Beautiful sunrise this morning following yesterday’s dousing, so I think the apple farm is a go. The knee looks good after yesterday’s experiment and I’m in the mood for apple pie.
Happy weekend mornin’ all! An hour-plus post-dawn and I’ve been chased inside by the rising sun. NWS sez 82/28 on the way to 92/34 w some chance of spotty rain. Partly cloudy / fuzzy now and no clue how that’ll shape for the early afternoon partial eclipse. Hope springs eternal.
Wow! So much good news from everyone!
Shoe, hooray for early out, for salad and Roadkill, and especially for GC actually finishing his essay and actually showing up.
I lurve it when I can launch laundry then leave. I always feel so productive when I come home and it’s done. My problem is remembering I have some in-progress. Down here in humidity land, leaving a damp load in the washer can be bad, very bad.
Congrats again on the job start, Zoomie. So far the company totally sounds like they have their stuff together. Hope it doesn’t turn out to be bait and switch.
If it’s coming from an anti-Semite I’d expect it decodes as “America before Israel”. IOW “Screw them; MAGA for the win!”
OTOH, if this person hates the USA too, maybe it’s just “Israel & the US are joined at the hip. And I hate that! (And everything else about my life, but I don’t want to talk about that now).”
Nettie ouch about the exterminator. But better that than move in unaware of the bug problem they obviously discovered while doing the repair. Overall as annoying as this is, it says whoever is managing your facility is doing a quality job of it.
Happy ordinatin’ there Swampy.
I forget which thread it was in, but we recently talked about extra good things retirees can do to make the world a better place. One of which is do major shopping on weekends when the working stiffs have to shop. But do it verrry slooowly. 
Metalmouse: I have used services, but mostly individual folks. Services are more expensive for less quality, but can be a way to get started if you can’t readily find an individual. Overall I’d say “Not ideal, but vastly better than nothing.”
Hippie that is a damned fine tribute to a damned fine guy. Jason being a salesman makes that even more amazing; my prejudice is that sales-folks are usually all about themselves, and only themselves. Obviously not in his case.
So Taters, you can’t just tell us you got your hair done for the first time in 3 months then leave us totally in suspense about how you liked the result. And we need to know how much bright pink or turquoise or whatever highlights you had them put in it.
As to me:
Last night after a sandwich dinner at home Her Ladyship fired up her library DVD of Mr. Mercedes, 10 episodes loosely telling one of Stephen King’s psychopath stories. She really likes watching psychopaths. Hmmmm.
She got through 3 episodes with me half reading my tablet and half watching her show. I can’t understand enough of the dialog to actually watch anything; far too taxing. But I can follow the gist of the story. Which is all I care about.
Decided to skip the beach today to let my skin rest some more. Also it’s too partly cloudy to be good right now. Have dinner reservations tonight for the intimate place we tried to go to ~3 weeks ago that was mysteriously closed but has since re-opened. Other than that I / we have no plans.
Happy weekending to all!!
It’s wonderful that your sight is returning nellie! I hope that your world opens up fully.
That’s a cool tribute to you and the company that you retired from hippy.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. On today’s agenda are raking the postage stamp (again! I love the oak outside my door, but it keeps me exercised in the autumn), picking up a prescription, putting some veggie bones (clean carrot peels, celery ends, cabbage hearts, onion skin, etc) from the freezer into the stock pot for broth, then doing the same for the chicken bones there and ordering some studio supplies. I may take Nelson to the dog park this afternoon too. I should hem a pair of flannel PJ pants (one of the risks of buying men’s PJ pants is that they’re too long) and a pair of jeans (joy! 
).
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
Starting the second cuppa joe. Wifey, RN is in the shower, getting ready to leave for a seminar in Bellevue or someplace in about an hour. I will be left unsupervised.
Nope - I was zipping around the slugs. Back home with everything stowed. Plus I stopped at the farm stand on the way home - they still have 'maters and cukes, so yum!! Plus I got some local apples - double yum!
Yeah, we did this once decades ago. Never again. And honestly, much as I hate cleaning, I’d rather do it myself than hire someone. Yard work, on the other hand… except it’s $$$ around here, especially with how big our yard is. But FCD has promised to finish my remote control mower, so we shall see.
