Dragging

Yesterday at work, I was just dragging.

I mean, I always drag a bit in the mornings.  It happens when you get up at 3:00 AM, but yesterday was worse than usual.  I had absolutely no energy.  I was starting to think something was wrong with me, and was seriously considering going to the doctor.  Around 9-ish or so, I kind of perked up a little and made it through the day.

As I was packing up my stuff to go home, I picked up my coffee thermos.  It felt suspiciously heavy.

"Hey, that feels suspiciously heavy," I said to myself.

I shook it a bit and heard a suspicious sounding sloshing sound.

"Hey, I hear a suspicious sloshing sound," I said to myself.

I opened the lid and suddenly realized why I'd been a limp noodle all day.

Tell me, have you ever been so tired that you need coffee to remember to drink your coffee?  Yeah, I'm there, folks.  On a brighter note, I remembered to drink it today!  So, yay, me!

You know you live a sad life when your biggest accomplishment is remembering to drink your coffee. 

OK, moving right along...

I've been getting a bit maudlin lately, knowing Squeaks will not be with us any more.  Yesterday, I watched her try to jump up on the bed.  She gathered herself, bounced a bit, re-gathered herself, kind of hopped, then just gave up and walked off.  It makes me sad...

So, I was looking through some old pictures and found this one, from a bygone day when she was young.

When I was younger, I always wondered why old folks always talked about the good old days.

I totally get it now. 

Totally.

More Experimenting

The subject of today's experiment is to see if I can post pictures from my Kindle. The one I posted yesterday had already been uploaded to the blog, so it was easy.   Now, I want to figure out how to upload one from my device. So here goes...

Cool! It worked!  I don't have a photo editing program on said Kindle, so I can't crop or adjust the colors. Basically, what you see is what you get. And it doesn't look like the camera is the greatest, but it'll do in a pinch.

Speaking of, after I signed off last night, I went back to Amazon and ordered the new Fire tablet. I'd gone to other websites and the really good tablets were way out of my budget. Of the affordable ones, the Fire seemed the best bet. I like the Fire I have now, so there is that.  The new one will be just a bit bigger.

Remember that guy who wanted to plant tomatoes in a corner of my yard? He ain't doing that again. He hasn't taken care of them at all.

The weeds have completely swallowed them up, and recent storms have knocked them over. I went out and picked them back up last time, but I'm not doing it again. The guy hasn't even been out to check on them in a month.  What tomatoes he does have are rotting in the ground.

There really aren't even any worth salvaging, because the ones still on the plant are bug eaten.

Oh, I should probably mention my new   zinnias, seen in the top photo. I've given up on anything but grass growing in my so called wildflower bed, so I put some  zinnias in it. The two on the right are Magellan, and the yellow one is double profusion.

Once it cools off some, I'm thinking about clawing the rest of the bed up and putting some fall plants in it. Maybe some garden mums or pansy.

July is half over, and big changes are coming at work. I'm going to keep you in suspense, though, until I post from my computer again.

One final note. I'm listening to Christmas music.

So there.

An Experiment

I'm conducting an experiment to see if I can blog from my Kindle. So far, it seems to be working. The keyboard size is the only issue I'm having. 

The reason for this is that I really want to go to bed, but my laptop is just too big and bulky to sit on my lap.  Ironic, huh?

 I came home and was perusing Prime Day deals, but the only thing that even remotely interested me was a slightly larger Fire tablet. I'm not sure if I want to get it, though, because I was thinking about getting one of those  2-in-1 things. 

I don't know. I'm too tired to even think right now so here is a picture of Squeaky before she got all haggard looking.

Got 'Em Hung

Of course, it's hot.  It's July.  It's supposed to be hot.

How hot has it been?  Yesterday in the plant, it was make-you-sick hot.  There were a couple of times I thought I was going to show my coworkers everything I'd eaten all day.  It was so hot, I got one of the shop rags from maintenance and didn't care if it was clean or not.  I soaked it in cold water and wiped my face down with it.  Grease and all. 

