the insurance is supposed to renew in a couple of weeks and I want to drop the truck since it isn't driven any more, and since it's my birth month it's a good time to do it since tags get renewed on your birth month.
Are you planning on going abroad?
Yes. I have a friend who is insisting that I come to New Zealand. And since that's a place that I've always wanted to visit, I'm planning to take her up on her offer of free lodging and tour guiding lol.
That does seem like an interesting place. Certainly more interesting than Old Zealand. ;P
I wouldn't mind visiting the old country, too. My cousin Dawn has been in a "reconnecting with your roots" kick. So far she's been to Portugal a couple of times. I'm sure she'll get to the NL eventually.
I'm really excited to be going to New Zealand, but it'll be my first real trip outside the US & Canada and my first time on an airplane, so I'm doing lots of research now on procedures so I know what to expect.
I guess she has similar roots to you, being family?
Yep. We both have a Dutch grandmother & Portuguese grandfather on my dad's side. I have no idea what her mother's ethnic makeup is.
Things do not seem as straightforward as they used to be.
Everything is more of a hassle now. My cousin was telling me to get TSA pre-check or Global Entry because of how bad it is going through American customs. And if I'm going to NZ I have to pay extra for an entrance visa type thing before I even try to fly in down there. And I can only stay for 3 months even though it's valid for 2 years. 🙄
In this country they're more concerned with hassling citizens. Everyone else seems to be able to do whatever the fuck they want once they get on US soil.
So who's your friend in New Zealand? How did you meet?
We met on Instagram about a year and a half ago. We seem to have a lot of common interests and she has a really great sense of humor. And she doesn't get butthurt when I'm being opinionated, so that's quite refreshing when it comes being friends with another woman.
It will definitely be funny. I think she's hilarious. An old school comedienne who says whatever and is very quick witted. And she's hilarious when she starts picking on people in the audience.
You know, it used to be that hecklers were considered an annoyance but now a lot of comedians seem to like making them part of their act.
In her case it's sort of reverse heckling. Usually people are just sitting there enjoying the show and she'll pick them out for whatever reason then start interrogating them and roasting them. It's usually pretty funny.
Anyway, how was it?
I still have about 2.5 hours before I go. I'll let you know 🙂
Okay, so the show last night was great! There were 2 comedians who went on before Jiaoying. They were ok, but when Jiaoying came on she totally killed it! And I was sitting next to someone that she started roasting, so I might make it on one of her highlight reels that she puts on Instagram. Actually, there were quite a few people sitting near me who got roasted, so chances of me being in a reel are really good.
After the show she did a meet & greet so I stuck around for that and got to talk to her for a bit and got a pic taken with her. I also got a hug lol. She's really nice like most comedians are (different from their stage personas). She liked the jade dragon bracelet that I was wearing and told me that this would be a good year for me since it's year of the dragon. 🐉
Anyway, the show ended up being about an hour and a half, so I got my money's worth. 🙂
She got the girl next to me. She asked her if she was with her mom (I'm assuming she meant me) because her boyfriend had left to go to the toilet, so it look like me & the girl we're together. 🤣 At first she didn't realize she was the target of the roasting so I told her that Jiaoying was talking to her.
I was so hoping you'd get roasted. :)
I kinda was too.
Hm, I don't have ifstagram but if maybe she'll put it up on Youtube?
That was super mild. I escaped unscathed compared to what she said to other people. 🤣🤣
That's what you get for being in the line of fire, I guess. ;P
I really did have a great seat for the money. The more expensive seats were in the first 3 rows. Most everything from row 4 to the back of the room was $38. So I got a great seat for the same price as people in the back.
I was looking at the program that they gave out. It is all the upcoming shows. Andrew Dice Clay is going to be there next February and I'm thinking about going to that. And I think Jim Florentine (who used to be on That Metal Show) is there next month. He's pretty funny and I'm thinking about going to that show. Also Judy Gold is going to be there in November iirc. She is also pretty funny. Then they have lots of tribute bands performing. Some looked kinda interesting.
I was mildly impressed with the venue. They have a nice setup as far as the seating & stage go and a good sound system. They also have a full bar and plenty of waitresses serving drinks. And during the show you could text your drink order to the bar and a waitress would bring it to you, so that was a nice feature if you wanted a drink. And they had people working as ushers to show you to your seat. It was all very well organized and efficient.
Well, you've been to a lot of venues (professionally) so that definitely means something. It's a good sign.
Yes, it's nice to see a venue that's run well and gives the customers a good experience.
Were the drinks expensive?
Probably. They usually are. I didn't bother to look since I wasn't going to have anything. I didn't want to have to pee halfway through the show and I didn't want any alcohol since I didn't want to do the 40 minute drive back home while tipsy.
I didn't want to have to pee halfway through the show
Probably just as well, I've seen Youtube videos of people actually doing that and the comedian waiting for them to return while cracking jokes about it. :)
So what's going on in life these days? Are you still working on the house?
So what's going on in life these days? Are you still working on the house?
Yes, actually. I pressured washed & repainted 2 of the patio chairs from the front porch on Monday. Then I was noticing how bad the floor on the porch looked, so yesterday I pressure washed that then repainted it with deck paint. When I checked on how it looked today after it's fully dried, I noticed that there are a couple of areas that I need to go over a second time. And I need to do the front edges that I didn't get to yesterday. I'm going to have to scrape the loose paint that the pressure washer failed to remove, then repaint. It looks so much better now with it just half finished. It'll look great when I get it completed and the freshly painted chairs are back on the porch. I still need to pressure wash & repaint the third chair, but I need to buy 2 more cans of spray paint since I didn't have enough to do all 3 chairs. Also, that third chair has a leg that my sister broke and needs to be repaired so it's not being held up with a brick. 🤣
I pressured washed & repainted 2 of the patio chairs from the front porch on Monday.
So I guess you had some nice weather? We have had an almost constant down pouring of rain. It looks like it's going to be a typical wet Dutch summer. I do prefer this over the heat from last summer but still, some sunshine would be nice.
Also, that third chair has a leg that my sister broke and needs to be repaired so it's not being held up with a brick.
A brick does give it some personality. Something rustic. How long has it been that way?
Relatively speaking. It was sunny but still hot. At least the heat dried everything quickly so I could paint the same day.
It looks like it's going to be a typical wet Dutch summer.
That's usually how summers are here. I can't remember if it was last June or July, but it rained almost every damn day.
I do prefer this over the heat from last summer but still, some sunshine would be nice.
Yeah, it gets a bit depressing when it rains every day.
How long has it been that way?
At least 15 years. I had made an attempt at a repair, but it wasn't very good and didn't support any weight, so it got propped up with the brick. 🤣
Today I pressure washed the third chair and a small table. I'm currently in the process of painting the table. I'm just using some white paint that I have to brush on so I don't have to spend the money for spray paint. It takes a bit longer, but the finished product looks nice.
So, obviously nothing is happening over here as per usual. Well, just the rain falling. I assume your paint job is going okay. I am reading something about hurricane season beginning in Florida.
Also, it seems I've found an obituary for QoH on the internet. Apparently someone planted a tree in her memory?
Are the table and chairs all part of the same set?
They all sorta match, but I don't think they were a set. That sort of cast iron & cast aluminum patio furniture used to be very popular in Florida probably from the 1940's-1970's. Having that style on the porch gives the place that vintage look.
So, obviously nothing is happening over here as per usual.
Today is Memorial Day here. It's a federal holiday so banks and government offices are closed. I'll just be staying in.
Also, it seems I've found an obituary for QoH on the internet.
Yeah, that's the info I provided to the cremation place and they posted it.
Apparently someone planted a tree in her memory?
I think the cremation place does that for all their customers.
I doubt it. BTW, QoH was just 16 in that pic that I used for her obituary.
Anyhoo, I finished the third chair last night and have it back out on the porch. I readjusted the repair on the leg instead of trying to find something else to fix it. It's not perfect, but it looks better than before and at least the chair doesn't look broken from the front view.
She looks older to me but kids from those days all seem to look older in pics.
And she was into make-up & glam, so that made her look older, too. I have a class pic of her when she was maybe 13 or 14 and she looked like an adult compared to the other kids.
I guess you can have a tea party on your porch now or in your garden, I suppose. :)
The only ones partying out there are the frogs & lizards. They make a damn mess. 😡
But they're just tiny animals. How much of a mess can they make? :o
They shit all over. I just painted the porch and they already have it nasty. 😡
Anyway, not much going on here. I did quite an intense workout yesterday with the new lat pull down bar that a friend sent me for my birthday. Needless to say I'm quite sore today, but it's the price I'm willing to pay to look jacked. 😜
Is that likely to happen with a regular diet and moderate exercise?
looking jacked ... is asthetically pleasing.
Who are you trying to impress though?
So, I should probably stop complaining about nothing happening over here as my mothers' situation seems to be getting worse. Either that or she caught a bug that her dementia doesn't like. She lost her appetite and her mobility and takes a lot of naps during the day, more than before. We've taken her to a doctor but found out nothing useful yet.
Is that likely to happen with a regular diet and moderate exercise?
Probably not, but I don't want to get lazy & complacent like QoH did. Now that I've hit perimenopause, I can see how the downward slide started for her. At least I'm aware of things and will try my best not to go out like that.
Who are you trying to impress though?
Mainly myself. It's mostly an ego thing, but I have friends who are somewhat enabling and I like to show off to them, too. 😏
my mothers' situation seems to be getting worse
Sorry to hear that.
She lost her appetite and her mobility and takes a lot of naps during the day
I hate to day it, but that usually the beginning of the end. Unfortunately you never know how much time they got left. 🥲
Well, my mother seems to be recovering. She can walk reasonably well now, she even walked down the stairs (with my father and I ready to catch her of she lost her balance). Getting her back upstairs should go about as well... hopefully.
Getting her back upstairs should go about as well... hopefully.
If she's a normal size woman then it shouldn't be too difficult for the 2 of you to get her back upstairs.
How about you? Are you still feeling sore?
Something is always sore since I work out several times per week. 🤣 Today it's my biceps. 💪 I tried some different exercises yesterday which seemed to work very well since I'm sore today. My normal routine wasn't doing much other than maintaining what I have even though I was using pretty heavy weights (20-28 pounds). Yesterday, I was using my weight bench with the seat at about a 60° incline and doing the biceps curls with the weights hanging at the sides, but the starting point behind my back. I was using 10 pound weights and it was challenging because of the greater range of motion. I'll definitely be incorporating that into my routine now. 😊
You're body makes a chemical that makes you like exercise, AFAIR.
