(Old) Highlight of the day - Dyeing in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
141

Yes and no - there are lots of ways he could help his brother, but said brother truly hates FCD for some reason. Envy maybe? We just don’t know, but it’s been that way for decades.

We’re heading to upper-90s today, with untrustworthy promises of rain late in the day. Yeah, right.

Wow!! When I birthed Daughter, I was back in the classroom 4 days later and back to my regular gig in 3 weeks because I couldn’t afford to be off work any longer. That’s all the vacation days I had saved. For all that some people in high places claim to value motherhood, they sure don’t value mothers much.

Today will be, um, weird, I think. FCD has to take his car in for service at the dealer, and he’s going to drop his mom off to see BIL this morning. She’s thinking to prepare him to lose his driver’s license (the neurologist is notifying Motor Vehicles and he’ll get a letter directing him to surrender it.) It’s going to be a rough conversation, I’m sure.

Then FCD will bring her back home. A bit after 2, she’ll be getting a visit from a couple of women from her old apartment. I plan to make myself scarce for that - probably futzing in the basement. And somewhere along the line, her aide is supposed to come give her a shower. But if we can’t work out the schedule, I’ll help her shower this evening.

And while they’re gone this morning, I need to go get some calamine lotion. The poison ivy spot is seeping still and often itching like crazy!! Evil, evil stuff! It woke me around 3 this morning, itching something awful. And when I fell back to sleep, I started dreaming, among other things, that I was in college coming back to the dorm after Christmas break. Especially strange since I didn’t live in a dorm in college…

Anyway, icky hot day, maybe rain later, an errand, some visitors, and I still have to decide what to thaw for supper. So much for sipping tropical drinks with little umbrellas all thru retirement. :sleepy:

Happy Wednesday!

142

My feedback was very complimentary on my color choice and the quality of my long arm work. The areas of improvement needed mentioned that I had visible stitching in the piece work, my binding was not quite uniform and my entire quilt was not quite square.

All of these are valid but I am not unsatisfied with how it was received. My plan for the quilt is to keep it folded in my man cave for the restless nights I end up on the couch.

143

Morning all. Just lying about at the moment, think I will head off to the Air and Space Museum out by Dulles airport and try out the Metro Silver line. Pretty worn out from yesterday’s trek so will probably take it easier today.

Congrats to Coppertone, maybe things are starting to go your way.

And best of luck on the job hunt, Sticky Buns

Boo fae, hope the meetings are not too bad.

FCM, hope the lotion helps.

Ok, need to get up and make myself presentable before foraging. Take care all.

144

I want to get out there one of these days. Long drive for us, so it may be a while before we can go…

Time to shower and dress. FCD and his mom will leave shortly and I’ll be behind them by a bit. I looked on the FDA site and found several treatments for poison ivy besides calamine - we’ll see what I can find. This weepy mess needs to dry up. Stoopid poison ivy!!!

It’s been more than 2 years - I think I can safely toss the accident report of my “encounter” with the school bus. Insurance paid for the repair and there’s been no word since. No reason to keep it, right?

OK, shower time. :shower:

145

Reading between the lines: OYKW must dress and mingle with the great unwashed? What a saint!

146

A friend who mostly lives in Italy posted a picture of come graffiti: Chi n’cha er pane c’hai denti… Come chi n’cha er culo ma c’cha i leggins!

Rough translation (seen at my train stop): “He who has no bread, but has teeth, Is like he who has no ass, but has leggings!”

Google Translate says: ‘Those who don’t have bread have teeth… Like those who don’t have ass but have leggings!’

What a strange thing to wake up to.

147

It would probably be prudent to also take his car somewhere else and/or confiscate keys. Just lacking a valid license does not prevent driving, just makes it illegal to do so, and I strongly suspect BIL won’t care about that part and may be a bit too focused on his own wishes to take the public safety concern into account.

148

It’s good to see him up and doing stuff. He’s spent far too much time in front of his computer than is good for his body. IMHO, riding around on a mower is much better for him than sitting around watching tucker, but of course I could be very wrong about that.

When I was at the laundromat last, I saw a sign for a free produce hand out, but it was for a few days earlier so I didn’t take a pic so I could call for info. I thought about it later and figured I could take a pic next time I’m there but our w/d will be here on Monday so I won’t be using it again. Maybe I’ll drive out this morning when the fog burns off. (I’m retired, I don’t have to drive in fog anymore.)

It appears that women 80 years ago didn’t have as much kitchen stuff as some of us do now, so my new kitchen is sadly lacking in storage. I’m going to lose the breakfast bar when we put the dishwasher in so there goes more counter space as well.

