Take It to the Lily

The Husband and I went out for date night tonight. A friend of ours performs in a band, which was making an appearance at a bar nearby. So, that's where we went.

As we ordered our drinks, it occurred to me that Lily's birthday is coming up this week. Ever since she passed away, I have always wanted to drink a toast to her with a Mai Tai, her favorite drink, which I had never tried. So, that's what I ordered. Unfortunately,  the bartender didn't know how to make one and couldn't be bothered to look it up. I settled for a Malibu and pineapple instead, my favorite drink, which is similar to a Mai Tai anyway.

The band set up outdoors. The weather was perfect. The crowd was small. It was absolutely lovely.

I was very much enjoying my not-quite-a-Mai-Tai when the band started to play the Eagles song "Take It to the Limit".

Back when Lily and I shared a bedroom, we often listened to the radio in the dark. One night, Lily rolled the tuner endlessly looking for a song she liked. From my side of the room I'd hear static, then a bit of a song, static, then another bit of a song. 

"Ugh! Just pick one!"

After a while, Lily pointed out that the same song kept popping up. She'd scan, find that song, scan, find that song again. Over and over. I don't know how many times she went up and down the dial, but it was amazing how many stations were playing the same song at the same time. Just amazing!

Maybe you figured it out right away, but it took me decades to realize she had been dialing away and back to the same station each time. 

Yup. She was a trickster, and I was a dufus.

That song was "Take It to the Limit", and every time I've heard it ever since, I've been taken back to that amazing night in the dark.

So, here I was today with a drink I had ordered to honor my sister listening to a song that reminded me of her. I smiled to myself, lifted the glass, and silently wished her a happy birthday.

Just Venting

My new retainers are amazing, thank you for asking. I picked them up today and am enjoying how comfortable they are.

One of my favorite things about getting new retainers is they come in a brand new storage case. The cases my orthodontist hands out are vented on the bottom. So, when I remove the retainers from my mouth and rinse them off, they can air dry inside the vented case even when it's snapped shut. Much better than soaking in a trapped puddle of drippings, right?

Well!

Someone at this orthodontic office bought "Return to owner" stickers that are sized and shaped to perfectly fit the outside of the retainers cases. A fabulous idea, really, because retainers are expensive, so yes please return to owner!

But!

They slapped that sucker right over the vents of my brand new shiny case.

Phooey.

Fortunately, I have others.

But, I had really wanted the fun new color. 🫤

Are You Sure?

Last week I asked Google what show plays on CBS at 10:30pm central time. I couldn't remember what programming had replaced Colbert.

Google's AI Overviews told me the answer was Late Night with Stephen Colbert... which I knew was wrong.

So, I typed a followup question, "Are you sure Stephen Colbert is still on CBS?"

Google AI Overviews apologized and corrected itself. 

Alright. Fair enough.

On Friday, July 3rd I asked Google a question about Fourth of July scheduled activities across the country. Google AI Overviews gave me a list of things "happening today, July 4th."

I asked a follow up question, "Are you sure today is July 4th?"

Google AI Overviews apologized, offered a correction, and joked that it had gotten ahead of itself.

Disappointing. 

And alarming.

Next time you get an answer from Google AI Overviews, ask it if it's sure. That seems to be the responsible thing to do, doesn't it?

3 Things 7/6/2026

Something that went well 

I foolishly started a 1x1 meeting with a department manager (not my own manager) by griping about something insignificant, but I redeemed myself by not only shutting my trap through the remainder of the meeting but also thanking her for sharing her knowledge with me. I was rewarded with a, "Thank you for being so open to this."

Something to look forward to 

- library social event tomorrow 

- Maybe a yarn playdate with a friend later this week

- maybe get paid for the yarn shop work I did last month 

- maybe get new eyeglasses this week

What's the best that could happen?

All the maybes above could happen 😊

The Incredible Sulk

The Boys and some of their friends came to our house for Fourth of July festivities. After fireworks, we served them pizza and root beer floats. It was wonderful to see them all together. They disbursed at 1am.

