Dear Coworker,
Why on earth would you even get this many seat covers out of the dispenser if you're just going to stuff most of them into the garbage can anyway? Just get one.
One is enough. For most butts anyway. Some of you might need two.
Either way, stop wasting them.
Thank you.
That is all.
A little good news on this Monday morning. My friend's sister got to come home from the hospital yesterday evening. He said she's still got a long road to recovery, but she's on the mend. She's got a lot of other health issues, so this was a very tough time for her.
More good news, Other Coworker was back at work. He told one of the other brazers that he didn't ever want to go through that again. He was sick as a dog for about 10 days.
Still no word on Supervisor, but I'm going to go with the no news is good news philosophy.
In knitting news, I cast on a new sock last night.
This pattern is one designed by my dear friend Suzie. It's pretty simple, which I like, because I don't have to constantly look at the pattern.
And finally, for those of you who may be really discouraged by what's going on in our country right now, Bill has a new series of podcasts he's starting. They're a bit long, but well worth the listen. Here is the first episode. I highly recommend you listen.
1. I have a list.
You know, like Arya Stark had a list. Those of you who watched Game Of Thrones know what I'm talking about. Those of you who never watched that show don't, so let me give you a heads up. First of all, you didn't miss much. I lost interest after just a few seasons. Honestly, Peter Dinklage was the best part of the whole series. Oh, and Sean Bean...well, he met a typical Sean Bean fate, but I won't go into all that right now.
Arya Stark is a girl whose family is greatly wronged. I won't go into detail here, but they were. Every night, before she goes to sleep, Arya recites a list of people upon whom she plans to exact vengeance.
I have a similar list -- except it's not people I plan on taking vengeance on. No, my list is people I pray for every night...and throughout the day. My list is of those who are battling COVID, and it's getting pretty long.
It's the not knowing that is stressful to me. My friend hasn't posted anything about his sister in three days, and I'm getting kind of worried. I have no idea if Other Coworker is still in the hospital or not, and haven't heard a word from Supervisor. Not only that, I found out one of my real life heroes has also tested positive.
2. I'm done with my Christmas shopping! Oh, I may still pick up a few stocking stuffer type things for Cody, but the major gifts are gone. I haven't gotten them all shipped, though. My older brother and his family's gifts are sitting on the bed in Cody's room, because I don't have the right size box. All the ones I have are either too small, or way too big. I'm expecting a few things from Amazon early next week, so maybe one of those boxes will fit.
3. I've been receiving mysterious packages from Amazon, as well. I've wrapped them without opening them, just in case the sender didn't choose gift wrapping. I think I know what one of them is, because I saw the return address on the box. If I'm right, I'm going to be very excited to open that one. At least I know none of them are vitamins this year.
4. My list is here, by the way...you know, just in case you might want to send me something...Not that I'm hinting or anything, but my list is here: Becky's Christmas List.
5. Cody was looking through my Christmas list and said, "Why do you need a trebuchet?" I replied, "So I can throw stuff at...stuff..." I'm beginning to understand why Brennan was nervous about meeting me.
6. Since I finished my last pair of socks, I've dragged the old sock yarn blanket out and am working on it again.
7. My friend is having an open house in her yarn studio today. It's just north of Memphis, but I've opted out of going. With the way things have been going, I'd get to work tomorrow and discover someone else in my department has tested positive. I'll be glad when this is all over. And it will end eventually. No pandemic lasts forever. Even the Black Plague ended. Of course, it took 200 years, but still, it did end.
At least one vaccine has been approved, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
8. Speaking of vaccines, if I wanted to "reduce overpopulation", the last thing I would do is to mandate vaccinations --or even fund vaccine distributions to poverty stricken third world countries, for that matter. After all, these diseases -- measles, smallpox, polio, etc. -- have killed way more people than the vaccines for them ever did.
No, if I wanted to reduce overpopulation, I'd ban vaccines and let these illnesses make a comeback and do my dirty work for me. But therein lies the rub; you can't ban vaccines outright. There'd be too much outcry. So, what you do instead is to start rumors, conspiracy theories, speculations...to cause people to mistrust vaccinations, so that they'll refuse to take them of their own volition. You know what I'm talking about...the rumors that they cause autism. The conspiracies that they contain tracking devices, or radioactive isotopes, or whatever...they're the mark of the Beast...they do more harm than good...that sort of thing. It's even better if you take a popular celebrity and make him a scapegoat. Make people believe he's in his basement with a dime store chemistry set and glowing red eyes...In this way, you can give rise to a whole anti-vaxxer movement, and people will voluntarily decline vaccinations without you having to lift a finger. It doesn't even matter if what you are saying true or not. People are sheep. They'll blindly follow anything, no matter how ridiculous, so long as it's in a meme, and never even verify.... Well, that's what I would do...if I wanted to reduce overpopulation.
