What are you doing today?

[Eric]

54 is such a lame age. You are too far from retirement to be even dreaming about it, unless you are one of those freaks that saved every penny and could retire now and rub my nose in it. You are also too young to buy into a 55+ community with old curmudgeons like me, and being at the younger end of the scale, I figured I would be a hot ticket. jkjk

On the other hand I am seeing less and less interest in my resume. I am too old to be invited out to hang with the "cool kids" afterwork for a drink, unless they want someone with ATM card with more than a $27.92 balance on it. On one of these outings I was allowed to go out I got a, "You are so nice, I should set you up with my Mom's friend." Ugh.

Oh and to top it off, I cannot eat spicy food anymore unless I want to pay for it in a couple of hours.

Funny, we have been talking about this for a while now and next year we can do it if we want. It's a bit morbid when you go look at those communities with all the "reverse mortgage depending on your age" signs but they have beautiful huge single story homes with all the amenities one could want (but will likely never use).

The biggest issue for me is the HOA, I cannot stand them. I get that it's supposed to keep everything uniform and neat but in my experience it just gives a bunch of super uptight neighbors who walk through the neighborhood looking for any tiny little thing something to bitch about. And believe me, they do it. My current home is a new community without it and I love it, someone painted their door purple and I want to give them a medal for it.

 

[lizkat]

54 is such a lame age. You are too far from retirement to be even dreaming about it, unless you are one of those freaks that saved every penny and could retire now and rub my nose in it. You are also too young to buy into a 55+ community with old curmudgeons like me, and being at the younger end of the scale, I figured I would be a hot ticket. jkjk

On the other hand I am seeing less and less interest in my resume. I am too old to be invited out to hang with the "cool kids" afterwork for a drink, unless they want someone with ATM card with more than a $27.92 balance on it. On one of these outings I was allowed to go out I got a, "You are so nice, I should set you up with my Mom's friend." Ugh.

Oh and to top it off, I cannot eat spicy food anymore unless I want to pay for it in a couple of hours.

Happy Birthday anyway. The thing I like about getting older is the more years I take on board, the less of a damn I give about what other people think and whether I'm still "in character". It's quite freeing really, not to think I must even fit into my own rather inadvertent categorizations of myself. I've rounded up some like-minded curmudgeons and we actually end up in a good mood being grouchy together about the downsides of advancing age... and laughing at ever having thought the best time of our life was when we were sixteen or twenty or 35 and counting.

It's still all good because it's life... even if or sometimes especially if a few chapters look best in the rear view. Would not want to do any of it over, might not end up where I am at the moment and still figuring I can reboot the day with a laugh if I have to.

[ goes back to looking for antique cherry cane, gift from younger sibling when I turned 30... it came with a note saying "you're too old to trust now, but happy b'day anyway," Yeah, the little snap. Maybe I gave it back to him when HE turned thirty? ]

 

[Yoused]

The thing I like about getting older is the more years I take on board, the less of a damn I give about what other people think

Preach it, sister.

I turn 29 near the end of the year – lost count of how many 29th birthdays I have had, but I am pretty sure it has been more of them than all the other ones put together.

 

[Alli]

I turn 29 near the end of the year – lost count of how many 29th birthdays I have had, but I am pretty sure it has been more of them than all the other ones put together.

I didn’t like 29 enough to repeat it. 42 was a good enough number to repeat for a few decades.

 

[Gutwrench]

I’m having coffee with my personal assistants sleeping nearby.

The work weeks have been long lately so unsurprisingly this one hasn’t ended yet. My brain is usually as firm tofu but by 5 pm last night it was soft runny tofu so the assistants and I knocked off.

Besides long work hours I’m working through some physical issues from a life hard lived. Thanks to my doctors and CVS I’m comfortable. This is offered as a contributing factor.

We started the Egg and relaxed on the deck enjoying the waning sunlight and an Old Fashioned. The first led to a second with cheese...the staff just loves spontaneous Friday cheese nights.

I grilled a steak for myself and a half hamburger for the assistants as we enjoyed the evening deep into darkness.

We woke to find before retiring last night I had cleaned the kitchen, Egg, and deck nicely...even vacuumed one room. However, apparently someone ordered more cheese because the counters contained cheese debris, a piece of the wrapper, and two huge carving knives. No blood found this time.

 

[Alli]

One of the assistants here also enjoys cheese. Fortunately, he is very fussy and will only eat sharp cheddar, while I prefer goat cheese. His loss.

Ordered Indian last night for dinner. Yes, I tricked my husband into it. By the time I finished the lentil soup and samosas, I was too full to dig into my korma, so I’ll have it tonight.

