It's All About Me

The pool's closure has felt kind of like a vacation for me in many ways. Which is weird because I do miss volleyball and I do miss swimming but I'm very much enjoying waking up with nothing I have to and nowhere I have to be. My sleep numbers are in the stratosphere.

But, hopefully, the vacation will be over soon. They are saying they hope to finish up the fix on Tuesday and have the pool open on Wednesday and probably warmed up enough for Volleyball on Thursday.

Oh fuck, the landscape guy just fired up the very loud hedge trimmer and it's just now 8 am. They are supposed to hold off until 9. Old people will be bitchin' today. This is where my neighbor Ingrid, will lean out of her terrace and screech at them to be quiet and then scream at them at length about why they need to be quiet. Irony and Ingrid are one and the same. She usually only comes to elbow coffee when she has some outrageous wrong she needs to have all of us help her correct. This could mean we see her next Saturday.

I have three free months of Apple TV but I really watched what I wanted weeks ago so haven't logged on. Last night I fired it up and ohnyfuckingod, Apple stopped just short of sending someone to take a DNA swab. First the message said my account was locked. I got it unlocked then I had to log in - the first of 5 - yes, that is FIVE times they required me to log in. Happily I had set up security questions and answered those several times - the same ones, over and over again. By the time I got Apple TV on my TV I was way too annoyed to watch any of their shit. I have no use for Apple - the hardware, the software, the company. None.

And I am kind of feeling the same way about Microsoft. Dick (of Dick and Jan) asked for my help yesterday showing him how to do something I showed him how to do a month ago - attach a One Drive document to email. That it was a repeat did not thrill me and then I could not figure out how to sort the documents to show him. It did not help that he kept moving the fucking mouse around while I was trying to figure it out. Also his data was at 98% on his machine so I knew it was going to freeze up beyond use any second. I got the document attached to the email and sent. He kept hitting send and sending the email over and over again with no attachment. Finally, I gave up and told him to call the IT guys. I have not used Windows in the last decade or more and I sure do not miss it. Also call the IT guys first next time.

I did get my closet emptied of shoes. I'll clear it out completely on Friday morning but until then, I'm set.

There is a new season of Night Manager so I thought I'd rewatch Season 1. But, turns out, I'd never seen Season 1! I finished it last night. Season 2 is a serial dropper and the last one won't be until the first week of February. I prefer to watch only when the whole season is available. So I'll hold off for now.

Ingrid has not done her balcony scream yet. I'm disappointed in the old girl.

The egg muffin situation is good. The ones I made reheated really nicely. In fact, they are a little better and easier to eat on the run (walk) when reheated. They are too big and not proportioned correctly but I can fix. I think what I really need is egg bites. I will adjust.

I am skipping exercise this morning. Since the pool is reopening, I am less motivated. The guy teaching today is really annoying. He only does the class on two Mondays a month and today is one of his. Plus, the class is at 10. So it makes no sense to shower and get dressed and then go sweat. So I come home and shower and dress and the day is half gone. Nope. (There is a MWF class earlier that is more advanced exercise. And I think there is even a killer class before that one. So I have choices. I chose none of them.)

Oh these landscape guys are really doing a great job! They are clearing out all the old winter stuff out of the beds and it's looking lovely.

Time to get into the shower and get dressed.

My nephew's not-yet-fiance sent me a Christmas card wishing me happy holidays from her and my nephew and included two photographs - one of her and her two dogs and one of her and my nephew. Oh and the envelope had two return address stickers - one on the back and one on the front - same address so, of course, I Google mapped the shit out of that. Google says most of her online presence is Facebook so my journey ended. It's ok, I know enough. I'm flattered to be included but it's still kind of weird.

Both cats are in the dog bed. I think it's all good under there.

Elbow Coffee was pretty good all things considered.

And now everyone but me is hunkered down waiting for the game to start. Assuming an hour of pregame crap, they have a couple of hours to wait yet.

