Anybody Want A Cat?

 No, really...anybody want a cat?  

But seriously, last night was a bit rough.  I'd put Cutie back into the kennel for the night, and she did not like it. And she let me know just how much she did not like it.  All night long.

This morning, I got up and moved her into Cody's room so she'd have more space. 

By the time I got home from work, she had settled in right nicely.  I mean, she's still a bit unsure and confused, and I'm sure she misses Mr. Clark, but she seems much more at ease here.  I'm hoping in a few more days, maybe I can leave the bedroom door open and give her the run of the house.  If she can figure out Jesse isn't going to hurt her.  He hasn't displayed any aggression towards Cutie, but she's still not comfortable around him.  

I let her out for a while, and she's still hissing and trying to claw him, so I'll have to keep her shut in for a little while longer.  When I'm not there to referee them, I mean.  I put one of the pet gates in the door, so that even when I am home, Jesse can't get in, and she'll feel a bit safer.  Oh, and he won't be able to eat her food.  

On the way home, I stopped by the store...OK, I went several miles out of my way to go to the store... and picked her up a few toys. 

She is an outdoor cat, and obviously, I can't let her go outside right now.  If I did, she'd just run right back over to Mr. Clark's house, and we'd have to catch her again.  It took Mr. Clark's granddaughter two days to catch her the first time.  Funny how they can sense when something is up.  

But anyway, I didn't want her getting bored, so I picked up a few toys.  Really, it was two multipacks of toys, plus the big gray mouse on the right side. It's got a cavity to put catnip into it, but I haven't yet.  I will.  Someday.  Maybe even today. 

Then I got her a scratching board.

Which she has already used.  And finally, I got her a little hidey house. 

which was not nearly as easy to put together as they claimed on the label.  But it's got scratching boards on the floor of it, as well. 

Next time I go, I want to get a carpeted kind of welcome mat.  I've been wanting one to put in front of my French Doors for a while, now.  I just haven't gotten one.  Hopefully, if she's got enough things to scratch, she'll leave my furniture and my legs alone.  

New Cat

 I'd planned on getting another cat eventually.  I just didn't plan on getting one quite so soon.

As it happens, my neighbor needed a new home for his cat, so I said I'd take her.  Her name is Cutie.  Her name might not stay Cutie, but for now, that's what it is. 

I put her in the old dog kennel, because I was kind of worried about how Jesse would react, because he'd always growled at her when he saw her through the window.  Turns out, when they met face to face, he was scared of her.  

She hissed and jumped at him, and he hasn't come out of the bedroom since.  I think they'll eventually get along, and it'll be good for Jesse.  Since we lost Rylea, he has been all alone for the first time since I adopted him back in '13.  

I think I may move her to the bathroom when I go to work in the morning, so she can have access to her litterbox.  I tried to fix her a mall one up and put it into the kennel, but she dumped it out.  

In other news, I got my third stimulus last week.  As I did with the first, since I was considered essential, I put most of it into savings, but spent a bit trying to help some of these small businesses that have been struggling so hard this last year.  The first of those expenditures arrived sometime last week, but I just wasn't up to blogging about it then.

The colorway is Flickering Flame, and the shop is Ravenswood Fibers.  

And finally, look at this little surprise!

I didn't think I'd get any bluebonnets this year, but I've got one blooming!  Yay!

P.S.  Well, that escalated quickly.

Mom's Funeral

Normal blogging will resume ...eventually.  

I Needed Some Time

 

My mother lost her long battle with cancer last week, and went home to be with the Lord on March 17, 2021.  

This photo was taken last July when Cody and I went down to see her before she went to Alaska to live with my sister Deana. 

I could have sworn I blogged about the trip when it happened, but apparently I didn't.  I posted pictures on FB, but not here.  Since I've been remiss, the story is, Mom had been staying with my younger brother Scott and his wife since Hurricane Harvey destroyed her house.  Last April, they discovered her cancer had come back, in her liver this time.  

