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I love using my bank's app for depositing cheques, but until today I did not know there is a monthly maximum for mobile deposits. I had received some money from a life insurance policy a few weeks ago, which came with drafts which I can use like cheques. Early in May I transferred a smallish amount to my bank account by writing one of these drafts and depositing it via the mobile app, but today I tried to transfer a much larger amount and the deposit was refused because it was more than my monthly limit. Therefore I had to go to a bank (apparently bank branches are now known as "financial centres/centers") and make the deposit in person. Later I received an email from the bank saying they had put a hold on the deposit because there might be insufficient funds to cover it (which I know is not true), so now I'm waiting for confirmation that the money has in fact been credited to my account, but I can't help feeling like I'm being treated with suspicion. Also handling this amount of money doesn't feel real to me, which is also what S said when she inherited money from her mother years ago.

Around lunch time I had an out of the blue email from someone I'd never heard of from S's employer saying the S had some equipment that he needed to retrieve (her computer), and he could let me have a shipping label so I could send it in, or if I was close enough he could come and pick it up in person. I told him my location and he said he could come and get it, and in fact he was here only about 20 minutes later. I was very happy to finally have this taken off my hands.

Coconut, Lima beans and exercise

Things I do not like. At all. Although, I do like the smell of coconut. The texture does me in, tho. I went down to the gym this morning and did 20 minutes on the elliptical. I did not enjoy it.

I know that one day, maybe after I die, they will announce that exercise wasn't all that good for you after all. OR They will have a pill you can take instead.

I watch ad supported TV only for news and baseball so my exposure is limited but I do know that the supplement game is big and growing. Young adults swearing their liver is happier with XXX or YYY are truly the thing now. My liver is unmoved, BTW. And everyone who takes drugs for heart and diabetes will be singing and dancing up a storm. Also, not new, men can't get it up but there is actually a pill for that and all you have to do is sign up for a free account and unlimited sex is yours. So don't think those ads are wasted on me!! Also this is why it is well worth it to me to pay extra for the ad free versions of streaming services.

I have decided, to deep six the Litter Robot. It's too big and too fiddly and I know it's going to quit any day now. So I'm going to just pull the plug. We've had a lovely run but it's time to go back to the old fashioned litter box. Simple. Plus this means I can go back to the light weight litter. Amazon is bringing the new box today. I'll set it up in the same little room and run both for a day or two.

I got the final bill for condo electricity today. $7.25. The Title Company collected $250 to pay this giant bill. So I am expecting a nice refund, lordknowswhen.

I got the sticker for my license plate renewal and I need to get it down and onto the licence plate before I lose it and forget about it. I will be doing that today. No baseball until 4.

First I need a shower. I hate getting sweaty so much. See paragraph 1 above.

All dressed up

No pickleball for you. I was actually just about ready to leave when I got a message saying it was raining at the courts. So I'm now tanked up with protein and carbs and watching the rain drinking my coffee.

For some reason we got a deposit from Dana's social security for $486. No idea why. I logged onto her account and nothing is mentioned and her next payment is listed correctly. Logged onto mine to be sure. Nothing. My guess is that the universe is paying me back for the $500 that USAA lost. The funny thing is that SoFI, my new bank, saw it as an ACH deposit and kicked me up to PLUS level which has benefits including 3.08% interest on savings. I put the $486 in there where it will do the most good and be ready should anyone ever decide they want it back.

I've still got two income sources to get out of USAA. Both are about oil money of Dana's. For one of them I need the SoFi checks so I can send in a voided one. My 25 free checks should be coming soon. The other oil change needs Dana and me in the same place with her phone. They use her driver's license and a live view of her on her phone to verify ID before they will make a change. It is kind of annoying but we just need to do it. Then I wait for July's pension payment and probablly through August to be sure nothing else drops in, that I've accounted for everything. So I'll likely close it end of August. My insurance will cancel with them on the 14th of June so the bank will be all that's left.

All in all it was a PIA to change but it will end up making us more money and, really, my opinion of them is colored by history, not by the current company which has sadly become an old school crappy insurance company and crappy bank.

365 Questions 2025

1. How do you spend the majority of your free time? Basically all of my time is free since I'm not working, so I spend my free time just living my life.

