Here We Go Again

Hello?  Yes, I'd like to cancel my subscription to the storm of the week club, thank you.

I know, I know, but that's just the way it is during springtime in the South.  

You know what else it is during springtime in the South?  It's polleny.  So polleny.  Seriously, I was sitting in the chair in the back yard when the cat jumped up into my lap...and she was yellow.  The cat was yellow!  

There were even streaks of yellow in the parking lot at work.  I started to take a picture of it to show you, but I didn't.  Maybe tomorrow I will.  

Speaking of work, today started the new PPE policies, and there is always a silver lining.  This one is that the front office people are not coming out onto the shop floor nearly as much as they usually do.  Let's just hope that lasts.

In a strange twist of irony, the very first order I got this morning had one of the adapter tubes bent wrong.  Normally, I would just beat it into place with a hammer, but I was mad and after discussing it with the brazer who had the other half of the order, I just said, "We shouldn't have to struggle with this mess every day.  Just get the whole thing re-cut."  

So we did.  

Just last week, I was telling Uncle Supervisor that at some point, there has got to be accountability over in the tubing department.  They can't keep depending on their sub-brazers to sort out and re-order bad parts.  We'll never get ahead that way, especially if they lines start running like they should.  As it is, the only way we're keeping up now is because the lines are running so slowly.  If they were running full speed, there's no way we'd be able to keep up because all of the non-brazing stuff we have to do.  

It just blows my mind that they're not even required to check their parts to make sure they're correct before they bend an entire order wrong.  But they're not.  They just make whatever and say if it's wrong, the brazers will re-order it.  That's no way to run a successful business. 

But that's their main problem.  They've got too many bosses out there who care more about being right than being successful.  Case in point:  about 6 years ago, a representative from the company we buy our brazing rod from came to the plant and the first thing he said was that we are using the wrong rod.  We don't need to be using a 5HP.   We should be using a 5%.  

Now, I know that doesn't mean anything to most of you, but just roll with it. 

However, the powers that be, because they don't want to listen to anyone and can't abide anyone telling them that they're wrong, said they didn't feel the need to switch.  So, six  years on, we're still using the wrong brazing rod.  Go figure...

OK, moving right along, my seed starting pods arrived.

I found some seeds I'd saved from one of the sunflowers I grew last year, so I think I'm going to plant those.  I'm not completely sure, but I think they came from one of the ones that doesn't grow super tall.  I really need to get better at labeling things.   Oh, well.  They'll be a surprise. 

And finally,  I cast on a new charity hat and it has started pooling in a really weird way. 

 I'd had a couple of small balls of this yarn, so I cast on with the smallest one for the ribbing, then when I joined the second one, it started pooling this way.  I was concerned about joining the third ball, but as you can see, the strange pooling pattern has continued.  

I wish I knew how I did that, because when I want it to pool, it doesn't.  Oh well, I like it, and I'm sure whichever sailor gets it will, too. 

At least, I hope so. 

Spring Storms

OK, first of all, I watched the Netflix documentary on the Joplin tornado, and while the footage of the storm was downright terrifying, all I could think was, “Of all the people affected by this storm, these were the best representatives of the town of Joplin, and indeed the state of Missouri they could find to interview?”   Seriously, they made the stereotypical Mississippian look good.  

Let's just say, don't watch it at work or in front of your children.  Yes, it was that bad.  

The one the guy did on Rolling Fork was so much better, if you can find a way to watch it.  I watched it on Mississippi Public Broadcasting, and I think you might be able to watch it on PBS at the link above.  I have the Passport, so I have access to more than just the free stuff, so I'm not completely sure. 

While we're on the subject, they've upgraded our risk for this evening from green to yellow, and I read that Reed is in Memphis for this one, 

so after enjoying a couple of cups of coffee by the fire this morning, 

I took the better part of valor and put everything back under cover for the duration.  In this case, it's the chance of hail I'm concerned about.  I don't want my new fire pit and chairs to be pulverized by falling balls of ice.  

I would really love to have a covered patio to put all of this stuff under so I don't have to worry about this type of thing.  Maybe someday...

After I'd gotten all of that squared away, I came inside and took a shower because between last night's fire and this morning's fire, I smelled pretty strongly of smoke.  Even though I'd moved the chair, the smoke followed me.  Ain't that always the way?  

