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Oh my achin' back

I had a lengthy dream last night during which my left thigh from the knee to the hip hurt a lot and wouldn't stop. Then I woke up to pee and discovered that the thigh thing was no dream. It hurt. Lots. Then when I got up this morning, the hurt snaked down over my knee. I know it's my back and I had not been doing my back exercises and ugh.

I got up and got coffee and internetted and tried to interest myself in those exercises. And failed. But, it is another wonderfully cloudy morning so why not try swimming a few laps? I couldn't think of a reason not to. So I did.

Speed records were not broken but I did make sure my legs were working the entire time. I stopped twice for brief breathers but otherwise just kept going. I am sure it has been more than a year since I did any laps. It was really nice. The forecast shows some more cloudy mornings coming up. I might try it again.

But I really should do those back exercises.

Timber Ridge usually takes any excuse to shut down all the meal options and consolidate into one early afternoon buffet. Real holidays and faux holidays. Except for this year's Labor Day. For some strange reason, they are ignoring it. Very weird.

But baseball is on - one game at 1 and one game at 4.

I think I might go out and puzzle a bit this morning. But that's it for plans.

Current Mood: hopeful

Entry tags:

mission 116 update

Mission 116 Update for August 2025 (Month 16)

Good grief, 16 months in on this project already and two-thirds of 2025 already gone. 2025 has been a crazy and stressful year for me, but I am happy to remind myself that we are on the downside now. My word of the year for 2025 was Momentum and I think that was the perfect word for what I needed to do this year. I made the decision at the end of 2024 that I would be moving in 2025 instead of 2027 as originally planned. And so far, I am on track to be moved by the end of the year. I underestimated just how much needed to be done, not just to the house to prep it to sell, but in other ways as well. Yes, moving is right up there with stressful, disruptive activities like getting a divorce.

OK, onward with the month’s accomplishments.

25. Do an elimination diet for 60 to 90 days
Effective today, September 1, I am starting an elimination diet in the hopes of identifying any foods that may be affecting me negatively. The diet will be very restrictive for the first 30 days and then I will slowly begin adding other foods back in, one at a time.

28. Weight monitoring
A slight increase in weight in August, I am hoping to see weight loss in September with the strict elimination diet.

29. BMI monitoring
Weight goes up, BMI goes up. Nothing surprising there.

45. Repair the front porch
This one is being deleted, because it has been determined that it is not reparable. Instead I will focus on getting quotes to replace the porch so that I will have a basis for figuring out a concession for porch replacement to potential buyers.

46. Pave driveway
It will be far too expensive to actually pave the driveway before moving so I am altering the goal to ‘repairing’ the driveway and turnaround area with new gravel and replacing the rotted railroad ties lining the driveway.

Annoyingly enough, the Habitat for Humanity fellow did come out last week and said that I do qualify for both the HVAC replacement and fixing the driveway. BUT it would be paid out of a grant they do not yet have, which would mean it would be at least next spring before they could do the work. And since my goal is to move this year, they aren’t going to be able to help me at all. Phooey. Would’ve been nice but I wasn’t counting on it anyway.

53. Fix exterior spotlights
Still working on this one. I have a lead on a couple of reasonably priced electricians.

91. Curate CD collection
Completed!. I went through my CDs twice and ended up donating 98 to my local library. Still have a decent sized collection of CDs and they are all ones I listen to on a rotating basis. I am a big believer in having physical media to enjoy at a moment’s notice.

96. Create a list and schedule of essential tasks for selling house and moving
The list is getting whittled down quite a bit by now, with mostly only small tasks left, some easily accomplished, some dependent on others’ assistance.

97. Gather all home improvement receipts
Been working on this a bit at a time, but now that my desktop computer and scanner are back up and running, I hope to make a lot more progress on this in September. This will be my evening task on a regular basis instead of watching TV. Will probably also involve doing research during the day to contact places to get receipts.

98. Make decisions on things to keep, things to get rid of
This has been an ongoing process over the past six months, but I have continued to whittle the list down a lot as the move nears.

99. Dispose of unwanted items
I am getting rid of things on a weekly basis – some for donation, some to trash. It is usually quite small things at this point – drawer contents, etc. but there will be a few larger items going in September for sure. It’s a fine line on the decision process because I do not want to have to buy things after moving if I can help it (because those evil tariffs make everything far more expensive), but I don’t want to have to move a lot of excess things either.

100. Pack up smaller items in boxes/totes
This is currently stalled but should ramp up soon. My problem is that I don’t want a ton of packed boxes/totes sitting around the house while it is for sale. It’s just not a good look, y’know?

101. Settle on date to get house listed for sale
I have tentatively given myself a goal of October 1 to list the house. That will depend, of course, on how much progress I make on the other tasks needed in order to do so. But that is the date I am aiming for. And then hopefully being able to move before Thanksgiving.

