(Old) Are you a "leaf peeper" in the MMP?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
221

Afternoon, mumpers! It’s 17c/63f with a predicted high of 20c/67f and cloudy. Weather app is feeling whimsical and says “OK, Annie, I thought you said the sun would fucking come out tomorrow. You were fucking wrong, Annie.” True enough, there is no sun in the sky.

I was up reasonably early for a weekend, fed the cats, gave Shadow his meds, freshened the water bowls, topped up the dry food, changed all the litter trays and had a cuppa before heading out to the gym for Extreme Spin (30mins with some HIIT included) and dumbbell hustle. Suitably knackered now, back home with restorative tea, just had a shower and need to dry my hair in a minute.

Today’s plans involve going to the pet store for cat litter, I could swing by the hand car wash on the way there as the car’s in need of a wash. Then off to the supermarket to abuse their 3hrs free parking while we go into town for lunch and errands, probably need something from said supermarket anyway so will wander in before heading home again. Rollsuckage needs to happen at some point too.

Doggio I would have a tough time choosing between those two old boys, but I favour Harvey too. If he might get along with Spot then you could have the perfect pairing. I suppose there’s been no news or sightings of Darcy at any point? I hope she found her way into someone else’s heart.

Moooom sorry to hear about MIL’s health issues, 92 is a ripe old age though and nobody makes it there without something going awry. I’d love to come and live in your house for a year, but sadly you’re on the wrong side of a big bit of water - my commute to campus would take forever!

RealFish sorry to hear that surgery is on the cards, but good news if it will sort the problem out for you. Good to hear that the young 'uns are safe and survived the trauma too, must have been awful for them.

Butters so glad you had a good time with your friend, times like that are truly precious.

Right, need to get my head dry and get on with the rest of the day’s demands.

222

Morning all. Up at 6:15am, but lots of soccer today (referee at 8am, coach at 9:45 and 11:30am then referee again at 12:30pm). Weather is ‘iffy’, might get rained on, might not, we’ll just have to see how it goes…

Will have more to say this afternoon, but need to get ready to go and make sure I have everything. Take care all.

223

Yes. I’ve been whining about it for the past two months.

I actually made a dinner last night that required a bit of ambition. We’ve been alternating having meals delivered by the kitchen and cooking up prepared frozen foods from the market. I’ve been making breakfasts for a month or more, but haven’t really done much else. But yesterday I spotted some scallops in the freezer and decided that pasta with scallops sounded like a winner. So I seared a bunch of them and made a pan cream sauce with garlic, and opened a bottle of chilled Willamette Valley rosé that we brought across country with us.

224

Good morning everyone.

It’s 51F, dark, and mostly clear outside. The expected high is 82F, and we’ll have sunny skies again.

Today is my husband’s 60th birthday, and we’ll celebrate that. He’s requested I make a certain dish for dinner and that we have coconut cream pie for dessert. My son will come up to help celebrate the day.

truefish, I’m sorry to read you’ll probably require surgery.

butters, it’s so nice to see you post again.

doggio, I too, would have difficulty choosing between both dogs. They both deserve a home filled with love.

Welp, I need to finish my coffee and get the day started. I need to get to the grocery store, do some dusting, and run the rollsuck around.

Hope you all have a good day.

225

I’ve had more issues with checkers not liking the fact that I bring my own bags in the first place. They still want to put half my groceries in plastic bags before they go in my bags (I correct that and make them remove the plastic).

fishy, I’m glad that the kids had an extra day to process the lockdown. Hope that your surgery goes well.

From the pics on FB, Stella is adorable, butters. Like you, I had planned on an adult dog before Nelson came along. I’m glad that she has the opportunity to get used to her name before coming home to you (Sis did the same thing with Nelson). It’s good that you were there for Terri. We both know that that means a lot when you’ve lost your partner.

You reminded me that I need to go to the carwash today BooFae. Since it needs to be cleaned on the inside too, I’ll take it to the hand wash.

