All Done

Just like that, I am all done with my Christmas decorations for the year.  

I got up this morning and drove into town to do my weekly shopping, stopping by the town square on the way to see the big Christmas tree they put up a few days ago.  They didn't put it up last year, but I don't know why.  I think the city council had something to do with it.

You know, we were in the running to get an Academy Sporting Goods store here, but half of the council members didn't even show up to the meeting to discuss the matter.   Batesville has one.  Batesville is growing and thriving and their city council has forward vision, unlike ours.  For the entire 30 odd years I've lived here, I thought Batesville was bigger than Grenada, but it's not.  They're about half the size of our town, but you wouldn't know it to look at their downtown and business districts.  

Oh well, it is what it is, and Grenada will never grow and prosper until we get it through people's heads that they can't keep voting for the same old same old and expect things to change. 

Wow, that was quite the tangent I got off onto, so let's get back on track.  I went into the store and sure enough, they had two more boxes of the large lights I needed to finish my house.  

I bristled a bit at the thought of paying full price, because I normally buy this kind of stuff on clearance after Christmas.  But I wanted to finish my house more than I wanted to keep that $3.00 and change, so I bought them, and it didn't take but a minute to string them along the rest of my house. 

I'm telling ya, having a taller ladder made it so much easier to do.  With my old ladder, I had to stretch to reach the hooks, but this was a breeze.  

Then I got the three strings of smaller lights and looped them along my fence.  

I'm thinking next year, I might try looping a little outdoor safe garland along that fence as well.  That ought to give it a nice festive look.  The last piece of the puzzle was these little light up candles. 

I'd been looking at them in the store for a few weeks, debating whether to get them or not, and I finally gave in.  I was bummed when I opened them to discover that they are strung together with wires that lead to an external battery pack.  The photo on the box doesn't show any wires, so I thought each one had it's own internal battery compartment.  That was a bit of a disappointment, but not enough to take them back....So, what are you supposed to do with that battery pack?  I've got mine just sitting on the porch for now.  

It's supposed to be waterproof, so I may just tuck it into the grass beside the first candle.  Now, as of this writing, I'm just waiting for it to get dark so I can turn them on.  They're supposed to be on a timer -- six hours on and 18 hours off.  

In other news, I slept pretty good last night.  In fact, I fell asleep at half time in the Texas vs Texas A&M game.  I woke up just in time to see the last five minutes of the game, so I knew who won.  Even so, I watched the second half this morning before I went into town, and now, the debate is raging over whether Texas should have a spot in the playoff picture.  

Some are saying they should, other are saying a three loss team shouldn't be in the playoffs.  If won/loss record is the criterion, then Navy is sitting there at 9-2, and they aren't even ranked.  Others are saying you have to look at strength of schedule, and if Texas had scheduled a cupcake for their first game like most teams do instead of playing the defending national champion, they'd already be in, and Arch would be a Heisman contender.  His stats are almost identical to Julian Sayin, yet Sayin is the favorite, and Arch is considered a flop.  

Meanwhile, we're still waiting to see what Lane Kiffin is going to do...

But I digress....again...

I did not sleep well at Cody and Brennan's house, and not just because it's a strange bed.  They live right down the street from a fire station, so there were sirens going off all night long.  Not to mention that they keep later hours than I do.  They started -- STARTED -- a movie at 9:45.  I guess they aren't used to having guests in the house, because they didn't even try to be quiet.  

All that to say, I was plumb tuckered when I got home yesterday.  I guess it's a good thing my new case of coffee pods arrived.  

You know what?  I really wish they'd sell that hot chocolate separately, because that chocolate cherry is good.  Really good.  I'd buy a case just of that.  If they sold it that way.  But they don't.  Pity.  Oh, and my new advent calendar arrived, too.   

Just a plain chocolate one.  I'd bought Cody and Brennan an escape room advent game on clearance last year.  I thought it would be a fun thing for them to do together, instead of just getting a piece of candy.  Brennan seemed pretty excited about it when I showed her, so I hope they enjoy it.  

