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Monday, January 22, 2018

A Bit of Whine & a Bit of Anti-whine

Around here, it's a big AW week - our son is coming for a visit at the end of the week. Yay!

On the other hand, today is (allegedly) my day off, and I must attend two chunky meetings. One via phone, one in person. I designate that as whine-worthy.

Somewhere in between said meetings, I need to do some cleaning around here.

What's new in your world, pixies?

22 comments:

kathy a. said...

Thanks for hosting, Sue! Seriously, two chunky meetings on the "day off"??

Well, my son has a kayak, and he was storing it someplace boat-oriented, but apparently he was the only one paying his rent, so they are closing. The long story short is that we now have a kayak and gear in the garage, because there's just enough room for it.

Also, his new used car is definitely the most respectable one he's ever had. (The truck died.)

I'm finally allowed to dispose of my son's large plastic skeleton decoration! The garage contains many wonders...

During a search for camping gear, I think, my beloved ran across a box of kitchen items my daughter had from college, which I wish we'd known about before she moved to her new place.... There's one special bowl that she'll want, but I think the rest is headed for donations.

We have more rain! Not the hard kind; the drizzle and occasional light rain kind.

Sue said...

Yay for having room in the garage, kathy!!! You get points for that, for sure.

kathy a. said...

Meanwhile, back at national HQ for Dysfunction Central (D.C.), at least children's health is / will be protected for 6 years, and the government should open again tomorrow. For 3 weeks, until the next showdown at the corral. I'm weary of this year already.

My not-dead friend is still not dead! We're invited to some family gathering of his that involves both bagpipes and haggis, which we are sadly unable to attend. He says he'll try harder to persuade us next year, which I'm taking with the humor intended. Apparently, his garage suffers from the same "who decided this was worth keeping" affliction as ours, so we still have common ground after all these decades. ;)

Queen of West Procrastination said...

As someone who is also using some garage space to as storage for extended family, good job getting rid of the large skeleton collection (?!) in exchange for storing the kayak! Maybe it can be the deal for storing things: if you want to add something to the space, you need to eliminate something of equal or larger size first. (I just can't get over the skeleton collection.)

I'm glad that there's been movement both in ending the shutdown, and in funding children's healthcare.

W/AW: I woke up this morning to the news that the coastal areas of my old city were under tsunami warning (as well as entire towns on the west coast of the island). We lived on the sheltered side of the island! I had no idea that it was possible for a tsunami to get that far! But, just as I was frantically looking up more information, and checking social media to see if friends were evacuating, there was a update that the warning was ended.

W: we have a long day ahead (I'm watching a friend's four year old while E is at preschool -- his mom has to go out of town for a medical thing, with his little brother -- and then I'm hauling him to school at pickup time, entertaining both kids in the school library, and then handing him off to his regular babysitter). And so, as luck would have it, E had an hour less sleep than usual, and is very grouchy.

kathy a. said...

Redzils is in Alaska, and was awake when the quake hit; but apparently she and family are fine, and I think the tsunami warning's been lifted.

It's just one skeleton! But pretty large.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

In glad to hear that Redzils and family are okay! I saw that all the tsunami warnings have been lifted.

How large is this skeleton, Kathy? Larger than an average human?

Sue said...

kathy, sorry you can't make it to your friend's party, but it's so nice you were able to talk. He sounds like a great idea.

Sorry to hear about the quake in your old town, QWP. I'm so glad redzils is okay too!!

We just heard on the weather network that the tsunami warning for your old town has been withdrawn - so that's good news.

W: Total number of hours in meetings yesterday (day off) = 4.75 hours. Total number of meeting hours on Sunday = 1.5 hours. That's just wrong.

AW: I'm doing zero work today. Not a bit.

AW: Son from the East arrives on Wednesday!

kathy a. said...

Hooray for visiting son!

The skeleton is about 4.5-5 feet -- shorter than a lot of humans, but a lot more faux bones than a person wants taking space in the garage.

