(Old) So you want to be a star in the MMP

Hey all! It’s been a busy day plus. So here’s me trying to play catch up!

Aren’t we all!

Good point there. Thinking back to myself at that age, I was definitely completely egocentric. I suspect that was a majority of the problems I had with my step- mom.

I need to show this to my Dad so he knows what to look forward to next year. Though I didn’t stand on the footrest of the recliner, I turned it into a fort underneath.

pilot, that sounds like a very harrowing trip to the dentist! Glad you made it home alright eventually. I agree that finding out what was in the analgesic is a good idea.

Hubby’s dental appointment yesterday was slightly harrowing, but in an expected way. Hubby has long, curvy roots on his teeth which have caused extraction problems in the past. This time was no different. The dentist ended up breaking the top of the tooth off, then having to go back in with the drill to get the rest of it. Of course, I knew none of this. I was busy reading “The Maltese Iguana” and listening to my music. It just goes to show how good they are at making sure you’re numb before going in. This is the same oral surgeon I use (unlike pilot, I have not taken care of my teeth and will be looking at dentures as soon as I can afford them. ) and I absolutely love their staff.

From there, we had to go to the pharmacy at Vandy to pick up the pain meds they called in. While waiting for them to be done, I started talking with a young woman who’d been in an ATV accident and was waiting on her pain meds and a newly graduated 17 year old who was picking up their meds and getting out of the house away from their uber-Christian mom. We started talking about LGBTQ+ issues - the 17 year old is transmasculine and I’m poly and bi, the other woman is just wonderfully open minded and willing to learn. It took an hour before I went back up to check on the meds they were supposed to let me know we’re ready, but it was a good way to pass the time. I also accidentally called myself Hubby’s husband, which led to joking around a little with the person behind the counter. But meds were obtained, I grabbed Hubby and we headed home.

Therapy for CtE went very well. I really think they like this therapist more than the last one. Not that there was anything wrong with the previous therapist - he helped CtE a lot before he took on a more managerial position. But I never saw CtE come out of their therapy sessions as happy as I do now. And their new therapist is making progress with getting them to focus on achievable goals.

I slept much better last night, thankfully. I woke up a couple times, but that’s par for the course. According to my CPAP, I got 8 hours of sleep. Apparently that wasn’t enough though because I feel back to sleep for about an hour. I had to take the van in to the transmission shop to see if there was a fluid leak as Firestone had thought. Found a fellow geek in the manager and got to talk Green Arrow, Doctor Who and D&D. Also got quite a bit of reading done. When they came back with the van, they said they thought it was just residual fluid from the last time they had to go into the transmission. They cleaned it all up and wasn’t me to come back in a week or two.

Spent a lot of the day reading, finishing up my book. I’d actually not enjoyed it at the beginning but found that I just had to keep reading to find out how crazy things were going to get. I may have to borrow the previous books in the series.

Hubby finally talked to his parents about coming up. Of course, the lower cost flights from two days ago were gone, but he was able to get flights four only about $100 more. He’ll be gone for a week in mid- July and may be sending stuff home that he can’t fit in his suitcases (books, primarily, since they can be sent media mail.) I really hope that he’s able to help and get things worked out for the future. I also hope the kids decide that it will be good to help Mom instead of hinder her.

Headed to book club a little early and had to tell the paranoia part of my brain to shut up when I started thinking that I should keep my mouth shut because everyone had to think I was saying stupid stuff. Still, it was a good meeting, our one year anniversary of the start of the book club. It was the first of my three book clubs for this month - this one is fantasy based, the one on Monday is a virtual graphic novel book club out of Austin, and on the 21st is my local graphic novel book club. I’m currently caught up on the reading for all of them, so my reading right now is all pleasure/reading for the summer reading challenge.

Listened to CtE playing D&D with his friends online for a little while while waiting for Hubby to come back from his tutoring gig. Listened as BtY kept going outside then back in, then back out again. It’s a pretty common thing for him, which I only mind when he doesn’t lock doors he’s done going out for the night. Now Hubby and I are just laying next to each other, relaxing for the night. Tomorrow Hubby has a doctor’s appointment, I promised I’d take CtE out for Taco Bell breakfast if they help me with recycling, and I have an 11:30 support group in the LGBTQ+ mental health app I’m in. I’m going to make sure tomorrow is a kick ass day for me mentally, because I deserve it.

Have a good night/morning/afternoon, all! And thanks for being here in general. You guys are part of what helps get me through the rough days.

Got hockey on the TV, Smoked Paprika Chicken in the oven, and I’m drinking a martini with Roku gin.

Shit, Astrud Gilberto died on Monday. :frowning:

A tad far.

that’s what we’re here for!

Hello! Lovely to see you again, my friends. Walk along with me to the next bend.

