Yonks ago I saw them at Bates, maybe Bowdoin College, ca 1992, and they had as a guest singer, of all people, Siouxsie Sioux. It was awesome. A bit different than the symphony orchestra.
FCM So sorry to hear the diagnosis for MIL. Y’all have been dealing with some rough shit over the last year. {{{FCM Family}}}
Mouse Again with the water? WTF?
As to me, I am officially an employee of the school district, my badge will let me into the high school and both middle schools. One can’t get into a building without a badge or permission. This is a temp thing, while I help them with their fall plays. In the past, I just billed them from my company, but having the pass into the building just makes everything easier. Now I can get into their shop and start working and not have to wait for someone to let me in. I get more done before most folks arrive than they seem to do in a whole day.
I’m all HA HA HAing right now. Almost a month ago, the kids across the street had a “buy junk cars for cash” tow truck come and pick up their big maroon Monte Carlo car. Said car has not been driven for years and one of the windows didn’t roll up. We knew it still ran after a jump because they would move it once in a while when it was in the way. It lived in the front yard, we saw it as often as we see their tree.
Hubs claims to be super observant but really isn’t. He was killing monsters when the car got loaded up and probably heard the noise but didn’t have time to turn his head and look out the window.
Today he came in from getting the mail and said that he thought the kids had done something with their yard and wondered if they had gotten a notice that they had to mow.
He had finally noticed the bare spot where the car had been parked all those years, LOL!!!
I am SO happy you were able to see them, those were Paolo Soleri’s last work which he designed for the interchanges and gifted to the state. Back when they were first painted, I stopped to take pics and a police guy tried to run me off because taking detailed pics of bridges and underpasses just wasn’t normal.
(Of course I ran him off in no time at all by turning into every stereotypical art fan ever. I started by pointing out the bold use of color and care in design, then went into Soleri’s mystical feelings about art …and…nature…Hey, where are you going!!!)
FUCKING roundabouts. For whatever reason, ADOT just lurves them some fucking roundabouts and put them all over the place without really thinking about the people who will be actually using the road. When you have time and interest, look at the road from Camp Verde to Cottonwood and admire the SEVEN fucking roundabouts and lack of frontage roads. If I ever come across the idiot who thought we needed them here…I’d need a new cane to use while I was in jail because my favorite one would be evidence in my “beating someone black and blue because they needed it” trial. I’d demand a jury trial and would walk free as a hero.
Coupla weeks ago, nah ‘bout a month by now, at my job. Guy felt some kinds of ways about being told to leave (he hadn’t bought anything and was just chilling in our lobby like he owned the joint) so … yeah. On camera, in full view of a busy street, in broad daylight under God’s blue skies.
All up’n’down the side of our building, squatting on a decorative brick ledge that I have now repeatedly referred to as "the poopin’ ledge" and it is a tribute to our crew that everyone immediately knew what I meant.
When I first said that, BTW, (and mind this was at least a week after “The Incident”) I had been clarifying to kitchen/management that the empty tequila bottle in my hand had been left upon said poopin’ ledge, three feet from the bloody damn trash can, by some degenerate asshole who was raised in a barn, and I just didn’t want anyone to have questions about the matter. (“Is that … a tequila bottle in the trash?” is just not something you want to try to do damage control upon after the fact.)
Also, glass in the trash doesn’t happen often where I work and I didn’t want the teenager on trash duty that night to drop-kick the damn bag and have it rip open.
On a side note, “Glass In The Trash” would make an excellent name for a garage punk-rock band.
Feed the birdies and squirrels?
Gardeners lurve to talk shop with other gardeners, especially newbies asking for advice.
Okay, time for tonight’s installment in our never-ending series, entitled:
"Wanna know how to piss off an entire kitchen?"
Call in an order. Then call back saying you might not be able to make it, coupled with an extended rambling semi-coherent story about trying to get a different ride, and do we deliver?
When informed that we haven’t delivered in over five years, cop a super bitchy attitude.
(Yeah, I was the one on the phone.)
