Category: To Occupy my Time

Hims Isn’t a Big Seller at Walgreens

Matt and I have been catching up with shows on Hulu. Because I opted for the Hulu with commercials, we’ve seen a lot of commercials for Hims. We’ve seen fewer for Hers.

Hims is a company that hooks you up with a professional to help with hair loss/erectile disfunction/depression, and Hers focuses on depression/anxiety/weight loss (though hair loss is also a thing for women, though less advertised.) I find the ads’ focus a depressing reflection on our gender roles.

So I was amused to see that the product they are selling in the store was on super sale.

Christmas Celebration 2024

It’s been a tough year with many traditions shifting. We gathered for a Christmas meal. The mission: bring your favorite frozen food item.

We had a good (though salty) meal and Linda smartly interpreted the mission to include Salt and Straw ice cream, which we had for dessert.

After that, Matt and I went home and paid $19.89 to watch the Eras Tour (with bonus songs).

It was a nice, if muted, holiday.

Exit the Advent Calendar

While I enjoy the same felt advent calendar from my childhood year after year, Matt isn’t interested in partaking, even if there is chocolate involved. He floated the idea of getting the advent calendar from Exit, the in-home escape room company. And so we did.

We started the calendar after December 1, and then Matt went to Michigan for a bit, so we had a spreadsheet to catch up and keep us on track. That meant that we often did two days in one setting.

Eric was over for Saturday gaming and he did the last three nights with us. You can see how we really pulled everything apart at the end. That was because one of the rooms early on didn’t work, and Matt wanted to find the tiny emoji thing we couldn’t make appear.

One of the thing I enjoy (while also hating) about the games is that the helping clues are sometimes very blunt. There was a doozy in this one, somewhat mocking us for not getting an element that we had earlier commented MUST be something.

In the end, we found the prize: this tiny button labeling us X-MAS HERO.

It was well worth it.

7611 Work: Linen Closet

The linen closet was a huge ball of crumpled linens. Our task: sort them into like things (tablecloths with tablecloths, sheet sets with sheet sets) and bundle and label them.

I also found this early cross stitch I did. It is a delightful relic of my rudimentary skills: not properly fitted to the frame, and a bit uneven. I do like the rickrack border though. Everything is better with rickrack.

You can see I was not shy about stretching embroidery floss across long distances. I have a vague memory of not liking to knot things off and start again in a new place.

It’s interesting that looking at this I feel trapped and tight, but yet I find embroidering very relaxing at my current age. Is it because it’s so messy?

Liberace and Liza Holiday at the Mansion

Cat interlude. Matt came back from his trip and Antares immediately settled on his suitcase, something that doesn’t happen much with Matt’s things. I correctly diagnosed the cause. Matt’s swimsuit was sitting at the top of the pile of clothing, and Antares loves him some chlorine scented swimsuits.

I made time for this Portland Center Stage tribute, and was I glad I did. David Saffert and Jillian Snow were very funny as the titular characters, and the show was full of Christmas fun.

It was amusing watching the interplay between two large egos who both enjoyed each other’s company while also being annoyed at what large-ego thing the opposite person was doing.

And look at this fun set!

Cannon Beach Day 4: Headed Home

My bus left at 9:30, but I grabbed one more view of Haystack Rock before I checked out.

The seagulls are well trained. Throughout my stay, they appeared the second I stood at the window. I did not reward them for this attentiveness.

On my way out, I saw a bit of how the decor used to look. While the white was calming, I do enjoy a good turquoise door.

Cannon Beach Trip Day 3

On this day, I stayed in, embroidered, and looked at the pretty views while watching movies. The hotel advertised a DVD library. I noted that there were three copies of The Goonies (filmed in the area) and that the acquisition of DVDs seems to have stopped around 2012. I watched 17 Again (because I hadn’t seen it and because RIP Matthew Perry) and Spanglish.

In the evening I popped into Newmans at 988 to see if they had room for me. They did, and I had a delicious dinner. From the future, I can say I’m glad I stopped there, because it is now closed and has become Little Yellow House.

I then went to the Coaster Theatre Playhouse to see Miracle on 34th Street.

From there, I walked back to my hotel, which gave me a chance to capture their festive lights and the stairs that take you to the hotel.

Cannon Beach Trip Day 2

I woke up to this!

I think they must have upgraded me.

After taking in the view, I headed off to find food and finish some Christmas shopping.

Many restaurants were closed, but I found Oros’s Fireside Restaurant to be open. I had a steak omelet. (A splurge).

Aside from the very lovely log cabin interior, it had this really nice stone exterior. A sign on the building said:

Original log cabin restaurant built on this site in 1925 by Paul Bartels for his sister Marie. He was a stonemason who built most of the historic beach rock fireplaces in town.

The Hallmark Resort and Spa is a bit of a walk from the Cannon Beach main drag, but I walked the length of the drag and arrived at this park where I sat and watched the ocean for a while.

On the way back, I picked up some Christmas gifts in a sock store and a houseware store.

I also grabbed this picture of Haystack Rock poking above a hotel I passed on my way back.

I walked down to the beach for some official beach time. Look at the supports added to the motel’s structure:

Here’s a nice shot of the way the rooms are positioned for maximum view. You can see a few people enjoying said view.

I stopped on one of the lower decks and when I looked over, I saw some local wildlife.

A sunset shot of Haystack Rock

Visual evidence for Matt that this place provides maximum pillows. (Matt prefers one pillow, no matter the size of the bed.)

Trip to Cannon Beach Day 1

I haven’t explored Cannon Beach much, and the bus goes there, so I took a short vacation. I stayed at the Hallmark Resort and Spa, which was a hop, skip, and a jump from the bus stop. I arrived on Thursday night after sunset and climbed a bunch of stairs to get to the front desk. I’m pretty sure I reserved a queen partial view room, but my room looked like this.

After I dropped my things and took this picture, I tried out their sauna and did a bit of paddling around in the pool.

A very good start to the vacation.