Short but to the point post

Part of the yesterday's excitement was visiting the Geneva Community Center where the Smith is sort of helping to put on movies. I don't understand how this came to be, but I am happy to help out. The space is still the black box theatre it was last time I visited. I did, though, learn about where the light switches were! Yay!

Yesterday was also the last day of service at the Leaf Kitchen. I went and had a few beers to show solidarity. I don't think Tatiana got the turnout she was hoping for, but it seemed to be picking up as I left to head home and make dinner for mom.

I watched Safe House last night which starred Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington. I was tired, but it kept my attention, which is a good thing. Overall I enjoyed it - not great, but entertaining. I like Ryan Reynolds. And there wasn't a whole lot of dialogue. I don't want to give it away, but the good guys won!

Today I get to start work on the first wedding I am helping with at The Smith. Yippee!

Yes - short post - got up late and have to head off to work.

And by nothing, of course, I mean something

There is always something to write about. If nothing else, one can write about not being able to write. One of the quickest cures to "writer's block" is to write about not being able to write. Yesterday's post wasn't about writer's block, though, it was about thinking that the subject matter for a post was not leaping out at me, as it frequently does. Sometimes I have way too many ideas for one post and try to jam them all in. Other times I do a decent job of spreading the ideas out over several posts. Yay!

We had a visitor yesterday. Not a gentleman caller, but a young woman from the EISEP program - an Ontario County Program that helps to pay the cost of mom's aide. This was the annual review to check on eligibility and to see if anything had changed substantially in our/mom's circumstances. Nothing had, that I could tell. But apparently, I had forgotten to mention something or other last year which I did mention this year. This caused a change in the amount we have to pay for the aide. Downwards. Yippee! Life is grand! More money for pistachio ice cream!

I went back to the Beef and Brew for the first time in a long time last night. I couldn't go to Red Dove, because Alan the new bartender is just too darn chatty! I may go back eventually, but only time will tell. And Leaf Kitchen is no more. As of Thursday. So I went to Beef and Brew. They were having two events there - one on the patio - spoken word, open mic sort of thing. And trivia inside. 21 people or so were playing. David's team was full and I just didn't feel like playing. Instead, I had a delicious Yeti from Great Divide and toddled off to Jose's in Canandaigua for some chicken wings. Yay! It was fairly crowded when I got there, but most everyone left soon after. Some people played pool, but no opportunity presented itself for me to play. I sat at the bar, had a good Southern Tier IPA and a dozen inexpensive and tasty chicken wings! I will probably go back again in a couple of weeks.

All in all, a pleasant day was had by many!

Internet Fail!

No Post yesterday, not exactly sure why. I just didn't manage to get it done. Sigh. I did, though, do other stuff. And I did stuff on Friday too. Weird, right?

One of the exciting things that happened recently, was a second round of dimmer vacuuming. This fun filled process is not doen frequently, but seems to do the trick in preventing the dimmers from occasionally failing. Not failing catastrophically, just failing enough to make it annoying for the audience. Since I haven't heard anything from The Smith, I am guessing it did the trick. Yay!

On Friday, mom had a doctor appointment. It was zippy and easy. Sadly, they have gone to an electronic check in system. I guess they are trying to save money by having fewer reception people. Sigh. Why is it all about money? The scanner that is attached to the system had fallen from its velcroed position, so I thought it had eaten my mom's health insurance card. But it hadn't! Phew and yippee! Mom got weighed, not measured, blood pressured, temperatured and blood oxygen leveled by a nurse. Then, almost immediately, Dr. Ryan appeared. He didn't have much to say since mom didn't have much to say. Besides her Alzheimer's and some of her other issues, she is healthy. I am happy about that. Mom thinks these 6 month check-ups are a waste of time and money. Speaking of which, I was surprised that the visit was only $15. Huzzuh!

So much for Friday. Saturday, Daily Challenge wanted me to do a chore I had been putting off. I was going to, but then decided that I was going to take Saturday and Sunday off from chores. But the universe wasn't letting me off the hook that easily. A little before five, Justin came over and took a look at the leaky faucet. Turns out that the internet was wrong about what needed to be fixed in the faucet. They had said replacing the little cylinder thing would do the trick. When I couldn't find a replacement cylinder, I figured I would need to replace the whole faucet assembly. Justin stuck a screwdriver down into the bottom of the faucet housing and pulled out a little washer/gasket and spring pair. Who knew they were there? The internet videos I watched hadn't mentioned these. Apparently, they get tired eventually and need to be replaced. $5 at Value Hardware. Desiree didn't know where they were, so she got me another associate who helped me locate the right ones. Back at the homestead, I replaced one of them, and the leak continued. So I replaced the other one and, voila, leak no more! Yippee! Cheers from the masses! A chore was accomplished despite my wanting to not do anything of significance on Saturday. Silly Universe.