So I let everyone know that we might get stuck with her order - wings, some other fried shit, and a pizza. This is all going down just as her pizza was about half-cooked.
Five minutes later someone walks in & orders the exact. same. pizza. (It was a small deluxe; we go through half a bazillion just on a slow night, so no giant surprise.)
The decision was made - by management, not by me, mind you - to sell them her pizza, and remake hers when/if she shows up.
Makes sense, right? This guy is right here standing in front of us, his money is green, he gets a nice, hot pizza a bit faster than he expected, and everyone is happy.
Right?
Nope. Not everyone is happy.
A SOLID FUCKING HOUR LATER, guess who rolls up?
I ring her up, tell her it’ll be about five minutes (her remake was already in the oven - I worked with fast, experienced crew tonight for sure) and she promptly pitches an unholy shit-fit.
“I ordered an HOUR ago, why I still gotta wait?”
We were all, like, bitch hun, why are you upset that we’re re-making you fresh food? Do you really want an over-an-hour-old pizza, ferrealz?
She demands her money back - at this point, my manager was like, “Your pizza is literally about to come out of the oven; it’s less than a minute from being done,” but NOPE - money back, and she sticks us with a nice, hot, fresh pizza (plus her other crap, which nobody bothered to re-make).
@LSLGuy asked if us eating other people’s pizza is verboten, to which all I can do is laugh.
Some days there are so many damn pizzas on the break table we stack the new one on top of the old one because we ran out of room. (In our defense, it’s a small space.)
They’re nearly always a result of something being screwed up - it’s faster to re-make the damn thing than it is to pick off every. last. piece. of. onion … and then deal with a call later from someone pissed off at the single piece of onion on their picky kid’s pizza - and a lot of times they’re burnt all to hell anyway and we just all turn up our collective noses, jeer a bit at whoever burned it, and then play trash-frisbee.
But sometimes it’s:
“Oooh, that one looks gorgeous. Wait. What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing. It was supposed to have chicken on it.”
“Oh. Good, cuz I’m starving.” Omnomnom ensues.
Her Ladyship freely admits noticing things is not her strong suit. Something about needing to prevent her ADHD Squirrel!!1!.
Anyhow, it is funny how oblivious some folks can be. Spouses can often be a good source of humor. Just don’t explain to them what you’re laughing about.
Switching gears …
Roundabouts are very useful traffic control devices. Much cheaper than traffic lights and much safer than yield or stop signs and 4-way intersections. Plus they serve as speed calming devices. They work great. In places with zero long trucks.
I had not realized Soleri was behind those designs at your junction. Seems kinda obvious in hindsight. He was an odd duck to be sure, but a real visionary.
Those seven roundabouts to the NW and one to the SE on AZ260 off I-17 at Camp Verde are probably mostly passive speed control devices. Folks would be doing 100 mph up that road if they didn’t have to slow down to 15 every 3/4ths of a mile for the next roundabout.
As to me:
Quiet evening here tonight. Her Ladyship uncharacteristically ate her entire breakfast and has been overstuffed and listless ever since. No fun activity for us tonight. I had leftovers for dinner & am finishing a fine gin Gimlet. Bed is next on my agenda, for tomorrow is a busy day.
Thinking golf shortly after breakfast at dawn, and have a date for early afternoon Big Boy lunch with my pal. He and I will solve all the world’s problems while Her Ladyship volunteers at the library book store and communes with some of the biddies. That should set she and I up for an evening at home. She’s got a hankering to cook something and that should be encouraged and rewarded.
We were never able to do more than 40 back when it was a two lane highway, too many rental RV’s.
NOT WORKING!!!
Odd duck is very kind, usually folks called him quirky or just plain weird. I met him a few times and he was a very entertaining and yet super focused person. His flock passionately believe in his concepts and are still building according to the plans and legacy he left them. They also make very good bread.
Of course we do, and Michelle was so cute. I knocked on the door fully expecting to leave my handwritten note but she opened it and I introduced myself and said “I noticed your pomegranates” and she cut me off while holding her furkid behind the door with her foot to day “please take as many as you want”. Once I explained that I wanted advice, she nudged her furkid back and came out to brag. And sneak a few ripe fruit into my hands because she had so many, LOL!
