Kingfisher, Mums, and COVID Vaccines

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Sunday (10/01) started with a trip to this little pond tucked behind a FedEx facility of some sort. A local photographer had tipped me off to a Kingfisher that spends time back there. I had checked the pond twice before without success, although one of those times it was there, just not in a spot I could photograph it. This time it kept flying away whenever we got close, but I did get a zoomed in shot.

I hope to get better photos in the future.

After a stop at Armstrong Park, where we didn’t see much, we did some grocery shopping at Meijer and I got some mums for the patio. I only bought two this year – one orange and one purple.

We later stopped at Target to get the latest COVID vaccine. Other than a sore arm for a day, didn’t experience any side effects with this one. I’m happy to get one every 6-12 months if it means preventing long-term health issues. We do annual flu shots, so why not? I cannot understand why so many people make such a big deal about the COVID vaccine.

September 2023 Recap

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Started listening to a podcast called Morbid. I swear I used to listen to it years go, but none of the episodes were already marked as played in Apple Podcasts, so I’m not sure, but I really like it and there’s a huge backlog of episodes to enjoy.

9/02 (Sat)
Went on our second bike ride of the year at Cricket Creek where we saw a herd of deer. I chose that location so we could pick up breakfast from a Mexican restaurant on the way home.

That afternoon I ripped out a bunch of zinnias since they had gotten out of control. Next year I will plant fewer flowers.

9/05 (Tue)
Saw a bald eagle at Armstrong Park!

Obtained our REAL IDs from the state so we could get into Fermilab (they started requiring those, or a passport, earlier this year).

9/13 (Wed)
Our new windows and patio door were installed.

9/15 (Fri)
Purchased a pair of Sketchers from Target to replace the shoes I wear on the treadmill which are literally falling apart. A few days later I saw there was a Target Circle deal for 20% off shoes so I chatted with an agent to see if they could refund me the difference. They ended up giving me $15 back which was way more than I asked for, but who am I to argue? So instead of $30 the shoes were $13.88 which is good because it turns out they aren’t that comfortable for treadmill walking. I should have known better – I’ve never like Sketchers. I plan to keep them because they are slip-ons which comes in handy for walking Wookie, but I still need to find something else for the treadmill.

9/21 (Thu)
Wookie turned 7 years old! She has kidney issues which are currently stabilized with medication and a special diet, but it pains me to say she will have a shorter lifespan than her breed normally does because she will eventually go into kidney failure. I really do not like thinking about it because I love her so much.

We bought her a special treat – Milk-Bone Pup-Peroni Mash Ups which are described as “crunchy Milk-Bone biscuits, exploding with baked-in, meaty Pup-Peroni chunks”.

I figured they might be better for her stomach issues. She loves Pup-Peroni but they didn’t seem to agree with her. She LOVES these. She gets one every evening and she does a million little excited spins when she knows it’s time.

I tried to sign up for a paid Dropbox account so I could migrate away from Google One, but Dropbox didn’t want my money. Once I got to the payment page there was a “verify you’re a human” test that would say I passed, disappear, and then say “verification failed”. I tried it multiple times but got stuck in this endless loop of telling me I was ok and then saying “sike, you’re not! try again!” What a bummer, but maybe it’s for the best.

9/23 (Sat)
Visited the Morton Arboretum for the first time in about 5 years. Between my 2019 sickness and them changing to timed entry during the pandemic, it was no longer appealing. They finally dropped the time entry requirement for members, so we signed up. Fall is the best time of the year there, plus we can drive around the grounds in the winter and hopefully see some owls. We’ve been looking for them everywhere and have yet to spot a single one.

9/24 (Sun)
Went to both Fermilab and Mount Saint Mary Park again, but neither were as fruitful as our previous visit. It seems the birds just aren’t as active this time of year.

9/28 (Thu)
Had lunch with my friend, C. I drove to her place and then we went and grabbed food from Burger King to bring back to her house. It was a very nice afternoon.

