Friday This n That

 Maybe I should just give up trying to remember to post on Thursdays.

I wrote 31545 words between 7/7 and 8/6.  Not exactly NaNo amounts, but hey, whatever gets words on the page, eh?  (It would've been more, but last night's storm put the kibosh on writing.)

I don't write during thunderstorms.  The idea of a power outage while I'm in the groove makes me nauseous.  It's not like I don't have autosave on, but it only saves every 5 minutes and when I'm in the groove and the fingers are flying fast, that could be a page or more worth of writing gone in a flash.  I'd rather not chance it.

Somewhere this morning, I saw where walking in the woods improves your immune system.  Between that and the benefits of drinking coffee, I should probably be immortal.

Yesterday, Sonny was in the yard.  We honestly thought he'd been taken during last year's deer season, so we were extremely happy to see him.  How do we know it was him?  Well, we don't with 100% accuracy, but between his tameness and his total level of comfort in our yard (not easily spooked and knew where everything was - went right to the food and water), we're like 95% sure it was him, which is good enough for us.  He looks awesome, by the way.  Go, Sonny!  

My beefsteak tomato plant has taken over the NW quadrant of the greenhouse and is starting to encroach on the peppers I have growing in the center.  I keep trying to tame it back into the spot it's claimed as its own, but I think I'll have to move the peppers.  I think I need to name it Audrey II.  (Bonus points if you got that reference.)

The fox twins are hanging out around here regularly.  They're so damn cute I just want to snuggle them both up.  Too bad they're wild critters and would probably run away before I could get my arms around them.  (Which is a good thing, I guess, because if I could get my arms around them, they'd probably bite and scratch the hell out of me.)

I keep seeing this old chick hanging out in my mirror.  I really do wish she'd find somewhere else to go.  

Good news from this week's election.  The chick who is our county prosecutor lost her primary and since she usually runs unopposed - both in August and in November - this is a good thing.  (I actually whooped when I read of her loss and scared the cats.)  I don't know how well the guy who beat her will do, but she's been so ineffectual, he'd have to work really hard to NOT improve on her work.  (I don't know if he's running unopposed for November, but around here, the R's take the race, so even if there is a D on the ballot, he'll win.)  

And on that note, I really should get back to work.  Marketing, doncha know.  Have a great day wherever you are, and stop back by on Sunday to get the weekly update.  Peace out.

Friday This n That

 What the hell is wrong with me?  I totally didn't even think yesterday was Thursday, so I then totally didn't do a damn post.  This is becoming a regular thing with me.  Derp.

I saw a neat news story about a kid in Montana who lassoed a guy drowning in a river and pulled him to safety.  Awesome.  I like news about good kids.  It kinda makes all the bad stuff a bit better, ya know?

Speaking of good stuff, yesterday evening, we had four baby raccoons and their mama in the yard.  They were all just sorta hanging out together near the deer feed and munching on leftover protein pellets.  Then mom left.  A few minutes later, the four babies trundled after her in a line, following her scent trail like she'd drawn a line behind her.  She walked through the two water pans, so they walked through the water pans.  I mean, she was already out of sight when they went after her, so it had to be a scent trail, right?  They were so cute.  And yes, I know raccoons can be destructive little bastards, but we haven't had a problem with raccoons being destructive.  Ours are just cute.  :knock on wood:  And no, I didn't have my trail cam out.  I keep forgetting to put it up.

Growing old sucks.

I have been a total toad lately, especially about being active.  Thus, everything hurts.  I know it's anti-intuitive, but it's true.  The less active I am, the more I end up hurting.  Now that the temps are finally beginning to be not-gross, I'll get back outside and do some active things.  Maybe I'll take a walk today.

Speaking of toads, we had one in the garage.  Hubs saw it about a week ago, but he couldn't catch it.  I saw it yesterday and tried to catch it myself.  It was probably quite a sight to see this old lady bent over trying to catch a toad.  Anyway, it hopped under the Jeep, so I got the fishing net.  I'm happy to say the toad is now outside and no one got injured in the process.  (Okay, the toad peed on my hand.  That's what toads do.)

Yesterday, my Roku kind of freaked out and disappeared most of my saved programs, so there I was trying to figure out what was missing, which ain't easy for a memory like mine.  Later in the day, it showed that stuff again, so yay.  Except now it's trying to put all my programs back at the beginning.  It better fix that crap, because I have no idea what seasons/episodes I'm at in those programs, damn it.  I mean, MasterChef UK has a ton of seasons and each season has a ton of episodes, so it'll be a bitch to locate the exact one we last saw so we can watch the next one.  I think we're on season 4 or is it 6, and episode twenty-something... Argh.

I cut my nails yesterday and now I can't type.  Derp.

Okay, I probably should go do something constructive.  Have a great day, and drop some comments if you're of a mind to.  Peace out.

Thursday This n That

FB sucks.

X is pretty okay, but I haven't figured out how to use it for marketing.  (Not free marketing, that is.)

We have fawns!  Yay!

Chex Mix Bold is addictive.  Unfortunately, my intestines do not enjoy it as much as my tastebuds do, so I stay away from it.  Additionally unfortunate, Wallyworld had a big ol' bag of it on sale and right there by the checkout.  Thus, I couldn't stop myself from buying it.  Also thus, I am paying for it.  But it's soooo damn good.  Especially when you add a handful of mixed nuts to a bowl of it.  Yummers.

Getting old blows.  I used to be able to eat whatever whenever and never worry about it.  Now?  I look at wheat the wrong way and I get into issues.  Stupid.

The inside of my greenhouse looks like a jungle.  It's scary in there.  And hot.  When the tomatoes finally fruit and are ready for picking, I'm not sure how I'll get back there to pick them.  The potatoes are taking over.  I expect them to reach sentience any day now.  Oh, and I picked up three new bell pepper plants, because they were free, so now they're in there, too.  If I disappear, it's entirely possible I got lost in the jungle.  Send help.

