Argh. This morning I could not find the key to the mailbox. It is on a large fob, so it can't get lost.
I used it last night, picked up a New Yorker magazine on my way to dinner. Remembered seeing it on the way home...or did I?
I took a walk over to the restaurant but the aren't open now.
Checked the pants I wore yesterday after the washer was done.
Looked all through my purse several times.
Looked through the New Yorker.
Checked the catch-all to see if there is another one.
Finally, called the locksmith. $130!

Decided to watercolor while waiting for the locksmith. Put on a CD, and there on the coffee table - the mailbox key.

So now the quandary. Do I cancel the locksmith and admit my deficiencies? Or pay $130 and pretend I don't lose things?

I invited J to be a family with our iPhones, sharing apps and tunes. He ignored me for about 3 months, and then sent an invitation to be in HIS family. I said, "woohoo!" because the inviter has the credit card for the shared purchases. (There is an approval process if one choses to invoke it)

Except he never added the confirmation code for his credit card and now I can't buy anything unless I leave the family. 

Stopped in Berea where we have visited the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea previously.  On this day we found the street with artisanal workers and visited Painter's Palette Gallery and the Gastineau Studio. We spent so much time at these that we had to skip the fiber place, the weaver's shop, and the instrument maker, plus, plus, plus. Have to go back!

Two "hipster sipper" pewter cups from Gastinaeau Studio.


Turning a pewter cup

Jokes of the day:

The chances of Trump getting the Republican nomination are as slim as the Chicago Cubs leading their division!  

Momma Bear abd Pap Bear were getting a divorce. Baby Bear was asked if wanted to live with Momma. "No," he said. "She beats me." But what about with Poppa? "No, he beats me too." Exasperated, the judge said, "Well, who DO you want to live with?"

Baby Bear said, "The Chicago Bears. They don't beat anybody!"

We're watching the morning news. I took a big swig of coffee. J. Said, "I think Trump might win this election."
Choke.
Coffee everywhere.

For a friend undergoing chemo, her daughter has used a website called mealtrain.com to organize meals for her mom and dad. Friends always ask, "what can I do to help?" but then someone has to coordinate who is helping with what and when. This program includes a shared calendar and meal or errand instructions to answer questions in advance.

When planning my mom's funeral, I had a"What can I do to help, just ask, anything?" call  but when I listed a need like drive to Big City and pick up Auntie Em at the airport, the response was "well, no, I don't have time for THAT." An exchange like that leaves a bad taste. With this, the needs and preferences can be added to an interactive, online calendar, invitations to participate can be sent via e-mail and facebook, there are reminder emails, and there is an online journal for updates.

I hope my friend uses the journal. It would be nice to hear, without feeling like I'm intruding, how she is progressing.

Suggested uses for meal train: Arrival of a new baby, injuries/surgery, military deployment, extended illnesses, condolences, group events.

Prepping for the trip, I've switched from my overstuffed wallet in the bottom of a shoulder bag to a small, only the essentials bag so what I need is easily accessible.

This holds money, credit cards, passport, phone, and their is a pouch for paperwork, like tickets or other travel documents.

What didn't make the cut:

After 24 hours of testing, I've added a pen and a cloth for my glasses to the essentials.

Arranging for a locksmith to visit, I typed my phone number incorrectly (fat fingers?) but I also used the cross street instead of the actual street for the address. The name of our building is the cross street - conflated the two.

Really enjoying the app Wunderlist. Easy to figure out, includes lists within lists, the ability to see (or hide) completed items.

Really glad I looked in the mirror when I brushed my teeth. My shirt was inside out and backwards. Glad there was a visible label.

Good thing about having a young person visit: we walked!
After a movie at Clark and Diversey, we went to Uncle Julio's Hacienda. I would have walked over to the red line and taken the train 2 stops. We walked instead - 37 minutes.
Another day we walked to Shake Shack, then to the John Hancock Building, then to the Chicago History Museum. 4 miles! We took the bus home.

I walk a lot in the city but mostly a mile at the most, about 20 minutes, at one time. This has been a good reminder to go the distance.

The goal is to travel for 5 months with one less than 50 pound backpack. If I can keep it to 40 pounds leaving, that would be wonderful - both for being able to walk and having room for additions.

All fairly warm destinations but could be cool at night.

