doggio - GMTA again. I made a biiig pot of sketty sauce that I packaged in 6 freezer bags for future feasts. Then I found 3 bags in the freezer. So I’m good for a while.
I need to make a quick stop at the boat in the morning to help FCD make a modification to the chain fall stand. Then it’s on to the Mart of Wal and CVS. So fun times ahead. But now it’s sleepy-bye time.
When I worked overnights on the weekends, they shut down a lot of lights. My department and security were the only ones there. My manager purchased good headlamps and desk lights. It worked well.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. It’s currently 56 degrees Ferret Height(13.3 Centipedes) outside. I may have to use Carmen’s heater.
I just made 3 bags worth.
Don’t even get me started. Having been the one who worked in dealerships for nearly 20 years off and on, I am somehow not the expert when it comes to buying cars around here. My dearly beloved is still car shopping despite the vehicles that we have which will meet all the needs that we have. Ugh. Yep, I’d better stop there.
JtC, holy cow, that’s quite a price difference. I’ve already forgotten what I read, but can your house flipping fund your needlepoint purchases?
Doggio, I’m getting a Brown delivery today. Will you be the delivery person? I mean, because if you are, Annie and I will prepare some snacks.
The excursion yesterday was a success. They both said that they felt like they bonded a little bit. And my mom’s eye test turned out somewhere between inconclusive to ok, leaning towards ok. They are going to follow up again in 6 months as if she has a problem, it is not an extremely bad problem.
Today is going to be a busy day here. Working, of course, then our handyman will be over to check out a few things and give us a cost. Also, the cleaning girls (don’t remember if I mentioned them before) will be over. I’m going to have them work on the kitchen floor and do a deep clean with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. It’s both disgusting and satisfying to watch. And, I have a 30 minute meeting with my supervisor which is the first of an weekly thing.
Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 15c/60f with a predicted high of 19c/66f and mostly cloudy. Weather app says “It’s cloudy, but not much else is fucking happening. I’d take a fucking nap if I were you.” Fair enough, I can work with that.
And why not? You work hard, you deserve a treat.
I suppose they are trawling through listings looking for decent cars they know they can sell on, and of course since they’re salesmen, getting a bargain is in their blood. Good for you (and Mr Brown) for sticking to your price and not backing down.
sensei those skies look rather threatening. Rather thee than me!
I am lucky (in a way) that ‘im indoors doesn’t drive. When I needed a new car, I decided on my budget, decided where I was buying from (big car supermarket kind of place), and looked online to see what they’d got. I had an idea of what make/model I wanted, then searched their database for matches. Then my only decision was between newest model, or lowest mileage. And then I saw Keith….he fitted the bill perfectly, reasonably new at the time, and quite low mileage.
I had a busy afternoon with irk, followed by making campus food, then went to the pub with friends. We sat outside all evening because it was nice and cool in the beer garden. My friend wanted to go to this particular pub (it’s a couple of streets away from my house) because she’d seen my post on FB that they’d got a lot of fruit on the trees in the garden, and were happy for people to pick what they wanted in return for a donation into one of the charity pots on the bar. We picked a load of apples and pears so the future holds pie and crumble!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 67 Amurrkin out and cloudy with a predicted high of 87 and cloudy. TWPTB predict rain over the Labor Day weekend, especially on Sattidy. We shall see. We slept with da cave windows open last night. Unheard of in August round these parts! We will be bears who brunch at Eggs Up this mornin’. Afterwards we will go to the Food Kitty near Eggs Up to purchase a few necessities. I will also attend to candle duty over to the church house and I want to go to Michael’s to find some type of lanyard or maybe chain I can use so I can wear a small wooden cross that was given to me by someone special. The cross came with a chain but the chain is too small for my big old haid and neck. This will necessitate me goin’ out amongst the great unwashed twice in one day. I suppose I will survive but may need to medicate and lie down afterward.
Sticky_Buns doggio heaves rather than delivers. Who knows, maybe he heaved yours!
BooFae I like that the pub offers the fruit for a charitable donation. May you enjoy the pies and crumbles that will be the fruits (HAH!) of your labor.
