(Old) Hunt for Bed October in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
101

Well, good morning!

I tried to keep up while across the country, but it was futile because the kiddos wanted to play or there was someplace to go.

It’s 55°F and a light rain is falling. It’s supposed to be mostly cloudy and rainy all day, and the daytime high will only be 68°F. We may even see a little lightning at some point today. I was thrilled to see the rain as soon as I landed. It was dang hot out there in Missouri.

FCM, sending healing vibes to your mother. Your sister sounds highly frustrated, and I’m sorry she’s taking it out on you.

Nellie, I can understand your hesitation re: making the appointment. But, all the same, you should probably do it.

I love the pics of all our pets! They make me smile. I have also watched the We Rate Dogs videos when they pop up on the FB reels. I enjoy them.

I really enjoyed the visit with my daughter and her family. Their home is beautiful and comfortable. The kids have grown so much, so it was nice to give them a hug finally. They had a combo birthday party at the skating rink while we were there, and the next morning, we celebrated Adam’s fifth birthday with presents and cake.

We spent our days running errands, prepping for birthdays, and enjoying each other’s company. I also took a bike ride on an electric bike one evening, and it was lovely. I was sad to go, but on the other hand, I was really happy to see my pups, and they were equally thrilled to see me. Buster is sleeping on my feet as I type this.

The kids also had a stray orange kitten that had adopted them. He’s not quite a year old. They already have two other cats (both senior citizens), so he can’t come in the house yet. They bought an insulated cat shelter, and they feed him. He hangs out on the back porch and is quite the lovey-dovey little guy. They’re going to get him neutered soon (so he won’t spray) and then, hopefully, they’ll be able to bring him in. He LURVED me and would roll all over my chest and lap when I sat down out there, purring and chirping. If he caught me petting one of the other cats inside the house he’d raise up and paw at the big glass doors, meowing at me.

My flight out was delayed by more than an hour due to a maintenance/mechanical issue, but that was about the only hiccup during the travel there and back.

BooFae, I’m glad you had fun with the kittens!

I don’t have any plans for today other than cuddling with my pups and washing the clothes in my suitcase.

I slept a little late today, so it’s time for a second cup of coffee. You all take care of yourselves.

102

Tell your dog I said hi!

Add horses / donkeys and door knocks and that’s Nelson’s reaction too.

Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP.

Sis called and asked to postpone our day out until tomorrow. Since we’re going to a thrift store, she decided to purge enough to fill the Goodwill box for donation. We’re both retired, so works for me.

I do need to take a birthday card to the post office for Dad. His birthday is the sixth.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

103

Dr said everything was fine. The cholesterol was a smidgen high but not important. Also the sodium was a smidgen low because I was worried about bp. I’ve cut down on salty foods, but to my joy, she said I dont have to!:+1:
Got my flu shot, woot!
Moving little items downstairs, my friends will take my bed and couch down later.
Bathroom is blah looking but I finally get sun in my apt. Especially in the morning.
Waiting to hear and decide on job.

104

Hi all - Back in sunny SoFL after 12 days in NorCal.

Lotta work reading a weeks’ worth of MMP in 2 sittings. Hugs especially to FCM’s Mom. Plus Nellie & oopsie. And StickyBuns old friend. Flyboy’s knee issue doesn’t sound so great either. Of course BBBoo’s teeth too; Dr. Pilot prescribes ice cream as the perfect antidote. Melted to room temp if necessary.

On the plus side of the ledger, Otis has joined the chat, Taters and Susan had / are having fun adventures, and oopsie also had a happy family visit. Sending good wishes for Coppertone’s jobs and new sunnier apt.

And yaay’s, boos, etc. to all whose details I missed here. I did read all of the last 10 days.

As to me/us: Summarizing mightily, it was an excellent trip. The family reunion & memorial stuff I attended solo the first 4 days went well, then GF arrived and we had 8 wonderful days together, rarely out of arm’s reach and with no fussing or difficulty. We had good weather, and a variety of it, good adventures, good food, and good company. She met all the cousins and everybody liked everybody. All of these are excellent omens for our relationship.

Today was housekeeper day, which means laundry day in addition to my dirties from the trip. Next up is carwash and misc errands.

105

Started Typing: 1:13 PM ET
Clicked Reply: 2:13 PM ET

Nice new avatar, FCM! :ghost:

Happy first day of fiscal year 2026, everyone! :roll_eyes: Work isn’t a fun place to be today, for various reasons (most FY-related), but at least our customer isn’t affected by the gov’t shutdown – which means neither are we. That definitely beats any level of administrative annoyance.

