(Old) Late morning for the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Morning all. Bladder alert was at 6am so given I like to do my Firday shopping early and will have to be up around 6:30am tomorrow, decided to stay awake and get the day started. Another hot one, only 72F now but heading to 97F today and tomorrow, so soccer is not going to be all that much fun. Will be more concerned about keeping the boys (and the coaches) hydrated. Once the Firday shopping is complete, nothing much is on the agenda, might get a little house-irk accomplished but that is always a 'it depends" around here.

Shoe, hope your feeling better today. Second red’s suggestion of puddling cups, small but filling and tasty.

And it’s after 7am so shortly I will dress appropriately and head to the Kroger. Have a good Firday all.
doggio, you have a true talent in making the drudgery and mundane-ness of life interesting as hell to read. Thanks for that.

Flyboy, ah, the joy (NOT!) of new, improved systems that the designers of said systems never have to use in practice…

VanGo, no walnuts on the roof here, but waiting for the usual squirrel run across my roof to parts unknown. Gald to hear that the infernal devices are about done…

Cat Glove, sounds like a most interesting day was had and finishing it with custard cones was the cherry on the top (pity the cones didn’t have one…).

Swampy, happy candling. And I wish it would be that cool around here (highs in the 80’s–we might see than by the middle of next week).

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I did some searching, and it’s looking better. Cruise lines reserve and pay for their slots sometimes years in advance. So now I’ll just worry about Amtrak sticking to schedule. We have a 3-day cushion - arriving in San Diego on Jan 26, ship sailing Jan 29 - so there’s some flexibility if we have to fly out instead. Again, that’s what vacation insurance is about.

I buy small tortillas in packs of 20 from Aldi. Mostly I use them for lunch, but sometimes they’re for breakfast, too. When the grands are here for lunch, they make “roll-up sandwiches” with deli meat and cheese. If they’re here, I can count on 6 or so being eaten in one meal. So they don’t last long in this house.

Today has started with 68 Ferrets, on the way to mid-80s. By Tues, our highs are theoretically in the low 70s. Accuweather says tomorrow will just be mid-70s. Who knows… We had some rain overnight, but I didn’t hear it. And it wasn’t enough for a driveway puddle, but all the pavement is wet.

Other than being laundry day, I have nothing on the agenda. I may ask FCD to do a trash-and-recycle run, so I’ll have to gather the household trash. We’ll see what happens.

Roxy has started her cello lessons, and as might be expected, she complained about the stupid beginner “songs” she’s having to learn. I remember those from accordion lessons lo these many years ago. Learning basic fingering and such apparently calls for inane repetitive “melody” lines with equally inane lyrics. Good times! I need to show her a video of Yo Yo Ma so she can see where she’s headed. And I should start saving for a cello fund, should she decide to stick with it. Them are not cheap instruments.

Regarding our Indianapolis trek - it’s hovering around $700, depending upon how we decide to dine on the road. I could pack sammiches, but we really will need to get out of the car and move around, moreso than we did in our 30s.

And regarding other $$, we’ve decided to cash out our CD early, take a portion and get 3 smaller CDs, and use the rest for some bills and other stuff. I need to get a quote for replacing our windows. They’re about 16 years old and they aren’t the quality we’d hoped when we got them. Several have failed seals so there’s “fog” between panes. I’d also love to get our kitchen redone, but there’s not enough in the CD for that. Dammit. We’d need new cabinets and counters and, at least, a new dishwasher. I suppose I could get a quote, but to get what I’d like won’t be cheap. The original cabinets were from Lowe’s - they’ve served well for 22 years, but they’re looking pretty ratty. Plus I’ve found that several choices that I made were not particularly wise. And I truly hate the granite. Anyway, I don’t see that happening unless a magical pile of cash shows up.

Alrighty then, a bit more reading, then I must get at it. Happy Firday!!

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Alas, no ice cream. I was in a hurry to get home and get the device working.

