This! It’s reassuring to know that our northern neighbors aren’t blaming us all for the insanity coming from DC.
How big is this dog? I know for myself that size DOES matter. 
i am limited on weight that I can lift, so one Nelson’s or my goddog’s size is about the max. You may be able to wrangle a bigger pooch though.
I’m in for time travel too!
Thank you, lovely.
Not our 
Jolene?!
(J.K. I know who you mean.)
I’m still on “pay rent.”
I’m sorry. It’s basically taken over daily life for a lot of people, and … yeah.
We will be requesting pictures.
I’m friggin’ done.
Let’s see:
Sprinkles sed thanks for the flashlight, she still has no power. She has learned to huddle in a hoodie (“I’m warm this way!”) under her covers.
Care(e)less is doing the daily/weekly motel thing, cuz that’s cheap. And doesn’t seem sketch/bedbug ridden. /s
Poor guy.
Yikes for us, too, tho. 
Grandma showed up. They did not scoop out her remaining kidney. I don’t know the details, I was busy cooking eighteen zillion pounds of steak nuggets. And onion rings.
Our sister store was supposed to lend us a worker … overheard he never even showed up over there. So definitely not to us.
Oh, and our lovely dishwasher lady is out sick AGAIN, so Cranky Oven Master took over friggin’ dish pit, like that’s where we need him.
He did, however, yank my ass out of the weeds when a zillion fryer tickets showed up at the same time.
I did thank him, repeatedly.
Hell, mostly, he set up a roast beef sub sandwich, but that 
was messing up my process.
Esp. since we STILL DON’T HAVE A REACH IN. I have to add so many extra steps, literally and figuratively, to set up a damn sandwich.
But it helped tremendously, and he did a few other this’n’that, and I got a few things for him in return, since he’s still not supposed to lift heavy things. (So the old lady does it.)
As far as the, ah, current political stuff … I can’t decide if I wanna hide under the blankets, or go for a very long, long drive. Just some weed, music, and an open road.
… ah, wait. Gas is too 
Maybe I should just drive up there and you could take me to the lake-after introducing to your favorite [wink-wink] store. You can pick the music.
If I didn’t have a grand baby arriving any day a road trip da Mitten would be hard to resist.
I roll with Pink Floyd, Hendrix and Led Zep, but I have a weakness for Mr. Willie (of the Nelson) and am otherwise rather flexible.
The lakeshore is lovely.
I watched hockey. Canes lost. I had a Vieux Carré and Asian BBQ Stirfry,
You mean I used “shithole country” in today’s letter for nothing?
No kidding! I know he’s yanking my chain, but FCD has been going on and on about getting a Newfie. I love big dogs - we had a great dane once upon a time - but even if I’d be willing to get another dog, ain’t no way it’d be something that weighed more than about 25#. Heck, Trevor isn’t even 60# and he about knocks me over with his enthusiasm!
Up shortly after 5 because… well, I don’t know why. I keep dreaming it’s lots later than it is and when I’m fully conscious, I look at the clock and see it’s really stoopit o’clock. But I’ve breakfasted on leftover pizza and caffeination continues.
I posted a warning about the EZPass scam on our Next Door board, and I noticed one of the respondents was a guy I knew in San DIego 50 years ago. Yes, it is him because he has a very unusual name and I’d contacted him ages ago when I saw his name on some local site. I’m going to discuss it with FCD, but I’m thinking I’ll message him and see if he and his wife will meet us somewhere for a burger or something.
Yesterday, it hit 70° in my back yard. I woke to 22°. We might see 40° and it will be windy much of the day. Weather is so bizarro. Anyway, I won’t be doing anything outside today. I’m thinking I should clean the fireplace downstairs and lay a fire in anticipation of the grands tomorrow. Tho they don’t seem to mind if it’s cooler. Kids…
I’ll just get my morning computer time out of the way, and we’ll see what develops. Happy Sunday!!
Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 7c/44f with a predicted high of 9c/48f, and sunny. Weather app says “No guts, no fucking glory, or whatever. It’s not my fucking fault you sit on the couch eating chips while the sun is fucking shining.” But that is the perfect kind of Sunday slothage, right?
