Stuff

 Random and varied...

1.  I would like to go to bed, but I don't feel like I can sleep.  Yet I have to get up in 6 hours to call the vet about one of my cats (Lori) who is having bouts of diarrhea.

The 2 new ones I adopted in late November (Loki and Binq) came with some difficulties.  Loki had a head infection, eye goop, and lack of appetite.  That's all cured.  Binq was very claw-grabby and finger-bitey but with some steady and gentle discouragement (and me wearing heavy jeans), she is getting over that.

2.  I finally buried Laz last week.  He was bagged in the basement freezer for 45 days.  I just kept putting it off.  I have a dedicated Memorial Garden for past cats.  But the soil is very hard 6" deep and I go for 2'.  Took 2 days, and I have bad knees, which makes pounding on a shovel and jamming a breaker bar miserable.  But he is part of "The Remembered" now.  I miss his good days as BFF with Lori so much.  But that ended as he slowly went crazy.

I still have to build the aboveground marker boxes for Laz and pre-deceased Ayla now.  Like these...

Angled fronts for brass letters of the names and a brown resin statue on the top.  Those simple brown resin statues are getting harder to find.  Best I could find for Ayla and Laz are...

Not what I really wanted, but they will have to do.  

3.  I feel like visiting some obnoxious discussion forum (that I disagree with entirely) but I won't.  I don't live to annoy others.  

4.  Turned off the Holiday lights last nights.  This year, I may actually remove them.  I have some ideas of different ways of using lights in the yard next year.  The lights have been up since 2020, (only lit for the holidays of course).  Time to change things next holiday.  I'm thinking an artificial tree on the lawn with blue lights.

5.  With all the rain lately (so soft soil), I decided to pull the birdfeeder pole more upright (it was leaning slightly).  So I tied ropes around the feeder pole and 2 trees.  By Spring, it should be fairly well set in place.  There is a lot of clay at the bottom, and that 2' deep, it tends to keep things in place.

6.  Need to do the same with the post the hose reel sits on.  When I first set it up 10 years ago, it was upright.  But pulling on the reel pulled it forward a bit.  It still works, but the angled post annoys me.  If I rope it straight up over Winter and Spring, it may lock in place horizontally.  

If not, I will wiggle it around until I can pull it out and than enlarge the hole to set in in concrete with some rebars pounded in at angles to really hold it in place.

7.  Replanting all the lettuce trays.  When a hard frost threatened back in early December, I brought them all in.  But didn't put them under lights.  Most died.  I have to start again.  

8.  But that means a lot of cleaning in the basement.  So that is the primary task tomorrow.

9.  So many things I need to do around the house.  And most of them I can't do myself.  So I have a list of contractor projects.  Windows, doors, linoleum flooring in the computer and cat rooms, new appliances, new water heater, get the emergency electric generator hooked up, change the decrepit asphalt driveway replaced with concrete.  Well that's what money is for.

10.  Get the computer cleaned up.  Get the laser color printer printing in color again.  Get the laptop working.  Learn to use my smartphone.

That's enough problems for a year.

Blocking Spam

Ducky (and thank you muchly) mentioned that the "3 dot" option depends on the provider.  It may be the browser too.

The article I read didn't mention that, but it makes some sense that it could.   I have AOL mail that I can read on Safari, Firefox, and Chrome.  It is the same on all.  Maybe different email providers have the same feature in different places or with different icons.

But the important thing is that there is probably that option in all providers.  I love having discovered this.  IUt is so easy to use.  Click on "block senders".  It has to stop some of them.  Maybe some spammers change their emails frequently, but anything is worth a try.

I know it is working somewhat.  I used Facebook a couple of times to read articles from friends, but then I stopped.  So, Facebook "threatened" me with cancellation for not using them enough.  That was fine with me.  

But then they said they would "allow" me 6 months to renew my account.  I didn't, and what they did was extremely annoying.  They sent a daily or 2x daily notification bragging about how good they were and "promised" to send me a daily notification of the cancellation for 6 months!