Dopamine, I think. Now that my muscles are starting to show some real definition, that's the part that I like the most. 😁
Anyhoo, today I took a trip to the IKEA out in Sunrise. I wanted to see what they had in media cabinets. I'm looking to replace the ancient stereo cabinet that my parents had with something functional. I ended up buying a French press, some wooden clothes hangers, & a scissor.✂️ 🤣
Maybe just the speakers. The rest of the components from my stereo seem to still work just fine. The old stereo cabinet in question was one of those huge furniture ones from the 1970's that my parents bought. It has a record player, but afaik it hasn't worked since I was a kid. And the wood has extensive termite damage, so it needs to go. It has been functioning as just a sofa table for decades. I'll be glad to get rid of it and replace it with something that's actually functional. IKEA had a couple of units that I liked style wise, but their prices are high for furniture that is made from laminated particle board. I'd prefer to have real wood. I've been looking in thrift stores for something that I can convert to what I want, but so far no luck. I might just end up buying some wood & building my own. It's not that difficult.
Don't you need a pair of those to cut things? ;P
Isn't English a funny language? One unit is called a pair lol. They were only $2, so I couldn't pass up that kind of deal.
Do you have a specific conversion in mind? A particular style?
Yes, I'd like something roughly the same size as the stereo cabinet that's there now (around 1.5 meters long), but I want open shelving so that I can put my stereo components in there and also have storage space for records & CDs. I'm open to the possibility of having doors on it.
Anyway, we have been getting ridiculous amounts of rain here since Monday. I think my area got 20 inches in 2 days. There's lots of flooding everywhere except my area since it's on a ridge and the storm drains were upgraded a few years ago. It's not nearly as bad as what happened in Fort Lauderdale last year, but some areas did get it pretty bad.
Weren't large parts of Florida originally wetlands? You'd think water drainage has a high priority there. The part of my country that I live in also used to be quite wet. It takes a lot of work to keep it livable.
Weren't large parts of Florida originally wetlands?
Definitely large parts of South Florida.
It takes a lot of work to keep it livable.
Yep. That's why we called in the Dutch experts for water management. The areas with modernized flood mitigation are usually fine. The areas that got it the worst were older neighborhoods that are in low areas
But the main problem has been unusually long periods of rain with many inches of it coming down in a short time. It doesn't allow for normal drainage. And then there's all the building that has been going on the past 20 years. There's a lot more concrete and pavement for the water to sit on instead of bare ground which drains pretty quickly.
BTW do you think Florida will ever have sea dikes like the Netherlands?
Probably not. Our main problem comes from heavy tropical rains. We don't have much if an issue with the ocean, only when there's a super moon at high tide, and that only really affects a few areas that were built on coastal marshes.
Anyhoo, some shirts that I ordered 16 days ago finally arrived at the store, so I went to pick them up today. While I was there, I decided to walk around the mall just to see which shops are there now. I was pleased to see that they have a Spencer's Gifts as well as the Hot Topic where I've been getting most of my band tees when they are on sale. They both sell cool tees. I also went into the arcade. It reminded me of Las Vegas for kids. It was so over the top compared to arcades when I was a kid.
No. I like pinball & skeeball. They didn't have any old school games like that. Everything they had was very loud and immersive. It reminded me of Japanese arcades. The place was huge.
Were the shirts okay?
Two of them fit a little snug. Either because I'm getting bulky or their quality control with sizing is inconsistent. I find a lot of clothes don't run true to size nowadays. But it wasn't bad enough to need to exchange them. I'll just keep it in mind next time I order shirts. I'll probably get a size larger and see how it fits.
There are a few. Japanese culture is quite popular with a lot of young people.
Better not get too bulky. ;P
I was trying to avoid that by going to the park today for a walk, but unfortunately for me I forgot that it's a stupid federal holiday so the park was charging $3 entrance fee. I didn't go in, instead I went up to the Fort Lauderdale Airport green belt for my walk. That was probably better exercise since the path is on the rather large berms on the south side of the airport so its like walking on hills. I think down & back was at least 2 miles, probably closer to 3 since I first walked the path that went down by the canal.
Yep. 😄 I had gotten into it a bit around 2009. I liked those Japanese game shows that they showed on the G4 channel. I even tried to learn some Japanese so I could follow along better.
I thought you meant "too bulky" as in too much muscle growth. Like, slightly hulk style. :)
Well, I am getting quite muscular, but I'm also getting fat in the midsection (looking like an old school Bulgarian power lifter 🏋♀️🤣) because of hormonal changes and sitting around too much. And because the weather has been either too hot or too rainy I haven't been able to get out for walks.
Actually fat or just big? Like, layers of muscle big?
I'm not sure how much is fat and how much is fibroids. :/
Anyway, yesterday I went to TY Park and walked the 2 mile loop trail. Then I went to the animal shelter and visited the kitties. From there, I decided to go to Snyder Park by the airport since I'd never been to that park before. I walked one dirt trail, then tried to find other hiking trails. I went to the north side of the park, but it was flooded from all the rain so I had to stick to the paved roadways. And because of all the flooding, the mosquitoes were quite bad. I got bitten a few times by the biggest mosquitoes I'd ever seen. Between the heat and the mosquitoes I decided to call it quits after an hour.
When I got back to my car I texted a friend from work who lives near the park to see if she was home, but she never checks her phone so I decided to just go by. Her husband was home, but she wasn't home from work yet. As I was pulling out of their driveway to leave, my friend was coming down the street. Anyway, we visited for about 45 minutes. I didn't stay too long because I knew she was tired from work and I also wanted to get ahead of the Friday afternoon traffic. So that was my busy day yesterday. 🙃
You seem like a real people person. Like, you enjoy visiting people. :)
I'm not that much of a people person. I like a select few people and enjoy socializing with them.
Anyway, I got a letter in the mail from the property appraiser’s office denying QoH's tax exemption. I'll have to call their office on Monday and see what the procedure is. The deadline to file for homestead exemption was March 1, but I wasn't granted ownership until a few weeks after that. The exemption lowers my taxes. If I don't get it I'll be paying much more for property taxes at the end if the year. 😒
I'm not sure. The internet said maybe $800 more, but I really don't know.
Anyway, there's a feature on the property appraiser’s website to set up an appointment to speak with someone in person. I'd rather do that. When you try calling you either never get through to an actual person or they are unhelpful.
When you try calling you either never get through to an actual person or they are unhelpful.
I kinda like email. It leaves a "paper trail" and people can respond in their own time. But it's nice to be able to talk to an actual company human directly. You do need to know what to ask though.
That's why I'd like to get an appointment to see someone in person. They can guide me about what I need to do. Usually when you call, if you're lucky enough to get through to an actual person, they are impatient and not very helpful.
Anything to do with the government here is a pain in the ass.
Anyway, today I bought a couple of new light fixtures for the house. The light switch for the basement light has been broken for a couple of years. I had bought a new switch, but the 70 year old wiring is colored differently than modern wiring and I didn't want to take a chance and screw it up, so I had been using lamps down there, but they all eventually broke. So today I bought an LED shop light to go down there. It was a piece of cake to install and it's bright like an alien 👽 exam room. 🤣
The other one I got at Miami China City. I had seen some cool light fixtures on their Instagram post yesterday, so I decided to go over there and check it out. I had been wanting to replace the ugly chandelier in the dining room. They had one that I liked and it was only $35 so I bought it. Now to figure out how to remove the old one and install the new one.🤔
If any are foolish enough to break into my house. 🤣
Just make sure the main current is turned off if you have wires to attach.
In the past whenever I've had to mess with new switches or lights I just turn off all the breakers to be on the safe side. We had an electrician upgrade the breaker box about 20 years ago, but he was lazy about labeling the different circuits and didn't do a thorough job of it. So I take no chances with that.
I would like to get it cleaned out eventually and then I want to have a bar, pool table, couches & a big TV down there.
Yesterday I made some progress in getting rid of some things. I used my electric chainsaw to cut up an old rattan furniture set that my mom had down there for 50 years. And I threw away a couple of old oriental rugs tgat were beyond saving.
How far along are you now with cleaning up the house?
It doesn't look like I've done too much. QoH was a world class hoarder so it's been slow going. But I think the most noticeable difference is in the dining room. I got rid of all the piles of paperwork on the dining room table and got rid of the table, so there's a lot more space in there.
And I was working on the spare bedroom the past couple of days. Once I get the crap off the old bed & get rid of it, there will be more space to work with in there. I think I'm going to buy a memory foam bed from IKEA to replace it, but I'd like to make a storage frame for it. This house doesn't have any storage space to begin with, so I think that'll be a smart thing to do. That way I can store extra sheets & bedding in there and it won't be taking up space elsewhere.
Only in the bedrooms, but they are tiny. They aren't large enough to hold a modern wardrobe let alone anything else.
BTW Has hurricane Beryl given you any trouble?
No, none at all. It stayed in the Caribbean Sea quite south of here. It was actually sunny this afternoon after a bit of rain in the morning. It's supposed to be sunny for the 4th of July holiday as well.
Oh, we have a new government over here.
Hopefully they won't be completely useless like the American government. 😁
467 Comments:
but that is probably just a hundred & fifty years old at most.
That's still pretty old. From around the 1870's? That's a whole different world.
That's still pretty old. From around the 1870's? That's a whole different world.
Probably. I'd have to check the provenance. I think my grandmother wrote our a brief history of it which she left inside the clock.
The past few days I have been trying to tweak the plaster on the repair I made to the dining room ceiling. I'm too OCD to leave it alone lol. I can't stand that I can see the outline of the repair so I have been trying to blend the edges. It looks better, but not perfect. I think I'm probably going to leave it the way I have it so I can get on to repainting the ceiling.
And I found an almost exact match to the striped wallpaper that QoH has in the dining room. The only difference is it's charcoal gray and white instead of black and white. I'm still contemplating whether I want to replace the old stuff or just paint the walls the same pale light blue color as in the living room.
replace the old stuff or just paint the walls
Painting is a lot less work. So that would be my choice. :)
In other news, my father is in the hospital being operated upon at this very moment. His groin hernia got worse so the doctor advised surgery. I've been at the hospital as well all day to accompany him. Right now I'm at home waiting for the outcome.
Painting is a lot less work. So that would be my choice. :)
Less work and much cheaper than wallpaper which is obscenely priced like everything else these days. Unfortunately, I inherited QoH's flair for the dramatic, so I still want one wall to have that very flamboyant monstera print wallpaper (which is even more obscenely expensive than the striped one).
my father is in the hospital being operated upon at this very moment.
Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that. And if I recall correctly, he's the same age as QoH, so surgery is kinda serious. I hope he has a full & speedy recovery.
I hope he has a full & speedy recovery.
The operation was successful and he seems to be revering fine. He might even be back home tomorrow.
*recovering :)
The operation was successful and he seems to be revering fine. He might even be back home tomorrow.
Ah, good. Will you be caring for him yourself or will there be any professional help?
I didn't do much today. Ma Nature is here yet again and I haven't felt up to doing anything.
Will you be caring for him yourself or will there be any professional help?
I will probably be doing most of that myself. Although I am expecting a call tomorrow from a care organization to talk about alternatives. I am not sure what to expect from that.
I also had a cold throughout the entire ordeal BTW. :)
Ma Nature is here yet again and I haven't felt up to doing anything.
Anything good on TV then? :)
Although I am expecting a call tomorrow from a care organization to talk about alternatives.
When QoH was sick the 2 years before she passed, her insurance paid for physical therapy & home care people, but of course, QoH refused all that. Your father is probably entitled to something like that.
