The pumpkin spice (bleck!) MMP [Old]

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 17c/63f with a predicted high of 18c/64f, with isolated showers. Weather app says " I polled the masses and 99% of the people questioned stated that rain fucking blows goats." We still have a weather warning for heavy rain although we don’t seem to have had too much around here. I woke up to the sound of rain at 5am, but by the time I got to campus it was more of a mizzle than anything else.

doggio Cherry will run away from just about anything, in fact the only thing she runs towards is the sound of food packets being rattled or opened.

JtC we kind of expect things in the student support area to calm down when teaching starts because we’re past the point where they’re allowed to request programme transfers and module changes. We mostly deal with that in the first two weeks of term, and then there are the inevitable timetable issues to fix. Yesterday we had two students in the office wanting to transfer modules (and teaching groups) so they could be on the same things…had a proper faff with one of them because she completed the incoming year 1 module choice form and ticked the wrong programme so she followed the choices offered on that programme which now turns out to not be the one she’s actually registered on. That’s one thing we don’t check, we expect students to be able to pick their own programme from a list…

Oopsie I’m very guilty of lack of motivation when it comes to exercise, even though I know I’ll feel much better afterwards. My trick is to put my workout gear on when I get up (if I’m working at home) or leave it out ready for when I get home so that it’s there to remind me I should heave my ample posterior out to the gym.

Moooom enjoy the quiet, I’m glad FCD made it home safely.

Shoe yay for Pretzel getting a good dinner, and you sorting it out for her. Win all round!

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Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 62 Amurrkin and rainy(ish) out with a predicted high of 67 and rain for the day. On a happy note, the weather should be dry and N.O.S. for the big ordination tomorrow. We shall stay inside and dry today. The usual sloth and general overall uselessness shall be the order of the day. Sup shall be chikin’ 'n rice, peas 'n carrots, and rolls. Simple, but tasty.

nettie yay for gettin’ back in your abode. Here’s hopin’ y’all get to sleep there tonight.

shoe glad Pretzel had a good sup. Sounds like the trip was both fruitful and fun, so yay for that. The animals are cool! Also, yay for findin’ a DQ!

JtC I agree about wasps. I tell them we shall get along as long as they stay outside. However, every once in a while they decide to do otherwise. Sometimes they try to make a nest by the front door or in the garage (the garage door is open all day). Those are not places they are welcome, so I go all medieval.

MetalMouse I highly endorse hirin’ a house cleaner to come a couple times a month. One of the best decisions we ever made!

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.

Happy FIRDAY THE THIRTEENTH y’all!

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It’s naturally occurring in the weed, not in bubblegum. I don’t know how it happens.

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Speaking of cats… but first a little background.

Some years back, there was a gray and white tuxedo cat living in the shrubbery in front of our house (quite a while back, as we had much of it removed.) Daughter named him/her Charley. As it got cold, Charley took up residence in our garage But I was reluctant to let him/her into the house.

One day, I went to the garage and Charley couldn’t move her back legs (yeah, we do think she was a she) and I knew it was bad because not too long before, our Abyssinian had the same thing happen and we had to have her put down. So off to the vet with Charley, totally not our cat, who had to be put down also. Best guess, this was 13-15 years ago.

Fast forward - we’ve been seeing a gray and white tuxedo in our backyard for several months. Yesterday, he/she was snoozing on the glider on the back deck. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was son/daughter of Charley. Or grandson/granddaughter of Charley. Probably no relation at all. In any event, Tobias made enough noise that the cat woke and took off. The end.

MIL got her phone yesterday, so Priority Mail came thru as promised. SIL asked if we wanted to do Family Dinner out tonight, but we declined. Our plans for today are home-centric. FCD plans to futz in his shop and I’m going to finish up a couple of my crochet items. Then I need to price everything, tho I’m pretty sure the event isn’t going to happen tomorrow. Low 60s and rain/t-boomers are forecast.

And that pretty much sums it up.

Happy Firday the 13th!!!

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Good morning and happy Friday.

It’s 45F and mostly clear outside (I guess; it’s dark out). The day will warm up to around 70F and the afternoon will be partly cloudy.

