Saturday 9: Autumn in New York

Saturday 9: Autumn in New York (1947)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Frank Sinatra sings that autumn in New York is inviting. How are you enjoying fall where you are?

A. The leaves are just starting to turn here in the lower areas; I can see color on the mountain ridges.

2) He tells us the "canyons of steel" (aka skyscrapers) make him feel like he's home. What's something you love about your neighborhood?

A. I love the mountains. They feel like home to me.

3) Frank Sinatra was self-conscious about the scar on his cheek. The doctor used forceps to deliver him and left a mark. Tell us about one of your scars.

A. I have a scar on my left thumb that I made while I was helping my grandfather chop up a mulberry tree that had fallen in his backyard. I missed the limb with the hatchet and hit my thumb. The thing bled like crazy and probably needed a stitch, but my grandmother simply held my thumb together and wrapped it up tightly in a bandage.

4) Frank was a creature of habit. Every time he visited Patsy's Italian Restaurant in New York he ordered the same dessert: lemon ricotta torte. Do you enjoy trying new dishes, or do you prefer to stick with your old favorites?

A. We tend to eat the same thing most of the time, mostly because I can't stand to cook, and we can't simply walk to a restaurant.

5) "Autumn in New York" was written by New Yorker Vernon Duke during a hot summer vacation in Westport, CT. Have you ever been homesick?

A. I have been homesick. I think I get a little homesick every time we take a vacation, even though my husband is right beside me. I like my house and my view.

6) In 1947, when this recording made the Top 30, Daniel and Patricia were the most popular baby names. Are there any Daniels or Patricias in your life?

A. I know a Patty from college. She is not exactly in my life, but she sends me an instant message about once a year. 

7) Elton John was born in 1947. When you think of Elton John, what's the first song that comes to mind?

A. Daniel.

8) Radio was America's most accessible form of entertainment in 1947 and a mystery, The Adventures of Ellery Queen, was one of the most popular shows. Do you enjoy mysteries?

A. I like cozy mysteries. I am not much on guts and gory mysteries. I could not reach Patricia Cornwell because I found her books too gruesome, for example. But I like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series because the blood and guts are not overly done. Same with Louise Penny's Three Pines books.

9) Random question: What were you most excited about when you woke up this morning?

A. My husband is going to make breakfast!

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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

Thursday Thirteen

1. I received my Covid shot on Tuesday. I chose Pfizer and made a point of not taking the Covid and flu shots at the same time. Aside from a little tiredness on Wednesday, I noticed no ill effects from the vaccine.

2. Better safe than sorry. I know the vaccine won't protect me completely, and I may still catch Covid if I'm not careful, but I am doing my best to stay healthy.

3. That includes trying to eat better, which is always a struggle. Why is it that my body seems to crave the very foods I'm not supposed to eat? When I try to eat better, sometimes a salad makes me feel worse than if I'd eaten a candy bar.

4. Taking care of yourself is a full-time job, one that I wasn't taught to do well by my parents. They didn't exercise, or make a point of leisure. They worked. Hard. And I was brought up to do the same.

5. That said, my inability to "work hard" has a tendency to leave me depressed. My body let me down with its endometriosis and gallbladder attacks and now adhesions in my gut that cause pain during 90 percent of my day.

6. However, I am still sticking to the walking on the treadmill. I am stuck at 20 minutes a day for the moment, but that's 20 minutes of walking I wasn't doing but am doing now. Pats on the back to me for sticking with it in spite of the pain.

7. We have voted already. Early voting started in Virginia in September, and last week we went and cast our votes. I was voter number 1,555, according to the counter that a poll worker helpfully pointed out to me to ensure I could see that my vote was cast and counted by the machine. I do wonder if since I know that if my secrecy of my vote is secure. I'm assuming the vote papers land in a nice little pile. Couldn't a poll worker simply count to 1,555 and say, "Aha! I know how she voted now!" ?

8. I was writing about voting security back in the early 2000s, when this county switched to what they called Win voting machines. They were all electronic, no paper to see anywhere, and I did not consider them secure in the least. I wrote a couple of articles about it, though if I am remembering correctly, they were mostly, "Yes, the voting machines are safe" articles because the voter registrar said so. At the time using the Internet for research wasn't so predominate so it was difficult to find an opposing opinion. Without seeing the articles, I don't recall if I found one.

