One neat thing I did around the house yesterday afternoon was to hang a thing to put our keys on by the door. It had these indentations on the back on where you would put the screws in the wall. I learned a new trick how to hang things like this. You get a piece of tape and stick it to the back of what you want to hang and mark on the tape the locations of where the screwheads or whatever would go and mark them on the tape. Then remove the tape from the object and stick it to the wall where you want to hang the item. Drill your holes where you placed the marks on the tape. Then remove the tape and hang your item. So much easier than having to measure out and keep trying to look behind the thing.
Today chose to be in the 70s which was a welcome change compared to what I dealt with a bit yesterday. I went on a bit of a spending spree today buying some needed things: a new cover for the grill, some gloves, and a new USB headset for my laptop since the ones I had been using since my corporate days finally bit the dust. I got one that also incorporates a 3.5mm jack so I can use it with other devices as well, so I’m looking forward to that being delivered.
Out on the afternoon shift today a woman came up to me and gifted me some lotion. I had been bringing in her barrels on trash day since she lets me use her driveway and she just wanted to meet and thank me for doing that. That was nice – actually most people that I’ve dealt with have been quite friendly to me. I am out there dealing with the public all the time now so it’s different than what I had been used to, but overall, I like the folks. Over the last couple of weeks I have been getting more and more comfortable with that.
I felt like posting a new photo today so I chose this sunset from Orleans down on the Cape to for the weather we had today.
Gametime: Apples Contain a Lot of Iron. Another puzzle game right up my alley. Seem to be stuck on level 17 at the moment.
Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.
- Emily Brontë
This morning was the first morning in a while that it really started to feel like autumn, being cool and all.
As I was finishing up my shift today, a gentleman wearing a hat pulled over and came over to me and stated that he was an artist and drew various people around town. He even showed me some of his work. I suppose they were ok, but this guy was no Picasso. Anyways he asked if he could take my picture so that he could draw me, I guess, I mean I am rather adorable and cute, right? I obliged and let him take his shots. We’ll see what comes out of this one. I would have never believed all the weird stuff that I see these days out in the field.
The patio heater works! I got the tank filled and attached it to the device and lit the ignition with fingers crossed. Booted up right on the first try and I could immediately feel the heat radiating out of the device. Probably should buy a cover for it though to help protect it from some of the elements. Speaking of covers, we should probably buy a new one for the grill as well. The cover on there is over 11 years old and has served us admirably but it has a rip in the back that is just getting bigger and bigger over time. Time for an update for sure.
LD had me run over to the garden lady in town (the one we got a bunch of other bulbs from before). She had a bunch of lily bulbs she wanted to get rid of. We’ll plant them and hopefully get lots of lilies next season to look at! We just need to figure out where to actually place them. Might be a job for the weekend.
The photo is a throwback with a little updating by yours truly of when we stayed at the Castle Hill Inn in Newport, RI. This photo was from my first visit there. Still remains one of my favorites to visit and enjoy. Maybe another visit will be in the not too distant future?
I spent the afternoon assembling the patio heater out in the back yard. The directions said it should take an hour or so but it took me a little while longer. Although I was initially hesitant about assembling it after seeing all the various parts and hardwire, once I got down to brass tacks and started working my way through the instructions, it actually wasn’t so bad. All that’s left to do now is attach the propane and give her a test run. I’ll attempt to get that done tomorrow between shifts. The whole thing itself is actually quite tall at around 87.5 inches. Then I went ahead and mowed the back yard, giving me another ~6,000 steps according to my Fitbit, so it’s a bit of a workout.
I went ahead and added two more of my designs over at the shop. One recent, the other a little bit older. Check those out if you are interested.
Anyways it ended up being a rather productive day for myself.
Last night I made a shrimp and white bean sauté and tonight I made some pan roasted cod. On a seafood kick this week.
Spent the long weekend in Lavalette, NJ in a very cute beach house only steps from the ocean, so that was pretty amazing. The weather was a little rainy off and on, but mostly off, just windy and cloudy. It made for some pretty spectacular waves. I don’t know if the waves are like that there all the time, but like I said, it was pretty wild to watch the height and power of them. Another thing I like about Lavalette is that everything is right there. The main boulevard is right there and there’s lots of options, which is why Lavalette has quickly become my 2nd favorite place in Jersey now (Cape May being Number 1). The weekend didn’t go entirely as was planned but we made the best of it and we really enjoyed ourselves. I would definitely stay there again. (You can see some of the sights on my Insta stories before they disappear).
While I was there I also was able to pick up a new book to read from a little library that was located at a local coffeehouse that we checked out. The place was Lava Java, and the book is Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Changed the World. We’ll see how the book is but the coffee place was pretty good. We also frequented a place called Lenny’s for take out dinners. Have to say their pasta dinners were really good. So plugs out to those places – check them out if you’re ever down there. Also got to watch some Netflix while we were there in the evenings, a thing on Britney, some killer documentaries, and something about LSD and the stories from celebrities who’ve done it from time to time.
