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Monday, March 13, 2017

What a week. Already.

I hear tell of blizzard conditions coming in on the east coast and elsewhere.  Everybody stay safe and warm!

Well, I tried to get to jury duty, but I don't drive freeways much because of panic attacks, so I tried to follow an unfamiliar surface route, and then I got lost and had a bad panic attack anyway.  Found my way home, fortunately.  And when I called the nice jury person, she pointed out that I can be excused if public transit would take more than 90 minutes each way -- which, it does.  (2 trains and a shuttle bus.)  Maybe next time they'll call me to the closer courthouse.

What else is going on?

67 comments:

Liz Miller said...

I'm so sorry about the panic attack, but so glad that you don't have to go to that courthouse anymore.

They probably wouldn't seat you on a jury anyhow, given your legal specialty.

When I went to jury duty in NYC, I wasn't seated due to being one of the few people in the jury pool who'd been present during a crime (the three times I was held up at gunpoint). The judge explicitly said, "Your car or home being burgled while you were not there does not count."

kathy a. said...

Oh, Liz. That's a lot of gunpoint....

No, I never get picked and doubt I ever will -- between my work and my husband's, etc. But there isn't any blanket excuse for that.

It's been a while since I had a panic attack -- do all I can to avoid trigger situations. Oh, well.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm so sorry about the panic attack, Kathy. I'm glad that you don't have to try to get to that courthouse anymore.

Three times?! That is a lot of being held up by gunpoint, Liz.

Anonymous said...

Yikes liz!
And hugs to you Kathy!
--NL

kathy a. said...

I'm back in the saddle, kind of. If you want to look at the CBO report about health care repeal, take a look. Have your soothing treatment of choice at hand. Don't do it all at once. https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/costestimate/americanhealthcareact_0.pdf

Turning back to netflix therapy, myself.

Sue said...

Glad you're feeling better, kathy. Sorry about the panic attack. :(

Liz, I can't even imagine being at gunpoint once, never mind three times!


Queen of West Procrastination said...

I've been gradually looking at those CBO charts today, which has resulted in some angry cleaning. I confess that I keep entertaining fantasies of somehow giving you guys universal healthcare instead (said fantasy involves hypnotising the entire legislative and executive branch for about a month, and then them all waking up and saying, "Welp, I guess this is the law now!").

esperanza said...

Hypnosis seems like a viable option, QWP.

W: Sweet is still awake, 1.5 hours after her adjusted bedtime 2.5 hours after her bedtime needs to be. We're at the grandparents' house, and the cousins are here, and she's sleeping on an air mattress--all very exciting, but go the fireplace to sleep.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh goodness: time change AND air mattress at the grandparents' house with cousins? That's a bad combination for sleep!

esperanza said...

Once you perfect your congressional hypnosis, QWP, you can try it out on my Baboos. Mini wasn't asleep either, and she was in the big bed. I think they are both sleeping now, 10 pm Central Daylight Time. I, on the couch, am soon to follow.

Sue said...

QWP, I like the way you think... congressional hypnosis is a GREAT idea! :)

I hope everyone managed to get some sleep, esperanza. That's always tricky when visiting family, but even more so when the time change is added in to the mix.

AW: Our son from Out West is coming to visit for six days. He arrives on Thursday!

kathy a. said...

Esperanza, hope everybody ended up getting some sleep!

QWP -- hypnosis. Huh. Sounds reasonable!

Yay for the upcoming visit from your son, Sue!

I've been going to a little local family-owned market pretty often the last few years, both on "shop local" grounds and because I desperately hate the parking lots by the Giganto Supermarkets. Today, for the first time, they had out racks of flower and vegetable starts! So cheerful! The owner said they couldn't do that during the drought, but now (finally) we have no drought. :)

kathy a. said...

Anybody home? Hope all the East Coast Pixies are doing OK with that storm. xoxo

My car said it was 80F outside, which is insane, considering we were flirting with freezing a few days back. I'll happily send some heat where it's needed.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Refreshing Twitter to find out what the tax news is, while quietly listening to see if E is asleep or about to start throwing up in a minute: The QWP Story. (She was feeling queasy before bedtime, which I hope was just a mixture of exhaustion and indigestion from our pastry-based supper. I hope this doesn't suddenly turn into a long night.)

