Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.
shades hopefully the year gets better for you.
Happy birthday to your cuz, shades!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN 'Tis 47 Amurrkin out and cloudy with a predicted high of 70 and N.O.S. for the day. No big items on today’s agenda. We shall sloth and be retired drains on society. Sup shall be sketties 'n meatballs, sallit, and cheesey garlic bread. The sauce part is easy cause there’s still some in da freezer. I shall, however, have to make meatballs. Woe is me.
Nettie hope all is well today and that you didn’t lose power overnight.
shades hope the year gets better for ya soonest.
Butters grrrr. I hate thieves as well.
And now this…
< AHEM > CLEARIN’ THROAT < AHEM .
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY DEEEAAARRR RRRRRREEEEEEDDDDDD!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Thursday Y’all!
My sister’s husband loves that show - he acts as if he thinks it’s a real mystery. At least he doesn’t go on and on about it like the BIL who lurves “professional wrestling” and wants to share the latest. < shudder >
FWIW, it is possible to come to almost like something, given time. FCD managed to switch from regular to Diet Coke, tho his current fave is Coke Zero Cherry. I was lucky - I did the switch from TAB 
to Diet Coke by way of Diet Rite (do they still make that??) and Diet Pepsi (which I used to like, but now I can’t stand it.) The biggest problem for me (such as it is) are restaurants - it’s either Coke or Pepsi products, so I avoid some for that reason, or I drink water.
In a bit of a GRRRRRRR mode for Daughter. Yesterday, her second-in-command submitted a resignation letter in which he detailed all of her failings, but said he’d stick around if she promised to get “extensive training.” No, he never raised any of the issues with her. He just decided the thing to do was throw her under the bus and wait for them to beg him to stay while she comes up to his standards.
Apart from the ego hurt, she was really pissed that he didn’t respect her enough to confront her when he didn’t like what she did. She’s had the job since August, so obviously she’s still learning how to be a headmistress. She also thinks he’s upset because she doesn’t do things exactly like her predecessor. And she told me if it wasn’t for the 3 classes he teaches, she’d tell him to go today.
Anyway, the two of them are meeting this afternoon with her predecessor (she’s still on the board as a community representative) so I’m bringing both kids here after school and she’ll join us for supper. I suggested she sit down and list what she has accomplished since getting the job, if only for herself, since this jerk claims she’s running the place into the ground. So, a little more drama in my family circle…
It was weird last night. Higgs has some kind of intermittent cough, and as I was in bed reading, it occasionally sounded like someone was talking in the house. That’s a tad creepy when you’re home alone. I need to call the vet as soon as they open - I forgot to call yesterday.
Anyway, I got a bag of sketty sauce out of the freezer - I’m going to make a pasta bake for supper. Maybe with green beans on the side - I’ll figure that out later. For now, I need caffeine.
Happy Thursday!! And Happy Red Day!!!
Good morning everyone.
It’s currently 50 degrees and with some light rain. The expected high is 54, and we have a 70% chance of rain for the day. Yesterday it was extremely windy in several areas throughout the state with wind gusts topping out at around 50 MPH. My area seems to have avoided the winds, but there are about 20,000 people without power right now with lots of downed trees.
Happy Birthday, red!
Butters, I am sorry you are dealing with all the bank card woes. I hate “fushing thieves” too.
FCM, sorry to read about your daughter’s work woes. I hope everyone can come to a happy medium.
I do not like Diet Pepsi, it tastes and feels oddly flat. I like Diet Coke because of its bite. However, I think the recipe has been somewhat changed because it seems sweeter now. At first, I thought it was just me, but my daughter and several others have commented on this too. I know it’s anecdotal, but it sure seems that way. The good news is that it helps me reduce my consumption of the said beverage, and I end up drinking more water. At most, I keep my consumption down to one or two cans a day. There are days when I probably drink more, but it’s rare.
Work was work and annoying, and that’s all I’ll say about that.
