Guess What

Guess what I did today? Go on, guess!

If you said made one of the half a dozen phone calls I need to make, do not give yourself a cookie because I absolutely did not do that. 

I mean, come on!  Let's not get crazy here.  

Nope, I finally got my mini greenhouse out and started some seeds. 

Sweet basil, of course.  Those are all the seeds I have.  Not quite sure why I took a picture.  There isn't anything to see at the moment, but hey, I gotta be me. 

By the way, I turned the grow light off right after I'd taken the photo.  No sense in leaving it on when the seeds haven't even germinated.  I was watching a video on YouTube the other day, and this guy said that once the seeds germinate, you don't need the heat mat any more, either, so this time, I'm going to turn it off as soon as I see sprouts.  He also said you don't need the humidity dome, but I kinda do since that's where my grow lights are. 

I'd like to get one of those setups where the grow light is on a chain and can be raised and lowered as needed.  The debate, though, is that I don't usually start enough seeds to put a bunch of money into any kind of fancy stuff.  If I had a really big garden, then yes, but with just a few raised beds to plant each year, I usually just buy the pre-started stuff from the garden center.  I do like starting seeds, though.  I'd just have to figure out what to do with them once they've outgrown the seed trays. 

I've actually thought about starting my seed trays outside in the direct sunlight, if I had something to keep them secure from the wildlife.  A greenhouse of some sort is definitely on my wish list, once I get this yard cleaned up and the rest of my fence built.  By the way, they're predicting we might get a frost next weekend, but that's not unexpected.  We can get frosts until the middle of April.  

On a similar note, my peppermint is starting to come out. 

And whatever mint this is.  

 The tag said orange mint, but it doesn't smell even the slightest bit orangey to me.  I think it's just a sweet mint, or even a normal mint.  Whatever.  It'll make good tea.  Or extract.  

Now, if you'll be so kind as to excuse me, I need to go check my seeds. 

Even though I only planted them an hour ago. 

I still need to check them. 

Laters...

Got Away

Yesterday’s post completely got away from me, and I ended up not talking about half of the stuff I wanted to tell you about. 

For example, I was going to tell you that I used my new Dutch oven to make some red beans and rice, but not from scratch.  A while back, I'd bought some of those boxed mixes for Jambalaya --Tony Chachere's, Zatarain's and the like --to see if any of them were any good.  To be honest, I wasn't impressed.  They were all way too salty for my tastes. 

But I also bought a box of red beans and rice, which is what I made Sunday in my Dutch oven.  That turned out pretty good, even though my beans were a bit crunchy.  Overall, though, I'd say it was a success.  

There was something else I wanted to tell you about, but right now, I can't remember what it was.  I didn't sleep well last night, and my brain is a bit numb.  

Not much else to talk about today.  I tried to take a few photos of the eclipse this morning while I was getting ready for work, but they didn't turn out too well.  

I kinda wish I'd taken a vacation day so I could have stayed home and watched the whole thing, but I didn't.  I've seen eclipses before, and unless it's a total solar eclipse, they all pretty much look the same. 

This is going to be short, because Group Leader Shark told me to come in at 4:00 AM tomorrow, so I'll need to be getting to bed soon.  By the way, they sent Inspector Gadget to the production side.  

They'd sent him back there Friday, but we all thought it was because only one supervisor had shown up.  But they sent him back there again yesterday, so I don't know what's going on.  Then this morning at the meeting, Group Leader Shark said Uncle Supervisor was going to be our supervisor for a while.  I hope it's a long while...

I did hear that Inspector Gadget was back there with his arms crossed and scowling at them, the way he did us.  

Finally, this song has been on my mind a lot lately. 

Man, I sure miss Toby.  He was a true American patriot. 

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go raise a red solo cup to his memory. 

Cheers.

Well, Now...

Word around the plant is that they're wanting to open up a second shift by the end of this month.  I kinda hate that, because I like not having someone on my stand on second shift.  I like coming in in the morning and knowing that my stand will be neat and tidy, just like I left it -- no jigs piled up, no scrap laying around, no having to track down my rolling table or parts trays...no having to quite literally put my work station back together before I can even start working.  

