I rushed off before I had time to finish
Happy Birthday Wheelie!
By the time we got back home, the wind had picked up, and it smells like it’s going to rain.
The fire pit guy two doors down is sleeping outside. I thought he was putting up a carport in the middle of the yard. Instead, a frame is up, covered with a tarp, and he is sleeping under it.
It could take 2 weeks for the glasses to come in. From experience, it will be a lot sooner than that.
Good luck on the proposal VanGo. I hope that you get the truck figured out.
sari, Nelson wears a vest harness (much easier to get him into than a strap one). It’s comfortable enough that he curls up to sleep in his car bed on a road trip.
swampy, I’m not a summer baby, but never went to school on my birthday either (it fell over Christmas break). I’m sorry about your fellow parishioner.
Happy birthday wheelie!
I grew up in a rural midwestern town of ~500 people. The town was on a lake and my godparents lived on the lake. In addition, two of my dad’s brothers lived on another lake ~7 miles away and his folks lived within walking distance of it. For several years, we would park the camper at one of two lakes for most of the summer and Dad would go to work from the campground while Mom and us kids spent the days on the lake or working the truck farm that we had several miles away.
If that wasn’t enough water, we usually spent a couple of weeks at Big Chetek Lake in northern Wisconsin. After I left home, Mom and Dad bought a cabin on [Lake Ann](https://Lake Ann) up around Interlochen, MI and I would go up with them once or twice a summer.
Other than that, it was the usual small town stuff like riding bikes, walking uptown to Bickel’s grocery for a cold drink or an ice cream and going to summer library at the local public school a couple of blocks away. I’ll be heading back up to that neck of the woods next weekend.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Just hope that they don’t send someone to your door.
Off and on I have donated to the PBS station during pledge breaks. They responded by sending me solicitation letters approximately quarterly. Well, they upped the ante by sending someone to our front door about 2 weeks ago who almost wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Happy Birthday Wheelie!
Walked to work with my friend. A lot of sloth this afternoon. Watered the vegetable garden and the flowers that Hubs didn’t water earlier.
Up from naptime, having an Old Fashioned. I was browsing one of UPS charm offensive posts, someone suggested everybody order anvils in case of a strike to give the what for to the scabs. I almost spit bourbon on my monitor. 
11
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Depends on how many conference calls he has to do during a contract. 
And hope it’s an easy fix on the truck.
Today I had labs and an EKG prior to my getting OK’d for surgery. I also cleaned out two closets and took out trash. My sister called, and we laughed like crazy people. It was a good day.
Wheelie! Happy Getting Yourself Borned Day! I’m so glad you’re here .
I’ve been by there. My late, great former in-laws lived north of Woodruff. I loved it up there!
Never contradict the Boo! Besides, I think she’s right. P.S. You look like you were a fun kid to know.
You did! Your summers sound idyllic.
When I was a kid, I thought lightning bugs had the mysterious ability to fit through holes much smaller than they were. This was because I’d put a few grass sprigs in a jar, punch small holes in the lid, and put my nightly collection of lightning bugs in there, only to find the empty jar in the morning. Years later, Mom 'fessed up that she liberated them after I’d fallen asleep so they wouldn’t suffer.. A good woman, my mom.
VanGo, that IS sucky news about the truck. I hope you had a few adult beverages. May tomorrow be better .
You’re my kind of people .
Thanks the kind birthday wishes, folks.
Mother Nature celebrated with a big unexpected thunderboomer this afternoon. That was fun.
Then we went to trivia night at the clubhouse. Our team came in third (of four), but we were only three points off the lead, out of 48 questions. So it wasn’t too embarrassing of a showing. And one of my neighbors brought cupcakes. A nice night.
Happy Birthday Wheelie! Congrats on surviving so long despite the dumb things you did when you were young.
We had a SAHM when I was young, so she did a lot of things with us over the summer. We went to pick-your-own orchards and farm, then learned how to can and bake and use what we brought home. We went to museums (she was very supportive when I was in Jr. High and wanted to volunteer at the local museum-mostly I sorted rocks for the Drs Leakey) and parks and the beach and best of all, she took us to factories. I still am fascinated by watching assembly lines.
We saw candy and cookies being made, beer being brewed and once watched a Mustang being assembled right in front of our amazed eyes.
