Prepping for a visit in the MMP

[liirogue]

Happy Monday all. It has been a slow start to the day here, as I took time off work and been slowly futzing around the house. It will be a heavy laundry day however, so I just pulled the car out of the garage and got the first load started (the washer and dryer are in the garage and you can’t squeeze between the car and the machines. Well, someone waaaaay skinnier and with no badonkadonk might be able to).

My mom called and she’s having trouble getting her new printer connected to her laptop and wants to see if I can go fix it. And I know that she’s hoping once I’m there that I’ll hang around for a while and maybe we can go to a late lunch… and then my afternoon is gone. So we’ll see. She can use the hell out of ChatGPT to self diagnose herself but suddenly can’t use it to diagnose the printer issue

@FairyChatMom

So, if a Mumper called to say “I’ll be there in an hour” how would you react?

Finally unload the dishwasher that’s been clean all week and reload it with the dirty dishes that have been accumulating in the sink.

@swampbear

Also, the secret to postin’ first, is to post the juvenile part and the edit to add other stuff. Yes, I am that juvenile.

Diabolical. And genius! Thanks for the laugh this morning.

@dogbutler

Helpfully pressing that F6 key for you.

Do you know how many calls I’ve had to make to IT that start with “Well one of my cats ran across the keyboard and now it’s doing this weird thing…”

[nelliebly]

Happy Moon’s Day! I remember reading the etymology of Monday, and that’s what it started as, though in Latin. (I’m nerdy and love etymology.) I guess today’s news is not all that happy, but I’M genuinely happy because Happy and Worried are my default settings, and I prefer the former.

Today is my daughter’s 14th wedding anniversary. I know it’ll be rough, but I know she’ll get through it. I sent her a package from nuts.com with the message, “He was nuts to leave, but now your life is truly your own.”

Worse news: her beloved cat is dying. She found out last week that her kitty has cancer and only 2-4 weeks to live. She’s had the cat since she got married, so they’ve been through a lot together, and she’s a VERY sweet kitty with eyes the color of sapphires. The vet prescribed meds to keep her comfortable, but of course my daughter will put her down if she’s in pain.

My sister is morbidly obese, so my sibs and I have been worried about her for years. Her cardiologist found what might be a blockage, so tomorrow she’s having an angiogram and a stent, if that’s needed. She’s a very stoic person but is a little scared about the procedure. Have any of you had this done?

I popped another stitch, this time in the other eye. It’s not as painful as last time, but why do these things always happen on Saturdays? I’m hoping to get in today to get it removed. I’m leaving for Chicago in one week, so I really don’t have time for this, but it’s better it happened now than after I leave.

It’s been a three-ring circus again. I’m cat-sitting for a neighbor who has an affectionate cat who likes to meditate on the catio. Just watching him brings serenity. I was dog-sitting Charlie, but he went home yesterday. So today I have to go take care of Leo (twice), walk Charlie (twice), and walk Maks (twice). In between I have laundry and housework. Such fun!

To make up for this slew of not-so-great news, here’s a photo of Max I took last week when he was enjoying a wagon ride, and another that just makes me smile.

I didn’t get to reply to anyone last week, but thanks to all for the kind wishes for my daughter. And CatGlove, congrats on your daughter’s job!

As to this week’s theme, my apartment is usually tidy, but I always do a quick cleaning of the bathroom to be on the safe side. But this topic reminds me of a friend’s mom. When she had unexpected, imminent guests, she’d get the family running around shoving debris in closets while she yelled, “Quick! Quick! We don’t want people to think we LIVE like this!”

@swampbear

However, da yahd is awful right now, so they would just have to deal.

This is why God made drapes.

Yanker, I bet your daughter has some great stories and photos!

FCM, what do you use in your chicken salad dressing?

@AskNott

One of today’s news stories says the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis (tadalafil) has unexpected results of cardiovascular benefits and even increased longevity.

Yes, but apparently you and your partner have to simultaneously use separate bathtubs, so there’s that.

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

my bladder went to hyper-mode and got me up 3 times last night, so grumpy I am

It sounds like your bladder is grumpier. I don’t know how to make a bladder gladder, so urine your own.

@Taters

The store has lost many big anchors, Macy’s among them.

[Retroactively waves at Taters.R]Wait. What? I was just in the mall last week, and Macy’s was still there. At least, I think it was. I very rarely go in there because it’s so pricey, so maybe I didn’t notice it was gone.

I sometimes go to Sephora in the mall for makeup. The selection is good, but it’s obviously geared towards a younger, wealthier customer base.

Argh! Time to go feed and pet Leo.

[Mollie_Magill]

@nelliebly

Worse news: her beloved cat is dying. She found out last week that her kitty has cancer and only 2-4 weeks to live. She’s had the cat since she got married, so they’ve been through a lot together, and she’s a VERY sweet kitty with eyes the color of sapphires. The vet prescribed meds to keep her comfortable, but of course my daughter will put her down if she’s in pain.