Sometimes, I think second shift comes in and just throws stuff up in the air and where it lands is where it stays.  

Still, the bright side is it means that work is picking up.  The not so bright side is that I don't know who they are going to find to work on that second shift.  I don't think they brought in a single new hire last week, and there were only 6 the week before.  The plant is getting quite the reputation as a place people don't want to work. 

I was talking about this last week with Production Manager Cuz.  I told him, "Don't be surprised if you lose a lot of employees over this [metal detector].  People don't want to work for someone who treats them like common criminals.  When you make me walk through that thing, you're telling me that you don't believe that I'm a decent human being.  You don't trust me to be a good person.  Why would I want to work for a company that thinks so little of me?  You have to treat your employees with dignity and respect."

I also told him that I turn 62 in November and was seriously thinking of retiring at the end of the  year. 

And I have been debating on it, but at this point, I just don't see how I can swing it financially.  I know the "rich people trick" of retiring early, because in the long run, you'll draw more from social security by collecting it longer even if you get less per month, but if I do retire at 62, my monthly benefit will only be about $1500.  I don't think I can pay my bills on that.  

People have said, "Well, you can get a part time job."  But if I have to keep working just to pay my bills, I'm not really retired then, am I?  I mean, I was thinking about looking for a part time job anyway, just to have something to do with myself, but I don't want to have to be dependent on that income to make ends meet.  And what happens when I get too old to work?  Once I retire, those social security benefits won't go up any -- other than very small cost of living increases.  I have to be able to pay my bills on what I get without having to pick up another job. 

What about your 401(k)?  I don't think I have enough in it to make up the difference, not if I retire early.  That's one thing I regret was not doing the managed account when I first set it up.  I finally switched it to a managed account sometime last year, and it's grown so much in just that short amount of time, I wish I'd done it sooner.  I'd have so much more in it by now, but all I could think of at the time was I wanted to keep all of my money.  My money...my own....my precious...

But now, I don't have enough in it to last that long.  And I'd like to have a little legacy to leave Cody when I'm gone.   

Another thing I regret was not buying a house when I first moved here.  Don't get me wrong, I loved living next door to my cousin and having family so close, but I keep thinking that if I'd bought my house back then, it would be paid off by now.  If I weren't still carrying a mortgage, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.  But probably the only smart financial decision I've made in my entire life was to pay extra principle on my mortgage every month, and I've stuck to that no matter how tight things have gotten.  You can save so much in interest by doing that. 

I've also thought about taking money out of my 401(k) to pay my mortgage off, but I've been advised not to do that.  I'd end up with more money by leaving it in the retirement account than I'd save in interest payments.  However, if I did, at least I'd own my house free and clear -- except for the annual rent I have to pay to the government to keep my own home, also known as property tax-- and at least I'd have a place to live.  

One final thing I have to take into consideration is that in an average year, about 25 -30% of my annual income is from working overtime.  That's going to be a huge pay cut no matter what age I retire, because there is no overtime in retirement.  That monthly allowance is all you get.

Plus, the overtime is what I'm saving up to fix up my house, because I sure don't want to go into more debt at my age.    

Boy I sure didn't mean to get off onto that tangent, but it's been something that I've been considering here lately -- once it hit me how close retirement has gotten.  And I do like the actual work I do.  I just hate the toxicity of my place of employment.  I mean, Cuz was telling us they'd spent -- I think it was $2 million on a machine for the production side, plus half a mil on a machine for tubing.  Meanwhile, we brazers are still having to jury rig brazing jigs because they claim they "can't afford" to buy us the ones we need.  

I keep saying they could sell those stupid metal detectors on Craig's List and buy us at least some of those jigs we don't have.  

Which brings us right back to where I started.  Where are they going to find people who want to work for a company that treats them so badly?  Seriously, it wasn't that long ago that the HR director we called Crazy Karen made it company policy that we couldn't have anything to eat or drink but plain water outside of our normal lunch break. 