Came home to an empty house - not sure where FCD went, since his mom is out of town. I suppose I could call him…
FTR, I knew you’d not be an obstacle at the store; we could rename you Fairy Speed Mom and it’d fit perfectly. I just liked the “Whelp, it’s Saturday, time to go major grocery shopping”.
I think I got melanoma just reading this.
Quite similar here. Less forecasted % chance of rain, but otherwise … same.
You saved even more money by not buying it. 
Also, are you planning a vacation and I missed/forgot? Or is this for work-related travel?
That’s probably before when I’ll go to bed tonight. (… tomorrow?) Ah, the joys of Long Night.
Still, I can use the hours. (Which is retail-speak for “I don’t wanna but I need the money, honey.”)
From someone who pretty much lives like this, here’s what I do, in descending order of tech-ness:
-
I have Google Home (similar to Alexa or Siri, but years ago I drank the Google Kool-Aid and it’s just easier to stick with one single overlord) and have slowly trained myself to set reminders. Looking back over the past few dozen, the vast majority are “laundry to dryer,” “laundry OUT of dryer” and - on Sunday nights - “trash bin to curb.” My memory ain’t great, but at least it’s … predictable?
-
I set a timer for about an hour on my oven, microwave, or hell, one of those analog dial “tick-tick-tick” kitchen timers. When it goes off, something must be done. The trick is remembering what must be done. (Usually either laundry, or check the oven.)
Still, this one is cheap and easy. -
Leave the basement light on. This is a new trick that works specifically in my current home, since the basement is directly across the (hobbit-sized) house from my sittin’ chair. The laundry setup is in the basement. Lights on = laundry pending.
In the “silver lining” category, the house is so small that I can hear which part of the cycle the washer is on while lounging around, through the heating vents. The associated cutesey chimes, too. This is highly convenient, since I can read/doze to the soothing hum of the spin cycle, and then when things are suddenly, jarringly, silent followed by 
then I know it’s time to sigh deeply & bestir myself.
Shit, I hadn’t even thought of that. I assumed Nettie was having a regularly-scheduled visit, not an “Ooops! Uh, look over there!” emergency visit.
How do you deal with your pets during their chem-laden visit?
I hate you so hard right now. ( 
)
I’m dating myself by reminding everyone that paying by check makes it worse. Bonus points for waiting until the total is announced to even start digging around for your checkbook. Double-plus bonus points if you start the check-writing process by looking around and saying, “Which store am I in, again?”
Dang, now I want a dawg. Not the football kind; not the “woof” kind. The kind that comes from the place up the street that might be closed due to road construction and wouldn’t open for another hour anyway.
Will be interesting to see what changed. There’s some gossip behind that temporary closure!
You just reminded me: when I was in high school (Catholic school, so plaid skirts - which were sold calf-length to be hemmed accordingly) many of my fellow classmates “hemmed” their skirts using a stapler! 
I got it. And I don’t usually shop on weekends, but this week got away from me.
I use Alexa to remind me to check the washer or dryer since they’re in the basement and I can’t hear when they’re done. I’ve also got a daily reminder at 5 to feed the dog (she doesn’t forget, but if I get busy…) and I’ll set reminders if I need to start dinner early in order for it to get done, or if I need to pick up the kids at a certain time. Actually a helpful tool!
When I was in OCS, some of the guys tried that trick. I made deals with them - I’d hem their pants if they’d keep my supplied with Diet Coke - win-win!
FCD went to Staples. He’s on his way home now. In case you were worried…
I use alarms on my phone for some things like that.
Like your basement light, I’ve always been a big fan of what I call “physical mnemonics”. That’s also a standard pilot thing. Leave something physically out of the ordinary as a reminder. A box sitting by the front door needs to go out when I next leave, etc… Our present laundry is an over/under inside a closet, and leaving that door open or at least ajar is what I’d do.
All that worked great until I joined forces with a semi-OCD neat freak. She cannot leave the laundry door ajar; even from another room its disorder waves are making her fidget. Of course stuff like that also wouldn’t work if one lived with (or like) a slob, since stuff being left out of place doesn’t stand out or remind when everything is left out everywhere most of the time.
Netties whole apartment was / is being rebuilt by the management company; she’s been living and working in a motel for 3 weeks with hubbie & the cats.