I heard back from the vet yesterday, and I’ll pick up more antibiotics for Polar today, along with a topical spray. I hope we can nip this in the bud. We also gave Polar another bath after I signed out of work yesterday. We let him soak for a bit so his back end would be easier to clean, and then we bathed him the best we could due to the usual husky drama. He was good for a while, but then he started to get a little antsy, and getting him out of the tub was even more dramatic. I have a giant soaking tub that we use to bathe him. Since he’s such an old man, he doesn’t jump in or out anymore, so we have to lift him into the tub and back out when we’re done. Watch a video of huskies receiving baths some time. They are very dramatic and act like they are being tortured.
The kids and grandkids are coming on Sunday to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. She asked me to make a particular pasta dish for dinner, and I’m happy to oblige. I’ll make a nice salad to go with it. I haven’t decided what kind of dessert we’ll have, and she said she’s good with just about anything.
Well, I need more coffee. I hope you all have good and uneventful days.
Morning, everyone. Back to the grind again…
My sister is painting her room a nice light grey. She’s been working on it for a few days, and she should be getting done today. She had to sleep in the living room last night (on the floor!), so she didn’t have the greatest sleep.
Morning all. 50F and no rain, so still not bad for a January. Nothing much on the agenda, might drive up to Tennessee and do some legal gambling and then stop at Buc-ee’s and see if their gas prices are reasonable, but outside my usual gym visit, not much else planned.
Seanette, hope the worst you have is a very soggy yard.
FCM, hope Daughter’s problem can be solved. If you’re a good boss you’ll still have people doubting your actions, hopefully it can be smoothed out.
Taters, I occasionally watch this Facebook channel, and yeah, Husky’s can be interesting customers. Girl With The Dogs Best wished for Polar.
Happy Birthday Red!!!
doggio, idiots driving in rainstorms are nearly as dangerous as idiots in snow and ice; and you get rain a lot more than snow down here.
Butters, sorry you’re having card woes. Need to check mine here as I made some purchases recently at places I don’t normally shop at.
JtC, the GG stories never fail to bring a grin to my face.
OK, onward into Thorsday. Everybody be safe and take care.
I’ve had a really rough coupla days, but I don’t know how much I feel like sharing right now.
Suffice to say, I’m gonna have “fun” dealing with the aftermath … but I’m safe, slept in my own bed last night (like roadkill! I was tahred) and have access to my cross-stitch addiction and - obviously - my phone again.
I’m sorry to be cryptic, I’m just still processing what happened, and there’s a lot of baked-in guilt/shame that I probably “shouldn’t” feel, but do.
(Upon re-read, I feel I should clarify: I was not raped.)
… when she’ll no doubt need to vent, and you’ll hear alllllll the gritty details.
This is an excellent suggestion. She should do this for herself, to get her confidence back up … and then bring the list to the meeting anyway! (She can always just keep it in her purse. But if the situation warrants it, she can whip that sucker out.)
A rather busy heave. ADP is already sending out W-2s. I should see if Brown has posted it yet, I should be getting back enough to buy a bar of candy.
“The best thing about huskies is that they are buy one, get one free…” 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RED
{{{{shoe}}}}
Afternoon, mumpers! It’s late afternoon here, been a busy irk day. Currently 11c/51f with a predicted high of 11annabitc/52f, and cloudy. Weather app says “This weather is sort of like the music from Stain’d. You might as well just fucking punch yourself in the face.” Not a Stain’d fan then!
Continuing on a slightly musical note, our esteemed Royal Mail has decided their new set of commemorative stamps will feature 12 images of Iron Maiden! I think only a few will be pics of the band, the majority look to be album covers but there’s no shortage of stuff to choose from, and the band members have been involved in the decision.
Mooom I agree that Daughter should make a list of all her achievements, not only what she’s done but how she achieved it. And not forgetting the fact that the she was offered the job based on her performance already. Is there possibly some sour grapes on his part if he applied for the headship and didn’t get it? If he’s been offered a similar position elsewhere, he might be trying to make out that he would have been a much better head than she is. He is, of course, completely wrong.
shoe no idea what’s going on with you, but I hope you are ok. Please come back and tell us whatever you feel you can share so we don’t worry so much about you.
