I napped. I woke up
Me: < makes bed >
Bed: < purrs >
Me: < unmakes bed, removes Spot, remakes bed >
But a really good Manhattan tonight. I should tip the bartender 50% more. 
I had gotten food posioning from an ex-roommate’s cooking the first week I had Maggie Wonder Beagle. she came into my room, starting eating a shoe in front of me, and all I could do was wag a finger and whisper: “No. Bad dog.”
Hope things stop hurting.
{{{{JtC and GG}}}}
So sleepy, going to bed soon. All I remember is Metal Mouse asking about the ashes. Yes, it was two different visits.
I find it somewhat profound just that the cardboard box that the ashes are in is stamped “temporary container.” Indeed, it’s not really him in that box. I intend to remember the good times and try to let the rest go. As such, I am not going to try to get his phone unlocked. There are probably things in there that I do not want to know.
Ok, going to bed soon. Another busy day tomorrow.
I forgot…. I am watching old episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway and I’m wondering if doggio is secretly Colin Mochrie or perhaps a close relative of his?
If anyone nocturnal is out & about, there’s an absolutely lovely full moon shining tonight.
The storm clouds from earlier parted, just for her, and I swear I could read by it.
Ran out to the Gettin Sto’ for “just a couple of things” and made it outta there over forty bucks poorer.
They had eclairs, and I refuse to apologize for the fact that I’ve already eaten one. I did make it home before doing so, but not by much.
Was impulse shopping at the register, too (what? they had those candy I like!) and the cashier was like, “Anything else?” and I was like, “No, that’s more than plenty!”
I got Monkey a fresh bag of treats to make up for the ones I dropped behind the armoire, plus { shhhh! } a coupla cans of Fancy Feast for later. The treats were immediately decanted for safety’s sake into his usual treat jar - a Mason jar I keep by my chair, since he can demolish the plastic bags they come in - and a few have been tossed for him already for chasin’.
Oh, and I got him a new lil’ toy!
The ratties got birdseed mix and, to keep ’ em occupied, a handful of in-shell hazelnuts. It speaks to how much they like chewing, and how smart they are (they remember what’s inside!) that a few of them dropped their sunflower seed to scamper off and claim a hazelnut.
They were like, “Bitch, I can eat dinner later. DESSERT FIRST!!”
Okay, now that I’ve fed everyone else in my household plus a quarter of Muskegon, it’s time for me and my fud. I have a fresh box of Triscuits, a newly-cracked-open jar of chili crisp (that I opened all by myself thankyouverymuch) and some smoked salmon & the “good” butter, plus capers and a nice onion (not AHEM like the ones that sprouted in my pantry & are currently enjoying soil, water, and - eventually - sunshine outside, which is MORE THAN THEY DESERVE!!!) so that’s a good start.
Oh, and they had unicorn-shaped Easy Mac in a rainbow-colored disposable cup, and if you think I didn’t buy those, then we apparently don’t know each other well.
ETA: omg Monks just went spelunking in the trash for the empty treat bag this is why the actual yummies are locked behind metal and glass.
Back again cause my moving box is full.
Thanks to everyone for the support with my boob issue, I do appreciate the good thoughts. Despite lying to Hubs, I learned that he had been staying up late worrying as well.
Now we can start worrying about other things. Like the move. And GG.
Snerts!
Those sound super good!!!
And…now Mom has called. TTYL again.
Oh, yeah. If anyone needs to know what has driven Monks out of his furry mind tonight, it’s these guys. They roll if you throw 'em just right, and according to His Majesty’s discerning palate 
they are delishush:
Oh! I forgot the best surprise of my night.
Sweet Manager pointed out a Tupperware in the walk-in, and told me her mother had made Irish stew.
I was like, “What’s that?” and what she described sounded just like pot roast. Beef chuck, potatoes, carrots, etc.
She said I could have as much as I wanted.
I had two helpings (!) and thanked her again. She finally admitted, with a weary tone, that she had eaten many, many bowlfuls recently, and said, again, that I could have as MUCH as I wanted - I was like, “Okay, I know what imma have for dinner tomorrow!”
… I think we may both be doing each other a favor.
