Nelson is chilling at home. 
Up from naptime. Spot was acting like Crack Cat earlier, but he settled down and even napped with me briefly. I’m up now, and having chicken tacos with Hatch chilies for dinner. And a Manhattan.
< handloads cinnamon/nutmeg/birdshot blend >
[Monty Python]It’s only a model[/Monty Python]
CVS is offering it by prescription only in 15 states(including N.C.) 
Reminds me of the time Alex Catt started scratching the ottoman, I yelled at her, she stopped, looked me in the eye, and sloooowwwwllly dragged one paw down the ottoman.
ROAD TRIP!!!
Who’s the handsome pup!
Gosh, I’m so far behind and I know I won’t get caught up tonight. I did read all, though.
I was on TV today! Well, the vid was taken yesterday but I only saw it today.
I wasn’t doing anything interesting, cameras tend to focus on my bright red and white uniform. I was focused on the large group of miners who looked like they wanted to kill something with sledge hammers. They were on “our” side, but ain’t nobody gonna win a gun fight with sledge hammers and I wasn’t the only gimp in the crowd.
Remind him to dust the ceiling fans. You’ve had the windows open a lot, they are probably getting dusty.
Or at least that’s what’s happening here. We’ve been leaving the windows open as much as possible and the dust just keeps on keeping on.
You have a great night out. I hope you can sleep alone, I really have a hard time sleeping without at least a cat on the bed.
That sucks. You have my sincere sympathy, dental problems are so much pain in the mouth and wallet.
Hey, wait! You can’t just drop that here and not at least give us a hint or two. Is water involved this time?
Its so good that Miss Peach is learning your ways while you learn hers
I’ll bet cats will be involved too! Enjoy
“Hello, Xfinity, I’d like to cancel my account.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Why do you want to cancel?”
“Well here’s the thing … all I want from you people is internet. That’s it. Just internet. But apparently you don’t offer that. If I want internet I have to also accept 30 cable channels, DVR service and 5gigabytes of cloud storage. And here’s the thing … I don’t want 30 cable channels, I don’t want DVR service and I certainly don’t want 5 gigabytes of cloud storage. AND my bill just went up by twenty dollars! So … I just want to cancel my account altogether.”
“But sir, if you cancel now you’ll miss out on all the exciting events coming up on Xfinity in the coming months.”
“I don’t care.”
“If you stay with us, we’ll knock ten dollars off your bill and give you five more gigs of cloud storage.”
“Nope.”
“But sir.”
“Good sir, I said, no. Cancel my account, post haste.”
“Okay … I’ll have to get my manager.”
That’s the conversation I rehearsed the whole way over to the Xfinity store as I lugged their equipment back to them. Here’s how it actually went.
“Hello, sir, how can I help you?”
“I’d like to cancel my account.”
“Alright, if you’ll step right this way,” clickey-clickety-clickety-click, “Okay, you’re all set. Here’s a receipt for the equipment. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Uh, I guess not. Thanks.”
Friggin’ anti-climactic.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s 55 degrees Ferret Height out(12.78 Centipedes)
I always hate when I waste a perfectly good rehearsed argument.
Omg! Sooooo perfect!
Swampy, sounds like an interesting trip. Yes, I hope that OYKW can keep a strict decorum while you’re gone.
JtC, suddenly the song “You ought to be in pictures…” is going through my head.
I’ve been up since 3 something. I had to make a trip to the bathroom and couldn’t go back to sleep. The extra challenge is that I was sleeping upstairs and I was laying in bed trying not to wake MusicMan as I squirmed around trying to go back to sleep. He was very tired yesterday when he got home. He even went to bed early. I think the stuff with his boss and worrying about it all wore him out. I hope he has a better day today.
In about an hour I’m going to start chasing paperwork again. I hope I get caught up some day.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatinx’. YAWN ‘Tis 63 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 85 and sunny. OYKW will procure provisions this mornin’ whilst I accomplish mowage. I want mowage done before I leave so will get it over with today. The rest of the day will be spent in RDOS inactivities. Sup will be grilled chikin boobs, sallit and cheesey garlic bread cause it’s easy and good.
red Nelson does indeed look all chilled. Glad he is adjustin’ to his new home.
