Never on a ship in 23 years. Seabees don’t do water.
Made breakfast for the wife again this morning: fried egg sandwich. A bit tiring but not bad. Had another decent night’s sleep. PT this afternoon.
Good morning!
It’s 61F and a little cloudy outside, but the expected high is 81F with mostly sunny skies.
sari, yikes, I wouldn’t expect to have to replace a transmission on a vehicle with only 19,000 miles on it, either. I’m glad it’s under warranty.
metal mouse, sorry for the need for such an expensive vehicle repair. That really does suck.
kitap, yay for good numbers! I’m very happy for you!
nellie, yeah, the PA would get on my nerves too. He either doesn’t have people skills or is just a class-A jerk. Either way, I’d nip it in the bud. He sounds like a condescending, well, I won’t use the word here.
nettie, very good news on DH’s employment! I’m glad it’s working out for you both.
So, we did end up going to Deception Pass State Park and walking the short trails down to the various beaches. I wanted to go to the bottom of the bridge, but my husband refused to do the stairs, so I had to be happy with what I got. The state park is actually quite nice and has lovely campgrounds too. It was a bit of drive up there, and we stopped for lunch at a little diner just a few miles before Deception Pass. After checking out the bridge from above, and then checking out the state park just a bit beyond the bride, we explored a little of Whidbey Island, which is quite nice. I could see myself living there if I didn’t have to work for a living. We drove from one end of the island to the other and took the ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo (back to the mainland). We hit rush hour heading south, so it took a bit to get home. I’d like to return to Whidbey Island, but instead of taking the ferry back to the east side, I’d like to take the ferry to the Olympic Peninsula and come home that way. If there had been more time left in the day, I would have done it yesterday, but I needed to get home to Polar to give his meds and feed him.
The weather was perfectly gorgeous; not too hot, not too cool. The sun was out and the sky had beautiful cloud formations too.
https://stateparks.com/deception_pass_state_park_in_washington.html
https://whidbeycamanoislands.com/
I was going to head up to Mount Rainier today, but slept too long, for once. Maybe tomorrow, we’ll see.
My vacation is winding to an end, and I have to return to work on Monday. Damn it.
I best get going with my day. Need to water the posies, cut the grass, etc.
Take care!
Per the original topic, I have fitted sheets in the wash (and hopefully not turning into a hopeless knot) plus some towels and a blanket on tap for the next round.
Oooops, there’s my reminder to do the Laundry Switcheroo! B.R.B.
Well, you certainly paint a lovely mental image with words.
What, you got, like, some kinda job to do?
Pfft.
Considering I buy “people food” to feed my rats, I find this absolutely hilarious.
{ Shoe has entered the chat }
Congrats on the good news, by the way!
I’m not entirely sure what happened (did they scam you out of your debit card somehow?) but either way, it sounds like a ball of suckitude.
I have Xfinity, too. I hate how snotty their automated system sounds when it confirms my name, like it’s mocking me on a middle school playground.
Thanks.
I treated myself to Chinese food last night, which I { ahem } generously shared with G.C.
I let him eat most of my dumplings and an entire package of Runts Gummies (that I was sorta kinda gonna bring to work today) and if that’s not a sign of possible twuu wuv I don’t know what is.
Oh, and he’s supposed to come back tonight, which would be our very first two-in-a-row. If that pans out, imma go into Long Night shift a very happy little camper. (If underslept and in need of lots of stretching.)
Maybe I should look into Tai Chi …
How lovely! Very tastefully done.
I do hope you include “sit on butt and relax for a bit” as one of the items.
I join my fellow Mumpers in having very many happys for you!
Thank you for sharing this tidbit; the world needs more good news. Good stuff happens; we just don’t hear about it as much, and often it disappears without a trace.
I’ve never seen this AngelKat imposter, but having viewed photographic proof of G.G.'s good looks, I’d say your friend has good taste.
(I’m sure Angel is lovely, too.)
What a bittersweet memory, funny & poignant at the same time.
Sometimes the nicest thing you can do for someone is to let them do something nice for you.
(Please remind him of this; it’s absolutely true.)
I once ordered a long-sleeved shirt with thumbholes; when it arrived, the sleeves were sewn on backwards. As in, the thumb hole was on the pinky side.
