Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN 'Tis 56 Amurrkin out and cloudy with a predicted high of 72 and mostly cloudy. Today shall be another day of high sloth. Any need to feed will be via forage as we have plenty of sammich makin’s, chips, and the like. I might decide to go wild and clean the Keurig. Or not.!
Dicey glad dad is doin’ so much better. May he get to go home soonest.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Sattidy Y’all!
Oh, it’s “all hands on deck” this Sunday.
I have been remiss!
< AHEM > CLEARIN’ THROAT < AHEM >
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY DEEEAAARRR DDDOOOGGGGGGIIIOOO!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
Afternoon, mumpers! It’s currently 8c/47f with a predicted high of 9c/48f, and cloudy. Weather app is unimpressed and has nothing more to say than “Fuck you, fucking clouds”. Fair enough, it’s been cloudy all week apart from when it’s been raining and extra cloudy 
Happy doggio day hope you have a fun day with an interesting cocktail at the end of it!
nellie happy new trainers day! I had to order some new ones too, I realised mine have a hole in the toe now (and the heels are wearing out) so I should be in the new shoes club next weekend.
Dicey glad to hear your dad is getting better, I hope he goes home soon.
JtC how are the cats? Did they both survive their respective trauma?
Productive day so far, I did a round of feline bums and tums then went to the gym to do a couple of classes. Back home to put some colour on my hair and I’m just about to go and wash that off. Then we will be heading into town for lunch at the Good Chinese Place, do errands and come home for dinner before going out again to see a couple of bands at the Giff.
I predict tomorrow will be a day of utter sloth, apart from the hour or so it takes for me to make dinner as it’s my turn.
Onwards!
Same reason doctors look like they’re 12… 
Totally none of my business and feel free to ignore me, but SM aside, why are you doing this? Are there no other jobs you’re interested in or qualified for, or is there nothing else available where you are? And I’m not in nagging-mom mode, I’m genuinely curious.
Now for me, 7 isn’t even worth considering. Nine is right on the edge. I did 26 once, and it was great, but the port calls were well-spaced among sea days. Plus we stopped at a lot of interesting places. Still, YMMV. There are many vacation options I’d discard on sight. And it all works out - otherwise we’d all be trying to fit in the same resort/park/ship at the same time!!
And I have no interest in returning - the airport being probably the biggest reason why!
Woke for no apparent reason around 4. Got out of bed shortly after 6. Put the dining room back together, loaded the dishwasher, then ran to Food Lion and got eggs for MIL. I went to her apartment to drop them off, but I couldn’t get in - I suspect BIL was staying over there and he set the deadbolt. I wasn’t going to pound on the door before 8AM, so I just came home. FCD is going to have to stop here anyway to get the key card so he can take his mom home.
Rain is forecast this afternoon and BIL asked if I wanted the kids early so they could play outside for a while. Um, no. I need to clean the critter fountain and damp mop the kitchen floor and a few other things. They can run amok in the basement if it’s raining.
FCD et al left Avon just before 5. They’re just east of Columbus, Theoretically they’re 7-ish hours from here, but I know they’ll be making several stops. But they should be back in time for Daughter to put her spawn to bed, sparing me that little adventure. 
OK, time to get back to work. The floor won’t clean itself!
Happy Saturday!!
Good morning!
It’s 34 degrees Fahrenheit, dark and probably cloudy. We’ll have a mix of of clouds and sun during the morning, but by afternoon we’ll have cloudy skies and a temperature of 51 degrees Fahrenheit. At least it’s not raining.
Happy Birthday, doggio!
dicey, I’m glad your dad continues to improve. That is really good news!
Yesterday, I put in nearly sixteen thousand steps just cleaning my house. Up and down the stairs, up and down the stairs, laundry, floor scrubbing in every bathroom and the kitchen, every room in the house vacuumed, kennels collapsed and moved, dusting, kitchen cleaning, vent cleaning, and so on. I meant to company clean, but I went a bit beyond. I washed all the bedding in the guest room, including the comforter. I washed more dog blankets and put a fresh blanket and pen mat in the dog pen. The only thing I didn’t do was steam-clean the carpets. I didn’t have it in me. Maybe next weekend.
My husband helped, too. I had to tell him what he needed to do, but at least he kept asking what he could do next. He even offered to wash the kitchen/dining floors this morning, but I wanted it done last night, so I took care of it.
