Well, there are now parts of the world that have left 2020 behind. See Year 2024 Countdown Around The World for a real-time update on this.
Hopefully, Hades Annex is at least semi-sane today. Will probably treat myself to Lyft to get home, since DH is off early today and it would not be practical for him to collect me. On NYE, I want to be home off the roads ASAP.
Two very nice ladies are coming today to scrub my home back into livability. They visited briefly the other day to see what’s up, and did not seem ruffled by what I asked of them.
Bathroom, kitchen, floors, including sweeping the basement. (I’d had my rats stashed down there last summer, and there’s still rodent droppings strewn about that I want gone before the landlady gets any wind of it.)
I also asked them to put clean sheets on the bed for me. I loathe that task under any circumstances, but the way my bed is shoehorned into the tiny room, there’s only a couple of inches clearance on either side.
I’ll hafta watch and see how they do it. Maybe there’s some trick that doesn’t involve clambering all over the bed you’re trying to make up AS you’re making it.
I’m so excited by the idea of a nice, clean tub and fresh sheets. Good way to ring in the New Year, yes?
Wait, wha a a … ? I just heard on the radio (NPR) this morning that they’re still dithering around on the details.
Morning all. It’s 48F heading for 60F today, with rain tonight and tomorrow. Will shortly make myself presentable and head for the Post Office to check if they’re hiding my mail from me or something. Outside of that nothing much outside the house is on the agenda.
Nettie, that poor, poor, cow-orker…maybe one day she’ll have to pull her weight and find out what slacking off gets you…
Boo fae, never had a desire to have fire that near me–my respect for it borders on fear, so not likely to try it. May try jumping out of an airplane someday (with parachute, of course) or scuba diving.
FCM, most NYE I’m like you, never make it to midnight but I’ve been staying up late the last couple of weeks, so just might make it. Just to be sure 2020 is really over with… Enjoy dinner out.
tabco, thanks for the information, and if you’re going to stick around (and hope you do), we’ll have to come up with a Mumper name for you…let me think about it.
swampy, enjoy both the NYD and Birthday parties, such as they are.
OK, need to make myself look like a functioning member of society. All y’all have a good Thorsday and make it through the end of 2020 OK.
I’m debating whether to get all flustered right now. Not that there’s anything particularly freakout worthy, but it’s the little things, you know? For example, who in the world schedules a 12 p.m. soccer game for a bunch of kids on a day when some parents might be working (also, it’s bloody cold; and we’re mid-pandemic, though the girls are required to wear masks)? I’m doubly miffed that it’s smack in the middle of a call I need to attend, triply so because I happen to have a piece of furniture being delivered within that timeframe and now quarternarily so (is that a word?) because I just got yet another large piece of regs to read that has more impact on what I do and may require us to burn down a large system and rebuild it from scratch. So I’m trying to decide if I need run around like the house is on fire at work.
Maybe I’ll go for a walk instead and sort it in my head. I sure do hate to do mature, healthy things. Seems almost anticlimactic.
Anyway, congrats on the exam, Tabco! That’s got to feel good.
I ran out of vacation so I’m orking today. I suspect El Jefe will let us go home early… Which doesn’t help me much because I’m telecommuting and started orking at a quarter after six.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off today. I need to go to the Sto for provisions, but otherwise it’s sloth. It’s also raining, so I had to drag Princess Pretty Paws out the door for his moring go.
You Brits and your wacky sexual euphemisms!
Macerated MILFs XIV
Both are good, but I usually go for Tullamore Dew.
{{{{wordy}}}}
Great. Now I have that scene from Trainspotting in my head. 
We shall see how successful I am with my bread machine version of French bread. I’ve started it in the machine on the Dough setting, and when that’s done, I’ll take it out, shape it, let it rise on a pan, then bake in the oven. One tip I saw for getting the crusty outside - toss 3 or 4 ice cubes in the bottom of the oven, then shut the door and let it bake. So I’ll give that a try. I figure at worst, it won’t get crusty like I’d like, but it should still taste good.
Since I can’t do anything while waiting for the bread, I’m doing jigsaw puzzles on this here 'puter. I got things straightened out at the electric co and theoretically, everything should be paid on time via VISA. Huzzah!
Well, back to puzzling.
Sounds great to me. I might be able to pull out getting on the clean sheets by the new year. My sister sent me a set of Snoopy Christmas flannel sheets and you have hopefully inspired me to wrestle them onto my pitifully narrow, empty twin bed before I leave to watch Harriet whilst her parents celebrate their wedding anniversary in the basement watching a movie while she and I enjoy the fireplace and a Disney movie upstairs. Then I can fall into a fresh, fuzzy flannel lined bed after I come home and chug my mini-split of Barefoot Bubbly for my wild ‘n crazy New Years Eve. Noisemakers and funny hat with a 3 year old+clean Snoopy sheets+solo bubbly=Boo merriment. Staying awake til midnight is my big goal. My neighborhood morons and their any excuse firecrackers should help with that.
That I am eating Trader Joe’s animal crackers for breakfast at 10am tells you all you need to know about my life. For excitement, when I find a kitty cat one, with it’s held high (and unbroken) I put a dab a peanut butter on the back of it and stick it to my bathroom mirror. I now have a line of about ten of them marching across the mirror at eye level. It amuses me.
