Cool Points

   Before we get into that, first I have to show you the new piece of equipment I got for my bug out bag.  

 

And what is that nondescript black box? It's a solar powered phone charger.  But wait, there's more!  It's also got a compass, and some super bright LED lights.  I'd been thinking about getting something like this ever since my power was out for several days after the Easter Storms of 2020.  I mean, yes, I was taking my phone to work and charging it there, but what if I didn't have that option?  And what with gas prices these days, the last thing I want to do is to sit there idling in my car so my phone can charge.  Thus, a solar powered charger.  

Also, before I continue, dare I hope I have solved my plumbing problem?  I flushed it out really well last Friday, and a week later, it's still clear.  I think that's the longest it's gone since the problem started.  This time, instead of just putting the Drain King right inside the cleanout, I shoved it way down as far as I could get it to go before turning it on.  Maybe that's what it needed.  Keep your fingers crossed.  

Finally, we get to the Cool Points.  What are Cool Points?  Well, they are a way to show appreciation to your employees.  Lots of companies use them, and the one I work for is no exception.  The downside to this is, it is next to impossible for shop floor employees to get Cool Points.  Oh, your front office people get them every time they turn around but us peons?  Nope.  

Heh, last year, I even went to a vaccine information presentation, just to get the Cool Points they promised us.  And the free breakfast.  But mostly the Cool Points. 

And the free breakfast...

OK, moving right along.  

I've been saving mine up for eleven years now.  Eleven years.  And I still didn't have enough to get anything decent...until I got all those points from my Supervisor the other day.  Which I totally deserved.  For brazing 500 units by myself.  Doing a two person job.  Singlehandedly. 

The other day, one of my coworkers and I were talking about redeeming ours.  I'd been wondering if they had gift cards you could redeem your points for.  I looked on the Celebrate Cool website, and yes, they did, but they were to places like Macy's and stuff.  We were saying, we don't need a Macy's card.  Give us something useful, like a gas card or a grocery card. 

However, while looking around on the site, I finally found something worth redeeming my points for.  I waffled for a few moments, then added it to my cart.  

It arrived today.  

(Yes the photo is upside down.  It was easier to flip the photo over than the box.  That thing is heavy!)

A brand new telescope!  I got it out and put together, then took it outside to try to align the viewfinder.  Thing.  Whatever it's called. 

It says to focus on an object at least 1/4 mile away, but there are too many trees around here.  I tried to focus on some of the farthest trees I could see, but I don't know if they're far enough away.  I think I got it aligned, but I don't know for sure.  There is a second alignment you have to do after dark, but we haven't gotten there yet.  

The description said it's powerful enough to see the rings of Saturn and the Great Red Spot of Jupiter.  We shall see.  Best of all, it has an app where you can find what you want to look at on the app, and the telescope will automatically turn to it!  No more frustrating twisting and turning and trying to get that raggedy old tripod to stay put.

Now for the bad news....I go to bed before the sun does.  Sigh...I don't know when I'm going to be able to use it. Hopefully the severe weather will pass by Saturday night and I can get out and do some stargazing.  

For now, it's safely tucked into the snake room.  

And this, folks, is why I don't want daylight saving time to be made permanent.  Only in the deepest winter would I be able to get out and use my new scope. 

The only downside is that it's heavy, and doesn't come with a carrying case, so it's not very transportable. But hey, for a free telescope, it's pretty darn OK. 

I ain't complaining. 

Only, now I'm totally out of Cool Points.  I guess it'll be eleven more years before I can get anything else, huh?

Oh The Weather

 outside is...gorgeous today.   Yesterday, not so much.   It got rough in some parts of the state, with at least 4 confirmed tornadoes so far.  We actually got a warning in Grenada county, which hasn't happened in a while.  You know how they say to have multiple ways to get warnings?  Well, apparently I do.  When the NOAA radio siren went off, Jesse started barking.  I guess he thought I didn't hear that siren, even though it's loud enough to wake the dead. He didn't stop barking until I yelled at him to hush, because I couldn't hear what the robot voice was saying. But anyway, it rained pretty much all day long, even though most of it was just a light drizzle. Since the cat did so well outside Saturday, I left the door open and let her come and go as she pleased.    

Once the tornado watch was issued for my county, I figured I'd better get her back inside, so I stepped out on the back stoop and called and called.  When she didn't come, I went back inside in frustration, only to find her on her step watching me through the window.  

Ummm, it's a bit too late to say it happened to a friend, isn't it?  All righty, then...  

