shoe Stay warm in the power outage!
Shoe: Have lots of fun in the dark. I’m sure you can think of something.
Yaay Wheelie: success found you anyhow. And a new gig. Must be livin’ right.
Taters: Ouch! There is never a good time to lose a furnace. BTDT. Now’s probably better than 2 months from now. It doesn’t matter how big the pile of horseshit, you can always find a pony somewhere in there. Even if only a microscopic one: 
JtC: trailer gone is gone, even if it is a couple months later than desired.
With god as my witness, I didn’t know sheep could fly. Or that large parts at least could fly.
As to me:
An exciting day by MMP standards. We sheveled, ate simple breakfast at home, then I tackled some admin. Her Ladyship gets a bee under her bonnet to cook every couple of months, then spends a week picking out elaborate recipes for all 5 items per meal, prints them all out, and goes shopping for all the ingredients. Today she was planning two such meals, which is quite a treat.
I needed PB & coffee cream so I came along. Well, more accurately, I drove, paid, & pushed the cart. And spent 12 seconds getting my two items, plus the obligatory impulse purchase: dried apricots. We traversed the store from stem to stern about 25 times. But she was really cute doing it.
Back home and groc put away I went to get the car washed. Having sat outside at the train station while I was gone all week it was a mess. Had to run it twice to clean all the water spots off. Last time I park next to the sprinklers at the station.
Doing all that shopping was a full day for her, so no cooking any of this until Thu.
I had an interesting admin folly today. When Dad died I inherited a useless vacant hunk of valueless real estate in CA. But the county does want their property tax every year & so they snail-mail a bill to me in FL. Which I pay because that’s easier / cheaper than trying to dispose of the nearly worthless land. Like most invoices, the property tax bill has a place on the back to write in a change of address if necessary. Which my notes tell me I did when sent in last year’s payment about 12 months ago shortly after we’d moved from the condo to the apartment.
While I was gone to Costa Rica, I received a letter from the CA county tax assessor dated a week or so ago. Addressed to me at my new address. Complaining that when they sent out my property tax bill a month ago, the USPS returned it undeliverable. Because they’d sent it to my old address. They asked me to fill out this other change of address form and mail that back and all would be well.
Hmmm. You had my new address to send the change of address form to. Why not send the bill there too? You know, to the place I’d already told you using the form you’d provided for that exact purpose?
The workings of county governments are mysterious at the best of times. This is much more funny than it is vexing. But it’s still kinda annoying: Hey there change of address clerk: You had one job!
Hey, that gives me an idea. JtC (or anyone else). If you’d like a buildable semi-rural half acre with paved roads and all utilities already pulled to the lot’s edge in a scenic and decent part of CA climatically speaking, and not too far from a town of ~15K let me know. It’s maybe a little trumpy there; I haven’t been there in years. But it’s probably less trumpy than semi-rural towns in most other US states.
Well, dang shoe. I hope the power comes back soon, cause for you no-workey means no-money.
Well, the excitement seems to be over for now. They took the swamp cooler off the roof, pulled out the water heater and fridge, then loaded up the new bathroom vanity, sink and all. Now they are gone and the trailer is not level. It is only a couple of degrees off, but that’s enough to set my CDO off every time I look out the window.
Adam is a very handsome kitty. He’s not a jerkface like GG, so doesn’t get all the discussion GG does because some people have nice kitties!
Afternoon all. the afternoon gym trip is completed, also banking and gassing up the car, so I have been fairly ambitious. The candy is set by the door (now if I can avoid sampling it) for the T-or-T tonight (supposed to be between 45-50F at prime T-or-T time, so don’t know what the turnout will be like). Got my credit cards notified of my travel and just remembered to get the Post Office to Hold Mail (just did it, took 2 minutes tops). So there are a couple things not done at the last minute.
Oh my… 
Much thanks, my dear.
doggio, I know you have told me before, but this old memory…what is TVCTPMO? And as long as I’m acroynm-hunting, JtC, I can’t parse CDO either.
JtC, you ought to record the last movement of the trailer for posterity. Hopefully it is a sign of better things to come.
Taters, ouch on the furnace. Can tell you from experience it’s gonna sting.
Oopsie, a long way to go for a short trip, but I know your friend would have appreciated it.
Wheelie, glad the logistics worked out well for you; safe travels and Hooray for the new project.
shoe, hope the power comes back on soon; any idea what knocked it out?
