THought we’d skip the pub, where alcohol can be involved, it being only lunch, and ate at an old favorites. They changed everything: mine turned out to be chicken with cabbage, not a great combo, and Jane’s had something wrong with it..
And then..we got home to find a horrid scream coming from Jane’s tarped car that has been sitting on the in-yard drive all winter. Like a burglar alarm. We tried to cut off the alarm system. We tried pulling the battery cables. The neighbors from a street away are concerned and asking. We tried pulling fuses. No joy.
We called the fire department, now convinced it couldn’t be the car. Bounced from station to station, nobody knowing what it could be but promising to come have a listen…the fire department having much more important crises….
Theories ranged from a nearby transformer to the pressurized street lamp nearby…
Then Jane found it. In the basement remodel—a water leak alarm had gotten tossed out. It had rained. And water finally reached it. Nobody had pulled the battery. And yep—can be heard on the next block.
We both decided, yes, we want supper, as in food, but we’re not hungry and I’m not cooking. We went for a drink and dessert at our local Italian pub: Jane had creme brulee and I had tiramisu. And we went home and vegged.
Oh, that was no fun for you or Jane. That sound, no matter how hard you try to stay calm, just sets your nerves on edge, especially when it involves the neighbors. Comfort food was definitely the way to go after that experience!
Speaking of comfort food, I just had a slice of Cheesecake Factory’s Coffee and Cream Chocolate Supreme cheesecake. It tasted very much like really good tiramisu.
Well, that must have got your hearts going. Comfort food always helps.
I am glad it is not something more serious.
Jonathan up in New Hampshire – might be some snow.
Oh yeah, nothing like the mystery alarm…
I used to rent a house that came with a burglar alarm system. We (me and the alarm company) =thought= we’d finally got the motion sensor set so it didn’t trigger on the cats. And for some time it was fine… tho I think the alarm company had learned to ignore it….
… then one night I’m getting back from LASFS at the usual 2AM… hot night, had truck windows open… what’s that shriek? I’m still two miles from my house, that can’t be be it…
… but it was. And since I’d left mid-afternoon, gods know how long it had been air-raiding at jet-engine volume. Fortunately close neighbors were few, but even so, it had to be penetrating the whole east side of town…
…and that was the LAST time I set the alarm!!
LASFS! There’s a name that hasn’t crossed my mind in 30 years!
It’s currently meeting at a Baptist church in Burbank, while trying to find a more permanent home. (The last clubhouse wasn’t as good a fit as they’d expected.)
(I’ve been a member for 40 years.)
I lived for about 40 years in Hawthorne and South Bay. Once walked home from LAX.
Oh my, what a day indeed! Veg your way into much calmer nerves. Pat the cats. It should help everyone’s nerves, including the cats!
Jonathan— oh dear, snow? Where are you in NH? (I think I asked that before.) My family is on the Seacoast… though I am near Boston. It’s just cold and raw here, but definitely rain not snow near the water.
i live in a town just north of Manchester New Hampshire.
Oh, eegad, that sounds awful. CJ, Jane, and 3 cats, bless you. Some vegging out and petting/snuggling definitely sounds called for.
Hanneke, WOL, Paul, and others who’ve had it rough with health and cats lately, aw, I’m so sorry.
I was fine today until I tried to eat chicken for a late lunch, and…oh, jumpin’ Jehosaphat, did that set off the tooth. I took an ibuprofen, but it took forever to kick in and…bless Goober’s heart, when I lay down, he wanted to be with me, and I was a mess, the pain was bad. I had already brushed my teeth, since obviously, the gap had food which needed to be out of there and clean, and was adding to the pain. Listerine maybe dulled it or distracted it. And by then, maybe the med was starting. But ow, ow, ow, that was not good. For a couple of hours or more. Eeeeee….
I’d had ramen, an uninspiring cup rather than the boil packets, and oatmeal the previous day, so I’d felt I had to have some meat or protein. I should have minced or puréed the chicken. Will do so with the remainder.
That clove oil is due tomorrow. Definitely trying it. It seems OK, except it’s twinging, sore.