I think we will need to buy a portable kitchen island for storage and counter space and then I’ll decide if we need cabinets in the dining room. There is plenty of room but I’m too lazy to walk twenty steps to get the air fryer if I don’t have to.

Hubs sold his big air compressor to BFF hubs because he wanted to get a smaller one when we got here. At least that’s what he said he was going to do. It’s not what happened, his new compressor has a bigger tank than his old one.

I’m glad we have one, I use it as well. I question if we want one that big, but the choice has been made and we do have room in the shed.

Oh yeah, that was a BIG red flag! I hope you find something soon.

Feedback like that always stings just a little, but I’ve always found it helpful as well.

Many of the Embroiderers Guild of America teachers will critique your work after the class project has been finished if you ask. I once asked. It took her a couple of months but she went over each stitch and I got it back with two pages of mistakes i.e. the fourteenth stitch in the 27th row has two threads crossing, the nineteenth stitch in the 31st row is tighter than it’s companions, the 2nd stitch in the 32nd row was started from the top instead of the bottom (yes, it does show if you know what you are looking at.), etc.

She spent the time to do that for me so I felt obligated to fix every single thing she pointed out. Of course I hated the project by the time I was done and it ended up in the bottom of my pile and I haven’t looked at it since. I’ve also not sent anything else in to be critiqued, LOL!!!

149

This is very true. My brother has been driving without a license for far too many years. He’s sober now. I’ll leave it at that as I know it’s a sensitive subject. Not sure how he gets insurance.

JtC That tale of the pedantic stitch instructor gave me a chuckle.

150

Actually, BIL is terrified of the police (long, complicated story), so when he knows it’s illegal for him to drive, he won’t. Plus he’s afraid to drive a lot of places. When MIL was living in the same complex that he’s in and he’d take her on errands, he would drive 15 miles out of his way to avoid having to make a left turn. Once he accepts that he has to turn in his license, that should be that.

FCD called and asked if I wanted to buy his brother’s car, then got all pissy when I said no. It’s smaller than mine and I’m willing to bet that it’s not been serviced since it had the required inspection before he could register it in MD two years ago. It’s a year newer and lots less miles than mine, but I drove it a few times in FL and didn’t like it. Plus if we gave his brother even the low range price, it’d take too big a chunk out of our savings. But I’m the bad guy… :roll_eyes: I know he’s stressed, but he’s starting to get on my remaining nerves.

Do the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling? Or is there a soffit? There’s a good bit of space up there (and like a dummy, I neglected to use it when we got new cabinets.)

I’ve run my errands and I have calamine!! Here’s hoping it stops the weeping soon. (the sore, not me. I’m not weeping.)

OK, back to chores and stuff.

151

Another one of those days. They were sending people home early again, and Maintenance and another department were completely unstaffed. I’m not sure whether its The Gangster Of Love or someone higher up that is squeezing payroll to make EOM goals. At one point they had me doing the sorting on the #2 SSLAW. And after that, I was on the 300 Slide. Both places with no fan on the work area. But on the domestic side, they are finally putting in a new trash compactor(yellow!). Also, Spot has decided he likes bananas and milk again, so I ate breakfast standing in the middle of the kitchen.

I was once on an hour long conference call to discuss having fewer conference calls. I’ll take being stapled to Satan’s taint to that any day.

{{{{Sticky}}}}

Congrats on untying the knot, Pilot.

The actual temp is supposed to be 99 today. I’m not sure what the wind chill will be.

{{{{FCM}}}}

152

tummys were settled last night and this morning. i tweaked an arm chair to be on an angle across a corner instead of up against the window.

the placements of the wall units for heating and cooling make it difficult for me to place chairs to look out. not to mention that the cat tree must be placed to look out. so if you want to look out the window from the arm chair you look into the building. i really don’t want to know the neighbours that well. also i saw rear window, i don’t want to be in that movie.

now i sound like sheldon looking for his “spot”.

153

The wife basically got a clean bill on her skin issues (other than the rash). Basically, it’s all sun damage and non-cancerous, so that’s good news. No cures for the rash; all she can do is treat it with anti-itch products.

Speaking of whom, the wife has been beefing non-stop about how warm it is in this apartment. I’ve explained the reason a dozen times (poorly designed system plus solar gain from the windows), but it just doesn’t sink in. I went to management today and told them we need some relief in the form of insulated blackout blinds on the eastern-facing windows. They’re going to get their blinds person in here to take a look.

Been twisting arms to get my offspring to participate in a 7/4 picnic and I think it’s going to happen.

We went to a very highly-rated Asian restaurant yesterday. The wait list for reservations is like one-to-two months. It was. . .meh. Very disappointing, and I don’t understand its popularity. The staff was attentive and trained, but the food just didn’t make the grade for all the hype. I looked around as we left and the place was packed. Another mystery for the ages.