I saw the knee doc today. He said the knee looks much worse with more fluid around it. He’s ruled out arthritis as the cause of the pain and said the PA shouldn’t have given me the Rx NSAID since I said they upset my stomach, and the shot she gave me is not effective for knee pain. He ordered an MRI. I’ll hopefully get a call in a week to set up an appointment. I wish I could get the MRI tomorrow, but the insurance is the determining factor, not the patient. I mean, that would be socialism. Can’t have that.

On the way home, a woman in a men’s shirt exited the bus, bent to set down her parcels, and, well, as the old limerick goes,To a fancy dress ball, she wore nothing at all, but backed in as a parker house roll. I mean, to each her own, but a wet-wipe thong would’ve been a thoughtful fashion choice.

Hippie, my sister told the Godfather story to her aqua Zumba class, and they all laughed themselves silly. You’re a sensation across the nation. And your mom sounds like quite a gal.

FCM, hard to believe Ms. Roxy is old enough for rollercoasters. She’s a braver soul than I. I scream loud enough to wake the dead, and that’s on the kiddie coaster.

MetalMouse, glad you arrived safe and sound.

I remember him from his days at WBBM, Chicago. His soothing voice made the tumult of the late 60s less scary. I’d never heard the tornado story. Wow.

Pilot, I’m agog that an oral rinse had such a powerful effect. Yikes. Glad you got home OK.

red, glad Nelson is back on good ol’ kibble.

{{{{Taters and Polar}}}}

Aww. What a sweet memory. It makes me realize how short a time a half-century is.

It would make for a good alternate history story. What if Kurtis never had that night and kept on with the law career he had planned on? Maybe he would have become known anyway, trying some famous case.

GG is almost 20 lbs. COC is hovering at 6 lbs now. Every so often one of us will slip up and leave the baby gate open. When they come face to face, COC isn’t the one running away to hide behind my storage bins under the spare bed.

Yeah, you don’t want chickens, everything kills them. You could ask to trade your leftover veggies and bread for eggs though. Fresh eggs are really nice unless you want to hard boil them. Then they are horrible because they won’t give up their shells no matter what tricks you use.

That poor woman.

Yep. I sure do get that.

Blushes, thank you, that was very sweet.

As a fellow allergy sufferer, I can really sympathize with your husband. I hope the pollen count drops soon.

That probably makes a huge difference!

Compost is supposed to be 45% green matter, veggies and fruits, 45 percent brown matter like dried leaves and grass, shredded paper or things like wood chippings. The other 10 percent should be regular ol’ dirt. If it is too green, it will rot and if it is too brown it will just dry out and do nothing. My bin has been getting a whole lot of green matter recently so I needed to add some brown to it. It’s working already, the smell is going away. Compost shouldn’t smell like anything but dirt, so hopefully I’ll get back there this week.

That is one of the best things in the world!

I’ll bet love and laughter played a big part in your happiness.

Ya gots to love them.

My mother refused to let me get past 30 for a decade. She just wasn’t old enough to have a daughter my age, LOL!!!

“So, second daughter, how old are you now? I’m 34, mom, you know that! No, no you can’t be 34, Jane is only 30 and you are a year younger than her.”

Oh, go you!

I’m so glad you are feeling better. I never thought that horses would need soap baths, but it makes sense now that I think about it.

Go Nelson. It’s so worrisome when our speechless ones aren’t well.

Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.

I resemble those remarks! It’s amazing to think what laws there were when I was born.

Damn. That’s rough. And I get pissy when I have to take care of my kids by myself for a few weeks at a time.

Pilot, I hate anything to do with dentists. I had to get a bunch of work done before coming to Japan since it’s so much cheaper to have done in Taiwan. I just didn’t keep up during the Pandemic.

OK, off to

Real Fish, I’m not so sure I haven’t outgrown being completely egocentric even now.

A text of a naked woman? Not a pic, I hope. Damn, I’m glad to be out in the sticks where that doesn’t happen so much.

Nellie, that knee sounds painful.

I did not know that!

It appears that I sleep better if I only have a single Diet Coke in the morning and avoid caffeine after that. OK, I knew that, but kinda ignored it for a while. But over the last few days, I’ve adhered to minimal caffeine and I’ve had pretty good nights. Yay!

The dishwasher is sloshing away - I should have run it last night, but what’cha gonna do? After I do my morning surf, I’ll shower and dress. We’ll go to breakfast, then retrieve our hose from the boat yard and retrieve our boat from the other marina after we settle up with them. We’ll add some diesel at our marina before finally returning to our slip. Whew! Then work will resume over the weekend.

The smoke is supposed to be blown away this weekend - I guess we’ll see. It doesn’t smell as much this morning, tho - that’s a good sign. Better sign will be the end of the conflagrations in Canada.

