Raincharm’s Weblog

The hedge trimming took a break today. The need to pay bills and do some house cleaning took precedence.

Outside of the normal payment stuff there were two items that stood out. A breach and a scam. The breach was the latest in a line of digital data losses to the dark web. As usual they offered a year of credit monitoring, so I signed up for each of us, again. This is not the first time.

The scam was more interesting. It came in the form of hard copy letter, ostensibly from a lawyer in Canada. Apparently 4 years ago a well off CPA with my last name died from Covid. As an established CPA you would think they would have a will. They have not been able to locate an heir, and based on the name similarity have a proposal for the more than $10 Million life insurance policy. The proposal is 10% to charity and split the remainder 50-50. Just a few red flags. I googled the law firm name and the second entry in the list was for the BBB. I went there and there was already a report of this scam from someone else. I added my report to the BBB and moved on.

We have friends coming to dinner tomorrow so dusted and vacuumed. That’s why we need to have people visit from time to time.

There was also some outdoor work. It was 70 degrees. While tomorrow’s high is only in the 50s, it is not supposed to rain for a few days, so I watered the micro-clover and raspberries.

Carl did the harder work, mowing and edging the front yard.

I need to try and hedge tomorrow, but lots of errands and prep work. The goal was to get it done before the Mariners return and then a house guest arrives.

I was the prime trimmer and Carl was trimming the trimmed trimmings into overflow yard waste bins. All of my work is from the neighbor’s 8-foot step ladder. I started about halfway up, but usually end up 2 steps from the top. I can put my knees against the top step (don’t step here) and also use the hedge itself for balance. I have two loppers, one normal and a sturdier ratcheted type. The sturdier is heavier, and tests my strength to reach out further. I also have a small 4″ hand held chainsaw.

When I’m on the second to top step and using the sturdier lopers or the chainsaw I have Carl hold the ladder. I used the chainsaw for about 4 to 5 cuts today. I really like this little guy. It takes a lot less time than a hand saw would.

After maybe 3 hours of hedge work I was done, or rather my arms were. The hege trimming is not done. 1-2 more days on our side, and then more on our neighbor’s side.

And it is nice, 66 degrees. So beer on the back deck. Which I noticed needs to be cleaned, yet another task.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate! I am hearing the sounds of family gatherings around, and it’s a wonderful sound.

Our old neighbor, a few owners ago, planted a laurel hedge along our shared property line, on his side. He also took care of the hedge, keeping it trimmed and in control.

Then he sold, and two owners later, with renters, the hedge is all out of control. We have taken on the task of trimming our side, but really need to bring the height down 3 or 4 feet.

Carl has been trimming what he can reach, over the course of 3 days I think. Today I started on the higher reaches, using a borrowed 8 foot step ladder. I’ve done between 1/4 to 1/3 of what can be reached from our yard. MY ARMS ARE TOAST. But we have good weather for the next few days, so I will need to push myself, or at least my arms to keep moving.

It’s hard to get perspective from the pictures, but here they are anyway.

We headed to the UW again today. Partly to avoid the weekend crowds. 1. The trees along Rainier Vista are blooming. 2. The weather is supposed to be sunny. 3. It’s a weekend.

We continued walking the campus edges by Lake Washington.

Our route included passing by the UW baseball field.  The outfield wall is separated from Lake Washington by a moat swamp and a narrow gravel road. Home runs often end up in the wet.

When I looked up from the sodden baseball I saw this.

The heron was quite close, but seemingly nonplussed by traffic on the gravel path.

We continued on, stopping at the Ravenna Brewery to share a brew. This gave us the energy to make it home, on a route that included two steep hills. I considered a hilly, but not quite as steep route, but it was longer.

Funny side note. We play a license plate game. Starting at 000 you count up. 001, 002, etc. We started in October 2024 and are currently looking for 086. We look at plates on walks, and sometimes while driving, depending on conditions. It’s slightly obsessive. Carl was watching a movie last night, and found himself looking at the license plate numbers in the movie. No, it would not have counted.

The first Mariner homestand is over. I hope the next one has better weather.

T-Mobile Park has a  “roof” but it’s really more of an umbrella. Those familiar with umbrellas know that it is possible for rain to get under the canopy, especially with wind. And we were rained on almost the entire game yesterday.

And the weather continues to come into the house, although limited to the garage. These have been heavy rain, but not the atmospheric rivers. I think the garage has likely had this problem over the years,  but we weren’t paying as much attention. I am paying attention now. The water is actually coming through a few holes and cracks. I’m going to start looking for a sealant to try on the inside of the concrete wall. Lower cost attempt for now.

There has obviously been other issues in the past, and it would appear other coatings as well. Since we have owned the house there have been at least 2 respectable earthquakes and we had earthquake retrofit done that included drilling into the concrete foundation to attach braces. All of this may have opened up cracks.

Now I need to look for any pre-retro fit photos to look for changes. Or not, and just look for potential solutions. Or not, and deal with occasional water intrusion.

Today is the last day of the Mariner’s opening homestand of 2026. Opening Day seems so long ago, and it’s only been 7 days.

