The room I am in as I write this looks like a bomb went off in it. But no, no bombs -- out of nowhere a pipe under my kitchen sink went south, after I'd turned on the dishwasher and then headed out into the lovely afternoon to take care of some chores, get some good greazy TexMex soul food, came home to an ongoing nightmare.

My condo -- everything. Cabinets, drywall, flooring. Unfortunately, three of my neighbors also have extensive damage, I have great insurance but i'm not sure it's enough to cover all of my neighbors damages; my own is under a different piece of the ins policy, I *think* I'm in good shape. But I'm looking at weeks -- months? -- of chaos, confusion, expense, grief, blah blah blah.

On the other hand, I've got different fingers. Oh, wait, no -- On the other hand, this old condo has needed cabinets and paint and all the rest of it. So there is that.

I don't do well under pressure -- I've had less sleep since Monday than anywhere near healthy or whatever. I *finally* slept long and deep yesterday but tomorrow back into the grind; there's guys in my condo, emptying it out, and while it's a perfect time to downsize and throw a lot of excess into the dumpster and/or donate to Habitat for humanity. But I'm going to be here to determine what is trash, what is a keeper, and what donates and to who. An oak four poster -- waving it goodbye. An oak wardrobe? Adios. A walnut desk? Bye bye. I've owned all this furniture since the mid 70s, first items I bought after my ex and I split the blankets. I'd intended to keep this stuff to the end of my time -- it really is fine furniture -- but I'm going for a change, and in for a penny, in for a pound......

~~~~

What do I love to look at? The skyline of Austin. So many ppl complain -- "It's not Austin anymore!" They say this because they are dumb. Austin is forever changing, massive changes the past decade, maybe 15 years. But it's gorgeous. A bike ride at night through my shining colorful city is a joy. It's more like Dallas than it used to be, and that is unfortunate, but that's mostly in North Austin; downtown and South Austin are definitely not Dallas, nor Houston, it's Austin, just a different Austin than ten years ago.

God love you if you didn't ink a mortgage before the whole thing exploded. I don't know how these ppl do it. I am very, very lucky.

~~~~~

I love to look at my pickup truck. It's a 1996 Ford F150, which I'm sure means nothing to you but it means one heck of a lot to me. It is in mint condition, never even a tiny accident, not even a tiny ding on it. It still shines beautifully when washed. It's not some beast of a truck, not a four wheel drive, not a diesel engine, it's a Plain Jane regular persons pickup.

And in the past two years, and more every day, people are asking to buy it. I'm like "You've got to be on drugs." or whatever. It's a model that many ppl (myself included -- duh) ppl really love it. She's an older lady now, and needs good care, I have this great mobile mechanic who comes here to work on it; he's coming tomorrow, a couple of things going on, plus just maintenance, upkeep, grease the fittings, new spark plugs, etc etc and etc. He is *not* inexpensive, but worth every nickel...
posted by dancestoblue at 1:22 AM on August 12, 2024 [15 favorites]

I've been back from my big train vacation for about a week and I'm already missing the view.

Elsewhere, I'm having to ask for professional support from big-deal people for a career move and it's been surprisingly hard and scary. I got my first response last night and it was, "Kinsey, this is a no brainer!" Feels good.
posted by kinsey at 1:30 AM on August 12, 2024 [6 favorites]

It was not quite as spectacular as the display that we had in May, but we had a pretty nice aurora show tonight. I think conditions are supposed to remain good for another night or two for those in appropriate locations but I also believe our local weather is supposed to cloud up for the next few nights so I'm glad that my neighbors and I got to see the show tonight.

Despite living at a latitude where they would be theoretically possible reasonably often, it's pretty rare that we get a good show because cloud cover usually blocks our chances in this region of coastal temperate rainforest. So it's always a special treat when solar weather, terrestrial weather, and dark skies line up properly.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:06 AM on August 12, 2024 [4 favorites]

The town in West Suffolk where I now live shuts most of the street lights off at 11.30pm. That meant last night I could sit outside in my garden and watch the Perseids.
posted by antiwiggle at 2:21 AM on August 12, 2024 [8 favorites]

My backyard is alive with strawberry runners. It pains me to clip them. My heart aches every time I wield my garden shears. "This is for the best," I tell myself. "Please don't' hate me." I am the worst gardener. I cry every time I snip.
posted by SPrintF at 2:30 AM on August 12, 2024 [10 favorites]

Great title! wordshore - I was thinking yesterday what my favourite track would be and had settled on Spandau Ballet's True, but I have far more good memories with Blue Monday. Twitter friends 500k North are saying it's a great night for aurora but Monday is blue, and raining.
posted by unearthed at 2:35 AM on August 12, 2024 [1 favorite]

It's the season for maize mazes here; one of the local farms has a popular one, and there will soon be the annual night time mazes a few miles west.

But currently, I'm sitting in the living room. The TV is off - I can't stand daytime TV - and the blinds are open. Outside we've just had a small but intense storm pass through; one lightning strike was very close, and many house alarms are doing their thing.

So I'm glad I got in my morning walk earlier than usual. Sunlight reflected in the puddles from the overnight rain wasn't hot at that time of the day, the narrower lanes were free of traffic, and the long shadows of thatched cottages and tall trees gave ample shade.

And everywhere on the walk there were signs of summer gradually giving way to autumn. Fully laden apple and plum trees in orchards and by the sides of lanes; stubble where the combine harvester has been and gone; fields nurturing their second crop of the summer.

And signs also that the time of pumpkins begins to draw near...
posted by Wordshore at 2:46 AM on August 12, 2024 [7 favorites]

Dancestoblue, that is a lot. It's OK to struggle with sleep under those conditions and the way you are writing about it makes me trust you are doing well.

I'm inside looking out at the garden, which has overgrown completely. It looks like a wilderness. I'm waiting for a payment, because I've sold a small piece of land, and when I get it, I'm going to get some professional help. I can't do this by myself, or even with friendly neighbors' help. I have to say, it's a nice view: lots of different grasses, wild flowers and interesting fauna, from bees to deer. There is also a badger, or several, but I've only seen one once, and a wolf that some of my neighbors have seen but I haven't because my dog barks when he is here and he runs off. And hedgehogs that I rarely see, but they poop on my doorstep all the time.

Mainly, I'm procrastinating. I've been down with COVID for almost a month, now I'm finally well and the house really needs cleaning. But I hate vacuuming. I don't mind any of the other cleaning activities, but vacuuming is absolutely necessary in this house filled with spiders and their cobwebs and I hate it. I hate the noise, and also I've always been quite fond of spiders. It turns out that living in a house covered in cobwebs is not socially acceptable. People think you are a witch.

I also need to get back to work, which is surprisingly difficult. I'm surrounded by really interesting books but they are just there, looking at me.

