Author: Peg

Sort of gave myself the day off today. I did take some baby steps vis-à-vis getting ready to go to Kona. 

The oldest Grand posted a picture of herself on the job being an adult today.

And back home in Kona, 

and

So, for a comfortably well-off, old, straight, white woman – the world is a pretty good place this afternoon. For everyone else, I am so sorry. We believed our own shit. We thought we had fixed everything. Honest, we did. I now know how good people must have felt in Germany in the 1930’s. I wish I didn’t.

Day got off to a rather scruffy start when one of my front teeth chipped on a granola bar which I was calling “breakfast”. Got an appointment to have it repaired on monday morning.

Made it home by 4PM today, then off to cocktails and dinner with friends. I am so lucky to live at The Asylum. It is rather like every night eating at your “club”. But, your “club” is only an elevator ride away. I had shrimp that was only “OK”, but the company was great. 

Waiting for the bus at Ballston – I violated most of the rules of photography and shot into the sun with Shamu 2. 

In good time the 25B bus arrived and I hopped on and snuggled down into my seat. Glad that my work week was finished. Also glad that the stock market closed. Now for 2 entire days I’ll not lose money. 

As for the annual migration to kona – well – maybe I’ll spring into action tomorrow. But – it snowed there last night

I have been cooped up in my office and in the Old Bat Cave waaaaay too much. So, I walked over to the old neighborhood in search of Halloween. Put 6 miles on the Fitbit. Stopped off at the old apartment building. Same crew works there. Went to my old Starbucks. Dropped by Carlton’s tennis courts. His little sign was still there. Then I found Halloween, just where it should be, on N. Jackson street. And, eventually, I made it home.

And, I still haven’t done anything to get ready for Hawai’i.

Thinking that the foil one might be the best one. I still want to try some more papers. Then I might want to try another bat. Or work on the dollar bill version.  

Work again today. And tomorrow. And Friday. This is starting to be a lot like work!

Wiggled into the trusty old wetsuit last night, after a lavish dinner. (Soup, goat cheese omelet, broccoli,  apple pie, ice cream, red wine, coffee). I looked like an anaconda that had just swallowed a small water buffalo. It was not pretty.

Maybe it is time to spring for a size larger wetsuit. I could just have Amazon send one to me in Kona. 

I spied a little flock of lime scooters outside of my hospital this morning. These are Lime scooters and they are more or less identical to the Bird scooter that I took for a test run a couple of weeks ago. I am pretty sure that I have zero business riding one around. Not sure how many people should actually ride a scooter to the hospital. Wonder if one would come  as far as The Asylum. I might have to drop it before crossing over the Arlington County line. BUT WAIT. I am too F-ing old to go riding around on an electric scooter!!!

Howz about Canada legalizing pot? Oh Canada!  Wonder when I’ll be able to order some throwback alice b toklas brownies from Amazon? No smoking of anything allowed in the Asylum. 

Did nothing – except try on my wetsuit – about getting ready to go to Kona. 

Last night’s wet fold bat worked out great. This afternoon – I turned origami paper into recycling. But, I think I have a handle on this little model. 

I almost ordered some black paper – but – then I realized that two weeks from early tomorrow morning – the old bat flies off to Kona. And, I have done zero towards getting ready to go. But, I have been doing this for 20 years. I could be ready to go in 60 minutes if it came down to that. It might not be pretty. But, I’d be on that plane. Living in The Asylum makes it easy.

Anyhow, I didn’t order the paper because – it might not arrive in a timely manner. This year’s bats will not be black. Next year maybe.

As for Kona, I do have a “2 Kona 2 do list”. Also a Kona packing list. I could just go there with the clothes on my back, my credit cards, my prescriptions, and my cell phone and everything would be fine. Think minimalist this year, old girl. Think minimalist. 

Well, only two things left on today’s agenda. Bath and then off to bed. Going into work tomorrow. 

Chilly rainy start to the day. Summer is truly over. We went from late summer to early winter. Completely missed autumn. 

I am sure I have something that I need to be doing – so – I decided to learn a new origami model. A bat. 

The dollar bat attempt will end up at Starbucks tomorrow morning. Bat #1 is OK considering the crappiness of paper and my total lack of origami talents. After dinner, I made a wet fold bat #2. Don’t know how it will turn out after it dries. 

Time to step away from current events and get back to origami. 

Paul Allen died this afternoon. He was a neighbor in Hawai’i. Had 5+ sweet acres of land across the street from my hotel. He always provided fireworks for our little village on New Year’s Eve and frequently classed up the waterfront with one of his yachts. 

RIP Mr. Allen. 

Ok Carlton, what were you doing in college that required any watch chains much less 4 watch chains? Your college experience was waaaaay different than mine. I didn’t have any watch chains. Chuckles didn’t have any watch chains. I didn’t know anyone who had any watch chains. Or greeky watch fobs for that matter.

Which begs the “death cleaning” question: What to do with these things. I know that none of them are “real gold”. Carlton scarfed up all of our “real gold” and had it melted down into our wedding rings. 

