It's Pouring Rain in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Well, here it is anyway.
We finally got the rain everybody’s been talking about.

I woke up early, too early.
I have some time to kill before heading out to the park.
Yes, I’m going to the park in the pouring rain. Some people will be there, but not many.
The things we do for the ones we love.

So that is what we can talk about, the things we do for the ones we love.

When my son was little he was fascinated with airplanes. I hate to fly, not terrified, but not something I want to do. For his birthday one year, I signed up for a flying lesson so he could ride in an airplane. To make matters worse, we went the day after JFK Jr crashed his plane. Everybody thought I’d chicken out, but no, I went through with it. A little twin engine cesna, the instructor was all of 19. Seeing the look on my son’s face was worth it, even though I was quite green by the time we landed.

Taking the dogs out in the rain is a piece of cake after that experience.

Sorry about your friend, {{{Swampy}}}.

Positive thinking is a good thing, Practicing Gratitude is another Good Thing.
Helps keep me in a good mood.
I am thankful that I can turn a knob and get fresh clean water. One of my doctors had two nurses from India. In their villages they had water for 4 hours each day, then the water was turned off and the next village over got their water turned on.
I’m thankful that I have a healthy son, who isn’t into drinking and drugs. A lot of parents can’t say that.
I’m thankful that I have a roof over my head, a vehicle in good condition, food in the fridge, and all the other things we tend to take for granted that a good part of the world still doesn’t have.

Whenever I start to get down about the things I don’t have, I think about what I do have and realize that I am actually very very lucky and life is good.

2

FIRST!

I’m grateful to enjoy being juvenile.

3

I consulted the Oracle of Teh Googlez and was informed that rain is expected in the Mitten area, too.
It’s still warm, but I have been forewarned by the same oracle that colder days are coming soon, very soon.

I haz a Blessed Day Off today. Not sure what imma do with myself. Let’s see …

Groceries must be procured, that’s a definite plan.
Coupla wolves need to be chased off from my door a.k.a. more bills gotta get paid.
{ checks calendar } Oh, and Pretzel could use a snack.

I’m just happy she’s eating. As am I!

I finally shook off enough depression/anxiety/ennui last night to move a large crew of soft-furs (my “Solid Brownie Mix” i.e. the only line that’s totally solid color, in both dark & milk chocolate colors) into a clean tub last night.
Been putting that off inexplicably for, like, a week. Still riding the high of getting it done - flipped on the light & went and watched 'em for a bit, just now. They’re clambering over their new branches and rearranging the bedding, and already drained half a water bottle.

Is there some word for that feeling where you’ve put something off for a while, and then start putting it off just because you’ve been putting it off?

4

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 72 Amurrkin out and cloudy with a predicted high of 83 and mostly cloudy for the day. IOW a Fall day in south Jawja. We shall spiff da cave today and I must go out and about to pick up a ‘script. Sup shall be roast beast with little N.O.T. and carrots, green beans and rolls. I usually have Vestry meetin’ the second Moanday of each month but we delayed it a week as EYP’s daughter (she’s six) is on Fall break from skool so they’re takin’ off for a couple of days to go to the big Aquarium in Etlanner and other stuff.

Thanks for all the condolences. Not sure when or if there will be a memorial for Carole as stuff like that is still a kinda up in the air thing whilst the plague is still around.

Sari nice OP! I am grateful for the many things we take for granted, like you said. Also for OYKW bein’ in my life so we can be grumpy old men together.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.

Happy Moanday Y’all!

5

… oh, yeah, and I have GOT to clear the fridge of the various outdated leftovers and science experiments and stuff. Clearly it’s not gonna grow LESS mold and at this point, “I raise rats” isn’t an end-all garbage dump.

Swampy I gotta ask, since y’all eat so well at Da Cave each day … I need some help with logistics.

There’s two of y’all, right? So how do you manage leftovers?
You cook a multi-course meal, for two. Then the next day, we see you made a whole new multi-course meal, for two.

Have you figured out some secret to making a 2-person-sized roast? … are you feeding stray cats? … stray humans?
Is there a 17-year-old nearby who’s Hoovering up all the extra?

6

Woke at 4 again, dammit. Stoopit bladder. But after a few rounds of Soiltaire and Sudoku on the tablet, I dropped off again till nearly 7:30, so I’m definitely thankful for that! :smiley: Tho while I was awake, I heard a very loud thump/crash/noise. Nothing in the house seems to be out of place, so I’m thinking a branch hit the roof. When the rain lets up, I’ll go out and check.

Not on the roof, mind you, but from the yard.

shoe - now that daughter et al have their own place, I’m back to cooking for 2. Leftovers aren’t a huge problem when we have them. Smaller amounts usually get eaten for lunch within a day or two. Larger amounts may be frozen (like with the soup or the ribs this week) or repurposed (like the rotissed chickie that became chickie salad.) The biggest trick is making just enough in the first place. That takes practice. Not that I meant to speak for swampy - just sharing my approach.

