Or ends. 
“From a certain perspective.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi
Happy Friday!
I was tired this morning but we went to the park anyway.
The dogs have been a bit bratty lately so they need to get out. It’s supposed to rain in the morning, so it was good that we went today.
Echo was so excited that she whined and cried and hollered the whole way there. I don’t know what happened to calm and stoic, she missed that memo.
I needed to order groceries today but something was wrong with the website. I was able to reorder what we got last time, so I did that. I could delete things, or change the quantities, but I couldn’t add anything. I was going to switch to a different store, but their prices were so much higher I said forget it. I can also order groceries from da jungle. They say the delivery is free, but all the items are about 50 cents higher than if I order from the store’s website.
Other than ordering and picking up groceries, and a few hours of irk, I didn’t get much done today as I slept most of the day.
My son has gotten into Legos now, his first one is an orchid. It’s very pretty, only took a couple of hours. It will be the new centerpiece on the dining room table. Legos are expensive though. I’ll watch for sales.
Happy Saturday!
I fell asleep posting last night. My son woke me up and told me to go to bed and I said, okay, and fell back asleep.
Falling asleep sitting up in a chair is not good for my feet.
It was supposed to rain this morning so I turned off my alarms so I could sleep in. The GR weren’t having it, but by the time I got up it was too late to go.
No rain at all today.
It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and Moonday, and my son didn’t go out and whack the weeds.
He is going to have a hell of a time when he does mow the lawn.
He gave up on fixing the mower and said I should buy a new one. This one isn’t even a year old, still under warranty, so I need to get that done.
It seems like every time I check something off the list, two or more things pop up to take its place.
At least the trash people took the recycling this week, finally.
Anyway…
I told him if I buy a new one, I will get a riding mower, then I can cut the grass. He doesn’t like that idea, but right now, I don’t care much what he likes. I don’t get irritated with him too often, but he’s being a bit lazy right now and it’s getting on my nerves.
He watched some videos on how to fix the mower and nothing he did irked. However, I watched different videos and he won’t try the suggestions in the video I watched.
Happy Anniversary FlyBoy
I’ve driven I40 thrice. Well not the entire thing. Only Winston Salem to the other end. But I figure my years of W-S to Wilmington fills in that bit.
…
…
WAS IT ALSO FRIGGIN’ PIZZA
New schedule for next week was posted. Sweet Manager apologized in advance to me when she saw me walking towards it.
Never a good sign.
JFC that’s a lot of closing shifts.
Imma be dead on my feet by next Saturday, though if I don’t run myself into the ground & call out, I guess my bank account will be happier - that schedule should come with a bit of that sweet, sweet exhausting overtime $.
S.M. pointed out that she has NO days off next week, and I was like, “Well, then, guess I can’t complain to you!”
Needed to swing by Wally World on the way home, since my shower drain has gone from “extremely slow” to “point and laugh” … so the jug of Drain-O on my grocery list was upgraded from “should probably obtain soon” to "move heaven & earth, get some now or forever take whore’s baths, ya lazy bitch!"
Plus, since I got the heads-up about next week, I decided on behalf of Future Shoe that some easy snax & T.V. dinners were a good idea, including buying a salad thingie so I can pretend to be healthy.
And the ratties needed so. much. food. Got them oatmeal, bran cereal, brown rice (all pretty cheap) but also some flax seeds & wheat bran which are $ but provide high protein for them bebbehs.
(Bonus: the oatmeal canisters get repurposed into hidey-shelters for them, and the plastic lid makes a dandy gooshy-fud plate for Monkey. If imma throw something away anyways, I try give it one more use 1st, which reduces other resource use.)
Anyway, I was also almost completely out of toothpaste (!!) a roll or two of paper towels would be good since I was down to the last few squares, wanted some cheap ramen soup cups as comfort slurps after a long night’s work ahead, and etc.
So a six-dollar jug of Drain-O turned into 
but since there’s no way imma do any serious grocery shopping errands of any kind during next week’s schedule, I suppose provisioning now in preparation for the nights ahead wasn’t the worst idea.
… right?