Things I do while procrastinating: make bread, watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts, sort and order my pantry, make todo lists, make ice tea from Yorkshire Tea (strongly recommended), read old cookbooks, post on MetaFilter. I've also discovered that salting and then rinsing courgettes/squash make them really delicious before you even think of what to do with them. My plan is to make a gratin for lunch, but I'm snacking on them already.
posted by mumimor at 3:28 AM on August 12, 2024 [6 favorites]

My office overlooks the main campus quad, and when the weather is nice and students are frolicking I like to stand in the window in a Michael Myers pose and watch them. No one gets it but me, but I find it funny and it brings joy to my heart to see young people feeling free and happy.

At home I live in a huge apartment complex and only on the 3rd floor, so all I can see are other buildings and the trees that are landscaped around.

In different news, I got free tickets to the Pentaport Rock Festival two weeks ago. It is conveniently within walking distance to my apartment even though I had a vip parking pass and so took a car with a friend. I didn't really ever expect to go there but it was so much fun even if it was hot as hell.

In other different news, we did RA training today and incoming freshman move in on Weds, so campus is about to be a lot more lively. Yay for that, even if it does provide me with a lot of headaches.
posted by Literaryhero at 4:04 AM on August 12, 2024 [5 favorites]

vacuuming is absolutely necessary in this house filled with spiders and their cobwebs and I hate it. I hate the noise, and also I've always been quite fond of spiders. It turns out that living in a house covered in cobwebs is not socially acceptable. People think you are a witch

Non-dangerous-to-people spiders are great for insect control!

I've had two different friends bring me the Daddy Long Legs Spiders from their house to release into my house.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 4:24 AM on August 12, 2024 [9 favorites]

I love our old neighborhood, full of interesting houses and trees, many of which are more than a century old. But it has been so hot and muggy lately, walks have been severely abbreviated. Summer isn't over yet, but we have a little break in the worst of the heat and humidity. Took the dog for a nice, long, comfortable morning walk and appreciated some of the sights.

As far as pictures go, this photograph from Bruce Weber of the Duchess of Devonshire feeding her chickens has long been a favorite of mine. She just looks like she's having the best time.
posted by the primroses were over at 4:35 AM on August 12, 2024 [3 favorites]

Oh yes, I love that picture too!

Update: my courgette gratin is picture perfect!
posted by mumimor at 4:38 AM on August 12, 2024 [1 favorite]

Today is my last morning of pure unemployed idleness; tomorrow is the first of two days of training I have before I start a new job in a week.

I'm gonna miss this a bit. I've been waking up early, with the sun (my bedroom has north windows but it still gets light, and the blinds don't shut it out entirely), but am kinda stuck in my room until my roommate stirs at about 8 am. So I've ended up spending a few hours with coffee and internet in the morning, watching the light slowly brighten on the two gallery walls I've updated in my room (family and friends pictures out of the slight so they don't fade, posters and other random stuff on the opposite wall), the Commemorative Gallery of a friend's photographic work above my bed (a poster and four prints) just over the headboard, the pants in the windows.

I'll still do an abridged version of that - waking up early enough to jump in a shower and then have coffee and internet while I dry off for an hour or so, then dressing and getting myself together in time for the journey to work. I have an hour's commute this time, which was my upper limit. My roommate heads to work at about 9 and I'm spending the rest of the day doing a bit of a kitchen overhaul, cleaning things out of the fridge (something in there smells REALLY bad) and prepping some work lunches; I'll also try to get a handle on my home office, re-sorting and organizing some things because it looks WAY too chaotic in there.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:52 AM on August 12, 2024 [5 favorites]

What is something you've seen that has stuck in your mind?

When my wife was giving birth to our second child, and because it was happening right at a shift break for the nurses at the hospital, I found myself enlisted to assist the doctor down at the business end of the event, bracing one of my wife¡¯s legs so she could push. So, I kinda had a front-row seat to the whole thing, start to finish. You cannot witness this and not come away with your respect for your spouse raised to infinite levels.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:40 AM on August 12, 2024 [7 favorites]

Still making sandwiches. I've been posting them on Reddit and two were relatively popular. My spaghetti and meatballs on garlic bread sandwich and my mustard and pickled egg salad and hot dogs sandwich.
posted by Stanczyk at 6:14 AM on August 12, 2024 [4 favorites]

I got my taste of fall. The past days have been cool in the mornings and evenings and bearable in the afternoon. Bright skies and we were able to shut the air conditioning off and leave the windows open. Saturday evening was spent watching the Riverhounds play, sitting in the stands opposite the Pittsburgh skyline as the sun set. Beautiful.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:47 AM on August 12, 2024 [2 favorites]

I don't know why my brain came up with this, but a memory which fits this topic is, around the time I dropped out of college in the 1990s, on a particularly frustrating day I drove out into the farmlands, found a dead end road, stopped there, cranked my music on the stereo, and sat on top of my car watching a huge, orange harvest moon rise up from the horizon until my frustration had subsided.

Not a specific time, but I love watching wild critters at work -- bees, spiders, snakes. They are completely indifferent to people (as long as the people are at a respectful distance), they're not pests, they don't eat our food or damage our stuff, they're just busy being their best selves.

Along those lines, we have discovered there's a species of animal called a "house cricket" which has apparently moved into our home, probably a stowaway on something we bought at an auction or garage sale. Unlike a lot of arthropods that live in the house, they're not gross, they're not aggressive or fast, they don't seem to be causing damage, they just like the basement bathroom because it's a water source. My reaction isn't "AAAHH" or "ew gross" when I see one, it's "god damn it, how many of you are there". They're easy enough to catch and flush, no risk of getting bit or stung or anything. The cats don't even seem to care that they're around. They must have a place where they're breeding, we don't see more than one or two every couple days but they're replenishing their numbers somehow. I'll go with the Far East opinion that they're good luck and that's why they're hanging around, to spread their magical luck powers until they venture into the light and get flushed down the toilet.

