My mom’s line is “You’re not too old to spank!” Um, yeah, Mom, I am… 
FCD went back to nap. I’m still in my robe. Lazy, lazy morning…
Utterly mundane, but kept wanting - and forgetting - to mention, I finally got a new plant I’ve been wanting for a long time in my dumb phone game (Plants vs Zombies - “headbutter lettuce”).
You know how when you want something really bad for a long time, the anticipation over-builds and if you finally get the Thing it’s a let down?
Nope. Nothing like that. It’s so much fun to use in the game.
Naaaaahhhh, man. If I can’t occasionally make a Mumper clutch their pearls, what even is the point of life?
Do you need the money, or just wanna get rid of stuff?
I’m sure feeding an enormous house panther like young master Gormless George eats into your budget (HA!) but if it’s the latter, I recommend posting to the “free” section of your local Craigslist and/or local-to-you Facebook groups.
Snap a few nice pictures to attract attention.
Don’t delay, though - this time of year, folks are desperate for gifts. Mid-January, not so much.
Good morning everyone.
Wishing you luck on your sales, unknown.
I got my tree up and decorated…except for the topper. Last year I got all organized and even bought myself nice compartmentalized storage boxes for my tree decorations. Somehow, my tree topper isn’t in one of those boxes, so I shall have to hunt for it today.
My wintry, starry background for the Christmas village arrives today, so I need to get to the craft store to buy some cork panels. I plan to glue the background to the panels. Once I have that done, I can start putting out the village stuff. I am thinking of buying another building and I’d like to get one for my daughter too. I’ve bought her a couple of buildings so far and she really likes them.
The husband wants to go to the new Asian market down the road because he’s eager to get the fixings for almond chicken. I don’t know why I have to go with him, but that’s what I’ll do. I need to put gas in the Jeep too, since I plan to drive to Olympia on Monday.
I hope the cuss tax is low on the gate fixing, FCM.
I have strange and vivid dreams too. Yesterday, during the wee hours of the morning, I had drifted off to sleep and dreamt that one of my government purchase card transactions was rejected by my approver. I “saw” the notification in my dream, but it’s not even a notification we use. At any rate, it woke me up, but I thought, “Nah, it’s just dream”, and got up. Later that morning I logged onto my work laptop to validate my timecard and saw an email from my boss telling me she hadn’t approved one my transactions because I had an unsigned funding document versus the signed document. Big face palm on my part, but I fixed it immediately. I had simply pulled down the wrong form from my file for that particular purchase. But still, I dreamed about it.
The dreams about being “my house or neighborhood”, but not really my house happen often. They often include flooding. So weird.
Well, got to finish my coffee and hunt for my tree topper.
Oh, sunny, hugs to you and pixel.
And unknown, may you sell much today.
It’s almost 9 and all the family is still unconscious. We let the kids stay up later than we should have to watch a movie and it was definitely worth it. I’m outta here soon to meet a friend for a run while overlyhubs takes on kid stuff this morning. I’d kind of rather lounge at this point, which is exactly why I agree to meet friends or exercise on weekends: if I didn’t, no waddling would happen.
Tomorrow is race day. I’m a little hinky about going. This race is popular enough that hundreds travel here to run it and being crammed into a starting chute while we wait for the starting gun doesn’t make me feel good. All of us were going to mask and stand on the sidelines until we go through, but with a new variant, it seems kinda dumb for my partially vaxxed daughter. Hmmmm…overlygirl will be ticked if I make her stay home but it’s worth her teenaged wrath. Plus, she won’t have to get up at 5:30 on a weekend so there’s that.
Well, we went to the company Christmas party. We were seated near the foot of the a table, where the husband of our admin was seated. Really nice guy. Handsome, erudite, and pleasant. Someone pointed out his bow tie, and asked why I wasn’t wearing one. SWMBO forbade it. Four of us got into a discussion about how cool bow ties are, with The Missus being the sole dissenter. 
I hope you’re ok.
Good luck!
Pixel is not interested in food as of yet, but he is paying attention to the world and his breathing seems easier. I’m worried about the eating, but the breathing is improving. Fingers crossed.
Thank you!! 
I think the last time I posted was just over a week ago; I may have been super whiny about everything, and sad because I’d realized that I wouldn’t be able to pick my dog up from the kennel as soon as I’d hoped. Well, the next day I turned a corner, and today I am feeling much better. 
Still not 100%, but definitely getting there! Mostly right now there is just a little soreness in my belly when I move around. All in all, I think I’m doing pretty well for being less than 2 weeks post-op. I was able to put in 7-hour days at work all week, and each morning there has been noticeable improvement. I’ve had some groceries delivered, done laundry, etc. I can finally sit on the couch the way that I used to/usually do (with my legs under me), and sleeping has gotten much easier. I can’t seem to stop waking up at around 2am to pee, but that might not have anything to do with the surgery. 
Yesterday afternoon I finally brought my doggy home! 
