World of mine Wednesday’s Ws

What’s top of my mind: Insomnia. As mentioned in yesterday’s post I am having period of insomnia. Insomnia is sometimes defined ‘as not getting sleep when you want it.’ I am getting tired and ready for bed by 8PM. I wake throughout the night and yet come 4AM I am wide awake. I am assessing the factors why this is happening. I am forcing myself to stay up later and to avoid liquids in the evening. Another factor (I daresay the big one) is the heat of the room. I sleep best in a cold dark room wrapped burrito-style in a thick blanket. Despite the AC running nearly 24/7 it is warm and I don’t sleep well without a cover one me. This goes on/off throughout the night.

Where I’ve been: The garage storage cabinets. To meet my goal of ‘throw something out each day” I am going through the cabinets in the garage at least the ones I can reach. They are hard to assess as they are blocked by the inoperable 2001 Honda accord (oh the embarrassment). In them I am finding lots of things a) I didn’t know where there b) evoke the emotional reaction ‘why on earth are we holding onto this?” These readily go to the rubbish bin. I feel bad to discard an old Walkman as supposedly still operable, but who wants a battery-powered one-at-a-time CD player? If I can ever get to the other cabinets I daresay they are loaded up with things from pre-Arizona times, like the snow shovel we felt obliged to bring with us from Michigan in 2005. Oh the pain.

Where I’m going: Nowhere again. There are no plans, no outings scheduled for September. I lead a dull life.

What I’m watching: British things. I am watching more episodes of “Dr. Who” and the “Sandman” series which often have the same actors albeit older. Someone points out a few I’ve seen in the “Harry Potter” movies. Every once in a while I watch a ‘Letterkenny’ episode which isn’t technically British but I lump them together as part of the Commonwealth at least they have in common in these countries one can get a decent cup of tea.

What I’m reading: Mrs. Dalloway. Virginia Woolf is one of those writers everybody lauds as one of the greats but whose work few actually read. I read “To the lighthouse” and was bewildered how anyone can stomach such. I just started ‘Mrs. Dalloway’; it resembles Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ in form and story, a stream of consciousness on one day. It isn’t ‘light reading’ which is not good for bed time. According to an article “How many books do you have left to read?” my data suggests I have 270 books in me. I don’t want to waste time with any that bore me.

Mr. Feiffer. Please don’t feed him buns and things

What I’m listening to: Jason Feiffer. This fine fellow well over four feet does research into those things we bemoan as bad and unique to the present but have always been so. Every generation thinks the newest gadget will destroy life as we know it and corrupt the youth and soon we will all be degenerates living in cardboard boxes and drinking out of paper bags. His research assures us while lifestyles change it doesn’t really worsen. He and his work are upbeat and cheerful, which is comforting. Change is scary. It evokes panic and dread, but it is followed by adaptation and the new norm and finally with ‘wouldn’t have it any other way’.

What I’m eating: Chili. After Labor Day I like to make chili. I am always looking for new and various recipes for such, hoping to find the one that stands out as spectacular. The latest incarnation comes from Cooks Illustrated, known for coming up with ‘the best’ through trial and error testing. This version involved treating the ground meat (I used bison) with baking soda to up the PH for better browning. It called for a slurry of spices made with one ounce of ground tortilla chips. It turned out fair. In the defense of the recipe, I had to substitute the recommended chilies and my can of tomatoes was the wrong kind (flavored). Worse, I made it in a non-stick pain which didn’t do well for browning the meat. It has a ‘savory’ taste – not bad, but I like my chili ‘on fire’ with heat. No rubbish types.

Anyone got a really good kick-but chili recipe?

Who needs a good slap: Apple. Someone took advantage of some sort of lawsuit against The Empire that he got approximately ten dollars for it. It turns out you can’t use it towards a payment of something more than the amount. It obliges you to buy something for that exact amount or less, not more. Stirges. Billionaires needn’t be cheap or act out their emotions this way.

On my 1-5 scale, I give Apple one slap.

Who gets the fist bump: The House Manager. The Chief Medical Assistant is away this week. Prescription refills, normally done by her, are being done by The House Manager. She sent me an email saying since I know more about this than she does why don’t I just renew things as I see fit rather than she trying to figure out what’s right and delay and possibly bungle things. Later she called me (which she never does) to tell me I left at work my briefcase with my wallet, meds, and laptop. Salute.

What I’m planning: Autumn trimmings. I sleep in a large bed with a metal frame the connects the four posts from the top with rails. These are ideal for wrapping and garlands apropos for the season. Now is the time to get out the plastic vines with the maple leaves in red, yellow, and brown. Like the real things, the plastic leaves fall off over time and I daresay my decoration looks more like November than September. Time to get some new ones I suppose.

What’s making me smile: I am thinking of eliminating this W. It seems every week ‘what’s making me smile’ comes up a blank that I can’t think of anything that is making me smile. When I start digging about what comes up are all the awful things in nation and world that make me want to run off to Iceland or someplace like it. I suppose Adam Ragusea if making me smile. He is on The Tube of Yous; he talks about cooking for which I often fret I am not doing things properly. He is entertaining and more important he’s assuring cooking is mostly ‘good enough’ by doing simple things right and being mindful to make a good enough dish. It makes me smile to know what I make isn’t being judged like a panel of Olympic judges.