I've decided to stop writing on this blog and begin writing on others. Too many bad memories here. I'm letting go of those now. (Good-bye, B.)
I'd thought about deleting the blog but instead have decided to let it live on as kind of a humble historical record of the trials and tribulations of this country over the past several years (and my own personal trials and tribulations, however insignificant in comparison).
Took a nap and going to gym at 9:00. I couldn't do much there on Friday night, since they were remodeling, and couldn't go on Sunday, since I was at work till almost 7:00 (gym closes at 7:00 on weekends). Glad I got nap first. I'll catch Rachel Maddow's headlines on my way out the door.
[Later] Back from gym and store. Got ham and eggs, inter alia. Just pan-broiled some pork chops for work and packed up some more of that vegetable beef soup. The other day I'd bought two packages of boneless loin pork chops (butterflied) on sale for $4.99/lb. Very lean. Thought I'd try them. Delicious. Fried in some olive oil, with Accent, salt, pepper and a little garlic powder.
Today I got back in touch with Office Depot about the desktop computer. They have it back in the store, after shipping it away. Apparently there was nothing wrong with the hardware, so they're only going to charge me for shipping the thing away -- not the full flat fee ($349). They said they were going to try to fix some of the software code to get it to boot -- they said a driver appeared to be fouled up. If they can't fix that, they'll hook the hard drive to my netbook so I can retrieve stuff from it. I guess at that point it would be time to get a new desktop.
Also talked to Home Depot today. The kitchen expediter said she talked with someone at the General Contractor. The person at the GC said the final inspection was passed last August, so she has been trying to contact the City of North Miami. I have to say, however, that no final building inspection is indicated on my permit. If the GC can't prove that the inspection was done, they will have to obtain a new permit and make new arrangements for an inspection.
Headed down to Home Depot at around 6:00 to see if kitchen designer was there and let her know I wasn't at work today (to receive call from kitchen expediter), and also to buy a new vase for the bamboo on the terrace.
The kitchen designer wasn't there today, and the expediter works earlier in the day (7:30 to 4:00 or something), so she wasn't there either. But I did get a vase, or a pot, or whatever you want to call it ($24.99). Not exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a heavy vase that would hold water, and not green (too much green out there as it is). But I settled for this. It's pretty heavy but has a hole in the bottom, so I stuck the old glass vase inside it and padded it with newspaper. I also pushed it closer to the sliding glass door, to be less exposed to the wind. (I can envision the leaves catching the wind and the whole thing crashing to the floor. Hopefully it's heavy enough and that won't happen.) (Maybe I should pack sand around the glass vase instead of newspaper, but I don't have sand.)
I also cut off the yellow/dead leaves. The bamboo has been inside for years and, in adjusting to being outside, is losing a few leaves. Inside it was getting very leggy and taking over the room. Hopefully it'll become sturdier and less gangly outside.
Ate the tacos for dinner. I like them cold. The hard shells become soft and chewy.
Going to watch two hours of RuPaul's "DragRace" tonight on VH1. Haven't seen any of it. It's a Logo show and I no longer have Logo. Glad VH1 is carrying it.
Yes, I know the vase is a little off-kilter. I'm not able to rotate it ("arbitrarily") as you can in Photoshop -- only 90 or 180 degrees. Still, tonight I donated $12 to the providers of this free program (Paint.NET).
Took my day off today since I worked Sunday. Called the insurance agency about driving up there to get my homeowner's policy per quote from Lily and they said Lily would be leaving at 2:30, so I cleaned up and was there by 1:45. That process took 1/2 hour, paid with check, and then got lunch. Hadn't eaten anything. First stopped at Arby's for a medium roast beef with potato cakes, then at Taco Bell for a Mexican pizza and tacos for later. I'm stuffed.
Stopped in at condo manager's office to let her copy the insurance. She said she'd received info from the City that I didn't have a final plumbing inspection either. Went upstairs and got my building permit for her to copy, which shows the inspector signing off on the final inspection. She also made me a copy, which I'll fax to the City tomorrow. I'll leave the original permit here at home, sitting out on the kitchen counter in case an inspector comes when I'm not here. (Didn't hear from Home Depot today re: the other inspection issue, but they would have called me at work about that.)
