vampire time

 Today was blood test  day in the household

    Jackie and I  got our tests for upcoming doctor appointments.

    I still get weird when it 's time.

    I talk a lot.  I look away.  I joke.

    By the time I finally shut up the draw is done and I am sent off with a tiny bandage on my arm.

    Yet I still get a little uptight about the entire procedure.  Jackie is ok with it, it's just me.

    Once I fainted when I had a blood draw.  After that I was told to lay on a bed while they did it.  But now I can sit up, talk, and get through it.

    I follow a post called Lenten Madness.  It's based on March Madness, but it features contests between saints.

    Saints.  Well, they did have a will be someday a saint person this week, but 99 percent of the contestants are saints.

    I read about two of them, then vote.  The winner of the vote advances to the next round.  Just like the basketball games, but with saints.

    Today's contest was Joan of Arc and Marina the Monk.

    Briefly, Marina lived  in the fifth or sixth century.  Her mother died and her father intended to marry her off.  Then he was going to become a monk.

    Marina  wanted no part of that.  She shaved her head, dressed like a man, and convinced her father to let her join him in the monastery.

    Time passed, after a decade her father died, and a  controversy arose, and Marina, now going by the name of Marinos, was accused of fathering a child with a poor woman.

    Instead of admitting her sex, Marinos admitted the sin and took the child in, raising it in the monastery.

    It wasn't until Marinos died that the monks discovered his secret.

    Aside from being an interesting story, I was reminded that gender identity is not a new issue.  

    Marina lived among monks as a man, no one was troubled by it, and she became a saint.

    By the way, Joan won, but it was a close vote.

    And I voted for Marina.

Peace and Love

Ripped it, again

 Once I sleep, I sleep

    We had help this morning.

    Good thing, too.

    Jackie had to use the bathroom at about 7:30.  Our help gets here at 8.

    I got her onto pot, and then decided to take a short nap.

    During my nap, Jackie called on the phone, Lisa came in, the dog barked and I slept like a log.

    Lisa eventually woke me up, and I tell you it was a great nap!

    If only I could fall asleep sooner.  

    I went to the store today, my semi-daily social outing.

    I was crossing the parking lot when a lady asked, "What are you doing?" just as I passed her on my way into the store. 

    I quickly said, "I'going shopping."

    She looked at me like I was an idiot.  She was actually on her phone, a phone I did not see.  And no, she was not talking to me.

    We've been in this house a while.

    Re-hashing our patio story, hired a guy to do the patio, paid him in full before he started because he needed an advance to buy materials, He had put the base in in the fall, paid him in the spring, and never showed up or contacted us after hat.

    I called a firm in Marengo and they came out and finished the job.  But the head guy said they could not guarantee the work because they don't know if the base was done correctly.

    The laid the pavers and it looked great.

    But a couple of years later I had a low spot.

    They came back and pulled up the pavers and leveled  it.  It looked great.

    Last year I had 2 areas that were low. Water gathered in them and I really hated to sit out there.

    This year another low spot has developed.

    So I called the Marengo people.  They came out today, looked at it, and gave me two options.  They can relevel the low areas.  OR, they can pull all the pavers, compact what is there, bring in more base material, compact that, then relay the bricks.

    Cheap ass me said, "Pull the pavers, recompact, add base, and then relay the whole thing."

    I will get an estimate next week.

    I told him I called early (actually the start of February) hoping to beat the seasonal rush.  He laughed and said they were already booked until the end of September!

    But my project is a small one.....he figures a day or day and a half..... and he will work it in between 2 of the bigger projects.

    Hopefully by the time he gets the patio done, I will have the furniture cleaned and oiled so all will look nice and I can enjoy the patio this summer.

    I probably could have enjoyed it today.  When the sun came out it was a darn nice day!

Peace and Love

                but especially Peace

Otis time

I have been monitoring my BP lately 

    BP as in blood pressure, not the gasoline.  Although I have been watching that the last few days too...... going up.

    I bought a digital BP reader a few years ago.  

    I had a heart doc appointment today, and 2 weeks ago I started recording my readings.

    They were all over the place!

    Highs in the 170s, lows in the 100 area.

    So I took my digital PB monitor  with me.

    After  the nurse took my pressure, I used mine to double check.

    My reader was 20 points higher than the one in the office!

    Nice nurse suggested getting a new reader.  She said that they don't last a long time and I have had this one maybe 3 years.

    So there.

    Stopped for chicken in Sycamore.  Got chips instead of fries.

    I should have asked them to put the chips separate from the chicken, because by the time we ate the chips were all soggy.

    So I put hem in the air fryer, set it on maximum crisp, and within 5 minutes had actually turned the chips dark, dark, dark brown.  A sensible person would have tossed them....but I am not a sensible person. 

    We got new sheets.  Came in a nice package, compact, neat.

    Then I washed them.

    I wish the local community college offered a class in fitted sheet folding.

    Damn, that is a pain.

Peace and Love

How we received them

After washing, how did they fit in that package?

If you know, you know

gassed

 Hold on to your wallets!!!!