I emailed them directly asking them to stop the notifications.  No luck.  I emailed the support staff to stop the notifications.  No luck.  Apparently, they just won't stop.  I had to keep manually deleting their notification (even after I sent them to the spam folder).

But "block sender" works.  I haven't seen a notification from Facebook In the week since I blocked them.

I encourage everyone to find and use the "block sender" feature, wherever it is on your computer.  Search for it in HELP if you have to.  Call your email provider if you have to.  The initial effort is worth the spam reduction (and I do think I get less spam than I used to).  Every email in the spam folder gets the immediate "block sender" treatment (after review to make sure it isn't actually legitimate, of course).

It is SO easy...

Something I learned Recently

I learned a new thing from the newspaper tech column a few days ago.  I say that acknowledging that I am not the most natural or skilled computer user.  So if the following is obvious, forgive me.  I never know what others know.  But it may help "someone".

When you get spam, go to the upper right where you see the 3 dots.  Click on that.  It allows you to block the sender.  Sure, there are a lot of spammers.  But some produce a lot of spam.  Blocking them helps.  

I just automatically do that now.  My spam messages are cut in half (it seems) after only a few days, and I expect that there will be fewer in the future.

It isn't that I ever pay attention to spams, but the fewer I have to delete, the better!

Happy 2024!

New Years Day

Here is to hope for a better year for the World.  2023 was not very good in a lot of places for a lot of people.  May at least some of the problems get resolved.  I can't hope that all will, but if at least some were, that would be good. 

I won't try to describe them all; it could become too devicive.  I'll just say that (metaphorically) the 4 Horsemen are running amok and we need to "rein" them in through national and international cooperation.

On the home front, I need to get more active cleaning, declutterring, and arranging some moderate renovations.  I've slacked for a couple of years and the house needs work.  I've been here 37 years.  Things wear out, get old, and fail.  

The list is long and I won't burden you with all of it, but some problems feel more urgent than others.  My kitchen cabinet doors are dirty but have been cleaned so many times that they need to be re-finished.  I can do that myself, but it requires a lot of basement space and that is so clutterred that I can barely move around in there.

So I have to declutter the basement first.  But the basement is full of planting trays, buckets of used and new planting soil and old planter pots.  So I have to get the soil in hose trays emptied into buckets, the buckets labelled "used" and "unused",  and all the still-useful cell packs cleaned so I can stack them up out of the way.

I need the space to refinish the cabinet doors, but I also need it to build memorial markers for Ayla and Laz.  Every horizontal surface in the basement has stuff on it, including the tablesaw I need to build the memorial markers.  

I need to change out the light fixtures on the 4 shelf plant stand.  I have old fluorescent fixtures there now (best available at the time) but I bought LED fixtures a year ago and have dreaded doing the work to take the old fluorescents off and attach the LEDs.  And again, that takes basement space to do, and I don't have that right now.  But it is getting to the start of indoor seed-starting season, so I need to get at that soon.

The basement fridge is old and failing.  I have to break off frost-buildup in the non-freezer section about once a month now.  I plan to recycle that one, move the kitchen fridge to the basement, and buy a new one for the kitchen.  

An efficient one if possible, but temperature maintenance is actually more important to me.  I do so much cooking with fresh meats and veggies that I am in and out of it a lot.  So cooling recovery tie is very important.  My current one is not really good at that.  The next one will be better.  

I may buy a small stand-alone freezer, but I don't know exactly where I would put it, and they aren't very energy efficient.  But it isn't something I would be opening a lot, so that may not be a real problem.

Other renovations involve replacing old carpet with linoleum.  I'm not a person who walks around the house barefoot, so nice soft carpet isn't my major concern.  Easier cleaning IS.  I have a "steam" cleaner.  Its just soapy water of course.  I used it 5 years ago and the dirt that came out was amazing, but the carpets stank like hell for days.  

I need linoleum flooring in The Mews Room and the computer room because that only needs mopping.  I can do that a lot easier and often.  And I could get rid of that annoying plastic computer chair mat!  My bedroom carpet was really top quality and it can remain; it is still good.  It's the only place I go barefoot.  

