June 2023

 June 2023

PA/NJ

1-TH-PA/NJ

I tossed and turned all damn night. Finally, about 6 AM, I took a gummy and finally fell asleep.  Then I heard a noise and there was a man in my hallway, fixing my HVC system.  He was supposed to be here yesterday.  I was ready fro him yesterday.  Now I am in my bed, not dressed, groggy and vulnerable.

I got up and mapped out how to get to Ocean City, NJ.  I wanted to go to the rookery on the 9th street bridge.  I checked the battery life on my camera and of course, it was dead and I had no way to charge it in my car.  So I decided to wait togo there until I could take photos.  I am going to try to goon Monday.

So, of course, I found a new brewery, Core3 Brewery in NJ. I liked the place.  It was small and comfortable.  My beers were good but I was limited in what I could get because they were prepping for a big festival this weekend and choices were limited.

2- F- PA

So I took another gummy and had all sorts of crazy imagery throughout the night.  I could even hear and see my snoring while I was sleeping.

It was beautiful and sunny and hot and 91 today.

Karen G texted me today to tell me that James Beach died suddenly.  He's lived a life filled with demons.

I wandered off to Costco to get a new prescription for my eye glasses that are three years old now.  I still be compliments on these glasses so I just kept my old frame. They should be in within the week and it will be nice to be able to read again.

I also bought too much stuff at Costco.  They had some good sales so I got things that I just didn't need. I did practice a little restraint.  I put a few things back.

When I got back to my apartment, I ate fudgsicles on my balcony.  I didn't put my new vacuum cleaner together.  I didn't retrieve the robot vacuum from underneath the couch.  I didn't do the dishes. I didn't wet mop the floor.  I didn't do laundry.  I didn't pack up anything to give to Green Drop.  I didn't go through my mail.  I did nothing but lay in a vegetable state in my room.

I called Sam and we spoke for about an hour. She is living in the basement of her house and seems to be about as content as she can be under these circumstance.  She finally has renters who will be moving in soon.  The house has been vacant for about two years.

3- SA- PA

I got a text from Stacey.  Sally feel again and has an impact fracture on her wrist.  She's beaten up and depressed.  I called Sally and she wasn't up for doing anything today.  Maybe we will get together tomorrow.

So now, in the last three years, she's had a lung transplant, a hip replacement for a broken hip, skin cancer pieces taken off her face and now an impact fracture.

The gummy I took last night had me sleeping soundly until 1:30 PM.  That's too late to sleep in.

I hung on my balcony this afternoon.  There was a slight breeze which made the balcony a good place to hang and day dream.

In the afternoon, I went to Walmart and bought a few more plants.  Most of the cheap plants are already gone for the summer and my garden is no where near being complete.  Now I have to go out and hunt for more plants.

4- SU- PA

Stacey texted me in the morning to tell me that Sally fell again. This time, she broke her wrist and bruised other parts of her body. So I went over to visit her and she was really down on herself and her life as a beaten up, old woman.

I read her something that Cessie wrote on Facebook. Cessie had just put ups photo of her high school graduation from 56 years ago and then commented, "our future is now behind us." This comment hit both of us as the reality of old age permeated our conversations today.

5- M- PA/NJ

Jack would be 123 today. He died 49 years ago.

It was a great day to drive to Ocean city, NJ to visit the bird rookery.  I got there mid-afternoon, had my camera all charged and ready to photo every damn bird and my camera crapped out on me.  I had my older camera and i think it is officially finished in serving as my go-to camera.  I have to throw it out.  But it's been on so many trips that I hate to part with it.

I went to Somers Point Brewery (2) and my beers were mediocre.  I had a coconut stout, a NEIPA, a sessions IPA and a DIPA and none of them jumped out with a burst of flavor.

I finished my audiobook, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. 

6- TU- PA

I got a new mouth brace to address my sleep apnea and I slept well last night.  I stayed asleep and I got up earlier than usual.  Maybe I found something that will work for me.

At noon, I had a CARE webinar on food insecurity and the presentation was outstanding.  I wish I could have watched it with someone else so that we could have talked about it later.

With nothing else on my agenda for the day, I went to get my car washed but the line was too long and I was too impatient so I went to the other car wash and that was a mistake. I will have to go back to the other place at another time.

So then I went out in search of more plants for my balcony and that was a wasted effort. Maybe I should be content with what I have.

So then I came home and tried out my new vacuum cleaner and that was success.

7- W- PA

My mouth brace didn't serve me as well as the other night.  And now, I seem to be snoring so loud that I am waking myself up. I need to find a doctor to address my sleep apnea.

