Brunswick and Hagerstown

Doug and I once again headed out to look at houses on Saturday. 

First stop was an open house in Brunswick, MD. We like Brunswick, it's a gritty little town with a nice brewery and coffee shop. It is very hilly, an adventure to drive around! And there is a hugely active train depot there. You can get the MARC train into DC, if you're lucky it is actually running. They notoriously cancel trains (from what I understand...).

The open house was at a place where from the front it looks like you have to climb up 900 steps, but, there's an alley in the back for parking and that's much better. In fact, there's no door on the front of the house except for kind of a small basement door that leads into the grimy basement, so, you wouldn't want to come in the front. There's a lovely porch, but no steps up to it. Back door is the way to go!

The alley has a nice level 3 car parking slab off it, and a sidewalk to the back patio. Entering in through the kitchen, it's cute. She's cute. There are 3 nice rooms in addition to the kitchen, a first floor half bath and a big laundry room with hookups. The front door goes out onto that patio with no staircase down, which would be a gorgeous place to sit and enjoy coffee daily and watch the quiet street and the view. Toffee would be nice and safe chilling on the porch with us. 

The middle room of the three on the main floor has a beautiful wood stove and hearth. They didn't rip everything out and shove in a stupid gas fireplace the way so many houses have now. I'm not a fan of gas fireplaces.

Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms and a very small full bath. Strangely enough, the bathroom vanity is only thigh-high, not waist-high. We had a good laugh at that. 6' 2" Geoff standing 4 feet above the sink for brushing his teeth would be amuzing. 

One of the bedrooms could easily be converted to a really nice, large bathroom. If one wanted. Which I kind of would.

No usable basement at all. It was gloomy and musty. I wouldn't even want it for storage even if I had shelving and everything off the floor without a dehumidifier running all the time. Geoff would have to live on our level with us which takes his privacy and ours. 

So this wasn't the house for us. Oh, and also, they're asking way too much money. 399k is way crazy.

We did a drive-by on another house, Doug was curious about the yard and the street, and I'm glad we came by. Very crowded street with another staircase up to the front door, but nothing like the last one. It has all very fresh vinyl siding and it seems to be a 2 family without separation between the units, which is weird. Like someone was in the middle of a house flip and gave up or ran out of money? 

A second floor unfinished unit with a private bedroom, private entry, and full bath seems nice for Geoff, to be honest. And then when Geoff doesn't live with us, we could rent it out? But wow there are problems with this house other than the lack of completion for the project. 

We have NO idea who installed the heat pumps on this house - the hoses are all exposed, holes drilled into the walls and expanding foam filling the gaps. It looks like someone said "oh I can install this shit" and they bought the heat pump kit from home depot, didn't know what they were doing, and committed a crime against humanity. Every other house with heat pumps has had a lovely finished box around the hoses to protect them from the weather. Again, did someone just run out of money, time, energy to complete this? 

The backyard was an absolute mess. We're not afraid of an outdoor gardening project but really, ugh. The alley in the back ends abruptly, right before getting to the house, and it crumbles down the hill to where people have thrown garbage over the years. There is a shed at the back of the property that is just about to fall down, but someone thought to install a really nice set of double doors with a locking mechanism on it. Too bad whatever you want to get out of this shed will probably result in your death if you step on the little deck/platform by the door. 

Top it all off with the fact that the house next door was the site of a major fire at some point. No wonder it has all new siding, the side of this house probably was destroyed when the neighboring property burned. 

All told, this was a big no from both of us, not just the house but the neighborhood. All the houses are so close, you could reach out your window and get a cup of sugar from a neighbor. Way too tight. I was not comfortable with the setup.

Next, off to Hagerstown again. A different neighborhood than the last (we love the North End where the other house was, and this is much closer to downtown). 

Our broker took us to this cute house (at our request) which truly is delightful. It has everything, updated, new, wonderful. The only thing is the oven/stove which look like it could be replaced. 

As someone who uses their stove every single day, looking at the family here, they obviously do too. Six kids! And probably the most organized space I've ever seen. In the mud room, they had a wall of lockers like a school would have. Genius. Gets all the shoes and coats and nonsense off the floor! With six kids that's a feat. The mud room has the washer dryer in it, with a ton of storage and shelving. It's well done. I would want a nice bench and shoe rack, we don't need lockers. 

Walking into the kitchen, I noticed that they had notched the kids heights into the door frame coming into the kitchen. It made me think of the first house we had, where we had our kids measured up, and our neighbor kids too, in the doorway of the garage. I was remembering Matt and Megan in that moment, knowing Megan has passed on years and years ago now, it made me a little sad. It's the one thing I kind of wish we'd pulled out of the first house we owned. I wondered about this family, with all their kids (and mommy and daddy) on the door frame. Where are they moving? What is their plan? Hopefully a bigger house so bedrooms can be a little more private for the kids! 

The attic has two bedrooms (not separated by a door, it's not there) for four of the kids. A small music area, desks, and nice closets. The parents' room is on the main floor, with one full bath right there. The kitchen is so cute, and rather large, and a separate dining room which used to be a bedroom at one point, but obviously with six kids, you'd want a good place to sit for a meal. 

The living room has a lovely setup, very nice inlaid wood in the floors, and a gas fireplace. As mentioned, I hate gas fireplaces but Doug pointed out that it's nice to have one because if it does get cold out, the heat pump systems that everyone has around here usually struggle under 30 degrees so a supplemental heating source is a good idea. It gets cold around here, so I just don't understand why heat pumps are so freaking popular instead of actual furnaces. Mystery to me.

The basement has a large living room area where they had a big couch and video games. There is a really dry storage room, another half bath, a kids bedroom with a set of bunk beds, a Man Cave, and a really cool office.

The backyard is fully fenced, it has a back alley with a gate to it too and the alley is in excellent condition. And they have a trampoline, swing set, and fun playhouse that we wouldn't need but could ask to have removed (if they would do that concession). If they didn't want to take them I'm sure we could give them away on Marketplace or Nextdoor.com or something. They're in excellent condition.

Doug and I talked about converting the 2 bedrooms in the attic to a primary suite with giant bathroom, and we could live in the bedroom on the first floor for a while. 

And one of Doug's favorite things is glass "bricks" which this house has plenty of, but, the light doesn't shine through them. Which is weird. Still, they have them all over the front of the house, and it was delightful to see.

And the front porch is the cutest damn thing I've ever seen. The back porch is also incredibly cute. Porch Life in the front and the back! 

Anyway. 

We chatted with some neighbors who were having a yard sale, they were super cool and very nice. They offered me plants, if we buy the house, all I have to do is come back by and get some. We set off to check out the big park around the corner, which has a lot going on. It used to be the fairgrounds, and now has a BMX track, dog park, tons of playground area. And then a drive around the city to get acquainted with parts we had not seen yet. 

After a while, Doug said he was very hungry so we grabbed a quick BK burger, and headed to a brewery we hadn't tried yet. Thick n Thin Brewing is in another part of town away from the Hub Brewery we've visited 3 times now. We weren't sure what the food action was around there but they have a permanent food truck and we could have had a much much better burger than what we got at BK, I'm sure. 

The beer was nice, the staff was very friendly, and it was the first Saturday of the month which meant it was karaoke night! 

We watched the regulars all start to file in, lots of hugs and handshakes, lots of laughs and smiles. Doug isn't big on karaoke, so we finished our beers and headed out. I was tempted to look at their listing to see if they had any Guster songs. Maybe another time.

I met this sweet couple and their dog Harpo. I loved their shirts and asked for a picture. Harpo's first visit to the brewery according to "Sweet," which she told me goes with her name Caroline. and he's Sour. It's a joke with their grandchildren. They aren't grandma and grandpa, but Sweet and Sour. I appreciated chatting with them.

Sunday we both woke up rather early. Talked about the house. Our realtor texted to see if we are going to make an offer since Doug had wanted to sleep on it. With me going away on Wednesday, if we put in an offer Doug would be on the hook for going to the home inspection within 5 days. 

I can electronically sign things and pay the stuff that needs paid like the home inspection and termite inspection etc... 

But he'd be in charge of stuff and appointments and sometimes he's not the best at that, so I'd be pushing him to go go go. 

We'd use the same companies we used for the first house. Everyone was wonderful. I feel like this house would pass inspection in a heartbeat with flying colors and no worries. 

He's also not sure about Hagerstown overall, and is looking around at other spots. Back to Front Royal. We're in no hurry to find a place, so if this one is lost to us we'll be okay. 

