Well, it's .. sorry, what year is it? MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Well, today’s been OK weather-wise (even saw a little bit of blue in the sky, but we’ve got another storm moving in for the weekend. There are two days in the next week with a less than 50% chance of rain and both are 25% or above. Monday’s supposed to be super-windy, too. Ugh. Rain+wind+already soggy soil=more trees coming down=further chance of power outages.

Did get in some more battery-operated LED camping lights (for devices that size, that run on 3 AA batteries, great light output) and that coffee filtration device for ungunking water if necessary.

It’s been pretty much a sloth day. I’m tired and maybe not completely well. The cats are a bit squabblier than usual.

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And a good late Afternoon all. Swimming has been swum and whirlpool and sauna visited, so I am a little tired but at least in somewhat better shape. My new camera came today, will now have to take several hours to figure it out (I’m more of a point-and-shoot guy, but even the simplest cameras these days have multiple settings).

Seanette, sounds like all the prayers for rain out there got answered at the same time. Sounds like you’re ready for anything not requiring an Ark…

Oopsie, enjoy softball, it’s been at least 35 years since I last played it.

JtC, laughed at the cat being drenched; wonder if the cat’s owner wondered what he got into to get so wet…

In fairness, I don’t think shoe was in jail per se, it was a holding area for people to wait to see the judge for preliminary hearings. That she had…less than adequate quarters…is a sad but true commentary on US justice these days…(IMHO–YMMV).

Cookie, hope the backs keep doing better.

Only if you don’t get caught in the rain…

OK, need to fix some dinner and be about the evening. All y’all take care.

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Wonder if Home Depot makes ark kits? I do still need to get another pet carrier or two, since even if our existing one was big enough for both cats, there’s no way they’d accept that arrangement (in a crunch, Misty could be transported in a paper bag with air holes. That’s how she came home from the bird shop).

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That grandson of mine… while I was watching the kids at their house, he brought me a pair of boots - too big for him, but I still put them on him. Then he brought me his dinosaur hat (it’s got eyes and a row of spikes!! In felt!) and when I put that on him, he took my hand and led me to the front door! Cracked me up!! But no, we didn’t go out - it’s too chilly. Then a little later, he opened the pantry, climbed up on the bin of cat food, and grabbed himself a fruit cup. The kid knows what he wants.

I’d forgotten my phone when I went to get Roxy, but SIL got off work early and he gave me his phone to call FCD. We all ended up going out to dinner at Cracker Barrel. I just got back and fed Higgs - poor puppy musta thought we’d abandoned her!

Tomorrow morning, I’ll do some housecleaning and tidying. FCD wants me to come to the apartment for a few hours in the evening and monitor FIL so MIL and my poor exhausted sweetie can get some sleep. That is assuming FIL survives the night - FCD doesn’t think he’ll live thru the weekend. Last time I saw him, he was almost skeletal, and he’s lost weight since then. At least MIL has relented about giving him meds - I think the hospice folks set her straight.

We got the bill for next year’s marina rent - it went up… a LOT! So the raises we got in SS and my pension got et up and then some. On the plus side, I bought my winning MegaMillions tickets, so after tonight. we’ll be loaded. Because it’s my turn. Dammit.

For this evening, tho, I’m gonna read till I can’t keep my eyes open, then I’ll crawl into a pre-warmed bed and hope for an uninterrupted night of sleep.

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I didn’t think about the morphine, I just assumed that the hospice folks were injecting FIL. You are very right.

If I’m gonna feed the birdies it wouldn’t be fair to turn them into kitty bait. I know the neighbor’s cat gets fed well, he’s just hunting because he’s a cat and that’s what cats do. I can’t hook up my anti-cat sprinkler thing until it stops freezing at night. Well, I can, but I would have to take it in at night and I can’t even reliably remember to bring the hummer feeder in lately. Ummmm, brb.

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Lager had a fun day at the vet. They glued a free style libre to him. We are hoping it holds on for a few days. Dogs are a bit more tolerant of them. So far he is leaving it alone.

He is hugging his food dish and giving me the cold tail unless I go near the food dish.

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Had Ranch Water for cocktaisl. I made baked Rainbow Trout with wild rice blend, and sauteed green beans with mushrooms and garlic.

Sure!
< grabs limes and blender >

:notes: "Hey Georgio! Peanut butter box isn’t here! Peanut butter box isn’t here! :notes:

Gluing things to cats sound like a surefire way to need a transfusion.

