Hooray for 3-hour naps! Roxy is now well-rested and jumping on the clean cushions singing her version of Happy Birthday To You!! 
I dozed off in the recliner, only to be awakened by a junk phone call. No clue how long I was out. Now I’m just waiting for Roxy’s mom to come claim her. She’s about to leave work. Long day for her.
The A/C is repaired, after the out was repaired. A rat in the garage chewed into the thermostat wiring, shorting it an destroying a transformer.
I’m planning to put a fuse in the thermostat wiring.
I was wondering if anyone would notice that one. 
Say, how’s that fella of yours? We’re living vicariously through your dating adventures now, yanno.
talky I wonder if the teacher is feeling the extra quarantine stress herself. No excuse for taking it out on a lil’ kiddo, of course, but it might explain the flip-out.
So here’s a weird one. I need a few soda pop-tops for my rat enclosures (I use them to reinforce the water bottle holes, so they can’t use them as starting points to chew their way out) and did what I always did in Dallas … took a short walk, while watching the sidewalk.
Usually would net me more pop tops than I could possibly use, in about five minutes.
Not in Michigan. I assume because aluminum cans are turned in for a deposit, but my (rather trash-strewn) neighborhood turned up not one single pop top.
Yeah, she’s been a little dicey - getting upset when kids don’t complete homework only to finally realize the link is broken, getting zoom-bombed by other students, etc. I think she’s just really frazzled. I emailed her and said, “look, we talked about this, I get it’s kind of disrespectful and it won’t happen again, etc., etc.” We’ll see what happens. I figured it’d be better to just proactively acknowledge that I know about it than wait for her to call me and flip out on me, too. I really don’t have the patience at this point. If I can calm her down before I talk to her, all the better.
Overlygirl on the other hand, seems to be doing okay-ish. Then again, I hear more from overlyboy because he doesn’t have a desk so is regularly installed at the dining room table, directly behind my desk.
I didn’t know that coke bottle tops were so useful!
Now I want a coke and some chicken noodle soup. I didn’t get around to breakfast or lunch and I’m not one of those people who “forgets to eat,” so haven’t had anything except coffee since last night. Time to scrounge.
Went to wander around the Wal-Mart parking lot near the deposit station, and found exactly one can top.
Good evening, folks.
Well, my new back door, and back door storm door are installed. We’ll see how long it takes Shayna to chew 'em up. FML.
I didn’t do much of anything, today. I did make the Bacon, Green Onion, Cheddar, and Parmesan Quick Bread. It’s tasty! I cut into one loaf, and put the other in the freezer for the hubs. He can take it with him next time he heads out OTR. My dinner was a bag of microwave popcorn.
I’m tired. I still have to take my daughter to work, at 10pm. Well, she drives. She’s only got her Learner’s Permit, though. I go along, and drive myself home, after she goes into work. I need a nap, I think. I’m draggin’.
Have a peaceful evening, everyone.
I’m not living vicariously. Instead I’m in proper chaperone mode, and I won’t put up with any hijinks! So, MissOwl, I expect exemplary conduct and you absolutely will not bring shame upon this house… er… MMP. ^adjusts shawl and tsk-tsks judgementally^
Supper was good - sketties and salad. Quick and simple and all cleaned up. Funny how dinner for 2 is so much simpler than dinner for 5. Yeah, duh… 
Howdy Y’all! Laundry got done and put away. Did not go over to the church house due to feelin’ a little ick (sinuses) and really not wantin’ to go. We shall figure out another day to spiff up candles. It’s been cloudy and overcast all day and a little coolish. Tacos (OLÈ!) have been consumed and chillage ensues.
quietly I didn’t have to do anything to sign up for Medicare as I was already drawin’ SS, so when I became Medicare eligible, I got a letter tellin’ me so and that the premium would be deducted from SS. You will need a supplemental policy, however. My BC/BS one has served me well.
flytrap glad the A/C is repaired.
Miss_Owl MOOOOOOM said no hijinks but that leaves plenty of room for shenanigans, capers, fol-de-rol. All of which are more fun than hijinks. Do not, however, engage in tom foolery. I’ll have no truck with tom foolery!
shoe hope the roadrunner soup was good.
