Storm Watch

I like the afternoon winds especially on Saturday during the summer hot months. The last day of July so I consider that still the hot months. The Wasatch front is enjoying kind of a reprieve at this point in time from the triple digit temperatures within filing for a good part of the summer. Today the temperatures are in the 80s with the possible threat/gift of a thunderstorm later on today. 70% chance so I guess the odds are good that this might happen. Of course a summer thunderstorm means winded lightning which is a threat to the combustible force lands. What little rain we might be able to get out of some of these monsoon clouds is most likely not worth the risk of the possible prairie and forest fires they could also spawn. Huge Cumulus Nimbus are beginning to bank up over the Wasatch front the question now is will they organize himself in the some kind of meteorological event? I hope so I just love the energy of the great storm and lightning flashes tend excite me. I suppose I should be more altruistic and not hope for such an event because the consequences are so risky but still waiting for the storm has a total excitement. It's Saturday afternoon which means of course a trip to the market. I'm so funny as far as regarding purchasing items on Sundays. I just like having everything I'm going to need for the next 24 to 36 hours at my fingertips here in the apartment. Today I even purchased Reese's peanut butter cups the large size and I have been chilling in the freezer. I had the strange idea that frozen Reese's peanut butter cups tend to last longer if there frozen. Frozen peanut butter cup is more difficult to chew or by the piece of that when the peanut butter cups are soft and malleable. When in the frozen state just one cop – frozen can satisfy me whereas peanut butter cups at room temp can be easily all be consumed at one setting. The main reason I went to the market however was to get my next watermelon. I've enjoyed the last melon of which I carved up and stuffed into a large plastic cake container and then stuffed in the refrigerator which I've eaten off of all week long. In fact I still have a couple servings which I'll probably eat through tonight. I just wanted to be sure I have a watermelon on standby ready to go. I also got a big container of Joy dish soap to used to refill my small container of Joy liquid which I keep by the sink to refill is needed. I think this container of soap might will last me over a year. The bottle of Joy was on sale for five dollars, it was a clearance item. If our truly smart phone got two or three of them to probably last me the rest of my life. I even purchased a London broil steak which I might come this evening and serve it with corn on the cob I purchased last night. This would be a truly delightful summer evening for this last night of July…

Savory Solid

 

It's great to have a day that I don't have to do anything. This week is been very busy for me and it's good to have a day to just sort of catch up on things. Now don't believe I did that for one minute. The dishes studied to be done some sketches still need to be made but I've enjoyed the day just messing around. I got the wash done yesterday of course the closer folder and put away or hung up on their various hangers. The great wind and rain was had during the night not enough rain really to do anything except bring the temperature down which I'm sure I'm the only individual the Salt Lake Valley who misses the heat. I'm sure the heat will be back in a few days as we finish up this monsoon season. I did not even put on shoes today and it felt fine. There is weird weather by weird weather I mean cool and rainy for the next number of days so I felt best to go over to the market importance of provisions. I'm going to build a supply of spicy vegetable juice and pickled jalapeno peppers. These are two mainstays of my diet and I don't want to be without. There is a winter coming.

As I said I made it to the market after I listened to Marketplace© of the try to do every week day. I did a fast dash their effort to be back by 5 PM to watch the 5 o'clock news. Actually, I'm finding that I'm losing my interest in the national news – – it's all the same and so depressing. However, I'm also not all that interested in the 5 PM news anymore except for whether for some reason I like keep that fiction a live. Yesterday, I had a salad I built out of items I had on hand. Pickled beets tomato, cucumber pickled orcucumber slices soaked and white vinegar one of my favorite things. I added a half a can of the pickle beets to the concoction on top the whole thing off with cottage cheese. I would really like to keep this solid thing going. So often I get somewhat excited about the concept and then buy the ingredients which ends up dying in the fridge. I feel better this time around and I think I can pull it off. So in that vein I saddled up, as indicated earlier, and went to the market focusing specifically on the fresh vegetables. I got broccoli crowns, you know a regular head of broccoli chopped up into convenient package. Three more good-sized cucumbers and I struggled for five minutes trying to figure out if I really wanted to deal with celery are not. I love to have celery on hand but the last three or four stocks has turned a rubber than garbage. I'm not ready to do that again right now. Possibly, spend a little extra money and just purchase a bag of celery hearts perhaps that would motivate me to use more celery in my cooking as I once did.

I surprised myself at 5 PM I refreshed the salve that may last night with the cucumber parts and I even skimmed a boiled egg to include with the salad turned out pretty decent I am quite surprised. Best part nothing to really put away and maybe I can build another salad tomorrow. I do have a chicken breast left over that needs to be used quickly and maybe that's just enough for a Saturday salad…

1% Milk And The Apocalypse

 

It's a good thing I called I almost did not. Remember last Thursday, the Tuesday morning Assist, Inc. was moved to Thursday afternoon because one of the participants had an issue with 11 o'clock meeting just fine by me. At the conclusion of that meeting we agreed to go ahead and have the next meeting a week later again on Thursday at 2:30 PM. I really didn't care one where the other actually in fact it worked in my favor since the writers Guild was having our luncheon at 1030 that Thursday morning. So everything worked out… Kind. I just had a feeling that I should call in and make sure the meeting was going to be held today a scheduled. I meant to call this morning a little after 8 o'clock just to make sure but got carried away doing other things so later this morning I called and spoke with Andrea's who I could tell by his voice had forgotten all about today's meeting and assured me the meeting would not be held today. This is good. I would not have a problem with going in but it just felt better not to have to be an adult today.

I wish I could say I did great things with the extra time that was gifted to me today but the only thing productive was getting the weeks wash completed. I did go to coffee of course and that was fairly inconsequential poorly attended. I thought about going next door to the market and getting some salad ingredients. I'm threatening another salad binge. The cucumbers I got last week from the food bank have been really good and I've consumed them all the number of salads. Did make it to the market thinking that I can do that on Friday or Saturday. I have ingredients to build some decent red being and black bean salads. I could even jazz them up with pickled beets and even red beans, big plump kidney beans. I have numerous cans of such beings and I really need to start using them as well as cartons of cottage cheese I have piled in refrigerator which need to be used. And salad fare could not necessarily hurt me. I heard those stickers out there… Be nice.