Thought I'd sit over at Starbucks and have a cup of coffee and read, but there were no shaded tables and all the umbrellas were in use, so I got a cup and brought it back home (half regular and half decaf).
Feels like summer already, and it's supposed to get into the upper 80s this weekend.
[Later] Went back to Starbucks to get my refill and I found a shaded table. Sat and read a while.
Had a normal day. Was tired when I got up, however. Yesterday was pretty draining. And I was already drained.
Called the City and then Home Depot from work regarding the threatening letter I received from the City over the weekend regarding the permit problem with the kitchen remodel, for which I'd contracted with Home Depot two years ago. The City said the general contractor never arranged for a final inspection of the cabinets and thus the City doesn't know whether they were installed properly. (As I recall, Home Depot had fired this contractor before my place was completed.) I then talked to my kitchen designer at Home Depot and read her the letter from the City. She had me fax it to the kitchen expediter. The kitchen expediter called later and said she'll be talking to the general contractor tomorrow morning about the situation and will then fill me in. Was nice talking to them again. They were always helpful, and the designer was my primary contact person throughout the whole process.
Home Depot was in charge of all the contracting, and the contractors apply for the permits, do the work, and then arrange for the inspections. I'm glad Home Depot has sprung into action on this. This isn't the first time that the proverbial ball has been dropped. That's an understatement, by the way. I went for months without a kitchen.
I know the municipalities are hurting for money and have been changing rules for this kind of work, extracting more money out of it. But it's up to the contractors--and Home Depot--to keep abreast of the changes.
Today I received the optical CD/DVD drive for the Acer netbook and backed up the system. Had to get some new disks for that, since my DVD+RW disks didn't work. Got those at Target and then headed up to Publix for some cat plates, etc. Got some great pork chops, which I fried for lunch (but had to eat one). Lean and tasty.
I hope this is some mistake, but I just went to the mailbox to get the mail and had a notice from the City of North Miami dated April 22, saying that progress inspections hadn't been made on the kitchen remodel and that the permit had expired and would have to be renewed within 30 days or I'd pay a $5o0 fine and possibly the work would have to be ripped out.
I have the permit with all the inspections signed and dated, including the final inspections. I'll call the City first thing tomorrow to find out what's going on. Home Depot was handling all the permits and inspections. Jesus Christ! Emotional distress!
I ended up working 7 hours today, so no gym. I was home after 7:00, the time it closes on the weekends. I'd stopped off for chili dogs on the way in to work and had eaten four of them. When I got home, I had a big bowl of the vegetable beef soup (was delicious), a piece of fried chicken, some watermelon and fat-reduced Triscuits.
Then I puttered around and watched "Desperate Housewives." Pretty good.
Sorry I've lost my funny friend from Canada.
(Looks like day!)
Soup came out pretty good, considering I didn't do a lot of chopping. Of course it's always better with freshly chopped turnip and parsnip, e.g. It'll be better tomorrow, after it sits in the fridge. In any case, it's very healthful.
Lucky does love the new comforter/bedspread. After his dinner, he went right back on it. It's very nice. All cotton with poly fill. It's a good one. Don't know whether it'll fit in the washer here, however. That's OK. There's a laundromat half a block down the street.
The yellow tabibuias are in full bloom. They were coming into bloom last weekend. The tree above hadn't yet come into full bloom at that time, but today it was gorgeous. I went out to take a shot of it, and someone else (parked at right) was doing the same thing. I waited for him to finish before I took the shot. By then he was photographing the decorative street entrance, which looks really nice now that the date palms (?) have begun to thrive (I think one withered and had to be replaced). Anyway, you can see the guy down there in front of the structure.
Back from Starbucks.
