Slipcovers And Dustbusters

Thanksgiving has come and gone for another year.  It was a quiet holiday, but a good one.

I managed to sneak a picture of Cody -- or so I thought.   He said, "I saw what you were doing."  I replied, "I needed proof you were here."  You know, pictures, or it didn't happen.

I think I stressed way too much over dinner this year.  Usually, I make a bunch of stuff ahead of time, so Thanksgiving morning is a time to relax and be with family.  I didn't do that this time around.  The only things I did early were the pumpkin pie and the first layer of my jello salad.  Ten hour shifts really wear you down, plus I've got some sort of sinus thing going on.  I've coughed so much these last few days, I'm sore all over.

I got up at 5:30 Thanksgiving morning, and did a bunch of cooking, all the while thankful that I could stream the parade on my laptop, so I could watch it in the kitchen.  Well, not a bunch bunch, but a bunch.  Enough for the two of us.

So, there I was in the kitchen, cooking away, when I began to wonder where Cody was. Eh, it's still a wee bit early.  But more and more time went by, and I began to think he needed to come on.  I was getting hungry! 

I waited a little while longer -- he had to drive from Memphis, after all-- and just about the time I was about to call him and ask him if he was almost here, my phone rang.  "I'm about to get on I-55 now, so it'll be about an hour and 45 minutes."  He told me he'd turned his alarm off, and slept much later than he intended to.  "I was tireder than I thought," he explained.

I told him, "No matter.  I'll just pop everything back into the oven when you get here to warm it up."  He finally got here around 2-ish, and we had our simple, yet satisfying Thanksgiving dinner.

I'd put some of the Chupacabra rub my friend Cyndye sent me onto the turkey, and it was delicious.  When I got it out and put it onto the platter, I pointed to it and told Cody, "That's chupacabra."  He looked confused, so I clarified, "Chupacabra rub."  "Oh, I was wondering where you got a chupacabra."

See?  He is my child after all.

We finished dinner off with a pumpkin pie I finally made from that real pumpkin I bought and stewed down a while back.  I had just enough crust scraps left to add one special touch to it.

All in all, we had a good visit.  I was kind of hoping Cody could stay longer and help me put up the Christmas tree, but he wanted to get back to Memphis.  He has to work today, and he definitely wants to be there, because a lot of people wait for Black Friday to buy cars.  Oh, by the way, he's decided not to opt to go to straight commission after all.  He wants to keep that base salary as a safety net. I'm glad of that.  I know he's grown, but I still worry about him.

Amy, Cody and I were talking about the Iron Bowl tomorrow.  I said, "Oh boy.  It's on CBS.  We get to listen to Gary."

Cody said, "I can see it now.  Auburn could completely shut out Alabama, and before the game is even over, Gary will be saying, 'Here's how Alabama could still make the playoffs.'"

Before he had to go back home, I had Cody drag in all my Christmas stuff from the shed.

And the majority of it is still sitting right where he left it.  Unfortunately, he set a section of the tree on the couch.

Thank goodness for slipcovers and dustbusters is all I have to say. The only thing I've done so far is to put the tree together and move it into the corner where it will sit.

I had to move Rylea's love seat over to fit it in, which made this corner pretty crowded.

I told Cody I'd decided to keep the tree another year, because all the nice ones are way out of my budget.  He'd wanted it, you know.  He said that was OK, because after thinking about it, he'd realized he didn't have the floor space in his apartment for it anyway.  That's exactly why I want to get a new one. I got my trusty tape measure out and my tree is 58" across at its widest point.  At least now, I know what I need -- I'm thinking one between 52" and 54" at the base will work just fine, especially after I get rid of that loveseat when Rylea has gone to that great kennel in the sky.  I'm going to replace it with another recliner, for when Cody comes to visit.  I've got a small living room anyway, and that will work so much better.

This morning, I moved my recliner and end tables over so I could at least sit at my keyboard and play it.

Once I get the branches floofed and the lights strung, I'll shove the tree all the way back into the corner.  That'll free up a few inches of space.

And finally, your PSA for today:  In all the holiday hubbub, make sure you don't leave your cast iron skilled in a sink full of water overnight.

I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have had to re-season my skillet this morning.  But honestly, it was about time anyway.

Well, Dang

I'm just a bit tuckered, but Thanksgiving is almost ready.  Well, not almost.  OK, it's not even close.  I made a pumpkin pie, and the first layer of my strawberry jello salad, but that's it.  Oh, and I dragged all my dishes out of the cabinet and washed them in diluted bleach water.  You may remember I had a pretty serious mouse problem earlier this year, and I wanted to make sure there were no remaining mousy germs on my dishes.  I'd planned on putting together at least my sweet potato casserole, but I didn't get it done.  We may be eating a bit later than usual tomorrow...

But hey, I watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, so there is that.

Can you believe they made us work today?  Not only work, but they expected us to actually be productive!  Someone whom I can neither confirm nor deny may or may not have been me said, "This is like trying to teach on the last day of school!" 

But the last day of school finally ended and I came home to my first Christmas card of the season, from my Australian pen pal! Look at the little Koalas!  Aren't they cute?

I've got to finish doing mine.  Maybe this weekend. 

