Where are our Friday Vibes?

I thought today I was just going to skate through. 

Did my 360 reviews, I had two left to do and one was for my boss. So I wanted to be careful and calculated, honest but also not like sucking up to him or anything. I think we have an understood mutual admiration. 

After all, he does take selfies with Ryan Miller from Guster when he sees him out and about in Burlington VT. Thoughtful. 

All my meetings got canceled, One was because the client was at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, and thought she'd be back in time for our call but she got stuck in traffic. And didn't have my number or remember my email, or know how to get in touch with me. We rescheduled. 

The second was with another client, and he was 15 minutes late. But we met, figured the thing out, did a big hi-5 on zoom, and that was awesome. 

One of my teammates and I have a standing Friday 1:1, but we have not met for the last 5 weeks. I canceled on her last week, she did this week. We have to get out of that pattern. But I told her it was fine because one of the reviews I had to write was hers. I did not say "she's not good at keeping a meeeting schedule." Because I'm not either.

Doug and I ran out to the UPS store to get a thing notarized so he can move all his money out of a languishing retirement account from a job he left 10 years ago. But I'm the beneficiary on it, so I had to be informed it was moving, AND sign off on it with a notary witness. Done and dusted at 3:30pm. 

Around 4:30 I was done with my reviews, I marinated the chicken thighs (and drank the half of a beer that didn't go into the marinade). I took my blood sugar, came back down and put on my sneakers. I was headed for the treadmill. 

An urgent "OMG the deadline is MONDAY for this thing you don't manage but I need your help!" ticket came in, so I helped with that. Score a victory for us! Another colleague on my team said there was a problem with a client's publication, and asked me to help find someone to reach out to there. So I did, we emailed, no one got back to us but I checked at 10pm and the issue was resolved. 

And then something else unexpected happened? I can't remember what that was. My colleague who reached out to me on the problem with the client website thanked me for helping her after 5:30 on a Friday afternoon. I said, the last hour and a half was more work than I did all day! She agreed and said "Where are our Friday vibes!? We should be enjoying the afternoon and kicking off easy." 

I KNOW! 

My sneakers were still on, I thought about the treadmill. I cooked dinner instead. 

After dinner, I realized I was not even half way through 10k steps, so I sighed, got the dog leashed, took her for a walk. She did really well, once she pooped and got it over with. I was able to walk with a slack leash, she stayed right next to me. I thought about adding an extra block, but, we headed back to the house. A solid half hour walk is great. 

Doug and I were watching tv and at 8:30 I said "damn. I still need 2000 steps." 

So I got the sneakers back on, and went back out. I kind of know how far a walk I need to take for 2000 steps, so I tacked on an extra small detour to put even more steps onto the measurement. I was at 10k before I even got back to the house. 

Friday vibes, I guess they are going on a walkabout. 

Tomorrow and Sunday may be cold and rainy. Fall-like weather. Doug is hoping to get the lawn mowed, but I'm not sure that will be possible if what happens happens. And then Sunday is football day in America so he will most likely not mow then, because it is a religious holiday, every week. Don't ya know. 

On Sunday I'm supposed to go see H in his school of rock concert. It is supposed to be outside, and they'll make a decision the night before whether or not to have it. So I may or may not be driving an hour and 15 minutes to go see my 11 year old best friend "play the keys." We'll see what happens. Part of me hopes it gets rained out. I sort of want to be here and maybe feel like getting some things done while Doug watches football. And hey, maybe I'll get that run in! 

I don't have a picture. So. Digits below!

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. two walks, one with toffee, 32 min/1.5 mi; solo, 20 min/.96 mi. 10k+ by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 116
4:30pm: 105
10pm: 135

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
10am: freezer breakfast burrito with extra shredded cheddar and salsa
1pm: met+glip
3pm: new meds
4:30pm: 2 pieces of celery w/pb, 1/2 a beer
6:15pm: 2 zero carb fajita wraps w/grilled chicken thighs, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, 1 beer
7:45pm: met+glip

wine punch on the porch

This afternoon, Doug made me stop working at 4:30 so he could take me for a spin in the new ride. It is a Volvo sedan, I forget what year. She is fast and zippy and smooth. She makes our Volvo wagon feel like a jalopy. 

We had to dump the old license plates off at the registry and then we did a toodle aboot town. We got home, Geoff was cooking dinner (his class and lab were canceled today, so he was home all day, did the shopping, and took an exam online). Tomorrow he goes down and comes back, no hotel overnight. I think he likes that. 

And I like having him make dinner. 

