(Old) It’s Moanday Again In The MMP

[nelliebly]

Today is my daughter’s birthday AND my sister’s birthday. They share a name, too, so I’m counting my blessings there. My son was born on my brother’s birthday because I’m all family-oriented like that. (Forgive the repetition. I know I’ve said all this before.) So stick a candle in your pork chop and join the celebration!

I’m still in a funk. To clarify from my rant yesterday, I’m not poor. I just have the fixed-income-and-inflation-are-pricing-me-out blues. How bad? Well, this morning I was looking online at places in Louisiana, where my sister lives. It’s hotter than Hades, super-red, and far from anywhere, but prices are cheap. You can buy a small house there for $70,000-$80,000 dollars. Not that I could do that, just to give you an idea of how cheap. I know I’d be miserable there, but hey, at least I could afford to be miserable. A comparable house here would start at $300,000.

I read an article yesterday about how many seniors are in a bind: they had enough money for retirement when they retired, but now they’re being priced out of the housing market and are driving very old cars. I really AM a loser: no house AND no car.

I don’t know whom I could talk to to get suggestions about this stuff. Some landlords require proof you have income = 3x the rent, but I don’t have that now. Maybe I could get a job, if it’s within walking distance.

I wish I knew what the deal is upstairs. These definitely aren’t the same people who were here through Thanksgiving Day. So since the Stomper Family, we’ve had two weeks of the woman in 6" inch heels and less than 3 weeks of the guy who left at 2 a.m. every day. These folks “moved in” just yesterday. The scare quotes are because there was no U-Haul or moving van, the same as the last two tenants. I think the dad made several trips down to his car, but that was it. There is a month-to-month option (pricey), but nobody up there is staying for a month.

Anyway, they’re home. The baby is running about and dragging something around, hopefully not daddy.

Today’s fun chore was cleaning the oven. After my break, I’ll start scrubbing the floor.

VanGo, glad you had a great trip, sans the way home.

@Baker

Americans: We’ll cross a frozen river to kill you in your sleep on Christmas. No fooling, we’ve done it before. She didn’t understand the reference.

Another former kid who didn’t pay attention in history class! Geez.

@dogbutler

@FairyChatMom

I can also ignore all the emails that offer me a bigger, harder erection,

You don’t want impress FCD in bed?

Must. Not. Make. NSFW joke.

FCM, you look fab! Trust your family to space things neatly every decade. I’m continuing to hold you, FCD, and MIL in my thoughts.

[missred]

@nelliebly

I’m really not cut out for apartment living.

In your search for a new apartment, have you looked at any that are single floor only? The complex that I live in has all ground floor units and was built in the sixties, so solid. The only time that I hear my next door neighbor or the one that my apartment backs up to is when I’m outside.

@LH75

Not a welding accident but this is what happens when one improperly handles the back up power supply batteries for a fire alarm system:

Ouch, cat glove! I hope that you don’t get too sore.

The irk week is half over. Yay! Not a lot of excitement here today.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

[SuntanLotion]

Now they’re claiming big storm tomorrow into Thursday most places. Maybe 40 mph gusts.
We don’t need this!

[swampbear]

Howdy Y’all! Laundry got laundered and put where it lives until it gets dirty again. Nappage and day drinkin’ were achieved. I made some dang good beef and veggie soup if’n I do say so myself. That and cornbread made for a nummy sup. Several containers of it are now in da freezer and some left out for Thursday as we will sup over to the church house tomorrow.

[The_Stainless_Steel_Rat]

And a good early evening to all. Car is gassed up and calories have been burnt off, so all is well in the Rat Abode. Thinking about going back to the gym for an evening session, I wonder if I’m becoming to obsessed with this exercise and calorie-counting, but there is no soccer to keep me occupied (indoor soccer starts Saturday, but there are no practices so only 1 day a week) and sitting around a house for days on end doesn’t interest me, and I’m not a binge TV watcher. So I guess keeping moderately active isn’t the worst choice in the world (especially after a big bowl of Mac-n-Cheese). Down to 29F now, so might consider getting the big parka out for the evening if I go.

Eldest nephew has his operation tomorrow, nobody seems to be worried about it, but any surgery dealing with the pulmonary system is worth noting. Brother and SIL have promised to keep me up-to-date.

CatGlove, thanks for the idea, it’s still a couple years down the road for me, and they usually have stairs (which I try to avoid due to the reasons you demonstrated), but we’ll see.

