@LSLGuy that was elegant, eloquent, and full of truth. I hope our little fishy can take your words to heart.
Up from naptime, having a martini, and watching hockey. Tonight’s dinner is chicken with cavatappi and my homemade sauce.
{{{{Fishy}}}}
And what Pilot said.
It just occurred to me that her Gotcha Day is gonna be 4/20. Darci “Snoop” Dog 
Good karma for dealing with the IRS
That was my first response as well, LOL. It just seems wrong to be on a big ship in the middle of the ocean and end up drowning in the pool…
It was very good advice and has served me well, so thank you! They find creative ways to save me money and get some of it too. Win-win for everyone 
Go Spot! Your new slaves need to be put back in their places!
I am so glad!
You have to know me better than that by now!
{{{Real Fish}}} I am so sorry you are going through this. May the outcome be whatever is best for your father.
It has cooled down somewhat here, but we are still going to the nursery tomorrow. We are positive that it won’t freeze again this year and its time to put the maters in and I want to get some color. While we are on that side of the mountain, we will also go to our favorite Mexican place cause we haven’t been there in forever.
My Tai-chi instructor is having a BBQ/birthday party this weekend so I will get her a nice flowering plant as well.
Today was produce day and of course they gave me much more than we can use. The man with twins is able to drive again so he has started picking up his own boxes to get him and the kids out of the house. I’m glad he is doing so well and I thought about carpooling but two car seats take up a lot of room and he will need an empty seat for food.
I took my excess produce to Tai-chi and folks took what they wanted and the instructor promised to give the remains to her friend with chickens. It’s perfectly good food, there is just always too much for two old people no matter how creative I get with it.
Today was also Tai-chi and our instructor has said she is going to start doing Thursday classes in the town down the road, so I will probably switch to Thursdays so I don’t feel so rushed on Wednesdays.
After Tai-chi, I was scheduled for some tests on my hands and spine so I showered and headed into town. I went to the building next to the hospital in Prescott Valley and couldn’t find the doctor’s name on the signboard, so called to ask if I was lost. Yes, yes I was. My appointment was at the building next to the Prescott hospital and there was no way I was going to make it so we rescheduled for Monday. 
I took out some trash. I irked. I got out early enough to stop at the Meijer bakery on the way home for a nice loaf of sourdough, since no matter what I could think of for dinner, “Man that would sure go better with some bread!” kept coming up. (Sardines with lemon; soft boiled eggs, etc. Heck, even just a soothing cuppa tea goes nicely with buttered toast, no?)
It’s raining pretty steadily, with occasional tunderboomers and lighting sparkles. Tis quite dramatic.
That’s hilarious. Also, that means TOMORROW is the big day. … how exciting!
Yes siree bobtail, it does!
Evening all. Did get some walking in this evening, we are scheduled for team pictures on Saturday before our game and I wanted to see if we could walk from the pictures across the woods (about 60 Yards) to the fields we are playing at (the Parks built new fields that are not directly connected to the older ones). There is a walkway between them, but the bridge over the creek collapsed during the heavy rains last winter and hasn’t been replaced, so we’ll have to drive the 100 yards or so from one parking lot to another. Oh joy.
JtC, glad the Dad with twins is doing better. And did the anti-vax folks on the other side of the room get their shares of stuff?
FCM, is that for 12-pack cans? If so, that’s a good price, we’re around 4/$15 when it’s on sale. And you need a shirt that says “Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional” Use to have one, may have to order another.
Pilot, well said.
OK, back to waiting for the Southwest Chief at LaPlata, Missouri. everybody take care now.
Mrs. L.A. had leftover mac’n’cheese (Kraft Dinner) for dinner. I had a tin of herring in mustard sauce, a slice of leftover Easter ham, and some extra-sharp, crunch, white, cheddar cheese.
Only one more tin of herring left (in a paprika cream sauce). There’s also a tin each of sardines, lightly-smoked mussels, and anchovies. I need to find more herring.
