(no subject)

Aug. 18th, 2026 01:43 pm
lycomingst: (Default)
[personal profile] lycomingst
Friday Five

1. What is your favorite vegetable?
I like most veggies, extra credit if they can be eaten raw.

2. What is your least favorite (or most disliked) vegetable?
I've developed an aversion to squash, all kinds. It's the texture. Pumpkin is ok when you add a lot of sugar.

3. How many half cup (one deciliter) servings of vegetables do you eat on a typical day?
Not enough.

4. What is your favorite fruit?
Fruits are my friends. Love fruit. Really can't name a favorite, except apples and me go way back

5. What is your least favorite (or most disliked) fruit?
I haven't eaten every kind of fruit but I haven't run across one I dislike.


I hired my lesbian gardener. She will start next Tues. This week is her birthday and there will be some whoopdy-doing to be done. I understand; I used to try to take my birthday off, too.

I'm sure she looked at the back yard and said to herself, there's money to be made here.

Dental Appointment

Aug. 17th, 2026 10:53 pm
days_unfolding: (Default)
[personal profile] days_unfolding
Got my CPAP set back up. Woke up a couple of times during the night. I woke up with my alarm at 5:30 AM though. Lily is glad that I’m up and is making a fuss over me. Had breakfast. Threw the garbage bags down the basement stairs. Now I’m taking a nap. I didn’t get to nap. Something set the dogs to barking.

I got the dogs a toy that’s round with folds in it to hide treats. Gracie likes it even without treats. The dogs are ripping it apart. There’s pieces of toy all over the bed.

Went to the dentist and got my crown for the implant. It looks good, but I’m going for a bridge for the other tooth. It’ll be faster. I have an appointment on Thursday to do the work for the bridge.

I’m tired, but I decided that I needed food more than sleep at lunchtime. Also, the cats were hungry and in my face. (Fed them.)

Tired, tired, but I got a lot done at work. My boss told me that I can take Friday off to finish some stuff up here.

Oooh. I saw a Cunard cruise for the Adriatic and Western Mediterranean that goes to a lot of places to which I’d like to go (Palma de Mallorca, Corsica, Malta, Dubrovnik). Their inside staterooms aren’t horribly expensive.

I’m cooling off from being upstairs. Then I’ll take a nap.

There’s a dog squabble over a toy. No, they won’t play with different ones. It has to be the SAME one!

Got the garbage in the bin while I was out with the dogs.

Fed Oliver and Lily. Bella and Gracie just ate their breakfast now (!), so I’m waiting to feed them again. I want to get to bed soon because I’m tired. Plus, I need to shower in the morning because of a doctor’s appointment.

Out of Sync

Aug. 17th, 2026 07:38 pm
vysila: Han & Chewie (WTF)
[personal profile] vysila
I'm feeling rather out of sync with the world right now. It's been a weird week or so since I last posted. But first, the most excellent news is that my son had zero trouble at the border crossing last week. They got a female Customs officer who was very nice, he said. A few questions and off they were waved back into the USA. He texted me immediately and I felt a lot of tension roll off my shoulders.

On Wednesday night I had an unnerving situation. I had gone to bed (this was around 10 pm) and was just scrolling through my phone to find my favorite sleepy-time podcast. Kayden was perched in the window as usual, enjoying the night view. All of a sudden he growled, leaped off the windowsill and scurried away, still growling. I rolled over in bed and saw headlights in my driveway. It took a few seconds to register. I expected the car to back up and turn around, realizing he was at a dead end. But it just sat there and then I saw movement like someone getting out of the car. What the hell? I leaped out of bed, grabbed my glasses and stood for a second, debating what to do. then I ran to the kitchen and opened the door to the garage. The garage door was all the way up and the lights were on. And... the door from garage to kitchen was unlocked. More what the hell? The car started backing out of my driveway and drove away. I did not catch a plate or really any description of the vehicle.

