Dan fixes my laptop and gives me an assignment - Purple drapes - Clean windowsill

  A million thanks to my son, Dan, for fixing the so-called virus on my computer. I went to their house where he worked on it for half an hour and fixed it. The owner of Classic Computers on York Road said it could not be fixed.

While there I pigged out on the fantastic



When I kissed him goodbye, Dan, of the shaven head and cloven hoof, said, Mom, you've got chocolate on your face.

Went directly home, injected six units of insulin, and then followed Dan's orders.

Drove to the Comcast Building on York Road - it's near this now-defunct store.

The parking lot is so tiny I parked up the street on Krewson Terrace, where Dan's schoolmate Mark Davis once lived with his family and his rabbits. Mark now has two "wives" and five or six children.

I then entered said Comcast building and placed this cable box on the table, with a sticky-note that read "Owner of Box Deceased."

Wrote the note while I waited at a red light.

This same deceased gentleman also had many overdue library books, which I'm charged with returning. As a retired and highly-decorated Philadelphia police officer - Tom Toohey, 69 - it's interesting to see that he read CRIME FICTION!

The continuing saga of fixing up my bedroom.



Okay, I paid an exorbitant $90.10 for JC Penney to come out and measure the dimensions for new drapes.

The drapes I bought were about $170. I actually couldn't stand them, but their nicer ones cost a fortune. When I brought them home and stared at them across the living room, I thought How hideous, I'll have to paint them with squiggles to make them purty.

Then I got the idea of dying them.

Off I went to Walmart, parked in the way-back, and found Stacy, a smart woman, who guided me to the Rit dye and told me to buy two bottles (the only two they had left).

It took hours and hours to dye them. Put them in hot water in the washing machine.

Since the instrux were written in terribly small print, I printed them out. Main thing is Hot water, agitate the dye before adding the fabric, then rinse thoroughly.

They suggest you wash them with detergent. I did this for the first batch, but not for the second, b/c it was getting dark already.

 Before

Purple ... you can see the pretty pattern after it's been dyed.... like invisible ink

Next I tackle cleaning my bay window

My late bro David's colorful ceramic birdhouse is the centerpiece. I talked to him while cleaning it and setting it up. I had a robin's nest and eggs and feathers on the windowsill for years but decided to throw it out.

Wonder what the late Rev. Larry Soneson would think of that?  Hmm, maybe I'll listen to his sermon. Or, maybe I won't.

What I did listen to was Herbie Hancock, the prodigal pianist, giving a talk about Buddhism and Creativity on YouTube. 



He used to play with Miles and Wayne Shorter.

Now, I gave his type of Buddhism a try many years ago. I went to a home in Abington and chanted.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as a path to enlightenement.

Chanting is not for me.

Read more on BeliefNet with their ridiculous ad that's gonna swat you in your face.

Hurray for Obama for lifting the boycott against Cuba!!!