Happy birthday MrTaters!

Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. After that, I’ll go outside for patio cleanup, herb harvest and cleaning up the oak leaves and pine cones in the yard. Then it will be off to CVS for prescriptions and on to the car wash. Then, some relaxation. :slight_smile:

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

226

I bought a hiking stick from a store in a mall 20-some years ago. (I think it was from The Walking Store, or something like that.) It’s been a good stick, and I use it almost every day. The leather wrist strap goes through a hole in the stick, and the end of the strap goes through a hole in the other end of the strap. An overhand knot keeps the free end from coming out. A few months ago, the leather at the hole finally broke. Yesterday I contacted Gastrock Stöcke (since 1868), and this morning I found an email from Frau Gastrock in my inbox. She asked that I send a picture of my stick so that they can determine which strap is appropriate. I’ll snap a photo of the stick and the strap when I get around to it and send them to her. My German is very, very rusty. I’m glad for Google Translate.

227

Thank you. It feels good here a few days in.

Welcome back! And glad to hear you’re being there for Terri. I crashed & totaled my car about 3 weeks after my wife died. No injuries nor citations fortunately. One’s mind just wanders - sometimes into vacant nobody-home mode at random. That does get better with time.

But only if the person can move forward looking forward, rather than standing still looking only backwards. I’ve certainly watched folks get “stuck” there until they needed a shrink and drugs to recover from the hole they’d dug themselves into. You helping Terri is a wonderful impulse. I’ve certainly done the same for others. Be aware of when that becomes a task larger than you can handle. Drowning people have a bad habit of drowning their would-be rescuers.

As to pilot retirement ages, the House has passed their version of the FAA budget bill with that change. The Senate has not, and there are differences in their respective bills to be hammered out. And finally, this is all hostage to the politicking in Congress about budgets, debt ceilings, the House Speaker, etc. We are but a tiny barnacle on the great heaving and rolling Ship of State. No way to know what will happen nor when.


Fishy Like everyone, I’m sorry the kids went through that and that your hand needs customization. This too shall pass, but not until after a bunch of cursing and inconvenience.


Taters congrats to hubs and good luck with your special dinner dish. And other special birthday treats.


JtC: Another vote to nip this eclipse interloper in the bud. “She invited herself” is all the red flag you need. No she didn’t. She tried to and you acquiesced. Push back sooner not later. And explicitly, not hinting and hoping or lying and wishing she’ll forget.

Time for big girl Underoos. Unfortunately. But overbearing turdbirds force that dilemma on all who surround them.


Our celebratory dinner yesterday was very nice. Exactly what I had hoped for and expected. 6 courses, three hours, and just 15 customers at 7 tables. We’ll be back.

Stayed up too late after we got home then slept in prodigiously, despite last night being drink-lite. Now at the crack of noon I’m about to get out of my chair and make breakfast and get sheveled. I’ve been lazy enough that I only had my first cup of coffee; the entire pot yet awaits me not 20 feet away.

Cheers all and happy weekend to those of whom days of the week still hold meaning.!!! :grin:

228

A light heave, but the Air was very late. So A. We stood around for 2 hours on the clock. And 2. They tried to rush processing the Air by doing it all in the 300 Sort aisle(smart) and doing it by unloading it all at the end of it, with 20 people crammed into a 10 foot space(dumb and chaotic as hell). Laundry is going, so quick nap before heading out to Hops for Hope. I wasn’t planning on drinking beer, but it’s for a good cause. :wink:

Sadly, no.

229

This is great advice and I thank you for it. I certainly have my own crosses to bear.

230

My first wife of 33 years died a bit over 2 years ago. IIRC your husband died not too far off that same timeframe.

Not a day goes by I don’t think of her. And yes, of how our life might be today if things had gone differently enough early enough to change the eventual big picture result. But it’s wistful, not melancholy, and definitely not obsessively depressive. It took work to get here, and no small measure of luck and support from others.

