...and a day without Mom

Today is Mom's birthday, and I would not ask her to spend it moving stuff and cleaning with me.  So I have done my best to stay motivated without her.

So far, I have:

Changed the sheets and made the bed.

Watered the houseplants.

Done half the laundry.

Finished emptying the bookshelves in the living room.

Filled a box for Goodwill.

Shoveled and salted the walk from the driveway to the breezeway.

Refilled both birdfeeders.

Dusted the mantel, the two built in bookshelves and two of the standalone bookshelves.

Washed much of the glassware and divvied it up between what I am keeping and what is going to Goodwill.

What I still have to do:

Finish the laundry.

Move the television and DVD player to the car.

Clean out the back seat so I can take Lil Miss Piggie Pie to day boarding tomorrow.

Dust the last two standalone bookshelves.

Vacuum the living room.

Shove the furniture I can move into the center of the living room.

Paint my nails.

What will probably not get done tonight:

Clean the bathroom.

Hey, I am less discouraged when I look at my list! :-)

A day with Mom

This morning, I hunched over a computer and ran back and forth to Mom's office so we could balance a final guardian's account.  Then I came home, ate a quick lunch and took a quick nap, and then Mom came over and we started packing up the living room.

After 4+ hours of labor, the books are packed and the boxes stacked in the kitchen; the curtains are down and headed home with Mom for washing; one recliner, two boxes and one bag are on their way to Goodwill; one-fourth of the glassware is washed and boxed; and tomorrow I need to finish washing and boxing the glass and vacuuming.  Mom's energy levels continue to both amaze and depress me, but mostly I'm just grateful to have her.

It is a very good thing that I bought some Epsom salts this morning, because I needed them in the bath I just took.  Now for some ibuprofen and an early bedtime!

My new couch is here!

And my new kitchen clock is here too, but I have to figure out where to put it, so it's resting on the sofa at the moment.  Input from folks who have been here is welcome. 

Tall folk will always be welcome at Casa de Jammies,

but they will need to be careful, too.  The new kitchen light is so low that I can just walk underneath it.

It's huge and too expensive and I love it. :-)

The power of words

I overheard a discussion this morning which made me so angry I could have screamed.  Two guys were talking and one of them was explaining to the other that his "woman" was ugly, fat and "old" but she had money and she was so grateful to have him that she paid for everything.

At that point, my day was already a Monday--we got a lot of snow last night and the roads were only semi-cleared, I had a headache ibuprofen wasn't helping, a co-worker putting on her martyr suit and close to 300 approvals and publications to do plus my usual work.  I really really wanted to take a minute to tell this jerk he was no prize himself and if he was lucky, the woman in question would kick him to the curb while he was still young enough to change, but I refrained.

The rest of my day was similar, but it was saved in the last ten minutes.  An attorney I like and admire came in, and while we were talking, he asked if I parked at Morley Health Center.  When I said yes, he said "Then you know it's such a mess that someone posted a sign saying Welcome to Lake Morley."  I said, "Oh my gosh, that was ME!" and the attorney laughed his big, infectious laugh and we talked about it for a bit.  I was excited at the time when other people contributed to the sign, but to find out that someone remembered it nine months later was such a rush that my day really ended on a high note.

I love making people laugh, and I love being appreciated. :-)

It's all about the details

I don't have the budget or the spoons to do a whole steampunk room, but I've decided I want my kitchen to have some copper touches that could lend themselves to steampunkery if I ever have the funds.  I ordered light oak outlet covers for the lower outlets which are located in the wainscoting and copper switch plates and outlet covers for the higher outlets and switches.  I think they look lovely against the green walls!

And Sherri probably doesn't recognize the microwave cart any more, it was such a mess when she was here!

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K Casa de Jammies

Monday through Thursday of last week, painters came to Casa de Jammies, and Little Miss Piggie Pie day boarded at a local vet hospital/kennel.  The staff there said "She's really a sweet girl" and I didn't get a bill because she ate someone's Bichon, so she must have behaved.

The kitchen and back hallway have had the 1970s wallpaper removed (hears distant cheers from South Carolina) and painted, the kitchen in what was supposed to be sage green but is in fact more mint green and the back hallway in a barely-tinted cream.

The painters were good painters, but lousy guests.  One of them kept leaving the toilet seat up, they used up all of my good hand soap, half a roll of paper towels and two rolls of toilet paper and left me with a nearly full gallon bucket of mint-not-sage paint.

This past Thursday night, Mom and Dad came over and helped me pull up the carpet in the eating area, revealing some awful linoleum.  It looks like raw meat.

When I brought out the shop vac to clean up the dust left behind, Dad said, "Oh, that's where it is.  I needed it last week."  I didn't remind him he had left it unused in his garage so long a mouse built a nest in it, just told him that if he wanted, I'd bring it back, but I'd cry real tears.

For the first time ever, I had professional cleaners come to the house.  A team of sisters Mom knows from her law practice worked from ten until two cleaning the kitchen and bathroom while I removed the staples and the tack strips from the NY strip floor.  Both women were friendly as well as being very good at cleaning, and I enjoyed having them here as much as I enjoyed the clean house they left behind.

While I was pulling up staples and tack strips, I came to the very sad conclusion that the hardwood floor in the eating area was pulled up to make room for the Porterhouse lino.  I've already picked a pretty brown carpet for the living room and now I need to consult with the guy at the carpet store about what kind of floor is best for homes with dogs.

Speaking of dogs, LMPP was excitable but not bite-y with Mom and Dad, but growly and snarly with the cleaning team, so she spent five hours outside, allowed in to warm up whenever I took a smoke break.

Today I get to rest from yesterday.

The schedule for the coming week is Sunday, grocery shopping and laundry, Monday work with Mom, lunch with Mom, shopping with Mom, and Tuesday through Friday, bring one piece of kitchen furniture out of the living room, clean it and put it back.

In the Living Years

I've been thinking about my dad a lot this week.

He taught me to use the internet, which I used to look up the correct tire pressure for my car.

I used the 12-volt compressor he gave me to inflate my tires to the proper pressure.

I saw someone stick an arm out of the driver's-side window and squirt their windshield with Windex, something my dad had to do a few times on his Oldsmobile.

And my friend Jay posted the two songs which make him think of his dad, who he lost 24 years ago.

My dad frequently makes me crazy, but I love him, and I listen to him and I learn from him, and I have told him so and will tell him so.

In 1989, I bought the cassette single of this song for Dad for Father's Day, and he really liked it, so here it is once more for him:

Spirit, spoons and shortness

The day after Christmas last year, I bought 150 plastic ornaments with the intention of decorating the two evergreens outside my breezeway.  This year, I dawdled and procrastinated until December 21, when I finally bought ornament hangers and got out in cold and damp and decorated.

I ran out of spoons before I ran out of ornaments, and I knew that climbing up on a ladder at that point was A Bad Idea, so I put everything away.  I took today off work, so this morning after a quick grocery run, I got the ladder out.

Guess what?  Even with a 7-foot ladder, I'm too short to reach the top of the taller tree.  I've got blisters because I'm allergic to evergreens, sore shoulders from reaching over my head, and the decorations aren't quite perfect, but I'm still pleased.

I decorated something for Christmas for probably the first time in seven or eight years!

The year is ending nicely

Well, mostly.  I think I've burned out on Bubbles & Baubles, but at lease what may be my last post there is one that makes me happy.  I enjoyed making up the polish bags, and I'm pleased to have gotten rid of a tiny portion of my ridiculous polish stash.