Yesterday was food box day. I've talked about this event before various people at this facility are eligible for USDA boxes of food. We have the food box day once a month usually the last Thursday. People go through their boxes and take out everything they don't want to leave them on the table which ends up migrating to the sharing shelf. Usually each box contains 2 quarts of low-fat milk and sealed cartons. I really like the stuff in fact I scarf it whenever I can get it. The beverage has an excellent shelf life and they end up using all of it at some point through the month breakfast cereal, take my medications with the milk sometimes and even use it for coffee creamer. It's really good stuff if you like milk. Yesterday I noticed they were three boxes of milk on the table in the afternoon when I came back from the bus trip to get my brothers birthday money. I grabbed to the boxes and went on down to the apartment to find two other quarts of milk sitting on my table.! I love it people know me so well they just enter my apartment to leave the milk I'm truly blessed. I hate to think that I'm porting but I noted I have four more such boxes on the floor pantry of like 2 gallons of milk! I do have cereal for a month! The only drawback is that it's like 1% (as the government's way of trying to keep you healthy even against her will) milk. Hey, in the middle of the desert the thirsty man doesn't care of the waters bottled or pumped from a well or even a flask from the goats belly. I'm just thankful to have it stocked might will pantry. Patiently waiting for the famine/apocalypse…

Jeepers Creepers Wednesday

 

Creepy weird guy at the bus stop

The only real commitment I had today if you call a commitment was to meet with my wheelchair technician at about 1 PM to see if there's any way I can make the left arm of my power chair function better. I made contact with him yesterday, his name is Allen and so far he's developed a record of coming out to my apartment each time I've called him regarding my power chair issues. It's almost unheard of particularly with my current durable medical provider. I like this guy is naïvely brutal in his assessment and responses to my comments. So, he can get done prior to this time commitment I want to get a shot at and today I was focused on getting a birthday card and cash for my brother's birthday which is coming up on August 5. This is going to entail taking the bus to the college then grabbing another bus out to my credit union then getting back by 1 PM. I was started out about 9:30 AM and figured I had well more than enough time.

One of the few times in our existence together by home health person showed up almost an hour early! I was delighted. Luckily I had been focused and got most of the items alike to have in place done by the time she showed up and we got right to it. Everything slid together like a hand in in a glove. Very little wait time for the bus will wait, the only weird thing that happened was when I was waiting for the number 47 bus I had to share the waiting area with this weird guy. I really don't have any rationale to refer to him as weird except his outward looks in the fact that he either picks up cigarette butts and has a pile in his pocket or is one of those people who smokes a cigarette to a certain level crushes allowed that smokes again later on. He was sitting at the bus stop when I rolled up. We did engage a little bit and shared a few words but I got a real weird vive off the of the guy and decided to not engage in rolled over to some shade wait for the 47 outbound.

There was nothing consequential regarding the bus trip over, wait in line at the mountain America credit Union and making the trip back to the apartment. I guess if there was a good consequence it was everything seemed to work like things were supposed to. I even stopped at the Wendy's in the Macy's parking lot and got a burger which was quite tasty.

Allen the technician was late and that's a good thing. I didn't have anywhere to be so I just hung out at the apartment parking lot in the along after the technician showed up and examine my chair. The bad news is of course they are going to have to bring my chair in for repair I guess the good news is that I at least have my backup chair now to survive in to my other chair gets prepared. The problem is a little double threaded good-sized bowl to the back of my chair that I think I handle through the night and trying to turn and be situated while I sleep. I tried to keep upbeat about the whole thing but had to share less than three weeks and already I'm having to endure major repairs and deprivation of my new elevator chair which to me, is it's saving grace…

On The Hook

 

The faithful reader knows that traditionally I have my Assist, Inc. every Thursday morning at 11 AM but for one reason or another which I may or may not get into here the meeting this week is again Thursday at 2:30 PM which is an example of how things are changing all over the universe. Because, of the shift in the meeting my Tuesday morning was left open and since nature abhors a vacuum nature, mother nature, elected to fill this vacuum with a median of the Writers Guild which meets whatever it wants to usually at the Village In at the corner of Redwood Road and 4700 S., Salt Lake City. It's kind of a strange time (10:30 AM) to meet for lunch but I went ahead with the agenda. After all it's not so much what we eat as much what we talked about and be in the company of our selves.

This Village In was located about two blocks from my apartment complex and that's the big reason this facility has been chosen for ease of travel to me which still humbles me whenever I think about it. But, the point in my room to make is that is us going to the restaurant this morning I noticed the big blue “On The Hook” fast food fish truck! This fish truck sells battered Alaskan halibut and cod at exorbitant prices at different locales in multiple states every month. I first saw this truck when I was working and inquired as to their pricing to get I would get a good break for cod or halibut coming from a fast food truck. I thought the price was astronomical and just blew him off. This was 10 or 15 years ago if memory serves correctly. It was somewhere during this time that someone actually purchased me a lunch of this fish product and I was astounded at the quality of flavor and texture of this fish dinner. Since then I've searched frantically for calendar dates when the fish truck would be in my area. I am not willing to pay the exorbitant prices just to have an evening with great cod are Alaskan halibut. As I said I noticed the truck in the parking lot of the pharmacy across the street from our restaurant and consulting my cell phone indeed the be selling fish there until 7 PM this evening. And mind you once they're done selling fish in this area will be sometime before they come back.

I ordered salad, which took great strength on my behalf, our good friend Jerry the writer always pays for the lunch so I can gotten anything but I stuck to my guns and force myself to order the chef salad lunch version. I was pleased when the order came and it looked pretty good even to the point that the other members of my group coveted by choice. The other two were eating variations of oatmeal mush with bananas with the side of bacon. I'm trying really trying to meet a better lunch even when somebody else pays the bill…

Pat's Barbecue Monday

 

I never continue to surprise myself. I went out for barbecue for lunch today. It's not that I necessarily don't like barbecue – – in fact I love to barbecue when I've got the equipment and the meats. It's just barbecue going out in public eating really messy foods and trying to remain somewhat presentable. Even at my best I'm less than presentable at barbecue on a cross between the appearance of a manic clown and the most gruesome scene from a Hannibal Lecter movie. But maybe it's my age or maybe it's the pandemic or coming out of the pandemic (hopefully hopefully) that I'm changing my mind and today Dianne and I went to one of our favorite barbecue joints, if we have one, Pats Barbecue located just around the corner from 21^st South Trax station.

Pats is a weird place if you ask me. It's one of those places I really want to like but every time I go I'm just reminded that how blue-collar the places and I don't have any room to talk at all. But Pats is a working man's joint as well as I hang out for college kids were skaters or whatever youth seems to be on the fringe. I remember we went to Pats barbecue a few years ago when our favorite band the Gamma Rays were playing some sets. It was a lot of fun but a very strange experience. The Gamma rays are quite an eclectic group. Maybe it's just the band themselves that we like and the fact the leader of the band saved my butt one New Year's Eve. That event was documented somewhere in this blog.bblog Again maybe it's the pandemic and it's hard to get help but I swear our server was a former felon – – now I don't have anything to substantiate that comment so I'm going entirely on visual representation and verbal output but she worked hard and was quite nice. Who cares if she's work release are trying to make it back in life after doing 1 to 10? Who am I to throw stones? She worked hard and saved us about the two. I hope she makes it.

Maybe it's because I no longer have access to my barbecue. I can't believe how much I look forward to this afternoon. It was fun also little worried at the beginning when my home health person was late this morning fairly late almost an hour which two of my whole schedule. But, I talked her into helping me get dressed and gave her a relatively healthy tip for home health person. I got out of the house and quite surprisingly made all my contact points and was still about 15 minutes early! How lucky am I? I did not have to wait long and Dianne soon got off her bus coming in from Murray. We met that Murray Central and jumped the train down to 2100 S. Whenever we gone to Pat's barbecue when we were married we are always in my van seemed like it took forever to get to the place. It was only when I was using the train that I began to realize how close the barbecue joint was to the train tracks. It's probably less than half a block and it's an easy walk and a great surprise.