9/29 (Fri)
An issue I had with Chick-fil-a was finally resolved. I had mobile ordered their limited time Honey Pimento Chicken sandwich on 9/9 only to find barely any of the specialty sauce on it when I opened the sandwich at home. I submitted a complaint online and other than an automated reply, never heard back. I even called their customer care a week later and all they could do is tell the local restaurant to call me, which still didn’t happen. So I called them directly and the woman I spoke with, Heather, was very apologetic and put five free items in my rewards account to redeem:

Two honey pimento chicken sandwiches
A caramel crumble milkshake
My choice of a few other sandwiches
And a free drink of any size

I got the special chicken sandwich and the milkshake the next day and both were delicious!

9/30 (Sat)
Went to a few nature places and then Bass Pro Shop to look at hiking boots. Ended up buying a pair that I plan to wear around the house to ensure their comfort. Afterwards we went to IKEA to look at window treatments and found some white cordless cellular shades that should look nice in the living room. We have been using temporary black paper cellular shades but decided black was too dark.

New Windows and Patio Door

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We finally had all our windows and patio door replaced on 9/13 after years of getting ridiculously high quotes (one place quoted us $8000 for the patio door alone). We ended up going with a guy our neighbors hired to replace all their windows and his price was nearly half that of the cheapest window company we could find. Are they the highest quality windows in existence? No. Are they nice looking white vinyl windows that are better than the old aluminum ones? Yes.

The one thing I’ll say is that while we did save a lot of money, it was a bit of a pain going back and forth with the guy to make sure we were getting exactly what we wanted. I’m sure that process would have been smoother with a bigger company, but in the end everything (mostly, see update below) worked out fine.

The guy and his crew, which included two other guys, arrived early in the morning and did all the work in one day, finishing up sometime around 4 pm I believe. I can’t remember the exact time, but considering we had a three panel patio door and 8 windows, I was impressed. I was told by at least one company the installation would take two days which I didn’t like since I knew Wookie would be stressed out the entire time.

I figured I’d list some things no one warned us about that might help someone else:

1) There will be dust EVERYWHERE, and I do mean EVERYWHERE. On every single surface, including those nowhere near a window. Of course the installers cleaned up all the big pieces of debris around each window, but a fine layer of dust settled on everything. Needless to say, I had to vacuum and wipe down every surface in the house.

2) The caulk around the windows will take days to cure and will be easy to mess up if you touch it at all within the first day or two (and even beyond that if you press on it with something hard/sharp). I wish the crew had brought this to our attention before I accidentally put indentations in the caulk near the bottom of a window.

3) The windows will need to be cleaned. Maybe other companies take care of this, but I was left with windows with fingerprints and little spots of glue all over (and sometimes fingerprints IN the glue). I guess that’s the price one pays when hiring someone who charges literally half the price of their competitors. Although don’t get me wrong, I will gladly take on that task to save thousands of dollars. Luckily they are double hung, so getting access to both sides of a window is pretty easy. That being said, it still took me over an hour to thoroughly remove the glue from two windows. There’s a lot of back and forth trying to figure out which side of the window the glue is on, using a razorblade to scrape it off, then using window cleaner to clean up the residue. Then you put the window back up, only to realize you missed spots. Rinse and repeat.

4) You might need new window treatments. We had inside mount white faux wood blinds on all the windows but the casing of the new ones take up more space in the frame now, so they cannot be reused unless we mount them on the outside of the frame. That’s not possible with the windows in our living room because the fireplace mantel is RIGHT there in the way. Not a huge deal, as the blinds are pretty old, and in some cases yellowed by the sun on one side, but I’m overwhelmed by the available options and having a hard time choosing what to buy. Right now I have curtains over the primary bedroom window for privacy, and temporary paper cellular shades over the other windows. We were able to reuse the vertical blinds for the patio door, however. I gave them a real thorough clean first (which took three hours) before Joe put them back up.

5) Because you don’t want to damage the aforementioned caulk, your windows will be bare for a few days. Otherwise the risk is too high that the caulk will get indentations all over when you install your window treatments. It was creepy as all hell at night, let me tell you. We felt so exposed!

All that being said, I’m still happy with our new windows and patio door. They look/function great (well, other than a small thing with the patio door I need to address with the installer).

Update (April 2024):

Back in September we failed our inspection with the village because the double-hung windows in the two front bedrooms were too small to allow escape during a fire. This is something our installer should have known, so that was annoying, and even though the one room had a second window that didn’t fail, thus not requiring us to replace the failed window in that room, it didn’t make sense to not replace both windows anyway since it would look dumb from the outside to have two different types of windows next to one another.