9. It may all be moot for me anyway. They're saying now that if you're allergic to eggs, you shouldn't get it. The COVID vaccination, I mean. Once it's finally available to us peons, I'll discuss it with my doctor and see what he says. Now, don't get me wrong. I NEVER said I think people who don't want the vaccine should be forced to get it. I also don't believe children should get it, because in my opinion, it's better for them to build up their natural immunity. However, I don't also don't think people who do want to get it should be shamed and ridiculed for that choice.
10. While we're on the subject, if you share a meme you haven't fact checked, you'd better know, I'm going to. Fact check it, that is. Even if I don't comment, I've verified (or debunked as is most often the case) whatever it is you've posted.
11. Just so we don't end this post on a negative note, here is one of the blinking patterns on my Christmas tree.
Sooner or later.
I got to work bright and early this morning, got my temperature taken, then went into the break room to get a new pair of gloves from the PPE machine. I entered my number, made my selection, and watched my new gloves as they...got stuck.
Bummer.
Oh, well, no big deal. I'd just tell my supervisor what had happened and get him to get me a pair. I walked on down to my work area, glancing at the supervisor's desk as I passed it. Supervisor wasn't there, but I didn't think too much of it, as he's often out on the floor.
Sometime later, there was an altercation between two of the brazers, and one of the parts stagers had to settle it. As we were discussing the incident, my friend who works beside me asked if Group Leader Shark was there. I walked over and looked on top of the file cabinet where she puts her stuff, and it was empty. No, she wasn't there.
I went back to my stand and told my friend she wasn't there, and then I asked, "Where's Supervisor?"
"He's in quarantine", she replied.
"Supervisor's in quarantine?" I exclaimed incredulously.
"He's got the coronavirus," my friend said. "They put him in quarantine Thursday or Friday."
And he was all up in my tool box Wednesday, too. I mean literally, in my box of tools. That's not a euphemism for anything. I really wish they'd tell us these things, and before I go to the dentist, or the community tree lighting, I mean.
A few minutes later, I asked her if Other Coworker was there today.
"Oh, is he out of the hospital?" she asked.
"Other Coworker is in the hospital????"
"Yes, he's got the COVID, and they put him into the hospital." Now, that one came as a shock. I knew I hadn't seen him, but I had thought he'd taken a few days off to spend time with his family. I had no idea he had COVID, and was in the hospital.
Meanwhile, my friend's sister is very weak, but still hanging in there. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for lots of prayers this time.
Now, for a bit of good news, there I was at home yesterday, watching TV, when my door bell rang. It was my next door neighbor. He's the one who had the tree fall over back in April when the Easter storms came though. He had finally gotten the wood all cut up, and told me I could come get some firewood anytime I needed it. I offered to pay him for it, and he said, "Pshaw! I'm not going to charge you for that wood!"
He took me back and showed me where he had it all stacked, and I saw the trunk of the tree still laying on the ground. I hadn't realized how big of a tree it was. He said it had landed on a vehicle he had back there and completely destroyed it. That's why it didn't make that big boom when it hit the ground.
Anyway, I'm all set for firewood this year. I was going to go get some this afternoon, but didn't. I probably won't light a fire until Friday anyway, so I'll just wait a bit. This chest cold is kicking my butt. I'd be more concerned about corona if I didn't go through the exact same thing around this time every year. I'm still almost obsessively checking myself for fever, and smelling things to make sure I can smell, but so far, I'm good. Except when the dog tooted and I wished I couldn't smell, but that's another story for another day. At least it seems to be starting to break up a bit, so that's good.
It would probably help if I took my allergy medicine, but it dries me out so badly that after two or three doses, I start feeling like Thanos done snapped his fingers.
In knitting news, I finished my new socks last night.
I've had this little string of teardrop lights for ages, and never had any place to put them. I'd bought them to put on the edge of my mantle, but when Beverly gave me all that garland, these lights just didn't seem right. So they've stayed in the box ever since.
I was sitting there watching cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies -- or football, I don't remember -- when I got the bright idea to string them over this door. It adds just the right touch. And yes, I do see that wire I need to tuck in.
