Not Friday

All day long, it's felt like Friday to me, but I don't know why.  Maybe because we have Saturday off, so this is the second to last day of the work week for me.  It didn't help that I went to the store today instead of tomorrow to try to avoid the pre-holiday rush.  I hope I remember to get up and go to work tomorrow.  

While I was there -- at the store, I mean-- I bought some coconut flour to go with the almond flour I bought a few weeks ago.  I'm going to try out some keto cookie recipes so I can at least have some type of cookies for Christmas.  

I've already seen a few recipes that sound pretty good.  Maybe I'll make some this weekend and see.  Not that a few cookies will really hurt, but I wouldn't need the sugar anyway.  I'm not trying to go full on Keto, just cut down enough on the simple carbs that I don't go full on diabetic.  

Speaking of, remember that coffee I bought from Amazon a few weeks ago?  I've been drinking it in the mornings, and it's probably the best tasting coffee I've ever had.  It's so smooth, and not a hint of bitterness so that I don't even need to add creamer.  Just a little stevia and we're all set. 

I was looking for pumpkin spice creamer at Walmart, though, but they don't have it out yet.  When they do get some, I'm going to be good and get the zero sugar kind.  Most of the time.  But look what I picked up instead!

 Sunday is September 1st, and September 1st is the first day of meteorological fall, so I'm going with it.  And the cold front is pushing through right now so it's going to cool off really quickly.  Most importantly, we're getting rain!  I swan my yard was so dry the grass crunched when I walked on it. 

Finally, they got the new lockers in at work, and the contractors have been putting them together.  I walked back and looked at them, and they aren't clear at all.  Only the doors are clear.  The sides and back are solid.  They look like plastic to me.  I hope not.  Those things will tear up incredibly fast. 

I still don't see how they'll stop people from fighting, though. 

About Yesterday

The plan was to grab a quick shower, then sit down and write a blog post for you.  However, just as I was walking into the bathroom, I heard a text message alert on my phone.  "Eh, it's another political text,"  I said to myself, then went to check it so it'd stop chirping.  

Much to my surprise, it wasn't a political text at all.  It was Cody!  They were on their way home from their trip to Alaska, driving down from Memphis and wanted to stop by and visit.  OK, they didn't drive all the way to Alaska.  They'd driven up to Memphis to leave their cat with Brennan's parents, then flew out of Memphis.  They got back yesterday morning, then drove on home later that evening.  

Anyway, they stopped by and visited for about an hour, then went on home.  I gave them a jar of the salsa I'd bought at the farmer's market, and three jars of pickled peppers.  I forgot to give them a jar of the Jalapenos, though.  Just the banana peppers and the mixed peppers I bought at the store.  I told them to tell me how they liked them, explaining that I'd just found some recipes on the internet and winged it. I haven't heard from them yet, but I hope they turned out good.  The peppers, I mean.   

After they left, I took my long awaited shower, but you didn't get your blog post.  I'd write it for you now, but I can't remember what I was going to talk about.  It must not have been that important.

In less pleasant news, the plant ran off another good supervisor. I don’t know what happened but he had just had enough and went to Milwaukee Tools.  They always seem to do that -- run the good ones out of there.  Of course, the Spawn of Satan supervisor will be there until kingdom come...

But a bit of better news, they're actually giving us the weekend off.  I was shocked and pleasantly surprised.  And my new paint sprayer came in just in time. 

Alas, we're looking at rain all weekend, so it'll be a minute before I get to use it.  No matter.  I'll get the fence painted eventually -- maybe next weekend, since I have a vacation day.  Oh, but I've got to get the transmission fluid in my car changed soon, too.  So much to do...I'm making a list, but you know me.  I'll probably not get half of it done. 

In the meantime, I've started watching Father Brown Mysteries on Britbox.  

Oh, and I ordered a small metal detector to try to find the bolt I lost when I was replacing the pull rope in the lawnmower.  I took it out to where I thought I'd dropped the bolt and got excited when it started beeping.  But when I got down on my hands and knees, I didn't find anything and the beeping stopped. 

I did this three times before I realized it was detecting the metal eyelets in my boots.  

I don't want to talk about it.  

And I still didn't find that dadgum bolt.  

Nope

 Just nope.  Come on Autumn!  

OK, this is just because I forgot to crack my windows before I went into work this morning.  My thermometer on my back porch at home said 101°.  Still hot, though.  The good news is, these next two days will be the last of the really hot days for a minute.  By Thursday, the highs will be in the low 90s, and then down into the mid to upper 80s next week.  I can't wait!

On a similar note, I slept good last night.  I'd left the window unit in my bedroom running all day yesterday, and by the time I went to bed, it was so cold in there I had to pull all the blankets up.  That makes for some good sleep, I tell you. 

Then I went to work this morning, and before my shift started, I went to put something on the lines, and it was so cold back there.  No wonder those people are wearing jackets.  It's still hot up front, though, but not as hot.  It only got up to 91° at my stand today, so they must have turned at least part of the air conditioning on. 

Speaking of work, a couple of my coworkers stopped Junior today as he was prancing through the plant with his red insulated cup and told him he wasn't supposed to be having that cup.  He said, "Aww, I'm just taking it up to my office, or to fill it up with ice or water."  

They said, "It doesn't matter.  You're not supposed to have it.  Those are the rules."  He looked at them like they had lost their minds questioning him, and just walked away.  They had a point, though.  If the rules don't apply to everyone, then they shouldn't apply to anyone.  My brazing stand is my office -- so to speak -- and if he can have an insulated mug, then I should be able to have one as well. 

However,  when Junior came back from his lunch break, he had a clear plastic cup like the rest of us.  Not that he needs an insulated cup sitting up in his air conditioned office anyway.  

