Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[Yeah No]

So today while driving to pick up the daughter my husband gets a call from the family's travel agent that his boss needs a last minute ride to JFK tomorrow early a.m. and my husband pushed back on it saying that he was driving the daughter tonight until late in the evening. The travel agent called the boss to tell him and he told her that no way did he want my husband driving him and to book a limo. company for the ride. So it looks like they're getting the message. I just hope more change is coming soon. My husband tells me not to worry about him but I'm worried sick over this because he's pushing himself to handle the contractors at the house too. At least he was able to grab a nap at the supermarket parking lot for a couple of  hours today. And heaven willing he'll be off tomorrow (we hope).

My side of this isn't great either as I've been largely dealing with the contractors myself when my husband isn't around and that's never easy and there are complications popping up to deal with every day. It's been very stressful for a lot of reasons I don't even want to go into. Some are construction-related and some are contractor-related. Nothing unsolvable but it's just minor curve balls every day, some more difficult to solve than others. And we still don't know when we're going to get out of the hotel and back home either. The contractor originally said it could be weeks but my husband was pushing for less time. I am realistic and think it will be at least another week if not more. And I don't want to move back in when there is still a lot of noisy work going on and people in and out.

Then on top of that the woman at the front desk of the hotel was pressuring me to know when we were going to check out even though we told her it could be 2-3 weeks and that we had to leave it somewhat open ended due to the circumstances. I don't even want to go into what kind of aggravation she has caused me despite the fact that the hotel manager was very reasonable about it and told my husband we had until Thursday to tell them whether we needed another week - and even gave us bonus points and and extra discount to boot! I told the front desk woman yesterday that it would be at least another week if not more and she was still pressuring me to be more definite. Meanwhile she did not pressure my husband like that at all, especially when her manager was around. I told her to talk to him if she had a problem with it but I reminded her that her manager was OK with the situation. In the past I have stayed in hotels a few times where I had to leave my checkout date open ended and never got this level of pressure put on me. She keeps telling us that the hotel is filled to capacity so she needs to know and she may not be able to accommodate us. Look, I booked hotels and travel for decades for my bosses, I'm not stupid. I know they overbook these places. But it's just not cool to threaten to throw out people in our situation especially when we disclosed it when we checked in and the manager is OK with it. I have actually stayed at this hotel 3 times before for various reasons going back 5 years and we are points members with the chain so it's not like we just walked in off the street. She even mentioned that she remembered us from when we checked in for a night after the tree fell on our house. So I don't know WTF her problem is. Of course my husband (again typical) tells me not to "let her get to me" but honestly I have never had this kind of situation with any hotel person before. I am doing my best to avoid going past the front desk so as to avoid her now.

But don't even get me started about how the air conditioner in the first suite they gave us didn't work and so we had to move after 2 nights in it and everything was already unpacked. And then this room stank of some kind of awful deodorizer that still hasn't completely dissipated. I might have already posted about this. 

Anyway it's been a nightmare in several different ways already and it's not over yet!

At this point my "witty" friend would be asking me, "Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?" To which I usually reply, "Bang, zoom, to the moon!"

Edited Thursday at 12:51 AM by Yeah No

[Dimity]

I don't really do jigsaw puzzles - I don't have the patience!  But my daughter got me this as an early Mother's Day gift and I have to admit I love it.  I may feel differently about it once I actually start to tackle it though!

 

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

I don't really do jigsaw puzzles - I don't have the patience!  But my daughter got me this as an early Mother's Day gift and I have to admit I love it.  I may feel differently about it once I actually start to tackle it though!

 

I like jigsaws. This one looks like fun. It’s a collage puzzle, meaning that each book cover is like a separate small puzzle so it can be somewhat easier. I like book themes

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

I don't really do jigsaw puzzles - I don't have the patience!  But my daughter got me this as an early Mother's Day gift and I have to admit I love it.  I may feel differently about it once I actually start to tackle it though!

 

I'm with you. It amazes me how people can sit for hours and work hard to find all the pieces. Hey...you can just enjoy the pictures on the box cover 😁.

[Quof]

Ah!  Nancy Drew.  I had the complete set of the original hardcovers, in mint condition. It sells for hundreds of dollars on eBay.  

My mother is a borderline hoarder.  My Nancy Drew books are practically the only thing she ever willingly gave away. 

[Mindthinkr]

8 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I like jigsaws. This one looks like fun. It’s a collage puzzle, meaning that each book cover is like a separate small puzzle so it can be somewhat easier. I like book themes

I just did a jigsaw with an Ian Rankin theme. He’s a murder mystery author and the puzzle showed many of his books murders, or sites. Lots of small details. It was a tough one. I would love the Nancy Drew puzzle. 
 