The probate court has adopted a family for Christmas, and I got to go shopping for a 4 year-old girl.  I found some pants, a cute sweater and a Minnie Mouse sweatshirt and pants set, and then found the winter coat I've been wanting for two years.  Instant karma!

The courthouse café sends postcard with a coupon every month to the folks on their mailing list, and for December, my coupon was buy one sandwich get one free.  Instead of tossing it, I took it down when I bought my lunch on Thursday, and told the cashier to use the free sandwich for the next person to get one.  That happened as I was waiting for my sandwich, and it turns out that I bought lunch for one of the domestic court judges. :-)  Then I went out and bought a couch from a local business. :-D

Yesterday wasn't very pleasant, because instead of doing my work, I was docketing extensions filed by idiots who didn't get their filings done in time and don't want to be cited.  But we got raises for next year, and the day eventually ended.

Today I was at Mom's, aka the second job, and in addition to my usual boring paperwork, I got to make gingerbread cookies and cut out ninja shapes for my nephew to decorate.  I even figured out how to work the convection oven by myself!

My brother, sister-in-law and nephews will be here for Christmas, I have the 23rd through the 25th off and the last of my presents are scheduled to arrive on Monday.  The house is warm, the dog is getting fat, and all is well.

Love to all of you who took the time to read this--you're what Vio calls "Friends as Family" and you're a big part of why I'm content.

Snobservations from a VERY long week

Before I start snobserving, if you don't follow me on Google Plus, you might not know that my boss was on the front page of the paper on Thursday, or that my workplace will be featured in a documentary.

That leads me to my first snobservation, that it used to be 15 minutes of fame.  Now, apparently, at least for buildings, it's only 6 minutes. :-(

It was a very long week, in part because Tuesday was Call Day, in which m colleagues and I are frantically busy but don't actually get a ton of work done, and partly because of the looming departure of one of said co-workers.

To the attorney who was upset with me for sending back an insufficiently documented Inventory, I say, "Mister, you can tell me that house is worth a cow and a sackful of magic beans, but if it's not in writing, I can't docket it."

To all of the attorneys who say that's not how they do it in [insert name of other county here], I say, "That's how we do it here, and that's why you should read the damn local rules before you try to file in a new-to-you county."

To the attorneys who ask about the rules of service and wonder when we started doing that, I say, "It's been almost a year, and you should read the damn local rules before you try to file in a court where you haven't practiced in a year."

To paralegals who call me asking how to do something, I say, "Ask your boss, she's the lawyer!"

And to the snooty-ass OSBA-certified paralegal who types things like, "Your welcome" I say, "My welcome says you need to brush up on your basic grammar."

Hmmm

My city has decided to go with fabric recycling.  On the one hand, I am delighted to have an outlet for the pillows which are too manky to give to Goodwill, along with single socks and bras which have quit fighting the good fight.  On the other hand, it's a for-profit company called Simple Recycling doing this, and I don't know how many of my fellow citizens will go to their website and read the details.  

I hope that some, if not all, will, and that Goodwill, the Salvation Army and other charitable organizations will not be hurt.  I know that the scam drop-boxes have cut into donations to those same organizations.  And yes, the drop-boxes for used clothing are almost completely for-profit despite the misleading labeling. 

The one that ticks me off the most, of course, is the book "recycling" boxes.  When I saw a box in the local shopping center, I almost plowed into it with the car when I recognized the name of an online "store" from which I had purchased used books.  I still have not completely discarded the idea of tacking up a sign reading "THESE PEOPLE SELL BOOKS.  YOU'RE NOT DONATING TO ANYTHING BUT THEIR BOTTOM LINE."

I guess in regard to the fabrics, I will give the city the aforementioned manky pillows and donate clothes to Goodwill, but if you're reading this, please, please investigate before you give anything to anyone.  These days, almost anything can be turned for a profit, and that's fine if you know that's what's going to happen.  If that's not what you want, find a reputable charity which will take it.

A matter of taste

So yes, after at least five years of wanting to, this was the year I did this:

When the kits to turn your car into a reindeer first came out, they were at least $30 or so, and I passed.  But last Saturday I was at a local discount store and found this particular set for $3, so of course I grabbed it!

So I posted a picture on G+, and my buddy Rob commented to the effect that he thought I had better taste than to do this.*

Guess what, Rob?  I don't have better taste, I just have iron control over my terrible taste.  The louder, flashier, shinier, gaudier and more ridiculous it is, the better I like it.  But since I'm not going to get very far at work looking like a drag queen exploded in my closet, I pull back.

Way back.

And because I don't have the budget to light up a ghastly fantasy of outdoor lighting in garish colors every year, I skip it.

But the truth is that I have terrible, terrible taste, and for now, antlers on my car.

*The sister of my heart, the lovely Vio, commented that I needed a speaker which played "Gramma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" as I drove.

A long and winding update

Life at Casa de Jammies has been interesting since the end of September.  It's election season and my boss is running this year, so there have been some volunteer things, but there has also been a slew of replacement appliances both small and large.

First up was the coffee maker.  The old one was one of my parents' old coffee makers which had been replaced when they did an upgrade.  That one died early this year, and I used a 4-cup freebie one I'd gotten years ago from Gevalia while I fiddled around and researched and generally put off buying one.  I did have fun reading online reviews which included comments about how some coffee makers "let too much sentiment into the carafe" but it wasn't until mid-September that I finally made up my mind and got a Technivorm MoccaMaster.  It is worth every single penny.  It's quiet, quick, energy-efficient, makes great coffee and I don't even care that it isn't programmable.  You also get to watch the bubbles as the water boils for the coffee!

Next up was the water heater, which was more than 15 years old, and then a new dishwasher, which was just installed today.  The dishwasher was actually delivered a week ago, but the Home Depot installers wouldn't do anything because the water shutoff was in the basement.  I hired an actual plumber and it turned out to be a bigger job than either of us anticipated.  He was here for over three hours, but it's working now and it's lovely.  As a bonus, because he had to turn off the breaker for the back half of the house, I got the guest bedroom neatened up and all the houseplants into the garage because I wasn't sitting in front of the computer.

When the plumber was done today, he asked what I wanted to do with the old dishwasher.  I asked him to take it to the curb, and he expressed a little concern about whether the city would take it.  I told him that if I had to, I'd call for a special pickup and pay for it, but I was pretty sure a picker would find it before Monday.

After he left, I brushed my teeth, tossed the dog in the basement and ran out to do my grocery shopping.  I was on my way in less than 10 minutes, but my driveway was blocked by a giant pickup truck whose driver had just chucked the old dishwasher in the bed.  I told him he'd never back out of my driveway, but if he pulled into the turnaround I could get past him and then he could get turned around and out.  He said thank you and "I just had to have the dishwasher" which made me grin.

So all is well and warm at Casa de Jammies, and I have had more baths in the last 10 days than I think I had in the 10 months prior!

Sometimes I forget...

that MS is a killer.  Then I go to the calling hours of a man only three years my senior, who only in the last few years has re-connected with his grown sons and met his grandchildren, and I remember.

I have been so lucky that MS has only lightly touched me, and overall has not diminished my quality of life.  But the flip side of that coin is that I have a responsibility to be mindful of my luck.  I don't always know what is right, but I know that I can always try harder.

So as I wish healing to the family of a man too young to die, I resolve once more to think about who I am and how I treat others.

SRK is not nearly as fun as MFK*

But I still need to make a dent in the drifts of paper claiming all the flat surfaces in my house, so I sit here quietly, sorting everything into piles of Shred, Recycle or Keep.

