Hey, You, Have an Opinion on Water Bottles?

Every time I glance out my office window, and see what the elevator workers left behind, I feel either very sad, or incredibly angry.

Which accomplishes nothing. My feelings about this limbo situation change nothing.

I spent some time this weekend trying not to think about it. At first I thought I would work on my packing list for my trip next month, but I was hit with a wave of despair at the idea of packing and carrying everything downstairs, again, which made it an unsuccessful diversion. So I did what knitters do, and turned to knitting.

I'm currently working on a big project, Noncho by Casapinka, and it's going well. Here it is, two weeks ago:

But it has several hundred stitches per round (shown here with markers for counting to check my stitch count):

And right now, I wanted something smaller and quicker, so I pulled out this yarn:

And started a hat.

I know, that doesn't really look like a hat. This pattern starts with a sort of headband, which gets folded over to cover the ears double thick, and then you pick up stitches for the top. 

So far, so good!

Now, on to the question I put in the title of this post. I want to get a new insulated water bottle that is between the sizes of the two I have. 

The Bruins one is a Tervis stainless that holds 24 ounces, and it is super-well insulated. I drink from it at home, not bothering with the top, and what is left in the bottle at night is cool or even cold the next morning, depending on the ice-to-water ratio.

The smaller one is an Igloo, and holds 12 ounces. It is decently insulated, but if the top is not on, the water will not be cold overnight. 

So, what I want:

• somewhere in the range of 16-20 ounces
• completely leakproof
• ideally has a wide mouth for putting in ice cubes
• really keeps water cold
• easy to clean is also a plus

I don't object to some of the ones I've seen marketed for kids: I don't need a Serious Grown-Up Style bottle, I just want one that works, in that general size area.

There are SO many brands out there, ones I've heard of and ones I haven't, so I thought I would ask the crowd: any thoughts? Definitely do or definitely don't? 

It's Worth It, It's Worth It, It's Worth It---It Would Have Been Worth It

On Wednesday afternoon, there was (finally, finally) a sign of progress on the elevator. A truck was parked in the lot, workers were unloading supplies from a trailer, and most promising of all:

Blocked off elevator access.

I am was thrilled to think that we may (finally, finally) see the elevator fixed. But that doesn't mean that I won't be skeptical until the day the thing works, and it also doesn't mean that I won't complain about the noise of the work.

It's worth it! Truly, it is! But oh ye gods and little fishes, is it loud.

Well, that was then, this is now. I wrote that on Wednesday, and the workers were here Thursday, but on Friday morning, the trailer was gone, and I heard from the condo board that the workers found more damage. The company is working on an "estimate and timeline of the additional repairs."

It broke May 7.

More than four months ago.

And now? Who knows.

I'm torn between crying and screaming.

Neither would do any good.

Not What It Was Supposed to Be

boooooooooooooooo

I really wanted to write today about how the elevator work had started! And how excited I was!

Instead, since there was no sign of work by this afternoon, I emailed the condo board to ask for an update, and they said the installer had a burst appendix and had to be rushed to the hospital. They're working on getting another installation team here, "hopefully this week."

Now, I don't want to be unsympathetic to this person. I sincerely hope he is okay, and recovers well.

But also: Is this building on haunted ground? Has someone laid a curse on it? Maybe it was built with a 30-something-year good-wishes spell that wore off?

I don't think it's that last one. Things have gone wrong in the building before. But not like THIS.

Hockey Season Cometh!

Bruins training camp starts on Wednesday, but the rookies have already started, and they played a few games, one yesterday and one today, against Buffalo’s kids. I greatly enjoyed watching the livestreams! Yesterday:

Today's victory was 4-3 in overtime, and all of the Bruins goals were by the same player, James Hagens, who also had two yesterday. Promising start for the kid!

Chills; Another Step Toward Elevation

Spoke too soon about the vaccine aftereffects: mid-afternoon Saturday, I got the chills so badly that bundling up on the couch wasn't enough, I burrito-ed myself into bed in the fetal position until I warmed up. But other than swollen lymph nodes under that arm, which has happened to me after most if not all covid shots, I'm doing okay today, in a low-key, hanging out way.

Meanwhile! We have been told that the elevator work will start on Monday or Tuesday! We all seem to be in the mindset of "that would be nice, if it works out to be true," which I think is fair given how many delays have been part of this saga. At least, we're trying not to count on it. I know that I will be a wreck if anything else goes wrong, no matter how many times I tell myself not to count on it. I just keep thinking, maybe, maybe? 

