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More Sad News

     I wish I could eat without my lips burning. The food doesn’t even have to be spicy. My lips are still dry and chapped so pretty much anything that touches them burns. Ice cream might be the exception. Ha ha…
     I started a series last night on BritBox called “Blue Lights” - In Belfast, three Police Service of Northern Ireland recruits fight gangs, undercover agents and even their own force. I thought I might have already watched it but I hadn’t. There are six episodes in the series and I’ve now watched two of them.
     Today started off with the news that one of my sisters-in-law winged her way to Heaven yesterday. She was the wife of Bill’s younger brother who passed away on Valentine’s Day, 2023. She had health issues for years and its amazing she lived as long as she did but still sad for the family. 
     I watched an interesting webinar this afternoon on the subject of “4 Mistakes That Are Letting Criminals Steal Your Money & Identity.” In case you are interested, you can view the replay at https://event.webinarjam.com/login/92667sgxczns3wb7sk
     And yet another email arrived from the Internet Crime Complaint Center telling me I can receive restitution for one or more of the internet fraud schemes I’ve been a victim of. This time it is $12.7M dollars for each victim instead of $14.5M dollars as before. And I only have to pay $150 for the procurement of the "AUTHORIZATION OF EXERCISE" instead of $450 as before. It boggles my mind to think that anyone would fall for this type of thing but these folks are obviously making money or they wouldn’t be doing it. 
     It was a good thing I decided not to go to rehearsal tonight. I needed one more day of rest and recovery from my cold. I usually leave at 6pm and by 5:30, I could barely keep my eyes open. I took a wee nap. I woke to find it pouring rain at the time I would have been driving to church. 
     My new power strip arrived yesterday. I got it plugged in today. Interestingly, the old iPad cable that wouldn’t work suddenly works so I’m using it on the new power strip in the living room. I found another charger and have it hooked up to the new iPad cable and will use it in the bedroom. That saves me having to plug and unplug the charger all the time.
     I let Bethann know that I didn’t go to rehearsal tonight. When I got ready to sign off, I told her I was going to see about something to eat. She asked if I wanted some of the clam chowder she made last night. She said she could meet me at the gate. I told her I’d be right over. So I got the chowder and some taco lasagna that her daughter made. I ate some of the yummy chowder for dinner and will sample the lasagna later. 
     As I write, I have about 7 rounds left to knit on the current Milo Vest before creating the shoulder straps. I’ll watch more “Blue Lights” tonight. 

Wise people are not always silent, but they know when to be. - Unknown
 

 Posted in General

Born

     The Pad Thai Noodle Bowl was really good. I liked it a lot better than the Yakisoba I had recently. I think I got it at Dollar Tree so will buy more next time I’m there if they have any. I had to pick up a package at the post office today so I popped into the grocery store. I got a large package of boneless skinless chicken thighs for $2.49/lb. I’ll freeze each one in a little sandwich bag and put a bunch of those in a larger bag so I can access them when desired. On the way back to my car, I talked with a guy who had a pig in the back seat of his pickup truck – a full grown pig! I didn’t ask…
     I left here at 5:55 to go unlock the fire station for tonight’s crafty group. I can’t recall if I mentioned that I was knitting the blue Milo Vest for a gal who sits next to me at this group. She was expecting a grandson. She came tonight and I gave it to her. The baby was born last Saturday so that was good timing. Done with that I explained to everyone that I wasn’t going to stay and share whatever I have going on. I was headed home by 6:12.
     Back home again, I began catching up on things and knitting on the next Milo Vest. I wasn’t crazy about the colors which were red and black. The longer I looked at it, the more I thought it should be used to knit a hat instead of a baby vest. That said, I ripped it out and went in search of another color of yarn. The one I chose was a definite improvement so I cast on with it. 
     As 8pm approaches, I’m going to eat the rest of the Pad Thai Noodle Bowl. Hopefully, I can find something to watch while I knit.

