(Old) Gobble, eh? A Metric Thanksgiving MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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This week both went by in a flash and feels like it started a month ago! :joy:

I live in a townhouse community that uses cluster mailboxes, and the HOA had new ones installed yesterday. I picked up the new keys on Monday, and today I discovered that I will actually now go to a different cluster – after trying my key in what I was told was my new mailbox, in the old cluster, then getting nosy and looking inside an unlocked box and finding a mapping of house numbers to cluster locations. (I checked at around 11:00; at 12:30 the HOA sent out an email notifying everyone that “some homeowners have been reassigned to new mailbox locations.”) I’ll now get my mail from a cluster at the other end of the street, which is fine with me because it’s closer to the house. It also turns out that the new keys, which were marked as going to mailbox #9, actually open #22; that part I figured out through trial-and-error. My address is on a label inside #22, so at least I was able to confirm that my mail should, in fact, start going there. Phew! :slight_smile:

While picking up my mailbox keys, I had the chance to ask a neighbor what Halloween is like here. He confirmed my suspicion that there will be a lot of kids, and he also confirmed that I wasn’t off base to wonder whether people give out candy from their driveways vs making the little ones climb the dozen concrete steps to our front doors. When I went to the grocery store yesterday I bought more bags of candy than I ever have in my life. :joy: Probably too much, but I know I can bring the leftovers to work! On Halloween I’ll put a table and chair in my driveway for trick-or-treating, and I’ll have a few decorations – including a motion-activated talking pumpkin that little kids always love (I’ll put it close to the sidewalk). I’ll also have a themed playlist going on a Bluetooth speaker. I’m looking forward to it; I hope the weather holds out. :jack_o_lantern:

I got both high school and college rings; both times in junior year. When I was a sophomore in college my then-boyfriend wanted to wear my HS ring on a chain around his neck, and one day we were at the mall and the chain broke without either of us realizing it. The ring was immediately lost forever. The next year I got my college ring, which I still think is pretty while also clearly being a Josten’s product:

I stopped wearing it ~25 years ago when I switched from gold to silver jewelry, but I’m glad I kept it: my college doesn’t exist anymore[1], so its sentimental value has increased.

I briefly considered getting a grad school ring, just because, but ultimately I felt that wearing one would be kinda pretentious.

I’ll be going out to lunch both days this weekend! Tomorrow I’m driving 70 miles north to see one of my mom’s cousins, who I grew up calling “aunt.” I haven’t seen her in a few years. We’re planning to go to Panera. Then on Sunday I’ll be driving 27 miles west to meet a friend who I haven’t seen in a couple of months. We’ll be going to a Thai place that we both love. We’ve been talking about a trip to LA in December for an event that finally has tickets on sale, so this will be a planning lunch. :slight_smile:

Work is finally done for the day/week, and it’s time to relocate to the kitchen table for dinner and Lego. I’m just 5 bags away from finishing Downton Abbey and being able to start Wallace & Gromit. I think I’ll nuke a chicken pot pie for dinner…which reminds me, shoe I finally tried the Blake’s! It was yummy! I slightly prefer Marie Callender’s (which is what I have now), but more Blake’s will definitely be finding their way to my freezer.

There were 199 posts when I started drafting this, so per my SOP I’ve only gone back 24 hours (to post #152)…

Awww, it was very nice of him to say that!

Excellent! :tada:

This. I usually take the day after Thanksgiving off, but it’s never been a paid holiday.

Twelve more for me…but who’s counting… :grin:

  1. It closed a couple of years ago; the campus was sold to Villanova. ↩︎

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Ah, another beautiful day here in Ory-gun! Started out with 47Ferrets, now climbing slowly to a high of 80F. Currently 66F.

wet one, that is a lovely compliment! Now I’m going to be painfully aware of every errr and ummm that comes out of my mouth… but what an accomplishment on your part!

Coppertone, good luck with the new fella. I think you should shoot higher, but you know what works for you.

Oh, dear. You just invalidated both my marriages!

I certainly can’t argue with reasoning like that. :slight_smile: I hope work vexation abates soon. (But I’m not hopeful.)

