metafilter | Member Posts

So this business of swimming and then picking up brunch is getting 5 stars. I had a marvelous swim. I had ordered an omelette for brunch to be picked up at 9. The brunch success is order dependent. Some of their options are Eat Now only but their omelettes are both delicious now and later. So if I'm late or they are late, no sweat. Today we were both on time and it was delicious. PLUS, I have half for lunch/dinner/snack later.

PLUS! This is big with my meal allowance allocation. I have a spreadsheet and have learned that if I can keep the per day below $20 then I have a good chance of ending at 0 which is, of course, the goal. Today I have 18 days left and $350. I'm in excellent shape.

I had a great conversation with Holly after my swim. Holly plays volleyball so I've known her a while and she swims lots of laps and walks laps every day, I think. She knows I have technical expertise but also knows don't know much about Apple and she's Apple all the way. She learned last week that I listen to music while I swim so now she's all over that.

Me: "you could search in a browser for 'music while swimming apple'"
Holly: "you mean Safari? I was going to search in ChatGPT. Would that work?"

Fear of AI is big around here. Somehow all the old people got it into their heads that AI is going to build a monster that will come get them in their sleep. But, not Holly! Or maybe Holly and she hasn't connected the AI/ChatGPT dot. But that's fine, she's trying.

Ok. Swim done. Brunch done. The laundry basket is not full enough to dictate a load. Guess I'll go hang up my suit, scoop out the litter box and see what CBS Sunday Morning has to say for itself.

neekabe

We've been on the edge of seasonal allergies or maybe a cold or maybe just reactions to the cooling weather in this household. For the fella it seems to have settled into a cold. I might have just picked up his cold. Might just be having some blahs.

We were supposed to go to a party yesterday but cancelled due to probably contagious. Had a quiet day instead. I made mac and cheese which the fella wasn't too excited about, but then had seconds and raved about it again this morning. I suspect he just hasn't had much actual mac and cheese because it was pretty basic XD

Eyes weren't cooperating well last night. Was up a couple of times with some pain, but not the terrible stabbing pain from before, so it still a win. I suspect I'm going to be extra sensitive to the seasons.

Watching the F1 this morning, might make cinnamon buns this afternoon. Might just have a nap. It'll be exciting :D

susandennis

I've been up for a bit but it has been dark that whole bit and just now - as it's starting to get light - I see it is raining! We haven't had any rain for so long, I'm kind of surprised I recognized it. Lovely. And this means that I can go swim any time this morning and avoid the sun.

Although, like last Sunday, I ordered up brunch for pick up at 9 am so if I work backwards from that, I've got about 40 minutes to get into my suit and get to the pool, which even when the elevator is slow, won't take up 5 minutes. So... no hurrying here.

The Mariners beat the Astros again last night with a bottom of the 9th impossible catch. It was pretty dramatic. Plus, it was the Astros and anytime they get beat by anybody, it's fine with me. The Phillies have a substitute announcer this weekend. He is a yawner so I haven't really watched their games. But, they have already clinched the Division title and Tom McCarthy will be back on Tuesday for the rest of their games.

I did not leave my apartment yesterday afternoon. It's sometimes very weird living here. Outside my door, I live in a community to which I need to contribute but also derive benefits from those contributions so it's fine. BUT, sometimes, I can close my door and spend hours here where I can live my old life. Just me and the cats and no one else. It's kind of rejuvenating. Yesterday afternoon was one of those times. And today might be mostly that, too.

