I have completed my online onboarding.
I go Wednesday to orient, then am given my training schedule.
Am going to go see if the library has the new People mag, then wait and see how God comes through for my rent.
Once I get paid, I will actually be able to buy my own toilet paper, hard to imagine.
Discourse just dumped a whole paragraph of me thanking y’all for being so reassuring to me about my upcoming eye surgeries. Sometimes I just want to stomp my foot at Discourse, yah know? So thank you @Kitten_Mitten, nellie, swampie, hippie, just thanks everybody. We all get by with the help of our friends or at least I sure do.
Under a winter storm watch here, for maybe a nasty snowstorm, with a spell of deeper cold than we’ve been having. I don’t mind, as long as I can get to. my grandkidlets for my grandma day Sunday. I’m good for groceries (read that as enough coffee and chocolate) and prescriptions and have adequate as yet unread library books (actually, the book supply is far more important than bread and milk) so hunkering down for a day and catching up with y’all is just fine. The cat is already purring on my lap approving that plan.
I’m kinda looking forward to driving my new-to-me old (2013) Suburu with its 4 (!!
) new tires and AWD in some snow (just 4-5”, not nettie’sJeep adventures snow) just to see if 4 wheel drive is easier city driving in snow than front wheel is. I drive all of 5 miles to my daughter’s and back but I like my driving to be manifestly boring and uneventful, sure and steady like ‘little cat’s feet’.
Which reminds me, I should put the long snow brush back in the car so I’m not clearing off the windshield with my bare hands. Such is the excitement here-find both snow boots and set the snow brush next to the door.
We are at 1F this morning, as a cold front passes through this week. Wind chills in negative territory, of course. I saw last night that it was -46F in Dawson City, YT. Freeze yer biscuits off.
We’re heading out to breakfast tomorrow morning with the niece and her husband. Going to Hell’s Kitchen not far from here. I’m always leery of restaurant chains owned by celebrities, as they often don’t measure up, so here’s hoping. They don’t have biscuits and gravy on the menu, which is disappointing, but likely for the best, given my pickiness about that dish.
Just a lazy day for me. December was pretty busy at work, especially just before Christmas and New Year, but the end result on a particular file paid off. I hope January will be a bit slower.
I need to replace the cold water to the kitchen sink shut-off valve. It’s stuck closed. However…the copper pipe is too close to the wall to get a pipe cutter in there. I’m not sure what to do. Dremel with a cut off wheel?
I hate plumbing. With electricity, as long as you don’t let the smoke out of the wires you’re fine. With plumbing, you do all the work, then turn the water back on and it might leak or it might not. Plus, it’s under the sink and I don’t really bend like that anymore.
They’ve all been good - we have had three or four different instructors doing them, and they’re all different in their approach. Most of the instructors let you choose the weight of kettlebell you want to use, and you can change for different exercises. Today, Biplav picked the weights and we all used the same weight in each circuit except deadlifts where two of us asked for something heavier. No point doing deadlifts with an 8kg weight when you can have a 16k one instead.
I’m glad to hear your surgery went well and the twin has been dispatched elsewhere!
Yesterday’s weather forecast said the snow was pushing south to north but kind of diagonally across England, although it claimed that the Pennines and north Wales would get the brunt of it before it turned to rain on Sunday. But that could be freezing rain, which doesn’t help much.
We have ventured into town, done our errands and are back home slurping tea. 'im indoors is gathering stuff together ready to pack tomorrow, and the cats are investigating piles of stuff in places there are not normally piles of stuff.
Since we’re out tonight, we were discussing whether to cook at home or eat out. Eating out won, and we’ve managed to get a booking in a little place across the road from the venue we’re going to for the gig. Never been able to book in there before because it’s insanely popular!
Looks like my gnarliest decision today might be whether I nudge the sleeping cat off my robe-covered lap so I can make myself another cup of coffee or I just wait, like a proper cat butler.
Wait it is. She is just so feline zen snoozing. I’m a mere mortal.
Morning all. Refereed the first indoor soccer game of the season and have other games to do at 11am, 12pm and 6pm, along with coaching at 6pm, so a pretty full day. Looks like laundry day will be Sunday, just about out of everything. It’s about 40F outside and not looking to get any warmer, but at least no snowfall.
swampy, Happy Epiphanizing tomorrow…sounds like you have the feasting part well in hand…
FCM, most kings and emperors were not nice folks; guess that’s how they got to be and stayed kings and emperors…
Cupcakes, panic buying before a snow storm is an All-American tradition.
