Dec. 27th, 2025 07:10 am
do I like warm weather now? Ugh.
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k2daisy1. Tea update: so far, I hate it.
Have been drinking Twinings English Breakfast while waiting for my Adagio advent box to arrive, and my verdict is it makes my mouth taste like I ate dried grass. But it is better for my stomach already, so currently I have a cup of tea and then a cup of coffee.
The Adagio arrived last night so this morning I tried their English Breakfast version. Verdict: a richer flavor of dried grass.
I got the Advent box so I could try a wide variety of tea types and flavors without committing to a full package of any. I will keep trying!
2. PT update: my next appointment isn't until January 7, so I have to get serious about doing my ankle exercises more consistently. It's tricky because some require me sitting with my legs extended (like on my couch), some require standing in bare feet, and some require standing in sneakers. I think I have figured out the best solution: to do them in the morning, but break them up and align them with my regular morning routine. The band ones get done in the early morning as I sit on the couch and play around on the phone with my tea/coffee. The barefoot stretches get done as I make breakfast and do dishes in the kitchen. The heel raises and balance ones get done after I get dressed and put on my shoes for the day. There is one more that is a barefoot standing one with a band, to work on strengthening my arches. Those get done here in the office, while I catch up on DW and do my own post.
My morning routine is very consistent and so far it has been v easy to fold these in, much like I did the bed-making and tidying up. I am encouraged this will work. An added bonus: my ankles and legs get nicely stretched, which helps a lot in moving around the rest of the day. Doing it at night when they are already swollen and tired has felt useless.
3. I am watching Pluribus. (Trying out the rich text cut tag, let's see if it works.) I really like the show. I do like the apocalyptic-type shows. I enjoy seeing out regular world empty or reimagined in unexpected ways. I very much appreciate that it isn't violent or gory. That always spoils shows for me.
It's funny, I started watching because my cousin's kid messaged me after the 3rd/4th episode to say that the main character reminded her of me. I don't quite get why, unless it's the blond hair. I did tell Jessie that it might be that she just keeps going, keeps plowing ahead and finding ways to get done what she needs to do. But otherwise she is pretty much a stubborn misanthrope.
Whom I really like. I like the way she talks. She is so direct and sharp. No extra ums or flowery phrases, without tempering it to the person. She just says what she wants, the way she wants to say it. It's the opposite of how she writes, with loads of extra adjectives and expressive verb choices and lots of descriptions of quivering breaths.
I have watched it all the way through. Now I am going back and rewatching each episode and listening to the podcast. I wish it was more of a recap pod instead of a behind-the-scenes technical look, but it's also fun listening to that too.
4. Several of my husband's gifts were gadgets for the car. I do drive a LOT, so what he got will actually help. There's a nice garbage bag/backpack type thing to use instead of throwing it all in the passenger foot well. A tray that sits in the passenger seat that makes it more level and has a couple of places to put small items so they don't slide around. Lastly, an automatic tire inflator, which I need since my tires appear to be very sensitive to weather changes and are low again.
5. I hated Florida, and always will, but I miss my mother's house and my father's neighborhood. I miss how the neighbors were out and active, stopping by the dog run gate in the morning to say hello to Molly, joining us on our daily walks, just hanging out in the street and talking. I get why my dad spent so much time in the garage, overseeing all the goings-on but also being a leader of it. None of my neighbors are like that here. They give friendly waves and that's about it. Their neighborhood felt like a community, like the one we lived in growing up.
I also really miss my mom's house. It had so much light and openness, and breezes across the house all the time. I went into some of the neighbors' houses, and theirs didn't have that. They had heavy furniture, or closed blinds, or just the set up was tighter and darker; Theirs felt like a house that could be in Mt. Prospect or Kenosha but just happened to be in Florida. My mom deliberately decorated and designed the house to maximize that warm resort feel. There was such peace and calm there. I don't want to recreate that here -- my small house is better suited to be full of plants and pottery and snuggly dogs -- but I definitely miss what she built there for them and for their guests.
I miss it for them, and honestly I miss it for me. I spent almost five months down there -- three were just me and Molly -- and it was therapeutic as much as it was traumatic. Even when my sister was torturing me via text during that time, and oh God that part was very traumatic, I could still open the sliders to the lanai and listen to the breeze flapping the flag on the dock.
Or maybe that's just winter boredom talking.
Have been drinking Twinings English Breakfast while waiting for my Adagio advent box to arrive, and my verdict is it makes my mouth taste like I ate dried grass. But it is better for my stomach already, so currently I have a cup of tea and then a cup of coffee.