And finally, I said I was going to slow down my spending, but I keep finding things I need.  For years, I'd had a blanket hung between my kitchen and laundry room, because the previous owners had taken the door down.  

They had a thing about doors.  I'd wanted to put one back up, but my washing machine made that very difficult, especially after I got the new one a few years back.  It's too big to allow a door to close.  The only realistic option would be to block this door off, then use the one in the car port to enter and exit the laundry room, but I like not having to go outside, especially since I'm also using it as a pantry.  Thus, the blanket. 

So, I was on Amazon and saw one of those suggested for you things showing privacy curtain used for a door.  

Hmmm, that's a good idea, I thought right before adding to my cart.  Now I have a curtain for a laundry room door.  It's a lot better than that blanket, because I can push it open instead of having to fight my way through a blanket. 

And when I'm done, I pull it across the door, and it blocks the sunlight and keeps the heat from the dryer out of the main part of the house. 

It's the little things...

Unexpected Half Day Off

I am a bit behind on my blogging, or rather the stuff I want to blog about, but there is a good reason for that.  I felt it was important to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy, and it deserved a bit more than an "Oh yeah" at the end of a post.  

Thus, this post might be a little bit long, but I hope not too terribly boring.  

So there I was yesterday at work, just a working away when the lights went out.  Not just the lights.  Everything cut off.  Even the emergency lights were off.  It was pitch black in there.  The only light we had was from the lit brazing tips.  It was downright spooky.  

Fortunately, the lights came back on pretty quickly, at least up in the component area.  They were still off back in the back.  But they were the only thing that was on.  We had no electricity anywhere else.  We couldn't run machines, or our fans, or even strike our tips.

About 15 minutes later, Inspector Gadget came around the corner and called, "Everybody clock out and go home!"  He didn't have to tell me twice!  The only downside is a short paycheck, but that's why I get all the overtime when it is available -- so I'll have savings built up for days like this. 

Anyway, it took forever to get out of the parking lot, because they couldn't even open the exit gate, and everyone had to go out the entrance, which is only one lane wide.  But get out I eventually did, and ... got caught by a freight train.  

As luck would have it, it was a short one, so once it had passed and I had waved at the engineer, I zoomed on back to the highway...were I got stuck behind road construction.  

At this point, I was beginning to feel like that old cartoon character, you know the one the rain cloud follows around all the time...But I finally made it home, and first thing I did was light a little fire in the wood box. 

I thought about putting one in the fire pit and sitting out there for a while, but man, that wind was kicking.  I walked outside and it like to have blown me away.  I said, "Nope" and went right back inside.  It would have been nice otherwise.  As it was, I settled for the one in the stove.  I let it burn down, then lit my little creosote sweeping log and let it burn down.  

Then I sat in my chair, thinking about all the phone calls I need to make and not making any of them.  

I'll tell you what I did do, though.  But first, you need a little backstory. 

Ever since I moved into this house, I've had this little microwave stand right here in this spot. 

I've actually had the stand for much longer.  I think I bought it 2006, when I bought my second trailer house, but that's neither here nor there. 

These last couple of years, I've been thinking that this spot would be perfect for some sort of baker's rack.  The plan was, if I ever got my act together and got this house remodeled, I'd have whoever did the remodel to build one in.  I wanted to make some sort of coffee bar, and thus would be able to clear this mess out and get it better organized. 

As the years went by, however, and I realized my act would probably never be that together, I began looking for one on Amazon.  I found several that I liked, but as I said, I've been trying to cut back on my spending at least until the overtime starts up again.  

Then one day last week, I realized that after six long years, I finally had enough points on my Fetch app to redeem them for a $100 Amazon card.   It just so happened, that the baker's rack I wanted was marked down to....$100!  To make a long story short, the points got redeemed, the rack got delivered Sunday morning, and it quickly got put together. 

Really, the hardest part was getting back up off the floor...and by the time I was done, I was too tired to worry about cleaning the spot out, so there it sat until yesterday.  What with my half day off, I got that old stand moved out, the floor under it swept and mopped, and my bakers rack put into place. 