It seems like everyone I know is neurodivergent, which begs the question 'if everyone is neurodivergent, is it really divergent?'  Think about that for a minute.

I made Irish Soda Bread for the first time, and it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.  It's a super simple bread to make, too.  Messy, but easy.

For a woman who enjoys making bread, I have a weird quirk.  I can't stand having dough on my hands and I have to get it all off or I feel like I'm wasting food.  This is not a problem when I'm making a stiff dough bread product, like pizza crust, but for a wet dough... GAH!

Also, enjoying making bread and having issues with digesting wheat definitely do not go together.  Good thing Hubs enjoys eating bread, so there's less for me.

Okay, that's probably enough out of me.  Have a great day and feel free to drop some of your own observations about the world.  Peace out.

Thursday This n That

On a short continuance from yesterday, let me just say that I did not have roaming hippos in Columbia on my bingo card. (Was talking about it here a HIPPO violation?  ROFL)

Yesterday, I removed the 'feather bed mimic' topper thing from our bed.  The dang thing was lumpy as all get out.  That and the constant fluffing of it were getting to be a pain in the everywhere.  Last night, I did have a devil of a time getting to sleep, but I must've slept better.  We'll see how it goes.

Getting old blows.

Okay, I'm old.  (Yeah, yeah, not as old as some.)  I was thinking the other day about my grandmother and how she was.  I realized I will never be as old in my head as my grandmother was.  Then again, Grandma was never as old as I thought she was.  Hearing stories from Mom about her tell me that I was mistaken about her on several points.  Oh, she was not a pleasant woman and would never be mistaken for the warm and cuddly grandmas some people have.  I was talking with my sister and we agreed that Grandma was a bitch.  But really when Grandma was younger, she was a tough, pants-wearing, hard-working chick who liked parties and doing things women weren't supposed to do back then.  Maybe she was bitchy because as she got old, she couldn't be the woman she knew herself to be, which would make anyone bitchy, I guess.

You hear all the time about men withholding stuff from the wives during a divorce, but I just read a case where it was the woman.  She's in jail now until she forks over the stuff that the court already said belonged to her ex-husband or pays him the value of those things.  Equal rights for women means being equal in this shit, too.  Good for the judge.  Feminists wanted everything equal, where there ya go.  Choke on it.

Pedro Potato is getting tall.  Go, Pedro!  I'm not sure if he's actually making potatoes under there.  The only way to tell is to dig him up, the thought of which makes me sad.  It'll have to be done eventually, but until then, I'll enjoy him as the healthy plant he is.

We had a hell of a storm last night.  Thankfully, I'd already moved all my pots under the eaves, so they got at least some protection.  At around 2am, it got really nasty and I wondered if I did indeed hear a train in the distance.  (We have no tracks anywhere near here... by train, I mean tornado.)  I checked the yard this morning and all is well.

And on that note, I have to go make my daily call to Mom.  Have a great day everyone.  Peace out.

Thursday This n That

The other day I was walking toward the local convenience store and caught a glimpse of myself in the glass doors.  Whoa, I'm fat.  Not 'Godzilla attacks Tokyo' fat, but still.  My load looked decidedly wider than I had a firm grasp of.  Some women have a body image that they are fatter than they are.  Mine is apparently skinnier than I am.  Either that or those doors were done in funhouse mirror glass. LOL

If I have offended you, get over it.  If I haven't, I'll get to you soon. ;o)

I never had to wear glasses for most things for most of my life.  Even when my eyes started to go, I really only needed glasses if I was reading a book.  I could still make out prices at the grocery store and I could still read my monitor.  Just in the past couple of years have I needed glasses for those things and just in the past few months have I really needed them to read my monitor.  Oh, I can still make things out.  They're blurry, but I can get there.  But if I spend too much time reading blurry things I can tell it's starting to bother me.  Getting old is a blast, ain't it?  Blerg.

I finished the big marketing blast for Natural Causes in its freebie state.  I'll dish the data on Sunday for that.  Now I'm trying to decide which book to hit next.  I'm thinking Blink of an I.  We'll see.

Oh, Facebook, you big ninnies.  Why do you refresh my page?  I just clicked a link to go read an article that a friend had posted.  I read the article and came back to comment on her post, and FB refreshed my damn newsfeed so her post disappeared.  Now if I want to comment, I have to go find her FB page and then find the status update where she posted the link.  I'm too lazy to do that most days and today ain't looking any better.  I didn't have anything groundbreaking to say either, so it's not like the world will be missing out on my comment.  It's just the principle of it all.  

The article?  It was about a city government in a town in CA having their public library pull books off the shelves because they didn't feel comfortable with kids having access to the books.  I think the books were about menstruation.  Sorry, girls who wanted to learn about their bodies, but that topic is uncomfortable.  No knowledge for you.  Derp.

This whole exploding pager thing in Gaza is cracking me up.  Jeff Dunham needs to do a bit about it with Achmed the Dead Terrorist.  People are making loads of funny memes about it.  I saw one that had an old Hassidic dude sitting behind a table full of pagers... "Uncle Schlomo's Discounted Pagers" or something. ROFL  This is the best case of 'fuck around and find out'.  Go Mossad.

I've been watching a lot of gameshows lately.  I like the ones with some kind of trivia component.  Some of the contestants are really good.  Some of them are woefully ignorant.  Yesterday, on one of them, a gal buzzed in to answer the question of who said 'Ich Bin Ein Berliner'? and she answered Thomas Jefferson.  :sad head shake:  I also like Deal or No Deal, which really doesn't require any brains or skill.  And I'm a huge fan of the old Match Game.  I would rather stick needles in my eyes than watch the new Match Game hosted by Alec Baldwin.  The guy kills someone through his own extreme ignorance, and not only gets away with it, but gets a new job?  Bah and feh.

