Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 14c/57f with a predicted high of 17c/62f, and cloudy. Weather app says “Welcome to today. It’s a grey bucket of fucking suck outside. You’re fucking welcome.” I wouldn’t go that far, it’s cloudy but not that bad.
Following on from Moooom’s unearthing of a pile of stationery, and a brilliant idea to maybe have an MMP writing club…how often do you write letters? Not business type things, proper genuine letters to friends and family?
I don’t, I used to have a bunch of penpals but email and social media has changed all of that. We keep in touch virtually, but I kind of miss a physical letter coming through the letterbox at home.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 59 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 85 and N.O.S. for the day. Sloth and general overall uselessness shall be the order of the day. Well, I do need to find a sermon for this comin’ Sunday and I do need to review all the info on the potential new Priest before the interview we have with him on Sattidy mornin’, so I suppose that is productivity. Sup shall be my world famous Eyetalian chikin, peas ‘n carrots, wild (I like it unruly) rice, and rolls. I could deal with some errands that need doin’, but I foresee a day in da cave and away from the great unwashed.
I haven’t written a genuine letter to friends or family in years. Like you said, BooFae we tend to keep in touch via email, text, social media and the like. Occasional phone calls happen, as well.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
The closest I’ve come to writing letters in recent years has been including a short note in packages I send. Like doing the Secret Santa here. It does seem kinda cold to send a gift without at least a couple of words. Honestly, I wonder if my arthritic hands could manage to hold a pen long enough to write a proper letter. I also wonder about my penmanship, which was marginal when I was young.
As an aside, as I was sorting thru papers and stuff yesterday, I came across the journal I kept in bootcamp. I intend to read it, if I can translate my scribbles. I should transcribe it for future generations.
I remembered last night that we’ve got appointments to get our COVID shots this morning. I intend to call the pharmacy as soon as they open to see if they have the vaccine on hand before we head over there. For some reason, the texts they’d sent when I made the appt have disappeared from my phone. Will I get shot? Stay tuned to this station for answers…
I will mow today, after I pick up all the big branches that fell during the storm. No other big plans apart from that. I suppose I could pull out the shredder and start on the box o’docs from yesterday. We’ll just see how the day goes.
Happy Moanday!!
PS - swampy, you just beat me because I stopped to proofread.
I used to have pen pals, too, but with the advent of email, social media, cell phones, etc., I no longer write or receive letters. I don’t even really do Christmas cards anymore.
I’m not particularly chatty because today I wil call the vet.
I want to thank you all for the kind words in the last MMP. It’s been a rough weekend.
The messenger app connected to the Book Of Faces has de-coupled from SMS texts (which are directly from one phone number to another) so any non-FB mssgs now have to be accessed via your phone’s mssg app.
If you’re like me and communicated through a mishmash of the two, things are a bit weird as far as text communication lately.
Oh, god, sugarplum. My heart caught in my throat when I read this. My very sincerest condolences.
No, I don’t mishmash - I just use the app. (FB is pretty much just for talking with friends. I prefer to deal with businesses directly and keep them away from my playground.) I know the texts were there on Firday, but now they’re gone - can texts be recalled?
Whatever - they open in about 10 minutes, so I’ll call.
I haven’t written a letter in years. As we’ve been discussing, email has eliminated that.
Ironically, I’m thinking of taking up calligraphy as a hobby in my retirement. I love beautiful handwriting. I took Japanese in college and was really into brushstroking the kanji characters and the Japanese alphabets. So I might go today to an art supply store to see what they recommend for beginning calligraphy. You can find lots of patterns online for lovely copperplate fonts.
Now a few minutes post-dawn I’ve been balconatin’ and caffinatin’ for over an hour. Day began cloudy and a few minutes ago a rain shower came over and is now waning, but everything is wet and getting wetter. The overhang on the balcony is big enough I stay dry in all but the windiest rainfalls. Which this one isn’t. Yaay! NWS says it’s 81/27 on the way to 87/30 and mostly rainy & thunderboomy all day. Haven’t heard any yet, but the day is yet young.
No significant plans for the day, beyond mini-groc and perhaps a trip to Kohl’s. When we moved in we bought new bathroom soap dispensers, one for each of the two bathrooms’ two sinks. One of the pumps has failed, making splurty noises but not delivering soap. And yes, I’ve soaked it and poked it and … aaaand it’s broke. Oh the horror! Pure domestic disaster I tells ya’.
