23 more hours till vacation. Kroger has Bacon Salt[sup]TM[/sup]
Moonie, I like that song. Congrats on having a shred of sanity after mid terms.
: waves at rosie :
swampy, I used to think I was the black sheep of the family. turns out I’m just off white.
gt, I grabbed a bag of Hershey’s Special Dark bits at Kroger. Wanna handful?
Speaking of that, I have an Easter plaque at work that makes me think of FCM: Forget love, I want to fall in chocolate.
Happy Bday, Nava!
Sorry it’s late.
Beef stew is simmering on the stove - I had some bits left over and wanted to use 'em up before they went bad.
Have a full day of class ack. At least it’s Brit Literature and Shakespeare - I couldn’t take another full day of “Can you find the TOPIC? What is the paragraph ABOUT? What words are being REPEATED? WHY CAN’T YOU FIND THE GODDAMN REPEATED WORDS?” :: tears out hair ::
My friends, I could use a shoulder or two. The regulars kind of know that things have been rough since the beginning of the year. Just when the dust begins to settle from one incident, another occurs. Some I have shared, not all.
My Grandma has been in and out of the hospital, a couple of nursing homes, and all she wanted was to go back home. I told my Mom that if she wanted to go home, she certainly has the money to pay for a 24/7 caregiver, let her go back to her own home. So they did.
Tonight, at 5:00 I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to give Grandma a call, so I did. We had a lovely chat, she was so sweet and happy, and told me that she wanted me to know how much she loved me, and always had. I told her the same, and after a bit more chat we said ILY’s and rang off.
My Mom called about 4 hours later. At 8:00 Grandma’s caregiver had taken Grandma’s little dog out to potty (maybe 5 minutes) and when she got back inside, Grandma had passed away.
I feel poleaxed. Why the sudden urge to call her? Why the declarations of love? She was never all that demonstrative to me, and our conversation was so sweet and kind, out of character. I know that she was ready to Go Home, and to be able to pass so quickly and apparently painlessly in her own home is such a blessing, so I don’t have any anger at her being gone. I am, however, bereft. Tears come with the memories, which keep flashing across my brain like a movie.
All of my grandparents are gone now. After receiving my other Grandmother’s ring this week (she passed in 1983) to lose this Grandma now is kind of surreal. Or maybe it’s shock I’m feeling.
Anyway, thanks for letting me share my grief. It’s amazing how close one can come to feel about online friends. I love you guys.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffienatin’ here. Soon I must purtify and haul my hiney to the church to begin peelin’ and choppin’ veggies and choppin’ up chuck roasts and so forth. Today is the big St. Patrick’s Feast. Commence countdown… eleven hours and ten minutes until the hoardes descend demandin’ to be fed.
doggio I am the ecru sheep of the family. I say you start your vacation by buyin’ up all the bacon salt at Kroger and settin’ off a bacon salt panic.
Haze if it’s any consolation, Amurrkin college English professors deal with the same thing in Freshman Comp if I am to believe what I read and hear.
Ok, time for more caffiene and brekkie foragin’.
Later Y’all!
ETA: {{{kai}}} I’m so sorry about your grandmother. She and you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. I’m glad you got the chance to talk to her and say I love you one last time.
Thanks, swampy, your prayers are appreciated. Grandma was an Irish Catholic and would have enjoyed your St. Patrick’s Feast immensely, especially the green beer. She would have sung When Irish Eyes Are Smiling and My Wild Irish Rose. Enjoy your day, and maybe raise a toast to Barbara Godbey for me.
{{{kai}}} - how bittersweet. But how wonderful that you called and chatted with your grandmother. It does sound like she was ready.
Still, goodness, what a time you’ve been having! Be strong and know we’re all here for you.
It’s a cold, dreary day here. Daughter has left already to proctor today’s SATs. SIL will be going to hang with his gaming buddies in Alexandria, so **FCD **and I have the place to ourselves for a while. I should get him to take me to breakfast…
**Moonie **- love the song!! I’ll be sharing that, especially with my spousal unit. He has a mix CD of pirate songs, and that one would fit right in.