But life is for the living, and memorials are for the dead. Live forth!

231

Today I’m going to boldly go where I haven’t gone since the surgery: the gym. I want to see what the recumbent bike does for range-of-motion for the knee. (My sister’s knee surgeon had one sent to her home, and she used it from day 2.) I also need to do some weight work. I haven’t done any for so long, I’m going to have to start from scratch. Shouldn’t hurt the knee, since I’ll be sitting down for them.

cookie, you haven’t been whining. Considering the pain level and all the difficulties PLUS the infection, I’d say you’ve been pretty stoic. Mon dieu! Cette operation n’est pas pour les wimps! (My high school French is obviously rusty.)

Butters! So glad you’re back! Sorry I missed your post yesterday. And yes, I had a total knee replacement, same surgery cookie had, only my griping has been non-stop. I’m surprised nobody’s clubbed me with a cane yet.

True, but you might be surprised how well they fare with a stable home, regular vet care, and a loving owner. This is another reason I’m leaning toward Harvey, though: there’s a big difference between 9 years and 11 years. Question: Both dogs are cat-friendly. Is Spot dog-friendly?

232

Home! It was a nice, long $$$$ lunch with Al, his wife, and her mother. Three hours!!! I may have eaten 10 crabs - I didn’t really count. They were on the small side, so I’m not stuffed, but I won’t be making supper tonight.

We’ll be getting with Al and Kari for a day of boating some time soon - that should be fun. I’d forgotten one thing about Al that kinda grosses me out - he carries a spit cup. ick. We all have our vices, I guess…

I just finished scrubbing the critter fountain, and I’m about to finish making the dragon. It’s 4 weeks till the fund raiser, so I need to get crochetin’! Onward!

233

C’est vrai, madame! Pas encore!

Paging Jane Doe.

234

Knowing how brief Fall can sometimes be, and how rain-filled, “soon” wants to be “soonest”.

Lazy day here. Light breakfast / lunch then shevelment and now balconatin’ all afternoon. Partly cloudy, a pleasant sea breeze, rain over the Everglades behind me, and 91/33 right now per NWS. Feels cooler than that to me while the clouds provide a nice shade.

The building is putting on an “end of summer” pool party that starts soon. With food and drink vendors available for purchase. Will be fun and should be dinner for us both. If not, the remainder of last night’s lamb chops & sautéed vegetables await in the fridge.

Although the idea of “end of summer” loses something in translation around here. They ought to call it “Impending Return of the Horde of New Yawkahs & Joiseyites!” instead. Then again, they want a festive occasion, not a mournful one! :grin:

Nellie: hooray for the gym, but don’t think you can’t overdo the knee on a stationary bicycle of whatever shape. You sure can. Be careful!!

235

(Go to just before the 2:00 mark for the “boldly go” joke.)

236

This.

A responsible gym should discourage you from using equipment unless and until you have gotten clear approval from your doctor specifically for it.

That your sister’s Dr let her do it matters not. Different bodies, different surgical procedures, different models of artificial joints, etc.

The effects of the treatment for your autoimmune disorder could greatly impact the pace of your healing process vs hers. What she was healed enough on for on Day 2 could be very different for you because of this.

If you do it anyway, please only do an incrementally bit more than your knees have been doing up til now without the gym or machines. Like only a minute or two, with barely no resistance. No making up for lost time or “no pain, no gain”.

237

Fixed a hole where the squirrels were getting into the house. 2 more to go, but those involve breaking out the oscillating cutter. Currently the squirrels that are already in the attic seem displeased. Fuckers.

