Small Talk: The Library

[AnnieF]

Yay @Harvester! Vibing hard over here. :)

[Harvester]

Thank you all for the vibes. No word yet, but I knew it might be a while.

[LittleVoice]

She's on Vicodin, so yeah, she feels better. Is there worry about creating a dependency? Yeah, but man, she's 97 years old. If she gets hooked on pain meds, does it really matter?

  

In her last few months, my mom was on morphine to help her breathing. She rarely took even half of what she was allowed, but when we would offer it she would still say, "I don't know, I don't want to get addicted." The things we worry about . . .

Good job vibes to Harvester!

[Earl Is Dead]

Last night I picked up a friend's dog to stay with us while friend is on vacation for two weeks.  It's nice to have a dog in the house again, but I forgot how much time that added to the morning routine.  I have been up since 5:00 AM.  I need a nap.

 

Good Friday vibes to all.

[KittenPokerCheater]

Puppy!  Is the dog you are looking after a big one or a small one?  Does it yap or bark?

 

Nothing much to report by me.  A little work (yay!!!) but nothing excitingly to tell.  Mostly I'm at loose-ish ends.  

 

What are folks doing this weekend?

Edited May 9, 2014 by KittenPokerCheater

[AnnieF]

What are folks doing this weekend?

This afternoon I get to meet with an arborist and a sewer line inspector, because we're starting inspections on our new house. Since the neighborhood was built in the late 50s, the trees are mature, and we need to make sure that there aren't any big trees that need to be removed, since that is expensive. Ditto with the sewer line; they use a camera to make sure that there isn't any root impingement on the sewer. Fingers are crossed that those go well (anything that needs to be fixed would be the seller's responsibility. I'm just hoping that there's nothing).

Yesterday I took an entire SUV-load of books to the library. So many nice books, too, but we're being tough about getting rid of stuff, so adios, gigantic "Art of Star Wars" book. I hope some kid finds you in the library and has her mind blown, heh.

Happy weekend thoughts to all. :)

[harrie]

I am very fortunate to have low-maintenance dog - a ten-minute walk in the morning, a cup of kibble, fresh water and a treat as I go out the door.  And he'll take that walk whenever it comes and just nap until I pick up his leash. Of course, in a couple of years he'll be geriatric and will require more care, which he will get without hesitation.  We nursed one previous dog through kidney failure (keeping her comfy for as long as possible, then doing the inevitable euthanasia) and lost another to bone cancer (again, keeping her comfy and eating as long as she seemed happy), so hopefully this boy will pass peacefully in his sleep when the time comes. I can dream, can't I?    (The cat, on the other hand, is high maintenance.)

 

Anyway, enjoy your vacation pup, Earl Is Dead.  Do you think you'll miss him/her when s/he goes back home? 

 

Woo-hoo for work, KPC, and good luck with your inspections, AnnieF.

 

This weekend - more garden work, weather permitting, and job apps. Fun!

 

ETA: The Boy Dog also enjoys long walks at the nearby state park, and at the beach during the winter, and another, very tasty meal during the day at home, plus lots of hugs, kisses, and pets.  Just not in the morning,   

Edited May 10, 2014 by harrie

[Loandbehold]

Weekend will be a typical Saturday - morning errands, followed by working out and a two-hour afternoon nap. What can I say people, I'm an old man. Sunday, I'll go see mom. Normally, after reviewing her mail (especially bills), seeing if she's taking her pills, and has enough food in the house, we go out for brunch at a diner. The waitstaff there are extremely nice, although it's rare that they get our entire order right. But, since it's Mother's Day, I'm going a step up and taking mom out for either Chinese or Japanese. Then, I go home and take a two-hour nap. 'Cause I'm an old man.

 

Good luch with the inspections, @AnnieF. And the dog-sitting @Earl Is Dead. Hooray for work, @KPC and, hopefully, your ends will get tighter (tight-ish?) soon.

[AnnieF]

Why do I have so much wrapping paper? I'm going through my bedroom closet (this closet is ridiculous. It is the size of a frelling studio apartment). Great for storing crap in over the last decade, but now that I'm cleaning it out, holy shit. Anyone need to wrap some gifts? Because I have any kind of wrapping paper you might need. WHYYYYYYYY.

