Keeping track in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

How do you remember your appointments? Or anything for that matter? There are a lot of us geezers in the MMP, and more than a few of us need little reminders.

My electronic brain is Outlook’s calendar. I tried using reminders on my phone, but for whatever reason, Outlook works better. FCD has a better system on the phone - he includes extra info in his contact list. For example, there’s a coded gate at the marina and I only half-remembered the code. He, on the other hand, had it as a note with the marina’s phone number. I need to do stuff like that more often.

And before I forget - from last MMP:

Isn’t it interesting how that happens. FCD was the one who got Taz and Higgs, but guess whose recliner they “share”?? He’s also the one who took Scruffy in, and who adopted Brandy the Abyssinian. Yep, they all chose me. Whereas Ziva, who I adopted, remains pretty much independent except when she wants treats. Go figure!

Because you have a filthy mind?? :wink:

Are we related? Sto Lat follows every Happy Birthday in our family!

And so it begins. Happy Moanday!!

2

First! It’s good to be juvenile!

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN 'Tis 54 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 83 and N.O.S. for the day. Even the pollen is supposed to be not as bad today. Rah. There are no big plans for the day which is, as always, fine by me. We shall sloth and be our general overall useless selves. Sup shall be beastloaf, peas 'n carrots, mac & cheese, and rolls.

I use the calendar on my phone to keep up with appointments and various miscellany. Also, I never miss doc appointments cause the doc’s office is a pest. I get emails/calls/and texts the day before and the day of the appointment. Overkill, but maybe they know me too well.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.

Happy Moanday Y’all!

3

Good morning everyone. It’s 58.6 Fahrenheit here in Tejas, headed for mid-80s this afternoon.

I swore I’d never again deal with an Outlook calendar in retirement. That lasted about a month and I ate my words and began using it again. So for me, keeping track long term is Outlook, and short term is a notepad for the day.

Finally gave up and went to the Cardiologist last week. She thinks there could be Covid related problems plaguing (snerk) me. New meds (which are helping) and a slate of tests are planned. Nothing life-threatening, but needs to be dealt with.

Youngest returns to the US today, and will pick her up at the airport. Happy to see her again, and even happier to return her starving dog to her. I guess it’s starving – we turned our heads for a second yesterday, and the beast had hauled open the kitchen garbage container and was snarfing down revolting objects from within. Last year the dumbass managed to open a cabinet drawer and rip open a box and eat a half pound of dark chocolate. Expensive emergency care resulted. It’s untrainable, and we have to guard food with welded enclosures (almost) to keep it at bay. And no, the creature isn’t starving, it just thinks so. The good side is he protects well, and is insanely loyal to her, which is comforting.

We survived all the storms last week with no problems. That goofy inflatable hail protector we deployed over the new truck worked (I guess). Even with 50 mph winds it stayed anchored and didn’t move. Apparently some marinas near the boat got hammered though, so I need to run up there today or tomorrow to ensure it’s on the correct side of the surface. (Mobile maintenance is scheduled, and hate to pay for it if they need scuba gear – knowhutImean?)

On to the day – probably need to churn around the compound with the riding mower. It has a nice drink holder installed, I wonder if you can get a DUI for having a beer on a riding mower? (Kidding: I know alkeehawl and whirling blades aren’t a good combo). I’ll probably have a ceremonial last dunk in the hot tub and began emptying it for the summer.

Oh well, hope everyone has a good week.

4

My calendar syncs perfectly between my iPhone, Macbook and iMac. Out of long habit from my working days I am never without my phone so that is where I mostly get the alerts. It is handy to be ably to enter the data on any device that I a using at the time.

When I was working all of my applications required Microsoft. We used iPhones for communication and iPads for billing and paperwork so syncing was difficult. Email worked pretty good but getting Outlook’s calendar on my iPhone just would not.

5

Mornin’, all! Appointments go on my phone, in the calendar app. The grocery/shopping list is on a folded up piece of paper in my shirt pocket.

Soon must be off to the high school to help the musical. I’m building Ariel’s place where she keeps all the landlubber’s stuff that gets destroyed. Essentially I’m building a 4’ diameter tube that comes apart. I dunno, I didn’t design it, I’m just labor.

Stay safe and happy, y’all.

6

My spouse is a Luddite in some regards. She uses a paper calendar and scribbles appointments and activities on it. I have difficulty deciphering her writing and depend on her to tell me what the hell we’re doing. Also, the calendar is often buried under the mounds of paper on the desk, and I’m NOT digging through that.

More snow on the way this week, but I don’t think it will amount to much. Hopefully the Overlook Hotel staff will lift covid restrictions this week so we can get back to some normal activity.

7

The wall calendar is my main appointment keeper. I put everything in my phone’s calendar also, then periodically manually sync (as in sit down with both and write/enter). Day to day stuff gets written on index cards and kept by the landline. I have a list of passwords but I’m not saying where, neener.

