Weekly Ephemera #109

A relatively quiet week with things moving in the right direction:

• Mom had Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy visits this week.  They went well.  More of the Medicaid paperwork fell into place.
• My car after being totaled, then repairable, finally settled on totaled.  I discovered that body shops will not touch a totaled car due to liability issues.  I can understand this.
  
  The Wife found me a car on Carmax that looked good.  We ordered it on Wednesday and I picked it up on Friday.  It is a 2014 Toyota Prius Four with 85K miles on the odometer.  It has more bells and whistles than my 2016 Prius - Backup camera, electric adjustable heated seats, keyless ignition.  The car is a little bit bigger than my old one - mostly longer with a bigger trunk which is nice.  The only thing I don't like are the displays.  My old car had a lot of information consolidated on one screen while the new one has the information spread across multiple screens.   I'll just have to get used to that.
  
  Tomorrow I'll register it.  The only thing left will be to wait for the insurance payout check which should come in a few days.  One of the three big things on our plate will be finished.  Yay!
  
  Also, no more sharing a car with the Wife.  That was a bit irritating for the both of us.
• Next on our plate is getting the hail damage fixed on our house.  Our contractor came by this week to take pictures so we can appeal the insurance company's damage assessment.  I expect another visit from an adjuster and a larger check.
• I walked twice this week for a total of 18.4 miles (29.6 km).  My legs are still feeling it a bit but I am happy to get out of the house and forget about the world for a few hours.  Also saw two foxes (or one fox twice ... not sure).  First time I saw a fox in our neighborhood since we moved here sixteen years ago.
• Olympics has once again dominated out television watching but that is coming to an end this weekend.  This week it's time to catch up with a few shows I've been putting off until I was in the mood.

Music: Melissa Etheridge With Jewel At The Astro

On Wednesday the Wife and I went out to catch a concert at the Astro Amphitheater.  We arrived early and had dinner at the City Pub across from the venue.  It felt like a long time since our last time eating out but it really was only a couple weeks.

The Astro Amphitheater was the same venue I went to for The Offspring.  The difference was, for The Offspring there were no chairs, but for Melissa Etheridge chairs were set up - I suspect because of an older more mature crowd.  We had great seats near the center towards the front with a front on view of the stage.  It was a bit warm but not as bad as a few days earlier and it became near perfect once the sun went down.  This is a good thing since the Wife doesn't handle heat well - she came close to biting it but got better as the temperature dropped.

Jewel rocked the joint.

The first act was Jewel.  She's had a long and successful career.  I haven't followed it that closely but I do remember her first hit "Who Will Save Your Soul" back in 1995.

She went through a lot of her hits, often asking the audience to make suggestions.  There were a lot of Jewel fans including the couple behind us singing nearly every word.

She brought out her teenage son who played the drums on a couple covers including a Tom Petty song.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Jewel but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed her set.

The main show was Melissa Etheridge.  Now, something weird (not in the current political meaning of the word) was going on.  Both the Wife and I were very sure that we'd seen her perform at Lilith Fair in 1998.  We'd gone to that festival during our Southwest vacation.  Turns out Melissa Etheridge has never performed at Lilith Fair (this link to Xitter proves she hasn't).  We were both so sure that we've seen her but cannot for our lives remember when or if we actually saw her.  I found a place that listed all her concerts and it seems we've never seen her before.  Very strange.

Melissa Etheridge at our first Melissa Etheridge concert.

Her performance was awesome. She can play the guitar ... and drums ... and piano ... and harmonica ... and she can sing.  I knew a lot of the songs and we really enjoyed her show.

We were in the proper age range for this concert but I was on the wrong side of the gender ratio.  Far fewer men than women.

Photos I took with my crappy phone can be found in my 2024-08-07 Melissa Etheridge w/ Jewel, The Astro, La Vista, NE Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #108

•  Mom is back home and she seems happy.  She was released from rehab on Tuesday.  We hired a care service to come in for three hours each morning to help her get going and do chores around the house she is not capable of doing easily.
  