They tried to do chemo, but she had a very bad reaction to it, and that's when the doctors said there was pretty much nothing more they could do.  By that time, she'd gotten so weak, she couldn't walk across the room, even with her walker.  Since Scott and Paula work nights and sleep all day, the fear was that Mom could fall or something, and they wouldn't hear her calling for help.  So, my sister flew down and took Mom back to Alaska with her.  Since she's the only one of us who doesn't work outside the home, she could be there if Mom needed anything.  Deana had had hopes that she could get her stronger so she could try chemo again, but it was not to be.

Deana sat with her all that day, and held her hand as she breathed her last.  

They are going to have her funeral this Friday, at Deana's church in Alaska.  She will live stream it for the rest of us.  We will be having a memorial service in Texas at the end of May. 

I hope you'll forgive me for not posting about this sooner, but I needed some time. 

Thank you for understanding.  

Batten Down The Hatches

 When every single meteorologist in your news feed is warning you of this, you might ought to pay attention. 

Or as my old dad would say, "Batten down the hatches, she's a gonna blow!"  

Yes, I am smack dab in the middle of that red area.  I have my plan in place, and my weather radio programmed....I hope.  I've never quite figured out if I have my county in there right.  I don't know how to check, and I don't know how to re-set it.  I guess we'll find out. 

I'll be checking in regularly, just so's you all know I'm safe.

Well, today was the first day of my weight loss program.  I've finished watching all the videos for the week, and the basic principles seem to be very similar to the old Weigh Down Workshop program, but this one seems to be more complete.  At least as far as I can tell.  

I'm going to have to figure out how to adapt this program to my work schedule.  One thing already is throwing me.  They said most people eat breakfast out of habit, not hunger.  So, you shouldn't eat as soon as you wake up.  You should wait until you're truly hungry -- or what they call level three*.  

I can't do that.  I can't just walk away from my brazing stand and go sit in the break room for 25 minutes, leisurely eating a full breakfast.  If I don't eat before I leave the house, I don't eat until lunch time.  That's a long time to go-- from 5 AM until 11 AM without eating.  I mean, I can carry a granola bar or something, but that's not a meal, not like what they're talking about.

Then there is lunch...in the Naturally Slim program, I'm not supposed to eat until I'm at level 3 hunger.  The downside is, if I'm not at level 3 when lunch time comes, and I don't eat then, I don't eat until I get home.  It's the same as with breakfast.  I can't just go to the break room and eat when I get hungry.  I eat when the company says I eat, or I don't eat.  

Again, I can snack, but that's not a meal. 

One more thing, they want you to slow down and take your time to eat.  A meal should last at least 25 minutes.  Kind of hard to do when your lunch break is only 18 minutes long. 

It's going to take a lot of figuring out, but for now, I've got storm prep to do.  

Excited

 I have a Kindle app on my phone.  

I usually like to read during my lunch break at work, on the Kindle app on my phone.  This week, I'm reading Johnny Tremain...on my Kindle app on my phone.  So, there I was reading away, Johnny Tremian on my Kindle app on my phone when I heard a call over the loudspeaker. 

"If anyone has lost a cell phone, it's in the [temporary staffing agency] office. "

I quickly reached back and checked to see if my phone was in the pocket of my jeans I normally keep it in, and felt a brief moment of panic when I discovered it wasn't there...all the while never missing a word of the book I'm reading, Johnny Tremain, on my Kindle app...on my phone...

I don't want to talk about it. 

After much deliberation, I finally decided on a pattern for the sock I'm knitting.  The problem I'd had was the yarn is self striping, and the colors are pretty bold.  I was afraid any pattern would get lost in the bright colors.  I can't wear plain stockinette socks, because of my absurdly skinny ankles.  They don't stay up.  I almost settled for doing 2 x 2 ribbing all the way down, but wasn't too thrilled with that option, either.  One evening, I was looking through one of the books my friend sent me last week, and that's when I saw it.  It's so simple, I wonder I didn't think of it before. 

A garter rib.  

It's plain enough that it doesn't get obscured by the colors of the yarn, but interesting enough that it isn't....plain.  I'm actually almost excited about this one. 

I'm also excited about what I saw coming up in my front flower bed:

If it is what I'm hoping it is...