[Later] Got back from Starbucks at 5-something. It's now 9:11. Started making vegetable beef soup after Starbucks visit, along with chili, which I had for dinner. The stew beef is about tender now. Next to add vegetables and finish. Beef was tenderizing in crushed tomatoes, beef broth, green parts of leek, broccoli slaw, a little dill, salt, and water. I'm going to add fresh leek (white part), frozen soup vegetables and fresh dill.
Meanwhile, ran up to Target to check out king-size comforters/bedspreads. I've never had one for the king-size bed. (Had been using a queen-size that B.'s mother had bought, which was actually OK -- not too heavy, but not as nice as the Tommy Hilfiger I'd been using before, which was too heavy and not to anybody's liking (very hot, I'll say).) (A French style I can't remember right now...) (I wasn't wild about it either, but it had been on sale and was nice-looking.)
I'd received $50 gift cards for staff appreciation day this week, so I just bought a $100 Fieldcrest over-sized king comforter. Dark blue, reversible, with two pillow shams. Different subtle woven pattern on either side. Already covered in cat hair (I knew that would happen). Lucky loves it already.
I have to work tomorrow, so I think I'll just kick back today. I'd planned on going to the laundromat to wash all the throw rugs and cushions. Instead, I'll head over to Starbucks and chill for a while. When I get back, I'll make a big pot of vegetable beef soup. Beef stew meat on sale at Publix last night, as was lean ground beef, so I'll make some chili. Got all the fixings to make those dishes.
Stayed up late last night watching wedding shows, a clutter show, and one of those "I shouldn't be alive" shows. Enjoyed some red wine (Yellow Tail shiraz, on sale). Now that my acid reflux disease is under control (with Prilosec) and my esophagus healed, I can enjoy wine again. (There's a Total Wine store down the street -- I should check out their deals.)
Can't stay up late tonight, however.
Gave myself my first pedicure of the season. Off to Starbucks soon, in sandals.
Another busy, busy day. Napped on the bus home and also here, then went to the gym. They were in the middle of installing a new front desk and flooring and most of the machines weren't accessible. In fact, they were roped off with yellow tape. So I wasn't able to do a lot. I did weigh in at 176 lbs.
Project Runway finale was tonight. The person who I thought did the best job won. Very exciting collection. Models looked great. Music was great. I had goosebumps. Had to watch the repeat afterward, just to see that again.
One more day. It's been a pretty intense week. Today I was so tired at the end of the day that I napped on the bus all the way home (and didn't take my walk -- the sun was beating down anyway). Volunteered to work on Sunday, but will be back home in time to go to the gym.
Still on the netbook here. Don't have Photoshop but am using PaintNet. Experimented with some effects (above). Also shows the edited living room (minus giant aloe and giant bamboo). I'm sure the cleaners will be happy they don't have to move those around to clean the floor.
The weather was great for walking the mile after work today -- overcast. Stopped at Palacio de los Jugos along the way to order a Cuban and a pork sandwich. This is the third Cuban sandwich I've bought there. Each one has been different -- I guess it depends on who's making it. The first one was the fattest, but they've all tasted good -- some of the best I've ever had. Adding the pepperoni really kicks it up a notch.
So, I walk out the door at the Palacio with my sandwiches and what's sitting directly in front of me? A black Hummer. But it wasn't B.'s BF's. (I had to look at the license plate to make sure.) Nor did I see it parked in the handicapped space at Flanigan's, as I often do on Monday and Wednesday (B.'s days off -- the BF "doesn't work). Wasn't there on Monday, either. Could have been parked somewhere else. (Palacio is two doors down from Flanigan's, by the way, so I hadn't been all that surprised to see the Hummer there, only it wasn't "the" Hummer.) I have to say, I no longer flinch when I see a black Hummer.
Anyway, ate half the Cuban sandwich and wrapped up everything else to take to work. I have plenty of food for lunch this week, and today we had a free lunch for staff appreciation day. It was a nice, hot lunch, too: churrasco (skirt steak) with chimichurri, some kind of boneless chicken breast with capers, cheesy scalloped potatoes, rice (didn't try), plus a sumptuous salad, and brownies and cookies for dessert (didn't try, but the brownies looked awfully good).