So I have all these things to do around the house.  I think the first thing is to clean the basement.  I need space to accomplish several things.  And we are talking about a few weeks of work there.  What I got done in 2 hours yesterday hardly made a dent in the cleaning.  And the things I want to do in the cleaned-up basement will take a few weeks (a month?) themselves.  

Then buy a new fridge, having the oldest one taken away (with some rebate credit from my electric co-op), the current one moved to the basement, and the new one installed.

After that.  changing 2 rooms from old carpet to new linoleum.  That will be a bit of work.  I'll have to move all the current computer equipment, box up all the books from 4 bookcases, and haul all the old computers to the garage for a recycling trip.

Then I think I have the windows replaced.  Half either won't open or stay opened.  I'm debating between  sliding windows or casement windows.  And double or triple-pane UV-reflective glass.  I need to re-read Consumer Reports articles about all that.

There is more I need to do (and this doesn't even include outside yard work), but I think that pretty uses up all 2024.  LOL!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, MAY 2024 BE A GOOD YEAR FOR YOU!

New Years Eve

 I normally celebrate New Years Eve with a small fire.  I don't have normal firewood this year, but there is a pile of kindling, so I will do the best I can with that.  It's symbolic anyway.

I hope 2024 is better than 2023.  I had better years.  But there is always the promise of "tomorrow" and I will go with that.

I think of the Roman god Janus on New Years Day.  He looked both ahead and behind.  Its a good time to think of both the past and future.  

I bought a ribeye steak yesterday.  Too large for one meal, so I will divide it.  One part for New Years Eve and the other for New Years day.  That gets both years.  ;)

Happy New Year!

2023

2023 was eventful.  It seems easiest to just make a list...

1.  I lost 2 cats but gained 2 new ones.   Sadness and happiness at the same time.

2.  I got my flu, covid, and RSV shots.  On separate visits to Safeway because they are free and they give me a 10% discount each visit.  

3.  Speaking of Safeway, they give me a 10 cent gas credit at their pumps for every $100 I spend there.  I got 80 cents per gallon off a couple days ago!

4.  I'm slowly getting better after the 2021 ladder fall.  2021 was bad.  But sometimes this year, I noticed a few odd pains vanished.  The separated right clavicle remains, but as the doctor said "you can get used to it".  He has one himself and he was right.  I hardly notice it.  The body adjusts...

5.  My knees are still a problem.  I have velcro braces for both.  After a few weeks of wearing them, things are good.  But they are annoying.  The knees issue predates the ladder fall.

6.  Spring was horrible for the garden.  Kept staying too cold for my transplants randomly.  And then we had a minor drought.  So planting my heirloom tomatoes were delayed.  They never caught up.  I got like 6 good tomatoes from 10 plants.  The cherry tomatoes did well though.

7.  I receive checks sometimes.  Odd stuff.  My Government Thrift Savings Program (TSP) says I have to start cashing out gradually, but I always forget, so they send one anyway.  My electric co-op sent a check for reducing my usage and another as a rebate to all customers.  The Maryland State Government sent me one to correct a tax error.  I stuck them on the refrigerator and then put something on top and forgot about them.  Now I have to call about getting some reissued (some are still depositable).

8.  The Subaru Forester I bought in 2020 has 2,400 miles on it ( don't drive much).  So gas prices don't bother me.

9.  In the Spring, the 30' diameter daffodil bed bloomed nicely.  The deck flowerpots bloomed well all Summer and Fall.  And I have a 10'x6' bed of pansies that will bloom all Winter.  It is good to have colors in the yard all year.

10.  I bought a lot of stuff in 2023.  Some of it useful and some of it whimsy.  Useful means a good new kitchen or gardening tool or new high-sided cat litter boxes (Loki pees standing up and overshoots the old ones).  

Whimsey means "just cool".  

That's a plush tardigrade (aka Water bear).  They are the size of pinpoints, but can't be killed easily.  They can be frozen, heated, exposed to the vacuum and cosmic rays of outer space and recover.  This one is 8" long and sits on my car dashboard.  Hey, some people have bobbleheads, I have a tardigrade.  LOL!