When we pointed out that some departments were coming in at 3:00 AM and would have to be working eight hours straight with nothing to eat or drink, she literally screamed at us, saying, "This is company policy and it will be followed!"   

(AI generated image, but it looks surprisingly like her.)

I know they don't really enforce that policy any more, but it's still official company policy, and it's a horrible way to treat your employees.  

Well, this post has completely gotten away from me, so I'll just with my fellow Texans a Happy Independence Day, 

and I'm going to go watch my sewing bee show and knit a bit. 

Laters...

Unbelievably Beautiful

Today was one of those unbelievably beautiful days.  Sunny and warm, but with just enough breeze to keep it from being too hot.  Naturally, I stayed inside and knit all day. 

Yarn:  Mainstays

Colorway:  Blue Blend

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8 / 5 mm

Just kidding!  I spent most of the day outside, enjoying the daffodils and the blue sky while I finished reading Much Ado About Nothing.  

Hard to believe just a few short weeks ago, we were buried in ice.  Now it's almost warm enough to turn the air conditioning on.  Almost, but not quite. 

My main project was to shave some more off of the high spots in my garden spot, then start moving this pile of dirt

into the back corner of the yard

where it will be out of the way for now.  When I finally get someone out here to scrape up all of that red clay, I'm going to tell him to haul it off, but I do want to keep some for future projects.  

I made a good start, but I have to remind myself that I'm not as young as I used to be and I have to be careful not to over do it.  Even so, it's not supposed to rain again until next weekend, so if I move a wheelbarrow or two every day, I should have most of it done before then. 

In other news, I used my silicone air fryer basket thingy to cook some pizza rolls, and it worked a treat.  Clean up was so easy!  I was going to use my Dutch oven to make some red beans and rice, but forgot until after I'd already started cooking some fish, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.  For now, I'm going to pop some popcorn and watch a production of Much Ado About Nothing on YouTube.  

I Splurged

I wanted a Dutch oven.  

Can you believe I've gone my whole life without never having a Dutch oven?   I have, and I decided it was time for that to change, so off to Walmart I went to get one.  And to do my regular weekly shopping while I was there, but that's not pertinent to the story. 

I don't know why I wanted a Dutch oven so badly, but I did.  I found them on the shelf, picked out the one I wanted, and then looked slightly to the left and saw....

an entire cookware set for just $6 more than the Dutch oven cost by itself.   Naturally, that seemed like a much better deal, but did I really need new pots?  Why yes, yes I did!

My reasoning was that all of my pots are 30 years old, and even though they are still in pretty decent shape, by golly I deserved some new ones.  

By golly.   

I didn't really need the skillet, as I have an 8" cast iron skillet already, but on second thought, it might be nice to have one that isn't quite so heavy.  Especially as I'm getting a bit older now and my hands aren't what the used to be. 

This, on the other hand, was a complete impulse buy. 

You know how after a while the burned oil builds up and your basket ends up looking all gunky and the stuff is impossible to scrub off without taking your non-stick coating off as well?  Yeah, I'm hoping that this will make cleanup much easier.  It can't possibly be any worse. 

I'm going to try it out tomorrow and I'll let you know how it goes.  

In other news, I've managed to fill up one section of my new raised beds. 

It took two of the big bags and one small bag of garden soil to fill it, but I expect it will compact a bit after a few good rains.  I'm planning on this being a bed for annual flowers, so I can add more dirt next year if it's needed.   

And look at this!  My French Tarragon is starting to come up. 

I've read that this is a short lived perennial, which means it will live 3-5 years, then die.  This year will be the third year, so soon I'll have to decide whether to grow the same thing again, or replace it with a different herb. 

Last night, we were predicted to get heavy rainfall with a chance of hail.  I think the worst of it went to the north of us, but when I got home from work yesterday, I got out and shaved some of the high spots off of my garden spot.  

Alas, all my hard work was for naught, because we barely got enough to wet the dust.  Well, not for naught, as I've got to get this spot levelled out anyway.  That's going to be something I work on this weekend.  

