Adventures In Driving

 Last month, my cable box partially died, so they sent a replacement.  But they wanted the old one back anyway.  The store in town only handles wireless services.  So I had to either get a shipping label and stand in line at UPS or drive 10 miles.  I hate driving!  But as I posted yesterday, it hurts to stand.  So I decided to drive.

I've lived here 38 years.  But I almost never drive south.  So first, I tried to avoid the highway and take a bypass.  I got lost.  It took 15 miles and 20 minutes to get 5 miles heading south.  And that wasn't the worst part!

I was using a County street book map.  In the town where the cable equipment return was, there were only 2 turns to make off the highway to get to them.  I couldn't find the street.  You are gonna laugh at this...  The book map is oriented north.  I forgot I was driving south!  I got the streets all backwards.  And right turns were left turns.  😭

It took me over an hour to find a place 10 miles away!  At least the drive home only took 15 minutes.  👍

NOW What?

It's always something, right?  The morning after the DR exam, I discovered it hurt to stand up.  My right hip feels weak.  Oddly, walking is not bad and sitting/sleeping causes no problem.  I can't figure out what is causing it though.  I didn't fall, bump a table corner, or do anything strenuous.  There is no bruise or swelling.  I can push on the sore spot and even pound on it without pain.  

But standing hurts!  Standing at the kitchen counter to prepare dinner is miserable.  Same with preparing the cat bowls, and that is 6 times a day.  

I sure hope this heals on its own, fast.  I have 2 velcro knee braces for occasional use.  Today I put one on the right knee.  Sometimes pain is caused in one spot due to a problem in another.  And I used the other above that as close to the hip as I could get it.  

That helps slightly.  So does standing with my feet about shoulder-width apart.  And so does keeping my right foot slightly behind the left.  But "slightly" is not much!  I'll be doing a lot of sitting.  Fortunately, I have plenty of computer work to do.

I hope this isn't a problem re-emerging from the ladder fall in 2021!

 

Dr Visit

I put off the annual exams because of Covid, but went today (been 6 years, actually).  More questions from the Dr than I remember from past visits.  Alcohol and tobacco usage, diet, sleeping habits, socialization, happiness level, activity level.  All of which make sense.  I keep up with medical advice from trustable sources.

It's not like I smoke or drink much, but less is always better.  I probably won't change that, much.  A cocktail while I am preparing dinner and 2 small glasses on wine with dinner aren't exactly binge-drinking.  And I'm not the most face-to-face social person (but I did attend a small party at a neighbor last week, and everything went well).  And I just generally feel pretty happy with myself.  Some people can't stand being alone; I have no problem with that.  And the Dr agreed.

The tests went great.  Reflexes good, diet great, mental alertness better than average (he asked a few odd questions), general activity level satisfied him.  He had me stretch a few times, touch my toes standing up, and reach across my back to have my hands meet (they did, barely).  So, in general, he says I'm in better than average condition at 73 (and 74 next month).

There was the always weird prostate exam.  Woo-Hoo!  But he found no problem.

The technician said my EKG results were excellent.  I'm not sure about the blood pressure.  It was 163 over 80.  She said the systolic is always a bit high in the stress of an exam, so maybe reality is 140 over 80 and she said not to worry about that.  

I have to visit a separate office for a blood panel and a different one for a cancer screening.  And another for one of those general allergy tests (where they stick a board of needles in your back and see if one spot puffs up).  

There were also question about family medical history.  None have died of anything that seems genetic (well Mom had Parkinson's).  The main cause of death in my lineage seems to be old age.  So I might reach 2050.  100 would be cool (if it was in good health).  But personally, I'm willing to "check out" if things get too difficult.

But it was a really positive visit and I'm glad I went.  I even (oddly) feel healthier.  😀

Found The Missing Camera

I found it in the washing machine.  Which doesn't make sense.  Knowing it was missing, and looking for it everywhere, I took all the clothes out of the hamper a few days ago and felt around all the pockets and did not find it.  From any logic, I could just as well found it on the roof.

But there it was...  I've taken the memory card and battery out and I'm letting it sit to dry for a couple weeks.  Maybe it will work after that and maybe not.  And maybe the memory card and battery will work and maybe not.  No rush since I have a new camera, but there are pictures on the memory card and I would like to get at those.