Everything else update: Last week I was in Denver; the week before that my wife was in Milwaukee; the week before THAT I was freelancing with long days -- so this weekend was the first time my wife and I were on the same schedule, so we planned a date night. We went to a really fancy restaurant, like, need reservations and all, and ate some amazing food. While we were out, my wife got a text from her boss/friend, that they were going to karaoke (the crew was her boss who makes dog biscuits for a living and manages the retail shop where they're sold, a former-pageant-queen-now-professional-crocheter, and her boyfriend who I have no idea what he does) and wondered if we would join them, which started a convoluted story of wandering downtown after dinner to find them after they left the karaoke place and then once we found them we were out with them until after midnight, during which I had two - TWO! - drinks, and was enlisted to sing "Sexyback" with my wife's boss/friend at the SECOND karaoke place they went to, and on the drive home, my 60-year-old wife and 50-year-old me reflected on how much like old times that night was. We have been warned that they will find a karaoke place with better vibes and we are required to come along the next time they go out.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:52 AM on August 12, 2024 [9 favorites]

Grumble. Just tried to borrow an ebook, and got the message

"The collective daily borrow limit set by your library has been reached and will reset at midnight. Please browse and add titles to favorites so you can easily access them after midnight"

as in, the fact that other people have borrowed ebooks today means I can't :(
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 7:14 AM on August 12, 2024 [4 favorites]

I did a bike ride on Saturday that, for me, ended up being 45 miles, which is the longest ride that I did since dropping out of RAGBRAI last year. (I'm pretty sure that my running out of energy last year had to do with being on Ozempic, and the modification that I did to my medications seems to have at least partially solved that problem.) The ride was structured as three loops of just over 20 miles each, and after coming back from the first one, I was talking to someone about the remaining two loops, because I was pretty sure that I was only going to do one more... and they seemed pretty sure that I should do the third one, because it wasn't as hilly. The unspoken assumption seemed to have been that, since I'm 60 and fat, I wouldn't be able to handle the second loop. But when I checked the route map, the second loop was all of about 55 feet more of elevation than the first one--which, over 20-odd miles is basically nothing--and others assured me that the second loop was more scenic than the third one, so I did the second one, and it was nice, and the elevation caused me no problems at all.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:30 AM on August 12, 2024 [5 favorites]

The sight that is stuck in my head right now is the Romanian town n9ominally called Rimetea, though everyone in it is Hungarian and they call it by its Hungarian name Torock¨® (TOH-wrotes-koh). It's my mother-in-law's family's home village and we visited against last month. It's gorgeous, sometimes known as the village where the son rises twice because it's between two mountains. It's one of the loveliest places I've ever been.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:09 AM on August 12, 2024 [4 favorites]

MetaFilter - - - FlashBack!

So I'm watching "Angels With Dirty Faces" (1938) where I realized one of the Dead End Kids wears what we now call a Jughead Cap which provoked a search -‌ I thought I'd made a blog posting about this headgear but haven't found that yet although I did find Astro Zombies' FPP from 2009 which probably inspired it. A blessing on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine for allowing me to read the dead links therein.
posted by Rash at 8:12 AM on August 12, 2024 [2 favorites]

In a recurrent dream, apocalyptic fireworks.
posted by kozad at 8:18 AM on August 12, 2024 [1 favorite]

Speaking of memorable sights, I have been in a couple of places, Kauai being one of them, where the ocean, the cloud cover, the humidity, and the sun angle all come together in a way that the ocean and sky blend together. You can't see where the horizon is exactly. It is pretty amazing.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 9:15 AM on August 12, 2024 [1 favorite]

In 2005 my company sent me to the MacWorld conference in San Francisco for a week, which was the first time I'd ever been to the west coast. After a few days I'd seen as much of the conference as I could stand, so I spent a day exploring the city by cable car and trolley. I checked out Haight-Ashbury (which was just another neighborhood by that time, no colorful hippies in sight) and Golden Gate Park, then walked from the Embarcadero all the way around to the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. The next day I got a trolley to the bridge, walked across it and up into the Marin headlands and Hawk Hill. On the walk there the fog came in, so by the time I got to a lookout point I could hear the ocean but couldn't see it. As I sat on a bench just resting, looking at the wall of grey and listening to the waves hundreds of feet below me...suddenly the fog parted, the sun shone, and I saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

I went back to MacWorld a couple years later; this time after getting my fill of the conference (same old same old) I rented a car and drove up to the Muir Woods to see the coastal redwoods. It was a beautiful cool sunny day, I had the radio cranked up, and just as I was driving onto the Golden Gate Bridge I heard the opening guitar riff of Born To Be Wild - it couldn't have been a more perfect moment! I drove across the bridge just thrilled to be there and then, grinning like a maniac. The rest of the drive was less eventful but still lovely, and as I strolled in between those huge, almost unimaginably tall trees I was stunned by how fantastically beautiful they were. It was a magical experience, and it was in the midst of those majestic trees that I decided I had to move to the west coast. Of course by that time SF was already an impossibly expensive place to live, which is why I ended up in Portland instead; but although I'd still love to live in San Francisco, I've never had occasion to regret moving to the west coast. I've seen some amazing beautiful things and had lots more magical moments, though that first glimpse of the Pacific waves endlessly crashing against the shore and seeing the shafts of sunlight through the tall redwood canopy are still crystal clear in my memory.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:50 AM on August 12, 2024 [9 favorites]

Wordshore the photos of where you live create an absolutely craving in me. such a lovely spot!! I don't think there is any place in the US with that type of look/charm/sense of age (of course). I want to live in a little cottage with a wild English garden and be a witch, but no spoods cause I'm a fraidy cat.
posted by supermedusa at 9:52 AM on August 12, 2024 [3 favorites]

memory: between the continental divide & appalachia, earth's the horizon & sky's everywhere else
posted by HearHere at 9:53 AM on August 12, 2024 [1 favorite]

The weekend: Had a long (5.5 hour) rehearsal this Saturday, but actually it wasn't too bad, so that was nice. Then I went to visit mom/see Sister Act, which was not what I was expecting (it now takes place in 77/78 and is now all about disco, with disco nun outfits). One of my theaters is doing it this spring and I'm not sure if I want to audition for it or not in the future, mostly because there's a new director for it that I've been in shows with before. While he's polite enough to me in public (barely), he clearly doesn't like me too much and thinks I'm a crap performer (i.e. raves about everyone else in the group and ignores me). He's beloved around there and when I say I might not get in, people stare at me funny, like "he's so nice!" The directors I usually work with will take anybody, but I'd bet this guy won't take the likes of me, so.... yeah. Oh well, I wasn't madly in love with the music of it so I won't feel too bad about not getting in in the future, I guess.

Started a new audition song, which I fucking hate ("You'll Never Walk Alone.") for My Fair Lady. The song is slow, dreary, high notes, literally boring to listen to, from a show I hate. My singing teacher thinks I should go for "motherly" and audition for the housekeeper in My Fair Lady, which is why that choice (she thinks one should shoot for a part in an audition even if one isn't likely to get one), and I get the logic, but the song sucks. Feh. I keep telling myself it doesn't matter what I do anyway and the director likes Carousel, so I should suck it up.

My mom got very weird at me this weekend while I was visiting. That's pretty common anyway, but this was weird even for her.

(a) She wanted me to pick the restaurant--this is Fighting Time in my family anyway and why I will perpetually claim to have no preference--but when I picked Restaurant A of the choices of A/B/C, she started arguing vociferously that I should pick B, and when I gave in and said fine, let's do B, immediately switched to arguing vociferously that I should pick C--including presenting me with a menu from the place. Her boyfriend was all, "sometimes she just has to do that." Why would you act like this?