Tonight, I needed something soft, comforting, and with both protein (fish) and veggies. My solution? A package of Mac and cheese, a bag of frozen gumbo blend veggies (Bird’s Eye, I think, standard US grocery store fare, anyway — CJ, that may have onion, I didn’t think to look), plus a small (4 oz.?) can of tomato paste, and a can of tuna in water. — cooked the pasta and veggies, added the tomato paste and tuna, stirred, added the cheese sauce, stirred, let it sit and absorb a bit, and served. Aha, I have a pot-full of a one-dish meal, it’s reasonably healthy and comforting, and something my tooth couldn’t complain about, because there’s no real need to chew much. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but it was surprisingly good and mostly balanced in terms of pasta to other ingredients. I might want half again the amount of pasta and twice the cheese, but I’ll see what I think tomorrow, after it’s had time to blend more and firm up,, absorb more liquid into the pasta. This was surprisingly tasty and soothing, so it’ll be a repeat. No master culinary chef stuff here, just very ordinary throw-this-together-I’m-hungry stuff. Seemed OK on the amount of tomato flavor. I’ll know more tomorrow what I think of this concoction. — Discovered I’ll need to order a couple of packages of frozen veggies and either creamed spinach or a spinach soufflé frozen.
I discovered I have a stronger pain med left from my last dental visit, many months ago. I’m going to check the instructions, but expecting to take it and try to sleep again.
Today was pretty much a washout. Lost most of my day dealing with the sore tooth. But…well, other than wanting to jump out of my skin when and after I ate lunch, until the meds finally kicked in plus the pain dulled, other than that, it was an ordinary day.
The problem tooth has a gap where a filling had come out. So lately, if food particles get there, chewing wedges it in, not good, with pressure on the surroundings. — I think it’s preparing to die and loosen and come out. — So far, okie-dokie, living with it, but not happy the past few days. — Hoping it will go ahead and do its thing, or else calm the heck down. Sigh.
I will be changing my grocery order some, toward more soft foods, and postpone some things to the next order.
Bless Goober’s heart, he only wanted attention, I think he was also trying to comfort me. He’s fine, no accident or miscommunication between cat and human, except, ow, don’t try to knead your paws near my face or butt your head on my (ow) sore chin), which he did, of course. Sweet cat. I am lucky to still have him. Realized today, he’s at least 12 years and 5 months, plus 6 to 8 weeks before I got him. So he has reached past 12 1/2, at least. He has become more vocal and both more solicitous and demanding, without Smokey here. He wants more attention, and at first, was asking for food/treats more, but not eating it all. So I’ve worked out his new portions to fit. I think Goober is happy in one way to have me all to himself and not be hassled by Smokey, but I also think Goober misses him a little without him knowing why, and he misses having another cat around. I’m his favorite / only human, but y’know, I am, after all, a human and not a cat. I can sympathize. Goober’s a great cat, but he’s not a human. Love him completely, but it’d be good to have a human around, and he’d probably like to have a cat around.
