pi day?

 Beware the Ides of Pi Day

    We are long past the days of having a whole pie on any day of the year!  With just the 2 of us, Jackie would have 1 slice and I would finish it off.

    So I get the little pies.  (Bob, The f_ _ _ _ in cherry pies)  I used to get them at Walgreens, but they don't carry them anymore.  Neither does Walmart.  So I have to stock up when I go to Woodman's.  

    I just like them.  I think it is the sugar glaze that appeals to me the most.

    Julia brought us a dessert today, so I won't be having pie on pi day.

    But I will have it during the Ides of March.

    Or maybe the Ides of April. Or the Ides of May.

    The Romans determined the Ides were the midpoint of the month.  Every month has them, but Julius     Caesar made March's famous when he got stabbed by malcontents. 

    But enough of that.

    I got a text from Capital One about a charge on our account.

    Jackie had purchased something about 2 weeks ago, using her card..  Today another charge for the same company showed up and Capital One flagged it.

    They sent me a test and an e-mail so I called the customer service number on the back of the card and learned that her card had been used and declined 10 different times  before a charge went through.

    So now she gets a new card.  

    I read my AARP magazine this morning that highlighted fraud 

    I am 77.  I am not young.  But some of the people that got scammed were younger than me! I wonder what people are thinking when they get texts, or e-mails either promising them riches or threatening them with arrest for some reason.

    People fall for it.  And the scammers get rich.

    So, hold on to your wallets.  Keep a close on you charges.  Be safe.

    Speaking of safe,   there is a blizzard warning for counties west of us.

    And I ain't talking Dairy Queen!

    Beware the Ides of March.  (Also the name of a band from the 60s...I think from the Chicago suburbs but I don't remember for sure.)

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Jackie got an Easter cactus from Emily and Peeps from Julia

I know.....I should not eat this stuff.  But I will, eventually!
And no, that is not a boomerang stuck in my head.  

odds and ends

 Just a collection of strange things tonight

    I have been watching Twilight Zone reruns for the past couple of weeks.

    I was surprised at the number of "famous" actors that have appeared in the series.

    The episode today had a lead male who looked familiar, but I could not place him.  When the credits rolled it turned out to be William Shatner!  Back in the late 50s he was a really good looking young man.

    Others who have appeared that I remember were Burgess Meredith and Orson Beane.  One young girl who appeared was not listed in the credits, but a search turned up her name.  She stole the show in the Twilight episode, went on to do many movies, but I don't remember her name.  

    Went to Culver's tonight.  As I was walking out 2 young men stepped in front of me and immediately apologized.  One held the first door for me and the other held the second door for me.  I thanked them and reminded myself there is hope for the future.

    Drove past 5 gas stations in town and 4 of them were at $3.59.  The fourth was $3.57.  Thanks, Sleepy Joe!  Just funny that they were all the same.  One station does offer gas for $3.49 if you pay cash, otherwise it is $3.59.  

    Watching the WBC and am amazed how many people decorate themselves.  Painted faces, costumes, wigs.....interesting to watch the crowd.  It's sort of like watching all star teams play.  Of course, I root for the Cubs and former Cubs I like, like Owen Cassie, and Kyle Schwarber.  

    Wind seems to have finally died down.  I was up until late (or early, depending on your point of view) because it just was blowing so hard I was a bit unsettled.  

    I watched a drone video of Wheatfield Indiana where a tornado went through solar farms.  I was shocked how many farms there were!  There was damage to the fields, and now I wonder if the whole field shuts down or just the damaged area.

    Please tell me we are not going to have a winter storm next week.

    Exit 99, our improv group, is performing April 17.  Details to come.  We really are a funny bunch.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

fit mess

I have a fitness tracker on my phone 

    It keeps track of the steps I take during the day.

    I set a goal, and when I reach that goal it sends me a little message.  It's like a participation trophy.

    Lately I have not been reaching my goal!

    I must not be walking as much, or not carrying my phone.

    I think it is not carrying my phone.  

    Parking far away from the front of a store is one strategy I use to increase steps, but I don't go to the store every day.  And the other day I forgot where I parked.    

