Category: Music

February 2026 Recap

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02/01 (Sun)
Learned The Cure finally won not one, but two, Grammys. It’s about time!

02/03 (Tue)
Noticed the display on the microwave we purchased in September has stuck pixels or whatever you call them on it now. Seriously?!

Found out later in the month that we will need to bring it to an authorized Panasonic repair service to be fixed under warranty. Guess how many we have to choose from? Two! They are each an hour drive away and only one of them has weekend hours. They don’t carry most parts in stock, so we have to leave the microwave to be evaluated, they’ll order the parts to fix it, thus requiring we come back 1-3 weeks later to pick it up. Does Panasonic care about how inconvenient this is? Nope. Won’t be buying another Panasonic appliance again.

02/04 (Wed)
Replaced one of the surge protector power strips in the living room after learning that they need to be replaced every five years because the ability to protect electronics from surges wanes over time. The plan to is to replace all of them. This also spurred a new project – going through all the electronics and cords in the house and starting a box to recycle what is no longer needed.

02/07 (Sat)
We bought soda for the first time in ages. Joe wanted to get pizza for the weekend, so I figured lets get some Pepsi. Even on sale it’s rather ridiculous, especially since we had to buy three 12-packs, but at least Target allowed you to mix and match, so we got two packs of Pepsi Real Sugar and one Dr. Pepper so I can make a dirty Dr. Pepper at home (it’s where you add cream, coconut syrup, and lime).

We attended Ice-A-Palooza in Wheaton.

I saw a sign for it at a park where I assumed it would be held (and the address for the event was on the same street), but we learned it wasn’t actually held there when we arrived to nothing happening. Luckily we hadn’t traveled too far out of our way.

The event was geared more toward families, so after sharing a french vanilla hot chocolate and taking a selfie with people dressed in a polar bear and penguin costume, we decided to leave.

It was a bit irritating that they weren’t adhering to the posted schedule so we missed the figure skating performances. Also they didn’t clear snow from one of the paths to the event and it was rather deep. I ended up emailing the park district to ask about the schedule and suggest they shovel next time since people with strollers needed to go the un-shoveled way since it had the accessible ramp from the parking lot down to the field. I didn’t even mention in my email that Skates, the Chicago Wolves mascot, was about 45 minutes late. He was supposed to show up at noon according to the posted schedule, but we ran into him in the parking lot around 12:45, only 15 minutes before the event was due to end. We got a selfie with him at least!

We ordered two pizzas (one small Mike’s hot honey thin crust and one large half sausage half cheese deep dish) from Lou Malnati’s and stopped in a store around the corner called the Rustic Fox while we waited for our food to be ready. The store is a collection of craft booths similar to another place we like called The Painted Tree. This store was much more crowded, though. I ended up snagging gifts for my best friend and stepson.

Originally we were going to get the pizza on Sunday, but with the Super Bowl (or Superb Owl, as I like to call it), even ordering it early might be a pain, so we figured we’d enjoy the leftovers instead while watching the game.

02/08 (Sun)
I watched the Puppy Bowl on HBO Max before we watched the Super Bowl via Peacock. Was thrown by the Hellman’s commercial with Andy Samberg playing Neil Diamond.

It looked like Andy but also didn’t look like him. What cinched it was his mannerisms.

02/12 (Thu)
Spent too much at Costco since it had been over a month since our last visit. I’m now going to rate some of the things we got there:

Beef Birria Taco Kit – 8/10 for delicious tacos and rice, but a mediocre consume.

Dessert Bars – 3/10 would not get again because my baking is superior. I had Joe take half of them to work for his employees and I froze most of the remaining for those days we need a sweet treat and nothing else is available.

Beef hot dog from the café – 9/10 still good, and despite my fears, they haven’t changed the bun (yet) even though other people are showing the inferior buns at their stores.

Coke Zero from the café – 5/10 because I still drank it, but it tasted like it was lacking the right amount of syrup. Culver’s is better.

02/14 (Sat)
Decided a visit to IKEA was long overdue. Since when do they open at 10 am? That is so late! We did the grand tour of the store, grabbed the items we went there for (picture ledges), and left. Nothing else really stood out and we were a little taken back by the prices. Was IKEA always so expensive when it came to uncomfortable furniture?

We had intended to cash in a T-Mobile Tuesday deal at Jack In The Box for a free chicken sandwich but the mobile ordering was unavailable. Since that was the only way to get the deal, we ordered Jimmy Johns instead and took it to the arboretum. After we enjoyed our lunch we visited Juniper Junction, their special model train exhibit.

