Single Digit Hours for Departure

This morning I made brekkie sammitches for the fam, with Jess assisting on toaster and sausage microwave action. We had music playing, the only thing missing was mimosas. But Jess needed to go home today anyway so mimosas wouldn't work for them before going. 

It is a running gag with us that we always try to leave during the single digit hours, meaning 9am is the latest to go unless.... you want to get to 1pm. It was after 10 when Jess started loading up the car, and we said that's close enough. Good job.

We did a side quest to the dog park so Dijon could get some energy out before eleven thousand hours en route in car, and Toffee could have a little more time with her best buddy. 

I believe Jess hit the road around 12:30, which is before the next single digit hours start. So this is good.

Toffee was very very sad when we got back to the house and she was alone. 

Jess texted me around 9:30pm saying they were on the Mass Pike, sick of the trip, Dijon was "over it," and I can just imagine how unhappy she was. 

As much as I miss them already, I'm glad they went today. Starting around 3am we're expecting sleet and freezing rain, and up into Pennsylvania ... snow. So yeah. Mom does not like the babies on the road if that's the case. Tomorrow could be extra shitty for holiday travelers.

Trying to figure out when we'll see each other again. 

Doug took a nap and I took a walk. There was no wind, and it was cold but... tolerable. I went on a big loop and almost took another block but was getting bored. I ran for some of it, and my usual mile in 20 minutes was 1.25 in 21 min. 

I impressed myself. 

I hope tomorrow isn't too bad weather wise, but maybe I'll actually go to the gym instead. For a change. Maybe?

After I got home, I took a well needed shower, and chatted with Linda. While we were talking, I realized we didn't take a single picture while Jess was here and I was a little sad. But I also remembered that there were times in life for years and years where zero pictures were ever taken. We'll live and get some pictures another time. 

I did get this picture of Toffee while I was chatting with Linz, where she cuddled up next to me like a croissant, and moaning and sighing because Dijon was gone. Sad Toffee was sad. 

I feel you bean. I feel you. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 21 minute walk/jog, 1.23 mi. 11k+steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 148
4:45pm: 72
10:45pm: 125

food & meds:
8am: jardiance+phentermine
10:30am: brekkie sammitch. english muffin w/ egg and 2 sausage patties, 2 slices of American cheese
1pm: met+glip
5pm: slice of pumpkin pie. ramekin of mixed nuts
6pm: bowl of mac&cheese w/bacon
7pm: dinner roll with turkey, mayo, cranberry sauce
8:30pm: met+glip

When Black Friday Comes

Earworm of the day is the Steely Dan Classic "Black Friday," because, it is of course, the day after Thanksgiving. Hat tip to this journal entry from someone I found with a google search on this very topic, how this is what we think of, not shopping. 

I do not understand the concept of waiting on line for stores to open, either at midnight or 6am. Black Friday sales are nothing but a marketing scam. The latest thing is all the "We're starting Black Friday Early this year" advertising that started last week. Son, if you're starting Black Friday Early, then it isn't Black Friday. It is something else. And if you can afford to do that, Black Friday isn't special for any reason anymore. You've ruined it. 

So just go jam out to Steely Dan instead. 

I woke up this morning at 9, which is late. And the house was very quiet. And even Doug was still in bed. Toffee has been sleeping with Jess and Dijon in the guest room so ... okay dog. Way to abandon me but also... thank you. Having my whole side of the bed to myself is kind of nice sometimes. 

The dogs had woken up before 8am when the trash truck came down the road (oh - I just remembered the barrels are still out, and I think one is in the actual street. Oops. Well. I'll have Geoff rescue them in the morning...) So they were up and wrasslin in the bed. Jess got up to pee, fed them, let them out, and everyone went back to bed. 

Geoff came up at like 8:30 and got himself a cup of coffee and went back downstairs. 

We all just had a good quiet morning. So when I went down they tried to trick me into second breakfast like they're a couple of Hobbits or some shit. Ha. We have a sign that says "Dog has been fed" and Jess had flipped it over to indicate thus. 

Can't fool me, girls. 