Doug called over to me and told me to come out on the porch, so I did. He made some sort of not quite sangria thing with red raspberries, lemons and limes, red and white wine, seltzer and a dash of grenadine. It was very tasty and really tasted like Hawaiian Punch. 

It was just a beautiful night, so we sat and talked about fall clean up, trees, plants, stuff. He keeps thinking and changing his mind about putting two trees out front of the house. I told him he has plenty of time to decide what he wants to do. This is his house for as long as he wants. 

After dinner, I took myself for a walk. Geoff took Toffee earlier in the day and I find I like to take her for 20 minute jaunts, but today I was super way behind on steps so I needed to go far, go long. I succeeded in that. I also tried to run. 

Outside running sucks? I mean, I couldn't even really trot or jog for far. I can do over 2, 3 miles on the treadmill but feh. Running outside, I just felt big and stiff and heavy. 

more practice needed, Im sure. 

Anyway. I'm super happy tomorrow is Friday. FriYAY. I have to finish writing my reviews for my colleagues and write some help documentation, and I hope that is about the most I've gotta do. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  45 min walk/2.23 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 141
5pm: 91
10:30pm: 113

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
1:30pm: english muffin w/pb and very nice blueberry preserves; met+glip
3pm: new meds
5:30pm: the doug drink concoction
6pm: small bowl of spaghetti w/a lot of meat sauce; met+glip

Regrets

A work colleague, friend, good friend, wonderful person, recently got divorced after 6 years of marriage. No kids, a dog which she happily let him take. She felt she is too busy for daily walks. But she's worried he won't take care of the dog very well and this makes her sad.

She's going to get a cat. She can handle a cat. Cats don't need daily walks. 

She has been depressed over [gestures everywhere] all this. We were supposed to meet on something at 1pm but she was offline. I messaged her, she didn't message back.

Admittedly, I'm kind of used to this from a handful of my work colleagues. They have anxiety, they have some autistic tendencies. They have meltdowns for a couple hours and come back feeling better. They prioritize self care. My Gen-X soul doesn't understand it sometimes but I am aware of how they function and feel, and I am always here waiting for them once they are able to pull up out of the tailspin. 

She didn't come back online and wasn't at the next meeting I expected to see her at. And this worried me.

I texted her. I figured, if she's not using the work communications tools, I want her to know that I'm worried, but also, that I'm here. She called me right back. 

She was indeed having a meltdown, and couldn't stop. 

It all started this morning with an electrical issue in her condo. Calling an electrician, she couldn't get anyone to come out today, tomorrow, maybe Friday, but most likely Monday. 

"The whole second floor of my house has no power. I'm afraid to turn on switches. I think everything is going to catch on fire," she said. 

"Probably not," I replied. 

She's much younger than me, and she asked if the upstairs toilet would still flush. Because. That's the "pooping" toilet. I tried not to laugh, because this is my super power - I'm able to hear people out when they say something and not laugh in their faces.

"Toilets do not run on electricity," I told her. "Go ahead, poop all you like. Flush. Poop more. Flush But, you probably want to do it in the daylight." 

She laughed a little and said she has a headlamp that she used a lot when she and her husband used to go camping. He left it at the house. She said that she was thankful for that, and she wondered if he'd ever want the camping gear back. I heard how sad this made her feel.

It was then she confessed to me, "I made a big mistake," sighing, "I never should have gotten divorced. I should have toughed it out. We could have made it work." 

Regrets. She has a few. To steal from Sinatra. 

"Well, I mean, no? You don't have to say that," trying to bolster her life decisions. 

The divorce was mostly rooted in his addictions. Alcohol, pot, and porn. After a full year of couple's therapy, him trying  and failing to give up his vices, her realizing he isn't a fun happy drunk he's a mean and rude drunk. And the porn, that hurt her the most. He didn't want to sleep with her, but he sure did spend a lot of time wanking and watching. 

And it was getting expensive. None of this is cheap, especially if you are paying for online access and not just using the cheap free videos that are readily available online.

She asked him to make a choice, her or the addictions. He said he couldn't.

So she did. 

"He would have been here and I bet he would have figured this electrical thing out," she said. "And if he needed, he would have called the electrician and explained the situation. And because they're both guys,  the electician would say, oh yeah dude, I'll come right over. It's probably easy peasy. Five minutes, in and out." 

She told me the electrician asked her a bunch of questions, kind of like I would in troubleshooting a problem with one of our products. Like the I.T. Crowd, "Did you turn it off and turn it on again?" 

She couldn't answer the questions, she didn't understand what he was asking. So the guy probably was annoyed with her and said okay lady, I'll .... come eventually. 

