The End of the Dive-Bombers, I hope: taking the good from the bad

I think I've finally found an answer to my fruit fly problem--which was growing progressively worse these past couple weeks.

When this all began, I set out mason jars of apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap in both the kitchen and bathroom, where I got attacked the most.  A couple people recommended pouring Arm & Hammer Baking Soda down the drains, followed by white vinegar--I loved the fizzy action, but I think the bugs did too.  

The mason jars only collected 3-4 bugs a day, and it got to the point where the bugs were LITERALLY lined up on the top of my refrigerator door, dancing back and forth like it was Radio City Music Hall and they were the Rockettes!  Why, why??

If you knew me in the real world, I am a very, very clean person.  I wipe down everything with hot soapy water and Clorox wipes daily--including my appliances.

I noticed the bugs weren't getting near my food, but did kamikaze flights into whatever I was drinking.  I wound up buying a sippy cup for my coffee, tea, ginger ale--everything.

I also noticed they were attracted to light.  If I was in bed with my tablet, they bounced off the screen.  If I was in the living room on my laptop (where I need my eyeglasses) they would dive-bomb my face, over and over!  The reflection of the screen on my spectacles, I'm guessing.

That's when I remembered a bug light I bought 7-8 years ago when I first moved in here and discovered I had a gnat problem.  It was like a mini merry go round, with a strong light underneath and a sticky white base.  Thankfully I found it in the back of my apt's storage locker, the bulb still worked and included an unopened pack of those sticky bases.

I decided to put it on the bookcase that separates my kitchen and dining room from my living room.  Maybe those mini-monsters would take a detour from the kitchen before attacking me on the couch!

I decided to leave it on 24-7, and after the first night there were 48 buggos in there the next morning

And the morning after that, this pad had an additional 50 victims, nearly 100 total.  I swapped it out for a new one, and began pouring pots of boiling water down both drains and closing them off when not in use.  When I got up this morning, the sticky pad had only 5-6 dive bombers.  I'm going to keep on until there's zero.

One good thing came from this; I like having a light on that bookcase, a normally dark area in my place.  I ordered a small bookcase lamp to place on an upper shelf.  I also discovered I prefer my coffee in that thermal mug.  I normally reheat my coffee several times in the microwave to keep it hot, now I don't have to.

Meanwhile, it's doubtful I'll be going on the next senior lunch outing this Wednesday unless there's a big turnaround.  The day I went last week to the Winery, my pain number (from the long covid) was at a 2-3.  Uncomfortable, but didn't hold me back.

It remained the same the next day, and dropped down to a solid 2 on Friday.  When it's a 1-2, I start feeling hopeful.  However, by midday Saturday it had gone up to a 4, and by Sunday morning a 4-5.  I spent the morning sucking on Riccola lemon lozenges and holding ice packs to my face and side of my head.  It's 10 times more stubborn than these damn fruit fleas.

Anyway as long as I'm bugging I mean blogging, here's a photo of Sunday dinner.  I marinated a couple chicken thighs overnight, cooked 'em in my junior air fryer for 22 minutes.  I just love that contraption.  And for the record, those red mashed potatoes are the real deal.

Microblogging, Teepee Style: Microbugs and a couple other random things, just because

First of all, I want to apologize for removing my earlier post today.  I came across an old photo of myself and my cousins from the 1970s, shared it with a little backstory, and a couple hours later took it back down.  Just been doing a little too much reminiscing lately.  On that note, here's a few items that aren't exactly blog-worthy in themselves, but all together...

1. This serves me right for buying bananas

I'm wondering if anyone can offer some advice...the other day when I was in the store, the produce man was setting out bananas. 🍌  How come I haven't bought any bananas in awhile?  I love some sliced banana on my morning cereal!  So I got some.  

I remembered why I stopped buying them, when the fruit flies started hopping around my apartment--and into my coffee.  I asked AI what the deal was, it said they come in teeny eggs on your yellow fruit, so wash those nanners right away when you get home.  I did, but was too late.  And now I'm getting assaulted by one whenever I enter my kitchen.

I set out a bowl with warm water, apple cider vinegar & a couple drops of dishwashing liquid this morning (on my stove underneath the light).  It caught 10 of those things, but I don't know where they are coming from.  The kitchen drain?  I'm going to start pouring pots of boiling water down it I guess!

2.  I wish I was this crafty...

My friend Kimberly recently told me she'd signed up for a glass mosaic class, and was creating something on her own for her home.  I asked her to please send me a photo when she was done.  

She sent me this.  I was amazed and told her it looked like something you'd find in a pricey catalog.  Isn't this an awesome piece of artwork?  I'd pay good money for it too. 

3.  This Medicare book came with ham & beans... I think

When I was downstairs getting my mail the other day, one of the other residents was getting hers.  I don't know her name, she's a tall black woman who looks around 60, from the 6th floor.  (She is really tall--I'm 5'7", she's over 6 feet.)  She saw this Medicare book in my hand and asked "You on Medicare?"  I said very soon, in October I turn 65.  She nodded and didn't say anything.  

We walked back to the elevator and she said "You're no spring chicken, but you don't look 65."  I said thanks, I think.  She said "Do you like ham and beans?"  I said er... yes.  She said "That's what I'm making for dinner."  I said it sounded good.  She said "Well, I'm not asking you twice."  Did I miss something?  I said if that was an invite I had other plans, thanks anyway.  Was that an invite?

4.  And finally... someone is paying attention to my butt

A couple weeks ago when my LC symptoms lessened and I was able to join the others at the senior center for a lunch outing, I stopped in the barbershop along the way to say hi to my friend and hair cutter Roe.

I shoved my phone into my back pocket, and we chatted for 10 minutes or so before Roe said "Hey your phone is lit up."  I pulled it out and my most frequent contacts were on the screen.  How did that happen?  I shut it off and went on my way.

