In a recent work “hangout” chat, I mentioned in passing that some day I’d like to get out to the Oregon Coast again. As someone who neither owns or operates a motor vehicle I’m reliant upon tourism services, twice-daily bus service, or the kindness of friends to see the ocean so it doesn’t happen very often. One of my coworkers noted in the chat that, in fact, they had an Astoria trip planned for late July and would I be interested in a lift to & from?
Sure I would!
Thus preparations began and so, yesterday, I went on a little tourism adventure.
This model, available for viewing at the Heritage Museum in Astoria, Oregon, depicts a mockup of a dog-powered wheel used to churn butter. No, I am not making this up.
Commence a lot of walking punctuated by museum visits and stone benches.
When I moved into my new bedroom in the rental house last year I saw that the room came with a neat knickknack shelf right over where the bed goes. How delightful! So I put some things on it.
Please pay no attention to how incredibly dusty that mini Mini has become over the past year.
Then, one night last week, my brain decided it would be fun to ponder what would happen if… oh, let’s say, there was an earthquake. Would I want a solid chunk of LEGO to land on me from that height? What about the gooseneck reading lamp with the metal base? Or the Zentraedi Officer’s Pod?
Why did it take this long to even ponder the question? Because I’m not always terribly bright, that’s why. But once the realization occurred to me at all, I couldn’t let go of it. So I had a rethink. Now the lamp is gone (I rarely used it anyway), the heavy plastic items are in the glass display case (remember that?), and the overhead shelf is populated by much, much softer objects.
The lizard doggo, the Ruan Mei “creations,” and the quaggan should be much, much less likely to do physical damage to me if they fall off the shelf for some reason.
And so I sleep just that little bit easier at night now.
Let me muddle this age-old question somewhat by presenting today’s lunch result:
This is what happens when it’s lunchtime, you’re down to the last of the Zenners franks, the last slice of provolone, and you have no hot dog buns. Grab a bagel! Slice the frank lengthwise and make a sandwich out of it! Ahaha, I am clever. I know this because Vyx said so when I showed her the picture.
I certainly wasn’t expecting to cross paths with a frog on the way home this afternoon.
Little critter was just minding its business, hanging out on the sidewalk along the very, very busy 185th Street. I almost didn’t notice it in time to stop and take some pictures. As it is, I had to use the digital zoom on my phone to get anything decent. The moment I crept a bit closer to try for a shot with better detail, sproing! Off they went, back under the bramble and toward the creek.
Absolutely the highlight of my day, I tell you what.
It’s been a whole lot of years since I last owned a dining table.
I should explain.
When I moved out of the house, all those years ago, I moved into a townhouse with someone who already had a dining table, so I didn’t need to buy one. Then, when Vyx and I moved into the apartment nearly nine years ago, there wasn’t enough room to justify the wasted space when there was a perfectly functional “bar counter” setup that we could just sit a couple of barstools in front of. Which is what we did!
And then we moved. After nearly a year in this house, which has a similar “bar counter” but without the convenient overhang to make barstool sitting practical, it was time to procure a solution.
It’s phone refresh time for everyone on my Ting plan. Spud’s phone just up and bricked itself after several years of stalwart service, so I got his replacement sent out and that seems to have gone well. And then I started thinking, hmm, it has been a while since my Pixel 4a (5G) fell out of regular updates support. And Vyx’s phone has been giving her fits for a while.
So… new phones for everyone! She’s got a Pixel 8a due to arrive soon, and my Pixel 8 arrived today. I can’t really say if I like it better than the 4a (5G) or not yet, but the only annoying thing about it so far is that I can’t find a way to get rid of the “AI Wallpaper” app it comes with. Yuck. I got Signal, Duo, Discord, MediaMonkey, and Medisafe installed and settings/music/etc migrated with no particular difficulty, and my Jabra 65t earbuds are paired & tested.
I originally wanted to get a face-on shot so there’d be a partial reflection of the old phone in this picture of the new phone… but the autofocus kept locking onto the reflection. So you get a 3/4 angle view instead.
In spite of my advancing age (and the decreasing visual acuity which comes with that) I’m happy that this is a slightly smaller phone. Fits in the pocket easier, doesn’t feel quite so bulky to grasp. And with the font sizing features I can make the phone more-or-less usable by my “old person eyes” even before I’ve got my readers on. Helpful, that.
All things being equal I’m going to miss the 4a, it was quite the workhorse, but eventually it will give up the ghost and now I’m freshened up for the future. Yay?