When we finally got off, all I wanted to do was come home and sit in the freezer.  Alas, the cat was out of food, so off to Wal-mart I went, grumbling all the while because I really didn't want to go.  I was sitting there at the 4-way stop on Papermill road and Hwy 51, for those of you familiar with the area, and spotted the new Dollar General they'd built in the cotton field across from Mr. Monroe's, for those of you familiar with the area.  I said to myself, "Self, I'll bet that there Dollar General store has cat food.  You ought to pull in there so you don't have to drive all the way in to town."

That's exactly what I did.  I felt so sorry for the cashier.  I picked out a couple of cans of cat food, just enough to last until I did go to Wal-mart, but when I pulled the cash out of my pocket to pay for it, the dollar bills were soaking wet -- with sweat.  Yes, that's how hot it was at work yesterday. 

My first thought was, "At least it's not boob sweat."  Then it occurred to me, it's butt sweat, and that's worse.  Sigh...

And we still have August to go...

The only other thing I did was to hang my little light house pictures on my wall.

I was a little worried that the colors wouldn't work with the rest of the decor, but it all ties in together.  See, the blue in the clock matches the blue in my curtains.

The map in the clock ties in with the map on the wall.

The color of the map matches the colors in the curtain hanging over my closet door.  If you could see it in person, they really would match better than they show here.

Then, of course, the light house prints also match the colors in the curtain, so it all works. 

Now I just need to add some stuff to that big space between the map and the corner, and do the crown molding and baseboards, and my bedroom will be done, at least until it's time to completely remodel. 

I still want to move back to Texas, but if Cody does get the job and moves to Memphis, I won't be in quite as big a hurry to go.  That takes some of the pressure off as far as getting the house fixed up to sell.  Now I can really think about which options increase the resale value.  My next project is to get someone to replace the rotten siding and paint the outside of the house.  I also want to add decorative shutters to my front windows. 

I think they'll make the house really cute. 

They're Here

I had a nice little surprise waiting for me when I got home.  Cody was sitting in my driveway.  Sitting in his car.  In my driveway.  He wasn't just plunked down in the gravel.  I told him he could have come inside the house, and he just shrugged.  I reminded him that this is his house, too, and I want him to feel at home here.

But enough about that.  The reason he is here to begin with is that he has applied for a job with Fed Ex in Memphis.  He has to go in person to do a drug test and all.  So, he made a flying trip from Texas.  He had to work yesterday at the Home Depot, then drove in to Jackson when he got off.  He stayed there with friends last night, and is driving on up to Memphis today.  He stopped by to visit with me for about 45 minutes after I got home from work.   He'll go for his interview and stuff tomorrow, then will drive back to Texas Saturday, because he has to work Sunday morning.  He's going to be one tired puppy after all that.  I told him he could stop here and take a breather if he wanted to, but I don't know if he will. 

I asked him what he would be doing for Fed Ex -- provided he gets the job.  He is going to start off in package handling, and is thinking about maybe going for his CDL license and becoming a truck driver.  I'm not sure if he means long haul or local delivery.  I don't think he knows himself, yet.  I hope he gets the job.  I've heard Fed Ex is a good place to work.  I checked, and if he gets the job, Cody will start off making almost as much per hour as I do after 23 years in that hell hole I work for.  Heck, maybe I should apply...

I said it will be nice to have him closer, and he replied that was a factor in him doing this.  See, my brother's recent heart attack and subsequent surgery kind of scared Cody.  He got to thinking about his Mama being so far away from family -- now that they've all moved back to Texas -- and wanted to be closer, just in case something happened.   Awww, my baby wants to take care of me.

Those of you so inclined, please pray that he gets that job.  It'll be a great start to a great career if he chooses to go that route. 

I mentioned the other day about ordering something else for my bedroom, and it arrived today.  Here it is:

But wait, you say.  Didn't you already have those?  Sort of.  My sister had sent me these in the form of paper posters, but I'd never hung them.  Since they're an odd size, I'd have to have them custom framed, and that can get expensive.  I even tried to hang them with poster tape, but they just fell off the wall.

