I have have a very easily pushed religion button and if I start, it ends up a very large wall of acrimonious text. Most of the time I just avoid the discussion. I have attended weddings and funerals but other than that I just stay away.
Mornin’ all. About an hour post-dawn as I start this missive. A bit of cirrus in an otherwise blue sky with ol’ man Sol doing his damnedest to blind anyone out driving. Or tryin’ to balconate. NWS sez 69/21 (honorary swampy snerk) on the way to 82/28.
Caffinatin’ is goin well and I’ve got the biiig cup with the big ol’ Saddleback swine on it while Her Ladyship yet slumbers.
First off, thanks to all for the kind words for Daughter. She knows and appreciates that she’s got a widely scattered fan club.
Tres cool graffiti. Except for the overly long arms/front legs, that’s pretty much a Rattus rattus. In other words, a rodent of unusual size. Shoe would be proud of the artist.
Cabbage with a side of cabbage. Hmm. Why am I suddenly thinking of Vikings singing the Spam song but about cabbage instead? Cabbage! Wonderful Cabbage!
I Imagine one would also have musical innards later. Sounds tasty & fun. All that and leftovers for tomorrow. Hooray!
Yes, yes, marital bliss and all that. I get it, I truly do. I’m dealing with a bunch of new redlines too. But.
I posted just yesterday about the time I crunched a rental car. It wasn’t easy. In fact it was far more costly / hassle-ish than if I’d crunched my own car. So that concern is a red herring. As Taters said.
Given the relative risk of local / city driving (dangerous) and highway driving (safe), you putting 600 miles on the car to/from Phoenix is safer than the same 600 miles around town. Once somebody gets to the point of seeing each driving mile as a significant incremental risk (“Is this trip really necessary??” from WW-II rationing posters), housebound agoraphobia is just around the corner.
I feel your pain; I truly do. I/we don’t have this particular issue, but there are others …
Kinda like our OfficeDepotMax. There are two nearby restaurant sites near here that have been so many different incarnations in the almost 10 years I’ve been here that you can’t even say the whole portmanteau before you’ve been served.
Otherwise, congrats on a day about to be well-spent. Again. You certainly know how to live in ease.
/signed/ Your Eager Disciple.
But at least IIRC that triggered mostly (entirely?) cleaning out the guest room. Or was that more for MIL possibly moving in? I get confused easy. In either case you gained that.
Yeah; plenty of ways for even welcome houseguests to ruffle your fur. One of the many advantages of being an anti-social shit with a small and physically distant extended family is not having to deal with that crap hardly ever. No friends, no family = no irritants. Can sometimes be kinda lonely though.
As to flights, the smart person waits until after the flight should have actually taken off (say scheduled departure plus 30 minutes) then checks the airline website to confirm it’s airborne with an ETA. if not, wait awhile and try again. Once in the air, arrival time is real reliable unless weather at the destination is (or turns to) crap. Before actually airborne, arrival times are pious hopes at best.
But once armed with a reliable ETA, one can plan the rest of their drive to arrive timely, early, or late as is their wont.
Yaay for Tobias the LaundryDude. I bet there are some cute pix to be had.
And a darn fine familial weekend it will be. Lots to do and see this time of year.
I think you’ll really enjoy not having to mess with that every time; probably more than you think right now.
Back when I traveled, I made sure to have dupes of everything I needed at home and on the road. Lots less forgetting and lots less flail at each departure or arrival. Each world was complete and self-sufficient. The money for dupes is a one-time expense that pays you back every time you change locations.
Here’s hoping today’s delivery is timely so your workday is easy.
Responding to several folks …
Overall, I’m a happy heathen who can comfortably attend concerts, weddings, and funerals in churches, but otherwise just shake my head at the whole phenomenon. I totally get the fellowship and good deeds parts; totally admirable as far as they go.
The rest? I’m like “Why? You took two good ideas, fellowship and good deeds, then pretty thoroughly wrecked them.” Admittedly some faiths or denominations thereof took the wrecking a lot farther than some others.
Good luck to all on this mostly soggy day all the way from England to the US Pacific Northwest.
A whole hour having been poured into this post, it’s now time for mo’ caffinatin’ and mo’ postin’ in other threads. Yes my dear fellow MMPers, there are other threads. 
Cheers all!!
Morning all. It’s easy to not use water when you sleep from 11pm-8am. Will be checking the usage meter here in about an hour and we’ll see what is to be seen. Also need to pick up dry cleaning and the HVAC guy is due this afternoon (the heater seems to be working OK, but I’ll take his advice and get the new switch installed). Also need to be legally compliant and fill out the Census Bureau stuff on-line. (Did a double-check and it is legit, not a scam) and maybe some gym time if I can.
