As it is now 12:43 in WestByGawdVirginia, I feel qualified to start the new MMP this early.
We have enough parm, garlic and shrimp for dinner tonight and I will want something fast and easy.
I haven’t been able to use the Smart Switch thing to transfer my stuff from my broke cell to my new one and hubs can’t get past the ads either. Tomorrow I will take it to the fix-it place in town and pay someone else to deal with it because I just don’t have the patience for that sort of thing anymore.
While I’m in town, I will drop the wire dog crate off to the UPS store to be returned. I think I pushed the wrong button when I ordered it because it was much larger than I expected and wouldn’t fit in my car doors. I have the one I thought I had bought on the way now.
GG is tall and lanky. He is 20+ inches at the shoulder and longer than he is tall. He fits in a big plastic carrier for vet visits, but needs more room for the drive we will be making.
If anyone has any suggestions about keeping both of us from spending four days crying, please offer them up!
Listening to funny, interesting podcasts? Singing sea shanties?
Just finishing my coffee before going to work. Today is the only day in the office. Tomorrow I’m working from home because the flooring team will be here. Wednesday-Friday is spackling and paint. Interesting times.
Don’t eat much shrimp since I got food poisoning some years ago. But there’s a Spanish tapas with garlic, garlic and shrimp which is just about the right amount for splitting with hubs.
Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 9c/49f with a predicted high of 13c/56f, and cloudy. Weather app says “It’s probably a good day to stay the fuck in bed. Tomorrow will probably fucking suck too.” Someone’s got a case of the Mondays!
It’s sunny out, I haven’t stuck my nose outside to see if it’s warm but our elderly cat’s been outside for a little wander so it can’t be that bad. He’s been back in, had some salmon and is now rooting around in the litter tray.
Could your vet suggest anything to keep him calm? Otherwise, sit in the back of the car with him on your lap and give him lots of fuss?
Right, need to get on with stuff, after three strike days there’s a lot going on in the inboxes for irk, and I allegedly get paid to deal with some of that. And I have a meeting in half an hour that I might need to do a bit of prep work for. Always something, right?
JtC, Annie wears an Adaptil calming collar all the time. Maybe you could get one for GG just for the trip?
Also, the recipe for last night’s dinner is very simple: Clean out freezer and find package of Italian sausage and package of toasted ravioli. Cook according to package directions and serve with jarred marinara and mozzarella cheese. Voila!
There is some kind of weird noise outside this morning. It sounds kinda like a distant siren but not exactly like one. Ok, I think I’ll get to work here soon.
Dang - I would love to make some shrimp scampi, but MIL is weird about shrimp - they have to be breaded and fried. Period. No exceptions. No shrimp in shells. She won’t eat lobster or pick crabs either. But maybe I’ll make some and have an alternative for her.
Not today, tho. I pulled a meatloaf out of the freezer yesterday, and it’s on the counter to thaw faster. It got smooshed before it froze, so I need to reshape it before I bake it. Sides will be rice and gravy (bracing for MIL’s inevitable gravy comment) and I’m not sure what else - maybe green beans? Plenty of time to decide.
I need to run to Food Lion first thing for the grapes for the chicken-grape salad (I think it has apples also - gotta find the recipe.) I’ll walk the aisles and probably get a few other things while there. It’s supposed to get near 90-stoopit-degrees today, so I have that to look forward to. Then temps will drop closer to seasonal normals. Anyway, because of the heat, I don’t think I’ll be fetching topsoil today. Maybe tomorrow.
BooFae, I’ve got some general questions about weather out your way. I’m reading these trashy “historical” romance novels that take place in various parts of England, Scotland, and Wales in the early 1800s. Part of the drama often involves snow storms dumping over a foot of the white stuff overnight, especially around Christmas - does that happen very often? They also talk about the heat - what is considered uncomfortably hot thereabouts? I have no idea where the authors hail from, but I feel like they project Boston weather on the whole of the UK. And, yes, I’m ashamed for reading this escapist garbage, but it amuses me!
I know there was something else I wanted to mention, and if it comes back to me, I can always post again. So…
It’s a bit after 0500 here, so about 90 minutes pre-dawn. NWS says it’s presently 74/22 on the way to 80/26 with some puffy clouds. Went to bed late & woke up early, so today will be a coffee-powered butt-drag, or have a nap in it. Or both.
