Sunday Was A Shopping Day - DH Needed Clothes

Today was the first "real" day of my new schedule - treadmill on Monday, Friday and Saturday, and swimming on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It's a schedule that I was on for years, until my treadmill broke down and COVID came to visit (and never really left - rather like a visitor who simply won't return home after a week or two). It's likely that my posts will be a bit shorter and maybe (maybe) a bit more to point. But I'll still be here six days a week as always, unless I've warned you before-hand that I'll be on vacation or taking a break. 

It's been a real pleasure to be back on a treadmill 
once again. Building it back into my routine for 
Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays will take a little 
bit of effort, but will be well worth it. 

Today was my second day on the treadmill, and I was determined to do 30 minutes, and try various things out. I've determined that I cannot watch the virtual reality scenic runs AND listen to my Spotify from the treadmill at the same time. I can do one or the other, but not both together. So, on Friday, I'll bring my phone to the treadmill and listen to Spotify on the phone while working out on the tread. It'll be just fine. I did get DH logged in, but when I offered to tell him about the machine so that he would be able to use it, he brushed me off. He was upset at me for one reason or other. Not really sure why. 

Spotify isn't my favorite music, although I've worked up 
some decent playlists on it over the years. I might link 
the treadmill to my phone directly and just listen to my 
Sirius station of choice. I'd love to be moving along 
with Metallica - LOL. 

DH actually had a rather nice Sunday. He desperately needed some new pants, so determined he would go to JC Penny's and buy some. That's an old-fashioned store, but it's a comfort zone for him, and he knew he would be likely to find something that would work. He ended up with four pairs of pants (all of which need to be shortened), two pairs of shoes and a new set of slippers. I had given him $100 in gift cards for the holidays (which he had completely forgotten about), so it ended up costing him $250 instead of the $350 it would have. Go me! LOL

JC Penny is not my favorite store, but DH has always 
liked them, and they did do an outstanding job with 
our living room draperies. So, off we went to JC 
Penny and they had things he actually liked. Now to 
get the pants shortened at my local tailor. 

So I'm ready to jump into the work week. I did my meditation, worked out on the treadmill for 30 minutes of 4 mph speed (not massive speed, but I'm not supposed to do impact, as much as just walk at a fast pace), took my shower, made my tea and settled at the computer to jot down my blog. Goodness! I guess I've already done quite a lot, and it's only 6:20 am. Have a wonderful Monday, and I'll be back for a swimming day tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's a Weekend of New Equipment - TV's and the Treadmill

We'll do anything for hockey, including rewiring existing TV's and purchasing new ones, if needed. LOL In this case, we did both. DH rewired the upstairs TV and determined the downstairs TV needed to be replaced. After a lot of looking, DH finally decided on a small Westinghouse TV, which will arrive at the shop today (it was only $13.99 for overnight shipping, so why not?). He can fuss with getting that set up in the computer room, and do whatever prep work he needs to do for it during the day today and do the actual install tomorrow. But tomorrow he also wants me to teach him what to do with ... 

Here's my old treadmill, folded up and ready 
to be taken away. It served us well for more 
than 20 years, but finally gave up the ghost. 
It's been more than three years that I've been 
without a treadmill, and my doctor is insistent 
that I needed that type of exercise to help my bones, 
so I caved and bought a new treadmill at 
the State Fair. It was VERY expensive, but 
very worth the expense. 

The treadmill. Yes, it arrived yesterday and it's BEAUTIFUL. It actually takes up almost the exact same area and length that our NordicTrack took, but with a LOT more bells and whistles. It took the two guys, who were VERY experienced in set-up, a bit more than an hour to take away my old treadmill and assemble my new one. There is one back plate that had incorrect screws and they immediately ordered that part to be shipped to me, (no charge of course), assuring me that the install of that part was minimal effort (very true) and that the electrical board it covers was sealed, so dirt wouldn't be an issue either. 

Here's my new treadmill, all set up and ready to go. It 
took the guys a bit more than an hour to get it all put 
together. I'm not sure if DH and I would have EVER been 
successful at doing it - there were definitely some 
tricky parts and these guys were experts. They said they 
had put together a LOT of equipment for the State Fair 
booth, and it showed. They knew what they were doing 
every step of the way. 