The library was air conditioned which was a big draw during the summer heat. We had a swamp cooler, but it didn’t work well enough to cool the entire house after Dad added the girl’s dorm. (4 bedrooms, a two sink bathroom and a laundry room that I helped him build) Every year Mom had to go to the library with me and tell the workers that I really was allowed to read adult books, but if there was anything they thought was too graphic to put it aside for her to read first. The only book she wouldn’t let me read when I first wanted to was Strangers in a Strange Land. I was so excited when she finally said I was old enough and then I was super disappointed because I expected so much more.
Who remembers Bookmobiles? I don’t remember when they went away but I still miss them. And bread/donut trucks?
We did all the usual things that free range kids did back then, bicycle riding, baseball, shoot outs over the fences. Most of the homes had wood privacy fences around the back yards, and decorative rail fences around the front yards.
After I got old enough to have to work for a living, most vacations involved visiting our out-of-state parents. I’m really looking forward to my upcoming vacation, I won’t be rushed and worried about packing all the fun into a week that I can.
I had a friend who was born on the Fourth of July. She said she felt betrayed when she learned that all of the fireworks and celebrations weren’t for her.
I would not have been happy about you climbing my fence, mostly because I would worry about you falling off and getting hurt. Had you knocked on my door, or left a note because I wasn’t home, I certainly would have given your ball back.
Oh, those are beautiful. The colors and textures work so well!
That looks so much fun!
If you ever run out of room for more quilts and want to sell/give some away please give me dibs on that one!
Forget your USB cords. It is super annoying to get all unpacked and ready to relax just to learn that you have to go to the local C-store for something so cheap and critical in today’s world.
I’m sure the neighbor kids think that we are horrible meanies because it takes us so long to toss their balls back over the fence. This is mostly because their yard is behind our long outbuilding so almost all of the balls land in the 4 ft wide walk area between building and fence and we rarely go back there. I really do wish someone would knock on our door when it happens, I always feel badly when I find a sun flattened ball in the weeds.
We used to play in the cemetery. It was cool and dark and would have been spooky if we had ever seen anything. The sprinklers came on just before the street lights so we would be naughty and dance nakkid in the sprinklers before scampering off to put clothes back on before running home.
I hope things are going well on the employment front. Looking for work is such a soul sucking job.
/pouts/ We never got cool things like that when we were kids!
Did your mom sew that dress? Cause I’m sure I had one just like it back then.
Well, crap. I sure hope it is an inexpensive fix.
Today I had the pharmacy try to run my insurance to schedule my covid shot only to learn that my insurance problems were not fixed after all. I called. I did my best to be calm and polite, but I’m sure my voice was a good indicator of how much I wanted to just scream.
Me: I called last week and was told that my issue with a different insurance being attached to my name was solved. I tried to schedule a covid shot today and was told that it was not.
Rep: Oh, sometimes Social Security reports that sort of thing in error, you need to contact them?
Me: I have been calling about this for months, why has nobody told me this in the past? Why was I not told when I called FOUR days ago.
Rep: It’s possible they just reported it to us. I will call them and conference you in once I have gotten through the prompts.
Me: Wait, didn’t we do this last week? Don’t you people take notes?
Rep: Yes we do. I should probably do that now.
Me: /bangs head against desk a couple of times/
Rep: Oh, I can see that you did do that, a button didn’t get pushed on our end. If you will bare with me, I will do that now.
Me: /puts phone on speaker and loads pipe/
So, the end result was I made him conference call my pharmacy so I could hear them verify that my coverage was acceptable again and then told him to not send me the survey because they really didn’t want to know how I felt.
And then I pulled up Diablo Immortal and created a Blood Knight and killed demons for a while which made me feel a little better.
My new deep birdbath came today and it is black instead of the hunter green I saw on my monitor. (it is black on Hub’s monitor) Hubs was right that the large amount of water would keep the metal coolish, but when he used our instant read thermometer on the metal one and the plastic one, the water in the metal one was 4 degrees hotter. The plastic and metal bowls were both the same temp. We are going to look at something white to put in the black birdbath to hopefully cool the water a little.