Then I spent the rest of the day watching The Crown and Call The Midwife, and knitting.  I finished one charity hat, 

then I cast on another one while waiting for this evening's storms to arrive.   From what I can see, the worst is supposed to pass north of us, but it's weather.  

You can't ever tell. 

Saturday

I've been looking forward to this day all week.  

Saturday afternoon.  Nothing to do.  No clocks to watch.  

Freedom.  

Even Sunday can't compare, because I have to watch the clock...and wait to go back to work.  Dread going back to work...

But today...Saturday...it's all mine. 

It was such a beautiful day, even though we are expecting storms tomorrow, they aren't expected to be anything like last week's storms, so I went ahead and got the fire pit and other chair out of the shed and set them out in the back yard. 

I had a hard time finding a weed-free space big enough to put them in, so in the end, I had to sacrifice a patch of purple deadnettle, which I felt would be the best option because I have so much of it in the rest of the yard. 

I'm thinking later on, I might even start a little fire in the fire pit.  After it cools off a bit, of course.  It's too warm right now. 

I even tried to sit outside to write this blog post, but the sun is so bright I couldn't even see my computer screen, so I'm back inside for a bit.  By the way, I turned my Netflix account back on just to watch the documentary on the Joplin, MO tornado of 2011.  I had been so long since I turned it off that I had to create a whole new account.  I don't know how long I'll leave it on, but it will be long enough to finish watching The Crown.  I'd only see the first two seasons before I cut it off, so I'll probably just go back and start over. 

Same with Stranger Things.  I watched the first two seasons, then cut my Netflix off.  Of course, if we keep getting all of this overtime, I might just leave it on for a while.  

Since it was such a beautiful, sunny day, I put my seed tray with my three pitiful little seedlings out into the sunshine for about half an hour to start hardening them off.   

 I'm going to give the others one more week, then if nothing happens, I'll move the three that are growing to bigger pots, then knock all of this dirt out and start over.  I've ordered some hydroponic sponges from Amazon, and I'm going to try those to see if I get a better germination rate from them. 

I don't know what I'm going to plant, but it'll be something.  Maybe I'll follow Supervisor Green Jeans' lead and plant some tomatoes.  

Not 318 of them, but some.  

Now, if you'll be so kind as to excuse me, I've got some sitting to do. 

Outside.  

Laters. 

World Down Syndrome Day

For those of you who may not know, today is World Down Syndrome Day.  I have a coworker whose son has Down Syndrome, so every few years, her daughter -- who has a t-shirt business-- designs a new shirt for the occasion.    

Earlier this year my coworker and I were talking about getting new shirts, because it's been a minute, and I told her we want to have her son's name on the shirt to let everyone know who we're supporting.  Team Kel, that's what we want to be.  Unfortunately, she had something going on, and they didn't get the new shirts made.  I said, "It's OK.  We'll just wear the shirts we already have."  

When I got to work this morning, I told her, "I was going to make an announcement yesterday asking people to wear their shirts if they had one, but I got over there and started reading the post about the new PPE rules, and got so mad I completely forgot."

Yep, the new rules are pretty strict.  So much so, even the safety guy says they're over-reacting.  He said, "We want people to be safe, but you've got to have some common sense."  My thing is, if it's a safety issue, why did it take three decades for it to become such?  Wouldn't it have been a safety issue way back in 1992?  

The new rules go into effect Monday, and I'm hearing a lot of people are saying they're not coming back -- as in quitting.  I know when they took our insulated mugs away, about 40 people left the meeting and walked straight out the door.  I heard there were just as many who walked out on second shift.  

Seriously, I've never seen a company who works so hard at making their employees' hate their jobs.  It's getting unbearable, so much so, I was telling a coworker I might not make it to 65.  Walmart starts their employees at $17.50 per hour, so she might come into town one day and see me standing there saying, "Welcome to Walmart."  

Speaking of Walmart, I went after work and while I was there, I went into the garden center to see what they have in the way of live plants. The ones they had didn't look too sporty, so I didn't buy any.  I think the frost might have touched them.  I almost bought a packet of wildflower seeds to try to start in my little greenhouse, but I passed on that, too.  I'm still holding out hope -- probably in vain -- that more of my little bluebonnet seeds will germinate.  Right now, I've got two that have survived this far -- out of only five that germinated. 

