Friday started with me rising to make coffee. I forgot to assemble it the night before. I was soon with coffee from Kalamazoo, Michigan (thanks, Jeanne). As we come to the end of January, I ensure there is enough cash in the checking account (it is interest-free, so I keep its balance low) to cover the mortgage. The insurance for the Air VW the Gray (over $500 for six months), and my health care is paid (over $1200 a month now that I am using ObamaCare). I am selling my stock once the dividends are paid to cover my monthly expenses (see my financial mentor here). This is cash I placed in reasonably stable stocks that pay dividends and one that just interested me (Ford-F, Index on Gov Sec-SGOV, JP Morgan Preferred-JPM-D, and 3LHaris-LHX). They are all fine stocks, and I will miss my 100 shares of Ford and its 4.3% yield–free money! I also have a treasury that will not roll over. All good.
My plan was that 2025 would be a hard year, as I would get no income for a whole year. I also traveled about 1/4 of the year and did the Southern Trip with the church. I expected to be here financially. I have submitted my application to the Social Security Administration and will begin receiving income in May. About the value of a better-than-average part-time job. I am three years from MediCare. I plan to travel now, while I am well and young enough to enjoy it.
The morning had me start the blog but not finish it. I showered, dressed, and headed to a dermatology appointment. Apparently, my rash was not that interesting, and I saw the doctors for a few minutes. Prescriptions were sent, and Walgreens surprised me by tracking them and sending progress updates via text; I had the ointments by 3. Applied, and on Saturday, there are signs of improvement. Yes, a boring skin issue, but I will be soooooo happpppy when gone.
I also stripped the bed and started the laundry. I forgot about it; I was still struggling to focus and didn’t finish it until late. I never folded it.
I took the leftover polenta I had made earlier (cooking the grain in water, milk, and salt) and placed it in a container in the fridge. It is now loosely formed and cooked in a drizzle of bacon grease in the nonstick pan I used to cook bacon in. I had bacon and polenta. I also heated some apple juice with some spiced cider I had left over and added slices of an orange. I had this as a drink (but regretted the sugar content). It was delicious.
I would be proud if, at this point, I did anything other than just sit in a chair and watch YouTube videos on History and Naval information, but that was the afternoon. I had miscommunicated to Deborah that I had lunch with Z and Dondrea, and we did connect later. We could not watch a show because I had dinner plans (not lunch).
Saying a “Hey Girls” from Deborah, I met Z and Dondrea for Mexican food at Pepita’s Mexican Restaurant. We had a good meal, Chili Colorado for me, and talked about the Cold War with Z, who is now studying that in high school. Dondrea and I walked through the history of U.S. presidents who set the tone of the war in my memory and in what I have read. Truman, Eisenhour, and JFK before my memories, and President Johnson, a faded child memory. Dondrea will try to find Doctor Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb for Z, and I recommend Fail-Safe if one is ready for a terrible ending. I recommend checking out the book and reading it, but the movie manages to reproduce the stark lack of choices that is the book’s center. In the movie, a young Larry Hagman (I Dream of Jeannie and JR) plays a central role as the translator.
Aside: the song “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn (here) still gives me chills. The song ends the movie with images of mushroom cloud explosions as World War 3 begins.
I returned home, cleaned up a few things, and even edited my Dungeons & Dragons adventure. I assembled the coffee, but failed to push the button. I returned to Eric Cline’s book on Amarna texts. I managed to finish and start a chapter before I realized I was asleep, inventing a text I wasn’t reading. I closed the book, wondering how I’d gotten to Python code from Cline’s words, and why I would dream in Python!
Dreams happened. One was a group of people I did not know talking to me, but my hearing got worse and worse, and I could hear less and less. I struggled to get closer, yet I still could not hear them. I wanted to be polite, hear what they had to say, and be friends, but they kept getting quieter and quieter. Later, I dreamed that Deborah and I visited a dream tourist version of Egypt, with a rebuilt Amarna to enjoy. I bored her with text, but she enjoyed the walk in the ruins and reconstructed Amarna. I talked less and walked more.
I woke, proved I was hydrated, and was delighted to find I was not uncomfortable from the rash. Better! I was able to fall back to sleep. I woke after sunrise, just a few minutes past.
Thanks for reading.
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