Snow is a 4-letter word in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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We ended up with around eight or nine inches of snow – very pretty, though I haven’t been out in it yet. I do like the way the wind has sculpted the snow on the windscreen of the housemate’s van.

No definite plans for the day. One of us will need to go out and feed/water the rabbits, though, so I may actually get dressed today. If I do, I should go for a walk, which I haven’t done this week (even though I really should be doing so every day).

Public library reopened on Monday, as promised, but we’re not allowed in past the lobby – we have to go online, put books on hold, and then pick them up contact-free once we get the call to say they’re ready. No browsing, which is extremely annoying, This state of affairs is supposed to continue until 11 Jan. :frowning:

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Congrats, nut! Glad you’ve already found a place to land, if temporarily.

Today is a “run around the house muttering because I can’t find clean pants, then put the coffee pot in the fridge” kinda day. BUT, it’s Friday! Woo hoo! Even if this weekend turns out to be ridiculously busy, I’ve at least got the option of staying up late without feeling too bad about it. Am I the only one for whom staying up late still feels like a privilege? I thought that when I hit my teens staying up past ten on a Friday would be less exciting. Hell, I stay up past ten everyday usually. But it still feels more awesome on a Friday even at 45.

We still put a tree up, but before my mom moved to the area and gave me all her Christmas things, it was more like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree. Now we’ve got the fancy ornaments and skirt that the kids love, but I’m looking forward to the day when we can maybe buy some Christmas party hats and just have a bottle of wine instead. The bells & whistles are nice but given that I wind up doing most of the work, not as nice as a bunch of curry and booze would be vs. the amount of cooking and cleaning that goes into the whole thing.

This year I think I’m going to ask overlyhubs to help wrap gifts. Do you guys usually keep your gift-giving small? My kids used to get a little miffed that they don’t get the pile their cousins do, but my rule is one “big” gift and maybe a couple of smaller more practical gifts and candy in stockings. We’re not even Christian, so the whole thing is just an excuse to hang with family and eat too much.

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Good morning all. I have tried not to bore everyone to death with the details of my recovery. It has been a long road, but I seem to be almost back to normal except for the 12" scar. I need to get back to working out to rebuild my stamina.

Thanks to all for the good wishes while this has been going on.

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Hippie you wouldn’t be boring us! All good news is welcome.

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Calling out today. Sore throat, bit of a cough, one ear canal is itchy.

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It seems to be a good news morning that I’m waking up to.

Nut, congrats on the new job and (1) May it be as good as you hope and (2) If it is, may it become permanent.

Hippy, excellent news and hope as you get stronger you won’t forget your old friends here at the MMP.

nettie, hope you get to feeling better. Sick leave is there for a reason. Be well.

talky, my Christmas shopping could probably fit in my coat pocket…gift cards were the greatest invention ever for grumpy old coots like me. And I hope husband-unit is a better wrapper than I am.

herald, I know what you mean, browsing libraries (and used bookstores) is a joy that has been taken from us in many cases by this damn virus.

boo fae, that’s sad about your parents, but you and Nut have such wonderful names for your Prime Minister…

OK, need to forage the refrigerator for sustenance and do some responsible stuff today (like laundry). All y’all take care.

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I miss that too. My public library has a service called “books to go” which is a stack of books they have picked out that is all ready to check out, on a theme like a selection of mystery novels set in Iceland (there’s a lot of good ones of those) or my library lets you send in a request (email or call) for a “book bundle” on a theme of your choice, like western US sheriff or game warden crime novels that they notify you about when they’re ready for pickup. It’s a substitute for browsing but is getting me by. Maybe try your library’s website, poke around and see if they do anything like either of those? Mine will do either on fiction or non-fiction themes.

Yep, I have quite the list on hold. They’re slowly coming available but it’s not my favorite way of feeding my book habit, that’s for sure.