I am finally adjusting to not having Smokey. Heard one of the strays that hang out around the apartments screech two nights ago, and caught myself thinking, what if, and yeah, I went out and called. No cat showed up. But even if it had been Smokey, I wouldn’t have blamed him if he didn’t approach. And if he were around, he surely could have figured out where Goober and I are by now. But no, there’s been no kitty meowing or hanging around. So that’s been just wishful thinking and not dealing with reality. This Thursday will be four weeks. I am getting past it, but slowly. By now, I presume he has a new home and isn’t still in a shelter or at a vet’s. I hope. And I hope whoever gets him will give him a better home and situation and behavioral adjustment than I did. But dang, 9+ years. I still feel a mix of being awful to him to do that, and yet seeing it’s improved things here for me and for Goober. And yet I miss him and feel bad for giving him up. Sigh. Realistically, I have to accept that I did what I did, and he did need a different home at this pint. I was at my wit’s end, and had lost all patience and temper with him. And he wasn’t changing his behavior one bit. So, I guess I have to face that it’s so, I made my choice, right or wrong. I just wish I’d found some other way to change the bad behaviors, and kept him. :-/ So now, someone else gets to contend with him. And he’s also a good cat otherwise, with many good qualities and things I miss. I’ve never given a cat away before. And I can’t claim I didn’t know what I was doing, that giving him away is permanent. So…dang. Living with it. — I still do not plan to take in another cat, in order to let Goober have top cat status without his non-assertive self getting bullied by another cat. He would need a very mild-mannered, maybe non-assertive cat, or some cat to mesh with his personality. Of course, I also don’t know what random chance will bring, but I’m not planning on another cat until Goober’s gone. I see too, that I should have realized and found some way to deal with Smokey’s issues, including with Goober (competition, Smokey insisting on being top cat to the point of hassling Goober). But I should’ve been able to find a way to get him around misbehavior. — Goober is in good health still, though yes, he’s getting older, definitely now a senior kitty. The cat I’d had longest reached 13 and some months. I think Goober may make 14 or 15, if all goes well. If he lives longer than that, I’ll be amazed. I want him to be happy and healthy, though. So far, he is, and I’m glad, because he’s a great cat. Smokey is a good cat too, despite the behavioral issues. so I miss him and am still not past second-guessing myself for making the choice and doing what I did, giving him up. :-/
Hah, I know better than to have any plans for what sort of cat I’d have when it happens. So far, it’s always been strays or someone’s given me a cat or kitten. Now, of course, my living situation is different. But it’ll likely take care of itself at that time, or I’ll visit a shelter. My previous two cats were a cinnamon-brown tabby and a brown tabby, and then Goober and Smokey are a tuxedo black-and-white and a nearly all-black cat. I will admit I might like a more colorful kitty next time, but again, that will take care of itself. For now, I’m glad to have Goober, the little old gentleman, and I hope Smokey has a great new home, and maybe other cats to keep him minding his manners better.
Hoping tomorrow will be better, more productive, not so sore. Dang tooth.
Got to order groceries this week. I didn’t do so last week because I still had enough. Still OK this week, but now out or nearly out of some things, with still an excess of a few others, to use up. So…dang, my life is so mundane. — Very frustrating not having a roommate or a partner/spouse/boyfriend. But it is what it is.
Beware using clove oil full strength. It can produce burns. Mix it with a little vegetable oil and put it in with a cotton swab. Olive oil is the usual, but Crisco might make it easier to maneuver to the place you want it.
Tommie, thanks, glad I saw that before trying it. I sure have olive oil; don’t think I have regular vegetable oil, e.g. Crisco, on hand. I’ve tried a fluoride gel tonight that, hmm, offered a little help, but I’ll try the clove oil next.
If this isn’t better by Monday, I’m going to have to get a dental appointment and get a ride. It’s still wavering between times it’s OK and times it’s too painful. I think I’ll know what to do by Friday morning.
Shortening.
I might have to turn in my official Southerner card. I habitually don’t keep shortening or lard on hand. I don’t know why. My parents and my grandmother had Crisco shortening on hand, always. This may show how my cooking habits evolved / devolved due to, hey, living with senior citizens and restricted diets. Or maybe I just don’t cook enough foods that would typically use it, I don’t know. (Whenever my tooth calms down, I am going to want something, anything, crunchy. I’m either going to modify or postpone my grocery order. More soft foods, postpone anything harder to the next order. Wish they’d let you “save to cart” or similar for future or repeating items. I haven’t mastered where or if they have that feature. But I think I’m going to have a need for some fried fish, for example. Catfish or otherwise.)
Instead, this time, foods I can have as stew / gumbo / chili / spaghetti / casserole, etc.
It always stinks when a restaurant that used to be reliable closes or goes south. We had a couple of places that did a fantastic prime rib dinner, locally grown beef, not outrageous on the price. Then they folded. Quelle sad! Tonight I got jonesing for something, and made a crockpot of Buddha’s Delight, a vegetarian stew with several different varieties of mushrooms and other Oriental veggies like gobo and lotus root.