Dianne got the pulled pork sandwich I got the two choices of meat and three add-on meal. I hope it was a deal not sure the server talk me into the extra add-on. My two mmeats were sausage and brisket and great company what better way to start the week…?

Breakfast, Laundry and the Summer Heat

 

I'm currently reading Farewell To Arms by Hemingway. I'm amazed at how well these guys write and why they are the Giants literature they are but what I'm saying is that what I heard last night a thunder of celebration even with lights illuminating the sky, the smoky sky, the night sounded like a chapter out of the current volume I reading. I don't know the mortars were over in the park are just some neighbors to us here at the apartment complex who journeyed to Evanston (where everybody goes through serious about obtaining illegal but incredible fireworks) but what ever they were the noise was incredible huge thunderous explosions, one after another, lifting up beautiful bags of compressed powder to paint the smoke drenched skies with Taylorsville.

This morning however all was calm and life goes on. Mark Anthony had texted last night about meeting up and doing our usual Sunday morning trip to the restaurant. I was up early, actually way early, I couldn't sleep for one reason or another rising finally at six make sure I would be ready by the time to meet up over at restaurant. I'm always surprised at how much I'm still able to do for myself. I'm glad it's as gradual as it seems to be certainly let's the pain of losing one's independence a bit more durable. Once again it was the three of us, Mark Anthony, Jasmine and myself. We have become quite the trilogy it's really fun getting to know the granddaughter like I am. It's so good be passed that point you have to ask a gazillion questions as to the status what's going on at all that and just inquire about what's going on with the boyfriend, work and the forthcoming senior year at the high school. So many things to keep a young person busy she is also working extremely hard at the little restaurant she works at. Of course, like all individuals wanted to work at this point in time, she has maximum hours as the organization starved for employees works to speed their clientele. She's got all the hours she wants and is spending her time trying to find coverage for her next week super getaway down to St. George and the like in that area. Hope she finds water the drought seems to be affecting everything. Which is bound and determined to find the courage and get her compact summer vacation in before returning to school. Mark Anthony did not bring his electric scooter this time so we did not do any zoomer rounds which is okay with me. I was able to get back to the apartment. As I do so I pass this laundromat. I'm always surprised to see people on Sunday mornings unpacking huge black bags and plastic close containers out of their vehicles and dragging them into this laundromat. I'm so thankful that I'm no longer have to do that dance. Granted, I'm still sitting a washer and dryer in our little mini laundry but that's okay I'm more than happy to roll down to the laundry a couple days the week summer and winter good weather and bad and not have to drag giant black bags (like I once did) to the professional coin-op. So many lost Saturday's so long ago makes me thankful every time I pass this joint.

I wish I had more to say but this Sunday as I start the hottest part of summer enjoying every minute…

Of Crackers and Clippers

 

Just got back from my Saturday run – – or does that make me sound athletic – – I feel compelled to get out and do something on Saturdays or in letting down the whole independent living movement. I wish I could just slough off the whole day doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that but Saturday! Want to get ready for Sunday and the rest of the week to come. So the trip to the market and more specifically a trip down to the dollar store All A Dollar. I love the store not only because everything costs a dollar but they carry good crackers, snack crackers not like Ritz crackers or saltines but just a good sometimes flavored cracker. Today was not such a good day to crackers that I like best seem to be sold out so I got the back of crackers which are good and nice to have on a Saturday night as I watch movies, read our whatever I do to fill in the time.

I didn't charge my chair last night it was like at 98% charge which makes me believe I'm capable of going anywhere in doing anything this is almost a full charge but boy when I get out and about on the pavement it seems that my battery drained quickly. I was a little worried today but not too much but enough that I cut my shopping expedition short. I had planned to go to Walmart to pick up a block of cheese and look at the haircutting clippers. Since Myla has closed her haircutting business I'm at a loss. The outfit that took over her business is charging $25 a haircut! There is a “Quick Cut” in the same complex of stores that my Macy's grocery stores in. They want to charge $16 for a haircut which still seems to me exorbitant. Maybe I just need to get along with the program and realize that paying barbers a livable wage is everybody's responsibility and I should stop growling and get along with it and be happy to do my part. So, my plan was to possibly purchase hair cutting equipment into the job myself because I'm too cheap to pay the $16. I know this be a struggle. I think I wrote about this briefly yesterday Dianne suggested I do this. Purchase one of those haircutting kits that's got the apparatus to clip on to the clipper that allows you just to run the machine over the whole head of the cuts everything to the same length. I could probably do this to a point I mean after all, I spent all that time shaving my head. Seems to me if I can shave my head and do it acceptable I can run covers over my skull. Then maybe have Mark Anthony or somebody else tidy it up if needs be. Either way I have got to do something my fair is becoming “poofy”you know when the sides of your head starts proofing out because decide here's just going out of control. It's one of those little things you really don't notice of its done but to really notice of it's not done – – that make sense? Anyway, long story short is that I didn't get the Clippers today and I'm just recuperating from the heat on my Saturday outing…

Healed!

 

I'm healed! Will almost. Today Tyler my RN who is my wound care specialist, announced as he peeled the dressing he applied to my rear end on Monday. There's still little bit of a scab I guess, I don't know how to explain, but he says rather than coming out on Monday just have my morning person, Melanie peel off the dressing he's applying today and I should be good to go. Now I'm really cautious now. I can't believe how goodbye but feels. It hasn't felt this good what seems like years and I just don't want to lose that feeling. Now, I'm worried that without the daily intervention of Tyler that I'm just going to damage my rear end again. We talked about this a little bit and we agree that we really need to educate my home health person to be aware of the issue – – I kind of think she is – – I'm worried that she doesn't want to see these kind of issues arise because it would take time and extra work. I truly hope that's not the case but I have to admit as a wound got worse and worse I was inquiring every session how my schedule and she assured me that it looked great no problems and I believed her to a point though finally the pain a significant to the point that I figured out a way to take images on my own of my butt which I used to not only scare the snot out of me but certainly put my physician and other medical staff on high alert that something needs to be done. That was when my medical doctor immediately wrote orders for wound care specialists to start visiting me at my home and this was great in the tremendous relief.

