What did you do today? - 2020 version

[Dawg52]

Spent a couple of hours this afternoon canceling a credit card and changing passwords on all financial accts. Got suspicious this morning when I started getting a lot of flakey emails while on the golf course. When I got in I checked my credit cards and sure enough there was a $250 charge to Newegg showing a shipment going to a town just 90 miles from me. The credit card company will send me a new card and then I will have to change all autopays going to my old card which is a pita. Needless to say my golf game went down the toilet as I knew I was in for a long afternoon.

Oh yes....first time ever dealing with a bogus charge so I guess I have been lucky to this point.

 

[Walt34]

All done with the painting part of the bedroom project. Now I just have to rehang the blinds & shades, at the moment I'm waiting for the paint to cure as much as it can before getting dark. Or I may just let it go until tomorrow. But before I could paint the window frames I decided to drill out and fill all the old holes from previous window covering hardware with cut-off bits of dowel rod glued in. Then sand to level and one is hard pressed to see that anything was installed before. Well, after painting that is.

Also mowed most of the yard, and I'm thinking of canceling the mowing service. It seems that I'm in better health now than I was six years ago right after the stents were installed. That did get my attention and I made some diet and exercise changes that apparently had a benefit. Who knew? Anyway, the doc says if I want to, go for it.

DW wants me to wait and "ease into it" so I'll just have the lawn guy mow half and I'll mow half for a while and see how that goes.

 

[Moemg]

I got my hair cut and colored . You have to have a reservation . You stay in your car until texted to come in .One customer at a time . The hairstylists wore a mask and so did I .Blow drys were optional since they may blow the virus around .I go to a very small salon with only two hairstylists . All in all I felt very safe .

 

[pacergal]

Baked a loaf of cranberry orange bread. YUM

 

[REWahoo]

Talked to DD#1 on the way to Costco this AM and she asked if I wanted to borrow their metal detector . Had no idea they even had one, but responded to the offer with an enthusiastic yes.

I did pick up the claims form from Costco but am going to give the metal detector a try first. Maybe I'll get lucky.

No luck. Turns out there isn't much metal in those small hearing aids.

 

[gayl]

Picked up 12 years of corn for $2. Shucked 6 for freezer, giving 4 to DD, and roasting up 2. Then had miso soup (S cooks all lunches). Later will walk to CVS for 2 bottles wine and watching Toyota 500

DD wants me to pick up her littlest (6 yrs old) as things are getting tense there. Evidently quarantining got to Son-in-law. She called GS2 (18 yrs old) in when he became aggressive to try to help diffuse the situation. GS2 called cops so he's out.

Take care & carry on

 

[MBAustin]

No luck. Turns out there isn't much metal in those small hearing aids.

Bummer.

Yesterday I got a haircut. My stylist has a private room in a salon complex and is pretty scrupulous about things - and her mother is very high risk so she is being very cautious. Like moemg mentioned above, you wait in your car until the stylist is ready for you. She sanitizes in between customers, uses a clean cape for everyone, and we both wore masks. I didn't have her wash or blow dry to minimize the time there, but tipped her 100%. Feels so nice to have my hair back to normal!

Also took the dog to be groomed yesterday so now only DH is still shaggy

Today I fixed the dishwasher which wouldn't drain last night, assembled DH's replacement mobility scooter (he uses one in cases where his large power wheelchair is not practical and needed a new one after about 6 years), and checked out the sprinkler system now that we are in serious heat (only one small leak).

Later we'll have our weekly online game session with DS and DD. I've been quite consistent at losing so perhaps my fortunes will change today. Or not.

 

[Nemo2]

Picked up 12 years of corn for $2.

Won't they go bad before then?

 

[MRG]

I groomed our second dog, two in two days. They looked better than the last time still not right. But they were washed, groomed, and had a doggy manicure. The one I did yesterday can't really bite, this fellow can and does nip if you're not following his directions. Our groomers are still shut down and our groomer passed away before the stay at home. So there's going to be a backlog of grooming needs. Nice thing about dogs is they appreciate a bad haircut.

DW and I walked around our circle and I did another mile. It's getting green up here now. We planted some annuals yesterday and I'm watering some new grass now. A Shitzu jumped on my lap and started batting my hand with her paw to get me to pet her. [emoji56]

 

[Gumby]

I went on my fortnightly grocery run this morning and was able to get everything on the list except yeast. The UPS guy just dropped off a case of wine, a box of K-cups and a new cucumber trellis. So we're good to go for a while now.

 

[Aerides]

Add me to the list of loons that went to get their hair done!

I cut and color myself, but I get a straightening treatment every few months and I was overdue. I was considering just growing it out and going normal, but the last few weeks of humidity set me straight on that idea.

My salon just opened yesterday, so I figure it's probably cleaner and less chance for infection now than in a month when everyone is comfortable going back.

I can rationalize anything for good hair...

 

[ls99]

Made a trip to scrapyard from my camp.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have been absent from the forum for a while. My friend aja888 wondered about me and sent a message asking if I was RV'ing. That would be nice, but I am still hunkering down at home. It's too early to think of RV'ing, but I will not rule out a trip later in the year, perhaps in fall.

As summer quickly approached, I had to rush to install the 2nd mini-split (3/4 ton) for the master bedroom, as the 1st mini-split (1.5 ton) installed last year was for the downstairs living space, and did not provide cooling for the downstairs master bedroom. I finished the work barely in time before the temperature got to 100F in late April.

Then, I realized I had to improve the wiring of the lithium battery bank storing the harvested solar power, for the system to handle the load of two mini-splits, the pool pump, plus the water heater, the kitchen circuits powering various appliances along with a large fridge, and some lighting circuits. The internal connects inside the two battery cabinets had too much ohmic loss, and I struggled to find a new arrangement to minimize this. The new battery cabinets have been working much better.