The dispo by me is having a big re-branding event next weekend - new ownership, I presume. Sales, raffles, vendor booths, all that. I asked if they had a flyer (so I could remember the date) and the one they gave me said if I bring the flyer, I get a free mystery gift.
Since I have never in my life turned down free weed, I have set not one, but two reminders in my phone. My tip cash from last week is burning a hole in my wallet (it is budgeted/earmarked for the Devil’s Lettuce since it’s “extra” money that I can’t predict) but imma hold out for a week, if I can.
… and not lose the flyer!
Ah.
“Are we there yet?!?”
May we see? I’ve never seen a flower made of Lego.
Um, if it’s still under warranty, why’s your son trying to be doing someone else’s job?
I’m sure you can find better uses for his time & energy, while the experts fix the mower problem on their own dime.
Whelp, while I was composin’ all ^^ the Drain-O was doing its groovy thing, while I boiled a pot of water to help wash things down.
What? They say use hot water. What comes outta the tap at first? Cold water.
Anyway, first 1/2 jug of goopy nasty chemicals (plus pot o’ very hot water, plus lots more tap-hot water) seems to have gurgled things down a bit.
Next shower will tell the real tale, I’m sure.
Monkey has been such a good snuggler lately. As I was finishing typing all this, I thought, “imma get up, crack open a can of gooshy-fud for him; he’s earned it just by being so handsome.”
So who just hopped in my lap, gave me the sweetest little trill, and curled up on my knee?
… so I can’t get up …
Sometimes we’re our own worst enemy.
That applies to our furry friends, too. (Rats who buried one of your own water bottles & are constantly draining your sole last remaining bottle, imma lookin’ at you.)
Don’t worry about Monkey, y’all; he has moved three inches over to give my bladder some space loaf-ify next to me. As soon as I nuke my dinner or even wander in the general direction of the microwave where I stack his cans, I will have a drama-llama howling at my ankles and flopping dramatically onto the floor, reminding me with The Song Of His People how very pathetically starved he’s been.
You might be relieved to know that I had leftover chow mein for dinner. 
Doggio, does he allow you to refer to him as “Small”? “Spoiled” would also work. As he is a Cat, Scornful or Snooty would also fit.
I hear you, wet one. Too much heat just takes away all my energy. Today is cool and rainy, which is divine.
That’s good. Hope the antibiotics kick the remnants of Lyme to the curb and you don’t have any permanent damage, VanGo.
Probably even closer than the houses here. There are hives about 20 m to the closest residence here, and most people don’t have screens. I keep meaning to call the number and buy some of the honey from there - kind of cool I could be eating neighborhood honey.
I’ve done wallpaper removal - seems to be a never-ending job.
Metalmouse, are you still keeping your water turned off? As soon as I saw JtC’s comment, I was expecting a comment from you as the water problem has been such a nightmare for you.
Swampy, your RDOS game is exemplary. Are you offering apprenticeships?
Sorry, that was Thursday’s lunch. Found a recipe for making pizza on the grill and having fun trying out different variations.
Today’s lunch is chicken fried rice, using the leftover rice from Friday. Yesterday was hamburgers on the grill because it was yet another day that was too hot to cook. It finally cooled down in the afternoon so I made chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies, apple cake and mixed up stuff for making ice cream today.
Today’s big task is to figure out our cruise excursions and other cruise-related things. It seems there are a lot of people who like cruising a lot and know about all these things. My first cruise was 9 years ago, so I have to figure out all the tips and tricks again. The main thing is to make sure my parents and hubby get what they want. I’m a bit more flexible.
So I’m off to the other computer. Gotta sit at a desk to do serious planning. Any maybe do some exercises before my back desides to go on strike.
Happy Sunday!
We do not. I think some people in the highlands where there’s a big midgie problem do, but not around here.
It is common for beekeepers to give a jar of honey to the neighbours though, to make up for any inconvenient strays… It’s actually not normally much of an issue if you can have a 2m fence on the neighbour side of the hive- the bees fly above it and don’t go back down until they see a flower they like the look of, and when they’re all distracted by flowers they don’t sting unless you really deserve it. Alas, in my case, the neighbour on that side is a 3 storey block of flats, and there’s a window probably around 4m up, so that trick won’t work.
