M is for Medium, as in the size of men's clothing, as in the size of the sweatpants I'm wearing this morning.
For the last few decades, after I gained weight immediately after retiring from my job as a UPS delivery driver, most of my clothes were XL or XXL sized. I can't wear any of those clothes now. Some XL tops I can wear, but the XXLs are like trying to wear tents. The XXL pants literally slide right off me, as do most of the XLs.
Best sizes for me now: tops are mostly XL, shoulders are still pretty broad; bottoms are probably Ms or Ls, depending on the items and their cut.
At the same time as the above clothing sizes are changing, my body weight is consistently much lower than previously, as is my blood pressure.
As the wife and I were leaving earlier this afternoon to take care of some business in town we found our road blocked by two shiny, clean trash bins left smack in the middle of the street. She stopped the car and I wheeled the two bins off to a side of the road, and we went on our way.
When we returned a few hours later we noticed the bins had been wheeled across the road in front of another trailer. Thinking they might have been assigned to the folks who lived there, I climbed the steps up to their front porch and saw an eviction notice taped to their front door. Huh. I got no response when I knocked on the door.
So I wheeled the newest looking bin, complete with a cover like I need on mine, over to my trailer, and I wheeled my old cracked, lidless bin back to the vacant trailer in its place. Until and unless I'm told otherwise, that trash bin with the lid is mine now.
Yeah, the wind down here in San Antonio is absolutely fierce today! Weather forecast is predicting 50 mph gusts all day long! The wind got me out of bed early this morning, banging things around on the front porch.
Much cooler temps. and lower humidity is welcome. But this wind is absolutely nuts!
Sure would be nice if my “trash” bin had a lid. I've requested it twice: first time was about 10 days ago to the leasing agent who said he'd take care of it; second time was to one of the maintenance workers as he was making his rounds in a golf cart yesterday, he made notes on an app on his phone as we were talking. My “Recycles” bin has a nice lid, but there's no lid on my “trash” bin. Most folks here have nice lids on both their bins. Wish I did, too.
So I've hauled my smelly trash bin out to the curb a day ahead of collection day. Surely it will attract notice.
Yesterday: We had stressful situations coming at us from different directions yesterday, and we handled them to the best of our ability. I found myself sitting quietly many times, praying so many prayers to St. Michael the Archangel, so many Hail Mary's, Our Fathers, and Glory Be's, and full Decades of the Rosary. Kept me from flippin' out, lemme tell ya'.
Today: The keys to the old house having been turned in to the landlord, I now consider “the move” to be over. We still have one pickup truck bed load of stuff, furniture, etc., to contend with. And our trailer and the shed behind are both so full of boxes and bags now. There is one chair in the back of that truck I want, but my thinking now is to donate the rest, all perfectly serviceable, to the couple who have been helping us, or to Good Will.
Still waiting to hear about the wife's car; that's a situation still calling for prayer.
Two major events for us today: #1.) turning over the keys to the house we've moved out of, back to the landlord, and #2.) taking the car into the dealership to diagnose a mystery odor that the wife and one of her coworkers smell coming from the engine compartment of the car.
Event #2 will probably happen as soon as the wife leaves her work. Noon or a little earlier.
Event #1 will happen after she returns home and I finish preparing a package with our house keys, keys to the window bars, etc., and an explanatory note. The wife will then take that package to the Bingo Hall to turn it over to the landlord.
So yesterday I gained 1.65 lbs.; that's pretty much on par for days I visit buffet restaurants like Golden Corral, King Buffet, etc. Done once every week or two that's not too bad. My more active lifestyle now will more than compensate for that over the next few days, and the bathroom scales will start showing a healthy decline in body weight again.
Wife and I will make one more trip to the old house today, then I'll be ready to turn the keys over to the landlord. My thinking now is that we'll follow his suggestion and leave them for him tonight or tomorrow at the Bingo Hall he owns.
Unpacking and organizing will remain top priorities here for the foreseeable future. Frequent rest breaks will also be important. Too much haste in this leads to too many mistakes and is generally counter-productive and unhealthy.
Woke early this morning and encountered a mystery while getting dressed. Heard a knocking (5 loud knocks) coming from next door. Looking out the window I saw the neighbor's lights shining down on his pickup truck. Nothing seemed out of place, no one moving around, no more knocks, so I went about fixing the morning coffee.
Sun is shining brightly now at 08:30 on this South Texas morning and at 61 degrees it feels like a beautiful Fall morning. Of course, it'll be up in the 90's this afternoon and feeling very much like Summer again.
More unpacking and organizing will be priorities today. Depending on the wife's plans, I hope to make a quick trip to the old house, verifying that some things I need have been moved over here to the trailer.
Work continues. The younger couple who have been helping us have just dropped off another load from the old house. I hope it's the last load; we're quickly running out of space here at the trailer. Gonna be getting plenty of exercise, running out to the shed behind the trailer and back inside as I continue sorting and organizing.