The artist at work.
Meanwhile back at the home front I need to start assembling that patio heater this week, and fill up the propane for the outside grill.
Every Smile Makes You A Day Younger (easier said than done?)
Smile! The heater and tank have arrived for the patio finally! I’ll start assembling it after the long weekend. In between I’ve been doing a bunch of errands and other little things that had to happen, visiting HQ, the bank, working my shift etc. For some reason PayPal decided to gift me 5 bucks. Not sure why but I’ll take it.
I’m a little concerned about our pine tree out back, as he appears to be browning its needles. I think it’s probably due to all the wet weather we had this season. Hopefully things will dry out and he’ll be able to survive. He does appear to be growing new things at the nodes and he did produce a new pinecone, so fingers crossed.
Today was a good day to get caught up on a bunch of little things, Like going to Home Depot to pick up some dirt, manure, and mulch to get ready for the next season’s garden activities. Also shopped around for some mums and pumpkins at various other places to make the place blend in for fall. We need to dig out the tubers, move some random spruce trees that planted themselves a few years back to other areas, and some various other transplant tasks. Also getting ready for a short road trip soon as well.
I had some of my own tasks to complete, such as finally pulling the AC out of the window, checking the level of propane in the grill (grilling chicken out there tonight as a matter of fact). I finally got around to trying to make some hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot. It was really easy – just stack 6 of them on a rack in there with a cup of water and set it to manual for 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes is up, release the pressure and let it set for another 5 minutes. When that’s down just carefully take them out and put them in a cold water bath for the last five minutes. I did all this and ate two and have to say, it’s the way to go. Easy peasy lemonade squeezy.
The next door neighbors are having some kid party/Patriots thing going on. So annoying! Can I just say I don’t care about the Pats or Brady? Didn’t care anytime before, still don’t care today.
LD got a patio heater that’s due to arrive midweek. I can’t wait to get a look and this thing and start using it as the nights get colder. Might be able to extend our outdoor gatherings a bit longer which would be nice.
I have a meeting tomorrow morning after my 1st shift to go over our emp numbers. Since I just started I don’t think my number is going to mean all that much. I’m also not really sure what a lower number entitles you to, but I’m going to find out.
A weird thing happened today while I was at my job. A woman pulled up to the light and did what appeared to me to be taking my picture on her cell phone. Uhmmm….why? It only took a second. I suppose she could have been looking at her phone for directions but to me it seemed more like she was taking a photo. I normally don’t mind having my picture taken but it just seems a bit unnerving when someone does it who who knows what purpose. Maybe I’m overreacting. It just seemed weird.
Otherwise it was a pretty good day! Fall is definitely in the air, though – bit chilly in the morning. After my shift I went to the reopened gas station which had been closed for renovations and got some gas for the mower as it was empty. I’ll probably do some lawn maintenance tomorrow in between commitments. I also have an appointment to get my windshield repaired tomorrow. Should be a fun day!
I heard another government shutdown may be looming. I’m so glad I don’t really need to care about that anymore, My previous job did much work for the government but when it shuts down most projects are put on hold and then it would be a stressful scramble to try to find work. And unlike the true government workers who get paid for while they were away for however long when they get back, we did not. It would be on another project, if you could find one, or overhead which would be a big nono because the place nickel and dimed everybody so much. Anyways, it’s just nice to not have to worry anymore about crap like that.
My long sleeve jacket came back from the tailors today and it looks super spiffy with its new accoutrements. In a couple of weeks I’ll need to go back and drop off the short sleeve for the same treatment.
Have you heard of these things called kiwi berries? I just tried some and I really like them. They are like tiny little kiwis but you eat them just as is, peel and all. And they taste really good. I had no idea this thing existed.
Nothing too special happened today. I had to go down to HQ to get some more paperwork just detailing their IT stuff. Now I have another email address – great. I don’t think I’ll ever use it though. Gmail works just fine for me. I also needed to reschedule my windshield repair. They hadn’t got the deets from the insurance company yet so I figured I’d give it a couple of more days and set it for Friday morning, Still plan on going to the tailors tomorrow though for my pickup. We also went to the pharmacy this afternoon because LD needed something.
We’re trying out a new meal delivery service this week. New cards and all. This particular one seems a little more upscale and with some better ingredients. We’ll see how I do trying to prepare the first one tonight, although generally, these things aren’t too hard to put together.
I still have the rock in the picture above. It’s sitting right on the windowsill next to where I have my laptop. For the longest time I could never find heart shaped rocks on the beach it seemed, but when I saw this, it was amazing and I was thrilled.
Today I started my shift solo – finally out of training and in the field all by myself. It’ll be this way from now on. What a journey it’s been so far, with all the various hoops to go through – I finally made it.
I set up an appointment this morning to have the car windshield guys come down to repair the crack that appeared last week. Figured I might as well get it done, the sooner the better, before it gets any worse. They had one appointment each day if I wanted them to swing by but with my schedule it didn’t seem ideal so I set it up that I’ll go down to their place on Wednesday and just wait down there while they work on it. I’ll be in the area anyways to pick up some things from the tailor that’s nearby.