Pilot, just happy with my plot here in N. Ali-bama, so sorry, someone else will have to take it off your hands.
OK, need to do a couple of things before TV and then turn on the outside lights for the littles and let them grab as much stuff as they want so I don’t have to dispose of it myself.
OCD with the letters in the right order.
Ouch! We had to replace ours last year, so I know your pain…
Ok, about to commence the begging. Laterz!!
The Vast Conspiracy To Piss Me Off. First named by absent Mumper
Vunderbob.
Dang, that sucks about the furnace, Taters
Howdy Y’all! Laundry got done and put where it stays until we dirty it up. Also, made the biiiiiig batch of chili, savin’ some for tomorrow, and the rest in pint containers is now in da freezer. Plus I made a custard pie (thing is strange in that it is either called an aig custard pie or a buttermilk pie cause it has both aigs and buttermilk), some pimento cheese, and some tuna sallit. I don’t know what got in to me this mornin’! I did indeed need nappage after all that. We day drank (hawt chawklit with a big sploosh of rum) and leftovers got heated up and et. Quite the day here.
Taters sorry about the furnace. I had to have the furnace replaced in the first house I owned shortly after buyin’ it. I knew the furnace was old, so had purchased warranty insurance to cover the existin’ appliances. The insurance was five hunnert bucks, but I got the furnace replaced with a one hunnert dollar deductible, so I came out way ahead in the deal. Anywho, hope the replacement is not too spendy.
OK, I read all, but as usual, my comprehension level is that of a gnat, so, yays, boos, hugs, noogies, trouts, chitlins, and how you doin’s all around, as needed.
Our building has a one hour trick or treat in the lobby. Lager (angelwings) and I (ravenclaw student) manned the baskets. Lager lasted the whole hour with treats to keep him happy.
Back at the flat and he is waiting for the feeder to give him dinner, and I am rocking away and settled in for the night.
Safely in Houston, in case anyone was worried. Boarding starts in a few minutes, so I’ll catch up later.
Holy moly, I can’t keep up with all these posts!
I’m back home for the night. It was a balmy 53º in the apartment, so I turned on the heat for the first time this year. It skyrocketed to 54º. I turned it up to 68º, and it climbed to 55. It’s now set on 75º. I called maintenance a few years ago. They said the thermostat reads the temp of the warm refrigerator behind it. 
Trip back was uneventful except for two things. First, a guy on the bus complained loudly about the bus driver’s driving. He was pissed because she couldn’t get the front door open for a sec. The driver told him he could get out and walk if he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. The rest of us were grateful and thanked her profusely when we got to the depot.
I was feeling good so decided to walk home from there. About halfway home, I realized I’d left my keys in Seattle. D’oh! I called a friend who has my key, and she came to the rescue.
To answer shoe’s question, The Wolf-Away Spray was just a can of Lysol I covered with a label I made on the computer. Lysol is a magical spray of a thousand uses. When my daughter was 3, she had a night terror about tigers eating her feet that was so vivid, it haunted her for years. Bedtime was scary for her, so I covered a can of Lysol with a label that read “Itty Bitty Kitty Spray.” If you saw a tiger, you sprayed it, and it would turn into a sweet kitten that was much littler than you. It seemed to help.
Pilot, thanks for the ego boost, but I don’t think I could play Red Riding Hood now. Maybe the granny if I wore a powdered wig. Or the woodsman’s axe.
shoe, might be a good time to text your Gentleman Caller to come over and help generate some heat. He could bring hot buttered rum in a little cask at his neck.
Taters, that sucks mightily about the furnace. I hope you can get a deal and that it’s not long in coming. It’s cold in them thar hills!
sari, thank heavens the move is over. I hope the other troubles get resolved soonest.
swampy, I’ve heard of buttermilk pie and always wanted to try some. I like custard pie and am a fan of buttermilk, so it seems like a no-brainer.
rocker, I love that someone put the plastic bag on first!
One of my favourites!
You mean to tell me that you grew up in NE Ohio and didn’t experience dill pickle soup? I’m shocked!
This. Any union gig I’ve ever worked has been worth every penny of the dues.
It sounds like you had a bizzy week cat glove.
Your new place looks like it’s coming along sari. I hope that Echo adjusts soon.
Yay on DH’s new gig seanette.