Meanwhile, onward! Happy Firday!!

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 67 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 89 and N.O.S. for the day. This mornin’ we shall go over to the church house so’s I can take care of candle duty and so forth. Then we shall be bears who brunch at the hog trough Golden Corral due to a gnawin’ and a cravin’ on both our parts for fried chikin. Beyond that, I foresee nappage, day drinkin’, and quality cee-mint pond time. Since the main need to feed will be taken care of, any other desire for sustenance shall be via forage.

Red glad Nelson is feelin’ himself more and on his regular feed.

MetalMouse have fun refereein’!

Pilot yikes! Definitely find out what that stuff is and put it on your never again list.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, alas and bother, I suppose I must purtify and don attire acceptable for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. How I suffer for my public!

Happy Firday Y’all!

I was a heavy coffee drinker for most of my life. I would drink it all day and sometimes into the evening and still sleep well. Gradually I was sleeping less and less sound. I tried a few things but ended up having to give up caffeine all together. My wife has always been a very light sleeper (due I think to childhood trauma, but that is another subject) She ended up switching to caffeine free Diet Coke. She still has some residual issues but she sleeps much better that she did.

We have both shifted to ice water in restaurants, she from Diet Coke and me from iced tea. I still drink coffee but it is all decaff.

It’s still a dad-daughter thing between us. Makes us both smile.

Mornin’ everyone.

I woke up to the sound of rain falling outside. It’s currently 55 degrees and raining, with an expected high of around 60F and periods of rain all day. I don’t mind because I won’t have to water the flowers except for the giant basket on the front porch.

I took off from work a little early yesterday and will make up the time today. I found I was not being productive and was irritated by several unresolved issues. The issues are unresolved because I haven’t had a minute to sit and talk with the SD. At any rate, I took out my aggressions on an overgrown rhodie bush at the end of my driveway, tore out weeds along that side of the driveway, and raked up all the crap from the neighbor’s tree next door. It’s some evergreen that is not native to my state, and I hate it because it drops long needles with burrs all around them. The tree is too big for the planted area and drops crap in my gutters.

At any rate, I was out there for almost two hours and filled up my yard waste bin to the top. It was about a quarter full when I started. I felt good about getting that done. I just need to finish cleaning that area up and maybe finish trimming out that rhodie. I was super hot and tired by the time I finished, and I was out of room in the bin anyway.

I drink coffee in the morning, generally two cups, sometimes three. If I have soda, it’s usually Diet Coke, and I don’t drink any after 6:00 or 7:00 in the evening. I generally have one or two cans daily, but mostly I drink water. On the other hand, my husband drinks way too much Diet Coke and wonders why he has problems sleeping. :face_with_raised_eyebrow: To be fair, he’s got some sinus issues too, and always has a plugged nose. Not sure if it’s allergies or something else, but he won’t call the doctor. :face_with_raised_eyebrow: :roll_eyes:

I need to finish loading the dishwasher. I am far from a load, but on the other hand, my husband left my counters a mess last night, and I can’t stand messy counters.

sari, in my Sis’ tribe, Nelson’s little brother / cousin Pugsly is the submissive of the five. He, far and away, is the biggest at ~25 pounds. The dominant? Nelson’s father’s littermate Maxie, a nearly toothless 13 year old 3.5 pound chorkie. :stuck_out_tongue:

Up, caffeinating (my first cup of the usual weekend morning pot of french press), breakfasted, bed stripped, a load of towels / bed linens in the dryer, a load of clothes in the wash and fixing to start houseirk. The usual Friday chores.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

The work itself was alright. But Mark the Bagger had gas, and T, the woman who doesn’t want to be there was singing. Just off key enough to be annoying. The smoke is back today, so no walking about. Also, one of the neighbors in my building is missing her Boston Terrier. Now I have 2 dogs to look for.

Home again. Our boat is in its slip and we put 80 gallons of diesel in the tank (to the tune of almost $300!?!?!?!?) After fueling, we went to a wider part of the creek and I played with the thruster controls - OMG, they are too much fun!! You can turn each in opposite directions and just spin in place!

FCD was lining us up to go into the wrong slip when we got back, but once he got us headed to the correct place, getting into the slip was simple. And there was a guy on the pier to take the stern lines as we backed in, making my job easier. We got everything tied up, got power to the boat, and hooked up the hose. We talked about a few things to be done next, but our chores for this weekend involve getting the name board and hailing port board painted, varnished, and installed. That will all be done at home.

I need to clear space on the breakfast bar where I can work, then get my paintbrushes from the studio and get a scrap of mahogany to see which paints work best. Not nearly as back breaking as scrubbing and waxing!

So, onward!!!