(b) She essentially told me she doesn't like my acting like someone else in shows and prefers that I just be myself on stage. She also claimed to like my voice when normally she won't stop complaining about it. I noted that people don't exactly cast you to "just be yourself" onstage and it's not like my personality fits any typical stage parts. I get that I'm better as me when dancing--I'm better when I'm not trying to remember someone else's choreography and am just making it up--and people like my storytelling best, but I can't just...be "me" onstage usually. I don't exactly have the status/reputation/fame for, I dunno, one woman showing. So this wasn't something I liked hearing.

I've been trying to figure out why I usually can't get cast for even minor roles, probably because I don't fit, but basically being told "don't act, just act like you normally" doesn't work either outside of the storytelling world.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:02 AM on August 12, 2024 [7 favorites]

This morning I cleaned and refilled my bird bath (cleaned my little water fountain too), and the bird feeders. The yard needs cutting again after all the rain of this past week and I'm not feeling up to it today. I was diagnosed with COVID on Saturday and this time around it's worse. (I had it back in 2020 before vaccines were available. I've been vaccinated and boosted but admittedly not recently)

This felt like a sinus infection, which I hate, and that's why I went pronto to the walk in clinic Saturday after developing symptoms Friday night. Oh the headache, sinus pressure/pain, sneezing, coughing etc. But I'm feeling down because I did mention that I have it on a post I made (not here) and while most people are sympathetic, I get those "Oh, I've never tested for it or had a test in my house". Huh? Doesn't mean you didn't have it, or pass it along. I am so disgusted by people's attitudes these days about....OH SO MUCH.....but I don't understand the "superiority" about COVID. Great, you weren't affected, awesome, but SOME people were, SOME people died. Have a little respect. Oh wait, that's not possible these days.

Sorry for the rant. I'm feeling a bit miserable at the moment.
posted by annieb at 10:45 AM on August 12, 2024 [11 favorites]

Memory: the endless salt flats of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. White salt, perfectly flat, running several miles in every direction towards distant mountains in the horizon¡­ in some areas tiny fossilized coral reefs - some 50 million years old - rise up like tiny islands dotting the bleach white salt plain. These few now-visible tips are some 30 or in a couple places 50 meters above the floor of the ancient seabed. Because that¡¯s exactly what Uyuni is: ocean floor from 50~55 million years ago, raised up 4000 meters above sea level, and filled with salt to a depth of 10~50 meters, depending.

During the rainy season a few inches of water will simply sit on top of the salt and a natural near-perfect mirror forms running all the way to the horizon in every direction. While most photos you¡¯ve seen are taken mid-day when reflection angle is ideal for the sky above / sky below look, the view at sunset simply tears your heart out. Genuinely the stuff of ¡°they should have sent a poet.¡±

I hope to travel widely later in life, but Salar de Uyuni was the sole place on Earth that after seeing the photos made me say ¡°I *need* to see this in person.¡± Everywhere else, including all those famous buildings and cities in Europe, the Pyramids, etc¡­ strongly in the ¡°nice to have¡± column. Like, I want to, but if I don¡¯t before I die it¡¯s okay. Salar de Uyuni was the only absolute must for me, and it exceeded my incredibly high expectations.

Elsewise: I finally bit the bullet this weekend and transitioned to Linux. My personal PC is now dual-booting NixOS (the primary) and a very locked down fresh installation of Windows 10, which I will try to setup later to run within a VM similar to Parallels on OSX. They each have a 1TB dedicated partition and together share a 2TB btrfs-formatted partition.

So far NixOS has lived up to the hype about the benefits of a declarative / programmable operating system. It has also lived up to its reputation for being more than a little arcane, yet entirely worth it all the same. Looking forward to getting it playing games (Elite Dangerous especially) later this week.
posted by Ryvar at 11:12 AM on August 12, 2024 [5 favorites]

That reminds me - I have a laptop I put Linux on a few months ago, then promptly forgot about. I've been telling myself for a few years that I want to learn Linux...I need to get that set up on my desk and actually do something with it.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:45 AM on August 12, 2024 [1 favorite]

I am looking out my living room window. I can see the large metal sun that I just bought hanging on the side of my garage. The sun has a surprised and delighted expression on his face. Nearby in the yard is the 2-foot-tall metal rooster I got for my birthday. His name is Cluckers. (The sun is as yet unnamed.)
posted by JanetLand at 11:52 AM on August 12, 2024 [5 favorites]

Sight...

Man am I afraid of losing that...
I have been half deaf in one ear most of my life, and age is taking it's toll on both ears with age. But if I went blind, ouch. So much of my memories are anchored to what I was seeing at the time.

The picture we have of Delicate Arch, where Ms. Windo and I took a wrong turn and ended up on the other side of the canyon from which Delicate Arch sits? Watching "The Double" in a motel room in Moab a few years later. Driving through the Flint Hills? The views crossing Independence Pass? Coming out of the Bighorns at 5:30 AM, seeing the sun come up over the sea of grass that is the Great Plains? Yeah, I've taken a lot of cross-country road trips...

And old pictures I see every day, that remind me of the times in the past.

Looking around my usual space:

Computer screen, computer, trash and paers and stuff on my computer's desk, (old tiny wooden thing, probably somewhat mid-century. Rotating counter clockwise, the floor bookcase that I have mostly been given, so 7/8th full of my board games. My first amp on the wall hiding behind that, (Peavey Backstage +).

Then the entry area which is mostly filled with our kids old sports equipment and the anit-flicker/woodpecker stuff we had to use a few years ago. Ms Windo just left yesterday, taking our youngest child back to college in So Cal. Empty-nest phase is always a challenge.

The flickers are doing some serious damage to our power poles. They are so old though, and the power cables are leaning onto our roof, so they are going to be replaced pretty soon. Which won't be wood. So they may come back to the house, so keeping those things.

Bookcase with books and pictures on top, some, referenced above.

Cool couch we got from my in-laws when they sold their house. Had it recovered in a groovy orange geometric fabric.

Forgot the shitty amp before the bookshelf, (Gorilla).
And then we get to my music area. Old drum machine and a couple of pedals I'm not using, and my 1981? Gibson SG, (which seems to be a factory second, but still pretty cool, as long as we don't talk about the G-string tuning peg), and my Goodwilled Peavey Vyper amp, which can basically do anything my pedals can...

And then the Mid-Century wall shelves that came with the house. completely packed with my games. And the old Danish teak table I grew up with, now in even worse shape than it used to be. Also covered with 2 games I have thrifted, and am inventorying, and EastFront, which I am playing. My opponent doesn't like it, so anyone wants to play EF1 on Vassal, drop me a line.
posted by Windopaene at 12:10 PM on August 12, 2024 [4 favorites]

Wasted my lunch hour driving around (to an inconvenient location) to get blood work done and waiting around only to find the doctor didn't bother to put the lab work request in. I'm inclined to say, "you know what, this isn't urgent and this didn't go well trying to cram it into one lunch hour, how's about we wait to check my vitamin levels until 2025 when I can be out longer?"

