Here’s the Wednesday update since I haven’t posted since Sunday…

 

I didn’t walk Monday

 

… because I didn’t (still don’t) have a bandage large enough to cover the dog bite and didn’t want the new jeans fabric rubbing against it. So, instead I just sat still, read books, and did a little more Spanish study.  T’was a vegging day.

 

The dog bite is shrinking day by day. It still looks a little inflamed, but that’s what the antibiotics are for. I feel fine and have no fever.  It’s just a matter of letting my body do its thing. I’m keeping it clean and well-salved, as instructed.

 

I didn’t walk Tuesday because I dog-sat Alice and Thio until 2 PM

 

The dogs are very happy in Jon and Francisco’s new place.  They did very little barking; none of it at me.  They were very good and slept most of the time, when they weren’t tussling with their back yard blanket and each other.

 

I had a lot of free time while I was there between 7:30 and 2:00, so I sprayed and scrubbed the carport — mostly to eliminate a few small tire track smudges — and tidied up the back yard a wee bit: raked up leaves, picked up the dog poo as it happened, and sprayed the ground with a great-smelling odor control product that was on hand there.

 

I also read one book on the shelf — Mary Oliver’s LONG LIFE (a wonderful book!) — and part of Randy Rainbow’s book PLAYING WITH MYSELF which, as you can imagine, is as much fun in most places as watching one of his parody videos. But of course I was agonizing for him during the many times when he was bullied as a child for being an “oddball” — the oddball that so many of us have come to know and love!

 

Jon and Francisco’s New Place is Fabulous 

 

I didn’t take any pictures because I didn’t ask permission, but their new kitchen is HUGE, as is their living room.  Their living quarters are upstairs. I didn’t venture up there but, from outside and in front of the house, I could see a cozy, delightful-looking balcony, so it has to be a fantastic space for them.

 

The back yard and front carport area are festooned with a great many plants which they brought from the earlier rental, so it looks like a tropical paradise.  They have two Costa Rican wood and leather rocking chairs on the back patio that are super comfortable to sit in.  And there are fans inside to turn on when it gets too warm for casual comfort, which it did at about noon.

 

I bet it’s AMAZING when it rains there! 

 

The roof is tin (at least over the back patio) so it has to be heavenly to sit and listen to rainfall.  In a month and a half they’ll be hearing a lot of it for several months; the rainy season is right around the corner!

 

All in all, it’s a dream home.

 

Jon and Francisco both looked at the dog bite to confirm for themselves that it’s coming along nicely. Jon encouraged me to keep up with the antibiotics, and I assured him that I have — and will!

 

Adilio picked me up at 2 sharp and drove us to Pollolandia

 

…in Santa Gertrudes so I could get lunch (for both of us, my treat!) and then to the SuperSanIsidro tienda so I could get a few things: cat food, peach nectar and milk. Being stuck at home the past few days post-bite had me pretty low on cat food!

 

Bev saw my dog bite and thinks it looks atrocious

 

It is a little redder than usual this afternoon, but that’s because I wore long pants (not jeans, thinner ones) and had my legs crossed a lot, so the wound got “mistreated” — unaccustomed friction, mostly.

 

It’s looking better now that I’ve salved it again, put on shorts, and am not mashing it! There is zero pain or tenderness to it anymore.  I can scrub it with a washcloth and soap without it hurting at all. That has been the case for two days.

 

Which Brings Us to Wednesday!

 

Today I walked 7500 steps for the first time in four days, but it wasn’t at the soccer field.  I walked in my apartment and on the back patio to get the steps in this morning.

 

Until I can get a larger bandage or be sure the new jeans won’t rub the now-closed wound, I won’t be venturing down the hill to walk.  I am fortified against dog attack, but want to be sure the dog bite doesn’t get aggravated by the dye in the new blue jeans. (Just taking extra precautions, is all!)

 

It’s a coolish day. I like it.

 

I’ve reached out to a Charles Schwab agent in Tacoma to see if I can get some help transferring my IRA to them in the next day or so. The website isn’t giving me what I want or need to do it online, so I’m going to need some help, I think.  I want to get the transfer done soon so I can get the RMD into my credit union and into the liquid savings account. I may get some short term CDs with some of it so the money earns more interest than sitting in a CU savings account.

 

In Touch with Democrats Abroad Here

 

Deb put me in touch with the head of Democrats Abroad here, so I will probably be attending their gathering next week.  I want to find out how to arrange to get my ballot down here so I can vote in November and in 2028. They’re holding a NO KINGS rally in San Jose on the 28th but I won’t be attending that. I’m not allowed to protest until I am granted pensionado status, and I don’t want to risk being ousted from my adopted country!

 

In all other ways, though (especially voting!) I gotta keep doing what I can to oust the baddies and promote the goodies!!! This is no time to sit it out, that’s for sure. U.S. democracy and its standing in the world is at stake!!!

 

Guess that brings you up to date with my world! Have a wonderful day!