So far, the battery has carried the mini-splits through the night, but the highest temperature so far has been only 105F. I am sure that when it hits 115+, I will not have enough power, but so far it's great. I will only need to turn on the central AC if I need to go upstairs, which is where my electronic hobby room is.

I now have to continue to work on the BMS (battery management system), and this is a never ending project as it can be as fancy as one wants it to be.

And I have also been more active in doing gardening.

Just some words to let everyone know that I am alive and well. COVID-19 has not gotten me yet. Still practicing social distancing and wearing masks when going to grocery stores and Home Depot.

 

[MichaelB]

Thanks for the update. Some of us wuz worried

 

[ElizabethT]

Another great day spent outside yesterday. Weather here along coastal S. Calif. is in the low - mid 70's currently, and the chores can wait!

DH and I headed over to Newport for a 10 mile hike up into the hill Crystal Cove trails, then celebrated our finish with Ruby's Shake Shack to-go burgers and sweet potato fries sitting in chairs next to our car while we looked out at the ocean. An easy stop into Target on the way home to replenish our summer beach toys (a screw in thingy to secure our umbrella, two lightweight small folding tables), then home for showers and nothing the remainder of the day. We are in great shape, but man 10 miles wipes us out these days as opposed to when we were younger.

Today I'm paddleboarding in the AM, grocery shopping and yardwork afterward, then taking a picnic dinner down to the harbor to watch the Thursday evening sail club go in and out. Very picturesque, plus we'll stay for the sunset.

Edit: This is the lifestyle we dreamed of when we moved here three years ago. I would encourage not putting off moving to your dream location or home if you can afford to make it happen.

 

[USA]

Made some of our traditional paprika style Mac salad to go with grilled ribeye tonight. Later I
watched some episodes of Season 4 of the Sopranos while DH watched NHL from an earlier season.

 

[gayl]

Started off earlier than the last 7 weeks. Made grocery & trading rounds. 1st swapped sourdough starter for a bag of lemons. Then picked up a dz ears of corn + 5 pringles for $7. Made 2 bags of food for the kids with foccacia / herbs / produce from my yard + coloring books for the little ones. Off to trade yard produce for eggs then will add a dz eggs to each bag. 1 kid finally got on UIB, the other still can't and is in full blown panic mode. Will also bring DD her favorite from Sbux. Mocha latte with a shot of raspberry

 

[pacergal]

Welcome back, NW Bound!

Had a zoom chat with siblings last night. It was nice to "see" them all again. We are looking a little shaggy! Can't wait for salon to be open again.

Grocery pick up today, on the last two orders I noticed same day available! Got all but one item, except paper products, wipes and lysol spray still not available. I have some now, sure hope I can get them later.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Got up fairly early to survey for any storm damage after a decent line came through last night. Thankfully, no damage (unlike last week's "heat burst" that took out one of our trees!) just some debris in the pool. Took about 10 minutes to get that cleaned up, and now doing an ops check to make sure all is in order...

 

[Gumby]

Went to the garden, then to the liquor store. Our state started opening two days ago and there was a lot more traffic on the road. As we were driving, the young wife said to me "I wish all these people would go back to work, so we retirees can enjoy the weekdays again."

 

[W2R]

I have been absent from the forum for a while. My friend aja888 wondered about me and sent a message asking if I was RV'ing. That would be nice, but I am still hunkering down at home. It's too early to think of RV'ing, but I will not rule out a trip later in the year, perhaps in fall.

So glad to see your post, NW-Bound! Welcome back.

 

[lrip]

Took the Shepherd for a slow drive past the local goat farm. She loves it. Lots of staring--both ways. Tilled then planted 4 rows of sweet corn. Pretty warm so had to drink a homemade wheat beer from last winter's batch. Nothing better. Going to plant the sweet potato slips next. Then everything will be in the ground. Finally. Now we wait.

 

[Souschef]

Picked up 12 years of corn for $2. Shucked 6 for freezer, giving 4 to DD, and roasting up 2. Then had miso soup (S cooks all lunches). Later will walk to CVS for 2 bottles wine and watching Toyota 500

DD wants me to pick up her littlest (6 yrs old) as things are getting tense there. Evidently quarantining got to Son-in-law. She called GS2 (18 yrs old) in when he became aggressive to try to help diffuse the situation. GS2 called cops so he's out.

Take care & carry on

Speaking of corn, my Executive Chef (Kayelle) ordered one of these corn shuckers to make my life easier as Souschef. Unfortunately, it sucks rather than shucks. Unless the cob is rather small, the work to twist to get the kernels off put me in a sweat. After trying to do four ears, I was red in the face and my hands were shaking. I am not a weakling, but this was hard work.


On the larger ears, I tried attacking from both ends.
The attached photo shows the results, which are worse than if I had used a knife

 

[RobbieB]

Took the car in to a tire shop to have a screw removed from a tire and a proper patch installed.

I love tire pressure sensors!

 

[MBAustin]

I was catching up here when I heard an unusual noise from the kitchen. Major fail - my success at the dishwasher unclogging earlier this week went way south when the connection from the dishwasher to the garbage disposer came loose. I thought it was really tight but obviously not.

Piled beach towels on the floor. Unloaded the sink cabinet onto a towel on the counter. Mopped out the cabinet. Got the screwdriver and tried several ways of getting the clamp really tight before discovering I didn't have the clamp close enough to the disposer to get it secured. Finally got a tight connection (at least it didn't pull off when I tugged) so I restarted the dishwasher (so far so good) and finished mopping everything out. Will let the cabinet dry out at least overnight.

I think it's time for another glass of wine...