I just hauled 2 baskets of dirties downstairs and noticed that I use my left hand to guide the baskets as they slide over the steps, and my right hand is firmly on the rail. So I guess I’m safer than I realized!
Showered, dressed, and waiting for a text from the aide. I brought up the 2 bags of stuffies. FCD has left for the boat, even tho he should be sleeping. The man is just a tad stubborn, he is. MIL is still abed - I won’t wake her till Jessica gets here. So a bit more quiet for me.
Not everywhere. This is a good example of Mumper hospitality, which includes care packages, postcards, sweet tea, offers of a place to stay, etc.
Such a friendly bunch of good neighbors.
In my family, if someone said they were going to the reading room, they were taking a book to the bathroom.
When my mom got her knee replaced, her friends finally put in a handrail for the 3 steps to the front door. I really don’t understand how a house built in the last 2 decades doesn’t have a handrail for any steps, even a single ste.
Today is Bay of Fundy - just 27 ft between low and high tides. It’s a bit breezy and we’re going on a photography tour, so we might bring our jackets.
Happy (checks calendar) Friday!
Guten Morgen!
It’s 55F, dark and cloudy. The temperature will only reach around 65F, with only partial clearing this afternoon. Maybe, just maybe, I can get that darn lawn mowed today.
Nellie! I’m so happy to see you post again! I’ve missed you so much. I hope you can get imaged sooner rather than later and that the lump is benign. I couldn’t tell you how long it takes to get an appointment for imaging through KP, but I’m sure it’s a long time. Everything takes a long time through them; honestly, I’m severely overdue for both a mammo and a female parts check.
I haven’t been able to keep up this week; work was just nuts, issues have arisen because of some of our “problem children,” people are making it damn near impossible to close out the fiscal year, and the pace has just been entirely frenetic. I’m off today, but I’ve already popped in to check my email and certify my timecard. I must also pop onto my computer later to follow up on some items. I will grab my work cell, though, and check through that. I will only hop on my laptop if the big thing I’m waiting for finally comes through.
I removed the pups’ e-collars last night and opened the doggy door. Now, I don’t have to let them in or out. They seem to have healed up quite well, but I’ll continue to watch closely for another week just to be sure. As of today, it’s been fourteen days since their spay and neuter, and given the fact their suture sites look good and there is no swelling or redness anywhere, I’d say they’re healing up quite nicely.
I’m careful on our stairs because the dogs tend to get underfoot. Polar and Brandi, and before them, Cap’n, always led the way, but now, Buster and Maisie always stop to ensure I’m following them and will start back up the stairs if I’m not behind them. Fortunately, my laundry room is upstairs, so I don’t need to haul laundry up or downstairs except for kitchen towels, couch blankets, and protectors.
I have to run out to the store or vet’s office today to pick up specialised food for Maisie and regular food for Buster. I also need to look into a covered shoe storage option for the entryway. Buster acts out and shows his displeasure if I’m gone too long by gnawing on my shoes. I’d rather keep my most commonly worn shoes downstairs because hauling them up and down the stairs is a PITA.
Sticky Buns, I’m sorry about the job situation. You did the right thing.
I suppose I should get my day started.
We went to the Bay of Fundy, but timing was such that we missed the most dramatic part. Maybe next time.
MIL is clean and Jessica has gone. And I’m hearing for the gazzillionth time how she wished she’d named one of her boys Harwood because “it’s such a pretty name.” I think any of the boys would have hated that name (it was her dad’s middle name. )
Jessica is going to check if Hospice would like any of my stuffies or other crocheted stuff. She did say that lap robes are very popular, so I plan to make some.
Laundry is sorted and started. And it’s lunch time.
You’re lucky. I’ve tried two different libraries and second-hand bookstores and got no takers. I was able to unload most of my Alaska books, some on eBay and donated the rest to a non-profit book lender in Alaska. I think I kept three. My wife has books from when she was quite young, included her old business and management texts which I’m sure are hopelessly out of date. Most of my reading nowadays is on Kindle.
The usual keep the slide clean, get called up to the table, Slide goes FUBAR, rinse, repeat. And all the label printers at the front of the building stopped working. Annoying but not “made in a Bulgarian pager factory” bad. Also, I am working tomorrow. Yay! Woohoo!