Later in the afternoon, after an afternoon of frenetic cooking: (1) Ogre Juice for my nest week's lunches, (2) baked fruit for my breakfasts - 12 containers worth, (3) honey roasted baby carrots - so nummy; I decided a trial run was called for. That required digging into my closet for my old gym bag, retrieving exercise clothes I haven't worn for several years. 

Of course, the clothes had been washed, I wasn't about to put on scuzzy clothing. I always washed them after every week's exercise sessions - usually two times a week. Then I had to hunt for my shoes - that was more difficult. I actually didn't find my shoes until this morning, substituting a second set (not as comfortable) for my initial treadmill try out. 

There are a ton of virtual trails available for the 
treadmill. I've started out just random choices, but 
I'll soon be downloading specific ones. I'm still just
 getting started - two miles yesterday, 1-1/2 mile 
today. I'm VERY happy. 

The machine itself had been automatically uploading and updating throughout the afternoon. I had connected it to the WiFi almost immediately after the guys left in the morning, and the first thing it wanted to do was update. So, I let it do its' thing, and it uploaded and installed new updates for a couple of hours before it was well fed and happy. I logged myself in as a user, set up my personal profile, and decided to start with "Virtual Trails" - a scenic run through various areas around the nation. I notice it has Spotify, so I'll load in my password for that and get some decent music down the line too. But, I did two miles yesterday, and another 1-1/2 mile today, so I'm very pleased. I like it! My doctor will be delighted, and my bones will probably be very happy as well. 

It's Treadmill Installation Day - And a New TV?

DH was at the Comcast store shortly before 10:00 am and was astonished that a line was already forming! (I wasn't surprised - with all that Comcast does, there are so many different things they are consulted on). But, he gamely joined the line with our documentation and, after running into an old friend and former customer of mine for a quick chat, was paired with a customer service rep who was VERY helpful and VERY efficient. The transcript of my former conversation with Comcast was also helpful - apparently I'd been given a LOT of very incorrect instructions. *sigh*

The whole reason for the entire TV replacement event 
is to get our hockey games. Well ... (I can hear you 
laughing and the eyes rolling) ... it's IMPORTANT to 
us - LOL. 

Armed with new hardware, he returned home to deal with the physical aspect of updating our televisions. He succeeded with the set in the bedroom (our main TV and our newest one), then tackled the smaller TV that we have in the computer room. That's a TV that he has on a lot. I don't watch TV except at night with him, so it's not urgent for me to have it working. After a lot of examination, etc., he determined that this TV is too old to be compatible, which set both of us on an internet hunt for a new TV that could fit the restricted space we have to work within. 

We both rather liked the Feihe TV, but it was one of those 
that "couldn't ship to our area". I have no idea. All I can 
think is that there's a component in there that's illegal 
with our environmental laws. 

I went to bed with this issue still unresolved. One brand we liked (somewhat) wouldn't "ship to our designated area" (whatever that means) and others had poor reviews for sound (very important since DH is hearing impaired) or angle of vision (important for me since I sit at the other desk and am at an angle to the screen). Things were unresolved when I went to sleep. 

The Westinghouse would work in our space (with some 
adjustments) and can be shipped quickly to us. That's 
probably what we'll end up with. The cost is good also, 
only $116. 

I found a note in my keyboard this morning, since DH had continued to search through the web and Amazon. 

   "Looking at Westinghouse D2 (type into Amazon search). It's not smart TV, but they say 
  picture good and easy to set up. Everyone says sound is tinny, but no one has good 
  sound. It's 21.6" wide x 14.5" high (we have 19" of unrestricted space available, everything 
  larger will require some changes in our shelving) so we'd have to set board across top 
  because base is not adjustable which means top of screen will be about one inch higher than
  top of current TV. $115.99 and quick delivery."

So, I'll take a look when I've finished this post, and see. I really don't care that much. I rarely have any TV except the kitchen set on, and that one is just to listen to the news while making dinner, watch "Wheel of Fortune" while eating, and that's about it. As I said, I'm not much of a TV person. He's the one who wakes up and immediately turns on the bedroom TV. I would be quite content with a single TV to watch PBS on, and a decent DVD player for those odd times when I feel like watching a film. I'd much rather stick my head into an ebook - LOL. 

