I went to the book sale. I wasn’t too bad - for ten bucks I got: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King (I’ve read it but didn’t have it on the bookshelf), Exile’s Gate by C. J. Cherryh, White Oleander by Janet Fitch, and biographies of W. C. Fields, Mary, Queen of Scots, the Duchess of Windsor and Katherine Hepburn. Five hardback and two paperback. My “to be read” bookshelf is groaning.
Mr. SCL is making BBQ ribs for dinner. I love BBQ ribs.
Hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!
It’s been a lazy day so far. Except for when I was doing up the breakfast dishes, and cleaning out the leftovers out of the fridge. Stupid drain decided to stop up. I hate it when that happens. So I take to plunging, and get hubby to help (since it’s a double sink) and we find out that the AC overflow drain (on the same line) is pushing out nasty greasy stinky water all over the floor of the AC closet. Ick.
We got it cleaned up, though, and cleaned out.
It’s a beautiful day here in Houston. We got an “August cold front” beacuse of Ernesto (and John) I suppose, and the humidity is down and the temps are in the low 90’s. Heaven!
It was so much fun seein’ my sis, niece and BIL! We said goodbye with much hugging and carrying on a bit ago. We went out to eat and they were going back to their room. They plan on leaving as soon as it’s daylight tomorrow to drive back. Sis and BIL are then driving up to Etlanner (in the car my sister says cause the idea of a motorcycle in Etlanner traffic is just too :eek: ) to see a friend in the hospital who’s there because of a motorcycle accident. :eek: Oh and I talked to mom earlier. She has just been beside herself cause they were all out on motorcycles. Sis called her when they got here and said mom didn’t say a word to her about this trip except to be careful and have a good time, the ususal stuff. To me she went on and on and on about how worried she is that my niece was riding on the back of a motorcycle and that my sis didn’t have enough experience to drive that far and how she has just been a nervous wreck all day and just won’t sleep a wink until she sees them coming down the driveway on those motorcycles and she just wished my BIL had never bought his motorcycle much less one for my sister and they have a friend in the hospital in Etlanner because of a motorcycle and she just knows they’re gonna get killed and and and and… So, of course I just could not wait to tell sis all about it. Much hilarity ensued upon my telling.
Aonother busy Saturday. I started out taking a nother load of [del]crap[/del] treasures down to the Methodists for the church yard sale at 0600.
The Mayberry Barber Shop was open at 0630, so I got my ears lowered. Alas, the barber wasn’t named Floyd.
VWife and I then went out to brekkie like was always do on Saturday, and then we went back the the Methodist yard sale and bought different crap than what we gave them. Took her home, and I went to see the Fire Chief. I now have my turnout, operating number and pager, so I are a faaahhhhrman now.
Picked up twigs and apples in the yard, fed the dog, ate lunch, and took a nap, where I dreamed I was running through the airport because I was going to miss my flight to India :dubious:
When I got up I mowed my grass, and it was a real joy, seriously. Until Ernesto blew through, it was a real dustfest because we’ve been so dry. My grass grew 2 inches since Wednesday, and no dust. It was great. I also have quite the population of tree frogs for some reason, and I kept finding them all over the place. I even have a picture I took of one on the window as the storm wound down yesterday.
I finished the work of the day by spraying weeds.
Tomorrow is crawlspace day. I have a plumbing project and 2 small wiring tasks to do. Maybe Monday I can play in the fire again…
Glad our pronouns are restored. Spent the day with niece, nephew and bro in varying combinations. We watched Harry Potter 4 and later part of HP 3 (I’m watching the end right now). We also played tennis. I am not good at tennis. Used to be fair, but I’m way out of practice. Gotta work at it, I guess.
I’m pretty tired because, even though the kids stayed up late, they didn’t sleep in. Nephew crawled into my bed before 8:00.
We’re meeting up again tomorrow to go to a volleyball tournament. Then it’ll be time to get ready for Faraway Best Friend and her family. At least it seems like I’ll have enough time to get the rest of my work done and to have the house ready for FBF and family.
I have bought no books this weekend. But that’s only because I haven’t been in a bookstore.
Well…naptime, then work time, then clean-up time, then grocery shopping time, then… dunno.
I don’t blame your sister for not wanting to be on a motorcycle in Etlanner traffic, Swampy. I don’t even like to be in a car in Etlanner traffic. At least around here when traffic is heavy, it has the decency to slow down. In Etlanner they just speed up. My idea of hell on earth, 85 mp bumper to bumper in Etlanner. :eek:
I am sitting here in my favorite local, snooty coffee house trying a delicious latte that includes several different forms of chocolate syrup. Very tasty. But on the downside I just discovered that I have lost my .2 mm micron pen. This is a problem because I have incredibly tiny handwriting and I need my incredibly fine tipped pens to be able to write anything legibly. Even so the night is looking up as the cute barrista gave me a free cup of ice cream mocha. So I still come out ahead.
