(Old) Turning up the heat in the MMP

Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 15c/59f with a predicted high of 21c/69f and cloudy. Weather app says “Fuck those fucking happy clouds.” Really? But it’s Friday, I’m always happy when the work week ends.

JtC I did see that incident on instagram later, made me laugh! Even our horses get in on the protest :slight_smile:

flyboy That’s an interesting coin, I am sure you have scruples even though the currency may be different.

Me, too! They are very pretty cards :slight_smile:

I wasn’t aware the MMP had a schedule that we had to keep! You’ve certainly had a very busy time, I am sorry to hear about your sister getting hacked though, I hope the bank can recover the money for her.

Yesterday was uneventful although irk was busy. Afterwards, I made food for today on campus and then fed the cats before making dinner early for myself. Later, I went out to collect ‘im indoors from the station and we came home to watch an episode of Peacemaker, and an episode of Sandman since we’re getting a bit behind on things.

Today’s commute to irk was pretty good - I found the updated bus timetable online and was at the bus stop by 6.50am. Got the bus into town, walked to the station, caught the Nice Train into Big City Station, and then a relatively quiet service out to campus. Just slightly too early for the rush of schoolies. There are only two of us in the office today but it’s my most troublesome minion so I am sure to get an earbending about various things during the day.

Tonight’s plan is to make something nice for dinner (my turn to cook) and watch a film before I head to bed. I’m off to the gym in the morning so I don’t want to be up too late. We have to decide what we’re doing tomorrow, I need to go to the pet store so we could do that and combine it with food at Jack’s Café, and be back home relatively early. Our local football team has a home game against Leeds with a 3pm kick-off, and Leeds fans are known to be a bit feisty so we’d really like to be back home before then, and potentially avoid going into town. ‘im indoors is able to do his errands today instead, and I went to do mine a couple of days ago so I think we can avoid the football hordes completely.

In other news, the tyre pressure light came on again yesterday. I put air in the tyres less than a month ago so I think one of them has a slow leak. They’ve been on the car (probably) since it was new so they’re pretty old, and one of them had a nail in it some time ago that got repaired so that might be the one that’s now leaking. Anyway, will have to get them checked out, and then get one or all of them replaced. Probably all of them, I think they were on advisories from the last MoT too. Always something, right?

Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s 64 degrees Ferret Height(17.8 Centipedes) outside.

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 67 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 89 and sunny. I envision mowage this mornin’. This will be followed by RDOS inactivities the rest of the day. Sup will be majik intartoobz pizza and sallit just cause.

Pilot happy and safe travels today.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.

Happy Firday Y’all!

I laughed my ass off at that picture & your caption for it.

ETA: I was pleased to see the light bulb issue had been fixed AND the ceiling isn’t dripping anymore. The HVAC guys had come out & worked their (likely quite expensive) magic. Huzzah!

Best thing today: Benign!

Even though it was expected, it’s nice to get the official report, now that the parts have been removed. Entered the hospital on Tuesday morning, left Thursday morning as planned.

Can’t imagine doing that as day surgery, so I’m glad I live where I am. Not only am I a cheap date (low alcohol tolerance), they told me they used less anethesia than expected. At least I think they did. :zany_face:

My spam folder is absolutely full of “payment received” and “thank you for your order” emails for ridiculously large amounts. No doubt I’m supposed to panic, then click on the link to confirm that I didn’t place the orders and when I provide my credit card info, a helpful agent will cancel the transaction and refund my money. How kind! I’m sure more than a few folks get caught up by such scams. My credit union provides a service that I be notified when charges are made, so I know instantly if more than $20 (I could set it lower) is charged. Such peace of mind - it’s caught scams in the past and I’ve canceled cards within minutes of the number being used. Whew!

That boggles my mind. When I was stationed in San Diego, any calls to Baltimore began with my dad asking “So what time is it there?” On the other hand, when we were on our cruise and crossed thru 4 or 5 time zones within a week, I don’t think we could be blamed for losing track.

Same at Food Lion, and I think it’s great. There have been times when I needed help and having them at hand makes it so much easier.

Regarding TSP, I turned mine over to our money guy and his advice has been really good. The deposit in one annuity more than doubled and it continues to earn more than what I withdraw. plus we put some in a CD for easy access, and that was a life-saver a couple of times.

