The days are getting longer in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Good morning everybody.

I missed posting yesterday because I had to make the trek to the office. I woke up at a little after three to about an inch of snow and by the time I left the house at 4:28 am (I happened to look at the clock in the Jeep as I pulled out of the driveway), there were about two inches of snow on the ground. The roads down here were icy and there were four accidents on Hwy 512 between Meridian and Pacific Avenue. I was not one of them because I don’t drive like an idiot in bad conditions. By the time I reached the Nisqually Reach, there wasn’t any snow and I-5 was dry as a bone so the rest of the commute was very smooth sailing.

Coming back was bad only because there was a bad accident right before the exit I need to take to head back to Puyallup.

This morning it’s a very frosty 23 degrees outside and will remain somewhat cold and clear through the day. Tomorrow temps rise and rain moves in…supposedly.

Misnomer, you’re looking damn good and I’m glad your session went well.

Nellie, I’m glad you were able to get an appointment sooner.

Best of luck with overlyboy’s procedure, talkie.

Yeah, real estate is just plain nuts up here. It’s great if you’re selling and already have someplace lined up, but not so great if you don’t have somewhere lined up.

I have to drive to Wenatchee next week; blech. I have a real mess to sort out over there and not much time in which to do it. I’m pissed really because there shouldn’t be such a mess, but I have to clean it up. I’m a little tired of cleaning up years’ worth of messes created by other people.

Ah well, I’m off today and take care of some chores. I also need to clean and fill my bird feeders; one of them is completely empty, the other is half-full, but has been there awhile and is not the preferred seed mix. That one is the finch feeder and they really seem to prefer a bit of nyjer seed mixed with the chopped sunflower, so that’s what we’ll do. The other feeder contains a mixture of chopped nuts and dried fruits which disappear very, very quickly. The suet is half gone. The bushtits, Northern Flickers, Hairy woodpeckers, chickadees, song sparrows, Stellar Jays, and even the occasional crow have put a hurt on the suet. It’s very fun to watch all the birds swoop in.

I think I’ll go tidy the kitchen now.

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Wifey beat me up this morning. I got up about 10 minutes later, and she was making coffee. I set up the coffee before I go to bed. I dumped a scoop of coffee in. Apparently, there was no filter in the pot.

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It’s been overcast/rainy and in the 30s all morning, but now it’s 11:45 and the sun is finally starting to come out. It’s supposed to get to nearly 60 today, but the overnight low will still be chilly. We’re about to hit a run of highs in the upper 40s/low 50s with overnight lows around freezing. Ah, early spring in the D.C. area. :slight_smile:

TGIF!

I have groceries being delivered this afternoon, because as of this morning I’m out of mocha protein shakes, Triscuits, and Gatorade Zero/Vitaminwater Zero – which are half of the things I live on (the other half being pepperoni, cheese, and oatmeal). After the delivery gets here and I finish work, I’ll be all set for a quiet/mostly lazy weekend. I have that Zoom workshop tomorrow and some homework from my exam prep class, but I don’t expect either to be very taxing.

But…wait…how…??? :exploding_head:

I credit the makeup I’m wearing. :wink: (but thank you!)

I do believe that’s why our British friends came up with the excellent 4pm teatime concept. :smiley:

So…crunchy coffee?

(I’m not a coffee drinker/maker; I don’t know the ramifications of leaving out the filter.)

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Yeah, basically the grounds go into the pot. She dumped it and cleaned out the filter holder and made a fresh pot. We had Community Coffee Dark Roast made in the Keurig machine until the pot of coffee was done.

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Swampy, about the snow goon. As I was putting the finishing touches on it a lady with a baby stroller, going by on the sidewalk outside the fence, stopped and stared at my creation. It had two heads, three arms, and so on. Then her face lit up and she said “Oh, you’re making a snow goon!” That was one popular Calvin sequence.

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Misty gets a custom mix from the bulk section at Winco: about equal amounts raw sunflower seeds, wheat kernels, and oat groats. Same mix Ava got, and seems to work for doves. They do make other varieties, so check out pet stores, especially if you have a bird-specific shop in your area. Two things to keep in mind: unlike hookbills, doves need their food small enough to fit in their beaks, and apparently doves do not care for millet, which is a large part of a lot of commercial birdseed mixes. Both mine have/had a tendency to reject millet by eating around it in the dish and/or flinging it out of the dish.

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The doves in Central Orygun eat the regular songbird mix we put out. I’m not sure if they’re picking anything in particular out 'cause there’s usually a wild free-for-all out there when we fill the feeders. We get most of the variety of birds Taters gets.

Wifey decided that she would like us to go to her real estate company’s awards banquet on Saturday. (At least I think that’s what we’re going to. She told me but I don’t remember.) The problem is, all our gussied-up clothes are at the little house in Central Orygun. So she’s taken a load of boxes and totes in her car (which we loaded in the cold (~30f) and dark last night), and took off for there this morning. She took 2 tamales out of the package and a salad making kit, (they were on sale, don’t judge), leaving me 3 tamales. So that’s my dinner tonight, prolly with another salad making kit.

