I don’t know what’s for dinner tonight. There’s a bit of turkey breast left. I may chop it up and cook it with some taco seasonings, shred some cheddar, and make flautas.
Once again I could have sworn I hit Reply this morning but apparently didn’t. Here’s what I was going to post, with one addition: YAAAAAAY, NINER! I’m all kinds of happy for you!
It’s a soupy day after yet another night’s rain. The little dog park is now attractive only to dogs who swim.
I got the kitchen floor all shiny. Later today I’ll do the hall and bathrooms. They go faster because they don’t get as much traffic. Awhile back, the maintenance guy complimented me on my floors and said he tried to get management to use floor shine stuff, but they declined, probably because most tenants won’t want to remove it and re-shine on a regular basis.
Happy Tater’s son’s birthday! I bet you remember every detail of the day he was born.
You can always tell when someone’s been a Simpsons fan. 
Moooom, that apple cake recipe sounds wonderful. I have an apple cake recipe I make once a year, but yours sounds much easier.
shady, I’ve had that same exact experience at the eye doctor’s office. I hope you can get the frames you want.
Oh, i get much more interesting after a cocktail, so interesting that people keep shoving hors d’oeuvres in my mouth and saying things like, “Excuse me while I go talk to that nice, quiet mop over there.”
A little long in the tooth, isn’t it? Or is it frozen?
Hi all. Just past sunset here.
Had a lazy morning then Her Ladyship emerged, shevelment & distractions followed, had free bagels downstairs courtesy of a local jeweler trying to drum up business. Then off to chase white elephant gifts for us two times two parties, so 4 useless gifts. Hit a Hobby Lobby adjacent to a Target and killed that quite effectively; two from each.
Plus got an ugly Christmas T-shirt for the Saturday upcoming “Ugly Christmas Sweater” party. Here in So FL finding sweaters is hard, so T-shirts fill the bill. Anyhow I got a great t-shirt which has 9 gingerbread people each representing the various Marvel Comic Universe super heroes. Very silly. With a suitable bright red long sleeve shirt under it’ll serve nicely.
Success there and after a brief break at home we headed off separately, Her Ladyship to Mah Jongg and me to Big Boy lunch. After lunch ended 3 hours later I went to a nearby cigar bar & had a fine stogie while my lunch partner returned to attend to his business. A fine time was had by all.
Now home checking in with y’all. In another 10-ish minutes we leave for an hour+ of group dancing nearby. Then perhaps some dinner, snacks, or not as the mood strikes. Then ??? Hope springs eternal.
Twas a cool day here, 57/14 at sunrise and topping out around 72/22 midafternoon. Cooling off again now. For the first time of the season when I awoke the thermostat said our interior temp was cooler than the air conditioning was set for. Might be time to consider enabling the heat overnight.
Will comment on all 30+ posts overnight and today once we return.
Evening all. The leak has been detected and the plumbers contacted, they can’t make it until the 13th so will be on water rationing for about a week. Papers have been sorted and put into the proper folders. Also got my new (2nd) key fob for the car, now need to get another house key to attach to it. Probably go over to Wal-Mart, their key duplicator worked fine last time I needed a key made, and I also drop off my collection of plastic bags while I’m at it. Then off to the gym to pedal off the Cheeseburger with all the fixin’s I’ve just finished consuming. So that should take care of the bulk of the evening.
Pilot, never got far enough into the spirit of Xmas to buy a Sweater or T-shirt, ugly or not, but a contest like that could inspire me to look for one.
Flyboy, hope the heat is on for your water.
FCM, enjoy the Texas Roadhouse, it is one of my favorites and if they ever add meatloaf to the menu I may forsake all the other places I go to on Sundays.
JtC, I agree, that food bank is doing a good thing in your neck of the woods.
OK, need to head out and do things, then come home and not do things. Catch all y’all on Firday.
Not quite frozen, although things have been known to freeze in the meat drawer. I had a turkey & provolone sandwich for breakfast, and it was fine.
Lots of my MIL’s recipes are, well, different. Like her “salads” that are cottage cheese, jello, cool whip, and canned fruit. Yeah, that’s a salad. And so many of the recipes call for cream-of-whatever soups. I tend to modify them to suit myself.
