Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. And thanks to Spot, my(rubber)ducks are no longer in a row.
I used to sing and dance to the soundtrack Man of La Mancha, Barbra Streisand, John Denver and Neil Diamond. But that was when I was 8-10, and only in the privacy of my parents living room.
I did do a talent show number of Me and My Shadow with my mom. I think I was 10 or 11.
Other than that, I played piano in a number or recitals (20 people or so) and played violin as part of an orchestra from the time I was 10 until 18. That was enough of being on stage.
Ever so often I have to do presentations at work, but this is normally on Teams, which I don’t like because I can’t see the audience. No fun at all.
FooBae, I’m sort of hoping for a foster fail, but that really depends on Shadow. Seems the mumpers have lost too many pets lately.
Realfish, my parents are both around 80. I have to admit it is sometimes difficult to read your struggles, because I know something similar is coming. I just don’t know when. 
Cookie, it’s wonderful that anybody can enjoy looking at the stars. I’m hoping to see the Milky Way sometime this year. You’d think it would be easy in Switzerland, but there’s too much light pollution.
Oops. Hubby is about ready to go and we need to go catch a train. More later.
Morning, mumpers! It’s 12c/53f with a predicted high of 18c/65f, and mostly cloudy. Weather app is unimpressed and has declared today to be “Cloudy with a chance of fucking bullshit.” Seems about right to me, it’s cloudy and cool out there with no signs of blue sky and not a hint of sun.
Bumba I completely missed your health scare at the end of last week’s MMP - I hope you are on the road to recovery now.
Cookie I used to love looking at the stars, now we have too much light pollution and it’s almost impossible to see much. We went to New Zealand a few years ago and spent a couple of nights near Mt Cook, far to the south of the south island, where they have a dark skies park. I sat outside for ages just looking up at such a clear and beautiful sky.
Dicey the ghost cats finally came out last night and had some fuss. Shadow was a bit grumbly when he saw Blossom, but he got extra fusses as well so he didn’t do so badly. There wasn’t any active aggression either so we are hopeful that he will get on better with them. We may have them as a longer-term foster because they need a lot of attention and it’s probably more than they were getting. Luna, who we had as a holiday foster, also needs to be moved so potentially she could go to Blossom and Cherry’s fosterer, and we’ll keep the girlies instead.
Nothing exciting in my day so far, I have checked the inboxes and they’re all quiet, only got one meeting this morning, and only grocery shopping to look forward to tonight. 'im indoors will be cooking so I don’t even have that to think about.
Cup of tea. That’s what I need.
The way I figure it - until repair bills regularly and frequently approach the size of a car payment, it makes more sense to repair than to replace. Plus Paul has been maintaining my Sonata since I bought it - he sees it at least every 5K miles for an oil change, at which time, he does a general inspection of fluid levels, brake and tire wear, and whatever else they look at. He proved to me years ago that I can trust his recommendations. In fact, yesterday, I told him he’s not allowed to retire till I quit driving! 
sari - your pups are just toooooooo adorbs!! Makes one want to kiss their smooshy wittle faces!
Ah, stars. Waaaaaaaay back in '74 when I was at a training command near Memphis, a guy I was dating drove us to Shelby Forest one night and I was absolutely amazed at the number of stars! Having grown up in the suburbs with plentiful light pollution, I’d only seen the brightest that the night sky had to offer. When I’ve been on cruises, I always wished they would douse the lights when we were in the middle of the ocean, but stoopit safety rules and all that.
It’s in the mid 50s this morning, headed to the low 80s, so I’m starting out in sweatpants but I’ll change to shorts sometime before I go fetch Roxy. Apart from loading the dishwasher and laundering some towels, my day will be mostly wrangling Tobias. FCD has to take his mom the physical therapy today and we’re hoping the boatyard finally got the correct water pump for our generator. The supplier sent the wrong pump… TWICE! But it looks like we’re FINALLY on track to get back to our own marina this weekend.
For now, caffeination continues. Happy Tuesday!!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN 'Tis 65 Amurrkin out and N.O.S. with a predicted high of 89 and N.O.S. for the day. I foresee some more quality time out at the cee-mint pond this afternoon. Why not, it’s there and we are retired drains on society. Sup shall be tacos ‘n fixin’s it bein’ Taco Tuesday and all.
Lily conga rats on the book sales! May there be many more to come.