Growing up is severely over-rated.

*MFK

I am mercifully NOT currently perched on Rex's Erection with a water gun in my hand

Mercifully because after three days of "Do this.  No, we don't like this.  Do that.  Ha!  Fooled you--do that, but someplace else" from the miserable troglodytes at Express Scripts, I finally have my Lexapro refill.

Ever since Tuesday, when my nurse practitioner called in a new script to my local grocery store pharmacy, Express Shits has turned down the script twice, not told me until I called them, and then given me directions that turned out also not to work.  Everyone I had face-to-face interactions with was so very nice that I couldn't vent my rage, which just made it harder to cope.

Finally, after a second pharmacy was called and was willing to call the first pharmacy to transfer the prescription (since it had been e-mailed in, not faxed or written on paper) and I'd spent most of my breaks and lunches on hold, I got my Lexapro.  Of course, I had to wait for nearly 45 minutes at the second pharmacy because Express Shits kept asking for more info that they didn't have, but I got it.  I no longer feel like a donkey on the edge, and I am no longer tempted to climb a tower with a Super-Soaker in my hand.

Oh, and stop that, you dirty-minded people, I'm talking about a local landmark. :P

In which your humble correspondent is appalled and distressed

Dear Mr. Mann,

Whilst I understand both your modern need to be inclusive and your desire to keep your readers guessing, the inestimable Mr. S. Holmes would never so mangle the Queen's English as to use a plural pronoun with singular verbs and to do so for several paragraphs.  Frankly, I am shocked at this lapse in an otherwise excellent series.  For shame, sir, for shame.

Very Truly Yours,

Jammies

P.S.  Torturing the language to make it gender-neutral only makes it very clear to the reader that the villain is, in fact, the female character.

Yours, etc.

I'm inclined to say it was ducky.

Both of my nieces and the younger of my nephews are visiting my parents this week, and yesterday I took the day off work and Mom and the kids and I headed to Pittsburgh for the day.  Our drive was largely uneventful, barring a wee bit of a spat towards the end where Mom listened to the end of the directions rather than the whole thing and missed the middle bit, we were parked across the street from Station Square at 11:00 a.m.

We walked through the square and the kids looked at the river for a bit, then walked all the way down it, out the other side and across the street to the Monongahela Incline.  I'd ridden the Dusquene incline in my childhood, but not this one.  Mom of course, had ridden both as a Pittsburgh native.  Super Doughnut was a little nervous for some reason, but everyone enjoyed the ride to the top and the view from Mount Washington.  Then we had a discussion of which three rivers meet in Pittsburgh which ended with me asking the fare-taker if the third was the Allegheny or the Susquehanna.  For the record, the rivers are the Ohio, the Monongahela and the Allegheny.  Then we rode back down, had a nice lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and then lined up for our tour.

The weather was absolutely perfect--warm and sunny but with a nice breeze.  We had an interesting and loud tour through the city, then hit the water.  Literally hit the water, because we took a Just Ducky amphibious tour!  For me, being on the water was the best part, water-loving critter that I am.  I think it was also my niece's best part, because she was one of the kids asked to steer the boat while the guide took a break and the captain talked.  Because she had purple rhinestones on her t-shirt, the captain called her "Captain Sparkle".

After the tour, we walked through the old train station which is now a fancy restaurant, and I forgot to ask Mom if it was still a station when she was a kid.  After some more not-fun with the GPS, we made it back to Mom and Dad's and then I headed home.

By some twist of luck, the first Just Ducky video I found features the same guide we had yesterday, so here's Carol:

Ahh, a nice big thunderstorm!

Nothing like one of those for scouring all the allergens out of my life!

My nose is trying to kill me, my nieces are here and my dad is giving me advice

Ah, yes, another horrible allergy attack.  AND payroll taxes.  yay.

But my brother brought the girls in to stay for a week at my parents' house before going to the lake and we had a nice lunch in Cleveland.

I've had an ungodly amount of antihistamines, but my dad told me to lay off.  Hah.  This from the man who pops ibuprofen like candy.

Hey, did you know wombats poop cubes?

Multiculturism at its best

...was what middle liddle brother said when I told him that I, an American female of mostly British descent and a German last name, was celebrating a French holiday with a day off and a Greek sandwich. :-)

Yesterday was my birthday, but since I'm *gasp* aging, I've decided to celebrate Bastille Day instead.  I did my nails up all fancy, and I got lots of neat presents from The Jay and The Sherri, and Mom and I went shopping.  I found five big grapefruit-scented candles for $1 each, plus birthday presents for my nieces, plus four new tops for me.  Then we went and had lunch at a local chain, and I had a wonderful gyro, followed by coming home to take a nap, and then getting up to feed the dog, eat dinner and make two loaves of dill bread to take to work.  Then I returned middle liddle brother's phone call and then called Mom and Dad picked up to say Happy Birthday Bastille Day.   Plus, Mira Grant's newest Rising short story was released, so I downloaded that.

Good food, presents, books, family and friends--what a perfect day!

Oh, and the dog didn't leave me any dead mice as presents, either. ;-)

Tears at 5 a.m.

Last night, I dreamt that Little Miss Piggie Pie had to go into the vet for something that would take all day and when I dropped her off, the staff asked if I wanted a loaner dog.  I said yes, and a tech came out with my beloved Bigfoot.  I spent a wonderful day with him, and when the vet hospital called to tell me LMPP was ready to be picked up, I said, "You know you're not getting Bigfoot back, right?"  The person on the phone said that was fine, it would only cost me a $45 adoption fee to keep him.

So I went and got LMPP and introduced her to Bigfoot, and had two wonderful dogs and you know how this is going to end, right?

And then I woke up.  And it SUCKED.  And I cried.

I am Jammies, hear me roar!

...or at least, hear me not whimpering like an abandoned puppy. I dealt with a hornets' nest over the back door to the breezeway all by myself last night, and today I took my shovel and flicked it off the siding in one swing.

Plus, lots of people at work loved the lemon pound cake I made for our triple baby shower yesterday.  Yup, three of my co-workers are spawning.  Thankfully, they are due in successive months and each works in a different area of the court, so the need for training and temporary replacements is not as difficult as it could have been.

My butterfly bushes are not completely lost--the branches are all dead, but new growth is sprouting at the base of several of them.  The miniature roses are goners, though. :-(

All in all, life continues at Casa de Jammies in a mostly serene fashion, except when Rooter ventures into the front yard and Little Miss Piggie Pie barks herself hoarse.

I have been very clever

...even if I do say so myself.  The sump pump is no longer running continuously, but it is still running, and I'm astonished by how much water must still be saturating the earth around my foundation!  Today I moved the lighter half of my houseplants outside, and since I didn't water them before I moved them, they were pretty dry.  I was just going to water them when I realized my garden hose is not hooked up to the spigot, but to the sump pump.

So after a moment of thought, I put the hose in a bucket, and emptied it into my houseplants when it filled.  It took three hours and three buckets to get them all, but I was pretty happy.  No wasted water, no wasted electricity, and happy plants.

Now to get the mulch down before the idiot landscapers mow down another lavender or daylily.

Alarums and excursions, the final chapter (I hope!)

Previously, on Curmudgeonette:

Our heroine's garage flooded and she went to work anyway.

Jammies took a day off to clean up the garage and it flooded again.

Then the basement flooded!

Jammies took another vacation day.

