The battle with the moth

Two days ago, I opened my front door to pick up the medications the post office had left on the table on the porch. Just as I took a step forward I see these nearly an inch long flutter of wings and a dash of a bug come straight at me. I had enough time to register that it was a moth but not sufficient time to react, neither closing the door nor swatting at it. I quickly got the meds and stepped back into the house, taking a look all around the living room, dining room and could not see the little bug so I thought I had gotten lucky and it had missed coming inside.

The next day, I saw it just lingering there against the wall, upside down and absolutely still. Several times I walked near it and nothing with no reaction. I tried to figure out how to get the moth out while alive. Finally, the plan came together: I had a fresh batch of strawberries inside of a plastic container so I sat, eating the huge fruit while eyeballing the bug. The nine or so strawberries fully digested, I set aside the tops and picked up the now empty berry container to use as a makeshift plastic net. The plan was perfect… until the bug decided to not want to leave, apparently. I put the container atop it and then trying to close the top, it fluttered away. I chased it to the window where it hid behind my blinds so I picked them up and we began a dance of “try to catch the critter” and “nope, you can’t get me”.

Who won? The blasted moth did. I cannot find it now and I fear it will wind up a deceased pair of wings sometime in the near future. I truly was trying to save you, mothra. You danged knucklehead.

One thing after the other

I was so happy last week when the deliveries of my bathroom toilets and sinks came in though I think I exerted myself and hurt my back when moving in the two sinks. They were heavy (one weighing at least 60+ pounds) and for the past three days my lower back has felt as if I could crack at any time. Why did I move it on my own? Well, the hardware store wanted to change a nice $85 per item to just push them into my garage and when you have four items, it gets pricey. While I did pay that for the two toilets (because I tested it out in the same hardware store and those weigh about 150 pounds – I am not insane, thank you) I thought the 60+ pounds were do-able. Those were 60+ pounds of Vitreous China which my marshmallow body should have known better than to try to move. I finally got the two boxes into the garage but holy crap I have been suffering.

On top of this pain, I have had my home’s water heater begin leaking last night like it was water fountain. Wonderful. Lovely. I had to shut down the heater so I have had to take a cold water till I connect with my local company to get pricing on a replacement heater. Lucky for me, I don’t mind cold showers though there are limits! Watch me turn blue before the heater gets put into place.

The spoilage is beginning, best eat it faster

It’s happened again. I went into the container where the asparagus is waiting for me to cook it up and the tips were mushy and clearly beginning to spoil. Heedless to say, I still cut the spears into smaller pieces and threw them into the sizzling oil coated pan because it’s too pricey of a vegetable and too nutritious to just toss it. The oil might head erase that sliminess, hopefully, and I will chew it up quickly so that my tastebuds won’t think about it. There’s the red leaf lettuce which also feels a tad bit limp but once the purplish ends get smooshed into the chicken salad sandwich I will turn a blind eye to the missing crispiness for a bit. Let me chug some extra ginger ale to not think about how I should have eaten these veggies sooner but they’re still making their way into my belly regardless of how squishy they are today. Tomorrow it might be a bit more difficult to play it down but I’ll make do. 🙂

The battle of the lawn

I don’t know what happened to the lawn care service I was using but this time around they have not come by to trim up my home’s lawn. It took me a little while to determine that they were not coming by and during that time, the lush green continued to grow taller. Right now it is quite a thick luscious batch of whatever kind of grass lives in the front and back yard as I made moves to hire a new company to take up the mantel.

Two weeks ago, I signed up with a company who did not pass by the first week when they had “scheduled” me and then when they did pass by this week, due to the excessive growth, they required an additional charge to do the work. At first, I was bothered that they missed my first cut and then further bothered that it took so long for this new issue to be brought up. I have paid the additional cost; I knew it was a possibility and therefore accept it but it’s the lag in getting the work done which is now bothering me. A small part of me knows there are neighbors looking at my lawn with a disapproving eye while the hot mess gets resolved. When I take a longer drive along my neighborhood, I do spot one or two other houses which have similarly long overdue for a cut grass out front, but their front areas are not as large as mine so it’s probably less of an eye sore.

Oh home ownership, there are so many positives and also quite a few negatives but that’s the beauty of it all.

Ah, the time before GPS on phones or in cars

Do you remember the time when we did not have GPS readily available on your cellphone or in the dash of the car? (My 2006 Honda does not have this feature but I do have a cellphone). I drove around during the times when there were physical maps which once you unfolded it, refolding it was its own battle. Many a paper map was just kind of refolded in new ways to make it fit back into the glove compartment.