I stuck my head in the door a week or so after our failure to dine there. They were closed at the moment, but the door was unlocked and the staff was inside prepping to open in a few minutes. The place looked unchanged. I told them we’d come by while they were shut down, etc., and wanted to confirm they were back in business. One of the staff told me they had done some rehab in the kitchen. So not real exciting gossip. Or else an excellent cover story. 
When I told them that they never told OpenTable they were shut down, so we unwittingly made reservations during their shutdown, she looked pretty surprised / chagrined and said she’d mention that to the ownership.
I like it okay; I wish she would have cleaned up the long layers a little more and thinned it a little, but it can be done next time. I mainly go to tone up the silver a little. I use professional purple shampoo, but sometimes you need an extra dose of toning.
I’m leaving for Missouri in a bit to visit my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. My son booked the flight for all of us (he’s going too), and immediately assumed we would all use carry-on luggage. So, I need to buy two carry-on suitcases because I only have a big one and an under-seat bag.
I hate grocery shopping on weekends; it’s a madhouse. Fortunately, my husband does most of it now. But, when I go (and I’m not retired yet), I am in and out. Unless it’s Costco; then I wander each aisle looking at the new stuff, becoming annoyed by the folks who block the aisles while sampling. Unfortunately, even on the non-sample days, they still somehow block the aisles at the end-caps. WHY?! Still, I have to see what’s new.
I forgot about laundry one time and never forgot again. I am a creature of habit and know I need to check the washer after around 45 minutes or so, and the dryer after 45 minutes to an hour; depending on the type of items being tumbled. I don’t start a load and go somewhere precisely because I will forget and when I do leave the house, I am sometimes gone for longer than anticipated.
It’s barely daylight out, but still, need to shower and prep to go to the stores. I plan to be there when they open so I don’t get caught up in all the traffic.
Misty is still staying with a friend of ours (we don’t intend to bring her home until hours after the exterminator visit), while DH has a place in mind to take himself and cats for the duration (treatment time, plus two hours).
More like a week and a half, and the bathrooms and bedroom were unafflicted (except for becoming the parking zone for stuff being cleared from other rooms). The living room and what’s officially a second bedroom (we use it for storage) had to have the concrete slabs under the flooring torn up to repair a plumbing issue, then the slabs had to be repaired and new flooring put in. The kitchen also got new flooring.
I work in an office 45 minutes from home (local low-income housing agency). DH is currently unemployed.
hippie very cool and thoughtful tribute. Props to employers who appreciate their employees.
I just went out and started the Jeep. The left annunciator light for the directional indicator works, but the right one is still not coming on. The remote door locks are working. I’d left the charger on overnight. [NB: There has always been plenty of juice to start; it’s just those niggling electrical problems that drive me nuts.]
I sprayed all three hood release hinges with WD-40. It’s still stiff pulling from inside, a minute after I sprayed them, but easier than yesterday.
Wifey, RN is on her way to her foot care seminar that is being put on by the doctor (and staff) where she got her CFCS (Certified Foot Care Specialist – Also called CFCN Certified Foot Care Nurse) certification.
Took me several re-reads until I finally went, “Ya mean the blinker?”
The dashboard blinker lights.
Happy chilly/rainy Saturday morning! At least, it’s still morning right now (11:37am): it will definitely be after noon by the time I finish writing, self-editing, and posting this.
It’s hard to call any volunteer event a true waste of time as long as at least one person stops by the table, but this morning’s event was pretty much a waste of time. My alarm went off at 6am (it was still dark outside! 
) and I got there and set up with no problem, but hardly any people showed up. The low turnout was likely because of the weather. There was only 30-40 minutes of activity at all, from 8:00 until shortly after 8:30. All of the vendors were allowed to stay until 12:15, but everyone else started packing up at around 9:00 and by 9:30 I decided there was no point in sticking around. Less than an hour later I was putting bananas in my cart at a local grocery store, and I pulled into my driveway at around 11:00. Happily there were lulls in the rain exactly when I needed them, so not only was I able to unload my car when I got home – putting everything on the dining room table – I also reorganized everything and moved it all to the laundry room (which I have to go outside to access).