I’d dropped her off the day before surgery: 11 nights is the longest she has boarded in quite a while, but the extra time was the right thing to do. She seems very happy to be home (and I might have teared up once or twice on the ride back to the house!). Last night I was on the couch watching TV with my legs under me (comfortably) and my dog next to me, and it was really nice to have some time that felt “normal.”
The cough is much better, but not 100% gone yet. Everything I’ve read says it can take two weeks to completely go away. My first post-op appointment is Tuesday morning: if it’s still lingering then, I’ll ask about it. My throat and speaking voice are pretty much back to normal now, though, which is awesome. Still working on the deep breaths, but there is definite improvement – though I’m glad I don’t have to do any singing for another week!
I am still on “clear” liquids right now (protein shakes, water/Gatorade Zero/Vitaminwater Zero, sugar-free gelatin and popsicles, decaf tea, broth), but on Tuesday I should progress to “full” liquids. This week’s grocery delivery was in anticipation of that: in addition to some household things (like tissues) I got some fat-free yogurt and sugar-free pudding, both of which I’m looking forward to having again.
A week from Tuesday I should advance to “mushy” foods. 
They are defined as “soft, moist, and tender foods, somewhere along the lines of a stew or something you’d cook in a crockpot.” I won’t yet be able to tolerate seeds, raw veggies, nuts, corn, citrus fruits with membranes, bread/rice/pasta, or greasy/fried foods. Things I’ll be allowed to start having include scrambled eggs, cheese, canned tuna, light mayo, low-fat/low-sodium soups, lean ground meat, hummus/bean dips, no-sugar-added applesauce, bananas, mashed sweet potatoes, green peas, steamed carrots (mashable), creamy peanut butter, and oatmeal. And even though bread/rice/pasta are off-limits, I can have one or two saltines with some hummus or tuna. It’s still a fairly limited diet, but it’s going to feel like a smorgasboard after a whole month of just liquids! LOL!
I haven’t found that I really feel hungry, but lately I’ve been missing having meals. Instead of just sipping on protein shakes/Gatorade all day, I’m looking forward to having lunch and dinner – even if they are tiny/simple meals. And it will be nice to use plates and forks again.
My father’s youngest brother is only 12 years older than me – technically 11 years older, because his birthday is three weeks after mine. He’s been more like a big brother than an uncle. He and his family live in NYC, and are who I visited and went to a Yankees game with in September when I was turning 50. At dinner one night during that trip, he told me a story about having to let someone know he already had plans for the weekend and mentioning his niece’s 50th birthday…the person he was talking to was stunned. Sometimes I forget that it’s a little unusual (though definitely not unheard of) to have an uncle so close to my age!
Turns out the round was not live.
My fingers are crossed for continued improvement for Pixel, sunny.
Misnomer, I’m glad to hear there has been good progress with regard to healing and that you got to bring your pup home. The world just seems wrong when they’re not with us, right?
My mom’s youngest brother was only eight years older than me. We weren’t especially close, especially since I moved back to the US from Germany when I was only 6 years old. He visited us here in the US several times when he joined the German merchant marine. Unfortunately, he died several years ago. He left a mess and much drama ensued.
Read everything, but remember little.
Glad you’re healing up nicely Misnomer. I agree, it doesn’t feel right when the small furries aren’t running about the house.
{{{{Pixel}}}}
Doggio, I hope the 200+ bags were stuffed with mushmallers.
We got our Modernas boosted yesterday, and to cap it all off, we got our flu shots too. I’m feeling a little sore today and Wifey ran a fever overnight, but nothing too bad. She wants me to take a load of stuff over to the ReStore store today before it starts raining. I supposedly have about 4 hours to do that.
We took a load of grabbage out of the garage to the dump transfer station Thorsday. That was fun. ‘Packing’ continues apace. I’ve gotten almost all of the stuff I wanted to take to the little house packed up and outta here already. Wifey is still working on her ‘wants and needs’. Of course it’s my fault she’s so far behind. 
I don’t dare make those decisions however.
I had an uncle who was only 3 years older than me. He’s been gone for a lotta years now, along with just about everyone else. I still have one aunt and a few cousins left though. I should go back to Detroit and visit her someday soon, but I hate flying these days.
Enough. Later.
We went for a late breakfast instead of lunch, then to Lowe’s for the parts we needed to fix the gate, then to visit the grands for a bit. On the way home, we swung thru Food Lion so I could get more of the soda on sale. Now FCD is parked in front of TV and shortly, I’ll recline and read. We’ll fix the gate tomorrow - he’s in too much pain to deal with it today. Poor guy…
Oooopsie - yay for recovery and return of pupper! Don’t push your recovery - I did that after my hysterectomy, and it was almost a bad thing. Healing takes time and impatience doesn’t help it. Dammit.
OK, I think I shall read the afternoon away.
Happy Saturday!
Was chilly at the park this morning, but we had 9 people and 11 dogs. Kind of surprising given the chill.
I’m still stuck in drama I don’t want to be a part of.
How do I tell one person that our group is playing doggie survival and they have been voted off the island?
Life is full of small irritations right now. First world problems, but as Shoe once said, death by a thousand paper cuts. My head hurts a lot, and I am not prone to headaches. It’s all stress. And sinuses, I think I have an infection. A hot bath will help with that.