I also had a cold throughout the entire ordeal BTW. :)
😕
Anything good on TV then? :)
Not really. You'd think with 200 channels on the Dish there'd be something interesting. I actually had to resort to rewatching an episode of Feud: Capote vs The Swans that I had DVR'd. I've been enjoying that series, but it's only on once per week.
I was messing around with doing some repairs to the wall in the dining room early. The previous owner seemed to be quite inept when it came to drilling holes to put up curtain rods and things like that, and my parents never bothered patching the holes. I couldn't believe how many damn holes & plastic anchors were in the wall! And those aren't even the correct thing to use for masonry walls. Anyway, I pulled out all the stupid plastic anchors and filled all the holes with spackle. Next I'm going to paint the ceiling. IDK if we still have any of the color paint that the walls are painted stored in the basement, but if not, I'll have to buy some.
Next I'm going to paint the ceiling.
Are you gong to use a roller or a brush? Personally I prefer a roller.
Are you gong to use a roller or a brush? Personally I prefer a roller.
A roller. And a brush for the edges.
I once again didn't do much today. I worked out a little and I filled a garbage bag with some clothes & stuff from QoH's room. I'm going to donate that and a couple other things to charity.
I once again didn't do much today.
I got up at 7 AM. Ate breakfast. Then I helped my dad out of bed and into his clothes and down the stairs to the living room so he could have breakfast. Then I filled and turned on the dishwasher. Then we both waited for my mother to come out of bed so I could make her some porridge. I also called the thrombosis people to ask about my dad's blood thinning meds. Then I put some dirty laundry in the washing machine and had some coffee. Then I cleaned the sink and the gas stove. Then I dusted my parent's bedroom floor. After that I had lunch. Then I went to the supermarket to buy groceries. And then I rested. Then I made dinner. And then I wrote this comment. :)
It occurs to me that doing housework is somewhat similar to working out. ;P
Wow, sounds like you had a very busy day! I wish I had a dishwasher. Washing dishes is my least favorite thing. When QoH was alive, I didn't mind fixing food for her. It's the cleaning up I can't stand.
It occurs to me that doing housework is somewhat similar to working out. ;P
Oh yes, definitely. Especially when you are busy with it for most of the day.
Well last night I painted a bit of the ceiling. It was kinda tough trying to work the paint into the spackled/repaired area with the roller. And all that looking up hurts my neck, so the ceiling is probably going to take a while to complete.
And I stayed up until 3am watching movies. Amazingly, I still managed to wake up by 10:30 this morning. My sleep schedule has been way off for the past several weeks. I'll feel sleepy around 10:30 or 11pm, try to go to sleep, then just lay there and toss and turn for a couple of hours. I decided to just start staying up until I'm good and tired. That seems to be working for now. When I was still working my job I would go to sleep early and wake up early. Then the last year of QoH's life I didn't get much sleep because of her. Now I can sleep whenever I want, but my body doesn't want to cooperate. Damn perimenopause. 😡
but my body doesn't want to cooperate.
I guess it's also a discipline thing. You need more or less 8 hours of sleep. Going to bed at the same time every evening and getting out of bed at the same time every morning will help with getting a good night sleep. It's a little boring sometimes but I do think that's how it works.
You need more or less 8 hours of sleep.
I seem to have gotten into a routine of going to bed around 2am and getting up around 10:30am now. Which is fine since I'm getting 8 hours. And most stores don't open until 10am anyway. Having to wait a couple of hours before I could go to a store annoyed me when I was waking up earlier.
In other news, last night I ordered a 100 pound weight set from Walmart. It was delivered earlier this afternoon. I got it on sale for $88 and I'm pleased with it. Now I have enough weights that I don't have to shift them all around depending on what I'm exercising. I can now keep 65 pounds for my bench press, 60 pounds on the leg extension machine, & 40 pounds on my EZ curl bar. If I want to set up my lat pulley outside, it'll be easy to just use the two 25 pound plates from my bench press rather than having to schlep a bunch of smaller ones outside. 🙂
going to bed around 2am and getting up around 10:30am now
What about eating times and, ehm, toilet times? Your bowels do appreciate some regularity, I think.
it'll be easy to just use the two 25 pound plates
Just make sure you don't drop them on your toes. :o
What about eating times and, ehm, toilet times?
I have my routine. I go pee right after I wake up, then I brush my teeth then go downstairs to fix myself a green tea. Usually I eat something an hour after I get up. I've never been able to eat immediately after I wake up. 💩 usually comes along not too long after I wake up..
Just make sure you don't drop them on your toes. :o
For the first time, I had an accident with the weights yesterday. I had put both 25 pound plates on my bench press bar and did three sets of 5 since it made the weight 5 pounds heavier than what was previously on there. I had trouble getting the last rep up, then because the plate is a lot wider than what I had on there before, I couldn't see to get it back in the rack and missed the left side. I ended up getting my hair pinned between the bar and the bench when the bar fell. I managed to pull my hair free without doing any damage and freed myself from being stuck under the bar. I was kinda pissed that the bar scraped up my new rack, but otherwise didn't do any serious damage to me or anything else.
And that is why I don't attempt to lift too heavy. Since I'm alone I don't have anyone to spot me or give me an assist if I fail at an attempt. I think the next time I do bench press, I'm going to have to use the safety bars so I don't have another accident. 😕
I'm going to have to use the safety bars so I don't have another accident.
That sounds like an *excellent* idea.
I do love safety. :)
That sounds like an *excellent* idea.
The only problem with the safety bars is I can't bring the barbell all the way down to my chest when I use them. The increments are too far apart to get them exactly where I need them. 😕
My estrogen was too high today and I felt all kinds of sick and weak so that messed up my workout earlier. I only managed to do leg extensions, some calf raises, and 10 squats. I had to go lay down after that. Then I did nothing but play on my phone and watch TV the rest of the day. 😕
Then I did nothing but play on my phone and watch TV the rest of the day. 😕
That must have been horrendous. :)
Is there nothing that you can do to counteract high estrogen? I feel like you probably already investigated that. :)
Is there nothing that you can do to counteract high estrogen?
Actually, I think "high estrogen" is kind of a misnomer. The real problem is the progesterone and testosterone is super low. And yes, I have investigated. 🙂
I have been using progesterone cream, which seems to be working, but I'm going to have to start supplementing DHEA in an attempt to get the testosterone back up. In my research, all my current symptoms are related to low testosterone. I can't get T without a prescription, so the best I can do is DHEA which is a precursor to T production. It's also recommended to workout (which I already do) and up one's protein intake. The protein intake is difficult. I think I need to be consuming 120 grams ideally. Right now I'm struggling to eat 60 grams. 😕
I'm going to have to start supplementing DHEA in an attempt to get the testosterone back up.
More testosterone? Aren't you concerned that that will have unwanted side-effects?
I think I need to be consuming 120 grams ideally.
You really can't get that from a normal diet?
More testosterone? Aren't you concerned that that will have unwanted side-effects?
I'm having all the symptoms of low T now. I was concerned about taking synthetic T because of the negative side effects, but I'd have to see a doctor for that since it's by prescription. The DHEA is an over the counter supplement and is just supposed to help one's body produce T on its own. It doesn't hurt to try.
You really can't get that from a normal diet?
Not really. I get 60-70 grams just eating normally. If I supplement with a protein shake, I can get closer to my goal intake, but I hate drinking those every day. 😫
to help one's body produce T on its own.
Even "natural" testosterone can have unwanted side-effects. Are you going to slowly increase the dose?
but I hate drinking those every day. 😫
Can't you just eat more meat?
Are you going to slowly increase the dose?
I haven't started taking anything yet because side effects concern me. I've only been trying to eat more protein and working out with heavier weights. The low T symptoms are getting bad enough that I'm probably going to order some DHEA and give it a try, though.
Can't you just eat more meat?
I try to, but my body doesn't seem to want to eat as much food now compared to when I was working. I'm probably going to have to start eating more tuna and chicken breast. Looks like a trip to Sam's Club is in my future.
In other news, I dug out my old vintage Mitsubishi stereo and have been using it the past couple of days. It still sounds pretty good for 35 year old equipment. The only thing that doesn't work on it is the radio receiver. And the single CD player broke probably 25 years ago and I replaced it with a Pioneer 6 disc changer. My only complaint is that one of the speakers sounds like a woofer is slightly separated and making a buzzing noise, but it's not noticeable unless I turn the volume up really loud.
It still sounds pretty good for 35 year old equipment.
What have you been listening to?
What have you been listening to?
When I went to the thrift store a few days ago I bought an old Enigma CD, so I wanted to see how that sounded on a proper stereo. I was also listening to NIN Pretty Hate Machine and Iron Butterfly. Yeah, pretty eclectic. 😉
I want to buy Tool Fear Innoculum, but regardless if it's in CD 💿 or vinyl, it's damn expensive. It would be cool if I found it at the thrift store since they only charge $2 for CDs.
It would be cool if I found it at the thrift store since they only charge $2 for CDs.
looks like the album is on youtube. Maybe you can connect your laptop to the stereo?
Maybe you can connect your laptop to the stereo?
I think that would be kinda tricky. I'll have to investigate if there's a way to do it since it's old analog equipment. And my laptop is quite ancient as well. It's running Windows XP lol.
My best bet would probably be to get some new wireless speakers that my phone can connect to via Bluetooth.
And my laptop is quite ancient as well.
Laptops are not that expensive these days. :)
My best bet would probably be to get some new wireless speakers that my phone can connect to via Bluetooth.
That definitely sounds like a viable solution.
I managed to get the desk repositioned in the dining room last night, but I had to drag a bunch of boxes of crap out from underneath it to be able to move it. Now the room looks like a mess again and I'll need to sort through those to see what I can throw away. I know that one box is full of 20 year old bills, so that'll be easy to throw away. QoH has so much stuff that it's frustrating dealing with it all. I'm getting to the point where I might start donating things because it's an easy way to get rid of it. I'd prefer making money, but I'm tired of looking at all of it.
I'd prefer making money, but I'm tired of looking at all of it.
How much do you think it's all worth?
How much do you think it's all worth?
Potentially thousands of dollars. For example, a vintage club-style boudoir chair that QoH bought at a thrift store years ago for $25: I saw one similar selling for $1,300 which is 🤯. And the one that QoH has was a custom made piece that is in excellent condition, so who knows what someone would be willing to pay for it. But aside from the color (yellow moiré fabric) that I don't like, it's very comfortable and I was planning to keep it. I was just thinking of making a slip cover for it in a color that I like rather than have it reupholstered which would be expensive.
A lot of QoH's knickknacks I could probably resell for what she originally paid for them.
A lot of QoH's knickknacks I could probably resell for what she originally paid for them.
To who? A knickknack shop?
To who? A knickknack shop?
Who knows. I might have a garage sale. Some people like that kind of crap. It's not figurines and stupid stuff like that. It's mainly fancy crystal vases, fancy picture frames, and decorative pieces.
It's mainly fancy crystal vases, fancy picture frames, and decorative pieces.
