Thursday Thoughts

Haven't posted for a long time. Recently, the backup laptop that I've been using got infected with a virus. That's just the latest excuse.

We have a big item to check off our to-do list: we got grab bars installed in both our bathrooms. I had started research back in February but dropped the ball. Now it's done, and I'm happy with the results. 

We're under another heat dome. Dubious bonus: smoke from wildfires is overtaking the area. 

Bruce, our neighbor across the hall, had a stroke and will be transferred to permanent nursing care. He has a two-year-old dog JJ. Neighbors have been pitching in to help care for him. One neighbor who's been watching him went to the beach for the weekend. Another is watching JJ now, but she needs help walking him. That's me (and Jace.) We've only been on one walk so far, and I was just needed for moral support. That's good. 

JJ has been through a lot this year. Earlier, his technical owner died suddenly from a heart attack. Bruce was JJ's primary caregiver even then. I'm not sure what's going to happen with him. It makes me appreciate that the wills Jeff and I are making have a provision for Jace's care if something happens to us first. 

I've been thinking a lot about Bruce. I remember how he helped me walk/climb over the snow and ice after the January storm. He also helped shovel out my car. He would be happy to know that his neighbors are caring for JJ. 

On To 2026!

The holidays are officially over. Jeff and I had the quiet Christmas I didn't know I needed. Quiet times continued through the week between, what Jezebel once called slug week. We celebrated New Year's Eve with our friends Annette and George with Annette's old fashions, sushi, cake, and champagne.

As far as I'm concerned, 2026 really starts tomorrow. 

In the morning I'm headed to the our new primary care doctor. Jeff's already seen him, and we both liked him. I've got other medical referrals that I have to prioritize this month. Jeff will probably start outpatient physical therapy this week. 

I want to get back to furniture shopping. Then I can unpack and put away more things. I need to organize the closets and change a few things in the kitchen. 

Hold on: one step at a time. First, I need to pack up the Christmas decorations. I started by washing the holiday napkins and towels and gathering Jace's Christmas toys. 

I'm going to give myself daily to-do lists--three things should do it. A list will keep me less easily distracted. At least I hope so. 

One thing I want to put on the list--hmm, maybe there should be four items--is exercise. A few weeks ago I did a few stretches and I was really stiff. I realized that I haven't been to a gym since August. It's been so cold lately that I'm not walking as long as usual with Jace. 

I started daily exercise: yoga, stretches, balancing exercises. I work with my body ball and small weights (we only have two and five pounds.) I already feel that it's making a difference. I want to get back to a gym routine, but want to avoid the January rush. That reminds me: we saw several gym commercials on TV on New Year's Eve, but no diet commercials. It must be because everyone's on Ozempic.

Homebody as Winter Arrives

It's been a quiet weekend. I try to avoid errands on the weekends, especially in the Christmas season. I'm also trying not to spend too much money, and the weather has been cold, so I'm happy to stay home.

I cleaned, did a lot of laundry, cooked, made a shopping list for our Christmas meals, unpacked and organized, and read. 

I had been so obsessed with this move, the expense, and issues with our Norwalk condo--how could I have been so naive to think it would sell quickly--that I almost forgot that this is our first holiday season in our beautiful new home. Cause for celebration.

It will be just the three of us this Christmas, and that's good. We can get started on new traditions. 

Jace and I had a wonderful walk yesterday afternoon. It was sunny, about 50 degrees and the wind that seems to have been plaguing us for weeks was absent. I insisted we walk on the trails and boardwalk, even though Jace made it a shorter walk than I would have liked. It was the best walk in weeks. 

I like to call today the darkest day of the year rather than the shortest one. Everyday will be lighter from now on. Another thing worth celebrating.

Mother's Day Musings

I may not be a mother of humans, but I'm a dog mom. I'll take that as a reason to celebrate. 

Today I celebrated by not cooking. Generally, I enjoy cooking, especially compared to other household chores like laundry or cleaning. But, again generally, you have to cook everyday, and it gets time consuming. Especially because I chop veggies and lettuce most days. The planning also gets to me. Sometimes I wake up and my first thought is "What are we going to have for dinner?" Ugh.

It's been a beautiful weekend--the first without rain in awhile. Jace and I are taking longer walks. Today we walked an hour and a quarter, going to Oyster Shell Park. I went there often with Lola, because for many years, she was afraid to walk in the neighborhood. But Jace enjoys our neighborhood walks. 

After coffee and a protein drink, I went to the gym for about 40 minutes. It was the first time this year, I went four times in a week. On the way home, I picked up bagels I had previously gotten smoked salmon and cream cheese. Later we got take out sushi for dinner. 