I also found out that my sick time doesn't transfer over unless I'm retiring, which makes no sense. I am unsurprised at that one, but feels stupid anyway.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:39 PM on August 12, 2024 [2 favorites]

Well that was fun - making a sandwich for lunch, watching Sandwiches of History (a Lime Jelly and Tuna Sandwich? oof) and bam! (About 7-8 miles away from me)

Not my favorite way to whet my appetite!
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:44 PM on August 12, 2024 [2 favorites]

In the past 11 days, I've seen 8 fringe shows in Minneapolis, a musical, a baseball game, and a play. The fringe shows were pretty mixed, but I am glad I made it this year. I did not have time last year, but this year I won a ten-show pass at a charity auction. I saw Kinky Boots on Thursday and English yesterday. KB has been on my list for a long time and there was finally a local version for me to catch. I went in unspoiled and I loved it. English is playing at the Guthrie for another week, and it won a Pulitzer.

Tomorrow is state primary day in Minnesota. We are only scheduled for the early shift but have worked the whole day before. It seems like they have enough people they might not need us to this time, but I can imagine it getting busy in the evening, so we'll see. They had a hard time filling spots in March for the Presidential primary. I expect a lot of comments about candidates that are not even on the ballot this time, especially Walz.
posted by soelo at 1:49 PM on August 12, 2024 [3 favorites]

Well, there went the relaxed week - instead of two days of onboarding this week and then starting in earnest next week, I have FOUR days this week (starting tomorrow). I still start next week.

However, this office says that they'll need my schedule to be Tuesday-Saturday instead of Monday-Friday on occasion, and next week will be one such week. So I do get a three-day weekend.

Now the big challenge is that I have to get some kind of physical for them - but I"ve been uninsured for a year, and my insurance will not kick in until November.. I did get a basic physical for the job I breifly had at the beginning of the year and I've requested those records, to tide things over; I've told them the situation and they'll have a look and see if this can be a placeholder. I've also reached out to my doctor about whether we can work something out billingwise.

Fortunately this is not a large office. I'm supporting the CEO of a womens' health clinic and there are only 60 people on staff.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:37 PM on August 12, 2024 [3 favorites]

The place I couldn't quite believe when I was there: somewhere in Utah, or maybe Nevada, on Route 50 while driving from NYC to SF. We stopped on the dead-straight two-lane blacktop, mountains 20 miles in front of us, desert all around, not a sound. Just like in all the pictures I'd seen when I was a boy growing up in South London.

And the most beautiful place I've ever been: in Kerala staying in a hut under the palm trees, about 10 yards from the sea. Our hosts took a table down to the beach, so we had dinner next to the ocean. Absolutely magic and a great antidote to Mumbai, which is where I'd been working.

On a more mundane topic, the last few days have seen me back at the gym, under the instruction of the cardiac rehab people after heart surgery two months ago. All seems to have healed up OK and they're happy with how the heart is working, so now it's a case of getting some energy and strength back.

I have to say that the surgeon is my new hero. Heck, if I have a bad morning at work no-one dies horribly, and I can't fathom how someone turns up to do this kind of thing a couple of times a week.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 2:43 PM on August 12, 2024 [4 favorites]

Ya for the surgeons!

I can't imagine the stress of. "I have a bad day or make a mistake, someone dies", every single day.

And I have had two really good surgeons that have completely saved my life. And did not have "Surgeon Attitude".
posted by Windopaene at 2:50 PM on August 12, 2024 [3 favorites]

My everyday gift of a view is of my backyard, the dead tree that needs removing but it's such a great Halloween tree; we had a spectacular sunset on Saturday and I was able to show my partner how the tree catches that concentrated honey golden light, glows against the pale blue sky just like at sunrise. The garden with all things growing, I probably have only one more day to wrangle a new trellis for the cucumbers before they go completely wild. All of it, the house and the back yard and the front yard to be planted next year, and how quiet it is except when it's very late /early morning on the weekend and the younguns are racing in the shopping center parking lot. It's a big green paradise and soothing to my eyes the way the silence is and the feeling of being able to run up and down the stairs I could barely struggle up when we first moved in. I can see a future here.
I've had cats all my life, but only one had green eyes. Now I have a pair of siblings with lettuce green eyes, and another cat with teal eyes! And my golden eyed handsome prince of a cat. I also got to see someone I like a lot, my partner's brother; unlike other family member he seems to like me as I am, and is easy to be with, and seeing him makes my partner so happy. We swam and ate and they carried on their life long conversation about video games.
Just now I went to the mailbox and got a returned birthday card, which I'll re-address, but also a postcard from a MeFite in the Netherlands. It is charming and reminds me to start sending out more stuff again, now that I've had a chance to organize my art supply hoard a bit. I came across some images that make good stickers and I've been taking pictures again, and I vow to conquer my printer/scanner and make it do as I wish instead of reminding me about firmware updates, I don't think so pal.
posted by winesong at 3:11 PM on August 12, 2024 [5 favorites]

I live in a forest on a river, and the view out my window is green trees. On the weekend we had all the windows open because the air finally didn¡¯t feel like soup - it was so nice. I actually put a sweater on and was very pleased about it.

My husband found another litter of kittens in his grandmother¡¯s yard. So live traps are out to catch them all so we can surrender them to a rescue. We may wind up fostering for a short time depending on whether the rescue has space. We went through this same situation a couple of years ago, so we kind of know what we¡¯re in for. Except this time the kittens look to be a bit older so the difficulty level in socializing might be a bit higher. We¡¯ll see how this goes.
posted by eekernohan at 5:16 PM on August 12, 2024 [4 favorites]

Wordshore, I so love your photos. (fist-bumps supermedusa) Thank you for sharing some of the beauty of your region with distant us.
posted by kristi at 6:32 PM on August 12, 2024 [3 favorites]

Knew I¡¯d find it too late. Here is a photo that provides some sense of what Uyuni looks like at sunset (may need a moment to load the specific image). Beautiful on paper, but standing there, fully immersed in it is something you have to experience for yourself.
posted by Ryvar at 1:54 AM on August 13, 2024 [5 favorites]

At the local flea-market there are often paintings to be had for a reasonable price and over the last couple years I've picked up quite a few - nothing more than 50euro, most around 15. One that I am particularly fond of was painted around 1910-15 (?) and it is of a small pond next to some trees. Not remarkable, especially, but with some googling I found out that the painting was likely painted up on the Baltic coast when the painter was around 20 (here in Germany artists belong to associations/guilds/academy-affiliated groupings I don't know what quite to call it, but they're on lists - which is very for looking up who this or that flea-market painter was, or was not). We were up there recently and the light was exactly as in the painting. Bright, strong, clear. It struck me particularly, without thinking about it this light has always been significant in how I think about the place but I've never sorta acknowledged it: until now - (even though I've had the little painting for a couple years.)

