Rained today. Good, the plants needed it.

I’ve been killing ramps, not realizing they are edible. They are the wild garlic that grows everywhere.

Today is Ron’s 80th. I gave him a Grateful Dead magazine bought for him some weeks ago. Threw it at him, in fact, because he tried to undo work I started earlier stripping the bed for laundry.

I got him set up to renew his driver’s license later today at the North Adams RMV. The online HP assistant helped me set up the printer for the new network so Ron could take the application with him.

Ron thought I needed to go with him because his license expired in 2026.

Sadly, Ron neglected to bring a form of payment to the Registry. Yes, I’d told him he needed that. Rather than going to the credit union’s North Adams branch for cash, he came all the way back here for a checkbook. Very aggravating, especially since he refuses to understand that he needs to set up his debit cards for use and won’t ask for help from the bank.

He did eventually get his license renewed.

I got the sheets changed.

Still in night clothes. Started an invoice for MRS and realized I’d forgotten one of Nicole’s requests, so have been working on MRS. Managed to crash the site and no idea why. Seems to be working now.

We are pretty broke right now because of property taxes and cost of heating oil. So, kind of a lousy birthday for Ron. We did have ice cream cones and lemon cake for dessert, and I heated up leftover stir fry and rice for supper.

Jett seems to have figured out that he needs to bark at us to be understood. At least he did that this morning when he wanted to take a leak. Smart dog.

I was able to get a transaction to run in a stored procedure for MRS. It updates two tables. Have been working on that for countless days.

Meanwhile, Ron had a minor bump in to another car at Walmart – I strongly suggested he not go, should have listened – and dealt with a broken bottle when the bin with the returnables fell out of the truck.

Better air today, still not great, but I was able to be outside for a little while to pick up trumps.

Jett and I went out earlier today but I had to go back in the house right away because the pollen got to me. Couldn’t stop coughing and it felt like a hot poker stuck in my left eye. Requested a refill of Pataday.

Hours after taking an antihistamine, I was groggy but able to go outside and do some watering. Put cayenne pepper at the foot of the azalea to discourage Jett from leaking there.

Changed the batteries in the mini split remote. Made all the difference.

Gas prices have gone up 50% since the start of the conflict with Iran. Feeling for Peter, Bonnie and James.

Been looking at tofu recipes until my eyes watered. Opted for an under-seasoned stir fry with frozen vegetables. It’ll be better tomorrow.

Jett bit Ron again. He was off his food today out of stubbornness. I might get him a Kong to chew.

Nice photo of the house on Zillow

Last night I pried myself out of my living room chair and arrived around eight to the Williams College Jazz Orchestra spring concert, and what a good one it was! Outstanding program and the usual hard-to-believe-these-are-college-students level of excellence.

Ron had an accident earlier in the day so was hesitant to leave the house. Unfortunate because he would have enjoyed the performance.

Haven’t done anything useful today except make a huge batch of oatmeal with blueberries, order groceries for Ron to pick up at Walmart and vacuum the living room carpet and rug.

The hoses are in a terrible state. I can’t find the watering wand. It’s dreary and cold outside and I’d be perfectly happy to eat lemon cake and drink tea for the afternoon.

After adding a lot of new error-handling and some database field expansions, I dropped off Andi’s computer yesterday.

Did some maintenance on my laptop today freeing up unneeded files and cached RAM.

Learned about a new very helpful feature in Greylock Mobile and thanked their Tech Support boss for help received yesterday. They expedited processing of Ron’s check to beef up the account I use to pay our property taxes.

Yesterday Ron transferred funds from Rockland to Greylock. He wasn’t sure where the money went; it was to his personal account. There was no info in his activity center to show where the funds went. I was a madwoman until Rockland helped figure it out.

Today I dropped by the Mobile Food Pantry, which is open from 10:45 to 11:45 twice a month. I was on time but by then they’d run out of food. I got to talk with the truck driver, who was very helpful.

Since I was in North Adams, I stopped by the Food Project for lunch. They had stacks of meals from Williams College, including many veg options. I brought home two and some cake as well as a bag of wheat rolls.

Drove by Paretsky to check out the May Day event; just a lecture, so I didn’t stop.

Later Jett and I went to Town Hall to drop off a check for the taxes. Then returned a book at the Library.

Watered the new daylilies and mixed a bucket of heavy reclaimed soil with peat moss and a little water. Added an inch or so of the soil to the bed, then mulched. As a result, I’ve come closer to consuming a lifetime’s peck of dirt.

Made a sandwich of thin sliced Dave’s bread, cheddar and cabbage for lunch. Ron did a Vermont Liquor Store run for wine and beer.

Thought about attending a job fair that’s specifically for companies with second chances/CORI-friendly hiring policies. Found that one can do a search on Indeed and other online resources for jobs with companies like these: a check on enlightened corporate values or a suspicion that they want to hire people cheaply, as in Scarlett O’Hara’s wood mill in “Gone With The Wind”?

I decided not to attend the fair because I really can’t work and take care of a soon to be 80 year old husband and a sweet dog who is a fussy eater and inclined to mischief.

Pleasure to see King Charles on tv yesterday. I noticed he put his right hand in his pocket quite often and thought it might be to relieve pain since it did look swollen. Turns out that’s probably true.

Got a good deal on bare root daylilies that arrived a couple of days ago.

I forget if I soaked them in water today or yesterday but in any event, the twenty or so big ones are now planted. Also five little ones that I stuck in a pot. I have two tiny ones that I’m not sure where to place but maybe I’ll get inspired tomorrow.

After thinking it over, I put them by the deck stairs. Covered them with wire to discourage Jett, who suddenly decided he likes to dig there. May have broken a couple but so long as they take root, if they don’t bloom this year, they will the next.

I forgot about the sheets until 8:30, but we got the laundry put away and the bed made by 9.

Happy that the outdoor faucet made it through the winter. One of the hoses did not, another did.

I made potato chips and roasted cabbage in the oven. Both came out quite well. After we devoured the chips and I put a dent in the cabbage, we had ice cream for supper.

I tried flipping all the circuit breaker pairs that weren’t labeled. Something could have worked, the lower flap which had been open, closed, but still the unit wouldn’t run.

Around 6 an engineer from Blue Ridge answered my earlier call for help and instructed me to push the reset button, once. It works now.

This morning Jett kept me company while I dug up the last of the old roses. This afternoon he kept me company again when I spread mulch on the corner garden.

In the meantime, I added an error table and page to the Remedy app. Ashamed that I haven’t done this before.

Stunning day today, looks like another good one tomorrow.

Binged on a Netflix series that I really liked and Ron hated.

No luck figuring out why the mini split didn’t start. Checked the outside unit for a switch (none) and the circuit breaker box.

Ron made pancakes for lunch and raked the yard for sticks.

I did a small shop, mostly dairy products.

Yesterday I loaded the truck with four big leaf bags and brought them to the transfer station.

Also attended the writers’ slam at the Senior Center and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tulips are very nice this year, at least the ones that have bloomed. A bunch are either late or got eaten; we’ll know in a month or so.

Productive morning.

My eye exam went very well.

Ron drove us to Rutland to pick up the knitted hat that I won in an auction for Dismas House; they provide shelter and support to people making the transition from jail/prison and trauma.

We stopped at Remedy Hall afterwards so I could pick up the computer for debugging. Then to Spirits for weekend provisions.