New Pope - Leo XIV

Yesterday there was a new Pope elected in Rome and for the first time in history there is an American Pope. Now that was quite the shock.

Pope Francis passed away the day after Easter. He had been very sick for some time and his death was not unexpected. They had the funeral last week and then the conclave to elect a new pope this week. It was a surprise that it only lasted a couple of days. I think they said there were only 5 or 6 votes. Becky and I watched the movie Conclave last week so we had an idea how this election conclave worked.

I had the conclave on CNN and saw when the white smoke came out of the chimney. It would be another hour before the new pope made an appearance and the world found out who it was... Cardinal Robert Prevost. 

All evening there was an amazing amount of news coverage of the election of the new pope and so much more so because he is an American.

Lawn Service

With all the problems I've been having recently with the hernia and abdominal pain we decided to hire a lawn service to cut our grass. We had been discussing this option over the past few years and were planning to do it at some time. The time appears to be now.

Becky did some online research with the Better Business Bureau and came up with a first choice of Percy's Lawn Care in Buffalo. They had wonderful comments on the website. She contacted them and arranged for someone to come by to give us an estimate. The son of the business owner contacted us and arranged to come by to give an estimate. He came by, looked at our lawns, and gave us a feel of $47 a cutting. He also said they would come by once a week throughout the summer and we would pay monthly. He was very nice and knowledgeable. It turns out they also provided the lawn service for Peggy down the street. We had planned to ask her about the service she had. This company mostly cut lawns in the Elmwood, Parkside and North Buffalo neighborhoods.

We gave him the OK for our business and he said he would come by Thursday or Friday of this week for the first lawn cutting. He would come by with another member of his team. We had spent some time talking about the lawn weed which was always very thick in May and made it difficult to cut the grass. The weed always dies back by the end of May and then the lawn becomes normal. Becky had also marked the edges of the garden which was somewhat overgrown because of the weeds. We had not been able to do much with the garden so far this year because of the weather and also with my hernia problem.

They came by today and did a good job cutting both the front and back lawns. I feel better about getting this all done and not having to worry about it. 

Car Stolen - That Tic-Tok Challenge Again

Woke up to a phone call at 7am this morning. It was from an Erie County dispatcher who said they believe they had Becky's vehicle that had been stolen. I said I didn't know anything about it and then looked out the front window down at the driveway. It was empty. Our car was gone. He told me the car was found in Amherst near Main and Kensington and to call the Buffalo Police.

I dialed 911 and was connected to our precinct and they said our car was found and they would take me to it to identify it. They said it could be driven. I got into the back of the police car and they took me to my car which was sitting in the middle of a side street near the intersection of Main and Kensington. The car was running. It was a mess and the ignition column was torn apart just like last time. There was a lot of junk in the car from the kids who took. They also stole the big yellow steering wheel club that was in the back seat. We had stopped clubbing the car early in the winter.

The police escorted me back to our house as I drove the car. I followed them back along the expressways. I pulled into our driveway and one of the officers used a USB device to turn off the engine. They told me there was a significant rise in the Kia and Hyundai car thefts over the past few weeks.

Next I called our insurance agents about the car theft. They had me contact our insurance company Travellers. That was an ordeal. Because I needed to have the car towed to a repair shop they kept putting me into their roadside assistance program. Everything was automated. I finally had to call a third time to ensure I talked with a person and got things going properly. Then I found it easier to set up an online account with Travellers and make the claim in the system. That took a couple of tries but I eventually got a claim in the system. I waited about a half hour and then looked at the progress of the claim... nothing seemed to be happening. I looked deeper into the claim process and found the person who was assigned my claim. I sent them an email outlining what I needed to happen. 

I wrote... Hi, I filed a claim this morning concerning my stolen and damaged vehicle. This happened once before in 2023 so I know the process. Our car was recovered and is now back in our driveway but not driveable. We need our car towed or taken from our driveway at 366 Crescent Ave, Buffalo, NY  and taken to Gerber Auto Repair at 2643 Delaware Ave for repairs. There is an Enterprise Car rental on the property which I will use.

