Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s 35 out, which means it’s 31 degrees cooler than this time yesterday.
“Is not stealing. Is hi-purr-nationg.” - Nikki
“It’s like we’re reliving the fall of The Roman Empire, but with better Wifi.”
Speak for yourself…
I’m… pretty much OK today, which is surprising, as I went out for dinner last night with some friends and they discovered I’d never tried tequila and decided to rectify that. Luckily I don’t have a lot to do today anyway.
Ooh, I’ve just noticed the rain’s gone a bit white and fluffy! I doubt it’ll stick, as it’s very wet, but that’s the first time this winter here.
I was way more tired last night than I thought - like falling-asleep-while-reading tired - so I crashed hard and didn’t wake till nearly 6, which is sleeping in for me. I’ve since tended the critters, pulled out the meat for tonight’s supper to thaw, and crammed some breakfast down my gullet. Caffeination continues.
Daughter and her offspring are coming over around noon-ish. She’s going to help FCD make a couple of small parts in the shop while I wrangle the little 'uns. And they’re staying for supper, since SIL is working and Free Meal! 
Before they get here, I want to build a cucumber salad, re-bag the canvas that’s now all over the basement, and bring in a nice load of wood/start a fire to warm things up down there. Then Roxy can run wild to her heart’s content and Toby won’t freeze his babby butt. There’s my day!
Happy Saturday!!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN 'Tis 35 Amurrkin out and N.O.S. with a predicted high of 66 and N.O.S. for the day. Today is more Winter like for these parts. Sloth, nappage, and general all over uselessness shall rule the day. Any need to feed will be via forage as there are leftovers and sammich makin’s aplenty in da fridge.
{{{Nellie}}} very gently. Hope the back issue resolves soonest.
CupCakes one can never have too much cake, especially nummy 'nanner/walnut cake!
shoe I am sure Nikki would beg to differ as to who the chair actually belongs to.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Sattidy Y’all!
Good Saturday morning, folks. Good grief. It’s a bit of a chilly one. It’s a cozy 19F, with a wind chill of 5F.
I got suspended from the Book of Faces. Don’t know for how long, as they never told me. I must have ruffled some feathers. Imagine that. I do what I can. Bawahahaha!
Then, Thursday night/early Friday morning, my daughter was at work (She works nights), pukin’ & poopin’. Fever. Cough. Achy. Snotty. Miserable. She decided to take a rapid COVID test this morning. Shows that she’s positive. She talked to her boss, and sent her a picture of the Rapid Test card, with the positive result. Her boss said to go to CVS, to get a PCR test, to make sure. She’s going to have a Flu test, as well. She’ll do that around noon. If it shows her being positive for COVID, she’ll be getting paid leave at work. So, we’ll see how that all ends up. Always something.
The only thing I have planned today, is for finishing up getting the laundry put away, running the vacuum, and making bigass sub sammiches for dinner. That last bit will only happen if my husband decides to come home. He’s been OTR for the past two weeks. I don’t know if he’ll want to come home to COVID cooties, or not. We have all had our vaccinations, and our booster. So, I don’t know what he’ll be doing. I sure do miss him, being gone those two weeks. If he comes home, it won’t be until around 5, this afternoon. Then, he’ll have to head out on Monday morning, around 9, or so. Not nearly enough time at home. But, that’s how it goes. That doesn’t mean I like it.
Have a good day, and make it count!
Nona, never thought I’d say this for real, but I hope daughter-unit has the flu. And a sweet, innocent person like you getting suspended by facebook? The very idea!!
Nut, 
And yeah, one’s first experience with tequila can be…interesting.
Seanette, sometimes our reading habits go places we don’t really understand; now, if you get a sudden urge to move to a compound in Idaho…
OK, indoor soccer is 10a-5p today, so need to grab some sustenance and dress appropriately. All y’all take care.
Good morning everyone.
