tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31680470589638331732024-03-18T14:00:31.547-06:00AbbyNormalAbbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.comBlogger2446125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-84463831261832733912024-03-17T12:23:00.002-06:002024-03-17T12:26:43.481-06:00lead a snot into temptation<p>Did a bit more decluttering this weekend - I swear it never ends. Who knew I was such a packrat?!</p><p>This time I went through my art toys a second time and got rid of things I haven't used in *<i>forever</i>*. My art hobby is quite inexpensive. Pencils, pens, sketchbooks, etc. are so darn cheap. It's easy to bring stuff home and let it sit. I swear they all get together at night and multiply.</p><p>Last weekend, Magnum and I were out for a walk and I wanted to walk passed a cute little art supply store I'd heard of but had never been to. So we walked on by and I caught a glimpse. Magnum noted that the store was open, did I want to go in?</p><p>NOPE! I'd end up bringing home something I don't need - like going to the animal shelter!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJeR0YaNdfT1baY6WPr02JuipJAJWC8YYItnwWr9K40A8LdV_HaUmOJn1hbmdOaGKMTUTdNjP2nG4Uq4CPkrCu-aHOqyLGbn0OkNiZQ0fAGMEnq4TnpsuCgvqvLspyU7jEeX6Lw_V3CJFkVsAXiNO-GU9pMjFG5Afiy1-hvps6pMoHGRemhAmMDVswTPc/s900/20240315_121830.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="708" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJeR0YaNdfT1baY6WPr02JuipJAJWC8YYItnwWr9K40A8LdV_HaUmOJn1hbmdOaGKMTUTdNjP2nG4Uq4CPkrCu-aHOqyLGbn0OkNiZQ0fAGMEnq4TnpsuCgvqvLspyU7jEeX6Lw_V3CJFkVsAXiNO-GU9pMjFG5Afiy1-hvps6pMoHGRemhAmMDVswTPc/w318-h403/20240315_121830.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><p></p><p><br />I drew this anime character on Friday during Snowday 2. I've never really drawn anime before, but I'd read that the creator of Dragonball books, show, and whatever else, died last week. </p><p>I don't know the plot or characters of Dragonball, but I've seen them in the periphery - the weird hair, the baggy pants...</p><p>Anyways, good snowday fun.</p><p>We got a decent amount of heavy, wet snow, but not nearly as much as areas south of us. Ours was just a "normal" spring snow - about 7 inches - while I see friends to the south buried under 2+ feet. No thanks.</p><p><br /><br /><br />That bit of anime fun got me to declutter the stuff packed into my little art supply case after I discovered the cute graphic pencil I used to draw the weird-haired dude.</p><p>Now I'm just down to my faves, including the pencil. In celebration, I drew another anime weird-haired character</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXLWAyHX8VDsEYJeu6LkEEmN-8uZz-TMLvghKT0XCKj4OoE7HjqpwUxfSdxrRUJA8D7Y7GHq6JAn1z6aXTJbAl_OlK71spzCm30JOZGgsJI6uOTf7X-0usgc3d3Z53fMwHKj5RNe7cVetfEDjICgHVrgF_CVIr0nTz1HRrMNXuZYRgpwt1nty40Oekc0/s900/20240317_113817.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="711" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXLWAyHX8VDsEYJeu6LkEEmN-8uZz-TMLvghKT0XCKj4OoE7HjqpwUxfSdxrRUJA8D7Y7GHq6JAn1z6aXTJbAl_OlK71spzCm30JOZGgsJI6uOTf7X-0usgc3d3Z53fMwHKj5RNe7cVetfEDjICgHVrgF_CVIr0nTz1HRrMNXuZYRgpwt1nty40Oekc0/s320/20240317_113817.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9VAyZGOC9xPkSrFOJhGzF-iCsKhVEcMPbX6nDhE44S92P3yOE28AJgqmbSU8G_KQX3ArDCWLHk9CG8RNYwxdnSSb-tTrOKVH134_dANjo4FdqgOU8_ZHKx8ZUtXD-othhbKqGQ29biCsFr8L9n_O84dTWIKZL9dz0FBW7v64GOkSFmW0I-cOw7Ib-tM0/s856/20240317_114948.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="856" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9VAyZGOC9xPkSrFOJhGzF-iCsKhVEcMPbX6nDhE44S92P3yOE28AJgqmbSU8G_KQX3ArDCWLHk9CG8RNYwxdnSSb-tTrOKVH134_dANjo4FdqgOU8_ZHKx8ZUtXD-othhbKqGQ29biCsFr8L9n_O84dTWIKZL9dz0FBW7v64GOkSFmW0I-cOw7Ib-tM0/s320/20240317_114948.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>In the meantime, Magnum completed our 2023 tax return. I swear he has all the fun.<br /><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-66347784456271028512024-03-14T10:23:00.004-06:002024-03-14T11:26:39.530-06:00pow, right in the...<p>College is closed, having us a snow day, although there's not a whole lot of snow out there at the moment. Tomorrow is already a "remote operations" day, which in my case means simply another day of no testing center.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJqjjJroX8TLuG3eT_mMWHx3XFsMd7mWBthM-wPzvDU6HgGN8LP0lgvldLOvRhhYDtYMyBIa5zEg-X79gUPXlYA6L9oNC2KFCjrf69Y8McmN1YfsAKKg1aRvW6cH6qpJn9c4m0NzS6X8iUfKXKhmtTt9rNKIBOkgPUqnI7J-cq4BeYSjvwPUIetM8zFQ/s262/images.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="153" data-original-width="262" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJqjjJroX8TLuG3eT_mMWHx3XFsMd7mWBthM-wPzvDU6HgGN8LP0lgvldLOvRhhYDtYMyBIa5zEg-X79gUPXlYA6L9oNC2KFCjrf69Y8McmN1YfsAKKg1aRvW6cH6qpJn9c4m0NzS6X8iUfKXKhmtTt9rNKIBOkgPUqnI7J-cq4BeYSjvwPUIetM8zFQ/s1600/images.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><br /><br />I do have a couple of tutees to zoom with later, so not a total day of langor. It IS Pi Day, afterall. I've showered. <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>And we have a few signs of spring already. I snapped this pic a few days ago along the creek path.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNxQDfP6I3cqC8cAkMcnGI5-AsLMETvUk9FtsHXscAZi23ozxWYw1RF_siJzOxCaDcRIV7veW9SjN0NyolhTHkpgy7ODUn1o3V_sLuu93PJRR1gPVFP4rT8yUex4kpeUbeWoo1Kw7vcmH_VaUivGqLvUaziyQ6ypF9b3Gipb-xKKmWEvcnxA9FySN5vY/s1266/20240306_060534.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1266" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNxQDfP6I3cqC8cAkMcnGI5-AsLMETvUk9FtsHXscAZi23ozxWYw1RF_siJzOxCaDcRIV7veW9SjN0NyolhTHkpgy7ODUn1o3V_sLuu93PJRR1gPVFP4rT8yUex4kpeUbeWoo1Kw7vcmH_VaUivGqLvUaziyQ6ypF9b3Gipb-xKKmWEvcnxA9FySN5vY/w511-h322/20240306_060534.jpg" width="511" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>So, yesterday morning I was at the gym and doing some of my PT exercises. Now, I'd gone to the PT originally because of a fritzed foot, and the foot feels fine now. But the issue exposed hip weakness as the likely cause.</div><div><br /></div><div>I say <i><span style="font-family: georgia;">weakness</span></i>, and "Dr. J" countered with <span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>opportunites</i></span></div><div><br /></div><div>"I'm a tutor, I play those same word games", I made known. </div><div><br /></div><div>Dr. J is a super nice guy and knowledgeable physician, quick to establish rapport. I've learned lots from him and am glad of my decision to give PT a try.</div><div><br /></div><div>One area we've been working is my TFL muscle, which I'd never known of before. If one is wearing a pair of girl jeans with teeny girl pockets, and puts the finger tips in the teeny pocket, their fingers are on or very close to the TFL. </div><div><br /></div><div>I had dry needling in the TFL at my last appointment, and Dr. J was very keen on how that might be an emotionally/mentally sensitive area for him to be accessing - getting my reassurance, letting me tuck the drape into my elastic waist band, etc. - before him<i> going in</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Seriously, I had no qualms. He's a doctor, plus I knew from other dry needling sessions on other areas that this would be helpful, and it was.</div><div><br /></div><div>So yesterday, I was at the gym, working on my <i><span style="font-family: georgia;">opportunities</span></i>, and I guess I stood up weird or something and felt a little *<i>tweak</i>* right near the pubic bone, right in the cooch.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was at that point I wished I had a female PT. Although I'm sure the <span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>structure</i></span> of whatever I'd tweaked is present in both men and women, how to phrase it if I asked Dr. J about it?</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;">"<i>... right in the vag/ cooch/ cha cha/ girly bits/ etc...</i>"</div></blockquote><p>Thankfully, it improved as the day wore on, and I've no more sensation of "it". But this is the main reason I typically prefer a female doctor. My PCP is female, and I have an annual checkup coming up shortly.</p><p>We'll probably talk briefly of "sensitive" topics - like allergies and stuff - before moving on to her updating me on her kids.</p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-67771800138234473122024-03-09T09:56:00.003-07:002024-03-09T09:57:57.326-07:00looking from a window above<p>Happy Saturday, it's been a busy week. Let's see, I...</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>was installed as chapter Prez at PEO</li><li>met with all the tutees</li><li>worked an extra shift to fill in for a coworker</li><li>had another dry needling sesh with the PT</li></ul><p></p><p>All in all, a good week, and I'm ready for the weekend - only to lose an hour of it.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOLiccTQYOipsecu9XXlKd4onps_G2wXHcfIiKTyM4LMqhHWKfEE-GqzRT_XHY1ou12m7Gpgos_PXSIaJG2mFK-xrBkq8CuPXpuox9zRZxGr3Li6PLb8OdIKqrjw3tB2unrZvP1K0AkHsAGIxgOtEOjNEka0Mjqhq2gS63qHEC41BopPC-UAb-k14mq4/s326/yaz.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOLiccTQYOipsecu9XXlKd4onps_G2wXHcfIiKTyM4LMqhHWKfEE-GqzRT_XHY1ou12m7Gpgos_PXSIaJG2mFK-xrBkq8CuPXpuox9zRZxGr3Li6PLb8OdIKqrjw3tB2unrZvP1K0AkHsAGIxgOtEOjNEka0Mjqhq2gS63qHEC41BopPC-UAb-k14mq4/s320/yaz.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><br /><br />One of my tutees is a high school kid who is the spitting image of Alison Moyet from her <b><u><a href="https://youtu.be/EuCOaszt8mg?si=An4UFGVWP-1SzyXP" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Yaz</a></u></b> days - complete with eye makeup and hairstyle. <p></p><p>Seriously, it's uncanny, to the point I almost asked them (preferred pronoun) if they purposely modeled themselves after her. Good times, those '80s!</p><p>But I haven't asked. "Alison" is quite intelligent. Wants to go to Yale. We shall see.<br /></p><p><br /><br /></p><p>I've got one more PT session scheduled in a couple of weeks, and that's meant to be the end of it. It's been a good experience, and it's up to me to keep up with the exercises. The dry needling's been interesting, and I'm glad I decided to give it a try.