Next Stop, Georgia!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ein Wal, zweimal oder, Zwei Wale auf einmal. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Digits below. 

digits

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

blood glucose: 

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

food & meds:

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

A Good Yap

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Actually, no. 

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

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

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

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

Anyway. 

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

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

digits

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

blood glucose: 

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

food & meds:

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

Cranberry Orange Bread Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Digits below.

Wednesday digits

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

blood glucose: 

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

food & meds:

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

Thursday digits

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

blood glucose: 

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

food & meds:

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

A bone to pick

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

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

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

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

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

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

If it has to happen, let it be us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

digits

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

blood glucose: 

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

food & meds:

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

Camper Trailer RV whut

While we were out on our Guster/Avett adventures, Doug went to Hershey PA to an RV show. 

A little back story - Doug has wanted a vehicle for trips/camping/etc for a super long time. Kind of a dream for him. He started an e-Trade account and started socking money in there and we called it the Camper Van Fund. 

Personally, I do not want an RV. I hate them. I hate the idea of driving a house around. If you want to go camping, fucking GO CAMPING and if you're old and hate sleeping on the ground like me, upgrade your GEAR. 

I am not a fan of being on the highway with a house on wheels blocking up a lane because it isn't powerful enough to go up the mountain. I do not like watching people try to back into places with a building that they don't know how to drive. 

Also, when I see the insides of these things, I'm often confused. Honey, why are you leaving your house when you have a full size kitchen, 42 inch TV, 6 beds... rent an air BnB if you need that much space for vacation. If you need to "get away from it all," try getting away from it all. If you are bringing all the comforts of home, stay home.

Camping, being outdoors, to me (and hell if I'm some sort of idiot for feeling like this) should be a little spartan. I don't understand you if you have a leather sofa that seats 8 with recliners and cup holders and built in USB chargers. 

Over the years, I've softened my stances on a lot of things and become more "you do you, Pikachu" about personal life choices. It is no skin off my rosy nose, to steal from Stephen Colbert, if you do XYZ.

But holy fuck, RVs, man. No. 

I agree with Doug that we want to go places and do things, and because I am a princess and I prefer nice hotels to cheap nasty hotels (ahem, Willcox AZ) he sometimes gets ornery when I dig my heels in on accommodations and I don't just grab something cheap off Trivago or Travelocity. Cheap. You may save some bucks but.... cheap.

So if we had a vehicle, and could stay somewhere AT a thing instead of a hotel NEAR a thing, it would be nice. 

We have not been in agreement on the kind of thing though. I always felt, and still do, that a camper van is sufficient. Not a pop-up trailer but an actual van.

He thinks it'll be too small. And they do not have potties, so he wants some sort of trailer dealie. 

He doesn't want a GIANT thing that you need a V8 pick up truck to pull and also does not want House On Wheels, but, he wants something bigger than a camper van, that you can tow with a car. A good car. With power in the engine. 

He would like something that you park at the campground, detach the car, and then you can drive into town or go off road or have fun, without your trailer. And you can't do stuff like that with a camper van. Driving your camper van into downtown to go to the brewery is stupid. Park the trailer, take the car.

So he came back with a bunch of brochures and looked at a lot of stuff. He said there are things out there that I'll like for sure that are not giant trailers and all that. And he's right. There are tow campers that will work with a car and whatnot that are a good size but not gigantic. 

We also disagree on pooping.

He wants an actual toilet with the thing that you can pump out and not a "cassette" toilet. I feel like... Oh my GOD do not put a toilet 5 feet from where my head is and I'm sleeping. Pick campgrounds with decent non-primitive bathrooms and let's do that. I do not want a shitter right next to my face.

Now, mind you, I do enjoy not having a long way to go to poop. There is nothing worse in life than having to poo and you wake up from a dead sleep and it is an urgency. Currently, I have to walk down a flight of stairs when I wake up, and find myself in this position, and I do not like it. It is even worse when I wake up and Geoff is in our bathroom taking a shower and then I have to walk all the way down to his bathroom to go. 

I still would rather have the ability to not shit next to the bed, thank you very much.

Doug also said that camper vans are stupid expensive. 200k! for a VAN!? I told him that by the time we pick a car or SUV to tow a camper trailer and then buy the camper trailer, do you not think it is going to be close to 200k then? 

There's a lot. There is a lot to consider. And there's time for us to consider this. I'll see about posting links later to the trailers that look "doable" in my mind, that would match Doug's vision. 

Digits below these 2 pictures that I just got tonight. One is a group shot and one is me, sharing cupcakes but also being a clown. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill lunchtime run, 30 min/2.18 mi; Treadmill walk (pouring out) 35 min/1.84 mi; 13k+ steps by bedtime (trying to make up for yesterday)

blood glucose: 

8:30am: 122
4:30pm: 191
10pm: 150

food & meds:

8:30am: jardiance & new meds
1:30pm: 2 pb & low sugar j sandwiches on 647 white bread
2pm: met+glip
4:46pm: new meds; last banana muffin
6pm: chicken & rice mix by Geoff w/ some sour cream added
7:30pm: met & glip, ramekin of trail mix from ronnie
white wine

Weekend with Sistew

Friday through Sunday. Apologies for one fell swoop of an entry

(also, "Sistew" is a deliberate typo and part of the Linda/Chrissie historical lore. Intentionally used here)

Friday:
Started the day with a little bit of a sleep-in. I heard Doug come upstairs to start working and I just kept sleeping. He didn't have a meeting so I was able to just be in bed behind him. Eventually I had to pee so I got up. 

