Where are you hoping to go in 2023? (Both specific to The_Rat and general to everyone.)
Columbus, Ohio.
I hope the hurricane doesn’t do much damage, I understand that Canada is actually having to batten down the hatches as well. Strange times.
Today was actually going fairly nicely, Hubs cooked beer in the morning and an acquaintance of mine wanted the spent grain for her chickens. She also asked for a taste of his beer. Said lady is a home health nurse and is used to projecting her voice so her deaf patients can hear and understand. This was a good thing because Hubs had to send his hearing aids out for repair yesterday.
Lois came over this afternoon and marveled at Hubs setup and explanations as to how things worked and she asked questions that showed she was really interested. Hubs poured her a glass of beer and she marveled over every sip. He does make very good beer, she wasn’t just making nice. I’m glad they had a nice visit, Hubs needs someone (besides me) telling him he does good work.
After she left, I finished my seminar piece (no pics, it is too dark) and turned on the news.
Day ruined. Arizona abortion ban accomplished
Hi Butter. Am I remembering correctly that you’re in Key West?
The current projections are indeed well west of you (and me), but it’s important for every Floridiot to remember the center can be anywhere in the cone, or even outside of it by day 5. Right now (Fri night) they predict that some time on Tue or Wed Florida will get whacked. Maybe east coast, maybe west coast, maybe both. Maybe massively, maybe lightly. Anything more precise is largely wishful thinking.
My new apartment is quite well-configured for surviving a major hit. No real worries here. Yaay.
My now empty and not yet sold condo is very well-equipped to survive too. Shame about some of my neighbors whose units aren’t and when their windows & doors blow in and their condo fills with hurricane for a few hours, everyone on both sides and below them all the way to the ground will be flooded. Ugh.
If you live near the border, getting to another country is easy. If you grew up in the center of a continent-sized country it’s harder. And so much more unthinkable / remarkable.
From Miami to Tegucigalpa is 90 minutes in the air. Where I grew up it was a 90 minute drive to Mexico. In college we took road trips (ROAD TRIIIP!!!) to Tijuana for lunch! Where I live now (greater Miami) it’s a 5-hour drive to the nearest part of the nearest state, Georgia. To the closest part of the other adjoining state, AL, it’s a 9-hour drive. To drive to another country takes days. All of it on interstates.
I certainly get your point though. Jetting off for a weekend in wherever is truly amazing stuff.
Though at least today I didn’t get much benefit out of it. The only thing I did in Honduras after we parked the jet is leave the cockpit, piss in the first class lavatory, return to the cockpit & prep the jet for the return flight. 40 minutes later we were gone again. Not much of a vacation. Though I did feel much relieved after my “break”. 
Nice city with good food. Very football oriented.
The new corneal specialist did not stick to the script I wrote in my head, which had him saying, “Well, you sure have had a lot going on with your eyes, heh, heh, but everything looks fine. See you in six months!” This movie was inspired by a true story. Instead, he said, “You have a LOT of astigmatism. I can surgically reduce that.” Uh, what?
I’ve had 12 or 13 eye surgeries. My eye situation really is complicated, and what with one thing or another, docs seem to think of further surgeries as playing Jenga with flaming blocks, which, oddly enough, is how most of those surgeries feel. I’ve been told by some hot-shot docs that further surgeries were not an option. But he’s confident. This would only be on my left (bad, uncorrected) eye, at least at first. I can’t see for sh*t out of that eye anyway. And he swears there’s no way the surgery could make that eye worse. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this.
Butters, hope you come through OK.
@Jack_Batty, I believe squirrels aren’t above, uh, eating a McCannibal Burger.
Moooom, I hope the 10 miles away place works out. Even though 20 miles out doesn’t seem that far now, it would if you make lots of trips there or have an emergency. And how sweet that MIL is sorting clothes–bodes well!
And here I thought that was just a Jethro Tull song.
Italy!
Goodness! Is there a possibility for a second opinion on your eye?
Italy’s such a pleasure. We went up to San Marino on our last trip as well. I hope to see Ravenna sometime.