Well, I survived the week and it’s finally the weekend. It’s currently around 40 degrees and cloudy. Light rain is supposed to move in later this afternoon and continue through tomorrow. We’re supposed to see a little snow on Monday, but no accumulation is expected.
Soon I will commence with operation clean up the kitchen, get a little fuel in me, and then I’ll head over to the park with the walking trail and get some steps in.
I don’t know what the rest of the day will hold, but it will probably consist of some kind of chores.
Adam had his cast removed a couple of days ago. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with his leg. My daughter sent a picture of him walking around with a bit of a lip and seemingly unsure of his steps. I’m sure it’ll be a bit better very soon if it isn’t already.
Your trip looks epic, Metal Mouse. And, I say that as a person who cannot fathom or understand the like for cruises; no offense to anyone here. The kayaking trips look fantastic! I am a little envious!
Nellie, I really hope you’re feeling better today. I also hope your doc visit produces some fix for your pain.
shoe, Nikki is adorable! She reminds me of SIL’s kitteh, Luna.
I hope that your daughter’s plague case is mild ace. Miss your humor on the book of faces.
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and trying to keep warm (it’s 23 freakin’ degrees outside). Once the little reddish dog wakes up from napping on my lap, I’ll do KP and play around in the studio.
Stay safe and healthy y’all!
No doubt for being sassy-britches! I think you need to sit in the Time-Out chair and re-evaluate your life choices.
Been busy after my shower. I’ve cleaned the critter fountain, made a cuke salad, sliced up some onions for supper, tidied the kitchen, started the ice maker, finished cleaning the basement fireplace and laid in some wood to start it up, brought in a bunch of firewood, bagged all the boat stuff in the basement, hauled FCD’s work stool out to the shop (it’s been sitting in a box in the foyer for months) and, um, I think I can take a breather. Daughter won’t be here with the kids for a few more hours.
Methinks it’s time to read a bit.
Furnace is out, thermostat is dark, and freezing weather is on the way. The emergency callout fee is $360. This should be fun.
I’ve read everything but I’m a bit distracted — terrified nervous about today’s show — so I’ll just issue a blanket “y’all impress me/crack me up/make me want to give you a hug.” 
I got to the jazz festival hotel at a little after 3pm yesterday, after dropping Bailey off at the doggy daycare/kennel. I checked in and unpacked, then got my “I’ve been vaccinated” wristband and picked up my “artist” badge (woo hoo!!) right as the first music of the weekend started. I wound up crashing shortly after 11pm. (There are midnight jam sessions every night of the festival: every year I get here on Friday, determined to make it to that night’s jam session, and every year I hit a wall at around 11pm. Heh.) Having to be masked all of the time is a little annoying, but mostly it is SO good to be back in person!
Today I was hoping to sleep in a little, but I woke at my usual 7:30-7:45am (“usual” when I haven’t set an alarm). Now it’s 9:30, and I still have so much time to kill! LOL!! My show isn’t until 1pm: there are nearly two hours before I even need to think about getting dressed/ready. So I’m hanging out in my hotel room in sweatpants and a t-shirt, surfing the web on my iPad and rambling at you guys while trying to not be quite so terrified nervous. I know I’ll calm down after I get dressed and go downstairs, but until then…eek!
My show is one of the first ticketed events of the day, and even though it means there won’t be many people around yet (= less chance of someone buying an impulse ticket because they’re already here) I’m kind of glad because it also means that after 2:30 I can just chill for the rest of the weekend. There is a lot of great music on tap, plus I’m looking forward to some jewelry shopping later today: there are always tons of great vendors at this festival, including one particular silver jewelry vendor I wind up buying something from every year. I did my festival merch shopping yesterday (a t-shirt, a mug, and a friend’s new CD). I’ll spend some time hanging out with friends in the hotel restaurant/bar after my show, but at some point I’ll change into jeans and a sweatshirt for the rest of the day/night. I plan to make it to tonight’s midnight jam session, and hopefully also tomorrow’s.