Saturday night, I went to Leaf Kitchen to help them try to get rid of some of their bottled beer. I did a good job. I think they appreciate my efforts. Saw people I knew and chatted with them a bit before eventually toddling home. It was a fairly early evening for me as I popped into bed almost immediately on my return. I guess I was tired or something.

Duct, duct, goose

Yesterday, after a late Tuesday night out and about, gorging on chicken wings, beer and pool, I had to arise and shine (and give god my glory, glory...)(nope, not really religious...) and get to the Smith to do some volunteer work. Yes, I volunteered my time. What a good person I am. If I were wealthier (or wealthy at all, fiscally) (I am wealthy in other, non-monetary ways, I like to believe) I would volunteer more. Perhaps. Probably not. But it wouldn't matter if I volunteered or not. Anyway, I went in to help a founding father of the modern incarnation of The Smith Opera House with the removal of some old duct work from the guts of the building. When the air conditioning went in, the old duct work was demolished (partly) and not removed. No reason to leave this lying around. We wanted to have a chain gang (or fire brigade type line) of people to make the work go quickly and easily. At first, it looked like it was only going to be me and Ken. Then the contractors (who were there for other reasons) jumped in to help. And then another volunteer showed up. Many hands made light work and we got the job handled in about an hour and a half! Yay us! I got the easy and fun job of standing by an open hole in the wall three stories up and throwing the pieces of duct and other debris down and out. Yippee! Made some good noises! And no one was hurt! We did get dirty, though...

And that was the high point of my day. Nothing else exciting transpired. Oh, wait, I am, yet again, a fibber. Something depressing happened. Leaf Kitchen announced that they were giving up their fight to bring fresh, happy, locally sourced food to the people of Geneva. Very sad. I went in to chat with Tatiana and I must admit that I was a teeny bit tearful. I have always felt welcome at their establishment. Sigh. I guess I will have to go in a few more times before they close up for good at the end of the month.

Lastly, mom and I had movie night and watched Ghost World. This movie had been recommended to me, and being somewhat enamored of Scarlett Johanson, I figured what could it hurt to watch the movie. Well it hurt my brain. A lot of people think highly of this movie. I thought it was pretty bad. I didn't like Thora Birch, who was the lead. Scarlett's acting was terrible - sure she was 15 and was supposed to be 18, but she was just plain bad. Pretty, bad. Steve Buscemi, who I enjoy, was not all that great either. I am sure he did what was wanted of him and more, but just not wonderful. And it got weird at the very end. Which left a peculiar sense of non-closure for me and mom. Perhaps it was supposed to signify that she had died? Who knows? And I for one, will hope to forget the movie soon.

A day of this, that and the other laundry

Laundry day! Gotta love it. I have not, as yet, ventured down into the depths of the basement to check to see if the dryer is functional. I will be pleasantly surprised should it actually work still. My lack of spelunking being the case, I haven't, as of yet, done more than a brief survey of what the washer world contains in the way of options. So, it was off to the laundromat for me.

It was quite empty - so, maybe Wednesdays will be laundry day going forward. Or have they already been "the day." I don't know. Once every two weeks do I do laundry? Does that seem about right? Three large loads (or four smaller loads) in two weeks. Too much? Too little? Just enough? While the laundry was, er launderizing, I went for a wander - to get some pills for mom from our lovely Rite-Aid and just a little walkabout of the mall. Such a beautiful day for walking around! Lots of pleasant scenery as well.

After laundry, I did some food shopping at Wegman's - which is always a fun experience. Most of the time. And then a quick trip to the library to pick up two more audio books. I am toying with the idea of heading to the NYC area while mom is in Maine with Juliet. It is a long drive - and I don't really have a place to stay, so I might not. But I am toying with the idea. I was sort of thinking to head down on Tuesday and back to Maine on Thursday. I can't remember if we are supposed to be leaving on Saturday or Sunday. Oh, speaking of which, I really need to remember to stop the mail for a week. And to remember that I can walk to the post office on Hobart's campus to do that! To get back to my original thought - I got the audio books in case I do end up spending a lot of time in the car by myself driving around.