FCM, a holiday classic! As for the cruise industry, I’ll be going on one in June out of Southampton, England with the usual group of friends at a pretty low price, so maybe they still are trying to recover from the COVID times.

flyboy, so far no more mice in my abode, I’ll remember to borrow Goo if they return…

doggio, sounds like Supervisor needs a good beating with a Clue-stick.

boo fae, glad you’re safe back home even if the cats are providing their own unique greetings.

Cupcakes, FWIW, I got the reference, but I can see why some folks who don’t know their history wouldn’t…and something else for my T-short collection.

Oopsie, Hooray for the proposal being done. As for the fast-food places, I already have a list with the calorie counts, just need to make one where I can check off the visits. I try to limit myself to 1-2 stops a week, so it takes a while to work my way through them.

VanGo, glad things worked out on your trip, the pics were pretty neat. And yeah, when visiting my brother usually all of them (and me these days) have their heads buried in their phones/pads. I liked the dressed goose tradition.

nellie, hippo-birdies to your family. And yeah, housing prices are getting crazy, I am afraid we’ll have another 2008 crash here pretty soon. Hopefully the neighbors will settle in and settle down.

And it’s getting around 7pm so if I’m going back to the gym I need to be about it. Take care all.

[peedin]

@Baker

@rocking_chair

i am wearing my die hard tee shirt today.

I wish I could see that. I love historical reference shirts. Made one woman upset when she read this one. Americans: We’ll cross a frozen river to kill you in your sleep on Christmas. No fooling, we’ve done it before. She didn’t understand the reference.

I don’t get it either.

[Seanette]

I’m thinking George Washington and the Delaware River during the Revolution, but I could be wrong about that.

[BippityBoppityBoo]

George Washington's BOLD Christmas Night Attack!

Ding! ding! Ding! we have a winner.

George Washington, Christmas, Delaware River, against the Hessian fighting for the British. Turnaround point for the American Revolution.

Lots of mugs and t-shirts out there for sale with the phrase~

[Sahirrnee]

Happy Toosday!

It’s cold, very cold, and I am cold all the time.
This morning was 23 feels like 16 degrees.

We are finally ::crossing fingers:: rid of the mice. I was flipping out every morning when I found evidence on my desk. We caught a few in traps and there is a dead one somewhere, I guess in the wall. That has my son flipping out, but my nose is clogged so it’s not bothering me so much.
I was very busy cleaning and disinfecting everything.

My cousin died, which was expected. He was my age, I always thought he was a bit younger. I sent a card to his widow even though we never met. I found out he had written several books, he was a devout Catholic and the books are religious. I’ve considered buying one.
One of my aunts turned 100 yesterday, so I sent her a card too. She will probably get it tomorrow, as I didnt get enough notice to send it out sooner.
While I was doing that, I wrote out all my Christmas cards and got them mailed.

When we moved into this house over a year ago we had 330 rolls of TP. We still have over half of that, so we are good for another year, I think.

My son is on vacation next week, he has a week of use it or lose it time.
I have a list.
There are people who want to come over during the holidays.
I wanted to include the garage and workshop on the list, but if it stays this cold, that will not happen.
There will probably be a dump run since the trash company didn’t pick up the trash for the last two weeks. Bad enough when they skip recycling, but trash is another story.
At least it’s too cold for the trash to stink.

I don’t know why I am so cold. I have the heat turned up and I’m still wearing a jacket inside. My son is running around in a t-shirt and complaining about the heat. I’m waiting on an electric blanket, although my bedroom will get a bit toasty if I turn the heat up as high as it will go.

My subscribe and save orders came today, so crisis averted. We were out of dog treats. We had run out of their favorites a week ago, so we were down to the dregs. I had some very unhappy dogs.

{{{FCM}}}

[FairyChatMom]

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

at a pretty low price,

I don’t know if you’ve perused any of their future offerings, but they now include port fees and taxes in the quoted fare. To that I say - ABOUT TIME!!! Of course, you still need to figure the crew tips (which should be included, too, but I’m guessing it’s an accounting/tax thing) and excursions, which obviously can’t be included. Anyway, it’s quicker to figure what it’ll really cost, more or less.

The nurse came by tonight and she plans to come tomorrow. She said, flat out, any time now. MIL’s respiration was 4/min, so really low. And she barely responds to anything. So, yeah, it’s close. Cathy, the nurse, said the best thing (as I’ve said) would be for her to go to sleep and not wake up. FCD and MIL’s sister have both told her it’s OK to go now - I guess for some people, they have to hear that before they can let go. My poor sweetie is a mess. This needs to be over. (That sounds so cold…)

nellie - I know what you mean about the cost of housing. On one hand, if we sold our house right now, we’d make a buttload over what it cost us 20 years ago. On the other hand, we couldn’t afford a similar house in a similar neighborhood. Not that we’d even consider selling. And rentals around here are obscene - in many cases, the monthly rent is more than our mortgage! I don’t know how some people can manage to live.