</p><p>In other health news, a couple of articles crossed my radar this week. One article touting several benefits of beer almost has me jumping off the wagon I decided to jump on last year. The article mentions that some of the benefits come from studies of non-alcoholic beer, but I never really understood the point of such a thing.</p><p>Another piece of info was from a youtuber saying that menopausal women should get a good amount of calories from fat. From that, I did dig a bit deeper and found that</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"...<span face=""Fira Sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #646f78; font-size: 16px;">fats c</span><span face=""Fira Sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #646f78; font-size: 16px;">an help your body absorb nutrients it needs and may reduce the frequency and severity of menopause symptoms"</span></p></blockquote><p>Something to do with estrogen. And there's the qualifier "healthy fats" like avocados (which I can't stand 🤢) . So... no cheesecake then?</p><p>Anyway, eat, drink, and be merry. For tonight, we lose an hour.</p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-42184833266622983642024-03-03T12:27:00.002-07:002024-03-03T12:27:32.106-07:00hanging around<p>Ready for the chocolate shortage? Got a strategy? Our stash of dark chocolate Hershey kisses may soon become a product for only the rich and famous. Eat them or sell on the black market... hmmm...</p><p>So my decluttering continues. Just when I think I've gotten so minimal, I find other junk. I just chucked some dry erase markers - emphasis on DRY. During my last sweep of my office/ studio/ cat bathroom, I found a nice pad of bristol paper that I bought years ago.</p><p>Bristol paper is stronger and stiffer than "regular" drawing paper. I think it's actually sheets of paper that are pressed together to make it thicker and stronger and smoother. Anyway, it's very fun to play with.</p><p>Also, I worked yesterday, so this is kind of a short weekend for me. While at work, one of our testers was the cute emo kid who has been taking his HiSET (High School Equivalency Test - very similar to the more well-known GED) modules with us. </p><p>He's actually quite intelligent and has been eating through his modules like nobody's business. This was probably his 3rd or 4th visit with us, and I got his station all set up. I turned around to check his pockets, socks, and sleeves, and he was standing there with his big cargo pants already all rolled up, with pockets turned out, all *<span style="font-family: times;"><i>I know the drill</i></span>*</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4qXczXI-KhlUDMU5nXoEVzUWnWIw0KyiY_Zsn_WH_mvl2K9r6-i2X24s19SmBDu-kPcfBB821z7teJYqFMQWCoKDskeL0y6c629sVG5Dje8VW5H5yCMolTRWe6R3PqNZPWJgUak5SG6SZ46tnFDEmS22gGIeLr3MG70zf8ixBP2VUlgjjqKLe8QmMD4/s931/Screenshot%202024-03-03%20122025.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="792" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4qXczXI-KhlUDMU5nXoEVzUWnWIw0KyiY_Zsn_WH_mvl2K9r6-i2X24s19SmBDu-kPcfBB821z7teJYqFMQWCoKDskeL0y6c629sVG5Dje8VW5H5yCMolTRWe6R3PqNZPWJgUak5SG6SZ46tnFDEmS22gGIeLr3MG70zf8ixBP2VUlgjjqKLe8QmMD4/w342-h402/Screenshot%202024-03-03%20122025.png" width="342" /></a></div><br /><br />Then he went in and aced another module, came out and put away his scratch paper and pencils like he owns the place. <p></p><p>I'm gonna miss that kid when he's done. Today, while going through markers and things, I found a sharpie that works and did a quick sketch of "Miles".<br /></p><p>And the decluttering doesn't end with the physical stuff. I opened my Pinterest account - OH the crap it contained. </p><p>Still deleting</p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-90692911175545770792024-03-01T18:15:00.002-07:002024-03-01T19:19:11.238-07:00what a feeling<p> Congratulations, we made it to March, even with an extra February day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeHJ11wZOc-am1Ms6zaDC3oMCcfW-OodeNkMK8ikc-6EgMCzX-QtPpoKZfBOhLne98lKFdXbLXppHT_K6YmduKWXa1B9gHZGGeBmfOXcottIQjDkN25sVn25_L5l3pczpJSjkEp_x9lM4J2cI3oQphd6EsDdipTC2CNkmE2-Otkk0h-ZSRx-8KrJr944/s677/Screenshot%202024-03-01%20175437.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="670" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeHJ11wZOc-am1Ms6zaDC3oMCcfW-OodeNkMK8ikc-6EgMCzX-QtPpoKZfBOhLne98lKFdXbLXppHT_K6YmduKWXa1B9gHZGGeBmfOXcottIQjDkN25sVn25_L5l3pczpJSjkEp_x9lM4J2cI3oQphd6EsDdipTC2CNkmE2-Otkk0h-ZSRx-8KrJr944/w410-h414/Screenshot%202024-03-01%20175437.png" width="410" /></a></div><br /><p>It seemed like a good day for cheesy puns?</p><p>I had today off of work and got a few things checked off the to-do list. I typically have Fridays off, but this was the last one for a while. Coworker Star is leaving on a longish vacation, visiting family around the world, and I'll be covering her Fridays for the next few weeks. </p><p>Around here, our March came in like a lamb, so should we be bracing for how it will end? We had sunny skies and temperatures in the 60's. I ran some errands and took my puttster car for a wash.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tgEiKx_1zfThcN5d-ufgaCqBQZ4kUHNqwe4AuuIu6FSj2qGEZCMzGH-WjPqlgnEm2I671M3kC3daK2LHWp1Ze6XlFJxjHunBcz2fZxAeI1jsgt4w5EYb9hv_2lOY5UKbVOOBNq5a7EUf4zISYv05lNhoYZiCLd_o55CTK1_0_IOpFfrrHSg7hoEVKbU/s1022/20240301_114829.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1022" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tgEiKx_1zfThcN5d-ufgaCqBQZ4kUHNqwe4AuuIu6FSj2qGEZCMzGH-WjPqlgnEm2I671M3kC3daK2LHWp1Ze6XlFJxjHunBcz2fZxAeI1jsgt4w5EYb9hv_2lOY5UKbVOOBNq5a7EUf4zISYv05lNhoYZiCLd_o55CTK1_0_IOpFfrrHSg7hoEVKbU/w352-h290/20240301_114829.jpg" width="352" /></a></div><br />Ain't she pretty? Now for sure, we'll have a blizzard<div><br /></div><div>She's 24 years old. Not too shabby for an old lady, I guess. </div><div><br /></div><div>She does spend most of her time sitting around in the garage, however.<br /><p><span style="font-family: times;">And just between you and me, she is pretty crap for driving in snow...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Speaking of old ladies, this week, I decided I should "not skip leg day" at the gym. I don't usually do much lower body strengthening, figuring bicycling and running had me covered. WELL, through my recent physical therapy<span style="font-family: georgia;"><i> Journey</i></span>, the weaknesses have been revealed. </p><p>And now I'm SO sore, youse guys. </p><p><br /></p></div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-21213962540634577072024-02-25T11:40:00.003-07:002024-02-25T11:40:29.298-07:00crashing<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3S4VSVVliut9AvlTbxFjXv1Rvwgel8RgN8IgSBPBMPi-XAUG9aNinDHb9s6UTY7Md9LnmUbFP-qEfg3nJsxybz37yPQN8cZwtN87QqKdl4tjJhAdswMKhYq7_DioR6MNz-jPFvoIk1nJw4iQInF2ZSr1z0b2ZUnP34AStmI5UK7eg60CTYkb3vIZ9M_o/s2110/20240223_060529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2110" data-original-width="2110" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3S4VSVVliut9AvlTbxFjXv1Rvwgel8RgN8IgSBPBMPi-XAUG9aNinDHb9s6UTY7Md9LnmUbFP-qEfg3nJsxybz37yPQN8cZwtN87QqKdl4tjJhAdswMKhYq7_DioR6MNz-jPFvoIk1nJw4iQInF2ZSr1z0b2ZUnP34AStmI5UK7eg60CTYkb3vIZ9M_o/w454-h454/20240223_060529.jpg" width="454" /></a></div><br />I was out running in the wee mornig hours on Friday and decided to snap a pic of this sculpture at sunrise. <p></p><p>It's a bronze sculpture that sits along a popular trail near the bike racks for a a botanical garden attraction. </p><p>It "shades" a bench and one of those public bicycle repair stations.</p><p>It's titled "Cycologist" and actually makes me think of a multiple bicycle crash... in a tree?<br /></p><div><br /></div>Looking at the photo afterwards, it looks rather sinister and thorny in the darkness. <div><br /></div><div>So when I was in the area again this morning at a later hour, I snapped it again in the daylight. Still crashy/ thorny, but a little less sinister? Maybe?</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCALSnzhe46C5VVU7GCUJdqKZmyDSJBxvoliUQvmb8_MjDQQbvzQcnnIvog2dLFGpQJMElfhoJAtO4Fc7vMZY2sb6zjl-P4BglyiDMoBOI2pXi5zi9obMpGsoRblw9QXwkHtG-JwQjp2Fm8l5-umm2Y8lNQdVi-ko9tJcrdJeW4Un9Lwp40dMNRbYBQyk/s1879/20240225_091402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1609" data-original-width="1879" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCALSnzhe46C5VVU7GCUJdqKZmyDSJBxvoliUQvmb8_MjDQQbvzQcnnIvog2dLFGpQJMElfhoJAtO4Fc7vMZY2sb6zjl-P4BglyiDMoBOI2pXi5zi9obMpGsoRblw9QXwkHtG-JwQjp2Fm8l5-umm2Y8lNQdVi-ko9tJcrdJeW4Un9Lwp40dMNRbYBQyk/w469-h401/20240225_091402.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><br /><p>So yes, I am able to run again and have been reminding my body of that for the last month or so. The physical therapy, including the dry needling, seems to have helped. I don't exactly feel 17 again, but I'll take what I can get.</p><p>Speaking of bicycles and crashes, Magnum and I were out walking around yesterday when we came across a fresh accident between a bicyclist and a (I think) pickup truck.</p><p>It happened on the other side of a busy road we were walking along. I looked over and saw a laid down road bike with its front wheel looking rather bent and possibly detatched? That's when I noticed the guy on the ground, the car with its hazard likes blinking and a pickup truck with its hood opened.</p><p>From my astute observations, I surmise that the pickup truck was going south and turned left to enter an apartment complex and hit the bicyclist going north in the bike lane. Probably a bystander then pulled their car into the apartment entance to block other traffic from the injured bicyclist.</p><p>Shortly afterward, all the first responders showed up - fire, ambulamps, po po. Traffic was blocked and rerouted at he intersection a little further south. I was actually impressed at the quick efficiency of it all.