Much tree sex is happening here and my allergies are going nutz. The good news is that a 30 ft pine that I thought was dead has managed to struggle back enough to want to play the tree sex game. Bad news is that I have real problems with pine tree pollen and my head’s pounding. Better news is that it will be safe for me again in a week or so, so I’ll just suffer until then.
Jane I feel sorry for you. I’ve never suffered from allergies. As a result I’m really poor at plugging through other sorts of illness.
Thank you for being so kind. I’m very happy that I only have miserable allergies instead of life threatening food ones many folks suffer through. Except for the part that my next bee sting will probably kill me. Or not, sometimes age makes a difference.
I plant for the pollinators, I give water to the bees. I haven’t gotten stung for almost 20 years. Bees are changing and so am I, no need to wonder why 
well day of bitching has been subsided a bit but might be continued after tomorrow,
well they cut me off because supposedly they tried to call me which is bs for 2 reasons
1 I have only left this house twice this month and 2 I am the only person that’s answered the phone more than once a week in 10 years cause my aunt has her own cell phone and well youngest cousin well its like a 6-year-old answering the phone it should be taken care of tomorrow
Now for last week’s mess, I filed a formal complaint if aunt and I dont like the next phone call in a day or two we file a grievance with the union which will raise some hell …
and shoe after my dealings with a certain bbq place in the past few days I think the advice is sound and i say go a step further … start recording every thing you can unlerss law doesn’t allow …
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.
Yellow haze, all in my brain,
Trees have airborne sex, I inhale the same
Can’t keep my sinuses free, no matter how I try,
'Scuse me, while I sneeze into the sky
And UNC chokes!
WOOHOO!
Morning all.
Flytrap! I assumed you’d found new cooler friends.
It’s cloudy, cold and windy here today. Got to say, the convention I’m supposed to be camping at next week is not looking all that tempting right now… It’s been below freezing overnight most of the last week.
In other news, the Impending Niece appears to be pretty imminent; my brother just messaged saying they’re in the hospital and not expecting to leave until she arrives.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 55 Amurrkin out and hazy, whatever that means, with a predicted high of 75 with rain/tstorms/apocolypse predicted to begin this mornin’ and last through tomorrow. Today is laundry day. Woo and Hoo. Sup shall be bestloaf, peas, butterbeans ‘n okra cooked together, mac ‘n cheese, steamed cabbage, and cornbread. I got a gnawin’ and a cravin’ for some down home cookin’ and this looks like a good day to do such. The usual sloth and uselessness is also on the agenda.
{{{Wiki and Flytrap}}} good to see y’all! Come back and play some more.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Tuesday Y’all!
Oh, well done!
lol, I had an accidental beast loaf due to me knowing better than some people around here…
What happened is last week aunt went shopping and bought 2 three-pound chubs of ground beast we used one for tacos and well we put the other in the fridge and forgot it was there…
WEll aunt after digging it out of the fridge says we had to cook it because it was going no good the use/freeze by date is for the 9th I put it in the freezer knowing it was… well as aunt was making the snap beans with bacon and baby taters and homemade honey glazed carrots… she decided to make burger patties … except the by then was froze solid … so after cussing me and saying I was wrong about it still being freezable she took out smaller sized portions and made the beast loaf which fir better and tasted better besides
So just in y’alls personal experience was I wrong about the meat still being freezable?
I sooooo want to crawl under the covers and hibernate today, but it ain’t gonna happen. SIL is finally having his knee surgery today. I have to go get Toby by 8:30. I’ll be taking my broken car and leaving it in their driveway, and I’ll use SIL’s car to haul the kids - starting tomorrow, I need to take Roxy to school. SIL isn’t supposed to drive for at least 2 weeks.
The reason I want to hibernate is this gawd-awful cold. My poor nose is dripping like a cheap faucet and the Nyquil, while helping me sleep, seems to have given me a bit of a hangover. Standing in a hot, steamy shower helped, but I can’t do that all day. So it’s gonna be a long day for sure. I don’t like being sick. And no, it’s not plague. It’s the same cold I’ve had many times in the past, but this time, I have to babbysit so I can’t crawl back into bed. Dammit.
