Monday, September 18, 2023

Right Now: September 2023

Here's what's going on in my world Right Now in the second to last week of September.

Reveling In -  Cooler temperatures (finally!) and the slow approach of fall. It's been delightfully cool at night (in the upper 40s to mid-50s) with 70s and 80s during the day. I have been leaving the windows open and the house smells wonderfully fresh. Of course, this also means allergies, but they make drugs for that.

Patting myself on the back - For cleaning out my pantry cupboard. I threw away some old spices and organized all the things I kept. I know I don't lead a very exciting life, but sometimes I just like to open my pantry and enjoy the view. I'm making a concerted effort to actually use the items on the pantry shelves before I buy more (which happened after I found that I already had 480 PG Tips tea bags and didn't have to order any more). 


Drinking - Now that I can find and see all of it, I'm choosing from my assortment of tea. There is nothing like a nice warm cup of peppermint tea (or any of the other nine types of tea I have) to end the evening. 

Listening To - Bach Trios, delightful arrangements of Bach's works played on cello, mandolin, and bass. After this, it's The Goat Rodeo Sessions from the same musicians with the addition of Stuart Duncan on fiddle, banjo, and mandolin. These guys are good!

Watching - Unforgotten. Kym mentioned this show last week, and I've become slightly obsessed. It's a British police procedural where they investigate historical crimes, with Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar playing the main investigators. I love how the stories are slowly unraveled over a season, with thoughtfulness and sensitivity and without the usual US violence. I have to make myself do laundry, vacuum, and prepare food before I sit down to watch so I don't end up just sitting and watching all day. 

Learning - How to patch a tire, the easy way! I got a roofing nail in my back passenger tire and developed a slow leak. Ordinarily, I would have gone to the auto mechanics, they would have taken the tire off, told me they tried to patch it but were unsuccessful, and then they would try to sell me two new tires. Justin offered to show me how to fix it, in four minutes without taking the tire off. Using this kit, first, you remove the offending nail, then ream out the hole with the reaming tool. Then you take a really sticky plug strip, push it all the way into the tire with the plugging tool, and then pull it out, sealing the tire. It's been three weeks and no leaks! I'll probably regret saying this, but I'm excited to try this myself the next time I get a nail in my tire. 

Getting - The new covid booster later this week. I still haven't had covid (unless it was so mild I didn't even realize it) but I'm anxious to continue that streak since I'm 66 years old with somewhat compromised lung function from a pulmonary embolism. I made the executive decision not to get my flu shot for a few weeks, mostly because I felt poorly for 24 hours after both vaccines on prior occasions. I was afraid the effects would be multiplied if I got both vaccines at the same time.

Grateful - That my vertigo seems to be resolving, albeit slowly. I still have to be careful for a couple of hours when I get up in the morning, but with some meclizine and continuing repetitions of the Epley maneuver and vestibular exercises, it is dissipating. I made an appointment with an ENT but the first appointment I could get isn't until October 13th.

Reminding You - About the Read With Us discussion of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida on our blogs and Zoom tomorrow. Please RSVP to Kym via the link on the right-hand side of her blog if you would like to receive an invitation to the Zoom discussion at 7:00 pm tomorrow night. I hope that many of you can join us!

What's going on in your world right now?

11 comments:

  1. I love posts like this and getting a glimpse into your world (and pantry) right now is fun! You have a lot of tea there, Bonny! I had my first cup in ages the other day and it was peppermint, always my favorite. I won't be getting the Covid booster yet since I have natural immunity now but Dale will be getting it right away. He's like you, he's never had it that he's known of and I'd like him to keep it that way.

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  2. we like Unforgotten as well, the new season is on the PBS website. I just went through our tea cupboard and it's somewhat organized. I haven't had covid that I know of yet. I will look into getting the shot soon.

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  3. That is a very impressive tea drawer! I could tell that the weather was changing for the cooler when I felt the need for a cup of tea after lunch the other day, something I typically do only in fall and winter. I hope some comforting tea will help you get through the yuckiness of the COVID booster. Having now gone through the real thing, I will tell you that the effects of the vaccine are much better than getting the virus.

    I love Unforgotten, and I'm sorry to say I already binged the entirety of the new season last week. But I think I may need to go back and rewatch it from the beginning because it's so good. For some extra fun, see if you can find the behind-the-scenes stuff on what's in Sunny's backpack -- apparently the production staff had some fun with it!

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  4. Whenever I clear out/organize my pantry (or refrigerator), I get so excited about it that - for days! - I open the doors just to admire the order! I need to do it again soon . . . because there is no "admiring the order" going on right now. ;-) I'm so glad to hear your vertigo is improving. It is such a nasty condition! I've been trying to figure out if I want to do my flu shot/Covid booster together . . . or separate. (I haven't had a noticeable reaction to either shot in the past -- except for a really sore arm.) I think you're wise to get them one at a time! XO

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  5. I am going to borrow some of your pantry enthusiasm and tackle my "big pantry" which is a massive undertaking! Yours looks so nicely organized (and I love the OPEN reminder!) Unforgotten is just so so good. I am glad that Kym's reminder set you on that path!

    Happy Much Cooler Monday! XO

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  6. I love a good pantry cleanup project. I don't know if you've read this book, but you're using the "Decluttering at the Speed of Life" technique!

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  7. Love PG Tipps....we go through a box of 80 in a month.
    If you like Unforgotten, look for Annika also with Nicola Walker. It's available on PBS Passport. Awaiting a new season on that one. Also look at Van der Velk. Big British mystery fans here...along with their tea ;)

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  8. I do love having my windows opened and these cool nights! I'm glad to hear that your vertigo has imporved and I hope it continues to do so. Last year they gave me the "over 65" flu shot and my whole upper arm was hot and red for days...a friend warmed her hands by holding them over my arm! My doctor said it was just a cutaneous reaction, but I think I will ask for the regular one this year and I plan to get the COVID booster at a different time. Our pharmacy doesn't have the COVID boosters yet. I'm watching the new season of Unforgotten and it is not the same without Nicola Walker, but still very good. I have seen her in Annika, another great British mystery show.

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    1. I agree with your Unforgotten assessment. I'm almost done with season 5 today and I miss Nicola Walker, but I plan to watch Annika next! Thanks for your "over 65" flu shot assessment. I'm not sure if I'll ask for the regular one or not, but whichever one I get, it won't be at the same time as my covid booster.

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  9. Thank you for the Bach tip ... brand new to me and I can't wait to listen! Marc & I fell down the Unforgotten rabbit hole a few weeks ago and wow. It's such a great show. We watched the S4 finale Friday night and I can honestly say all 24 episodes together make up some of the best TV we've watched in a long time. Enjoy! (we're currently recording S5, so TBD on that).

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  10. A neat and tidy pantry makes my heart sing. The Bach music looks great. I admire Yo-Yo Ma and I believe Chris Thiele hosted the Prairie Home Companion after Keillor left. Anyway I look forward to finding that music. Congratulations on learning to patch a tire. That is terrific. For what it's worth, I got the flu vaccine for the over "65" crowd last year with no ill effects. I just got one today. I planned to wait two weeks for the Covid booster which is working well. This week it is in short supply at the local CVS stores.

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