This morning, I apparently, magically, fixed a DVR issue with our Dish. As you may know, we’ve been binge watching NCIS and last night watched season 9 episode 22 from 2012. At that point in the menu NCIS stopped and gave us SWAT. Up to this point all the episodes have been in sequence so it was perfect for lazy people to keep up. We needed episode 24, but it wasn’t showing on until Saturday. At 0700. That meant it needed to be recorded.

Any attempts to set the DVR to perform that duty failed because the DVR was not recognized. We knew that was only partly true because we could till watch shows that have already been recorded, but we couldn’t set new recordings. That meant today my primary objective was to make it work again.

I’d already reset the receiver a couple of times, but the results didn’t change so I got on my phone and started a chat session with Dish. I like doing the chat instead of phone calls because I can understand the written word better than the spoken word. That’s not always true, but statistically I have better results with chatting.

I got someone on the line before I gave it one more try. By the time I was all signed in I discovered that somehow the problem went away last night, and it now works perfectly. I thanked the chat person and ended the session. Then I gave the remote to Diane who promptly called up the desired date/time/show and set it to record. She did this from her seat at the dining table, a full 25 feet from the TV! That’s another win for me because until a few days ago the Dish remote barely worked from 5 feet away. Amazing what new batteries can do in situations like that.

Now that the DVR works again, Diane can add to the library of Hallmark Christmas movies that have been recorded previously. She’s a happy camper and will probably be smiling throughout the day.

Pretty much as soon as Diane got up this morning, around 0900 or so, her feet have been marinating in a solution of hot water and Epson salts. The purpose for this was to make her toenails soft enough for me to shorten then with the new wire cutter she got me. She will disagree, of course, because it came wrapped in a container that clearly marked it as a nail cutter, or trimmer. But, they look almost exactly like a small version of the wire cutters I have in my tool bag. She won’t let me use them, however, even though they are easier to hold and manipulate.

The signal for me to start working my way down to the floor to work on her toes is when the water gets cold. It got cold somewhere around 1030 or so. By then I was poised to work on the toes. First, I had to get back on my feet and dump the water in the toilet. Then I had to reassume my nail cutting position near the sofa. Before I started I remarked that I probably should have pulled the trash can a little closer and she agreed. So, I got back up, got it, then back on the floor. I suspect you’ve realized that doing Diane’s toenails is physically demanding on old bones. That’s OK. We’re saving $50 and she’s getting them trimmed exactly the way she wants them, not the way a paid whittler would do it. I suppose I could ask her to pay me but it’s really not necessary because she slips me a few dollars every once in a while, just for fun. That works. I hardly ever use real money, but it’s nice to have a cushion in my wallet in case I fall down. Again. I don’t know why I consider that a proper cushion because I never fall backwards. It’s always forward. I’d be better off wrapping my hands and arms in large pool noodles. On my knees would be good, too. Sadly, that’s the kind of things I consider as I’m falling. It’s been a while, so maybe I’ve advanced beyond that stage of my life.

I finished Diane’s toes successfully without even once making her bleed or yelp in pain. Except the one time I ventured too close to an ingrown nail. Other than that one foo-pah, I did good. She said so. I would have taken a photo but she’s very serious about keeping her toes anonymous. Even so, I’ve secretly named each one of them.

The only other things that happened today was a trip to the commissary for Diane, and a trip to Harbor Freight for me. I needed long screws for a repair project I can’t discuss and waited for Diane to return before venturing out on my own. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do that but the commissary was fresh out of long screws. So, Diane drove me to HF. Max was delighted because he loves car rides. If we let him out of the bus and gave him the choice of running willy nilly all over the park, or going for a ride in the car, he takes the car every time.

By the time we returned home it was time to cook dinner, so my screw project was deferred to another day. It might have to wait until next year. I’ll explain once I’m done and have achieved success.

I broke out the handy-dandy George Forman cooker and paninied 4 hamburger patties. Two of them were for Pat and Laurie next door. They were very thankful that we included them in our meal planning. Diane brought home a platter of good-looking patties from the commissary, and we wanted to try them. They seemed to cook up OK, but Diane and I found them lacking in smash burger flavor, so we won’t get them again. Pat and Laurie thought they were really good which made me happy even though I’m sure they were just being nice. Still, we’ll take the win.

After supper Max got a long walk then we watched a Hallmark Christmas movie and called it a day. It was getting very cold outside, so we closed all the windows before retiring. Normally we leave at least one window open a little so the bus can breathe.

A gift from Pat, our neighbor, her task while recovering from COVID. It’s very pretty.

Now, I’ll stop.