Here's a suggested list 100 things to pack that might require a sherpa.
Here's a Lonely Planet guide for multi- months that says if your clothes take up more than 1/3 of your backpack, you're taking too many.
Tips from 31 experts; very helpful.


My  (less than) 100 things, so far

1 carrier (small purse, cross-body or around my neck for passport & credit cards & money
1 cloth bag for carry-on essentials, if I have to check my backpack
1 pair of sandals
1 extra pair of glasses
1 big scarf, cotton blue
1 swimming suit
1 pair of googles
4 pairs of pants (blue corduroy, gray, khaki, waterproofs)
3 underwear
3 pairs of socks
1 bra
1 bathrobe
1 night shirt
1 black and white striped sweater
1 black sleeveless top
1 black top
1 white tee shirt
1 coral lighter sweater
1 pink scarf
2 tunic tops (gray, blue print)
2 coverups/long tops (pink, blue floral)
1 laundry bag (could also be the carry-on bag)

The list above minus underwear

The above - about 1/2 of backpack used








1iPad (travel books, dictionary, pdfs, leisure reading, etc. pre-downloaded)
1 cell phone
1 charger and cord
  adaptor
1 ear buds
1 frisbee
1 bungee cord

= 38

Wear traveling: orange corduroy pants, pink and orange striped tee, orange cotton sweater,  underwear, hiking boots, hat, belt =9

We aren't leaving for another 24 days but all clothes except underwear and socks are packed and they take up 1/2 of backpack.

Practicing for a better old age / Gerald Marzorati, NY Times p.1 Opinions

The author writes about his concerted effort to learn tennis, REALlY learn tennis, with a coach and 5 hours of practice a day.

Bottom line, one seizes time and makes it yours. One counters the narrative of diminishment and loss with one of progress and bettering. One spends hours removed from the past and the present and immerse oneself in the as yet. One is looking ahead, at least for a little while longer, without wistfulness or a flinch.

Inspiring! Since retirement, I spent 5 years learning French, continually taking classes, traveling to France.
I learned to weave,
I took several ceramics classes.
The latest is watercoloring.
But we started to travel A LOT, maybe 6 months out of a year. It's made keeping up with weaving and ceramics difficult.
What is my new passion for learning? Could it be travel?

Argh. Looked up the symphony program tonight, looked good, walked up (in wind and cold rain) and bought tickets. The pre-concert lecture was bewildering. We were seeing Debussy and why was it on Strauss and Mozart? Because I looked up the concert for the last day of March is why.

I sold my folding bicycle. I bought this with the idea that I would use it to run errands in the city. A couple of things got in the way: 1) multiple hip and knee surgeries so pain and weakness before and recovery afterward 2) we travel a lot so I never got in the habit 3) riding a bike in the city scares the s**t out of me 4) we have Divvy bikes now so I don't have to worry about locking up a bike -- and they are big and solid. I've been thinking about what to do -- loved  the idea of the bike -- but the process to sell it was daunting. And then a friend asked about it and I sold it to her. She got a really good deal, financially. I got a good deal too. I got some money back, it went to a good home, and I don't have to look at it and feel guilty.

At the symphony tonight, two rows ahead, were 2 women and an older woman. I noticed them during the Alpine Symphony because the two people behind them moved over right in front of me. The two younger women were trying to keep the older woman from talking by whispering "Don't talk" in her ear, making the "shhhh" motion, and putting their hands in front of her lips. Yes, distracting. I made an effort not to watch. Thoughts: how nice to bring her to the symphony (and those weren't cheap seats) but I wonder if the two younger women heard a note of the symphony. I imagine they were waiting for the last note the whole time.

How to get from Canbridge to Dublin?

Caveats:
1. Rental car to return in the UK
2. Have to be at Dublin airport by 6 a.m. on Monday
3. Low cost is a good option
4. We'll each have luggage, at least one bag or backpack each 40 - 50 lbs. + something smaller.

Option 1
Searching the Internet I read about a Rail Sail ticket from select stations to Holyhead and a ferry crossing to Dublin, priced @ 35.
But when I searched 3 different train ticket sites, the best fare was 80 at 8 a.m. and  up to 100 for later trains. The closest station to Cambridge was London Euston.
The rental car could only go back to one of the airports.
Stansted is 34 minutes from Cambridge. There is a train, the Stansted Express for 20 that connects to London Liverpool.
London Liverpool is 20 minutes to Euston (I suppose if one know what one is doing and has tickets in hand). One exchange.