And now she thinks the electrical system in the house is going to short out, blaze up, and she'll die in her sleep. 

Which, obviously, sent her into a panic spiral. 

"I haven't done anything work-wise today. I've been clutching my belly since 6am. I'm in pain. Now I feel like I need to go to the hospital. Like, I'm dying from stress." 

I didn't have a car that I could go to her house (plus, she's like, near Delaware or New Jersey up there ... that part of Maryland, which isn't exactly an easy thing to do, just get in a car and drive three hours). 

But I wanted to. 

Her mom and dad are not speaking to her, they blame her for the separation and they think the ex-husband can do no wrong. 

She feels like she has no one. Which is pretty much true.

We talked for over an hour. I told her she can't change the past, that she made the right decisions for herself and hopefully in the long run for him too. He needs help. And maybe one day he'll get it. 

And she will get an electrician to come. 

And she just needs to look ahead, look forward, and not perseverate that she made a mistake. Because she didn't. It may not feel like it, but.

Everything will work out.

"Give yourself the grace to poop in the first floor bathroom because honey, after all, you share this house with no one. You can poop with the door open. You can turn music up and sing while you are pooping. Celebrate your pooping!"

She laughed, and she got a phone call while we were chatting. 

The electrician could come over and take a look on his way home around 4. 

I didn't get to talk with her again tonight, she did text me and sent a hug emoji and a heart. 

I guess that's how people talk anymore, and that's a thank you. 

We all have regrets, don't we? 

Sometimes, they feel insurmountable. You will never ever get over some things. But you will. 

I always say to people, "Next year in Jerusalem!" or I quote Guster "By this time next year, I won't be here," meaning this shitty situation. I'll be able to look back, and see that I survived it. "Be Calm, Be Brave, It'll Be Okay."  Also, Bruce Springsteen "Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny." 

Hopefully. 

And so, I ate the last piece of apple pie in the fridge because Doug and Geoff both said they felt they had their fair share, and that was for me, if I wanted it. 

I do not regret it, well, maybe a little tiny bit because my bedtime blood sugar is a little high. And I didn't take a secondary Toffee walk, although I really should have. The night was beautiful. But it got to be 10, and that's get ready for bedtime time. 

Regretting not taking that second walk, sort of.

Also, I wasn't kidding the other day when I said I wouldn't Fall for False Fall. 

False Fall and Second Summer, will be followed by maybe real fall. But I bet Third Summer comes back too. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill run, 30 min/2.18 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8:45am: 135
4:30pm: 105
10:30pm: 175

food & meds:

8:45am: jardiance & new meds
1:45pm: bowl of left over pot roast w/ a buttered roll; met+glip
3pm: new meds
4:30pm: handful of m&ms
6:30pm: pork loin, pierogis, peas
8pm: met+glip; last slice of apple pie w/whipped cream from the can
vodka & zero sugar cranberry

Magic Cheese

Doug was up for his meeting at 6:45 and I made a pot of coffee for him, for us, and crawled into the guest bed. I slept super late, I think I finally woke up at 8:45 and quickly checked my phone to see if anyone was looking for me. Nope. So I went back to sleep until about 9:15. 

My brain must have needed it. Also, it's dark out at 6:45! I didn't want to be up. Screw that! 

Doug is going tomorrow to pick up our new used car. We'll be a two volvo family for the foreseeable future. This is a sedan (our other one is a hatchback). Both are black. We're cool kids. 

I'll be sad to see the mini go. She was a work horse.

He is leaving around 3pm because he has to get a bank check, and I really hope by tomorrow the money he transferred into our account shows up, otherwise... he can't get the dang diddly car.

Banks, man. They piss me off. It doesn't even show as pending in our account. But in his eTrade, it shows transferred.  

As Stewie Griffin would say (and my sister will laugh) "Where's my money, Brian?" 

He asked if I wanted to go with him, because new car, right? But he didn't give me enough notice on this and I have a meeting at 3pm that I really have to go to, to prioritize bugs and fixes with the product team. I'm kind of key to the process there. If I'm not there, I don't get to say "y'all need to put this at the top of the damn list."

It was a busy day today, with three client meetings. One is a dang diddly mystery that I simply can't figure out, and I'm not sure why it is broken. And one was an absolute joy. And one is a mystery but I see what the problem is, and wrote it up for the developers to fix. 

Client meetings are fun and they are all so unique, and the folks I met with are truly lovely. I just should learn better and not stack them all up on each other. 