 

[lizkat]

Today for me will be raking the yard's west side leaves (again, but not the ones I already gathered up and toted off to the pre-compost leaf corral out back, or so I can hope).

After that more soupmaking for the freezer, this time split pea or lentil, haven't quite decided. Then back to sorting out some fabrics into more useful groups for helping spice up the prints in some little projects fished out of the UnFinishedObjects rack.

Last time I made lentil soup for the freezer, not more than ten days ago, most of it didn't make it to the freezer, went straight from stove to countertop to fridge and then back onto the stove as dinner with leftovers back in the fridge for a next day's lunch. Just an assembly line glitch...

 

[Gutwrench]

Then back to sorting out some fabrics into more useful groups for helping spice up the prints in some little projects fished out of the UnFinishedObjects rack.

You big tease!

 

[lizkat]

You big tease!

Watch it there fella...

 

[Alli]

Last time I made lentil soup for the freezer, not more than ten days ago, most of it didn't make it to the freezer, went straight from stove to countertop to fridge and then back onto the stove as dinner with leftovers back in the fridge for a next day's lunch. Just an assembly line glitch...

I need your recipe. We both love lentil soup, but the last time I tried making it, it just wasn’t great.

 

[lizkat]

I need your recipe. We both love lentil soup, but the last time I tried making it, it just wasn’t great.

Honestly I don't have one.. so slightly different every time, maybe. But I use brown lentils, water or veggie stock, generally add onions and carrots finely chopped and sautéed in a bit of olive oil, sometimes put in a couple diced red boiling potatoes... spices added after the lentils start to soften are usually just cumin, salt, black pepper.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Honestly I don't have one.. so slightly different every time, maybe. But I use brown lentils, water or veggie stock, generally add onions and carrots finely chopped and sautéed in a bit of olive oil, sometimes put in a couple diced red boiling potatoes... spices added after the lentils start to soften are usually just cumin, salt, black pepper.

And, er, garlic?

Does garlic make an appearance?

While Indian dal (or dhal) dishes are gorgeous, my very favourite take on lentil soup comes from Turkey; even in Istanbul airport, the lentil soup is amazing. The Turks just "get" lentil soup.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The kind of day for rising late (I love reading in bed); bedlinen changed, bins attended to (the ones inside the house, that is), crisps ("chips" to Our Transatlantic Cousins) purchased, along with sparkling mineral water, and the week-end edition of the FT.

 

[User.45]

Finalizing my #*@($*(# book chapter. What's amazing about spending this much time on something is that it really levels you up. An internal medicine geek (i.e. THAT guy who's always in the top 1%) told me once: "reading about medicine is never a waste of time. You'll always get something out of it that will make a difference either for you, or for a patient". I've been working very hard to refute his thesis, but the harder I try the more it proves correct... But this @#$#& book chapter was a pretty good swing at proving you can waste your time on medicine.

 

[Arkitect]

The day started out with drizzle… but certainly turned out well.

Lunch by the river and then a walk along the canal to work off the digestion.

Busy all over town. I think people know that these days are numbered and we'll soon be under a lockdown of some sort or another…

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have been reading the Sunday papers, and subsequently headed out for a stroll in the autumn air, on what was a nice, crisp autumn day.

Some beers were bought, too.

 

[jonblatho]

I’m doing nothing of value today because I’ve been instructed to quarantine while awaiting a COVID-19 test result.

Forgot to update y’all on this (still getting in the habit of getting on here instead of the shitshow at The Other Place), but I tested negative and am fine now! Thanks for the well wishes for those who sent them along.

I got my test result through my phone before I got the call from the place that tested me — but I could have played ignorant and had another night off work. Neat stuff, though.

 

[User.45]

I have been reading the Sunday papers, and subsequently headed out for a stroll in the autumn air, on what was a nice, crisp autumn day.

Some beers were bought, too.

Can't wait to be able to drink again! These days even a single beer can prevent me from getting anything done.
If any of you live near Munster Indiana the home of Zombie Dust, let me know!

 

[Alli]

I got my test result through my phone before I got the call from the place that tested me — but I could have played ignorant and had another night off work. Neat stuff, though.

That’s great news. I’m sure you’re relieved.

 

[jonblatho]

That’s great news. I’m sure you’re relieved.

Definitely. I’ve been working an essential in-person job since March for some spare cash and really didn’t want to have to force any of my coworkers to quarantine. Thankfully it was just seemingly a weird bug and it was good to have the reassurance.