Very unsettling. I closed everything up and then started checking to see if anything had obviously been disturbed or was missing. As far as I know days later, nothing was disturbed. I've been going over and over this in my head ever since then. It is possible I simply left the garage door up after Lowe's delivered my new freezer, intending to go back out to check the mail, and simply forgot about it. And also, the garage door needs servicing and it's pretty loud and my bedroom window is right next to the garage door. Wouldn't I have heard it if the intruder had opened it? But what really gets me is - this is a secure gated community. We just don't have random people driving or walking through the neighborhood. We do not get door to door salespeople. Someone had to know the code to drive through the gate. I'm still feeling a bit unsettled after this event.

Yesterday I talked to the kiddo about maybe installing outside security cameras and changing the garage door code. And maybe changing the door locks. I didn't do any of that when I moved in, but now it seems like a sensible precaution.

Then several neighbors reported a coyote hunting in our neighborhood. It attacked a stray cat that was sitting on a neighbor's fence - I desperately hope it escaped to safety. Very disturbing in such an urban area that there are coyotes skulking about, but I suppose all wild creatures are being forced out of their habitats by fire or overbuilding. I don't think a coyote could get to Kayden on the porch - the wire might not hold up but the slats are too narrow for anything bigger than maybe a rabbit to get through. Kayden can't get between the slats, that's for sure. And the porch door is very study and strong. But still, I'm not comfortable if he's out after sunset.

Other small things are going on. I managed to pick enough blackberries for a second cobbler, but now I have gotten all the berries I can reach through the fence. Frustrating as there are simply massive amounts that are unharvestable.

Had some neighbors stop by Saturday afternoon just to chitchat. It was pleasant. I do so much better with just one or two people.

DIL went back to Canada on Saturday, will be returning tonight. Son came over yesterday and we spent the day together. He put up the next two art rails and I need to get my paintings displayed. He hung up another painting in the dining area and put together a shoe rack for me. We had dinner and then he shopped from Mom's pantry while his wife was absent (she really doesn't like taking 'charity'). But as I told the boy, I stocked up my pantry and freezer so fully because I want to share with them. Family is family and their budget is pretty tight.

The rest of this post is yammering about diabetes and the incredibly helpful new continuous glucose monitor. Likely quite boring to all non-diabetics.
Read more... )
And that's the state of discombobulated me these days!
bordo: (Pros - Bodie/Doyle)
[personal profile] bordo posting in [community profile] prosnewsletter
Pros Newsletter #934 – August 10 to 17
made by <user="angel_ci5"> ♠ Mainstream Media

British GQ posted The 10 best detective series of all time, ranked


read more )
Have any Pros fandom news you'd like to include? Leave me a comment here. Please, tell me if I made any mistakes or left something off!

Cleaning Day

Aug. 16th, 2026 09:22 pm
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[personal profile] days_unfolding
Woke up at 7:30 AM. Had breakfast. It’s raining. I want to take a nap, but the dogs are wrestling. Had a nice nap.

I was wondering where the cats were when Oliver showed up in the kitchen. He went over to say “Hi” to Bella!

The dogs are looking like,”Dry food AGAIN?” But Bella is eating.

I’m cleaning my CPAP. The cleaning kit that I bought is a bust. A dish tub is better.

Storm. A good day for cleaning.

Opened some packages, and I have the new power adapter for the CPAP and the electric toothbrush for my trip.

I’ve been cleaning. I need a break for dinner. Back to cleaning. I need a broom and dustpan set. I got a broom and snow shovel. I need to throw on jeans in a few minutes to go out with the dogs (done). I’m going to go to bed soon and get up early.

(No) Overnight Oats

Aug. 15th, 2026 11:21 pm
days_unfolding: (Default)
[personal profile] days_unfolding
Hmm, I have a yen to make overnight oats now and put peaches in it.

Note to self: need overnight oats. (I do have protein powder though.) I need to go to Walmart for the oats. Get Greek Yogurt. Oat milk. Honey. No, I can go to Aldi for what I need. Where are my bags?

I woke up at 12:30 PM. I had a protein drink that I liked, Blackberry Lemonade. I’m procrastinating taking my meds. I don’t know why. I feel like it’s a pain but not really.