Yes I do now my kids are grown for a while post divorce and then all 3 kids off to college we did a small 6 nuclear family members drawing names exchange but then we gave even that up. In good years I send my sons who live in other states a small care package of local jerky and chocolates, maybe a pair of fun socks. Haven’t made much progress on that this year-pandemic fatigue and SAD has laid me pretty low. My granddaughter will get some presents from Grandma, 1 or 2 books of course, several small scale toys carefully curated to her interests. This year I bought a box of gently used duplos including tow truck and operating crane through FB marketplace. Upcycling locally and all. My sister in Iowa made her a whole wardrobe of baby doll clothes and is letting me give those to Harriet from me. I’m doing the SDMB secret exchange too but as I said, haven’t gotten far on that so if you are my ‘Doper giftee this year your surprise package is going to be an Epiphany arrival on your doorstep. My two housemates are getting new pajamas and warm slipper socks from me, ordered on Black Friday when stores were selling them ridiculously discounted.

That will be the plan at my house this year-my teen-aged roomie will be at her dad’s for the week so her mom, my main roomie, and I will do something low key like a day in pajamas and robe, with Ming’s House takeout and no doubt wine, followed by eggnog (blech!!) and hot beverages for me that involve rum or brandy. No merriment around the tree since we don’t have a tree up.

I’m considering your survival and recovery one of the universe’s gifts to me this year.

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Yep- moving from the only mainland tier 1 county straight to tier 3. At least that’s the current situation, who knows by then…

I’m also in team no Christmas tree. I filched a bunch of holly from a hedgerow, that’s the closest I’m getting. It looks like I’ll be spending the holidays clearing out stuff anyway.

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Is that more restrictions or less? Will it be easy finding an apt.? Sorry about having to leave your :honeybee::honeybee::honeybee::honeybee::honeybee: behind but glad you will be able to rehome them in situ.

Hope the packing and moving goes smoothly. It’s an arduous task any way you look at it. We’re here to cheerlead and listen to rants of exasperation, in lieu of being there to help you move the couch up the stairs.

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BBBoo Tier 3 has the most restrictions, so it’s not a great place to be. According to the stats provided through track and trace, the places we can’t go to in Tier 3 are the ones with a transmission rate below 2% but the places we are encouraged to go have a rate between 18-20%. Tier 1 is like freedom!

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Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you’ll be able to ‘bend an elbow’ with us here then. You can grab your mug of preferred beverage, we’ ll grab ours and kibbutz here in Mumperville. I really miss being able to hop into a place with family or friends to gather over a meal and to wander a store not to buy anything, but just to see what’s there and be inspired. Your not being able to travel outside of your town would be a big loss. Seems like neither one of us has a government that is interested in setting a wise course. Hope the job is pleasant, you can find a cozy abode and your new :honeybee::honeybee::honeybee::honeybee: can be set up right away.

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BBBoo we’re not quite prevented from leaving our own towns yet, but we’re advised against travelling from a higher tier location to a lower tier one, and overnight stays are strictly verboten! Thus I did a bad thing when I went to campus on Monday, as I had to drive through a Tier 2 area for all of about 5 minutes before I was back in a Tier 3 town. You can bet your life I opened the windows and breathed some of their less-infected air!

I’m sure nut will find somewhere suitable and the buzzers will not miss her too much :slight_smile:

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BooFairy I like the new avatar!

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I confess, with Roxy, it was a struggle not to go overboard but I did control myself. FCD, on the other hand, is ready to buy the kid her first car… :rofl:

I almost forgot about my great-nephew, but luckily, I ordered some stuff that’s wrapped and ready to go, and I got a nice, crisp $50 in a card for him - I expect his mom will put it in his college fund.

I’ve been trying my hardest to convince my sibs that we don’t need to be exchanging gifts, but they don’t want to listen. We’re all old enough that we don’t need another sweater or coffee mug. Or the dollar store ornaments that one sister always gives out. And last year, my bro’s SO gave us a sack of gawd-awful stinky stuff - like sachets or something. It was a total waste of money, since it ended up in the garbage. The year before, it was candy from Aldi. I don’t mean to be ungrateful, but I really wish they’d just give to the kids and be done with it.

FCD and I quit exchanging gifts with each other longer ago than I can remember. We remember our parents with edibles or drinkables. But personally, I think gifting should be for kids. End of mini-rant.

Lemme tell you a secret - just because you post it doesn’t mean anyone has to read it. :wink: Share all you want - we’ll decide if we want to be bored or not! Plus some of us tend to fret if we don’t hear from our fellows Mumpers for any length of time.

Don’t rush your recovery - slow and steady and all that! You’ll be back to your former glory before you know it!

