{ waves hello }
I’ve been overwhelmed and just couldn’t even. But I’m here.
My manager sang me “Happy Birthday” right when we closed at midnight, and I cried.
… imma hang with Monkey for a bit. I’m still verklempt.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.
Me: < pets Spot>
Spot: < bites goatee >
Me: “OWW! Stop that!”
Spot: “Apologies. I thought your chin was being attacked by a elderly rabid mouse.”
{{{{shoe}}}}
and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Morning, mumpers! It’s 11c/52f with a predicted high of 18c/65f, and mostly cloudy. Weather app is unimpressed, to say the least. “Imagine if you were riding a horse and all that horse wanted to do was eat fucking grass. That’s like this fucking weather. Boring.” Fair enough, it’s cloudy and cool out there but not exactly boring. And I’d be quite happy to be out with a horse instead of at irk today.
Happy Shoe Day - hope Monkey gives you lots of birthday cuddles.
Dicey thanks for the new name, I’ve been called far worse things in my time 
VanGo yay for the laptop, hope it hangs on for ages now!
Gigity loved the vid of the sonic boom! I live not far from a very active RAF base so we get all sorts of aircraft noises, but very rarely a sonic boom like that.
Sensei those are lovely pics, sailing toppers was something fun from my younger days, sadly I don’t get to do that any longer.
Hope all the sickies are feeling better today, 'im indoors decided yesterday that he was brewing a cold but I think it’s allergies to the foster cats. When we first brought Ophelia home, he had such a bad asthma attack, I thought we’d end up in the hospital. Now that Blossom and Cherry are venturing out a bit more, I think the increased fur/dander in the air is getting to him.
My dad always keeps his CPAP in his carry-on backpack, also for international flights. No way will he risk it getting lost.
And I see that Boo has even more details. Yay Boo!
{{{shoe}}} and Hippo Birdday!
On Friday, the big building maintenance project begins. Today is the day to do the preparation, as tomorrow is a holiday.
This morning, I discovered that the scaffolding people decided to lay the underlay. Which is in the way of today’s preparation. Stick to the scheduel people!
Made 3B pancakes (blueberry, buttermilk, buckwheat) and bacon for breakfast. Managed to buy the wrong juice, so we have exotic juice, which is a mix of mango, orange and pineapple. The pineapple is attacking my canker sore inside my lip. Should have skipped the juice.
Today’s tasks?
Organize my office at home so I can get the suitcases from the cellar and put them in my office, so I can put the chairs from outside in the cellar before the scaffolding is installed on Friday.
Organize hubby’s office at home so we can put some of the stuff from there in my office and take some stuff back to the office at work. This will give us more space for further prep work.
Also planned to cut back the pea pod vines, peonies and roses, before they get damaged. But that’s Friday’s work. So there.
Guess I should go be productive.
That does sound like fun. Enjoy!
Kitchen no longer smells like whisky. The bacon has taken over.
If they did, was it during the night? Two Ships Passing in the Night by Dionne Warwick
shoe Happy Birthday!!!
Raising adolescents is not for the meek! Damn, I’m pissed at them today!
Oh dear, I can’t do either one of them.
The water wasn’t too bad! According to the kids, you could actually be in it for a few minutes before you froze. I had to retrieve something from the water and yeah, you notice it. Toto, we aren’t in Taiwan anymore.
I grew up camping in mountains with lakes from melted snowpack, and damn, those were cold. For Boy Scout camp, we had to swim 50 yards to be allowed to participate in any water sports such as rowboats and canoes and almost five decades later I still remember every inch.
My dad was too young for WWII - he was a Korea war era vet (never left San Diego.) I think a couple of my uncles were in then - Uncle Joe was a SeaBee, but he never talked about it. I think Uncle Bud was Army, as was Uncle Mike, but again, they never talked about it. My cousin Joe was in 'Nam for a tour - USAF. I’m a Vietnam era vet, but I never got farther west than San Diego.
Welcome to the club - we saved you a seat on the comfy bench! 
Criminy, it wasn’t that long ago you were posting about your kids in high school…
Happy Shoe Day!!! 
At first glance, it looked like 38, and I wondered why you’d cite a specific count… 
SIL just called - change of plans, for the better for me, tho. Today is the school trip to Kings Dominion and Daughter got SIL a chaperone ticket, so he and Roxy are going along. That means I’ll have Tobias thru supper and bath time. Which means I can just stay home for the most part. I’ll probably run over to their place to let the dog out at some point, and that’ll give me an excuse to run into Aldi.