Hmm. I’m going to have to skip lunch to get my meds after my nap. I’m going to be grocery shopping hungry.

Gracie did a slow-motion flop with her belly in the air. Belly rub time.

The weather forecasters keep telling me that there is a flash flood warning. Yes, I know.

Woke up before my alarm. The cats want food (done).

Showered and threw myself together. Got my prescriptions. Bought some food. Yay. I need to bring the recycling and garbage bins by the back door, but I want to eat first. The dogs are really giving me the once-over. I have no idea why I smell interesting.

I decided not to get the overnight oats because I have various protein things to use up.

I told Bella that her name is now Push E. Dog because she bonks you with her snout when she wants to be petted, which is always.

Ate. Hmm, I really want to lie down. Had a nice nap.

I’m out with the dogs and am almost falling asleep.

Fed everyone except Zara. I need to open some packages, feed Zara, and go to bed.

Outside, finally!

Aug. 15th, 2026 05:56 pm
halfshellvenus: (Default)
[personal profile] halfshellvenus
I was able to bike out in the world yesterday for the first time in 3 weeks! Though it was a little rough, thanks to the multiple factors. The Zepbound is part of it— I went up to a new dose level a week ago, and that really affects my stamina (even when I'm biking in the garage). Plus, it was windy. Annnnd, now that I look back on the summer... I took the bike into the shop to get the handlebars raised at the beginning of July, and prior to yesterday I've only had 3 outside rides since then. So, I've probably lost some conditioning. :(

Still, it was good to be out, even though I ran over another snake. No excuse this time— I was thinking thoughts and didn't notice it until it was too late. :( I DID manage not to run over the juvenile squirrel I passed, thank goodness. It wasn't quite a baby, but its body was only 4 inches long, so clearly still very young.

Today's ride went a little better. It was also on the slow side, but I went downriver and did NOT have to make the extra stop that happened the last three times I did that route. Sad to say, that manure smell is still in that same spot as before. In fact, it looks like the construction crew has spread manure/compost over the ground under that over-crossing, maybe to encourage plants to come back there again. Either way, it's foul. At my turnaround point, the construction o' mystery has started up again. Today, a generator was running and someone was driving a bulldozer over by the railroad trestle. \o?

Lots of dragonflies both days, for some reason. Not pretty ones, unfortunately. I've seen rust-colored ones near our pool before, and there are tiny blue ones in the mountains here. But these? Brown. So, they're basically just really large bugs. Yick!

It looks like another heat wave is coming, though, so I may not be able to get out much over the next 10 days. I can manage when the highs become 90-92, assuming I don't have a meeting that keeps me from starting early enough. But 94 and up, no. Somehow, I didn't fully acclimate to the heat this summer, which has cost me a lot of outside riding time this year. :(

Hairpainting Techniques

Aug. 15th, 2026 10:37 am
tinny: Something Else holding up its colorful drawing - "be different" (Default)
[personal profile] tinny





[personal profile] aurora_amethyst asked how people do hairpainting, and I decided to write up a post about how I do it.

I basically use three different techniques:

1) painting on the hair with a brush
2) enhancing the already existing strands of hair by increasing the contrast
3) using textures

I sometimes mix them, and I use the third one also for things that are not hair. I'll illustrate using some examples. Most of my icons use more than one of the above techniques, but I tried sorting them as best I could.

three techniques, lots of examples )

I hope this was useful! If you have any questions, let me know!

Good News About Zara

Aug. 14th, 2026 10:03 pm
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[personal profile] days_unfolding
Woke up at 8:30 AM, sigh. I was late for work taking my shower. I was up late, and Gracie was barking at something. Then a storm started just as I was going to sleep. What a mess.

Zara’s weight is 6.2 pounds. She has gained some weight. Good job, Zara. (They think that my scale got bumped and was in kg.) We’re going to do bloodwork on her though. Apparently, she now wants to eat with no one around.

Nap time. Dog wrestling time. Sigh. They were squabbling over the crinkle chicken. Eventually Gracie went under the bed to nap.