Finally, Cody texted me yesterday and said he's got the weekend after Christmas off, so we can go to Texas if we want to. He's like that. Me, I wouldn't drive 8 hours just to spend one day, then come back, but he will. I managed to get the dogs booked in at the vet, so it looks like we might be going to Texas.
One of these days, we'll go, and I won't be coming back...
Y'all would be proud of me. Why? Because my little town had a Christmas tree lighting this evening.
What's so great about that? Lots of towns have tree lightings.
Yeah, but I went. Did you hear me? I went! To something that required me to leave the house! I don't like doing things that require me to leave the house. Even when we're not in the middle of a global pandemic.
I debated all day about whether I really even wanted to go or not, but in the end, I decided I'd regret it if I didn't. So I got dressed, turned off the football game, and went to the tree lighting.
First thing I did when I got there was to go into the Merry Makers Market. That was a bit of a disappointment, especially since it cost $3 just to get into the door. It was supposed to be craft booth, where people sell stuff they made, but there were only about 6 vendors in there. I picked up a couple of ornaments -- which I highly doubt were handmade -- but I didn't see anything else I absolutely had to have.
I didn't stay long after they lit the tree, because I was cold and hungry, and hadn't fed my dogs. But it was a nice little outing.
Well, another acquaintance of mine is in the hospital with COVID.
In the interest of full disclosure, I don't know her all that well, but I do know her. Her family goes to my church, and I served on the library committee with her mom for a couple of years. Her older brother worked out at the plant with me for a while, a long time ago. He's a truck driver now. Her other brother was the one who took Cody under his wing, and mentored him back when he thought he wanted to go into the ministry.
A few days ago, her older brother posted requesting prayers for her, because she had contracted the virus. She already has severe asthma and other breathing problems. Her oxygen levels were dropping, and if they got any worse, they were going to admit her to the hospital. Last night, he posted again. They've admitted her to the hospital down in Jackson. There are no beds available, so she has to stay in the ER until one opens up.
According to state health officer Dr Thomas Dobbs, there are no beds anywhere. The 12 largest hospitals in the state have zero ICU beds. We've been averaging 2000+ new cases diagnosed every day here lately. To make matters worse, richer states are coming here and headhunting our nurses. He was on the press conference last week begging them not to go. Unless you think he's lying because you saw a meme on Facebook.
We've had several new cases diagnosed out at the plant this week. I know our case count has to be over 150 by now. I don't know for sure, because they don't tell us. We only find out by second hand plant gossip. As in, "Where is So-and-So?" "Oh, she's in quarantine, because the person who works beside her has the COVID." That kind of thing.
Buckle up, folks, it's going to be rough these next few weeks. So, let's talk about something more pleasant, shall we?
My new Christmas tree has LED lights on it. They shine in both white and multi-colored -- but not at the same time. And they have multiple blinking patterns, including alternating between white and multi-colored. Anyway, this morning, I decided to go with all white lights.
I probably won't do this very often, as I prefer multi-colored lights, but it made a nice change. I really did want white lights on my mantle, so when I was at the store this morning, I picked up a string. It really brightens that corner up.
Look! I got a Christmas card! This one from my friend Amy. I do so enjoy receiving them.
I may be getting a little carried away with this whole rat mom thing.
And finally, I got a new hat last month, but kept forgetting to show it to you.
I have tons of hats, but not a Navy one. Being a Navy vet, I needed a Navy hat. Really, I did.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Your word of the day is schadenfreude. And what is schadenfreude, you ask? I'll tell you.
You know that feeling you get when someone from B shift brazes an entire order wrong, so the supervisor brings it back up to the sub brazing area, and your Stalker -- because he thinks he's someone special -- sticks his big nose right up in the middle of something that isn't his business, so Group Leader Shark makes him re-do all the headers by himself and the whole department is standing there laughing at him?
That's schadenfreude.
All righty, then. Moving right along.
Well, this is it. This is why I'm being so stingy with my firewood.
I'm trying to get out and split a piece or two after work every day-- because a piece or two is about all I can handle in one day -- but it still isn't going to be very much. I've been checking the online sales groups, but either they don't want to deliver, or won't take a check, so I haven't even been able to buy any firewood. I'm kind of regretting buying that hatchback. If I'd gotten a pickup truck instead, I could go get me some wood. Well, maybe I'll find someone who'll deliver without charging me an arm and a leg. If not, I'll be huddling under blankets a lot this winter.
In Knitting Knews, I'm making progress on my sock, albeit slowly.
