I was going to suggest sudoku or kakuro, those being my preferred puzzles, but never mind. 
If you have an Android tablet, I also recommend the Flow Free series of puzzle games. You’re connecting dots of the same color without connection paths crossing.
I made the right choice - it’s definitely breezy out there (I just went to fetch the mail.) The garden that I raked the other day needs to be raked again. Dammit.
Not sure what to do about supper. I had a big bowl of soup for lunch, so I’m not really hungry, but FCD needs to eat, and if I don’t have something, I’ll be starving around 8. I dunno.
We got the final Medicare statement for MIL’s hospice - it wasn’t nearly as expensive as I’d have guessed. Then again, it was just for visits by the nurses and aides, unlike a facility that has lots more charges. Anyway, I hope it’s the last of the stuff we get for her. I had to chuckle - the envelope said “To Be Opened by Addressee Only” - yeah, not gonna happen, Skippy.
I showed Roxy how to do the 2X2 sudokus. She whipped those out and moved on - she’s definitely got a STEM brain. Her brother, OTOH, is a little smarty-pants. Today, he went to Daughter and said “Mom, I want to tell you something.” Then he mooned her and ran down the hall giggling. What is that high-priced preschool teaching him?!?!? Grands are a hoot!
I’m thinking I’ll sleep with Mel tonight - it’s been a draggy day.
Thanks for the tip. I have only iPads (Apple iOS) but I’ll look and see if there’s a Free Glow app in the Apple App Store. I could use some more low demand puzzles, add some variety, which is good for a bonked brain’s neuro-plasticity. Thanks!
I’m trying to find just the right Solitaire game but haven’t found one yet that comes with a good tutorial.
Spelling Bee is pretty intuitive: you get 7 letters, arranged in a circle of six with one in the middle, and you make as many words with them as you can. The rules are that every word has to use the center letter at least once, and words have to be 4 or more letters long. If you make a word that uses all of the letters, that’s called a “pangram”: there is always at least one to be found. There are hints available, and you can also find out how many pangrams and possible words there are. If you decide to try it and would like some help, feel free to PM me! 
Oh excellent, thank you!!
Unfortunately, I could convince none of my friends that delicious Hatch chiles needed to be eaten today. Philistines. But we did end up at a pretty good Mexican restaurant, and their margaritas are quite tasty as well.
There’s a nice steady rain going on outside, and even the kitties seem subdued. I think it’s time for cuddles on the couch and some sort of true crime doc on the TV.
I went and tried Wordle and Spelling Bee but it seems that you have to pay an extra fee to subscribe to NYT games at those levels. I could do some words in Spelling Bee but once I got to 7 words it bumped me to needing to subscribe. It was fun though, I see why you like it. I’ll buckle down and try to make myself do the mini crossword and Connections every day-they are the ‘gateway’ puzzles🤣 and still free. I got two of the 4 Connections sets, the middle two but not the easiest and the hardest. I’m out of practice, gotta get back in fighting trim.
@Seanette, which Free Flow game do you recommend? iOS has 6 to choose from, various shapes.
I’d start with the basic Free Flow as a beginner. Some of the bits with shapes and paths that can leave the board and re-enter at the other side and so on are IMO a bit complex for someone just learning the game.
Both have their own level of frustration at times. Spelling goes quickly at first, but by the time you close in on finishing it, your brain goes into a death spiral as you desperately try to figure out those last two words. I usually have to leave it and come back much later to finish. But I have a lot of spare time. . . Wordle has its own frustrations, of course. Having a brain fart or two like I did today is especially frustrating. Then there is the whole “do I use word lists or not” argument.
I managed to man up and go for a walk today. Did about a half mile, but I feel like I could have gone longer. I just don’t want to push it too hard yet. Maybe I’ll give it another shot tomorrow.
And a good evening all. Spent a little time shopping, a couple of hours at the soccer fields, and a couple more hours at the gym, so a fairly active day for me. Resting now and with rain expected shortly and the temperature at 54F and dropping, have no plans to leave my humble abode until tomorrow.