 And one of my Bachelor's Button seeds is growing so far. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  It's getting pretty discouraging that I plant and plant, and nothing ever grows.  

Supervisor Green Jeans stopped by my stand this afternoon and showed me his tomato seeds he'd started.  He's got a ton of them, and I can't even get wildflowers to grow.  I'm going to give these another week, and if nothing else grows, I'll plant something else.  

You know what they say about the definition of insanity.  I'm pretty sure I've crossed that line. 

First Day Of Spring

Happy first day of astronomical spring to those of you who celebrate it.  Me, I celebrate meteorological spring, because meteorology is better.  

Since we can't be normal in this country, on this the first day of spring, we are expecting a freeze tonight. I took a moment to bring in the few plants I had outside, though most of them were still in the house from last week's severe weather outbreak.  I left Marty Mac outside, but found a bit of leftover visqueen and covered him up.  

Venus Fly Traps can handle a frost, but it can damage newly forming leaves, so it's best to protect them.  

By the way, my French Tarragon is coming out, as is my peppermint, but so far, nothing else.  My sage and rosemary seem dot be doing fine, too, but no sign of life in the pepper plants.  They are perennials in their native habitats, but this may be too far north for them.  

While we're on the subject of weather,  check out how many air to ground lightning strikes were recorded from last weekend. 

You can't even see Mississippi through all of that.  On a similar note, The National Weather Service has confirmed that 18 tornadoes touched down on March 14 and 15 in Mississippi, including one EF-4, one EF-3, seven EF-2, seven EF-1, and two EF-0 tornadoes.

The one that hit Elliot was rated an EF-2.  The EF-4 and EF-3 both hit Taylortown.  Yes, both of them.  Their tracks are just a few miles apart.  Then there was the earthquake, which really isn't that much of a surprise given how close we are the the New Madrid Faultline.  Mississippi experiences more earthquakes than you might think.  

That's about all I have to talk about today.  There is a lot going on at work, but I don't really want to talk about it, because there is an ill wind blowing through the plant.  Whispers in the dark...

It's almost like they're looking for reasons to fire people.  The latest is that now we have to wear our gloves and arm guards at all times -- even to the bathroom and our lunch breaks.  Not only that, they're taking up all of the floor fans, because they say we don't need them -- not even when it hits 95 out there.  

If you ask me, the biggest problem out there is that there are too many bosses -- and too many people who aren't bosses, but want to be bosses, so they come out and try to boss people they've got no business bossing.  My stalker for example.  

Even when he was the brazing trainer, he seemed to think he was some sort of supervisor.  He even referred to himself as a supervisor.  Sometimes when we'd come in early, he'd come in too, claiming that he was there to make sure we were actually working and not just coming in and standing around. 

He's got a new job, by the way.   Nobody really knows what he's supposed to be doing, but he loves those kinds of jobs where he gets paid a lot of money to basically do nothing because he's lazy.  Back when he got demoted from being the brazing trainer, they put him over there with us sub-brazing.  He probably didn't do but about 50 headers per day.  We're supposed to do 200+.  I was constantly having to pull off of my work to bail him out because he'd get so far behind.

Then he got that job in the prototype shop, and they really didn't want him back there, either.  The job was supposed to go to the other applicant, but his supervisor refused to release him from his job on the assembly line.  So, they had to give it to Stalker, even though they didn't want to.   Word on the shop floor is that they wanted to get rid of him, and somehow, instead of getting fired, he got a promotion.

The buddy system protected him once again, the same way it did back when all of those women were bringing sexual harassment charges against him.   And there were a lot of them.  I know we joke about him being my stalker, but he's harassed a lot of women.  I've heard absolute horror stories from when he'd get women alone in that training center -- from asking explicitly detailed questions about how they like to have sex, all the way to threatening not to pass them if they didn't give him a little something first.  

Probably the most common complaint was that he'd lay right up on their backs as they were brazing, and I believe that because he did it to me.  Once. 

I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not in my enthusiasm to do my job well... accidentally elbowed him in the gut a couple of times.  

Accidentally, of course.  I would never do that on purpose.  But he learned to back his butt up. 

As I said before, he was turned in and multiple women came forward, but as I also said, he's protected by the buddy system, though I can't imagine why.  The only one who lost a job during that whole situation was the HR director who wanted to fire Stalker.  