2. Who do you think of first when you think of ‘success?’ Barack Obama is one of the first people I think of.

3. What did you want to be when you grew up? A librarian.

Entry tags:

insomnia

(no subject)

Yet another bad night last night. I think my brain was energised by the report from my daughter about progress on the apartment for me at their house. I just wish it would not get energised when I'm trying to fall asleep. I don't feel especially tired today; in fact, I went for an 8 km/5 mile run this morning. I am, however, expecting the tiredness to catch up with me tomorrow.

The weather is on a warming trend and will be in the 80s for the next few days. It's increasingly hazy as the week goes on too, so I expect to be spending more time inside away from both heat and haze after getting some exercise very early in the mornings.

This might work

I might have a repeatable routine going here. I woke up when Biggie said it was time. Had coffee and toast. Put on yesterday's pants and Tshirt, grabbed my stuff and went to the gym. The machine part of the gym is just on the other side of the pool from the windows and the sun is killer in the morning. So at least I remembered my sunglasses. BUT I also discovered that two of the machines are in the shade that early in the morning. Sweet. So today I did a kind of a bicycle thing. It had a bicycle seat (ouch) but also a seat back but it was vertical. 20 mins.

I did watch my friend, Holly, swim laps. Now, Holly is always bitching about the cold even when it isn't. So how in the heck was she swimming in the cold? I realized that while I could be swimming, it would not be fun because of the sun so bike was fine.

I'm now home and it's not yet 8. I'm all sweaty but since I wore yesterday's clothes, I can just step into the shower and then get dressed for the day. I think this will work for a routine - at least until we get volleyball going.

Today is the day the new girl moves in. Her name is on her door and her welcome sign is up. I do no envy her one single bit. My move in day was a nightmare that I do not care to ever revisit.

Today is also house cleaning day. I will probably use that time to make my latest Amazon return.

And more Pride robots/mini monsters. I finished up one last night and changed my mind about how to add the arms. I went to snip off the arm and snipped a hole in the monster. ARUGH. I performed emergency surgery and I think I was able to save him. I'll try new arms today.

But, first a shower.

Good morning so far

I got up and was on my bike by 6:30. Long time since I've done that. I did not push at all and stopped after half an hour. Saving my legs and butt. I'll do another half an hour on Thursday. It will take me a couple of weeks to be saddle comfortable and I'll slowly extend the time. In the past I always did too much too soon and then just gritted through the outcome. But I'm in no hurry and have a perfect place to do short runs. It is kind of a PIA to get dressed and then have to wash the stuff for just half an hour but no way am I doing it without cycling padding. I walked Zoe afterwards so had a full hour of activity.

Getting on the bike again was like putting on a well worn pair of jeans. My bike is more like a part of me when I ride. I've been doing it so long my brain automates all the shifting and watching and signalling and intersections. I turn off whatever is playing in my headphones if things are going to get interesting for one reason or another but normally my automatic functions work fine. Thousands of miles in the saddle. It is always nice to be back.

Not much happening today. An Amazon returns trip and a discussion with one of the other tech committee people. At some point. He works.

There are five of us on the committee. I suggested we get together at 6 on this past Monday. Two of the remain four even responded. One said he couldn't make it. The other asked what time (after I had stated in the subject line 6-7). That last guy and I have had some back and forth emails since and should be talking today. The guy that said he couldn't make it sent a note at 6 yesterday asking where we were. He was at the meeting place and was annoyed that we weren't there.

I'll try one more time sending out an email to get together next Tuesday. Give them a week to plan.

It turns out we are supposed to have three people to do anything but I've not seen that in any direction so who knows. Not worrying about it too much regardless.

Inflated tires

In an effort to not get maudlin over my first Tuesday without going to the Ranch I pumped up the tires of my bike. It won't be a long one but I'm going to get up and go for a neighborhood ride in the morning. I really need to move and cycling will help build up my legs again. I need to get some muscle mass back. There is sufficient room and no lack of steep terrain within the community. There is a traffic light that I can use to cross over the busy road to the adjoining community that also has a lot of real estate. We are now living in a very busy area, one of the fastest growing in the country, and it is no longer safe to ride where I have done so for years. But there are safe ways around it.

Today was pickleball day and was disappointing. There are two or three players who are really not good and will never be any better. I played with and/or against them today so I never had a challenging game. It was not fun. I still got in steps and movement but not much enjoyment. Some days are like that. I play again Wednesday.

My son is turning 46 today. Staring down 50. His eldest will be 17 in a couple of weeks. Fortunately I'm not getting old.