Lin was working on the porch, Toffee was enjoying the sunshine and lounging under the tree. I baked banana muffins and eventually we got our butts on the road. We stopped for me to get bloodwork done, and headed to our hotel in Virginia. 

Traffic is always hellacious going to and from, and we did sit in a horrible backup for over a half hour. I had wanted us to get here, get Lin her shower, get organized, go and be at the park by 5 but we got there much later. I had tried to put together a meet up, based on advice from the venue that we gather "In the Meadows." 

But literally everything in the park and interior venue has the name of Meadow, Meadows, Meadow related things. I thought I gave people good guidance for where to aim but somehow that wasn't enough. Herding cats via text and email is not my strong suit. 

By the time we got there, no one had gathered (I did get a text from one of the fan group members saying "There's this area with a lot of picnic tables near the concessions but the picnic tables aren't super close together..." 

Yes friend, THAT's the area - claim a table, stand there in your Guster shirt, and look welcoming. Or something. Okay. 

The show was amazing. First of all, Wolf Trap is really neat if not kind of a pain in the ass to get to. It is confusing inside but once you're in and you know where your seats are you are alright. 

Guster put on a hell of a performance. They only played about an hour as they were the opening act. They pulled some nice things out of their hat, including Elevator as the second song. Okay pull the tear jerker out right at the start. 

When your favorite band is the opening act, sometimes the crowd around you, who is there for the headliner, isn't into it. Last night I found that people were super fun. Tons and tons of Guster fans all around. The women a couple rows behind us were trying to take selfies, so I did my usual "Can I take a photo for you?" thing and they were happy to hand me the phone. 

One of them was from Tennessee, the other from Mississippi. They had these cute little handmade pins on with an acronym that I didn't ask about. One asked if I was there for Guster or the Avetts. 

"Both, really," I answered. I've seen Guster a million times but this is my first Avetts show. 

They were both thrilled, and said "oh you are in for a treat if you've never seen them!" 

"I am aware, and I've wanted to see them forever so I'm happy that my boys are their support act," I said. "Are you familiar with Guster?" I asked.

"We did our research," one lady said. When I heard an album that they did that was all a cat meowing the lyrics, I thought that was hilarious and I said, I'm in. These guys are alright." 

For reference, that link takes you to Spotify and you can listen to the Meow Mix versions of the songs. There is a story, there are reasons why, but suffice to say. Very silly. 

"I don't think they are going to meow any of the songs tonight, but I'm glad that you thought that was funny. I hope you like them." 

After they played both of them gave me thumbs up and big smiles. 

There was an intermission between acts so we went around looking for friends. Lots were around, and we got to chat with folks. 

The Avett Brothers are legit one of the most exciting and energetic bands I've ever seen. I think Doug once said they are "the best rock and roll band with a cello and a banjo on earth." 

They played for nearly two hours, I was absolutely impressed. Got to hear some of my favorites like Head Full Of Doubt, February 7, Satan Pulls The Strings, and Ain't No Man. A lot of covers, bluegrass and americana, and a few songs that my friend Ben (who was texting me from Massachusetts and is a giant Avetts fan) told me that they rarely play like the Ballad Of Love And Hate, and Bella Donna. 

We got a ride back to our hotel from our friends (hilariously, I squeezed my ass into the way back of their 7 seater mom mobile, and then I could not get out. Ha!) 

Sleep.

Saturday:

We managed to sleep to 9. Linda usually can't sleep past 7 so I'm proud of her for getting there, and falling back asleep when she woke up around 7:30. Power through, sister! 

Coffee, shower, ready to go, and hungry, we headed to Maryland to see my work wife's son play in his concert with School of Rock. He plays bass, and I've gone to each of his shows so far, just like Hen's. They are in different schools but I feel like they'd like meeting up someday. 

The trip there and back was long, but worth it. We spent almost 2 hours, the band did great, we ate a lot of food, we had a lot of fun. Their group did amazing, the songs are probably very hard to play for them. One was Toxicity by System of a Down which... is a challenge. The vocalist was a young black kid who had this amazing face paint on. I'd post pictures but I don't have parental permission (even though it was in a public space and all I want to be conscious of that). My friend doesn't want her son's face on the internet so I don't post the pics I take of him. 

After they were done and I'd eaten my weight in french fries (they make really good fries at this venue) over to the cupcake store to get some nice cuppie cakes for our friend R's birthday. It's the 22nd, but we won't see her since it is mid week and all and there isn't a Guster concert as a reason for a gathering. 

We had a hellacious time in traffic, sang songs about how 495 sucks ass and is a dick. On paper this is a 1 hour trip pushes to 2 and a half. We got back to the hotel far later than I'd intended, but we still got over to the venue for time for meeting up with friends. About a dozen of us were at the gathering, including R. And she was very surprised by the cupcakes and celebrating of her. 

My friend Jeff from high school was there with his partner, and sister (oxford comma lets you know his sister is not also his partner. This is why we use her). We had a short catch up, which was super nice and then didn't see each other again during or after. I love that he ends up at the Gusters when they come to town, and he sees bands 2 or 3 nights, sometimes more, every week. I don't know how he does it! 

He had amazing seats and posted a bunch of videos on Instagram. 

The shows were once again great. I do think that Wolf Trap is one of the nicest venues with the sweetest staff I've ever met, but the lighting is piss poor. I had to watch the screens to see the show, instead of watching the stage. There is no spotlighting or light on the front of the stage on the band, so it is just weird. But the screens seemed to have some sort of magical lighting so the performers looked good. 