Wow, Mollie, conga-rats to Squeaky! That’s quite an accomplishment! You and Mrs. Magill must have raised him right. :slight_smile:

VanGo, I’m sorry Ms. Peach is so intent on putting herself repeatedly in harm’s way. She has a kindred soul in Ollie, who very nearly found his way off the property this morning. < shudder >

If you’re going to lose a class ring, this would be a splendid way to do it! :smiley:

I am not the least surprised! You deserve many such implied and orated compliments for your work, which is gorgeous!

swampy, I have silverware envy. Mine is pretty, but it’s only plate. With the current price of silver, I hope yours is kept in a lockbox! I think the garlic is safe from doggio’s freezer curiosity just by its current state of stink. That stuff would knock a buzzard off a shit wagon. And that is a very pretty aig plate you linked to! But only enough room for 12 aigs? I don’t know…

I can’t smell it anymore now it’s in the trash freezer in the workshop, except when I go to add something to that freezer. Maybe I should dig it out and use it to keep Halloween vampires at bay. Heh, heh, heh!

Why screw around? Now, where’s my 12 gauge Mossberg? :wink:

I’m not at all surprised they thought of you! But whatever your answer is, I hope there’s something good in it for you.

Happy voting, Knots!

Hippie, how does a place make a not so good cheeseburger? Good grief! I hope the weather in Philly goes your way on Sunday.

Taters, I’m glad you’re feeling better today! What you suffered yesterday sounds distinctly un-fun.

Enjoy the Abdul El-Sayed rally today, Cat Glove! I am sure it will be inspirational!

Lily, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my ballot. They were mailed out two days ago. If not here by Tuesday, I’m heading down to the elections office.

Good job working the elections, herald. It’s so important! I miss working them. I recently learned that our current county clerk came from the same California county where I worked years ago. We probably know a lot of the same people. I may have to say hello next time I’m in that office (not during an election, though!).

Nut, what a frustrating situation. I wish I had a decent suggestion for you, but I don’t. Tenacity, I guess. :confused:

Hope the muscle cramp gives you some relief soon, shoe. I empathize.

Glad you got the mailboxes sorted, Oopsie! And happy it worked out as you wanted. Your Halloween plans sound delightful. :slight_smile: Have fun at your lunches and with Lego projects!

Halloween is sort of fraught for me this year. For lo these many years, I have lived safely and quietly ensconced at the end of my long, dark, scary driveway with the imposing gate across it. No one has ever dared to trick-or-treat here.

And I like that. I did the Full Monty Halloween for years where I used to live, and it was fun, but now I’m old and curmudgeony and enjoy my peaceful Halloweens.

This year, however, a neighbor deposited a flier in my mailbox, asking if I’d be interested in participating in a neighborhood Halloween scheme. In short, well… no. I thought about trying to set up something unattended at the top of the driveway, but it would likely be exploited by older, meaner kids (or even some adults!) who would just take the full bucket of candy and run. I can’t see the top of the driveway from my home and setting up cameras and such to keep an eye on things is also difficult owing to the distance and the many trees that interfere with the signals.

It’s a Halloween conundrum, but I think I’ve decided to remain the mean old hermit woman who no one really knows and of whom everyone is a little frightened. < cackle!! >

It’s been a kitchen day for me, too. I finally relented and decided to try out those lasagna noodles that you don’t have to cook. Up till now when I made lasagna, I make everything from scratch: The red sauce, the meat mixture, the noodles, the bechamel. It’s a vast undertaking and for one person, too much work. The last time I did it was for my stepmom’s 70th birthday – that’s nearly 9 years ago! So when there was a lotta lasagna talk around the MMP, I took a chance on a “boxed” Stouffer’s lasagna. No offense to anyone who likes it, but… just… no. Only now, I want homemade lasagna! So the marinara sauce is simmering on the stove and I will assemble the mostly-homemade lasagna this afternoon. Three-fourths will go in the freezer in individual containers for future “fast” food.

I also baked an apple cake this morning with apples from one of my trees. Most of that will go in the freezer, too, for snacking or fast treats for friends.

Time for my date with Martin. (Guitar, that is.) When Ollie’s 2 o’clock treat time rolls around, it’s the perfect time for a practice session. Gotta keep working on those calluses!

Hope everyone has a dandy rest-of-the-day and evening!

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I’m back! A HUGE thank you to Boo, who kindly reached out a helping hand when I was drowning in my own incompetence and to EngineerComGeek, whose patience is unrivaled. As Dorothy says, “i’m never going to leave here ever again!”

If I hadn’t locked myself out of this wonderful place, I was going to tell you that you were right, and I probably did need nightly alcohol. It must have shown on my face because on the plane ride home, I asked for a glass of wine (The seat my brother purchased gave me a free cocktail.) and the flight attendant looked sympathetic and handed me TWO cans of wine. (I put one in my purse.)

