Vandalism

We have a rural mailbox on our lawn extension.  The mail carrier likes our mailbox because it is at the proper height, close to the road.  He can put in our bills and close the door.  At least he could until this afternoon.  Some time, during the two short hours when we weren't home, some obnoxious kid, took off the mailbox door and removed the house numbers from both sides of the box.  It is a federal offense.  Perhaps he would like to spend his summer vacation in detention. So my husband rushed to the store to buy a new mailbox, since we couldn't get delivery with no door!

I sent my android tablet off to Texas.  Hopefully, it can be repaired.  I have photos on it that I would like to put on a flash drive.  And I'm hoping that we won't have to re mortgage the house to get it fixed.

It just figures...

My manager at the branch store is on vacation, so I have been covering her hours.  This means that I work 9-6 for six days in a row!  Being somewhat competitive in nature, I have been hoping that sales will be brisk while she is gone and that the owner will take notice!  Well, he makes observations all right, but of all the wrong things.  With all the things he has on his mind, he will never notice that the store does better if I am working it!

I have Transformer Prime tablet troubles.  I ordered new cables which finally arrived after getting lost and having to be reshipped.  It turns out that it will not charge because either the battery is dead or the port is not working properly.  On Tuesday, on my day off from work, I am driving to the computer store to learn my options.  Hopefully, the tablet can be revived as it has all my photos on it.  I am reviewing other choices.

I have made two new commitments.  The first is a Spanish class and the second is a church study group with my sister.  I can't figure out why when people in the church group tell about themselves, they always speak within the framework of a church denomination.

Graduation Open House

Our daughter graduates High School the first week of June.  I would like to have an open house for her so that family and friends can wish her well.  The problem is: 1) My house is not barrier free.  It has steps which would be impossible for my mother and nephew who are in wheelchairs to manage.  2)  There is no parking.  One time, my dad and daughter got parking tickets at a party.  3)  I have three noisy dogs who are not used to young children.  I have been searching around for a pavilion, but since I left it so late, it is like searching for a needle in a haystack.  I thought I secured one near the city airport.  I scooted to the bank and got cash and turned it over to the office lady.  No sooner did I arrive back home than she called and told me she had double booked the pavilion.  I knew that the pavilions would be booked by the river but called anyway.  Yes, they were booked but other city parks had spaces to rent.  Now years ago, when I was young, the parks department froze a large portion of the park and my brother, sister, cousins and I would walk over with our ice skates and enjoy a fun time outside.  At that time, the dwelling was little more than a small room with benches.  I guess it's been rebuilt since then, because now the "warming hut" is used for art shows, parties and other gatherings.  And it is barrier free, has lots of parking, wide outdoor spaces and is free of dogs.  Well, they do run around outside after frisbees and balls.  I rented this space and then commenced to design an invitation for family and friends.  It was a masterpiece!  Green and gold--my daughter's school colors.  However, when I printed it, alas, only the yellow worked.  I headed off to the district library.  No color printer was available, but I decided to forgo color and use black and white.  The young woman who helped me said that she liked the invitations!  I ran out of stamps so a quick trip to the store to buy more and drop the invitations in the mail.  I have decided on a menu--watermelon and pineapple, assorted veggies, flat bread and croissants with a deli tray, tuna pasta salad, potato salad, drop chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cake, a chocolate fountain, and ice tea, lemonade, pop and water to drink.  Seems everything is falling into place!   

Spring Garden

My dad called me at work to ask me to take pictures of his spring garden.  I couldn't use the camera on my Asus tablet because I cannot charge it.  I had ordered an after market USB cable. One day as I opened my sling bag I discovered that the plastic pieces covering the wires had separated and were lying loose.  I snapped them back together, but the short of it is, that the cable no longer works.  I took photos with my digital camera and when I get the new cables will download them to the tablet.  My mother can see them quite well on the tablet.

Last year, my husband left the crank handle on the front of the pop up trailer and then headed for home.  We got home and had no handle.  Bit of a mess, as the vinyl was wet and the pop up needed to be raised.  This involved removing the gear cover and using a wrench to raise and lower the popup.  I called and ordered a new crank handle on Thursday and it was delivered to my house Friday.  Thank you for the excellent service.  I am now considering a short vacation-- leave Sun, May 26, returning Wed, May 29.  A short camping trip to commune with the squirrels and birds.