Insomnia hit me hard last night, and I'm really feeling it now.  While I was laying there, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, I got to thinking about that Peg Dope stuff.  I hadn't want to get into taking the strings and pegs out of Cody's violin, because I was afraid of messing something up.  But then, I said to myself, "Self, you should watch a how-to video on YouTube"  because you know there is going to be a how-to video somewhere on YouTube "before totally giving up on the idea." 

Laying there in bed, in the middle of the night, I grabbed my phone and opened my YouTube app.  A quick search brought up several videos on how to stop pegs from slipping, including one from the online violin tutor I'm using to try to learn how to play.  One thing she said was that you don't have to buy that expensive Peg Dope.  She uses a regular bar of soap.  She even showed us the one she keeps with her violin.  It's one of those mini bars you get from hotel rooms.  I know some of those sites I'd looked at said not to use soap, but Ms Sparrow has been playing since she was 7-ish, and has even played professionally.  If she says it's OK, I believe her. 

Anyway, one thing all the videos said was to make sure the strings are wound correctly.  They are supposed to be wound around the pegs so that the end going to the bridge is snug against the inside wall of the peg box.  Hmmm, that seems simple enough.  Still in the throes of insomnia, I got out of bed and padded down the hall to the kitchen.  I got me a bit of cheese to nibble on, then got Cody's violin out of its case.

Sure enough, none of the strings were snug against the peg box wall.  Simple enough to loosen the peg and re-wind the strings.  Carefully...slowly, I began loosening the tension...but apparently not slowly and carefully enough.  I did something wrong, and the string came completely loose and flew across the room, and the peg fell out onto the counter.

Dang!

I hadn't wanted to get into all that, and certainly not in the middle of the night.  But there it was. 

Since the peg was out already, I might as well soap it up.  I picked up the errant peg, and carried it into the bathroom.  I rubbed my bar of  bath soap onto the peg the way Ms. Sparrow showed in the video.  I went back into the kitchen and put the peg back into the violin peg box.  I retreived the errant string, and after about three attempts -- it was still the middle of the night, you know -- I got it re-strung. 

I put a little tension on it so it wouldn't mess anything up, finished my cheese, and went back to bed, where I promptly fell fast asleep. 

After work, I opened my tuner app, and tuned that string up.  It's my A string, for those of you who know about such things.  Not only did it produce a beautiful, clear tone, but it held it's tuning!  None of the other strings did, but my A string stayed in tune.  Probably after Thanksgiving, I'll pull the rest of the pegs and soap them up, too.

But for now, I guess I'd better get to bed, or I won't be even able to cook anything tomorrow.  Good night, all.

I Remembered!

Sure enough, as soon as I shut down my computer last night, I remembered what it was I was going to tell you.  And that something is, I saw my two yearling bucks Sunday night!  They are looking really good -- especially my little seven point.  Unfortunately, it was already too dark to get a good picture.  That's what happens when the sun sets at 4:30 -- ish. 

I haven't seen the mama does or this year's babies recently, though.  Maybe they'll come around sometime. 

As you may know, I've been trying to learn to play Cody's violin -- like I need more on my plate.  Anyway, I'd been getting frustrated because the thing simply will not stay in tune.  Every single time I play it, I have to re-tune it.  Even then, before I've finished, at least one string is back to being out of tune.  Naturally, I did what any red blooded American would do.  I googled it.

Apparently, I need something called Peg Dope.  See, a violin peg board is different from a guitar peg board. On a guitar, you have these little gear things.

 
I don't know what the official name for them is.  Whatever they're called, they help hold the tuning pegs in place, so that once your string is tuned, it's not going anywhere.  Oh, they loosen over time, but once they're set, they're pretty much set.  They just need to be tweaked every now and again.

Violin tuning pegs aren't like that.  You just have to jam them into the holes and hope friction holds them in place.  But there is help.  You can put this Peg Dope stuff on them and it'll help hold them into place.  The bad news is, you have to unstring the peg and pull it out of the hole to apply said Peg Dope.  I don't know that I want to get into all of that with Cody's violin.  If it were mine, I would.  But I don't want to mess his instrument up. 

The good news is, now I know it's not something I'm going wrong.  They also say that changes in humidity and temperature can cause the pegs to slip.  We've had a lot of that lately.  Once I figured that out, I got a lot less frustrated.  I mean, it's still going out of tune, but at least now I know why. 

By the way, I'm trying to work up a little something for you.  It still sounds pretty rough, but hopefully in a few weeks, it'll be ready. 

Well, it'll be Thanksgiving in a couple of days, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share something.  I will be thankful when my place of employment decides its employees are worth new soap dispensers.  You know, so we don't have to jury rig them with pieces of cardboard any more.

I told a friend that if the company ever goes out of business, we can all get jobs milking cows.  We'll have plenty of experience.

Out Of Sorts

I've been out of sorts lately.  I don't know what accounts for my recent malaise, but I just haven't felt like blogging.  I haven't felt like I've got anything to say worth saying.  Maybe it's the change of seasons.  Maybe it's the nostalgic melancholy I usually feel around the holidays -- the longing for a more innocent time, and missing friends and family no longer with us.  I don't know...but here I am.  In all my glory.