I got to the center, we go to lunch, and Paul the Playboy (one of the other seniors) asked if I owned a "vSee Box".  I said I'd never heard of them.  He explained it's a tv box that allows you to stream local channels, cable channels and even paid streaming services on your tv for free, with no cable or subscriptions required.  They cost around $300 and he'd be happy to set me up with one.

(It sounded pretty shady to me.  I'm sure the FCC will be shutting that down.)

When I got home, I heard from my friend Diana who said she got a call from me earlier when I was at the barbershop--my phone "butt dialed" her and she heard us chatting.  (It won't be happening again, I finally activated the security app on my phone so it won't turn on without a pin.)

Later that night, I got back on my phone to watch a couple of YouTube videos before going to sleep and what pops up on my Recommended to watch list?  4-5 videos for vSee boxes!  Coincidence?  Maybe, but I doubt it.

So far so good: Cooking chicken a new way and another look at my stove

This won't be a long one.  I just wanted to give an update on my recent vow to cook things like meat outside of my oven when possible.

For example, when I had squash soup and a BLT sandwich on Tuesday, I cooked the bacon in a skillet on top of my stove for the first time in years.  It's simpler in the oven, but this way I can contain the splatter.

What you see here is my Dash Air Fryer; it's pretty basic, doesn't have any digital settings or displays, just a couple old school knobs.  In that bowl are two bone-in chicken thighs.

The night before, I put these thighs in a Ziploc bag with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, some dashes of garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt & pepper.  Let them marinate in my fridge overnight.

I set the dial to 375F and cooked the chicken for 12 minutes on one side, then flipped them over and cooked another 15 minutes.

I used a meat thermometer which said the bigger thigh was 170F.  They looked done to me, but...

I still felt a little nervous.  I'm not a great cook and have only cooked thighs one way, in the oven at 400F for an hour (half the time covered with foil, the other half uncovered).  So I slid these back in the air fryer for another 5 minutes.  

Here they are, plated up with some mashed potatoes and green beans.

I have to say, the chicken was delicious.  The skin was crispy perfect and the meat was juicy and tender.  I can't believe I've owned this fryer for 2-3 years and it's my first time cooking raw meat in there.

As long as we're here, I wanted to show what my oven looks like after several days of regular use.  I baked some breadsticks in there the other day, warmed up a couple slices of dinner ham too.  This past weekend I roasted some fingerling potatoes and a pan of broccoli.  Gave the oven a quick wipe down Sunday night and it's still looking shiny and new.

I've been craving a juicy meatloaf, but I think I'll hold off on that awhile longer. 😏

Are my blogging days over? I'm about to find out

This morning I got out of bed, shivered at the surprise cold in the air, came out to the living room and checked my phone--it was 31F outside.  Wow, it's almost May!  

Well, that's southwestern Pa for you.  The weather will trip you up everytime.

But it's also Monday, and my scheduled laundry day, so I knew I had to get my shower early and get my stuff down to the laundry room at 8am.  These past couple weeks, I didn't get down there until 9:30 am and both times got a knock on my door from Janice up the hall at 9:  "Hey Doug, are you done with your laundry time?"  

Janice--that room is mine from 8am to noon so back off!  Geez!

Anyway, I thought that before I got crackin' I'd send an email to my friend Pen (who lives near me), just to say good morning and how about this weather.  I open my email, put "Chilly Monday" in the subject line and that infernal Copilot pops up and says "Would you like us to compose a draft for you?"

That damn Copilot, I keep going into settings and deactivating it and it keeps returning.  Normally I say something like "Drop dead" or "Get lost" but I am in kind of a hurry, so I say "Sure."

It comes up with this:

It says "I hope your morning is off to a good start despite the chilly air!  There's certainly a crispness outside today that makes a warm cup of coffee or tea even more inviting.  Wishing you a cozy and productive start to your week--stay warm out there!   Best, Doug

Now I was all prepared to roll my eyes and snort when this popped up, but I've known Pen since grade school (we grew up on neighboring farms) and she's a sweet person but kind of a square too.  So I have a feeling she's really going to like this message.  I went ahead and hit 'Send'.

But here's the thing:  Pen may be a sweet square, but she's a smart cookie too.  She graduated our class at the top of our class.  She was elected Most Intelligent by her fellow students.  So she may see thru this cyber-fluff, write back and say "Don't send me an AI generated message again."

If she does, I'll consider my foray into AI assisted writing as a failure and resume my neurotic, half mental blogs.

If she falls for this AI message and responds with something pleasant like "Good morning Doug!  So nice to get a normal good morning from you"  then I'll begin using AI to compose my future blogs.

Stay tuned!  I'll post her reply if & when I get one. 😏

9:52 am - A response from Pen

I hope you have a great day as well. Yes, chilly today and perhaps a good day to make some chili. Ever hear of adding a bit of coffee to chili? I didn't until yesterday. It sounds strange, but I might try doing it if I decide to make some. Probably the last time I make any chili until fall/winter - just not my go to when we get warm weather. Take care.

Okay, it would appear that Pen did not see thru my AI ruse--she's not a suspicious person like myself and just assumes you're normal until told otherwise.  But I've decided that I can't hand over the blogging reins to that infernal AI, so it looks like you're stuck with me!   Have a great day everybody. 😉

Thinking out Loud: The storm before the calm (well, I hope it's what it is)

Before I say anything else, can I offer a couple small apologies... my first is for another blog post with my big head at the top.  I just don't have much of an outside life at the moment.

The second is for the content that follows, which I'm sure is going to be more of the same old / same old.  I feel the need to write, but I don't really have anything to write about.

Ever since my long covid relapse last September (why) I've been dealing with "swollen face mornings", then inflammation in the eyes & mouth that subside a bit around sundown.  

A couple of ice packs or cold washcloths get me thru the night until bedtime at 11:30.

Last Friday (the same day I posted my movie blog) things went off course and there's been a lot of flare-up in both of my temples.  I'm trying to remain optimistic and hoping it's a looney last push of sorts before dying out completely.  

