Daily Update, July 25, 2023

    Well, my foot was doing fine until I took a bath after dinner, because I hadn't done so earlier. My foot did not like a bath, and demanded I delay what exercises I hadn't done until late in the evening. {rueful smile}

   I called my financial adviser after breakfast, and got their answering machine, so I left a message. They called back before lunch. I asked a question, then brought up a bigger question, and they will help me keep things good. Don't worry; we're not in financial trouble. I just want to keep things that way, and now is a good time to start working on that. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I first read scripture and thoughts about it. Next, I continued with more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2019. After that, I read her the back cover and first few pages of _1960s Memory Lane_. Then I read "The Twelve Princesses," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I finished with the July 25th story "Under the Water," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told about a girl who wanted to see all the wonders the mermaids had under the water. A fish came, and offered to show her under the lake she was next to. She took him up to it, and the fish blew a bubble that let her go down to the lake floor, but all she was a farmer's rusty old car. She lost interest in seeing more. {Smile}

   I did my arm swinging and actually I think my arm resistance exercises before the bath. I did my walking, more arm resistance exercises, weight training, and head exercises after playing in City of Heroes: Homecoming. Somehow, mixing this with some in-game paperwork and the search for my financial adviser didn't leave time for salsa dancing. I'm not sure the foot wanted to try the bedroom slippers I now wear for that anyway. At least I got all the other exercises done, which is still better than yesterday. {Smile}

   I read articles and comics around the phone calls in the morning, as well as over lunch. Then I hopped into Coity of Heroes: Homecoming, where I did some paperwork, and looked around for someone to team with. Instead, I spotted a task force getting together that my fourth best badge-collector needed, so I joined it. After that, I noticed that not just Mysty, but also two others of my friends from the chat world were on, and all seemed to be on a team of three at that. I checked, and yes, they were together. They were hanging out while one worked on building a base, and Mysty ran missions on another account. I joined them and had a very nice visit. That took me up to time to read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner and the bath, I sat down, put my foot up, and hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I found Perogies! His computer still isn't fixed, but he came in hoping to visit; he didn't trust it enough to play. I think I enjoyed visiting with him at least as much as playing with him. I'd forgotten how much fun just plain visiting and catching up with each other can be. After he left, I found a character who had a hunt, and started working on it. I was just getting going when Phonso  came in and asked if I'd like to run a task force. It was one my fourth best badge collector could particularly use, so I switched to her and joined him. I also started chatting with Nox off and on. We got enough people and ran that task force. Then we ran another, and I said goodnight to Nox. then I did some paperwork, the exercises I got done, and tried to solo some more, but gave up so I could concentrate on writing this up. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 24, 2023

    I called Alan before breakfast and told him I'd need to take Val to the vet a little after ten. When we were ready and I looked out, Alan was there. I hope he wasn't waiting long. Alan took us down to the vet, and I signed us in and waited. They came and took Val and the gadget, saying they'd shave him and attach it, and giving me instructions to read it daily until it fell off. They, and brought him back, saying he's done, and I checked us out, and called Alan. He had to finish the ride he was on, but then picked us up. and took us home. {smile}

   When I let Val out, I noticed a little round thing lying in the carrier It was stuck to the towel, and the shaved patch of skin on Val had nothing on it. So, I called the vet's office after lunch, and left a message. I called a few more times over the afternoon, when I didn't get a call back, but I didn't notice they'd sent me a text until dinnertime. They're talking with the clinic owner about what to do, since it's hard for me bring Val in, and stressful on Val, too. It feels good to know they're thinking about me, though I texted them twice to assure them I can come in, and even bring the gadget. I just don't like to do it too often just to pick up medicine when I could get a larger batch. It's mainly hard to bring Val. {lop-sided smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Then I continued with more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2019. Next, I read her the last few pages of _Music Stars 1940-1960: Memory Lane_, Jazz singers and groups were all that was left, so then I read the back again, then got out !960s Memory Lane. She liked teh look of that, so I read her the back of it, too. Then I read "Thumbelina," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I completed the read with the July 24th story "Flip Takes a Trip," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told about a boy whose father worked in the Artic Circle. (Except it must be the Antarctic Circle; I actually wrote it in, because I know it will bug me.) He's been away and promised a present when he got back. He meant to go into town on the last day, but the plane arrived a day early. when Flip, the penguin he'd made a pet of, followed him to the plane, he took it along as the present. {Smile}