OK, onward...

A couple of weeks ago, they moved my department to its present location.  Overall, I think it's been a good move, now that I'm kind of getting used to where we are.  It's a lot quieter there, and it's right by the bathroom.  Over said bathroom is the upstairs production office.  For years, I've said to myself, "Self, you need to come in a little early and walk those stairs a few times -- for exercise, you know."  But I haven't ever done it, until now.  There are a couple of us who have started walking the stairs in the mornings before the shift starts.  I don't know if I've lost any weight, but I've sure gained more energy.  I don't feel nearly as run down as I have been.

Today, tubing and the sub-brazers had our annual potluck dinner for Thanksgiving.  This morning, as I was walking the stairs, one of my coworkers said, "You might as well wait until after lunch!"  I laughed and replied, "I might as well wait until after Christmas!"  You know as well as I do, all I'm going to do over Christmas break is sit and eat.  Oh, I say I'm going to go out and walk, but it won't happen.  I'll start over when we get back in January. 

Speaking of sitting, yesterday while watching cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies, I whipped out this headband for my friend Kristine's blessing bag project.

The pattern is Calorimetry, from the Knitty website. I still have to sew the button on, and weave in the ends.  I think I'll make some more of these, and maybe some other styles of headbands as well.  The nuns my friend took her bags to last year minister to prostitutes as well as homeless people -- you know, trying to get them off the streets and into a better life, and such. Plus, there are homeless women.  Some estimates are that nearly 25% of homeless people are women. 

All that said, if they have a ponytail, or some other type of hairstyle where they wouldn't want to wear a hat, they can still keep their ears reasonably warm.  I made the one above out of Red Heart, in the Viva colorway.  It's some of the yarn my friend Peggy sent me. I was thinking since it was a headband, it would use less yarn, but it doesn't.  It uses almost as much as a full on hat.  But still...

There was something else I wanted to tell you, but right now I can't remember what it was.  I'll come to me as soon as I hit publish.  But for now, I'm just going to get off here and go to bed.

Random Thoughts Of A Thursday Evening

1.  There is an old joke in Texas.  It goes something like this:  What keeps Texas from falling off into the Gulf Of Mexico?  Because Oklahoma sucks. 

2.  I was about 12 or 13 when I heard that joke for the first time.  Me, I'm such a dork, I spent way too much time trying to figure out the physics of it.

3.  Today really is Thursday.  Unlike last week, when I thought Wednesday was Thursday.

4.  My Christmas cactus is loaded with buds.  This is the one I bought last year, because I didn't have a red one.   It's going to be gorgeous when it's in full bloom. 

5.  This makes me laugh every time I see it, even though in Texas we call 'em all Cokes. 

6.  It reminds me of a Navy story.  There was a Marine.  He was kind of new to the base, there in Naples where we were stationed.  I thought he was cute, but turns out he was really weird.  Not cute and quirky weird, either.  Just weird.  Before I found out how weird he was, I invited him to come spend the day with me at my friend Sonia's apartment.  Sometime during the conversation, I asked him, "Do you want a coke?"  He said, "Yes," so naturally I asked the followup question any native born Texan would ask.  "What kind?"  He looked at me like I'd grown an extra eyeball and said, "Coke."

6 1/2.  When I picked him up at the Marine Corps barracks, he came out carrying an overcoat.  In Southern Italy.  In May.  Where it was already hitting the upper 90s.  I asked him if he was cold.  He explained that he didn't have back pockets in the pants he was wearing, and he didn't like putting his wallet in his front pocket, because it made a lump in the front of his pants.  So he lugged a giant trench coat around, so he could keep his wallet in the pocket.  In Southern Italy.  In May.  Where it was already hitting the upper 90s.

6 3/4.  He should have put his wallet in his pants pocket.  It's probably the only lump he ever has in the front of his pants. 

7.  This is my box of yarn for charity hats.  It's been sitting in a corner of my living room for --  well, far too long. 

8.  Almost as long ago, I bought a plastic bin to store it in.  As of today, bin and yarn are finally together, safely stored in the snake/craft/computer room, and the corner of my living room seems strangely bare. 

9.  Do the winds in Oklahoma blow with such strength that they produce a negative pressure suctioning Texas to the continent?

10.  You know you're a Southern Mama when you hear a kid on TV say to an adult, "Yeah," and you automatically correct him to "Yes, Sir!".  Other than that, the kids in all these Hallmark movies are way too well behaved and polite to be believable.  Just another part of the Hallmark charm, I guess.

11.  That corner won't be bare for long, though, because this time next week, it'll have a Christmas tree standing in it.  Speaking of, after checking my bank account, I've about decided to stick with the same tree for another year.  I really want a new tree, but I wasn't able to put as much into savings this year, and I still haven't done most of my Christmas shopping. 

12.  I think I might bring back my Random Thoughts On A Thursday Evening as a regular feature.  Let me know if that's something you'd want to see more often.

Quiet Weekend

After Friday's shenanigans in Walmart, the rest of the weekend has been really quiet.  I haven't gone anywhere.  I haven't done anything except watch football and cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies.  Oh, and I split a bit more wood.  That is a workout, I'm telling ya. 