I was originally thinking I might run up to Lowe's in Batesville, but I think I might change my mind on that.  It's still early in the year, and I don't want to go buying a bunch of stuff only to see it nipped by a late frost.  Best not let myself be tempted.

I might get my two 4' x 4' beds put together and into place instead, so I can start getting them filled up with dirt.  

Oh, and I just realized, Sunday is March 1, so I can start some seeds!  All I have right now are some sweet basil seeds, which I want to plant with my tomatoes --and some marigolds-- but that's OK.  I can get them started, then transplant them into the bed once I get my tomatoes in. 

That's it for today.  I'm really tired and can tell I'm rambling nonsensically, so I'm going to go to bed now. 

Good night. 

Back To Normal...ish

I had planned on telling you that I feel like things are finally starting to get back to normal -- from the holidays, the ice storm, the Olympics, being sick, and Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, but then I got to thinking, what about my life has ever been normal?  

The only normal thing I've done so far this year is to finish another sailor hat. 

Yarn:  Red Heart Super Saver Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Crayon Box

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8 / 5mm

I'm going to have to wash some up and send them off soon, because I'm running out of room in my gift drawer.  I'm going to send them 29 this time -- for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.  I'm pretty sure I have enough done already.  I just need to label them and find a box.  

On a similar note, Saturday at FFITS, Amy was telling us about this show she's watching called The Great British Sewing Bee.  Wonder of wonders, I found it on the Roku channel!  Watching season one now.  There are 10 of them on the Roku Channel-- seasons -- so it looks like I have a new show to binge. 

In other news, I checked the weather and it's not supposed to get down below the mid 40s for at least the next week, so I put my plants out on the back porch for some fresh air and bright, indirect light. 

 

I'll keep an eye on the weather, because there is still plenty of time for a late frost or two, but they'll be happy here for a while.   You know what makes me happy?  These:  

And these:

By the way, I was watching the latest video from Mr. Let's Play Piano Methods on YouTube, and I realized, I only have five more songs to learn -- after the two I'm currently learning -- and I'll be done with my Alfred's level 2 book!  I think once I'm done, I'll go through the Faber level 1 book before I do Alfred's level 3.  

Well, I was going to get all serious with you for a moment, but I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm not going to go into all of that.  I'll save it for a post when I've had a decent amount of sleep.  Right now, I'm going to pop some popcorn and watch these people sew.  

Laters.  

Fiber Fun

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday as Suzette and I headed out to Vicksburg for this year's Fiber Fun In The 'Sip.  

There's not much to say about the drive down there, except that it was largely uneventful.  Very little traffic on the roads, but that didn't stop some dude from riding my bumper for about 10 miles solid.  Why?  I don't know.  He had plenty of room to pass. 

It put me in mind of when I went to my nephew's wedding in Missouri back in 2023.  I was driving through the middle of nowhere.  Not another car on the road for miles -- except this one chick who rode my bumper for about 20 miles.  We finally got to a town and parted ways.  The last time I saw her, she was riding someone else's bumper.  "Better him than me," I said as I bid her adieu.  

But as I said, the drive down to V-burg was largely uneventful.  The most note worthy thing about it was the sheer scale of destruction from the ice storm last month.  You could tell they were in the process of cleaning it up, but there were still branches, limbs, and even whole trees down one after another for miles and miles.  

I'd thought briefly about driving down and staying with Cody and Brennan while my power was out, but after seeing what I saw yesterday, it's a good thing I didn't try to make that trip.  By the way, there are still about 500 people in the state who still haven't gotten their power back on.  

I'm getting a bit off topic, though.  I get there and find the place -- which wasn't hard at all.  I found Leann's booth and a table nearby that she'd saved for us.  It wasn't long at all before Amy joined us and the party got started. 

Leann was busy doing business, so she was popping in and out, but we still had plenty of time to visit.  

