Random 5 for May 31, 2026 – Cognitive testing, shipping, scams, projects, dining out

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My peony currently blooming.

Was that a test? – A few weeks ago, I visited a continuous care facility with a friend. We did a tour, ate lunch, received a bag of information and left. There was a pen in the bag. This past week I tried to use it. I couldn’t get it to work. It’s not a cheap pen, but nothing I tried worked. I wondered if it was a cognitive test. If you couldn’t figure it out, they wouldn’t accept you. Very clever! The beloved husband couldn’t figure it out either, so we are a matched pair (or the pen doesn’t work!).

That was fast! – Last Sunday I went on a shopping binge. It was all stuff I needed, nothing fun. Two items gave a 3-to-4-day ship time, and one projected a week. They all came within days. We are with fast shipping. I remember the days when we ordered on paper, mailed it in and waited patiently for the box to appear. Sometimes I forgot exactly what I ordered. We have Jeff Bezos to thank for that. I remember when Amazon started Prime with overnight shipping. It was cool. Now it’s expected from all retailers.

A new scam – I’m fascinated with the techniques people are using to trick me. This week I received a slew of messages that my password (for a company I don’t use or never heard of) was changed. Looking at the URL, I could see it was a person, not a company and the same person for all. Unfortunately for him, I’m not that dotty…yet!

Here we go again – We are “refreshing” our bathroom. (I use that word rather than “redo” to imply that it’s not costly, but everything is costly these days.) It’s just a vanity and exhaust fan change with some trim work. I will wallpaper the upper walls myself. We are in queue with our contractor who is having surgery on July 7. Tuesday is the day to start. It shouldn’t take long – no plumbing changes and minor electrical. He should be able to finish it well before his surgery after which he will not be working for four months. Fingers crossed all goes well.

Dining – Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a few lunches out. Most were disappointing. I like good food and a clean place. Décor and creativity are lower on the list as is quantity (I don’t eat much these days!). Yesterday I was gifted with a lovely lunch. It was at an ordinary chain that serves consistent good breakfasts. I was in my happy place. Today we are going to my favorite pizza place. Nirvana!

So how was your week?

66 thoughts on “Random 5 for May 31, 2026 – Cognitive testing, shipping, scams, projects, dining out”

  6. That is a pretty peony!

    Best wishes for your bathroom refresh! I wish we would do that here…and a whole lot of other projects…

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    • I go in spurts. This bunch of orders were for the bedroom and updated powder room. I had to return a blanket because it was too thin but found another that was perfect. I keep a list of what’s on order and when it’s coming or I forget.

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  8. Your peony is gorgeous! I’ve never had peonies. My neighbor had a peony bush years ago and I was leaving for work one morning (I took the bus) and he handed me a nice bouquet of peonies and the stems were wrapped in foil. He said “for your desk at work.” I got the bus at the end of the street a few minutes later, sat down, opened my book with my free hand and saw ants crawling all over the place, down my arm, on my book, all descending from the bouquet. I initially flipped the bouquet onto the floor and felt badly, so I picked it up and took it up to the front by the driver and said it was making me sneeze as I had allergies and I’d get it later when I got off the bus at my stop. I heard of a scam the other day where hackers are infiltrating your computer – you’ll get a red flashing message on your screen, then they are demanding money to hand over your passwords!

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    • I believe the beloved husband had that one once. Control, alt and delete gets rid of it but it’s scary as it’s flashing. Peonies are gorgeous and ants just love them. I rarely bring them in and when I do, they sit outside for a while.

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      • Yes, it is scary when it appears suddenly on your screen. Sometimes they come with a voice. Everyone wants a piece of you these days. That was the first time I had a bouquet of them and I was thankful he never did that again!

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  9. In times past, I bought everything in person. And yet, I don’t think I went shopping that often. I must have lived a simpler life. Now, I make use of Amazon more frequently than I care to admit.

    Yesterday I received a free pen as part of a solicitation. It has a flashlight at the top and two tiny screwdrivers on the bottom. I tried out the flashlight and the screwdrivers. Oh, wait, I didn’t try out the pen. … Okay. It works.

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    • My friend that I accompanied to the CCC, read my blog. Her pen didn’t work either. Since they accepted her application for residency, it’s a bad batch and not a cognitive test! 🙂

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  10. My week was pretty good, Kate. In advance, I was able to finish 5 more weekly blog posts for my ww1 Fragments blog. To make things even better, I read your Random 5 edition and thoroughly enjoyed it, as usual . . . . .