The house is getting back to pre-games status. The guests are all gone, and have been for awhile. Beds are remade or reconfigured.

There are things that are hanging on still. Thomas English muffins. You never know what to expect will get eaten, especially with kids involved. Family Arithmetic (bills, etc) is waiting until tomorrow. I really could jump on this, but there are a few new medical EOBs that I want to give proper time.

And there are the tasks that were started before the season that are still hanging around. Front yard recovery, raspberry patch improvements, and now major hedge trimming. Luckily for things planted at least a week ago, there has been steady rain events, so watering has not been necessary. Rain all day today, but better weather predicted for the weekend.

Broken record here. But other than running errands (Costco today) it’s what I have been doing. When I was working I never went to Monday games because of meetings or weekday day games because, well, work.

Everyone said retirement would be an adjustment, I just didn’t realize how cold it would be. Yesterday was not as cold as the day before, and it’s starting a few degrees warmer today.

Ms lose 5-0. One more game in the homestand and then I can figure out what else I should be doing. In my defense, this is the first one of the season and it’s hard to remember that it started with houseguests. That seems so long ago now.

But on the train to the game, again. It’s a later game, but apparently will be warmer than yesterday at first pitch. I attribute my exhaustion to getting so chilled.  I did some  chores this morning, but hit a wall in the afternoon.

Today is the Yankees, who always draw a crowd. I am hoping the Mariners run last year will balance the supporters.

A granddaughter of a friend of ours threw out the first pitch.

5th inning. So far not quite as cold. I have a slightly heavier sweatshirt with a hood. We’re only up by one run. I don’t expect it to stand up, we need some more runs.

From 6-1/2 years ago, a warm summer afternoon game. Carl catching a home run that Judge is wasn’t quite tall enough to get.

And we made it to the 9th, when Raleigh, in his 2nd at bat for the game came through with a clutch hit. Ms win 2-1.

New pitcher, 2 hours in. I was pretty sure our 1 run lead was not going to stand up. Tie game in the 7th.

And the Yankee manager is bush league. He extends the game for no reason, by waiting until the batter is in the box,  and then stopping the game to change pitchers. I’m about ready to call it a night. Still not as cold as last night.

I was starting to get really chilled again. I’m not sure I would have lasted through extra innings.

The game was made a bit more fun by texting with a Yankee fan in New York who we met at the Hall of Fame last summer. He’s hoping to make it to Seattle for a game, but the timing didn’t work out this year. He gave me an Ichiro Yankees hat at the Hall of Fame induction. Maybe I’ll wear it tomorrow.

Another ball game under our belt. Things of import:

• Apples
• Toss up ball catch
• Man it’s cold
• Light Rail catch
• Ball distribution
• Bus catch
• Soup

We got to the game a little early and decided to walk around inside the park. We headed up to the 3rd deck and walked around the concourse, mostly out of the rain. Near the kid’s play area they were handing out baseball sized boxes. Our first thought they were giving out whiffle balls to kids. But no, they were giving out apples, individually boxed. Sugar Bee apples to be specific.

There was a family sitting next to us, including a young girl, maybe 8 years old. They had homemade signs asking Julio Rodriguez, Ms center-fielder to throw a warm-up ball to them.  Before the start of 5th inning Julio threw the ball in our direction and Carl stretched to make the catch, and handed the ball to the girl. I’m not sure if his feet left the ground, but it was close.

One of the defining features of today’s game was the temperature, or lack thereof. It was in the 40s, and damp. 🥶  We shivered our way through 7 innings, and left with a 7-0 lead. We’re midway through the homestand and just wanted to be warm.

So we; Carl, Kevin, and I, headed for the light rail station. We were not alone. As we headed into the station we could see a train loading  – so we “ran.” The first car was packed, so we kept heading down the train. About 3 cars down the doors started to close. I stuck my hand in and got the door to open so the 3 of us could squeeze in. Probably the latest catch of a train for me, although I did have a plane close the door just after I boarded once. It was crowded, but it was warm (body heat and all).

A few people disembarked at the next station. (Probably to catch the 2 line to Bellevue) With a tad more room a nearby family could let their 2 young kids sit. They were a bit fussy. So Carl reached into our bags and pulled out 2 baseballs he had brought with us, handing them to the parents for the kids. This kept them occupied until it was time to disembark.

Getting off at Roosevelt Station we had just enough time to comfortably catch the bus that shortened our walk from half a mile to 2 blocks. We did not have to jam our hands in the door to get on either.

After getting into the warm house our thoughts turned to dinner. After a bit of dithering we settled on soup. Canned soup, but nice warm chicken noodle soup. It warmed our souls.

And the baseball game was good, if you could see past your breath. Ms win 8-0. They’re 2-2 on the season. Acceptable.

Here’s hoping tomorrow’s game is a warmer win.

And for those who have been trying to figure out where to watch a baseball game on TV, I share the following.  The Mariners first 4 games have been on 3 different platforms.

I am not at the Ms game today. It’s my day off so our friend could take his friends. Carl did go and sent this pregame picture.

There were some raindrops, but I don’t know if it was enough to close the roof.

All for me. As I said, a day off.