The calming movement of the sea along with the restless ocean breeze gently caresses me creating a soothing trance which lulls me to a place of peace.
Spent another beautiful afternoon out at Rexhame again. So peaceful today and relaxing. We also like watching the dogs play in the water that people bring along.
While I was in my hometown this afternoon I decided to take out one of bikes and go for a ride around town, just to see how everything was looking. You can see some of these if you follow me on Insta under my stories. Some of the highlights were hitting some little libraries, catching some of the fluff festival down in Union Square – although by the time I got there it had appeared to be winding down, a visit to the Round House (which looks likes it’s finally being renovated and looks really nice), and going through Davis which is a mess due to the outdoor dining – not much room for the cars to pass through. I also passed by the place were the Ladydoc and I first met on our very first date. There’s a bit of trivia for you! The rest is history!
I guess I am a bit not used to riding though, because now I’m so tired and sleepy. I didn’t intend to do as much riding as I did but once I got going I wanted to keep checking out other things so I ended up doing an hour and a half of bicycling around the town.
So far the week’s been going good. Getting the hang of it all. Still under observation this week but I took the helm midweek because I wanted to. Next week I start all by my lonesome.
Looking to have to get a new kitchen faucet installed. We noticed it leaking over the last few days.
A cormorant crosses in front of a tugboat in Marshfield.
Tomorrow’s my big first day, wish me luck. What else? Not too much going on, just having some chill time around the firepit, watching tv, etc. I do need to make another appointment for a windshield repair. Darn thing had a pebble hit it while I was travelling down Route 1. This is the 2nd time now, last time being May 2020. I think this one can just be repaired though, as opposed to last time when I needed the whole thing replaced.
We went to Rexhame beach again this afternoon. The waves were killer. We didn’t go in the water of course, just sat in our chairs after a little hike around the river marsh in back. We found a nice secluded area above the river up a dune that was really peaceful and hung out there for a while. On the way back we got some open faced turkey sandwiches from a turkey farm place that’s on the way. We were going to eat them at home but ended up eating them on one of the picnic tables they had set up outside. It was really good too.
Alright, my CPR training is done! In case you were wondering, they don’t have you do the mouth to mouth stuff anymore because , duh, but you still do learn about it.
Unfortunely I did cut myself again last night accidently on my thumb again, in the exact same spot that I did it last time while preparing dinner. Thankfully it wasn’t as deep this time.
Seeing the sun rise in the morning Making someone laugh Listening to a snappy song Being recognized for a job well done Being counted on to come through, and succeeding Getting personal emails Getting lost in the amazement of this universe we inhabit Getting the chill up my spine from a dramatic or surprising scene of a movie Hugging a soft warm body Growing Up
Feelings That I Hate:
A song that ends too soon Feeling Pressured Feeling Stressed Out Regret Being Frustrated Biting Winds nipping at my face Saying Good-Byes Growing Up
Enjoy this picture from the Nauset Light that I took back in early spring while we stayed next door to it. That was such a nice trip. This shot was just sitting in my archives – figure I’d pull it out and finally post it.
Spent a good part of today filling out and going over all the paperwork for the HR department. Kinda crazy how many things there are. I’ll be handing that in on Thursday after I finish the CPR training. Looking forward to actually getting started, feels like it’s been weeks (which I suppose at this point it kind of actually has been).
Watching: Season premiere of Ice-T’s In Ice Cold Blood. This series is pretty much like all those shows on the ID network. I was intrigued by the description of some kid’s great grandparents “melting.” I feel that the best episode is one from the first season called Money Pig or some such. That story was so whack how could it have all been true. Worth searching for.
My new beach chair I ordered finally showed up today. This was the one that I originally wanted with the built in head pillow rest, lumbar support, side cooler and tons of pockets/storage. I’m giving it to LD to replace her old one which is needing to be retired already.
Last night we went to a winery with another couple friends of ours. We had seen this place featured on an episode of Chronicle which I just happened to randomly catch. The two things that caught our eye was that we saw in the video people that we knew and that they had this stuff called wine slushes, which is what you think it is. The place is really cute and we had a great time. We will definitely be going back there, especially since out friends became members, I personally sucked down two slushies while our friends did the traditional wine tastings. They liked their flavors so much they even bought a bunch of bottles. After staying there for a couple hours, we all headed back and sat around our fire pit for a few hours more. I didn’t get to bed until 2 am, I really enjoyed myself and I think everyone else did too.
This afternoon we went to the beach again. We are really becoming late summer beach bums this year. We ended up going to Rexhame, The water was pretty cold though but yet refreshing in a way. Must of stayed there around 4 hours or so. Once back home, I decided to use the grill to fire up some burgers from this week’s Hello Fresh instead of following their directions to fry them on a skillet. I think it worked out rather well, with the basil pesto and tomatoes. I did follow the directions to bake the potato fries though and used the oven for that.