Taters, I need to vacuum too, but I really don’t like my vacuum cleaner, will be shopping for a new one once the budget settles down. As for chores, I did bring the stepladder in and set the two wall clocks I have ahead one hour, so that is done for tomorrow (albeit it will probably confuse me tonight…).
Damn, nice to know I am still young enough to learn a new word now and then. Thanks!!
Oopsie, good luck on the job search, it is nice to know that you have some fallbacks for the next few weeks.
For other NY Times game-players, I am fond of the Ken-Ken game (kind of like Sudoku, but you have to solve equations to complete the square).
Piper, good choice, I wonder if it will be enough to pressure those tariff folks to back off…we’ll see.
doggio, the Girl Scouts got me outside of Wal-Mart today, so bought a couple boxes of Adventurefuls (caramel/brownie cookies) which I am struggling not to over-consume.
And that’s all I wrote for now. Hugs and happy thoughts to all, will check in before bedtime (whenever that is with the screwy clocks…)
That member of our group declined the invitation, so I went with traditional colcannon, complete with Irish butter, bacon and half and half. 'Twas delicious and I brought none of it home (the goal of most potlucks).
That was pretty much my experience. I wasn’t the only one walking out without a purchase either. I kind of made up for it today by stopping at Smart Art on the way home from SIL. You may want to check if you have something similar in your neck of the woods. They offer classes, thrift art and sewing supplies and employment opportunities to intellectually challenged individuals (the proceeds go to ARC). My sister in Houston always wants to hit them up when she’s in town (she quilts, knits, crochets, sews, does beadwork, etc). The bonus is that the strip mall that it’s in has a cool, eclectic array of shops and honky tonks, as well as a cat cafe.
The St. Patrick’s themed tea at SIL’s today was good. My niece was showing off pics of her new chicks (she lives on the outskirts of a kind of a town that is big into marching to the beat of a different drum and she bought 13 peeps to raise some chickens). The plan for the next tea is to go to her house and have a chicken / egg theme.
A while back we signed up for unlimited premier car washes. The monthly fees are about the same as two washes.
I run my truck through the wash almost every time I drive it. My wife doesn’t like running her car through so I take it two or three times a week so we are averaging about six washes a week or twenty four a month so it boils down to two or three dollars a wash
Howdy Y’all! We et Chinese buffet and achieved nappage and day drinkin’. That’s a full RDOS day! The four clocks that need it have been moved forward. Stoopid time change. I have Verger duty tomorrow and already don’t want to, but I shall preserve. The horrors persist, but so do I.
I bought some USDA Choice chuck stew meat from the buy-it-before-it-rots bin at the supermarket last week. Thawed (since I’d stored it in the freezer), I made chili colorado. I didn’t follow the recipe (of course), using it only to see how much Gebhardt’s they used. I used more. And I didn’t follow their cooking sequence. The result was delicious. (FWIW, I seared the meat coated in flour and salt in vegetable oil, then sautéed the onions, then added the garlic, then returned the meat – seasoned with the chile powder – to the pot and added water.) Mi Esposa had hers (with sour cream and shredded cheese) on top of Fritos for a ‘pepper belly’ (regional term, for us, for ‘walking tacos’ or ‘Frito pie’). I mixed some cayenne pepper into mine, with sour cream and shredded cheese. I had two bowls.
I’m betting you’ll persevere too.
Bet you’re good at preserving decorum though.
Yeah, well, I wish they wouldn’t hold our hands while they do it.
I’m so sorry you are getting caught in the crossfire.
I am so sorry for carless coworker. I’d look like death warmed over too if I had just given up my cats.
Knowing the way after dark and a few drinks is always a good thing, I hope you have a wonderful time!
Does this happen often? I know that the dust storms blow half way around the world, I didn’t know they were that thick.
I’ve only been to Joanne’s a couple of times because they really don’t have much for needlepoint. Back when I was finishing things myself, I liked their ribbons and lace section. I know that there are many sad people now that they are closing though and I am very sad for all of those folks who are also losing their jobs in these unsettled times.
Oh hurray! How clever of you!