I took to the treadmill around 5. I wanted to go between 2 and 3, but I was busy trying to focus on that mystery I cannot solve and lost track of time. Geoff had gone to the gym after work, and stopped and got a couple things for dinners for tonight and tomorrow, so we had cheesesteaks. I skipped the roll and put my stuff in a bowl, and took a scoop of macaroni salad. 

Somehow, I've been noticing that even if I run a full half hour on the treadmill, I'm falling short of 10k steps like 8pm, when I want to be basically done with steps. So I took Toffee for a walk. She was thrilled and she actually was very good tonight. There have been nights recently that I've taken her, and she's seen a CAT! or ... WHAT IS THAT! and she stands frozen at the end of someone's driveway looking at their Halloween decorations. 

Tonight, she walked like a champ. She peed a lot, gotta let the world know this is Toffee Town! And I thought about doing a bigger loop but .... meh. 

Got to 9500 steps by the time we got home and those last 500 steps just happen organically. 

Maybe if I got up at oh, 6:45 am and didn't sleep until 9:15 I could stack steps in and front load the day. Ya think? Maybe.

I've been trying to add 50-100 steps to each hour to help prevent this, instead of the "basic" hourly 250. And I still am not making it up to numbers I like by 7. Makes for sitting on my ass for the last 3 hours of the day a non-thing. 

In other news, I booked a hotel for our holiday party in December. Linda and I are looking at the Hartford  Guster show and accommodations, and my birthday trip with 2 Guster shows in Brooklyn is gonna happen. Doug usually makes a face when I say "so, can we talk about the next Guster shows I wanna see?" And this time he was game for going to Brooklyn. He doesn't have to GO to the shows, Linda only has 2 tickets per night. So he can goof off in Brooklyn or something and meet us after. 

I have to figure out my logistics. 

But the holiday party shenanigans, I wasn't planning on going until my work son asked me if I would. So what we're gonna do, is I'm going to drive down, park in the office garage, we both have rooms at the hotel by the office. The next morning, we'll come back here and he can come meet miss Toffee. We can bake and cook, and do all the foodie things we like that we talk about. 

Maybe I'll get him to bring this cheese they only have in St. Louis called Provel. Geoff has a cookbook that he picked up somewhere that is all recipes from the St. Louis Beacon, and when he cooks stuff from it, we don't have the magical Provel cheese (we could probably recreate it somehow knowing what cheeses are in it). 

But if that magic cheese could make its way to my house, if work son will check a bag instead of just carry on... or heck, maybe he could mail some! 

The possibilities. 

Anyway. No picture, too busy. Digits below!

 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill run 20 min/1.46 mi; Toffee walk, 20 min, .97 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 108
4:15pm: 84
9:30pm: 172

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
9:30am: oikos triple zero yogurt cup w/ 1/2 cup of granola
2pm: met+glip
2:45pm: handful of trail mix
3:45pm: new meds
6pm: cheesesteak meat w/onions, peppers, mushrooms; some macaroni salad
7:45pm: met+glip
no wine/alcohol

Cough Cough Cough

Geoff brought a cold home with him. It started out with a scratchy throat early last week, became a blow your nose every 10 minutes (loudly), and progressed into full blown barking chest cough. He, for some reason, does not like to take medicine.  I gave him benadryl and claritin-D for the nose thing, and he didn't take it. 

I also gave him Dayquil, and ... he didn't take it. 

He did take Nyquil last night because he had to get a decent night's sleep to go to work today. 

I cringed when I thought of him working, riding in the shuttle bus to the work destination with his colleagues, and sharing the plague with them all. 

Maybe one of them shared the plague with him, so it's no biggie for him to now be in the van with his disease. 

I remember the days of the pandemic when our office closed, but when we reopened and people started coming back in there were signs everywhere saying "If you are sick, even with the mildest of colds, get out of here and go the hell back home!" 

During the pandemic, and after, when we all (mostly all, but not all) were wearing masks, I didn't catch a freaking cold for 2 years. My work wife said the entire time her kid was doing school from home, she didn't catch a cold because her petrie dish of an elementary school student wasn't transporting diseases back and forth. 

And now. We're breathing and coughing on each other with reckless abandon. Thanks everyone. 

Anyway. I seem to be doing better than both Geoff and Doug. I need to stay somewhat better through Saturday when I go see H play in his next rockshow. 

The plumber came at 11am and fixed up the faucet, took out all the contractor cement, adjusted the shower head spout because she came loose, and recaulked the shower door and tub and everything. Big Damn Hero, I say. 

Not much else to report. Doug has a 7am meeting. So I have to be up and out of bed so I don't end up on camera, in my undies, snoring. Not a good look. 