I still have that shirt; cracks me up every time I wear it. Clearly either someone’s first day at the factory, or their last day. (Or both.)
I join my fellow Mumpers in their collective indignation on your behalf. That is some crap bedside manner.
BuT nObOdY WaNtS To WoRk AnYmOrE! 
You never built a pier or an amtrac ramp?
Closest we ever came was building a causeway at Red Beach. It rode on pilings and was supposed to allow boats to unload tired vehicles. It even got written up in an engineering mag. They should have waited. When monsoons blew in, the entire causeway broke its moorings and the pieces sailed on down towards Camron Bay.
Good morning, everyone! (Dear Miss Manners, When greeting people in other time zones, should one reference the time in one’s own zone or in theirs? (signed) A Day Late and I’m Definitely Short) Today’s plans include limping to the pharmacy to pick up a slew of meds the PA ordered and sorting through clothes in my dresser. I’d like to rearrange the furniture in my bedroom, but my Crabby Appleton knee wouldn’t like it.
I think I figured out what’s up with the PA. Let’s call him Id. His big, fragile ego got cracked when I came in to see the doc despite him telling me the doc would tell me the same thing Id would. The fact he was so wrong in his diagnosis and prognosis widened the crack. His options then were to be meek and apologetic or treat me as someone who blew a not very serious issue into something major. He chose the latter. If I’m told I have to have another appointment with Id, I’ll insist on having it with Dr. M. instead and will explain why. I’ve had lots of practice ratting out students to their parents in a way that gets the message across without antagonizing anyone. I’m sure Quietly and other teachers on here know what I mean.
Taters, sounds like a lovely hike. I love ferries and wish there were more routes so I could use them more often. True confession: here 7 years, and the only island I’ve been on is San Juan. Whidbey seems fascinating! I hope you get up to Rainier tomorrow!
This is my question as well. I sure hope that’s not what happened.
I see Xfinity has met Id.
I was in first grade during the Cuban Missile Crisis. A savvy classmate told me, “There are missiles in Cuba , and they’re aimed right at the US.” I had a vague idea what missiles were but no clue where Cuba was. It could’ve been the next town over as far as this little ignoramus knew. My dad came home early, and he and Mom sat in the kitchen drinking stiff highballs while Mom cooked. Dad NEVER came home early, and they never drank before dinner. (This scene was repeated only once, when JFK died.) I said, “Daniel O’Malley says there are missiles aimed right at America.” They said, “Oh, no. Nothing to worry about,” but they said it in that same bluff, hearty manner they used when they said a shot wouldn’t hurt, so I wasn’t completely reassured. I wish your mom had been sitting outside my door.
Ha! I love this and will steal it.
You didn’t like my cards? 
Happy Friday, all!
Today I’m kind of sore, and a little tired (I’d really like to stop having to pee in the middle of the night). But the sun is out, I was able to have the windows open until lunchtime, I should be able to log off work a little early (in another 60-90 minutes), and tonight I get to be a sloth on the couch with my doggy. Woot!
Yesterday’s training session was good (see: kind of sore), and I’m all handed off to the new guy. I’m sure I’ll still see the first guy around the place. I had no complaints about him at all, but I’m optimistic about the new guy. And even though the gym is a bit more crowded at the later time, I think it will work out much better in terms of my day job (for my own comfort level, anyway; my boss doesn’t care).
In other news, I actually have weekend plans!
Tomorrow morning there’s a Zoom meeting of one of the volunteer committees I’m on: it’ll be my last meeting as a member of this committee, which I’ve been on since I joined the organization three years ago, because becoming the chair of another committee is taking up more of my time than anticipated. The chair of this committee has been on my nerves a bit in the past couple of years, and I’m ready to not deal with him anymore, but the other people are good so it’ll be bittersweet. The same committee is having an in-person social gathering on Sunday afternoon; it’ll be nice to see some of those folks in person at least one more time.
Tomorrow night I’ll be going to Georgetown to hear some jazz piano. 
I really like the pianist and it’s been four years since I heard him in person, so I’m looking forward to the show. It’s at 7pm, which means I’ll be home by 9pm – which, honestly, if I have no one to hang out with is just fine with me (I’m going by myself). But if the second show isn’t sold out and I feel like sticking around, I’ll be allowed to without having to pay extra.
I might do some shopping on Sunday before the social gathering. 