So now the balls of my court totally. I'm going to have to become hypervigilant as to my skin condition everywhere but most specifically on my rear end. I was a little worried that I back become a past and contacting these folks anytime I felt pain but Tyler assured me that he would rather that I call in with a minor issue then waiting and call in with major skin breakdown. I'm taking Tyler at his word and totally hope this is the case. Now, I've got to put the pressure on my occupational therapist to really consider on getting me a much better cushion for this new power chair I have. I'm currently using my overstuffed cushion from my other power chair – – the one I'm going to rehab – – but I feel I'm sitting on borrowed time. This cushion is pretty old and I wouldn't be surprised if sooner or later and most likely sooner that one of these pods of cushion or gelatin whatever magical compound is in the cushion fails that's going to be at four my butt protection space and I don't want to have to do an emergency search type of thing to find a similar type cushion. I'm really hoping I can head them off at the pass and find a cushion that works for me. For years I have fought the idea of using a Roho cushion which I'm sure I've written about my fear of having to cope with a cushion that's going to fail sooner than later. It's been discussed with me “so what!?” You'll have the benefit of the cushion for all those days that the commission did not fail and perhaps the right just more stuff to think about…

After The Rain

 

Torrential rain! This afternoon we've had torrential rain however brief it is been for the few golden moments the winds blew, rain came down in sheets and there is a continual roar of thunder sadly however, very little lightning. When I check out the Weather Bug it says nearest lightning is 0 miles seek shelter immediately! So I guess that's enough validation that lightning is happening all around. Luckily unable to enjoy the storm from my apartment, I have the door opened to my patio and watching the chaos of the storm play out on the park trees across the way the scene is perfectly marvelous. As storms go in this part of the desert or whatever it is we live in it is not been bad. Even now an hour after the storm began there's still a light sprinkle falling to the earth. Even though the rain fell torrentially I'm sure very little moisture soaked into the to the ground which so desperately needs this summer drink. If the monsoon season, at least that's what the local weather guys have began referring to this short season of possible rainstorms, really pans out it would be a blessing indeed for this area right up there with the crickets from the days of 47. Seems like it's only been last 10 years that I've heard them make reference to having a monsoon season. I kind of like the reference, having a monsoon season makes us sound a little less provincial all things being equal.

I traveled in the heat today for my downtown meeting. I sure appreciate having a great excuse to go downtown on the train of the bus or whatever system I use for transportation. One of the members of the board that I sit on had requested to have the meeting at 2:30 PM on Thursday (today) as opposed to 11 AM on Tuesday. I didn't like to change it first – – I seldom like any change at all – – but I figured what the heck I really didn't have anything else going on and it was kind of fun visiting the office in the midafternoon as opposed to late morning. At this point in the afternoon there was still never an indication of the meteorological chaos which a whip up later on in the day. As exciting as being caught in such a exciting bit of energy I don't think I needed to be drenched today. It's always fun at first but gets old really fast if you're out in the power chair in the middle of electric storm. We just have to wait it out wet or not wet and hope the wiring is will protected from any moisture which might creep in, especially the computer type components. And once you become totally soaked in driving rain gets cold or at least uncomfortable really fast. Fortunately, I made a home will before the storm today I was blessed indeed.

Do I mentioned tomorrow's Pioneer Day to be celebrated as opposed to the day after which is the actual 24^th of July and will really be celebrated. As I wandered over to the train station I was amazed to see all the preparation going into filming of the parade which I'm not sure will be tomorrow day after I'm all confused. Cameras are being set up everywhere especially on the tops of buildings in downtown Salt Lake, along the parade route. I guess there's just something about a parade. I admired as much as I could but I kept getting a premonition it's time to go home…

Brace Job

I worry because I'm becoming too comfortable in my apartment not pushed myself to be going out and doing stuff. I guess that happens when you how about everything you want at your fingertips. I woke this morning still struggling with the sink basin which had become detached from the countertop around the sink. It had never occurred to me that someone would put our fasten the sink to the countertop with glue or adhesive. I guess over the years that I've used this sink that between the hot water and cold water that I guess I splash onto the mountings as well (as been pointed out) with my legs, in my power chair, bumping into the bottom of the sink basin under the sink. I have to be careful with this because often the hot water I used to wash dishes could be dangerous to my legs. But I reckon I do bump the basin often on.

I hope that by the evening yesterday that Ted the maintenance guy would've fixed my problem. I of course am very naïve in this part of repair work(or any repair work for that matter). However I didn't seem at all which is quite discouraging. I had found out that he had seen the problem and was trying to find the adhesive materials needed to reattach the sink. And by reattach I mean re-glue the sink back to the countertop. I just take it for granted that the sink was fixed to the countertop with bolts or whatever builders used to anchor the sink to the countertop. It seems to me that using glue is a cheap way of achieving that task and setting up the end-user for our miserable headache at some point in time down the line. So I guess Ted was making progress. I just didn't know what was going on. This morning then one of the first things I did after my home health person come and gone as well as my wound care nurse was to head on down to the office to focus some attention on my problem. I spoke with the sub manager Diana and she told me that Ted was in the building and that he should be back shortly. I could hear his voice from upstairs so I know he was on the property. I went back to the apartment and hung out but I did not see the man. Later in the morning I went out to read and try to finish a novel I been reading the last couple weeks and was out for about an hour or so and on my return something look different but I couldn't put my finger on it until I looked closer at the sink and could see Ted had obviously been there and obviously applied the adhesive and now had the sink braced into place. I was hopeful that I would get some kind of instruction on how to proceed. I had to work out on my arm bike still and do a couple other items that I never got around to finding Ted. I did go up and try to ask Diana but that was pointless. But talk to somebody who indicated that it could be two or three days before the adhesive would be cared enough to start using the sink. I also consider the idea maybe I can use the sink as long as I don't mess around with anything but I doubt that. So tomorrow I plan to see if I can corner Ted if he's here to find out how long before I can start using my sink again. I'm still in the middle of cleaning up from my enchilada Monday…

Sink Problems

 

I didn't have to travel today, Andrea's called and the one individual besides myself who sits on our advisory board is requested that we have the meeting on Thursday rather than Tuesday – – which is all the same to me. However, this member wants to have the meeting at 2:30 PM. It is late in the afternoon on Thursday which is a little bothersome but I went for a couple years later during the book club at exactly that time and it wasn't even downtown but way far south and west. Also, the meeting is in the middle of the summer and may even have the benefit of a late afternoon storm since the weatherman says were in a monsoon season. I don't know how much I believe that in this time of the drought but still the meetings doable. I'd just don't want it to become habitual. I like the 11 AM meeting on Tuesday mornings.

I actually slept through till about 7 AM which is rare especially on meeting days. But I enjoyed by solitude and got dressed enough to patter around the apartment in case anybody shows up – – which I doubt. However, I did leave the kitchen of a bit of a mess yesterday after my cook – a Rama. I was going to dress of a spot of coffee and breakfast then wash the dishes. When I rinsed out my coffee cup I noticed that I splashed myself rather oddly. I got wet all over my lap but I didn't really see the water come up over the front of the sink. I did not pay much attention it was only after I tried to fill the sink and started getting gushes of water on my lap that I backed out to sea water gushing to the floor, which the water should not be doing, looking closer I could see the whole sink basin had become detached from the marble top! There is definite daylight were there should be a seal! Tragic as this is it also means I have a great excuse for not getting the dishes done. I assume I'll be able to get some attention readily to this request. However our front desk person/manager Jennifer has been out for the past couple weeks having had some kind of medical procedure. Traditionally, in the morning there's always a bit of a coffee klatch that meets in her office before they launch onto their daily jobs. But with her gone there is no magnet to bring all the staff together especially the maintenance guy. I did make contact with one of the other cause I staff members covering Jennifer's office while she's gone who has made contact with the maintenance guy Ted. I met with Ted later on in the day when he showed up at my apartment looked at the problem. He was off to find more adhesive to try the glue the sink back together. That really does not sound too promising a fix as I verbalize this. It is now well after going home time and he has not been back. When fixing my dinner tonight I made very careful attempts to keep what water I used in the sink away from where the sink is separated with the countertop. It worked so as long as I sparingly use water and am very judicious I'll be able to get by until Ted can rehang the sink to the countertop. I guess it could be much worse and I am thankful to get them as much as I got done today all things considered…

Today I Cooked!

