# Independence Day MMP **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** mmp\ **Created:** [July 4, 2016, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050 "2016-07-04T08:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/221 "2016-07-10T17:26:41Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > I had one set of cats, their visits were real quick though. The haunted house cats. > I got hired to come twice a day for three cats whose owner had been killed in a car accident. It was an open ended job, just keep coming twice a day until we tell you to stop, as her son lived out of state. They paid me a bunch up front and every time they came into town, they’d catch up and pay ahead again. > I wasn’t charging them my usual fee because of the circumstances, but also because they were only about 2 miles away. I had to go twice a day because one cat had no lower jaw and had to have soft food mixed up, it would spoil quickly so she needed to be fed twice a day. > To get to her feeding station I had to walk through 2 other bedrooms to the third one at the end. > One day I stepped into the first bedroom and I see a woman making the bed, and I thought nobody is supposed to be here. Then I noticed that I could see _through_ the woman. > She at the same time, noticed me, turned around and screamed NOOOOOOOO GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! and ran at me with her arms out on front to push me. > I braced myself, and she ran right through me. Then with a look of surprise on her face, she vanished. > I know y’all don’t believe in ghosts, but let me tell you, from that point on those were the fastest damn cat visits I’ve ever done. I could whip up the food (always on the daytime visit), fill three food stations, and clean thee litter boxes in under 5 minutes. If those cats wanted attention, they were SOL, because I was not hanging out. > Never said one word to the client, I felt so bad for him losing his mother that way, there was no way I would have backed out of the job. I think that’s fascinating AND cool. I’d like to think I’d have tried to talk to the ghost, but I honestly don’t know how I would have reacted ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/222 "2016-07-10T17:28:12Z")
Done with claying. I assembled what I hope will be a guardian angel night light. It’s a round base with 3 stars linked together and 2 angels side-by-side, all forming a circle. I need to find the light part to go inside, and I think I’ll make a star as a lid. I also cut out 3 penguin spoon holders. The clay was too try to make a proper spoon indentation, so I sprayed them with water and wrapped them in plastic - in a couple of days, I should be able to for the indentation. Time for chillage. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/223 "2016-07-10T17:51:45Z")
Howdy Y’all! All deheathenated, et N.O.L. and had a little nappy poo. For some reason I feel a little ick. Been feelin’ that way all day. Nuttin’ big just kinda ick. Thus ‘tis nice to be inside in the a/c and chillin’. Other than that just another day in paradise. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/224 "2016-07-10T18:03:07Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Breakfast nachos? The sun was over the mast head somewhere in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/225 "2016-07-10T18:05:12Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > I think that’s fascinating AND cool. I’d like to think I’d have tried to talk to the ghost, but I honestly don’t know how I would have reacted It scared the hell out of me. It’s not the first time I’ve seen things, but the first time they’ve reacted to me being there. I think I scared her as much as she scared me. I can handle a ghost, I can’t handle being startled. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/226 "2016-07-10T18:14:07Z")
Greetings. The cold seems to have abated, albeit my sinuses are still stuffy and causing the occasional coughing spell. Kitchen is reasonable clean and dinner was served by Longhorn Steakhouse today. Got my annual home owners insurance, and it increase from $975 to $1170. Going to do some looking around and see if I can find a better rate, but I have no idea if that is the going rate or not (Geico gave me a $1,300 quote, so there is that). Considering I have never had a home insurance claim in 20 years, it does seem rather stiff… Haven’t had to rent an apartment in many years, around here a 1BR would go for about $700, moving upwards to $1,200 for a 3 BR. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/227 "2016-07-10T18:58:54Z")
