(OLD) Out and About in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Well, the repair guy did his groovy thang and El Frigorino is no longer making unpleasant noises. There was quite a bit of water/icemelt to sop up, so a very wet towel is in the warsh along with a coupla hoodies, since we apparently skipped spring and went directly from “snow” to “air conditioning” and I won’t be needing those for a bit.

A frozen pot pie is in the oven, and a newly re-emerged Monkey and I are just chilling, before Long Night tonight.

Oooooh, and in best news from my corner in a while, both tax returns (this year’s, and last) both mysteriously materialized at the same time.

Plus, since they were direct deposit, I actually have $ in my checking account again (rather than relying on cash) so I can order stuff off Amazon and Chewy be all responsible and pay bills.

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The window treatments are up and they look very nice. Though it turns out some of the window frames aren’t perfectly squared, which is mildly irksome. Kind of wish we’d gone with full outer covers (Like this) instead of ones that fit inside the frame (Like this). But Mrs W prefers the more streamlined look, and she gets what she wants.

Last night some of our new neighbors invited us to game night. 3 couples, including us, all very nice people. We had a lot of fun playing Mexican Train Dominoes. Don’t necessarily want to do it every Friday though; if they ask us next week we’ll have to make some excuse. Neither of us really care for regularly-scheduled socializing.

Mrs W’s birthday is Tuesday, but she’s going to be out of town for work, so we’re going out for her birthday dinner tonight. She picked a nice Italian restaurant nearby.

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I stayed up Much Too Late last night finishing my lego movie theater and rigging up the LED kit - it all actually went surprisingly smoothly! Per Boo’s request, here’s pics and a video.

I haven’t anything at all that needs doing this weekend, so I’ll just be doing some light tidying and lots of TV and reading.

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Habemus catus

Spot is currently hiding under my bed. I am currently waiting for Wake County Animal adoption to call me back, so I can put a deposit on Darci, so I can get her as soon as they excavate her naughty bits. :dog:

Niner, I love it!

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Happy Saturday!

Red, I did the math because I’m all nerdy like that, and assuming Nelson has his full set of teeth, the cleaning cost $22.42 per tooth, or, to put it in currency Nelson would understand, about 270 Milk Bones per tooth. It’s enough to make a small, sweet dog swoon.

JtC, “flying food” always makes me chuckle. G. George must keep you two entertained nonstop.

I read this as “a dose of generic Daiquiri.” Best. Party. Ever.

I think it lives at my house. In fact, it’s my roommate. I try to get it evicted, but my lease keeps disappearing.

Ugh. My sister and her hubs do that because it makes sense to have that money earning interest instead of leaping into Uncle Sam’s capacious pockets, but it drove me crazy, so I switched to having it withheld. It’s worth the peace of mind. YMMV.

Taters, a long time ago, when I was still a homeowner, I looked into battery-powered lawn mowers, but the run-time back then was only about 30 minutes, and we had about an hour’s worth of lawn, etc.. They’re probably more efficient now, and you’d never have to remember to buy gas for it.

I really wish health insurance companies would cover dental insurance, as dental health has such an impact on overall health. But then they’d charge us even more. I hate all health and dental insurance companies and hope there’s an especially hot section of Hell for them, a section where they’ve all got abscessed teeth and weeping sores and have to listen to endless Music on Hold, punctuated by, “All of our agents are currently assisting other customers. Did you know you could get the answers to many questions, instant relief, and a guaranteed pain-free future if you’d gone to heaven-dot-com?”

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Warshing is in the dryer, so it won’t mildew on me.
Pot pie is assimilated.
Monkey has chased some treats. Must scoop out his litter box tomorrow, in anticipation of Trash Day. But that’s Future Shoe’s problem.

Soon: pants! And pizza!

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It is incredible! Those lights make it stupendous!

Thank you for the pictures and video.

(ETA: this is re Boo gushing about the Lego movie theatre)

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Sorry you have to wait but it’s lovely news!

So glad :clap:t2::clap:t2::clap:t2::clap:t2: TPTB had the good sense to honor Darci’s vote.

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Thanks, Boo and Butler! It has big Disneyland-Main-Street vibes and big Christmas-lights vibes in addition to the obvious old-Hollywood-theater vibes, all of which are cozy home-feelings for me. So I think it was a good buy (it’s a Chinese knockoff of the original set, which is out of print and $400 on ebay. I don’t like buying counterfeit stuff, but I can’t afford $400 and it’s not like it would go to Lego anyway.)

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Howdy Y’all! Mowage of the church house grounds got accomplished. Had a shower and achieved nappage. Soon I shall eat a sammich and some chips as I feel hongry.

