Chat 12/08/14

That's a wild hair indeed, Jackie!  Other than bathrooms, kitchens are the biggest nuisance to paint.  Bummer it's not your ideal color, but fresh paint always makes a room look nice and clean and new.  I'm sure it sets off your new cabinetry very nicely.  Boy, I feel like a real slug considering I can't even muster the motivation to put out a single Christmas decoration!

I hope Charles is feeling reasonably comfortable despite whatever side effects might hit him.  Continuing to send both of you loads of good vibes.

I did do one holiday related task this weekend:  I got my Mom's box of gifts mailed.  I was determined to get it mailed earlier than I usually do because one gift is a decoration she can use before Christmas.  She has a tiny apartment and the same lack of motivation for decorating as I do, so I got her this cute little tree that fits on a stand -- it's about 10 inches high and is made of very realistic-looking pipe cleaner type stuff, and it's got a few small red bulbs on it.  No water needed, takes up very little space, easy to store (it squishes up into a tube shape).  My kind of decoration!

A pile of bills to key, staring me in the face.  Better get to them!

Today has been a rough day, I'm glad its almost over.  Co-Co is at the vet, she had to have a tooth & a lump removed.  Chad had to leave work and now Aaron at the Drs, the daycare thinks pink eye.  I started a part time job where I was told the hours would be one thing but then was messaged my schedule today and it was different enough that I had to say something, which makes me feel like a whiny person.  Its been changed, but now I'm worried I've gotten on the owner's bad side.  

I'm so ready for our Christmas break!

I did get some pics posted here last week (community.dog.com/.../122379.aspx)

Oh dear, you are having a crappy day, Steph. Good thoughts for all at your house.

My desk is so covered with paperwork there is nowhere to set more. My boss brought me some stuff and said he was afraid I might "lose it" if I got one more invoice. I told him he was safe - I don't own any firearms - LOL

Good job on painting, Jackie.

@sharismom

Oh dear, you are having a crappy day, Steph. Good thoughts for all at your house.

My desk is so covered with paperwork there is nowhere to set more. My boss brought me some stuff and said he was afraid I might "lose it" if I got one more invoice. I told him he was safe - I don't own any firearms - LOL

Good job on painting, Jackie.

Jackie -- gosh, if want directions to MY house you can bring those wild pet rabbits and paint anything you want!!    I am keeping you and Charles in my prayers.  every chemo treatment is that much closer to the last one.  

Steph -- that sounds like "no win".  don't say anything and you get taken advantage of.  DO and you feel whiney.

Tracy I do the same thing except I actually just send Mom a box of "stuff" around Thanksgiving so she can decorate a little.  Otherwise she doesn't at all and then she and PA are morose as a result.  Jackson & Perkins have all their amaryllis on sale today and I just sent Mom one of those so they'll at least have something to see grow.  Mom can't 'see' it but she can feel it, and Dad enjoys it too.

Lunch is but a fond memory -- gotta get back to work!

Thanks you guys, venting did make me feel a little better :)

Co-Co is doing well, they said the tooth was fractured and the root was exposed.  Which shocked me, since she has not slowed down chewing on stuff, or eating.  And now that the surgery was over you wouldn't know anything had happened, except for the shaved spot.  She's completely unfazed.  Love that girl :)

Dr said Aaron did NOT have pink eye, just backed up mucus from a cold (which is what we figured, but the daycare needed the Drs note to let him come back).

The 2nd job was really just to have some extra "fun money"  and Chad knew the owner and saw that she needed some people.  I'm hoping she isn't upset with the schedule issue, but if she is *and* it becomes a problem I'm just not going to stick around.  I'd like to think it won't come to that though.

Clearly I'm in a better frame of mind today :)  

Jackie, do you think the paint color will grow on you over time?  Glad to hear Charles is doing ok, we will continue thinking of him and you.

We have no decorations up, and probably won't do much.  We decided to go back down to see family for Christmas, and didn't see much point of a lot of decorations when we won't be there.  Plus keeping Aaron out/off of them might be more hassle than its worth.  I want some lights to look at and some music and I might be good for this year.

Steph, so glad to hear that Co-Co is doing so well and that Aaron didn't have pink eye.  Odd that you mentioned that this week -- my friend's boyfriend was just diagnosed with it a few days ago.  He's in his early 60's.  It seems all the pink eye cases I've heard of have been school aged kids.  I had it as a kid -- not fun.

I think your outlook on the second job is just right.  If it works out to suit your schedule, great.  If not, then it'll be easy to walk away.

As for decorations, I'm enjoying the lights and trees I see when driving around or walking in our neighborhood, but I can't get motivated to do anything at our house.  I think our decorations will be limited to the Christmas cards displayed on the counter!  I may get a door wreath this weekend.  

If Jackie can share the "wild hair" -- then maybe I'll drag out our little table-top artificial tree before 12/25!

Glad Co-Co is recovering and that Aaron doesn't have pink eye. I'm susceptible to pink eye and usually get it in both eyes at the same time. It's always great looking like I've been on a bender.