That is where I am heading, to a hot bath.
One of my cousins was born an uncle to four kids, including a 12 year old, and became a great-uncle at 16. There’s a bit of generational confusion in the family…
Essay pretty much done. 'Bout it for the day. I’d normally try keep weekends pretty much free of home-irk, but I wound up doing another shopping trip yesterday (the sadly yam-free yarn shop was open, as was the market, which I wanted to visit, someone else wanted a lift, and I have poor impulse control). I still need to figure gifts for my brother, who has always been impossible to buy for. Ugh.
Yay for getting better Ooopsie, you keep on with that.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I made my table fee, but that was all. I met a lot of women who would wistfully reminisce about when their eyes and hands were good enough to do needlework and I met a lot of quilters. Folks remarked about how smart I was to be outside in the warm sun and good light, nobody seemed to notice that I flatly refused to be in the same room as them.
GG (who is now tipping the scales at 12 lbs) isn’t just eating us out of house and home, he’s hard on his toys. Last night he eviscerated his (large dog chew toy) sock monkey toy and must have had so much fun doing it, there was stuffing and ripped up pieces of fabric all over. Currently the fuzzy little jerk owes me a laying tool. We won’t find the floor colored wood tool he knocked off my desk for years, if ever.
It would distress mom if I just gave her treasures to random strangers who might not appreciate them. She thinks that people value things they pay for more than they value free things. We have storage room here, I can keep everything I can’t sell until I’m not worried about distressing her.
Poor lil pupper dawg and poor you. I hope he keeps improving.
Hurray! As the others said, don’t push it, your body needs time. I’m pretty sure that you will start healing faster now that your family is complete again.
Today I got my thread and stretcher bars for my next project. I have a full bin of stretcher bars and I never have the right sizes I need. Maybe when I get Mom’s stretcher bars I will finally have a full and complete collection. Of course, half of her bars are mine and half of mine are hers, so maybe not.
I think I’m going to quit buying stuff until I’ve finished at least 5 things I already own. Then I can buy one more. I do love and admire Mom a lot, but I am capable of seeing things about her that I don’t want to emulate.
Here’s some footage of the main road that was washed out between the freeway and our house.
Per a post I received:
Birch Bay Lynden Road – closed just east of Ham Road
During the November 14-15 storm event, the 12-foot culvert for California Creek failed, washing out an entire 40-foot section of Birch Bay Lynden Road (photo shows guardrail hanging in the air above California Creek). Whatcom County has begun design work and coordination with affected utilities and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife to complete an emergency culvert replacement project. Permanent repairs will occur at a later date. We anticipate that the emergency culvert repairs will be completed and the road reopened for public access by late December 2021 or early January 2022.
Fortunately, Birch Bay was mostly spared; some small areas of flooding and the road washed out (above), but the flooding probably everyone in the country has heard about is quite a bit east and north.
Footage of our main road starts at 8:59.
HOLY COW!!!
Keep your feet dry 
Correction: Five of us, including The Missus.
Now that Summer’s over and I’m not wearing aloha shirts anymore, and I’m starting to ‘dress for the orifice’ for Winter, I’ll be wearing bow ties more often. It started a few years ago as ‘Bow Tie Wednesday’. It may become ‘Bow Tie Tuesday and Thursday’.
Howdy Y’all! I funeralized, stopped by the Food Kitty to pick up some Diet Poopsie cause it was on sale today only, got back to da cave, et a sammich, then napped. We went to the Hot Dawg King and got some chili/cheese/onion/slaw dawgs. FartFest has begun. Egads, those things are so good, but tS
Sonny glad Pixel is back and hope the appetite returns soonest.
oopsie yay for progress and havin’ doggy back home! Just keep rememberin’ that recovery takes time.
Oven is on. Baking a sweet potato and a head of garlic. Sweet N.O.T. to be eaten with cheese and barbecue sauce. Garlic is for … whenever I want some garlic!
There’s some storebought muffins (don’t judge!) floatin’ around for dessert.
Mixed news is better than no good news. Joining in the “feel better, Pixel!” chorus.
Thx for the reminder. I have custody of a tiny “travel tree” that’s been in my family longer than I’ve been alive. We always took it on out-of-town Christmas trips, and it still has old-skool late70s/early80s tinsel on it.
However, I have few available surfaces in my little hobbit hole of a house, and what exists is covered with my clutter and/or is too accessible to Monkey or both.
Hmm.
Yay!
YAY!!! 
YAY SQUARED!! 
I sit the same way, and it would drive me nuts not to be able to do so. Glad some of the little creature comforts are returning.
Now I’m picturing this as a Simpsons-style sign gag.
“Yarn Shop - Now With Yams!”
This made me sad.
I don’t look forward to those days.
Nice sound effect.
Oopsie Yay! I’m glad things are going well and you have your puppers back. 
Pixel continues to improve. His breathing is definitely better and he’s been snacking. I know we’re on short time with him now, but I’m so happy to get a little more good time with him. Thank you all for your good wishes. 