Bogieblog

My Aunt is the "Tom Brady" of Baking

The NY Times has an article on the "Tom Brady's of".  Those not in the know, Tom Brady is a star football quarterback still playing at 45.5 years old (very old for that sport, and that position). So, the NYs article, released yesterday, lists people in different industries that are still active at "equivalent" ages. Aunt Baker is the second person listed. (Update 12/26 - I have attached a PDF since people are hitting paywalls).

Download The Tom Brady of Other Jobs - The New York Times

And, Aunt Baker sent me a care package of sweets a couple of days ago - which I promptly devoured :)

First Real Snow of the Season

NH got its first "real" snow storm of the season starting early Friday and lasting into early Saturday. Well, some areas got mostly rain, while the Monadnock and Sunapee regions got double digits of snow (i sit square between those regions). It was a very heavy/wet sow and I spent 3 sessions, for a total of 3.5 hours performing snow blowing and shoveling. That does not include random times when I shoveled the roof dumpage from the ramp and driveway.

Friday morning I had received 4.5-5" of snow and it sure made for some pretty scenery

While snow blowing yesterday morning (Saturday), I had to shake one of the branches of the crabapple as it was drooping so low I couldn't walk under it (the snowblower went under, but not me). By afternoon, most trees had shed their loads and fortunately I didn't experience any power outages, although others in the town did.

Trial Contacts December 2022

When I posted the picture from my eye doctor visit last week, I had totally forgotten some other news.

So this really starts last March, when I could tell there was a vision change in my right eye. Not horrible, but enough to be noticeable. I had an appointment in April and mentioned it then. There was no conclusive evidence then as to whether the power needs had changed, so we agreed to wait for my November appointment.

At my November appointment, it seemed as if the change was real. My left eye seemed as if it had changed too (although I had not noticed it and that eye changes throughout the day, so the visual test is a crap-shoot at best). Anyway, the doc ordered a set of trial lenses and I picked them up this past Friday. If you want a refresher on how much my left eye changed over the last couple of years, here is a link to a 2020 post.

Here is what my eyes were at for their worst acuity. They had been at the pictured powers for probably 15 years:

Once second cataracts formed in each eye, the acuity got better (I know, weird right?). The left eye developed the 2nd cataract before my right eye did, so it has changed the most the last 3-4 years.

Last year, the power for my left eye was 5.75 and for the right eye was 5.50. The trial lenses that I received Friday are at 5.50 and 5.25 (L-R)

Saturday I wore the trials and the right contact works well. The left, not so much (although not terrible - this just seems vaguely off). I'll give them another day or two and if the left still isn't happy, I will switch back to the 5.75 power to make sure my memory of that vision is correct.

Once I figure out the best combination, I'll let the doc know what prescription works best for each ey and then I can order 6 months of contacts.

New Addition to the Yard

This thing has been ready since late August

In early November I put a tarp over it to make leaf clean up easier and in case there was snow before the shed could be installed

Thursday night I removed the tarp. Sounds like an easy job but it had rained heavily the day before so it was holding a lot of water. I managed without soaking myself too bad though.

Friday morning at 7am the truck showed up and I told the driver where the shed was to be placed. I also asked about swapping the 2 end walls and he said it was no problem. The reason that is important, was the orignal plan was to have the double doors on the west side and the single window on the south side. But when he said the end walls could be swapped, I changed the orientation so the double doors are on the south side and the single window on the west side.

At 8:45, the shed base was complete, level and in place. And all the other parts were in place for easy asembly

At 10 AM, it was starting to look like a shed

The next two pictures were taken about 3 PM, but they were done just before noon (I know because I had just joined my noon meeting when the guy tapped on my door and said it was ready for the walk thru)

Now I just have to put stuff in there - probably won't happen this weekend as it is supposed to rain. As long as I get my mowers in there, plus a few other tools from the metal shed, it is fine until spring. If the metal shed collapses on the bagged mulch/soil/compost/empty planters, that wouldn't be a big deal. I need to make a plan before I start moving that type of stuff - and I'll probably still have to move everything around a couple of times before I'm happy with the placements.

November Pictures

On 11/20/2022, the Thanksgiving cactus was blooming. I found it strange, but pretty, that it decided to throw some white flowers instead of the usual salmon color I am used to

On the 29th of November, I had my bi-annual eye tests. I'm not sure how to read the pictures, but the doctor could see floaters, cataracts, keratoconus, "wrinkle" (in right eye from retinal tears), and blood vessel health (which we are watching for glaucoma). I didn't see the results from the visual field test, but she said they were holding steady compared to 6 months ago. Which for me means there is no evidence of macular degeneration or additional impairment from the 4 cataracts.

From the solar array monitoring app, this is the performance for the month of November.  It is plain to see which days were very cloudy (the blue lines show production). Two things to keep in mind: the energy independence is only for the time that it was producing (roughly half the month) and that I was away for 5 of those days so my energy use itself was lower than normal.

And some pictures that the pet-sitter sent after each visit

No pics of Rainey. Not surprised, and I had told the pet sitter she would not see Rainey at all - I would have been shocked if she had.