I’ve been using the text function on my phone and getting better at it. But I tried using Siri and she confused two different Davids in my contacts list and couldn’t get it right. I finally was able to dictate the text and she signed my name “Harry At.” Still working on this.

We took Ziggy to the Vet two days ago. He has a congenital immune deficiency, so gets sick easily. He got an antibiotic shot, had infected paws treated, we got a gel to put on his food that boosts the immune function. He actually likes it. But he hid out for two days after we got him home. He’s just not a traveling kitty. I know all his hiding spots, so I am able to find him. I don’t disturb him, just put his food dish in the closet with him. And a little later, I give him some catnip in a small dish. He always eats it. We were told he has some bad teeth that should come out. I guess that’s next.

Speaking of teeth, Ed had a couple pulled and a new prosthesis, and is eating soft food for a couple of days, and we were lucky to find someone to do this on an emergency basis because Ed’s mouth was hurting and it would have been hard on him to travel without the work being done. The referral we got from our dentist couldn’t take him till September. (What’s with dentists who don’t do extractions?) The extractions were minor and it wasn't necessary to have an oral surgeon. We liked the new dentist a lot, a Haitian woman who is really smart, so I am thinking of switching over to her myself.

The other morning I decided to clean out the removable reservoir in my Keurig coffee maker. I washed it, rinsed it, put it back, making sure it was properly nested, and filled it. The “water low” light wouldn’t stop blinking. The machine won’t make coffee if this light is blinking. I called the customer service line at Keurig. A couple of easy fixes didn’t work so the rep said apparently the sensor in the reservoir was faulty and they would send me a new reservoir, no charge. 7 to 10 days. Gasp. A friend told me the Ninja coffee maker makes single cups and whole pots, and uses regular ground coffee, not in pods. It is a lot cheaper to use. She loves hers, so I am considering getting one. Meanwhile, I dug out our ancient Cuisinart coffee maker from the cupboard. I had to clean it out, guh, locate the filters I still had and change the filter, locate the paper cones to use. Lucky I had everything. It took me a few minutes to remember the amount of water and coffee – I broke open several Keurig cups because I didn’t have any loose ground coffee. So this stop gap has saved me from a caffeine crisis. Whew. Close call. Of course, I could have dressed and biked down to The Perfect Cup, on the “big road” and they brag about their coffee that has won awards but, here’s the thing: they serve a community that thinks Olive Garden is fine dining, so their coffee urns aren’t set for strong coffee. I have to ask the waitress to add strong coffee from behind the counter, the stuff the staff drinks. So I don’t do that a lot.

xx, Teal