life in the old lane

I am not sure why we have Daylight Savings Time. The first recorded instance of DST was in 1908 in Port Arthur(now Thunder Bay), Canada. I think it’s time to say bye-bye to DST. 

I was happy to see the sun. It’s cold and windy. But sunny. There might even be a snowflake or two this evening. Next week promises to be warm and sunny. 

Yesterday’s good news was the return of direct flights to Bermuda. Today’s not so good news is my cheap lodging in Bermuda is no longer cheap. But, it’s been five expensive years since I was there. I’ll be planning an escape (or 2) from the Asylum soon.  

What did happen? The freezer and fridge were cleaned.  Groceries were purchased. Pea soup was made and stashed in the freezer.  

All things considered. Everything is good. 

It’s raining. And I need sun. I put on my rain gear and went for a small walk. 

The Twilight Zone

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Being lazy today and I am sort of beating myself up for being lazy. I don’t believe I did that when I was young. I think I just figured I needed to rest. Now I am not sure that I deserve to rest.  There will be plenty of time to rest when I am dead. That’s just crazy thinking on my part. 

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The good news is that April 1st direct flights from National Airport to Bermuda resume.

Made it to Friday. Survived a week of birthday festivities. Survived is the wrong word. I enjoyed a great week. We’ll have to do that again on my 90th. You all come now, ya hear?  Guess I should pre-arrange the festivities with my lawyer,  in case I don’t make it.

And that would be today’s project. Years ago, I bought this cheap little desk at The Container Store when Carlton and I moved from one place or another.  It’s not very big, but I can still get it all junked up. Carlton had an absolutely hideous 1950’s huge leather-topped monster desk that his first wife had selected. Every time we moved. It moved. He loved it. I called it The Ark of The Covenant. Death to anyone who touched it. And even worse if you opened the drawers. I gave the sucker away.

PS – I loved that man. His desk. Not so much.

The Twilight Zone

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80 is fucking old. About 2 percent of the world’s population is over 80. So, I already won by just making it to 80. Nobody gets out alive. 

“Live fast, love hard, die young” has become “Savor the moment, cherish the love, leave no regrets”

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About this time yesterday, I decided that my closet needed work. Well, I took everything out of the closet, and vacuumed corners that have been hidden for almost 9 years. I put almost everything back. But I did some rearranging. I got rid of clothes that no longer worked earlier this year. 

I am not one of those people who can keep things in a continual state of neatness. 

I dislike that popcorn ceiling. This is a pretty sturdy birthday balloon. And tomorrow morning I am going to put it on a friend’s door knob. She is well into her 10th decade. 

Been mopey for the last couple of weeks. So, while having a hurkle-durkle this afternoon I gave myself a good talking-to. Propelled self out of bed. The least I could do was empty the trash, recycle, and compost. Plus run the dishwasher. 

I want a neater closet. Shazaam didn’t work. It’s supposed to rain AGAIN tomorrow. Maybe I’ll put my headphones on punch up a mix of Charles Mingus and The Dead and do neat.  Or maybe I’ll just listen to music and drink coffee until the desire for a neater closet goes away. 

Tonight. My Asylum Family is celebrating March Birthdays. We have two. There will be mediocre food, maybe wine, snarky cards, cake, ice cream, coffee. And lots of laughs. 

There was just a knock on my door. It was Management.  Bearing a corrected Birthday Card. And. BEERS.  

Fortunately, I was fully dressed and had tidied up the Old Bat’s Cave a bit.

Today I am “recovering” from my surprise party last night. 

And that is more than enough for today. 

This week’s origami play will be with Tomoko Fuse’s polyhedra. The cube was easy. Got it on the first try. That was level 1. There are 63 more levels. 

I am trying to get enough documentation together to get a Real ID Virginia ID. And I am having a hard time scrapping up my 2nd proof of Virginia residency. It’s a solvable problem. And, I can always use my passport to get on an Army base or a plane. No biggie.

BUT. This didn’t help. Asylum management sent me birthday greetings.

