FCM is in the opposite hemisphere, so anarchy reigns in the MMP! So put your drink directly on the table, or just hijack this thing.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s 21 degrees ferret height at the moment.
Morning, mumpers! It’s a toasty 7c/45f with a predicted high of 8c/47f, and cloudy over here. Weather app says “The fucking clouds won’t leave, just like the weirdos in your fucking family.” Our weather warning for stormy conditions was updated late yesterday from moderate to severe, and half the country had a red warning for tornadoes! Unheard of! you can tell Mooooom isn’t here to keep the weather in order.
Off to log into irk, it’s a home day today which is good news for me. I do have to venture out at lunchtime, my phone contract is coming to an end and I need to switch provider and move to a sim-only deal. Always something, right?
I shall begin by casting a severe scowl at doggio!
I was exhausted last night and was asleep before 9, and I just woke a tad before 6, well-rested. It’s our second at-sea day and I need to have a look at the schedule. I was too tired to review it last night. So far, it’s a bit rough this morning, but not as bad as yesterday.
I do know it’s formal night so we won’t go to the dining room. Nothing we packed is even remotely dressy, let alone formal. Plus they keep trying to take your picture and sell you photo packages. Nope.
More later. Happy Moanday!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 31 Amurrkin out and mostly clear with a predicted high of 59 and mostly N.O.S. It will be a warmer week in these parts and rain is predicted mid-week. We shall see. I need to take care of some errands this mornin’, but promise to spend the rest of the day in sloth. Sup shall be chikin 'n dumplin’s with peas 'n carrots for the vegetative matter.
BooFae* we recently switched cell phone carriers and so far so good. Plus we got iPads and iWatches in the deal. Hope everything goes well with that. It can be a PITA.
MOOOOOOM doggio also put his feet on the coffee table. Hope the sea is not so rough today.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, bother of bothers, I suppose I must purtify and don attire acceptable for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. The sufferin’ I must endure!
Happy Moanday Y’all!
Had a good day yesterday at work - lotsa food helped - but once I was home and suitably replenished, I crashed hard.
At one point I dreamed I was looking out at a Hobby Lobby or Michael’s type of place, and all the fake flowers were gone, just empty shelves, although everything else was normally stocked. In my dream, I remarked to the person next to me that it looked like locusts had been through…
… then I woke up, and was kinda proud of my dream-joke.
Then Monkey snuggled by my legs and I conked right back out.
Now I’m chilling with you morning people, and listening to the wind howl. Earlier for a second I genuinely thought I saw a ghost out of the corner of my eye, but it was just snow being blown sideways in a big gust right past my window.
For later today, I have a To-Do List of mostly piddly little crap I keep forgetting about. You know how you see something that bothers you but only while you’re brushing your teeth or coming into the house or whatever, and by the time you’re finished and settled you’ve utterly forgotten … until the next time you see it?
Well, I scribbled a few of those down, so when I have more energy later and am wondering, “What shall I do with myself?” I can find a few of these little niggly stoopit things to accomplish.
Meanwhile, we’ll see if the trash truck manages to shake loose the lid on my bin - it’s iced shut, dammit. And nearly full, because I missed last week’s pickup. Double dammit.
Always sumpin’ or 'nuther.
Oh boy, the wind stopped and I can see that … it’s actively snowing again. The hell, Mama Nature?
Mornin’ all, and fine Moanday morning it is! It’s now a bit after sunrise as I’m sitting at better-than-Denny’s caffinatin’ and about to order food. I’ve been up a couple hours now. Presently 68/20 on the way to 73/23 and cloudy and breezy. It looks cold out but isn’t bad. Just need to force myself out on these gray days until I retrain my brain that gray <> 35F.
Next stop after breakfast is golf. Those annoying little balls won’t whack themselves, so somebody has to do it.
The remainder of the day is totally TBD but will doubtless be mostly spent uselessly.
Was happy to hear that Shoe got enough sleep and food. Listen, Hon: you get those two things right and the rest of life is a lot easier.
Cheers all!!
Good news, everyone!
A moment ago, I heard the unholy rattling familiar dulcet tones of the trash truck comin’ round the mountain when she comes the corner, and scuttled as fast as I could to the front window, juuuuust in time to witness the bin being upended and the lid flying open.
Huzzah! It was successfully emptied!
So now I, um, get to deal with the litter box, which will start with having to … sigh … put on pants and go to Wal-Mart, cuz the prices of litter on Amazon seem to be quite a bit higher, and while I enjoy the delivery of heavy shit, I enjoy the saving of several pesos even more.
But that’s all for later.