In one sense, it is good to have a mystery solved.  On the other, it is sad to ruin a camera by carelessness.  Fortunately, the cost is not a problem.  And the replacement is identical, so there is no learning curve involved.  

I've taken more pictures with the replacement, but I am too worn out from preparing taxes, Binq's vet visit and sorting out general clutter to process them today.  I'll catch up.  

Flower Report

Spring is such a lovely time of year.  I love daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths.   The tulips don't last very long (in terms of years) even when planted in wire cages to keep the voles away from the bulbs.  But they vary in lifetime.  I have some 10 yer old red tulips.  The fancy ones die young.

And once, I planted some yellow tulips among the yellow daffodils.  What was I thinking?  They showed up like ice cubes on snow.  LOL!

The hyacinths live longer, but they need cages from the voles too.  Tulips and hyacinths are vole-candy!  But the daffs are slightly toxic and seem to live forever.  I recall driving past a Washington DC hillside where Lady Bird Johnson had them planted in the 60s.  40 yers later, they were still growing and blooming wild.

So I love daffodils...

I planted a front yard box of a mix of early and late varieties 30 years ago.  They are still growing great!  Here are the late ones (and they are fragrant, which is unusual for a daffodil).

Some of the surviving red tulips...

In the daffodil bed, I planted a few caged tulips, 9 each cage.  Some still last.

But what happened here?  I don't recall planting any mixed colors in a cage.  And I'm pretty sure they don't change colors!  

My guess is squirrels.  I've read that sometimes squirrels dig up bulbs (thinking they are nuts they buried) and replant them elsewhere.  That doesn't really explain why "all in the same spot", but who knows how a squirrel thinks?  I do know that there are crocuses in my lawn where I never planted them.

But I enjoy whatever Spring flowers I get...

And speaking of flowers...  The pansies I planted last Fall had a hard time of it over Winter.  I thought none would ever bloom!  But about half of them are perking up now, so I will enjoy what I can of them before Summer heat kills them off.  

Years ago, I put in a flowerbed edging of "species" (old simple ones) daffodils and purple&yellow crocuses.  The voles ate the crocus bulbs (mostly), but the daffodis remain.

They looked like this, back then...

This last is the cat memorial garden.  I took the boxes off (don't worry, I know where each one goes) and covered the area in cardboard last Fall.  By Summer, all the weeds should be dead.  

And then I'll put down weed-blocker fabric so the kitty-angels won't be insulted with weeds.  OK, OK, I know they don't actually care.  But it matters to me.  I look at the spot often enough.  And they were my daily companions...

Taxes

 It was gruesome!  Not because I couldn't do them, but because all the computer stuff was "off".

Last December, the laser printer stopped printing in color.  I haven't solved that yet.  But last week, it stopped printing at all.  Just kept saying "load paper".  Which I did without it working after.  And just before tax time of course.

I use H&R Block software (for about 10 years).  Never a problem.  I just check off boxes and add a few numbers (and they are very good saying "enter number in box 1A here").  And that sure helps.  I have index stocks, and (for example) one question is "foreign taxes paid".  Like I have any idea what that really means.  But they do.  So I go to the my index fund site and they tell my a number.  I add that to H&R.  

At the end, they do a review for inconsistencies.  If there are any, they send me to the place to review the numbers.  If not, my taxes are done and I just hit "print".  I like to send printed tax forms; it's just easier in some ways.

But here's the problem.   As I mentioned, my printer stopped working.  And H&R Block software said I had no internet connection.  Which was ridiculous.  I had just downloaded the software on the internet, I got an email confirmation security code from them, and my email is working just fine.

But I couldn't get to their help site online "no internet connection", according to them.  So I couldn't finish my tax forms, couldn't ask for help, and I couldn't even print out a filing extension form!  The printer call number said queue was an hour at best.  And I tried that one before with no success.  H&R was worse.  Not even a guess as to wait time.

I spent the entire past few days trying to fix problems.  It's maddening.  Trouble-shooting company sites send you around in circles.

But I finally solved the immediate B&W printer problem so I could at least print out the tax extension request forms from direct Federal and State sites.

That was only because it finally occurred to me to download the printer manual and search it.  Sure enough, it solved the problem.  Not that it was easy.  The manual addresses several models and even for my own, the displays didn't exactly match the instructions.  