By the way, the plant's reputation is starting to get out there.  This was posted in a local Facebook group today:

If things keep going the way they are, there won't be anyone left who will be willing to work there.  They're having a hard enough time keeping employees as it is.  

And finally, I went ahead and ordered a paint sprayer off Amazon.  It was only $37, and according to the seller's page had been marked down from $129.  I'm not sure I believe that, unless they are clearancing out an older model to make room for a newer one.  Still, it got good reviews and should do what I need it to do. 

I guess that's about all I have for today, so I'll stop boring you with my drivel.

Laters. 

It’s A Start

There I was at work yesterday, just a working away, grumbling all the while as is my custom, when along about 1:30, Group Leader Shark came around holding up two fingers and saying, "Two o'clock! Two o'clock!  We've got headers everywhere and I'm ready to go home, so two o'clock!"  

She didn't need to tell me twice!  As soon as that time clock hit two, I ran out of there so fast, I pulled half the equipment out into the parking lot in my wake.  I came home fully intending to be productive, but all I really did was wash three loads of laundry and work on a hat, which I finished this morning while watching Marcy's latest vlog.  I'm only four days behind this time, so yay me! 

The yarn is Mainstays in Black Multi colorway.  I have enough yarn left to make one more hat, but I doubt I'll buy any more of this yarn.  I like the blue much better.  

Once it had cooled off enough yesterday evening, I made a start staining my fence even though it was almost dark by then.  This is as far as I got before it got too dark to see.

I think it will look nice when it's done.  

I had thought I'd get up early this morning and work on it some more, but I said to myself, "Sunday is a day of rest, and by golly, I'm going to rest!"  So I went out and cut some herbs instead.  Besides, I'm thinking about investing in a paint sprayer before I do any more of it.  You can get a decent one for not too much money, and that's a lot of fence to be painting with a roller and brush -- especially once I get the whole yard fenced.   

So, they've been talking about getting new lockers at work -- clear lockers, so they can see exactly what you have in there -- and so unscrupulous people can window shop for what they want to steal.  But they didn't think about that part, did they?  It'll give a whole new meaning to the phrase Smash And Grab, especially if we've got to start leaving our phones in there.  

"Oh, look at that newest model iPhone!  I'll have that one!"  Smash!  Grab!  Somebody's got a new phone.  

Anyway, I don't know how long it's going to take them to get in -- one of the safety guys said they're still taking bids --but in the light of that, I took a few moments before the shift started yesterday to clean out my old locker.  Man, I had so much stuff in there, stuff I hadn't used in years.  I still had a bunch of old fin combs from when I was an inspector back in 1998.  I took them back to the line, where they actually use them.  I had, oh, I don't know how many brazing tips and why I need so many, I don't know.  I put them into a bin on the shelf so if someone needs a spare tip, they can get one.  

I had even still had about 5 acetylene tips, and we haven't used acetylene in at least 15 years.  I tossed them all, then in a fit of sentimentality, I reached back into the garbage and got this one out. 

This is the brazing tip that Larry Neal borrowed from Kenny Jenkins in 1999 to teach me how to braze at the request of the late Virgil Mann.  

Call me an old softie, but I couldn't bear to part with this one.  

Long Week

 I intended to blog yesterday, but it was another one of those days when I was so tired I couldn't lift my arms. I didn't have a whole lot to say anyway, but I wanted to mention that I'd gotten my little muscadine seeds planted.  I want to get an arbor built to train them on -- provided they germinate and grow, that is.  I'm thinking the west side of my house in that newly fenced in area might be good for that, and I can hang a swing chair under it.  

I don't know.  I get these images in my head of the way I want things to be, but I don't know how to go about making those images come about in real life.  They never seem to work out as well as I pictured them.

In other news, I'd found the movie version of Misty of Chincoteague on FreeVee and started watching it Wednesday, but was so tired I couldn't even finish. I turned it off and went to bed -- where I tossed and turned long enough that I thought, "I could have finished my movie at this rate!"  

I finally fell asleep, and after a long, hot day at work, finished watching it yesterday.  It was pretty good, and stuck close to the book for the most part.  There were some variations, but not too many.  I finished the book today, but haven't decided what I'm going to read next.  I think I might read Thomas Jefferson And The Tripoli Pirates. 

I've heard his books are pretty readable, but haven't read one myself yet, even though I bought Sam Houston And The Alamo Defenders four years ago.  Hmmm, I'd better get on that one, too.  

And finally, my sister's surgery went well.  They didn't have to do surgery on her left arm, but had to put a plate and several screws into her right arm.  She's doing fine, but is in a lot of pain right now.  I'm sure she'd appreciate your continued prayers. 

Changed My Mind

So, there I was this morning, eating my oatmeal before leaving for work when I just happened to look at my can of waterproofing stain.  That's when I saw it.  Do you see it?  At the top where it says Solid.'

"Solid?" I exclaimed to no one in particular.  "What does that mean?" 

Very carefully, I pried up the lid and saw what was inside.  "That looks like paint, not stain!  I don't want that!  I'm taking it back to the store!"

I put the can into my car, along with the receipt, fully intending to take it back to Walmart just as soon as I got off work.  Alas, halfway to the plant, I changed my mind. I got to thinking about the natural discoloration in the fence panels, and decided a more solid stain would even that out better.  So I brought it back home, intending to use it after all -- at least on the outside.  

Besides, it's not like there is a whole lot of wood grain in a fence anyway.  Not like there would be in fine furniture or something. 

 The rest of the day passed largely without incident, except for the coworker who brought squash.