As a kid in N. Ohio I had to shovel paths in our back yard for my Daschie. And flyboy, 
for that pic.
Van Gogh, as one who has had his own water problems, but let the plumbers work on it, I feel for you. Hope the repair doesn’t strain you too much. And Yay! for science!
Been there, micturated that.
So you’re about to lose control (and just might like it?)
And still need to go through about 20 posts but need to go referee for a couple of hours, so will try to resume this conversation later this evening.
Appendages crossed.
Yay!
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted, a batch of oatmeal - raisin muffins baked (and sampled 
) , KP done and fixing to resume mending.
It’s cold here. It was 26F when I walked Nelson this morning, but it’s now warmed up to freezing. We’re supposed to get hit with the snow tomorrow or Monday.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Started Typing: 11:12 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 12:38 PM ET
Happy Doperversary, flyboy! 
Thursday’s work dinner was really nice, though it was surreal to say goodbye to my now-former boss after 5 years. Yesterday was juuuust busy enough to keep me from posting…including a new hire who was scheduled to start on Monday notifying us that she won’t be joining the company after all. I’d been in touch with her as recently as Tuesday, but apparently something in her life blew up in the past 1-2 days and she can’t start a new job now. I’m sorry for her and whatever she’s dealing with, but it’s a real PITA for us because she wasn’t just any incoming hire: she was a new senior manager (backfilling the other guy who recently retired) and part of the leadership team, and was filling a position that our customer considers “key” – which means they’d had to approve her. It just adds to the workload of the current program manager, because now (a) hiring has to start all over again and (b) there are two vacant key positions (including her own backfill). I’m not officially her deputy but I definitely act in that capacity, so this month I’ll be trying extra hard to support her however I can.
In other work news, though, I might have a great opportunity coming my way later this year: my company just submitted a proposal for a different contract with my current customer, and if we win I’ve been asked to be the new program’s Transition Manager. That gig would be temporary and part-time: I wouldn’t leave my current program/position, though for the first few weeks I’d likely need to focus on the new work. It could be months before the government announces the award, which might land right in the middle of my own contract’s recompete; we’ll have to see how all of the timing works out. But if we win and it does work out, it could be great for my career: I’ve never been a Transition Manager before but I really think I could do a good job, and having led a successful transition would definitely be a plus whenever the time comes to look for a new job. 
There was snow and rain yesterday – including some thundersnow, which was kind of awesome! – but nothing stuck to the roads and today there’s just a dusting on the ground. Right now it’s partly sunny and cold-ish (28°F) with wind, but more snow is coming: tomorrow overnight into Monday we’re expecting 3-5" of accumulation. I have a dentist appointment on Monday afternoon (just a routine cleaning), and I have a feeling it will wind up being cancelled.
Whenever there’s snow I always have to shovel a path across the patio for Bailey to go out and do her business, but this winter I’m particularly concerned about the three back steps getting icy/slippery: her coordination has gotten worse in the past year, including slipping more on the bits of hardwood flooring that aren’t covered, and sometimes she stumbles going down the back steps even when they’re completely dry. Coming back up the steps can take some trial and error on the worst days. I have paw-safe ice melter on hand, but luckily I was just able to order some ice mats that will be delivered tomorrow!
I am 98% recovered from my cold today. There’s just a touch of some lingering something, but the good news is that I can finally say I feel pretty good. Yay! The bad news is that over the past two weeks I’ve managed to use nearly every tissue in my house, including the ones I just got last week. Heh. So, at some point today I will go to the grocery store and buy more tissues, even though I know there will be snowpocalypse shoppers.
Wife BFF just told me that she didn’t sleep well/much last night at all, and is going back to bed for a while. If she feels better when she wakes up again I’ll go over there for dinner/our Christmas exchange (); if not, we might try for tomorrow.
It’s super frustrating that it took “I’m leaving” to get the drop, but I’m so glad you now have some breathing room!
Ha! 
Assuming you’re already aware of the classics (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, etc.), my favorite contemporary jazz singers include Diana Krall, Gregory Porter, and Cécile McLorin Salvant. For instrumentalists, Christian McBride is a phenomenal bass player – as is Esperanza Spalding, who also sings.