Now I need more caffeine and suppose I must purtify and don attire acceptable for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. I am a RDOS and I resent this enforced adultin’!
Happy Thursday Y’all!
Makes mathematical sense - there’s one of you and 2 of us! 
Speaking of cars, just for giggles, I was looking at used vehicles on carguru. It shouldn’t surprise me, but most vehicles offered in my immediate area have very high mileage. I’m sure it’s because we live within a not-too-stupid commute distance from DC, but that would put over 100 miles per day just from work. Anyway, I’m pretty sure if the Sonata goes away, I won’t replace it. It just makes no sense for 2 retired folk to have 3 vehicles, especially when I average maybe 2 or 3 days a week of driving. So unless I hit the lottery (highly unlikely since I don’t buy tickets) we’ll just make do with the new Santa Fe and the old SIlverado. What’s with us and S-cars? (yeah, that begs for an escargot joke.)
Further speaking of cars, it looks like Roxy has crossed the threshold of not needing a car seat any longer. I need to check when Tobias can transition from the little kid car seat to the bigger kid booster seat. Near as I can tell, it depends on the weight rating of the little kid seat itself, so I need to look up his seat in my jungle purchase history and find the specs.
OK, then. Apart from the planned errands, I think I’ll do some ditch-raking today. The drain under the end of our driveway needs to be cleared of leaves. We also measured the drain that the county installed at the corner of our lot - there’s a fairly deep chasm leading into it that nearly took the mower from me and could probably swallow a child. We’ve got a hunk of fiberglass grating that we hope is large enough to cover the opening. I need to weed-whack around it and move some rocks to prepare the area. So maybe some fresh air and activity will happen this afternoon. Or not. Who knows?
Happy Thursday!
Or the John Cleese joke about the racist Japanese veteran who, every December 7th, would bomb Pearl Bailey.
Mornin’ everyone.
It’s dark, cloudy, and 63°F outside, and sunrise will occur in about 50 minutes or so. We’re expecting a daytime high of around 86°F, with a mix of clouds and sun.
FCM, I seem to recall that car seat requirements involve both weight and height, but I could be wrong. I just checked, in Washington state, at least, children ages 4-9 must be 4’9” tall or ride in a booster.
I haven’t been to our state fair in well over 20 years, and I only live a few miles up the hill from the fairgrounds. It’s overcrowded and overpriced, and not worth it to me. But then again, I don’t like peopley places, so it’s probably because I’m a curmudgeon at heart. Seriously, the state fair here is very expensive, and even when kids received free passes for Fair Day at school, it was a financial burden for those who weren’t well off. I’m not sure if the school districts still hand out the passes.
Hm, I just checked. The fair opens this Friday and closes on 21 September. General admission is 16 at the gate on weekdays and 20 on weekends. That doesn’t include rides or food, which is outrageously priced. Fair parking costs 15- 35 a day, depending on the location and whether it’s a weekday or weekend. So, two adults, and assuming you can even get the official fair parking lot parking) It’s 45 bucks to get in on a weekday, 60 on a weekend.
I need to wash sheets and towels today, but the rest of my laundry is done. Erranding may occur, or may not.
Until they closed down the White River bridge on one our state highways, I had vague plans of heading up to the John Mather Memorial highway and finding a less travel trail to hike. However, the bridge closure has now created a nearly hour long detour and cut-off two communities from each other. The Governor has declared a state of emergency so we can obtain federal funding to help repair the bridge. This is a double-whammy for communities out that way, because they’ve already closed the Carbon River bridge, which led to a beautiful side of Mount Rainier. The communities near them are struggling, and it currently appears that the bridge will never be replaced. The communities near there (Carbonado, Wilkeson, and Burnett relied on tourist income. The only way to access those sites within the park is now to hike to them from quite a distance away, coming in from the Sunrise side.
Anway, probably more information than you want or care about, but it’s going to cause communities to go bust, and that’s sad.