The twice-baked spuds, while only baked once then stuffed, are in the freezer. I’m giving 4 to my daughter and keeping 6 for us. Lunch today consisted of the caps I cut off, topped with cheese, then broiled. Not sure what supper will be - I think we’ll be clearing out some leftovers.

But first, I need to run to Food Lion and McKay’s in search of a particular pie filling that my mom wants but can’t find in her area. So off to do that now. Then, who knows? Laundry, maybe?

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I’m pulling together my SDMB Secret Santa gift box, plus another package for the parental units. Plus the work Secret Santa exchange, but that one is easy-peasy.

I totally forgot about a fun gift idea I had months ago, for my dad, but it would have to be a separate purchase & shipment via Da Jungle. Hmm. It would be super late for Xmas … think he’d mind?

I did just get paid, and have not yet addressed the various wolves at the door (bills owed) so I will hafta look into this. The wolves can wait, I guess.

Meanwhile, I have a few (boxed/frozen) crab cakes in the oven for lunch, heating while I futz around with presents.
Oh, and there is a little cup of Caesar dressing, left over from last night’s salad. That will be re-purposed into crab cake sauce.

You MerryLande folk can just go clutch your pearls!

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Greetings, MMPers. We are smart cats :cat2: :cat2: and have obtained Miss_Owl’s log-in and password. She’s fine, trust us … would we lie to you? She’s on Santa’s Extra Naughty List for the dirty trick she pulled on us yesterday (plus a few other things …) and is not allowed to post until she apologizes to us and to Santa. However, FWB is here so we don’t think she’ll be apologizing any time soon! :wink:

Phoenix T. Cat :smile_cat:
Twister T. Cat :cat:

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Don’t forget the Xmas crackers! Important things, Xmas crackers…

Don’t think they do, but I’ll certainly suggest it. How many books does your library include in a bundle?

Yep. This year I’m getting a cross-stitch kit and some alcohol for Lady SCAdian, and two books for each of the girls. She’s embroidering new Xmas stockings for her parents, and there will be the traditional package(s) of liquorice for her father; not sure what else.

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I’m going to have to stage another family intervention. Y’know, the one where I remind my family that while I’m at home - we’re ALL at home - that does not mean I’m at their beck and call when not on a meeting?

Ugh…poor overlyhubs is about to be laid flat on the floor if he just stands behind me, looking over my shoulder and rubbing my back to get my attention to talk about my son’s trouble with his homework, which I’m helping with later, and asking me what’s for lunch. Or about the stock market. Or just standing there looking at his cell phone and showing me random videos of people getting injured in silly ways. Between him and the kids, someone is bound to get whapped.

I wonder if I can successfully install a desk in the small closet in the bedroom. After all, I get to do whatever I want with MY side. Pinterest, here I come.

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In bundles my library has pre-assembled, there are usually 5-6 books for kids, 3-4 for adults. Bundles they put together on client request-mine lets you specify. For my last request for books to enhance several days I was going to be covering of her preschool being closed, they let me specify. I asked for 8-10. They would have let me ask for up to 20. They will also do bundles and ‘to-go’ packs of music CDs or TV/movies also, including documentaries and travelogues.

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Morning, all. Been a busy morning. Last day of work for the year, so I actually had to go in and sign paperwork. Not a problem, because I also got to deliver Christmas goodies to a select few at school who stepped up when I needed them. This year I got back into making Cumin-Cured Olives and jars got delivered to the principal, his secretary (The Power Behind the Throne; She Who Must Be Obeyed; The One Who Knows How To Fix Your Problem; etc.) and the counselor who volunteered to be my therapist these last few months. Other jars will go to friends as I see them over the season.

That done, a quick jaunt into the next town over yielded new wine glasses (Broke one the other day. Cheap glass didn’t survive the dishwasher), some chili grind sirloin for next week and 2 weeks worth of cocoa. Then home to change the litter boxes, feed the kids (there seems to be some sort of connection between these two things), vacuum a little and then relax. Chillage for the rest of the day and well into the weekend is the plan. I have wine, food and floopage for the rest of the year, pictures to hang and cats to play with. The trolls are up and the rest of the house is as Merry as it’s gonna get.

Nut, congrats on the new gig! Hope it pays off with a permanent position if you so desire.