Because my reflex when things go wrong is to throw money at it, when my doctor said I had to get more exercise to lower my cholesterol I immediately went online and ordered an under the table pedal machine, something I'll need anyway if I ever get my knee fixed. It came yesterday, and while I'm hoping the cholesterol stats are another lucky accident, I ignored my technophobia and unpacked it today. Cheapo brand so cheapo action but it will do. Trouble is the stirrups have velcro straps and the straps are too big, but then I realized it's for yahoos who wear their shoes indoors, so I will use it with running shoes. 20 minutes a day three times a week, they say, which is eminently doable.

Also ordered missing Judge Dees from the Canuck equivalent of Amazon, which is bad but at least not as bad as Amazon. On a hunch got Judge Dee at Work and am relieved to find that the missing page was reinserted in later print runs. So that's ok.

Fasting blood test today meant going without meds for eighteen hours (take with food anti-inflams) which demonstrated that I really can't go without meds for eighteen hours. Especially when I arrive at the lab at the busy time (9_10:30) and must stand social distancing in hallway for fifteen minutes. Can no longer stand for long periods of time or back seizes up, which it ought not to do given how much I stretch it and do core strengthening. Blah.

Newcomers in the neighbourhood: north NNDs' four year old returns from extended visit with Grandma while parents moved in. Plays in the back yard in the evening gloaming, shooting a miniature basketball into his miniature basketball hoop, while Turkish father smokes outside. South NND's Very Good Girl Sadie chews her bone and barks forlornly when N goes inside instead of playing with her. And mysteriously: at night something technical goes bingley-bingley-beep at random moments (actually more, bing-eley-boop!) and I can't or the life of me think what it could be. I never hear it during the day and I can't even tell where it's coming from.