Going to the chiro then the gym then TarJay. My garage door has been uppity lately. Saturday it didn’t wanna close all the way. I swept around the sensors and eventually it came down. I left my car out all weekend cuz I didn’t want to deal with it on the weekend. Dark to the south and west. Rain is comin.

8

Cookie, I’m a lot like your wife, never used Outlook or any type of on-line system, I try to write out a weekly plan every Sunday including meals and activities, things that are scheduled weeks in advance usually end up on a note taped to the bottom of my computer monitor. Not the most efficient means but it works (most of the time) for me.

Yanker, hope the new prescriptions help. And that poor, poor, hungry dog… :tired_face: :wink: :wink: :wink: :smile: Happy mowage.

Getting close to 80F today with no rain, so a good day for shopping-n-sammich along with swimming-n-sauna. Other activities as required.

Have a good Moanday, y’all.

9

Afternoon, mumpers! It’s a whopping 7c/44f today and not expected to change all day, with rain showers. Weather app says “I’m sorry to tell you that it’s going to rain on your fucking nachos. Or maybe I’m not sorry”. It was raining when I left home this morning, it stopped by the time I got to campus, and now it’s just cold, but apparently there’s a weather warning now for snow and ice.

My appointments and everything important is in a shared google calendar. It’s shared with 'im indoors although he rarely looks at it and cheerfully told me ages ago that he uses something completely different that doesn’t sync with the google one at all. I also have a paper calendar in the kitchen at home which I update with stuff but I don’t think he looks at that either. Bloody useless article, isn’t he?

10

I use Google calendar on my iPad and iPhone, with lots of notifications if it is an appt I need to get to. I put all kinds of reminders on it, like replacing the furnace filter or cleaning my CPAP. My iPad/iPhone are basically my bionic brain or, as I call it, my cognitive :manual_wheelchair::brain: wheelchair since my traumatic brain injury.

11

Similar to BBBoo, Google runs my life: all appointments, meetings, various reminders, etc. get added to Google Calendar (with color coding!), which I access from my Windows computer, Android phone, and iOS tablet. Many calendar items include email reminders, and I also use Google Keep for some notes and reminders (like the thrice-daily reminders to take my pills).

I use Google Drive for a lot of stuff, too: health-related notes, a list of streaming shows/movies (where the title is available, whether I’ve watched it [and, if so, how I rated it], when the next season is out and/or when all episodes of the current season will be available, etc.), my grocery shopping list, etc.

I often get comments on my ability to find or remember info, but I just write everything down and am super organized.

Yesterday I finished assembling my first LEGO figure! :tada:

(He’s part of a jazz quartet.) I decided that the step where I’d gotten stuck was purely cosmetic, and took a chance on continuing. It worked out. :slight_smile: Next up is the bass player; I might not start on him until the weekend.

In other news, my father called at 7am to let me know that my uncle passed peacefully late last night. Like I’ve said, it’s not much of a personal loss: I never really had a relationship with my uncle. While I’m sad for my dad and his other siblings, Mike didn’t have an easy life and I think everyone shares a degree of relief that his struggles are finally over. I expect the funeral and interment date to be set soon, and then I can make hotel arrangements and notify work about the days I’ll be away.

In something of a silver lining, one of my NJ cousin’s daughters – from the other side of the family – just started selling cake pops as a fundraiser. Normally I don’t support those kinds of things because of the mailing costs/complications, but sales end on 4/4 and the pops become available for pickup shortly before the likely funeral date…and although that cousin lives an hour north of the church/cemetery, I could almost definitely arrange for a quick visit while I’m up there…and, if I’m going to eat cake, pops are perfect for me because they’re small, individual servings. I think I see consolatory cake pops in my future! :cake: :lollipop:

What a long day this has already been/is shaping up to be. I can’t believe it’s not even 1pm yet. Work is quiet at the moment – there’s always something I can do, but I’m caught up on the things others are expecting from me today – and I just want to go play with LEGOs or watch TV or read or all of the above. Maybe I’ll feel better after I eat some lunch.

Now I kind of wish I had a cake pop or two…

12

Howdy everyone.

Sari such good news about Ripple.

I use outlook for the very few appts I have.

The IRS owes me money from an amended return for 2020. Apparently I overpaid over 12K. Anyway, I mailed the amended return last April and it was just processed on the 3rd of March. I should either get a check or a reason for not gettin one soon. Almost a year. Wonder if they will add interest. I know they won’t. I will probably owe some this year anyway.

I have been up a while. Loaded the dishwasher, started to launder the sheets I changed yesterday. I also have one more load after this. I showered and placed an order for groceries. I intend to clean today.

I’ve been dealing with insomnia. I just cannot get to sleep at night so even though I went days with no nap I have given up. If I have to nap in order to get any sleep then so be it.

Stay safe everyone.

13

I just don’t have appointments. Keep it simple.
No insurance = no doctors.