Would love to see it gone by summer, keeping my fingers & toes crossed.  I'd appreciate it if you could do the same. 😉

Y'know, it just occurred to me that I'm now the same age as my Grandma Morris was in this photo.  (Around 64 1/2 years old.)   

This was the night of my high school graduation in June 1979.  That's my Grandpap Morris in front, Grandma, myself, my beautiful Mom & my very dark Dad in the rear.  

Gosh this seems like a hundred years ago.  

Here's a strange little story.  For years my grandpap carried a little leather coin purse in his front pocket.  He passed away 3 years after this photo was taken, in October 1982.  (He was 71.)  

At the viewing the night before the funeral, I asked Grandma if I might have his coin purse after all was said & done and she said "Of course McDougall, Ace would love for you to have it."  

We parted company, and went off to talk to other friends and relatives.  A bit later, Grandma came over and took my hand, and pressed something into it.  I look down, it's Grandpap's coin purse.  I said "Aw, thanks Grandma!  I didn't know you had it with you."  She just smiled but didn't say anything.  She walked back over to Grandpap's open casket to talk to Uncle Kenneth (Grandpap's brother) and it hit me.  He always carried it with him.  

To this day I wonder if Grandma fished it out of Grandpap's pants pocket when no one was looking.  I'm pretty sure she did.

FYI, after I finished school and moved to the city, I carried it every day in my own pants pocket.  I'm retired now, and don't have much use for coins, but it still sits on my dresser next to my billfold.

Right now I'm waiting for someone from Maintenance to come to my apartment.  This past weekend, I had my kitchen window open and the wind was gusting in, and I had my window blind stretched out as I was trying to clean it when SNAP!  The string broke.

I reported it on Steiner's website, and was told to expect someone on Tuesday.  They said "You may be charged if a replacement blind is necessary."  

Charge me, charge me!  This blind has too many layers of grease & grime!

Well, I was just informed my guy is running a couple hours behind schedule and I'm starving, so I went ahead and prepared my Early Bird dinner.  

Pasta with dried herbs (basil & parsley) with ground turkey meatballs, steamed broccoli and chopped cocktail tomatoes.  Shaved parmesan cheese over everything.  It's pretty tasty stuff.

Finally, here's my new window blind--the timing couldn't have been more perfect, I'd just finished washing up my dinner dishes.  I thought I'd have to beg for a new blind, but Manley brought a new one with him.  I like this one, there's no drawstring--it's very sturdy and you just push it up, pull it down.

That's it for now--thanks for letting me share my day, everyone.

If there's someone up there listening... how about another 3 day pass?

Last week (Tuesday, Nov 18 to be specific) I awoke feeling well.  I was surprised when I climbed out of bed, looked into the bathroom mirror and my eyes didn't have those post-covid black sockets under them.  

I kept my fingers crossed, I was scheduled to get CT scans later that day and it would make things so much better if I could ride the two buses to UPMC without being in too much discomfort.

I continued feeling good that day, even when my neurologist showed me two 'clouds' still in the frontal lobe region from my long covid.

Who cares about clouds, maybe this relapse on September 12 was finally settling down for good.

The next day the good times continued.  I called my barber and asked if she had any openings, it had been several weeks since my last haircut.  She did, and I got a great cut.  The third day, I was still doing great.  I knew I had to take advantage of this, so I showered and dressed first thing, and went downtown to renew my expired driver's license.  This had been weeks overdue.

I awoke Friday morning with some mild burning in my temples, and a very sore neck.  Maybe I slept on it funny and it will fade...  but as the day wore on, the pressure in my head increased, as did the pain in the lower right jawline and mouth.  That damn long covid was fighting it's way back.

By Friday night, the last 3 days seemed like a dream.  At least I made good use of them.

This isn't the first time I got one of those passes.  When all of this began in January 2024 (I am coming up on my 2 year anniversary with this) I was housebound and miserable for 4 months.  Then in May 2024 I got a 3-4 day reprieve, and was able to visit the senior center a couple times and attend a lunch with friends at Red Lobster.  I was happy as a clam, pun intended.

It didn't last, the summer of 2024 was the worst.  I didn't leave my place again for 3 months.  But I got another "weekly pass" in the Fall, and then again in early December.  I was able to attend the Holiday luncheon for Senior Singles at the church next door.   

I got a couple more "3 day passes" in February and April, and by May 2025 things had improved enough that I was venturing out again.  I was still fighting extreme fatigue, go out for 2-3 hours, come home and sleep for 3-4, but the head and facial pain was 90% gone.  Aside from getting plantar fasciitis in August, I really believed the "covid head" stuff was nearly gone for good.

Then of course, on September 12 everything came back.  I haven't been to the senior center since.  

Anyway, it would've been nice to get a 3 day pass this week so I could spend Thanksgiving with loved ones, but I didn't luck out.  I'm hoping I get a pass next week so I can attend this years Senior Singles Holiday Lunch with my gals Mary and Evie.  I really miss them.

Finally, here's one thing with a happy ending:  a few days ago, I was making a cup of coffee and it tasted like burnt plastic.  I tried another k-cup, same result.  I ran a cup of white vinegar thru my Keurig and activated the deep cleanse.  No change.

My K-Supreme was a month or so past its warranty, so I'd have to purchase another one.  This was my third K-Supreme in 5 years!  

But feeling face-sore and cranky, I called Customer Service anyway.  I got a very polite Indian woman named Sky.  I told her what happened, she said "Okay sir, here is what we're going to do.  First I want you to try a different brand k-cup..."   I told her no, I did that already.  She said "Perfect.  Okay, now we're going to operate your machine in clean mode.  Do you have any white vinegar?"

I said "Sky, I did all that this morning.  I'm not wasting anymore time or k-cups on this faulty machine.  And I know it's a month past the warranty, so I'm not expecting you to replace it.  I just wanted someone to know how disappointed I am.  I've been a loyal customer of Keurig for years, but this is ridiculous."

Sky said she was very sorry for the inconvenience, I said thanks for listening.  Fifteen minutes later, she called back and asked for the serial number on my Keurig.  After giving it to her, Sky said they were sending me a new machine, no charge.  I was very surprised, thanked her and asked if I needed to send the bad one back.  She said no, just discard it.