Weird but cool.
“Home ownership is hearing a weid noise at night, and hoping it’s the cat instead of a maintenance issue.”
Could be from the Sisters of Our Lady Of the White Gogo Boot.
Started Typing: 9:25 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 11:59 AM ET
Morning, all! It’s currently 68°F and partly cloudy, and cool enough for the windows to be open. It’s going to hit 84, though, so I imagine they won’t stay open much past lunchtime. Bailey is enjoying the fresh air (i.e., barking her head off) while she can. 
I’m supposed to be in first aid/CPR training right now, but when my alarm went off this morning I really didn’t feel like going – and I decided that “donwanna” was a good enough reason to skip it. I’m just suddenly not in the mood for other people today, or for sitting in a classroom for 4 hours just to refresh skills I still remember and renew a nice-to-have certification that only expired a year ago. It was an idea for something to do during my staycation, but this morning I’d rather sacrifice the registration fee. I tried to cancel my registration online, via the instructions and link provided in the confirmation email, but the website provided no such option. (sigh) As a last resort, I opened a help desk ticket to withdraw from the class – but I’m sure that won’t be seen/processed until later today, at the earliest. I feel a little bad about bailing at the last minute, but I did everything I could to let the instructor know.
This afternoon I’ll have a virtual voice lesson, and it’s payday so I’ll do my bills at some point. Otherwise, though, the day shall include a wonderful mix of sloth and Lego assemblage.
Side Note: I just took a 45-break from composing the below replies because one of my employees texted me with a question, and it was easier to just log into Teams real quick and chat with him (I am crap at typing on a phone). I didn’t mind at all, and now it’s almost lunchtime! Yay!
The amount will vary, but you’ll almost always have to pay more if the tollboth isn’t manned and you don’t have an EZ Pass (i.e., if they have to mail a bill to you). FCM mentioned the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel being $1 more; around here one of the main east-west roads is a toll road, and you’ll pay $1.60 more – which is almost double the cost of most of the exits. There’s also an interstate that goes into DC and has rush hour tolling (eastbound on weekday mornings and westbound in the evenings), and you’ll pay more if you don’t have an EZ Pass.
Back when tollbooths were manned, there was no discount for using EZ Pass vs cash – at least, around here. Other areas did have a transponder vs cash difference.
Whether getting an EZ Pass is worth it to you comes down to how often you think you might be encountering tolls. For folks in this area, they’re a no-brainer due to the aforementioned roads (which can be avoided, if you have the time). Having a transponder is also a big help to me whenever I visit family in NJ, because I hit several tolls between here and there – Harbor Tunnel, Delaware Memorial Bridge, NJ Turnpike – and these days they all take EZ Pass.
It was inside a AAA storefront/office: there seemed to be dedicated staff for the DMV tasks, but they were AAA employees. There was no extra fee. I would have been surprised if there had been one; my expectation was to be treated like I’d walked into the DMV.
I think Ferris Bueller was the first time I saw him on the big screen (I was in high school), but I remember watching Wargames and Ladyhawke on VHS in the mid-to-late '80s and loving them both – and him in them. I’ve been a fan ever since, and have had a low-key wish to catch him on stage sometime.
I haven’t watched Ladyhawke in a looooong time, but I re-watch Wargames from time to time…in fact, you might have just inspired my choice of entertainment later. 
And those states required you to get new tags every time the design changed? I’ve only had cars registered in two states, but I’ve never heard of that!
Virginia’s a big state and has about a bazillion different license plate designs, but once you have tags there’s no requirement to ever get new ones (as long as they’re readable). I got my previous plates in 2008, when I bought a new car, and I transferred them to the next three cars because it was easy to do so. If the back plate hadn’t started deteriorating to a point where I could get a ticket, who knows how long I would have kept them.
I’ve never had trouble getting an appointment within a month, but I also have a list of centers to choose from every time.
I did have a bit of that feeling yesterday, but it’s never enough to outweigh my preference for mornings off to start slowly/quietly. 
