Here’s a video about the new berm we have in Birch Bay. It was posted last March, and it has since been completed. The presenter looks like he badly needs to urinate, and it looks like he picks his butt. But it was March, so I think he must just have been cold. And he tends to repeat himself. We watched it on the 65-inch TV last night, which was fun. The video did have artefacts at the bottom of the screen when he’s on the crushed limestone. Anyway, if you want to see the area about a mile and a half south of where we live, here it is.
The week just got weirder. Turns out there is a huge demonstration in front of City Hall and the high school AGAINST the vaccination mandate FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT. Let us count the number of ways that is moronic:
State ordered. We have no control over it.
Vaccinate, you fuck-wits!
Half my 1st period class is taking part in the “sick-out” by ditching school and staying home, even the vaccinated ones.
State. Ordered.
Heinlein was right. We really need a Coventry. Maybe Wyoming.
In my darkest thoughts, I’m beginning to believe that Covid isn’t killing nearly enough of these morons.
Kaiser is truly terrible. Several members of my family use it. I won’t share the stories because they are depressing. I am decidedly not a fan.
Call the pharmacy where you got them filled, and ask for your refill to be prepared. They should have it ready for you whenever you decide to head over. If you want to move it to another pharmacy, then I think you can call them and give them the information off of your pill bottle and they will transfer it for you. Signed, someone who takes too many pills damnit.
That’s very thorough of them. I used to get triage (not teaching, but I was on the first responders team at my office campus).
Are you in SoCal by any chance? I’m guessing based on the protest.
'Beamer is still dealing with a headache from when he tried to dunk the basketball and hit the rim with his head. He’s got the height I guess, but needs to work on his technique. I’ll take him over to get checked for a concussion in a bit. (Yes, my family is a comedy act. My daughter and I frequently threaten to make a YouTube sitcom out of us.)
Later today, also in 'Beamer news, we’re off to an opthamologist surgeon, to get 'Beamer’s eye evaluated. His eye is bulging and it needs to be corrected.
In other news, it technically rained here last night, because I can see water marks in the dirt. We’re supposed to get 2-3" this week. If the giant invisible umbrella over my house would just move, then I might even see it.
FCM and Sunny, thanks for the info, I’ll drop over there tomorrow and have them fill it, then can pick it up later or the next day.
quietly, people gonna protest. Doesn’t mean their right. Good luck with the drill and hope you never have to do morgue detail for real.
Boo fae, sorry about the death, sounds like he was well-regarded.
swampy, I’m with the rest, they’ll do their best to cajole you into staying because you are so awesome at the job…can you resist the power of flattery?
Shopping was small today (tomatoes, salad bag, bananas, 1/2 gal skim) and glory be, I even remembered to take the plastic bags for recycling and my Publix cloth bag for carrying…although it probably helped that I wrote it down on a piece of paper first. Got the old brown jacket out for the first time this season (it’s at least 30 years old, a non-descript brown and the sleeves are too long, but it just fits…
I am thankful for so many things especially not having a schedule anymore.
I just stripped and remade the bed with my favorite sheets. The nice heavier percale ones. Sheets are shit these days. Gotta pay a fortune for what we only had back in the day. I don’t mind a few wrinkles.
I think I shall tackle the junk room. Yes, I have a whole room and a drawer.
Here’s hoping everyone a fruitful new week.
Forgot to tell y’all I got a job offer without even seeking one. Cash too. May consider it in the new year. It’s helping a lady keep a few AirBnB type rentals clean.
Got shelf unit 4 up. Left out shelves 3 and 4 (numbering from the top, 5 would be the closest to the floor) so I can use that space as a parking spot for tall items like the vacuum cleaner. Not exactly House Beautiful in the Room of Doom, but a lot more functional and navigable.
Twenty years or so ago, I was down in the dumps and then started doing laundry. I looked at my front loading washing machine and realized how truly fortunate I am. The implications of owning and using such a thing are huge. I have a home to put it in. I have the power and water to run it. I have enough clothes to wear some while washing the others. There are billions of people who would give almost anything to be in my place, I am truly blessed.
I wasn’t thinking about anything big and fancy! I wouldn’t want anything free-standing either, we get some very insane winds during the winter. I’ve seen plans for PVC and plexiglass houses that are about the size of a closet and use the side of the house for support. That would probably be plenty big enough for me and we could build it over an electrical outlet so I could plug in an oil heater during the worse of the winter if needed.
Do you have hydroponic gardening places out your way? They are usually mostly for pot growers, but they know a bunch about plants and correct lighting in a small bathroom and might be a helpful resource.
The problem really is that a true craftsman tends to make things look simple and effortless.
Before the world ended, there was a Mexican place down the road that had a lady making tortillas on a griddle in full view of the diners. It was like watching a magic show with dinner!
The weather was supposed to warm up and be nice for a couple of weeks, and I was going to sand and paint the front ramp. Today the wind is all nutz and I am not sanding. It’s so bad that the cats are napping on the bed instead of out in their catio where its sunny.
I did it. I did it, and I’m glad, GLAD, I tell you! I lopped off the top of the avocado. I may have watched too much Perry Mason as a kid.
