Marching along in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
61

Howdy!
The princess dog let me sleep in today and that was a treat. I perked some Peet’s Major D’s with a dash of cinnamon and the whole house smelled like heaven.

It’s bright and clear and dry, again. A good day to play in the dirt and take the dog for a swim.

Granny Gossip says people are pulling my leg because the dogwoods are blooming all over at her house and I should come see for myself and we’ll have coffee and a vape. That’s a kind offer, but I happen to remember that GG has a tree down on top of her (uninhabited) chicken coop and wants help. She went hacking at it with her 6" battery-operated chainsaw last week and got that jammed in a branch. I’m not interested in getting mortally wounded trying to wrestle a TREE, and declined the invitation. She ought to drive around like Hippie did and find some professional help.
I might cruise around and hunt for some dogwoods in bloom, though.

@Aspenglow , Hi! I’m looking forward to the Ollie picture!

It makes sense. I heard years ago to get vaccines in the dominant arm to “help work the soreness out.”

Why are you slackin’? You know what you’re supposed to do.

Are you aware of the “surprise money” rule? You must spend some of it on frivolous fun to honor the Good Luck Genie. If you disrespect the Good Luck Genie, she might never return!

Are y’all doing slot cars or trains or both on the table? I can’t wait to see!

We had a train garden when I was a child-- it belonged to the boys, alas, along with all the sparkly little Hot Wheels cars-- and that got me interested in miniatures, and that became a lifelong hobby.

That reminds me of how much hell I raised to get my very own green army men-- the boys had hundreds. I begged and begged. Finally one of my uncles gave me a huge bag: cowboys and Indians; with horses!; randomly colored red, yellow, and blue. Looking back I realize he put a lot of thought into the gift-- the boys decided my toy men were girly-looking and never stole any. And now it occurs to me that my uncle maybe planted that idea in their heads.
I’ll be damned. I need to call Uncle Len!

62

When I took the dressing off my toe before showering, I used a pair of tweezers to remove some of the dead skin. Bad move. I began bleeding (stoopit bloodthinners!) and it wouldn’t stop. I mopped up what I could, but was still leaving bloody footprints in my wake, so I went ahead and showered. Got out and still bleeding like a stuck pig (I’m going to have to replace the bathmat).

So there I am, butt naked, trying to stop the bleeding and keep Nelson out of the bathroom. I limped just outside the bathroom to pull out a clean, but stained tea towel and put it under my foot so’s I could lotion up, etc. It had slowed down by the time I was dressed, so’s I drug the towel under my foot out to my recliner where the stuff to dress it was. I called Sis to have her check in on my later and commiserate (she’s on blood thinners too. damn genetics). It eventually stopped and I dressed it and put my compression stockings on. Should there ever be a crime scene in my apartment, the luminol would show bloody footprints all over from this and another incident.

63

Afternoon, all. Today we’re staying in and doing staying-in things. We’re both trying to tick tasks off our lists. Not too compromised by yesterday’s COVID shot.

Shiso is jumping up and clawing today, so she’s getting behavioral interventions. It’s windy with a little drizzle on the breeze, but that means the pollen count is lower than yesterday’s by half.

Got the nurse’s anesthesiology call for surgery next month, and will see my surgeon for pre-op discussion soon.

That’s about all that’s happenig here. A slow day with the fireplace going.

64

My brother and I had gotten a Scalextric set for Christmas one year. We were on that thing for hours at a time.

red - I dropped my razor in the the shower a couple of weeks ago, and the blades slid laterally across my thigh. That was a lot of blood. Mrs Magill had to help me dress it, as I didn’t want to come out of the shower and get blood all over the rugs.

We found if you move your arm around for a couple of minutes after a jab, it wouldn’t get so sore. I’m sure we look a sight walking around the pharmacy making big arm circles.