We join the story with our heroine discovering that her sump pump wasn't pumping, which was the cause of the flooded basement!

More alarums, more excursions

After driving out to Casa de Senior Jammies and getting a brush, the ozone generator and a squeegie, I came back and worked all day just clearing the garage.  I found at least one dead mouse and a ton of styrofoam peanuts.

Then it flooded again.

Then the basement flooded.

So here I am, taking another vacation day, using every rag in the house to try to mop up the water in the basement, bleaching the garage floor and thanking my lucky stars that I met a scrap metal dealer at court last week who is coming by to pick up all the metal I found whilst cleaning out the garage.  Goodbye, old lawnmower blades, rabbit ears and plant holders.

Now I just have to get the icky, sodden, dog-destroyed armchair out of the basement and wash another load of rags.

Alarums and excursions!

Yesterday was a fairly ordinary work day, even a pretty good work day.  I woke up early enough to be ready in time to leave the house and make a quick stop on the way in for Lemonheads and Raisinettes for my two co-workers who just finished school for the semester, and the day went pretty quickly.  I was pottering around at home last night when Little Miss Piggie Pie started whimpering a bit and then the city tornado sirens went off.

I was just debating whether or not to head for the basement when my dad called.  After asking me how I was, he asked if I was aware of the weather, and then proceeded to read me the entire text of the warning.  I promised him I would keep an eye on the dog and on the radar and went about my evening.  He told me to call him if a tornado was headed for Hudson because he was going to take a nap.  Typical Scary Bear, nothing gets in the way of a nap.

LMPP calmed down and went to sleep, so I went back to working on spreadsheets for Mom while outside it was storming to beat the band.  I took a break when the hail started.  It was so loud I knew what popcorn sounds like from the inside of the popper.  Then the hail stopped and the rain started again, and when I went to look at the lightning, I realized there was standing water in the driveway.

So at 9:30, I was outside in flip-flops and a rain poncho, wading through ankle-deep cold water trying to clear the grate on the driveway drain.  I succeeded, but too late to prevent the garage from flooding.  I came back inside, saw that the tornado warning was over and there was a flash flood warning, washed my feet, set up the coffee and went to bed.

This morning, the garage had a layer of mud and yuck all over the floor, lots of things moved around from the water and was in a general state of disarray.  Unfortunately, because today was call day, I had to go in.  I'll need to be, at minimum, in the hospital before I call off on call day--it's just too hard with only two people in the accounts department.

My drive in was complicated by a detour that meant I had to use the high-traffic route and included the sight of a whole bunch of downed trees and washed-out shoulders.  Lake Morley was full of water, with more dripping from the pipes.  I told my colleagues what had happened, explained that I'd like to take Wednesday off and got permission from the chief clerk to do so.  I then had to tell one of my fellow auditors that yes, I washed my feet after wading in dog-knows-what. :P

Call day was interesting.  For the first time in my experience, we had two people admit, albeit reluctantly, that they weren't just behind in their paperwork, they'd done things they shouldn't have with money that wasn't theirs.  Thankfully, the judge is more interested in helping them fix things than punishing them.

When I got home, the garage had started to stink (it was 90º F today!) and I called dad to make sure he and his couch weren't buried in the remains of my childhood home and to see if I could borrow a floor squeegie and the ionizer.  He was alive and well and said he'd leave everything where I can find it tomorrow morning without waking him.

A big thank you to all of the G+ friends who held my paw last night and sent me dry thoughts. <3 all="" nbsp="" ou="" p="" rock.="">

Somebody gets me!

Five days a week I park my car at the downtown parking garage closest to work.  I pay $65/month for the privilege, and consider it well spent when I don't have to slog through a polar vortex for more than two minutes.  However, I am wondering what the company that operates the garage is doing with my money (and everyone else's).

When it rains or snows heavily, all of the pipes carrying the water away from the flat roof leak and all of the drains back up.  Huge puddles form, great swathes of parking spaces are blocked off, and this spring, the lowest level of the garage had two feet of water in it for almost a week.  The only "maintenance" ABM seems to do is to put out "Wet Floor" signs convenient only for blocking more parking spaces.

Last Wednesday, I got out of my car and stepped right in a puddle.  Fortunately I keep my work shoes at work and I was wearing sneakers, but I was still ticked.  I thought about it all day, and at 4:00, I grabbed a sheet of paper out of the recycling bin and made a little sign.

Welcome to Lake Morley, Cabins and Fishing are in my handwriting.

I taped it on the door to Level 2 and went home.

On Friday night, as I got to the door, I saw that "Kiddie Pool", "High Dive" and "Canoes" had been added, each with their own unique arrows.  As long as it's up, I can start my day happy with the knowledge that even if I don't know them personally, someone in Akron shares my sense of humor.

Spring at Casa de Jammies

Lovely, lovely, slightly damp and gloomy spring!

Lots of pics after the jump. :-)

Omigoshomigoshomigosh!

Something incredibly cool and incredibly gross just happened!  Details after the jump for non-squeamish types.

Died suddenly, at home, 03/25/2014

Funeral services will be performed Friday, March 28, 2014, 7:00 a.m. by the City of Cuyahoga Falls Sanitation Department.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests gift cards to Bed, Bath and Beyond or Target.

R.I.P., Mr. Coffee.  You weren't even three years old and I took care of you--cleaned you regularly, washed your carafe, de-scaled you even though I only used RO-filtered water and 100% Columbian coffee.  Still, you left me on a workday morning when I really needed you.  If there's an afterlife for appliances, I hope you get eaten by a vicious waffle iron.

Brrrrrrrrr!

Yesterday afternoon, it was 50º and sunny.  Right now, it's 19º and there's an inch of snow on the ground.  Ohio weather is psychotic. :P

Today's menu: cranky with a side of I hate DST

One of my least favorite days of the year is the first work day after the ridiculousness that is "Spring Forward".  Seriously, Daylight Savings Time is stupid and harmful and I can complain about it for paragraphs, but I shall spare you.

Add in the fact that tomorrow is Call Day and I have a co-worker who didn't help me put together the list sniping at me over an omission and an attorney whining about how it doesn't fit in his schedule, then add in a brutal sinus headache on a pretty, sunshiny day, and you have a recipe for a grim day.

Right now I am thinking that I'm not going to mend the hem on my blue pants, just tape up the ripped stitches and fix them later.  Maybe next weekend.

Grrrr.

Random factoids

Yes, another list, because I lack the brainpower for narrative structure.

1.  I have my first chest cold in quite a number of years, and it's as horrible as I remember.  I left work early on Thursday, called off on Friday, and had a holiday today, so a long rough weekend.

2.  Little Miss Piggie Pie had her annual pincushion appointment this morning, and had to be muzzled for snapping at Dr. Bob despite a handful of Bil-Jac treats.  The good news is she's finally gained some weight, and he thinks she's perfect at 54 pounds.  She got more treats when we stopped at Pet Supplies Plus to get dog food--I hope she doesn't think that kind of treatment is going to last! ;-)

3.  On the way home today, I passed by the repair shop owned by the guy who bought my Saturn.  Norm is a 17 year-old Saturn SW1, with no luxury options and 118,000 miles, and the guy who paid me $600 is asking $3195.  Good luck, Mr. Lotsaballs!

4.  My taxes are done and I am getting a teensy refund, which will go straight to the Cleveland Clinic to pay my portion of the bill for my MRI.

5.  There is a blizzard going on outside right now, and even with a racking cough and lizard-rough dry skin from taking a zillion hot showers, it's nice to look at it.  I do like snow, and I'm trying to store up some cold for when I'm miserable in August.