So that would be a Sunday morning drive, drop off a rental car, navigate the airport to the train, change lines in London, change again, navigate Euston to Virgin Rail, transfer at Holyhead. I didn't work out exact times but it would be after 5 p.m. at the earliest to Holyhead. Cost roughly 240 for 2, not including London subway. All of this done hauling luggage.

Option 2
What about driving to Holyhead? 4 hours roughly. The rental car needs to be turned in before noon on Saturday (although I wonder if possible to drop off after hours - need to check just in case we are late). No extra costs for the rental car other than fuel.
We'd need a place to stay in Dublin one extra night.
It would probably be a good idea to leave Saturday and have all day to drive to Holyhead,  which would mean finding somewhere to stay Saturday night in Wakes. I think we could manage that for less than 240.

Which will it be? An Amazing Race dash across England? Or a relatively calm drive exploring where our hearts tell us to go with two possible crises (finding the car drop off and before it is late)?

Chatting with an aquaintance at Starbucks. Her mom's side of the family are long-lived. One of her aunts (XX years YOUNG - I don't remember exact age but it is above 90) was asked when she would describe herself as old. She said, "Old is when one can no longer wipe their own butt."

Alrighty then.

The cleaning lady comes once every two weeks. It is clearly documented on the calendar. Exchangers  left yesterday. I had it is my mind that I had forgotten to leave a check and I needed to be here early in the morning to drop it off - and then disappear for about 4 hours so she can work unimpeded.

I was up at 6:10, caught the 7:10 commuter train, left the check, and then spent long hours, first at a coffee shop and then at lunch, waiting for 2:30. J. drove in, called me, "no one came!"

So I called. Then I really looked at the calendar. Oh my.

I was laid up this past week with a sore throat and hacking cough. Didn't feel like doing much but I had my phone and something like 350 unread messages. Not truly unread - I knew about them but was keeping them as reminders. I have no idea of the number of messages - maybe 5,000. Some folders. Usually I find things by searching. So I decluttered!

Somewhat routinely, I search and delete mail that arrives daily and needs routine housekeeping. This time I not only searched, I decided if I really wanted it and if not, I unsubscribed.
Some of it was difficult, like concert venues we had frequented, i.e. the jazz club in Paris. This was not really for event planning but only a pleasant memory. Sigh. Unsubscribed. Messages from places in my city which are reminders of events to go to and make me feel connected, but since we will be gone for 5 months: Unsubscribed.
The recent trend to have receipts emailed? Unsubscribed.
I bought baseball tickets online the other day and now mlb.com sends interesting stuff but no. Thank you. It's gone!
That annoying real estate person I can't figure out how to unsubscribe? Tagged as junk.
I also searched for big chunks - like email from home exchangers that come from the Internet site. All  moved to a folder. (Another sorting project to tackle at another time).
For e-mails I was saving because of contact info, I updated contacts.
I do have a folder called "don't forget", sort of a junk drawer; dumped appropriate stuff in there.

As I was getting down to mail that needed to be resolved piece by piece, I had something recent from a friend, we'll called her Good Friend, about her upcoming health issue that I wanted to save. So I created what I thought was a folder and moved it. What I really did was move my entire inbox to a new mailbox named Good Friend. S**t! But on the other hand, I had zero in my in box and if anyone wants to know if I have an email, I will have to say, "Just a minute, I'll check with Good Friend." I left it that way and then bit by bit over the next few days, I took care of Good Friend. Meanwhile In Box was once again filling up but because it was so empty it was easy to decide for each piece whether to keep (and where) or whether to unsubscribe or whether to flag as junk.

And the new joy? The little red dot that says new mail actually means it.

Don't forget to empty your trash.

J wanted to stop at the pharmacy because we were in place A for a week and he had left medication in Place B and wanted just enough to tide him over. Answer was no, and also it would complicate renewals (and he is working on having a 5 month supply for our upcoming trip so don't want to mess with that). We talked about ways to help him remember to bring prescriptions along. Later that day he said he had them all after all; he had forgotten he packed them.

I have been irritated all week that I couldn't remember which was my toothbrush. There are 8 upstairs (so 5 should be thrown out, no?) but the one that looked like mine, J. said was his. Today I notice that my toothbrush is safely tucked in with my toiletries (so I wouldn't lose it) and not in the bathroom at all.