She's grown it in her garden and has more than she can use, so she's trying to give some away.  I took a couple, but she pressed me to take more and more.  I'd thought about trying to can some if she brings more, but I don't have a pressure canner.  I think instead I'll make a squash casserole and freeze it for Thanksgiving.  Maybe I'll slice one and lightly fry it in olive oil with some salt and pepper, and maybe some Cajun seasoning.  I don't know.  I'll think of something. 

Another coworker brought me some muscadine seeds, because I'd mentioned last week that I wanted to try to grow some.  

 I'll get them planted this weekend.  Or maybe here in a few minutes.  I don't know if they'll even grow, but we'll see. 

The Plan

The plan had been to come home from work and start waterproofing/staining my fence, but when I read the instructions, they said not to apply the stuff when it's over 90 or in direct sunlight.  All righty, then...I guess I'll get up early Sunday morning and get started doing it then.  Or maybe wait until October. 

It's probably for the best, anyway.  Yesterday when I got home, I was so tired I could barely lift my arms, so I just sat here limply watching The Royal and thinking I should be knitting.  But I was even too tired for that.  Knitting, I mean. 

Oh, but I'm never too tired to read, and while I was sitting there exhausted, I finished The Witch Of Blackbird Pond.  I hadn't read it in ages, and had forgotten what a good book it is.  Then I decided to re-read another old childhood favorite, Misty Of Chincoteague.  

I can't even tell you how many times I've read this book.  I even have a Breyer's figure of Misty somewhere around here.  However, I do think it's kind of creepy and gross that they had her taxidermized and put on display in a museum on Chincoteague Island.  But hey, Roy Rogers did the same thing to Trigger.  And people do it to deer all the time, so I guess it's OK.  

In other news, I finally started working my way through my Faber's Adult Piano course.  It's been sitting there neglected for the last three months, and so yesterday I made a start on it.  I'd thought to vlog my way through the book, but I may wait until the lessons get a bit more advanced.  I mean, it is the beginner level, so right now I'm going through pretty quickly.  

I'm still doing my Alfred's, which is going very slowly -- mostly because I'm too tired to practice like I should.  Even so, it's a bit of a jolt going from this in my Faber book

to this in my Alfred's book. 

Well, I reckon that's it for tonight...oh wait!  I remembered what else I was going to tell you about.  Remember how they said all the managers will be out on the floor watching us at work?  We have really lucked out because the one in our department is the maintenance supervisor and he's usually too busy keeping the place running to worry about the little nitpicky stuff the front office is getting so bent out of shape over.  

I'm not completely sure what he's supposed to be doing, though.  Someone said he's trying to figure out why all the orders we send to the lines are short of headers.  Hmmm, could it be that it's because all the orders tubing sends to us are short?  Gee, if only someone would  make them count -- and check-- their parts. 

This morning, for example, I had a four piece order -- a four piece order -- and one of the adapter tubes had three correct parts and one bad part.  How do you even do that?  My guess is that the person bending them did the first one wrong, then corrected the machine to do the rest correctly.  However, you can't just toss the bad part into the bin and send it on down the line like that.  Someone needs to make them re-do the ones they mess up, and not send the order to the brazers with a single bad part -- or even one part short.  

OK, now I'm done for today.  I'm going to go grab a hot shower.

Oh, one more thing!  Y 'all please remember my sister in your prayers.  She fell off a ladder and broke both of her arms.  They're flying into Anchorage tomorrow (Wednesday) and will probably do surgery Thursday.  She said the timing couldn't be worse, because Cody and Brennan are up there for a vacation.  She hates leaving them, but I'm sure my nephews can keep them occupied while she's laid up. 

OK now I'm done for reals this time.  

Laters.   

Too Hot For This

So, there I was on a Sunday afternoon, sitting in my recliner watching my friend Marcy's latest vlog -- which is like two weeks old, but this is the first time I've had time to sit down and relax.  I was only a few minutes into it when the power flickered, then went off altogether.  

 No power means no air conditioning, and it's 101° outside. 

But, thanks to modern technology, I was still able to watch Marcy's vlog on my phone and read my Kindle book when I'd finished with that, and thanks to the foresight of my buying a solar charger, I didn't have to worry about my battery running down.  And thanks to whoever built this house back in the 60s, it's pretty tight, so it didn't get unbearably hot in here.  Oh, it got warm but not nearly as hot as it gets at work.  Still, I was actually in the bathroom getting ready to go ride around in my car for a bit to cool off when the power came back on.

I'm not completely sure what caused the outage, because for once, Entergy didn't send me a text.  Some people in one of the local groups said it was another car wreck -- we'd had one earlier this week that knocked the power out but I was already at work for that one -- and others said a power line fell for no apparent reason and set a pasture on fire.  I guess we'll never know for sure, but at least the air is back on now.  

And I got this much done on a new hat while I was in the dark.  Well, the semi-dark.  I still had my Harvey lantern to light my way.  

OK, moving right along...

Some of you have been asking why we can't have insulated mugs at work, especially when it's so hot in the plant.  Short answer is, I don't know other than because they said so. 

The story is, about three years ago, we got a new HR director whose name I won't call here, but her nickname on the shop floor was Karen, and it fit her perfectly.  She even had the Karen hair cut to go along with the Karen attitude.  She would stand up in the employee meetings and literally yell and scream at employees.  I know I use that term a lot speaking figuratively, but this time, I mean it literally.   She yelled at us.  Literally.

Well, she came in and one of the first thing she did was to state that we were no longer able to have any food or drinks on the shop floor at all, except for water.  To make sure that we weren't drinking --Heaven forbid -- coffee or a Coca~Cola -- we had to start drinking out of clear cups.  She never gave a reason for that policy change, and when we asked why, she just yelled and screamed at us. 

When we pointed out to her that some people were coming in at 3:00 AM and with this policy, they wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything until their lunch break at 11:00 AM -- which is 8 hours straight, she just stood there and yelled, "This is now company policy and it will be followed!"  

