Saturday Do Nothing Day

The weather was crummy today, so we mostly stayed in. I started a google slide deck to present to someone about Guster. More on that someday. But literally from 10:30am to ... 6pm I worked on this. A silly vanity project. 

Sometimes I have to get a hair across my butt to do something, and get it all the way done, and be absolutely focused and not care about anything else in the world. And today was a good day for that. Almost done. Gonna show it to a couple friends to get their feedback. 

I took a walk inside the house while Doug went to pick his laptop up at Best Buy, could have walked longer but I wanted to get back to the slide deck! 

That's about it, no other real update. We'll see if tomorrow's weather is the suck or not. 

Digits. Below. 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 2pm because I was focused on a google slide deck. 20min indoor walk while Geoff made dinner. 6k steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

10am: 165
5:30pm: 154 
11pm: 200 on one finger, 160 on the other, which is why I hate taking my blood sugar.

food:
coffee/water
1:30: grilled cheese & turkey on 647 bread
2pm: Metformin
6pm: large piece of chicken parm, some fettuccini
7pm: metformin+jardiance
8pm: some peaches and vanilla ice cream  

Is It Me?

I have a really good friend. Friends for YEARS. Friends since before Geoff was born. We've always been close, except when they went through a divorce and shut down for a while. I understood that for them and let things be, although it made me sad they distanced me so hard. After a while though, we reconnected and things have been great. 

Except the past few months. 

They aren't replying to emails or texts. I called and left a voicemail the other day, no reply. Today I sent a text to them and their spouse, who I am also friends with. A little group chat. I'd read through the last bunch of messages we sent back in November and it was all fun and funny. 

Neither of them have gotten back to me. 

So now I'm worried. Like, did I fuck up? Did I do or say something wrong and they're not wanting to communicate with me anymore? This is so out of character for both of them, that I'm honestly thinking there is a united front of nope. 

Also, I'm worried that maybe there's something wrong there. Maybe, although never would have seen this coming, maybe there is a crisis there. And now I wonder if everything is bad or messed up. And they don't want to talk to me, like before? 

I can't speculate. I can only wait, I guess? I mean. Two people don't just vanish unless there is a reason. 

Hmmm. 

I am not usually worried about stuff like this. People ebb and flow, but having gone through some rough times with the friend in the past, I am flummoxed. Doug asked if I'd heard from them lately and I had to tell him no, not at all. 

I'm pretty bummed out about it. Should I be? I guess only time will tell, if they want to reach out, they will. 

The pickle ball is in their court. 

Work was pretty good today. I had a check in with my department head, and it went longer than usual because the meeting she had scheduled after me canceled. So she was good to gab. It was nice to catch up on things and get some low-down and insight into some higher level things that usually do not impact me.  We have a new CEO/President person and I asked for an update on how that whole relationship is working out for folks. Since I have no insight to her, I'm not in the building. 

We started working a little on this big project, I had some nice chats with participants on the periphery and got good feelings about stuff. Seeing as it is a holiday weekend, and I shouldn't do anything at all for this, I noted that there is a deadline for something that I need to turn in for September 4th, and I didn't start it yet, so, I may sit quietly and do it. 

When you don't have any distractions or demands, sometimes it is easy to use the quiet and do the things. When things are too chaotic and busy, I have a tendency to check out a little and .... not get as much accomplished. 

Because it is the Friday before a holiday, people canceled meetings and moved things to next week, so I found myself happily unbothered for the afternoon, and finished something that took one hour but I'd started it repeatedly. 

Sometimes I have better luck with that. One of my colleagues will turn off his email and slack notifications, tell us he is "heads down" getting something done, and he's gone for the day, off doing that thing. I can't quite do that. Maybe I could try? 

Anyway. Still confused over the friend thing. Sigh. 

Digits below. Here's a dog.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. no exercise. 5300+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 156
5:30pm: 134 
10pm: 179

food:
coffee/water
12:30pm: metformin; large salad w/3 strips of bacon, red onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, chunks of leftover fajita chicken, shredded cheddar, mayo
6:30pm: bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon and the fajita chicken
7:30pm: Metformin+jardiance
8pm: pita chips & hummus
rose

New TV

We went to Best Buy today to drop off the laptop. Doug asked me to come with him because I speak geek. Once upon a time, I could do hardware support but so much has changed in 20 years. But I still held my own with Peter, the kid behind the counter. 

Doug thanked me for coming with. Big satisfaction. 

We came home with a brand new Roku TV. 

Now, the last 2 big screen TVs we have had were hand me downs from companies I worked for. This is honestly the first TV we've purchased since the giant SONY console box TV we bought when we were in our first house. That long ago. 

It was a snap to set up, Doug was gung ho about it. I let him have his joy. I wanted something larger, but he did a lot of measuring and this 43"  screen fits on the shelf, without needing an extra stand. I'm relieved about the sound. 

And the only downside is trying to remember passwords to all the streaming services we have. I have Hulu & Amazon and Doug has Netflix and our Roku account. so after debating about who had what account, we finally got it all ironed out and logged in to watch things. 

The other TV went downstairs, and my next goal is to get it all set up to let Geoff watch TV and play games. 

My little Tidy projects has a direct need, now. 

We had a big thunderstorm that knocked out the power around 9pm while we were enjoying our new TV. boo. Well, eventually things came back and we had TV again, with a lot less stress auditorially. Is that a word?

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. No dedicated 10 because of the weather and not going to the gym. 6200+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:45am: 156
4:30pm: 146 
9:30pm: 179

food:
coffee/water
10:15: 2 slices of 647 bread w/low sugar pb&j
11:30am: Metformin; ramekin of chicken salad
6:30pm: chicken fajitas (2) in small wraps w/ cheese, sour cream, avocado spread
7pm: metformin+jardiance
8pm: the last of the ronnie trail mix

The Losing of the Light

How is this weekend September? What just happened? 

It is dark at 7:50pm. The sun isn't coming up until 6:30am. And when I finally notice this is happening, it becomes real. Summer is on its way out. 

But it is still summer. Today, it was 98 degrees. Right now, as I write this, it is 89. It's hot. Doug didn't want to take Toffee for a walk, and he was napping so I didn't get an inside walk. And I so didn't want to go to the gym. I did leave to go get Geoff at work while his foot gets better, and thought about a quick, solo walk around the hospital campus but I didn't leave early enough to do it. 

So today was a not much walk day. Just the hourly steps minus the one hour I missed because I was distracted. And, when the temperature finally cooled down a bit, that's when we got the Thunderstorm. It started around 8:30 and has been singing the song of its people all the way to this point (after 10pm). Looks like it is going to go on for quite a while. 

We earned it.

It was a busy day at work, a number of good meetings, and a project starting up in a few weeks. That should make things interesting. Doug did more looking into his laptop situation and decided it was time to make an appointment to take the laptop in for repair (yay). We have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. I say we because he wants me to go with, because I "speak the geek language," and they'll probably listen to me.