Ok now I have fiddlefarted away all my loose time. Gotta go suit up.

gentlyepigrams

Peeling Back the Tech Broligarchy's Glass Onion. I haven't seen Glass Onion (no Netflix) but I found this fascinating anyway.
Man Ray’s Mysteries, in Glorious Bloom at the Met. If I could figure out how to fly up to NY to see this, I would.
A Message From Your Doctor About the Prior Authorization Process. As a chronically ill patient in several specialties, I'm more than familiar with prior authorization, but a lot of people don't have to deal with it as often as I do.
What ‘They’ Have Done. A neat summary of the Republican talking points about Them, whoever They are, and all the things They did to make America worse.
What Makes TPM TPM? Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo explains the three pillars of his reporting & analysis.
Michelangelo to Banksy: The controversial artworks that fell foul of the law - and were erased. Love a little scandalous art history.
The Official Charity of the Savannah Bananas Has a Hard Time Explaining How Its Money Is Spent.
Charlie Kirk, Redeemed: A Political Class Finds Its Lost Cause. Ta-Nehisi Coates on the recent awfulness.
The day I met Charlie Kirk. From Lyz Lenz's newsletter.
unicorn. On the origin of the word and its use in medieval times.
The real enemy of democracy sneaked up on me. It's social media. I'm not as pessimistic as this guy, but the idea that people on the internet were ever going to be civilized in the way he thought was pretty precious, in retrospect.
Am I So Out Of Touch? A real life friend who does film criticism for a local alt-weekly (in my hometown) talks about the critic life.
What the British are really laughing about. Blast from the past on the fifth anniversary of the (British PM) David Cameron pig fucking scandal. Horrible but still funny in a very mean way.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

gentlyepigrams

Peter Pan at the Texas Ballet Theater. Winspear Opera House. September 19, 2025.

I didn't know there was a ballet of Peter Pan, and afterwards when researching the ballet, I found out that while the music is Elgar, it apparently wasn't written specifically for this purpose. The plot is also different to other versions of the story, including a made-up son for Captain Hook and whole sections of the book plot that don't appear in the ballet. The overall arc is similar but focuses on the pirates and Captain Hook in the Neverland section.

The stagecraft was well done for the most part, though something happened with the mechanicals behind the scenes that set off the smoke alarm in the first scene of the second act. We evacuated but were back in the theater inside of a quarter hour. A lot of the stage movement was handled by the "shadows" but for the flight scenes they did more wirework than I would have expected. One of the tricks for the passing of time was showing portraits with a frame behind which the depicted Darling family members stood, out of which Wendy would step and dance.

The costumes were interesting. The fairies, led by Tinkerbell, were in pink and green costumes with pink and green wigs. Peter was in a green wig and a wild-creature type costume instead of the usual Robin Hood sort of costume. Captain Hook, in contrast to his usual pirate tricorn and coat, was in a purple get-up with makeup that resembled the Joker more than anything else. The Darling parents looked and danced refugees from a Tim Burton movie.

The best dancers were definitely Peter, who was also great with the wirework and did the most flying, and Hook. Hook managed a lot of menace in his characterization that could have been undercut by his costume and the kind of silly-looking hook. Peter, whose dancer is short but is clearly a grown-up man with the strength and grace of an adult, did a fantastic job of being childlike in his dancing and emotive work. The dancers playing Michael and John were also very good at that.

I didn't realize until afterwards that we had opening night tickets. It's not a great sign for the company that a lot of seats were empty. I don't think that's the performance, though, just the economy. I hope this production does well because it was a lot of fun, the fire alarm notwithstanding.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

gentlyepigrams

I went to dinner and the ballet with a friend last night. She has the season tickets and I took us to dinner at Musume, which we'd both eaten at for Tasting Collective (I really need to go back and write all the ones we've done in the last few months) and enjoyed.

We had some sushi and two small plates. The nigiri was all top-notch and the Good Times roll was the right combination of textures and spicy. The Black Cod Misosuke, which we'd had at the Tasting Collective dinner, was just as good the second time round. And the Five-Spice Duck Leg Confit, which they shredded for us so we could eat it with chopsticks, was also superb. They got us out in time to walk down the street to the Winspear for our 7:30 tickets. Definitely not cheap, but Musume is staying on the list.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

susandennis

Next time I get into the car - next week? Week after? Will I remember, in three miles, to get a photo of the odometer??? Likely not so here's your 40,000 mile snap.

