I rose at 7ish and soon started my day. I put on my slippers to protect my toes. I have some neuropathy in my feet from the diabetes and/or chemotherapy, and I must protect them from cuts and walking them into things. I remember that during chemotherapy, I would have to rise, ignore how I felt, and put on my slippers. It was that most challenging part of the day as the bed felt good, and I knew I would have to take more chemo and feel awful in the morning. I looked at the slippers and did not love them. Now, I am happy to put them on and relish starting my morning and making coffee. Compared to those hard days, the kitchen seems only a few easy steps away on Thursday morning.
Babka bread, a chocolate-swirl bread, defines breakfast today with a banana and locally roasted coffee. I start on the blog and keep my focus. Jeff is returning at about 10 to continue the updates and repairs. He will rewire the outdoor porch light and add matching lights to the garage. The rest of the job will be finished on Friday.
Jeff starts on the fan replacement as I finish showering, shaving, and getting dressed. I texted him to come in and start if I was dressing. I finished the blog and chatted with Deborah. We miss seeing each other and will be reunited in California on the 18th. I plan to take two days to and fro the LA area in my EV. Hotels are all booked. I am excited to drive long distances again. I will get an audiobook, I think, to listen to on my iPhone. Or some excellent podcasts. I am leaving early on Sunday, 16 March. Corwin will check on the house and water the orchids and the pitcher plant.
Covering the area I have left of the the springs, on flowers inside, two new orchids are failing; another seems close to failing, but a vanda orchid is happy and growing, the other is not dying, and the oncidium orchid seems content. The roses outside are budding, having all been aggressively pruned by my lawn service. The tulips are starting, but fewer than I planted–I believe the rains and light flooding killed a few, and the leaves of the tulips are twisted, showing stress. Susie’s one daffodil is still lovely and bright yellow. The lawn is green and filling out again, but moss has invaded. My lawn service sprinkled the lawn with some pellets; we will see what happens to the moss. But generally, it looks excellent.
Air VW the Gray was fully charged and ready for me. I left Jeff to continue to work but warned him that the area between the garage and the rest of the house is closed off and difficult. It contains the electric, cold air exchange and fireplace. There is some lost space there, but adding the space to the living space would require a light remodel of the fireside room. I rudely call it Grandma’s vault. Jeff later told me it surprised him, and yes, it is surprisingly open and deep. He reported with a smile that no hidden treasures (or bodies) were discovered. My version of “Oak Island.”
I met Scott at McMenamins Cedar Hills and took our usual table. Our friendly waiter soon poured Hammerhead beers and served them. Today was one of their whiskey anniversaries, so we both ordered the special chicken sandwich with fries to celebrate. It was excellent. We spent an hour or so there. Scott was timeboxed today; we would stop at 12:30.
We talked about money, the economy, Trump’s impact on the markets, and the best strategies for us. Scott is working with his family to develop a well-defined plan for the older folks. He wants to validate that they are financially prepared and have a balanced risk/reward in their debt and investments. My joke, learned from an acquaintance from Nike, is not that your investments go down but that your horizon to make your investment goals is now longer. Scott and I, and others retired, must keep the cash flow working for our bills, daily expenses (a kind of bill, but more like spending money), and those wonderful trips. With the market doing flip-flops because of Trump and the election-year chaos, my investments are reduced to last July’s balances! My horizons are extended! Moving a tax-efficient amount of cash from the investments and earning 4-5% interest in cash investments seems prudent, but not without risk and tax implications.
Aside: Trump supporters, stop hyperventilating. I know you are cheering him on, but I am not enjoying the process. This is not a political statement or debate, just my observations.
Trump’s possible redefinition of the currency and the end of the Federal Reserve have caught my attention. Returning the US to the Bank of the USA would be returning to a politically controlled currency that caused the US to experience multiple banking disasters in the 1700s and 1800s (fascinating reading). Cryptocurrancy is the buzzword I keep hearing, but it is just another version of a floating currency, much like the old Bank of the USA (find the history here). I shared my concerns with Scott, and we both know it is nearly impossible for American citizens to hold cash in foreign banks; it is assumed you are a criminal and the money is dirty. Often, there are fees and little or no interest on the money. The tax paperwork is complex and can delay your filing for six months. I will follow the current administration’s currency moves and consider a Canadian bank. Yikes!
We will meet again next week. We saw a group of Nike folks having a corporate lunch together. Scott knew them from the Nike financials. I knew a few, as I had worked on many items for them, and others knew my name. They wished us a happy retirement, and we could see the longing in their eyes for our freedom. Soon, we headed out and went our own separate ways.
Europe is cutting interest rates. The US job reports (this Friday while I am writing this) were surprisingly good. The chances of a rate hike are vanishingly small, and a cut is in the cards. Prudence is hard to define this Friday.
After lunch, I returned to the house, and Jeff was finished with the problematic crawls through pink insulation, Grandma’s vault, and then the garage ceiling. He will finish up on Friday, and we will settle up. While it is not cheap, it should be less than a trip to Europe, and it was a long list of items that have accrued since before the Pandemic.
I made beef stew and again tried to enjoy Severance on Apple TV+. Deborah is right; the characters’ emotional pain may be too much for me. She was concerned for my grief, and the show’s acting and writing are excellent. You believe it to be happening when you watch. I stopped after episode 4 and will not likely return. It is a terrific show, but it seems too real to me.
The stew needs more salt, which is my usual failure as I don’t use much salt. Also, the beef broth I used was not excellent. The leek I cut up and added was great, though. I had three bowls. Yes, one too many, but still, it was good. I bagged and froze the remainder. One large bag and two single helpings are in the freezer now.
I had the pleasure of texting Deborah good night and reading and talking to Joan S about house fixes. She is working on a remodeling project that grew, as they always do, and hopes to find an end to it soon. She works at an independent Federal Agency (yes, there are things like that), and we talked about how the chaos is impacting her and the folks she works for.
I read more Elric stories, did the dishes, and put on my PJs. I read until after 11, turned off the light, and immediately fell asleep. Thanks for reading.
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