Daily Ooos: December 18-19: Weekend Edition

[faerywings]

Happy Weekend!!

If anyone is ever wondering about the way cookies track every move you make on your computer, behold this ad I got:

Why would I get an ad for horror movie garden gnomes? I posted in the Gnome Poll Thread and I had looked at horror movie gift ideas for Tom. Not a bad suggestion as far as ads go.

I should bookmark this so next time I have to get Tom a gift, I will already have an idea

I am feeling a bit cranky this morning and for no real reason. I know I had dreams last night that agitated me- stuff about tornados is one thing I remember, but there was more. A lot of dark, bleak scenes. It is rainy and cold and dreary which means the weather isn't helping.

Good news-- my dad's surgery went well and he was back home earlier than we thought. My mom freaked my brother and me out in the middle of that. She had a Drs appt that no one knew about. She had a bunch of tests done on Monday with her vascular surgeon to check on her kidney stents and carotid artery, Since my family has an awful history of hiding bad medical news, we worried that he had called her in to discuss something serious. Thank goodness it was all good. Stents are fine, carotid artery shows some blocking but nothing serious yet. She goes back in 6 months to monitor.

In between all of that, I baked two more batches of cookies. I was trying to do Gary's shortbreads but he kept hanging out in the kitchen/LR room area. Every day this week, he had;t been feeling well. He was upstairs playing video games so I thought I had a great opportunity to make his *secret* shortbreads. (Narrator: It is never a secret) He is hanging around, making coffee, looking in the fridge for lunch, just being around. Cait asks if he wants to run out to look for stocking stuffers to move him along (she is a good DD!). She throws a load of laundry in- she needs to sanitize her sheets weekly for the dust mite allergy- and the *%@()*%#& washer stopped working again. Gary comes downstairs, sits on hold for 45 minutes to see if the lemon law claim was started on the machine. All while I am looking at the mess in my kitchen, wondering if I should give up on the shortbreads for the day. He gave up on the phone call and Cait got him out of the house just long enough for me to get them in the oven.

FP this morning and then steam cleaning the carpets where J threw up last week in the afternoon. It isn't the best weather to steam clean but it is pretty much the only day I got.

How are you all doing? Hope you have a fab day ahead!

 

[faerywings]

@BrightEyes Did your printer get to you? Hope it got to you at a decent time.
hehe, yes, the coffee did the trick, you were very busy, a freshly made bed is one of the world's best feelings. I hope you didn't pay for it yesterday.

@LSlycord How in the *world* did you do all of your shopping in one day??????? It is like clockwork- all tech does at the same time and usually just on the other side of any warranties. LOL What is a swim tether?
You and Brian are going to love your new fire pit!
oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How amazing! I just read the part about the trip!!!!!!!!
So exciting!!!!
Nope, can't watch any movies about dogs. Nope nope nope. Even if I know they have happy endings, I just can't. I cried during Frankenweenie!

@bcgal00 I am so sorry that things are so hard for B and her care. It has to be horribly heartbreaking and frustrating. You definitely deserve time to be down and vent and cry. Caitlyn was asking about her yesterday. I hope you girls have a blast making cookies today!
No idea when the rat babies will be ready, we are both getting a little antsy, waiting to hear from the rescue. Cordelia and Evie are still plugging along. I gave them bits of sweet potato the other day and they scarfed that down.
Is D officially done and retired 100%? Congrats! (and good luck having him home and underfoot haha!)

@Cherylndesigns How did you sleep last night, better? W wakes me up almost every night to go outside. PITB. She *can* hold it, but if I ignore her she paws at me until I have no choice. I think that is part of why I woke up cranky, I feel a bit mad at her right now.

@tanteva Good luck with the booster! Hope it doesn't hit you too hard.

HAGD! XO!

 

[BrightEyes]

Morning, gals. Thought there was a spotlight on my bedroom windows this morning. Turned out the full moon was shining on them! Yes, it was early.. 5:30 AM but I had gone to sleep early - 9PM - so had over 8 hours of sleep. It was way to cold to go outside to get a photo of the moon... 21* F!!! Brrrr...