Does he have one of these? It is a plastic treat dispensing ball that most cats have to chase around to get a treat out.
VBC figured it out right away and would just sit there and use her paw to roll the ball back in forth so she could get the treats without effort.
We still have one that I could send to you, but looking at da jungle, buying new would be less expensive than having one mailed across the country. Plus…post office, you never know if it will get there.
This is now my very favorite of the genre, replacing “not the sharpest spoon in the drawer” (my family does love our nonsense).
That’s the way most of my flat surfaces get thoroughly cleaned. If we didn’t knock drinks over, I’m not sure anything would get dusted!
CatGlove, reading about your typical day makes me feel like an absolute slug! Also, I love my husband and I’m generally happy to do things for him that he really can’t do himself, but lawn care would be right out!
It is absolutely amazing how far a Dum-Dum can go to motivate, reward, or bribe a school-age child. From kindergarten through high school, a fistful of them is a powerful tool.
Where I used to work, we used to have one group birthday celebration a month, and there was a “birthday board” that listed the names and birthdays for that month. One person whose birthday was a couple of weeks after mine would sulk all day if their birthday wasn’t specifically remembered by most of the staff. I never particularly cared. Guess who always got lavish recognition to keep her from getting mad?
Ow, ow, ow! My hip hurts more days than not now, but it’s not even a blip on that kind of pain scale. I’m already doing some long-term planning for joint replacement - is that on the horizon for you? I’ve known a bunch of people who’ve had them and sing their praises.
I had a kitten (who grew into the beatific angel you see in my avatar) who put exactly eight tiny tooth marks in the material of just one heel of my only pair of dress pumps. I just wore them that way until the material started to look really ragged around the gouges.
Lucky! We’ve needed a new meter (with a shut-off valve that actually works) for over a decade, but we can’t get the city to send anyone out.
Hurray! It’s a wonderful feeling when a new person works well!
She was a smart kitty! I got one of those for ours, and they never did figure out how to get their treats. I tried demonstrating, but then they just yowled at me to get the treats for them. 
This is another busy week. I have my temporary crown, and my mouth is getting less sore, so I forgot and ate some candy with nuts in it. Now I need to figure out how to use the water-pic with just the right amount of pressure to get this one little peanut skin out without aggravating my already swollen gums. No doubt I’ll manage to forget again before the permanent crown goes on.
Mr. L had his injection and infusion today, so he was wiped out all afternoon and evening. I managed to do some weeding and cook dinner. It was in the 80s today and will be again tomorrow, but our appointment to have the air conditioning turned on isn’t for two more weeks. I have all the windows open now and I’m just waiting for the bedroom to get cool enough to sleep in. Good night!
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.
I wish I had that talent. 
I have the pupper version. It was well beyond the intellectual capabilities of both Maggie Wonderbeagle and Gordie.
I always enjoy the generic form email reminder of birthdays and anniversaries.
When I first started at the pizza joint, we soon were joined by The Triplets. Dumb, lazy teenage assholes, and one was a bully; nobody was sorry to see them go.
One day shortly before Halloween, Sweet Manager brought in a bunch of candy, and as teenagers do, The Triplets pounced.
So I wasn’t there that day, but I heard the story … S.M. realized it was quieter than usual in the kitchen, looked down the line and over at the fryer …
… and each triplet was working quietly, diligently even! with a little white stick in each one’s mouth.
When I heard the story, I was like, “Aw, you found their ‘mute’ button!”
Almost 3 a.m. and I canNOT sleep. Want more fud!
I swear, when I don’t eat, then … I’m just not hungry anymore.
Once I force myself to start eating, then have a few solid meals … I just get hungrier!
Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 6c/42f with a predicted high of 10c/49f, and mostly cloudy. Weather app says “Cloudy with a slight fucking chance of stampeding elephants. You might want to fucking run.” Well, I don’t do the running bit (tendonitis!) but I am going to the gym so will hopefully avoid stampeding pachyderms.
shoe food is a good thing, wanting more of it is an even better thing!
doggio we were supposed to have a week-long strike but cut the time down because the uni made a half-baked offer so the union thought a conciliatory gesture was in order. The original plan was definitely cricket at the time 
JtC forgot to add my good wishes on the successful boob squishing. Packing up to move is a strange process, finding things you’d forgotten about, and sitting with things that bring so many memories.