Something else I'm telling ya, these little squares are a lot more fun to weave than to sew together.

Yes, that is as far as I've gotten.  I'd planned on doing a bunch this weekend, but it didn't work out that way.  Especially after I discovered how not fun it is. 

In order to avoid sewing any more, I finished a hat.

Then I cast on another one.

And just for variety, I cast on a scarf.

This is some of that old Scarfie yarn I'd bought a couple of years ago.  I think this is the last skein I have.  Poor yarn has been knit and frogged so many times it was beginning to look a bit bedraggled.  I just cast on a plain old garter stitch scarf.  It's bugging me that it's so wide, but the styles have gone to wider, shorter scarves here lately.  Me, I still like the mile long, skinny scarves. 

Not that I ever have a chance to wear one...Maybe I would if I ever, you know, left the house and all. 

Speaking of leaving the house, I was looking on the Bed, Bath, & Beyond website, and they have some promising looking Christmas trees.  I might just head on up to Southaven this weekend.  Or down to Jackson...On the other hand, it is supposed to be raining this weekend, so maybe not. 

Since we're talking about weather, this afternoon, I was watching a moving on Lifetime, Christmas In Mississippi.  It was set down in Gulfport.  They kept talking about a massive hurricane that devastated the town five years before.  I'm such a dork, I looked up what year the movie was released, then thought back five years.  "Huh, I don't remember any hurricanes hitting Mississippi that year."  How much of a dork am I?  I'll tell you how much of a dork I am.  I got online and looked it up.  Sure enough, I was right.  No hurricanes that year.

Sigh, is it any wonder I can't find a husband? 

And finally, I got my newest Yes.Fit medal in the mail yesterday.

I was a bit surprised that they'd sent it already, since the event doesn't even start until after Thanksgiving.  But look, all the little charms are hung on lobster claws.  My first thought was new stitch markers!!

Which is really funny, because I don't even use stitch markers.  Not even all those I bought at Fiber Fun In The 'Sip in September.  I just use scrap yarn tied into loops.  Cheap.  Easy.  And I always have plenty on hand. 

Shenanigans

I was in Wal-mart today.  There were shenanigans.

They didn't have an E.  I looked at every single stocking in the display, but there was no E.  So, you're going to have to settle for Jeffery Didn't Kill Himself.

But we all know who that is...

Other than that, I got the majority of my Thanksgiving shopping done.  Cody is the only one of us who actually likes cranberry sauce, and this year, he's said I can make it myself!  He's always preferred the canned stuff.  The fresh sauce from whole berries is so easy to make and tastes so much better.  Me, I like hearing the berries pop while it's cooking.

I'm weird, I know.

Just before I left, I scanned the ice cream section and found this!

You pretty much have to grab it the day it's put out, or you won't get any.  I never did find it last year, but got some the year before -- or was it three years ago?  I don't remember.  I just know it's been a while.

I still haven't found a new Christmas tree, though.  I looked on the Michael's website and found some that look promising.  I'd have to see them in person, though.  But the closest Michael's is 80 miles away in Columbus.  It has recently been pointed out that Columbus has a Christi.  Madison has an Amy, but it's 100 miles away.

And I'm just over here like, "Wow, people are fighting over me!  When did I get to be so popular?"

In other news, I'm pleased to report that the wax melter Cody got me last year works like a charm.  It takes a while for the wax to melt, so it wouldn't be good for just one or two stamps.  However, when you have a whole passel of Christmas cards to do, it works great.  Just toss some wax into the melter, let it liquefy, and scoop out the requisite amount.  Stamp and go...

I now have a whole passel of Christmas cards done -- addressed, stamped, and wax sealed -- all ready to mail.

The hard part is going to be sitting on them until after Thanksgiving.  I could make them early, but I know how apoplectic some of you get when anyone even thinks about Christmas before Thanksgiving. 

And lastly, I finished three more squares on my Zoom Loom.

Then I started sewing them together.  Well, I got three of them sewn together.

As promised, I'm reaching blindly into the bag and whatever square I grab is what I add next. 

Because I like living on the edge like that. 

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt

Turned out to be a bust.  Well, a semi bust at least.   Hang on, let me start from the beginning...

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...wait, that's too far back...

I've been considering getting a new Christmas tree for a while now, blah, blah, blah.  You already know that, because I've blathered on about it incessantly for the last few days.  Since I couldn't find one I liked here, I was going to go up to Lowe's to look at what they have.  But you know that, too...after getting rained out last week, I decided today was the day. 

I got dressed, made myself some coffee, and headed North.  The first place I stopped was a closeout store called Dirt Cheap.  One of my coworkers said she'd gotten a new tree there, so I thought I'd check it out.  I was sorely disappointed.  The few trees they had had all been opened, and parts and pieces were strewn all over the floor.  Plus, I couldn't find any with multi colored lights.  I know white lights are all the rage nowadays, but I like my tree to be colorful.

I quickly left that store, and went to Walmart next.  I thought maybe since Batesville is a bigger town than Grenada, they might have a bigger selection.  Nope.  They had all the same trees as the local store. 

I thought these were coffee cups.

I'm sure the person standing behind me got a good chuckle when he heard me say, "Awww, man, they aren't coffee cups.  They're mixing bowls."