 

Kind of weird, not weird, bad so I guess weird good. I don't know what I was expecting just a great day with possible rain and thunderstorms toward the end. So far spent exactly that good news from my nurse who indicates that my wound is merely totally healed. He should not have come back after Friday. I'm just worried that without Tyler's intervention can I keep the wound coming back? But be that as it may I didn't have anything planned for the day except of course finishing my project that I started on Saturday of the enchiladas. Yesterday I was just too exhausted for one reason or another and I left the concoction of chicken, green chilies and cheeses wrapped up quite cooled in the refrigerator. I was astounded how quickly and easily the rolling of the tortillas happened. A couple spoons of filling role and placed in the pan. The only thing I did which I felt might have been over the top was pouring a whole can of enchilada sauce into the rolled up enchiladas. There wasn't a regular size can it was pretty large. I didn't worry too much sense I got the From “the sharing shelf” so wasn't like I was out any funding of any kind. Just the time to putting the stuff together . But even jazzed up the outfit by adding a can of olives uncalled for the recipe for great in the done project.

My biggest challenge of this kind of stuff is getting the glass pan of whatever from the table or counter top into the hot oven. The stress of retrieving the finished product is a lot less sense, if I want, I can leave my product in the oven until it cools to the point where I can physically handle the product and this is what I did today. The enchiladas were finally finished the 20 minute cook a little afternoon so I was going to The meal as my lunch which I did. I had Dianne online watching me mess with my creation. I don't know what I was expecting but my tray of enchiladas did not look like the enchiladas on the Internet but I knew they were there underneath all the sauce. I was delighted when I finally took the first bite of my green chili sauce enchiladas. I was a little worried that I had matched the chicken into oblivion but the pieces came through in the end I could want anything more actually. Well maybe I could use less sauce and more cheese. I didn't get the pepper Jack like I should of things that would really added to the flavor as well. But I'm happy with my efforts in both pleased to have enough of the filling left over to do another smaller batch at another point in time. I I put the filler flick in the freezer and froze it full up. I was so pleased with myself but after I pulled the enchiladas out and then realizing before bananas in the fruit bowl had gone way around the corner and need to be used desperately or thrown out so following the enchilada lunch I launched into making banana bread and that is a story for another day…

Right Where I Need To Be

 

It seems like I can find so many things to worry about some which are important to others less important. My today worry is just how important it is to charge the battery to my power chair on a regular basis. I know I've had this complete before but I just think it's really strange just how many people really don't know how batteries work – – and I am one of them! I hear so many different things about what one should do with their new batteries. The thing that sort of freaks me out the most is the ongoing argument that one if it's a new battery you must discharge the battery all the way down to zero before charging again (or near zero) because if you don't and charge the battery when it conceivably does not need to be charged then you definitely impact the life of the battery or cause the battery to “learn” something that will greatly influence how the battery performs. I mean I've been hearing this stuff ever since the 70s when I was doing my battery stuff right after college. I still can't get a definite answer.

So last night before I went to bed I checked the voltage meter or whatever it's called on my chair to see how much power I had in the batteries in it read 90%. I had really intended to just coast through the day and not really go anywhere so I thought yes I should be okay with 90%. I was even thinking that would also be the case with Mark Anthony should we have breakfast – – and we did have breakfast today. We talked a lot and I really talked up my power chair a lot and since my wound care specialist has been working with me my butt was feeling pretty good so we decide to zoom a little bit after breakfast. He carries is electric scooter in the trunk of his car all the time. So we got the scooter out and off we went through the park and then around different parts of our neighborhood. I really wasn't paying much attention to the battery level it's quite small the meter is anyway. However I started getting a little nervous when I realized that we'd been on the road quite some time and we're quite a ways away from the apartment complex. I recognize this because I was at a distance like a book back and see whether complex actually was and where we were! It was then when I realized that the charge indicator had gone down from green to yellow of course everyone knows that yellow is “caution” in anything and so it was today I was hanging in there about 35% which is really not very much at all – – well that's not true but it sure seems that way – – and I did not necessarily panic but I grew concerned. I did not panic because worst-case scenario I disengage the wheels and Mark Anthony could push me all the way back to the apartment complex we need be. So, it felt like we cut the trip short and started heading back to the complex. There was a time when my eyes would include to the voltage meter but I chose not to even look at the meter has a winter neighborhoods and looked at interesting houses especially properties for sale. I think I surprised Mark Anthony when he saw my interest in some of these properties. There were a couple of really nice on slab properties I'm sure cost a fortune. He asked if I be interested in such a thing and I said sure.. I have to admit it become a weird going back to living in the house especially having to deal with stress is a keeping up a yard and all the other things seem to Dianne is having to go through these days. But if I had the financial capability not only for home health services that is will is like maintenance yard maintenance stuff I would love to have another house and everything that goes with it. Though when I did get home I looked at this place that you know this really isn't half bad either improbably as much as I hate being part of his senior housing project is probably right Where I need to be…

Kneecap Job

 

Maybe it's because I'm old I don't know but I'm using today to recuperate from yesterday's track over to Joe's Crab Shack and back.. A hot day with a lot of rolling took its toll on my butt. Don't get me wrong I totally enjoyed the outing and will be doing it again shortly. But, I have no need really to go anywhere significant so I'm just laying low and enjoying the apartment and possibly some cooking. Couple of weeks ago I got a whole bag of frozen chicken breasts from the food bank and I've been meaning to find a way to use them. Looking inside my pantry a couple days ago I noticed got everything I need for green sauce enchiladas. So, I spent the afternoon or evening cooking the chicken breasts to appoint a shred ability and I just shredded enough for enchiladas. Good try to put the whole thing together tonight but I've run out of time and energy. So I mixed the basic ingredients up shredded chicken, two cans a green chilies and the shredded cheese and put them in the refrigerator to meld overnight. I still have chicken breasts to put away or freeze for another point in time but I feel somewhat accomplished for the day's work and I've been talking about the fact that I washed clothes and I still have to put them away. Have not heard from Mark Anthony at this point as to whether or not we'll be going to breakfast tomorrow. I swear to make sure I had outfits to choose from.

Remember yesterday's post about the bleeding me Incident? About how nurse Tyler fixed up the knee along with putting a new dressing on my butt? Well oddly enough last night once again as I rolled under my sink to do my evening meds I misjudged the distance from my need to the edge and totally trashed the fine work Tyler done earlier in the morning and pulled most of the dressing off. Last Night I was so frustrated I just put the dressing back in place as best I could and tumbled into bed. I figured I would deal with the wound in the morning. Yesterday Tyler confided in me that you'd be working today so I knew he was in the area. I felt a little skittish about asking him to come over and put another dressing on. I really didn't want him to think I was becoming a problem child and call him him every chance that I got. I was still hoping that maybe he would drop over. So I took some images of the kneecap exposed by the run-in with the sink and asked him if I could just get a dressing I would put it on myself – – thinking all along he would cave in and do it. And sure enough I got the immediate feeling of red flags going up and he sort of back away indicating that if I were to go through the box of materials he uses when he dresses my wounds he will find some of the little dressings that he used on the knee. I'd only look to the box but didn't see what he was talking about until I looked closer and sure enough there were the smaller coverings. It didn't take long for me to botch up the Band-Aid job but I did get enough to keep it on in place about 75% and I used one other Band-Aid to seal the deal. It's not a pretty job, not even close to what Tyler could do, but are certainly enough to get me through the next couple of days sometimes that's all A person needs….