Meanwhile I’m waiting for GEICO to approve the repairs on my car - I’m hoping we can leave it there while we’re on cruise, then pick it up when we get home. Fingers crossed… I miss my Sonata.
So, yeah, Happy Tuesday. Whatever.
the weather sure isn’t helping much might it be an effect of the boat trip ? … i recommend try ing the dayquil because even at night it does the same thing but its non-drowsy I sleep better taking that at night than I do the Nyquil
hope ya feel better …
I was just about to pop a couple of dayquil capsules. It’s not from the boat trip - it’s from two little kids coughing and sneezing all over me last week. My daughter believes patient zero is another staff member from her school. He should be flogged!
Good morning everyone.
It’s currently 37 degrees and drizzly outside. The expected high is 52 and there will be more rain and some dry periods.
Yesterday we experienced all the seasons (minus the heat) in one day; torrential downpours, high winds, hail, thunder, wet snow, brilliant sunshine, lather, rinse and repeat. There were power outages and downed trees everywhere, but fortunately, I didn’t suffer any loss of power. There was a lot of snow up in the mountains, so I’m glad I wasn’t traveling to any of the eastern sides of the state offices this week.
Meetings and training will occupy a good part of my day. I also need to pop out for about 20 minutes this morning to pick up Polar’s meds. At least we can enter the vet’s place now, so it should be a fairly quick transaction instead of sitting in my car and waiting after I call them.
I hope you start feeling better soon, FCM. Nothing worse than having a cold when you have stuff to do and can’t get out of the obligation. I hope the Dayquil at least turns off the faucet.
And, of course, my car wouldn’t start this morning. I turned the key and nothing - nary a sound! So I had to take the truck and I came back in SIL’s HHR, which was the plan anyway. Toby is in his swing, about to nap, I hope. SIL has to report at 9:30 for his surgery, and my daughter will let me know what happens from there - will she pick up Roxy or do I? We shall see, film at 11… 
It’s raining and generally miserable outside. FCD is out running errands, and I think he was going to the boat for something. I’m having some lemonade, but I may make a cup of tea soon. Nose is still in overdrive - Dayquil isn’t helping. I need chocolate, dammit!!
Mine usually start in June, and I’ve never identified exactly what it is around here that makes me miserable. I’ve found that nasal sprays work about the best, though.
I know that I owe all of you yinz (translation: Pittsburgh-ese for “y’all”) a long overdue update, so here goes. I forget when and what I last posted other than my few drive-by comments and I’m too lazy to look it up, so forgive me if I repeat or omit something.
First – I’ve read everything but retained very little over the past few months, so please pardon my lack of personal responses. Best wishes, congratulations, good luck, hugs, high-fives, noogies, yay, boo, etc. to everyone - take whatever you need and share the rest. Welcome to the newbies and welcome back, Flytrap (and anyone else I forgot about).
I think I told you I got a cat (Phoenix) in March of 2020, right after Ruble died. Unfortunately, I found a lump on her back last May, she had surgery to remove it in early July and it was found to be malignant melanoma. My vet referred her to a veterinary oncologist, hoping it wouldn’t metastasize, but it spread to her lymph nodes and after 4 rounds of chemo, the tumor grew very quickly and I had to put her down in October. I held her and skritched her chin - she loved her chin skritches. She wasn’t even 4 years old – it broke my heart. I tell myself that I literally did all I could for her and I don’t regret the cost or the effort. I still have my other cat (Twister) that I adopted 5 months after I got Phoenix. I’ve tried twice to get Twister a kitty companion but she’s just not having it, so it looks like she’s going to have to be an only cat.
FWB and GC (my Gentleman Caller – not Shoe’s GC!) are still in the picture but FWB is becoming annoying and way too clingy. He’s a bit naïve and I’ve helped him out the past 6 months or so with navigating some life changes and he thinks we have a future together but I don’t agree, for numerous reasons. He also recently filed for bankruptcy to get rid of credit card debt because his father told him it was a good idea. I tried to tell him about the effect this would have on his future credit, etc., but he didn’t listen.