There is a weather alert for poor air quality.  Quebec is raging in forest fires and the wind is pushing the smoke this far down.  So now we are on alert to stay indoors today.  I stepped outside on my balcony and it smells like an old camp fire.

While I was hanging in the lounge, Pete showed up with beers and Debbie showed up and this guy, Don/Dom?, was also sitting there so the four of us sat around and solved the problems of the world. I drank too many beers.

A Mary Roach book became available from my library.  I'm excited to get in to the book as I enjoyed her presentation so much in April.  She has a quirky sense of the world.

8- TH- PA

We are still under an advisory for poor air quality.  So management has locked down the courtyard to prevent us from hanging outside. I sent an email and then I went down to protest my decent.  We are adults and we should determine if we want to hang outside today. But my issue was lost and the courtyard remains locked. And I am getting myself upset about the injustice of it all.

I booked my flight to CO for July 11-18.  KT wants to go white water rafting with Clay but that make me nervous. We are probably going to head to Idaho for a few days.

I scheduled an MRI for my breast situation.  When I read the doctors' report for January, I wonder if I should have taken her offer for a chemo prevention offer.

In the late evening, Trump posted on his social media site that he had been indicted yet again. So now, he lost the popular vote twice.  He has been impeached twice and he has been indicted twice.  And the same woman is suing him for a second time for defamation charges around a rape allegation.

9- F- PA

I am a loser. I have got to get myself out of this lazy funk I am in.  These last three days have been extraordinary unproductive. I have got to get moving and get back in conversations with other people. I am wasting my life.

Kristen and I went to Sedona Taproom for Happy Hour.  I had two flights of beer and nothing seemed to grab my interest. When we came back to CS, we found Debbie and Jeff at the pool.  They were just getting ready to go out.  But I chose not to join them as I had reached my beer limit for the day.

Instead, I wanted to listen to my new audiobook but it wasn't downloaded completely so I couldn't listen to it.  So, instead, I struggled through intermittent naps and podcasts.

Tweet: He lost the popular vote twice.  He was impeached twice and he's been indicted twice.  And the same woman is suing him for a second time for defamation charges around a rape allegation. MAY HE RECEIVE TWO LIFE SENTENCES. #TrumpIsACriminal #LockHimUp #TrumpIsATraitor #TrumpIsAFelon

10- SA- PA

It was 13 years ago to day that I retired and had my breast surgery.  That was a lifetime ago. And I've done a lot since then.  I taught in China, Bangladesh, and Nepal.  I ran a wellness program in Haiti and started a sewing school there.  I ran for public office.  I taught for a very long semester at St Joe's University. I sold two homes.  I traveled extensively.  I completed my 7th continent to visit.  I had three surgeries. I had cancer. I attended the DC Women's March in January 2017.  I voted for HRC for POTUS. I survived Covid. I drove cross country on Route 66. I saw Pope Francis  in Philly. I performed 5 secular weddings. I became a blogger. I have 2750 entries in my blog. I snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef.  I crossed the Mississippi River several times in several states. I sold my Honda Element with 243,000 miles. I climbed the Pyramids in Egypt. I volunteered with the homeless programs in Cecil County. I was a CASA volunteer. I went to the Oktober Fest in Munich, Germany. I was on the Alumna Board for Semester At Sea.  I was President of the Cecil County Democrats.  I dropped out of a yoga class. I was HRC's Cecil County campaign chair.  I volunteer for Care.org. I lost 50 pounds but then gained 20 back. I volunteered at the Uptown Theatre. I downsized my possessions from two full houses to an 800 sq feet apartment. I went to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and saw Robert Plant. I reached over 1,112,000 hits on my blog. I've posted 2700 original photos on my Instagram account. I have over 35,0000 on Twitter. I met President Obama. I met President Jimmy Carter and his wife.  I moved to West Chester. I was president of the Cecil County Library Foundation Board. I drove cancer patients to their treatment. I walked the Brooklyn Bridge. I've visited hundreds of breweries around the country and around the world. I was given the Distinguished Alumni Award by my high school. It's been a good 13 years.

I had a full day today.  At last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It started in the afternoon where I ushered at Uptown for the Sharp Dance Company.  They were excellent and they gave off a good vibe. I found myslef hanging with the chairman of the Board of the company and it was nice to help her as her company debutted itself at our threatre.

Then I rushed down to Sharon's house and we went to the City Winery to see a Lation group, Las Cafeteras and they were outstanding. All of thier music was filled with energy and spirit and the male lead singer had so much stage presence.  I could have listened to them all night.

