Best Of

Betrayal, enjoy your cruise. One of my favorite cruises was the Alaskan inland cruise.

Chris. good luck with surgery.

We board ship today. Spent yesterday at Pike Place Market. Had some Rainier cherries that I love. DD bought a really beautiful Irish knit sweater there. I just bought some lavender body cream and again relief rub that is herbal. My back was bad last night in spite of Tizanidine. We went to bed early after long day and slept better than I expected. Lovely day in Seattle.

Don't know if and when I will be able to post again so waving hello to everyone.

The power washing was great. He said the house wasn’t that dirty, I knew we had road grime at the peaks but otherwise it looked ok. The fence looks new again! And the retaining wall is clean. It has some effervescence, calcium leaching from the concrete I believe. I’m getting a bottle of CLR today to see if it removes it. Here’s the before, and after.

PS - it’s not my wall. Nor do the owners care about it - same people that burnt my fence. And as you can see in the “before” photo, I ignored it. As I see the photos, the driveway needs to be sealed again too. And maybe I should pull the crap growing there or spray something to kill it all. I’m betting they’ll never touch it this fall.

I did get to the town landfill, and got rid of all the wood & propane tank too. Felt good not to see it in my yard.

We met a couple for lunch yesterday at a bbq place about 25 mins from home. It was delicious. They have brisket, pulled pork, roast beef, chicken, burgers & dogs too. I had enough to enjoy it again at dinner.

Today I was meeting a gf at a local farmers market. The plan was to mosey around, then grab a bite to eat for lunch. She canceled due to upset stomach, and bathroom runs. Which, I’m glad she’s not sharing with me. So I’ll be able to get out soon to buy the CLR and a pool closing kit before rains kick in today.

Originally rain was called for about 11 AM, but now it looks like it should start around 1 PM. It’s gloomy looking.

Tomorrow we’re going to get the Natuzzi sofa off the front porch, and out into the front yard. There is no interest in it on FB, and my family doesn’t need my old sofa - some have old ones of their own. I made a call to my waste service to see how much $ for them to take it; $153+. Then I called the furniture store asking if the delivery guys take the old one; no. I have to hope someone driving by takes it. Or on Tuesday I’ll be setting up the pick up service with my trash carrier and paying to get rid of it.

During the rain today I can start clearing space on the porch to move that sofa. I truly don’t know if just the two of us can get it out. The reclining backs are not removable, if they came off it would be so much easier.

I’m out of here, off to shop. We need the rain, but I don’t want to be in it. Enjoy your day!

Betrayal, have a fabulous cruise! Since you will be doing the Inside Passage, at times you may be close enough to the coast to get cell signal. Check your provider for cell roaming plans domestically (most of the cruise will be in AK, not BC waters)—might be cheaper than you think!

I hear you about the stick vac, but for a different reason. I have no problem pushing it, but it's pretty anemic at picking up cat litter tracked on the bare basement floor around the boxes; and it's next to useless on carpet because it just sucks (literally). It's a Dirt Devil I bought last year because it was the cheapest at Target, and CR agrees with me that you get what you pay for. Back at the house, we have a couple of Fullers (off CR's radar) we bought back in 2020—an excellent upright and a very good stick (which I've only used on bare floors to pick up spilled crumbs, kibble and even broken glass). I may haul it back here to Lincolnwood. In the meantime, I know I'd made a vow not to buy anything non-perishable/non-consumable till we move, but I just made an exception. Our cleaning lady does a fabulous job on the black carpet each week—but the cats undo it within a day or two. The Shark that came with this rental is great but too heavy for me to push around. So I checked out CR's ratings and just ordered a Dyson robot vac from Abt ($100 cheaper than the Roomba brand, and on sale for half-price at Abt), which should arrive tomorrow. My back will thank me (although it's heavy and I'd have to pick it up from the closest outlet up two steps from the living room), and the black rug will stay presentable till the next cleaning visit.

My new crown is fabulous—unlike porcelain-over-gold (or even the acrylic temp), zirconium doesn't react to temperature so I have no cold sensitivity on that molar.

Speaking of power-washing, we're considering it for the side of our garage that is covered with what appears to be either lichen or mold.

Our landscaper is under the weather today (having a "brain fog spell" from the head injury he suffered last winter when a suddenly-opened car doorknocked him off his bike), so if I go over to the house it'll be to clear some counter space in the kitchen for the Breville oven (in case we find it) as well as put various miscellany in cabinets & drawers. We made great progress yesterday—no more boxes remain in the kitchen! Was going to go through the clothing in the bedroom to set aside stuff for donation (in my case, most items!) but landscaper suggests we tackle the first floor instead. So tomorrow afternoon (after we meet a visiting friend from SC for breakfast) we will do the dining room boxes first and then living room. The system we've been using is that the guys do the lifting, bending and emptying while I unwrap and either discard or. put stuff where I think it belongs (or direct them to do it if I can't reach). Saves my back. Bob is surprised that his knees don't hurt as much as they did—de facto range-of-motion exercises. We will also work this Sunday; Monday I have to be at the house for the gas grill service visit, so I can get stuff done then too.

My friend who's visiting from SC is here for a wedding in Aurora tomorrow. He has Parkinson's, which has been advancing more rapidly than when I last saw him 3 years ago, and he says this might be the last time he's well enough to fly up and meet with us all (he's from here, but he & his wife moved to Charleston for the weather and to be near her family). She's got some mobility issues from an injury last year, but has lost as much weight as I have—same method as I did before the GLP-1. It's unclear whether she'd be able to meet us that early in the morning, as he hinted that it takes her quite a while to get ready. Bob is off tomorrow, so will join us; but Gordy can't because his wife can't drive up that early from down in the city (she's the only driver, and an Uber would be insanely expensive). Gordy lives just north of. Wrigley Field, we're in Lincolnwood, and we're meeting at a hotel up in Northbrook. This is one of the rare occasions I won't be sleeping in on a weekend.