JtC now that you’re famous, I hope you don’t forget about us.
J_Bats it’s no funwhen they don’t put up a fight.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Hump Day Y’all!
Temps in the 70s continue, but we might creep far too close to 90 on F and S before returning to the 70s. I may be forced to close windows and turn on the a/c!! The horror!!!
Looks like we’re driving to Annapolis today to look at a dog. rah. I foresee a problem because Ziva didn’t get her rabies shot last October. Since she never leaves the house, I didn’t think it was necessary. Heck, even if it was airborne, she never goes near the open windows - the chances of her contracting it are soooooo close to zero that it wasn’t worth the hassle to catch her and crate her for a trip to the vet. Plus at the time, we were dealing with MIL declining, Higgs declining, and Taz, so who knows…
I need a few things from Food Lion, but nothing that can’t wait till tomorrow. I do want to get a couple of Powerball tickets, just because. Around here, few places sell them person to person. Mostly we have lottery vending machines where you can get scratchers and the rest. A gambler’s delight! Seems every time I tried to use one, I got stuck behind someone who was “shopping”, then I always had to remember how to use the damned thing. We’ll see how it goes today.
And tomorrow we’re supposed to get flu and Covid pokes. CVS here claims to have the latest and greatest. In fact, last time I tried to schedule, they said Nope, we don’t have the new Covid juice yet. So I guess we’ll see.
That’s all pretty RDOS I guess.
Happy Wednesday!
Morning all. Up early as my bladder ‘encouraged’ me to get up three times last night so it looks like it’ll be a busy day at the bathrooms. Have already paid my credit card and property tax this morning, it’s so easy to deplete my bank account these days, but at least it is done. Breakfast is actually rather healthy, some carrots, an apple, and a couple cups of applesauce; since I have a 9:40am appointment with the ENT and they’ve indicated they’ll be giving me a series of tests lunch may be later than normal. Then soccer practice if the weather holds (40% chance of afternoon showers) or gym if it doesn’t.
swampy, happy conferencing!
red, good news on Nelson, but how are you adjusting?
J-Bats, just a good argument spoiled. So tough when people are polite… 
JtC, so you’re having your 5 seconds of fame (it used to be 5 minutes but with all the downsizing…).
The perfect definition of an optomist…
FCM, I can usually get my tickets from a human being, but have noticed those machines before. Never tempted to try one.
And my fast is broken and internettin’ will commence for about an hour or so before I need to clean up and go get my ears examined. Have a good Hump Day all.
Afternoon, mumpers! It’s currently 18c/64f with a predicted high of 19c/66f and mostly cloudy. Weather app says” It’s fucking cloudy and you’ll fucking like it.” It is, and I do, although not so much when there’s water falling out of the clouds.
Sticky Buns I’m sorry to hear about MusicMan’s boss, but that should not lessen his feelings about his own health issues.
Taters I hope you get some clarity on payments soon, that would worry me too.
I like a good shepherd’s pie, although what you made was cottage pie
I think he realises that I don’t want a dog in the first place, and currently he’s quite happy with cats. We’ll see if that changes once he retires properly.
I hope that means Nelson will have new doggie friends, and you might have new human ones!
Leaving OYKW to his own devices? That could be dangerous!
How disappointing that they didn’t even put up a fight! I’d be very annoyed about that, your rehearsal went so well too.
Moooom good luck with the dog visit, I think?
Nothing exciting going on in my world at the moment. Yesterday I logged out of work and went to make campus food. Finished that, tended to the needs of mogs, had some dinner and spent a couple of hours slothing on the sofa.