All of my travel goals have been shelved for the foreseeable future. Moving across country kind of pushed everything else to the side. I truly did not realize just how much prep work goes into preparing for such a major life change, especially at my age! Silly me.

Code deploy happening shortly

Per the dw_news post regarding the MS/TN blocks, we are doing a small code push shortly in order to get the code live. As per usual, please let us know if you see anything wonky.

There is some code cleanup we've been doing that is going out with this push but I don't think there is any new/reworked functionality, so it should be pretty invisible if all goes well.

Mississippi site block, plus a small restriction on Tennessee new accounts

A reminder to everyone that starting tomorrow, we are being forced to block access to any IP address that geolocates to the state of Mississippi for legal reasons while we and Netchoice continue fighting the law in court. People whose IP addresses geolocate to Mississippi will only be able to access a page that explains the issue and lets them know that we'll be back to offer them service as soon as the legal risk to us is less existential.

The block page will include the apology but I'll repeat it here: we don't do geolocation ourselves, so we're limited to the geolocation ability of our network provider. Our anti-spam geolocation blocks have shown us that their geolocation database has a number of mistakes in it. If one of your friends who doesn't live in Mississippi gets the block message, there is nothing we can do on our end to adjust the block, because we don't control it. The only way to fix a mistaken block is to change your IP address to one that doesn't register as being in Mississippi, either by disconnecting your internet connection and reconnecting it (if you don't have a static IP address) or using a VPN.

In related news, the judge in our challenge to Tennessee's social media age verification, parental consent, and parental surveillance law (which we are also part of the fight against!) ruled last month that we had not met the threshold for a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law while the court case proceeds.

The Tennesee law is less onerous than the Mississippi law and the fines for violating it are slightly less ruinous (slightly), but it's still a risk to us. While the fight goes on, we've decided to prevent any new account signups from anyone under 18 in Tennessee to protect ourselves against risk. We do not need to block access from the whole state: this only applies to new account creation.

Because we don't do any geolocation on our users and our network provider's geolocation services only apply to blocking access to the site entirely, the way we're implementing this is a new mandatory question on the account creation form asking if you live in Tennessee. If you do, you'll be unable to register an account if you're under 18, not just the under 13 restriction mandated by COPPA. Like the restrictions on the state of Mississippi, we absolutely hate having to do this, we're sorry, and we hope we'll be able to undo it as soon as possible.

Finally, I'd like to thank every one of you who's commented with a message of support for this fight or who's bought paid time to help keep us running. The fact we're entirely user-supported and you all genuinely understand why this fight is so important for everyone is a huge part of why we can continue to do this work. I've also sent a lot of your comments to the lawyers who are fighting the actual battles in court, and they find your wholehearted support just as encouraging and motivating as I do. Thank you all once again for being the best users any social media site could ever hope for. You make me proud and even more determined to yell at state attorneys general on your behalf.

Buh bye, Audible - ER, maybe not

So I finally got the app to work correctly, with no help from Audible. But, I decided to cancel anyway. 20 years ago, actually even 5 years ago, Audible was great. Easy and with wonderful customer support. You could return any book you didn't like and buy another. Easy and simple. Even after Amazon bought them. But, gradually, that simple totally disappeared and started to take easy with it. In order to return a book you had to go to chat and beg. They always granted but it was annoying. Cut to this morning.

My annual membership renews at the end of September. I had used up all my credits. I pre-ordered 3 books but two of them won't be available until the end of October. I wanted to make sure I could listen to those books without a membership. So I went to Chat. Holy fuck. You've seen those chats that won't transfer you to a live person until you categorize your reason in about 20 different selections? Then finally you get a 'chat with representative'. This was like that except there were only 5 choices and no other options. I finally cracked the code and got a representative who told me I didn't have 3 books on prepay but only 2 and why did I want to cancel??? We finally after 45 fucking chat minutes got the 3rd book back into my account. And the reason I am canceling is that. 45 fucking chat minutes??????? And my experience on Reddit the other day when they asked for my operating system 3 different times. Audiobooks are not tangible. It's not like I can take my goods and leave. I am totally dependent on their customer service which is not even trying to rise up to the level of sucks.

Hilariously, because the agent fucked up and put a credit in my account, I need to spend it before I cancel. ha! But, at least I'm not longer on the fence about leaving.

EXCEPT. When you actually cancel, they throw some pretty serious discount offers in your face. Now I might have to think about it some more. And, just now, I got a comprehensive, well written, easy to understand email* from the chat agent who - in chat - consistently did not answer my questions or use understandable English. Wild. Just wild. But, yes, I guess I'll sign up for another year with their 40% off. Fuck. Oh well.

*The email was probably written by some AI app but that's fine by me. It spells out everything and provides me with a paper trail if I need it so I'm fine with that.