FCM, I’m glad FCD arrived home safely.

nettie, I am happy that you finally get to return to your apartment. I hope straightening out goes smoothly.

shoe, I like road trips and now that you have your license, maybe that’s another thing you can start doing with regularity.

metal mouse, I often think of hiring a cleaner, and then I decide not to because I would clean the entire house before he/she got here, so what is the point of having a cleaner?

oopsie, I’ve had days like that. I sure hope today is much better for you.

Yesterday’s circus was chaotic. The monkeys were out of control, and so were the people. However, I wrangled them all, and life goes on.

nellie, I hope you’re feeling better today.

I’m only working until noon today because I have a couple of appointments. One is to get my hair done did…at long last. My last visit to my stylist was in July, so I’m overdue. On the way home, I might stop for a pedicure, but I may go the opposite direction and brave the mall to look at some new carry-on luggage. If I do that, I’ll skip the pedicure.

That is all that is happening in my little corner of the PNW. We’re supposed to have an annular eclipse tomorrow, but it’ll be too cloudy to really see it.

So, onward with the day. :raises coffee mug:

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Mornin’ all. Stayed up a tad too late then I slept in to shortly before dawn. Just barely started balconatin’ and caffinatin’ when the sun climbed above the sea clouds and I was driven inside. Otherwise a clear & warm day: now an hour later 84/29 on the way to 93/34 with very thin high clouds and no rain expected. Along about Sun to Mon we’ll have our first burst of Fall, with lows in the 60s/20s and highs in the 70s/25s. Which should comprehensively kill our local hurricane threat for the next 6 months. And signal the almost end of rain for a few months too: welcome to Dry Season.

Good to hear all the progress since yesterday. Glad that Pretzel got a good meal & there’s more where that came from. Great llama / alpaca pix. If there’s a suitable breeders show nearby some day, definitely go. Total cuteness & softness overload. Plus you can usually buy some homemade yarn that knits up the bestest stuff you’ll ever make.

Yaay Nettie for ought to be home tomorrow at worst. Best of luck.

Agree that metalmouse will greatly enjoy a maid service. I’ve had one for many years and good ones are beyond awesome. Now Her Ladyship would rather do it Herself, and she’s darn good at it too. If that’s what makes Her happy, who am I to complain?

All you loadies in the crowd might appreciate this. Last night Her Ladyship was trawling through her FB feed, started laughing, and showed me a pic somebody had posted of “crocheted pothead gnomes”. Yup. Brightly colored pudgy little yarn figures with silly hats blazing away on big spleefs. I bet you who are wise in the ways of FB can find it. The main sentiment of the response comments seemed to be something along the lines of “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.” Which puts me in a mind of this long-dormant blog my late first wife used to enjoy about similar things:

There are hours of :woman_facepalming: yarn-craft silliness to admire on that site.

Turns out I’d gotten enough vitamin UV over the last couple days that beaching today is ill-advised; I’m at the appropriate shade of medium-rare already. Need to let that soak in a bit before I cook myself again.

Today is the one month anniversary of my birthday / retirement. It’s also the day my final irk paycheck deposits itself in the bank. I still have one more bit of money coming in a couple weeks to cash out my unused vacation. But today is the end of a 2x / month cadence that’s gone on for a long time.

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NOT a problem I would have…but might encourage me to put more stuff away, I would admit.

Maybe you need to get this Shirt…https://theageofmiraclesbook.com/product/cowboy-monkey-western-rodeo-cowboy-hat-and-bandana-2021-shirt-hoodie-long-sleeved-sweatshirt-518363/

JtC, thanks for the continuing adventures of GG and VBC…didn’t know cats would eat grasshoppers (and probably then turn up their noses at cat food…)

Nettie, glad you’re heading back home. Sleep well.

BBBoo, it was Chiefs-Broncos, a bit of a snooze-fest, but since I’m paying for Amazon Prime, well…

shoe, great pictures, the guy has quite the menagerie, And we have plenty of Dairy Queen’s here in N. Ali-bama if you ever visit. Glad Pretzel has a happy belly today.

boo fae, never underestimate the power of human’s doing the exact wrong thing; hope you were able to get them straightened out.

FCM, the end, or maybe the end of the beginning?