The very next day I had Ms. M., the smart(ass) poodle. She was good. Today I got Eddy and Effie, ages 15 and 10, and they are a handful! It reminds me of my substitute teaching days when the district put all the “problem” fifth graders in the same classroom. Eddy barks at the Invisible Mole People every 30 seconds, and Effie is reactive and gets aggressive around other dogs. I took them for a walk and realized there’s no place around here where they WON’T run into other dogs. It’s going to be a looooonng 10 days. They are, however, lying down quietly for the moment.

My brother and sister-in-law are doing much better. She did call me at 11 p.m. one night (1 a.m. where they live) to ask me if I thought she could hold off on seeing a doc for her stomach pain. Other than that, it’s all good.

I have to walk Charlie this evening, and I’m afraid Eddy will bark the entire time I’m gone. I know he’s stressed from the strange environment. Hopefully he’ll calm down soon.

OK, on to reading what I missed. Big, happy hugs!

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Misnomer that’s exactly the ring I would have gotten. Green stone for high school, blue for collitch.

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I bought myself a Rubik’s cube.

I can do one row easy, but after that, I’m lost. Back in the 80’s I had a book to read where I could memorize patterns to run based on where you start and where you want to end … long story short, I could solve the cube in about two or three minutes. Now … I don’t think I stand a chance without cheating again - or memorizing patterns (if that is indeed cheating). My mother informs me that unless I can do it completely on my own, then it doesn’t count.

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Would Ollie lose his mind with ToTers?

Halloween cards are mailed and prescriptions picked up. I washed a load of laundry and about five minutes after I put them in the dryer, the power went out. It was out for about an hour, which means it will be a while more before they’re dry (a dryer that runs on 110 tends to take twice as long as a regular one). Back to messing around in the studio, which I couldn’t do without power.

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Found a tick crawling around on me. Fortunately it was on my hand and hadn’t bitten yet. I was outside for all of going to the mailbox, maybe 50 feet and back. Now I feel all squicky.

Opening the door in your altogether? That’d scare the kids away from my house, if’n I did that. Prolly get me arrested, too.
I’ve done the all day lasagna, from sauce to noodles etc. As a single guy, it just isn’t worth the effort. Now I do home sauce, various cheeses, (I’m not a bechamel guy, I do ricotta doctored up with egg, parm, and spices), and those no-boil noodles. As for boxed lasagna, the Trader Joes one isn’t bad.

J-Bats Back in the day, when Rubic’s cubes roamed the earth, I could do the top and two rows, but that’s as far as I got. Taking it apart was the only way I ever finished one. Very simple, turn one face 45 degrees and pry on the sticking out corner piece. As I recall they were oddly slimy inside, I’m guessing some kind of lube.

Now I have 60 pounds of wiggling dog staring at me, like I’m supposed to do something, plus I feel like there are bugs all over.

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We did get out to vote. Mrs. Nott used the car’s nav system both ways. On the way there, we had to take several detours from the suggested route because of road closures. We also saw a black cat run across the street half a block ahead of us. We eventually got there, voted, and thanked the poll workers for their service. By the way, at the end of the line there was a box with a sign, “Push button to be rewarded for voting.” Pushing the button produced a recording of voices cheering. On the way back, the system notified us of an alternate route to bypass road repairs. Mrs. Nott said, “NOW you tell me!”

Metal_Mouse, we wore raincoats to the polls, and it didn’t rain 'til we got home.

VanGogh, Rubik’s cubes are easy. Just peel the stickers off, and put them in the “solved” positions.

209

It was.

Thank you.

And you. I’d never heard of him – now I have, should I be impressed? (I basically don’t trust anybody who wants to be elected.)


Don’t think there will be any trick-or-treaters on my street, but the porch light will be turned off all evening, just in case.

210

Howdy Y’all I did duties and errands this mornin’ and then went into high RDOS mode. I thought about attackin’ the closet, but decided to nope out of it. Maybe tomorrow. Or not. We day drank dirty martinis with blue cheese (bleu cheese?) stuffed olives out beside the cee-mint pond whilst we munched on cheese and crackers. Then sup got nuked and et. We know how to sloth!

Cat_Glove that deviled aig plate is seriously the fancy deviled aig plate of the southern USofA. I have my mom’s plus one I bought. I can be double fancy!

Knotty again, yay for early votin’! Maybe the nav system was testin’ your commitment to the early vote.

Cookie changes in barometric pressure get to me as well.

