Author: Peg

Woke up last night at about midnight and what did I see, but the moon. It has made it back to my side of the building.  It was actually orange-ish. But I couldn’t make it orange w/o Photoshopping it. And I was too lazy. 

Actually, I am too lazy for almost anything today. Lots of things that I should be doing. But my get up and go got up and went as the story goes. 

I will not beat myself up over this lazy spell. Just try to do better tomorrow. Actually, there is an hour before dinner. Why not spring into action and clean up my apartment for my housekeeper’s visit tomorrow morning? 

Awesome blueberry pancakes for breakfast this morning and filet is on the menu for dinner. Things are getting better. They have Roasted Eggplant w / White Beans Kale & Cream Tomato Soup on the menu tonight. And that would be one soup. They still have a ways to go. 

There I was wandering around outside. Armed only with a phone that was about to shut down because it needed electricity – BAD.  What do I see? A fine dragonfly.  Posing for me. Or rather taunting me for not having a proper camera. But, the picture turned out “fine”. 

Long long ago, there was a great origami paper cutter. It cost almost nothing and was made in Netherlands. Well, about 7 years ago, it vanished from the marketplace.  Not real surprising. Absolutely nothing works as well as that thing. Called an Envelopener. There are directions for making your own with a 3D printer. But, I don’t have a 3D printer. Don’t have the space for one anyhow. YouTube to the rescue. Some German guy has a video that shows how to make one out of old credit cards, cardboard, paper, and scalpel blades. So, I made 3 today. 2 for me and 1 for my haumāna (student). It works. Not as well as the real deal. But better than anything else. 

 

Today is my too much exercise day. About 8 years ago I started taking a yoga class at the hospital. It was really too easy for me. Well 8 years later it is too hard for me. That is really difficult to accept. I talked to the teacher about it. She agrees. But says that I should keep with the class, but just do what I can. That’s F-ing hard to accept. It doesn’t help that it is 2 hours after barre class.

A friend was hauled to the ED this afternoon. Covid. 

Major serious primary elections today. I should be more interested in the outcomes than I am. I feel very helpless and keep hearing Carlton’s John Brown talk that always ended with “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.” 

That was just before John Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859. In Charlestown, Virginia. (Now West Virginia).

A little break from butterflies today. My student wanted to learn how to make jumping frogs!

I live next door to a grocery store that I don’t really like. So, I combined a trip to a better grocery with a walk. Passing over Four Mile Run, it is looking remarkably litter free. But no signs of the coming of autumn here. 

No, the impending arrival of autumn is heralded by “Pumpkin Spice”. For no apparent reason, people in the US will eat “pumpkin spice” anything between early September and mid-November.  I also saw “Pumpkin Spice English Muffins” today. But, Pumpkin Spice Special K was my first pumpkin spice sighting of the year. 

This week, only six weeks after my war on crappy food began, we have new improved menus. With more choices. It might have happened without my carefully planned assault. But, I was delighted to watch a friend dive into blueberry pancakes at breakfast. And, I am looking forward to a bowl of chili and a cold one for dinner tonight. 

Didn’t sleep well last night. That’s a very common old woman problem. When the estrogen goes so does the sleep cycle. Haven’t a clue why. It just happens.

One of the people at our birthday dinner last Wednesday has Covid. So we are all wondering “am I next”? The Asylum still has all manner of Covid exposure rules. (Rules which I generally ignore. Does that really surprise anyone?)

But, I made butterflies, napped, did laundry, checked the very little work that I did yesterday and sent it off. 

Tomorrow, I am supposed to have a WiFi access point installed in my room. It is promised to make things better. I’ll be happy if it doesn’t make things worse.

Folded some butterflies today. Decided that the origami installation would have one butterfly for every resident. The number varies. People go to the Asylum in the sky. And new inmates arrive. Yesterday we had 489 residents. And 489 really isn’t a lot. It will do done on or before Sept 24th. That was the date that I moved into The Asylum seven (can you believe it) years ago.

I also did a little (very little) work. Read some. Went for a fitness walk and generally enjoyed the unseasonably fine weather. 

Happy to report that the food is actually getting better. 

I would have normally carefully selected origami paper for this project. In fact, I did. I selected red. With a few gold and a few black and white butterflies. But, I have lots of origami paper and our Art Center has heaps of scrapbooking paper that they will never use and some of it can be used for this very simple model. So, that’s what this is going to be “unloved papers metamorph into butterflies”. I can make 20 or more an hour, so, I will have the installation mostly complete. Then, I can teach a quicky class and residents can make some butterflies to add to the mix. Damn I am living a very boring life.

I plan on ending my Summer Slump soon. Trying to be too hard on myself for slacking off for a couple of weeks. But what exactly am I slacking off from?  

Grateful for a wonderful windows open kinda day. 

Continuing in lazy late summer mode. The asylum survived last night’s storms fine.  It didn’t interfere with our birthday party last night.

Those of you who live at The Asylum might enjoy the video of our wonderful  young waitstaff singing. Think how old 80 must seem to them.

Right now it is raining and lightning and thundering.  And it is still 92°. OOPS. It’s hailing too now. And Wifi crapped out. Hotspotted.

Late last summer I made a “Bluebird of Happiness” origami installation in our Art Center. And, I taught a class and got some of the residents to make some of the birds. Well, a year has gone by, and origami installations are supposed to be sort of ephemeral. It is time for the bluebirds to go off to composting. In Japan, they could go off to a Shinto Temple to be burned. I’ll have to settle for composting. 

But, somehow, I agreed to make a new “resident assisted” installation. Butterflies. 

Think I’ll save the and get off line while the hotspot is still working. 

It’s summer. What can I say?  I can say that I like summer a whole lot more than winter. 

Food is incrementally better here at The Asylum. I had a perfectly good omelet for dinner tonight. And a side of fries. Fries are always good here.  

I actually moved into The Asylum on Sept 24, 2015. So, I am coming up on 7 years. And 8 years as a widow. But, I am not dead yet. If my luck holds, I will continue to enjoy my bonus rounds in the game of life. (It helps to have a bar. And free beer and wine 3 nights a week.)

 

It’s still summer.  I am still sort of unfocused. But, I am not sure that is a bad thing. Just have to decide what I am going to do between now and dead. 

There is photography and origami. I had an employee long ago who predicted  I would be terrible at retirement. He said I would take up photography and end up photo engraving currency in my basement. Well, I don’t have a basement. 

We shall see. This too is a first-world problem.

No pictures of our dinner selection lately. That is because they stopped putting out a “sample”. Think they got tired of me taking snarky photos of it! And making wisecracks about parsley.

This crow was being pestered by a youngster who wanted to be fed. But, the parent crow felt that the kiddo could round up their own brekkie. Especially since it was there for the taking. If you like oatmeal that is. And, the crow, a couple of sparrows, and a catbird all appeared to enjoy the oatmeal. And, it seemed to have raisins and granola. 

I was a nearby table enjoying waffles. With cream cheese and honey. A once a week treat. None remained for crow, sparrow, or catbird. 

August days wear me down. Grateful for A/C, but tired of it. I go outside mid morning and mid afternoon just for real air.