He is also looking at new TVs. The TV we have used to be the big screen in the conference room in our Boston office. We've had it 7 years, and it was probably already 5 years old at the point it ws handed off to me. 

The speaker in the back vibrates, so when there is music playing or something happening, there is a horrible vibration and hum that makes me crazy. We use an external speaker sometimes but it's hard to control, and you have to do it with your phone through the Roku. It's stupid. 

Plus, we've got enough space that we can get a bigger TV and it'd be awesome. 

So I'm cutting out an hour early tomorrow. Perhaps maybe we'll come home with a new TV, as a treat. 

I guess that's about it. No real good tidy updates today, I did make a lovely chicken salad. And that was a win.

digits below! 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 8pm hour, wasn't paying attention to the time. 4500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 160
5:30pm: 159 
10pm: 157

food:
coffee/water
noon: metformin, chicken salad w/ walnuts & grapes
3pm: 3 celery stalks w/pb
6pm: chili, with ground beef, beans, onions, sour cream, shredded cheese, fritos
7:15pm: metformin+jardiance 

Doing A Tidy

My house is an absolute mess. I don't know when this started, or when I stopped actively participating in household maintenance... Probably around Christmas after cookie decorating. 

I have a ton of stuff and supplies on the dining table that are just sitting there. Sugar, food coloring, cookie cutters. My bedroom is a mess, just stuff everywhere. Unpacked suitcase from Maine, Doug's unpacked suitcase from July when he went to his mom's. Things that need put on hangers. Boxes. Stuff.

The guest room is in decent shape, I just have a bunch of posters that need framed and they are sitting on the bureau. But overall, nothing in there just hogging up space. 

Living room - the plants, the bead making kits, the side tables, the coffee table. Everything has stuff on it. I was thinking of setting up another puzzle for us, but that's going to take some real work because the puzzle table became the plant table. 

And the kitchen - I try to keep that clean because there is nothing I hate more than stuff in the sink and dirty counters but. At least the stuff in the sink gets put into the dishwasher. The counters, I feel like I clean them every day and then it is a mess again. 

The bathroom, well I've done a great job keeping that clean because you never know if your puppy-owning neighbor will need to pee when you're having a play date. Everything else, clutter is character?

That basement is still disorganized after the spring flood, I go down and look at it, and i'm like, yeah. You could do this. And then, you don't.

I pray for a horrible rainy weekend, a day where I'm just like "okay, today is the DAY!" and then I lounge around on the couch and play games on my phone. 

Motivation is lacking. I don't have anyone coming to visit, there isn't a fire lit under my ass to do anything. Doug doesn't do anything, so why should I do anything. Right? Right. Why should I clean all the time if he's not cleaning. 

Oh, he will clean and then makes such a production about it. He throws things and sighs heavily, and grumbles. And then he gets allergic because things are dusty, and he takes a benadryl and goes to bed. 

I am thinking about this post from Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, about what depression looks like. I remembered my mom saying in October after my dad died, "I don't feel depressed," when clearly she absolutely was, and manifested it by not eating and drinking or otherwise taking any damn care of herself, her finances, or her life. 

Perhaps I am, maybe? Not sure. I don't rightly know. Also it is absolutely possible that I do not give a shit and I'm just tired. 

No matter what though, I need to get my act together. I need to either do creative things (ie: bracelets!) that hog up my time, or dedicate 10-15 min every day to "doing a tidy."

Like a dedicated 10 of exercise only, putting shit away. 

I think of the Little Projects of 2020, when we were first sent home in the pandemic, how I did something every day. Time to renew that vision. 

I don't think I'll take pictures of things, not even just for my own proof of success (or failure). Just trust me if I report back any statuses on things. Send me your good vibes to be a more productive agent of change. 

Digits, below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  24 min indoor walk (should have measured 26 but whatever, fitbit!) 8200+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 165
4:15pm: 177 
10pm: 172

food:
coffee/water
12:45: Metformin; everything bagel w/cream cheese and a lot of turkey
4:15: 2 celery sticks w/pb
6:30pm: 2 sausages, coleslaw, potato salad, ice cream sandwich
7pm: metformin+jardiance
lemonade+vodka

A Non-Entry

This is a non-entry, just to get the digits up. I really should have done something better with my time today but. Oh well. Some days are like that, eh? 

Digits below.  

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours.  Missed 2pm because I got distracted by mixing drink dust. Probably fell 2 steps short. doh. No exercise, 5200 steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 165
4:30pm: 180 
10:15pm: 164

food:
coffee/water
11am: Metformin; mac&cheese w/bacon (a lot of bacon)
1:30pm: apple w/pb; protein shake
6pm: bowl of shells w/ meat sauce. Metformin+jardiance
7pm: some of the Geoff cookies, should not have had them
vodka+fruit punch

Some Plant Maintenance

It was hot out today, but not too too hot. Doug worked on his computer, and it didn't accept the recovery drive that I loaded down from my laptop. 

He is going to see about getting it fixed either by Best Buy or another local PC repair person fix it. On Threads someone said "just pop in a new SSD and boom you're all set." son, you talk like you think I can do that. 

Chris 20 years ago, maybe. but. No. If we still lived in Massachusetts I'd hand it to my friend Derek and have him fix it but. I don't have a guy here that I know of. 

Anyway. He tried, aka We tried. 

He also looked at new laptops. I told him to treat himself. Buy it. Go. Do it. He won't. he's just that way. 

So while he was out at Best Buy getting a thumb drive, I worked on plants. I had some that I was doing props on in a cup and a couple that needed replanted because they were falling out of their pots or just not doing alright. 

It was hot, but it felt nice out there. Sometimes Farmer Chris enjoys doing Farmer Chris things. False fall is over it seems. We are going back up into the upper 80s and 90s. Hot again. All the way into September. 

Pictures, then digits. Like we do. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  21 minute indoor walk. 6600+steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:45am: 153
4pm: 142 
10:15pm: 175

food:
coffee/water
noon: metformin; one slice of multigrain toast w/pb
4pm: ramekin of trail mix
6:30pm: "firecracker" casserole, which is like an open face enchilada that doug makes. (beans, ground beef, a lot of cheese)
8pm:Metformin+jardiance
Rosé Wine with ice cubes

Wet Feets and Saturday Vibes

Today felt like a big do nothing day. Do something but not something exciting. It had big vibes this morning. I personally was hoping Doug would go to the market, I even told him I'd clean and rearrange the fridge to make things easier. 

Right when I was feeling the urge to schlep outside repot some plants, Doug suggested taking the dog over to the creek to splash and play. I asked if he was walking or driving, and he said we'd drive but walk extra around the area. I wasn't going to go but.

