Mooooom, you mentioned that your MIL liked to snack on croutons. Would laying in a stash of them be an option?
sensai, your dish sounds like chicken Kiev. Yum!
shoe I don’t think I’m old enough to qualify as a grumpy uncle, just think of me as the cousin they don’t want to meet.
JtC Hoping all the travels go well! And that you find a house that isn’t falling in on itself.
As to me, waaaay too much time on my feet on concrete this week. The sciatica is barking. I foresee much nappage over the weekend.
Oven Master called out, so guess who covered for him & closed again? Glad I went to the dispo on my “lunch” break instead of waiting till after work. 
If this situation arises again, every grocery store has a restroom. The big box chains like Kroger usually have them up front near the customer service area.
Just leave your cart outside.
That’s so cool. I bet you’ll have fun making furry friends.
If you - well, she - made them homemade, you can pretty much drench them in butter or olive oil to boost the nutritional content.
FCM did y’all ever try the “melted ice cream drink” Pilot suggested?
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.
Ouch. Even if it is profitable, 12 hours in an oven isn’t pleasant.
It SNOWED here today …it didnt even hit the ground but we had flurries off and on for an hour … then about 3 pm the storm blew over and the sun came out and it was 65 degrees … mother nature needs to share her stash …
I loved VSP
but since my health plan is the state of CA and fed gov any time they get a decent one ..we don’t have it for long because it’s supposed to be as cheap for them as possible …
I dodged a 450-dollar eye exam bill because the eye place didn’t bill the right insurance and the nice lady at Health Net actually took an hour to get it fixed …but I just realized it might of been my fault becuase I was using lasts year’s info on providers but I guess the eye place uses the new place also
When the Northridge quake hit it was so strong we felt it through 100 miles and the mountains enough that it took out the big bridge out of the AV and convinced a lot of people who previously opposed it that the so cal Metrolink train system was a good idea since we were cut off from the rest of la county for 2 weeks …
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 46 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 68 and N.O.S. for the day. The big item on today’s agenda is the smokin’ of two Boston
< snerk > BUTTS! < snerk >. One will be taken to first Sunday brunch over to the church house and the other will be frozen. The one for brunch will be shredded and sauced to turn it into ‘cue. There will also be buns so folks can make bbq sammiches. We shall also bring a gallon each of sweet and unsweet tea cause that’s what we do. Sloth, general overall uselessness, nappage, and day drinkin’ shall also ensue. Sup will be chikin noodle soup and possibly grilled cheese sammiches.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Waitin’ on enough daylight to crank up the smoker. Also, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Sattidy Y’all!
Crashed, and promptly dreamed I was making endless pizza tickets, just “sauce’n’ cheese and toppings” for infinity.
Now I’m up for bio-break, most of a pre-roll, and a soothing, hot cuppa. Trying to get myself excited by - or at least interested in - one of my last TV dinners. I absolutely know I’d sleep better, of course.
But do I listen to myself? Noooooo …
Okay, that was funny!
Yay, alpacas!
I have an eating disorder and am significantly overweight. It’s been shown in studies that GLP-1s such as Trulicity and Monjauro can help with binge eating. My insurance covered Trulicity and I tried it. Unfortunately as Queen of the Rare Side Effects, it led to suicidal ideation. My doctor and I tried to switch to Monjauro but it wasn’t covered by my insurance. They will cover Victoza, but it is out of stock until somewhere between June and December. Someday when I’ve got the gumption, I’m going to campaign for letting try the Monjauro since the wait is ridiculous.
I thought that said ‘off to behave’ and thought, naaahhhhh…. I don’t think so.
Well, we went to the funeral home to sign papers and stuff. My dad had prepaid for cremation to be completed. Unfortunately he had moved from one county to another and also he didn’t fit in a standard sized box, so we had to pay an additional $425. Ugh. I think that was ridiculous.
Anyway, today I’m up and getting ready to do some work with my faithful poodle by my side. The apartment complex where my dad lived hasn’t called me back, so I’m not sure what to do about that. I’ve got another interesting story to tell, but I’ll save it for later since I need to get working.
Have a good Saturday, everyone!
When FCD brought her back from Indy, she had THREE 2# bags of them. (Costco - need I say more?) There are still more than 2 anna half bags in the pantry. For someone who used to snack a fair bit, she seems to have lost interest in food most of the time.
And as for Boost or Ensure - that’s as close to saying bad words as I’ve ever heard her. And lately she’s even been turning down ice cream, melted or otherwise. Not good.
Another morning in the 30s - really??? I was hoping to do some yard stuff today, but it’s not supposed to get out of the low-to-mid 50s, and that’s not a good time for digging and planting and watering. Dammit. I will do some more organizing in the garage, tho. FCD took the last of the pellets to his shop and dragged the empty pallet (pellets on the pallet - HAH!) out to be recycled. The spot it occupied is to be filled with baby stuff and Daughter’s stuff so she can claim it or get rid of it or whatever. But at most, it’ll take maybe an hour.