My buddy H gets restless and he has a step counter on his watch, so both nights we went for walks at the venue. There are a lot of stairs, and a large area up top so we did a loop on Friday night, and a half loop on Saturday. 

The Avetts were playing and they did a huge bluegrass jam and we were up on the main level, giant screens and people on the lawn enjoying themselves but not really paying attention to the music. The lawn scene feels more like a social gathering and I guess that's okay. You've got a giant TV and music playing. Chat and eat cheese and drink wine. 

I asked Hen if he liked bluegrass and he said he did. This particular song was a lot about Jesus so he had questions about why bluegrass seems to always have a religious element. I thought that was an astute observation from an 11 year old. He likes the banjo. Thinks it has a neat sound. And the Avetts were pouring a lot of banjo into the night air. 

We had a good time. 

Back to the hotel after a couple quick friend photos and off to bed. I always have a hard time falling asleep after concerts and usually am awake until after 2am. Thank goodness for Zquill. 

Sunday

Sadly, our fun weekend was over and it was time to go. Linda decided she needed to head home instead of stay at our place for another day. She needed to have a full, dedicated work day and if she stayed with us, she'd have to leave at a reasonable hour during the workday so. 

I had wanted to take some backroads home, go through Loudoun County, head over to Great Falls and take a walk with her, but we had to boogie. 

Again, on paper, trips should take X amount of time and on this Sunday morning, the paper was right. We breezed up through Montgomery County where usually it would be a giant parking lot any time unexpectedly and 70 was a pretty ride. 

It is going to be really extra pretty coming up here in the next few weeks and I imagined how we'll be taking some toodle aboot drives around Frederick and Washington Counties. Maybe even down Skyline Drive. We'll see. 

Lin left around 1pm and was home relatively quickly. She noted that it was dark by 7-ish and that makes me sad. We're headed to that time of year where it is dark early and I hate it. I hate not being able to drive at night. Boooooooo. 

Geoff went to a concert in Baltimore on Sunday night and Doug and I had no dinner plans. He seemed like he didn't really care of there was dinner but I was getting hungry at 6. Of course, that's when you mix up a quiche and it takes until 8pm to be ready. 

Of course, of course. But nothing in my refrigerator spoke to me. I had to make due.

I sautéed a red onion and shrooms, I found a stick of goat cheese and crumbled that up, I made bacon (that was the long part, 20 minutes for bacon in the oven...) and the quiche took about an hour to bake. It was great, and of course Doug ate the hell out of it. 

I also didn't make an effort at steps. I took a nap instead (must have needed it!) and watched football. Sat on my ass the entire day pretty much. Will make up for things during the week so I don't lose my weekly average 10k+ steps. 6k is a pretty deep drop so. Wish me luck in that! 

Some pictures, and digits below for 3 days (to the best of my recollection). 

H took our selfie. Selfies run rampant around these parts.

I haven't seen this friend since Red Rocks in 2021.
"I have to get a selfie as proof to send [his daughter]"

I haven't seen her either in a few years so, yay!

Managed to get one semi-decent picture of Guster. My phone camera sucks. lol.

Happy Birthday R!

At the School of Rock show, there were several kids who had on
these Baltimore Orioles/Turnstile baseball jerseys.
I thought it was super cool

Friday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Walk around Wolf Trap 18 min/.51 mi. 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:30am: 116
xpm: n/a
11:45pm: 105

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance & new meds
10:30am: banana muffin (homemade)
11:30am: yeah, another muffin
3:30pm: new meds; chicken fried chicken, eggs, biscuit/gravy
7pm: met+glip
wine

Saturday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. not as much walking but still 10k by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:30am: 119
xpm: n/a
midnight: 174

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance & new meds
2pm: food at the brewery - lots of french fries, a really great pizza w/goat cheese, fig jam, onions. damn. 2 beers met+glip
5pm: new meds
6:30pm: cupcake
wine

Sunday digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. napped through 3pm. No walk, 6k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8:30am: 121
4:15pm: 171
10pm: 127

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance & new meds
1:30pm: granola in a bowl with milk (I thought it would be like breakfast cereal and it was not); met+glip
4pm: new meds
8pm: 2 big slices of quiche; met+glip
white wine

Sing It Out!

This is Thursday's entry written on and published Friday because I was too tired last night. 

Sometimes I like to think I'm good at multi-tasking and other times not so much. Yesterday was a blur of chores, with me starting one thing, moving onto another thing before finishing the first thing, and then oh yeah let's start a third thing. 

I was in the middle of cleaning the bathroom when I decided I needed to go get a pedicure. That sort of thing. Finish the bathroom first, chris, then...

Not how my brain works. 

Lin got to the house a little after 5:30, I immediately poured her a wine because it was a journey and a half. Getting off Long Island is such a challenge but once you make it to 78 it's a pretty straight forward very nice ride. Unless Harrisburg decides to mess with your trip (am I right, Smitty?) 

Lin and I had been joking about doing Karaoke and there's a pub not too far away where that's their Thursday night regular event. Every week. 

We went, put our names in, and enjoyed the folks singing before us. There were a LOT of older men, a few who looked like they were in stroke recovery. I think I had read somewhere long ago that singing is something that people can do in recovery when speaking is a challenge. And they had lovely voices. They picked old school country like Charlie Pride and Merle Haggard. 

Linda picked Judas Priest. 