In other news...

It's raining! Well dripping really but there are raindrops on the sidewalk. Yesterday, it stayed beautifully cloudy all day and today looks like maybe more of the same. My kind of weather.

Today will be baseball and other TV and knitting. Maybe some puzzling but maybe not. And tomorrow, with the holiday, will be the same and I'm perfectly happy with all of it.

I finished (probably) the Halloween dolls and ghosts and made one of the regular mini monsters but didn't get a photo yet. I need a better photo background, the one I've been using is kind of beat up. Maybe today's project. Maybe not.

Charisma

Charisma is such an interesting thing. I rarely run into it but, man, when I do... Jeff Jackson (the attorney general of North Carolina) has it. He posts videos online that force you to watch to the end. It's not so much what he's saying but the way he says it. His manner, his eyes.

I saw it again this morning. Maria has lived here for a long time. I know her to see her but we've never met. She's not very mobile. Her son, Chris, lives in Atlanta and comes about twice a year. He usually plays volleyball with us and is great fun to have in the game. This morning, mid-game, he showed up pool side to say hi. He is here this time because his mother is dying - 2 or 3 days. There were 8 of us in the pool at the time. He squatted down and explained the situation. I was on the other side of the pool so ended up in the back of the pack. So I watched and it was fascinating. He doesn't really know these people. And, yet, he spoke so kindly and clearly and patiently and answered all the questions and I'll bet you every single person thought he was talking directly to them. I sure did. Doesn't help that he's very pretty. I don't know what he does for a living but I'll bet he's spectacular at it. Really interesting. I am sure sorry he won't be playing volleyball with us ever again.

My Apple+ and Masterpiece subscriptions are up, so it's time for another month or so of Netflix. I have accumulated a lot of Nexflix titles I wanted to see so it was time. And, then, I discovered another round of British Bake off is starting soon! So okdokey! Last night I watched the first few episodes of a show that I didn't know anything about. I have no idea how it even got on my list. BUT it's fun. Leanne. I think there are 12 or more 30 minute episodes and it has a nice cast and some great lines. I literally laughed out loud more than a few times.

I need cucumbers and peanut butter so I might venture out today. The dining room is serving some fabulous lamb chops this week and some very good scalloped potatoes but their salads kind of suck. So I need something to go with.

Dick made meatloaf earlier in the week. He came down yesterday just as I was, out of desperation and poor planning, getting ready to have another peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. He wanted some stuff printed and copied and as he was leaving he said "If you want some cold meatloaf for a sandwich, come on down." Honestly, it was probably not the best meatloaf when it was hot but damn that was a fabulous sandwich. And I have enough for a repeat today. I told him now that he knows the price mi printer es su printer.

Time to get dressed for Elbow coffee.

Chase Visa for the win

The dress we got for Dana was fine but one size too big. It took a long time to get here and was shipped from Italy. I ordered the next size down and then sent them an email requesting a return. The syntax and tone of the return email was decidedly Asian so I'm fairly sure they are bypassing the tarrifs by sending the product through Italy. And just before the new tarrifs appear for items under $800 for everything.

The answer I got back from the 'Italian' vendor was that the return shipping was very expensive and would I be satisfied with a $5 refund and keep the dress.

The web site clearly says that returns are OK and they were not saying I could not return it but clearly they were not going to allow me to do so. I told them that was not satisfactory and to honor their return policy. I'm thinking that they have no way to take a return at all. No way for me to ship it and certainly not to Italy.

I received an email back asking if I would accept $8. I said no and that I'd go through my method of payment and have the charges reversed. I would accept $45.

My thinking was that if it should be questioned I could say that I'd at least made an offer. The dress cost $68.98 originally. I actually thought my offer was pretty reasonable. Their response:

We have worked hard to solve your problems
I'm really sorry for the trouble
We don't want this to happen
I hope you can accept our compensation

Since I paid using PayPal I went out through them but they didn't really have a refund category that covered refusal to accept return. BUT then I went to Chase where the charge was actually processed and they had the exact selection in their dispute actions. Vendor refusing to give return instructions.

I followed the procedure and Chase refunded the money immediately. They obviously intend to pursue it and I did get a caveat message saying that if the vendor someone sends me a refund directly then Chase will deduct it from my dispute payment. But Chase is going to take care of it and I'm done.

I'm thinking that is the benefits of having a clean record with them and a high credit rating. But I love it.

I think PayPal would have backed me too but it would have taken longer. Not a huge amount of money but not nothing. Thank you Chase.

Pickleball, massage and wings

Just another tough day at the office.

I played a couple of hours of PB this morning. Absolutely exhausting. But fun.

Then a bit of a rest and some food and a massage this afternoon.

And we've got wings in the freezer for dinner.