Jeez - That’s the dingleberry cherry on the shit sundae your daughter’s year has been. When my ex-wife and I split, the cat was about all I had left.

[Taters]

Nellie, I meant the South Hill Mall. I have actually never been inside the Capitol Mall, although I have been around the perimeter to grab lunch.

Max is adorable! I am sorry about your daughter’s kitty and I am thinking good thoughts for your sister.

[FairyChatMom]

@dogbutler

Some of us even have organized junk drawers.

Organized?? Your sharpies are all higgledy-piggledy!

@nelliebly

FCM, what do you use in your chicken salad dressing?

It’s a mixture of mayo, dijon mustard, lime juice, a bit of onion powder, and some tarragon. I’ll give you amounts if you’re that interested, but at the moment, I’m too lazy to walk into the kitchen.

Link to pics on my FB, showing off FCD’s handiwork. I helped him sort and stow the tools that were all over the place, then I cleaned the countertop and took the pics.

Since getting home, we’ve had lunch, I built the chicken salad, and I’ve started the Mexican Ice Cream - scoops are in the freezer getting hard and the coating is in a bowl waiting to coat the scoops. I also figured out how to do the tortilla bowls. So for the moment, I’m taking a break.

FCD mowed, so all that’s left is a quick dust and rollsuck in the main areas. Kinda glad Roxy didn’t come today - I got more done without her help, but I’ll let her help me make the deviled eggs tomorrow.

OK, I’ll take a little recliner time before returning to the kitchen.

[Paintcharge]

I made it to work today. Got a bunch of stuff done, then my boss told me to go home cuz I was moving slow. My back hurts in new and horrible places from the weekend illness. Think I’m going to lay on by back on the floor and try to keep Ms Peach from climbing all over me.

Y’all have a great week!!

[missred]

@FairyChatMom

So, if a Mumper called to say “I’ll be there in an hour” how would you react?

When come bring pie?

@swampbear

and sunny, with a heat advisory in effect, as usual.

What? In Jawga? In mid August?

@AskNott

Well, it’s floodin’ down in Texas.” Recently, though, it’s my original hometown of Anderson, Indiana.

Some family members around Fishers and Noblesville have sustained flood damage, I hope that your family and friends are doing OK,

taters, we got those when I lived in Tennessee, with new plates every few years. When I lived in Indiana, initially, we did new plates every year, then to the same way as Tennessee. When I registered my car in Texas, I had to add a plate frame to the front of my car. Our sticker goes on the windshield.

I’m sorry about your daughter’s cat, nellie.

(((VanGo)))

BIL went out for barbecue tacos for our breakfast. He got them plain and Sis minced a little onion and chopped some cilantro from her garden. They were wonderful!

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

[SCAdian]

{{{{Nellie’s daughter}}}}

@FairyChatMom

Someone is going to drop in and you don’t have a whole lot of warning. Do you straighten the magazines on the coffee table and smile, or it is all out OMGTHISPLACEISAMESSWHATAMIGONNADO???

Not a problem. If it’s not one of the four people on my phone’s contact list, I won’t even answer it. If they leave a message, I may or may not get around to reading it sometime in the next month or so.

@pullin

ETA: Ninja’d by Swampy. I must learn to type faster!

Or just type “first!”, hit Reply, and then ETA whatever else you want to say.
Oh. I see Swampy already said that.

@pullin

Daughter is returning from a months long archeology dig somewhere in Greece

Digging for what? Lady SCAdian’s sister spent several summers in Cyprus working with ancient pottery before finishing her PhD. Mother-in-law went to visit one year, and returned home with a stray Cypriot cat.

@Taters

They are little stickers for our license plates that show the month and year of expiration.

We just called them “stickers”. CT stopped requiring them in 2010; apparently they switched to windscreen stickers until 2014, but I don’t remember those at all.

@Taters

The store has lost many big anchors, Macy’s among them. The big stores there now are JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, DSW, and Target. . . .That mall is dying, and it’s not even that old, as far as malls go. It first opened in 1988

Our mall started with JCPenney, Macy’s, Sears and Filene’s (which was later replaced with BB&Y and Christmas Tree Shop – one upstairs, one down). It opened in 1984, was sold to a local industry last year, and closed completely a few months ago earlier this year.

There’s a mall over in Rhode Island that was remodelled to have flats on the upper level and stores on the lower. I think that’s a great idea for used malls.

67 ferrets (out of a predicted 77) when I was up at 0900 to feed the cats, 69 when I got up, and 71 – with light rain – at 1600.