It arrived a couple days ago and boy, my coffee tastes great again.  I hope this one can stick around for awhile.

One minute you're 40, the next you're applying for Social Security

The other morning when my brother Steve texted to let me know my nephew (his son Stevie) was getting married, and I asked how old is Stevie now and Steve said he turned 40 in September... weren't we all 40 just a few years ago?

Thinking back to 2001 when I turned 40, I headed into my kitchen and looked through the junk drawer and there it was--the pin I bought for the lapel of my coat, after the events of 9-11-01.  I remember that day like it was only a couple years ago, I'm sure many of you can say the same.  I was sent home early from work that day, as downtown Pittsburgh was ordered evacuated.  I got a ride with my ex's mother (who saw me standing at my bus stop and honked at me to get in, then yelled all the way home about our military, President Bush and trash tv).  

I spent that entire day glued to my tv, watching the same events play out over & over.  I can even remember what I had for dinner, leftover spareribs from Sunday.  A day or two later I was headed to work and saw these flag pins at a newsstand I passed on my way to the office, and bought one for my jacket.  

I don't know why I'm sharing all of this, I just can't believe how quickly the years have passed since I was 40.  I want to tell my nephew "you're going to be 64 before you know it".

Speaking of 64, last Saturday (November 1, the day after my 64th birthday) I was sitting here watching an awful documentary about Bigfoot, and thought "Well it's as good a time as any to apply for Social Security" so I went online to my SSA account.

On my recent statement it said "At age 64 years your monthly payment is estimated to be $1913.00."  Sounded good to me, so I began the application.  There were a LOT of questions, but nothing too difficult or complicated.

After I gulped and hit submit, I received an auto-generated email that said I should be hearing back from them after 30 days.  It added my reviewer would reach out by telephone or mail with additional questions, and they often do this on weekends or after business hours.  

Curious, I jumped on earlyretirement.org and a social security reddit board, and was dismayed at what I was finding.  A lot of people complaining their applications were on hold for months (for faulty or mismatched information) or outright denied.  

One man neglected to report his first marriage as a teen, people failed to report children they hadn't seen since childbirth, some people attempted to file too early or mistakenly filed for disability, etc.

A retired social security administrator said it took on average 90 days to review an application, not 30.  And this was before the recent government shutdown, so I figured I had a wait.

So imagine my surprise when I got an email from the SSA a week later.  Nothing written, just this image at the right, saying my attention was needed.

Assuming they were requesting additional documents (like my drivers license or birth certificate) I went to the SSA site, signed in and saw "Your application is approved."  And below that:

This only took a week, I guess you can't believe everything you read.  As I requested my payments begin in January, they start one month after your request date.

The amount will drop some when I turn 65 and Medicare kicks in, but that's not for 10-11 months.

I still can't believe this is really happening.  I know I earned it but still... I'm waiting for a follow-up that says they grossly overestimated my monthly amount, or I've been declared an anti-Trumpist and being deported instead.  We'll see!

Picture of the Day: Gotta love (and fear, a little) all this new technology

This is my new Asus laptop on the left, it replaced my 2011 Toshiba which died a little over a week ago.  I went from a Windows7 operating system to Windows 11, and it's been a giant leap.  But this Asus is super-fast with helpful tools, and I am learning new things every day.

The computer on the right is a budget laptop, a silver Lenovo with a mind of it's own.  More on that in a second.  

A few days ago I awoke to pouring down rain, and the local weather said it'd be an all day thing.  The last time we had inclement weather, I cleaned out my linen & front room closets.  Today I'd tackle the big dawg--my wall length bedroom closet.

In the far back was a long skinny box and when I pulled it out, saw LENOVO across the front.  When I opened it on my bed, a silver laptop was inside.  My memory of purchasing it was vague, but when I went on Amazon and looked at my Order History... I remember now.  It was bought during their Black Friday 2022 sale for a hundred off the regular price, only $224.00.

I remember registering my MSN account on it, then packing it away.  At the time my Toshiba was still hanging on, and I wasn't ready to learn a new operating system.  This would be my "In Case of Emergency" machine.  I honestly forgot all about it.

So it's been hidden away almost 3 years.  Does it still work?  I plugged it in and turned it on.  The Lenovo awoke from it's deep slumber and asked if edougmorris was still the owner.  Yes.  It asked if wireless network TEEPEE2 was mine.  Yep again.  It asked me to provide pins for both.  

It said "This computer has detected 163 Windows and other software updates.  Proceed with all updates?"  I said yes, why not.  It said to leave it on and plugged in.  So I did, and went back to my closet cleanout.  

A couple hours later, lunch.  The Lenovo was still sitting on my bed, doing God knows what.

I came into the living room, watched Perfect Murder on HBO Max, got on my Asus, checked my emails.  Around 3:00 I went back into my bedroom.

The Lenovo screen now displayed "Updates are complete and computer is ready for use."   The wallpaper is different, but it's somehow a clone of my Asus now.  The same folders, documents, desktop icons.  The internet browser has my favorite websites, everything.

Even Microsoft Office I bought for my Asus is on here too, working.  (I discovered MS Office automatically detects and copies itself on up to 5 of your MSN devices.)

The screen resolution on the Lenovo is low compared to the hi-def Asus, it has less memory and a smaller processor too.  The keys aren't backlit, but they don't need to be--they're a bit larger and easier to see.  Here's the real shocker, the Lenovo screen is a touch screen.  Wait, is my $600 Asus a touch screen?  Nope.  

I'll be dam--darned, I'm liking the budget Lenovo as much as the Asus, and I paid 3 times as much for that Asus!  

Well, at least now I really DO have an "In case of Emergency" machine.  

Crikey, when it rains it pours

This has been a real week.  Spent the weekend in the hospital (and to be honest, still dealing with some belly issues).  Then I came home to no internet and a defective router, which Xfinity did come to my place and got me set up with a new gizmo which works wonderfully.

