Hey There! It's 8:20 AM EST, 37°F, wet, dark and gloomy.
Yesterday kept me active. I went through my morning routine, and then went for a walk in the park. It was in the upper 20s with some wind, so it was a chilly experience, but as long as you're dressed for the weather it's not so bad. I like to walk outside whenever I can. The treadmill feels like a chore, while the walk feels like an experience. I listened to a podcast about how data centers are increasing everyone's electric bills by, in some cases, 100%. Artificial intelligence is the dream of a few tech billionaires who believe they have the obligation to shove this shit down all our throats while they make more billions in the process, and raise our electricity rates with their high-demand data centers. It's another indication of the continuing decay of western civilization.
DW turned her day into a cookie-making day, so there are now plenty of cookies for the holiday season. Ruggalach, Russian tea cakes, and snickerdoodles are now on offer. They are all very good.
I went out to pick up groceries at Wally World for the 7 Fishes meal. I wasn't mentally prepared for how busy it was. Usually on a Monday morning it's light traffic, but it seemed everyone was out and about yesterday.
I spent the late morning wrapping my gifts up and placing them under the sad artificial tree we have. There seem to be more presents under there now than when the kids were little.
I think I mainly puttered about for the later afternoon. I tried to take a nap at one point, but DW kept getting me up with some small task while she was baking, which I didn't mind. Later in the afternoon our handyman came over to pick up his cash advance for work to be done while we're gone. He and DW chose the paint for the kitchen, and we'll be purchasing it in the coming days.
Neither of us had lunch, so by 4PM we were hungry, but it was too early to eat. DW made smoothies instead. We ate patty melts and veggies later in the evening.
Son2's girlfriend had an incident where she ended up going to the ER and was eventually diagnosed with a stomach flu. Son 2 was very irritated because she would not take his advice to rest, drink fluids and eat some broth or crackers. She ended up passing out for a bit in the bathroom and finally going to the ER. She was dehydrated by then. Young people think they're immortal sometimes, and when they get sick, there's a tendency to deny anything's wrong. Whenever I'm feeling overly ill, I get medical attention ASAP. I ended up trying to get Son2 to be less frustrated. He frustrates easily.
It was an evening of cricket - the third test match of the Ashes. Australia has not gotten off to a good start. I think at the drinks break of the second session of day one they're at 4-125 or somewhere around there. It is hot there right now, with temperatures above 35°C. It is always so strange to see and hear talk of Christmas while summer is in full bloom over there. Bedtime at 11:15 PM.
Not sure what today will bring, but I know it's time to turn some attention to preparing for the AZ trip. We're pretty sure Son2 is coming tomorrow, but it appears his GF will not be making the trip. We do hope she recovers well.
'Til We Meet Again!