I bought 2 cat jigsaw puzzles made of real wood.  If I ever put them together, I will mount them in a frame.

I also bought a bomber jacket.  But it has too much specific unit identity on it.  I will return it.  I don't want people thinking I served in those units.  I never served at all.

11.  I think I finally learned how to make a decent pizza at home.  My own dough. In a small sheet pan sprinkled with cornflour (for automatic raised edges) ON a baking stone at 500F (highest the oven will go).  

12.  Got better at discussion forums.  Ignore the angry fanatics, respond to rational people, give facts...

The older I get, the more tolerant I become.  By the time I die, I will have things just about right.  👌

A Couple Of Good Productive Days

Some things have not been going well around here lately.  Nothing life-altering, but when things go wrong (broken birdfeeder pole, lettuce plants died inside the house,  roof shingle blew off in a storm, etc) it adds up, it can get pretty annoying.

So I am happy to mention a few successes!

1.  I cooked a standing rib roast a couple days ago, and I don't think I've ever done that before.  I marinated it overnight (red wine, garlic, onion, herbs) and cooked it to "rare". I don't eat meat rare, but I was slicing it in 1/2" pieces to freeze and reheat later (so that it wouldn't be "well-done" after reheating.   Came out great!

2.  I went grocery shopping (hence the standing prime rib) and also bought a spiral sliced ham (for slicing and freezing for sandwiches).  I check the receipt before I leave the store to make sure I got my Safeway loyalty card discounts and the digital ones from their website.  They were there.  But when I got home, I realized that they had charged me for the ham twice.  

I wasn't sure how to prove I hadn't bought 2 hams.  But in the middle of the night, it occurred to me that the repeated price of 2 hams would be exactly twice the cost on the label.  Which would be really unlikely if I had bought 2 different hams.  So I brought it back to the store (in a cooler with ice-packs around it) and explained it to the customer service manager.

She finally agreed and refunded the cost of the "2nd ham".  Yay!  If she hadn't, I would have demanded they check their videotape of the purchase.  I'm glad a didn't have to.  Actually, it occurs to me just now that I benefited from the refund more than I should have.  

I used a 10% discount coupon I got from them for getting my RSV vaccine.  And I got credit toward a future gas purchase (every $100 spent there gets me 10 cents per gallon off at their gas station).  I don't think I will go back to complain about that because I think it would just be too difficult to calculate and it would be about $2 at most.

3.  A very minor thing, but I advised 2 different people that they had dropped a glove, and a 3rd person that they had dropped their covid mask.  Little things matter.

4.  I've mentioned having laser printer color problems.  The Canon agent finally concluded (after an hour-long discussion and fix-attempts) that I most likely needed new toner.  So I bought some.  And when I got home and looked at the boxes, suddenly I saw similar ones in the computer room.  I had already bought new ones!

So yesterday, I went to return them.  I was concerned they would accept toner back.  But the boxes were unopened and pristine, and they didn't even argue about it.  But when they scanned the receipt on the 1st (black) box, it refused to register.  I figured there was a special policy refusing toner returns.  Bt when I suggested scanning the actual box bar code, it was accepted.  As were the color boxes.  

That was a great relief.  Toner lasts a lot longer than inkjet cartridges but is more expensive per cartridge.  If they had refused the return, I would have been out more than $250!  But it all worked out and I am very happy about that

5.  My good neighbors gave me a small box of Xmas goodies.  I had already bought a small box of chocolate-covered cherries for them and was waiting to add some banana/walnut muffins.  I finally made the muffins last night.

I was delayed on that because I kept not quite having all the ingredients.  Banana/walnut cake is a rather complicated recipe usually cooked in a bundt pan.  It came to me via Mom from Dad's mom.  I've loved it from childhood to the present.  Mom said she would only leave me the recipe in her Will, and she came darn close to that.  Thankfully she relented when she realized she couldn't cook any more.

