Creatures of Habit in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
141

At the horsepistol of course. Not much to report. Hubs BP is low but that’s not really a new thing. He said he had a terrible night, didn’t sleep due to the Foley they just put in. Doc said they would see about removing it tomorrow.

Doc also had a little chat about his wishes regarding invasive procedures like intubation should that become necessary and hubby said no. He has a living will and a DNR and I am his surrogate. His breathing is actually pretty good today. He is very quiet though. Not wanting to talk. Depressed. Did not eat breakfast he says. I will see what they bring at lunchtime and go get him something different if he’s not happy with it. In fairness the food is not really good.

It finally stopped raining and the sun was out but it’s starting to get cloudy again.

142

I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out how someone would do a home colonoscopy. :scream: I’m an inveterate do-it-yurselfer, but I don’t think that’s something I would even attempt.

Tell him he has to give proof first, and quoting Fox and Friends is not proof. That usually shuts them up, or makes their head’s explode.

Don’t remember who was looking for a Dutch oven, but Wifey was after getting one a few days ago, but thought they were too expensive, so she bought a heavy aluminum one at the 2nd hand store. I don’t know what brand. We need to try it out soon. I had one I really liked long ago, but my first wife ‘disappeared’ it. She was good at that. Then when I’d ask where something was, she’d say “I don’t know what you did with it.” and walk away. Just one of the many reasons I walked away.

More later.

143

Given my first name, how could I be anything but contrary? :upside_down_face:

144

That did occur to me… :wink:

145

Bumba, it’s called Cologuard (https://www.cologuardtest.com/) and it’s for folks like me with no family or personal history of colon problems. You set the device up and…um…er…deposit some fecal matter in it, add preservative, seal tightly and mail off to the lab (or IIRC, UPS delivers it). But for folks with any history, they won’t use it, you need to do the Full Monty.

Completely unmotivated to do anything outside of fixing a chee-burger for lunch. Need to plan the boy’s soccer practice and get some bananas either before or after. Dinner is my Big Bowl O’Sallit.

OW, good luck on date #3.

Press on.

146

I have leftovers. Come on over! :slight_smile:

It’s foggy here. I love walking in fog but have found drivers are less likely to see me. Should I walk to Target ?(My watch broke, and I need a new, cheap one. I’d go to Wally World, but the nearest one is two bus rides away.) Someone here suggested getting a yellow safety vest, which I did, but now I can’t recall where I put it.

Make sure you have smelling salts handy.

What ARE smelling salts anyway? Some crystal form of ammonia? Do they still make them? I’ve never seen a Smelling Salts aisle at CVS.

swampy, sorry to hear about the colonoscopy. I loathed the Day of Flavored Water (Jello, broth). I got headachy and cranky and spent most of the day muttering and cursing barbaric medicine. There are studies showing that allowing patients to eat a broader range of foods (pudding, cream soups, mac and cheese) led to better compliance with no change in accuracy, but the next go-round, I got a doc who insisted on no fiber for 5 days before surgery PLUS the Day of Flavored Water, so I opted for the home version.

Butters, glad to learn Mr. Butters is doing better. Is there any way to get him stronger so he could have surgery, or is the bad valve the reason he’s so weak?

147

If I’m allowed out* on Tuesday, I’ll stop by the Le Creuset store and see what they have. They only have a few online and don’t seem to have any special colors. We’ve bought other items from that store and they are always willing to throw in a hot pad or some other promotional item. So maybe I should wait a few more weeks.

It’s one of those items we’ve always considered, but before I was really only cooking on the weekends. That’s changed in the last 7 months and I don’t expect to go back to what we had before, no matter what else happens. Working from home is definitely here to stay.

*Rumor has it that we will get more restrictions at the beginning of the week. The Swiss Federal Council keeps saying they don’t want to, and they have made the statement that public health is more important than economic health.

@purplehorseshoe This is your reminder. We need the story of the absurd drama.

148

We finally finished off our giant pot of chili verde last night. Good to the last drop. I was so disappointed that we couldn’t use our Hatch peppers, as they were too hot. Then yesterday, when we were at the farmers’ market looking for fresh comice pears (score!), I spotted a vendor selling the peppers. Asked him if they were hot or mild and he allowed as how they are of the latter variety. So I bought a dozen. Tried a bit of one when I got home and sure enough. I’ll roast them today and freeze them.

Since the news is full of dire reports of Christmas season package slowdowns (BE AFRAID!!!), I ordered the smoked sockeye salmon that I send my kids every year. Good stuff: packed in jars in olive oil:

https://www.copperriverseafoods.com/wild-alaska-smoked-sockeye-salmon-6-5-oz-jars-1-case/

Next up will be the Spanish chorizo and Bomba rice for the New Year’s paella from La Tienda:

149

And I want to hear this whole story too, in tiny detail.