45F heading for 58F and bright skies for the future.
FCM. I’m like FCD, I always leave way early too because there could be traffic/an accident/Godzilla could be rampaging…but I have to admit pilot’s idea is the most practical, as long as the flight is longer than 90 minutes. And of course Tobias likes to help–he gets to toss stuff around and not get yelled at… 
Taters, hope the docking station arrives early.
OK, think I will get dressed and head over to the dry cleaners now and have that done. Have a good 2sDay all.
Row, row, row your boat
gently past my window.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
I inhaled a minnow.
Or something like that. I hope my fellow PNW Mumpers are safe and dry. In addition to the flood advisory, there’s now a landslide warning for much of the area. I have PT this afternoon, so hopefully the rain will have lightened by then so I can slosh over there.
*Brrr! That’ll chill your vodka! The coldest temp I’ve ever experienced was -50ºF in Havre, MT. When my son was 6, it was -45º and they didn’t cancel school. Our cars wouldn’t start, so I bundled him up, and we walked the three blocks. Midway there, his tears started freezing on his lashes, so I wound his scarf around his eyes and led him the rest of the day. And few kids were absent. My office was 6 blocks in another direction. They did cancel school the next day, but I had to work.
Speaking of vodka…
Did he save the vodka? It might make an interesting cocktail. Call it the Marie Antoinette.
I’m a worrywart. Whenever we’ve had a long, rainy/snowy winter followed by a dry spring and/or summer, I worry there’s more fuel for a fire to burn. I’m like you: I love the rain and hate droughts, so I’d be happy living in a rain forest. [Looks outdoors] Actually, I guess I AM living in a rain forest.
Metalmouse they are in Gulf Shores. For 40 years they took their annual vacation there. My niece moved there 2 years ago. Moving to no. Alabama wouldn’t help. Once you’ve lived in the “north” it’s hard to live in the “south.”
On the wild side of ‘wet and wild’, a cougar was picked up on a door cam in our neighborhood. There has only been one other cougar spotted in the MSP area in the past 20 years, and they are in fact rarely seen in any part of MN. Could have migrated from the Black Hills, I suppose.
Yeah. Wet winter = bumper crop of fire fuel. It might not burn that Spring, but it will by next Spring.
Moving to a longtime vacation area then discovering that living there gets kinda monotonous and now you have to deal with the locals more than just ordering your meal from them is a rude awakening to many a retiree.
That is a lovely place to sit, drink beer, and eat breaded deep-fried food while Country and Western music plays in the background. After that though …
That whole area from Nawlin’s east to aways north of Tampa is called the “Redneck Riviera” for a reason. Lotta folks love that culture and that lifestyle. Others struggle with it.
Moooom, I’m like FCD too. Even when the stakes are low (SIL waiting outside baggage claim for a few extra minutes is not exactly a tragedy), I stress disproportionately about being late for anything. I’d rather be way too early and wait in the cell phone lot, even though that’s more of a pain than going straight to the passenger pick-up area. It’s a sickness.
Pilot, I’m totally with you on the rental car thing; I’d much rather have my own. But trust me, the argument is over. (Though perhaps I can begin chipping away in case I ever get another assignment within a 4-5 hour drive.)
And I’m not even sure I’ll be the one renting. There will only be two of us, and I have seniority, so I get first option.
But if the other guy really wants to be the driver, I’ll be perfectly fine with that. We’ll see.
Today we’re having a pullout sofa bed (well, more like a loveseat bed) delivered from Wayfair. I had set aside most of the afternoon to put it together. This morning Mrs W got a text explaining that the driver will place and assemble it for us. Nice! Less wear and tear on my knuckles.
Other than that, my only agenda item today is beard maintenance (long overdue), then - as there was earlier discussion of geezerly activities - we’ll probably go to Mexican Train Dominoes night at the clubhouse. Laundry and bathroom cleaning can wait until tomorrow.
Thanks, Everyone! 
I should earn major points for cooking, and bringing in firewood, and soaking the shower head in CLR, and stuff! (Actually, I do get points for all that.
When I pushed the Power button on the car this morning, the clock said 5:15. When I walked into the orifice, it was 08:30. Yep, three hours and fifteen minutes to get to irk. It was a very wet commute too.
The barest whisper of snow fell last night; just enough to make driving difficult for a few hours. We’re supposed to see 49 in the coming week, which is just weird. Could be a gray Christmas.