You know, I don't mean to sound ugly, and I have no idea what it takes to keep a fiber festival going, and I truly, truly hope this one can make it, but it's not looking good.  It's gotten smaller and smaller every year, with fewer vendors and smaller crowds.  I knew Christi couldn't come, but even her friends Other Amy and Emily didn't come this time.  I'd gotten to where I was looking forward to seeing them, too.  And there were faces in the crowd that had become familiar and they weren't there, either.  Most of them.  

Even the swag was so much less than it was in the past.  

This was it.  A sticker, a koozie, and a chapstick.  I wish I knew what it would take to fix things, but I don't.  I'm not meaning to sound critical.  I've always enjoyed going, and it feels like I'm watching it die a slow death, and it breaks my heart.  

Anyway, Amy, Leann, and I talked about having a get together sometime later this year away from yarn shops or the temptation to buy things so that everyone could come -- even those on a yarn diet.  *cough, cough*  Christi...

I'm hoping we can plan it so that Peggy and Kat can come, too.  

In spite of all of that, there was still lots of beautiful yarns there.  I was good.  I only bought one skein. 

Not sure what I'm going to make with it, since I don't knit socks with it any more, but I'll figure out something.  I might even...*gasp*...make something for myself.  Try to contain your shock.  

Amy and I talked about that for a bit.  I love to knit nice things, especially complicated lace patterns, but what am I going to do with them?  I can't wear a lace shawl to the factory, and I'm sure my family is tired of me dumping stuff off onto them.  So, I stick to knitting hats for charity.  

We had a great time, but all too soon it was time to head home.  We laughed, we cried, and many bitter tears were shed at our parting.  In the meantime, here are just a few photos I took of some of the vendors.  I realized after I got home that I didn't even take a picture of Leann's booth.  Bummer.  

I'll do better next time. 

 

My Day Off

It was three weeks ago— the Friday after the ice storm. I was at my stand working away minding my own business when one of my friends came over and said, “I came to say goodbye.”

“You’re leaving?”  I asked.

“I’m retiring,” she replied, “I just can’t stand it any more.”

Fast forward to yesterday. I saw her in Walmart and she was positively glowing. She looked happy, and relaxed, and somehow younger.  I walked over and asked her how retirement was going, and she said, “It’s wonderful!  It’s so nice not to have to go back into that place!”

She got out just in time, too.  You know what we have to do now?  We have to walk through a metal detector just to get into the plant.  

You read that right.  A bleeping METAL DETECTOR!!  They say it's for safety, but it's not.  I've never ever heard of a terrorist who walked into a building with his AK-47 ready to shoot the place up then said, "Oh gosh darn it all!  They have a metal detector.  I guess I'll just go home and repent of my wicked ways."  You know, like I had to repent of the unwholesome words I uttered when I read that notice.  

Nope, they just walk right on through, ignoring the little beep beep beep.  Who's going to stop them?  Not our unarmed security guards, that's for sure.  They'll be the first ones who get shot.  

Oh, and hypothetically speaking, if I were hypothetically going to bring a hypothetical weapon into the plant, I wouldn't hypothetically walk right through the front door with it during shift change... Hypothetically speaking, of course.  There are hypothetical ways to get a hypothetical weapon hypothetically into the plant without...um, never mind.  

Not to mention all of the things already in the plant that could be used as a hypothetical weapon should the need arise.  I mean, I'd hypothetically had a whole plan already in place just in case my stalker decided to get out of hand -- with me or with anyone else.  Hypothetically speaking, of course. 

On the other hand, if I had been allowed to defend myself, I could have put a stop to that mess on day 1, and it would have saved a whole lot of women --and a few men-- 15 years of harassment.  But no....Zero tolerance policies are just like metal detectors.  They sound good on the surface, but don't really work to prevent...anything.  

Anyway, since I have today off, my project for the day was to finish water sealing the raised bed I'd started on... whenever it was, I don't even remember.   That's exactly what I did.  

It didn't take long at all, so when I was done, I put it together.  Then I said to myself, "Self, you hadn't planned on doing anything else today.  Might as well get the other bed out and seal it, too."  