I was on Amazon a week or so ago, looking for stuff with which to decorate, when I ran across the same three prints, only this time on stretched canvas, already mounted and ready to hang!  I hesitated to buy them at first, because it felt like I was rejecting the ones my sis sent.  After consideration, though, I realized she'd want me to have the prints on my wall, even if it meant buying another set.  So, I did. 

Now, they are here, and I can finally finish decorating my bedroom -- well, almost.  I still have one corner that needs something in it.  I want to find a brass sextant and maybe an old fashioned telescope to put there. 

It'll go with my theme, which seems to be finding my direction in life.  Maps, lighthouses, compass roses...all point to safety.

Or adventure.  Depends on which way you are headed. 

Now It's Hurting

Funny thing about injuries.  The day I actually broke the tooth, it didn't hurt at all.  I was even able to chew my lunch on that side with no problem.  But yesterday...Oh, yesterday was a different story.

In fact, I had a post all planned out for you.  I was going to tell you how badly my tooth was hurting, and how miserable I was.  But I was too miserable and my tooth was hurting too badly for me to even write that post about how badly my tooth was hurting and how miserable I was, so I just went on to bed.

The good news is, you get to hear about it today instead.  I know you're thrilled.

The better news is, the aforementioned tooth felt so much better this morning when I woke up.  We had a few rough patches during the day, but for the most part it felt fine.

The bad news is, I had old 1960s protest songs stuck in my head half the day.



By lunch time, my earworms had undergone a strange metamorphosis and became songs from Fiddler On The Roof.




I've long since given up trying to find an explanation for such things. 

Cody messaged me, saying he's going to Memphis to try to find a job there, so he can move back this way.  I'm like, why?  Stay in Texas, dude.  Everything is so much better there.  He was going to stop in to visit today, but has decided to stay the night in Jackson with some friends.  He'll be here tomorrow.  I'll get the particulars from him then.

I'm still his mom, though, and sometimes freak out a little about him driving all this way by himself.  Then I have to take a step back and remind myself, "Self, when you were his age, you were in the Navy doing all sorts of things that would freak your own mother out."

So there is that...

A Fortuitous Turn Of Events

There I was at work, just a working away, eating my morning Pop-Tart when something in my mouth felt funny.  It didn't hurt.  It just felt strange.  I kept on chewing when suddenly, my tongue slipped into a space that shouldn't have been there.

My tooth feels funny.  Wait, my tooth is missing!  Where is my tooth!!  Did I swallow it?????

Oh, there it is, with the rest of the bite of Pop-Tart I was still chewing.  I spit the remainder of my tooth out of my mouth and put it into my pocket, where it remained for the remainder of the day.

Yep, you read that right.  I broke a tooth, sheared off at the gum line.  I thought to myself, "What a stroke of luck."  No, not that I broke a tooth, but that I broke said tooth on the morning I already had a dental appointment.  When I got there, the dentist said he didn't think the tooth could be saved.  So, that's a bummer.

The thing is, the dentist I've gone to since I moved here in 1994 is semi-retired.  He's brought a young dentist in to eventually take over the practice.  Dr. Moody is still there, but the new guy, Dr. Horan is doing most of the dentistry these days.  He also does a lot of things Dr. Moody didn't do -- like extractions for one.  I won't have to go to another dentist to get what's left of my tooth pulled.

The hygienist and I were talking, and she asked if I'd ever considered getting implants.  I said that yes, that is my long term goal, and I'm almost to the point financially I can start getting them.  I'm thinking I'll get one implant, pay it off, then get another one.  In another fortuitous turn of events, the new dentist does implants!  Woo Hoo! 

But enough about my teeth...

Let's see, what else can I tell you?  Ummmm, I got nothing, so here's a hat progress shot.

I need to get all my finished hats and scarves gathered up and sent to my friend.  Maybe this weekend.

via GIPHY

Found It Under The Couch

I had a post planned for you yesterday.  It was a good post.  An interesting post.  OK, maybe it wouldn't have made you laugh or cry, but it was still good.  Alas, storms were rolling through when I got off work, and before I could start my blog post, my electricity went out.

