Author: Peg

Told my friends that I got mittens. They proceeded to recite a Mother Goose rhyme about kittens who lost their mittens and got no pie. 

My brain absolutely refused to function today.  So, I gave my brain the day off from anything harder than a little light reading. And light is all that I read these days. It’s after 4 PM now and some of the brain cells appear to have rallied. By bedtime, all of the remaining brain cells will most likely be wide awake!

These mittens were just begging to get lost. So, I made a little modification. At least this way, I’ll lose both of them. 

There is a chance they will run The Eddie tomorrow or Monday. If it’s a go, you should be able to catch the action on SurfLine.

Didn’t accomplish much today in the Ordering Affairs department. I did come to accept that I must get a new lawyer. Mine isn’t very responsive. Hell, she isn’t responsive at all. And never mind that I’ll be dead. I don’t want my money to be stolen or mishandled after I am gone. I emailed my lawyer with a simple request. Will see what comes of it. This lawyer is really really important to me. My executor, my power of attorney, the Pull the Plug on Peg person. Eight years ago she was great. Not anymore. 

On a positive note, I renewed my Medical Evac policy for another year.  Every year, I have to be medically re-approved. I understand. They are promising to get me back to The Asylum from anywhere if I get sick or hurt.  I wouldn’t be so cavalier about traveling if I didn’t have Global Rescue on board.

I plan on plying myself with booze in a few minutes. That should mellow me out enough to accept the general pandemonium of our dining room. And it’s Filet night. I can put up with a lot for a rare steak. 

Damp and gray today. Not really cold. Mid-40s. Just unpleasant. 

Trudging through more Getting Affairs in Order. I can really only work on it for about 4 hours a day. Cut me some slack, people. I don’t move as quickly as I once did. Either mentally or physically. You would think that in 4 hours one could have ALL of their affairs in order. But not so. At least not for me.

Amazing (to me) Fact: I have 26 (I think) recurring automatic payments. Everything from monthly Asylum Rent and quarterly Taxes to annual Pandora and Tunnel Bear. 

Gratitude

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Soup

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Whilst I was slaving away over ordering my affairs, my soup was bubbling away on the stove.

It was good today and will be better after it ages in the fridge a bit.

PS – I could not face another Asylum dinner. My friends have noticed my negativity. Hence I bailed out of dinner. Is it time to bail out of the Asylum?

Well, I managed to find a lot of the pieces and scraps from when I last got my affairs in order. That was in 2010. And one hell of a lot has changed in my life since 2010. 

I really have to do it all over again. But, I am telling myself that I am just updating it. I am much better at fixing things than I am at creating things.  I tweaked a few things when Carlton died. But, not enough. Because I didn’t care anymore. Updated my will. That was it. 

I already found a big OOPS in the orderliness of my affairs. So, the effort has already “paid” for itself. The way things were Charles Schwab was going to decide what would happen to my Charitable Trust. No way I want that. That problem has been fixed. 

Once I get this done – reviewing the orderliness of my affairs will definitely be an annual event and maybe even a quarterly event. 

Had the bestest time at an Asylum Family birthday last night. We had 5 or so pints of Jenni’s Splendid Ice Cream. The ice cream was great. But I believe the X-Rated reading of the ice cream labels was better. 8 old women and an old man can get pretty rowdy. Especially when wine and ice cream are involved. 

Had good fun folding Puffy Bunnies with my neighbor. She brought me some “plastic” origami paper (made in Japan) from Thailand. I will need to stare at it for a while before I try to fold anything. It will be more challenging than foil paper.  

Haven’t started yet. But, I have made a commitment to myself to “Get my affairs in order”.  I don’t have “Die Today” penciled in on my calendar – but Nobody is Promised Tomorrow. Everything was in excellent order while Carlton was alive. I had everything sorted for him. But, for the last 8 years, I have been “well, I’ll be dead, my lawyer will just have to deal with it.” That might not be the most mature way to handle things. 