Once that was done, it didn't take long at all to move my coffee maker and all my coffee and tea over to my new coffee bar. 

It took a bit longer to convince myself to put my microwave onto the rack, because I was worried about its weight.  However, after reading the reviews, they said it would hold that much weight, so I took a deep breath and put the microwave onto the stand. 

No creaks, no groans...nothing.  Heaving a great sigh of relief, I plugged it in and we're good to go.  I'm loving it.  

 Better yet, I now have all of this additional counter space to work on. 

As for the old microwave stand, I want to use it for my seed starting station.  Right now, everything is sitting on this old sewing machine that my cousin's wife gave me. 

Someone had given it to her ages ago, and she didn't want it.  She offered it to me, and even though I already had a sewing machine, I needed a stand for a snake tank, so I took it.  Blaze's tank sat on it until just a few years ago when Snow died, and I moved him into her tank. 

Now I use it for my seed starting tray, but it's not really practical for that.  It's heavy and hard to move, and as you can see by the state of the floor, there is no storage.  I'm thinking I can use the old microwave stand for the seed starting tray, and the shelf and cabinet underneath for storing all that other stuff.  

And it's on wheels, so it'll be easier to move it back into the junk room when it comes time to bring my outside plants inside for the winter.  

After I finished all of that, I was sitting in my chair watching some TV -- a real life game show based on the Netflix show The Squid Game -- when I realized, hey, I have room to get my toaster oven out!  That is exactly what I did.  

I got the toaster oven out, cleaned it up really well, then made my self some toast  -- some proper toast for the first time in years.  It was soo good, I'm telling you.  Then I thought, "While I'm getting old appliances back out, might as well get the coffee pot out, too."  And I did just that. 

I cleaned it up, ran some vinegar through it, and found it a place on the baker's rack right next to my single serve coffee maker.  I had to move my pod holder over, but there's still room for it. 

When my toaster oven had cooled off, I even found a space for it on the bottom shelf. 

There is even room for the cat's food and water bowl right beside it.

Finally, I had my baker's rack set up just the way I wanted it....or so I thought...

I got up this morning and went to work, and today being Veteran's Day, they had gift baskets for all of the veterans.  

It was filled with junk food, as usual, but I was more excited about the basket it all came in.  It's just perfect to put my teas into.  I was able to fit five cans and one box of tea into the basket, and it fit onto the shelf perfectly.  

Now, I think it's finally the way I want it.  

And finally, this is what I work up to this morning.  

It would have been a great day to call in and snuggle back into bed, but given what happened yesterday, that simply wasn't feasible.  My paycheck simply can't take that big of a hit.  So I got up and went to work, and we managed to stay the whole day.  

As expected, the frost got my basil.  

I'll get out and pull it up here in the next few days.  And another bit of sad news, the high winds ripped my fall flag up. 

It's come full circle, because high winds several years ago blew this flag into my yard in the first place, and now high winds have taken it away. 

Ah well, the wind yeeteth and the wind yoinketh away.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bowl of birthday gumbo calling my name.  

Laters. 

Ten Years

I just realized this morning when I was scrolling through my TimeHop app, it's been ten years to the day since I closed on this house.  It's kind of hard to believe I've been here for a whole decade, but it's true.  I'd hoped to be a lot further along in getting it fixed up, but I guess I was a bit naive about how long it would take to save up that amount of money. 

But, Becky, you may say, why didn't you just get that money when you took out your mortgage?  Because at the time, all I could think about was getting my monthly payments as low as possible.  We'd just come out of the recession of '09, in which the housing market had been hit especially hard -- and still hadn't fully recovered.  And my job is closely tied to the housing market. There were several years when were only working 32 hour weeks for about half of the year.  So that was still weighing heavily on my mind. 