The notice I got from the power company said it was damage to their equipment.  Since my neighbors a mile to the south had lights, and my neighbors a mile to the north had lights, I'm guessing lightning hit a transformer.  Estimated time on:  4:00 AM.  Sigh....

I decided to just go on to bed, at 7:00 -- which is just a little bit earlier than I normally go.  Sometime during the night, the power was restored.  I was so glad I didn't have to get up and get ready for work in the dark.

And what was I going to tell you yesterday?  Oh, not much.  Just that I was thinking about buying a new DSLR.  My old trusty Canon kicked the bucket last fall.  I suppose I could ship it to the company and get it fixed, but it is old and obsolete.  I really want a new one.  I'm thinking Pentax this time.  Mainly because I've read the lenses for the old film cameras will fit on a corresponding DLSR.  I've got a macro-zoom lens that I had for my K1000, and if it is true that it will fit on a digital camera, oh, boy the photos I could take.

I'm also thinking about buying a new wireless printer.  I'm tired of having to lug my laptop into the other room and plug it in with a USB, only to have it not work half the time.  The printer is so old, they don't even support the model any more.  I mean, I tried to download an updated driver that will work with my current version of Windows, but they don't even make one.  The good news is, unlike a Pentax DSLR, printers are pretty cheap.  You can get a decent, light duty printer for about $50 these days.  That's the beauty of capitalism -- competition breeds quality and lowers prices.

The last thing I'm thinking of buying is one of those computer things with the detachable keyboard.  A 2 - in - 1 laptop.  I don't really know why.  I just want one.

Before I go on any major spending sprees, I need to get these debts paid off.  Instead, I went on some minor spending sprees.  I bought a decoration for my bathroom.

 I ordered something for my bedroom, too, but it hasn't gotten here yet.  They'll warrant a post unto themselves, so I'll show you when they get here.

You know you live a dull life when the most exciting thing you do all day is to buy a new garden hose.

I mean, besides the whole electricity-going-out thing.  By the way, my Harvey lantern has really come in handy.  What's a Harvey lantern, you say?  Why, it's the lantern I bought after Hurricane Harvey went through and the electricity went out and I discovered I didn't have a working lantern any more.

Anyway, back to the hose...My old one is starting to spring leaks.  I tried to patch them temporarily with duct tape, but that just caused the hose to make aneurysms next to the patches.  I've had that hose for probably 15 years, so I figured it's time for a new one.

While wandering through the garden center, I found these Magellian zinnias.

They were so gorgeous I simply couldn't resist.  It appears though I have a couple of things trying to bloom in my wildflower bed, the grass has mostly taken over.

I'm going to put those zinnias somewhere in there, trying to avoid pulling up the few actual flowers I have.  Look, I found a single yellow moss rose.  I mean, like I can buy one plant, not a six pack.

I'm going to stick that in there somewhere, too.

That was all the stuff I was going to post before I lost my electricity yesterday.  Someone on Facebook suggested I look under the couch for it.

What do you know?  That's exactly where I found it.

Such Is My Life

You know how it is when you have a day off in the middle of the week, but you wake up at 3:00 AM anyway?

I lay there for a while, tossing and turning, trying to go back to sleep, but eventually, I gave up and got up.  Remember all that meat I bought?  That was me, out there grilling at 6:00 AM.  I did wait until the sun came up.  Really, I did. 

I now have a freezer full of grilled chicken and brats.  Oh, and blackened ribs.

Not sure what happened there.  I'd been grilling for a couple of hours, and the temp had been holding steady at 250' - 300'.  My grill has a little thermometer thingy on it, so I know.  I went out to check my ribs, as I had been doing every 10 - 15 minutes, only this time, the temp had cranked up to 500 + and my ribs were charcoal.

I started to toss the, but upon further inspection, once I got past the char, there was plenty of good meat still on them.  I put them into the freezer, too, and can get at least one good meal out of them.