9. It wasn't that I was a voting conspiracy theorist, I just felt like paper ballots allowed for a trail in the event of something happening. What if the power had gone out? No one could vote. I wasn't concerned about "illegal voters" or anything like that. I was just concerned about the security of the machines themselves. So were other people.

10. I used to think some conspiracy theories were harmless. Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, for example. Now we have conspiracy theories that are detrimental to a lot of people and are causing harm to many. Now I don't think any of them are harmless.

11. Home is where the heart is, and it's where I spend way too much time. It's just easier. And hopefully here I can do no harm.

12. The recent flooding in the mountains from Hurricane Helene have brought back a lot of memories. These old mountains flood terribly when a tropical front stalls over them. I remember the flooding from Hurricane Camille in 1969, Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and the flooding from 1985 (which I don't think was associated with a hurricane, but the remnants of a tropical storm). It doesn't happen often, but when it does happen, it's bad. 

Here's a video of the Flood of '85.

13. Mother Nature is vicious sometimes. But what would we do without her? I feel bad for the folks who were flooded out in various communities on the east coast. I also know that help arrives as quickly as it can. Sometimes all you can do is help yourself. Maybe most of the time.

*I really don't like these TTs where my brain just wanders all over the place.*

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 879th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

That Certain Slant of Light

 

Bucks Butting Heads

A quick little short video I captured of two bucks hitting their horns together. 

I Am Honored

Yesterday, the Botetourt County Historical Society, Inc. held its 16th Founders Day Dinner at Virginia Mountain Vineyards in Fincastle.

A few weeks ago, I received a call from one of the members telling me I should be there, and they were giving me two tickets to the event. I was receiving a recognition, I was told.

Actually, I received The Garland Stevens Award, named after one of the museum's founders. Mr. Stevens, who is no longer with us, was also my husband's cousin, and I knew him. I think I interviewed him at some point, but to be honest I have interviewed so many residents of Botetourt County that without going back through the newspapers I can't be certain of that.

I was greatly honored to receive this for my writing and for my other work to help preserve the historic nature of Botetourt County. Over the many years I wrote for the newspaper, I sounded the alarm on several structures that were up for demolition, and the Historical Society or others sometimes were able to step in and save these buildings. Not always, but not every battle is meant to be won.

Additionally, I served with Historic Fincastle, Inc., on its board for a number years and served as its president for two years. I also wrote the magazine that celebrated the county's 250th anniversary in 2020, and to be honest, because of Covid, that magazine (which is no longer in print) is about all the evidence that there was any notice of the anniversary at all. (My old editor, Ed McCoy, wrote a book called Chronicles of Botetourt that came out that year, and it was a 250th anniversary project, but it was not sponsored by the county.)

The event lasted 3 hours and much to my surprise, my father and stepmother came to see me receive my recognition. I was able to introduce my father to several people I know, including our representative to the Virginia General Assembly in the House of Delegates and the chairman of the county supervisors. I'm not sure my dad knew that I am on a first-name basis with these folks. I don't go around talking about it, after all. But I liked being able to introduce him to these dignitaries.

My close friend Teresa and her husband Robin also came (and they are important people, too, in our community), and I was so glad to be able to spend time with them. I saw many other folks that I haven't seen in at least 4 or 5 years.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Sarah McCartney, Assistant Teaching Professor, NIAHD, from The College of William and Mary. She spoke for about 40 minutes on the Battle of Point Pleasant, which is considered by some historians to be the actual beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

While the battle took place in what is now West Virginia, at the time it occurred in 1774, the land was part of Botetourt County.

We had a very nice time, although I was worn out when we got home. That was a long time for me to be out of my little nest here. 

Sunday Stealing

1. What do you hope your last words will be?

A. "I love you."

2. What do you spend the most time thinking about?

A. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I should be doing - and then not doing it.

3. What is something you can never seem to finish?

A. I do not finish novels or long short stories that I start to write.

4. What mistake do you keep making again and again?

A. I open my mouth.

5. What’s the best thing you got from your parents?

A. I received a strong work ethic from my parents.

6. What’s the best and worst thing about getting older?

A. The best thing about growing older is (hopefully) having a little more wisdom. The worst thing about growing older is the decay of the physical body (and I include the mind in that).