All I need to do today is run to the grocery store to pick up dinner fixings and nosh food for our guests. I picked up freshly roasted coffee on Thursday, so we’re set in that department.
I need another cup of coffee, and then I’ll shower and head to the grocery store. I still don’t know what I’m going to make. I saw JtC’s suggestion, but I’m not in the mood for Mexican. I will decide after I finish here because I’ll need to ensure I have everything I need.
Toodles.
I have had a similar reaction to lighting in some buildings. Including hotel rooms. Some sorts of CFL & LED lights put out what I call “the illusion of illumination”. Things seem well-lit, but you can’t actually see with the light being offered. Something to do with the spiky emission spectrum and the flicker I think. Both of which were not a problem back in the good ol’ incandescent days when the damned kids stayed off my lawn.
Oh yeah; more rattie pix please!
Yeah. What’s funny to me is that when I look in the mirror I don’t see an old guy. When I look at a picture I just took of me, that guy is old. How in the heck does that work??!
I’ve long had a decent resemblance to my Dad. Unsurprising. But now it’s almost disturbing how much retired bearded me looks like, and has many of the mannerisms of, dear old long-departed retired bearded Dad. WTF?
Having upsized in 4 steps from Officer’s Quarters singlehood at age 25 until I/we apexed in 2013 at age ~54 in the big house then downsized in 4 steps now to just a single room, I can certainly see those numbers.
I gotta say I really like having very little stuff. By piece count my kitchenware, dining- / serving-ware, & glassware are probably a hefty fraction of what I now own, and I’m not sure that stuff will ever see the light of day; it may all go straight from the storage unit to Goodwill.
Still, clothes add up too. About 10 sets of undershorts times two styles. About 10 each of undershirts, 4 kinds of socks, workout shorts, workout shirts, sweats. That’s ~100 items and we haven’t started talking real clothes. Of course for “real clothes” there’s also a hanger of some sort for most of them. And so it goes …
In all I’m in probably breaking 1,000 items, but not by a lot. Which means I’ve bought, paid for, then pitched or given away about 299,000 items. :ouch:!!
BTDT, and rather regularly. After some time at the beach it’s just so nice to drive around with both me and the car topless and small but legal swimwear on the bottom. An almost all-over tan is best.
It ain’t the foodin’ as much as the drinkin’ and tippin’ that runs up the tab. And runs up the duration too.
By the end we’d gotten through 3 bottles of $150 wine, a decent bite out of a bottle of Remy XO, and tried an interesting small-batch bourbon. The food itself came to maybe $160 for two apps, 2 lunch entrees, and a shared dessert.
We’re both pretty well known at this joint for taking excellent care of the staff who in turn take excellent care of us. I feel a lot better sharing with the workers than giving it to the management.
Plus tax of course; the Governor will not be denied his cut. 
Back in the good ol’ days long ago my wife and I used to say that the sign of a successful meal is when the booze cost more than the food. Even if that’s just a 6-pack of beer and two roller dogs from 7-11 eaten in the park. By that standard this meal was a huge success. They usually are.
There are a lot of folks like that.
One of the big things I’ve seen is how hard you worked affects that a lot. There are people who spent 20-25 days on the road for 30-40 years then never want to see an airport again. Net of multiple extended layoffs I did the job for just 24 years and always treated it as part-time, rarely working more than 10 days a month. They burned out; I haven’t yet.
There are also people who lived in one city but worked out of another and had to passenger back and forth for each trip; sometimes for years, sometimes for a whole career. That greatly increases the hassle and frustration of the job. I recall flying with one OCD fellow who kept a log book of his commuting flights. (??!) He’d worked a few years more than I had at that point, but his total time spent commuting to/from work well exceeded my total time actually working. That is a gigantic self-inflicted wound IMO.
I did the bare minimum of long-distance commuting, about 24 months total, and 18 of that was when I was first hired, it was all fresh and exciting, and there was no friggin’ way I was gonna move from Vegas to NYC. Otherwise whenever I got transferred I promptly moved to whichever city my work had moved to. Which is how I came to be living now in Greater Miami.
Yaay! Best of luck to both of them.
When I was a teen we took a 3-week driving tour through Europe. We stumbled into the middle of that event having no idea what was going on or why. To say we did not expect to find that public crazy in staid Switzerland was an understatement. But it was fun.
Taxes:
I have all my data now and could knock them out in a couple hours if that was all I needed. But …
Ugh. Doing the required joint return with HL will be touchy. She and her finances are not real organized and it’s a process to gather her blizzard of paper & pdfs even when she’s being cooperative. I’ll have to open that discussion soon.