Yes, the printer arrived about 2:30 PM. The box had a bit of damage - crushed a bit on top and torn place on the side. I took photos but decided to wait until today to unpack it. Didn't want to have to deal with it right then if the printer is damaged. Also, I was in the middle of putting out some Christmas decorations. YES... I did put some out even though I had said I wasn't going to do it. I spotted my 2 1/2' Red Hat Christmas tree in a bag in a box in the corner of the shelf over the washer/dryer while doing laundry so that pushed me to get it down and set it on the buffet. You can see it on my LO in the gallery - https://oscraps.com/community/media/be-decorating-for-christmas.358345/ I also set out my gold pinecone tree and bronze reindeer on the other buffet and my gold/white angel on a small end table and hung one of my Christmas wreath on the inside of the front door. So the living/dining room looks more like Christmas now.

My other expected delivery didn't arrive. It is coming via the Post Office so may be here this afternoon. At least I don't have to wait around waiting for it like I did for the UPS delivery.

Will pop back in later after I unpack the printer and get it set up. CYL

 

[LSlycord]

Good morning. Is it still morning---just barely I guess. We all got up early and drove to Jax Beach for breakfast. They had a breakfast charcuterie board...we had the largest one and, thanks to Shaun, we got through all of it. He ate the last 3 pancakes because he didn't want to "waste" food. Then we walked along the beach...totally beautiful today! It was still cool enough but the sun was shining and the water was sparkling. It doesn't feel like exercise when you are walking on the beach.

Yes...all Christmas shopping is complete. Although, the problem is, the earlier I complete it, the more likely I am to think of "just one more" thing. I may have done that this morning. Eye roll.

The computers have been delivered already this morning. Both kids know that's what they are getting but little Miss Type A is just dying because I won't tell her the specs. I've been in the IT world for 40 years...I think that I know enough to get you a reasonable computer little lady. LOL

Got to run to the pool store. We need a bag of salt and maybe some acid...I'll be back soon for personals.

 

[bcgal00]

Good morning ladies. Remi let me sleep til 6:45 (although periodically licked my face off and on since 4:30 LOL). We didn't get the snow they had predicted which is ok with me b/c Jen and I worried that it might be too hard to get up the steep hill to the care home to get B to bring her here for baking today. I will be getting everything out to make it as easy a process so B doesn't get overwhelmed. We're going to make rice krispie squares and sugar free choc chip cookies.

Jen and I talked a lot the last few days about B's care and what the future holds for her. Jen is really going to push now for a possible placement somewhere in the interior of BC, preferably around Kamloops. If this turns out to be doable, then we'll be selling the house and moving to the interior. Darrell and I both agree that a new adventure would be good for all of us and we'll start going up there to look at houses if we find out that B might be able to move. If not Kamloops then hopefully Kelowna (although it is a busier, more expensive area but we'd manage to find something affordable for us I'm sure). But, we are also prepared to stay local if that is what is necessary for B. Lots of changes coming in the next year but so far, not a real plan yet as to what.

D is retired other than one day of on-call (Xmas Day) so hopefully he doesn't get called out but if he does, it is really the very last day he'll have to do anything for his company other than returning the company van and attending a company luncheon in Jan. His buddies from work got him a gag gift (a pail with a lid, toilet paper inside and all wrapped in Xmas paper with a bow) so that he can always have a bathroom close by LOL. They are all aware of his needs to be close to facilities b/c of his Crohn's but they have always laughed and joked about it. Taped to the inside of the lid was a $500 GC to Home Depot. That was so nice of his buds to do that.

@faerywings So glad to hear that your dad did great with the surgery and that your mom is ok too.

I'm getting more coffee, taking the dogs out and getting baking stuff ready. Maybe I'll scrap a bit later before the family comes over. Have a good day everyone.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

It's just shy of noon here, but won't be by the time I finish. I.feel.so.much.better.today!!! This is what I've done my whole life whenever I had anything "flu-like". I feel horrible for about 4 days and barely crawl around and I'm super crabby, then it's gone. I woke up about 8:30 and knew I felt better. I got up, got some coffee and started putting all of my "mess" away - I just hadn't felt like doing ANYTHING. My laundry was done (thanks to Chuck) but still sitting in the basket, my desk was a mess, just clutter which I normally can't stand. It looks so good in here now! Adrienne and Roger have been out of town, so I didn't have to "try" to be nice, except the girls came down one day. I just skulked and sulked (LOL) around all week. I told Adrienne yesterday that I just couldn't "do" anything! We talked on the phone and she said "call the girls to come help you". I didn't even feel like having anybody here helping me and I'd have to tell them what to do with everything - so no. Adrienne and Roger get home tonight so hopefully, I'll be feeling more sociable then Steph and Asher get her Tuesday. I'm sure I'll be around a lot of people over the holidays - everybody gathers at Adrienne's now because their house is so big. I'm glad I've had this week to myself to recover.