My right shoulder has been aching for as long as I can remember - I’m thinking I’ll look for some exercises to stretch it out. And I need to call the orthopedic office to get an appointment for my trigger finger - according to my doc, it’s a fairly simple procedure to fix it. And my doc gave me some exercises for my hip. My parts are all wearing out!!! Woe is me!!
But I’m still above ground, so there’s that.
Happy Wednesday!!!
Happy birthday Shoe
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 68 Amurrkin out and mostly cloudy with a predicted high of 90 and mostly N.O.S. for the day. Today we shall procure provisions. I have yet to decide if’n I have the motivation for mowage, so that may or may not occur. However, it must be done soon. Due to a gnawin’ and a cravin’, sup shall be BLT’s and oven fries.
CupCakes here’s some info on the couple Fort Moore is named after. I love the decision to honor both the husband and the wife!
Bumba happy movin’ time!
Gigity how cool of the boyfriend to want to involve all the 'rents! Glad y’all get along.
Dicey a kitchen that smells of whisky and bacon is a kitchen that welcomes all!
And now this…
< AHEM > CLEARIN’ THROAT < AHEM >
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY DEEEAAARRR SSSHHHOOOEEE!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then we shall see if motivation kicks in. Or not. At any rate, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Hump Day Y’all!
Good morning!
It’s 55F and clear outside right now. The expected high is around 88F with mostly sunny skies. We may see partly cloudy skies later this afternoon.
Happy Birthday, Shoe!
That does sound like fun, 2gig! What a memory for all involved!
Another day full of work awaits. I need to dash out to the vet to pick up a 'scrip for Polar around 7:00 or 8:00 am and make sure I water the posies this morning, but other than that, I shall be stuck in front of the work computer. I should turn the sprinkler on for a little bit this morning too. Missing one week of watering seems to have hurt my lawn. The lawn is certainly not golf club perfect, but I have managed to bring it back from the brink these last couple of years. This year it’s taking longer to recover. I’d like to tear it out and start over, but I’m too cheap to spend the money. Not cheap, I guess; I have other things that are a higher priority.
I need to contact some friends and confirm that we’re still going to their place this coming Saturday. They issued an invitation a few weeks ago, and I want to ensure the day still works for them. We won’t be staying overnight (they’re a tad bit out in the country) because I have to take Polar to the vet on Sunday morning to drop him off for a day admission. Polar needs his shots, a nail trim, an assessment of why he has a goopy eye (I suspect it’s another infection), and an evaluation of a lump on his side that looks purply under his fur and seems sensitive.
I saw a hawk sitting on my fence eating his breakfast yesterday. It’s the first time I’ve seen a hawk on my fence, and although I was sad for the little feathered friend it was eating, it’s just mother nature at work. I didn’t see what kind of hawk it was because it’s back was to me and he quickly sensed me and flew off. Red-tailed, sharp-shinned, and Cooper’s are very common around here.
Okay, need to get that sprinkler going and finish my coffee.
Morning all. Up at 6am again, this is getting to be a habit I’d like to break (I mean, why be retired if you wake up at working hours?). Need to gas up car and pack for travels tomorrow, but nothing much else on the agenda. Still no rain and high near 90F again.
Taters, neat hawk view. I still have the little bird under the alcove, they rebuilt the nest and apparently are on their second brood. I like seeing the birds, but the sidewalk leading to my door has been the main bathroom for them and it’s getting quite nasty. If they hatch and raise chicks this time, I’ll put something up there to keep them from a repeat performance.
Shoe, a most happy Hippo Birdie two Ewe.
FCM, enjoy Toby-sitting. Knees were bothering me a bit this morning, hope we both can manage to get along with well-used bits of us falling apart.
Dicey, breakfast sounds good, hope the maintenance goes with better planning.
2gig, nice of the boyfriend to include you guys, but won’t the crowd sort of give it away to daughter? (not that it will come as a big surprise to her). But sounds like it will be quite the weekend.
Sensei, nice pics, never been a boating person but looks like they’re having fun.
OK, need to forage some and get about the day. All y’all take care.
Happy Burp-day, shoe!
It’s still weird looking outside from the smoke. It kinda looks like the before a hurricane hits light. It gives me a headache when I go outside.
Mornin’ all.
Happy Birthday to Shoe 
Happy Birthday to Shoe
Haaaa-aaaaappy Biiiiii-iiiirthday deeee-aaar Shoooo-ooo-ooo-oooe!!!
Happy Birthday to Shoe
…
And many paaaa-iiiirs of mooo-ooore!!!
