Just had 2 potato pancakes; off to make some cucumbers with dressing.
Started Typing: 5:49 PM ET
Clicked Reply: 6:47 PM ET
Something I forgot to mention yesterday is that my TiVo is now a brick. 
I came home from Saturday’s volunteer event to find all of the lights flashing: research pointed to a corrupt hard drive – one blog mentioned “the flashing lights of doom” 
– and attempting a hard reboot confirmed the diagnosis. Since cutting the cord 10 months ago I’ve rarely used the DVR function, but the ability to record every now and then + the channel guide had been worth the $15/mo. Now, though, I’ve decided to try life without TiVo (or any DVR capability) for the first time in ~20 years.
I moved the dead TiVo and its accessories to “storage” (aka the 3rd BR), but I’ll hang onto it for a while: they no longer offer an OTA model, let alone one like mine that can be used with either an OTA antenna or cable, so if I decide that I miss being able to record shows I’ll just replace the hard drive. Doing so will be much cheaper than any other DVR out there, and TiVo still gets the highest interface ratings*. For now, though, I’ve downloaded the TV Guide app on my iPad – which is always in front of me when I’m in the living room – and that (free) channel guide is working just fine.
*I’ll admit to being super intrigued by the Tablo, but it’s useless to me until there’s an Apple TV app (which the site says is “coming soon”)…and the cheapest model, which is the one I’d want, is ~$84 more than buying a new hard drive. But if I decide that I miss being able to record OTA shows and the Apple TV app becomes available before I buy a hard drive, I might just have to try it.
Me and my TV addiction + my love of new toys… *sigh* 
Speaking of new toys, earlier today I ordered my next two Lego sets: the Retro Radio, and Notre-Dame de Paris. Notre Dame will be my largest build to date, in terms of number of bricks; it’s on backorder, which is fine because I’d rather tackle the radio first anyway. These sets will be #16 and #17 (I finished #1 in March 2023).
I am not comparing you to a dog, but Bailey has been taking gabapentin for a month or so now and sometimes I wonder how she really feels! It does make her sleep even more than usual, but my hope is that it’s truly helping her arthritis pain and worth the tradeoff. 
Most of the time I’m pretty glad that she can’t talk to me, but every now and then I wish she could…
Holy area temperature differences, Batman! 
Yay!! 
I’m not planning for it, but there’s always a chance that someone in the audience will take some video. 
You and Spot might like this tuxedo cat Lego set. 
That’s very cool!
Except the above isn’t true. The president issued an executive order freeing all enslaved people in the Confederacy (slavery wasn’t illegal until the 13th amendment), and two years later federal troops arrived in Texas to enforce it in the last stronghold. Juneteenth is the anniversary of that good day.
I really like those colors!
Got the upstairs AC installed. Ironically, that made me sweaty.
Glad to hear FCD is back in Merry-lande.
Hippie That is beautiful work!
I’ve got chicken about to be pulled to make tacos, once the broth reduces.
Happy…what is this Tuesday… all.
Yup–all the way up to 44 degrees as I type. Very green, lots o’ rain/snow this spring. We had 4’ of snow at the house in May.
Think of them as medicinal.
They also tend to be on the most stolen list, partly because young guys like to modify them and partly because they tend to have many carry-over common parts from year to year.
My Aunt Lily had one of those parking spots. Over the years, she and her family lost about half a dozen cars to folks leaving the bar down the street and missing a curve.
Nice work hippy!
Irked up front today, cursing the misuse of packing supplies all the while. Came home, called the vet to get Nelson in Friday morning and et supper. Nelson’s appetite has been a bit off, so I scrambled an aig for him again, then got the bright idea to get more kibble than he’s voluntarily eating into him (he’s predictable, so I fed it to him, one piece at a time as unlimited treats). He’s now chewed a raw place on his booty and his knees have been licked shiny, poor baby.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Thank you. Potato salad included potato, carrots, celery, red bell peppers, hard boiled egg and from the garden: freshly picked green onion, chives and parsley. I was just about to put in the last ingredient (that had been vinegarized) when my phone rang.