I recently got $100 from my company as a service award for my 5-year anniversary: we used to be able to turn such awards into Amazon gift cards, which would have helped with the wedding present and 3 birthday gifts I need to buy within the next month, but that wasn’t an option this time. Lots of the available stores were places I never go to, but ultimately I decided the best option would be to turn it into a Kohl’s gift card. I like Kohl’s, and it happens that I could use some t-shirts, hats, and socks to wear to the gym: $100 could go quite a long way towards those (if not all the way), so I think I’ll spend some quality time at a Kohl’s before meeting up with everyone and having a late lunch.
I may also take Bailey to daycare for a few hours on Sunday (while I’m out): she needs a nail trim and a brush-out, and it’s been a little over a month since she was around any other doggies. She’s an old lady and doesn’t like/need to go play nearly as often as she used to, but it’s still good for her from time to time.
I did read it…and, ugh! 
This tickled me.
(And I know some other bears who would love it, so I’m gonna steal it!)
Exactamundo.
The more I think about getting rid of it, the happier I get about the idea of being able to rearrange the stuff in that room for the first time in 8 years and better organize everything…I’m also motivated to do some cleaning out (big plastic container of cables and cords that I’ve had since the '80s and don’t connect to anything anymore, I’m looking at you!).
Oh, I’m totally expecting that to be the case. I did post it for sale yesterday, to my neighborhood FB group, but I figure I’ll have to cut the price…dramatically…pretty soon. 
And this weekend I’ll post it in my regular FB feed, free to anyone who wants to come get it.
You weren’t supposed to notice that.
You might want to look over your shoulder for a while…
#purinaconspiracy
YAY! And I love the “his and hers pizzas.”
So pretty!
Oh, that is WONDERFUL! 
The answer is …
The Gate Gourmet company is indeed international. They’re owned by a Swiss conglomerate. But there’s no corporate connection to Purina. But that checkerboard is not part of Gate Gourmet’s branding nor does it have any connection to Purina.
In Ecuador, all airside vehicles have the red checkerboard painted somewhere on the side. Every fuel truck, baggage cart, push tug, honey wagon, and yes, catering truck.
In the early post WW-II days, lots of airfield shacks and antennas and obstacles and such were painted in a checkerboard pattern of white and a specially designed shade of orangish red. Lots of stuff still is painted that way, but lots nowadays isn’t, at least in the USA. I suppose the idea was to make these obstacles visually obvious. Some examples: airport orange checkerboard - Google Search
For whatever reason the Ecuadorean FAA-equivalent likes the idea of checkerboard “Look at me!” signs on the sides of airside vehicles.
By contrast, the Mexicans don’t have checkerboards on their vehicles. Instead each and every one has 1 or more amber rotating beacons or flashing omnidirectional LEDs. At night a big Mexican airport is a sea of flashing amber lights, like a meadow full of fireflies on steroids.
Made Greek style tuna salad(cukes, Kalamata olives, red onion, Penzy’s Greek seasoning) for lunch, along with an Aviation cocktail, in honor of Pilot.
The Volvo station wagon was like that, a real beauty, but nothing but trouble. Sort of like a ex-girlfriend who had been cursed by a gypsy while being born in an abandoned asylum built on an ancient Indian burial ground.
A greeting to a specific person should be addressed according to their time zone. A general greeting can be done by the addresser’s time zone.
- Mrs. low class Manners.
anonymous note:
dogbutler sleeps with the puppies.
I want to say there’s a shack at RDU still painted that way, but I haven’t been in a bit. Speaking of RDU, the Army National Guard is doing its AH-64 Apache training today, so the Tinfoil Hat Brigade on both ends of the political spectrum is foaming at the mouth.
Call me when you start assembling the holiday carbs. Those are really nice, though.
Just got back from my walk. I passed a couple of people I see all the time, and we finally stopped and chatted. (So my average pace is a little under 3 mph today.) Strangely, I didn’t get the name of the guy’s dog.
Afternoon all. Swimming and sauna are complete, the dishwasher cycle should be ending about the time this message does, and unless the Parks Department is really being b****y, we ought to have soccer today, so that should get me out for several hours. Have loaded the car with soccer stuff and will add some more items before I go.
