Successful Aldi run. Got the kids here, put away the foods, liaded the dishwasher, and stripped the bed. Shor, I’ll make lunch (tortellini) then we’ll go downstairs and I can start the laundry.
Feel free be envious!
I planned an ambitious morning of vacuuming the entire upstairs, including the incredibly dusty drapes in the master bedroom. I was almost done when Mr. brown came in and announced he wanted to lie down for a nap (at 8:00 a.m.), and he got huffy that I had the bedroom at sixes and sevens. I made him wait until I finished and exited. So now he’s trying to nap and is no doubt annoyed that I’m vacuuming the rest of the upstairs. Too bad!
After vacuuming I’ll complete my laundry and then go and stand over my recently potted lobelia and shake my head. For some reason, one of the batches of lobelia is sickly and not doing well. I can’t decide if they need more sun (they’re in the shade), or if it’s just too late in the summer and the 90 plus degree weather doesn’t agree with them. I might have to replant with something else before long.
Today’s lunch: a salad of chickpeas, tuna, red onions, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. And a baguette segment on the side.
Slow morning. Waiting for a reply from our database administrator and Customer Service. Jut finished a Braunschweiger sandwich for breakfast.
When my sister had her knee replaced, they gave her a blue ice water circulator. It had a voracious appetite for ice, which had to be smashed into little pieces or His Finickiness would reject it, so I called it the Little Blue Asshole. Last night she asked, “Are they giving you a Little Blue Asshole?” I said, “No, I think they’re just doing the knee.” Such is what passes for humor these days.
My last day of having my own right knee. I have an eye doc appointment. We’ll take buses to get there but will Uber it home. I also have to wash my sheets and pj’s as part of the pre-op prep. I guess there must be people who only launder their sheets every year or two, or why would this be a pre-rq? Do three-day-old sheets have that many more germs on them?
MetalMouse, are there fewer kids by age 15 because there are school soccer teams, or how do you account for the drop-off?
Good heavens! What time did he get up this morning if he was tired enough by 8 for a nap?
So the SSLAWS were taking turns not working, and so was the G3 belt. Also the 2 new Blueberries. To be fair, if on your first 5 minutes of your first day in a position, everything and every one breaks down and stops working, you might as well go with the flow, But that’s over, and Spot had Banana Time and Earwax Time, so all is well.
When I die, I want it to be like Grandpa. Peacefully, and in his sleep. Not screaming and crying like the other people in his car - Jack Handy
< boycotts learning and meetings in solidarity >
Glad Shadow is doing better.
Congress doesn’t control Congress. Sorry you’re in an idiot sandwich at work, but glad you’re doing your due CYA.
I leave that to the neighbors. 
FCD got similar instructions, plus the requirement to use a clean towel for every shower starting 3 days before surgery. Oddly enough, there were no such requirements before his spine was laid bare… Makes me wonder about previous malpractice accusations or some such. On the other hand, some people are less meticulous about personal hygiene than others. Docs must covers their hindquarters I suppose.
Lunch has been ingested. First load in the washer. We’re all in the basement and Tobias is particularly chatty. Roxy is watching Gabby’s Playhouse or whatever it’s called. Two more hours till I take them to their mom.
Tobias calls his sister Teetee. He can’t/ won’t say Roxy. He calls me Mama and Grandpa is papa. And he has the cutest pronunciation of turtle. Roxy, on the other hand, is learning a little ASL. Today she signed “more milk, please.”
My grands are geniuses! 
hi y’all,
Have managed to catch up on reading, but don’t have time for replying, so Yays, Boos, Wet salmon, and especially hugs to those who want/need them.
I do have to make one comment though, because it amuses me:
That’s because 14-15 year old girls have discovered a game they like better.
Rained last night.
Shoe: “YAY!”
Sun came out just as I was emerging and booting up mentally.
Shoe: “Boooo.”
Suddenly overcast and windy. Maybe might-could rain again. (U.S. Southerners may know that phrase.)
Shoe: “YAY!”
Sun burns off clouds with a vengeance.
Shoe: “Dammit.”
I haz a hungry. It’s my Blessed Day Off, and hoooo boy, has the lazy-bug bitten me, esp. now that it’s all bright and warm out there.
All my get up ‘n’ go
Must’ve got up ‘n’ went. 
So my options are to get up off my ass, and stand around in a hot kitchen cooking (for free like some unwashed peasant) or DoorDash a bit of delivery for what seems like hideously overpriced charges .. unless one factors in the “lazy bitch” convenience fee, which they do not itemize but is definitely part of the cost.
Or, I guess, I could put on pants (well, shorts .. thanks 
) and pick something up nearby.
Like some unwashed peasant.
Leaning towards dumplings, since I’ve wanted some ever since SOMEone ate mine a while ago.
Which could still come in any of those 3 options: make my damn self, order delivery, or { sigh } put on friggin’ pants.
Like some unwa-- … okay, okay, I’ll shower!
I bet. Isn’t it nice to feel human again?
“Please use caution, as bags in the overhead bins may have shifted … significantly.”
“Flight attendants, please prepare for landing … and also, can you get Bob ready?”