My problem is that although Etsy automatically set the 
sales tax rate, it was the wrong rate because my City 
sales tax hadn't been included. I tried to alter that several 
months ago without success, but found a new place to 
enter my rate yesterday morning, so I'm hoping that 
future orders from Etsy will be appropriately charged. 
In the meantime, the store had been eating that extra 
0.05% and we're priced about as low as we can go, so 
it wasn't making me happy. 

So that was yesterday's catastrophe - LOL. I had my own catastrophe at the shop with a couple of Etsy orders, but got that resolved and they're on their way to their respective purchasers. Our financial books will be messed up until the monies are deposited into our account from Etsy, but that won't be long. They're usually quite efficient. 

Today this baby is coming home to me! I can hardly wait 
for it to be set up in my den so that I can start working out 
 on a treadmill once again. It's got all the bells and whistles, 
so getting used to it will also be a lot of fun. 

The big thing today is ... TODAY IS TREADMILL INSTALLATION DAY! I'm SO looking forward to this. I need to remember to bring my vacuum down from its' storage because I haven't vacuumed underneath the old treadmill in YEARS. Having a new, functional treadmill in that room is going to be absolute HEAVEN, and will mean that I'll be able to exercise on my off days, not just swim three days a week. Happy Me! Have an excellent Friday, and if you haven't voted for my current tale on LJ Idol, I'd really appreciate a vote. The link to the tale is https://erulissedances.dreamwidth.org/1061653.html and I'm sure it will be a tight competition, as always. I don't think I've ever made it in the competition for this long before, and I'd love to continue to write for it. Slava Ukraini. 

Yesterday Was Cooking, Grocery Shopping and Cooking - LOL

I'm off to the pool for my final swim of the week. Tomorrow the treadmill gets delivered and installed, and I'll finally be able to get back to a 6-day exercise cycle once again. I've really missed that! It's been more than two years since the treadmill died. 

I made a batch of "Tomato-Orange Soup" yesterday. It 
takes 12 tomatoes, but they're totally in season right 
now. Still, that was a lot of tomatoes to roast and peel 
and my fingers were quite heat sensitive by the end of 
it. It finishes off in the blender, and it's a lovely marriage 
of flavors and spices. If you're interested in the recipe, 
it can be found here: 
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/tomato-orange-soup/

I managed to get both soups done yesterday. I was mistaken about the cooking method for the one soup, both of these used the stovetop. But fortunately, I chose the correct soup to start the cooking process, because the one that took the most time was the one I dove into first. The second soup was a total breeze - maybe 1/2 hour of prep work before letting it simmer for an hour or so. I got the chicken made for our meals last night, and realized I had forgotten to pick up an avocado and cherry tomatoes when I was at the store. Since DH was running late (last minute customer), I dashed over to the store and quickly got the two items purchased. Problem solved! 

The Asian Vegetable-Beef soup was the second soup 
I made yesterday. It's main ingredient is a pound of 
stew meat, which is then mixed in with a lot of lovely 
veggies and simmered for an hour. It's a lovely soup. 
If you would like the recipe, here it is: 
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/asian-vegetable-beef-soup/

Today DH will visit out local Comcast store to nail why we aren't getting our hockey games. We needed to upgrade our tier for that channel, but I did that over the phone a month ago and it still hasn't been turned on. I'm beyond frustrated, and DH is angry. So I supplied him with all of the paperwork I had, including a complete transcript of the conversation I had with the customer service agent over the phone. Hopefully he can get things straightened up today. It's very frustrating! 

Hockey is starting and we need that Comcast change so that 
we can see the games. Not having it installed, although I spent 
more than an hour on the phone with customer service, is 
MORE than frustrating. DH gets to go and see what's what 
this morning. 

Voting for the latest story on LJ Idol will open late tonight, so I'll post a reminder about that tomorrow and I hope that my story about Haver and baby talk will merit your vote. I'm delighted and relieved to be continuing on in LJ Idol. I don't think I've ever made it quite this far before, but honestly can't remember how many weeks I survived the previous time I wrote for the challenge. (I also can't recall if this is my 2nd time or my 3rd time as a contestant in LJ Idol. My memory is like a sieve for some things, and a steel trap for others.) Have an excellent Thursday, I'm off to the pool. Slava Ukraini. 

The Vice Presidential Debate and Finally A Day Off!

