(Old) Where in the world is the MMP?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
161

On the 300 slide again. There was less chaos today, because it slightly dawned on TPTB that things go faster if they let dogbutler do his job. I was on the Sort Table for a bit, not not half the sort like yesterday. They didn’t have a cop running the traffic light, so the package cars were in a traffic jam backed up into the building. But I needed some fresh carbon monoxide anyways, so that worked out. I did my Senior Day shopping.

I’m gonna wait to the last minute to replace mine. At least the old ones will still read what’s already on there before the date. At least till Amazon decides to brick them out of spite.

No. I’ll just miss the old one. it’s has buttons. That’s the bee’s knees.

So do I mostly. but i’s it’s the closest thing to a real Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy so far.

162

THAT is very encouraging! Three more years…

I saw where next week, we might see 90!!! NOOOOOOOOO! Too Soon!!!

We’ll see what the teacher says - that girl is shooting up so fast! I swear, by the time she’s 10, she’ll be towering over me!

I just finished sorting and cleaning trains and stuff.
I have no idea where the ones in the foreground came from.
Imgur
These are the ones from my youth - either from my dad or my grandfather.
Imgur
I think there’s some stuff that needs to be tossed, but I’ll talk to FCD first since he’ll be assembling it all. There’s another transformer in the basement where I carried all the tracks. As soon as the bins dry (they were pretty gross so I washed them) I’ll pack this stuff up and take it downstairs. For now, tho, break time!!

163

That transformer takes me back.

164

Me, too, about 65 years…

165

Sounds like you can still add more stuff if you can connect via a cable to another device, just you can’t download straight off Amazon. I actually get all my books that way anyway- in fact I haven’t connected it to the wifi since I moved house. The clock on my kindle is now 15 minutes slow…

We have a frankly silly amount of roadworks around at the moment causing delays all willy-nilly, and with fuel prices going crazy*, it seemed a good plan to irk from home in comfy slippers. At least, it seemed like a good plan until I got an email asking if I was still planning on coming to the other site, an hour away this morning… Oops. I arranged that a couple of weeks back and forgot it was today… I hadn’t even got the stuff ready I was going down there to do, so I had to ask if I could reschedule, which I luckily have for next Tuesday. Please don’t let me forget.

Anyway, some stuff was achieved, a little gardening was done in the break, and now slobbage is occurring.

Some homegrown rhubarb is turning into crumble as I type; it’s so expensive to buy rhubarb here, but dead easy to grow and plants are cheap to buy. The extra flavour of smugness really adds to it as well.

*According to my small niece, this is due to her uncle- her parents told her fuel was getting expensive because of a very silly man living in America. The only person she knows in America is her uncle, who is indeed a bit silly…

A Day Off in the MMP
166

Now you’ve done flung a cravin’ on me! I’ll have to look for rhubarb the next time I go to the farmer’s market. My grandmother used to make strawberry - rhubarb dumplings and pies.

167

After the wife’s beloved el cheapo juicer took another fall and (again) broke the cheap plastic juice holder recently, I ordered a new, much sturdier one from Breville. It arrived today and is - shall we say - sturdy. Also much larger and heavier. It was also about $200 (compared to about $20 for the last one), so it will have to last until we depart this mortal coil. Sadie immediately explored the boxes, of course.

The interview with the lawyer yesterday went well. Looks to be a pretty straightforward document and we dropped some people who were heirs in the old one because they’ve turned into assholes in the interim. Now we just have to sort out who gets the “stuff”; neither of us is looking forward to the task. Anyway, another item checked off the list.

Gotta get going on dinner soon, as it has to spend an hour in the oven.

168

Well, the first flight was perfect, JFK delivered my luggage quickly and the air train brought me right to the International terminal…and the counter doesn’t open until 6pm, so I have a couple hours of sitting around on metal chairs… still, better than things being a mess and missing my flight.

169

Hmmm… Busy 3 hours on the MMP… :wink: I am checked in and sitting in a airport lounge in the most comfy seat of the day. About 2 hours till boarding and about 7 hours enroute, most which I will be trying to sleep (arrive 10:15am in Portugal). So far things are going pretty much as planned, the next big trial will be getting from the airport to my hotel. Bur I’ll deal with that when it happens.