Part of the problem is that my Canon printer can be used as a network printer and the defaults are set for that.  Stuff like needing a network ID and "secure printing".  Undoing all that was a real bad day!  The settings are so individual-unfriendly, you even have to specify the weight and brightness of the paper!  I suppose that makes sense on an office network where everything stays the same.  But sometimes I buy cheap paper.  

I did get that all undone.  But why did it work so well for 4 years and then suddenly stop?  Probably an update aimed at office network printers...

I hope I never have to do it again.  But the joy I felt when seeing a short document print out was HUGE!    

JOY!  DANCING!  GLEE!

Now I just have to get the color working again..  But B&W was enough to print the tax extension due-date forms, and that gets me time to deal with H&R Block software problems.

Still, I had to send Federal and State checks.  I had 2 forced withdrawals from my Govt Thrift Saving Plan and didn't anticipate that.  So I owe more than usual.  But the TSP  told me; I just didn't realize the tax consequences.

Live and learn.  But at least I solved a couple of computer problems.  That deserves a steak dinner.  And I don't care if it is actually 11 pm just before I have this post scheduled for "tomorrow", I'm going to cook one and eat it watching some superhero movie!  I'll catch up on the veggies tomorrow.

Feeling good...

Poker Night

 OK, my Dad used to play poker "with the guys" on Friday nights.  He even built a round poker table (and it was "perfect" with pockets for drinks and others for the chips..  He was good at stuff like that.  But average at poker.  We kids could tell when Dad had a bad night because our allowances came late.

I used to play penny poker in college.  I was better than average (my penny collection box got heavier) but I was never in it for the pennies (broke as I was at the time).

But at least I understood all the rules.   Five card draw, 7 card stud, even "chicago" (best and worst hands split the pot).

So my neighbor has weekly poker nights for quarters and has been asking me to attend.   I decided to attend last Friday.  I can play for quarters.    So I arrived with a bag of potato chips as a gift and a pocketful of quarters.  

But OMG!  Their basement was a room of games.  Poker table, pool table, darts, some old video game,  etc and 2 tables of fancy snacks.  Let's just say I set my bag of potato chips in a corner, LOL!

And they don't play any version of poker I know.  I can't even find them on Google.

Bowtie - I can only HOPE I describe this correctly.  5 cards down to each and YOUR middle one is automatically wild for you.  And so is the same card for the person to your left (but not others).  So if the person to your RIGHT has a wld card you have, you have that too.  

Then you turn up a down card from (fom left to right) and decide to bet a quarter or not (which can be raised a quarter).  And everyone has to know what each other's wild card (and the person to the left) is. 

And you can buy a new card for $1.50 (and that is routine).   Eventually, there is a (sort of) standard poker hand that wins.  But, by the time they are done with all the various wild cards, a straight or a flush is a loser.  

They all know the game and there are cards being flipped and quarters tossed into the pot almost too fast to follow.

27/7 - Some combination of 21 and Natural Nine.  I thought I had a chance at understanding this one, but no.  The object is to get 7 or 27 points and 7 beats 27.  Aces are zero and face cards are a half point (a 6 and a face card is great) but a 7 is bad because you have to accept at least 2 cards and a face card throws you over 7.  

And they throw quarters around like they know what they doing (and they apperently do.). I've seen those machine coin counters in stores, and they don't move quarters around as fast!

I've read "Never play poker with a man named 'Doc'".  Well 'Doc' would lose his mind and money in these games.

And oddly, these folks are helpful to each other about who won each hand.  I can't say it was a "vote", but often enough the groups seemed to decide who had won each hand.  I have the vague idea it was so someone would got more quarters, but not by much.  On the other hand, they were pretty firecley trying to win each hand.

I tried one hand of bowtie on the promise that if I won, they would tell me.  LOL!  I eventually left  with 4 quarters less than when I arrived.

The good lady neighbor tried to explain each to me, even showing me her cards (thankfully, I do have a bland poker face), but none of it made any sense to me.

But there were great snacks.  And the pool table.  And dart bord.  And a bored English teen from one of  the poker players.  We played darts.  First person to hit the bullseye won.  Neither of us could.

