(Old) Silly Songs In The MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 47 Amurrkin out and mostly cloudy with a predicted high of 60 and partly N.O.S. which means the same thing as mostly cloudy. We shall sloth about as is our wont. Around two o’clock this afternoon I shall betake myself over to the church house to assist with cuttin’ catfish filets, and boneless chikin boobs into strips in prep for tomorrow’s big fish fry. Whilst there I shall also deal with the usual duties cause I will be there so why not. Sup shall be majik intartoobz pizza and sallit.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah,

Happy Thursday Y’all!

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I don’t believe she’s trying to be difficult - quite the opposite, because that’s the way she is. And unlike FIL, she absolutely does not have dementia. She just doesn’t want to be a bother, but she winds up being a super bother.

Like 2:45 this morning when she fell in the hallway, pulling her walker down on top of herself - scared the crap out of us! Lucky for her, the hall is carpeted and there are no hard surfaces to cause broken bones or bleeding. But being awakened like that is not conducive to falling back to sleep, at least not for me. So I got maybe 4 anna half hours of sleep, and, frankly, anger kept me from snoozing after she was back in bed.

I just don’t know what to do. She is so determined to regain any independence that she can, but she’s going to end up in the hospital again. Not that she believes that.

I expect the fields around here will become odoriferous pretty soon. Cracks me up when people bitch about that and expect things to change - the farms were here long before their McMansions. It’s a rural county - deal with it! And anyway, it doesn’t seem to last for more than a couple of days. Certainly not as bad as skunk, either.

He has regular meetings with a caseworker. I haven’t seen him in ages, but I can hear him when MIL talks to him on the phone, and he sounds relatively happy. He recently got himself a fish tank - he’s very into that, so I hope that helps him find some balance.

And I did manage to sort out the rent auto-pay. I had to enter everything manually rather than use the pull-down that said they couldn’t link to his credit union. And the check we used to pay March rent has already been credited, so WHEW! One less thing.

FCD has to take his mom to doctors today and tomorrow. One is her cardiologist, one the thyroid doc. I know today’s appointment is mid-afternoon and tomorrow’s is in the morning. So when they’re gone this afternoon, I’ll have a chance to clean the basement fireplace. Or maybe I’ll wait till tomorrow when I’m down there to do laundry. I’ve already declared that today is forage-for-leftovers for supper - one less thing for me to deal with. I do have to empty the dishwasher and maybe damp mop the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I’m trying very hard not to be angry. I know MIL is having a hard time. I need sleep, but I can’t take anything at night in case she falls - it takes both of us to get her up safely. <deep cleansing breaths>

Yeah, yeah, Happy Thursday.

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Maybe grab a nap while she’s out at appointments?

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Miracle of miracles - she just called me a little bit ago to help her get to the bathroom. I almost didn’t hear her - maybe we need to get a bedside bell?

Totally unrelated - I buy peanut butter that’s just peanuts and salt, so it separates. I just opened a new jar and mixed it all together, added the last little bits from the last jar, and put it in the fridge so it won’t separate again. I lurves me some peanut butter - my evening snack is apple slices dipped in peanut butter. Yum!

165

Good morning!

It’s 37 degrees Fahrenheit, and a wintry mix is falling. The wintry mix will continue to fall off and on throughout the morning, but by this afternoon, we’re expecting scattered thundershowers and a high temperature of 47 degrees Fahrenheit.

FCM, I don’t know what to say, and I very much understand your frustration. I continue to send supportive thoughts, but I know that’s not the same as real help. Who knows, maybe the cardiologist will determine she needs to go back to the hospital since she’s such a fall risk.

sari, I’m glad the pups’ snips were pretty much non-events. I am sorry about the little dog. That’s just terrible news.

I had another twelve-hour workday, but I did talk to the boss during our weekly one-on-one about issues that bothered me. I also told him how it looked when we went over my head for a question to which I’d already provided answers…multiple times. He told me that he was trying to take stuff off my plate by doing that, and I explained he had only caused more work, but beyond that, and most importantly, it looked like he didn’t have faith in my answers. He got it and confessed he didn’t think of it like that. We had an intense discussion about what letting another agency staff member work in our building would be like and the fact that the MPA would have to provide extra support for various reasons, and he backed off from that idea right away.