I have climbed* more than 900 flights of stairs since May 7. I am so ready to be done with the stairs. 
*Do you still say 'climbed' if it's down? Do we climb down the stairs, or only climb up? I think my grip on English is loose today.

Double Shot (of vaccines, or of advice)

As a big believer in science, and vaccines, and things like that, I am very happy to say that I got this year's flu shot and covid vaccine last night.

One arm, I think the covid side, is slightly sore; the other isn't at all. I wanted to get this done before traveling in October, and I specifically got it done on a weekend when I don't have anything else on the schedule, so I can laze around without guilt, but so far it's nothing too bothersome.

I know there are people with comorbid conditions who can't get some vaccines, but if you're not in that group, I would encourage you to get yours.

Oh, and while I have your attention, if you're American, vote in November. It's 'just' the midterms, but wow is that more important than ever this year.

One Degree Removed from a Blogger Meetup

It's a long weekend in the US, and every time one of those comes along, it makes me so happy. I would love to work a 4-day week and have long weekends all the time, but generally by the end of an 8-hour day, my brain is fried. No way could I edit for 10 hours a day. Oh well.

This weekend I actually have two social events, which is a lot for me! But they're both good ones. My local knitter friends meet up for lunch one weekend a month, which is this weekend, and the other event is my first face-to-face meeting with someone I only know through the computer. But not a blogger! Through Zoom.

It seems like recently, a lot of bloggers have had meetups with other bloggers, which is fun to read about. I haven't had that kind of encounter in a long time, but this weekend, I'm meeting someone in a six-degrees-of-separation kind of way from blogging.

Okay, that sounds convoluted. 

A few years ago, I started joining an online stretch class that Engie mentioned doing: it's a 15-minute class on Zoom, usually three times a week, and it's a good way to get some movement into your day. I wasn't sure this healthcare place in Wisconsin would want to let me in from Florida, but they've been nothing but welcoming. It's a fun break in the day, and while we move our bodies around, we're likely to be talking about weekend plans and peanut butter cups. 

The teacher's husband travels for work, going to conferences and things, and she will sometimes join him if he's going "somewhere fun." And guess where he is this week? Down the street from me! So she and I will be getting together on Monday for coffee/brunch/whatever you want to call it. I'm really looking forward to it.

Have you met anyone in 3D that you only knew through electrons? How was it?

Words to Ponder

 "You can't start last week, but you can start now."
~James Clear

Interesting thought, no? Like the proverb says, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second best time is now."

Maybe/Hopefully/Provisionally Teeny-Tiny Good News

It ain't over 'til it's over and all that, but we have been told that the elevator piston has been manufactured and shipped, which could mean they hit the latest, mid-September target date. Maybe. Hopefully. 

(The timeline recap is here, if you're new, or just have forgotten details over the last four effing months of this saga.)

Honestly, I'm afraid to believe that nothing else will go wrong. There are still so many potential failure points, and I will only celebrate in full once the elevator actually works. But this is at least not bad news, and I'll take that!

Looking for Advice on....

Hi there, how would you like to be the expert today? I have a couple of random things to ask about, in hopes that one of you lovely readers will have answers.

1. Compression socks. First part of the question is do you use them, do you swear by them? I don't have a diagnosed condition that recommends them, but was wondering if they were a good idea for flying anyway. And if you do recommend them, what about material? I see both cotton and bamboo in a quick search. Also also, if you have a brand recommendation for people (women?) with large calves, I'd take that.

2. Jigsaw puzzle games for iPad that are not ad-forcing. I play a variety of games on my iPad, and with almost all of them, if an ad pops up that isn't the one-touch-X to close, I can close the game and reopen it, and it will open to the new game/level and let me play. But I've been trying a jigsaw puzzle one lately, and if I close the game and reopen it, I'm back to square one. The only way to get to a game is to wait out the ad, and with some of them, you have to close it four times before it's done. Do you know of any that don't so that?

This is actually the second jigsaw game I've tried. The first one interrupted a puzzle to play an ad, and then did it again during the same puzzle, and no, sir, we're not doing that. This one, Jigsawscapes, doesn't do that, but I hate having to sit through the kind of ad where you have to close it 4 different times, and sometimes the tiny X is very finicky and you have to hit it juuuusssst right or it opens the browser to try to sell you something.

3. There was a third thing. What was it? Damn it, menopause brain is a thing, y'all. Well, if you want to give random advice, now is the time.