BooFae glad the ghost kitties came out for some fuss. Maybe they have decided to claim their new home.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Tuesday Y’all!
Good morninin’.
It is 49F and dark outside. However, the sunrise is just 'round the bend. The expected high is 84F with clear and sunny skies.
Bumba, I’m glad you’re still here with us I hope the new meds work and that your ablation can be moved up. September is a ways off…
Boofae,it sounds like the kitties are warming up to each other slightly. Glad the fosters came out of hiding for some lovin’.
Sari, those are some adorable golden raisins!
Congrats on the book sales, Lily!
Work was long and irritating, but my office day for this week is done. I have way too much to accomplish this week, and my MPA will likely be out for all this week. She was supposed to help me with stuff for an upcoming joint meeting with other agencies, but it hasn’t happened, and I’ve had to handle it independently. We’re down to the wire, and many folks were late with their reports and agenda submissions, so now I have to drop everything to take care of that in time for the meeting at the end of the week.
I spent part of yesterday documenting and creating tables and charts that display the survey results from the state meeting in Skamania. The meeting was a big hit with staff, except for the lack of catering during actual meeting times. We cannot pay for catering/snacks with government funds in meetings. It’s really dumb, but there you have it. We secretly brought in snacks, and the hotel did provide water, but the lack of catering was the only bad thing. Everyone loved the venue and the socialization that occurred before and after hours. BLUF, even though setting up this meeting was a giant-assed pimple on an ogre, the results speak for themselves. The staff felt more connected, learned new things they found relevant and exciting, and were energized. Those were exactly the results we had hoped to obtain.
Well, I should finish my coffee and get the kitchen cleaned up. I hate dishes in the sink!
Morning all. Back to the 6am wake-up routine, another hot day is in store (69F now heading for 90F) with little chance of rain. Nothing much on the agenda, will get to gym for sweating-time, then we’ll see.
Taters, you mean you had a productive meeting that everybody was happy with? I mean, isn’t that one of the signs of the Apocalypse?
I remember being on a small ship in the Galapagos years ago and they put out all the lights on the back deck so we could see the stars…magical. Hope the wrangling goes well and the supplier gets their act together. And it’s nice to have a mechanic you trust; something I don’t have these days (go to the dealership).
boofae, glad the foster’s are beginning to settle in.
Sensei, you ever try a magic trick or two on your students?
OK, need to break my fast and start looking presentable. All y’all take care.
Never wanted to be on stage or screen. I wanted to be a model when I was 13 but my maximum height is 5’5”. Still battling the sinus infection and still feeling lousy, although less lousy than yesterday. I may have medicinal ice cream in a bit.
It’s weird outside. 62 heading for 75. But we’ve got the smoke from Canada, so the sky is kinda brown. I’ve never seen anything like this. And it smells like a fire out there.
metal mouse, I’m not positive, but I think my nephew, his girlfriend and my great-niece are on TennCare. But it was one of those things that needed to be taken care of one way or another. Other nephew did stop by Dad’s last night and got at least one thing taken care of, with a promise to stop back by either tonight or over the weekend. As long as he does it, we’re good. As for the hospital, they did treat Dad really well. Honestly, every hospital I’ve had to visit in the area has been wonderful. Vandy will always be my favorite (since they keep a roof over my head) but the others have been great in making sure things are running smoothly as well.
sensei, one of the best things about music, IMHO, is that you don’t have to be good at producing it in order to truly enjoy it. All I can do is sing, and that’s getting rusty with age, but I love to listen to just about any music out there. I guess that’s true with any kind of art. Regarding being a magician, I have a few friends that do magic. One has done it professionally for about 30 years, the other has it as a hobby that he’s very enthusiastic about. There are times I wish I could pull off some tricks, but my slight of hand is far more hand than slight.
I get you. 
Hubby had to have that conversation with his sister this morning. His mom and Dad are both around 80 and his mom had been in the hospital and then a care facility for the last few weeks because of a fall. She’s being sent home with a walker and a wheelchair. His sister basically told him that while she’s doing relatively well, she’s on the decline and if we want a chance to say good-bye, then we need to make arrangements. It’s going to be time to beg and borrow from people so we have the money to drive up and stay in a hotel for a few days.