Dinner ended up being chicken thighs with spinach and corn on the cob. Not too bad. I think I mostly have the menus planned for the rest of the week - I need to use up the stuff I have in the fridge so that little will go bad while we are away.

Leaf Kitchen was rocking for beer night! Ok, not really, but I had fun. And I had raspberries in my Brooklyn Chocolate Stout. Good chatting with all and sundry. A nice evening out. And about.

I was hoping to love The Bourne Legacy and, sadly, I did not. It was ok at best. I liked the two lead actors, Jeremy Renner who was in the Ghost Protocol and Rachel Weisz, but there was just nothing oomphie there. Most of the best action sequences were in the trailer for the film. Edward Norton did not instill in me the same excitement that he has in other movies in which he has appeared. Just eh. Well, got lost there for a minute on IMDB. What a great website! Or at least I think it is great. I just wish there were a link to Netflix on it - a one click - add to my list feature. Oh well, can't have everything. Or can we?!

What do you do?

Or some variation on that theme is a question asked by many people of many people. Maybe they are being polite. Or maybe they are interested in just getting some information. But what the heck does it matter? "What do you do?" The question is asking, it seems to me in my defensiveness, how do you justify your existence in this financially focused world in which we find ourselves. Well screw that! Life isn't about what you do! It is how you live your life. What do you do? I live, breathe, read, write, play, ponder and none of that has anything to do with earning money. Life isn't about money. Ask the worms or the fire that consumes your flesh after you die. How much money are you taking with you when you die? How much happier were you that you worked at a job that, ultimately, was pretty pointless and meaningless? I have worked quite a few of those myself - and will probably work at more of those as I grow older. Right now, I don't really have the time for a "job." My job is to make sure that my mom has a decent quality of life in her waning days. Isn't that enough for anyone to be "doing?"

Maybe a better question would be - what are your creative outlets? Or do you define yourself as a human being and if so, how? Though, I, for one, tend to not define myself if I can help it. Definition smacks of judgement to me - and since I try to be accepting, this sort of sits wrong for me.

Interesting study I read about on Facebook - so it must be true - researchers found that just thinking about money makes people jerks. Which is why when I see someone write that they are looking for someone who is "independent" or "financially stable" on their profiles, I immediately click off of them. And if possible hide them.

On a completely other note, mom and I came to the same realization at about the same time - that she could easily take over the task of cleaning up the form-feed paper. It is fairly straightforward, fairly mindless and gives one a sense of accomplishment. Yay for all of that. Then again...she did one little stack and thought she was done. Then I watched her try to do some more. It was actually quite humorous. Not very quick or effective, but I did get a giggle out of it. Gotta find giggles where one can!

I had a plan yesterday. I did. And then it got a smidgen changed up by a call from The Smith. David wanted company and a little help with resetting the lighting for an upcoming show. I am glad he called. I do enjoy working on things at the Smith. And they are almost done with their air conditioning install! How awesome is that?! David and I hung out (a lighting joke) for about two hours getting color in the lights and doing some rough focusing. Yay!

After that, my plan continued on its merry way - with David coming along for the ride. Part of my reason for driving down Route 14 was to check on the progress of the new beer place (20+ taps) that is supposed to be opening soon. Two weeks ago they said two weeks to go before opening. Oops. Maybe they will be open after we come back from Maine.

In my on-going quest to go to all of the Wineries around Seneca Lake, I had decided that I would do at least one on Friday. White Springs Winery was the winner of the opportunity to impress me. Read my thoughts on my Brewpubs and Such blog, if you would be so kind...After that, we made a quick stop at Leaf Kitchen to visit with Cassie and friends. We each had a beer and then David headed off into the Sunrise (East) while I went into the Sunset (West) to get some groceries at Wegman's. When I got home I discovered that my wheat pizza crust was a tad moldy! Eeek! So I nipped that bit out and went on with my life.

Mom had salmon, asparagus and corn on the cob for dinner. I had pizza. We both had yummy food! Yay!

After dinner, mom watched Now Voyager. I didn't so I can't review it. She seemed to enjoy it, which is always a good thing.

Oh My God!

Really? Anonymous - I don't know who you are and I don't really care. But get off it already! I am trying to move on with my life and you keep going on and on and on and on about the silly letter from my brother and my response to it. Thank you for your thoughts - but I really don't want to hear them anymore. Especially since you remain anonymous. What the hell is that about? Talk about lack of honesty and integrity. Wow! And you take everything I say literally. Sad. Very sad. Please move on. Seriously. Really. Seriously.