Muffin was not very well yesterday, she was bringing up foamy stuff and was off her food, also visited the litter tray several times with very little production apart from evidence of a squitty bum. All the cats have had some squittiness in the last couple of days so they must be passing something between them. Anyway, I did not sleep well as I was listening out for anything from her room but all was quiet. When I went in today, she’d managed a fairly big wee, a small poo, and was ready to tackle some food. She bit me, and grumbled at me, so that’s a good sign - she allowed a fair bit of fuss yesterday which is out of character!
I did spent a while last night wondering how I was going to get her to a vet, should that be necessary, but she seemed much brighter this morning so that may well not be necessary. I’ll see what’s happened with her when I get home again.
‘Tis morning, I am caffeinating, and it’s my busy day. Thankfully, I heard word from the biggest supplier I buy things from that the tariffs I had to deal with over the last few months are officially rescinded because 90% of the stuff I buy from them is now considered CUSMA-compliant, and there’s only like a couple dozen items still tariffed, so that all makes my job a LOT easier and probably shaves a good hour off the time it takes me to figure out what I need to buy from them and then create the POs. Plus all the stuff we had them put on hold due to the tariffs can now be released and we will finally be able to start fulfilling months-long back-orders for our clients.
We’ve done the visitation thing to relatives over Thanksgiving before, but these days that’s just not particularly viable, unfortunately, so it’ll be thanksgiving at home again. I’m okay with that. I’m a bit of a homebody anyway.
Oh, come now, it can’t be that hard. Cut the tops off and hollow out (or additionally slice lengthwise to make boats if you do it that way, but I’ve always had them stuffed whole and upright), pre-bake while making the filling (rice, ground beef, sauce, spices, whatever else I wanna put in it like sauteed onions and whatever), then stuff, top with mozzarella, bake, and done. Lotta work, but it’s perfectly doable, right?
Congrats! Any chance there’s a link to the vid?
Yeah, I know, it’s gotta be lamb if it’s to be real Shepherd’s Pie, but I grew up with the ground beef concoction referred to as Shepherd’s Pie – by my British grandparents, no less, who should have known better than anyone – so that’s just what I’ve always called it. Ground lamb is hard to come by here, so maybe that’s why. If you want ground lamb around here, you typically have to have your own meat grinder and buy the lamb chops to grind yourself.
Glad to hear the moggy seems to be feeling better today! It’s always worrying when they get sick, especially if getting them to a vet is difficult for any given reason.
Okay, back to the grind. I got company money to spend.
It didn’t happen. FCD said he was thinking last night and he realized it’s not time. With all the work on the boat, either both of us are gone at hours at a time, or he’s gone and I’d be the one home to deal with the dog, which is exactly what I don’t want. So we talked about it and agreed to revisit sometime in the future.
I’ve been to Food Lion (forgot the peanut butter that’s on sale, dammit, but scored Wickles that were 1/3 off!!) and I got a nice crape myrtle from the nursery that shares the parking lot with Food Lion. As soon as I post this, I’ll do some planting. Then I’ll probably go to the basement and see what boat stuff we have down there. With luck, I can get it sorted and organized.
So, off I go to get dirty.
I’m getting there. Just sorting the last of the studio stuff and waiting for Sis to bring Granddad’s bookcase over to fill, take the old desk out and get rid of the boxes.
Bullet dodged for the time being.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP.
CVS still doesn’t have my prescription for the antibiotics filled. Grrrrrr! After KP, I’m going to pack up laundry and head to Sis’ for a bit.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Mornin’ all - a bit after 10am as I start driveling. I’m out at breakfast while the housecleaners were cleaning; they’re now long done and I’m still lingering.
Today is high thin overcast, so not bright. NWS says 86/30 on the way to 93/34. Not much breeze and a trifle humid. Just about ideal weather to sit outside under a shade umbrella. A titch more breeze would be welcome.
Glad to hear that Nelson is getting established in his new world.
Had some serendipity last night. Decided to drive about 10 miles to a different beachy tourist / nightlife zone to try “tapas tuesday” at a place I’d never been. Intended to park the car in a public parking structure about 3 small blocks’ walk away. The alternative, on-street parking, is real hit or miss in that area.