No picture - just digits. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill, 30 min/2.16 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 106
4pm: 131
10:30pm: 90

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
12:45pm: grilled havarti cheese, turkey, bacon, and avocado on 2 pieces of sourdough; met+glip 
3:45pm: new meds
6:30pm: bowl of mac & cheese with bacon
7:15pm: met+glip
vodka & diet tonic

Falling for False Fall

Doug went to the used bookstore this morning, and I asked him to stop in at Aldi to get stuff for the slow cooker. I wanted a pot roast. 

"If I also get pie crusts, will you bake a pie?" he asked.

"Absolutely, I sure will."

While he was at the market, I wanted to take Toffee for a walk, It was ever so slightly raining out, and don't you know she is made of sugar and she will melt and die. 

I was surprised when she willingly went with me and didn't just stand on the porch looking out with disdain. 

After about 10 minutes it changed from ever so slightly raining to really starting to come down rain so we turned around and came home. 

I set up the pot roast and have to admit, Doug is usually the pot roast setter upper. I had no idea what I was doing, but basically, he got a gianormous piece of meat, I grilled it on the grill for 10 min per side, slathered in salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I took a piece of seared edge off to taste and really would not have minded eating the whole thing (cooked a little more, naturally). 

Carrots, onions, celery, one of the jalapeño peppers from our neglected garden, thyme, greek oregano, parsley, a big can of diced tomatoes, a quarter cup of red wine vinegar. 

Crock pot - set and running. 

After a couple hours, it was pie time. We had gone to the orchard yesterday and got a bag of "eatin'" apples and a bag of "bakin'" apples. I took a dozen of the baking apples out, peeled and diced them up. I always cut things in different sizes. Sometimes they are small diced bits and other times they are long lengthy bits. I tossed that all in vanilla and lemon juice. Then I threw in a mix of white and brown sugar, a little bit of flour, a lot of cinnamon, and boom. 

I have no problem with store bought pie crust. Don't come at me. Quite a while ago here in the blog I mentioned I wanted to make my own crust but.... meh. 

I feel like that will take too long, so. Store means pie before my attention span wears out. 

Today was a day for falling for false fall. It is cold and dreary, the leaves have not changed yet, but she feels like flannel long sleeves, and hiking boots replacing Teva sandals. 

The pot roast took forever, and the pie was delicious. And I bet any amount of money, some of the days in October will hit about 80 degrees again. I will put the monstera out on the patio to enjoy those last warm days. 

False fall is a tease of things to come, and I embraced it today. 

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Toffee walk, 15 min/.67 mi; treadmill run 20 min/1.46 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

7:45am: 101
4:45pm: 121
11:30pm: 197

food & meds:

7:45am: jardiance & new meds
1pm: 2 celery sticks w/pb, met+glip
2:30pm: 2 slices of the "seedtastic" bread from Aldi w/pb & low sugar j
3:45pm: new meds
8pm: met+glip; pot roast; slice of apple pie w/carb smart vanilla ice cream
red wine

Next Stop, Georgia!

Doug went to look at a used car today and liked it enough to put a deposit down on it. Nice car, good CARFAX report, I'm okay with this. 

He has to go back Wednesday and pay for the rest of it, and pick her up to bring her home. Our mini is shitting the bed. She is doing what they. call "Limp Mode," where it just slows all the way the fuck down so you pull over. It is a "safety feature," which is actually a you have GOT to be shitting me this car is going to slow down to 15 mph while I'm in the far left lane of the fucking HIGHWAY feature. This happened to us this summer in S&S's car on the way to Maine, her car suddenly said 'oh, I'mma slow all the way the fuck down now" and every light came on the dashboard and we luckily got to the shoulder, to turn if off, and restart it. And we got to the rest area and S checked the oil and put more in - but no. This is not safe. Fuck no it is not safe. 

Geoff had been instructed to drive the mini to the meetup point for work, or the Grocery Store, and that's it. We have a problem with her Turbo, it has completely failed, so it will be 5k to fix, so no. New used car please. 

I just can't even with the concept of limp mode. Kill me on the highway, please. Now he isn't allowed to drive it, because it goes a couple miles and then goes limp. I'm not even sure how we are going to get it to the dealership to trade it in. Even the back roads are 40+ mph so .... Hmmm.

Anyway. New car coming soon, and Mini riding off into the sunset. Or, Limping off into the sunset. 

While he was out doing car stuff, I did nothing. I farted around the house, I loaded and started the dishwasher, that's about it. 