Niner way cool!

Doggio woohoo for new doggie and kitty!

Shoe glad fridge is fixed and free of extraneous noises.

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Afternoon all. Left home for the soccer fields about 7:40am and got back just at 3pm, after refereeing 3 games and coaching another. No problems and I don’t feel too bad, thanks to the weight loss and exercise routines, but boy my feet do hurt some. Rain is expected from 1-5am tomorrow, so hopefully it’ll dry out enough that I can accomplish the first mowage of the season Sunday afternoon/evening.

Niner, really nice construction there.

doggio, I wait with bated breath (no, I don’t eat worms) for the first pics of Darci at your residence.

nellie, I have separate dental and vision insurance I got from the US Government when I worked there and got to continue them in retirement, about $35/month for dental and $12/month for vision. So far I haven’t had the hassles you’ve had, but give me time…

shoe, that extra money, even if it doesn’t last long, is such a nice surprise.

Flyboy, glad the Mrs. was able to get some relief. I’m not a big fan of chiropractors, when they stick to stuff like that it’s ok, but some try to convince folks they fix most anything and that I don’t hold with. Still, what works best for her is still good news.

MG!!, (gentle tacklehug). Glad you stopped by, we all remember (and think about) you.

Taters, looks like it’s battery season in the MMP; first me, then you.

Wolfie, hope the paperwork shows up and your refund is soon in the bank. And glad it was just an eyelash and not a scratched cornea (have had those and they are miserable).

FCM, hope the party went well and your cold is abating.

Yep, even the Arabs use it that way, but infidels have to be careful in it’s usage.

JtC, hope the Coleslaw is a hit at the party.

Pilot, sounds like quote the fancy night out.

Whew! Exhausted just trying to catch up (apologies to anyone I missed). Now need to finish the Saturday You Tube browsing (Kara&Nate have a new video up along with a couple REACT channel things). All y’all take care.

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I think I was posting when you were doggio, so I didn’t see the good news until now. Hooray!! I’m so happy that the Mumper family will have a new dog to love and send virtual scritches to–and, of course, a new kitty.

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Lunch was had slowly as the fast-breaker, then eventually bodily cleanness and a cozy nap.

Along the way I learn that I’ll be irking all 3 of my on-call days Sun-Tue. For my particular spot as a cog in the giant machine, day-prior notice usually signals crappy work.

In this case I lucked out: all mornings (my fave) and easy each day. Best of all, be done and home by lunch on day 3 if all goes to plan. So zero chance of skating on this irk-week, but also nil chance of getting grossly bad work unless the wheels fall off someplace.

The plan calls for up & out early Sunday morning, off to Guatemala City, spend the afternoon through overnight there, then two hops to La Guardia in time for comfortable dinner then bed, and up early again on Tue to zip straight back to Miami then to home. 3 days, 4 flights, all decently long and weather forecasts seem benign. Pre-dawn wake-ups but all daytime flying. “Bankerly work” we call it. As in easy and civilized. Then again the gods of airlining have a mean streak a mile wide and a cruel, cruel sense of humor. We shall see how well it goes.

I think I’ll try driving to the local train station rather than driving all the way to the airport. The train has proven a bit slow but pleasant recently, the train times happen to be reasonably convenient and I find the worse the freeway construction gets, and the more people who move to Greater Miami (net growth over 300 per day every day of the year), the less I like the drive except at 4am when I can haul ass nearly alone.

Good to hear of the progress on Darci’s adoption.

Niner that is a pretty model. Nicely done. Bravo for slamming it out at one sitting, but isn’t the idea to take a week or two and have one of the critters help you lose a critical piece along the way?

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Same for us, tho mine costs a tad more since it covers 2 of us. Well worth it!

The partyers are gone and the house is quiet again. I stayed away - better to spare them all my germs. And wouldn’t you know, the skies opened just as Daughter and SIL were getting ready to leave…

Instead of a cake, she ordered cupcakes from Harris Teeter. I have to say, I was mightily unimpressed. The cake (both chocolate and yellow) bordered on dry, and the frosting was just meh. They looked pretty, but definitely not worth $11/dozen. Once upon a time, Publix had a great bakery - Daughter’s first wedding cake came from there and it was amazing. But I’ve heard they no longer bake in-store. Sad…

FCD doesn’t want supper. I want something but I don’t know what that would be - kinda have a hankerin’ for Chinese. Or maybe a giant salad. I don’t know. Frankly, I just want my nose to stop running.

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They certainly do here in FL. Breads and cakes. Plus of course as incredible a decoration job as you’d like.