It had 4 miles on it when I bought it in August of 2011. That's a little under 3,000 a year.

Turns out, my litter jug is a unicorn. The light weight litters in jugs are all the same size regardless of brand. Sigh.

But, the fried chicken thigh I just ate was delicious.

susandennis

Apparently, there was another false alarm this morning. This one came while we were playing volleyball but we didn't hear it. But, you can imagine the elbow coffee discussion. There is nothing like a bunch of 80 year olds sitting around pontificating on how things should be done. They have zero interest in or knowledge of any of the decisions or systems involved. Happily this does not even put a pause in their opinions. They know it all.

It also went on well past the hour designated so at 11:18, I left. I may not have a pressing engagement but my brain needs a break really badly.

Volleyball was pretty good. I gave my left arm most of the work and wore the sleeve on my right. I did not sleep with a brace on and my elbow felt pretty good this morning and still does although I did have a brace on now. I think I'll keep wearing something to hold those things in my arms (muscles, nerves, space signals) in place for a few days before I try a day without. I do not want to risk not being able to swim or play volleyball.

I think I might go to the grocery store today. Not for groceries, but to measure. I like light weight litter in a jug. BUT the jug I ordered from Chewy is too tall for my shelf. By less than a half inch. So I want to measure Safeway's selection and see if I can find a shorter jug and then I'll order it from Chewy and maybe while I'm there I'll get some fried chicken. I haven't had any Safeway fried chicken in a while.

The baseball games are this afternoon. Mariners at 4 and Phillies at 5.

Jan called last night cause her son was here and needed wifi - I cleared that up easily enough but was also then able to get a report. Dick came out of the surgery fine and they planned to get him onto his feet last night after Jan left. Whew.

I just got a text from my brother with a picture of their new dog, Scar, in their living room. He looks like such a cutie and he looks to be about the same size as their other dog - pint sized. He wants to change his name but he will forever be Scar to me. I can't wait to hear the details. I'm sure glad they found him.

calzephyr

I caught up with a friend who I hadn't seen since May yesterday. We went birdwatching in our area and saw quite a bit for late in the season. There is a ravine and two storm ponds located close together, making them perfect for birds to hang out or take a break.

We saw...

American coots
American robins
Black-billed magpies
Canada geese
Chickadees
Cormorants
Crows
Gulls of some kind
House sparrows
Mallards
Rock doves (pigeons)
Swainson's hawk (juvenile)
Yellow-rumped warblers
White crowed sparrow
White throated sparrow
Wigeons

Merlin flagged vesper sparrows being in the area, but we felt it was unlikely. The sparrows were hard to see--they were really deep in some bushes. The warblers were all about, though!

lovelyangel

Cinema 21 is having a Centennial Celebration featuring a film festival this month, and one of my favorite films, Harold and Maude, will be shown. I don’t remember the last time I saw the movie in a theater, so I bought a ticket for Sunday.

I am very fortunate in that I have the Harold and Maude Criterion Collection Blu-ray, which is now out-of-print at Criterion. But it’s always a treat to see a favorite movie on the big screen, with an audience.

I went to Cinema 21 more frequently in the 1980s and 1990s but have rarely gone in this century. I guess the last time I went was in 2013. (Maybe I’ve been once or twice since and didn’t blog about it.) It will be nice to revisit an old friend in town.

susandennis

This is not a metaphor. On Thursday, when I got to volleyball, Steve handed me a cucumber*. I put it into my bag and then went into the dressing room where I left my bag and robe and stuff and went out to the pool. I remembered the cucumber later in the day but what with my ability to forget shit immediately, that remembrance did not last until I got to the closet to check.

I remembered it again and looked everywhere. No cucumber. None. Not anywhere I could find. I have terrifying thoughts of finding it in a shoe several months from now or in a pocket. Ugh.

*Steve has a peapatch and grows cucumbers and shares them generously.

My bathroom light went out again. And, then, a week or so later, one of the lights over my kitchen cabinets went out. I put in a work request (we have an app). And Jorge just came by to fix them both. Easy peasy.

