Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off today for my expected day off. I shall clean, then watch pro handegg with Spot.
There’s one of those in Raleigh, in the same shopping center as the Chuck E. Cheese.
I want a Viking Funeral and an open bar. Because nothing will motivate my friends and family to show up more than free beer, fire, and corpse desecration.
I’m up early prepping for a family reunion. It’s unusual for me to have the TV on at this time on Sunday but the Kansas City PBS station is running a fundraiser and the program that’s being used to shill contributions is the 1967 Tom Lehrer performance in Copenhagen! I have not given to PBS in a long time, and never to KC, but I just called in a contribution. I’ll get a DVD but I just wanted to show how much I love this guy. Sure is better than the Lawrence Welk videos that often are used.
Happy Sunday!
It’s been a rough week.
I was sick, but almost better.
My eyes hurt, and were so watery, I couldn’t read or even watch videos.
I will never catch up.
But missed y’all.
Sorry to hear about being sick, but glad you are better!
Glad you’re feeling better sari.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP / Sunday chores. Not a whole lot else shaking here today.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Showered and dressed, MIL is up, dressed, drugged, and fed (drugs are lasix and a low-dose aspirin) and the critter fountain is now clean. FCD went to the boat to get his tool bags - he’s got some stuff to do and he left all the tools aboard yesterday. MIL didn’t want to go to church - she was worn out after yesterday. So a quiet day here… for now.
sari - hope you’re past the worst. As for catching up, it’s the same old crap here. 
You know how that goes.
My main decision is whether to make bean soup for mid-day or for supper. Must discuss with the other household denizens.
FCM how did the pup and kittycat weigh in about the bean soup? 
cupcake good for you for supporting PBS.
sari so sorry to hear you’ve not been feeling well this week; hope you’re better soonest.
Haven’t been sleeping well lately as I keep waking up mid night generally for bio purposes and then not being able to fall back to sleep. Well last night I was able to fall back to sleep so probably got about 5-1/2 hrs. Showered, dressed, then went to church where I lectored today. Made a bacon, egg, tomato, yellow bell pepper, avocado, sharp cheddar & muenster cheese topped bagel and had OJ w/ mango and Kona coffee. Now going to walk to work to catch up since I was not there on Th, only for a short while on Fri due to a funeral and didn’t go yesterday.
Have a blessed day!
Good morning all. Stayed in bed until nearly 8am because I could, made the Sunday NY Times run and in about an hour will head to the next town over for some Golden Corral goodness. Then to the gym to do penance for the gluttony… Only 68F now, windows are wide open and the house is as comfortable as it gets without either the heater or the AC on. It is supposed to reach 81F later today, so might require some cooling, but right now…
sari, hope you feel better soon.
Hippie, is that really your plate or just one you saw? If it is yours, your coolness points went up by a thousand…
JtC, the deer and cat story was priceless.
I think I understood that reference. CEOTTK?
Nettie, glad the deductible didn’t kick in. But you did remind me I haven’t been to a Cold Stone creamery in ages…the nearest one is 30 miles away but…
shoe, I hope the food truck made enough cash (and compliments) to come back to the area sometime soon. We have a hotel that advertises weekly rates and has been though a number of name changes, so i guess that is our skeevey hotel.
Happy Vergering swampy, then even happier slothage.
boo fae, thanks for the stories of the Food truck and the stupidity of drivers. Nice to know that custom is shared across the pond…
Cat Glove, glad to hear you are feeling better.
And now need to watch a couple of my Sunday regular You Tubers and get ready to head off to the glutton-spot. Take care all.
I could not for the life of me figure out why my laundry room reeked of urine. I thought maybe Trevor had peed on some of the towels on the floor. I used a black light, but there was nothing to speak of on the floor - mainly squished bugs.
I should have looked up. Our terlit is leaking - pouring water into the laundry room. Dammit. FCD just left to get a new wax ring. I’ve flushed several times with bleach (ultimately using a whole gallon. But the shelf over the washer is delaminating, so this has been going on longer than I thought. Dammit. I’ll deal with that later. When he gets back from Lowe’s, it’ll be terlit time.
The fun never stops at FairyChatEstate!
@Baker Love Tom Leher. Great music to get into the family reunion mood.
@Sahirrnee Sick seems o be going around in spades. Hope you continue to feel better.
@scareyfaerie I’m going to Ireland in a couple weeks without mahoosive luggage. Can’t wait to unleash my legendary navigation efforts lol. I have no sense of direction and will likely end up in a swamp.
@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat I always enjoy a good gluttony run. Enjoy.
@FairyChatMom Leaking pipes and bathroom appliances are a scourge on modern existence. Especially when accompanied with the pouring verb.
I am not able to type comfortably today. Along with knocking my back out last week I apparently did something to my left wrist. It’s either carpal tunnel, a sprain or a rotator cuff symptom. I don’t plan on doing much of anything about it unless I absolutely have to. I am wearing a wrist splint which helps.
I was planning to drive to the nearest department store (30 minutes away) to procure a new set of socks and a hoodie for my travels. We have a Boscovs in Butler, PA that has an awesome smorgasbord of non binding socks.
