I can make party decorations and decorate a cake!
It’s pretty quiet next door tonight. I didn’t hear the kids out playing, so I think the daughter and her crew are gone. The window is boarded up until the glass guys get here, according to the manager. May the night remaain silent.
Red fingers crossed.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s currently 39 degrees Ferret Height(3.889 Centipedes), and there’s a Frost Advisory in effect.
Trebuchet.
Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 13c/56f with a predicted high of 15c/58f and cloudy. Weather app says “Oh, Mrs Sun. Please show the fuck up, you twit.” Bit rude, right?
metalmouse safe travels, hope the roads are clear, the hotel’s nice and the flight is on time!
That’s a good plan - getting in as early as possible is always the best thing, then you and Hubs can compare results!
I’m glad it went so well and you didn’t have any anxiety issues once you got there. All of these experiences are good news for those of us who have cataract surgery in our future.
He is a Good Person, obviously knows your history with the cane and wants to stay on your good side! It’s good to know that he agrees with you about the delays, and that it seems like you could get through it with just having a different person seeing your paperwork on whatever day it lands.
I got the same email, and am very sad about that too. I like my old Kindle and don’t want to buy a new one but it looks like I will have to replace it with something else.
Yesterday wasn’t a bad day in the end - I managed domestic drudgery, still haven’t fixed the vacuum cleaner properly but it’s better than it was so that job got done. I also ironed t-shirts (got a new one in the post that was squeezed into the smallest possible packaging) and made chilli for dinner.
Today I was up early to tend to the needs of cats and get myself ready for campus. Public transport was not on my side today - the bus was on time but it seems that the last two stops on the route are no longer in use so I’ll have to be prepared for that tomorrow. The train was late, but not by much so I made the usual connection to get to campus, and then found that the stairs at the exit I use are closed for maintenance so I had to walk the long way round.
I’ve been downstairs to look at the office we’re moving into as the furniture’s been installed now. Met up with my erstwhile manager and our Facilities lady to talk about it as the layout isn’t right and things are not where they’re expected to be. It will be up to Facilities and the porters to get things moved around, and remove the things that need to go, so I am glad Troublesome Minion wasn’t around because she would have been bending my ear about it all day.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 51 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 75 and sunny. We’re goin’ to do some work on the cee-mint pond today. It is not in bad shape, so we should have it ready by the first of May. That will keep us entertained this mornin’. Jack’s will provide us with a late lunch/early sup for today’s main need to feed.
MetalMouse safe travels today. Hope hangin’ in airports ain’t too bad. I trust you will have lounge access. Haven’t eaten at a Shoney’s in years. I assumed they had all bitten the dust.
Taters hope you are able to get the appointment for cataract surgery soonest.
BooFae ah, the joys of movin’ an office! Maybe it will be too much for troublesome minion and she will retire. One can hope.
red hopefully the extraneous folk are gone from the apartment. Glad it’s at least more peaceful now.
Mollie glad the vision continues to improve. To quote a friend of mine: “I’d eat pimento cheese on a rock!” A grilled pimento cheese and ham sammich will cure a lot of ills.
JtC legal guy is wise. Hope you can resubmit the paperirk and be done with it this time.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Thursday Y’all!
Woke to 31 Frosty Ferrets!!! 
That’s what I get for putting away my electric blankie already. Dammit! There’s also a frost advisory and everything! And today is forecast to maybe creep close to 60 Ferrets. Maybe.
I was thinking the same, tho my doc says maybe 3 years for me.
Theoretically, today we’ll do the boat work we’d intended for yesterday. The window handles arrived yesterday and they look perfect - here’s hoping they work as planned. My plan is to get the aft cabin windows clean and install the handles. Assuming that isn’t too long a chore, I may begin sanding and patching the bulkheads so’s I can maybe paint next week.
Last night, I was looking as used cellos for sale on Marketplace. Holy crap on a cracker!! I hope the school has loaners. No sense in buying one if Roxy doesn’t take to it, right?
Speaking of Marketplace, I like to browse the listings occasionally, just because. I’ve noticed a LOT of baby grand pianos for free (tho there was one for a thousand bucks.) Once upon a time, I’d have snatched one up, tho it would have been dumb. I barely touch the piano I have, especially since I’m barely self-taught. Would I really have made an effort to practice on a baby grand? Yeah, I doubt it. Oh, and there are also a lot of upright pianos for free, too. Nobody wants them as a donation, and people who have them don’t want them.
Eons ago - like maybe 6 decades - my folks had an old piano in our basement. I think Dad got it for free. It was barely in tune and as I recall, it had been painted light green. Mom used fingernail polish to paint numbers on the keys starting with middle C because we had a music book that identified notes by number.
Anyway, when my folks realized that none of us played it and it took up a chunk of real estate in the basement, it got hauled out to the alley and all the neighborhood kids were offered hammers and such to destroy it. I assume someone was hired to haul the detritus away, since in those days, pickups weren’t particularly common in suburbia.
