Monday, August 5, 2024

 Monday, August 5, 2024

   

     We were three people at Chi Qigong today. Clyde and I were there as usual. Shelly joined us today. She was there two weeks ago with a visiting friend. Her presence was so different I didn't recognize her. It may have been because she was there with her friend, Jeff, who was hyper, and she was matching his energy. I like today's version better. I had trouble quieting my mind today.  I know how to do it now.  I know the control is in the right frontal lobe, and the 'quiet' is in the left. If I focus on the left frontal lobe, I get silence, sweet silence. Fear keeps me from living there. I might miss something dangerous.

   My first stop on the way home was Petco. I wanted to book an appointment for Elsa's grooming on August 15. I couldn't see anyone in the grooming room- Odd. The checkout clerk noticed me and came over. The grooming service was closed for the duration. A leak was found in the ceiling, violating the health code. The clerk took my name and number.

   Then, I went to Home Depot to check out Ryobi blowers. I love the Ryobi system. I can use the same battery on all their products. Less cutter. Less weight if I'm working with more than one device. They are kept under lock and key. I needed an associate's help. I found one. He could unlock the cabinets and give me one, but he knew nothing about them. Neither one of us could figure out which price went with the tool. He found someone who did know.  

    That fellow must have been suffering from hemorrhoids; he was irritated by my questions and lack of knowledge.  With his help, I could identify a small blower I had never seen anyone use. I asked him what the large one could do that the small one couldn't. Move rocks; I didn't need that. I just want to blow green waste off my pebble-covered areas rather than pick up each leaf by hand one at a time.  He asked if they were dry or wet. Dry. The smaller one should do it.  I said I didn't need one with a battery; I already had two that would work with that machine. He saw one for sale with a battery and charger for $100.  I said no, I only wanted the tool. The unknowledgeable associate was still there. He showed me that the one on sale, including the battery and charger, cost nine dollars less than the package with the tool alone. I thanked him.

  Yvette came up to help me do the background check on Joseph, anticipating him renting a room in my quarters. When I told her August, Damon's son, had done a search and found nothing, she was satisfied. 

   I asked Yvette what her considerations were about his living in the guest bedroom. Sound and privacy.  I don't see sound being a problem. Joseph is a twenty-eight-year-old who goes to work at 6:30 every weekend; he's unlikely to use the bathroom during the night as most guests in my age range do.  I will buy him a white noise machine for privacy and see how it goes. I think both he and I are up for other possibilities.  For now, he is just temporary. He needs someplace to stay immediately.  If that room doesn't work, he can help me set up the library as a bedroom.  I hope it works out and Joseph and I will be comfortable with the arrangement. He does seem like someone I can get along with.

  I filled another bucket with Plumbago greens and carried it, along with the one I filled yesterday, to Darby's, dropped them off, and took home the large trash barrel with two empty 5-gal orange buckets inside.

   I met with L, now in fourth grade, to continue working on comprehension skills. He still has trouble discerning the difference between questions in the 'In The Book' section, which requires him to use only the words in the sentence, and the three other sections, where he can and should use his own words. He also needs help handling uncertainty. His mind goes blank when faced with confusion.