What I'm not too excited about is my weight loss program.  I was hoping it would be different, but after watching the first few videos, I'm not so sure.  Now, I've only just begun, and haven't even finished the first week's lessons, but what I'm getting is...no breakfast, nothing but water to drink, and only two meals per day.  Yeah, no wonder you lose weight.  You're starving all the time!

I'm going to try to stick with it a little longer, but I don't see it ending well.  Eh, maybe it'll get better as I go along.  

But I doubt it.  

New Things

 I love getting surprises in the mail.  That's not a hint.  I just love getting surprises in the mail.  

That's not what happened this time, though.  I got stuff in the mail, but none of it was a surprise.  I knew it was all coming.  Doesn't make it any less exciting.  OK, a little less exciting, but still...Don't listen to me.  I'm sleep deprived.  

All righty, then...

 Let's start with this:  

It's my welcome kit from my weight loss program that starts Monday.  And inside was:

a packet of peanuts and some Pringles.  We're supposed to eat them during an exercise in week one.  I'm not sure how that's going to work out, since I don't really like either.  Oh, I'll eat chips from time to time, but they aren't my favorite snack.  It also has a tape measure and a wrist band. And a book, which I haven't looked at yet.  

On to thing two:  Not nearly as exciting, but necessary.  A new mulch cover for my lawn mower.

My old one broke sometime last summer, but I just now got around to ordering a new one.  I was going to install it yesterday after work.  I'd even looked up a how-to video on YouTube.  Alas, when I got home, I was tired, and just didn't do it.  Maybe tomorrow.  I need to get these weeds cut before they set seed.

On that same topic, I'd ordered some Weed & Feed from Walmart.com, but they cancelled my order, saying the seller hadn't given them a shipping date or something.  They have some at the local WM, but it's been sitting outside in the rain for a week, and has turned to one solid brick of clay like substance.  Maybe I'll try Tractor Supply or the hardware store...

Lastly, but certainly not leastly, one of my knitting friends decided to de-stash her knitting books and offered some of them to me.  And here they are, in no particular order:

I haven't had time to really look through them yet, but I hope to this weekend.  

I have some bad news...I'm not sure Stalker got that job after all.  I'd asked one of my coworkers when he was supposed to start it, and she said he'd told her they're waiting on some paperwork from Dallas.  Then she told me a little later that she'd overheard him telling someone else that it might be a while before he goes up there (to the other job).  She said he turned around and saw her, and walked away really fast.  She expects him to come back and say it all fell through.  Me, I don't think he got the job in the first place.  As much as he lies, nobody believes anything he says anyway.  

Sigh.. and I was so hoping he'd go away...

Well, I'd had a nice, long eloquent post all planned out for you, but it doesn't look like you're going to get one.  My brain is tired.  I'm going to go take a bath, practice my piano, then go to bed.  

Good night. 

Masks Or No Masks

"Becky, are you working Sunday?"  my coworker asked.

"No!" I replied.  "Last night I went to bed and dreamed about going to bed.  I'm tired!"   So, when you dream about what you desire most, it's best to take a day off and get some sleep.  

Last week, the governor lifted our COVID restrictions completely.  

Now, for a point of clarification, we did not have a state wide mask mandate.  We did for a bit last summer, but he lifted it after only a couple of weeks.  What he'd done here, after consulting with state health officer Dr. Dobbs, and state epidemiologist Dr. Byers, was to institute a threshold.  I don't remember the exact numbers, though I should.  He told them to us every single press conference.  It was a certain number of cases per 100,000 population.

If your county has less than 100K people, well, then you have to do math.

Anyway, they'd set the threshold, and if a county met it, that county would go under a mask mandate.  Once the county dropped below that threshold, the mandate was lifted.  As of last Wednesday, all 82 Mississippi counties were below the threshold, so all 82 counties came off of the mask mandate.  

He'd been under tremendous pressure these last few months to reinstate a state wide mask mandate, but he'd refused.  He said, "If you look at the other states that do have mandates, their numbers aren't any better than ours, and in some cases, they're worse."  Still, even going county by county, we almost had a state wide mandate at one point -- last month when 75 of our 82 counties met the threshold. 

