So last night everything was nearly perfect. It was rainy, we went for a ride to the wilderness, leg pain was practically nil, and... my temporary cane smacked my leg once and... then, twice! Mind you, I should have had it 'just there' at all times because this heavy thing will jump at every bump in the road and assault me. So I learned a painful lesson. Not only does one have to be smarter than the average bear, one also must be wilier than the most violent medical goods. Or, perhaps if one is inferior to the medical goods, one is dumber than the average bear? But moving on to this new day and another lesson. For a slightly after midnight snack, I experimented with leftover takeout food. I made a new casserole that was actually yummy (and used up leftovers)!

Hot and humid as heck. Poolside for a few hours. Then torrential rain for 10 minutes. T'was fun but cold, lol. The sun knocks you out.

Early morning speech session, a trip to the park, finished a shop at WM, then we spent the rest of the day at home.

Legs have decided to stay up late and "play' and who the heck am I to interrupt their fun especially as it is not a school night?! Despite them, I am cooking later and might even go with hubby to the grocery store instead of sending him and a list.

You have a wonderful attitude and I need to take a lesson. Have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for sharing the positive way of looking at things!!!

Hubby comes home from his retreat after lunch today. I was going to take a morning bike ride, but it was raining when I woke up, so I decided to run errands instead. There is so much humidity in the air that when I came out from an air conditioned store my glasses actually fogged up!

This afternoon I will cook dinner and enjoy the rest of my quiet time.

Hot as heck again here today. I do not like the heat and humidity. Cleaned out about a 3rd of my closet although I have not bought unneccessary clothing for a long time. I got one DD at home today to start. Then I want all three of them to vacate the drawers in my dresser and amoire. Thank goodness DH is not a clothes horse; he's a minimalist as well as my Mom. We need to take lessons from them.

When I got here, I was a minimalist and everything was clean, organized, and... sort of sterile. (long story, that.) Now, we have expressed ourselves and have either outgrown this space or earned the privilege of doing something Asian. I think this is an Asian concept? It is good to show some things but not everything all at once. This is like the happy medium between too much and too little. So when I can get back to the overarching theme, we will get rid of some things, move others into the rotation of a stint in storage unit, and more or less fit well.

We leave for a trip tomorrow, so today is all about wrapping up loose ends.

Took the ol' 2003 Crown Vic into the transmission shop this morning. Have to replace the torque converter clutch, the part that is responsible for the transmission going smoothly into 4th gear -- better known as "overdrive" -- from 3rd. When the torque converter clutch wears down, a "shudder" or "jerk" sensation is felt when going into overdrive. This has been happening since around early February. Since April 1st, we've been driving the car in the city with "Overdrive Off", and that way, the car stays out of high gear, and we seldom go over 50 mph in city/county roads. It does make a difference in gas to the tune of about getting one less mpg in mileage. With the car in "OD Off" mode, the shudder/jerk never happens, since the transmission stays in 3rd gear. We're the second owners of the car, having gotten it back in 2007, when it had only 34K miles on it. Now, 15 years later, it has 244K miles on it!! But it's been a great car, so we're hoping this will keep the transmission OK at least for another year or two!! Hope so. We hopefully will pick the car up Wed/Thurs. Transmission places are so busy, that we had to make the appt 5 weeks ago!!! The place has 4.7/5 stars, so that's good! People are fixing up their cars, since new ones are hard to get and even used ones have skyrocketed in price. Ours will have a 1 year/12K mile warranty on the parts/labor for the work done on it. Leaving my car that I know so intimately, knowing every sound and creak after 15 years, in the hands of strangers, is a bit unsettling, but they DO have a great reputation, so hopefully it will all be alright!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2022 02:43PM by guysmom.

Celebrating a few more welcome health improvements, distracting myself from the stragglers there (found quite a few movies I'd never heard of that have encouraging and healing messages), and realizing that if I were not in this situation I would not have found these entertaining and uplifting teaching tools. So, here I am: ~ 94.3 % improved overall and enjoying this lighter heart.

@KathyG: safe travels!
@guysmom: we have an older car, too. It is not a classic like your Crown Victoria. Our humblemobile needs some work that can be postponed safely.