Lessee, I’m grateful for the big stuff–kids who are good people, a roof over my head, siblings who are also friends, surviving cancer, youse guys, but–and I know this is cheesy, but every day I take a random mental photo of something. I feel like I’m seeing for three people–myself and the two cornea donors to whom I’m endlessly grateful–and it makes me appreciate small blessings, like the blossoms on my determined fuchsia and the snuffle noses on the pups who greet me from the dog park.
Count me in on the HMO hate-fest. I had one a few years ago. They bloweth mightily.
Oh, it’s a hot box! (Why does that sound vaguely dirty?) I’ve had those! They’re great for spring, but I can see how they wouldn’t work as greenhouses. Hope you find a place for the plants.
Hippy! Good to see you!
I love the smell of stain in the morning. Or any other time. Do you leave Cinnamon at home when you’re varnishing, or is the smell and the stickiness not an issue?
Quietly, sorry you have to deal with idiots screaming idiocies all day.
Just let me get my liberal friends (or missionaries, as I call 'em) out first. Excellent choice.
Oh, PLEASE let there be a uniform! And a cape. Definitely a cape.
Kaiser is truly terrible. Several members of my family use it. I won’t share the stories because they are depressing. I am decidedly not a fan.
…
Hope I got the quoting system right.
I am also glad not to be in prison. (I’ve had a couple of opportunities.)
AND I take too many pills.
Kaiser sux in Orygun too.
There’s a walk-out/protest in the little town we’re moving out of also. In Orygun.
How dare the state try to tell us not to endanger other peoples health.
You and me both, friend.
Time for a mini-rant:
As for the OP, Blessings? Thankful? Grateful? Those words, to me, imply that somebody/something else was/is responsible for any successes I’ve had in my life.
Since I left my parents house nobody has ever given me anything for free. I’ve worked for everything I have.
Now, I was lucky to have been born in a country where I was able to work for things without having to worry about running afoul of the secret police. And I’m fairly comfortable in my now position as a drain on society, but nobody better ever say I got anything for nothing.
[/mini-rant]
Do you have access to clean drinking water? (Millions, perhaps billions, of people will live their whole lives & then die without ever tasting a drop of clean water.)
Do you have access to food, so you can buy it? (Stores with zero products on their shelves to sell are within living memory for lots of people.)
Do you drive/walk/cycle on smooth, paved roads?
(Many countries don’t have such a luxurious infrastructure.)
Do you have access to the Internet, and the wealth of information and entertainment available within?
(I’ll just stop here.)
Had a gnawin’ and a cravin’ for squash soup, but I dunno if I have the wherewithal.
Gotta peel a butternut squash, chop it up, roast it, boil it, puree it … and clean up all the associated pots & pans.
Was a chilly 46 degrees when I went to the park this morning.
Echo is making progress with Remus. They played well together today, even getting into a tug with a stick that was so small they were almost touching noses.
Only one little incident when Remus came over for me to pet him. Echo ran him off.
There was a little incident with Lily and Lucy, but that was because one of the guys brought dog treats that aren’t bite sized and they were too close together while eating them. Ripple and Remus are smart, they move away from the pack with their treats. I don’t worry so much if the girls get into it.
Echo was also a little shit when I was trying to leave; she didn’t want to go. I knew when she found the frisbee and Coco saw her there was no way I was getting out of there.
I wanted to leave early because I was cold. Time to pull out the toe warmers.
This morning was the first morning in a long time that I didn’t wake up covered in sweat. It gets so hot upstairs, but it cooled off enough last night that I needed a blanket. I also turned the heat on today. It was down to 65 in the house. Just a little chilly.
Finishing up the laundry I started yesterday. Everything got washed, but I’m still drying stuff.
My son got his cooking in first, tacos and cornbread. He also cleaned all the windows in the front and back doors and both storm doors.
He has to irk tonight, and I’m expecting him to get off around 1am again.
There was a neighborhood called Piney Orchard where I used to pet sit. The name irritated the hell out of me because pines don’t grow in orchards.
Lots to be grateful for.
Once I was talking with two women from India. They irked in the same office but had never really talked with each other until one overheard me talking with the other. They were comparing notes about where they grew up and how you would have water for only three hours a day. Then the water would be turned off in your village and turned on the next village. So, for those three hours you tried to get all the cooking, bathing, cleaning, and washing done. Same with electricity, had it only for part of the day.
Like Shoe said, there is an awful lot we take for granted that other people do without.
I haven’t gotten much done today.
My energy levels shrink as the ToDo List expands.
Soooo…is it all right if I try out the MMP for a bit? I’m feeling the need for friendly conversation.
As far as counting blessings today: my job has been really stressful for the past two years, and Mondays are often particularly action-packed. Today consisted of only two Zoom calls, and I was able to spend the rest of the day writing in peace. Woohoo!
I cut the barbs off of all my flies and lures. I am a catch and release fisherman. I caught some nice fish and put them back in the river to breed up some more. In this spot I catch rainbow trout but I have heard of some big brown trout being caught also. I caught my first brown this trip but she was only about eight inches long. She needs to grow up and breed lots of babies!
