Thursday, September 3, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, slept through the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,930 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 40 minutes for a sleep score of 84. Now that’s what I’m talking about!

I found the email with 2 free passes to All Seasons Orchard including ½ peck of free apples, which according to ChatGPT amounts to about 12-15 apples.

My mouse died. I changed the battery but it still doesn’t work. ☹

Mouse works again, I’ll explain later.

We had breakfast in the apt and drove up to Highland Park to meet with family. We briefly saw Jacob before he disappeared into his office/den for a telephone meeting. Annie seemed to recognize us and we watched her play for a while. Jeannie put Annie in a stroller and we took her and Rebel for a walk in the park. It was a warm muggy day and the flies were fearsome so we didn’t linger beyond 45 minutes. 

Rebel did his business and of course I had to clean it up. Back at the house Jeannie brought out a new toy, it’s a 4-tiered open stand where you put a soft ball in at the top and it rolls down the shoot and comes out the bottom. It took a couple demonstrations until Annie caught on and started doing it herself. We had a simple lunch there – a salad for Teresa and sandwich for me. They were having a new mattress delivered when we left about 4pm.

I drove us to a new mall Village Square of Northbrook and we checked out a few shops like Trader Joes, Bloomingdale’s The Outlet, Designer Shoe Warehouse, and Nordstrom Rack. Teresa seemed to like the shoe offerings in the latter but it was getting late and we were getting hungry.

I drove us to Carson’s where we shared an order of half ribs and half brisket. Teresa had a Coke Zero and I had 2 regular Cokes. The total check came to $72.53 including tip.

I drove us to another Nordstrom Rack across from Old Orchard Mall and Teresa checked out the shoes there.

We left about 7pm, we stopped at a Walgreen’s where I bought a 4-pack of AA batteries.

A new battery didn’t work either. ☹

We went to bed at our usual 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, took quite a while to fall asleep (after 2 Cokes I should have skipped the latte), got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up just before 7am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 3,854 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 5 hours and 32 minutes for a sleep score of 64.

Today we’re going apple picking so I’ll be wearing some less than clean shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt.

We left the Airbnb at 8:30 and drove to Deerfield Bakery in Buffalo Grove. Teresa had their skillet while I had their 2x2 and a pecan pastry. We both had coffee for a total of $36.05. About the same price as the other breakfasts but at least we didn’t have to leave a tip.

We continued on to Woodstock (about an hour) and arrived at an empty parking lot at All Seasons Orchard. Uh-oh! A man was just leaving in his pickup truck but he stopped to talk to us (me). He is from Idaho and assists small farmers in keeping their farms by diversifying. The farm has an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, barnyard, farmer’s market, corn maze, tractor rides, apple cider, apple cider donuts, etc. He agreed that they opened for the season last Saturday but just for last weekend. They will open during the week starting next week. It’s a long way to go for apples but it’s even further going there for no apples. He did take my email address and promised to send us free entry passes.

We continued on to downtown Woodstock which was nothing to write home about, especially in this heat. We walked through a lot of the shops and Teresa found a few things to buy – supporting local tourism.

I stopped at a local Citgo and filled the car the remaining halfway for $3.99 a gallon – a bargain these days.

We drove to Millie’s Hallmark Cards in Mount Prosect where I bought a birthday card for Annie and gift bags for her and Lucy.

We had lunch in Panera Bread, basically the same as yesterday, the You Pick Two for each of us.

We stopped in Burlington (Coat Factory) were Teresa found a few things for $25.99.

We stopped in Ross Dress for Less and bought a few things including this pair of Chicago Bears shorts I’m going to wear around the apt for a total of $37.45.

We stopped in Walmart and used their restroom and bought prunes, a package of mixed vegetables, sweet corn, and eggs.

We stopped in the Tous Les Jours bakery again where Teresa bought another small loaf of bread.

We returned to the Airbnb by 7:15 and I went to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 4:30, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 5 and did some work on my computer including downloading another Alex Cross book, read until 6:15, returned to bed and woke up at 8am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 7,778 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 57 minutes for a sleep score of 76.