Well, I did not mean to get off onto that tangent.  I'd intended to talk about something completely different, but that will have to wait, as I still need to practice my piano.  And I really need to do a piano related post anyway.  I'm thinking about doing a vlog.  

Maybe I will.  You never know. 

Protect Your Melon

So there I was, in the middle of a tornado warning, sitting in my bathroom wrapped up in an extra comforter with a pillow on my head. 

(Reenactment)

As I was eating my pudding -- because if I'm going to die in a tornado, I'm not going to do it with uneaten pudding in my house -- I said to myself, "Self, you really need to get a helmet to protect your melon."  

Because I can't go down to the local Walmart and get a bicycle helmet like a normal human being, I whipped out my phone, found what I wanted, and placed my order.  

Which arrived today. 

 Yep, that's right.  I am now the proud owner of an authentic replica WWII steel helmet.  

Because I gotta be me. 

Catch Up Day

Sunday was a bit of a catch - up day for me, what with the tornadoes and all on Saturday.  And there were a lot of them.  One of the meteorologists I follow posted this graphic, showing the tornado warnings for Saturday. 

Then one of the storm chasers said there were 248 tornado warnings for Friday and Saturday, and that's not including the ones from Sunday.  

Now, keep in mind, just because there was a warning issued doesn't mean there was an actual tornado on the ground.  It just means radar indicated possible rotation developing.  They're still doing damage surveys, so we don't know exactly how many tornadoes there were.  Ryan Hall said at least 56 over the three day period.  He also posted this graphic of all the watches and warnings issued.

I'm not sure what all of the colors mean, though.  The red ones are tornado warnings, and I'm pretty sure all of the yellow ones were watches of various kinds.  I think the green is flash flood, but I don't know what the purple is.  Maybe costal flooding.  I don't know.  I wish he'd have posted a key, but oh well.  Even so, that's a lot of weather that happened.  

And as if all of that weren't enough, look what we have here...

That's a tropical disturbance, but it has very low chances of developing at the moment.  Even if it does, likely the water would be too cold for it to survive long.  

All that to say, I spent Sunday doing the chores I normally do on Saturday -- mostly laundry, because I was afraid to start a load until the storms had passed.  It's a good thing I did because the electricity did go out, and by the time it came back on, I felt it was too late to start any.  So I put it off until Sunday.  Not that you are that interested in my laundry...so here's a little more interesting thing.  

I cast on a new charity hat with the yarn I got out of the free stuff they were giving away up in Oxford at the fiber arts festival. 

After knitting so many from sock yarn, it's almost a relief at how quickly worsted weight knits up. 

Really, the only other thing I did was to get my hummingbird feeders washed, filled, and hung up outside.  I put one in the usual spot in the front yard.  

And I hung a second one in the back yard, near my other bird feeder. 

Just look at that beautiful blue sky in the background, being all sunny and cheerful like it didn't just try to kill us all the day before. It was still gorgeous when I got home from work today, so I sat in my chair outside for a little while.

On an impulse, I grabbed my bucked of daffodil bulbs and planted a few more.  I've still got a lot to go, but we're getting there.  I grumble and grouse about how I'm going to be sore, and blah blah blah...

then I see this, 

and suddenly it's all worth it. 

That Was Interesting

I was at work this morning, just dragging.  I wasn't the only one, either.   Brazers, people in the bathroom, even Uncle Supervisor...all complaining about being tired.  At one point, I even sat down and said to Group Leader Shark, "Why can't tornadoes come during the day?"

"I know, right!" she responded.  And that was the whole issue. Storms, all night long. 

I'd stayed awake longer than I normally do anyway, watching Ryan Hall's livestream, and keeping up with the local forecast on my phone.  Finally, I turned everything off and drifted off to sleep around 9:00.  

Shortly after 11:30 is when all the alarms on my phone started going off.  

Quickly, I grabbed said phone and opened it up to see what was going on.  A lot of these warnings are radar indicated upper level rotation, but not this one.  Confirmed tornado on the ground is what this one said.  Headed towards Grenada county, it said.  