Rain is supposed to continue thru the day. I plan to run the vacuum cleaner, and I’m thinking I should work on flattening the area rugs. That involves a big towel and a steam iron. It looks like they’ve flattened as much as they will without help, so now it’s my turn.

As for thankfulness:

  • we worked with an advisor so our retirement looks to be financially secure
  • we like our house and where we live
  • when plague passes, we should be able to enjoy cruising again
  • we have a granddaughter who is an endless source of entertainment
  • we’re coming up on 37 years together - pretty good after a quickie elopement!

And I’m thankful that my aches from the fall are diminishing rapidly!! Happy Moanday!

7

It was chilly at the park this morning, I’m glad I wore my coat instead of a hoody.
We didn’t stay too long, partly because it was uncomfortably chilly and because Lily wouldn’t stop digging.
Ripple was ready to leave anyway, and Lily didn’t fight it. Echo, however, was still being Echo and she didn’t want to leave.

Lily was so good yesterday though. Poe came to the park. He is a nice dog, chocolate lab, but he is very exuberant and he likes to hump other dogs. Ripple just avoids him or runs under the table where Poe can’t get him. Echo goes all Tasmanian Devil on him, Lily snaps at him, and Urban flips it around and has Poe on the ground before he knows what hit him.
Yesterday Poe kept trying to hump a sweet little dog named Scooby. Scooby isn’t the kind to fight back so every time Poe tried to hump him, Lily ran over and got between them.

Ripple caught a mouse all by himself last night. He is better at it than Adam is and kills them quicker too. Then Echo got the dead mouse and tried to bring it upstairs to bed. Not happening. It’s bad enough when I roll over on a toy, or even worse a cow hoof. I roll over onto a dead mouse and you’ll hear my shrieks and cussing all the way to Swampy’s house, maybe even Butter’s.
My son got the dead mouse away from her and threw it in the trash. And then took the trash out.

8

Happy Monday, y’all. What is this “rain” everybody is talking about? After a week of milder temps, we are back into the 90s this week. Summer isn’t done with Southern California yet by a long shot. This week is work, Medicare Open Enrollment and calling a guy I’ve been referred to about starting a refi on the house. It’ll save me 2 points, and I’ll pull some equity out to take care of some debts and home improvements. Such a fun week.

Take care, and stay calm.

9

Looks like the weekend rain left a final reminder this morning, but it appears like we’ll finally start drying out some. It is due to get cooler, 82F is today’s predicted high, by the weekend it’ll be 20 degrees cooler.

Went out last night and got a giant sub from Jersey Mikes, ate half of it Sunday and the rest will feed me this lunchtime. Don’t have too many worries about leftovers as I seldom cook as many here do.

Sari, I’ve been in about every type of commercial airliner and more than a few helicopters (and one hot air balloon), but never took flying lessons. Think that was a great thing to do for son.

All y’all stay dry now.

10

I found an ignition switch on eBay for my bike, but it doesn’t have a key. I’m waiting for 0800 so I can call a locksmith to see if it can be changed to work with the key I have.

11

The rain has slackened a bit, so I went out to look at the roof, front and back. Nothing. So what did I hear? Did I even hear something? Was I dreaming??

I’ve often said, of all the things that I have lost, I miss my mind the most…

FCD was telling me this morning that someone down the street from his parents died and wasn’t found for 2 weeks. :open_mouth: But, of course, it won’t happen to them… OK, that’s the last I’ll say about the whole situation. Fling a wet trout at me if I bring it up again.

And now, off to steam the lumps out of the area rugs. Rah!

12

shoe, I can’t speak for swampy, but my years of cooking for one has come down to a science. It starts with planning a menu and grocery list, shopping and on the weekend, I’ll spend 1-3 hours doing the actual work of cooking a nice meal. That will be supper that evening and one evening during the week. The rest gets put into freezer containers (at least the main course), labeled and dated, frozen and 2-3 containers pulled from the freezer for the following week. Side dishes that either don’t reheat well or aren’t heated to begin with are just carried over all week. Frozen veggies round things out where needed. All that’s required on irk days is nuking one of the meals. Not an approach for everyone, but it works for me.

One of the things that I do for someone I love is spend more time at the dog park than I always enjoy doing and bathing the little guy. Another thing was sending good quality food to his grandmother (my dad’s dog and actually Nelson’s DNA grandmother) who likes his food and is having a hard time with bigger kibble (she’s 16 years old, nearly blind / deaf but enjoys life as the treasured pet of an old man. It’s important to keep her interest in her food). Dad isn’t online and has limited mobility and access to a larger variety than what’s available in the grocery store, so it’s a mitzvah for him too.

Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. This is the last day of my extra long weekend. The rain has ceased (for now), so I may get the patio plants set up for winter. Tomorrow, it’s back to the salt mines.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

13

I called a locksmith, and they don’t have the wafers to re-key the lock. All they can do is make a new key. So I would have the original key for the seat lock, a new key for the original Yamaha ignition lock, and another key for the new Chinese gas cap. I wanted to call Yamaha to see if I can get a set of lock barrels that would fit, but they don’t have a way to contact them on their website. I found a dealer in Skagit County that I might ask, but they’re closed Mondays.

