BookWoman56

I’m currently looking at a 10-day forecast that consists primarily of “highs” in the mid to upper 90s, with one token cool day where the high will be only 90. Soon it will be that point when weather discussion focuses on how many days in a row it will hit 100 or higher. I am very grateful for my central air.

I apparently commit blasphemy every time I make lasagna these days. I used to make my own sauce first and then layer all the ingredients. Currently I use two jars of marinara sauce to one jar of Alfredo sauce, mixed with a large bag of shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, the precooked noodles, and the other ingredients such as bell peppers and onions, spices, etc. I don’t care what other people think about it; it’s easy to make and tastes way better than a lot of lasagna I’ve had in restaurants.

I’ve seen a lot of people complain about FedEx, but UPS (not to be confused with USPS) is somehow always the delivery service I have problems with. In the last year, it’s been: Package just disappeared off the face of the planet while in transit, twice (2 completely different orders). Only box 1 of a 2-box item arrived (the table top without the legs and hardware isn’t going to do me much good). Today is doubly irritating. Package A is a couple of heavy boxes of materials for replacing my door molding upstairs. Got the “track your delivery on a live map” notification this morning. Fo

I avoid the various dietary/food preferences labels and just describe myself as a picky eater. I will not eat seafood at all. I sometimes eat meat, but occasionally will go for a few weeks without any. I like some fruits and vegetables, but often can’t stand popular fruits such as strawberries. At the same time, I can usually find something tolerable at most restaurants or at a party hosted by family or friends, so I don’t feel like my food preferences cause anyone any real problems.

The new company will most likely identify redundant teams and individuals, and do a re-org of some kind. Given how close you are to retirement age, don’t be surprised if they offer you an early retirement package. Be aware that if they offer the early retirement package and you decline it, they will most likely lay you off a few months after that, with no notice. I witnessed something similar years ago, and the employees who turned down the package, and thought they were irreplaceable, got called into a conference room and laid off effective immediately.

I generally warn anyone attempting to draw blood that my veins are thin, roll, and collapse at the slightest provocation. This is usually followed by the discussion about which arm to use, which consists of me telling them the left arm is better, them looking at my left arm and informing me the right arm MUST be better, and then shocked Pikachu face when they discover I was correct. Although I haven’t been able to do it in a while, I used to donate platelets regularly, and much preferred their method of finding a vein. They would always jab my arm with a local anesthetic prior to sti

I had my 2nd Pfizer shot on Wednesday around noon. Sore arm that evening. Thursday I felt okay until early afternoon, at which point I stretched out for what I thought would be 30 minutes, until I woke up again at 10:30pm. Then came the fever and chills, lasting through most of Friday. Today I feel relatively back to normal. They did tell me the vaccine wouldn’t be fully effective for a couple of weeks, so to continue normal precautions for now. I had found some vaccine card protectors online, and the two people administering shots were quite impressed. Apparently a lot of people hav

San Antonio has only two seasons on any consistent basis: Seriously fucking hot, and almost bearable.

For all of you dreading having to clean out your parents’ houses or wanting to make it easier for your own family after you or your spouse dies, I highly recommend The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, which is available through the standard online book sites. I sent a copy to my older sister, after a couple of rounds of cleaning out my parents’ house when my father died and my mother had to go live with my oldest sister because of health issues, and then a few years later when we had to sort through my mother’s stuff prior to moving her out to live with me. The book has quite useful sugge

I had my cataract surgery a few years ago when I reached the point that my optometrist said I was legally blind and shouldn’t drive any more. I’d known it was coming for a while but my vision deteriorated more rapidly than expected. I only wish I had done it sooner. My vision improved significantly; for the first time in decades I could drive and watch movies without glasses. With the pandemic going on, I have postponed some medical checkups and so forth. Once I get my second vaccine shot, I will set up appointments with my doctor, dentist, optometrist, etc., and hope to get back to

Sorry to hear about the on-site boss being a jerk and your agency rep sharing information with the client contrary to what she promised. Obviously neither one of them can be trusted. I think you’re doing the right thing in starting to look for something else. The on-site boss wants someone so desperate for a job that he/she will jump through any and all hoops to keep the job, even if those hoops are on fire. Although I share your opinion about too many corporations caring only about their profits while paying lip service to caring about their employees, I will say it’s possible to fi

Based on my own frustrating experience booking an appointment several weeks after I was first eligible, my advice is to set an alarm for around 3 or 4am, and check the CVS schedule then. They update their system sometime overnight and by 8-9am, all the new slots are gone.

In a story with multiple people with the same last name, they would use first and last names the first time each person is mentioned, and after that could either continue using both names or use only the first name. While using the last name is correct per whatever style guide they’re using, the writers and copy editors also can use common sense to ensure that anyone reading the story can tell exactly which person is being referenced. Imagine a situation in which the missing child’s last name is Smith, the sheriff’s last name is Smith, and a major witness’s last name is Smith. The news story i

I got my first Pfizer vaccine yesterday; 2nd shot is scheduled 3 weeks from now. This was at a CVS, and went smoothly. The person giving me the shot was a little surprised that I didn’t avert my eyes during the injection and joked that maybe he should be the one to do that. The only side effect is a sore arm that started several hours after the shot, so for me it’s been very similar to a flu shot. TX has opened up eligibility for anyone 16 and older, so my daughter, son, and DIL can now try to book appointments. However, my sister, BIL, and nephew (who are currently living with me) h

If that happened to me, the minute the person knocked on my door, I would tell them that the fact they parked in my driveway and blocked me from being able to leave immediately if needed, means I will not buy whatever they are selling, no matter what it is or how good of a deal it might be, and there’s a good chance I will boycott the brand entirely.