How long can it take? I just have to do it. I would hate to be told “get your affairs in order” and actually have to do it.  

And, last but by no means least –

All of these were shot through double-pane windows. It was too cold to stick my head out the window. 

I am craving pea soup. Making pea soup is on the to-do list for the week. At the top of that list is “Clean up the Origami Dojo”. Because my next-door neighbor and I are going to fold some rabbits tomorrow. Best hop to it!

One of the orchid plants had a little accident and will not be blooming this winter and the other two are still settling in. But, one orchid in bloom is enough for one old woman. And it is lovely.

One of my friends is in New Zealand at the moment. And I am thinking seriously about The Sea Cloud.  These are near-term trips. I am developing a very near-term outlook on most things. There is a point where “not buying green bananas” stops being a joke and becomes a reality. 

My friends survived drinking the Asylum Saloon out of rum last night. We were planning on attacking 7 pints of ice cream tonight. But, since one of our accidental family has other plans – the ice cream binge is on hold for now. 

Chilly outside today. But the sun was out so I went out a clocked a couple of miles. 

It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow. 

I accomplished NOTHING today. Not anything. I mean washing my hair and making my bed doesn’t really count. But, I didn’t destroy anything either. But, the day isn’t over. Still time to mess something up. Or spill my dinner down the front of my sweater!

Gratitude

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FRIENDS!

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But wait. This is my proudest day at The Asylum. I joined a few of my besties for adult beverages. And we drank The Asylum out of rum. When we ordered another round of Mojitos, they said we are out of rum. Now, how cool is that? We had to switch to something that used coconut flavored rum. One of my friends kept saying we should eat. Well, we did finally eat. Some had grilled cheese, others had chicken wings.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Actually, I was away from The Asylum 107 days in 2022. And that was a very good thing. Must plan my next great escape. 

Escaped on foot today. Took a 4 mile walk. 

Gratitude

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Grateful that the weather was good enough for a 4 mile walk and that I was able to do it.

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In Kona, I was given this totally fantastic origami wreath.  The puzzle is: how to make some of the flowers. They are all securely glued gunned into position. So, I can not take the flowers off and unfold them. It is a wonderful thing and I really would like to be able to make one. Maybe I should just enjoy it. 

I seem to be my own worst enemy these days. Stuck in winter doldrums. Suffering from unresolved discontent. Beating up on myself for not meeting an imaginary standard of things that an old woman should accomplish. 

Time to just be.

Gratitude

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Peanut butter and bacon sandwiches! 

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Little beef filets and free wine for dinner tonight. Enjoy everything you can. Because Nobody is Promised Tomorrow. 

Sort of in the doldrums today. Maybe I am just in winter mode. Very close to hibernation. 

Read some, origami some, aerobic walkies. Dinner is at a friend’s apartment because we are supposed to be dining alone due to a NON-exposure to Covid. All of the Covid drama at the Asylum is contributing to the doldrums. 

Time for a gratitude check.

Gratitude

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Grateful for friends to laugh with. Friends who ply me with coffee, beer, cookies, brownies.

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The moonrise last night was fine enough to get out the “real” camera. But, not fine enough to round up the tripod! And I am well past the age where handheld night shots are a good idea. 

The Asylum’s Covid abatement policies are totally FUBAR. So, I chose to ignore them. If the Asylum chooses to kick me out. So be it. Since the joint is a Covid Petrie dish – I choose to wear my mask when I am wandering around the halls.  And, I open my windows at every opportunity. Do I choose frostbite or covid? 

Did Zoom yoga for the first time in a month today at noon. It wasn’t pretty. I have been really good at keeping up the aerobics and the strength work. But, the flexibility work has been neglected. The reason you retire when you get old is that it takes all day to keep yourself in “shape”.  And, you have to take yourself to the shop (aka doctor or dentist) with distressing regularity.

The Eddie was supposed to run tomorrow. But, it was canceled. The waves didn’t cooperate.  Last time the Eddie happened was Feb 25, 2016. (It’s a surf competition).