When I was 12 I went on a big trip to visit a friend in Dundee, Scotland. (An enormous trip, I went alone (!)) and one day we went on a hike somewhere out in the hills and the beauty of the landscape sucker-punched me. I tried to store it in my brain, actively, intentionally - "remember this, this is fucking beautiful." I don't know if I succeeded, visually, but the imprecation is definitely there.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:49 AM on August 13, 2024 [5 favorites]

I miss Dundee and its landscape so much, From Bklyn. I spent a lot of time there until my step-grandmother died nine years ago. I kept trying to tell myself that I have the New Forest locally, rural Hampshire and the rather workaday industrial coast near me, but it doesn't fill the same gap.
posted by paduasoy at 4:36 AM on August 13, 2024 [2 favorites]

Memorable sight: I was volunteering once, and my partner and I were called to a scene with the largest first responder presence I've ever seen. 3 medic units, an ambulance, several fire trucks, and maybe 10-15 cop cars, all over the streets for about two blocks. It was late and dark, and the most amazing display of flashing red, blue, white and yellow lights I'd ever seen. If not for the circumstances, I'd recall it fondly. As it is, I just recall it.

I'm wfh today while we have insulation reinstalled. I'm in my downstairs room/office, which is full of unpacked boxes, miscellanea of varying sized, and a mattress, all leftovers from our move-in of (redacted) years ago. So my sight right now is dominated by clutter.
posted by Gorgik at 1:36 PM on August 13, 2024 [2 favorites]

The implementation of doom staggers on. I genuinely feel bad for the devs at this point. It just isn¡¯t going well. Both devs are very, very good at what they do, this whole thing is cursed.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 2:00 PM on August 13, 2024 [1 favorite]

I have my colonoscopy tomorrow, and I just started my prep. The the senna laxative/propylene glycol protocol, so only a half gallon of liquid compared the standard 1 gallon prep. Plus it's split between the night before and morning of. I'm so freaking hungry right now. I've had jello. And after I finish tonight's prep, I'm going to have some chicken broth.

I'm looking at my brother's orange cat. Her body is facing forward, but her head is turned like 130 degrees to the side. She's looking blankly at the wall. Clearly another orange has the spare brain cell.

I plan on making a roasted peach cheesecake this weekend. The recipe calls for blueberries, so we're going to experiment.

I start my new job on Thursday. I go to the dentist to get the last of my teeth pulled on Monday. I need to see if anyone will remove the implants I have. Bunch of places were "Well did you have them done here?" No. "Then we can't do it" Meh. Hopefully there is a way the dentist can work around them then.

And another 8 ounces of prep down. I want to puke :(
posted by kathrynm at 3:19 PM on August 13, 2024 [3 favorites]

Well, the server seems to be fixed, good morning!

I'm day 2 into a new job and on the way home yesterday I was already thinking "oh yeah, this is gonna be fine." I'm supporting the CEO of a womens' health clinic; I was a bit uneasy on this job hunt because I got let go only 3 months into the last job.

But the place I'm at now has one-sixth the staff of the last job, and I've already gotten six times the training on my first day with yet more to come. My boss is also a tough, plainspoken, take-no-shit lady of the sort that I secretly love (tough and grumpy exterior that you just know is hiding a marshmallow inside). She also doesn't even get into the office in person until about noon each day, apparently, so I have half a day to get shit done before she gets in. So far it's all things I can do in my sleep. Literally my only complaint is that the commute is about an hour, but that's standard for most jobs here in NYC. I was just spoiled by my last two jobs being walking distance or a short bus ride.

....Also, a couple people from my last job told me that a couple other people have been "let go for performance" recently - but they're people like the head of purchasing who'd been there for 20 years, and ONE OF MY BOSSES, and both had been doing just fine. So now everyone (including me) is a little suspicious that there's some budget stuff going on that's the real reason, and a couple people (including me) are giving a side-eye to my own dismissal as well.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:09 AM on August 14, 2024 [3 favorites]

Literally my only complaint is that the commute is about an hour, but that's standard for most jobs here in NYC.

This always surprised me when you looked at the actual commute times: I used to go from North Brooklyn to Mid-town everyday (L train to 6 train) and it took 45 minutes regardless if which trains I took, or even if I drove (motorcycle or car) or. For a while I rode my bike and that was ten minutes faster but absolutely only ten minutes. With a jet-pack it might¡¯ve taken me five minutes.
posted by From Bklyn at 6:05 AM on August 14, 2024 [1 favorite]

I do have the advantage of an "opposite way" commute - North Brooklyn to Jamaica, Queens. So no matter what I do I'm guaranteed a seat.

And honestly, my commute will be less than an hour when the G train is back up in a couple weeks; I'm one block from a G stop, and the office is one block from an E stop. G to Astoria, switch to the E, boom. ...I also learned that one of my colleagues comes in from Sag Harbor on the LIRR every day and starts her commute at 6 am so I have learned to hold my tongue insofar as commute complaints go.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:43 AM on August 14, 2024 [2 favorites]

It is always cool to hear about NYC and the subways and how it makes commuting relatively easy. I did some bus commuting from Ballard to Bellevue every day. It sucked. One accident somewhere, and everything near Seattle, transit-wise, went south.

And coming into town on the bus when the "Battle of Seattle" was going on, is something I will never forget...
posted by Windopaene at 10:06 AM on August 14, 2024 [2 favorites]

....Also, a couple people from my last job told me that a couple other people have been "let go for performance" recently

There's an office at my old employer that supposedly fires everyone right as their six month probation is up by default. I technically don't know if they still do this or not, but when I was applying for jobs there, I had very few options available to me and there was a job opening there. My union rep was all "yeah, I hear they are still terrible" and they yanked the job anyway, so.