@purplehorseshoe, here’s your reminder, as requested for your promised ‘men (note multiple-kinky) in my house while I was showering’ story. If it was the landlord changing the furnace filter I’m going to be veeeerryy disappointed in you. I lead a very sheltered life and library books only take one so far and no farther. Pony up!

150

Skeeti sauce is going in the slow cooker. Having an Old Fashioned, since it’s Old Fashioned Week. :tumbler_glass:

:smiley:
and {{{{hugs}}}}

{{{{Butters}}}}

@purplehorshoe, we await the lusty tales of nekkid-ness and strange men in apartments.

151

nellie, you done flung a cravin’ on me. Please tell me what your mother’s shortcut for the dumplings was.

OW, you are a good niece to your aunt. And I’m waiting for you to tell us about your third date with your gentleman caller. :slight_smile:

{{{butters and hubby}}} More hugs and good thoughts coming your way. Glad that your hubby sounds a little better.

I went back to irk today and irked about an hour over. I’m flipping back and forth between the debate and more entertaining TV. Twelve years ago, I was at the last debate hosted by Belmont University and was in the room when then-Senator Barack Obama stepped into the overflow auditorium to thank us for our support ( I was there with my county’s Democrat organization). Tonight’s debate isn’t nearly as classy.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

152

OK, I’ll tell you, but I’m sure there will be groans a-plenty and probably a few cries of “heretic.” She used refrigerator biscuits. Now, I’ve made dumplings from scratch, and I’ve used fridge biscuits, and there’s no doubt the former are better, but the fridge biscuits aren’t bad. I don’t like fridge biscuits as biscuits, TBH. They taste chemical-ish and have a weird texture. As dumplings, they’re puffy and don’t taste of chemicals, at least as far as I can tell.

The stew was yum. I used the Instant Pot and included a goodly dash of red wine with the seasonings, as we all do. The beef was tender, and the flour I used to brown the beef thickened the juices just right. I’m going to heat the leftovers here in a bit. Maybe I’ll have a glass of the wine that’s left, too.

153

They also make not-bad shortcut doughnuts. Especially if you drench them in sugar when they’re hot and greasy from the fat. :yum:

154

Evening all. Soccer has been practiced and Big Bowl O’Sallit has been assimilated, so all is right with the world. Not listening to the debate, but following the comments on the appropriate thread here in the Dope.

SWITZERLAND said that!!! :grin: :smiley: :smile: Old stereotypes die hard…

About a 50/50 chance for rain tomorrow, hoping it stays away so we can play soccer games Saturday.

All y’all take care.

155

Yeah? Where you at? I have most of a tank of gas, and am wearing clean pants …

… clean-ish pants …

… okay, look, I’ll get dressed.

Now, as promised, and with far less salacious details than all y’all are expecting (how else to keep interest in the meantime?) the Tale of Purple Having To Shower While Strange Men Were Afoot

I got to work, am greeted as usual. “What’s up?” “Hey. How are ya?” “Purple, how you doing?”

“I. Am. Very.” Some thought gathering. “Discombobulated!”

Oh, dear. Some consternation. Finally: “Why? What happened?”

Okay, so I woke up like ten minutes before my alarm - yay! That means extra time, maybe breakfast at home. But what’s this noise? Male voices directly outside?

You see, Mumpers, back in early JUNE I had requested a screen door, for the side entrance to the kitchen. Thought it would be nice to have some extra ventilation, especially during 1.) lovely summer nights, and/or 2.) culinary adventures.
Ever sear properly in a cast iron pan? You want fresh air. Oh yeah, and no hood vent in this kitchen. Definitely nice to open up as many windows and doors as ya can.

Anyway, it now being mid-October (and having gotten a maintenance cancelation notice a while back) I was utterly unprepared for the sight of two men cheerfully puttering away in my driveway that morning, a mere hour before I’m supposed to be at work.

And when I say “unprepared” I mean “nekkid” as I do not like clothing to sleep, just piles ‘n’ piles of quilts and blankets.
Also socks. Okay. I do wear socks to bed. But that is irrelevant to the tale. I just wanted to point out that I was wearing something but just not anything visible through a window.

I pull on PJ pants and a sweater & politely inquire as to WTF is going on. Mind you, I just woke up. Might have been a heavier emphasis on the “F” portion than is customary.

I am informed that I am getting my screen door! Also, they’ll help pull out my window A/C (that’s Coolio to you) and pop that screen back in for me - that had been part two of my same request, so they were here for both.

Uh. Okay. I let them know I need to be getting ready for work, but, uh, okay, we’ll do this stuff first.

Nice guy comes in & unscrews Coolio and on my request, take the A/C down into my basement for me.
Side note: This is highly appreciated, as I’ve been wondering how in hell I will deal with that winterizing task myself.
Side note II: got some cannabis hanging to dry in the basement stairwell. If he noticed - and he’s blind with no sense of smell if he didn’t - then he at least didn’t comment.