A few moments later, and both beds are water sealed and put into place. 

I'm really going to have to do something about that red clay, though.  It hasn't rained in 5 days, but I was still sinking up to my ankles in that muck.  I'm hoping once I can psych myself up enough to get a dirt guy out here to fix what the land scammer did to my yard, I can get him to slope things so water doesn't collect around my beds.  I know you can't really see it in the photos, but it's still much higher in the middle than around the edges.  

Another thing I miscalculated was how many beds would fit into this space.  That area you see between the two beds is about 9" too short to put another one of the pre-fabs I've been buying. 

On the other end, it won't matter, because that'll be my entrance into the garden spot, but I'll have to figure something out for this space.  I've been thinking about hiring someone to build a custom bed there, but at this point, who do I trust? 

I've still got two 4' x 4' beds to put together, but I want to wait until I can get a dirt guy out to level the spot a bit better before I put them out.  Or maybe get all of that red clay out of there completely, if he can.  When I do, that will be all for this year.  

You know, it was such a beautiful day -- not too warm, not too cold, not too windy -- I decided it would be a perfect day to put a little fire in the fire pit and sit out side and read a bit. 

I thought briefly about getting some hotdogs out and roasting them, but I did enough of that during the ice storm.  I'm over it for a while.  Instead, I just sat there and enjoyed the day.  Only now I'm hungry.  I guess I'd better go get me something to eat, so let me just leave you with this:  

Man, have I hit the sweet spot for my bluebonnets or what?  I can't wait to see them start blooming. 

Best Laid Plans

The plan was to come home yesterday and finish water sealing that first raised bed, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. 

Yep, when I got off work, I walked out of the plant and much to my surprise, it was chilly and rainy.  Not raining, just drizzly and misty.  I didn't feel like getting out in that mess, so I changed my plans and finished my latest jigsaw puzzle instead. 

This one was a lot more fun to do than the last one, and one I got to the part where all the people are, I was able to get it done in a flash.  This afternoon, I broke it up and put it back into the box, then moved the card table into the living room so I can work the next one while watching TV.  

This will be the next one, by the way. 

I've decided on it because it's in the biggest box.  Strange reasoning, I admit, but there it is.  If I do the ones in the bigger boxes, it'll be easier to stack them back in the closet when I'm done. 

Oh, and I also finished the hat I was working on.  

I haven't cast on a new one, though.  I probably will before the night ends. 

A bit of good news, I think I'm finally kicking that bug I've had for the last...nearly two weeks now.  I'd start to feel better, then it would sneak back in and absolutely body slam me again.  But now, I feel like it's about over.  My cough has lightened up and my chest isn't quite so tight.  I'm hoping by Saturday, I'll be done with it. 

I was taking my shower yesterday, and just standing there letting the hot water run and fill up the bathroom with steam.  It put me in mind of when I was a small child.  I can clearly remember my mother getting me out of bed and sitting with me in the bathroom with a hot shower filling the room with steam.  I couldn't have ben more than two or three years old, but that is of of my strongest memories from my childhood.  Apparently, my lungs have always given me problems.  

Then there was the time I had pneumonia when I was 11 and spent 8 days in the hospital.  But that's another story for another day. 

Speaking of Saturday, I'd put vacation in for Friday so that I would have Saturday off to go to Fiber Fun In The 'Sip.  As it happens, we weren't even going to work Saturday.  I thought about cancelling my day, because we've had so much time off here lately due to MLK day and the ice storm, but decided against it.  If I feel up to it, I might just finish that raised bed.  I might even do the other one, and get them out into place.  Of course, that last part depends on the weather -- as in whether it rains or not. 

HA HA HA HA HA!!!  OK, I'll go sit down now...

And finally, I know some of you have been longing for spring.  This is for you.  

The first daffs of the season.  

Spoiler Alert!

Man I need a nap.

The problem with getting up ridiculously early is that you also have to go to bed ridiculously early.  That means when you're all just sitting down getting comfortable in front of the TV, I'm already in bed -- or at least getting ready for bed.  So it was last night.

