Budding

Inspirational song: Cover My Eyes (Marillion)

One day left until long-term migraine relief. Heck, as I start writing, it's just over half a day left. And as I have learned in the past, relief settles in before I've finished making my follow-on appointment on my way out of the neurology clinic. I can hardly wait. I'll be able to exist on sunny days again. As it is, even light coming into the house in the afternoons is more than my eyes can handle. 

Rotary was cool again today. One of our members is a devoted volunteer for a charity helping people with intellectual developmental disabilities. They have a group home a couple of miles from my house, that she organized a tour of a few years back. Folks from that charity came in for a demonstration of some fascinating technology they have developed, using virtual reality to help train their residents and program participants to learn job skills in a low-stress format. It was so cool. A young man who was training to do restaurant work, in this case bussing tables, put on the VR headset, and performed the tasks in the training routine in front of our club. We were able to see the same thing he was looking at projected up on our screen, and we could see as the goggles recognized his hand movements and incorporated them into the routine. The technology allows for them to step up the complexity of the simulation, from very simple to recreating the sounds of a high-stress, busy rush crowd, to prepare the folks for the work environment in the most realistic way. It never occurred to me that this was even possible, much less how valuable it would be to enrich the lives of the people they serve. I'd always turned my nose up at virtual reality tech, thinking it was just an expensive gimmick for gaming. This opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.

I didn't take the zillions of pictures I promised last night, but I did notice we are getting a few early spring blooms up here in Rocky Mountain land. I saw my first opened daffodil, lots of grape hyacinth, and a few dark purple crocuses. The lilacs are erupting from their buds, and will be greening up the joint thoroughly in a week or two. My cherry trees aren't giving me many hints when they will go full force, but the nectarines in back are looking eager to pop. Too bad those last ones have yet to give me edible fruit. I keep thinking maybe this year, and it never happens.

Decompressed

Inspirational song: Two Out of Three Ain't Bad (Meatloaf)

A couple of months ago, my friend told me I was about to have a heck of a year. I was going to have a new car, new boobs, and a new grandbaby. I was going to be "hot stuff," she said. Well, I'm two-thirds of the way there, and it's pretty awesome, all right. Three more months, and I will have the whole set.

I saw the surgeon and his nurse today. They are as happy with my healing progress as I am. I have been cleared for another leap towards normalcy. I don't have to wear the compression garment anymore. I can wear regular sports bras, and in another few weeks, go without altogether when I want. Tomorrow I see the PT I saw for lymphoedema, and she gets to tell me what sort of sleeves will be best from here. 

On Wednesday, I go back for my next round of Botox for migraine. I need it so much. I'm always limping across the finish line at the end of every twelve week cycle. Right now the upper right quadrant of my brain feels as brittle as charcoal. I snoozed in my chair after the kids came for dinner and left. Now I'm sluggish and stupid. I never took any photos to share, and I don't even have the fortitude to take a picture of one of the pets as a placeholder. I'll catch up on photos later this week. I'll find something to binge on.

Family Time

Inspirational song: Life in a Northern Town (The Dream Academy)

I am not tired of my new toy yet. I'm going to brag on it like a new mama (or grandma) for weeks to come. It just does so well!

My brother was in Denver for his work all last week. Today was our best chance to get together and go out to lunch. I picked up my daughter and granddaughter, and we went down to meet him. As we drove south to Lakewood, my daughter said, wait, on Wadsworth? Isn't that where (her cousin's) shop is? So she texted them, and they met us at the restaurant where we took my brother. We had a nice, relaxed lunch over pho. Well, relaxed until right about time to pay, when a certain toddler's naptime was getting missed, and she started melting down. Once we got her outside, where she could wander on her own power, he mood improved.

I showed off my car a bit to my family. That was fun. We made it all the way down to Lakewood and back, using almost entirely electric power. I could not believe how long it kept going in EV mode. Wadsworth is nothing but rolling hills, running parallel to the mountains, and even going uphill at 45-50 miles an hour in stop and go traffic, the gas engine barely kicked on at all. What a joy to drive.