I listened to my Mary Roach book, Stiff.  She is just the type of story teller that holds my interest. I have to find more of her audiobooks. It appears that she doesnt have many.

I got my 5000 steps in today.

11- SU- PA

It was a gorgeous day and I was sitting on my balcony, thinking of calling Tricia to see if she wanted to get together for dinner.  The phone rang and it was Tricia.  She was at my apartment with Bill. So I ran down to the lobby and caught up with them.  They are on a mission to find a house for William to buy. They wanted to look at a place on Market Street.  Its a row home and it's going for $370,000.  I can't fucking beleive it.

Afterwards, we went to Ironhill Brewery (3) for an early dinner. I was able to redeem $20 off the bill because of my rewards program there.  So that made my day.

Tricia told me that she is going to a breast specialist and it turns out she is seeing my doctor whom I like so much. I told Tricia that we have entered the leak in the dike phase of our lives. Everything is falling apart and that's life.

And then I wasted the rest of my day.  I laid in bed and listened to my book, Stiff, which is just a collection of bizarre stories about dead bodies.  Sometimes it's too gruesome to listen to the details.

I am still in disbelief that our former POTUS is being charged on Tuesday for espionage against the USA.  I would love to read the history books in fifty years to see how this moment is covered.

Tweet: Trump faces 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act. Other charges include: conspiracy to obstruct justice; corruptly concealing a document or record; concealing a document in a federal investigation; and making false statements.

12- M- PA

It's raining today.  It's been a while since we had rain. I've been watering my balcony plants every day ad every time I go to water them, they are so damn dry that it looks as if I've never watered them.  I hope they get soaked today.Interest rates are 5.25% for 9 month CDs so I went to the bank and transferred $25,000 over to these CD.  I should have done something over a year ago.  But I have been hoping that the market finally takes a swing up. Let's see what 9 months does for my money.

I barely slept last night but I didn't get up too, too late today.  But now I need a nap.  My eye lids are heavy.  The dreary, rainy day isn't helping at all.

Trump's pending arrest tomorrow may be postponed as he can't find a lawyer who will work for him. He is so toxic, no lawyer wants the case.  What an ass.

Tweet: #TrumpSupportersAreUnAmerican People who are still supporting Trump don’t support the #USA and #democracy .

13- TU- PA

It's Indictment Day and it was very quiet in Miami; no riots.  I think Trump's crowd knows the shit is about to hit the fan for him.  Few people showed up to support him in FL.

I had a dentist appointment and told the dr about my new tooth.  It seems too tight.  So he sanded it down on the sides and that made me so damn nervous because I paid so much damn money for this tooth that I hate the thought that he could have damaged it.

I had two funny coincendences and this is why I don't play the lottery. All of my probability 

The dental hygienist is a Springfield grad.  She told me that Kevin Williams was her favorite student so I had her psoe with me and I sent him a selfie of us.  He sent back a phot of him with her.  And I asked him when this photo was taken.  He told me that is was taken three years ago on June 12 and that I took the photo.  Kevin and I were out to lunch and she came along and interrupted us.  Kevin asked me to take a photo of them and he still had it.

Then I got a phone call from someone from PSU, asking for a donation.  When I didnt pick up, she left a text.  And it has been on my mind to start making reoccurring donations.  So I signed up right away.  I texted her back and showed her.  She showed her supervisor and it turned out that he was one of my students at Stroudsburg.  He was sure that I didn't know him but  I did and I remember his sister. A few minutes later, Stephanie texted me to tell me that Mike had called her right away.

Twitter: The irony that the Secret Service have to risk their lives for this traitor who committed crimes against the USA. #TrumpIsATraitor #TrumpIsALoser

14- W- PA

I thought the day was going to be one where I just hung here.  It was thundering in the mid afternoon and I didn't want to go anywhere in all this rain.  But then the skies cleared  up and the sun came out again and I took off in my car.

I went to Bespoken Brewery (4) in Strasburg and I liked the place. It was very small but they had a good variety of beers.  I had a coffee stout and another stout, a Pale Ale with grapefruit and an IPA.  I liked all of my beers.  So I immediatley gave the place a big shout out on yelp. The chuck roast sandwich was equally delicious.

A man was sitting next to me and we started up a conversation.  He commented on the beautiful scenery in view.  I didn't know what he was talking about until I looked out of the huge window in the front of the building.  It beautifully framed this Amish farm that was across the street.  The view looked like a painting of a landscape. 

He plays Irish music on Tuesday nights at a brewery in NJ.  I am going to have to make it a point to go there some night.