FWIW - this is the apple cake recipe I use. I cut the apple into smaller pieces - it’s easier to serve and eat that way. And after I grease the baking dish, I shake cinnamon sugar over it, because yum! And next time I make this, I may add a little nutmeg.
Supper was good, but TX SIL is one of those people who just can’t resist finishing your sentences, regardless. Drives me bat-crap crazy!!! After we dropped them off, I ran into Food Lion and got some cans of dog food, so Higgs will be happy.
Time to chill.
Howdy Y’all! Stuff got done, meetin’ got, ummm… met?, and we bellied up to the hog trough GC buffet. This was followed by nappage and day drinkin’. All in all not a bad day.
Niner conga rats!!! So happy for you! 
Taters there will always be folk who live to mess up a good thing for others.
BooFae of course you had to ride the merry-go-round! Who wouldn’t have had to do so. I’d have been all “YEEHAW!! Ride 'em cowboy!!” myself.
I napped. I had a Mai Tai, and Smoked Paprika chicken with cheesy potato slices. Getting ready for heaving.
Join the club. 
Moooooom, this is how to get into your Hyundai when the key fob battery is dead. No hacks needed.
I hope that your knee starts to feel better soon nellie.
A happy birthday to your son taters!
Congrats on the new gig niner!
Iked, but felt like crap most of the day. TMI, but there’s something going on with my belly. I was cramping like I haven’t since menopause. I just want it to go away. If it doesn’t in a few days, I’ll call the doctor.
Meanwhile, I have a nice warm doggy in my lap. 
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
The flautas… or chimichangas… or crispitos… were good. I had two. I’m stuffed.
no I did not get satisfaction from the eyeglass place …come to find out the nice glasses place I used to have VSP was switched to state of California medi-cal which I am not happy about and will be calling them to see about alternatives as one of the reasons I went to health net is because I could get non-medi-cal glasses
And even if I didn’t care about the actual glasses they wouldn’t have their approved frames for weeks…So I might be trying to buy my glasses my self …maybe one of the online places if I cant get a better vision plan
Hi all.
Dancing was fun, despite my blundering incompetence. This was their group lesson / party stuff so best of all it was free. Met several new (to me) people. All of whom have been doing this longer than I.
Stopped off nearby afterwards for appetizers as late dinner (clam chowder for Her and Spanish style garlic shrimp for me) and now home. Bed in a awhile, but meantime …
As to y’all …
Flight aware is totally cool magic stuff. But …
Flightaware knows where the airplane is, and therefore whether it’s in the air or on the ground, but doesn’t know the airline’s expectations for flying time, nor fr taxiing time at the destination. Yes, they’re able to confirm it’s in the air, but the airline’s website can do that too. Though you may learn to read between their lines to tell the difference between “It’s left the gate and we hope it takes off in 15 minutes to arrive at XX:XX” vs. “It not only left the gate, but took off 22 minutes ago and will arrive at YY:XX”. XX:XX is unreliable pious hope. YY:YY is reliable almost-fact.
Besides that, hooray for at least some XMas cards today and cookies tomorrow! Yaay!
Yeah. The boringest day in Nellie’s life is still a fascinating glimpse of exoctica. Besides, she’s hot.
Traveling halfway across the country by train for bagels … now that’s my kind of adventure. Been a long time since I’ve been there so no advice, but best of luck & please report back on your bageltastic successes.
Hmmm. I’m on Medicare and received exactly zero soliciting calls. and zero soliciting emails. I wonder who forgot me. I feel so neglected. Waah!! Not really. 
If money is tight the eyeglassses dispensary attached to the optometrist is likely a bit of a ripoff you don’t need. Try Zenni Optical. Dirt cheap and many people swear by their results.
Fried chikin or grilled beef? Darn hard choice.
I know you know this, but turds will take a mile even if not given so much as an inch. Reiterate the rules, and feed the problem children to HR. You won’t fix most of them with exhortations to do the right thing. You know who’s a deliberate excessive advantage-taker & who’s an honest mistake maker.
Sounds tres yummy. If you can’t get a small one I’m sure a Mumper can come visit to use up the excess. Keep us in mind as you shop.
Yaay for that!! Shame about him & depression, but ya’ done good. Hooray for you!