  Physical Therapy at home started on Thursday.  On Saturday she called me and her hip was in terrible pain.  I took he to the emergency room and, after waiting over three hours to see the doctor, it was determined that is was most likely strained muscles from the PT she had.  The hip joint looked great and there was no evidence of infection.  I think the PT guy had Mom move muscles that hadn't been moved in a long time.
• The repair of our car was delayed due to the body shop reporting more damage.  Still looks like it won't be totaled which is good.  Still, the two supplemental reports the body shop sent to our insurance adjuster delayed everything by a week so we are probably looking at the third or fourth week of August before we are back to being a two car household.  Fingers crossed.
• I actually got a walk in on Friday.  Since I hadn't walked for three weeks I kept it short at 5 miles (8 km).  I felt pretty good so I'll lengthen my walks this coming week.
• The Olympics dominated the TV again and will continue to until the closing ceremonies are over.
• Things are starting to appear normal.  We still have a ways to go until average levels of normalcy are achieved, but it does look like things are moving in a generally forward direction.

Book: Becky Chambers' "A Prayer For The Crown-Shy"

The sixth book read this year was Becky Chamber's novella "A Prayer for the Crown-Shy" a sequel to her "Psalm for the Wild-Built".  While the first book had a human entering the wilds of the robots, the second book brings the robot to the human world.

The book is the story of a friendship.  A friendship that started in the first book but becomes more solid as the human and robot travel together.  Like the other books by this author this is a book of characters, not action.  It is a journey of discovery.  A travelling meditation upon friendship and the meaning of need, want, and being okay.

I enjoyed the simplicity of this book.  You just traveled alongside these two individuals listening to their musings.

I gave this book four stars out of five on Goodreads.  Thank you for the gentle read.

Book: Taylor Lorenz's "Extremely Online"

The fifth book of the year for me was Taylor Lorenz's "Extremely Online".  The book follows the rise of the internet 'influencer'.  An influencer is someone who uses their social media presence to influence the buying habits and style trends of their followers.  This is done to make money for the influencer and for the products they promote.

I have personally looked down on influencer culture.  This book didn't change my opinion on them much at all and, it should be noted, that is not the purpose of this book.  Being an influencer, while making a lot of money - millions of dollars in some cases - is not an easy profession.  You are constantly trying to one up your competition and one upping yourself.  Social media abuse along with long hours producing internet content often results in burnout.

The biggest surprise I had reading this book were all the social media sites I'd never heard of  before.  I consider myself internet savvy but I now realize there is a whole world online that I have never encountered.  The more I read the more I think I was lucky not to discover this world sooner.

I gave this book four stars out of five on Goodreads.  I learned something which is always a good thing.

Weekly Ephemera #107

• Most of the week I spent chasing after documents needed to get Mom qualified for Medicaid.  Mom's piling system is not much better than mine.  At one point my head was buzzing so much I just laid down on the floor and stared up at the spinning fan for a while in an attempt to clear my head.  I still don't have everything but I'm getting closer.
  
  We are also spending Mom's money down on some essentials.  It's kinda sad that, to qualify for Medicaid, you have to be poor.  Our medical insurance system is a freaking disgrace.
  
  Mom had a visit with the neurosurgeon.  Everything looks great.  She no longer needs to wear the cervical collar.  The bond fire will be glorious (JK).
  
  Met with the Comfort Keepers, a home aid company, to organize someone to visit Mom to help her with tasks around the house.  We expect Mom will be returning to her home early this coming week.
  
• I called our homeowner's insurance agent to get a second adjuster out to look at our hail damage.  They want a report from our roofer before they do that.  Our roofer, not happy to be doing the insurance company's job, will be stopping by this week.
• The car insurance adjuster called and our car is officially fixable.  Yay!  I was worried it would be totaled and I would have to go car hunting.  Now it's a waiting game to see when I get my car back.
• On Friday the Deacon (formerly known as The Altar Boy) and his family stopped by on their way to a family vacation.  They were a nice distraction from all the mess we've been dealing with.
• As for what's on the boob tube, we are an all Olympics, all the time household.
• I'm hoping to go see "Deadpool & Wolverine" this week ... time willing.