The joy of NOT owning a home.

Fuck! I just found the cucumber!!! It was in my Thursday bag!! I take a different bag on Thursdays because I pick up the Timber Ridge Times copies for my floor on the way home. Oh, I'm so glad I found that damn thing.

I did swim this morning with the elbow sleeve and it was pretty ok. I could swim without it hurting. I swapped it out the sleeve for the bad when I finished and have been wearing it all day and have been able to forget my elbow issues for long stretches of time so yeah. I think I'll start with the sleeve tomorrow at volleyball but take the band for backup.

And I texted Ethel who's one of Jan's good friends and she said that Dick's surgery is past the hard part and they are finishing up and so far, excellent.

Ok back to Project Runway now. I was just getting it started when Jorge came in.

susandennis

The alarm on the other side of the complex started going off a little before 6 am this morning. My windows were not open so I could not hear it well but clearly, they were saying something. So I went out in the deck and they were saying there was an emergency and we were to stay where we were and away from windows and doors. BUT only on the other side. No announcement here but the fire doors in the hall did shut.

I'm pretty good at staying where I am at 6 am on a non volleyball day. If it had been a volleyball day, I would have been in the pool and no sweat staying there either.

Old people are not fast about much but they can hit the panic button with the speed of light. I would not want to be in management here today.

If they live on this side of the complex, on the other side of the hall, they might not have heard a thing. UNTIL 7ish when, even over here, there were two VERY loud dongs and one announcement that the first alarm was a false alarm and everything was fine. I can hear it now 'what did he say?' What alarm? What's going on? Do we need our hard hats?? What? What did you say?

Happy Friday!

And the sun is out. And my elbow is really hurting. I'm having the swim/no swim debate. I ordered a new elbow brace - one that covers the whole elbow AND has a tightening strap. I'm hoping that will help with volleyball. Also I can just let my right arm dangle and play with my left or mostly with my left.

Dick - my neighbor down the hall - is having bypass surgery this morning. Probably right this minute.

I cancelled the Root Sports stream today - it's the one needed to get Mariners games. They didn't even offer me any reason not to cancel, buggers.

I've had an issue with TV response. I push the remote button and nothing or slow or nothing. I think that's what caused my elbow issues. Repetitive Remote Stress Injury. I have been blaming the apps. But, yesterday, it dawned on me (finally) to swap out the remote, which I did. Fixed. 100%. I threw out the bad remote and several others in my bag 'o remotes. I have too much shit. At least, now, I have things together. My 4,807 USB A to C cables are all in one drawer and probably procreating. My Google TV fob along with it's remote and all the other remotes are in a bag in a box of other electrical-shit-I-do-not-use-but-might.

Baseball is not on until late this afternoon but it is Friday so Project Runway and GBBO. Project Runway has done something really weird and kind of cool this season. At the end of the show, they announce the winner of the week. And they say who are the bottom 2 or 3. BUT they wait until next week to tell you who got cut. So you scour the teasing scenes for the upcoming week to see who, if any, of those bottoms are in the next week's competition. It's really cute. BUT last week, SPOILER ALERT - ok, this is supposed to be behind a cut but I can't get it to work so just skip to the next paragraph, sorry. ( Spoiler )
Ok, I think I'm going to go swimming. I'll wear my brace and hope for the best.

lovelyangel

Time to clear some browser tabs...

And, admittedly, I’ve been scanning/avoiding lots of news – keeping some distance from depressing writeups. But I couldn’t resist two somewhat political links I got via kottke.org:

How to Tell the Difference Between a Lone Wolf and a Coordinated Effort by the Radical Left (McSweeney’s)

Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning (Elizabeth Spiers)

And then, the rest:

Beautiful Journals by José Naranja (via MetaFilter)

The Day Return Became Enter (aresluna.org)

Things You’re Doing But You Don’t Want to be Doing. Also: Advice on (Internet) Writing, For What it’s Worth (dynomight.net)

Moss & Fog

susandennis

I set an alarm for volleyball days but usually I'm awake well ahead of the alarm. Not this morning. I was in a deep coma when that thing went off. I did not stay up late. I just musta been in the middle of some deep cycle.

