Whaddya mean, it's December in the MMP?!?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Well, in a coupla days, anyway. Thus unleashes the onslaught of Christmas music - ugh, a couple of my current coworkers and one of my managers are SOOPER into Christmas, so I fear the awaiting auditory plagues - but at least there’s pretty, colorful, twinkling lights everywhere!

… or the single, sad string of half-burned-out lights draped haphazardly across a random landscape feature. That’s, uh, festive too!

Quick reminder to the other Mumpers who do not own their own home that rent is due soon, and then … bring on the holiday shopping frenzy! Wheeeee!

2

Good morning everyone. As shoe has said, I dread the onslaught of Christmas music everywhere, and sympathize with any employees forced to endure it.

It’s 36F here, on the way to 70 today. Arrived home from Thanksgiving with daughter, stuffed and happy. It was a pretty relaxing trip, as we spent half of each day in her home and returned to the RV each evening so everyone could have down time. [Obi-Wan voice]“Best way to visit… this is.”[/OWV]. My dad’s spending his first year by himself (lost Mom last year), so I’m headed eastward today to spend a late thanksgiving with him. I’m considering applying for a truck driver job, since it would be less driving than retirement. :roll_eyes:

Will resume Christmas shopping upon returning later this week. Hope everyone has a good week!

3

Back in the olden days, I loved, loved, loved Christmas music. In high school, I was always in chorus, so we started learning/practicing for the Christmas concert early in October. When our family would drive places, we’d sing carols as we rolled along.

I don’t know when it all changed, but I’d be perfectly happy with said music for the 2 weeks before Christmas, but no longer. When I’m Empress of the Planet, that will be The Rule! Meanwhile, when in the car, I play the local classical public radio station. I will avoid in-store shopping as much as I can (on-line shopping is the best invention evah!!) I will try to minimize my personal bah-humbuggery and think happy thoughts. We’ll see how that goes.

Terrible, terrible night last night. I think the biggest problem was that we went to Salsa’s for a late lunch and I had Diet Coke. The caffeine is the only reason I can imagine as to why I was still awake at 1 of the AM. I might have gotten 4 hours of sleep, maybe. But once it passes 5, I’m up. So I’m up.

SIL said the check engine light came on the in the truck - we’ll be dropping it off at the shop today. Dammit. If it’s from mice eating wires, I will be beyond pissed! Once it’s at the shop, I have a load of babby and maternity clothes to drop off at the thrift store - they don’t open till 10. And since Food Lion is less than a mile from there, I’ll run in and get the rye bread I promised FCD 3 days ago.

We’re promised sun and mid-50s today, but I have no outdoor chores planned. Apart from the couple of errands, I have no agenda for the day. We’ll just wing it. I may even get motivated and dig out the little tree and decorations. Or not. Who knows…

Happy Moanday!

4

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN I was a slugabed until just after seven a.m. Imagine! :sleeping_bed: ‘Tis 48 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 71 and N.O.S. for the day. Not much doin’ today. OYKW has a routine doc visit at nine this mornin’ and then will make his way to :astonished: Wally Jr. :astonished: to pickup a few needed items. I have no plans to leave da cave and that is, of course, fine by me. I shall indulge in sloth and general overall uselessness instead. Sup shall be salmon patties, peas, smashed N.O.T., and bizkits due to a gnawin’ and a cravin’.

shoe enjoy your days off. Yay on the homemade skettie sauce! Hope you made you some sketties and enjoyed slurpin’ it all down. We own da cave, so no payments need to be made but taxes are due this month, so there’s that.

Yanker glad you had a good time with the various relatives. Enjoy the time with your dad today.

MOOOOOOM from the last MMP, cute finger puppet thingys! I bet they will sell. Hope there’s no big woe with the check engine light.

I loathe most Christmas music. I pretty much (well, both of us) try to ignore any and all Christmas related stuff except for the church aspect. I do love the Christmas Eve service. I try to stay out of stores as much as possible this time of year.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.

Happy Moanday Y’all!