Finished the Amex, my brain is fried, so I am going home. Pork chops are on the menu tonight.

The story about the young woman being burned to death is Mississippi is horrifying. I'm sorry I read it. I hope she rests in peace.

TTFN

I didn't see that story about the young woman being burned alive until this morning.  Truly horrific.  I can't imagine the terror and agony she must have felt.  And the heartbreak for her family, thinking about how she suffered.  Talk about a criminal monster.  I hope they find the person(s) who did it. 

We're in the "calm before the storm" here.  They've been broadcasting the warnings about a major weather event to start about 2pm --- lots of heavy rains and super high winds.  They said 40-50 mph gusts here in the valley, up to 80 mph on the coast.  We got some extra candles ready in case the power goes out.  And at least we got our damaged trees thinned out, so hopefully none of them will fall on us!  I will be keeping an eye on the giant fir trees behind out neighbors' house, however.  They are tall enough to hit our house if they fall.  Yikes.

A vendor sent us a 2 pound box of See's chocolates today.  I recognized the wrapping paper from 5 feet away (which cracked up my boss and coworker).  Needless to say, we started sampling them at 10am.  Oh, it's going to be a sweet day!

I hope you everyone in the paths of the crazy weather are safe.

Tracy, I think it's not fair to tell us about chocolate and not share!

My brain is totally fried and I have no idea how I'm going to get all my year end crap done in the next two weeks. Clone me, please.

Have a good weekend!

@sharismom

I hope you everyone in the paths of the crazy weather are safe.

Ditto ^^ The news reports about the storm are scary!

I hope Co-Co is still doing well-and yeah for no pink eye!

The only decoration I've put up so far is the dogs' stockings. I did a ton of laundry today, made some pea soup, and got the kitchen cleaned up. I hope to do some baking tomorrow night. It's final exam week, so I'll bring some goodies for the students.

Gosh yes, the storms out west are pretty awful.  Makes our snow, even though it lasted three full days, seem insignificant.  We got about 3 inches the first day, and then a total of another 2 or so.  Not huge amounts, but day after day after day it got a bit old.

Tomorrow will be insane with three doctors apts, only one of them mine, picking up RX;s, groceries and pet supplie, finishing Christmas shopping for my Mom......  Hopefully I'll have some time to bake Tuesday....I don't think there is anything on for Tuesday.  Hope not.

Made a big pot of chicken soup today and let it simmer all day.  Chicken with noodles, but also lots of veggies.  Seems the more mixed up a soup is, the more DH likes it.

A beautiful day in MN. Not.   Temp hit 53F yesterday, there is no snow left, but there is a lot of mud.  Visibility is up to about a quarter mile now due to fog, that is turning to rain.  Then the cold front will arrive and that means ice, broken trees and power lines snapping.  I may stay home today.

Little dog needs a run-or I will need a drink.  We ran through the deep grass two days ago.  He gets home and gets stuck in the shower stall till the mud is washed off.  Those with long haired pups know about the dripping belly hair.

Seasonal Affective Disorder-SAD, brought about by a lack of sunshine.  Similar to cabin fever.  You quietly go nuts.  Cure with sun lamps, a trip to the tropics, or brandy.  

Made a new wooden box yesterday.  A beta version from lower priced wood.  Made several mistakes (learning experiences), almost trimmed a finger with the planner-healing nicely- and it still looks pretty good.  Now to see if I can find some nicely figured maple to work with, and try for a final version. This box has a curved cover, made from a piece of 1" stock, and is assembled with dowels.   You can make a circle with straight lines, a block plane, and a power sander.  

I left my retirement note on the bosses desk a week ago.  No service calls this week (I think I may like retirement) and no comment from the boss yet.  

10 days and counting.

Doug, I was thinking of you yesterday while I was at the annual indoor holiday craft/farmers market.  One of the vendors was a guy who made beautiful wooden boxes, jewelry boxes, and cribbage boards.  He had "tournament" style boards, but he also had smaller ones for travel, so the top of the board was actually a lid (on a spring, so it stayed closed nicely).  The pieces and cards could be stored inside.  If I'd had a phone with a camera, I'd have taken a photo to post here to show you!

We ended up having only the wind portion of the storm they were warning us about.  No rain, and bizarrely warm temps (60), but man, the wind gusts were close to 50 mph, and they were scary.  I walked out of the grocery store with a heavy bag in each hand, yet I still nearly got blown over!

I took Friday off.  I was determined to finish all gift shopping, wrapping, and packaging by last night.  I'm so glad to say I reached my goal.  Had to stand in line for a long time at the PO this morning, but I got 4 boxes off.  I still have one larger one in my car; I couldn't carry them all in at once, and I wasn't about to get back into the insanely long line again.  

I have two official decorations up at the house now.  I got a wreath at the market, and I bought this cool little tree made from scraps of boiled wool.  It's about 8 inches tall, weighs a couple ounces, doesn't need water, and will be easy to store.  It's on the mantle.  Now I can say I decorated!

I am soooo glad that today is finally over.  3 medical appointments, TWELVE stores....just shoot me.

Off to try and make some headway with the Christmas ornaments.