I started my day by setting up our online mortgage company payment thingie, since today is the day the mortgage was due (glad I looked at the statement and didn't just write the check and put it in the mail). I was delayed in doing this because we made one mortgage payment and then our mortgage company sold us to another company. So stupid, so fast. Hey, at least it was not a certain evil bank, they sold us to someone I don't even know... never heard of. And the online portal was super easy to set up. Done and dusted. 

Then I set up the new payment portal for my mom's lot rent. I've been paying her lot rent online for 3 or 4 years at this point, and the mobile home park changed service providers. Last night I had to ask her for her banking info and she gave me wildly wrong digits. Thankfully my sister had a copy of a bank statement or record that had the routing and account numbers and I got her hooked up. 

It was a fruitful morning of online banking!

We loafed about. I washed more dishes while my family (mostly my son, to be honest) created more dirty dishes for me to wash. I got down to the giant stock pots and the roasting pan by the afternoon. Light at the end of the tunnel. 

To be honest, I do not hate washing dishes. It is relaxing, and I like putting sparkling clean glasses up into the cabinet and plates without food stuck to them on the shelves. I'll be hopeful that the new dishwasher does as good a job as I am doing. 

Doug wanted to watch football and not go out and do stuff, but Jess and I decided to go out on the town. First stop: the brand new Savers market in the plaza near our house. We had fun browsing, I found a dish for the kitchen sponge so it can sit somewhere cute on the back of the sink. Jess got a most gianormous water bottle and a lil'milk frother. We drove past the first house that Doug and I looked at and I think someone bought it. I really like that neighborhood, and kind of am a little sad we didn't get her, but, I'm also very happy here in this house. 

We drove around downtown, tried to go to a brand new store that opened in late October but all the lights were on, and none of the doors were unlocked. Closed? I then noticed on their facebook page they have a picture saying "we haven't had a customer in days, and if it stays this way, we'll be closed by the end of the year."

Um. Okay. You're closed on Black Friday and I'm literally out doing the one thing I never do on Black Friday, and I'm shopping. But you're closed. 

We ended up at the downtown brewery, sat and chatted for 2 hours. Jess told me all about their friend who is getting married in May and her family/friends drama. Got all caught up on that scene. We drove around the area where my house is, sat in the parking lot at the park because Jess had more hot goss for me about other things, and I knew if we went back to the house we couldn't talk this freely because Doug would ask questions, or chime in with opinions. 

And that wasn't the purpose of the conversation. It was for Jess to be able to speak freely about some things. And for me to listen. 

Home, and no one had started dinner. But. We had left overs to bridge that gap. 

I whipped up all the carbs. And then I had cake. Do not regret that ... it was spectacular. 

Jess is aiming to leave before 10am tomorrow. I will be very sad to see them go, and my dog will be sad to lose Dijon. 

Get you a best friend that will stand on hind legs and bark at the squirrels with you. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Quick indoor 11 min/.5 mile walk. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 133
5pm: 128
10pm: 194

food & meds:
9am: jardiance+phentermine
noon: everything bagel w/cream cheese
1:30pm: met+glip
3pm: 2 beers at the brewery with jess
6pm: turkey in gravy over kings hawaiian slider rolls w/stuffing and mashed potatoes; 2 beers
7pm: slice of chocolate peanut butter cake (worth it, even if the blood sugar is mad)
9pm: met+glip

Thanksgiving 2025 is in the books

As per our usual slacker holiday style, I got up and baked two pies that in theory I could have baked last night. Geoff peeled potatoes and I had them set aside. Doug got the turkey out of the cooler, and she was thawed fully but not at any sort of dangerous temperature. He did the math, and said it would be ready at 2:30pm. 

There was a four hour window of us not needing to do anything. Jess went and napped with Dijon, Doug was playing on his phone. I figured if I wanted to keep my 10k+ step streak going (we're on day... 55?) I should go out and take myself for a walk. 

It was so fucking cold out. I feel like I have become a coldness wimp, but, dudes. With the wind, it was barely tolerable. I walked over by the senior center in our neighborhood, and back.Mostly flat terrain, no real hills, and I can jog a little. The playlist was helpful, and when I got close to the house I was enjoying a song by the band Muse that I like, so I continued walking up and down my little street for a couple more minutes to just listen. Doug was standing on the porch when I came back by, so I went in with him to talk next phase. 