I thought of that, but I’ve had so many opinions, I’ve lost track. I know I’ve seen specialists in 7 states. The docs I trust most are at the University of Utah, but day-um, that’s a long and expensive trip. I wish docs would just consult each other.
I’m really excited about Italy. There are more places I want to see than I’ll have time and money for, but the only really important one is my mom’s natal village. I hear Ravenna is fascinating. Most of the must-see places seem to be in northern Italy, but Mom was from a little village near Salerno. Did you get to southern Italy?
We’ve been several times on cruises, so a day here and there, plus several days in Rome. I’d like to send more time in the north.
I was in the Keys (Big Pine Key) but have moved to Palm Bay.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s my Firday, and it’s 50 degrees, and supposed to get into the 40s tonight. The weatherperson said it’s been 137 days since it’s been this cool.
Stay safe. And hope the lawyer can help your brother.
Stay safe, too.
You still got to fly a jet to Honduras. 
< hums Miami Vice theme >
I probably wouldn’t go that far. But good luck if you decide to pursue the option.
Oh, I most definitely did. Middle bro is lazy and entitled - and I can’t help wondering how much is because MIL always excused him as the “typical middle child”, which I consider to be BS. My brother is smack in the middle of 4 sisters, and he managed to endure that and become CEO and President of the company where he works. And the youngest bro does have some mental/emotional problems as well as social anxiety, so, yeah, FCD is absolutely the best one! And he’s all mine!!!
We’re hoping to finally be able to head out on our boat for a while - either to New England or points south along the Intracoastal Waterway. We’ll just have to see how things fall out.
I see the cone most definitely includes Ocala - wouldn’t it just suck if my in-laws’ place got whomped just as they’re trying to sell it?? Altho it’s block construction, and their roof is just 4 years old, so I guess we shall see.
Nope - looks like it’s the farther place. But for me, it’ll be once a week to take her grocery shopping. FCD will mostly handle their Dr appts and such. And, honestly, we don’t expect this to be an issue for more than a couple of years. I truly didn’t expect his dad to live till Christmas this year - we shall see.
It was 48° outside when I got up and 67° inside because someone left his office door open with the window open. I thought about firing up the pellet stove, but it’s too soon. I do need to see how much heating oil we have and decide if we can afford to fill the tank (choke-gasp-wheeze) It’s currently $4.499/gal and I know it’ll take over 100 gal to fill us up, probably closer to 150. 
Maybe I’ll wait a little longer. We do have enough pellets and firewood to keep the house from freezing, so there’s that.
Plans for today:
- Take Roxy to gymnastics class
- Take Roxy home to change and pick up Tobias
- Bring both kids to our house for a bit
- Meet Daughter at Fairgrounds and give her the kids
- Sit at Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy table at the Fair and field questions for 2 hours
- Walk around the Fair a little
- Go home and collapse.
If we get a call about the closer apt being available for inspection, we’ll go over there, just out of curiosity, but I’m pretty sure we’re sold on the farther one for a variety of reasons. But it won’t hurt to look.
I need to run laundry some time soon, and change the sheets on our bed, and put the electric blanket back on the guest bed, and probably dig our our electric blanket… Dang - I’ve got a lot to do! I need a staff, dammit!
Happy Saturday!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN 'Tis 55 Amurrkin out (BRRR!) and clear with a predicted high of 85 and N.O.S. for the day. No real big plans for the day other than we might or might not have either N.O.L. or Sup at our favorite Mexican place. Depends on how motivated we get.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Sattidy Y’all!
Off to Soccer day. Will write more later, suzie, about my travels (they are fairly epic) in 2023. If I make it through the day…
doggio, once the new hub is open, will they close yours? If they do, will you move to the new one?
JtC, you have my sympathies. Tennessee had a trigger law that began in August. Our best hope is that we can outvote the bastiges.
metal mouse, like pilot said, those living close to a border can go out of the country with a relatively short drive. Where I grew up (likely where you did as well), it was only 3.5 hours to Windsor, ON. When we would travel to Tonawanda, NY to visit my grandmother’s sister, we actually went around the Canadian side of Lake Erie, as it was the closer route.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to purtify to go up to SIL’s.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Good morning everyone.