JtC, yes, I did thaw and dry the asparagus.
{{{sari}}} I am so sorry. Ripple was a good boy. Hugs to you, your son and skritches to Echo.
Sending good healing vibes for Bailey oopsie.
{{{Moooooom and FCD}}} You gave Taz a good life.
pilot said it more eloquently than I could, real fish. Much as it may hurt, your dad is an adult who is making his own decisions.
I worked over a bit yesterday and was beat when I got home. Today was a normal day and I decided to put in for a PTO day tomorrow. I had stuff going on last weekend, will have things for the next four weekends and there are just things that need to get done now. I will have a leisurely breakfast, but need to go to the post office to mail the cookbooks, go to tour the prospective new vet’s office (I talked to a couple of folks at irk who take their dogs there and they are happy with the practice) and go to Lowe’s once they’re all open. Then, it’s clean up the patio, plan menus for the weekend and likely grocery shop. In the evening, I need to put on a pot of chicken and rice for Nelson’s father and auntie (old dogs with dental issues).
Friday, I’ll do the usual houseirk, then take a nap so’s I’m halfway awake when Sis and BIL get here late in the evening.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
They did! Apparently food that I have touched is OK…maybe because they can wash my vax cooties off? Or maybe their stomach acid is strong enough to overcome my cooties? I know they ate from the cheese board I brought once despite knowing that I had made all of the cheeses.
The rules are so hard to figure out, LOL! (They still haven’t figured out that I am cootie bombing them by standing next to the window.)
Dad with twins is a very stubborn and determined man. He doesn’t have his real leg yet, just a temp one that doesn’t fit well and rubs his stump raw, but it allows him out of his wheelchair and he is determined to not sit in it anymore. I have much admiration for him.
That is always reassuring. I hope you don’t get any bad vibes from the tour and that all goes well.
Do you think Nelson will be willing to go back to his usual grub after getting the good stuff? That’s mostly why we fake GG and VBC out with “treat” kibble, we don’t want them to start demanding the junk we are feeding COC.
Hi boofae just wondering how you are liking this secondment. How is the work? How are the people?
aw {{{{{Sari}}}}}, I’m so sorry. Ripple was such a sweet dog. May he be frolicking with his friends over the rainbow. 
Wheelz my SIL built a Murphy desk-bed for our daughter and if he can do it, not a handy lad in the least bit, anyone can do it. You got this.
Crap, Mr. Chicken, who offers excellent broasted ribs, did not send us such an offer or we would have been all over it. However, the Cashew Pad Thai with Pork was delicious.
Got a call from the collision shop that the parts are in and first they wanted to schedule me to bring in my car next Tuesday morning but I generally work in the mornings, then they said Tuesday afternoon but that’s Hubs next PT. Then we settled on Monday afternoon but I forgot when Hubs next pre-chemo appt is and I think it’s on Monday. Crap, I’ll have to ask him when he wakes up from his nap.
MetalMouse Yay for the water leak being finally fixed. High 5 to the plumbers.
Another busy day. Got 8 hrs of sleep and could have slept more; got woken up by alarm. Irked, still working on setup tasks so the season can go smoothly. So, while I wanted to leave by noon, didn’t leave until 2pm. Stopped at Kroger on way home to pick up a circular and buy bananas. Then put on chauffer cap as Hubs asked to go to Home Depot to buy 2 big bags of charcoal (he wants to grill tomorrow) and a new back door handle as yesterday, ours wouldn’t open and he had to take a wedge to it to get the door open, then he disabled it and we had to lock using the deadbolt which we normally don’t do. Next was a stop by the PO to drop off a birthday card to one of his friends, onward to the party store so he could cash in his winning lottery tickets and buy new ones and lastly to the bakery to get a fresh loaf of Italian bread and some pieces of carrot cake. Had an hour long call with my bestie who had the shoulder/arm surgery last Th. I updated her on my wildflower trip and she updated me on how she’s been feeling; her doc says she’s ahead of normal on her healing. One thing I forgot to tell her or mention here is that we found some ramps on our Tuesday hike last week so I picked some and had them for lunch mixed into the tuna. I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner with a garden salad and garlic toast using the Italian bread. I got some angus ground beef out of the freezer to thaw so Hubs can grill tomorrow.