But.

It isn't that far, really. I capitulated, put on the sandals, out we went.

We had fun splashing in the creek. I waded in with Toffee to show her how much fun I also could have. It crossed my mind that it has been such a long time since I put my feet in water really. The Tevas come in handy for this, they're not fancy but still okay enough to wear to work. They dry fast, and they do not slip. So I had a great time wandering the creek with her. 

It turned out to be a nice walk, on a very nice trail. We met lots of dogs and people, and I played a lot of Pokemon. Doug has kind of given up on playing it, which is disappointing. No fun raiding and trying to throw over a gym alone. 

In other news, Doug dropped his laptop on the floor. 

He spent an inordinate amount of time with him watching youtube videos on how to recover the device, with me saying "honey, you should just take it to best buy." But he thinks we can just fix it ourselves. 

And We involves Me getting out the Windows laptop I bought a few years ago, that I immediately hated and regretted buying, because the instructions are to "use another PC to generate a recovery drive to put on a USB drive to put into the broken ---"

"Can you just take it to Best Buy?" 

No. 

At some point Doug suggested we go out to dinner. He'd found a little Greek Cafe the next town over, and it was really tasty but I felt like I could have eaten a lot more food. They don't have a liquor license, but I wonder if it is a BYOB establishment where you can just sit, chill, open a twisty top bottle of red and just sit on the patio out front and watch the world go by. 

We got home and futzed with the computer some more. 

My old laptop had charged (it was at negative zero and basically was confused about what year this is, and what time zone, and who are you, you're not my mother!) But then, it needed Windows Updates. and then I tried to make the Recovery Drive, but we don't have a USB with enough space on it (minimum 16gb, my largest claims to be 16gb, but, somehow isn't...) So .... 

Someone has to go to BEST BUY and get one. 

Hopefully tomorrow I can convince him to just bring it in and have the Geek Squad figure it out. In the meantime, my PC laptop is up to date and ready to go maybe... I also think for a couple years I've been billed for Adobe Photoshop, and have never used it. So yeah. huh. Fun discovery. 

Pictures. 

Here's Toffee this morning doing a lay about and play with the octopus game. I always think it looks like Cthulhu when she plays with this thing. It cracks me up. But here's the vibe we were living in, super hard!  Below, a deeply cropped photo of Toffee at the creek, and I'm not sure why it is all weird. Not sure I know how my new phone works best but it shouldn't look that way I don't think. 

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Two walks, one inside for about 17 minutes, one outside for... 17 minutes. Score. 8k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:30am: 154
4:30pm: 139 
10pm: 129

food:
coffee/water
12:30pm: 2 slices of multi-grain bread w/low sugar pb and low sugar preserves; metformin
5:30pm: Spanikopita, salad w/salmon, walnuts, strawberries, vinaigrette dressing
6pm: metformin+jardiance

Erebus

Another super busy day, we had almost a work emergency at 4pm (on a Friday) but it may be a nothing burger? Glad I am not on call tonight, just in case. But my buddy knows he can tap me in if there's an emergency with phone calls. 

The weather has been sterling lately but getting warmer again. False Fall as my boss called it yesterday. 

I went to work outside and my laptop overheated, so it may be a little too warm yet. I brought it back in, charged it, let it rest, watered the plants, had a leisurely time before a string of meetings with a cooled off machine. 

Doug made dinner, we need a trip to the market but we also need the fridge cleaned out, so, I should do that if he goes to the market. I like that arrangement. Luckily we have freezer items just in case we have a day like this. Doug is very good at creatively designing food when it feels like we have a lot that does not go together.

I kind of hoped he'd want to walk Toffee today, I was going to actually go with him. But he opted not. 

He started watching a Netflix series called The Terror, which is a horror/suspense thing about the ships The Erebus and The Terror. I only peripherally paid attention. I guess there is a monster out there on the ice and a bunch of not-truthness to the series. All I could think of is isn't it scary enough to be out there for a winter freezing to death for Queen and Country? Yikes. We don't have to add a monster to the story. 

It reminds me that I have Sir Michael Palin's book Erebus on the nightstand, and I got distracted by other books. I should return to this tale. His telling of this tale. Probably monster free.

No picture today. Too busy. Digits are below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. No dedicated 10, 4500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 145
5pm: 139 
10pm: 154

food:
coffee/water
noon: metformin; english muffin w/low sugar pb and low sugar preserves
5pm: 2 entenmann's chocolate donuts
6pm: 3 cluck pucks parmesan, bowtie pasta
6:30pm: metformin+jardiance
vodka+seltzer

Wear the Two Dogs Out

I went into the office today because my colleague who lives in Denver was visiting. I intended to leave the house by 7, left a little bit before 8. But by some beautiful mercy it only took about 45 minutes to get here. 

Made it to work at the same time I usually make it to work at home when I roll out of bed at 8:45! 

We had a couple meetings and my work bestie and her son came to the office to visit before he starts school Monday.  A bunch of us sat on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful day. Absolutely stunning day. I headed home at 3, hoping to beat traffic and for the most part I did. 

Our neighbors with the puppy came over at 6:30 for a playdate and we talked about concerts and all sorts of things. The puppy is up to 30 lbs now, Toffee is 60. And because she's bigger she's also engaging a lot more in the fun and play, not just hiding under the chairs. They had a blast. I realized that I didn't take any pictures of them playing, and had regrets.

My neighbor texted me a picture of the pupper. Literally they walked in the door, she went to flop down and she passed out. I sent her basically the same picture of Toffee. 

A successful day all around! 

Digits below dogs.

digits

exercise: 10/12 hours. Missed 4 and 5 because I was focused on working. No exercise today. 6200+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7am: 143
4pm: 150 
10pm: 126

food:
coffee/water
9:15am: protein shake
noon: roast beef & muenster on multigrain bread w/LTM; metformin
4pm: apple w/pb
6pm: 2 cheeseburgers and coleslaw
vodka & seltzer

Dentist Day

I had rescheduled my March dentist appointment repeatedly. Today was the day I had to just do it and go. It was not a good experience. I've always taken good care of my teeth, but lately I've not done a good job. I promised my hygienist that I'll have a much better check up next time. 

Usually, I do a pretty good job for about a month after a cleaning and then I slack. So. Renewed effort. Let's do it. Let's save the teeth. 

No real other update. Puppy play date scheduled for tomorrow!!! 

