I’ll add my hugs to shoe.
All else is going to crap around here. Dunno how I’m gonna make rent on my shop. If’n I have to move out of there I don’t know where I’m going to put all my stuff. Need to come up with some funds somehow. It would help if the school system paid on a more consistent basis.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s my Firday!
Dang, shoe, that was a day and half.
VanGo, hope something works out for the shop.
Awake!
Hugs all around.
It doesn’t Feel like Saturday.
Forgot my dream, thankfully.
Trying to come up with something clever to say.
…
Back after sunrise!
Mornin’ all. It’s nearly sunrise, I’m up, sheveled, out, and just finished feedin’ at actually-Denny’s which is the only place open around here this early. A decidedly industrial experience. But I’m calorified, the caffinatin’ is proceeding a pace and in a few minutes I’ll launch down the highway to the Swamp Cabbage Festival.
It rained here overnight, everything is wet, and it’s 65/19 now on the way to 75/24. Should be clear and sunny both here and where I’m going for today & tomorrow. Chilly early, warm in the afternoon. Ideal winter Florida style.
As to y’all …
Metalmouse: I’ve never seen an episode either. Not a fan of sitcoms in general.
Tryin’ my damnednest, that’s for sure!
Shoe: Wow, that *was * a shitty day (night)! As always, the worse it gets, the worse it gets. Preventing distraction from causing even more unforced errors is the key to stopping the snowball. Easier said than done.
And having management admit we’re not going to keep up, so stop trying to hurry; it doesn’t work. If the backlog is an hour, tell callers it’ll be 2 hours. That’s the only way to slow the flow so you get caught up. You’ll sell the same total number of pizzas at the end of the night, but you’ll have had far less stress and angry customers while doing it.
Ouch! Best of luck.
Back when I was in the IT biz we came within a hair’s breadth of bankruptcy entirely due to the slothful bill-paying of government agencies. And their slothful habit of promising a final purchase decision “next week” for about 100 consecutive weeks. We did not have the kind of capital it took to spend 2 years persuading each agency to make a 500K gross, 50k net purchase.
Welp, my time is up. Off to zoom. Cheers all and enjoy the weekend if that’s what it is for you!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 43 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 71 and N.O.S. for the day. Today shall be a day of high sloth, nappage, and day drinkin’. Sup shall be grilled chikin strips, sallit, and cheesey garlic bread. That is all the effort I am willin’ to put forth.
MetalMouse Happy Doperversary! Saw the piece of cake by your name.
VanGo hope things work out for you soonest.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Sattidy Y’all!
Happy doperversary
This reminded me of one of my adventures in flea-marketing. When we lived in FL, there was a flea market in Jacksonville where you could get a table for the day for $10 and sell whatever crap you wanted to get rid of. We did this a couple of times with some success.
One day, I had a fake diamond ring I was selling for $5. I’d gotten it for free with the purchase of something else, so whatever I got would be pure profit. A woman came by and was looking at it. She pulled out a jeweler’s loupe, of all things, and examined the “stone” at multiple angles. Seriously??
She offer me $3. I declined. If Miss Pretentious wanted that ring, it was $5 or nothing. She left. She came back and looked at it again. I think she did that a couple of times, and finally coughed up the $5. For anyone else, I’d have probably taken the $3, but she didn’t deserve it!! OK, so not the same as your story, but there ya go!
Whereas I’ve probably seen most episodes 8-10 times each! It seems when nothing else is on, FCD will stop on that show. It’s little more than background noise, but it beats whatever version of Law & Order is playing - I do so hate that show.
I don’t dislike them, but I don’t think they’re all that great. And whether it’s an urban legend or not, I’d heard the troops get very little of the money from the sales, which pisses me off. My inclination would be to make a donation and skip the cookies. But, frankly, I don’t care all that much about girl scouts in general, so whatevs…
OMG, don’t get me started! My glazing is less than spectacular, tho I have had some interesting success. As for what I’ve made - mugs, bowls, candy dishes, monsters, planters, jugs… I used to have a bunch of pics on photobucket, but either they shut down the site or went pay-to-play and deleted my pages. A few lucky Mumpers have some of my old efforts.