Option 1: Put them in the trash
Option 2: There is no Option 2

For now –

I don’t have to do anything with them – I can just hang them in my closet and let my lawyer put them in the trash after I am dead.

And that was about it for today for The Asylum. Chilly. Damp. Gray. Time for Kona!

Best part of the day is yet to come: This is the last day for Crab Cakes this season. So, planning on crab cakes for dinner.

Lounging in my chair, a wonderful red-tail hawk soars by. I struggle out of my chair,  grab my camera and capture a picture of “where the hawk was”. 

This woman had been to Trader Joe’s and was taking a fine orchid plant home with her. On the bus.  She rather reminds me of this old verse:

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store, two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
Mosleh Eddin Saadi—Gulistan. (Garden of Roses.)

I am not saying that this lady is bereft of funds. But it takes a certain courage of the soul to take orchids home on the bus on a chilly windy fall day. 

I was on the bus because I went to vote. Not any real reason to vote. I am pretty sure that my votes for Tim Kane and Don Byer were not needed. At least I sure hope they are not needed. But, we have to vote. Even when “it doesn’t matter”.  Rather like taking orchids home via public transit. 

This is about 100 yards from the finish line. 

This penguin thing is a decoration in one of the public areas here at The Asylum. And management wonders what they will have to do to make this place more appealing to prospective residents. Residents of the younger variety. 

Fall blew in the at about 2AM this morning.  The air is crispy cool. The sky is all blue and everything is sparkly green. But the leaves should color up real fast now.

Let the record show: I had a very unpleasant week stockmarketwise.  But, everything else is pretty fine personally. Politically – well – politically things continue to get worse. 

Rushed as fast as an old woman can rush from the hospital to the “best” bus stop this afternoon. Trying to get home before the next deluge. When I got to my stop it was inhabited by a homeless man. From all appearances, he hasn’t been homeless long. I hope he can save himself. Goodness knows it is hard to live on the street around here. 

Also on my way to the bus stop, this ever so tacky but oddly appealing blowup spider. 

We have had several cases of Darwinism in action here in this part of the world over the last couple of days.

In DC some guy took his motorized wheelchair up a Metro escalator. It didn’t end well.  

And here in Virginia a medieval reenactor impaled himself with his own lance. That didn’t end well either. 

Best thing that happened today: Excellent service from my hospital radiology department. At 2 PM I showed up for a sonogram of my lumpy thyroid to be followed by a mammogram.  By 3:45 I was all finished and racing out to catch the 4:10 bus home. At 4:40 I walked into my apartment to find an email from my doctor saying that the results of both procedures were good. Now how about that for great service. (Not to mention, good results.)

Today, I studied IRS 990’s from “my” potential charities. And, I took some pictures at a party for the Senior Olympics participants. 

Three weeks from right now – my plane should be coming in for a landing in Kona. And all these people will be gone. It will be, as a friend says, it will be Kailua-Coma, not Kailua-Kona. At this instant, it is looking a lot like Ironman. 

I think the Underpants Run is tomorrow. Maybe someone will flash by the webcam. Underpants Run would have to be the Depends Crawl here at The Asylum.

And this is the best thing that happened today. A fuzzy picture of a jumping spider. I have never come upon one of these critters when I had a camera. Jumping spiders are not “dangerous” – but they are great to photograph. And, yes – they jump. But, they don’t make webs. I will go looking for this guy again with better gear.

 

Couldn’t sleep last night. Started thinking about this year’s charitable contributions. Some of the possibilities…

1. Daughters of Hawai’i – Honoring Carlton. Don’t ask.
2. The Asylum Foundation – enlightened self-interest.
3. SOME – Really well run homeless outreach program in DC. A longtime favorite of mine.
4. Culpepper Gardens. – Affordable senior housing in Arlington. Kind of a gratitude thing for me. 
5. Arlington Free Clinic –  Because medical care is for everyone. Not just the elderly, well insured or wealthy.
6. Arlington Food Assistance Center – another well run long-term favorite of mine.
7. SideBySide – a recent entry to my list. This is a small LGBTQ+ support group for young people in the Richmond area. 
8. The Sierra Club – Of course.
9. Texas Civil Rights Project. A new one for consideration this year.  
10. Food Pantry at St George’s.  This is a very modest food pantry operation. We lived across the street from them for 5 years and they would always give Carlton coffee and a cookie when he stopped in to visit. So, I was always sure the pay them well for his coffee and cookies. 
11. One that I always liked a lot but am dropping this year because their “expenses” seem to be getting too high is the Women’s Bean Project. I hope I  can see fit to support them again next year. 

I am trying to be a good steward of the Bethany-Combs Lagniappe Fund. It isn’t easy. 

What on earth do I do with this stuff?  How many watch chains did a college boy need in the 1950s? Don’t think any are real gold. Pretty sure he had all of our gold junk checked and melted down into our wedding rings. 

Best thing today – nice late summer (never mind that it is the 2nd week of October) dinner on the patio with my friends. Turkey burger and sweet potato fries.