That's part of it.  The other part is, now that I do have money and can pay for it, I just can't seem to get my act together.  I can't multi-task because I get overwhelmed if I have too much going on at once.  For example, I have someone supposedly coming tomorrow to pick up some scrap metal, and I don't feel like I can do anything else until that is marked off the list. I keep saying I'm going to hire a project manager, but I can't even get my act together to do that.  

OK, let's talk about something a bit more pleasant -- knitting.

Yes, like I said yesterday, I cast on a new hat last night while watching LSU beat Clemson and prove where the real Death Valley is. 

This is some old school Red Heart in the colorway Green Sage, and it is not so much of a joy to knit with.  But it's what I had on hand, and I'm trying to use up the stuff I have before buying more.  I think I might make a scrappy hat with the leftovers.  Maybe I'll try helix knitting again.  

I'd done a hat in that technique before, and did OK, but had some tension issues with my color changes.  That will improve with practice, but to be honest, I didn't really enjoy it.  The helix technique, I mean. Maybe I'll just do stripes.  I don't know.  We'll see.  At this point, I'm just winging it. 

In other news, I dragged my boxes of Fall decorations in from the shed, but haven't started putting any of them out yet.  I'm just not feeling it.  Maybe I'll do it tomorrow while I'm waiting to see if those scrap metal people show up.

On the other hand, look who did show up! 

Spider lilies!  

I've got spider lilies in the yard, football on the TV, and leaves starting to turn.  It's almost Autumn for sure. 

The Bad Part

You know, the bad part about having to get up at 3:30 AM for work is that you tend to wake up at 3:30 AM even on your day off.  So it was this morning.  

I lay in bed until shortly after 4:00, then decided I wasn't going to get back to sleep so I got up and did three loads of laundry before the sun even came up.   Then I washed dishes and cut and hung up a bunch more peppermint to dry. 

On a similar note, I'm considering sending my diabetic cookbook back.  It wasn't really what I expected -- or wanted.  I'm looking for quick and easy stuff that I can whip up after a 10 hour shift in the factory, and none of those seem like that.  I don't know...  Well, I have until November 20 to make up my mind.  

Once the sun was finally up and it had warmed up a bit, I got out and painted my shutters. 

The paint is almost exactly the same color as the primer, so that tells me I did a good job of picking primer.  And since I did use primer, I don't think they'll need a second coat.  I'll check them over tomorrow after they've had time to dry really well, but I think they're OK.  Now comes the hard part:  finding someone who will hang them for a reasonable price.  But at least I got them painted and that's one more thing I can cross off my list. 

In knitting news, I'm making good progress on the hat.  

Only about four more inches until I start crown decreases.  It's a folded up brim, by the way, which is why it's so long.  You know, I got to thinking...this is a unisex hat pattern, so maybe I'll make one for everyone for next Christmas.  I'll just pick masculine colors for the men, and feminine colors for the women, and voilà, we're good to go. 

In piano news, I'm still plugging away at both of my books, but lessons have really slowed down because....I've been playing Christmas music!   It's nice to be playing something just for fun.  I might even get a few little songs recorded for you this year.  

Or I might not...you never know.   It'll be a Christmas Eve surprise. 

The Little Things

It's the little things....

Like a good night's sleep, which I finally got for the first time since the time change and it felt amazing.  I even dreamed, which I don't do often any more, because I don't sleep enough.  I'm actually kind of envious of those of you who can lay down and sleep eight straight hours.  I can't even remember the last time I did that.  

I was hoping the work day would go better than it did yesterday, but noooo...this is ADP after all.  

Way back when, a few years ago, I was chatting with one of the supervisors and I don't even remember what we were talking about when all of the sudden he said, "Don't blog this!"  I said I wouldn't, but I was thinking, "Sheesh, give me credit for having a little discretion!"  

The whole point is, I know you like reading about my coworkers and the crazy things that go on out there, but let me assure you that you're just getting the tip of the iceberg.  There is a whole lot more that I don't post about.  A lot. 

All I'm going to say is, there is a lot they could do to make our jobs easier and more efficient.  Simple things, like putting the jig number on the pick list, and making sure we actually have the jigs we need to braze the assemblies up, but no.... We just have to figure it out, because not having a jig or knowing which jig is the correct one is no excuse for letting the line go down for lack of headers.  But they seem to want to make our jobs as labor intensive as possible.  