Hm, okay.
It seems I'm going to have to do some renovating in our kitchen. It looks like there's some mold or something accumulating on the silicone strip between the countertop and the wall. I'll have to replace it, I think. Not something I've ever done before.
It looks like there's some mold or something accumulating on the silicone strip between the countertop and the wall.
😕 Yeah, ya definitely don't want mold in the kitchen. I'm having that problem in my bathroom with the grout between the tub and the wall. I really need to pull it out & re-grout. It's on my to-do list.
In other news, I brought up the small glass-top rattan table that QoH had in the basement and put it in the dining room last night. Now I have a place to eat at. I still have a small amount of clutter (compared to what was there before) to deal with, but it's much better than before. I'll be glad when I finally get it all dealt with and it starts looking like a nice living space.
It's on my to-do list.
How about your toilet? I've been watching youtube videos on how to efficiently clean my toilet which worked out great. But the toilet seats can not be salvaged I think and will need to be replaced.
Now I have a place to eat at.
Where did you eat before? In the kitchen?
How about your toilet?
Ever since the city expanded the water facility at the end of my street, the water quality has been crap and the hard water is a lot worse than it used to be. Both toilets have nasty brown hard water deposits on the bottom now in spite of them being cleaned regularly.
I've been watching youtube videos on how to efficiently clean my toilet which worked out great.
Do share. 🙂
But the toilet seats can not be salvaged I think and will need to be replaced.
I had to buy a new toilet seat for QoH's toilet after she died. She had gotten so heavy that she was breaking toilet seats. Then when she started having problems with getting off the toilet I had bought her one of those high seats which got kinda nasty with 💩. I cleaned it frequently, but it still got nasty. Anyway, I didn't need a lifted seat, so I just bought a cheap plastic one to replace it.
The toilet seat in my bathroom I've had for probably 25 years. It's a nice wooden seat. I'm not rough on toilet seats. 😉
Where did you eat before? In the kitchen?
Either in my bedroom or at the counter in the kitchen.
Anyway, I was out and about today. I hit the thrift store circuit and found some good CDs at Poverello up in Wilton Manors. They have great prices and a shit-ton of different things. They only charge 50 cents for the CDs, so that was a great bargain.
I'm at LauderAle Brewery ATM. It's really nice here and the beers are excellent. They had a special today. $5 for a flight of 4 different ones. I think I like the Imperial Stout and the Canoli Blonde Stout the best. It's definitely better than Gulf Stream. I'll definitely be giving them a good review when I get home. 🙂
Do share.
I particularly like this video: The Essential Guide to Cleaning a Toilet | Step-by-Step Tutorial
It's a nice wooden seat.
We used to have a wooden seat years ago. It always seemed warmer than the plastic one in winter.
It's really nice here and the beers are excellent.
Did you have some interesting company as well or did you just go there for the beer? :)
It always seemed warmer than the plastic one in winter.
Facts. I noticed that as well.
Did you have some interesting company as well or did you just go there for the beer? :)
I just went for the beer. I had been wanting to go there for quite a while. Since I was already up that way yesterday and the weather was excellent, I decided to go. It was also $5 flight Tuesday and you know I like a bargain. 😁
It's in an old warehouse that doesn't seem to have AC and they also have a large patio area. As long as the weather is nice, it seems like a really great place to hang out. The decor was nice and it had a very relaxed atmosphere. Plus they were playing good music. None of the resident monkeys 🐒 showed up, though.
None of the resident monkeys 🐒 showed up, though.
Of course not, they're too busy brewing the beers. ;P
Of course not, they're too busy brewing the beers. ;P
The last time I went up there to scout out the location, the monkeys were at the Park N Go business that's kinda catty-corner to the brewery. Maybe they were looking to be shuttle bus 🚌 drivers. 🤔 😉
Anyway, I did write a good review on Google and the owner of the brewery responded to it today thanking me, so that was nice. 🙂 I think I'm going to try to go there maybe every other month as a treat to myself.
I think I'm going to try to go there maybe every other month as a treat to myself.
If you're going to be a regular there then maybe they can give you a free beer T-shirt? :)
If you're going to be a regular there then maybe they can give you a free beer T-shirt? :)
I doubt that they'd give me a free one. I know that they sell merch, so next time I'm up there I'll have to check out what they have. I'd like to have a t-shirt or tank top.
I doubt that they'd give me a free one.
You just have to become the poster girl for beer breweries. ;P
Well, today was my mother's birthday. I feel like things went a little smoother than in previous years. I'm still tired though.
today was my mother's birthday. I feel like things went a little smoother than in previous years.
Oh? Did you have many guests? How old is your mom now?
I'm still tired though.
Yeah, we introverts don't like too much social stimulation. 😉
Not much going on here. Today was leg day. I was doing a little over 36 kg on leg extensions. I could probably do more weight, but I have to be careful with the stress on my knees. I'll just have to slowly work up to more weight. Hopefully my legs won't be too sore tomorrow.
Did you have many guests? How old is your mom now?
No, not that many. The only people who would visit are family members and a lot of those are either too old or too dead. She's 79 now.
She actually had a dizzy spell the morning of her birthday. She may have lost consciousness for a moment because she peed her pants. :/
I have to be careful with the stress on my knees
Do you have weak knees?
a lot of those are either too old or too dead.
LOL
She may have lost consciousness for a moment because she peed her pants. :/
How terrible. Getting old really sucks. 😕
Do you have weak knees?
My knee problems started in high school. We had an insane amount of stairs to climb. It seemed like they deliberately scheduled classes alternating between upstairs classrooms and downstairs classrooms. And our textbooks were very large and heavy, so we had quite a lot of weight to lug up and down.
My knees hadn't bothered me for years, but now that I'm stressing them with quite a lot of additional weight, I sometimes get a wonky feeling.
Getting old really sucks.
The question is: does it beat the alternative?
I sometimes get a wonky feeling.
A wonky feeling? How do you mean?
The question is: does it beat the alternative?
What's the alternative? Dead or getting younger like Benjamin Button? 😜
A wonky feeling? How do you mean?
Depending on the exercise, it can feel like there's strain on the joint or like it's a bit weak.
In other news, I attempted to clean the China cabinet today and the stuff inside it. Right off the bat, one of the plastic pegs that held the top right glass shelf in place broke when I tried to remove the shelf, so that turned into a project. Luckily for me, I had some extra plastic thingies in the basement, but I had to drill a new hole because the other one was glued in place and I couldn't remove it. After that, I didn't feel much like taking a chance with the other shelves so I just cleaned the outside of the cabinet with furniture polish. After a while I did come back and cleaned the stuff on the middle shelf, but didn't attempt to remove the shelf when I cleaned it.
QoH has so much delicate stuff in there that it's probably going to take me a couple of days to clean it all. It's tedious and I tire of it very quickly.
It's tedious and I tire of it very quickly.
It's important to take breaks often when doing something you don't like to do. Divide the task into manageable pieces. But do not postpone a planned task. Thus ends the lesson. ;P
Yeah, I cleaned a little more today. My OCD got the best of me and I cleaned the glass doors on the thing again because I could see streaks and that drives me nuts. I'm not sure when I'll make another attempt at cleaning the stuff inside.
My OCD got the best of me
Do you actually have OCD or are you just using it in a more stylistic sense?
I'm not sure when I'll make another attempt at cleaning the stuff inside.
Maybe you could just sell it and have the buyer clean it? :)
Do you actually have OCD or are you just using it in a more stylistic sense?
No, I do not. It's just a sort of slang for perfectionist tendencies.
Maybe you could just sell it and have the buyer clean it? :)
There's a lot of cool stuff in there. I'm planning to keep all of it. There are a couple of carved ivory figurines and a carved soapstone vase from China that are legit antiques/artifacts and are irreplaceable.
Anyway, good news about QoH's estate. The court has granted me ownership of the house, so as of today I'm officially the owner and the probate is closed. 🙌🙌🙌
Now the next pain in the ass thing I have to do is apply for homestead exemption so I don't have to pay as much taxes. Hopefully I can do that online and won't have to make a trip downtown to the property appraiser’s office.
The court has granted me ownership of the house, so as of today I'm officially the owner and the probate is closed.
Congratulations.
so I don't have to pay as much taxes
What do you think are the odds of that happening?
Congratulations
Thanks. 😊
What do you think are the odds of that happening?
Eventually 100%. I went on the property appraiser’s website this morning and looked for some clarification on a couple of things. It seems as though I cannot file for the exemption this year because 1) it's past the March 1 deadline and 2) I wasn't the legal owner as of January 1. Hopefully mom's exemptions will still apply to the taxes at the end of the year. I will definitely be able to file under my name for next year.
And then it seems as though the property appraiser needs to send me paperwork. I'm assuming that will be after everything is legally recorded at the county level. I think I'm probably going to call down to their office on Monday just to ask for clarification on all of it. I'd hate to assume and then miss out on a tax break.
miss out on a tax break
How big of a break is that, do you think?
How big of a break is that, do you think?
Maybe $800? I'm not really sure. That was the sum that they said most people get.
The next thing I need to do is transfer the titles of both of QoH's vehicles into my name. I was putting it off because it costs money and it's a pain in the ass having to go to the auto tag agency to do that. 😫
Maybe $800? I'm not really sure.
It's a nice sum.
both of QoH's vehicles
Maybe you can sell one?
I was thinking of selling my dad's truck. I was just going to put both oth QoH's vehicles in my name, but drop the insurance from the truck since it isn't driven. I'm reluctant to sell it because QoH bought it new & got it serviced regularly. It never had any accidents of major problems, so I know it's a reliable vehicle even though it's almost 30 years old. I have no idea about my dad's truck. He always bought used pieces of crap and never checked the car fax on them. When I sold his Volvo, it turned out that it had 3 major accidents on its history and I could only sell it for half of what it was worth. The buyer wasn't even going to try to resell it, they said it was going to be sold for parts.
they said it was going to be sold for parts
Same thing happened to my car. But yeah, I guess you really only need one car.
Not much going on today. I went to bed early last night because I had a headache and no energy all day. I ended up having some pretty wild dreams. I woke up around 7am, but laid in bed until 8 or so. I ended up going to Aldi around 9:30am. I had gotten a prepaid debit card from the phone company as a refund in the mail yesterday, so I used that to pay at Aldi.
When I got home, I felt full of energy so I made a Monte Cristo sandwich and made a couple extra pieces of the French toast bread so I can make another one tomorrow.
Then I did a pretty good upper body workout. I did a max 100 pound lat pull down, then took 5 pounds off a couple of times and did reps. I think I did 3 sets of 10 at 85 pounds to finish.
I also got the DHEA & 5HTP that I ordered delivered today, so I started both of those. Hopefully they'll benefit me.
5HTP
What are you taking the 5HTP for again?
What are you taking the 5HTP for again?
A friend suggested that it would help me sleep. I've been having some difficulty sleeping the past few weeks. I did take one last night, but it felt kinda like taking a stronger version of benadryl. I think I'll try taking it a bit earlier tonight and see what happens. It didn't really make me fall asleep right away, but after I had gotten up to pee, I felt very groggy then slept for a solid 7 hours.
