(Old) I owe, I owe, so off to Mump I go - A Tax Season MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
201

No worries! I’m actually fairly decent at getting into default mode network, it’s my belief that it fosters creativity, so sometimes I take walks and sometimes I work on my puzzles with no extra input, just me and brain. But I’m trying to motivate myself to go out in the cold because I look out there and think, “But I’m warm and cozy right here!” Today was a victory and honestly any day I can get outside during the Winter is a victory!

Despite dragging my ass today, I got the two things done I needed to get done for work, as well as a bunch of minor but numerous logistical things that needed to get done at some point. Though she may be sleepy, she did not do too badly for herself.

Going to relax for a while before I get the bean from the bus. (But not fall asleep!)

202

Wifey, RN came home. I asked if she was done for the day, or if she’s going out again. She said she’s done for the day. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘[Patient] is dead.’ She said she walked in and found him lying on the floor. She said she’d had a feeling, since he was good about answering his phone. His wife died a couple of years ago, and she’d been checking up on him in addition to tending to his feet, and trying to get him into a living situation where he would have more assistance. :frowning:

ETA: She said he’d been going downhill since his wife died. He had a DNR on the refrigerator, but it was an old one… His wife was the contact on it. Wifey, RN got there early, and she said she had a feeling she’d find him. She waited for the police to come, so she was there about 45 minutes. She told them she didn’t know who to contact. She said she thinks he has a daughter in Hawaii, and another one in Montana. He was 77.

203

I didn’t have any mouthwash, so I sloshed it out with vodka to kill any bacteria. NOW you can laugh.

204

Started Typing: 3:50 PM ET
Clicked Reply: 4:58 PM ET

A few days late, but I made it into this week’s MMP! *phew*! I spent some time yesterday afternoon reading (142 posts) and making notes; I just finished catching up, and making more notes. :slight_smile:

Congrats on Ace, doggio!! :dog: I read somewhere that it takes ~3 months for adopted doggies to fully adjust/relax. I hope the transition period isn’t too tough on either of you…or Spot…and that Spot isn’t too tough on Ace!

Belated Happy Birthday, BBBoo! :birthday:

This week has been steadily busy, between the customer’s “update your badges now” mandate*, the proposal I’m supporting, and the sudden death of the president of my volunteer org. Regarding the latter, I’ve been keeping my committee members informed and helping our Communications Chair with some things – including taking over our Constant Contact account (i.e., our mailing lists), which I’d already mostly been managing but technically our deceased co-volunteer “owned.” Her funeral will be held a week from Friday: I plan to attend, and have already notified work that I’ll be out of the office until early-to-mid afternoon that day.

*I don’t know how some of my colleagues got hired, what with having zero reading comprehension skills. These days I’m all:

In other news, I completed the Lego Fender :guitar: set on Saturday night! Here’s the updated display in my living room:

We had crappy weather all day Tuesday, with big winds and constant rain that was occasionally very heavy, and at 9pm my power went out…for less than 30 seconds. Just long enough for me to say “huh,” and think about getting off the couch to grab a flashlight. There were also two loud bangs at the same time, and it turns out that a transformer in the neighborhood blew – and set a nearby tree on fire, which is impressive considering how wet everything was! (The fire department arrived quickly.) I’m not sure how my street’s power came back on so quickly, but I was very grateful; houses on the same street as the 'sploded transformer were dark for several hours.

Bailey had her first mobile grooming appointment this morning: a company called Woofies came to the house, and the groomer gave her a nail trim, brushout, and bath in the van. She looks so pretty! I bet/hope she’s more comfortable now. I used to get her groomed at daycare, but between her trouble getting in the car and unwillingness to play much anymore we hardly ever go there these days. I’ve taken her to PetSmart for grooming twice, but I have to leave her there for hours and I hate doing that. Woofies did a better job, and it took less than an hour. The service is a little pricey, but worth it. I’ll still have Dogtopia groom her when she boards there next month – I’ll be going to a weekend jazz festival (it’s local, but I like to stay in the festival hotel as a kind of mini-vacation) – but after that I plan to have Woofies come out every 6-8 weeks.