I've been watching the Olympics, and have become particularly interested in curling.  The men's team was going to be shown playing Norway at 7:00, so I set my DVR to record it, thinking I'd watch it when I got home this evening.  By the way, one of the guys on the Norwegian team looked just like The Boss Who Must Not Be Named.   But that's neither here nor there...

After I got into bed, though, I said, "Let me just put that match on my Kindle and I'll watch until I fall asleep, like I do when I'm watching football.  I can pick up where I fell asleep tomorrow."  Alas, it was not to be.  Every time I closed my eyes and started to drift off, I was like, "Nope.  I gotta see what's going on!" and I'd start watching again.  It was totally worth it.

It was the tenth end.  The score was tied at 8 all.  U.S. had hammer, and Danny Casper had the rock.  How he threw this one last rock would decide the game.  Taking aim, he let it go....

Well, YouTube won't let me embed the video, which would have had a much better impact on you, Gentle Reader, but you can watch it here:  Curling I strongly recommend you do so. 

That, my friends, is how it's done!  

Who knew that sliding a rock down a sheet of ice could be so captivating.   

Captivating as it may be, it doesn't keep 3:30 AM from getting here way too early, and before I knew it, that alarm was going off and I was headed in to work.  Where I had old Christmas songs running through my head all day. 

This one, to be exact...

Don't ask.  Even I don't know...

OK, moving right along...you know how I always say that when I get home from work, I'm going to do so much stuff, then end up not doing any of it?  Well, today I ....didn't do that.   I actually got one of my raised beds out and started water sealing the pieces.  

Yay, me!  

I didn't do the whole bed, though, because I'm tahrd.  That's tired in Southern.  Maybe I'll get the rest done tomorrow, then I can start putting it all together.  It was such a beautiful, sunny, and warm day, once I was done with that, I sat outside in my chair for a little bit. 

I really need to get myself psyched up and get a tree person out to take some of these dead and broken limbs out of my big oak tree before they fall. Just sitting out there this afternoon, I found three branches that had completely broken and were just hanging there, stuck on other branches.  But you know how I am with phone calls -- especially when this will be the third tree guy I've called and the job still hasn't been done.  

Just so this post won't be a complete waste of your time, here is hat progress:  

Yarn:  Red Heart Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Crayon Box

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles: US 8 / 5mm

I'll probably go ahead and finish this one after I'm done posting.  I need to start thinking about what I'm going to take to Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, since it's this weekend.  Me, I'm still not sold on it being in February.  I liked it so much better in the Fall.  At least this year, Leann will be there, and I hope Amy and Christi can come.  Even Peggy had mentioned trying to come this time, but I haven't heard for sure if she'll be able to. 

And finally, here is puzzle progress. 

I must say, this one is going a whole lot easier than the last one.  Even with the cat putting her muddy footprints all over it...brat.  

But it got me to thinking, back in the day, when we had big family gatherings for Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or whatever, we always had a jigsaw puzzle going, and usually a game of chickenfoot as well.  These days, everyone just sits around staring at their phones...In fact, Elon Musk once said we're all pretty much defacto cyborgs, because we never go anywhere without a device of some sort. 

And somewhere along the way, we've lost real human connection.  

We need to get it back. 

Endings And Beginnings

Here I sit, watching the Olympics on a Saturday afternoon.  It's not what I'd planned on doing today, but it's what I am doing.  I'd planned on getting my new raised beds out and putting the water seal stuff on them, but I'm not.  It's supposed to rain for the next few days, but I didn't see that as a problem.  I'd just pull the car out and do it in the car port.  In the end, I just didn't feel like it.  Eh, I can't plant outside for two more months anyway.  I have plenty of time to get it done. 

Ever since I woke up with the epizoodies last Saturday, I haven't felt quite right.  I feel better, just not 100%.  I mostly just feel weak and shaky, and a bit lightheaded at times.  I admit, a lot of that may have to do with getting up at 3:30 AM for work the last three days.  The older I get, the harder it is to adjust. I've basically been coming home and collapsing at the end of the day.  