I thought about ordering from Amazon but it’s a bit risky for me. I can’t wear socks that feel like they have rubber bands at the top.
But I am on call for work today so I will push that task into mid week and take another sick day then for shopping purposes.
I am planning on retiring next June (2025) so I need to use up a lot of accumulated sick and vacation time anyways.
I have the same problem. My “navigation” is a joke between DH and me. GPS and nav apps are essentials for me to have any clue how to get between point A and point B, even in parts of town (I think) I know pretty well. 
Mowage halfway done. Did the front and side yards, plus the driveway. The drive claims to be gravel, but in reality it is 2 gravel paths and a bunch of grass. Now need to have some food and let my back relax.
The saga of my mowers continues. I have 4, 2 riders and 2 push that I’ve paid a total of $100 for. 1 push works. I guess you get what ya pay for.
Youngest and his daughters come today with pizza. Haven’t seen them in awhile. Unfortunately, my wife is having a nasty subjunctival hemorrhage in her right eye and isn’t feeling very social. She gets these from time to time, but there doesn’t seem to be a remedy other than time.
Fried egg sandwiches and yogurt for breakfast, chased with a cuppa Ethiopian.
Just banged out the Sunday NYT crossword, so I’m feeling heroic.
We missed out on the navigation gene. Thank gods for modern cell phones right?
I even have to break out the GPS for walking at times.
The only way I know I am going in the correct direction is watching the minutes to arrival decrease.
Started Typing: 10:18 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 12:30 PM ET
Yesterday and today have finally felt like autumn! 
I live within 100 miles of FCM, so we often have similar weather: this morning it was also in the mid-50s when I woke up, and it’s currently 62°F with an expected high of only 73. It’s sunny, but a steady breeze is making it too cold to have any windows open yet – however, I opened the front door and raised the bottom pane of the storm door a few inches for Bailey’s entertainment. I plan to raise the pane a little higher when it gets warmer this afternoon, and also open a couple of windows. In the meantime, I’m wearing sweatpants for the first time in months!
After my mom died in 2015, my brother, father, and I each informed the others about the critical things we’d need to know in case of any of our deaths. She had a will, but her passing was unexpected and there were a lot of things that I (as the executor; she and my father divorced in the '80s) had to figure out. I’m single and childless, and have no will: my only assets are my car, bank account (I keep meaning to set up a “transferrable upon death” for that), and 401(k) (my brother is the sole beneficiary). But because I create documentation for a living and am a touch on the OCD side, I made a doc called “If I Die”: it contains info on things like who to notify, how to get into my house/car/computer, what to do with Bailey, where to find my financial and other records, and the things I own that might have some resale value (as well as things that seem like they might be worth something but really aren’t; my father would try to sell everything, and needs to be told what to not waste his time on). It’s on my Google Drive and shared with both of them, and I update it from time to time…and, every so often I email a copy to them.
In addition to trying to anticipate what my family might need to know in the case of my untimely death, a few years ago I also started to wonder what might happen if I were ever to injure myself while home alone and not able to reach my cell phone (e.g., slipping in the shower). After doing some research, in July 2020 I got a Google Nest Mini: it could make calls via Google Duo, but the person you’re calling had to have the Duo app installed and configured. I got Wife BFF and my father to go through the process, and have felt better knowing that I could get help if needed. A while back, though, Duo merged with Google Meet and is now just called “Meet”…and, it seems that whoever you want to call should really have that app installed/configured.
I’ve been putting off asking Wife BFF and my dad to go through the update, and turns out that’s a good thing because I recently started seeing ads for Amazon’s new emergency assist service available on their Alexa devices. There’s a fee ($6/mo or $60/yr), but a “trained agent” will contact emergency services – and, it can be configured to automatically notify whoever you tell it to. I like the agent idea a lot better than hoping the person I try to call is available/waiting while they contact emergency services. And I love the idea that both Wife BFF and my dad can automatically be notified if I ever ask Alexa to call for help. I just ordered an Echo Pop with 1 yr of the emergency assist service; it will arrive tomorrow.
In other news, I did find places for all of the office stuff I brought home (I know some of you were dying to know!). I put most of it away yesterday afternoon, and dealt with some final books and papers this morning. I wound up pitching some things – like my new hire packet from 2018! – but most items were pretty easily assimilated around the house. And the little “tech” tote bag I always take whenever I do go to an office is now quite well stocked, so there are fewer things I’ll need to remember to throw in there the next time.
Today I’ll do some laundry, but otherwise there shall be much slothing.
This one was less a “shuffle” than a “removal.” 
Excellent! 
Even if you don’t get it, I think that can be a really valuable exercise.
Aww, thanks. 
Yesterday’s refresher training was relatively painless. And they seem to tweak a form/process with each election, so I’m glad I went. I’m hoping to get my assignment later this month. Fingers crossed that I get to work in my local precinct, so I’ll be home 2 minutes after we’re done!