It was my Manager. The auditors were at the office wanting to count all the cash including cashier banks, change fund and petty cash fund. His Mom had surgery and he was either picking her up or at the hospital, I’m not sure, but he was unavailable. He was just calling to give me a headsup. I said that I could go and be there in 5 minutes (I had to put the last ingredient in the bowl, take off halter top and put on work shirt); did not change out of shorts or sandals-they could just deal with it. It turned out fine; one of the cashier banks was 25 cents over and the cashier who was currently working was 11 cents over. All the rest of the banks and the change fund and the petty cash were right on the money. The auditors were very grateful that I jumped in my car and drove down (the 6 blocks) so they didn’t have to come back another day; although I was told I needed to do a reimbursement request tomorrow for the expenditures that were made from the petty cash fund. I replied that I’m not going in again until Friday and I’ll do it then.
I decided to have a coney dog instead of knockwurst since there was leftover chili from a few days ago. Hubs still had a knockwurst. We’ve tried and eaten a lot of different hotdogs over the years and settled on Hebrew National as our favorites about 10+ years ago. It was so tasty with the chili on top. The baked beans were Bush’s; it’s Hubs favorite.
In between working on the potato salad I was watching Colbert from last night; (yes, we have a tv in the kitchen). He’s doing live shows in Chicago Aug 19-22 so I tried to get tickets, had to go on the waiting lists.
After I returned I refilled Hubs pillbox for the next week and updated the medication inventory schedule. The Dr didn’t change any dosages after Hubs blood draw results yesterday.
Going to watch the Olympic swim trials again tonight. The US has awesome swimmers. Each country is only allowed to enter 2 swimmers per event. I feel so bad for the swimmers who don’t make the top 2 because in some of the events, the top 3-5 US swimmers would beat the rest of the world so instead of the US getting gold, silver, bronze, only 2 of those medals could be won. Although Australia also has a very good swim team so the US swimmers need to taper well.
I was not a competitive swimmer; we swam in a lake at our Grandparents cottage every weekend from May through September. I was on the synchronized swim team in HS. Our daughter was a competitive swimmer; she could have gone to Northern MI U on a scholarship but my opinion is that if you are not going to make the Olympic team or at least be invited to trials, you should not be on a college swim team; there’s so much more to college than classes and swim practice. However, I was the Assistant Swim Coach at my daughter’s HS for her first 2 yrs when she was on JV. Stopped when she moved up to Varsity.
Truer words were never spoken.
FCM Very glad that FCD will be home this evening.
ours is Wright thick cut; what is yours?
That is wonderful, it’s going to be so beautiful when it is done.
Our new housekeeper is planning on spending an hour with me tomorrow. We are going to do plastic canvas together
It has been dealt with.
The old set was 12 years old, so I settled for half their replacement cost and full delivery fee. It is still going to be way too long before they are delivered. All I wanted was bog standard white H/E front loading machines and it is looking like 6 weeks out no matter where we get them.
I offered the old set to the kids across the street, but it looks like they are splitting the sheets so it will just stay with the house. People like knowing that they won’t have to buy new appliances when moving in, so they will be a little selling point.
Bless your heart.
Bad, BAD! Imma gonna get a newspaper subscription just for you!
That sounds wonderful. A beautiful drive and you got paid time and mileage I’m glad you enjoyed yourself and am slightly jealous of all the wildlife.
Hubs had disconnected them, but pushed them back against the wall and the movers wrongly assumed that they were transferring with the house. Hubs was so used to them being there that he didn’t see them when he did his final walk-through and signed off on the job.
So…mistakes were made by everyone involved and an acceptable compromise was reached.
Did you know that you can get a smart dryer that you can control with your phone? You can set them up so your phone rings when the cycle is over and you can hit a “snooze” button that will turn the dryer back on for 10 minutes while you finish your thread.
Don’t you mean “smack him upside the head and then load those”?
Those pots sound very pretty, I’m glad you found them. And a new fence, nice!
The weekly produce box is something I’m going to miss a whole lot. I hope I can find a co-op or something so I can start getting mystery boxes again.
So…what was in your goody box? Inquiring minds want to know, LOL!!!
That is an excellent idea! As I have all of our spices in a plastic bin on the kitchen counter, now would be a great time to get started. (I can’t really get started putting things away because I need all of my stuff before I get started.)
Sounds like a great day for a ride!
Death by AC is one of the things that is country wide. I have a jacket always.