   A stack of books managed to topple right after dinner. Most landed in places where I just had to pick them up, but at least one landed on my foot. That foot is still smarting, so I'm delaying my standing and walking exercises. I did manage to do my walking, arm swinging, arm resistance, head, and standing arm weight training exercises later, after Phonso's task force run, and before it got too late. So at least I got something done. {Smile}

   I read comics over and after lunch. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming a little later than usual and did some paperwork. I didn't see anyone to team with who responded, so I joined the short, large group event. Then I did the long, large group event. There, I chatted with Gwaun, my long-time RP partner. He had a new character who reminded me of a character I'd made. Afterwards, I showed him the character I'd made that his new character reminded me of. He got a chuckle out of it, which is part of the point. Then it was high time I read to Mom, so I did. {Smile}

   I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming after dinner and the accident where the stack of books didn't completely miss my right foot. I did a lot of paperwork, followed by soloing through a bunch of hunts on one of my mid-level characters. As I was finishing up, I spotted Phonso advertising a task force, so I joined him. While we waited for the task force to fill, I chatted with Nox. I continued to chat with Nox as we ran the task force. Nox and I said goodnight after my task force had finished. I did a bunch of paperwork that task force had caused, and found some more paperwork that I got started on, but will have to finish some other time. I got much of this written up, too, but had to finish the next morning. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 23, 2023

    Today was Sunday. I got started a little late again; I got in and sat next to Auntie Barbara at the end of the opening hymn, which means i missed the announcements entirely. However, I was there for the main part of the service, and thought it was nice. It was this substitute priest's last time - he goes back to his regular job, as chaplain to a school on Maui. They're starting up again soon, since summer ends earlier than it did when I was a kid. {Smile}

   I sat with Auntie Barbara for lunch after the service. It's all long tables, so we were able to chat with a few others, including the substitute priest. Auntie Barbara isn't sure what they'll do for services next Sunday, with him back to Maui, but I'm sure they'll do something. There's always morning prayer if they can't get a supply priest. {Smile}

   Auntie Barbara took me home afterwards. We had a nice talk on the way. She also came in to pet Val and visit with Mom. Mom was tired enough to be slow starting to sing, but she did after a couple tries by Auntie Barbara, and when she got going, she sang all the usual songs. Then Auntie Barbara left. {Smile}

   I found a text from Perogies; he is having access trouble. I might be beginning to have trouble with my modem, myself. I need to look into it before it gets bad. {smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I read scripture and thoughts about it first. I started her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2019 next. Then I read her the next few pages of _Music Stars 1940-1960: Memory Lane_, I only read about folks and country singers, because I was concerned that she was tired. Then I read "The Princess and the Pea," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I completed the read with the July 23rd story "The Silly Hen," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told about a hen who decided to hide her eggs from the farmer's wife so they could hatch. However, she found a weasel eating her eggs three days later, and went back, because at least the farmer's wife feeds her. {Smile}

   I did my walking, arm resistance, arm swinging, and standing arm weight training after dinner. I got my head exercises and one or two of my sitting arm weight training exercises done after Owl Girl and I finished teaming, while we were touring Chili Bear's latest base. I got the rest of my sitting arm weight training exercises done after we broke up, before I started salsa dancing. Yes, I did salsa dancing, too: over 25 minutes of it, including both warmup and less structured dancing. Then it was a little late to continue, and I was panting too hard, anyway, but I got 25 minutes done, and with the panting it definitely felt like a good workout. {Smile}