And then Wednesday morning I get up, make a cup of coffee, get situated on my couch to work on my upcoming blog about fighting fat... and my beloved laptop died.  

My new Asus Vivobook on the top, my 2011 Toshiba below; they have the same size 15.6" screen

It had nothing to do with the new gateway just installed in my home.  The Toshiba has been on it's last legs for a few years now, held together with packing tape, twine and even half-erasers under 3-4 keys that were stuck.  It took forever to start up, and even longer to shut down at night--but I loved it like an old friend.  

I bought the Asus over a year ago, back in Jan 2024, one week before I got covid that became long covid.  It's been hidden away in my bedroom dresser ever since.  Until today, that is.

I feel like I've been uprooted from 2011 and tossed into 2025.  Did you know The Good Wife is no longer on tv?  President Obama is no longer in office and we're under siege by a Fascist party and megalomaniac tyrant?  You don't own Microsoft Office anymore, you SUBSCRIBE to it?  Enough!

This new laptop is lighter on the lap--it weighs 13 ounces.  Not even one pound.  My Toshiba weighs 10 pounds, 5 oz--that thing was a tank.  Anyway,  I can't figure out where anything is on here.  It keeps telling me to stop trying to store files on it, move them to Microsoft's One Drive.  

The mousepad doesn't even have buttons!  

What bothers me most of all, the first thing I did was download "Open Live Writer.  OLW is an editor I've been using for 20 years to write and publish my blogs.  But when I tried to install it, I got a stern warning APP DENIED ACCESS from Google (because it uses your Google credentials to create an offline version of your blog).   

I went looking for answers.  I discovered this has been happening since 2020 for every blogger who uses OLW and gets a new computer.   So after 20 years of blogging, this is my first time writing a post using Blogger's online editor.   It's going to take some time getting used to.  

Well, on Saturday I am meeting with Carl from the hardware store, we're going to use his work station and an ethernet cable to hopefully get access to my Toshiba's hard drive long enough to retrieve my photos folder, financial documents and a couple blog drafts I was working on.  Wish me luck and if you see anything weird going on with my blog--that's just me trying to get a new handle on things here.  Thanks for listening.

Don’t fix it if it’s not broken—I hope I’m finally learning my lesson

Can I share a couple quick gripes and then bow out quietly again?   I’ve had a rocky couple of days, and just wanted to vent.  First of all, what you see here is my old Xfinity router and my new X1 Gateway.  I’ve had my old Xfnity router for 7 years and it’s never given me a lick of trouble.

(Well, a few years ago I thought it was dying when my internet stopped working—I jumped thru enough hoops to warrant an actual technician here, who determined my router was fine, someone had disconnected my broadband connector in the basement.)

Anyway—for the last 5-6 months, I’ve been getting texts from Xfinity.  “We noticed you’re still using an old router!  We will be happy to replace that with a Gateway, at no extra charge!  Type 1 for YES, or 2 for NO”   I always hit 2—I was fine with my old one, why fix it if it’s not broken?

But the texts continued, so finally last week I caved and hit yes.  And two days later, this newer gizmo showed up at my mailbox, with instructions on downloading the X1 app and setting it up myself. 

Suffice it to say, I followed the instructions very carefully and everytime I ran a test on the app, got back “It’s not working.  Let’s troubleshoot!”   I troubleshooted until 1:30am Saturday night.  I finally said to hell with it, hooked my old one back up… nope!  That one was now officially a brick! 

The next morning, I got another text from Xfinity.  “There seems to be a problem with your internet.  Would you like a technician to visit you?  Our nearest opening is Sept 30 at noon-2pm.”  I said yes.  It asked me if I was sure.   I SAID YES THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!!!

I later figured out (on my own) how to ‘de-register’ and  re-register my old one, and got back my internet high-speed connection again.  And when that Xfinity tech arrives, I’ll be very curious to see if he gets the new one working—but I am REALLY attached to that old one and plan to let him know.  I should’ve trusted my gut to begin with.

It just reminds me of this continued inflammation in my head & face, the return of long covid symptoms after that 3 hour dental appointment.  I wasn’t experiencing any pain or discomfort with my teeth, all I wanted was a good teeth cleaning!  That dentist insisted I had 5-6 developing cavities!  I was 80-90% past the long covid inflammation, until he got in there and started drilling away.  This is Day 21 of it returning.  Again, why fix it if it wasnt broken… I just want to scream.

Finally… yesterday (Sunday) afternoon I was sitting here preparing to eat my dinner, some stewed tomatoes and a Havarti omelet, when my heart began racing.  I said “Oh well” and dug in.  A few minutes later, my heart began pounding and I broke out in a very hot sweat—I raced to the bathroom and threw up what I’d eaten.  Was I having a heart attack?

I called 911, told them what was happening and asked if I should wait & see if things subside.  They said absolutely not, they were sending someone right away.  I raced in my bedroom to change my pants and grab my wallet, by then the pain was spreading out across my torso and I was finding it more & more difficult to breathe.

Two EMT medics arrived within 10 minutes; I was laying on my living room floor but had my front door standing open so they could see me quick enough.  Long story short, I was taken to Mercy Hospital, had an x-ray, CT scan and abdominal ultrasound and they determined I had a large gallstone trapped in my bile duct.

If you’ve ever had kidney stones or gallstones, you know they can leave you gasping.  One feels like a knife in your back, the other like a knife in the stomach.  Here’s the difference though, kidney stones (once passed) leave you achy and sore in your back & sides for a couple days.  Gallstones?  The pain is like an on & off switch.  Once its passed, you’re fine.

I finally passed it a couple hours later.  Mercy was going to send me home, but after learning I lived alone and had no family nearby, kept me overnight for observation.  They even arranged a cab home for me early Monday morning.  Before I left the hospital, the AP asked me if I’d given any thought to gallbladder surgery (considering my prior history) and I did say it’s crossed my mind, what did he think. 

