Our carpenter and his Significant Other spent the day finishing two projects: the closet in my office and a giant shelf unit in Ron’s.

What hard-working, upbeat people.

We’ll work on organizing and decluttering tomorrow.

The people at the Food Bank of Western Mass loaded me up with an outrageous amount of fresh produce, so much so that I was able to share it with the Food Project and the Harper Center.

I did have a vegetarian lunch at the Project. Microwaved sweets and steamed corn and beans for us at home.

Our carpenter took the day off. We’re hoping to see him tomorrow.

Ron cleaned the gutter over the garage and played fetch with Jett. He is cutting up the tree branch that fell the other day.

Looks like the hibiscus are about done. What a great display this year!

I took a nap this afternoon. Not sure why I’m so tired.

Cancelled GEICO auto coverage this afternoon. Waiting for Homesite to reply to my request for cancellation. Printed off Nationwide insurance info for the cars.

Mike the carpenter/contractor did mudding today. I’m keeping the fans on all night so we can paint tomorrow.

I’m pretty sure I have the correct paint, the one on most of the walls here. Never asked the hardware stores to keep track, live and learn.

Mike loves Jett! Wants a dog like him. This is a guy with five cats.

Ron had an accident this morning. I brought him to urgent care. He needs to collect a sample if it happens again; we’d need to bring it to BMC for testing.

Fortunately, we’d stocked up on a generic Pepto so he could get started on that.

No cooking today. Had a salad and a peach for lunch. I don’t think Ron had anything but some cheese and crackers while watching the news. Food shopping. Even with two visits to food pantries we still needed groceries, like coffee and half price muffins for breakfast.

Yesterday, September 15, I woke Ron up from a very sound sleep at 7:12 am so we could keep his appointment for laser eye surgery.

We got there late but he was still the first patient.

I’m convinced that the people in that practice don’t like women.

After dropping Ron off instead of going home I decided to park. Had brought Jett with me. The receptionist, who kept doing paperwork while we talked, said he’d be done in 20 minutes. The nurses were cagey, gave me the “just a few minutes” BS. It turned out to be more like half an hour, total of an hour from our arrival, which is what I’d expected in the first place. Three different instructions for when to pick him up.

I laundered a bunch of pillows from the Congo tag sale. Took forever to dry. Checked the carpenter’s reference. Got his $400 “start work” deposit from the credit union.

The carpenter dropped off the materials for the new closet and collected his cash.

I made a good stew with eggplant, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic and seasonings.

Today we moved furniture in the bedroom. I emptied the shelves in my office. Too much stuff!

Brought home a bag of groceries from the Williamstown pantry and more from the Bible Church pantry. Put them away, taking care with the perishables. Stopped at the credit union for $200 that I’d promised the carpenter.

Speaking of the carpenter/contractor he did a remarkable job today, especially since he was working by himself. He did the framing AND the sheet rock. He added reinforcement to the top of the closet to support the ceiling. His girlfriend came straight from work to help him move bedroom furniture. It looked good – I could start to see what Betsy meant by a “beautiful room’ – until I piled odds and ends from both rooms on almost every flat surface. It’ll be nice I finish decluttering.

Didn’t do much after that besides watch the news, throw a frozen grilled cheese sandwich in the microwave for Ron and unload the dishwasher. I’m beyond tired.

I’ve become obsessive about searching for free things, both food and goods.

So when I saw on Facebook yesterday that the Congo was going to be open this morning, I grudgingly hauled myself down there just before noon.

Picked up a pile of really nice bed pillows, more picture frames, a light fixture that might work with the floor lamp from yesterday and two softballs for the boys next door.

Hired a carpenter to add a closet to my study and possibly provide support to one of the attic beams. He recommended a pulldown staircase for a second project.

Ron cut a big tree limb that had fallen on the fence in the back.

Jett had diarrhea. Seems to be a family thing with the boys.

Picked up dryer balls at Dollar General. Pillows are getting washed and dried. Did laundry, changed sheets.

Talked with the people at the surgery center about Ron’s appointment tomorrow and “bought” us an extra half hour.

I went to the First Congo Yard Sale on Saturday and picked up a drying rack for $3 that I’ll use to hold the big bed linens when we change the sheets.

Got a couple of groceries for free at Big Y. Wellness card works there, thankfully.

Ron had an accident yesterday. It cleaned up pretty well although washing the clothing resulted in piles of small debris, possibly from slippers. Or not. Ron eats a lot of seeds.

I stopped by Jaeschke’s (yes-keys) Orchard to find out when the Jonagolds, my favorites, will be harvested. Old man was hostile and rude, oldish woman was polite, formal and helpful. October.

Then to the Old Stone Mill to check out bikes. I was not successful and the people didn’t instruct me particularly well. I did find some good info online**, though, so might try again.

Today we went back to the Congo Yard Sale for the free day. I grabbed a floor lamp that I’d seen yesterday that needs a top shade, two decorative pots and several picture frames. Was amazed at the quality of the items that were given away. Lots of people got great deals.

We bought Pepto, literally half price, at Walgreens. Just in case.