Therefore we ended up having to remove two double-hung windows and replace them with casement windows since they were the only type of window that would pass inspection. That was done on 4/10. The installer redid the windows for cost (aka didn’t charge us for labor, only for the actual windows, since he was largely at fault) and then we sold the two double-hung windows via Facebook Marketplace.

I hate the way the new windows look and function – they crank open, which means you have to be cautious about keeping them open if it’s especially windy out as they could be ripped off their hinges or at the very least damaged. Also the screen is on the inside and spans the entire window whereas with the double-hung windows the screen is on the outside. Unfortunately, we had no choice and have to live with it.

I suggested to the association that they warn people moving forward that they’ll need casement windows in their front rooms, but I doubt they will do it. Sure, the window installers should catch this when applying for a permit, but it’s still aggravating that neither the village nor the association bother to give anyone a head’s up, thus saving them time, money, and frustration. Instead owners don’t find out until after the windows fail inspection. This already happened to another resident before it happened to us (which we learned of at an association meeting), and I have no doubt it will keep happening depending on which company is tasked to perform the replacements since the association and village do not request the window type/measurements to ensure they adhere to code before the work is done.

Saturday Excursion to St. Charles & Batavia

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We had a fantastic morning! Even though it was overcast we decided to hit up a couple of places we haven’t visited in awhile, and they did not disappoint.

Our first stop was Mount Saint Mary Park along the Fox River where we saw ducks, egrets, finches, blue jays, squirrels, and chipmunks, lots and lots of chipmunks.

We spent a lot of time under one oak tree in particular where the chipmunks were running around collecting food. It was the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time.

By this point the park was getting busy with tons of joggers, so we decided to grab breakfast at a little café up the river where we had the single greatest breakfast burrito either one of us has ever eaten. The weather was perfect so we enjoyed our breakfast on their patio.

Our next stop was Fermilab in Batavia. We recently got Real IDs from the Secretary of State since Fermilab will not let you on the property without one (or a passport, but ours expired).

The security guard warned us no buildings are open to the public which struck me as odd since the learning center usually is. We parked near it and walked through a wooded area and over to a pond where we came across a bees’ nest in the ground. I’ve read about them making nests in holes in the ground, giving a new name to b hole (hahaha), but never witnessed it myself. I tried to get photos to no avail and when I attempted to video them I guess they got angry and at least two of them swarmed around my head. They sound pretty menacing when they are buzzing right in your ear, so I got the heck out of there. Not before screaming like a little bitch, though! Lol

On the way back to the car an employee stopped us to ask if we were bird watching, then had us come into the learning center building (the same one the guard had incorrectly told us was closed to visitors), gave us a map, and showed us the best (ahem, only) places to bird that are open to the public on the property. She was so nice and helpful.

One spot is along a lake we had never visited before, and we saw a pair of sandhill cranes in a field across from it! I’ve only ever seen them in a wildlife rehab or far far far above our heads in huge flocks during migration, so that was cool.

As we walked further down the path by the lake we came across a guy bird-watching with a huge spotting scope, and he invited us over to look at some pintails (ducks) he had zoomed into in a pond. We discussed whether he’s been to Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary in the city and he said yes but felt the best birding is actually at Fermi, so we’ll be going back soon for sure.

Shortly after parting ways with that nice guy I saw a warbler which was exciting! A palm warbler, to be specific.

Birders have been seeing all sorts of warblers for weeks but it’s my first confirmed sighting.

By the time we got home we had been out for five hours and I had taken 450 photos.

August 2023 Recap

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8/03 (Thu)
Joe’s work gives employees a half day off work for their birthday so we decided to pick up a movie from Redbox and grab lunch from Beef Shack. They recently put an Atlas Chicken Shack next door so we got some rice balls from there as well.

8/04 (Fri)
Joe took a vacation day and we went to Cantigny Park in the morning. My biggest gripe with them – they have landscapers with very loud and obnoxious leaf blowers all over the property. I don’t understand why they can’t do that outside of visitor hours. Needless to say, despite the beautiful gardens, the visit wasn’t exactly peaceful. To add insult to injury, they proceeded to ignore my inquiries about whether there are certain times they do the leaf blowing so I can plan my future visits accordingly.