Yesterday was warm but I just about froze my tushy in the air-conditioned stores and malls. Even though there’s a heat advisory for today, I’m going with jeans since we’ll probably be in and out of stores again today.

We left the apt at 10:30 and drove a short distance to Ross Dress for Less in Golf Mill. Teresa found a number of makeup items and I bought a 6-pack of thin socks. (I should have brought more thin socks but who would have thought we would have temperatures in the 90s in September?)

Our next stop was Dollar Tree where Teresa found a couple more things.

We had lunch in Panera Bread, You Pick Two – we both had the broccoli cheddar soup and we both had differing types of chicken sandwiches. I had an iced tea and she had water from our thermos for a total of $24.50 and I stole a few packets of sugar for my morning coffee.

We returned to the apt and Teresa put on the new nail polish she bought and hated it so much she threw both (small) bottles away. I don’t think even the nail polish remover worked well.

We left the apt just after 5pm and met Jeannie with Annie James at Hackney’s on Harms. (Jacob plays in a bags (American version of Tejo) league on Tuesday nights.) Annie kept us busy entertaining her so she didn’t get bored and cranky. 

We shared a medium order of an onion loaf then Jeannie had a burger and Teresa and I the turkey plate with a couple Cokes. I was disappointed with the turkey - I think it was much better at L’Woods. The check with a 20% tip came to $91.40. The weather was so blasted hot we didn’t feel like lingering.

We’ll meet again Thursday morning before Annie goes down for her nap. Lucy (Joann’s daughter) should be there also.

We stopped at a Walgreen’s where I bought deodorant, correction fluid and a Sun-Times and Teresa bought some nail polish.

We stopped at Paris Baguette bakery/café where I had a latte but I didn’t see any pastries worthy of the calories. I can wait until tomorrow. 😊

We returned to the apt by 8pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Monday, August 31, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2:30, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 7,236 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 8 hours and 29 minutes for a sleep score of 87. 😊

It just started raining so it was probably a good decision not to go apple picking today.

I guess Teresa was still tired as she returned to bed and I joined her and slept for another 58 minutes.

My brother confirmed we will be able to meet him and my cousin David for lunch in Geneva on Monday, September 14^th.

We showered, dressed, and left the Airbnb at 10:15. We stopped first at Chase Bank where I withdrew another $200. We continued on to Chicago Fashion Outlet in Rosemont.

Teresa found a pair of sandals in Boss for $33.13 she can wear after getting pedicures.

We had 3 hours free parking and managed to complete our visit in 2 ½ hours. When we came out there had obviously been rain while we were inside and after that it rained on and off for the next few hours.

I drove us to Mr. Beef where I ordered 2 Italian beef sandwiches, a small dry with juice on the side for Teresa and a regular-size wet for me. She drank water from our thermos and I had a medium soda.

We continued on to Woodfield mall. (I got lost on the way, turning south on Arlington Heights Road.)

I bought a new pair of gym shoes in JD for $159.86.

Teresa bought some supplement in GNC for $56.36. Luckily the manager spoke Spanish which saved me from doing lots of translations.

I drove us to Morkes Chocolates on Rand Road where I had an apple cider donut and we each had a coffee.

We stopped at Potbelly in Des Plaines and bought 2 bowls of broccoli cheddar soup to go. While there I asked about our cheese clumping problem and the guy also suggested it was because we weren’t shredding the cheese enough.

We returned to our Airbnb and ate the soup with the oyster crackers (made in Vermont) that they included.

I’m not happy with my new fanny pack from L.L. Bean and I’m seriously considering returning it.

Tonight Teresa told me something about needing to get married in a church so she can legitimately get communion. ☹ I asked her what document she needs; more details forthcoming.

I finished reading James Patterson’s Cross Fire (Alex Cross #17) on my Kindle just before going to bed at 10pm. That’s the 6^th book I’ve read this month. Not sure if that’s a record for me.

An Annie James video, from last week:

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, slept through the night, finally waking at 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,465 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 42 minutes for a sleep score of 82.

Then I fell back asleep while waiting for Teresa to get up and my total changed to 7 hours and 36 minutes for a sleep score of 84.

