Squirrels, scones, Canada/US DST chicken, and the agony of car choice

I have regrets.

And I did, in fact, forget a couple of times.  I wondered why I was so irritable and why the pain was worse, and why I was clumsier and even foggier than the current normal.  #TheAnswerIsAbove #SeeLastPostForGloriousDetails  

The weather has continued to be mild.  Trees have been budding since February.  But there are no plum trees about here that I know of.  I have continued to walk outside when I can, even though the foot has thoughts about this activity.  And I keep thinking of that Sarah's Scribbles comic . . .  #TheFoot'sThoughtsAreMostlyScreaming

#SoonBasho #TooSoon #SeeAbove

#NoActivityTrackerIDoNot #We'veHadThisConversationBefore #ManyTimes #ChronicPainSucks

One thing my chronically pained body always adjusts well to is time changes!  And there's one coming up.  Through a weird alignment of things, I think I might be able to delay its effects until Thursday because I am going to CST on Sunday through Wednesday.  This means I might not start my usual annual foggy crankiness related to time changes (and not french toast) until later in the week!

Also, my colleagues and I in Canada were discussing this, and the Canadians blame us Americans for this mess. #IDon'tBlameThem  They say that Canada can't stop the madness until the US does, and we are . . . not particularly functional due to a certain party in part of the legislative branch at this time for a number of reasons.  So, we're playing DST chicken with actual lives in the balance and please, I don't care which way we pick, can we please just stop doing this?  Thank you!  #MeAndAllTheSavedTrafficFatalitiesAndHeartAttackVictimsWouldThankYou  #IKnowThat'sAllYouNeedToGetThisPassed #PrettyPlease

#IOnlyVisitedOneBookStore #IBoughtNothing #PraiseMe #OrBeWorried #YourChoice

#NotPictured:MatchingSocks #InordinatelyPleasedWithMyself

Transit Adventure 3 has been completed!  Originally, it was going to involve maybe going somewhere for an afternoon tea.  It's probably a good thing none of those are available on Fridays because I would not really have been prepared for the dress code.  And one thing I've learned about myself since I started dying my hair wild colors is that this makes me (a usually unmemorable person) pretty much really memorable.  So no slouching into the formal tea room in my regularly scheduled shirt, raggedy knit pants my knee brace can fit over without tearing up my leg, and horrifyingly beautiful serious winter coat.  #AndLet'sNotTalkAboutTheShoes

#CloseEnoughForCasualFridayIGuess

Now, you may be aware that I am a dining Philistine.  I mostly can't taste due to an unfortunate conjunction of sinus shenanigans, allergies, and having my nose broken 9 times.  #AlsoIGrewUpCulturelessInTheMidwest #AndIWasLivingBelowThePovertyLineForYears 

So I also kind of don't know much about food.  But I have to say that these vaunted fresh buttermilk scones seem indistinguishable to me from buttermilk biscuits.  (And if I you know of my love of buttermilk biscuits from when I had them more regularly [#Like 3TimesAYearInsteadOfNever], you will realize that this is not, as the youths say, throwing shade.)  #ThisIsNotWhatTheYouthsSay #ProbablyTheYouthsHaveNeverSaidThis #LikelyIMisheardSomethingAndNothingCanChangeMyMind

#TasteTheSugarAndCreamAndFluffyWarmScone

Jam and clotted cream are a classic.  They make their own jam.  So many kinds.  If only I had easy access to small quantities of gluten free bread-like things that taste good!  #AGoodThingIDon'tReally  The peach jam had actual peaches in it and the strawberry raspberry whatever was delightful.  They also make an astonishing fresh herb scone with egg and cheese that is a rapturous experience to eat even when you can't taste things.  #Let'sNotTellTheAcupunctureLadyAboutThisEither

I almost didn't post this but then realized I don't hate my future self enough to forget to record this.

#ILeaveSoManyCrypticFacebookPosts #WhyDoYouPutUpWithMe,FacebookFriends #SeriouslyMakeMeTellYouWhatTheMysteriousBookOrFoodIs

My other alternative to awesome tea was chocolate, so I went on a chocolate adventure to bring back amazing chocolates for my church small group just in time for PIe Day.  #TheyAreRoundIsh #CloseEnough #HappyToSupportThisWomanOwnedBusiness #OrAnyoneWhoMakesAmazingChocolatesLikeThis

Then I went to get some tonkatsu.  I . . . want to like it, but . . . 