"You don't really believe that, do you?"

...is what one of my co-workers said when I announced that I thought that Little Miss was possessed.

Well, no, I don't really truly deep-down believe it, but she's been showing a couple of weird Littlefoot behaviors over the past few days, like raiding the stash of cotton balls and chewing them up before spitting them out on the living room floor, and licking the kitchen floor.

Oh well, at least she wasn't possessed by Bigfoot, and therefore able to open the refrigerator door!

His name is Edgar, and he is not a Stupid Useless Vehicle

He's a station wagon on steroids. :-D

A Nightly Contest

Ever since I read about Simple Dog on Hyperbole and a Half, I've thought that Little Miss Piggie Pie has a great deal in common with Simple Dog.  For one thing, they look alike.  For another, LMPP failed the canine IQ test as well, and finally, she does quiver when she wants me to be happy.

Where they differ, however, is in stubbornness.  For the last week, LMPP has decided that she no longer wishes to sleep at the foot of the bed.  The top of the bed, on top of my pillow, is clearly her ordained place in the world, and she makes every effort to take it.

When I go to bed, I pull back the covers and before I can even sit down, LMPP has jumped up and curled up on my pillow, foregoing any of the turn-in-circles nonsense that would waste time.  So I yell at her to get down, she does, and then she jumps right back up again.

Last night, and for as long as it takes for her to learn (meaning possibly forever), I closed the bedroom door in her face and didn't reopen it until I was safely in bed.

Oh, btw, buy Allie's book so she'll write another one!  It's really good.

That didn't work out the way I had it planned...

As a duly appointed deputy clerk, I had today off along with the rest of the county employees.  I had promised Mom a trip to Nordstrom Rack and lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, so when the chance came to have lunch with an author friend in town from Baltimore, I had to pass.

I slept in until 7, which is the longest Little Miss Piggie Pie will let me sleep, then had my coffee, read a bit, noodled around on the computer, then got dressed and drove out to Hudson.  Dad was working on an antique clock which he had inherited from his grandfather, and Mom was getting ready.  Even though today is a no-mail day, Mom asked me to zip through the Post Office drive-through so she could mail some letters.  We did so, and just before we got on the expressway, my intestines attacked me, and I wound up driving us both back to her house so I could wash my pants (beige, of course!).

No sooner was I in one of Mom's robes and feeling happy to have lost enough weight to fit in one and my pants in the washer than my stomach and guts started cramping.  Mom gave me a Vanity Fair to read, I got myself a glass of ice water, Dad went back to bed and Mom went upstairs to work.  By the time my pants were dry, I was not up to going shopping, let alone going shopping and out for lunch.  Mom and I rescheduled for Sunday, and I came home and slept for the rest of the day.

When in doubt, make a list

I've been terrible about updating this blog, so here's what's happened since Thanksgiving:

• I bought new tires for the car at the beginning of December.
• 
  
• I drove to Columbus and back for Christmas Day, and had a great time aside from discovering that my car heat wasn't working.
• 
  
• My nephews and my SIL loved their presents, I'm not sure about my dad and my brother, and Mom was unsurprised by hers but happy with it.
• 
  
• On the Friday after Christmas I took my car in and discovered the heater core needed to be flushed, the thermostat was bad and there was an oil leak somewhere.  I paid $250 to have it fixed.
• 
  
• On the Saturday after New Year's, I bought a new-to-me car.  It's a 2013 Ford Escape that had 9800 miles on it and a reasonable price and the dealership was offering 1.9% financing.   While I could have done without another white car, the red and blue ones both had at least twice the miles on them and the same price.  
• 
  
• Now I have to sell the Saturn and try to get at least my money back on the tires and the heater work.  Oddly enough, nobody seems to be in the market for a 17 year old car with an oil leak. 'Magine that!

Mouse's last day

When I got home from work Tuesday night and Mouse didn't greet me at the door, I knew something was wrong.  When I went into the living room and found him wedged in a corner and stuck in a pile of poop, I knew it was time.  I helped him up and outside, did a quick cleanup and went to let him back in, only to discover he'd fallen again because his back legs wouldn't support him.  I got him in, but he didn't want to settle on his bed, so I checked it and discovered it was soaked with urine.  That was when I called the vet and scheduled the appointment.

I spent as much time as I could with him that evening, petting him, talking to him, scritching behind his marvelous, soft ears.  Little Miss Piggie Pie demanded her share of the attention, of course, but I managed to send her off with a toy.  I sang his song to him, and fed him treats, and tried my best to let him know that I loved him.

Wednesday morning I got up, helped Mouse outside, gave him his pain pill and settled him back on a clean bed.  Then I called off work, and the two co-workers with whom I spoke were very sweet and sympathetic.  I did some work for Mom I'd brought home, and eventually it was time to get dressed and go to the vet.  I discovered that Mouse had once more lost control, and frankly, given what all is in my trash can right now, I'm glad it's freezing here.

The vet had squeezed us in after a surgery, since they were closing early, so Mouse and I waiting in the surgery prep room while the doctor finished up surgery on a Goldendoodle.  The vet tech I spoke with claims that Goldendoodles get stupidity from Goldens and bad hair from Poodles.  Mouse wanted to leave, and it broke my heart to see him trying to walk out and knowing that he wasn't leaving ever again.  I petted him and cuddled him and told him how very much he'd meant to me, and finally it was time.

Dr. Mark came in, and I helped the vet tech get Mouse to lie down, and then I petted his head and crooned silly things to him and stayed with him until he was gone.  Then I took off his collar, said my goodbyes to the hospital staff, came home and cuddled Little Miss.

Mouse was with me such a short time, but he was so sweet and silly that I couldn't help but love him.  I'm glad I got him his own set of bowls so he didn't have to eat from hand-me-downs, I'm glad I got to see him bounce like a low-rider, I'm glad he got one last snow and one last visit from Mallie, and despite the sadness I'm feeling, I'm glad he could come to live with me.

The name on his records is Amos, and sometimes I called him Mouse, or Amouse, or Amoos,e or Mr. Mouse, or Mr. Moose, but I always used his "real name" when I sang to him.  It's probably blasphemous, but I don't care--just replace one word in the following song with my dog's name, and you'll know what I sang:

R.I.P. Mouse

My sweet old man, November 1, 1999-November 27, 2013.

Did I miss a holiday?

Because it appears that today is Try to Kill Your Pack Leader Day.  First Zeus uses chemical warfare on Mallie and this morning Mouse made me fall.  

As you know if you read this blog regularly, Mouse is a 14 year old yellow Lab.  He's got severe arthritis in his hips and back legs, and lately he can't climb up the two concrete steps that lead to the back door.  I've been going out and helping him back in while looking for a good, reliable ramp that doesn't cost a fortune.  

This morning, I let Mouse out, and ten minutes later walked out to let him in.  I was behind him, not really doing anything other than bracing him against a backward fall when in a sudden burst of energy, he surged up and over both stairs and into the house, and I fell forward.  I'm not entirely sure where my feet were, because I've been having sporadic episodes of MS foot drop.  I landed on my hands and one knee, so now I have bruises on the heels of both hands, some nice road rash on my leg and an knee that screams at me when I ask it to support my weight.  Oh, and my shoulders hurt like hell.

Could we please consign this holiday to the circular file?

Oh, duh...