I'm waiting for my insurance friend to call me back and finalize my new insurance policy. By the end of next month I will have fully withdrawn from USAA. The company is not the same one I signed up with. I'm pretty happy with SoFi bank and insurance is insurance is insurance. Get the best deal you can get for the least amount of money. If I have a claim or any other issue I've got someone I know personally who will take care of it. USAA was like that once. The insurance I'm getting is about half what I was paying USAA. So it is a better deal.

Other than that it is hot.

Entry tags:

move to ct

(no subject)

It's a beautiful day although it seems more hazy this afternoon than it did this morning. I went for quite a long walk this morning, knowing the weather is supposed to get much hotter starting tomorrow.

We're finally getting moving on the accessory dwelling unit for me. My daughter has had one quote from a builder who says getting permits in their suburb is quick and easy, and we're not doing anything complicated so that part of the process should be simple. He says he should be able to start work around the end of June and it would take 4 to 5 months. They have to do some site work/excavation which will be the most expensive part of the process. She is going to get quotes from two or three other builders but she likes the idea of this guy because he has worked with our architect often before. It's almost starting to feel real at last.

My watch

I have a Pixel watch that I really like but once in a while I really really like it. Yesterday, when I walked into the Dollar Store, I realized it was not on my wrist. Fuck. I went back to the car. No joy. I had been in the apartment, then tossed something into the trash and then got into the car. So there were only a few places, I hoped, it could have fallen off.

Inside the store, I remembered to fire up 'where are my devices'. I selected the watch and it said the watch was right there... at the dollar store. So back to the car and, sure enough, in the door pocket where I had reached in to get a tissue, it was. WHEW. (When I got home, I traded that OEM band for one of my Google ones - no chance it will fail.)

This morning, I was peeing when the phone rang. The phone was in the living room. I could see on my watch that it was the finance guy. My watch lets me answer but I only tried it once in test a long time ago. But, I hit answer and heard him and told him to hang on a second and he said ok and then I even had time to go get my earphones and turn them on. It was perfect.

I do love this watch. I have an insurance policy for it. But, I just checked, and I'm screwed if it falls off and I don't find it. No more OEM bands.

I did 20 minutes on the bike. I hated it but I did it. Now I'm sweaty. So shower time.

Monday

I've already talked to my finance guy today. He's two hours ahead so nice to get that done. He's going to send me proposals of what to do with the money from the condo. I wish he'd grasp the concept of 'whatever you think is fine is fine' but, he's at least very easy to talk to and gets stuff done. I am so glad I jumped to him from my other guy. And, soon, everything will be decided and on autopilot.

I think I'm going to throw on some sweaty clothes and go ride a bike in the gym. My elliptical muscles are still sore from Friday and Saturday. I also have to deliver Martha's doll. And I made one for Julie who runs the beauty parlor. She's always very nice to me and very fun to talk to. She asked Joan to keep an eye out and snag a turquoise and pink one for her. So I have both in bags ready to deliver.

I ran out of pride colors so I tried some old Red Heart worsted that I did have in the right colors. Some of their stuff is fine but this is really for weaving and it's a bitch to knit with. Plus it's too big. So this morning, I'll pop out and see if I can find some Pride yarn in the right size. The pride robot that I put on the shelf last night had been snagged up this morning.

Not baseball today. But, I am reading a good book - NightShade - book 1 of a new series by Michael Connelly. So plenty of entertainment.

(no subject)

I slept very well last night and woke up much refreshed this morning. However, it was very cold for the time of year - minimum of about 9°C/48°F - and I was reluctant to go out for an early walk or run. I ended up going out after 9:30 am, when I found that it was quite pleasant outside. I ran about 7 km/4.5 miles. I haven't been running since last weekend because I've been babying my knees. (I've been walking instead.) The left one was inexplicably sore for a few days but seems to have recovered now. The right one is still slightly sore but not enough to keep me from running.

While I was out I noticed that the light is rather hazy, and I'm wondering if this is caused by smoke from the Canadian fires, or whether there are fires somewhere closer to here. One of my sisters and her husband are on a road trip in Canada right now. They started with a week in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where my brother-in -law's son lives, then drove to Calgary, Alberta. They haven't said anything about smoke affecting them so far.

I've got some vegetables (potatoes and butternut squash) in the slow cooker to accompany Italian sweet sausages for dinners for a few days, along with peas and broccoli. There are sheets, pillow cases, and towels out on the line. Other than that, it's a lazy Sunday.

Happy Pride!