I think we'll decide tomorrow what we'll do. 

The day was a lot of nothing. I watered the plants, Geoff went to the market to get a couple things for dinner tonight and tomorrow. The weather was gorgeous but I didn't go sit outside to hang out at the patio. Doug took a big nap and took Toffee for a walk while I made dinner. Doug tried to get ahold of his aunt because he wants her to decide what she's doing with her storage unit that we paid for on moving day. Today was the last day to cancel. She didn't return his calls. So I guess we'll pay another month and he's going to up his game with her to get a plan while I'm out of town (good). 

Not a lot else to report, off to bed! Digits below. 

Saturday digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 1 hour by being in the car. "dedicated 10" walk in the house while Doug was showering. 7000+ steps by bedtime. 

blood glucose:

xam: 156
n/a pm: n/a
11pm: 169

food & meds:
xam: jardiance+phentermine
11am: several slices of roast beef & some provolone cheese
3pm: met+glip; double cheeseburger from burger king
7:30pm: giant bowl of mac & cheese w/hamburger
10pm: met+glip

Sunday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 3 measurable walks, 2 for 15 min each about .72 miles each. One to the pokestop down the street, 11 min for .42 miles. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 197
4:30pm: 126
10pm: 176

food & meds:
8am: jardiance+phentermine
11:30am: pb& low sugar j on 647 bread
2pm: met+glip
2:45pm: protein shake
4:30pm: a couple cookies
6pm: chili, 2 beers
8pm: met+glip

Under the Weather

I got a tremendous headache yesterday around 4pm and went to lie down. For a bit.  I woke up in time to do the 5pm steps, and right into 6pm. Geoff was making dinner, so I laid back down again. 7pm woke up. I'm trying to pinpoint my trigger on this headache and it could be dehydration. It could be existential. 

It also could have been weather related. We had an absolute storm-filled day all day yesterday, giant thunder and lightning storms. So much rain. The phrase "under the weather" made so much sense to me as a result. 

Today, it is not even 70 degrees today but it is damp and drippy.  Storms are over, I feel better, and have been drinking a lot more water. 

At work today, my product colleague asked me to present for our team in our sprint review. He usually does but left for a long weekend in NYC last night. I'm always slightly nervous when I fill in for him, but it was a small part and fun. I felt loved by the product and development team. 

I had a check in with a colleague who used to be in that guy's position before she moved off the team in 2023. She had a baby last December and just came back. She's miserable, hates working, hates being away from her baby, feels like she can't make a decision in life without her husband, mother, and mother in law contradicting her. She needed to cry. I was happy to give her an hour of my time. It's super hard to be mom and working mom, and dealing with three other opinionated bodies while someone very small demands all your time and energy. Because she was with him pretty much exclusively for close to 7 months, the baby is mad because he does not like Grandma (who babysits him during the day) as she is Not The Mamma. 

She has decided to look into actual daycares and put him on several lists in their neighborhood. 

Babies have to get used to things Mommies have to let babies cry sometimes. 

It's hard. 

Tomorrow we're going to an open house and a showing. There is one house out of our price range in Hagerstown that I really love. We're quietly watching it to drop hopefully another 25k. It might. Who knows. 

Off to bed. Busy Busy day and weekend! 

Thursday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  kind of a 5 min. walk inside. meh. 5600+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 101
6pm: 96
11pm: 130

food & meds:
8:30am: jardiance  (out of phentermine, waiting for refill)
1pm: English muffin w/pb & low sugar j
2pm: Met+glip
3pm: 2 kielbasas
7pm: some fancy fried rice dish Geoff found online (really good)
9pm: ramekin mixed nuts 
10pm: met+glip
white wine & diet cranberry

Friday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  No walk (gotta get back in the groove!) 5k steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

8:30am: 145
5pm: 129
11pm: 186

food & meds:
8:30am: jardiance+phentermine
11:30am: English muffin w/pb  (no j because i couldn't find it)
2pm: met+glip
7pm: chicken alfredo lasagna (thanks to Geoff!) 
9pm: met+glip
3 beers

pink fluffy tree

I spent the entire day today thinking it was Thursday. How'd your day go? 

We have a crepe myrtle tree in our yard. They are all over the area. Everyone seems to have one or two on their property. Right now, they are in their absolute pink fluffy glory. 

Doug always says this tree reminds him that we are not from here. He didn't have them growing up, neither did I, and we sure didn't have them in Massachusetts. They are unique to the mid atlantic and south. They remind us we are from away.

Toffee's favorite place to be in the yard is the corner behind that tree, waiting and watching for our mailman to come down the road. She knows when it is 3pm. Time to go outside. We can't see her through the tree, but she sits there, sphinx like, waiting for him. And he comes down the road and crosses from our neighbor's yard over to the corner to give her treats. 

The tree will eventually start dropping its blooms, but it has been outrageously vivid this year. When I sleep in the guest room sometimes, I leave the blinds up so Toffee an look out the window if she wants while I'm asleep. And the sun hits that tree and the reflected glow of the pinkness floods the room. 

Soon she will be done.

We haven't sat outside much this year due to how hot it is (note: I have not complained too hard about it, I just haven't gone out there. When I got home from Richmond, I didn't go outside at all until Saturday morning when it was time to go get Linda at the airport. 

Today, I went outside. The plants needed to be watered, they're getting crispy. So I did the front porch and used the plastic container we use to fill the dog dish and coffee maker. I didn't mess with the hose or the giant watering can. Just filled it twice for the front, and four times for out back. 

It was pretty brutal out there, and the bugs made short work of me, but I had enough time to spend taking a couple pictures. I need to go out front and take care of the out of control vines and thread up my morning glories. 

This is the time of year for the garden to do her best and craziness. Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. No walk, 5700+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

8:30am: 168
5pm: 188
11:30pm: 79

food & meds:
8:30am: phentermine+jardiance 
noon: atkins protein bar
1:15pm: tuna melt on sourdough bread
2:30pm: ramekin mixed nuts
4pm: met+glip (forgot to take at 2pm) 
8pm: 3 bratwurst, no rolls
10pm: met+glip

The Mimosa Files - The Fun Days with Linz

Sorry for no posts. I've been busy. 

I picked Linz up at the airport on Saturday afternoon. We went to lunch at Savage Mill, at the Dive Bar. It was very nice and not a dive at all. We had fun walking around looking at all the different things in the Mill. I thought about us going and sitting and doing a drop in candle making class at the little shop but wanted to get us home. 

I kept getting harassed by my doctor's office to go and get bloodwork done so we got in the car, went over and I think from now on I'm just ever going over on a Saturday morning. Boom, in and out. We went to the liquor store and got 2 bottles of champagne for mimosas 

Doug went to the market to get stuff for burgers, and we had dinner and chilled out. It was so nice to just have Linz here. 

Sunday morning we were all up early, Geoff left for work and we were just happy to hang out at the house. We listened to Spotify. Linda kept asking Doug what he wanted to hear and what he was into so he'd feel part of what we were doing. He threw some wonderful things at us, and we had a super fun time between Avett Brothers, Peter Gabriel, Rush, Outlaws, and so many other things. 

We had a giant thunder storm roll through, very dramatic for a while. 

I realize I'm still sad about Neal Peart's death. 

Our friend V came by on his way to where he was staying. We had a nice visit, he cuddled my dog and brought us presents from Massachusetts, including a bunch of giant mushrooms from his job. And bagels. Always an amazing gift bringer when he comes. 

Monday morning we got up, Linda did some work, I remembered to set my out of office. 

We went to my office for a thing I can't talk about yet. But I will. When I can. But I had the best day of my life. I bet if you are reading this you can guess what it is. Don't put anything in the comments. Sshhhhhhh 

After the thing at my office, there was a small group of us who went to the brewery around the corner, SS&H, V, another friend M, and my sister. We sat and chatted for a good long time. V and the SSH team didn't know M so they got to connect with them. We talked about concerts everyone had seen, how Linda and I went to see Ghost, M went to 16 Phish concerts (and Beyonce, and Rod Stewart) and has had a heck of a summer bopping around the country enjoying live music. 

The brewery is one of my favorites and I miss being in that neighborhood, to be able to just swing in there after work and have a beer or grab some take away. 

I'm not saying I want to go back in the office more (in fact, I said to Linda as we were going down the escalator at my stop, I cannot believe I did this every day and it was my life...) but I do miss the neighborhood and the fact I would crush 10k steps daily without trying. 