As I’m driving the sky where I’m going is getting darker and darker. Get parked indoors and it’s still dry. Glance at the radar as I’m starting my walk and the rain is not far away. I get one block and it begins to sprinkle. I’m debating continuing or ducking into some other closer eatery. Just then the sky opens up and I duck under the awning of the Italian joint I’m randomly standing in front of. Still got good and wet in just a few seconds despite wearing a windbreaker w hood.
Anyhow, Rose’s Daughter – American Trattoria was great. And turns out their HH is 20% off your total check, not just a couple of chosen loss leaders and well booze. Yaay!
By the time I finished eating 2 hours later of course the sky was clear, the sun was down, and only puddles remained. So I walked down to the tapas place. Turns out it’s a franchise. And a crappy one to boot. With little to no shelter along the way. Had I pressed on I’d have been soaked, stuck indoors in an over-airconditioned meat locker, or face a drenching walk at least partway back to more commodious surroundings. Uggh. It wasn’t the adventure I’d planned, but it was a good adventure.
And now I have another great place to go in that general neighborhood. There’s still a bunch I haven’t sampled, but the ones I have, have all been good.
I did not get my carwash nor Powerball ticket(s) yesterday. So today it is. And I’m looking at 3 loads of laundry when I get home (sheets, bath towels, and beach towels). Plus mini-groc. My days are soo-oo-oo drudgerous. Woe is me.
Meantime GF is having great fun in the Adriatic.
Cheers all; happy Wednesday!
Mornin’ all.
It’s 62°F and partly cloudy. After the clouds clear, the forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a daytime high of 86°F.
Red, Nelson looks very handsome in that picture.
FCM, I’m glad FCD had second thoughts about getting a dog.
J-Bats, I have Xfinity and it’s only internet; no phone, no TV. I cut the cable cord a few years ago.
Today is Zoe’s seventh birthday. It’s so hard to believe. Every year, my daughter has a video of moments in time for the year. She’s done this for both Zoe and Adam every year, and it’s the neatest thing ever. I watched this year’s video a few minutes ago, and loved it as much as all of the previous year’s videos.
Yesterday I weeded and spread mulch in the beds next to the driveway. Although I managed to cover each tier, at the very top of the driveway, there’s a bed that runs along the fence, and I didn’t have enough mulch for that bed. I’ll probably take care of that this weekend.
I watered posies, deadheaded, and weeded other areas, too.
Other than some adulting, such as reaching out to HR and local timekeepers concerning my disappearing uncompensated comp time hours, I didn’t really do much.
I had 22 hours of comp time on the books on the last day of work. Typically, one would use them before the one-year anniversary of accruing those hours, or they must be paid. However, since I was unable to use them before I departed, I must be compensated upon the one-year date. What’s actually happened is that those hours have dropped off my ELS, and I’m now down to one hour. Someone messed up. Yeah, it’s only 22 hours, but I earned them and since I basically had two weeks from acceptance of my DRP to the end of my work time, I couldn’t use them because I had so much to do to prep those left behind. Given my salary, it’s not a tiny bit of money.
I’ll be happy when all this retirement crap settles down. I don’t like living with the unknown when it comes to finances.
Well, I should get the day started. I slept in a little, and once again, I regret it. I never learn.
Take care of yourselves.
My new crape myrtle. I’d have preferred the purple or white, but they were smaller than this one, and bigger is better, right? It’s getting a drink, and a bit later, I’ll trim the small random branches around the base. I want it to be tree-like rather than shrub-like. It was less than $30, so I may go back and get another, to I’m not sure where I’d plant it. Must consider…
I’m surprised I worked up a sweat planting it - it’s only 70° here according to my outdoor thermometer. I was also surprised how hot the elbow-length gloves are. Then again, they’re a fairly heavy fabric to protect against thorns and such. Still, I may make a vent insert.
FCD has gone to the boat. He built a plywood mock-up of a panel for the shower control and he wants to fit-test it before making it out of the good wood. I just finished lunch so I’ll be heading downstairs to sort and organize. Good times ahead!