I’m having a tough time keeping Oliver out of Zara’s room. I went to grab her dish, and he got in. But I need to feed him, so maybe he’ll come out? He did. And I snuck Zara’s food in.

I’m fading out. I have my singing lesson tonight though.

My next Marley Spoon order arrived EMPTY except for some ice packs. I like the food, but I canceled them. And I’m almost out of food. I need to run to the grocery store tomorrow to pick up my meds, and I’ll grab a few things.

Talked to the vet about Zara’s labs. Her BUN levels are slightly elevated. The vet recommended mixing extra water into her food. She mentioned subcutaneous fluids, but I told her that Zara won’t put up with that.

I looked into an Overnight Oats shipment, but I really need to start making food myself. I ordered a couple of cans of low fat low sodium Cream of Celery soup for my Tomato Basil Corn Bake. I need to get protein powder for my overnight oats. I might have some. I need to check. I’m planning to go grocery shopping with [personal profile] ravengirl on a week from Sunday after she gets here on Saturday. Found some great high-protein salad recipes.

My singing lesson went well. She wants me to practice with the backing track.

Went out with the dogs. Fed everyone except Zara.

I need to find the new charger for my CPAP, but I might wait until tomorrow because I’m tired.

Vet Visit #1

Aug. 13th, 2026 11:14 pm
days_unfolding: (Default)
[personal profile] days_unfolding
Overslept until 8:15 AM. I need my shower though because of Gracie’s vet visit.

Gracie is already not cooperating with the leash. She’s currently under the futon. I finally caught her in the bathroom, and went out in the kitchen with my pants down to get her on the leash. She was good at the vet and got her checkup and shots. I asked them about Gracie’s barking, and they recommended some YouTube videos and a local trainer.

Lunch nap time. It’s humid and gross. Gracie promptly went under the bed to nap. Bella is stretched out on the bed. Had a nice nap.

It’s dark in here. Here comes the storm. Lily is fascinated by the storm and is looking out both windows upstairs.

I fed Lily on top of the refrigerator, and Oliver was eating on the kitchen table. When Lily was done, she leaped over OIiver and stuck the landing right next to him. He looked completely nonplussed. (“What the hell is she doing?”)

Zara is not eating at all. I’m glad that I have an appointment for her tomorrow.

Had my therapy appointment. She said that it sounded like things are going well. She asked me about my mom’s trust, with which I need to follow through.

Had a nice nap after work. Now I’m out with the dogs. Had dinner. Fed everyone except Zara. I need to feed her and get to bed soon because I have an appointment for Zara at 11 AM, and I need to shower.

(no subject)

Aug. 13th, 2026 12:43 pm
lycomingst: (Default)
[personal profile] lycomingst
I bought a boatload of stuff from Trader Joe's today. This was exciting for me because:

I went on a different road to get there. For me, this always involves confusion and adjustments of some kind. Like realizing, not this lane, the other one.

They had champagne grapes! There were two packages left. I took them both. Greedy.

Je ne regrette rien.

Garage Guy

Aug. 12th, 2026 11:50 pm
days_unfolding: (Default)
[personal profile] days_unfolding
I don’t know why Gracie barks at the back door late at night. The door is locked. I’m trying to get her over to me. Instead, Bella is barking too.

Facebook knows that I’m going to travel. It’s showing me travel-related ads. I got some jet lag patches.

Finally got us in bed. The dogs were wrestling but settled down quickly.

Woke up at 7:30 AM. Threw myself together. The garage guy, who is always late, got here early. We’re squared away for now, but the bad news is that the driveway will cost extra. Sigh. Who wants a garage without a driveway? He’s working on the permit.

The protein bars that I ordered are very good. I should get extra to take them with me on my trip.

The vet said that I can bring Zara by any time for a weight check. I would like them to confirm her weight in case my scale was off. I said that I would bring her by on Friday. (I have an appointment for Gracie on Thursday, but I don’t want to make Zara wait while they are giving Gracie her checkup and shots.)

I ordered a foot rest for the flight. That should be it for the “make my flight cushy” purchases. It’ll be good to have this stuff for the flight for the cruise also.