Reading about everyone else’s weekend chores keeps reminding me of all of the things I really need to do around the apartment, cleaning, dusting, organizing. Maybe I’ll actually get around to that next weekend.
I have good news! I start driver’s ed next Saturday. I also received the results of my first civil service exam a week before I expected them. I scored in the 84th percentile on the behavior assessment and in the 95th on the office skills test. And I had chocolate pie.
Wow, Tel, your exam results told you that you had chocolate pie??
Congrats on the scores - here’s hoping it’s the start of something good for you.
I managed to sleep in till almost 7, despite interference by a certain feline. But the dog has now been walked, the critters have been fed, and my sweetie is still crashed and snuggled under the covers.
I couldn’t build the french toast casserole last night because I only had one small can of peaches - drat - so we’re having regular french toast for breakfast. Then back to the boat for a day of playing with wiring. Tomorrow is a non-boat day for me - I’ll be packing my pots for the show, prepping some clay for demonstrations, and trying to avoid the last-second panic of “…did I remember this, did I remember that…” We’ll see how that goes.
Oh yeah, and I’m less than pleased with the Petco groomer. Not only did Bernie come home wet, but they didn’t bother to brush her out. Every time you touch her, you get a handful of hair. The main reason I take her to a groomer is because I don’t have the means to dry her, and I don’t have a good enough brush or the patience to brush her out. I am not happy. I shall be writing a letter expressing my displeasure. Like that’ll make a difference… <sigh>
So, I didn’t get much done yesterday (although I did watch 3 more episodes of MI-5 or was it 4?). And I have to be out of here by 8:30 at the latest, which gives me an hour to get some stuff done.
Tel, glad to hear about the test and the driver’s ed. Saw your “only came home because I had no choice” post. Hang in there and keep venting. Hopefully the tests and driving will pay off soon so that you can enlarge your personal space a bit.
That’s great, Tel. I’m quite sure you will very soon have a marvellous job and be in a position to support all of us in luxury. I prefer diamonds and opals. In the meantime, my sympathy regarding your having to live at home.
Last night I was cruelly forced to watch several episodes of Sealab while eating pizza. The pizza wasn’t cruel. It was interspersed with Mr. lissar and Driving Husband sucking really badly at Mortal Kombat. On the plus side, I found out that Driving Husband is planning on engagement ring shopping this week, and I am going with him.
The difficulty is that Quasi-Daughter is no good with decisions. I suggested the Two-Proposal System, whereby he proposes, she freaks out about all the possible ramifications, (“Do I want to get married? What if I want to go live in Africa? Who will take care of the penguins if I don’t move? What if we end up broke in a ditch?”) for a month, and then proposes again, after she’s calmed down.
Driving Husband says he’s proposing because dating sucks, they’ve been doing it for so long. So romantic.
We’ll see. There may be hysterics when Quasi-Daughter gets back from New Brunswick.
<dizzy at the quasi-incestous circles of Lisslar’s family circle>
So, DH is marrying your QD? Can he support her in the manner to which she has become accustomed? I would find out, pronto…
I did NOT get up at 0500 today, thank goodness. I slept the sleep of the righteous, having completed my paper in a timely fashion( I will spare all of you the drama of the search for the correct type of article on which to write said paper–that part took LONGER than the writing, but I digress).
Gawgus day here in the Midwest. Gonna go garden a bit, head to Target to buy Bday gifts for kids’ friends’ parties, and maybe pick up #1 son from a sleepover. I offered the mom cash money to keep him, but was declined. Dammit.
Daughter has made a start in the New Order of Things here, and I praised her quasi-highly (she neglected to address the corner pile of “clean clothes” I spotted in her room). Just call me Drill Sargent Rigby.
Guess where I am again on a Sunday morning? Yup, at work.
Lori, Dispatcher Extraordinaire, and myself are helping our contractor fix some of their issues to get back on their feet for Tuesday morning. Yes, 99% of the screw-ups they encountered were problems only they can fix, but we need to help anyway.
And, they’re bringing in more buses so that we can split up some packages (a “package” being, for example: Bus does HS #1, then JRHigh # 3, then an elementary school) so that some of the buses doing 3 routes are only doing two, and we’re taking some of the new packages created through this and putting them on my buses with my drivers, who KNOW what the hell they’re doing.
Their manager is coming by in about an hour or 2 to get paper copies of all the fixes, changes and directions we fixed for them, then all we have to do is make some phone calls and get our people who will be driving these new routes, in either today or tomorrow to do test runs so they now where they’re going on Tuesday.
Exciting stuff, eh?
:rolleyes:
Later today, we have the second party of the weekend right here on our own block.
Tomorrow I do some yard work and rest. Wednesday my mom arrives to spend a week with us. Life just gets better huh?