He'd also been under pressure to put the state under a total lockdown, but he'd refused that, too.  He said, "Every business is essential to those who depend on those paychecks to feed their families." He'd put capacity restrictions in place, and those were also lifted last Wednesday.  

He'd said all along that the goal was not to get rid of the virus, because that's just not realistic. His goal was to protect the health care system, and honey, it got pretty rough there for a while.  For several months, there were no beds available.  None.  They were stacking them like cordwood in the hallways, and converting ERs to COVID wards.  There was even talk about converting National Guard Armories into field hospitals, but thankfully, it never got that bad.  They were for a while, having to send people to other states --Florida, Georgia, and Missouri to be specific-- to find available beds for them.  But now, with the drop in cases, our hospitalizations are also down, so no more restrictions.  

All that being said, the governor has lifted COVID restrictions, but Lennox has not.  Up until now, they'd required either masks, or face shields.  Today, they put out that if you chose to wear a face shield, you will also have to wear a mask under it.  The face shield people aren't going to be happy about that.  But the virus is still going around.  One of my coworkers just came down with it, and another one just came back this week after having had it.

Oh, that reminds me...it's almost mowing season, so I need to order me some N95 masks.  I'm so allergic to grass, if I don't wear a mask to mow, it'll be three days before I can breathe right again.  That's also how I know they don't reduce your oxygen intake or cause permanent brain damage.  If they did, I'd have been a drooling vegetable years ago.  

Some of y'all been getting your science off Facebook...

One last thing before I go, it appears Stalker got that job in the lab.  The girl who told me that also said, "It makes me sick to think he got that job, but at least he'll be away from us."  She also told me that only three people had even applied.  I wonder who the other two are, that STALKER is the best qualified.  

Oh, and Walmart finally has bird seed back in stock!  I'd bought some before the ice storm, and they went through that whole bag in a week.  I was feeding them pretty heavy, though, to help them stay warm.  I guess everyone in town was, too, because WM has been out since then.  

First thing I did when I got home was fill up all three of my feeders to the top.  I know my birds will appreciate that. 

And probably the squirrels, too. 

Well, Poop!

 All day yesterday, I was so excited.  I was looking forward to coming home after work and starting my weight loss program.  At long last, the interminable work day ended, and home I rushed.  I booted up my computer and logged into the website...and there it was at the bottom:  "Your program starts March 15th"

Well, poop!  

I knew that.  I don't know why I thought it started this week, but it looks like I'm going to have to wait until next Monday.  Oh, well, it'll give me a chance to eat up the last of the Christmas cookies I'd taken out of the freezer.

Speaking of, at my last dentist appointment back in August, Dr. Moody told me I had a tooth that was "ditching out."  It was one I'd had a crown on since I was 19, and though I'm not completely sure what ditching out is, the long and the short of it is, he said I'd eventually lose the tooth and there was nothing at this point we could do to stop it.  

Eventually happened Sunday.  But what does that have to do with Christmas cookies?  This:  I was eating one when the tooth finally came loose.  Honestly, I think I would have lost it sooner if the dentist hadn't put a post into the root when I had it root canalled and the crown replaced back in 2007.  Ish. I suppose I'll have to call the dentist and get my partial updated.  Right now, I'm thinking I'll wait until the pandemic is over.  I mean, it's not like I can do any more damage, right?  

I probably ought to get him to remove the root, too, but I keep holding out hope that one day I can afford to get implants.  Sigh...why couldn't I have been born rich instead of lovable?

All righty, then...

I'll tell you one thing I need to get better at, and that is keeping up with household chores during the work week.  Stuff like washing dishes, doing laundry, sweeping.  That sort of thing.  When you're working 10 hour shifts, it's so easy to come home and say, "I'm going to sit down for just a minute, then get up and do..." whatever it is I need to be doing.  But before you know it, it's bedtime, and I haven't done anything.  So, stuff gets put off.  I need to stop that, so that my day of rest can actually be a day of rest.  Instead of catching up on housework, I can watch movies and knit.

While we're on the subject of knitting, I finally cast on that ball of yarn I'd pulled out of the closet last week.  