He said my attacks have been infrequent (my last one was a year ago) and as the gb looks healthy and hasn’t given me any real problems yet, why fix it if it isn’t broken.  Yes this time I’m going with that.

Thanks for reading, talk to everyone again soon.

UPDATE:  It took him 1 hour and 39 minutes, but Josh from Xfinity got my new gateway up and running.  The black one is no more, and Josh informed me it was on it’s last legs.  Life goes on...

One shock after another: it’ll do a body good (hopefully)

The last couple days have been busy ones, health-wise; I just hope I’m going in the right direction, because right now I’m a bundle of nerves.  Unfamiliar ones.

Yesterday afternoon, I returned to my new dentist for 6 ‘deep fillings’ and a lower front tooth restore.  I was expecting a laid back session, as I was there 2 weeks ago and he gave me one of the best & relaxing teeth cleanings I ever had.  This session was a lot more intense though.  He had my lower mouth propped open for 2 1/2 hours and I think he gave me one too many shots of novacaine (because of all my flinching).  I awoke this morning with a VERY achy face and weird ‘stiffness’ around my mouth & chin.  Not a great feeling.  It died down this afternoon but returned after dinner.

(My bill was also $1,086.00—that’s what happens when you have no dental insurance!)  Anyway, I’m just hoping the soreness in my face ends in the next day or two.

Today was my appointment with the plantar specialist, Dr. Bill.  He did a thorough examination of my calves, ankles and feet.  I explained to him my sedentary routine for 16 months from long covid, then “getting back out there” with 2 mile walks to the senior center and back, 2-3 days a week.  Then a month ago I began experiencing burning sensations in my calves, then a week or so later, my feet.

He did tapping, twisting & pressure point tests, and diagnosed me with plantar fasciitis.   He told me he could work manually on my feet and calves alone, which my insurance would cover (minus a $32.00 copay), or I could also receive shockwave therapy.  He said he’s treated many people with plantar, and the shockwave patients usually recover in half the time his manual-only patients do.  I believed him, I’ve been reading up on this shock therapy a lot these last couple weeks. 

Unfortunately, my insurance does NOT cover the shock therapy and he told me it would be an additional $100 for a 30 minute session, or I could pay ahead and get 5 weekly sessions for the price of 3.  So that’s what I went with, not including the session I got today (which didn’t cost me extra besides my copay).

He had me lie on my back, while he rubbed ‘conductor goop’ on my right foot first, then my left.  It was cool & soothing.  Then he begain running that machine—“tik tik tik tik”.  I told him I didn’t feel anything.  He told me that the healthy parts of feet wouldn’t, there would only be pain in areas with damaged fascia or scar tissue.  Sure enough. I soon began having some very painful reactions.  He kept track of my responses, and came up with a pretty good map of where things are not good, numbered 1-8 for pain.

Dr. Bill thinks I’ll be in better shape in 5 weeks time, but told me no more ice; cool or lukewarm foot baths only.  He also told me no NSAIDs for 48 hours following a session, Tylenol only.  My next one is next Wednesday. 

I’m sorry for all this health stuff, I promise my next blog is going to be a better one—it’ll be all about food.

 

The perfect meal, clearing the air and an extra about that space heater

How many blogs have I written that started off with a hamburger?  I’m afraid to look.  Anyway, this was last night’s dinner and while chowing down I decided it does NOT get any better than this.

This is a 1/3 lb Bubba Burger on an Arnold Potato Roll.  It’s topped with sauteed peppers & onions, and steak sauce.  Hands down, Bubba Burgers are the best burgers you can buy.  Those are Red Robin Steak Fries, and if you cook them just right (32 minutes in a cold oven set to 425F, shut off the oven, open the door to let out steam, then close it for 2 more minutes)… absolute perfection.

That roasted broccoli is God’s gift to man.  Cooked a little longer than 30 minutes?  Delicious.  Take it out a little earlier than 30 minutes?  Delicious.  You can’t go wrong.

Okay, enough of my meal.  Speaking of meals, why am I always taking photos of my lunches & dinners?  I don’t always share them here, but I still take ‘em.  If you’d like to see more pics, why I’d be happy to.

I wanted to say something about my friend Diana.  After my last post, three people reached out and asked if something special was going on with us, and if there wasn’t, how come?  That was nice they asked, I got a big kick out of it.  But if I gave anyone the wrong impression there was more between us, I’m sorry. 

The simple truth is, Diana & I are only friends and will never be more than that.  Diana lost her husband to covid 3 years ago, and now wants to devote her golden years to her garden, church, events in her community.  (She lives in nearby West Virginia.)  

As for me, I’m not ruling out the possibility of hooking up with someone someday, but I’ll be just fine if it doesn’t happen.  I like my apartment in the city, I like watching too much tv and eating too many hamburgers.  And I am not a church goer.  And that’s that.

Finally, here’s that “extra” I wanted to share about my new space heater.  What you’re looking at below is my LASKO Oscillating Tower Fan.  It has 3 speeds, rotates, has an ionizer feature, and it came with a handy remote.

I bought this fan in 2017, and it’s been a real champ.  In the summer, it distributes the cool air from my main vent throughout my lving room.  It does the same with warm air in the winter.

3-4 years ago, the remote stopped working.  I replaced the batteries, it didn’t help.  I contacted Lasko, and they sent a replacement.  It didn’t work either.  When I let Lasko know, they said “The remote isn’t the problem, it’s the circuit panel in your fan.”  Made sense to me.

The fan has manual buttons on top, but then the IONIZER button stopped working, and the highest fan speed went next.   But here it is, 8 years later and I’m still using it.

Okay—a couple days after getting that Dreo space heater, summer finally arrived in Pittsburgh and I decided it was time to pack it away until the fall.  (Our building won’t switch over to heat until October, and there’s bound to be some chilly days come September.)

I’m not the type to just toss it in the closet—I packed it in it’s original carton, packing materials included.  After it was safely stored away in my bedroom closet, I came out into the living room and DOGGONE IT—I forgot to pack up the heater’s included remote.