Couldn't watch the Mets because the game was on Roku. It always annoys me when games appear on some unusual channel or service. We already have SNY for the Mets games. At least the Mets won. It's been a great season so far.

Off to a Good Start

It was a good feeling to walk with Jace today around 4:30 and realize it was nice out. It was 40 degrees which we hadn't seen in a while. More importantly, there was no wind. 

It sets the tone for this positive post. I'm happy with how 2025 has started.

Beginning January 2, I've been writing every day (from 223 to 587 words) for about a half hour to an hour-of-a-half. 

I've exercised every day beginning on the 2nd and gone to the gym six times. 

I've written eight blogposts. 

I've been changing up some routines and habits. The most important thing is writing in the morning. I've also changed Jace's walking schedule around. I'm switching up my gym workouts. I'm not spending as much time in the early morning on The New York Times games. That has been the most difficult routine for me to change. 

I haven't done much thinking about goalsetting. Instead, I'm actually doing things that will help me get to my goals.

I'm adding this following because I thought it was funny. It's a paraphrase from a collection of tweets--probably from the Huffington Post. 

                    I don't want a new year. I would prefer a gently used year. 

Thankful Thursday Thoughts

In keeping with my attempt to be positive, and borrowing from the Frugal Girl, I'm going to list things that make me thankful.

• After horrible flooding rains on Sunday, the weather has been great--sunny and cool. I've been wearing jackets in the morning. It's refreshing.
• On my morning walk with Jace, I saw a deer today running across the field at Mathews Park. It was beautiful and made me happy.
• The doctor figured out what was wrong with me from my colonoscopy. We have an appointment to discuss treatment.  
• I've enjoyed the last two Sara Paretsky mysteries I borrowed from the library.
• It was Bette Davis Day on TCM: 24 hours of Bette's movies. 
• The Mets had a second walk off homer against the Orioles yesterday and won the series. LGM.

The Heat Is On...

Again: hot, humid, poor air quality. 

After I needed an hour to recover on a midday walk with Jace, I made some changes in our routine. I've been driving him to a park for morning walks: Mathews Park to Oyster Shell Park, or Taylor Farm. I need to get up earlier to make this more efficient and cooler. I've shortened our other walks. Even though Jace is always game to go further, it's not good for him. 

I'm always psyched to see our doggy friends on walks like Dylan, Ruby, Holly, and Poppy. I was happy to see the beagles, Julie and Jerry at Oyster Shell Park yesterday. Today we passed Poppy on Maple Avenue--that made my day.

We've been watching a lot of Olympic events. It's been kind of haphazard, but fun: gymnastics and swimming, track starting today. I even saw some shotput today. I've also been re-reading some Preston & Child books. I finished the latest today. The new book will be published August 13th. I hope I am first on the waiting list. I'll have to go to the library that day. In the meantime, I'll do some re-re-reading. 

Today I met my friend Chris at the Sono Arts Festival. It's so small--a shell of its former self. We lucked out with a break in the weather, and it was nice to hang with Chris. 

The Week That Was

I started this post on Thursday but didn't get very far. I was supposed to return to it Friday and then Saturday.

Now, it's Sunday: let's see how I do. 

It's been a long week. I've been in a funk--off and on--for about a month. This week has definitely been an on funk week. I feel inept. I can seem to get things done like cleaning. It's not like I have a kitchen sink full of dirty dishes, but I've done minimum cleaning. I guess I just don't care enough.  

Jace and I have been doing a lot of walking this week because we had some nice weather. Walking's been my main source of exercise recently, though I did go to the gym twice this week. My right leg has been aching, but luckily walking doesn't bother it usually. 

Today is Mother's Day. As a dog mom, I got a t-shirt and card from Jace. We're having sushi for dinner, so I don't have to cook. Today I'm giving myself off from chores and cleaning. They will still be here tomorrow. 

Cinco de Mayo, Lola, Rabbits, and Traffic

Today is Cinco de Mayo, but it feels more like Cinco de Marzo. It's cold with a high of 52 degrees, overcast or rainy. I had to break out my gloves again. We'll celebrate Cinco de Mayo indoors. I made sure to use our Cinco de Mayo beagle towel today. 

May 5 is also Lola's designated birthday. We selected it because it was Spike's half-way day (explanation here.) We've had a lot of Lola's days recently. We still miss her. 

On Thursday, Jace and I saw our first rabbit of the season on our morning walk. Yesterday, we saw our second. This rabbit didn't react to Jace, just sat there. I urged it run away and it did. Eventually. 