Evening all. Did make it to the gym for cycling after dinner, got 500 calories burned according to the machines and got my shower free without using any of my water. Will check the water meter again tomorrow morning, the last check this afternoon was about right (4 toilet flushes, around 10 gallons used), so we’ll see what it says tomorrow. Thanks for all the concern.
Pilot, still thinking about transferring to apartment living at around age 75 (4 years to go) but I have to admit if this keeps up into 2024 I will re-evaluate. Never have golfed in my life (well, once due to a work-event), so I really don’t know much about the age groupings…interesting stuff.
JtC, I like roundabouts, but sounds like they went overboard in your area. The one nearest me replaced a 4-way stop that was quite a bottleneck and so far seems to be operating quite efficiently. Guess it depends on the engineering folks competence. And yea! for making a new Pomegranate friend.
wet one, hope the leg/knee does better with PT. I get occasional twinges from my knees but nothing like what your experiencing.
VanGo, glad that you now have your badges…hope they don’t stink…
shoe, you just have to remember that a certain percentage of adults are below the ‘average’ IQ level…and sounds like a few of them know your restaurant…
OK, need to finish watching the tackleball game on Amazon (Cowboys are winning, Booooo!!) (not our Boo) and then head off to bed. Catch y’all on Firday, the First Day of December.
shoe There is one street in the college neighborhood that I am absolutely convinced they don’t fix in order to keep speed down. I’ve lived her 25 years and there had never been the slightest bit of repairs on it. This is an old town, so there are spots where the original brick pavers are showing.
The rest of the city just has shitty roads. Until, evidently, this coming spring, when they got a biiiig influx of gov’t money to re-do a bunch of roads. If they do all on the list at the same time, it will make getting around town impossible. No, for reals, impossible, there are three roads that cross the bottom end of the lake and they are all on the list.
The very cynical “dealing with customers” portion of my brain suspects that the ShoeCrew is SO skilled they foiled an attempted scam for freebies without even trying. If you’d given her the stuff made an hour before, she’d have been pitching a “this is cold and nasty, remake it for free” fit.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 53 Amurrkin out and cloudy with a predicted high of 74 with some rain startin’ late this afternoon and then through Sunday accordin’ to TWPTB. We shall see. We shall head over to the church house to deal with candle and other duties this mornin’ and then be bears who brunch at Eggs Up. That should be enough activity for the day. Sloth, general overall uselessness, nappage, and day drinkin’ will take up the rest of the day, as is our wont. It’s great to be a retired drain on society!
CupCakes I did the stovetop version of peanut brittle, but saw some recipes for the microwave version. If’n I get the urge to do this again, I will try a microwave version just for funsies.
shoe yikes on the irk stories! Never fear, the peanuts will get eaten. I just don’t understand what possessed us to want two big bags of 'em. We like peanuts a lot, but this is many, many peanuts!
WetOne hope the pt helps with the leg/knee issues. Ouchie!
There are a few roundabouts in the area. I can take 'em or leave 'em. Actually, I rarely drive in the areas where they are located.
VanGo yay for havin badge access to the skools so’s you can get stuff done.
Now I need more caffeine and bother of bother, I suppose I must needs purtify and don attire acceptable for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. The things I endure for my public!
It doesn’t matter - truly. She’s 92, Her husband, one son, and all but 1 sibling have died. She’s all but blind and almost unable to care for herself - a travesty for a woman who was very active up until a year or so ago. She’s done - at least in her mind. And honestly, I can’t say I blame her - I’m pretty sure the last thing she wants is to end up like her husband, stuck in a bed in a diaper and on morphine. She’s ready to die.
And on that happy note…
Anyway, today BIL gets his own apartment. FCD already loaded the boxes that were living in our garage into his li’l truck. I may or may not have Tobias today - BIL missed some work and may need to make up hours, so I don’t know if I’ll be helping with the move or not. But the big stuff will be moved tomorrow - bed, dresser, recliner.