It is 49 degrees outside with an expected high of 74 and partly cloudy skies.
As a kid and teenager, I made frequent trips to British Columbia. All you needed back then was a driver’s license if you were over 18. I think I made one or two trips as a young adult, but haven’t been back since. I have an enhanced driver’s license, so I can still travel there and it’s only about a 4-hour drive. I don’t know why I haven’t.
I had to waste most of my morning yesterday on some work-related stuff. I wasn’t particularly happy about that because it was my day off, and the stuff I had to bird-dog was someone else’s responsibility to complete.
Because of that, I didn’t make it to the mall or bedding store, so I will go today. I am NOT checking my email.
I think I should be smart this year and actually book a real vacation for next year. I always wait and think I’m going to play it by ear, but this has not been a good strategy. I am going to try and book someplace where I cannot take my work laptop or phone.
Well, need to finish my coffee, take a shower and clean up.
Big plans for today are take in recycling and go to church picnic this evening, my heat tolerance permitting (reminds me, must pick up something to take to said picnic). Buddy isn’t inside yet. Projected high 95F (35C). Still perhaps a bit tired, but otherwise no flu shot problems.
My siblings are very happy and hopeful about the eye surgery. As I’ve said before, I can’t get excited about eye stuff any more. It’s kind of like now and then someone hands you $10 and then hits you with a pie in the face. After the first dozen times, it’s hard to get excited about that sawbuck
Yeah, I don’t know about that part, either, but since it’s my “bad” eye, and my brain rewired itself so I only see out of my “good” eye, I don’t think a bad outcome would cost me too much. Maybe.
What makes me uneasy is that this new doc sort of rushed into this. He admitted right at the beginning that he hadn’t gone very far into my very long history. God knows nobody wants to dive into that, but then he started talking about piggybacking the internal lens replacements (What they give you when you get cataract surgery, which I had in my forties.). I tried to say docs had already tried that, but he talked over me. The tech finally read from my chart that I’d had this already. (Twice.) He did seem aware I’ve had this particular surgery before.
Ach. Enough about that. Today I’m supposed to go help my friend clean her vacated apartment. Other than that and the gym, I have only little tasks.
I’m still dizzified by the idea of pilot’s quick jaunt down to Honduras, though. I mean, Mexico isn’t far if you live in a border state, but Honduras is still quite a ways. I’m easily dizzified, however, and could get lost going around the block, so…
It feels weird not to know your specific dinner plans. If you don’t go to the Mexican place, will need to feed be done by forage?
That’s my question, too.
Nellie, it does sound like your doc was jumping the gun a bit, but also surgery (of all types) tends to evolve and improve by leaps and bounds. There’s at least a chance that something can be done that couldn’t before.
Back in ‘99, some friends and I took a road trip to see a couple games at old Tiger Stadium (Detroit, for you non-baseball fans). We chose a hotel in Windsor, Ontario for our lodging. It was only about a 10 minute drive to the stadium, but we made 6 border crossings in 3 days, which caught the attention of the US border patrol on our third and final drive back into the states. They searched my car very thoroughly and did not have a sense of humor about it.
Since we’re moving to a new state in ‘23 there probably won’t be a lot of other traveling. I will get my usual baseball trip in, though probably an abbreviated version. The Rangers’ new(ish) ballpark in Arlington, Texas is on the agenda.
Every day when you wake up, eat a live frog before you get out of bed. Your day can only get better after that old proverb
My “live frog” was a beat up 200lbs. table that Midnight left for me. A big table, on one of the small carts, so it was overhanging. And crooked. And stuck between 4 supports. With Package car #201 parked close enough to block the easy was to move it. But with help, it got done. after 2 hours of struggle. Did I mention I was bouncing back and forth between the 1, 2, and 3 slides a s well?
It’s 50 miles away. so no. There’s no way they’d try to add 3-4 hours to the drivers’ routes every day. Heck, it takes the PDC folks an hour just to walk the damages and re-wraps from one side of the building to the other.