Tonight Lucky thew up on TWO throw rugs. I think he made a pig of himself at dinner. Cleaned them in the tub with the new shower sprayer (what it was bought for) and set them out to dry on the terrace. This weekend I'll take all the rugs and the seat cushions for the wicker furniture to the laundromat down the street and use a couple of their giant washers, in preparation for the cleaning people coming back in.
Stopped back at the Home Depot after work to get a few solar-powered "walk lights" (i.e., little lights to line your outside walkway which you poke into the ground--on sale for $3.88 apiece). I'd bought one yesterday to see how it worked. Now I have four of them sticking out of plants on the terrace to give it a little ambience and maybe also illuminate Lucky when he's out there at night. (I often can't see him and go get a flashlight). I also moved a huge aloe houseplant out there. It hasn't been doing well since B. left, since I didn't water it much. At least it'll get some rain on the terrace. I also moved an enormous bamboo out there, something we'd inherited from one of B.'s friends before he left. It's potted in water and keeps growing and growing. Let it do that on the terrace. I'm just a little worried about the wind out there, however.
Well, the big old broken TV is out of here. It took up a lot of room. Having that space back kind of inspired me to reclaim even more of it by moving the big plants out. (I now have one live plant left in the house, a bromeliad, which is doing OK.)
Back from work. Got off the bus at Home Depot to get, inter alia, bulbs for the kitchen ceiling lights. Who knew they came in fluorescent now! (I didn't see them the last time I bought bulbs.) Just bought two, to make sure they fit, etc. They do. Going out to get some more, since another bulb has burned out. (They all burn out at around the same time.) The fluorescents were around $10 for two, but they'll last a while and save money. (Just don't much care for the light they cast.) You can see the fluorescent coil inside the bulb, but otherwise they look like regular spotlights.
[Back from Home Depot] Yeah, but those fluorescents aren't dimmable (and the lights are on a dimmer, not that I use it much -- hardly ever). (I've visited this issue before.) I did buy one dimmable bulb ($8). The problem with it, as I'd feared, is that it sticks out too far from the bottom of the can. I don't know whether to go back to the regular bulbs and wait for a shorter dimmable fluorescent to come out, or go to undimmable fluorescents (and wait for a shorter dimmable fluorescent to come out). (The dimmable fluorescent didn't dim all that much, by the way.) Probably the green thing (and the more economical thing) would be to go all fluorescent now. But then the light might be too harsh, and I wouldn't be able to dim it. Hmmmm. I do use the kitchen light a lot.
Meanwhile, someone from X-S Trash is coming to pick up the old TV tomorrow morning after 10:00. I had a voice mail from them on my work phone this morning. I called back and they quoted their minimum for a removal: $94. I called up one more place that mentioned TVs in particular, and they quoted me $200, so I immediately called X-S Trash back and made the arrangements. Talked to the condo manager, and someone from maintenance will open the door for them (and keep an eye on things). The TV should be out of here in under a minute. It's right by the door with a sign on it (and a check taped to it).
"Desperate Housewives" was better tonight. The last two episodes were so lame. This one was still a little lame -- the way Susan went about fouling up the neighbors' plumbing, for example, to get work for Mike (with Susan paying the plumbing bills behind his back). Like breaking up the insides of a toilet tank and throwing them back into the tank, as if Mike wouldn't be suspicious about that. When has it ever happened to you that you look inside your toilet tank and the works have gone totally to pieces? (And the toilet worked perfectly the last time you used it.) And shoveling loads of dirt into a tub to clog up the drain. (And then Mike found Susan's ear ring in the drain, or something?)
But the rest of it was OK. Glad to be rid of that silly Russian character with her cornball excuse for a Russian accent.
After DH, not much on that I care to watch.