There was a horrible three-vehicle fiery accident on Thursday that took out all the lanes of I-95; all vehicles had to leave the highway and most ended up on Route 1. That was also the day I finally returned to the gym on Route 1. Needless to say, the traffic was horrendous. Luckily, the highway has been reopened. Unfortunately, the fire seriously damaged the Fairfield Avenue Bridge, and it was demolished over the weekend. It will take about a year to rebuild, so we'll continue to have traffic issues. Walking with Jace on Saturday, I was surprised at how much traffic I saw on side, side roads. It shouldn't be as bad as it was on Saturday, but we'll have to deal with detours and additional traffic for awhile. 

Stream of Consciousness Friday

It's been a rough week. I don't want to go into details, but Jeff and I had a fight, we're dealing with a lot of paperwork, winter has made its reappearance, and I'm having sleeping problems.

Let's look at the good things. I took our tax paperwork to the accountant on Wednesday. I took Jace with me. We went to Danbury Dog Park which he loved for a half hour (we left at his choice) and then we went to Schenk's Island. 

I have some fun things to do soon. I'm going into NYC tomorrow to see art, and I'm meeting a friend for lunch next week. The cold isn't going to last--it's spring. 

I saw a bizarre Easter decoration today.: a bunny astride a dino bunny? I don't understand this at all. Can it be a modern cartoon that I don't know? At least they seem happy.

Easter outdoor decorations are nowhere as big as Christmas and Halloween decor. I've seen egg-shaped wreaths and lights before, but nothing like this. 

Here's a sign I've seen walking Jace. I thought it was a clever take on the normal no-poop sign.

But it's not as good as this one. 

Happy Pi Day

In honor of all things pi, I picked up a pizza pie at Letizia's for dinner. It was another beautiful day, and Jace and I had walked the Norwalk River Valley Trail in Wilton. 

Springing Forward and Other Miscellanea

I've been discombobulated since springing forward on Saturday night. Can't we just pick an hour and be done with it? I was sluggish Monday and Tuesday; I don't like getting up when it's still dark; I'm starting dinner later than normal. Hopefully, I'll be fully adjusted by tomorrow.

We're enjoying a few nice days--sunny and warm. I took Jace to Cove Island Park again Tuesday and Winslow Park today. Tomorrow we'll go to Cranbury Park or the Norwalk River Valley Trail in Wilton.On the way home, I'll get a pizza in honor of Pi Day. 

Sounds like a plan. 

Jace Visits Cove Island Park

Jace has been with us for a year-and-a-half, but today is the first time I took him to Cove Island Park in Stamford. I don't know why it took so long. 

At  any rate, today was the day. It was spring-like with sun and temperatures in the 50s. Jace loved Cove Island. I thought a lot about Lola because she had gone there many times before, especially when Jace jumped up and walked on the wall by the water. Lola used to do that. 

We have two more months to visit this season. We'll go back. 

Walking the Dog--Jace Edition

I was talking with someone whose dog had recently died. She was saying how freeing it was to not have to take her dog on walks. She also suggested we move to a place with a nice back yard so I wouldn't have to walk Jace at all. 

Walking Jace is one of my jobs. And walking Jace is a priority. It may not be the first thing I do each day, but it has to be done (multiple times) each day. Of course, there are days when I hate the idea of even going outside, especially when the weather is bad or I'm not feeling well. But, that's the deal.

Luckily, I like walking; it's a great form of exercise. I like feeling that I'm part of the neighborhood; I don't get that by driving around. I like that people recognize us and wave or say hi. Most of all, I like meeting other dogs.

I also like that I'm doing something good for myself by walking. About two years ago, a bone scan indicated that I have a 25 percent change of sustaining a broken bone. Walking can help slow bone loss in the legs. 

It may sound corny and cliched, but a positive attitude really helps here. I know Jace loves his walks; I get some time with him; it's good for me. I even enjoy them myself...most of the time. Now, after two weeks of clouds, rain, and fog, I'm looking forward to seeing the sun again on our walks.

An Off Week

I always feel a little off-centered or off-kilter in weeks with a holiday. I have trouble keeping track of what day it is. This is especially true for this week bracketed with the major holidays of Christmas and New Year's Day. 

I expected to do a lot more blogging this week but didn't manage to do that. I focused mainly on going to the gym. I've been working to reach my goal of 150 gym visits for the year: I needed six visits this week to make it, including tomorrow. 150 has been my goal for several years. It was only last year that I got close with 143. 

I took care of the NCNC birds twice this week--Tuesday as usual--and I picked up a day for someone who was traveling for the holidays. Everything went smoothly unlike last year.

I spent a lot of time walking with Jace. Most of the week has been bleak: rainy, foggy, overcast, raw. Luckily, we avoided the worst of the rain and even saw a little sunshine. 