Monkey is being a twerp, so I put him in timeout. Now he’s howling at the door; imma let him back in. Maybe he’ll stop knocking things off the damn table.

Narrator: he did not stop.

14

I use a combo of Google Calendar and Evernote. My doctor’s office is as diligent as @swampbear’s about reminding me about appointments.

15

Garage door went uppity and downity so I say it don’t need no doctor. I’m having weird allergy related dizziness today so comfy chair and Law & Order binge today. And cookies.

16

I used to write everything down on little notepads, 'cause I have no working memory bone. That didn’t work too well. Finally my present spousal unit (we won’t discuss the first spousal unit.) bought me a little device called a Sony Clie. It kept track of phone numbers, addresses, and appointments for me. :grinning: In fact, at the time I often remarked that if it would also make phone calls it would be perfect. (I had a flip phone at the time.) But Sony decided to end the Clie, and I got a Blackberry. Early Blackberrys came with a program that ran on your PC that allowed you to sync your blackberry data to databases on your PC. It was wunnerful and I liked it a lot. Then they decided to ‘improve’ it (push everybody to the ‘cloud’) and did away with the PC bases databases, and look what happened to the Blackberry company. They ignored the old adage “If it works don’t fix it.”

Now I have an iPhone, which has a (slightly deranged) mind of it’s own, which keeps track of all my important data, but doesn’t want to share it with me.

I miss my Blackberry.

I think cookies sound good, but my blood glucose has been high (a little) since I started on these new meds. Decisions, decisions.

17

I’m trying out the series “Eureka” and suddenly realized that the actor Colin Ferguson is a dead ringer for the maintenance guy in our building.

18

Howdy Y’all! As predicted today has been a day of sloth and general overall uselessness. ‘Tis 83 Amurrkin out and N.O.S. thus, day drinkin’ on the back porch was accomplished after nappage. A strange thing happened re sup. Instead of what I said earlier, it is turnin’ out to be meatballs 'n onion gravy, smashed N.O.T. peas, butterbeans and okra cooked together and cornbread. So strange!

Yanker hope the new meds help and that the dawg does not starve before he goes back to his mama.

Oopsie sorry about your uncle. Cake pops are always a good thing. The Lego thingy looks cool!

WetOne glad the garage door opener has healed itself.

OK, sup needs to get cooked, so off I go to cook.

19

I knew that shoe would know what that meant but I had no idea that you had Polish ancestry. Both my Dziadzias and both my Babcias were born in Poland and came over in the very early 1900’s. Each set of Grandparents met here in Michigan. When my parents didn’t want us kids to know what they were discussing, they spoke in Polish. My sister and I went to Polish dance classes for 2 years and to Polish language classes for about a month. So, yes, we sing Sto Lat after every Happy Birthday. And I know how to ask for a kiss. I also have some phrases that I only sort of know in my phone for when I go to the Polish bakery in Chicago. Some of the pania speak only very limited English.

One time our daughter was at a birthday party for the fiance of one of her husband’s fellow photojournalists. He was born in Poland and some of his friends from Poland came over for the birthday. They were all shocked when our daughter joined in singing Sto Lat. Although when they sang a second verse, she had to drop out because we don’t sing it; although I sort of know it.

I’m back to being a Home Healthcare Aide for Hubs. This morning he asked me to take him to emergency since he could barely walk as the pain in his leg was a 12 out of 10. Ultrasound ruled out a blood clot thankfully. Doc wasn’t sure what it was but prescribed a VERY strong pain killer and a muscle relaxer. So, I’m on call. At least he didn’t have to be admitted this time. September was truly awful as he was admitted 3 different times for a total of 15 days. As others have said, it sucks getting old. So when we got home from the ER, we had 35 minutes before we had to return for his chemo. I quickly heated some cream of tomato soup and made grilled ham & cheese sandwich. This morning was beautiful, blue sky and sun. When we returned home from chemo, it was raining and by the time we got home, there were very small pieces of ice falling.

20

My paternal grandparents emigrated from Jeżowe, Poland in the early 1900s - met in the US and married in 1913. Mom’s grandparents were from Poland, but I don’t know where exactly. My parents spoke Polish a lot around Christmas :wink: and we knew we were in trouble if they used the Polish version of our names. My dad and uncle hosted a polka program on the radio for years, all of my sisters danced with assorted folk groups (I’d left home by then) but I did sing in a Polish choir for a while - phonetically, of course. I never learned the language - when Mom tried to teach us, I wasn’t interested. Dumb kid…

We called our grandmothers Busí, which is what my grandkids call me. That and Dziadzi, gołumbki, and pierogi is pretty much the extent of my Polish. :rofl:

FCD ordered his specs. We bought an Echo Dot for MIL and I set it up for her. She loves her Alexa and she wanted another for the bedroom, since she can’t see the clock. It was on sale for $20 - kinda hard to resist. Anyway, we ran a few errands, including picking up my glasses. Then when we got home, I finally got all the sewing done. Now I’m about to assume the chillage position.