170

Satisfying day at irk today. I took 2 pickup trucks full of crap to the dump. Still a lot to go to make the shop more workable. I’ve been there a little over a year, but it seems the shop is now my domain. Where’s the emoji of Dr Evil with his pinky at the corner of his smile?

I just have 20 years of institutional inertia to overcome. The worst thing to hear is “We’ve always done it that way.”

171

Howdy Y’all! We started on the cee-mint pond this mornin’. Not lookin’ too shabby, so maybe it will be ready for the season in a week even though we probably won’t be gettin’ in before May cause the water still be right chilly. We achieved nappage, food from Jack’s (we actually went there and et), and day drinkin’. Live large we do!

MetalMouse I do not understand the concept of “too early for fried chikin.” Glad you get to be in the lounge at JFK. Have a safe flight. Hope you can sleep most of it.

Mollie OYKW only eats my pimento cheese. He says it’s better than even what his own mom made. :smiling_face:

Nuts. DON’T FORGET ABOUT NEXT TUESDAY!

VanGo “But, we’ve always done it that way” is the mantra of institutions everywhere.

172

I tried to nap. Somewhat hard when somebody is napping on top of you with one paw in your left nostril, and 2 feet in your left ear. I’m watching hockey, and having a Mai Tai. dinner tonight is Smoked Paprika chicken(kicked up with some cayenne pepper).

Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people.

173

Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s currently 46 degrees Ferret Height(7.778 Centipedes), and looks like I done killed the MMP.

174

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 52 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 78 and sunny. Spring is here to stay! I have my pre-colonoscopy appointment this mornin’ at 8:40. I can hardly contain myself. Afterwards I will head over to the church house to deal with candle and other duties, part of which is to setup for a funeral tomorrow mornin’. Then it’s back to da cave to do more stuff to the cee-mint pond. Sloth will be sorely needed after all that. Sup will be majick intartoobz pizza and sallit just cause.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, alas and bother, I suppose I must purtify and don acceptable attire for bein’ amongst the great unwashed.

Happy Firday Y’all!

175

Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 6c/44f with a predicted high of 10c/50f and partly cloudy. Weather app says “Some people might think this fucking weather is boring. I think it’s fucking wonderful.”

I hope it’s a stress-free day for you, and the lady gets a good send-off.

No, it was a small plastic envelope type of thing. I think they’d used the smallest one they could find (costs less in postage) so the t-shirt was very badly creased when it came out. Didn’t take long to fix it though :slight_smile:

When she has an opinion about something, sitting quietly at her desk is the last thing she does! At the moment, she’s catastrophising about the new office. It’s on the ground floor, right by the entrance to the building, and in her head that means every last person who’s got a question will be coming through the door. That may be true, we will have a reception desk although we don’t have a designated receptionist so most of us will be taking turns to deal with visitors. TM does not like change in any form, and unfortunately she’s building this up in her head to be something much more difficult than it is. No amount of reassurance or talking her down is going to help. She’ll be quiet for about five minutes and then launch into something else she doesn’t like about it.

No, I’ve got a laptop and a Kindle and a phone. I didn’t see any need for another device that I most likely wouldn’t use that much. I’m most likely going to be moving over to audiobooks more now, although I have a very large pile of paper books to get through too!

Hopefully that won’t be too much of a trauma - there are usually plenty of taxis around, especially when long-haul flights arrive.

Yesterday brought a weird problem late in the afternoon, I had a message from the History team’s admin about an issue with their dissertation marking. One of the senior academics had asked for an urgent response to something but neither she nor I could see what his problem was! Anyway, we came up with a response for him without us actually doing anything, and he seems to have quietened down today. After that, I went home and did my usual evening chores, and retired to the sofa while ‘im indoors provided dinner.

Today is the first day of Mayor’s Fest so after irk, I will be scooting home to heat up leftover chilli for dinner, then we’ll be heading into town for the first evening of bands at the Giffard. We have promised ourselves that we’ll watch the three bands and then go straight home afterwards so that we are not out until the early hours. That means we’ll be up in good time to get ourselves ready for Round 2 on Saturday as that starts at 1.30pm. I’ll have to get myself a strong cup of tea in preparation!