7. What do you wish your brain was better at doing?

A. I wish I could remember faces better. I run into people I am supposed to know at the store, and I seldom remember who they are until days or weeks later. Sometimes I never remember who they are. This is frustrating.

8. If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?

A. Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies.

9. What have you created that you are most proud of?

A. I am proud of the magazine I made for my county's 250th anniversary. I am also proud of this blog, because I have done it for such a long time.

10. What were some of the turning points in your life?

A. Turning points in my life include my marriage, my college graduation, and several health issues.

11. What song or artist do you like but rarely admit to liking?

A. I have no problem admitting to any of the songs or artists I like.

12. What small impact from a stranger made a big impact on you?

A. 

13. As you get older, what are you becoming more and more afraid of?

A. I am becoming more afraid of losing my health, and I have become more afraid that some of the benefits I expected to have, like Medicare and Social Security, are at risk.

14. What are some of the events in your life that made you who you are?

A. I had teachers who told me I could write, and that supported me. 

15. What could you do with $2 million to impact the most amount of people?

A. I would donate the $2 million to some charity, perhaps Feeding America, after much examination, to ensure that it would be the best place to put the funds to help the most people.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Catching a Comet

I have a few pictures of the Northern Lights from Thursday night, but I wasn't able to get out of the house to see them because my neighbor decided it was a good night to burn his brush pile. With my asthma I couldn't be out there, so what I have I took through a window.

But tonight, I caught the comet! This is comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, which hasn't been seen for about 80,000 years.

Just yesterday, right?

Anyway, I got lucky with the photo. There were clouds and I captured this just before the cloud cover rolled over the sky. It's a little blurry because I was having trouble focusing but it's the comet.

Saturday 9: Jolene

Saturday 9: Jolene (1973)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Dolly Parton sings about a woman with great hair, great eyes, a great smile and a great voice. OK, so Jolene has it all. Of these, which is your most attractive feature: your hair, your eyes, your smile or your voice?

A. I'll go with my eyes. I am told they are quite expressive, and my close friends can almost read my mind by looking in my eyes. They are hazel and look like cracked ice.

2) Dolly tells us her husband mentions in Jolene in his sleep. Do you talk in your sleep?

A. I talk, scream, yell, gurgle, laugh, etc. in my sleep. My poor husband has to listen to that at night. Fortunately, he is a heavy sleeper.

3) Dolly has said this song was inspired by a bank teller she caught flirting with her husband. That was in the 1970s. Today we can do our banking from our computers, our phones or a bank ATM. When is the last time you spoke to a banker?

A. I spoke to a banker just this past week. I went inside to order checks.

4) Dolly had a crush on Johnny Cash. When she was just a teen, she saw him perform at The Grand Ole Opry and called it "love at first sight." Are you crushing on anyone right now?

A. I am not crushing on anyone except my husband, who is not a crush but my longtime love. I might be crushing a tiny bit on Taylor Swift, who gave $5 million to help out the flood victims from Hurricane Helene.

5) Dolly is more than a singer/songwriter. She's an industry! Her Dollywood is a theme park, water park, hotel and spa. Looking back on the summer of '24, did you visit a theme park, water park, hotel or spa?

A. I am afraid we did not visit much of anything this summer.

6) A luxury stay at Dollywood can get expensive, unless you're the teacher who wins this year's Chasing Rainbows Award from Dolly. She treats a deserving teacher to a week at Dollywood. Tell us about a teacher who made a difference in your life.

A. Lots of teachers have influenced me, and I have written about most of them at some point or another. One of my college professors, Jeanne Larsen, had a big influence on my writing and gave me the courage to move forward with it.

7) Dollywood is in Sevier County, TN. Her ties to the community are strong, and in 2007, Dolly raised the funds to build a new hospital that opened there in 2010. When you were last in a hospital, were you a patient or a visitor?

A. The last time I was in a hospital was in 2022, when my husband had hip replacement surgery. So, I was visiting.

8) In 1973, when "Jolene" was popular, Elvis' "Aloha from Hawaii" concert aired. "Aloha" is the native Hawaiian word used when greeting or parting. Can you say anything else in Hawaiian?

A. I'm afraid not really. "Mali maliki maki" (sp) is the thing they say for Merry Christmas, maybe? There's some song about that.

9) Random question: Have you more recently eaten cold pizza or cold fried chicken?