I could enter the park through the Ashford side, but that side is always overcrowded. I’ll have to think about what I want to do. I could enter through Ashford, and drive through the park to the Sunrise side, exit the park over on John Mather (Hwy 410), and hit the trails that way, but that is A LOT of driving. And, to return, I’d have to do everything in reverse or go all the way to Naches and come back home via Hwy 12, which is also a hell of a detour because I’d come back through White Pass, Packwood, all the way to Morton, turn west, head up to Hwy 7 (Mountain Hwy) and then up through Eatonville and towards home. Or I could cut over on Skate Creek Road while in Packwood, and reach the mountain highway, but I’d have to fight the traffic coming into Mount Rainier (Ashford) gate.
I miss the days when I could hop in my rig and not run into massive crowds around Mount Rainier, but those days are long gone.
As for new cars, fortunately, both of our vehicles still have well under 100,000 miles on them, so it’ll be a while before we consider a new one. I also like not having a car payment. If anything, I’d prefer to get a pick-up truck, but boy howdy, those are ridiculously expensive.
Well, I should get a second cup of coffee so I’m fully fueled for the day. You all take care.
My car just turned over 64K miles, and being retired, I likely won’t get to the manufacturer / dealer warranty of 200K miles power train in my lifetime / driving driving days.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to get the day under way.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Mornin’ all! Caffeinating and waiting for the heavy rain that’s falling back where I live to reach here where I work. Gonna be a soggy doggy day. But I have my new umbrella, which is new because I lost my old one on the bus. Again. Which is annoying because it’s not a cheap umbrella, it’s compact, has that funky automatic open and close mechanism, windproofing slats in the canopy, and carbon fibre ribs. I’m on my third one now. I need to learn to keep it around my wrist when on the bus and not just set it on top of my backpack where it inevitably falls off and I don’t hear it drop because I have my headphones on.
Anyway…
This is the reason I have four alarms set. Three on my phone, one on my watch. The one on my watch goes off last, and I’ve trained myself to treat it like my last chance to get up or risk oversleeping, because I have no idea if I hit “snooze” or “dismiss” on any of my previous three alarms because I’m so groggy when they go off.
Thanks for the tip, wondered how that blurring worked. Anyway, that’s probably good advice. With the way things have been going, larger crowds would absolutely be safer as breaking them up would require a larger law enforcement presence with the shield and rubber bullets and tear gas and crap, and I don’t think they’d bother unless they deemed the crowd a threat (which doesn’t take much). But even then I guarantee Hair Furor is looking for ways to abrogate the right to peacefully assemble, because he hates protests. So I guess keep fighting the good fight while you can. Before you know it, Trump will be passing lese majeste laws.
I have wasps. They have a nest behind the front siding below our front window and get in and out through the concave gaps in the mortar joints between the bricks.
In Taiwan, we had an inexpensive tent with a tall profile. Normally, all was great, but once we had a pretty strong storm and the tent looked like it was going to get blown away.
One of the families wasn’t there yet so I had them pick up extra rope on the way, and tied everything to the car and a tree.
Since then, I’ve also brought along extra rope and heavy duty stakes just in case.
Started Typing: 9:44 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 10:25 AM ET
Good morning, everyone! It’s been a busy week, between work and prepping for this trip (for my “uncle’s” funeral): I’ve read everything, but am on my iPad — typing at you from sunny Hasbrouck Heights, NJ — so I can’t engage with y’all the way I generally prefer to. But I have time to kill this morning and feel like blathering, so here I am. 
The drive here was long, but largely uneventful. I got impatient and decided to head north at 5pm, even though I knew it was still rush hour, and unsurprisingly it took 2 hours to get past Baltimore (twice as long as usual). Once I got north of the harbor tunnel, though, the traffic thinned out and the rest of the drive was fine, with just a few pockets of congestion and/or slower drivers here and there. I made a quick stop at my favorite rest area (right before the Delaware border) for bladder relief and a burger, and pulled into the hotel’s parking lot shortly before 10:30pm. I called my “aunt” when I got to my room, and we agreed that I’ll call sometime between 11:00-11:30 this morning and we’ll take it from there; I’ll probably head to her place then. I’ll be getting in the shower soon.