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This is why I wondered if they still had them. Goats eat everything (one and sheep step on feet while going for the cotton candy. Plus, they pee and poop on the ground for children to walk on and fall into/over.

You have been super stressed and cats pick up on that sort of thing. You deserve some rest, you did a whole bunch in a very little bit of time. Not to mention that next weather crisis you won’t be stressing because you already have everything ready.

Yard sales often have pet carriers for a very reasonable price, we have never paid full price for one. Maybe ask on Nextdoor? I have a spare that I would give to someone who needed one, I’m sure there are folks around you who would be willing to help out. I’d offer to send it to you, but shipping would be more than it would be worth.

Well, it’s still poopy. People lose jobs over that sort of administrative bullshit annnnnd now I’m going to go all political…

Kittie’s owner knows that I get her cat wet whenever possible. She encourages it, she wants him to stay inside or at home but she hasn’t yet realized that she is the one who controls the door.

I think O’Malley is going to start staying inside more because we think they have quite smoking tobacco for the New Year, so aren’t opening the door so often. We used to see them both outside smoking all the time. I haven’t seen anyone out on their front porch since the first and I mentioned it to hubs two days ago and he has also been stalking them.

We really hope that I am right. Their cars are still moving at the appropriate time and the boy gets picked up at the bus stop so I know they aren’t sick. I feel like knocking on their door and giving them an ex-smoker inspirational talk but that might be just a little intrusive.

You never know, Mom bought a bomb shelter kit at Sears.

Poor confused pup. Why you being so mean to him?

I hope the glue holds long enough to get some good info.

249

Mrs. L.A. had Schnitzel Champignon, and I had Wiener Schnitzel. We started with Caesar salad (very good), and we each had a Vesper and a glass of red blend wine. She paid $120 and change with a $20 tip. We stopped at the supermarket on the way home so that Mrs. L.A. could get some tiramisu. Good dinner. She’s having some white wine, and I’m having a little Trader Joe’s Tennessee Whiskey.

The Schnitzel was pork instead of veal, but just try finding veal nowadays.

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Checked the for sale area on Nextdoor, along with FB’s Marketplace, didn’t think anything I saw would suit them. Considered a Petsmart run, but I’m tired enough and my digestive tract is unhappy enough that I decided against it. Found something suitable on Amazon, bought 2 since I do need containment that’ll keep the three pets isolated from each other. If we’re in a situation where we’re loading everyone into the car, I don’t want to add stress by having cats fighting or snacking on the bird (or both). Misty can use the carrier we currently have. All three are soft-side, so can be compacted for storage. Allie does like to hang out in/on a carrier under the end table, so we’ll probably keep one under there to indulge her.

I’m noticing recently she’s starting to feel a bit like a frail old lady when I pet her. :frowning:

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Lager always hangs by his food dish and gives me the cold tail. He has an automatic feeder that gives him 4 meals 6 hours apart. It has saved sanity and breakables. He is very food obsessed.

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I’m kinda thinking soft-side carriers are not the best idea. If you are packing your car, you want stiff walls so you can maybe stack things or even other carriers on top of them. Plus, if an accident happens, a well padded hard carrier protects the pet better.

I could be very wrong about this, all of our evacuations were wild fire related and we had to pack like we might never see our home again. Flooding is a whole different thing.

:frowning:

I hate that old cat feeling. I love old cats, they are the best, but being able to tell with my hands that I will be losing one is aweful.

Poor lil guy. He’s lucky he has you to love him. Our VBC has food issues too and it isn’t fun for any of us.

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My new Uggs got here and I just opened them. I am very disappointed, I think they were made from a very unhappy sheep. The leather was really thin compared to my old ones and I think they won’t last one single winter.

I sent them back and ordered another pair. If they are also not good, I will send those back and buy a pair of their knockoffs. It will suck to go back to buying a new pair every couple of years, but what are you going to do?

I made up for the disappointment by ordering a box of Girl Scout cookies from someone on Nextdoor. The price is now 6 bucks a box, I feel so sorry for the poor little kiddies peddling them outside stores. They won’t have enough ones for change and people can be so mean sometimes.

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Girl Scouts stopped carrying my favorite cookie a couple years ago so now I’m not buying. They got good business from me, too.

(I’m also trying to make some major healthy changes in my life, including choosing to eat better. Right now, that means no cookies as my metabolism (hopefully) resets. But in 3 weeks I’ve dropped 3 pants sizes so I must be doing something right.)

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Got off work at what feels like a ridiculously early time for a Friday night - dang I was home before 11 ferchrissakes.