Last I updated y’all on my doin’s it was April 7th and the eclipse in Mazatlán was going to be tomorrow morning.
JtC PMed me on Fri 3 days ago and I got a quickie response back to her. Which is how she knew to post a brief update on me in last week’s MMP. Expanding on what I told her, here’s an outline of my last 3 weeks:
I hadn’t exactly intended to quit MMP cold turkey. But I’ve been real busy …
The eclipse was great; some cirrus clouds got in the way and made the eclipse a bit fuzzy, but good-enough visibility overall. Not the transcendent quasi-religious experience some claim, but utterly cool and I’m very glad to have seen it in person once in my life. I can readily imagine going to see another one if the logistics are convenient enough vs my then-age. I also can see why that would scare the shit out of primitive people who had no idea it was coming until it arrived.
While down there I met a semi-interesting woman from the northern California Bay Area and we had a couple nice dinners and a smooch or two. She ghosted me after our respective returns to the States; oh well.
Upon my return I toured the larger new-construction apartment and decided to rent the smaller swankier apartment instead and got the paperwork started. The one was nice; the other had sizzle. I want some sizzle.
Then I went on my 7 day cruise which started well the first night but was marred on day 2 by a medical emergency where the boat changed course to helicopter off the casualty, leading to 2 of the 3 planned shore stops being disrupted due to the lost time driving the wrong way. Put most of the passengers (and me) in a semi-disgruntled mood. But as on previous trips, the food and drink and entertainment onboard was superb and folks recovered their vibe by the Big Party on day 4.
During that party while dancing in / on the pool I met a hot 50yo from Miami proper. In her telling, this was her first cruise ever, she had come with some work friends and hadn’t intended to meet anyone. But my joie de vivre that night just lit her fire.
Cutting to the chase, we ate, drank, and shagged like rabbits for the next 3 days on the boat. She’s lots of fun vertical or horizontal. And like me, she has had a mostly fun-free last few years, albeit for very different reasons than mine, so has an equally strong desire to make up for lost time.
The cruise ended on the 20th and once the crew crow-barred us off the bed and onto shore in Miami, she drove the ~5 miles to her house and I took the uber-train-uber ~45 miles home to mine.
I spent the next 3 days signing all the paperwork for my new apt, bought it all new furnishings, and replaced some of the housewares I left behind with HL. That was a hefty spending rate even by my standards, but it’s one-and-done.
Meantime Boat Babe (BB) and I had stayed in close communication, texting and calling like teens. So I arranged a 4-day (last Wed-Sat) staycation with her at a swanky hotel down on the beach in Miami. We had nice dinners, saw some shows, and had truly yuge amounts of sex. This woman is as voracious as I am.
In the ~7 days total I’ve spent with BB I’ve had more than double the sex than I had in 2-1/2 years with HL. Including the early dating weeks when HL was actually pretty hot to trot by old lady standards. There is nothing “old” about this lady. Nothing fussy or uptight either. A welcome change of pace.
Got done with that trip on Sat, and spent Sun (yesterday) spending yet more money on the apartment accessories, arranging movers, etc. Today promises more of the same, but now we’re down to dribs and drabs. I have a spring in my step and I don’t think even an undertaker could get the smile off my face.
She works as an operating room nurse RN, so three or four 12-hour shifts per week with 4- or 3-days off between bouts. Very airline-like. The plans are still gelling, but I expect another sex-fest in Miami this weekend. The next weekend is my move and she might come up to help. Or “help” :leer: By the following weekend I’ll have my place fully put together other than the bedroom set that won’t arrive for another month after that. So we’ll be shagging on a new mattress plus box spring on the floor surrounded by boxes as my dresser in otherwise elegant surroundings.
There is a lot more to this woman than mere sex for sex’s sake. I think she thinks / feels the same of me. At the same time, it’s real easy to get prematurely attached to a woman (or a man) who not only can shag for hours then nap and do it again, but (unlike HL) actually wants to. But I believe that for several reasons on each side, this is gonna stay fuckbuddy / BF-GF-lite with no deeper expectations. She’s tied to her job and her extended family (I’ve met some of them already) where she is, and I’m settled how / where I am. I’m expecting she’ll be staycationing at my end regularly at least for the foreseeable future and I’ll staycation at her end some too.
