life in the old lane

OK. That was unpleasant. My meticulously organized 77,000+ photo library, residing safely on an external drive and cataloged in Lightroom with keywords galore, lost a keyword. 

Sometime in the last year or two, my “goodshot” keyword decided to pull a disappearing act. Now, out of 77,000 photos, I’d estimate a maximum of 300 truly earned the “goodshot” designation. Lightroom, bless its heart, said it had about 100 goodshots. That seemed plausible, given I often have multiple versions of the same shot. But when I actually asked Lightroom to retrieve them? Two. A grand total of two photos – one from this year, one from a couple of years back.

Not good. Not good at all.

The photos themselves are still there, perfectly safe. It’s just the one keyword that seems to have vanished into the ether. And while I have plenty of Lightroom library backups, the thought of rolling back my entire catalog to recover a single missing keyword feels like an unnecessary risk. What if I mess up something else? What if I destroy all the edits? No, thank you.

So, my assignment is to find my old “goodshots”. Started this afternoon. 

This is one of my “goodshots”. On August 23, 2011, an earthquake damaged the Washington Monument.  Somebody had to look for cracks. 

This isn’t a real problem. This is “an old woman problem”. I know that. There are plenty of real problems out there.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood today. Too bad it isn’t a beautiful day in the US of A.

I went to my yoga class in person today. And had a lovely walk after class.

That improved my mood.

And the orchids are mostly happy.

Tired today for no apparent reason. That just happens when you are old. You can do anything you must do, but you really want to just chill, with a side order of nap.

Also, today I was overwhelmed with my stuff. For years, I limited my wardrobe to 30 hangers. There has been creepage. I culled it back to 32 hangers. And I tossed some knick-knacks. It takes constant vigilance. Stuff just happens. I think that’s one of the reasons I like to travel. I can escape from my stuff.

Took a nice walk, about 4 miles, and a nicer nap, maybe 40 minutes max.

Gratitude

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I have had a great life. I am still having a great life. As long as I keep focused on what I can do. The real question is: How did I get so lucky?

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Now, if only we can LXXXVI XLVII

I haven’t killed anyone today. More importantly, I didn’t kill my friend’s Windows 11 laptop. I didn’t fix it either. But, at least when I left, it was still operational.

I consider this a successful day. But, I still have to get through dinner without a major faux pas.

Also, ruthlessly disposed of some old origami models. I asked myself The Question: What happens to the old origami models when I am dead? Or when I am carted off to the dementia unit? So, dispose of your own junk, woman!

The sky was very strange early this morning. Soon, it was hot and humid, and at 5 p.m., a violent but brief thunderstorm swept through. There is nothing boring about today’s weather. This is just a little reminder that wicked hot weather will be arriving soon.

I had a fine day. Blazing hot Korean chicken wings for lunch. Blazing hot never happens with Asylum food. The seasoning is always bland, and the temperature is always tepid. Not so our Korean chicken wings. Hot on both counts. Well worth the trip and the calories.

So, what to do but try to take a picture with my phone. Once in a great while, I miss my camera gear. But, it was time for it to go.

This was from The Wall Street Journal. Will the horrors ever stop?

But wait. Mother Earth is on the job.

Twice a year, the Chairman of the Board of The Asylum comes and tells us about Uppermost Management’s plans for the future. (When you are old, “the future” is after dinner.) Today’s event started off with a touchy-feely “how are you doing” period, where residents related how they were feeling. Everyone was feeling pretty depressed. But, I am sure that not everyone in attendance was depressed. We do have some Trump supporters. They keep a low profile since they are outnumbered 20 to 1.  And no one spoke up with any positive feelings. It would have been interesting if they had. But, they have to live here. So, under the radar is best.

Strange times we are living through. 

And that is a hopeful sign. We humans may totally mess everything up. But, Mother Earth continues.

Absolutely nothing special about today. One might even say that today was boring. BUT, there are way worse days than boring days.

Hey Carlton. You got an email this morning.

This is from Escapees. I think I didn’t renew your membership when it expired 10 years ago. Can’t blame them for trying, I guess. And, I have missed you too. But, trust me on this, Carlton, you ain’t missing a thing in 2025.

Here at the Asylum, we have little books where one can leave comments about the food.

• • Next time you serve clam chowder, please put some clams in it! 
  • 5/13 The dinner in JDR was poor. Kugel is usually noodle or potato. It was neither and what was there was dry and tasteless. The Brisket was fatty and my slice was very small.

I love it when people complain about the food quality and the small serving size in the same sentence!

And that’s about it from The Asylum.

That’s the suicidal orchid on the left. All repotted in a much heavier and taller pot. I don’t think it will be able to jump out of this pot. But you never know.

Enjoyed a rainy day in the Old Bat Cave. Opted for Zoom Yoga. Did some light aerobics work using the stairs.  Discussed my plans for large-ish origami crane wreaths with my next-door neighbor and fellow folder. 

This is just a mockup using pins, not glue. I could complete the wreath, but I can imagine what it will look like, and this gives me a good estimate of how many cranes are required. I originally thought 100 per wreath, but 30-40 should be enough. Cranes gotta have room to fly.

The plan is to make 3 blue, white, and silver wreaths and then 3 more wreaths with other papers. I would like to make a black, white, and red wreath. But, I don’t know if it would be popular with our clients.

And today in Little Old Lady Land – I went to see my doctor.  There is nothing wrong with me. I am just old. The doctor agreed with my diagnosis. We have been together since she was an intern. 

I made an adventure out of going to the doctor’s. A non-adventure way would have been to Uber. But when the doctor asks, “How are you doing?” I like saying, “Well, I walked to your office today.” I got almost 5 miles today, but not much cardio. 

Stopped off before my visit for an espresso and chocolate croissant. 

OH DEAR. One of my just orchids tried to commit seppuku. 

I guess that’s one way to get my attention and express displeasure with the current accommodations/potting material.

Cleaned up the floor before dinner. The orchid had to sulk in the sink until after dinner. It is currently soaking in its new pot. Hope it is happy. 

The orchid appears to be undamaged. Even the flowers. 

Orchids still blooming like crazy.

It’s a fine day except for the state of the country. I am trying not to think about it. But it’s hard—Very Hard.

It’s a nice day today, and it’s a good day to get some exercise. The plan was to walk about 4 miles. The turnaround point was a dear little thrift shop run by St John’s Episcopal Church.

Now, we all know that I don’t need anything. But still… I had to go in.

These were hard to pass up. But if I intended to wear them, I would need to borrow a Zimmer frame.

Unfortunately, I will be getting a lot of use out of that shirt.