The stray cat has moved her kittens again, and I don't know where she put them.  I only hope she found a place that is warm and dry.  I saw her a bit yesterday, prowling along the edge of the woods, so I'm going to keep putting food out for her as long as needs be.  

The good news is, the mother bird has returned to her nest. 

I'm still not sure what kind of bird she is.   All I could see was a little brown blob of feathers. I'm guessing a sparrow or wren, but I didn't want to disturb her any more than I had to.

Between tornadoes, I did a bit of knitting as well. I finally finished sock #1, but haven't cast on sock #2 yet. 

What I cast on instead is....another hat!

I'd seen a lady at work wearing the cutest little hat, so I surreptitiously stared at it until I think I've memorized the pattern.  I'm going to reverse engineer it and see if I can knit it.  It didn't look too difficult, and I'll be sure to keep you updated. 

And finally, I saw something I'd wanted for my bug-out bag on a daily deal, so I snapped it up:

Collapsible water bottles.  Yes, I have a couple of Life Straws, but it's a good idea to have a way to tote water with you.  There may not always be a stream around.  It's got a filter thing that attaches to it, but that sucker is $30.  I'm going to have to ponder that purchase a bit more. 

I Haz A Sad

I have to go back to work tomorrow.  That's enough to make anyone depressed.  Literally, I've been walking around all day, feeling like I'm about to throw up.  Or cry.  Or both.  

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate my job?  

As if that weren't enough of a bummer, I took most of my Christmas decorations down over the weekend.  The house always looks a bit forlorn, and dark, and gloomy for a bit after Christmas gets put away.  I left my mantle up for now, because I just couldn't bear to take all the joy out of the house. 

Then, I did a thing.  And what is this thing I did?  I lit these candles.  

It doesn't see like much of a thing, but let me tell you why it's a thing.  Year after year, I've kept those candles.  Put them away, and saved them to put out the next year.  I've had them for probably 4 or 5 years.  This year, though, I decided that by golly, I was going to burn them, so I lit those puppies up.  They add a surprising amount of warmth and light to my sad looking living room.  Heck, I may just keep candles in them all year round after this.  

You know, I always get a little blue after Christmas.  I suppose everyone does, but this year seems worse than usual.  I'm sure the stress of a very difficult year has contributed to my funk, but really, I believe it was going home that did it.  I was talking to my son -- or my brother-- or maybe both, I don't remember -- about the cousin of ours who'd died of COVID, and I said, "Between the Winfree side and the Gunstream side, pretty much anyone I pass on the street there's a good chance I'm going to be kin to him somehow. " I don't get that here. That sense of family and community -- that feeling of being home-- that I do when I'm...well...home.  

Even though Cody is only an hour and a half up the road, it's not quite the same.  I just feel so alone.  

Ok, sorry about my little pity party there.  Let's move along...

Cody and Brennan came down for a visit yesterday, and opened their last few Christmas gifts, which had finally arrived after wandering all over creation.  While they were here, Cody told me he has decided to become a vegetarian.  He's been feeling light headed and dizzy lately, and that has made him think his blood pressure might be high.  I told him to go get checked by a doctor to be sure.  Blood pressure don't play.  Also, he thinks it might help him with his weight problems.  He'd lost a bunch of weight a couple of years ago, but since the pandemic started, he's really packed on the pounds.  They'd closed the gym in his apartment building, so he hasn't been able to work out.  Also, his new job requires a lot more sitting and a lot less activity than his previous jobs have.  So he's mended just a bit -- to put it into the local vernacular.  

The silver lining to that is, he's got a freezer full of smoked boudin that he said he'd bring me.  If he sticks with being a vegetarian, that is.  Brennan said she tried it once and it only lasted 3 days.  I've never even tried.  I like meat too much. 

Before they left, we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, because Bren hadn't seen either.  That blows my mind.  I don't know how that even happens.  She hasn't seen It's A Wonderful Life, either, but we're going to save that one for another trip.  

As if the weekend weren't busy enough, Jesse has been sick.  He's had diarrhea since Thursday, but what's really concerned me is that he wouldn't eat or drink for three days.  The only thing I could get him to take was an egg mixed into a little bit of milk.  As of today, it seems his appetite is starting to come back.  I bought him some canned food and thinned it down with a little chicken broth.  I'm only giving him a little at a time, so as not to overwhelm his stomach, but at least he's eating and drinking something.  Along about 1:00, he was in the kitchen eating; he looked around a bit, then walked over and actually drank some water!  I mentally shouted, "Thank you, Jesus!"  I wasn't being flippant when I said it, either.  It was the first time I'd seen him drink anything since Wednesday.  