Perpetual Wound Care

 

It's kind of funny I've never gotten used to see in my blood where it's not supposed to be like on the outside of my body. I like to keep my blood on the inside as much as I can. Having a harder time doing it these days for one reason or another. Like I said when all the sudden I see red stuff on my hands and I'm not sure where it came from the county gets spooked. That happened to me this morning as I was getting ready for my home health person to show up. I have this ritual that I go through the bathroom the layout everything I can think of that she'll need to perform her morning services when she's here. I also shave and basically get ready for my shower. Well, today as I was going to my routine I noticed quite a bit of blood on my hand and it was dried. It had smeared and then dried before I noticed. I was bleeding somewhere and I didn't know and I hate that.

It did not take long to reveal that this wound on my kneecap which I've had for a number of days has gotten a larger larger scab as I would cause the scab to bleed a little bit when I would scrape it going under the sink either in the kitchen are the bathroom it would bleed a little bit just adding on another layer of dried blood! Today, I had the wet washcloth on the scab not knowing it was loosening the previous gaps and soon it look like a major bleed – – which it wasn't but even a little blood looks like a major bleed when it's yours. I wasn't too worried even if it was a significant wound Tyler would be here in a few minutes (half an hour or so). I just called him to let him know that I was finished with my morning routine and he could come over and apply the new dressing to my hip wound. I did not tell him about the knee wound figured I would just bring him when he showed up.

I got dressed as much as I could before Tyler showed up. This way it makes me feel that he won't think I'm just waiting on him to finish dressing me after the shower. I have had earlier home health people actually do that for me. Dress me after I've dried off of the shower which is really nice three times a week getting the business dressed from top to bottom even shoes. This new home health person doesn't do that and I don't push the envelope I should but I don't. Tyler was impressed with the amount of blood sitting on my kneecap. Tyler immediately jumped in with cleaning solutions and other materials for dressing such a wound and actually putting on a nice dressing I felt bad this evening when not judging the distance under the sink in the bathroom that I tore the dressing clean off. I really do worry myself. So I'll try to clean it off a little bit before I hit the sack tonight and try to put on one of the other Band-Aids I have taken around here which is not as nice as the dressing Tyler used which should give me by the weekend until Monday when he scheduled to be here again doing what is becoming to be perpetual wound care…

Cherry R. B.

Remember yesterday I did the interview about my part in the history of DRAC? That was a great interview but it was also over lunch so I finished my portion of the project hungry. It'd been a while since I've done lunch at Hires big H downtown Salt Lake. I guess the placement around since 1953 which to me does not sound like that many years but actually it is almost 70! What I like about the Big H is that it's a glimpse of what Salt Lake, and all the cities, used to be like decades ago. In fact this downtown Salt Lake restaurant still has “runners” individuals whose job it is to run out to the car take the order and then returned a few minutes later with that order allowing the driver/family to eat in the car but why they would want to do that in yesterday's heat as opposed to coming inside I would know.

I elected to go inside of course and was fairly easy to find a place to park and go over the menu. I've been going to this place ever since I moved to this town in 1984. In fact my second apartment is just a few blocks away from here. A lots changed in this part of town, new apartments are sprouting up like mushrooms anywhere there's a piece of ground that seems a new apartment complexes going in almost high rises in the most bizarre configurations you can imagine. I'm sure more than one developer has their eyes on Hires big H but there's a number of restaurants in this little area: Ruby steakhouse,Litsa pizza and a few others are all compressed together in just a couple blocks surrounded by these new apartment complexes. I cannot even imagine a boon this little economy is apartments of wrought in this little economy. Soon after I was led to my table a menu appeared. It's the same menu they've had since I started frequenting this place the only thing that'sctually mixture drink changed is been the prices – – unbelievable but unbelievably good as well so I guess you accept the price change. The hamburgers are good there's no question about it and the greasy slick grill affect is authentic but what I like best more than anything is the ability to order a cherry root beer. Not a fancy dancy cylinder full of premixed beverage but just a clear transparent plastic pitcher filled from the beverage dispenser root beer and then cherry flavoring added to taste! Almost like they did in the old days. I can still remember them filling the curvy Coca-Cola glass with ice then the root beer and then the cherry flavor. It's just not the same when it all comes mixed from the factory. The cherries focused you can really taste it mixed in with the root beer. Mind you the same good flavor one would get with the cherry coke as well. But for me the cherry root beer was the best part of a time when the soda jerk actually jerked and mixed your drink…

B B P – – Big Boy Pants

 

DRAC symbol

There is a knock at my door kind of early right after my wound care nurse of left so I figure Billie , my neighbor across the hall, must've seen him leave. Her knock on the door and she was to know if I was up for lunch. Sadly I had to inform her that today was the day I will be taking part in interviews for a documentary regard to private nonprofit here the community that I've been associated with one where the other for the past 40 some years. She said no problem next Wednesday and I kind of scratch by head , why Wednesday? It was only later on as I traveled to the city on the train that I realized it's “free pie Wednesday” the pie campaign being run by Village in that lets you have a free piece of pie when you order a meal all day Wednesday. So tucked it in the back of my mind next Wednesday, free pie Wednesday with Billie for sure.

My silly ego being so fragile that I was really quite excited about taking part in this documentary project. As you all know I delight in talking about myself probably more than is healthy to. I guess a grant had been written and there is enough money granted to allow X amount of people one hour shot at letting them ramble on loosely controlled about their experiences with the's Disabled Rights

Action Committee or DRA C. I was more than willing to take my hour and on top of that to be awarded $25 as a stipend!

I've been contacted by the Executive Director of the organization, one of the very first E D s, I was a bit taken aback because she'd been in the position two years and I hadn't really been aware of the dead not met her yet and in her defense she said that the Covid crisis could cause a lot of things to be different though they probably would've been and who might argue with that? Remember this place called Trolley Square a downtown mall that had been manufactured from the old-timetrolley Barnes in Salt Lake City. The great place I love hanging out there. The mall is kind of hotsy totsy but I love the place has great memories.The studio is there, a real-life film studio with real professional film technicians. We talked and started the interview I can't say that went quickly by talked and talked and talked my brains out. The little spooked because I don't know how other people in the community will respond to what I said but I said things how I remember it. What is said is nothing I like better than talking about myself. I'll be interested to see how my comments are used or if there are used in this documentary. DRAC is becoming all grown up which is good on some level and that of others. DRAC is a direct confrontation organization they have to be ugly and have to be in your face they have to be able to get the job done I don't know the B of the do that wearing professional big boy pants…

Tippecanoe and Tyler Too

 

My buddy, Tyler

What's really frustrating is that quality never seems to last. Maybe I've got it all wrong but that's how it seems to me. And I'm not trying to feel sorry for myself but I just want to find good quality help. Right now I'm so lucky to have a great wound care supervisor as well as a wound care nurse who is fantastic and this is really what today's posting is about.