And so begins my day. When I finish my icy diet coke, I think I’ll brew up some nice, hot tea, which I should have done in the first place. And eventually, I’ll shower and dress and become productive. Till then, Happy Thursday!!
I thought by now I’d have something interesting to say. No such luck.
Good morning, all. Someone kept lying on her back and snoring, so Mrs Magill didn’t sleep so well last night. That meant Chloé and I walked by ourselves. We saw Chloé’s friend Roxie. I think between the darkness and that I was wearing the cute exercise jacket she’d given me, Roxie’s owner thought I was Mrs Magill - at least until she saw me fro the side. A year ago I might have been insulted. Now that I’ve allowed myself to be me, I was a little excited. Man, if I’m strong enough to go through with this, it’s gonna need some getting used to.
After our walk, Mrs Magill offered to take us to the new bagel shop for their “soft opening.” She, Chloé, and I loaded into Squeaky’s car[1] and headed over there only to find out we were a week early. I have been given my marching orders to be there next Friday morning[2], bright and early to get into the raffle for free bagels for a year.
Vison continues to improve. Last night, I noticed a lot of “lens flare” in my right eye. There was considerably less this morning, but bright lights in the dark still had lines coming from them. We’ll see how it is tomorrow morning. My only real complaint right now is the color differential between my two eyes is creating a sort of flashing sensation as my brain tries to reconcile it.
Swampy - Mrs Magill and her entire family will only eat my pimento cheese.
And now I want pimento cheese.
Says the post just before someone rambling on about walking and eating pimento cheese. 
Morning all. Sitting in the Nashville airport, apparently traveling Business class to New York doesn’t get you lounge access, so have a couple hours to kill. The TS A line was non-existent, I was through in 5 minutes, but the walk up to my gate got the blood moving. Have about 5 hours in JFK but will have lounge access there Looks like good weather in both places.
All y’all have a good Thursday.
At least in BNA, you can get Hattie B’s chicken.
Sounds like my astigmatism - at night, all lights have “sunbursts” around them, white lights being worse than red. So for the most part, I don’t drive at night. Not that I ever really have reason to. If we go out to dinner late, FCD will drive. And if I’m babysitting the grands late at their house, I’ll generally have my sweetie drop me off then pick me up, even tho it’s less than 15 miles and I know the route well enough that I don’t need to be on constant lookout for where to turn and such. Not sure if cataract surgery will do anything about that. But like I said, I don’t drive at night.
When we went to Santiago, Chile, enroute to our Antarctic cruise, the walk from the gate to Customs was INSANE!! I swear, it felt like we were dragging ourselves for a mile! What was worse (for me) is that FCD can’t walk as fast as I do, so I had to keep slowing down. I’m really not a speed-walker - I’m just not much for strolling at a leisurely pace, and his spinal issues slow him down.
Hope your flights are easy and non-delayed!
I’m all showered and dressed. FCD has left to install the engine room light. He also plans to do some washing-down of the area where the new shelf will be installed. I’ll go with him tomorrow since it’s supposed to be warmer. So today’s plan is to tidy the basement for Roxy’s b-day party next Saturday. I’ll also start sorting thru the train stuff we got from my sister. It all smells like it’s been stored for years, which it has been. I don’t need that stink in the basement, so one at a time, I’ll take boxes to the bathroom down there and clean what I can. Stinky stuff will go back to the garage till we can figure out how to deal with it.
Yep, excitement abounds!!
Quick review of postings elicted these thoughts (if I am having any).
FCM, A cello? That’s nearly as big as she is (guess she can grow into it). And loved the story of the Great Piano Demolition…kids be kids.
Mollie, glad the company will do the right thing…and a bit early for chicken, maybe when I get back.
Red, may silence reign.
As for the party, I’ll bring the soda (diet only).
Think I’ll do a little walkabout now.
It’s never too early for Hattie B’s.
Good morning.
It’s 36F and sunny outside, with a frost advisory until 9:00 a.m. Today’s daytime high is projected to reach 68F, with abundant sunshine.
FCM, out here, schools usually had loaners for the big instruments. However, there are also stores that rent musical instruments. At least there were; we rented a clarinet for my daughter.
Red, I hope things stay quiet.
Metal Mouse, I hope the rest of your travels are smooth.
Mollie, hopefully your brain/eye will adjust soon.
JtC, sounds like your lawyer is a stellar fellow.
An MMP-fest would be great fun! I would be sure to bring something tasty!
I’ll have to get myself together soon. I have to stop for gas, then go to a florist, and finally, the service for the lady who passed away far too soon. The service is about 30 minutes from where I live, but traffic on the stretch of highway I need to use is always ridiculous.
After the service, I may stop by Costco, but I’m definitely stopping at Safeway for some Frosty Paws for the pups. I should probably pull out the fancy-dancy new mower too, and get the lawn squared away.
Well, I suppose I better that second cup of coffee down. You all take care of yourselves.