On Reddit yesterday I saw someone mention that (a) she had cancer and (b) she got on probation FOR USING THE WRONG SMILEY FACE in the chat at work. Now, I got written up for all kinds of things, but "wrong smiley face" takes the damn cake for well, anything.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:14 AM on August 14, 2024 [1 favorite]

Oof, commutes... Once upon a time we lived out in the boonies, a little over an hour west of the town where my wife and I worked. The morning commute started at 6am and took an hour and a half - drop my son at daycare on the west side of town, drop my wife off in the middle of town, then go to my office on the east side of town. But the evening commute...45 minutes all the way from the east to the west side of town to pick up the kid, then 20 minutes back into town to pick up my wife, then an hour plus to get back home. By the time we got home it was well after 7pm. The kid's bedtime was 8pm. Also, by the time I picked up my wife we were all hungry so more often than not we had dinner at a restaurant in town and got home after 8:30. On weekends we had to catch up on household chores, travel to the local hamlet to do laundry, travel back into town to get groceries, get anything else done that we weren't able to get to during the week... After a year of that we gave up and moved back to town. In theory we enjoyed living out in the country, but in practice we were hardly ever there.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:18 AM on August 14, 2024 [4 favorites]

Just had a conversation at work about how inconvenient it is to live out in the boonies. I could not do it. I lived out in the boonies growing up and uck, it drove me nuts. And that was just burbs boonies, not "out in the country, off the paved road, bears wandering by, no hospitals and good luck if you have a fire" boonies.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:52 AM on August 14, 2024 [2 favorites]

Mine was sub-sub-burbs boonies, but no bears; and yeah, the downsides outweighed the charms.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:26 AM on August 14, 2024 [2 favorites]

Got a hard pass on a job I thought I had nailed down. Nominally, it's a soft pass and I got a very nice "It was a hard decision but we went another way!" email. But I know someone interviewing for the role tomorrow, so it obviously is still open.

In better news, I'm cracking open the personal connections emergency assistance case and a few friends are trying to get me interviews at their places. Fingers crossed.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:20 PM on August 14, 2024 [4 favorites]

I tried to store it in my brain, actively, intentionally - "remember this, this is fucking beautiful." I don't know if I succeeded, visually, but the imprecation is definitely there.

I do this all the time, lol, and yes, also to dubious visual success. I do better if i can give it a musical cue!
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:15 PM on August 14, 2024 [2 favorites]

My own worst commute was when I worked in Weehawken, New Jersey, very near the Lincoln tunnel. I lived in Brooklyn. I had to take the train up to Port Authority (45 minutes) and then ride a New Jersey bus one stop.

Going THERE, the bus took 10 minutes tops. But going HOME....that bus ride took another 45 minutes. And - I get carsick when reading on busses.

I did a lot of knitting.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:50 PM on August 14, 2024 [1 favorite]

My commute is up to about 20 minutes. Still not bad. Just not as good as the 4 and 9 minute commute I had for my last job. Tomorrow is my first day.

My colon is fine. No polyps. I think I said some.... not embarrassing, but true stuff waking about about being molested as a child. Also only got a fair on my prep. I swear I have no idea how there could be stuff in there. But I think it was more there was still some liquid in. I said I had to go to the bathroom as they were wheeling me back....

I lost my Medicaid and insurance won't kick in for 90 days. My major scripts are on the Walmart cheap list, but not the $3 one. Eh.

After I see the dentist on Monday, I'll stop off at one of the Marketplace places. I tried logging into the account I made when the ACA was first passed, but it was locked for inactivity and you have to friggin call them.

I roasted the peaches for the cheesecake. I'll puree them tomorrow and then make the cheesecake on Saturday.
posted by kathrynm at 7:01 PM on August 14, 2024 [3 favorites]

kathrynn, if you're looking for another thing to do with roasted stone fruit, this roasted plum ice cream is AMAZING. I've made it twice this summer and eaten it all before my roommate had a chance to try any. The site I found it on took it down, so I will post instead of link (it's short and good):

2 pounds ripe plums halved and pitted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Pinch salt
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup cane sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400. Put all the plums in a cake pan in a single layer (whatever you have that has high sides that will fit them all) and sprinkle with the brown sugar and salt. Roast at 400 for 25 minutes. While they're roasting, heat the cream, sugar, and honey in a saucepan just long enough until the sugar melts.

When the plums are done, let them cool about five minutes and then dump them into a blender, juice and all. Sploosh like a quarter cup of the cream mixture into the blender ( you can eyeball it, it doesn't have to be exact) and blend well. Strain into a bowl and discard solids, and add the rest of the cream mixture and vanilla. Chill for about 4 hours before running through your ice cream maker.

This makes a very generous quart; the first time I tried it I actually got close to a quart and a half. It is GOOD.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:56 AM on August 15, 2024 [3 favorites]

Get well soon, Kathrynm!

EmpressCallipygos, that recipe looks great, and I have a gazillion mirabelle plums.

Yesterday, I went out to forage some mushrooms in the rain. I got entirely wet all the way into my underwear. There were a gazillion mosquitoes. And then I needed to pee, and because I am so scared of ticks, I wouldn't do it out there, so I tried to hold the water. But I couldn't. So there I was with just a small basket of mushrooms, and wet from rain and pee, and I went home. Only to discover I'd lost my phone in the rainy forest.

Shit. I use it for wifi access, so I couldn't use find my phone on the computer, and I use it for payments, so I wouldn't be able to buy a liter of milk if I didn't find it.

So after cleaning up, I got into the car to drive as close as possible to the most likely place to my phone. And after a while I found it -- hurrah! And then my new cranky neighbor came out of his house, which is near by, because he thought I might be an intruder. He is such an ass, policing everything like he owns it all, claiming pieces of my land, including the road, of which he shares 30 meters. And, it turned out, even felling trees on my land. Not for stealing the wood, but for making it look nicer. In his opinion.

But here's the twist: I pulled myself together and engaged, and it turned out he had to move up here because he had been run over by a truck and was struggling with mental health issues. He didn't say, but sort of implied that there was a divorce or seperation involved. He told me he is scared of a lot of stuff, hence the policing. His mind doesn't work like it should.

Before we said goodbye I told him he was welcome to walk through my garden when I wasn't home, there is a shortcut to the national park north of my house. He can't do when I'm home because my dog will go crazy, and as a dog owner himself, he got that. It was a nice chat. He even ended up offering to cut up some wood for me.
posted by mumimor at 5:51 AM on August 15, 2024 [7 favorites]

EmpressCallipygos, that recipe looks great, and I have a gazillion mirabelle plums.

Ooh, for mirabelle plums you may want to go with a jam instead, I have a recipe for that I can link to. The ice cream seemed to work best with the purple or red kind of plums - I used all purple for the first batch, and then a mix of purple with one or two scant mirabelles for the second.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:04 AM on August 15, 2024 [2 favorites]

Sitting here at work doing a 6 hour training that I should have done at the beginning of my first job. Put the training in one window and MF in another. Occasionally glance over at training to see *yeah I know that nothing has changed*
posted by kathrynm at 6:54 AM on August 15, 2024 [3 favorites]

I just need to squee a minute about something -

So, my niece and nephew have been wanting a puppy for YEARS now. YEARS. And I've just learned that two weeks ago....my brother finally caved. They got their puppy two days ago so they're still kind of adjusting, but I've been texted some FLIPPIN' ADORABLE pictures of both kids each taking turns holding the little nugget with huge grins and that actually made me audibly squeal in the middle of a coffee shop this afternoon. I was in the middle of an errand run and "Puppy toys" were instantly added to my shopping list.

