Very long but useful article. I never know how to reply to the “no time to exercise” statements, so what they say, makes sense. I can second the paragraph about “exercise which does not feel like exercise.” It’s actually the best when you can do some real thing instead of working out in a gym. But again, as the article mentions, you still need to incorporate some strength training.
The City Council voted for the Noise Ordinance on June 12. When I was escorting on June 15, we were not sure how soon the sign would appear. It turned out that it was up just a week later! And as other escorts shared, it somewhat helped. They were quiet, even though the number of antis is gianormous.
I went escorting this morning even though I had another million things to do, but after I examined my schedule for the rest of summer, I realized I wouldn’t be able to escort until August 17. One of the fellow escorts took this picture of us under the new sign:
It is, indeed, a win, but we’ll see what will follow. Today, we talked a lot about the case that a Jewish Orthodox woman brought up this week. According to the Old Testament, life begins at birth, not at conception, so the court ruling goes against their believes.
Once again, we’ll see!
P.S. Noise ordinance is indeed against noise, not against anties, and it passed the City Council almost unanimously. The protected area is the whole perimeter of the clinic.
Continuing on the topic of appliances. When I moved in, the dishwasher was not working, but it could be repaired, so I didn’t shop for a new one. I made a couple of interesting discoveries after it was repaired, such as finding pieces of broken glass on the bottom, and way later, I found the cap of the rinsing liquid dispenser. The dishwasher door would not stay in the intermediate position and would always fall all the way horizontally, but the job of cleaning was performed fine, so I could live with it.
I really liked the dishwasher which Anna had in her house. The things I especially liked:
After the cycle is over, the door opens a small gap, so some air gets inside and helps the plastic surfaces to dry. I wash a lot of plastic containers, and I like the idea you do not need to additionally dry them when you unload a dishwasher.
I love the third rack! It has space for all of those “not fitting into” things, like cutlery, small lead, blender parts, etc.
I love that it operates so quietly that you can barely hear it
When I finally decided to get a new dishwasher a couple of months ago, I texted Anna to ask about her dishwasher brand. She didn’t reply right away, and I was already deeply in the process. Also, wanted to make sure that it would be delivered when Boris was in town and could be at home for delivery. Long story short, I went through several dozen models available in Lowes, looking for all of the above criteria. After I placed the order, Anna finally got back to me, and it turned out that I purchased the same one as she had :). It’s sad that only Samsung could check all the squares!
Later, I discovered one more exciting feature: the cycle auto-selection. This thing can actually figure out how dirty your dishes are and select the washing cycle accordingly!
I moved to Rogers Park three years and two months ago, and some of my friends might remember that there was not a single thing in this house that would work properly then. Since I didn’t have money to fix everything, I resorted to the bare minimum, and one thing which was a must, was a washer/dryer combo, because there was none. I do not know what the previous owners did with their machine, but the niche designated for the washer/dryer was empty.
I purchased a new one from Home Depot (because at that point, I didn’t realize it’s evilness). Since the day I bought it, it had a problem with the dryer handle – it was getting off easily, just when you pull the door with above-average force. Fortunately, it was equally easy to put it back.
This thing (the handle getting off) happened periodically, and there was no problem until about a month ago, when, out of blue, I could not put this handle back! After several unsuccessful attempts, I finally realized what the problem was: the little hooks which would get inside the door and secure that handle, were gone; just broke off.
As one would expect, that happened exactly after the warranty was over :), and I was unsure how I could possibly get it fixed (BTW, opening this door without a handle required two screwdrivers). Then, I decide to ask Grandfather Google, and discovered the website where I could find spare parts for pretty much anything. There, I found the replacement handle.
The price was completely unreasonable, but when you need something – you need it! So I ordered an paid $80 for the part and delivery. However, since it would arrive several days later, I decided to “temporarily” fix it with Gourilla Gue – and if worked!
Nov, even though the part arrived long time ago, I am reluctant to tear off this “DIY” fix…🤣
I am back from my best vacation in many years, and the first morning started as usual, with listening to WBEZ while I was showering and getting ready to go. The commentator discussed the US economy during Trump’s four years and Biden’s four years. I am glad when people make a fair comparison, especially when they don’t forget to point out that presidents have a very moderate influence on the economy during their respective terms.
Here are two articles from Time Magazine on economic issues. The first one is about the prices of groceries which is how most people perceive the state of the economy. And the second one is about inflation from the macroeconomic’s perspective.
And in connection to the article about having a proper rest, here is one more TIme Magazine article, this one is about vacationing. The part I would disagree is the statement that it’s more fun to plan than to go on vacation. Maybe it works this way for somebody, and probably it worked that way for me many years ago, but not anymore 🙂
On Monday, I met with my friend Natasha to discuss the details of their upcoming visit to Chicago. She suggested visiting the Helsinki Botanic Garden. Since I didn’t get a chance to see enough roses this time, I fully supported that idea.
We went on a long (3-hour) bike trip on Sunday. The weather continued to be perfect, and the sightseeing was gorgeous as usual. I couldn’t take any pictures during the ride because we kept going :), so you just have to trust me! These ones were at made at our turning point.
Friends took us on a short sailing trip, and it was the best sailing trip of my life! Nothing like motion sickness, enjoyable weather, amazing views and a dog on my lap 🙂 Thank you, Zoe!
I am approaching the end of one of the best vacations I ever had, and a much -needed one! Thinking about what made is so awesome, I couldn’t ignore this article in Time Magazine: 4 Signs Your Body Is Telling You It’s Time to Take a Break. I agree with most of the observations, especially about being prone to colds. As for the short breaks, I am not so sure, it does not really work for me. And when life is really stressful, as it was for almost a month before my vacation, short breaks do not matter.
Hettie's Reflections 