Today is early ballgame. The Mariners game starts at 11. The Phillies don't play. Everybody lost yesterday so I'm hoping for a better today.

I need to go through my closet and move winter stuff and delete stuff I will never wear again. I'm pretty sure that's not happening today but it is on my list. It is actually the only thing on my list.

Oh and I think I have a bulb out on the top of my kitchen cabinets but I can't quite be sure. I have a camera on a wire - endoscope with a long, stiffish wire - that I'm going to send up there to let me know for sure. If out, then work order, if not out, then quit worrying about it.

I have a giant Chewy's order coming in today. Food, treats, litter.

But, first, I think I'll get dressed and make up the bed.

gentlyepigrams

Books
The Rushworth Family Plot, by Claudia Gray. Fourth in Gray's next-gen Austen murder mystery pastiches. The mystery is good and having resolved the will-they won't they of the protagonists, Gray cleverly and unexpectedly brings in an outside obstacle from a previous book. This is brand new so I'm going to be waiting for a while to see how she gets around this one.
The Witch Is Back, by Sophie H. Morgan. Recommended on a fantasy romance list. Perfectly adequate fake dating second chance mystery in another one of those hidden-world pastiches of Harry Potter, with American flavor. I'm not interested enough to read the next one but the way a subset of the fantasy romance authors play in the grownup Potter-esque space (Higher families?) without admitting they're going there is fascinating to me.
Dent's Modern Tribes, by Susie Dent. Britain's favorite celebrity lexicographer teaches you the jargon of industries and hobbies in this novella-length non-fiction book. I knew some of the ones from the groups I'm familiar with but I learned a lot as well.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

neekabe

A couple nights ago was the first night of the eye goop where I couldn't fall asleep easily and it was very annoying because everything is soft focus Vaseline haze so I can't read until I get more tired.

I'm going to need more podcasts or maybe delve into audio books or something. But I guess it'll have to be book I've read before. But sometimes I fall asleep in under 30 minutes and sometimes it's hours, and books that are too interesting are too interesting. But also the ad breaks are getting longer and longer in podcasts and more and more repetitive and I can't skip easily.

--

I've gone my first whole bottle of eye drops. We got a three pack from costco and I'm happy because they can get expensive. And there were some days when I know I should have used more.

My right eye has been bothering me more recently. I'm curious about what this deterioration is going to be like.

--

I've started using Hank Green's Focus Friend app. It recently added a new room, and my Bean Friend has been knitting away to help furnish it. It's been useful.

I think one of the more annoying things about it, is that it makes me aware of how little time things take? Like I'll be like "I'm gonna put away my laundry! Set the focus session for 20 minutes" And then 10 minutes later, it's all done. It feels like it takes 20 minutes, but the awareness of the reality is annoying.

It's probably a good thing, overall, to have these regular reminders that this chore really just takes 10 minutes maximum. But still annoying XD

--

I'm considering getting an ereader that's newer than my .... 15 year old Aluratec Libre? Open to recs, I'm thinking kobo but I keep seeing boox and am tempted by that as well. I know I don't want the kindle.

I do need to go hold things though.

We're thinking of going somewhere south in the winter for a vacation, so I think it'd be nice to have for then.

susandennis

I am a large woman with small boobs. Every bra and swimsuit comes with gynormous foam boobs. You could pack a lunch in these things, they are so big. The first thing I do is pull them out. While I was hunting for something in the closet this morning, I decided it was time to send the latest batch packing. But, first, of course, for posterity.

susandennis

Shots have become very personal so let me be clear. The COVID shot I got yesterday was this year's model - released very recently. The timing of both the shots were recommended by both my doctor and the pharmacist. I am perfectly happy with following their direction and have no interest in further investigation.