Today I’m feeling particularly glad that my Thursday evening personal training sessions have been moved to Saturday mornings. I got up early because the Woofies appointment was at 8am – at my request, because of my work schedule – and it’s been a long day. Northern Exposure is finally available on streaming (Amazon), and I’ve been watching it all week: I just started S2, and am looking forward to more episodes this evening.

Nooooo! :slight_smile: I’ve been a renter for 30 years: unapproved changes to appliances aren’t recommended, even simple ones/clear improvements, because if something ever goes wrong with that appliance – related to the change you made or not – you could be held responsible. Some landlords will use any reason to charge you for something. Renters should always get an OK in advance (and in writing). Most landlords/property managers won’t mind!

In my current place, the only thing I’ve done without prior approval was replace the garbage disposal with the exact same model…it was an emergency…I kinda broke the original one by stuffing a bunch of leftover nachos down it. :grin:

Sounds like you’re making the best of things…fingers crossed for a smooth trip home tomorrow!

Good luck with the move! :slight_smile:

I know this is something she encounters from time to time in her line of work, but it can never be pleasant. Ugh. She’s in my thoughts this evening (it’s evening here).

205

Howdy Y’all! Stuff got did, OYKW got doctoRed, and a Sonny’s N.O.L. got et. Nappage and day drinkin’ were accomplished. Netflix and chill are on deck. Thus is the news from swampland.

206

This is the first time it’s happened.

Details wrong earlier. He apparently has a son and a daughter, and his sister is still alive. The Missus thinks he buried his wife in North Dakota, but said they should look for an urn just in case. She said she thinks it may have happened the day before yesterday. (I didn’t ask her why. I assume it was because he didn’t answer his phone yesterday.) He was dressed as if he was going out, or just getting home. He was on the floor, laying on his side. I think he had heart problems, so he may have ‘let himself down’ instead of having fallen down. I don’t know. I wasn’t there, and I’m not going to ask.

207

Ye gods, am I old. I have that shit on DVDs. (Including the box set that came in its own cute lil parka.)

208

Well, the doo-doo has hit the fan at Daughter’s school. The county won’t renew their lease - they’re outta there as of June. Apparently the county guys want the building for… something… so after all the work and stuff we did. Dammit.

She and FCD drove to a former Catholic school that’s sitting empty now, only used for an hour on Sundays. I stayed at Daughter’s house to pick up Roxy and Tobias, and I ordered pizza for their supper since I knew she wouldn’t have time to cook, and because I’m nice, dammit. Domino’s and Daughter arrived at the same time, so that worked out.

And there’s an emergency board meeting at the school tonight. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow what comes out of that. But what a s#|+storm this is. The Catholic school is closer to us, but roughly 12 miles from the current school. And it’s out in the middle of nowhere in Avenue, Md. On the plus side, there’s lots more land around it and they may be able to get a really good deal on rent. Plus it has good HVAC so there’s that. OTOH, there’s moving expenses. Pickup trucks can only do so much.

Anyway, we shall see. One thing for sure, they’ll strip out the network and PA wiring that we did last summer. That’s over $5K in materials that the county is not getting. Always something.

We hung some pictures at the apartment, but there are more to go. And I got 3 photos of Tobias and Roxy printed at CVS since MIL didn’t have any. We’ll put them in place of some of the older pics she has. We also bought some lampshades for 2 old lamps we had in the garage. FCD is going to clean them up and we’re going to get the brightest bulbs we can and put them in MIL’s place. We also bought a long tablecloth that I’m going to split in half so she’ll have 2 tablecloths for her little table.

But not today. I’m sleeping with Mel tonight.

209

Winter storm warning for no. Illinois in effect from 3am Friday til summer. Predictions include over 8 inches of snow, wind gusts up to 50 mph, white out conditions, below 0 windchills. I visited Ariel today and probably won’t see her til Wednesday. The polar vortex moves in after the snow. Highs of below zero next week.

210

I will happily trade the rain we keep getting for some of snow y’all are complaining about.

Happy next birthday!!

When you travel, do fly with the airline you used to work for? If so, do you get any deals as a retiree?