@TruePisces Blood Knight is the first new class Diablo has added in years. The Blood Knight is a vampire sworn to protect the innocent while using blood spells and skills. Diablo Immortal is free to play so one day when you are bored (like you ever get bored with everything going on), you might want to check it out.
Oh, my. Your post brought back so many memories of my own mother. Where did you grow up? Arizona? We were lucky that Mom was a teacher, so she had summers off, too. She taught us string painting, and how to make “stained glass windows” with crayon shavings between waxed paper. (She ran the iron.) She also took us to museums and the Art Institute. And she taught us all to cook.
We had a bookmobile! It came every Wednesday and parked right outside the mom-and-pop store. I thought there was no more glamorous job than being a bookmobile librarian, inserting library cards in the machine and stamping due dates on books and driving around with all those great books! If you had a penny, after the bookmobile, you could buy a penny pretzel at the store to eat slowly on the way home. Bliss!
I love birdbaths and hope to hear reports of birds going for a dip there in your little oasis. And glad you got the insurance/pharmacy stuff figured out!
Southern California. We moved to Arizona because we wanted to be able to afford to buy our own home. Mom as a SAHM until my baby sister started school, then she got a job as a school librarian while studying to become a teacher and then later got her Masters as a Reading Specialist.
Until now I was wondering if you were Linda (next sister in line) but Mom would have let us use the iron to show us how it was done. I can remember ironing endless numbers of pillowcases and handkerchiefs during my youth, thankfully sheets only got ironed when company slept over.
The silly things reacted just like cats to a new piece of furniture. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!!! I have to have several bird baths because the bees always take one over so they get the shallow one with rocks in it. Bees don’t swim well. The one for the birds is deep enough for a Grackle to bathe in and doesn’t have rocks so the bees tell each other to stay away from the water hazard.
The reason I wanted the metal one was because the raccoon knocked over the fake concrete on that the bees liked and I didn’t want to replace it with a concrete bath because the neighbor’s cat broke the last one we had. I also don’t want a ground bath for them to not knock over because sniks like to curl up in the and Thrashers and Sparrows are ground birds who would happily use a ground bath without realizing that it was occupied.
Not sure if you’ve been paying very close attention to my posting history, or simply assuming that we all did dumb stuff when we were young.
Either way, you’re not wrong.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveved. Off to heave.
Well, sorting rocks for the Leakys and getting floozy-ed up against Torpedo Tube #2 kinda makes up for it.
as someone who lives on the other side of the same desert ain’t July grand?
i never got to do much during summers really
Our county just got a grant from the state to add a Mobile Library (their term) and they expect it to be on the road soon. Apparently, there are a number of them in Merrylande! So they haven’t gone away here.
I doubt it - she did sew, but nothing quite that detailed, especially when I was that age. My bro (2 years younger) wasn’t in the pic, but with 3 kids that young, she probably didn’t do much more that cooking, laundry, and cleaning. Poor Mom…
And tho she was a SAHM, our family had one car that Dad used to go to work, so Mom couldn’t take us anywhere. Luckily, there was lots of stuff within walking distance - Ah, suburbia!!
I can’t wrap my head around this - ironing sheets?? Mom taught me to iron pillowcases (and other stuff) but once on my own, I quit doing that - they get wrinkled minutes after you go to bed, so why bother??? 
Hot and hazy for today - the Canadian fire smoke is back. It may well be a basement play day - definitely not going anywhere till I take them back to their mom. FCD is taking his mom to her retina specialist to get shots in the eyes, hoping they might help. I’m thinking for as long as she’s had the macular degeneration, help is doubtful, but what do I know. Anyway, that’s his plan.
I got a long text from my sister-in-law in Texas - BIL is in hospice - not because death is imminent, but because of their numerous trips to the ER or calls to EMTs. His condition is more than she can manage, so his Dr got him in hospice. Not that he’s expected to live very long anyway, but this will make SIL’s life easier. I’m still pissed at BIL for getting himself in this situation (ignoring all the years his docs told him how to deal with his diabetes) but I’m selfishly glad they don’t live near us. FCD doesn’t need that burden.
I got an email from my youngest sis - end of next month, two of our cousins will be going to Mom’s for a family gathering - they’re pretty much all that’s left from that side of the family. Their dad was my mom’s brother and their sister died of an opioid OD, their mother died decades ago. We haven’t seen them in 7 years I think, so it’s an excuse for a party. And I’ve got 5 weeks to figure out what I’ll make - I’m tired of taking deviled eggs all the time.