GC is still a friend and is still struggling a bit with the loss of his wife. We’ve had a lot of good talks about all kinds of things and he now kisses me, so yay! FWB knows about GC and is a bit jealous. I’ve never been in the situation of having 2 men interested in me at once, so this is interesting.
I’m still working full-time. This week, we started going back into the office 2 mandatory days a week and other days as needed. I’m giving serious thought to retiring in January right after I turn 63, because I’ve had just about enough of a couple of my co-workers (lawyers, ugh!) and other work-related BS. I’ve been working on the numbers to see if it’s feasible, trying to figure out how I’d occupy myself (a part-time job, for sure), looking into health insurance and other practical things. I may change my mind about the timing but I want to have everything ready when I decide to call it quits.
I’m looking forward to some amusement park trips this summer and life is basically normal. Also, the Cook Forest F&I event is on for June and Ruble will finally get his “big bang” send-off.
I’m sure there’s more but that’s all I can think of right now. Any questions? Fire away!
O_W
So…I’m struggling, y’all. 
(This is hard for me to admit/write about…)
I’ve written a few times about being out of sorts, generally grumpy, and short on patience: I’ve felt like this for over a month now, which isn’t like me. I’d started planning to take some time off work next month (thinking maybe I just need a break), and I also hoped that this past weekend’s downtime might help. But yesterday morning the cracks finally started to show, and I actually got a little short with my boss during a phone conversation. I feel like I’ve started being a little snippy in emails/IMs with one of my direct reports, too. My behavior with my boss wasn’t egregious, but I do a lot of stakeholder management and I can’t afford to inadvertently snap at any of them; so, it was enough to make me realize that I should probably take a break sooner rather than later – like, now. I talked with my boss again, then talked with both of my employees (including apologies as needed), and I’m taking today through Thursday off. There’s a lot going on this week, but it’s going to get much busier starting next week so this is actually a better time for some days off (and both direct reports know they can text me if needed).
Last night I think I finally figured out what’s wrong: it’s the combination of a bunch of things, each of which I’ve identified but don’t feel like detailing. None are in my control, though, so I’m still working on a solution. Things are actually harder for me right now than they were during the first year of the pandemic.
I’m hopeful about two things that are happening today, though: I’ll be having lunch and spending some time with my best friends (they’re retired), and seeing/talking with them for the first time in two months should help. And, I have a surgery support group meeting tonight: I haven’t been able to go to one since late February because of the exam prep course I took in March, and I wonder if that might have contributed to this current feeling of being overwhelmed because one of the “bunch of things” I’m dealing with is frustration related to the ongoing adjustment to post-op life.
I’ll play tomorrow and Thursday by ear…though I might see if another friend is able to meet me for lunch on Thursday. She isn’t someone I can really unload on (I only have a few of those), but she’s an old friend I haven’t seen in a while and whose company I’d enjoy.
If I get back to work Friday morning and discover/realize that I’m not actually feeling any better, I’ll resume my efforts to find a therapist. Either way, I will likely still try to take some time off next month!
Anyway, thanks for listening. 
No questions, but I want to offer my condolences on the passing of Phoenix. It’s just as hard to put down a younger animal as it is an old one. I know from experience. I’m glad you have Ruble to be with you.
REgular heaving today. Did a beer run at HT. No chicken thighs there(or at Aldi), but plenty of the rest of the chicken. Weird.
You are correct.
< 
> {{{{FCM}}}} </ >
Let’s keep our BDSM fantasies to ourselves, please. 
{{{{Miss Owl}}}}
{{{{Oopsie}}}}
But sounds like you got a plan to cope.
Hey all!
I’d like to start an “Ask The…” thread. I heard that maybe I should message a moderator about it? Is there anyone in particular I should contact?
Hope this is okay to ask here.
Thank you!