Was hoping to cycle, but heavy clouds are making me think. House work/ yard work.

Doing a slow happy dance because it is much to hot and humid for anything more active. The security deposit from the prospective new housemate hit my bank account this morning. Move-in should be July 30-31. Gotta love Zelle.

Humidity and heat makes for a miserable day. Worked from home. DH power washed half the house. I had to run to and from various rooms to escape the noise. A/C running but still loud. DH harvested 2 more zucchinis and our first beautiful beefsteak tomato. Neighbor brought over a huge exotic squash. Lgging off soon from work.

Wanted to take a walk out, but the humidity was oppressive so I spent the day doing paperwork and organized old paperwork which will have to be shredded. Another future project. Do the home projects every end? Right now I have a huge one that I am taking slow and although I am making headway, been about a month or so that I do a little every day, it seems forever before I will be completely finished. But I know if I attempt to do it any faster that I will be overwhelmed and this surely but slowly method works better for me.

I set my plants outside for a drink of rainwater. It hasn't rained yet. I am hoping for an overnight storm.

Practicing a kinder, gentler way to deal with skin as it heals. The recommended methods are generally easy and effective, but they are too harsh for me just now and they launch the pain level to... I dunno... some other galaxy... But this is good. When I feel better, I accomplish more at home. So today is for laundry, cooking tasks, and identifying still more stuff to shred later. It is enough.

Early morning walk to beat the heat, then last of the laundry before we leave for airport after lunch.

I had to change my email (Hotmail) password over the weekend, which of course means updating all of my devices. My older iPad won't authenticate the account and let me make the change.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I found my cleaner on Next Door. She is great!

@Madetoshop wrote:

Didn't want to do it but deep cleaned 3 bathrooms. I am seriously looking for a maid service. I only want my bathrooms and kitchen cleaned. Having problems with my specs. What has been your experience with cleaning services if any?

Today, I tried out my neighbor's cleaning woman. She cleaned my kitchen and washed the floors in addition to 3 bathrooms. I am loving her and think I will keep her. So much easier and well worth the expense.

I agree that Next Door is a super resource for local businesses, especially fixing, cleaning, gardening, mom and pop restaurants, pet and child care. Check to see if your local area has a Next Door site. It's also a place to learn about services that have disappointed, lol.

Starting early. I rested/slept so much yesterday that I am wide awake now. While watching flicks, I prepped ingredients for two dishes. All that rest has helped! It is 'Wishing Wednesday' and I wish for enough bits of time here and there in which to accomplish a few tiny house tasks that fit neatly into brief spurts.

Leaving for Canada next week. The heat is unbearable!

Welcome to Canada @Mum
Getting a much needed haircut today. Picking raspberries, Saskatoon berries, weeding. Attempting to clean my gardening hands and nails before the weekend.

Getting ready to go vacuum our above round pool. Then grocery shopping and picking up some medicine for our dog.

Love my new siggy. It reminds me of the difference between an original work about the wonders of therapeutic gardening and a cheap knockoff (which might be a thinly disguised plagiarized piece) of that. The original stands, even now, and the other is just a bit of nonsense. Many abridgements later, I merely wonder. What is real, what matters, and what the unprintable were Adam and Eve thinking when they were in their own sustaining and sustainable Garden?!

I went to sleep too late and woke up too early. I made use of my insomnia and went grocery shopping. Monday is an appointment to get my heat pump replaced.

Monday I'm sending my phone in for a warranty issue. Hopefully, I will be able to get another 2 years out of the replacement.

I calculated that if hubby were paid, say, twenty five dollars per hour for all the extra housework he has been doing, he has worked off much of the money he owed me, could buy something fun, or invest in something. But I don't pay myself, so I don't pay him. I merely explained that if he will continue with these tasks temporarily and then a few of them permanently, I will figure that he owes me nothing and is contributing substantial, if not monetary, energy to the household. Seems fair.

@Shop-et-al fair if you can afford it.

I am officially without a cell phone. My work phone arrives tomorrow, but I am determined to use it for work only. My replacement LG should be here in a few days.