I mentioned that I saw a Halloween display in Cracker Barrel last week. Insanity!
The kids are here and we’re watching Peppa Pig. First load out on the lines, second in the washer. So begins my day.
Morning all. My friend’s home is in the line of big sound from the annual fireworks show. That stopped at 10:30 but then all the the big show wannabee’s started up. Maybe I’ll get some sleep tonight. Oddly, I used to live closer than my friend to this particular big show, but had a couple of ridgeline hills blocking the worst of the sound. I am now very grateful because I lived there for many years. A nice, cool high of 75 is expected today and I’m looking forward to it. I’m off to irk. Should be a good day.
The booms started at dusk it subsided around 8. That’s when I went to the barn to check on Ariel. A microburst hit, flooded the indoor arena, turned a shed on its side and threw it over the fence, pulled a gate off its hinges and took down a tree. Ariel was supposed to be outside but fortunately staff left the horses in due to dire weather predictions. She was fine but it hotter and humider than a swamp. I saw some pyrotechnics on the drive home and things were over by 11.
More storms predicted today although it’s sunny now. Going out to lunch with my gal pals. One is going for lung surgery next week, the other is recovering from back surgery. We laugh a lot about our health.
Aaack. The bangs and kabooms lasted all night. I think most of them came from the house across the street. One August night several years ago, what I thought were fireworks turned out to be gunshots from that same house. Two people seriously injured and later jailed. I guess they really, really like loud noises over there.
We got notices yesterday that they’ll be painting the building today, so we have to remove everything from our balconies. I’ll be hauling in two faux-Adirondack chairs, a folding table, and my plants. I have nowhere to put 'em, so I sure hope the painters get done today. And I feel sorry for them, as it’ll be 92º.
I’m a lot less anxious about the knee now that I know what’s going on. The die has been cast. My cousin says I’m a badass for walking around on such a mess, but if I don’t follow doctor’s orders (once I get some), she’ll remove the “bad” part.
Thinking of cookie and hoping all is going smoothly.
Jack, thanks for the video. For a minute, I got to feel like I was hiking again. And I, too, love that last photo.
I’ve only been through there, but I get the impression there might be some great hiking trails nearby. Have you ever been?
Sadly, you’re not alone in that.
yanks, yay for kids landing on their feet. I’ve been through that awkward stage where your less dominant eye must take over. It’s a weird, trying experience while the brain adjusts. Sounds like you’ve really been through the mill!
JtC, what a great story!
Wait a minute. He didn’t unpack his own luggage?
sari, I hope the boot and PT help!
That is the ultimate silver-lining take on things. I love it!
It’s virtually Monday. It’s my first day back to irk after a week’s vacation and two days of holiday.
Got up at six, logged onto VPN, and then tried to connect to my orifice computer. No joy. I suspect they’d had a power failure and my computer is off. I got into Outlook online and sent an email to the people who get in early. The guy who generally gets in between 0700 and 0730 has an automated reply saying he’s not in the orifice until tomorrow. The woman who generally gets in a little after eight says ‘I’m on vacation this week peeps!! :)’ The woman who is usually here when the early guy is, doesn’t have an automated reply; but I think she may be working from home due to an injury. So I’m dead in the water until someone comes into the orifice.
From last week’s MMP:
Trader Joe’s currently has beef birria in their frozen section. It tastes just like the ones I got off of the taco truck that periodically parks next to Beach Cat Brewing down the beach. We got corn tortillas. TJ’s is just the meat and sauce, and you supply your own tortillas.
nellie, there a good many trails near Leavenworth. Colchuck Lake Trail and The Enchantments trail spring to mind immediately. Those are both rated Hard, but there some easy and moderate trails too.
So the Union walked out of the negotiations last night. To quote Scotty, “the haggis is in the fire now.” But at least union members get strike benefits (the non-union folk are SOL as N.C. is a “right to work” state)
The heaving went Ok for a Wednesday. I was in the sort aisle, which was a nice change.