A. I have not recently eaten either. I haven't had pizza in at least a year, and I do not eat fried chicken (I eat baked or roasted chicken). I do not eat either of them cold.

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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen books in my "TBR" pile:

1. The Nature of Witches, by Rachel Griffin

2. "Nothing is worth more than this day," by Kathryn & Ross Petras

3. Coyote Weather, by Amanda Cockrell*

4. Chronicles of Botetourt County, by Edwin L. McCoy*

5. West of Santillane, by Brook Allen*

6. Kingdom of Copper, by S.A. Chakraborty

7. News! by Dan Smith*

8. The President's Daughter, by Bill Clinton & James Patterson

9. Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, by Orson Scott Card, et al

10. The Year of Living Constitutionally, by A. J. Jacobs

11. From Strength to Strength, by Arthur C. Brooks

12. Atomic Habits, by James Clear

13. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder **

* Local authors. I like to support the local authors when I can.

** I've picked it up and skipped around in it to read various chapters, but haven't read the entire thing.

The big question then is - will I ever get these read? Probably eventually, but this year I seem more into listening to audiobooks than reading. I have this need to listen. I think it is because I myself do not feel heard.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 877th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

2020 All Over Again

Yesterday at the grocery store, a somewhat familiar sight from the past greeted me:

Yes, the toilet paper was mostly gone.

I attributed this to two things: panic about the longshoreman strike at the ports (which lasted 2 days and has resolved itself for now) and the urge to donate goods into the many donation boxes that sprang up around the county to help out the folks who lost everything in the floods in far southwestern Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, courtesy of Hurricane Helene.

We donated, too, but not toilet paper. We bought food for cattle at the local farmers' cooperative, which as I understand it went to our neighbors in far southwestern Virginia. I also donated to the United Way, which seems to be doing a good job in North Carolina.

It's hard to know what to do when an emergency strikes your neighbors - or your own community. You need and want help right away, but the flood waters have to recede, the winds have to die down, and the manpower has to be able to make to wherever you are.

I've been in the mountainous terrain in the areas around me, and there are tiny communities everywhere, back in the gullies and hollers where no one thinks anyone lives. Some people who are missing may never be found.

And now there's another hurricane headed for Florida, which also was hit by Hurricane Helene. I hope everyone has left the area as this large storm - Hurricane Milton - hits that part of the country again.

Sunday Stealing

1. What gets you fired up?

A. I can get "fired up" over many things, but nothing sends me off more than an injustice against someone I care about.

2. What makes a good life?

A. Having someone to love, shelter, food, and enough, whatever that means to each individual.

3. What risks are worth taking?

A. Risk worth taking would include saving someone else's life or doing something that logically you feel would move you toward a much-desired goal. 

4. Who inspires you to be better?

A. I have a few friends who like to kick me in the butt occasionally.

5. What do you have doubts about?

A. Everything.

6. What fact are you resigned to?

A. That I have no control over most of my life.

7. What book impacted you the most?

A. Honestly, it was probably a book that I don't remember the name of, and it wasn't so much the book as when I read the book that it made its impact. It was given to me by a friend who was certain I was a heathen going to hell (she was right), and it was about a woman named Lucy who went through all kinds of trials and tribulations (like Job) but never lost her faith. I'm not sure exactly what the book did for me, I just know I never forgot it. I have never forgotten the friend who gave it to me, either, even though I have no idea where she is and haven't seen or spoken to her since 8th grade.

8. What irrational fear do you have?

A. I worry that a bear might eat me.

9. What is the hardest lesson you’ve learned?

A. I think most of the lessons I've learned have been hard ones. The hardest lesson may be that one that teaches you that you're all alone even in a crowd, and always will be.

10. What is something you’re self-conscious about?

A. I am self-conscious about my weight.

11. What are one or two of your favorite smells?

A. I like the smell of cookies baking and the smell of my husband's chest after he's had a shower.

12. Have you given to charities?

A. I have given to many charities. Most recently I donated to various things for the Hurricane Helene victims.

13. What is the best compliment you have received?

A. One of my old editors told me recently that I was "fearless when you went after a story." I can't imagine a better compliment for a news writer.