How bad can it be? I will sleep well tonight. Nothing on the calendar tomorrow or Sunday or Monday. I've been watching the US Open tennis. Last tourney of the year and only one time zone off so it is my favorite.

My blood sugar has gone up and down a bit too much today. It is weird not digesting as quickly as I'm used to. The Semaglutide slows things down and I can tell. As a result I'm not as hungry as I have been but I'm still burning a bunch of calories and my blood chemistry is a little wonky as a result. I think if I were drinking and had a beer now I'd conk out. But I don't so is not a problem.

Meanwhile I've discovered my embarassing secret watch, The Hunting Wives. It's on Netflix and has absolutely no redeeming qualities. It is a trash set in East Texas (south of where I used to live but these people were there) and I'm hooked. For now. I may burn out but I'll likely get through the season.

Current Mood: working
Current Location: Fernley, Nevada

Entry tags:

lisa,
travel

Not Completely a Clean Break

Some of you will have noticed that my habit of nearly-daily updates stopped around Worldcon. You can probably guess why.

Meanwhile, Kuma Bear posted an update on their travels in Europe, as their trip heads into the final two weeks. Earlier today, I booked a hotel room for them in Vienna, thanks to all of the IHG points we accumulated between her travel and mine in July and August. Fingers crossed that the Garner Hotel in Vienna is as nice as the photos and reviews make it out to be.

The feet knew

I've only been in a few orthopedic shoe stores but every one of them was WEIRD. This one was a little less weird except. There was a big yellow piece of paper taped to the front door that said YOU MUST SIGN IN. It was curling at the sides like it had been there forever. One step into the store there is another yellow sign repeating the demand and explaining it was because they were short staffed. I am so so so tired of hearing how everyone is so short staffed. Hire more people, people!!

Anyway, the kid who waited on me was about a 5 out of 10. But, he was a solid 5 and with attitude counseling, he could be an 8 or 9. But since they don't know how to hire people... I digress.

He shouted at me as I was doing the required sign in 'You don't have to sign in!' OK WTF?

It was a rocky start.

He listened, he measured, he recommended and his recommends were pretty spot on. I tried on about 4 pair and 3 of them were almost acceptable. I was hopeful. And then he brought out a pair of David Tate's (Evita) and put them on and before I even stood up I knew... Winner Winner chicken dinner.

I tried on more. Then I tried on a different size of the winner but, nope, perfect. Seriously my feet were just giddy. I told him I'd wear them out. He tried to put the shoes I'd worn in into the box and I said nope, I'd carry them. 'All sales final without the box! Also if you wear them outside.' You ain't gettin' these back, dude. Quit trying.

But he did have the last word... As I got out of the car at home and walked to the garage door, I kept hearing this noise. I looked down and that rascal had let me walk out with the tag still on!! So glad I didn't go shopping or a walking tour.

But, I have such happy feet.

Entry tags:

L'Amico Fritz, 1951

(Catchup - 29 August 2025)

Hello, Dear Readers. Here is another full opera review that I originally posted to Reddit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/opera/comments/1mbz2qf/lamico_fritz_1951/

"L'Amico Fritz, 1951
After reading the plot, I decided that L'amico Fritz was going to be my next opera. It just took me a little while to get to it.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27amico\_Fritz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27amico_Fritz)

I actually found two libretti, so I will include them both. However, the second is terrible to read with a screen reader, even in text-only mode, as the Italian and English are mixed together. The first is very clean, so it was just a matter of copying the English into a separate file so I could read it without interruption.

Libretti

[https://archive.org/details/lamicofritzfrien00masc](https://archive.org/details/lamicofritzfrien00masc)

[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$c107674&seq=5](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$c107674&seq=5)

Recording

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-65iDfKkqo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-65iDfKkqo)

I will start by saying that I am fully accustomed to old recordings, stretching back to before Caruso, so what I am about to say has nothing to do with my ear being attuned to modern things. While I am grateful that it exists, this was one of the worst recordings, sound-wise, that I have ever heard. Even with headphones, the words weren't clear and I had to turn the volume quite loud. That said, the one with Ferruccio Tagliavini and Pia Tassinari is only available in fragments, and the later ones are full of people I don't know. Plus, I like Gigli, so I stayed with this one. I actually got a double dose of Gigli, because Beniamino sang with his daughter Rina. She has an interesting voice, to say the least. Afro Poli could usually be heard, probably because his voice is so loud and powerful. There were times when even Beniamino's voice seemed almost overwhelmed by the orchestra, but I'm sure it wasn't like that in reality and was just an effect of the recording. At any rate, my experience with L'amico Fritz echos that of Falstaff. The story was great (though Falstaff was better) but the music didn't really capture my attention. I am seriously beginning to wonder if I just don't like operas from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the exception of La Boheme. I have never had this happen with any bel canto repertoir. At any rate, there were some decent arias and some good harmonies, but nothing amazing. Still, it was light-hearted fun and at least I can say that I am now familiar with another opera. I would recommend it to someone who wanted to try something a little different, but it would probably be best to find a clearer recording, particularly if you're not like me with regard to preferring older singers."