I am so sorry to hear about the furlough. I agree that you should try to get out and socialise a bit, I’m sure it will do you good to be around people (and Lego!), at least to take your mind off everything else for a short time.
We went to Romania a few years ago, also visited Bran’s castle. He wasn’t around to say hello to us either 
BBBoo a carwash and a cheeseburger sounds like an ideal Grandma date! Have you got room for one more in the car? 
I am sure he appreciated someone taking time to notice his work too, you are such a good person to do that!
Yesterday was predictably busy but it was a good day for Little Paws. We’d run a Pringo event on Friday (prosecco and bingo) which raised around £700 and then collected another £219 during our day at the supermarket. I was there for 2hrs in the afternoon, then took the buckets over to LPCH HQ (Di’s house!) where I stayed long enough for a cuppa and a lot of cat-fussing. Little Paws is a home-based foster/rehoming charity so all the cats are looked after by a team of volunteers. Di has around 40 cats in her care, the rescue has close to 200 cats and kittens spread around various homes. I also dropped off the rest of Shadow’s thyroid medication as she has 19yr old Mosi, another regular user, so I know it will not be wasted.
In the evening, we got fish and chips for dinner from a place at the end of our street, had cocktails and watched a couple of films. Blossom and Cherry decided to be in the same room as us, they got some treats which went down very well.
I have no plans for today, 'im indoors is making dinner tonight and I will be retiring to the sofa for an afternoon of slothage with a book.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 44 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 62 and N.O.S. A little cooler than it has been. The big item on today’s agenda is deheathenization followed by first Sunday brunch. Well, first the crew, which includes moi, who does such things will be gettin’ the church house ready for Lent. Ash Wednesday is comin’ whether we’re ready or not, so best get ready I reckon. The rest of the day will be spent in high RDOS inactivities.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then purtification for deheathenization must commence. Gotta get the shredded < snerk > BUTT! < snerk > warmed up and containerized (is too a word cause I just made it up). OYKW will be in charge of transport as I need to be there before him. I have Chalice duty.
Happy Sunday Y’all!
< Spot walks into bedroom >
< HORNK >
< Spot walks out of bedroom >
So with that early alarm I was up. But it’s mattress flippin’ toothbrush switchin’ day, so I got plenty of chores to occupy my morning. Spot will be occupied with watching his shows.
At Brown, that means shoving it into a bag made out of a sandpaper like substance with 60lbs of assorted letters, envelopes, and boxes, and heaving it onto a belt.
He was probably at his stake house.
And all those hosers would have to switch their red hats for toques, eh?
Temp has shot up to 23°. Stoopit coldness.
I’m showered and dressed - I even shampooed today! I have to empty the dishwasher and thaw something for supper. That’s as far as my thinking has gone. FCD will be in his shop making a couple more parts to be delivered to the fabricators tomorrow. Here’s hoping he’s found everything that needs to be welded together. I don’t know if they’ve started making the tanks, but I hope FCD hasn’t caused a problem by adding these bits.
And so the day begins. I want a brownie, dammit. Don’t have any, but I want one.
I slathered it with aloe lotion last night and this morning there is no pain to speak of, so dodged a bullet there.
to taters and oopsie
and 
to shoe
Thank you to JtC and Boo and everybody else who is making themselves seen and heard.
Due to heat issues (we have heat, but it’s colder than normal and we need to wait for a part), I have to wear my Birkenstocks, because the floor’s too cold. I seem to generate static electricity when I wear them, so yesterday and today has been a bit shocking.
I bought 2x ricotta I need, and I didn’t notice that the expiration date is Tuesday. So I’m going to try making a citrus-ricotta cake.
That sounds like a very good idea.
I’m not far from the mitten and I like the music choices, esp if the Stones can be included. Road trip!
I make do with neighbor dogs for my big doggy love fix. Shoot, that’s the reason Penny’s dad went with a small beagle this time around. A 70# basset was more than he felt he could lift into the truck at this point.
Yay on the funds raised for Little Paws, BooFae!
Shoot, I’m 400+ miles away, but I’d road trip with y’all!
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted, jalapeños and tomotillos scorched for salsa verde, sweet potatoes in the oven and fixing to do KP / Sunday chores.