There was a great cartoon yesterday, and I’ll see if I can explain it. In a plastic surgery clinic called “Bippity Boppity Boobs,” a doctor sat at a desk displaying breast implants. He told the patient, “Here’s a lower cost option, but at midnight, they turn into pumpkins”

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Roadside rest stops are good for a walk and picnic lunch. You’ll likely be crossing mid Ohio, where they have some nice ones. And should you have a hankering for a side quest, the Annie Oakley-Lowell Thomas Museum is an interesting one in Darke County.

I’m due to be released today. Yay! And I didn’t realize I’d miss yogurt and fruit for breakfast, but I did.

I had a good tech overnight, but we’re going to have to have BBBoo give some instructions to the nurse. She was pretty disorganized with the pic line IVs and wanted to poke a hole in my other arm for blood she should have drawn from the pic line first. Had that been her only fault, I would have overlooked it. Fortunately, she’s not my problem anymore.

Sis said that she’d have Nelson bathed for my arrival, so he’s a sweet smelling doggy instead of smelling like he’s been rolling around in the back yard. :slight_smile:

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Her registered name (Jockey Club) is Boom Shakalaka…

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Good morning, everyone.

It’s 52F, dark and clear outside. We expect some morning clouds, but the rest of the day should be sunny, with a daytime high of 72F.

Johnny, that new system sounds like a PITA. It seems a little scary to me that signatures can’t be scanned right away because it could cause errors later. But I don’t know enough to be sure. Just my gut.

Red, I’m glad you’re going to be released, even if it’s to your sister’s place. Still, I hope your health improves enough that you can go home permanently.

Shoe, I hope you’re feeling better, too.

Boo Fae, I hope you’re coming up on the tail end of whatever got you, too.

Bright Tree, my aunt and her daughter live down in your area. In fact, my sister was born down there. I have many memories of going to Pietros down by the river.

Safeway didn’t have frozen biscuits or any frozen bread products, which is weird. I had to get whomp biscuits (we like the flaky-layer Grands). That store has problems. They never have enough checkers anymore, much less any help. Trying to get something locked up, like laundry pods, takes forever. It’s become such a problem for me that I get my laundry products either at Costco or through Amazon, and when I buy booze, I go to Total Wine. I feel sorry for the people who work there, because people are getting fed up and, unfortunately, treating the workers like crap. It’s not their fault; it management and corporate who can’t seem to staff enough people. I’ve been going to that Safeway since before it moved to that location, so close to 30 years, and few of the employees have been there about as long. Unfortunately, I’m seeing some of the long-time employees dropping off.

Anyway, the biscuits and gravy turned out good.

After the Costco and Safeway runs, I came home and puttered around, but I’ll need to run the vacuum this morning and wash the guest bedding. I didn’t get to that yesterday.

My husband ordered a solar fountain for my garden, and it arrived yesterday. We set it up, and I have to say, it really is nice. Posted some pics in the book of faces. It’s kind of late in the season to install a fountain, but we’ll get to enjoy it for a bit before bringing it in for the winter. It’s a little over three feet tall with a cascading bowl system for the water.

I guess I should start my day. Stuff to do and whatnot.

Please take care of yourselves.

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Oh, man, flashback to learning violin. Plus we did a “recital” and I pity the poor parents who had to sit through that.

Taters ain’t nuthin’ wrong with whomp cans. Do you make cream gravy, or snausage?

Glad the fountain came out nice. :slight_smile: Are we FB friends?

Thanks all, for the healing vibes or whatever hippy-woo you’re into :smiley: I’m feeling a bit better after getting some sheet-line-inducing sleep. Having a (mercifully uneventful) bio-break and then imma turn on some sleep stories and see if I can’t get some more of that sweet slumber.

At least I’m not supposed to close tonight, and I do NOT feel like making up the hours. They introduced some PTO system a few months ago, which means I can occasionally take a tiny bit of time off here & there without a financial hit.

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Back from shopping, outside of the Firday morning traffic it went well and everything is in it’s proper place. Had my Firday pecan sticky bun and finished it with a half-pint of Butter Pecan Ice Cream (hey, only 300 calories and old people can eat ice cream when we damn well please!). Now nothing but sloth and internettin’ until I feel like bestirring myself and getting some of those calories worked off.