:+1: :+1: :+1: :+1:

211

I do more damage to the inside of my mouth with potato chips than with all other food put together. And I rarely eat potato chips. Damned things oughta have warning labels on 'em. No laughing here.


Read all the rest and it sounds like folks are coping OK w the Winter. And the critters are being their adorable adorablenesses. And cow-orkers are being, well, … orkers.


FCM I’m sorry to hear of the school, but IIRC this was an all-but done deal a few months ago; you were all just waiting for the rumor to be replaced by the news. Still sucks mightily.


Had a good day here. Slept well, had a good breakfast, then walked 20 minutes downhill to the train station and rode across town to where they have aerial tramway cars running up the hillsides as part of the ordinary commuter transit system. The city is in a narrow valley surrounded by mountains 5000+ feet higher than the narrow valley floor. So the residential areas simply grow up the hillsides higher and higher.

Anyhow, one of the cable lines leads to Parque Arví (parquearvi.org). About 8500’ elevation so cool & lush. Almost warm enough in shorts & a nylon polo; almost. Very pretty and nice hiking trails. Took the cable car back down and a different one up the opposite slope just because. Today’s weather was not so perfect as earlier; more clouds and the valley was hazy, not the crystal clear brilliant blue of the weekend. The views up the slopes and across the valley are spectacular on a hazy day and must be incredible on a clear one.

Anyhow this second cableway just ends in a random working class neighborhood about 2000 feet elevation above the valley floor. Lotta ordinary folks doing their ordinary things. Had lunch at a small corner eatery: a 12 oz local beer and a beef empanada in a cornmeal shell. US$1.65. The rest of their breads and baked goods looked incredible. I could tell these folks do not see many gringos around home. All friendly, just surprised. A couple people had to try their minimal English on me and were rewarded with my minimal Spanish. Had an abortive but fun conversation with the one other guy in the cable car going back down.

Wandered home making an intermediate stop at a shopping mall / food court, and the adjacent botanical gardens. Hiked the gardens and poked into the mall thing just to crowd watch and absorb some more Latin energy. The science museum is also next door so I got a selfie in front of their life-size bronze brontosaurus but didn’t do the museum itself.

Eventually trained back to my “home” station then hiked the 20 minutes uphill back to my hotel neighborhood and got a celebratory cervesa from a storefront licorea and drank it in the park. No “open container” laws in this country. This being in the uptown swish party district, a 12 oz local beer is a steep US$0.50. In one of the fancy joints or nightclubs here you can spend US-typical prices on food and drink. But you sure don’t have to.

It’s now about 7pm, the music outside is non-stop from multiple party venues, and it’s just about time for me to head out for one last dinner in Medellín. Gonna make it count, but I’m not sure in what way. Yet.

Tomorrow is a leisurely pace, but it’s only really got time for get up, clean up, pack, eat, and go the airport. Should be home for dinner. Should.

Cheers all!!

212

Now I don’t feel so bad about biting my tongue the other day.

Sending good thoughts for your hub and you cat glove.

Irked, came home, walked Nelson, et and napped. Now I’m ready to get things done in the studio.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

213

Ah, shit. Someone send out the sniffin’ dogs. (That is what M.I.A. stands for, isn’t it?)

I’m not far from you. Shush, you!

That suxxx.

Sometimes, petty revenge is the only kind you get.

After spending some time angry at my toddler of a mother (see mini rants in the Pit, I don’t feel like rehashing again, esp. now that I sorta-kinda got over it) I got myself out to the errands: Amazon return on those damn lights, plus I wanted a few things from Meijer.

Hol(e)y socks, Batman! Even Michiganders are stocking up on T.P. and milk (saw a guy clutching nothing but two dozen egg cartons & hightailing it for the insane-o-pants line for the registers) and the dispo by my home - where I may or may not have wanted to swing by on my way back - was friggin’ packed.

I decided the prudent course of action was to safely stow my yummies at home in my fridge, and have a smoke chill with y’all for a bit while I contemplate life uh, my mother I mean, what’s for dinner, and then go back to the local weed place and get something to keep me warm over the next days, when they’re hopefully quieter.