I’ve had volunteer stuff covering my dining room table for the past several weeks: having it cleared off means that I can finally start the new LEGO set! After I finish this post it’ll be time for lunch and some TV, and maybe even a short nap. But I can see being ready to play with bricks in a few hours.
Tomorrow I’ll be meeting a friend for lunch at our favorite Thai place. It’s in the town where she lives, which is about 40 minutes west of me; I don’t mind driving out there on a Sunday. We go to a lot of music and theater events together: we’ll be seeing the Canadian Brass at the end of November and we have tickets to Ragtime in mid-December, but we try to meet for lunch a couple times a year so we can take our time catching up. This place has good food and they’re never crowded, and they don’t mind if we sit there yammering for a couple of hours.
I grew up with a 2nd-generation Italian mother (and a 2nd-generation Irish father), and as a kid I often heard a word that sounded like “ah-SHPETTE.” It was always used to mean “shush!,” but I was later told that it meant “wait” – which in Italian is actually aspettare. My guess is that “ah-SHPETTE” was an Italian-American pronunciation. 
I remember asking my mom once whether it could always be used to mean “wait,” or if it was like telling someone to shut up!
Very cool!
(And, as predicted, it’s now almost 12:30pm. And I’m quite hungry, which surprised me until I remembered that I’ve been up for 6.5 hours already and have only had a protein shake…and that was 4.5 hours ago!)
A memory from Catholic high school: The girls used to roll their jumpers to make them shorter. At any time a teacher could tell a girl to kneel down and if her skirt did not touch the floor they were given a detention and a fifty cent out of uniform fine.
I can tell Catholic school horror stories all day. I am pretty sure I have told y’all about the bipolar nun tearing the shirt off of my body…
So I have my wrok nternet access back. Hazardous Ken does not, at least at the 200. Deb’s is here and there. So together, WE CAN RISE UP AGAINST THE RULING CLASS AND BRING A WORKERS’ PARADISE TO THIS EARTH BUILT UPON THEIR DESICCATED BODIES. Oops, wrong speech. So together we overcame an IT policy clearly designed by a hangry cat. and it only took till noon, so we could walk out in the pouring rain, and not see any eclipse. but both myself and my laundry have been washed, and are dry.
Nifty!
“Fairy Speed Mom. Your go to when Heisenberg’s Blue Meth won’t cut it.”
It was raining lightly here during our eclipse window too. But the sun hasn’t been visible as anything but a brighter patch in the clouds since sunrise, so I wasn’t expecting much.
Managed to feed & shevel, received a box of new shoes from Zappos, and am considering a nap in my recliner. As Calvin once ruefully observed to Hobbes:
The days are just packed!
I decided I was spending far too much time researching and searching for luggage. I mean, really, why was I over-complicating things? I know it’s a rhetorical question, and not even I can answer it. I found the suitcases I liked in the acceptable 22-inch carry-on size on Amazon. I also found the matching under-seat bag and ordered two carry-ons and one underseat bag. I already have one under-seat bag, so now we’re set. My husband’s CPAP will fit in the under-seat bag, with room for other odds and ends.
I could have run to Target and Kohls and back to Macy’s, but why? I opted not to get hardside because I’ve read those are the first to get gate-checked. I was wasting too much time and energy on something that should have been fairly simple. I get too far into the weeds and need to stop doing that.
My daughter will pick up some distilled water locally, so I don’t have to worry about shipping some to her house. It’s ridiculous to pay 25 dollars for water when I can get way more for less at a local store.
I also booked the shuttle service for the ride to the airport when we depart and back when we return. I opted to get the private SUV. Yes, it’s stupid expensive, but I don’t have to worry about it making other stops on the way, which normally isn’t an issue, but if they get lost (they always do), I don’t have to worry about losing time at the airport. I’ve used this several times, but it’s been about four years since I last used them.
My husband is out and about and will pick up some kind of lunch, which is fine by me. I’m still restless, so I will probably burn that energy by doing some decluttering chore. I’ve already cleaned out a kitchen utensils drawer because I bought new utensils, so I tossed the old ones, except for the ‘tater masher and a couple of straining ladles that I like. I need to tackle the herbs and spices next. My husband keeps buying them, but doesn’ toss the old ones and even though I have an organizer, the cupboard is a disorganized mess and is driving me insane. I also want to reorganize the pantry, but I think I’ll save that for another time.