I got both at once and I definitely felt one going in, plus it felt like I’d been punched for 2 or 3 days after. Minor side-effect, more an annoyance than anything.

Me too! Just ask swampy!

I’m making use of my new DVD player. Yesterday I watched Children of a Lesser God. Today I may pull out one of the musicals. We tried to watch something called The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix, but despite having Helen Mirren, it wasn’t very good. I think we made it about 15 minutes into it before quitting. The bad guy was too cartoonish, in fact, several of the characters were. So we watched a documentary about training service dogs instead.

FCD is on his way to the marina - they’re honest-to-goodness going to start on our boat today, at long last! I don’t expect to see him till suppertime. But I’ve got plenty to fill my day - laundry, emptying the dishwasher, making good ice, running to CVS for a pickup, and maybe even mowage at some point. That should be enough to keep me out of trouble.

And so it begins. Happy Firday!!

Yeah, it’s been totally reliable. It’s just that the account access got all screwed up, which wasn’t a problem until the checking account for that bank was compromised, as was the credit card there. The account was shut down (not closed) and I quit using the CC. But I couldn’t close the account until I could get the TSP issue straightened out. Now that’s done and I can move forward soon.

We’ve canceled the apple picking trip for today, as rain is forecast. Will reschedule.

Sadie surveys her kingdom:

Good morning all. Awoke at about 6:30am to the call of the bladder and decided to just stay up rather than grabbing another hour. Will probably do the Firday shopping after I finish this message, the kiddos should all be in school but the multitudes should not be clogging the roads to work (at least that’s how it worked out last week). Pretty much the same weather as yesterday, it’s 64F now but heading to 92F and dry, so we’ll see how long I last before the AC comes on. Soccer practice with my U12’s tonight, then games tomorrow (and weather pretty much the same as today’s) so gym or not I will get some sweating done.

boo fae, does sound like a slow leak, does you system identify the tyre that is low?

shoe, glad your workplace is safe (well, mostly safe) again.

Dicey, great news, benign is maybe the favorite word for us of a certain age, hope the recovery is benign also.

FCM, I get those ‘payment received/thanks for your order’ e-mails too, I simply look at who the message is from (or what the url is that they want me to click on) and that usually answers my question real quick.

Kept control of my TSP, just taking out the $$ the Gubmint is prepared to dole out and it works for me. Glad your money guy got you a better deal, since you have that boat of yours… (and yay! for the boat work actually beginning).

cookie, that’s a lovely picture, knew you were in the Metro area but not as close to downtown as the picture shows. Nice looking church.

And time to get dressed, eat the morning apple, and do the Firday shopping. Catch y’all later.

No, my car isn’t that fancy :slight_smile: The back tyres were on advisories for the last annual check to say that they were damaged/cracked/perishing but the garage man said it wasn’t serious enough to be an immediate issue. I have booked my car in for Wednesday as I’ve got the day off work, and also got a 20% discount for buying four tyres instead of two. Might as well get it out of the way all at once!

Dicey benign is the best news! Congrats on successful surgery, I hope your recovery is similarly benign.

Mornin’ all - about 9am at the club at the airport. So far so nominal. Boarding soon.

And this is why no one should use a debit card. If that was a credit card, it would’ve cost her $0, not $7K.

I’m sure you can set your phone to automatically go silent (“Do not disturb” = DND on Android) at a time near your usual bedtime and remain silent until after your normal get-up time. Mine is auto-silent from 9pm to 8am. Then I have at most a couple contacts set to bypass that silent and actually make noise if a call or message comes in. But I only set bypass for the people I’d truly jump up and drive halfway across the city at 3am for. Which is now GF and only GF. Everyone else can wait until morning.

An advantage to silent over off (or airplane mode) is you still get all the messages at the time they’re sent. So when you wake up they’re all there to read.

At naptime, in with the doc or barber, etc., the DND feature has two modes: “Stay silent for [however many] hours” or “Stay silent until I remember to turn the noises back on.” I use the 2- or 3-hours feature so I don’t have to remember to turn the sound back on. I usually do when I’m finished with whatever, but if I don’t, the timer has my back.