… and also, make sure I know where my shovel and sno-melty salty-whatever stuff is.

Sweet Manager already made a blanket announcement that anyone who’s stranded/stuck, just let her know and her 4x4 will come and scoop up your ass, and bring you to work.

She ain’t playin’ NO games! :cowboy_hat_face:

214

I need info, Mumpers. Does windchill cause pipes to freeze, or just frigid temps? We’re supposed to get weather that is really cold for here. Corporate landlord wants us all to do the usual stuff you do to prevent freeing pipes. But I’ve lived long in frigid climates (northern Montana and northern Wyoming), and around there, we only left faucets dripping and cupboards open when temps hit below zero. The temps here won’t be below 18º, with windchill as low as +6º. I’ll do as I’m told, but what am I missing? Are pipes flimsier here? Or is windchill the determinant?

Bus ride and walk to dentist went fine. He couldn’t find anything wrong with the tooth/gum in question, which is good but noted that I will need to replace a crown on a different tooth in the very near future, so I didn’t get out without hearing the “C” word after all. I then walked back almost to the bus station and realized I’d just missed the bus and would have to wait a half-hour for the next one. So I kept walking. All told, I’ve walked 6 miles today.

FCM, bummer about daughter’s school. Hopefully the former Catholic school building will be available. I’d think it would be plenty big enough.

Cookie, still can’t laugh, but I did smile in approval of your mouthwash.

Pilot, hope you can share the photo of you and your Mesozoic chum.

215

No, wind chill will not freeze pipes. Actual temperatures below freezing will freze stuff. Wind chill iswhat it feels like to human (and animal?) skin. As long as the places where the pipes run are above 32°, you’re good.

I’m about to take some melatonin and crash. I’m fried.

216

That’s quote cold enough for me, thankyouverymuch. :cold_face:

217

Same brutal, dire warnings for me and hippie too. We have:

 Wind chill watch
 Winter weather advisory
 Hazardous Weather Outlook

Extending five days into next week. Sh*t indeed. My SIL texted me last night to ask if I could come over tonight ahead of the first storm (due overnight) to be here to do snow day Grandma child care when the schools close for the THIRD day this week. I’m thrilled of course~it’s heavenly to be needed and able to help but it’s hell on working parents and not everyone has an eager and willing grandma 12 minutes away. Disney movies, hot chocolate parties, maybe some cookie baking or Valentine sewing projects here we come~probably in our pajamas for the day, with the fireplace roaring (gas but it is still cheery to look at even if it doesn’t put out much heat).

218

The hummingbird feeder is frozen. The heater cup is supposed to fit flush with the bottom, but there are spokes that leave a quarter-inch or so of a gap. I’ll swap out the older feeder in the morning. It doesn’t self-fill for some reason, and you have to tilt it so that the birds can get nectar; but it shouldn’t freeze (I hope).

Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero) (1979).

219

It snowed here today! I’m sure nobody would be horribly impressed if I gave numbers and such, but it did snow for a few minutes. Then it sleeted. Then it cleared up and all of the starving birds in the neighborhood came for breakfast. The cats were very entertained.

Hubs is starting to regret his decision to clean up after my cooking, I think he never paid attention to how often I was running the dishwasher each day until now that he’s in charge of loading and unloading.

OTOH, he makes happy noises when he puts his first bite in his mouth and then goes back for seconds.

Tonight was Verde chicken tamales with refried beans. No rice because I am trying to pay attention to the carbs. I think I don’t really like instant pot refried beans, the texture is slightly off. I think the pressure breaks the cellulose differently than the traditional methods and the beans come out too smooth. That could just be me, hubs didn’t seem to notice even after I pointed it out.

And I think our poor stop sign just went down. Oh, and there is a car digging holes in our front yard trying to back off the sign post. I need to stop hubs from shooting anyone, laters.

220

Well, I gave him 2 one hour walks, separated by 45 minutes of Kong toy play, and he still didn’t settle down for 8 more hours. Plus even with having a constant human presence, several hours of exercise per day, and lots of toys, he’s constantly destroying things and barking. Dunno if I can go 3 months of this.

Sorry about the school, FCM