Queen of West Procrastination said...

W: cue the beginning of a long night. Child has thrown up twice already.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Updated W: now I'm getting nauseated.

Anonymous said...

Oh no, QWP! Hope that you all feel better quickly!
--NL

Sue said...

Oh no, QWP!! xoxo

Queen of West Procrastination said...

AW/W: I slept in the basement, while Mr. Q dealt with E upstairs, and we all got some sleep. I never actually threw up, but I'm still dealing with moderate stomach pain. Now, I have to figure out how to deal with a sick kid alone all day, when I'm also feeling so weak. (TV. Of course the answer is TV.)

esperanza said...

Absolutely tv is the answer. So sorry you're both feeling yucky.

kathy a. said...

Went to the stupid-market with the parking lot from hell. 20+ minutes in checkout (I have a talent for picking the right line!), and then some kind of police / towtruck activity blocked my exit route, so I had to work around backing past a giant SUV with black windows next to me, only to be confronted with another giant SUV that apparently wanted my spot but found it difficult to give me some space already. Ahem. We are now stocked with corned beef and fixings, as well as other items.

On the up side, the picnic thing is coming together! And I got all the email addresses for an evite! But now I have to do the evite, working from a spreadsheet. In any event, moving ahead!

No shame in the TV/video fix when needed. xoxo

Liz Miller said...

Hugs, QWP. I hope that everyone's tummy settles down and that TV was an adequate answer. Do you folks have Noggin up there? Oobi is a perfect sick-day show.

Anonymous said...

Just got off the phone with my father. He is a frustrating personality.
That is all.
--NL

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm sorry that you had to deal with frustrations with your father today, NL.

Kathy, well done getting out of the stupid-market, and with getting the picnic organized!

AW: I'm finally changed out of yesterday's clothes (I basically just crashed and fell asleep last night), and E is sitting up on her own. We both had naps this afternoon (she fell asleep in a recliner, and I just put a blanket on her and tip toed out of the room), and I'm feeling ready to eat normal food. E has a long way to go: she's only eaten a few spoonfuls of banana, and about a quarter of a soda cracker, although she has had a lot to drink. But she's kept it all down, and so that's progress. (It's also progress that she just told me that carrots are delicious. Hopefully that means she'll accept a bit more gentle food soon.)

kathy a. said...

((( NL ))) It probably won't be much comfort, but I bet most of us have relatives like that.

QWP, sounds like progress! If she's talking about carrots, she is about to beg to eat, is my suspicion.

Travel ban? Nationwide ban on that fireplacing replacement order, too, with possibly more on the way (since 3 courts heard about this today). Go, team.

I meant to go with healthy food tonight, but think I will go with pizza, since that fits better with trying to figure out my soon-to-be DIL's spreadsheet and how to do the evite. We'll be healthy tomorrow!

Sue said...

(((NL)))

Well done at the stupid-market, kathy!

Sounds like progress, QWP. I hope you and E continue to feel better.

WTF? I just switched on the news and the evil idiot is campaigning. Complete with a crowd shouting "lock her up". What the actual...???

I can't even...

Back to n@tflix.

kathy a. said...

Oh, I guess it is good I don't watch the tv news.

Our old dog, I think maybe this is it. We found out she has cancer a bit back, and it is all in her lungs and everything, too, but she's mostly stayed herself except more tired. Tonight was the first time ever she did not want to eat dinner. She's kind of passed out on daughter's bed, with dad also in attendance.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Hugs, Kathy.

Anonymous said...

((((kathy))))
--NL

Sue said...

((((kathy))) Hugs and love to all your family, and to your pup.

Liz Miller said...

(((Kathy)))

esperanza said...

Oh, poor doggie. Hugs to your family, kathy a.

kathy a. said...

Thanks. She made it through the night, even decided to take a little water -- but very tired and lethargic. My sweetie is the dog guy, and he has decided to just let her be, see how it goes.

kathy a. said...