    I was down to a quarter tank of gas, so I figured to fill up today.  (Be advised, I am talking about the van.  Not me.)

    Now, the van holds like 16 gallons or so.  

     I have a 10 cent per gallon reward to use at Casey's gas stations.  I drove past Benmy's Mobile and noticed it was $2.89.

    Benny's is always high.  Sometimes 20 cents a gallon.

    I drove to Casey's and surprise!   $3.19.  Huh.

    I stopped at Ace, which is right across the street from Benny's.  I bought grass seed  spending about 3 minutes in the store.

    Benny's was now at $2.99...10 cents more.

    I headed to Murphy's, the Walmart gas, and assumed it was going to be lower than Benny's but no!  The was $3.19 a gallon.

    So back to Benny's, where I filled up at $2.99 a gallon.

    To be honest,  it's not the money, it's the concept of getting a deal.  I hate giving the oil companies even more money, but what to do?

    I have a feeling gas prices will peak this summer, plus there will be shortages.  Don't be surprised if there is some sort of rationing, unless you are a member of the billionair's club, then you won't have any problem getting gas or jet fuel.

    Thank you Sleepy Joe!

    Jackie and I have doctor appointments in a couple of weeks.  They sent us a screening form for each of us to fill out.

    It was funny.

    For example, to the question:  Do you ever feel anxious?  Jackie put no and I put down every single friggin day.

    Are you ever depressed or sad?  Jackie said. no, I said, what?  There is an option?

    The generic form had a space for sex.  I had to squeeze in "not since my prostate  was removed."  I don't think that is what they meant, but it is what it is.  And yes, that is a TMI offering.

    I mean it's not like I spend the day  helping Jackie, or sitting in the den in front of the computer playing solitaire, checking Facebook, playing solitaire while listening to the Beatles on my outdated CD player.

    Oh..... wait minute!

    And is going to the store a form of exercise?

    I think so.

    I am not a medical professional, but I do watch Good Medicine on TV.

Peace and Love

                but especially Peace 

yikes

 I got some ticker shock today

    I had the oil changed in the van.  I had it changed last May and I realize although I had about 5,000 miles, oil has a tendency to break down over time.  To be safe, I acted.

    Afterwards I stopped at Office Depot to price printers.

    Several weeks ago I had a paper jam in my printer.  I pulled the paper out.  In pieces.

    Since then it has printed, but it makes a noise that sounds like paper is jammed.

    There is a filament that the paper slides over and that seems to be very loose.

    The printer I looked at was about $350.  

    I asked how much the cartridges were.

    Hold on to your wallet!

    Since it is a color printer it takes 4 cartridges.  Each one is about $90,  They sell a bundle of 4 for a little over $300.

    The printer does come with a starter set that is about 50 percent of a regular cartridge.

    I have fairly new cartridges.  The ink level is good.  But I know they were nowhere near that price when I bought them.

    I need to see if my cartridges will fit the new printer.  If they do, then fine.

    Meanwhile I will continue to use this one until it no longer prints correctly.

    That will be the night I need to print off a  document to keep me in the country.

    My next shock was looking at desk chairs.

    The $300 one was not veery sturdy.  The $700 one was nice.

    That is why I am still using Julia's chair.

    And no, I can't order one on line.  I have to sit in it to be sure I like it.

    While I didn't spend any money, I got a good idea on what things cost.

    Wonder if the tariffs have anything to do with that?

Peace and Love

        But especially Peace

eh

 Not much to say about today

Pretty routine.  Hum drum.

So.....

Actually feeling a little down.  My mind just keeps giving me problems.

In the middle of something I move on to something else, forgetting to finish the first thing.

It's frustrating to me and to Jackie.

I need to do better.

Peace and Love

PS....Pete took the night off.

On the go

 I have no idea how a bidet works

    I mean, I understand the basic concept.  You sit on the pot, do your business, and your personal area gets hit with a stream of either scalding hot or freezing cold water.  

    The idea is to get your hind end cleaner.  Plus, it reduces the use and disposal of toilet paper, so it has some environmental positives.

    Butt (get the pun??) once the water hits you and stops, what happens?  

    Do you pull your pants up onto a wet butt?  Do you use a paper towel to dry off?  Are there warm air driers that turn on?  

    Why are they so popular in other countries but not here?

    Finally, why am I so curious?

    The White Sox signed a Japanese player, Mirataka Murukami.  And I know his name s not spelled correctly.   Spell check must think me insane.

    He was a star in the Japanese league, hitting a lot of home runs but also striking out a  lot.

    In today's ball games, that is no longer a big issue.  Some home run hitters have high strike out numbers, but the homer offsets the K.

    Anyway, Murakkami asked for only 1 thing after he signed his contract.  He wanted a bidet in the clubhouse.  It was not a demand, just a request.

    So the Sox accommodated him, actually installing 5 bidets in the club house.  He should feel right at home. 

    I guess you could say I am bidet curious.  

    I could Google it, butt  (I did it again)  then I would have nothing to write about tonight except the old episodes of Twilight Zone I have been watching.

    Imagination....ain't it a funny thing?

Peace  and Love