   After Auntie Barbara left, I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I did some quick paperwork checking and looked around. the only folks I usually team with looked busy, so I looked at what was going on publicly. A high-level trial aiming for all badges was almost ready to go. I remembered my best badge collector had everything, so I checked my second-best badge collector. She has half, so I got her in at the last moment. They got all but one badge, well, and the badge for getting the rest, which meant she got one more. They ran it again, and she completed the set that time. Kitten came on during the second run, so we got together after it. We worked on the badge we hadn't finished yesterday, and I found another badge we could work on in the same missions. We finished the first badge and made significant progress on the second by the time I left to read to Mom. I tried to say goodnight in case we didn't meet again, which we didn't. {Smile}

   After dinner and the exercises, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I checked paperwork quickly, then looked around. Everyone I regularly team with either missing - like Kitten and Perogies - or looked busy. I looked over it some more and realized that Owl Girl was on a not-full team. They often are happy to let friends join, so I started talking to them. Turned out they were bored in a farm, trying to gain levels, I think. I invited them to do a story arc with me. I picked a character I really want to work through some story arcs, and we finished an arc, taking our time to role-play along the way. That was so much fun! I want to do things like this more, whether with Owl Girl, Ulty (my new roleplaying partner), Gwaun (my long-time role-playing partner), or other people. Near the end, Chili Bear said hi, and invited me to see the base he was working on. I said I wanted to finish my mission and asked if my friend (Owl Girl) could come too. He said yes, and I talked Owl Girl into coming. That base is really good. I am impressed! {SMILE}

Daily Update, July 22, 2023

    Well, today was pretty quiet, with no physical therapy to liven it up. That did mean I exercised as will become usual, at least for a while after I stop physical therapy, I suspect. I don't expect to find dance opportunities immediately after I stop, though I am beginning to look now. {Smile}

   I ate breakfast and dinner with Mom and read to her before dinner. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it. Then I moved on to a Christmas card from her cousin's granddaughter, and a Mother's Day card from her sister. Next, I read her the next few pages of _Music Stars 1940-1960: Memory Lane_, showing her the pictures of each star, and reading the captions, which were mainly lists of greatest hits. It continued with Vocal Groups and Rock and Roll. Then I read "Snow White and Rose Red," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I completed the read with the July 22nd story "Lost and Found," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told about the cuckoo's friends, who all went searching when they didn't know where they were. They found them watching over the farm boy, who was sleep under a tree in the forest, because he was a friend, too. {Smile}

   I did my walking, arm swinging, arm resistance, and arm weight training exercises after dinner. I actually did my head exercises between the warmup salsa dancing and the first set of less structured salsa dancing. Yes, I did get salsa dancing in, too, over 25 minutes of it. I didn't get the sitting arm weight training done before it got too late, though. Still, I got a fair bit done. {Smile}

   I read comics and article after breakfast, and over lunch. Then I realized Kitten had mewed at me and dashed in City of Heroes: Homecoming. They didn't respond immediately in the game, so I started on paperwork. However, Perogies noticed me saying hi pretty quickly. That was good, since I could give him the stuff that I'd made late yesterday. I gave him that, and we teamed up, and added Kitten, too. I noticed something similar on the character I'd picked, but I didn't have quite everything I needed to make it. I mentioned it, and Perogies found one that I needed, but we ran a mission first. Kitten bowed out partway through because they were just too tired. Perogies and I kept going until it was just about time to read to Mom. I did get the thing that let me make something he could use and gave it to him. He recently made a character with an unusual theme, so he's interested in things many don't have much use for. After that, we said goodnight, and I went to read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner and the exercises, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming later than expected. I found Kitten, there, and they responded, though they were sometimes slow. We teamed up, and they suggested we work on the badges I didn't get the other night, so I switched to my best badge collector, and we ran a story arc that got those two badges. Then i noticed another badge i was close to getting that their character was set up for, so we worked on that, along with another badge that needed a lot more work. I got the first badge and made great progress on the second. Then we stopped and chatted a bit until I started salsa dancing. About then they went quiet anyway. So I watched a few videos, wrote this up, and checked a little paperwork as I could. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 21, 2023

    Today, our housekeeper came just after breakfast. Our house is definitely better for her attentions, and I loved seeing her again, and getting to hear how things have been going with her. {Smile}

