(Old) Tell A Stoopid Joke MMP!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
221

Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 22c/73f with a predicted high of 27c/84f and partly cloudy. Weather app says “Cumulonimbus is Latin for fucking twat waffle. Fucking weird, right?”

Bright Tree lovely pics, that tree is beautiful.

We arrived safely at our friends’ house and were greeted by two very enthusiastic greyhounds. We went out for dinner at a local carvery place then came back and watched a film.

Today we’re up and have had breakfast. Our festival opens at 1pm so we will make our way down to the site in an hour or so. Should be fun!

222

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 74 Amurrkin out and mostly clear with a predicted high of 92 becomin’ partly cloudy to cloudy this afternoon with a wee chance of rain. I shall betake myself to the church house (OYKW will accompany me) to deal with candle and other duties and then we shall be bears who lunch at Olive Garden for today’s main need to feed. I feel one lunches, rather than brunches, at OG. The rest of the day will be spent in RDOS inactivities as is our wont.

BooFae glad y’all made it safe and sound. I imagine the both of you are festivatin’ as I post.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then I must purtify and don attire acceptable for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. I suppose OG requires that I make somewhat of an effort.

Happy Firday Y’all!

223

I love Victorian houses but I wouldn’t own one because of the painting - you’ve got to do it right, right? It can’t be just one or two colors… OK, not that it’s ever been an issue for me to deal with, nor will it ever, since I don’t buy lottery tickets any more. But there are a couple in Solomons that I sigh over when we pass, and they’re not even painted properly!

As for visualizing, I pretty much can’t. For example, when we look for furniture, I see things I like, but I can’t mentally put them in my house, so I can’t trust myself to pick something that will work with what we have. FCD, on the other hand, is much better at it than I am, so I tend to yield to his opinions, and he’s mostly right. Luckily, we don’t go so much for a “style” as for things we like that tend to work together. So House Beautiful will never feature our living room on their cover…

Two different times, my sister adopted retired greyhounds. Rather than enthusiastic, I’d describe them as trip hazards! Sweet dogs, but they always seemed to plant themselves in the way.

Well, yeah, since they don’t do breakfast. It’s not so much time of day as menu options.

I was rather surprised that FCD brought up an Antarctic cruise last night. We had discussed doing one of the small ship cruises where one gets to set foot on the 7th continent, but for 2 of us, we could be looking at $40-50K for what we want. We don’t want it that much. There’s one in Jan of 2028 that would be less than half of that, including air fare and overnight in a hotel. And as it happens, that’s about the time our CD matures, so it’s a much more likely option.

We start today with 72 Ferrets, going to low 90s. I’m going to try to run John Deere down the side along the road - we noticed yesterday that it’s gotten a bit out of control. And, being Firday, there are dirties to be laundered. Plus I need to prep everything that we’re taking to my mom’s tomorrow. I guess that makes this a semi-busy day.

So let’s start a Happy Firday!!!

224

Good morning.

It’s 58F and mostly cloudy. The forecast calls for morning clouds and afternoon sun, with a daytime high of 77F.

We had extensive thunder and lightning storms yesterday, accompanied by rain. It was so nice! I loved it!

FCM, holy crap, that cruise would be one hell of an expense!

BooFae, I’m sure you’ll have a blast today.

Susan, your color combos sound lovely. They are close to nature colors, and I love that.

Today, I start Operation Rug Clean. I plan to start upstairs in the guest room, work my way down the hall to my husband’s second computer room, then to my bedroom, the bonus room, and finally the stairs. I’m not sure how much I’ll get done today. It may be a two-day thing just for upstairs. The downstairs will be done when the upstairs and stairs are complete.

I just realized I have several boxes of books for donation stacked in front of the bookcase in the bonus room. I’ll have to run those to Goodwill before I can clean the carpet in there. No biggie, it’s not far, but there are often ridiculous lines.

Alright, I better get my day started. Please take care of yourselves.