Irked, came home, walked Nelson, et and surfed. Such excitement!
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Shocked you may be, but I can’t remember ever hearing of that (or I forgot it in horror as soon as I did).
Whooo boy, thought I had more than enough candy and was worried about what to do with the leftovers…it’s 7:15pm so they should be about done (I put out the lights about 7:30pm) and I have only 4-5 pieces remaining and that’s with pulling out the ‘emergency’ Kit Kat bag. Apparently parents band together and 8-10 kids all come at the same time, most may not be from our street but I’m not turning anyone away and I’ve had 4-5 herds along with the usual 1 or 2 individual T-or-Treaters, and they’ve cleaned me out. Partly my doing, told the early ones to take 2 since I thought I had plenty and the sizes are so small. Well, at least the out-of-control chocolate binge has been cancelled for tonight, so my waist will not suddenly inflate.
nellie, Carnak the Magnificent was one of my ‘must-see’ TV watches. Glad you made it back and didn’t have to break into your own house (I had to once).
rocking chair, I was at a seminary for a year, doing some grad work. At Halloween they said “come as you favorite saint.” So the guy who was St. Bernard had a doggy face on and a small wooden keg hanging from his neck. The British guy was Yves St. Laurent and dressed in formal evening wear. One guy was St. Sebastian, with fake arrows stuck in him and my favorite was a student in a pink bunny suit, as St. Peter of the Cottontail.
I had to take my Mauser to the vet this morning. I was bringing him in from his walk and stopped to talk to two of my neighbors in the building. I may have stepped on his foot, but Mauser started shrieking in pain and limping badly. I called my own vet but he couldn’t get him in until later in the day. The overnight vet was already closed, but there’s a vet clinic that takes walk ins, so I got him seen right away. His foot, the vet said, is not broken, more like bruised and a bad sprain. He got some pain meds and I have to keep an eye on his walking.Talk about feeling guilty.
There’s a new townhouse clump that sprang up across from Daughter’s street, and that’s where we took the kids. Of the 60-some houses there, maybe 15-20 were handing out candy. Total time from leaving their house to getting back was about an hour. Tobias was more interested in the dogs that some people had as they sat in their driveways. It was quite chilly and it started to spit a bit of rain as we were heading back.
I think they had fun and I’m glad it was short and sweet. I resisted the urge to swipe some sweets. And now I’m chilling before bedtime. Tahred.
Many years ago I quit college and joined the Carpenter’s Union. As it turned out, the union was corrupt and admitted just about anyone that would sign up and pay dues. They were supposed to be a hiring hall and promised to keep us all employed.
After five years I gave it up. Running an audit I added up all of the pay stubs from union jobs and compared this to the cost of the union dues. I lost money paying those dues.
I was working non union jobs to keep food on the table. With a large group of dues paying members “on the bench” a business agent showed up on our non union job about lunch time one afternoon trying to recruit members. He recognized me from the Union Hall and told me he could suspend my card for finding me on a scab job. I took my card out, tore it in half and gave it to him on the spot
I’ve always been a big supporter of unions. I joined the teachers union in my Wyoming town. (Technically, it wasn’t a union, since we couldn’t have unions, but you get the idea.) They got all excited about something called interest-based negotiations. It’s too complex and tedious to explain, but basically it’s a different means of negotiating contracts.
I knew dozens of teachers throughout the state and asked those who had IBN, and every single one said it had been a huge mistake, and they hated it. We had a big union meeting with about 200 attendees. Now the union wanted to tell the board we wouldn’t ask for a raise if we could get IBN. I was outraged. I told everyone I had a son in college and couldn’t afford not to get even a COLA. I told them about the many schools regretting IBN. It did no good. The vote was 197 to 3. Not only did we not get a raise, but we didn’t get raises for years afterward. I quit the union. I couldn’t afford it.
The nuns always tried to get us to dress as saints. Nobody ever did, though I think St. Lucy, who carries her eyeballs on a paten, would be a good one. I like the costumes the seminarians came up with. Did you dress up? Hope Mauser heals fast! No need for guilt. It was an accident. HE doesn’t blame you.
Glad the littles enjoyed ToT, Moooom.
104 trick or treaters so far, including three Oompa Loompas and two children on leashes, though I don’t think the latter was part of their costume.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. Or Mez around, who knows?
Wow, do you give full size bars or something?