It's all very frustrating and discouraging, so, let's move on, shall we?

I got myself a little something for the house today.   And what is that?  Well, it's this:

A sink organizer rack!  It's the little things...

I've wanted one for a while, but finally broke down and bought one. It makes the back of my sink look so much better. 

I realized after I cleaned up that I should have taken a before photo, but I'm sure you know what a cluttered, unorganized sink looks like.  By the way, it'll look even neater once that nearly empty bottle of dishwashing liquid is used up...

Speaking of up, I have another cosmos seedling peeking out!  You can barely see it, but it's there in the cell just below the marker thingy.   

It looks like there might be another sunflower germinating, too, but you can't really see it in the photo. 

And finally, if you play Wordle, I'm sure you've seen the recent change.

I guess I won't be keeping track of my stats any more, because I'm not creating an account.  Eh, half the time I forget to play anyway, so no streaks for me.  That's also why I stopped posting my results on Facebook.  It had become too hit and miss.

Kind of like my sleeping ...

I Splurged

It is Saturday, June 10, 2023, and I still have a job.  For now, at least. 

Yep, for once the rumors turned out to be true, and the plant did have another layoff yesterday.  The Big Man Up Front said that while work has picked up a bit, they haven't gotten nearly enough orders to keep up with our production output, so that required some difficult decisions.  They laid off 36 people, and have shut down another assembly line.   We're down to three on day shift, and two on second shift. 

We've had our ups and downs over the last 30 years, but no one has ever seen it this bad.  It's not looking to get any better, either.  I hope you're all stocked up on beans and rice, and ramen noodles.  Unless you're on food stamps.  Then you can fill your buggy to overflowing -- unlike us poor stupid saps who work for a living and have to live on peanut butter sandwiches and Vienna sausages.  

OK, I exaggerate.  It's not that bad -- yet.  But it's getting there.    

But let's move on to more pleasant things.  I mentioned a few days ago that since I cut off my internet, I've been watching more of my DVDs.  A few days ago, I had a hankering to watch one of my old favorites, but alas that's when I realized I didn't actually have it on DVD.  I was sure I had bought it years ago, but no....  That was rectified in short order. 

It's been so long since I've watched it, I'd forgotten how good it is.  While watching, I finished the had I'd been working on. 

I also cast on another headband, but it's only got one row done, so there really isn't much to see yet. 

In other news, I finally got in and got that new bed put together and into Cody and Brennan's room. It wasn't that hard to put together, even by myself.  The hardest part was wrestling that mattress off the old bed and onto the new one.  It's pretty heavy, but what makes it more difficult is that there isn't anything to hang on to.  

The new bed said it doesn't need a box spring, but I figured what else am I going to do with the one I already had?  So, I put it onto the new bed.  

It makes it pretty high, but I figure at least 364 days out of the year, it's only purpose will be for me to fold laundry on it, so I decided to leave it.   Besides, I didn't want to have to deal with moving that mattress again.  I'll ask the kids next time they come, and if it bothers them, I'll get them to help me move the box spring out, and I'll offer it up for sale.  Or for free, since people don't really use box springs any more. Most modern beds don't require them. 

The only downside is that if you want to use nightstands beside the bed, that front drawer is pretty much useless, unless you move the nightstand or the bed every time you need to open it. 

I put my Christmas wreaths and gift boxes in them, so I'll only need to open them twice a year -- once to get them out, and once to put them back.  Oh, and this bookshelf will eventually get moved out

once my seemingly immortal snakes go to that great herpetarium in the sky.  

I'll need to check with Cody and see if they still want this headboard and bedframe, but for now, it's sitting in my hall.  I figured if it's going to be there, I might as well prop a few photos on it, right?  

Now, I think I need to work on finishing my Doctor Who and Downton Abbey collections.  But one disc at a time.  I still need to pinch my pennies, just in case. 