To my surprise, the website shows they still carry that model a full year later. Wow. Anyhow, I want to get another one while they’re still available. They have a $50 minimum on free shipping, so an in-person visit is worth it for us lazy-bones retirees with nothing better to do all day. Might, just might, find something else there I want. But probably not.
As to stationery, etc., it’s been decades since I last wrote a letter with a pen. My penmanship was embarrassing even when I was current like still back in school. Once PCs arrived in ~1986, I’ve typed everything since. And like others, even Christmas cards and the annual inventory letter have gone by the wayside. I communicate in dribs and drabs via email and txt to my IRL friends and by continuous blathery spew to my imaginary friends here at SDMB. And that’s enough for me.
Some responses from last weeks thread:
For all of us, there is this recent thread that made me feel better about myself:
Damn near every state worthy of the term has two schools named “University of [Whichever]” and “[Whichever] State University”. Who are required by the US constitution to have a bitter rivalry. The other source of bitter rivalries are big cities having both a state-level public university for the proles and a snooty private university for the landed gentry.
Thank you. And the same back to you. {{Hugs}}
I have the same reaction. A wistful sadness for me, mixed with a hearty congratulations to them. All the more so if they seem to still genuinely like each other, not just tolerate each other’s presence out of resigned habit and lack of practical alternative. The latter seems so … unfulfilling.
I would not have married someone that low-rent. I despise re-purposed containers of all kinds and have never used them myself even in my bachelor youth.
FTR, we have a whole collection (of course) of Pyrex glass containers with color-coordinated matching (of course) lids. In every size and shape (of course) they make. The round ones come in sizes from ~1c to ~2qt. The rectangular baking dish shapes also come from small to ginormous. Somehow she just never chooses the size or shape I would have.
Any restaurant leftovers must be repackaged from the to-go-containers into these immediately upon getting home. No pausing to take off jackets or pee or anything. Also if we leave a restaurant with leftovers, we must not stop, not even for gasoline, on the way home. They must be refrigerated as close to instantly as possible. Leftovers from stuff cooked at home is likewise packaged and refrigerated immediately as the stove or oven is turned off. She has a somewhat sensitive stomach, but this seems overkill to rather food safety casual me.
Yaay for candlemaking!!!
I’m like you. Years ago in USAF I dated a young woman who could destroy her tiny apartment kitchen from top to bottom and stem to stern in the course of making a PB&J sandwich. It was a glorious mystery to behold. We were never destined to be a long term gig, but that was one of many, many deal-breakers.
Her Ladyship is also like you, in that she cooks very cleanly. The difference between she and I is that I can make a complete and decently complicated meal using very few tools and utensils. She can make the exact same meal using easily 4x the tools and utensils to achieve the identical result. Tis a cute mystery to behold. At least we do not subscribe to the “I cook you clean” model. We each do both or neither.
Doggio as always you’re by far the wittiest come-back guy on the MMP team. I admire that a lot. Doubly so for all the Shakespeare quotes. I had a crack ready for “CDO”, but you blew my idea out of the water. I’ve certainly heard and used “Barley pop” as a euphemism for beer. But “barley gazpacho” is new to me. Thank you, that’s a keeper.
Good morning all. Another clear day in N. Ali-bama, 74F already and heading to 87F, so the AC will get some overtime today. Giving the kids the day off from soccer practice as it’s Fall Break and I’ll let them enjoy the time driving their parents insane. Shopping-n-sammich-n-swimmin’-n-sauna are on the schedule, then the weight check to see if my 5 Guys visit did any damage or not. Looks to be a slow week, it is supposed to start cooling, by Saturday the high is predicted to be only 70F, but still no rain in sight.
I haven’t hand-written a letter in years, I did type and mail a couple this year to companies that have ticked me off and one to my Edward Jones guy to approve him putting some of my money into an account, but putting pen to paper…nope, like most of us here, e-mail and texting has replaced those venerable skills. Not to mention the MMP–I probably have written more to you folks in the past couple of years than in all the letters I’ve written in my lifetime.
My kitchen gets stuff put away or tossed in the trash after being used, but I doubt that the counter-wiping would meet most folks standards…although it gets a good cleaning every week.
FCM, Happy Shot Day (of course with doggio everyday is Happy Shot Day)…
{{{{{Taters}}}}}. All my heart.
OK, need go get cleaned up and dressed to head over to the store and the Jersey Mike’s. All y’all take care now and have a good week.
I can’t even write something on a grocery list without screwing it up. Seriously. I can still type fairly fast, and my brain gets ahead of my fingers when trying to write with a pen.