</p><p>The injured cyclist - wearing a helmet - was on his back and appeared to be conscious and speaking with his helpers. This was along a busy stretch that I personally wouldn't ride a bicycle on. There is a bike lane, yes, but <i>PFFFT</i>. Now, I'm not victim blaming here, I'm sure he had the right of way. But a little common sense goes a long way.</p><p>Just about every close call I've ever had while bicycling in traffic involved someone turning left. In fact, <b><a href="https://abbyabbydoo.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-world-is-gonna-roll-me.html" target="_blank">[that one time I was hit]</a></b>, several years ago when I was bouncier, was by a woman who turned left into me. It seems that left-turning drivers are looking for oncoming cars and bicycles turn invisible. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-29253267440228590482024-02-23T10:36:00.003-07:002024-02-23T10:39:22.360-07:00what's her face<p>She interviewed me, hired me, promoted me, then promoted me again - my boss from my job prior to me leaving to work at my current job. </p><p>She'd been a good boss, I liked working for her, and I think it's safe to say she liked having me as an employee. I was a dietary supervisor at a full nursing facility where she was the dietary manager. Shortly before I left, she'd left for an administrative position at a largish senior living facility.</p><p>When I applied for my current job at the college, she served as a key reference. We kept in touch for a while after going our separate ways, but that died off as such things tend to do.</p><p>I've been working at the college for a little over two and a half years now. Yesterday, I got into work, looked over the list of people scheduled to come in for testing, and a certain name caught my eye. It was the same name as that former boss.</p><p>"Is it her?", I wondered. Her name is not particularly unique, but she spells her first name slightly different than is typical. </p><p>Sure enough, PB (previous boss) came a-walkin' in at the appointed time. I recognized her by her hair and voice - which may sound funny, but when we worked together, we were deep in the throes of the covid pandemic, at a nursing facility no less.</p><p>Meaning, we were always fully masked and often moreso. I sometimes saw the faces from afar of coworkers as we took our socially distanced lunch breaks together. But the boss didn't eat lunch with us. I'd never actually seen her whole face and vice versa.</p><p>So, she came in yesterday, and I was all,</p><p>"Hey, I wondered if that was you on our roster!"</p><p>And she was all *<span style="font-family: times;"><i>as I imagine from the look on her unfamiliar whole face</i></span>* "who the hell are you and why are you talking to me like that?", not to be fully attributed to test anxiety.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-dXCFPWrsHZDvADuskKx2euU-lbF1awq1Vx91hObaJIzvUetgysM1YsJQfbDHnZ21pn7Nq1pk_BLxL1VLalYt_BgWLQ8FLbBNbgQnOyHv7qXPgkP_lC9ZIfzYvkShqMZ8HFbY9Pbj66RbwQAdlXi3mUopS8RW3y3tYZaymbNGrWpvJHfaPvuNyD260U/s900/726.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="694" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-dXCFPWrsHZDvADuskKx2euU-lbF1awq1Vx91hObaJIzvUetgysM1YsJQfbDHnZ21pn7Nq1pk_BLxL1VLalYt_BgWLQ8FLbBNbgQnOyHv7qXPgkP_lC9ZIfzYvkShqMZ8HFbY9Pbj66RbwQAdlXi3mUopS8RW3y3tYZaymbNGrWpvJHfaPvuNyD260U/w336-h435/726.jpg" width="336" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pandemic Abby</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />I stated my name and the place we used to work, THEN she remembered me. We acknowledged the whole mask thing.<p></p><p>I recall one time I went in to speak with her about something on a day off, and she marveled at how different I looked. Although I was still masked, I wasn't wearing my hair band.</p><p>So, I see why I was so unrecognizable yesterday - no mask, no hair band - just out there, free range, spreading and absorbing whatever's in the air with my whole face.</p><p>And honestly, if I hadn't seen her name, I doubt I would've have recognized her either.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-50251855514990422032024-02-22T07:45:00.002-07:002024-02-22T07:45:28.156-07:00hi ho<p>Big, wet snowflakes are falling outside my window. Looks like it's gonna be a bus-to-work day. This image showed up in my fbook feed today - from my hometown's history:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RyFf3nLLV7H8pDNBkIMSKtO5xAXCTj2eukqjTzWSihAkZOw_wuylZE-RpfGVnmElLG4McAuJ9SCYdN4-TM7pKX_tN79AeCPxoRdZ8hQ5_tuJT-8eaBEe3qqzAqAuFXJZTKfvnSxAJEhuRTtAJqLdbxZhIpD7XOQx6n39SYbdyYLo2GYCbs8UZOaDxxQ/s639/428629952_917843383677291_776584094001944372_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="639" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RyFf3nLLV7H8pDNBkIMSKtO5xAXCTj2eukqjTzWSihAkZOw_wuylZE-RpfGVnmElLG4McAuJ9SCYdN4-TM7pKX_tN79AeCPxoRdZ8hQ5_tuJT-8eaBEe3qqzAqAuFXJZTKfvnSxAJEhuRTtAJqLdbxZhIpD7XOQx6n39SYbdyYLo2GYCbs8UZOaDxxQ/w490-h311/428629952_917843383677291_776584094001944372_n.jpg" width="490" /></a></div><br />Just a little reminder how posh most of us have it today.<div><br /></div><div>We had a fire drill at the college this week. Thankfully, that day, it was relatively warm and sunny out. We had to scoot all of the people who were testing out to the gathering spot. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now, staff was given word of this drill several weeks ago so as to plan accordingly. We happened to have several students from one particular class taking an exam at the time. Later, their teacher emailed us, concerned about the students being able to collaborate during the fire drill "break", stating, "I thought the testing center was exempt".</div><div><br /></div><div>Uhm, well, no. Fire drills are to be treated like the real thing for EVERYBODY, not surprisingly. We told the instructor that we were out there with her students, while not burning, and they behaved themselves, <i><span style="font-family: times;">mumbling under our breath how she shouldn't schedule a large exam during a <u>planned</u> fire drill.</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Left feeling rather underappreciated once again, I can now look at those early coal miners from my weird little hometown and realize I've got it pretty good.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-91807639949440120252024-02-18T11:36:00.005-07:002024-02-18T11:36:44.708-07:00cows and foodies<p>I have a super foggy, super vague memory of meeting Elsie the cow "in-person". Anyone familiar with Elsie? She was the real-life cow mascot of Borden dairy back in the day. Apparently, she toured.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbaTsWpg2Q_jGeaNu4tkCcNh2etbHOm27X3eoX1hfH0FiaA_hHVX-WtKCEmynP1QIc9bQHgs4QQbdHWAK27RTbL7M8ZrJqYfPxxj4N_AG9nhICQP5kuPW7uMI2BhuCTdEM-1agB37ToTGjSJ8vX2mIEo9QJZAae-q62BrduI9338LLtixpEigOY8pZn0/s290/elsie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="284" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbaTsWpg2Q_jGeaNu4tkCcNh2etbHOm27X3eoX1hfH0FiaA_hHVX-WtKCEmynP1QIc9bQHgs4QQbdHWAK27RTbL7M8ZrJqYfPxxj4N_AG9nhICQP5kuPW7uMI2BhuCTdEM-1agB37ToTGjSJ8vX2mIEo9QJZAae-q62BrduI9338LLtixpEigOY8pZn0/s1600/elsie.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><p></p><p>I seem to have been enamored with Elsie at a very young age, and I'm not sure if the enamoredness happened before I met her or after. So I can't say how it began, but I do know I had an Elsie the cow plush toy for a number of years - probably a souvenir from our fateful meeting. God only knows what became of that plush toy. I just remember she MOOO-ed when tipped. Cow tipping, ha!</p><p>*On a side note, cow-tipping is not a real thing. I think I blogged about my failed attempt at it previously...*</p><p><br /><br />Anyway, my bff Elsie is likely the reason I stopped eating beef several years ago. This week, I finally got 'round to trying rice "milk" as a substitute for cow's milk, and by George, I can do it. Now... about that cheese...</p><p>Somewhat related, we got around to watching "<b><u><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9764362/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Menu</a></u></b>" this weekend. Seen it? I enjoyed it, i.e. I didn't fall asleep.</p><p>It makes fun of prententious "foodies". I confess to enjoy watching behind-the-scenes videos of fancy pants restaurants I will likely never visit, and that interest is more from my days as a kitchen worker myself - one of the "shit shovelers" (reference from the movie), rather than a patron. "The Menu" clearly makes the we-vs.-them distinction.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0nU5MCauUeDUgxdpCoZaHGcRUklGRslmLnJc9J-8HuPV_nLAYxO8KWfv5nG4_FCt4bm9Ui3LcnercZn-62gXjKBuAoGpxPB5VGA5g53FOfXnaqL2P6lMSUrbdWCekjTv0b-I_RHPzGXjy0Ib-Tqm5SFDV_U8wSlrh32oM827pvSSgng3pU2IYxKPlZg/s600/tm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="600" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0nU5MCauUeDUgxdpCoZaHGcRUklGRslmLnJc9J-8HuPV_nLAYxO8KWfv5nG4_FCt4bm9Ui3LcnercZn-62gXjKBuAoGpxPB5VGA5g53FOfXnaqL2P6lMSUrbdWCekjTv0b-I_RHPzGXjy0Ib-Tqm5SFDV_U8wSlrh32oM827pvSSgng3pU2IYxKPlZg/w426-h222/tm.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p>I thought the movie was well done and well cast. Can Anya Taylor-Joy act badly in any role?</p><p>So, that's about it for this week's accomplishments: I scored a minor win in fighting my bovine oppression and stayed awake throughout an entire movie.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoUpmh8_z1cH_OifvkxZkkYz1ZXj17OdiMlazuGvx86sl6F65yZH6-l_54jRudH7MuK37hDMEwTTWDd3U2lPkHPDWuJ9GYr02Vow5phnvo-E18iLF_qFq7gHEnLFkqTuU2czIlk6x2lQzxC-9cu73_frHPFDdNXXNk_CbWLkq6EOmyhxWTBaeyIn7dY0/s797/frg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="797" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoUpmh8_z1cH_OifvkxZkkYz1ZXj17OdiMlazuGvx86sl6F65yZH6-l_54jRudH7MuK37hDMEwTTWDd3U2lPkHPDWuJ9GYr02Vow5phnvo-E18iLF_qFq7gHEnLFkqTuU2czIlk6x2lQzxC-9cu73_frHPFDdNXXNk_CbWLkq6EOmyhxWTBaeyIn7dY0/w296-h294/frg.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><br />I also sketched a frog recently in an attempt to awaken my drawing slump since the end of Inktober.