My boss is honestly not a bad guy. I think he doesn’t always realize the extent of work that goes into supporting an agency, especially as more work is dumped on me from the national level and other layers of support are pulled out. He and the director are often frustrated by how difficult it is to do something while working for the government.

As former civil slaves here can attest, nothing is ever straightforward; there are multiple hoops, and lots of frustration accompanies that scenario. I get their frustration; I am frustrated, too, and often find ways to streamline something. But, sometimes, you just don’t get your way. My boss has been around gov service as long as I have, but the director had never worked for the feds before coming to us, so it’s doubly hard for her to grasp. I spend a lot of time “keeping her out of jail,” which really means she’s not inadvertently treading into ethics violations.

Oh well, today is another day.

FCM, I like creamy peanut butter, too. Sometimes, I just crave a peanut butter and jelly sammich. The pups ADORE peanut butter. When I’m feeling ultra-decadent, I spread some peanut butter on warm toast. I haven’t done that in a while, hmmm. Glad the MiL actually called for help this time.

Well, I should get on with the day. So much to do and it’s only Thursday. Sending all kinds hugs, yays, and boos as needed.

166

It’s really bad. Ate there twice, thinking that perhaps the first time it was a fluke. Nope.

I opted for cornmeal pancakes and sausage for dinner instead of the orzo idea, which really didn’t appeal to me. It was just a freezer-clearing notion. Added bonus: leftover batter for breakfast cakes!

167

I gave my mum a bell. She really enjoyed ringing it, very posh. I would answer in a lurch impression, “you rang?”.

A weakened voice and a two story house needed a bell.

168

30 posts to read on this lazy morning. A bit after 9am it’s 74/23 on the way to 81/27. Had been mostly cloudy and a bit of rain but is now clearing out to just high cirrus. Seems like a nice day.

As to me yesterday. …

I did successfully get my senior citizen commuter rail / bus card. It’ll be $6 round trip from home to the airport and back. Plus ~4 miles of ubering or driving if I’m willing to leave my car at the local station while I’m gone. Lots cheaper than ~$20/day to park near the airport, plus ~$25 each way in car operating costs. Sadly my next air trip is at times of day I must drive, and I’ll be gone for 8 days. So lots of car driving and parking costs. Oh well.

Then off to baseball (MIN @ WSH) on an ideal weather day with a ~50% crowd. I had to leave a bit early, which I hate doing, to make a stop on the way home before they closed. Later had fine Brazilian steakhouse carnefest until rather late, then home to sleep.

Dinner was with the guy whose Mom had the stroke ~6 weeks ago. She’s in and out of rehab, but continues getting better. The more my pal digs into Mom’s convoluted and oh-so-secret finances intertwined with all her relatives dead and alive the more it’s obvious nobody involved has an accurate understanding or recollection of everything. But he’s gaining on building the complete paper trail, and assuming she stays alive and compos mentis long enough to untangle the mess, all will be well that ends well. Meantime this is driving him up the wall.

I also had a minor setback after getting home from baseball that will lead to some vexing erranding today. My host has a lot of toys in his garage. It’s well organized with lots of shelves and no piles. But it’s full to the brim with stuff. Including e-bikes I wanted to prep yesterday to use today, since today was supposed to be a free day for me.

So I had to drag out the air compressor to fill the 4 flat tires on the two bikes. Which entailed a hunt for an extension cord in the organized chaos of someone else’s workspace. And the appropriate attachments.

In the midst of that a set of golf clubs toppled over due to ghosts or something, knocking over one of the bikes which knocked over the other bike which landed on the compressor, breaking the compressor’s output pressure regulator. So now I get to go buy a new pressure regulator and dig around in his tools & supplies enough to install the darn thing. So much for a free day. If I don’t do it today, he’ll come home to it being broken while I’m on the cruise. It’s bad enough to damage someone’s stuff, but to leave it broken is just rude. Of course I’ll 'fess up; that’s not the issue. Making it right is the issue.