Potatoes, stuffing, lima beans, serve the food, eat the food, rejoice.

The turkey was very done at 2:30pm. We should have taken her out at 1:30, to be honest. She wasn't burned or anything, but, honestly... a tiny bit dry.

But that's what gravy is for, amirite? No complaints from me.

My pie was a big hit, as was the chocolate cake that Doug picked up at the dutch market in Hagerstown. I skipped dessert, figured my blood sugar would be mad enough at me by the time I took it (and yes, it was, see the digits below). Maybe I'll have a little slice of something tomorrow, you know... as a treat. 

The bummer thing is that the dishwasher is broken so "we" meaning me, your friend Chris, is handwashing all the dishes. Doug put the turkey on the stove for stock, and I did four full sinks full of dishes before I said "everything else can wait until tomorrow."

Normally I hate going to bed if there are dishes in the sink but,  meh. So it'll be alright.

The dogs had a great day today. There was a lot of playing, a lot of wrasslin', kitchen treats, all that jazz. They both slept with Jess last night, which is hilarious. 

I told Doug we need a second dog... for her. He said no. But. Yeah. We should maybe think about that. 

Alright. Here is a picture of my "mom-mosa," which is champagne with a spoonful of cranberry sauce in it. Not ... the greatest thing I've ever thought of but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever thought of. 

Digits below! 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. solo incredibly cold walk, 24 min/1.36mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 117
5pm: 269*
9:45pm: 139

food & meds:
8am: jardiance+phentermine
2pm: everything bagel w/cream cheese; met+glip
3pm: turkey dinner, with potatoes, stuffing, gravy, lima beans, cranberry sauce, red wine
8:30pm: met+glip
mimosas while doing dishes

A Good Day

Last night went pretty well. We went to bed around midnight and Jess closed the bedroom door to keep the dog in. Around 5am my neighbors' hounds came out and there was barking. Dijon heard them and barked. Toffee heard her and went downstairs. 

Jess then became [unwillingly] tasked with letting them out around 6am, because they both insisted. Thankfully the neighbor dogs were inside. No more barking.

They all got back in bed, Toffee too, and peace was restored to the kingdom. I woke up at 7:30 or so. Geoff was puttering around the kitchen because he had a job interview in person today. He was up and getting ready. I made the coffee and the dogs heard me - so they wanted breakfast. 

They ate right next to each other - no fighting, no trying to see what the other dog had in their bowl. We went outside. Work got started. I ended up coming into the dining room because the living room was full of humans and dogs wrasslin (well, no humans were wrasslin, just dogs). 

We decided that we need a new dishwasher, after I ran a load last night and nothing came out clean. Nothing. I filled the sink with sudsy water and Doug ordered a machine from Lowes. It will arrive Tuesday. Handwashing for the next several days. I can do that. Considering I handwash a lot anyway for Thanksgiving or Christmas because we use our nice china those meals. 

Doug says he's installing the dishwasher and now I'm nervous. I don't want this to turn into a thing. Like, a big thing. A yelling thing. Because I think he should have a contractor do it. But he's confident he can. I want to believe in him but I know better.

Pray for me.

I also bought our tickets for Guster's On The Ocean 2026, which happens August 7-9. So I'll be planning a trip then (hi C!). 

Doug and Jess went out on the town. Lunch and a nice pub in town, and a bookstore. They spent two hours at the bookstore and Jess put a pic of Doug on instagram that said "I didn't stand a chance with this dad..." 

True. True true. 

They went to Target for my giant shopping list, thankfully, so I have all the things I'm going to need tomorrow. Like a dish strainer. Amen and Amen. 

Jess also brought us steak tips from Market Basket up north. I think I've mentioned here that they do not know what "steak tips" are here in Maryland, so, whenever possible we have them shuttled down to us. They're not cheap, but they are literally my favorite. While the team was out, I made a marinade and set them out to soak. And Jess made us a salad, and we had a nice dinner at the table together.