I left Walmart empty handed as well, and headed on over to Lowe's.

You know how I always say in a small town you can't go anywhere without seeing someone you know?  Me, I went all the way up to Batesville, to Lowe's...and saw someone I know.  This time, it was someone whose son is the same age as Cody, and I had the kind in Cub Scouts the year I was den leader.  I'm surprised he remembered me.  But then, I'm always surprised when people remember me, because I don't remember most of them.

I can't tell you how many times people I would swear I'd never seen before in my life call me by name, and ask how things are out at the plant -- calling it by name, as well.  Then again, that could just be an INTJ thing.

Anyway...I didn't really like any of the trees I saw at Lowe's, either.  I mean, the ones I did like were expensive, and just as big as the one I have now.  I was also kind of disappointed in the quality of the trees.  They really looked plastic, and not even remotely realistic.  And most of them have branches all the way down to the floor.  Where do they expect you to put your presents?   I guess I'll keep looking.

I might try to go down to Jackson area and see if they have anything decent at Hobby Lobby or Michael's.  Or, I may just stick with the one I have for another year, and see if I can get one on clearance.

The reason the trip was only a semi-bust was I picked up a new space heater for the snake room.

The only thing I don't like is that you can't set it to a specific temperature like my old one, but it will take the chill off the snake room.  I had to bring in my outside thermometer to get it set right, but it should hold steady once I've got it to where I want it.

Why yes, I do have an outside thermometer.  It was a gift from my sister in law a few years back.  By the way, I spent a few minutes this morning arranging the weather apps on my phone, putting them in order of accuracy.  The ones closest to what my thermometer reads are at the top, and the ones that are way off are down at the bottom.   They were ranging all the way from 31' to 38'.  It all depends on where they get their information from.

After I got home, I said to myself, "Self, since you're already up and dressed, you might as well get that front flower bed cleaned out."  And that's exactly what I did. 

I pulled up all the dead stuff, then got my garden claw and rooted up all the ...um...roots and stuff.  I didn't do that last year, and I think that may be why my bed didn't do as well this time around.  Once I'd gotten it all cleaned up, I scattered my bluebonnet seeds in one corner.  Yes, you're supposed to plant them in the fall.  I just hope I didn't wait too long.

Be that as it may, the bed's all ready for winter.

A week or so ago, I caught one chipmunk in my trap, but there is at least one more out there, still digging up my yard.  It won't go into the trap, though.  I brought the trap inside and cleaned it out really well.  I'm going to wait a while, then put it back out.  Maybe this time, I'll have better luck.

Rylea says, "Imma get that chipmunk for you, Mama!"

"I got it!  I got it!  I ... don't got it." 

"I'm sorry.  I'll get it next time, even if I have to dig up the whole yard!" 

My mother always sends me money for my birthday, and this year, I ordered myself three more Christmas themed wax stamps.

If you can't see the picture clearly, they are a candle, ornaments hanging from a branch, and a stocking.  I guess this weekend I'll be stamping my Christmas cards.  I'll finally get to use the wax melter Cody got me last year. 

And finally, I was walking down the hall last night and saw this:

Oh, heck no! 

Now, you to can have nightmares.  You're welcome. 

Random Thoughts Of A Thursday Evening

1.  They've bought some new machines for the plant.  These machines make our adapter tubes -- I mean, they do the whole process, from raw material to finished product.  Once they get all the kinks worked out, I think they'll be great...but for now, not so much.  Today, I was discussing some of the aforementioned kinks with our engineer.  I wanted him to really understand how difficult it make things for us when a part is even a little bit out of specs, so I asked him to assemble some parts in a jig, the way we do when we are going to braze them.  He struggled for a minute and couldn't get them into the jig.  He asked me, "How do y'all do this?"

"Well," I said, just before handing him a rubber hammer, "we cuss a lot."

2.  I was looking for an old photo in my phone, and found this screen shot from January 2108.  That awkward day when Alaska was the warmest place in the country.

Or at least, warmer than the deep south.  I'm told it was the same way this morning, but I neglected to check.  I was more concerned with this:

3.  It was cold enough that when I got home from work, I built a fire.  I don't usually do that on work days, but I have another vacation day tomorrow.   

4.  I told the aforementioned engineer exactly how he needed to adjust the machines to solve the problems we were having with the parts.  Once he made those adjustments, the problems got a whole lot better.  Sometimes experience beats a fancy schmancy college edumucation.   

5.  At least this one listens.  Most of them don't.  What do we know, after all?  We're just a bunch of uneducated, inbred, toothless hicks, aren't we?

6.  I don't know who schedules college football games, but I'm tired of all my teams playing at the same time.  This picture is from last week, but I've got the same thing coming up this Saturday.

7.  I was watching one game on my Kindle, one on my computer, and one on the T.V.  I'm just thankful I have the technology to do that.

8.  Get her number, dude!  Folks is ready to go home!!

9.  Yes, I checked all 18 of my weather apps to see what the temperature is.  I've got four that are radar/satellite apps, and a F to C converter, for a total of 23.  I'm kinda starting to figure out why I can't find a husband. 