154

There was a seafood restaurant here that was crazy busy, and it was OK, but not worth waiting in line for. I guess others figured that out, because it is no more. Then again, Outback is always crowded - no clue why it’s so popular, but there ya go.

We just got the HVAC running in FCD’s shop - the batteries on the thermostats were dead/almost dead and I guess the controls couldn’t muster enough juice to start the units.They’re all running now, and I’ve scheduled a service call, so that’s good.

MIL’s church friends will be here shortly and I’ll withdraw to the basement and not have to listen to their church talk. Supper will be salad and some fruit on the side. When it’s this hot, you don’t want to warm up the kitchen much.

And that’s all the news that’s fit to print! :wink:

155

Sounds like the feedback was valuable, and you get a quilt to use. But I hope you don’t end up on the couch too often.:wink: I have a quilt that my aunt made me and I don’t use it as much as I should. They are made to be used, right?

@JaneDoe42 Glad that hubby’s made it there. Hope the furniture arrives on time.

{{{FCM}}} You’re a saint.

That’s very disappointing. But after living on the west coast, your expectations for good Asian food probably skews high.

Nothing much exciting here. Got another raspberry off one of the plants, for a total of 2 dozen, maybe? There are more coming, but I won’t be making raspberry jelly this year.

Last night we got a lot of rain, but today the rain’s been missing us. The heat as well. Tomorrow it might actually get warm and I can forego bringing a jacket to work.

Been going back and forth with the tax accountant. New company, since the other one decided they didn’t want to deal with my canton’s forms. Yet another reason that taxes are more complicated than they should be. That’s Switzerland.

156

My rule for this home is that I have to be able to reach everything without using a stool. While I’m hoping Hubs will be around for a long time to reach things down for me, I’m also pretty sure I’ll be alone at some (hopefully distant) point in the future so it’s probably best to plan for it now.

That stuff is pretty magic when it comes to stopping the itchies, I hope it works quickly and well for you.

That’s always a good thing.

I wouldn’t be thrilled to be looking into someone home while it was occupied.

That’s great news, ain’t nobody really wanting to get bits and pieces cut off.

157

Started Typing: 1:35 PM ET
Clicked Reply: 3:47 PM ET

We’re back to ludicrous temps here, too: currently 95° and mostly sunny, with a forecasted high of 97. Rain/storms should come through tonight (we’re currently being warned of a “severe storm risk”). :crossed_fingers: Tomorrow’s expected high is still 89, but hopefully it’ll be less humid. I had Instacart bring me some groceries at lunchtime, and I tipped the shopper/driver 20% because of the heat. I’ll never ask someone else to drive in weather that I wouldn’t be willing to – e.g., no DoorDash when the roads are icy – but I’m all over delivery in “I don’t wanna” weather. :wink: It’s really like Mother Nature skipped ahead a month!

Last night I attended my volunteer organization’s monthly general membership meeting for the last time (for a while, anyway), and tonight will be my last committee meeting. Friday evening will be the last transition meeting with the incoming co-chairs, and over the weekend I’ll send some final emails. As of Monday morning, I’ll be freeeeeee! Except for answering questions, I’m hoping the next time I engage with the organization won’t be until early November’s fundraising gala. I might start attending the general meetings again at some point, but right now I definitely need a break.

Tomorrow and Friday will be busy: during the day I’ll be at the office, because two of our teams are having in-person workshops (I won’t be in the workshops, and might wind up not seeing anyone, but I like the idea of being in the building while folks are around), then tomorrow evening I have a personal training session and Friday evening is the aforementioned final transition meeting. Happily, Saturday’s only plan is a morning personal training session. Sunday could also be busy, if I’m able to kick my own ass stay motivated: I’d like to try two of the yoga offerings at my gym (sooooo many kinds of yoga!), and there are back-to-back classes* on Sunday morning. Late that afternoon I’ll be meeting with the two women I’ll be singing with next month, to start talking about set lists.

*I might not be able to move much during the second one (heh), but at least I’ll get a feel for each type of class and whether one of them might be good for me going forward.

Last weekend I built the Lego Retro Radio, which I’m completely tickled with:
https://i.ibb.co/yhm4nRN/2024-06-23-Retro-Radio-01-Done.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/x3HJZFC/2024-06-23-Retro-Radio-02-Display.jpg

Its 906 pieces took ~4 hours. Notre Dame got delivered yesterday, and I’m hoping to start building it on Saturday afternoon/evening. I expect its 4,383 pieces to take more like 20 hours, but I think the assembly process will be fun.