I got a sinus thang goin’ on. I don’t want to go to the doctor, though. I haven’t been to my GP for 10 months, so I don’t know if they’re doing the COVID screening thing like they are at all my other docs’. If they are, I’d have to answer “yes” to a couple, even though it’s not COVID. Would they even let me in? (Plus I hate going to the doctor.) I’ll just use my neti bottle and hope it goes away on its own.
I need to drag my sorry self to the mall–only 3 blocks away–to get a DVD drive cleaner, as mine is making very loud noises periodically and when I don’t even have a DVD in there. It’s also hard to eject a disk.
wordy, every teacher I know is beyond frazzled. Teaching via Zoom SUCKS. That’s no excuse for that teacher flying off the handle, though. OTOH, teachers have so few disciplinary options now, and it’s much harder to keep kids on task when they’re not in your classroom. In my experience it’s better for parent, teacher, and student to “meet” (via Zoom). Communication is clearer, and your son gets to be part of the discussion instead of getting talked about.
OW, I always thought Road Runner said, “Meep, meep.” Chickens, of course, boop like a walk signal because they’re always crossing the road.
You could have a bleeding hangnail and a busted leg, and they’d stick a swab up yer nose!
Any symptomology along your respiratory tract, you’ll be looked at like a COVID leper, even if you aren’t suffering exact COVID symptoms. They’d probably hit you with a Flit gun and wrap you in plastic!
~VOW
Ditto here-has served me very well through some very expensive treatments. Worth every penny. Again, my advice about penny wise and pound foolish: get the best one out of the gate. You will be glad you did. My insurance man/investment advisor (in no way connected to BC/BS or health insurance of any kind) recently complimented me on making the right choice 5 years ago. Said the plan I chose is so good BC/BS no longer offers it (but the next one is almost as good). I’m grandmothered in for life. Getting the dental plan add-on was also a god send. If I get the two paid for cleanings a year, I essentially am paying as I go for them in the premiums, recouping my costs, plus I’ve covered some crowns, root canals and restorations as they have come needed. Much less sticker shock.
Boo~please let me know when you are sick of hearing all this
Me too. Story of my life. Rolled snake eyes in the allergy/sinus/tonsils/Eustachian tubes heredity game.
I deal with it in current times differently than I have before for the very reasons you and Vow laid out.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate (thins mucus and facilitates drainage). Take an antihistamine (Claritin, Zyrtec, etc. Not drowsy Benadryl, I fall down enough all ready). Use a pseudoephedrine pill in the morning, again to shrink the offending membranes so gunk will drain. If you didn’t have to show your ID to the pharmacist to buy it, you didn’t get the effective stuff. If the sinuses and earache give me headache, then symptomatic Tylenol. Then, patience and time. Patience is not my strong suit but then again it’s better than catching something in a waiting room full of sick people.I was taught that patience is the ‘tincture of time’ and you don’t develop antibiotic resistance from this tincture either.
Plus probably told to isolate even more stringently til the results came back (if they come back and they get relayed to you before the weekend).
Gaaahhhhh.
Cranky BBBoo
Well, he’s out of town for a couple of days and we’re supposed to have dinner when he gets back. He has a somewhat unique occupation and I’m pretty sure he went to start installation of what he builds. No, I’m not going to tell you what it is yet - he’s a little too findable on-line and I can just imagine him asking why all of these imaginary internet people are suddenly telling him to be nice to me or else they’ll kick his ass.
OK, here’s the plan. If something salacious happens, I’ll tell you to cover your eyes with your shawl while everyone else reads the news. No peeking!! 
Swampykins, I would have thought that you of all people here would be interested in tom foolery, or fooling around with Tom, or something like that. I heard a rumor about you … 
His name is not Tom so there can be no tom foolery. How about debauchery? I could use some of that! 
Seriously, though, I’d make sure we have a serious conversation before things go too far. I’m not taking any unnecessary risks and would expect the same of him.
Okay, okay, okay!
Sinus-sufferers, listen up! (Those of you who heard the lecture can go on about your business.)
Go to the drug store and buy the following:
° Sudafed, or the generic equivalent. You want pseudoephedrine, not that phenolpropyl blahblah crap
° Neo-Synepherine nose drops. If there’s a store brand, fine, but make sure it’s the same stuff.
° Ocean saline nasal spray or generic equivalent
If you don’t have those big, fluffy, luxurious washcloths at home, pick up at least five of those.
When you are in sinus Hell, and by that I mean it feels like somebody injected your nose and sinuses with epoxy, this is the treatment for you!