14. What chance encounter changed your life forever?

A. I ran into this guy at a football game, and then I married him.

15. What was the most memorable gift you’ve received?

A. My husband gave me a guitar for our 40th wedding anniversary. I'll go with that one.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Love on Top

Saturday 9: Love on Top (2011)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) Beyonce sings that she and her lover have worked through a tough time and now they are happier than before. Do you agree with the lyrics that relationships take effort? Or do you think that if a couple is well-matched and their love is real, happiness will naturally follow?

A. Love takes work. Marriage takes work. Friendships take work. I don't think there is anything much natural about a relationship of any kind aside from pheromones that might have led to an initial attraction.

2) She tells us that he's the one she can always call. But that was in 2011. If someone needed to get in touch with you today, would you recommend they call, send an instant message, or text?

A. I prefer a phone call but answer texts quickly. I am not on Facebook much, so I don't see instant messages quickly.

3) Beyonce goes through many costume changes in this video and in her concert performances. What are you wearing right now as you answer these questions, and will you change clothes throughout the day?

A. I am wearing a t-shirt and blue jeans. I won't change my clothes again until I put on something to sleep in tonight.

4) The choreography in this video was inspired by Janet Jackson's videos in the 1990s. The Jackson family -- Janet, her brothers as solo artists and as The Jackson 5 -- have sold a staggering 750 million records. Can you think of another successful musical family?

A. The Osmonds. The Patridge Family (not sure how successful they were). 

5) Beyonce and husband Jay-Z have an impressive classic car collection, including a restored and customized 1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II, reportedly worth $1,000,000. If you suddenly received a million, what would you splurge on? We want to hear about a gift you'd give yourself. (It doesn't have to take the whole $1,000,000.)

A. I would like to add on to my house. My house is small, and I would like to have more storage space and a more separate room for my husband to watch television. That wouldn't cost a million bucks, but it would make me happy.

6) Beyonce "loves to lather" and enjoys shampooing her hair. What's a simple, everyday thing that relaxes you?

A. I like a good hot shower, too.

7) In 2011, when "Love on Top" was popular, so were movie franchises. Sequels to Harry Potter, Transformers, Twilight, Kung Foo Panda, and Disney's Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean all topped the box office. What's your favorite movie series?

A. I daresay no regular readers need ask, but it would be Lord of the Rings. I liked the Harry Potter movies, too, especially after the young ones grew up a bit.

8) Speaking of sequels, Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and two of its sequels (The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) were on the NY Times list of fiction bestsellers for 2011. Have you read any of them?

A. I have not read any of Larsson's books. The reviews have left me feeling like I would not like the books.

9) Random question -- Which of these items do you misplace most often: your cellphone, your keys or the TV remote?

A. I misplace my cellphone the most. I am constantly walking around saying, "Hey Siri," so she'll pop up and say, "Yes" and I can find the phone. The keys stay where they're supposed to be, and my husband is in charge of the TV remote.

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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

A Crazy Friday

I needed to run errands this morning. This is how the day went:

I got up and began reading the news. The internet kept cutting in and out. I checked the phone lines, and they were static. I had had the phone company out yesterday to check the phone lines for the same thing. I was told there was water getting in the line "someplace" and as soon as I noticed it, I should call and tell them to have "Doug" come immediately. This has been a problem for YEARS, but we've had a drought, so it hasn't been as much of an issue.

Anyway, I called the phone company when I realized the lines were static. It took over 20 minutes to make this phone call while I was put on hold and asked questions that I had answered yesterday. The whole time I was thinking, this is taking so long, the lines will have dried up by the time "Doug" gets out here.

I jumped in the shower when I finished talking to the phone rep. The phone company called in the middle of my shower to tell me "Doug" was on his way. I swear I could take a shower at 2 a.m. and the phone would ring.

I waited around on "Doug," who did not show up. To pass the time, I wrote out the check for the local taxes. That is always a good way to make your day better (not).

The eye doctor's office called to remind me of an appointment, and the static had cleared up. So, I knew the lines were drying out and "Doug" wasn't going to be of much help.

After a while, I decided "Doug" wasn't going to make it, so I left to run my errands. On the way out, I went by the little box where the trouble with my phone line seems to always originate. There was a phone company truck there, so I pulled in and got out. "Doug" sat in his truck be-bopping to music, playing on his cellphone. I beat on the window, and he rolled it down. I told him my name. He said he had to work on something else then he would get to me.

