Hello, Dear Readers. Let's start with some music, if one can call it that. I will elaborate a bit on part of the commentary between DB and me afterward.

( Thoughts on Ravel: La Valse )

Usually, I write what I call filler entries. They are entries for a specific day, written later, but with the perspective of the date shown. For example, I might post on 1 August, but at the top, you'll see "(Catchup - 4 August 2025)". But this week was quite extraordinary, so I'll just write it here. First, though, here is a bit of an announcement. I posted this to Blob.cat (Akkoma), tried to post to Friendica.world (it didn't work), and even to Facebook, which was a nightmare, as doing anything on that site is always headache-inducing. "After testing the features and accessibility for quite awhile, I have decided that my home on the Fediverse is at Mastodon. More specifically, it's at someplace.social. I mostly post there now, so if you wish to follow me, this is my address. You could also simply search for dandylover1. It is so difficult to post here from the main page that I must use a third party client and am considering deleting my account. This is not the case with Mastodon.

https://someplace.social/@dandylover1

I am also still on Dreamwidth and will be updating it with new entries today.

http://dandylover1.dreamwidth.org

Finally, if you use MSN/Windows Live Messenger via Escargot and wish to add me, I am dandylover1@escargot.chat. If you are curious about this wonderful revival of accessible software, go to the following site.

http://www.escargot.chat"

On Saturday, the 26th, my parents were on there way to see Joanie's sister when they were in a car accident. Fortunately, they were completely unharmed, other than being startled. Joanie banged her shoulder and Mom banged her leg. Both were in shock when they came home, and so was I! I was watching Alli, and I had gone downstairs to get an iced tea. Mom said she called me, but I never heard the phone ring. Alli was barking, but he always barks any time he's alone, so I ignored it. Mom also said she sent a text, but it never went through. The thing is this. I don't carry my phone with me. It's not a major part of my life. I could even go out and forget it. I certainly wouldn't take it with me when going to another part of the house. Usually, I would hear a ring, even if I miss a text. But in both cases, once I return to my phone, I have no way of knowing when I receive either. There isn't a persistant notification. If I miss the ring or don't hear the quick sound that indicates a message was sent, I simply don't know I received it, unless, for some reason, I think of checking for missed messages or calls. This is why I love MSN/Windows Live Messenger via Escargot. I always have it running on my computer, it always makes a notification if someone sends me a message, and more importantly, it opens a new window when a new conversation is started, so that I see it when tabbing through my currently open windows, even if I am away from my computer and miss the sound! Anyway, on Sunday, we all just relaxed and recovered from that crazy ordeal.

Early Wednesday morning, Joanie flew to Florida to see her brother. Mom and I spent more time than usual together, which was really nice. We laughed a lot and I helped her with a few things around the house. We even watched a Hallmark film at the same time! I say it that way because while she watched it on television, I watched it from a site for the blind with audio description. It was a lot of fun. Joanie returned on Saturday at one in the morning, much later than planned, because they kept delaying her plane. In the meantime, something very strange happened. I was in the little house, working at my computer. It was after eleven at night. Suddenly, a plane flew over the house and I heard and felt a strange sound. I figured it had just flown really low and while it was odd, I thought nothing of it after a few minutes. Later, I learned that we had a 3.0 magnetude earthquake! What was Joanie doing up there, I wonder.

I wish they had a test to determine what makes the blood of certain people so attractive to mosquitos! Maybe, it's all the lovely, sweet-voiced tenori di grazia I listen to. Perhaps I should try Otello with Melchior or Tamagno, just to balance things. Seriously, I have so many bites on me right now that it's utterly ridiculous! I desperately need to find a way of keeping these bugs away from me that doesn't involve putting harsh chemicals on my skin or dealing with visual things i.e. cartridges and mats that change colour when they need to be refilled.

On a much happier note, Joanie made absolutely delicious steak tonight! I asked her what she had done differently, and she said nothing. It was wonderful, though.