It was kind of hilarious because it sort of set fire to the crowd and started a mini-metal trend. Another guy did Ace of Spades. 

Your humble narrator did The Weight by The Band, which really needs 3 people singing to handle the refrain (And, And, ANNNNNNDDDD you put the load/put the load right on me). Also, I usually start crying with the Crazy Chester & Jack my Dog part. Softie that I am.

For our second tunes, Linda did Rainbow in the Dark by Dio and I did Somebody Told Me by the Killers. There was a woman sitting in front of me who sang along on both of my songs, so I kind of sang to her and her husband and that was fun. 

I'd go again. 

And Doug. Doug who HATES karaoke, he was such a good sport. We needed him to come because I knew Lin would enjoy wine, and I probably could have driven. I wasn't over served but sometimes you know - seeing in the dark to drive home is a challenge. But I know this route between there and here and it is well lit enough that I could do it. 

It is just always the unfamiliar roads and low lighting that gets me. 

I'll start the Friday entry which may turn into Friday Saturday entry since we've got a concert tonight. Digits below! 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. No treadmill/walk. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8:30am: 130
xpm: n/a 
11pm: 194

food & meds:

8:30am: jardiance & new meds
1:30pm: English muffin w/pb & blueberry preserves. met+glip
3pm: net meds
7pm: buffalo wings (perfectly fried, or as the waitress called them "hard fried") met+glip
3 beers between 6:30 and 10pm

paperweight

When we were at Doug's mom's, she foisted some things upon us that we just said "yes" to. One of those items is this giant paperweight that she referred to as a doorstop. 

I could see that. It is huge. I took some pictures of it, probably should have used a paperweight holder to put it at an angle to get the shots but I used cookbooks to make it stop rolling about. I will post below. And the pictures do not do the size justice. You need to be here and behold it. 

Doug's dad used to buy things at auction or see things at sales and buy them. So mom has a lot of stuff she's at a loss about. Not worthy of throwing away but goodwill or savers or anything - they're not going to want it. No one is going to buy it.

Unless they are some weirdo like my kid, who buys weird stuff at savers. They are notorious for this as ... well.... They are Grandpa's baby after all.

So mom has been left with some really weird things. A lot are in boxes, in the garage, storage, and at some point maybe I'll be able to convince her that I'm her willing heart and hands to build shelves and plastic storage bins and help organize all of these things. 

But items like this always make me wonder. Who are these people in the picture? Obviously they are very dead by now... What was their story, though? Two sisters and a brother. A special occasion that deserved being immortalized in a paperweight.

Faces lost to history. Names lost to time.

There's a blog I read, The Bloggess, and she has a collection of vintage photos that she finds and then she does research to figure out who the people are. I am always fascinated by what she learns. Please go and read this entry about how she inherited a murder mystery. This is good stuff. 

Forensic research. Dogged determination. I absolutely respect and admire it. 

Another thing we have a few pieces of are ruby red carnival glass from places like the World's Fair or Atlantic City, where people could have their names scraped into the paint/color of the glass. 1901. Who is this person? What is the story? How did this piece end up in an antique shop outside Baltimore and why do we own it now because Doug buys stuff like this. 

He is his father's son. And I should take some pictures of those. They are very pretty and I should photograph them in the sunlight. 

Today was a pretty good day. I started the day with a check in with my PCP after the hospitalization, so there wasn't anything really to talk about. She's orderig a bunch of back-up bloodwork and urine test so I'll get that done Friday before we go down to the Guster/Avetts weekend. 

I had a great check in with our department head and a very personal and meaningful 1:1 with my manager. I'm lucky to have both of them above me in the leadership. Geoff went to the market after he got home from work, got a ton of food for the next few days. He's at hotel tomorrow and I think (hope) that when Linda gets here tomorrow we can go over to the pub and maybe be stupid and do karaoke? Maybe? 

We shall see. 

anyway, digits below these pictures of mystery and some closeups of the design. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Treadmill run, 20 min/1.45 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

7:30am: 122
5pm: 127 
10pm: 82 (checked 3 times, all very low readings 82 was the highest) 

food & meds:

7:30am: jardiance & new meds
1:30pm: quesadilla w/tuna fish; met+glip
3pm: new meds
6:30pm: piece of chicken parm
7pm: met+glip
white wine w/zero sugar cranberry 
10pm: couple handfuls of m&ms 

Chilly Morning Hot Day Comfy Night

I woke up at 6-ish this morning and boy is it dark out now at that hour. Damn. I usually play that game with myself where if it is Xam, I stay up. This morning, no way. Geoff had left for work somewhere before 5am, and so there was no downstairs noisemaker. I slinked into the guest room and Toffee didn't even notice I was gone. 

Really, if it had been light out, I would have greeted the day but ... meh.

Toff and Doug came down at 8. He fed her and let her out, made coffee. I usually let her back in when I finally schlep out of bed. 

Opening the door, I was surprised at how chilly it was. 60 degrees! ho boy! 

Then it went up over 80 this afternoon... but, like a nice 80. Not a blistering mean 80. 

And now it is back down to cool. 

Last night I did bring the Monstera in because I thought it may get too cold overnight, put her back out to enjoy the day, and brought her in again. 

Her outside days are numbered though. It is going to get up to 80, 84... the next couple days look hotcha-cha and then we look like we'll slip into a cool and rainy phase. 

Let's all enjoy this while we can. Kind of the best time of the year. 

