Hurricane Ian - It's Big, It's Mean and It's HUGE

I haven't turned on the news yet today, so I have no idea how badly my friends and acquaintances caught by Hurricane Ian have been faring, but I'm hoping for the best. I know several people in Florida and this one was HUGE. It's one more reason why Florida isn't on my short list of places to retire in. Their Palmetto bugs (flying cockroaches) are another big reason why I stay in the Upper Midwest area. 

Looking at Hurricane Ian around midnight last night, 
you can't even see the state of Florida - it's totally 
taken over by the storm. You can barely see some 
of the Florida Keys to the bottom left (those blue 
islands). The destruction of this storm will be massive, 
and it's going to roll up the East Coast now. 

I saw that Ian hit landfall on the news at dinnertime, and it looked amazing and horrific. I've never experienced rain like that, although I've been near enough some tornadoes that wind like that has been present in my life a couple of times. But rain or wind, it's certainly nothing to play with. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by Ian and those who will be as it moves up the East Coast. 

As you can tell from this image taken early yesterday 
morning, Ian is HUGE. It quite easily could (and 
did) cover the entire state of Florida. Here, it's almost 
ready to hit there, but not quite. 

I got an Amazon box at the store yesterday and DH brought it home for me. Some new earplugs for swimming (thank goodness - desperately needed), a bit of this and that, and my new digital scale. I didn't have time to deal with the scale last night, and won't have time today either. I'll get it introduced to the home's internet tomorrow and should be able to use it by Saturday. It'll be great to have a scale again. 

I'm looking forward to setting up my new scale 
tomorrow. It always takes a bit of time to get 
things set up with the Bluetooth and admitted 
through the digital fencing I keep around our 
computers and router. 

So, since I'm running super late today (my morning guided meditation took a bit longer than usual), I'm wrapping this up and heading over to the pool. Have a wonderful Thursday, enjoy your day in all it offers to you, and if you're affected by Ian, please stay indoors and stay safe. I'll be thinking of you all day and holding you in my thoughts. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Happy Saturday - It'll Be a Great Weekend If All Goes As Planned

It's Saturday, and I managed my two miles on the treadmill, went into the bathroom, and prepared to weigh myself before my shower. But ... the screen on the scale remained black and it wasn't connecting to the Bluetooth. "Well," thought I. "Perhaps it's a battery issue. It's still the original batteries I installed when I purchased the scale almost two years ago. Let's change them." So I went to my battery stash and switched them out for fresh ones, then returned to the bathroom. 

I purchased my Wyze scale in March, 2021 for 
approximately $40. It's worked OK for me, 
although it has its' glitches. But this time it 
just isn't working. Time for a new scale. 

This time, the scale said it was connecting, but the brilliant blue LED numerals on the faceplate never lit up. "Le sigh." The scale itself was less than $40 when I bought it, so I took today's weight on my old digital scale that pulls four pounds off my actual weight (I mentally adjust upward because I know the scale is off by that much) and headed to my computer where I went onto Amazon. Ten minutes later I had a new digital scale ordered for $16.99 and free shipping. I won't have it until Thursday, but I'll survive. 

This time I've ordered a Vont scale. With the extra 
$10 discount they were offering me, the total came 
to $16.99. I can certainly live with that cost. It 
will arrive at the shop on Thursday - free shipping. 
Gotta love it - LOL. 

Yesterday's appointment with my podiatrist was "fun." Actually, it was. He remembered me from my broken ankle/foot of almost two years ago, and as usual he was cheerful, upbeat, and clear about my choices. We're starting low - daily soaks in Epson salts with an antibiotic ointment afterward and a new appointment set for the afternoon of Friday the 7th. We'll reassess at that time. There is an in-office surgical procedure that can be done - basically local anesthetic followed by the removal of 1/3 of the nail's width, taking that ingrowing nail completely away. Although the nail will continue to grow downward towards the pad of my toe if we don't remove it, I'm not sure it's bad enough at this point for such drastic measures.  I'm willing to try the less invasive stuff first. Toes hurt though, and I'm on my feet a lot during every day. I'd also be banned from the pool for a couple of weeks for healing before the chlorine hits it. A lot to consider. 

I don't think my toenail is painful enough to 
merit the surgery (and I'm not fond of the 
thought of it at all either), but I have a 
followup appointment in two weeks, and I'll 
see what he's got to say about it. It's painful, 
but not so much that I can't walk on it. I have 
a feeling that the cure might be worse than the 
actual illness right now. 

DH has been in a mood over the past few weeks. His mouse has been dying, and that's tough when you need it for computer work. He wanted one identical to the one he had, and I found and ordered that, but the computer refused to recognize it and after spending too much time dealing unsuccessfully with the communication aspect, I said "No, I'm returning this one and we're buying something off the shelf." Since I had a bit of time yesterday, I dropped by the office supply store near my grocer and took a look. There was only one wired mouse available, but it was $10, so I made sure I could return it even with the opened package, and purchased it. Taking it home, I powered his computer up, plugged in the new mouse, and voila! Success. 

It may not be exactly what DH wanted, but it's 
a wired mouse and it works with his computer. 
He's just going to have to "suck it up, Buttercup!" 

He grumped about how the new mouse felt in his hand, but shut up when I told him there was a choice of one for a wired mouse, that his new computer will probably be wireless so less of an issue, and that he could just live with it until he found something better on his own. He's using the new mouse - LOL. I'm tossing the old one today. 

For decades the annual show was held in a National Guard 
building far south of the Twin Cities. It was a lovely 
drive out and back in the autumn, but it was a long drive 
too. Now, for the second year, it's being held at the State 
Fairgrounds - a mere 10 minutes from my house and 
a straight shot down the main road between my home 
and my store. SOOO much easier to and from. We're 
skipping Renaissance Festival and doing the show 
instead. (We'll go to Ren next week to purchase next 
year's Season Tickets, but we may buy them and have 
a short day at Fest for the final day of the 2022 season.)

Have an excellent Saturday and weekend. My foot is soaked and has antiseptic ointment on it as required, my tea is made and next to me, my new scale will be delivered on Thursday so I can get it set up on the Bluetooth on Friday, and basically, all well be well with the world again. Tomorrow we go to the Gem and Mineral Show, and then have grilled steaks for dinner. Hopefully it will be a beautiful Fall day to spend some time on the patio, and there's always football to watch, so I won't be bored. Enjoy your weekend - Slava Ukraini.