[Earl Is Dead]

Vacation Pup is a 3 year old yellow lab who is very sweet and well behaved.  I've pup-sat for her in her own home before, but this is the first time she's come to stay with me.  Even though I'm sure she is confused, she's rolling with the punches so far.  Although I'm glad Mr. Earl is home today so she doesn't have to adjust to strange surroundings alone.  I don't know how I'll feel when she leaves @harrie . I'd like to think I'll miss her, but I suspect it'll be like when my niece and nephew leave after a visit:  Happy for the visit but grateful to send rambunctious children back to their own parents so I can resume napping on the sofa.  

 

What are folks doing this weekend?

 

Celebrating a friend's graduation on Saturday and visiting Mom and MIL on Sunday.  It's the third busy weekend in a row for me, and I'm starting to get tired of it. 

 

Good luck with home inspections, Mother-visits, and tight(er) ends, all! 

[Chyna]

Tomorrow we've got a super-early soccer game for one kid and then a late-evening dance recital for the other. On Sunday, my mom is heading out of state to my sister's, so I actually don't have any obligations on Mother's Day, which is nice. I don't want to get dressed up on my day off.

[Harvester]

@AnnieF, you present-wrapping fiend, may the packing and sorting go well. When I moved three times in a year, I was amazed each time at how much shit I had.

No word on the job still, but a friend said they were excited about me. I keep fantasizing about telling my current horrid boss I am leaving. We shall see what happens.

Next week is my quick trip to NYC. Yeah for Hedwig! I am so excited to see it!

[Endeavour]

I've been thinking about getting a dog again for a while. It would be nice, but then I think about the extra work, the extra mess and I don't know. I guess somewhere along the line I got old too.

 

Nothing too exciting for the weekend. Most of today will go to errands. Off to a mother's day brunch with the family tomorrow.

 

I can't imagine moving three times in one year, Harvester. So much work. More good job vibes.

 

Sounds like you're making great progress, AnnieF. Bet that wrapping paper was on sale. That's the kind of stuff you always need though and makes sense to pick up. Plus I can never remember if I have the right kind at home for the right occasion,so I end up with extra too. Good luck on all of the inspections.

 

My cable bill has creeped up almost $20 a month this year - a little bit each month. I haven't changed anything and they don't provide any explanation on the bills. Grrrr. I need to see where that can be trimmed down. I was looking into a multi-room dvr (which would actually save money and allow me to record more). I need to get more info but that seems like it would be great for my situation. You can record a lot of shows and watch from any tv in the house. Right now if two shows are recording, you can't watch a third. The only things I don't like is that, with the multi-room dvr, you can only pause live tv for 15 minutes and you can't rewind live tv. I'm always rewinding because it seems that everyone mumbles on tv these days. Weird limitations.

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend and mother's day if you're celebrating.

Edited May 10, 2014 by Endeavour

[AnnieF]

Thanks for vibes, everyone. :) The sewer looked pretty good, right up until the obstruction that they couldn't get their camera past. This is a major deal in that it has to be resolved before we buy the place, but also a minor deal in that the inspector said that the obstruction looked like construction debris that could be easily removed with a powerful-enough shop vac, so maybe not really a thing. Which would be nice. There are some tree issues too, but nothing huge. So, things continue to roll along. Next week we've got pest, chimney*, and general inspections. Wheeee!!!

*This house has an actual woodburning fireplace, and it's grandfathered, so we can actually burn wood. New homes here can't have actual fireplaces because of air quality concerns in the winter, so we've never lived anywhere with a real fireplace. The F-let is SO excited.

@Harvester, I continue to hope for good things on the job front. That "fuck you, crappy boss" fantasy is so satisfying, isn't it?

@Endeavour, have you ever tried telling your cable company that you're quitting them? They often seem to be able to produce a lower-priced plan when you do that. We did that to DirecTv for years.

Edited May 10, 2014 by AnnieF

[Lisin]

@Endeavour here's my script for getting cheaper cable or cell phone deals with my existing provider. Always be really over the top polite and say "I guess I'm just confused because you have X deal where new customers get this service for X price which is Y cheaper than what I pay, so it seems like what you're saying is you want me to cancel my service with you and go to another company that offers me a better deal, I honestly don't want to do that because I've had such a good relationship with your company for Z years and I'm sure that your company isn't saying that the smart thing for me to do is to discontinue my service but I just don't know how else to handle this situation." Generally at some point during this speech they'll interrupt you to give you the lower price that they totally can give you. 