Hopefully, I won't be hearing from her again, at least on that subject. Fingers crossed in a very child-like way to ward off bad luck and bad occurrences.

So, where was I, when I was so driven to distraction. Hmm. Oh, yes, another day, another dollar! Yay, gotta love filthy lucre! Money is awesome! Just think of what I can do with it after I die! Um...anyway, I got distracted again. Hmm. Right - my day yesterday - by Augustus.

My day yesterday was a nice day. It was long. There were lots of things in it. The End.

I didn't sleep well. Or much. So the morning was kind of fuzzy. I did get a message asking that we delay the start of our work day at The Smith! Yay, how perfect?! And even more perfect, our aide cancelled for the day. Huzzuh! Not that I don't like our aide - I do - she is great! Just one less thing to think about.

Fun stuff at The Smith - David put me in charge of organizing the equipment room! I love to organize - especially other people's stuff! Pulled everything out, piled everything in piles to be distributed - like to the trash, or a storage area, or an office - and started putting stuff back. There is more to do, which we will do on Wednesday - mostly sorting. Yay! And we also put the lighting back together - more climbing the Front of House Lighting positions and hauling lights up. Definitely got my exercise for the day.

After work, hung out with David and Kelly and Charlie - all from the Smith - at Parker's for a beer. I haven't been there forever. Pleasant way to pass a half hour or so before heading home to have dinner with mom. Yippee! And I only fell in love once while there. With a really great 12 year old. Is that too young? (For those of you who are worried - I didn't fall in love with anyone really - and if I had, it wouldn't have been with a twelve year old - I mean, what's the point - she can't work, or drive or do anything useful...)

Went to Leaf Kitchen for a beer or two after dinner and fell in love at least three times. I even asked one of the women I glimpsed to marry me as she ran out the door - luckily, I took her cell phone before she could call 911! Phew! I love being creepy! Brings out the best in people! (Again, this is humor - in case anyone didn't get that...)(Am I going to have to note everything in here that is supposed to be funny, or sarcastic or hyperbolic (exaggerated to make a point - so you won't have to go looking for the definition in this context)? I certainly hope not...)

Tatiana says that she believes that I will find love in her restaurant. Anything is possible.

Keep those doggies rollin'

I get a weekly email from TravelZoo - I have yet to book anything I have seen, but the list of their top twenty finds for the week makes me salivate in a most unattractive way. I don't foresee any travel in my near to mid future. I did go to Victor NY today and that almost killed me.

Today was an eye appointment for mom. Silly me, I scheduled it for before lunch. Which meant that mom wasn't at her sharpest or quickest. We made it mostly on time, but only through my consistently reminding mom to keep on with her tasks - eating, bathroom stuff, getting dressed. Both of the shirts that I picked out for her she rejected, leaving us with an unappealing green shirt that she has worn frequently - and didn't, of course, recognize. Getting her dressed is getting to be more of a challenge. Sigh. I did eventually get her into the car and we headed to Canandaigua - there was a slight detour which didn't really delay us too much - just enough to make us 2 minutes late for the appointment. Not too shoddy, actually! A win in my book.

Mom got examined and dilated and her cataract surgery scar tissue got zapped fairly quickly without much waiting and fuss. Yay. Sadly, we have to go back a third time. Grrr. More co-pays.

Now comes the tougher stuff. Being in a car with my mom for almost two hours was not the most pleasant experience I have ever had. She just talked the entire time. Asking questions and making comments. Being the dutiful, validating sort of son I am trying to be, I do my best to answer all of the questions (even the 20th time the question is asked)(why did we go to the eye doctor?) and some sort of acknowledgement of mom's comments and observations. This can get very, very wearing. At least to me. And sprinkle into the conversation talk of money. My favorite of my mom's reactions to my saying that I don't like to talk about money is "Then I can't talk about anything!" Sigh. At one point, I did get a tad more than a little frustrated and snapped at her. At which point she said then she would stop talking. I said good. And she said "Oh, what a pretty tree" and continued on from there. From experience, I know that it takes a good four hours for her to run down.

But we survived our adventurous day. After the eye doctor, we went to Victor to get me some new underwear! Yay! I wanted to go to Target because I dislike supporting Wal-Mart. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Mickey Finn's. Mom said she wasn't very hungry, so we split a delicious Reuben, some cole slaw and a side of onion rings. Pretty tasty!

At the Target, we got mom two new long sleeve shirts. I hope she likes them the next time I get her dressed. She may, she may now. We won't know until it happens. We also got some Aleve because her eyes were hurting - another question that came up a zillion times. All in all, a successful, though loooong, trip.