    When I am close to the goal, I let Beth out at night and then march back and forth like a sentry on duty.  If my neighbors spot me they will probably think I have finally gone off the deep end.

    Last night I was real close to the goal.

    I thought if I walked around the house, I would reach the goal.

    I made 12 loops through the kitchen, great room, dining room.

    The needle did not budge.

    Made another 12 loops.....no change.

    Made 20 loops.....no change.

    By then I was damn tired, so I settled down with a cup of honey laced tea that is supposed to relax me.

    Well, it did relax me.....but drinking it at 10 before bedtime proved to be a mistake.  I was up at 12:30, 1:30, and 3 to use the bathroom.  Beth barked at some point, Jackie poked me, and I told them both I was not getting up.

    The house was quiet until Beth started barking again, Jackie started poking me again, and I said again I am not getting up to let her out.

    You know what?  Beth was fine.  

    I figure in an 8 hour period, I was up or poked 5 times.

    No wonder I am tired.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace.

tri confused

 I think I have too many books

    Let me rephrase that.  I think I am reading too many books at one time.

    I am sort of reading 4, but it's really only 2.  

    I know, it makes no sense.

    I am reading A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett.  I got this a couple of years ago for Christmas and just never started it.  Now I am almost done.

    I am also reading Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain.

    It's a bit harder reading this one because it's on my e-reader and is really long.  I think I am about 1/10th of the way through it.

    Between forgetting to charge the reader, having to renew the book, and not reading it every day, I think it will take me a long time to finish.

    I checked it out on Hoopla.  Before this I was reading Following the Equator, also by Twain.  But after I renewed it about half way through, I got a message that it was no longer available in that format.  Huh.  Guess I won't know how it ends.

    I have 2 other books I have started, but just have not gotten around to reading them completely.  Then there is the pile of books I have left to read.

    There is not enough time in the day.

    Of course, I could play less solitaire, which I am trying to do.  Then today comes along and I spend too much time losing.  Every time I lose, I play again thinking I will win. 

    That is a gamblers's mentality, right?  No matter how many coins you put in the 1 armed bandit you are always certain you are going to win on the next one.

    Sigh.

    Last night on a Rockford station's weather forecast they had a map of reported hail falling.  Smack dab in the middle was Rochelle, with no reports of hail.  East, west, north, south...... all had hail. Julia had hail. But we didn't.  Luckily.  Some of the hail was huge!  And some of the damage was unbelievable.

    It was a weird looking map.

    Today we ran the whole string.   Cloudy, snow, rain, mist, sunny, more snow, sunny cloudy.  Dark.

     Mother Nature was a manic depressive today.

Peace and Love

            Especially Peace

tis the season

 Spring is not my favorite season

    I know, winter is basically over, flowers are starting to appear, you can go outside with a sweatshirt on and still feel warm.  

    That is, if you are wearing pants or sweats.  But just a sweatshirt alone might cause neighbors to label you as a pervert or exhibitionist.

    People generally feel better in spring.  Optimistic.  Young again.  Energetic.

    I don't like spring because it is muddy.  The yard squishes when you walk on it.  

    I don't like spring because one day it could be 60, and the next day 35 with  possible snow.

    But I especially don't like spring became of nights like this.

    Our weather radio has gone off multiple times.

    Luckily, only 1 warning affected our area.  That was a severe thunderstorm with quarter sized hail, strong winds and heavy rain.

    Further adding to our luck, nothing major happened.   I don't think we even got rain.  There was a lot of lightening.  In fact, it seemed to be one continuous flash for several seconds instead of just a brief flash.

    Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.

    Every time the weather alert sounds,  Terry gets his exercise.

    I know, I need it.

    So far we have had at least 4 alerts for the area around Lena, 1 for us, 1 for the lakeshore area, 1 southern DeKalb County, 1 for Aurora and Juliet, and others I may have forgotten.

    Thunder is rumbling, a lot.

    I pulled the blinds on our windows in case it hails.  I honestly don't know if that is a protection or not, but they are all closed.

    In case of high winds, my patio and porch furniture is safe in the garage.  Of course it has been there for 5 months, but someday I will take it out.