[Misnomer]

One of the reasons I like working from home on Mondays is that the afternoons are usually meeting-free and relatively quiet: I can be productive if I need to, but I can also be a slacker and take care of personal stuff or putter around the house a little if I want. Guess which one I did today?

I’m on the neat/organized side when it comes to my living space, so having a visitor with very little warning would be no problem. There might be a couple of dishes in the sink that I’d probably wash, but I think the main thing would be putting away the snacks that I keep next to the couch in the TV room (old food shame issues die hard…sigh). Mostly, though, I’d just have to change out of my jammies and put on a bra and real clothes. So short notice would be fine, as long as there’s some notice: I always completely ignore the doorbell/any knocking if I’m not expecting anyone.

My dental appointment this morning went smoothly, with only the usual amount of scraping required. The hygienist and dentist were both happy with me, and the appointment took just under an hour (including bitewings!) so I was able to be back home and working again when I needed to be. Having my teeth cleaned always gives me a headache for the rest of the day…the Tylenol has worn off, so I’ll take some more before I relocate downstairs.

Things I Did Instead of Work This Afternoon included making appointments for two companies to come inspect my deck; both inspections will happen this Friday afternoon. I’ve used it a couple of times since I moved in two months ago, and last month I discovered some rotten wood/a big soft spot…there are a few other iffy spots, too, and now I find myself nervous about going out there. This summer has been too hot for much time outside, but one of the reasons I chose this house is the deck: I’d like to be able to use it more regularly as fall approaches, so I decided to get a couple of safety inspections done for my own peace of mind. I gave my property manager a heads up – if there are any structural issues, his parents (who own the house) will need to pay for the repairs – and happily he’s being very reasonable about all of it. He said he’d already been planning to have the deck power-washed and stained this fall, and he’s grateful that I’m being proactive about the inspections. Yes, I could have asked him to pay for them, but I figure (a) I’m the one who’s nervous and (b) this way I can choose the companies/better trust their objectivity (both only do inspections). I’ve never arranged for anything like this before, and the cost variance was surprising: one company’s fee is twice the other’s! It’ll be interesting to compare the thoroughness of their reports.

Switching gears, today’s delivery from Da Jungle was a new switchplate for the main floor bathroom…I’m generally not one for bathroom-themed decor, but for some reason this makes me happy:

@swampbear

the secret to postin’ first, is to post the juvenile part and the edit to add other stuff

Pretty sneaky, swampy!

(reference)

@rocking_chair

from watching many murder shows i do have fleeting thoughts about what the m. e.and police would think.

Watching those shows mostly makes me painfully aware that I would have zero alibi for anything that happens most weeknights or weekends.

@Paintcharge

Think I’m going to lay on by back on the floor and try to keep Ms Peach from climbing all over me.

Good luck with that…

[JaneDoe42]

Only an hour? I’ll turn on the floor cleaning robot and start prepping food while complaining about what we don’t have. “I KNEW we shoulda bought more cool whip after Stan’s last visit, home whipped cream isn’t good enough for him”

So I’ve been feeling sorry for myself all afternoon. I had a long day at the capital yesterday (My sandwich board went over very well and I learned that I had been missed.) I left in time to avoid the flood but I was still worn out when I got home.

Today I walked into PT and showed off my new moves. They promptly changed up my treatment plan and worked me harder than ever before. Next I thought I should drive an hour on back country roads which was a very big mistake. Now I’m all hurty and thinking about getting up and getting a second pain pill.

Maybe I’ll get some ice and some shine instead.

@nelliebly

Worse news: her beloved cat is dying.

I am so sorry, what a kick in the pants after everything else that is going on with her life.

Dang about your stitches popping too.

[missred]

Quick drive by.

I took the first adult picture of Nelson and family this morning. That’s his mother Fifi on the left, his brother / cousin in the middle and Nelson on the right.

[The_Stainless_Steel_Rat]

Evening all. Just finished my Burger King Whopper and listening to the thunder rumble as a steady rain falls (which we really needed–or at least my yard did). But gym is done and no soccer today (they called any practices off due to the heat–98F) so will be a houseperson for the balance of the evening. Weight is down another 2lbs (206.2lbs) so if I can get it below 205 and maintain that, I’ll be happy.

Taters, I think I mentioned that they tore down the Mall nearest me and put in a variety of shops and restaurants (along with a Top Golf driving range) in an open-air format. I suspect that your mall may have a limited number of days left to it…

@Taters

They are little stickers for our license plates that show the month and year of expiration.

Yep, same here in Ali-bama.

@scareyfaerie

rocker I gave up dusting years ago. It just comes back. Why bother?

A housekeeper after my own heart…

wet one, glad the humidity is decreasing, I think that makes the heat more troublesome than just a hot temperature reading.

doggio, do they at least have fans there to blow the hot air around a bit? And that junk drawer is just science fiction, isn’t it?