That reminds me of a story…
Many moons ago I was living with my ex and our two dogs (puppy Bailey, and his dog Tara), and for Christmas his mom had gotten me a pair of soft fluffy socks. A few weeks after the holiday there was a night when he went out to our usual bar but I stayed home, and I decided to do laundry. I was wearing the soft fluffy socks, and as I started to carry the basket downstairs I promptly slipped on the steps and bounced down/landed hard on my tailbone. (Despite the pain/swearing, I had to laugh at the pair of confused doggy faces that suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs!) Anyway, after I picked myself up I texted my ex: “Your mother just tried to kill me.”
:tacklehug: I’ve missed you! I hope that everything works out medically.
Hugs to you and your friend.
When I used to have to schlep laundry up and down steps, I just used (and still do, tho not as important as in the past) a rubbermaid tote with the lid on and dragged it behind me with one hand on the rail going down and doing like you do coming up.
Yes. For the years in between, you get stickers to update them.
When I lived in Indiana, the tags for pick up trucks was different than car tags, so when I went from one to the other, I couldn’t just transfer them, I had to get brand new ones.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted, most houseirk done, getting ready to fold towels and the clothes are in the dryer. I need to make a couple of phone calls (yeesh, do I hate talking on the phone), then plan meals, make the grocery list and go to the store.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
i use an ikes/homegoods/marshalls/tjmaxx bag for laundry. they hold a lot and you can put the handles on your shoulders and have hands free. if they are super heavy you can drag the bag by the handles.
i do the marie kondo fold thing so the items fit very neatly into the bag/s.
If I had a bag big enough to hold 2 baskets, one hamper, and 2 sets of bathroom towels, I’d probably strain something trying to carry it. I could just fling stuff down the stairs, but then I’d have to pick it all up, plus there’s the trip hazard of all that stuff on the lower steps. Yoiks!!
Well, the electrical work is finally done and operating and all that! We can make arrangements to take our boat back to its slip. And the peasants rejoiced!! Not sure when the move will happen, but it’ll be a relief for sure!
Fourth load in the washer, fifth on deck. Whew!
I got a lot of good info about the bus system and how to use it. The fare is a dollar each way, with transfers if you get off and then get back on. They have regular stops but will make special stops if they are scheduled a day in advance. Plus they run until 10 PM which is helpful for those of us who don’t drive after dark anymore.
You were so missed, welcome back!
Before we moved I got called for a re-squishing and the appointment was five weeks out.
I hope you get the same answer that I did!
Thank you, I love watching them together. He is so gentle with her when they play. He’s a very bad actor though. When she leaps for his throat he always takes a second before he remembers he should fall over.
What a lovely random interlude in the middle of a stressful day. How lovely.
She was super happy to be making overtime, so maybe she did want to stay longer. It was a lovely evening, she was under a street light on a straight section of road and had her flashers on, so probably wouldn’t get hit. Plus, she was in a bus with doors she could lock and our wifi password. Money for nothing!
Between the bus, the fire and the downed power lines, I’m hoping the excitement is over for at least a year. I like living in boring times!
You are a good person too, that was a lot of mowing!
Last night around 0dark-thirty, the smoke detector outside our bedroom door started chirping sometime. I wear earplugs at night so when I first heard it I was hoping that one of the cats was making the noise. When it didn’t stop, I tried covering my head with my pillow. That didn’t work either. I finally got up and got the step ladder and pulled the cover off the damned thing and yanked the battery out.
Then I peed and went back to bed. This morning we went to Lowes and bought a replacement (and a hanging pot of petunias). I think I’m going to order an alarm with a bright flashing light for the bedroom. Hubs slept through everything and I was not being quiet.
I’m not upset that he didn’t wake up and help me, I didn’t need help. I’m worried about him not waking up if there was a real emergency.
That’s a problem for me as well. We only moved two boxes of books and I feel rather book poor.
Growing up, everyone had a magazine rack in the bathroom. It often had a crossword puzzle book or two as well.
GG would probably kill us if we had stairs. When I was younger I always thought two story homes were nice and though how nice it would be to look out over the neighborhood like that. But then I watched a friend vacuuming their stairs and realized that I never want to live anywhere with stairs ever!