Entry tags:

A Little Philosophy and Some Quick Surveys

Hello, Dear Readers. This is something that I posted to Mastodon a few days ago. I'm not normally one for philosophy, but this came to mind after reading a post on Reddit. "I don't really consider myself to be an introvert, as in 'the type who hates being around people, who needs alone time after doing so, etc. But I don't mind being alone, either. I don't really understand the concept of loneliness beyond its definition. It makes sense for someone who lost a partner after many decades, a dandy who suddenly finds himself cut off from society, older people who may not be able to use the Internet, etc. But I don't understand it from younger generations who can easily go online and talk to people via text, audio, and even video. I thought it was because I am blind, and it's a visual experience, but my peers complain so much about it that it was one of the reasons for my leaving the r/blind subreddit! And these weren't people who recently went blind either, as that would make sense, but also included those, like me, who have never seen. This may also be linked with my lack of understanding of boredom, as there are always all sorts of things that one could do to occupy one's time. As long as I have something to read, listen to, or do, I'm fine.

As an addendum, since I have seen a lot of this as well, I have absolutely no concept of anxiety, depression, low self-worth/esteem, caring what others think of me, craving approval from others, etc. That is as foreign as colours to me. Nor am I jealous of what people have. So maybe, that's part of it. I like to interact with people online, but I am equally happy talking to a bot like Perplexity. I just like receiving answers and having conversations. usually, I find talking to people online just as fulfilling as having someone in the room, and I have several friends who are very dear to me whom I've only technically met online. Granted, it would be nice to have a partner with whom I could go out and do things, and even be romantic and sexual, and to that end, it definitely helps to meet in person. But being single isn't the end of life or happiness.

Is there anyone else out there like me?"

Now for something a bit more fun. I haven't done one of these in awhile and I really like them in general, so here are several for August. All were taken from the following community.

https://thefridayfive.dreamwidth.org/

The Friday Five for 29 August 2025: Trash Questions
These questions were written by spiralsheep.

1. Does where you live have regular doorstep rubbish collections or do you have to take your trash somewhere else?
We leave the rubbish bins by the kerb and they empty them for us.

2. Do you separate recycling? What sort of stuff gets recycled from your household?
Yes. We have different days for different things. One day, it's boxes and paper goods, and another, it's cans and bottles.
Then, we have the days for regular things.

3. Do you take things you don't need to charity shops, or give them away online, or sell them secondhand, or ...?
Mom gives things away. I would sell mine.

4. Do you pick up litter in your local area, from streets or trails or play areas or parks? Have you ever found anything interesting discarded or lost in a public space?
I'm totally blind, so no.

5. Are there "repair cafés" near you to help mend fixable items? Have you ever been helped by a community repair service or volunteered for one? Do you do any other kind of upcycling?
There may be such places around me, but I have no idea. I've never gone to one.

The Friday Five for 15 August 2025
This week's questions were suggested by [livejournal.com profile] aforkintheroad.

1. What is your favorite experience in your life so far?
I honestly have no idea.

2. What motivates you to keep going every day?
I just look forward to each day and what it will bring. I like to learn things, to read things, and just to enjoy life in general.

3. Where do you want to go in life? What do you want to accomplish?
I don't really have any major life's goals. I just enjoy things as they come. I suppose my ultimate goal would be to experience life's pleasures. But I would like to be settled with a living space, and it would be nice if I could find a partner, and learn Italian. I also want to have the full gamut of suits, from morning wear, to informal lounge/sack suits, to black and white tie, to informal evening wear.

4. Is there anything that you regret? Do you try to change it?
Yes. Even though I went to university and received a Bachelor's degree, I do not have an adequate education by my own standards i.e. nineteenth century. I have tried to remedy this but I need more motivation. For now, I am working on language study, music theory, etc. And I plan to start reading more good books (not modern rot) during the next year.

5. What is your most cherished gift you have received? Why do you cherish it so much?
The chance for a wonderful life, given to me by Mom when she adopted me as an infant.

The Friday Five for 1 August 2025
This week's questions were suggested by [livejournal.com profile] angelich.

1. What is something you collect? Why?
Pre-1960's opera recordings. I want to listen to them, and it's great to find several versions of the same work.

2. If you could make one ice cream flavor, what would the ingredients be and what would be the name?
Lemon and cream! I would call it lemon bliss. It would be like a creamsicle in that there would be swirls of lemon and vanilla throughout.