Almost done with the wallpaper- also almost done with the week off though. I was hoping I’d get some free time to do some fun stuff after, but it doesn’t look like it. Apart from the lack of time, the car’s making worrying noises and needs to go get checked out before I take it further than the shops.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 74 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 98 and mostly N.O.S. We had some big rain last night which was nice. We sat out on the back porch listenin’ to it whilst wardin’ off scurvy and malaria. The big item on today’s agenda is deheathenization wherein I have Verger duty. Then there will be a meetin’ of all who serve in various capacities, folks who would like to serve in various capacities, and NP. He wants to gauge any interests folks might have so’s plannin’ for trainin’ etc. can be accomplished. Also we will be discussin’ the Bishop’s visit next Sunday. After that 'twill be home to da cave for a sammich N.O.L., nappage, and other RDOS inactivity.
I brought Trevor over to our house yesterday since my daughter has a tiny yard and a smaller house and being a Lab, he needs to run. I took him into the yard with a soon-to-be slobbery tennis ball and threw it for him - he had a blast! But I was surprised when he headed for the door to go in. When we lived in FL, our neighbor had a lab who wouldn’t give up. They told me I needed to stop throwing for him because he’d go till he dropped.
Anyway, I expect Trevor had a good sleep last night.
I’ve driven most of I-95. All we’ve missed is maybe the northern 2/3 or so of Maine. Can’t even count how many times we’ve done the stretch from Merrylande to Jacksonville, FL. We drove from Jax to the Keys and back once and Jax to Melbourne a couple of times.
And I’ve done I-70 from its start in Merrylande to Denver (not all at once.) Those are the only big stretches for me. I’m not sure how many different interstates I’ve actually driven. Must think.
BTDT - When we bought this place, there were wallpaper borders in most of the rooms. They came down fairly easily, but it was a lot. Then there was the kitchen where for whatever reason, they put Contac paper on the walls!!! That tore the crap out of the sheetrock when we pulled it down. Ugh.
We did put up paper in the guest bathroom and it looks really good, so we’re never taking it down!!! 
We’re promised rain on and off thru late Moanday. Tues and Weds, the highs will be in the 70s!!! That is NOT August in Merrylande!!! But I’m going to love having my windows open all day!.
MIL had a bad day yesterday - she fell twice! Once in the bathroom and the second time in the living room against the piano! Fortunately, it was a slow fall, so she didn’t crack her head again the piano - it was a bump, but not bad. Still, worrisome. Her decline in recent days is scary. Then later in the day yesterday, she knocked the entire container of cookies on the floor, spilling them all over the place. It was nearly full and I hated having to throw them away, but we don’t eat floor cookies, especially with dogs and cats walking across that floor.
FCD is going to the boat today to see what’s been done and make sure he understands how they dealt with the wiring. I need to get back to working on the weather cloths, so I’ll give that a go.
Geico has sent payment to Hyundai for the wrecked car. Now I need to set up payment for the new car. Plus I need to contact the credit union here - they removed the link that I used to monitor and pay Mastercard so I have no idea what’s been charged to that account. Ticks me off, it does! Another call to make tomorrow, after my neurologist appointment.
Always something.
Happy Sunday!
I feel having this made into a sign could be a profitable endeavor for you. So many different marketing avenues… 
Morning all. Went to bed early and woke early (things work like that). Need to put on some clothes and do the Sunday NY Times run, eat-out Dinner is the Olive Garden today, then some gym time to pedal away the excess calories eating all that pasta and breadsticks are going to add. Nothing much else planned, recuperate from the exertions of yesterday. No rain and back to 92F for the high, so really disinclined to work outside.
wet one, hope the mood keeps improving.
I’ve crossed Missouri (St. Louis to KC) several times via I-70 and have done I-65 North to South in Ali-Bama, but compared to Texas they are minor.
red, sounds like Nelso may have had the best day of us all.
Sari, there are a couple Lego-Maniacs among the MMP’ers, maybe they can suggest less expensive build projects for Son. And Get Enough Sleep!!
Shoe, that’s what happens when you become the ‘go-to’ dependable person; they keep going to you–just dream about the next paycheck.