Yesterday I lost the whole day to an allergy attack with sinus headache--the only thing I managed to do besides sleep and sneeze and whine was to vacuum the breezeway.  When I was falling asleep, I remembered the days when I enjoyed, not housework, no, but the feeling of accomplishment that comes when the housework is done.

Despite my general reluctance to give any of my money to large, sprawling charitable organizations, one of my colleagues is currently battling breast cancer, and when Mom said she was interested in charity walks, I signed us up for this one.  While we were en route to the walk, I talked to Mom about how yesterday reminded me of how, back when I was depressed and un-medicated, the simplest things caused me to give up and turn into a slug.  I told her that I think it might be time to bump my Lexapro dosage, and so I'll be sending an e-mail request to my neuro tomorrow.

The walk was nice--2.8 miles around the University of Akron campus, which has changed a ton since I was there.  It was quite chilly, but the sun was shining, and thankfully someone took our picture before the walk started, because I was a sweaty wind-haired mess by the end. :P

An ordinary but still rather revelatory Sunday in the life of me.

My groundhog's back!

And she is driving Little Miss Piggie Pie crazy. :D

Checking to see if the coast is clear!

Ignoring the stupid dog...

still ignoring...

heading out after a hour or so of noshing.

Super Saturday

Mom picked me up at 9:30, and we went to the Ohio Mart at Stan Hywet.  The gate didn't open until 10, and we got there at 9:45, but instead of sitting in the nice dry car, Mom wanted to go stand in the wet grass by the gate.  So we did, and I started my looking and shopping with damp feet. :P

As always, there were many lovely things to look at, and I totally lost my heart to a panel that was a wood-burned picture of Severance Hall over stained glass and a whole collection of adorable Christmas and Halloween houses made of paper.  I found Christmas presents for my nieces, for Mallie & Jay, and for myself I got some dark chocolate with pumpkin pie spice and three used books.  Mom met the brain behind Thistle Dew, and got some of her gorgeous Soap in a Coat* for holiday gifts.  I met the woman who owns the new candle store on the upper end of my street and found out why the store is always closed when I drive past and found out when it is open.  We looked at, but did not buy, jewelry made by crocheting wire, faux concrete garden decor and lots and lots of other things I would happily have spent a fortune on.

Oddly enough, we didn't see anyone either of us knew this year.  Usually we get stopped by someone who knows Mom, most often a former client or a former student.  It's a good thing we didn't, because it was very warm, and while I might not have any new lesions, I do still have MS, and I was a sweaty, red-faced mess by the time we finished at 12:30.  We got Kettle Corn for Dad and The Awesome Nacho on the way out, and then Mom asked if we could please go to lunch at Aladdin's.  I was reluctant because of the aforementioned red-and-sweatiness, but we went and had a quick but nice lunch.  Mom dropped me off at home and I had a shower and then took a nap.

When I woke up, I fed the dogs, got dressed and headed to Casa de Senior Jammies for dinner with the family.  Mom made a wonderful dinner as always--standing rib, roasted green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, salad and corn.  Before dinner, I learned that a bear had attacked my brother's family**, resulting in a burn on Lady Margo, a broken pinkie for Jeeves and a sprained toe for The Awesome Nacho.  They had quite an eventful week!  Jeeves requested that someone get him a beer while he was getting some medical tape out of the car for the Nacho, so I got one and even opened it.  I handed it to him when he came in, and the following dialogue took place:

Jeeves: "Oh, you got me a beer--how nice!  Thank you."

Jammies: "You're welcome."

Jeeves: "Where's the glass?"

Jammies: "Bite me."

The Nacho, from the family room sofa: "Did she just say bite me?"


During dinner, we talked of shoes and ships and sealing wax, but got on to the subject of glasses, and Jeeves mentioned that he needs reading glasses and he's noticed that his distance vision isn't as good as it used to be.  Dad took him into the kitchen to try the eye chart on the pocket door***.  The verdict was that Jeeves needs bifocals, and after he moaned a bit about getting old, I reminded him that my baby brother is balding has a very high forehead and now my middle little brother needs bifocals, so however old he got, I'd always be older. :P  I also stunned him with how close I had to get to the eye chart to read it without my glasses.

The original plan for Saturday night was to attend the Hudson High School Parade of Bands, but given a very busy morning for all of us except Dad, that was given up.  When I left, Jeeves had gotten out the movie screen and was lobbying hard for an actual slideshow to give his boys the full experience, complete with the smell of burning dust, the click of the projector, the sight of a few slide in upside down and the potential for jumping in their seats at the noise of a bulb burning out.  I just hugged everyone and headed home.

*Soap in a Coat is a handmade lavender soap covered in hand-felted wool for both scrubbing and bubbling.
**No actual bears were involved, but it makes a better story.
***No, I do not know why my father put up an eye chart on the back of a pocket door.  He's weird.

Yup yup still alive in here!

There hasn't been much that's both noteworthy and post-to-the-blog-worthy lately.  Little Miss Piggie Pie is still a brat but a very sweet one, Mouse is doing amazingly well for a nearly 14 year-old Lab, work is good, the family is good bar some health issues, and I am fine.

Of course, the more interesting work is the less I can talk about it, but Mom gave me a raise for my part-time gig. :)  Oh, and my MRI on Thursday showed no new lesions, which given that I've been off the Copaxone for over three years is pretty damn impressive.  The lesions I do have are inactive, so basically the MS is in remission, which is good enough for me.

The best and biggest news is that Mallie is coming to visit with me for a weekend in November!  Maybe we'll have a birthday party for Mouse.  Or maybe we'll just eat good food, read books and yak.

All Hail Rusty!

That would be the owner of the auto shop where I got my second opinion this morning.  It's also the auto shop where I got both my brakes and my exhaust fixed for under $300.  I had to move some money out of savings, but I saved a thousand bucks I didn't have, so I feel like I came out ahead.

Also, note to self--have Steve do your oil changes, but never trust him with an estimate for anything more complicated!

*le sigh*

So after Mouse scared me to death with his pacing and panting and we did the flying panic run to the vet hospital, the Tramadol has worked freaking miracles and while his foot is still paralyzed and/or numb, he's back to bouncing when I get home, and mostly eating okay.  I wish Tramadol were this much help for the e-bro of my e-sis!

I had an appointment today for an oil change, and although I have an appointment elsewhere on Saturday for a muffler estimate, I told the mechanic that yes, he could give me a quote on the muffler.  He poked, prodded, hemmed and hawed and finally told me I needed a complete new exhaust system AND all new front brakes, and it would be around $1300.

Rationally, I know that if I go to a brake place and to the muffler place, it will probably cost less than that, I'm thinking it won't be much less than that, and considering I've got about $250 in savings right now, I'm feeling particularly depressed about money tonight.  Do I want to pour $1300 I'd have to borrow into a 16 year old car, or borrow a whole lot more to buy a new one?

*le sigh*

Whatever it was, it happened fast...

Yesterday morning, I was on the breezeway enjoying a cigarette and a book.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a very fast shadow pass over the birdfeeder and Little Miss Piggie Pie went bonkers.  Assuming it was a squirrel, I set down the book and looked just in time to see a black cat drag itself out of the boxwoods and run off.  As near as I can tell, the cat made a jump for a bird, missed and landed in the bushes, then LMPP started vocalizing and the cat ran off.

That has been the most excitement my life has had in a month and I'm fine with that.

