DeLurker

@icemiser69 - that’s really irresponsible pet ownership. Are there leash laws in your area? If you can, vrecord the dog roaming free and owner being negligent and send it to animal control. I let my dog off leash when I take him on the local green belts where it is common if your dog is not aggressive and doesn’t get snarly with other dogs on the trails. But otherwise he’s on the leash for both his safety and so other people don’t have to worry about whether the least intimidating looking dog in the world is going to stay that way (he’s a white floofy guy, but he is big). He wouldn’t hurt anyone, but he’d go charging after squirrels and ducks if he had his way.

I just got some belated presents and this is the best! It raised a lot of questions when it showed up on my list, but it makes me happier than it should. It is a hedgehog table brush for sweeping up crumbs.

Just spotted this with the Jello in the grocery store... I guess because it was tough to find the ingredients to make Jello shots?

Oh my - that ranks a bit higher than "difficult"! I hope that you and Mom are getting the rest needed and recover without any more havoc thrown your way.

Got an email from about a food recall PetSmart where I buy Kook's prescription dog food from Hill's. Voluntary Canned Dog Food Recall: United States None of the cans that we bought were on the list, but just in case anyone else buys the prescription food...

I had a super hard time with that with my son. I think I stressed him out so much he didn’t push for additional drive time. I am much better now and unless it is critically important, I wait to give my feedback when we’re done with the drive. I took drivers ed in high school but was 18 before I got my license. My parents weren’t going to let me use their cars, but my friends either had cars or were allowed to use the family beater on weekends. Worst case scenario was I would have to pester an older brother to drive me someplace.

I've got two kids learning to drive right now. Apparently, there just isn't the same urgency for kids to get their license - at least not in these parts - since several of my daughter's friends don't have theirs either. I'd been waiting for my daughter to ask to take driver's ed or to go get her permit, but she never did. She's a senior and just turned 18 in December. I finally told her to find out the schedule for the next driver's ed program at her school and told her I was enrolling her. It is on campus but after school. So the kids' car to use is going to be my old Volvo station wagon so that is what they use when getting in practice. I had a dead car battery in the back that I was going to take back to where I bought it since it died about 6 months after I got it, but found it makes an ideal learning to drive accessory since it slides around on the cargo liner if you accelerate too fast, brake or turn too hard so they get an auditory cue. It is heavy enough so that it does not move if things happen smoothly. I'm hoping the kids got their dad's spatial and parking skills. He was a terror to drive with (or share the road with), but he had outstanding skills in those areas.

Last night we grabbed some to go food since I had various errands to run. A local pizza place has a couple of stores and makes an amazing salad with artichoke, feta and chicken in it so I got that and chicken fettuccine for my daughter. The same plaza has a couple of drive throughs and so I picked up Jack In the Box for my son. I have two of the pizza shops near me and it is splitting hairs which one is closer. But at one of them, I consistently get a much larger serving of the salad so I choose that one. Since I eat it as a meal, I get 2 servings out of it.

From the article - Snacks such as cookies and granola bars are generally overpriced as well, says Greutman: "All of those are impulse buys and I think specifically packaged to be quick buys, and you spend a lot of money." ~~~~ Have to disagree with them here. Some of the cookies at TJs are amazing and I don't really think there is a comparable grocery store product to them. The Triple Ginger Snaps and Quadruple Almond cookies certainly don't have competition. The Speculoos are cheaper than the Biscoff brand. My kids have a strong preference for the Joe-Joe's and chocolate chip cookies from there over brands carried in grocery stores.

Just got done giving my big floofy dog a bath at the new pet place that opened up recently. They have grooming by appointment and two self-wash stations. For $12, you get a station, hot & cold water, shampoo & conditioner if you want it (I brought my own), endless towels (!) and a dryer. As an added bonus, you don't have to clean up the place after and you don't have to wash the towels. Since Kook is a practitioner of passive resistance when it comes to baths, he was not thrilled. I, on the other hand, was quite pleased not to have to bend down to wash the dog and to be able to wash him in an environment designed for washing dogs. It did take me a fair amount of time - probably 75-85 minutes, but I was new to this kind of set up and did not want to turn the water nor the air up too high on Kook since he is already stressed out when getting a bath. The only potential issue was when I was getting him ready to get out of the tub. I unhooked him from the tether that keeps dogs secure when being washed and was putting back on his regular collar. He decided he should start to walk out of the tub, meaning to walk over and down the ramp. He's tall enough to where he could probably do it without problem, but I did not want to chance it.

@hoosier80 - Your mom is a handful to say the least. Is there no one left that has some influence over her? Because she probably has physical conditions that are causing her discomfort that have been left untreated and chronic pain can take its toll on even the most pleasant of people. If you have a difficult person to start out with, well that just amplifies their personality. Would it be possible to specifically refuse to visit until she has had a check-up and/or go with her to the appointment? It might appeal to her vanity that her daughter insists she see a doctor (she'll probably still rail at you, but she'll be able to tell other people how concerned you are about her health). I'm really sorry.

I'm confused and/or under-caffeinated. Why are you replacing your existing mattress if you are not ready?

Chickpea Update: There was barely enough room to slide the dried chickpeas in between the two dishes, so that was a concern. I had put them in and added cold water to soak around 2 PM yesterday. I checked on things a couple of times in the evening and things hadn't become unstuck so I was thinking this may not work. I checked this morning and it looked like the soy sauce dish had shifted just a bit - really just a smidge - but I decided to see if it was enough. And it was! So very happy!

Saturday in the late afternoon, the guys doing some work for my neighbor came by to see if I wanted the leafs cleared from my roof & gutters for $80. I gave it a pass because my son can reach most of the areas on the first floor with a ladder. He tried to negotiate with me by coming down on the price but I still passed. I always feel funny trying to negotiate because I hate to lowball someone who is doing manual labor. Today they were back to mulch her planter beds, but asked me again when I pulled in from errands. I still said “No thank you” , but this time they said we’ll do it today since we are here for $40. Since it included clearing out the gutters on the second floor, I said yes.

Was washing some dishes last night that can't go in the dishwasher. One was my really big cup I use for soup and another was one of my small soy sauce dishes. Somehow the soy sauce dish managed to get into the cup and is now stuck. I've tried a variety of ways to get them separated, but no luck so far. Someone on the internet says to put dried chickpeas in between and add water. The theory is as the chickpeas re-hydrate, they will expand and push the dishes apart. I'll be buying chickpeas this morning.