I sighed and plopped down on the couch, picked up the remote and aimed it at the TV, pressed the ON button for no particular reason.  My LASKO fan to the right of my set suddenly came on.  What the—!!  

I pressed the Oscillator button—my fan began rotating.  I pressed the timer button, the fan increased to speed 2.  I pressed it again, it went to Speed 3.  Speed 3 hasn’t worked in 3 years! 

I pressed the ECO button on the remote and the blue IONIZER light above my fan lit up.  That hasn’t worked in 3 years either!

So not only did that little space heater deliver some much needed warmth, it’s given my old fan some new life.  I did look up both brands (Dreo & Lasko) and they are not owned by the same company, they are competing brands.  So go figure!

Okay that’s it for now—until next time, thanks for listening and take care everyone.

Tales from the Tiffany: The space heater story I mentioned in my last post

Here’s something interesting about the Tiffany (my apartment building).  They advertise that central heating & air is included in your rent—but that’s not entirely true. 

Built in the 1950s, every apartment has a “heating/cooling pipe” in the bathroom ceiling, and a propeller fan that blows a steady stream of air on this pipe.

You have a thermostat in your apartment to contol the temperature.  BUT:

• From October 1 to April 30, that pipe in the bathroom ceiling is HOT. 
• From May 1 to Sept 30, that pipe is COLD.

So there are days thru the year when you wished for cool air, but it’s not time for the switchover yet.  And there are times (usually early May) when it got switched to cool for summer, but outside temps are still chilly.

That’s what happened a few days before Memorial Day.  The local weather forecast chilly temps for May 20-26 and Steiner (our landlord) sent an email to everyone with suggestions for keeping warm as they’d switched to cold on May 1.  Don’t turn on your air!  Keep your windows shut!  Sip warm drinks!  Take hot baths!

I told my friend Diana what lay ahead.  She gave me the same suggestion she did last year when something similar occurred, and this past winter when the pipe in my ceiling went cold a couple mornings and was not supplying heat.  “Why don’t you get a space heater?”

Here’s another picture of my friend Diana, from her recent trip to Utah to visit her son & daughter Anyway, the first time she suggested a space heater I thought of that metal box with glowing orange rods we had in our farmhouse in my childhood; it’d burn you if you got too close.  I told her “No way!”  Then I’d lose my heat again, she’d make the suggestion, I’d remind her I’m a man and can handle a little cold air.

Then this Memorial Day cold spell came along, and over that week I watched the temperature in my apt drop from 70F to 66—62—58—!

So, one night while shivering under my blankets in my chilly bed, I got out my tablet, pulled up space heaters on Amazon.com and was very surprised. These portable heaters looked smaller and a lot safer than the contraptions I remember from the 1960-70s. 

I placed an order for one and prayed I wasn’t getting rooked.Just a couple days later, I’m sitting here on my computer and an email pops up from Amazon.  “Your order has been delivered.  The driver has left your package under your mailbox in the lobby downstairs.”  Yes!

I grab my phone to call Diana and tell her the space heater is here, and run downstairs.  I go into the lobby and see a CRATE-SIZED BOX from Amazon under my mailbox.  What the—!!  How big is this heater anyway??I call Diana back and tell her this box is HUGE.  She says “Maybe it’s like one of those Russian nesting dolls, and they just packed it in different sized boxes to keep it safe.”

I say “Nope—it has HEAVY stickers all over the box, and when I tried to lift a corner it won’t budge!”  

I called Amazon and said if you’re still in the area this is too big for me, come and take it away.  No way do I have room for this thing.  The Amazon driver returned, pointed his tricorder at the carton on the floor and said “Er… this isn’t your order.”  

He went around the corner to the smaller mailroom (for first floor tenants only), and returned with a much smaller box.  “Here’s your package, sorry for the mixup.”

Whew!  I brought it upstairs, unpacked it, was surprised at it’s compact size.  It only stands a foot tall.  Anyway, I couldn’t be more pleased.  It’s whisper quiet, gently rotates and pushes out a WHOPPER of very warm air.  I have a bookcase thermometer that had been displaying 59F when I plugged it in, 20 minutes later it was 72F in here.

That’s my story and here it is.  How did I go this long without one?EDIT:  Wait, this story isn’t over!  To be continued…

Sometimes I’m good with change, sometimes not so much

Have you switched to a smartwatch yet?  Or do you wear a regular watch and wonder if you’re the only one who still does.  Up until 3 days ago, that was me—all I owned was a couple of Timex watches.   But more & more I felt like the odd man out.

(I would say I felt like the old man out, but I’ve seen these gadgets on just as many seniors wrists as I have younger ones.)

I began checking out these gizmos on Amazon, and thankfully don’t own an iphone so I didn’t feel compelled to buy a $749 Apple Watch.  COME ON, THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY.  The one I selected pairs with my Android phone, has 12 different clock faces, records my steps, takes my temperature, monitors my sleep, heart rate & blood pressure. 

A link to the watch on Amazon is RIGHT HERE.

There’s 50 other functions it supposedly does, but I haven’t gotten around to figuring all that out yet.  I doubt I ever will. 

I really like it.  I haven’t started wearing it full-time yet like you’re supposed to, but it’s very comfortable on my wrist and shares it’s readings with an app on my phone called “Da Fit”. 

Amazingly, it only cost $24.95.  I hope those $750 Apple Watches can dance circles around this one!

The other day I was at the market, bought a quart of 2% milk and in 2 days the milk had gone sour.  I was FED UP.  This same thing happened a couple weeks earlier, and I just assumed I wasn’t keeping my fridge cold enough.  I set the interior temp to 37F, and no longer put my milk in the fridge door.

So when it happened again last week, I said “no more” and began looking at alternative sources of milk.  I know my store carries regular milk, 2% and skim, lactose free milk, 5 varieties of oat milk, soy milk, almond milk.

My friend Diana said soy milk played havoc with womens hormones, and according to the folks on Reddit, almond milk was either too sweet or too watery.  So oat milk it would be. 