I really first noticed this quality thing after I first moved in the apartment complex and realize that my minimal housekeeping skills were not enough to keep my apartment enjoyable to me and acceptable to others. I contacted the manager here at the apartment complex, Jennifer, and just so happened that one of her best friends did housecleaning and hooked us up. The housekeepers name was also Jennifer and she was great. The apartment literally hummed when I came home after Jennifer cleaned. She worked for about three months before the world crashed and she stopped cleaning to be a full-time mom and wife. I've had a couple other housekeepers since but none as good as the first Jennifer. It's the quality thing.

It's like he always are just getting tantalized by something. You really like it, a lot, regardless of what it might be and then the last minutes or what have you it's ripped away from you. This kind a like that with my butt wounds. Actually, it was the Burns I got on my leg for five months ago which really got me into wound care which has been fabulous. Having access to wound care just greatly relieved stress that I've been going through about what was going to happen to me if and when my skin finally broke down. That's where I met the supervisor of this area of support as well as Tyler the RN whose action by one care guy. Tyler is one of those guys with everybody's friend. Tyler is focused and he is professional but the same time he also has a personality and is fun to be around at least as far as I am concerned. During the wound care for the burn he was just there fun and dedicated,and had this great positive attitude. I healed fast. So in the skin started breaking down on my butt a couple weeks ago, remember how I'm pleased I was with the new power chair and particularly the cushioned. I think the cushion caused the skin breakdown so I finagled wound care. It took me a bit of sorting out that I finally got the supervisor to come out and look at the issue and she was great she put on oh dressing and then is having Tyler follow-up. Until the wounds are healed I'm having wound care three times a week Monday Wednesday and Friday. Tyler was here yesterday and put a smaller dressing on than usual but I am so mobile that I tore the dressing of during the night and text of Tim's morning about if I was at risk. He said I wasn't even though it was uncomfortable sitting on this wound I decide to go through with my day and was totally surprised when I hear a knock on the door and it's Tyler here to put addressing on my wound which he did! And I was off on my day for a full day of pain-free driving my power chair. We a long conversation and sadly in the conversation Tyler revealed that he's taken another job in southern Utah in the St. George area and will be transitioning out of this area in August. Sigh only a friendly guy gone but a real wound care professional who knows what is doing. It's okay, I'll get by and I get some kind of wound care person but I'm afraid that person will not have the skills that Tyler has and so it goes…

Yellow Jackets!!

 

Wasps, Yellowjackets and Hornets and I realize I may have been redundant there but still, these insects are vicious and they scare the heck out of me. We always have. I know that some of these beasts have stingers but I know also some of them actually bite and chew causing great pain. Yellowjackets which I'm sure just another name for the other two names for insects that attack, and bite and act like bullies have always fascinated if not terrified me. Of course growing up on a farm we had a old bathtub for a watering hole for the cattle on our farm. It was my job summer and winter to make sure the cattle always had freshwater during the day. On the farm of course we did a lot of irrigation near or on the weekends in the cattle then could find water out of the ditches. The point I'm making is that when I wanted the cows in the area close to the barns , the water always slopped over the sides. And these Hornets or Yellowjackets and I also remember us calling them mud daubers would actually use the spilt water and dirt and or poop to mixed together to build their condominiums of underneath the eaves of the barn and other sheds. They would build these little palaces anywhere the sun didn't shine it seemed like the fenders of cars and trucks in the chicken coops and just about anywhere. These mud dauber S basically left us alone if we left them alone. However, if you got a mad watch out.

I can't remember but we had a massive outbreak of wasps at the house earlier this summer. Dianne had to call exterminators in to try to get rid of these pests which you decided to build a massive best in the house or under the house. Dianne was freaked out and so was I just listing to how aggressive these buggers were. She finally got them taking care of. Recently at the apartment complex share I've noticed more and more hornets and Yellowjackets hanging around the dumpster area in fact it was the other day in the morning is taking some garbage out to the dumpster that I noticed a lump of something on the access ramp to the parking are. I was intrigued when I got closer I noticed it was made out of that stuff their nests are made out of that weird paper stuff they manufacture. The do my terror/horror the little lump seem to start squirming then I noticed the lump was actually a whole living unit of wasps. I think they were brand-new just patching out! I quickly rolled to the apartment and grabbed my cell phone came back and took some images. I didn't dare touch the best is left alone and backed away rolled back in the apartment. My neighbor thinks that the nest came came from one of the other residents birdcage she had hanging over her patio.. She thinks the neighbor through the birdcage away and somebody else pulled it out of the dumpster and then realized this hornets nest was on the bottom and knocked it off leaving that somehow on the walkway to the back door of the apartment complex. As of yet none of this is been verified that make sense. That's the last thing we need around the apartment complex is that an invasion of military type hornets…

Paul's Main Auction

I'd written decades ago or whatever. I was quite surprised to find that there are only four references which surfaced in those really didn't address subject matter I want to write about now. Which is weird because I know I've written about Paul's Main Auction before but this seems to be no record of it now. It's not a big deal after all it's only a blog.

I think I've detailed a number of times about how often Saturdays was a workday of one sort or another on the farm. Sometimes we would go with my dad when we got the “donated” coal, or when we would go to the shop to harvest the wood crates the furnaces would come in that my dad would install. There are other reasons that we would take off on Saturdays but many times during that diversion from work at home we would stop off at what I think was one of my dad's favorite haunts which was Paul's Main Street Auction. In Boise Paul's auction was the forerunner to garage sales. I didn't really notice of the time except there were just boxes and boxes the weirdest stuff I've ever seen. Started on Thursday Paul would open up the doors of his auction house/barn/Hall or whatever. People would drive their vehicles loaded with stuff and deposit these boxes on the platforms running up and down the auction house. They would register of course at the office and be given a number which corresponded to a number which is placed on the box so that if an item is sold the sale will be notated in Paul's auction would take their cut in the individual would get what's left. I'm sure we deposited more than one box over the years but I don't remember how it all turned out. But I know we purchased a few “treasures” over the years. Things like canning bottles, boxes of National Geographic and who knows what other treasures. Saturday morning the treasures would be put up for auction started around 10 o'clock with each auctioneer working for about a half an hour than trading off to the next auctioneer. Depending on the season all kinds of things showed up. In the fall there were boxes of pears and apples and green gauge plums straight of people's trees. Usually there were what seemed like hundreds of people jammed into the long building. There is also a greasy grill which fried up hamburgers and other delights which tasted incredible. Greasy flavors allocated to memories lost in youth where everything seems special and unattainable now regardless of how one searches. My best and worst memory of Paul's main auction was one day walking down the middle of the auction I looked down and happen to see to one dollar bills laying on the ground. I scooped them up and then feeling overcome with honesty walk straight to the office and turn them in as “lost”. The boss man in the office looked at me strangely, took the money and thanked me for my honesty that I walked back and told my dad. My dad looked at me strangely and kind of shook his head but smile just the same and said, “you know, he probably put those dollars straight into his pocket”. I cannot say I was devastated but I would certainly say I was chagrined.