[AnnieF]

^^^^^^^^^THIS.

That right there is every conversation my hubs has had with a cable provider over the last decade. They cough up a better rate when you threaten to quit. Happens every time.

[KittenPokerCheater]

Lissin, I am hiring you to talk to my cable company when my contract with them ends.  Because Damn.  They like to screw with you on the prices, and it is so not. fair.

 

I am now envisioning Annief as a wrapping paper witch, her hat made out of shiny tinfoilly holiday wrapping paper.  I hope you can cast a spell on the house to to make it an easy fix.  

 

And I hope you don't have to tear down any trees, since I feel like we cut down too many as it is (Brazil, I'm looking at you and your rainforest).

 

Vacation puppy sounds cool.  A part time dog.

 

harvester, everyone who's seen Hedwig has raved about it- I suspect you're in for a treat.  And I hope you get to give your boss the finger soon to go to a shiny new job.

[AnnieF]

I hope you don't have to tear down any trees

I wish we could go back in time to 1958, so we could tell the people who planted the damn trees that they should not put them directly under power lines. Sigh. Especially because the power company does not give a crap about the health of the trees, and will come along and hack the everloving shit out of them to get them away from the utility lines. Siiiiiiiiigh. This is what we get for looking at older houses, and I knew we'd have these kinds of issues, so I'm not really all that stressed about that stuff. It was expected. I do get wistful, though, and wish I could just tell people in the past to plant the trees some other damn place.

And my mom said she'd take a bunch of wrapping paper and gift bags, yay! It's a damn Hallmark store in my closet, sheesh. I just always kept every gift bag that someone gave us a gift in, so I have gift bags for birthdays, Valentine's, anniversary, so many for Xmas holy carp, new baby, new house (!). I haven't bought paper or gift bags in at least five years, probably longer. Just kept recycling from out of my closet. Geez. It's weird, the stuff that accumulates.

Edited May 10, 2014 by AnnieF

[Chyna]

Annie, is there a Freecycle listserve in your area? That might help with the getting rid of stuff that's still useful but not to you. I thought of it because I gave away a kabillion gift bags on Freecycle some years ago, when I realized I had accumulated many, many new baby gift bags and my friends were not reproducing enough for me to reuse them.

[AnnieF]

Annie, is there a Freecycle listserve in your area?

Indeed there is. I am going to be giving them so much stuff.

I had accumulated many, many new baby gift bags and my friends were not reproducing enough for me to reuse them.

I feel you. I have a weird imbalance with birthday gift bags -- I have a TON of them that are Spiderman-themed, or Transformers-themed, or Spongebob-themed, etc etc ad nauseam. Have I not given away an equal, or at least similar, number of gifts? And haven't I been recycling birthday bags since the kids were little? How did I end up with all these extras?*

*Grandparents. Damn them ;)

Edited May 10, 2014 by AnnieF

[KittenPokerCheater]

Makes note to give Annief and Chyna wrapping paper and gift bags for secret santa.

 

flees

[Endeavour]

I will have to try that @Lisin and @AnnieF but admit I'm not very good at that stuff. It's definitely worth a shot. Thanks for the advice.

When I bought my house, I only had one or two things I definitely wanted - a wood burning fireplace was one of them. They are a bit of work and may not be the most efficient, but it's something I really enjoy and find relaxing. Two words of advice though - chimney cap. Unless you like critters in your home which I don't and know from experience.

 

Especially because the power company does not give a crap about the health of the trees, and will come along and hack the everloving shit out of them to get them away from the utility lines.

I feel the same way. I hate to see all those beautiful trees cut that way.

[AnnieF]

You know you can't hide, @KittenPokerCheater. Don't even think it.

:P

Edited May 10, 2014 by AnnieF

[Loandbehold]

Re my last post - only 1-1/2 hour nap this afternoon. I don't know if that means I'm feeling spry, or that I have afternoon insomnia. 

 

As it's a Saturday night [insert song lyric here], I'm here to remind everyone that it is 1;45 minutes until episode 4 of Orphan Black. I was able to convert my cousin, who,despite saying that he didn't have the time to watch another show, tore through season 1 and the first three episodes of this season this week. 

[AnnieF]

As it's a Saturday night [insert song lyric here]

Deftly done. The Bay City Rollers congratulate you.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, NIGHT!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, NIGHT!