Thank you for the nice explanation. The tollbooths out here are manned so I guess the next time we use one, I’ll ask what the toll would be with the EZ pass and go from there. We have only driven toll roads once since we moved here, so I’m betting it probably won’t be worth it for us.
Unless she’s licking the book pages, I can’t see how that would even be a problem.
That reminds me …
We keep dog biscuits at the drive-thru window.
I’ve heard - repeatedly - about the time someone handed a treat directly to the dog, and the customer in line behind them bitched unholy hell about how unsanitary that was, and IIRC refused her food.
When I heard the story, I pointed out that whoever runs the register handles $1 and $20 all day, and do you have any idea how filthy your average twenty dollar bill is, or how many stripper buttholes the average dollar bill has seen?
S.M. laughed and said, “I wish I’d thought of that!”
Then I gently pointed out that, much as I lurve doggies and enjoy giving treats, I always give them to the owner to give to their dog, because I enjoy having two hands and ten fingers.
It’s someone else’s dog, and I’m reaching into “their” turf (car interior). Some dogs get very suddenly protective.
Plus all our food is in a bag anyway, it’s not like someone’s doggy-germ hands touched your damn pizza anyway. 
Thank you for posting this, imma try it.
Absolutely the truth.
I dunno how I’d have reacted, to he honest, but I live alone so letting strange people into my home is a dicey situation.
That is a code violation in every place where I’ve been aware of such things.
Then again, if it’s not inspected, there’s no rule-breaking to enforce …
Time for food, pants, and then off to Long Night shift. Yippee.
Oh, and first, to refill a jillion water bottles and distribute a cheese pizza among the ratties. (The crust would’ve gone into the trash otherwise, and I got a compliment on how evenly I cooked it, which was nice.)
When my inlaws built their last house in Ocala, FIL built a rack that fit between two studs in the bathroom wall. It had a double purpose of holding books and covering a hidey-hole where they tucked $5000. Thankfully, we were able to convince them to remove the money and stick it in the bank before they put the house on the market.
Here there be bitching:
Last week, I ordered 2 pairs of pants for MIL after much back and forth and back again about the colors - from Blair, if that matters. She decided on burnt orange and red - actually, two nice colors. She’s bugged me every day since “Are my pants here yet?”
Well, they came today. She tried them on. They’re Small Petite Small - not exactly sure what that means, but according to the chart, it was her size. Well, she didn’t like that they were baggier in the butt than her other pants or that the legs were wider. So I’ve got to send them back, and while she doesn’t know this, it’ll cost her $10 to return them. Since I handle her money, all she’ll know is that (most of) the money is back in her account (when it happens.) She’d raise a major ruckus to know there’s a shipping fee for returns.
This is the second time she ordered pants from them and returned them. The big problem is she’s thin, short, and she’ll only wear elastic waist pants, and she doesn’t want them to cost more than $20, because that’s a lot of money for pants!!! 
No place in town carries pants like that, and few online sites have them.
She’s especially manic about the pair she got from Blair some years ago that she loves, and she can’t understand why they don’t still have them Because that’s what she wants. Every new catalog, I have to look for those pants. It tries one’s patience.
Last load in the dryer. FCD is napping. Supper will be forage. I’m trying to control my inner grouch, and it’s not easy. I know it’s not deliberate and she’s an old woman and all that, but it’s a challenge…
I think I need a crab cake since I’m such a crab today. mmmmmmmmm crab cake… < drool >
OMG, if I hear one more time how much she loved Dillard’s…
I actually started to post at 5:15 a.m. because I woke up from a nightmare. (Yes, the ex, again.) Whenever I waken from a really dark nightmare, I want human company. However, I noticed my post was something like, “irs nive abd ckuidy ebwn rough it;s brebovolin” and realized I was falling asleep again, so I left you for the arms of Morpheus.
My washer and dryer are conveniently located behind folding doors in my main hallway, but when I lived in a house and had a whole lot of laundry, I’d just toss it down the stairs and pick it up at the bottom. I gave myself more points the farther it went. I seldom had a whole lot of laundry, though. I once owned a house with a laundry chute. THAT was the way to go! Why don’t they make those any more?