Taking the better part of valor, I picked up my Kindle and phone, then went into the hall bathroom -- the most interior room of my house -- which I had prepped earlier in the day with an extra comforter and several pillows to wait out the storm. I was soon joined by a very nervous kitty, and together we turned on Ryan Hall's livestream on the Kindle and Matt Laubhan's stream on Facebook Live on my phone. 

Then I had to go back to the bedroom to get my glasses so I could see...but by then, I could tell the tornado was going to pass to the south of us -- and hit the little community of Elliot, about 10 miles away.  

We watched until the internet dropped, whereupon I had to turn off the Kindle and switch the phone to cellular data, then kept watching until Matt said, "If you're in Grenada proper, you can come out of your safe space now."  

I went back to bed, but didn't go back to sleep until probably 2:00 AM.  

When that alarm went off at 3:30, I almost called in and stayed home, but I didn't.  I got up and went to work anyway.   Everything was going along swimmingly, until lunch time.  There we were, sitting in the break area eating our lunch, when suddenly Group Leader Shark jumped up and started shouting, "Shelter!  Go to the shelter!" 

So, we all went to the shelter and everybody's phones were going off, and the plant's severe weather alarm started going off, and we stayed in the shelter until the warning expired and we were allowed to go back and finish our lunch break.  

About 15 minutes later, lunch was over and I had just gotten back to my brazing stand when a coworker came around the corner and said, "BECKY!  Shelter!!  Back to the shelter!"  

And just like that, we were back in the shelter.  

Not ten minutes later, the powers that be called it and sent everyone home.  I don't even live that far from the plant, but before I even got home, I was getting another tornado warning on my phone.  I went into the house, opened up Facebook and found Matt's livestream, which showed an area of rotation headed straight for Grenada.  Back into the safe space we went, the cat and I, to wait this one out.  

I can neither confirm nor deny that I may have gone to look out the window more than once, though I didn't go outside because it was raining too hard.  It didn't take long -- maybe half an hour-- and the storm passed and we came out.  Well, I did.  The Incarnation of Evil was all settled in and comfortable. 

We had a couple more rounds of thunderstorms after that, but no more tornadic activity, but then the power went out.  All throughout the whole mess, starting just before midnight last night, the power didn't even flicker.  It was when everything was basically over that the power went out.  I'm thinking it might have been a tree or branch on the lines or something, because they got it back on in about two hours.  

By that time, the internet was also back up, so I was able to get online and see that we did have a little funnel cloud pass over near here.  I don't know that it ever touched down, but it was definitely a funnel.  

It would be several more hours and several more tornadoes before the storm cleared the state, but that was pretty much it for this area.  

And as if all of this weather weren't enough,  we had an earthquake down in the southern part of the state. 

 So, how was your day?  

HazCam!

 We have a hazcam!  

I knew we were supposed to get one, and now we do!  It went live just in time for Saturday's severe weather.  I tried to embed it, but apparently that's not an option.  I even checked to see if there was a live feed on YouTube, but I couldn't find it.  I don't know if they're going to put one up or not, but for now, it's not on there.  If you want to view it, you can click the link below. 

Click Here:  HazCam

It's going to come in mighty handy during severe weather season.  

Thank you to North Mississippi Storm Chasers and Spotters for getting it installed, and to the radio station for sponsoring it.  Wouldn't it be a hoot if Ryan Hall tapped into it during the live stream this weekend? 

Except that I'll be at work Saturday, and wouldn't be able to see it anyway...

OK, I know this is short, but last night was another one of those tossing and turning and not sleeping nights, so I'm a bit tuckered.  I'm going to go practice my piano, then go to bed and hope for the best.

Goodnight. 

Does Anyone Still Knit?

Does anyone out there still knit?  

Seriously, do you?  Most of you in my FB friends list came from a knitting site, except for family and schoolmates, of course.  That's how we all met, but I hardly ever see any of you posting your knitting projects any more, except for one or two of you. So, really?  Do you still knit or am I in this by myself? 

On that note, here is hat progress.  

This is the yarn I bought at the thing up in Oxford.  It's from Holly Dyeworks and the colorway is Folk School Engagement.    

I wish I had more time and energy to knit -- and to do all the other things I need to get done, as well.  My friend told me my system is overtaxed, and that's why I don't have any energy.  The problem is, I don't know how to get my system untaxed.  I try to eat right and motivate myself to exercise, but nothing seems to work.  I just stay exhausted all the time.  I do know that quitting my job would definitely help, but I can't seem to find anyone who will pay my bills so I can do that. 