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Almost missed 8pm due to a work thing. Did a 10 min walk to the dentist, 10 min back, but should have stretched the return trip home to go long. Fitbit didn't count either walk as "exercise. Did a 20 min indoor walk when doug took Toffee. I knew he'd be a half hour at least, so I just figured I'd squeeze something measurable out. 7500+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

8:15am: 164
5pm: 145 
10:15pm: 158

food:
coffee/water
9:30am: 2 entenmann's chocolate donuts
12:15pm: Metformin, english muffin w/no sugar butter and sugar free strawberry preserves 
6:30pm: big slab of ham, diced and thrown into doug's leftover pasta in cream sauce
6:45pm: Metformin+jardiance
vodka (diet) tonic

Wonderful Weather

This morning I went out to check on the garden plants, and it was actually chilly out. I would have sat outside for a while, but the patio cushions were wet from yesterday still, so I walked around, watered a few things. I noted that the petunias have gotten totally leggy (photo below). A few things are thriving, some are basically done. I took a couple of pictures while walking around. 

Before I left, Doug had left his weed whacker outside under the front bush, by the steps. He went to use it and it was dead (um. You left it out in the rain and stuff okay...) but worse than that, it was infested with ants. ANTS thousands millions billions of ants, with baby eggs and all kinds of shit. So I guess Doug has to buy a new weed whacker. Gross. 

After I did my walkabout, it was the kind of day I'd longed for. To sit outside, and work, in this temperature, but note the wet patio seats. Back inside for the duration.

After work, Doug made dinner as I troubleshot some problems for a client trying to run an embed on her site and it wouldn't go. He made buffalo wings (could have been cooked longer but. Not complaining. I didn't have to cook, right?) 

When we finished dinner, I figured he was not interested in going out for a walk since it was after 6pm. He usually goes between 4 and 5 while I'm still working. He said he was going to go, and asked me if I wanted to go. I said I didn't want to go for too long a walk, and we ended up with 40 min.  Not bad for me not wanting to go too much in the first place. 

I got a lot done when we got back with helping the client with her problem, not a perfect resolution but, it will do for the night. 

We'll see what the weather brings tomorrow. Digits below a couple pictures. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  40 minute outside walk with Doug and Toffee. 8700+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 165
5pm: 195 
10:30pm: 168

food:
coffee/water
11am: trail mix, metformin
11:45am: english muffin w/ cheese & turkey
2:30pm: ramekin of trail mix 
6pm: about 8 buffalo wings, some celery sticks, bleu cheese dressing
7pm: metformin+jardiance
8pm: 1 chocolate chip cookie
wine

Waffles and Mimosas

Slept pretty decently, once I fell asleep. I had a hard time. I was hungry and should really have gone to Wendy's or something but I didn't want to eat at 11pm. Brain just swirling, and it was so late I didn't want to have any zquill or anything, lest I not want to wake up. 

I woke organically at 8, alarm was set for 8:04. Got clothing on, went down for coffee. When traveling with Linda, she smokes so she's up before me most of the time, and goes downstairs. She brings back coffee and makes just enough noise to wake me up. Over the last week, I woke up every day after breakfast was over in each of the hotels we stayed at, so I got no waffle. 

Until today. 

The breakfast area was hopping but no one was at the waffle maker. I took this as a sign from God. I made a waffle. There was a young tween boy there trying to figure the waffle maker out, so I educated him on how to waffle. Eventually his mom came over and bossed him around but he and I looked at each other knowing how wonderfully he got it. 

Upstairs, shower, email, pack. Repack. Forgot to put on deodorant. Unpacked until I found it. Okay alright okay alright, found it. 

Clean and shiny, off to the airport. The hotel has a shuttle. Had I known that last night I would not have paid 25 bucks to go around the corner in a taxi. "you should have called the front desk!" the shuttle driver said. "Why weren't you just driving in circles between the hotel and the airport last night!" I replied. Ugh.

Anyway. Full of a waffle, I got to the airport at 10:30, through security in 10 minutes. Back to the restaurant of yesterday. Done. Boom. Mimosa, 1, 2, 3. Did a little work. Got a message from my manager asking me if I was working, slack indicated I was on but my email out of office and calendar were OOO. Meanwhile, ya gurl had written up the Adventure from yesterday and put it in slack for my team. I guess I didn't email him directly or text or call... so he was confused. 

I ended up taking the whole day off because I just couldn't. I really couldn't. Could not deal with work stuff mentally, and just wanted to give it a rest. I did not 100% go on vacation, and I really should. So today, the sign from God at the waffle maker and the extra day off due to not my own fault of things, well, obey the signs.

We were online to board and they asked for volunteers to take a bump. I ran over to the desk. $800 in vouchers and guaranteed seat on another flight today, hell yeah. I'm in no hurry. They needed 4 volunteers and I was fifth in line. Dang. 

Onto the plane. I bought a mimosa for me and the girl next to me, who was a very nice young woman from Wisconsin. We had a lovely chat for the time we were up in the air. 

No turbulence, no nonsense, up and down in about an hour and 15 minutes. Literally the best trip. 

When we landed, I went to baggage claim and walked laps while waiting for my luggage. Managed to get a good walk in, so I'm on a streak this week for walking! 

I'm kind of glad I didn't take the bump because I have 3 other friends up north trying to fly south, in Manchester, Hartford, and Boston. They're delayed or canceled today. So yeah. Very glad I didn't get that opportunity. 

You all know I'm super flexible, but to be honest, I just wanted to come home. Just get home already. Very happy to see my dog, and she was happy to see me. Doug brought her with him to the airport. I was slightly disappointed because I wanted him to take me out to lunch, but, the joyful enthusiasm of her in the car when she saw me, and the love and affection she gave me when Doug put the window down, hell yeah. All worth it. Better than $800 in flight vouchers. 

Doug went to the market at about 4, and he got stuff to make this nice little creamy pasta dish that he discovered a couple months ago, and I asked him to add some chicken for some more protein. Can't just have pasta and cream sauce with mushrooms, ya know. Considering I did pretty well with my diet for several days, gotta keep the trends going. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  23 minute walk in the airport. 8500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 165
4pm: 133 
10pm: 163

food:
coffee/water
9am: waffle, bacon
11am: Mimosa; metformin
6:30pm: chicken and pasta w/shrooms, cheese, peas in a creamy sauce; metformin+jardiance
8pm: ramekin of trail mix

An extra day

When you travel by car, you can be a bit haphazard. I brought a suitcase, small red duffel (primarily filled with beading supplies because I anticipated downtime but got none). I had a couple canvas bags, sneakers here, flip flops there, blankets, another blanket, raincoat. Tucked things in the back of Sara's car like tetris and we went. 

Flying is different. Thankfully, Southwest lets you check two bags, so I organized my suitcase and duffel, and by some miracle got everything in and zipped. My backpack basically has my laptop, charger, a sweatshirt, a long sleeved shirt (in case I get cold on the plane) and my pills and testing kit. Ready to go. 

This morning Linda got herself ready, condensed, and organized as well. We went over to mom's and I did a gorilla glue of her shower attachment so it stays stuck to the wall for all eternity. We evaluated things in the refrigerator, what's been in there since April when I was last there. That sort of thing. 