Had my stress test yesterday morning. They injected me with a dye or something, then did a CAT scan. Then they had me walk on a treadmill for a few minutes while they took an EKG, and then injected me again, and did another CAT scan. My pacemaker did something to the EKG which confused the tech, however. I think it thought I was going into V-Fib and slowed my heart down. Anyway, yesterday afternoon someone from my cardiologist’s office called me and said “it looks like you had a heart attack sometime in the past.” Well, DUH! It’s in my file. That’s why I have a pacemaker and stuff. :roll_eyes:
Anyway, he wants me to get an echo-cardiogram, but because we’re being forced to change insurance providers, in a few days it’ll be some other cardiologist ordering it. I need to get set up with someone over there soonest.

Anyway, since I’m left to my own devices 'til tomorrow, I thought this would be a good time to hunt down Wifey’s Birthday present. She wants one of those Kardiamobile devices. (romantic, huh?) but when she finds out they want $9.99 a month to continue collecting the readings after the first month, she’ll most likely get mad. Crap!
I need a plan B.

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For whatever reason, the idea of emergency placeholder coffee made me smile. :slight_smile:

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  • Keurig machine with some pods, plus a reusable pod for putting in our own coffee;
  • French press;
  • Electric percolator;
  • Two moka pots (three, if you count the single-demitasse one);
  • Two Vietnamese coffee makers;
  • A manual-drip urn (and basket, somewhere) I bought at Gemco eons ago;
  • A Turkish coffee maker;
  • Mr. Coffee, of course;
  • And if all else fails, we have cooking pots.

I’m pretty sure I have a stovetop/campfire percolator in the storage unit somewhere.

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There might not be a need in this market. What did the realtor say? Sometimes sellers will just take whatever they can find, no matter the condition.

nellie I’m glad you were able to get through about an appointment and that they actually called back about a cancellation.

I have backups for our coffee backups. When we move my husband always makes sure he knows where either the box with the coffee is or where the nearest coffee shop is.

Akiko is doing her very best kissing up so I will let her out. The problem is that someone will be coming soon to do something in the yard and Little Miss has decided that coming when I call her is someone else’s problem. So, she doesn’t get to go out. Yoshi, on the other hand, is a Very Good Boy, and comes running. For the horse lovers amongst us, I frequently think about which one of them would I rather train if they were a horse. Akiko is so very smart. She enjoyed her training as a service dog, but Og help us if she’s bored. Yoshi is always happy, he’ll try to learn, and he’s as dumb as a bag of rocks. So… smart but independent, or dumb but willing? Decisions, decisions.

Happy Friday everyone!

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Yeah, the realtor recommended that we get it done and just eat the cost. I’m sure it will sell fast. But if it’s a bank loan (probable at today’s prices), the bank will require certain inspections like the sewer line, mold, radon, etc. It’s better to be able to say “hey, look, we got that done for you” and eliminate delays instead of trying to find a contractor at the last minute who has the time to take care of it. In a hot market, EVERY contractor is swamped with business and needs at least three weeks notice or more. So I’m just carping because the cost of things has gone up dramatically.

And don’t get me started on the 5.5% that the realtor is going to rake off the top.

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It’s insane. We have a smallish (1500sf) 3 bedroom, 2 bath home we bought for 140g in 2017. According to Zillow, it is now valued at 260g and the only improvements we made was to put up a new privacy fence and add a mobility ramp. We couldn’t afford to buy this place now.

Just what you want first thing in the morning!

Considering the state of things nowadays, that’s amazing. I hope things continue to go well for overlyboy and you.

Awesome news, go Shadow!!!

I’m very jealous of the variety you get, I’ll see a Stellar Jay once in a very great while but mostly we have Thrashers, house wrens, sparrows and ring necked doves. The quail are all gone, too many people let their cats roam.

Oops. I hate it when that happens.

Thank you. Do the sunflower seeds need to be shelled? I like to toss a handful of black sunflower seeds on the tray feeder for the Thrashers and never see them on the ground. I don’t mind the doves tossing the millet on the ground, sparrows are ground feeders so clean it up nicely.

I originally hung up a couple of hummingbird feeders to entertain the cats. Now I have two separate seed feeding stations, three hummer feeders and I’m asking for advice about feeding doves. Maybe I do have too much time on my hands…

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The sunflower seeds I feed doves are shelled kernels, yes (was still waking up when I was typing before, sorry). Shells-on are probably too big for a dove to eat safely.