Oh, and by the way, it's been just over a week since I figured out my vitamins may be affecting my morning glucose readings, and I'm happy to report that since then, said readings are much more normal -- usually right around 100.  

In other news, the big weather event is supposed to happen Saturday, but we're also expecting storms tomorrow, with the possibility of hail, so this afternoon I took the precaution of bringing the plants back inside, along with my chair and table. 

 I've got to find a better place to put my chair -- outside, I mean.  It was nice to sit out in the sun when it was a bit cooler, but now it's getting too warm for that.  Of course, I can't wait until later in the evening, because of those later sunsets you all go ga ga over.  When you get up at 3:30 in the blessed Ay Em, you don't get to stay up late enough to enjoy them. 

Speaking of, it's about time for me to head for bed, and I still haven't practiced my piano, so I'd better get to that.  

Laters. 

The End

It looks like our days of getting off at 1:00 have come to an end.  Boo!  I was enjoying getting off early.  On the other hand, overtime.  

Another downside is, these last couple of days have been absolutely gorgeous and I'm stuck inside a hot, muggy, filthy plant instead of outside in it.  Yesterday, I had to run into town to pay a bill and the lady in line in front of me said, "It's such a beautiful day after what came though last night!"

"Oooo, yes!" I agreed.  "That was something.  I was already asleep and like to have come out the bed!"

We were talking about the thunderstorms that rolled through late Sunday night, and let me tell you, that thunder was loud!  It kind of reminded me of when that building on the square exploded last year.  They still haven't gotten that all cleaned up, by the way.

But yeah, I didn't last long, but it was pretty noisy while it was passing over. Someone even posted photos in one of the local weather watcher groups of graupel that fell at her house.   It always amazes me how skies that were so full of death and destruction can be so stunningly beautiful the next day. 

They were so beautiful, when I got home, I went and sat outside instead of writing you a blog post.  That's why you didn't get one.  All I was going to do was complain about daylight saving time and show you my new DVD. 

The Chosen season 4 special edition set, to go with the first three.  This is one series I'm definitely going to have in hard copy.  

And as for Daylight Saving Time, I'm not a fan.  Every year there is talk about making it permanent, but most people these days are too young to remember that we did that once before, back in the 70s.  Everyone thought it was the greatest thing -- those 9:00 PM sunsets.  More time for the rich and retired to sit on the beach and sip Margaritas and all.  

But then, Fall came.  The days shortened -- as they always do.  I guess they don't teach the seasons in schools any more...  Eventually, the sun was setting at 5:30 anyway, and even worse, in some parts of the Lower 48, wasn't rising until 10:00.  I mean, I guess that's OK if you're a Tik Tok influencer and sleep until noon anyway, but people having to put their kids out on the side of the road to wait for the school bus in the pitch darkness weren't so keen on it.  Once people realized what they'd done to themselves, they raised such a hue and cry that they changed it back.  

Don't get me wrong.  I'll all for doing away with changing the time twice a year, but leave it on standard time.  

Today was just as gorgeous, but I didn't sit in the chair.  Instead, I grabbed my bucket of daffodil bulbs and put a few more into the ground.  I've still got a bunch to go, but I'm making progress.  By the way, the purple deadnettle is in full bloom, and there are bees everywhere. 

That's why I never mow until the deadnettle dies back.  It's as important to the bees as clover is -- if not more.  And hopefully, I won't have any trespassing neighbors mow it all down this year. 

So, a few more beautiful days and we have more severe weather on the horizon for this coming weekend.  Welcome to springtime in the south...

And finally, we had a bit of a tragedy here in my little town.  One of the local businesses, Hankin's Lumber Company, burned to the ground early this morning.  It took them several hours to put the fire out, and I'm hearing it's a total loss.  They employed a lot of people in this community, including my across-the-street neighbor.  

Now, I need to go practice my piano a bit before going to bed.  I don't know what set the cat off last night, but she was restless and yowling all night long.  Needless to say, neither one of us slept well.

I'm hoping tonight will be a better night.  

Headache!

Yep, I finally got the annual headache of doing my taxes out of the way.  I had to do things a bit differently this year, though. 