I sent the choral group my audition request early Monday morning, but haven’t heard anything yet. I’ll send a followup note tomorrow, if needed. I’m frankly not sure they’ll be right for me – I won’t know until I’ve been to a few rehearsals – so I won’t be sad if I never hear from them, but I’ll at least try to ensure my email didn’t wind up in a spam folder.

This morning I ordered two new holiday Lego sets (a tree and a train) that just became available to people with Lego accounts; they go on sale to the general public on Saturday. I also finally ordered the mineral collection, which I plan to display on my window ledge at work. Sometime in the next month I’ll need to start planning how to rearrange all of my currently-displayed sets at home in order to accomodate my Christmas decor (lots of holiday Lego, plus ornaments and crystal snowflakes and other things…oh my!). :christmas_tree: :slight_smile:

:heart_eyes: !

Oooooo! I have a bunch of single-serve peanut butter cups left over from when I was using them to get Bailey to take her meds: every now and then I eat one as a snack, but I love the idea of mixing in some fluff!

Yay! :smiley:

106

The one weird trick to get Otis to scarf down his dry, flavorless bits is mixing them with some canned wet food. We need to fatten him up a bit.

The few groceries I needed have been procured and stowed. I’m about to call my mom. After that I dunno.

107

Went on an “outing” today. What I thought was going to be a trip to a museum turned out to be a trip to a play at the History Theater. I don’t like plays for a couple of reasons: the seats are incredibly uncomfortable for someone with arthritis, and my declining hearing means I miss a lot of dialog. I’d like that two hours back.

Went to the grocery after we got back and the wife noticed that our plates are expired. I must have missed the notification for that. Luckily, it can be done online.

108

Posting here about the choral group audition did the trick: I got an email from the director a little over an hour later! It seems that I’ll be auditioning for him a week from Sunday, which gives me time to work on the required piece. I’ll also reach out to a couple of my recent voice teachers and see if anyone can give me an “emergency” lesson between now and then (it’s been 15+ years since I’ve sung classical material!). :slight_smile: Even if I pass the audition, though, I wouldn’t be joining the regular chorale at this time: they’re already fully staffed for most of their 2025-2026 program, right now they’re just looking for extra voices for a big performance with an orchestra in May. Rehearsals for that wouldn’t start until early April, which could be perfect for me.

109

Sounds about 95% ideal. Best of luck!

110

I’ve had a little red bruise on my right arm for a few days now. My PCP says of these (I get them a lot) that it’s just part of getting older. I just looked at my arm (I think something caught my eye), and there’s a black scab about an inch and a half up from the little bruise. Where the hell did that come from? :astonished: OK, yeah. I’m always bumping things and scraping things, and I don’t always know what I did. But usually I’ll notice if there is blood involved.

111

Well, not too terribly long after snarfing down his dry, flavorless bits with some wet stuff, Otis horked on the living room rug. And an impressive hork it was! :roll_eyes: So for supper, we gave him a smaller serving to see if that will stay down. We were following the feeding guidance on the bag, but maybe it was just too much?

He’s going to the vet on Tuesday - that’ll be another question for them.

FCD informed me that our boat is back in its slip, which is nice for when we work on it - lots closer to the bathrooms!

Are you me in a parallel dimension? I’ve got multicolor highlights to my left arm, just added to this evening by a monster dog paw. I swear, I worry that people might think I’m a victim of spousal abuse instead of just inclined to bring body parts in contact with stabby or very solid miscellany in my surroundings. Did I mention I cut my right leg on a corner of my front license plate the other day? Not entirely sure how I managed that one.

OK, recliner time!!

112

Have done my gym work, bought a couple more polo shirts at Wal-Mart and ate a mid-day snack. Now need to get dressed for soccer and go out to chase 10/11 year olds for a hour or so. Made it to 86F today.

Welcome back Taters. Glad you had a nice family visit. And hope the kids keep taking good care of that little cat.

Coppertone , now don’t go overdoing on the salt now… :wink: Hope the move works out well.

Pilot, welcome home, happy the trip (and the family/GF interactions) went so well.

Oopsie, almost forgot it is now FY26 (Congress an Trump have unfortunately kept it in the news). And hope the new choral group works out well for you.

Cookie, what play was it? Sorry it was a bad choice.

FCM, when does Otis get introduced to the boat?

flyboy, I guess I have been careful lately, almost all my hand-bruises have disappeared. I imagine they’ll be returning soon enough…

And need to dress for soccer and get on my way. Y’all behave (or not..).