Teresa made a simple breakfast this morning of scrambled eggs and an English muffin for me and toast for her with instant coffee.

We had a little shower early this morning, as expected. We were planning on going to the Chicago Botanical Gardens today but Jeannie suggested we meet at Old Orchard Shopping Center around noon to do a little…wait for it… shopping.

We left the Airbnb a little late and I got lost anyway. I approached the mall from Lake Street so I was already too far north and then when I realized it wasn’t the right mall I turned north and drove further away. When I realized my error, I asked Google Maps for help and it directed me south and west to the mall. We were about 20 minutes late meeting with Jeannie and Annie.

We found them coming out of Macy’s. They helped me look for a new fanny pack (the zipper on the old one broke and it was looking well worn) and I finally found one on L.L Bean for $35.

We went to a new restaurant named Cupitol for lunch. Teresa and Jeannie had the turkey breast sandwich with a Coke and I had the crunchy chicken sandwich and a Coke and Annie had the Amy’s Chicken Sausage for $69.56 including tip.

They left just after 2pm as Annie needed a nap. We’re going to meet for supper Tuesday night at Hackney’s when their special is hot turkey plate.

We drove to Oberweis Dairy where we shared a hot fudge sundae and I started working on the crossword puzzle from Friday’s Chicago Sun-Times.

We stopped at a nearby bakery called Tous Les Jours where Teresa bought a small loaf of bread. It is also a café and I noticed hey offer strawberry matcha.

We returned to the apt and Teresa took a nap. My eyes have been feeling much better now that I’m out of Medellin’s pollution.

It looks like rain is possible tomorrow so we’ll probably stay local and go apple picking on Wednesday.

Teresa liked Portillo's chopped salad so much we went back and shared one for our supper.

On our way back I saw another bakery even closer called Paris Baguette.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

Sex is like air.  It isn’t important unless you aren’t getting any.

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9pm, fell asleep quickly, slept through the night, finally waking/getting up with Teresa at 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 9,248 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 8 hours and 31 minutes for a sleep score of 89. 😊 Wow, I think that’s a new high.

We left the Airbnb at 9am and had breakfast in the Niles Diner. Teresa and I had basically had the same food as yesterday without the avocado and the check was only about $5 cheaper. The total check came to about $33 & change and I gave the waitress $40 and told her to keep the change.

I got a little turned around (I’d forgotten the names of some of the lesser streets) but found The UPS Store a few blocks away. The teenage pimply-faced girl who assisted us spoke so softly I had to ask her to speak up. She must be new because at first she quoted a price of only $7. We sent the dress to Laura and it should arrive on September 3^rd, the day before her birthday.

I also saw a plastic letter opener I haven’t seen in a while so I had to buy that and the total came to about $22.

We drove to Walmart and bought 3 new TSA locks. One was missing from my suitcase so I assumed they opened it and didn’t reclose it correctly. I hate the 2 locks on Teresa’s suitcase; we have to hold them in a specific, difficult way, in order to have any chance of seeing the numbers. ☹ We also bought some vitamins and skin cream (like Bengay but supposedly better), for Esmeralda, One-A-Day vitamins for Teresa, Payday snack-size candy bars for the kids in our building for Halloween, Afrin, Blink eyedrops, Excedrin and Dove soap for me, and eggs, muffins, bread, coffee, and cream to make breakfast. The total came to $156.19. Teresa also looked at some sunglasses on sale for $60 but in the end decided not to buy them.

We returned to the apt by 1pm and put everything away.

I set up the TSA locks with our usual number and updated my blog notes. Teresa called her mother and they chatted for a while. (I swear they can talk all day long without pause.)

My eyes feel a lot better being outside that polluted valley of Medellin. But then maybe it’s because I slept better.

With the help of ChatGPT I downloaded Stockfish 18 to analyze my chess games.

At 5pm we met jimmy at Countryside Saloon and watched the Bears defeat the Tennessee Titans 25-14. Jimmy and I shared a medium Italian sausage pizza while Teresa had a chopped salad with salmon. We all had sodas and I paid the check of $70 (tip included). Jimmy left early in the 3^rd quarter. We will meet Sunday September 6^th for a White Sox game but he’s pretty busy before that.