It's only in the last few June's that being a Pride Ally has been a thing and I relish it. I'm not gay and I don't want to appropriate but I sure do want to show support. This year is even better. There's a big basket down at the front desk that is full of rainbow pride bracelets and really nice, quarter size lapel pins that nail my sentiment exactly.

I love that Timber Ridge does this. We have very few, if any, out residents, but a giant portion of the staff is very young and very gay. It would be easy for Timber Ridge to ignore Pride so I am especially grateful that they do not and I'll be wearing my pin every day, thank you.

I got a text from Martha last night asking if I could make her a Pride doll. You betcha.

It's Julio's turn in the sun patch this morning. He turns 3 this month.

This morning I plan to be at the Dollar Store when they open at 9. I have a list. Then right home for the Phillies game which starts at 10. They got the skin ripped right off their ass yesterday. Time for a bounce back. I tried to listen to some of the Mariners game but just could not. I followed it on the gameday website and they finally won in the 11th inning.

My WAY too expensive Litter Robot is acting up. I do like it but I don't like fucking with it. It needs to be taken apart and cleaned up with some bits replaced and I'm just not doing that. So yesterday I looked at replacements. There's no clear fabulous alternative. But, then I got struck by a reality bolt. Here in this apartment, I don't need no stinkin' automated litter box. I now have a crystal clear knowledge of their bathroom schedule and it's steady so easy to manage, plus, there is a shoot down to a dumpster just two doors down from here. So I'm going to just let this Litter Robot go until it dies and then replace it with a simple box.

My last monster/robot flew the coop yesterday so after Martha's Pride doll, I need to crank up that machine again.

Making progress on my day

Elbow coffee was a nice, low key affair. And it got out earlyish. So I had plenty of time in the gym. :( I do hate to sweat. So much. I had on a long sleeved shirt with a short sleeved bowling shirt over it. There was no one else in the gym so without breaking stride on my elliptical machine, I took off the long sleeved shirt and put the other one back on. It was better but not great. I hate sweating!

I did get in a solid 20 minutes. Listening to my book helped.

On my way to the gym, I stopped at the Bistro. Nhon did not have any customers so we put together my 'big order to use up my money'. I still had too much. So, at his suggestion, I donated. One of the residents worked out this deal where you can buy a case of Ensure with your meal money ($44) and then he collects all the donated cases and takes them to the Issaquah Food Bank. All you do is tell Nhon and it's a done deal. Very handy. So now I'm within a reasonable distance of my meal allowance for the month.

I need to make a quick trip to the Dollar store but I think tomorrow morning would be a better time than now. Cause now is baseball.

Entry tags:

insomnia

(no subject)

I don't think I've ever had such a bad night of insomnia as I had last night. I took a long time to fall asleep when I first went to bed, then I had been asleep for probably less than an hour when something woke me up around 10:15 pm. There had been some loud thunderstorm activity before I went to bed with the power flickering off and then on again a few times, and I think what woke me up was the fact that the power had gone off and someone's generator had started up not far away. I lay awake for a while worrying about how long the power might be off for (I was deeply traumatised about 15 years ago when our power was off for about 6 days and we had to throw out a freezer full of food), but eventually fell asleep briefly only to be woken again when the power came back on again and the neighbouring generator stopped running. (This morning the time flashing on the stove clock told me that the power had only been off for 35 or 40 minutes.)

This time I couldn't get back to sleep no matter how long I lay there, so I got up and read and played games on my tablet for a while before trying to sleep again. Unfortunately, I still couldn't get to sleep so I got up yet again and passed more time on my tablet. I think I was finally able to get to sleep around 3:30 am, and although I turned off my alarm (which is always set for 5 am) I still woke up just after 5:30 am, so I guess I maybe managed three or so hours of sleep. It's so annoying lying in bed feeling tired but unable to fall asleep! I don't feel too bad today but I expect to sleep well tonight.

I didn't go to parkrun even though it was fine and mostly sunny this morning, because we'd had an inch or so of rain overnight and I knew the trail would have some very large messy puddles. I used the exercise bike because I couldn't muster up any enthusiasm for going out for a walk or run even on routes where I was fairly sure there wouldn't be any large messy puddles.

Now it's getting cloudy and dark again and I've just heard some thunder. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't lose power again.

copy cat

Not at much sun today but still... guess we'll have to take turns. Maybe I should put a little calendar up there so they will know whose turn it is.