Regarding presentations, it’s always felt really different from being on stage to me when I’ve had to do them. I’m actually more nervous having to do a presentation than having to sing in front of people. I think it’s because I’m more secure in my singing than I am in my speaking.
I really need to redownload this app. Because parts of it (the “chance of fucking bullshit”) seems to fit every time you post!
They do say the third time is the charm! Here’s hoping that everything goes smoothly with it.
taters, sounds like work is really pushing you hard. It’s tough when so much falls on your shoulders. I hope that everything goes smoothly from this point forward - you deserve it!
Wet One, I know what you mean about the height. Mine’s 5’. I don’t think I ever wanted to be a model, but I’ve always been overweight and very unmodel like. I’m glad that you’re feeling a little less lousy than yesterday. And medicinal ice cream is always called for.
Same here, though not quite as bad. I can smell it on the air, but not really see it as much. I can definitely tell it with my breathing. So I don’t think I’ll be either walking or spending time on the porch today. My need to breath is far more important than my need to be outside at the moment.
I grew up in the mountains of New York, in the country. When I was a kid, I would regularly go outside and stare up at the stars. I wanted to be an astronomer for awhile. (In 6th grade, I had planned to be a teacher during the day, an astronomer at night and a writer in my free time. I didn’t think sleep was a necessity then.) I knew that at any time, I just had to walk out into the field, lay back on the ground and I could see everything. When I moved to the Florida suburbs, I forgot what the stars looked like. I haven’t been able to really look at them since because of light pollution. As much as I like being closer to everything in the suburbs, I really do miss the night sky sometimes.
It’s currently 78F with a predicted high of 90F today. N.O.S. but a bit smoky. I want another day of a good hard rain.
Got up at 6am to bring Vancer in to Firestone. Being the first one there gave me the advantage of them being able to get the van back pretty quickly. Of course, they found many more things wrong that needed to be fixed than what I brought it in for - I needed a second tire on the front, I was in desperate need of an alignment (which I knew but had forgotten), I’m going to need a new battery and a new windshield wiper, both of which I can take care of myself, and the new rebuilt transmission is leaking fluid, so I’ll be having to head back to Aamco to have them take a look at that. If we’re going to be making a trip to the Northeast, I’m very glad that I’m getting these things taken care of before we go.
Not sure what else I have on the agenda for today. Probably some reading, a bit of cleaning, more self-care work. I’m trying to focus more on the positive than the negative. I am better than that and I’ve been letting myself wallow for far too long. So I’m working on it as best I can. I have a neat little self-care weekly tracker and an app called Evolve, which was made by and for people in the queer community. It gives me prompts to write about, helps with meditation and conscious breathing, offers bits of therapy (though I haven’t tried that part yet) and has a community of others. I know that they consider poly to be part of the LGBTQ+ community (not everyone does) so I’m hoping that I can find some others in the community like me that I can connect with and talk through my frustrations.
I should probably get started on the next part of my day. I’m going to make it a good one, no matter what!
Update on the bulging keyboard on my laptop. I know you’ve all been dying to hear about it. That laptop only sits on my home desk, so it can be always plugged in. It doesn’t need a battery, so I took it out. I did need to get a T-5 screwdriver, probably the only kind of screw tip I didn’t already own, so yay, an excuse to buy a new tool. 12 bucks and 10 minutes later, no more battery and it powers on, works perfectly, and the left click button even works again.
We were supposed to head up north this morning to stay in a cabin on Lake Itasca. We woke up, looked at each other, and said “nah.” I fear our hearts and minds are still in their 50s, whilst our ages are taking over.
Thank you, everybody, for your concern and well wishes.
A little more info about my situation, if you like.
(You’re welcome to skip ahead.)
Doc said he was pretty sure the extra signals causing the V-Tac were coming from the scar tissue in my left ventricle from my heart attack. I asked him if it could be that that area was trying to grow back and that’s why things went jiggy and he said it was very likely. The ablation would cauterize(?) that scar to make it stop. He says he has about a 95% success rate with this particular ablation method. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but not a lot of cardio docs around here want to do this kind, for whatever reason. 
Of course I’m nervous about it. I used to be 10 foot tall and bullet proof. Nowadays, not so much.
In happier news, last weekend I discovered that Ben & Jerry’s makes dairy free ice cream. 
I got a pint of Cherry Garcia. That used to be my favorite, and it’s still good, but I don’t think it’s quite the same. Seems to me it used to have more cherry in it.