Then I went off to the Strasburg Cemetry that is still maintained but filled with people from the mid to late 1800's.  I found a headstone where a woman buried four of her five children. How dreadful.

15- TH- PA

Cessie texted me.  We are supposed to hang together tomorrow in West Chester.  She has a fundraiser to attend. but it looks as if she is having some sort of family issue because I am going to be a babysitter for her grandson for a short period of time while she is at the event.

My high school happy hour event was today and I felt a great need to attend since they gave me that award two months ago. I had trouble getting classmates to want to join us.  But eventually, four of us came and there were only about 25 people total so we had a good showing for being so damn old. And we had a good time.

16- F- PA

We had a tornado alert at noon, followed by heavy rain and now it is beautiful and sunny and I want to go out and play but I have babysitting duties in a few hours.  So I will stay put. Cessie is coming to town with her grandson and she has to go to a fundraiser.  So I said I would watch TJ for an hour.

17- SA- PA

My new eye glsses are in.  They aren't new frames.  I am using my current frames because I get so many compliments on them.  But now I should be better able to read with a stronger perscription.

I did nothing but go to Costco this afternoon.  I just hung here and let the afternoon and evening slip away from me. 

I finished my book, Stiff by Mary Roach. It was mostly gruesome.

18- SU- PA

I met up with Lisa and Deb and we went over our trip to Maine in July.  This trip has been hijacked from me as I had planned to go alone but Deb and Lisa are coming and we are now oging to be gone for a week. We went to the Attic Brewery (5) which is a fun place to hang.

19- M- PA

I didn't have the most productive day but I did go to the store, picked up a lot of things to buy and then put them all back. I think that was a successful moment for me. And then I came home and worked on some shelving I bought last month but haven't put together yet.  As I was struggling with the last few demanding final steps, I realsized that I have not been consistent on the use of the fasteners and now I can't wedge the thing together and I will have to take the whole damn thing apart and start over.  So I should have this thing together by christmas.

Then I went to the lounge to do some work but Keith showed up.  He is the newest of men to stop by, sit down and distract me from my work.

20- TU- PA

I got bloodwork done today.  This news will tell me how well my prolia shots are doing.  I am hoping for the best.

I went to the new Aldi and went to use the self checkout only to stumble upon a cash register where someone beat a $170 bill. Now that is audacity.

I tried to repostion my umbreella on my balcony and it got stuck due to rust.  So it is half open and half tilted and it is in a perfect position to keep the afternoon sun off of me.  So I am going to tell people that this umbrella position is by design not by rust.

21- W- PA

I met some of the MMA crowd for a movie, The Blackberry.  I liked the story but the film was so poorly videoed that I suffered from motion sickness and couldn't watch a lot of it.  I thought I was going to throw up.

Afterwards we went out for dinner at a BYOB restaurant and Kate, in anticipate of the potential liquor situation, brought me some beers and I appreciated it.

22- TH- PA

Today was a good day.

I woke up to an email to inform me that the balconies are going to be power washed next week. That is going to be royal pain in the ass for me.  But maybe it will provide me with the opportunity to throw some things out.

I moved on to have a breast MRI at Paoli Hospital which was cumbersome, embarrassing and uncomfortable and I felt so grateful to be in this moment. I am so lucky that I have the opportunity, the means and the doctors to help me stay ahead of this potential breast cancer.

When I got home I went up to the lounge to use the WIFI and saw that our community party was tonight, not next week.   The event was well attended and I met several new people and I think I could be friends with a few of these people. Some of us are planning on going to Stumpy's next week to drink beer.

23- F- PA

This rainy day was just perfect to stay home and do some housework.  Too bad that my poor attention span  interferred with productiviity.  I did finally put my shelving together and switched out the old shelves for the new shelves.  That only took a month to complete.

I went to Sue's house for dinner.  We hadn't seen each other for awhile so it was nice to get together and just talk.

I discovered a new female artist: Beverly  Glenn-Copeland. She just released a song, Harbor, that is so haunting and beautiful.  I think I've listened to it 20 times already. Listening to this song reminds me of being at the Deerhead with Rick and Darcy. I wish I could get these days back.

24- SA- PA

The day started out rainy but ended up sunny by mid afternoon.  That allowed me enough dood weather to begin my balcony project.  I have to get all that shit off my balcony by Thursday when it is going to be power washed.  I made a lot of progress and am alsomt finished.  I just have to get William to loosen my umbrella stand and help me move my chair in to my living room.

I finished my book, Travel Tales by NM Kelby and others. Some of the stories were great.  Others didn't hold my interest at all.