SWAG: so if they have to give hm meds, they don’t have to hunt for a vein.
Per the Mayo Clinic website: “Diuretics can also affect blood potassium levels. If you take a thiazide diuretic, your potassium level can drop too low (hypokalemia), which can cause life-threatening problems with your heartbeat.”
: twitches uncontrollably :
But glad the kids are landing on their feet.
Yes.
things were a bit unsettling this long weekend in philly. i mostly huddled in the house and streamed on the tv.
as i’m on a highish floor, i can see fireworks all around from different areas. last night the ones in new jersey went off at around 9ish, and the ones at the art museum (which i hear but only see reflections) at 11pm. thunderstorms delayed the ones at the art museum.
lager was not happy about me going to work. he really enjoyed the lap time this 4 day weekend.
Die_Capacitrix, which Leavenworth will you see? The one in Kansas? I’m in Topeka, so if you pass through let me know.
We would go camping near Icicle Creek and then stop at Leavenworth for our taste of civilization when camping. We’re not staying in Leavenworth - way too expensive or kitschy.
No, the one in Washington state. I keep forgetting there’s another one. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever been in Kansas. Have to ask my mom.
Hubby got the dreaded SSSS for our second flight tomorrow. Last time we flew neither of us got chosen, but the time before that I got the honor. Doesn’t seem all that random.
Someone got to the office at 0830 and turned on my computer, so I got logged on – two and a half hours late. Seventy-three emails. I’ve whittled them down to 53, 52 of which are ‘high priority’.
One of the emails was a voicemail generated by Outlook. It looked scammy from the transcript, but the transcripts are often inaccurate. I listened to the profanity-laced recording. I suspected it was a pissed-off debtor who doesn’t want to pay his bill. I forwarded the email (with the VM attached) to El Jefe, and he confirmed it was a debtor and sent it to the Collections department.
Howdy Y’all! Provisions have been procured, laundry has been laundered and put away, and we accomplished nappage. Needless to say we are all worn out from all the effort! Except for the makeage of sup, I vow to spend the rest of the day in sloth and general overall uselessness as is my right as a retired drain on society!
Oopsie I see the slice of cake by your name, so happy doperversary!
I am built exclusively of skin & bones. Besides keeping the goopy bits inside, the only thing skin is good for is radiating heat outwards, leaving me and my insides colder. The only thing bones do is keep my shape from resembling a slug. They don’t make heat either.
I’m about as close to being cold-blooded as it’s possible for a mammal to be. As a general rule the hotter it is the more energetic I am. Just like an iguana. If it’s not hot where I’m standing, all my spare energy goes to shivering.
I’m the type who feels more energetic and awake if the weather is cold. Heat just drives me indoors to huddle in the A/C, cursing and counting the days until it cools off - which is usually about mid-November here.
Must be the genes I inherited from my Norwegian ancestors. God knows how I survived in southern California for my first thirty years.
Yesterday’s slice of celebratory cake has made me loggy. I keep yawning. The day off yesterday has also made me totally discombobulated as to what day it is. I’ll need to hang a sign around my neck that says Wednesday to get through the remainder of the day.
Mom came by for dinner last night, which was nice. We aren’t usually in town for July 4th, but I’m glad we were here for this one. Normally mom and I get super ambitious and make complicated, fancy dishes that make us both completely exasperated because we worked so hard cooking and no one helped (usually because we kicked everyone out of the kitchen). This year we just chucked some chicken and baked beans in the oven, sliced some tomatoes, sauteed some fresh green beans and crisped up some fries in the air fryer. To top it off, we bought a cake from Aldi. Back when I was little, eating such simple food on a holiday was nothing less than sacrilegious. This year it was delightful and I got to spend more time with her. I’m going to miss this.
It’s also in the 90s outside again, as usual, and super muggy. I’m hoping it’ll rain later. I, too, hate being cold. During the summer I use cost as a handy excuse to open the window next to my desk and jack up the thermostat to 77F, making everyone else sweat (yes, I’m selfish that way).