It was cute, but colder inside the building than outside. Even though it was nearly 60 degrees, without the sun the building was not inviting inside (it’s not heated), so after admiring the trains for a bit we got back into the car and drove around, stopping at Turtle Pond as always to do a short hike.

For dinner Joe made the most delicious spicy ala vodka pasta and garlic cheese breadsticks. Then we put the Bob’s Burgers Movie on while we worked on a painting project he got us. I found the process a little frustrating, simply because Joe’s a better artist than I am!

Can you tell which side is his?

* I later learned that Jack in the Box has kept their mobile ordering turned off for both new Illinois locations since they opened here several months ago. People on FB were talking about how terrible their service is and the food being cold even when they aren’t busy. Based on that I doubt they’ll last long in this state.

Needless to say, I’ve added them to our boycott list, along with January’s addition – McDonald’s. I’m fed up with them not taking their own gift card in their app and their stupid app developers’ insulting replies when you complain about it via a review in the app store. Their reply? “We hear you. However, we currently do not have the feature to accept gift cards on the app.” DUH! That is exactly what I said in the review. Seriously, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

02/15 (Sun)
After morning errands we picked up breakfast from Tropical Smoothie Café (another T-Mobile deal). In the afternoon we went to Lincoln Marsh to try and find the owls. It took some time, but Joe spotted one after we heard it vocalizing.

Afterwards we walked around Northside Park. It was pretty muddy at both places; I felt very grateful that my hiking boots no longer irritate my feet like they did just a month ago. Judging by how many people we encountered at both places we weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather.

02/21 (Sat)
We headed to Kohl’s to do two returns. One of them was Amazon because they closed Amazon Fresh earlier this month. I had to return pants to Kohl’s anyway, though, because even though they looked like the same style as the cargo shorts I own, they had a real annoying seam along the back and front (in addition to the regular side seams). I will never find a nice pair of hiking pants, I swear!

On the way out of Kohl’s I spotted this hilarious t-shirt.

I was tempted to buy it, but I’m not that big of a Kohl’s fan.

We stopped at Dollar Tree* and Old Time Pottery. I found two cute garden stakes at DT.

Nothing really stood out to me at OTP. They don’t have all their stuff out yet, though, because I didn’t see any pinwheels. Ours was stolen sometime last year. I was so ill at the time that I have no idea how long it was missing before I noticed. It was in front of our tree out front, deep in the ground, and very sturdy, so I doubt it just blew away. I think either the old neighbors snatched it when moving out, or a kid really liked it and decided to make it their own.

We stopped at Lazarus House in St. Charles to drop off a few donations before making our way back home.

We passed World Market and I wanted to browse even though we rarely buy anything (which is exactly what happened) and noticed a new business two stores down called Ollie’s. They sell overstock at reduced prices. I recognized storage bins I’ve purchased in the past at Menards and books still sporting a Target sticker on them.

Speaking of books, I was amazed by the selection, and there were so many I would have loved as a child. I was really into illustrated dictionaries, encyclopedias, and almanacs, especially if they focused on animals, and there was no shortage of them.

I would have loved this book as a child.

* Since when are there so many different prices at Dollar Tree? They used to have the special section with more expensive items, but now those items are sprinkled throughout the store. Not only that, but it seems like some things are $1.25 but some are $1.50. They really need to change their name.

02/22 (Sun)
It was a more low-key day because my skin sensitivity started giving me issues when we were out on Saturday and I wasn’t in the mood to do much, but we got takeout from Culver’s for lunch because they have the best burgers and fries.

We also continued with the Great Declutter of 2026 with Joe going through a tote of computer equipment, and our box of electronics recycling grew even larger. It feels so good getting rid of things and making space and we’re not done. I’ve been decluttering and organizing for weeks now.

02/26 (Thu)
Tried Dubai chocolate and can say not a fan. Maybe Lindt wasn’t the right brand to try, but I don’t care much for milk chocolate anyway, so unless there’s a dark chocolate version, I would skip it.

02/27 (Fri)
Weather was nice enough that I took an afternoon walk around the neighborhood, and when Joe got home from work we went to Churchill Park.

Other than some red-winged blackbirds, we didn’t see too much, but it was still to get out of the house.

02/28 (Sat)
Went out of our way to a different *Aldi than our local one in search of the elusive asiago cheese version of their bagel seasoning which they had, so I got three.

