It’s March 28th, it’s 35 degrees right now, and it’s expected to drop below freezing by dawn. 
And speaking of “spring” cleaning, sometimes when Alex Catt is sitting on my lap, and Gordie comes up for skritches, she will reach out and touch him. I just realized she is Marie Kondo-ing him.
“The loudbeast does not spark joy, dispose of it” - Alex Catt
Hijack away!
First! I couldn’t sleep, and so I was going to start the thread. But being first is cool too. Mauser is snoring on the chair behind me.
Second! It’s 8C/47F today and cloudy. That’s half the temperature it was yesterday, and apparently there are now dire warnings of snow!
I am irking from home all week instead of going to campus as we are off on a trip next week and still need to do pre-flight covid tests so we’re limiting our contact with the Great Unwashed. It’s worked out well since Ophelia has had to go to the vet today for dental work, she got dropped off before 8am, they’ll do blood tests first and then if all is ok, they can go ahead with the surgery. She’ll need a few teeth out, and hopefully will survive the anaesthetic even though it’s a risk as she’s nearly 18 now. I had a restless night thinking about all of this, she must have realised because she got on the bed for snuggles with me in the middle of the night which is quite rare for her.
Anxious day waiting for the phone to ring…
lol 3rd
It’s TWENTY-SEVEN STOOPIT DEGREES here right now. What the ever-lovin’ FFFFFFFF??? And it’s supposed to be in the 20s the next 2 mornings. Are my tulips and daffydills gonna freeze?? Not amused at all!!
We need to have rapid covid tests within 2 days of our cruise. They offer an option to do it at home with remote supervision, so I’m going to order that - it’s like half the cost of having the test done at a clinic, and near as I can find out, insurance doesn’t cover pre-travel tests, so we’ll go this route. I need to order them today.
The other chore for today, apart from staying with Toby while SIL has yet another pre-surgical appointment, is a stop at WalMart for the last of the supplies we want for the boat move. Then FCD wants some help in his shop, and I need to unwrap the last pallet of pellets and take a couple of bags out to his shop. So lots of fun ahead. At least I can start my day with leftover pizza - that’s always a plus! 
Happy Moanday!!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 45 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 79 and N.O.S. Cleanin’ lady comes this mornin’ and I need to firm up the April schedule this mornin’ as well. I foresee yahd irk in the form of mowage this afternoon. Sup shall be salmon patties, peas, smashed N.O.T. and bizkits, just cause. LOOK! I’m talkin’ about productivity today. Will the world survive?!?!?
BooFae I am sure Ophelia will do fine in surgery. Have the other two forgiven you for starvin’ them to death last night and this mornin’?
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Moanday Y’all!
16, I repeat, 16 degrees F out there. WTH?
BooFae All the best thoughts to Ophelia.
For those asking how I’m moving those giant boxes out of the shop, my direct client is the event manager, not the school. So they have a crew of moving people. Not my circus, not my monkeys. I do need to be on site for a couple of things, but I am no longer labor.
Now onward! Must stop at Agway on the way to the shop for roller pads and some tray liners.
Stay safe, y’all!
Good morning everyone.
Well, here it is Monday again. It’s currently 50 degrees and cloudy outside with an expected high of 58 and a small chance of rain showers.
I hit the snooze button way more than I normally do this morning but still managed to be downstairs by just a little after 4:00 a.m. That doesn’t mean I wanted to be, but merely that I faced the inevitable and dragged my carcass out of bed. I have much to accomplish at work today, including my stupid quarterly conversation.
I noticed some of my perennials have sprung back and I really wanted to go out and get some flowers and plants in the ground. BUT, I don’t want to plant them too early and risk losing them to frost. I would like to get some bee balm, cardinal flowers, and another salvia plant. The hummingbirds absolutely loved those plants last year. The last two plants are supposed to be perennials, but I’m not sure they’re coming back. We’ll see. I had them planted in one of my raised box planters out by the bird feeders and the hummingbirds swooped in and out of there all day.