176

I want this embroidered on a throw pillow!!!

I awoke to 38 Ferrets after a broken night of weird dreams. I wonder why it is that a variation of my last Fed workplace keeps popping up in dreams. Picture a large square building with offices lining the outer walls, then a corridor, then a block of offices and conference rooms in the center. Different versions of that seem to play a part in many of my nighttime dramas. And I retired from there in 2011, so it’s not like recent memories are playing a part. So strange…

Anyway, we’re supposed to see mid 70s today. I’ll be doing my best to clean the windows in the aft cabin, helping FCD with his engine room projects, and installing the new pulls on the windows. All in no particular order. Laundry will be done after we get home. Hope the delay doesn’t disrupt the space-time continuum.

Last night I rewatched Bohemian Rhapsody. I really enjoyed it but I think I may have confused it with a documentary I’d seen on Queen. Still, a good movie, even tho I’m sure there was a fair dose of fictionalization involved.

I was trying to start a new blanket while watching, and as might be expected, I screwed up the stitch count near the beginning of the first row. When I ripped out the stitches back to the error, something got twisted and I couldn’t figure out how to fix it, so I gave up. I’ll finish ripping out all the stitches, then start all over. But I’ll get the first 2 rows of the pattern established without video interference.

Back to weather, long range forecast shows that spring, with some hint of summer, has set in, so I can move the spider plants off the counter and out to the porch, along with the croton. I can also plant the petunias I bought the other day. So there’s my yard work for tomorrow. Daughter may or may not bring the grandspawn over. We shall see.

Onward! Happy Firday!!!

177

Well, it’s a soggy Friday morning in Elkhart, but the Weather Channel says the rain will stop in about 15 minutes.

Some years back, Mrs. Nott and I accidentally went to a “soft opening” of a fast food place during a vacation trip. We ordered, we got our food, and I reached for my wallet. That’s when they told me it was a pre-opening trial run, and there was no charge. Apparently, everyone else was there by invitation.

The little search icon on my screen says today is Siblings Day. If you haven’t sibled recently, today might be a good time to get caught up.

178

Good morning!

It’s 43F, dark and partly cloudy. We’ll have a mix of sun and clouds today, with a daytime high of 69F. Rain will be moving in overnight, so I need to get the lawn done today.

Metal Mouse, I hope the rest of your travels were smooth and that you found your hotel without any problems.

BooFae, some people just can’t be happy unless they have something to moan about. I have worked with many iterations of TMs, and even when things are good, they’ll drag something up.

Filbert, don’t forget about next Tuesday! Be sure to add it to your Google Calendar with multiple reminder alerts!

So yesterday’s service was something. I can see why it took a month to hold the service because folks flew in from all over. Samoa, Alaska, the states…

They had three rooms: one for food, one to showcase Julia’s many creations, and, of course, the room where the service itself was held. Once the service started, it was done mostly in Samoan. They led her coffin in, while a family member sang Ave Maria. His voice was amazing. Her uncle started the service with a prayer and some words, and then all the Samoans broke out into song. My spine tingled and my eyes teared up. It was absolutely beautiful, and their ability to harmonize was incredible. Then several hours ot testimony followed, with songs interspersed throughout. Again, they were all beautiful. Julia was well-loved and had many talents. Finally, at three-thirty, I had to go; the service had pretty much wrapped up, and I had spoken to her husband beforehand, so I think it was okay to leave. I was there for nearly four hours.

Today, I plan to get out in the yard, and beyond that, probably not much more is on the agenda. I filled up my tank yesterday, and thank goodness for my dollar off at Safeway, or I would have been paying $5.69 a gallon. I feel like I should head out to some of my favorite nurseries, but I’m hesitant to spend a bunch of money, so we’ll see what happens.

I think today is a three-cup coffee day, so I best get to it. You all take care of yourselves.

179

Nuts something is happening next Tuesday and you need to remember it.

180

Happy Firday!

Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. Other than a load of grocery bags to wash, not a lot shakin’ at CasaRoja today.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!