Ending a long weekend and starting a short week (A short post)

 

It's Tuesday, and RQS finally had to go home.  She had her usual Tuesday routine to take care of, and I had lunch with DS on the schedule.  It could be a busy day or a relaxed day, all depending on what I planned to do with it.

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RQS and I got up early for us, and I dropped her off at the station at 10:30. But I had time to kill, as DS and I weren't scheduled to eat until 12:30.  So, I drove to Walmart to replace a pair of broken sunglasses. This killed enough time.  Once I got to Yonkers, I would not wait long.  So  off to Yonkers I drove.

I had never stopped in this area of Yonkers before - it was a safe area, but a confusing trip on local streets once off the parkway.  Several minutes after I arrived, DS arrived, and we placed our orders.  Since I've been having way too much Chicken lately, I ordered a Cheeseburger - and it was yummy,  We were there for 2 1/2 hours, and then it was time to leave.  

My next stop was at Lidl, a quick run to pick up some more vanilla nougats.  And then it was home for the night.  My legs were hurting, so I couldn't do laundry.  Even if I wanted to do so, I couldn't, as they were refinishing the laundry room floors.  So I was finally in for the night.

A scam phone call and other minor annoyances

 

I decided to take care of little things today.  The most important thing on this list was doing a load of laundry.  RQS prefers to have clean sheets to sleep on when she comes up here, and I only had today and tomorrow to take care of this task.  So, in spite of my legs not wanting to go up and down the stairs to use the washers and dryers, I decided that there was no time like the present to take care of this task.

While in between loads, I received a couple of back to back phone calls, the first on my cell phone (which dropped without a message), and the second on my land line (with a scam message meant to lure me into giving up my personal ID.)  This message claimed that someone had opened up a duplicate under my name and bought some electronic device that would be charged to me if I didn't react.  (Sounds fishy even describing it, doesn't it?)  Luckily, I'm aware of many of these scams, and I know not to trust calls coming in on my land line.

Although I stayed in the apartment most of the day, there were things I needed to do on the outside. I wanted to see if Lane Bryant and Kohl's had clothes I was interested in based on information from their websites.  Unfortunately, neither store had what I was looking for, and as a result, didn't spend money I was ready to spend.  Next, was dinner.  This was easy for me to deal with - a Chicken/Lamb combination at a local Halal joint.  Yum!  Yet, I noticed something strange that indicates both inflationary pressures and supply chain problems - several meat dishes have some beef mixed into the primary meat mix.  Although I don't mind this, I'll bet that some people would rather pay more for Lamb without Beef.

Once done with dinner, it was time to go to Lidl for food shopping.  $50 later, I was out the door and on the way home.  On the whole, this was a good day, but one that had me moving again.

I finally got out today, and I got some of what would not be bad news for normal people

 

This morning, I found that I had to go out as Mario, so that I could get passport photos that would pass muster for getting a renewed passport.  After I got the photo, I found that the photographer was way too close to me, and that the government's AI couldn't process the image.  (There's $18 down the tubes!)  Later, when I reprocessed a picture that the AI couldn't find my eyes (it claimed they were closed), it found the eyes and accepted the image.  Go figure. Once done with the photos, I chatted with the photographer and showed her pictures of me as Marian.  She couldn't believe it.  So, I may drop back to the store as Marian and see if she remembers me from the day before.

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I rested for most of the day, save for the period where I chatted with my financial planner.  It was a long talk about things of interest, including Chris Ferguson going "All In" at the WSOP (World Series of Poker) with three 6's and a pair of 8's.   There was only one have that could beat him, and it was three 8's with a pair of 6's.  And the other fellow had that in his hand.  As Ferguson was leaving the table, one of the fans watching the game said to Ferguson, "Jesus should know better than to go 'All In' with the devil's hand."  (Ferguson's nickname is "Jesus", as he once had a longer beard and looked just like the image of Jesus depicted in many pictures.)

 

Around 6 pm, I got made up and dressed as Marian and went out to go food shopping.  One problem - I had to get something to eat.  And I found an outlet of a sushi restaurant, where all dishes are presented to the diner on a conveyor belt. RQS and I have eaten at Kura before.  So I knew that the food would be safe.  But the bill would add up quickly.  And that it did.   Once done, it was over to Lidl for food shopping.  Total cost for this trip - $115.  Yet, it was worth it to have had a nice variety of sushi and an inexpensive supermarket run.

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On the way home, I chatted with my brother.  Politically, we are on opposite sides, and I can't see many of his claims that businesses are investing in America again, and that we're rebuilding our manufacturing base.  Nor can I justify the war with Iran, that he supports wholeheartedly. Could he be right?  I doubt it, but I don't claim to read as many news sources as he does.  (I'll bet he's BS'ing me, but doesn't want to admit it.)  If we weren't brothers, I doubt that we'd want to know each other.