So between my travel, generally unsettled logistics and personal business, spending prodigious amounts of money, and suddenly and unexpectedly living the life of a porn star, it’s been a peak 3 weeks. And is still picking up speed. I’ve had no time to spend posting MMPs, but that ought to ease up this week. I’m now solidly ahead of the timeline on my move prep and until the next weekend meetup with BB I’ll have time to breath (and post) a little.
Oh yeah, one more thing. I just got the last draft of the settlement with HL and that oughta be signed within a couple more weeks. So that mildly unpleasant project is also wrapping up. So far without rancor. Just send her a chunk of money, but not an unexpected amount. When I left her I knew roughly the price I was in for and now that’s panning out close enough.
That’s my story. Whew! I’ll address your stories here in another post after I refill my coffee. Almost dawn just now.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 62 Amurrkin out and N.O.S. with a predicted high of 84 and N.O.S. for the day. Sloth, general overall uselessness, nappage, and day drinkin’ are on the agenda as is our wont. Also I am re-readin’ the book for the upcomin’ book study over to the church house that begins Wednesday of next week. Figure I need to act like I know what I’m talkin’ about and such. I shall also be findin’ a sermon to read this comin’ Sunday as we will be sans Priest so will be doin’ sung Mornin’ Prayer with moi actin’ as presider. Fun. Sup shall be my world famous Eyetalian chikin, peas and carrots, smashed N.O.T. and rolls.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Nothing wrong with a trashy bodice-ripper! Weather across the UK can be quite changeable, and certainly in my lifetime it’s become much wetter and milder through winter than it used to be. Snow storms dumping that level of white stuff overnight would not be so uncommon in places like the Scottish highlands, Welsh mountains and the north of England (most likely Yorkshire, moorland and north towards the Scottish borders) but it would be much more unexpected across a lot of the country. The bookies are always happy to take a bet on a white Christmas but it’s getting quite rare now - we’ve had snow as late as April but not often and not much of it.
Also, bear in mind that this country is totally unprepared for snow at any time! More than a flake or two on the ground and people start to panic, and they definitely forget how to drive. For a novel set in the 1800s, transport would be much more difficult so it wouldn’t take that much of a snowfall to create problems.
As for heat, we’re used to summer temperatures of around 22c/75f and think that’s hot. Anything over that limit is uncomfortable especially since aircon is rare in most homes. A couple of centuries ago, people did more living and working outside so may well have been more acclimatised to heat whereas now, we spend much of our time in offices etc so while we might benefit from modern air conditioned premises, we’re still not used to heat!
I’m driving home from Frankfort KY today. Leaving in about 20 minutes. I doubt any of the 900 million fast fuds places on I65 north have shrimp scampi.
Funny you should mention Yorkshire - that’s where my current series is based. And much is made of traveling by coach-and-four over snowy/wet/muddy roads. A 10-mile trip was a major undertaking! How things have changed with technology.
And 75° is hot? yoiks! It’s nearly that temp here now, on the way to 90, and I have the house open, loving the mild day!
OK, time to chop up some chicken and grapes and apples and pecans…
Welcome back! I’d been thinking about you and hoping you were doing ok.
I just made the most awful pancakes for MusicMan. We severely need a trip to the grocery store so I used his high protein mix with some half and half. Then I used the no sugar added peanut butter as a spread because were out of sugar free syrup. The pancakes were too thick and I had to microwave them. The peanut butter sauce seized when I added half and half to it. So it was seized glop on top of oozing pancakes and just for fun I added sprinkles! While MusicMan always eats almost everything on his plate and two servings more, he only at about 1/8th of the pancakes.
I couldn’t find the recipe I used before, so I tried a new one. We shall see how it goes. Meanwhile, I still have half a rotissed chicken left over. If this salad isn’t up to scratch, I can try another.
FCD is at the boat. MIL is sleeping in front of the TV. Life at FairyChatEstates. Rah.
A beautiful 80 degree day.
A woman from my church is moving into my building. She wants me to help move her in for 10 dollars. I am a weakling.
Eating my peanut butter sandwich.
I am realizing bread doesn’t go well with my body.
What to use as a substitute.