It is sort of like a spice cake, but only like a standing prime rib roast is like a rump roast.  There is the usual flour and sugar and baking soda.  But you have to separate the egg yolks and whites.  You have to chop walnuts.    You have to mash 2 ripe bananas.  You have to "sour" some milk (milk plus some vinegar).  You have to whip the egg whites.

Then stir various ingredients together in a certain order for a couple minutes each (and it is thick and hard to stir).  Finally, you gently fold the whipped egg white in.  Add that is just for the bundt cake method.  But I wanted to make cupcakes/muffins for the neighbors present.  

I get in over my skills sometimes.  Muffins cook differently from cakes.  I had to look that up and got so many different instructions.  350F vs 375.  15 minutes or 20.  Cupcake papers or parchment paper circles on the bottom.  Top oven shelf or middle.  Fill 1/2 way or 2/3.  I went with cupcake papers and averaged the rest.

Because there is always "the toothpick test"...  The final arbitrator of doneness, LOL!  I was nervous about the results the whole time they were cooling.  After an hour, I finally gave one a taste-test (I had 22).  It was perfect...

I don't bake desserts often.  Brownies or tollhouse cookies a few times a year.  I hadn't made a banana/walnut cake in 5 years.  I 'm not sure I had made them as muffins before.  You experienced bakers may smile, but I feel insufferably pleased!  For me, that was a big deal.  And they worked out.😁

6.  And finally, I did something that might be useful to all cooks.  I've been frustrated about where to place my recipe cards while using them.  I've previously propped them up on the back of my cutting board, but stuff gets splashed around sometimes.  I wanted something better.  I could have glued a plastic clip to the base of the cabinet door above where I do my food prep.  But that seemed ugly.

So I stuck a small piece of double-sided tape in the center of the bottom of the door.  Then I stuck a small refrigerator magnet on the tape.  Then I put a small magnet with a handle on that.  I just take the top one off and trap the recipe card between them. 

 

So I've had a great couple of days.  Successful returns, error-adjustments, cooking a few things, and a nice little invention.  

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice is my favorite day of the year.  Sure other holidays are good, but there is only one day of the year where the days start getting longer again.  It means more daytime.  As a gardener, I cherish that.  It means Spring is coming.  A new start and a hope for a good year of fresh veggies and new flowers.  

It is one of the 2 days of the year where day-length reverses direction.  But who cares about the Summer Solstice?  When the days are long, a slight change doesn't really matter.  LOL!

Winter Solstice mattered more through history.  Cold short days mean you aren't growing food and you are seeing the supply dwindle slightly.  Will there be enough to last to the first new harvest?  I don't have to worry about that myself, I have grocery stores that collect food from around the world.  But fresh from the garden is always great.  

But it used to matter a lot.  It meant new food was going to start growing soon.  It meant the cold days would end.  To hunter cultures, it meant the migrating mammals would be arriving locally.  To herders, it meant there would be new calves/kids/piglets, so they could eat a few of the adults.

Not to get into religious matters, but a lot of religious holidays occurred a few days after the Winter Solstice because it took a few days to be sure the days were getting longer again.  And that was worth celebrating!  And whatever day after and for whatever reason is fine with me.

But for myself, I go to the original.  

Happy Winter Solstice!

Ailments

 I aged slowly, but age is catching up with me now a bit suddenly.  Leg cramps, calf cramps, ankle cramps, rib cramps.  Left pointer finger has developed "trigger finger".  

And my fingers go all clenched up sometimes.  Mom developed that around 80 as part of developing Parkinson's.  I hope there are less-serious reasons for that.  For me, it seems to be a delayed reaction to gripping things for some time.  I do yardwork, I prepare a lot of fresh veggies for dinner; and it seems to happen a couple hours later.  

I use a 4% lidocaine ointment and sometimes Aspercreme.  It helps eventually.  I will add this to my list of Doctor questions.  

But it means it is getting hard to type these days.  I better look into voice dictation apps.  I read about them years ago, but I thought they would be better by now, but they don't seem to be.  What you see on my blogs and emails is heavily edited for spelling errors (manually, I don't trust auto-correct).  I type very badly.  But I may have to soon.