It was a strange crowd that made up the folks at Paul's main auction on Saturday mornings. I was amazed the other day to find out that the auction still exists it just looks a little bit better than it did…

Fadeaway

 

I woke up this morning and had a senior moment. For some reason hour before I finally woke I somehow had become convinced that the day was Tuesday. It didn't feel like a Tuesday morning but in my head I knew it had to be Tuesday. For some reason I did not feel prepared for Tuesday I'm wrestling with this question of do we meet for Assist or do we not. I think I heard the fault line say we would be meeting. But I have to admit I was confused there is also a part of my mind telling me are reminded me that when I listen to my show yesterday on the radio Marketplace I distinctly remembered the show's host wishing the people he interviewed a good weekend. Finally, I rolled over looked at the clock which indicated the days date and Saturday. It was Saturday the weekend. Then I was a little spooked realizing the confusion I had an wondering if it was directly related to my age or who knows what else.

Recently, Dianne, in whatever searches of the Internet came up with a couple of videos by the Violent Femmes one of our favorite bands from the old days. In fact, I don't remember if it was when we were kind of dating or after we were married that we actually took an show at our favorite bar called the BAR AND GRILL where the Violent Femmes and another band which played some Ska entertained us. To be honest with you at the beginning of our conversation I did not remember the incident at all. It was only after agreeing with this and that which Dianne remembered that I begin to get a glimmer of memory and honestly more and more has come back as I thought about the eventso I took a big sigh of relief thankful that the memories are still there even if I'm not totally connected with them. I have to admit it makes you wonder if and when I'm going to get the scourge of the brain purge the visit Mr. Alzheimer and company. Coincidentally, we, Dianne and myself, found out the other day that a friend of ours had come down with some kind of brain disease, similar to Alzheimer's, and had totally transformed this person. Her name was Sherry, was a total company head for the organization she worked for. She was extremely nice and professional. A while ago she had retired from the company that started some sort of disease process then suddenly dropped off the grid. We weren't terribly close so we didn't really find that too strange. But it seems she totally lost her memory then became a totally different person acting out, constant anger to the point where she's been isolated to a lockdown facility somewhere in the Midwest. The Sherry we knew is gone. No husband, no kids just a person lost to some form of violent aging. I don't think I'm going to go that route. I hope I don't. If in fact I do become victim of one of these disease processes a hope I slowly and peacefully fade away. I guess I'm kind of selfish and the fact that I'd be glad that I would be losing cognizance of everything around me and possibly everything happening to me and maybe I would just have a short ride down the happy trails to Nirvana…

Looking For The Genie

 

The diligent reader will remember that a little over a year ago I broke my cherished Café Martin coffee mug which I don't know how long I've had. I think the mug somehow came into my possession from Dianne somewhere along the line. As I understand there is a Café Martin in New Orleans and of course the Fountainhead, as I understand is in Paris which again makes total sense. Anyway, I don't know which I became enamored with more the mug or the image of the genie on the mug or maybe the gestalt of both. I loved having my coffee cup of this cherished artifact. I fantasized what this café would be like. I'd like to think it's dark and cozy with artists and writers sitting at tables communicating, creating and being basically cool. In fact there is a Café Martin in Salt Lake City and its French cuisine but it's not a cool coffeehouse in the don't have a genie anywhere as far as I can tell. The places inaccessible to folks with wheelchairs that says enough.

Again, the diligent reader all see that I was questing for another mug at DI and other secondhand establishments in the best I could do is find a smaller version of the great cup. I did restore the cup which broke, as well as I could, but said cop well never hold beverages again but looks good on the top of my rack where I have it on display. After I got home this afternoon from feeding the ducks, pantry fly infested, breakfast muffins I decided I was going to place an order for a new mug. The reason I haven't before was I couldn't figure out just how much fluid my original mug held. I seems more focused this afternoon then usual, could be a result of the heat, or the good karma gleaned from feeding a host of adolescent ducklings over at the local park. I took the skinny mug which I do like the just seems like does not hold enough fluid objects measurement found out that it had like 8 fluid ounces. Then I searched the Internet and found a blog available and I did have the opportunity to order the “large” mug for $11 and change I think. I think it said something like that mug was 11 ounces or maybe more I can't recall right now but it seemed like it was in line with the broken mug on display. In prior days I would fret and grown about making the wrong decision but you know what, maybe it's the pandemic, I don't know for sure but I decided to pull the trigger let the hammer fall and placed the order.

I suggested in one of my postings from 2020 that I would be certain for coffee cups with this emblem but you know what? The pandemic hit and none of the secondhand stores I frequent were open for more than a year! To be honest, I got out of the habit of going to these establishments. But that's I get my “sea legs” back again I think I will start searching these arbiters of discarded coffee cups and just see if I can find any more Café Martin's out there.

Name Dropper

 

I'm so cheap I can't believe how quickly I fall into the old habit of name dropping .I hate myself when I do it but I Did it this morning when I was trying to find out what I need to do to get another bus pass

Couple weeks ago I realized I had lost my bus pass which allows me to access mainline transit vehicles free of charge it's complicated. Anyway I went to they went y and got a new bus pass which I thought was a new bus pass where in fact it was just a free fair card or a low fare card. Which is a different program entirely though it looks much like the other bus pass.

Then yesterday when I boarded the bus the driver challenged me for my bus pass which I thought OK no problem pulled out what I had and the driver indicatedI still had to pay the dollar and 25 cents which which is the fare price for seniors and people with disabilities( Which is still a deal all things be an equal). I didn't put up a fuss or anything I just ended up paying t The dollar and 25 cents and consider myself lucky. But still, I was kind of confused by some drivers look at the card and just pass me through and most drivers don't even ask for any kind of validation. And then every once in a while the driver asks something different and they was to pay the fare.

I may have you hammered about this in the past but in the old days a number of transit authorities wouldn't even carry people with disabilities. They offered what was called paratransit service and it's all too complicated and long to go into here. But just leave it to say it was unfair and unjust. The local authority U T A had another program that is if a person qualifies for paratransit but chooses not to use the paratransit service they are then eligible for free bus pass, never ending not have to be renewed monthly or yearly just a pass. That's what I had and that's what I lost and that's what was not replaced when I ask for a replacement number weeks ago. This morning I had a few minutes so I called the transit authority and first I got a hold of just the regular customer service person who really tried to help me but didn't really know what she was talking about. Finally I asked her about their ADA compliance person got a hold of their new ADA compliance officer. I have been quite close with the old officer in fact I knew quite a bit of the management in the old days but things change and become new and fossils like me get left behind. Anyway visiting with new officer we finally realized what else talking about was the paratransit pass for the mainline system. She's good look into it. This was when I started dropping names, and shamefully my involvement with Utah transit Authority, the disabled transit movement for access etc. etc. I couldn't help it had just talk about myself and shamefully that's exactly what I did. I'm just so weak. Hopefully should get back with me soon and let me know do I pay our do I continue to ride the paratransit wave?

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