Today’s Spring Flower. Pussy Willow. I failed to nail the focus on this one.
This shot would have been better with a “real camera”. I didn’t nail the focus. I am not even sure that I could have. And the fake bokeh is really bad.
The Twilight Zone
Rite of Passage: Turned in my driver’s license last week. Got my state ID yesterday.
Some Assembly Required.
In 2005 Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut on STS-114, assembled a model he called “UFO” and tossed it around the space station for a couple of days. That model is my next challenge. I know what it looks like. And I know the 32 parts are correctly folded. It remains to be seen if I can get them together.
20° cooler than yesterday. But nice and sunny. So, no complaints. Also, no excuse to not get outside for a small “brisk” walk. 2.5 miles.
Mostly today I thought about going on a trip. And I attacked another model from my new origami book.
12 pieces all folded and ready to assemble.
First, fold the structural members. I am feeling pretty good right here. How hard can it be to get them into a cube?
Not too sure about this.Not even close. Time to drink some coffee. And try again.Got It. It took about 50 minutes from 12 pieces to an acceptable cube.Today’s cube with the original cube.
These things can only go together one way. I have no idea how anyone figured out how to make the first one. And yes. This is useless. But no more useless than jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, or Netflix binge-watching.
I would normally be out taking pictures with a “real” camera and a macro lens. But my real camera days are over. The Google phone does an OK job. I just miss looking through a view finder.
Reallocated some funds today to get a higher current yield. I decided that my current investment horizon is 5 years. Not sure how my brain came up with five years. But, I’ll go with it for now. And, I can always reassess the horizon as my personal condition warrants.
Cat Picture
Humph.
Today I decided to ignore The Princess Cat. Today I went into the apartment and didn’t see the cat. I didn’t go looking for her. I went about watering the plants. And who should show up? Meowing pitifully. Poor neglected Princess Cat.
Only logged 1.5 miles today. I am giving my old body a day off. I am in Day 29 of NO online shopping, doom scrolling, social media, YouTube, or games until after dinner. With the occasional slip.
Today’s Spring Flower. Not yet flowers. Spring Planting.
My plants were supposed to arrive on Monday. And I was rather grumpy because it is supposed to be chilly next week. Well, in the 50’s not the 70’s. But, surprise. The plants arrived today. Two I planted and two are stashed under the rosemary bush. Acclimating.
And that was today’s big adventure. Only got 2 and a quarter miles in today.
Cat Picture Coming UP
The Princess Cat is not overjoyed to see me.
She did not hiss at me today. She’s learning. She better be nice because we replacement humans are the only servants she has until Tuesday afternoon.
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.
Saadi – The Rose Garden
That sounds nice. But not very practical. I fear I would come down on the side of investing in some seeds that could be planted and perhaps yielding a meal. Or maybe steal a chicken and buy some chicken feed in hopes of getting an egg now and then.
Finished up the taxes this morning. Signed and shipped them off. Electronically. Mail a check to the Tax Guy. Set up funds transfers to pay my large tax bills. And set up quarterly payments. The only thing I didn’t do yet is to get a copy of the returns to keep. The Tax Guy’s new system is completely online. And there doesn’t seem to be a good way to get copies. This is a first-world problem.
Warning Cat Picture.
I forced The Princess Cat out of hiding to get her treats. Bad Peg. She hissed at me. Bad cat.
4.5 miles today. Almost 10K steps. According to my watch, I have done my required weekly cardio. So, I can just chill until Monday.
Finished pestering the Tax Guy today. I found an error. He fixed the error. That reduced my tax bill by $13. I am sure that it increased my tax preparation bill by much more than $13. Maybe next year I’ll trust the process and not check the return.
Warning: Cat Picture Below.
I have a regular reader who loathes cats.
After that taxing experience, I went to visit The Princess Cat. Her well-trained human is away and she has to rely on subpar replacement humans for a week.
Today’s Spring Flower. The ever-unpopular Bradford Pear.
The first “Government Work” task of the day was to turn in my driver’s license and apply for a state ID card. I had to do that in person. Since it was a nice day, I figured I’d check that item off my Shit2Do list. The state computer system didn’t seem to be setup to handle that transaction elegantly, so, it took a while. But, what else did I have to do?
The Twilight Zone
Giving up my driver’s license – no problem. I stopped driving about 25 years ago when I stopped owning a car. I kept a license for “just in case” and for ID. But for many of us old people, turning in our driver’s license is huge.
Taxes. Actually. I got two tax emails this morning. One from the Tax Guy saying my taxes were ready to review and another from a brokerage house telling me I had a “Corrected 1099”. I don’t think the correction is material. But, I am not pleased with the Tax Guy’s first go at the 2023 returns. More work is required on my part tomorrow. He did OK last year. But he has “new improved” software this year. Yeah. Right.
But, for now. Things are just fine.
Arlington Wall Art.
Managed 2.5 mile walk today. That was on the way to the DMV for my state ID. Walk some. Bus some.
A beautiful day in the ‘hood deserves more and better images. But all I have to show for today is a lone hellebore.
Nice day today. And what made it nice was the weather and getting away from The Asylum. Went to my yoga class in person today. I Ubered to the class and walked and bussed back home. One hour of yoga. Three miles of walking. It was time for a little nap after I got home and had a late lunch.
The Twilight Zone
Being on the road from 80 to dead shortens the horizon. It sneaks up on you. A friend at dinner the other night mentioned that she no longer buys things in Costco-size quantities. I saw an article this morning about United Airline’s plans for the 2027-2028 time frame. Well, I decided that I could just wait until 2027 and see if I care what United Airlines is doing in 2027. As the T-shirt says: “Don’t Mess With Old People Life in Prison is no longer a deterrent.”
My friends are either at the theater or in Florida tonight. So, I plan on making an omelet and having dinner in the Old Bat’s Cave. Then I will read a cheap detective novel until bedtime. Or enjoy the forbidden screen-based activities. I am now in day 24 of NO online shopping, doom scrolling, social media, YouTube, or games until after dinner.
Hope to plow through 2023 photos. And for the rest of my days, maybe I can keep up to date.
Speaking of “Up To Date”. Got a text from my grocery store. They want me to get yet another Covid shot so I can be “Up To Date”. I am approaching the first anniversary of my last case of Covid. Undecided about another shot at this time.
It’s a black and white kind of a day.
Closeup photos of orchids are fun.
boxes and roses.
Last year was definitely a year of origami boxes and roses.
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.
The idea was to tidy up the origami dojo. It didn’t happen.
What did happen? The freezer and fridge were cleaned. Groceries were purchased. Pea soup was made and stashed in the freezer.
Sorry Mr Rodgers, it’s not a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
It’s raining. And I need sun. I put on my rain gear and went for a small walk.
The Twilight Zone
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.
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.
Desk. Spring Cleaning. Check.
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.