I don't know how true it is, but word on the shop floor is that she fired someone on the spot because she caught him putting a single piece of chocolate candy into his mouth. She fired another lady for going into the break room outside of her regular lunch break to get something to eat because she was so very hungry.  Karen didn't last but about a year after that, and no one was sorry to see her go. 

Since then, the plant has kind of eased up on the water-only policy, but we still have to drink from clear cups, as Cuz says, "So we can see what kind of sugary drinks you're spilling into the machines" which makes absolutely no sense, but it's policy.  Still, those clear cups don't keep your drink cold when it's that hot out on the floor, and honestly, when I'm watching Junior and Cuz walk all over the plant with their insulated mugs or gas station Styrofoam cups, I'm pretty sure the policy exists only to show us that they think we are beneath them.  

I can understand that they don't want us to have cell phones, because they pay us to work not play on our phones, and I can kind of understand the PPE -- but would understand it more if they took us seriously when we bring up safety issues, but not letting us have insulated cups has never made any sense.  

And yes, we do have a safety department, but they're kind of like the King of England.  They're just for show and don't have any real authority out there.  If The Big Man Up Front or the Maintenance Supervisor overrules them, there's nothing they can do about it.   

In other news, I finally got that vlog recorded, and even better, YouTube let me embed it.   Here you go, enjoy.

Bad To Worse

Things at work just keep on going from bad to worse.  Today, Group Leader Shark announced that starting Monday, all the managers from the front office will be out on the floor measuring our arm guards to make sure they're pulled up far enough, or that we aren't -- oh the horror--  drinking from an insulated mug.  

I said, "Yeah, until that thermometer hits 95°-96°!  Then they'll be scurrying right back up to their air conditioned offices!"  It did get that hot at my work station yesterday, by the way.  But thank goodness, this heat wave is almost over, and next week we'll be looking at highs in the upper 80s to low 90s!  

Speaking of yesterday, all the employees had to have a meeting with their supervisors to go over the active shooter emergency action plan.  I won't go into what that plan was, but when I heard it, my first thought was, "We're all screwed!"   Again, without going into detail, basically the plan is pray that the police get there before you're shot.  

Anyway, during this meeting, Uncle Supervisor inadvertently let it slip that that the reason they're doing all of this is because there were a whole lot of people from Lennox here the day they had that big fight in the main break room and they had to take those guys up front and call the cops in front of all those Lennox people, and they got their butts embarrassed, so now they're taking it out on us.  At least that's how it feels to us.  But I'm sure them changing our Saturday schedule the very next weekend was just a coincidence, right?  Right?  

In better news, I finally finished the hat I've been working on for what seems like forever. 

I also bought two more skeins of the Mainstays yarn, one of the blue that I liked so well, and one of a black variegated. 

 Prolly tomorrow I'll cast on with one of them.  Likely the black and gray, because I want to see how it knits up.  And prolly tomorry, I'll finally get that vlog recorded for you.

In the morning.  Before it reaches triple digit temps.  

Fat Lot Of Good

Sometime along about 9:00 this morning, the brazer with COVID -- who had come back to work despite being very sick --decided he was sick enough to leave and go to the doctor.  Shortly after he left, the first aid lady came out and had the cleaning crew disinfect his brazing stand.  Yeah, fat lot of good it does to take precautions now!  They wouldn't make him leave yesterday, and they wouldn't even make him put on a mask, and after letting him drip COVID germs on us for a day and a half, now they want to disinfect his stand?  I swan, the logic of that place...

Heh, the cleaning crew came over to one of the brazers and asked her if she wanted her stand disinfected.  She said, "There's no point in doing that now.  We've all already got it." 

Really, about half the plant has it.  I know they had to shut down at least one line today because they had so many people out with COVID.  I guess next week, it'll be the rest of the brazers. 

In better news, my fence is finished!

I'm probably going to stain it with some Thompson's Water seal here when it cools off a bit, but at least it's up -- and I can sleep tonight.  Last night, he was here until nearly 9:00, but as I said yesterday, there was no way I was going to stop him from working.  

And look!  I have a whole new chunk of back yard to play in!

I mean, that bit was always mine, but I never felt like I could do anything with it.  Now that it's fenced in,  I can do stuff there.  I am going to move those day lilies that are planted where the old fence used to be, but I don't know where I'm going to put them.  I may just give them away.  

Here is the rest of the fence...for no reason.  

 I was going to record a vlog for you, but it rained right before we got off of work and it was soooo very steamy outside, I couldn't stand being out there long enough to do it.  Maybe I can do it this weekend.  

Now that it's starting to get dark a bit earlier, I might even be able to get the old telescope out and stargaze a bit -- and feel a lot safer doing it now that I won't think every car driving down the road is looking at me.  

Heck, I might even get me a pool next spring.  

Just a small one.  

Shenanigans

Apparently there were shenanigans at work last night. 

I won't go into any detail about the aforementioned shenanigans, mainly because I wasn't there and don't really know what happened.  All I'll say is my first thought when I heard about them was, "Oh, Lord!  What else are they going to take away from us now?"  

If things keep going the way they are, pretty soon they'll require us to strip nekkid before we walk into the plant. 

On a similar note, COVID is going around again.  I think about half the plant has it now, including one of the brazers.  Well, I don't know for sure, but I'm about 99% positive he has it because his wife came down with it a few days ago.  The bad part is, he refused to leave work.  He said he didn't want to get a point.  

Funny, he didn't have a problem getting a point a few weeks ago when he want to go home and take a nap.  

