June and July 2025 Miscellani

 

Another step forward: Remediation of the damage caused by the water incursion at the Loft has been completed by late June. Restoration (fixing the wall and sub-floor) gets approval to start July 8. On July 22 the walls and sub-flooring repairs are completed.

insulation 

seal up wall with dry sheetrock

mudding 

walls painted

The sub-flooring is applied, leveling the floor

followed by thin layer of gypcrete on top

Unfortunately, there is no matching flooring to be found. So a completely new floor needed to be installed, all 1850 sq feet. The project plan from 2022 is still around and thus it will be simpler this time around...except the new flooring is coming from Canada. Hmmmm.... 

Annals of Dentistry: THB has another sore tooth, and this time he's getting a crown put in (on?). It's being done on a tooth next to the implant and THB suspects that the implant put too much pressure on this exposed tooth (it used to have a bridge on top). Root canal: July 7 by Dr Priya O'Callahan. She has spent more time working on realigning THB's mouth than anyone else: this is the third or fourth root canal and maybe the fifth consultation, starting way back when downtown Oakland was a thriving locale. A temporary was put on and the crown will be installed in August. 

the implant (screwed down into the screw that was screwed down into the ja

 

Another pic of THB in the dentist chair; dark glasses to handle glare of lights; THB actually closes his eyes as double-preventive measure

Department of Medicine (cont'd): THB came back from Turkey with a sore knee. Eventually, after the agony of arranging an MRI, the MRI showed THB had a mild fracture of the knee (mild fracture?  Is the actual technical phrase). Since the MRI, THB has been doing a lot of leg exercises designed to help relieve the pain. Hey, it is working!! And/or the cortisone shot that only seemed to make things worse maybe it kicked in after a few very painful weeks. 

THB waited over 50 minutes for his MRI after taking off his clothes

waiting room art and a clock significantly slower than actual time

along with an MRI machine malfunction, the lockers don't work well either

MRI "pants" modeled after what sailors  wore in the 1700s (THB kept the pants as a keepsake)

In mid-July, THB visits the orthopedist and gets a great bill of health for his knee. Even if he eventually needs a knee replacement (unlikely now) it would be a partial. On the other hand, the defibrillator in the office needs a tune-up.  Is this the same team that does the partial knee replacement?

CA insurance outfits are making additional demands and thus the MDC maintenance staff posted fire has been busy placing fire extinguishers around the colony

paint brush is one the last of the blooming plants

that tree is really gone, the leftover stump has been turned into wood chips

another "no idea" pic - has THB put his shorts on backward? probably...

the succulents in the front yard boxes are abloom

our fave dog walking beach is huge at low tide in the summer

an ocean regatta

big dead sea lion drying out

After the real tsunami, maybe a dozen dead birds on the beach in Monterey

same day as dead birds ashore, porpoii are spotted offshore

pick your own salad

blooms of a different kind on an extremely tall stalk

the dogs are mulling their next move

It's the 2nd to last stage of the Tour de France and THB is watching the action with his cycling buddies

one of these seagulls has a huge "worm" in its beak; the other is guarding the prizewinner 

What's new in E-ville? PLENTEEEEE!

Just when you thought DOGE had come to your town, cutting left and right, E-ville is going over the top in the other direction! The city has decided to eliminate those ghastly push buttons to help stop the traffic and save the lives of countless pedestrians and their pets

people stand here

wait for the walk sign

Progress was okay in it's time, now it has gone on for far toooooooooo long (on this same pet walk THB and DB saw two armed guards guarding two unarmed, vested PG&E workers...calling Elon, there's something that smells bad in our town, can you fix it for us?

and don't  forget to train you pets to stand on the green paw prints

and then:

E-ville's largest unused parking garage has opened!! 

And is even getting customers from other nearby towns. THB had to bend down on his knees to see the shuttle schedule, so with over 2+ years in building the garage  they didn't have enough time to figure out how post the sign at eye level (let alone in larger than 4 pt font)

First giant fish growing on trees in Monterey and now stethoscopes growing on trees in E-ville 

There's more!

What happens to E-ville's ex-politicians?

THB and DB have sunk to new lows: the Snake is a new reality TV show

and why are we stooping soooooooo low?

Our former mayor has become a reality TV star!! He lives in the small set of townhouses right next to the Loft...you can even see him dogwalking through the park on occasion (with his paparazzi tagging along). You can catch him in the weekly episodes of The Snake

The Twins go flower picking at Tera Farms:

500,000 plants under one small tent

scarecrow and friend

scarecrow and identical friend

Sheena of Tera Farms leads the way, July 2025

twins and another pair of siblings showing the results of their picking

Twins and Sheena in August 2023

THB and Sandy go for a walk in Santa Cruz and takes a few pics while DB attends a Quaker memorial service 

what is this box?

Book Reviews (THB  did not included all books listened to during these two months, just the Highly Recoi'd ones) 

Maggie; Or, A Man And A Woman Walk Into A Bar, Katie Yee (read by Emily Woo Zeller): A young woman takes a look back at the last year of her marriage and contracting breast cancer, without much remorse or self-pity, aided by her BFF.

My Education, Susan Choi (novel, pub’d 2013, read by Tavia Gilbert): There were some dicey moments: long hot female sex scenes, an overlong sidebar of two drunks avoiding life, and much intrigue among the main characters (6? 7?), along with a Hollywood ending. Oh, an annoying narrator - until somehow THB got used to her whining voice (which ultimately made sense as the main character was a whining 20 year old when the book starts). This book reco came from Melissa Febos' The Dry Season and THB at times thought Choi was doing a fictional biography of Febos’ life.

The Ministry For The Future, Kim Stanley Robinson (read by a number of different people, pub’d 2020): Five years to listen to a book read recently doesn’t seem like a long enough gap. However, the relevancy is growing quickly  over time, and this book is still one of THB’s all-time greats. Read it, listen to it, sleep with it on your nightstand, and weep as you make your way through what can best  be called a cry for how to  save  the planet. THB does not see a Hollywood ending.

In The Something Else Category: also only highly recommended ones

The Retrievals, Seasons 1 and 2 (podcasts): What poses the biggest risk to women? Men, of course. Season 2 has just dropped, and like season 1, deals with women and birth issues. More specifically, how women are not listened to, especially ones that men have no clue to how women are dealing with pain and trauma. THB highly recommends both seasons, and they are stand-alone so you can listen to 2 before 1.

The Protocol: A six part podcast from the NYT exploring the history of medical treatment for transgender young people, and how the care became embroiled in a political and legal fight that could end treatment for youtht in the United States. A balanced portrayal of what appears to be a black and white issue and turns out to be far more complicated by the primary recipients being youth under 18. This community feels strongly that those under 18 are not capable of making this truly life-changing decision (especially Republicans) and many parents of kids who want to transition disagree because who wouldn't want their kids to be happy.

The Future of Warfare Comes To The US, Dexter Filkins (read by an automated voice, New Yorker, July 14, 2025 issue): THB has been able to keep up with the NY'er after a 3 year break when he could no longer read the paper version. Now many magazines and newspapers produce audio versions and THB can download the articles or podcasts to the I-phone and use Bluetooth to listen through his hearing aids. This article reminded THB of a book he read a when he could still read books: American War. Highly recommended (THB listened to it "again"), the second Civil War between the states set in the late 2000s. Resonates all too clearly with current times.