Hey, you'd pay $20 extra for the char in a fancy restaurant. 

I pretty much spent the rest of the day watching my traditional Independence Day movies.  While watching said movies, I finished another hat for my friend's charity.

I managed to get in a few moments of bricking, too.

I found some spray on stripper, and it's working a lot better than that old gel stripper I'd had before.

I'm making pretty good progress, and am beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. 

All good things must come to an end, and thus it was with my day off.  Back to work this morning.  I'm not sure if it was the heat, or if it was the second Monday of the week, but I was just dragging all day.  And it was hot up in the plant. 

Yeah, it's July.  It's hot everywhere. 

One good thing about July is that it means peak season at work will be winding down soon.  Fewer hours, weekends off.  Maybe the blog will pick back up soon. 

Over the weekend, I'd spent some time cleaning out some of the stuff that has grown up in my fence.  Somewhere in all that, I'd gotten into some poison ivy.  Or poison sumac.  I've got both growing in my yard.  At first I thought it was a bug bite.  Along about yesterday, I figured out that just didn't look like a bug bite after all.  Had to have been poison ivy.  Or sumac.  Whatever...

This morning, I remember I had some prescription ointment my doctor had given me the last time I had a severe breakout.  So, there I was at 3:00 in the blessed AM, tearing up my house searching for the elusive ointment.  I finally found it...

and walked right out of the house without it. 

Such is my life. 

America From A To Z

A--Aviation: The Wright Brothers built the first feasible aircraft, and flew it on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

B--Bill of Rights:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people

C--Constitution:

September 17, 1787

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

D--Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. (emphasis mine)

E--Equality: the Declaration Of Independence correctly states that all men are created equal. Every person in this country starts life of equal value and worth as a human being. What he does with that equality, well, that's his own doing.

F--Football: From pee wee leagues to the pros, this is truly America's game.

G--Guns: The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. There is a reason our founding fathers placed this right so high. It was the second amendment, not the 15th or the 23rd. The right for a citizen to defend himself and his family is paramount. Without this right, morally upright and law abiding citizens would be at the mercy of those who respect neither the law, nor their fellow man--and that includes those in the government as well.

H--Health Care: The U.S. has some of the best health care anywhere, and it is available to everyone. Everyone! You want to go see your doctor? Just get up and go. No need to apply to a government bureaurocracy to request medical treatment. No need to hope and pray that they deem you worthy to fund your doctor visit. No waiting lists that you hope you live long enough to make it to the top of. Just go! But wait, you may argue. What about those who can't afford health insurance? You'd be sruprised at how many people who "can't afford" health insurance somehow find the money to pay for cable/satellite TV (the premium package), high speed internet, multiple automobiles, an x-box and/or a playstation or two, designer clothes and multiple cell phones. It's not so much a matter of money is it is of priorities.

I--Internet: Despite what Al Gore claims, the internet was actually invented by the U.S. Department of Defense.

J--Jazz: A uniquely American style of music, Jazz is popular all over the world.

K--Knitting and Karate: Though neither originated here, both are enjoying immense popularity in the U.S.

L--Land: More specifically, the wondrous variety of land found here: from mountains to deserts, forests to prairies, America has it all.

M--Military: The finest military anywhere, it's biggest strength is that it is all volunteer. No one is conscripted. No one is forced to serve. No, these men and women are here because they love their country and they love freedom. They love it enough to lay down their very lives to defend it.

N--National Parks: From the National Park Service website: In nearly 400 national parks and every hometown. It covers everything from the remnants of ancient civilizations to the boyhood homes of U.S. Presidents to the stirring sagas of hard-fought wars to the reverberations of one woman refusing to give up her seat on a bus. History is a part of who we were, who we are, and who we will be.

O--Opportunity: America has long been known as the land of opportunity. Face it, there aren't too many other places were a homeless man, or a child born into poverty to unwed teenager parents can become millionaires or heck, even billionaires.