So I open it up.

Anyhow. Two bads in one envelope. Not feeling the love. 

Going OUT to dinner with old work friends. 

Gratitude

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How can I not be grateful? It’s the people in our lives that matter.

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PS. It was a great surprise party. Loved it. 

Lovely spring day today. 65°. Sunny. Took a long walk.

Gave the orchids their monthly soaking today. And rearranged them a bit. 
 

Did some computer work. A little origami practice. And spend some time thinking about how I will stage the last act of my life. Surely 80 is when the curtain goes up on the last act. 

 

At least until the “animal” paper arrives from France. And, I seriously doubt that the paper will make my folding any better. But, it might. 

And, it turns out that all 6 orchids are different. They are all super easy to grow phalaenopsis. I have no interest in any other type. There are 60 or so different varieties of phalaenopsis. That should be more than enough for me. My gardening skills are limited. 

Last night after I stalked out of the mess hall in a snit, beer arrived at my room as a peace offering. Accepted. But, when the mess hall is about 25% full, I expect my dinner in less than 30 minutes. Apparently, the order got lost between the register and the kitchen.  Better luck tonight.  Like my gardening skill, my patience is limited.

Pretty happy with today’s Neko. 

This would be day 13 of NO online shopping, doom scrolling, social media, YouTube, or games until after dinner. I have been pretty good at it. Not perfect. Maybe a B+…

I was behind this woman on my quick trip to Kona early last month. This was in the Chicago Airport. The gate attendant wasn’t amused. 

I have an embarrassing number of books in my Kindle Library. 1500+ Most are mine but some were Carlton’s. Last night I found a book, Mr. Adam, by Pat Frank – 1946. I paid $2 for the book in late 2016. Well,  I found it, tucked away in my Kindle. What a fine surprise. It was written as comic or satire. Elenor Roosevelt reviewed it in her newspaper column.  It’s a fun book and I am really happy that it was in the dark recesses of my “library”. So, why did I buy it way back in 2016. Well, I feel sure that it was “on sale”. And, I recognized Pat Frank’s name since he is the author of the classic postapocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon. 

And good thing I have a nice book to read tonight. I wasn’t overjoyed with dinner selections tonight and after waiting for my food to show up for 30 minutes, I stalked out. I feel sure it was a computer problem. Not to worry about me starving. I am nuking some excellent chicken soup. A brownie is thawing. And coffee is ready to brew.

We got new windows a couple of years ago. The exterior ledges are narrower. And not as crow-friendly as before. Nice to have a visitor. 

Made Neko out of a 12inch square of truly inferior paper today. Hoping that “better” paper is coming from France. It is supposed to arrive in 2 to 16 weeks.  That narrows it down a lot. 

9.Jun.22 – I was fairly sure this would be my “last” cheese course at the time. Some things you just know. 

Most through the photos from 2022. Had more than a few fine adventures.

So. What from 2022 deserves a do-over? I really liked the 11-day ferry boat trip in Norway in the winter. London in early summer with all the flower show stuff was fantastic. Paris. What’s not to love about Paris? The barge trip from Dijon. I have never had such great food meal after meal after meal. Strasbourg and Freiburg were both fascinating little towns.

But, do any of those adventures need to be done again? Maybe the barge. The elderly Swiss guy who made it a point to be sure I had someone to speak to at dinner went on those barges with some regularity. Of course, he was a 2 or 3 hour train ride away. 

Think I might almost “mastered” Jo Nakashima’s Neko.  Well, “mastered” is too strong. Maybe I have “journeymanned” it. Still trying to find the ideal paper. It’s easy to blame the paper for poor results.

Today was origami, working on the photographs from 2022, and wine tasting.

Our people don’t spit the wine out. 

Last week I took those heels to the Goodwill. I decided that it really wasn’t safe for me to wear them. Because all old people know that falls kill. And, I am pretty sure that this is the last time I wore those shoes. Looking at my feet, I realize that the “last” time should have been earlier.