225

Good Morning, folks. No snooze for me this morning, as my Fitbit saw fit to wake me at a decent time, rather than 4:30. It was 75ºF and muggy. (What? warm and muggy in the South in summer? Say it ain’t so!) I took Chloé for a drag this morning. She had no desire to walk, and she made her wishes known. So my biceps got a isometric work out. Bun count this morning was two… that I saw. Chloé may have seen another one, since she wanted to chase something in the brush. Chasing unknown crepuscular animals is a bad idea. We have skunks here.

Obligatory sunrise pic:

I had wanted a Stromboli for dinner last night, but the family Italian restaurant up the street doesn’t have an order ahead option on their website, and I knew I didn’t want to sit around for an extra half hour after yoga for dinner, so I ordered a Papa John’s Pizza. Spike was appreciative this morning.

Bright tree - I love ciabatta bread. It’s fun to make, too, but I hear you on reheating the oven. It’s so damned warm, the last thing I want is a hot kichen. Also, nice wall colors. I like the texturing in the first picture. In the BC days, Mrs Magill would often paint an accent wall with texture like that. Kids are a frickin’ time sink, man. I dig the maple, too.

Oh, and you’re wondering where all the birds are. They’re at my feeder. (Three of them flew away while I was geting my phone.

226

I survived the trip to Mishawaka. I wore a big respirator mask with two puffy pink filters. Mrs. Nott doesn’t have asthma, and she opted for the N95 filter.

Today’s air index is 324, mostly from particulate matter. In this case it’s smoke from wildfires in Canada.

Mrs. Nott, who packs all my pill caddies, has talked me into going to 4 Parkinson’s pills a day instead of 5. I’m pretty nervous about that.

227

Yeah, but it’s logical. Fewer passengers to cover overhead means they have to pay more. Instead of spreading expenses over 2500, it’s spread over 250. Sure, the ship is smaller, but costs of crew, fuel, food, maintenance, etc, isn’t necessarily a tenth of the larger ship. And, frankly, if someone walked up to me with $50K as a gift, I just might use it for such a cruise. But pulling it out of our retirement fund? Not so much.

I have a small bag of books - I have considered giving them to a used book store rather than the thrift store. I wonder if they’d accept them.

I’ve noticed the light around here has an orange-ish tint, no doubt because we’re in the path of smoke. It made for a weird sunset. But breathing isn’t too bad. I accomplished mowage of the side and the front yard (tho to be fair, there wasn’t much to mow out front.) and I’ve stripped and remade the bed, sorted the laundry, and started the first load. Three more on deck.

I’m also showered and dressed appropriately for heading out into the world. I need to - FCD is down to 2 'nanners, so I’ll make a quick trip to Food Lion. Plus I need to pick up his meds and one of my refills at CVS. I think I’ll do that when I swap loads. And Alexa just reminded me to check, so down the stairs I go…

228

Sitting in the Mammoth Cave visitor center awaiting my 4-hour tour. This is the last planned activity on my vacation, may do another cave tour in the afternoon or just take it easy for the balance of the day. Tour goes 4 miles and has about 1500 steps so I’ll get my cardio workout today.

Should be back home tomorrow and can begin recovery from my vacation.

229

phila is at 81f with smoky skies. it reminds me of the pre clean air act days.

i have 11 colours in my one bedroom flat.

i’m working from home today, lager has a vet appt. i hope he doesn’t over heat.

great pics, aspenglow. i love the non-aspen tree, just glorius.

230

Bad to the stupid jokes:

Knock-knock
Who’s there?
I eat mop.
I eat mop who?
Ew.

231

FCM, I went to Antarctica with Hurtigruten and enjoyed it very much.

We had 3 rescue greyhounds. They were like enormous cats.

232

Accept them? They’d likely give you store credit for them. Most of them don’t take certain genres (western and romance tend to be the top two).

Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. I need to make a post office run today and take a CO2 cartridge to Staples for exchange. Once home, I’ll do a load of towels. Such excitement!