**Steering, not gravity: A bicycle stays upright because of its front-loaded steering geometry, which makes the front wheel automatically turn slightly in the direction the bike is leaning. [1, 2]
Moving the wheels under you: When you feel yourself tilt to the left, you must gently steer or roll the bike to the left so the wheels move back under your center of mass. [1, 2]
Motion is required: You cannot balance a stationary bike because you cannot use steering to catch a lean. [1]

**Common Mistakes When Learning

Not enough speed: Trying to move at a snail’s pace makes balancing much harder. [1, 2, 3]

Looking down: Staring at your front wheel or your feet ruins your forward momentum and sense of direction.

Tension: Stiffening your arms and body stops you from making the tiny, unconscious micro-corrections needed to stay upright.

Wrong seat height: If your seat is too high, fear takes over; if it is too low, it is awkward to pedal smoothly.

**The “Glider” Method to Regain Balance

1. Lower the Seat & Remove the Pedals

• Drop the saddle: Lower your bike seat so that both of your feet can rest completely flat on the ground while you are sitting.
• Take off the pedals (Optional but highly recommended): If you or a bike shop can temporarily remove the pedals, do it. It stops them from banging into your shins and lets your legs move freely.

2. Practice Flintstone-ing (Scooting)

• Scoot forward: Find a flat, open, paved area like an empty parking lot or a quiet basketball court.
• Walk the bike: Sit on the saddle and just “walk” the bike forward with your feet.
• Look ahead: Keep your eyes up and look 20 to 30 feet in front of you. Do not look down at the handlebars.

3. Start Gliding

• Push and lift: Once you feel comfortable walking the bike, take bigger, longer strides. Push off and lift your feet just an inch or two off the ground.
• Feel the lean: Let the bike glide. If it starts to lean to the left, gently steer a tiny bit to the left to straighten it out. If you feel like you are going to fall, simply put your feet right back down.

4. Reintroduce Pedaling

One foot at a time: Place one foot on a pedal, push off with the other, glide, and then bring the second foot up to start pedaling.

Put the pedals back on: Once you can glide for 5 to 10 seconds smoothly without putting your feet down, your brain has officially remembered how to balance.

Up early, went back to bed later on for an hour or two. Did a few exercises.

Ron had an accident.

Picked up Ron’s robe at Savvy Hive. The seamstress did a fine job, exactly as she’d promised: she covered the tear with a neat patch anchored with invisible stitches.

Got groceries at BigY.

Enjoyed being outside for a bit, looked up some of our weeds in my new plant guide.

The manager of our Walmart Pharmacy department administered flu shots at the Senior Center this morning. We got there just in time to be jabbed.

Picked up “Angels In America” at the library and dropped off paper recycling at the transfer station, then redeemables at BFair in North Adams.

Picked up bread at Wild Oats. They were out of our usual so got sourdough with seeds.

Leftovers for lunch, pasta and spicy roasted vegetables. Carrot cake for dessert.

Took Jett for a ride to close-by errands. Bought a terrific book at Wild Soul River, a compendium of local medicinal plants. Bjorn had mentioned it in a video.

I picked up cheese and my preferred body wash at Dollar General.

Stopped by Remedy Hall to gift a handsome photo of the Hall “Founders” to Dan and Andi. Dan heard Jett bark and his face lit up. Dan walked to the car to see him and shared an anecdote and photos of Rugby at Cole Field barking at kites.

I was very proud of Jett, let him out to run around a little and he came right back when I called. You’d think this dog was well-trained!

Made the eggplant parm – 30 minutes at 400 degrees – and it turned out great. Per the recipe, I arranged the eggplant slices in stacks of layers. That made it much easier to serve.

After a lot of searching, bought the Kindle version of Part of the Solution by Elana Michelson. She was one of two authors who interested me from the event at the North Adams Library. I missed the event but researched the authors. Ironic that none of the libraries has her book which is a pretty good read. Sorry I missed meeting her.

Ron has complained for the last couple of days that he can’t hear me. I figured his hearing aids needed adjustment, but he’s not willing to drive to Albany and back for an evaluation.

I found out that the Omicron hearing aids, both of which he seems to have misplaced, could be reordered, but he’d need a doctor’s referral, an exam and about $1600 for a new set.. That didn’t go over well either.

Turns out he has a Beltone app on his phone. With a little poking around, I was able to pair his hearing aids with the app and increase the volume. That seems to make him happy for now.

Thankfully, the new water bill is in line with prior ones.

Ron’s new bookshelf is here.

Breaded and baked eggplant for assembly tomorrow. Roasted corn while the oven was hot.

Loo rolls will be more expensive because of the Trump tariff on Canadian paper and wood pulp. Our household’s definition of “trump” is truly appropriate.

Yesterday I made a carrot cake, double recipe, and a roasted root vegetable train wreck. Ron made Walmart corn on the cob for supper. Every bit as good as farm stand corn and less than half the price.

In the afternoon we took a drive to Tanner’s Farm in Clarksburg. Jett was very interested in the chickens.

Today I served soup from leftovers and a can of cream of mushroom. Except for Jett who is fed nutritious meals, it was everyone for themselves for supper.

Removed spent foliage and stems from the daylilies around the light pole and trimmed the holly bushes.

Ron went to Walmart to pick up a script for drops he will need after his laser surgery later this month.