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 for “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 following his laser surgery later this month.

Vacuumed the living room. Emptied the vacuum cleaner which was full, made a mess: what a career.

Dusted the living room; of course, before I vacuumed, duh. Moved the power strips behind the tv.

Made oatmeal at breakfast. Prepared actual food from pantry gleanings for Sunday lunch: sauteed squash, tomatoes, onion, green peppers, seasoned with garlic powder and Italian seasoning over last night’s noodles. Tomato soup and grilled cheese for supper. Hat trick.

Day 9 for Jett’s ears. Looking good as far as I can tell. He slept in this morning. Chewing on his left front paw. Some discharge from his left eye. One of the boys ventured into the yard to pick up a ball and Jett ran up to him but came running when called: good dog!

Picked 6 beans. That’s what happens when you plant in an area that doesn’t have enough sun. We’ll eat ’em.

Thanks, Trump.

We have half a tank so no rush to order. Wrote to Preite about pre-season budget or pre-buy options. I’m guessing that once again, we will miss being eligible for LIHEAP.

Thinking about joining the Williamstown Community Choice Power Supply Program. Decided to hold off as long as our solar credits based on National Grid’s current supply rate continue.

Cleaned and medicated Jett’s ears.

Placed our first delivery order with Dollar General, special on Diet Pepsi.

Made noodles with sauce and carrots for supper. Ron was tired and confused so I did the dishes and kitchen cleanup.

Watched a Stephen King film that I really enjoyed, “Thinner”. Not Ron’s favorite genre.

Glorious weather today. Comfortable in the house.

I returned a transfer to Ron that he made to my personal Rockland account.

Got to the Food Bank at Brien Center in plenty of time. No fruit but nice vegetables.

Returned chic-lit books at the North Adams Library. Keeping Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

Drove to the Western Summit for mountain range viewing. Tourists are here, of course, it’s Labor Day Weekend.

Changed the car appointment at Carpinello’s from the Corolla 20k to checking out the rear differential on the Tacoma.

No deals on bread anywhere, not at the Food Pantry and no day-olds at Great Falls.

Jett’s ears look much better. This is Day 7. Three to go. There is still a discharge coming from his right eye, though.

Ron did a transfer station run.

Repotted the big crimson geranium. Might be too little too late but worth a try.

We did a laundry today. It feels like I did some other house chore but can’t remember it.

It’s the start of the ugly times for the gardens, especially those with not a lot of sun so it seems.

Jett and I were out cleaning up the back yard in case Ron wanted to mow. He’s done the front already today, figuring to beat the rain this afternoon. Removed dead leaves, trumps and a pile of mushy hibiscus gone-byes.

I called Reynolds about their bill which I haven’t seen.

Called K-M to see if they have a copy of my last Tacoma appointment on July 14 or 15. This was about the air conditioner. We’d asked Mark at Berkshire Transmissions about this but that kind of work is not his bailiwick.

K-M made a copy of the parts order list for me – very much appreciated. Turns out they can get everything on the order. Some will need to come from out of state. Why they said they couldn’t get the parts is a mystery. In any event, we’ll put this off for now. They assured me that the condenser isn’t needed for the defroster or the heater. So much for lousy information I’ve been given in the past!

Ordered a device to open the painted-shut garage windows.

Cleaned Jett’s ears. The left, which was bad, is now better. The right still has a way to go.

Ron mowed the back as well as the front.

S&S pizza for supper. I’d bought the wrong kind – barbecue chicken with cilantro – but I removed the chicken and it was good anyway.

Good news from our solar company: we got a credit for under-production.

Submitted a claim for Jett’s eye and ear visit and treatment to Spot Pet.

Poor Ron, I shared some research on how Venezuelan oil differs from US oil, how it is going to be used to refill our reserves and what we do with oil reserves anyway. It’s a twisted tale and it took a while to figure it out, assuming I’ve got it right at all.

We were listening to Heather Cox Richardson, but this was one of the most disconnected lectures we’ve heard. She seemed to imply that the Trump Administration has cut back on funds to rural hospitals because they don’t care of the people live or die. That makes no sense to me since rural communities are strongly pro-Trump. Seems more a case of collateral damage due to the Project 2025 War To Enrich The 1%.

