9/14/2026. A Hickup

          Last Tuesday, I stepped on the scale 219. First time in a very long time. I entered the teens. That day I went to have my rear brakes done on the car. My mechanic cancelled on Friday. Always delays of late. Like for the last 8 mos. So, this day is hot near 90. The restaurant is a short walk. Take my wife there. Everything is expensive. Order cheapest burger for 13.50. At one time I could get a steak at that price. My wife gets a side order of pasta 8 bucks. I bite into the burger with cheese and bacon and  I get squirted with an orange liquid on my hand. Yolk! What the??? Didn't read there was an egg on it. Still it was a good burger. I had a little potato salad and some of my wife's pasta that she was done with.  The brakes got done, finally. Next day step on the scale,and 222 staring back at me. A week later  today Monday, I'm at 220 pounds. One pound heavier. Losing weight is a serious business. The burger was real good but you pay the price. I'm now back on the diet. Three meals a day and fruit for a snack. Dropping 22 pounds, I do see the difference and it does keep me motivated.

         Today  my car is getting a new water pump and timing belt. If the belt were to break the motor would be screwed. This 4 cylinder Hyundai has 208,000 miles on it. First owner got it in a wreck and it got fixed. The second owner also got in an accident. Messed up the hood and trunk. That didn't get fixed. In the manual it says to replace the belt at 90,000 miles. I doubt that ever happened. I've owned at least 29 vehicles and never got a timing belt replaced on any of them. I called around to service stations. One guy wanted 1300 for parts and labor. I took to the Internet and found parts for 50 dollars up to 200. I found the name of a good timing belt and water pump kit for 123 dollars. I got that one. Most service stations won't install customer parts. My guy will. Took me over a year to find my guy. He's working on it today. So total price would be 630 instead of 1300.

          When looking for something, think about what you're willing to spend and try to keep near it. Whether it costs 5 bucks or  1,000 and up. Check online and ask questions of friends or people who are associated with what ever you're after. I've made mistakes along these lines but I'm getting smarter.

           One other cavette I have here. I noticed there are alot of car washes around. Seems like they want their cars to look good. Yet, they drive crazy. I see more damaged cars being driven around then the last place I lived at, on the east coast.

           I've been seeing these signs for years,  be careful with motorcycles. Been seeing that a long time. So, it is always in the back of my mind. Drive up to a 4 way stop. Motorcycle guy to my left pulls up. So, it's my turn to enter the intersection. The guy pulls into the intersection cutting me off. I don't say or do anything. I'm in a Walgreens. Not too many cars in lot. You have to pull in toward a curb to the left next to the store or to the right next to the bushes. I pick the store side. Front in. To pull out front wise I'd have to back in. After the store, I get back in and check mirrors. All good back up and hit the brakes. Just missed this blue car backing up at the same time as me. I pull forward . No hit. Jeeze. I guess next time I better back in. Now, I'm thinking this all the time when parking.

9/13/2026. Meat

            Recently, the government is now allowing tainted meat from South America to come into the country. They grind it up and mix it in with good meat. Some of the meat has lingering anti- biotics in it as well as pathogens. Also some of meat is way over a year old. They will not tell you where this meat comes from on the label. Not only that but vegies as well have been hurting us as well.

           There are way less inspectors hired to keep us safe. It used to be different. Weakening government controls has made us less safe than ever. More food borne illnesses for us to deal with.

          What to do. I remove the outer layer of a head of lettuce. Then hold it under the faucet. Wash all fruits & vegies as well as cuts of meat. For chop meat find a trusted butcher and buy from them. With chop meat, I put it in a pan and make it well done. Then I drop it into some pasta. If your out in store buying food ask DS in your head is this safe. See if you feel an answer. Listen to your gut. When eating out I ask for my burger to be well done. Before going out for food in a restaurant or grocery store, ask DS to help you keeping you safe.

9/02926 Dumbell Update

          Lifting the dumbbell. I use 25 pounder. You choose your own weight. They make them as low as 3 lbs.  I do it sitting in a chair. Before it was 3 reps of 30 on each arm. 30 then stop 30 the next arm, stop. Then lift dumbell above my head and lock the elbow for count of 50. You can do way less. Then do again with your left arm. Then do it again. This time I do 40 each arm. This is the new part. Then lift over head for the required time. Then another rep back to 30 each arm. So, that's a total of 100 lifts for each arm. And 100 overheads. Next new thing is holding the weight behind my head in a vertical position so my 2 hands are near the one end of the dumbell. The other end dangles behind me. I am sitting. U hold for a 50 count. I gently push my shoulders against back of chair and slightly arch my back, when doing this exercise. 