I hate that I have to leave him alone all day tomorrow, but hopefully he's on the mend now.  I'm going to keep an eye on him, and if the diarrhea doesn't clear up by tomorrow evening, I'll probably take him on into the vet and get him some medicine.  You can give dogs Pepto, and I've given him some as a stop gap, but I'd rather get him something specifically for dogs.  

We shall see......

I'd meant to show you this the other day, and never got around to it.  It's my new cookware set for my bug out bag.

It's got a pot with a lid, and a frying pan,

A couple of bowls and various spoons, plus a scrubbing pad. 

And it all folds up and fits neatly in this little nylon carry bag. 

And finally, I have no idea why I labeled my python's frozen rat as boudin, but there it is. 

I've long since given up trying to find an explanation for such things. 

What can I say?  I am who I am.  

And Then There Were Three

That's right.  We have our third confirmed case of coronavirus in the plant.  This time, it's someone I actually know.  Sort of.  

I mean, I don't know his name, and don't ...like...talk to him or anything, but I know him.   I call him Teddy Bear Guy, because for a long time, he rode around with a giant white teddy bear in the front seat of his car.  Word is, he put it there so nobody would ask him for a ride.  Other word is, that bear is his best friend and he always wants it nearby.  Be that as it may, I know who he is.

He works on a Vitally Important Machine right across the aisle from my department.  Now, Teddy Bear Guy hadn't been at work since Thursday, but as far as I know, he got his test results today.  I'm sure they'll put out another paper with the details on it soon.   Anyway, as soon as the plant found out, they sent everyone who works on that Vitally Important Machine into quarantine for two weeks.  The bad thing is, they don't have any back ups for that machine.  

Today, they ended up sending some of the assembly lines home early.  I don't know what they're going to do for the next two weeks.  Some of us were talking, it'll be the same if one of the sub-brazers gets the virus.  What will they do if they have to quarantine all of us?  They don't have any back up sub-brazers.  They've got maybe 4 or 5 people who can sub braze, but ...let's just say, there's a reason they aren't in the sub-brazing department any more.  There's only one guy who I'd consider to be reliable, and he's still pretty inexperienced.  

Now that it's becoming so prominent in the plant, I've begun to get a bit paranoid.  Every cough, every sore throat -- is it the 'rona?  Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do now is to feel my face, to see if I have fever.  I know they take our temperatures before they let us into the plant, but what's to stop someone from just taking Tylenol before coming to work?  I once worked three days with full blown pneumonia before I broke down and went to the doctor.  Cody was little then, and I wasn't making but $11 something an hour.  I couldn't afford to take a week off work at the time.  At least with the COVID, if we get a positive test, we'll get two weeks straight time pay.  I didn't have that option back then.  

Well, in these uncertain times, I've come to loathe that phrase.  Loathing notwithstanding, in these uncertain times, I thought I'd show you something.  If you've followed me on Facebook, or even here on the blog, you'll know I've recently developed a strange fascination with survival gear.  I'm in the process of putting together a bug-out bag.  I'm going to show you my progress so far. 

*Note:  Keep in mind, this is a work in progress.  I'm sure you will want to suggest I add this, or I add that, or I need such and such.  Whatever you might want to suggest, it's probably already on the list.  Fishing gear and more snares spring immediately to mind.   OK?  Here we go:

1.  First up, a tent and sleeping bag.

2.  Fire starting material.  Also, I have a bag of dryer lint to use as tinder, but I don't have a photo of it.

3.  Mylar blankets, body warmers, and rain ponchos.  

4.  A pocket saw

5.  Battery operated lanterns, a weather radio, and a hand crank flashlight.  

6.  Lifestraw water filtering systems.  I still need to add some sort of canteen or water bag.  

7.  Paracord, a compass, and a snare.  I want to get some more snares, also.  

8.  What?  Doesn't everybody have a Giant Pacific Octopus in their bug out bag?  

9.  A hunter orange bandanna for visibility, with survival tips on it, a bush craft book, and a blank journal for making notes.  You know I've also got some pens in there, but you don't really need to see a picture of them. 

That's my progress so far.  As I said before, it's still a work in progress.  I've still got a lot more to add to it, bit by bit.

And finally, we've already got our second named storm, Bertha, and the season hasn't even started yet! They said it's be an active one.

They weren't kidding.