Went to Costco today with a list that had (I swear) four items on it: butter, nuts for cookies, garbage bags and Ricolas. $237 later, we trundled out of there with a cart full of stuff. My wife is unable to pass up prepackaged foods. It’s like a sickness. Despite my protestations of zero room in the fridge/freezer, we came home with all manner of crap. But no Ricolas, as all they had were the sugar-free version, and we all know what problems those things cause. And on the way out we picked up some Costco pizza, which I have to admit is pretty darn good.
We don’t have a Costco but I have been given a couple of big chicken pot pies from them and I thought they were as good or better than I make for myself.
Tobias napped for 2 hours. Now we’re waiting for time to meet the bus. I haven’t heard from FCD but he should be dropping SIL at MIL’s any time now.
I haven’t decided on supper yet. Leftovers?
‘What a sad word that is. Leftover. How would you like to be… a leftover? Well, it wouldn’t be bad if they were taking people out to be shot. I might even volunteer. But, y’know, leftovers make you feel good twice. D’ja ever think about that? When you first put them away, you feel really intelligent- “I’m saving food!” And then, after a month, when hair is growing out of them and you throw them away you feel… really intelligent- “I’m saving my life!”’ – George Carlin
I know some people who do some weird things. I’m afraid to tell them about this, because they might try it.
Metal Mouse, I really hope your water woes will not be as costly as before. I think that house owes you.
Pilot, Yay for more kids, just in time for Christmas.
Sounds so yummy. Hubby doesn’t like cabbage, so I have to eat it on my own. Maybe I’ll get one of those mini heads and do something. At least I can buy decent sauerkraut.
BooFae, Every time you mention the Good Chinese Place, I always wonder if you’re ever stuck going to the Bad Chinese Place. And then I want Chinese.
Taters, having a docking station, plus monitors, at home is very convenient. Just have to remember the laptop.
Nellie, as a native PNWer, I’m with you - rain and fog are good.
Flyboy, 3.25 hours on the road, work, and then do it again? You have the patience of a saint.
Ricola should have sugar, as it was in the beginning and ever shall be. Amen.
Hubby’s band was supposed to play a gig on Thursday, but one of the members has rampant Covid. He’s on day 4 of being sick - he says it’s twice as bad as the flu. No fun for him, but that means we have a long weekend with fewer responsibilities. We’ll figure out what to do on Thursday morning - don’t want to rush into these things.
For now, it’s bedtime.
I’m recalling an unpleasant interlude when we were consuming some sort of food that was sweetened with an artificial sweetener. I was happy we had two bathrooms.
Reminds me of this review:
Howdy Y’all! Laundry got laundered and put where it stays until it gets worn or used and is dirty all over again. It never ends! Sloth, nappage, and day drinkin’ were also accomplished. We et and early sup. The kitchen is cleanded up and now fartfest ensues. Should any company unexpectedly drop in, said company will soon rue that decision.
Taters hope you get over the cold soonest. Good thing you have cute puppehs to help nurse you back to health.
Did you name them Cyndi?
'Cause that’s what I named mine.
Nicely done.
As to me, I’m putting all sorts of stuff on my pizza tonight. Prosciutto, feta, capers, and pineapple. I bet it’ll be great! And to heck with all y’all that decry pineapple of pizza.
A howdy from a late-afternoon Ali-bama sunset. The heating guy didn’t get back out here until after 2pm, but it’s all good (the service charges and hourly rate was 85% of the bill). Then went to the Dodge dealer to replace my lost key fob (somewhere between Los Angeles and St. Louis on my trip), it’ll be ready by Thursday but a couple hundred more bucks spent. As for the water, best that I can determine is that I am leaking about 1-1.3 gallons an hour, hardly a monstrous leak but still about 1,000 gallons in a month and it won’t get better by itself. So I’ll call the leak detector people tomorrow and see if they can detect something that small (another $399) and then talk to the plumbers about my options. It is a good thing I had a good chunk of change in my checking that I was going to move to savings this month, the move may be postponed and is likely to be much diminished…
OTOH, a couple of other expected bills I budgeted for this month won’t be due until January/March, so I do have some extra cash handy for today’s expenses. Ain’t budgeting grand??
Really? How our was she?
Wheelie, hope the sofa bed arrived and was assembled as promised.
Cookie, I think all of us have gone to the store with a ‘list’ that turns out to be much longer than originally planned. Hope all the freezer stuff was able to fit.
Now need to feed and then change to pedaling clothes and head over to the gym to exercise some of that Mac-n-Cheese off. Take care all.