Please cross your fingers for me at 1pm ET… 
Just back from running errands. I was going to go to a few other places, but while passing by my house I got caught in a snow squall so bad I couldn’t see the road. At all. It dumped down about an inch in 10 minutes. I was very glad I coincidentally was right next to the house, so I just stopped in. The sun is out now, so maybe I’ll run out and finish what I started.
Short heave today. I did my Sunday cleaning today, since I’m going over to Canadian Dave’s to watch hockey tomorrow.
: crosses appropriate and inappropriate appendages. :
And hope the daughter’s COVID isn’t too bad. 
This is the correct answer!
I get that urge all the time. Have fun with soccer! Is this the first soccer of the season?
Oopsie break a leg!
Nona I hope your daughter’s COVID is brief and mild.
I’m trying to decide if I should have more coffee. Decisions, decisions.
Take care everyone!
Nikki is - as the kids these days say - very smol.
She’s also 13 1/2 years old. Elderly (and crabby) lil’ ol’ lady.
That is her M.O.
The 1st photo I have of her, back when she really was a kitten, is of her curled up in the exact center of a chair seat. She barely fit into the palm of my hand at the time, yet managed to take over an entire chair.
“Mine now.”
Little Miss In-The-Way, Always In My Way.
Pretty much, yup.
Drink LOTS of water today. Powerade/Gatorade also good choices. Let us know when you’ve upgraded to saltine crackers.
It’s turned into a 3-way power struggle, as Monkey is bigger, stronger, and younger/faster than Nikki but I’m, yanno, bigger than both.
Which is why I’m … sitting on the floor in front of my own chair. 
You have my sincere condolences.
Lemme know if you need mittens/hats/scarves; I’m f’ing tripping over the damn things.
It’s now … 1:04 p.m. ET so I assume you’re rocking & rolling. I bet you’re doing a fantastic job, too!
We went to breakfast down the beach. Best restaurant omelette I’ve had since Gorky’s a couple/few decades ago. The bill came to $42.04, and I gave the server my card. When she brought it back, she’d only rung up $2.04. I went up to the bar and told her, ‘I think you need to charge me more.’ A guy to my right said, ‘You can pay for mine. That’ll roll it up!’ The server said, ‘I’ll charge you double!’
Maybe she’ll remember next time we go there for dinner, and make the drinks extra-strong.
The furnace guy came. Seems that the last time I had to call out a furnace guy (different company), he neglected to properly secure the access door. When the access door is opened, it activates a kill switch. Since the door wasn’t properly reinstalled, vibration over time caused it to become just ajar enough to activate said switch, which cuts power to the furnace and the thermostat. So thanks to that moron, this was an unnecessary $435 overtime service call. But at least it’s not an $8,000 furnace replacement, right? RIGHT?
Right, sez the woman with a newly replaced $5,500 furnace.
Don’t be so sure it was unintentional. Last year I had a service call for my AC that was because a prior company’s tech had flipped the condensate pump switch to off and not switched it back to on, probably hoping he’d be called back later when things seemed broken. The next tech (different company) said that he’d seen that as a tactic to drum up business~that piece of information (and a switch flick to back on) cost me close to a hundred dollars. HACV equipment works better when the power to their pump is on.
Pffffft - sez the woman with a newly replaced $9600 HVAC system… But we do have a service contract with the company, and that has been worth it several times.
Daughter and FCD are done their little shop project. We’re all chilling till supper time - I’ll start cooking in about an hour. Roxy has been a trip - she’s on a Frozen kick and she’s declared that she’s a princess. She’s also playing school - she’s the teacher and her mama is the student. Ah, family time!!
The first guy did try to upsell me on a new circuit board, etc., but I’m wise to that bullshit (you can’t do preventive maintenance on circuit board failure). Perhaps he figured he could at least get another service call out of me, but that tactic immediately soured me on his company.