Pool Table - At least I know that!  So I racked up and practiced.  The neighbor lady left the poker table to play a round with me (good hostess she was).   Naturally, the game wasn't what I expected.  I know 8-ball and rotation and I've played 9-ball.  

But she said "stripes or solids"?  Huh?  Oh, I caught on fast after thinking a few seconds.  You each try to sink all "yours".  I won that easily (and she was trying her best, honest).  

So the english teen asked me to show him how to play.  When I was his age, I could play a double hit to a corner pocket and jump a ball.  But I was also an advanced Boy Scout and Cub Den Chief at his same age, and helping other's learn a skill comes naturally to me.  

We had a grand time of it.  He thrust the cue like trying to kill a bison, LOL!  So I spent a good happy hour teaching him  that the forward hand was like a golf tee (just a holder) and all the aim came from the back hand.  He was a "lefty" so I had to adjust my advice for that.

I explained that pool was (mostly) all geometry (my favorite class in high school) and he was taking that himself).  And he caught on to that.  

I couldn't get him to stop hitting the cue ball at the bottom though.   Can't teach everything in 1 hour.  But I did get him to actually aim and move his cue slowly.  His Dad gave me a "thumbs up" a couple times.  And neighbor lady smiled a few times too.  

I enjoyed the evening, even if I had no idea how to play the weird poker games.  But sometimes it is good to just be around other people.

And I wonder if that teen will someday remember "that old guy" who showed him pool.  It's like mentioning something to a person in a grocery store about how to choose good produce.  Maybe they will remember or maybe they don't.  And you will never know. 

New Refrigerator

I am very pleased with the new LG refrigerator (LRTLS2403S) in the basement.  Much more energy-efficient, and larger than the ancient one.  Separate humidity controls for the 2 crisper drawers.  Pocket handles (which are new to me) so nothing sticking out.  More shelf adjustments and the shelves are "spill-proof".  Which is only a 1/4" lip around them, but that helps.

There are deeper door shelves, a shelf in the freezer, and my temperature settings are more adjustable.  Using 2 different thermometers (that agree with each other), I have the freezer set to 0 and the cooler set to 34 (F).  I actually have "excess storage space"!

The ancient refrigerator got so bad it was creating a 2" block of ice beneath the freezer and I had to tap it off (carefully) with a small crowbar every couple of months, LOL!

In fact, with the freezer have a shelf, I am going to reverse my freezer habits.  I've used the kitchen bottom freezer more small containers and the basement one for long-term storage of meat in larger (shoebox-sized) containers.  Which was awkward, because all those small containers in the kitchen freezer wanted to fall over when I pulled out the freezer drawer.

The new refrigerator just has a freezer door at eye level and none of the containers have to move at all.  And since I take out an individually bagged portion of meat out of a meat-specific container every day (I get too organized sometimes, LOL) and a small container of frozen leftovers only every few days, it makes more sense to have the larger containers in the more-awkward kitchen freezer.  They don't fall over each other when I pull the drawer out.  

I used to use the small-container leftovers more than the larger-container meat ones.  But cooking habits change over time.  So that should work out better.

And I'm glad I bought the new refrigerator when I did.  Today (looking up the model number to post), I discovered the price went up $200!  Sometimes, I get lucky.  I am normally lucky about major things (and no complaints about that at all), but not so much all the minor ones.  So "lucky" on a minor matter is a nice change. 

Problems

They say it never rains but it pours.  So true.  Nothing horrible, but it is like "being nibbled to death by ducks"...

Camera -  I lost my simple point&shoot digital camera a week ago.  I've looked everywhere (except, obviously, where ever it actually is).   When you start looking in the refrigerator and oven, you know you have run out of places to look!

It is possible I dropped it in the recycle bin or something, but I doubt that.  So, when I find it someday I'll laugh.  Binq likes to carry pens and shove things off the table, but I don't think she could manage a camera.  If I ever find it, I will post about it.

Meanwhile I ordered a replacement (same model).  Simple point&shoot types are getting hard to find.  The brand names have all upgraded to fancier ones with controls and features I don't need (and are much more expensive)...

Cable Set-top box -  A few weeks ago, the On Demand feature of the cable box stopped working.  The cable company sent a replacement.  I set it up today and went through all that annoying set-up procedure.  But it works again.  The displays are rather different though.  