Another cold night ahead with one site saying a chance of flurries late tomorrow, and the other indicating otherwise. Guess it’s a good thing I don’t have to plan my life around the weather - no way to know whose forecast to trust.

Well, it’s after 9 - I should probably head to my bed… did I pre-warm it? Must check first. Till tomorrow…

[SuntanLotion]

I had to check my breathing rate after that. I take longer exhales than some.
It was 12.

[rocking_chair]

Fcm, I hope things go as well as they can. It is so difficult.

[dogbutler]

Up from naptime for hockey, a Manhattan, and hockey.

@FairyChatMom

It’s not my fault - I swear!!!

Maybe Congress has a beef with you.

@Misnomer

I do have last year’s up in my home office…just behind me, so it’s visible during Teams meetings:

@Paintcharge

They both anthropomorphize almost everything. It’s very cute. Talking about how this knife will get jealous if the other one gets used all the time and “he” doesn’t.

Hey! Machines have feelings, too! which is why I’m good at tech stuff
[Dr. Sigmund Fraud]Zo, tell me about our motherboard…[/Dr. Sigmund Fraud]

@Sahirrnee

I have a list.

And sorry about your cousin. {{{{sari}}}}

@FairyChatMom

nellie - I know what you mean about the cost of housing. On one hand, if we sold our house right now, we’d make a buttload over what it cost us 20 years ago. On the other hand, we couldn’t afford a similar house in a similar neighborhood

My friends Buddy and C got offered $$$ for their 2 acres. But they would need $$$$ to afford another house.

I’ve got a little list

@FairyChatMom

(That sounds so cold…)

No. His stress level has been pegged at 11 for what, 5 years? he needs a break before it really wrecks him , physically and mentally. {{{{FairyChats}}}}

[Baker]

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

Cupcakes, FWIW, I got the reference, but I can see why some folks who don’t know their history wouldn’t…and something else for my T-short collection.

I’m wearing a sweatshirt now with a pic of George Washinton wearing red, white and blue sunglasses and it’s labled “It’s only treason if you lose”

I also like the one with Martin Luther that states “Nailed it!”

[purplehorseshoe]

Well, I was GONNA call the I.R.S. today.

Rolled over to my phone, and found out one of my friends died of cancer this morning. She was only a coupla years older than me, and A REALLY GOOD PERSON DAMMIT.

She and her partner were there for us when my late Other Shoe and I got together.

I am brokenhearted for her widow.
I know you shouldn’t say, “I know what you’re going through,” because really, we don’t … but …

It’s not tonight that will be rough.
It’ll be tomorrow morning, and that first moment of waking up and … oh …

---

Waited on a woman who looked rough as hell. She told me, her daughter’s father died this morning.
She was just trying to get a pizza & keep her family fed.
We made sympathetic noises, and she said his mom wasn’t doing well.
She said, it was that woman’s only son … and thinking of Other Shoe parents that moment broke my heart all over again.

---

Mentioned all this to my mom. Wasn’t really looking for sympathy (okay, I lied, yes I totally was) but then in response being told two of her friends were found dead - one yesterday, one a week ago - in their “living alone” apartments … well, 1a.) didn’t make me feel any better, and 2b.) probably made my mom feel worse/scared for me too.

---

TL/DR today can fuck off and die OH WAIT IT ALREADY DID. It literally did.

Hug your peeps, pet your critters, yell into the void.

Imma go walk in the snow.

[nelliebly]

The oven is clean and so is the floor. My daughter texted to tell me how much she loved the gifts I sent. And I just got off the phone with my brother. He’s all, “Nellie, the window is closing. You’ve got to make up your mind and make arrangements!” I had to tell him that this is what’s stressing me out: it’s so hard to make plans when I can’t even figure out what rentals will be available. I do have to figure out what state I’m living in. I’m a planner. I hate not knowing. Moving here was easier than this, and I was farther along in the planning. I don’t know what to do.

@FairyChatMom

Cathy, the nurse, said the best thing (as I’ve said) would be for her to go to sleep and not wake up.

We’re all hoping for this and for a FCD’s stress level to go down. Grieving sucks, but having it hanging over your head for so long must be much worse.