The weather was perfect tonight for grilling, about 50 degrees but a little breezy. I was happy to sit out on the patio while they cooked. Tomorrow should be 30 degrees colder, and not good for outdoor activities. I think we'll be lucky to get the dogs walked. 

We've got all we need for tomorrow. Food wise. We may be running low on wine but we'll survive. Nothing is open tomorrow booze wise, but we have vodka? and I can get cranberry juice at Weis when Jess and I go to get brussels sprouts for a recipe they want to make. I've got 4 pie crusts, 2 for pumpkin and one for a dutch apple. I'll get those rolling in the morning. Early. And. I want to make sure that turkey is fully thawed... so it is going into some water for a final couple hours early. 

Wish me luck. 

Anyway, digits below this dog who loves me and is having the time of her life here at our place. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Indoor walk, quickly, 10 min/.56 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7:30am: 122
5pm: 139
10pm: 109

food & meds:
7:30am: jardiance+phentermine
12:30pm: pb on 647 bread
1:30pm: met+glip
6:30pm: steak tips over salad; oatmeal whoopie pie
8:30pm: met+glip
vodka+diet cranberry

Will it thaw or will we die?

On Sunday, I bought the thanksgiving fixin's. I bought a frozen turkey. Doug and I had a disagreement about this. He asked if they had fresh turkeys. 

The discussion went something like this:

Me: Yes, but they were 99 cents a pound. Frozen is 29 cents a pound. 

D: So, to save money, you bought a frozen turkey. 

Me: Yes. Do you think it will thaw in time for Thursday? 

D: Why didn't you just buy a fresh turkey?

Me: Because I thought you'd be mad that I spent so much more for a fresh turkey per pound. 

D: But we'd be eating on Thursday without question or issue, it's a dollar a pound. Twenty bucks. 

Me: I don't understand you. You're the guy who buys something on the internet and to save 32 bucks you buy it from some shady ass outfit that still hasn't shipped the thing to you when you bought it six weeks ago, when if you'd just paid the 32 bucks more on Amazon, you'd have it and we'd have the project done that you wanted to do, but no. You have to save 32 bucks. You get mad at Geoff if he buys the not-store brand version of a thing, or buys organic salad instead of not organic salad because it is a whole dollar more. I was trying to buy the turkey based on what Doug would do. Also. I told you I wanted YOU to go do the Thanksgiving shopping because I always do something wrong and always buy something you don't like. So why didn't you just go buy things, and buy a fresh turkey yourself.

More argument and debate ensued, and I told him I'd go return it and buy a fresh one. But he said no, and he went and got the cooler from the shed. 

The thawing began. 

The rule of thumb, from what I recall, is the turkey needs 24 hours per 5 pounds. It's an 18 pound turkey. By mathematics it will be ready for Thursday. 

Or. Close to it. 

The cooler is in the kitchen, the frozen turkey made the cooler refrigerator-level temperature cool through this morning. We have a thermometer in there, and when I got up this morning it was measuring a little warmer than refrigerator-level cool. So ... in went to frozen bricks from the freezer. I keep these freezer blocks that things have come to my house with, shipped from Goldbelly or elsewhere, so we don't have to use up all our ice cubes. (Thanks, past me). This cooled the cooler back down to a normal temperature. 

She's thawed on the surface. You can poke her, and she gives way. I'm planning on taking her out tomorrow, and if there is anything in the cavity, like the giblets or whatever, I'll take those out to reduce the frozen-ness of the middle. 

We've got this. Right? We've got this. I've thawed a turkey before. 

But of course my brain. 

My brain is all "it's never going to thaw. She will be thawed on Saturday. I should just make reservations at the mexican restaurant thanksgiving buffet right now. 22 bucks a person." 

Doug was right. What's a dollar a pound vs. 29 cents a pound. Why didn't I just buy fresh. Why don't I just go out now and buy another one, and we'll eat this next week. 

Stress. 

Another quiet work day, I had an hour call with a client that turned into 2 hours because I had the time, no other conflicts, and we were getting a lot done. I stripped the guest bed, sheets into the laundry. I finished cleaning off the dining table. Cleaned that too, 

Lately my dishwasher has not been doing a good job. On top of the fact it does not heat dry, everything is just coming out dirty. So I took the bottom apart, removed the strainer and the filter, scrubbed it all cursing and swearing the entire time. Fucking disgusting. And I did this when we moved in, too. 