It was another restless night, but I’ll survive. I think I strained my healing shoulder bringing in groceries yesterday.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Mornin’ all.
It’s 48F and cloudy right now. The afternoon will bring a high temperature of 52F and occasional rain showers that will continue overnight. Probably a good thing I didn’t wash the Jeep, but on the other hand, I really need to get some of that road crud off. I don’t have any choice today but to get food for the pups, and the carwash is nearby, so I’ll nip over there too.
I also plan to pick up salad fixings for the week, or at least the next few days. Buying something premade for lunch every day is expensive, so between that and nearly five dollar a gallon fuel prices (I have to run premium), the full-time to office return has been very expensive. I have a club card, and I’ve been lucky enough to get the dollar a gallon off mostly, but I’m going to run into many more five-day commute weeks now, and that means filling my tank three times over two weeks. We don’t buy that many groceries!
I approve of Shoe’s playlist, but can we add some Queen, Elton John, a few songs from Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, and the Who? I also like some early Def Leppard, and seeing as I’m from the PNW, I have to have some grunge (Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, etc.). My tastes are eclectic. I also throw some classical music into my Spotify playlist. It goes ever so nicely with scenic drives.
I washed all my laundry yesterday, including the bedding. My husband is also talking about bathing the dogs, which means we get bathed with spray and will end up showering again. Oh well.
Dicey, that cake sounds delicious! That would be lovely for kaffeeklatsch.
JtC, I’ve never owned a blind dog, although I think Brandi’s vision was terrible when we had to say goodbye. However, I have noted that blind dogs are very resilient, and this dog might surprise you about the J&G Shenanigens Hour. At any rate, dogs exude a unique sense of calm and love. I have one on my feet right now.
I had several messages from my boss yesterday asking me to take care of some stuff that was only sent to him, not to me. I will have to contact that particular office to ensure I’m on the Deputy mailing list. My boss will be gone all this coming week, and with all the last-minute data calls coming down, I need to be able to act on them. Those offices were informed that I was to be the acting deputy and were sent the delegation of authority, but they didn’t adjust their mailing list. They were probably under the gun, in a hurry, and forgot—just more s*** to deal with.
Okay, I need to finish my coffee, tidy the kitchen, and dust. I noticed dust on my TV stand yesterday.
Yippee! 
and double yippee! … can we add some Queen, Elton John, a few songs from Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, and the Who?… This is gonna be fun!
Started Typing: 9:35 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 10:56 AM ET
Morning, all! 
Winter has temporarily returned to the DC area: after the past few days of highs in the mid-to-upper 60s, it’s currently 28°F with an expected high of only 40. 
Things start getting better again tomorrow, though: this week’s highs range from 45 - 64, and the extended forecast shows a high of 74 on the 12th (!). But I won’t unplug the oil heater until late April, because early spring weather around here can be quite a rollercoaster.
Yesterday afternoon I did a bunch of poking around our corporate policies and also did some research online, and it seems that I may have used the words “official” and “furlough” a bit early: at the moment I’m still earning a paycheck, so I’m not actually furloughed yet (I’d wondered why that word wasn’t used in the email we got Friday afternoon). Per a corporate FAQ, a furlough is “the placement of an employee in a temporary non-duty, non-pay status, such as a temporary layoff, because of lack of funds or lack of work.” However, I fully expect that a furlough will be announced at tomorrow afternoon’s meeting with HR. If so, that’s when I’ll learn how much of my accrued PTO I’ll be allowed to use before my employment status changes (the company seems to decide that case-by-case: sometimes it’s just 40 hours, but sometimes it’s however much you have…hoping for the latter!).
I did go to my friend’s housewarming party last night, and I’m really glad I went! It was a great group of people, my friend’s new house is huge and gorgeous (she has $$$), the catered food was very yummy, the live jazz band was phenomenal, and there were lots of singers in attendance so everyone was encouraged to do a tune. My friend had previously asked me to sing a particular favorite from my repertoire, and I was happy to oblige. 