Speaking of the car, the check engine light is off and it seems to be running more smoothly…still plan on getting it serviced, but wish I knew what that mechanic did…
Pilot, thanks for the information, seen Gate Gourmet trucks at a lot of airports and figured it was an Ecuadorian thing, but an interesting reason. And the Mexico City airport must be a madhouse to fly from at night.
Oopsie, glad the training handover went smoothly. Enjoy the jazz and the shopping.
OK, need to unpack the dishwasher and gather up the stuff for soccer. Take care all.
Man, what a day!!! My main task was labeling outlets in all the classrooms with the electric panel # and circuit breaker #. Not a difficult task, but it involved a lot of walking back and forth, plus going up and down the ladder more than a couple of times (for outlets in the ceiling.) Then I had to replace 3 plugs, which wasn’t hard, but it did require identifying the circuits so I could throw the breaker, then up and down the ladder a couple-few times. Oh, and I swept up some insulation that had fallen when we were working in the ceiling, and I gathered together FCD’s tools so he could spread them out in another room…
Tomorrow, I’ll continue identifying outlets and help FCD however much I can till SIL brings the grandspawn to me. Then I’ll take them home till their mom claims them. But the rest of today is for chillage. I’m beat!
Howdy Y’all! A nice day of sloth was had here at da cave. We had quality cee-mint pond time, achieved nappage, day drank, and fixed and et sup. Kitchen cleanup was then accomplished. Now 'tis rainy/stormy out which I like a lot. I think I shall go consume a beerverage out on the back porch and watch the storm.
Busy day. Chiro at 9:45 to help my locked up SI joint. Then a 20 mile drive to the barn for the farrier and of course he, my friend and I jabbered for an hour. Drive through Chick Fil A for crispy nuggets which I chowed on my to PT. Dinner is breaded cod and smashed tatie fries.
Thank you all for the nice words about the cards.
wet one, I had about the same luck with card exchanges and don’t do them anymore either. However, I do have a lot of family and friends that I send winter greetings to.
Your day at Deception Pass sounds relaxing taters.
The apartment is clean, laundry done, supper et (a big @$$ salad with fake crab) and am now relaxing with a small, reddish dog in my lap. I need to hit the hay early tonight to make sure I don’t sleep too late tomorrow and even earlier tomorrow night in prep for the ungodly irk hours next week. I have an appointment for an oil change tomorrow at 1100 in the old town, so I’ll catch up on some reading at the dealership.
Here is a vid taken by a passenger out the left side of an airliner on a almost completely clear day just about like mine was. If you got the wing out of the way that’s sorta my view out the side. The snow-capped volcano makes an appearance a few minutes in. Darn pretty.
And here’s a sped-up vid taken from the pilot’s POV looking out the front doing the same thing on a more typical day with lots more cloud cover but still clear & interesting below the clouds.
Six months can become permanent with any luck. Congrats to you both!!!
Damn {{Sari}}. Now it’s a transmission?!?
Yaay kitap!! Here’s hoping this problem is licked for good!! Major league {{hugs}} on the end of an ordeal.
If I’m going to be asked to do something for a friend, I’d far rather it be what I do for a living that is easy and for which I have all the tools, than for something I’m an amateur at and will hurt myself doing. Back when I wrenched on cars I’d much rather change your oil or fix your carburetor than help you move furniture. Etc.
I can see that hubs’s heart is in the right place but IMO his head is misaligned. I’m definitely an amateur at head realignments, so don’t call me to fix that, either. ;).
Cookie it’s good to hear you stringing two or three good days in a row.
I get the Seabees don’t spend much time on ships. One big problem with the ocean is the damn surface just won’t stay graded. And bulldozers float almost as badly as anvils. But I figured some time in all those years you must have had a harrowing USN water encounter. If not it must have been pretty memorable during civilian life.
'Zactly.
Nellie: Tell the doc in no uncertain terms that you were this close to quitting their practice and / or calling the Medical Board on that loser. PAs are supposed to be extra good at patient interactions; not especially sucky & clueless at them. The doc needs to know this Id doofus is harming their business.
My brother flew for the Navy from NAS Whidbey and I visited a time or three. And took both ferries more than once. Truly amazingly beautiful country. Lotta retirees on that island; hard to make a living there though. For somebody who’s a real PNW water and forests kinda person that is real close to paradise on Earth.