God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them. - Unknown

 Posted in General

And Yet Another Laugh

     I got another email which also originated in Japan. “I am Mr. Richard Wahl, the mega winner of $533M USD in Mega Millions Jackpot, I'm donating to 5 random individuals. If you receive my email then your email was selected after a spin ball. I have spread most of my wealth over a number of charities and organizations. I have voluntarily decided to donate the sum of $10M USD to you as you are one of the selected five.” This brings me up to $38 million I’ve got coming. Ha ha…  A Richard Wahl did, indeed, win the money but I think I can safely say it is not him wanting to give his money to me. Interestingly, I found a scam survivors website with this scam dating as far back as February 2019.
     I cast off the stitches on the vest as midnight approached. I just had to weave in some yarn tails. I left that for today. I was expecting Tom and Bob from church at 10:30 to mow and weed whack my place. I had set the alarm for 10:15 so I’d be up and moving, and I told them to call me when they got to my gate. Of course, I woke up at 8:30 but managed to doze a bit more before I had to get up. 
     I moved the car out of the garage so Tom could get to the riding mower. He helped Bob get the weed whacker going first and Bob set to work. Tom brought his electric compressor to reinflate the tires. My compressor uses the car battery. He had a time getting the mower running. He had to charge the battery. He found a charger in the garage that I didn’t even realize I had. It still didn’t want to start. He cleaned the air filter and sprayed some kind of starter fluid and finally got it going. It was 11:15 by time he started mowing. At one point, Bob had an issue with the weed whacker. Tom eventually got it running again. They worked until about 1:30. They didn’t get quite everything done but Bob had a meeting to go to at 2:30 so they had to take off. I put the car back in the garage.
     My cold is still hanging on. I was exhausted by time they left so I eventually set an alarm and napped in the recliner for about an hour. Then I got the yarn tails woven in on the vest. Despite the nap, I was still tired and was yawning by 6:45. I resumed knitting on the vest I plan to send to the guy who did the concert at church recently. That baby isn’t due until August so I can work some on it in between knitting the vest I cast on for CareNet recently. 
     I think I will cook the Pad Thai Noodle Bowl and have some of that for dinner. Here is Milo Vest #100.

Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. – Aristotle

 Posted in General

Another Laugh

     I watched the next available episode of “Murdoch Mysteries.” I was up to 50 rounds on the vest by 1am. Three more rounds and I can do the garter stitch hem and call it done. I picked up a bit of a cold so I didn’t go to Bible Study today. I didn’t think they would want me to share that with them. 
     It was heading towards 3pm before I managed to drag myself out of bed. I finally knit the last three rounds on the vest body. I went down one needle size and decreased the 10 stitches I added at the end of the yoke. I always change to the next smaller needle size to knit the vest border. I could not for the life of me find the smaller size 4 needle heads. They weren’t in either of the other two things I had on needles. I used those needle heads when I finished the vest last Saturday night. I finally attached the longer size 4 needle heads and got to knitting the border as 6pm rolled past. Frustrated by being unable to find the smaller needle heads, I continued looking. I looked again in a mesh bag of needles and cables and finally found them. Having decided the longer needle heads were working okay for what I was doing, I removed the shorter needle heads from the cable they were on and put them back in the needle holder. Mystery solved. I could rest easy and finish the vest.
     Yesterday's laugh came from an email supposedly from Internet Crime Complaint Center. Again, the email originated from Japan. “Our records indicate that you are eligible to receive restitution for one or more of the internet fraud schemes you've been a victim of. Our records indicate that you have been a victim of fraud because your contact details were found on several devices belonging to the perpetrator. Because this was a private investigation, all victims (including yourself) were represented by a professional court-appointed public defender. European Law Firm with over 10 years of experience on similar cases. After having consistently pursued the case for two years, successfully secured restitution payments of $14.5M dollars for each victim. Restitution is ordered to be paid immediately. To start receiving your restitution benefits through a Cashier's Check, you are required to pay $450 for the "AUTHORIZATION OF EXERCISE" from the Supreme Court of Justice in Washington DC.  You have to contact the payment manager for immediate release of your restitution payment & note that all entries must be claimed now and not later the earlier the better.” Uh huh…
     I see that the guy who burgled the fire station near my house has been arrested. Yay! Hopefully, they don’t just slap him on the wrist and let him go. On another note, I read this on the Peninsula Light Company’s Facebook page: “Back in the day, our parents and grandparents knew appliances continue to use electricity when they’re plugged in. Unplug small appliances, lamps and other electronics when not in use! I never heard that before.
     I took a dinner break as 8pm approached. I warmed up the rest of last night’s chicken thigh and some Jasmine rice. Despite picking off all the red pepper flakes I saw, the chicken burned the inside of my mouth and my lips. I still have a few of them in the freezer. Maybe I’ll try washing them before cooking the next time. Once all of them are gone, I’ll see about buying the boneless skinless thighs and making my own teriyaki chicken thighs as I said last night. It’s ridiculous to pay twice as much for something I don’t enjoy eating! 
     Done with all that, I resumed work on the vest. I was about halfway through the border. I’ll see if I can find something to watch and finish up this project tonight.     

Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today. - Will Rogers

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Health Insurance

     I was tired the entire time I was at church today. When I got home, I went into the bedroom to turn on the heating blanket and discovered it was on. I must have turned up the temperature instead of turning it off this morning. Done with my nap, I had to go out to the car and get my medical alert button. As I’ve said before, I don’t take it into church as government alerts have broadcast through it a few times. I have it in a pouch when it is in the car. It had fallen down between the seat and the passenger door which is why I didn’t see it to bring it in when I got home. 
     I cooked a kalbi chicken thigh for my Sunday dinner. I tried to get all the red pepper flakes off the thigh but it still burned my mouth. I ate a large spoonful of ice cream to cool off my mouth. I suppose I should just buy chicken thighs and make my own. I guess they use boneless skinless thighs, sprinkle on the pepper flakes and maybe other spices, and package them in a container with the kalbi marinade. I spray some olive oil on it, air fry it and then pour some teriyaki sauce on the plate and set the thigh in that. They charge $5.49 per pound for them. I looked for chicken thighs on the local IGA website but couldn’t find any. At Albertsons, the boneless skinless thighs are $2.49 per pound. That definitely looks like a change I need to make. I can use the difference in price to buy ice cream! 
     I read in the local newspaper that my health insurance company, Premera Blue Cross, and MultiCare are stalled in their negotiations. If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, MultiCare providers, clinics, hospitals and facilities will no longer be in Premera's network starting June 1. MultiCare says “Since 2019, Premera has reimbursed MultiCare well below the rate of inflation. This is not sustainable and jeopardizes access to 1,000 health care providers and multiple hospitals, urgent cares and health clinics across the state.” Premera says they seek to “Fairly compensate the hospital system while remaining competitive in the market,” in keeping costs low. The executive vice president at Premera said "The new rates MultiCare is proposing are just not sustainable for our customers.” Hmmm…
     Then I happened upon an article in MarketWatch that said, "Medicare Advantage is overbilling Medicare by 22%." The commission that advises Congress on Medicare just published its latest report to Congress. It reads: "We estimate that Medicare spends approximately 22 percent more for Medicare Advantage enrollees than it would spend if those beneficiaries were enrolled in Fee for Service Medicare, a difference that translates into a projected $83 billion in 2024." More hmmm…
     It looks like I have some “Murdoch Mysteries” to watch so I’ll move along for now.