[Valny]

My cable bill has creeped up almost $20 a month this year - a little bit each month

 

At first I thought you were saying you're PAYING $20 a month, and I was thinking....that's crazy!!! I pay almost ten times that amount, $20 is incredible! I want her cable plan!  :)

 

As it's a Saturday night [insert song lyric here],

 

and I ain't got nobody, I got some money 'cause I just got paid.

 

 

 

 

I'm here to remind everyone that it is 1;45 minutes until episode 4 of Orphan Black. I was able to convert my cousin, who,despite saying that he didn't have the time to watch another show, tore through season 1 and the first three episodes of this season this week.

I heard this ep 4 is a crazy good one, so I'm psyched.  I have a feeling this is the ep where we saw that short promo scene of

 Sarah tied up and making a really scared face. At least I think it's her...you never know who's impersonating who!

Nice conversion job Loandbehold. Doesn't it feel great,like you've accomplished something important? I swear, we should get paid!  I'm getting close to getting my friend/co-worker to watch. She's almost on my hook, I just have to slowly reel her in. I will even go so far as to make a deal with her to get her to watch. As in, if you watch Orphan Black, I will watch something you like.  Gulp...I fear she might say Beauty and the Beast or Teen Wolf. 

 

Edited May 11, 2014 by Valny

[Endeavour]

and I ain't got nobody, I got some money 'cause I just got paid.

 

That's what immediately came to mind for me but now this

 

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, NIGHT!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, NIGHT!

 

is stuck in my head!

[AnnieF]

Don't look at me. @Loandbehold started it. ;)

[KittenPokerCheater]

Holy crap Orphan Black

 

@lnb and @Valny, are you squicked/squee-ed out too?

[Loandbehold]

Absolutely, @KPC. 

 

I'm a little disappointed that there aren't a lot of Elton John fans here, since we were discussing Saturday night songs.

[Valny]

Holy crap Orphan Black

 

@lnb and @Valny, are you squicked/squee-ed out too?

Somewhat squicked(I must be getting thick skinned seeing too many violent/dark stuff,I'm looking at you American Horror Story) but I'll take this over to the OB boards. Oh and I'm pretty much not a squee-er. :) Maybe a variation of the squee though. :)

 

Absolutely, @KPC. 

 

I'm a little disappointed that there aren't a lot of Elton John fans here, since we were discussing Saturday night songs.

Because Saturday night's alright for fighting?

[Chyna]

Cat Stevens is what went through my head.

 

*Grandparents. Damn them ;)

 

 

SRSLY. I think my gift bag collection is largely grandmother-sourced.

 

We went to TIny C's first tap dance recital tonight. SO CUTE. She's been taking lessons since the beginning of the school year, and she totally loves it. Grinning from ear to ear through the whole performance.

[Endeavour]

@lnb and Valny, are you squicked

Add me to the squicked contingent, KPC.

 

Elton fan here! I've been a little out of touch with anything he's put out lately, but I own a ton of his music.

[Valny]

We went to TIny C's first tap dance recital tonight. SO CUTE. She's been taking lessons since the beginning of the school year, and she totally loves it. Grinning from ear to ear through the whole performance.

 

 

Aw, that must have been cute. Did you take video Chyna?   Did she go on early in the show? Once I went to my nieces recital when they were really young. It was cute seeing them but watching all the other students?  Yawn! Because there was sooo many other kids in the show too, I  was getting fidgety. Guess I'm just not lover of watching numerous dance routines. 

 

Finally snagged Dallas Buyers Club from the library today and started watching some of it before. Damn it's hard to look at McConaughey throughout the film. The weight loss is scary. And Leto is very thin too.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Valny

[Bleu]

I missed Orphan Black to go see The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was really fun; I loved the storybook design and editing. The way scenes segued into each other felt like a detailed, moving popup book. The narration helped strengthen that, and of course so did the sense of absurdity the movie often played up.

 

Tomorrow I go to a Mother's Day brunch.

[trudi-tru]

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Moms in here!

[Chyna]

Did you take video Chyna?   Did she go on early in the show? Once I went to my nieces recital when they were really young. It was cute seeing them but watching all the other students?  Yawn! Because there was sooo many other kids in the show too, I  was getting fidgety. Guess I'm just not lover of watching numerous dance routines.