Mild rant here, semi-MIL-related, tho not to do with her health. I have no idea what laundry products she uses but the scent clings to her clothes. Worse, it clings even after being washed in my unscented laundry detergent, and it spreads in the dryer. GAH!!! I do so hate fake scented products. They don’t smell like a mountain breeze or a country meadow. They reek of fake and they overpower everything! When I’m Queen of the World, they will all be outlawed, banished, forbidden, and cast into an active volcano.
<deep cleansing breaths>
Today will begin with my eye exam. OK, it’s actually begun since I’ve showered, dressed, tended the critters, and fed my face, but still… I should probably rollsuck and <gasp> dust when I get back, and I need to empty the dishwasher and clean the critter fountain. I’ve already declared that today’s feed shall be whatever one finds in the fridge. There are too many little containers of random food in there that need to be cleared. And I’ll pull a hunk of dead cow out of the freezer so I can make a pot roast tomorrow.
That’s as far ahead as I’ve thought. we’ll see what the day brings.
Happy Saturday!
I’m a rebel. I do know that the series exists (or existed), but I know nothing about it, much like most commercial TV series in the past 15 years.
Morning all. Up about 7:15am, seems I am adjusting to a 7-hour sleep cycle, but I suspect one of these days I’ll wake up about 10am. Nothing much on the agenda but indoor soccer and maybe some gym time, but we’ll see how it goes. Only getting to 58F today, but supposed to be in the 70’s early next week, then drop back to the 50’s and then back up to the 70’s next weekend, so Spring weather seems to be here. Had Cereal for breakfast with a banana and we’ll see about the rest of the day.
Thanks for the Dopeversary wishes, I joined (according to my homepage) in 2004, and posted once or twice, then went on to other things. Came back years later and began posting here and there and then joined the MMP bunch and never looked back. And never regretted it for a moment.
shoe, sounds like a nightmare work night, glad you survived it. Deep breath and tomorrow (today) is another day…
Pilot, enjoy the Swamp Cabbage.
FCM, between reading stories at this place and the website Not Always Right, my faith in the intelligence of human beings outside our little community here is sometimes severely tested. And don’t think I’ve ever bought scented clothes.
Cookie, I am much like you, sometimes I wonder why I pay Direct TV all that money when I probably watch TV maybe a hour a day. I’m aware of most long-running shows, but couldn’t name a new series in the last 2-3 years (yeah I can, Ghosts, but that’s it).
OK, onward into the morning. Take care all.
Would taking on a couple of general carpentry gigs to tide you over be an option?
As a former girl scout and leader, the troop gets most of the monetary profits and the individual scouts get credits towards GS camp. It is also a tool to teach marketing and responsibility. Things may have changed since my years in the program though.
Happy doperversary metal mouse!
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. Other than going to Tar-jay for a prescription, the day will be spent working on the album.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
It snowed less than an inch overnight but I am done with winter. I may stay inside under the blankets.
Oh, yeah… I ate jalapeños last night. 
At the staph meeting, we were all given ‘gratitude journals’ by one of El Jefe’s favourite motivational speakers. We’re supposed to rate our day (1 to 10 stars), write what happened, state what we’re grateful for that day, and then rate the day after spilling our guts. Apparently we’ll have another meeting eventually to discuss and share. Man, I hate that crap!
The other thing we got was a sealed envelope with a statement of how much it costs the company to employ us. Yes, I know there are more costs than salary. I’m not ignorant. Kind of a dick move, I think.
Finally, Mrs. L.A. found out that one of her cousins died. She has a big family, and she’s estranged from most of them. I an’t keep track of who’s who, who died, who she won’t talk to, or whom I’ve met. Anyway he was only about 68. He’d been in a nursing home for some reason and had a stroke there. Sounds like he had a fatal stroke.
ETA: I’m making myself a grilled pulled pork-and-Swiss sandwich for breakfast.
Sun’s out; buns cat’s out.
Very bright, but cold. Still in the 20s.
Concur.
I have to keep consciously reminding myself that I get paid either way, that my mistakes are just that - humans are fallible mortals - and not docked from my pay, and that we all (mostly) tried our best in the face of less-than-ideal circumstances.