Onward!!
Late morning here and I’m back from the Ear Doctor. Shorter than I expected, they did the old 'put in silent room with headphones and send beeps at you) routine and pronounced that my hearing had had no appreciable change. I half-expected them to try and ‘up-sell’ me on newer hearing aids, but just like J-Bats there was no argument to be had, just cleaned them up some and “see you in six months”. So came home and ate lunch a bit earlier than expected, and now am looking at extra gym time as the chance for rain has increased to 60% this afternoon (it’s sunny and blue skies right now) so soccer could get cancelled. We’ll see.
Glad Muffin and the rest of your feline overlords seem to be doing better. And sounds like Male 'let’s-get-a-dog-itis" is receding too, based on your and FCM’s notes.
Kaboom, glad things are a bit smoother at work, but with the current administration I wouldn’t get to comfortable, especially if any of your stuff comes from China or India…
FCM, see my above comment, at least it’s on hold until the boat gets to ‘normal’, which might take the rest of the ye…decade… And nice..greenery (I know nothing).
Pilot, that’s some seriously tasty serendipity for sure.
Taters, hippo birdies to the Birthday girl. And yeah, you are owed those hours, get them back!
And need to continue digestion while considering my daily plan. Take care all.
Started Typing: 11:35 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 12:13 PM ET
Happy Doperversary, pilot! 
My new Lego set arrived yesterday instead of today (woot!), and I bought the new book I mentioned and downloaded it to my Kindle. I often don’t have much brain left after work, though, so I likely won’t start either until the weekend.
Downer doggy talk, hidden for those who would rather skip it. I'm not looking for advice, I just need to ramble.
Turns out I’m more stressed about Bailey than I realized. Her situation was all I could think about last night, and I teared up a couple of times after realizing that we might actually be near the end. Even if the new meds and diet help with her weight, she still has arthritis pain (that meds haven’t touched) and muscle weakness (that’s getting worse) – and, the ultrasound also indicated renal disease. (Which the vet didn’t mention, btw; I only noticed it after getting home and reading the report. I’ll ask about it at next month’s appointment.) And her gait is becoming less and less stable. And IBD can flare at any time. And she’s 17 freaking years old. I’m at the point of being legit concerned about her quality of life: I worry that she’s in more pain than I realize, plus she can’t really “dog” anymore (no running, her senses of sight/hearing/smell are reduced, etc.). Even when I’m home we don’t spend much time together, because she’s mostly just sleeping. The other day I realized that she can’t even scratch her own head if she wants to, because of the muscle weakness in her hind legs. I see how damn skinny she is and I watch her stagger around and I think she can’t possibly be happy, but when she looks at me all I see is the doggy I’ve loved for almost 1/3 of my life. (And now I’m crying at my desk! 
) I’m not making any decisions until I see what the next month brings – who knows, maybe we can get the IBD under control and it’ll make a world of difference – but it’s hard not to think that it might be time to consider letting her go.
OMG! 
Awwww!
Reminds me of when I called Verizon to dump my FiOS TV and switch to just internet: I was all set to resist some high-pressure sales tactics, but the guy I talked to was just like, “I get it, I quit the TV service myself, no problem.” Dude! Fight me! 
Sounds like the best decision all around.
There’s no “only” about it: that’s more than half a week!! And like you said, you earned those hours! I hope that gets fixed soon (well, it’s the gov’t so maybe not soon, but eventually!).
So I was on the 100 table sorting today. Things went reasonably well, so I fear the worst. On the way to the car I had to take a detour, since a flock of Canada geese were blocking my path. Though they should have a better term for a group of them. A hatred of Canada Geese sounds better.
If you turn your fan down it won’t blow away.
Dodged a bullet.
So you were Truckin’ through the yard?
HAPPY DOPERVERSARY PILOT!!!
You wanted an argument
I’m in Canada, so it’s mainly a matter of our retaliatory tariffs, which are what’s been mutually rescinded on CUSMA-compliant goods. Stuff from overseas for us hasn’t changed any.