Dicey: 3B pancakes and bacon sound pretty darned wonderful. And effective at de-whiskeying the kitchen. Some smells are better at night and some are better in the morning. Whiskey & wakeup are not a great combo IMO/IME.
That does sound like a great event. We’ll want the complete debrief of course.
Next week her Ladyship and I are traveling to visit her son in Chicago over an extended weekend. The occasion being the beginning of serious wedding planning for next summer’s wedding of he and his wonderful woman. Everyone’s known everyone for years and the proposal was 6 months ago, so no surprises on those fronts. The ladies will all go dress shopping, the men will do hearty manly bonding things, everyone will try out a fancy dinner at the planned reception venue, etc. So far so ordinary.
The bride’s still-married parents will be there as will Her Ladyship’s ex-husband = father of groom and his second wife of a decade or more. I’ve known him off and on since grad school too, just like I’ve known Her Ladyship. Since I married Her Ladyship we four have gotten together comfortably for a familial shindig for their joint daughter. Once. For an afternoon.
Several days of enforced togetherness and Her Ladyship’s rather inscrutable but utterly rigid notions of what constitutes acceptable behavior around and towards an ex-spouse or an ex’s second spouse or your current spouse’s ex- promises to be a bit of a minefield for me. Sigh.
Warm and partly cloudy outside here at the crack of 10am as Her Ladyship emerges to greet her day. Sheveling, feeding, and general lazing about shall commence shortly. My cold or sinusitis or whatever has stabilized at “I feel fine except for the puffy feeling behind my cheekbones.” Sigh. Taking appropriate meds and awaiting the eventual defeat of whatever this is.
Cheers all and good luck to everyone!
That would drive me absolutely bonkers. We all have our quirks, and with no disrespect intended, unfortunately, that would trigger me too much. I would not be able to stay sane. You are a better man than me.
FCM, my father was also a Korean war era vet as well, but only served in Arizona.
My Dad was another Korea-era vet. USMC. Served as an aircraft mechanic on board an aircraft carrier. In the Atlantic where no shots were fired in anger. Other than almost being pushed off the side of the ship at night in a storm, his single military hitch was uneventful and safe.
Happy Birthday, Shoe.
Geminis are the bestest. (I like to pronounce it ‘Jimminy’, like the spacecraft.)
I had to do that with a bottle of wine once. It was a pain in the butt. Glad that you were able to save the good stuff!
pilot, glad that you’re feeling better and that there should be no more need for fraying patience.
Thanks. My GoogleFu is strong, so it shouldn’t be easy to find one and print it out. I’m definitely going to make sure that Hubby’s name and our address is on the inside and outside of his case. He just got this new machine and the last thing we need is to replace it already.
swampy, that’s certainly the hope. This trip is far more about getting ducks in a row than saying good-bye. At least, that’s the plan. Apparently Hubby’s dad is insisting that no decisions can be made without Hubby physically there. Hubby tries to tell him that, as far as he’s concerned, it’s not necessary. He trusts that his sister isn’t going to suddenly turn into a raving lunatic and try to cut him out of anything. But this is what Hubby’s Dad is insisting on. It does have the bonus, though, of making sure Hubby gets to see his family.
Pretty much every time. And for a lot of things, I call Dad and ask his opinion. I’ve known about the alignment for awhile, as well as the wiper blade. When I was thinking about the battery, it’s at least 6 years old - we haven’t had to change it since we bought the car in 2017. So it’s definitely due.
I’m glad you’re getting a chance to. We’ve been very lucky that my in-laws had been very present in the lives of our kids up until a few years ago when travel became impossible.
I think the fact that they’re closing in on their senior year and 18 is coming ever closer is making it easier for them to recognize “Oh shit! I need to do adult things!”
It never is. And, like with Dad, I’m hoping that both of them still have more good years left. We just don’t know. On Hubby’s dad’s side, his grandparents both lived into their 90s. On his mom’s side, both his grandparents were gone before he was out of school, and not long after we got married, his last uncle on that side of the family passed away, so his Mom is all that’s left of the immediate family. I honestly think that thought worries him more than any other.
Bumba, thanks! They’re getting there. Slowly. And glad that your interview with the new PCP went well.
That is really sweet! I can’t wait to hear how it all goes.
Hippo birdies, shoe! Sounds like you have a pretty good manager. Sorry things have been overwhelming. We’re here whenever you need us to be. {{{shoe}}}
Hubby’s case is big enough that it would take up most of a backpack. But since I don’t know if he’ll have any other carryon besides his laptop bag, it shouldn’t be a problem stowing it at his feet.