The finches are back and super noisy! The house finches and American goldfinches have been daily, visitors at the feeder stations for a solid week now. Groups of them are covering my feeders, with the occasional squabble occurring. The Townsend’s warbler is also a frequent visitor, and as always, the bushtits, black-capped and chestnut-backed chickadees, and nuthatches are there in abundance. The stellar jays make frequent appearances as do the crows. It’s hilarious to watch the latter birds try and get suet out of the feeder. I’ve seen a couple of female red-winged blackbirds too. The song sparrows and wrens come often, as do the spotted towhees and robins. The squirrels are still outwitted by the baffle and have to live with the leavings on the ground.
Yesterday, I hosed down the pavers surrounding the feeder station and pulled the dead stuff from the planters surrounding the station. I need to get the pressure washer out because the pavers are moss-covered. I also want to redo that whole area the right way, so I’ll have to pull the pavers out, level the ground, and get crushed stone and paving stand. The ground settled and of course, I have a dip in the middle of the area of the pavers so water pools up there as I’m trying to hose it down. It’s my fault for not doing it the right way the first time. I was just trying to use the pavers that surrounded the former dog kennel, area, so that’s why they are even there.
Sending best wishes for Ophelia’s surgery today.
I am also sending best wishes to Sari. I am sorry to read about your mother’s diagnosis. I hope she finds a treatments solution that works for her.
Well, onward with the day.
Good morning, everyone. Something strange is happening here today. There’s this wet stuff falling from the sky. I seem to have a dim memory of this kind of thing happening in the distant past. What was it called now?
Oh, yeah. Rain. And the forecast is for it to fall all day long. I think I’ll go outside and dance in it.
That’s what we’re doing - we bought the tests online and they’ve arrived, we just need to book in with the online testers for an appointment on Monday. They send us the doxy.me link for the waiting room, we log in and do the test under supervision. Our tester will give us the day’s code to write on the test strip along with the date and their initials, then we just wait for the result. Once that comes through, we photograph it next to some ID and upload to the site. Within an hour, we should get a letter back confirming the result so it can be uploaded to Verifly.
swampy there was a veritable cat parade this morning, all the mogs expected food as soon as I was out of bed. They had to wait until I’d taken Ophelia to the vet, then the boys got fed when I came home.
Thank you all for your thoughts, Ophelia’s surgery was succesful and she woke from the anaesthetic without any problems. The vet is happy with how it went, she’s lighter by a small number of teeth, and my bank account will be significantly lighter…but I can go and collect her in a little while.
Morning all. Need to do my shopping-n-sammich run in a bit, then I have an appointment with a Lawyer to discuss my Will. If I leave there with any money left, I’ll get my swimmin’ in at the gym and proceed from there. It’s 44F here heading for 63F, and supposed to be in the Mid-70’s by tomorrrow, so no freezing here (not peeking at the long-range forecasts…)
Haven’t thought about it, but I’m traveling in May (air and cruise) so I guess I need to arrange for some tests at the end of this month. Also want to get my eyes examined and do my annual checkup, so April may be a busy month on the well-being front.
boo fae, good news about Ophelia.
lucky, enjoy your rain dance.
Taters, sounds like a bird convention in your yard. Enjoy.
OK, need to get into something appropriate for the great outdoors and be about things. Everyone have a great week.
scareyfaerie, Mauser sends Ophelia best wishes. He recently had his annual tooth cleaning and had two teeth removed. He was more upset about the fasting beforehand.
Yeah, it feels like that sometimes in California. “There’s water falling from the sky! Is there even a word for that? 
”
Thanks for the info! I was wondering how it worked, and I was a bit nervous about getting it on time. I feel better now. Can both of you do it at the same time, or does it require separate logons?
Babby-sitting was easy - apart from one poopy diaper, Toby pretty much slept once I gave him his bottle, so I just sat there and read, apart from letting the dog out once. Then I ran to WalMart and got the stuff I wanted. Now I’m home. Duh!
Now? Dunno…
{{{hugs}}} I’m glad she’s well. I’m sure it’s a relief.
taters Your bird feeding stations sounds amazing. I may reach out for suggestions sometime soon. I hope to put in something in my own yard one of these days.