Oh well, last time for joint; 2024’s taxes will be separate. Yaay!
Yes, this. Yaay Doggio!!
As to me …
My second social last night was good and was also sane. I was way late compared to the 4 guys and 2 gals I was meeting so they’d been pubbing and dinnering for awhile. I connected with them at about their 4th stop.
So I had a soda (really!) and danced a couple hours to the outdoor live music with the random folks who were there. The band wrapped at ~1030, then I walked a block to a waterfront eatery to get a light dinner and settle my head before driving home. Had a nice stone crab chowder followed by some decent buffalo wings and about 3 gallons of water.
Drove home at midnight with the top down then unloaded my purchases from the car & jumped pretty directly into bed.
Today is laundry and packing-planning for the cruise. I did not realize it when I booked this, but the ship will sail just as the Super Bowl is kicking off, and Valentine’s Day will be our at-sea day coming back between Cozumel & Bimini. There might be some unaccompanied ladies on this cruise seeking companionship on that day / night. Might. Plus the other days / nights of course. 
The kitchen floor has been vacuumed and damp mopped. As soon as it’s dry and I can put everything back in there, I’ll clean the critter fountain. Then, I think, I’ll be ready for the invasion of the grands. I should probably start a fire in the basement before they get here - it’s a tad chilly below ground.
Busy morning. I’m exhausted!
Morning all. Not much on the agenda, it’s 60F and raining and looks to stay that way for most of the day. Will coach youth soccer indoors at 1pm and then maybe look at Sunday dinner on Saturday since the big tackleball game is tomorrow and I plan to be inside with a large bag of Lays for that (Tradition!!). Otherwise a weekend of sloth is expected.
J-Bats, heck, good manners are so uncommon these days, you should be happy someone actually gives a hoot. But I would have probably said the same thing, and I’m 71.
Shoe, between Pizza day and the Stupor Bowl, it will be a long weekend. Take care.
IL, we always want to hear a funny cat story; and that was a pretty good one, siblings of all species can be tattletales apparently.
Dicey, best wishes for your Dad My longest cruises have been 14 days and that is just about right for me. 7-10 days is more my average.
Hippo Birdie two ewes, doggio.
Took me a moment but that is a great way to put it.
FCM, hoping for a safe drive home by the family.
OK, have broken fast and need to do some planning before soccer starts, so take care all.
Happy birthday doggio!
IL, your cat story cracked me up.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. 'Tis another rainy day here in middle Tennessee, so playing multiple rounds of fetch with the dogs. Penny’s dad called and he’s about two hours from here. He’ll swing by for Elvis before picking her up, so, yeah, about the estimated lunchtime. When I fixed Nelson his Saturday morning scrambled egg, I did one for her too. She was all over that before eying my bacon longingly (no, neither one got bacon. Nelson rarely gets it, and then in miniscule quantities, so I’m not about to upset a puppy’s tummy with it).
I need to assemble the scrapbook layout to get it off my workspace, then address valentines and pay bills. After, I’ll head to the post office to mail the cards, then to Tar-jay to pick up a prescription and Staples for a CO2 cartridge for my SodaStream.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Interesting. Also weird. My esposa said she was also feeling a bit wonky in there. At least I know now that I’m not stroking out when that happens.
Possibly one of my favorite songs evah. I have a vivid memory of dancing to it at my wedding. We didn’t have a band, we had an ipod of our favorite songs hooked up to some speakers.
Speaking of fancy weddings, I get to go to a bridal shower today. Don’t know the bride that well, it’s a family thing, and I’ve got a bad attitude about it. I’m not an event person, and I’ve gotta wear a dress and make small talk and stuff. I have fairly significant social anxiety and my husband’s enormous fancy family stresses me out on top of that. I’ve been cranky all morning. Sometimes taking my son to swim class is incredibly stressful, so much so that I have to do some serious relaxation when I get home. I was not patient with my son this morning, which of course makes me feel worse. Trying to get him dressed in a changing stall while he complains that his socks aren’t perfect and insists I redo them. I’m trying to figure out what makes it so frustrating and improve the process. My tomorrow is going to be super busy, too, so this isn’t going to be a relaxing weekend.
Do you get lunch at bridal showers? Because that’s about the only thing that will turn my mood around. One thing I’ll say for my husband’s family, they know how to eat.