8/13 (Sun)
We went on our first bike ride of the year at Armstrong Park. I only made it 15 minutes before growing too exhausted. Apparently the fact that I walk on my treadmill nearly every day of the week doesn’t mean squat when it comes to riding a bike. Muscles I forgot were there were so sore.

8/15 (Tue)
Ran into a fellow nature photographer I’ve been talking to online at a local park. I knew it was only a matter of time since she lives in the area and frequents many of the same places we do. We had a nice conversation and she gave me some helpful info on where to find certain species of birds.

8/16 (Wed)
They ripped up the road in front of our house as part of ongoing roadwork that started in July which includes replacing most curbs (ours excluded since they were in good shape) and the entire street in our subdivision.

8/17 (Thu)
Bought a new dip at Costco from La terra fina called Smoked Gouda & Peppers, and let me tell you, that has to be the single best dip I’ve ever had. Not only is it delicious with crackers, pita bread, and naan, but later in the month I mixed a small amount into some scrambled eggs and it was amazing.

8/19 (Sat)
Was craving takeout, but wanted something a little healthier than normal fast food fare. Yelp to the rescue! We discovered a Korean place called Bibibop and decided to give them a try. So glad we did because the food is fresh and flavorful, and the green sweet tea is amazing.

8/22 (Tue)
Joe had the day off work since the original plan was to visit the DMV (or Secretary of State as it’s called in Illinois) to get our REAL IDs. We cancelled it when we realized they were working on the roads and we didn’t want to chance not being able to easily get back to the house because Wookie is on medication I need to give her at a specific time every day.

That being said, we did go out in the early morning to Springbrook Nature Center in Itasca.

Unfortunately, it was a morning of loud noises. When we arrived at the nature center the landscapers were unloading mowers. We walked out to a section far away from them but the loud expressway was there and the planes taking off from O’Hare were flying low overhead every minute.

Stopped at Krispy Kreme and there was a mower right by the drive-thru speaker so the employees couldn’t hear us ordering, nor could we hear them. Then mower guy just stopped there but didn’t turn off the mower. So annoying! We couldn’t go inside to order like we tried originally because the doors were locked for some reason even though it was 8 am.

We got home to them paving the street so that racket was going on for hours as well. Lukcily the road was safe to drive on by the time we were ready for a late lunch.

I had a sudden craving for Red Lobster and they had a lunch deal where you get to pick four different types of shrimp, two sides, cheddar bay biscuits, and drinks for two for only $22. Not a bad deal, even having to pay a bit extra for caesar salad which is considered a premium side. They had this crab rangoon shrimp which was absolutely amazing, particularly with the accompanying dipping sauce. Everything else was ok, but that stole the show.

8/26 (Sat)
I’ve had a Super Mario t-shirt for approximately two years (Joe found it at Savers but I stole it because it’s so soft and comfy) which I wear frequently and no one ever commented on it until two men complimented me on it in the same day. Talk about random.

We took advantage of a T-Mobile Tuesday offer at Burger King so we could get “free” Whoppers. Mine wasn’t actually free because they charge $1 extra for the Impossible patty and another $1 for cheese. I’m ok with the latter but was a bit annoyed since there was no fine print about the Impossible Whopper not being completely free. It wasn’t even as good as I remember it. You had to spend $3 to get the “free” sandwich, so we also tried the chicken fries (pretty good, although the strong pepper flavor gets overwhelming after awhile) and the bacon double cheeseburger which was hands down the best item. In fact I keep craving another one.

8/29 (Tue)
I realized what I’ve been experiencing on and off since I got sick in 2019 is called closed eye hallucinations and they aren’t indictive of brain or eye damage.

Sometimes when I have my eyes closed I’ll notice a colored orb that kind of pulsates across my field of vision while changing size. These orbs are usually purple, bright pink, or neon yellow. They can get pretty intrusive and hard to ignore, but it doesn’t happen too often.

8/31 (Thu)
I started reading a Stephen King book (Fairy Tale). This is significant because years ago I got so frustrated with the shitty endings in his more recent work that I vowed not to read another book of his again. Luckily this one didn’t suck and had a proper ending with closure.