I expect the bread dough and the cake batter come out of pails from a factory someplace. But the cooking and/or assembly is in-store.

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FCM, I’m glad the party went well, though the rain could have waited until Daughter and SIL had gotten HOME. I don’t think I’ve had either Harris Teeter or Publix cakes before. HT, I think I’ll skip based on your review. Publix… maybe I’ll try it. I usually get mine (when I don’t make them) from Kroger.

pilot, yay on sorta completing the Ultimate Coffee Makage. And yay on the combination of making money and having it be shifts that you don’t mind. It’s wonderful when things come together like that.

shoe, yay on the cold holder no longer making noises! An even bigger yay for your tax returns appearing. It DOES feel good, doesn’t it? I’m just glad that bit is taken care of too. I’m joining you in a pot pie, though I’m letting Hubby make one from scratch. I ate a little on the way back from Dad’s so I can wait a bit for it to be ready.

I had a friend do something similar to me today, though he basically shook me off the ground instead of bending me into a pretzel. Glad it helped her! I’ve been thinking of going to a chiropractor myself, but I worry about the scar tissue from my back surgery 18, 19 years ago.

Wheelie, enjoy Mrs. W’s birthday dinner. And make sure she enjoys it even more.

Niner, that is amazing. I’m in serious awe of your work on that. Just wow!

doggio, Spot isn’t going to let anyone invade their space. (Sorry, but I think I missed Spot’s gender further up thread.) Yay for Darci joining you soon without her naughty bits!

Nellie, I like the way you think. I mean, I did work for a health insurance company in my misspent youth, but I regained my sanity and moved to Philadel… never mind, I only regained enough sanity to have stopped working at HIP.

metal mouse, sounds like a long day. I’m glad that you weathered the day fine, though I get the feet hurting. Looking forward to the rain tomorrow here so I some of today’s heat will bleed off. (Of course, being an apartment dweller, I don’t have to worry about lawns and things like that.)

Today was a day, but it all worked out in the end. I was running just a little late getting out of the house this morning, but even with stopping for gas and my addiction Sonic drink, I still got to MFN’s place right when I’d planned. We got to the car lot right at 9 and after a test drive and signing LOTS of papers, MFN now owns a new-to-him truck. It needs work, but it’s mechanically sound. He was like a kid in a candy store the whole time we were there. I was glad to see him happy, especially since I got a poem out of it.

Got to the rehab center around 11, finished packing the few things Dad needed packed, and then we waited. And waited. And waited. Because for all that they told him he needed to be out by noon or they’d charge him for another day, they didn’t have any of the discharge paperwork ready. It was after 1 by the time we left, after making sure they were back-timing the discharge time. The drive up to get him home was easy, traffic was pretty much nothing the whole way. We grabbed some McDonald’s on our way because we were both kinda hungry. Once I got him home, I got him set up, put away all his stuff, made sure everything was where he needed it to be, then headed home. Now I’m just relaxing, playing a little on the computer and, soon, reading another book or two while I wait for Hubby to finish the pot pie. I’m thinking after the rejuvenating pot pie, I may make brownies.

Hope everyone’s Saturday continues to be awesome!

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We got birria tacos off of the taco truck a few weeks ago. On Tuesday I was at Trader Joe’s and bought this:

It’s simmering on the stove right now.

3 g carbohydrates in one serving, or 5 g in the whole 16-ounce package (2 servings). I’ll warm up corn tortillas for mi esposa, and I’ll make burritos out of low-carb tortillas. I’ll chop some lettuce and tomatoes, and slice an avocado. I’ve also gotten out some feta (since we don’t have any cotija) and cheddar just in case.

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Well farts. Gonna have to mow the lawn tomorrow. If’n I don’t get it done then I don’t know when I’ll be able to get to it, and I’m on the road starting a week from tomorrow.

flyboy I’ve got that birria in the freezer. I’d 'preciate a review.

doggio Yay on the Darci!!!

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Much running about between services. Got enough laundry done yesterday to keep me going for a bit.

I hid a pair of socks from the cats so well, I can’t find them. Arrrgh!

Got the paschal haircut. Spikey pixieish.

Now to scurryfunge before the next round of services.

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Excellent. Of course now that I’ve discovered it, they’ll undoubtably discontinue it. I made two burritos with Carb Balance Whole Wheat tortillas, the meat, lettuce, tomato, crumbled feta, and avocado. I dipped it in the birria juice. Mi esposa had two steamed soft corn tortillas (one taco) with the meat and avocado, and no juice. She said it was good. Somehow, I think mine was better.

Since I made two packages, there’s plenty of leftovers.