BUT maybe I’ll get some respite as I am doing my first official digital Sabbath starting tonight. I’ve arranged things to be completely screen free for 24 hours. I’m nervous as hell, which is a good indicator I need this. I might find that I have more time to relax, even on a busy weekend, if I’m not always surfing my phone.
Holy smokes! I do a little every day but there’s always so much stuff that gets neglected. I don’t think I could clean that much stuff at once. Way to get in some exercise.
Taxes aren’t fun even when everyone’s getting along. Hopefully you’re on the home stretch.
Happy burpday, doggio!
spicey Hope the digital siesta goes well.
Dryer is doing its thing, Imma wait till that’s done before the trip out for groceries. I haven’t decided if I’m making a trip up the lake to drop off items at the gift store. Probably will, otherwise I’ll do not much today.
Started Typing: 12:24 PM ET
Clicked Reply: 1:01 PM ET
Happy doggio day! 
Yesterday was payday, so this morning I did my bills before going to the gym for a 9:30 workout with my trainer. When I got home I took a shower and started my laundry, then sent/replied to a couple of volunteer-related emails before wandering over here. This post will be my last computer-based activity before I relocate to the living room for lunch and some slothing. Not swampy-level slothing, though, because after my laundry goes in the dryer I’ll need to start what I call “doggy laundry”: Bailey had an accident early this morning, so I need to wash the waterproof pads that I put down every night. She got all four of 'em and I can only wash two at a time, therefore much laundry will be ensuing today.
And, at some point later on I’ll need to get organized for tomorrow morning’s volunteer tabling event. I expect to have 60-90 minutes of downtime in the church’s multipurpose room while the service is happening upstairs (before the event itself begins): I’ll probably spend the time chatting with my fellow volunteer, but if he decides to check out the service I might be able to sneak a post in (I’ll have a laptop with me…which reminds me to charge it today!).
Oh, also I ordered a jigsaw puzzle this morning. 
1000 pieces. It’ll be my first one since I was a kid. It should arrive in a few days, but due to going to a jazz festival next weekend I might not be able to get to it until later in the month.
LOL!
I don’t, no. We lived there from 1973-1975, when I was 2-4.
We wound up going there after Germany because my father had been discharged from the Army and both parents were from northern New Jersey: Dover was close to my dad’s family, but we only lived there because it was cheaper than living close to my mom’s family. From there we moved to Maryland when my dad got a job with the DoD (my mom didn’t work until my younger brother and I were both in school).
Great news that he’s getting stronger!
I was going to post this last night, but I got some sort of stomach bug and had to set up camp in the bathroom for most of the night. I’m feeling better, though.
En route to the gym, I met a very nice, very excited King Charles spaniel. On the way home, I ran into Ms Dog and her person. Ms. Dog was besides herself with joy. Then Ms. Dog’s bestie, an Irish setter came up, utterly dejected because he’d just had a bath. It was Puppapalooza! I’m going to dog-sit the divine Ms. D. on Monday.
I got 4 miles in yesterday, not counting bicycling to nowhere, as our MetalMouse puts it. My knee is much better than it was four months ago, but I 6 months post-op, and I still have to contend with the bursitis pain and the humongous bump. Today I’m going to go walk around the lake.
I read once that we should replace shoes every 300 miles or so. I should replace mine every three months. I went longer this time, though, because with the knee surgery and then the fall, I had a few weeks of very little walking.
Your ensemble could be worse. This woman I knew met a guy via OLD. He seemed nice, so she agreed to meet him for coffee at a local restaurant. She was a little late when she walked in. Only one person was sitting by himself at a table, and that person was wearing…a SpongeBob onesie. She turned on her heel and walked out again.
So see, swampy, you’re still a classy ursus.
We can’t forget 'em, either: so cuuuute!
Should I ask, or is this between you and the Gambinos?
You got farther than I. I always wanted numbers to tell stories: WHY was X throwing spears at Y ? (“Throwing spears” was my way of understanding < and > symbols. The larger number threw a spear at the smaller number.) I also remembered multiplication that way: Six and eight went on a date. Didn’t come back 'til they were 48.
Ariel from Brooks. I’ve bought their Adrenaline shoe, too, but they don’t make it in EE width any more.
Happy Birthday, doggio! In dog years, you’re only, what, 6? So celebrate like a six-year-old! Get frosting on your face. Make rude jokes during Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Use your hand and armpit to make it sound like people are farting–works best in an upscale department store, I hear.