Besides, tonight can’t possibly go like last night, if nothing else cuz they brought the Lil’ Backup Dough Roller. It’s smaller & the dough rollers universally hate using it (and crusts may come out more slowly) but the mechanics are reliable so slowly or not, at least they’ll be produced.
… having said all that, now I worry that I jinxed it & the walk-in is plotting another suicide attempt.
If she has vision problems, it’s possible she’s using way too much detergent.
Wait, she’s frail, blind, nearing the end .. and she’s still doing her own laundry?
This is hilarious.
Oh, we absolutely stretched the times, and Sweet Manager shut off online ordering entirely AND simply took the phone off the hook for a while.
… which left all the people who drove up/walked in to order. (“Hey, why ain’t your phones workin’?”)
The who in the what now?
Swamp = “nawww.” Cabbage = “no thank you.” Festival = “maybe, I guess.” So for me, a total of … { does math } meh?
Is this like the story of Iceland/Greenland, where the Vikings supposedly named the “good” one to sound horrible, and the barren rock to sound inviting and lure people away?
Heaving wasn’t too bad. Made some hours and a sliver of OT from cleanup time. I grabbed a frozen pizza for lunch, and some rum.
I’ll have to put up a picture of my collection.
Happy Doperversary 
Metalmouse!
That’s there with being referred to as “liabilities” by the suits.
Still waiting on the final vote count, 5 people have not voted as yet. So far Norway spruce is in the lead, followed by natural, no one has voted for eiger.
In other news, the subscription box had a green bowl in it. The theme was hot springs so it is all bath stuff. The bowl has a little spout dip, it looks leafish. I do enjoy bowls.
I ate 8 peeps, 4 of them were chocolate dipped. I am debating on buying an ice cream cake for natal festivities. I do have a large brownie square right now.
I must get moving on to laundry soon. I am down to “don’t get in an accident” unmentionables.
MetalMouse! Here’s to another 20 years on the Dope!
shoe, you know it always can be worse, but I hope tonight is way better. Now I know what’s happening when our favorite pizza joint tells us it’ll be an hour for a delivery. (We try not to order out on Friday nights, since they always seem like the worst.)
I hope things turn around soon, VanGo. Business stress is really wearing, and it’s frustrating when big entities act like they can walk all over small businesses.
FCM, I feel you about the heavy laundry scents. I gave up on thrift store clothes a while ago because it takes forever to wash the stench out of them, and it gets all into whatever they’re washed with. I had some luck hanging my sweatshirt out in the sun for a few hours after it got permeated with scent from a package; if you have a clothesline and some sun, maybe it could de-scent MIL’s clothes?
The Girl Scouts were in front of the store when I picked up prescriptions today, so we now have a box of Thin Mints and some of Caramel Delites to go with the Trefoils, Lemonades, and other Thin Mints my daughter picked up yesterday. Some of them are freezer-bound, but my family’s happy to pick up the slack for all you GS cookie abstainers!
Put away 99% of my clean laundry. What remains is so easy-peasy that I deliberately left it, so later I’d get a task done in .05 seconds and then feel all triumphant & productive.
Have fud made and packed for today: shredded chicken, doctored up with various sauces (Chic Fil A, sweet thai chili, and cilantro squeeze stuff) plus chopped green onions and more fresh cilantro, and also chili crisp.
It’s a mess to look at, but involves all my favorite flavors, and each bite is just a little bit different.
Between that, and the instant mashed potato cup in my locker (doctored up at work with some garlic “butter” which is just flavored margarine, but whatevs, it’s tasty) I should be all set for tempting yummies.
Oh, and a handful of Hershey kisses, to clear out the holiday candy stash.
Ratties got both water bottles refilled and an assortment of snax, so they’re set for tonight.
Someone called out.
Two people called out.
Someone is injured/hungover/lost in personal “stuff” at home and distracted.
An important piece of equipment is on the fritz.
We ran out of a key ingredient that wasn’t part of the most recent delivery.
A customer in the queue ahead of you just ordered eleven pizzas, each totally different.
An unholy combination of any of the above.
She has a washer/dryer unit in her apartment so she could still wash clothes while there. And you’re probably right about her using too much detergent, not that it matters now, since I’m her laundress.