It's been a long time since I'd stayed up so late, and it's been a long time since I've been this tired. Unable to think tired. Depressed tried. Everything is bad tired. Grouchy tired.

I apologized to The Husband all day long and assured him nothing was actually wrong other than lack of sleep.

Don't make me tired. You wouldn't like me when I'm tired.

3 Things 6/30/2026

Something that went well 

The yarn shop's Google Business Profile finally shows the correct address, and it no longer shows the store as Permanently Closed. That was a very good thing that went well.

Something to look forward to 

- I get a new pair of glasses and a fresh set of retainers maybe as early as this week! I'm looking forward to not having glasses with these stupid, painful nose pads anymore. 

- Gonna meet friends for dinner in the middle of the week. That'll be a nice change of pace.

What's the best that could happen?

I could still get a call from the place where I (quickly and sloppily) applied for a job over the weekend.

If not, I could find another similar employment opportunity and still get out of my current job before the hard work of migrating a multi-million dollar website to a new platform begins in earnest. 

My current employer's management team could start behaving in a way that makes me believe they value and respect me and are not planning to eliminate my position the moment the site migration is complete, which would encourage me to stay rather than seek escape routes.

Double Tap(s)

Filling the sink to wash dishes, I wonder why the water isn't getting warm. The hot tap is on. Weird.

Then I realize the cold tap is also open. Ah. Mystery solved.

But. 

Why would I turn on both taps? I wanted hot water; I wouldn't have purposely turned on the cold.

It was an odd thing for me to do.

The Husband found the story amusing when I told him about it later.

"If I'm doing stuff like this now, how will I know when I've really lost my marbles?"

So. Whenever one of us does something that makes us wonder if our mental faculties are slipping, we will ask, "Why would I turn on both taps?"

That *is* the question, isn't it? 🤔

The staff breakroom at my therapist's office is adjacent to the client bathrooms. As I exited the facilities, I noticed one of the mental health professionals struggling with some issue in the staff refrigerator. She forcefully moved several items around in there, then sighed deeply and muttered, "What is wrong with people?"

Shouldn't she know?

🤭

The Job Application, because why not?

I applied for a job today. Had to do it online, of course. I'm no stranger to the process, 

The only info they asked for was contact info and a resume. Which is good, I guess.

However, all of my application materials are stored on a laptop that was already old 7 years ago. I never transferred anything to the cloud or to a thumb drive.

I threw together a resume from scratch on Google docs, and that's what I submitted. It was not pretty, and I'm not proud of it.

But listen...

Earlier today, I was physically in the business that was hiring. Shopping. In jeans, t-shirt, no makeup, and my hair in a wind-whipped ponytail.

Very not polished.

As I paid for my purchases, the Manager wandered up, and I took the opportunity to ask about the job. Off the cuff. Unprepared.

Very not polished.

 She seemed to like me anyway. Said I had skills and qualities she needs.

So I'm thinking, if it's meant to be, it'll be. Everything about this process was unplanned and sloppy. If it works out, it would be a miracle.

But y'know, a month ago I took a wild chance, and I got to build a website for a yarn shop. 

This feels similar in a "nothing ventured, nothing gained" kind of way.

Not that I'm actively looking to leave my full-time job, but I wouldn't hate working somewhere where the manager seems to like me. 🤷‍♀️

It'll be fun to see how this plays out 🤞

Easily Amused

My optometrist is hard to read. He's personable and professional, but he doesn't laugh, and he doesn't smile.

During my appointment today, I cracked joke after joke, because, you know... me. He gave me nothing.

After receiving none of the typical responses to my many humorous remarks, I quietly said, "I think I'm funny."

"You are very funny," he said. "It helps that I'm easily amused."

:: blink ::

Excuse me. What?

You're... you're amused?

In the silence that followed, it occurred to me that, yes, he had been responding, just not in any of the ways I was used to.

I realized every time I'd cracked a joke, he had stopped what he was doing and had made eye contact. This was how he acknowledged that something special had happened. 

No laugh. Not a smile. But a pause, and deliberate eye contact.

After I identified it, I appreciated it even more than if he had laughed aloud 🫶