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Afternoon all. Swimmin’ in the pool and Heatin’ in the sauna have been accomplished, and a late lunch has replaced all those calories. Will repent by having a Big Bowl O’Sallit for dinner. Still only 42F out but the clouds have mostly went away so at least it’s bright outside.

flyboy, y’all don;t like coffee much? Never have drank coffee in my life, I’ve never cared for hot beverages, but I drink more than my share of Pepsi to make up for the caffeine…

Bumba, bet you’ll look good all gussied up…and ain’t you glad the medico’s are so observant…(/sarcasm)

Cupcakes, one of my happiest moments this year was stumbling across the Bloom County/Calvin&Hobbes crossover comic…and we’ll never forget the Noodle Incident.

Taters, glad you made it there and back safely.

Shoe, it comes with retirement and not having to be somewhere at a certain time.

OK, I think I’ve about filled the dishwasher so need to let it run it’s course. All y’all take care.

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Toby has been returned to his mama, trash and recycling have been dispatched, and I made a quick stop at Food Lion. A humongo pot of cabbage/veggie soup is simmering on the stove - it’ll be supper for tonight and several tomorrows.

When I got home, there was a sheriff’s car sitting across the street from our house - I’m thinking it was a speed trap. The limit in our neighborhood is 25, but some people choose to exceed it by too much (I try to keep under 35 myself…)

We’re going to see Cyrano tomorrow - the previews look like fun. Instead of a guy with a big nose, Cyrano is Peter Dinklage. I like him so I’m looking forward to seeing it. FCD isn’t too keen on it but he’ll go anyway. So far, that’s the only plan for the weekend. Oh, except I’m going to let the pellet stove burn out so I can clean it in the morning. So I’ve got that going for me. :wink:

I’m not a coffee drinker either, but oddly enough, when I was stationed in Sicily, I had cappuccino once and espresso once. But neither did anything for me. Kahlua, on the other hand… :yum:

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flyboy, so you’re saying that your wife needs coffee to make coffee? :stuck_out_tongue:

sunny, when I move house, there are two boxes that go in the car with me: the toiletry / bedding box and the coffee box. Wash, brush teeth, crap, sleep and drink coffee. :slight_smile:

For someone who lives alone (other than a non-coffee drinking dog), I have several ways of making coffee (drip pot, French press, Vietnamese, stovetop percolator, espresso and Costa Rican drip bag). In addition, I keep family sized iced tea bags, cup sized tea bags and loose tea (with two teapots) for a caffeine changeup.

The apartment is clean, laundry done, groceries bought and supper picked up and et. I had a gnawin’ and cravin’ for fried chicken, so’s the sailor man fixed supper.

I swung by a newish Latino grocery this afternoon (it only took it 3 years to finally open). It is clean, has a good variety, a nice bakery and a hot food bar that I will likely check out for takeout soon.

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Howdy Y’all! We were true to our current status as retired drains on society today. We did nuttin’ all day. I didn’t even go over to the church house which means I must tomorrow. OK, I did finish up and email out the server schedule for March this mornin’, but that was maybe all of fifteen minutes of semi-activity at best. We even day drank. Today it was beerverages on the back porch at one p.m. Pizza and sallit made for a fine sup.

flyboy and oopsie my next to oldest brother has a cup of Keurig coffee every mornin’ while the regular pot of coffee is brewin’. He’s hardcore in his coffee drinkin’. I just make a couple of cups in the Keurig and OYKW usually has one and occasionally when he’s feelin’ wild, two cups.

CupCakes that’s a hoot! I am not a fan of snow, but I did live Calvin’s snow goons.

Bumba we need a pic of you all gussied up.

BooFae sounds like Shadow is a cat with quite distinct and sophisticated taste.

Wordy glad overlyboy survived the vampire. My last visit included six vials of blood. It doesn’t bother me. I watch and chat away with the vampire. I even make comments about which vein looks good for the draw that day. She always tells me she enjoys it when I’m there cause I make her laugh.

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Well, the veggie soup was quite good, for not having any meat in it at all - I even started with vegetable stock. We each had 2 bowls for supper, and there are a couple of good-sized container in the fridge with leftovers. Yum.

We’ve been watching Vera on Prime - I really like British series, especially the police procedurals, because they don’t rely on shooting everybody. Plus Vera is a hoot!

OK, I think it’s time for me to crawl under the covers. It’s been a long week and I’s tahred.

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Please - who is this sailor?

It sounds like our Southern crew is surviving the latest wave of storms unscathed, which is good news.

We’ve ordered The Habit for dinner, and continue our binge of Breaking Bad for entertainment. Onwards into the night. Take care everyone!

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I love Vera. She is kind of the British female version of Columbo. Frumpy and easily makes people think she’s just a sweet, middle-aged lady. Unless she’s ragging on her staff; then she’s a firebrand!

My new furniture arrives on the 8th! Oh my goodness! I’m so excited! I am going to call tomorrow to check into a dumpster so I can get rid of this crappy sectional and a roomful of assorted crap. Plus a broken treadmill and a few other odds and ends.