Noisy Butt Mutt

I don't know anything about the first six months of Little Miss Piggie Pie's life.  She was only a baby when she was dumped at a shelter three days after Christmas and 7 months after her birth.  But judging from her performance the last three evenings, I have to conclude that she was forced to watch endless streaming marathons of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Every evening after dinner, a cute little brown bunny hops up near the house, and nibbles on the wild strawberries and crabgrass that pretend to be my lawn.  Personally, as long as little brown bunny is not eating my plants, I'm content to live and let live.  Little Miss Piggie Pie, on the other hand, wants little brown bunny to GO AWAY and she is not shy about yelling this over and over again in Dog.  Little brown bunny somehow knows that Little Miss Piggie Pie can't get to him, and he is utterly unmoved by her noise.

Either that, or he's deaf.

Or he really does have nasty, big, pointy teeth.

Whatever, the bunny is having more relaxing evenings than I am. :P

Busy day

Since today was the only day in all of July & August Mom & I could work together, I was at her house and working on accountings at 8 a.m.  I also took my laundry, because my dryer has had it, and the eggs and coconut to make macaroons.  Mom & I worked steadily until 11, then I took a break to bake.  Unfortunately, Mom was out of sugar, so I had to run up to the grocery store, but I still got 4 dozen macaroons done in time for a late lunch.  Then I went back to my computer and got the forms done for her to take in and file tomorrow.  Then I ran out of energy, loaded up the car and came home and took a nap.

The macaroons are for a Probate Court tradition--each person brings treats for everyone else on his or her birthday.  It's certainly practical, because no one person gets stuck repeatedly baking cakes or cookies or buying bagels.  Mom says it's just like hobbits giving presents to others.  Since the judge is allergic to wheat, macaroons are perfect.  Any vegans in the office can just suck it, however. :P

My dryer is 47 years old, and despite a nagging feeling of disloyalty, my sheets were so hot when I took them out last week that I finally decided to bite the bullet and just replace it.  It's had at least two new motors, several full clean-outs, and two years ago, Dad removed the drum and re-painted the inside.  So it's time.  I got a no-frills dryer from Lowe's, and they're going to call me about delivery.

Both of my brothers called to wish me a happy birthday, and that just put the cap on my day.  Now I'm going to go take a cool shower and read the book Mom loaned me.

PicSpam!

Happy Belated Fourth of July!

 

First of the month

There's a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer that my dad has always liked:

Almighty and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us.

I was thinking of it today, because the first of the month in the Accounts Department means publishing and approving accounts done the preceding two months followed by sending notices to people who have failed to file accounts, inventories, certificates and reports in the preceding months.  So I spent my morning commending those who have done those things they ought to have done, and chastising those who have left undone those things which they ought to have done.

It certainly makes the day go quickly!

Courthouse snobservations

To the attorney who walked out of the court with her lighter in one hand and a cigarette in the other, I hope you weren't trying to preserve a poker face for your client, 'cause that's a big tell.

To my co-worker, just because your minimal makeup routine includes different products than mine does not mean I am less natural or more fake than you.  You're just jealous because I don't need mascara. :p

To the lady walking into the courthouse today--throwing a blazer over a mullet-skirted print gauze dress does not make it appropriate court attire.

And to the jerk silverback attorney who decided he'd quiz me about the judge's health, FOAD.

Not bad for a chick with a migraine!

Which appeared yesterday morning when I woke, ugh.  I did absolutely nothing but sleep yesterday. :(

Today, however, I have:

Changed the sheets on the bed
Trimmed the lilacs, the butterfly bushes, the boxwoods and the evergreen bushes,
Vacuumed the hall carpet
Written and scheduled tomorrow's post for Bubbles & Baubles
Loaded the dishwasher
Made chili chicken

My arms are still quivering from wrangling the trimmer, and it's a light one!  Tomorrow will be all inside jobs, cleaning and vacuuming and laundry and, ugh, putting clothes away.  I do have some lavender plants to get in the ground, but I can do that early and then get on with staying inside where it's cool.

I don't know how you're doing because you don't update your blog.

So said Captain Crossword when I talked to him on the phone last month, and it made me face something I've been ignoring.  I have been avoiding this blog, not because anything is wrong in my life, but because I felt blocked on writing about the end of the Disney adventure, and I wanted to finish that before going on to anything else.  So to un-block myself, here's a summation:

The last full day of the cruise was great.  The half-day at Hollywood Studios was nice, and a random guy called me "The best single-serving friend of the day."  The day at Epcot was half-okay, half-not for reasons I won't go into.  Princess Minnie was comped a pair of Disney princess sweatpants and SuperDonut got a set of bongo drums.  I liked the luxury of the Contemporary American resort where we stated, but hated the muddy colors and all of the shapes.  I flew home to eight inches of snow on my car and a dog with vestibular disorder.

The new job is still good.  I feel as though I'm getting a brain workout every day, and I'm still making mistakes but trying not to beat myself up about it.  I'm also trying to get back into a more professional look clothing-wise.

Little brother, I promise to be better about updating.  In the mean time, have some garden pictures:

One of my azaleas:

My double-flowered lilac:

Heliotrope in pots:

A classic lilac:

"Sensation" lilac

Disney Adventure Day 6, December 26, 2012 (Cozumel, Mexico)

Click "Read More" for the good stuff!

Disney Adventure Day 5, December 25, 2012 (Costa Maya, Mexico)

Pictures and blah, blah, blah after the jump. ;)

Disney Adventure Day 4, December 24, 2012 (Grand Cayman Island)

Same deal as yesterday, everything is behind the jump!

Disney Adventure Day 3, December 23, 2012 (Day at sea)

Today's post has the pictures mixed in with the text, and since there are lots of pictures, everything is after the jump.

Disney Adventure Day 2, December 22, 2012 (Cape Canaveral, Florida)

I woke up early, but sadly, did not remember to credit The Doctor with the continuing existence of the world—all I wanted was coffee.  Fortunately, it was available in the hotel’s gathering area well before the breakfast buffet was set up.  When I went to Mom and Dad’s room and knocked very quietly on the door, Mom let me in and after we’d talked for a bit, she told me that the Crossword-Mathgeek family was planning to have breakfast at 8:30, so I said I’d come back and join them.  However, when I went to get another cup of coffee, Jeeves and Superdoughnut were already having breakfast, so I joined them instead.

Breakfast was decent—the pineapple was good, the toaster was slooooow and the yogurt was Dannon, but I got plenty to eat and either the meds or the previous night’s salad solved one of my problems.  J  Jeeves made a Publix run and bought out the pharmacy aisle because Lady Margo woke up with a sore throat, and Mom had to get her bathing suit out of the car, but we all managed to get our stuff together and get on the bus for the Disney terminal on time.  Just as Dad was grumping that bus was supposed to leave at 11:15, it started up and we pulled out at 11:20.

Getting to the terminal was very quick, but since Mom and I did our online check-in late, we were not in the same boarding group as the rest of the family.  They all got to board at noon, while we had to hang around in the terminal until 1.  When they did call group 25, Mom and Dad and I managed to sneak on board behind another family and not be announced.   Dad kept saying he wanted to put his bag down and Mom and I kept telling him the rooms wouldn’t open until 1:30.  Rather than try to find the rest of the family, the three of us went to lunch at the Enchanted Garden, which is an extremely lovely restaurant.

After lunch, Dad and I both went to take naps.  We did get some family time, because all four rooms are in a line, and our verandas all line up.  There was a lot of talking back and forth, and that stayed true for the rest of the trip.