I kinda lost the dog for a while. She had more water, wanted to go outside to do her stuff. Then she went to her nest in the garage and did not want to come back inside. A few minutes later, she was gone. There is no way out of the yard, but I looked everywhere at least twice and could not find her. On the 4th inspection of a rather dense area of bamboo, I finally saw her tucked way deep inside -- the sun had gotten to a better angle, so I could see the glints of gold in her black fur. She's still breathing, but does not want to come out. Our poor old girl. xoxo

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh, Kathy. Xoxo

Liz Miller said...

((((Kathy)))) Sending love to you all.

kathy a. said...

Well, the dog came out of the bamboo, returned to her nest in the garage. I suspect she is waiting for her fan club to come home. Good girl. xoxo

Liz Miller said...

Stairs and I do not get along. I go down them just fine, but once every couple of years, I hurt myself going UP them. Banged my toe(s) hard on the basement steps this morning. One toe blackened (taped now to the big toe), another toe scraped.

Re: Taping toes. A standard cotton ball is the perfect size to go between Went to Market and Stayed Home, tho it's a little too big to go between Stayed Home and Roast Beef.

esperanza said...

Ouchy, Liz!

Oh, kathy a, dog is showing all the signs of being ready to go, I'd say.

kathy a. said...

Oh, tootsies! Did you adjust the padding? Very sorry about the toes.

Miss Dogness decamped again, but this time she found a sunbeam in the ivy under the flowering plum tree -- a favorite spot.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Liz, I'm sorry about your toe! But I also chucked at that piggie names.

E and I are significantly better today, but also significantly whinier. (Both of us.) We both are at the stage of "I have a bit more energy, and I'm keeping food down, but I'm tiiiired and doing stuff is haaaard and I miss normal fooooooood." We were quite the pair today. I'm glad that Mr. Q is home and has taken over running things.

By the way, I'm a hero, who managed to do SO MUCH vomit laundry, and clean the kitchen, and wrangle a sick kid. I don't know how I've gotten through the past few days.

esperanza said...

You *are* a hero, QWP.

W: sniffing. The sniffing. From both Baboos. The whole 4 hour drive home. And they're still doing it.

kathy a. said...

Esperanza, sometimes cute little tissue packs help. Although, sometimes on a long trip, a mama has to remind herself that dosing them with drowsy meds (while very tempting) is not to the greater good, and then, despite that heroic effort, still with the snuffles.

esperanza said...

Dosing them with drowsy meds has the opposite effect on our Baboos. 'Tis not pretty. And Mini has already had all the allergy meds (3 varieties) a person can take in one day. Poor thing. But stop sniffing, for the love of fuzzy ducklings.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Four hour drive, with both of them sniffling? You are a hero, esperanza.

esperanza said...

And the mouth breathing while eating. That's about to do me in. Is spring break over yet? Thankfully (for this and other reasons) there was a kids' table while at the grandparents.

Liz Miller said...

QWP, I think whining is always better when you're both doing it and can REALLY put some feeling behind it.

Esperanza, OY WITH THE SNIFFING. I am so happy my boy learned the skill of blowing. It's amazing how fast we blow through the family pack of boxes of tissues.

esperanza said...

Now she's crunching ice.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh goodness, they're sure exploring the breadth of irritating noises, aren't they?

W: Mr. Q is starting to feel sick now, too.

Liz Miller said...

Oh no, QWP! Sending hopes for a false alarm.

The mold remediation guys came back with a quote. If we're going to have them do everything they suggested, the job will cost over $10K. And there's not a whole lot of demolition needed.

OTOH, some of the recommendations don't need to be done right now. But it's going to be at least a $3000 proposition.

Sue said...

QWP and esperanza, you are both heroes!!! Between the vomit laundry and the symphony of sniffling - yup, you need awards and spa days.

Sorry about the toes, Liz. Ouch!!!

That's a good bit of money for the mold remediation, but you'll feel so much better once it's done.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

$10k for mold remediation! Oh dear, Liz.

W: Mr. Q was sick all night, and almost fainted at 2am. (But E and I were asleep upstairs, while he was quarantined to the basement bedroom and bathroom, and so I didn't find out until morning.)

kathy a. said...

Oh, yikes about the cost, Liz! It sounds like there are priority areas, like your room for example.