The next step was when maps were available online and you could print out the directions. Oh those lovely print outs with the distances that you had to guess-timate because you did not really know how far 5 miles really was. Driving down roads, slowing down as a new street sign was coming up, trying to read it before the car behind you caught up to your bumper. Sometimes needing to make a U-turn to go back because you did not read it in time. Once the GPS upgrades to being on cellphones and on car dashboards, you would have thought the remedy was complete and none of us would ever become lost on the roads again. Yet sometimes GPS can be flawed and make mistakes. There are news reports of faulty directions which have caused problems for the drivers.

So trust your GPS but also be a bit wary of it. It has been improved but, like all of us, it’s hardly perfect.

She drew blood

There we were, playing some throwing of the prickly plastic ball back and forth. I had gotten my parents doggo very agitated and hyped up so when we started doing some other playing when she playfully jumped towards my uncovered hands and her sharp teeth took a small bite of the corner of my index finger and it was enough to break a small bit, sufficiently that a droplet of blood developed. I stood there for a moment just in surprise. There wasn’t real pain because she wasn’t going for a real bite, but it was sore for a good day or two afterwards. The funny thing was that as soon as I asked my Pop for the band aid, he brought up how he had received the same wound about a week prior when playing with Bella. I wore a band aid for about an hour just as a badge, there was no anger or resentment for the little puppy. I know she was not out to do actual harm, and, in the future, I shall wear the thick glove my parents use when they play games which may involve her accidentally taking a small nibble of a finger.

Bed rotting

Apparently, there is a new term called bed rotting where an individual spends the better part of hours just staying in bed, not ill or incapacitated, just being lazy. “As experts and introverts continue to tout the benefits of self-care, “bed rotting” has become one of the most popular forms of recouping.”

I have spent some time in bed but usually napping or taking a bit of extra getting out of bedtime after a good nap. I have lounged after a good nap, watching Instagram reels for a good hour or so but then I am up and back to doing stuff once more. There are many things I don’t do in bed: I don’t eat nor drink, don’t watch tv because the angle in which I can watch is uncomfortable. Sleep is my main objective for bed. Sleep is a glorious thing and my thick mattress that I pour my tired soul into each night is my happiness, but I do not want to be in it for hours on end unless it’s while my body is sleeping.

Whomever wants to do it, take the time to lounge around but count me out.

Watching someone else on their walk, on Youtube

I cannot recall where I first viewed it but there is a Youtube channel where the person does a quiet evening walk through Finland. Their cell phone never rotates to show them, instead it is panning slowly to one side, then the other before returning to the front view where you see where they are headed. The snowy environment leads to the crunchy of steps beneath their feet and the white stillness of the wintery view all around. It’s extremely soothing to not hear voices or chatter around, just the snowy steps as they go between closed up museums and shops where you can sometimes see a small handful of people out, enjoying the peaceful scenario. Since it’s at night, the lights of the buildings and streetlamps give a gentle lull which helps after a stressful day.

The angry voice heard from afar.

Last night I was sitting in my bedroom, just catching up on the Youtube shows I watch when an angry voice came across the silence of the night. It was a bit distant, as if it was a few houses away so it was not a close by neighbor but close enough for it to carry over. I sat there with the tv on pause while I heard a man yelling, “Stay the eff away.” and other similar things. It perplexed and worried me a bit because one never knows how others will react to a volatile situation. I walked to my kitchen, cleaned up the small mess I had made during dinner and prepared for bedtime. The dimmer sounds of the same person came across to where I stood and made me seriously worry.

While I am very happy to report that this is a singular situation, it does make me wonder as to whether it may become something more down the line. Tonight, as the sun is going down, the night is quiet, and my neighborhood is once more peaceful.

Flip flops hurt my feet

One of my best friends can wear flip flops anytime and anywhere if given the opportunity but I simply find them not comfortable. You need to clench your toes around the toe post to ensure the shoe does not fly off when you are walking. Some of them are really flat with the footbed barely above the ground you walk on which is something a strong stepper like me does not enjoy. I watch videos of people doing all insane things like running or climbing ladders or doing things which one should use a full covering upon their feet. It just stuns me to see grown adults running with this piece of plastic which can easily bend and cause a fall. There are plenty of videos of this happening and it’s definitely worrisome. There are plenty of folks who can deal with flip flops as if they were born with them on. Rock on! I will keep up with my slip-on sandals.