The preceding was all completely subjective, of course. 
Bailey does that, too. I always imagine that she’s smelling everything in a 5-mile radius and making mental notes (“fox two blocks over”…“Doberman 2.4 miles away”…).
Yaaaaay!
And I’m glad the procedure went well.
My dad’s youngest brother is only 12 years older than me; he and his family live in NYC (and he’s always been more like a big brother than an uncle). I went there to celebrate turning 50, and he told me that he’d had to turn down a competing invitation from a friend and mentioned it was his niece’s 50th birthday. His friend was stunned that a 62-year-old had a 50-year-old niece.
Ooooo, thank you for mentioning that: I just got my snow brushes out of the third bedroom!
Mine too 🫰🏼🫰🏼. Plus the meezer’s 18 toes 
.
Thanks for noticing me.
Why were snow brushes in a bedroom? 
(I miss the old smileys from the old software, especially the puzzled one with question marks over it.)
Plumbage achieved. Once I got the right tool it took all of 10 minutes, if that. I probably should put another cut-off valve between the sink in and the pipe to the outdoor tap.
Sorry, I should have clarified: third bedroom = storage room.
(I live in a small 1-level house with no basement and an unfinished attic, so the third bedroom is my only storage space.)
My microwave decided dying was better than making lunch. I just ordered a new on from Amazon. I got it back in 2011 so I believe I got good worth out of it.
Now I will head to the restaurant up the street for lunner.
So far today has scattered snow showers. So far the snow has been disappointing. Not even a dusting from yesterday.
I posted before about or Shark/Ninja coffee maker that died after 16 months. Even though it was out of warranty, Shark/Ninja sent me a new one. It arrived yesterday, but I haven’t opened it. We’re still using the Hamilton Beach one I got at Goodwill for $11.
Me too. Apparently Mom started having contractions during a Red Wings playoff game. Dad asked if she could wait to go to the hospital until after the game was over. So, not sure when, but born in hospital sometime after midnight after game was over. 
Gave me a smile remembering a wonderful camping trip there when our daughter was 10.
Layering, merino wool and down outerwear and mitts.
This morning I called the bakery at 7:40 to ensure that they had some German Chocolate cupcakes (Hubs favorites). Got there at 8am to pick them up, also picked up a blueberry pound cake for self. Was amazed when I pulled up that there was only one car in the parking lot; normally on a Saturday morning, it’s close to packed. When I went in, I was the only person in the bakery other than the three employees. Normally on a Saturday morning there are about 10 people sitting at the cafe tables having a pastry and coffee and at least another 6-8 people perusing the showcases to pick what pastries they’d like. But at 18* most people chose to just have breakfast at home. I was comfy in my merino bra, undies, socks, long underwear bottoms and polartec pants, 2 longsleeve merino tops, a merino sweater, a helly hanson undershirt and a mountain hardware longsleeve shirt. Outerwear consisted of sherpa cap, Eddie Bauer down coat, merino gloves and Eddie Bauer down gloves.
It’s up to 20*, think I’ll go for a walk.
FCD needed a break from his computer, so we went to Red Robin for lunch, since I was eligible for my birthday burger. (My b-day is almost 3 weeks away, but the deal is good all month, so I cashed it in early.) My seat at the table faced the big booth in the corner where there were five young guys having lunch. As soon as I saw them, I thought “engineers” so I took a pic over FCD’s shoulder and showed him. He agreed. 
They all looked to be in their 20s!!
Then we ran to Staples and Michael’s looking for posterboard - the paper kind, not foam board. We scored a pack of 10 for $7 at Michael’s. From there, we went by Daughter’s to say hi and see the kids. Once we got them all wound up, we left, like all good grandparents would.
And now we’re home. Time to read for a bit, I think. Since we had a good-sized lunch, supper will again be forage or whatever.
As in, sweater material? I’m intrigued - where did you get it?
Oh, neat!
Whatcha makin’?
Alright, gotta gear up for Long Night. I do have many tasty snacks planned/packed, so that’s something to look forward to enjoying, at least.
Didn’t get enough sleep, was interrupted more times than I like so I’m still a bit groggy, but I’m sure getting smacked in the face with the cold air outside will wake me up right quick!