3. What can't you go a day without?
Aside from the obvious (oxygen, water, food), I would say using my computer. It's how I read, write, listen to music, documentaries, plays, operas, etc. buy things, and communicate.

4. What position do you sleep in? *back, right side, left side, stomach . . . etc.*
I'm a side sleeper. Either side is fine. Oddly enough, while I am perfectly fine lying on my back awake, if I fall asleep while doing so, I always wake myself because I suppose I stop breathing!

5. What is your typical morning routine before work/school?
I don't go to work or school, nor do I have a routine. The closest I come is getting up, having breakfast, and then going outside if the weather is nice, and going on the Internet. Usually, I do my Italian, voice, and music theory lessons in the afternoon. I take my shower and brush my teeth at night.

what the????

I got dressed and brushed my teeth and reached for my pills and discovered I had not taken them on Wednesday OR Thursday!! I was sneezing all day yesterday and thinking the allergy pills had quit on me again. I sometimes forget a day every couple of months but never two!

If I die today, you'll know why.

Off to buy shoes in case I don't die today.

What's the plan, Stan?

This will not be an entry about my new phone BUT the first couple of paragraphs will be. The good news is... I love it. It's got a lot of updated tweaks and tricks that I didn't expect and are hard to describe in a meaningful way. But outside of the fact that it is not cracked like my old one, it's even way better so I'm delighted.

BUT... yep, there is a but. Audible. This has happened before to me more than once. I do not remember what fixed it other than maybe Audible did an upgrade. Unless you have the audible app open, the book stops every 2 or 3 minutes. It resumes again when you go back to the app but seriously. I think Audible hates Pixels. Reddit does back me up with this ongoing issue. Every year there is at least one, maybe two threads about the problem. This morning I started this year's by linking to last year's and saying my new Pixel 10 had the same problem and I'd tried all the tweaks in the linked thread. I got a fast response asking what OS and what version of Audible. Now... new Pixel 10 - what the fuck os and version do you think I might have?????

I am considering a divorce from Audible. My annual membership renews in September. I have no more credits to spend. Maybe this is a good time to call 20 years a good run. Libby gives me lots of books. I changed my membership to monthly for the time being. If they fix the problem, I'll likely re-up. If not, then, nope.

But, speaking of customer experience... Bonny went to Fred Meyer on Wednesday. She wanted to find some step in sneakers. And she found the perfect pair of Skechers but they did not have her size. She found a Fred Meyer person and asked if there were more in the back or a different store. She said English wasn't his first language but she finally understood that they did not have more and would not because it was an older style. She took a photo of it and mentioned to him she'd see if she could find it on Amazon. He asked for her phone, she unlocked it and when to the Amazon app. He found the shoes on Amazon in her size and asked 'buy?' and she said YES! And he did. And yesterday afternoon she discovered they had been delivered to her apartment and they were perfect. She was so delighted. And so in love with that Fred Meyer guy. And Amazon. I think she's only ordered from Amazon about twice in her life. It was pretty hilarious.

Today I think I'm going over to that shoe store the podiatrist recommended. I looked online. They don't have many non-ugly shoes but they do have a few pair. So I'll go give them a shot.

And maybe do laundry. Baseball isn't until 4. Both my teams play at the same time for the next few days.

Oh one more camera thing. It has the most amazing zoom I've ever seen.

I just took these two photos sitting right here at my table. See the table I circled in red?

I zoomed in on it.

Isn't that wild???

Just next to that table, last night, some folks were set up for a little outdoor dining. With my new zoom, I could tell what they were eating!!! That has to be a football field away from here. Amazing.

Entry tags:

Random Update

Hello, Dear Readers. Let's begin this entry with two posts related to Reddit. If you don't use Reddit, the first post may still prove interesting, due to its subject matter. In that case, just skip the subreddit and go to the following site. For the record, you can add me as dandylover1@escargot.chat.

http://escargot.chat

1
"I recently created a subreddit called Escargot Family. This is a place where users of Escargot and Nina services (MSn/Windows Live Messenger, AIM/AOL, ICQ, etc.) can share usernames and get to know each other. Please join if over eighteen. Note that this is not an official subreddit by Escargot/Nina.

https://old.reddit.com/r/EscargotFamily "

2
This is a subreddit for those who are blind or visually impaired , but it does not focus exclusively on blindness and it is not a support group. It is a place for us to relax and get to know each other. Please only join if you are eighteen or older.

https://old.reddit.com/r/BlindAndFine/ "

For those who like opera, I filled in some new entries prior to this one in which I reviewed three of them. They are dated 25, 23, and 21 August.