Anyone have an update on @Sunny_Daze today? I hope she’s ok too.
GodBod sorry to hear going back to school wasn’t fun, it wasn’t fun for me either on the admin side!
Happy birthday, red!
Busy day today, annoying too as several colleagues have problems with ageing relatives falling over and injuring themselves. Aside from my staff needing to take time off to sit in A&E, or look after rellies at home, for at least one there will be an on-going trauma of moving elderly parents from a house to a bungalow/flat. I don’t begrudge any of them the time to look after family, but I know how hard it is mentally and physically keeping it all together.
I feel a Rockfit session coming on, I have some aggression to let out 
I bet FCM has a thing or three to say about that.
The goulash is gone. I’ve just had it for breakfast with an egg on top.
Next leftovers up: Escargots for lunch.
Oh, I did wanna share a nice New Year Day thing for me with y’all … a bit belated, but it was hard for me to type out.
Here’s the backstory: the last birthday gift my Other Shoe got for me - a couple of months before he died - was a Meyer lemon tree. He knew how much I’d wanted one, and - confined to a wheelchair and never leaving the house anymore - he still somehow conspired with his mother (the one who’s no longer speaking to me? Yeah, her.) to get me a potted Meyer lemon.
Which, after almost ten years (!) I still have. Moved from Texas with the damn thing - plus a cat, two snakes, and another emotionally important plant - up here to Michigan, which doesn’t exactly have the most citrus-friendly climate, but we persevere. It reliably blooms (if you’ve never smelled citrus blossoms, you’re missing an olfactory treat) and despite my benign neglect produces a fruit or two each year. (It’s quite a small bush.)
So I said all that to say this: on New Year’s Day, I was … well, I missed him, I missed kissing him at midnight even after all these years.
Got up, and passed my little wintertime plant huddle in my hallway … and lo and behold, my little lemon was blooming.
I lost it weeping right there. It was like he was saying “hello.”
Happy Thorsday!
Happy Birthday Red!
The sun is shining now, and it’s 58 degrees.
It’s supposed to rain all afternoon though.
Scattered morning.
I overslept again.
I thought I missed my son’s call. He texted me they would get out around 6, and also that he was feeling sick, so when I saw he hadn’t called, I wondered if he was okay.
Of course, once sense kicked in, I realized somebody would have called me if he was too sick to call.
He had to irk later than usual. He was so tired he was slurring his words when I got him.
We skipped the park, by the time I would have gotten there, everybody would have been leaving anyway. I had rushed out appropriately dressed for a ride in the car, but not warm enough to sit in the park.
Cerby is on strict rest for two weeks, so no park for him. I’m sure Ripple will be on strict rest too after his surgery.
My son could stay home with Cerby and I can try to take Ripple and Echo by myself. It’s hard to walk a dog while using a cane though. Ripple is pretty good and I can let him off leash. Echo pulls sometimes, and if she sees a cat or a squirrel, she is going to try to chase them. My park friends are willing to help with her, so I may be able to take those two.
I watch Girl with the Dogs too, and she is always talking about huskies.
I like huskies, but I don’t want one.
I hate thieves.
That could be a multi-page rant.
I hope it all gets straightened out Butters.
{{{Shoe}}}
I hope all is well with you today Nettie
Sorry for your daughter’s woes FCM
How old is he? The professional thing is to turn in your notice and be done with it.
If he stays, it will never be good between them. He’s burned the bridge, so he may as well just go.
Whatever happened to discretion?
Sounds like he’s bitter.
I need to get some stuff done before logging in to irk.