I don't know why, but for some reason, I'd decided I needed to knit an entrelac scarf out of it.  I got this far, and realized it just wasn't going to happen. 

Asking myself, "What was I thinking?"  I started ripping it all out.  You know, I didn't think acrylic yarn would felt, but this stuff did.  OK, it wasn't true felting, just a bit of pilling, but it grabbed that yarn and would not let it go.  Alas, it didn't take long until the yarn broke.  

 Frustrated, I just threw the whole thing in the trash and went to bed.  

After a somewhat mediocre night's sleep, I thought better of it, and pulled the knotted up yarn out of the trash basket --  it's mostly candy wrappers and yarn scraps in that one -- and got back to work on it.  With a little time, a little perseverance, and more than a few unwholesome words for which I had to repent, I got it all untangled and wrapped into a little ball. 

It was at this point I copped out and cast on my old standard Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf.

One of these days, I'm going to find a new scarf pattern.  

Today is not that day.  

 

Hugs Are Stupid

 I know you've seen them...those memes all over Facebook.  The ones that say, "I just need someone to hug me..."  

Not me.  I think hugs are stupid. Hugs are useless.  

Hugs are a way for you to show me you care without actually putting any effort into showing me you care.  Hugging me may make you feel magnanimous, but they don't do a thing for me.  They don't accomplish anything.  If you really want to show me you care, there are lots of better ways to do it. 

Cut my grass

Air up my tires

Take the car in for an oil change

Fix my washing machine

And the wonky drawer in the kitchen

Do the little things 

The little things to lift some of the burden off of me

Take the trash out

Let the dog out.  And in.  And out.  And in.  And out... and so on

Wash a dish or two

Sweep the floor

Cut the privet out of my back fence

And the dead spots out of my roses

Fix the hole in the laundry room wall

And my plumbing.

Replace the broken windows in my house

Build me a mantle

Split some firewood

Deal with these contractors so they won't rip me off because I'm "just a dumb female who won't know any better."

There are a million little things you can do to show me you care.

Just don't give me a hug.

Hugs are stupid.   

The Thirteenth Day

The blog will be observing a day of silence in memory of those brave men who fell 185 years ago today.

Remember them.  

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I Got In!

 I got the email today.  I got in to the weight loss program!  

I'm still not quite sure what it's all about, but from what I understand, they'll post several brief videos every Monday, and I can watch them at my convenience during the week.  They're supposed to teach me the skills I need lose weight and keep it off, without counting calories or eating bland, boring food.  We'll see how it goes, and I'll be sure to keep you updated.

I had a pleasant surprise earlier this week.  I looked across the street at my neighbor's yard, and the jonquils are blooming!   

It's finally starting to feel like spring.  Even so, I've been buying up the fake firewood from the clearance aisle just in case.  It was Easter Sunday last year when I lost electricity for 4 days, and it turned cold the next day.  Thank goodness for my neighbors who gave me some leftover firewood.  I'm ready for it, this time around.  But hopefully, I won't need it.  My governor is fond of saying, "Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and expect somewhere in between."  Sound advice, if ever I heard any. 

I guess that's about it for today.  I'm still getting used to having to get up an hour earlier, and my brain just feels numb, so I won't be boring you any more tonight.  

But I can't leave you without your Texas History moment:  

Spring! And Day Eleven

 I knew right away what kind of day it was going to be when I finished brushing my teeth and walked back into the kitchen.  I didn't hear the familiar burbling of the coffee maker, and my first thought was, "Oh, no!  I forgot to start the coffee again!"  

But as I walked closer, I saw the light was on.  I had started it.  Huh, I thought, it must have finished brewing really fast.  However, when I pulled my mug out to add the sugar and cream, it was filled with plain water.  Confused, I opened the top...and the coffee grounds were bone dry.  

That's when it hit me.  Last night, I'd been so tired, I'd filled the mug -- but hadn't put the water into the coffee maker.  And that, friends, sealed my decision not to sign up to work Sunday.  Which I didn't do.  

As if that weren't enough, when I got home, I emptied my lunch box, and thought I put my Dr Pepper into the fridge.  Turns out, I didn't.  

Don't even ask...