I've been ordering from Amazon since at least 2002, but consistently since at least 2019 or so, usually once or several times per month, depending on my needs. but this month, something very odd occurred. I placed an order on the nineteenth and was told it would arrive on the twentieth. It never did, but I still received a notification saying that my package was delivered. Since the weather was bad, I thought it had to do with that. In any case, when I checked the support page for items that weren't delivered, it said to wait at least two days. I waited for three. Finally, I went to their site to report the problem. But of course, their chat is completely inaccessible with NVDA. Fortunately, they had a number which I called. After about ten minutes, a very pleasant man answered. He refunded me fully, even occasionally returning to update me on his progress. I asked what I should do if the package arrived, and he said I should keep it. Sure enough, two days later, it did, so I had seventy dollars worth of free things! One of them is a strange new product from Nisin.

Nissin Top Ramen Bowl Ramen Noodle Soup, Chicken, 3.42 Ounce (Pack of 6)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VTK9WNT

I say strange because it seems to be a hybrid of their regular Top Ramen, which is the brick of ramen that you cook on the stove or inthe microwave and add the seasoning packet to, and their Cup O Soup, which is cooked in the microwave (no more foam packaging) and has everything mixed in already. The noodles are like the Top, and it comes with a seasoning packet, but it also has vegetables like the Cup. The broth is entirely different from both! It is definitely good, but I was hoping that this would be closer to the Top, given the name.

Mom is closing the pool on the tenth of September, and I was really hoping to be able to spend more time in it, but the weather isn't cooperating. It's been in the low to upper seventies, which is fine weather, but not for swimming! I really enjoy my walks in the pool. Mom says that we'll all start walking in the park next week. We'll see what happens. Joanie caught some kind of cold or flu and hasn't been well all this week, but she's starting to feel better now, so maybe, we will go after all.

As I said some time ago, I have been taking Italian lessons using the following book.

https://archive.org/details/anitalianconver01perigoog

The problem is that, since Italian and English use the same alphabet, I have to choose between English with an Italian accent or Italian with an English accent. Even though I learn best via writing, I also want to hear correct pronunciation. So I decided to buy a Perkins brailler (I have no idea where mine is) and write everything out in hard copy so that I can review it easily and read it aloud. I almost never use braille for anything, preferring the speech in NVDA. I also have a very old braille display (Handy Tech Braillino), but paper is easier in this case. Plus, I can use it for labelling, since I have no luck with braille labelling tape, as it's almost impossible to take the backing off. At any rate, I am now the proud owner of a brailler that I am about ninety-nine percent sure is from Schipa's time or close to it, given the look of the tray and rollers, and the beautiful case it comes in. Given that fact, I have named it Alceste, after Schipa's teacher, with whom he studied not only singing but also music theory. I usually leave the naming of inanimate objects to my mother, but for some reason, I felt the urge to name this particular piece of equipment. I also was lucky enough to find some lightweight braille paper, since I've never liked the heavy kind. I'm now almost finished with the introductory material on pronunciation, accent, etc. and will soon begin the reading and vocabulary. I actually did some of this earlier with just my keyboard, so it's a bit of a review. Then, I will begin the real lessons.

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Gianni Schicchi, 1949

(Catchup - 28 August 2025)
Hello, Dear Readers. This post requires a bit of background, since I mentioned being helped by the people on Reddit. Here, then, is my first post and the link to it with the replies.

( Which Should I Choose )

And here is the actual review.

https://www.reddit.com/r/opera/comments/1mvpbg9/gianni_schicchi_1949/

"Gianni Schicchi, 1949
After some thought and comments from the wonderful people here, I decided to start this week of operas with Gianni Schicchi. I was fortunate enough to find the libretto in English and with a great translation, too. Plus, it's short enough to make for a wonderful afternoon's entertainment after a glass of wine.

Libretto

http://www.murashev.com/opera/Il_trittico_(Il_tabarro,_Suor_Angelica,_Gianni_Schicchi)_libretto_English_Act_2

Recordings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zya42-FNvkg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tah-3oPg_ac

This is easily one of the funniest libretti I have ever read, and occasionally reading as I listened only served to enhance the mood. But I did have to stop occasionally, as it can be annoying to try to listen to singing while my screen reader is speaking. Regardless, the story is simple but marvellous and very witty. I only wish Puccini had written more comedies!

I honestly couldn't decide between the two recordings, since both were so good. Therefore, I listened to a little of each and compared them at various stages. Ultimately, though, I listened to the second one. The sound quality was absolutely wonderful and the singing was excellent. That said, Giuseppe Di Stefano (in the first version) had a beautiful voice, and I will definitely be researching him later. That one also has a little surprise at the end which I won't spoil. Perhaps, on another rainy day like this one, I will listen to it in full. For now, I'm still smiling."