<p></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-34830331825845471652024-02-10T06:34:00.003-07:002024-02-10T06:36:50.560-07:00police burritos and clueless exes<p>Winter Bike-to-Work day was yesterday. Does your city celebrate? Do you?</p><p>I had the day off, Magnum works from home, so... figured we might as well bIkE tO wOrK.</p><p>Temperatures were in the upper 20's, no real wind, so it felt right. We should be a little chilly for WBTW for it to count. Although there were several stations around town, we only made one stop at the university campus which sported one stop shopping for a variety of stations. </p><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vla-RCZl01u8IFWb6gnLxJWBJsd42o2zP68d56eIyyOlqWoCu5mVebDqZX_Eoio6DkSyhlSBk6IgYwwvftbvcuSU3zoO08HOY6x8KVN8tveujJONXWHcz11vN1T8ThXEVdTnzTL3luvL4_jz-6y-Gj-RrBItzjURnFYI2mrR3gck6IXH1oTBFPz1SB4/s1362/btw.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="1165" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Vla-RCZl01u8IFWb6gnLxJWBJsd42o2zP68d56eIyyOlqWoCu5mVebDqZX_Eoio6DkSyhlSBk6IgYwwvftbvcuSU3zoO08HOY6x8KVN8tveujJONXWHcz11vN1T8ThXEVdTnzTL3luvL4_jz-6y-Gj-RrBItzjURnFYI2mrR3gck6IXH1oTBFPz1SB4/w377-h440/btw.jpg" width="377" /></a></p><br />Two local restaurants battled it out for best sweet roll, one of our fave coffee shops provided gallons of warm caffeine, the city police dished out what were surprisingly good breakfast burritos, and other goodies.<p></p><p>As expected, it's not as big of a deal or turnout as summer bike-to-work. I sent this photo to my boss to rub in the fact that I was at bike-to-work while he and coworkers were just at work.</p><p>They promptly replied with their sweet roll/ burrito/ coffee/ juice orders.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Later in the day, I had a haircut appointment. Recall that from my last appointment, my stylist informed me of another stylist's unexpected death. Welp, the plot thickens.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The woman who died has a sister who is a stylist at the salon as well. The sister was working the chair next to me. She and my stylist filled us in that the other stylist was going through a divorce when she died. Her soon-to-be-ex returned to the house and took EVERYthing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Although separated, they were still married at the time of death, so I guess it's rightfully his barring any legal documentation saying otherwise? The sister stylist says she mainly wants her mother's jewelry. He took the mother's jewelry!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...PLUS, he still comes around wanting free haircuts. Of course he does. </div><br /><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-92207898411481047532024-02-07T09:13:00.006-07:002024-02-07T09:16:58.312-07:00no escribas<p>I had to open my own blog to see how long since I last posted anything. Okay, one week, not too much of a slacking? </p><p>It's been a busy time, but should now quiet to a gentle roar. My tutor boss at the college opened up for semester requests, and my schedule became instantly filled. I told her I'd take up to 5 students for the semester, and they usually trickle in, but this time, it was like flood gates opening. <i>Whoosh</i>, 5 in the inbox. After the frenzy of figuring out everyone's schedules, we can get down to business. Plus, I'd taken on a couple of high schoolers in the meantime, so they should all keep me occupied. </p><p>The testing center runs hot and cold. We were swamped busy on Monday, and yesterday was lots of downtime. I spent a good portion of the day putting stickers on a new batch of test booklets for Spanish speakers ala, "<b>NO ESCRIBAS EN EL LIBRO</b>" That's about the extent of my bilingualism.</p><p>Mango, our recently hired assistant boss, usually rides the bus to work. She's a fresh university grad and said that people on the bus often ask her what she's studying at the college. She explains that she's not a student but a staffer, so this is inevitably followed by them asking what she does.</p><p>This got my coworkers and I pondering our actual job title - what it says in the staff directory and on our nametags anyways: <span style="font-family: georgia;">Professional Tester</span>. </p><p>Kinda confusing, sounds like we take tests for money, which is, in most cases, illegal. </p><p>In other news, I'm back to the running. The physical therapy, including the dry needling, seems to be helping and I've been out running around again. Not quite race ready, but it's coming along nicely. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as laying on a table getting needles stuck into various places. I have to do a gamut of exercises as well.</p><p>Doctor PT just welcomed a new baby and mentioned he was thinking of signing up for a "big" race to help him keep the running motivation during this life change. Next thing, he's suggesting that I sign up for a 30k trail race. </p><p>What? No! What...? </p><p>In a weird way, that sounds kinda fun and awful at the same time.</p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-71704208304521547062024-01-31T11:05:00.002-07:002024-01-31T11:09:23.710-07:00the heat<p>I'm off of work and scheduled a furnace tune for today. It's supposed to happen "sometime between 8am and noon". It is now a little after 9am. So I wait. I guess I'll do this little mid-week debrief exercise:</p><p><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">1. Name one new thing you learned this week</span></b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>I learned that dogs should NOT eat grapes/ grape products. Who knew??</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Someone on NextDoor posted that her dog ate a grape. She was quite worried, wondering what to do on the weekend since her vet office was closed. And I was all, "Dog ate one grape? What's the fuss?" Well, now I know!</p></blockquote><p><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">2. Acknowledge someone for a job well done.</span></b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>I'll give a shout out to Work Study - our student employee at work. She's a military veteran who now gets paid by the VA to go to school. She admittedly is not <i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">passionate</span></i> about being a student, but realizes it's probably the right thing to do, plus it pays the rent. </p><p>In the meantime, she's trying to figure out what to be when she "grows up" while taking general classes. She comes in to work a few hours each week and is a total people-person - has a way of engaging people in conversation and taking their minds off of the stressful testing environment.</p></blockquote><p><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">3. Describe a good idea you heard.</span></b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>I didn't actually "hear" this idea, it's something that I discovered while decluttering. So maybe I heard it from some decluttering angel? </p><p>Anyway, here's my tip: I used to keep shoes I didn't wear regularly in their respective boxes in my closet. Dress shoes, winter boots, summer sandals, etc. I decided to get a small shoe shelf and chuck the boxes. In so doing, I unboxed shoes I realized I didn't want anymore. Keeping them in boxes was outta sight, outta mind, and I'd forget I had them. </p><p>Once I shelved them, I saw I had redundant / unwanted shoes that went into the donation box instead. I mean, now many pairs of black business casual shoes or casual canvas sneakers does one need?! </p></blockquote><p><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">4. Describe a feeling you experienced.</span></b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>Sarge told us a story about a time earlier in his life when he briefly worked as a repo man for a rental center. The worst repo he ever did:</p><p>They were sent to a home to repossess a large entertainment center, complete with big screen TV and gaming console. When they got there, young kids were sitting there, holding their game controllers and crying. It was right after Christmas.</p><p>The mom made a dramatic scene in front of the kids about how she hadn't received her child support check that month, so all that new stuff from Christmas had to go. Sarge said it was almost as if she'd planned the whole thing - buy all that stuff on credit only to have it repoed in order to make the dad out to be the Grinch. </p><p>I doubt the dad was innocent in the whole thing, but Sarge's story just gave us so many feels, and not the good kind. Disgust, anger, sadness, blech. Some people.</p></blockquote><p><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">5. Describe something that pushed you outisde your comfort zone.</span></b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">I've not done anything particularly "uncomfortable" lately. After covid precautions lifted enough, I transferred to a local <b><a href="https://www.peointernational.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">[P.E.O.] </a></b>chapter, and shortly after that, they asked if I would serve as chapter president when this next year rolls around. I said, "uh, okay?". The P.E.O. year ends/ starts in March, which is coming up. My turn at prez is right around the corner. Uh, okay?</p></blockquote><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">6. How will you apply what you've learned?</span></b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Be careful with the grape-dog combo!</p></blockquote><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-26384780191742708632024-01-27T06:38:00.001-07:002024-01-27T06:38:16.267-07:00scratchings<p>I've got to head to work in a little bit. Another Saturday rotation. This time, Sarge and I are tasked with showing our new assistant boss - who shall be known here as "Mango" - the Saturday ropes. </p><p>Mango is coming along nicely since starting the job a couple of weeks ago. She s a young fresh university grad, and this is her first "grown-up" job. I was working the late shift with her last night as we were finishing up getting the last few test takers done and out.