On that note, it's getting late in the morning and I have things to do.  Have a great day, wherever you are.  

Thursday This n That

I'm writing this at a quarter after 11 after having already tried sleeping for two hours and failing miserably.  The hamster wheel in my head is spinning over every mistake I've ever made, and there's a jukebox playing every song I've ever heard.  I got out of bed when it hit Supertramp's Goodbye Stranger.

I couldn't sleep the last two nights either - because I pulled a muscle in back while blow-drying my hair.  You know that muscle behind your shoulder blade?  That's the one.  Well, that's not the problem tonight.  Derp.

My brother had Supertramp's Breakfast in America album.  He's going to be 60 this year.  How the hell did that happen?  

Speaking of which, I'm old enough to be a grandmother.  Not sure how that happened either.  I was at the first Monsters of Rock concert in the Pontiac Silverdome, for petesakes.  I used to headbang and eat anything I wanted!  Now I screw up my back blow-drying my hair and my innards get messed up when I consume too much bread.  Getting old blows. Zero stars, do not recommend.

If you weren't paying attention... like I wasn't... Easter is a week from Sunday.

So, Hubs was talking with a neighbor today.  Apparently, there are druggies using the abandoned farm to do... well, drugs... and they're wandering around through field and forest.  And another neighbor's own big dogs attacked and killer her little dog and bit her when she tried to save it.  Ummm... Yeah.  So, now we must beware of roving addicts and vicious pooches while out and about.  We live like 90 minutes from the nearest city and a half hour from the closest Walmart, but whatever.  The neighbor is a young guy with a wife and a baby, so he's a little worried about them while he's at work.  Hubs told him she could call here day or night if she needs to.  I'm all for it, but it's sad.  We shouldn't have to worry about whether a young mother and her baby will be safe in her own home out here.  

It was super foggy this morning.  On my way to work, I rounded a corner and almost ran over a rabbit.  He just darted right out into the road there.  Lucky for him, his fluffy white tail stood out against the dark ground and I hit the brakes.  Silly wabbit.

Okay, well, I should probably go try to sleep again.  I'll schedule this for an hour and twenty from now, so it'll post at 1 like it always does.  And then I'll drag my butt to out of bed in about 6 hours.  Yay.  I'll definitely need extra coffee in my coffee for this Thursday, lemme tell ya.

What's on your mental plate today?

Thursday This n That

 I snapped off the earpiece on my glasses while I was at work the other morning. Now, I can read without my glasses, but it's a pain in the ass, and it gives me a headache.  I could've run home for a different pair, but I didn't want to use my lunch half-hour for that.  Luckily, I knew one of my co-workers had super glue.  I glued the damn earpiece back together and sat waiting for it to dry.  If you know me, you know I'm short on patience, so after a minute of waiting and the glue still wasn't dry, I took a strip of Kleenex and wrapped it around the sticky part, then taped that.  Black glasses, white band.  Yep, I went full nerd.  And yeah, I got laughed at, but I joined in with it.  (No, I do not see customers very often, so no worries there.)  I now have a different pair of glasses for work but the nerd glasses are sitting here on my desk.  LOL

The other day, I was out behind the office smoking when I heard a distinctive, reedy whistle in the sky that I knew meant cedar waxwings.  I love cedar waxwings.  I glanced around trying to spot them when the flock flew into view.  As it was flying along, some of its members noticed the big cedar tree they were about to pass.  The whole flock hooked a luey and settled into their favorite type of tree.  Not sure if there were any berries left in there for them to eat, but they seemed happy.

When I'm tired or I'm stressed, I have brainfarts. If I'm both, look out world.  Afternoons are the worst.  

I almost typed branfarts up there, with is a radically different thing.  ROFL

Getting old sucks.

I saw a thing on FB this morning that said something like 'singing while dressed up as the devil isn't going to impress your grandpa who was dropping acid while watching Ozzy bite the heads off of live bats 50 years ago'.   I laughed.  And then I realized that, yeah, my generation is now old enough to have grandkids.  I need to scan a photo of me wearing my Guns n Roses t-shirt.  Or one of me drunk off my ass.  I might have one that is both.  Makes me wish I'd gotten the t-shirt at the Monsters of Rock concert in 1988.  It'd be trashed by now, but there would be pics.

And on that note, I probably should head in the direction of getting ready for work.  It's supposed to be gross today, so I'm not dressing up.  Business casual all the way, baby.

Have a great day wherever you are.  Stay safe and stay warm.  :hugs:

Thursday This n That

Hey, it's still Thursday!  

I had a gentleman call me 'kiddo' this week and it made my day.  And although that gentleman will never read this, I just want to say 'not knowing how to use computers very well certainly does not make you stupid'.  Think about how much of human existence and innovation happened before the computer was even invented.  And I've known too many people who could use computers who certainly weren't smart.  

Anyway...

A fly lands on the ceiling by putting its front two legs on the ceiling first and swinging the rest of its body up.  On day in college, I spent an untold amount of time watching a fly to come up with that observation.  You're welcome.  See, all that money wasn't totally wasted.

I don't actually remember a whole lot about college.  No, not drugs.  Car accident.  Achieved the same effect.  Moral of the story?  Don't do drugs.

Speaking of the car accident... the anniversary was last week. 29 years.  A while back, I had a gal ask me if I was alright.  I was all like 'sure, why?' and she said she asked because I was limping.  My answer was that I always limp.  But that's not strictly true.  For a long time, it was true.  And then it wasn't.  Tada. Of course, when I do limp, I don't notice it because part of me thinks I always limp. Silly wabbit.

There's a stack of bricks behind the office that I covet.  I keep thinking they'd make a nice retaining wall under the deck where the slope is bad enough it's washing our pea gravel down the hill.  I wonder if the boss would sell them to me, but I keep forgetting to ask.  :shrug:  It's not like I have time to futz with a retaining wall these days, but the idea has been tickling the back of my head for a while now.