I say that to myself every morning. And I’m now imagining the combined smells of whisky and bacon and it’s rumbling my tummy.
That was my first thought as well. 
Glad that you’ve got a less busy schedule than usual today.
Last night was a rough night sleeping. The brain weasels wouldn’t shut up and had me thinking and overthinking every last thing that’s ever happened in my life. I wrote a trust locked post about it on FB, letting my trust people know that I was just trying to word-vomit in order to feel better, but I still had one friend that decided to advise. Not what I was looking for, but coming from their heart and that is what I’m focusing on.
Finally made my first mango ginger smoothie this morning. It was much easier having most of the ingredients bagged. It was supposed to have ice added to it to make it thicker, but as I have no ice, I made it without. Honestly, I liked it better that way. It was just the right thickness for me. I didn’t get as much of the ginger taste, so I may need to tweak the recipe the next time I make up frozen bags. I may also try mincing it really small instead of grating it because grating it has been a complete and utter pain.
Gotta take Hubby to the dentist today to have a tooth pulled and CtE to therapy tonight. I should bring the recycling out and go to the store. Those we’ll see about. I’m just feeling very, very drained this morning - probably because I got about 2 hours sleep. But I really should get my big ol’ booty in gear and into the shower. That should (I hope) wake me up enough to get stuff done.
smokey day in phila. not as bad as nyc, but it looks like san francisco out side, weather like san fran as well.
i can’t believe how much of canada is on fire. coast to coast. new jersey has 2 fires that are contributing some smoke to the imported canadian smoke.
So they changed the start time, but didn’t tell anybody. Not that it mattered, the 3G belt was broke for 20 of the extra 15 minutes of the sort. And somehow the belt didn’t over load. I got sketti sauce in the crock pot, and it’s naptime, assuming Hyper Zoomie Cat lets me rest in peace.
My condolences. May I suggest a quart of medicinal gin?
I’m still working on that part. 
Well, if you’d stop shooting up the jukebox at Bob’s Country Bunker every Saturday, maybe it would heal.
Happy birthday, shoe!! 
The smoke from the Canadian wildfires is finally noticeable here: it’s hazy this morning, but mostly I can smell it in the air. My dad lives ~50 miles north of me and reported a lot of haze/smoke in his area yesterday afternoon. In July 1976 my family lost nearly everything in an apartment fire (including our cat), and as a result my mom became a little oversensitive about lit candles, the smell of smoke, etc.: I picked some of that up, and the way the air smells today is slightly disconcerting. It’s a shame, because otherwise it would be great “open windows” weather. Happily, I have functioning a/c, nowhere to go, and no plans to be outside other than short trips to the back yard with the doggy. I think the air quality is supposed to be at its worst tomorrow, though, and I have two medical appointments in the morning. Meh.
The organizers of this Saturday’s music festival haven’t assigned vendor setup times yet, or released the link for us to provide the names of later-arriving volunteers (so they won’t have to pay to enter the festival). I know I tend to be on the OCD side when it comes to planning, but we’re only three days away and it’s driving me a little crazy…I’d really like to have everyone/everything squared away, and know our setup time! At least the forecast is still fabulous: mostly sunny with a high of only 80°F, and most of the wildfire smoke should have dissipated by then.
I’m still slothing as much as possible this week, but I did do laundry this morning. I want to wear the same jeans and (NAACP) shirt at Saturday’s event as I did last Saturday: they seriously needed washing, and I figured it would be easiest to take care of that today (I have appointments tomorrow, and am planning to do very little on Friday until it’s time to load up the car that evening).
I’ll be going to the office on Monday, for the first time in a couple of months. A new member of my program’s leadership team is joining the company: she has to go to the office that day to get her company badge and laptop, so a few of her peers + the boss are planning to be there to meet her and spend some time in person on her first day. The boss will be ordering lunch for everyone. I’m looking forward to meeting the new hire and seeing some of my colleagues, and also to having my first Chinese food in quite a while.
It’s not always possible (or desired), but when family/friends would be a welcome surprise at something like that – and are able to go – I think it’s kind of awesome!
Right?! 
IMO that’s what they get for having both kinds of music (country and western).
I knew there was something I’d read this morning and intended to comment on but had forgotten by the time I was writing my post.
Unrelated to her primary ailment my late first wife developed a trigger finger. (Or was it a thumb? I’m not recalling. Gaah!).
Anyhow, the point for you is that the in-office treatment was simple, effective, and was still doing well for her ~6 years later when she died. No way to know how much longer it would have lasted, but it hadn’t shown any signs of deterioration yet.