I told Ron this issue affects him personally. He had an aunt, Edna Belle Todd, who died at age 4 in July 1906 from a tragic accident. The Peterborough Hospital, which would have been the closest medical facility, didn’t open until June 21, 1923. His family would have been among those rural Americans who were underserved as is the case today.

Day 4 for Jett. Canned soup and rolls for lunch, cereal for breakfast. Trying to use up what we have before the food pantry pickup tomorrow. Enjoying music throughout the house.

Day 5: finished with Jett’s eye drops. Thank goodness: he hated them. Five more days for his ears.

Got to the Food Pantry, nice provisions, as always.

Did a Stop & Shop run for ice cream, cookies, peanut butter for Ron, biscuits, Rao’s marinara sauce, hummus, chips. Surprisingly, prices were pretty similar to Aldi’s.

Tried to reach K-M for info on the last truck visit, phone kept ringing.

Picked up books on hold at the Library.

Swept and removed cobwebs from the front and back landings. Cleaned bird debris from the garage door. Cleaned up Jett’s vomit in the living room.

Signed us up for Nationwide auto and homeowners insurance for a savings of $50/month, which coincidentally covers our fee for cable. Let’s hope we don’t need to file any claims.

Ordered a wall unit from Macy’s for Ron’s room. Greylock kept blocking my card. Fortunately they make it easy to restore the card without human intervention.

Stopped off to see Andy, who was very upset, 3-month anniversary of her dog’s passing. One of the volunteers was loading piles of clothing into her car for washing and drying. She does have some great people helping her!

Roasted the four ears of corn from the Pantry for supper. Watched some cool videos. Last night we saw a fine British film set in World War I on Netflix “The Choral”. The cast includes Ralph Fiennes and Alun Armstrong, whom we know from “New Tricks”.

Jett got his eye drops and ear meds.

Having measured the space in Ron’s “tiny room” I did some looking around online for shelving.

Ron picked up a new battery for the bathroom scale; it works.

Got both SONOS speakers set up.

Touched up the paint in the bedroom.

Checked out prices of plexi for the doll collection buffet in the living room.

Oven roasted corn, tomatoes and beans for supper. Cinnamon rolls for dessert.

Trying a baking soda/hydrogen peroxide mix on baked-on grease.

I was able to get a same-day appointment at 1:30 with the vet to check out Jett’s left ear. It doesn’t seem to bother him but it’s nasty.

We were expecting friends of Ron’s to drop by so did a little house and yardwork.

Ron had broken down a pile of boxes yesterday for the transfer station paper recycling. He put three pieces of unused stereo equipment in the garage. Last night I cleaned and set up a little table in the living room to hold the phone, modem, router, Sonos.

Did garden and deck cleanup this morning. Gave the bathrooms a wipe. Washed the deck door. The rest is what it is. Our house is comfortable but not usually company ready, and it won’t be today.

Put gas in the car and since we were early, made a couple of stops on the way to Pittsfield, but didn’t buy anything.

Jett has a yeast infection in his ears and conjunctivitis in his right eye. The latter was unexpected. I came home with three meds and a huge bill.

Stopped at the A Frame for baked goods for tea.

Meanwhile, our guests arrived at 2 but Ron didn’t hear them. They went back to their friend’s house. We will make plans to see them, maybe in Marlboro. We have to get to a Rockland branch and it’s not that much further than Fitchburg.

Ron almost ran me over today. Twice.

We were trying to park for a local event. Ron chose to pull in to a crowded lot after I told him not to.

I offered to help guide him because it was pretty tight quarters. Ron was able to back up to a spot where he thought he could turn around.

I was standing behind him. To our right, a gentleman started to apologize “Did I take your space?” and then started screaming. I thought he was psycho but he was trying to save me from being run over! “He could have killed you!” “Who is that??” he asked. “My husband.” “He shouldn’t be driving!”

As Ron worked his way around, a lady with a child in her arms watched in horror. I said “You have the right idea.” She said sympathetically “He could have run you over.”

We never got to the event.