Pilot, as I think I mentioned before, I know the feeling of going from two checks a month to just one, and arriving at a different time than we’re used to. Not a big deal, but does need some mental adjustments to the budget. Enjoy your inside day.

OK, need to break fast here in a bit. All y’all take care;

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Breakfasted, showered and Wordled. Now off to exercise class. Steady rain since yesterday, but it will hopefully clear off by tomorrow for our visit to an apple orchard with the niece. Have a good weekend, all!

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WOW am I unmotivated to work today! Luckily it’s been a pretty quiet week, but there are a few things I need to do and I’m just not feelin’ it. It’s just about time for lunch; hopefully I’ll be able to focus/buckle down this afternoon.

Happily I have no plans this evening, other than prepping for tomorrow morning’s volunteer event (which won’t take long). Even though tomorrow’s rain isn’t supposed to start until ~10am, I figure I’ll load the car tonight just in case. I have to be at the venue at 7:30am, and the only thing worse than unloading in the rain that early would be loading and unloading in the rain that early. Hopefully, though, it will only be raining when it’s time to leave the event…and afterwards I can leave everything in the car until the rain stops on Sunday.

Ahh, gotcha. Phew. :slight_smile: (but ugh for you!)

Interesting…lately I’ve started wearing one of the “gym shirts” all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. :slight_smile: But I wouldn’t want to wear the leggings all day.

I’ve used a cleaning service for 10+ years: at most I’ll clear off the coffee table and maybe put a few things away (that needed to be put away anyway), but in no way do I do any actually cleaning before the team arrives. :slight_smile: I’m a fairly neat person, but I haaaaate cleaning floors and bathrooms.

Mixed feelings, or just relief? :slight_smile:

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It does help me. I’m suggesting you may want to try it to see if it helps you. Check with your doctor, naturally.

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Thanks~putting famotidine on my list of questions for the next dr appt., along with kefir suggested earlier (that I might try next time I go to the grocery store).

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Rained all night; still raining now. Forecast calls for more of the same tomorrow, so we’re unlikely to see anything of the eclipse in this area.

I hope the weather is better in other places for those who are traveling to see it. It would sucketh mightily to fly/drive all that way, pay for a hotel, etc. and then have the event rained out like a baseball game!

Almost 1 p.m. so time to bestir myself. I don’t close tonight and we get a half-hour break (it’s only 15 Sun-Thur but at least they’re always paid) so tonight should be pleasant enough.

May everyone have a fortunate Friday the 13th!

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That’s always been me/us. They can’t clean through / around clutter so you the customer need to keep that under control. Which was / is not difficult for me / us. A person whose circumstances and habits ensured they live in an always-cluttered environment would not get much value from a cleaning service.

IMO cleaning itself is a total PITA and utterly unsatisfying. Pay somebody to do that. Always.

The absence of paychecks will be an unvarnished bad even though I have what we expect to be a fully adequate replacement solution to that.

Right now I have no sense of relief. To the last day I enjoyed my job. I’m also enjoying this new and different reality, but “Whew! Thank god that’s over with” just isn’t part of my attitude.

When I talk to my still-working pals about their various misadventures my main attitude is “Better you than me; I’m not missing that silliness.”

OTOH, yesterday someone sent me pix they had just taken on a layover in an exotic locale we all knew and loved. He’s having a mini-vacation there on the company’s nickel, and I’m developing “secretarial spread” in my recliner at home w you folks. Boooring!!

My personal $64 milllion question will be whether and how I can self-start doing something enjoyable and fulfilling with my time, not just chillin’ until it’s time to eat again.

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So I’m standing around after exercise waiting impatiently for the elevator to arrive to take me up one floor and both of them seemed to be stuck on level 15. So I thought “Well, the hell with it; the knee feels pretty good so I’m gonna attempt the stairs.” The stairwells are narrow enough that one can grab both handrails, if necessary, so I cautiously tried the first couple of steps. And wonder of wonders, there was no pain and I was able to climb up to the next floor without issue! Huge progress for anybody dealing with the aftermath of knee replacement.

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Hooo-friggin-RAAY!!!