In 2015 I inherited my mom’s Wedgwood tea set, which she got while we were living in England in the '80s. It’s a complete 21-piece set in like-new condition. The biggest replacement company I’ve been able to find online is Replacements, Ltd.: this thread has prompted me to consider finally completing a “sell to us” request form to find out if they’re interested. I imagine it will cost a pretty penny to safely pack and ship the set; they’d have to offer enough to make it worth the trouble. But the teapot alone is listed on their site for $200+, and the sugar bowl is out of stock, so maybe I’ll take the plunge sooner rather than later.

Oh no! And, in the most empathetic way possible: :rofl:

That sounds ideal!

What JtC said! Sounds like you dodged a bullet there. Good decision.

Udvar-Hazy is a great museum! I think the public transportation option is a bus from the Innovation Center Metro station: did you do that? If so, how long was that bus ride?

What makes you think he has insurance? :wink:

But, insurance might be more about the vehicle than the policy holder; Allstate has never asked me for proof that I’m licensed.

LOL!!

(I watch The Big Bang Theory every night at bedtime. :smiley: )

Yay! :tada:

158

Vacation: Day Three

I needed some body filler for the Seca II, so I went to the hardware store. All they had were large-ish cans of Bondo and something else. Way to much for me. I asked a worker about using them, and he said they’re basically epoxy. I told him I have some JB Weld Plastic Weld, and he said, ‘That’s basically the same. Just use that. I mean, it’s a small area…’

I left the hardware store to go to the grocery store. The Hardware store is just before the train tracks… and a sloooooow freight train was coming down from Canadarrrrrr. Usually I’d backtrack, but my wife (who wasn’t with me) hates it when I do that. So I thought I’d just sit it out. And so I sat. And sat. And sat… Finally the train cleared and I made my right turn onto the parallel street. I beat the train to my Plan B Backtrack Crossing. :roll_eyes: I would have been better off backtracking. Something interesting though: At intervals, there were Border Patrol trucks parked with their fronts toward the train. There were three of them. I wonder who they were looking for?

After going to the supermarket (Sarah Lee Delightful Multi-Grain bread for me; plus peanut butter, bananas, and blueberries for The Spousal Unit; and some bone-in pork spare ribs from the Buy It Before It Rots bin) I went to the corner market to buy a birthday card for my sister. (It’s going to be late.) I probably shouldn’t have bought the card at the store where we buy our steaks, because I came out with the card, a couple of rib-eyes, sandwich ham, Pepperidge Farms apple, and raspberry, turnovers for The Wife, and surimi salad (primarily) for me.

And now it’s 13 o’clock. I think I’ll make myself a burger.

159

Howdy Y’all! Mowage of the back yahd was completed. Then, I showered and admired my handiwork whilst sittin’ on the back porch and quaffin’ a beerverage. OYKW braved the great unwashed and procured provisions and got our fried chikin N.O.L.s. Then nappage was achieved then day drinkin’ (OK, more day drinkin’ for me) was achieved. No quality cee-mint pond time as we were not up to bein’ out in the heat. Inside in the a/c is the wisest choice. In a little while it will be Netflix, chill, and popcorn time.

Lily OYKW did indeed brave the great unwashed all by himself. He is so brave! Ok, he went to the fancier than the other one Pubic Sto’, which is the one we shop regularly. There are less of the great unwashed (at least most of the folk look like they shower pretty much every day) at that sto’.

Hippie glad you are good with the feedback on your quilt. FWIW I was majorly impressed.

JtC ridin’ a mower around is productive as the grass gets cut, Plus, added bonus, it is perfectly OK to sit on one’s porch, quaff a beerverage, and admire one’s handiwork afterwards, no matter what time of day it is. It’s a well earned reward.

cookie yay for the good news re the wife’s skin.

Oopsie the Lego radio is tres cool!

160

GEICO required a DL number for each covered driver.

MIL’s friends have come and gone. The driver is a former pastor’s wife (he’s no longer a pastor, having moved up in the organization) and even if FCD hadn’t told me, I’d have assumed that about her. Just something in her mannerisms and way of speaking. The other lady was one of MIL’s friends at her apartment. The three of them are making plans to meet for lunch some day, so yay for MIL getting out!

We had a very early supper because MIL and FCD were both starving. It’s just barely after 5 and my dishwasher is sloshing along. Which means come 7-ish, we’ll be a tad peckish again.

Tomorrow, FCD and I are getting up early and having a breakfast date. Then we’re going to move the boat back to our slip, with a slight detour out into the river to run it thru its paces a bit. We want to get out and in before it gets too hot.

His two transformers were delivered today, so I expect they’ll be installed by this weekend. And theoretically, that will take care of our power issue. Huzzah! And he didn’t bring up his brother’s car, so there’s an argument averted. :grinning:

I started working on the weather cloths but the rest of tonight is for chillage.