My SIL says they’re only booking tmammograms two weeks out in Michigan. I think the whole issue here is that the population exploded and resources didn’t. There are lots of imaging centers, but not enough, apparently.
I never dreaded them until the cancer. I felt the lump and immediately had a sense of dread, even though I’d had lumps before. The mammogram tech was pretty taciturn until she was leaving, when she patted my shoulder and said, “God bless you.” I knew for sure then. Now I dread NOT having one because that clock is ticking.
If my lab were still around, you’d have your fingers, but they’d be covered in drool. Any time I pulled up to a window, be it bank, liquor store, or DQ, she’d start drooling out the window because drive-throughs meant treats. She also drooled when I pulled up to the gas pumps and then was heartbroken and confused when no treats were forthcoming. I started bringing a treat in my pocket, but I couldn’t just hand it to her at the gas station. No, I had to hand it in through the window or she remained crestfallen. She was the GG of dogs.
FCM, feel free to rant about pants. I don’t know how you remain so patient with her.
swampy, I like to mow. If I’m ever in Georgia…
argh. I can’t talk and type at the same time, and the phone keeps ringing. More later.
We’re having a big conference with our members next month. (This is just for the credit managers. I won’t be attending.) La Jefa has assigned everyone in the company to call a list of members to see if they know about the conference, and to see if they plan on attending.
I’m a Data Guy, not a Marketing Guy. I dislike talking on phones, whether making calls or receiving them. But I got my list. Only 39 companies on it, and 11 of them didn’t need to be called because they’re not active members. That leaves 28. I have seven more calls to make today, and one on Monday. Most of my calls went to voicemail. Of the calls that resulted in talking to an actual person, only two expressed interest in attending the conference. One of them said she couldn’t take the time off from work to attend, and the other one said he’s going to be on vacation.
It’s ten after 13 o’clock. I’ll wait another 20 minutes before I try to finish up the calls.
heh, I have a pretty much functioning 71-year-old aunt that whom it’s a daily chore not to kill…
I rue the day I showed her how to use Facebook…between all the quack cures this year everything bee venom … and the “patriotic” groups are selling “how to survive the end of America off-grid” etc and "how to farm like hell " with their 70 dollar seed boxes that wouldn’t have enough produce growing to last summer let alone the zombie terrorist attack or 2nd civil war … its killed what a fun thing to do because its all now a chore cause the liburls is going to starve us all and well need all we can get
Now since it’s been decided that we live in South Central/Compton Antelope Valley once it’s dark everything has to be locked down and I need an escort to take the trash out even though after school is over for the day we get maybe a half-doz people walking by…
Not to mention her obnoxious off/on romance that’s going on
And NOW the yearly holiday BS has begun …I’m already longing for the middle of January …
Oh, and I had a case of EAS this morning …
such is life in the desert for today …
I often discover that a beloved garment or shoe style has been discontinued. Did I say often? I should have said all the time. That’s why I love Poshmark. I’ve tracked down discontinued garments and shoes there several times and bought them, and at a discount, too. True, they’re used, but sellers generally are truthful about the exact condition of the item. I’d rather have a slightly used Carhartt mesh weave thermal top (which they don’t make anymore), than no Carhartt top at all.
Maybe you’d find a pair of old style Blair pants there, in size extra-teensy.
Are you a fellow disciple of the Rev. Billy C. Wirtz?? 
Howdy Y’all! High RDOS inactivities have indeed ruled the day. We had quality cee-mint pond time, probably the last of the year, nappage, and day drinkin’. Both of us have munched on pretty much junk off and on all day. I feel bad about that, so tomorrow Ima make a beast roast and some veggies to make up for that. Up next, Netfix, chill, and popcorn.
MOOOOOOM I take it Mary would be OK if the book was read by someone nekkid sittin’ on the front porch.
Nellie I would take you over to the church house, show you how to handle a zero turn mower (easy peasy to use once you’ve done a turn or two) and let you mow to your heart’s content. There would even be a cold beverage of your choice when you are done.
Or maybe a nice game of chess. And I though no-one else liked Ladyhawke, but I thought it was great.
Ok, just looked at the clock and I need to start changing for soccer practice. More later.