Kids returned to their mother after less than an hour at the playground - it was freekin’ hot there! Hardly anyone else showed up, so Roxy was bored. At least it was a short stay.
I swung by Shoppers on the way home - they had wings for $1.49/lb so I got 2 flats (28 wings) - FCD will have 4 tonight, and I made freezer packs of 4 each for future meals. Durn good deal it was!
I’ll have the last of the veggie soup for supper since I’m not big on wings. And I’m hoping it stays hot out since it rained on my laundry while I was at the playground. Dammit. It wasn’t a long shower, but I expect everything out there is a tad damp. Worst case will be a short tumble in the dryer.
Other than that - chillage.
God knows how I avoided freezing in my first 20 years in coastal SoCal.
Funny how different people are.
Unlike many women, I tend to run warm: everyone said that after weight loss surgery I’d be cold all of the time, but I never believed it had anything to do with body fat and even as a 5’3 size “M” I’m usually warmer than many. I have almost zero tolerance for humidity, though, and snow and ice get in my way/on my nerves. So while I love all of the seasons and can’t imagine living anywhere that doesn’t get all four, I generally have the most energy in spring and fall.
It’s been a busy first day back at work (after a week), but at this point I’m feeling caught up enough to waste some time with y’all…even though I have a proposal deadline of sometime this evening (any time before midnight). I should be able to finish within an hour of whenever I turn my attention back to it, but I told the proposal coordinator I wouldn’t be done before 7pm: I like to set the bar low, and build in some slacker time. 
I’m still more tired from the trip than I would have expected. Happily, once this proposal section is done I have no evening plans.
Tomorrow morning I go back to therapy: I missed last week’s session due to the funeral, and also missed the week before due to Bailey having a dental cleaning (I wanted to be home/available whenever the vet called). I might break up with my therapist soon: it’s helpful but I don’t feel like I’m getting all that out of it, and I think I’d rather put the $$$ toward a gym membership/personal trainer. At this point I feel like regular exercise is more important to my success than therapy. We’ll see. I’ve only been going for 8 months. I won’t say anything to her until I actually pull the trigger on joining a gym/finding a personal trainer.
Writing about exercising is tiring me out…I should get back to this proposal section, so I can call it a day!
Aww, thanks! 
Hard to believe it’s been 19 years. I was 32 when I joined…just a kid! The secret to not being banned* has been my since-day-1 deliberate and continued avoidance of GD (and now also P&E). CS, IMHO, and MPSIMS are all I need.
*so far
Afternoon all. Swimming and sauna are complete, also stopped at Kroger to pick up a New York Times (being an old guy, I still like my news to leave a little ink on my fingers…but at $4.00 a day, 1-2 times a week is fine). Half-pound cheeseburger is on the menu for tonight, so that should keep me filled up. 90F outside and only a 1-in-4 chance of rain today, but the chances for precipitation are about 50-50 for the next week, so somewhere along the line we should be getting rain.
Ended up buying a 3-piece London Fog luggage set at Marshall’s, so I should be set for the next 10-12 years. As for the old bags, BBBoo suggested that Foster/Women Shelters/Homeless Shelters can use them, which sounds like a very good idea so I’ll look into it.
Oopsie, if you go looking, check into as many gyms as possible, I visited about 5-6 local places before finding the right combination of locale/equipment/price.
talkie, glad you and Mom could just be you and her and have some fun together in the kitchen.
flyboy, you’ve provided one major reason I never wanted to be the Big Chief; bet Collections will have a lot of fun with that character.
doggio, hope the bosses come to their senses on the contract.
nellie, hope the painting went well.
Almost time for a little TV watching, so catch up with you later.
We got a LOT of rain late last night, starting around 11:00PM Fireworks had still been going full blast, so I expect that this evening we will have more afterdate boomers going off than there usually are.