No, as a matter of fact, I am not gazing longingly up at you.
I'm trying to look at the clock. Which is hanging on the wall. Right behind your gigantic head.
So, you can stop panting like an over eager puppy every time I glance in your general direction.
It's not you. Really. It's not.
Thank you.
That is all.
This has been the worst day ever!
My absolute all time favorite supervisor retired today. At the end of the shift, he walked around saying goodbye to all the employees. I turned to my coworker and said, "I feel like I want to cry!"
We're going to miss him out there, but I'm so happy for him. I know he'll be spending his days doing exactly what he wants to be doing -- spending time with his family, and fishing.
After he'd passed through our department, I said, "I feel like we should give him one of those last call thinks, like the police do when one of them retires." So we got someone to get on the P.A. and give him a shoutout. She told him to go find his favorite fishing bank and get on it.
I'm sure he appreciated that.
Even though he's got a boat...
Then I get home and turn on the governor's press conference, and he makes the announcement that MEMA director Greg Michel is retiring. Sigh... just shoot me now.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm sure his replacement will also do an outstanding job, but Mississippi has had a rough year this last year. A very rough year -- from historic flooding in the Delta, to killer tornadoes, to a record setting hurricane season, and all in the midst of a global pandemic. Through it all, Col. Michel has been a rock.
To put the final stake through my heart, Fakebook is cancelling Mike Rowe's Returning The Favor series.
And with that, I think I'm going to go to bed early and get this day over with as soon as possible.
Good night.
Sometime during the workday today, I remembered what it was I was going to tell you yesterday. And that something is as follows.
My weather radio works.
You remember the weather radio my friend Kristine sent me for Christmas? Yeah, it works. Night before last, we had some severe weather come through, and let me tell you, that alarm is loud. With a capital L.
The only thing, I've got to figure out how to set my locations better. The tornado warning that set my alarm off was for Alabama. I have to set it for my county, and the surrounding counties. I don't really need to know about tornadoes in Alabama.
I mean, I do, but I don't need the alarm going off for them.
Oh, and by the way, a tornado did touch down in Alabama, thus marking our entry into spring tornado season...
Joy, joy...
I also remembered I was going to tell you I cut off my Frendly TV. I'm trying to trim expenses, and I'll probably only watch that one for the Hallmark Christmas movies. However, when I went to my account on the website, I discovered I'm paid up through mid- July. I forgot I'd bought the annual package. When I turn it back on, I might go for the month to month. I'll turn it on at the end of October, and back off sometime in January -- once I've watched everything I DVRed.
That's about it for the catching up, so here are the promised photos of one of my sock yarn blankets.
It's gotten so big, I have to hold the camera way up over my head to get a picture. I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to make it. At least a few more rows for sure.
On a related note, I think I'm going to start saving up for a new DSLR. Or maybe I won't. I just ran over and checked prices. Whooo boy!
I guess I'll have to wait a little longer on that...
Bummer.
Once again, I sit here trying desperately to remember what it was I was going to blog about. I had it all planned out at work, but now I can't remember what it was...I haven't been sleeping well lately, so I blame sleep deprivation.
I do remember I was going to talk about my frustration trying to find new blue jeans for work. I've worn the same style of jeans for --oh, it's got to be 20 years now. They're comfortable. They fit well, and I like them. Unfortunately, they stopped making them a few years back. I've managed to find some from companies who still had some in stock, but they're getting harder and harder to find. Since they're discontinued, the ones who do have them want beaucoup bucks for them. The cheapest I've found is $50 - $60. I can't afford to pay that.
I've tried other styles of jeans, but they just don't fit right. I'm going to have to break down and get used to something else, though, as I'm down to only two pair that could still be considered decent. The trouble is twofold. 1) It's hard to find 100% cotton jeans that don't cost an arm and a leg, and 2) So many of them don't have functional pockets.
Why on earth do clothing designers think women don't need pockets????
I guess that's what I'm going to have to do with my next paycheck. Wish me luck.
I got a sympathy card from the vet today.
I started collecting hot teas several years ago.
This isn't even all of it. These are just the caffeine free varieties. I've got more. I lot more.
I don't know why I have so much tea. I seldom drink it. But I decided over the weekend I was going to start.
See, every year along about this time of year, I develop a terrible cough. I really believe the cold air has a lot to do with it, because my cough is so much worse when it's cold outside. I'm not sure if it's the temperature, or that the air is so much drier, or what.
I've discovered that hot tea is very soothing to my cough -- no matter what variety. I'm determined to drink more of it.
Besides, I feel it's better for my body than cokes or chocolate milk.
In other news, I'm busy knitting all the yarn my friend Leann sent me into my blankets. I'll have pictures for you soon.
For now, that's about all I've got. I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging every day, even if there's not a whole lot to talk about.
Because I simply can't think of one.
I've been having a hard time blogging lately, because there just doesn't seem to be that much to talk about. I'm going to try to do better, though, and be more consistent with my blogging. It may be boring, but I need to get back into the habit.
So, what shall we talk about today? Oh, yeah, I know.
We've had another positive COVID case in the department. Of course, I won't tell you who it is to protect the person's privacy, and most of you won't even know that person anyway, but let's just say, by the time all the dust settled, several people had been put into quarantine, including both the group leader and the back-up group leader. We were leaderless.