5

Happy Moanday, everyone! It’s 8c/47f with no predicted change, and mostly cloudy. Weather app says “Mostly fucking cloudy? More like mostly bullshit”. It’s sunny and we might take ourselves out for a walk today.

Not much else going on, Ophelia has been out of bed and eating although the incontinence continues so we need to take that up with the vet. Still, good to know she is ok.

6

There’s some ad on TV that is using Feliz Navidad, the worst earworm in the history of such things. Feliciano should have been strangled at birth. My wife loves xmas music and the whole holiday scene, so it will be a month of it for us. We used to have to take our tree down by the second weekend in January because the Boy Scouts came around to pick them up. With a fake tree, I’m afraid I may be looking at it until March.

Costco run today; hopefully it won’t be a mob scene, but we’re supposed to get snowed on tomorrow, so I’ll take my chances. It was 50F on Saturday, but we’re headed back into the teens this week.

Dunno what our December schedule will be, as we have no Christmas routine as yet, this being our first in Big Minnie. My kids are not the proactive sort, so if we don’t initiate something, we’ll likely be sitting here by ourselves.

7

We don’t buy a tree, but we do have little tabletop mini-trees that I get out every year, together with a musical porcelain snowman and assorted green and red candles. I was going to do that yesterday, but I was too worn out. I did a lot of housework this last week as well as helping out my gout-ridden, bed-bound husband. Next weekend I’ll decorate.

He did feel well enough to go out to lunch yesterday, and we went to a wonderful new udon joint in San Jose. This place makes its own udon noodles and its own dashi broth. I think it’s the best Japanese food in the south bay.

Temperatures here will plummet to near-freezing overnight starting tonight, and the weather forecast promises days of rain starting this Thursday. I’m not holding my breath. Expected rain often doesn’t materialize here in drought-stricken central/northern California and I’m tired of being disappointed.

And now it’s back to work after a week off. I hope I remember how to do my job.

8

I like old religious Christmas music, Child Ballads, and some carols. I can very much live without the rest.

9

Mornin, all! Up and in the shop. Gonna make some things. One of the pieces I dropped off at the gift shop sold within a day, so that’s cool. I think I’ll make some more of those.

I turned on the christmas candles in the windows this weekend. I’m really liking these new ones that have an internal timer. Plug 'em in at 4 pm and they stay on for 8 hours, then turn off, then turn back on at 4 the next day.

Have a great week everyone!

10

That’s great! Conga-rats!

11

Morning, all. Took the day off because the landscapers are starting on my back yard this morning. Not like I have to be here for that, but it’s better if everybody knows what has been contracted for, what to destroy and rebuild and what not to.

So, I get a text from a friend over the weekend. It’s a link to Spotify and his band’s new album. Along with the link is a note that he has resented my lack of interest in his band. Said band is a bunch of retired guys gigging around at local bars and brew pubs. The friend (a guy I used to teach with and still drink with on occasion) writes all the songs and does the singing. How to put this…I think the songs all sound the same (like a dishwasher falling down a flight of stairs) and the singing brings the mental picture of Scott having his scrotum nailed to the stage. Just not my cup of tea at all. So I have been carefully not mentioning it any time we get together except in the most general terms. Now I’m stuck with responding, and I have absolutely zero idea how to do that without either lying my ass off or offending a friend. Neither is something I want to do.

In the meantime, I have a cat clamoring for my arm to rest on and a breakfast that won’t eat itself. Fly low, stay cool and have a week free of whatever bugs you most!

12

You haven’t lived until you hear Christmas music in a mall…in Dubai…when it’s 95F outside…

Good morning all. 8 hours of sleep has improved my outlook on life, so need to do my shopping and sammich in a little bit and also plan to get to the gym–in other words, back to the routine. Found and extra .18 cents in my checking account when I balanced it today (had put a transaction in as $38.86 instead of $38.68) so that was cheery enough news.

VanGo, enjoy being a Maker.

Lucky, stay warm and hope you get the needed rain.

Not a big Xmas music fan, but I do enjoy Carol of the Bells a great deal and this is the only time I get to hear it. And I’ve never decorated my house, being single I just don’t see the need for it…or maybe I’m just an old grouch…

FCM, sounds like time for a campaign against the rodents in the garage.