10.  Tomorrow I'll set off on the Great Christmas Tree Hunt.  I'll let you know how it goes.

11.  I reckon that's all for this evening.

What Was I Thinking?

When I was a kid, I always wanted to live somewhere where it was cold and snowy.  Now that I'm a little older, and hopefully wiser, days like today come along,

and I wonder "What was I thinking???"  When I got off work, my car thermometer said 38.  This is January weather, not November weather.  What happened to all that global warming we were supposed to be getting?  I was wishing I had another day off to stay home up under the covers. 

Last night Cody called to wish me a happy birthday, and we ended up talking for nearly an hour.  He said, "That's what happens when you don't keep in touch often enough."  I asked him how his job was going, and he said it's going well.  He said he's considering switching to commission only.  Right now he gets a base salary, plus commission.  It's a bit lower commission than he would get if he were commission only, but having a base salary is a bit of a safety net.  I'm a bit worried about him losing that safety net, but he's a grown man.  It's his decision.  Plus, he can always switch back if things aren't going so well.  He said he wants to make enough money that he can pay my mortgage off for me, then move me to Texas, or up to Memphis with him.  I'd be torn about that.  I really want to move back home, but at the same time, I don't want to be so far away from him.  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. 

We chatted about various other things, then I told him a story...

As many of you know, Cody is a big, big LSU fan.  For those of you who don't know, Cody is a big, big LSU fan.  He's the one who got me hooked on them as well.  I grew up a Texas fan, but Cody used to go watch LSU with James, who is a big, big LSU fan seeing as how half his family is from Louisiana. Then Cody'd come home and ask, "Mom, can we watch LSU?"  I said, "OK", and that's how I became a LSU fan -- which I am, except when they're playing Navy or Texas.

Naturally, being a big, big LSU fan, he was thrilled with the result of Saturday's game against Alabama.  We were talking about it, and I told him the aforementioned story, which I will now relate to you.

I grew up in Texas.  My uncle and his family all live in Alabama.  Every year, between Christmas and New Year's Day, they'd come to visit.  We loved it.  It was like having a second Christmas.  By and by,  we all grew up, went to college, and eventually went on our way.  My two oldest cousins both attended the University of Alabama.  The other two might have as well, but I don't really remember.  Some cousin I am, huh? 

This particular year, sometime in the early to mid 80s I reckon it was, Texas and Alabama were playing each other in some bowl game or other -- I can't recall which one right off hand, and I'm too lazy to go look it up.  You can if you want to.  It shouldn't be that hard to find.

Anyway, we were having our second Christmas dinner, in line buffet style.  My dad was standing there waiting to get his food, he turned to my cousin Diane and asked, "Are you going to come back next week and watch the Crimson Tide become the Pink Puddle?"

Cody absolutely LOVED that story.  I must remember to tell him more things about his grandfather, since doesn't remember him at all.

Finally, you know I've decided to add the fiddle to my list of instruments I'm trying to learn.  Cody had bought a violin several years ago after listening to some Vivaldi Four Seasons videos on YouTube.  It inspired him to want to learn to play.

Me, on the other hand, this is my inspiration:




What can I say?  I am who I am. 

Oh, and I haven't forgotten about your Christmas concert, either.  I've got five songs picked out that I'm learning for you. 

Change Of Plans

The plan was to get up this morning and go up to Lowe's in the next town up the road, but you know what they say about the best laid plans. 

See, I've been wanting to get a new Christmas tree for a couple of years now.  Beverly and James gave me theirs when they moved back to Texas in 2015, and it's just too big for my little living room.  Which, ironically enough, is the reason they gave it to me in the first place.  Not that it's too big for my living room, but that it was too big for theirs in their new house. 

It's a gorgeous tree, but I've always had to do some pretty serious furniture rearranging to get it into the corner there.  With my keyboard taking up a huge chunk of space in my living room now, I just don't see how it's going to fit at all.  I still want one that is 7 1/2 feet tall, just not as wide at the base.  I don't like any of the ones I've seen at Walmart.  Thus, the trip to Lowe's. 

However, last last night, my weather apps began sending me warnings that the expected rain would get here much sooner than I'd thought.  A couple of them were even saying the rain would start as early as 9:00 AM.  Most were saying it would get here about noon.  I decided eh, I'd just stay home rather than get out in it.

Wait, what?  Doesn't everybody have 23 weather apps on their phones?  They don't?  Sheesh, no wonder I can't find a husband.  Well, that and the whole not wanting one thing...

Turns out, I could have gone, because it only sprinkled for most of the day.  The rain -- the real rain-- didn't start until around 4:00 PM.  I would have been home long before then.  Oh, well.  It'll give me something to look forward to next weekend.  Which, by the way, due to judicious scheduling of my vacation time, will take place two days from tomorrow.  He he he...I just love two day work weeks!

By the way, look what they have in the forecast for us tonight. 

Snow!  In Mississippi!  In November!  If this global warming keeps up, I might have to break down and buy a parka. 

So, what did I do with my day off, since I didn't go to Lowe's?  Well, I'll tell you.  I wove a bunch more squares.

In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't do all of those today.  I did some yesterday and Saturday while watching football.  Speaking of football, how about that LSU/Alabama game?  Texas won on a last second field goal as well.  Who needs to work out?  I get my heart rate up just watching these games!

