Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. Cyber hugs and healing vibes.
Started Typing: 1:58 PM ET
Clicked Reply: 4:02 PM ET
There are at least two tasks I should definitely be working on right now vs slacking with you lot, but I reaaaaally donwanna. So, here I am. You lucky so-and-sos. 
It’s supposed to rain again later. This morning I dragged the biiiiiiiig trash can out to the curb, and am hoping the truck comes before the rain starts. One of the windows in my home office faces the street, so as soon as I see the pickup I’ll be able to dash out and haul the can back to my patio.
(2:55pm update: the truck just came and the can is back in place! Yay!)
I’ve decided to work on Monday, which is a federal holiday. The deadline for the proposal I’m supporting is noon on Thursday, a bunch of folks will be in the proposal center both this weekend and Monday, and I could use an in-person day to focus on my section without the distraction of my gov’t laptop. Plus, my day job will be a little busy on Tuesday so I’ll appreciate being able to focus on Monday. I’m not gonna work this weekend, but I’ll spend Monday in the prop center* and use the 8 hours of holiday time later (likely for one of the days I’m taking off for next month’s jazz festival).
*It’s super close to home, and in a building/space that I’m very comfortable in because I was a proposal manager when I joined the company (I see my old desk whenever I’m there 
). And I enjoy being around other people every now and then. So, it won’t be a hardship to spend a day/work a holiday there.
I’ve been distracted by a few work things since starting this post, but nothing related to the tasks that I’ve been putting off…now it’s nearly 4pm, and I should really get some of that stuff done before calling it a day. Have a good Friday night, all!
Gah, that was my bad: I know she loses patients from time to time, and simply assumed she’d previously been the one to make the discovery.
This reminds me of the Blizzard of '96: I was 24 years old, and working in the public affairs office of the Maryland State Highway Administration (in Baltimore). A giant orange truck came to my apartment building and took me to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), where the public affairs staff hunkered down with some managers, dispatchers, and salt truck and snowplow drivers, and a couple of IT types. We all spent the night in the EOC together, which was the subject of inappropriate in-jokes for the next couple of years. Anyway, there were so many media inquiries that I – a baby public relations specialist – was allowed to act as an administration spokesperson for the very first time, and a friend’s mom heard me on the radio!
Ugh…is doggy daycare an option?
I can’t tell whether you needed more or fewer cervezas… 
…right now? 
(I, of course, am simply guessing as to whether dad being the favorite might be a phase; and hoping that, if so, a reminder might be helpful to you!)
That reminds me of another State Highway Administration story…
I wasn’t always in public affairs: I ended up there, but started as an admin in the maintenance contracts department, did some cross-training as a possible operations center dispatcher, etc., and at one point I took some hazardous materials training. The instructor asked us to name ways to identify whether something scary might be in a tanker truck we encounter that’s been in an accident, and after saying a few things like the shape of the container, the shape/color of/symbols on the placard, etc., there was one thing left we couldn’t guess. Finally the instructor said, “The driver. Always look for the driver: they know what they’re hauling, and if they’re running you should be too!”
Ugh… 
'Tis 26ºF. We got 1" of snow last night. All the schools are closed. When I was teaching, we usually watched the news for about 7 minutes (out of 97). (Goals: establishing a habit; future well-informed voters; tying news to history). Whenever schools were closed in, say, Mississippi because they got an inch of snow, my students reacted with envy and contempt. In 26 years in WY, schools closed only twice. If you didn’t drive a tank, that was your problem. I had to remind kids that people in MS weren’t used to driving in snow. Their faces 
Translation: Losers can’t even drive! Because 17-year-old you people are NASCAR ready. My face:
I appreciate all the advice about frozen pipes. Honestly, I’ve had to do this many times before because I 
come from the land of ice and snow. I already knew to keep cupboards open and water dripping, but your comments got me to stop being cranky about doing so when the low temps are as high as they are. I’m as bad as my former students.
taters, glad you got back safely! I think flights are always bumpy going into SeaTac. I think when you get lifted out of your seat, that’s some choppy air! I had one flight (Billings to Denver), when I found myself grasping the bottom of the seat so I wouldn’t keep getting lifted. The woman next to me kept turning to me and moaning, “I know I’m going to throw up.” I kept saying, “Bag in the seat pocket! Bag in the seat pocket!” (And please quit turning toward me!)
MetalMouse, yay for the noise and confusion (and leaky pipes) being over! Hey, on nights when you have your big bowl of salad, is it all veggies, or do you add some protein? Bagged salad mix, or do you peel and chop?