I ran on the treadmill while Doug walked Toffee. Dear reader you may ask "well, why didn't you go too?" The answer is - meatballs were cooking! Some people won't leave the house if their washer/dryer/dishwasher are going, I won't leave if the oven is going. 

My right thigh is really tight, so I took it easy yesterday and today. Walking isn't a problem but running, I feel like I'm not lifting my right foot up all the way or something, to treat it gingerly. 

Time for a massage therapy appointment!

Anyway, back to dinner. I made the meatballs too big. Should really have cut them down to half the size I ended up making. I mean, they were delicious and all, but. Too big for the rolls! 

No one complained, especially Geoff who got home at 7. Long ass work-day for him today and it'll repeat tomorrow. 

I realized that in two sleeps Linz will be here, so I have the whole day off on Thursday. I'll get things good and ready for her arrival. 

My bag is even packed for the weekend. I'm that looking forward to it. 

Anyway - work was pretty quiet today. I did some proofreading for some comms that were getting sent out.  Nothing thrilling. 

Lots of meetings tomorrow including my quarterly with our big boss. We hardly ever talk about work, she and I. We talk about BBC shows, Britbox, gardening. I think she looks forward to chatting with me because we don't talk about the stresses and stupidity of work life. Tell me about your garden. 

No picture today, thought about the meatballs but didn't feel like going to get the camera. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Brief Treadmill run, 15 min/1.08 mi; walk without toff, 20 min/.98 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8:30am: 141
4:45pm: 154 
10:30pm: 161 

food & meds:

8:30am: jardiance & new meds
1:30pm: english muffin w/pb and low sugar j; some watermelon chunks; met+glip
3:45pm: ramekin of mixed nuts; new meds
7pm: meatballs, homemade, kind of a "sub" but the meatballs were too big so I ate the meatballs, a tiny bit of roll, and gve Toffee the rest of the bread
8:30pm: met+glip (forgot to take closer to dinner)
no wine/alcohol

Roku Ro-booooooo

Somehow, our Roku is dead. It is built into our TV, and it popped up a "system updating" message and never came back. 

Doug is a bit pissed about this because he was watching something. So now he's trying to figure it all out. 

I'm getting ready for bed. I thought about making bracelets, but oh my glob I am just tired tonight. 

The treadmill got a little bit of a run this afternoon, I was waiting for Geoff to get home from the market with some dinner fixin's. I was going to make meatballs from scratch but he started making meat sauce, and I was a little mad about that because I didn't want pasta. We had sub rolls and I wanted a small half a sub sub of meatballs. 

So I cut my run short, and then didn't feel like getting back on the treadmill. I ate some of the baked ziti he made (thankful that he cooks even if it isn't what I want!) and then after dinner I took Toffee for a walk. I went on a usual loop but then added a couple blocks on to make it a longer stroll. There is a restaurant a couple blocks away that we've tried to go to a few times, and every time it is closed. So today, there's a "coming soon" sign in the window. 

This, even after people left google reviews on their google listing about how they suck because their listing and website say they are open, and the owner keeps yelling at people to not give him bad reviews. 

Oh, the internet, you are entertaining. 

Work was pretty good, we had our monthly team meeting and I got to run through 6 things with only one minute allotted because one of my co-workers talked about his one thing for 4 minutes. That's okay, I pretty much said "there is literally so much happening that if you want to know, you can hit me up and I'll walk you through it. 

I have to update some help documentation before noon tomorrow. Proofread the release notes, and we found out the big huge server migration that was supposed to happen before the end of September is now scheduled for 'mid november' so. We'll see when she happens. 

Below are two pictures from Saturday that for some reason I could not download. But here they are today. Sorry the Roper picture is blurry, I took it through the window of the brewery. And I liked the dog's crossed paws. She was lovely.

Also, it took an hour of internet searching, but Doug figured out the Roku. Proud of him! 

Digits, below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. very short treadmill run, 10 min/.73 mi; Toffee walk 30 min/1.36 mi. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9:15am: 107
4:45pm: 94 
9:30pm: 170 

food & meds:

9:15am: jardiance & back on the new meds
12:15: roast beef and 2 slices of colby jack on 647 bread w/mayo
3pm: new meds
5:30: 2 chocolate donuts 
6:30pm: small bowl of pasta w/meat sauce (didn't finish it, meh, not hungry)
7:30pm: met+glip
no wine/alcohol

Shattered

Exactly as I thought, today I'm pretty sore. I woke up around 5am and was just super uncomfortable. Toffee was up between our backs, and I couldn't roll over so I went downstairs. She came down after a bit too and I convinced her NOT to be butt up against my ... butt. 

Doug came down around 8 something, and she was up and ready to go at it. He was in the bathroom which displeased her so she bothered me enough that I got up, and was about to feed her when Doug came out. 

We traded places, I peed, he did feed. 

And I was up for the day. 

It is football weekend, so Sundays will be tied up for us especially if the 1pm or 4pm games are ones Doug wants to see, and that's exactly what happened today. The Steelers were on at 1. 

I went to the treadmill around 1:45, and I planned on a half hour but the podcast episode I was listening to was very good and I stuck with it to the end, and by the time it was over, I was about a quarter mile from 3.1 miles, so I completed that and did a 5k inside. 

Must say my average pace of just under a 14 minute mile is decent. At one point I looked at the fitbit and it was in the 12 min mile range, which pleased me greatly. But that last half mile I did slow down a lot... mentally I get to a half hour and my brain says "we're done here." So I have to convince myself to get to 5k. 