I skipped the MMP from 4/7 to 4/21 and have skimmed last week’s to get mostly caught up. In the order y’all first posted to that MMP …
Coppertone, Boofae & Swampie: You all seem to be having happy, low stress, and successful weeks. Would that that continues all year.
Shoe: Good to hear it’s been a crisis-free week with stew in it, and a schedule revision to hang wit’ da boyz!
I admit this phrase went over my head, but from the reaction I suppose that’s what the kids are calling it now:
In which case I’m now a big fan too.
As to renter’s insurance, I just bought some from GEICO. Painless online process took about 10 minutes. I didn’t do much comparison shopping, so they might not be the cheapest option. Google can fix you right up.
Nellie: Good to hear you had a trouble-free week with some triumphs mixed in. Your wit and optimism remains undimmed.
I’m sorry about your dead former student. I’ve written about it before, but when I was age 0 to about 9 we lived across the street from a kid much like that. Who met a similar end around age 25. He was about 3 years older than I was, and I can remember my Dad warning me to stay away from him when I was 5ish and he was 8ish. His Mom and my Mom were best buds. I don’t know how he got to be the way he was, but apparently it was real obvious real early. So perhaps not the result of a ghastly upbringing, but something innate. A shame in any case. {hugs}.
Sticky_Buns: Agree the volcano urn sounds terrific. And congrats on getting into the storage unit without issue.
Herald: Hoping the pain gets controlled and they can fix (read “replace”) your knee.
My late aged MIL had one knee where the cartilage fell apart after a couple injuries and too much hiking. She ignored the problem and just sucked up the pain until she was too old to be safe enough to perform surgery on. So she spent the last decade of her 96 year life unable to walk, using a scooter then later a power chair to get around. Which was incredibly limiting to her ability to get out of the house. Can’t drive, can’t uber, can’t taxi, can’t take the bus. It’s the overwhelmed county handicapped transport service or nothing. Don’t be that person if you can avoid it.
FCM’s: Happy to hear that MIL is still chugging along. I hoped that would still be the case, but not something one can count on for as long as I was gone.
Sorry about daughter’s “job”.
D’oh!!! I’m an idiot I just now remembered this. HL worked as an online math teacher for these folks Distance Learning Systems (dlsii.com) for about 4 years before we got married. They teach a variety of subjects, not just math Their HQ is in Indiana and she worked from home in Florida. They are 100% legit.
She was plenty happy with them administratively speaking, and although I don’t know exactly how well it paid, it was enough that she was living (frugally) on her own in an expensive part of the country augmented by a small pension from her real career and some one-on-one face-to-face tutoring.
But FCM, everything is better with gravy! Even old tired stories.
Best of luck with BIL in general, and impending visits from trumply SIL, your aged aunt & her more-aged hubs, etc. Or you dragging MIL to them. You are a saint. A badly beset saint, but a saint nonetheless. Even if you are muttering about killing them all under your breath.
MetalMouse: Sounds like you too have had a successful and exercise-filled week devoid of major irritations. You sure deserve one after all the plumbing woes.
Doggio my man!: Fine cocktails, good Spot stories, and no crises either. Been a good week for almost everyone. Shame about the mudslide that destroyed your facility.
Susan, that is one hell of a hike. I’m in awe.
Cookie: good to hear Q’iteh is perking up. No good answer to the “which pet is my/our last pet?” question. Sad that Catherine is gone, but she got her money’s worth and then some. I try to keep those sorts of people (and their behaviors) alive in my head as inspiration.
I’m another one who uses an alarm only when strictly necessary for an early appointment. Which is maybe 2 or 3x/month.
Pensey’s baking spice? Hmm. HL was a spice fiend and lurved her some Pensey’s. My diet doesn’t include eating, much less making, sweet baked goods, but it sure sounds yummy.
Cat_Glove:Best of luck w Hubby; sounds like things are in a semi-lull which is good. You are a stalwart and loving person in a tough situation.
wet one: congrats on all things horse-ful and a well-located VRBO.
Your comment about being surrounded by fast food rings true to my memories of the South in general and KY in particular. And calls to mind a story …
I recall staying in downtown Louisville at the Brown about 25, maybe 30 years ago. Classic nice hotel, at least back then. I’m eating breakfast alone and another generic business guy is doing the same nearby. A third man walks in dragging a suitcase and they greet each other warmly; evidently they’re co-workers and the first guy got here some previous day and the second guy had just arrived.