Monday was a work day, complete with meetings and a product outage. Linda was "off" but also still working, there were things she needed to tend to, but for the most part she did relax. That made me happy. I had to do a meeting at 4pm, and I canceled a meeting with a client in Guam at 7pm. 

We had to take Linda to the airport. 

As much as it is nice to go home, it sucks to leave. Right? We had a super easy trip up and back. I didn't miss an hour of steps due to traffic. And she checked in after landing. 

I realized I didn't have a single picture of us together this weekend. And I didn't have a picture of us with The Very Special Thing that happened. Truly being in a moment means sometimes you just forget to take pictures. 

That's okay. We'll see each other in 9 days in Maine and take pictures. 

All told, a very good time was had. 

Linda did take several pictures of Toffee out in the yard. Here's one. Just for a picture. Four days of digits below.

Saturday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. short walk about 6 min. 8100+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:45am: 134
5pm: 154
11pm: 142

food & meds:
8:45am: phentermine+jardiance
11:30am: pb & j sandwich
1pm: spinach salad w/ shrimp 
3:30pm: met+glip
8pm: cheeseburger & potato chips
9pm: met+glip; ramekin of mixed nuts

Sunday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. another short walk, about 5 min. 5800+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7:30am: 127
4:45pm: 62 (????)
10pm: 107

food & meds:
8:45am: phentermine+jardiance
11:45am: mcmuffin sammitch w/bacon
1:45pm: met+glip
all day: mimosas & wine
6pm: burgers on the grill, some potato chips
9pm: met+glip

Monday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Metro to and from walks,  27 min, .53 miles on the way in, 27 min, .78 miles on the way out (same time, more distance, because I had to hustle back to the office and get my backpack!) 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 104
xpm: n/a 
9:30pm: 82

food & meds:
8:45am: phentermine+jardiance
9:45am: atkins protein bar
3pm: met+glip
3pm over a lump of time: thai wings, 3 beers, some tater tots
7pm: bowl of creamy pasta salad w/mushrooms & broccoli a la geoff

Tuesday digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 4pm because I was running a meeting. indoor walk, 20 min, .99 miles, 7500+ steps by bedtime (thought about a finishing walk but it is still over 90 and 90% humidity... feh). 

blood glucose:

8:15am: 126
5pm: 160
11pm: 188

food & meds:
9:45am: phentermine+jardiance 
11:30am 1/2 everything bagel w/cream cheese
1pm: 2 "everything" cookies 
2pm: met+glip
6:30pm: chinese food: Lo Mein noodles w/pork, peking ravioli, general gao's chicken, etc
9pm: white wine w/diet ginger ale, ramekin of mixed nuts

This Time Tomorrow

This time tomorrow, Lin will be here. We have the whole weekend together and a special fun thing on Monday at my office. I'm so excited. Cannot wait. We are picking her up at the airport in Baltimore a little after the noon hour. Let the joy begin.

Work was, as usual, busy. Had a really really nice discussion with a client. Did that meeting with the work bestie that I pushed off a day. So happy to make it here to Friday. or FriYay. Mad at myself for not going over to the gym at 3pm when all my meetings were over. I didn't water the garden, I need to. I need some blood work done. I'm just kind of .... exhausted. 

Got a text from my cousin about how he finished his radiation and got to keep his "medieval torture device" of a mask to hold him still. I texted back "congratulations." 

Also it's not a medieval torture device you shithead. It's to hold your fucking stupid head still so the directed radiation goes to the right place dummy. I have another friend who just finished 20 rounds of radiation for tonsil cancer, and he wrote this wonderful thing about ringing the bell and how he was so thankful for the mesh head holder. 

I read his thing five times and was so happy for him. And I pretty much forgot about my cousin after.  Never thankful, never optimistic, never open to the wonder of life and the world. Feh. That guy.

Geoff made a great dinner. 

Our toaster is dead so Doug said he'd go pick up a new one at Target. Didn't see him go do it yet. I hope he does tomorrow. 

Our mouse is back. Or I should say, we see a mouse again. So I just cleaned the kitchen up and set the closet trap where the dog food is. We'll see if it is gone tomorrow. 

Jerk. I hate killing you jerks, stop coming in my fucking HOUSE! 

Doug found two new nice houses we can maybe look at here in Maryland. They are nice. 

Anyway.

Nothing else.  

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. No walk, super lazy. 4800+ steps by bedtime 

blood glucose:

8:15am: 124
4:45pm: 88
11:45pm: 133

food & meds:
8:15am: phentermine+jardiance
2pm: met+glip; atkins protein bar
5pm: 4 celery stalks w a lot of peanutbutter
6pm: porch chop w/ a sauce geoff made, 4 pierogis
7pm: ramekin mixed nuts; white wine
9pm: met+glip

It could be worse, I could still be in Richmond

(erased Wednesday's entry, started over on Thursday)

Tuesday night after I had a LOVELY time with my friend, I spent some time talking to a couple at the bar. I'd helped them in the afternoon, after one of my car moving jaunts, because they had their bicycles and they weren't sure if they could bring them into the hotel. 

I told them they probably could, no way to know if you don't just do it, right? Turns out that yes, you can bring your bicycles into the hotel. 

So at the bar, they were drinking old fashioneds and I heard them ask the bartender what was good to see around town. He skipped over a couple Richmond things that I thought they should see, so I insinuated myself after a while, and chatted with them. 

They had ridden their bikes from a campground in Jamestown, Virginia (took 6 hours, in the hot hot July heat) and they had their RV and all that back at the campground. Wednesday was a day of seeing the city by bike, and then Thursday biking back to the campground. 

The bartender had recommended Shockoe Bottom, which I didn't think was that cool a place. I recommended Hollywood Cemetery, Belle Isle, and the trails all along the James River. They said they'd go do that for sure. He asked me if I lived in town and I said no, I've just been here a few times, and I know what I have liked. You seem like you'll like this too. I hope they did, and I hope their ride back to the campground this morning was good.

And then, I went back up to my room and thought about going down and putting stuff in the car to be ready for Wednesday morning. I was packed and organized, I had filled my glass with the last of the wine I wanted so that could get packed in the car. All I needed to keep upstairs was my backpack, and the change of clothing for the morning. 

But I felt lazy, and happy to sit on the bed surfing the internet doing stupid things so I opted not to head downstairs. I set my alarm clock for extra early and planned on going over to my cousin's neighborhood to walk around the grounds at the art museum to look at the sculpture garden. What a lovely way to spend about a half hour before having to wake him up. 

I really wish I had gone down to load the car up on Tuesday night. What do the kids say "insert narrator voice" and it is Morgan Freeman's voice "But she didn't go load up the car like she should have..."

In the morning, I did get up early as planned. I got my coffee, went back upstairs, thought about grabbing a shower first but instead I picked up the things to put in the car. Since I still had my sandals on. Why not. 

I discovered had a flat tire. Had I gone down to put stuff in the car at night, well, it was still light out, I would have seen it.

But there we are, not even 7am. A. Fucking. Flat. Tire. 

Okay. So change of plans. I put my stuff in the car, went upstairs, drank a few sips of coffee, and called AAA. 

They said someone could be to me by 9am. 

Oh no. No honey. That's not going to work. It is 6:55am right now. And no one can be here until 9? You are a 24 hour service. Why so long? It's because I'm somewhere safe, isn't it. Well. I explained my situation, how I needed to be over to his neighborhood. Radiation therapy. All that nonsense. I told her that the cousin needed to be in my car by 8:30am at the latest so the tire had to be changed by 8:15 or 8:20 at the latest. Could they please do something to make it faster. She told me she'd call me right back.

And she did.

"Someone will be there between 8 and 8:15. You will be on the road as fast as possible to take care of your family." 

Thank you. Oh my God. thank you.

I skipped the shower, I got my coffee and the rest of my gear. I went down to the car and unloaded the donut/spare which didn't want to cooperate and come out of my car. The valet, Jerome, helped me. What a sweetheart. I had everything ready for the tow truck driver. 

I sat at the bar and contemplated a mimosa but decided against it. Breakfast booze wouldn't be a good idea with the day I had ahead of me. 

I called my cousin at 7:55, I knew he'd still be asleep so he said "is the door not opening, you can just come in." I informed him this is not the reason for my call. Explaining the tire thing, I told him to just get up, get dressed, be ready, let's go. He started to panic and I said to just relax, I'll be there. It's all going to work out. I just need for you to have the bells on and be ready to go. 