Well, the big news today is upcoming mail. My email from USPS says I am getting something in an envelope from my nephew's new girlfriend. ???? She has gotten 5 star reviews from my nephew and my brother (his father - they met at the other nephew's wedding last October). I am dying of curiosity. BUT, often, the email from USPS says I am getting something today and it doesn't come until tomorrow and in this case, tomorrow is Tuesday so I am steeling myself for disappointment. When the mail person finishes filling the boxes here, Timber Ridge sends out a "mail's here!" notice which I always ignore. Except for today!!

Yesterday, I had a knock at the door and it was Jim Across The Hall. Usually he has a question but yesterday he knocked to proudly show off his haircut and shave! He had gone down to the new beauty parlour and gotten himself beautified and was so proud. It was very cute. His caregivers are taking very good care of him and I'm glad.

Here at Timber Ridge we have a great caregiver program. Especially trained people are dispatched for whatever is needed. You can get them by the hour or by the day. Myrna had one that spent the night in her apartment when she needed it. Jim rotate through different ones that come for an hour in the morning and and hour in the afternoon and they are doing such a good job making sure he has clean clothes and knows where they are, gets meals and... gets a much needed haircut and shave. And I love his response to it.

I made another of the funky dolls. The first one (turquoise dress) was made from the top of the head down. The second one was made from the butt up (and I tweaked some stuff). The second one was not as fiddly but still I think these will be the only two. Martha will adopt them.



This time next week, hopefully, I'll be playing volleyball!

This morning I'm going to dash out to Safeway before elbow coffee. The rest of the world will be there stocking up on football watching foods. The local NFL teams plays a playoff game at 5 tonight and the hype is at its hypiest.

I did move the two cat beds from the closet to under the bed. They aren't plugged in but the cats still gave them a whirl. Next I need to Velcro the dog bed down. It's hard to move but they manage. They are adapting well and enjoying their downstairs bedroom. Julio even got one of their toys and left it near the bed for those emergency toy situations.

From the time I clicked on This Will Destroy All Your Data OK until the time I started this entry. 6 minutes. Everything back in place and operational. This time, it gave me the option of setting up the Chromebook via my phone which saved me some typing. I have loved Chromebooks forever and still do today.

The headline is that my Wegovy will be here next Wednesday. I'm all paid for and confirmed. So, to recap, doctor sent prescription in Monday morning - she said it would take a few hours to get set up to order. I got response Tuesday afternoon. Account set up/ordering Thursday morning. But, could the the January rush.

I met with Harriet and got the agenda for next week all noodled out. Now I just need to do it. I think I'll just go ahead and do it now and get it done.

I practicing Wegovy. I went to the store after exercise class and got foods that I don't hate but don't get often and some that I never get. Yogurt. I have a thing lately about strawberry yogurt. I found some with zero sugar and 20G protein in a brand I like so I bought some assuming I would hate it. (Spoiler alert, it's delicious.)

Before I got home, I got a ping that the cats' dog bed was here. I picked it up and was nearly to my apartment when Ngon in the Bistro called to say my special order was ready. This was an order for a dozen cookies and 8 cheese scones. Not part of the Wegovy prep but I'm going to eat them anyway.

I got an app. My brother uses one that is too much for me but I found one that is perfect - pep. It tracks everything - shots, weight (with photos) and food via input and also AI photos. And it does a good job. I got a poke bowl for lunch. It had all of the numbers listed on the label. I scooped it all into a bowl did the AI camera thing and it landed the same number of calories, protein, and fiber as the label. Impressive.

Then it was time for my food and beverage meeting which was fine then I had to come home and type up the minutes and the agenda for next week. Which I did and sent it off to the chairman.

Then I set up the cats' dog bed. It's the perfect size for both of them. I set it up under the bed where you cannot see it without getting down there. I moved the cat cam so that I don't have to get down there. Looks like I need to tidy up that one cable. And Biggie needs to learn how to share.



Tomorrow I have no plans and I plan to do nothing.

