No Matter How Much I Miss Her

Today was another good day, pretty much.

I woke up early (surprise!) and after spending my traditional morning time in Kellie’s garden, got to work on the homework assignment due by midnight tonight. I mostly finished that up before church, then afterward got it turned in and headed out toward Cleveland to do a bit of exploring.

The next stop in my bookstore tour was The Viridian Bookshop. I wanted to show them some love (and you should too) because of a recent series of events that has really hurt their business. At some point over the past couple of weeks, Google’s AI started telling people that the owners had permanently shut the store. Because Apple Maps uses some of the same data sources (though who knows where it originally came from), that started saying the store wasn’t open anymore as well, and that has meant their July sales have dropped dramatically. They’ve been desperately trying to get the AIs in question to correct the issue, but in the meantime have attempted to get customers to show up and buy stuff, or at the very least spread the word. So that’s what I’m doing!

They have a great location, right in downtown Willoughby. Their back door is immediately beside a free public parking lot, which was super convenient. If you remember the old Willoughby Brewing Company (now called something different), it’s the same lot.

The store is pretty spread out inside, with a nice hand-picked selection across a bunch of different genres. They also do something which I think is brilliant, and that I wish more bookstores would pick up on: there were post-its throughout the place, and they invite customers to write recommendations and leave them beside specific books that have meant something to them. That way, there were a bunch of recommendations and reviews and the store’s owners and employees didn’t have to do them all. I think it’s really clever, and enjoyed browsing the community recommendations as much as looking at the formal displays. I’ll definitely be back.

I also picked up groceries for the week, which I’m proud about. I love the ease of just grabbing myself food from somewhere when I’m hungry, but that’s certainly not as cost-effective as having food on-hand. So I’m trying to be at least moderately smart about when I eat out and when I eat something at home. Besides, I’m facilitating three different workshops this week, and will need food at home to eat when I’m hungry instead of needing to take the time to go to a restaurant.

Guess what? The new rose in Kellie’s garden now has two blooms, with more on the way! They’re gorgeous. Check it out (no filter needed):

On the weekend rest and relaxation front, some good news. I watched a horror movie last night (Obsession, if you’re curious). It was fantastic, and I really enjoyed it. It’s been three months since I was able to do that. I was hopeful I’d find someone in my circle who wanted to watch horror movies with me, but since nobody has come forward I figured I’d either have to start doing it alone or quit horror. But it was a success. The only negative was that Coco was mildly alarmed when screaming happened, but she got over it quickly.

I’ve also re-started watching From, which has been fun. Kellie and I had watched the first episode of this most recent season and I’d been unable to continue it without her until today.

Progress is progress, and I need to keep remembering that. Incremental improvements are still improvements.

So I’m full, marginally better-rested, watching TV, and the dogs have fresh treats and are happy to have me here. I’m ready for a busy week, including being prepared with groceries in the house. Moving into the last week of my birthday month, I’m feeling better than I’d expected.

Thanks for your support.

Matt