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

233

I don’t care about credit - I just don’t want them. It’s the Williamsburg series by Elswyth Thane and being very dated (she wrote in the 40s and 50s) they’re ever-so-slightly racist. Not hatefully, just a product of her times. I couldn’t read the whole series, even tho I loved them when I was a teen - different times, different attitudes. Anyway, I can’t bring myself to throw them in the trash, so maybe I’ll take them to the bookstore in Leonardtown. Unless someone here is willing to pay the postage for me to send them…

First load done, folded, and stowed. Second load in the dryer, third in the washer. One on deck. I’ve gotten the 'nanners and the meds. The sprinkler is watering my most recent plantings. The sky is hazy, tho I don’t notice a smoke smell. A good day to stay inside, tho.

234

Morning, all. House guests on their way. Bedding in the dryer. I’ll clean the guest bathroom and finish the guest room. I will pick up the bits of cardboard the fur goblins have chewed and spat. Like that.

235

Up early, house thrown open again to capture the cool temperatures. We started with 49Ferrets and will climb to a predicted afternoon high of 83F. I’m happily swaddled in throws this morning, savoring the cold. The house is currently at 60F.

Thanks, all. :slight_smile: I do love that silly maple, although it threatens to consume the entire patio. I can’t even bring myself to prune it, for fear of ruining its shape. It nearly died about a decade ago. We had a big snow storm, heavy wet snow. The weight of the snow nearly split the tree in two. But I pulled it back together with some baling twine and the trunk regrew into one again. I’m glad I saved it. I think.

Thanks, Lily. :slight_smile: Have fun with your house guests!

Indeed. If you look closely in the first outdoor pic to the lower right of the patio, you can also see one of my beloved former felines, Bitsy, making her way down the drive. She was an outstanding little girl. I miss her still.

Have fun at your festival, BooFae! It sounds like such a delightful way to spend a weekend!

Hope the rug cleaning goes well, taters. I need to do mine soon, too.

Not obligatory, but certainly appreciated! Another nice one, Mollie!

Re Ciabatta bread, we’re lucky to have really cool mornings here, so I can usually knock out a bit of baking early. Thanks for the kind words re the wall colors. Not to everyone’s taste, I know. :wink: Texturing those 2 walls in that room took for-frickin’-ever. I did another in an adjoining room, more of a soft gold, but then I was done with that silliness. I painted most of the walls in the other rooms the gentle jade color. Well, except one bathroom. That one is painted in American Cheese and Baby Blue.

Love all the birds at the feeder! Does Chloé enjoy the show, or is it solely for the benefit of you and The Fam?

Ugh, knots, I hope the air quality improves for you soon. And may the medication adjustment be a good thing.

Enjoy Mammoth Cave, metal mouse! Safe travels back home.

No plans today, though I got Ollie’s main throw in the wash early. He’s losing a ton of hair to the un-medicated skin issues. My poor little boy. I think I will continue sorting stuff in the spare bedrooms to dispose of. I can take the castoffs to St. Vinny’s or Good Will on Tuesday when Ollie finally gets his vax booster.

Breakfast will be another frittata, I think. Use up those veggies! Can’t think about dinner just yet.

I hope everyone has a great day. :slight_smile:

236

Doggio I was thinking biblically correct angel costume, but that’s also a valid option.

Lazy at home day, didn’t get much done and knocked off a bit early. I could happily have slept until early afternoon, except I got woken up by someone with a hedge trimmer.

It’s sunny and generally nice outside, but it’s smelling of smoke here too. It can’t be Canada, but I’m not sure if it’s a local having a bonfire or the wildfires we also have up on the mountains at the moment.

We could use some rain either way, the garden’s getting dry, though I only water newly planted stuff and crops unless it actually starts wilting, and it doesn’t make any difference to the tunnel, which needs watering regardless. The 'maters in there are still stubbornly green, but I have beans, lettuce and courgettes, so I’m not too sulky. I need to start sowing the winter salad plants soon…

237

Racism is always hateful, even when it’s a product of someone’s times. Don’t further it by putting them back into circulation. Since you don’t want to be paid for them, just drop them off at the convenience center next time you go. End the cycle.

It’s unlikely any bookstore would accept them, they’re romance novels, a usually excluded category, plus her last book was published in 1972-48 years ago. Her first? A hundred years ago in 1926.

Heck, I’ll send you a newly published novel of your choice if you landfill them. Just let me know the author and title.

238

We’re at 90F at 1115, with AQI at 137. Three more days of this accursed heat/humidity, then we plunge to the 80s.

Tried a new pizza place last night (delivery). It was truly mediocre, but at least it was expensive (pizza plus delivery charges $27 for a 12" pie). We’ve yet to find decent pizza in this city of over 3 million people.

Breakfasted, puzzled and exercised. Cat fed and played with - now sleeping.

Youngest son and his girls are coming over on Saturday. Been quite awhile since we’ve seen them. His SO is coming too and we really like her.

Eldest son is hitting me up for college money for his daughter. I don’t mind helping out as long as he’s got some skin in the game. Their attempts at grants was largely unsuccessful, but they did land a $5K government loan.

239

I would be very happy to stay at a place that looked like that - especially with that gorgeous tree. But it doesn’t really suit our home, so we do have some color (a wall of forest green, a wall of seafoam green and a wall with orange with a wall of burgandy-ish curtains), but still mostly wood. We like wood.

Earlier this week I was talking as I got onto the elevator and accidentally pressed 2 (because I said 2) instead of 3. This morning, while waiting for the elevator, hubby reminded me that I should press 3. I told him he could press the button as he was worried about it.

He pressed 2.

So my work day started with laughter. Not too shabby.

We tried a different restaurant today. It was supposed to be enchilada con carne. Compared to them, Taco Hell would be considered authentic. Won’t be going back.

Stopped at the grocery store on the way home and got to hear the song “Never Gonna Give You Up”. What a weird day.

But at least it’s Friday!

240

you know I haven’t mentioned much about mine except for the watering and the squirrels getting some of them because mine are also stubbornly green. I expected that they would start ripening last week and nada. I definitely thought they would start ripening this week and they still aren’t showing any red or even pink. I thought that we wouldn’t have to buy tomatoes this week but yes, yes we do. Heck.

I pretty much have almost the entire Nancy Drew collection and over the years I’ve been struggling with this same thing. I loved those books; I fancied myself a detective at times. I’m going to have to put them in the recycling bin one of these weeks.

Did not sleep well; woke up to use the facility shortly after 1am then woke for good around 3:15. Finally got up and out by 5:45 to take Bella for a walk while it was cool (65* which earlier in the year would have been considered hot; it’s all relative) and less smoke. We were only out 15 minutes and walked .43 miles. I was about to turn back even though she hadn’t had a constitutional and seconds later she squatted and took care of business so then we turned back. We’ve let her into the backyard 2 other times, once when I was watering the garden and the other time when Hubs was changing the bird bath water, but for no more than 12 minutes each time. I’m very concerned about the potential impact of the smoke on her. I’ve been wearing a mask each time I go outside yesterday and today. Hubs asked our daughter if she brought a mask for Bella yesterday as a joke but we’re not laughing about this smoke. Our air quality is considered very unhealthy today, up close to 300.

Since I’m feeling somewhat tired, Hubs took the grocery list and the coupons and he will procure the comestibles this week. He’s called me twice from the store. First to ask if I needed my milk, he thought I might have forgotten to put it on the list. No, I have plenty; I drink regular 1%; he drinks 1% LF. Then he just called a second time to ask for specific details on the Greek Yogurt; honey vanilla dear.

I’m watching The Open from Royal Birkdale. I don’t like that the Brits call it The Open; it’s the British Open. Makes me think of those Buckeyes who insist on putting The in front of the name of their university. My favorite golfer had birdies on the 3rd and 4th holes and followed those up with a bogey and a double bogey. Unless he gets it going on the back nine, he likely won’t make the cut. Feel so bad for him.