I’ve got the last of the spiral ham on the bone, so I’m thinking it’s a good time to make bean soup. And I may brave the Saturday crowd and go to Food Lion for more Diet Cokes before the sale is over. Whatever happens is what happens - I’m not up to planning.
Happy Saturday!!
Happy Saturday!
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to make a batch of mini muffins before doing KP.
Not much on the agenda today. I will need to slip out for more yogurt, some Roma tomatoes and fuel, but not a whole lot more.
I actually had a dream that I remembered last night and it was weird. I dreamed that I was living in the Houston sister’s house (for whatever reason, she was gone) and had my studio in the guest room.
At some point, Baby Sis and her adult daughter came in while I was gone and began sorting through stuff (Houston Sis (HS) tends to collect things) to get rid of, including my studio. I had to put my foot down to get them to stop and put things back where they belonged while I call HS. HS then came back and we began the process of de-stashing, finding some truly strange things along the way.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Happy Saturday from sunny Mexico. Been a lazier time here for me than expected, but it feels good, so I’m doin’ it. It’s almost 8am here, presently 60/15 but will warm quickly to 80/27.
Weather has been generally great at the eclipse time of morning. Today is the first with significant cirrus coverage. I’ll definitely check the sky at eclipse time to see how it’s behaving. Now that just needs to hold up another 2 days. Forecast remains widespread cirrus but no actual thick clouds or precip.
Found out today that the smaller swankier apartment of the two I’ve been looking at will vacate at the end of Apr & be available for move-in a week later. So that means a 2-week gap in earliest move-in dates. Which makes everything pretty simple.
I’ve arranged to visit the larger newer less swanky place on the 11th to actually put eyes on it. My decision will happen promptly after that as there’s no additional relevant information remaining unknown.
Once I get back from the next trip, so starting Apr 21, I’ll need to get ass in gear on furniture or else plan to sleep on a Target air mattress on the floor for awhile. Or stay at Mikes and pay for a place I’m not using. Some of that is inevitable but minimizing avoidable waste is nice too.
As to y’all …
A lot of tragedy this week in MMP land.
Sticky’s father dying, JtC’s VBC and hoped-for house both dying, CatGlove’s flails with health care screwups and on-going hubby’s bad situation, FCM with MILs slow motion rickety disaster, Shoe’s and Coppertone’s struggles with health and work, plus Sticky’s and Truefish’s as well. Not to forget to mention Shoe’s evil parent(s). Taters and Oopsie are just snowed at work with their respective crews of idjits. Now Cookie is dealing with an aging ailing kitty too. And I know I left out a few, but not from lack of reading your stories or empathizing with them.
Not a good week around here; not at all.
CatGlove getting away for self-care for a couple days sounds delightful, as does Oopsie’s alpaca farm weekend.
Best of luck for everything to start looking up for everyone.
Please take your weather back. You’re describing tomorrow’s forecast for central Switzerland. And it’s bringing more dust from the Sahara.
I’ve read (well, sped-read) everything, but Pilot already said everything I might say, and did it quite eloquently.
So I’ll just add some hugs {{{JtC, hubs, GG}}} and {{{Sticky}}}
Tuesday I went to the gym in the evening, Wednesday we had a house meeting with the neighbors, Thursday was band practice and Friday we got home at 7:45 pm. Today was getting stuff done, including a walk in the sunshine, mowing the grass, watering the new plants. Currently there’s a blueberry cake in the oven and I’m going to Zoom with my parents in about 20 minutes. So I need to go finish making the bed.
And probably drink some water. Summer weather in April’s weird.
Mrs. L.A. is making work for me.
She decided she wanted to plant a magnolia tree (or bush, or something) at the street. So I need to get rid of the bush next to the mailbox to give the new plant more room. The magnolia should arrive today or Sunday or Monday.
She also decided to replace the bathroom door with a sliding barn door. I don’t see the need, but it’s what she wants. It arrived yesterday. So now I’ll probably need to remove the facing around the existing door, which is inset about four inches, because this is a funky old house. Then I’ll have to cut down the new door. Since the box isn’t door-sized, I guess this means I’ll have to build the door. And then of course there’s the assembly and installation – which will probably steal about six inches of width from the already too-small laundry room.
As usual the replacement SSLAWs kept crapping out, we were short handed, and even The Gangster of Love couldn’t micromanage more speed. But we got done, and I got hours.
Especially since I’m now on VACATION!