P--Poverty: “Overall, the typical American defined as poor by the government has a car (31% of poor’ households own two cars), air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR, or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry, and he had sufficient funds in the past year to meet his family’s essential needs... A third of poor’ households have both cell and land-line telephones....” —Robert Rector . In other words, if I had to be poor, there's no other country I'd rather be poor in.

Q--Quality of Life: The United States has one of the highest standards of living in the world. See the above entry.

R--Rattlesnakes: Unique among the snake world for that little buzzer on their tails, rattlesnakes are a symbol of America, and of American Independence.

S--Space Program: From the Space Race of the Cold War Era to the Space Shuttles , to Elon Musk and SpaceX of today, America's space program brings out a bit of the pioneer in all of us.

T--Technology: From Alexander Graham Bell, to Thomas Edison, to Henry Ford , American inventors have some up with some amazing feats.

U--Universal Health Care: I'm thankful we aren't forced to endure the government rationing of health care: “Did you know that when a patient is diagnosed with cancer in the United States, it takes an average of four weeks to begin treatment? It’s 10 months in the United Kingdom. It’s called ‘rationing of care.’ That’s what you get with national health care. When government rations the care, that means bureaucrats are making medical decisions.” —Sen. Tom Coburn. And of course, whether you receive treatment at all depends on whether some government Bureaucrat decided if you "rate" treatment. That may be ok with some of you, but as for me, my medical decisions will be between me and my doctor. Period.

V--Variety: There are all kinds of people living here from all different ethnic backgrounds, religious persuasions, tastes, and interests. Some like chocolate, some like vanilla, some don't like ice cream at all. The variety among the people is tremendous, but despite those among us who would be divisive, we have all come together to form one people--the American People.

W--Washington D. C.: Our nation's capital, Washington D.C. is full of history and beauty. I'm going to go back there someday.

X--Xerox: Yes, the humble Xerox is an American invention. I'm glad, too. X words are hard to find. If it weren't for Xerox, I'd have had to go with X-box.

Y--Yellowstone National Park: America's oldest national park, Yellowstone has always been a place of fascination to me. Cody's been there. I haven't. I'm going to go eventually.

Z--Zoos: From the San Diego Zoo, to the Memphis Zoo, to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. America has an abundance of zoos, and they are great places to visit.



**Unless otherwise referenced, all quotes are from the Patriot Post website.

He Jinxed Us

As we were leaving work yesterday, one of my coworkers said, "Maybe tomorrow will be better.  I don't see how it could possibly be any worse." 

Yeah, he kind of jinxed us.  Today was worse.  Much worse. 

When I made my rounds this morning, not only did none of the lines have work, they all had units sitting on the conveyors waiting on headers.  I rushed back over to sub brazing to try to get some headers ready for the shifts, only there was nothing ready to braze -- for any line.  It was another one of those days. 

I don't know what's happening on B shift, if they're having machine troubles or a lot of people out, but I'm getting tired of going in every morning with no work, and the lines right on us.

So, after work, I went to the store, and kind of on impulse, I said to myself, "Self, I think it's time to fire up the old grill and grill some brats or something."  Me being me, I don't see the point of burning charcoal just to cook one or two pieces of meat, so I bought a bunch of chicken thighs to put into the freezer for later.  I also got some ribs, and of course, the brats. 

I'm planning on doing all that grilling tomorrow, but for now, I'm going to bed.  Because I'm tired. 

Good night.

Rough Day

Today was rough, I tell ya.  Really rough.

I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but about 2 months ago, they moved all the sub brazers off the assembly lines and back into our own little work area.  A couple of us go in early to kind of get organized and get ahead of the lines before the regular shift starts.

One of the first things I do when I get there is to go around to all the assembly lines and pick up the empty bins and bring them back to the sub brazing area.  This gives me a pretty good feel for where the lines stand on having work set up for them.

When I got to work this morning and made my rounds, nobody had any work, and I do mean nobody.  Only one line had any headers at all, and they didn't have many.  The other five were -- to put it into the plant vernacular -- completely dry.  I hurried back to sub brazing so I could get started and get some parts ready for the shifts, only there wasn't anything ready to braze.