Then stopped at Trader Joe’s next door to stock up and got these beautiful unicorn baby breath.

For lunch we finally got around to trying a smash burger place that opened up close by a year ago called Fyve Bros.

Gee, wonder who they are competing with? The burgers are almost $10 each (for a double patty), but they are really good. Melt in your mouth, good! So we’re be back. It’s across the street from our favorite Mexican joint so we’ll have to alternate visits.

* I called Aldi corporate earlier in the week to ask about when I should expect my store to carry the asiago cheese bagel seasoning and got into the dumbest conversation.

First off, the woman claimed it was a seasonal, she couldn’t tell me when it would come back in stock, and their website doesn’t show what’s actually in stock at any given store, just what was sold by that store at ONE POINT IN TIME. Say what?

I explained that the item’s availability changes when I pick a different location, suggesting it’s reflecting what’s actually in stock. Despite this, the woman insisted that’s not how it works.

In addition to that, she tried to tell me if I attempted to order something on the site and it wasn’t for the Aldi closest to my home, they wouldn’t allow it. I asked, “even if I chose pickup?” and she said yes. I could understand that if someone chose delivery, but why would Aldi care if someone chose to travel to a distant location if they’re picking up the order? I posed this question to her and she said that’s just how it is.

I asked to speak to someone else but she wouldn’t let me! Clearly she doesn’t know what she’s talking about because we went to our local Aldi the day after I found the asiago seasoning at the other location and they had it in stock at ours. I went home and checked the website and it was now appearing at that location even though for weeks before it wasn’t. Obviously it’s updating according to current inventory. Probably not in real time, but close enough. Ugh! How do some people lack critical thinking skills, and how do those same people end up in customer facing jobs?

Notable media this month:

Task (HBO Max) – In the working-class suburbs of Philadelphia, an FBI agent, played by Mark Ruffalo, heads a task force to put an end to a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspected family man. The first two episodes were a bit slow but once they found their momentum it was one of those mini-series that made you want to binge watch. It had an Ozark vibe to it, not just because one of the main characters, played by Tom Pelphrey, was in Ozark.

The Life of Chuck – This movie is an example of how good story-telling keeps you immersed even when not a ton of stuff actually happens. We weren’t exactly sure where the story was going but it had a satisfying ending.

Roofman – This film is based on a true story about a career criminal who lived in a Toys R Us for six months while hiding from the police after breaking out of jail. Very entertaining.

HouseSitter – They don’t make comedies like this anymore. No big set, no huge complicated plot, just good acting. I think we’re going to look into watching more movies from the nineties.

We were focused on a Scrubs re-watch in preparation for the new season on Hulu which we haven’t tuned into yet since we have two more seasons to go.

November Recap

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11/01 (Fri) – The new Cure album, Songs of a Lost World, was released and I listened to it on Spotify because despite pre-ordering it from Amazon in September, it was not delivered on the release date as promised.

I was apprehensive about a new album, because I have not fallen in love with any new material since Wish (1992), but it’s pretty good. Not an album I would listen to all the time, and devoid of any songs I would add to my “Cure Faves” playlist, but it has a very cohesive sound. If I had to compare it to any of their earlier work I’d say some songs sound like they were written at the same time as Bloodflowers, but the album’s sound flows similar to Faith or Seventeen Seconds. There are no radio hits on this album, but I am looking forward to listening to the instrumental second CD from the deluxe version of the album whenever Amazon feels like sending it to me.

Later that day The Cure streamed a live show on YouTube. They played the new album in it’s entirety and then moved onto songs they always tend to play live, with two encores, totaling three hours. It was amazing! They really do put on a fantastic live show – they always sound good and play for a very long time. I can only hope they choose an outdoor venue for any upcoming tours so I can see them live again (not willing to risk COVID or more damage to my ears at an indoor venue).

11/02 (Sat) – Decided to attend Crabtree Nature Center’s Waterfowl Watch which was a bust. Why are the birds always on the opposite side of the lake from any viewing area? It’s so frustrating! Needless to say we didn’t stay long. We stopped at a nearby park with a pond which was completely empty. The only highlight was stopping at Pita BBQ on the way home to get some delicious food for lunch.

11/04 (Mon) – Saw what I think might have been a juvenile red-headed woodpecker on the suet feeder but it flew off as I approached the window for a closer look.