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  12. That is funny about the pen. I am sure I wouldn’t be able to figure it out either. Did you try holding the top part and turning the bottom part? Good luck with the bathroom. I hope your contractor finishes before his surgery.

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    • I’ve seen that but I couldn’t get the tip to come out at all. It was retracted inside the pen. I tried all the standard things. Nothing worked. My friend who was along said hers didn’t work either so they must have been a bad bunch. Or we are both clueless! 🙂

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  15. A bathroom refresh sounds so much better than a redo or reno. So much less unsettling. I think I could move forward with a bathroom refresh😊 I so enjoyed lunch out and now I would rather eat at home on the lanai with the mockingbird’s nonstop bird speak. I think covid killed it for me. It’s good to be in a happy place! You have me thinking of pizza… I hope it’s delicious!

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  17. Sounds like you had a decent week, Kate!
    Where I live, it’s been so hot and extremely windy that I can’t be outside for long after 8 a.m. and I have to avoid using the stove and thank gawd we have a ceiling fan in the bedroom or I’d be getting no sleep. One night I actually moved to a bed in the basement. I’m told some cooler weather is coming and I’ll probably whine about that too.

    On the plus side, Himself and I have been getting along great since he returned from the city early in the month, and that affects my days bigtime.

    When I first started my blog, I was working. I no longer am, and I love having the freedom (weather permitting) to do what I choose each day. It’s nothing exciting, but there’s no rush out the door, that’s the beauty of it.

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  18. I bought a roll of wallpaper to put on our hall bath ceiling. It’s unpasted. I’ve never done unpasted. I’ve done pasted and peel and stick but never on a ceiling. Pretty but put back in the box until someday I have nothing to do and want to test my patience.

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  20. I am cracking up at the pen test. Aren’t the free pens and goodie bag the real reason behind touring places?

    Why did I gasp when I read about the bathroom re-do? I think we both know why. You can’t speak of these things until the contractor has left the development. I’m hoping for the best.

    Prime has same day delivery. Are they waiting around the corner?

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    • Same day delivery seems extravagant. I once ordered birdseed from Walmart (not my favorite store but they had a significantly better price). I got delivery in hours. It came from the store near me. Since then they have upped the minimum for delivery so I pick it up at Tractor Supply.

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  21. Actually, the pen was a test . . . to see if you’d scribble notes during lunch with its “invisible ink” without being cognizant enough to recognize that the pen did NOT work! 😀

    Good luck with the redo AND with getting good food, at home & away!

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  22. We aren’t PRIME customers with Amazon BUT shipping is always FAST. I like that. So you’re “refreshing” a bathroom…..is it just me but do your contractors frequently have an operation scheduled in the middle or around the time they have a project of yours to do??? Tee Hee Anyway, good luck – you’re doing the hard stuff (wallpaper!!) so plumbing stuff ought to be a cinch for your contractor. We are going to get a major re-do of our shower in the master bathroom…..we have a jacuzzi tub and a worn out shower – the tub was what we thought would be “cool” to have when the house was built (I think we’ve used it about ten times since 1990) and the shower was tile lined and nice but now it’s just plain SAD. I want a little pop-down seat (standing gets tiring and/or slippery) and it needs re-tiling (I don’t want tile this time – something that’s EASY to clean please!). We can share bathroom re-do stories !!!!!!!

    Hugs, Pam

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  25. Nothing like a lovely lunch away from home. I’m with you-good food and decent service trumps any ‘experience’ from decor. Nobody needs lipstick on a pig.

    Good luck with the redo. I found a new-to-me program yesterday on the Magnolia Channel. Joanna Gaines did what was euphemistically called Mini Reni. While I enjoyed watching, it was far from mini-it was more along the lines of an entire gut job (transforming a former bedroom next to the kitchen into butler’s pantry-complete with the addition of adding a sink and double oven and microwave and turning a non functioning brick fireplace into a wood burning stove). While I get that the Gaines do a lot of entertaining, I always thought a butler’s pantry was more along the lines of having a space for storage, and keeping prep mess out of sight. Ahhh, the world of celebraties.

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  26. Amazon now delivers in less than 24 hours here. I don’t usually need anything quite that fast – especially if they’re going to deliver between 4 am – 7 am and get the dogs barking in the wee hours of the morning. I feel sorry for the delivery folks who have to find homes in the dark – not always easy.

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