   I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with Mom and read to her before dinner. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Next was a birthday card from her sister from last year, and a Mother's Day card from me. Then, I read her the next few pages of _Music Stars 1940-1960: Memory Lane_, showing her the pictures of each star, and reading the captions, which were mainly lists of greatest hits. It continued with female vocalists and crooners. Then I read "The Little Mermaid," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. It's one of those revised versions where she does get to marry the prince after all. I finished by reading the July 21st poem "Off to Town," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told about a farm dog telling another farm dog how he was going to run away to live an easy life in town, because there was too much hard work on the farm... but he'd come back after being out overnight twice before. {Smile}

   I did my walking, arm swinging, arm resistance, and arm weight training exercises after dinner.  I did one of my sitting arm weight training exercises during a lull in the game. I got started pretty late on the salsa dancing, and even ran over time a little, despite only getting 20 minutes. Still, I got 20 minutes when I was worried that I might not have the energy for that much. I did the rest of my sitting arm weight training exercises and all my head exercises after the salsa dancing. {Smile}

   I read comics and articles in the morning and around lunch time. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I did a little paperwork and teamed up with Perogies. We finished the story arc we'd started yesterday. Then he left for a while. I kind of got to reading comics and articles when I didn't find anything else that really appealed in the game. I eventually went back into the game, where I found Perogies busy with the later long, large-groups event. We mainly chatted and ran one mission of that, I think, before I read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner and the exercises, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming, and did a lot of paperwork, then tried to find a friend to team with. I did find Chili Bear and one other in a setting that made me think they were role-playing, but they weren't talking so I could hear, and... I didn't know how to join. However, I spotted a team which I could and did join just as one said hi. during that mission, Phonso said HI, and asked about a task force. I promised to join after that one mission, and did, after a short break. We started late enough, it ran too far into salsa dancing time to do more than 20 minutes, and even that ran over a little. After that, I did a little more paperwork and wrote this up. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 20, 2023

    I had my video counselling appointment today. We spent most of the time talking about my story. She's encouraging me to keep the sadness, and was talking about ways to cope with the sadness, by limiting how long I work on it and so on... 

   ...but... if this were a one-off, that would be one thing, but I hoped it would be a good sample to help launch a series. As such, it needs to be representative of the series. If it and its series helps launch my writing career, it should be representative of other things I write, too... 

   My counselor actually suggested asking friend in my updates what they think... not that I'd thought fully of the question of this being representative, but... does anyone have anything to say on this? {hopeful look}

   I ate lunch and dinner with Mom and read to her before dinner. I read scripture and thoughts about it first. Then I followed that with a Christmas card from her cousin's granddaughter from a couple of years ago, and a Thanksgiving card from her sister that's even older. Then, I read her front and back covers and the first few pages of _Music Stars 1940-1960: Memory Lane_, showing her the pictures, and reading the captions, which were mainly lists of greatest hits. It started with the Big Bands. Then I read "The Frog Prince" from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I finished by reading the July 20th poem "A Holiday Week," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told briefly of doing different things each day, starting with Monday and ending with Sunday, in a week with no school. {Smile}

   I did my walking, arm swinging, arm resistance, and standing arm eight training exercises after dinner, and my head and some of my sitting arm weight training after the task forces. I think I managed to do 3 of the four sitting arm exercises before I got into salsa dancing. Yes, I did do salsa dancing, both warmup and less structured dancing. {Smile}

   I read comics before and after lunch, then hopped into Coty of Heroes: Homecoming. I Tried to talk with a few friends, but no one responded quickly, so I joined a high-level trial, picking my second-best badge-collector, because my best badge collector had all the badges, while my second-best badge-collector had never even run it. Of course, as it was almost ready to start, Perogies said hi, but at that point I was committed, and it was late for him to join... Anyway, i ran the high-level trial, and got all six badges it offers, so that was very nice. After that, I got together with Perogies. He wanted to run a particular story arc because it's one way to get access to a special club in the game, so I found a character who needed it, and we ran it together. We got several missions into it before I had to read to Mom. We hope to finish it tomorrow. {Smile}