I cannot do my exercise program today as I have been going nonstop for 12 hours.  I went to church, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the carpet and worked.  I made arrangements to purchase a hoyer lift.  It took my dad and me two hours to drive there and back and haul the thing into the house.  It is his insurance policy.  If he has it, he will not need it.   So, I am taking a day off.  I know it's lazy, but I wouldn't be finished til 11p.m.

New Day

I was out in the fresh air yesterday, and came home tired.  So I fell asleep immediately about 10:30pm.  I slept for perhaps 3 hours when the puggle decided he needed a romp outside.  I let him out and then do you think I could fall back asleep?  Of course not!  At 2:30 am, my husband got a text message and the theme from Star Wars sounded throughout the room.  The wind or cat caused the door to open and the noise startled me.  The radio alarm clock fell off the nightstand.  And my husband got up and wandered to the back door because he thought he heard one of the dogs barking to get in.  Not to mention several trips to the bathroom.  My mind was twirling and dancing and sadly, I could not get to my "happy place" so that I could fall back asleep.  My thoughts were not comforting.  Finally toward early morning, I drifted off.

It's pleasant walking down the street and greeting the neighbors.  One introduced himself and invited me to attend fitness classes at the rec center.  He said that some people need company for motivation.  As an added bonus, it's free!  Today I walked 10,000 steps, rode the exercise bike, went up and down the stairs 10 times.

A friend organized a get-together at the library.  Some of us will be practicing Spanish and others will be learning English.  I am looking forward to it.

My daughter's softball team got clobbered (double header) yesterday and coach was not  happy.  I could tell my daughter was upset when she came home, but respected that she didn't want to talk about it.  So I made comfort food...tuna with crackers, strawberries and whipped cream, carrots and celery with ranch dressing.

I know the coach is frustrated.  My daughter told me at the beginning of the season that she thought her team was good.  The team has won 3 and lost 9.  It's a combination of problems--the pitcher walking batters, no offense and errors.  I appreciate all the hard work the coach and his staff have put in with the girls.  Today is a new day.  Will the team win?  Anything is possible.

Snowing

I rode the health rider for 30 minutes and then headed out into the rainy, snowy day to walk 10,000 steps.  By the time I got home, my jacket was soaked!  I have been riding and walking for 8 days now, only missing one--the day of my daughter's game. There was no possible way to get the exercise in as my boss asked me to stay late, i was at the game til 8pm, came home, fixed something to eat.

I wish I were more tech savvy.  I was so preoccupied when my mother was in the nursing home, running up there all the time, that twice I forgot to zip my carry bag, and my Asus tablet and dock fell out onto the floor.  The metal is fine where the adapter plugs in and by the USB port, so when it hit the floor, the metal split.  It worked  for a minute, but suddenly I can't charge through the dock.  I believe it is a matter of moving the connector device in the dock more toward the outside so the plug will connect.  It's not just hardware that I have trouble with.  I try to install apps and I believe the process in interrupted so the apps don't work properly.  I uninstall them and then install them a 2nd or 3rd time.  Now too, since I updated, I have a glitch on the kindle app.  I will be reading and then the app freezes.  Found out that if   I open another book, and then return to the original book, I can forward the page. 

The Game

So, I've worked out a manageable and realistic exercise routine.  I enjoy hapkido--it wards off Alzheimers and keeps me moving--but unless it is fitness day, it is not terribly aerobic.  So I have a plan to ride the exercise bike for 30 minutes and then walk 10,000 steps  Now this is the story problem.

I walk from one corner of my block (down the street) to the other corner and then back to where I started.  And to keep track, I pick up a small pebble and put it in my pocket when I have completed one trip down and one trip back.  I pick up 4 small pebbles.  Then I repeat the process (walk from one corner to the other and back to where I started from) and set the pebble down.  I continue this til all 4 pebbles are out of my pocket.  The question is how many trips do I make up and down the block?

The softball coach made my daughter cry after the game last evening.  It was a series of unfortunate events.  The pitcher was not having a good afternoon, there were errors, the girls got called out on 3rd strikes, some players did not know what to do with the ball.  She also got the impression that he did not want them to smile and laugh after a good batting sequence because the team was losing.  I don't know where coaches and trainers think they can laugh at and make disparaging remarks about a student.  I never hear a positive comment about any of my techniques or forms.  I don't agree with this philosophy.

I walked to the fence today and noticed daffodils and hyacinths blooming and green poppy leaves growing.  I also am considering planting shade loving plants in the area that was formerly a sandbox.