I had never heard that before and had to look it up. The things I learn on the MMP…
Yes, it’s kinda become an ingrained habit now, I do need to leave it on for a long period and check the usage so I can determine if it’s getting worse, but it’s kinda appealing to me to go out and turn it on/off while recording use–why, I don’t know, like I said, just becoming a habit. (and like Bruce Willis as Bilbo Baggins, Old Hobbits Die Hard…)
Dicey, as one who has cruised a lot, my only suggestions is to book excursions via the ship and get a drinks package, as buying individually on the ship can get really expensive unless you are very cautious.
FCM, so sorry for MIL and all of you, just waiting… {{{Hugs}}}. And I try not to have cookies in the house (my will-power is weak regarding chocolate chips) but I do follow the 3-second rule regarding my floor (and I ain’t dead yet).
OK, off to eat a banana, get dressed, and obtain reading and puzzle matter for the week (takes me that long to wade through the Sunday Times). Take care all and have a good day.
By the time I got out of my recliner and into the kitchen, it was much longer than 3 seconds. And I still had to help her get her walker and point her back towards the living room. Plus she’d forgotten why she was there in the first place.
I swear, I clean more stuff off the floor from her than I ever did from toddlers.
FCD has gone to the boat yard. His mom wanted him to wake her at 7. Because reasons. He didn’t and she’s still in bed. I’m going to take advantage of it and grab a quick shower. Then I need to plan for a trek to Penney’s so she can get underwear. Dunno why Penney’s - probably the same reason she had to get socks at Target. Because reasons.
So I have that to look forward to.
I have decided I can’t take it any more. No more trashy novels. The series I started with were well-written and I really cared about the characters. After finishing everything those 2 authors wrote, I moved on to others.
OMG!! They went beyond trashy to inane. In the last one, the hero was a spy and his aunt was also a spy who faked her death so she could continue spying. The one that pushed me over the edge took place in an imaginary country run by a ruthless dictator who was holding an English ducal heir who he suspected of being a spy. That was it. Just too stoopit, even for trashy.
So now I will try to read all the books that most people had to read in high school but we never did. Starting with To Kill a Mockingbird. No, I never read it. Another is Animal Farm. Not sure what else but I’m sure there’s a list somewhere.
ETA - ok, I found a list and it appears I’ve read more of them than I thought. But now I have a list.
You scared me with your opening line.
Its raining and I must walk 7 minutes to church.
Afternoon, mumpers! It’s currently 19c/66f with a predicted high of 20c/68f, and partly cloudy. Weather app says “Mild weather is fucking perfect for pansy asses.” OK, I can live with that.
Our little venture into Wales was fun, the drive down was reasonably uneventful and we made pretty good time. Arrived mid-afternoon and couldn’t find the way into the hotel’s car park. That ended up not being a problem because their car park was full anyway, and the place we parked charged me a whopping £2 in total for my 24hr stay.
It was only a 5-minute walk from the car park back into the town to the hotel, and then up several flights of winding stairs to our second-floor room (that’s 3rd floor to you 'murricans) which was large enough for 4 beds
After a quick change of clothes, we went back downstairs and got a drink, and sat on the patio outside the front of the hotel chatting to a couple of the locals. We saw four of our friends from home walking down the road so they stopped for a chat, then eventually we went to a pub just by the castle and met up with a couple more people.
The rest of the night went pretty much as expected, lots of singing, some hugging, a few drinks, some unexpected encounters and at the end of the night, we all went home happy. Got up this morning and went to a café across from the hotel for breakfast, then a leisurely drive home to feed and fuss the cats.
I’ve driven I40 as far east as Raleigh and as far west as Albuquerque, but most of my miles have been in interminable traffic around Nashville.
Nope. Pan grilled pork steak, sweet corn, a nice garden salad and a peach for dessert.
School’s back in session.
I’ve done I70 from Indianapolis to Denver. It can be pretty boring at times.
I’ve driven I65 from just outside Chicago to Mobile, so pretty much the entire thing, although the segment from Nashville to Indianapolis gets the most frequent use.