FCM, not surprised the cruise gets priority at the Canal, the ones that stop at the ports there bring in plenty of business, so keeping the customer happy. As for Amtrak, not sure which route you are taking (via Chicago or New Orleans) but while they dependably run late, 6-8 hours is usually the limit and if you have 3 days, that should be plenty of clearance. Presume you booked a roomette or bedroom. Best wishes for Roxy and the Cello training.

red, happy homecoming. I’m sure Nelson will be delighted.

That is the most wonderful thing I have heard all week…

Taters, my Kroger usually has only 1-2 checkouts staffed when I am there, everyone else uses the self-service (Wal-Mart is nearly the same). Enjoy the fountain.

shoe, sounds like your feeling a bit stronger, hope work tonight goes easy on the system.

And now probaby a banana for the last morning calories and then see how my will-power holds up. Take care all.

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No side quests - we’ll be wanting to get the trip over as quickly as possible. It’s 10 anna half hours of driving, plus rest stops and gas stops. Once upon a time, that would have been a no-biggie. Not any longer.

She’s already told (warned?) me that there will be an end-of-year concert. rah.

We have booked a bedroom. My concern is that if the train out of DC is running late and we miss the Chicago connection, will we be able to get a bedroom on the next train? Ain’t no way we’re doing a roomette. Anyway, we shall see.

First load in the washer. Dishwasher had been loaded and counters/stove wiped down. FCD is running about so he’ll do trash/recycling tomorrow. I need to tidy the basement - I forgot to get the grands to clean up after themselves. Fortunately, it’s mostly paper and crayons.

I understand the mid-terms are a huge deal, but I’m sick of getting email begging for money, nary a one from a Merrylander. Just got one from a PA candidate, and I get tons from TX, among other places. I have to wonder if they’re pissing people off with their begging. I also wish there was a way to stop it all once one makes a donation. I keep unsubscribing.

What really perplexes me is that I’m not registered with either party - I’m non-affiliated. So I’ve wound up on lists from both sides. And I love the “surveys” that don’t get submitted till you agree to send money. I quit bothering with them.

< End of political complaints. >

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Creamy sausage gravy. Sometimes with regular pork sausage, sometimes with sage. With a touch of nutmeg. I dunno why, but I like it with nutmeg.

I don’t think we are FB friends, but we can be. I keep my page locked to friends, so we can work out stuff via PM. I’m FB friends with several people on the MMP.

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My question for taters too. I wanna be please.

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I’m sorry you got one of those. She might have been just lazy and not wanting to think much-PIC line blood draws are complicated and require adherence to a strict protocol. Youhave to stay focused and methodical vs a quick poke and walking away. Another choice might have been she wasn’t very experienced and uncomfortable because she lacked confidence. Sadly there are more of the former than of the latter.

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Afternoon, mumpers! It’s currentlyu 15c/60f with a predicted high of 17c/62f and a chance of rain. Weather app says “Fucking suck it, rain!” which just about sums up the day.

We are home from our short break in Wales, had a very good time despite feeling grotty for most of it. We did get out and walk around the main parts of the park which was very well laid out. There are nature trails and walking routes, plus cycling routes if you’re feeling adventurous. As we’d booked the more expensive accommodation, we had a kind of golf buggy per lodge so that was useful for our less mobile friends. We got together for a meal on Thursday which was fun, we had plenty of chances to catch up and chat with people although there were still folks who we managed not to talk to all week!

We had to be out of our accommodation by 10am, and have all the cars off the site by 10.30am when they lock the barrier from the park back into the car parks. Fortunately we had decided not to have breakfast so we packed our stuff up, took the buggy back to where it came from and brought our cars back up to the lodges. Loaded everything, had a last cup of tea, spent about half an hour saying goodbye to those who hadn’t already left, and we were on our way.

