life in the old lane

Sunday is also hair washing day. And frequently laundry day as well. 

Gray, damp, chilly, and generally unpleasant outside.  But, I still logged some outdoor steps. And did 11 flights of indoor stairs. Also had a nice nap.

While I was outdoors, I stopped off at REI and tried on waterproof (yeah right) pants. These are for my Great White North Adventure.  Waterproof pants are the first thing on the What to Wear List. I don’t expect it to be very cold and fully expect to take what I took to Norway last winter. Plus rainpants. The ship provides “gum boots” for sloshing around on the Zodiacs. And everyone gets their own locker to store their “landing” gear in. So, the gum boots and rain pants don’t sully up the cabins.

And I really liked this note in the What to Wear List: Note that dress on the ship is informal. You may wish to bring something outrageous for the Captain’s drinks, but leave your formal gear at home. Normal clothing on board is jeans, casual slacks or trousers, light long sleeve shirts or t-shirts. Something “outrageous”. Well, this is an Australian operation after all. I believe that most of the residents at The Asylum would consider my entire wardrobe “outrageous” or at least inappropriate for a woman of my age. 

Until yesterday, I was actually hoping that there would be wi-fi in the villages in the Northwest Territory and in Coastal Alaska. But, I don’t think that is true. Don’t know about Greenland. 30 days is a long time without wifi or cell. Talk about a digital detox!

No, I am not going to get a satphone. Or travel with my own StarLink dish.

Since public transit is in weekend mode – I took the day off from playing tourist. But, I did get in a “brisk” 2-mile walk. And that is about my only accomplishment today. 

I am wondering exactly how fit I can get my antique body in the next 5 months before my Great White North Adventure. I would really like to be able to make it off the boat for at least one of the two daily Zodiac landings. I am almost one of those people that Carlton and I wondered about when we worked in Skagway. We would see really old, frail people being pushed about our little town in wheelchairs, and we would ask ourselves, “Why the hell didn’t these people do this 10 years ago?” Now, I am that person. Ten years ago, I had a sick husband; nine years ago, I had a dying husband; eight years ago, I was a new widow; seven years ago, I was moving into The Asylum, and then there were the Covid years.”

I have accepted that most likely I will sit out one of the landings every day and enjoy looking out the windows or even the hot tub. Looking at stuff with my binoculars. And drinking a hot beverage. But, I owe it to myself to be in as good aerobic condition as possible. And, my legs have to be the best they can be. Which isn’t all that good. I think that the stairs will be my training ground. 

Oh yes. And, I took my lunch (PB and Banana Sandwich) to my friend, Carol’s apartment and had lunch and a little read with The Princess Cat. The Princess Cat didn’t pay much attention to me. But, did manage to get out of her nest and come glare at me. 

Warning… Cat picture…

 

 

 

 

However 

I do hope they had an exorcism.  It might not have been 100% successful. This is the hotel where Sen. McConnell fell and hit his head earlier this week. 

It was chilly and damp today. Not the finest kind day for being a tourist. So I changed my original plan and returned to the Natural History Museum.

I mostly wanted to see the stuffed animals. I am seriously conflicted about the stuffed animals. I like them. But feel that maybe I shouldn’t. 

I have never seen one of these in a zoo. But it is a totally marvelous creature. One was born at the Prague zoo last month and is being kept alive on cat milk. House cat. Not big cat. 

After taking in the stuffed mammals. And an exhibit about Epidemics. And another about Barro Colorado Island, I was ready for some lunch.

Off to the National Gallery of Art for some soup. Shared a table with a nice lady from London. Then to the Metro. And the Bus. And back home. Didn’t get too wet or cold. But only 8,300 steps and 3 miles today. 

Had drinks with my friends and then made an omelet for dinner. 

Mostly, I went to see the butterflies at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

Going to the Smithsonian is sort of like visiting an old friend.

I seem to remember Henry from when I was a kid.

And the Enid A. Haupt Garden was coming to life.

I was back home by 2:30 to so. 5 miles. 9,000 steps. That seems to be my limit at the moment. The weather isn’t looking too great tomorrow. So, I may stay home.

Went to the airport this morning with friends. I got them to TSA and then got on the Metro to go sightseeing in DC. The Metro was having a bad morning. The wind was cold. It was a realistic travel experience. 

Well, where to go? (1) The US Botanic Garden AKA The National Greenhouse. (2) The Butterfly room at the Museum of Natural History. 

But first. What’s this?

That is a new one for me. But, I haven’t been in this area in 3 or 4 years. Things change.

On to the Botanic Garden.

The orchids were great. 

I am just guessing that at this time of year, the person who is in charge of this exhibit is really popular with their co-workers.

Hey I am hungry. And it’s getting on 1:30. This area of DC is the food desert. But, Google assures me that I am only 8 minutes away from food.

While munching down my sammie, I realize that I have 4 miles and 8,000 steps logged and I am nowhere near home – so – I enjoy my lunch and decide that I’ll just head back home.  It’s the old person thing to do.

On the way to Metro, I pass The Museum of the Bible. I give it wide berth. Don’t want to be struck dead by an avenger angel. 

I am skipping dinner at The Asylum. The food is dreadful and my friends are tired of listening to me complain about it. I will make a little pasta and broccoli. 

Maybe I’ll go see the butterflies tomorrow.

The powers that be seem to have decided sometime this afternoon that Norovirus was over – so – condiments returned to the tables. Never thought that I would be so happy to see a pepper shaker. I had started taking my own pepper grinder to breakfast. 