11/06 (Wed) – Woke up feeling extremely sad and disillusioned over the election results and could barely pull myself out of bed. I naively believed Americans were smarter than this. I thought more than half the country had more integrity and empathy for people. Clearly I was wrong. I should have known better after what happened with the COVID pandemic, but despite my “negative attitude” I’m actually a pretty optimistic person. I really didn’t think people would rather see a convicted felon who is downright idiotic and a compulsive liar in office than a black woman. Look, I’m not a fan of any politician (although I dare say our governor here in Illinois is pretty great), but people really believe Pumpkin Spice Palpatine is the best choice to run this country? I weep for our immediate future and the long-term ramifications of this awful decision. Shame on America.

I ended up drowning my sorrows in a Chicken Big Mac from McDonald’s. I think they are better than the original Big Macs, mostly because I find McDonald’s burgers off putting these days. They changed something in them a year or so ago and now I hate them.

11/07 (Thu) – ABT came over to look at the washing machine that we had purchased in August because during a load it made a horrible loud noise and was shaking quite noticeably during each spin cycle ever since. The technician, David, was very knowledgeable and knew right away it was the shocks. ABT has great service, but the downside to their warranty repairs is having to wait for them to come out to diagnose the issue and then come back once the necessary parts come in. David explained these machines are made with very cheap parts and not to expect a lifespan of 15 years from them like we had with the previous washer. He also recommended I use the highest water level possible to reduce the strain on the new shocks once they are installed. So much for a water-saving efficient machine, am I right?

11/09-11/10 – Weekend Recap

11/10 (Sun) – Picked up a few different Christmas Tree Cake items from our local grocery store.

While the muffins are better than the donuts, I didn’t think either one deserve to be purchased ever again. I cannot find the ice cream anywhere, and after doing a little digging, found out it was a Walmart exclusive but even they don’t seem to have it (or at least their website isn’t indicating it’s available). I’ve been boycotting Walmart since they ignored my feedback a few months ago and will only shop there if I absolutely have to (like to get the ice cream or another pair of my favorite leggings).

11/11 (Mon) – Saw a white-breasted nuthatch for the first time in the backyard.

11/14 (Thu) – Saw a red-bellied woodpecker in the backyard for the first time this season, and the nuthatch came back so I was able to get photos of it.

11/15-11/17 – Extended Weekend Recap

11/15 (Fri) – Fell in love with these horseradish potato chips from Trader Joe’s. They aren’t overly spicy but have just the right consistent flavor to make them addictive.

11/19 (Tue) – The new Cure album was finally delivered. Thanks, Amazon.

The squirrels chewed the crap out of our oldest squirrel baffle to the point where both the piece that wraps around the pole of the shepherds hook and the baffle part itself (both of which were made of plastic) was compromised, so it kept sliding to the ground. When Joe got home we went to Menards to get a new all metal baffle. The problem? It wouldn’t fit properly on the squared off shepherds hook we had been using, so we ended up getting a new rounded one from Lowes. The problem? The stupid baffle still wouldn’t fit securely to that either! The baffle looked to be the same exact one we had gotten from Menards a few years ago but clearly they did something to it to make it suck. Joe ended up adding some neoprene between the pole and the fastener to get it to grip it tightly enough that it wouldn’t just slip down, so now we have two identical shepherds hooks and two almost identical all metal squirrel baffles to keep those pesky squirrels away from the seed and suet feeders.

In-between Menards and Lowes we got Taco Bell for dinner and it came with this retro looking cup which I thought was cool.

11/21 (Thu) – Sometimes procrastination pays off. Our passports expired four years ago and we had been dragging our feet over going somewhere to apply for new ones. Then the rules were changed and we learned if you were still in possession of your old passport, and it had expired less than five years prior, you could apply online for a renewal and use a photo taken with a mobile phone, so we did just that. We don’t have any international trips planned, but you never know when we might want to move out of the country. ;)

I also ordered a new iPad from Costco. Well, not a new model – I got the 10.9″ 10th Generation model from 2022 as it was on sale for $250 to replace my iPad that has bright spots forming on the screen. I use it primarily to watch YouTube when I walk on the treadmill and play Tsum Tsum, so I didn’t necessarily need the latest and greatest model.

Update: As of 11/30 it still hasn’t been delivered even though the estimate was 11/29. I chatted with Costco who is looking into it. I’m worried because the one I want, the silver, is now showing sold our everywhere. I hope they don’t try to give me a blue one. I already ordered and received a purple case for it which will not look good with the blue since you can see that in the cutouts from the ports and along the screen on the front.