We watched the Vice Presidential debate last night - at least I watched 2/3 of it, before retreating to my bed. I don't get a lot of sleep on nights when I'm swimming the next day, so my 9:00 pm bed time is firm. Tim Walz did OK, but JD Vance was actually fabulous. BUMMER. I really wanted Walz to do well, after all, he's a Governor, he does speeches all the time. But he was off-game and Vance was spot-on. I was impressed with Vance, even though I want nothing to do with him or his politics. 

If I go by the winner of this debate, Vance definitely won. 
That's a shame, because Walz is a better person, but Vance 
was very well prepared and very well spoken. The Democrats 
lost the debate, and I sincerely hope they DON'T lose the 
election as a result. 

There were a few good zings from both candidates, however, and really, we're electing a President, not the Veep. Still, I was disappointed in Walz's performance last night. He wasn't sharp and muddled a bit too much. If Trump gets elected, however, maybe someone will succeed in eliminating him, and we'll end up with Vance in the White House. If he's as intelligent as last night seemed to indicate, that wouldn't be a tragedy. 

Finally, I get a "day off" today. I'll have to drop into the 
shop very early to write checks that I didn't have the time 
to do yesterday, but that won't take long. 

Enough about politics. On to other things. For one thing - I finally get a "normal" "day off". Chickie should be back in the shop today, and DH will breathe a sigh of relief tomorrow when he finally gets a day off. I'll have to drop into the shop very early today to write checks - I didn't have the time to do that yesterday. But that's minor, and I'll get that done quickly then head onwards on my errands. I have a bare cupboard, so I HAVE to do some cooking. If I could get two soups done, that would be marvelous. Friday morning will be taken up with getting the new treadmill into the den and the old one taken away, so my Friday kitchen time will be reserved for "Ogre Juice" only. 

One of my favorite soups to make is this one - Asian 
Vegetable-Beef Soup. It goes together easily, and it 
cooks in my crock pot, so that I can make a second, 
different soup on the stovetop while it's cooking. Very 
convenient. 

I survived the write-off! I'm relieved and pleased that the "Haver" post I put in for the current challenge isn't posted in vain as an afterthought after elimination. I've already got my first load of laundry in the washer, and I need to think about what I need at the store - LOTS of things. It's such a relief to not have to go in to the shop (at least not during working hours). I'm going to spend a little time getting my shopping list in order, so I'll sign off here. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Write Off and Weather and Running Late

Looking at the numbers, I don't think I've survived the write-off. That's a shame - I've really been enjoying writing to a prompt - it's always a fun challenge for me, as a writer, to look at a prompt and come up with an essay, poem, or other written words that will put a little piece of me out there for others to read and comment on. I'll know whether I survived or not fairly soon. I did post my next story for the standard prompt anyway - I may not survive the write-off, but I still love the challenge of writing, and I knew exactly where I wanted to go with the prompt for "haver". 

I doubt I'l survive the write-off, I'm in the bottom 
three right now and don't recall how many of us 
are being sent home on this vote. *sigh* 

I was hoping that Chickie would be back today so that DH could take care of the TV stuff this morning. However, her plane doesn't arrive until late this afternoon, so she won't be back until tomorrow. That means DH can't get the TV stuff done until Thursday. A serious delay. I might take the paperwork over myself on Wednesday and speak with them. It's ridiculous that we can't get things straightened out so that we can watch our hockey. I approved the extra expense more than three weeks ago, and we're still unable to receive the games on our TV. 

We get our hockey through the Bally Sports network. 
Even though we agreed to the extra $ they would add 
to our cable bill, we're still not receiving the enhanced 
channel. Time to go to the Comcast store and find out 
what's what. 

It's the first of October. Last winter, the weather gods decided we deserved a very unexpected break and gave us one of the mildest winters we've ever had in the state. I can guarantee that won't happen two years in a row. I already feel it. All of the animals know - "Winter is Coming" - and I think this year will more than make up for the lack of last year. In some ways that will be good. I won't mind killing some of the bugs and slugs in the garden area. But in other ways ... well, shoveling my driveway at 4:00 am so that I can get to the swimming pool for our 5:00 am opening is NOT one of my favorite tasks, and I suspect I'll be doing a lot of that. It's impossible to get the snow blower out of the garage without backing DH's truck out, and I'm not about to even try. 

 We haven't had quite this much snow in the Cities since 
I've lived here, but it's possible. Usually drifts like this 
are more for outside the Cities area. Still, we can easily get 
my height or more during an average winter. 