           At least once a month I do the stretch in the open doorway for my neck and back. Also turn your neck to the left as easy as you can go, then back to the right 180 degrees. Do 25 times. For the neck. And get out and do some walking. Or swimming.

9/08/2026 A Follow Up

            Last night, I went to a different guy who was at the desk and told him about the upstairs neighbors. This was just before 10 pm. He said he would contact them about it. After 10pm if there is still noise, then call him. Well, it was after 10 and still with the pounding. Called him, he said I'll get on it. The pounding stops.  Great.

           So I take action by going to the desk. Now, I also invoked DS on my behalf. I believe that DS will help in assuaging the upstair person's feelings, in not becoming mad about having to modify their behavior.

           I picked up a little notebook from a thrift store. It's 31/2 x 5 inches. It has a thicker outer cover made of paper. It has a top flap that folds over and locks by a magnet. I'm going to use this little book to write what I would like to happen. I look at it first thing in the morning, at night and during the day. I'm going to focus on getting stuff done. So, today I had an appointment with my mechanic to put rear brakes on the car. It got delayed by him for an hr. Ok I will work with that. Anyway it worked out good. I got the brakes done just in time.  Because one of them just had a whisper of a pad left on the shoe. If the metal touched the drum it would wreck the drums, which would be more money. Wheel cylinders were ok as the drums. Great. The timing belt is up next.

           One thing I like about the smart phone is I can stay in touch with family members via texting. It makes it way easier, to stay in touch. If you have loved ones stay in touch with them. It's a good thing. 

           This here is a dream I had. A small furry guy with a small beak scoots up near my foot. I pick him up with my hand. He's like a mini furby. What's it mean. There is a strip of woods where I'm staying.  The remains of a wooded area at one time. The critters and birds have this for their home. Trying to live is tuff for them. They had an easier time 200 years ago. I read decades ago of a farmer who would feed the deer and other mammals melons during the winter. He would walk it to the tree line and drop the food there. They were waiting for him. Once where I was living, I buried some food waste on my property a ft down. The next morning I saw they dug it up. So,  I would just drop it on ground instead after that. I'd do it once a week. This way they're not to depended on it. So I do the same here. I freeze the food and then throw it in the wooded area. So back to the dream. The small mammal with beak was a combination of the wildlife being appreciative to my efforts. Birds and mammals. It was a thank-you note per say. You definitely don't want to do this more than once a week. They have to fend for themselves as well. Which is tuffer than it used to be.  They just filled in a low area with real tall grass, up the street. Probably more apartments. Dropping truck load after truck load into the mini valley. Unbelievable.

9/7/2026. Always Thinking

            It may not be the correct thinking but try anyway. So, I'm in the bathroom and I set my phone down on the cheap 3 tier shelf unit I got from Dollartree. 5 bucks, thin metal rods with plastic type fabric for the shelf part. Easy to move around. My phone is laying on something on the shelf. It is on a slight angle. A bit later I look back at it. I go no. Not good. Remove the thing under it so it lays flatter. Have to keep guard of that thing. When I put it in my pocket, I make sure it's actually going into the pocket and not in front of it. Some people I notice keep the phone in their back pocket of jeans. I don't get that. Most vulnerable place to keep it. 

           My wife has a problem today with her hair dryer. The brush keeps falling off. I squeeze the base of brush so it grabs the slot better. It works but when she uses it, it eventually falls off. I keep rubber bands assorted in the kitchen draw. I grab the 2 thicker bands and secure the brush to the unit. It works out good. Then the machine stops working. At the end of the plug is a reset button. Hit that. Nope. Take plug out and reset GFI wall outlet . It works. It seems a little weird but I'm having to address issues a second time and even a third time. With a lot of differing things.

           Someone lives above us. The first couple woke me up About 5:30 am. Big arguements. The guy winds up leaving for good. A week after the gal would be dragging furniture all over the floor. It would happen everyday. A kook. Now, I have a gal with 2 kids.  So the noise sounds like her walking around with a heavy footsteps.  In the morning and at night. I found out from  the manager,  a complaint can be filed against them if the noise goes past 10 pm. They get a warning. With 3 warnings they get kicked out. So, I said DS please take care of it. So, today is not perfect but it is way better. Try to make it better for yourself. Then invite DS in. Even I forget sometimes.