We'll be back at the end of September, as it looks right now, and more stuff'll have to go then. But my longer term things, some protein shakes, stuff that lasts until 2025, those are all fine. 

We left to have lunch with our friend Alex near the Providence airport. The place he picked was jam packed, so we went across the way to Bistro 22 and had the place basically to ourselves. Which sometimes is a bad sign, compared to how crowded the other place was, but this was lovely. It seems to be a tradition on or around this date for us to have a Post-OTO gathering because 2023 and 2022 on this date we went out with him. 

Definitely felt like "vacation is over" vibes. 

Lin got me to the airport in no time. I went through security screening and had to wait forever for my bags because I, naturally, chose the line where someone was being trained to screen things. He was a very young person, and I watched the much older, experienced gentleman pointing to things and talking. 

And I watched this one woman have a complete and total meltdown because she was about to miss her flight. 

It was kind of sad, I understand that she wanted to make her flight but she was taking it out on all of us standing around instead of getting some sort of person in charge to come over. They gave us NO warning that this lane was a training lane and we should go to the other 3 lanes if we need. Had she been warned...

But I was basically 3 hours early. I didn't care. I enjoyed watching the man training the noob, and loved whatever it was he was learning to look for. They have signs at the front of the check-in at Providence of guns and ammo and all kinds of things found in luggage through the past FEW MONTHS, so. Train the kid. Train Him. I'm alright with it. 

She did miss her flight and threw things and was screaming. Her husband just let her rage. Sometimes, you gotta let someone rage. TSA did not jump her or stop her or whatever. 

Which I actually find surprising.

I did a brisk walk after getting my backpack, and then found the Providence Provisions which is basically the only bar/restaurant in this wing of the airport. 

I'm sure I could find something else down the other wing, but. I basically parked my ass, got wine, another wine, a third wine. I tipped hugely because the waiter was attentive and kind, and I was the only one not yelling at him. 25 minute wait for a table and I was happy to sit there parked and deleting content from someone's website because I had the time. 

Tremendously sad I left the book I'm reading at home. 

My flight was delayed, delayed, delayed agin, delayed. We were supposed to leave at 6:45 but no. They finally got us on the plane at 9. And they hurried us up to do it. I knew why. Get us in the air before the crew times out. 

The pilot was doing a spiel about how there would be no snack service (bummer, your girl is HUNGRY because she thought she would be home by 8:20 and waited to eat, and then all the snack stores were closed. boooo). In the middle of his TED talk, the flight crew came on board and said there'd be another 2-3 hour delay. Which meant the crew would time out. 

Everyone off. So sorry. We're so sorry. We tried. And yes they did. They almost had it. We almost got away. 

People were super pissed. I mean, kind of outrageously super pissed that they let us get on only to take us off, but I know about this math. I know that if you don't get up off the ground, the crew can't go. They just can't. Three other flights to Orlando, Chicago, St. Louis all got up off the ground and ours was next and then no. Based on where we were flying, no. The weather. They tried. 

First thing I did after getting off the plane was whip out the laptop to book a hotel. 

Second thing I did was call Doug so he wouldn't be checking the App and deciding when to leave to get me. 

Third thing I did was look at the text from the airline saying they had placed me on a flight tomorrow at noon. I knew there was a 10:35am flight but they probably filled that out and were moving into the next and next. 

And now I'm in the hotel, getting ready to brush my teeth. I'm hungry but had some trail mix. I'm more sleepy than hungry right now. I probably should be at the airport by 10, so I'll get up and have some brekkie, and get myself over there. Wish me luck. 

Enjoy these pics. 2022 Chris Hair looks pretty awesome. Need to revisit that!

2024

2022 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Somehow missed noon? Not sure how but. there ya go. Measured 17 minute walk in the airport (nice). 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 180
xpm: n/a 
11pm: 181

food:
coffee/water
10am: protein shake
2pm: flatbread with mushrooms, bacon, goat cheese; buttermilk chicken breast sandwich with fries, 2 mimosas.
4pm: metformin (forgot to take at lunch) 
3 glasses of airport pinot grigio while messing with my computer and playing Pokemon
10:30pm: metformin+jardiance; some trail mix

No Waffle Yet

Tomorrow is go-home day. As much as I want to go home I'm also feeling like another day or two here with mom would matter. 

That, and I haven't made it down to the breakfast to get a waffle, and I kind of really love a hotel waffle. Maybe tomorrow morning. But to be honest, I shan't die without. 

Mom's car needs to go to the shop, and if it has to stay there, she'd have no way home. We need to arrange time to make an appointment so someone is here to bring her back and forth. 

Linda wants to power wash the exterior of the trailer, but we also need the patio power washed, so I'm thinking we hire a company to do it all. We'll hopefully do that this fall. 

Her porch steps need replaced. We need to look into doing that.

I have to talk to Doug about September plans. 

Today, we went over. She hasn't been showering so we told her she had to and she did. Yay mom. And then Linda trimmed her toenails. Linda is going to heaven. 

I took mom's car, went to Walmart for a few things like new strawberry preserves because she didn't notice that her half used jar had gotten moldy. Out you go, in with the new. She needed more bread. I then took her car over to the brand new super duper car wash and had it gussied up. 

It's fun going through the car wash. 

I also vacuumed the interior, it should be professionally detailed, she's got some gunk in places that the vacuum didn't work well on, and I just couldn't scrub it out myself. But. It looks 90% better I think. 

We headed back to the hotel and I asked Lin if she minded if I drove into downtown to get Pokemon supplies. I had to explain what that means. We were in town and she said she was hungry, so we hit the Mexican restaurant. My friend Jessica texted me that she and her husband were at the shopping plaza in town and they wanted to know if we wanted to go get ice cream with them. I said I'm happy to pass on the ice cream but didn't want to pass on seeing their faces. 

They came to us. 

We sat and chatted, I was so happy to get 2 visits with Jessica after maybe 12 years of not seeing each other. 

Lin and I got back to the hotel. She snoozed, I rested but didn't sleep. I got up and reorganized all my stuff, condensing 2 canvas bags and my suit case all into the suitcase. I then realized I didn't pack my lap desk (which I'm using right now. Doh) so I may have to redo things. I have another duffel in Linda's car, filled with beading supplies, so maybe this'll fit in there. 

We have time. 

Tomorrow a couple more small things for mom, then over to RI to have lunch brunch with our friend Alex before Lin drops me at the airport. 

My flight should have me home before 9pm. 

I realized I didn't take tomorrow off, and I usually take the day after a trip return off. Hmm. 

Also, still covid free over here. Happy to report that. 

Digits below our pic with Jess and Dan!