I have never had a reaction to any vaccine other than sometimes, like yesterday, mildly sore arms until the next day when, nothing.

I have never had COVID. I might have had the flu once in the 80's before I started getting flu shots. None since then.

If I contract either or both, so be it. Life deals.

We used to have a great local drug store chain here in Seattle and every year this time, their store would be flooded with red signs screaming "FREE BANDAID!!!!" and in smaller print, "with every flu shot". It cracked me up every year and, honestly now, it still does.

The sun was a killer but my swim was great anyway. Take that, you stupid sun.

susandennis

Ugh. The sun is going to fuck with my swim this morning, I'm afraid. I had thought that I'd just skip the swim when the sun is out but now I think I'll go try it and make sure it's horrible first. At least the sun is no longer coming into my living room.

The only other thing on the agenda today is the Food and Beverage meeting this afternoon. And, of course, the baseball.

The good broadcaster is gone from these next few Mariner games so they are painful to listen to. Even the radio. So mainly I watch with closed captioning and no sound. Our catcher is on fire with home runs. He hit two more last night. We have a utility guy (one who does not play every day but subs in here and there) who hit 3 home runs last night. Pretty fun stuff, actually.

The Phillies won but they were losing when I went to sleep. They are now playing for home field advantage. But, they have won their division many many times. No way are they the nail biter that the Mariners have become.

There's a very young corgi who lives downstairs from here and his owner just walked him over to the off leash area and he is having the MOST FUN POSSIBLE!! His owner is throwing the tennis ball and OMG can anyone ever have this much fun legally? His little legs are doing a masterful job. It is really great morning coffee TV.

My shot arms are fine this morning. I read in my One sentence a day book last night, that I got both shots exactly one year ago. One in each arm. Both arms were a little sore until the next day. Deja Vu only, really.

This neighborhood is clean and pretty and surrounded by hills and trees and calm and tranquil. And yesterday morning, up the road, a woman shot her husband and then tried to burn him up. As we have very little in the way of local news reporting, I would never have known about it except. Late yesterday afternoon, we got this email from the director here:

Dear Timber Ridge Residents and Staff We have been made aware of an incident that occurred in Talus (near Shangri-La Way NW) early this morning. A police investigation is underway. The scene is secure and there are no concerns for the safety of Timber Ridge residents or staff. However, you may see an increased police presence in the nearby neighborhoods and traffic may be slower than usual.

So, of course, I had to dig out the dets. Somebodies' very bad day. But, today we are back to Stepford calm and quiet.

I think I'll get into my suit and test out that damn sun.

lovelyangel

Living Room, South End, New Floor

Early this afternoon, the construction crew finished installing the LVP flooring. We doubled down on my error in selecting materials for the kitchen, and continued with the same, dark flooring material. I had chosen a dark color that would contrast with light-colored cabinets (which was the sample I was working with). However, I forgot that the cabinets would darken over time. I would have chosen a lighter flooring color if I had been looking at a dark cabinet door sample.

Anyway, the flooring is uniform and dark across all public spaces. My interior designer thinks this will be fine, as the walls and trim and bookwall will all be white. At any rate, the new floor does look nice.

Living Room, North End, New Floor

Profile

MeFites on DW

Metafilter

December 2023

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Page Summary

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Sep. 22nd, 2025 11:45 am

MeFites on DW

Member Posts

Sunday routine

(no subject)

Rain!

Interesting things - 2025 09 21

Peter Pan at Texas Ballet Theater

We ate at: Musume

What are the chances???

Saturday

Fall birdwatching

“Greet the dawn with the breath of fire!”

I have misplaced my cucumber

EMERGENCY! Stay in place!!

Link Salad, End of Summer

Thursday

Weekly media report - for the week ending 2025 09 17

(no subject)

Bye bye boobs

What's good for me

uh oh. here comes the sun

Library Update #11: New Floor

Profile

December 2023

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Expand Cut Tags