I know my brother misses Denver, where he lived for many years. I'm glad he now has a job that sends him out here sometimes, so he can visit it, and we can visit with each other. But man, I am not sad we didn't end up buying that house in Lakewood we bid on around the time we bought here. As we drove south, and I recognized the cemetery that was just to the north of where it was, I remembered how much we wanted that house. But it would have been in such a busy, crowded neighborhood. Too much for me. I like my small town up north so much more.

Not Ready

Inspirational song: Nothing from Nothing (Billy Preston)

The room is dark, and the rug on the YouTube video is half-washed. My eyes kept sinking closed, and I was almost asleep. I can hear the Mr's phone playing videos out in the living room. I was just sure there was nothing keeping me from falling asleep pleasantly to the sound of carpet cleaning, with the remote in my hand to turn the TV off later, if/when I wake up briefly. Then I remembered I didn't blog. Rats. Just watch, I'll do this now, and then not be able to fall asleep for hours.

Babysitting got called off today. I went and picked up the girls from the park, with the idea we would go past Sonic for some cherry limeades, and then drop my daughter off at home in time for work. When we got to that second part, the baby went from being cute, looking out the sunroof in grandma's car, to crying her eyes out and ripping both our hearts to shreds. We have entered a phase of extreme separation anxiety, and none of us know how long it will last. It has been far too many years since I raised toddlers, so I'm as clueless as a new mom. I expect there will be several days in the next period (weeks? months?) where I go stay with her at her house, while mommy works in the basement office. As it was today, she had to be wrapped around mommy's ankles until daddy got home. She never did get a real nap.

We quickly progressed from "the 110 home charger will be fine overnight," to "how much do level 2 chargers cost?" I had that car on the trickle charger from 8 last night to maybe 9 this morning, and when I took it to get the girls, the battery was at 68%. I got started way earlier this evening, in the hopes that it will be completely full when I leave for Lakewood tomorrow. Next week the real research for how to achieve rapid home charging will begin. So much to learn.

Trickle

Inspirational song: While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles)

When we tried to charge the car yesterday, I hadn't pulled far enough in the driveway for the charge cable to reach. I had to wait for the mangled steel left over from the hit and run incident to be cleared away to back up really close, but on returning from the grocery store, I tried to do better with the space I had. Plus for good measure I put the car another 18 inches to the north, to get the shortest distance to the plug. 

This morning I got up early to start the process, and we ran into more hiccups. The plug I was using was apparently wired incorrectly. It did just fine with the extension cord that powered the Christmas lights, but the fancy new car would have none of it. The Mr put the wires in the right places, and we ran the charger that now reached the car charge port, and we were in business. It sat on the "trickle charger" (no lie, that is what the manual calls it) for about four hours before we decoupled it, and picked up the girls to go to brunch. I only got a third of a charge, I think. I forgot to look at it until we were leaving Le Peep.

Mr S-P ran by one of the hardware stores and bought an outlet that has a big switch on it, so we can leave the plug in the wall yet still disconnect from the car. Next step, getting it wired on the wall next to the garage door. No idea how long it will take for that to happen. I'm not holding my breath.

This evening, I gave it one more go. The steel was gone to the recycling center, so I parked even closer. I set it to charge, and this time had enough slack to close the garage door over it. Surely overnight it will fill all the way up. As the Mr left to go to the climbing gym, I wished him a fun evening, and said I'd just be watching a little YouTube and turning in early. He leaned back in and asked, "while your car gently charges?" Indeed, yes.

Just Grandma Stuff

Inspirational song: Time in a Bottle (Jim Croce)

I think I channeled all of my grandmothers today, all three of the ones I knew personally. I spent my morning assembling a kitchen stool very similar to the one we had at my mother's mother's house. It was one of those classic vinyl chairs with a pull-out set of stairs. In the Oklahoma house, the one we had was yellow, but I chose turquoise to match the theme of my own house for here. I can't wait to have Valerie and/or baby number two sitting on this thing, helping me in the kitchen, as I sat on the yellow one in my own childhood. I can't tell you how much that grandmother appreciated my "help" when I was that age, because those parts of the memories didn't survive. Maybe she enjoyed it, maybe she didn't. Regardless, I am all on board for a grandkid sidekick in the kitchen. I'm going to have to keep my counters a whole lot more clear of deadly weapons, though. Put away the knives and glass stuff that can fall and break. It'll be for my own good too.