And so the day begins. Happy Tuesday!!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 72 Amurrkin out and N.O.S. with a predicted high of 97 and N.O.S. for the day. It’s laundry day, be still my beatin’ heart! Outside of that I foresee much sloth, general overall uselessness, and quality cee-mint pond time. Sup shall be leftovers from Oh and I am sure there will be some funeralizin’ stuff to deal with.
red I see the slice of cake by your name, so Happy Doperversary!
. MOOOOOOM ain’t nuttin’ wrong with deviled aigs. Just sayin’.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Tuesday Y’all!
I know - I just get tired of always bringing them. And lately, too many are left at the end of the event. I guess the fambly is getting tired of them. I’m sure I can figure out something else.
Good morning everyone. Hades Iron Company has relocated to the DFW area now. They make the hinges for the gates of hell, and have decided its better to test them here. I made all that up (I think), but it reached 110.2 F at Casa Pullin yesterday, and more is on the way.
Childhood summers for me are mostly memories like The Wonder Years, but with go-carts. My grandpa was a self-taught machinist (no school beyond elementary) and he tinkered a lot with his lathes/etc. He built a go-cart for my youngest Uncle, which included a transmission he built himself (small tractor motor powered it). I inherited this when I turned six and my dad built a big gate from our back fence into the woods beyond. After a lot of churning, we kids carved out a bunch of trails back there, and spent many summers re-enacting the Rat Patrol (anyone else remember this?). We chased imaginary half-tracks and tanks all over the woods during the summers, using our toy machine guns to win battles. I’d start the motor in the mornings, which would bring all my friends to the backyard, and off we’d go (after arguing about who was in command).
Been a rough week but here goes: Daughter is doing great on her expedition, week 3 on the dive boat and they’re salvaging a vessel at 160 feet, so I think those dives need decompression and technical stuff. Getting lots of cool pics from her boat and we solved a really stressful money transfer problem (more difficult than you’d think when mooring at tiny villages where no one speaks English). Had to return to kiddo’s duplex to fix more stuff (long story) and lots of weird happenings via security cams. I think it’s all random (not sinister) but someone knocked a lot of debris in front of the door, and I had to drive down and clean it up.
Son is doing great at new job, finished all the training and is doing mostly East Coast and Caribbean routes now. Took a pay cut, but is back to daytime work (instead of all night), and he’s still jazzed about the new job.
Went to visit aging relatives again and cosplayed Monty Python as usual (“One day lad, all this will be yours!”) Continued dismay that I don’t want to move and live there.
After trips to help relatives, fix stuff, and fix other stuff, I’ve totaled 1600 miles in the last week. On the plus side, I’ve proven the new truck can handle 100+ temps and still keep cool inside.
Today is the “big” visit to eye docs, to decide whether they’ll whittle on my eyeball or leave it to heal on its own. Since I’m still having trouble with depth perception*, I’m not sure which I’m voting for.
Finally got the new marina papers signed and the new slip will be cleared by Aug 1st for us to move the boat. Unlike FCM, we can’t just drive it there because Interstate 35 is really hard on the propellers. So we’re negotiating one last ride for “princess” in her beloved travel-lift but onto the trailer this time (you know, the one the tree fell on). Also getting the bottom power-washed again, but due to regs over transporting aquatic-life from one lake to another. No one actually enforces or checks this, but we decided to pay for it anyway, to be good citizens.
I forgot to whine about last few weeks’ tree issues too, so get comfortable (Hey! Come back here! I’m not finished.) Due to TX deep-freeze and other climate/heat/drought stuff, we decided one of our large trees were menacing our neighbors house/yard and maybe even endangering their kidlets in their sandbox/etc. We had a bunch removed or trimmed by a team of dudes with noisy machinery (they even had a tracked vehicle wandering through the yard grinding stuff). But that’s not what I wanted to tell you… After they all left, a giant branch (25 feet) fell from one of the trees we thought was OK. Onto my doggone boat trailer! Again with the guys, trucks, and carabiners and climbing gear to bring it down. I think we’re finally through and the yard is kinda denuded. It was necessary though, due to the brittle tree branches menacing us and neighbors.