Was at the gym and the store earlier. I'd bought skinned chicken breast tenders on sale the other day and today made Chicken Dijon-Sarna (recipe clipped from The Miami Herald years ago). Very lo-cal. Just a little oil in which to saute (recipe calls for non-stick pan) and no carbs (except a little wine, and the alcohol cooks out). Used red onion, which I had on hand, instead of shallots, which the recipe calls for. (Shallots are pretty close to red onions, in my book.) Also has fresh parsley, fresh dill, capers and, of course, Dijon mustard. The chicken first gets pounded flat with a tenderizer. Came out good. (Good cold, too.) I'll take most of that to work. (I also cooked a bag of microwave mixed vegetables. Nothing could be simpler.) For dinner tonight I finished up the corned beef and had a V-8. Right now I'm washing the shower curtain and liner. Used cold water and delicate cycle for the dryer. The last time I washed one of these, it shrank a few inches. It's an off-white, heavy cotton woven thing from Target. Nice-looking. Lucky's wondering what's going on, since the shower curtain is one of his hang-outs.
Fed the neighbor's cat.
On the whole, I had a great weekend.
P.S. Shower curtain still shrank a couple of inches.
Didn't wake up too late and actually got a lot of stuff done around here, and still had time to sit over at Starbucks and drink two cups of coffee, have a turkey & Swiss sandwich, and read. Actually, I went to Starbucks first, after 2:00, and got home at around 5:00. The weather was nice for sitting outside -- overcast, with a gentle breeze. No sweater or jacket required.
Then I came back and watered the plants on the terrace, cleaned a bathroom (some), cleaned out the cat boxes, washed a load of clothes, fed the neighbor's cat, ran the dishwasher, scoured the kitchen sink, and did online searches and got phone numbers of companies to call re: hauling away the old TV.
I also called my friend in STL/FTL and had a long talk. His schizophrenic partner is not improving. My friend said he acts normal only 20% of the time now (i.e., the percentage keeps shrinking). The rest of time time he's either withdrawn (now he even hides, in a closet or somewhere) or is in some raucous mental conflict (with himself), which often entails breaking things. A few years ago this person had a job and/or was going to law school (he almost finished). He's since been declared totally disabled by the courts and put on permanent Social Security and SSI. (He's only 42 or 43.) My friend now takes Xanax to help stay calm and not exacerbate the ongoing conflicts and also to help him sleep. (He doesn't take a lot of it and then only twice a week.)
The partner also has three personalities now (vs. two, the new one being Chico, the Caribbean Latino -- one of his doctors recently discovered him). So there's multiple personalities on top of schizophrenia.
My friend said the guy's too far gone to do volunteer work (he can't do regular work), which I'd suggested a while back. My friend said that at this stage, nobody would want him.
Was at gym and store tonight, after a good nap. Then got really hungry and ate corned beef, then went through an entire $5+ container of cut-up watermelon I'd just bought, then some dried apples and apricots, some cold steak and then fat-reduced Triscuits. Sometimes I get really hungry after the gym, which is one reason why I'd rather go at the weekends so as not to disrupt my sleep regimen for workdays (eating late keeps me up later). On Sundays I go to the gym early and can have regular dinner afterward, not too late.
Bought some wine on sale and drank some of that. Haven't had wine since I got my acid reflux under control with Prilosec (and also healed my esophagus). Still, took some bicarb too.
What to do this weekend... I have some laundry to do. Maybe some cleaning before I get the cleaning crew back in here, which will happen after I get the old TV hauled out.
Got off the bus at Home Depot and walked up to the shopping center at 123rd Street to check out optical CD drives at Office Max by Walgreens. I need one to back up my netbook computer. The cheapest one was $79. (They had them at the Office Depot up the road, where I dropped off the computer last night, for, I believe, $69.) I then walked across the street to the Office Depot there and I didn't see any. (Yes, there is an Office Max and an Office Depot directly across the street from one another.) I finally asked someone in the store and he pointed to something (and there was only one lonely thing sitting on these particular shelves) that didn't seem to be exactly what I was looking for, and it was more than $69. The person wasn't very helpful and I gave up. I guess I'll buy the drive up at the other Office Depot.
I'd planned on walking home but it looked like rain, so I caught the next bus.