238

Afternoon all. You know the old saying “It only hurts when you stop?” That’s me now. Refereed at 8am when the rains decided to fall in fairly large quantities, then coached my 12U (we won again 8-1) and the 8U (we won for the first time 2-1) teams and then refereed another game, so was on my feet and moving from 7:30am to almost 2pm. Don’t feel too tired, but don’t ask me to stand up and walk any distance for a little bit, the feet are a bit sore… After getting soaked at the early game, the rains let us off the hook, but it stayed cloudy and rather cool (about 74F for the high) the rest of the time. Glad I did remember to pack extra shirts in the car.

red, enjoy rambling with SIL.

Real Fish, glad the lads are ok, that would shake up anyone. Hope the diagnosis is clear in October and they fix you up soon.

doggio, whichever pup you pick, they will be good company, I am sure. (Spot may hold a contrary opinion),

Heck, I can’t remember to take my Publix bags to Publix, much less anywhere else.

Two of the most dreaded words in automotive talk "head gasket’. It takes 3-4 days to disassemble and put in the new parts, but the place only has 1-2 folks capable of doing this complex a repair and they apparently had a long line of customers ahead of me. The Dodge dealer wasn’t any better, they couldn’t even look at it until Mid-September.

Butters, glad you could visit and hopefully offer comfort to friend Terri. And good news on the tax front, just finished paying around $1,600 on my place. And am awaiting pictures of the new canine once they arrive. Of course the pup might get confused if you have “A Streetcar Named Desire” on the television…

JtC, you still have a lot of time to hint around that you’re not looking for company on the eclipse trip. Like you I don’t like confrontation and she is a friend, but you have to establish your own limits.

FCM, glad you enjoyed the company and the crabs.

Cookie, Hooray for dinner.

Taters, happy Hubby B-day.

Flyboy, sounds like good old German efficiency; hope they have a suitable replacement.

nellie, hope the gym trip went well and concur with Pilot and BBBoo’s advice. Despite my exertions today, I feel pretty good (long as I don’t have to get up and walk…) and wide-awake, which I put down to my exercise regime.

VanGo, good luck with the squirrels.

Hope I got to everyone, if I missed you then assorted {{{hugs}}} to all. Now need to watch some tackleball and decide if I want to dress (i.e., put on whatever clothes are at hand) and got get dinner or have my usual Lean Cuisine Fettuccine Alfredo tonight…decsions, decisions…take care all

239

I hope that you get the squirrel issue taken care of VanGo.

The crabs sound good Mooooooom. I’m glad that you got to have a good visit with your former co-worker and his wife.

I got the herbs harvested, but most of the outdoor work was postponed for rain.

I got my flu and updated covid jab when I picked up the prescriptions today. So far, no soreness.

I took the sweet basil and made a Mexican spin of a caprese salad (basil, tomato, avocado, queso fresco and balsamic dressing) to go with my poke steak and sweet corn for supper. I may make a mint julep from the spearmint I cut for dessert. :slight_smile:

240

One of the reasons I like TC friend is that she is a take charge sort of person who tends to be a self-correcting problem and I’m super lazy. And I’m a pothead.

TC friend has family in the Fort Worth area who would be hurt if she was in Dallas and didn’t stay with them and of course I would be welcome too. I wouldn’t want to risk getting her family in trouble by being caught smoking weed in their yard, plus it would probably be too much hassle to cancel my room reservation, so she will be staying there and I will be staying in Dallas like I had planned.

Driving for two days and only staying for two days before driving home doesn’t seem like a good use of time, so we should fly. Well, no. I don’t have a medical MJ card in Texas so can’t use their dispensaries and don’t want to deal with trying to smuggle some personal dank shit past the TSA.

So now her plan is to drive to Dallas with me - and I am great with that idea, another driver would allow me to take in the scenery - but stay with her family and come to Dallas for the eclipse and then stay with family for a while longer and fly home.

Yes, there are a whole bunch of excuses and ignoring the elephant but it’s working with no hard feelings so it is all good. I suspect her next move will be to apologize for ruining my trip but changing her mind about the drive as well. She’s said a few things about it being cheaper to get a round trip plane ticket…

I do have responses for folks, but life just happened, bbl.