Back to today...

I watched cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies and addressed my Christmas cards.   I still have to do the wax stamps, but other than that, they are all ready to be mailed.

I'm really on the ball this year, even though I don't plan on actually mailing them for a couple of weeks.  Some years, I don't get them sent at all.  Having the stamps and sealing wax has made sending cards so much more appealing.  I'm debating on also sending cards to my overseas pen pals.  They've all stopped writing to me, so I don't know if they'd want one or not.  I probably will send them anyway.

Finally, I have heard from a much more reliable source that we are going back to 8 hour shifts when we get back to work after the New Year.  I hope and pray it's true.  Maybe then I won't be feeling so run down all the time, and the blog will get more interesting.

Until then, thank you to my three readers who still visit regularly.  You have no idea how much I appreciate you. 

I Finally Did It!

It was a bit nippy this morning when I woke up.

It was so nippy, my heater was running!  See, the space heater in the snake room isn't working right.  I think the thermostat has gone bad.  It warms up, but doesn't shut off when it gets to the set temperature, and just keeps getting hotter and hotter.  I don't trust the thing, and having no wish to burn my house down, I've unplugged it.  Until I can get a replacement, I'm keeping the central heat set at 65'.  Oh, the snakes will be OK, as long as it doesn't get below freezing in the house, but I want them to be somewhat comfortable.  Yes, I spoil my snakes. 

Speaking of snakes, I came home from work Wednesday, and there was a rather large box sitting in my car port. I got all excited for a moment, thinking someone had sent me a birthday present.  Then I remembered.  I'd ordered more snake food.  Sigh...

But I digress....

Knowing it was going to be cold this weekend, I got out yesterday and and split a bunch of firewood.  Well, not a bunch, but enough to last a few days.  Look what they're predicting for Tuesday! Kind of makes me wish I had another day off on the books.  But no, I've got to go back to work. 

Ever since I started taking all these days off this fall, I've been saying I'm going to get up and go get new glasses.  However, when my day off would roll around, I found I just couldn't get moving in the mornings.  Maybe next week, I'd tell myself.  And so it went for the last two months. 

This week rolled around, and same thing -- I had already said maybe next week, and settled in to watch cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies.  However, found myself getting bored and restless.  I couldn't watch TV.  I couldn't knit.  I couldn't play any of my instruments.  I just couldn't sit down. I figured it was God's way of telling me to go get my glasses.  And that's exactly what I did.

I went to the eye clinic next to Wal-mart, because they take walk-ins, and you know how I hate making phone calls.  I went inside and started filling out the forms.  The receptionist asks me what insurance I have, and I tell her VSP -- which is what we've had for years.  She looks me up in the system and can't find me.  I tell her I'd better be in there, because they're taking money out of my paycheck for it.  She asks where I work, and I tell her.  "Oh, they switched to EyeMed, and we don't take that insurance."  And that's how I discovered my work had changed insurance companies.  They used to have meetings to explain these things, but they don't any more.  Thanks a lot, place of employment. 

I briefly considered just having my eyes checked and paying for it, but quickly decided against it.  I'm paying all this money for vision insurance, and by golly, I'm going to use it.  I went back to my car, and while I was sitting there stewing, I figured if I'm going to have to make an appointment, I might as well go to my regular eye doctor.  They were able to get me in for yesterday (Friday) morning. 

Even though it's been five years, my eyes haven't changed that much.  I told the doctor (Dr. Kevin Braswell, for you local folks) I was having trouble seeing my piano music, and he made a slight alteration to my prescription which should help with that. 

When I went to pick out my frames, these are the ones that jumped right out at me.

I don't know how well you can see, but the top of the frames are purple.  I decided against them, however, as I couldn't see myself wearing them every day.  I chose a much more subdued pair, and they should be here in about a week.

By the way, that's what you get when you ask an INTJ to smile.  I'm convinced Mona List was also an INTJ  -- or at least an I.  Well, and the lighting in there was pretty harsh, as well. 

Now for a bit of good news:  Cody is going to get to come for Thanksgiving.  I can at least plan the meals ahead of time!  While I was sitting there in the Walmart parking lot Thursday, stewing over my insurance troubles, I said to myself, "Self, while you're here, might as well go in and get the shopping done." And that's exactly what I did. 

Y'all would be proud of me.  I walked down the Christmas candy aisle, and --get this-- I didn't buy anything!!  I was sorely tempted by the cherry cordial kisses, but I managed to resist.  I did start picking up the stuff I'll need for Thanksgiving dinner, so I won't have to buy it all at once.  I'll have two more paychecks to get the rest. 

The plant is giving us a turkey again, but I'm going to cook the one that's still in my deep freeze from last year -- you know, when I thought Cody wouldn't be able to come, so I just cooked some chicken.  I was going to save it for Christmas, but then Cody wanted to cook gumbo.  I kept saying I was going to thaw and cook it sometime during the year, but I never did.  Anyway.... I'm going be slow cooking it again this year.  I did it last year, and the turkey turned out so tender.  I'll never go back to hot cooking it.

In knitting knews --he he, see what I did there?  I finally got all my new yarn knit into my sock yarn blanket, and as promised, here is the updated photo.