Both of my grandmothers and my great-grandmother knew their way around kitchens. If these three women were not enough inspiration to teach me how to express love through food, then it wouldn't be possible to learn. I made chicken fried steak for dinner, a thoroughly Okie dish that is only improved by my need for a substitute flour (chickpea is the best!), and hours later I'm still feeling like I have traveled in time to simpler days. While I was shopping for ingredients earlier today, I was also planning on inviting the kids over for a pot roast dinner this weekend, with a peach pie for dessert. I know Valerie isn't very interested in eating meat, which I won't worry about, but I expect that kid will be all over a pie. I know I'll be a pushover and give her dessert even if she makes little effort towards her main meal. In my head, I could hear my dad telling stories of my Granny giving the same treatment to my brother when he was a toddler. (He eats two peas, and she decides, "He did pretty good. Give him some chocolate cake.")

I took my new car over to transfer my car wash membership to it, and get a new RFID sticker for it. I was drying it off in the vacuum bay, and as I wiped down the hood, I could feel the silver 1972 Pontiac LeMans that my maternal grandma had as surely as if I were touching it. That was the first car I ever drove. (At age 10? 11? It was just around the open area at our cabin.) This car is a million times fancier than the Pontiac, but it's every bit as much of a grandma car to me. Oddly, I am okay with that.

(Those who know can correct me if I have the year of the car wrong. I looked through Google images until they looked right.)

The New Family Truckster

Inspirational song: Love's Great Adventure (Ultravox)

What a big morning! We ran just a little late getting down to Golden (almost entirely due to the Mr setting down his black car key on a black surface, under a dark overhang...), but we pulled up and parked next to a silver Tucson with just a sprinkling of snow on the windshield. It was my pretty new baby. We took care of the initial paperwork, giving them our driver's licenses and insurance info and whatnot. Then we went out for a once-over of the car. The salesman was going through infotainment stuff with me, when I kind of remembered what time it was, and that the Mr was probably inside getting fidgety and short-tempered, since I had promised him we would be in and out quickly, so that he could go home and prepare for class. I interrupted the discussion of car features and said hey, I gotta go pay for this thing so that guy in there can leave and teach class.

There were no real surprises, other than the entire interior of the car. I thought it had been listed as a gray interior, which would have been nearly white. It wasn't until after we had paid and I went back out with my salesman that I looked around and noticed it was the black interior. At this point, I don't even care. It's fine. I have the car I wanted and no one is taking it back. Every time I heard people (in person or on TV) complain about gas prices, my stomach clenched and I got agitated, wanting my car that I can run off my solar panels to hurry up and arrive. The longer I waited, the more I built up an irrational fear that someone would yank it out from my clutches, even though I had money down on it. 

We signed our names several times and wrote checks. I got my key fobs, and paired my phone to the car. I let the salesman go in to his next appointment while I sat there and called SiriusXM to transfer my account. And as I drove off the lot, I started thinking: You know, the car was backed into a parking place. I never checked to see whether they got around to attaching the temp tag before I was turned loose. Was I driving a tagless car? Should I pull over and look? I stressed over it until I hit South Boulder Road, and i couldn't stand it anymore. I stopped and looked. It was there. I was fine. I laughed at myself and went on.

I stopped at the park once I got to town, to show my grandbaby the new car. She was unimpressed. Then I went to pick up my friend who was my concierge, and she and I went to 5 Guys for a snack. She really likes the color combo I got, even though I'm mostly ignoring that aspect. And then I came home and tried to back the car into the driveway without hitting Mr S-P's car. And I tried again. And again. It took four total course corrections, and that is with a 360 degree camera view. This will take some practice, driving a car much bigger than my little Focus.

I wasn't able to get it plugged in. Where the outlet is in the garage to where I parked was about a foot too far away for the charging cord. I don't have the nerve to use an extension cord. We just have to replace an older outlet right next to the door, and I will be able to use that sweet solar power. And between the light snow in Golden and its first highway drive, car got dusty. I need to transfer my unlimited car was membership to this vehicle tomorrow, and then I'll get more extensive photos. It will probably be sunnier then too.