The tow truck came, at 8:05. The donut was popped on. The drywall screw was pointed out to me. The hero truck driver rebuilt my trunk with the pieces of the kit for the donut, and placed my tire in the back. I made it to my cousin's house at 8:35. We were in the radiology department at 9:02. 

Done and dusted. 

And then. 

He and I had a fight after the appointment, I do not want to really REALLY get into it (well, I do. But.) 

Let's just say I have an absolute limit for raggedy racist nonsense and that limit was met. Not just met but passed, obliterated, and vaporized. 

My plan for the day had been to take him to Burger King after the appointment, which he wanted (and if he wants to eat, that's a good thing and I wanted to encourage it), go back to his apartment, do his dishes, do the laundry, take the trash out, get him some groceries. But the tire changed those plans. 

I needed to take care of my needs in getting the tire plugged, put back on, and get on my way. I knew it may be late. The tire thing was going to add time to my original plan. Before the fight, I thought I could at least get the Burger King taken care of, maybe stop at the market for eggs and bread. But I wouldn't be doing the laundry and dishes. I could still grab the trash on my way out the door.

Instead, all bets were off once he pissed me off. I dropped him off at his apartment and slammed the door behind him before he even made it down the 6 steps to his front door. I didn't even watch to see that he didn't fall. I just left. 

I went to a Midas in town. The staff was so nice. Everyone was so nice. I explained that I just wanted to get the fuck out of Richmond and go home. Could they please help me. 

Right this way ma'am, we'll get you right in. 

It was 11am, I worked for an hour and watched our (depressing) company All Staff meeting at noon. By the time the all staff was done, they were done. I was out 45 bucks but I have to say, it could have been a lot worse. I could have been stuck in Richmond another day. I could have not gotten him to and from his appointment. 

To be honest though, I like the hotel in downtown I've been staying at but Scott's Addition is the neighborhood I'll go to next. The Marriott over there is more expensive but I've got points, and there are so many restaurants, and several breweries, and it's just fun. 

If I ever go back.

I don't know.

I'm incredibly mad at him. And right now, I'm not sure how obligated I feel to be of assistance. My sister said to my mom once after she pissed me off "you just made the nicest person in the world mad at you" or something to that effect. And my cousin has done the same. 

Anyway. Because it was already 1pm, I thought about going to the Ardent Brewery and bringing some cans home but honestly I just wanted to get the fuck out of Richmond, put miles between me and that experience, and go home to my husband, son, and dog. 

Traffic driving north was wonderful, until I got to LORTON! Goddamn Lorton Virginia, why are you this way. The GPS once again routed me into town, by the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center, past the zoo, and up Rock Creek which thankfully was not flooded (like it was last week, the creek rose 10 feet in an hour). No rain, just two lanes and trees and it was relaxing. I even got to stop and do my steps at 3pm in that parking lot before the last leg of the journey. 

I told Doug about the experience. He didn't have much to say but he understood why I am so mad. He didn't ask me if I'm ever going back or not. He took the dog for a walk and I did a twenty minute indoor stroll while talking to C on the phone. 

I was asleep at 8pm. 

Today is Thursday, I woke up on time, did a lot of work. Helped a client with a DNS problem. Chatted with another client about their rebrand and did a training with their team on one of our products that they needed help with. Then, an hour long talk with my work bestie. Canceled a meeting with another bestie where we planned on getting some big things done, but I told him I didn't feel psychically able to be present and fully engaged for. He absolutely understood and we're going to meet tomorrow. And at 9pm, I worked with another client on a late night DNS switch because they wanted their website to not go down in the middle of the day. And it didn't go down at all. 

All told, a much better day today than yesterday. 

My steps yesterday and today fell short of 10k but I got walks in both days, So that's a half victory. Here are some pictures from the Tire Fiasco. Digits, below.

wednesday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Inside walk while chatting with C, 20 min/.88 mi. 8800+ steps by bedtime (could not bring myself to finish and take a short walk)

blood glucose:

7am: 120
5pm: 80
10pm: 120

food & meds:
n/a:  no phentermine+jardiance with me today, only packed 2 days worth
10am: part of a bacon, egg, cheese croissant (threw the rest out. dry and nasty) 
noon: met+glip
2pm: protein shake and protein bar snack
5pm: entenmann's chocolate donut
6:30pm: chicken penne fra diavlo a la Geoff
9pm: met+glip
white wine

thursday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 15 min indoor easy stroll while chatting with jess, .52 miles 7700+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9am: 142
5:30pm: 102
10:30pm: 95

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
11am: turkey and cheddar on english muffin w/mayo
2pm: met+glip
6pm: chicken parm
8:30pm: ramekin of mixed nuts; white wine & diet ginger ale
9pm: met+glip

How are you doing?

Back at the hospital with my cousin this morning I was pondering a lot of things as I waited. 

All the staff here on the nuclear medicine/radiology floor are very nice. But everyone says "How are you doing?" Which can be one of two things: They actually care and want to hear that people are possibly not doing well (ie: my cousin does not pull punches when anyone asks him this); or it is just an absent minded way of greeting someone. 

Do you really want to know, do you really want to ask someone with a trach tube "how are you doing?" with a big smile on your face.  Part of me wanted them to just say "Good morning." "Glad to see you today." "Let's kick some ass." 

"How are you doing" is loaded. I try personally to always avoid using it when I know someone is sad, sick, hurt. I try to think about other ways to greet people. 

But also, I want to open up that door. How are you doing? Please tell me. I'm here to listen. I want to know. I care. 

In the south here, people are different (no shit, Chris). There is a woman who works for facilities, mopping and checking the trash. She's always around on this floor. I don't know if that's her assignment or if she just likes it there. She greets everyone with a big smile, she's very religious and lets people know God is in control on this floor. "Do not worry, God is on this floor and he holds you in his hands."

Personally I appreciate her faithfulness and her comments but I always think about people who don't believe in the same God she believes in. Or they don't believe in God. Or they have been hurt by the church. Or they are exceptionally angry at God. 

I've always felt that you wait to know someone before you get into what God is up to anywhere. And then you can openly talk about it. 

But sometimes maybe that's what someone needs to hear, the same way they need to be asked "How are you doing?" 

I've never been ashamed of God or the Gospel, I've always been willing to meet people where they are for discussions and sharing ideas. I do not want to do more harm than what they're maybe going through. 

But here, people just do it. Either without thinking or thinking that possibly everyone just believes the same thing. 

Another thing I think about is if I lose my job, what would I do. I've always thought I'd be a good chaplain. But would I be a good chaplain for people dying, and their families? I've written about this before, during the hospital stay with Covid. And I still think about it from time to time. But would it wear me out? Would it make me depressed and sad? Who chaplains the chaplain? Would I be better suited to be a hospital way maker, a guide, front desk person, patient checker-inner? 

It's a day of ponderances. Heavy things. 

This morning, I stopped at the front desk to say hello to the person running it, and told her I didn't need my room cleaned, I wasn't checking out. But she looked me up and somehow I booked myself for Wednesday night, checking out Thursday, not Tonight checking out tomorrow. 

Oops. 

She fixed it but I felt like a complete idiot. She made me new room keys and noted to housekeeping that my room was still occupied. 

After I got my cousin back to his place, I parked the car out front of the hotel, came up to work. Housekeeping had made my bed and tidied up my room, and left a note saying they were happy I was there one more night. 

I tell ya, this hotel has the sweetest staff. 

A guster fan friend of mine has always told me to hit her up when I'm here, so I did reach out this morning to say hi and let her know I was in town. She had a 7pm appointment, but, she had time to swing over here and have a cocktail. So we got to hang out, catch up, talk about All The Things. She lives about 7 miles west of here, and got here in no time. I had a half hour walk on the treadmill while she was on the way over after work, and we enjoyed a sweet visit. 

I felt a little bad about not having dinner with my cousin or anything but I'm exhausted from him? I can't really write about this, and how I truly feel, but he drains me. Not just because of his medical situation but the person he is. And I'm just tired. Very tired. I am looking forward to going home tomorrow. 

We have an all staff meeting at 1pm tomorrow and I doubt I'll make it home in time so I'm trying to figure out my plan. Do I stick around until 2pm? Is there a phone number I can call into while driving to listen in? 