We visited our daughter while the SIL was in the process of working on the murphy desk-bed. There was a lot of lumber in the stairwell that we had to dodge.
this is what I was wondering.
I remember it so not that long ago, maybe a month or two or three.
{{{{{FCM}}}}} I’m so sorry. Taz had such beautiful coloring. I’m sure your comfort boy is at peace.
{{{RealFish}}} I think that Pilot’s words were very good; but they were hard to read as they brought tears to my eyes as I fear I may be facing a similar situation with Hubs sooner than later. JtC also had good words; when I pray, I pray in the manner of her sentence, that is, I pray for whatever is best for the person I am praying for rather than a specific outcome.
JtC maybe the folks in the Thursday Tai Chi class won’t be as anti-vax as the Wednesday class . . . oh wait, it’s AZ.
Today was appropriately lazy for me. Went to bed early last night, good sleeps, and got up a bit late, so plenty of 'Z’s overall. A pleasant morning was had on the balcony with reasonably successful coffee.
Here in SoFL all our gasoline is delivered by ship to Ft. Lauderdale harbor then trucked to the gas stations. Which port was damaged by the flooding last Wednesday and so gasoline is in short supply everywhere. The situation is improving rapidly, but gas was largely unavailable anywhere 2 days ago. Her Ladyship’s car is about out of fuel. By good luck I have a nearly full tank.
So I drove us a couple miles out for breakfast and on the way back, stopped to reconnoiter which if any stations nearby had gasoline for her. Both her usual places did. Yaay! We get home, she jumps in her car and both have run out for the day before she gets there at ~11am. Boo! Next shipments hoped for overnight. Now she’s in that bad spot where she really doesn’t want to start the car unless the first stop is a successful refill. Meantime Gasbuddy is failing miserably at accurately reflecting real-time reality on the ground. Ouch! At least we don’t need to drive anywhere, unlike a lot of folks.
I enjoy a nice nap in the afternoon in my comfy chair. Dinner was taking a walk to the nicer Indian place for a yummy lamb curry. I wish more places served brown husk-on whole grain basmati; it’s a lot easier on my pancreas. But that doesn’t seem to be a thing around here. Le Sigh.
Now with celebratory bourbon in hand this day is winding down.
Writing them was not much easier, with plenty of teary eyes here too. Carrying my first wife to the end of that pier and letting go as she fell off the edge was not something I would wish upon anyone. And yet it is a part of life we all must face. Both as the principal just once, and perhaps several other times as supporting cast for the people we hold dear.
You won’t do this “right”. I certainly did not. Try as best your own frazzled state can muster and know that it will have to do. And that you will forever regret the ways you think you fell short of some nebulous ideal. Even if everybody else, even the patient, thinks you did great.
{{Hugs}} to all.
Nah. It’s simple. Free food is ALWAYS okay.
I highly recommend the tubes of squeeze paste (one brand is literally called “Squeeze-Ups”) if you haven’t tried them already. I think cats would learn algebra in return for the stuff.
Speaking of, the 1st part of my “tax refund! WOOT!” Amazon order arrived. It’s mostly for Monkey anyway - litter, plus a nifty wet food “topper” in a variety of flavors. (He’s licking his whiskers clean as I type - definitely seal of approval.)
The only thing for me was - don’t judge - [disposable mug-style bowls](Glad Disposable Paper Snack Cups… Amazon.com), so I can make my beloved soup without having to do dishes.
Look, I recycle and barely make much trash compared to the average Murrican, so let me have this one laziness, to encourage me to eat more. Mkay?