   After dinner and the exercises, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I didn't find anyone to team with immediately, so I started looking for a pick-up-group and saw someone advertising a task force that was all of my second-favorite type of character. It turned out to be led by Mollymauk, the streamer who I often join for late night task forces and strike forces. We started it, and during the very first mission, Phonso came on. He guessed the task force, and yeah, I couldn't join one with him after joining this one. I told him not to wait because it was just getting going. He got a regular one together, though it was slow to fill, it did start before mine ended. At that point, Mollymauk said he'd do the strike force he particularly likes with all that type of character. I switched, but ran that with him, too. I got done in time to say goodnight to Phonso, as well as do a bit of paperwork before my salsa dancing. After the salsa dancing, I did a bit more paperwork, and wrote this up. I was finishing up in City of Heroes when Perogies came in and said hi. The last round of paperwork had produced a couple of things I thought were perfect for a new character of his. When he saw them, he agreed. We said goodnight shortly after, so I could post this and go to bed, though some posting may be in the morning. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 19, 2023

    Today was a quiet day, which let me work on my story. I started by re-reading and revising the first part, and then I went a little further, finishing the second scene. Then I got into a personal chore that gave me a lot of time to think about the story, and I don't think I like the changes. Members of the critique group made suggestions that really emphasize the pain of mourning one character is going through... when I want to emphasize that it doesn't have to be that bad, and can become better with time, as we learn things that help cast the memories in happier light. Emphasizing the pain at first would heighten the change, but... I need a better balance. Too much bitter might chase away some of the readers who need the hope at the end. Though Nox argued for more bitter in contrast, to show different ways of mourning, and not cast some as bad. However, it wrecked my mood for much of the day, which is its own problem. there must be some way to balance all this. {smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I started late, but I touched most of the usual bases. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it. Next, I read a card from her friend, and showed her the pictures that went with it. Then, I read her the last few pages of _1960's Fashion in Pictures_, showing her the pictures, and reading the captions. Then I skipped reading from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_ because of my late start. I just finished by reading "The Nightingale," the July 19th story from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. Instead of the usual story by that name, it told of a little boy waking up very scared by a bad dream. He calmed down when he heard a nightingale sing and went back to sleep. {Smile}

   I did my walking, arm swinging, arm resistance, and standing arm weight training exercises after dinner. I did my head and sitting arm weight training during lulls in the game, and after my main playing was over. I did over 25 minutes of salsa dancing, including both warmup and less structured dancing. It's not 30 minutes, but it's closer. {SMILE}

   I shared yesterday's daily update, then read comics and articles in the morning and over lunch, when I wasn't working on my story. Then I stopped for a personal chore, which gave me time to think about it. I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming after that and started with some paperwork. Perogies said hi, and we teamed up on a couple of middle-level characters for a while. That was fun. We went right into the time I like to read to Mom a little, but we enjoyed teaming and working together. {Smile}

   After dinner and the exercises, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming, and checked the paperwork again. bowlofdro said hi, and we teamed up for a couple of missions as he wound down. Then I soloed a bit, and Phonso said hi, inviting me to a strike force. I was interested, but wanted to finish what I was doing, which I somehow had trouble communicating. We got it straightened out, and I chatted with some friends while waiting for the mission... no one was interested in joining, it seems. I teamed with Phonso and the folks he recruited. I also chatted with Nox on the chat server, and talked with Phonso after the mission. Then I soloed, danced, and began writing this. I did team up with Perogies when he said hi when I was having trouble with some of the soloing. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 18, 2023

    Today, well yesterday was the monthly picnic. I got a call from the leader, asking if i wanted a ride, and telling me call the driver... she also told the driver when she got there with another gal and her daughter. I also called her, and from next month on, I really should call her the day before to confirm. I asked her when she came, and she said before 4, or leave a message after. Okay. I think we had a nice talk in general on the way down. It was at our most common park. {Smile}

   The picnic went well. We had more folks than usual, maybe because we had two speakers after lunch. There was lots of good conversation over lunch first. Anyway, the first speaker talked about not-Hospice, which is officially Hawai'i Care Choices because they offer more services than Hospice does. She was sure it could help everyone if they could just get past folks' resistance to hospice and such. The second speaker talked about how the terminally ill can apply for and get medically approved supplies that can help them have a good death. She was very clear this was not something for everyone, but she felt people should know, and have that option if they truly wish it, and are in full possession of their faculties to make the choice. {smile}