A lot of people are apparently calling out on Monday. Whether to watch the eclipse, be ready for the Rapture, or sacrifice each other to awaken The Great Old Ones so they can be eaten first, or just driven mad and turned into gibbering shells of flesh. I’m going down to Wilmington to see the USS North Carolina, and feast on the flesh of the innocenthave a sandwich and a beer on Carolina Beach.
Nope.
{{{{{Every Mumper}}}}}
Settled down for a long day of doing nuthin’ when I noticed something crawling on the floor. A ladybug. Huh!. Oh, there’s another one. Holy crap it’s an invasion! The wife insisted on scooping them up into a paper cup and then sent me downstairs to put them outside. I think the wind is driving them to the sunny side of the building. I guess they can squeeze through any tiny opening, so the screens are useless. I’m really looking forward to the boxelder bug invasion in the spring.
Ok, I’ve been to Food Lion, I cut up ham for bean soup, I brought some more order to the garage, and I installed a replacement flag on my mailbox. Now I’m taking a breather before boiling the beans for supper soup.
It was such a pretty mo, but now it’s overcast and dreary. Stoopit weather.
I ran the mowing machine over the back yard. (The mowing machine for the lawn, not the one for my face.) First grass-cuttin’ of 2024. I cut down a holly bush… last Summer? It’s burning in the fire pit. The Spousal Unit is pulling dandelions in the front yard. When she’s done, I’ll mow the front yard.
I have an ulterior motive for being extra excited for her.
To add fun to the mystery … it’s something I’ve been looking forward to, myself, ever since a few details were ironed out.
… and, guess who sent me a package. Saw this one coming a mile away. (Not literally.) But the hats/kerchiefs that my mother was making for me, to give me in person … I guarantee that’s what’s in there, along with some serious passive-aggressive in handwritten note form.
Y’all, I’m sorry to keep whining over and over about them. They’re old; they don’t have much actual power over me. But the virtual power is very real.
I don’t have the spoons - or stones - to open the damn box right now.
I realized the other day that the eye dr. appntmt I need so badly, I made for right around the eclipse.
Trying to decide if I care. I’ve seen eclipses before - I mean, they’re cool & all, it’s not like they happen every other Tuesday - so I may make a half-assed attempt to push the appntmt back two-three hours.
Okay, Monkey has reappeared from Outside Time, so it’s time to do some bare-minimum sheveling & head back off to where I just was!
Started Typing: 2:18 PM ET
Clicked Reply: 3:07 PM ET
Happy Saturday, all!
Yesterday’s vet visit was…meh. Bailey is fine: as usual these days she hated the car ride, and she’s down to 40 pounds (from 44 a few years ago), but the vet thinks the weight loss could just be decreased muscle mass and said she looks good/isn’t underweight. The appointment was mostly for her Bordatella vaccination, but I also asked the vet about possible arthritis/pain meds: we decided to start her on Rimadyl, which was dispensed there, and I gave her the first dose when we got home. Later that evening I did my usual due diligence online, looking up possible side effects (other than what the doc told me when I asked) and approximately how long it will take to see any difference, and several reputable sites said to never give Rimadyl and prednisone at the same time. Guess what Bailey takes for atypical Addison’s Disease? It’s a very low dose – 1 mg every other day – but still. Grrrr. 
Today is a “no prednisone” day so she got more Rimadyl, and I left a message for the vet asking what to do about the contraindication. I don’t expect to hear from her until Monday, so tomorrow I plan to skip the prednisone in favor of the Rimadyl – both because the prednisone is largely preventive, and because I really hope the doggy starts feeling better. Because the prednisone dose is so low the vet might not be worried about it and just didn’t think to say so…or, she might say “oops.” Neither one is great, but if it’s the latter I’ll request a refund for the prescription and look for a new vet (again).
Today has been on the busy side: I went to my personal training session this morning, hit the grocery store on the way home, and then took a very happy Bailey for a walk. 
After we got back I caught up on some personal emails, payed my bills, balanced my Quicken register, and came here, and now suddenly it’s mid-afternoon and all I’ve had all day is water and two protein shakes. Time for food!
I have no plans for the rest of the day or tomorrow, but on Monday my extracurricular activity level goes back to “normal”: personal training sessions, plans with friends, voice lessons, volunteer-related meetings, workshops, medical appointments, the trip to NJ, etc. It’s all – well, mostly – good stuff that I’m looking forward to, but I plan to happily take advantage of this last quiet weekend for a while.
Do! Not! Apologize! 
No one can make us crazier than family (especially parents; they installed the damned buttons), and we all need to vent at various times for various reasons and durations.
We opened the barn door box today. SWMBO is thinking about whether to keep it, or send it back. As I said, the door has to be ‘built’ as well as installed. We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.
The magnolia arrived while I was out back. We’ve just unboxed it, which was a PITA with all of the 1.5 inch staples.