You have the tools to stop the annoyances; you just need to know they exist and learn where they’re hidden in your phone.

Because they’re only thinking of their needs, not yours, when they try to contact you. My reaction is to think of only my needs, not theirs. And have my phone on silent when I’m disinclined to receive calls or txts. Which is all day every day, but not while sleeping. That’s enough for all of them.

Don’t kill yourself trying to find brown. That’s masterclass level stuff. Ordinary basmati will work unless this person is super scrupulous about diet. At which point better to ask them their preferences for a menu and whether rice is appropriate at all.


And with this I’ll hit [send] and pick up a little later this morning.

That’s how we generally do it, too. Then, theoretically, they all wear out at the same time so you don’t have to futz around with multiple trips and multiple purchases.

Our truck has a perpetual “Low Pressure” warning light, but our car guy said it’s the sensor(s) which are stoopit expensive and, frankly, a who-cares item. I’ve driven better than 50 years without such warnings, I’m pretty sure I can live without them now. And I can ignore the light because of my height and the placement of the steering wheel. :smiley:

OK, showered, dressed, and about to haul the dirties to the laundry room. We’re threatened with 87° this afternoon, so mowage is highly unlikely today. Damn the luck! :stuck_out_tongue: And so, my chores shall begin…

Now settled on the jet awaiting departure.


That’s probably the best thing in every MMPers’ day today. It is in mine for sure. Congrats on your good fortune!


A rule of thumb in our hotter sunnier country is that after 7 years a tyre has reached its chemical / structural failure point regardless of remaining tread life.


Hooray! About friggin’ time! You must be relieved.


Hooray for unf***ing your banking.

This was a reminder of some of my issues dealing with late aged MIL.

You can get your admin stuff all fixed so everything is working perfectly. But it just doesn’t stay fixed. Stuff keeps breaking (usually due to “improvements for my convenience”) and keeps needing to be re-diddled with. Not much, not often, but it’s a steady drip, drip, drip of things which need attention. Which will need somebody to do that for you / me / us as it eventually becomes too difficult for each of us.

Sadie is certainly a regal cat.

Goodness knows, he is. As is Tobias, who has been waiting impatiently for a ride on Grandpa’s boat!

First load is in the washer, 2 more on deck. I found the ring FCD was looking for this morning (his Captain’s ring.) The cat box has been tended to and the dishwasher is empty. The third batch of ice is being made - probably 4 or 5 more to fill the ice bin.

I’ve also gotten the bid from the landscaper that I’ve been waiting for since August. Apparently it went to my spam folder and I dumped it because the sender was Jason and not Wentworth Nurseries. Anyway, I’ll discuss it with FCD, but I think we’ll get it done. It’s much more than he and I talked about, but I think it’ll be really nice, and the $$ is in the bank, so why not? We can’t take it with us! Plus it’s guaranteed for a year - I’ll get specific care instructions from them regarding feeding and watering.

Not bad for before 10AM!

Good morning.

It’s 49°F, clear, and the sun just rose a few minutes ago. We’ll have another day with abundant sunshine, with an expected high of 77°F. Again, where the hell is fall?

FCM, yay for the boat work finally starting! I hope all goes smoothly. I also receive emails about payments received. They’re immediately dumped because you can tell just by looking at the URL that they’re fake.

Nellie, I’m very sorry about your sister’s card being hacked. I have both my credit and debit cards set to text me every single time they’re used. Fortunately, not many people call or text from afar, so I don’t worry about turning off my phone at night. If it goes off during late night or wee hours, I know it’s a real emergency.

Dicey, such good news!

I watched all of Black Rabbit yesterday. My husband decided he didn’t much care for it and quit watching after one episode. It was definitely a slow-burning type of show. At any rate, I liked it.

Since I spent my whole afternoon on pure sloth yesterday, I’ll need to get things done today. I’ll have to water all the posies, again, because the dang rain keeps shifting further away. We were supposed to get some rain starting next week, but NOPE, it’s now going to be with mid-70s to low-eighties temps. And, while I’m gone, it’ll shift to partly cloudy weather, but again, no rain (or very slight chance). So, I’ll have to ask my husband to water the plants every couple of days while I’m gone. Hopefully, he’ll do so. He’s done it in the past, but it’s much later in the season now.