I went out, briefly, to visit Leaf Kitchen, but looking through the window, I saw that all four bar seats were occupied, so I came home again. Life is that way sometimes.

House for Sale

The house is not for sale quite yet, but I am getting there. My housemate is apparently leaving and will be out at the end of this month. That is a mixed blessing. I wish one could snap one's fingers and have the house be magically sold. I do believe in magic and in miracles - I mean, come on, waking up is a miracle in many ways - so anything can happen. True, most things don't happen, but they could. So it is possible that my house will go away happily and quickly. Not that I don't love my house. I do. I think it is a great house - very cool in a lot of ways. But it is in North Carolina and I am not. And I don't know that I want to go move back to NC when I can. I think I want to move to Guatemala. Or Idaho. Or Turkmenistan. (Any place with food as part of their name, can't be a bad place - think "Big Apple") But the house being up for sale is getting closer to being a reality.

You know, when I first heard about all of this, I was in shock - just a little - and freaked out - just a lot. Not like jumping up and down shouting "Kill! Kill!" No, wait, that wasn't me. That was Arlo Guthrie...Not like stomping my little foot or wailing about the unfairness of life and all. Just sort of numb, mind whirling trying to figure out the next steps...Now, a few days later, I am feeling a lot calmer. All things can be taken care of. And being fairly footloose, as long as I take my mom along (wait, isn't that the opposite of footloose...) I think it will be fairly easily handled. Yay! Not cheaply, but easily. I am imaging mom trying to help me when we go down. Hahahaha. Or should I sigh instead.

Still waiting to hear back from Apple on my second submission of Flippety. I have done some work on the iPad bouquet app. Listening to audio books. And I have been keeping up with daily maintenance things. As well as lots of stealth sorting. I hope to have a decent amount sorted by this Thursday's recycling bin. Yippee! Yet, I just don't feel like I am being all that productive. Sigh.

OK, gotta get this published. Aren't you thrilled?

Leaf Kitchen is moving to Hamilton Street! Yay!

That's a big hot dog!

Tomorrow we leave - and I am not packed!

Tomorrow we leave for the wedding and I am not packed. This in itself is not a big deal. The bigger deal is that mom isn't packed. Hopefully we will be able to knock that out today.

Yesterday, mom was not interested in going to get an x-ray - and I didn't push her to do so. Why push? I know she needs some pushing here and there, but I pick my battles.

The weird thing is, she actually asked to start doing crossword puzzles again. She hasn't done any in as long as I have been here. Does this mean she is getting better? Ha! I am just glad that she is trying, even if she doesn't get far with them. 

Yesterday was a big day for Flippety! I got a message from Apple saying that the app was "in review." Two hours later, I got an email saying that the current build had been rejected. But they said it politely. I was not surprised, but mildly distressed. As those who have read a bunch of my posts know, I am not really an iOS programmer - I am a good copy and paster and cludger. So I had no idea how I was going to fix the problems that Apple said there were. I went through a bunch of steps, and then remembered the internet. Why it takes me so long to remember the internet, I just don't know. I did a search using the wording of my problem and lo and behold, others have had the same issue. Turns out it was, of course, my fault (mostly). At one point I had wanted to make the app compatible with the iPad and then changed my mind. Unfortunately, changing back didn't remove all references to the iPad, which made the app crash, which lead to the app's rejection. There was a second issue - something about graphics not being the right size, but I will deal with that if it is a real issue. So, I resubmitted the app yesterday. Yay, more waiting!

Today, we are getting a new aide. At least for the day. I am hoping that mom will be on good behavior - and will get a shower. And hopefully get some help packing. The new aide will only be here for two hours today. And may not be the aide that we will get in the future. I think the aide company just wants to start billing hours as quickly as they can - it is a business after all.

I thought Bill Clinton gave a pretty good speech.

Did a little food shopping and cooking yesterday. Nothing too exciting. And I put out some recycling. Ok, a lot of recycling. I actually thought of taking a picture of the pile - a full blue box and a pile of cardboard boxes all broken down. Oh, and I paid bills last night. All in all, an effective day fighting entropy. Not an effective night though - I slept miserably. Lots of dreams. Yippee for dreams. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight.

For those of you who follow the blog for my excellent documentary photography, I will be taking a few pictures at the wedding this weekend. For now, I am having a challenging time finding anything to take a picture of...

Leaf Kitchen's subtle signage