We finally got a decent rain last night. Yay! I’m up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP / Sunday chores.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Due to our collective mobility issues here lately, I bought a Roomba-esque robot vac. I’ve just fired it up for the first time and I find it quite entertaining. It’s also providing me with a slight bit of exercise as I run around the room picking up things that it might get stuck on!
Started Typing: 9:26 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 10:36 AM ET
Happy Sunday morning, all!
It’s kind of yucky outside today – currently only 74°F, but cloudy and quite humid with a 50% chance of thunderstorms later – so I will happy spend an entire day in the house for the first time in almost a week. Unless Wife BFF asks me to join her for lunch or dinner: Husband BFF won’t get home until late tonight/tomorrow morning, and my “nephew” and his GF went directly to Texas to spend a few weeks there while GF’s semester starts (his classes this semester are all online). Wife BFF might enjoy a full day to herself, or she might want some food or something later today. I’m on standby. 
Friday was my last day working from Wife BFF’s dining room table. I took the afternoon off work, so we went out to lunch and then did some shopping. She had a return at Land’s End, where I bought a polo shirt and a rain jacket, then we went to Michaels so she could look for a frame (she found a perfect one; I bought a small LED plywood Halloween decoration to use my “paint” markers on). From there we went to Kohl’s, where I bought a few more things (but forgot to look for new bed pillows…sigh), and after that we were both tired and it was time to go back to her place. I packed up all of my work stuff and loaded my car, and got home at a little after 7pm. I’m really glad I was able to spend a few days working from her place, helping while her men are out of town (plus I like her a lot), but it was also good to wrap that up.
Yesterday I turned my home computer on for the first time since Tuesday, and spent the morning catching up on personal administrivia; at noon I went to the gym, and met with my personal trainer. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home, then took a shower and exhaled as I finally sat on the couch with no plans for the rest of the day/night (another friend of Wife BFF’s was hanging out with her in the afternoon, so she didn’t need me yesterday). I was somewhat productive, though, re-organizing my plastic food containers – including finally throwing some very old/stained ones away. I also did my laundry, which was overdue (and I wanted to wash the new clothes). At one point, I walked past the door to the third bedroom and thought the doggy looked particularly cute:
https://i.ibb.co/qWSYjrh/PXL-20240817-131521177.jpg
(The pillow says “All you need is love and a dog named Bailey.”)
Late afternoon I started coloring my plywood decor, and also started disassembling two Lego holiday wreaths: a few weeks ago I decided that I don’t actually like them that much, so I’m taking them apart and will donate the pieces to my nephew. Lego will be releasing a new holiday decor item in two weeks, and I like it enough that I’m planning to get a couple.
Normally I reply to quotes in the order they were posted, but this time I figure I’ll continue with the Lego talk first:
Very cool! I welcome SariSon to the Adult Fan of Lego (AFOL) world. 
Here is a link to the Botannical Collection. Wife BFF’s birthday is on Thursday; I’ll be giving her the new Plum Blossom set (I coordinated with her son, who will be giving her the new Chrysanthemum set).
Also, here is the dried flower centerpiece I put together last November:
https://i.ibb.co/C62D6YT/PXL-20231018-015101693.jpg
They definitely aren’t cheap; especially more complex sets. In addition to sales, if Sari is on FB she might want to keep an eye on Marketplace for people selling used pieces/sets. Also, sometimes there are stores selling used Legos: a chain called Bricks & Minifigs recently opened a location not far from me. There might not be one of those near her, but there might be something similiar called something else.
Oh, and Sari, if you don’t already know: the Lego website allows you to filter by price (as well as interest, theme, etc.).
You consider Food Lion to be a little guy? 
Yay for low bars! 
Definitely not! In fact, that was pretty freaking smart.
Every now and then I manage to think ahead for myself: whenever I “find” something perfect in the freezer/pantry that I’d forgotten I bought, I will actually say out loud, “I love me!”
My foray into trashy novels a couple of years ago ended abruptly in the middle of a book when it turned out that the main female character’s name, Abra, was short for…wait for it… “Abracadabra.”
“Whore’s bath” as in I spent last night at a little “European-style” hotel in Washington and there’s a bathroom in the hall and only a sink in the room.