I hope they do as well. I’m a big fan of public transport and used it extensively whenever it has been available. I looked at the bus routes here and will probably start taking the bus for errands that don’t require carrying more than one bag. (It isn’t really a bus, just a van and they come to your door, but I can still call it a bus, can’t I?)
I’m so happy things have gotten back on track for your Beautimus Bunny, also happy that you will stop bouncing off the walls waiting for her, LOL!!!
I don’t know what sort of geese hang out in AZ, but I do know that more than one auto body shop in the valley have turned to guard geese because the dogs weren’t working.
I like geese. I would have geese if Hubs hadn’t been traumatized by his grandma’s geese when he was a kid. (he almost got pecked to death after he kicked one and then all of the adults laughed at him) I can usually get my way with him, but geese are a hard NO!
IF I KNOW THEY ARE DRIVING!!!
I’m going to be so happy to have my comp again, typing on my tablet is the pits.
Of the year TBH!
Have you ever really looked as swimmers? They are perfectly toned, no bulging muscles, but almost perfect bodies. And then they are wearing tight, skimpy spandex while flexing and moving and covered in water.
If you really want heat, I’ve got a home for sale in AZ. It was 106 today.
Oh NO! Change the kibble maybe? That sounds like an allergic reaction and petfood manufacturers don’t have to hold to the same standards as human food factories do.
So today we had a T-storm with lots of sideways rain. Poor GG hasn’t heard thunder in almost a year and he didn’t have his sissy to cuddle up with. I should probably put a blanket under the bed for him. Our real estate company sent us a monogrammed fleece blanket “We’ve got you covered” and GG likes it because it feels good on his toes.
Our birds are flying now, the parents care for the babies for a few weeks after they start flying so they are still in our soffit.
I went downtown and mailed the latest patterns to Mom and then bought a book* of stamps because the rate is going up again next month. I got the hummingbird stamps and the post office lady said she had them all over her yard. I will be happy when our feeders get here, I want hummers too!
*stamps don’t come in books anymore, they come in sheets and strips…what are they supposed to be called now?
Yep, they’re home. I’m already treated to MIL asking Alexa what time it is. I don’t get the obsession with the time. She has no appointments and no schedule, but she’s constantly asking the time.
I’ll tell you what time it is - it’s my bedtime! < grumble grumble > Taking my cranky self to my room.
Up from naptime, watching hockey and having a Manhattan. When I woke up, Spot grumbled, glared at me with closed eyes for a sec, and then sneezed in my face. Thanks, dude.
Yes. N275UP has frequent fire issues. Brown also loans it out the the USAF. 
I’ll be working, but the Teamsters at least got MLK Jr. Day as a paid holiday on the contract.
Yeah, he keeps mumbling about replacing me with an anacephlic orangutang for my failings.
“At last, a statue to celebrate my small Godhood.” - Spot
When we did a hockey convention back in 2011, we had a Jewish blessing over the hog.
You’ve known me how long, and you haven’t yet?
Poor Nelson. Hope the vet can fix him up, red.
Good grief, that’s ridiculous. I got the same set, no frills H/E, granted mine is a top loader washer, a couple years ago and it was like 3 days. IIRC it was from Lowes. And nice dudes showed up and took the old crap away while dropping off the new stuff.
ETA The pandemic has messed with how long a couple of years ago was. 2019?
2020 was one hell of a decade, wasn’t it?
Good synopsis~I’m going to have to remember it. When I finally remembered to loosely equate slaves with Russian serfs, it seemed to make more sense to her. At least she was kind and didn’t let her eyes glaze over.
I think it’s important to demystify culture like holidays for newcomers so they can fit in, participate if they want to but at a minimum know enough that they don’t make any faux pas that embarrass them. They need to know that Halloween is all about silliness, frivolity and fun, July 4th has components of fun and celebration but also has traditions to respect, as does Juneteenth and that some holidays can mean very different things to neighbors on the same block. Deep down it’s all about respecting each other’s experiences and traditions and being authentically open and welcoming.
This same Ukrainian and I had a delightful 15 minute discussion about kolaches that same day. Turns out Ukrainians have a similar pastry but call it something different. She was pretty surprised at the concept of poppyseed filling-poor, deprived child. I didn’t even try to explain rhubarb filling. What they call a kolach I would call a Kringle. Mostly I just want to eat all of them.