There is always a way to unlock & start the car with a dead fob. You just need to know how. Which is a detail well-hidden in the owner’s manual. WHich is inside the car or at home while you’re standing outside in some random parking lot as it snows. Might want to look that info up before it’s needed.
You’re doing that a lot. Which hurts. How can we help?
Good luck on car repairs & the rest of the SIL/MIL weekend. Happy Tobias-ing.
That is the only truly important thing in this week's thread!!!11!1!!
Congrats on your major promotion, major raise, and move back to civilization!!! We’re talking the trifecta of wonderfulness here, and not a smidgen less than you deserve.
Time to sing the special song:
Happy new job to you!
Happy new job to you!!
Happy new job dear Niner!!!
Happy new job to yooooo-ooo-ooou!!!
And many happy returns (to civilization) 
Continuing after a premature [Submit] …
I bet you wear that hat about 99% of the time. You’re obviously a supervisory dream.
Do share recipes, won’t you?
Don’t tell dear wife about this site Holidays worldwide (scroll down) or you’ll be celebrating something every day of the year. Or maybe do tell her; your call.
Sounds fun. I’m sure stoner-babe and stoner-kitty make a hell of a team.
The internet will happily give you a nice PDF of the owner’s manual once you know the make & model number. I’ve taken to downloading all those manuals when I get any new gizmo. PDFs on my PC are much more useful than paper in a file someplace I can’t find.
A stoned kitteh? Nope, I got nuthin’. A sleeping toddler in your lap is as good as it gets; pure heaven. Hope to get a chance for that myself on Sunday, but maybe not.
Sounds like me and dancing. You mean it gets more complicated??!?!. Where do I get off this racehorse?
Some folks might say that, but I’d much rather hear the fired-up version of nellie. Who knows what amazing fiesties might be had? But more hors d’oeurves are always good anyhow, with or without fiesties.
I’ve seen those ads on Instagram. I’d really like them too but then I think how often I would use them and up comes the accountant mantra “Cost vs Benefit” so I haven’t purchased them. But if someone gave them to me as a gift, I’d be delighted.
flyguy omgosh, I hope you weren’t burned.
oops, too late.
Thanks, I’ve been thinking that our water heater is getting pretty old and I don’t want a flooded basement like the last time. I’m going to get one.
Unfortunately the commercials are still playing on TV. Ugh.
they still come to the house but for someone else who has my first name and Hubs last name (I kept my birth name when we married). Whenever something is received with this name, it means they don’t know me and it automatically goes in the trash. Well, 99% they don’t know me. There are still a few relatives who didn’t believe me 44 years ago when the following happened at our reception:
Best Man is extremely intelligent and gave the most amazing toast at the end of which he said something to the effect of, Now, let us toast Hubs first name, Hubs last name and my first name and my birth last name. Well MIL popped up at the end of the head table and said and I quote “I beg your pardon, that’s Mr. and Mrs. Hubs first name, Hubs last name”. Well, I couldn’t let that go so I stood up and said "I beg your pardon, my name is first name, last birth name. Well, I didn’t find out until perhaps after we returned from honeymoon that MIL ran into the bathroom crying and FIL ran in the women’s bathroom after her. About a month later I wanted to get a perm; I had never had one and asked MIL to make an appointment for me. When I was there, the hairdresser told me that she asked MIL what my name is and apparently MIL said “I guess it’s my first name, my last birth name” but wasn’t too happy sharing it. HA!
YAY!!! 
SNORT. 
copied; I’m betting Hubs will love it. Thanks.
red I hope your stomach feels better asap
Was lazing in bed this morning (shortly after 8am) with the mini Ipad when received a text from Mgr. He’s on vacation and he received an email from Asst Director stating the November Pcard paperwork for him and the Superintendant MUST be turned in by end of the day. Unfortunately he didn’t do it before he left for vacation. He’s in Frankenmuth, MI with wife enjoying what it has to offer so I jumped out of bed, quickly showered, forewent breakfast and hotfooted it to work. Finished both guys Pcard paperwork and emailed it off although I did have to call/text them both because some of their receipts were missing and at least one receipt didn’t indicate what it was for. Also printed out the daily report for last two days and emailed to Treasury Dept. Not bad for less than an hour.