Right now I'm pressure-cooking another corned beef brisket. I'd not planned on getting another one any time soon, but they were still on sale from St. Patrick's Day ($2.49/lb.). You can't beat that, even if it shrinks. This one weighed 5 1/2 lbs. I had to cut it in two to fit inside the pressure cooker.
[Later] Corned beef turned out great! Perfect. Shrank like hell, though, which was to be expected. I don't pressure-cook often, and getting a steady burst of steam going is a bit tricky. After a false start, I finally settled on #6 on the burner, at which point I cooked it for an hour longer. Then I boiled some Brussels sprouts in the liquid. Taking some of that to work for lunch tomorrow. Have fresh horseradish to go with the meat.
I found an Acer Aspire CD burner on Amazon for $40-something and ordered it. Free shipping.
Just got back from the -- no, not the gym and the store. The Office Depot, where I took the desktop computer. They have to ship it to a repair center somewhere that's authorized to do repairs for HP. $349 "flat rate", including shipping. Yikes. Still, it's cheaper than getting a new computer (and that one cost over $2,000 7-8 years ago, with a 60 GB hard drive). Hopefully I won't lose anything on the hard drive. My files are backed up, to an extent -- not as I would like. The operating system just needs to work again, whatever that takes.
Got an e-card from CC today. (So the chicken came home to roost, at least for the time being.) That was sweet.
Dear Friend,
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Oh, and I just noticed a comment on last night's post. Quelle surprise!
Tired. Had a big day at work, mainly designing stuff. And I was anxious all day about taking the computer in for repairs and hearing bad news. So far, news is not so bad, I guess. I've had that computer for years and never spent a cent on it for repairs. It's been a great computer. I hope it'll last a while longer (at least until I back up everything to my satisfaction). Will keep you posted.
Busy. Went grocery shopping after work. Cleaned out cat box. Pan-broiled a thick, jumbo top sirloin steak for lunch (at least 2 days' worth) (2.40 lbs. on sale for $3.99/lb.). Rubbed it with fresh garlic first and let it warm up to room temperature before I fried it in olive oil and a little sea salt. Afterward I rubbed it with more garlic and butter and ground fresh pepper over it. Cooked perfectly. First I browned each side on high, then lowered the heat to 4 and cooked 5 minutes on each side. Then let it rest 10 minutes before slicing in two. Medium rare. Half is going to work tomorrow. It's a lot of steak, enough for lunch and a snack later in the afternoon. Can't wait to taste it. Will bring Publix steak sauce to work. Tastes just like A-1 but it's a lot cheaper. Actually my favorite steak sauce is Bearnaise. Haven't made that in years, not since before B. left. It's not difficult. I use Julia Child's recipe from The French Chef Cookbook (based on her first TV show), with dried tarragon and shallots.
I'll be taking the desktop computer up the road to Office Depot. They're one of HP's "Partners". Got them off the HP link the online tech guy gave me last night.
I've beaten myself up so much over the situation with B., but when I now look at it realistically, I see there's nothing that I could have done better to make things turn out differently -- to "save" him from the druggie world* -- since he couldn't resist going back on the drugs, at least not after he was aggressively "pushed" back into doing them (and pushed away from me). He should have had a lot more rehab than he did. (What little he did have had a positive effect.) Now I have to put all that aside and concentrate on me. Plus I have the cats and my job. And my backup computer. Thank God for that! (It seems I've lost my friend in Canada, however. Not my doing. Claudette Colbert has flown the coop.)
I guess I'm (albeit) slowly getting over this pain. That's good. I see progress for me.
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*although maybe at some point I'd just become exhausted dealing with it and just wanted it all to end, and so stopped trying. It was really getting to me and was threatening my ability to get up and go to work in the morning. Also, I was having problems with my shoulder, which turned out to have a calcium deposit in the joint and which was causing a lot of pain, to the point where I stopped going to the gym and bought a new bed and pillows. (This problem eventually only became worse and I ended up having it taken care of by an orthopedic surgeon, after B. had gone.) Meanwhile, however, it was all about B.