New Arrival Guy: [Brit accent]. How do you find the food? Other Guy: [matching Brit accent]. The people are nice but the food is ghastly; simply ghastly. Everything! is deep-fried.
Of 30 years times 10+ days a month of eating nondescript hotel breakfasts, somehow this story survives down the ages in my noggin. It was the accents that made it; had they been from Texas or even Boston it would not have been memorable. “Ghastly” with that broad British A sound just makes it.
Flyboy: Well-played with the fork! I’ve never found one, but now I know what to do if I do.
Good thing you two had the lovely evening and music out to offset the treed cat drama. Happy to hear that ended well. I hope the cat doesn’t repeat the climbing; something sure chased her into the tree.
JtC’s new house looks like a perfect fit for her & Hubs. So excited for you. And yes, the move is / will be a PITA. Smart for you to plan to be out of phase with Hubs during the event.
Best of luck on new WV cat once she/he chooses you.
Imma gonna quit this for now. Anyone I didn’t mention I’ll get to later.
Good morning all. Slept pretty well and am ready for another fun-filled week. Have my annual check-up on Wednesday and laundry will be a major project sometime(s) this week, along with the usual soccer and gym time. I’m moderately optimistic that I’ll hit my 220lb goal on the scale at the gym today, then I need to decide if I want to continue pushing it downward or work on finding a system that lets me maintain it there. May also ask the gym folks for help in choosing/using weights to shape up the remaining weight.
I don’t eat any fish/shrimp/sea creatures at all, more of a mental block than anything but decided when I was a youth I didn’t like it and haven’t changed my mind in 65 years.
Pilot, welcome back, sounds like you’ve made a Close Friend With Benefits (and Wow! on the benefits!!! ). Hope the new place works well for you and check in whenever you can.
FCM, like boo fae notes, on my trips to England (haven’t been there in awhile) it’s usually fairly mild in London and the South (where the larger percentage of folks are) even in the summer. Can’t comment on winter, but from boo fae’s description, it’s a lot like N. Ali-bama when snow falls.
wet one, safe drive home.
JtC, hope you and GG make it through the trip; you still have several weeks to plan something for here, don’t know if Sticky Buns idea helps, but I’m sure you’ll come up with something.
Need to put on some proper apparel and go forth to do some modest shopping and procure sustenance from Jersey MIke’s. Have a good week all.
All sorts of FUBAR-ity, belt jams, missorts onto Yellow, management on the transverses, Midnight leaving piles of things about. Welcome to Brown Monday. When I got home, Spot had his back left foot claw stuck in the blanket, and the right front caught on the stuffed Snoopy. He’s got the TNR clip, but there no way this cat was feral. He’s smart, but he’s got the survival skills of a battery-less Furby.
“Yes. Yes. Zathras is used to being beast of burden to other people’s needs. Very sad life. Probably have… very sad death. But… at least there is Symmetry.” - Zathrus, Babylon 5
Glad she found someone to play doctor with. < leers > And congrats on the swag-y new place.
Both area rugs in the basement have been cleaned, and once the rectangular one is dry, we’ll bring it upstairs and take the one up here downstairs. Not sure what to do with the round one, tho.
It’s MIL’s and she goes on and one about how much they paid for it. Yes, it’s a quality rug. But it’s absolutely not to my taste, and even it if was, there’s no place to put it. Left up to me, it would be on Craigslist and FB Marketplace. But until she is no more, it will be rolled up and put out of the way in the basement.
When we bought this house, the sellers told us all about the dining room chandelier and how much they paid for it and that they would take it with them. They didn’t.
We took it down within a few months and replaced it with one we preferred. But the old one apparently cost $700 back in the 70s. I tried to sell it, and no one was interested - quelle surprise!!
Incidentally, the gawd-awful mirrored tiles went away at the same time. As did the border. And similar tiles (but gold instead of blue) in the bedroom. The previous owners had, um, interesting decorating tastes.
MIL is still sleeping in front of the TV. Not sure what I’ll do now. Maybe I’ll strip the bed and take off the electric blanket - pretty sure we won’t need it any longer till October or November.
I just now remembered this. HL worked as an online math teacher for these folks 
). Hope the new place works well for you and check in whenever you can.