Nuts that’s just, well, nuts! Hope you are able to find someone reliable to come out, measure and give you an estimate. When we updated the kitchen in da cave, all we did was get new countertops and appliances. The cabinetry is very nice oak and when I had it built I splurged on extra sturdy fancy hardware.

MOOOOOOM if you put effort into makin’ it, it is totally homemade. I thought we had this discussion.

Oopsie look at you puttin’ in all that effort for the little urchins on Hallowe’en! We don’t get candy moochers in my 'hood. The church does a trunk or treat, but we do not participate cause we’re grumpy old men. I got a hood when I got my Master’s just cause. I have never worn it. I do, however, have it in my possession.

doggio in the south, the legitimacy of the marriage may get called into question if cheese straws are not served at the reception.

BrightTree one is meant to replenish the aigs on the tray if you are servin’ fancy style. Otherwise just put out one of those big Tupperware things full of deviled aigs and let the guests have at it.

Nellie glad you are back amongst us! A can of wine? I guess that makes sense on a plane.

211

We get about 100 kids for Halloween. I’ll need to put the potted plants in the back yard, where they need to go anyway to be sheltered for the winter.

It was T-cat’s birthday a couple of weeks ago while I was in Spain, and my lovely wife bought them a new string toy. Today is S-cat’s estimated/assigned birthday, so we bought them a microfleece baby blanket.

For dinner I had deli ham on a New Yorker Bagel olive bagel, which was tasty (thanks for the bagel recommendation, Cookie).

Saw the dentist and received the next fistful of tray aligners, plus more toothbrishes, little tubes of Sensodyne, and floss. I have a cleaning in December and my next aligner exam in January.

I know all of this is terribly exciting. Please don’t have palpitations.

Hey, nellie!

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–Oh, and I’ve gotten the confirmatory message that my ballot is received and my signature matches.

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Evening all. Between laundry, gym time, and soccer the afternoon was fairly full, so first chance I’ve had to catch up. Temperature is down to 54F and will get below 50F tonight, so the games tomorrow will require extra layers of clothing (I coach at 8:00 and 9:45am and referee at 12:30 and 1:45pm). A little bit of rain coming through but shouldn’t affect soccer tomorrow (I hope). We’ll be back in the 70’s and 80’s for the high after the weekend, but nights are going to get colder, may have to consider bringing out the heavyweight comforter soon.

FCM, I guess they are OK, the guy who makes up the travels I’ve been part of tends to favor Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, so maybe I get it from him. One I am not in doubt about is Costa, not recommended for any trip! And your probably right about the milk, but I’ve gotten a few spoiled ones in the past so I try to make sure the date is for as long as I might need it (got one with a 28 October stamp).

Herald, happy electioneering.

Nut, good luck on the kitchen replacement, I got mine done as part of a major house overhaul about 4 years ago, hope your successful in finding someone interested (and competent).

Mollie, yeah, I can remember the cries of our finance people as the end of the government fiscal year (30 September) approached. I think I got a 32 on my SAT, but it’s been 55 years so I’m not certain.

The day after Thanksgiving is not a holiday for Federal Personnel, but we were encouraged to use a ‘liberal leave policy’ for that Friday.

Wet one, hope the shoulder isn’t anything too serious.

Oopsie, glad the mailbox change didn’t enter FUBAR territory. Hope all the candy gets taken, I always end up buying more than necessary (poor me, having all that chocolate left over just for me…). Enjoy the weekend get-togethers!

Nellie, good ta see ya. Hopefuuyl Eddy and Effie will settle down as you and they get to know each other. Good news for brother and SiL.

J-Bats, I never could get that interested in Rubik’s Cube, toyed with it a few times but don’t think I ever solved it.

red, hope the power outages don’t become too regular an occurrence.

VanGo, glad you got the tick before it got you.

Knots,

Well, there you go then…

Lily, I usually get 40-50 T-or-T’ers, a lot from other blocks that carpool over for maximum candy overload. And Happy vote confirmation!

OK, it’s after 9pm and need to be up at 6am to medicate in time to have at least a little breakfast. Y’all take care now and I’ll catch up with you once soccer leaves me alone tomorrow.

214

When I lived in the house of queens, it was on the south side of Nappanee, in Kosciusko County rather than Elkhart. That meant that I had to drive nine miles to a little country church, back in the days before GPS, to vote. Indiana be weird.

I played with some scraps for a holiday card this evening.

215

Sliding into the evening here.

Hi, Nellie!! Nice to see you! I’m glad ECG could help get you back with us. He’s our quiet, unsung hero around here, so far as I’m concerned. I hope Eddie settles down.