So… onward to the week. Dr visits and keeping cool are paramount I guess. Plus chilling and sloth (finally). Lotsa work to do on the RV and stuff, but I can pace that with the heat by doing an hour or so each morning, then retreating to the TV.
Hope everyone has a good week!
*Hit the back wall of the storage unit while backing the RV in. Still don’t have good depth perception yet, but I’m working on it.
Morning all. Work up about 5:30am and spent some time making a packing list and itemizing the things I need to get done today. Still adding to it as things occur to me. Have paid my credit card bills already, so I have money to spend on my short trip. Most everything else will have to wait until things start opening. Heading to 93F today so another good day to move from AC to AC.
Mom was also a SAHM (nice abbreviation, had to look it up) and we had a bookmobile but the libraries were just as close so much time spent there.
FCM, sad tale about BIL in Texas. At least he’s getting some help, but points out how you take care of yourself or life will take care of you…one reason I’m trying to exercise both body and brain these days. Enjoy the family meet-up.
JtC, hope the new birdbath works out. And glad you got the insurance worked out. Oh, and…
Wait a minute, you mean THE Leakey’s? Louis B. and Mary? The Ouduvai Gorge Leakeys? I am seriously impressed.
nellie, glad the day went well; here’s hoping the surgery does too.
Cat Glove, so far my PBS station and Alabama Public TV have only sent letters asking for more (you get your share once a year when I’ve budgeted for it and that’s all!!) instead of people at my door. Ah well, the shredder needs the work.
Either his AC is out or his wife booted him out…your pick. Best wishes on prompt glasses delivery.
OK, need to finish the morning internetting and then get started on the pre-trip list. All y’all take care.
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Good morning, everyone.
I was almost the only girl on a block full of boys. This was okay with me, as I liked playing with toy cars and such just as much as with my Barbies and troll dolls. There were about ten of us kids on the block, and in the summertime we’d all play as a big group.
We’d set up Hot Wheels racetracks in the front yard of one of the boys and have all-day races. Slip ‘n’ Slides were wildly popular, even if you did wake up the next day with bruises all over from flinging yourself at the ground. After dark, we’d play hide and seek, because the deep shadows provided lots more hiding places.
A nearby park had a public swimming pool, and it cost a quarter to go swimming. We’d play there until we were so starving we had to go home. No doubt I paved the way for plenty of future skin cancer issues then! The park also provided summer arts ‘n’ crafts activities, such as basket weaving. I made several ugly baskets that my mom felt obliged to keep around for a few years.
But summers in southern California were hot. I remember the year we finally got a window-mounted air conditioner and what a relief it was. My Texan dad, by the way, thoroughly disapproved of such a foo-foo luxury item but my Minnesotan mom had put her foot down that we should get one. Dad scowled whenever it was turned on and made sure the family felt his scorn.
Hi, friends. I had a rough week+ brain-wise. Nothing to report on the various job things, still waiting to hear from people. Been roped into leading a team and writing a grant here at current-work, so I’m actually busy for once. Sorry for my absence, love y’all lots.
-IX
It took only three bus stops to overfill our school bus that had an official capacity of 72. My grandfather always claimed my neighborhood was full of good Catholics and dumb Protestants. That’s Grandpa! But seriously, new neighborhood so full of young families.
Belated happy birthday to you! I hope you did something nice for yourself.
They do. Or at least for one wearing. Thinking of wearing the same pair again today as a test. We are supposed to rotate our shoes so that they don’t get stinky sweaty but that’s for those who can afford to do so.
I hope they went the way you wanted them to. Best of luck with the job hunt. Once moved, I will be searching again too, either for a second part-time gig or a full time position.
Almost time to head to irk. Yesterday, I fell headlong in the garage as I was stepping out the door so now I have a sore body and a colorful knee. But I managed to save my breakfast burrito from going splat on the floor. Priorities! Then, I get to head over to the apt again to turn in my list of complaints. This would be the list of things they can’t blame on my residence, such as the paint drops all over the floor and the loose bathroom cabinetry. But the lights work, there is eventually warmish, not hot, water. and the ice cube maker in the freezer is prolific. It’s a start.