I got back into the doctor's portal and sent a note that text #2 was a bust as well. 15 minutes later, I got the text from the original phone number. (I did go back to the portal and delete my note. It was marked as unread so I think I got there in time.)

Welcome! NovoCare Pharmacy® has received your prescription for WEGO from Dr. MALASHANKA and will send important updates as we process the order. The NovoCare® Program needs your consent to move forward. Please go to https://novocare.iassist.com/obes/ptauth?Token=437271676 to provide CONSENT. If you prefer to pick up at your local retail pharmacy, call 1-888-809-3942. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to end sms or call 1-888-809-3942 for questions.

Hilariously, that phone number gets you put on hold forever. I waited 45 minutes the first time and 68 minutes the second time. Never did talk to a person. So forget my local retail pharmacy. Not that I wanted it anyway. I did answer all their question and signed my life away. No money requested yet so we are still in process.

BUT the wait times did remind me that I am now a member of a club that probably has 8 out of 10 Americans - people to look to lose weight after Christmas. Doh!

My house cleaner sent a sub today who came an hour earlier which was a surprise, but fine.

My new scale arrived. It was a bit of a trick to find a convenient spot for it, but I did. It's all set up and ready to go.

Today is no rain so far and the snow capped mountains are back and it's not yet 8 and there is enough daylight to see those mountains. Ooops we're losing winter.

I slept really well last night. My bed (95), Fitbit (89) and I agree. Good thing cause I got stuff happening today. I hope.

The closet designer is supposed to be here at 10. I have received 2 phone messages and 3 emails telling me so. I'm guessing they have a lot of customers who request appointments and forget??? I have this niggly suspicion that they are going to not be/do what I want them to be/do. But, there are other closet people I can call.

So when I met with my doctor last week, she explained two semaglutide options (I know there are more and she likely would have been willing to discuss more but we talked about two) - wegovy and zepbound. She explained the differences kind of briefly and we left it with 'make an appointment for April and we'll decide then'. Yesterday, I sent her a note telling her I was ready to start now and asking her if I should make an appointment for now. I got a message back within the hour that she had sent my prescription for wegovy to NovoCare and that I should get a text in a few hours. I did not. But the NovoCare website agreed with her - that I would get a text to start the onboarding process.

I have two phone numbers - both ring and text on my phone. One is a Google voice number and one is a MintMobile number. I've never used text with this doctor so I did not know which number she had. I went to the online portal and tried to enter my cell number for verification. You had to give them your name and your number and then pick from a fairly limited list of cellphone companies. Of course neither of my cellphone companies was on that list so no joy. At all. Finally at the end of the day, I sent her a new note with both numbers and she replied that she had sent in yet another request with the second number (implying the first had been with the first number) and if I didn't hear today to let her know.

So far. No text on either number. I think if I don't hear anything by the time the closet person leaves, I'll try calling the NovoCare number. (Yes, I know there are all manner of different alternatives to similar drugs available in all manner of ways but for now, I'd like to stick to what my doctor recommends for me which is, apparently, Wegovy and NovoCare. IF one or both fail, I'll consider alternatives.

I did spend way too much time combing through Reddit last night in a what to expect when you are expecting kind of troll. It was interesting and I think I learned a lot.

Oh and my doctor did say that she wants to know how much I weigh at various steps along the way so I asked Amazon to please bring me a scale. It should arrive today.

Also it is house cleaning day.

Last week so so much fun with Bill here and soooooo productive. He'll be back in June. I suspect the Todo list will be way shorter.

We did finally get to the Chinese restaurant and it was pretty much a fail. Mostly the food was struggling to get to fair. BUT, good to know. We don't have to go back. It was a pleasant evening so no big loss.

This morning we had breakfast here and then did a short walk through the complex and now we're watching a football game.

Biggie is fairly fond of Bill's lap but Julio got up there just now to get some action. Julio sat for ear scratches from Bill for longer than any other human in his little life. But, then Biggie decided he was done and so then was Julio but it was amazing for a bit.



Our team is winning and I've got an idea for a new knit toy that I'm playing with.

