Laura's Reading

Google has had the same backup situation for years and years. You request what files you want and then they zip them all up and send you a link to all the zip files that you then must download. They do not understand the concept of incremental backup so to keep current, this process must be repeated often. I have a shithoad of files in Google Drive alone and that's not even touching Keep, email, photos, and a variety of other miscellaneous bits.

I am now nearly halfway through downloading the backup to the drive files. Once I get it onto my external drive, I'm done. I may or may not go back and copy over recent files/changes. I could be done. Their scheme just sucks eggs. And while, two days ago, I was all over the whole idea, today I'm rapidly losing interest. Who the fuck cares, I'll be dead anyway and if I'm not, the one vital piece of data I need will be in the haystack that is this mess. So...

My foot, now, only hurts once in a while. It's 100% manageable. And I'm enjoying wearing shoes that feel good knowing they are not exacerbating the issue. (Contrary to what the original podiatrist I went to two years ago told me.)

Today is laundry and baseball. The house is kind of organized. The kitchen is tidy. Nothing else really needs doing. I have good food in the fridge and the freezer. I have no pending Amazon returns. Things seem under control. It's warm here, not hot but the sun is blazing and I love my poorly hung shades and my very chill air conditioning.

I think I'll click a few more downloads (it seems to work best if I download about 4 of these 2 GB files at a time) and go get dressed.

Volleyball was fine. Elbow coffee was fine. And now the rest of the day is mine which is VERY fine.

Dick and Jan (the new peops) were at elbow coffee this morning. They actually, officially, move in on Monday. The California king bed that they have slept on for years will not fit into their new bedroom so they are bed shopping. They said that the bad new is their bed won't fit but the good news is that Dick has now shrunken in his old age and he fits on a regular king which does fit! So win. They are a cute couple.

I got an email from Microsoft that they wanted $20 for another year of One Drive. Nope. After the password debacle, I'm over you, Microsoft. Plus, I pay for storage on my web site host so I'll just pop important stuff there. Mail is already copied so all I really need is the stuff on my Google Drive. Which is 23 4GB zip files. I was going to download them all and then upload them all but why? cheaper and easier just to plop them onto an external drive that I already have. So that's the plan.

I also figured out how to get Apple TV without fighting Apple. Somehow my Apple TV account got hosed and Apple won't let me back in. NFW am I going to call them which is my only option. BUT! Prime Video let's me subscribe through them AND they are having a sale. Win win.

Where there's a will...

My foot is far less purple and not nearly as hurty today. I did not even think about it while playing volleyball. And neither one of my feet or ankles are even remotely swollen. Nice.

There is stuff around here (Timber Ridge) that bugs me. Food stuff, services, stuff, options stuff. Having Scott and Julie around to point out all the marvelous thing here, has led me to rethink. I agree with them both that this place is lovely and impressive and comfortable and caring and a great place for me to live. But, I forget all of that when they replace french fries at lunch with fucking tater tots. Or they change the package receiving system so that I can't get my packages in a timely fashion. And then I tend to focus solely on the bits that are annoying.

I have two packages, neither of which is critical and one is a jacket I can't even wear til fall. I have a photo of the package being received so I'm fairly certain it won't get lost in the waiting. I have a lot of french fries in the freezer.

So what remains is training myself to NOT focus on the annoying bits. I think I can do that and that's today's project. I was going to do laundry but that will be tomorrow. In my fridge, for lunch I have fixin's for BLT's and two fried chicken thighs and one whole hot dog with chopped onions and potato salad. I'm not going to be hurting for meals anytime soon.

I having knitting to do and baseball to watch. And I might even watch some Wimbledon.

In 1985, I got to go to Wimbledon with my mother. My father gave her the trip for Christmas and then, at the last minute, could not go (union problems at work) and she asked me if I wanted to. ER.... yes!! We had a great time but it was, that year, the hottest Wimbledon on record. We fried our asses just sitting there moving our heads back and forth. I understand they are celebrating this 20th anniversary with even hotter weather. But, alas, without us.

I will be here in the cool, apartment remembering.