Music: The Offspring With Stratejacket, Save Ferris, And The Urge At The Astro

Needing a break from all the craziness that is our life right now I went to a concert this week.  The venue, the Astro Amphitheatre, was a new one for me.  (I have been to a concert at the Astro Hall attached to the amphitheatre.)  Fortunately the weather was great for an outside concert.  The crowd mix was impressive from very young to my age.

The first warm up was Stratejacket.  They were decent with a lead singer that sounded a bit like Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong.  This is a young band formed just before Covid.  They have potential.

They were followed by Save Ferris.   This band was formed in 1995 so they have a longer history.  The fact they have a trumpet and trombone in their band is a plus in my book.  I liked their sound tho it was a bit hit and miss at times.

The last warm  up was The Urge.  This was probably my least favorite of the night.  They were a bit too hardcore for this old man.  The trumpet and sax did help a bit though.

The main event.

The Offspring came on and they were awesome.  Fantastic music, lots of energy, and lots of audience interaction.  During one song they threw out huge beach balls for the audience to play with.  Twice they fired off confetti cannons that covered the outside venue in colorful confetti.  I wouldn't want to be the person in charge of cleaning up after them.  The only downside was their set was a bit short at around seventy minutes.

Confetti shot number two.

It was a nice few hours of distraction that I needed.  As we left Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" was playing and the exiting audience was singing along.  Everyone was leaving happy.

Pictures can be found in my 2024-07-23 The Offspring w/ Stratejacket, Save Ferris & The Urge, The Astro, La Vista, NE Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #106

OᐧMᐧG.  Seriously?!?  What a freaking week.

• The insurance adjuster came by to evaluate the hail damage to our house.  After hearing what his report said, our roofer called the adjuster "an idiot!"  This coming week either our roofer will provide proof of additional damage, or I will ask our insurance agent for a visit from a different adjuster - this time our roofer will be on the roof with them.  I was hoping for an easy process but it doesn't seem like it's going to be that simple.  More to come.
• On Thursday we were leaving Omaha to visit family in Minnesota with a side trip to the "Dignity of Earth and Sky" statue in South Dakota.  This didn't start out well.  On the way out of the city a car on my right veered into my lane.  I responded by veering to my left to avoid a collision.  This resulted in our car being hit by a semi.  After a lot of spinning, cursing, and sheer panic the car came to a rest pointing nose in at the center median barrier,  We were not hurt (we would be sore the next day or two).  We were not hit by any other cars.  Our airbags didn't even go off - our car's nose scraped the barrier but didn't actually hit it head on.
  
  The asshole who swerved into our lane was never seen again.  The truck driver stopped and asked us if we were alright.  The back driver's side door was mangled and the wheel well scraped against the tire now.  Highway patrol stopped traffic so we could limp off the freeway into a parking lot where we called a tow truck.  The car was towed to a body shop.  We took an Uber back home, got in the Wife's car, and completed our trip as planned.
  
  When I filed my insurance claim over the phone and described the condition of the car, we were told it would very likely be considered totaled.  If this is confirmed then I'll be looking for a new car this week.
• Our visit to the "Dignity of Earth and Sky" statue was in the rain but we had enough of a break in the weather to get out of the car to get good pictures.  The statue is at a South Dakota visitor's center on a bluff overlooking the Missouri river.  The view from there, despite the rain, was amazing.  The rain precluded taking any good pictures of said view though.
  
  

  

  "Dignity of Earth and Sky"

  We followed the statue visit with a visit to the Atka Lakota Museum and Cultural Center in nearby Chamberlain.  The museum is located on the Saint Joseph's Indian School campus.  The museum covered Lakota history as well as school history.  Very interesting.  To support the museum and school we dropped some money in the gift shop.
  
  

  

  The inside of the school church.