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Deliberately did not get out of bed to do the 9am. Just tired. 7k+steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

10:30am: 178
xpm: n/a 
9:30pm: 155

food:
coffee/water
11am: metformin
2:30pm: protein shake
4pm: mexican food sampler, lots of dips and chips, 4 wings, cheese quesadilla, etc
6pm: metformin+jardiance
9:30pm: trail mix, wine

quotes of the day

We took mom out to lunch and had a great time.  Quote of the day from linda was someone was "peppering me up the ass like i'm a fucking brisket." which had both of us laughing our heads off. 

Lin and I left mom and came back to the hotel, and went to the pool where we enjoyed the acoustics and sang our brains out. 

I'm tired, it was a long day of work and a lot of mom. I'm sure there will be more tomorrow! 

Here is a pic of Lin and mom from lunch!

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  no measurable exercise but i had fun in the pool. 6200+ steps at bedtime.

blood glucose:

8:30am: 163
5pm: 129
10pm: 179

food:
coffee/water
8:45am: 2 little egg frittatas 2 sausage patties
1:30pm: chicken parm, no pasta
3pm-5:30pm: wine; trail mix
8:45pm: metformin+jardiance
9pm: pizza and chicken fingers; wine

Try to bring home two brain cells

We ran some errands this morning, went to a bead store near C's place to see about beads and charms. I bought a few, and Lin bought a double dragon garden statue for her and Ronnie. Awwww. so cute. 

I mixed up a bunch of hummingbird feeder liquid (3 parts water, 1 part sugar!) and refilled the feeders. They were full of ants in the process of drowning so I was happy to save them. And then it started to rain. 

And rain, and thunder, lightning, rain. Damn. The porch was a delightful spot to sit in the rain, and I would have loved to just stay but we had a hotel reservation waiting for us. Pack it up, move it out.

We dropped some food off to Jess, since they have the Covid and shouldn't be leaving home. We had a brief outdoor visit and hit the road. Their roomie Liz can always pick up more food and things but Jess was glad to get our castaway foods.

I knew we would run into it, leaving their place at 5. I mean. I knew it. But boy did we ever run into it.

Traffic was extra super sucky. And it is great when you get to a sign that says X thing is 18 miles away and it will take 51 minutes. Waze took us off 95 to drive all around Lexington MA, through really nice neighborhoods and a lot of let hand turns (which, you know, I hate). 

The highlight was Linda and I both going "oh, look at that nice place, OH! look at your little stone wall you cutie..." and admiring all of the houses tucked into the neighborhoods we were detouring through. 

Even though that was fun, I was regretting all of this when we got back to 95 and it was just north of the service area by the Mass Pike. We got out and stretched, called Mom to tell her the GPS was still saying 2 hours out. Thankfully all the really bad rain and thunderstorms stayed away from us, and we could just ... make it in peace. 

At one point, Lin's husband called and was asking how we were doing. Doug never calls me when I'm traveling and when I call him, he asks "what's up?" It's always been a little weird to me. But also, okay. We don't need to talk every single day. Somehow Ronnie ended up saying the title of this entry, "Try to bring home two brain cells" after Lin said we've been surviving on no sleep an a lot of wine. In fact, maybe we don't have covid because of how much alcohol there is in our systems. Not me really, I haven't had a lot to drink necessarily, but it is funny to imagine somehow that we've staved off the Covid with wine. 

When we got to mom's it was a hair before 8pm, so she stayed up for us. Linda washed something, and mom wiped everything down because Lin left water drops on the sink. So we had our eye rolling and headed to the hotel. 

Getting to the hotel, we thought about ordering a pizza or something but it was so late. Bed. Bed is calling. We had some snacks, we were good to go. No pizza.

Tomorrow, we are bothworking in the morning, then lunch with mom at 1. 

She has changed her lunch time on us and acted like it's always been at 1pm when no, no it has not always been 1. Everyone knows Shirley o'clock is 1:45. So okay. 

We will pick her up, have the lunch, come back to the house, I'll continue working for a while, Linda will do Linda. 

This has been a fun trip. Lots of laughs and "oh! look at that paint job with the red and the yellow, so cute."

Digits below.

 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. No exercise. 5600+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 159
xpm: n/a trapped in car
8:45pm: 195

food:
coffee/water
noon: metformin
1pm: asian dumplings, chicken asiago w/penne pasta (ate more pasta than I should have)
9pm: some cheddar cheese, ritz crackers, pepperoni; white wine; metformin+jardiance 

More Hummingbirds than Mosquitos This Year

Last year when we were here, Lin was eaten alive by mosquitoes. This year it has been very light on the blood suckers. C has a set of hummingbird feeders and we've been obsessed with watching them. So cool! 

Pictured here is our flamingo stolen reclaimed from OTO, and you can see a hummingbird on one of the feeders. I have tried countless times to catch one in flight. With my camera phone it is just not possible. So we watch and enjoy. 

For those of you who don't know or who have forgotten why flamingos and hummingbirds are a thing, Guster's album Keep It Together has a hummingbird on the cover, and the new album has flamingoes. 

So the question is, are you Team Mingo or Team Hummer. But in my mind... Can't you be both?

Anyway, we are relieved to have so many hummingbirds and not as many mosquitoes. 

C left at 5:45am today to go to the airport to go on her trip. I miss her. And miss my gargoyle.

We have a day with overlap with her friend B and B's 3 schnauzers. 

Lin and I went out to dinner. C left us gift cards to go to Exeter but we ended up going down the street to the Holy Grail. We've been there a number of times in the past, it's tasty and good. And quick. We were home fast, and at 8pm, ready for bed! 

B and the Schnauzers got here right before we left for dinner, so we got acquainted. And I had cuddle time with one. Lin had cuddle time with another. They bark a lot. 

Our plan is to leave tomorrow morning. Both of us will briefly check in with work stuff and then hit the road. We'll Covid test again before we leave... hearing more and more people we were in close contact with at OTO are reporting Covid. Fingers crossed we can skate through, and be able to see mom. But hey. If we have to stay in our hotel room until Sunday and order delivery from The Nines or something, I guess we will. 

Jess didn't reply to my texts today until 4pm. They slept all day and went back to sleep. The thing that bums me out is that I knew we'd lose C this morning to her trip but Jess was going to come up and work from porch with us today and they didn't get the chance. 

After B went to bed, I sat in the porch just relaxing, listening to the crickets and sounds. Wishing Porch Life could last forevz.

Anyway. Here is my sister with a schnauzer with bangs. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. no exercise. 5500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 168
4pm: 161
9pm: 158

food:
coffee/water
noon: mimosa; metformin
1pm: triscuits+cheddar; rotisserie chicken slices
5pm: mixed greens salad w/poached pear, goat cheese, etc. seafood trio (haddock, shrimp, scallops) some mashed potatoes w/cabbage & onion
6:30pm: metformin+jardiance
wine w/diet ginger ale & sugar free lemonade

Porch Life is the Best Life

When I went to bed last night, a very smol gargoyle was waiting for me. I turned the corner, and the wee beastie's ears were up, eyes bright, waiting. Come to bed, Yay! 