Anyway, I spoke to Group Leader Shark and she said they can't make him leave if he doesn't want to.  They can't even make him put on a mask, so he just stood there all day, dripping COVID germs all over the rest of us.   I said, "Well, if we all get COVID and are all off next week, they're going to wish they'd made him go home!"  

The only other thing I have for you today is that I finally finished reading The Boy Of Chaotic Making, by Charlie N. Holmberg.  It was pretty good, but dragged a bit more than the first two did.  Still, the ending was worth it.  There will be a fourth book coming out soon in that series, but in the meantime, I'm going to re-read The Witch Of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare. 

Well, the fence guy is making good progress, but it's slow going by my standards.  He's still got to work his regular job, then comes over for an hour or two after that to work on my fence.  I'll be glad when he's done.  Last night, he was here until 8:30 sawing and banging and drilling...

I don't want to stop him, though, because the faster he's done, the faster I can go back to my peaceful evenings at home without anyone in my yard.   

And for that, I can't wait!

Coming Along

My new fence is coming along.  Just for reference, here's what the old fence looked like. 

So, yesterday the fence guy came out by and pulled up all the old fence, along with the dog kennel.  Well, the fence part anyways.  He said he wouldn't be able to pull up the slab, but I can probably find someone who can.  I wish I'd known ahead of time, so I could have hat that taken care of before he even came out here. 

On the other hand, I never managed to call the surveyor, so maybe not.  I'm going to have to call the surveyor before we do the other side, though.  The people I bought the house from said my property ends at the fences, so that's what we've been going off of.  I told the fence guy to put the new fence in the same spot as the old fence, but on the East side, the fence is way too crooked for that.  

She -- the previous owner -- told me the property line runs from the fence to the utility pole, but the back fence post and the front post don't like up with the pole, so I'm going to have to get that one checked.  If I can ever make myself to call the surveyor, that is. 

Today he came back and set the fence posts.  

I'm excited, but I don't understand why I keep feeling guilty, why I keep having a knot in the pit of my stomach about it.  I feel like I'm doing something wrong, but why?  Why do I feel that way?  I don't know...

In more exciting news, the county sheriff shut down another illegal gambling room here in town.   That's the second one in just a few months.  I found the place on Google Earth and showed it to Cody.  He said "That looks like the kind of place that would have an illegal casino in it!"   Then he said, "It's amazing to me that I've lived in multiple cities that are huge crime areas, but still the craziest stories I hear come out of my tiny home town!"  

And finally, the plant requires us to wear earplugs, but the ones they provide are hard, hurt, and barely block noise. We used to have good earplugs, but the cheapskates don't want to pay for them.  So, naturally, I did what any red blooded American would do.  I got onto Amazon and bought my own. 

They're soft and work really well.  

That's about all I have for tonight.  I stayed up last night to watch the closing ceremony -- some of it.  I turned it off after they did the handoff to Los Angeles, but still, I was up later than I normally am.  I think I'll watch some TV and knit a bit.  

Laters. 

Almost Ready

I'm telling you one thing, my place of employment sure knows how to demoralize their employees.  Yep, when 2:00 came and went and we were all still there...Man, I felt like crying.  To make matters worse, I found out Katie Clark was supposed to be at the farmer's market today!  For those of you who don't know her, she works at a yarn shop in Jackson and teaches classes.  In fact, I took her continental knitting class at the very first Fiber Fun In The 'Sip.  So, that was a major bummer.

By the time the work day was finally over, I was so exhausted -- both physically and emotionally -- when I got home, I sat down and didn't do anything -- except four loads of laundry, that is. Then, because the fence guys are supposed to start removing my old fence tomorrow, I finished moving my compost from the old dog kennel, 

to the temporary pile. 

 Once I get my new fences in, I'll find a more permanent spot for it, but for now, that's where it sits.  I might even get one of those big compost bins from Amazon and put it back into the same corner.  I don't know.  I have a while to decide yet. 

I'd intended to get out and mow this evening, but by the time I had finished with that, I was so tired I could barely lift my arms, so I came inside and took a shower.  Now I'm sitting in front of the TV watching a preseason football game.  KC vs Jax.  

Neither one is my team, but man, when that channel tuned in and I saw the sights and sounds...it was like when that first sip of coffee hits your soul in the morning, 

and all was right in my world once again. 

Well, Well, Well...

Look what decided to work today.  The photo has uploaded. Too bad it was just of a Scrub Daddy. 

I've been wanting one for a while, but for some reason had a mental block against buying on.  I don't know why, but today I overcame it and got myself a Scrub Daddy.  Now we'll see what all the hype is about. 

So, after all the hooting and hollering about us being so far behind and losing 500 headers a day, and we're going to start losing customers, etc, etc, the plant cut the lines back to 9 hour shifts starting Monday.  Because the way to catch up is to work less, you know.  

Oh, look what else is working again:  the embed feature on YouTube.  If you're arachnophobic,  I suggest you stop reading here.  A dirt dobber had gotten into my house and died on the windowsill.  A teensy little spider decided to try to wrap it up in web.  It worked on this wasp for two days before I guess it got its fill and left.   It was so funny I had to grab a video, which will be down below if you want to watch it.

That's about all I have for tonight, so I'm going to watch a minute of TV and then head for bed. 

 Goodnight

 

What's Going On?

 I don't know what in the world is going on with Blogger, or even if it is Blogger. 

The last few days, I haven't been able to embed videos, and today I can't even upload photos.  Again, just like with the videos, I've tried multiple browsers, including my phone and nothing has worked.  Not that I had anything exciting to show you.  It was just photos showing how much of my compost I've gotten moved out of the fence guy's way and where I put it -- so just imagine a slightly less high pile of yard waste, and some dirt in a circle in the middle of grass.  

I do wonder if them losing the anti trust case has anything to do with it, but I can't see why.  