Recently I reached out to two different appliance repair shops and neither got back to me. Asswipes. I have to get this looked at and see if it can be repaired or if we need a new one. I kind of can't go back to washing dishes all the time. My life isn't cut out for that anymore. 

Doug and I decided we need a new washing machine, so he's ordering one and I think he's planning on installing it himself. Which terrifies me. I want him to order it and get it installed. Please Lord, make him listen to me. 

Jess arrived with their dog and we had a ton of dog play fun with miss Toffee and miss Dijon. Late came fast, and before we knew it bedtime hit us in the face. 

Hoping for some good dog pictures tomorrow. Doug has tomorrow off but I do not, so he and Jess will maybe go do some things together while I work. We'll see. 

In the meantime, digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. quick indoor walk, 10 min/.47 mi. Another inside walk while Doug went for pizza, 15 min/.67 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7:45am: 97
4:45pm: 94
11:30pm: 107

food & meds:
7:45am: jardiance+phentermine
8am: entenmann's devils' food chocolate donut
1pm: pb & low sugar j on 647 white bread; met+glip
7pm: slice of pizza & 1/2 a meatball sub; red wine+diet ginger ale
8:30pm: met+glip

The review of the loaf

This morning, Doug got out The Loaf from last night's baking. He had a slice off the end and then went back for a second... the middle was not cooked through, weirdly. Considering your girl of course inserted a thing to test and it came back clean. 

No matter - he said it was delicious. So I had to test and try a slice myself. And yes. It is delicious. Would make a damn good muffin. 

My struggle last night was with not knowing where the muffin tins were. I have 2 big muffin ones and 2 tiny muffin ones. I thought these would kick ass as tiny muffins. 

But where the hell were they? I gave up looking, and defaulted to a plan b approach of loaf. 

At about 2am, I woke up and said "oh yeah, they're in that cabinet on the right side of the sink. The tall skinny cabinet designed for sheet pans and other things... you slid them in there with such joy. You finally have a wonderful place to store them. Huzzah, right? Only you forgot that cabinet even existed." 

The morning revealed them there, along with the second glass pie plate, and the christmas cookie plate. What once was lost now is found. Hallelujah Amen.

And in my search last night for the muffin tins, I also found the cookie/ice cream scoops that I misplaced. Hell yeah. They weren't in with all the baking things ... for some reason they are in with the grilling things. Of Course. Who did that!

I have so many cabinets in this kitchen that my organizational dreams can come true if only I remember to put things where they actually go. 

Growing. Evolving. Learning. We got this. 

I took myself at 12:30 to get the bloodwork done, and went to the bank. Sure enough the issue yesterday was I was using my debit card that they said was good until February of next year. I activated the new one, it's nice to have a tappy card since so many things anymore are tappy. 

While Doug was napping I took myself for a walk. And I should have pushed a little further because I was way short by 6pm, and had to do a second walk. This time with the dog to get some pokemon things out in the world. 

Geoff made dinner. I have to figure out tomorrow's dinner because he made tomorrow's dinner tonight. I'll run out to the store during the day. Normally I do not run errands during the work day, but this is a very quiet time. I feel less guilty. 

And I do believe Jess will be here this time tomorrow. I have some tidying up to do for the guest room but things are relatively under control around here. 

It was a good day.

Digits below the image. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Quick walk.16 min/.92 mi. Second walk with the dog, 10 min/.55 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 144
4:40pm: 104
10:45pm: 118

food & meds:
8:30am: jardiance+phentermine
10am: slice of apple breadloafmuffin thing w/butter
2:30pm: peanut butter on 647 wheat; met+glip
5:30pm: nachos. Ground beef, tostito chips toasted w/cheese, guac, sour cream, queso dip; red wine
9:45pm: Met+glip (almost forgot!) 

Lump and Loaf

This morning we decided we'd go to the city one town over to go to the bank and deposit our checks. Doug's mom gave him a very generous gift. And my mom gave me a birthday check.