Right about the time he came home, ready to do some fun things, I was about to hit the treadmill and then take a bath. So I skipped the treadmill, figured if I needed the steps I'd get them tonight. 

We got readied up and went out to buy apples, like ya do because we are super surrounded by apple country. We got apples, corn, and an "icebox watermelon."  Then, we went up to PenMar park to take a walk. We've been to PenMar a lot, it's a good place to take friends when they visit, and further up the road to go to High Rock for the sunset is always cool. 

The Appalachian Trail goes through the PenMar, and there is a sign pointing north and south with how far it is to Maine or Georgia. 

I think I've taken this exact picture a couple times, the white blaze is the AT, and there's Doug & Toffee up in front leading the way while your soft girl hikes slowly behind.

We "set off for Georgia," as Doug gleefully declared and we started our walk. We went about a mile in, and turned around and came the mile back. Which is fine. We did "2 miles" on the Appalachian trail, or, One Mile Twice, to be honest. 

It reminded me of when we had a German exchange student with us. They all went on a whale watch where, they saw... One whale two times, or Two whales one time. No way to know.

Ein Wal, zweimal oder, Zwei Wale auf einmal. 

Something that has stuck with me since like 2009 or so. 

Anyway. We got back to the car right as the rain started in earnest. We knew there was a storm way to the east but we could catch a band of rain across the region. It was pretty sunny all day, but she kicked in after we got to the car.

I was thinking about all my friends who have actually done the trail, either in full or part, and I know for a fact that kind of a thing is NOT for ya gurl. Nope. It is something I can file under wow, I respect people who do this, but I'm for sure not cut out to do that. 

There were several times in this short trek that my toes caught a rock or tree root up in the trail and I could very well could have turfed it and ate shit. 

Not wanting a repeat of past trippings and landings and black eyes, I found a very good walking stick to assist me. It was heavier than I would have liked, but it actually did help me a bit when we had to go down a little bit of a scramble that had a lot of loose rocks. 

In my heart of hearts I cursed myself for EVER mentally making fun of people who used trekking poles. 

Oh my GOD are they only the greatest things ever. And for sure, I own two, one of them I loaned to S before we went to Maine to help her with her back, and the other one I didn't bring with me. 

But if Doug suggests again that we walk to Georgia, well. I know I'm bringing it. 

We got back to the car and headed home. Somehow we missed a little left hand turn that we would normally take to head back towards our town and ended up in Waynesboro, PA. Bustling metropolis that it is! If it wasn't raining, or, if we didn't have Toffee with us we may have stopped at Rough Edges Brewing. Dogs are welcome on the patio but not inside. 

After getting our bearings about us, and pointing our noses the way home, we stopped at another brewery where dogs are welcome inside, but they have a giant outdoor pavilion that we happily hung out in. I'm glad I brought my sweatshirt with me because it was really getting cold and windy. It wasn't when we left the house. 

Home, I grilled hot dogs, we had corn (I had one ear and Doug ended up having like ....5 because I shucked them all, per his instruction. He didn't realize Geoff and I were both only gonna indulge in one. I mean, I would have. But. I knew my blood sugar was not going to be joyful with me after today. 

I'll make it up to you tomorrow, blood sugar. 

Anyway. Here's a picture of Toffee photobombing my picture of beer for the Untappd app. Could not love this more if I tried. 

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Hiking the Appalachian Trail. 46 min/1.87 mi.; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:30am: 109
4:30pm: 171
10pm: 280 (shhhhh, it's okay. thanks corn and beer)

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance & new meds
1pm: apple
2:30pm: met+glip; 3 beers at the brewery
4:30pm: New meds
5pm: 2 small pieces of cranberry orange nut bread 
6:45pm: 2 hotdogs with buns; macaroni salad; ear of corn; another beer
7:15pm: met+glip

A Good Yap

This morning, Doug looked at our faucet in the tub and found it is busted on the inside. Funny how that happens our of nowhere, but okay. Problem diagnosed, problem recognized. And he told me to call the plumber, because there is piping in the wall that probably also needs to be replaced. 

And it is one of those things that is just a little bit out of our skill set. Let's leave this to a professional. And hey - while he's at it, please recaulk the tub. When we moved in, it all looked great but after a month or so, it started to get a little moldy and gross... I think the previous tenants did a quick and lazy re-seal, with not the right product, and yeah. It's just gotten worse and I hate it. This is kind of the thing that Doug can do, but ... let's just have it done did. 

I called the plumber and explained the situation. He asked "Do you know where the shut off valve is for your supply of water to the tub?"