You know who actually does have a whole collection of [tiny] skeletons? My DIL's mother! She collects all kinds of little figurines and kitch, and these look like they belong in little day of the dead dioramas. The pair dressed as bride and groom made a little appearance at the wedding, in the donut sector that served as the wedding cake. :)

Clyde went to day care today (YAY! SO EXCITING!), so I could go get certified paperwork that my beloved needs in connection with looking out for his sister's affairs. I really really hate driving the freeways that far, so I took BART to a stop shared with AMTRAK, took the big train to the appropriate stop, had a good walk around this cute town, waited in line, found out I had to go to a different building and waited again, and finally got the stuff we needed. $130 for 5 certified copies of a 2 page document! Oh, well... Then I had a nice lunch, strolled some more, waited for my train back, picked up some food for dinner, and am chilling out for a while before retrieving the dog.

Sue said...

Yay Clyde! He likes his day care outings. :)

While that's a big chunk of money for copies, certified or otherwise, the rest of your day sounds quite lovely, kathy. I love train travel.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

W: I woke up with a swollen eyelid, and now I'm playing the "allergies or about to develop into pinkeye?" guessing game. (I took an antihistamine and applied a hot compress, and now it doesn't hurt anymore, and it seems pretty clear that it's a bump on the eyelid rather than general swelling. A stye? Ugh. I have no time for this.)

Also, I'm taking the kid to the dentist, so: fingers crossed.

kathy a. said...

Wash your hands and separate towels, QWP, just in case! But those times I had pinkeye, it was always picked up from my kids. It sounds like the hot compress helped -- as it did for me, the time I thought I had pinkeye, but it turned out to be along the lines of a zit, on the laah line. It resolved with hot compresses.

Yes, Clyde had a glorious day! He came bounding out of daycare, almost as energetic as in the morning -- and then he was one tired pup for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm wondering if this is something like what you had, Kathy. I'm having some issues with my new moisturizer making my skin break out, and also I used mascara for the first time in forever, on Sunday. I'm really not convinced that it's pinkeye: it's more like a painful bump in my eyelid, with no eye redness or goop. Hopefully, hot compresses make this clear up. Ugh.

AW: dentist went off without a hitch. E did so well. And then I let her pick out a prize from the nearby dollar store, and she picked a stuffed snake, which has entertained her since we got home.

Sue said...

Yay for E at the dentist! I hope your eye clears up soon, QWP!

kathy a. said...

I'm trying to be a matchmaker today! No, not that way. A while back, my daughter's former music teacher was looking for a tenant for a detached studio / in-law type apartment. And today, the mother of my son's late friend, a nice woman, is looking for someplace to live since the landlord is selling the house she's lived in -- so, she said she's looking for a detached cottage.

I dunno if this will work out! The musician friend isn't looking for more pets on premises; and the mom friend has a 14 year old dog. Plus, she might want more room. But there are so few times when I can vouch for both people who are looking for something. I actually think, since the music friend is also looking for a petsitter for his cats at present, and they are both nice people, a deal might be made. Knock wood!

kathy a. said...

Did I mention that a nearby home at a fairly busy local intersection recently added a Little Free Pantry, next to the Little Free Library? Well, I was moved today, and deposited some non-perishables, and then went to thank the homeowner. Was greeted by the owner and her dogs, who weren't quite sure of me at first, but everybody settled down, and I promised to bring more by the pantry.

I kinda love this family. The pantry contained [among other things] some baby formula; a bunch of pacifiers; some reasonably fresh small oranges and potatoes; mac/cheese, instant oatmeal, canned soups. Their house has "everybody welcome here" signs in various languages, a "not in my town" local sign against discrimination, and some luminarias along the path from sidewalk to door. What with the barking, we didn't get to a first name basis yet; but one can love neighbors w/o knowing their names, right?

kathy a. said...

Quiet here! Everybody OK?