11/22 (Fri) – Our new TV was delivered by Costco.

11/23 (Sat) – We got breakfast for super cheap from Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

Thanks to T-Mobile Tuesday all that was $6.

We had to go inside a bank for the first time in years so I could cash a check my mom randomly sent me; she had made it out to my maiden name for some reason so I needed to show them my marriage certificate.

11/25 (Mon) – A few days prior I got an email from FedEx about a package that was coming, but I didn’t recognize the “sender”, so I was very confused and kept racking my brain trying to figure out what it could be. The package arrived today – it was my free gift for donating to the American Bird Conservancy. This full color coffee table book is really cool!

What I can’t seem to understand is why the shipping companies will often only include the shipper and address of a warehouse or third party instead of the entity responsible for the shipment when you check the tracking details. I would have known right away if it said “American Bird Conservancy” as the shipper, but it had some weird name and address that tied back to a printing company even though American Bird Conservancy was on the outside of the package.

We had something similar happen with a lost package through USPS and to this day I have no idea who the package was from or the contents due to the limited information. USPS even admitted they delivered it to the “wrong business”, but never did a thing about it after claiming they would try to retrieve it.

11/27 (Wed) – David from ABT returned to repair the washing machine. It’s not as bad as before, but it still seems to shake a bit during spin cycles, although it could have always done that since I don’t stand around watching it during the cycles unless I hear something weird.

I might take a video of the shaking and the other parts of the cycles where it makes what to me sound like abnormally loud mechanical noises and ask ABT their opinion on if that is considered normal by GE’s standards. I’ve already been told it’s normal for it to release a small amount of water into the drum hours after a cycle like it’s been doing. I think that’s bullshit and GE just has a poorly designed washing machine, since the old one never did that. I keep the lid open all day after a load anyway, so it shouldn’t cause any mold to form.

David encouraged me to buy the extended warranty with ABT for $200 which will cover an additional four years past the measly 1-year warranty with GE. The machine only cost $550 to begin with, but the repair if not under warranty would have cost a whopping $415! I cannot believe these companies with their cheap parts charging so much to repair stuff that breaks so easily. We truly are living in some shitty capitalistic times. No longer will your appliances live for decades because corporate greed is way too strong.

11/28 (Thu) – Watched the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving parade and National Dog Show, as is tradition, even if both often leave something to be desired.

Also put up the new upside suet feeder we bought from Amazon. We’re hoping this will keep the sparrows away.

It seems like a new tradition now to buy a bird feeder for Black Friday since we had gotten our seed feeder last year during the same time frame. The woodpeckers took to it quickly, and hopefully the chickadees and nuthatches (we have two now) will too.

Update – Still haven’t seen any chickadees on it, but a nuthatch was spotted on it and a red-bellied woodpecker ate from it too.

We weren’t planning on hosting Thanksgiving this year but Joe’s daughter reached out two weeks beforehand asking if we were and offered to bring a side dish (which ended up being a Hello Fresh carrot dish which had an interesting ginger flavor we liked). We decided to go ahead since the only difference would be the size of the turkey we needed; I wanted to make all the traditional sides regardless of who was coming over. Joe’s son, E, could not make it due to his work schedule, and his daughter’s SO, J, was busy with his family, so it was just K and us. She arrived a bit before 4 and we had dinner where I tried this new Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale.

It was ok, but not something I’d ever buy again.

After dinner we chatted and played a game called Mantis she and her SO had brought over last year.

We bought our own copy shortly after. It’s really addictive and we played for hours. We were having so much fun, K didn’t leave until almost 12:30 am. By that point I was absolutely freezing. It’s one thing to have the thermostat set to 68 degrees when you’re already in bed, it’s an entirely different thing when you’re still walking around the house. It took me a long time to warm up once in bed, even with the help of a heating pad. I didn’t fall asleep until 1:30 am and felt like I was hungover the next day.

11/29 & 11/30 (Fri & Sat) – We really didn’t do much except make a quick run to the library and eat Thanksgiving leftovers. It was a very chill couple of days.

Notable movies this month:

Trap (2024) – As soon as I saw the preview for this movie, I knew it was going to be good, and other than a couple of WTF scenes, it was. I was really impressed with Josh Hartnett’s acting.

Bernie (2011) – Starring Jack Black, this movie was based on a true story of a guy who strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow and things turn sour in the end. What was fascinating was all the support Bernie had from the community despite what he did.

It’s What’s Inside (2024) – Wow, this one took a very strange but gripping turn. When I don’t look at my phone during a movie, I know it’s a good one.