I was happy with the old displays and I can't see any actual improvements.  Why do things change like that?  I'm big on "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  I assume they have made it easier to rent movies and add channels (profit drives change I guess).  But since I virtually never actually buy or rent movies I don't care.

The problem is that they wanted the old box back by today.  But there were only 3 addresses listed and the nearest one is 15 miles away.  I hate driving!  But I found "more addresses" and one was in my town.  So I drove there.  

No luck there.  They are only for wireless services.  I mentioned the website.  They said, "yeah but that's an error".  So I reluctantly decided to drive to the 15 mile away location.  Which led to the next problem...

Car - I have a 4 year old Subaru Forrester (great car normally).  But I don't drive much these days (about 4,000 miles in 4 years).  A couple months ago, it wouldn't start.  Weak battery.  I don't drive long enough to rechrge the battery, I suspect).  Fortunately, I have a trickle-charger from when my 15 year old Toyota Highlander started having the same problem, so I recharged the battery overnight and the Forrester started right up.

Which was fine for 3 weeks.  Now it needs to stay on the trickle-charger all the time (it is addicted?).  And also fortunately,  I have a portable power pack (bought for an old troublesome riding mower I no longer have).  I keep that  in the car and fully charged now for when the car battery is dead while I'm out shopping.  I've helped a few people start their car with that in parking lots.  

So I visited the cable company store that wasn't the right one (see above).  I debated whether to drive there today or just go home.  I decided to drive to the cable store.  But the car wouldn't start (again).  I had just recharged it!  I'm glad i had that portable power pack in the car.

So I decided this had to end.  I drove to the dealership (jump-started it with the portable power pack) and explained the problem, noting that I did not drive much.  So I couldn't tell if the battery had gone bad or it was a bad alternator/charger/generator/whatever (I'm not a "car person").  And since I was there, to do routine maintenance like oil/filter, tune-up, etc.

They will call me Wednesday sometime in the afternoon after they have checked out some "charging parts". 

Computer Printer - I don't print much, so those inkjet printer cartridges dry up before they are half used and got expensive.  So several years ago, I decided to buy a color laser toner printer.  Worked great for 3 years.  The toner is slightly more expensive, but the toner is good nearly forever.  I did the math...

Well, last December, when I went to make my own holiday cards for family, friends, and fellow cat-bloggers, the color stopped working.  Canon support had me try all sorts of things, but couldn't solve the problem.  They finally said to just try new toner.  I did, and that didn't solve the problem.  Well, I do most of my printing in black&white anyway.

Last week, it kept telling me it was out of paper.  I added an inch of it.  Still reported the same problem.  So something new is going wrong.  Well, the printer is very specific about what kind of paper is in the tray.  I don't need "the best paper".  There are detailed settings about that.  And getting through the menu about that is maddening.  Sometimes, I don't even know what the paper definitions mean.

Part of the problem is that I seem to have bought a printer intended for office use.  It took a week after I bought it to figure out the default settings were "network".  When I solved that, I could print.

These new problems are (so far) unsolvable.  I think I need to delete then reinstall the printer.  Which, as I recall, was a real pain.  And it means rediscovering all the setting adjustments I made to convince the printer that it isn't part of an office network!

I'm not looking forward to that.  But I have to do it soon, because I can't print anything! 

  -----------

I'll post about any good news when I get any...

Pet Loss

 What do you do when a pet dies?  I bury them 2' deep and build a box to mark the spot.  I get brass letters to screw on and a cat statue to attach to the top.  The area behind a 5' pond is the cat memorial place.

When I started that, I did not really think of the future.  I didn't think much beyond Skeeter and LC.  But then there was Iza by surprize.  And then Laz and Ayla.  I can build boxes to put the names on, but I can't find the same kind of brown 12" statues anymore.  I guess they went out of style.

I may have to buy a dozen ceramic ones all of a similar kind and put the brown resin ones on a bookshelf.  Why?  Because I want them to all feel equal.  I know that may sound silly, but it bothers me to picture the memorial boxes seeming to show some preference among them.  They were all cherished.

I wish I could find more of these...

Refrigerator Delivered!

I have a new fridge in the basement!   It is in place, working, and I think I will go to bed now.  Yeah, its 1 PM now, but I couldn't sleep last night worrying abut whether there might be problems.  All is resolved...