Don't get me wrong.  90% of the day, I am just fine.  But I really can't write legible script anymore and manual print has become more of a slight art than a way to write quickly.  You should see me trying to write a check.  Every letter and number is individually-created carefully.

I think I actually don't get enough salt in my food.  I prepare everything fresh, and I don't add much to my food.  But if I drink some pickle juice, the fingers get better within minutes.  Another thing to ask my Doctor!

I get cold too.  I went shopping the other day and it was 45F with a brisk breeze.  I was wearing a winter jacket.  And I saw some young guy walking to the store in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt!  I suppose I was like that once.  But it was really annoying!

Getting old can be really annoying.  But I feel like it is happening too suddenly.  Sorry for complaining.  So many people my age have serious problems.  But these are mine and I live with them.  😡

Printers Drive Me Crazy

 I don't print a lot of color images or documents.  But I do usually make my own cards for the Winter Holidays and for family birthdays (it is actually quite easy to do in Excel and if anyone wants a general description, I'll be glad to email them).

But I had problems with color printing last December and I am having them again.  The Printer Gods seem to hate me!  Different printers, but same non-results.  I made both Family and Cat cards for this year, but all I get is grey and some pale yellow.  

I spent an hour on the phone with a very helpful Canon agent.  He had me try everything about the laser toner printer (a Canon 644 Color Image Class) that I could do (short of actual mechanical repairs).  Eventually, he concluded it had to be the toner cartridges.

My printer status said they were still half-filled, but I suppose even toner doesn't last forever.  I went out and bought new ones the next morning.  I put them in today.  Black actually works, but no colors.  I tried to copy a magazine cover because that is completely within the printer.  No luck.  I made a Word document that repeated "This should be in X color",  repeating it for all the standard rainbow colors.  

That just showed black as normal and pale yellow.  I'll have to do some research (and find the printer manual).  It is quite maddening.

So I have a small box of commercial cards for family and close face-to-face friends (many of whom don't use a computer, so I can't email them e-cards).  I'll be sending e-cards to everyone on the Cat-Blogosphere card exchange list this year.

Ann, of Zoolatry, sent me a nice graphic I can use.  She does such wonderful work.  I'll send out a email with that incorporated into it.  But I better do the smail-mail cards first thing in the morning.  My fingers don't work very well in the evening (after a long day's use).

I need to mention that my email address on the card exchange list is wrong.  I'm sure it was my fault when I signed up for the list this year.  But it should be "verizon", not "verixon".  If you got an "undeliverable" notice, that's why.  Sorry about that...

Hoping to do better next year!  😞

Two Busy Days - Monday

Errands and shopping. Monday.  And I have to consider items that are temperature-sensitive.  Milk, ice cream...

So I went to PetsMart first.  Marley needs his kidney care diet food.  And PetsMart has been a bit low on the varieties lately.  So I visit whenever I am near.  I was able to get 2 more flavors.  If Marley has to eat this less flavorful stuff, at least I want him to have some different flavors.  

Since the cat food is stable in the car, I went to Walmart next.  Some things Walmart sells brand name things very cheap.  I buy those there.  Got a bag of walnuts, bag of pistachios, milk, eggs, green olives, dark chocolate-covered cherries, Cokes, some other stuff.

But since I had milk, I drove home to refrigerate everything and went to Safeway for fresh produce afterwards.

Got my RSV vaccine shot there.  They are wonderful about shots with superthin needles,  I didn't even know they gave me the shot until they put the bandage on afterwards.  But it is no charge and I get a 10% discount at the checkout!  And got lots of fresh produce at discounted prices with my "Safeway For U" app.  

Brought out all my compostible containers to add to the pile.  The temperature dropped since last week, so I need to turn the pile back to the first bin.  Mixing things up causes heat again.

Washed out a dozen 6"x6" plastic mushroom bins.  I'll use that to sort out cat toys.  Right  now, they are all sort of spilled out of a big box.