  On the way out we visited the school Church.  The lights were off when we entered and the Wife started flicking switches on and off to see if she could get the lights on.  Turns out she was turning the confessional lights on and off.  We took some low light pictures before discovering the sign in the hall pointing out the button to light the church interior.  The 'picture' behind the altar is actually beadwork.
• In Minneapolis we had a good day visiting with family, watching a cousin's baseball game, and celebrating the seventieth birthday of the Matron of Honor and Best Man.  There were a lot of people, and dogs, at the party and despite being tired (and a bit sore from the accident) I recovered as the party went on and I enjoyed the people and conversation.
• Oh yeah ... Saturday was my Birthday too.  Whoopee.  With the house, Mom, and now the car I don't really feel like celebrating my new year.  I was hoping this weekend away would help me relax and relieve some of the stress I've been living with but I returned home with more on my shoulders.

Weekly Ephemera #105

I totally forgot about my weekly post this weekend.  I have to say that my brain has become a quagmire lately and I'm lucky if the right things bubble up at the right time for me to function.  It didn't help that the news exploded on Saturday.  Here is what happened last week:

• Last Monday a roofer stopped by to evaluate the hail damage.  Despite having hail resistant shingles, our roof had significant damage.  I filed a claim with our homeowner's insurance and an insurance adjuster will be here this week to inspect the damage.
• Thursday was our twenty-seventh wedding anniversary.  We celebrated by visiting an elder care attorney, setting up durable power of attorney for my Mom, and eating delicious burgers at Stella's Bar and Grill.  The elder care attorney is putting together options for how we can fund the services Mom needs to be happy and safe.  The follow up of this meeting is scheduled for next Monday.
  
  One benefit of all this is, when Mom's situation is all settled, we will know what we need to do to prepare for our future care.
• I walked three times this week for a total of 19 miles (30.6 km).  I was going to walk today (Monday) but it felt like 88℉ (31℃) at the time I normally would have started and it was just heading up from there.  The humidity is a bit stifling to say the least.  Fortunately temperatures are supposed to moderate after today.
• We caught up to the current episode of "Alone".  We are still catching up with "Alone: Australia" and discovered today that there is an "Alone: UK".   We should be totally caught up this week.
  
• At the end of this week the Wife and I are going to Minneapolis to celebrate birthdays.  I think I need the break from reality.  Next week's Ephemera post will likely be late as well.

Weekly Ephemera #104

• A week ago I got a call from the rehab center my Mom is at.  She had gotten out of bed and fallen.  They said she was not physically injured.  On Monday morning I received another call.  Mom had a large knot on her head and she was incoherent so they sent her to the hospital.  (The incoherence was probably a bad side effect of a muscle relaxer she'd been given for severe shoulder muscle cramping she was experiencing.)  When I got to the hospital she'd had a CT scan which showed her head to be fine but ... she had a bad fracture on her right hip.  *sigh*
  
  She was transported to another hospital where, on Tuesday afternoon, she had her hip fixed.  From Sunday afternoon, when she was on the muscle relaxer, to Tuesday after her surgery, when she was on fentanyl, Mom was pretty much hallucinating.  She has no memory of the fall and only a little of the surgery.  By Wednesday she was off all the hardcore drugs and her lucidity returned.
  
  After spending the fourth of July in the hospital, she returned to the rehab center on Friday.  She is now in a private room (she had been in a double room) not far from the nurses station.  She restarts physical therapy (PT) this week with modifications due to her hip repair.  The PT evaluation this weekend was pretty good.  I expected a broken hip would take more time to heal but she has few restrictions.
  
• We sat out on our deck and watched a half hour of the fireworks on Independence Day.  You could smell the smoke in the air.  I just hope this isn't the last true Independence Day celebration.  I hope yours was fun and safe.
• I didn't walk this week due to all the things.  I will restart this week.
• We are still watching "Alone".  We should be caught up to the present this week.  I finally caught up with my Marvel stuff and finished "What If...?" season 2.  I liked it.
• I am tired.