Monday night, I ate somethings that didn't agree with me and spent part of the wee hours of Tuesday praying to the porcelain god.  If you're not familiar with him, his name is Ralph.  Sometimes they call him Huey.  

Crass?  On occasion.  I also once knew some of the dirtiest jokes you would ever hear.  I don't tell them anymore.  Every rare once in a while, I'll remember one and laugh to myself.  I told one to a friend back in the summer of 2021.  She couldn't remember it well and she kept asking me to repeat it, much to my dismay because it is particularly nasty.  She rolled every time she coaxed me to tell it again.  She has since moved away and I will never tell it again.  Never.  Don't even ask.

Seriously. I mean it. Don't ask.

And on that note, I'm going back to my Nero Wolfe.  Have a great night.. day... err, whenever you're reading this, make it great.  

Brain Clutter

They're doing that thing again where you list the states you've lived in and visited.  Someone was all like "I'm not putting that info out there for the hackers".  I'm ambivalent.  If the hackers haven't already seen this about me, well, that's how it goes.  Anyway, I made a map.  Red dots are where I've lived and blue dots are where I've visited.  (The placement of the dots is random and don't indicate exactly where I was in any given state.)

Six states lived in (MI gets two dots because I lived in each peninsula at some time or another.  Not every Michigander can say that, doncha know.)  I'm done moving around and pretty much done traveling.  I might still drop into OK, but only because it's so close to here it wouldn't be a haul.  For as much as I'm in AR, that dot ought to be like purple or something.  LOL

In further interest of putting things out there the hackers could always play with, today is my anniversary.  18 years of wedded bliss.  And no, that is not sarcasm.  I love Hubs more today than the day we married and I'll love him more tomorrow.  No matter the ups or the downs, we remain strong together.  Oh, and tomorrow is my birthday.  I joke that I made him marry me the day before my birthday so he would never forget one or the other.  I'm 52.  If the hackers don't already have that info, I'd be totally surprised.

I saw something on FB.  2022 is as far from 1970 as 1970 is from 1918.  Let that sink in.  

Some days I feel old.  Some days I feel like a kid.  Either way, the prevailing thought is 'there's no way I can be x years old'.  But I am.  I finally bit the bullet and listed 'gray' as my hair color on my fishing license.  The ol' DL still says 'brown', but it really is more than 50% gray now.  I figure when the gal at the DMV tells me my hair is gray, I'll put it on my driver's license.  Since MO licenses last for like 9 years, that'll happen next time.  LOL

Something struck me the other day.  The longer you live, the more memories you have to clutter up your brain.  Yeah, it's obvious, but I hadn't really thought about it.  No wonder I can't get to sleep.  The ol' brain is constantly flipping through the memories - on random.  Mom's got 30 years on me, so I'm not sure how she ever sleeps.  Imagine how many more memories her brain has.  Sheesh.

And on that note, I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled lives.  Lord knows, I've got a bunch of stuff to do today... that'll probably turn into stuff I need to do tomorrow.  LOL

Have a great day!

Thursday This n That

I'm on Linked In and I occasionally get job listings in my email.  One yesterday sounded interesting - Remote Proofreader.  Cool.  I went over to look at it.  The listing was rife with weird characters and grammatical issues.  I wonder if they put it up that way as an initial test for people applying for the job.  Sort of an "if you can read this and fix it, you're the person for us.  ROFL  (There were parts of the job, once I parsed it out, that sounded hinky, so no.  And no, I'm not really looking for a job, but if something amazing came along, who knows?)

Today, the last of my books drops out of Kindle Unlimited.  I'll get it set up and uploaded to D2D this weekend.  

In case you're not on FB or you missed it, here's a pic of one of the foxes that traipsed through my yard a couple days ago:

Yeah, it saw me and bolted, so I didn't get a chance for a good pic.  If it hadn't stopped under that oak, I wouldn't have gotten one at all.  

Yesterday, I dusted and vacuumed everything but the office.  And now I'm sore.  That's just not fair.  Getting old sucks.  Sore or not, I'll get the office done today.

I also rearranged the spare room.  I put the exercise bike under the other window, so I have a view of the bird feeder while I ride.  Of course, moving that there meant I needed to move the table with my radio and cassettes next to it (for better indoor biking), but to do that I had to move the little bookshelf where I keep the stock of my paperbacks and also the plant stand and the chair.  Anyway, the room's like I want it.  For now.  Unfortunately, I was too tired to actually ride the damn bike yesterday.  Maybe today.

:sings: Maybe today, we can put the past away...

Funny how certain phrases can make a song instantly pop into my head.  That was Jumper by Third Eye Blind.

Hey did you hear YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are merging?  They're calling it YouTwitFace.  ROFL

And with that, I'll leave.  Have a great day, everyone.  And drop a comment on your way out.  

Thursday This n That

Yesterday while I was out running errands, a neighbor stopped by with a big coffee cake thing to thank Hubs for something.  Streusel goodness on the top, stuffed with a cheesecakey type mixture.  So yummy.  But it needs something fruity.  I'm thinking cherry pie filling.  Or strawberry.  I forgot something at Wallyworld, so I'll be heading to Dollar General anyway.  

Heh, like either of us needs coffee cake or pie filling.  Eh, who cares?  I'm eating it.  Test me, and I'll put ice cream on it, too, just for spite.  LOL

I've spent the past two days basically on my ass.  Here in the desk chair or in the recliner or in the car.  I wasn't feeling bad, I'm just lazy.  But, here's the kicker... I am stiff and sore today.  I have to move this body or bad things happen.

Getting older blows.  But it's better than the only alternative reality offers us.  Wouldn't it be great if we could just stay a good age physically while we grow mentally?  Alas, it doesn't work that way.  We age, we corrode, shit falls apart.  In my misspent youth, I used to say something like 'I don't care about my body.  It's just there to carry my brain around.'*  Well, stupid, it's not good for carrying around your brain if you don't take care of it.  Like maintenance on your car.  If you don't do basic maintenance, it won't be able to carry you around for as long as it should.  Derp.  Sometimes I'd like to go back in time and flick my younger self in the ears.  

