Ohs Hit

I have a couple of Dollar Store items I need but not critically. And I need to get gas, but not critically. So I might not do either today.

Last night's dinner with Bonny turned out to be dinner with Gail and Jim and Bonny. Jim lives across the hall next to the Jim who needs a lot of help. Gail lives on the other side of the complex. Neither are very interesting and I was not the one who invited them to join us. But, it worked out fine. The service was very slow. I like eating in the dining room once in a while but it is a production that eats up your evening. I have other, more interesting things to do. Plus there's the eating. Gail got a pork chop which she said was delicious and she really would have loved to have picked it up and gnawed all the good off the bone. But, she didn't and I wouldn't have either. HOWEVER, I will when I order it for take out tonight! Take out means you can spice your food to your heart's content and eat it any way you wish. Also some of their menu items do not 'take out' well. I had trout last night which was delicious.

Volleyball was short this morning. We usually play for 2 hours but a bunch of people were missing and the asshole was one of the few people who showed so we quit. The asshole says stupid, insulting things and has no player skills nor does he seem to be interested in acquiring any and he's dangerous to play next to. All of this annoys me but what annoys my friend, Steve, the most is that a few weeks ago, the asshole lost his swimming trunks and so now just wears his underwear. It's knitting boxers so not tightly whities but it really annoys the shit out of Steve. Which amuses me. So all is not lost. Anyway we quit after an hour. It was fine.

I've been on the hunt for a rain jacket for a while. It has to be the lightest of weights with a hood and pockets, of course, and room for a sweater under. I finally set Gemini to the task this morning and found a nice on on sale at Columbia. As much as I hate ordering from places other than Amazon, Columbia seems to have a fairly easy and straightforward return situation which, in my experience, means it won't need to be returned. hahah.

Ugh. I just saw an article about how successful TV drug ads are. Ugh.

The part of the country I was raised in (Southeast) is so very different from where I have now lived twice as long (Northwest). But, I still kind of half expect early evening thunderstorms in hot weather and am always surprised and delighted by the early morning fog that greets most cooler days here. It's just so cozy and lovely. This morning it's rolling through so that even the part of the building just across the drive is shrouded.

I learned yesterday that they are trying to convince Hazel to move into assisted living. John is not dead yet but he's not ever going to move back to their apartment. She can't live there on her own - she has minor memory issues but mainly can't see shit. She can't work the telephone most of the time. She can turn on the TV but only to Netflix and if something screws with that, she's lost. She can't drive or figure out how to get a ride to anywhere and has had two major (stitches) falls since Labor Day. BUT denial is strong. She says the assisted living apartments are too small and she is claustrophobic. This is going to be a situation.

They are closing the pool down Monday-Thursday of next week to do work on the filters or something. Yesterday, I sent a note to the maintenance scheduler to ask if I could sneak in a swim Monday morning before they start and I just got the nicest note back saying they won't be closing the pool actually until about 9. So I can get easily get a Monday swim in before they do.

Bonny and I are having dinner in the dining room tonight. I rarely eat there so this will be a treat for me. She eats there a couple of times a week but rarely with me so this will be a treat for her. hahahah

Otherwise, the day looks normal. Puzzling, TV, knitting - the usual. My knee is 99% healed and I'm so grateful. It's such a relief.

Ok. Time to hit the pool while we still have this fog.

Finally, in the 9th inning last night, I had to mute every announcer. The TV guys had already pissed me off and now the radio guys were dragging out and repeating every minute, every single idiotic sports idiom ever uttered by anyone. The Mariners lost by one run but, honestly, by the last out, I was just relieved to get 5 months without having to hear another sports announcer. If you can't say something not stupid, shut the fuck up. And, also, I'm tired of baseball.

So all's well that ends well. hahahahaha

I played volleyball this morning and it was fun. My knee twinged a couple of times but not badly and it is fine now. In all the knee madness, I'd taken to no longer wearing the brace for my elbow tendinitis. I need to still wear it. So I'll put it back in my swim bag.

My across the hall neighbor, Jim, has been deteriorating mentally for a while now. Yesterday afternoon, I ran into him coming back from dinner and he had a carer!! Finally. And she's a good one. We have a solid program here of careers. You can hire them for an hour a day or 24/7. They will help with every day things or just be with you in case you need help and, in Jim's case, they will make sure he's ok inside his apartment and goes to get meals. There are a bunch that work here a lot. The one with him yesterday took care of Gail, who lived down the hall, when her husband died. Jim appeared to be very comfortable with him. So, whew. I don't have to worry about his burning down the place or turning up as a corpsicle.

Today is house cleaning day - yeah!!! And that's about it for action. Fine by me. The only thing on my list today is lunch x 4. Their lunch menu this week includes Chicken Teriyaki Bowl. And theirs is better than anyone else's in Issaquah. PLUS. it reheats from freezing beautifully. So I'm going to order up a bunch today for the freezer (and lunch). This will also help my monthly meal credit balance. I think I'll order that up now for pickup later and then... go get dressed.