I'm having work done in my house (kitchen redo) and while the contractors are working, I do a jigsaw. That way I can sort of keep an eye on things, answer questions, be busy, but not in their way . 

[Quof]

I do jigsaw puzzles online.

I have a cat.

[EtheltoTillie]

I keep the jigsaw puzzle set up on the dining room table and do a few pieces whenever I feel like it. 

[EtheltoTillie]

I miss my old office.  We had a lot of empty space there, so during the pandemic we started doing an office jigsaw puzzle.  We did at least 10.  Then last year we had to move . . .

[ebk57]

12 hours ago, Quof said:

Ah!  Nancy Drew.  I had the complete set of the original hardcovers, in mint condition. It sells for hundreds of dollars on eBay.  

My mother is a borderline hoarder.  My Nancy Drew books are practically the only thing she ever willingly gave away. 

I gave a few of them away, then decided to re-buy them from eBay.  At the time, they weren't too expensive. I can't claim they're in mint condition though...

 

 

[SoMuchTV]

19 hours ago, Dimity said:

I don't really do jigsaw puzzles - I don't have the patience!  But my daughter got me this as an early Mother's Day gift and I have to admit I love it.  I may feel differently about it once I actually start to tackle it though!

 

That's my kind of puzzle!  Lots of lettering, and easy-to-differentiate sections.

My daughter and son-in-law had a (500? 1000 piece?) puzzle made from a photo commemorating their engagement, where the two of them were in some kind of grotto.  Like, from a distance. They brought it along on our annual extended family beach vacation.  Step-son, who was probably in 4th or 5th grade at a time wrote a paper on what he did last summer.  It included... "on the first day, we started a puzzle" ... other stuff ... "on the 5th day, we gave up on the puzzle."

[tearknee]

[SoMuchTV]

11 minutes ago, tearknee said:

Was that a response to my post?  Either way, maybe a little explanation would be helpful.

[tearknee]

9 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Was that a response to my post?  Either way, maybe a little explanation would be helpful.

No, just wrong thread. I'm not in good shape at all.

 

[Dimity]

2 hours ago, ebk57 said:

I gave a few of them away, then decided to re-buy them from eBay.  At the time, they weren't too expensive. I can't claim they're in mint condition though...

 

 

Love it!  I have a bookcase filled with my Nancy Drews (some were my Moms) and also Cherry Ames, Judy Bolton, Kay Tracey,  Dana Girls, Beverly Gray and Vicki Barr.  I only have Nancy and Judy Bolton complete and even Nancy I stopped with the original 56.  I've no interest in any of the iterations that came after.   When I can I've also gotten the unrevised versions of the first 36 books.  They've got their issues but they're the best ones IMO.

Edited Friday at 11:31 PM by Dimity

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, Dimity said:

Love it!  I have a bookcase filled with my Nancy Drews (some were my Moms) and also Cherry Ames, Judy Bolton, Kay Tracey,  Dana Girls, Beverly Gray and Vicki Barr.  I only have Nancy and Judy Bolton complete and even Nancy I stopped with the original 56.  I've no interest in any of the iterations that came after.   When I can I've also gotten the unrevised versions of the first 36 books.  They've got their issues but they're the best ones IMO.

Wow!!  I'm so envious 💚. ND (before they modernized it) and the Dana Girls, and Cherry Ames. Lucky you!! ND's "The Secret in the Attic" was (I think 🤔) my first mystery book. My 5th grade class had books on shelves and I went to town on the mystery books. I so envied Nancy not having to do chores as they had a housekeeper. And a cool boyfriend, Ned Nickerson.

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

ND's "The Secret in the Attic" was (I think 🤔) my first mystery book.

When I was 10 my grandmother sent my sisters and I a box of our mother's old books.  The first ND I read was original recipe The Message in the Hollow Oak.  I was hooked...

[Yeah No]

I liked the Hardy Boys better and had the full set. Sadly, I gave it away at least 20 years ago. I did have several Nancy Drew books, though. 

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I liked the Hardy Boys better and had the full set. Sadly, I gave it away at least 20 years ago. I did have several Nancy Drew books, though. 

There was a Hardy Boys show starring Tim Considine & some other kid. I remember a song from one episode, about "Gold doubloons and pieces of eight, handed down by Applegate..."

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

There was a Hardy Boys show starring Tim Considine & some other kid. I remember a song from one episode, about "Gold doubloons and pieces of eight, handed down by Applegate..."

Are you talking about the TV series starring Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson? I watched it but mostly for the eye candy, lol.

[graybrown bird]

27 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Are you talking about the TV series starring Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson? I watched it but mostly for the eye candy, lol.