In other news, I woke up to 2 puddles of pee in the dining room. Scruffy is on “The List” - stoopit dog. But with the help of my wonderful, amazing, worth-every-penny (even tho I got it for free) carpet cleaner, all that remains are 2 slightly damp spots that should dry in no time. I loaded the dishwasher, too, but I stil haven’t done the cats’ box. It ain’t going anywhere.
And I’ve traded emails with MamaTigs, because I was wondering about her absence. She’s fine and hopes to get back with us in a few days to explain why she was gone and beg our forgiveness. OK, maybe that begging was an assumption on my part that was over the top. But she did say she’d tell us what’s been going on. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t involve sordid deeds with the first string of a professional sports franchise… (rumors? Moi??)
Anyway, thus begins my weekend. And just because: {{{kai}}}
Off to work, 23 hours till vacation. Gordie is neither wet nor farting today.
{{{{{kai}}}}. I’m glad you got to talk to her.
swampy, if I bought all the Bacon Salt[sup]TM[/sup], the peasants would burninate me.
Oh, kai, I’m so sorry. I remember how it felt to lose my last grandma. 
But it’s wonderful that you got to say good-bye. Hugs.
I’d meant to ask about Mama Tigs earlier this week, FCM.
Sounds like a fun vacation, doggio!
Up. Should have breakfast and then go to work, I suppose…
Save me some Irish stew, swampy, mkay?
Back later.
GT
(((((kai)))))
Morning! Running! See ya!
{{kai}} I’m glad you had a chance to have a lovely chat with your grandma… I’m sure it meant a whole lot to her.
Moonie, that song rocks! I’m totally sending the link to a friend of mine who is obsessed with pirates (yes, she’s a girl). I also shared it with The Boy, because it sounds a whole lot like The Decemberists, and he’s madly in love with one of their pirate songs (The Mariner’s Revenge).
OK, time to make some breakfast. I’m thinking french toast with some peameal bacon oughta do the trick… and then it’s a frantic mad dash to get a whole bunch of stuff done before we head out to stuff our faces with lots and lots and lots of awesome yummy Chinese food.
Morning, Mumpers!
First off, {{{kai}}}, you sure have had your share of woe lately. I am so glad you got to talk with your gran before she left.
rosie, get back in here and post!
fcm, could Scruffy be having kidney issues?
swampy, beef recipe sounded teh yum! BTW what meat do you use in your Irish stew?
I am most definitely being assaulted by a record pollen bloom this spring. I haven’t had chest congestion like this since I quit smoking and I’m headachey as well. I feel for folks what gots allergies.
Guess I should get at the Sattidy chores.
Tupug
{{{kai}}} I lost all of my grandparents when I was young. By the time I was 10, only my maternal grandmother was still alive, but she had Alzheimer’s so she had forgotten who I was by the time I turned 13. She finally passed away when I was 21.
{{{kai}}} - I’m glad you got to talk with her.
Breakfast was mushroom omelettes. Yummy! I will be crock-potting a pot roast soon. Laundry awaits…
No dog park today. It’s been icky and cold and raining. Should clear up by Monday.
Yesterday was fun with my girlfriend! I showed her around the house a bit, then we went to eat lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We both weren’t starving, so we decided to split an order of nachos. The waitress brought them out, and they appeared to be on flour tortilla chips! Oh, no - Mish is allergic to gluten. So we told the waitress, and she brought out another plate. These were definitely flour. We had a language problem. She said the first order was corn tortillas. Damn! We were embarrassed, but had to send the second plate back. Finally, I took the corn chips from the table, and walked back into the kitchen, and said put them on these chips! (I also was speaking to someone who could understand English.)
What an ordeal! She came to check on us when we were finally eating, and Mish jokingly said that we needed to send them back. She laughed. I tipped her $6 for a $10 order of nachos.
But we had fun visiting! Lots of giggling. 