Yeah, Candy Crush was "Doug's" big priority.

I left him there and went to the county administration building to pay the taxes, since I'd written the checks. The fellow who took my checks and ran my receipts was absolutely the slowest clerk in the entire world. He typed in numbers with one finger, with about 10 seconds between each number.

This was another 20 minutes for something that should have taken 10 minutes at the most.

On the way out, I ran into a friend, who gave me a big (and much needed) hug. We chatted a bit and then I hurried off to my next errand.

This stop was at CVS. It seems on Wednesday when I went to get a flu shot, the pharmacist made me pay a $42 copay for something that was supposed to be free to me. When I called my insurance company on Thursday, they said to go back to CVS and make them redo the entire thing and run it through the right insurance. They apparently had used my prescription insurance and it should have been my health insurance (although a flu shot is a prescription so . . . ). 

Of course, this took another 30+ minutes and 3 people because no one knew how to refund and redo the insurance. The line behind me backed up and I could feel my face turning red for holding up the process. I had been trying to get there at an hour when I thought there would be few people, but all of those earlier hold-ups had scuttled that.

While I was in CVS, "Doug" called on my cellphone. "I'm at your house and it sounds clear as a bell," he cheerfully said of my line. He added that he was standing there talking to my husband. I asked if the Internet was working. "Doug" replaced the modem even though I'm fairly certain the problem is the water in the line (I am still on DSL and can't get fiber out here) and not the modem. Oh well. At least it's working.

Then it was off to Bank #1, where I needed new checks. The new checks for this particular account were $30 for 20 checks. 

I decided I could transfer the money into my regular checking and go that route and screw the checks.

Then it was off to Bank #2, where I waited in no line for a good 5 minutes before somebody finally waited on me to make my deposit. What do these people do while someone stands in front of them? Am I invisible?

At this point, it was almost lunch time. I decided the grocery store wasn't going to happen and if we had no eggs for the weekend, too bad. I pointed the car in the direction of home and arrived to find my husband and "Doug" still having a chat about whatever guys chat about.

"Doug" also assured me I would have fiber by December. I told him I wasn't holding my breath. They've been telling me for YEARS I would have fiber "in a few months."

I came in, fixed us lunch, tossed a load of laundry in the washing machine, worked on blog posts for Saturday 9 and Sunday Stealing, and walked for 20 minutes on the treadmill.

I also developed a whale of a headache that is still pounding firmly in my skull. 

It might be my blood pressure. You think?

Thursday Thirteen

1. I didn't quite forget it was Thursday, but I came close.

2. I've been trying for weeks to get a flu shot. Finally, last night I got an appointment scheduled at the pharmacy for 7 p.m. for both my husband and I. We arrived to find I had no appointment, but he did. They gave me the shot anyway but charged me $42. 

3. I spent part of the morning on the phone with the insurance company trying to find out why I was charged for something that my paperwork says should have been free.

4. The concierge for the health insurance company suggested I had run across a new employee who didn't know what he was doing. I don't know if he was new, but he did not know what he was doing when it came to my insurance.

5. This is strange because CVS is owned by Aetna. Shouldn't they know how to work together? Now I have to go back to CVS and ask them to fix it.

6. We went to the Fincastle Festival on Saturday. I put up pictures but wrote nothing to go with them because while we had a nice hour there, the Fincastle Festival is not what it once was. Once upon a time, the Fincastle Festival drew 10,000 people or more, and the streets teemed with folks shopping for quality arts and crafts.

7. Large craft shows like the Fincastle Festival once was do not appear to be the draw they used to be. Is this because of Etsy? People making their own little crafts? It's not from the pandemic - the Festival was dying long before that.

8. I also have not mentioned Hurricane Helene and the damage this power of nature wrought on the east coast. The hurricane turned into a tropical storm that left loads of water in its wake, and all of that water dumped on Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia. Whole communities washed away in places where more than 30 inches of rain fell.

9. We are doing our part to help those who were inundated with winds and rain. We are helping farmers through our local farmers' cooperative, which agreed to match up to $25K in donations. We purchased many bags of beef cattle feed to be sent to the farmers who lost their hay and other food sources, and our purchase was matched by the cooperative. It seemed the best way to double the impact.