I got the package from the CPA yesterday for taxes. I just had a break in my day so I was reading over it and hit a Very Big Snag. I need documentation for the sale of my condo. Found it!! BUT then read more closely and discovered I also need documentation for the purchase of the condo... ARUGH. It's all in a giant folder with the HOA declaration that I left in the condo for the new owner. Happily, I know the guy but arugh. But then I went to Gemini and asked what exactly do I need for IRS documentation and how is the best way to get it.

All I need is the deed and the excise tax papers - here's the link - search by name or a bunch of other ways. Found both immediately and now have PDF's of each in my Taxes>2026 folder and I'm feeling very accomplished. And holy macaroni, there are a shit ton of Susan Dennis's in this county alone! I am not feeling special name wise.

My brother is down in his room taking a nap.

This morning we went to Target and got a rubber duck and two storage bins that were exactly the size we needed. Then we went to UPS to finish returning all the shelves we didn't need. The on to the parking lot between the vet and the pot shop. I went and picked up Biggie's drugs and Bill went to pick up some gummies for his wife.

Then we got gas and then we came home and got out the hair clippers and he shaped up the back of my hair.

And the ToDo List for January 2026 was completed.

When you open the door to my refrigerator often, the gasket holds it and you end up pulling your arm off and also slamming the door against the wall. Normal door stops don't stick out enough so my brother thought of sticking a rubber duck to the wall. And we found a Rubber Duck with chef's hat and apron to do the job.



You can zoom in to see his details. He's adorable. I cannot wait for someone to ask me why I have a rubber duck on the wall.

Tonight we're having dinner with Jim (down the hall - different than Jim across the hall) and his girlfriend, Gayle. Jim Down The Hall is originally from the smallish town in Texas where my brother lives now and he's also retired Navy like my brother so I though it would be fun to have a visit.

We did not get to Chinese last night because Bonny didn't want to go out in the rain. Which was fine. The three of us ate in the cafe downstairs. We may do Chinese tomorrow.

I feel like we have really gotten so much done. I'm using 'we' liberally. My brother did all the work and is so good at providing advice and helping me decide shit. I'm so lucky that he's so willing!

My brother is down in his room taking a nap and I'm resting before I tackled more shit. We got so much done today.

We assembled the coffee table which turned out to be non trivial BUT also perfect. I love how it looks and functions.

Then we emptied out the storage space. I really did throw most of it away. Way in the back was a motorized scooter that I wanted out of there. I put it in there in October of 2023 and have not touched it since. We finally got it out and put back together and miracle of miracles, the battery sprang to life and I was able to drive it!! That's some kind of something there. I drove it down to my car parking space. And took a picture. I'm going to post a 'if you want it, go get it' sign in the mail room and, hopefully, that will be the end of that.

Then we fretted over stupid Amazon. I ordered 2 sets of plastic shelves that were supposed to be here Monday. Then they said Tuesday. They are now saying Friday. Once I realized that they would not be here in time to be of use, I ordered 2 more. They are supposed to be here tomorrow but are coming by USPS so whothefuckknows.

And the bulk of what I want done depends on those shelves. So after some research, we just got into the car and went to Home Depot and bought some wire shelves that are much better than the plastic ones. But they were pretty big... bigger than the car (which to be fair, is not big). So we stood around and conjured - pinging ideas around. And then Bill asked about Bonny (who volunteered to take me to return the Amazon shelves back to UPS) which I immediately dismissed. But then I remembered she was already out running errands so I called her and yep she was on her way home at the traffic circle and just rounded it and came to get me and the shelves while my brother drove the tiny car home. She was very happy to do it so I was really glad he thought of it.

We got the shelves built and into the storage space and I have now emptied my closet of 95% of the non-clothes/non-shoes items. I am exhausted and sore and so satisfied! There is nothing stored under the bed. The utility room has a lot more room. The closet is nearly ready for the closet designer. Yahoooo!

Now I have to clear off this table and clear off my bed and get ready to go to dinner.