I have laundry doing laps in the washer. A friend is coming over around noon to exchange Christmas gifts. I just now realized that means I should offer her lunch, but I really don’t have anything on hand to make a decent lunch with and don’t want to walk to the store and back with so little time, so tea is going to have to suffice. Or I could do a rush Instacart order. Hmm…
{{{{shoe}}}} I’m so sorry you had a crappy, emotionally difficult Something happen. What a sweet story about the lemon tree!
FCM, I had something roughly similar happen to me once. I hope your daughter can treat this as an indication that this guy has “issues” he needs to address if he’s to be allowed to continue his employment there. He did not follow protocol, and he doubtless tried to infect others with his ire, both bad things for the school. Sometimes people develop a loyalty to one admin, and nobody else measures up. It’s like the “You’re not my REAL mom” stepchild attitude. At any rate, she should go on the offensive. The meeting should be about his issues, not her having to defend herself.
Nettie, hope you’re doing OK.
Taters, missed the wind down here, too. Which area got hit the hardest? I have a kid in Seattle and one in Spokane, and I’m wondering if either of them is without power.
We’ve been gone out of town for 2 days and didn’t take the 'puter, and I never try to even read the Dope on my phone, so I just read through 90 some posts. Whew. Don’t have time to reply much as we’re going in to The Dalles in a few for Wifey’s PT. Just want to say to Nettie, I have a wind up radio with a USB port on it so’s I can supposedly charge my phone from it. I’ve never tried it out though. You didn’t say if you had that but it might be a good thing.
Otherwise, yay, boos, noogies, etc. I’ll be back sometime.
Go me, perfect timing. Took out some trash, plus leftover (unsauced) pasta to toss to the critters along with their corn. Walked in, heard a noise behind me … rain pouring by the bucketful, when it had been dry - if drippy from the trees - just moments earlier.
If I’d procrastinated by even a minute, I’d have been soaked.
I feel like there might be a life lesson in there, somewhere …
My gods, let’s get this fool kid a driver’s license already! Would be far safer & more practical for you to stay home, and him to take the two out.
You’re walking two dogs while using a cane, if my math isn’t off.
(Which it often is.)
If I were your friend, I’d 1a.) not really expect a full meal - it’s a gift exchange, so that’s what we’re doing! - and 2b.) would be horrified and embarrassed to learn my friend went to that much trouble, expense, and inconvenience just to feed me.
I’d be thrilled for tea and a light snack of whatever you have on hand!
(Disclaimer: I am not this particular individual, who may have different opinions regarding hospitality and yadda yadda fine print boilerplate.)
Happy Birthday Red!
(((shoe)))
Cinderblocks sound like a great idea. You can put a potted plant on them when not using them for cooking! I’ve seen little metal folding camp stove stands, we never felt the need to buy one so I can’t say how well they work.
How is the weather? I’ve noticed that I’m posting before you, which is a bit worrisome.
My BFF painted her living room light grey and the doors a muted green. It looks very classy. I hope you sister likes her room.
Thanks. TBH, we had no idea GG was going to be so entertaining. Hubs and I laugh a lot over him.
Today was my first day of work this year. Morning was early, today!
My coworker’s mother has been in and out of the hospital since December 20th, and is currently in a nursing home for dementia patients. Which she is not. And “they” are telling her it might be 1-2 YEARS before she can get a suitable room. She’s already over 90, and spending 1-2 months in her current place will certainly shorten her lifespan. Getting old ain’t for sissies.
Good news is we finally got our new light installed in the bedroom. Bad news is that stain, that we thought we got cleaned, is still there. It’s just that the old light was that bad. We’ve been talking about getting different flooring, so this might be the push.
{{{shoe}}} I’ve got tears in my eyes just reading about your blooming lemon. 
Happy Bday Red! 
Sorry, Butters, hope you get your cards sorted. Thought I my credit card got hacked - there was a rental car with the original charge in Pounds, and I haven’t been in the UK for some years. Looked it up, and it seems that the rental company never charged me for the rental in September, even though they charged me for the fuel. So it was legit.
Time to do something for dinner. Stay safe!