Honey, you’re good. Fancy name brand? Check. Eating breakfast in the a.m.? Check
If you ever find yourself eating no-name Dollah Sto’ animal “krakkerzz” for “breakfast” at 10 p.m. then we can start questioning your life choices.
Me too, although I’ve recently acquired a bottle of a relatively inexpensive blend that I like from a company called Pendleton, which, oddly enough, has no connection to Pendleton Oregon. It’s Canadian whiskey bottled in Hood River, Oregon.
I bought it 'cause I want to encourage local producers.
I think Wifey has drank (drunk?) more of it than I have, though.
We have a largeish pork roast thawing on the counter that will be tonight’s dinner. We might stay up 'til midnight tonight, if we can find something to watch on the telly. We’ve been watching Wire in the Blood and Touching Evil on Amazon Prime, both starring Robson Green, one of our favorites. Touching Evil also features Nicola Walker, another favorite.
I’m considering cancelling Netflix, as so many of the titles we want to watch have disappeared from there to other services.
Our snow has mostly melted away here, and no more is predicted for the next week or so.
If I get ambitious (Ha!) I might go down to the basement and shift a stack of lumber that’s in the wrong place. No other projects I want to do right now. I have a few things I’d like to do outside, but it’s too damn cold. 
That’s all from me.
They’re heeeere.
I am so proud of my brave kitties, who eventually have both emerged from beneath the bed so they can properly supervise from atop it.
Wait’ll they find out “strangers make the bed” is in their future.
The FE exam is now entirely computer-based so I imagine that speeds up the grading process, such as it is. Even in my case, the 9-day wait is considered to be the maximum amount of time. The sense of dread was killing me.
You had it right. The FE is just the name for the exam, but once completed you’re basically an EI (EIT seems to be losing popularity?). After passing the exam, you write to your state board of examiners and become an official EI (engineering intern).
Excellent advice. I never clean mine off until I’m ready to use it. Do make sure you get everything off the top of it.
Congratulations!
Thank you. My stomach is now demanding a big plate of choucroute garni…
I think one of the main points is “Exhale, not inhale.”
Weather-dot-gov says expected high today 41, current temp 43 (wind chill 37), low tonight 24, high tomorrow 41 again. I remember back when I was a kid it wasn’t really winter if the snow wasn’t knee-deep.
My only New Year’s tradition for the past few decades has been to be in bed asleep before midnight. Household routine being what it is now, it’ll be at least 0200 by the time I get to bed. (I didn’t get up until noon today.)
Time to go load the dishwasher and then get back to my book.
Don’t know if it is of interest to you but in a few weeks Netflix will beginning to stream another season of Outlander.
It will be quiet here this evening. I just made a batch of chicken salad for sandwiches that will be a light dinner. Later I have some orange juice and Prosecco for Mimosas. I expect we will b e in bed by 10.00 at the latest.
Dinner was early tonight, Cheeseburger is happily digesting along with the nightly banana. Did get some mail at the post office today, hopefully a lot more will be in the mailbox today or tomorrow…just went out and checked at 5:10pm CST and there was mail…none of the bills that I have been missing, but at least the P.O. acknowledges I exist.
shoe, the cleaners have any reaction to Pretzel and the rat colonies?
FCM, let us know how the French Bread turned out tonight.
talky, odd about the soccer game; is she on a ‘club-level’ team or is this more recreational? Having any game the day before New Year’s strikes me as odd.
Take care all. 6:40 left in this year for me.
This particular team isn’t a club-level team, but most of the players on her rec team also participate in club sports, which is probably why the weird schedule. Plus, they’re playing up (my daughter’s in 5th and she’s playing 6th graders).
It worked out. Furniture guys showed up just as we were putting on our shoes to leave. We somehow got to the game on time (just barely), I finished my call while standing next to the bleachers, the girl scored a goal - YAY! - managed to get home and receive yet another regulation, so I scheduled a bunch of meetings for next week and decided to bugger off for the rest of the day.
I took a nap, knitted until my eyeballs hurt and made some channa saag (spinach curry w/chickpeas) to go with the butter chicken I made a few days ago for dinner. In a short while, the kids will eat and I will drink wine with the husband. All in all, a pretty decent New Year’s Eve I hope.
At the supermarket
Cashier: You have a good New Year.
Me: You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I have planned!
Cashier: It doesn’t have to do with railroads, does it?
Me: LOL
In other news: I got my second shingles vaccination.
So you like the Protestant whisky herald? (one of the Irish guys who used to own Godiva Pub used to call Bushmills that)
dicey, I grew up with taking the tree down on Epiphany, so your hubby’s birthday is close.
Speaking of birthdays, if you’re out there baker, I hope that you are enjoying yours. 
I irked all day today, but did manage to get out before dark, thanks to my manager and an analyst giving me a hand making inventory adjustments while I investigated a problem out in the warehouse (that involved going through the cartons one by one) and tidied up all of the outstanding counts. I’m in jammies now.
Tonight, I’ll soak the black eyed peas. Tomorrow morning, they’ll go into the crock pot with the remains of the Christmas ham and bone. In the afternoon, I’ll put the pot of collards on (I usually do turnip greens, but both stores I went to were out of them) and make some cornbread. I’ll likely take supper to my next door neighbor, the dog sitter and the neighbor three doors down. We need all of the luck that we can get after the year we’ve had.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!