Last night mid-evening I got a call from the shrink still beavering away in her office. We’re meeting 0900 Fri for an hour. Uber just reminded me via txt that my car comes a bit before 1pm for the ride to the train to the boat, so there’s plenty of time if no other surprises manifest.

Other than replacing the damned regulator and packing for the cruise, I have no plans for today.

169

Landry started early this morning, I got up at 8 and started with sheets.

The sheets are on the new mattress, and I opened the bedroom door. Lager was the first being on the bed.

The comforter is in the dryer and the pillows are in the wash. I usually get new pillows on the equinox. That will be next month’s excitement.

I’m still on the hunt for a new comforter. I’ve been hunting for nearly a year now.

2 condo meetings today, one for the big window flower beds, one for sensor lighting for halls and common spaces.

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:smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: Considering the theme of this week;s MMP, that is perfection!
And sad for the other animals being attacked. Hope the little pup makes it.

JtC, happy food re-distributing.

Well, learned never to try and balance your checking account using pen and paper after 10pm at night. nearly two hours later and I was more messed up than when I started. Will take another shot at it today, this time with a calculator handy. It’s 37F and only getting to the mid-50’s today, but at least dry for now, tonight and tomorrow are supposed to be rainy again. Nothing much on the agenda for today, so might actually do a little work around the house…or not. Need to do a couple more water tests before calling the leak detectors back in, want some good evidence for a problem.

Onward into Thorsday!

171

Shoulda saved that one for next week, when it’ll be March.

172

Afternoon, mumpers! It’s currently 8c/46f with no predicted change, and cloudy. Weather app says “I’m completely fucking apathetic with this merely so-so day.” I agree, it’s been one of those days…

I’ve been meaning to post in here for the last couple of days but life has been getting in the way quite a bit. Nothing major, just busy doing stuff that’s taking time and is not at all exciting. I’m aware that it’s March tomorrow and we go on holiday in three weeks, and I have a bunch of cat-related stuff that needs to get done before then. Most important is to get Shadow to the vet for his routine thyroid blood test, and his mani-pedi, and to get them to supply another bottle of his medication. I know there isn’t enough in the bottle at home to last until we get back from holiday in April so I need to get more, and he needs his check up.

Also having decided that the foster girlies will be staying with us permanently, I need to track down their vaccination certificates (mainly to get their birth dates) and get them booked in with our vet. I also need to sign the paperwork with Little Paws, and get hold of some flea treatment for them both, and get their microchips changed to our details. We’ve also still got the large carrier that they arrived in, which doesn’t belong to us so I should either return it to their previous home, or buy it from the last fosterer. More stuff to add to my little list.

I’ve tackled the car insurance as that is due to expire when we are away. My renewal from the current insurer has gone up by £200 since last year so I’ve been shopping around and have managed to get a new policy for £150 less than the renewal charge so that’s good news. However, I have to decline the current insurer’s renewal, but I can’t do that until I get home and log into my own laptop because I can’t remember the bizarre combination of letter, numbers and symbols I had to construct as a password.

Still trying to write staff development reviews for my minions, still finding displacement activities!

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boofae, you are a failure. A foster failure! Thank you for giving them a permanent home. Ursala Kitteh has a dicky tum this morning. She woke me for breakfast, then went on top of the heating vent to sleep. There is a little spot of urp on the carpet so she must be working up a hairball. She has gishy fuds and kibbles waiting for when she feels better.

174

The wood shed is only three feet high, and it has wood in it. The wood stack frame is currently empty, and it’s five feet high and eight feet wide… but it’s only two feet deep. I was thinking I’d move the MG and the R1 out of the canopy garage and paint in there.

175

OK heaving. We had our DOK(demonstration of Knowledge), aka Safety Quiz today. In spite of have the answer sheets, Shaggy did not get them all right. What kind of anacephalic mouth breather doesn’t get 100 on an open book test? :thinking: He was also at one point just batting a light fixture. Anyways, my in head heaving music was the theme to I Dream Of Jeanie. Good thing I don’t have a genie, though. Somebody would rub against the lamp, and I’d be up to my armpits in herring.

This sounds like Mom is either laundering money for a Cartel, or is a Supervillian with a Secret Lair In A VolcanoTM

“I have developed a strong desire to beat this lot with a staff.”