Anyway, here's me and my friend, and a sign at the hotel desk that made me smile. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.   30 min on the treadmill, for a good solid 1.48 miles; 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

6:45am: 150
5:15pm: 139
10pm: 178

food & meds:
6:45am: phentermine+jardiance
11am: giant cheese danish from starbucks
11:30am: Protein shake 
1:00pm: met+glip
7pm: buffalo chicken dip and some chips
8pm: the rest of yesterday's carrot cake
9pm: met+glip
white wine & diet ginger ale 

The Fan and The Bell

My cousin asked me to be to his house at 8am, for his 9am appointment. He wanted to be early, his anxiety is through the roof. I was on time for him, but he was not out of bed yet. He needed a little more time, thinking and overthinking his situation. He told me I could bring the laptop in and work if I wanted to but reminded him I need internet to do my job. So I told him hey, I'll take a walk. 

The Fan District is where he lives, in an apartment building, not one of the amazing Victorian era homes in the neighborhood. The apartment building is a piece of shit, needs a total rehab and rebuild but he's lucky right now to have a place to live so it's good. 

I walked all over the neighborhood, making sure not to wander too far away if he texted me that he was ready to go. I met lots of dogs, looked at lots of gardens, admired all the beautiful houses and thought of the one we may not be buying in Hagerstown. 

Beautiful Victorian era houses are a labor of love it seems. So many contractors out working on homes in the neighborhood here. I'm in the wrong line of business.

Back at the car, I texted him to let him know I was done with my walk, and he came out. Slowly.  We were slightly late arriving but that's alright. They got him pretty quickly and I charged his phone for him, and started working. 

They told me it would be 20 minutes and it was over two hours. 

During that time, several people came out and walked up to a bell to ring it three times. Everyone cheered. 

This is the tradition in just about every cancer treatment hospital. When you are done with your treatment, you ring the bell. 

It felt an honor to be sitting there hearing the bell, and I thought on my cousin, maybe he gets to ring the bell when he's done with treatments but he won't be cured and he said that's not bell-worthy. You should ring the bell when you've fully kicked cancer's ass.

He had a hard time today with the treatment on his head. They ordered medication for him for tomorrow and the rest of this week. They were supposed to send the order to a pharmacy but the system is down so tomorrow they'll have it waiting for him. 

He told me he does not have someone for Wednesday, so I volunteered to stay. I'm here anyway, right? I checked in with Doug and he told me that sounded alright to him.  

After the treatment, I took John back to his place and he went to bed. I had lunch at the Capital Ale House, had a zoom meeting with the newsletter team, ate a giant delicious salad, and did enjoy one beer (I wanted 10). 

Back to the hotel when my 2 hour parking expired, and I parked for 2 more hours and worked in my room. Amazingly getting a lot done between moving around Richmond. My cousin wanted to have dinner, so when my parking expired, I headed over to him. We got Indian food, I ate to much rice and naan, but it was delicious and perfect and I loved it. 

He wanted to watch a movie but I really did not have the energy for it. I got in the car, talked to C, called Doug, chatted with Doug. Got wine and ginger ale and headed back to my room. I extended my stay another night, checked in at the front desk to tell them I was not going to check out, just please leave me in the room. I'll reactivate my keys tomorrow. 

Bed. So excited for bed. Can't wait to sleep. And we do this again tomorrow. 

Digits below a weird thing I saw in Richmond.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Early morning walk around the Fan District in Richmond while waiting for my cousin. 20 min/.98 miles. 10k+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

6:45am: 79
n/a pm: n/a
10pm: 185

food & meds:
6:45am: phentermine+jardiance
7am: granola/fruit/yogurt parfait (figured it was a safe choice bc of the super low blood sugar this morning)
12:45pm: spinach and beet salad w/goat cheese and grilled chicken. One beer
2pm: brought home a slice of carrot cake, ate a portion of it, saving the rest; met+glip
7pm: indian food, butter chicken some jasmine rice, garlic naan
8pm: white wine & diet ginger ale
9pm: cashews; met+glip 

The Home Inspector

Well. 

I don't know what to say until we get the written report, but today we spent 4 hours with a wonderful home inspector and we went over this beautiful old house top to bottom. 

And we may not buy it. 

It needs a lot more work than we thought initially, and we didn't want to buy a project. There are things that look ok but are not. The seller should have done more to take care of her.

I'm feeling conflicted but realistic.

We brought Geoff with us because we wanted him to meet her. He had a really good time shadowing the home inspector and liked him a lot. It was kind of cute - he wore a really nice shirt instead of one of his metal band shirts... like he was dressing nice to go meet a sweetie. It made me want to go change into a blouse and nice pants. Like, how cute is he. 

We showed him the attic and the basement and he said "they each have pros and cons," and we talked about "where do you see yourself." 

He decided the basement was the best idea and I agree. 

So long and the short of it, she has nice things. She'll look nicer with paint in each room freshened up. But she needs a lot more work than we anticipated. 

What we can do is adjust our offer. I think, not knowing what stuff actually costs but talking to the home inspector and the realtor and knowing ballpark, 50k - 75k worth of work is needed. 

Do we want to be those people? 

I don't know. 

It was a long long day. We left the house at 8:30 and then we were at the home inspection from 10-2. After we went to Hub City brewing, had some beers and food and talked. 

Arnold, the home inspector had a real Gary vibe. He reminded us of my father in law, both Doug and I saw it and when I mentioned it Geoff said "oh my gosh yes!" I think that's why he spent so much time with him ... feeling the Gary vibe.

It made me really miss him. I wonder what he'd think of this house. Doug's mom likes it but noted that there isn't a first floor bedroom. Doug and I both told her we don't really need one, but, if somehow we did need one, the sunroom could be expanded and the 1/2 bath could be made a full bath. Very easily. 

I have feelings about this house. Furniture is placed in my brain, but, I don't need her if she is going to cost me so much time and effort. I think,  unless we could counter offer 320, with a mortgage that provided home improvement monies, and we took care of things. Maybe.

We may have to walk away from this one. Doug and I will need a deep discussion about it. We have 5 days.

After beer and food at the brewery, we headed home and Doug and I both napped. I was regretting the fact that I needed to get in the car instead of go sit in the backyard where the humidity has finally died down, and just chill and drink wine on the patio. But duty calls this week.

I am writing this from the same hotel in Richmond I stayed at a couple weeks ago. 20 bucks cheaper a night than anyone else, so yeah. Hard bed and weird wall art, and I'll just crash and sleep. I had some wine at the bar, and went through some helpdesk things and now I'm ready for bed. 

A last note on the house, on the doorframe in the foyer there is a Mezuzah,  Very small, but right there.

And I hadn't noticed it before. It made me smile, because there are often many different Mezuzahs in life. When I get on a Southwest airlines plane, I touch my lips with my fingers and then tap the little heart next to the door as we board. That is a Mezuzah to me. 

I remember being taught by a very elderly neighbor when I was growing up that this is a reminder of the covenant. 

There's a scroll inside the little box, usually, and it is a reminder of your relationship to God and your ongoing connection to His blessings. You tap your lip, you kiss your fingers, you then touch the Mezuzah. 

So it gave me pause today to see it. If this house was mine,  I'd be touching it every time I walk out the front door, I'd kiss my fingertips and tap it. I do not know if there is a scroll in it, but it is there, and ready to be a daily reminder of God's blessing and covenant with us.  I'd take a beat in my daily life and let God know that at all times and in all places that  I'm aware of Him and his covenant between me and all people. 

I was very happy to see it there. I do not know if the previous owners placed it there or the ones before them or the ones before them... but it would get a lot of traction and attention from me going forward.

Part of me was tempted to hit the treadmill upstairs but I'm just too tired. We'll let this day just be a day where I was happy to hit all 12 hours of steps, and tomorrow we have my cousin to care for. Let's go.

Alright the uncomfortable bed calls. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. no measured exercise. a lot of car time. 8500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7am: 134
5pm: 136
11:45pm: 117

food & meds:
7am: phentermine+jardiance
i don't think i ate anything before we left the house? I can't remember.
2pm: 8 buffalo wings; 2 beers
3:30: met+glip
7pm: turkey on 647 bread
10:30pm: met+glip; white wine
11:30: a couple handfuls of cashews

A busy Saturday

We were homebodies today. Doug went to the farmers market and mowed the lawn, I did some kitchen stuff and puttered around. He took a nap after a shower and I walked in the house for 20 min. 

I was going to grab the dog and go to a pokestop but the skies opened up and we got pounded by storms. The phones kept going off with flash flood emergency warnings. At first I thought it might be an overreaction based on what happened in Texas recently but we for sure were getting hammered. 

My house is right underneath that pop up box. so you can imagine the colors that are blocked.