"It only happens when the shower toggle is pulled up. Doesn't happen if the tub is just running, or if no water is running," I replied.

"Well that's good! we're avoiding an emergency!" 

I sent him pictures of the faucet and the pipe coming out of the wall, and he said he'd swing by tomorrow afternoon. "I am putting a deck on my house, and all summer it was so hot so it just stood here unfinished, so today's the day we finish this up. Is that okay?"

Yes, sir. It is perfectly okay. Please take care of your project.

Doug told me if I wanted to, I could take a bath. 

Actually, no. 

We have no tub plug, there isn't one here. We have this little filter thingie that goes into the hole but it isn't a plug, it is only a filter. He insisted the filter was also a plug "If you push it down hard enough," but he is wrong. He tested it, and conceded I am right. Not a plug. So he ran over to Lowes after work to get one, and we can take baths tomorrow.

I was just having a long chat with my friend Rob, who lives in Southeastern VA. We've been trying to connect for the last year. And even connecting on the phone has been a challenge. He sometimes calls while I'm working, and I am in a meeting or something. Today, free and clear. So we talked for almost an hour. We are trying to figure out a time to get together and a place to meet up. Williamsburg VA has Grand Illumination for 3 Saturdays in December. I know I can't do the 12th, I may have plans on the 5th, and he is out of town on the 19th. 

So I may have to figure out my 5th plans, see if they are happening or not happening, and maybe do it then. We shall see. 

In the 7 plus years we've lived here, we somehow have not gotten together yet and that's dumb. 

Anyway. 

I grilled brats and veggies, and then took Toffee for a walk. I went a way I usually don't go, and was going to go further but the headlights on cars coming towards me were blinding, and there is no sidewalk where we were so I cut down to our street and headed home. 

All told, a good day. No picture though. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Nice Toffee walk, 30 min/1.45 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:30am: 116
5pm: 87
11pm: 84

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance & new meds
10am: piece of cranberry orange bread
1pm: met+glip
2pm: english muffin, toasted w/chive & onion cream cheese and turkey slices
3pm: new meds
6:45pm: 2 bratwursts, grilled veggies; vodka tonic; met+glip

Cranberry Orange Bread Day

Wednesday was a blur. I did manage to get out for a Toffee walk, It's been a little while since she's had one. It rained a lot over a few days and she was amped. We did a mile loop. She slept the rest of the day and evening. Geoff made a great dinner. I drank red wine after telling myself I wasn't going to have wine. 

Doug started watching a South African crime show called Catch Me A Killer. It takes place in the 90s in South Africa and is based on a real life forensic psychologist and the cases she worked. I like it alright, but wow it is so weird to see so many people smoking. Always with the smoking. Smoking while EATING even. Ugh. Ha.  

This morning (Thursday) I woke up to go to the bathroom at about 3am, hoping to get in there before Geoff who is usually up around then, getting ready for work and hogging up my bathroom. 

He was sitting in the livingroom, charging his phone on my portable charging brick. 

Our power was out, and he was just sitting there with his flashlight on his phone blazing into the livingroom. He is coming down with a cold, and has been honking his schnozz and clearing his throat a lot. I asked him if he was thinking of skipping classes today but he said no, he had his hotel reservation, and can't cancel it. So he needed to go to school. 

But if he doesn't feel better over the weekend he may call out of work Monday. I told him to pick up some Dayquill/Nyquill for himself (we are all out) and gave him a benedryl to take after he got to Virginia, and hope he feels better soon. 

I got some candles out and handed him a flashlight, he didn't know we have a whole flashlight filled drawer in the kitchen. But we do!

He got a shower, and after he got out (I was in the guestroom, playing with my phone) he told me the faucet was leaking and he showed me from where. It is where the faucet comes out of the wall, but only when the shower is running though. Weird, it was not doing it the other day. Boo, hiss. 

Doug said he's going to look at it later, I'm wary of that. He's looking at video on the internet. I would rather just call the plumber. What is it with guys that they always wanna be the fixer. And I've always said plumbing and electrical - he's not good at that. Let's call in the professh.

I may end up showering at Planet Fitness for the next week. Ha. Or, until he concedes that I should call the plumber.

The power came back on at about 4:45am.  Geoff left. I slept until 9. 

I had a series of meetings today, but I felt like squeezing in some baking. During my 90 min. break between, I whipped up cranberry orange nut breads, I have a 4 little wee loaf pan that does not get enough love so that was what I used. 

I made a nice orange glaze to put over the top, and oh man. This is so good. I'm so glad I made it. 

Honestly, I temper how much I eat that I bake, I really wanted to eat two of these little loaves. 