As I was reading along I was thinking G.C. was one of your critters and I was going to suggest you are really just asking to wake up in a pool of cat vomit or dog diarrhea after mis-feeding them like that. Then I remembered G.C. was a human. I hope he returned some sort of suitable favor 
for all the fine snacks! Eating your duumplings. Suuuure that what they were. :evil leer:
I’m truly touched. Thank you. And you found some crème de violette? Wow.
Her Ladyship has been Dolly Domestic today cooking up a storm of interesting stuff. Post-dinner there were dark brown espresso martinis with thin twists of yellow lemon peel that shall be renamed “The Nightly Heave” in honor of our dear Doggio and his line of irk.
Did a Queen’s Park Swizzle for evening cocktails, and I’m watching preseason Packers handegg. Life is good. And I did laundry, so not completely sloth-y today.
I like that particular seat for flights. I can see scenery and watch the wing work.
Awwwww.
Evening all. Weather held so I worked out with the 6U and 12U soccer 'jamboree’s" (teams haven’t been made up yet, so we get all the kids together and let them all practice/play), so that wore me out just a little. Still had a “TBD” on my weekly menu so I cashed it in for a Mickey D’s Quarter Pounder and fries. Will pay for it tomorrow by having Instant Breakfast with NoFat milk and a big bowl O’Sallit for sustenance.
Pilot, lovely video. Did you ever land at the old Quito Airport (for most of the folks here, the new airport is situated high above the city, while the old airport was right in the middle of the metropolis and had a reputation of being difficult to fly into.
FCM, at this rate you’ll never need a gym membership like several of us…you’re getting plenty of exercise on your own.
OK, it’s already 9pm and I still have things to complete. Take care all and on to the weekend!
Back to the original topic of the week. Sunday is my laundry day. I tell my preacher friend that I do it religiously. It came about because I used to rent the lower level of my house out to others but we shared the kitchen and laundry. They got Saturday as laundry day and I got Sunday. That way, if either of us needed an emergency wash during the week, we could almost guarantee the machine was available. It worked so well that I still do major washes on Sundays.
When I was sheets, they share the tub with other items, but the sheets go into the dryer by themselves (even without pillowcases) precisely so they don’t wrap the other items into a ball of damp stuff that can’t get dry. Hey, it saves me from frustration.
They got my debit card number from me and my bank alerted me to the high possibility of scammers posing as Xfinity. Apparently, it’s a huge problem. Thank you bank! Unfortunately (literally because I have no fortune) that was my only “credit” card so until the replacement arrives, getting gas, groceries, etc. all has to be done with cash. And, yeah, that xfinity voice is irritating, too.
So now I can’t even get my internet yet because no credit card and because I don’t trust anyone I talk to on the phone to give them my SSN so they can do a credit check. Crazy world.
Do not be surprised if I go missing again next week. It will be this very issue holding me back.
Re: Chinese food. That, or Thai is a regular go-to for me to be sure I get my vegetables.
Cookie, I’m glad you are making progress. Keep up the good work.
nellie, that PA sure needs to learn how to make small talk. He’s probably been awkward his whole life.
JtC, by the time I was in high school, we were using the Duck and Cover video as a comedy session in history class. It was a treat meant for graduating seniors only, but they rest of us knew about it and would sneak into one of the two groups that watched it each year and we would all laugh and laugh. Because, seriously, you just can’t protect yourself in an instant. Luckily, my school had teachers who didn’t hesitate to poke holes in official history stories.
kitap, I love it when all the news is good. Yay on you!
sari, 19,000 is very low mileage for trannie problems, I’m glad it is under warranty. But it should not have happened in the first place, IMO. I vote replace.
metalmouse, I vote win a new vehicle through the lottery. Because that just sucks to deal with.
Wheelie, sacrificing to the phone gods sounds like a good solution. But sacrifice what?
We finally got a bit of rain last night after bedtime and then this evening had a proper late spring storm, with tornadoes, hail, and buckets of water and then it was done with. So now I know that my top floor apartment is noisy and apparently has a small leak over the kitchen area. Thrill. Not. Oh, and my car has a couple of pockmarks from the hail. All because I decided to save money on Wednesday to wait another month before paying for underground parking. Yep. You can blame the hail on Murphy’s Law. But knock on wood, at least the car is running.