This poor soul... dozens of cars were caught up in the 5-7 inches of rain we got in about an hour!
This is about 3 miles south of us. 

I kept checking the basement and backyard. Luckily no flooding in my house. Like in previous storms. 

I thought about the gym, but Geoff and I made dinner and then I was not motivated to go outside in the weather. The rain let up long enough for me to take Toffee out and walk up and down the walkway, but she didn't want to be out there. The princess hates wet grass.

Well, off to bed. We've got an early start tomorrow to get up to the home inspection. Geoff is coming with us, I want him to see the house and decide - attic or basement!? 

Digits below!

 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  20 min indoor walk, .96 mi. only 7600+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 146
5pm: 134
10:15pm: 145

food & meds:
8:30am: phentermine+jardiance
11:45am: english muffin w/pb
2pm: met+glip
5pm: a 2 good yogurt, a mini-coffee cake
6:30pm: baked ziti w/meat sauce, 2 pieces of garlic toast
8pm: mixed nuts; gin & diet tonic w/splash of lemonade

get those steps in

Today I was feeling foggy and heavy in the head. I usually try to do extra steps during the hours of the day but today it was just a challenge to do my 250. At 5pm, it looked like rain so Doug wasn't going to walk the dog. Geoff called for a ride home from work so he went to get him, and I squeezed in a dedicated 10. 

He ended up actually walking her, but it was so humid and gross out that I opted to walk inside. He came back sooner than I'd hoped, I wanted to get to 30 min. 

So it was about 8pm and I'm 3k steps from the goal. I just got up and started walking. 500 steps, break. 300, break, 600, break. Finally made it to 10k around 11pm. 

Doug talked to his mom tonight so he caught her up to speed on the house offer, the home inspection, and the adventures with his cousin and aunt. 

I'm so thankful she's absolutely all there, even if she has a hard time hearing. I can speak loudly to someone who is completely mentally sound. That's no problem.

Anyway. Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow but I'm exhausted. Off to bed. 

digits down there

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. short indoor walk, 10 min, .47 mi. and another one while Doug walked Toffee, 22 min, .99. 10k+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

8:45am: 134
4:15pm: 126
11pm: 106

food & meds:
8:45am: phentermine+jardiance
11:45am: bowl of mac & cheese w/left over cheese steak filling mixed in
2:30pm: met+glip
4:15pm: 3 celery stalks w/pb
6:30pm: 2 cluck pucks w/ american cheese and mayo, no bun, a little bit of french fries
9pm: met+glip
10pm: ramekin of mixed nuts

Interior Decorating

Our houseguest left today. Doug drove his cousin to pick up the aunt's car, and then drove away. Bye. 

Cousin was given one task before driving out west: Go to the storage unit, and find the box that has his mom's medication in it. Because, of course, somehow it was packed. Not set aside and held in a bag/suitcase safely for later. Nope. Either the movers packed it on Sunday and it went to the house, or, it's in the storage locker. 

He can't find it. So he called Doug like... DOUG IS GOING TO FUCKING KNOW what box it is in. And Doug said "I can't help you out with that." For as big a saint as my husband has been these past few weeks, he is done. Absolutely Done. When he got home, he ate dinner, drank a bunch of beers, and crawled into bed before 9pm. 

He earned it. And I love him. 

I'm so happy to have my house back. I stripped the bed sheets 32 seconds after they were out the door and just redressed the guest room bed. I plan on sleeping in there so I do not have to disturb him by slipping into the bedroom. 

We have our home inspection set up for Sunday morning. Here's hoping there is no black mold under all the carpeting in the attic, right?

There are things we know the house needs. First off a patio set (I need that more than the house does, to be honest) for the front porch. She will need some electrical work, the outlets in the living room are ancient and need upgraded. And there are a couple recessed can lights in the basement that do not work. We need it painted inside. I'm thinking the living room / dining room first and for certain.  The upstairs bedrooms are in good condition, I like the color on the wall in 2/3 of the room. 

Doug has claimed the Green Room as his office. He's planning to take our Stickley chair and he'd like to get a loveseat for that room, or another guest bed maybe. I don't like the green on the walls in there but if he wants it for his office I've got no complaints at all. He also has no say in the fact I'm filling the bookshelves with all our books. 

There's a little sun room off the dining room and I'll probably set my office up in there. I think I need a desk chair, I don't want to sit in a dining room chair. That'll kill my back, and it is one reason I currently sit on the love seat with a lap desk. 

Here's my picture of the space and the listing picture with some furniture in it. She's cute for a Chrissie office. I'll say that much. 

Either that, or this room is where a treadmill can go (Doug's idea since he doesn't go to the gym and I walk inside the house so why not) and I can continue to lapdesk. Also, the living room is huge, so it could have an office setup at one end. Certainly it will have shelves of plants and everything. 

We have a whole ass guest room where the current guest room furniture will go. Queen bed, etc. 

Planning Geoff's basement apartment in my brain. 

C told me once you start imagining all your things in what room they'll go.... it's your house. So it seems this is my house. 

We shall see. Tomorrow being Friday, I'm looking forward to the first day of hopeful relaxation in my own house. And then who knows what for Saturday, and Sunday is the home inspection and I drive back to Richmond to be with my cousin Monday and Tuesday. 

So many plot lines. 
Digits, below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  30 min indoor walk, 1.38 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7am: 113
5pm: 114
10:30pm: 160

food & meds:
7am: phentermine+jardiance
1pm: left over chicken breast w/guacamole & cheese
1:30pm: met+glip
6:30pm: beef stroganoff w/some rotini noodles
9pm: ramekin of mixed nuts
9:45pm: met+glip
gin & diet tonic

Only Child Houseguest

(Wednesday's entry) 

Doug's cousin has been here for a few days, the plan is that we're waiting for the aunt's car to be fixed. It overheated on Friday before the moving weekend, she managed to get it to a garage and they said they wouldn't be able to look at it until Monday. 

This is why Doug's been in the middle of moving things and people around America. It is almost like the fox, the hen, and the grain where you have to get them across the river without the fox eating the hen, the hen eating the grain. It is really very simple, but his aunt picked a place to live an hour away from where they were living, and we live an hour away in the opposite direction of where they were living. 

Somehow his cousin has not registered his own car online yet, maybe. I'm going to ask him about it today. You've been here four days. With internet. What's up with that? He may not know his plate number, he maybe tried, but we don't have any idea. Not exactly a man of action this one. 

He's been in our guest room, so I have nowhere to go when I wake up at 2-4 am and want to escape the dog bed-hog, and listen to a podcast. He doesn't check to see if anyone needs to use the bathroom before he goes in and showers or takes 25 minutes to do his business. He has asked to take our car so he can go buy himself lunch when first of all, there's a house full of food and second of all no, you're not on our insurance you may not have our car. He has the volume for notifications and the ringer on his phone and iPad cranked to 11. His phone rings all the time, with numbers he doesn't want to answer so he just lets it ring instead of hitting the fuck you button to stop the ringing. I've asked him to lower the volume. He did by a couple clicks, but. Not enough. 

I do not mind being hospitable, in fact I'm always nothing but hospitable. I open my doors to people all the time. Driving through DC to get to Florida? Please stop here for the night. Let me feed you. Take a shower. Clean fresh towels. Breakfast sandwiches from scratch. 

But having someone in the house who is an only child with only child tendencies combined with some personality quirks is wearing on my kind soul. I am ready for him to find his way out of my house. Time for you to begin your new life not near here. 

What I'm hoping is that the aunt's car is fixed today and my saint that he is husband will take the cousin, go get the car from the garage, and they can ride out west in 2 vehicles. Doug can unload all the stuff out of our car that belongs to the cousin that they rescued at the 11th hour the other day, and come home to me. 

Then, the cousin can figure out his registration/inspection situation like an adult, have his mom drive back East, and get the car from out front of their vacated condo where it is sitting. 

He said it needs a front end alignment and he doesn't want to drive it. Okay. Drive it as far as a garage and get it fixed. He will have to go to the DMV, change his address while he's at it. Do all the things. 

Speaking of doing all the things, I have a list. Gotta do those things for us, for me. Focus. 

Digits from Wednesday below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  No walk. 4700+ steps by bedtime. Completely unmotivated to do much other than the hourlies. 

blood glucose:

8am: 109
4:15pm: 92
10pm: 183

food & meds:
8am: phentermine+jardiance
11:45am: english muffin w/pb 
2:30pm: met+glip
5:15pm: ramekin mixed nuts
6:30pm: french bread pizza w/pepperoni
9pm: met+glip

Offer Accepted!