That made it rough on us, trying to stay ahead of the lines with nothing ready to braze.  At one point, two supervisors were standing next to my brazing stand talking.  I heard one of them say that the other shift had only cut x parts last night -- where x = the number of parts the other shift cut last night.   I could tell you what that number was, but without context, it wouldn't mean anything to you anyway.

To give you the needed context, I mentioned that number to a friend who works in tubing.  Her mouth fell open in astonishment, and she said she runs almost half of that by herself -- where almost half = a number slightly less than .5x with x being equal to the number of parts the other shift cut last night.

Ha!  35 years after graduating, I have finally used something which may or may not be considered algebra!

OK, moving right along...

To end this post on a positive note, here area couple of pictures of my moss roses. 

They're pretty much the only things in my flower beds that have done anything this year.

Red Wings

The blog will be observing a moment of silence for those brave men who lost their lives 13 years ago today during Operation Red Wings.

Remember them.

LT Michael P. Murphy
SO2 Matthew Axelson
SO2 Danny Dietz
SOC Jacques J. Fontan
SOCS Daniel R. Healy
LCDR Erik S. Kristensen
SO1 Jeffery A. Lucas
LT Michael M. McGreevy, Jr.
SO2 James E. Suh
SO1 Jeffrey S. Taylor
SO2 Shane E. Patton


SSG Shamus O. Goare
CWO3 Corey J. Goodnature
SGT Kip A. Jacoby
SFC Marcus V. Muralles
MSG James W. Ponder III
MAJ Stephen C. Reich
SFC Michael L. Russell
CWO4 Chris J. Scherkenbach

It's Hot

It's so hot in the plant the front office people actually ventured out onto the shop floor to pass out cold sports drinks.  This is highly irregular.  Usually, when someone from the front office has to come out onto the shop floor, they dart out, do what they have to do as fast as they can, then dash pell mell back into their air conditioned office space, leaving us poor peons to the heat. 

I've decided to start submitting human interest stories for publication in our company newsletter.  I'm not holding my breath that they'll actually use them, though.   If they publish a human interest story written by a *horrors* shop floor employee, they might have to start admitting that we are indeed humans.  We can't have that, now, can we?

Boss Man has bad knees so the company has gotten him a motorized scooter to ride around the plant.  It looks a lot like a Segway, except it's got three wheels.  He's been having the time of his life on that thing.  He's like a kid who just got his first bike.  We've taken to calling him Paul Blart -- just not to his face. 

Well, the plan was I was going to make a sign that says "Hello, My Name Is Paul Blart".  Then I'd get one of my coworkers to distract Boss Man and I'd stick the sign onto his scooter.  Turns out, somebody beat me to it.

Boss Man is now zipping around the plant with this image taped to the front of his scooter. 

And I have a sudden hankering to watch Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

Brain Dead

Well, maybe not dead, but at least very, very dull.  It's what happens when you get up at 3:00 AM every morning. Sleep deprivation combined with long, long work days leads to boring blogs.  I try to think up interesting things to write about, but the words just don't come.  Instead, you get pictures of my latest finished object.

This is a hat I knit for my friend's charity group -- the one where she makes blessing bags for homeless people.  I used the helix technique on this one, which I'm not sure I like, but it made a nice looking hat.   Someone will appreciate it, I'm sure.

I've got two more OTN. 

All three are knit with that yarn Peggy sent.

In the midst of all that knitting, I finally got the compass rose plaque I bought a few weeks ago hung.

And I spent a little time stripping paint off of bricks. 

That's about how dull my life has become lately.  The best thing that has happened is that we've passed the Summer Solstice.  The days will soon get shorter, and Fall is just around the corner.  With Fall comes not only cooler temperatures, and the beautiful fall colors, but also the end of peak season at work.  Maybe then, with fewer hours to work, and more time to rest, my brain will wake up and I'll think of something interesting to post. 

In the meantime, I'll just try to avoid looking at my hit counter...