Oy! Location indeed! The boys are renting a 4 bedroom 2 bath apartment here in UniversityVille. The management company leases by the bedroom - each renter signs his own agreement. The Boy’s rent is $309 per month, including utilities, although there may be some slight overage for electricity if it’s really hot. (Rent for an apartment without shared bathrooms would have been about $375-425 per bedroom. But the guys are good friends, and 2 per bathroom isn’t worrisome.) Adjacent to campus, and on the bus route, too - they won’t have to buy parking passes, and worry about tickets. Pretty much the only need for any of them to have a car is for grocery shopping and leisure stuff. And 2 roommates are moving out before the 2 n00bs move in. The remaining guys scrounged up enough nickels and quarters to buy the sofa and loveseat and dining table. So there’s that much that doesn’t have to move upstairs! The grandparents bought The Boy a new bed, though. I’m planning to be busy while the strapping young lads move that to the third floor! Everything else is Late Basement/Early Attic - desk from my mom, chest of drawers from the farm, etc. But still, The Boy is spoiled. He even managed to sweet talk my mom out of her Kitchenaid stand mixer! Definitely the favorite grandchild… Funny thing about funny family names: before I married my husband, I researched his genealogy a bit - we’re both from the same little corner of the world, and I’m surprised that I haven’t found evidence that we are cousins, honestly. Anyway, he had a several times grand uncle named Granberry. And those two branches of the family lived within a few miles of one another. His Granberry probably was the doctor that delivered my Uncle Grandberry. (I always did wonder where the name came from.) And then there was the span of time when my family seemed to name boys after politicians and pundits. We had a Grover Cleveland and a Talmadge [LastName], and a Henry Grady [LastName], Senior and Junior. And the branch of the family that named all of the boys John included middle names Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, etc. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/228 "2016-07-10T20:20:23Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Breakfast nachos? A chunk of chorizo browned with poblano pepper, onion ,and tomatoes, with a egg scrambled in, them poured over tortilla chips ,and topped with black olives, and Ghost Pepper queso, warmed in the oven ,and garnished with fresh Cilantro. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/229 "2016-07-10T20:57:28Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > A chunk of chorizo browned with poblano pepper, onion ,and tomatoes, with a egg scrambled in, them poured over tortilla chips ,and topped with black olives, and Ghost Pepper queso, warmed in the oven ,and garnished with fresh Cilantro. Have you ever considered getting a job as a personal chef? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/230 "2016-07-10T21:39:52Z")
My computer has moved from under my desk to on top of the filing cabinet. The printer has moved from my desk to the cabinet next to **FCD** ’s desk. His computer has moved from one side of his desk to the other. Now we can both connect to the printer, which was the point of this exercise. I need to clean the file baskets, tho - much paper that can be either filed or tossed. Question for all and sundry. When you get statements from your health insurance company about what they paid to whom for what procedures, do you keep them? For how long? As you might imagine, we have tons of them and in all these years, I’ve only had to refer to one once. I’d like to shred them all. Any reason not to? And thus endeth my weekend. Far too short, to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/231 "2016-07-10T22:03:57Z")
Sloth ensued all afternoon and shall remain the mode for the evenin’. However, I did manage to drag the biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig trash can all the way down to the road and I ran white vinegar and water through the coffee maker to de-gunk it. The trick is to do that and then run two pots of cold water through it as well. All I know is coffee tastes better the next mornin’ and I do this about once a month. **sari** what with all the peppers, I think **doggio** is trainin’ to be a professional fire eater. 😃 **MOOOOOOM** I keep stuff like that for a year and then turn it into fodder. If there hasn’t been an issue in twelve months I figure it must be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/232 "2016-07-10T22:18:40Z")
Movers are here in the morning to load the last of our stuff into the trailer. Trailer then goes off to storage and we spend a few weeks house sitting for my folks. I had a moment of panic last night when I walked into their house and it was hotter than LA asphalt. They had the air conditioning off and a note about how we couldn’t use it until the house painter was done with a section of the siding. A hotel was looming in our future. Fortunately, I talked to my mom and the A/C is allowed once again. We can’t do 85 inside. Just can’t. They don’t have any fans, so it’s just miserable. Anyway, I’m pottering around the house getting the last bits done. It’s just amazing how thing accumulate on the bookcase by the front door for example. I’m almost at the “shove it in a box and we’ll sort it later” stage, but not quite. **Doggio** - I would hire you as a personal chef. Or at least a menu consultant. Your food always sound muy yummy. **Sari** - wow, that sounds amazing. Poor kitty with no jaw. Poor you! Back to the salt mines. Almost there. 😃 ETA: **Mooomm** consider an automatic litter box for the kitteh(s) and fewer house sitter visits. I think it will pay for itself really fast if you’re paying that much per visit! I’ve used them for years and finally have one that I really, really like. Silent, odor free (unless ignored beyond reason). Easy to use. Well worth NOT having to deal with the litter box every day. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/233 "2016-07-10T22:28:03Z")