It is rare that I complain about cold - especially in Summer but... Our Safeway thinks it's in the center of the Arizona desert at noon. Holy fuck. I have heard enough TV weather people explain what happens when cold air hits hot to wonder why it's not pour rain at the Safeway door.

Turned in two shoe returns at UPS. Picked up a new pair from the Amazon lockers. They are too short. So my daily trips to UPS continue.

My cortisone foot is hard to walk on. I need it volleyball ready tomorrow. But, actually, I could play volleyball on one foot so no big deal.

My brother told me to watch Dept Q on Netflix. It was very good instruction. Great acting, great plot, good visuals and, honestly, I'm wallowing in this delicious Scottish accent.

I'm working on a test ghost to go with my pumpkin head guy for Halloween shelf giveaways.

Yesterday, I was on my way down to pick up a package. When I went by Myrna's apartment, the door was open and Dick and Jan were moving in!! I don't know if they slept there last night but they sure got all their shit delivered. It was so good to see them. They were in a tussle about where to put what furniture and so I got the heck out of there.

Marketing usually gives us (neighbors) a few days notice and information about the new neighbor but, apparently, this time, they just dropped the ball. My friend, Martha, who has lots of new neighbors says they pretty much have lost the ball entirely. Marketing was never high on my Timber Ridge list of Things That Are Good anyway.

I picked up the letter from the HOA management group and, yep, they want another month of dues. Fuck you, strong letter to follow. They were to have submitted a final bill to the title company. The title company then weaves it into my closing. The closing shows I paid for 1 day and I'm not even sure how that happened, as I had paid the dues for May already. The letter says to sign on to my account for details. And, of course, they have closed my account. So I sent an email this morning saying that my records show I owe $0. I no longer own the condo. If they want the $832.19, they are going to need to send me a lot more detail about my account activity, why they want the money, what it is for and why they billed the title company incorrectly.

[OOOh. Just got a reply Please disregard the letter received. It was processed as our office was waiting to receive the closing documentation for the sales transaction. Nothing additional is required on your part. Coolio!]

And... last night, I removed 3 stars from my review of the window shade company and added a bit about their lack of response when there was a problem they caused (or didn't see). This morning, I got an email from them. Surprise! It sounds like, after a bit of hassle, they are going to come rehang the shade. Maybe. I'm not changing the review yet, maybe or ever.

I have a UPS package coming today from Amazon but it's not anything I can find an order for... hmmmm

Oh dear. I just got a call from Joan (next door). She is have massive mobility issues and back problems and is confined to her apartment 'and going crazy'. I am sorry, because of all of us she needs to be around people more than anyone. I honestly do not have any sense of the line between offering a little neighborly help and being the designated caregiver. So I'm erring on the side of the line that does as little as possible. She is the official card - welcome, happy birthday, sorry you are sick, etc. person and usually makes a welcome poster for new people when marketing tells us the new person is moving in. But since marketing did not... Jan, yesterday, said it would be great to have a list of the residents here on the hall with photos so I made her one and left a note for Joan that I had done that. She called to thank me and to passive aggressively get my assistance with everything else. I thought about texting Bonny about Joan but, the line... I don't want to trip.

My podiatrist appointment is at 1 and it's housecleaning day. I think I'll strip the bed this morning and maybe do a load of laundry.

Baseball starts at 10:30 this morning with the Phillies game. The Mariners game is about 11:30. Yesterday, the Mariners game was on Fox with Fox broadcasters so it was the first time I have gotten to see a Mariners game all season. They lost. But, I enjoyed it.

The guy who sold me the blinds has now had plenty of time to respond to my email even if only to say there's nothing he can do. So far, I have heard crickets. He requested a review and I gave him a glowing one just after installation. Dude, I can edit that sucker. And will. I'll give him until Tuesday. The reality is, if you had told me at the first decision point that I could have these shades but I'll never be able to open my window OR I can live without shades, I would have picked what I have now. BUT I would have sure liked that discussion. Plenty of people here have shades and can open windows. Of course, I've never seen any I like as well as these but still...