Used the extra time to call my parents, though I did NOT inform them of my recent, uh, difficulties. We chatted for a long while, though, which seemed to make them both happy.

Now to figure out dinner, since I’m home early. It’s not even 12:30! My mom was scandalized - “Dinner at THIS hour!”

Ooh, and I have options!

Man, every news article about the insane-o-pants prices of eggs these days makes me want scrambled eggs, or maybe a soft-boiled egg or two.

Used to be the cheap-o poor folk protein; now having an egg feels like an extravagance. But I do have a few left in the fridge.

I also have sausage, and potatoes/onions/garlic; could make a hash.
Hmmm, there’s a couple frozen little tuna steaks, too, though I don’t know what I’d have with.

Could have a bowl of cereal. Don’t laugh - I rarely have fresh milk, so eating cereal on a whim is a luxury.

Aw, like JtC said, that’s a shitty feeling. In my experience, though, while it’s - let’s be realistic - the beginning of the end, cats usually spend quite a long time, often years, with that skinny frame and sorta moth-eaten scraggly fur and “grumpy old man/crabby old lady” attitude … while also soaking up sunshine & treats & scritches.

So, you know what you must do, human slave. Make with the treats! And the scritches!

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Oh, she is very thoroughly spoiled, except for our insisting on keeping Buddy around as well. :slight_smile:

Her fur’s still thick and soft (slightly oily, but I have cat cleaning wipes), her appetite’s fine, I don’t think she’s lost significant weight (just feels a little different to pet), she’s moving and jumping as well as ever. She’s 12 now (we met her just after Thanksgiving 2011, she was 14 months at that time). I’ve had more than one cat in my family make it to 18-19, including her predecessor Felix.

She’s definitely working on the “crabby old lady” attitude, at least with Buddy. She’s pretty much her usual self with the humans. Maybe I’m just over-anxious here. That is a thing for me under “normal” conditions, and worrying about storms and being braced for things like power outages and having most of my area under flood watches for most of the last week and most of next week doesn’t help.

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Our grumpy old man still has kinda plushy fur, but it isn’t as plush as it was before. I think we are going to get a couple more years out of him.

We love. We worry. Our pets love us and worry when we are worried. The best thing you can do now is take a nice hot shower/bath and then cuddle up with cats and book and hot chocolate so everyone can do a little destressing.

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Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.

Bonus points if you use a KFC bag. :wink:
But {{{{hugs}}} for you and Allie.

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I guess we’re lucky - we free-feed and the only issue is keeping the kibble dispenser out of the reach of the dog. Our cats nosh throughout the day and night and the only time they nag at me is for their treats first thing in the morning and just before I go to bed.

Taz is definitely in old man decline. Our best guess is he’s about 16, and he’s looking particularly bony - beyond lean. I just hope he goes quietly in his sleep. The trip to the vet is just too hard on us.

He’s not getting injections - his meds are liquid given orally via syringe, and FCD is administering them. He and the hospice nurse are making the decisions about how much and how often and he’s not telling his mom. She’s just a mess emotionally, mentally, and physically. He’s starting to worry about her health.

I actually slept pretty well, and I needed it. Between the kids, FCD being gone, and the death watch, it’s been rough. It was weird last night texting with my sweetie, but I understand why he didn’t want to make a phone call. And I got to thinking about all the conspiracy-minded nut-jobs who think NSA monitors all of our phone calls and texts. Some of the stuff we were “discussing” (like botox and the magical jellyfish ingredient in Prevagen) was downright inane - had “they” been eavesdropping, we’d both be in padded cells by now!

Anyway, he’s coming over this morning - a preacher and his wife are coming to see MIL and FCD doesn’t want to be there for that. When he gets here, we’ll figure out what he wants me to do. I am going to make dinner for them at a minimum.

But first, I need to finish picking up assorted toys that Tornado Tobias spread around the living room and dining room. I need to vacuum and at least pretend to dust. Both terlits need a bit of a scrub. And the basement definitely needs some rollsuck. Is it any wonder I’m dragging out caffeination?

And I suddenly remembered that I need to do our taxes. Since we don’t have to wait on W-2s, I think I can get started right away. Just gotta go to several sites and download end-of-year statements. Here’s hoping my estimated withholdings were sufficient that we pretty much break even. Unless my numbers hit last night, in which case, who cares?!?!?!

:rofl:

Happy Saturday!

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No one won last night, and the next drawing is estimated to be over a billion.

I did hit the megaball though. I think that gets me a couple bucks.