Sometimes nothing happening on the internet is a good thing. I have to confess that I have been venturing in less frequently.

Not such an early bird myself this morning because I was up late. Read until almost 2! Partly because 18 year old across the way had a late noisy birthday party. It was fun noise so I didn't mind, but I will tease him when I see him.

Sorry, Dana. I can't regret being asleep instead of entertaining you, though.

Timelies all, I'm celebrating my super uneventful birthday this year by first sleeping in (yay!), enjoying a nice leisurely cup of yummy cold brew coffee with oat creamer, and some chocolate banana oatmeal cookies. Currently over an hour in to a Zoom call with my Mom thanking her for the whole birth situation and planning for an impending visit. She's so sweet, sent a packaged Jamaican rum cake in the mail along with fancy sparkler candles so I can celebrate in style later. Oh, and remote Jackbox games online later this afternoon. I'd rather be at a F2F catching up with super cool people, but screens will do for now ;)

It has also been pointed out to me that Pix Patisserie (the super fancy top-notch dessert place in town) now has a 24 hour "Pix-o-Matic" dispensing machine of amazingness that might even be worth the drive. Or maybe I could bike? But it would be a super long bike ride and while the trip there would be lovely, the jouncing and bouncing on the return trip would not be good for a fancy delicate patisserie. OOOhhh, and they also a doing a temporary pop-up with "Meals 4 Heels" including what sounds like my ideal dinner: "GTP (GETTIN' THAT PAPER) – Tom kha roasted cauliflower, sweet potato noodles, pickled cucumbers, truffled tomatoes, mint, Thai basil, cilantro, honey saambal sauce, toasted coconut & veggie furikake." Assuming it's not already sold out for day, it being a Saturday and Portlanders loving their noms, I might be having a truly amazing dinner tonight. Yay!

Happy birthday, erin_o! That does sound like an amazing meal I hope you get to enjoy it

Super yum! Happy birthday!

Happy birthday!

I celebrated being on sort-of-vacation by crashing my mountain bike yesterday and making a stop at the ER to make sure I didn't sprain my wrist. Happily, I did not -- and the ER was quiet and safe.

Gud, I hope you will listen to some of the wise Buffistas here and do something to help yourself. Even if it's just a phone call? One phone call? You could run an errand and sit in the car (in the shade) and call someone from there.

We want you to be happy and your kids to be healthy and happy -- and even your wife, because she's clearly not happy either -- and yes it's work but think of everything you could gain from it? You're clearly not afraid of hard work, you work hard every day.

Please let someone help you. IT IS OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP. People are communal creatures, we need one another, and that is okay, it's part of our wiring.

Would you hire a professional if you had a plumbing problem? Or a medical issue? Yes! Hire a professional to help you deal with this, which is interfering with your life and your family's.

Welp, I mowed maybe a third of the yard, determined that the weeds are really too tall for the mower, hauled out the weed whacked, killed it right away, ordered a new and hopefully more powerful battery-powered weed whacked, grocery shopped, curbside picked up new weed whacked, assembled it and am now charging the battery. It's been a lot of effort to almost be productive.

That sounds very sweaty and rather frustrating, minus-t!

Ouch! Glad it was not a sprain or worse.

Thinking of getting a bike for up here. I have a bike in Florida, no speeds because no hills! But here I need something more.

I visited my sister last night and my nephew and his wife this morning. Told them about my frustrations over my sweet mountain solitude and serenity being destroyed by my efforts to help my son by bringing him here this summer. They were both sympathetic and understanding and told me that I was welcome to come to their homes any time day or night, whether they are home or not, to escape. Whether for adult conversation and company, or solitude. That helped.

Glad you didn't hurt yourself too badly, Consuela. Enjoy getting away!