I love this phrase!
At least she didn’t cry about it. 
We (or at least I) certainly look forward to your stories. All the best ones are written when one ought to be working. 
Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the presence of radio celebrity here. All Hail!
Shame that video killed the radio star.
In my IT biz state-level and big city / regional EOC’s were our primary customers. I’ve spent too many newsworthy events in a bunker with a roomful of bureaucrats and first responder types. And the PR crew too. But yeah, the stale jokes come easily.
There’s a joke in the military about the EOD (bomb defuser) folks. Lot of 'em have T-shirts with EOD in big letters on the back and “If you see me running … try to keep up” down below. Sometimes military humor is about like military intelligence. Other times it’s pretty funny in a wry way.
I’m now riding home on the train and it’s fun to see us passing all the parked cars on the northbound freeway here at 5:30. The train left the airport station 10 minutes late which was good because I got there 5 minutes after their scheduled departure. Saved me waiting 30 minutes for the next one. They’re usually real punctual but it turns out there’s a section of track out a couple miles north of the airport where what’s normally two tracks is now just one so they’ve got to take turns getting through the bottleneck.
Just a 12oz Bag I get from Kroger (American Blend–Iceberg lettuce, green leaf lettuce, red cabbage, carrot, radish) to which I add croutons and Tomatoes to. No meat, but fat free Ranch Dressing.
A web cartoon I love (Schlock: Mercenary) has the “70 Maxims for Mercenaries”, of which #3 is "An ordnance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.
Welcome home pilot
Reading about the schools closing reminds me they closed our city schools today because of the rain/thinderstorms. Seemed weird to me, but hey, Ali-bama.
Oopsie, good timing on the trash, managed to miss the rain when I went to the gym. Hope that Monday goes well at work, and hey, you were a radio personality for a short time.
FCM, I hope it is something minor and they can treat it quickly. {{{ }}} to you.
I’ve had the "ice inside the car window’ a few times, some defroster time worked for me, but never thought about the windshield cracking. Glad it is not a problem here.
Alrighty then, need to get that salad ready, everyone take care now.
OK. Not going into details, but apparently it’s a recurrence of an earlier health issue as well as a reaction to one of her meds. She’s still in the hospital and if they can’t get a flight out tomorrow, they’ll either have to deal with overnight connections or wait till Tuesday. She may be discharged tonight but maybe not till tomorrow.
The biggest problem is language. Well, that and my sister can be a drama queen. I passed her the flight info but there’s nothing else I can do for now. At least it doesn’t sound life-threatening.
I talked with my brother and the sister who’s still in town - both had told her not to go on this cruise. But what the heck - no one could have seen this crop up and it’s not like the cruise caused it. Need I mention that these two sibs don’t like to cruise??
Anyway, I’m feeling a tad less stressed. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. I’m turning off this machine for now.
Just had a hot shower. First time I’ve been warm since I got out of bed. No joy on unfreezing the pipe. I don’t know if the ceramic heater isn’t up to the job, or if it’s just taking a long time. Probably the former. There’s almost 1,100 square feet of under-the-house.
Mrs. L.A. wants to go out to dinner, but she doesn’t know where.
Also, she got a call from her late patient’s son. It wasn’t a long shower, but they were still talking when I got out and dressed.
Dang. How did I miss your post with the news about your mom ,FCM? (That’s a rhetorical question. I don’t expect you to navigate the dusty depths of my brain.) I’m relieved it doesn’t seem life-threatening, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed, just in case.
Pilot, by this time you’re probably home and wrapped in the arms of your beautiful, loving wife.
flyboy, you have my warmest 
good wishes.
I’m glad it’s not life threatening. But I’m sure it’s still stressful. Good night.
The wind is doing frightening sounding wind sounds outside. The last big wind, like 3 days ago, caused many downed branches and power lines. Here’s hoping this one is less, but it sounds worse.
FCM Best wishes for FCMM and all the others in your orbit who are fighting the crap that is life.
And for that matter, love to all of you other Mumpers, too.
I’m glad that your mom’s condition isn’t life threatening Moooooom. Hugs to her, you and all involved.
FCM, I’m glad the news wasn’t as dire as it sounded, fingers crossed that things get sorted soon.
Hmmmm…maybe you’ve got something there!
I floozied with many an EOD guy, they are their own special kind of odd. OTOH, it was always interesting to hang out with guys who blew things up for fun and profit.
I’m glad you made it home, probably just in time to do some laundry and go on another trip!