Doug called me at 2am. His phone was dead (I called twice, and when it went to voicemail I knew that was most likely the case) so he used his cousin's phone to call and update me on stuff.

He took his aunt to her new place at 9pm. He got his cousin and brought him back to the condo, so he could get as much of his stuff as possible, load it in his car and our car. He was so angry none of his stuff was packed. He was so mad but. He was there the entire day the first movers were there, and he could have had his stuff packed and moved. 

No one seems to understand how this works. 

They then came back here to the house at 4am. 

Very late night for all. I think I had just fallen asleep when he called, and got up and turned on the living room light for them. When they rolled in, Toffee lost her mind and barked and then ran around like crazy. So I was up for a while.  8:30am came so soon, trash trucks going up and down the road, and guys yelling to each other. I thought I'd try to sleep a little later but no dice. Actually on time for work. 3 hours of sleep. 

Doug slept until 9:45 when I had to wake him up. We had an appointment with the realtor to go over our offer letter detail by detail, line by line. We did our online signing of things and submitted the offer. Now we wait for acceptance. Hopefully they go for it and don't push back. Please. Right now, the price we offered with the downpayment we wanted to use gives us a mortgage payment that is 200 bucks more than what we're paying for rent right now. 

Our broker submitted the offer, they accepted, and they want to close August 28. We wanted September 12th.

Um.

Fast much?

Okay?

We agreed, and I set to work to arrange all the things that need done. All the pieces are falling into place, home inspection, mortgage, money transfer from our savings fund, and now I have to break our lease tomorrow. 

Okay. Stress. But .... okay. 

This afternoon, Doug did an online order to send food to his aunt's house because she was there with no transportation and nothing to eat. So he talked to her to find out what she needed / wanted, and placed an order at Target, got her a nice kettle and tea, towels, and a ton of other stuff. Instacart texted him to let him know when they delivered she was so happy and thankful. 

He's a saint. I tell ya. A saint. 

Doug took a big nap. The boys went to target together because his cousin wanted some things. Geoff made dinner. It was fantastic but too much carbs to be honest. No complaints though. Great meal that I didn't have to cook. 

Off to bed. What a long couple days. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 20 min indoor walk when the boys went to target, .93 miles.  7k steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

9am: 124
5pm: 170
10:45pm: 106

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
1:30pm: english muffin + pb
3:15pm: Met+glip 
5pm: ramekin mixed nuts
6:30pm: angel hair pasta w/shrimp, bacon, spinach, a la Geoff
10pm: met+glip
red wine+ginger ale

Kindness and Good People

On the last episode of "This is Crazytown," I talked about the over/under on things related to Doug's aunt. I told you how she said the moving company was coming back in the morning to move the rest of her stuff and she had permission to spend another night there. 

Insert "Narrator Voice," none of that was true. 

There was not going to be a second visit of the movers today. 

She did not have permission to stay there last night. 

The new owner showed up at 9am, expecting some mess, not expecting her ass to be sitting there and some mess. He got mad. They started to fight.  

The guy told her she had to be gone, permanently gone, by 5pm today. He was coming back with law enforcement. He was changing the locks on the doors. Done, goodbye, gone. He's not wrong. It's his house. But just look at her. Look at this mess. Look at her life. Just bear with us. We're doing our best.

Doug had a big argument with the lawyer on the phone, pointed out that the movers hardly moved a fucking thing. The lawyer said "They moved what she told them to move. She picked those things, and that's that. They did what she asked." Doug said something about contacting the attorney general about all of this, because ain't none of it is right. 

Let's not worry about all her clothes! Let's not worry about actual really nice expensive oriental rugs she has in the closet in her room (5 or 6 of them) worth probably thousands of dollars! Let's not worry about the dozens of Barbie dolls in their original packaging from the 70s!  Doug did a quick google search on them, they're worth hundreds of dollars each. Let's bring the broken chair and the Home Depot display 

She has over 10k worth of actual pricey collectibles, and none of them were packed and moved. None. She could have sold them all at some point, and paid the vast majority of debts that she had. But she's sitting on this goldmine, and it almost all was left behind. 

Doug also had a discussion with the new homeowner, who was like "hey man, I've got a timeline, you know. I am just protecting my investment." That may be true, but let's focus on moving the 80+ year old human and her 40+ years of life out of the house. Your timeline can wait.

Doug asked me reach out to a moving company. "Use your social engineering skills, and convince someone to help us." Knowing how hard it is to get same day movers, I was concerned this would not work, but I ... reached out. The company that moved us in 2021 managed to pull together a crew and a truck, and told me they'd be there between noon and 2pm. 

So he rushed over there and started loading up his car with things of value. She was hemming and hawing and arguing with him. She said she's not going to her new place until she has her car. She'll stay right there. What's he going to do about it (the new guy). 

For one, show up with the county sheriff, put you on the sidewalk in the pouring rain in your bare feet, and change the locks. That's his right. He owns the house. 

So Doug tried to convince her over and over to just pick things. Pick the things of value. He knows how to tell what's of value (in addition to the Barbies and whatnot) and he just started loading up the car. This was a rescue mission for antiques that hopefully she'll be able to sell, and continue to get money into her life, somehow. 

I arranged for a storage unit. The girl on the phone was so sweet. 10x15, one month, done. All Doug had to do was get over there before 5pm when the office closes, get the gate code, get a lock, and then he could come in and out up to 10pm any time he wants.

The movers arrived, three guys not two, and between them and Doug, they started to fill that truck. They made quick work of things and I think it all started to sink in on Doug's aunt that this is happening. This is happening. 

Doug went to get the storage unit situation set, went to CVS, got allergy medicine for one of the guys, and a ton of Gatorade. While he was gone, she kept giving them broken things, pieces of actual garbage. Things that she says "I am going to fix this," but the thing is, you've been going to fix that for 40 years. You've run out of time. No. Pick better things. Pick whole things. Do not hand the dudes broken chairs, baskets with no bottoms.  

The moving company guys were very polite, and packed things that looked like very obvious trash and asked Doug about it later. 

One of the things he told me was how kind and respectful the movers were to her. No one had a fight or argument with her. They very yes ma'amed her and packed the things. They were anxious for Doug to come back because they were honestly not sure if this broken rocking chair missing a rocker and one leg, and no seat in the bottom was actually worth taking. 

It went. So did the giant fireplace mantle that she bought at some estate auction and a 7 foot long barn beam. 

One of the guys asked "what is this thing? This big piece of wood, what is it?" And they discussed it amongst themselves, "I think it's like one of those beams in a barn or something?" Yup. Doug told them it was. "What's she got this for?" 

No idea friend, no idea. She probably paid a pretty penny for it at some auction 20 years ago thinking it'd be a nice shelf or some shit. Never did anything with it. 

Off to the storage unit! 

They got the truck unloaded, Doug and I chatted a bit. The dude who owns the place had not shown up as of 6:30 so Doug thinks he's all bluster. She was continuing to drag her feet about leaving. Going upstairs and getting "one more thing," and coming down with a ton of stuff. 

The time to have gone upstairs to get those things was when the movers were here, so they could put them in boxes and move them. 

The time to leave is now. 

He told me that all of his cousin's books, magazines, clothing - all of it is still in the house. His cousin told us all his stuff was packed and moved. So we don't know what the story is there. 

It's after 11pm, and Doug's not back yet. He has not called or texted. I do not know what his plan is. I like that we don't call each other or text incessantly sometimes, but I'm super anxious right now that he has not called yet. 

Hard to go to sleep, ya know. 

Anyway, I was so distracted today I forgot to take meds at 2pm, so took 'em at 5. And I am glad I'm still up, I can take my 9pms at 11:30. 

More tomorrow. But look. Treasures.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  30 min indoor walk for 1.28 miles while talking to C, and then to Doug. 10k+ by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 112
5pm: 179 (*)
midnight pm: 123

food & meds:
8:30am: phentermine+jardiance
2:30pm: english muffin w/pb (*) forgot to take met+glip by 2pm
5pm: Met+glip; protein shake
red wine 
6:30pm: cheesesteak filling w/mushrooms & onions. a few french fries
midnight pm: met+ glip

The Over/Under

Last night, Doug told his aunt we'd come out between 1 and 2pm. We anticipated she and/or his cousin and/or the cat would need a ride to the new house. 

I asked him this morning what the over/under would be on hearing from her even though she knew what time we'd be coming.