But what would be good news for most people, and bad for me?  Well, I had planned a Marian mode weekend with RQS, and then meet my niece (and her hubby) in NYC for dinner.  My brother was thinking of getting my niece, my nephew, himself, RQS and I together for dinner.  That would kill a weekend spent as Marian.  AARGH 

Now, to contact my niece and see what she thinks.... 

Almost Matching Dresses

 

Both RQS and I set alarms for us to get out of bed, get dressed, and go to the Danbury Railway Museum. However, one thing got in the way - the 10:30 alarm I thought I had set didn't go off, and RQS didn't get out of bed until 11:30.  By the time got moving, it was too late to go to Danbury, as the museum closes at 4:00.  So we watched some videos, and relaxed most of the day.

Once we decided to get moving, RQS decided to wear a red floral dress.  I figured that I'd join in on the same theme and wear the red floral dress I bought from Amazon last week.  Given the 80 degree weather outside, this would be a perfect choice for me - and it was.  To be safe, I brought my denim jacket (which I didn't need), but who knew how quickly it might get cool after dark.

Our first stop was at Pepe's Pizza in Yonkers.  Both of us were hungry, and we hadn't had their pizza in a while.  It was nice to be addressed as a female by the staff, and no one took notice of my less than feminine features.  (Having worked on my voice and my presentation over the past decade and a half helps me blend in as female when I need to do so - especially when I have to go to the loo.)  After we finished our meal, it was off to Lidl for some shopping.  And today, I got off almost as well as I would have done at Trader Joe's.  But then, I wasn't planning on buying much.

Going home as the sun was getting ready to set, I took an alternate route back to my house in order to avoid the harsh setting sun burning my eyes.  Taking the "scenic route" back home, I was able to take a path where my eyes were protected from direct sunlight. 

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Tomorrow, we're planning on going to church and then to the railway museum.  I hope we get to both.

RQS had to go home, and I had to go food shopping.

 

RQS had to go home today.  It's always a sad thing.  Yet, it's something that gives us time to do the things that nourish us alone during the week.

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I awoke early, and let RQS sleep past her morning alarms. Around 9:30, I woke her up, and both of us got dressed for the day.  Since it was "warm" outside, RQS had to carry her heavy coat home.  While I was dressed in a tunic dress and leggings.  We arrived at the train station around 11:30, and we parted for the week.  She took the train into the city, while I went home and changed into something more comfortable - a floral dress I bought from Amazon.

I like this dress, and I was glad I had decided to buy it.  It was cheap at the price, so I decided to buy a second one today, this time in a red pattern.  There were two more dresses I am interested in, one from Universal Standard, and the other from Kohl's.  Both are good values, but I don't have the money or room in my closet right now to justify buying them.  You might be asking - Why???  Well, I just dropped $5k into repairs on the family homestead, and have another $1.6k in insurance expenses to be paid before June. At least I can afford this short term hit to my bank account.

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After a little bit of rest, I put on the dress and went to Costco - and bought nothing.  But I ended up going to Lidl to do some food shopping.  And there, I ended up spending $40 on food.  It would have been $50, but the scanner didn't want to handle my meat purchases.  So I left one package on the scanner (naughty me) and brought the rest of my items to a human to be checked out properly.

Will I eat anything I bought tonight, or will I cook it tomorrow?  Right now, I do not feel hungry, and I ate too much starch during the day.  So, I figure that I'll use the toaster oven tomorrow, and toss out expired stuff from the icebox tonight.  And, if the weather is as warm as I expect tomorrow, I will wear the one dress I bought from Kohl's the other day.

I ended up doing nothing until dinner

 

I didn't have much to do today, so I stayed inside until dinner time.  And then, it was time to get off my rump and do something....

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Although I went to sleep late last night, I finally had a full night's sleep with the exception of a few bio-breaks during the night.  (I wonder if this is a result of the new meds I'm taking.)  So, the 10 am alarm woke me up, and I had my bagel for breakfast.  (The other one will be eaten tomorrow.)  And then, I started watching YouTube videos.

Although I had plans to do laundry today, I decided NOT to do it.  Instead, I relaxed until the end of the afternoon, and then started to get dressed as Marian. This was not a day I wanted to spend much money for dinner, so I drove to a Halal food joint in Yonkers and got a combo platter.  Boy, was this platter filling!  But then, my stomach seems to be getting smaller.  So, I could have easily split the platter in half and brought the other half home as leftovers.

Next, it was off to Lidl to buy some food.  By the time I left, I had a full bag and was only out $24.  Not bad for an unplanned food run.  What is weird about the store is that if one uses the self checkout machines, one is supposed to let a gate scan your receipt before letting you go out of the store.  Luckily, someone else opened the gate, and I went through under her scan.

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Sometime tomorrow morning, I have to pack some clothes for my upcoming cruise and bring it to RQS's place.  (I'll have more to bring to her place in a couple of weeks.)  So, I'll have one big suitcase to bring with Mario's clothes, and a smaller suitcase to being for this weekend in Marian mode.