As reported, there is sky water in the Golden State, which I hope will prevent the arrival of the burning times by at least a little bit. We got a good amount of rain, and the back end is still moving through. I’ll take it!
My dad is being an idiot, to get that out of the way. Yesterday he could not remember what year it was, who the president was, or how he hurt himself. The hospital did a CT scan and detected no signs of internal bleeding, so they kicked him loose with care instructions for a concussion. Once he got home, he announced he did not have a concussion, proceeded to ignore all medical instructions, called me names when I kicked everyone out and tried to make him rest, and then watched basketball. My mom is worried that he’ll keep falling (not the first time, come to find out) and she won’t be able to care for him.
Take care and happy Monday.
Happy Moonday!
No park today, it was 26 feels like 15 this morning. Too windy and it’s been snowing off and on all morning. We had a squall warning earlier.
More than the cold kept me home, I’ve got some kind of tummy virus or something.
Poor pups, they don’t know what to do with themselves.
Glad Ophelia came through well.
Sunny, hope your father is okay.
I ordered groceries to pick up tomorrow.
I’m going to try to finish paying hospital bills today. One of the bills says one amount on paper and a different amount online, so I need to talk to somebody. I just got a text message from them, and the amount to pay is different from the other two!
Another I want to pay online, but I get a warning that the website isn’t secure, and it takes forever to get through to talk to a person.
Nothing can be simple and easy!
Between the cat and the dogs, putting a bird feeder in my yard would be cruel.
Although if it attracted squirrels, the dogs would get a good workout.
It’s 28 degrees in no. Illinois. We will need to take COVID tests prior to returning to the U.S. after our trip in June. Found out about Bianca Telehealth so we will get the test kits prior to leaving’ then do the test 2 days before we come back.
39 days til retirement……
The bad: the power went out.
The good: they finally got a generator.
The bad: Apparently they don’t know how to plug it in in the dark.
The good: they did figure it out after an hour.
The bad: I was the only person doing rewraps today.
The good: Did I mention I get paid by the hour?
: crosses fingers and paws for Ophelia :
Squrirrels are just tennis balls thrown by God - Thoughts of Husky
Good news about Ophelia. VBC sends sympathy. Mix some water into her gooshy fud to help flush the drugs out, and just give her small amounts at a time because her tummy might still be upset the next day.
How very frustrating and scary. Your poor mother must be beside herself with worry. Are there things you can help do to make their home safer? (Remove or tape down area rugs, grab bars in the bathroom and halls, that sort of thing?)
While I don’t have the birds taters does, our yard is pretty active as well. Yesterday was so nice that I was able to sit on our back porch and enjoy watching them, today it’s cold and windy and the only reason I can think of to go out in it is to refill the feeders and baths. Oh, and check the mail. I guess I should do that as well.
There are a couple of Stellar Jays that visit our feeders and knowing that they are garbage guts, I started putting out random stuff I munch on. They LOVED the dried cherries and gobbled them so quickly the first time that I started really limiting how much I put out each day so they wouldn’t get sick on them. I tried raisins and they picked them out of the tray and threw them on the ground.
I cut a date into little pieces for them and it was like watching a lab eating peanut butter. Funny as heck and the Jays kept going back for another piece, but I’m not giving them any more. They like shelled almonds but oddly enough seem to ignore the shelled sunflowers while going after the shelled ones.
That was my mantra during most of my working life, LOL!!!
Happy Monday! Just got back from a birthday weekend in Vegas. Now I need to write a nasty letter to Wynn Resorts about changing their Bloody Mary recipe. The place used to have the best stock Bloody on the Strip, but this time there was CUCUMBER in it!!! I thought it was just a strange garnish but there was Devil’s Snot in the drink as well, since I spent the rest of the day yesterday burping up DS fumes from my offended digestive system. May whoever made the change rot in some sleazy, off-Strip grind joint the rest of their career! Rat bastard.
The desert was quite beautiful driving home this morning. Very windy, and we are supposed to get a goodly amount of rain here starting in about an hour. Hope everyone stays warm and dry, or cold and damp, or whatever fluidly displaces your aquatic conveyance.