When we got to the bank we discovered the "deposit" button on the screen was blanked out. Not sure why except that I haven't yet activated my NEW card for this NEW bank, after being told this card will work perfectly until I activate the new card. 

I haven't yet, because I need to make sure I account for anything out there that is pulling from the "old" debit card, and I have not yet. So. That's on the list of things to do first thing tomorrow. 

I do need to get bloodwork done tomorrow and that destination city is where I go - so IF I get my shit together and check any auto withdrawals on the old bank card, then I can go make the deposit. 

Anyway.

In addition to this failed errand we were planning to take a walk.  Doug figured we should go to Catoctin Furnace to check it all out. We took a leisurely walk, stopping to read all the informative signs about the place. The park is bisected by Rte 15 - straight up the middle. So there was a cool bridge to go over to get to the other side. Toffee was fascinated by the vehicles zooming under us. It was rather amusing. 

Just under a 2 mile loop. It was good to be out, and not cold... yet. 

We drove up through Cunningham Falls State Park, and initially he wanted for us to walk the quarter mile to the falls from the parking lot but it was going to be dark by the time we got back to the car, and that would be no fun. 

A stop for some new apples for baking things, home for football. I went to the market to get stuff for Thanksgiving, and make a quiche. It came out quite good. 

I had a recipe for apple muffins but again - missing things like the fucking muffin tins. So I opted to make an apple bread from the batter. Only I had too much batter... and put some in a square pan in a big plop. 

So we have a lump and a loaf. It wasn't bad, muffins would have come out much better. With a dollp of vanilla ice cream it was mighty fine in the end. 

Short week ahead, and I'm glad for it. Got things to do to get ready for Jess' visit! Can't wait to see them. 

Digits below some pictures from today. 

digits

exercise: 10/12 hours. Missed 9am because I slept in so hard; missed 12pm because we were in the car, and I didn't do steps before leaving the house. 43 minutes/1.9 miles walk at Catoctin Furnace park. 12k+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

10am: 144
xpm: n/a no afternoon reading
8:30pm: 84

food & meds:
10am: jardiance+phentermine
3pm: apple from a farm stand
3:30pm: met+glip; peach salsa & chips (snack before market)
7pm: 2 big pieces of quiche; red wine+diet ginger ale
8pm: piece of apple "cakebreadthing" with some ice cream
9pm: met+glip

Some assembly required

Last night I asked Doug if he'd help me assemble at least one of the bookcases because, you know, I would not get around to doing it and then be mad at myself. 

He did, and thank God he did. This was a lot more of a project than I imagined. The box says "some assembly required" and ... the some is like, all the assembly required. 

I bought these specific bookcases because of the height and the price. C had bought me a nice bookcase a couple years ago that is literally "unfold, slap the shelves on, done." but they are only 4 levels high. I'm using that in the bathroom these days and it is absolutely perfect. 

I wanted 6 ft tall shelves. And I bought the two individual shelves because the wider shelves looked even more complicated to assemble than these, and, if we didn't want the wideness we could put one shelf somewhere and the other somewhere else. 

I like these shelves. They're just right. Now we just need its friend next to it. Fitting perfectly, side by side. Full of books.

I looked at a lot of ads on the internet because you know when you start looking for something 200 advertisers are going to start bothering you. 

There were some really nice wooden bookshelves that I keep getting advertised to me. A little wider, same height, over 1000 bucks. 

Um. no? 

I'm kind of cheap but willing to spend maybe 300 on a bookshelf like that. A thousand clams is out of my reach. 

These? 99 bucks each. And I'd fill a whole room with them. 

After he set the shelves up, he took a nap (well deserved nap!) and I brought books up from the basement, joyfully. Happily. Now I have a lot more books that need a destination. Maybe it will happen tomorrow? We shall see!

We had talked about going to our bank, nearest branch in the next city over about 20 minutes away, but we didn't get to it. After I put books on shelves, I took myself for a short walk.  It was a good walk, a good pace, could have gone longer but the wind was blowing and I was ready to go home and ... move more books around. 

