Hey There!
It's 7:43 AM EDT, 66°F, Humidity 86%, Wind 5 mph SE, overcast, AQI 59.
Another day of chores and errands yesterday. The combination of tediousness and accomplishment is intriguing. I dislike chores; errands are OK; but I like the feeling of accomplishment I get when I complete anything.
After my morning routine, I decided to get on the phone and make some phone calls to set up some appointments. I called my podiatrist and made an appointment for new orthotics. I don't use them as much as I used to because the sneakers I use today have so much padding in the insoles as it is. I got an appointment for later in the month. Then I made an appointment with a local orthopedic group. I have a pain in my right ankle that hurts on occasion, but mostly when I'm at rest, not when I walk. I get moving with a few limps, and then after a very short while I can walk normally. Odd injury. But I couldn't get an appointment with the ortho doctor until mod-September. Getting appointments with medical people these days is so difficult. I can understand why people use the emergency room - it may be the only way they can see a medical person quickly. Otherwise you wait a month for anything.
After I made those calls, it was time to trim the front hedges. I hate these things, but I have decided not to do anything about them up to this point. For one thing, they hide the trim along the front porch, and that is a help. For another, taking them out and re-doing the landscaping along the front of the house is not something I can do. It will take money, and I don't feel yet like spending that money. Unfortunately, one of the corners of the porch is beginning to rot away a bit, so I will probably be forced to tackle this issue next summer, doing both the porch and the landscaping. Ka-Ching!
So I did the annual "trimming of the hedges." They always look better once I trim them. The process also includes a bit of weeding and pulling ivy out from behind the hedges. I pulled out my hedge trimmers and got the bushes trimmed. Then I went inside for a break.
DW was trying to return a hat she bought from Amazon, but a month or two ago, our local UPS depot closed its doors, which has meant changes in how we return things here. She had to return her hat using a QR code, but we were unsure where to take the hat and have the code scanned. I first went to the local pharmacy, which now takes Amazon returns, but only if you have a box and pre-printed label. The guy there said the local rent-a-center took QR codes, and directed me to the one behind the pharmacy. When I got there, there was a sign on the door saying they don't take any Amazon returns at all, but the Rent-A-Center in the parking lot by the grocery store was the place to go. So I went there, and indeed they took the hat, read the QR code on my phone, and all was good. While there I bought some pork lo mein and two egg rolls for lunch for us. I went back to the pharmacy as well to pick up two prescriptions for DW.
So now that we knew which locations took what kinds of packages, I boxed up a chair I wanted to return, printed a label and taped it to the box, and went back to the pharmacy. I also let the guy there know the correct "rent a center" to send people to in the future. Mission accomplished! Now we know how to make returns.
When I got back home, I went to the clean-up phase of the trimming job. I raked up the trimmings and the leaves behind the hedges and got them all into a garbage pail. Unfortunately, the city has eliminated their compost/brush pile, so I have to hang on to these until brush pickup comes along in the fall.
Surprisingly, I felt sore after all this, so I basically took the rest of the day off. I watched a Sidetrack Adventures video on Death Valley, and a few others before dinner. Dinner was a pice of mahi mahi with a side casserole of broccoli, rice, cheese, and a bread crumb topping.
After dinner I watched the condensed version of the ball game, which we lost 1-0. One home run by the opposition was all the scoring. Then I spent the evening digging a little more into solar energy. Again, it's another case of wanting to create a solar system for the house, but not being really sure if it's worth the money versus the amount of time I will be here. I have plenty of backup power stations to get through any power outage, but I would love to have a permanent solar array in my back yard. But if I move within the next five years, will I have to take it down? Or sell the house with it installed? I am unsure, and a move within 5 years looks fairly certain.
One video I saw was almost 90 minutes long, and the man who made the video laid out the case for solar more clearly than I have ever seen the case laid out before. But in the end, almost 30 minutes of that time was devoted to a rant against the current administration and the energy industry that I found quite powerful, theatrical, and passionate. It was an unexpected ending to the video, and I gotta say, the man was both authoritative and persuasive. I wonder, though, if it is something I would share. I could see how it could come across as a "true believer" rant to some people. I found it powerful, but it's not everyone's taste, I guess.
After that video, I went and cleaned the kitchen, put in my eyedrops, and hit the hay at about 11:33 PM.
That's all for now. 'Til We Meet Again!