Zoom with one of the transplant nurses. She spent an hour with Hubs, daughter and myself giving info and answering questions. We love listening to her as she’s from the south and has a pronounced drawl. She said the hospital food is not good so daughter & I can bring Hubs food from home; she said she would make fried chicken and biscuits for Hubs while he’s in the hospital.
Had Knockwurst with Tony Packo’s Hot Dog Sauce and brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar for dinner. Hubs had a hankering for Tony Packo’s in Toledo so we went on Tuesday (about a 70-75 minute drive) since he won’t be able to go to a restaurant for about 5 months. He had roast beef sandwich with mashed taters, I had chicken paprikash with side of coleslaw. Bought a can of the hot dog sauce so we could have at home.
That’s what spices are for!!!
I get so much smarter after a Margarita that I need to remember to bring some paper to write my genius thoughts down for tomorrow. Sadly I’ve not been smart enough to remember to properly equip myself yet.
When did ugly Christmas sweaters become a thing? I’ve only noticed it in the last decade and think that it is kinda rude. Maybe that’s because I was proudly wearing a sweater MIL gave me that was NOT at all ugly to a Christmas party and won the ugly sweater contest.
I’ve never lived at ground level, so have wondered about heat in high rises in the past. Heat rises, so it would seem that no matter how good the insulation, someone who lives at least 5 floors up would never have to worry about heating their place. I’m sure I’m wrong somewhere, I often am.
To be clear, St. Mary’s food bank isn’t doing this although they highly benefit from it.
This all got started by a secular group of people who wanted to help the food banks supply low income folks healthy food instead of nothing but processed, packaged food. Once they learned how much food they were being given, they moved on to handing the surplus out to the general public.
I always like to give credit where it is due, it’s the right thing to do.
I think you should call tomorrow. This is not normal and sounds like something that needs faster attention than “in a few days”.
Seriously! I only started taking the classes to support TC friend, where does she get off expecting so much out of me!!!
I honestly do recommend taking Tai Chi up as well. The slow stretching movements really do teach balance and control which is important in dancing and really any sort of hobby that takes moving your body in a controlled fashion.
Oh gosh, I had no idea of the restrictions the poor man will have to live under. Many more prayers are on the way!
Well, that was an interesting evening.
Headed over to Wal-Mart, dropped off my collection of plastic bags to recycle, then got some key rings to go with the new key fob (so I can have the house key attached to it), which was no problem. Then went to get some new keys made…
First there was a lady making several sets of 9 each keys, probably for some business. OK, no problem, needed to visit the restroom anyway, so finally got to it…and the machine wanted exact change ($4.00) and I didn’t have enough ones. So no problem, went into the store and picked up a small bag of Smartfood Popcorn (White Cheddar, yum) for about $2.68 which would give me the couple extra ones I needed and something to snack on tonight. Except the &*())^%() machine didn’t give me back the cash! Got my coins just fine, but I guess it had run out of ones or something, because the lady who minded the self-checkouts tried to reset it twice and no luck, so I was shifted over to Customer Service, who needed a manager to approve it (of course none were immediately available) so all in all I spent 10-12 minutes waiting for someone to approve and obtain $2.00 in change. Ain’t technology wonderful?? Finally made it to the key machine, decided to ask for two keys and guess what, they had a special, buy 2 get one free, so now I have three new door keys (I’ll try them out tomorrow to see if they work).
Then made it to the gym and got my first 25 minutes of pedaling in, but as I dismounted to catch a couple minutes rest, I got ambushed by Old Gabby.
Old Gabby is a retired guy (69 he says) who is in great physical shape, not surprising since he seems to be at the gym most any hour of the day. I give him that name because he likes to talk…Oh dear Lord, does he like to talk! You can get a word in edgewise now and then, but mostly its him talking a blue streak for 10 minutes straight. Now mind you, he’s not a bad guy and if half of what he says is true he’s lived an interesting life, but hearing all about it while I’m sweating and wanting to read my book for a few minutes before climbing back on the cycle can be…annoying. Did manage to make my escape without being rude (I think), but I’m sure many other gym patrons are happy I kept him occupied and away from them…
Anyway, finally did get the required calories burned, shower was taken and my Amazon Xmas gifts were waiting in the mailbox, so all in all it worked out pretty well. The popcorn was quite good…
JtC, thanks for the information on the food distribution. Amazing what people can do when they ask the right questions and are willing to volunteer/organize.