Anyway, other than that, the only thing I was going to talk about is that we had another big meeting at work this afternoon. Remember that fight I told you about yesterday?  Apparently, several people filmed it and posted it to their social medias and the powers that be were not happy about that.  He warned us about posting stuff, and I know I'm probably skirting the edge of acceptability, but I do try to be discreet and not name names or go too much into detail. But really, I'm past the point of caring.  

You know the old saying Never push your employees to the point they no longer care?  Yeah, that ship sailed years ago. 

Oh, and I found out that the fight between the women wasn't a fist fight, but a shouting match.  Still, the police were already there and were able to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand.  So, today at the meeting The Big Man Up Front was talking about treating each other with dignity and respect, and oh the irony, because they don't treat us with dignity or respect at all.  

He was up there talking about increasing safety measures, and if the rumors I'm hearing are true, not a single thing they're considering will do a flippin' bit of good.   He ought to know that, too, being a military man, but what can you do?  I mean, they said when they made us switch to those stupid clear bags it would solve all our problems, then when they installed the turnstiles it would solve all of our problems.  Now this...I'll tell you more about it as I find out, because right now it's all just rumor. 

They did mention that they would be getting us new lockers, enough for all the employees to have one.  I just hope the new one I get isn't a top locker.  That's what I have now, and have to stand on an overturned parts bin to get into it.   Which is a safety hazard.  Not that they care about safety.  They just care about giving the appearance of caring about safety, which is why they are so pedantic about those awful arm guards we have to wear.  

As if to add salt to the wound, they've changed our Saturday working hours from 5-2 to 6:00 - 3:00.  I caught Cuz and asked him why the change, and he said it was because people were saying they couldn't make it to work at 5:00 on Saturday -- the same people who come to work at 5:00 every other day of the week, mind you.  They were about to point out a bunch of them, so they decided to change the  hours. \

I said, "Getting off at 2:00 on Saturday was the one bright spot in our miserable week, and you've even taken that away from us!"  

But now, since I still have to go in at 4:00 AM, I'm going to bed.  

Laters.  

But, But, But, I Thought...

There I was at work, right after my lunch break just a working away when Cuz came out of his office, flew down the stairs, and ran into the back of the plant at top speed.  I told him later, I'd never seen him move that fast, to which he replied, "I'm getting too old for this!"  

We all stood there wondering what was going on -- I thought maybe someone had fallen out, because COVID is going around again -- and word soon came that there was a fight back there.  About that time, I saw a bunch of police officers coming from the front office area and going back towards the assembly lines.  "Wow, the police sure got here fast," I said to no one in particular. 

"They were already here," a coworker told me.  They'd called them to break up a fight in the front break room during first lunch.  What?  Two fights on the same day?  

But I thought telling us we couldn't bring a lunch to work was supposed to stop all the fighting in the plant!  How could there possibly be two in the same day???

Anyway, from what I heard, the one in the break room was between some guys fighting over something that happened years ago when they were still in high school.  Some people were whispering that it was gang related, but I don't know for sure.  

The one in the back was between two gay women fighting over another woman.  But the funniest part was the watching the newest sub brazer freaking out over them.  The fights, I mean, not the gay women.  "We didn't have fights like this at Modine!"  

Then maybe you should go back to Modine...I'm telling you, I'm so sick of hearing about how good everything was at Modine.  Even their brazing glasses were better, and she's going to go by Modine and get her some good brazing glasses.  What I'm wondering, though, is if everything was so much better there, why did you quit?  Hmmmm???

After all the supervisors and folks got back from their lunch, they and all the group leaders had a big meeting with The Big Man Up Front and BSC HR.  I don't know what it was about, but Group Leader Shark didn't tell us anything, so I guess it doesn't have anything to do with us peons. 

In other news, I heard back from the fence guy.  The Paypal transfer went through just fine, but they took out some in taxes and fees.  I told him I'd send him more to cover that.  I didn't feel he should have to eat those fees, because he went so far out of his way to help me out.  A lot of contractors would have just said, "Cash, or I'm not doing the job,"  but he set up an entire Paypal account just to make things easier for me.  That says a lot about his character.  Right now, the plan is for him to start Sunday and finish up Monday.  

I can't wait!  I've been wanting this fence for so long, but I had to wait until my dogs went to that great kennel in the sky.  Well, I didn't have to.  I just did, because I didn't want to have to worry about them getting out and getting lost or run over or something.  I was going to get them replaced last year, but then everything went haywire in the plant and I didn't want to spend the money until things settled down a bit. 

Funny, I realized yesterday just exactly why I need a privacy fence.  There were a couple of men in the neighbor's yard (on the other side) working -- just cleaning stuff up.  They weren't paying any attention to me, but I think I spent more time watching them to see if they were watching me or not than I did anything else.  With a privacy fence, I won't be feeling like I'm constantly needing to look over my shoulder.

Plus, it will increase the resale value of the house -- whenever that time comes.  

Well, I finally cut the last sunflower. 

It looks like something has been nibbling on it despite my homemade scarecrow.  It doesn't look like the seeds were developing right anyway.  I don't know.  I'll let the head dry a few days then pick the seeds out and see.  Maybe these aren't the kind that make the seeds you can eat.  

Honestly, I've never been a big fan of sunflower seeds anyway.  I much prefer pumpkin seeds.  

Speaking of, I need to go get myself something to eat, then head for bed.  I've been waking up at around 1:00 these last couple of nights, so I'm a bit tuckered. 

Good night. 

Ugh

 I knew right away what kind of day it was going to be when I woke up and discovered I'd somehow knocked my phone off the wireless charger during the night, and it hadn't charged.  Sigh...