Ginny is the gargoyle. She is C's little French Bulldog, and I love her. And I think she loves me. She's very active and energetic, and last night we played fetch and keep away for a super long time. Tonight we did the same. C also has an English Bulldog who goes splat on the floor minutes after getting home, but not Ginny. 

I had to rearrange my ass a couple times because she kept anticipating where I would want to be. I was above the covers because I was warm, and at one point I felt her little nose booping the back of my thigh. Hey now, Gin. Buy me dinner first! So I moved and she followed. Contact comfort! 

C got up at some point and left, so Ginny went with her. I kind of wanted her to stay with me for the day. 

There is a set of hummingbird feeders out in the yard, and we've been sitting an enjoying them, about 10-12 of these little dudes zooming around an going crazy. Linda has a plastic flamingo from the weekend (long story, but in short, flamingos and hummingbirds are kind of Guster motifs, sigils, totems) so she put the flamingo out by the hummingbird feeders. 

Representing! 

Got a lot of work done, including a couple meetings. Porch life is awesome. 

Sara and Sean got home at about 2:30am Tuesday, left Portland at 4:30pm Monday and powered right through. Was happily texting with her at about 11pm last night as they were going into the homestretch. South Jersey to the house. Glad they got there safe. 

This afternoon, Jess and Sara both reported today that they have Covid. 

Fudge. 

I ran out to Walgreens to get tests and masks, Linda and I tested negative but we're both wondering if we'll test positive by Thursday or something. I'm worried we brought Covid into C's life, very stressed out about all the work she and her crew need to do over the next few days and into next week. I thought about canceling the rest of the trip and flying home today but. We decided to stick around. 

I texted C to tell her we were negative and asked if she wanted us to clear out, and clean everything and she said no. 

She got home around 7pm, packed for the trip she's leaving for tomorrow. Her cousin came over to hang out. We had a good time chatting and deciding what clothes she should take for the fancy things she has to do. Lin and I are here tomorrow, all day, will retest and decide what we are doing for foods. Get some things for Jess. Thursday we motor down to mom. 

After a big music fest, it is always fun to go through the photos everyone posts. Here are a couple shots of me and my friends. Happy and joyful faces. Thanks to one band that makes us all very happy.

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  no dedicated 10. 5700+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 176
4:30pm: 140
10:30pm: 180

food:
coffee/water
noon: metformin, some more chicken and artichokes out of the chicken piccata 
1pm: plain greek yogurt w/blueberries
wine
6pm: spinach and chicken salad; metformin+jardiance
7pm: slice of carrot cake
8-8:30pm: big chunky hard pretzel bits
9:30pm: a little more salad lin couldn't finish
wine

OTO Sunday, and Goodbye Maine Monday

It's always a drag when a 3 day festival of your favorite band comes to a close. It was so lovely to spend time with friends, and really love on our band. But the day had to begin somewhere so let's go!

Sunday we woke up to be on time to get to what they billed as the Storyteller event. 

Five years ago at OTO Sara and I had submitted a story that the drummer ended up using a part of for his closing story. It wove in wonderfully, and, well, we made him cry. 

This year, Sara submitted a story about her cat and how Spicy V (pictured here, the magical being that he is) somehow worked some magic and made her a love bug. She was stunned that Brian accepted it, he called it "weirdly moving." 

Several people shared amazing stories, I noted all of them were women. Strong voices from strong women, woven with hilarity and tears.  (EDIT: Linda reminded me that there was a guy who presented, and somehow I forgot about him even though I spent 45 minutes talking to him after at Thompson's Point about Boston Rock Radio, WBCN/WFNX, etc).

Our friend Jana read her story of her dad dying from Alzheimers. Linda had submitted a story about our dad, too, and Brian let us know that while it was great, Jana got the "Dead Dad" slot in the presentation. 

Brian also lost his dad very recently, so he got up and once again, cried. He shared some beautiful thoughts about if you know someone that you should reach out to, you should do it. 

And he brought his dog to the event, and this good boy and his good owner are just my favorite things ever. 

Jess noticed Brian's T-shirt was Frog and Toad and we both literally died at how spectacular that was. It is literally impossible to adore this guy more. 

Ash was such a good boy, that while the weekend was so outstanding and wonderful, getting the chance to meet this dog and scritch him under the chin, well. That made this weekend 900 times better.

Sara nailed her reading, everyone did such a good job. We hugged and cried and just loved one another. And Brian. And Ash. And then we had to get ready for the final show. 

We went back to the hotel, got our blankets, foodstuffs, and headed back over to Thompson's Point. First act on the list was Sunny War. I'd attended her Tiny Desk Concert in 2019 and thought she was amazing, so it was cool to have her at On The Ocean! I rushed to the rail to stand with my friends and told them how much I love her. They watched her play with amazement and awe. 

I then headed over to our crew in the VIP section where we found the literal only shade anywhere on Saturday and repeated our land grab for Sunay. Our friend V got in early due to his volunteer work, and so we were hooked up with our spot. I saw Sunny walking around with her drummer, and went over to say hi. I told her I worked at NPR and enjoyed her tiny desk. I asked her if she remembered wanting to steal the Master P action figure that was up on the shelf and she laughed, she recalled it well. "I still want one of those." 

I asked her if she was familiar with Guster and she said no, she'd never heard of them. But she accepted the festival invite and was happy she did. She was impressed with the fans and the vibe. 

By the way, when you are at your grossest, nastiest, sweatiest, you gotta take a picture with someone as cute as Sunny. 

We were treated to lots more music through the day. The Dip and Grace Potter both rocked everyone out. Guster came out and performed in its entirety their album "Lost and Gone Forever," which is one of my favorites. The energy in the crowd was amazing. 10x more than the night before. Really a fun time. We hung out and danced with our small group of friends, content to be away from the rail (but honestly wouldn't it be fun!) and the shorter beer line. 

I did a big walk around and thought about squeezing myself in on the rail with my friends but, nah. You can see and hear from everywhere. 

It isn't good for taking cel phone pix from a distance though. So I didn't bother after one or two. 

The show ended earlier than most rock shows do, Guster saying that it is helpful so people can get up and head to work in the morning. How kind of them. Really. 

We went back to our hotel room. Jess, Linda, Sara, Sean, Henry and I hung around talking. Henry got to go up to their hotel room to watch TV solo for a while, and we got to talk and laugh and be silly, until close to 1am. 

Ugh. 

I took some Zquill gummies at about 11:30am and they hit me like a freight train. I slipped into bed while Lin and Sara were still talking. I just couldn't stay awake any longer. 

Monday, the plan was check out of the hotel and go get food. Because both Linda and I had work responsibilities, I checked with the front desk to get late check out. They gave us 2pm. Jeeesh! Ok! 