Today was the highlight of the week: we visited friends we hadn't seen for in several months, due to health problems. We need to work more at getting together. 

Another Quiet Christmas

It was just the three of us today for a quiet holiday. My brother came for dinner last night. Our Christmas Eve feast was beef tenderloin, Caesar salad, fingerling potatoes, and green beans. For dessert, we had ice cream and Jim's homemade cookies. 

Today was mellow. We had our old favorite Christmas breakfast, opened our presents, exchanged holiday greetings with friends and family, and watched holiday movies (Holiday Affair, Four Christmases--not one I'd bother to watch again, The Man Who Came to Dinner, It's a Wonderful Life) and a Doctor Who special. 

It was a relatively warm day, hitting 50 degrees, but I missed the sun. Jace and I took a long walk for about two hours this afternoon. Tonight's dinner was a spicy salmon sushi bake and leftover Caesar salad.

In the past, I've enjoyed some large family celebrations, but the smaller, intimate celebrations are good too. It was nice not to have to rush around or travel anywhere. 

Merry Christmas.

Hawk Sighting

For the last few days, I've been walking Jace from Mathews to Oyster Shell Park in the mornings. I was psyched to see a hawk the other day. This isn't the best picture, but I think it could be a red shouldered hawk.

This is Tupelo, the red shouldered hawk at NCNC.that I help care for.

Here's a bird at Oyster Shell Park that people at the Carolina Raptor Center identified as a red shouldered hawk .

This season, I've only seen a few seabirds at Oyster Shell. I had wondered where the hawks were. I was happy to see one.

Friday

Yesterday was a good day. I met my friend Melissa at Pausa Caffe in the morning. I'd been wanting to go there for awhile; my hairdresser told me about it.  

I ran some errands: got cash and alcoholic and non-alcoholic wine and beer. I would  have gotten kombucha, but I couldn't get someone on the phone at East Coast. 

Jace and I had three good walks. On our midday walk we saw Zoe a cute dog who lives in the next building. I call her Jace's girlfriend. Later we saw another doggy friend Roscoe. I was so happy to see him--it's been so long, I was starting to get worried. His human Marilyn told me they had been in North Carolina. 

I finished cleaning the living room and the kitchen. It's a nice feeling even though it won't last. Cue the B-52s.

I finished washing the kitchen floor Friday night. The incentive: having people come over on Saturday. The Mets were on their way to a 0-7 loss. I played some music on my phone as I mopped. I was also dancing. At one point, Jace came in and just stared at me. I hope he wasn't traumatized. And no, I don't dance like Elaine.

At Oyster Shell Park

Jace and have gone to Oyster Shell Park in the morning the last few days. Unfortunately, there was no breeze today. I didn't seen any interesting birds either. 

Jace and I did see this guy today. 

I was reminded of the gopher from the movie Caddyshack. But this guy wasn't dancing.

A Friday in a Life

I started the day in a bad mood. I didn't sleep well Thursday night and overslept. By the time I washed up and dressed, it was 9. I took Jace for a 40 minute walk, had coffee and breakfast, and headed to the gym. Oops. My tire pressure light came on. I thought about driving to Town Fair Tire (two shopping centers past the gym) but then I looked at the tire. Flat.

Roadside assistance took about an hour to arrive. I did a New York Times crossword and started to clean the bathroom as I waited. By the time the tire was fixed, it was lunchtime. I had lunch, finished cleaning the bathroom, and walked Jake. We saw the mean cat on Truman Street lying under a car. When Jace started barking, he got up, took a few steps towards us, and stared at us. I hurried Jace down the block and around the corner. It may seem silly to be intimidated by a cat, but when we saw him before, he swiped at Jace and followed us down the block. I figured a close encounter wouldn't do any of us any good. 

When I got into the car to go to the gym, the tire pressure light was on. So I headed to Town Fair Tire. My morning's plug repair wasn't done correctly. A mechanic made sure my sensors were working correctly, and another filled the tire with air. I have to return Monday to have the tire repaired properly. This time, the quick fix/short cut didn't work. I should know better.

I finally made it to the gym and worked out for a half hour as planned--my fourth visit this week. Back home, I showered and washed my hair and walked Jace. Jeff and I enjoyed a Friday cocktail (gin and lemon elderflower soda.) I made dinner: mac and cheese with pork sausage, asparagus with garlic and parmesan, and sliced tomato. (I had planned to make chicken Milanese but went an easier route.) We watched the Mets lose again (their fourth in a row) and listened to various songs on Youtube. 

I was happy that I didn't let my tire problems ruin my day, despite getting off to a bad start. There's hope for me yet.