Wednesday, January 11, 2023

 Wednesday, January 11, 2023 

 

    I've been good about my in-bed exercises before my morning walk. I've included the toe stretches the chiropractor recommended. I see improvement in the discomfort level of my right foot.

  I called the company that sells concrete acid stains, asking if they could send me a color chart. The one on their Internet site needs to be bigger. I can't hold it against the base and the gravestones to compare the color choices. They said yes, no problem.

  I downloaded the book I planned to read with Adolescent D, Investing for Young Adults. This is the book his mother gave him for Christmas. It was the first book he ever received as a gift; he was fifteen years old. He only now reads well enough that giving a book as a gift is reasonable. D was excited to receive it. He wasn't put off by it being a book. He was thrilled with the topic. It is something he was interested in.

   I saw I could order the digital version of the book for $.99. Then I noticed I had a Kindle subscription that was costing me $10 a month. Huh? How did this happen? I decided to maintain the subscription while I worked on this book. Then I thought- cut my losses. I canceled the subscription and bought the Kindle version to share the book with D while we read it together.

  I put my Kindle version on Zoom's shared screen. I was disappointed that I couldn't write on the book's pages. I needed to write on the screen to continue to guide him in his reading procedures. I had to think of another way to do it.

  I cleaned Elsa's ears. My friend Carol modeled how to do it. Elsa builds up wax quickly. I have learned that people build up wax at different rates, some too much and some too little. Whatever the problems are with building up too much, too little is worse. The wax protects our ears.  

   I got a call from a Colorado number yesterday. I didn't pick it up because it had to be a scam. Then I saw I had a voicemail. It was the Kaiser billing department. This was my answer to my phone call yesterday. When I called and was put on hold, I was given the choice of holding or getting a callback. I chose the latter. They said I would hear in half an hour. It was quite a bit longer than that.

  I asked if I could get a single-sheet summary paper of all my medical expenses for the year. No, they didn't do that. They would print out every receipt, and I would have to add it myself. Are you telling me this huge company can't get the software installed that allows for an annual summary sheet?

    I got around to straightening out the linen closet. After my guests left, I washed a bunch of towels. I neatly folded them and asked Scott to put them in the closet because I couldn't reach that high. I forgot to tell him that I wanted the whole stack put in as is. He stuffed each towel in individually. Well, I could have done that. And that is what I did do today. I removed all the towels from the closet, refolded them, and put them in one at a time.  

I did it while Scott was out. I didn't want him to feel bad.

    I was pretty depressed today. I had a great time yesterday. My spirits were good. I thoroughly enjoyed lunch with my friend Jean. Today, I found myself obsessing about relationships that were not as I would like them to be. I struggled against it.

   I was reading Time of the Magicians. OMG! I recognize the philosophy of Wittgenstein and Heidegger. They're the ones my father taught me. Along with Rousseau, with some Socratic debate thrown in for good measure. Wittgenstein combined logical thought with metaphorical expression. That sounded familiar, too. I see myself reflected in these philosophers. Not so original.  

   I trimmed some of the overgrown shrubs along the edge of the driveway. I took down a major branch along the edge of the fence with my much-loved mini chainsaw. Mike would have freaked out at the thought of me using it. Good thing he's not here to worry about it. If I cut an artery, I'll join him sooner than expected.