I tried not to even look, until I was at 35 minutes (right when the podcast was ending, so I'd know how much more I had to do). 

It was brutally humid today, not so hot that it was intolerable to be outside, and I sure the hell didn't want to end up having to finish off steps tonight with a Toffee walk just to get 2k steps or something. I was happy to just stay in and put in the effort on the treadmill. 

Go, me.

This morning I decided to go back on the weight loss meds my doc had prescribed for me. I took a break over the last week plus, what with the thing that happened with the belly and the hospital and the pooping. I noticed that I've put on 7 pounds in one week so. If the meds aren't helping me lose weight as I'd hoped it sure the hell is good that it is keeping me from gaining weight. We'll see how things go this week.

My doctor and I have a check in video appointment this week at some point (I think Wednesday?) so I'll be sure to bring it up with her. 

Lin and I did a catch up on the phone, Doug was napping and Geoff was prepping dinner.  While Lin and I were talking I was watering the monstera on the porch and I knocked my favorite pint glass off the patio table. It shattered everywhere, and now I'm bummed out. I can get a replacement but this is the third thing I've busted in a week. I broke 2 small plates by knocking them into the sink (thank goodness they fell into the sink) and now this. Clumsyfuck McGee over here, I guess. 

Anyway. Not much else happening. Miss Toffee and I had a big snuggle after my run and as she slept I thought about safety and security, and how I'm happy to be someone's sanctuary. Wouldn't trade it for the world. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 5k on the treadmill, 43 min/3.1 mi. 12k+ by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8:30am: 154
5pm: 251 (note: 2 beers and a sleeve of ritz crackers at like 4pm so I expected this
10:15pm: 114 

food & meds:

8:30am: jardiance & back on the new meds
9am: slab of banana bread (last piece) 
2:30pm: met+glip
3:30pm: new meds
4pm: ritz crackers, beers
6:30pm: some steak tips geoff made, mushroom sauce; 2 more beers
8pm: met+glip; english muffin w/pb (still hungry, not a lot for dinner)

Mandatory Fun Was Actually Fun

Doug an I went down to Fairfax County for his office outing. I guess a lot of people RSVPed, but only half came. 

No worries - we got extra drink tickets as a result. Thank you, no showers! 

I honestly think it has been 2 decades or more since I've gone bowling and my body is sore tonight as a result. We had a blast, and Doug's team is super sweet and a lot of fun. 

And, blue drinks are the best drinks. 

Not 100% sure what the antler theme is here at this bowling alley but, I thought this
looked HILARIOUS!

Please note, right out the gate I broke my pointer fingernail AND my thumbnail.
Good thing I do not pay money for nail maintenance! damn!

Doug Action Shot!

Yinz, we were so very confused by the bowling ball finger holes but ... figured
it out eventually. Two thumb sizes, makes sense!

Relaxed and ready to kick ass, or whatever.

I mean, c'mon man. So good.

Blue drink in action!

Doug's co-worker has a 15 month old, and baby did NOT want to let momma bowl,
so momma did what mommas do. She "rolled" with it. Ha.

After we were done bowling, I suggested to Doug we keep on playing, just us. I mean. We were having fun. He was ready to "roll" again with rolling jokes, so we did 

He wanted to visit Leesburg, VA and hit a brewery there, so that happened. We were delighted to see that there were all these women (and men!) walking around town dressed up as Mrs. Roper from Three's Company! Turns out it was a charity pub crawl fundraiser dealie, and dozens of kaftan-sportin' fun-havers were all over town. 

Hilarious. For some reason my pictures won't download so I'll post them tomorrow. 

The brewery we went to was great. Big back seating area with a GIANT TV so we watched some college football before it started raining. We ended up back inside and watched Ropers run into the tavern across the street. When we left, we could hear them all laughing and having just the best freaking time. I love this for them and truly hope they raised a ton of money for pediatric cancer. 

We visited a used bookstore and had a wonderful time there and it was about time to head home. We took mostly back roads up back into Maryland, and got home to a nice dinner by Geoff. 

I called Jess and we had a good yap while I did a good walk (then came in to charge my fitbit and went out again for more walk and yap). 

Pretty fun day, I must say! 

And, as always, living in the south there are constant reminders of what this country was, and how people once were treated, and this mural "Journey to Freedom" on the side of the Loudoun Museum is a reminder of what people endured for freedom. 

When everyone talks about "Freedom 250" as of late, I'm always reminded that yeah, it was freedom for some, and not others for a very long and horrible time. 

Sobering, to say the least. Visit the Loudoun Museum website to learn more, and click here for local news coverage of the unveiling. 

Digits, below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  Walk and talk on the phone with Jess, 23 min/1,1 mi, plus 18 min/.63 mi (after charging the fitbit for a while. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8:30am: 122
xpm: n/a
10pm: 99 

food & meds:

8:30am: Jardiance 
at the bowling alley between noon and 2pm: buffalo wings, a couple sliders, 2 blue drinks, one slice of pizza
1pm: met+glip
4:30pm: 2 beers
6:30pm: soupy rice with chicken (the recipe is actually called Soupy Rice, that's not an adjective!) glass of red wine
7pm: met+glip

Wonderful World Horrible World

Last night, we put on the footballs and then I realized somehow, magically, it was 11pm and bedtime. So I didn't write an actual entry. Just didn't feel like lifting up the laptop and going at it. 

It's Friday and it is actually my favorite day every three weeks where we do a sprint review, where all the dev teams come together to share what they've been working on and what is coming up next. My work son owns the presentation for our publishing tools and I'm always so proud of him for what he presents. 

