Weekly Ephemera #66

• A few health related things this week.  First I had a dentist visit this week.  I have a tooth that's been bothering me since the last week of our Camino last May.  Turns out it's time for root canal number three.  I do have the option of an extraction but I'm not ready for that yet ... if ever.  Nothing like another $1,000 bill ...ugh.
  
  Mom went to the pain doctor this week to get a shot in her lower spine.  We are all hoping for some relief for her back pain.
• I received my federal retirement annuity account password this week.  This means my application for my Federal retirement annuity has been accepted.  Checks start getting deposited next month.  Yesterday I got a letter with the actual annuity amount.  The amount is a bit smaller than I expected but I didn't have the right numbers to calculate the annuity amount (shame on me for not keeping the fifteen year old records I needed) and my guesstimates were off.  Still a good amount and any amount of money is welcome.  For those who are curious, the annuity is one of three parts of my Federal retirement.  The other parts are a 401(K) and Social Security.
• I walked three times this week.  I decided to do longer walks closer together.  I usually spread out longer hikes with either rest days or shorter, around the block, hikes in between.  This week I did a four mile followed by two eight mile hikes over three days.  It felt better doing it this way.  For the week I walked 21.4 miles (34.4 km).
  
  This coming week will be a hard one.  We are experiencing a five to six day heat wave with heat indexes over 100℉ (38℃).  Not sure it would be wise for me to walk in this weather.
• We had some more visitors to our backyard this week.  The first was, what appears to be, a juvenile Blue Jay.  They are common around here but are rare in our backyard for some reason.
  
  

  

  A suspected juvenile Blue Jay.

  The second announced itself by ringing the chimes on our deck.  I looked outside to see if it was windy and saw a face looking back at me.  A raccoon had climbed up on the fountain on the deck and rang the chimes (I assume it thought it was a bird feeder).  I banged on the slider and it moved away a few feet.  I opened the door and yelled at it, trying to get it to get off our deck, but it didn't seem phased.  I then realized that it could run around me and get into the house so I went back in and closed the slider.  I watched it explore the chairs, chiminea, and chinese garden stools we have on our deck.  It eventually left the deck after satisfying its curiosity.

Rocky raccoon climbing out of the chiminea onto a deck chair.

• We continued planning our Rome trip booking tours to the colosseum, catacombs, Vatican, and other places we want to see in the city.  We have most things nailed down.  We have a few things that do not need a tour, ticket, or guide that we haven't scheduled yet.  Those places will probably be fit in over the three days before the Wife's student's ordination events.