It's a hot, sunny morning and I'm thanking those very shades.

Scott and Julie were very surprised that they were going to sleep in daylight and waking up in daylight. They've been to Alaska so it's not a totally foreign concept but they had not experienced it here in the lower 48.

At elbow coffee yesterday, we learned that David (Noelle's husband) is not doing well and John (Hazel's husband) has issues that sound like heart related. Joan is also, I think, deteriorating pretty quickly. She is still mentally sharp but her 93 year old body seems to be checking out. I suspect that this time next year, my neighborhood will look very different.

My friend, Martha, said she ran into Dick and Jen, who are moving into Myrna's apartment. They were actually moving some stuff in! They said they had tried to find me but I wasn't home. This was last week when we were out boosting the economy.

Today will be baseball and knitting and a great appreciation of my life. There's nothing like having people you know and trust come and see what you have and how you live and be so admiring of it all to nail down your gratitude for everything. It's the greatest thing.

I think I'll put some clothes on now and go get yesterday's mail before anyone else gets awake.

TL;DR My friends came. They loved Timber Ridge. We shopped and shopped and shopped and shopped. And had a great visit. My feet are broken. I have an appointment with a new (to me) podiatrist on Tuesday. The Pride monsters were a huge hit and now it's back to dolls. My new window shades have a fatal error. Regular life resumes this afternoon.

The details.

Julie and Scott live on the South Island of New Zealand in a beautiful tiny town. They have been all over the United States in all the big cities. This tour - two months - is driving around - first Canada and then the western United States (except California).

Even in the biggest town in New Zealand, they shopping opportunities are not what they are here in the US. They just don't have the selection and they have the add on of 'shipped to small island far away' tax. So here, particularly Julie, wallows in all the choices available. The last time they were here, two years ago, they wanted to shop and, for some reason, we ended up down in Federal Way where we discovered chain shop heaven. Lovely stores of Old Navy, Skeechers, Walmart, Target, etc.

This time they wanted to go back to all those places plus they found North Bend Outlets on Google and wanted to go there.

So we started at North Bend which is not too far up the road. And a lovely drive. But the outlet mall there is a bust and a half. The stores were sparse and empty. But, they drive was lovely. And we saw other stuff.

So we came back here and toured Timber Ridge and Issaquah. They are pretty impressed with Timber Ridge. and Issaquah always presents nicely.

Tuesday we went back to Federal Way and did not miss any stores. Julie had a ball and Scott got new shoes and it was a huge hit. Wednesday, there was more shopping and we found the Issaquah troll which was way more impressive than I expected.

Yesterday, Thursday, it was into Bellevue to that huge, lovely, downtown mall. And then to the conveyor belt sushi place for lunch. Fun and delicious.

In between, we've been enjoying Timber Ridge. We've eaten in all the dining rooms and tried all the various serving options except lunch. All have been pretty impressive.

Today they leave. They are taking the next few weeks to drive from here via Salt Lake City and Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore to Chicago where they will fly to San Francisco and then home. It's such a wonderful trip.

Meanwhile, my feet are just screaming at me. Finally, on Wednesday, I sent a note to my doctor asking for referral to a podiatrist or any other suggestion. She got right back to me with a couple of podiatrist options and I was able to get an appointment here in Issaquah for this coming Tuesday! Yeah.

Oh and it's window washing time at Timber Ridge. I have a panel of three windows. The middle one opens. They use it to hang out and wash the outside of all three panels. It's a good system. Except. When the shade guy designed and the installer guy installed, none of us realized that the scheme will completely bar me from ever opening that window again. So no cleaning. Ever. I have now sent him a note asking what he can do about it. I'm guessing nothing. And it's not fatal. But they should not have been installed that way. Weird and a little annoying.

Today is the Timber Ridge Pride parade which is just about the same time Scott and Julie were planning on leaving and will block in their car. I suspect it will be a short parade and not interrupt the leaving for long.

And now I think I'm caught up. I should get dressed and ready. They will text me when they are up and we'll meet in the dining room for breakfast.