</p><p>One guy finished up and returned his materials, including two pieces of scratch paper. We always give three sheets of scratch paper and must collect all before they leave.</p><p>"Did you have another piece of scratch paper?" Mango asked "I've only got two here"</p><p>"Oh, yeah. The other one is just in my pocket", the soft spoken man replied</p><p>So we told him we had to collect all of it before he could leave, and he agreeingly complied, pulling the folded paper out of his back pocket and handing it to Mango. We have to collect it all because people aren't allowed to take any test questions out of the testing center (other than inside their minds).</p><p>The guy was a friendly person, quite chill. Late 20s, early 30s I'd say. He'd come in for a couple of automotive tech certifications.</p><p>We tidied up after him as he collected his things and left. Mango opened the paper from Tech guy's pocket. There were no test questions on there, just a bit of writing to quote:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"<span style="font-family: georgia;">F**k you b*tch</span> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Mother</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">F***ing b*tch...</span>"</p></blockquote></blockquote><p>We both emitted quiet guffaws.</p><p>"Welp, we probably could've let him keep THAT little love note", I observed</p><p>We've no idea who the message was meant for. It seemed rather uncharacteristic since the guy was rather quiet and mellow. To add to the mystery. the "love note" was written in rather elegant, highly legible cursive.</p><p>Sometimes people make cute and/or skilled drawings on their scratch paper and we'll keep them around for a while. We were almost tempted to save this contribution.</p><p>Nah.</p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-15933290587156011442024-01-21T11:01:00.003-07:002024-01-21T11:10:33.854-07:00Thank your husband and electric needles.<p>"Tell your husband 'Thanks!' for shoveling our sidewalk!", he cheered from his driveway.</p><p>"Oh, sure, no problem!", I hailed back</p><p>Neighbor Guy next door. I noticed during our recent snow storm(s) that no one seemed to be home for a while over there, so when I was out shoveling, I shoveled their sidewalk as well. <span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Tell your husband</i></span> - pffft. </p><p>And I did tell Magnum, we chuckled a bit over it. I don't hold it against Neighbor Guy. I guess it's "normal" to assume the resident man handles the shoveling of snow. Neighbor Guy is a rather burly manly man himself who takes care of the outside of the house. I don't know him that well, but he always seems friendly.</p><p>And honestly, I rather enjoy shoveling snow. As long as it's not bunches of it, wet and heavy. Magnum does share in the task, but for the most part, especially before he began working from home, it was one of my chief duties. It's only fair since he brings home the Lion's share of our income. </p><p>My coworker, Sarge, is in a similar boat. His wife is the main earner for his family, so he picks up the "house work". Yes, out there clearing the snow, etc. and also doing most of the cooking and shopping, driving the kids around... Equity and Inclusion, we're on it!</p><p>I went for a sloggish run this morning. Recall I've been off the running while dealing with a fritzed foot. It's been feeling better, but then I caught a cold, and then we were hit with an arctic blast - neither conducive to start running again.</p><p>This week, I had another appointment with the physical therapist, and he somewhat "assigned" me to go for a short run-walk this weekend and report back. Felt pretty good actually, though a bit cold and I had to deal with annoying ice in several places. Plus being out of shape *<i>huff puff</i>*. But the foot held together.</p><p>We did the dry needling thing at this last appointment. It felt... interesting. I didn't watch the process at all - first hit was in the outside of my calf while I laid on my back, second was in my lower back/hip while I laid on my stomach, so I didn't exactly have a view of either anyway. </p><p>But he inserted (I think) two needles each time, then added electric stimulation to the needles, so there was this pulsing going on in there - like in <b><a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/z73AS6bkKtU?si=HTsvRpaqbY1UZnRz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">[this youtube short]</a></b> I found. He did that to the areas for about 2 minutes each. </p><p>It felt neither amazing nor painful, but it was a very gentle feeling. Like the cat when he prods me to let him under the covers.</p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-26739922341020053382024-01-16T08:11:00.001-07:002024-01-16T08:12:35.644-07:00places to go, people to see<p>Work was closed yesterday because of the weather. There were no classes scheduled because of the holiday, but "other stuff", including us, had to shut down. I snagged this pic of my neighbor clearing snow with his leaf blower as seen through our frosty front window.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZH6cRF-X2JVov2RpmzH03J96J2anTIoI_tzVcXeT0vyxR2FpY2sDiVgMH3KrdSHBRj8tOBWU32385Ky68_v6PHbBFHwXLg6J9h6sUJlWZgutmSI34aljGdrKHJvtkkHHY3ZpdpJddFrAkrFywpzqTw1C7CMpBOw1uc0oNBxQZ1CjN0zmbbtu_eqaJ3w/s1189/20240115_085213.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1123" data-original-width="1189" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZH6cRF-X2JVov2RpmzH03J96J2anTIoI_tzVcXeT0vyxR2FpY2sDiVgMH3KrdSHBRj8tOBWU32385Ky68_v6PHbBFHwXLg6J9h6sUJlWZgutmSI34aljGdrKHJvtkkHHY3ZpdpJddFrAkrFywpzqTw1C7CMpBOw1uc0oNBxQZ1CjN0zmbbtu_eqaJ3w/w437-h412/20240115_085213.jpg" width="437" /></a></div><br /><p>The sub-zero temperatures make for very fine, very powdery snow, so a leaf blower works quite well as a snow blower. I went out a little while later and cleared our snow the old fashioned way - shovel.</p><p>Today, the college is on a delayed start, so I have an extra hour this morning before heading in. The university and school district are both fully closed for the day. So much for peer pressure. </p><p>I got the automated call last evening about the delayed start, the robotic voice stating,</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>All campuses will be on a delayed start for Tuesday 1/16/<b>1924</b>...</i></span></p></blockquote><p>and I'm thinking what the heck kinda automated messaging service are we using that, 24 years into it, doesn't realize we're in the 2000's now?!</p><p>I think I was pretty productive despite all the cabin fever. After my big winter break declutter, I got going on a digital declutter - cleaning up and organizing files and getting rid of old crap. It was, strangely, nearly as cleansing as clearing the physical stuff.</p><p>My laptop's telling me that it's -14F and partly sunny. I'll leave the house in about an hour and the outlook then is for -3F. But by the time I get off work, we will hopefully be in the mid-20s. Above zero!</p><p>That sounds downright balmy!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-7062269514329773292024-01-14T16:59:00.001-07:002024-01-14T16:59:20.737-07:00so... what're you wearing?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JmJ0HEViYCJ9nfcbB9xPpZH1Tji3hwfwJaouLnEOS1mSO0_OK2lZEfbHr1E3tsJYS1aWDu_vB_NYAF7TgNaTzRXkuIVt-DbzKXoSkDmo0gXhGtL-hMAEPgy399IaQjeWf0hauY40tLqMQsWUSxPdaztJqtP9pb86R1muHku-IRSIj6AmF21VrltcUdA/s1007/IMG_1032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="1000" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JmJ0HEViYCJ9nfcbB9xPpZH1Tji3hwfwJaouLnEOS1mSO0_OK2lZEfbHr1E3tsJYS1aWDu_vB_NYAF7TgNaTzRXkuIVt-DbzKXoSkDmo0gXhGtL-hMAEPgy399IaQjeWf0hauY40tLqMQsWUSxPdaztJqtP9pb86R1muHku-IRSIj6AmF21VrltcUdA/w424-h427/IMG_1032.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>Greetings from the freezer. I know we're not the only ones stuck in an arctic blast. <p></p><p>Today we enjoyed some psychologically warming sunshine, and I noticed a reading of 12F on our thermometer earlier this afternoon. Strange how 12F seems so warm.</p><p>Yesterday, after I got home from work, we decided to test our outerwear on a 2-mile walk in 3F. We only got a couple inches of snow, so drifts weren't a factor.</p><p>So we bundled up, and I'm happy to report the gear did its job.</p><p>For reference, I wore:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>leggings under jeans under windpants</li><li>turtleneck under hoodie under gore-tex parka</li><li>balaclava under ski hat under goggles under hood</li><li>wool glove liners under insulated trigger mitts</li><li>two pairs of socks under water resistant hikers.</li></ul><p></p><p>All performed wonderfully, and I remained quite cozy toasty, although I wouldn't want to make a habit of this. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-84001379482429900862024-01-13T06:47:00.003-07:002024-01-13T06:47:41.084-07:00freezing and delinquency<p>I'm psyching myself to go in to work in a little while. My laptop says it's -10F outside right now. But clear. I'll latch onto "clear". Today's high is expected to be 3. Three whole degrees.</p><p>Forecast is for us being in the deep freeze for the next few days. I'm looking forward to Wednesday. It's just as well I'm scheduled to work this Saturday, because the weather outside is frightful. </p><p>Earlier this week, a guy came in from Wyoming with a couple of teenage boys. He's been in before with one of the kids who is working toward his GED. I had assumed they were father and son. So, this week they were back along with another teen, and I thought maybe the guys are friends and arranged to take their tests on the same day so as to carpool.</p><p>Turns out that's sort of the case.</p><p>So we got them going on their tests, they were sitting a couple of seats apart while doing different GED modules. A little while later, a woman who was in the room taking another exam came out for a bathroom break and told us the two young guys were whispering and giggling.</p><p>"I've been a school teacher before, and I'm over it", her words.