   The leader took me and another gal home, dropping me off first. We had a nice chat on the way. {Smile}

   After dinner, I got a nice call from Auntie Barbara. It was nice to hear from her again. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I started by reading scripture and thoughts about it. Then I continued by reading four cards: a birthday card from her cousin, a Thanksgiving card and a Valentine's Day card from her sister, and a birthday card from me. Next, I read her the next few pages of _1960's Fashion in Pictures_, showing her the pictures, and reading the captions. Then I read "Little Red Riding Hood," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I finished by reading "My Boat and I," the July 18th poem from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told about sailing on a sailboat. {Smile}

   I did my head exercises and started my arm weight training exercises during lulls in the game in the afternoon. I did my arm resistance exercises between reading to Mom and dinner, and my walking, arm swinging exercises, and my standing arm weight training exercises after dinner. I did the rest of the sitting arm weight training during a long lull in the game after dinner. I did 8 1/2 minutes of salsa dancing warmup. by the end I was so dizzy, I had to sit down before feeding Val. I treated myself for hypoglycemia, and it did help, but I didn't try more. I'll just have to try again tomorrow. {Smile}

   I read the shorter comics after getting home from the picnic. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming and did a little paperwork. Kitten came in, and we got together. It took some time to decide what to do together. We were just settling on something when Perogies came in, and asked for help with a character who'd just reached the endgame, where so much changes. Kitten and I were happy to help with that. There are a couple of nasty bosses... besides, it's just more fun to do with friends, if you ask me. Kitten wanted to leave because they were tired, when we were one mission from the end. they stayed for a mission and found their second wind. They actually stayed, when Perogies left after that arc. I think we did one more mission before it reached time to read to Mom. {Smile}

After dinner and exercises, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming and got together with Kitten. We were still getting started when Phonso invited us to a task force. I'm afraid I got distracted enough right then, he thought we weren't interested, but we were. We joined him, and did the task force, which took a while. After the task force, that team broke up. Even Phonso went his own way. Kitten and i stayed together. I switched characters, ran a mission in a story arc that's already started, then switched to a story arc that got two badges. After that, Kitten went unresponsive, and disappeared, which usually means they fell asleep. I did paperwork after that, and wrote this up, but didn't have time to share it until the next day. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 17, 2023

    Yesterday, I found a text from the secretary of Helping Hand Healthcare, our nursing company, saying she'd be by after lunch to cut my hair. {Smile}

   My hearing aids had a morning appointment, so I contacted Uber after breakfast, and they took me down to the office. They checked out okay, and he got them ready for the next few months. Then I called Uber again, and they took me to Safeway, where I had a couple of prescriptions to pick up: one for me, and one for Val. After Safeway, I considered walking to the bank, but it was getting close to lunch, and a little early in the week for major exercise. Plus, I expected the haircut after lunch, so I didn't feel I should run too late. So, I contacted Uber and went home instead. {Smile}

   I got a short call from our former nurse after lunch. We chatted about stuff. He'll try to call in the next week but doesn't promise not to be busy. He does promise to call again when he's less busy. {Smile}

   The secretary from Helping Hands Healthcare came after lunch and cut my hair. She cut it dry, so she knew how it woudl turn out, which was perfect. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it. Next, I read four cards: a Christmas card from her nephew, another Christmas card from her cousin's granddaughter, a birthday card from her cousin, and a Thanksgiving card from her sister. After that, I read her the next few pages of _1960's Fashion in Pictures_, showing her the pictures, and reading each. Then I read "The Wild Swans," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. That's the one where the queen curses her stepsons to be swans by day, and their sister sews shirts to turn them back into people full-time, but one isn't' quite finished, so one boy still has a swan's wing. I finished my reading with "The Brave Crab," the July 17th story from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told about a crab, who spotted some children doming down to the beach, and ran along the beach, then rode a turtle friend in the water along the beach, calling to warn everyone to hide in the water, which they did in time. {Smile}