FCM, I almost hope the doc wants to re-hospitalize MIL, just so you can get a nap.

That’s Sunday. Along with the mattress flippin’ and toothbrush switchin’

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I hope this means we’ll get baby announcement ‘foster fail’ pictures soon. I think it’s a law.

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If it isn’t, it ought to be.

178

The new grand-niece has arrived!
Two days ago, as it turns out. The family just assumes I’m checking the What’sApp group on the regular. I look at that about once a month, if that. SIL was mortified that she didn’t tell us.

But no matter. All involved are well and healthy, and I’m very happy for the parents and grandparents!

Baby Reese:

Imgur

179

Started Typing: 11:20 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 11:55 AM ET

Happy Thursday morning, all! Winter has returned to these parts: it’s sunny, but currently only 40°F (with an expected high of 47). I’m alright with it, and have learned to go with the “it could be 70 one day and snowing the next” flow of late winter/early spring in the DC area.

Last night’s Misnomer-led, volunteer-related meeting was over quickly…largely because only one other person attended. :joy: She’s one of my best committee members, though, and I hadn’t seen/talked with her in a while (she’d been out of town caring for a sick family member), so it was good to catch up. I’ll send out the minutes and a couple of action items sometime before the end of the weekend, and then there won’t be anything else committee-related for another month.

I’m looking forward to two things this afternoon. One is the delivery of my new phone, which UPS says will get here sometime before 7pm. :crossed_fingers: Verizon offers a “transfer” service where they’ll basically mirror your existing phone, but I always prefer to start over with a new device: manually setting up a new phone or computer is a useful exercise to make sure I don’t inadvertently hang onto any unneeded files or apps. I’ve prepped by noting all of my active apps, and taking screen shots of how I have them arranged. Most of my phone-related info lives in the cloud, so I’ll have all of my pictures, contacts, etc., immediately.

(My new phone case was delivered this morning. :grin:)

The other thing I’m looking forward to is having my first voice lesson in three years. I’ll be doing 1-hour virtual lessons every other Thursday afternoon for a while. It’s time to dust off my technique and work on some jazz-specific stuff, and I was finally able to connect with a woman I’ve been trying to take lessons from for years. She’s a phenomenal musician, educator, and person, so I’m pretty psyched!

Time for some replies and then an early-ish lunch…

:joy: !

I’d be so skinny. :grin:

See my previous “shaddup.” :stuck_out_tongue: :wink:

:rofl: !

Yesterday’s games were BAL @ MIN and BOS @ WSH… :slight_smile:

Sorry about the domino-effect damage in your host’s garage!

Awwww…she’s a beauty! :smiley: Congrats! :tada:

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Congratulations, @Wheelz! That is a super cute baby.

Just poking my head in. I don’t have a ton of time. My husband is sick, and the boy is also kinda sick but he seemed well enough to send to school. I’m trying not to catch the ick, but it’s hard to avoid, and when I’m avoiding my kid due to illness, I always miss snuggling him and give in eventually.

Zen temple turned out to be awesome, BTW. The perfect combination of welcoming and zero social expectations. I nearly missed the place because the outside looks like a storage facility. Not exactly the hidden alcove Zen garden exterior I expected. But the inside is gorgeous. It’s like stepping into another realm, big open space with lots of attention to detail, a beautiful hardwood floor, golden Buddha statue and appropriate bells and gongs. And tea and cookies. And everyone is nice and nobody cares if you squirm or fidget, and the teacher there clearly strives to make things super accessible for Westerners. So yes, I’m going back.

I also got a giant, I mean giant zabuton and a new zafu, the zafu is the cushion you sit on for meditation and the zabuton is this mat that goes underneath. I didn’t have any mat, and it was killing my feet and ankles, and now I have a huge, thick mat and while I wouldn’t say meditation is discomfort-free, it’s so much better. They are purple, of course.

I know my meditation practice is leading to more mindfulness because suddenly I’m noticing things that need cleaning all over my house! I’ve had the strangest urges to clean all kinds of things. I cleaned the shower this morning. But that was long overdue.

I have a meeting now. Last meeting of the week! Then the rest of my week will be relatively relaxed.