          Yesterday, I stepped on the scale and I hit 220. I eat bigger meal on Sundays. Then Monday back to the grind stone. It's going good. Today starts the 12 th week

9/02/2026 Cade

             This story I found in Unilad. This happened in 2014. Cade was three years old when he started to get nightmares. He told his mother about them.  He worked in a tall building. Looking out was the Statue of Liberty. The building shook with the explosion. He felt himself fall with the building. Molly Curnutte thought the story odd. No one in their family had ever been to NY or the World Trade Center. Cade also developed a fear of airplanes in the sky when looking up. His fear would go to big buildings as well.  Anytime they drove to the city, he would freak out big time. The mother went on line to search for answers. A reply came from someone who said that events that her son described went with one of the victims. When Molly read about the guy's story, she saw all the parrells between what her son said and the victim. She did not tell the victims family.

            At preschool the kids called him a liar. The teachers said he was a disrupter. The parents have disguised his name to keep him from being bothered. When the kid gets to be 5 it will start to settle down as the head develops more bone.  I remember a story a while back where a gal's son always wanted to go to the Revolutionary war museum that opened up. He was driving her crazy about going there. But go they did as a family. They went many times. I wanted to go but always something getting in the way or I would forget. I was always fascinated by this war and still am. Just the other day I'm in a thrift store and one of the workers had books in his arms. I spot a George Washington book. I say hold on there, can I have that book. I got the book. Hardcover too and like brand new. I was there just at the right time. If he wasn't holding them, I would never have known.

            If you have a kid in that age group you can ask them about their past life. If they don't want to talk about it than that is just fine. Write down what they do tell you. You can also show them family scrapbooks.

8/31/2026 Annoyances

            Because of the small quarters I live in, I eat off a tray stand. These are used, I got them from a neighbor. I Had to glue a couple dowels back in place, but otherwise they're in good shape. Made of birch a hardwood. So,  this week I touched the table after I cleaned it. It was tacky after the cleaning which I clean everyday. So I tried nail polish remover which has acetone in it. Buy the nail remover,  way cheaper than pure acetone sold in Home Depot.  I put a little on the paper towel and start wiping. It works good. I fold the towel and dab more on the paper towel. I can see the paper picking up the dirt. Real good. But it also removes a little of the finish. In my case that is acceptable. I am pleased with the result and no more tackiness. There was a nail polish stain on the formica countertop. Which is a guess. I tried reg cleaning spray. It didn't touch it. Tried peroxide, no good. Tried nail polish remover, no good. So I poured a little on the stain and cut a piece of plastic film and placed it over it. Then I put the cleaning bottle on top of it. Over a couple days, the stain faded by 95 %. Still have a little more work to do on it.

          Month ago,  I'm in a thrift store and see a shirt in the mens section. It is blue with black outlines of leaves. I have others sorta like it. I buy it. Yesterday I try it on.  A couple days ago I was telling my wife about a skit on the Office. Micheal the boss shows up to work for a meeting. One of the employees says why are you wearing a women's suit. He got it from a thrift store and it's not a woman's suit. Tried to convince everyone. Funny.  Yep, I put on the shirt and it's a woman's shirt. I've done this in the past a couple times. Women's shirts the buttons go on left side right on man's, when wearing it. Also the cut is more narrow especially in the arms. So in a short period of time I was predicting the my future without even knowing it. 

           I ordered some rear brake shoes on line for my car. I put in my shipping address. Made the payment. Usually they come quick but not this time. Mistake: I didn't check my mail. So it wound up going to my old home address. I tried to rectify it by contacting them online but they don't answer my query satisfactorily. No phone number either. So,  I re,-ordered them. This time checking the right box for shipping. So I paid twice. Chance of getting a refund, not so great. Didn't get the brake shoes yet. So, when ordering on-line make sure the shipping address is correct before giving the payment. Usually in my prior orders I don't have a problem with this.

           I've been sleeping on an air mattress since early February. Bought the 57 dollar one. A couple days ago it started to deflate a little when sleeping on it. I try to find the leak, to no avail. The pump built in to it also started to do a weird noise. Instead of a constant noise, it would go steady noise then a lull steady noise lull. But it would blow it up 95,%. Then slowly leak out 4 hrs when laying on it. The big mistake  was not getting the insurance on it. Got a cheaper mattress at Wallmart and got the insurance on the pump and mattress. Insurance was 4 dollars for both.

           So, in life there is always problems. Some funny once in awhile and others not. You perceiver. And hopefully become smarter.