This past week was not great, health-wise. I spent 2 days off work with an allergy attack that opened the door for an opportunistic cold. Then DH developed a leg cramp that got worse and worse until at 11:30 p.m., ER here we come! No home remedies could touch it.
Several days and codeine pills later, the cramp is dissipating, but it was fair miserable for a couple more days.
I wonder which restaurant….Tomato Street or Swinging Gate?
Sorry, I just realized that should have been Swinging Door…..
Jeepers! I have a hard enough time dealing with the sound of my alarm clock going off, not to mention the hypersonic caterwaul you were confronted with.
The thing that’s always amazed/annoyed me is that you know somebody did scientific research to find the most annoying electronic sound to give an alarm/alarm clock. one that had a very high “turn that damned thing off” rating. I’m normally a pretty laid back and nonviolent sort, but I will admit to mornings when I’ve longed to give whoever came up with that dreadful EEPing noise a swift kick in the jingle bells.
Well, guys, I’m on the surgery schedule. May 10th could be the day. Fingers crossed the VA will sit still for it.
Good luck, and hope all goes well re: surgery!
May the beneficent deities smile on you for the next year! (My mother had a knee replaced; she was good about the rehab, and she could walk up and down stairs within six months.)
Indeed, good luck from me too.
Good luck with the surgery. My brother had both knees replaced in the last few years and we can now call him the energizer bunny again.
Good luck WoL!
Wishing you the best of luck and a skilled surgeon, WOL!
Cabbage with chicken need not be bad. Fine cut cabbage soaked with crushed juniper berries, drained and crisped in hot oil and served with citrus marinated grilled chicken appeals to my mental taste buds.
Thanks, kind salads, for the crossed fingers.
Thought I’d pass this along. Check out the 19th book in the list.
https://www.tor.com/2019/04/10/jo-waltons-reading-list-march-2019/?utm_source=Feedburner%3A+Frontpage+Partial+RSS+Feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Torcom%2FFrontpage_Partial+%28Tor.com+Frontpage+Partial+-+Blog+and+Stories%29
Also this: https://twistedsifter.com/2019/04/the-teamwork-behind-first-image-of-black-hole/
“There’s something about this that’s so black, it’s like how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.” – from Spinal Tap
And the black hole region in the picture is very large https://xkcd.com/2135/
Hah, I may have to watch the 80’s Disney movie, The Black Hole, again. Max Schell, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, was it Slim Pickens voicing the cute hovering droid? I remember enjoying that, even with the psychedelic / quasi-religious allegorical ending.
The ibuprofen has me pretty ditzy / spacey. Attempting laundry, but not really anything much else requiring conscious thought. 😆
Department of: Life is so weird sometimes.
The apt. complex sent out a form to fill out and return to the office…on something that would end up paperless. So why they didn’t send a paper note with an option to send in via email, haha, I don’t know.
I therefore needed friends to stop by and called and restrained myself from fussing about prior stuff. Which is probably better for relations.
And then things got interesting. — This, one of the friends who helped me move into the apt. from my old home, floated the question of renting a house, thereby consolidating from an apt. and a storage space, get things under one room again, and I’d have freer options again for pretty much all the items that have been persistent frustrations. Potentially, this would be cheaper than what I’m paying now. He’d thought of two nearby properties. Huh, and if I factor in the possibility of rent-to-own, that might get me back to a better position, long-term, where I’m not paying rent every month, but am instead paying toward a permanent home and future. If I can increase my income further, that would help more besides.
I said sure, I’d consider that. I hadn’t thought that would be something I could reach, but apparently, I am still a babe in the woods. So, in the next few weeks and before my apt. lease comes due, which is, I think, in August, we’ll look at this. One is near where the one friend lives, which is a good point, and the other is not too far from there. If either of these is a good deal, then, well, I may be moving into a rent home.
The chance of doing that, building up toward ownership, without an immediate hit on, for example, mortgage or downpayment, would give me time to get things going better again, so that this may be affordable, doable.