Back to their work on my door. The one three feet from my bathroom.
They’re drilling loudly, talking to each other … all the usual noise of maintenance men doing their groovy thing.
Three feet from my bathroom.

I dance around awkwardly for a bit, gather what appears to be the correct number of undies/bra/shirt/jeans/socks and bundle everything into my teensy cube of a bathroom, for the world’s quietest and least satisfying poop followed by a short and odd feeling shower.

No morning smoke. (Shaddup.) No chilling with a cuppa tea and the morning Dope updates. No getting dressed piecemeal as I wander from this drawer to that chest.

Fine.

Oh, the roof slopes too low and they’ll need a bit more time, see the screen door doesn’t open all the way? They need to add a stopper of some kind, so the door doesn’t damage the underside of the roof.

I ask half-jokingly if we can cut off the corner of the screen door, or a half moon in the roof.

I have to get going for work … and the fricking door won’t even OPEN all the way? Do I even want this? I kinda want to think for a moment, maybe put the kibosh on what is turning into a stupid idea.
What kind of door doesn’t open? I mean, that’s kind of what makes it a door.

But the clock is ticking and I can’t think straight. I run to work.

Discombobulated.

Manager took one look at me, thought a moment, and wisely decided they could do without me for an hour. (There were also zero customers at the moment.) Ran back home, but the guys had left. Done. Too late to ask them to take it down, nevermore, do not want.

Now I have a screen door that only opens halfway.

It took me a while to post the story here because, in the immediate aftermath, I wanted to take it all to The Pit instead.

I am calmer about the whole thing. Most of it was just having my little morning routine rudely & utterly interrupted … by two guys who were just doing their job, and were being as nice & as professional as could be about the whole thing.

All the unpleasantness was entirely within my own head.

Thus endeth the tale. I’m disappointed about the stupid door, but decided it’s not worth bothering about now until it’s really in the way i.e. move-out time, I guess.

156

And in the meantime, you will have a screen door for extra summertime (all 3 weeks of it where you are) ventilation and cooking air venting. Sounds like a win, especially if you live in a house built more than 20 years ago.

Which doesn’t excuse how you misled all of us waiting into believing that this story was going to rival the palance intrigue in Game of Thrones. We wuz had😲! Kids today…

157

Maybe my report on date #3 will be more salacious. Hey, a girl and her invisible internet friends can dream! :innocent:

158

OK, read the whole post and have a plan. Here’s whatcha do. Pull up steaks and head to western Washington. I know, I know, you basically just got there to Michigan. Trust me on this. I already ate the leftover stew, but I’ll make more before you get here. I will also feed you various delicious Italian dishes. You look for a budtender job, and there are some, as weed has been legal here since before Michigan learned to spell “cannabis.”

My back door is a slider with a screen. It opens to my balcony, which looks out onto woods. Eventually you find your own place. In the meantime, no depression mess to clean up because I’m here all day to clean*. Oh, and critters are welcome, though I probably can’t feed mice to Pretzel without wailing and gnashing of teeth because I’m a wuss.

159

And it’s another stoopit wake-up-too-early day, but it’s Firday, so there’s that… as if it matters to a retiree… :stuck_out_tongue:

We have an appointment at 4 with our finances guy to talk about our finances (duh!) and since the lawyer’s office is on the way, we’ll swing by there to get them to make the corrections to our wills and make an appointment to sign everything.

We need to make our Death Book - on recommendation of the lawyer, we should put all critical info in one place for our heirs to manage things after we’re gone. Stuff like accounts and passwords and all that. Maybe I’ll start on that this weekend. I have a spreadsheet with much of that info, but it really needs to be on paper. And we need a fireproof box for that and the wills. Must make a to-do list.

I seem to recall my mom used whomp biscuits to make chicken-n-dumplings - putting chicken and gravy in a pan, then covering it all with the whompers. But she didn’t call it chicken-n-dumplings. I don’t recall what she called it, but none of you care, so no matter. :wink:

The throw pillows I ordered came yesterday, and tomorrow, the covers should arrive. They’re not as poofy as I’d hoped, but they’ve got zipper openings, so I can add stuffing, and I just might do that.

Meanwhile, onward!! Happy Firday!!

160

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 67 Amurrkin out and partly cloudy (partly moony?) with a predicted high of 84 and mostly N.O.S. Not much doin’ down this way today. Fine by me. I shall make unstuffed cabbage for sup along with corn bread. I did make a ‘nanner puddin’ yestiddy so we have that as well.

As to the colonoscopy, I have done the at home version. However, doc has been encouragin’ me to get a for real one, so I shall take her advice. ICK! I’ve had a couple of 'em in the past, so I shall bite the bullet and get one done. Don’t know when that will be just yet, however. She’ll do a referral and I’ll get a call to set it up.

shoe OK, so not a lurid tale but still could be the premise for a porno if that’s any consolation.

Miss_Owl hope the date with the gentleman caller goes well.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.

Happy Firday Y’all!