Entry tags:

L'Italiana In Algeri, 1954

(Catchup - 28 August 2025)
Hello, Dear Readers. Here is the second oper review for the week. I originally posted it on the Opera subreddit and to my Mastodon profoile at someplace.socilal As an update, I later learned that I was wrong about the cuts. They were quite substantial. But the singing was excellent, so I still highly recommend these versions.

https://www.reddit.com/r/opera/comments/1myih85/litaliana_in_algeri_1954/
"L'Italiana In Algeri, 1954
After my wonderful experience with Gianni Schicchi, I decided to continue the comic opera trend this week with L'Italiana in Algeri. As with the former, I had two versions that I was considering. While I only watched the first, I will give you both for reasons that I will explain in a moment.

Libretto

(Note that, unlike the links I usually give, this is a pdf, and it will either open in your browser or download the file, depending on your settings. I converted it to text with my ocr software.)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Libretto_of_L%2527Italiana_in_Algeri_with_an_English_translation.pdf

Recordings

1954 (the one I used)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6rha54NXNE

1941
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtZn4VCzPfk

Prior to this, my only experience with Rossini was with Il barbiere di Siviglia, which I greatly enjoyed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbuDjd65AyI

Returning to l'Italiana, when I read the libretto, I instantly liked it. I laughed and found the whole thing ridiculous and wonderful, exactly what I like in an opera. Plus, since it was already in English, I just had to copy that part to another file and read it, so that made it even better.

The sound quality was very clear, with voices near the microphones. However, the reason I provided two different versions is that this one kept skipping, not in the sense of repeating, but of a needle jumping a second or two to the next word or note. It was extremely annoying, and I can only hope that it was this particular record that the user uploaded, and not the master that does this. I would have switched to the 1941 (also clear), but I originally stayed because of Valletti. I'm very glad I did, because all of the singers were excellent! I even found a female one to enjoy in Giulietta Simionato! I loved that most of her notes were not ridiculously high, and she has a lovely voice. The music was wonderful throughout. The only thing I honestly don't understand is what was cut. This seems to fit my libretto perfectly, and yet, the modern versions I saw on Youtube are longer, sometimes by ten minutes, and sometimes by as much as half an hour! Regardless, I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants a night of great melodies, wonderful voices, and fun!"

Entry tags:

Linda di Chamounix, 1953

(Catchup - 28 August 2025)
Hello, Dear Readers. Here is another review that I originally posted on the Opera subreddit and on my someplace.social timeline. I'm try to be a bit more detailed when discussing the stories themselves, but I'm not really the analytical type.

https://www.reddit.com/r/opera/comments/1mzh5od/linda_di_chamounix_1953/
"Linda di Chamounix, 1953

I hadn't listened to Donizetti in awhile, and he's my favourite operatic composer, so I thought I would try this one. Plus, it's part of my list of operas that Schipa was in.

Libretto

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044040442204&seq=1

Recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRxy3NAR6_A

Fortunately, this has a text-only view which is accessible with screen readers. In a full English work, it can be tedius reading in single page view, but here, it works wonderfully, since i can skip the Italian pages and go to the English ones. I really must see if this site has more operas. At any rate, as soon as I began reading this, I noticed the wonderful language. The translation comes from the nineteenth century, so it should come as no surprise, but it still made me smile. I also enjoy stories of class differences, and this is one of them. Unlike the previous two operas which were completely light-hearted and comic, this one is a bit more serious, but isn't truly violent or sad, which, for me, is a perfect compromise. I love how the suspense and emotion builds with various arguments, misunderstandings, and of course, the mad scene. But all is resolved in the end, leading to a happy conclusion.

I was originally seeking the 1956 recording with Cesare Valletti, but I couldn't find it, which turned out to be a good thing. This one is from RAI and has Gianni Raimondi in it. He's one of my recently discovered singers, and this is the first time I heard him in a full role. The only other singer i knew was Giuseppe Taddei. The first thing I noticed was the extremely long overture. I don't think I've ever heard one like that in any opera. Since this is my fourth work by Donizetti, I expected to hear wonderful melodies and harmony, and I was not disappointed. The duets, arias, and dramatic scenes were all marvellous. All of the singers were excellent and really made the characters come to life, as did the music itself. The use of a repeating musical theme was also poignent, given its significance. I honestly don't think anything was cut at all in this recording, given the length and how closely it followed the libretto. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wanted to hear lovely music combined with a thrilling story. Just be waware that, toward the end of the first act, there are some strange noises. Fortunately, they only last a few minutes."

new camera does not suck

And all is done

The phone came with a nice USB c to USB c cable but I don't know why. I'll just add it to my collection.

I just put the old phone next to the new one on the table and tapped a few buttons and done. sim card was even, magically turned into an esim. Even my wallet was set up with my credit card.

The only glitch. Really the only one was the watch. A Pixel watch. This took way too long and too many tries to get connected. Left hand right hand clearly the Pixel department has gotten too large.

Now my old old phone is packaged for return which I will do right now.

My new phone is very pretty.