If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive. – Mother Theresa

 Posted in General

Laugh of the Day

      I had this week’s episode of “Beyond Paradise” to watch last night. I finished the 35th round on the vest as that came to an end. I headed to bed as 1am rolled past. I had no place to be today. 
     I got a good laugh from an email I found in my spam folder today. It is supposedly from Larissa L. Knapp, Executive Assistant Director of the National Security Branch of the FBI. When I looked at the email address, it was in Japan. The email said…(I copied it as is)
     “Attention dear beneficiary. In a recent meeting with the FBI Director regarding debt reconciliation for your compensation winnings fund. this is to inform you that we have agreed to release your fund worth ($13.5 million dollars) which will come via consignment box, and a Global Automatic Teller Machine debit master Card as instructed from our headquarter by Christopher A. Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).However, the information below is needed in order to enable the profiling of your consignment box and the ATM card delivery to your provided address. We have scheduled this delivery to occur within the next 24 hours from the time you receive this email. Please confirm the information below.” 
     Then it asked for my full name, age, occupation, phone number, home address, nearest airport, driver's licenses or any government issued passport. It gave the name and email of the person I was to send this information to. It ended with a blurb saying “Disregard any email you get from any impostors. Help stop cyber-crime.” Uh huh…
     I finally got an update on the motorcycle accident on Thursday. A fellow was riding his bike the other direction, witnessed the crash and spoke to the injured rider. It sounds like he severely broke his arm and leg. The wife of the fellow driving the car said her husband never saw him coming. He wasn’t sure how fast the motorcycle was going but he didn't see him until he was already in the intersection. Having seen the remains of the motorcycle, I’m thankful to hear the fellow survived. 
     Bethann and I talked for almost an hour this evening. We caught up on all the news from both of us. We are both happy that God brought us together. We bonded because we both lost a son. She is so good to be there for me and make sure that I’m okay. That is so deeply appreciated.
     I have 40 of the 53 rounds knit on the vest body. I don’t have any other news that I know of. 

The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without stress, 
is the easiest type of existence. - Norman Vincent Peale

 Posted in General

Still Don’t Know

     I was up and off to church for Fiber Friends this morning. There were 13 of us. I worked on the vest and was just finishing the 26th of 53 rounds on the body when I got ready to leave. I went to the gas station since I was down half a tank. Informed Delivery showed I had something from the licensing department so I went to Key Center. I stopped into the grocery store first but found nothing I wanted to buy. Then I went to the post office. The piece of mail from the licensing department was for my car tabs. 
     On my way home, I stopped at the mini mart and asked if anyone there knew whether or not the motorcyclist survived. None of the three there knew anything except that he was on the street. He wasn't on the street when I got there so I still don’t know what became of him. Driving from church today I had a motorcycle in front of me flying down the road. He passed a car a little ways ahead of me going up a hill. All I could think of was what I told someone yesterday – they tend to drive like nothing could possibly happen to them!
      When I got home it was 69° outside and 78° in the house! By 5:30 I could hardly keep my eyes open. I caved and set the timer for a wee nap. Done with that, I’ll move along with my evening.

Love and peace of mind do protect us. 
They allow us to overcome the problems that life hands us. 
They teach us to survive… to live now… 
to have the courage to confront each day. - Bernie Siegel

 Posted in General

Motorcycle

     I was unable to find where I could watch the show about my sister’s neighbor so I didn’t watch anything. I headed to bed as 2am approached. When I woke at 8:30 this morning, I  wished the guys weren’t coming to do yard work today. I wasn’t in the mood for it, for whatever reason. Just past 9am, I got a text saying we would have to reschedule as the second fellow on the team was sick. 
     When I turned on my iPad it wasn’t charging. Again! What is going on? I considered the fact that I might have to make a trip to the Apple store in Tacoma. And maybe I was going to have to buy a new iPad. I thought maybe the port needed to be cleaned so thought about how to do that. First, I decided to put the charger in a different plug on the power strip and, lo and behold, it started charging. Hmm… 
     Informed Delivery showed two packages in a parcel locker. I headed to Key Center just past 1:30. As I approached the infamous 4 Corners, there were emergency vehicles and the remains of a motorcycle in the middle of the intersection. Seeing what it looked like, I couldn’t think the driver was in very good condition. One of the firemen told me I would have to back up and go through the mini mart parking lot and take a different route to Key Center. I asked him if the cyclist was okay and he replied, “Not really.” There was an SUV in the intersection so I guess that was the other vehicle involved in the accident. I got my two packages and took a long back route home. According to Pulse Point, the scene closed at 2:59pm – 1 hour and 37 minutes after it was called in.
     Back home, I brought the iPad out to the living room and plugged it in to the power strip. Once again it wasn’t charging. I put it in a different plug on the power strip and it started charging. This is all too weird for words! 
     My thoughts kept drifting back to the accident. I was surprised I could find nothing about it on Facebook. Usually someone has posted if they saw it and sometimes the fire department does, too. I posted about it on our local Facebook page but so far, no one has responded to it in any way. 
     I headed to church tonight for rehearsal. We always have prayer time so I told them about the accident and how it had been weighing on my heart. Since God knows what the outcome was, we prayed He would deal with the folks involved. Rehearsal went well. I’m still getting used to my new place on the stage. 
     Home from rehearsal, I had a bite to eat and then resumed knitting on the vest while catching up on things here. I still could find nothing about the accident today. I have almost two inches knit on the vest body. This is really a lovely variegated blue yarn!