I appreciate the kind words everyone. It’s been a long night with precious little sleep and too many tears. I have water aerobics this morning, and little as I want to go, I know that the exercise will help. It’s been years since I was inside a Catholic church, but I think I’ll go later and light a candle for her. She would like that.
For those keeping score* Lucy came home from Anchorage last week. She “wanders” mentally, but otherwise seems as though she’s going to get on. Not 100% there, more like 60%, but at least she’s on this side of the dirt nap*.
Ah, I gotta get ready to leave.
*lame, tired attempts at humor
Moonster - I love Ceann! I hadn’t heard that one, but they sing Almost Irish and Green Beer and a bunch of other hilarious songs.
{{kai}}
and happy birthdays to everyone who needs it.
{{{kai}}} I’m so sorry, but I’m glad you had a chance to chat with her before she went.
It’s rainy and dreary here. They’re talking snow…again…for tomorrow into Monday. :rolleyes:
Okay, so I’ve tried to be a good little employee and actually do some work related stuff yesterday and this morning. The damn connection is soooooo slow that everything stops responding. I give up. I’ll just have to do it all Monday and tell everyone to leave me alone.
I only took the computer home because I was awaiting a response from my boss on an e-mail, and he STILL has not responded. Grrrrr.
We’re going to a friend’s house tonight to celebrate his birthday. He and his girlfriend dropped by here last night for a couple of drinks because his birthday was actually yesterday.
I need to find a side dish to bring to tonight’s shindig. Back later.
Smooches and hugs all around!
I’m going to run some errands before going in to work. Because I can.
Funny song, Moonie. (Forgot to say that earlier.)
Glad Lucy’s doing better, kai.
I’ve been wasting time, looking at pretty hats and scarves on ravelry. If my hands and budget could take it, I’d knit for a living, I think. There are so many things to make.
We don’t have pollen yet, but I have allergies because it’s been warmish and humid. Perfect conditions for whatever mold I’m allergic to.
Off to do a bit of shopping.
Back after a bit…
GT
::waves back at gt, db, & pugs::
::waves to everyone else::
::initiates The Wave within the MMP::
::watches Smokey wave her tail::
::wonders how high the waves on Jones Beach are::
::aurally accepts the sounds waves eminating from the speakers::
Today was lucretive, if tedious. Seven and a half hours at time and a half is a pretty penny indeed, but I am EX-HAUS-TED!
Back from Annapolis. We had a so-so breakfast at Golden Corral, then headed up to Annapolis to get some stuff for the boat. We went to our favorite boat junk store (Bacon and Associates, tho I don’t expect any of you know it or care…) and got the finish for our teak. Then we wandered thru one of our favorite boatyards, looking at all the boats for sale. On the way home, we stopped at Petco and I used a couple of the coupons I got when I adopted Ziva - got a free bag of cat food and a cheap bucket of kitty litter. I also got the reef sand I need to finish my coral reef sculpture. Final stop was at the grocery store.
Pot roast is simmering on the stove. I just pulled a pineapple upsidedown cake out out of the oven. It’s rainy and miserable out, and more of the same tomorrow. I don’t know if we’ll be doing any boat scrubbing tomorrow, but we are going down to get the batteries off and bring the awning home so I can make a new one.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Gonna go scrape some carrots and N.O.T. to toss in with the potroast. The cake smells very yum. I see some knitting in my evening. Laundry tomorrow. Oh yes, you wish you had my life. 
If I figure out why I haven’t been posting anything lately I’ll let you know. I was waiting for MamaTigs to post what she wanted to about what’s been happening – in general, Grandma is doing okay but it’s been more up and down than anybody expected and she’s been there for longer than we thought she’d be.
{{{{{kai}}}}}
{{{{{everybody else}}}}}
I’ve been working. A lot. Six days in a row, then two off, then three on…tomorrow I’m off again, which is good timing since a big snowstorm is supposed to arrive overnight tonight. Yes, it’s March. Yes, we could get a foot of snow. sigh As much as I like winter, I’m rapidly getting to the point where I will be happy to see it leave for a few months!
And happiest of birthdays to the other March Mumpers. It’s a good month for a birthday.