elainegrey

I just bought from Old House Gardens' end of season sale - https://oldhousegardens.com/ - edible flowers (and vegetable parts) for the garden plot.

Rosalind is a selection of the the H fulva var rosa daylily. I doubt it will be much more red than the double selection "Kwanzo" but i fantasize about having the different colors in salads.

And then i bought two dahlias: Thomas Edison, known to have tasty tubers, and Wisconsin Red (dated from 1910). I'm hoping Wisconsin red, being a less manipulated plant, might have tasty tubers, too.

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Christine had an investment opportunity to discuss yesterday. I asked not about the target itself but how the investment would be handled. She was excited about the opportunity and my questions made her prickle a little. I felt mean for poking at the detail, but id led her to research the third party and it became clear that what one was doing was paying into a pool at party A that would invest in party B. Which is the only way i can think of this really working, and my question was how trustworthy was party A. But it was enough for Christine that party A was involved. I thought party A looked like they had a reasonable track record of existence and might not close up, but the site for the FAQ had a bad TLS certificate and my browser wouldn't let me reach it -- so side eye. We passed on this investment.

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I can't stand the feeling in my chest so i am coughing and clearing my throat.

I had a cold last week with lots of drainage. I have been trying to follow the ENT's advice not to clear my throat or let myself cough but unfortunately went on a walk near a fire on Sunday and the lung irritation is setting in.

I ate cough drops yesterday. Is there a cough suppressant that is OK with wellbutrin? I find cough suppressants creepy and have avoided them for decades. Perhaps they won't leave me feeling weird now. My message to my primary care provider (hopefully after a cut).

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I loved the colors: the dark clouds in silhouette against the twilight to sunset gradient of the sky. I didn't capture Mars, bright but hidden by trees or clouds as we drove home. The moon hung young in the sky.

I'm trying to decide if $15/month is a good price for identity theft insurance through open enrollment at work. I can pay $19/month and Norton Lifelock can also monitor my home title -- or i could set a reminder to look at the deed site. And it's good i looked because in August someone typoed my name with a b instead of a d .... And there are names actually spelled that way. Well, learn something new... Wirecutter claims the monitoring by these organizations isn't really worth it and underscores they do nothing to prevent issues. There's a slight value in that i get an email reminding me to go look at my credit report once a month, but i could go back to doing that quarterly (or every three months?) through the free credit report. But the insurance...

Million Dollar Protection™ Package†††
• Stolen Funds Reimbursement
• Personal Expense Compensation
• Coverage for Lawyers and Experts

Reimbursement and Expense Compensation, each with limits of up to $1 million for Norton LifeLock Benefit Essential, Norton LifeLock Benefit Premier, ... and up to $1 million for
coverage for lawyers and experts if needed, for all plans. Benefits under the Master Policy are issued and covered by United Specialty Insurance Company.... Policy terms, conditions and exclusions at: NortonLifeLock.com/legal.

The exclusions include the "expected" - war/terrorism, radiation (??) -- but also theft by someone known and by negligence, including a stolen wallet. Also, "Negligence specifically includes, but is not limited to, Your failure to review the Account Statement for each of Your Accounts at least every twelve months."

Christine had found that someone had stolen her identity to get phone service a couple years ago. It was a hassle to get cleared up, but i don't think we would have gotten $180 out of it.

As i reread yesterday's post i see i tightly connected current events to the release of the idea of receiving a bequest. That actually happened a year ago when Grandmámá's husband died and my father described how long Grandmámá's funds would hold out.

Also, Christine interacted with the dealership investigating trade ins and was terribly disappointed, to being soured on everything. This would be related to the Sunday elephant stampede, and essentially riled all the elephants back up. It's going to take a while to get back to baseline.

(Reminder, "elephants" for "elephants in the room," where Christine is doing an admirable job continuing to work on some issues that were overwhelmed her ... seven? years ago. The improvement in these years has been significant, especially when i think back to where she was four years ago. But it still affects our lives and thus my short hand.)

I saw a physical therapist this morning for back pains. I'd partly solved the issue with a minute increase in the chair height, but her analysis is much more holistic as is her solution. I trust her so much, partly because she talks and notices issues i know exist without me telling her. I saw her first just before the pandemic: maybe this time i can develop a regular practice.

I may test picking a apples tonight with my 12 foot pole and new fruit picker device. I need to water -- and i need to water BEFORE i am thinking about getting the tank empty for forecast rain.

"Not feeling one hundred percent, Charles" -- Robert Green (Alec Baldwin) in The Edge

At least i haven't fallen into a bear trap. Not sure, maybe sinus infection? Ugh. In other trivial complaints, i've been trying to use the voice command + reminder feature on my watch to remind me to take the tea out of the tea pot before it becomes over tannic. It keeps failing. It worked perfectly the first time i tried. Ever since, it interprets the number of minutes in the future as the hour. I'm going to assume the general sense of negativity is all from that.

I work for an organization that has an endowment. When the pandemic hit, the organization rapidly went into financial tourniquet status. I paid for a few conferences out of my own pocket. In the past month we all got a bonus (a set dollar amount for everyone, which is honestly a cheap way to make up for no cost of living increase for those on the lower pay grades -- every percent increase matters). I felt guilty about it, recalled the conference fees, and then just considered it a repayment. The amount finally showed up and Christine wondered at the discrepancy between the amount
and the announced amount, which is rather clear when round numbers are involved. Christine doesn't see my pay stubs. Me, "Taxes." Christine, "Oh." Me, "That's why people complain." And we both rolled our eyes and went on.

Hearing Jeff Bezos claimed a $4000 child tax credit angers me. I know it was whomever was hired to do the taxes, some bright numbers person who delights in the game of getting the best deal for their clients and earning a significant paycheck.

I know that there are lots of people who choose to live lightly and off investments -- including my grandmother and my father. It's how companies have pushed the risk and cost of managing a pension off onto the people the pension was for, and it supports both the liberation of being to change jobs when it suits but also removes the responsibility from companies that chew up people body and/or soul -- i'm looking at you Facebook for your contracted out content moderators and you Amazon for your contracted out drivers and warehouse workers -- from compensating them for the future earnings they give up due to the damage done working. I'm OK with redistributing.

This morning isn't going the way i'd wish. Work related things caused some stress and tension that i'm having a hard time dismissing. ( Read more... )

Between the call and the web presentation, Christine and i talked about some health expenses and tax choices. This, too, caused some activation and stress. I have to admit my journaling post earlier wasn't satisfactory as i didn't have enough time to reflect, so the ideas chasing their tails in my mind had to get chased off before they were satisfied.

That "activation" sense is something i'm trying to pay attention to, in the sense that by labeling my state as "activated" i know to question my reactions. I wish i had questioned before raising the alarm this morning about a "mistake" that wasn't there.

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We're planning for some major expenses. My mind is in a bit of a tizzy over making decisions with the annual benefits decision time right now and the tax implications of choices. ( medical expenses and taxes )
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( Personal heath notes )