You might find going down those stairs a rather different and less nice experience. But now that you know you can (gingerly) climb a flight you might want to include that in your routine.

My old condo was on the 3rd floor. I rarely used the elevator unless I had a cart of stuff. Taking those two flights up and down several times a day was quick easy exercise. Can recommend. Now I live on 8, and that’s impractical. So instead I don’t climb stairs at all and I can feel the lack. Can’t recommend.

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that is wonderful! big step forward (intended pun).

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If it’s boooring for you, imagine what it’s like for us. Us Mumpers are no longer getting those delightful descriptions of your forays into tropical, hedonistic locales and cuisines nor are we getting the fun little stories of the bureaucratic conglomerate’s flailings or the snicker inducing voyeuristic glimpses at the weird stuff people do on airplanes and in airports. It’s like our worlds just went to b & w from technicolor, so have a little sympathy for us marooned out in the vast hinterlands.

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Your rodent guy’s setup sounds like an interesting place shoe!

Yay on painless stairs cookie!

Up, caffeinating, breakfasted, houseirk done, last load of laundry in the dryer and fixing to make a menu and grocery list before shopping.

Sometime this afternoon, I’ll likely take Nelson to the dogpark, since he was shorted yesterday.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

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I’m alive! The fever broke yesterday, and I perspired through jammies and sheets, so I showered and did some laundry. Then last night, I felt crummy again and ran a fever. I have a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t a bug but just an autoimmune flare. Hopefully I’m done with all that now.

I saw the PT notes on the portal, and there’s nothing in there about consulting the PA. Hm. She also said the cold therapy device reduced the swelling, which is odd because she didn’t see me afterward, and the swelling was unchanged. On the plus side, she kept saying she was really impressed with how well I’m doing. I’m a mere five degrees away from ideal flexion and am at the ideal for extension. Yippee! Of course, that doesn’t mean I can bend and straighten without pain and effort, but still…

And I have to tell you how monumentally relieved I am to be seeing well again. It’s incredible. My world became very small for a very long time. Once my knee is better, there will be all sorts of things I can do that I’ve been missing out on. I want to do some mountain hiking and volunteer at the hospital, for a start.

Oh, and I can now enroll in the Jane the Cane School of the Beatin’ Arts, as I’m sporting a cane. It does help keep me from limping but is a pain on the stairs. I can go up stairs with little problem and am working on descending like a grown-up. Today I’m going to the gym to use a couple of machines the PT recommended.

Cookie, woo-hoo on conquering the stairs and taking an exercise class! You’re my role model. :slight_smile:

BooFae, I do love those weather forecasts. “Blows goats” is my new favorite phrase.

shoe, so glad Pretzel got to feast on the little beasts. And the llamas are adorable!

nettie, hope you’re able to sleep at home tomorrow night!

I’ve read all the posts but have retained very little.

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Take the elevator up to the 5th or 6th floor, then use the stairs for the remainder …

I’ve been meaning to go back to this & commend you for your memory recall. :slight_smile:

… but I kept forgetting to do so.

Do let us know how it goes! I hope this position is a good fit for you.

We could always just make stuff up … ?

Monkey is tentatively off being grounded & on supervised probation, mostly cuz the rain has stopped but it’s still so wet & drippy that I’m counting on him not going too far.

I gave the new ratties some fresh food (cornflakes and birdseed mix) and after nothing but lab blocks all their lives they must be enjoying the change.
The two who were Pretzel’s dinner last night even got similar snax, on the couple hours drive home & then afterwards while I chilled for a bit, so if it’s any consolation to delicate Mumper sensibilities, they at least got a tasty final meal.

Welllllllll, there’s still that whole pesky plates/registration/insurance thing. Which is gonna get expensive fast (Mich. is unfortunately notorious for eye-wateringly expensive insurance) but on the other hand, I may need more big feeders for Pretzel before these guys grow up to size.
On the other other hand, I ain’t makin’ that drive during icy winter. Nuh uh.

Windy one-lane back country roads with no shoulder & no fencing/barriers over creeks?
Picturesque in autumn; a recipe for disaster in the winter. (I have a front-wheel drive subcompact. In snow, that drive really should be left to the 4 WD dualie pickups I saw everywhere.)