My brother's pretty private otherwise I'd consider sharing these photos to the wall. This is one seriously cute puppy, a poodle mix of some sort. I did share the photos with my BFF, and she is now hunting for a picture of me at the same age as my nephew holding OUR dog because she's convinced there is a resemblance. (Which tickles me because my nephew is turning into a bit of a mini-EC.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:46 PM on August 15, 2024 [5 favorites]

Well, puppies are pretty much the best...
posted by Windopaene at 2:51 PM on August 15, 2024 [2 favorites]

The nights are drawing in at both ends, there's a slight, fresh, nip in the night air, the combine harvesters have largely finished their work for 2024, summer goods are being cleared from the shop shelves, blackberries are ripe for plucking, harvest festivals are happening, and restaurants are taking bookings for Christmas and New Year's Eve.

It's time.

Earlier this evening, the first Christmas pudding of the season was taken out of the Yule cupboards, bowled, zapped in the microwave, and the first portion covered in lovely cream and consumed in front of the fire. Splendid stuff.
posted by Wordshore at 12:42 PM on August 16, 2024 [2 favorites]

Two inch thick lamb marinated chops and roasted baby potatoes for dinner tonight. 3 minutes a side on the stovetop in a Le Creuset Brasier, then popped the whole thing in the convection portion of the oven at 425 for 11 minutes.

I got quite the eyebrow raise from the butcher when I ordered such a thick cut, but I was tired to overcooking the things. Perfectly cooked (we like them on the rare side in this house) this time. As were the potatoes. I made my mom proud this evening.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:22 PM on August 16, 2024 [2 favorites]

Yeah you know summer's getting grey temples when Dollarama blocks off an entire aisle to pull down the soap bubble machines, picnic plasticware and rainbow pinwheels to put up the Halloween stuff. Harvest time indeed: ?
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:32 PM on August 16, 2024 [2 favorites]

As I was browsing the internet this fine evening I came across a phrase that I knew instantly would make a fantastic username:

tiny neon ducks

So there you go. You're welcome.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:18 PM on August 16, 2024 [2 favorites]

Just how many alt-accounts do you have at this point, Greg_Ace?
posted by mollweide at 6:20 PM on August 16, 2024 [2 favorites]

One. That you know of.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:41 PM on August 16, 2024 [2 favorites]

*scribbles notes and pins threads furiously*
posted by mollweide at 8:35 PM on August 16, 2024 [2 favorites]

And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:15 PM on August 16, 2024 [1 favorite]

*crosses one name off of the list*
posted by mollweide at 9:28 PM on August 16, 2024 [2 favorites]

Oh, new job keeps improving. I've just learned that my boss only comes on-site two or three times a week.

Mind you, she is very likely going to call or email me five or six times a day, and I still have to be on-site full time in a butt-ass ugly spot, but - between those calls and on-site visits, she will be out of my way so I can get stuff done.

Also, the CFO has a wonderfully snarky sense of humor.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:51 AM on August 17, 2024 [3 favorites]

Thunder and lightening, it's been pissing down rain here for the last half hour.
It's the day of the King's Plate at Woodbine as well. poor Hopefully it stops soon
And Emma-Jayne Wlison is riding as well .
posted by yyz at 10:29 AM on August 17, 2024 [1 favorite]

Very nice EmpressCallipygos!

Not having to deal with your boss every fucking day is a pretty good thing.
posted by Windopaene at 10:57 AM on August 17, 2024 [1 favorite]

It's still pissing down rain here, and I just noticed that the King's Plate is rain or shine

The've already raced 3 races in this weather . and Emma-Jayne Wilson has finished first in the second race and first in the third race. Two first place wins in 3 races.
The 3 third race is actually exciting come from behind
She's got more nerve than I have .
posted by yyz at 11:36 AM on August 17, 2024 [1 favorite]

I've got banana bread in the oven and it smells divine. I'm taking it to work on Monday. It seems I have a ready and willing bunch of people to bake for now. :-)
posted by kathrynm at 3:00 PM on August 17, 2024 [2 favorites]

Took them long enough, but they cancelled the King's Plate race.
Lots of road closures in that area.
Portions of Highway 401, 427, 409, 410.
due to flooding
If you're going to Pearson airport it's gonna take awhile
Some photos;
posted by yyz at 3:33 PM on August 17, 2024 [1 favorite]

For the past two weeks our fridge has been making periodic rattling noises which stopped when you opened the door. Our super is not the best about responding quickly, so I wanted to see if we could fix it first.

Everything I Googled suggested two likely problems: dirty compressor coils, or an iced-over freezer fan. Last night my roommate and I emptied out the fridge and pulled it away from the wall so I could try cleaning the coils; there were no obvious coils on the back, but I brushed off what I could, and gave the inside of the fridge a good clean while I was at it, focusing on some vents I saw on the inside. That seemed to help a bit.

Until about 3 am when it started making a constant noise like a helicopter attempting a takeoff. We both decided to deal with it later, and this morning I studied a lot of "fixing iced over freezer fans" youtube videos. When we pulled everything out of the freezer, we noticed how overstuffed it seemed; that was probably a good culprit. I tossed a few things I'm likely not going to eat, as did the roommate, and we both consolidated some things into smaller bags. (That made a huge difference right there - before that consolidation, the cooler we dumped things into couldn't close, but after, it COULD.)

I suspected that lots of ice was indeed the problem when I tried to unscrew a panel at the back to get at the fan; the panel wouldn't budge, and it felt like it was frozen in place. One Youtuber had a tip, though - unplug the fridge and blast the freezer with a hair dryer for ten minutes. I gave it fifteen. Then, dryer off - replace screw - replace food - plug fridge back in.

No more rattle. Just the purr of a properly-functioning fridge. It STARTED trying to softly rattle about five minutes later, but very quickly stopped; presumably because the vents I had de-iced were working properly now, and were finishing the defrosting I'd started.

I just barely stopped myself from doing a Jeremy Clarkson imitation in the kitchen.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:27 AM on August 18, 2024 [5 favorites]

Just bought an advent calendar.
posted by Wordshore at 9:18 AM on August 18, 2024 [2 favorites]

How advent-garde of you! Do you feel it was an advent-ageous purchase?
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:39 PM on August 18, 2024 [1 favorite]

As summer begins to fade, the leaves change colour, a chill at night is noticeable, as is the slight whiff of pumpkin spice in the air, so it is time for a new free thread. Had any strange or inexplicable experiences? Unfold them there...
posted by Wordshore at 4:38 AM on August 19, 2024

A new Free Thread, the last one of August, is now up and ready to take your gracious words.
posted by Wordshore at 12:08 AM on August 26, 2024