    My stomach is not as nervous as it usually gets.  Maybe I am just getting used to storms  Or maybe I am coping by eating.

    Whatever.  Evenings like this are not good for a guy who has trouble sleeping at night.

    I took a short nap again this morning, but when I sat down at 4 to read a little bit, I fell asleep again!  This time Jackie did not wake me because she also fell asleep.  

    My fingers are crossed that we have a quiet night.

    I hope you do too.

Peace and Love

        especially Peace

national nap day

I celebrated National nap day today

    I know!  I had never heard of it either, but today is the day.

    After a looong night, a night in which going to bed at 11 was like going to bed at 10, Jackie feeling sick, Beth wanting to go out 3 times in the middle of the night, I was dang tired!

    We had help today, and I sat in my chair at 9:30, was up at 10, went back to my chair and slept until 12:30.

    To try to make me tired, Beth and I walked down to the cul de sac and back this afternoon.  That is about 1 mile.  I think we will both be pretty tired tonight.  Hope that lets me sleep.

    I went to the store at about 5 today and the parking lot at Skare Park was pretty full.  There was a line of people waiting to play disc golf!

    I actually played it by myself when the course opened several years ago.  I thought it was fun, although I admit I did not keep track of my tosses.

    I ran into a friend and mentioned the golf course and he showed me his bag of discs.  He had a driver, a putter, a wedge....and about 20 discs in total.

    I bought one disc. 

    I think if I ever go with a group of people I will be a little embarrassed at my lonely disc while they have carts to carry their bags.

    I am not a golfer, disc or otherwise.

    Although I did play an 18 hole course once and shot an 89, but they made me stop after 9 holes because I was taking too long.

    I just don't have the eye-hand coordination needed for that.  Hell, at this point in life sometimes I have trouble feeding myself!

    Speaking of which, I was looking through the pantry and found a package of noodles stuffed with cheese and a truffle sauce.  It looked really good, but the expiration date was May 2024. 

    Julia must have left it.  

    Despite my willingness to eat anything, I tossed it.

    Better safe than sorry.

Peace and Love

Oh yes I did

 I am a food pig

    I have a tendency to eat stuff.

    Crumbs left over from cookies.  Little bits of meat left on a plate.  Stuff that should really just be tossed.

    I am not hungry.  I just eat shit.

    Julia brought us some amazing cupcakes.  Tonight Jackie had half of one and I put the other away for tomorrow.  I, of course, ate my whole cupcake in one sitting.  Hell, in one mouthful, almost.

    Julia also bought some doggie cupcakes for Beth.  These are little itty bitty cupcakes with a bone on the top.

    As I was clearing dishes, little piggy noticed some cupcake on Jackie's fork.  So little biggie put it in his mouth and licked the fork clean.

    Then little biggie asked Jackie, "Did you use your fork to cut Beth's cupcake?"

    Of course the answer was yes.

    It had a nice peanut butter flavor, but seemed a little grainy.  Immediately after swallowing it I started to howl and scratch my butt across the floor.

    And I am not adjusting to the time change.

    Not this one, the one last fall.

    We woke up at 8, I went around and reset the clocks to 9, then it was shower time and breakfast/brunch time.  

    I whipped up some crepes and bacon, and we ate about 11:45.  

    After I let Emily's dogs out, I came home and intended to take a 35 minute nap.  When the alarm on my phone went off, I reset it for 20 minutes more. When that alarm went off I set it for 20 minutes more.  Jackie finally woke me.

    Last night when I was out front with Beth about 10, I heard a distinct gun shot.

    Beth immediately ran toward the door.  I don't know about her previous life, but those noises really scare her.

    I was a bit concerned, so I called the sheriff's office on their non emergency number.

    I gave my name, my concern, the dispatcher  asked my address and then asked if I lived in Hickory Ridge.  I said yes, and he said there was a deputy in that area dispatching an injured deer.

    That was actually a relief, though I did feel sorry for the deer .  My guess is a car hit it, but I don't know.

    That's why I always tell people when they leave, "Watch for deer."

Peace and Love

            especially Peace