What I did today

I woke up a little before the usual eight in the morning, and got up because there was much to do. Took a shower, then rooted in my closet for decent clothes to spend the day out. 

Next the cat, who knows the household order of business, and herded me down to his empty bowl. I always clean his box after that; his nose is in the food and can't boss me around any more.

I put in a load of laundry.

Then, my breakfast. It's the meal I enjoy most in every day. It's oatnut toast with butter and jam and coffee, and always so good.  No lingering today; I had a full schedule.

Take out the trash, water the plants, leave for the dentist. It used to be an hour drive to Dr. Kate, but long closed freeways have been "improved" and opened, and it's more than half an hour now, but not much.

Fortunately I left with plenty of time to spare, as I went east on the connecting freeway, and had to backtrack. Eastbound is to come home!

I see Dr. Kate's favorite tooth is on the screen, that molar after the implant. Bone mass is dwindling and she is concerned. I'm not, yet. Over this long, cold epidemic winter, Dr. Kate sent an offer, I assume to all her patients. She offered us "dental insurance", if we had none, and I've never carried dental insurance. 

For about $250, as I recall, she offered two cleanings, one set of annual x-rays, and a 10% discount on any work over the year. I accepted happily, and realized it probably was also her clever ploy to pay her employees and keep the lights on until until the crisis passed.

My schedule after the dentist was lunch, drop a package at Federal Express, go to the phone store and then see if VFW was accepting donations. But, I'd neglected to pick up the package, so I just went home for lunch, a yummy slice of blueberry crostata.

Though already worn thin by the morning's activities, I set out again after lunch. The trash episode and watering the plants already involved three or four stair trips, which is about two over the limit. But, off...

I was steady walking into FedEx to drop the package. Coming back out I froze half way to my car. The young woman after me came bounding from the store, jumped into her oversized SUV and would have backed into me at ten or fifteen MPH had I not sensed that she had never consulted a mirror, or remembered I was there before blasting her vehicle out of the lot.

On to the phone store, and by now I had enough steps on the day to become a bit unsteady. I sat on a hard stool for a couple of hours while helped with a new phone. Yes, it has an earphone jack. A phone that has one now costs more than the phone without. You pay extra for everything now. The screen protector, the outer shell, etcetcetc.

And the final errand, to see if VFW has opened its donation station. Yes they have, and when I get back my mojo, I must clear out my closet and see what I do have left in decent outfits. It was five when I came home, to making supper. Tomorrow I will tackle the follow up at the phone store, to configure my phone perfectly.

After supper, I stood at the dryer and folded laundry. I am bone weary.

I dropped the old phone some time ago, not for the first time, but that time face down on the concrete drive way. Just like a stone on the windshield, the tiniest shatter mark spread in spider fingers across the screen. I lived with it until I came up short the earplug jack. The good news is, the new contract will be twenty dollars a month less expensive!