Daughter said the school has some, and I’m sure there’s at least one place in this county that rents them. If she takes to it, then we can look in to buying her an instrument. My folks bought me an accordion that mostly stayed in its case after my 10 lessons ended…
The basement is presentable, mostly. But I’ve got a week. I even cleaned the terlit, which is stained because we hardly use it, so the hard water does a job on the bowl. I’ve sprayed it with a bleach cleaner, and I’ll do it again. And again as required.
I finally put the cushions on the deck furniture - it’s only been 2 years. And I coiled up the hoses that Otis dragged across the yard. He managed to chew up part of the better one, but only about 8" at one end will need to be removed, then we can put a replacement end on it and it’ll still be good for a while. The other hose was left by the Easts (I think - they left a lot of stuff behind) and it’s in pretty bad shape. Then again, we’ve been here almost 22 years.
I’m about to take a lunch break, then I’ll start on the train stuff. For all that it’s chilly, there’s no wind, so I didn’t freeze outside in just a t-shirt. And from the long-range forecast, I think we’re done with temps that low. Huzzah!
Good morning everyone! It was in the low 40’s when I got up and it is close to 60 now. This afternoon I’m putting my lemon tree out for a couple of weeks. I’ll watch the weather and pull it in if it is going to get too cold, but I do think spring has sprung in these parts.
While I was out yesterday, I was noticing that all of the nurseries have flowering plants out. Tomorrow Hubs and I will be loading up my scooter and heading off to look at plants for our yard as well.
My plans today involve stitching. I ordered this year’s mystery piece (Kathy Rees) and got a notice that the canvas and threads will be arriving on Saturday. I HAVE to get something finished, I have too many UFO’s stacking up. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not sure that I have the right sized stretcher bars for the new piece, I might be forced to finish something just to free the bars up.
Yes I can buy more, that’s not the point.
There was a bunch of stuff growing along the fence in the backyard. One of us thought it was great and one of us hates plants and trees. I made the mistake of leaving him unsupervised for a few hours and he cut it all down. 
I know it will come back, the forest always wins, but its nesting season and that mess looked like prime housing for little birds.
He is a very nice, very smart guy and I’m glad he showed up when he did. He’s also very good at saying a whole lot of words while not giving out any information when he wants to keep something secret. Like where the money to defend me came from.
That is why I stopped driving at night long before the eye doctors started talking about cataracts. Post-surgery, the sunbursts are gone and it is surprisingly light at night.
This is why I got so jealous of Mr Tators. His surgeon did both eyes at once so he isn’t going through those brain straining two weeks. Do be careful driving, your depth perception is probably not as good as it could be.
You are still upright and able to post. That’s gotta count for something!
We’re looking at upper 70’s today and mid 80’s tomorrow. Be of good cheer, the warmth will arrive anon.
Thank you, that is my hope as well.
There are several Shoney’s in the state. I like them but Hubs always finds something that sounds more fun than comfort food so we rarely go.
One of those unbendable vacuum sealed packages? I always worry about cutting the fabric during my struggle to open them.
Could she be put in charge of documenting everything? Like sitting quietly at her desk and typing it all in a report that will be read and commented on at a later time?
Or would she need to talk about that instead?
I’ll bet your decorations would be show stopping! Besides cookies, I’ll bring bread. I’m really getting the hang of it and my adoring fans demand regular practice sessions 
I’m glad all is quiet, but am also a little worried about your neighbor. If she doesn’t learn to say NO to her daughter, this is going to happen again.
Well, stitching isn’t getting done and the light is perfect. Whoever framed this current piece did a crappy job, so fixing that while chewing myself out is the first order of the day. Best to get the unfun part done now.
Have great days everyone.
Do either of you have a tablet? I use the Kindle app on my tablet exclusively. It means one less electronic I have to pack for when I travel.
Check the pawn shop. My experiences are limited to Nashville (hello Music City), but there were always a lot of instruments available when I was shopping for them. I wrote a swing song once that had a bridge that needed either a fiddle or clarinet (western swing or big band) and I picked up a clarinet for ~$20 and just bought a new mouthpiece. ETA: Amazon sells starter instruments for not too much money. This is an electric model, which makes it easier to transport. At her age, she’d likely want to begin with a 1/2 or 3/4 scale model.
'Twas a silent night!
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. Not a whole lot shaking today, just RDOS and working on the baby book.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Poke a needle / straight pin into the package in several places. It’ll losen up.
Coffee is drunk and irk avoidance is in full swing.
FCM - I hear you about the toilet. The boys’ upstairs is connected to the fire sprinkler system, which bypasses the house main and the water softener, so no matter how clean it is, it looks horrible from the scale.
Lights used to have big auras around them. Now there are these flares. Last night, they went across my field of vision. Now they’re about a thumb’s width at arm’s length on either side of a light. This morning, they were a palm’s width, so it’s getting better.
JtC - I’m crossing my fingers for the passport.
I use the Kindle app on my phone when standing in line, otherwise my regular Kindle is easier on the eyes.
That is one of those things that is so obvious that no one ever thinks of it. 
I do that too. I tend toward Alton Brown’s POV on uni-taskers.