For some reason, I hadn’t turned off my cell, so what woke me was that ringing, followed by the message tone when I didn’t find the phone fast enough.  I looked at the caller ID, expecting that someone from the family was trying to wake me up, but instead it was the woman with whom I’d interviewed for a court job a week ago.  I GOT THE JOB!  I start on January 2^nd, which gives me the 1st for getting Mom’s office set up for her return.

I knocked on the connecting door between my room and my parents', and Dad was still napping, but Mom came to the door and I told her, then I went down to Jeeves and Lady Margo’s room and told them.  We all went out on the balcony and when I saw that Dad was on his balcony, I said, “Hey, Dad, who are you looking at?”  He said he didn’t know, and I said, “The newest probate court employee, that’s who!”

This time, we had the early dinner, so we all met in the hallway and headed for the Royal Court.  I’m not sure what happened, but I ate a really yummy bowl of French onion soup, had a Lemon Drop martini, took about four bites of my salad with goat cheese and knew I was going to be sick.  I excused myself from dinner, took the elevator up and made it back to my room before tossing my cookies.  I brushed my teeth, sat down and rested for a bit, then went back downstairs to see the tree lighting.  Mom was in her room reading when I got back upstairs, so we talked a little bit, then she fell asleep around 9.   I wasn’t going to buy internet service on this trip, but I had to go online and tell everyone about the job, so I bought 250 minutes. I managed to stay up until almost 10, and after a last smoke on the veranda, where I saw a lighted ship traveling away from us, I snuggled under my big poofy coverlet on my big poofy mattress and fell asleep.

Pictures of my room and the Towel Animal du Jour (a swan) after the jump!

Disney Adventure Day 1, December 21, 2012 (Akron and points south)

Like a good little traveler, I was up and moving early.  I had my two cups of coffee, brushed my hair & teeth, put my toothbrush and meds in my carryon, put the coffeepot in the dishwasher and started it, and headed out the door. 

Because it was so cold that morning, I wore black cargo pants, fuzzy socks, fuzzy black & white leg warmers from Sock Dreams, a black t-shirt, a white cotton shirt, a black jersey cardigan and my navy “spring” windbreaker.  It was very cold and very dark when I left at 6:15, and the roads were icy.  I was lucky in the first half of my trip, because I was right behind a salt truck, but once I got on 77 South, I was on my own.  Thankfully, traffic was light, so I did a steady 60 mph, and only had one scary moment.  Somebody thought I wasn’t going fast enough, so he or she passed me on the right and then zipped back into the middle lane, cutting me off.  My only thought as I tapped the brakes was “If I die, I hope my family goes on the cruise.”

Clearly, I didn’t die, and I made it to the airport in time to park and take a shuttle in and go through security and get to my gate just as they were boarding. J We took off a little late after de-icing, and arrived in Charlotte at 9:30 instead of 8:40, but the flight to Orlando wasn’t leaving until 11:25, so I had time to walk the entire length of the airport, buy a yogurt on the verge of sentience and what I thought was a bottle of water but which turned out to be Sprite. 

The woman Mom had hired to cover the phones had tried to call both of us,  but since I was the one who turned my phone back on first, I was the one who got to tell her that if she was sick, she should go home.  Eventually, Mom called me, and I told her that, then asked if the Jeeves-Margo family were in fact flying from Charlotte to Orlando with me.  She said yes, but their plane was landing around 11.  :o

Thus I spent the next 90 minutes both worrying and wondering why my carryon bag was so darned heavy.  I finished one book and started another, and was in the last group to board the plane.  I was chatting with my seatmate and worrying, and they were just about to close the door when I saw my family heading down the aisle.  Yaaaaay!  They were all flushed and a little breathless, because they had run from the same terminal at which my flight had arrived (reserved for “small airports” like Columbus) after being late owing to de-icing.

After that, the 90 minute flight to Orlando was a piece of cake, and we arrived only about 30 minutes late.  The Crossword-Mathgeek family was at baggage claim 5, and the shuttle was going to pick up their party and then come to baggage claim 20 and get us.  There was a joyful reunion and then a 1 hour trip to our hotel in Cape Canaveral.   During the trip, there were several different conversations going on.  At one of those natural pauses when everyone was quiet at once, the driver drifted over some rumble strips, and little Princess Minnie yelled “Road farts!”  This is one of the many lovely sayings passed on to the next generation from Grampa Scary Bear.

Mom met us in the lobby, we all got check in and dumped our bags in our rooms and then gathered in Mom & Dad’s room for snacks.  After some discussion, we decided on an early dinner, which we had at a decent tourist trap called Fishlips.  At dinner, Captain Crossword announced that Bookworm Mathgeek had gotten the highest possible grades in her two MBA courses for that semester, so we all raised our glasses to her. Then we went back to the hotel and celebrated Super Doughnut’s birthday in Mom and Dad’s room.  Mom had gotten vanilla ice cream and a personalized cake, and because we were in a residence hotel, there were plates and forks in the room.  Captain Crossword did a killer dance to “Ice Cream and Cake” and then was begged to repeat it 3 times until he was captured on video.  Even though it’s been 20 years since show choir, my little brother still has the moves.

After ice cream and cake, Mom took me on a drugstore run, as I was constipated and painfully bloated.  She came to my room to pick up some bills I'd brought for her, and that was when I discovered that my carry-on was so heavy because I'd brought the two pounds of mixed nuts that arrived at the house after Mom and Dad left!  I happily handed over the nuts and took some OTC meds and read in my room for a while, then just happened to visit the fire pit for a cigarette at the same time Annabel, Captain Crossword and all four kids were visiting.  It was a gas fire in a huge stone surround, and while pretty, it wasn’t really something that encouraged sitting around it.  Plus, we’d apparently brought some chilly Ohio weather with us, as it was 57º F when we landed and kept dropping.  I went to bed early, after taking a long hot shower and watching 2 episodes of Say Yes To The Bridesmaid’s Dress. *blush*  

Hi honeys, I'm home!

There will be a ton of pictures and stories from our Disney adventure, but I'm home safe and sound.  Mouse has Vestibular Disease, so my poor old man has to be helped outside to go potty and then back inside and he's not interested in eating, but his tail still wags for me and he's still sweet as pie.  Today was a whirlwind of stopping by Mom's house to check the voice messages and print some bank statements and tomorrow I start a new job, as an auditor for the Summit County Probate Courts Accounting Department.

Despite the snow and the mess in my house left by moving 20 houseplants into the kitchen, it's good to be home!

I should be packing

The guest room is a mess, with various piles of clothing awaiting either packing or putting away, depending on what I decide to take.  My suitcase has to be at my folks' house on Saturday, so it can go overland to Orlando, while I work in the office next week and then fly to Orlando on Friday.

This week has been absolutely hellish at work, as Mom and I scramble to get everything done before she leaves.  Of course, there have been crises, most notably four Wards in three different hospitals in two counties.  I think Tuesday was the worst, because we expected Monday to be a Monday, and we both got a lot done yesterday, but the phone would NOT stop ringing on Tuesday.

I'm getting cautiously excited about the cruise.  I've just purchased and downloaded 7 e-books to take with me, along with the physical books I've been hoarding, and I do know which nail polishes, perfumes and bath and body products I want to take.  I do need to find my lavender sugar scrub, which appears to be in hiding,  and as I said, I should be packing.

Instead, I am faffing about on Goodreads and playing a silly little shareware game.

WE GOT ONE!

If you didn't hear that in Annie Potts' voice, you're too young--go away!  I'm excited because five years after I first looked for it online and got directed back to this blog, I found a picture of the Terex reindeer!