14

You ain’t lived till you’ve ironed an 8X10 area rug! snerk But it’s laying flat, and that’s what I was going for. There’s one more in the dining room - a chore for later or another day.

That’s the main problem I see with buying rugs on line - the way they’re packaged and transported. They start out as a nice round roll, but along the way, they get smooshed, either from stuff piled on the rolls or people walking on them or who knows what else. But an hour or so with a thick towel and a steam iron seems to have taken care of the worst of it.

Rain continues. And now I need some lunch. I know there are no leftovers - guess I’ll just make a sammich.

15

All breakfasted and dressed and ready to walk out the door, with a half-hour to spare. I’ve grown to like my slow morning routine. Years ago I would squeeze out every minute of sleep I could and be in my car within 20 minutes of waking up.
These days, I rarely sleep past 6:30 anyway, so I get up, fix me some coffee and a bowl of cereal, get dressed, and then enjoy just peacefully sitting for a while or surfing the Dope. It’s a nice way to start the day without stress.

As for being more grateful, it’s something I’ve been working on. Just about every work day I’m bound to encounter one or two absolute jerks, and I used to let those people dominate my thoughts for the rest of the day. But far more of the folks I deal with are lovely and pleasant. There are always a few who are extra nice, giving me compliments or thanking me for doing my job. I’ve been making a conscious effort lately to hold these people in my thoughts and to push out the memories of the unpleasant interactions. It can be easier said than done, but I’m getting better at it. Paying more attention to all the nice people in the world and giving the not-nice ones less power over me also helps me weep less for the state of humanity. Most people are good and we’ll be OK.

16

Evening, mumpers! It’s been a mixed weather day here, cool but alternately sunny and then wet. Currently wet, and now the sun’s pretty much gone anyway. Just grey and dreary now.

Things to be thankful for…much as I like to moan and gripe about it, I have a job. Most of the time I quite enjoy it, the people I work with are nice and generally don’t cause me too much bother. Our house is a wreck, but it’s a paid-for wreck so we are sure to have a roof over our heads, and having said job means there’s food on the table and some spare cash each month to donate to worthy causes, birthday charity fundraisers and suchlike. The critters are elderly, but healthy and happy with their quiet lives.

Monday has been and gone in a bit of a blur. I got summoned for a fire warden training session despite the fact I’m not working on campus so am not actually anywhere near the building for which I’m expected to be a warden. I suppose I will be back on campus eventually but not during times of plague and unsafe travelling conditions.

Most of today’s problems have been dealt with, and tomorrow’s problems will still be there in the morning. Thus I shall sign off and tune into the local news to see what joys and delights Bojo the Clown has for us in his latest public pontifications.

17

Cornmeal pancakes for breakfast. Honestly, I don’t know why anyone would eat any other kind.

Rainy days in the PNW, which is a Very Good Thing. The fires are being beaten back, and we have hopefully seen the end of that nightmare. We’ll get in a walk between showers.

I think we’ll make chicken marbella for the neighbors this week. Another experiment to try out on someone else. :smiley:

We are always grateful that we can live as we do, without monetary worries and with only minor health issues (compared to a lot of other folks). At age 73, a lot of people are suffering from major problems and are struggling to make ends meet. I’m also glad that my kids are all still employed, and have been throughout the pandemic. They all have jobs that can be done remotely.

18

{{{Swampy}}}

Sari and Red I envy you access to dog parks. I really miss going. Someday we’ll get there.

Things I am grateful for:
-My husband has a job he likes
-My son has a school that works for him, and he is happy
-My daughter has an amazing medical team, and we’re making progress

Cookie I like buttermilk pancakes, and sourdough ones. I’d be willing to put cornmeal ones in the rotation. What’s your position on waffles?

On to the daily report: my son’s computer died in the middle of class this morning (graphics card, we think). He’s using my laptop, but is reluctant to use it on an ongoing basis.

We’ ve been ordering out for dinner more often. I’d like to get back into meal prep (with help from the family!), but I need to do some menu planning and put in a grocery order.

No rain here, although it was forecasted. We’ve had temps in the 80s, which has been nice, but we’re going back into the frying pan over the next week. The fires seems to be getting under control, but I worry about what higher temps will do. I really hope that we get some rain this winter.

19

They may be a Very Good Thing, but my parents haven’t seen the sun since before the forest fires. During our latest Zoom call, they asked me to move the camera so they could see the sun here.

Could we get a recipe for the cornmeal pancakes? Cornmeal mush is my favorite breakfast, followed by day-old fried cornmeal mush. (Excuse me, I have to clean the drool off my keyboard.) My mom always makes enough mush so there is enough left over to fill a loaf pan to about 2".

I don’t like video calls. I find audio only calls to be be more relaxing. But my parents (especially my mother) really like to see me. So I do Zoom with my parents. Nobody else, except for work.

20

For a second, I thought you said corneal pancakes.