65

This is the first time that I am learning that other forms of alcohol contributes to gout. My adopted brother Dave has ongoing issues with gout. He is positive that it is the result of drinking beer so he quit drinking it. He wears Teva sandals almost all of the time because of the discomfort

He is the brother I have discussed here who is a major wine snob. He and his wife got to wine country three or four times a year and he has TWO 250 bottle wine cellars and a smaller one in the garage for white wines.

I am positive that it would be impossible to convince him that any alcohol aggravates his gout.

66

We opted for the fun money, and I gave most to my sweetie because he uses cash more than I do.

And here’s the latest pics of the track. The layout is apt to change once we get the trains. Heck, it’ll probably change frequently. I suggested we get the grands over here fairly soon and make sure they understand it’s Grandpa’s stuff. He wanted to surprise Roxy with it on her birthday, but I fear she’d assume it was her gift. So maybe this weekend?

I think I’m done with chores today. OK, except for emptying the dishwasher. We’re going to forage for supper, especially since FCD just had a sammich around 3. I kinda want pizza, but I’m not happy with just one piece, and more than that totally messes with my daily calorie count. So I’ll probably just open a can of soup or something. Dammit.

67

The Senior Clerk is out a couple of days, so I’l be covering. Also, the company got rid of the PM clerks, because profit>service. So I was doing essentially 3 jobs at once this week. On the bright side, I got 8 hours in today, so ya Spot’s gin money! I got gas($3.89 now), and did a quick Aldi run for some chicken, because I was in a fowl mood.

Lawn care was doing that today, trying to blow away the pollen and last week’s stormdebris.

What, you don’t miss the thrill of bumper to bumper 5mph traffic from Davis Dr. to Garner? :stuck_out_tongue:

[Mom]Don’t pick at it[/Mom]. Glad it stopped bleeding.

68

Well, the handyman folks were here, took measurement and notes and pictures and will get back with me with a quote. The work probably won’t get done until May as I’ll be on vacation the greater part of April, but at least it will get on the schedule.

Still trying to square the circle and get all the soccer parents and coaches happy (theme from Mission: Impossible plays), and with my back aching I’ll probably skip the gym today. I’ll be so happy once the season starts…

Mollie, write away; we’re here. And I am so glad I do not have allergies…

FCM, I’ve got paperwork going back about 25 years, I know I don’t need all of that, but I guess I have a little archivist/hoarder in me. At least it all fits nicely in the drawers.

Taters, home-buying seems to be a matter of timing; I got my place by getting my offer in quickly, hope it works out for son.

rocky, hope the chair is just right.

GenJ, wise move on the tree situation.

Red, blood can be a real PITA sometimes. Hope it stays where it’s supposed to be.

And just got a note that an Assistant Coach can’t coach on the day his team practices because he’s coaching another team, so can I do anything about it? Guess I’ll have to try. Take care all.

69

My high school had an Army Junior ROTC battalion (every boy was required to take two years of ROTC if he didn’t take three of band). I marched in several homecoming and Memorial Day parades as part of the drill team. The local SCA canton usually has a group in the Independence Day parades here, as does the SubVets base, but I’ve never joined them for one of those.

34 Ferrets (2 Centipedes) at 1516; tonight’s predicted low 28. This week’s highs range from 41 (Sat) to 58 (Thu), with lows from 25 to 36. I am still assuming that spring will arrive eventually.

One of my doctors recommended I start PT to deal with my balance issues. Been there twice, and am doing exercises (supposedly daily) meant to help me remain upright. I tell you, the excitement around here just never stops.

Tomorrow is one of my monthly paydays, so I’ll have to get dressed (for the first time since Friday) to do some shopping and swap out a few books with the library. Friday will be PT again, and that’s about it for my week.

70

Teela, my dad and older brother had gout, but somehow I’ve escaped it (knock wood.) Both of them took some drug I can’t recall the name of to reduce the purines in the blood. Dad said clear booze was less likely to bring it on than beer. From what I just looked up (“gout alcohol”) that’s partly true. Doesn’t matter if it’s gin or whiskey, spirits are less likely to bring on a bout of gout than beer. That was from Healthline. A second lookup (“cause of gout”) took me to the Mayo Clinic site, which cast a pretty wide net when it talked of dietary stuff that might raise your uric acid content. Gout occurs even in people who do not use alcohol. Now, here’s the customary disclaimer. I’m not a doctor. Consult your own doctor instead of listening to some rando codger on the internet.