Oh, ye gods, you’ve just described one of the circles of Hell.
How’d you find it? Is there a subscription service? Do they sell it on Amazon?
If you come across any tattered remnants, would you mail them to me? I’ll gladly reimburse postage.
Yeah, I feel weird sometimes, posting about how, “Yay, I ate a shitload of fattening cream! Go, me!” or “Dang, didn’t eat again today. 
Oh, well!” when so many are struggling with the exact opposite.
I try hard to remind myself that we all have our battles, and sometimes they’re very different.
HAH! Well played. I admire your quick wit. (I can think of funny comebacks, too .. just usually, between about 2 hours-3 days later.)
Did Mr. Brown close with me last Saturday, at a pizza joint in some lil’ Midwestern lakeside town?
Cuz, going to sleep at 4 a.m. and then waking up at 7:23 a.m. because pee/trash truck/idiot neighbor thumpin’ dat bass out of his shitty car speakers boom-boom-a-rattlin’ right outside my window … is gonna mean an 8 a.m. “nap.”
MBMMV
(Mr. Brown’s Mileage May Vary.)
As you might expect we practice that in the sim now and again. Dragging a body, even a breathing one, out of the seat is not easy. Playing dead in that scenario is …sobering, especially for the over-50 set.
Pretty much all of bureaucracy, whether governmental or corporate is about finding people to be responsible without authority while the others try to have authority without responsibility.
Play smart ball; aim always for door #2. Looks like you are trying. Bravo!!
Yaay!! And not a moment too soon.
Yaayfor kids and grandkids not yet at the PITA stage!!
Me too. Some of our RW a**holes are displeased at the end of white male hegemony but I say “F*** that noise!”
She was that ideal calm dignified perfection. While knowing she’s got another 30+ years of learning to do. We practice aviation, we don’t just “do it”. At least the good ones do.
Just be sure you get a fake knee and keep your original equipment asshole. If they get that backwards you’re in for a world of problems. Artificial assholes are not yet perfected; not even close. 
Seriously, best of luck on the surgery & recovery. Sure to be a PITA, but the over/under is that the net results are totally worth it. You go girl!!
They sure hadn’t when I was age-appropriate. Or if they had, I was not on their list. Sigh. Youth is sooo wasted on the young.
Yup. The key is to not feel (or ideally, be) responsible for anything you don’t control end to end. It’s the feeling of helpless responsibility that’s the root of most panic attacks.
In my world I’m absolutely positively responsible. But I never have to stick my neck in somebody else’s noose. They’re forever offering but I can always refuse to accept if I’m willing to be the center of a big vortex of hate. Hate forth, losers, I categorically refuse your offer of nooses.
Try it; you might like how things change.
I always say the key to wit is a good memory. I too think of a great comeback only hours later. But if you / I can remember it then we’re ready for next time; the situation will recur; the key is to be ready to pounce then w your prefab zinger.
As to me …
Had a fine just dawn launch amongst the volcanoes and clouds. Tres pretty. Zigged back to Miami. Her Ladyship is busy w daughter and grandaughter all afternoon. They’ll be with us all weekend. Such enthusiasm…
So after irk I changed to beach gear then drove top-down to the main tourist beach in Ft. Lauderdale. Been Doping, eating, and slowly powering through a small 45floz margarita. All beachfront while surrounded by the 20-something bikini women who @Bumbazine mentioned. A sucky life, but somebody’s gotta volunteer; I might as well take this one for the team. Hey guys, you’re welcome.
Post-meal, and post- this post it’ll be time for a swim, a sun-nap, then hop in the car, & head home to face the 3yo energy-monster. Damn she’s cute!! Nonstop, but cute.
Cheers!
taters I don’t know what all the acronynms stand for (as a matter of fact, I don’t think I could figure out any of them) but what I do know is that I can kinda see both sides.
First of all, is your agency or state or whoever it is you work for on total cash basis or modified cash basis? Because if modified cash basis, the deposits could be recorded as an asset - Prepaid Expense and so not go against FY23 budget. I think this could happen regardless of the refund policy. But I could see someone in Accounting (a hardass) saying that if it can’t be refunded, that it should be recorded as an expense in FY23. But really, if I were the decider, it seems more appropriate to record as a Prepaid Expense because it really is not an expense of FY23 since the conference is in October i.e. FY24.
Good vibes for you, nellie!
And once again, some assface managed to get our credit card number. Dammit. Thanks to the monitoring service, I caught it immediately, but we’re without VISA till next week. Dammit. I need to figure out if any of my automatic payments will be made in the next few days. Dammit.
Then Tobias just had a mega-poop that escaped his diaper and got on the carpet and down his leg. So I have that going for me…
This is true.
However, different situations offer different amounts of control over where that noose is slung. Sometimes, you’re bound & gagged, and the noose gets tightened around your neck regardless of any protests you gargle out, or offers to refuse.
I’m trying to be diplomatic; but please, recognize how incredibly fortunate you are to even have the option of considering that possibility, despite what consequences may come.
For you, no consequences? Few people can even fathom the option of that possibility.
Count your blessings, darling, and remember that so very few on this planet have your fortune.