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 14 min walk outside, .86 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

8am: 136
4:15pm: 101
10pm: 128

food & meds:
8am: jardiance+phentermine
11am: bowl of mac & cheese w/left over cheesesteak filling
1:30pm: met+glip
3pm: atkins protein shake
7pm: 2 bowls of cheesy taco macaroni (geoff style)
8:30pm: met+glip; 2 cookies from Aldi
white wine + diet ginger ale

Pleasant Surprises

I received a gift in the mail today from a Boston Friend, and didn't expect it or see it coming. 

They left all social media before the summer, and only use texting now. I get random text updates from them, and sometimes late at night and I don't reply. 

Sometimes it is hard to stay in touch. Having a wall of news updates in Facebook or wherever, pictures to gawk at in Instagram... these are ways I keep tabs on people. But they are not participating anymore and that is good for them but weird for our relationship. I should mail her a card for real person mail. 

The package is very sweet, and recently they've been creating tea packets and other crafty things, going to craft fairs around Boston to augment their income. And it is a good hobby... instead of doom scrolling on social media. Gotta say I admire that. 

Better yet, they didn't know my birthday was this week. So this was a bonus to receive such a nice package out of the blue. It was kind of funny because right after we moved, they asked for our address. Not our "new" address, just our address. And today told me they'd screwed up their spreadsheet of addresses for all their personal contacts. Oops. So in rebuilding their sheet, it was simply a timing coincidence that I thought they were looking for the new address after all. Serendipity. Sweet and kind. 

Today was a one meeting day, and a lot of tickets, and some snark with my work son. Geoff made dinner, and it wasn't the best recipe? He over cooked the chicken, and somehow the bacon/onion "sauce" for the chicken was more of a candied bacon, and a solid mass. The taste was good, but the execution wasn't perfect. Lesson learned, and we'll try it again. 

I guess while I was away he made a steak and egg fried rice and Doug said it was excellent. So let's revisit that one next! 

Tomorrow. Bookshelf building and a bank run. Doug got a gift from his mom, and I got a birthday check from mine, so we need to go... and our bank is a bit far. We've been talking about a new bank and now's as good a time as any to take care of this. 

Alrighty then - digits below!  

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Indoor walk while Geoff was cooking. 20 min/.91 miles. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

6:45am: 90
5pm: 105
10:45pm: 109

food & meds:
6:45am: jardiance+phentermine
10:15am: slab of banana bread w/butter
2pm: roast beef & cheddar and mayo on 647 white bread; met+glip
6:30pm: 1/2 chicken breast, some white rice, broccoli, and an interesting bacon/onion "glaze." 
8:30pm: met+glip
9pm: 2 cookies from Aldi. white wine.

Phone Cleaning

Last December I got a new phone, and I promised myself I'd move all my images into my Google Drive. I've got phone after phone after phone's worth of pictures that were transferred into this phone, and well.... back your shit up, friends. 

I started doing this last year and never finished. Today my phone told me it was almost full. Doh. Okay. Alright. Okay. 

So after dinner I set to revisiting that task. A good mindless task, but one you have to pay some attention to because you run the risk of accidentally deleting a whole month of images if you're not careful. 

I feel almost better, not fully. I was up early-ish so I did a walk in the house while Doug slept, and then a short walk in the house while he walked Toffee. I've said it before but I need to get back to the gym. I can't just ... keep walking in the house. Or can I? 

Thursday nights has become our football and pizza night. Geoff gets home just before 8 so I order and Doug picks up. He bought me wine and I didn't feel like having any. My head still feels like it is packed in cotton, and the belly hurts, but I did have buffalo bites over a salad, and enjoyed greatly. 

Cleaning off the phone is fun. I realized I never posted pictures here of the Guster Tiny Desk... or on Facebook for that matter. Maybe I'll do that this weekend? 

Bookshelves still not built. Ha. 

Oh - I did manage to take a shower today and thanked myself profusely. 

Digits, below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. indoor walk early in the day, 15 min/.71 mi. when Doug walked Toffee, 7 min/.44 mi (jogging in the house... ) 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7:45am: 119
4:15pm: 105
10:45pm: 145

food & meds:
7:45am: jardiance+phentermine
1:30pm: BLT Salad
2pm: met+glip
8pm: buffalo bites over a salad
8:30pm: met+glip