It's not what we have in life but who we 
have in our life that matters. — J.M. Laurence

 Posted in General

Detour

     I watched a movie on BritBox last night called “Honour” - DCI Caroline Goode vows to bring justice for a young girl, murdered by her family for falling in love with the wrong man. It is based on a true story.
     Done with that, I got a message from my sister about a show she watched. It was about a guy who was arrested for murdering his girlfriend in Texas in 2002. They couldn’t prove he did it so he got off. He is now living on the same street as my sister. He's 91-1171 and she is 91-1031. As she said, it would be interesting to know what his neighbor’s thought if they saw the show like she did. She has never seen him and doesn’t really want to. 
     When I picked up the key at the fire station this afternoon, I was told that the fire station across from the mini mart was broken into. When I got home, I found this on the Key Peninsula Fire Facebook page: “On April 17 at approximately 12:30 am, this individual was responsible for a burglary and theft of equipment from our Wright-Bliss Fire Station. He was riding the bicycle seen in the attached photo. We believe he lives in the area as he was spotted on the security cameras of the Union 76 across the street from the fire station, also vandalizing their property.” I would guess he lives on that druggie property on Wright-Bliss Road. When I mentioned it to Bethann, she said "That guy has been breaking in to the 76 station for months with that bike he was riding and then he stole the fire chief’s bikes he had at the station." As one comment on the Facebook page said, "It takes a certain type of person to steal equipment from a fire department." Hopefully, someone will recognize him but, as another friend said, “The law will only slap him on the hand and say naughty boy.” He told me to keep everything locked up. 
     Checking Pulse Point before heading out, I saw there was a vegetation fire on the route to the fire station where I was going. I had to detour around that as a power line was down. I had no idea where I was going but I was able to follow other folks and eventually got back out on the highway. There were only four of us tonight. That is the least number we’ve had – maybe ever. I finished the yoke of the vest by time to head home. Thankfully, the fire scene was clear and no detour was required. It was still light out when I got home about 8:15. Nice… A doe ran off as I came up the driveway. Love my wildlife!
     I finished off the package of soy chicken bites. Now I’ll catch up on things here. I may watch the show about my sister’s neighbor and continue knitting on the vest.

At any given moment you have the power to say 
this is not how the story is going to end. - Unknown

 Posted in General

Unexpected Trip

     There were a couple of does chowing down in my yard about midnight. I headed to bed as 1am approached. My iPad wouldn't charge today. I got a new cable for it on January 14. I didn’t have plans to go anywhere today but… I didn’t want to drive all the way to the Tacoma Mall where the Apple store is located so I went to the Verizon store in Gig Harbor. That’s where I got my phone and they have been very helpful whenever I’ve been there for something. It was finally determined that the cable no longer works after just six months! My Apple Care plan paid for that cable but Verizon doesn’t do Apple stuff so I had to pay for the cable. I hope I can send Apple Care the receipt and get them to reimburse me. 
     I gave thought to going across the street to Kohl’s to see if I could find some more of the tights like I bought there awhile back. I just didn’t have enough umph to do it today so I headed home. Happily the new cable worked just fine when I got home. The iPad was down to a 71% charge but it was soon 100% charged. Whew! That was enough excitement for one day.

I love those random memories that make me smile no 
matter what's going on in my life right now. - Francis Young
 

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