*Of course, I was saying that before my car accident when both my body and my brain took a hit.  

My mom and I have been enjoying some lovely chats lately.  Going over the past - both hers and mine.  I like to think talking with her about all those things from long ago helps keep her sharp.  I know it helps keep me sharp.  And she's been telling me stories I'd never heard before, which is awesome.  I'm getting stories about her time as an Air Force wife and her time stationed with Dad in France.  Post -WWII Europe stories and pre-Vietnam stories.  Interesting stuff.  I should probably write it down somewhere so it doesn't get lost.

One thing we were talking about yesterday was my childhood and how I lost most of my memories of it in the car accident.  About the only memories I have of certain portions of it are the bad parts.  Bad stuff sticks more firmly than good stuff, doncha know.  I don't have any good memories of my grandmother, for instance.  Oh, Grandma was a pip, but she couldn't have been all bad.  I just wish I could remember the good times with her.  Dudes, hang onto your memories tight.  You'll miss them when they're gone.

And on that wise note, I'll let you go for today.  Have a great one.  And if you aren't doing anything worth remembering today, take a moment and reminisce.  Jus' sayin'.

Thursday This n That

I probably shouldn't be allowed on FB at 2 o'clock in the morning,  My urge to argue with people overrides my need to ignore them.  I probably shouldn't play poker either.  LOL

I spent the previous two days shifting around heavy stuff.  Boxes of books?  No sweat.  I can throw those around like they're pillows.  (Okay, not really. but they're not too big a deal.)  We took a carload of stuff to St. Vinny's yesterday.  I would've sworn that box of encyclopedias wasn't half as heavy when I put it into the trunk on Wednesday as it was when I took it out of the trunk on Thursday.  Blerg.

Thank you, St. Vinny's for accepting that set of encyclopedias.  I wonder if anyone actually uses those anymore.  If they'd been an older vintage I might've taken them myself, but 1985 wasn't old enough to warrant bringing them home.  I have a 1957 set I won custody of when my parents moved out of my childhood home.  

If you don't know what St. Vinny's is, it's St Vincent de Paul thrift store.  They were awesome for me when I was in college and needed things for my apartment.  I give to them here when I can and I love shopping there.  Or at least I did before the 'rona hit.  Now that I see the workers aren't wearing masks anymore maybe I'll go back to shopping there, too.  So many awesome books.  

One of the worst things about getting older is eating.  I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever and wherever, without worrying how it would affect my digestive system (or my general poundage).  I ate at a freakin' restaurant yesterday and my stomach is staging a revolt.  Which is why I got up at 2am.  I spent hours throwing around boxes and lumber and whatnot.  I was feeling pretty awesome about it all.  Look at me look at me, I'm young and vibrant!  Then I get sucker punched by damn restaurant food and I'm feeling every bit of those 51 years.  Not sure if it was the super yummy burger with its awesome bun.  Or the cheesy spinach and artichoke dip.  Or the yummy chips.  Blerg.  If you asked me earlier, I would've said it was all worth it.  Now?  Not so much.  So, here I sit, drinking baking soda water and hoping to maybe go back to bed and catch another couple hours.  

By the way, the food was so good, after lunch, I ordered takeout from there for dinner.  A grilled chicken sandwich for me and a bacon burger for Hubs.  So yummy.  Screw you, stomach.

Also, by the way, we tried a new restaurant.  (Well, not new since the waitress told us they'd been there 6 years, but neither of us had ever noticed it before, so new to us.)  One thing I learned when I was a road warrior was to eat at places where worker dudes eat.  If there are worker dudes having lunch there, it's good food.  Those dudes know.  They don't have time or patience to eat crappy food on their lunch breaks.  This place had lots of worker dudes.  Some people think 'eat where the locals eat', but that's not always the case.  You have no idea what the locals are used to.  Worker dudes?  They know.

Worker dudes = UPS drivers, construction guys, salesmen, etc.  They travel around enough to know where to eat and where not to eat.  When I was on the road, I could've pointed out both in my sales territory.  Trust me, when you're in the middle of a job and miles from home, you do not want to eat at a bad restaurant.  And all apologies to that poor gas station on Woodward Avenue that I had to stop at after eating in a bad restaurant back in 1999.  

Okay, I should probably try going back to bed now.  See y'all later.

Sunday Update - Week 20

Oy, what a week.  

I only got about 175 words out this past week, and I'll most likely delete that.  I did get an idea for where to go, but it's not gelling in my head yet.  

I got some reading done.  I finished The Virginian.  It was WOW.  And then I read a suspense that was wow.  And yesterday, I finished a mystery that wasn't wow, but it was pretty good.

In baking news, I made cheesecake this week, but it wasn't wow at all.  I did something wrong. I mean, it still tastes good, but it's not right.  Oh well.  I have enough to make another one, and do it right this time, in time for my birthday.

Yeah, this is annibirthary week.  17/51 years.  I still can't believe I'm 51 years old.  Who the hell ordered that?  :shrug:

Along activity lines, I did stuff 5 out of 7 days.  Only 2 days were walking.  Other than that, it's been a lot of yardwork - weeding stuff and mowing.  I'm paying for it, believe me.  But the stone paths are now weed-free and ditched for better drainage.  I also mowed where Hubs can't - because poison ivy - and that looks pretty nice now.  It was shin to knee high tall stuff in there.  No bad work for an old chick, eh?  Now that the tall stuff is down, the next mow will be easier.  Weight: NA (cuz I didn't bother weighing myself)

The deer are getting fat-pregnant.  Soon, we'll have babies!