It would mean (hah!) moving back in, but with a chance to go through things at my speed and in a good fashion. It would also mean, aha, I could keep my old dining room suit, a big plus, and perhaps keep and re-tune the piano, if it’s possible. I would still need a new living room suit, but hey, I could do that fine. — Oh. Just realized: I would need to buy a refrigerator, at least.
Huh, this is actually really good news, potentially. Going to call back and discuss the point about the fridge and see if I’d need other kitchen appliances. I can keep my current washer and dryer and replace them. Hmm, possibly, this is better news than I’ve had in a while.
My tooth can’t decide if it’s better, but it doesn’t seem to be worse. Had thought last night that it had improved, so I am giving it until Monday, and if it isn’t better, I’ll make an appt. (I noted that with the friend too.)
So, yay! Don’t know yet if this will pan out, for either location, but the idea is a good one, if it’s feasible.
Ask around about appliance stores – some of them are better than others, and the good ones may have specials on dinged refrigerators. (That’s how I got mine – the ding is small enough that it really shouldn’t have been a problem. It knocked the price down enough to be noticed. They delivered it and put it in place, too.)
I just want to say to you all that it has been interesting to read your comments and chime in a time or two.
I do not have internet at my home and I am retiring in just 18 days so I will be offline until I get a laptop and find a wifi connection at the library or maybe the small town has an internet café so I can check my email hopefully every couple of weeks (I live in the woods and am adept at entertaining myself and staying home).
I will also be checking this website so I won’t feel like I have gone totally back to the cave and will probably order from Amazon from time to time and look on Google Earth my favorite way to see the world. I will miss this forum which I read on my break every weekday and all of you very smart people. Thank you.
And CJ, I hope it wasn’t Fergusons on Garland that has changed!
Happy retirement, Zinialin!
Was there a brand name on that truly excellent alarm?
During the night, I dreamed I was at an amalgam of my grandmother’s old house and some other home. It was warm and sunny, unlike the current weather here. And somehow, Smokey had returned and was in my arms, on his back, happy. In the dream, wondered how this could be, and checked entrances and so on, and yet he was there. Shortly after, I woke. Night time, cold out, our temp once again yo-yoing between hot and cold before Easter.
It’s now been 31 days. I am not sure what my mind was trying to say, reconciling it, just remembering, wishing, or if perhaps out in the real world, he’s found a good home with some family, or what it might be. But I was glad for the dream, and yet I went outside briefly to look, just in case, which is surely only wishful, magical thinking.
Goober is doing well, wants lots of attention, and has become very vocal about demanding food or treats, despite that he’s very well fed (and getting spoiled by me). But that’s OK. If he can put on a little weight, that would be good. He’s naturally long and lean. At the end of the month, he’ll be 12 1/2, plus the 6 to 8 weeks (I’d guess 8 weeks) from when I got him.
Smokey is 9 and 3 1/2 months, and so I hope he’s doing well with a new family. I am taking the dream as either a good sign, or wishful thinking and trying to reconcile it.
Tooth and gum around it is still not happy, though yay, I waited the full 8 hours for the past two ibuprofen doses. Twice in the past two to three days, it’s calmed down enough that I’d thought it had turned the corner, but I guess not yet. Monday, I’ll need to decide whether to make a dentist appt.
Talked with my friend a little, and likely I’ll see him Monday, since he didn’t make it due to what they were busy doing, Friday and Saturday. Word is, either of the two rent houses may be ready to look at (cleaned out) by Monday or Tuesday. So hopefully, I can see them during the week and see the numbers and make a decision. If it’s a good enough deal, that’d suit me. Move the storage space contents, move the apt. contents and Goober and myself, clean out the apt., and yay, though that would mean time on the apt. lease remaining.
If you decide to rent the house, you can apply the monthly cost of the storage space against the house rent. Convenience also; you won’t have to worry about having things dropped off at an office you can’t get to, or Uber or Lyft rides that never make contact, or getting a ride to your storage unit. You might even be able to rent out your driveway, if parking is at a premium in the new neighborhood.