We did our job things, went to the pool and got some swimming time in. Hen and Sara came down at about 1, and I knew we were cutting it super close to get ready to check out by 2, but we did it. Success! 

For lunch we went to Becky's Diner, where Lin, Ginger and I went 2 years ago. Had a great meal even though it seemed to take forever to get to us. But. Worth the wait. 

Around 4:30pm, our friends left to head back to Maryland, and Lin and I went to C's. She left us wine and snacks and food an so much stuff. Mmmmm. We had some snacky snacks of cheese an crackers, wine, blueberries, and waited for her to get home from work. 

C and Lin are sleeping and I should be too. There is a small grey gargoyle snoring next to me in the form of a little Frenchie. But I am looking forward to coffee and chillaxing tomorrow in the greatest porch in the universe. 

Digits below. Whew.

Monday digits

exercise: 10/12 hours.  Missed 4pm by accident, and missed 8pm by a few steps. 6100+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:30am: 176 
6pm: 201
11pm: 169

food:
coffee/water
I think I took metformin at 11am. 
3:30pm: broccoli and about 10 scallops. some of linda's pancake. a few of Henry's french fries
7pm: metformin+jardiance
8:30pm: a lil' char"cute"erie board with triscuits, 2 cheeses, blueberries, pepperoni
some chicken piccata C brought home.
wine

Sunday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  No measured exercise but 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:30am: 148 
6pm: 198
midnight: 176

food:
coffee/water
10:30am metformin
I think I ate one of those hotel souffles and some sausage. I know linda and I split a cheesesteak. That's about it all day. didn't track times. 
I had 2 beers at the fest. 
7pm: metformin+jardiance
At the hotel after the show, around 11pm: cheese, crackers, a lot of chocolate covered pretzels, some reeses peanut butter cups. Wine. 

OTO Saturday

Back at the hotel. Your girl can't hang. There is an afterparty at the venue, and I could not muster the energy to go. Even though I knew I'd get a ride back to the hotel from any number of friends.

Linda went. Our friend Spicy V is going to bring her back here. I have regrets now that I'm typing this. The afterparties of the past are legendary.

That's ok. I can live vicariously through everyone's photos on Facebook. 

As always, it's such a busy event. We hung out at the hotel all morning, again, and made it over to the venue early to stand in line. I had wanted to go even earlier to go to the brewery I wanted to visit, but I'm glad we got on line when we did. 

The show was fantastic. We missed out on most of Queen of Jeans, but Trousdale was amazing. So fantastic. Kevin Morby was a lot of fun. And then, we went to the side stage to watch The Zambonis. 

They play songs about hockey. Over the years we've become friends with the lead guy Dave, he's a riot. And they did not disappoint. 

Yes, that's a person in a monkey suit. That's the Hockey Monkey. Legendary. 

Toad the Wet Sprocket also played, and they are just so amazingly good. We all know big hits from them like "Walk on the Ocean," and "All I Want." But they have so many other great songs, and the crowd was absolutely into it. What a great band to usher Guster onto the stage.

I have no Guster pictures because we were in the VIP section hunkered down in the only shade in the place. I would have loved to have been closer, but we were having family fun and friend time. 

Guster played a song called Eden that my sister and I always sing, and we've wanted to sing with the band. They never, ever ever everrrr play it. 

So what a joy to have it, and to stand in the audience and sing it with Linda, perfectly. And she maybe cried at the end. 

Oh, and we had a bee come visit us, and it was very special. 

It flew into me while I was spreading cheese onto a cracker, and landed right in the cheese. It was confused. We put it on this piece of wood, and  Here's a picture of Jess' hands holding the bee on a little piece of wood. My brand new camera didn't focus as well on the bee as I'd hoped! This could have been a much more perfect picture. It is still cool. 

We let the bee and the wood go through the fence behind where we were sitting, and it was there for a really long time. I was terribly worried about it. 

Eventually, we checked and it was gone. So I hope that it was very happy moving along. Thanks for visiting, bee. 

Tomorrow is another super busy day. We have to be out the door at 11 to get to a Storyteller event. Sara is one of the readers. 

And then, over to Thompson's Point again for the last day. One of the musicians, Sunny War, did a Tiny Desk and I love her. I can't wait to see her. And Grace Potter is there, right before Guster, who will play their entire Lost and Gone Forever album, to celebrate it's 25th anniversary. Has to be one of my top 5 favorite albums ever. Looking forward to this. 

Good night! Digits below.

Here's the sunset, which was amazing.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. No dedicated measured exercise, but a lot of movement. 10k+steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:45am: 140 
5pm: 195
10:45pm: 185 (retesting after metformin+jardiance)
12:30am retest: 143

food:
coffee/water
10am: 1 souffle, 2 sausage patties
noon: metformin; some pepperoni slices; wine+diet cranberry
through the day, cheese & crackers, pepperoni, some trail mix, 3 beers. shared bowls of chicken and pork BBQ with coleslaw
10:45pm: Metformin+jardiance (I forgot to pack it in my kit)

OTO Friday

Night One of OTO is in the books. Absolutely joyfun. Yes, joyfun. Joyful and Fun. Just the best. The band was amazing, the people they picked to come up on stage and perform with them were spectacular. A guy played sax, a girl played drums, some dude played the steel drums, and a kid played the bagpipes. 

Amazing. 

We had a leisurely morning, I woke up early with a charlie horse, then drove around Portland looking for a fitbit charger at many stores and struck out.  Jess picked one up that I ordered online and paid for. Hilarious how I'm addicted to that tech. 

We skipped the trip to the brewery for bracelet making, the beer release, and the merch pop-up. Instead we had a fun pool sesh with Sara and Henry for about an hour. 

My friend Jessica and her husband Dan drove up from south of Boston for the show, and they hung out here with us since the weather was crappy and goofing around Portland would have been no fun. I'm glad we had time for a visit. I'd never met Dan, and haven't seen her in person for years. 

I'm sad we didn't get a picture though. 

I'm too tired to write much else, so I'm going to hit the hay. 

I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I'll go through them all after the weekend I think. Here's a couple, and the digits are below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  no specific exercise but a lot of walking and dancing. 8100+ steps by bedtime but that's a lie because the fitbit died around 7pm, and I missed the steps count for the entire concert. 

blood glucose:

8am: 128 
5pm: 129
11pm: 204 (thanks pizza)

food:
coffee/water
8:45am: 2 turkey sausages, 2 little spinach and cheese crustless quiches 
10am: metformin
11:30am: rotisserie chicken
3pm: ritz crackers, cream cheese, salami; wine+diet cranberry juice; trail mix
6pm: 3 small slices of VERY GOOD PIZZA! 
8pm: metformin+jardiance. one beer, 2 small glasses of wine
11pm: some rotisserie chicken