Nobody is Promised Tomorrow. . .
Note to self: The way to take more interesting pictures is to go more interesting places.
Laps beat out naps this afternoon. Made it 30 minutes before I tried to drown myself out of sheer boredom. I will try to work up to 60 minutes. The trouble isn’t swimming. The trouble is boredom. Might get a waterproof iPod.
No bugs again today. Too much Round Up, insecticide, and hybridized plantings around here.
Well, I wanted to see what would happen if I shot today’s sunrise thru the screen part of the window. Now I know.
Nothing much going on today. Making a few careful financial moves. Naps beat out Laps as the afternoon activity.
One of the asylum inmates creates wonderful paper mache objects.
No unsuspecting bugs wandered in front of my lens today. And, I didn’t kill any fishes either. All-in-all a good day.
Pumpkin, the fish I was “taking care of” didn’t last 24 hours. He was very dead this morning. He was flushed with Full Ichthyological Honors. And that was the start to my Sunday. I should not be trusted with any living thing. That is why I need a ROBOT cat. I am surprised that Carlton lasted as long as he did!
I did clean and disinfect his tank. I’ll either replace him or put a bunch of flowers in his tank. I am leaning towards flowers.
And, I deadheaded rose bushes, did laundry, finished reading the papers, stocked up with yogurts. And napped.
The photo ops around the asylum are very limited – compared to the old neighborhood or Hawai’i. I am reduced to photographing flies. (And dead pet fish). I am even boring myself.
Trying to learn how to do weekends. If I can master Saturday and Sunday, I can consider scaling back at work.
So, I went out before breakfast and deadheaded some of “my” rose bushes. I was just listening to mellow slack key on Pandora and snipping away for about 45 minutes.
This guy was snipping away too – but since I like bugs more than roses – I left him in peace.
After breakfast, attended to some paperwork, assessed the damages done to my personal wealth yesterday, and waited for a fish.
Yes, a fish. A friend is going away for 5 or 6 days and someone needs to look after her fish. She brought it up to me. It doesn’t look good. A friend in Hawai’i has 5 or 6 of them and they seem much perkier than this one. If it dies, I’ll go to Petco and get a replacement. I am guessing that all orange betta look alike.
I put a mirror behind it. Hoping that would cheer the poor thing up.
And, this afternoon. I swam laps. Boring. Very boring. But, my old body really feels better after a nice boring swim. That is too bad. If it weren’t efficacious, I wouldn’t have to do it.
Note to Carlton: You have only been away for 18 months. But, you would find it very hard to recognize our current world. Yesterday Great Britain – you know that chilly island where The Queen lives – GB voted to leave the European Union. The vote was a youth and anti-immigrant driven victory. With more than a few unintended consequences.
On our side of the pond, we have Donald Trump as the presumptive Presidential candidate for the party of Lincoln. Hillary will be our candidate – but she is looking pretty granny-ish. I don’t think she is the best possible Democratic candidate – but she is our only chance to stop Donald, You’re Fired, Trump. The same forces that fueled the Brexit vote will fuel The Donald’s campaign.
You were are huge fan of John Lewis – I think he lead his last sit-in this week – the Dems had a sit in in the House. They were demanding a vote on a rather sensible measure – if you are on the no-fly list you shouldn’t be allowed to buy a gun. Death by gun continues at an alarming rate.
People are on edge. Unsettled. Dow Jones down 600 points today.
On a happier note: “my” roses.
LOTS of deadheading.
I seem to be returning to some degree of mental stability after my trip down the abyss of loneliness and self pity. I still haven’t gotten enough courage to make appointments for massive cancer seeking medical tests. I just don’t think I can deal with potential “positive” results, which in medical speak is very “negative”. So, I choose the ostrich option.
Didn’t post yesterday because I spent a couple of hours headheading “my” rose bushes and then I went off to dinner and to a discussion about Brexit. They turned out the lights for a PowerPoint presentation. I fear I had a hard time staying awake. When I got back to the friendly confines of the OBC it was time for bed. Past time for bed.
And, again this afternoon – I had to decide between going to the monthly asylum meeting, swimming laps or taking a nap. The nap won. I went to dinner with a lady who gave me a recap of the meeting. I didn’t miss anything.
I guess I just don’t care. I know I should get an appointment for a whole body skin cancer check. And, I should get an appointment for a colonoscopy. But why should I? Do I need to know about potential cancers?
Shamu the Phone keeps yelling about a “severe thunderstorm”. Shut up. I can look out the window and see the thunderstorm. Stop with the yelling.
As for skin checks and colonoscopies? What’s in it for me? I am going to die of something. No one gets out alive. This is sort of the Carlton approach to health care.