Rain, glorious rain! I’m so happy, and the birds are celebrating. 98% of me wants to walk in it. The other 2% wants a good anesthetic. I was thinking I might get the MRI next week, but now I realize I might get the CALL to set up the appointment next week. It might be weeks before the appointment. I guess you have to be tough to live out here.

JtC, I learn the most interesting stuff from you!

Doggio, I still have my fingers crossed for Darcie’s return.

Good morning/afternoon/evening, all! It’s a gorgeous day outside, not any smoke that I’m sensing while I’m out there. WTF tells me that it’s 77F, NOS and “The sun harbors bad thoughts towards you. Is that weird?” Probably not, app. Probably not. I think it just hasn’t seen me in awhile so it doesn’t know what to make of me. The more time I spend in it’s presence, the more I’m sure it will come around.

CtE and I went actually got out of the house today. We got them their breakfast crunch wrap, took care of the recycling (and I need to figure out how to work the box crusher because I couldn’t figure it out today) and stopped at the park near the Convivence Center to walk. I got my two miles in, they walked about a mile and a half, and I’m feeling good about it.

(Side note: WTF has something new to tell me. “Sometimes, I have to admit that it’s just fucking nice outside.” This one, WTF, I agree with.)

My best friend messaged Hubby asking if we were good with her coming up for the weekend. Of course, we’re always glad to have her, I just wish I had more than a few hours warning so I could get more cleaning done. But Hubby keeps reminding me that she comes to spend time with us, not critique my cleaning skills. So I’m trying to put those thoughts to the back of my head. Plus, knowing her, she’ll have the kids cleaning things up before I the weekend is up. She’s so much better making my kids do things than I am, but I think that’s a “not the parent” situation. I may see if I can talk her into helping me color my hair this weekend. A friend suggested blue, pink and purple. I’m thinking just purple (partly because I don’t have blue and pink, partly because I’m convinced I’d screw it up!)

I’m also trying to meet more people in the area. I joined a local ENM group that I’m hoping with introduce me to a few more people. Of course, their first event is next weekend when I’m gaming, but I’m hoping they’ll have a lot more in the future. Still working on me!

doggio, I’m so gad that you are here for it. I wish I could hug every single one of you.

I know! Og forbid that the patient (and doctor) have any true say in what needs to be done. The person whose never seen the patient, doesn’t know the history and is only reading words on a screen/lab reports obviously should know far more than anyone local. :roll_eyes: I dealt with this with Dad and his stay at the rehab facility, and Hubby’s Mom is dealing with it regarding her stay at the rehab facility. Hopefully, the insurance will decide quickly that this is something they need to make happen.

sensei, nah, you’re not completely egocentric. You’re too good of a teacher for you to be completely egocentric. That’s not saying you’re completely non-egocentric either. I don’t think any of us are!

FCM, I’ve got a weird thing where caffeine actually helps put me to sleep. I would regularly drink Diet Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr Pepper right before bed with no problem. I’m trying to stay away from anything that may trigger my gastric ulcer which is tough since I love my carbonated beverages. But it’s helping me drink more water, so it’s something! :smiley:

swampy sounds like a day I’d like to have. Someday, this will be me. have a life goal now.

taters, taking the time away from an unproductive day at work to have a productive day at work sounds like a great move on your part. Hubby does that sometimes, leaving his computer desk and attacking something at home that needs to be done or just jumping into a video game to get his mind clear.

Nellie, I wish we’d get some rain here. Honestly, I want to just sit outside and watch a heavy rain come down while I’m reading my book.

Well, I’m joining an overthinking support group chat right now, so I should probably focus on that for a bit. :slight_smile: Everyone have a great rest of your day or night! Hugs to you all! (Yeah, I’m feeling the need to be loving right now, so I’ll probably virtually hugging a lot.)

I’ve made the mojo, and put the pork in it to marinate overnight. Haven’t decided whether I’ll cook it at 230º for six hours, or at 325º for three or so hours.

Here we are in month four of my Block of the Month project. This is the center block of the quilt. I am not quite happy with my workmanship, but I have to turn it in tomorrow. Later I will take it apart and fix the small issues with it:

These are four blocks almost the same as the eight I did for last month. The triangle at the bottom is the difference. They fit in the second layer around the center block. They cam out very nicely:

I turn these in and pick up month five tomorrow morning

I wish I knew what to do about the pain. I can take some pain, but this is at the level where it takes determination to concentrate. I’m talking about the pain level when I’m lying down. I can’t walk without making ugly sounds. NSAIDS do nothing. Opioids make me nauseous and itchy, plus I’m already on a ton of antihistamines, so not a good mix. Icing helps, but only while the ice is on there. I don’t think there’s anything else the doc can recommend. I had to take 5 breaks to type this. Why the frick has this gone on so long?

Thank you for reading today’s chapter in The Gripes of Wrath.