In garden news, everything is growing right along.  I did buy two tomato plants to get tomatoes quicker than my seedlings will give me them.  I need to take pics and post to my gardening blog.

I think that's it for me this week.  I can't think of anything else pertinent anyway.  What have you been up to lately?

Thursday This n That

Does it seem like every week since this started is stranger than the last?  Or is it just me?  (Yes, I am getting stranger, too, but that's not the question.)

In case you missed it, this week a police officer saved a young girl's life by shooting the girl who was trying to stab her.  He's being attacked for doing it.  See?  When you leave all the skin colors out of it, it's pretty simple and the reaction to it is pretty strange.

Lumpy's jaw lump is back again.  She's still eating fine and is still a good weight, though.  Not sure what's going on there.

On the way back from fishing the other day, Hubs and I saw a buck who still had one antler.  It should've dropped off a long time ago.  Not sure what's going on there either.

I'm going to turn 51 next month.  If that ain't strange, I don't know what is.

A Model Curse is still on sale.  99c each.  Get all three for less than the regular price of one.  How is that not a deal?   Strange that people aren't snapping that up.  :shrug:

A couple days ago, we got a half inch of snow.  Which promptly melted.  Then that night, we got below freezing temperatures.  Which sucked.  I was afraid all my plants would croak.  Hubs told me the peonies were all gross looking.  I didn't want to see.  I've spent so much time and effort on those gardens and I didn't want to see the carnage.  Well, I sucked it up and went out to look yesterday afternoon.  Most everything seems fine and the peonies looked normal to me.  The black walnut trees on the other hand look like crap.  All their tiny new leaves are wilty and curly and turning black.  =o(

Michigan is seeing some kind of surge in the Kung Flu.  I mean, several states are seeing an uptick, but Michigan is way worse.  Not sure why, since that bitch has those poor people so locked down I'm surprised any virus could get through.  Mom says it's because people aren't being given the vaccine quick enough.  Data shows that to be false, so I can only assume she's being lied to by the press.  We're pretty opened here in MO and we're floating along.  TX is way open and despite having a larger population than MI, there are fewer cases.  Maybe it's because people are trapped inside due to the policies and the weather.  Then again, if that were true, there should be a surge in all the cold states with dem governors.  :shrug:  

For one of the spreadsheets I do, the company we get it from decided it would be a good idea to round the figures.  So any line item that was less than 50c is now a zero sum.  Sure, the lines that are more than 50c and less than a dollar were rounded up, but that didn't work in our favor.  Now I have to wait to get the right numbers so I can do the spreadsheets.  Blerg.  Now sure what the thinking was on that.  Strange.

I had this one guy trying to friend me on MeWe.  I went to his profile and there was nothing but pictures of him.  Sorry, dude, but I'm not interested in you.  Show me something in your interactions that might make me think I'd like to see your posts in my feed or don't bother.  So, I denied the request.  He must've thought I was a pretty hot chick, because he tried three more times.  I finally blocked him.  Of course, sometimes I look at their pages and think they might be interesting only to have them immediately try to sell me something when I friend them.  Those get blocked, too.

My knee is still bending right.

And that's more than enough out of me.  How are things in your this-n-that world?

Getting Older Sucks

Gah.  I feel like someone spent the night beating me with a bag of oranges.  Of course, I did this to myself.  No, not the bag of oranges thing.  I have other ways of abusing myself.  

For instance, I spent about an hour yesterday clearing brush from the neglected south plot.  That's the one we worked on last winter and then let go fallow again over the summer.  Eh, it gives me something to do.  

Then I helped Hubs with finishing the toilet repairs.

Then the cat bit my thumb while I was trying to give her an aspirin.  Molar chomp.  (Yes, I super disinfected it.)

And lastly, I wrote over 2K words last night.

So basically, I hurt this morning.  Getting older sucks.

Might do it all again today.  Well, with the exception of the cat chomping on my thumb.  You shouldn't give a cat aspirin more than every 48 hrs anyway.  (Baby aspirin.  Coated.)  Of course, we're supposed to have shitty weather, so maybe not even all of the other stuff.  Writing definitely.

Speaking of writing, I left off last night at the very beginning of the climax scene.  Then there has to be some denouement.  Not long before I get to THE END now.  Of course, lately it's been 'write a whole bunch one day, and only write a little bit the next couple days' because of hands and wrists.  Lucky for me, I am a fast typer.  Unlucky for me, the faster I type, the more it hurts to type*.  But when I'm on a roll, I don't consider typing slower.  And hey, it almost never hurts while I'm typing.  That comes later.

I took an anti-inflammatory last night before bed.  Fat lot of good that did.  Probably should've taken two.  Eh.

Fortunately, the more I move around this morning, the less it hurts.  Sleeping does that sometimes - makes everything seize up.  I should be right as rain... or as right as an old gimpy chick can ever be - by sunrise.  

Like I said, I'll probably do it all again today.  If not today then soon.  The alternative is laying around the house being a lump, and that never does anyone any good.  But oh, how I long for the days when I could do anything physical I wanted and not pay for it the next day. 

Getting older sucks.

*No, voice to text software wouldn't work for me.  I have considered it.  My brain doesn't work that way.  I'm constantly editing while I type.  'Type type type delete delete delete type type delete delete, reword this move that go back to earlier in the text looking for something find a typo there fix it go back to the end and start typing again get up to get coffee forget where I was and have to go back and read several paragraphs to get in the groove again.'  I don't think you can do that in voice to text.  I can't imagine what the actual text would look like afterwards.

Thursday This n That

Just now I was looking up the definition of circumspect to see if it means what I think it means.  It does - watchful, discreet, prudent, etc., the surveying of all possible consequences before acting or deciding. (That last one is my favorite and what I had in mind.)  However, the Google definition at the top of the page?  'wary and unwilling to take risks'.  Interesting take there, Google.  Luckily, there are usually plenty of other definitions below the one they suggest.  Like there are more hits than the ones they give you on the first page, and they massage the hits the fit their agenda anyway, so don't always take the first few as being the definitive answers.  The gold is sometimes buried several pages in.

