Today’s happy talk is about a number of things.

 

That’s because a number of things have been happy-inducing and I feel like a million dollars.

 

I went to sleep at about 6 last night (after taking 10,391 steps during the day) so of course I only slept until about 11, when I popped back out of bed, made some hot chocolate, and wrote in longhand for about an hour until I felt ready to hit the hay again.

 

I wrote:

 

I think my pension, annuity and book royalties will drop into my checking account this Friday, so I’m anticipating about $470.  That makes me happier than usual, because I sure wasn’t expecting almost $50 in book royalties this month!

 

From that $470, Medicare Part B will get $235.00, leaving me about $225 which I’ll use to pay off most of my credit card (it sits at $350; I’ll paid off the balance when SS drops into my account on March 11th or therabout).

 

I’ll be getting about $935 from the RMD in my 401K plan sometime soon, so that can go into my regular savings account and bring it back up to above $3k, which is the amount I like to keep there as a buffer at all times. (It fell by $650 to $750 the past couple weeks because my best friend and I had adventures, meals out, and six to seven additional car rides, which are not a part of my usual budget outlay. But every dollar and colone was well spent and I have the memories, photos and smiles to prove it!!! Steal of a deal, if you ask me!!!)

 

I am supposed to hear from Charles Schwab this week

 

…so I can get my Axos account switched over to them.  I reached out to them last Friday afternoon.  The autoresponder said they’d get back to me usually within two working days, but Saturday, Sunday and Monday were not working days (Monday was Presidents Day in the US), so I haven’t expected them to respond until today sometime.  If they do, and I get the thing done, I can get the RMD transferred to my regular savings account sometime next week.  That will feel very good! I’ll be back above $3K and deleriously happy!

 

Had a dream about Lisa before waking up

 

I only remember part of the dream but in that part we were hanging out together. It was some nonsense about writing sticky notes and putting them on the side/back/driver side window of  SUV like Lisa’s, or like the one I had.

 

In the dream, Lisa was running out of space on her tiny sticky note and I said, “I have more sticky notes, Lisa! Take one!”  She looked at me. We were laughing hysterically, for some reason, and she just continued to try to put more words on this teensy, weensy sticky note.  That’s more or less when I woke up.

 

But it was a super fun, comforting dream. Being with Lisa is always comforting.

 

I’ll walk on the futbol field again tomorrow morning, and Crystal wants to walk on Friday (and from now on on Sats, Suns, Mons and Tuesdays) starting at 7 a.m. which is even better for me because I’m always antsy to get out the door by 6:45 to get going and it takes ten minutes to get to hers and Dale’s home down the block.

 

After we walk on Friday I’ll return home for a couple hours before heading back to their place to catch their Uber in to the feria in Grecia.  I MUST remember to bring the freezer bag along, too. I forgot it this morning, which was no biggy then. But if (as I plan to do) I get ham, chicken and fish at the feria, I’ll need it because those have to be on ice long enough to get me back home following lunch at the Grecia Football Club at around noon followed by a bus ride at about 2:30, which will take about 45 minutes to deliver me home because it takes a detour out of the way at that hour. Jon may be able to fit me into his rig and drive me home when he drives Crystal and Dale, but no guarantees.  That’s always a hit or miss, depending on whether Crystal or Francisco or someone else doesn’t come along to the feria or to the lunch. (I always plan to take the bus unless something unusual like that happens.)

 

My Left Foot and Leg are Almost 100% Better Now

 

Getting off the steep hill and rocky, uneven road in El Cajon was all it took. I’m very happy about that!

 

I’m also happy that my INR level (checked again just yesterday) is right square in the middle of the “safe” zone, at 2.5. It took a while to get there but my diet is pretty constant now, so it should stay there reliably. It was never too high or too low, but I like seeing it mid-range like this. Costa Rican fare agrees with me and my weight is staying steady, too: 151-154. I feel GREAT!

 

The LaPaz Waterfall Walk is Rated STRENUOUS

 

I didn’t experience it as being strenuous at all. That may be because we were stopping so often to take pictures and to let Lisa set the pace (although  she works 70 hours per week, she is more sedentary than Adilio and I are) but I don’t really think so. My legs and calves weren’t affected at all afterward. So, I know I’m in good shape physically and healthwise (“sound of wind and limb”).

 

That said, I do believe that the La Paz Waterfall Walk isn’t a walk that most people could or should undertake lightly. There are a great many steps up and down but for me (specifically) it didn’t feel like a strenuous workout.  Maybe if it was hotter (it was actually chilly the day we went!) it would have been more daunting for me. Being able to do it without a lot of effort definitely made me feel BUFF!

 

Suppose I should try to get more sleep. More tomorrow when I get back from my daily morning walk!

 

Thursday, 2/26/26                    8233 steps so far         10:31 a.m.  

 

WOW!  Got my steps in in record time this morning — less than an hour from the time I left the house to the time I walked back in the door, including about a three-minute stop at a store to get some pollo burritos.

 

I hauled a–, including swinging my arms like a serious exercise walker most of the time. My left foot and leg work so well again that I don’t have to worry about “foot drop” and tripping anymore, which frees me up to walk faster. And the pavement and grassy areas are (mostly) conducive to a faster pace, too, so today I went for it to see how fast I could get in 7500 steps.  BINGO!

 

I washed a load of clothes when I got back and have just hung them out to dry. I washed a white throw rug with them (dumb!)  so a few of my pairs of underwear look like they’ve sprouted white fluff. But when they dry, I should be able to shake them and get rid of the white stuff.

 

I’m probably gonna give Deb the March rent today, since I have it already, plus $20 more for the $10 I shorted her last month (she wants USD and I got $10 less than I should have) and $10 for two loads of wash (the one Lisa and I did last week and the one I just did).  That will square me away with her 100%.

 

Given how quickly I will be able to replenish the extra outlay I spent this month, my plan is to sock away $$ every month into savings from now on (except  for the rare “visitors months”!) so that it’ll be there in greater abundance in 2032 (providing I live that long!) in case Social Security goes south and we only get 75% of what we’re getting now.

 

I will be super PO’ed if that happens as a result of the GOPs BBB and their other machinations to bankrupt the program, but it may well come to pass if the voters who voted for them don’t fire their asses en masse so the progressive DEMS can put ordinary people (aka the rest of us not of the Epstein Class!) front and center again for the first time since 1980, Clinton, Obama and Biden notwithstanding.  (They did what they could for us despite lockstep opposition from the SOBs on the GOP side of the aisle: Gingrich, McConnell, Boehner, Ryan, Johnson, etc.)

 

Let’s get offa this UNhappy topic!

PURA VIDA versus PUTRID VILE!

Pura Vida wins, hands down, by lightyears!

 

VERY HAPPY WITH MY NEW UNDERSHIRT/T-SHIRT!

 

I wish it came in colors other than black and white. I’d get one in every color!

 

I NEED TO GET A NEW PAIR OF TENNIS SHOES

 

It’s time.  I’ve just been putting it off.  Shoulda had Lisa bring me a pair. But there are plenty of shoe stores around here. I’ll ask Jon which one is the most frugal in Grecia.

 

Frugal but quality!

 

I will be walking hundreds of miles in them and  they need to support me well and last at least six months (ideally).

 

Now you’re up to the minute, I’m caught up with all my “chores,” and I’m footloose and fancy free for the rest of the day… which is pretty typical around here for me.

 

LOVE MY LIFE!!!

I’m hoping and wishing you’re loving yours, too!