I’m taking MIL grocery shopping today, with or without the kidlet. I guess I’ll see what the day brings.
My car goes to the dealer next Firday for a recall - one of those Hyundai security update thingies. Since the car lives in my garage and I don’t drive in DC (where car thefts are insane of late!!!) I’m not too worried, but I’ve got an appointment. And I think I’ll arrange to have my tires replaced during the kids’ Christmas break. And with luck, that’ll be it for car stuff for a while. Thankfully, adding some brake fluid took care of the flashing brake light - WHEW!
We’re looking at chances of rain on and off thru Sunday night. but no biggie since I didn’t plan any outdoor work. The token kid gifts have arrived, so I can get them wrapped. Maybe I’ll do some cook-ahead meals this weekend. But not too many - in a couple of weeks, we’re taking MIL to Indiana to stay with her sister (the retired nurse) till we get back from our cruise. That will be a load off our minds - knowing she’s with someone who can help/deal with whatever comes up. And, yes, she’ll have the info about MIL’s cremation contract in hand, just in case.
So we’ll see how the day and the weekend progresses.
Morning all.
Thanks for the kind words about Lucy (our new dog). She’s (finally) asleep behind me and I can actually type for a bit. Not complaining, but most of my time is spent walking/training and laughing. She thinks everything is a game, and any object the humans handle should be seized and used as “keep away”. Yesterday I had to chase her down and retrieve my oscillating fan. I heard odd noises and saw her mischievous face as she fled down the hall with it. Ditto for the remotes, some tools, and my hat. It’s fun though.
As far as Christmas decorations, we usually put up the tree on the Thanksgiving weekend, but are delayed this year. We’re going to fence it off from the new dog, as she’s still a puppy.
The tree is the main decoration (nothing outside). It’s a motley collection of ornaments from all our travels and stuff. We still have the first ornament we ever bought, a plexiglass heart with “First Christmas Together - 1980” printed on it. There’s no theme though, anything that has memory or meaning is welcome on the tree somewhere. BTW: it’s a fake one that lives in a box most of the year.
{{Realfish}}, sorry to hear about the Mom conversations. Controlling parents can be a pain, and IME they never let up. Oh the tales I could tell…
A few years ago, a nearby family left all their extensive decorations (Reindeer, sleigh, elves, etc.) in a jumbled pile in the front yard. All plugged in, lit up and moving, although nothing was upright. In front was a large sign that said: “It’s been a busy year.” I thought it was hilarious!
On to the day…
Again to the vet, to get Heartguard prescriptions and stuff. More dog training/walking. Maybe tackle the annoying hot tub leak, but that will take sawz-alls and other power tools, so I might run into objections since I haven’t been formally cleared for all activities by the surgeon. I and my son are both recovering from surgery, and we commiserate about being stuck in the house under strict supervision. At least we have similar tastes in books and movies, and can share Audible/Netflix finds.
Afternoon, mumpers! It’s a balmy 1c/33f with no predicted change today, and mostly cloudy. Weather app says “If it wasn’t so fucking shitty outside, it would be the cat’s ass.” I have been outside and can confirm it is very cold, there was a hard frost last night, and it’s actually sunny.
The reason I went out was to go to the dentist. I slipped over on wet leaves a few weeks ago and my front tooth has been sensitive ever since. It doesn’t hurt as such, there’s no constant toothache kind of pain but I can’t bite on it. After some poking and prodding, and some x-rays, she said there doesn’t appear to be any nerve damage and the tooth itself isn’t broken/cracked/fractured so it might just be a case of time for it to heal. I’ve still got some bruising under my nose and she said it could take up to 3 months to heal properly.
Thus I have a not-quite-eyewatering bill, a prescription for emergency anti-biotics in case I need them while I’m away at hexmas, and an appointment with the hygienist later. I have to see the dentist again in a couple of months, or sooner if anything dramatic changes. On the walk back home, I called in at the vets to order some more meds for Shadow too, so quite a productive morning without doing any actual work
Yanker Lucy looks adorable, I hope she settles in well, and quickly!