A few minutes drive from the park entrance is the little town of Narberth where we parked and went to the well-recommended Fforc Café for some food. After a lovely meal, we headed on our way home. We picked a route through the centre of Wales (avoiding motorways) and had a really nice drive back, despite the rain. I was running on fumes by the time we got close to home so stopped off at a petrol station to put a bit more in the tank, enough to keep us mobile until I can go to one of the slightly cheaper filling stations.

Home to make peace with the cats, who have all come out to see us. I’ve unpacked and put everything away, fussed the cats, updated my account, and am just posting this before I retire to the sofa for a couple of hours. I’ve got a cup of tea, and I’ve just had the last two pills in the pack of cold meds I’ve been taking.

I am feeling better, my head’s clearer and I’m less grotty but now I’ve got a sore throat and a serious cough. We’re meant to be at the Giffard tonight for a couple of bands, and at a music festival tomorrow so I’ll have to see how I feel. Hopefully we can have a reasonably early night tonight, and the music festival doesn’t start until afternoon so I have nothing to get up for in the morning, apart from the needs of cats :slight_smile:

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A rainy day in the Twin Cities, but the worst of it is south of us. 60F at 1030.

A lazy day, as well. The wife cancelled her dermo appointment and I begged off of exercise. A couple of sloths, we. I think I mentioned that one of the residents plays trumpet with a group that plays for a local soup kitchen. They’re going to give us a short concert this afternoon, which we’ll likely attend.

Tonight will be walleye filet, dredged in flour, egg and panko, and a side of corn onda cob.

We dragged a bunch of stuff downstairs yesterday for the garage sale. One thing I wanted to include was my old iPad from 2010, but after I charged it, I realized it still has my access PIN and there are some identifiers still in there. I’ll have to try to figure out how to wipe it. Barring that, I’ll try to trash it. Apparently, these old iPads sell for $50-$100. No idea why.

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In my family we found you can give them to a kid after putting some Disney movies, etc on them. They are past updates, etc and configured carefully the kid cant get on the internet and into scary stuff. Plus if they get dropped, who cares.

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Concur, it’s beeyyooootiful!

Envy the dead deaf.

Our night nurse might have opinions about sharing your cough in a crowded place …

One possibility is people buying them for their kids. I occasionally see astonishingly young kiddos expertly navigating through their games.

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the office tank got a bit of housekeeping today. one of the stem plants started floating out of the weight. fixed that, shook the marimo, and uncovered some sandy areas for the fish to graze. prepping for the weekend. they are very active checking out all the new grazing ground.

lager loves his harness and lead. he knows he is a cat god. he is the only cat i have/had that would tolerate harness or clothes. all of them love the pram.

all my furfaces had to anoint the clean litter box. it is an imperative.

my father from nebraska said billfold. mother from phila. said wallet.

fcm, wowsers! i haven’t traveled much beyond a train to nyc. whoa.
i like the name of the business “babe cave”. i hope they are able to recover.

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Could be. I just took a shot at resetting it, but I need to be able to access the internet to do that and I don’t feel like paying AT&T a month’s fee to use the thing for the few minutes it would take.

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Your night nurse also is starting to think, with those symptoms and duration, you might want to do a Covid and Flu test.

and agree about sharing a cough in a crowded venue. Also agree that that sucks.

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Is there a “Factory Reset” option in settings? That’s how I wiped my old tablet before giving it to Daughter.

That would be my grands. I downloaded a game for Tobias on my tablet and watched as he kicked butt on it. And it wasn’t a kid game. He’s a sharp little booger.

Roxy is even more adept. Digital kids!

FCD drove past this morning and said there was a lot of work going on already. I don’t think the business has been there even 2 years. Hope that driver has decent insurance.

We watching the video of the fire in Whittier, AK on a brand-new cruise dock. The link isn’t the video, but it’s the report of the fire. Apparently there are no hydrants in the area - they had to bring tanker trucks in to help fight the fire. I would think a big submerged pump would be a good alternative.

As soon as the dryer is done, I’ll fold t-shirts and that will be it for today. I’m thinking we need to go out for supper.