I put it onto the charger until I left for work, then snuck my spare charger into the plant and put a bit more charge on it until the bosses all got there.  I figured if all those other people can play on their phones all day, I can sneak a charge for 45 minutes. I managed to get it up to 75%, which was enough to read on my book over lunch break. 

But the day just went down hill from there.  Every single order I got today had something wrong with it.  Every. Single. One.  For example, I got one order that was short 85 adapter tubes.  How did I know?  Because the parts stager had written "Re-cut 85 more" right there on the parts ticket.  I kept walking over to tubing to see if they were ready, but the weren't.  When I'd finally run out of the parts, I looked one more time, then went and asked the parts stager if she'd ordered them.  She said, "No," and I said, "Why not?"  Then she got mad at me.  For asking her why she hadn't ordered parts she obviously knew I would need.  

Then I got into it with one of the tap fitting brazers when he brought a header that I'd ordered yesterday. 1 said, "I don't need it now!  I needed it yesterday!"  Then I said, "Beats me why they don't make y'all count your parts!"  He said, "Nobody counts their parts.  They've got a counter on all of the machines, and all they have to do is mash that little button, but they don't do it."  

And I said, "Neither do you!"  and turned my back on him. 

Now for a bit of good news.  The fence guy got back to me yesterday with a quote that I thought was fair, and honestly was about what I'd figured it to be anyway.  Plus it was well under the budget I'd set for that section of the fence.   I said it was OK, and asked how he would like me to pay.  I said I could write a check, swipe a card, or do an electronic transfer.  

He said, "Cash."  

Cash?  That wasn't one of the options.  I said I'd have to get back to him.  So this afternoon, I messaged him and said, "I know you wanted cash, but please can I pay by credit card or electronic transfer?"  I explained that I don't have a local bank so getting ahold of that much cash is difficult.  Seriously, the closest thing they have listed as a branch is the ATM in the Circle K gas station.  Yeah, I can take out a few hundred from there, but don't feel safe at all trying to withdraw multiple thousands of dollars like that.   

He said I could pay by Zelle, but for some reason I couldn't get it to work.  It kept saying the transaction couldn't be sent at this time, and I never could figure out why.  Maybe because I'd just activated my Zelle, since I normally use Paypal for such things.  After much shouting and a few unwholesome words for which I had to repent, I apologized and told him Zelle wasn't working, and was there another app he could use.  

So he downloaded Paypal and set that up, and it took some doing, but I finally got his payment sent.  Alas, they put a 24 hour hold on it -- I guess because his account was so new.  We're going to wait and see, then go from there.  

I kept apologizing for not being able to figure this out, and he kept saying it's OK, we'll get it worked out.  All that to say, if we can get all this payment business worked out, they're going to put up my new fence this weekend.  

I'm also trying to be supportive, because I know they're just trying to get their business up and running -- and one of the brothers still has a full time job outside of the fencing company, but I'm going to give them a bit of a heads up.  If they want to do business in the 21st century, they can't keep using 19th century methods.  Like it or not, they're going to have to set up so they can swipe cards at some point, because frankly, if he'd told me it was cash or nothing, I'd have had to say I was going to go with another fencing company. 

And finally, I have no idea why my Chosen had is on top of my air fryer, but if that doesn't show you what kind of day it's been, I don't know what will. 

I'm going to bed.  Good night. 

Sunday Sunday

I know Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, but right now it's the only day I can get out and work in the yard before it gets too hot, so out into the yard I went.  Today's project was to get the privet 

and the poison ivy cleared from the canna lilies on Mrs. Newman's side of the fence. 

 I've been doing this once or twice a year ever since they had to put her into a care facility a couple of years ago, but this year, I kind of let the stuff get away from me. 

If you know me at all, then you’ll know how sensitive I am to poison ivy, so the first thing I had to do was to come up with a makeshift hazmat suit. And that’s exactly what I did.  I recorded a vlog for it, but for some reason, YouTube isn't giving me the embed link, so if you're so inclined, you can watch it here:  Putting On My Hazmat Suit.

I also tried uploading it directly to Blogger but they said the file was too big.  I don't know what's going on.  I've never had any trouble doing any of this before.  Yes, I tried different browsers, and I disabled my ad blockers, too.  Oh, well...That and the Clean Yard video were going to be the bulk of this post.  

I apologize that you have to click through because I'm such a Boom-A-Ludd.  

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled content.  I was a bit appalled at how poor my posture is in that first video.  I guess it comes from bending over my brazing stand all day.  I'll have to make a conscious effort to stand up straighter.  

I'd gotten out early this morning before it got too hot, but the humidity was so doggone high, I ended up drenched with sweat anyway, so I decided to forgo mowing and come inside to take a shower.   Once I'd showered, I wasn't going to go back outside and get sweaty again, so I spent the rest of the day mostly watching TV.  

So, there's not much else to talk about today.  I'll catch up with you later. 

Pumpkin Season

Yesterday morning, one of my coworkers bopped up to me and said, "I brought my cooler in today.  I didn't yesterday, and I saw all these coolers still in the plant, so I brought mine in today. I've got it in my locker over there. "

"OK," I replied.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I never stopped,"  I said.  

Apparently, all he'd heard was her saying we'd have to leave our lunches in the car until break time, and didn't hear her back off when I confronted her.  I mean, is she trying to kill us?  If I leave my chicken salad in the car in this heat, that's botulism waiting to happen.  Anyway, I don't see how they can actually enforce this one.  They haven't even been able to enforce the no food or drink or breaks for 8 hours straight (if you come in at 3:00 and lunch is at 11:00)  rule, because honey, if I'm hungry, I'm going to eat.  I'm not going to stand there and starve.  

You know the really bad part?  It's that they think this is an OK way to treat their employees.  No, it is not OK, not by any stretch of the imagination!   