Mooooom I know what you mean about MIL, sometimes you can just tell that someone’s had enough of life and when it’s not fun any more, that’s a good time to call it quits. Fingers crossed that everything goes well with BIL and the move too.
shoe I bet she was royally narked that you’d got a fresh pizza cooking and she couldn’t complain about it being cold so she could demand a free one instead.
JtC I love a good roundabout, we have them all over the place here so I’m quite used to them. The only ones I don’t like are the daft combinations of mini-islands that pop up sometimes. Having a full-size traffic island is fine, but don’t put two small ones so close together that nobody’s got a clue where to go or who had right of way! Swindon is famous for this absolute traffic nightmare Magic Roundabout which I would have avoided at all costs!
Right, it’s lunchtime and the cats are giving me stink-eye because I’m here and not downstairs filling up food bowls for them. Better put that right, lest they start using me as kibble!
BooFae, isn’t there a 7 lane roundabout near Slough? I think there might even be a 24 hour webcam of it on YouTube.
PT went well. Today muh knee actually feels less sore. I have exercises to do twice daily. That will be easy to accomplish today since it’s raining and cold and gross and I don’t wanna to go outside. I started a new book last night, and series 3 of Slow Horses started so I will be entertained all day. And maybe a nap….
Morning all. Already 51F heading for 64F, which is a nice way to start December, even if it’s a bit rainy outside. Checked the water meter, according to it I used 26 gallons between 5pm yesterday and 8am today, while only using the toilet 3 times, so I probably do have a leak but not a major one (yet). So will start shutting the water down in the evenings and when I go out and see about getting a guy who can test for leaks in the slab sometime. Probably will be after Xmas before it can get worked on. At least the carpet isn’t involved in this one (yet). Ah well, such is life.
Need to do a bit of shopping, both in-store and on-line today and get the last of the week’s exercising done (swimming today). Might gas up car or wait a day or so, I do need to get air into the tires, running at about 30-32psi and the on-board nanny is saying to inflate them to 36psi.
VanGo, they do fix roads around here pretty well, but they do try to manage traffic patterns too, hope your city does the same.
FCM, sorry to hear about MIL, hope when she goes it’s mostly painless and quick; both my parents died in poor health and over a long period of time and it’s hard, as you know with FIL. Best wishes to all.
yankers, puppies have no concept of “no, don’t touch that”. Best of luck in her training. And don’t overdo, make sure you’re feeling up to the activity. (end fussy friend advice).
It’s 41F and wet outside. The expected high is 49F and it’s pretty much going to rain off and on all day today. It was pouring down in the wee hours of the morning.
FCM, jeebus, the hits just keep coming! I’m so sorry about your MiL, and hope the new digs for your BiL work out.
yanks! What a cute puppeh! I know what you mean about her keeping you busy. Buster and Maisie definitely keep us busy. Potty training is pretty much licked, but we have to keep on top of it. Poor Buster had an upset tummy yesterday, so there was an accident in the pen, but he’s fine today. We’ve been taking them out in the backyard to potty and play, and sometimes we have to stay out there awhile because puppies are easily distracted from accomplishing their business. On the other hand, Buster will run to the patio door when he needs to potty. And Maisie will cry a little if she’s in the pen. They both pee almost immediately upon being let outdoors, but pooing takes a while longer. Buster doesn’t like going outside if it’s raining, Maisie doesn’t care. How ironic, a lab that doesn’t like water. Buster likes anything that smells like me, so my shoes are a constant temptation for him. He will find them, give them a small chew and then just lay his head on top of the shoe or slipper. Fortunately, I don’t leave shoes I care about lying around. He’s grabbing my backyard shoes or a slipper with a cracked sole and leaks.
VanGo, yay for easier ways to get your job done!
nellie, it was very nice of you to give that young man your bags. You can bet he’ll remember your kindness.
boofae, sorry about the tooth, and I’m glad the dental bill wasn’t as high as expected.