I really don’t want to let the sitter just come every other day. She brings in my mail and she’ll play with Taz and crawl on the floor to make sure Ziva is still alive under the bed. She also brings treats and toys, and I just feel better knowing someone spends a little time in the house. Plus I can’t be sure that Taz won’t try to pee on something if he’s left alone too long. Supper was a bowl of Amish cantaloupe chunks. I didn’t feel like cooking and \*\*FCD \*\*just wanted grilled cheese, so that was easy. I’s tahred… ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/234 "2016-07-10T22:30:00Z")
**Peaches** , doing my genealogy, I got a lot of Polish and German names on one side and Irish and distinctly Appalachian names on the other. And on my mom’s side, every one of the 14 kids in her family, as well as my granny, had Patrick or Patricia as one of their given names (and all had more than the standard two). Of course, Great Grandda was from Cork and Patrick was the family’s patron. 😃 **Moooom** , I would just scan those documents to a specific thumb drive so that if a printed copy is needed, just print. The hard copies can be shredded and recycled. I got a quick tutorial on rent prices when I began looking for a new apartment. I knew that they had gone up in the last 12 years (yeah, I haven’t had a rent hike in that long), but Nashville has gotten much more expensive to live in since then. When I first moved out here to the exurbs, it was more expensive to live outside of the city. Now, it’s easier to find affordable housing in the suburbs. My rent is going from $520 /utilities furnished to $650 +utilities. Had I leased something in the city, rent would have begun around $850 +utilities for something comparable. If I didn’t need to move to a ground level unit, I would stay here. I got heathenized this morning and collected a tote full of school supplies for Oasis that I will deliver this week. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/235 "2016-07-10T22:55:43Z")
Took Gordie for yet another walk. Now it’s beerverages and dinner time: Jerk rubbed poke chop with baked sweeet potato with allspice and ginger and a salad with an orange ginger vinaigrette. > [@Sahirrnee](#): > > Have you ever considered getting a job as a personal chef? > [@ddsun](#): > > **Doggio** - I would hire you as a personal chef. Or at least a menu consultant. Your food always sound muy yummy. Thanks. 🙂 But I’m content to cook for hockey tailgates. Y’all should come down for one. > [@swampbear](#): > > **sari** what with all the peppers, I think **doggio** is trainin’ to be a professional fire eater. 😃 well, the first time I tried the Mrs. Renfro’s Ghost Pepper salsa, I stopped breathing for 10 seconds and had a vision form an Incan Monkey God.:eek::D;) ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/236 "2016-07-10T23:52:38Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I’d pack food for Hungary. :rolleyes: You would probably also pack coal for New Castle. 🙂 BTW – met some folks in Tipton from the Indianapolis Aerodrome ---- steam punk balloonists. Your dragon was mentioned. And envied. I’ll probably read more later but mostly I’ll mark time until we start tomorrow. Hope everyone had a great weekend and hugs to anyone who didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/237 "2016-07-11T00:21:05Z")
I t hink I’m going to bed soon. I’ve been suddenly feeling rather light-headed, then when that passed I just feel so tired and sleepy. See ya all next week! ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/238 "2016-07-11T01:38:47Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > In this area, $1200 for anything legally habitable with a private bathroom is pretty much impossible. Under $1500 in SF is going to be a bedroom in a shared house or an SRO. Same here in the Keys. For $1200 a month you will be lucky to get a bedroom in someone’s home. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050/239 "2016-07-11T03:17:24Z")
> [@Buttercup\_Smith](#): > > Same here in the Keys. For $1200 a month you will be lucky to get a bedroom in someone’s home. How much to rent your coach? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/independence-day-mmp/759050.md?page=11)