But some good news!  I heard from my friend who has the COVID.  They'd had a few rough days -- her, her husband, and her mother who lives with them --, but they're all on the mend now.  I'd gotten a wee bit concerned when I hadn't heard from her in almost a week, and I'm so relieved to hear they're doing better.  

Speaking of COVID, the guys did a video on herd immunity.  

For those of you who may not know, herd immunity is achieved when so many people, either through exposure or vaccination, have developed immunity to a disease that it's not so easily transmitted.  How much immunity that is varies depending on who you ask, and which disease you have, but it varies anywhere from 60% - 95% of a population.  The consensus for COVID-19 is 60% - 75%.  

Now, this is my completely unprofessional, non medical, totally my own opinion opinion, but I think we might already be there.  At least here in Mississippi, I think we might have achieved herd immunity already, which is why the numbers of new cases has dropped so drastically lately.  Here is why I think so:

Mississippi has a population of approximately 3,000,000 people, pending census results.  We've had a total number of 296,154 COVID cases as of 3:00 PM March 3, 2021.  Of this number, 6764 have died.  which means 289,390 people have immunity from contracting and recovering from the virus.

Mississippi has as of 8:00 AM this morning, March 4, 2021, is reporting that 690,874 vaccine doses have been administered.  Of those reported doses, 247, 339 people have confirmed receiving both vaccine doses, and are considered fully immunized, and 443,535 are at least partially immune.  In addition to this, according to state health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting the vaccine does prevent transmission of the virus.

That gives us a total of 732,925 at least partially immune citizens, or 24.4% of the population.  

Now, add to that, the fact that a percentage of people have contracted the virus, but did not get sick from it, therefore were not tested, nor counted in the case numbers. We may never know that number, but in some studies it's been estimated to be as high as 45%.  

Add one more factor:  those who've already got natural immunity due to exposure to one of the other coronavirus variants.  Again, we may never know without mass testing what this number is. 

Adding 24 plus 45 and you get...69% of the population of MS.  That's herd immunity, or at least very close to it.  

Again, this is just my non medical opinion, so take that for what it's worth, but I think it may be almost over.  

BTW, I'm now eligible to get the vaccination, but I'm going to have to discuss the risks with my doctor, due to certain allergies I have.  I was advised not to get the flu shot, due to my egg allergy, but my reactions to it (before I knew I had allergies) were -- although uncomfortable-- never life threatening.  I'll have to do more research, then call my doctor to talk it over with him.   

And finally, it's the Eleventh day of the siege:

Jesse On Day 10

 As most of you know, I lost my other dog Rylea back in December.  I'd gotten her from the pound way back in '07.  I had no idea what breed she was, but I suspect she was part lab.  It's pretty common for labs to struggle with maintaining their weight, and Ry was no exception.  I'd kept her on weight management food for most of her adult life, and because she and Jesse tended to eat out of each other's bowls, I just gave him the same food.  

After she died, I decided Jesse didn't really need to be on weight management, so I cancelled that subscription (I'd had to order it online after our local WM stopped carrying it), and bought him a bag of Kibbles n Bits.  Mainly because I had an ibotta rebate for it.  

Jesse doesn't like the bits.      

He'll eat the kibble, but leaves the bits.  Silly dog!  So, we're still searching for a dog food for him.  I got him some Gravy Train to try next.  We'll see.  

You'd think a dog who spent so much of his young life starving wouldn't be so picky, but he is. Oh, well, we'll keep trying until I find something he likes.  

Oh, and another thing, I'd bought Rylea a dog bed as she started aging.  When she was still alive, Jesse would sleep on it any time she wasn't using it.  Now that she's gone, he won't touch it.  I'm not sure what that's all about.

I'm still debating whether I want to work Sunday or not.  One minute, I'm rearing to go and sign up.  The next, I'm not so sure.  A few years back, I'd have signed up already, but I'm getting too old to be working all these hours.  The money is nice, but man am I tired!

Speaking of, I still need to practice my piano and take a bath, so here is your Texas history moment for today:

And with that, I'll bid you bonne nuit.  

Independence Day

 It's Independence Day!  In more ways than one!  