You betcha! Evil doers BEWARE!!!
Plus cranberry infused gin. That’s some great stuff, btw.
It’s the only way to be sure.
I had no idea. I used to live for the holidays and now I can’t remember if its Friday or Saturday. I love being retired!
That’s horrible. You really should put your jacket on!
Is there room for you to hang blankets over the pipes to make a kind of tent around the heater? Those little foil emergency blankets you should have in your vehicles emergency supply kit would work a treat. Super thin and flexible but they really do catch and hold the heat.
It was cold today. They were working on the place behind us and hubs had to bundle up in his jacket to go out and peek through the gaps in the fence to see what they were doing. I told him that only old fogies peek through the fence, kids nowadays mount camera and watch from the comfort of their computer screen. He looked very thoughtful for a few minutes.
Dinner was spaghetti with meat sauce. I used some of the tomato sauce and paste that I had put back in the summer, frozen bell peppers from the summer, onions and garlic I harvested at the end of the summer and a loaf of herb, garlic and parmesan artesian bread straight from the oven. Most of my herb garden has played out for the year, but I was able to find some fresh stuff to use. (yes I did dry some, but we like fresh better) I chopped up a green salad, grated some parm for the sketti and boom…there’s another load in the dishwasher, LOL!!!
I wonder what smoked parmesan is like. hmmmm. I still have three wedges ready, I might just try it soon.
Hubs forgot to shut the bathroom door again but this time GG stayed off the bed after joining him in the bathtub. He got his feelings hurt when he got thrown out of the tub and again when the door got shut in his face, so he just sat in the living room and dripped water all over the floor.
If I google “how to stop my cat from playing in water?” I never find anything but funny pics of other swimming cats. That isn’t helpful!!!
We went to The Beach and had burgers with blue cheese, and we each had a Manhattan.
The ceramic heater didn’t work, so we’re back to warming the wall with the radiator heater. 10º outside.
Good idea. It’s a pretty tight fit under there, and by the time I could get the ‘space blankets’ they’ll be thawing anyway.
You could probably get them at any truck stop…and you should have one in each vehicle just in case. They come in a very small package, ours ride in our first aid kits. Next to three gallons of potable water.
I’ll take some, thank you. Back atcha.
Boo makes a mental note to get a couple foil blankets for her car….plus a couple of those handwarmer packets. I rarely drive outside my city but better to have and never need…
About 2.5 " accumulation on top of my car over a span of just under 6 hours.
We were pretty busy at first (mostly people stopping on their way home) but things slowed waaaaay down & the roads ain’t gettin’ any better, so the G.M. made the executive decision that we closed early (11 p.m. vs. 1 a.m.) and as an “early out” shift, that meant I got cut loose real fast.
Made it home with no problems, though, and even got up into my driveway on the 1st try.
Ran a load of laundry while I was at work - and was super worried that the power would be off already before I got home, leaving me stranded with wet blankets - but thankfully everything is still warm and well-lit, and my stuff is tumbling merrily away.
I really oughta do another load, I got quite terribly behind on laundry these last coupla weeks, and I wanna wash less-frequent stuff like my throw blankets for my chair and stuff.
Also need to throw out a pot of beans that’s been sitting around getting stinky, and figure out something more appetizing to eat.
We shall see what tomorrow brings - absolute bestest case scenario would be losing power at work AND still having it at home, giving me (unpaid) vacation time while still being cozy.
Dammit, I forgot to deal with that gas rebate check when I was off the other day. That’ll hafta wait for Monday, I’m sure.
Doing laundry warms up your house. Keep it going!
I’ve been thinking about your food issues. Planning and cooking for one is already hard, doing it with no storage is even worse because you can’t really cook for leftovers. (I’m assuming you don’t have a big fridge and a stand alone freezer.)
How do you feel about samwiches? You could buy an assortment of deli meats and (gasp) pre-sliced cheeses to keep on hand so you could throw something together as you get interested. If you get a couple of jars of gravy, open faced samwiches can be heated in your microwave.
Just a few thoughts.
Banks may be closed, it’s a federal holiday.
We have carried them around for almost 40 years. We have used one in all of those years and were really happy to have it when it was needed.
They are one use only, though. You will never EVER be able to fold one small enough to get back into the package.
Ah, not going to a bank; this specifically has to be taken to the gas/heat provider (otherwise I’d just deposit it via mobile app & not hafta, yanno, get up.)
Forgot about the holiday thing, though, thanks for the reminder - will hafta check before making the trek out there.
… assuming the roads are drivable by Monday.