I hope the drops help.
I cannot imagine anyone with a bunch of 10-11 year olds turning help down!
That’s great, especially the good results part!
I don’t think I’ve ever had an interview that lasted that long, did he have a list he was checking off or were you talking to each other?
Good luck.
If you put up a Go-fund-me account to help buy Native American costumes to wear while you burn the White House down again, I’d sure donate to it.
Stop drinking all merikan booze and don’t buy merikan products. Hit us where it hurts, when enough people start hurting, maybe they figure out what the problem is.
I am so sorry.
Back when I was working, I still had to pay attention to the time change because I was calling out of state so often. It was so annoying, first I had to figure out what time it was in NY and then figure out if it was “spring forward” or not before figuring out if the office was even open.
I always see fabric and lace in thrift stores, maybe you can find fun stuff there?
FIL died in 2018. We still get stuff for him and now it is coming addressed to this place instead of AZ.
WHAT!!! Unconceivable!!! It’s always time to eat Hatch chilies.
I found some prickly pear syrup in the back of the booze cabinet today. I’m thinking margaritas will happen tomorrow so I have limes on our grocery list.
That was a good walk, you don’t want to push it in the cold, that will trigger your bursa to get extra whiny.
We have one of these cordless vacs that work very well for us.
And wow, talk about sticker shock, ours was $279 for the entire station. In November. $449 is kinda steep, I doubt we would buy it again now. Wow. Four months. It’s happening so fast 
That’s always my goal!
I had never heard of “walking tacos” until we moved here. I still haven’t tried one, but it is a new thing so I will soon.
So not a lot happened here today. I got a swim in and then came home and sat on my butt and stitched and smoked weed and looked at the forest.
The sausage raven came and knocked at the french doors and I grabbed a hot dog and started across the gully. Smart bird didn’t waste any time flap hopping after me, he just flew straight to Harry’s bell and started ringing it like an over-caffeinated toddler. Harry always takes the hot dog, but doesn’t give it to raven then, bird gets other treats in the morning and gets the hot dog at dinner time.
That’s a lot of big brain work for a little bird with a whole bunch of steps for a future reward.
I thought I had successfully avoided the orange elephant in the room until I fired up Diablo and his cult members were ranting on all the channels. That’s fine, I’ll just play Farmville instead.
I had ordered some kitchen curtains that Hubs put up today. I looked at them all afternoon and had him take them back down so I can send them back and get a different color. I’ve always just had mini-blinds over the kitchen window in the past, but I’m going to need insulated curtains in the summer because the sun is so intense on that side of the house.
Around 1500 Hubs was out in the kitchen and told me how much he missed playing board games with Angel and Herk. I thought that was odd because we have only played board games with them twice. When I asked which board game he liked the best, he said his favorite was the one where I would arrange cheese, meats, crackers and orange slices on a board and we would all eat it.
OK, I can take a hint! I set up a “game” and yeah, he was really good at it, LOL!!!
I rode rock steady Astro in my saddle. It was like comin’ home. I love that saddle. My trainer rode Miss A who was a bit of a pill. I can’t wait til I can ride her. Got home at 6, had a Lean Cuisine, a bath, and am ready to get into bed with Ursala Kitteh.
I HATE DST.
Saskatchewan doesn’t do DST. We’re the only province that doesn’t.
The dividing line between Central Time zone and Mountain Time zone runs right up the middle of the province, so we just picked Central Time and stick with it.
Cut off the top of an individual bag of Fritos. Spoon in some chili. Top with shredded cheese and chopped onions. Eat with a fork. ‘Frito pie’ is a term that seems only to be used in the Antelope Valley of Northern L.A. County.
There are cling window films that you can put on the glass to deflect that beating down sun (under the blinds or curtains) so you can still enjoy the pretty curtains or blinds of your choice. If you want the sun’s warmth in the winter you can take it off in the fall and them put it up in the spring, plus you don’t have to lose your view of your pretty forest, trees, river, etc.
I can’t wait til you can ride her either. She still got her neck pats and muzzle nuzzles from me though, right?