We didn't make it to 10am. I would have taken the under on that. For sure I thought she'd call between the movers' arrival and 10 minutes after their arrival. I was banking on 8:15am at the latest. 

She said they were fussing about the amount of stuff (no kidding) and that they weren't going to let her ride out to the new place in the moving truck with them. Like, they were being mean or something but there were probably 3 or 4 guys who would be in the cab of the truck, no room for you lady. 

She called again at 12:45 while Doug was taking a disco nap. He said he slept poorly and was up until basically 4:30am, so he was beat before we even got started. 

So when we called back, she let us know the movers had taken the truck load to the new house, there is "still a lot" and that she wanted us to give his cousin a ride to the new place where he'd spend the night. We were surprised they were gone so soon. We were anticipating they'd still be there when we got there. 

He let her know we'd be there, so we saddled up. 

The place is a wreck. There is still so much in there - so much not boxed up, piles everywhere. It does not look much different than when we were there in the past to help try to clean. Doug said upstairs the furniture was all gone, so that was good. Her couch and recliner are still in the living room, surrounded by piles of stuff. 

She said they were mad at her that there was so much stuff. Doug laughed because .... of course there is. 

I started to have an anxiety attack-ish. I don't usually have anxiety attacks, but, the place stank of mouse pee and the AC was broken, so she had fans going and it just made me super anxious. 

There was nowhere to stand or think. The sink was full of dirty dishes (as I predicted) and seriously - there is another truck load of stuff. Even if they box this all up - what's the point. 

She has some nice things still there - a really nice bookcase in the corner, a gorgeous quilt shelf with a nice quilt hanging off it. For a while she collected duck decoys for some reason and has them all up on a shelf. These things are good things and should go to the next place, but the rest. I don't know. I think a dumpster is the best option. The trick is knowing what is real and what is trash. 

So feeling overwhelmed, I took a walk. I walked around the neighborhood repeatedly, to get 10 min. (the old Dedicated 10) under my belt. I talked to one of her neighbors who moved in back at the end of 2024. She asked about what was going on. She was really sweet, and we had a nice talk. 

Doug's aunt said that the movers were coming back (she didn't know when) and they gave her permission to stay at the house so she'd be there in the morning. Doug got a phone call from the lawyer's office saying "G had the movers take what she wanted to keep and they'll be back in the morning to throw out the remaining stuff." 

Um. That's not what she said or understands. So I'm anticipating the over/under tomorrow to be right at 8. 

I also wondered what size moving truck they had, because to be honest, the amount of stuff in the new place is a lot less than what I'd thought it would be? A box truck? A small truck? Certainly not an 18-wheeler? 

Oh and the cat is back so that's a good thing. 

She complained that they said they'll be charging her for the move (duh) and that every day she's been there past June 30th. Doug said "that's the documentation you signed. That's what you agreed to. I'm not surprised and you should not be either." 

The other thing is her car is at the shop. She thinks it will be fixed and ready for tomorrow. I doubt it. So she is there tonight, and if the car isn't ready? Where's she going? Motel 6? I don't know. She has no plan for the car not to be ready. And especially with a cat - I don't know what hotel allows cats? 

Doug's cousin's car was out of commission for months, but is fixed now. However, it is unregistered and uninspected. So technically he shouldn't be driving it. That's why we drove him out west. In theory - he could have driven it. Lord knows he's been driving it for some time unregistered/uninspected. He has insurance on it so one out of 3 ain't bad. But I guess they decided not to risk it. 

He has an iPad, and somehow he has internet access on it so...  he should be able to get on the DMV website and start the process for whatever the heck Virginia requires. 

I wish him well. 

Doug's cousin had a few things that didn't make it into the truck, so he put them in our car. And we drove him out to the new place, an hour west of where they are. We got to go on a road we've never driven on before, through Virginia Wine country, where every intersection has a sign pointing to a brewery to the left or right.

We talked the way out there with him. He's a man of few words but we got some understanding of what's going on with him. He quit a job he's had for 15 years, doing the relocation it's a shit commute to deliver pizza. He isn't sure what he's going to look for next. Again, I wish him well. 

Doug pointed out that this is pretty much the first time in 48 years he's living somewhere new. I thought about that, and how weird it must be for him. And it made me a little sad but also hopeful for him. 

The new place is decent. Half the size of what they had, and it will be a challenge to get the rest of her stuff in there I think. Three bedrooms, so we told him he gets first choice of which one is his. He and Doug walked around the yard, it needs to be mowed, but it is a nice yard. They are a mile from a ton of stuff like Walmart and just about every restaurant you can imagine. So we went to dinner at Mission BBQ, and over to Walmart because his cousin forgot his toothbrush and toothpaste. 

I told him to get a pillow. And bed sheets. He's got a twin mattress on the floor, fresh in the plastic wrapper, but no sheets. So he did that. He thought I was buying him a toothbrush (no idea how he got that idea, I bought a multi-pack, so he figured one was for him? Comedy of Errors.) And I told him to buy some food because he could be alone for a couple days without transportation. 

He did not buy food. 

So Doug has no idea what he's going to do in the morning, or the afternoon. Will he walk a mile to Panera? I have no idea. 

We brought him back to the house, and he said thank you. 

That in and of itself was a win. 

Doug was dog shit tired, so I drove home for us. Thankfully the rain held off, we made it back to a happy dog and happy son. 

And we'll see what tomorrow holds. Digits. Below. 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 7pm for driving. Walk around Doug's Aunt's neighborhood while having an anxiety attack. 10 min/.43 mi. 7300+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:

9am: 86
n/a pm: n/a
10pm: 132

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
11:30am: roast beef & mayo on 647 bread
2pm: metformin. Dropped the glipizide in a puddle. oops. 
4:30pm: Mission BBQ, brisket w/some bbq sauce, mac & cheese and potato salad
9pm: met+glip
red wine

Offer and Waiting

Busy day, we went, we toured, we spent close to two hours, we made an offer. 

The things that need done are 90% cosmetic. We have some questions about some of the electrical outlets (ie: they updated the panel and most of the outlets, but not the living room and dining room. Why? and how much would it cost to upgrade these so we could plug in a TV somewhere). Most of the windows don't open, they're very original with the ropes and pulleys. Garage roof needs help. AC in the attic is drippy, so can we just bypass it and not use it (no one is going to live up there). We have to buy a washer dryer. Possibly a dishwasher. 

For a house built in 1919, she's solid, and we like her. 

We'll need a handyman for sure. And painters. 

The buyers broker (not the one we've been working with because she's only licensed in VA) is working on the comps and finding out if the house is in the historic district borders (she thinks it isn't but it's close). She's writing the contract. Hopefully next weekend we'll have our home inspection. 

The seller's agent told our broker that the sellers want to close quickly. I was thinking October, but they're thinking August. Doug pitched mid September and then we would have 2 weeks here. 

Hopefully we can break our lease without difficulty? That's something to deal with .... soon. 

After the realtor left, we chatted with the neighbors on both sides. The husband of the lady we spoke with last weekend, and the lady on the other side. They both were so sweet. 

We went to a local brewery, had a couple beers and some late lunch. Doug got a call from his aunt, and talked to her but couldn't understand anything she was saying so she had her put his cousin on the phone. 

Tomorrow may be a nightmare. She already is saying she's not going to the new house and she needs a couple more days. Her car broke down, she can't find the cat, blah blah blah. 

Doug told her "I don't think you understand, they're moving you out, and they're expecting you to not be there anymore. You'll be sleeping in the new place. You don't get more time." And she's upset because her car is in the shop, and how is she going to pick it up if she's on the other side of the state. He said his cousin has a car and can/should bring her back to get her car when it is fixed. 

It's not hard, friends. 

She said she's just going to tell the movers she's staying one more night, maybe 2, because of the car. And he said the movers aren't there to negotiate you getting out. You're getting out. You're two full weeks past when you were supposed to move. The people who bought the place have been very patient with you. You gotta go. 

He, and maybe We, will be going over there tomorrow. There may be drama. I'd rather not participate. He'd rather not participate. 

I'm super tired. So more tomorrow. Here are a couple pictures to hold you over. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Quick walk, 17 min/.7 miles; 7200+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:15am: 103
n/a pm: n/a
11:15pm: 82

food & meds:
9:15am: phentermine+jardiance
11:30pm: english muffin w/pb
4pm: buffalo wings, 2 beers; met+glip
6:30pm: grilled chicken w/guacamole
9:45pm: met+glip; piece of cheddar cheese