</p><p>Party Girl went in and gave the GED boys the what for, saying if they continued, we'd have to cancel their tests. In the meantime, Boss went out to the waiting area to let "Dad" know they'd been warned once, and if there's a next time, they're outta there.</p><p>So Dad says, "Tell 'em they get a <i>RED DAY</i> for today" and, "If they get kicked out, they'll have to discuss that with their probation officer".</p><p>Ooh, I finally put 2 and 2 together. We occasionally get these kids from a juvenile center in Wyoming to take their GEDs. They always come in with a nice adult person - some sort of escort/guardian. The kids are typically very polite - "please, thank you, yes ma'am/sir..."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0-Pu3MCLVUWplPsx1BzO71u8MO6Q2UCVlfT4v9ya9JYcrjS9EjSrrf1zm0GwmGPf6F8w1V6ktfW9yDtHHjyNn-ZhZOzZzKbdcimvpacucIG7iKvMrg8t_-kAZXNJ_NHeh5WekKsh2ylwcB56oCqzkMqU9qtXaC5lqsIxe8zyFnpIOFT10KpeMBDv9ds/s200/e931f98f13f027cf6d1c3101a9ad5118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0-Pu3MCLVUWplPsx1BzO71u8MO6Q2UCVlfT4v9ya9JYcrjS9EjSrrf1zm0GwmGPf6F8w1V6ktfW9yDtHHjyNn-ZhZOzZzKbdcimvpacucIG7iKvMrg8t_-kAZXNJ_NHeh5WekKsh2ylwcB56oCqzkMqU9qtXaC5lqsIxe8zyFnpIOFT10KpeMBDv9ds/w233-h175/e931f98f13f027cf6d1c3101a9ad5118.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><p><br />They don't normally come in more than one at a time. Maybe they were going for efficiency this time.</p><p>It was then that I realized the boys were dressed the same: matching khakis, matching grey pullovers, even their black under armour shoes matched. </p><p><br /><br />Yeah, so up until that point, I guess my Situational Awareness was not quite up to speed.</p><p>Anyway, they completed their tests without further incident. Afterward, I was cleaning up their scratch paper and such. One kid had completed the math module, and his scratchwork showed much adeptness. Being a math nerd myself, I'd say his scratchwork indicated that he rather enjoyed himself. </p><p>The next Elon Musk?</p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-29273375432681734862024-01-10T10:06:00.004-07:002024-01-10T10:10:03.972-07:00midweek check-in *YAWN*<p>The new assistant boss <i>FINALLY</i> started working this week. It was a good 2-month process from the time we stopped taking applications to getting through the hiring process to actually getting a person in house. She's fitting in nicely while we've been training her up. Classes start up again next week for the spring semester, so we'll be running on all cylinders shortly.</p><p>I've been feeling a bit restless with the downtime from tutoring and hoping my tutor schedule fills up nicely with the start of the new semester. I did get a lot of decluttering accomplished during the break. And I'm sure I can find more to purge. Seems like there's always more.</p><p>In other projects, I really want to get started on painting most walls of the house. EVERY wall is "rental white", as our house was a rental when we first moved here. Seems like a good after-purge project.</p><p>I'm off work today and have a few errands to take care of. It's crappy windy today, but wind seems to be the main weather phenomenon without rain and snow and whatever else the east coast is getting. I was reading reports of high risk for downed power lines and power outages in some parts of the country and thinking how we don't typically have that problem. Our powerlines are underground, so power outages are usually caused by some freak thing like a squirrel getting into a transformer box.</p><p>Now I probably just jinxed it, and our power's going to go out... Well, we do have a lot of neighbor squirrels.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-62395676799888755332024-01-05T10:32:00.003-07:002024-01-05T10:37:08.825-07:00Let you go<p>I've taken today and yesterday off of work since I'm still dealing with this dang cold. I feel okay, actually. I'm sure I could perform my "job duties as assigned" just fine, but I'm still a bit congested and scratchy and don't want to sicken my coworkers. Our work setting is an open "corral", so not much for social distancing. I explained to Boss that I wasn't quite fit for humanity just yet.</p><p>As such, I've been feeling a bit restless while holed up at home. But The Great Declutter of 2024 has been going quite well.</p><p>On Monday, I tried to drop a couple of bags of donations at ARC, but they had stopped taking donations by the time I got there. Fine, I drove over to Goodwill, which turned out to be closed for New Year's Day. So I came back home and scheduled a<b><u><a href="https://pickupplease.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> pickupplease.org</a></u></b> truck. They're coming next Wednesday.</p><p>In the meantime, I've been working on filling up more stuff for the truck. I think I've gathered about all I care to donate right now, and the rest of the crap is going in the trash, unworthy.</p><p>I'd thought myself a minimalist, but still had much to answer for. For example:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Handfuls of panty hose?? I rarely wear panty hose. Much of it must have been from my corporate working girl days <i><span style="font-family: georgia;">27+ freaking years ago</span></i>. I've been schlepping that along each time we've moved?</li><li>Extension cords. So. Many. Extension cords.</li><li>Cinch sacks - from employee orientations and road race paraphernalia, cinch sacks are/were the handout of choice for so many. Be gone!</li></ul><p></p><p>I also happily sold a couple of items through Marketplace: a fully waterproof backpack we hardly ever used and a double-wide computer monitor I haven't used since downsizing to just a laptop. Both items sold quickly and went to, I believe, good homes. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I met with a young "dude" at a pizza place downtown to exchange the backpack. He plans to use it for rafting - perfect.</li><li>A young dad met me in a nearby parking lot for the monitor. He said he has the same model already, so now he'll have double-double! </li></ul><div>Everybody's happy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lastly, I've been chipping away at this 1000-piece puzzle from step-MIL that we started on Christmas. Claude Monet. <br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJItfxUpzm-aLoDmDca6zVVSb9Wsmtdy7TGWeiyRTukZU2uMXPthlbborh35xgw8VneZpo3dMPa37EGoUsC-aYYljM7KOyRfnZNGj2JWtXRSO3xYhuMHZhycqyCY1sbmBbU6vmbZabCvqc1hP9OKKCLFxeNfHzr_oprWQ8NizksXQjocri_ZdB0MmheQ/s1363/20240105_101539.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="1363" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJItfxUpzm-aLoDmDca6zVVSb9Wsmtdy7TGWeiyRTukZU2uMXPthlbborh35xgw8VneZpo3dMPa37EGoUsC-aYYljM7KOyRfnZNGj2JWtXRSO3xYhuMHZhycqyCY1sbmBbU6vmbZabCvqc1hP9OKKCLFxeNfHzr_oprWQ8NizksXQjocri_ZdB0MmheQ/w519-h336/20240105_101539.jpg" width="519" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>So much sky. So much water. So many pieces look alike. I hate/must finish it! </div><div><br /></div><div>Damn you, Monet!</div><p></p><p> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Linking up with <b>[<a href="https://thesoundofonehandtyping.com/2024/01/04/writers-workshop-five-faves-and-an-announcement/" target="_blank">John</a>]</b> for Mama Kat this week for the prompt:</p><ol style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #383838; font-family: Alegreya, serif; font-size: 19px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em 2em; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin-top: 0.4375em;">Share something that you worked on this week.</li></ol><div><span style="color: #383838; font-family: Alegreya, serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-10293083961333606292024-01-03T07:41:00.002-07:002024-01-03T07:49:05.852-07:00moving on<p>Okay, holiday season is over. Time to get on with the business of getting through the winter. </p><p>The break was nice, but I was ready to get back to work yesterday. As it was, we only gave four, count 'em FOUR tests the whole day. And it was only for two people because one guy did three tests. Talk about easing back into it. </p><p>Boss had closed a bunch of things down, however, "just in case", so it was expected. I'm off today, but the schedule looks to be back to normal now.</p><p>New Year's Eve and day were non-events here. I think I was in bed by 9pm on Sunday. Plus, Magnum was down with Man Flu. Now, a few days later, it appears that I've contracted it as well. It feels like... a head cold.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoIQVEAaXPrRxJHpm-aSqfwJ6479sa6Ym8-_LlWndxltTTr5yk753ian40dXXMq8k5jo9kzJhVcHl9CBw0auLQpLNIHdYFq44kWPAAcpO1cFAn2w98N0ljbEdDxPCAZVDw6fYZqO6Iy-rH6-DPmF_m5hoQReflo-OvXW8B-Ld-79FrQcHnDMhT253CDM/s356/025236c9e285c5f6741f_Man_flu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="356" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoIQVEAaXPrRxJHpm-aSqfwJ6479sa6Ym8-_LlWndxltTTr5yk753ian40dXXMq8k5jo9kzJhVcHl9CBw0auLQpLNIHdYFq44kWPAAcpO1cFAn2w98N0ljbEdDxPCAZVDw6fYZqO6Iy-rH6-DPmF_m5hoQReflo-OvXW8B-Ld-79FrQcHnDMhT253CDM/s320/025236c9e285c5f6741f_Man_flu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Anyway, I "worked" with Sarge and Boss yesterday. We did a bit of tidying and updating things with all that free time. In discussing our New Year's reveling, theirs was as boring as mine. I mentioned my start of "The Great Declutter of 2024", and Sarge talked of painting his basement. Party animals, I tellya.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4B6j8nTQtvhn-ekmHiSq_cJLKfcDLPlxcRItsYJKsRR5_uW5FGzhSkr2In6kF0qIgkWOsgSXdP7yN64JyMBDKTQqyvzzY6ayWSUvVjIE6AQZQmO768vIYzBQUY4C_q9by1RAT8MMDab1Dh-7DqW7a5bq2SioQYvaQVHk31LB0Qf8nFfkvJTmst-RmPs/s960/416103480_691431873077664_1852895693450312844_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="847" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4B6j8nTQtvhn-ekmHiSq_cJLKfcDLPlxcRItsYJKsRR5_uW5FGzhSkr2In6kF0qIgkWOsgSXdP7yN64JyMBDKTQqyvzzY6ayWSUvVjIE6AQZQmO768vIYzBQUY4C_q9by1RAT8MMDab1Dh-7DqW7a5bq2SioQYvaQVHk31LB0Qf8nFfkvJTmst-RmPs/s320/416103480_691431873077664_1852895693450312844_n.jpg" width="282" /></a></div><br /><p>We did talk of "the old days" when we could go into work the following morning after a night of drinking. In my younger days, I'd worked at a hotel restaurant. Some mornings, the sight of the empty booze bottles from the bar the night before could make things a bit rough. Sarge told us that he'd worked on a garbage truck for a while and recalled collecting garbage while hungover. Ugh, yeah, that would've definitely been worse.