The Hardy Boys on TV in the 1950s (early 60s?) were shown as part of the Wonderful World of Disney and starred Tim Considine and (I think) Tommy Kirk.

[Yeah No]

3 minutes ago, graybrown bird said:

The Hardy Boys on TV in the 1950s (early 60s?) were shown as part of the Wonderful World of Disney and starred Tim Considine and (I think) Tommy Kirk.

Ah, a little before my time. Shaun Cassidy is my age (66).

[lookeyloo]

I read Nancy Drew, my brothers' Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins and Trixie Belden.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trixie_Belden

 

[graybrown bird]

3 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

I read Nancy Drew, my brothers' Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins and Trixie Belden.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trixie_Belden

 

Me too! Then branched out to series about nurses -- Sue Barton (my favorite), and Cherry Ames.

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, graybrown bird said:

Me too! Then branched out to series about nurses -- Sue Barton (my favorite), and Cherry Ames.

My niece (who is a nurse) recently bought a vintage Cherry Ames board game on ebay.   I can remember when I was kid that we had this one and also a Nancy Drew game and a Hardy Boys one. 

 

3 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

Trixie Belden.

I only have a few Trixie Belden's.  I think I know the next series I am going to collect!  I have the first 4 or 5.  I always liked Trixie.  She definitely seemed more like a real teenager than the others!

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

I read Nancy Drew, my brothers' Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins and Trixie Belden.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trixie_Belden

I tried at least one book from each of the other series you listed and never got into them, but Trixie Belden was my jam.  I have fond memories of sleepovers with my best friend, lying side by side (back when I could stand to share a bed with anyone other than a cat) reading matching Trixie Belden books.

Edited 23 hours ago by Bastet

[BooksRule]

On 5/2/2025 at 8:11 AM, Quof said:

I do jigsaw puzzles online.

I have a cat.

I don't have my cats anymore (I still miss you Maggie and Alice! :( ), but I had to start doing my puzzles online as well (and I own a lot of puzzles).  When they would decide to take a nap on the pieces it was fine if they got up and didn't mess the pieces up much, but if a piece happened to stick to a toe bean, they would just fling it away and I would have to find it.  I guess I could drag out my puzzles again and put some together again.

I got to see the cutest baby penguins today. They were on a visit from the local aquarium. The aquarium sends them out with their keeper (?) to both publicize the aquarium and to educate. Everyone seemed to love watching them waddle around and curiously look up at us (except one little girl who was terrified of them and ran away. Poor baby!). I'm not usually a huge fan of 'animals in captivity for us to stare at', but these are obviously well-taken care of and the woman was very careful with them and make sure no one got too close to them in their little 'play space'.

[Annber03]

45 minutes ago, BooksRule said:

I got to see the cutest baby penguins today. They were on a visit from the local aquarium. The aquarium sends them out with their keeper (?) to both publicize the aquarium and to educate. Everyone seemed to love watching them waddle around and curiously look up at us (except one little girl who was terrified of them and ran away. Poor baby!). I'm not usually a huge fan of 'animals in captivity for us to stare at', but these are obviously well-taken care of and the woman was very careful with them and make sure no one got too close to them in their little 'play space'.

Awwwwwwww, this sounds adorable! I love penguins, I love how they waddle. It's so cute. 

[Browncoat]

I love penguins, too.  😉

[BooksRule]

[Yeah No]

So if no air conditioning in the first suite and a strong nasty deodorizer smell in this suite weren't already enough, we had no hot water in the hotel last night and no cable TV, which still is out. I do have internet, though. Maintenance doesn't know yet if we're the only room without cable. The current theory is that a band of thunderstorms that went through yesterday late in the afternoon was the cause. The hot water has been turned back on but my cable is still a mystery. The thunderstorm was very brief and not even all that bad so I don't get this, but around here you never know. As if we needed any more stress piled on to what we're already dealing with! As they usually say at times like this, "What's next, locusts?"

Now the plumber that was supposed to do the heating (it's hot water baseboard heating) has backed out. He was supposed to come today but he has about 3 excuses why he isn't going to be able to do the job after committing to it. So now we are trying to find a new plumber because we can't move back into the house until we have working water and electrical. My husband made an appointment for one to come tomorrow. At least he had two days off in a row which was great, although we're still busy and stressed out anyway. He works today but we never know when the daughter in MA will want another ride. My husband's boss said that the situation with the daughter "could go on for a while" but I hope he is going to address that anyway so that my husband isn't as overextended as he's been recently. When he complains about the job tiring him, it has to be bad.

[annzeepark914]

@Yeah No good luck finding a better plumber. And, I no longer say "What's next?" That might bring on something worse! 🤞🍀