Cody's bed is a double, so you can kind of get an idea of the size of it.  The original plan was to make it 12 squares by 24 squares, but laying it out like this makes me think I won't need to make it quite that big.  It's only supposed to be a throw, after all. 

In the midst of all that knitting, I made a few more Zoom Loom squares.

I reckon I'd better stop for now, before this post becomes a full length novel. 

Laters....

I Gave In

I gave in and turned on the heater this morning, but only for a few minutes.  It was down to 63 in the house, and I just didn't want to get ready for work in the cold.  Now, on the weekend, I can build a fire and huddle under a blanket until the house warms up, but on work days, that's just not feasible. 

So, all of you competing in the See How Long I Can Freeze Before Turning On The Heat competition, good luck.  I'm out.

I got to work bright and early this morning -- and I do mean bright.  It was weird going to work with the sky already beginning to get light.  I didn't like it. 

Anyway, I got there and found where they'd moved my department to.  I was hoping they'd spread us out a bit and give us more room, but noooo.  We're as squshed up as we were before.  Sigh...it's like they don't even care about employee safety -- or morale. 

The only good thing is they brought ALL of the jig racks back there to where we are.  They're still totally unorganized, but at least they're there.  We were having a problem with one of the pick lists, so Group Leader called someone down from the office to figure it out.  She asked me, "When they moved all this back here, why didn't they go ahead and organize it?"  I wanted to ask her if she'd forgotten where she works, but she's really nice, so I didn't.

There was a slight hitch in our day.  The brazer that works on the opposite side of my stand and I were leaving tons of leaks.  Naturally, Stalker and Brazing Boss got onto us for using "bad technique."  Instead of asking themselves, "What has changed that two of my best brazers are suddenly leaving a lot of leaks?"  they jump straight to bad technique. 

No, Stupid, people who've been brazing for 20 years don't suddenly forget how to use proper brazing technique.  That's like last year when they switched to a cheaper, lower quality brazing rod and everyone's leak rate skyrocketed.  They decided that every brazer in the plant started using bad technique at the same time.  Duh, the entire department didn't forget how to braze all at once. 

What it all boils down to is, if they acknowledge there is a problem, they'll have to solve it, and it's so much easier just to blame the brazers.

Back to today...a bit of sleuthing revealed that someone had turned the purge gas up full blast.  No matter how good a brazer you are, you cannot, cannot braze leak free when the inside of your header is pressurized.  We cut the gas down to the correct flow, and voila' --no more leaks.  I guess it wasn't our technique after all.  Even though that's what they're going to blame. 

Enough about work...but I don't have much else to talk about.  I got my plant shelf washed and brought inside, and my plants are all settled into their winter home.

Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting another long, snowy winter,  and I'm almost out of firewood.  I'll have to check around and see if anyone has some to sell. 

You'd Think I'd Learn

I woke up this morning to a world shimmering with with tiny diamonds on every blade of grass.

Back in the day, we'd say Jack Frost had visited during the night.  Folks don't say that much any more.  I think they should.

The world is a much better place when we add poetry to it.

Unfortunately, the frost -- while pretty to look at -- was tough on what was left of my flower bed.

Tomorrow, I'm going to get out there and pull it all up.

At least that's the plan.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Remember last week when I bought that Peppermint Bark coffee that didn't taste anything like peppermint?  Today when I was in town, I saw this:

You'd think I'd have learned from the last time, but noooo.  I had to give them a second chance.  I shouldn't have.  I made a cup as soon as I got home, and once again, it's just plain coffee.  Not a hint of peppermint flavor.

I don't understand why they'd label it as if it were flavored coffee when it's clearly not.  I also don't understand why they can't flavor it correctly.  Their Caramel Macchiato and French Vanilla flavors are delicious.  In fact, if you make the French Vanilla and add your pumpkin spice creamer to it, it's soooo good.   The vanilla makes the pumpkin spice so much richer. 

So, yesterday, I baited my little live trap and set it out near one of the chipmunk holes.  I checked it when I got up, and it hadn't been tripped.  I checked it again, a couple more times, but still nothing.  Buuuut, when I got home from running my errands in town, I let the dogs out into the back yard.  I noticed they suddenly became very interested in said trap.

Especially Rylea.  She's part hound, so she has those hunting instincts.  I had to physically pull her away from it. 

I chased them off and sure enough...there he was!

This is what has been tearing up my yard!  And my flower beds, and my old Jimmy, and everything else around here.  Kind of makes you wonder how something so cute can be so destructive, but that's what the little buggers are.  I carried the trap out into the woods, and sent the rodent to a land far, far away.  I'll re-set it in the morning, because I'm sure there is more than one. 

Speaking of being in town, I picked up a new pair of leggings on clearance.

And lastly, I'm absolutely addicted to weaving these little squares.

They are so fun and easy to do, but I've got to figure out something to do with them pretty quickly.  They're starting to take over my house. 

I've got to run, now, because Navy plays UConn tonight.  That reminds me, it's a good thing I've been setting my DVR, because last night, I completely forgot about Hallmark's new movie.  I'll be recording tonight's premier as well, because Navy. 

Laters...