You know that commercial where the H&R Block guy is walking around saying "Free, free, free" the entire ad?  Yeah, that ad is a lie.  I've used H&R Block for the last several years, and truthfully, I don't really mind paying a small fee, even though I file the 1040A and take the standard deduction.  

Single, no dependents, no investments or anything complicated.  It's the best option. Still, I've never been able to figure out how to file for free. This year, when I went to file, I found they had significantly jacked up their prices.  It was going to cost me over $100 to file federal and state!  And that was with the discount for filing early. 

Um, nope.  I went back to Turbo Tax and really did file for free.  The good news is, Turbo Tax seems to have simplified the process from what I remember it to be, and got the whole thing done in under half an hour-- and that included the time I spent trying to find my log in information. 

And then, there was my app I use to get my pay statements and tax info.  For some reason -- even though I had just logged in two days ago-- it decided I didn't have an account any more.  It took some doing to get all of that straightened out, then it wouldn't let me use face ID.  Well, it would, but I had to enter my password every time to authorize it.  What's even the point, then? 

Be that as it may, I finally got that headache out of the way, and now I need to fix my 401(k).  But what's wrong with it?  Well, nothing really.  I'd moved my money out of the stock market in early 2021, then in 2023 when we had all of those shutdowns at work, I'd lowered the amount I contribute quite a bit.  I had been contributing 30%, and just couldn't afford that not getting all of those overtime hours.  

A while back, when the hours at work picked back up, I increased my contribution amounts, and now I need to get my investments diversified once again.  I think I might just bite the bullet and pay someone from the company to handle my money for me, because I sure don't know what I'm doing. 

On the other hand, I'm hearing hints of a recession, so I may hold off on that until I see what's going on.    

Once I'd gotten my taxes done, I watched the livestream of my church's service, which I've gotten back to doing.  I've been watching the Cowboy Church of Orange County, but they don't livestream, and it just isn't the same.  I'm still going to watch the sermon videos, though, because I really enjoy Pastor Harland's messages. 

Then, since it's rained off and on all day, I settled in with some knitting and the 2004 version of The Alamo.  

It's more historically accurate than the 1960 version, but doesn't have John Wayne in it, so it's a tossup. 

And finally, I'm going to post a link to YouTube to a video I took a couple of days ago.  I'd embed it here, but for some reason, FB doesn't like my videos and will mark that post as spam and take it down.  So, if you want to watch it, click the link below.

Spring Concert

It Wasn't Even Thor's Day

Yesterday at work, I was just a working away when the very first order I got -- well, the second after I finished the order that was already on my stand -- had the tap fitting in the wrong place on the headers.  

I took them over to show Group Leader Shark, and she uttered a word I can't post here on the blog and maintain my PG rating, then told me to set that order aside and get another one because we were going to have to wait until the guys up in the front office got in and decided whether they could still be used or we would have to scrap them and have the whole order re-done.  The tap fittings were only about an inch out of place, but that could be enough that they wouldn't fit inside the cabinet. 

So, I did just that.  I set that order aside, got the next one and started working on it.  Shortly afterwards, I heard a commotion to my right and Group Leader Shark was over there talking the brazer who works on that stand.  Seems some headers she and another brazer had done an order and the headers wouldn't fit onto the coils.  

They went back to the line to check them, and some of them fit, but some of them didn't.  They had to bring them back up to brazing and pound them down into the jigs.  As I was walking by, on the way to get some more ice in my cup, I said to GLS, "I want to go back to bed and start this day over."  

"I don't want to start this day over!" she replied.

"Right!"  I agreed.  "Let's just skip to tomorrow." 

Only today wasn't much better.  

Before I'd even gotten started, I noticed something odd.  I walked around to the desk and told Group Leader Shark, "I've got a problem."  Then I explained what I'd seen -- the guy on second shift was putting my brazer number on his headers.  She said that they had told them to.  We all use our station number as our brazer number, and I had told Cuz a year ago that this would be a problem, because how are they supposed to know if it's my header or the person on second shift. 

GLS said that they can look the order up in the computer, and I said, "Are they really going to do that, though?  I doubt it, just like they don't read those papers Uncle Supervisor makes us fill out."  

Then I though of another problem.  "What if we're doing the same order?  Even if they look it up in the computer, it'll have both of our clock numbers on it, so how do we know which header is day shift 7 and which is second shift 7?"  