Thunderstorm. Sheesh, it’s dark in here.

Napped during lunch. Overslept a little.

The vet recommended that I bring Zara in to be seen. We have an appointment on Friday.

Brought the CPAP to the supplier. They determined that the problem is with the power cord. They said that I can order a new one on Amazon.

Damn, I’m tired. I’ll take a nap after work after I feed Zara.

I almost had a heart attack when I didn’t see Zara when I went into her room. I heard her food meow though, and she came over to me.

Gracie woke me up early from my nap. Took the dogs out. I had to go around to the back door to come in because some boxes fell down. Oliver ran downstairs, so I can’t get the recycling out. Oliver came upstairs, so I did get the recycling out.

Fed Oliver, Lily, Bella, and Gracie. I need to feed Zara and go to bed.
tinny: Wu Lei from the back in green-blue colors, taking off his shirt (wulei_shoulder green)
[personal profile] tinny
The [community profile] retro_icontest round this month is inspired by a zodiac sign, and the themes were interesting! I focused on three of them: vainglorious characters, hairporn, and busy compositions.

Teasers:


I hope you enjoy these!

5 Our Times, 5 Wu Lei )

Bonus: a larger version of the picspam icon

Every single comment is treasured. All icons shareable! Concrit welcome. Check out my resource post for makers of textures and brushes I use.

Previous icon posts:

Things Learned in July

Aug. 12th, 2026 11:28 am
tinny: Something Else holding up its colorful drawing - "be different" (Default)
[personal profile] tinny
It wasn't hard to beat the seven things from June. :D

17 things )

Poor Zara

Aug. 11th, 2026 10:59 pm
days_unfolding: (Default)
[personal profile] days_unfolding
Oh wow. My favorite (and less expensive) cruise line has a cruise to Hawaii, Tahiti, Bora Bora, etc. But it’s 35 days, so it will have to be a retirement cruise, or I’d have to save up a LOT of vacation time. I’m so there though. Oh–Norwegian has a 12-night one that starts in Honolulu. (I’d have to allow time for a day’s worth of flight time over and more than a day back from Tahiti. Though if I’m going to spend the money to fly to Honolulu, I’d like to spend some time there.) It also goes to Bora Bora, which I really want to see. It’s a more possible trip. Do I want to take that trip instead of South America? It’s in November, which is a little over a year from my Europe trip, instead of a few months. It’s better to stretch the trips out. I’m leaning towards the South Pacific cruise. Both this cruise and the South America cruise have “bucket list” places. I’d turn 65 during the cruise too. Milestone birthday.

The dogs were telling me to go to bed. But they discovered the crinkle chicken again and got excited. (Yes, I am sharing my bed with two dogs and a crinkle chicken :) Gracie usually sleeps under the bed though.) There was a squabble over the crinkle chicken. I took it away because they were getting manic, and they needed to go to sleep.

Gracie thinks that bed time is belly-rub time. For a puppy that didn’t know what pets were, she has gotten into them. Bella did know what pets were, and she demands them.

Overslept and woke up at 8:45 AM. Jammed to make my 9:00 meeting. I’m feeling stressy. I had to cancel the AARP lunch because I hadn’t showered.

I decided to bring the CPAP to the CPAP office tomorrow because I’m so freaking tired. I need a nap. (I had problems falling asleep last night.) Overslept my nap.

Tornado warning. I’m down in the basement with Oliver and Lily. It finally rained.

Damn it. Zara’s weight is 2.85 pounds. I guess that she needs the appetite enhancer even though she’s eating. Maybe a food supplement also. I just ordered a high-calorie supplement.

I feel like crying.

I finally got an email from the trip organizer. We’re meeting on Sunday, September 20th for the first time. Monday is museum day. I want to go to the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle. Tuesday, we’re on our own, and I want to go to the Rodin museum (on our museum pass) and the photography museum (not). She also asked if we want to go to an optional concert in Vienna, and yes, I would like that. I’m wondering if we are going to Topkapi Palace in Istanbul or if I will need to go there on my own.