Please make this happen. We need the car rental and our car fixed ASAP. Thanks.

I got a call from him a little later. He thought things were moving along fine. They set things up with Enterprise Car Rental and repairs to be made at Gerber Auto Repair. 

A Buffalo police detective contacted me to make a report on the car theft incident.

Brian down the street drove me over to Enterprise on Main Street to pick up our rental car which I then drove home. We will have it for the time it takes to get our car fixed.

Travellers sent out an appraiser who looked over the car and arranged with Gerber to pick up the car. Gerber contacted me and we talked about getting the car to them. They contacted Walters Towing who then contacted me to arrange a time to pick up the car. They came by a little after 5 pm and would take the car to their secure facility overnight and then take it to Gerber in the morning. We didn't want to leave the car vulnerable.

Tomorrow I will take the rental car over to Gerber and do the paperwork.

Funny is What I Do

Our grandson Andrew told us that Funny is What I Do! This kid just turned 4 years old last week and this is how he describes himself. Cracked us up. Yes, he is funny. He's also very loving and smart. He is fun to be around. Sure he has his 3-4 year old moments but overall he is a wonderful little boy and a joy in our lives.

We also certainly enjoy having his little sister Autumn around. She is a cutie.

Pizza & Wings

Sean and Ashley and the kids arrived this Friday afternoon of the Easter weekend. We had a very nice time with Andrew and Autumn although it was a little cold to be doing much outside. We did spend a little time in the backyard.

We were planning to have some pizza and they wanted pizza and wings from Mr. Pizza so Becky and I went over and got some. It was delicious as usual and we had just enough for a nice meal.

Then it was time to watch some basketball playoff games.

Another Coles Dinner

Becky and I decided to go out for dinner this evening after spending the day getting the house ready for Sean and Ashley and the kids visiting us for the weekend. We wanted to relax a little bit so we over to Coles. It seems like we've been there a lot recently. I think this would be the third time in about a month. Not complaining.

I had a beef on weck sandwich and Becky had a chicken milanese. I had a couple of draft beers too.

The restaurant was a little quieter than the past couple of times. Last week we were there on a Friday evening and it was jumping. Today was still very nice with good service and great food.

Kitchen Range Hood Installation

It took three weeks, just like they said, for us to get our kitchen range hood delivered and installed. They came by today in the mid-afternoon and had it done in about 20 minutes. These guys were good.

Now we are very happy with the new stove and the range hood with the fancy lights and the wonderful fan. 

It was nice to get rid of the portable desk lamp that we've had next to the stove for many years.

Jupiter String Quartet

Tonight we experienced the last concert of the season in our Buffalo Chamber Music series. It was wonderful as always. We enjoyed it very much and we're looking forward to next season after seeing the brochure for the 2025-2026 series tonight.

The Jupiter String Quartet played tonight and the first half was spectacular with a Haydn string quartet followed by an interesting modern piece by Caroline Shaw. After the intermission there was a Brahms string quartet.

As usual we saw lots of people we knew including several neighbors.

It was a cold night but no snow or ice. We parked in our usual area and enjoyed the walk back and forth to the music hall.

Icelandic Sounds - Kitchen Listening

I spent the morning listening to the haunting music of the post-rock Icelandic band Sigur Ros. Three of their albums on the stereo lasted a little over three hours of blissful sounds and cerebral voices.

• Agaetis Byrjun, 1999
• ( ), 2002
• Takk..., 2005

I could have kept this going all day playing the rest of their albums in my collection but I'll save those for another time.

Bunny Hops

Earlier this evening Becky and I saw a couple of bunnies playing in our front yard. They would sit there chomping on some grass or something then suddenly hop up and charge each other. It was hilarious to watch and we stood there at the window for some time being highly entertained. 

Later in the dark they were out there still doing the same playful hopping around.