Strange Darling (2023) – This was one of those movies that kept you guessing over and over again.

Inside Man (2006) – Who doesn’t love a bank heist? This one took an even more interesting turn than most; don’t let the release year dissuade you.

Jackpot! (2024) – Starring Awkwafina and John Cena, an unlikely duo, this was just pure fun. Not every movie needs to win awards to be entertaining and this was thoroughly funny and enjoyable. Hard to find a good comedy these days.

Thanksgiving (2023) – A horror movie that was a bit too gory for me, but kept me engaged even if I guessed the killer pretty quickly.

A Very Cure Halloween

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I was watching a YouTube video the other day that was sponsored by Opera, the web browser.

I admit, I completely forgot it existed, but decided to download it this morning to see whether I prefer it to Google Chrome. So far, I do. I really like the left-hand sidebar in Opera where your chats and music live, instead of having to keep open tabs for them. As far as performance, time will tell whether it hogs more resources than Chrome did.

—

I had a really nice Halloween afternoon – I edited a backlog of photos while listening to The Cure on the BBC Sounds radio app. They were streaming them in celebration of their new album being released November 1st.

The first show I listened to was pre-recorded recently and included songs from the upcoming album.

Tracklist from the BBC 2 Radio set:

1. Alone
2. Pictures of You
3. A Fragile Thing
4. High
5. A Night Like This
6. Lovesong
7. The Walk
8. In Between Days
9. Just Like Heaven
10. From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
11. Endsong

The second show was a live stream of them playing at a small venue in the UK.

Tracklist from the BBC 6 Live set (which is listed incorrectly on the BBC website):

1. Plainsong
2. Last Dance
3. I Can Never Say Goodbye
4. Burn
5. And Nothing Is Forever
6. At Night
7. A Forest
8. All I Ever Am
9. Prayers for Rain
10. Disintegration

They sounded amazing, as usual, and it was a wonderful listening experience.

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We got about the same amount of trick-or-treaters this year as past years, definitely no more than twenty total kids, most of them between 5 and 7 pm, with one boy coming around 7:20. I ended up closing the door at 7:30 because technically the official hours are until 7. The neighbor across the street brought her two boys this time (they didn’t show up last year) and I had made a treat bag for them. I just gave loose candy to the rest of the kids, but next year maybe I’ll make bags for everyone. I usually do, but just didn’t feel like it this year.

We got the big bag of Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids, and mini Oreos since we like them all and knew we’d have leftovers.

I think the uneven distribution with the Oreos is partially responsible for me not making the treat bags.

I was worried I’d have a big group of kids where some would get three types of treats and then others would get only two. I hate the idea of disappointing anyone.

Weekend Recap (09/28-09/29)

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Saturday (09/28) we had planned to go out to St. Charles to visit a few birding spots but the weather decided to ruin those plans so instead we took advantage of a T-Mobile Tuesday offer and got free food from Tropical Smoothie Cafe for breakfast. We got a mocha madness smoothie (free), acai bowl (free), and the cali breakfast flatbread (paid), all of which we split and enjoyed.

Their food is really good but I wish they had smaller sized smoothies which cost less than $8+. The one size smoothies are huge and I would order from them more if they were half the size and price.

Later that afternoon when the rain let up we stopped at the library on the way to our town’s Harvest Fest. This fest is rather small without much to do for adults, but we knew the Girl Scouts would have a bake sale booth. I was really looking forward to some zucchini bread but they didn’t have any this year; I guess I’ll have to make my own soon. We picked up a few items including some really yummy “monster” cookies that were a mixture of oats, peanut butter, and chocolate.

Sunday (09/29) we went on a bird walk at Danada Forest Preserve with the DuPage Birding Club. We weren’t seeing many migrating birds so our guide, Robert (who looked a lot like Hal Sparks), decided to cut the walk short and said we were welcome to follow him over to the nearby Hidden Lake Forest Preserve where people had spotted a Sage Thrasher, a bird that should not be in this area at all, not even during migration. Its territory is in the western states, so people had been flocking to the area to get a chance to see it. I had heard about it prior to Robert bringing it up, but figured there was no way I’d know where to look, so hadn’t intended on trying to find it. But knowing he had coordinates from eBird (which I still can’t seem to figure out), I was excited to take a look.