10. I've also made smaller donations where I can. There is so much that needs to be rebuilt and there are many who lost their lives. The last I heard, over 175 people so far have been found dead from floods. Locally, a young woman died when a chicken coop blew over on top of her in the very strong winds we experienced.

11. There is also a strike by the longshoremen, and this appears to have sent some folks into panic mode as far as buying toilet paper and eggs. Both are made here in the US and should not be impacted by a strike at the ports. However, some of the purchases may be to send to the folks who were more greatly impacted by the hurricane. It looks like panic buying, but perhaps not.

12. I am having trouble managing my time lately. I feel unmoored and ill at ease. I'm not sure what is going on. Perhaps it is the coming winter? The shorter days?

13. My pocketbook, which I have carried for years (since before the pandemic), finally fell apart. I have another but I have not yet changed them out. I seem reluctant to let go of the one that has served me for so long. It was a Kim Rogers, and I have another Kim Rogers to replace it with that I bought at the same time and stowed away for just such a moment, but I am quite attached to my old one.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 877th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Oopsy Daisy

Yesterday, I went with my husband to the orthopedic center in the city. He is having trouble with his knee, with fluid on the kneecap that is as big as my fist.

The first thing they wanted were x-rays of both of his knees. We sat in a waiting area with other folks, the only two people with masks on, of course.

After they called my husband back for his x-rays, I scurried over to the restrooms. Upon my return, my seats that had been furthest away from other people were taken, so I sat in a chair in the hallway that was directly in front of the entrance to the x-ray area, where my husband would see me.

I pulled up Lord of the Rings on my cellphone and began reading. I became engrossed in the book and was at the part where Faramir is telling Frodo about Boromir's death when suddenly I heard a little cry. "Oh."

Then something hit my left knee and the side of my leg. I heard a lot of exclamations all around me. I looked down to find a large woman lay in the floor at my feet, with the aid who had been delivering her from x-ray bending over her. I sat, rubbing my knee, while the woman said, "See, this is what happens, it just locks up on me and I hit the floor."

The aid asked the woman if she was ok. The woman said, "Thank goodness I didn't land on my broken arm," and then went on to explain she'd broken her left shoulder once before. She was on her right side in the floor.

I saw the nurse who had been doing the intake for x-rays pick up a phone. "Urgent Code" something she said, then quickly hurried over. She touched me on the shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"She hit my leg when she fell, I want to stand up in a minute and see how it feels," I said. The woman was still at my feet and now there were people in scrubs everywhere, appearing seemingly from every corner of the building, responding, I supposed, to the Urgent Code call.

About this time my husband came out of x-ray. I saw him and caught his eye. He gaped at the sight before him, which must have looked crazy - me sitting there in a chair, a woman at my feet, at least a dozen other people around us. I waved him on to wherever he needed to go. The look on his face said, "What the hell?" better than any words could have done.

Someone appeared with a wheelchair, and somebody else had a sheet. The staff rolled the woman over until the sheet was under her butt, and then they hoisted her up and into the chair.

Once she was up and being hauled off to wherever they were taking her, I stood and tested out my leg. The x-ray nurse asked me if I was ok. I said I thought I was, but I wanted to make a report of the incident. She came back with a pencil and paper and asked me to write down my name and birthday. I did, along with a sentence about what happened. I didn't think that was much of a report.

"If it's bothering you after your husband has his appointment, we will see you," she said. "Just let us know."

I went to the waiting area where my husband sat and told him what happened. I wasn't in real pain, but I could tell something had hit me. I was limping a little.

That was the end of my excitement. I went back with my husband to see the doctor, where we were told that the fluid on his kneecap could only be left alone to heal itself and that could take up to 9 months. After that, my husband probably needs a knee replacement.

The doctor was getting ready to leave when I asked if we could see his x-rays. Yep, he will need a knee replacement eventually. I could see where it was bone on bone. He says it doesn't hurt. I don't see how it couldn't.

As we left, I stopped at the check-in area and asked again about making an incident report about the woman falling on me, since I didn't really feel like writing my name on a scratch pad was going to cut it if I woke up and found my knee was swelling or something. I was assured it would be entered into my chart.

However, there is nothing in my chart except what I put in there this morning, a little paragraph about what happened in the area where I can make notes in the chart.

Fortunately, I see to be ok. But wasn't that a weird thing?

And shouldn't there have been a better way to report an incident at the facility?

The Fincastle Festival