GenerationJones, as I get older and more wobbly from Parkinson’s, I get more use out of my late father’s toolkit, which is," Call somebody."

71

Wow – hadn’t realised you were an exotic dancer!

Good heavens. The coumadin clinic here keep my dosage nicely balanced so when I get cuts – or more often cat scratches – the bleeding always stops about as quickly as it did before I started on the blood thinners.


Back around '00 I had extreme pain in my toe, cause unknown. After three or four days I was on the boat discussing it with the doc when I suddenly remembered Benjamin Franklin in 1776: “I only wish King George felt like my big toe, all over.” Sure enough, that was it (me: “Gout is a rich man’s disease – I’m not qualified!”), and he sent me off to Squadron medical. The meds they gave me were quite effective – only took a couple of days to put an end to the pain. I’ve had three or four flareups since then, but another dose or two of the meds and the pain doesn’t last more than a day or two. Don’t know if anyone else in the family ever had problems with it.

72

Heh, I suspect I’m less delightful when I show up at the house expecting somewhere to sleep when there’s already someone using the spare room…

I’ve been in a few parades; one as a Brownie (UK equivalent of junior girl scouts I think), but I wasn’t exactly marching, I was pushing another, smaller Brownie in a wheelie bin, while dressed in an outfit made of a bin bag, some old crisp packets and some bug antennae, as a pun-based outfit which probably makes no sense to most of you.

I’ve also been in a few varyingly chaotic ones at various juggling events. Some were official, with roads closed off and notices in advance, but the best was probably one where a whole bunch of us in costumes, all doing varying circus acts, just paraded round a tiny little village where the entire audience was one excited small child, some bewildered grandparents and an apparently interested horse.

73

Oh, I’ve done a lot of things.

74

I’m the other way around. I need to sit after standing too long. Elsewise the back starts barking.

The exhibits team had a field trip today to a sewing class. It was somewhat useful. The instructor spent 45 minutes showing how to thread a sewing machine. I don’t think she read the room, we’re all professional makers of things, just don’t know how to sew. That part could have been 5 minutes. And she didn’t answer questions we had, like this is 30 weight thread and this is 50 weight thread…which is stronger?

75

Thanks for all of the kind wishes for Hubs. He’s been in contact with his doctor and they have changed his meds again. He’s still pretty gimpy though, I think he has drank his last beer. :face_holding_back_tears:

I’m also pretty sure that this is self-inflicted. He feels that if there isn’t meat, it isn’t a meal and his diet reflected that.

I left him home and went to the embroidery store. I was happily surprised, they have an amazing selection of specialty threads and rolls of blank canvas at pre-tariff prices.

Needlepoint canvas is priced by the inch so I only bought some brass tacks and left. I’m going back on Thursday with a shopping list and will talk to them about the canvas.

For those who aren’t keeping up, there is a nation wide shortage of needlepoint canvas. Finding this was exciting and I want to be sure that the store owner knows what she has and that there are people who want to buy it all if I list it with the American Needlepoint Guild. Shipping is a PITA so they might not want to deal with it but I will put it out there for them.

Ya gotta watch out for the quiet ones, they’ll surprise you every time :slight_smile:

That horse told all its horse buddies about it a dinner time for the rest of its life! I’ll bet that kid still remembers it, how fun :slight_smile:

Hubs says that bourbon is just fine, beer is out forever.

Do you also have stay-at-home closes vs being seen in public clothes? I call it a good week if I’ve only had to put my bra on once.

I do hope you start feeling better soon, I know your mind misses the gym almost as much as your body.

Yeah, I wouldn’t bother…but red wine is not as bad as beer if that helps any?