Teresa and I stopped at Walmart again and bought dish soap, laundry soap and strawberry preserves (for my muffins).

Tonight I brought in my packages and while I thought I ordered 7 bottles of Calendula (Marigold Flower) apparently, I ordered 14 which will last me for the next 2 years.

Annie James with Jeannie

Expat: Luckily, the 3.6% COLA is of a much higher number than my 5% rent increase.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

A man has six children and is very proud of his achievement. He is so proud
of himself he starts calling his wife, "Mother of Six" in spite of her
objections.
One night they go to a party. The man decides it’s time to go home and
wants to find out if his wife is ready to leave as well.  He shouts at the
top of his voice, "Shall we go home Mother of six?"
His wife irritated by her husband's lack of discretion shouts right back,
"Anytime you're ready, Father of Four."

Friday, August 28, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 2pm, fell asleep quickly, finally waking at 6:30 and getting up with Teresa at 7am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 8,152 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 18 minutes for a sleep score of only 61. ☹

We drove (damn, its nice to be driving again) to The Sugar Bowl in downtown Des Plaines, parked next to the building (again parking evenly between the lines is a challenge) and took a booth inside. Teresa had her eggs sunny side up with hash browns and a side order of avocado while I had my eggs over easy with hash browns and patty sausage. We both had the endless cup of coffee with cream. The shock was the final bill of $38.47 plus another $6 for a tip.

We stopped at the T-Mobile office on Golf Road in Niles, checked in and sat at a waiting table. We waited about 20 minutes to be helped but I easily signed up for an unlimited monthly coverage package for me for $62.16. Teresa decided she would be okay with coverage in the apt and in cafes/restaurants.

We drove the 30 minutes on the Edens Expressway

Which brings up the question should I sign up for the Illinois Easy Pass program so I can drive on the Toll roads or can I avoid them?

to Jeannie & Jacob’s house. They came outside and greeted us with Annie and Rebel. We went inside and I gave them their bag of coffee and Rebel loved the pull toy (and he’s still stronger than me). I was surprised at how heavy Annie James is, not fat, just solid.

Jacob had to do some yard work so we took Annie and Rebel on a leisurely walk around their park and they showed us larger houses a block away. We continued on to downtown where Jeannie introduced us to Harmony Café where we had fancy drinks for $26.23. They had the Matcha Tea and I had the Strawberry Matcha and we took seats at a table outside.

We returned to the apt and Jeannie gave me my Amazon and Swanson packages I had forwarded to their house.

I drove to Fidelity Investments, Teresa stayed in the car and I went inside. After a short wait a rep got me started setting up a Fidelity Cash Management Account. I told him I often visit my brother living in Colombia and I confirmed they don’t charge foreign transaction fees. I gave them my brother’s cellphone number but the kicker was they need to send me an SMS confirmation message and using that phone take a photo of my Illinois Drivers license and my face. Hopefully I can take care of that when I meet later with my brother. If not, oh well, that’s life.

We drove to a Ross Store for Less in Morton Grove where Teresa found a pair of shorts, 2 small containers of skin cream, a bottle of skin cleanser, and a bottle of Vaseline skin cream and I found a short sleeve shirt and 6-pak of Fruit of the Loom underwear for a total of $56.41.

I took her to Portillo’s Hotdogs where I ordered my prepared list of a breaded whitefish sandwich for her, a cheeseburger for me, onion rings, a chocolate cake shake, chopped salad, and strawberry shortcake for $46.87. She loved her sandwich and I my burger and we shared the rest but got the last two items to go.

I stopped at a Chase Bank ATM and was unsuccessful at withdrawing $600 but it allowed me to withdraw $200 for a $4 ATM fee.

We stopped in Jewel/Osco and bought a few things.

We returned to our Airbnb and got a little better organized.

We were both exhausted and went to bed at 9pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

A husband and wife had a bitter quarrel on the day of their 40th wedding
anniversary!
The husband yells, "When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads,
"Here Lies My Wife - Cold as Ever.'
"Yeah?" she replies. "When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads,
‘Here Lies My Husband - Stiff At Last.'"