I've been having some difficulty sleeping the past few weeks.
Well that's not good. Are you feeling okay? Are you worried about something?
Are you feeling okay? Are you worried about something?
I think maybe all the stress of the past few years finally caught up to me.
In other news, yesterday I went up to Wilton Manors and Oakland Park to do some thrifting. I scored 4 more 50 cent CDs at Poverello in Wilton, then drove up Dixie Highway to the thrift stores in Oakland Park. I scored a new with tags on pair of Tru-Spec EMT pants for $5 at the Chabad thrift. It looked like a uniform store had donated their entire stock. I'm thinking about going back up there on Sunday to see if I can score any more. I didn't really look for my size in the giant heaps of clothing. I was just lucky to find my size on the top of the heap. It looked like mostly larger men's sizes, but I didn't dig because I was already tired at that point and nothing was marked with a price. It seems like the guy who runs it determines the price when you come up to pay. I was shocked that he asked such a cheap price since they are normally around $50 in a retail store.
After that, I decided to return home via Wilton Drive which turns into 3rd Avenue when you get to downtown Fort Lauderdale. As I was approaching Broward Blvd, there seemed to be some type of emergency in progress since every cop car and emergency vehicle in town was swarming ahead of me. When I got up to 2nd Street, they had the bridge blocked off. I thought maybe someone fell off the new building that was being built next to the bridge. I ended up having to divert to the Andrews Avenue bridge to get south of the river. Anyway when I was driving home from there, I heard on the radio that a huge piece of the crane they were using had fallen off the building and onto a car on the bridge and bounced and landed on a second car. And a construction worker had fallen to his death. This all happened maybe one minute before I got there. And the cars that got smashed were on the southbound lanes like I was. So needless to say I'm thankful that it wasn't me.
So that was my eventful Thursday. A friend suggested that I should play the Powerball with that kind of luck. 😬
So needless to say I'm thankful that it wasn't me.
I'm glad as well it wasn't you. :)
A friend suggested that I should play the Powerball with that kind of luck.
The kind of luck where you almost get crushed? Hmm... ;P
The kind of luck where you almost get crushed? Hmm... ;P
Well, I was delayed because of a couple of traffic lights, so I had good luck as far as not getting smashed. 🤪
And I went and played a couple of Powerball brackets a while ago. I had more luck as there were no customers ahead of me at the convenience store. Usually when the Powerball is over $1 billion like it is, the line to play is out the door. 😎 And I keep seeing some of the numbers that I played, so I'm crossing my fingers. 🤞
Usually when the Powerball is over $1 billion like it is, the line to play is out the door.
So a higher possible payout means the odds of winning it get lower?
So a higher possible payout means the odds of winning it get lower?
Yep. And unfortunately, I did not win. I didn't even get 1 number out of 2 plays. 😭 And that is why I never play the damned thing. 😒
Anyway, yesterday I mowed the front and side yard, but was too tired to finish the back yard. And my legs were still sore from the previous night's workout. I suppose I'll finish it some time today.
I was wanting to go back up to the Chabad thrift store today to see if I could find any more of those Mil-Spec pants in my size, but I don't feel like driving up there. And they are only open a few hours today. Plus, I got sucked into watching the women's college basketball tournament because of the hype around Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa. Today is the championship game, Iowa vs South Carolina, so I'm going to watch that at 2pm (about an hour from now).
And that is why I never play the damned thing. 😒
How much did it cost you?
I got sucked into watching the women's college basketball tournament
Do you like basketball then or was it really just the hype that made you watch it?
How much did it cost you?
$4. Since I never play it, I didn't realize it was $2 per panel instead of $1 per like the regular lottery. 😒
Do you like basketball then or was it really just the hype that made you watch it?
I'm not a fan of basketball at all. It was the hype. But they did play very well and made the game interesting. South Carolina won the championship. They were undefeated for the season and I can see why. They played really tough defense.
Anyhoo, today was the eclipse. We only got 40% in Florida, but I still went outside to watch it and got some eclipse rays in the process. 😎
We only got 40% in Florida, but I still went outside to watch it and got some eclipse rays in the process.
So you've only got a 40% tan now? Or did you lose only 40% of your eyesight? ;P
So you've only got a 40% tan now?
Correct. 😉
Today I went to the park to walk the 2 mile loop trail, then I went to the county animal shelter to see the cats. After that I went back to the Chabad thrift store in Oakland Park and dug through the mountain of pants because for $5, I was determined to find a few more that were my size. I ended up finding 4 pairs. 🙂
Then I went to the Poverello thrift store and found a set of those shoe stretcher thingies for $5. I had been needing some of those for a couple pairs of shoes that I have, and it was a good deal.
I stopped at the cat cafe after that and played with those kitties for a bit and had a nice chat with the lady who works there.
Then I stopped at the Korean grocery store that they opened near where my dad used to live. They were kinda expensive, but I bought some baby boy choy, bean sprouts, and rice noodles 🍜 that were reasonably priced. Then I came home. I think I was out for 5.5 hours today, so I'm a bit tired now.
a set of those shoe stretcher thingies
What are those for?
What are those for?
To stretch leather shoes. Mainly for the front area. I find that the toe box areas can be too snug, so you can use this contraption to stretch the leather out to make the fit more comfortable.
you can use this contraption to stretch the leather out to make the fit more comfortable
Sounds quite useful. Then again, I usually don't buy shoes that don't fit well.
Then again, I usually don't buy shoes that don't fit well.
Me either, but I think my feet are bigger than they used to be, so some shoes that I've had for a long time don't fit the same.
Anyhoo, I went to Greynold's Park yesterday to do some hiking. This time I did the trails around the lake on the southeast side of the park. To my surprise, there were coral rock bluffs and elevation changes close to the water and that made it a bit of a challenge, but it was fun. And the weather was really nice, too. I think I was there for 2 hours.
I think my feet are bigger than they used to be
Apparently feet don't literally keep growing as we age but they can get wider and flatter. I've personally never noticed anything of that though.
I think I was there for 2 hours.
I could be wrong but IIRC you never used to like taking long walks, right?
Apparently feet don't literally keep growing as we age but they can get wider and flatter.
And I think having a career where I was on my feet for 8 hours or more per shift contributed to the widening & flattening lol. Also, shoes don't seem to run true to size anymore. I was always a size 6, but now I'm having to buy 6.5, 7, & 7.5 depending on the shoe.
I could be wrong but IIRC you never used to like taking long walks, right?
It's usually too hot for long walks, but we've had very pleasant weather for much longer than usual this year. And I was doing a lot of exploring at Greynold's. There were lots of interesting things to see there.
There were lots of interesting things to see there.
Just don't get lost. ;P
Just don't get lost. ;P
Never! The park is pretty much a big square and everything in South Florida runs on a north/south grid. And all the trails were pretty well worn, so no chance of me getting lost.
In other news, I've decided to go to a couple of events near my birthday. The first is a metal flea market up in Port Saint Lucie which is a couple hours drive north of where I live. A few of my friends from school live up that way, so I'm planning to meet up with at least one of them. Also my cousin & aunt want to meet up.
And I bought a ticket to see the comedienne Jiaoying Summers up in Boca Raton on May 16. That cost me $50, but I got a 4th row seat neat the stage. I figured what the hell, you only live once. Might as well enjoy myself. 😉
metal flea market
What do they sell there?
Might as well enjoy myself.
Yeah, besides $50 doesn't seem that much?
What do they sell there?
I know that they are supposed to have food. And it's at a brewery, so probably beer, too. And since it's metal themed with 6 bands playing, I would imagine that they will be selling band merchandise. Probably jewelry, too.
Yeah, besides $50 doesn't seem that much?
The ticket was $38, but by the time they tacked on taxes and other fees it was $50. It's worth it, though. The more videos of this comedienne that I see, the more I like her. She's wild and pretty quick witted when it comes to audience interaction. And since I'm pretty close to the stage there's a chance of getting roasted by her. 🤣 I think it's going to be a really fun experience.
And since I'm pretty close to the stage there's a chance of getting roasted by her.
Just don't heckle her. Comedians usually don't like people interrupting their set.
Just don't heckle her. Comedians usually don't like people interrupting their set.
I wouldn't heckle anyone. She's the one who engages with the audience. It might be fun to have a witty repartee lol.
I've been to a few really funny comedy shows. One of the most memorable was getting to chat with Vinny Pastore between sets at a charity fundraiser. And the Haters' Roast was definitely memorable. And Trixie Mattel. 😁 And I got to help get Greg Proops an Uber after his show at the Broward Center.
QoH got to see Joan Rivers at an event one time. I'm really jealous of that. Joan Rivers was one of my favorites.
It might be fun to have a witty repartee lol.
Well, do try to one up her then. ;P
Well, do try to one up her then. ;P
I don't know that I can one up her, but I am pretty funny myself, and certainly not as shy as I used to be. I think it's going to be a really fun night. 🙃
So do you have any plans for your actual birthday?
Nope. It falls on a Tuesday. Not much happening on Tuesdays. And I think driving up to Port Saint Lucie and then going to the comedy show is plenty.
Not much happening on Tuesdays.
Well, not with that attitude. ;P
No cake? :)
Well, not with that attitude. ;P
LOL!
No cake? :)
Probably not.
Well I went up to Tree Tops Park today to go hiking. I was there for 2 hours and I'm exhausted now. But it was a really nice day for it. There seem to be a lot more trails now. The last time I went there was when I was in grade school.
You seem to be enjoying your newfound freedom in a very literal way. :)
You seem to be enjoying your newfound freedom in a very literal way. :)
Yes, and as you know, going for walks in nature is very relaxing and good exercise.
Unfortunately, after I left the park yesterday, my car started acting up. It felt like it didn't want to go into gear for a moment, then the check engine light came on. When I got home, I checked the error code and it corresponded to a bad camshaft sensor. That's kinda serious since it can screw up the engine, so I'm currently at the mechanic's. Of course they also found a broken engine torque mount, so I'm having that replaced as well. In total, it's probably going to cost about $500. Which sucks, but car repairs have gotten really expensive along with everything else. And it's much cheaper to repair it than to buy a new car. And since I'm going to be driving some long distances next month, I don't need to have it breaking down when I'm far from home.
as you know, going for walks in nature is very relaxing and good exercise.
Yeah... I literally haven't done that in years. Hm.
I don't need to have it breaking down when I'm far from home.
Do you have some kind of car repair service company in the US for when you're underway?
Do you have some kind of car repair service company in the US for when you're underway?
Yes. I'm a member of AAA. If anything happens, I can call them and they'll send a tow truck to come get me. They also do jump starts & fix flat tires. It's well worth the yearly membership fee. I just renewed, and I think I paid $100.
I'm a member of AAA.
Excellent. :)
Oh, it's kingsday tomorrow over here BTW. If you want to have a look at our king pretending to be a normal Dutch person then be my guest. :P
If you want to have a look at our king pretending to be a normal Dutch person then be my guest. :P
Nah, I'm good. Nothing quite as useless as royals.
