Miata Washings

Zero Drive Homework

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Instead, this morning I got on the bike and went for a ride. It was sunny, warm, and windy. There was a stiff easterly wind, so most of the ride was north/south. No bike ride is fully complete unless there was a stop at Stomping Grounds. I sat outside because of the weather, and I sat close to the building to avoid the wind component of the weather.

It is election season, so as I cycled the sides of the roads, they were littered with signs with candidates’ names. One of theirs was very prolific, as they were everywhere. Why place one when ten will do? As I sipped my latte outside Stomping Grounds, a memory was triggered.

Go read Missed Opportunity, and then come back.

When I posted that, I purposely left off the woman’s last name. Well, those numerous signs all held the same name, Ann with no last name. So, when I said I “felt an easy connection…” There are only a couple kinds of people who radiate that aura, people who do feel a physical attraction towards you or politicians. I think that explains the connection I felt…I manufactured it.

I have the Oregon Voting Pamphlet sitting on the coffee table, so for the heck of it, I looked for Ann and found her, but the B&W halftone thumbnail made it impossible to match it to my hazy memory of the event. At least now I can go on believing that Ann really could have been the second Mrs. Bogardus had I been quicker thinking.

Busy Damn Day

While I was gone, I received a couple of texts that I waited until I returned to respond to.

The first was from my dermatologist’s office, they wanted me to set up my 6-month skin check. This morning I thought that I’d just do it online. I sign in to my account, and I get the verification code (so they know it’s me), and then the form asks for my insurance information. Full stop. The office is 2 miles away, I’ll just head over and do this IRL. So, the regular doctor I have been seeing didn’t have an opening for at least 4 weeks. I told the desk person that I wasn’t particularly locked in with her, so she looked at the whole team’s schedule and said, “Do you want to do it now?” “Well, sure,” I replied. It was 10 minutes to 10:00 AM, and they had a ten o’clock opening.

The next adventure was the Mazda dealer. This is where the Miata has been since a couple weeks before I left to go to Utah. The right turn signal would not come on, the left worked fine, and I really didn’t need to fix it, nobody out west does state-mandated inspections anymore. But I’m used to using the turn signals, I like using them, so I was willing to spend a few hundred dollars to fix it. Trouble was the dealer had a heck of a time getting in. There was one new/old stock in the US, but it got lost in transit. They then had one shipped from Japan, but it was broken. They ended up finding a used one at a Miata salvage shop. The used one was about $60 cheaper than the new one, so because I had already paid for the fix, they are going to give me my next oil change/tire rotation on them.

This afternoon consisted of me washing both cars. The GTI was encrusted in dead insects on the front, and the sides had a coating of dust and grime of Utah dust. The Miata was dirty from just living outdoors behind the service bays for a couple weeks.

It’s Good To Be Home

Back to my regular routine. I took my favorite walk with my favorite latte. Did a little shopping. Fred Meyer for OJ and a couple of yogurts to tide me over until Friday’s big shop. Kohl’s for a long-sleeve T-shirt because I liked the color. And AutoZone for some snow foam for use later today. This afternoon I washed the GTI and brought the Miata back from the dealer.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more exciting doings…

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 80.6%

 

Potpourri

  1. Today would have been my mother’s 100th birthday. Missed it by 19.
  2. Yesterday I tried a different place to walk, Powell Butte. It’s a couple more miles further away than my usual haunts.
  3. Today while walking in one of those usual haunts, a decent-sized black cloud appeared about a 1/2 mile away toward the road. Later I could see flames, but then it seemed, wherever it was, there were people putting it out. I started to hear sirens about the time the smoke stopped.
  4. Yesterday evening I finished one jigsaw puzzle, tore it apart, and started another fresh puzzle right then.
  5. Today I watched the Boston Red Sox lose their 34th game against just 25 wins.
  6. Day before yesterday I binge-watched season 2 of The Four Seasons. I don’t recall the first season being that great, but, this one felt comfortable enough. If they do a 3rd I’d like to say I won’t watch it, but I know me better.
  7. Last week I stopped watching LOST at season three, episode twelve. I’ll probably start again. Once I finish the stuff in my Netflix queue.
Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 26.8%

 

Honky Tonky

I almost didn’t blog tonight, almost.

I didn’t yesterday because, about the time I would have, I was nearly 100 miles away at a bar in Lebanon, Oregon. Four of us from the community piled in one car at about 6pm and made a beeline to Sam’s Place to listen to the folks above. The drummer and his wife used to live in Quail Hollow, but moved south of the city to help the wife’s mom on her farm. We only stuck around for the first 1-1/2 hour set so we could make it home by midnight and not turn into mice looking up at a large orange cultivated winter squash. Unlike my last foray into a bar to hear a band with my neighbor, there was no dancing. Nobody was dancing except for the birthday boy and his wife, who slow-danced one song…

Today was a typical Sunday: bike for breakfast, wash clothes, watch Red Sox, lunch, jigsaw puzzle, random YouTube vids, dinner, and now doing this.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 21.5%

 

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Today was jam-packed.

Started with my go-to weekend bicycle ride. I changed it up a little in the beginning to try a different bike path heading east. It really didn’t improve anything, and it actually was a downgrade because it is less traveled and as well-kept as the Ch’ak Ch’ak trail. It was a bit chillier of a ride because of yesterday’s rain, and it was still overcast. So instead of my usual dining outside at Stomping Grounds, I sat inside for my latte and muffin.

Sunday is laundry day, when I wash the sheets and towels as one load and then a second one for the clothes that have accumulated since Wednesday. While doing the washing I was watching the Red Sox lose to the Braves 8-0. This afternoon I washed both cars and changed their driveway order. The Miata is up front now because it is supposed to be a mostly sunny week with highs in the 70s. After the car washings I watched the last two episodes of season two of LOST.

My new toy/impulse buy showed up via FedEx, the widescreen FlightWall. After setting it up on the side table and getting it dialed in, I just let it run. I was going to wait until tomorrow to mount it in its permanent spot when I got the flat extension cord from Amazon but couldn’t help myself.

Along in there, I had time to break down the completed jigsaw puzzle and start a new one. plus watch several episodes of The Charismatic Voice. She really breaks down the singing and, to a certain extent, the sound as to how they are so good. I knew these songs were good, but she helped me understand why they are.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 38.5%

 

At The Carwash

I’ve been driving the GTI all week, and there have been several trips in the rain. The car has gathered plenty of dirt in all the places that normally collect it, and as with any squared-off hatchback, the dirtiest place is that hatchback. Also the brake pads produce a lot of black dust on the wheels

Afterwards, the Miata got a bath as well. Unlike the GTI, it has been sitting under the carport all week. But in more ways than one, it was actually dirtier than the Golf. First, it is springtime, so there is a bit of pollen coating the car, although nowhere near what it would have been back east with its pine pollen, and second, because I am near a busy road filled with cars and trucks that create an awful lot of dust and soot that make their over the wood fence and under the carport.