I was happy to see it had a “Use Buy” date of 3 months (!) and rubbed my hands together in glee at all the cold cereal I’d soon be eating for breakfast again.

Okay, it’s been 5 days and the verdict is in.  First of all, I can’t get used to the color—it’s a murky tan.  Secondly, it’s so… thick.  And I only bought the regular oat milk, I can’t imagine what the ‘Extra Creamy’ would be like.

Also, something about it’s texture keeps triggering my gag reflex, and reminded me of that stuff a snail leaves behind.  I’m headed to the store right now for some good old fashioned 2% dairy.  

The last time I was there I told the cashier about their milk souring in just a couple days, and she told ME to keep my receipts from now on and bring it back if it doesn’t last at least one week.  I will do that. 

If anyone has any other suggestions, I’m listening… but honestly, I don’t see myself giving up the cow’s stuff again!

 

UPDATE: Hot under the collar, and it has nothing to do with you-know-who

NEW:  Hi Everyone.  I wanted to thank all of you for your very kind comments below, and for reaching out to me personally this past week.   I went to bed late Tuesday night and spent the next 3 days flat on my back with some crazy high temps.  When I woke up Saturday morning, my sheets were drenched and I knew my fever had finally broke.

(That’s when I made the big move to my livingroom couch where I can now stare at my tv instead of my tablet or bedroom ceiling.) 

I’m still working on making a full recovery, I have a persisent cough and congestion.  But I’m guessing in 4-5 days it will be out of my system.  Gigi if you’re reading this—I’m sorry about your own cough, I used to go thru a lot of those Halls Lemon lozenges too.  But I’ve since switched to Riccola Lemon Mint Drops.  They’re sugar free and all natural.

And Peter if YOU’RE reading this, I did have my flu shot in November!  Do you know they only reduce the risk of flu in seniors around 41%?  And dkzody, you brought up a good question: I’m not around a lot of people, so where did I get this.  The NHS says you contract the virus 4 days before you begin showing symptoms. 

Anyway… I regret sharing all of this.  The ONLY REASON I did when it sprang up was because I sort of panicked.  I am still wrestling with long covid relapses, and 2 days before the flu hit, I developed a painful burning in my head and behind my eyes. Long covid headache.  (Miss Merry, I’m very sorry for your son-in-law’s relapse.)  

I knew I’d have to deal with that and the flu both, and it just overwhelmed me.  

So, I’ve had quite enough of the “woe is me” talk.  Thanks again for your kind words and concern everybody, and for reading this update too.  I haven’t looked at the news in days, I hope we’re not at war with Canada!  

 

Tues, Mar 04:  Today around noon, I developed a bad cough that wouldn’t go away.  I’m really not a cougher.  Around 2pm, my friend (and fomer coworker from the 90s, Susie) called to tell me she had just returned home after being in the hospital for 7 days following gall bladder surgery.

I couldn’t hide my coughing, she asked if I had a fever.  I said I’d check, and I didn’t.  I wished Susie well and decided to lay down for an hour.  Couldn’t stop coughing, darn it.

I was going to have a stuffed pita for my Early Bird dinner, but opted for a scrambled egg instead.  I began shivering very hard and checked the indoor/outdoor temperature.  It was 71F inside, and 65F outside.  Positively balmy out there.  I take my OWN temperature (above), 101.3.

I’m now aching from head to toe.  My long covid head WANTS to explode, but doesn’t understand this good old American cold or flu. 

At least, I hope that is what this is.  I do have a covid test in my cupboard, if I’m not feeling better in the morning, maybe I’ll take it.  Thanks for letting me share, I’m in misery right now sitting up to type this, so I will probably be out of commission for the time being.  Take care everyone.

Our third week in, and I’ve already broken two—no, three resolutions

I got up this morning, looked at the temperature on my phone (-12 in Pittsburgh, for you celsius people that’s minus 24.4) then started my coffee and dug out my weight scales from behind my bathroom vanity.

Okay, it says –8 but I swear this morning it was –12!

My weight is 235.0 – that’s an 8 pound gain since the last time I got on my scales back on Nov 20.  Doggone it.  This is what happens when you stop checking your weight every day.  It’s not as bad as it was one year ago when I weighed 272, but I made a resolution to continue downward in 2025 and have gotten off track.  

Man, the thought of gaining all that weight back terrifies me.

Speaking of terrified, after I put my scales away and got a cup of coffee, I decided to break another resolution and turn on the news; I honestly just wanted to hear how people were dealing locally with these subzero temps.  Instead I got a big earful of national news.

The first thing Trump did after moving back into the White House was go after the Affordable Care Act, stripping away the recent additions made by Biden while in office.  Well, that’s no surprise.  Trump then went after the Federal agencies promoting racial & sexual equality in the government workplace, mustn’t have that.  And now 22 states are threatening lawsuits as Trump tries to dismantle the 14th amendment in the Constitution, granting citizenship to anyone born on American soil. 

Yes, yes I know what he’s doing there but at the same time, this would have pretty far reaching implications.  Oh and then they showed Elon Musk giving Trump a Nazi salute.  That’s no surprise either.

Now I’m breaking a third resolution by getting on my blog and writing about him, I promised myself I wouldn’t spend a single day of the next 4 years putting my despair on display, blogging about this monster.  And yet, here I am.  Wishing very much I was somewhere else.  Like Finland.

Yes, yes I know—no one’s stopping me, there’s the door.

I just wanted to say I’m probably going to continue posting upbeat, dorky things on here because like it or not, it’s who I am.  Also, I want to focus my energies on a happier existence while I can.  Y’know, I spent the last YEAR in pain and isolation fighting this long covid and while I’m not fully out of the woods yet, I’m seeing better days. 

But I also want it known that deep down I hope & wait for Trump to drop over; as for the people who support the man, we’ll never see eye to eye and hopefully never come face to face. 

Oh and thanks for the calendar, Congressman Deluzio.  Boy have you got an uphill battle.