Not pictured: My food.  I think it was too subtle flavor-wise for me (see above).  Pictured: Is this bike wearing boxing gloves?  If so, why?

#TheyAreGlovesBuiltInToTheBikeHandlesToKeepHandsWarmForWinterDeliveries  #WhichIOnlyKnowBecauseTheBikeDeliveryPersonGotOnTheBikeAndShowedMe #AndPunchingCarsThatGetTooClose #WhichIsAllOfThem #MyHeartCan'tTakeTheBikeCarInteractionsHere

#IThinkMaybeWeHaveDifferentDefinitionsOfAccessible,TTC

Between the wind and putting on and taking off my muffler and mask 47 times, I felt like my barrettes were getting more and more askew as the day went on.  When I got home, I confirmed this fact.

#BarrettesAskewWouldBeAGoodNameForABand

After a long day of agonies and adventures, I arrived home to this amazing sight!  Finally!  The week after I gave up and went out and bought my own kitchen washcloths to horde and hide, the cleaning people left 2 (of the promised 4) washcloths!  

#It'sATransitAdventureFridayMiracle  

I would like to take a moment to say goodbye to my faithful Little Black Toaster That Could Fit Way More Suitcases Than Physics Should Have Allowed.  We were only together for 3 months, and you had seen some hard times before we met.  You were rode hard and put up wet before we met, but if you had not been there in all your scratched, stained, and creaking glory that I probably got fined for even though it came to me in that condition, I would not have been able to get my egregious tonnage of luggage home from the airport.

#ThisWasEarlyInTheDay #BeforeBarrettesAskew

In retrospect, another blessing of picking up the car really late in the day is that there were only 5 choices, and only one of them could fit my luggage, so no other brain matter needed to be used.  Which was good.  I had none left at that time.  #3MonthsAgo #StaringOffIntoTheDistanceMeaningfully

What was terrible this time around early in the day is that there were 94 choices.  But that number didn't really matter because it all came down to 2.  There were two blue cars.  Everything else was boring colors.  Even one of the two blue cars was a boring color of blue but was, at least, technically blue.  Here were the contenders: 

Option	Pros	Cons
TinyCar	Could park this anywhere. Enough room in trunk for my pool PT bag (barely) or a couple bags of groceries. Technically blue, probably more sparkly outside of the dark and dank dungeon area where the cars are punished between uses.	Tiny gas tank. Less good gas mileage. Probably doesn't get up to speed very fast. Not much room for passengers of average adult size. No vent to put my phone holder to put my map at eye level. Entire area over left shoulder is a blind spot.
BeautifulColorCar	Very Beautiful. Blue so beautiful even the dark and dank dungeon area where the cars are punished between uses could not hide its beauty. Bigger gas tank. Slightly better gas mileage. Trunk that could easily fit 2, possibly even 3 adult bodies suitcases. Vent on dashboard to put phone holder to get maps closer to eye level. Enough room to ferry co-workers to and from lunch since they all have carseats they can't remove. I can see over my left shoulder. Slightly higher off the ground for seeing traffic around me.  It is so pretty color.	LongBig Car. Probably hard for me to park and easy to accidentally hit things with. Possibly trendy? People might covet it's loveliness and try to steal it away and hide it in a castle guarded by a dragon.

In the end, after -I am not kidding you- 45 minutes, after I chose the small car because it just wasn't right to choose a car with parking disadvantages just because it was beautiful, I realized that I could see absolutely nothing in the back left quadrant area, so oh no I had to choose the pretty blue car.  #NotPicturedThisTimeBecauseIAmEvil #It'sCalledForeshadowing #OrSuspenseOrSomething #Actually,IJustCouldn'tBearToStayInThatDungeonAnymore #AndForgotToTakeAPictureWhenIGotHome #StayTuned

#ThatRandomMomentOfZenWasProbablyWhenIMadeThe@*$&ingCarDecision #IHopeTheEmployeesWereEntertainedByMyIndecisiveness #TheyHadNoIdeaOfTheWarGoingOnInMyMindBetweenBeautyAndPracticality  #VivaBeauty #WhichMightBeTheNameOfTheCarIfYouDon'tHaveBetterSuggestions