For now, I’m going the hell back to bed. Probably with earplugs; it’s a nonstop parade of sand trucks and dualies with plow attachments, and those things are loud as hell.
@LSLGuy, usually you’re more genteel than this. I’m going to chalk it up to the lack of moooom’s propenquity.
Good morning, everyone.
This morning I get to do a fasting blood test. This is because I have a new doctor, and she disapproves of my old doctor’s not bothering to do fasting blood tests for several years. I’m on a statin drug, and one is supposed to do this, albeit not as often nowadays.
I forgot how unpleasant it is to get up and deny oneself caffeine. At least I didn’t wake up with a rain headache from last night’s storm, because I’d also have to forego Tylenol. But I did have to skip my Lansoprazole, and I’m already feeling uneasy in the stomach because of it.
Well, I’ll have an espresso ready in the car and the second I come out of the lab I’ll down it and take a Lansoprazole. Then home to breakfast - Mr. brown bought a couple of tamales last night and they’re in the fridge waiting to be reheated.
Happy Monday to all!
Some responses from the last of last week’s thread:
Not really, or at least not with the full set.
Right now the kids are 1, 3, 3, 4, 5, 7, & 9. The 1yo can walk, but not enough for out in big places like a festival. The 5, 7, & 9 yos are mostly self-tending as long as you keep an eye on them so they don’t dart out of sight into the crowd. Which leaves two 3s & a 4. The 4 is a fully capable walker runner and very sweet, but is developmentally delayed and has the self-preservation skills of a 2yo. IOW, none whatsoever. But she is fast.
So Daughter has a 4-place toddler stroller / folding cart that holds the 1, 3, 3, & (barely) the 4 all belted in with 5 point harnesses. The 5, 7, & 9 walk nearby or holding onto the stroller if it’s really crowded or out in say a parking lot.
I cannot imagine the chaos if she put the 4 littles / semi-littles all on leashes and tried to keep the herd under control. Imagine having a chihuahua, 2 hyperactive spaniels, and a mastiff with a severe case of Squirrel! all on leashes. Good luck getting that gaggle to do anything except tie you and them to the nearest tree in a glorious tangle of entwined leashes.
Lots of couples are in that boat regardless of who dies first. The loss of one SS payment and maybe pension when the first dies leaves the second with a severe problem. I watched that happen several times at my condo. Always a financial / logistic tragedy on top of the bereavement after most of a lifetime together. Lotta ways that goes quickly to hell for the survivor.
In your case it sounds like you have a decent state pension but he has no pension, just SS. A scary future to be sure no matter how that plays out.
Separately, Wow, just wow. He’s really wandered into a bad place mentally. I’m sorry you (and he) are dealing with this. I admire your dedication. Weed sounds like the minimum it takes to stay sane.
Using 2yo fermented shrimp sounds like a risky way to make alfredo. 
Good for both of you. Painful, but good.
From this week:
Apparently the ideal guidance is a blood test (kidney function = eGFR specifically) quarterly if on a statin. It’s what I do.
My fasting test instructions are that black coffee is acceptable as are all my normal wake-up meds.
Funny, but when I get my fasting test done first thing in the morning I’m famished by 8am when I can eat. But on a lazy day at home, breakfast often waits until 11am when Her Ladyship has finally deigned to arise, and I suffer no starvation while waiting. What’s up with that? My stomach has some odd habits.
And a good morning to all. Hopefully this week is a return to normalcy, the plumbers should be re-setting my bathroom fixtures (and collecting a nice check) today, tomorrow the Carpet folks will be out to put the carpet back in place and hopefully Purple Heart and the Dentist will get their re-scheduling done. Trash is out at the corner and hopefully will be picked up this week and a bunch of Polo Shirts I ordered via Amazon are due Tuesday/Wednesday, so my wardrobe will be full. Weather is 27F right now, getting to the mid-40’s today and all week will be above 40F, so that should clean off any remaining snow and ice. Also due to rain 2-3 days, so outside activity will be limited.
FCM, keeping an eye on you, you’re dawdling (as much as a 100,000ton ship dawdles) along the coast of Chile. Enjoy your sloth and yeah, the picture packages are a real money-maker for them. And most cruises are pretty easy-going anymore about ‘formal’ nights, but plenty of good options to choose from anyway.
boo fae, sounds like April weather here in N. Ali-bama. Take care and stay dry.
shoe, eating good and sleeping well; and I know that feeling of little jobs to be done (and forgotten about) very well. Glad your trash is picked up, may have to go out and add more to mine if they don’t show up this morning.
Pilot, enjoy whacking balls…wait, that didn’t come out right…better quit while I’m behind…
lucky, yeah, it is hard not to do what you usually do pre-blood tests. Just think about how good those drinks and food will be post-blood-letting.