The Adagio arrived last night so this morning I tried their English Breakfast version. Verdict: a richer flavor of dried grass.
I got the Advent box so I could try a wide variety of tea types and flavors without committing to a full package of any. I will keep trying!
2. PT update: my next appointment isn't until January 7, so I have to get serious about doing my ankle exercises more consistently. It's tricky because some require me sitting with my legs extended (like on my couch), some require standing in bare feet, and some require standing in sneakers. I think I have figured out the best solution: to do them in the morning, but break them up and align them with my regular morning routine. The band ones get done in the early morning as I sit on the couch and play around on the phone with my tea/coffee. The barefoot stretches get done as I make breakfast and do dishes in the kitchen. The heel raises and balance ones get done after I get dressed and put on my shoes for the day. There is one more that is a barefoot standing one with a band, to work on strengthening my arches. Those get done here in the office, while I catch up on DW and do my own post.
My morning routine is very consistent and so far it has been v easy to fold these in, much like I did the bed-making and tidying up. I am encouraged this will work. An added bonus: my ankles and legs get nicely stretched, which helps a lot in moving around the rest of the day. Doing it at night when they are already swollen and tired has felt useless.
3. I am watching Pluribus. (Trying out the rich text cut tag, let's see if it works.) I really like the show. I do like the apocalyptic-type shows. I enjoy seeing out regular world empty or reimagined in unexpected ways. I very much appreciate that it isn't violent or gory. That always spoils shows for me.
It's funny, I started watching because my cousin's kid messaged me after the 3rd/4th episode to say that the main character reminded her of me. I don't quite get why, unless it's the blond hair. I did tell Jessie that it might be that she just keeps going, keeps plowing ahead and finding ways to get done what she needs to do. But otherwise she is pretty much a stubborn misanthrope.
Whom I really like. I like the way she talks. She is so direct and sharp. No extra ums or flowery phrases, without tempering it to the person. She just says what she wants, the way she wants to say it. It's the opposite of how she writes, with loads of extra adjectives and expressive verb choices and lots of descriptions of quivering breaths.
I have watched it all the way through. Now I am going back and rewatching each episode and listening to the podcast. I wish it was more of a recap pod instead of a behind-the-scenes technical look, but it's also fun listening to that too.
4. Several of my husband's gifts were gadgets for the car. I do drive a LOT, so what he got will actually help. There's a nice garbage bag/backpack type thing to use instead of throwing it all in the passenger foot well. A tray that sits in the passenger seat that makes it more level and has a couple of places to put small items so they don't slide around. Lastly, an automatic tire inflator, which I need since my tires appear to be very sensitive to weather changes and are low again.
5. I hated Florida, and always will, but I miss my mother's house and my father's neighborhood. I miss how the neighbors were out and active, stopping by the dog run gate in the morning to say hello to Molly, joining us on our daily walks, just hanging out in the street and talking. I get why my dad spent so much time in the garage, overseeing all the goings-on but also being a leader of it. None of my neighbors are like that here. They give friendly waves and that's about it. Their neighborhood felt like a community, like the one we lived in growing up.
I also really miss my mom's house. It had so much light and openness, and breezes across the house all the time. I went into some of the neighbors' houses, and theirs didn't have that. They had heavy furniture, or closed blinds, or just the set up was tighter and darker; Theirs felt like a house that could be in Mt. Prospect or Kenosha but just happened to be in Florida. My mom deliberately decorated and designed the house to maximize that warm resort feel. There was such peace and calm there. I don't want to recreate that here -- my small house is better suited to be full of plants and pottery and snuggly dogs -- but I definitely miss what she built there for them and for their guests.
I miss it for them, and honestly I miss it for me. I spent almost five months down there -- three were just me and Molly -- and it was therapeutic as much as it was traumatic. Even when my sister was torturing me via text during that time, and oh God that part was very traumatic, I could still open the sliders to the lanai and listen to the breeze flapping the flag on the dock.
Or maybe that's just winter boredom talking.
no subject
Tea I have always liked so I hope you find some you like. :-)
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I've found Adagio teas (some of which I do like) to be pretty strong and their base black tea fairly tannic, so fiddling with shortened brew times might help. Good luck! As C said, I hope you eventually find some you like. : )
no subject
I am still laughing over “a richer flavor of dried grass.” I wish you luck on your quest.
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Ha ha ha Ted Lasso. It's good you have a sampler. You may locate something you like yet. I will say you seem like someone who may like a more dessert-leaning tea. The tea nerd at work recommended this to me, and she was super right.
You're a water girl. I imagine you got a lot of good energy from the canal and from the pool.