Oh, and yes, that means the fence will have to wait, too.  

And finally, I finished reading Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep.  It was pretty good, but nothing to write home about.   Now I'm reading the Legend series by Marie Lu. 

I'd read the first one a couple of years ago, but never read any of the others, even though I have books 2 & 3 on my Kindle.   I'm re-reading it now before I read the other two, because I've forgotten what happened.  

That's a reflection on my memory, not the book.  It was pretty good, as I recall....

Ugh

 Ugh

That's the feeling I got this morning when that alarm went off at 2:45 after being able to sleep as long as I wanted to for four days.  I really really didn't want to get out of bed, but alas I have no sugar daddy to pay my bills, so out of bed I got and to work I went.  Where the day thankfully passed uneventfully.

Except when I over heard one coworker telling another that she heard on the news last night that Blue Bunny was going to be making a Dr Pepper flavored ice cream and it was supposed to start today. Oooooo, it was hard for me to bite my tongue, but I did.  They weren't talking to me, so I kept my nose in the middle of my face and out of their business.  See, I can be good.  

That's not all.  I was good again when I came home and instead of sitting down like I really wanted to, I grabbed my mini chainsaw and cleared another privet tree from my fence line. 

Slowly but surely, I'm making progress.  I've got this one, 

and this one to clear out and I'll be ready to call the surveyor. 

In other news, because Cody and Brennan were supposed to come by Saturday and get the bed from his room, I went ahead and ordered the one I want to put in there in its stead.  When I got to Amazon, I discovered the price had dropped significantly, so I was able to order a small dresser as well.  

The tracking number said it was going to be delivered yesterday, but I blew that off seeing as how it was a federal holiday and no mail would run.  Imagine my surprise when about 5:00 PM I heard a horn honk.  I looked out my front window and it was a USPS truck.  Dropping off a fairly large box. 

I was not expecting that!  I put on some music and got it put together fairly quickly, even though the assembly instructions left a lot to be desired.  As in, none of the parts were labeled, and there were no written instructions.  Just drawings.  Still, it wasn't that hard, and it came out nicely.  

 

Right now, I have it at the foot of the bed, 

but eventually it's going to go here, where this old computer desk is..  

I'll have to ask Cody if he wants to take it to Jackson and to try to sell it, because he's already said he doesn't want it any more.  I'll bet he can get a better price for it than I can here. Or he may change his mind and decide to keep it now that he has a whole house to fill up.  

Well, yesterday was Memorial Day, and as per my usual, I spent the day watching military movies.  I finally broke down and ordered Saving Private Ryan, which arrived today. 

I've seen it before, and frankly wasn't all that impressed, but it seems to be the quintessential WWII movie, so I had to add it to my collection.  Maybe this weekend I can watch it again.  I might like it better this time around. 

While I was doing all that movie watching, I finished another hat. 

I like the way the colors spiraled on this one, instead of pooling.  Pretty cool. 

I wasn't sure if I had enough yarn for another hat, so I cast on a headband instead. 

This one I used an 88 stitch cast on, so it fits a bit more snugly.  I don't think it's quite wide enough, so next time, I'm going to do a few more short rows before starting my increases.  If you know the pattern, you know what I mean. 

And finally, I did some checking and I think I might be able to get away with using just my hot spot, as long as I don't stream.  I mean, I had to move a couple of my games from my Kindle to my phone, but for my usual internet use, I think my hotspot might be enough.  For now, at least.  My data starts over June 10, so I'll be better able to keep an eye on it.  Funny, since I upgraded my phone plan to unlimited, I'd completely forgotten what day everything starts over, since there was no longer any need to keep up with it. 

Speaking of streaming, I rented The Lost King on Amazon, about the woman finding Richard III in the parking lot.  It was so good, and I'm such a history geek, I might just buy it.  I'll have to buy the digital version, though, because the DVD is formatted only for European players.  

Eh, I'll hold off for a while and see if they release it in US format.  In the meantime, I need to go practice my piano. 

Laters