So are you doing anything for kingsday? Are there parades or celebrations or things like that?
So are you doing anything for kingsday?
Well, I've cleaned the toilets and the shower. :)
Are there parades or celebrations or things like that?
I'm sure the locals organized something, I've seen people walking in the downtown direction.
Well, I've cleaned the toilets and the shower. :)
Seems fitting. 🤣
I've seen people walking in the downtown direction.
How do you all normally celebrate kingsday? The older I get, the less interested I am in participating in things with large groups of people.
How do you all normally celebrate kingsday?
I personally don't celebrate it at all. It's too boring and I don't care about the whole thing.
There are of course people who use it as an excuse to go out and party.
The older I get, the less interested I am in participating in things with large groups of people.
Really? How large of a group of people do you mean? You recently went to a number of events that had a fair number of people IIRC.
I personally don't celebrate it at all. It's too boring and I don't care about the whole thing.
🤣🤣🤣 That's the spirit!
There are of course people who use it as an excuse to go out and party.
Naturally. Any excuse to party 🥳
How large of a group of people do you mean?
Thousands.
You recently went to a number of events that had a fair number of people IIRC.
Not really. When I went to the market thingy a couple of months ago, there weren't that many people there. Probably less than 100 and that's including the vendors. Plus it was spread out over 2 streets.
The comedy show that I'm going to is in a very small venue. I'm not sure how many it seats, but it looked like less than 100. The Metal Market thingy will probably have lots of people. I'm not looking forward to that aspect of it, but it'll be an adventure. And my cousin Dawn is going to meet me there. I haven't seen her since I was a toddler, so I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with her. And if we don't like the event we can always leave early and do something else.
Whenever I go to a park, it's always on a weekday and sparsely crowded. The one exception was a couple of months ago when I had gone to Anne Kolb Nature Center and much to my displeasure, the parking lot was full of snowbirds' vehicles. But the park itself was fairly empty because they all discovered that they could park there for free and walk over the bridge to the beach. And even then, the beach wasn't nearly as crowded as it usually is on a weekend.
Thousands.
Ah. That is a looooot of people. :)
I haven't seen her since I was a toddler, so I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with her.
Is she also from Florida?
Ah. That is a looooot of people. :)
Yup.
Is she also from Florida?
Yes. I think she grew up about 5 miles from where I live, but QoH didn't get along with either side of our family, so I only saw my cousins when I was still very little. I'm not sure when Dawn moved up to Port Saint Lucie. I think she told me, but I forgot.
QoH didn't get along with either side of our family
Dd you find her on Facebook or did you run into her IRL?
Dd you find her on Facebook or did you run into her IRL?
My cousin Tim (dad's nephew from youngest brother) who was helping me after my dad died told me that she was on FB, so that's how we reconnected. And she had DM'd me on there a couple of years prior, but I never saw it because I don't use the app and I was using my old phone back then that wasn't compatible with the FB app.
I also reconnected with her sister & brother on FB. They are all my dad's eldest brother's kids. Debbi actually lives much closer to me, about a 30 minute drive up the turnpike. Their brother lives in one of the Carolinas, I can't remember which.
Anyway, Dawn is supposed to be meeting me at the Metal Market on Saturday. I'll have to text her about times. And I looked up the event on FB. So far less that 300 people said they're going, so hopefully it won't be too crowded. If we don't like it, we can leave. And where Dawn lives isn't that far away, so we could always go to her place.
They are all my dad's eldest brother's kids.
Are they all your age?
Are they all your age?
No, they are all double digits older than me. I think Dawn is 16 or 17 years older.
Anyway, she and her mom (my aunt) are on a cruise 🛳 in Jamaica. They are supposed to be back tomorrow. Dawn said she would meet me at the event after she gets back, but I'm not sure what time that'll be. I didn't see her check in on FB today. I guess it doesn't really matter, she has my phone number and I have hers, so I suppose I can text her tomorrow morning.
Whatever happens, I hope you'll have a good time. :)
Whatever happens, I hope you'll have a good time. :)
I had a great time! All the bands were pretty heavy. Mind Virus had the best set. I bought one of their t-shirts. My cousin & her husband came for an hour. It was nice to see her. She's pretty cool.
I had a great time!
Good to hear. Were there a lot of people?
It was nice to see her.
I guess you guys had a lot to talk about? A lot of catching up?
Were there a lot of people?
A few hundred, I guess? It was hard to estimate the way they had the vendors spread out. There were definitely a lot of cars. I managed to find a spot in the grass in front of the warehouse. The event was in the back, so it was a bit of a walk, but not as bad as where other people were parking down the street. But at least it was a free event and we didn't have to pay to park.
I guess you guys had a lot to talk about? A lot of catching up?
Not too much. We did agree to meet up again at her sister's house the next time she comes down to visit. That will definitely be easier for me since that's only a 30 minute drive.
Do you have any other family you'd like to visit? I assume they don't all live this nearby?
Do you have any other family you'd like to visit? I assume they don't all live this nearby?
I have one cousin on my mom's side who lives in St Augustine. I wouldn't mind seeing him, but I'm not driving all the way up there to see him. I'm friends with him on FB, but I can't recall if he's ever expressed any interest in visiting.
Anyway, I've had enough people-ing for a while. And I don't care to drive any long distances for a while, either.
I've had enough people-ing for a while. And I don't care to drive any long distances for a while, either.
So what are you going to do next? :)
So what are you going to do next? :)
Chill out in my house as much as I can. 😜
My next event is Jiaoying Summers comedy show up in Boca Raton on the 16th. At least that is only a 25 minute drive up the turnpike.
In the meantime, I really need to go to the auto tag agency and have QoH's vehicles' titles transferred to my name. I also need to apply for my passport. But neither of those things will be happening today because Ma Nature is here and I don't feel like doing anything.
have QoH's vehicles' titles transferred to my name.
I guess you can't drive them without that?
I also need to apply for my passport.
Are you planning on going abroad?
I guess you can't drive them without that?
I can and have been since it's technically legal to do so while the insurance is still good. But the insurance is supposed to renew in a couple of weeks and I want to drop the truck since it isn't driven any more, and since it's my birth month it's a good time to do it since tags get renewed on your birth month.
Are you planning on going abroad?
Yes. I have a friend who is insisting that I come to New Zealand. And since that's a place that I've always wanted to visit, I'm planning to take her up on her offer of free lodging and tour guiding lol.
I have a friend who is insisting that I come to New Zealand.
That does seem like an interesting place. Certainly more interesting than Old Zealand. ;P
That does seem like an interesting place. Certainly more interesting than Old Zealand. ;P
I wouldn't mind visiting the old country, too. My cousin Dawn has been in a "reconnecting with your roots" kick. So far she's been to Portugal a couple of times. I'm sure she'll get to the NL eventually.
I'm really excited to be going to New Zealand, but it'll be my first real trip outside the US & Canada and my first time on an airplane, so I'm doing lots of research now on procedures so I know what to expect.
My cousin Dawn has been in a "reconnecting with your roots" kick.
I guess she has similar roots to you, being family?
I'm doing lots of research now on procedures so I know what to expect.
Probably a good idea. Things do not seem as straightforward as they used to be.
I guess she has similar roots to you, being family?
Yep. We both have a Dutch grandmother & Portuguese grandfather on my dad's side. I have no idea what her mother's ethnic makeup is.
Things do not seem as straightforward as they used to be.
Everything is more of a hassle now. My cousin was telling me to get TSA pre-check or Global Entry because of how bad it is going through American customs. And if I'm going to NZ I have to pay extra for an entrance visa type thing before I even try to fly in down there. And I can only stay for 3 months even though it's valid for 2 years. 🙄
In this country they're more concerned with hassling citizens. Everyone else seems to be able to do whatever the fuck they want once they get on US soil.
In this country they're more concerned with hassling citizens.
I'm sure you'll get there in the end. Positive thinking, right? :)
I'm sure you'll get there in the end. Positive thinking, right? :)
It's a long grueling process, but so was living with QoH. I'm used to unnecessary steps lol.
So who's your friend in New Zealand? How did you meet?
So who's your friend in New Zealand? How did you meet?
We met on Instagram about a year and a half ago. We seem to have a lot of common interests and she has a really great sense of humor. And she doesn't get butthurt when I'm being opinionated, so that's quite refreshing when it comes being friends with another woman.
We seem to have a lot of common interests
Is she also into fitness and such?
Is she also into fitness and such?
Yep.
Well, I have the comedy show to go to on Thursday. I'm looking forward to that. It should be fun. 🙂
It should be fun.
And funny, hopefully. ;)
And funny, hopefully. ;)
It will definitely be funny. I think she's hilarious. An old school comedienne who says whatever and is very quick witted. And she's hilarious when she starts picking on people in the audience.
And she's hilarious when she starts picking on people in the audience.
You know, it used to be that hecklers were considered an annoyance but now a lot of comedians seem to like making them part of their act.
Anyway, how was it?
You know, it used to be that hecklers were considered an annoyance but now a lot of comedians seem to like making them part of their act.
In her case it's sort of reverse heckling. Usually people are just sitting there enjoying the show and she'll pick them out for whatever reason then start interrogating them and roasting them. It's usually pretty funny.
Anyway, how was it?
I still have about 2.5 hours before I go. I'll let you know 🙂
Okay, so the show last night was great! There were 2 comedians who went on before Jiaoying. They were ok, but when Jiaoying came on she totally killed it! And I was sitting next to someone that she started roasting, so I might make it on one of her highlight reels that she puts on Instagram. Actually, there were quite a few people sitting near me who got roasted, so chances of me being in a reel are really good.
After the show she did a meet & greet so I stuck around for that and got to talk to her for a bit and got a pic taken with her. I also got a hug lol. She's really nice like most comedians are (different from their stage personas). She liked the jade dragon bracelet that I was wearing and told me that this would be a good year for me since it's year of the dragon. 🐉
Anyway, the show ended up being about an hour and a half, so I got my money's worth. 🙂
there were quite a few people sitting near me who got roasted
How did she miss you?? Did you hide under the table or something? ;P
I was so hoping you'd get roasted. :)
so chances of me being in a reel are really good.
Hm, I don't have ifstagram but if maybe she'll put it up on Youtube?
How did she miss you??
She got the girl next to me. She asked her if she was with her mom (I'm assuming she meant me) because her boyfriend had left to go to the toilet, so it look like me & the girl we're together. 🤣 At first she didn't realize she was the target of the roasting so I told her that Jiaoying was talking to her.
I was so hoping you'd get roasted. :)
I kinda was too.
Hm, I don't have ifstagram but if maybe she'll put it up on Youtube?
She does post to YouTube, so maybe?
her mom (I'm assuming she meant me)
Sort of a silent jab at you as well, Mom. ;P
That's what you get for being in the line of fire, I guess. ;P
Sort of a silent jab at you as well, Mom. ;P
That was super mild. I escaped unscathed compared to what she said to other people. 🤣🤣
That's what you get for being in the line of fire, I guess. ;P
I really did have a great seat for the money. The more expensive seats were in the first 3 rows. Most everything from row 4 to the back of the room was $38. So I got a great seat for the same price as people in the back.