When we got there we all ended up in the wrong parking lot (on the left instead of the right) but one of the guys in our group got in touch with Robert to find out where he was and we walked over toward the other parking lot. Sure enough, there was a group of people gathered staring at a bush near a bridge where the bird had been spotted. Then to my amazement it came out so we could all get a very good look at it. It was almost as if it knew it was a celebrity and was coming out to greet its fans, and we were the Paparazzi! I got so many good photos I’m still working on them, but I’ve included this one.

After that excitement we headed to the arboretum for a quick look around. It had starting misting out, though, so we headed over to Lisle Community Park to check out this year’s Barkapalooza. Wow, there were so many dogs there between the rescue organizations and people bringing their pets.

The sponsor, West Suburban Humane Society, had a huge bake sale where we got some really yummy treats.

Note: We tried almost everything and it was all so good, especially the rice krispie treat which was my favorite. The only one I didn’t love was the cranberry bread.

We really love Barkapalooza – it’s where I got one of my favorite photos with Wookie in 2018 – so it was disappointing that it was raining more and ruining our ability to hang out longer.

On the way home we stopped at Trader Joes.

We’ve always loved TJs but prior to rejoining the arboretum wouldn’t go there often, but now that it’s on the way home we’ve been stopping quite frequently. The granola is something we picked up last time we were there and I fell in love with it and wanted to get more before it was gone. I’m pretty sure it’s seasonal. We also got the fish nuggets a week or two ago and tried them on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised how good they were (I’m not really a lover of fish) so we had to get more. They’re a quick meal made in the air fryer.

When we got home Sofi Tukker was still live streaming on Twitch so we turned that on while we ate lunch and beyond. I want to say they streamed two hours, possibly longer. The more I listen to their new album, the more I love it. Even though we have Spotify, I plan to buy the album on CD as well which I always do for my favorite bands.

The chickadees also came by to visit the feeder briefly, so it was an awesome afternoon!

July Recap

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We didn’t do too much this month thanks to the crazy hot weather most of the time, but the things we did do were pretty significant:

07/11 (Thu) – Saw Strangelove, The Depeche Mode Experience at Addison’s free concert in the park.

We sat as far back from the stage as possible and even then I felt my ears were being blasted. My phone’s decibel meter was registering the sound as being in ear-damaging territory. I was getting ready to suggest to Joe that we leave when I suddenly remembered putting high fidelity concert earplugs in my fanny pack about a week before. Not even sure why I did it. I believe at the time I was thinking it probably would be a good idea to always have some ear protection easily accessible because of my sensitive ears.

I bought them back in April 2019 but got sick shortly thereafter so never had an opportunity to use them. They felt weird at first, but were pretty comfortable after awhile. I could still hear the music perfectly fine and no extra tinnitus after the concert. I consider that a win! I don’t think I’d risk attending an indoor concert, though, but would feel ok outdoors with these ear plugs. Wish I had been aware of them years ago and maybe my ears wouldn’t be damaged now. I haven’t attend many concerts compared to a lot of people, but I do remember having tinnitus after them which didn’t go away until I went to sleep.

Anyway, the venue was way more crowded than we were expecting, but I’m glad we decided to check it out anyway because the band sounded just like Depeche Mode and played many of our favorite songs. This one family sitting in front of us was annoying, though, letting their kids run around everywhere which was rather distracting, but overall it was still a nice night out. Weather was perfect too. We don’t really go out like that much so it was a nice experience.

What’s funny is if it hadn’t been for us trying to find the second location of this little seasonal garden called Murphy’s Farm a week beforehand, we wouldn’t have even known about the concert. We went to the farm’s usual location and it was empty, so we decided to try and find their main location which we had never visited. It was closed too (apparently they only operate in the spring), but there were signs on the main street nearby advertising the free concert.

07/13 (Sat) – Adopted a dog – a Schnoodle named Olive

This is her sleeping on my lap.

Spoiler alert – it didn’t work out thanks to my broken right ear. :(

07/21 (Sun) After more than a month of eating through the food in the freezer, it was finally empty enough for a big Trader Joe’s trip. Look at all that yummy food!

07/24 (Wed) – Found this bat wreath at Home Goods. I didn’t need another Halloween decoration, but it was too cool to pass up.