The house money hit my Stifel account last night so now I can actually see it. Shortly thereafter, I got a note last night from Bret saying the funds should be in my account early next week and telling me about an new condo building headache (he's on the board). What a relief to it is to know that every single bit of it - Bret and the entire building are no longer my problem.

My own new chapter begins.

Last night's ABBA party was pretty fun. The band was perfect for the setting. They looked like a Halloween party gone wrong and they sounded only a little better. BUT they pretty much perfectly matched the impared eyesight and hearing of their audience.

The guy in the Hawaiian shirt was hilarious. His wife (that's her ass there in the bottom left corner) is quite the go getter. She runs the pea patch program here and is always trying to get me to help her teach the middle schoolers how to knit and crochet oh and she has this great yellow lab, Apple, who entertains the nursing unit people and is always everywhere. She was having a good time but not nearly as good as her husband. When the band hit the first note, he started dancing. He cannot stand without falling over and he kept trying to get up and dance. Finally, she took him out in his chair to the dance floor and man, that grin on his face is now probably permanent. They were a joy to watch.

Lots of people danced. Bonny was there across the room, I couldn't see who she was sitting with but she was dancing with all kinds of different partners. Timber Ridge had set up a sparkly photo booth and they took really nice color photos and then instantly printed them - 5x7's and handed them over. Huge hit with everyone.
I left at their first break so I don't know how long it went on but it was just fun.

We have elbow coffee this morning. I just ordered lunch with a pickup time scheduled so that after elbow coffee, I will need to kill 30 minutes. Those 30 minutes I will kill on the bike or elliptical or both at the gym. Then I'll pop over and pick up lunch and eat it while I watch the Phillies hopefully not lose again today.

I have nothing on the calendar coming up any time soon. This is lovely.

I think I'll go take a shower and get dressed and ready for the day.

365 Questions 2025

29. Who do you trust and why? I trust my daughters because they have proved themselves trustworthy.

30. If you were forced to eliminate every physical possession from your life with the exception of what could fit into a single backpack, what would you put in it? Are we assuming that this is some kind of survival situation? If so: one computer with charger, my phone and charger, enough clothes for a couple of days, basic toiletries, my wallet, a water bottle, and my passport and other important documents, and by then I'd probably be out of space unless it was a really big backpack.

31. When does silence convey more meaning than words? Sometimes when someone doesn't answer a question you've asked, their silence tells you that you wouldn't have liked their answer.

The End

I just got an email from my finance guy's assistant.

The money has arrived there in Missouri where it will, hopefully, live and prosper for as long as I need it to.

Whew.

And, now we know where money goes for the weekend.

Headline news

The pool heater won't be fixed for at least 2 weeks. Probably more. I went down and did 10 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the bike. It sucked but I'll go back tomorrow.

And... the condo officially closed. BretTheRealtor forwarded the official notice from the Title people. I assume someone gave the buyers the keys. But, it is done.

I just got the HOA newsletter which I hopetogod I never get again.

Now, it's waiting for the money. The title email said the money had been wired. It's not in my account. And, I'm led to believe it will not be until Monday.

Since it's only 1's and 0's when it's no longer here, it should be there? There being my account. But, nope. Not there.

So, where does money go for the weekend?

Entry tags:

crochet

(no subject)

It stopped raining on Wednesday afternoon but it was completely cloudy on Thursday and more rain was forecast for today and Saturday - so I might be skipping parkrun yet again. However, today so far there is no sign of rain and it's sunny and slightly warmer than just mild; we've gone rather suddenly today from warm clothes weather to shorts weather.

My adventures in bread making continue. Today I started a loaf of sourdough but I decided to leave out the ⅔ cup of ground flaxseed that I normally add to every loaf I made, and this affected the dough a lot more than I was expecting. Apparently flaxseed soaks up more moisture than I was aware of, and my dough ended up way too wet so that I had to add more flour. I didn't measure it, but I'd guess about ¼ of a cup extra, and the dough is still fairly wet. It's now workable though. I'm making cinnamon raisin bread so the raisins are soaking up some of the extra liquid, and also at the last minute added in about 1 tablespoon of flaxseeds to combat the wetness.

I'm trying out a few different crochet flower granny squares, with varying degrees of success. The first one I finished looks a bit wonky but I don't think there are any mistakes. I got about ¾ of the way through a second one and discovered that I had done round 3 completely wrong and thus ended up with only half as many stitches as I'm supposed to have, so I'll be restarting that one. It's all a learning curve at this point.