I was looking at the program that they gave out. It is all the upcoming shows. Andrew Dice Clay is going to be there next February and I'm thinking about going to that. And I think Jim Florentine (who used to be on That Metal Show) is there next month. He's pretty funny and I'm thinking about going to that show. Also Judy Gold is going to be there in November iirc. She is also pretty funny. Then they have lots of tribute bands performing. Some looked kinda interesting.
I was mildly impressed with the venue. They have a nice setup as far as the seating & stage go and a good sound system. They also have a full bar and plenty of waitresses serving drinks. And during the show you could text your drink order to the bar and a waitress would bring it to you, so that was a nice feature if you wanted a drink. And they had people working as ushers to show you to your seat. It was all very well organized and efficient.
I was mildly impressed with the venue.
Well, you've been to a lot of venues (professionally) so that definitely means something. It's a good sign.
so that was a nice feature if you wanted a drink.
Were the drinks expensive?
Well, you've been to a lot of venues (professionally) so that definitely means something. It's a good sign.
Yes, it's nice to see a venue that's run well and gives the customers a good experience.
Were the drinks expensive?
Probably. They usually are. I didn't bother to look since I wasn't going to have anything. I didn't want to have to pee halfway through the show and I didn't want any alcohol since I didn't want to do the 40 minute drive back home while tipsy.
I didn't want to have to pee halfway through the show
Probably just as well, I've seen Youtube videos of people actually doing that and the comedian waiting for them to return while cracking jokes about it. :)
So what's going on in life these days? Are you still working on the house?
So what's going on in life these days? Are you still working on the house?
Yes, actually. I pressured washed & repainted 2 of the patio chairs from the front porch on Monday. Then I was noticing how bad the floor on the porch looked, so yesterday I pressure washed that then repainted it with deck paint. When I checked on how it looked today after it's fully dried, I noticed that there are a couple of areas that I need to go over a second time. And I need to do the front edges that I didn't get to yesterday. I'm going to have to scrape the loose paint that the pressure washer failed to remove, then repaint. It looks so much better now with it just half finished. It'll look great when I get it completed and the freshly painted chairs are back on the porch. I still need to pressure wash & repaint the third chair, but I need to buy 2 more cans of spray paint since I didn't have enough to do all 3 chairs. Also, that third chair has a leg that my sister broke and needs to be repaired so it's not being held up with a brick. 🤣
I pressured washed & repainted 2 of the patio chairs from the front porch on Monday.
So I guess you had some nice weather? We have had an almost constant down pouring of rain. It looks like it's going to be a typical wet Dutch summer. I do prefer this over the heat from last summer but still, some sunshine would be nice.
Also, that third chair has a leg that my sister broke and needs to be repaired so it's not being held up with a brick.
A brick does give it some personality. Something rustic. How long has it been that way?
So I guess you had some nice weather?
Relatively speaking. It was sunny but still hot. At least the heat dried everything quickly so I could paint the same day.
It looks like it's going to be a typical wet Dutch summer.
That's usually how summers are here. I can't remember if it was last June or July, but it rained almost every damn day.
I do prefer this over the heat from last summer but still, some sunshine would be nice.
Yeah, it gets a bit depressing when it rains every day.
How long has it been that way?
At least 15 years. I had made an attempt at a repair, but it wasn't very good and didn't support any weight, so it got propped up with the brick. 🤣
Today I pressure washed the third chair and a small table. I'm currently in the process of painting the table. I'm just using some white paint that I have to brush on so I don't have to spend the money for spray paint. It takes a bit longer, but the finished product looks nice.
I'm currently in the process of painting the table.
Are the table and chairs all part of the same set?
So, obviously nothing is happening over here as per usual. Well, just the rain falling. I assume your paint job is going okay. I am reading something about hurricane season beginning in Florida.
Also, it seems I've found an obituary for QoH on the internet. Apparently someone planted a tree in her memory?
Are the table and chairs all part of the same set?
They all sorta match, but I don't think they were a set. That sort of cast iron & cast aluminum patio furniture used to be very popular in Florida probably from the 1940's-1970's. Having that style on the porch gives the place that vintage look.
So, obviously nothing is happening over here as per usual.
Today is Memorial Day here. It's a federal holiday so banks and government offices are closed. I'll just be staying in.
Also, it seems I've found an obituary for QoH on the internet.
Yeah, that's the info I provided to the cremation place and they posted it.
Apparently someone planted a tree in her memory?
I think the cremation place does that for all their customers.
Having that style on the porch gives the place that vintage look.
Nice. :)
Today is Memorial Day here.
Ah. We has that couple of weeks ago. It's the same thing every year. Lots of WW2 movies on TV.
I think the cremation place does that for all their customers.
They literally plant a real world tree?
Lots of WW2 movies on TV.
Same here. Lots of war movies.
They literally plant a real world tree?
I doubt it. BTW, QoH was just 16 in that pic that I used for her obituary.
Anyhoo, I finished the third chair last night and have it back out on the porch. I readjusted the repair on the leg instead of trying to find something else to fix it. It's not perfect, but it looks better than before and at least the chair doesn't look broken from the front view.
QoH was just 16 in that pic
She looks older to me but kids from those days all seem to look older in pics.
I finished the third chair last night and have it back out on the porch.
I guess you can have a tea party on your porch now or in your garden, I suppose. :)
She looks older to me but kids from those days all seem to look older in pics.
And she was into make-up & glam, so that made her look older, too. I have a class pic of her when she was maybe 13 or 14 and she looked like an adult compared to the other kids.
I guess you can have a tea party on your porch now or in your garden, I suppose. :)
The only ones partying out there are the frogs & lizards. They make a damn mess. 😡
The only ones partying out there are the frogs & lizards. They make a damn mess.
But they're just tiny animals. How much of a mess can they make? :o
But they're just tiny animals. How much of a mess can they make? :o
They shit all over. I just painted the porch and they already have it nasty. 😡
Anyway, not much going on here. I did quite an intense workout yesterday with the new lat pull down bar that a friend sent me for my birthday. Needless to say I'm quite sore today, but it's the price I'm willing to pay to look jacked. 😜
They shit all over.
Surely they're just tiny little shits? ;P
it's the price I'm willing to pay to look jacked.
Feeling a bit sore isn't a high price. My memory must be getting worse, why do you want to look jacked again?
Surely they're just tiny little shits? ;P
Not all of them are tiny. 😱
why do you want to look jacked again?
So I don't end up like QoH and looking jacked (relatively speaking since I don't juice) is asthetically pleasing. 😎
So I don't end up like QoH
Is that likely to happen with a regular diet and moderate exercise?
looking jacked ... is asthetically pleasing.
Who are you trying to impress though?
So, I should probably stop complaining about nothing happening over here as my mothers' situation seems to be getting worse. Either that or she caught a bug that her dementia doesn't like. She lost her appetite and her mobility and takes a lot of naps during the day, more than before. We've taken her to a doctor but found out nothing useful yet.
Is that likely to happen with a regular diet and moderate exercise?
Probably not, but I don't want to get lazy & complacent like QoH did. Now that I've hit perimenopause, I can see how the downward slide started for her. At least I'm aware of things and will try my best not to go out like that.
Who are you trying to impress though?
Mainly myself. It's mostly an ego thing, but I have friends who are somewhat enabling and I like to show off to them, too. 😏
my mothers' situation seems to be getting worse
Sorry to hear that.
She lost her appetite and her mobility and takes a lot of naps during the day
I hate to day it, but that usually the beginning of the end. Unfortunately you never know how much time they got left. 🥲
Now that I've hit perimenopause, I can see how the downward slide started for her.
So she looked as good as you do before her perimenopause? :)
...that usually the beginning of the end
Yeah, I'm a little concerned that that will turn out to be the case.
So she looked as good as you do before her perimenopause? :)
Nope! But I can see how having hormonal fluctuations makes you feel like crap all the time so you don't have the energy to take care of yourself.
I'm a little concerned that that will turn out to be the case.
Yeah, and it sucks for everyone involved. 😕
Well, my mother seems to be recovering. She can walk reasonably well now, she even walked down the stairs (with my father and I ready to catch her of she lost her balance). Getting her back upstairs should go about as well... hopefully.
How about you? Are you still feeling sore?
my mother seems to be recovering.
🙌🙌🙌 That's good to hear. 🙂
Getting her back upstairs should go about as well... hopefully.
If she's a normal size woman then it shouldn't be too difficult for the 2 of you to get her back upstairs.
How about you? Are you still feeling sore?
Something is always sore since I work out several times per week. 🤣 Today it's my biceps. 💪 I tried some different exercises yesterday which seemed to work very well since I'm sore today. My normal routine wasn't doing much other than maintaining what I have even though I was using pretty heavy weights (20-28 pounds). Yesterday, I was using my weight bench with the seat at about a 60° incline and doing the biceps curls with the weights hanging at the sides, but the starting point behind my back. I was using 10 pound weights and it was challenging because of the greater range of motion. I'll definitely be incorporating that into my routine now. 😊
If she's a normal size woman then it shouldn't be too difficult for the 2 of you to get her back upstairs.
We did manage to do it but she weighs about 70 kg. If she did slip and fall it might be difficult to stop her from falling further.
I'll definitely be incorporating that into my routine now.
That won't just develop your biceps, will it?
If she did slip and fall it might be difficult to stop her from falling further.
Yeah, that wouldn't be nice. At least she's not as hefty as QoH was.
That won't just develop your biceps, will it?
It's mainly just for biceps, but it did work my forearms a bit as I have a tendency to curl my wrists when I do the exercise.
Anyway, I'm turning into one of those gym junkies. I was laying in bed last night anticipating the next day so I could do another workout. 🤣
I'm turning into one of those gym junkies.
You're body makes a chemical that makes you like exercise, AFAIR. I can't remember the name of it right now.
You're body makes a chemical that makes you like exercise, AFAIR.
Dopamine, I think. Now that my muscles are starting to show some real definition, that's the part that I like the most. 😁
Anyhoo, today I took a trip to the IKEA out in Sunrise. I wanted to see what they had in media cabinets. I'm looking to replace the ancient stereo cabinet that my parents had with something functional. I ended up buying a French press, some wooden clothes hangers, & a scissor.✂️ 🤣
I'm looking to replace the ancient stereo cabinet
So you also want new stereo equipment?
& a scissor
Just one scissor? Don't you need a pair of those to cut things? ;P
So you also want new stereo equipment?
Maybe just the speakers. The rest of the components from my stereo seem to still work just fine. The old stereo cabinet in question was one of those huge furniture ones from the 1970's that my parents bought. It has a record player, but afaik it hasn't worked since I was a kid. And the wood has extensive termite damage, so it needs to go. It has been functioning as just a sofa table for decades. I'll be glad to get rid of it and replace it with something that's actually functional. IKEA had a couple of units that I liked style wise, but their prices are high for furniture that is made from laminated particle board. I'd prefer to have real wood. I've been looking in thrift stores for something that I can convert to what I want, but so far no luck. I might just end up buying some wood & building my own. It's not that difficult.