In the evening, I ushed at Uptown for a Credence Clearwater Revival cover band.  They wanted too long to get the audience riled up.  The first act was slow and tame.  They lit the place up a lot more during the second act. They finished up with Fortune Son and dedicated it to all our veterans.  After 50 years, that is still a powerful song.

There seems to be some sort of coup going on in Russia. One of Putin's militia groups has turned on him. I hope this turn of events favors Ukraine.

I walked my 5000 steps today.

25- SU- PA

William came over and I showed him around West Chester.  He is beginning to play with the idea of buying a house and I showed him the neighborhood. He seemed to like it. Afterwards we went to Sedona Taproom for lunch and beers and then Iron Hill Brewery (6) for beers. And then I had to come home and take a nap because i can no longer drink in the afternoon  like I used to do.

26- M- PA

I was up early today because my car was due for an inspection.  I got to AAA by 9 AM and discovered that I only had expired documents so I tried retrieving them from my computer with mixed results.  So the auto guy wouldn't take my registration and got pissy and told me that I would have to reschedule. By the time I got home, he called to say that my documents were OK.  Now I have to go back on Wednesday.

So I was home by 10 and foolishly slipped back in to bed and slept soundly for a few hours.  Now I am up and about and groggy.

The power washing of the balconies has started.  They are on the 4th floor today and as I has anticipated, my balcony on the 2nd floor is soaked today.

The media is abuzz with the leaked audio tapes of Trump admitting that he is showing top secret documents to some woman.  He laughs as he admits that these are secret documents.  And then the woman makes a claim that HRC would do something like this. He is despicable. I hope he rots in jail.

The Russian coup seems to be over. But we still don't understand the effects of the event.

27- TU- PA

My balcony is finally cleared and ready fro the power washers tomorrow. And I finished just in time because it is pouring down rain and the men are above me on the third floor, cleaning that balcony.

I walked over to Taco Mar when the sun was out for a short period of time.  I wanted to try their shrimp tacos and they are just OK so I will have to go elsewhere for good shrimp tacos.

In the late afternoon, I headed down to Sharon's house in Philly.  We had tickets to listen to Christian Cooper, a black birder who was verbally accosted by a white woman in Central Park.  His video of this moment went viral and he took the stage as yet another black man guilty of being black.

Prior to the start of the lecture, Sharon wanted to buy me his book for my birthday.  I insisted she didn't.  But after listening to him, I wanted to read his book. So she got it for me.  I can't have the book until my birthday and I think she is going to read it before she turns it over to me.

While wandering around Facebook tonight, I decided to look up CL, a former friend who just became too toxic for me.  As I was searching, I discovers that her daughter died in September from a quick bout of cancer. That was a shock.  What a heartbreak. 

28- W- PA

I woke up this morning at what I thought was 6:30.  When I looked at the clock again at what I thought was an hour later, it was only 6AM.  I went to bed around 2 so I must have only gotten  about 3 hours of sleep. I did get out of bed a little before 8 and took my car to get inspected. 

Then I wandered over to Rolling Star for breakfast. I like this place.

Now, I am sitting here, in the lounge, waiting for my balcony to be cleaned and my car to be inspected.  And once my car is available to me, I am heading to the movies to see Asteroid City,  Wes Anderson's new movie opened up last week and I haven't been able to find anyone to go with me.  So I went today and, of course, loved it.  I want to see it again because there were too many characters so I got some people confused with others. the cinemotogophy was so colorful that I found myself taking photos during the movies.  Some of the shots were just quirky and joyful.

I finally got to speak to Jane. It was nice to talk to her. She did and didnt want to talk about her brother's death.

I walked 5400 steps.

29- TH- PA

I am filled with relief today. I went to the dermotologist after 15 neglectful years of ignoring my skin.  I scheduled an appointment because two siblings are getting their faces zapped and every other person in my building is also walking around with huge bandages on their faces. I just had to get to a doctor and get checked out.  And so this woman examined me and said I have no spots of concern.  I only have old lady skin tags and she can remove 13 of them for $150. So she is going to remove them at the end of the month.

It's been a good health week. It was about two years ago that I was declared NED for my uterine cancer.  No cancerous spots were found through my breast MRI.  My blood work was OK and now, there is no skin cancer concern.  I have a bone density test at the end of the month.  Now I have to schedule something with the pancreas doctor.

And on another positive note, my balcony is back in place and it was nice to sit out there and have my coffee this morning.

30- F- PA

I did laundry, cleaned up a little bit and then packed a bag and went to Deb Green's house for the evening.  In the early morning, we leave for Maine in search of puffins.  I am so damn excited.