Cat Glove, sounds like a couple of the bosses owe you a favor sometime in the future… Glad Hubs is getting all the straight dope on the operation before it occurs. Thanks for the wedding story. And…
Had a MASH flashback with Cpl Klinger and Tony Packo’s; had no clue that they were still around. Hope the food is as good as it looks on their on-line menu.
Pilot, I browse over at planefinder.net, not subscribed for now but it does seem to give you good information (if you can find your flight in the maze of thousands of aircraft worldwide)
shady, hope they get the eyeglass situation sorted out for you.
OK, it’s 10:15pm and this has been a fairly interesting day, so I will shortly retire to my bed and it’s large, warm comforter and return on Firday. Take care all.
Morning, mumpers! It’s a toasty 7c/44f with a predicted high of 9c/47f, with rain showers. Weather app declares “Today is fucking moist. Yes, I just fucking used the word “moist”.” I would agree with that, it’s been raining at some point and the ground’s very wet, but it’s not raining at the moment.
Pilot thank you for the kind words, I try to do my best for my minions
shady I hope you get your specs sorted out with a minimum of fuss
metal mouse that was a bit of a drama for some keys, wasn’t it? Let’s hope they all fit, there’s nothing worse than having keys cut and then finding they don’t work 
flyboy creative use of leftovers, I like the sound of that!
Today the Travel Gods were kind of smiling on me. I got to the bus stop just as the bus was arriving, got to the station in time for the Nice Mainline Train and it got replatformed so that the door to the carriage I wanted (Coach A, quiet coach, back of the train) was right by the bottom of the stairs! Then they had a little frown, and the train sat at the station for 15 minutes before it left. Train Manager announced the delay was a police incident, they’d had to get the police on to the train to sort it out. Trundled along into the Big City Station while I drank my tea and read my book, and the Travel Gods smiled again because the 8am train to campus was actually running for the first time in ages.
Let’s hope they’re feeling charitable tonight for the journey home!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 40 Amurrkin out and mostly cloudy with a predicted high of 63 and mostly cloudy for the day. A blah day to stay in da cave IMO. Really, no plans for the day other than sloth, general overall uselessness, nappage, and day drinkin’. OK, I will make sup, which shall be beastloaf, peas, butterbeans 'n okra, mac & cheese, and rolls. That will require actual effort.
Cat_Glove sounds like y’all got a good person in that nurse. Plus she offered fried chikin and biscuits! Also, you earned major points at irk. Do not let them forget that.
MetalMouse sheesh! Glad you got your keys made finally.
JtC what those folks do with the food distribution is just fantastic. They are definitely good folk!
shades hope the glasses situation is fixed soonest.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day!
Happy Firday Y’all!
Many decades ago before dementia and such struck and my in-laws lived in Jacksonville, when they’d have out-of-town visitors, they’d drive over 100 miles one way to a place where you would cook your own pancakes at your table. That was a grand adventure to them. Because who wouldn’t want to drive over an hour anna half in order to make your own breakfast…? Maybe dementia set it that early after all.
You know what else is hidden (I assume) in his owner’s manual? How to access the spare and how to change a tire. I tried every wording I could think of and still didn’t find it in his manual. Seriously? Shouldn’t something like that be in a quick-reference guide? (Or there’s a YouTube video - duh!) And apparently there is a key option to opening his Santa Cruz, tho he doesn’t know what it is and we haven’t consulted the manual yet. Then again, we’ll be at the dealer today - he could ask then, I suppose.
I woke again at some point last night - FCD was out watching TV - but I didn’t try to read myself out of it, and I eventually fell back to sleep till just after 6 - a WIN!!! I feel rather human this morning.
After we drop off my car, we need to go to MIL’s bank to get some cash, then to our credit union to open an account to pay BIL’s rent. (Don’t ask - it’s too complicated to explain.) At some point, we’ll retrieve my car, and I hope it’s not too late in the day. Then we’ll meet Daughter and her crew at Annmarie Gardens and see what’s to be seen before it gets too crowded. The weather’s supposed to be relatively mild today, which is a bonus.
Not sure what else we’ll be doing today to fill in but we’ll figure it out I’m sure!
Happy Firday!!