Take care all and have a good week on the MMP.
Morning, y’all. I get very badly motion sick, but there is also nothing like sleeping on a ship at sea for me. So relaxing and such great sleep quality.
Oh, you get those, too?
(Do you have low blood pressure, by any chance? I do, and that’s what I’ve always blamed those ^^ on.)
I read shit like this and think, “Whelp. I’m screwed.”
Two guesses: either it’s because the whole rigamarole of putting on pants ("purtifyin’ ") and going out into the world of medical professionals takes energy - and therefore, more fuel than required for the sitting upon of one’s butt - OR because your stomach brain associates “putting on pants and leaving the house” with yummy breakfasts like your Better Than Denny’s place.
So when you put on pants & leave the house and then DON’T consume breakfast, your systems are disappointed.
And disappointed human bodily systems have unpleasant ways of making their displeasure known.
Short heaving today, but they still managed to overload the belt. It’s up to 27 now.
They need to do that here. The compactor is pinnin’ for the fjords, so they put a regular construction dumpster out. But that fills up and overflows because they don’t pick it up often enough.
I don’t think I could put my glass on a wood table if I tried! It’d expect the gods to strike me dead, or my mom to come 'round the corner and glare at me at the very least.
After drooling for a bit over Baker’s description of bon bon cookies in the last thread (I didn’t know they existed!) I feel I must make some soon. Very soon.
Everyone is home from school today due to iced over roads. That is both good and bad: the bad - since my “office” is the middle of the living room to avoid having to listen to my husband on his many calls and vice versa, the kids are talking to me copiously, making any sort of focus unless I’m audibly on a call difficult. It’s irritating as all get out and I kind of want to strangle them. But that’s what noise canceling earbuds are for.
The good - I’m home and warm and didn’t need to go into work. The kids are happy and well-rested and able to fend for themselves and they’re talking to me because they like to and not because they have to. Oh, and both of them can also follow a recipe. So, if I find one for bon bon cookies and set them to work, they can make them for all of us. Now I know what my kids are doing today.
Sounds like a very good plan.
Rain started up two hours ago, so we’ll have melting snow and rain. Hopefully no flooding, but the skiers aren’t happy.
Finally took a glass coaster out of rotation and started using a cork one. The glass one would stick to the glass, and then drop to the table. Not good.
On my way home and then to the gym.
Hope you’ll staying warm and dry.
SS for a lifetime low-earning person amounts to 90% of your average inflation-corrected earnings. For somebody who’s earning low, but not bottom of barrel, its like 80% of average inflation-corrected earnings. Not sumptuous, but lots of Americans get by on that. I’m trying to be encouraging here, but also realistic. It’s a tough spot, but better together than solo. One of my brothers is in exactly your shoes.
Where couples get hurt is e.g. his SS is $1000/mo, her SS is $900/mo and one of them has an $800/mo pension. So they’re used to living on $2,700/mo. No matter who dies first, the smaller SS dies with them and the larger one continues to the surviving spouse.
If the pensioner dies, the $800/mo turns into either zero or maybe $400/mo paid to the surviving spouse. If the non-pensioner dies, the pensioner still gets their accustomed $800. But either way the $900 second SS disappears too. Now there’s $1000 in SS plus $0 or $400 for the survivor’s pension, or $800 for the pensioner’s pension.
Monthly income is now $1000, $1400, or $1800. Not $2700 like it was. Ouch.
The survivor probably can’t make their rent or mortgage and eat. So gotta move. Even worse if they own their house outright bought 50 years ago and have been mostly insulated from the actual cost of housing for years. Now they need to sell since they can’t afford maintenance and taxes anymore so now they’re looking at renting at current prices. Maybe have to downgrade from middle class to po’ folks class.
Lotta depression to be had on that trajectory.
I used to have low-ish blood pressure, but as I aged, it gradually became pretty much normal. But I still get rain headaches. My head is as good as a barometer at indicating plunging air pressure.
Blood has been drawn, cup has been peed in, and I’ve lunged for my mug of strong black tea and a breakfast of leftover tamales. But it’s pouring here, so I don’t know what we’ll do for the day.
Mid-afternoon and I’m by the indoor pool to read. FCD is snoozing. We’re not at all interested in formal night, plus I looked at the dining room menu for tonight - meh. We’ll go to the singin’ and dancin’ show at 7:30 tonight, but nothing else is planned.
One interesting thing - Princess no longer gives key cards. We have these little RFID medallions that open our cabin and are used to pay for all purchases. Plus they’ll get us back on the ship. They are tres cool!
Ok, think I’ll read now. Ciao!