   I did my arm swinging and head exercises while waiting for Uber to take me to my hearing aids' appointment. I did my walking exercises and arm resistance exercises around lunchtime, after I got back from errands. I did my arm weight training after dinner, managing one more each than last time. It felt like I got started pretty early, even if some were still later. I didn't get to the sitting arm eight training exercises in time, but that's all I missed, at least. {Smile}

   I wrote some of my daily update and read a few comics over lunch. I read more comics and finished my daily update after my haircut and talking with our main nurse afterwards. Only then did I hop into City of Heroes: Homecoming. There, I did a bit of paperwork. Then I chatted with Kitten, and discovered they were in a task force. I also chatted with Ulty, but they were busy with a full team. So, I joined the later long, large-group event. There, I talked with my first role-playing partner, who likes to go by one of his favorite character's name, Gwaun. I brought up three of his characters who two of my characters are particularly interested in. I think we'll try to RP and maybe team at least two pairs, both with the same character of mine; only one is a romantic relationship. The other is close, but not that way. After the later long, large group event, Ulty and I chatted.  I think we teamed up for one mission before I left to read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner and my exercises, I did a little paperwork, and teamed up with Ulty and Kitten. We ran a mission that got us all a badge that helps. Then we ran another mission or two, before Kitten got so tired, they had to leave. Ulty and I might have run one more, but they were tired and left early-for-them, too. So, I looked around and teamed up with Azurette. We did several missions, and a lot of talking, too. Perogies came on and joined us for a while. Then he left, and Azurette and I did a couple more before she left. I meant to write this up, but did more paperwork, then just made extensive notes, and wrote it properly the next day. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 16, 2023

    Today was Sunday, so I took Uber to church. I managed to get ready to go particularly late, but I was lucky that the car was closer than usual. I still made it late enough to miss not just the announcements, but the first hymn. I still got to sit with Auntie Barbara and enjoy the nice service. {Smile}

   We sat together for lunch, too. We also sat next to our former assistant priest, who's now retired, and his husband. it was nice to hear what they're doing these days. {Smile}

   Auntie Barbara took me home and visited with Mom. We sang several songs. Auntie Barbara brought up calling mom's sister, but unfortunately, I forgot until too late to call. {rueful smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I read scripture and thoughts about it first. Then I read three birthday cards, one from church, one from a friend, and one from me. After that, I showed her the first few pages of _1960's Fashion in Pictures_, reading each caption to her. Then I read "Cinderella," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I finished my reading with "She Love Me, She Loves Me Not," the July 16th story from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told about Brian, who was picking petals off daisies one by one. A fairy scolded him for hurting the flowers. He said he just wanted to decide which girl to take to a dance. The fairy said to take both, for all she cared. He did, and they all had a good time. {Smile}

   I did my head exercises late -- around the time I started writing this update up -- but I got them done. {Smile}

   I took care of Val and did other personal chores after Auntie Barbara left. Then I wrote up yesterday's daily update. I also roleplayed ont he chat server with my new role-playing partner, whose name, I realized, is Ulty, not Ultry. It was only after that - and particularly late, especially for a Sunday - that I hopped into City of Heroes. I ended up doing a lot of paperwork, because the folks I usually play with were either not there, or busy. I did get to chat a bit with bowlofdro, and later with Ulty and Perogies when he came in. I guess I could have tried to join the later long, large group event like he did, but by the time I worked out might be the best option, it was mostly done, so I didn't bother. We did chat until it was time to read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner, I hopped back into City of Heroes, and chatted with Ulty a little. She invited me to join the team she was doing one-off missions with. I did. They were doing light role-playing while running the missions. after a while the leader left, as did some of the others. One gal took over, and Ulty and I stayed. Two others joined us, and we ran another couple of missions. Then Ulty wanted to roleplay, so we quit that team, and did a nice little role-play until she got tired and left. After that, I visited a little, but mostly did paperwork. I don't know why but I didn't feel like joining a pickup team or anything like that. {Smile}