As a sobering reminder, untold thousands of humans are born, live their entire (short) lives, and die in sickness and misery, without ever once so much as tasting a single drop of cold, clean water. And that’s just within our lifetime, here & now; I’m not even talking about the zillions from centuries past.
Or the centuries to come.
Count your blessings. And maybe don’t shit on people who don’t have the fortune of enjoying, not even once, what you enjoy daily.
How the HELL did that happen again?
Definitely me.
oh heck, you just reminded me I need to do the same since wallet went MIA during trip to Chicago.
Amen. Preach shoe Preach.
Not much exciting happening today. Walked to work; it was a one bunny morning. Prepared a proposal for the manager that he really liked. Just sort of slothing since I got home but will be going to the Fitness Center in a short time. Then taking one of my former co-workers to a restaurant that Hubs & I went to about a month ago. Reason: our waitress had just come from Ukraine about 2 months previously and former co-worker came from Ukraine about 10+ years ago, not quite sure when; but I thought they might enjoy having a chat.
You are so sweet, thank you. I couldn’t talk about him at class today, it will take time.
I’m glad your new team and sup sound like they will work for you, hating your job sucks.
Well, dang. I’m sure it was a work flow issue and not a DH issue! Temp workers always get the short end of the stick.
Interrupted sleep isn’t what you could call quality sleep, so it isn’t surprising that you are still tired.
Are you going to pay movers or try to do it yourselves? We’ve done it both ways and I highly recommend paying someone else to do it, it’s less of a PITA that way.
Jealous.
What he said!
I can’t remember if Shadow eats gushy fud…but if so, try mixing a teaspoon of canned pumpkin in it. Cats seem to like the taste and it also sometimes helps with poop issues. (Use the plain pumpkin, not the stuff with spices and such.) (Put a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and glop teaspoons of pumpkin down and freeze them. Once frozen, put them in a sealable container and keep them in the freezer. They will thaw fast, so you can pull a glop out half an hour or so before dindin time and it should be nice and mushy when you want to use it.)
I am so glad you are finally feeling semi-human, keep it up!
I’d think folks would want to do it just because they won’t be able to deal with it for a while afterwards, so maybe they are just gently reminding you that you are going to be laid up for a while so get stuff done first?
Good luck with your surgery, may you return with nothing but boring stories about how easy it was and how nice everyone was.
Today was Tai-chi and NF brought me an iced coffee. They are super yummy and probably at least a thousand calories which doesn’t make sense to have at an exercise class, but I sucked it right down anyhow!
TC is 8 bucks a class and she doesn’t take plastic. The volunteers who hand out the produce boxes accept donations to keep the lights on at the community centers but don’t take plastic. Eggs are three bucks a dozen but the egg lady doesn’t take plastic. The lady who trims my hair charges 12 bucks, but doesn’t take plastic. I also give cash to panhandlers.
As a result of my weekly spending habits, we have a constant cash problem. Hubs likes to pick up a couple of hundred in small bills for me when he’s in town, but we always seem to be scrounging for cash that isn’t 10’s or 20’s.
When I told TC friend that hubs was excited about her buying the baby gate because we wouldn’t have to come up with cash for three weeks, she got worried that we couldn’t afford to pay for the classes and started offering me a discount. 
We did get it straightened out, LOL!!!
Back from my lunch walk. One woman liked my hiking stick, and Skateboard Girl liked my ‘Best Cat Dad Ever’ T-shirt. 
Around here, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS, and most (but not all) dollar stores give cash back.
I’ve gotten in the habit of asking for cash back, if I’m confident enough that the wolves won’t howl too loudly. Tuck it into my “sooper sekrit speshul” spot, and then - thanks to my trash goldfish memory - it’s {surprise!} there when I need it. Or when go frantically digging through my hiding spots.
Or it’s shoved in my undies drawer when we get tipped out, with the muttered comment, “Eh, I’ll find it when I need it!”
… on a side note, I swear we’re getting tips a bit more often now that I’m ALWAYS on the damn drive-thru window.
Weirdly, I get better tips the nights I drag myself in, with maybe some earrings shoved in. Doll myself up, some eyeliner, maybe slap on eyelashes? Not so much.
I think people are like, “Damn, she looks rough. Dear, please do give her a dollar so she can buy ramen or something?”
ETA: no point in wearing makeup, if it works against me & my crew.
Your guess is as good as mine. In the past, we were pretty sure our number got skimmed when we were on the road. But we haven’t gone anywhere lately, and all our on-line business has been with places we’ve used before. So who knows…
Thankfully, I made a list of what gets paid via VISA so when we get the new account number, it should be relatively easy to change them all. I hope. Dammit.
Kids are back with their mom and FCD is home. I stopped on the way for some Amish corn, cantaloupe, and peaches. Yum! I also gassed up using our “travel” card - at least I don’t have to get cash.
SIL wants to take Daughter out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse tomorrow after the open house at school, so we’ll probably go with them. I’m going to the school in the morning to help clean up for the open house and load a bunch of our stuff that needs to go home - we’ll take the truck. Guess that means I need to mow on Saturday.
Onward!!