</p><p>Now, here we are, cleaning house and painting basements. Did our younger selves see this coming?</p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-32389751274554224782023-12-31T13:08:00.002-07:002023-12-31T13:08:15.958-07:00in conclusion<p>Aren't blogs handy? Before blogging became a thing, I'd never journaled or kept a diary or any of <i><span style="font-family: georgia;">that stuff.</span></i> Who knows how much I've forgotten??</p><p>But with blogging, we can dip into the archives an unearth all kinds of boring things. Let's recap 2023 on this new year's eve, shall we?</p><p><b>January</b> - learned about the formation of pornographic ice</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFv5c_KQKBLJedZjU_dAUXfh5LNqCQcA-6cEtbtPSa5_i89jHmtYFvzDixbl649se1SmlQQxHsIuvbgg6yoQ8q3RPcBBaKZkihs8pamZEZ_2w2BJG0qsfn5DTgIN43MSODv7lSyZzfIzpNzCRNht6C5Vp3clhQAHnVcndJ5ulFLZm8dBIqnC471sTWxs/s1154/strt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1154" data-original-width="866" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFv5c_KQKBLJedZjU_dAUXfh5LNqCQcA-6cEtbtPSa5_i89jHmtYFvzDixbl649se1SmlQQxHsIuvbgg6yoQ8q3RPcBBaKZkihs8pamZEZ_2w2BJG0qsfn5DTgIN43MSODv7lSyZzfIzpNzCRNht6C5Vp3clhQAHnVcndJ5ulFLZm8dBIqnC471sTWxs/s320/strt1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><b>February</b> - noped out of winter bike-to-work</p><p><b>March</b> - did my last Tortoise-and-Hare race for the '22/ '23 season</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrWu1fjo_6siKafqRsnudvbUBjuMmR9BXHe0KMHqj5quatUQYbwWfO4JjSairwamoz-UdZAP28fYasToOln-MjFuRKnf2dCg1reu_ilg2ztVQ5iKopKIoJRpIUA20VIvJXlGkdBxG1ftkcOMAG4rkKLQww4L2GPvRbn5OHNmYhkoKL6WcHH0pQmjGU4U/s838/thfeb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="838" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrWu1fjo_6siKafqRsnudvbUBjuMmR9BXHe0KMHqj5quatUQYbwWfO4JjSairwamoz-UdZAP28fYasToOln-MjFuRKnf2dCg1reu_ilg2ztVQ5iKopKIoJRpIUA20VIvJXlGkdBxG1ftkcOMAG4rkKLQww4L2GPvRbn5OHNmYhkoKL6WcHH0pQmjGU4U/s320/thfeb1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>April</b> - went geocaching, thinking to restart, never to geocache again for the remainder of the year.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauJKmBSyc0X6kKbRvI7G1pa3W6xAW3l2LmwFuBFapxhSELC4G7trPI8TgX1CGXE2fNk7FaeHtcRTaPlwn9yL9sZvJWnpUD37fN1JHqTfLmvbsbE6cvsLA_UGTNjJCz6c6z6R8-OJvP4cOARSOjFzlAvz5VAuR_a4CA64oGq2usP0c_cxUmiPB6Q1ak_s/s980/20230422_135329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauJKmBSyc0X6kKbRvI7G1pa3W6xAW3l2LmwFuBFapxhSELC4G7trPI8TgX1CGXE2fNk7FaeHtcRTaPlwn9yL9sZvJWnpUD37fN1JHqTfLmvbsbE6cvsLA_UGTNjJCz6c6z6R8-OJvP4cOARSOjFzlAvz5VAuR_a4CA64oGq2usP0c_cxUmiPB6Q1ak_s/s320/20230422_135329.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><b>May</b> - involuntarily listened to a family fight while dining out on Mother's Day<p></p><p><b>June</b> - yessed to summer bike-to-work</p><p><b>July</b> - partied with step-father-in-law for his 90th birthday</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5G5M1mtpEtDknccfUmwp1evELAurLIVXQ-d51gfdcqVc_5A4r84VI8bN7QrzXW5SwcCRM-bgYOKj_CWgyf2VB1EdswahUA9b-DR1baExofxUl8KwYr5Ds_LybepfbpvSJe80lVq4PTRKkqWGzPGRai0Rki98k7jsnBk2NhvS-eopCM8QAauSUmySi6k/s1176/gpd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1176" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5G5M1mtpEtDknccfUmwp1evELAurLIVXQ-d51gfdcqVc_5A4r84VI8bN7QrzXW5SwcCRM-bgYOKj_CWgyf2VB1EdswahUA9b-DR1baExofxUl8KwYr5Ds_LybepfbpvSJe80lVq4PTRKkqWGzPGRai0Rki98k7jsnBk2NhvS-eopCM8QAauSUmySi6k/s320/gpd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><br />August</b> - encountered a man in a public bathroom, only to realize "he" was a bearded woman<p></p><p><b>September</b> - became a scribe for a college math student with cerebral palsy</p><p><b>October</b> - completed all but one of the 31 inktobers</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWa6zI8g5WDXdOHukNA0FxLJG39J1q0jwQ9p8SzgY3BttZHFz1NKfCEiHfD8FmTFIok-zt1QvnwcMODOtDKQtPCjLNtoP6d1oXTXQG0CUD79O0aAD-Yr1eEm6-jV5G3ThtzT29A716rW_oZMj3fNyU70XKO7_JtplYujYkrlKMCJQlRSIvCoN72acrghw/s1002/20230920_205956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWa6zI8g5WDXdOHukNA0FxLJG39J1q0jwQ9p8SzgY3BttZHFz1NKfCEiHfD8FmTFIok-zt1QvnwcMODOtDKQtPCjLNtoP6d1oXTXQG0CUD79O0aAD-Yr1eEm6-jV5G3ThtzT29A716rW_oZMj3fNyU70XKO7_JtplYujYkrlKMCJQlRSIvCoN72acrghw/s320/20230920_205956.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><br /><b>November</b> - completed another year of life on Earth<p></p><p><b>December</b> - gonna go make some fried rice, I think<br /><br /></p><p>See ya next year!</p><br /><br /><p></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-5177539828879121212023-12-29T10:53:00.000-07:002023-12-29T10:53:32.899-07:00saddle, sorting, and needles<p>A saddle, in geography, is defined as the lowest area between two peaks. I think of the week between Christmas and New Year as a saddle week. This one's been pretty productive... mostly.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I've been doing some tidying, which I have since learned is a tradition in some cultures so as to start the new year with a "clean slate". I went through some boxes of stored goods while grumbling under my breath, thinking it was "junk" we've been storing for our kids. I was all ready to unload it upon them, only to find that it was mostly our stuff we never unpacked when we moved here four years ago. Ooops.</li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">So I'm sorting through that, determined to rid us of "stored stuff". If we're gonna use it, it should be out among the living. I did find a few kid things, so my grumbling skills weren't totally a waste.</p></blockquote><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Christmas here was a pleasant low-key affair. Meego and Wolfgang came over for food, gaming, dog walking, puzzle building, etc. And we speaker phoned a bit with Chaco, who relocated to the DC area for work not long ago.</li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Speaking of food and storage, while I was doing some actual cooking for Christmas, I came upon this little cast iron skillet I "won" back in 2020. As I remember it, the nursing home where I was working at the time had daily random drawings for staff to select a gift from a pile o' stuff during the days leading up to Christmas.</p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">My name miraculously came up, and I selected the cute skillet, I think mainly because it was nicely portable for bringing home on my bicycle. It came with a small packet of brownie mix for making one round brownie in the pan. I remember making the brownie on Christmas, and the 5 of us split it into teeny tiny brownies. </p></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcF4polbx5BIQH4P_tmXOhyVLssy_l6UdKM8Arnr3mnYojjcwmilrAnHmYMlDb0qeNT05Rl1zZucIu-1KZeThdrIKpt5-V17cKOh4It4oK5y-WABjLLyFCZsdq8cXBrCtC5rSfSiNYeXyZZhyTq-U80BURbfGHl2gln3WBYNIgw2cfvXYucsA9P1XBwOI/s1141/bn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="1141" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcF4polbx5BIQH4P_tmXOhyVLssy_l6UdKM8Arnr3mnYojjcwmilrAnHmYMlDb0qeNT05Rl1zZucIu-1KZeThdrIKpt5-V17cKOh4It4oK5y-WABjLLyFCZsdq8cXBrCtC5rSfSiNYeXyZZhyTq-U80BURbfGHl2gln3WBYNIgw2cfvXYucsA9P1XBwOI/s320/bn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">If it'd been a marijuana brownie, I doubt it would've had much affect after divying it up 5 ways. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">The skillet then got stashed with its larger siblings, hardly thought of again. But this week, I saw someone on reddit, who had received such a skillet for Christmas, asking what to use it for. The overwhelming response was "an egg!!"</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Omigosh, it's the perfect vessel for making a one-off poached egg. I've been doing that in the days since the discovery while needing to chip away at all this <strike>damn</strike> leftover Christmas ham.</p></blockquote><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Also this week, I visited that physical therapy place about my fritzed foot. They'd offered a special promo, so I partook. But the foot's been feeling better, and I figured I'd listen to the assessment, then likely continue to treat it myself. </li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Welp, that didn't happen. The good Dr. uncovered weakness in my right hip - not a total secret to me - as likely the root of my problem and mapped out a good sense plan of attack. After the initial treatment hurt so good, I'd plunked down the HSA card and paid for six sessions. </p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">He wants to do some "dry needling" - a term of which I've heard for treating sports injuries, but know nothing. I'm about to access doctor google, but it sounds kind of like acupuncture, which I've never had. I'm going for it.</p></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-50264418335243537762023-12-24T14:51:00.002-07:002023-12-24T14:51:33.209-07:00sporting<p>"Okay, stupid question", I began, "Which ones are the Eagles?"</p><p>And so began my experience watching live professional hockey. We went to a Colorado Eagles (farm team for the Avalanche) game yesterday and watched them lose to the Calgary Wranglers. It was much fun, I hope to do it again - maybe not the losing part, but either way...</p><p>A few weeks ago, when we got together with Meego and Wolfgang, we somehow got on the subject of hockey. They both claimed it was fun to watch, while Magnum and I had never partaken. We learned that the guy who owns Meego's company is good friends with the guy who owns the Eagles, so employees typically have a number of tickets available to them for free as well access to the company's suite seating.