I got there at around 7:30pm and figured I’d just stay long enough to sing the requested song, but I wound up staying until almost 10:30 (the band stopped at 10, and a lot of folks left then). I did a lot more talking than expected, both with good friends and people I hadn’t seen for a while. It was great, but because of the music I had to speak loudly all night and today my throat is a bit rough. Worth it, though! I’ll be seeing the hostess and a few others again on Wednesday evening, when we have plans to meet at a local jazz jam session.
In addition to the rough throat, I’m also kinda tired today. I slept alright and long enough, but hadn’t slept well at all Friday night and I think I’m still feeling some of that. I’m just tired enough that it’s likely to affect my patience, and I’m also not sure how much more talking I have in me, so even though emotionally I’m up for this afternoon’s Lego-building event I think I’ll simply pick up my kit and take it home after all. I’ll head there shortly after 12pm.
Speaking of Lego, yesterday afternoon I started disassembling my nephew’s Batwing and sorting the pieces. It’s almost as theraputic as putting a set together, but not quite: I’m looking forward to getting to the point where I can start re-building it from step 1. 
I always had a feeling that I liked this kid!
I’m 99% sure HR will cover that tomorrow afternoon, but it’s one of the things I researched yesterday: I plan to file the minute I become eligible!
Ouch! 
So…what will you name him?
Yep; thanks! Luckily, most of my stuff happens at the start of the year anyway: I just saw the optometrist, I already have a dentist appointment on the 18th, etc.
HANG ON I’LL BE RIGHT THERE
()
Indeed. I have nothing but sympathy for my customer: as sucky as my situation has become, I know they have it worse. Their ability to do any actual work/anything productive has ground to a halt. I can’t begin to imagine what the never-ending fire drills have been like for them (and you), and I know that the decision about my contract was entirely out of their hands.
For those of you who wonder “What’s FCD really like?”, well…
I was having an early lunch (since I had a really early breakfast.) He came in from the shop and asked what I was eating. I told him it’s Italian wedding soup. He looked in the bowl, pointed at the little meatballs, and asked “Are those the groom’s balls?”
Yeah, 41 years of this so far. 
Good morning all. Stayed in bed (except for a couple of micturations) until 8am, then went forth to get the Sunday NY Times and fill my gas tank, so those operations are complete. In about an hour or so I’ll head over to Logan’s Roadhouse for some meatloaf and N.O.T.'s for the main Sunday meal. Have written down that I need to change the HVAC filter today since I find that if I write it on a list I invariably will do it. Nice looking outside but only 35F, so need to dress for it (only getting to 52F today).
JtC, if you do get that blind dog, hope the pupper realizes how lucky they are, even with two cats to deal with.
FCM, yeah, Newfies are great dogs but are huge beasts and with their fur coats they need constant brushing and attention. Not great for retired folks. (won’t even mention the drooling…). And yes, I did laugh at FCD’s joke; us old guys have to stick together. BTW, if you have one green ball in your right hand and one green ball in your left had, what have you got? Absolute control of the Jolly Green Giant
boo fae, yay! on the funding for your Little Paws.
As for music choices, I pretty much stick with the 70’s and 80’s channels on the Sirius radio, but I’m amenable to other types too.
Taters, hope the coming week isn’t too bad…it will be bad, I know, just hoping it isn’t intolerably bad.
Oopsie, glad you had a good night out with good people, you earned after this week. Happy Lego-ing.
What is an MP buy?
Friends of mine adopted an older blind dog. They walked him slowly through the house on a leash several times, and took him to the back door multiple times from various places so he could start learning his way around (and most importantly, where to go for potty breaks!). He bumped into things a bit at first but quickly figured out how to navigate around everything. They said one of the biggest things was everything now had a particular spot and not to move stuff around or leave something like a bag of shopping on the floor where it could be tripped over.
Thank you both for a badly needed laugh this morning!
Is there a Sam’s or Costco along or near your route? I also have to use premium gas, and they are consistently the cheapest by far. The savings on gas quickly pays for the membership card.
It will be a relatively chill day here. I’ll start laundry this afternoon - fingers crossed that the washing machine works with no issues this time. I also think I’m going to take tomorrow off work since it will be one of the last slow days and the weather will be nice before a mini cold front blows through tomorrow evening.