On this day in 1836, the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed in a one room cabin in Washington-On-The-Brazos.  I'm not going to post the text again, but if you want to read it, you can find it online anywhere.  I've even posted it on the blog a few times. 

And the brave men at the Alamo never even knew it had been signed.  

In a move that seems fitting, Texas governor Greg Abbot announced today that starting next week Texas would be open 100%.  No more mask mandates, no more capacity restrictions, no more lockdowns. 

Even better news, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced that Mississippi would also be lifting all restrictions, including county mask mandates, starting tomorrow!  The bad news is, we're still under a city mask ordinance.  I'm not holding my breath on the city council --otherwise known as King Louis and The House Of Lords -- lifting that one any time soon.  And as far as I know, we'll still have to wear them at work.  I'll keep you updated.  

Nevertheless, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and a real hope that this pandemic could be over soon.  In the meantime, we still need to be careful.  Wash your hands often.  Get the vaccine if you can.  Listen to real doctors and not Facebook memes...that kind of thing.  

Last Friday, one of my very dearest friends posted that she and her husband both have the COVID.  I'm kind of worried, because I haven't heard from her since.  She's not on a lot, but still, an update would be appreciated.  So, if you're reading this, let me know how you are doing!  You know who you are.  

And finally, look at this!  Women's flannel lounge pants!

What's so amazing about that?  They have functional pockets!!!!  Did you hear me??  FUNCTIONAL POCKETS!!!  It's so hard to find women's clothing with functional pockets.  I feel like I hit the jackpot.  

Well, I guess that's about all I have for today, and 3:30 AM comes mighty early.  Besides that, I still have to practice my piano, so laters peeps.  

What Was I Thinking On Day Eight

 What if they held a hiring event and nobody came?

The plant was supposed to hold a hiring event last week, and I wonder if anyone even showed up.  They sure haven't brought any new employees through lately.  I was asking another coworker if she'd seen any, and she said she hadn't, either.  Maybe nobody came. I'm not sure if they're still getting the extra unemployment from the COVID relief, but that could be why.  Temps only make $8 per hour, so they'd make more money sitting at home collecting unemployment.   In the meantime:  

Me:  Man, these long hours are killing me!  I'm so tired!

Also me:  Sure, I'll start coming in at 5:00.  

Yep, I am back on 10 hour shifts starting tomorrow.  This is making me seriously re-think my decision to sign up for a few Sundays, though.  When it was 9 hour shifts I was on, sure, but these 10 hour shifts really take it out of you.  Sometimes, I wonder what I was thinking when I said I'd come in.  Then I remember, I'm broke and need the money.  

Oh, and by the way, The Boss Who Must Not Be Named came in Saturday and cleaned out his upstairs office, and moved back up into the front office.  He's no longer our Boss...Who Must Not Be Named.  Now, he's just another front office guy.  Other Boss is now our Boss.  I guess that makes him just Boss, now.  

All righty, then.  Moving right along...

As most of you know, I'm an avid knitter.  And as such, I have multiple projects going on at the same time.  In the past, I've had as many as --well, a bunch.  Not so much any more.  In addition to my two sock yarn blankets, 

I've got a scarf, 

a pair of socks, 

another pair of socks, 

and another scarf I'm working on. 

Note:  these are just my active projects.  I've got a few more packed away that I'm not working on at the moment.  Maybe someday, I'll get back to them, but for now, they're marinating.  

So, what did I do yesterday when I was in my craft room?  I pulled this one out of the closet and said, "This needs to be a scarf."  

What was I thinking?  

I'll let you know how it goes. 

One more thing before I leave you with your Texas history moment.  I gave up on getting used to my My Pillow.  They say its supposed to never go flat.  Well, I must have been doing something wrong, because mine would be -- as we used to say in Texas -- "flatter'n a flitter" within moments.  Literally.  It would be like I didn't have a pillow at all.  I'd have to wake up two or three times a night, just to fluff it back up.  

Finally, last night, I dug my old, cheap Walmart pillow back out of the closet and slept all night for the first time since I bought that really expensive pillow.  

Eh, maybe Cody will like it.