OK, need to put on semi-appropriate attire and do the shopping and sammich run. All y’all take care.

13

Shit, man, don’t spend it all in one place!

14

The 9 foot long lights in my garage burned out. Someone needs to climb a ladder and that person is not me. I’m using a handyman service that I’ve used in the past and they will be here tomorrow. In the meantime, it’s pretty dark in the garage!

Going to the doctor this afternoon for a lingering sinus infection. Hopefully prednisone and abx will be prescribed. I’m kinda cranky and tired cuz I don’t feel good. Fortunately I haz cookies.

15

Well, I’ve been posting in the old MMP, because it’s Moanday and that’s reason enough. Dammit.

So, to summarize - clothing taken to thrift store, truck taken to the shop, trash and recycling dispatched. I had lunch and I was about to start working on finger puppets when FCD called.

The in-laws need a keeper. They were headed to a Dr appt and they got lost. FCD asked a simple question - when they got to the end of a particular road, did they turn right or left? They have no idea. They claim to be on a road in the county to the north, but on a road that’s nothing but trees. Except that particular road has no trees - it’s an old business district. So we don’t know where they are. I’m not sure why they don’t have a GPS, either.

rant rant rant…

Unfortunately, the truck lives outside, hence the mice…

OK, back to my yarn.

16

Happy Moanday, everyone! As I write this, a certain dog is hiding one of her toys under her blanket and then searching for it. Joy reigns when she “finds” it. A self-entertaining dog. I love it. We’ve already had a (frosty) walk, and have played fetch until her stuffed animal was slick with spit. Except for going out in the cold–I’ve become a wuss in my retirement–it’s going well.

I like Christmas music, with some notable exceptions, mainly most songs written after 1960 or so. And I HATE listening to it in stores–SO manipulative–or, like FCM, more than 2 weeks before Christmas.

From the last MMP:

@Jack_Batty, I hope Bob does well in and after surgery.

FCM, those are the cutest finger puppets ever. I predict you’ll sell out. Also. I had to deal with mice chewing car wires… They hitched a ride when my car was parked at the foot of the mountain I hiked. I hope yours are easily routed and didn’t do too much damage.

From this MMP:

Quietly, I hate when people demand compliments. Maybe you could say you’re happy they’re so popular, and it sounds like they’re having a blast?

MetalMouse, that sounds surreal. I know Dubai is something like 80$ Muslim, so I assume they only play secular Christmas songs?

At 7:15 a.m., you could have gotten a standard poodle and 16¢ change.

VanGo, that’s so cool that one of your pieces went that fast! Not surprising, but cool!

cookie, I like Jose Feliciano’s music. I don’t mind “Feliz,” but then again, I don’t watch TV and so haven’t had it shoved down my throat.

17

FCM, if they won’t/can’t use GPS, how about sticking some kind of air tag in the car where they won’t disturb it? Under a mat in the trunk, say. Then you can find them with your phone as needed.

ETA: If they have a smart phone, turn on location (for them to ask Google “where am I now?”) AND a tracking app (for you).

18

That was fucked up like a football bat - Tony
Which accurately described my day. 70% of the people weren’t there when we started at 0300, stuff was sliding back down the belt, they overloaded the belt 5 times. Oh, and they are using the doors at the other end of the belt, so those folk kept turning the whole thing off. I need a quart of Old Fashioneds.

After 30 years in retail, I am over Christmas music. Except The Grinch song, Fairytale Of New York, and some Gregorian Chant.

Enjoy the day off, shoe

Very metal. \m/–\m/

19

I performed a (very minimal) KP duty and have cleared enough space to fix myself a proper meal. I gotta go run some errands in an hour or so and would like to fill my tum-tum first. Do I want potstickers? pierogi? potato/bacon/onion hash?

Frankly ALL THREE I IZ HUNGRY but I have to choose one, and quickly.

… or scrambled eggs?

20

I liked his music until that damn thing came out.

Costco was a zoo full of aggressive shoppers, most of whom seemed pissed off about one thing or another.