That is what had happened to bring up the whole question.  I had started the order before we left yesterday, and the guy on second shift finished it up.  So, if there is a problem with the header, they're not going to know if it's my fault or his. GLS said I'd have to ask Cuz, who is finally back from his broken leg.  He's still limping a bit, so he must have really done a number on himself.  

As soon as he got there, I explained to him what was going on, and after a bit of discussion, I suggested that second shift put a 2 on their headers before the station number.  So, the brazer on station 1 second shift would have the number 21, and the one on station 7 would put 27 on his.  Cuz liked that idea, and even wrote it down, so maybe that's one problem that would be solved. 

All righty, then, back to work I went and the next order I got had one of the adapter tubes bent wrong.  

All this mayhem, and it wasn't even Thor's Day.  

But once I got those tubes re-done, the rest of the day passed pretty smoothly except for the fact that I had the theme from JAG stuck in my head all day.  

At long last, the day finally ended and I came home to more daffodils opening up.  

On a whim, after filling the bird feeder and scattering some corn for the squirrels and other corn eating creatures, I grabbed my bucket of daffodil bulbs and planted a few more. 

I still have this many left to plant.  

They are wanting to grow, so I need to get them into the ground pretty soon, but I don't know where I'm going to put them.  I'll probably just stick them near the others until I get my fences replaced and my yard fixed up.  Then I'll move them to a permanent home.  

I also need to finish digging up all these day lilies, 

and a whole passel of spider lilies.  If I ever get ahold of a landscaper, I may have him do that while he's here.  That way, he can fill in the spots when he builds up my low spots in the yard.  Oh, and I'm going to get him to dig up that old rose that I've been trying to kill for years, too. 

Look at this!  My bluebonnets are germinating!

I hope they can keep them alive, and if I do, I think I'm going to settle them into pots and see if they do better there.  

Look what else is blooming -- my Whatever Cactus. 

It's funny, I'm here posting flowers and stuff, and my friend Marcy has snow photos up on her blog.  She told me she was a bit envious of me being able to sit outside in my chair when she's still covered in snow.   And I'm a bit envious of her greenhouse, so I guess we're even. 

And finally, a bit of humor to finish off this post.  It's funny because it's true.  

Remember

 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.  -- Joel 1 : 3

So that we may never forget.

Mystery Solved, Maybe

They posted it today.  The weekend work schedule.

Yep, unless they cancel it at the last minute, we will be working Saturday, and when they posted, oh you should have heard the hooting and hollering and weeping and wailing from the people acting like they'd never worked there before. 

And I was like, "Y'all stop acting like you've never worked here before!"

Truth is, even in the best of times, we're usually working six days a week as soon as we get back in January, so this has been a nice little break.  As much as I've been enjoying my weekends, I'll be glad of some overtime.  I'd like to pay for this work I need done on my house without having to dip into my 401(k), at least as much as possible, and I sure don't want to re-finance.   Not if I can help it. 

In better news, I think I may have solved a mystery with my blood sugar.  I'd been frustrated here lately, because I'd been trying to eat so well, but when I'd check my fasting glucose in the mornings, it was always high.  Not dangerously high, but higher than I'd like for it to be. 

Well, Sunday morning when I checked it, I fully expected it to be high because of the two marshmallows I'd eaten Saturday.  Much to my surprise, it was only 96.   So, all day Sunday, I tried to be careful, and I woke up Monday expecting my glucose to be pretty low.   But it wasn't.  

I couldn't understand why...then it hit me.  It was my vitamins!  For some reason, I'd started taking them right after I got up -- about 15 minutes before I checked my blood sugar.   I ran in and checked the ingredients, and sure enough, of the ones I take (calcium, a multivitamin, and CoQ-10), the very first ingredient in all three was some form of sugar.  Not a lot, but just enough to skew the results. 

Since then, I've been making sure not to take my vitamins until after I'd checked my fasting glucose, and it's been below 100 these last two mornings.   Let's just hope that trend continues. 

And finally, even though I just started a book, I've set it aside to read the fourth book in the Whimbrel House series, which I'd forgotten I'd preordered.  

I've really enjoyed this series, and I might have to check out some more of this author's work, especially if this last book is as good as the first three were. 

I'll be sure and let you know.