113

I microplane grated my thumb the other day.

114

I have dozens of tiny little cuts all over, but I do have a new puppy with sharp nails and work with many cutting devices every day. I frequently look down at my hands or shins and find blood.

I think I’ll be installing my “stone piano” on Monday. I’ve been prototyping it for a couple of months, and the final iteration is almost done. It’s basically plinko with steel pegs that rocks bounce on and make cool noises. I named it after mis-heard/repurposed lyrics from the Who’s “Gettin in Tune.” But I had to go all designer like and make it a funky shape. Half of a conical hexagon. Why make rectangles when you can make life harder on yourself by being clever?

115

Could it be the change of food?

Welcome home, pilot!

Will you be tuning it?

Got Dad’s birthday card mailed and introduced Nelson to the apartment manager. She liked him. :slight_smile: Other than talking to Sis, I’ve kitted up a couple of Christmas cards, all ready for stamping and assembling.

Now for chillage.

116

“Don’t Miss Doris Hines”, about the fairly famous jazz singer.

117

My cousins (4 women) are two pair by different fathers a decade+ apart. Very different childhood and adult life circumstances among all 4. So lots for a newbie to take onboard. It certainly helps that GF is the product of a similar split family upbringing. It was more old home week than a competitive snooty-fest. Yaay!!

I was optimistic, but all my expectations were exceeded.

The “worst” part of the trip is when we got to SFO to fly home. Of course she had to check a bag. Which entailed an interminable line despite us traveling first class. Back in Ye Olde Dayes she’d been a ticket counter agent for both Eastern & later Delta. She was apoplectic at the pitiful pace of the AA first class “elite” staff at SFO.

That 45 minutes in a non-moving line pissed away our planned time at the club. Bastards.

The fact I knew the FAs on board helped mollify the situation. Go Breanna; you’re a fave! Three free Bloody Marys later all was forgiven.


Speaking of silly injuries… unnrelated to the above, GF has a fingernail disaster the day before leaving Miami where the manicurist almost ripped one nail off. We’ve been making do & trying to protect it ever since. Now back home, she’s got an emergency dermo visit tomorrow to try to address, or remove, this mess. Lotta ouch!

118

Hubs is usually in charge of paying our auto bills and once he forgot my registration. I got pulled over and the cop took my paperwork back to his car. I pulled my phone out and paid the registration online. The cop came back with a very confused look on his face saying he had checked my plates before getting out of his car, but he must have misread it. But I was still speeding, so here’s a warning ticket for that.

FCM Otis looks adorable, I hope he finds his place in your home.

It’s finally cooling down here, I’m looking forward to having the windows open again.

I tried to cut a tomato with a dull knife last week.

Pics will be demanded. How cool is that, you are so creative!

Pilot, Welcome back. I have missed you.

Our housekeeper was here later than normal today because she had a kid thing to do so smelled me heating up leftover Mexican Tortilla Soup for lunch. She said it smelled really good, so I offered her a bowl.

Guys, that stuff is MILD! Just a little spice, only one measly can of green chilis, not even enough heat to notice.

I don’t think she’s ever going to trust me again. :frowning: Flipping hillbillies just can’t handle their cumin.

Tomorrow we are going to go up north to look at leaves and get a white garlic pizza. I will have a different cider, I’m enjoying learning about the different tastes from different apples and spices.

That’s about all the posting power I have now, so everyone have a great night and I’ll catch you in the AM.

119

That’s not how it’s done.

We had Thai tonight. I got the yum beef salad, 5-star spiciness.

120

Howdy Y’all! Home from the doin’s over to the church house. Actually been home for a bit and chillin’. We didn’t go to Aldi’s but will tomorrow after we are bears who lunch at the hog trough Golden Corral. OYKW expressed a gnawin’ and a cravin’ for GC. We have chikin in a spinach cream sauce over rice, steamed broccoli, rolls, and strawberry shortcake tonight. The askin’ for food to help stem the cost is five bucks a person and no more than twenty for a family of four or more. Of course anyone who signs up is welcome to eat regardless of ability to pay. We throw in twenty a week because nowhere else could we get a meal, dessert and a drink plus tip for the ask. Heck, twenty for a meal like that for the two of us is a deal! Ummm… well that was a stream of consciousness ramble!

I have read all but am unable to brain, so yays, boos, hugs, trouts, chitlins, and how you doin’s all around as needed.