Don't you need a pair of those to cut things? ;P
Isn't English a funny language? One unit is called a pair lol. They were only $2, so I couldn't pass up that kind of deal.
something that I can convert to what I want
Do you have a specific conversion in mind? A particular style?
Isn't English a funny language? One unit is called a pair lol.
Same with pants. Both are singular in Dutch.
Do you have a specific conversion in mind? A particular style?
Yes, I'd like something roughly the same size as the stereo cabinet that's there now (around 1.5 meters long), but I want open shelving so that I can put my stereo components in there and also have storage space for records & CDs. I'm open to the possibility of having doors on it.
Anyway, we have been getting ridiculous amounts of rain here since Monday. I think my area got 20 inches in 2 days. There's lots of flooding everywhere except my area since it's on a ridge and the storm drains were upgraded a few years ago. It's not nearly as bad as what happened in Fort Lauderdale last year, but some areas did get it pretty bad.
but some areas did get it pretty bad.
Weren't large parts of Florida originally wetlands? You'd think water drainage has a high priority there. The part of my country that I live in also used to be quite wet. It takes a lot of work to keep it livable.
Weren't large parts of Florida originally wetlands?
Definitely large parts of South Florida.
It takes a lot of work to keep it livable.
Yep. That's why we called in the Dutch experts for water management. The areas with modernized flood mitigation are usually fine. The areas that got it the worst were older neighborhoods that are in low areas
But the main problem has been unusually long periods of rain with many inches of it coming down in a short time. It doesn't allow for normal drainage. And then there's all the building that has been going on the past 20 years. There's a lot more concrete and pavement for the water to sit on instead of bare ground which drains pretty quickly.
There's a lot more concrete and pavement for the water to sit on instead of bare ground which drains pretty quickly.
That's getting a bit of an issue over here as well. People have been told to not pave over their front and back yards.
BTW do you think Florida will ever have sea dikes like the Netherlands?
BTW do you think Florida will ever have sea dikes like the Netherlands?
Probably not. Our main problem comes from heavy tropical rains. We don't have much if an issue with the ocean, only when there's a super moon at high tide, and that only really affects a few areas that were built on coastal marshes.
only when there's a super moon at high tide
What about tsunamis?
What about tsunamis?
We don't seem to get those.
Anyhoo, some shirts that I ordered 16 days ago finally arrived at the store, so I went to pick them up today. While I was there, I decided to walk around the mall just to see which shops are there now. I was pleased to see that they have a Spencer's Gifts as well as the Hot Topic where I've been getting most of my band tees when they are on sale. They both sell cool tees. I also went into the arcade. It reminded me of Las Vegas for kids. It was so over the top compared to arcades when I was a kid.
I also went into the arcade.
Did you play any games?
Were the shirts okay?
Did you play any games?
No. I like pinball & skeeball. They didn't have any old school games like that. Everything they had was very loud and immersive. It reminded me of Japanese arcades. The place was huge.
Were the shirts okay?
Two of them fit a little snug. Either because I'm getting bulky or their quality control with sizing is inconsistent. I find a lot of clothes don't run true to size nowadays. But it wasn't bad enough to need to exchange them. I'll just keep it in mind next time I order shirts. I'll probably get a size larger and see how it fits.
It reminded me of Japanese arcades.
Florida has Japanese arcades?
I'll probably get a size larger and see how it fits.
Better not get too bulky. ;P
Florida has Japanese arcades?
There are a few. Japanese culture is quite popular with a lot of young people.
Better not get too bulky. ;P
I was trying to avoid that by going to the park today for a walk, but unfortunately for me I forgot that it's a stupid federal holiday so the park was charging $3 entrance fee. I didn't go in, instead I went up to the Fort Lauderdale Airport green belt for my walk. That was probably better exercise since the path is on the rather large berms on the south side of the airport so its like walking on hills. I think down & back was at least 2 miles, probably closer to 3 since I first walked the path that went down by the canal.
Japanese culture is quite popular with a lot of young people.
And yet again I was ahead of my time. ;P
I was trying to avoid that by going to the park today for a walk
I thought you meant "too bulky" as in too much muscle growth. Like, slightly hulk style. :)
And yet again I was ahead of my time. ;P
Yep. 😄 I had gotten into it a bit around 2009. I liked those Japanese game shows that they showed on the G4 channel. I even tried to learn some Japanese so I could follow along better.
I thought you meant "too bulky" as in too much muscle growth. Like, slightly hulk style. :)
Well, I am getting quite muscular, but I'm also getting fat in the midsection (looking like an old school Bulgarian power lifter 🏋♀️🤣) because of hormonal changes and sitting around too much. And because the weather has been either too hot or too rainy I haven't been able to get out for walks.
I'm also getting fat in the midsection
Actually fat or just big? Like, layers of muscle big?
Actually fat or just big? Like, layers of muscle big?
I'm not sure how much is fat and how much is fibroids. :/
Anyway, yesterday I went to TY Park and walked the 2 mile loop trail. Then I went to the animal shelter and visited the kitties. From there, I decided to go to Snyder Park by the airport since I'd never been to that park before. I walked one dirt trail, then tried to find other hiking trails. I went to the north side of the park, but it was flooded from all the rain so I had to stick to the paved roadways. And because of all the flooding, the mosquitoes were quite bad. I got bitten a few times by the biggest mosquitoes I'd ever seen. Between the heat and the mosquitoes I decided to call it quits after an hour.
When I got back to my car I texted a friend from work who lives near the park to see if she was home, but she never checks her phone so I decided to just go by. Her husband was home, but she wasn't home from work yet. As I was pulling out of their driveway to leave, my friend was coming down the street. Anyway, we visited for about 45 minutes. I didn't stay too long because I knew she was tired from work and I also wanted to get ahead of the Friday afternoon traffic. So that was my busy day yesterday. 🙃
So that was my busy day yesterday.
You seem like a real people person. Like, you enjoy visiting people. :)
You seem like a real people person. Like, you enjoy visiting people. :)
I'm not that much of a people person. I like a select few people and enjoy socializing with them.
Anyway, I got a letter in the mail from the property appraiser’s office denying QoH's tax exemption. I'll have to call their office on Monday and see what the procedure is. The deadline to file for homestead exemption was March 1, but I wasn't granted ownership until a few weeks after that. The exemption lowers my taxes. If I don't get it I'll be paying much more for property taxes at the end if the year. 😒
I like a select few people and enjoy socializing with them.
It's just my introvert perspective on things then. :)
If I don't get it I'll be paying much more for property taxes at the end if the year. 😒
How much more?
How much more?
I'm not sure. The internet said maybe $800 more, but I really don't know.
Anyway, there's a feature on the property appraiser’s website to set up an appointment to speak with someone in person. I'd rather do that. When you try calling you either never get through to an actual person or they are unhelpful.
When you try calling you either never get through to an actual person or they are unhelpful.
I kinda like email. It leaves a "paper trail" and people can respond in their own time. But it's nice to be able to talk to an actual company human directly. You do need to know what to ask though.
You do need to know what to ask though.
That's why I'd like to get an appointment to see someone in person. They can guide me about what I need to do. Usually when you call, if you're lucky enough to get through to an actual person, they are impatient and not very helpful.
they are impatient and not very helpful.
Maybe it's just with property appraisers? ;)
You'd think they have a least some kind of customer service line.
Maybe it's just with property appraisers? ;)
Anything to do with the government here is a pain in the ass.
Anyway, today I bought a couple of new light fixtures for the house. The light switch for the basement light has been broken for a couple of years. I had bought a new switch, but the 70 year old wiring is colored differently than modern wiring and I didn't want to take a chance and screw it up, so I had been using lamps down there, but they all eventually broke. So today I bought an LED shop light to go down there. It was a piece of cake to install and it's bright like an alien 👽 exam room. 🤣
The other one I got at Miami China City. I had seen some cool light fixtures on their Instagram post yesterday, so I decided to go over there and check it out. I had been wanting to replace the ugly chandelier in the dining room. They had one that I liked and it was only $35 so I bought it. Now to figure out how to remove the old one and install the new one.🤔
it's bright like an alien 👽 exam room.
So will you be dissecting aliens there? :)
Now to figure out how to remove the old one and install the new one.🤔
Just make sure the main current is turned off if you have wires to attach.
So will you be dissecting aliens there? :)
If any are foolish enough to break into my house. 🤣
Just make sure the main current is turned off if you have wires to attach.
In the past whenever I've had to mess with new switches or lights I just turn off all the breakers to be on the safe side. We had an electrician upgrade the breaker box about 20 years ago, but he was lazy about labeling the different circuits and didn't do a thorough job of it. So I take no chances with that.
If any are foolish enough to break into my house.
You don't have any other plans for the basement?
So I take no chances with that.
Good to know. Same here.
You don't have any other plans for the basement?
I would like to get it cleaned out eventually and then I want to have a bar, pool table, couches & a big TV down there.
Yesterday I made some progress in getting rid of some things. I used my electric chainsaw to cut up an old rattan furniture set that my mom had down there for 50 years. And I threw away a couple of old oriental rugs tgat were beyond saving.
I made some progress in getting rid of some things
How far along are you now with cleaning up the house?
How far along are you now with cleaning up the house?
It doesn't look like I've done too much. QoH was a world class hoarder so it's been slow going. But I think the most noticeable difference is in the dining room. I got rid of all the piles of paperwork on the dining room table and got rid of the table, so there's a lot more space in there.
And I was working on the spare bedroom the past couple of days. Once I get the crap off the old bed & get rid of it, there will be more space to work with in there. I think I'm going to buy a memory foam bed from IKEA to replace it, but I'd like to make a storage frame for it. This house doesn't have any storage space to begin with, so I think that'll be a smart thing to do. That way I can store extra sheets & bedding in there and it won't be taking up space elsewhere.
This house doesn't have any storage space to begin with
You have no closets?
BTW Has hurricane Beryl given you any trouble? Or is it too far away to be of influence on your weather?
Oh, we have a new government over here. Took quite a while but they finally decided to go to work again. ;P
You have no closets?
Only in the bedrooms, but they are tiny. They aren't large enough to hold a modern wardrobe let alone anything else.
BTW Has hurricane Beryl given you any trouble?
No, none at all. It stayed in the Caribbean Sea quite south of here. It was actually sunny this afternoon after a bit of rain in the morning. It's supposed to be sunny for the 4th of July holiday as well.
Oh, we have a new government over here.
Hopefully they won't be completely useless like the American government. 😁
It's supposed to be sunny for the 4th of July holiday as well.
Ah, that's tomorrow. Independence Day, when America got rid of the monarchy. Are you going to watch the fireworks?
Hopefully they won't be completely useless
I'm sure they'll be useful to someone. :|
Are you going to watch the fireworks?
Maybe. Usually people in my hood go overboard with it, so I don't have to leave my property to see fireworks.
I'm sure they'll be useful to someone. :|
Useful to themselves and whoever bought them.
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