I managed to get my spreadsheet job done yesterday but finished up with a headache at the end of it. Took some paracetamol, went shopping, came home and unpacked stuff, took more paracetamol and eventually the headache gave in but it wasn’t fun. Spent the evening on the sofa with a snuggly cat instead.
Today is the first of our strike days, I have no big plans for the day apart from going to the gym just because I can. I’m going to the pub with friends tonight, we’ve chosen one that’s in the opposite direction to the football traffic as our local team has an 8pm kick-off tonight, and the football ground’s about 10 minutes from my house.
This was an adult?? eeeeesh! I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised when my ex-boss sent me a birthday email after I’d retired, but birthdays have never been a big deal for me. It’s not like I did anything but show up early one morning in January (the 23rd, if you’re keeping score )
My youngest sister, on the other hand, demands tributes for at least a week around her birthday. We pretty much ignore her 
I’m actually up and dressed for venturing out in public! I want to go to Food Lion early. Then… who knows? It’s supposed to be a nice afternoon (rainy this morning) and with luck, I can finish with the garden bed. It’s been a lot more work than I’d anticipated, but I hadn’t planned on screening the old soil. Glad I have, tho - it’s helped get rid of a lot of weeds and rocks.
Not much else on the agenda. We’ll just see how it all goes.
Happy Wednesday!!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 50 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 80 and N.O.S. for the day. This us usually procure provisions day, but we don’t need a whole lot o’ stuff, so methinks a quick trip to the Burly Butcher Sto’ down the road will suffice rather than goin’ to the Pubic Sto’. However, I do need to do a few miscellaneous errand type things today, so I suppose I shall go do that. OYKW may or may not tag along. Sup shall be pot roast (GMTA shoe!) with carrots and N.O.T., green beans, and rolls.
JtC packin’ up to move is a major chore. May it go as smoothly as it can.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, alas and bother, I suppose I must purtify and don attire acceptable for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. Oh, the humanity!
Happy Hump Day Y’all!
Mornin’ everyone.
It’s 47 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy. Rain is possible sometime after 10:00 a.m., and the expected high temperature is 56 degrees Fahrenheit. If it doesn’t rain, I must get outside and water the posies I planted this weekend. I meant to do so yesterday but got wrapped up in other stuff.
JtC, I hope both the packing and move go smoothly.
shoe, yay for a good work crew! It’s about time!
It was pretty rare that my birthday was celebrated at work. It seemed things always got extra busy around my birthday, and it would just slip by. It used to sort of hurt my feelings, primarily when other May babies were remembered, but I outgrew that when I hit thirty. I used to work through my birthday, too, but as the years have progressed, I’ve started taking the day off if it falls on a workday. It’s my little treat to myself, and I don’t share that it’s my birthday anymore. If people remember, cool, otherwise, no big deal.
The same goes for milestone years of work. Last September, I officially hit 40 years of employment with the feds. I framed my own certificate (we buy nice frames for certificates at work) and stuck it on the shelf above my desk. I got a brief mention at a meeting but nothing else. Staff, on the other hand, receive lunches and big to-dos.
I did, indeed, work late again. We received some good news concerning our administrative budget. We thought we would have to fund awards with those funds, but we found out yesterday there will be a separate allotment for awards. Unfortunately, we didn’t find out until after I had spent hours moving money around to find that money. I wanted at least 30 grand for staff awards but could only scrape up 26 grand. I needed to ensure I had enough money in all the other pots to keep up operations, travel, and pay for the state meeting. Plus, the SD wanted me to put aside ten grand to fund a cooperative agreement. I was kind of pissed about that, but now that I don’t have to pay for awards, I’m feeling better about it.
After our meeting with the bigwigs back at National, I debriefed with the SD, and we talked more about how we would use our budget. Last year, they pulled an end run around me while I went on vacation and bought a bunch of stuff for the PIO. He pulls the same shit every year, and we spend a shit ton of money on stuff we never see him use. The money is one thing, but the fact I wasn’t told ahead of time, so I could plan, and ensure we had the money in other pots for the end of the year, pissed me off. I told the SD that stuff had better not happen this year. I’m generous when it comes to employee needs, but I’m sick of the PIO’s shit. We’ve purchased brand-new cameras, lenses, video and studio stuff, bags, carts, banners, etc. I’ve never seen him use the studio, much less the camera and fancy lenses. So, I’d rather fund some new chairs or equipment for our other staff. More importantly, I’d instead use that money on some training for some of the staff.