He would. He is quite the little barker. The whole T&T process would be fretful for us both. Best to keep the little blighters on their side of the gate. Love the new card! :smiley:

Oh, yuck! I do hate ticks! I never had a single one here for 20 years, but I’ve had 2 in the last couple of years. I’m sorry you got attacked by one!

There’s a thought. :wink: Actually, I just meant I used to go all out with costumes, scary entrance, lavish treats, etc.

Exactly. I prefer bechamel, but for this lasagna, I used the ricotta with parm, mozzarella and nutmeg. The noodles worked out great! I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been because I can usually trust Barilla. I did add some pancetta and wine to my marinara, and I would probably omit them next time. I would also use less sauce when assembling the lasagna. This one got a little sloppy. It was still good, though, and I’ll have lasagna for months. I’ll try the Trader Joe’s one if I ever get back to Trader Joe’s!

Ohhhh. I would never make it as a Southerner, I fear.

Much more my style with deviled aigs!

Lily, the cats do have it good! Good to hear your teeth realignment is proceeding apace!

Have fun at soccer tomorrow, metal mouse!

So as mentioned, the lasagna turned out ok. It scratched an itch. I will use the noodles again. I still have to find room for it in the fridge, but that’ll happen.

The leg is much better and my guitar playing is improving! Ollie is puzzled by it. I practice in a room adjoining the one where we spend most of our time, leaving him on his own when I do, and I can tell he wonders what the hell I’m doing in there. It’s good to keep him on his sharp little toes. < Muttley laff >

Nytol! Pleasant dreams!

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MSG went home sick, o I had to finisher work, so no sort table today. Fritz was doing his second day of training on the 300 Slide. Imagine your second day of training if it was on the hardest work station at your job, and guess how well that went. I got over there at 0645, and it was a disaster. I grabbed an iSpa(portable scanning device) and the out of center scanner, and started lasering my way up the middle of the slide. We got it 60% down, when I was sent to unscrew p the 100 Slide. I got that halfway done there, when I was sent back to the 300 Slide, because that had reversed to FUBAR status. Smalls was also FUBAR, so they dumped more stuff on us. We were still at it at 0920 when the drivers were leaving. Once again, a lot of left in building stuff. The damages and retapes weren’t bad, I was out by noon. Since the Jungle guy was supposed to be by between 12:30-3:30, so I rushed home, and threw myself in the shower, ignoring Spot.
Me: < walks out of shower, notices no cat >
Me: “Spot! I’m done shunning you!”
< happy chirping cat runs out of Roomie’s room > :grinning_face:
PC got here at 2, so that’s now set up, post nap. Dinner was blackened catfish, red rice, and corn, peppers, and onions with cayenne.

Which band?

Yep.

As a soup fan, I approve of this.

No screaming?

A lot of place do close for it. There’s 2 53 footers of held stuff to left me know.

217

If your score was a 32, it was on the ACT. The SAT top score was 1600.

Our honeymoon was on the Costa Carla C. It was great, except that when we first arrived in Puerto Rico, there was a huge tent with long tables that we had to traverse. The tables had forms to fill out that said “Our crew (Italian) is going on strike tonight at midnight for 24 hrs. So, you can either take $100 and make the best of it or we will refund your fare and arrange a plane home.” Since it was our honeymoon, we each took the $100 so we had $200 extra to spend on souvenirs and thank you gifts for family. There was another couple that we had gotten to know a bit in the Miami airport and on the plane and the transport from plane to the tent. They took the refund and marched over to the Princess boat in the next dock over. We enjoyed the unintended day in Puerto Rico. It was a Sunday, they bussed us to a hotel where we had use of the beach, the pool and several rooms and lounge areas. We walked around a bit and found a young lad and with my poor Spanish, I asked where there was a Catholic church. He used broken English and we, or rather I, understood his directions. We arrived at the church just as mass was starting and were made to feel welcome by the congregation. It turned out to be a relaxing day. Although we missed going to Curacao.

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I think that has changed. Dunno what the top score is now.
I’m a dumbass, but standardized tests are, well, not a scam, but not really an indicator of smrts. I managed a 1540 on the SAT.

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Nelson would too. He gets banished to the bedroom when maintenance has to be here.

220

Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s my Friday It’s currently 70 degrees Ferret Height(21.111 Centipedes). That’s pretty much the forecast high for every day next week.
Today is the Feast of St Ignatius of Antioch, Martyr and inventor of the Holy Hand Grenade

:notes: Get a long, little doggie…:notes: