Check it out. Apparently the 24" wide piece jumped into the truck on its own… 
It’s got to sit outside till the shop gets cleaned up, then we get to carry it all in. That stuff is heavy! Congo teak - apparently you can’t get Burmese teak any longer, in case anyone asks you. 
OK, time to check the dryer…
I initiated a wire transfer to pay off my mortgage before we went on vacation. The new mortgage servicer still has a balance when I log into my credit union. The old mortgage servicer says that my account has been trasfered to the new one, so I’ll have to initiate the process all over again. This is after paying $30 to the old servicer to get a payoff quote, and another $30 to my credit union to make the wire transfer. I do see on my account that a withdrawal of $1,500+ was made on the 15th (the day after I authorised the wire transfer. Then on the 16th, there is a deposit from the receiving bank for under $1,500. I never got any sort of notification about that. Now I’m on hold with the credit union to find out what happened.
In the meantime, I still can’t access my desktop computer down at the office. IT asked me to have someone make sure my computer is on. I sent an email, only to be reminded that everyone works from home on Fridays (and Mondays, IIRC).
It was a joke, sweetie. Apparently not a very good one.
I was pretending I couldn’t hear you.
Despite the large number of Blueberries in the building, I only had 15min on the slides before I got sent to the 200 Table. Then to the Slides for 10 minutes, till I got pulled to load on 100 Bottom Green. Or Bottom White. TPTB weren’t sure. And even when they were sure, they blocked the cars by having a meeting, and decided I need to be on the Slides. And by be on the slides, they mean working the 100 Sort Table till 7. Then I had 20min to try to fix that before being sent back to the 100 Table, because all they had was 2 experienced sorters, and 6(six) Blueberries. 
It was now 8:00, the Slides were a wreck, and so TPTB decided the best course of action was to drop a Sorter from the 200 Table to clerk the pacakges, and leave me sorting. 
With superhuman effort(and 3 people), we managed to get it done. Although getting the Early A.M. Next Day Air(delivery by 08:30) off the slide and to the Dispatch office at 08:20 was sub optimal.
J: “This was a mess, we’re screwed.”
Me: “No, Management is screwed. We’re just along for the ride.”
But laundry is in the dryer, oatmeal(apples, cinnamon and vanilla) is in my digestive system, now it’s time to put dogbutler in my bed.
That’s why I did regular instead of frozen.
I shudder to think how much it cost to redeck an Iowa class battleship. But the curator for the New Jersey just found the keys to the nuclear Tomahawks, so I guess S.P.E.C.T.R.E style black mail could pay for the next round. 
To be fair, cash is easier to move around, plus most food banks get better prices, and know better what exactly they need.
Enjoy the walk and company!
I will take this handy precaution! Thank you! I sure don’t want them back in my wood shed. And I hope your water woes are easily addressed. Glad the leak isn’t serious.
Van Go, gotta watch those puppy jaws. They get onto everything! Ollie is only just finally learning to not eat everything in reach. He’s 2 1/2 years old. His favorites were poison I didn’t know was around, hair scrunchies and those plastic doohickies used to close bread bags. He got so used to me sticking my fingers down his throat to retrieve whatever I’d just caught him consuming that he’d just roll over and take it. He’s still alive, at least!
I empathize with your wasp experience. Ground wasps are not quite as bad as yellow jackets, but like you, I’ve gotten lots of stings from them. Twice stood on their nests. Youch! Yellow jackets build paper nests, usually in the eaves of buildings (or in my case, in a handy tarp bunched up in a corner). Worst of all are bald-faced hornets, who build the big, round paper nests that hang from trees. Thankfully, I’ve never been attacked by those, but it was a close thing a year ago. I was mowing and nearly ran my face into a low-hanging nest built on a small tree in my landscaping. Luckily, the nest entrance was opposite to my facial encroachment, and I was able to race out of the vicinity on my lawn tractor. It’s sad to be a wasp “expert” due to my many encounters with them, but that’s rural living, I guess. Do you keep an Epi pen?
metal mouse, I hope you will. It would be good for you to get an explanation for what’s happening. I can understand your reticence, but these things seldom improve with delay. Advice I should heed myself with respect to the gate, which did not get repaired yesterday after all. Maybe today. Or next week.
Makes me smile. Glad your relationship is progressing so well!
Hear, hear.
I’m with your husband, dicey, no matter where they live! Thanks for the kind wishes.
Mission accomplished, Boo fae. And I hope you have a very luxurious soak and rest over the weekend as you need to.
You are made of sterner stuff than me, taters! I’d have quit after my first encounter with them! I hope you’re still not allergic.
red, that’s hilarious about your terrier’s inclinations. Dogs do love the stinkiest things!
Very pretty wood, FCM. For that price, of course it is!
Glad work is behind you, doggio, and your breakfast sounds nice. Loved the cartoon, which is adorable as always. 
Not much on today, except I will avoid going out so as to not encounter nutty people doing Halloween things. I will make Minestrone soup this afternoon and Ollie and I will have a good ramble around the place. I may tackle gate repair, but we’ll see. (Probably not.) I want a day to practice my RDOS skills!
Yeesh. I talked to the new loan servicer yesterday or the day before. They said they’d investigate. Today I called the old loan servicer. They said I’d have to talk to my credit union. The credit union said I would have to talk to the bank they sent the wire to. I called them, and they said I needed to call my credit union. 
Anyway, I’m on hold with the receiving bank’s mortgage department. They apparently can’t find the loan. In the meantime, I’ve made a monthly payment to the new loan servicer by clicking ‘Make a payment’ on my credit union’s website. It took me to a different website, where I could make a payment. One would think they’d have my payment information; but I had to enter my account number, routing number, and name. When I tried to make a payment, it signed me up for automatic payments. No. This was supposed to have been completed almost two weeks ago. I tried again, and it said my payment was scheduled. I received emails with no text; just images that needed to be downloaded. I downloaded one, and it says:
404. That’s an error.
The requested URL
/meips/ADKq_NadLsidmbJBE_KOUSyeyUIy_Y6-8fIN99cFpUKECUxg9phDuuReEZXvwkw9cyLgj5430GJp41-iwyucCvd-SXrf8ZdT_Sf12Ju63HFcwriYwncjtVugJmoymgy1aHfyWP_wdViQsm-j0KDehg=s0-d-e1-ftwas not found on this server. That’s all we know.
So apparently the picture they sent doesn’t exist on their server.
I have no idea if I’ve made a payment, or if it failed.
In the meantime, the recipient bank is trying to find out if and why they sent me the entire payoff amount, minus $50, back.
I really don’t understand why I just can’t pay off my house and be done with it.
UPDATE: The bank that received the wire says I need to contact the old loan servicer, directly or through the new loan servicer. So… Start the circle all over again. I’m so frustrated I’m thinking I should file a lawsuit to get my home, with penalties for mental anguish.
Sorry for the miscommunication. I’m not allergic; my mother is. There was more than one trip to the ER because of it.
The walk was lovely, and I posted a picture I took on FB. It was great to get some exercise in and catch up with my friend. We discussed many things and shared some laughs.
I suppose I should find something to do.
I tried to call the old loan servicer (because their bank returned most of my money on the 16th, five days before they stopped being my loan servicer). ‘Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are unable to connect you with [a person] at this time.’
No, no, you were perfectly clear. I understood it was your mother who was allergic, not you. But then you said you weren’t, at least not since the last time you were stung. So I said I hoped you were still not allergic. I hope you still aren’t, too! I can see how my word choice was awkward, though.
fly boy, what a mess to get straightened out, when all you were trying to do was pay off your mortgage! Good grief, they make it hard to do the right thing, don’t they? Hope it all gets squared away soon.
Started Typing: 3:00 PM ET
Clicked Reply: 4:01 PM ET
My Halloween plans are similar to those of swampy and OYKW: hide in a darkened house while screening Hocus Pocus and It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. At 8pm I’ll turn on game 6 of the World Series, and start building the last of my holiday Lego sets (a big Christmas tree). It’s been very windy today: I hope that dies down, for the sake of the little kids and their costumes!
Speaking of Lego, yesterday Lego Ideas announced a few new sets that are going to be made. That’s the mechanism by which people can submit a set of their design for consideration by the community and maybe even Lego, based partly on how many community supporters it gets (a minimum 10,000 supporters are required for consideration by Lego). Hundreds of ideas with that many supporters are submitted every year, and a few get chosen. I’ll definitely be buying one of the ones that was announced yesterday:
It was another busy work week, plus on Wednesday I went to some refresher election officer training. I would have been fine without it, but I like to go before each election because there’s almost always something the county tweaks: this time I learned about two changes, so I’m glad I went.
Yesterday I chatted with WifeBFF on my drive home from work, and after I got to the house I sat in the driveway for a while to finish our conversation (via the car’s Bluetooth)…I was startled when a cat suddenly poked its head out of the foundation!
After a couple of minutes it disappeared back under the house. There are three foundation vents on both the left and right sides of the house: the ones on the left side are all intact, but last year the plastic vent cover on one of them disintegrated. I didn’t want wildlife possibly getting trapped (and dying) under the house, so my property manager’s brother came and nailed a piece of wood over it. Since then, the plastic cover on this vent has also disintegrated. This morning I shared the above photo with both my property manager and his brother, and asked for another board to be nailed up. I’m still waiting to hear back from the brother (who does all of the maintenance); he’ll need to somehow make sure the foundation space is completely empty before he covers the vent!
Also yesterday, out of the blue my father asked if I’d be up for meeting him for lunch tomorrow. He’s the organist at a church that’s pretty far from where he lives, and on Saturdays he has a Mass at 9am and then has to be back at the church by 2:30pm for choir practice before their 4pm service. I don’t remember the last time he suggested that just the two of us meet up (without my brother); it might actually be a first in my 54 years. I know he’s mostly just looking to kill time between services, and that my brother isn’t available most Saturdays, but still…part of me thinks maybe he also wants something. I’ll find out soon enough!
One of the main highways around here is a toll road, plus both of the nearby interstates offer express lanes that are tolled, so having an EZ Pass is like having a steering wheel. I think I’d had the same transponder since I moved here in 1998, and it finally started giving up the ghost: when I went to NJ in August for my uncle’s funeral I noticed that it suddenly didn’t work on some of the DE/PA/NJ tolls, and I’ve since gotten two notices from the EZ Pass people that they’d noticed some recent toll issues (the costs were deducted from my account) and I might need a new transponder. I took advantage of today’s relative quiet – and the fact that I’m working from home – to go to the nearest EZ Pass customer service center (19 miles away, inside a DMV) at lunchtime and get a replacement. The entire experience was way less painful than it could have been, and I didn’t have to wait long at all. Phew! Now I’m all set for my next drive to NJ, a week from today.
Today I also bought some concert tickets nearly a year in advance: I now have tix to see Iron Maiden in September 2026, ten days before I turn 55. I figure if the band isn’t too old, neither am I! I’ve seen them twice before, in 1991 and 2010…16 years between shows is about right (heh). I only have a few friends who are also into them, so I have almost a year to figure out who to go with. 
I’m hoping there’s still at least another hour before the kids start coming around, but it feels like time to start prepping the house (drawing curtains, etc.). Happy Halloween, all!
I heard that joke on DC101 this morning. 
Good news/bad news.
Good news, my job at the museum was just made permanent, so I don’t have to find a new job in January.
Bad news, I think Brian the stray cat got hit by a car. Some little black cat got hit by a car and I found it in the ditch in front of my house.
They stole it from me, dammit! I promise, I didn’t hear it from anyone.
Sad news about Brian, or whatever kitteh it was.
Supper has been ingested. Chillage shall proceed.
A new mexican restaurant has opened in my little town. May go there for dinner, and avoid the rugrats scrounging for candy.
Hurray for the job, sad for the kittah. Drive careful coming home, the rugrats don’t have a lot of self preservation skills at the best of times.
Of course there is, I’m glad you went and learned things.
I made Italian Bean soup and it was good. Not enough garlic, too many carrots. (I think cooked carrits are ick.) I love smelling the crock pot making soup or stew on days like these. I’m a clear counter person, my appliances live in cupboards except for winter. Then my trusty crock pot usually stays out because it gets used so much.
It rained this morning and cleared up in the afternoon. It is still light which means the Trunk and Treaters aren’t going to be tripping over parking lot dividers. I haven’t seen any little monsters, but this is a fairly rural area with long distances between houses. Back in AZ, some parents would still drive their little monsters around the neighborhood, but pull areas aren’t nearly as easy to find here.
Thanks, the plumber will be here on Monday. Its not serious but still needs to be dealt with before GG figures out that there is a wading pool under the sink.
Frozen margaritas dilute the drink too much.
I hope you had a great walk. Dang about the mushroom picking not happening again this weekend.
Kinda like how we tend to dress like our friends…bikers one and all.
Maybe focus on staying home and resting all weekend? You are always so busy, your body needs some me-time now.
Grey skies with a hint of mist.
Leaves have all fallen.
+2 Celsius.
Half moon will be up, but likely hidden by clouds.
Silver dragon on the front lawn flapping his wings.
Hint of burning leaves in the air.
Three Jack-o-Lanterns on the steps: one with pointy teeth, one with round “oooo” mouth, and one upside down.
First tricker treater came and recited a poem while waving a blood stained dagger.
The annual madness has begun.
Yay! Permanent jobs are great!
Howdy Y’all! We day drank and watched Hocus Pocus this afternoon. The movie is even more fun when slightly tipsy. We also munched on peanuts, cheese and crackers. Neither of us wanted sup, so burgers and fries tomorrow. This mornin’ I read the convention book online. I was riveted. Budget, various reports, resolutions, short bios of those seekin’ election to various committees and commissions, bios of those seekin’ election as diocesan delegates to General Convention (the big national church convention held every three years), and the rollout of a shiny new strategic plan made the whole thing a real page turner! I told OYKW what I was readin’ and he said the thought of it made him want to take a nap. Natch, he didn’t believe me when I said, “au contraire, I am thoroughly fascinated.” He also declined when I offered to read excerpts out loud.
VanGo Huzzah for the permanent gig! Sorry about the kitteh.
MOOOOOOM I’ve been seein’ that line on teh intartoobz for a couple of days. It’s still funny though. Like it never gets old kind of funny. The new landscape is purty.
BooFae I think ‘im indoors should sing “Soft Kitty” to you and bring you endless cups of tea.
Oopsie the Downton Abbey Lego looks cool. I imagine there would be many, many little bags of pieces.
FlyBoy I would have all kinds of grrr right now. I paid off my mortgage eighteen years ago with little effort. You’d think sayin’ you want to give ‘em a chunk of money would be easy.
And a good early evening all. The lights are all on in the front of the house and the garage and porch lights are lit, with the candy all set for distribution. Now just hope I have enough T-or-T’ers to get the stuff, I have been raiding the dish for the past hour so my calorie count is all scrambled. Got Snickers, Kit-Kat and Crunch bars to hand out, so should be fairly popular. Once that is done will have a late-night supper with my Big Bowl O’Salad and then get ready for soccer tournament day on Saturday (referee 3 games and coach 2).
And just had my first customer of the night, so there are a couple of chocolates less to tempt me (they are such little things I let the kids grab 2-3 of them). Temperature is down to 53F and clear so a good night to be doing this.
FCM, looks like FCD got good wood…(Lord, I apologize)…
flyboy, keep after them, you paid out good money and deserve to have the accounting right. And sounds like your financial establishments are trying to make it difficult for you instead of easy.
shoe, oops, guess I was being too literal-minded today.
Bright Tree, concur with you, will make an appointment to see my Doc and get a referral. Just to be contrary, my kidneys are behaving beautifully today, much more usual output and only 4 trips to the evacuator…
Oopsie, that looks like a major amount of Lego-ing; can’t wait too see it. Hope you can get the cat out from underneath before nailing it shut. And I hope lunch with Father is pleasant for the both of you…
VanGo, good news on the job, but a sad for the cat that is no more.
And only two kids so far, so already looking for places that accept candy donations, both locally and via mail, since keep it all here will be a temptation I cannot resist. Have a good evening all.
Jtc, will Jolene open the cabinet for him?
The trick or treating went well. Not many kids. There was a party in the community room after, I was able to leave snacks there.
Just one more thing tomorrow and back to somewhat normal come Sunday. Thankfully the extra hour is on Sunday.
Been a bit slow but picking up. Neighbours down the street have red smoker which starts up when kids walk up the sidewalk.
Some really good costumes, some kids without costumes at all.
One teeny weeny was scared of the dragon but toiled up the steps to get candy nonetheless.