I slept in this morning, and missed a 9am meeting that I usually have every Friday with a colleague at 9am. Ope. Oops. Doh. She was gracious and still wanted to meet at 9:45, so we had about 15 minutes before sprint review. She lives in Brooklyn and is Jewish, and today is the first night of Rosh Hashanah and it is also 9/11 so she's full of the sad. It's hard to celebrate new year when you are remembering being 9 and your parents scooping you and your sister up from school, and hiding you from the news. 

We did have a really good chat, and she has a little boy who is not quite 2, and what a wonderful world, what a horrible world. Right? 

I hit the treadmill at 5, Geoff got home from his class and his 3 hour commute (ugh) and we just threw together dinner of mac & cheese because no one wanted to go to the market. We'll go to the market tomorrow. 

Around 8:30pm I realized it was all the way dark and it was making me sad. I took Toffee for a walk even though I was already at 10k (just about) and didn't HAVE to get extra steps but I felt like I needed a little bit of a reason to not watch TV and not pay attention to news. Just go out there and be with the dog and enjoy the quiet of the night. 

Tomorrow, we are going to a work outing with Doug's team. Somehow, they all voted for ... bowling? So. We're going bowling. It is over 2 hours from here (oh my god why do we live so far away) and so we have to be up and at them in the morning. 

Please, let there be beer and snacks at the hipster bowling place. 

More to come. I really want more apples for more apple pie or something. We can probably dovetail a farm stand visit somewhere along the way. A week from tonight, my sister will be here. I took a couple days off next week, Thursday for house cleaning and Toffee Doctor, and Friday to get our asses to our hotel and the venue for the concert. 

Honestly, can't wait for next week. 

here's a pic of Toffee after our walk, where she nestled into my legs and then went to great big snoring sleep. Digits, below. (actually, the image is not uploading so I'll futz tomorrow. goodnight!)

Thursday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill run before lunchtime meeting - 20 min/1.45 mi; Toffee Walk after dinner, 20 min/.98 mi; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8:45am: 112
4:45pm: 145
11pm: 94 

food & meds:

8:45am: Jardiance 
11am: 2 slices of sourdough everything bread toasted w/butter
1:15pm: english muffin w/pb & the last of the apricot preserves; met+glip
some bowls of kettle corn, god help me
6pm: 3 pecan sandies cookies (just to get the box out of the cabinet)
6:30pm: small bowl of penne pasta w/ meaty meat sauce; white wine

Friday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill run, 30 min/2.12 mi. Toffee walk, 20min/.9 mi; 13k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 128
4:30pm: 130
10:30pm: 138 

food & meds:

9am: Jardiance 
11am: 2 frozen breakfast burritos w/extra cheese and salsa on top
4:30pm: giant slice of banana/apple bread (note to self, don't forget to use buttermilk in the future). 
7pm: bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon. White wine; met+glip
8pm-ish: pretzel chips; white wine

Bounty of the harvest

A few weeks back, some flippin' woodchuck ate our lettuce in the garden. That sucked, but, hey! They rebounded and the woodchuck didn't come back for a second helping. 

When I got back from Massachusetts, the lettuces were looking good but not ready for picking. Getting back from Pennsylvania yesterday I noticed they'd grown like 2 feet tall. Yikes. Time to harvest! 

We didn't properly frame the tomatoes up, and so they flopped out of the planters and all over the ground. Note for next year - cage them bitches. 

I got a healthy bunch of cherry tomatoes, several nice kinds of other tomatoes. Our "big boy" tomatoes basically got trashed, they split and got buggy. So I pulled them off the plants and gave them to Toffee. That dog loves tomatoes. 

Peppers a'plenty, we've got dozens of poblano, banana, and jalapeño. 

And the aforementioned lettuce. 

I washed it all carefully and cut away the leaves that were close to the dirt because those had gone mangy. 

Due to the explosive diarrhea salad situation that the country has been experiencing, your girl has not had decent "raw greens" in a bit. So I'm was looking forward to my own home grown lettuce tonight, and tomorrow. Heck, we'll have a couple more days of it, I'm sure. There's still some out there! 

After the harvest, I came in and finally got my ass in gear to make miss Toffee a vet appointment. She's overdue on her shots, and we've been here just about a full year, so, time to get her back on track. Next, we need to finally pick a dentist. We're all overdue for cleanings. 

Bout time, kids. 

I also just went back and found the entry from when we closed on the house and it made me smile. Still so much to do. And no upstairs bathroom yet. But we'll get there. I know it will come. 

Treadmill and Dog Walk today. And then football season started. I crawled up to bed at 10:15 because ... so sleepy. 

I have pictures but they are on the phone and the phone is over there and I am too lazy to go get it. I'll post tomorrow. 

Digits below! 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. treadmill run, 20 min/1.46 mi; walk with miss Toffee after dinner, 15 min/.68 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

8am: 104
4:30pm: 105
10pm: 173 

food & meds:

8am: Jardiance ; 5 oreo cookies (just to get the container out of the cabinet)
12:30pm: zero carb whole grain wrap, 2 slices of colby jack, roast beef, tomato, mayo; met+glip
6pm: some ritz crackers
7pm: pork loin, salad (from my garden!), pierogis. White wine
8pm: met+glip
9pm: kettle corn while watching football

Dogs and Distillery

Today was hit the road day for Doug and Chris and I believe we were a balanced amount of regretful that we left, and very very ready to leave. There were peaks and peaks and peaks of what I'd call mania with Doug's mom, and some absolute nose dives of her being very dramatic. 