… please don’t take away my hippie card …
Speaking of dishes, I cleared out my drying rack so it would be good to get on the (admittedly not huge amount of) dishes sitting in the sink. Besides, one of the things I’m contemplating making (soft boiled eggs) come out best in my favorite old pot that’s sitting in there anyway.
Thank you, everyone, for your wise words and large hearts. Especially yours, pilot, because I know that they’re right, as hard as it is for me to think of it. I don’t know if it would bother me nearly as much if he didn’t have the “I’m a failure for you and your sister and my father and everyone in my life.” mindset. If he was just wanting to go because he he was tired and wanted to be with Mom, I wouldn’t like it, but I’d understand it and it would be so much easier for me to hold back my tears and give him nothing but support. (I know this for a fact, because he was at that point a couple months ago, the first time he was in the hospital. And as much as it hurt, I was able to step back and just let him know how much I loved him.) I think I just want him to realize that I’m telling him the truth about him never being a failure for any of us. That he’s given us more than he could ever imagine. He just refuses to believe it.
I’m pretty sure that, as long as he’s still on this earth, he’ll want to go to the doctor on Tuesday. When I told him that I’d be up on Tuesday to pick him up for his doctor’s appointment and asked him not to cancel it, he said he had no intention of doing so. He really trusts his PCP, the man has been taking care of Dad for about 17 years. I think he’s going to talk to his doctor about the easiest way to let go. And if he does, I’ll be there and support him. Even though I really don’t want to.
I don’t expect that he’ll accept bringing in hospice. He’s so focused on not spending money on things, especially health-related. I think he wants to leave as much for me as possible. And I know I don’t have the money to pay for him to be in Hospice. I’m really not looking forward to having to tell my (step)brother and sister that he just wants to go because I don’t know if they’ll accept it any more than I want to. And honestly, I’m hoping that he’ll be feeling better and ready to fight again in a day or two, but I’m not expecting it. I just want to give a couple more days before I have to tell the rest of the family. Does that make any sense?
This made me crack up, which was very much needed. I love that as a name! 
I’m so sorry that this is a situation you’re going to have to deal with. I know that when my mom went that it was so hard for Dad. You know that whenever that situation comes for you, we’ll all be here. And, as a general rule, I pray the same way JtC said and that you do. But somehow, it’s so much harder with Dad than with anyone else.
I think that’s true for so many things, more than just letting our loved ones go. I feel that way with my kids on a daily basis, no matter what anyone else tells me. And I’m feeling like it with Dad because there’s the part of me that feels like wanting him to stay is selfish, but so is wanting him to go and I feel like I’m hurting someone no matter which way I fall. This is when having friends, whether I’ve met them face to face or not, is important.
Today was kind of a rough day all the way around. Along with talking to Dad, I got a call from CtE today while they were at school. They were in their councilor’s office and she wanted to talk to me. Apparently, they were having a rough day and spent 2nd period in their Spec. Ed teacher’s room, and much of third in their councilor’s. They wanted permission to come home, but they made a promise to their councilor that they would get certain amounts of past due work finished. I agreed, though I told them I wouldn’t come all the way in to pick them up. I did get them from the bus, though. And, while they weren’t in their happy go-lucky mode, they didn’t seem particularly spiraling either. Apparently they were and I should have recognized that because me reminding them that they had to do the work and they had to show me so I could tell their councilor when I saw her tonight was enough to send them in a complete meltdown. I’m trying to find a balance for them between giving them the room they need to feel their feelings and making sure they are taking care of their responsibilities. And I guess during therapy tonight, they were feeling like their therapist was calling them a failure because they’ve been having a tough time using their tools. (She wasn’t, but that was the headspace CtE was in.)