I don’t even want to think about what would be found here :frowning: Have you tried any of those bleed-stop powders? They really do work, but I’m also sure they also cause cancer or something even more dire.

Good choice, a chain-saw eatin’ tree is nothing to trifle with. I think she’s right about the dogwoods though, I was able to admire them on my drive today.

Spring in the desert is a desperate time, everything has to rush and breed before the water goes away. Its beautiful, but it goes by so fast.

Spring here is lush and full of promise, they are both beautiful but this is so different and better imho.

I was kinda wondering about side tables for round chairs when you shared the link. Please tell us what you decide, I really am interested.

You are traveling an unknown road, it would be very surprising if you weren’t all over the place with it. I’m fairly sure that Mrs Magill is in it for the long haul, if only because of the small things you’ve shared. Is there someone she can also talk to about this, something very stable in her life is changing in a very big way, I’m sure she has come conflicting feelings as well.

Well, I have to finish something before Thursday. I don’t allow myself to have more than five UnFinishedObjects at a time so I have to finish something before starting on the new, shiny things I will be bringing home and that would suck.

76

I’ve been in many parades over the years. Mostly Halloween parades, in costume, in a school band or for radio station promotions.

My first appearance in a Halloween parade was when I was three, during the Davy Crockett fad. My Mom, who was quite clever about such things, dressed me as Davy Crockett. She made me a coonskin cap, and had me carry my teddy bear. She attached a sign to me that said “I’m only 3.” If you remember “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” some of the words of the song are “He killed himself a bear when he was only three.”

The judges were so taken by my adorable cuteness that I won $10, a veritable fortune in 1955! I do not personally recall any of this, but my Mom saved a small newspaper article written about the parade mentioning me and my costume, and I still have that article.

77

Thread is like wire, the weight indicates how many twists in an inch of thread. So 50 weight will be more tightly wound than 30 would. That won’t give you the comparative strength unless you factor the material in.

Thread weight/gauge is important to consider for the job, thicker (10 weight) would be better for canvas, but 50 is what you would use to sew silk. If your thread is too thick, it will be lumpy and stand out against the fabric, if it is too thin, it can slide between the fabric threads and get lost.

I’ll bet that was about as clear as mud, I’m horrible at explaining technical stuff online.

But…honestly…asking which weight of thread is stronger is the sort of question that ends up with an answer like “42”. It sounds simple, but there are so many variables.

78

Howdy Y’all! Laundry and the stowage thereof happened. I then practiced sloth. Sup was leftovers so that was easy. Next week is Holy Week and there were some texts about that to deal with. We watched some more Downton Abbey as well. Thus is the news from swampland.

79

Evening all. Sent the revised soccer teams out to all the coaches, hopefully it will not result in 20 more e-mails wanting to do this or that (but it will, it will). Barely got away from the computer room all day, I hope things will settle down now. Another cool night getting to 52F, but warmer weather (highs in the 80’s) is due next week. Got the quote for the house repairs, pricey but the folks seem to know what to do so I accepted it.

Back is still achy but doing a bit better now, we’ll see if a good night’s rest helps.

Herald, working on your balance is important and I hope the PT helps. Enjoy payday.

Nut, that kid will never forget that day as long as he/she lives.

Wet one, nothing worse than a class that doesn’t teach what you need…been there, been bored to death by that.

JtC, hope you can drive some business the shop’s way. And yeah, I do miss the gym, but sitting at the computer for 6-7 hours trying to keep 7-8 balls in the air…isn’t the gym, it’s frustrating as hell. Hopefully it will be over by tomorrow.

And that’s about all (just checked, only 4 e-mails on soccer in the queue. Back to it.

80

I have a few items I think of as lightweight sweats but the manufacturer calls “sleep pants”. I just stay in those all day. If the house is a bit chilly I pull on a t-shirt. Should put my slippers on, too, to prevent damage to my toes when I run into things or when one of the cats decides to take a shortcut across my foot, but….