19 Comments
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Kevin Alexander's avatar

It's good to see you back! Regarding tabs: can I just say that after dealing with the gauntlet that is the Washington DMV, getting them here is easy. No DEQ for most of the state, no value-based fees (do they still do that?), no nothing. A couple of clicks online and they just show up in your mailbox. This is good, as I'm very much #TeamBrian when it comes to these things.

I've also tried this "reading books" thing I keep hearing about. Turns out it's really fun! Currently reading one about a guy's trip through England, visiting lower-league soccer clubs. It's genuinely awesome, and I find myself looking forward to getting home so I can pick it back up. Can't say that about McConnell updates.

Our peppers have finally come in, and after a few years of anemic results, we've got a bumper crop.

P.S. Jimothy rules. He's the folk hero we didn't know we needed.

Jen Zug's avatar

Thanks, it's good to be back!

And yes, we have the option of getting our tabs mailed to us, but clearly I've demonstrated a lack of timeliness to take advantage of that! LOL

I love that you find books about stuff you're into, like soccer.

Darrell Abbott's avatar

Funny. I enjoyed this thank you “)

Jen Zug's avatar

Thanks, Darrell!

Nicole Steinbok's avatar

Fun post, thank you! My summer is going great! I am uptodate on dates… that I know of. I have been reading books regularly. Ironically last night I was reading an article - "The Age of Reading Is Over" - it’s interesting. Joint replacement - not yet… my right knee is not right and hasn’t been for decades. I am getting a partial replacement Oct 8. Jimothy - yup heard of him, enjoying the community joy he has brought us. We need more Jimothy.

Jen Zug's avatar

More Jimothy indeed! I was so surprised to see him mentioned on The Daily Show, and he also showed up on our Roku screen saver! Glad to hear you're getting your knee taken care of. I will eventually need to replace my left knee, but I'm holding off as long as possible.

Melanie Hardacker's avatar

The whole thing is why we are friends!

I think you are talking about re-setting your imagination in your hiatus. Doing all the things that foster that imagination on a day to day basis so we can be the best version of ourselves as we go about our life. And yet, sometimes we fall apart because we forget to foster that. Then we are just robots going about our dull, lifeless lives where we barely keep it together and don't know what month our car tabs expire (been there, done that. Learned the answer is always "Mail them to me". I will never actually leave my house to pick them up.)

John's is limping because he spent a week getting too hot in June and apparently we never unswell at this age. Will this lead to a knee replacement not because he fell or played sportsball too hard but because he did construction in heat?

I am reading "Yesteryear" which I have heard so many good things about but so far I find the main character just annoying. I am hoping the story starts moving along soon.

Looking forward to next weeks installment.

Jen Zug's avatar

Yes, resetting my imagination was a big part of it! May write something along those lines this week if I can finish it. Definitely feel like I broke out of robot mode while I was on hiatus.

I wish I remembered to order my car tabs in time to get them mailed! Alas, I always wait until it's too late. 🙄

About swelling, ugh. In general it's taking my body longer to recover from strenuous stuff these days. I really like compression socks! I invested in several nice pairs and they helped a lot with long airplane rides, walking around NYC, and even at home to help with circulation while I sit at my desk all day.

Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

🤣 I am glad I’m not the only one who finds car registration totally baffling. Those bunnies are adorable.

Jen Zug's avatar

Now that the bunnies have left the nest, I see them chasing each other around my front yard. Very adorable.

Sally French Wessely's avatar

Loved reading about your break. You made it all sound fun, even the part about the expired tags. I hate taking care of those kinds of things! My driver’s license nearly expired because I just kept putting it off. Walking into the bureaucratic places where you have pick a number, and make sure you find the right booth when your number is called always makes me think that must be what hell is like.

Your garden looks amazing! Loved the photos of those onions. They looked so good! I love homegrown, just picked, green onions.

Jen Zug's avatar

I can't tell you how many times I've spent my birthday at the DMV! 🙄

But for the last couple of DL renewals I've been able to do it online, which is nice.

Hanna Keiner (she/her)'s avatar

Relatable car tab story…

Can we talk about those beautiful figs? My fig tree has figs for the first time this year (yay) but I don’t know when to harvest! They are still so firm. Don’t they need to be softer?! But if you’re harvesting yours and you’re so close to me, maybe I should harvest mine?

This feels so random but also hey, you’re including your garden updates :)

Hanna Keiner (she/her)'s avatar

Oh and welcome back!

Jen Zug's avatar

You harvest figs when they have a Juicy Booty! 😂

The basket you see is just the first wave, and my tree is pretty mature. I'll need to harvest more this coming week as they ripen to the Juicy Booty stage! I don't know if different varieties of figs ripen at different times, but mine are usually ready by end of July or early August. I find that the hotter the summer, the earlier they ripen.

Hanna Keiner (she/her)'s avatar

No juicy booty yet for me! But now I know what to look out (or feel out?) for! Thank you!

Jen Zug's avatar

And thanks for noticing the return of my garden updates. It made me smile to be seen like that, friend. ❤️

Justine Potter's avatar

You can renew tabs up to 6mo in advanced. That means you can start putting it off for next May in November 😸

Jen Zug's avatar

Brilliant! 😂