@FairyChatMom

And rentals around here are obscene - in many cases, the monthly rent is more than our mortgage! I don’t know how some people can manage to live.

I don’t, either. I can only figure there are a whole lot of people making salaries I’ve never even dreamed of, and they’re willing to pay big bucks. One woman who used to live here bought an old ambulance and fitted it out so she could live in it. The article I read earlier suggested moving in with your kids. Uh, no thanks. My kids would do it in a heartbeat, but we’d all be unhappy. I could bunk with my brother and his wife, but there isn’t enough thorazine in all of Illinois.

Fo you George Washington fans, there’s a pretty good movie with Jeff Daniels about the Battle of Trenton, The Crossing (2000). I used to show it to my classes.

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

all is well in the Rat Abode

Does that make you a member of The Rat Patrol? (I hope that’s not so far back, you don’t get the reference.) Let us know how your nephew does. Fingers will be crossed.

@Paintcharge

They both anthropomorphize almost everything.

Oh, my word. That settles it. We’re related. (Sorry.)

@missred

In your search for a new apartment, have you looked at any that are single floor only?

Yep. A friend of mine lives in a place like that. Each unit is one floor and shares a wall with one other unit. It’s a 55+ community, which works well for her because she likes Bingo and ladies’ luncheons and such. But those are rare around here, I guess because space is an issue. But thanks so much for thinking of me!

[The_Stainless_Steel_Rat]

Late night final. Did go back to the gym and pedaled/walked off a few more calories. Got home and my Amazon Gift cards were waiting for me so my Xmas shopping is completed. Needed some more calories so popped some cheese bread slices into the oven and have put back part of what I took off. Down to 24F now so for this part of the planet it’s cold. Don’t think they’ll close schools but I bet the buses will be hard to start tomorrow morning.

Sari, hope you warm up some, my hands get cold and refuse to warm up as fast as the rest of me. Sorry to hear about your cousin. Was going to do a “Mikado” joke on your ‘I have a list’ but others have beaten me to it…

FCM, since I’m with a group of 30-40 folks and have a pretty saavy Travel agent we usually get a good price and often have the tips included in our costs; still leave some extra cash for those folks anyway. And best wishes when the time finally comes.And it’s not cold of you; the pressure on you and mostly on FCD has been ongoing for months and that will wear anyone down.

@Baker

I also like the one with Martin Luther that states “Nailed it!”

My brother is a staunch Lutheran of the most conservative kind and I’d like to get that for him but I do not know how he would react to it; maybe text his wife and ask–after their son has his operation tomorrow.

Shoe, I would call that a sh***y day, hope tomorrow isn’t to hard on you.

nellie, deep breaths, start at the beginning and take it one step at a time…and yes, those are cliches, but they are good advice nonetheless. You’re a planner; sit down somewhere quiet (library) with a notepad and start planning.

And I got the reference; stupid show now that I look back on it but watched it every week in youth.

OK, it’s only 9:30pm but it’s been a fairly busy day and I have internettin’ and readin’ to do before bed-time, so take care all.

[Leaper]

I have a long rant about serious issues saved, and I’m starting to doubt whether it’s worth posting or not. It may upset some people, but I’ve been upset at times by what some folks think and say across the political spectrum. Maybe I’m a little scared of how I’ll be perceived on a quasi anonymous message board of relatively isolated readership.

Deciding may take a while.

[Baker]

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

My brother is a staunch Lutheran of the most conservative kind and I’d like to get that for him but I do not know how he would react to it; maybe text his wife and ask–after their son has his operation tomorrow.

Is he Missouri-Synod? It’s quite conservative, and is the church I grew up in. Then there’s the Wisconsin Synod, and the joke I heard was that they are for people displeased by how liberal the Missouri is. snerk

I will say a prayer for the kid getting an operation.

[SCAdian]

@Baker

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

Cupcakes, FWIW, I got the reference, but I can see why some folks who don’t know their history wouldn’t…and something else for my T-short collection.

I’m wearing a sweatshirt now with a pic of George Washinton wearing red, white and blue sunglasses and it’s labled “It’s only treason if you lose”

I also like the one with Martin Luther that states “Nailed it!”

My favourite t-shirt is the one with Einstein’s face (in blue) on the front, and the back of his head (in red) on the back.

That and the one with a picture of a bear holding a Thompson: “Support Your Right to Keep and Arm Bears”

@FairyChatMom

I don’t know how some people can manage to live.

I wonder about that every time I go through a civilian supermarket.