Take those big, fluffy washcloths and soak them in warm water, then fold each in half and wring out individually. Place them in a Ziploc freezer bag. Stick the bag in the microwave and nuke on HI for three to five minutes.
Take the dose of Sudafed. Drink a full glass of water.
Pop the spray top off the bottle of saline nasal spray. Pour a little bit out. Now install the dropper in the bottle of Neo-Synepherine, and put a FULL dropperful of Neo-Synepherine into the saline nasal spray bottle. Put the spray top back in place.
Find a flat surface where you can hang your head over the side, like a bed, coffee table, or couch. Scooch to the edge, so your head hangs down, and your chin points to the ceiling.
Tip the bottle of spiked saline nasal spray into your nostril so it dribbles in your nose. Not too much! Do the other nostril.
Stay upside down for several minutes. You may need to add more if the stuff drains down the back of your throat. Get that chin pointed to the ceiling!
Slowly sit up, you’ll probably be a little dizzy. Sniff to keep the nasal spray in your nose.
Get one or two big bathtowels, and fetch the bag of washcloths from the microwave. Use the bathtowels so you don’t burn yourself! The bag and contents will be very hot!!
If you have a recliner, go sit in it and kick back. Otherwise, stack some pillows on the couch and recline there.
Being VERY CAREFUL, get a hot washcloth out of the bag. Cover the bag up with the towels to keep the heat in! Now, very gently, lay the folded-in-half washcloth over your forehead and eyes.
Try to remember to breathe.
When the washcloth cools, throw it on the floor and get another one out of the bag. Repeat the steps above.
Keep going until the bag is empty.
The Sudafed, plus the Neo-Synepherine should loosen up the crud and shrink the nasal and sinus tissues. The hot packs loosen the crud so it becomes more liquid.
You should be able to blow huge chunks of nastiness out of your nose now. More nastiness will drain down the back of your throat.
If you STILL are congested, repeat the entire process (without the Sudafed).
You’re welcome.
~VOW
nellie, you have a good neighbor. There have been times when I was sans vehicle and when people gave me a lift, I appreciated it. I try to pay it forward now. Check with your PCP about a virtual appointment.
metal mouse, you don’t have to go to the doctor to get your flu shot. If you go to your pharmacy of choice, the pharmacist can give one to you. Take your insurance card and it should be free. Shoot, at the Pubic Sto’ and CVS at Tar-jay, they’ll even give you a gift card for getting one.
shoe, when I lived in northern Indiana in a county that bordered Michigan, we would save our soda and beer cans and make a monthly trip 20 minutes north to turn them in. No deposit paid, but they were recycled. A few years ago, the state paid out more in returns than it collected in deposits because of people doing what we did.
I had a low tire light on when I got into the car this morning so I swung around Discount Tire this afternoon to have them aired up. Once I got home, my new French press was in a box on the front step. When I ordered it, there were two colors available: red or black. At first, I put a red one im my cart and then noticed that it doubled my price. 
I quickly deleted the red one and ordered a black one.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
I heartily endorse VOW’s sinus regime as well. Feel free to mix and match hers and mine as tolerable to you. MzBoo just can’t stand the spritz up my nostrils thing (a decade of terrifying trips in teenhood to have just that done then packing shoved up both sides by the grim ENT doc and then half an hour under some bizarre lamp before the doc grotesquely pulled the packing out dripping with…well, you can guess). Glad we all could have this little talk (muffled though my blocked Eustachian tubes made it). Carry on.
Ever so glad to hear! I’m enjoying your enjoying your 
. Here’s looking at you, kid 
it just started monsooning. Glad I got Princess Pretty Paws out this afternoon. No more hockey for 2+ onths. I have a sad.
First pot, now coke. what is this, the 70s?
I was thinking “Drive by in a UPS package car”, but a straight up ass kicking works, too. But as long as he behaves. 
@swampbear
@Miss_Owl
@FairyChatMom
To quote Anthony Bourdain: “Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” (in Kitchen Confidential, 05.22.2000)
Man, I missed all the good stuff. What I wouldn’t give to have attended the original Woodstock. (Especially with modern Patagonia and R.E.I. gear!)
Now those are standards we can live by.
The roadrunner soup is EXCELLENT and there’s a bit more in the fridge, and then I put some in the freezer like a good, responsible adult.
I’m convinced a properly simmered bird soup can cure, well, almost anything.