You know, Rigs, there are many things Young Tiger learned when he went into the Air Force three years ago. He learned to stand up straight, speak up, be extremely courteous to everyone, especially little old ladies, especially little old ladies who happen to be his grandmother, work hard, run a half-marathon, get up early, and on and on. But the thing that his drill sergeants – or, as they call them in the Air Force, training instructors – did that was a thing of beauty and a true miracle to behold? They taught him to keep his room clean. Yes, in only eight short weeks (an extra two because he got sick in the middle), they succeded in doing what I had not managed to do in 19 years. I wanted to kiss the TIs, but they’re shy and skittish around parents; also, they probably don’t want to be slobbered over by everyone. Because I know I was not the only mother wanting to kiss their feet. Repeatedly.
I was awakened early this morning by Isaac, who in his subtle way (clicking his toenails on the floor outside our bedroom door as he paced) informed me that he really needed to go outside and do his business NOW, Mom! But he was a good boy – went out, did what he needed to, and came straight back in so I could go back to bed and snuggle with the cat some more. So now I’m still trying to wake up. I like days like this.
Lissa, I guess I’m late to the party – someday I would love to hear how you acquired so many Husbands. And Daughters, Quasi or otherwise. And what they all think of each other. I have enough trouble coping with one Husband!
**MatronlyFeline ** --#1 son is most likely OK. I am truly pissed at him for probably the first time in his life. He quit soccer and I find I am STILL PISSED about it.
Fencing (his alternative-he was made to choose something else) doesn’t start until winter.
Anyhoo, while I laud the TIs for [del]housebreaking[/del] youngsters, I feel that the only military that my son would do well in would be the Stripes type…
I do wish I had more drill seargent in me, though. I think it’ll take this time-or I’ll die trying!
I DO know that when I face a pissed off daughter in law–I will be able to honestly say: I tried. Honey, I tried.
Off to Target now–hopefully no increase in the cover charge!
Hey, who you callin’ matronly? (Actually, I like that – I’ve really become an MMPer when I get a goofy nickname, huh?)
I really didn’t see Young Tiger doing the military, either. But that’s the beauty of the Air Force: After those few weeks of basic training, for computer geeks like him it’s basically just going to work in a uniform while not getting paid squat in salary but getting decent bennies. (How many other 19-year-old college flunkouts do you know who get 30 days paid leave in their first real job from day one?) Plus he’s gotten focused and is going back to school while still on active duty – tuition assistance is a thing of beauty – and when he gets out plans to finish school with his GI Bill benefits. He may have enough schooling by the time he gets out to be able to make grad school out of his GI Bill, too. And I bet this time he doesn’t flunk out, either.
We had a lovely time yesterday visiting with our friends in their new home. It’s a nice little community with a couple of lakes, tennis courts, horse shoe pits, basketball courts, and more.
It was a bit of a drive, but it was still very nice. We didn’t get home until nearly midnight.
Today’s plans call for putzing around the house and doing some regular grocery shopping for things like meat and milk and stuff. Other than that, I plan to stay fairly close to home because I’s TAHRED.
I imagine, that I will shortly have to do this as well. I’m having problems getting motivated. The coffee didn’t help today, dammit.
I need to clean my house and I need to buy food. My family insists on being able to eat. I dunno why…
Hubby has already managed to get himself cleaned up and ready to go.
I also have to fix our STOOPIT printer. It is not accepting print commands from the 'puter. I futzed with it for about 5 minutes yesterday, but we had to leave to go to our friend’s house.
I need to get it fixed, because the daughter needs to print up her essays. Additionally, the computer that the printer is hooked up to is the only one with MS Word on it, so she needs to be able to finish editing and then print them up over there.
I couldn’t even power off the printer yesterday. I figured if I could turn it off, that would maybe reset it. I don’t know what the hell happened. It was working just fine a couple of weeks ago, and to my knowledge, nothing has changed. I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon enough. Ummm, I hope I’ll figure it out soon enough.
Posting from the Medical Center Marriott in Houston here…got a little break from the…ahem…activities (none of which is suitable for a familly-friendly thread) and thought I’d check up on the MMP. It is NICE here…80s/90s and clear as a bell. We just missed Ernesto on the fly-down, and by the time we get back tomorrow night, all the rain will be done, too. Yay!
We’re having a lot of fun, meeting a lot of new folks, and eating some really good food. I’ve discovered Chipotle (the burrito place, not the pepper), and I’ve had that for lunch for three days running (I want to buy about fifty pounds of their barbacoa and freeze it to bring out once a week at home). We had a wonderful gen-u-wine Tex-Mex buffet last night for dinner, with key lime pie for dessert. We have a seafood buffet set for tonight, so I’m hoping I’ll find something I’ll like (I’m not a huge fan of seafood).
We fly back tomorrow to BWI via Detroit (DETROIT! WTF?!), and should be getting back home around 9 PM-ish.
Much hilarity ensued upon my telling.