We drove down to Redmond and signed papers on our new house yesterday. There’s not too much the universe can do to screw us up now. Y’all be on the lookout for a giant meteor strike.
Paintcharge, (sorry, don’t remember your nick offhand.) your computer battery woes remind me of things. Do you have a Batteries + Bulbs around you? They may have a replacement battery that would last you 2 or 3 more years. I got one for an old laptop from them.
I also have an ancient netbook that I need to get around to. The battery that remembers the BIOS stuff is dead. Unfortunately, it’s under the keyboard and takes a deft hand and a couple of hours to access, and replace. (I’ve replaced it once already, that’s how old it is.) But I liked it, and WinXP wasn’t that bad.
Oh, and it was soldered in. Sheesh!
Well, Wifey is making breakfast, gotta go.
Tell me about it. 
Sad, ain’t it? We had everything ready, but the idea of a four-hour drive with the cat loose in the car, and then turning around and doing it again two days later, was more than either of us could deal with. Hell, a 40 minute drive to see relatives is exhausting any more.
Looks like I FUBARed BooFae’s name earlier. Oops.
Opened a bottle of whisky and the cork crumbled. Had to put the contents in another bottle, then clean out the bottle and return the contents to the original bottle, using a fine strainer and funnel. So the kitchen smells like whisky.
Bumba, if my vacation gets rescheduled to an act of nature, be happy I’m on the other side of the pond. Hope the procedure goes well. Are you moving first?
Sari, it’s good I didn’t name the pups - they remind me of Staler and Waldorf from the Muppets, but cuter.
Metal Mouse, we went to Five Guys today, but no fries. We’ve decided it’s just too much food, especially since we each get a milkshake.
Might be time to settle down for the day. There’s whisky to be drunk (blend of Highland malts, for those who might be curious).
I thought that was a cute re-interpretation. Not nearly as interesting as a simple mistake.
Good to hear of the good news in most Mumper’s lives and a hearty “Damn!” about Cookie’s aborted trip. But if you’re not feelin’ it, you’re not feelin’ it. BTDT.
As to painter’s laptop now with no battery, that’s not always a great idea. Some older laptops use the battery as part of what regulates the charger’s interaction with the power supply, mobo, etc. Getting a cheapo replacement from batteries & bulbs or the like will probably pay dividends unless this machine is one you’re willing to kill soon rather than later.
Had a quiet day here. Up, sheveled, fed, had telemed with doc, and have been otherwise Doping and reading into the early afternoon. Lunch of some informal lightweight sort will be soon.
Feeling 95% well today, but still a bit stuffy though not runny. Progress for sure. Doc says sinusitis plus maybe an allergy and based on what everybody else has, you’ll probably be fine tomorrow. Yaay. This is day 8 and I’m losing what little patience I normally have.
Has been gray much of the day and rained a time or three with some listless thunder now and again. Temp’s 82F/28C and may warm up a bit more.
Doggone USPS woke Tobias. I had to sign for a delivery for FCD - but it was just the usual prospectus and stuff for his annuity. I don’t get it - there’s nothing in the package requiring action on our part. But the doorbell and the barking dog ended nap time. Dammit.
We’ll be leaving in half an hour or so to fetch Roxy. FCD is taking his mom to PT shortly. I need to figure out what we’ll do for supper. Always something.
Looks like Hubby will be going to the Northeast within the next month. It makes more sense for him to fly up alone, spend a week there helping however he can, and possibly arranging for the rest of us to come up later if there’s time. We’ve been looking at flight prices and… damn, it’s been a long time since we’ve flown anywhere. I didn’t realize that most airlines are charging you for checked baggage. If it weren’t for the fact that he needs his CPAP, we’d be able to get him up there with just a carry-on. But that’s too important of an item to leave behind. We’re debating between one of the lower cost lines like Spirit or Frontier or going through Southwest, which has been having a lot of problems lately, especially out of Nashville. So… who knows. We’ll work it out, though. We always do.
Today is the 79th anniversary of D Day.
I had an uncle by marriage who was on the beach the second day. He was part of a tank unit. I never once heard him mention his service and only learned about it after he developed dementia and couldn’t speak of it. I think it was said he was in Belgium on VE Day, and I once saw a picture of a small monument for his unit that is somewhere at Ft. Benning in Georgia.