07/26 (Fri) – Joe took the day off work so we went to Peck Farm Park to visit their butterfly tent. Afterwards we went to another park to walk around, then stopped for a little snack at Andy’s Custard. Joe had seen an advertisement for a key lime pie custard mixer, so we shared a medium which was delicious, but pricey (nearly $9). We grabbed some lunch on the way home and then decided to go swimming in our complex’s pool. It’s literally been years since we were last there, but we arrived shortly after they opened so it was pretty empty and peaceful. We spent about an hour there. I was a little concerned about getting burned, which would be ironic, since we just had our annual skin checks at the dermatologist the day before, because the sunscreen we have for the pool expired years ago. Luckily it still worked, but I did buy some new sunscreen a few days later.

07/27 (Sat) – Went to a shelter to meet a dog named Penelope we were interested in. She was being fostered, so we had to arrange a time for the foster to meet us at the shelter. She was listed as a Yorkie, but we quickly found out from the foster mom she was part Dachshund, which the shelter should have listed since they themselves had rescued this dog’s mom too! So they knew what she was mixed with and still didn’t disclose it. Had we known, we wouldn’t have wasted anyone’s time. As soon as I put the dog on my lap there was white fur all over my pants. So aggravating! We are specifically looking for a small non-shedding dog similar to Wookie, but these places often don’t list enough information for us to determine if they are a good fit before having to meet with them which is such a waste of time and effort for everyone involved.

This shelter does some pretty annoying things in general –

1) They neglect to post any photos of some of the dogs even after being asked to do so. Everyone has a phone with a camera these days so there’s no excuse for not being able to a single photo of a dog, if not several.

2) They put a general message about coming to the shelter to meet the dog even when the dog is being fostered and isn’t at the actual shelter. If you don’t notice the small section that lists the location as Foster Home, you will end up visiting the shelter for nothing.

3) They don’t disclose any information about the temperament of the dog even when it’s been with them or in a foster home for weeks. At that point they should have information about it. Why not post what they know to help people decide ahead of time if they even want to meet the dog? When I’m on Petfinder and Adopt-A-Pet I will often see a dog that is listed as having separation anxiety, for example, so I know to skip past them. It saves everyone time, not to mention reduces the chance of someone having to bring a dog back, so I don’t get why this shelter doesn’t care about giving out as much information as possible. People should have an idea of what they are getting into when adopting a dog. Do people just go blindly into a shelter, pick a dog based on looks, and take it home? That seems like a recipe for disaster.

If it wasn’t for the fact that they seem to get more of the breeds we’re looking for than the other rescues in the area, I wouldn’t bother with them anymore. It sucks to have to drive a half hour to the shelter just to quickly learn something about the dog that, had they listed it, we wouldn’t have pursued. They currently have another dog on their site listed as a Yorkie but no photos or a description even though it’s been posted for weeks. It’s so aggravating!

07/28 (Sun) – Visited my friend, K. She was dog-sitting two Schnauzers who were cuter and had softer fur than other Schnauzers I’ve seen. Apparently the owners get all their dogs from the same breeder so they have good genes. Surprisingly, their high pitch barks didn’t bother my ear, which I was expecting after our experience with Olive (who was half Schnauzer, which I was told is a breed with a very high-pitched bark).

Later in the afternoon we were invited to visit K’s brother’s house. They recently got a new puppy – a Maltese Shih Tzu mix. She is adorable! K’s parents were there with their poodle too, who we hadn’t met before but came right up to us and was friendly. K said she’s never like that, so that made me feel special. In fact, K said she is a lot like Wookie was – very standoffish with other people and dogs. She still was that way with the puppy but I’m sure will warm up to her with more exposure. We were invited to stay for dinner but decided not to accept, then regretted that later. Oh well, hopefully we’ll have another opportunity soon. I love K’s family, whom we’ve met before at K’s birthday parties. They are warm and welcoming. I wish they were my family!

Anyway, that was July. I don’t know why the universe is hating on me right now when it comes to finding a dog, but it sucks. I miss Wookie so damn much and I don’t expect a new dog to ever replace her, but I do think it will heal my heart a little.

Notable movies and series this month:

The Beekeeper starring Jason Statham (DVD) – Borrowed this from the library. Was pretty entertaining, and had some funny parts, but I feel like they had some bee-related missed opportunities.

Mike & Molly (Max) – Back when this series first aired I was in my Melissa McCarthy hater era, but I’ve since gotten over that. Glad I did, because this show is good!

Young Sheldon (Max) – I never had a single desire to watch this show, but we just finished re-watching The Big Bang Theory, so we decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, and we both like it much more than we anticipated. Every character is interesting, and I didn’t realize the actress who plays Sheldon’s mom is the real-life daughter of the actress who plays his mom in TBBT. How cool is that?