However, the PIO has already been bending the SD’s ear and I’m sure she’ll give in and tell me to make it happen.
My lease stuff is heating up, too. In addition, I’ve been told they want to cram two to three more people into an office built for seven. All of that would entail changing our lease, hiring designers, and purchasing an expensive furniture package. This is a lease that just started a couple of years ago after a remodel, so the timing is bad. I’m also working on two other leases, plus next year, the lease for the building down in Oly expires, so I have to deal with that, too. Thank goodness we’ll get another MPA because I’m running out of bandwidth. Anyone who has ever dealt with government leases knows how time-consuming and tedious that work can be.
Some other issues require me to keep bird-dogging because of time constraints and contracting cut-offs. I am really, really, really, really looking forward to my vacation in August.
Well, I should get that dishwasher loaded and run it. Another day begins.
Didja get a pin too? I have them for 20, 25, 30, and 35 years. I guess 15 was forgotten.
Back from Food Lion - I scored a bunch of used meat! There’s a steak in the freezer, 3 packs of ground beef that will become 2 meatloaves, and a whole chicken that will be rotissed in the coming days. Woohoo!! Plus strawberries and blueberries were on sale. I’ve cleaned and cut up the strawberries for MIL, and some of the blueberries will go into a coffee cake later today (after the butter softens.)
MIL is still sleeping - that’ll give me time to build the meatloaves. It rained overnight and a bit this morning, but we’re promised sun later - that’s when I’ll try to finish my garden beds. Sounds like a fun day ahead, no?
Yesterday was spent driving to Kentucky, specifically Frankfort. I have a cute VRBO. One bedroom one bath condo. Every, and I mean every, sort of fast food place is within a 5 minute drive. I have a microwave and stovetop and a Kroger nearby. I’m here for the Kentucky Three Day Event which officially starts tomorrow. This morning I’m going to visit Daniel Boone’s grave. Exciting.
@Die_Capacitrix , Ursala Kitteh has a regular water bowl. She’s probably ignore a fountain.
Lil’ help?
FCM, yep I received pin too. Really, the best perk of the milestone years was reaching the 8 hours per pay period annual leave accrual at 15 years. The rest are just certificates and pins that sit around collecting dust.
Morning all. Did manage to sleep in a little and do something constructive on-line (got the team pictures re-scheduled and informed everyone, along with options) and am now waiting for it to warm up (only 58F now) and get a little later (about 10am or so) so I can accomplish mowage. Depending on how that wears on me, swimming and sauna may be in the days’ plans or not. Do have to get to the bank, I don’t carry as much cash as I used to with the debit card on-hand, but I have about $8 right now in-pocket and need to replenish the reserves. Otherwise quiet, this is a non-soccer practice day so we’ll see if anything needs to be done around the house.
Worked for the US Army for 32 years (civilian) and have a few pins and plaques lying around. As for birthdays, usually the branches went out every month or so to celebrate the month’s birthdays, and the Director usually gave us a ‘59 minutes admin time’ leave card, so it was something to look forward to.
wet one, sounds like a perfect location…to put one 3-4 pounds… 
Enjoy the Events.
Acronym Translations;
GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike
PIO = Public Information Officer
FCM, good shopping instincts there.
Taters, hope somebody tells the PIO to stuff it, but I know that type of character and they’ll get most of what they want. Such is life in the bureaucratic world. At least the awards will be nice.
boo fae, hope the headache abates and happy strike day!
shoe, nice story on the candy soothing the loud teens. I’m just about out of Dum Dums (I like them too), may have to look into replenishing the stock. And enjoy the Irish stew!
Legend, hope it cools off, 80F without AC is not any fun.
Smart Rats…even if they aren’t stainless steel…
OK, need to finish the morning internetting and start planning the mowage campaign. Have a good Hump day all.