There were, though, two good things today. One, I spent a few hours sitting on my porch, reading a book. CtE and Hubby were both working in the house. I had my good n’ plenty and my Diet Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr Pepper and my book and I just listened to music while I read. It helped realign my soul a little. The second was that tonight was BtY’s registration at CtE’s school for 9th grade. He, of course, didn’t pay much attention to anything during the registration, but that’s BtY. I was able to talk with both CtE’s councilor (who will also be BtY’s councilor) and to CtE’s Pre-Calc teacher. It was kinda cool, because when I introduced myself (the only time she’s seen me before was the beginning of the school year), she got a huge grin on her face and said, “I love me some [CtE]!” As much as they don’t feel lovable, they really have a lot of people that are trying hard to support them.
I still need to write my poem tonight. I don’t think it will be a long one. And I need to head to bed, I think. I’ve got a study tomorrow that I have to go to right after dropping BtY off at school and I’ve got several things that I need to do before leaving the house in the morning. I was talking with MFN today and he was telling me that I really need to take a complete day for myself. The problem is, I don’t have a day that doesn’t have about six different things that I have to do. I’m trying to find it, but I don’t know where yet. I do know, though, that I have to. Or I’ll probably end up crying in bed for a week.
Boo I also say this. I thought I was the only one. Yes siree bobtail.
No scorn from me. I cook egg whites in the microwave every morning, and the regular bowls get too hot, so I use paper bowls. I figure my carbon footprint is pretty low, since I don’t drive and so walk to most places. Plus I keep my apartment at 61º except in summer. My one-bowl-a-day habit isn’t so bad. And as for you, ANYTHING that gets you to put nourishment in that tummy gets a pass from me!
{{{{{CatGlove}}}}}
The Bad Girl in me would start frantically patting myself down, gasp, and cry out, “Oh, my God! The vax cooties got loose! They’re headed straight for your DNA! Run! Run like a Covid nose!”
Crunchy Cheddar? Like Cheetos??
OK, I have to smuggle my old defective electric skillet into the trash compactor. We’re not supposed to put small appliances in there, but I can’t get it to the dump.
Crunchy, like grains of salt in it.
I will pray for the best outcomes for the both of you as well. Please excuse my language, but cancer just fucking sucks and hate is too mild of a word for how I feel about it.
Oh, what a good laugh you gave me!!! TBH, us vaxers like having the extra room.
OMG, I’m going to hurt myself laughing real soon!!!
Do you have a neighbor with cats? If so, they could probably come up with a bag of used cat fud. Put the skillet in a box and put the bag of used cat fud over the skillet. Nobody is going to dig through the used cat fud to find out what is under it.
The good news is that your memory is working better than you thought, I asked shoe about tipping budistas back when she was one, so I think it’s been longer than a year. shoe…we were both pretty stoned during that discussion…and it was very mundane to you anyhow. I was the one learning, so of course I remembered better.
And D’oh. I shoulda figured that one out by myself, I’ve been to many office potlucks during my lifetime.
Well aged. And made by someone who can actually make a nice salty Cheddar…which is not this cheesemaker yet.
95% of dishes are washed. (A few things needed to soak but I can finish them easily.)
Oven is heating to crisp up the bread’s crust a bit. I have nice, cold butter waiting to be thinly sliced & melt into slabs of sourdough.
Then … yeah, I’m thinking eggs.
It’s good to be hungry again.
Wear all black, and tiptoe suspiciously. Bonus points for humming the “Pink Panther” theme while glancing sideways.
I threw the wrapper away a while ago. I’m pretty sure it’s from Trader Joe’s.
Ohgoddammit. Ungrateful bastard.
Went to throw out some trash, and a certain black cat - who’s NOT wearing his collar and jingle-bell - shot out into the night.
It’s not raining anymore, but it’s certainly wet and drippy. So why the fuck did he wanna be outside in the cold, wet darkness?
He’s usually pretty good about coming right back when he’s called, but so far - a few minutes, so far, to be fair - radio silence.
And that’s after he got not one, but two gooshy-food treats today!
Little fuckhead. He better show back up. The way people zoom down my street, it’s not safe, especially for a cat with - pardon the pun - no street smarts.
Goddammit, Monkey.