BTW, certain entities changing the definitions of words to suit an agenda  - not saying that's what the Big G did there but my conspiracy senses are tingling- or for any other reason doesn't actually change the meaning of the word. 

When I hear something strange, I tend to try and look it up on the web before accepting it as fact.  The other day, an acquaintance asked me if I'd ever seen a jellyfish in the lake.  I was immediately suspicious and told her I'd have to look that up before I believed it.  (Her success rate for strange info is about 50%.)  Sure enough, the lake does have freshwater jellyfish.  Huh.  I'd never heard of such a thing.  They're about the size of a quarter when they're in their sexual stage.  Most of their lives, though, are spent in the asexual stage and then they're only about an eighth of an inch and hang out at the bottom of the lake, stuck to stuff down there.  Every rare once in a while, when conditions are right, they reach the sexual stage and float around.  They can still sting, but all in all, not much to worry about.  Don't pick one up and you should be fine.  Pick one up and you'll still be okay, but with ouchie fingers.

I really need to start wearing my glasses while I'm at the computer.  Gah, getting old sucks.

A few days ago, I got an instant message from an author I follow.  He does this when he has a new book out and he calls me his favorite reviewer.  Neat.  Anyway, the fourth book in his series is out and I have it and I'm reading it.  Yay.  Maybe this will kill the reading drought I've been going through.

Now if I can just kill the writing drought.  

Anything on your this n that list today? 

Thursday This n That + Chaos Diary Stuff

For some reason, I decided to test the done-ness of the French bread pizzas last night with my bare hands.  Which would've been fine if I hadn't accidentally brushed my finger against the pan, too.  Only one spot on one knuckle got burned and blistered a bit, but man, that one spot... Blerg.  I burn myself at least a couple times a year, so I should be used to it.  Does one ever get used to burns? 

I had some banking to do again yesterday.  As I was standing around chatting with my friends - 6 ft away from them (virtue signal lit) - one of them mentioned a little blue bird she'd been seeing.  My BFF and I said at almost the same time 'indigo bunting'.  See?  This is why she's my BFF.  We get each other.  Man, I missed her during the MO lockdown.

Making progress on Cinder Ugly.  Slow progress, but progress nonetheless.  I expect to reach 100 pages today.  Not hard since I finished yesterday on pg 99. 

I never dreamed I'd reach the age of 50 only to find myself monitoring the potty habits of a geriatric cat.  She's pooping along like a champion, btw.  Yay. 

Okay, I'm not fifty.  Yet.  Next week, I'll be fifty.  Umm, yah.

It was time to order more catfood again, so I trotted over to Amazon.  Yay all the types I wanted were in stock.  I also need new socks, so I thought I'd tack them onto the order.  Socks?  They're on back order.  Socks.  On back order.  Who would've thunk it?  For the record, I am rough on socks.  My feet chew through the heels at an alarming rate.  They didn't used to.  Older feet?  Cheaper socks?  My funny gait getting funnier?  :shrug:  I'll pick some up at the Dollar General next time I'm there.

Also for the record, I hate having to think that far ahead on buying catfood.  Just over two weeks worth left?  Time to order more, in case the shipment gets held up.  Blerg.

I have heard Amazon's not being as snappy with their shipments and deliveries as they were.  Stupid chaos.

What's on your this n that list today?  Got any chaos things to report? 

Thursday This n That

I saw this on FB, so I thought I'd do it here, too.  What's one movie that you find uplifting?  For me, it's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  It just gives me a happy.

Had a nice conversation with Owl a few minutes ago, me just finishing my first cup of coffee and her going to bed.  Ships that pass in the wee hours of the morning are we.  Thanks to that first cup, I was not a slavering troll and I was able to string sentences together.  Seriously, before that first cup, I'm not much better than a half-born thing crawling out of the primordial ooze.  After that first cup, I can say and spell primordial.  Heh.

I'm thinking about going fishing this morning, you know, after Hubs gets up and I've fed/medicated the cat.  We'll see.  I have coffee in me, but gathering everything up and being gone by sunup may be beyond me.  If I go in the morning, I have to be at my spot before the sun comes over the horizon, doncha know.  Otherwise, I have to wait or I'm driving east right into it and blinded by the light.

Revved up like a deuce another roamer in the...  Umm, never mind.

I really need to start wearing my reading glasses when I'm at the computer.  Blerg.  Getting older sucks.  Speaking of which, I'll be fifty here shortly.  Double blerg.

Yesterday was the 18th anniversary of my Dad's passing.  Eighteen years.  Hard to believe it's been that long.  I told some bad jokes to Hubs yesterday and then said to the picture of my parents 'those were for you, Dad'.  (Bad as in awful, not dirty.  Dad used to tell some hella bad jokes - awful and/or dirty depending on the occasion.  I don't subject Hubs to the dirty ones.  They aren't his style.)

Kira Kitty will be like 84 (17 in people years) on Saturday.  The grand dame of the house isn't quite herself yet, but on the road to recovery.   As the vet put so eloquently, she's a sweet kitty, but you get the sense she'd rather everyone just leave her alone.  Heh, her and I both.

I guess right now, everyone is leaving everyone else alone.  Well, except for online.  People are getting a mite tetched out there on the 'net this days.  Duck and cover, people. 

Okee doke.  Time to refill the coffee mug and wander off to do other things.  Have a great day everyone.

Sunday Update - Week 43

Hello again.  We're getting pretty close to the end of 2019.  Woohoo?

Anyway, still no writing, but it's getting closer to terminal mass.  Unfortunately, I have no idea what I'm going to write.  I sat down and looked through my 'ideas' file, and not a single damn thing blew my skirt up.  Except, of course, the urge to organize the file.  I guess the left brain is still in charge.  Time for a right brain coup.