Something new happened on my drive up here: about 2 hours after I left the rest area, my car asked if I wanted to take a break! A soundless message popped up on the display with a picture of coffee and an option to press a button and see nearby places to stop. I did not select it. I’ve had this car for 5.5 years and have made multiple long drives to/from NJ, and had never seen that message before! I never use the car’s navigation system (I just use Google Maps on my phone), but I wonder if there was some system update or something. I’ll be interested to see if I get a similar message on the way home.
When I dropped Bailey off at the vet for boarding I weighed her, and the stupid dog has lost another 1/2 pound in the past four weeks — despite eating well/pooping normally. She gets monthly injections for arthritis pain, and at the last one the vet and I were already somewhat concerned about her weight loss: he said that if she continued to lose weight, the next step would likely be an ultrasound (she had labs done in early July). We already had an appointment for her next shot tomorrow afternoon, and I asked the staff to have the vet call me so we can discuss her weight situation. He should call tomorrow sometime between 2:30-3:00. Stupid dog.
The cleaners will go to my place tomorrow: on the drive up, I realized that I forgot to move their check to the kitchen table! 
This morning I told the company where the team can find the check; if they can’t find it for some reason, the company will just bill me. I apologized, and they said it happens all the time. If that’s the only thing I forgot to do before this trip, I’m alright with that. 
OK, time to get in the shower and then get presentable. It’s going to be a tough/long day, but I’m glad I’m here and am really looking forward to seeing my aunt and giving her a big hug…and hopefully helping her with a few things before I head home Saturday night.
Good morning all. Stayed up beyond midnight puzzling over the Acrostic in last Sunday’s NY Times and actually figured it out, something that doesn’t often happen. So getting off to a slow start here, but have nothing much on the agenda until 11:30 when my car gets it’s oil changed. Then some gym time and a 5:30pm practice with the 6-7 year olds. Weather will remain pleasant as it’s 74F now getting to 85F this afternoon.
I’ve been looking at cars, specifically Hybrids, but the one I’d really like (Toyota Highlander) has very little stock available and the one alternative I like (Hyundai Palisade) won’t be released until the 2026 sales year. So guess I’ll be patient. The Dodge Durango only has 78,000 miles on it, so it should be good for awhile yet, no rush to buy.
Did a little more digging, the Ali-bama State Fair is in September but is nearly 2 hours driving away, the North Ali-bama Fair is closer (about an hour) but much less extensive. Think I’ll manage without them again this year.
So, what have I been missing in the past 14 hours…
JtC, sorry to hear that the shipping and mailing woes are affecting you directly. As more people find that to be their fate, changes might occur (I am a bit of an optomist).
Frumious, would be interesting to hear what Izzy thinks of American football…not quite what she may think of as football… And once she grows more comfortable with American TV, show here some M* A* S* H* episodes where we do TV right…IMHO.
Sticky Buns, glad the ‘family date’ went well. And yay! for Mom;s eyes.
boo fae, drinks with friends and free fruit on the vine; I’d call that a good day.
swampy, happy brunching and hope you find the perfect lanyard.
FCM, those kids are growing up way to fast. An happy ditch-raking and drain-amending.
Taters, sounds like a real mess for traffic, I hope they can work something out for those struggling communities.
Kaboom, stay dry, know what you mean about umbrellas, I have at least two floating around my house but you think I can find either when it’s stormy outside?
Oopsie, glad the drive wasn’t too stressful, and your car telling you it’s break time is a new one on me. And hope you can fatten Bailey up–5 Guys Cheeseburgers always works for me…
OK, have about an hour of You Tubes queued up and then will dress appropriately and head out to have the oil changed. Have a good Thorsday all.
From what you describe - HOLY COW!!! Ours is a county fair that runs 4 days, and parking is free. (The state fair is up north of Baltimore and is much pricier.) Copied from the local web page:
ENTRANCE FEES:
Children under age 3: admitted free
Children ages 3 - 11: $2 daily ticket, $5 season pass
Anyone aged 12+: $10 daily ticket, $25 season pass
Student day is the Friday and all studi are free until 5PM. There are wristbands for unlimited rides, but I don’t know what they cost. Last year, ride tickets were $1 each, but some rides were 5 or 6 tickets. I’m expecting the same this year. And food, of course, is not cheap.