*sshhh, don’t blow our cover.
And it comes with a H/E front loading washer and dryer, hookups included!
The USPS seems to think they sell stamps in sheets, books and coils. Only a few styles come in coils and those are large number sales-we’d probably would call those rolls. The ‘ books’ as they call them are strips when they hand them to us and we fold them into a book. At the rate I’m using them I’ll be surprised if I finish using the sheet of 16 Snoopy stamps I have in my lifetime.
But it was incorrect; please see what Oopsie wrote (which is correct).
Thanks, I did see that and ticked that away.
Stainless steel rat, foo foo meaning fancy. Not a bread type. Fancy French milk bread. It worked, it was acceptable.
Dogbutler, lager enjoys sleeping in the bathroom sink. It is one of his favourite spots.
Coppertone, potato pancakes are the best! Now I want some…
Jtc: I always have a jacket, sweater, or longsleeve something. In our office I have a light knit sweater, heavy knit sweater, and blanket. Others in my office have shawls, blankets, afghans, hoodies, and hand warmers.
Also 2 words, water polo. That is all.
Our office has tomorrow off, so far I have sleep in and eat breakies out. After that, who knows. I may get something other than laundry done
fcm, I ask my device what time is it all the time. My wake word is computer. Looking at my history will show I ask for the time and weather nearly constantly.
It is great as I can’t see the time on the clock next to the bed. Computer, what time is it?
Never had the opportunity before! We couldn’t get newspapers delivered before work in the Lakes and didn’t want them after work.
Now I can have the three times weekly (with Sunday comics) delivered to a newspaper tube mounted on our fence. I’m seriously loving it here.
I could get a top loader in about a week and I could get a red set in three days. I guess red appliances are going out of style because it was less $ than the white ones. Shit got weird when the world ended and most things haven’t recovered. I have opinions about this that involve much bitching about corporate greed, but they are probably better left unsaid here.
You care so considerate and kind.
Indeed. Not only that, it will be on Zillow by the weekend. With AI staged furniture.
GG just ran into the room to tell me that there are deer in our yard. This is most exciting for him, he wants me to open the door so they can play.
The silly things come out of the forest behind our place, cross a very not busy street and then over the train tracks to ignore all of the lovely grass and clover in the beautifully groomed creek behind us and then jump over our fence to eat the weeds by the heat pump.
Whooo. Mind blown, must explore new thing!
I’ll reconfigure that to: ……Juneteenth is the anniversary of that good day a Union general showed up in the territory of Texas to begin enforcing that Emancipation decree.
From the website of the National Museum of Afro American History:
…Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas …
From the same website:…. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control.
The Emancipation Proclamation took effect At the stroke of midnight January 1st, 1863. It was some years before freedom from slavery was realized through all the United States and territory.
… The Emancipation Proclamation , declared by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 during the American Civil War , only freed slaves held in confederate states. Only through the Thirteenth Amendment did emancipation become national policy. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The joint resolution of both bodies that submitted the amendment to the states for approval was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865.
Don’t ever have family.
Got up at 0430 this morning. Had a two and a half hour commute to the office, worked, and then a three-hour drive home. I had a hot mortadella-and-provolone sandwich, and was working on a glass of TJ’s plonk. The phone rang. It was my sad-sack sister, letting me know the electric company is turning off her power tonight. She said they did a test, and her solar panels haven’t been working for a year. (Not really sure how that works. She got a ‘free’ solar system that she has to pay for with increased taxes, so the $20,000 system will end up costing $60,000. 
) SDGE gave her four days’ notice… with the deadline today. $1,573.61, that has to come out of the rental house account. By agreement, I get the same amount of whatever she gets. And I’m holding over half of her share of the rent so that I can pay her property taxes at the end of the hear (because if she got the full amount, she’d spend it and not be able to pay her taxes). So the house account is now seriously depleted.
God, I hate healing with this shit!
Yeah, I think I’m going to stick with the other job where I trained last week.
This one had wanted me to stay til 4.
Last night my church called and said they were going to help me with a bus pass.
I told the guy and said, I may need to go at 2.
He said, if you’re going to leave early we can just end this right now.
Um, well.