After I finished work, before I ate chili, I hit the treadmill. I was listening to a podcast and I was partway through it, so I ended at 20 minutes. 

Toffee has been extra rambunctious lately, so I ate my dinner and took her for a short walk. We were going to go further but we saw another dog coming down the road and I hate trying to wrestle her to behave... I prefer Doug to be walking her in these situations. She's sometimes stronger than me. 

We still got a nice walk in, and she is happy for it. 

Digits below.

Wednesday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Walk with Toffee, 22 min/1 mile; solo walk, 30 min/1.37 mi; 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 106
4:15pm: 163
11pm: 105

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
11:30am: cinnamon raisin bagel w/pb
1:15: last 2 slices of sourdough toasted w/butter (had to use them, i'm the only one who eats the heels of bread) met+glip
3pm: new meds
6:30: large bowl of pasta and chicken fra diavlo by Geoff
7pm: met+glip
red wine

Thursday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Treadmill run, 20 min/1.5 mi; toffee walk 15 min/.75 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 110
4:30pm: 118
10pm: 126

food & meds:

9am: jardiance & new meds
11:30am: last piece of quiche
1pm: met+glip
2:30pm: 2 celery stalks w/pb
3pm: new meds
4:45: nice piece of cranberry orange loaf bread (omg)
6:45pm: small bowl of leftover chili w/fritos & shredded cheddah
7pm: met+glip
white wine

A bone to pick

Today, I made my lunch and then Doug came down and decided to make tuna. Because I'd already eaten, he just made for himself. In the tuna, there was a bone. A decent sized bone. I've never once seen a bone in tunafish, but there she was. 

It is kind of a ginormous one, did not expect anything this perfectly not-ground up specimen to surface in a can of tuna. The can says "may contain bones," which I had never noticed before. But here we are. 

Doug caught it before he swallowed it which is a relief. When we were in college, we went out to eat at Legal Seafood with Doug's parents. He got a catfish or trout bone stuck in his tonsil. We are in disagreement over the fish itself. Catfish always has bones and they warn you about it. 

He eventually worked it out, but. That was a sight to see I tell you what. 

Not much going on to report today. I found out we may have a really big web security project that my work son and I groaned super hard about. Hopefully we will not get pulled into project managing it. He asked me if my boss had told me about this yet and he had not. So I'm being kept in the dark a little bit and I think there is fighting going on over our heads. 

We just got off the big product launch, we're still fighting bugs. I do not need another project, friends. Not yet. I do love project work more than helpdesk tickets. I love working with my work son. We're an excellent team. 

If it has to happen, let it be us.

As far as steps, I had time between two meetings and didn't want to a run and look all blotchy and weird so I walked on the treadmill instead. Then I did a run while Doug was at the market and I really wanted to get to 20 min, but he came home and did some helping out with dinner like whipping up cornbread. I always appreciate when he does a shopping trip, and when he does the cooking. But I'm always willing to help and didn't want to be selfish and keep running if he needed a hand.

Geoff was working today and with this job they travel around the region going to stores and doing inventory. This was the furthest away of a trip they've had, 2 hours west. 4 hours in a vehicle round trip. He gets paid for that time, which is good. 

He worked for the same company in New Hampshire back when we lived up north, and they used to actually do a big crew of people. 18 passenger van, and hotels. He'd be gone 5 days at a time, up in Maine, NH, Vermont. One of Jess' best friends also worked for the company and she kept an eye out for him. He was literally the youngest on the crew. I'm forever thankful for S's guidance for him. 

So he didn't get home until almost 7. Doug had just finished cooking and we were eating. He looked so relieved to not have to cook or anything. I told him this is what it feels like when you're working and commuting and it can be exhausting. He agreed. He's working tomorrow too but I didn't ask where. I don't think he has to go that far away. Then, Thursday hotel for his school thing. I think this is week 5.

While I was away they fell back on pizza instead of cooking. I figured they would. 

Anyway, that's about it. Digits below the picture. Quarter for reference/size.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Lots of movement in short spurts. Treadmill walk between meetings, 15 min/.76 mi;  Run while Doug was at the market, 16 min (was shooting for 20 and got bored) 1.21 mi; walk to finish up the steps for the day 8 min/.42 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:15am: 122
4:30pm: 105
10pm: 128

food & meds:

9:15am: jardiance & new meds
1:30pm: 2 low carb fajitas grilled w/cheddar and turkey
2pm: met+glip
3:30pm: new meds
6:45pm: chili by Doug, with 2 cornbread muffins by me
7:30pm: met+glip
red wine