The supervisor came around and asked one of the brazers who she thought would be a good person to fill in for the next two weeks, and you'll never guess who she told him. Or rather, who she didn't tell him. Would make a good fill in group leader...
If you said Stalker, give yourself a cookie.
I know that had to burn him up, because before he got his demotion, he fancied himself to be our group leader -- or even worse, one of the supervisors. He even told me once, "Me and the other supervisors..." in a conversation. I'm sure he's seething at being passed over like that...
And, just in case you're wondering, she didn't recommend me, either. I had to be a group leader for a few days years and years ago. The regular group leader was out having surgery, and the powers that be decided they needed the back up group leader for some sort of scrap survey thing. The supervisor came to me and said, "You're going to be group leader for the week. Run the department." No training, no instruction, no advice whatsoever. I had to wing it.
Good thing I'm good at winging things.
Nevertheless, I hated doing it, so I'm glad they didn't pick me this time.
Let's see, what else has been going on?
I'd been practicing my piano lately, and noticed a strange rattling sound as I struck the keys. "Oh, no!" I thought, "My new keyboard is falling apart already." Nevertheless, I kept on practicing over the next few days, determined to keep playing until it as long as it would play.
Last night, I finally figured out what the problem was. Do you see it?
It's the clip I use to hold my music books open. I've been laying it down on the keyboard, and the vibrations cause it to rattle. I'm kind of embarrassed at how long it took me to figure it out.
I blame sleep deprivation.
Speaking of sleep, I needed a new pillow and decided to splurge.
Normally, I'd never allow myself such an extravagance, because they're not cheap, but Mike Lindell has come under fire from the woke scold Karens, and we need to stand up for these solid conservative businesses. It's taken a minute to get used to it, but I think it'll be a comfortable pillow once I break it in.
Besides that, inside the box, I found this:
I'm sure you all will be pleased to know that, even though I had to stay up until nearly midnight last night, the last of the yarn barf has been untangled, and the yarn has been wound into a nice, neat, center pull cake.
You will further be pleased to know some of it has been knit into a blanket square.
Some of you will be also be pleased to know I've figured out how to move my 401(k) out of the stock market and into bonds, in anticipation of the coming economic crash. I still need to figure out how to switch future contributions, but I'll work on that later. Too much financial planning strains my brain. All I know is, I've seen some of the incoming administration's proposals, and times are about to get tough. Very tough.
We are definitely in the Weak Men Make Hard Times arc of the cycle.
Still others of you will be pleased to know that I did more than just sit around watching movies and knitting today. Well, I did laundry and washed the dishes, but there's nothing exciting about that. And I cleaned a couple of snake tanks, which is only marginally more exciting.
But something exciting did happen today. Something exciting and more than just a bit creepy. And that exciting, but creepy thing that happened is as follows.
When I was a child, my Mammaw had this music box that she put out at Christmas. It was shaped like a church, complete with stained glass windows -- which were really plastic. It had a light inside, and when you wound it up, it played Silent Night.
I loved that music box. Every time we went over to her house, the first thing I did was to run over and wind it up. (The second thing I did was to rearrange her Nativity scene so that all the wise men could see the baby Jesus, but that's a different story for a different day. ) One year, when I was about 5 or 6, she bought me my own little music box, shaped like a pipe organ, that played Silent Night. I still have it.
Admittedly, it is a little worse for the wear, as several of the bits have broken off. One of the cherubs is completely gone, and the other has lost his wings. The angel playing the organ is missing one wing, and the little candles are also missing. But it still plays.
I keep it stored away in a drawer in Cody's room.
Well, this morning, as I was getting up to let Jesse out, I heard something. Something that sounded an awful lot like a music box playing Silent Night. Curious, I followed the sound. To Cody's room. To the drawer. And the music box stored there...
It had, completely of its own volition, suddenly started playing.
Nothing at all spooky about that....but I think I may need to start looking for a new house.
Yes, we finally got some snowfall here in the middle of nowhere MS.
I woke up this morning to NO doggie poop in my bedroom floor, so YAY!!
Last night, after I posted, Jesse started picking at the food I'd been given by the vet. He'd nibble a bit, then go lay down. Later, he'd come back and eat a bite more. It took a while, but he eventually ate the whole can of food. So Yay!
This morning, I fed him a second can. He absolutely gobbled it down, and looked for more. I was even able to smoosh a little of the food around his pills to make it easier for him to take. Again, when I got home, I gave him the third can. He ate it and looked for more. I waited a couple of hours and gave him the last can. Now, he seems to be back to normal.
I guess all he needed was a little help breaking out of the vicious cycle he was in. So Yay!
(This was a few years ago, when I drew eyebrows on him. I don't think he was impressed. But isn't he adorable?)
Out at work, they're trying to start up a third shift. I don't know why. It never works, and after a couple of years, they shut it back down. The last time they had a third shift, the supervisor told me once that his average absentee rate was up around 40%, and he had to get people from 2nd shift to stay over, an people from 1st shift to come in early just so he could run his lines. Be that as it may, they're doing it again.
We were kind of excited about this, because Stalker was going to have to go to be their brazing trainer. Now, we find out he isn't. He was just going to be a regular brazer, so he said he wasn't going to go. We were all looking forward to getting rid of him. So, Darn. Heh, maybe I'll go to third shift. That'll show him.
Who knows, though? They may make him go anyway.
It wouldn't break my heart if they did.
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,
I've long since given up trying to find an explanation for such things.
What can I say? I am who I am.