QWP, may the plague be gone!

Our pup is still holding on, but barely. Her Man and daughter both stayed home today.

esperanza said...

Oh, QWP, that is miserable. I hope Mr. Q is on the mend soon.

Liz, that doesn't sound fun. I'm assuming you've checked with your insurance?

Hugs to the pup, kathy a, and her people.

kathy a. said...

In other news, we never go anywhere on this particular Irish celebration; but there is corned beef in the crock pot, with veggies below, taters above, and some cabbage to follow in a couple hours.

esperanza said...

I gave up on St. Patrick's Day several years ago, when the Baboos wanted me to explain what it was about, and I couldn't.

I'm all for potatoes, in just about any form.

kathy a. said...

My sweetie finally decided the dog needs a gentler way to go, and had me make an appointment, which will be about an hour and a half. Daughter is going, too. Cora will go surrounded by love. xoxo

esperanza said...

Sending peace to Cora and her people.

kathy a. said...

I girded everybody up as best I could, rubbed Cora and told her she is good, made sure my daughter's OK with being there, talked to our son, talked to the neighbor's daughter so they would not expect the usual greetings as the dog went to the hospital, called the vet again to say they are on their way and could they please have a private room asap. And now, just sobbing my heart out. She's been a very good dog.

kathy a. said...

We do not get a lot of door to door salespersons around here, but one just came by. And I said, "My dog is dying right now, I need you to go away." And he did. And then I went and cried some more, because it is probably over now, but the dog whisperers are not back.

esperanza said...

That is the best response to a door-to-door salesperson ever. A woman I used to know, who has had cancer for at least 20 years, off and on, says to telephone solicitors, "I'm sorry. I have cancer. I do not choose to spend my remaining days talking to you. Good bye."

When our dog died a million years ago, it was late at night on a Friday. I had a meeting early the following morning, to which I was late. The convener of the meeting made some smart remark about my tardiness. I thought to myself, "there is no way to tell you why I'm late without making you sound like a jerk." So I told him, and he felt like a jerk, he apologized, and we all moved on.

Anyway. Hugs. Lots of hugs. Medicinal chocolate might also be in order.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh, Kathy. So many hugs. Xoxo

Anonymous said...

((((((kathy))))))
I'm so sorry. Hugs to all your family too.
--Neighbor Lady


p.s. hope mr q is feeling better

Sue said...

(((kathy))) I'm so sorry about Cora. It's so dreadfully painful to say goodbye to a beloved pet. xoxoxo

That was a great response to the salesperson, too. esperanza, I would have done the same with the meeting convenor/jerk.

kathy a. said...

Well -- more wedding stuff! My son and his beloved took the caterer to see the space, and she loved loved loved everything about it, and it really sounds like the wedding itself is all lined up! I mean, all the details. They came over after and talked for 2 hours, which means they are very very excited!!!!!!!

The dog whisperers went to the shelter this afternoon to donate excess canned food, and also have some pet therapy. (Family tradition in stressful times.) They are not ready to adopt another dog just yet, but apparently it took superhuman strength to avoid adopting a "normal cat, you know, the kind that comes up and purrs." Both cats slept with me last night, but they might have a point about general sociability...

Sue, hope you are having a grand time with your son!

And, happy birthday, Liz! xoxo

Queen of West Procrastination said...

It sounds like your whole family spent their day really well, Kathy. Xoxo

Happy birthday, Liz!

AW: we're all improving, and the three of us managed to eat a single chicken breast for supper, with no ill effects. We also bleached and cleaned the entire main floor of the house. (Also, my mom dropped off some groceries yesterday, and my MIL dropped off more today!) We're staying home from church tomorrow, to make sure we're well clear of the virus before we go out into public. (And then we'll bleach the basement as well.) We're all still exhausted, but now I'm really starting to feel like we're almost better.

Sue said...

Sounds like a great day, kathy. Yay for happy wedding news!

QWP, I'm glad you all managed to get some food down. Staying home tomorrow is a good plan - hopefully some rest and a quiet day will help you feel even better.

We're having a great visit with our son. It's so good to have him home! Also, he's a great cook. :)