</p><p>So Meego invited us to yesterday's game, and off we went. I figured it would be an educational field trip, which it was. Wolfgang got me up to speed with some basic rules - as well as pointed out which team was the Eagles - and I easily got into it. We actually didn't use the suite since the owner's kid was using it for a good sized crowd, but our <span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>gen pop</i></span> seats were quite good.</p><p>It was fun watching it live, and the arena was awash with lots of positive energy - never a dull moment. I knew that fights often happen in hockey, but it was a bit shocking to see players haul off and punch someone in the face, live and in real time. </p><p>A good time it was despite the Eagles losing 5-1. But I'm totally new to this and haven't developed team loyalty yet. </p><p>Now here it is Christmas eve already. After watching that hockey game and noticing the players with missing teeth and understanding why, I've had that song "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" playing in my head.</p><p>I've mentioned here before that I murdered my two front teeth when I was 11 years old. I won't rehash the story now, but the key players were myself, a skateboard, and the street. I remember my loving grandma singing that song to me...<br />Brother Guano referred to me as "toilet teeth" after I got them fixed because the crowns were ceramic - the material of toilets. </p><p>Yes, a formative time in my life. I imagine the teeth voids are more a badge of courage for hockey players. </p><p>Whatever wished for this season, whether having to do with teeth or not, I wish anyone reading the happiest of holidays!</p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-63186473296223316912023-12-22T08:51:00.001-07:002023-12-22T08:51:54.226-07:00a break from this break<p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>We had our little white elephant gift exchange at work yesterday - ended up just being five of us as Triple-D was sick, and Star and Kitty had other obligations. I was surprisingly content with what I ended up with - a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, kitchen sponges, and a dental grab bag - HA!</li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>With these work gift exchanges, we try to do them without anyone having to purchase anything. I learned that the jigsaw had been gifted to Party Girl's dad, who has dementia and can do a 60-piece puzzle, tops. I suspect that she did purchase the kitchen sponges - they are new and in the shape of cat faces. The dental grab bag came from Work Study, who informed us that the college's dental assistant program had given them out for Halloween. Who knew?</p><p>As to why I ended up with gifts from two people, it's a roundabout story, but suffice to say that I almost ended up with that Zombie book that I brought after things had made the rounds. But Sarge actually wanted the book and traded up to get it. So all's well that ends well, and I don't have to buy toothpaste or floss for a while.</p></blockquote><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In other happy news, I went running this morning. My foot had been on the fritz for about a month and a half, but had gotten to feeling better, so I rejoined the weirdos this morning. It did okay, but in the meantime, I had contacted a local physical therapy office that specializes in running injuries.</li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>They're offering a $49 special with full analysis/diagnostics, plus they're office is really close to our house. So I made an appointment for next week, and they sent me a questionnaire which asked typical questions like, "what hurts", "what makes it better/ worse", "what have I tried doing for it", etc... And it also asked something like, "What are my goals from therapy and how meaningful will it be for me to reach them?"</p><p>As for goals, I just want to be able to go for regular runs again and make a decent showing at a handful of races - 5K, 10K realm - each year, blah blah... But meaningful? I had to think. I mean, I'm nearly 60 years old. I'd like to be able to leave other 60-year-old women in the dust, but I'm pretty sure I've passed my peak. I came up with something for the meaningful question (all fields had to be filled in), but I realized I could find <i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">meaning</span></i> in other activities if push comes to shove.</p></blockquote><p>I'm off work today, and we're closed all next week. I guess I'll start searching for some meaningful things to occupy my time.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168047058963833173.post-68839848531878681642023-12-20T13:22:00.003-07:002023-12-20T13:22:30.284-07:00Wednesday<p>Another Wednesday, and I am again without tutor detail since the college kids are on break. I'm trying to make good use of my free time, it's going so-so.</p><p>The annual Christmas haul from step-mother-in-law arrived yesterday. The Diabetes in a Box has somewhat toned down from years past, so that's nice. She also habitually sends a 1000-piece art themed jigsaw puzzle for all of us as well as an art-themed desk calendar for me.</p><p>I have received these desk calendars from her for about as long as I've known her. I can't remember the last desk calendar I actually kept. I vaguely remember using a few at my desk when I was a working girl - back in the days before shared digital calendars. But I haven't had a desk job in many years, and we have things like MS Outlook now.</p><p>I mean, it's a nice thought, and the high-grade calendars are from the Metropolitan Museum of Art - <b><a href="https://store.metmuseum.org/van-gogh-engagement-calendar-2024-80057109" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">[this year's]</a></b> is Van Gogh. But seriously, I haven't had use for a desk calendar in a long long time and don't know how to ask her to stop. So I donate them shortly after they arrive.</p><p>I did get started on the puzzle. Possible marks for productivity?</p><p>On that note, I thought I'd try this Wednesday 'podge I've seen over at <b><u><a href="https://incognitusscriptor.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Incognitus Scriptor</a></u></b>:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="From this Side of the Pond" height="273" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SNGI3xwxjTg/WVmWedFfZaI/AAAAAAAAPAA/lsgY_VeWUnU4Y7mezjBvT7KgxwvT_GslgCLcBGAs/s1600/hodgepodge-button.png" width="273" /></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #726b60; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;">1. Did you do more talking or more listening yesterday? Was it by choice or by necessity? </span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">I would guess that I did more talking, but really, I'd think it to be about 50/ 50. I worked at the testing center, which necessitates that I spew a fair amount of information, but I also must listen. Then there's always the sit-around-and-gab-with-the-coworkers.</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(252, 251, 249, 0.9); box-sizing: inherit; color: #726b60; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">2. Are you a tea drinker? Hot, cold, or both? Flavored? What do you like in your tea? Do you make Christmas tea this time of year? What time of day do you like to sip your tea? </p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yes. Hot. Green or black. No additives. No Christmas tea. First thing with breakfast.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(252, 251, 249, 0.9); box-sizing: inherit; color: #726b60; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">3. What’s an activity you won’t try, an event you won’t attend, or an athletic challenge you won’t take part in not even for <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">‘all the tea in China’</em>? </p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Activity = scuba diving</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Event = bull fight</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Athletic challenge = ultimate fighting</span></li></ul><p></p><p style="background-color: rgba(252, 251, 249, 0.9); box-sizing: inherit; color: #726b60; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">4. What’s something most people seem to love but is not ‘<em style="box-sizing: inherit;">your cup of tea</em>‘? </p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Avocado anything</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(252, 251, 249, 0.9); box-sizing: inherit; color: #726b60; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">5. How does your family celebrate New Year’s Eve? </p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Long ago readers might remember that we used to run a mile at midnight on New Year's Eve - "midnight mile" - no matter the temperature or conditions. These days, I'm tucked away in bed by midnight, ready to get on with the new year.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">But hey, I'd stay up for midnight miling. </span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(252, 251, 249, 0.9); box-sizing: inherit; color: #726b60; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">6. Insert your own random thought here. </p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">I went to the eye doctor today since it's been over a year, and I had the time. Nothing much has changed, and I almost feel the dr. just tweaked my prescription a little bit to justify my going in. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">But the bike ride to the eye doctor's and back was lovely. We've had nice mild weather most of this week, and I was reminded that <b><u><a href="https://abbyabbydoo.blogspot.com/2022/12/my-tears-cant-drip.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this time last year</a></u></b>, we were in a deep deep freeze and holed up indoors most of the time. What a difference a year makes.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05853360875281742784noreply@blogger.com6