It’s that time again. I need to finish my coffee and get the day started. Take care of yourselves.

Yay!

My CU app allows me to see all deposits / charges / payments for all accounts through them in real time. I tend to check the accounts every morning. I also use it to transfer funds as needed.

She does look quite regal on her perch.

Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. Sis is planning to bring Granddad’s bookcase over today, so I can get the things designated for it put away. I’ll also be hanging a few more things on the wall. I can’t wait to get the old desk out of here so’s I have some semblance of a living room.

I do need to go to the store at some point. I wanted to make muffins or pumpkin bread this weekend, but remembered that I don’t have any baking powder or soda. There’s a Foodtown in the neighborhood that shows pretty reasonable prices, so I may nip over there.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

Shopping has been completed for this Firday and AC is on (house thermostat was at 80F which is time to close the windows and start the HVAC in my place). Nothing much on the agenda until after lunch. so a couple hours of internettin’ and general RDOS.

Piiot, safe flight.

Boo fae, sounds like a good idea, getting all the tires replaced.

So, the one ring…

I know the feeling. My financial guy keeps telling me how to make more money and I keep telling him I’m making more now than ever and at 73 I’m more interested in spending it rather than hoarding it.

I try to limit my use of my debit card to places I know and trust (and requiring my PIN in a concealed pad) but still check the charges every couple of days on-line, just to be safe.

Red, you know you’re home when you start the grocery shopping…

And two messages in one morning; I’m like a house afire…

Take care all.

I hope all is well in Queen Sadie’s domain.

Woohoo!

Started Typing: 11:32 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 12:19 PM ET

As I was leaving the office yesterday, the vet’s office called: Bailey’s plaster paw print is ready. :paw_prints: I’ll go pick it up at around 1pm (when they’ll be less busy than later today/this weekend), and I’ve arranged to take the rest of the day off work due to anticipated sadness/weepiness.

There was another Bailey-related thing when I got home! On the day she died (a week ago today), I got a message from the mobile grooming service reminding me that she was due for a bath. I notified them that she was no longer with us, and asked to be removed from all mailing lists. Yesterday I got this touching package from them:

(For those who can’t make out the script, the framed item says, “There is no greater privilege than to have been loved by a dog,” and her name is underneath.) I have no use for the bell, but I’ll definitely keep the personalized framed item. It made me cry.

I’m toying with the idea of having a custom shadow box made: it would hold that framed item, her paw print, a picture or two, and her collars (both her regular collar and the tiny blue one she was wearing on the day she was adopted). And maybe the small square painting of her that Chewy sent several years ago. Hmm…it’s shaping up to be kind of a big box. :grin: I’ll keep thinking about it for a while.

Today might be on the emotional side, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow: my BFFs are taking me out for an early birthday lunch. :smiley: We’re going to a place with one of my all-time-favorite dishes: sauteed filet mignon tips over penne in a tequila lime cream sauce. And my “nephew” is in town (from TX), and will be joining us! Sadly he’s here because he’s going to a funeral on Sunday – for the mom of one of his oldest friends – but I’m glad I’ll be able to see him.

That’s more like it! :grin: :joy:

Ugh! :frowning:

I can’t think of a single person – friend or family member – who lives in a different time zone and would ever call me. :slight_smile: I have an aunt in a different time zone but I don’t speak to her, and I have friends in other time zones but they’re more the email/FB message types.

I had a similar experience when I used Xfinity as my cable provider and ISP: the service itself was good and very reliable, but dealing with customer service was a nightmare. Every time.

:tada: !!

I think “benign” is a favorite word for those of any age. :smiley:

Decades ago, my sister-in-law decided to call us for Thanksgiving. Which isn’t a holiday here, so I was quite panicked to get a phone call at 2 am.

I think she still doesn’t know how to Google “time at sister-in-law’s home”. We no longer have a landline, and both our phones go into do-not-disturb mode at night. Exceptions for each other, of course.

Forgot to sit down before sneezing. Ow.

That is so sweet of them.

The week before surgery, I tapered down caffeine and now I have to avoid coffee after 2pm. Need to get my sleep better organized.