I do have a clothesline, but the weather has been crap of late. I figure after another laundering or two, the smell should be gone.
FCD is currently installing two grab bars in the hall bathroom around the terlit. Chances are he and/or I might need them in the not-too-distant future. Unfortunately, there’s no way to install any in our bathroom, but the sink is right next to the terlit and it’s a good hand-hold. Plus we got taller terlits, which makes it easier to stand. Enough potty talk. 
FCD took his mom for a walk down our driveway and back - maybe 200’ total. She immediately fell asleep when they came back in. And she was talking in her sleep - that’s just too creepy! Dunno why it hits me that way, but it does.
And this needs to be said - I do appreciate the suggestions that have been offered and if I seem less than enthusiastic, it’s probably because there are reasons that I haven’t shared here. I’ve spared you a lot of details but as you might imagine, it’s a complicated situation on a lot of levels. It’s going to be interesting to see what the OT and PT say and how she reacts.
Meanwhile, it’s almost time to forage for supper. I had some leftovers for lunch - not sure what remains for supper.
Helllooo Mumpers. I said to my husband, “OK, this is going to sound crazy, but how about we schedule some date nights around frogs?”
A frog research entity is having a training event at my local nature center teaching laypeople how to identify native frog species in the surrounding wetlands. It’s a four hour training plus a commitment to a minimum of three nights of observation over a four month period. I thought, we train together, we do a date night observing frogs, and if it seems okay, maybe we bring our son the next couple of times.
Am I crazy? I like frogs. I’ve been wanting to be more of an outdoors person. I am exactly the kind of person who looks for frogs when I’m hiking, so why not contribute to research while I’m at it?
This is where my brain sabotages me. I go from, “sounds fun!” to imagining all the ways it could go wrong (example below.)
I hurt my ankle, so no walks for me the last few days, but I have kept getting up early and meditating. This morning took the kid to swim class - still stressful - but otherwise it’s been a chill day, some cross stich, podcasts, reading. We played a game with Wee Weasel and then went for a short walk to test out the ankle (it’s cold!)
I’m gearing up for my Day of Presence in two hours. Printing out my weekend recipes and preparing to go off the grid.
Not gonna lie, I’m scared shitless about going to Zen temple tomorrow, which is a great opportunity to practice with social anxiety, so I tell myself. What if I sneeze in a silent room? What if nobody talks to me? What if I don’t like it? What if my foot falls asleep during meditation and I have to stretch my leg out? What if I try to meditate with a numb foot and I can’t do it? What if I ask a stupid question? What if I forget something important? What if I’m leaving out something I should be worried about?
I haven’t been the most mindful parent this week. I dunno why. Some weeks are just hard.
Just like returning my attention to the breath, I keep trying to course-correct in my real life. OK, I’m being kinda snappy now, but I can choose now to return to a place of acceptance. OK. Best I can do.
Oh, I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. I find puzzles & podcasts go great together, or some alternatives, audiobooks? Soothing music? Sometimes silence is good too. Anything to get my brain into the default mode network. I tend to work at a slow pace. I make it as difficult as I can by not looking at the image on the box as I assemble. You can’t do that and be in a hurry.
Heh. The Goal Crazy Planner. I’ve been working on setting it up for a few hours, lots and lots of motivational interviewing. It’s very… intense. “What do you want in life? A new house? A million dollars? Dream big!” And I’m not sure I’m the target audience, because I’m thinking “Um… I’d like to go outside more?” Anyways, I picked a Most Important Goal, which is private, and I guess that’s going to be a major focus these next three months. I’m not sure how I feel about the planner but I’m going to give it a shot and see where I land.
I’ve been doing some reading (DT Suzuki, so early 1900s essays introducing the Western world to Zen Buddhism.) He keeps saying what Zen is not, and I get it, how do you explain something that isn’t analytical or logical? That’s why the lore is filled with so many bizarre and funny anecdotes. I’m no mystic, but the basic “how to” as I understand it, the fundamental, is just to sit and meditate. And that’s something I can do. Everything else that happens is a function of experience.
Allow me to add my belated hugs.
Time for Day of Presence. See you on the other side!