It was funny how on Sunday she refused to eat, too tired to eat, absolutely exhausted, cannot eat, and then she wolfed down 3 big pieces of pizza and perked right up. 

Imagine that, you're feeling overwhelmed and crappy, and all you really need is a deep breath, a beer, and a couple slices covered in beautiful fresh mushrooms. Then you're an absolute joy to be with. 

We spent time this morning with her, chatting and offering to unload her car and whatnot. She didn't know where some things were going to go, and she was all frantic about how she wanted shelves, but didn't know about getting them set up, and where will she put things while the shelves are being built (uhhhhhhh, move your car out of the car hole, I'll build the shelves and then we can move things out of the way, put the shelves where you want them, and then put the things on the shelves. It is not this hard). 

At some point I decided I should get a walk in, and headed out. It was hotter out than I thought it would be, seeing as the past few days were perfection. I decided to go all the way down to the end of mom's street, turn around, come back, and turn into each of the 3 dead end cut outs on the way back up. Then, up and around the circle at the dead end. I made it an exact half hour, a tiny bit more than 1.5 miles all told. 

We talked about mums. She is under the impression there should be some special colors this year. Doug said he did not see any when he went to home depot to get an allen wrench needed to fix a door handle in the house. 

Oh but there is supposed to be a very special rose pink color. Didn't you see them? Didn't you?

Lady, why didn't you just let us take you to home depot, get shelves, and look for special rose pink colored mums. 

No. Too much. Too much to do, think of, too much. 

Such drama. 

Anyway. She made us nice breakfast sandwiches, and we packed the car. She boxed up a few things that she wanted Doug to have, including this interesting Eagle thing. I don't necessarily need more things, but, I've learned (and I learned this from Aaron) when the parents are pushing things at you, just take them. Thank them. And if you don't really want them, donate them. Just get it over with. Just to get the day moving on further. Just do it. Take the things. 

She wanted Doug to take this stack of LIFE magazines. Initially he wasn't interested but they were all from WWII, and he finds all that interesting. And we got a small "child's desk," which no one is going to use as a desk but I can see putting it somewhere to put stuff on top of it or something. Plants. Pictures. Whatever. 

We were somewhere on the Pennsylvania Turnpike when I realized I'd left my thermal water bottle at Doug's mom's house. Damn. I love that thing. It's a thermos bottle that I picked up in Maine so I'd have a nice insulated bottle at the fest. Immediately I felt parched and wanting. 

Not sure when we're going up next, and I'm sure she'll put it safely somewhere in the kitchen, she'll drain it and wipe it bone dry and scrub the lid. She's like that. 

We stopped for gas in Somerset, after driving past a corner were dozens of people were putting flags on the street corner. Doug said "This is 9/11 country. Flight 93 went down very close to here, so for this town, this area, it's a very big deal." Indeed. 

Unlike our "esteemed" VP (cough) who said we get to "celebrate" the anniversary of 9/11 (really? CELEBRATE is the word you choose in this instance, you weirdo!) I could feel the solemnity in the act. There were several service members in uniform, lots of navy whites, and regular citizens, sticking flags into the ground. 

It felt very humbling and sobering. 

After we got gas, and got snacks, we continued down the road and got to Tall Pines distillery. Doug had noticed them the last time he was driving home and wanted to make it a point to stop in. We were happy to find them open, met the proprietor Josh, and the two dogs. They were incredibly sweet. 

What a nice roadside stop! 

I don't usually drink straight spirits, or moonshine. I've said it before to Doug and others that I have no ability to appreciate what I'm drinking. To me, the finest whiskey or bourbon, or the homegrown hoochinanny stuff like what we got today, all tastes to me like Nyquil. Sometimes, like Grape or Cherry flavored Nyquil. 

For as discerning as I can be about beer, liquor and I do not have an agreed upon taste or understanding. 

Josh gave us samples, and heck because we bought two really nice bottles he let Doug sample more than one sample! I had the strawberry rhubarb and that's all I really wanted. I thought about us buying the vanilla bourbon for baking, Lord knows that might make some ass kicking sugar cookies! My eyes are on that. And the cherries. I know how to have fun with baking and booze. 

We got home a little after 5, Geoff didn't plan a meal so it was leftovers for me and Doug made tortellini for himself. There wasn't enough for all 3 of us. Geoff will head to the market tomorrow, he's got the day off, and we'll have a decent meal before he starts week 3 of school on Tuesday. 

Toffee was thrilled to see us, Doug had to run to Lowes for a part for our toilet (which he forgot was broken when we left), and he brought her a stuffed Witch Alligator which she promptly demolished. Less than 3 minutes. Less than two minutes! monster.

Missing my water bottle somethin' fierce right now though. But not fierce enough to drive 4 hours back up north of Pittsburgh. 

Some pictures of the day, below. 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. missed 4pm from being in the car. Took a solo walk before getting on the road, 30 min/1.51 mi. Took a walk with Linda on the phone, 16 min/.8 mi; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose: 

9am: 142
xpm: n/a
10pm: 114 

food & meds:

9am: Jardiance 
11:30am: egg & ham w/swiss on a plain bagel
1pm: met+glip
3pm: road snacks: bag of combos, some corn nuts
6:30pm: large bowl of leftover tuna casserole; white wine
7pm: met+glip
kettle corn (an excessive amount) through the evening