Being too lazy to do my own colorization, I let Photoshop do it. 

Having a formal birthday dinner with the Asylum Family later this month. But, I received a “little” chocolate… Just for me. 

More Hawai’i winter wonderland.

But here we have spring. 

And the Old Bat actually sprang into action today.

1. 1. 1.  Decided on a blood pressure machine, ordered it, and it arrived. It’s still in the box. But, it’s in the Old Bat Cave. 
      2. Decide not to try for the umpteenth time to get my email address for my “no-car” insurance fixed. I decided to cancel my “no-car” insurance, which canceled my umbrella insurance.  I really don’t need “no-car” insurance. (I last drove a car nine years ago.) And I don’t think I am really likely to be sued, so… Canceled. Saves a little money too.
      3. Got an appointment to see my lawyer. Time to see if my “affairs” are still in order.

Two items were left undone. Get new glasses. Figure out what insurance I am actually required to have for my Northwest Passage Adventure in late August. And get it. 

Well, I actually might be sued. I understand that Satan is upset because I said Ron DeSantis is the Spawn of Satan. 

 

Origami mess is easy to deal with. Just bring the paper recycle bag over to the table. 

Can not get enough Big Island Winter Wonderland images. 

These are all of Mauna Kea. 13,800 feet above sea level. More like 19,000 from the ocean floor. 

Plan to spend tomorrow on the phone getting things sorted out. I HATE things that you have to do on the phone. So, I figure that I’ll just completely run one entire day doing phone and other shit stuff. Also need to order new glasses and get a new blood pressure machine. Mine consistently reads high. Doesn’t bother me. But my doctor says (rightly) that I wouldn’t believe it if my BP got critically high. 

Working on accepting being old. Every morning I address the old woman in the mirror with “Hello, my name is Peg and I am an old woman”. I have no idea how it happened. How did I get old? When did I get old? Clueless.

Florida state Sen. Jason Brodeur filed legislation this week that would effectively force any blogger that writes about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, or any member of the Florida Cabinet or Legislature, to file registration paperwork with the state—or face fines.

Well, starting today I am willing to state that Ron DeSantis is the Spawn of Satan. Does this get me in line for a fine? Possibily a jail sentence?

Finished my origami project this morning. It’s not perfect, but perfection is the enemy of progress. Now all that remains is cleaning up the Origami Dojo. 

It’s Saturday. Not much happening. That’s fine. Had a good old lady day. Walking, reading, origami, and an unexpected dinner with my accidental family. (I had planned on cooking my own dinner and eating alone in the Old Bat’s Cave.) 

 

And there is an old woman in my bathroom. Who let her in?

Guess rain isn’t so bad. 

Mostly played around with origami today. Result:

This wasn’t what I was after – it just all came together. I think this is the best origami box that I have ever made. Now, I have to make something equally special for inside of the box. Easter? Maybe a rabbit? Maybe a rose? Maybe a butterfly? Right now it’s “Just a Box of Rain”.

Such a long long time to be gone
And a short time to be there

Two Harris Teeters are walkable from The Asylum. Both involve some hills. Almost every walk from here involves a hill. But, I feel that getting out of The Asylum and walking or bussing (which will involve walking) at least 5 times a week is essential. Since I love grocery stores, I can usually lure myself out to Trader Joe’s or one of the Harris Teeters. A trip to any of them is roundtrip, about 2.5 miles. And I also try for a couple of speedy walks of a mile or so. 

But, and this is one of the dirty little secrets of being old… It is getting harder and harder to keep up the pace and distance. I don’t know why it surprises me. But it does. After I returned from my trek to Harris Teeter at noon, I was perfectly happy to do absolutely nothing except read all afternoon. 

Which makes me think about my Northwest Passage adventure in late summer. They promise two off-ship excursions per day. Not sure that my old bones will be up to that.  Perhaps I should acquire some waterproof binocs and plan on spending the afternoon in the hot tub doing some wildlife spotting.  

Old age is all about accepting things that one can not change. 

Oh, and I would like to learn how to be patient. That seems like a large undertaking at my age. Wonder what chatGPT has to say about that?

Made it through February without killing anyone. A victory. 

We heard today that our Sister Asylum, about ½ hour from here as the Old Bat walks, has 50 cases of Covid and it is all locked down. AGAIN. It’s hard to imagine that happening. Perhaps Covid got loose in the HVAC system? I don’t think there is a lot of science supporting the spread of Covid by HVAC. 

Thinking about the future of life on the planet today while on my walk. Actually thinking about the skills that today’s young people might need to make it to ripe old age. It occurred to me that things really haven’t changed all that much since my grandmother’s day. She could move into my life as an old woman and get along fine. Nothing has changed all that much since the 1960’s. Well, except that we can not go to the moon anymore.  And that’s the point. We really haven’t gained anything. And we lost the ability to go to the moon. What are we going to lose next? How do we prepare? I suspect that if I were to wake up tomorrow in 2083 as an old woman with 2023 skills and sensibilities, I might have a very hard time. It’s not the potential advances that worry me. It’s the loses.  

Well, that’s a bleak start to March, isn’t it? 

Focused on focusing this morning. Oh, and at 3:39 this afternoon I get eleven  2FA codes from USAA. I guess they were stuck somewhere in cyberspace. (My grandmother’s banker would have known her by name, not by a 6-digit code. I think we lost something there too.)