OK, moving right along.  

Since I moved my Orange mint into a pot, I had an empty spot in my raised bed, so yesterday when I was in Walmart, on a whim I went into the garden center to see if they had anything left.  I didn't really expect much what with it being so late in the season and all, but wonder of wonders, I found another cilantro plant.  It was in kind of bad shape, but I bought it anyway because Brennan loves the stuff. 

I put this one into my part - shade bed, so maybe I can keep up with it better.  I'll be sure to cut it back as soon as it looks like it's going to seed, and hopefully, I'll get enough to fill up a jar.   When I got home this afternoon, I went ahead and cut some of the more scraggly bits off, and managed to get a few sprigs that were good enough to hang and dry. 

Then I got on a roll and cut a bunch more herbs and started the drying process.  The bad news is, I found another caterpillar on my orange mint.  I don't know what else to do.  I've tried NEEM oil, diatomaceous earth, diluted dishwashing liquid, and nothing has worked.  I'd read that adding vinegar to the diluted dishwashing liquid helps, so I put some into that and gave the plant a good spray.   We'll see...

In other news, I've been doing my squats throughout the day just like the doctor recommended.  He said to do 10 per hour, but I'm still working up to that.  Right now, I'm doing two...when I remember to do them.  Today, one of my coworkers caught me and said, "You look like you're over here exercising," and I said, "That's exactly what I'm doing."   That got me to thinking.  Thus far, I'd been taking my blood sugar readings first thing in the morning, after I'd spent the evening before eating, then sleeping.  I wondered what it would be right after a long, hard day at work, so I took it as soon as I got home, and it was 83.  Not too shabby.  

That must be why my A1C was good, even though my fasting glucose was a touch high.  And why it always seems a bit higher on Monday mornings after sitting and eating all day Sunday.  So I did a thing at the store yesterday.  And just what is that thing I did?  

I bought almond flour. 

I'm not planning on going full Keto, but I am trying to cut back on simple carbohydrates.  The problem is, I like carbohydrates.  I like bread and cake and cookies.  I'd bought a box of the Quest brownies last week, but that stuff is expensive.  So is this, by the way.  That little four pound bag of almond flour cost $18.  But I figure I can mix it with a less expensive flour and have sort of Keto stuff to eat.  I'll have to look for some recipes and see what I can come up with for Christmas baking.  

Oh, and it's ON!  

And finally, just for fun...

 I hear he wants his dog back, too.  

If I were you, Sharon, I'd give it to him.

Rebellious And Brave

There I was thinking I was being all rebellious and brave walking into work with my lunch box over my shoulder when I turned around and nearly all of my coworkers were following me into the plant with their own lunchboxes over their own shoulders. 

Seriously, almost everyone who normally brings a lunch had brought their lunch.  I don't know if they didn't get the memo, or just chose to ignore it.  One of the brazers talked to Cuz about it, who said he was slacking on enforcing that because it's so hot.  It is kind of a ridiculous rule, but then that place is known for its petty, nitpicky, Draconian nonsense.

I had to laugh yesterday at the meeting when the HR lady said, "A few days ago, there was a fight in the plant!"  I was thinking, "You must be new here!"  I mean, there are fights in the plant all the time -- well, not all the time, but often enough it isn't really all that unusual.  It's such a toxic environment and a stressful, frustrating job.  Add in the summer heat and it's a wonder there aren't more fights. 

Then she said, "There was a shooting in town!" and I thought, "Again, you must be new here."  Now, I don't want it to sound like people here go around shooting people all the time, but when the gangs are stirred up, it's not that uncommon.  And there have been a few incidents recently that the police say aren't gang related, but most folks say they are.  Once the gangs settle down again, things will go back to normal. 

Even so, neither the fight nor the shooting has any bearing on what I carry my lunch to work in, and quite frankly, if you're having to work your employees 60+ hours per week and still aren't producing what you need to be, you've got bigger problems than a few people bringing coolers to work.  I was thinking that it's about time for that HR director to move on anyway.  Ever since Joe retired way back....7 or 8 years ago now, we haven't had an HR director that has stayed more than 2-3 years.  This one is coming up on 2 years, so I expect her to be moving on soon.  I just hope the next one they hire isn't bat guano crazy like the last two have been.  

After work, the fence guy came out and measured for the part of the fence we're doing first.  It's going to be 125' of fencing, and he'll work out the numbers and text me the estimate in a day or two.  When he introduced himself, he said, "You probably know my dad" because his dad works out at the plant.  I said, "Yes, and to be honest, that's why you got the nod over that other fence company.  I know if he raised you with the same work ethic he has, you'll do me right."  

Now for the bad news.  Something is still eating the heck out of my orange mint, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to stop it.  I've tried the diluted dish soap, NEEM oil, diatomaceous earth, but nothing has worked, so I did the only thing I could think of.  I dug it up, washed the leaves really well, put it into a pot, and brought it into the house. 

Almost as soon as I'd finished, I found the culprit. 

I didn't kill him, though I probably should have.  Eh, he's just a creature trying to survive just like the rest of us.  I carefully picked him out of my herb bed and put him onto the ground and let him go on his merry way. 

Afterwards, I thought better of where I'd put the orange mint, and moved it to the front porch.   

 For some reason, this plant is the one all the bugs like to eat, but hopefully, it'll be harder for them to find here on the baker's rack on my porch.  

Well, I have to go in at 4:00 again tomorrow, so I need to get myself something to eat and get my weary body into bed.  Maybe tonight I can finally sleep -- though I'm going to miss the coverage of the women's gymnastics all around final.  I'm DVRing it, so maybe I can watch ...sometime.  I don't know when I'll have time. 

Sometime...