I've finally gotten past the gusset decreases, so it should work up a bit quicker now.
So, I was looking at the photos I'd posted of my Christmas decorations, and thinking how tacky my house looks, especially my kitchen and dining room area. A fresh coat of paint would really brighten things up, but that would require a lot of work, and I'm just not sure I'm up for it. The walls in the dining area have this weird sort of texture stuff, like they'd thrown a bunch of tiny pebbles against the walls, and wherever they stuck is where they stayed. I'd have to scrape all of that off. Then there is all the thick, rubbery paint I'd have to somehow get off of the walls. If it were regular, normal paint, I'd just paint over it, but not this stuff. It's like a layer of plastic on the walls. And I'd have to strip the cabinets and door frames...the baseboards and chair rail...
After all that, I'm wondering if it's not just quicker and easier to just pull everything off to the studs and replace it. And of course, that would require finding a contractor who will actually show up...therein lies the rub. Heck, I'm still waiting on someone to SHOW UP and hang my shutters.
I know this post is a bit short, but I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm too tired to think straight. I still need to practice my piano, as well, so I'll just leave you with a photo of the Beaver Moon I took Monday night.
If your poop comes out of your backside smelling like something that has been dead for three days, something is seriously wrong with you.
Do yourself -- and the rest of us as well -- a favor and go to the doctor! Then get some vegetables into your diet. Please.
Thank you.
That is all.
I am officially without a guitar.
When Cody was here for Thanksgiving, he asked if he could take my old guitar with him. He's wanting to branch out into playing country music, and needed an acoustic for that. Don't worry, he says he's going to play the more traditional style, not this country rock crap that's been coming out lately.
Anyway, he asked if he could have mine, and to be honest, I struggled a bit with that decision. I still have the desire to learn to play the guitar, but I just don't have the passion for it that I thought I did. The piano is where my heart is, so in the end, I said the old guitar needed to be making music instead of sitting in the corner gathering dust. And Cody can actually play. Funny, though, now that it's gone, I'm going through just a bit of mourning. It's more the dream than the instrument, but I have to be realistic. I've tried three times to learn to play the thing, and it just wasn't happening.
Maybe someday, I'll pick that old violin of his up and start fiddling around with it again. No pun intended...
It has rained all day long today, which we desperately needed. I haven't checked my rain gauge, so I don't know exactly how much has fallen, but it started shortly after I got up, and hasn't stopped since. It was a good day to stay inside and watch Christmas shows. And knit. Only I haven't taken a picture of my sock, so I can't show you. I can tell you I've turned the heel and am doing the gusset decreases -- my least favorite part of sock knitting.
I also finished putting out my Christmas decorations, so I'm fixing to bombard you with photos again. Bear with me. It's the only way I'll know how to do it next year. Ready? OK, here we go...
The...thing...above my fireplace. For the life of me, I can't figure out why they would put this...whatever it is...here. I put that little nativity and the lanterns there. Those lanterns are new, by the way. The old ones I had had rusted through, so I replaced them. I may do away with the holders next year, and just set the lanterns down in the space.
And finally, the tree, in all her glory.
That's about it for this year. I keep saying one day my house will look like a Hallmark movie set, but this is not that year. When I'd finished putting everything out that I'm going to put out, I had a bunch of stuff left over that I knew I'd probably never use. I advertised it in the local freebies group, and a couple came and picked it up this afternoon.
They messaged me that they were coming, and I replied that I'd put the decorations in a box in the carport for them. When they got here, the dude walked right past this huge honking box of stuff and rang the doorbell.
Sigh...What's wrong with people?
Those of you who've been following my blog for a while already know I've rediscovered the allure of vinyl. I'm always on the lookout for new records, and old records on ebay. I was perusing the Walmart website, when I found a new Christmas record by one of my favorite bands. It arrived a few days ago, and I got so excited that I pulled it out of the box, then ran and added it to my record collection and completely forgot to tell you about it. So, here I am to tell you about it now.
Look! I got a new record!
I'd been looking at it on the Walmart website for a while, but had decided to see if I could find it at the local store before ordering it. Alas, after looking through all the vinyl they had, it was nowhere to be found, so I broke down and ordered it. I'm not sure what was going on the day it arrived, but just yesterday, I was playing it as I put out some of my Christmas decorations and realized I'd never told you about it. So, I just did.
There, that is a thing you now know.
Another thing I neglected to tell you about was, when Cody was here for Thanksgiving, I had him install a new door knob and deadbolt on my French Doors.