I hate roundabouts. Traffic calming, my ass. WSDOT has decided they like diverging diamonds on overpasses now and are starting to redo our interstate overpasses with those. I’ve not tried one of them yet.
metal mouse, I’m sorry to hear the water issue has come up again.
Today is my RDO, and the only plans I have are to play with puppies and take care of chores in between. Buster is right at my heels anytime he’s out of the pen, so I have a new constant shadow.
I read, but I know I probably left some stuff out. It’s been a very busy few days. Sending yays, boos, hugs to all. Generally, just know that I send hugs to all regardless of how things are going. I care about you all.
Been a lot of yakking in other threads about the many young people that refuse to get driver’s licenses despite not living in public transport-friendly areas. They try to mooch off their friends instead.
I had not thought about that from the other end of the telescope; all the businesses that operate on appointments or like yours where a timely arrival still matters that now have a new and ever-growing cadre of flaky customers for a new and silly reason. Ouch!
On the occasions I use UberLyft instead of driving I sure need to add 10-ish minutes to my plans, and often that isn’t quite enough. But at least I’m punctual-minded enough to try to make that allowance. And UberLyft is semi-reliable enough.
Yaay!! Free (if eventually monotonous) food seems to be the one large perk of restaurant work.
Even if you do have to put up with havin’ a Poopin’ Ledge nearby. And Stupid Entitlement right across the counter / window from you.
That works too.
As you probably know from your Texas time, potholes are much more a northern thing. Growing up in SoCal I never really knew what the heck a “pothole” was until I first lived where it got cold. Until then they were purely mythical beasts.
We sure don’t have many around here. Yes, pavement gets old and worn. And the really cheap stuff can eventually fail and peel up wherever water pools. I can think of a couple of badly paved parking lots near here like that. But potholes on the roads pretty much simply don’t exist.
Certain demographics may be slowed down some, but they refuse to be calm about it.
We sure have our share of those around here too. Despite speed humps and roundabouts in some suburban areas. And dense traffic on the freeways at rush hour. Folks going 60+ on the shoulders passing slow or stopped traffic in the 3 or 5 through lanes is not rare; not at all.
Blame it on the BOGO sign. Even it it’s not quite true.
I understand that sentiment. There is a time for each of us to call it quits. IMO the lucky ones don’t get to spend too much time in that unhappy place. {{Hugs}} to you all.
When I lived among the suburban McMansions with the large yards was about when the wireframe lit-up animals, some with animation were all the rage. 4 foot deer with antlers, bears, etc.
One of our neighbors owned a zoo full of these things. Which were artfully arranged around their yard. Some local people who shall remain nameless had a habit of rearranging them into brightly lit and oh-so-quivery pan-species orgies.
The owners would restore order the next day and the wags would conjure a fresh orgy the next night. I often came home from work at 10pm or midnight so always got to see the “after” version. Gave me something to look forward to after a too-long day at irk.
Shame about the sorta-damaged-but-not tooth. I’m amazed to learn that dental is not part of NHS’s coverage. TIL.
DD’s are great. Once the locals learn what to do. Much the same as roundabouts. It’s the confused folks who can’t dance the dance who step on everyone else’s toes / right-of-way / fenders.
I don’t know why I was thinking that you got a Santa Fe, but the truck looks nice. I liked the blue and the green colors for it.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted, a load of towels / sheets in the dryer, jeans in the wash and everything else on deck. After I get houseirk done, I need to stop by the apartment office to get some overcharges straightened out. When I called this morning, I actually got a real, live human in the form of our new (again) manager.
Nine and a half hours of productive heaving. I had oatmeal when I got home, with cranberries, cinnamon, and a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters, because brunch without alcohol is just a sad, late breakfast. . 1st load of laundry is in the washer.
“Hold my pint”
Yanker, Taters, glad the puppy training is going well.
Alpena Michigan is like that. One road is just tiny bits of asphalt creating a webbing around the potholes.
On camera, in full view of a busy street, in broad daylight under God’s blue skies.
is just not something you want to try to do damage control upon after the fact.)
. 1st load of laundry is in the washer.