Cookie, hope the Doc can help. Age seems to sap our energy the longer we go; one reason I push myself at the gym is to stave off the inevitable.

nellie, happy/melancholy anniversary to daughter, hope she can celebrate the day the divorce is/was final. But sad news on the cat. Can’t help on the stent, my heart is still in pretty good shape, but all the best to your Sis. And Max is a real cutie!

@nelliebly

It sounds like your bladder is grumpier. I don’t know how to make a bladder gladder, so urine your own.

Thanks for the grin. The prior 3-4 days I was going 4-6 times a day, already used the facilities 7 times today and probably 1-2 more before bedtime. And I’ve been drinking the same amount of liquid each day, so it is a puzzlement.

FCM, that’s on the boat, right? Because it is a marvelous piece of work.

VanGo, I think your boss is a wise man, take care of yourself now.

Oopsie, glad your tooth-scraping went well, do they also ‘polish’ them as a bonus like my dental practice does? Hope the deck work you indicate is at a reasonable price and not a structural problem. And a very interesting switch, indeed…

JtC, glad your workout is testing you; that means your progressing faster than they thought. But monitor that pain.

red, saw those pictures on Facebook, quite a nice-looking family there.

And that’s all for now. Still some distant thunder, but sounds like the rain has stopped for the time being. Take care all.

[FairyChatMom]

Intrarwebz outage here. Their website said all was fine, do I went and bought a new modem. After being on hold for almost an hour, I finally got thru to the technical folks at Breezeline and found out about the outage. So chances are the old modem was good. Dammit

With luck, we’ll be back on line tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, the visitors won’t be coming. My sister is sick. So I have a metric buttload of chickie salad… At least I didn’t waste time dusting..

That’s all for now.

[swampbear]

Howdy Y’all! Been home from men’s night for a while. As usual, we solved all the world’s problems, but no one ever listens to us. One guy who hasn’t been there in a while due to cancer treatments was there tonight. So great to see Tom! I feel tahrd, so I think 'twill be an early bedtime tonight.

Nellie so sorry about your daughter’s cat. Love the pics of Max. What a cutie!

red AWWW! What a great pic of Nelson and his family!

MOOOOOOM sorry for the cancellation. Chikin sallit is always a good thing to eat. So is fried ice cream. Sorry about the intartoobz outage as well.

[Mollie_Magill]

Dinner was the Swedish Meatballs I had planned for last Friday, so I have a very full belly now and leftovers in the fridge.

That reminds me. I had skimmed off about half a cup (~100 ml) of rich, seasoned fat from the beef burgundy last night. I let it sit in the fridge overnight to solidify. This morning, I popped it out of the measuring cup, vacuum sealed it, and stuck it in the freezer. The yorkshire pudding this Christmas is going to be good.

Fang just texted. His town had a water main break, so there’s no water right now. Luckily, his mother had him buy a couple of gallons of “emergency water,” and he can shower on base.

[The_Stainless_Steel_Rat]

It’s late night final time. I have completed chair assembly with only two errors and five bad words, so about par for my construction efforts. Still using the old one since I need to ‘calibrate’ the new chair and would rather do that in the morning. Rain seems to have departed the area, but the temperature is down to 75F so that is a small relief.

FCM, well, at least you have a spare modem when you eventually need it…if you remember where you put it… Sorry Mom can’t make it down, hope they can re-schedule soon.

And that concludes the Moanday reports. Back tomorrow with another thrilling day of RDOS living…probably run the dishwasher!!

[FairyChatMom]

MetalMouse - I already recycled the other modem at Best Buy. Oh well…

Guess I could go to bed since I can’t surf or stream.

[dogbutler]

I napped. Spot trampled me, groomed my head, and napped with me. Dinner tonight was a blackened burger with Bleu Cheese, fries, corn on the cob, and an Old Fashioned.

@liirogue

Do you know how many calls I’ve had to make to IT that start with “Well one of my cats ran across the keyboard and now it’s doing this weird thing…”

@nelliebly

Worse news: her beloved cat is dying.

and for the eye {{{{nellie}}}}

@FairyChatMom

Organized?? Your sharpies are all higgledy-piggledy!

Well, if they could make a consistent size of Sharpie body, it would stack nicely.

@missred

When come bring pie?

Wanker.

@missred

I took the first adult picture of Nelson and family this morning

@The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

doggio, do they at least have fans there to blow the hot air around a bit?

They do have fans, and if you have the fans on you, it’s great. If oyu don’t it sucks utterly(last year I loaded a package car set in the dead zone between fans. My clothes were still sopping wet from sweat 4 hours after I came home).

[susan]

Sorry, nellie. I’ll hope for better news soon.

[SCAdian]

@Mollie_Magill

Dinner was the Swedish Meatballs I had planned for last Friday, so I have a very full belly now

Don’t muck up your girlish figure!