And DH will be stuck having to clear the roof again this year. It was a wonderful break, and a very appreciated break - having our unexpectedly warm winter last year. This year it will be hand warmers, wrapped scarves, and snow boots for months on end. *sigh* It's the drawback for living in the Frozen Northlands, but that's OK. It's a fabulous state and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I can handle the snow. I know how to deal with it. I think I'd rather avoid the hurricanes of the Southeast US. 

Take your pick - everywhere you choose to live, you're 
going to be affected by some weather aspect. Even in the 
Southwest, they get extreme heat. Up here, we get the 
snow and the thunderstorms with occasional tornadoes. 
I can handle that. 

I've bot to wrap this up. It's time to leave for the pool. I hope you have a glorious Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow for the first "Day Off" of the month (and I really NEED it - my cupboards are BARE). Have a wonderful Tuesday. Slava Ukraini. 

Rocks, Hockey and A Bit of ARGH - ALSO Please Vote or I'm Out of the Writing Competition

DH and I started our Sunday out at the MN Gem & Mineral Show. They opened the building at 10:00 am, but we arrived a bit earlier to roam through the outside vendors. This year they all had fabulous weather, which was awesome. Other years we've been there in rain, and a few times in an early snow. Yesterday was warm and sunny and perfect for wandering. 

I fell in love with this matched set of Cherry Creek 
Jasper. DH preferred the second set the vendor had, 
but I liked the color spectrum in this set. The 
inner twin works with the bottom of the centerpiece, 
the outer two work with the top of the centerpiece. 
It's well balanced, and in my favorite color spectrum. 

DH and I both adore rocks - we have WAY too many of them, but we love them. I fell in love with the five-stone set of Cherry Creek Jasper (above photo). It was only $20, and they were really nicely matched and complimented each other beautifully. DH thought the other five-stone set was nicer, but I disagreed, so he handed me the money and I now have the set sitting at my desk. I can hardly wait to design a beaded setting for them. It'll be stunning and a lot of fun to make. 

Since I didn't have a "day off" this past week, my laundry was 
mounting up. I did one large load on Sunday - way more 
than I would usually put in my washer. But it had to be done. 
I don't like doing loads that large, and the sheets had to wait 
for a week, but we'll survive that. 

DH has a habit of purchasing raw rock. We keep them in drawer sets in the basement, which has a concrete floor. That's rather essential when dealing with pounds and pounds of rock. He managed to talk me into letting him buy a small baggie of one style, and one smallish larger stone from our favorite vendor for raw materials. So we both ended up with something from the Gem & Mineral Show. We headed back home to watch the football game while I did laundry. 

It's almost time for the professional ice 
hockey season to start, and we aren't able 
to watch the games at home yet, even though 
I supposedly set everything up more than a 
week ago. DH is VERY unhappy, and he'll 
actually take the paperwork along with him 
to the Comcast store and discuss it with them 
in person. Hopefully he'll get somewhere, 
their website is a hot mess. 

The professional ice hockey season is about to kick off, and the TV station on which it is broadcast is now part of a higher tier. I contacted the cable company, purchased that higher tier and had everything shifted over ... but we're still not getting that station. After going through all of my paperwork (including a transcript of EXACTLY what the service rep had told me in a conversation more than two weeks ago), DH will head over to the Comcast office on Tuesday with all of the paperwork to find out why we're still not getting that channel. Our hockey is VERY important to us. DH is NOT happy that we haven't been able to watch the pre-season games, and he has no intention of missing the season completely. 

Given the season and how many Halloween decorations I'm 
already seeing in people's yards, this seemed an appropriate 
illustration for "The Cupboards are Bare". Mine aren't quite 
THAT bare, there's still food to eat, but everything I made 
in advance of Chickie's trip has been eaten. 

So, that's the excitement in my life - LOL. I'm back to a normal week again. Chickie returns to work tomorrow and I'll get my normal Wednesday and Friday off. That's good, because my pre-made food is completely eaten and I need to get more made. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. OH!!! I'm in a WRITE-OFF to stay alive in LJ Journal. Here's the link ( https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1166159.html ) and I'd REALLY appreciate your votes if you like what I've written for the write-off. Deadline is tomorrow night (Tuesday) and my life on LJ Idol depends on YOUR votes. Thanks in advance. Slava Ukraini.