In the summer of 2020, I heard about an impending November election officer shortage: there was no COVID vaccine yet, and most election officers are retired/older (i.e., high risk). Between working from home and not going anywhere/doing anything else yet, I thought, “I can do that.” I’d actually seen my mother do it when I was in high school, and I’m just civic-minded enough to really like the idea of helping people vote: I don’t care who they’re voting for, I simply want to help folks exercise that right. I’ve worked 5 of the 8 elections since that first one (I wasn’t available for two, and wasn’t needed for one): November will be #7, and my second presidential election.
That’s so cool! 
I’m with hubs: a good cheesecake doesn’t need any of that crap on top. 
I swear, there’s a not-small percentage of drivers who simply don’t look at signs. Ever.
Oh no!! 
There was a storm around sunset last night. After the storm the clouds and sunset had dramatic lighting including a double rainbow. It was a wild hour of sky.
Today is clear blue with tiny white clouds.
Not feeling particularly motivated today. I do have to do a quick store run so I better get going on that.
That is my plate on my Toyoda Tacoma
Or in Norway… 
So did FCD. For the couple of years when he was in Baltimore and I was still in Jax, I’d occasionally get a call from him asking how to get where he needed to go. (Pre-GPS days.) Even today with GPS, he wound up going from Southern Merrylande to Indianapolis via Pittsburgh. I have no idea how he managed that one.
I like to look at a map before I go some place new, just to get a feel for here-to-there. But I can carry a map in my head and mostly have a good feel for how to get where I’m going. I want directions with street names/route numbers. Please don’t tell me to “Turn left at McDonald’s” unless you’ve already said that Route 123 passes McD’s. Thanks.
Yanno, one of these days we need to split the difference and meet for a soda and some conversation - some day when neither of us is crazy busy. (Hums The Impossible Dream)
Terlit is fixed and I think I’ve gotten all the wax residue off my hands. Now I know why the laundry room smelled pissy, including the washer. I leave the washer door open (front loading) so it doesn’t get sour smelling, so the terlit water was dripping down on the washer door and followed the curve around the opening. Explains why running the Clean cycle didn’t help. But all is good now. And I’m washing the load of soggy towels we used to clean up the mess.
MIL is sleeping. I just remade her bed with the electric blanket. She was concerned that we’d want to use it - despite me explaining three times that her blanket is a twin and ours is a king. Dementia is a bitch!!!
I should probably start the bean soup soon. In fact, I should cut up everything at once so each stage will be quick and simple. Anyone got any spare motivation??
Sorry, FCM, I used all my motivation. Mowage managed, then took the AC units out of the windows. I think that’s enough for today.
Ah, good, there’s still one thing left that us traitor colonials have going better than y’all.
Those still exist?!? (Chuck E OMFG, not shopping centers.)
That sounds (ha! get it, cuz you couldn’t see?) truly awful, and joking aside, you have my sympathy.
You said she likes audiobooks … surely some churches have podcasts of their services in whatever denomination she prefers?
Ah, but you left out an important detail. What kind(s?) of beans?
Black, navy, one of those 30-bazillion-mixes … will there be a ham bone?
This info is crucial.
Ye gawds, that sounds like about three days’ worth of food all at once!
How tall was that bagel? 
Bless your heart. Skeevy means charging by the hour.
(Which I don’t know if this one does, but I assume it has the means. I call it skeevy based simply on the scrawny shuffling zombies that show up blitzed at the corner sto’ right nearby.)
Many of humanity’s horror stories contain this sentence.
Aaaahhhhh!! Too late now, but … urine = ammonia, and please tell me you know that mixing bleach with ammonia creates a very toxic gas!!
That is, indeed, a feat!
I am Team No Cherry, but saying “no” to a chocolate drizzle seems sacrilegious, so … I’m torn on this debate.
Wonderful phrasing.
We had a rainbow after a storm the other day. Someone saw me hanging out the drive-thru window when the sun came out with a vengeance, and asked, “Is there a rainbow?”
Me: “Not yet, but I’m watching out for it.”
Less than a minute later, I gave the call (“Y’all there’s a rainbow!”) and no lie, the entire kitchen stopped to go see. Not all at once, but yeah, for about a minute they tag-teamed each other to run in & out of the parking lot, and business simply … paused.
Maybe burned one of the pizzas, but S.M. gave no shits. (“Remake, please!”)
Sometimes, ya gotta go look at a rainbow for a second.
Wasn’t that a desktop background in the 90s?
I did notice that part.
No, sweetie, you wanna hang a left where the McDonald’s used to be. By the old Henry house, you remember them … ?
Too many big words.
Try, “We’re all set, but thank you! We have our OWN blanket, and this one is all yours to enjoy!”
Simplify.
Let Monkey out while catchin’ up with y’all, and who should wander in but a fly the size of a friggin’ bumblebee.
And what does my resident flycatcher do?
Wander in himself a minute later, mewling triumphantly around a mouth half-full, with the rest of a grasshopper.
Utterly ignored the fly.
Useless bastard.
(Maybe he’s saving it for later entertainment while I’m at work?)
I shut the door to keep out more flying guests, and guess who’s now hurling himself at the floor in front of the door, howling like his leg is broken and he hasn’t eaten in weeks and please listen to the Woeful Song of His People.