Is there not a pocket on the backpack? Could you put a carabiner on the backpack strap to connect to the umbrella strap? Or on a lanyard around your neck? Follow me for more tips!
FCD gets them all the time - sometimes all of 5 minutes after we leave home. On the road it continues to nag every so often. There’s no way to disable it. I wish Hyundai would update the software so you can disable the warnings/suggestions that you don’t want. Makes you wonder how we’ve driven for so many years without such “help.”
Back from erranding. WalMart had only one pair of the jeans FCD wanted in his size. Better than nothing, I guess. And I remembered the cat food and the mac-n-cheese, so yay! I stopped at Teeter’s gas station and saved a whopping 3¢/gallon - just under 50¢ on my purchase of close to $45 - but I didn’t have to go out of my way, so I guess it’s something.
Luck was with me at CVS - as I pulled into the lot, the one and only car in drive-thru was just pulling out. Normally, I go into the store, but how could I resist this bonus!! Last stop was Forrest Hall Farms for some ‘maters (they didn’t have many left) and four ears of sweet corn for a buck.
I’m just finishing lunch and thinking about some rakeage. I dunno…
Must think more.
Croissant sandwiches this morning. All puzzles puzzed. Another very mild day, so perhaps a walk later.
Yesterday was emotionally exhausting, watching the news unfold about the church shootings. We’ve driven through that area, which is about 30 blocks west of here. We stopped at a fish & chips place just down the street from the church. While we don’t know any of the people involved, being familiar with the area kinda brings it home. A sad day for the city.
Been sneezing a lot, possibly from cat dander as well as dust. I need to get out the vac and get it under the furniture. Housekeeping doesn’t do that, and they only do a perfunctory dusting. Their primary job is bathrooms, countertops, trash and exposed flooring. They will do an oven cleaning on request.
I love Radio Days. I love the music, I love the era, it’s funny, and Woody Allen isn’t in it; only narrating. It’s the only Woody Allen film I like.
Bacon/egg/cheese/Tapatio breakfast burrito for me. Unfortunately, I broke the yolk. Breakfast burritos aren’t as good if you can’t break the yolk after you put the egg into it, and spread the ooey-gooiness throughout.
There’s no mesh pocket on the side like on most backpacks, despite this one being large and billing itself as “tactical.” There are elastic loops on the sides, but they aren’t big enough to fit the umbrella.I really should look into the carabiner idea though. A lanyard around my next won’t work when it’s dripping wet, unless I’m aiming to enter a wet T-shirt contest, and nobody wants to see that.
Umbrellas are one of those things I always know where it is because I only ever have the one so it’s easy to keep track of. Until it gets wet and I’m on the bus and the only place I have to put it is on top of my backpack where it inevitably rolls off and I lose it again. As above, I’m gonna get me a carabiner. That way it can hang dry and won’t get me soaked in the process.
Rakeage is done. One side was really a mess - lots of sodden leaves and leaf mulch. The other side had hardly any, but that’s because the culvert was about 3/4 blocked with dirt. I opted out of shoveling today, but it’s on the list. I also cut back the wisteria from hell that was reaching for the truck.
Speaking of truck, I’ve got to be really careful when driving it. The aftermarket cruise control is no longer working, which means I need to pay attention to the speed limits. Easier said than done here in the county with long stretches unbroken by traffic lights. I got up over 60 at one point and didn’t realize it. Luckily, the sheriff was elsewhere. I’m not sure it’s worth having Paul look at it. If the Sonata has to be junked, I’ll address truck cruise then.
And speaking of Paul, I’m still waiting for a call about said Sonata. But when I dropped it off yesterday, I know he was really busy. And I’m not really in any rush. Yet. OK, not at all, but I’d like to get the bad news over with soon.
I hear ya. I do breakfast sandwiches on English muffins. Over easy egg, bacon, sriracha, mayo. Mush down on the sandwich to break the yolk and proceed to ruin another napkin.