I have an actual date to go to a museum with my sweetie tomorrow! (Asian Art.) And Clyde is going to day care, yay! We just haven't had the best "fun time together" vs. "adulting" ratio lately, so I'm excited.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Sorry I've been MIA! It's been a busy week. Somehow, I've managed to make it so that all of the year's medical appointments take place over about a week and a half, and E is not very pleased about that. She'd also like to register a complaint about the requirement to disrobe for her annual checkup, which she describes as annoying and embarrassing. (Dr. M promised E that, next year, she'll let her keep her shirt. But still no pants. E does not approve.) She's also dreading her upcoming eye exam, because there's a good chance she'll need eye drops.

But, the week hasn't been all bad: I left the house, without a kid! I just had a lovely evening out with old friends (one friend has a birthday coming up, and we arranged for my parents to babysit tonight, so that all the husbands could play a board game at the other house with kids, while we girls went out to check out a piano bar). We had so much fun! The music was so good, and we made a bunch of requests, and ate too much, and were proud of ourselves for leaving our houses for once.

Sue said...

Hi friends. Sorry to be a crappy host this week. It's been insanely busy. I am on study leave, which should mean I have time for some reading, or something. Not so much. I've been putting out small fires at work, had another teleconference, hosted friends for dinner last night, and visited with our son as much as possible.

I need a break from this break.

Hooray for fun weekend things going on with you. QWP, your evening out sounds wonderful! Yay for art gallery dates, kathy!!

Happy Saturday, pixies!

esperanza said...

I'm here. Was at a conference at a quite nice hotel, where the promised wifi was dreadful. That and the single ply toilet paper are my only complaints, so I guess that's not too bad.

W: exhausted from youth conference the previous weekend, and conference.

AW: got good feedback from youth and adults about my keynotes at the youth conference

W: Then during the week, the emails from unhappy people. I'm deciding that standing up for LGBT people and against racial discrimination is worth making people unhappy, but it still sits uneasily with me.


Liz said...

Good for you, Esperanza! I agree with you that it's hard to have people unhappy with you, but since there is no way to ever make everybody happy, knowing you are on the side of Love and Justice goes a long way to make up for the fact that douchebags are gonna douchebag.

YAY for leaving the house, QWP!

YAY for Adult Fun Outings everybody!

W/AW: Teenager teenagering. But it looks like we have discovered a path through and are walking with him along the path.

W: Grown-ups in the house acting less grown-up than they should, but taking it well when other grown-ups point out that more grown-up behavior would be welcome.

W: Work weeks would feel shorter if weekends weren't totally taken up with laundry, grocery shopping, bill-paying, tax-filing, and other adulting.

AW: I'm enjoying my work as far as it goes. My commute is long, but I'm taking mass transit so I get to read and play on my phone.

kathy a. said...

QWP, I'm a fan of getting medical stuff over with in a short period of time, then not worrying for a while. And, little E seems to have excellent advocacy skills!

Sue, that sounds busy busy for a "study leave"! Hope you had some good son time.

Esperanza, so much! It stinks when you have to be away and the wifi stinks, but sounds like some great feedback! Except the random people complaining that you actually oppose discrimination. They're misguided. Sending love anyway.

Liz for quote of the week: "... knowing you are on the side of Love and Justice goes a long way to make up for the fact that douchebags are gonna douchebag."

Also, kudos to Liz for working through the "teenagering" and all that entails around the household. Not to mention, all the work after the work week ends.

So -- we had a great time at the Asian Art Museum, and followed up with a visit to the Ferry Building in SF, which is now all kinds of gourmet shops, plus on Saturday there is an amazing and large farmer's market, plus craft booths.

But it was also very weird, because there was some big anti-abortion rally and march that I didn't know about -- they were gathering at the civic center (where the museum is), and later, Market St. was closed off for the march part of the festivities. A lot of the farmers were closing shop early, because they didn't want to deal with it. Also, police presence both ends, despite everybody pretty much scooting on past the people with signs. And a couple dozen buses at the far end, to take all the protesters back to their distant locations. Weird, is what I'm saying.

kathy a. said...

Last week at the civic center? The women's march, and a lot of signs talking about running for office. Now, *that* is something more in touch with community sentiments.