We went out for dinner with the wife’s commercial pilot niece last night, who happened to have a turnaround here. Good meal that involved lobster. I paid for the effort with an achy knee and sore back, but it was nice to get out and celebrate the wife’s birthday. Her other niece who lives locally is coming over today. I think we’ll make omelets.
Taters: so sorry for your pet problems. It’s a pain all of us understand.
I heaved. I sorted. I loaded 4 cars on Middle Blue, plus 210, plus tape and clean up some package cars on 200 South. Some of these Blueberries are dyslexic. One car had Next Day Air at the back, and Rear Door Right at the front. There was also FDR and FDL(but no FML). But I’ve had a shower and some shredded wheat, and now it’s naptime.
I haven’t hand written a letter in years. No need with email, social media, texting, and that new fangled 19th century voice telephone thing.
If only I could get Blue Cross/Blue shield to cover Fireball.
And we’ve been shot. We got there way early and had to wait, but all 3 of us were done just before our appt time, so yay! And while we were waiting, FCD figured out why all his calls to his mom were going to VM - somehow his number had gotten blocked on her phone. But it’s all good now and he won’t have to take my phone to call his mom. So yay again.
Waiting to find out if BIL will be discharged today. I know he’s ready to go and MIL misses having him at the apt. But until they call, we won’t know.
What surprises me is that none of the doctors have called either FCD or his mom with updates on his brother’s condition. The nurses can’t/won’t tell them anything. So all we know is what BIL tells MIL - he’s seen the doc and the psychiatrist has said he may possibly go home today.
After I’m done with my lunch, I’m going to mow. The yard has dried out after all the rain and it’s looking like a wild meadow. First I’ll have to push around a wheelbarrow and gather the branches that have fallen - they’ll go on the wood pile. Then I’ll ride ol’ John Deere around. Shouldn’t take much more than an hour.
Howdy, y’all! I’m in the shop, contemplating cutting a large carpet. I think I’ve made it sufficiently dust free to lay this thing out. I need to turn a square into a circle. The clients want a 15’ round rug to go on stage. I just kinda donwanna do it today.
And I need to prep my house for a brother visit later this week. Hide the booze, change the sheets on the guest bed, etc.
Hello everyone, rejoining after umm, stuff and some other stuff. And that other stuff over there [points].
Finally cooling off here in Tejas, and actual rain expected in few days. Not the typical freakout of the weather boffins when they see a cloud, but the real thing predicted by actual NWS. It’s in the low 70s here and should only hit low 90s today.
First off: {{{Taters}}}. Been through this and will be thinking of you. Just now getting over our loss in January, and starting to look for a new companion. I’m having trouble because I want to take all of them home with me.
As to the OP: the last letter I wrote was to a state congressman. Apparently he did not recognize my legislative brilliance, as nothing seems to have happened.
For the mundane and personal segment:
I’m finally gaining ground on the bronchitis from hell, with a 3rd round of antibiotics, scary medicines I can’t pronounce that require ID, and my first ever inhaler. I just wish the medicants had attacked it with this much gusto a month ago.
I’m enjoying an empty house for the next week, as mizpullin has joined daughter while she presents at a conference a day’s drive from here. It’s actually a good thing, as I can be silent the whole week and I think it’s helping with bronchitis recovery. My only task is netflix and taking care of daughter’s dog.
Decided to do the whole yard a few days ago, and spent hours in a fog of dust, pollen and grass. Wore a complete hazmat getup including N95 mask, but it probably wasn’t wise. But everything’s finished for a while and I’m glad it’s over.
Went to see my aging Dad last week (700 mile round trip) and he’s doing OK but not great. Having more trouble remembering things and needing more and more help. And the hired help he has is worthy of their own lengthy pit thread. I’m trying to support where I can, but my own health, age and distance are limiting this. I will have to make some unpopular decisions in the near future, and I’ll try not to whine about it too much. OK maybe a little (You’ve been warned ).
Took the aforementioned dog to the park this morning and wore both of us out. He’s contentedly sleeping on the couch. The park was deserted, and it was good to get out for the first time in days.
Hope everyone has a good week, I’ll try to participate more, especially since I have some free time.
Welcome back Yanker!! Boo about still being ill, but yaay for you and the medics finally beating it back some.
That was me even back as a kid. My hand is making the second downstroke of the first letter and my brain has finished the second sentence. I hated that.
Typing is much faster and I’ve also by osmosis learned to pace my thinking to not get too far ahead of the typing.
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