 

 

Her class went on 2nd, but the whole thing was less than an hour long. Perfect. We knew a couple of the kids in the others groups too. But I've heard that this school's ballet recital is torture, because that's where most of their students are (the classes we saw yesterday were tap, jazz, and modern) and so they include all the students in one long performance. Apparently, it's been known to run as much as three hours. I don't want to see *professional* ballet dancers go on that long.

[Harvester]

I am wishing all of the moms here a wonderful day. You all certainly deserve celebration!

[Bleu]

I echo the above: hope the moms had a good day!

 

It was a nice brunch, and it reinforced the fact that I have the stomach of an ant. An angry ant. Two pancakes and half a peach smoothie (just the juice, purée, and raspberries!) hurt a lot. But it was worthwhile.  

 

My mom leaves tomorrow for a work trip in the U.S. and is slated to return on Friday. Like always, I worry even though it's silly.

[Darkpool]

I echo the Happy Mothers Day wishes for all the awesome moms in here. (Which is all the moms, since we really don't have any other sort in these parts.)

[KittenPokerCheater]

Happy Happy Happy Happy Mother's Day to all the moms here. 

[Loandbehold]

I'm a little late to the party, but I hope all the moms had a great day today.

[Endeavour]

Happy Mother's Day!

[Valny]

I missed Orphan Black to go see The Grand Budapest Hotel.

 

  Unacceptable! I'm having Helena will take of you Bleu.  ;)

 

 The way scenes segued into each other felt like a detailed, moving popup book.

Glad you enjoyed the movie,Bleu; it sounds very Wes Anderson-y.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Valny

[LittleVoice]

Drove home (as in my hometown) yesterday to spend a couple days going through my mom's things. Her apartment has been left pretty much as-is since she passed a couple months ago. (We cleaned out the food. so nothing unusual growing in the fridge.) So it was an emotional Mothers Day for me, but I'm glad I was able to be here. And we got a ton done today despite the fact that hanging out with the family last night I drank enough rum to make Captain Jack Sparrow sit up and take notice.

I have gift bags for . . . new house (!).

 

So every time you buy something for your new house, you should put it in a pretty gift bag and give it to yourself!

I'm a little disappointed that there aren't a lot of Elton John fans here, since we were discussing Saturday night songs.

Or Prince fans. "But it was Saturday night, I guess that makes it alright. I said, 'Baby, have you got enough gas?'

[Earl Is Dead]

Hugs @LittleVoice . That sounds like a tough Mother's Day.

[Erratic]

Hugs to @LittleVoice. I hope that you found some joy in the memories of going through your mom's stuff.

I took my mother to Church, fed her roast pork with possibly the greatest crackling that I ever achieved, then took her on a five mile jaunt.

I did *not* take a mother/daughter selfie for Facebook. Apparently there is some law that dictates that I should've? Also, when searching for cards at the supermarket after church, after determining that 10 of us were fighting over the last three cards on the shelf, I gave up, bought my mother a Starbucks coffee (that she paid for) and we sat and sneered at all the poor saps walking past us with the saddest flower bouquets known to man, and how they all left Mothers Day till the last minute, and how great it is that our family just don't do cards! Heh.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Erratic

[KittenPokerCheater]

Insomnia strikes- is it a full moon?

 

hugs and more hugs to you LittleVoice.

 

I was outside today helping shill for a charity and I got something that I figured (after this past winter) would get again:  a sunburn.  I am working outside tomorrow (nothing acting related)so I need to make sure I wear lots of sunscreen.  Also I ate too much, which I should do since I'm getting new photos taken in June.  If I could shed five pounds, I'd be closer to camera weight.  And the camera really does add ten pounds.

 

I also saw Hugh Jackman in the park walking his cute little dog.

 

Does anyone here watch Revenge?  If so, what did you think of tonight's finale?

 

Good vibes and Gift bags (courtesy of @AnnieF  ) for all!

[Bleu]

Hugs at @LittleVoice

 

 

Unacceptable! I'm having Helena will take of you Bleu.  ;)

 

 

I'll pacify her with proof of DVR! ...Tomorrow. /Hides

[Endeavour]

LittleVoice, I hope there were some bright spots for you with your family on such a difficult day.
 

Does anyone here watch Revenge?  If so, what did you think of tonight's finale?

 
I do watch but haven't seen last night's ep yet. I'll let you know. I have that and Once Upon a Time to catch up with.