Despite feeling puny and coughing so much my chest, back, neck and head are so very sore, I did manage to finish this jigsaw puzzle.  

It was....challenging.  Let's just put it that way.  It was challenging because the pieces were very irregular, and didn't follow the standard jigsaw shapes.  To add to the confusion, I had extra pieces. 

Once I'd figured out they were duplicates, I remembered them from the first time I'd worked this puzzle all those years ago.  I don't know why I didn't toss them then, but they've been tossed now.  If ever I decide to work this one again, I won't have that to deal with.  I wonder, though, if I have extra pieces, did someone else get a puzzle with missing pieces?  How disappointing that would be!

I got this one out to do next, but haven't started it yet.  

I need to move my card table into the living room where I can watch TV while I'm working on puzzles.  That might get them done more quickly, even though it's not a race.  

So, while I've been watching Olympics, I began a new hat. 

Yarn:  Red Heart Super Saver Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Crayon Box

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8/ 5 mm

This yarn is quickly becoming my go-to for these hats.  It's soft, easy to knit with, and I love the colors.  I still have some solid color yarns to use up -- most of which was given to me by friends who were de-stashing.  

Other than that, the big project for today, since I didn't do my raised beds, was to get MartyMac out of the crisper drawer in the fridge and set him on the plant shelf so he could start warming up. 

Since I live in the South with our wild temperature swings, it was recommended* that I put him into the refrigerator for dormancy to keep him at a consistent cold temperature.  You know, just in case you were wondering why he was in my crisper drawer. 

I usually get him back out mid-February to start warming up, then at the beginning of March, I put him back outside.  I'll cover him if we have a late frost, but they're very cold hardy.  I know some people leave theirs outside all winter and they're fine.  

First thing I did was to trim off all the dead traps left from last year. 

I know it looks like a lot, but as long as the rhizome is healthy, he'll be fine.  

When I was putting him on the plant shelf, look what I found. 

This crazy thing is trying to bloom again.  That's why I call them my Whatever Cactus.  

The only other thing I did today was try to figure out how I got a Real ID.  I'd heard other people say it was such a headache and they didn't fly enough to go through all the trouble to get one, and it was all just a big money grab anyway, so I was curious.  I even asked on Facebook what people had to do to get theirs, and depending on which state they are in, some people were required to bring six different forms of ID to get it.  Others who had been married and divorced multiple times said they had to bring ALL of their marriage licenses and divorce decrees, so they could track all of the name changes.  

All I had to do was renew my driver license.  I'd done that back in 2023, and I even renewed online.  When I got my new license, it was a Real ID, and I didn't have to show them anything.  The only thing I can think of is that I have my state firearms permit -- which I've kept updated even though Mississippi is a Constitutional Carry state.  

I had to turn in a crap-ton of paperwork to get that done, and get myself fingerprinted to boot.  When I got it renewed the first time, I even took my DD-214 up there so I could get my Instructor Certified sticker.  Which isn't a sticker.  It's just printed on the ID.  

Navy normally doesn't have to qualify with weapons --  unless you're special forces or military police -- but since I was Auxiliary Security, I got my pistol quals.   

Now, at least in my state, I can get my firearms permit renewed through the mail.  They said, "There is no need to go get fingerprinted again, because your fingerprints don't change."  They still do the background check and all, but they mail you all the forms before your current permit expires and you have plenty of time to get it all filled out and turned in.  

On the other hand, I did have to show a birth certificate to get my learner's driving permit way back when I was 15, so that will still be on file, too.  Oh well, I have one and that's the point. 

And finally, I somehow ended up with a promotional credit from Amazon video, so I used it to buy The Hollow Crown.  Shakespeare. 

What can I say?  I am who I am.  

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the rest of this Olympic hockey game between the US and Denmark. 

USA!  USA!! USA!!!

*I'm in a Venus fly trap group on Facebook.  The moderator has even written books on how to care for them.  He's the one who recommended I put MartyMac into the refrigerator for dormancy.