The Dennis Haggarty sale was a bust.  And I'm now in the Sleeping Ugly sale (10/25-10/31), which isn't doing anything either.  I suspect my marketing posts to the FB group pages are not getting the reach they used to.  I used to be able to get at least one or two sales.  Now?  Silence.  I'll be lucky if I pull $8 this month.  Fingers crossed next month doesn't suck as hard.

In reading news, I only finished one book last week, but it was kind of an awesome book, so all is well.  Right now, though, I'm reading that book I forgot I wrote but never finished.  (Just reading, not editing or even note-taking.)  It's really good, especially considering it's a partial first draft of a NaNo novel so it was written in 30 days.  Sure, it needs a boatload of editing, but I'd say it'll be on par with the fantasy novels I've read.  You know, if I ever finish it. 

My activity level was okay - 4 out of 7 days.  I count fishing, though, and that's not always a super-active thing.  Weighed myself yesterday - 180.4.  Ya know something?  It's harder to weigh myself when it's colder because I am not inclined to strip down to my all-togethers and step on a cold scale first thing in the morning.  I feel thinner, though.  That's gotta count for something, right?

Let's see... I made oatmeal cake again.  This time I added raisins.  It's good, but all the raisins sunk to the bottom, so it's more like raisin upside-down cake.  Additionally, I used rolled oats instead of quick oats.  They gave the cake more heft and texture - which is good in my opinion, but your mileage may vary.  I also did pizza subs again.  Nailed it.  All they needed was more toppings and for the toppings to be cooked before they went into the sub.  So good.  And last week, I did a thing where I wrapped ham and cheese around chicken tenderloins and baked them.  Yummers.

Oh, I saw the first bald eagle of the season on Friday!  So, the frigid, windy fishing trip where I didn't catch a single blasted fish wasn't a total loss.

The other day I was at the feed store chatting with my friend.  Another customer came in and joined in the conversation.  My friend told him I was there to buy corn to feed the deer and he asked if I'd seen any really big bucks.  "Nope," I says, "we never see any big deer."  And my friend laughs and tells him I'm also not going to tell him where I live - which totally crapped out my 'hide the deer' lie.  Of course, no one can hunt back in here without landowner permission and even then only with bows because the houses are too close together to allow for firearm hunting.  I'm fine with hunting, just not where I live.  I would haz a sad if I knew for certain any of the deer we feed were hunted.  (I'm not daft enough to believe all of these deer are safe in their entire range.  And they need to be hunted to keep the herd healthy.  I just don't want to know about it.)

Getting older really does blow.  Other than the comic relief portions.  Yesterday, Hubs and I were having a conversation about all the various things that no longer work like they're supposed to or the 'old people' maladies that are starting to crop up.  At one point, I said "I am not wearing cornpads! I am not my grandmother!" and he about fell over laughing.  (For the record, I don't know if my grandmother actually wore cornpads, but it seems like a grandmotherly thing.)  Laughter.  It really is the best medicine.

And on that note, I'll let you get back to your Sunday.  What's up with you lately?  What are you laughing about today?

Thursday This n That

Thursday.  I keep having to remind myself that it is, in fact, Thursday.  These 'Holiday on Monday' weeks really mess me up.  (Not that it's that difficult. LOL)

It's getting to the point where I either need longer arms, a wider desk, or to wear my glasses while I'm at the computer.  Getting old sucks.  A friend of mine wanted to show me something on her phone the other day.  She handed the phone over and I held it out at arm's length.  "Can you read it?" she asked.  "Gimme a minute," I replied.  I should've just gotten my glasses out of my purse, but I'm not used to having to do that yet.  Definitely need longer arms. 

I now have glasses on my desk (for work and bills), in my purse (for reading at the store), next to my chair in the living room (for reading in general), and in my fishing bag (for tying knots).  I can't walk with them on so I need to have them scattered around.  I don't need them for driving - a perk of being farsighted.  I only need them for reading things smaller than say 14-pt font which now need to be held at a scosh farther than arm's length.

The fawns are starting to lose their spots.  :sniffle:  The babies are growing up.

I need to make granola bars today.  Hubs eats one or two a day, so it takes 10-14 days to go through a batch.

Wallyworld was an exercise in irritation yesterday.  There were these two gals shopping together and each of them had their own cart complete with small child.  And they kept stopping to talk, side-by-side so they took up the whole damn aisle.  And it seemed like every time they stopped it was in front of something I needed or they were blocking where I needed to go.  Argh.  Then I got into a checkout line and had this dude behind me who had no concept of personal space.  I hadn't even finished unloading my cart before he decided to start putting his stuff on the conveyor belt.  I tried to be polite - 'Sir?  Can you back up?  I'm not finished unloading my cart yet.'  Instead of 'Back off, Asshole.'  Not easy considering how irritated I already was.  Then in the car on the way home, I said all the things to him and to those two chicks that I really wanted to say in increasing volumes.  Got a lot of it out before I got home so I didn't subject poor Hubs to the worst of it. 

Come to think of it, I was already cranky before I left for the store.  Definitely didn't help.  Don't shop cranky.

Don't shop hungry either.  Jus' sayin'.  Yesterday, the irritation overrode the hunger, so I actually didn't do too bad.  Just ice cream, which I said I was going to stop buying.  And a chicken sandwich so I could take the edge off the hangry. 

With all the walking I'm doing, I'm having to buy new tennis shoes every 4-6 months.  The memory foam gets flat or something and they no longer provide the support I need.  I'd buy more expensive ones, but the ones Mom gets are more expensive and they only last her about 6 months, so what's the point of that?  Wallyworld - $20.  Got this round's new ones yesterday.  They're blue with peach accents.  So stylin'.

Oh, and I picked up corn yesterday.  No weevils!  Yay!

Okay, I've chewed your ears off enough for one day.  What's in your this-n-that world today?