I bought two books mentioned in an article about death doulas: Preparing for the End of Life for Dummies (no, I’m not sick) and The Brain: The Story of You.

Got the garbage out. Oliver is annoyed because I shut him in the bathroom when I was taking the garbage bags out. I don’t want him to run outside though.

I bought the Travelr seat cushion. I already have the Travelr pillow. I hope that I’ll be cozy on the flight. Need to sleep well! I already have an eye mask, but Travelr is sending me another one.

Paid for the Vienna concert and emailed the trip organizer with some questions.

Now I need to give the cats and dogs their nighttime crunchies, feed Zara (I’m going to try to keep Oliver out because he stresses her), and go to bed.

Garage Success?

Aug. 10th, 2026 09:35 pm
days_unfolding: (Default)
[personal profile] days_unfolding
I looked at a mask that’s supposed to be very comfortable for my trip, but the reviews said that they won’t work with glasses. That’s not going to work. I have some disposable KN-95 masks though. I Googled “most comfortable masks”. For some of them, I would have to buy 50 masks for $$$. But I found one for five masks for $20, so I bought them. They’re designed to work with glasses and are “duck bill,” so they’ll be okay to sleep in. I just need them for the airport/airplane because I have often gotten sick after traveling. Though should I wear some on the trains that we’ll take? I’ll throw in some of the masks I already have too. And maybe I should wear one at the Louvre because it’ll be wall-to-wall people. I also ordered a loud travel alarm clock. I also ordered Emergency Assistance Plus, just in case something happens on the trip. It’s good for one year, so it’ll cover the cruise too.

Zara didn’t eat much. She might need a dose of appetite enhancer. She ate almost all of her food this morning.

I’m getting some cleaning done, but the dogs are making it difficult. They want to be near me! Ordinarily, that’s okay, but not now. I’m going to go to sleep soon anyway.

The garage guy got back to me. Yay!!!!!!! We have an appointment for Wednesday.

Gracie grabbed a carpet brush, but I got it back from her. I ordered a bunch of dog toys to give them something legit to chew, though they like “found toys” better.

I think that I’ll have to migrate downstairs in the afternoon because of the heat.

Bella: “I really, really want Oliver’s food.” Me: “Too bad.”

I moved downstairs and am desperately trying to cool off. It’s 90 F/32C with a heat index of 103F/39C. Freaking hot.

I guess that Oliver and Lily want to be near me (maybe in the hope that I’ll feed them extra food?) When I was upstairs, they were too. Now they’ve moved into the kitchen when I came downstairs. Oliver is asking for more food. I poked him and told him, “I don’t feel your ribs. I don’t think that you’re starving.” He is not convinced.

The CPAP people said to bring the CPAP to their office, and they will send it to the manufacturer. I’ll go tomorrow. I’ve been thinking that I don’t have a working CPAP right now, but I do have the travel CPAP. I need to get it set up.

I opened packages and gave Bella her crinkle chicken toy. No hesitation there. She ran off with it. Now Gracie has it. They also sell one that’s a duck, so I’ll get it to keep the peace between them. Plus, they tear them apart. Now Bella got it back :)

I received my trench coat from Ann Taylor Loft, and damn, it is sharp. I’ll try it on tomorrow with some other clothes that I received from them. I’ll have to decide whether lugging the trench coat is worth it. But it would be sharp for Paris.

Ate dinner. Fed Oliver and Lily. Took the dogs out. Damn, it was hot outside. Fed the dogs.

I’m freaking tired. I’m going to put some clothes on my drying rack, feed Zara, and go to bed. Oh, I need to set up the travel CPAP.
bordo: (Pros - Bodie/Doyle)
[personal profile] bordo posting in [community profile] prosnewsletter
Pros Newsletter #933 – August 03 to 10
made by <user="angel_ci5"> ♠ Mainstream Media

GoodHousekeeping posted “More watchable than Endeavour”: Inspector George Gently is the "perfect" detective series to get lost in - requires a free account


read more )
Have any Pros fandom news you'd like to include? Leave me a comment here. Please, tell me if I made any mistakes or left something off!

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