Went by the library to return The Baron of Magister Valley because finished and Wilson's Odyssey because didn't start-- too much on plate currently since I seem to be in the middle of a Taltos reread ie Vallista had come in and Tiassa is in transit and I'm still reading Lyorn. Then to tony Korean restaurant because they miss me if I don't show up regularly, and the dollar store for two cheap reading glasses that cost half of Loblaws' totally unsatisfactory pair. As I was about to leave a woman passed by holding the exact twin of my much-loved and never found twice striped cotton shirt. I asked where she'd got it and she said, 'You have to squeeze down that aisle there.' The dollar store doesn't have aisles as such, just very narrow spaces between the racks of clothes. 'Oh,' I said, 'I don't squeeze,' and started for the door again. Only, well, hell, parked the walker where it wouldn't be too much in the way, and squeezed. The shirts aren't as long as the one I own and felt stiffer. But they have, or had, 3Xes which, Pakistani sizes or not, ought to fit me. So I might go back and check them out. Lightweight long-sleeved cotton shirts are exactly what I want in the hot weather.

Then home. Thursday is garden waste pickup and tomorrow is supposed to what else rain. So got gloves and dust pan and removed a bag's worth of last year's leaves from the front planter and walk, also many many twigs and small branches blown off the linden or maybe the other tree, whatever it is. I may be crippled tomorrow: am at the age and in the shape when bending down is not as easy as it was, even for hyper-flexible me. There was much stopping and stretching the lower back which is still as problematic as it ever was. And I had better start doing all those 'how to prevent falls' exercises on tiktok, because I nearly did.  I remain convinced it's at least partly my shoes, great clumping boats that they are. And then got a large heavy duty garbage  bag (which is perfumed, of all things) and a utility knife (forget the proper name for those: the ones where the blade can be snapped off when it gets too dull) and attacked the curtain I had made a quarter of a century ago to block the sun in the study and never used because I didn't have the hardware to mount it. And when I did, the cherry had grown tall enough to block the blinding east sun. So I tried it on the porch, but it blocked too much sun, and has been sitting there for who knows how long, harboring spiders mostly by the look of it. And now it's cut up and ready to go out on Wednesday.

A week after the sakura came out they began to fall, a few petals drifting down here and there this morning. Rain and high winds, both of which we had last night, will do it. Rough winds shaking the darling buds of May as ever.

But at least my tax statement arrived safely so I was able to renew my dental plan. After faffing around with the 'renew through your bank account' thingy, which wanted info my bank card doesn't have, I found the 'renew here' button. Then it occurred to me to check out renewing my health card online, because now it expires on my birthday and not five years after the last renewal ie in October '26. Done out of nine months of coverage. Well yes, I can, but the photo needs to be less than five years old. It is, obviously, because it was taken in October '21. But it's also distressingly ugly, so maybe I should do it in person with a new photo? But December is an antsy time to go anywhere, especially down to Bay and College. However look! A new centre just north of Bloor and Yonge. I could transit that one. Check how their bookings work: and dear God, the first opening is a month away in June. Remind me in October to book a spot in November so I avoid the Christmas dead days and the winter weather.