My affairs are in order.
A different day. Work. Walk home. Lunch. Field trip to Wegman’s with Asylum friend. Dinner from Wegman’s in the OBC.
No jello or bug photography today.
But, I did find this super yard sign on the way home today.
I got some great ahi sushi at Wegman’s for dinner. Glad that I can not get to Wegman’s on my own. It is 13 miles away and doesn’t seem to be on any bus route. If I could get to Wegman’s on a regular basis – I’d have to order an entire new wardrobe. A wardrobe with elastic waists.
I like this wasp. Think it is some sort of Tiphiid Wasp. Not that it matters.
Sort of a lazy day. Went to Giant to get yogurt and beer while waiting for breakfast at the asylum.
Had breakfast. Read paper. Did laundry. Watered my 11 square feet of dirt – think it is going to be hot and dry next week. Deadheaded some of “my” rosebushes. I found another 6 rosebushes to adopt. These are in so-so health. Then I ate some of the yogurt and walked to the “Next Day Blinds Shop”. Thinking about ditching the regulation cheap-ass mini blinds for something more elegant. Who know they had so many choices.
Came back home and discovered – lox on the salad bar for dinner. Well, I promptly ordered “salad bar” to go and will soon be enjoying lots of lox with a beer or two right here in the Old Bat Cave.
Wooden blinds to match my floor? Wooden blinds to match my kitchen cabinets? Navy blue painted wooden blinds to match my “decor”? Grey faux wood blinds to match my walls? Or sort of see thru roll up shades? Or just say MINI BLINDS ARE FINE and buy a new lens. (or two)?
Yep, in honor of Father’s Day jello is back. And, it really is dark green. Wonder what flavor it is? My mouthwash is that color. Maybe it is mouthwash flavor.
The oldest Grand posted this incredibly sweet picture with her stepfather on Facebook today.
I am so very proud of both of them. I wish Carlton could have seen this. He used to sit by the phone every Father’s Day – waiting for the phone call that never came. It broke my heart. But this one image makes everything good.
I told you I adopted 24 of the saddest rose bushes you ever saw. They should in rose hospice… As soon as I figure out how to get it done, I’ll replace them with modern cultivars that don’t require a ton of chemicals every other week. I don’t think these roses have been fertilized or sprayed in years.
Lovely weather. I am ignoring all things political this weekend. I can only tolerate so much at my advanced age. But, if truth be known, I am not THAT much older than The Trumpkin.
No jello in the house today. But, I did sneak up on a rabbit.
and a bee…
Today – naps won out over laps. Had to be rested up for Happy Hour and dinner.
I won one of those DNA ancestry test kits. This is what came back for me.
51% Great Britain
23% Scandinavia
15% Southern Europe
5% Eastern Europe
3% Arabia
2% Asia Minor
And the rest – Neanderthal.
Not all that interesting. I was hoping for Mongolia. But, Vikings aren’t too shabby. I am pretty sure this is just junk science. Not to be taken seriously. Sort of like fortune telling.
Note to Carlton: you aren’t missing much around here. Bond yields are approaching zero. Mohamed Ali died. Maria Sharapova got bounced from tennis for drug use. Donald Trump is the Republican candidate for president. Yes, president of the US of A. Did I mention that bond yields are approaching zero. Chuck Schwab was actually selling bonds with negative yield last week. Mass shootings continue. Britain might leave the EU. Megan from Oncology Radiation came up to the office today. Everyone remembers you kindly.
I was too busy trying to capture another interesting fly – so I totally missed that cool beetle in the background.
My old body has been feeling pretty creaky for the last couple of weeks. Yoga hasn’t helped all that much. Lots of ibuprofen hasn’t helped all that much. I hoped that a good session of lap swimming would help. But, lap swimming would interfere with my nap. Swam laps. We have a nice long indoor pool. I am not a fan of indoor pools. But, I went any how. I had an entire lane to myself. That was good. There were no sharks. That was good. The lifeguard was cute. That was good. I’ll do it again.
Another event at the asylum today – I had my “annual mental assessment”. I didn’t know there was such a thing. I had to know what day it was. I knew it was Thursday. And, either the 16th or 17th. That was close enough. Next year, I will study up before my “annual mental assessment”.
The nurse that did “annual mental assessment” is also the asylum Employee Health Nurse. So, we talked shop for a while. She offered me a “job” anytime I want it. The commute would be better. Can not complain about my commute. If I leave the Old Bat Cave at 0610, I am walking into the hospital at 0640. That involves about 4 long blocks walking and 2 buses. Coming home isn’t as slick. And, I usually try to get at least a mile walking into the commute home.