BooFae, hope you find some cool trainers! If you have a hole in one Not Our Shoe, you’ve definitely earned a new pair.
Aww. I hope she’s OK.
US military. I did counterinsurgency and drug interdiction for a few years. Some bad people met premature ends. Or at least more premature than they’d have preferred. The world OTOH would have been a better place had their ends been even more premature.
After dealing with that stuff, most interpersonal conflict and angst seems … trifling.
I am stunningly underqualified to begin dating again. But wow, even I know not to do that. A Spiderman onesie would be sooo much cooler.
It might be fun to have (or revive) a thread on the most messed-up date or almost-date we’ve had or have heard of first hand from a participant.
I expect my next year will have a couple miscues. With luck she’ll be the awkward or inappropriate one more often than I will be.
I found out why my heel felt funny in the left shoe. I wore a hole in it. (The heel of the shoe, not my heel.) Maybe that’s why my ankle’s been hurting.
Got a new tv today! A friend told me to wait for the Super Bowl sales, so I did.
So I’m wandering around the tv department of Best Buy with my tape measure, measuring tvs. Approached by no one. Finally after measuring and walking about, a person appeared at the tv check out.
A little bit more measuring and I am the owner of a 55” Samsung and a wall mount. Less than 10 minutes of set up and I’m watching tv.
The good thing about being in a building is that the maintenance department will be able to wall mount the tv. Until then it is on a table.
The best part was that my company gave us gift cards rather than a holiday party. I was out of pocket under 30 dollars.
Happy birthday dogsbutler!
Happy dragon year everyone!
I may hafta address this some other time, as this is gonna be a hectic weekend at work and I may not be in the best mindframe to answer.
But one answer is, I’m proud to work at a place that’s a local institution. Just last night I was explaining to someone how to order a frozen pizza so she can overnight it across the country (e.g. much $$$ for shipping on dry ice) but … it’s not the first time I’ve told people about the frozen pizza option, specifically so they can ship them themselves.
That’s how friggin’ popular this place is.
I have had people tell me they make a point of driving up from Grand Rapids (nearly an hour each way) for us.
I believe them, too, cuz I’ve driven to G.R. for soup (good Vietnamese chicken pho is hard to find!).
I also learned during the pandemic that, introvert I may be, but I do NOT do well working from home AND living alone.
I actually lool forward to coming back into work after my day off, and I can honestly say that hasn’t happened in a long time, and especially not of any office-type job I’ve ever had.
There are a lot of stressful days, for sure. Last night was definitely one of them - shit just kept going wrong and there simply weren’t enough of us to keep up with the standard orders AND all the staff hiccups dealing with the new system.
But customers were mostly very patient and understanding - some of the regulars even noticed the new P.O.S. immediately on their own - and many congratulated us on having better tech.
Plus it never stops making me smile to hand a pizza to someone doing an actual literal happy dance with a genuine smile of anticipation.
For a loner, a widow, and an only child who uprooted herself to move across the country and get away from a big city … it’s kinda nice to be welcomed into the fold of a small-town local institution where so many people know each other, are related, taught elementary school to that guy’s neice, etc.
There ARE other local jobs, but this is a manufacturing town. The idea of a very repetitive task in a noisy environment sounds awful, to me personally.
I know guys who work in machine shops who LOVE it; they tune out the noise with music and basically turn off their brain & zone out on their assigned task, and they lurve it, but I’d be miserable.
Plus, again, lack of much human interaction.
On top of it, I’ve learned so much … and that’s without re-learning the entire P.O.S.
Honestly, the only real skill I brought with me to this job was how to shake food out of a fryer basket without spilling it everywhere.
Even the actual cooking process for fryers was so different from my previous job that I had to re-learn that station entirely.
EVERYTHING else had to be learned from scratch. I like learning stuff! I like feeling like I’m good at stuff. (Crabby bitch though I may be, but I have goooood customer service skillz.)
It may be scary to be pulled off a station and told to go take over fryers, walk over and see they are in the WEEDS, man, like, so behind … take over, and then … get everything nicely caught up. It’s a proud feeling (“That’s right, I am the absolute SHIT at this!” is not a feeling I have often in my life) even if it is a humble job.
Well, actually, there you go; guess I did reply after all
Hopefully that somewhat answers things.
ETA: everyone who hasn’t yet, go check out the Google home page today!
Wait for the fireworks. 