So, Chris @faerywings I answered your question. LMBO. I'm so happy to hear about your dad AND that your mom's news was good. I'm the same way - I never tell anybody (but Chuck) how I'm feeling unless they "catch me". Adrienne's been gone for over a week and she JUST found out because Ava tattled on me. LOL Anyway, sorry to hear about your washer! Those scary troll cookies (tracking cookies) are REALLY scary! They're tracking our every move and that just proved it. Whatever weird thing you're looking for, just google it and they will come to you! I don't use Google for that reason - I have a private search engine that supposedly doesn't track cookies and it STILL gets invaded once in awhile, when I veer off of it. Amazon's the worst offender. (Stepping down off my soapbox now.)

Kay @BrightEyes glad you slept better and yay for getting your Christmas decor out - even a few things make me happy. We didn't put our tree up last year, we were in a small temporary house, but just setting a few things around worked for me. I also bought some red poinsettias last year. Haven't gotten any this year - they probably cost an arm and leg this year. SO happy you got your printer, albeit the damaged box and hope to hear that it's in good working condition besides that.

Happy Saturday to all. Waving and sending hugs.
-=

 

[Caro]

Horror Movie Garden Gnomes? Now that's interesting

 

[LSlycord]

@faerywings I have to tell you about our conversation in the car on the way home from brunch. I think that our families are enough alike that you will appreciate this story. It started with Shaun saying in 10 years when he is homeless and Syd said, "Shaun you won't be homeless as long as Linda is around." Shaun answered with, "But who knows how long she will make it." Then Syd said, "Well that's what life insurance is for..." Glad to know that they have been listening. Don't know how Brian fits into the plan...

Then we talked about whether or not I wanted to be buried back in Iowa. I said that I didn't think so now...just cremate me and spread my ashes over the ocean. Sydney replied, "I need to keep enough of your ashes to add to the tattoo ink when they do my tattoo on the inside of my right arm above my elbow. It will have your date of death in Roman numerals. Then I will always have you with me." When questioned about why that particular placement she answered that it just works with the other tattoos I have planned. Oh my....

@faerywings very glad to hear that the surgery went well for your dad and that your mom's appointment was also good news. And a swim tether is a pole on the pool decking with a rope tied to it. You put a belt on to hook the swimmer to the rope and the swimmer can swim really swim hard but not go anywhere. It's great conditioning.

@BrightEyes I love when the full moon wakes me up. My favorite way to wake up is to sunlight...it always makes me happy. I used to have an alarm clock that worked like the sun....slowly lighting up my room as an alarm. My mom got it for me for Christmas one year. If I ever buy another house, I will definitely put the master bedroom on the east side. I hope the printer wasn't damaged in transit. And I love the layout with your red hat tree. I'm sure that it brings back so many memories as you put it up and look at it.

@bcgal00 I so hope that today is good for cooking. Good idea to have everything out and ready. I sure hope that you can find a place that will be perfect for B in the next year. You do have an incredible adventure ahead of you in the next year. I love that you and your husband are so willing to make changes. Can't wait to watch it all unfold.

@Cherylndesigns so glad to hear that you feel good again! Yay! Definitely don't want to feel bad during Christmas holidays.

 

[BrightEyes]

Well, here I am back again... Took almost 3 hours to get the printer setup done and installed on DH's computer as my computer kept having a glitch when I tried to load the software and connect to the internet! Put it on DH's computer as it is newer and it loaded like dream! Then I popped over to my computer and was able to locate the printer and set it up there in about 3 minutes!!! Now I need to get on the other 2 computers and get them set up to use it, too. Looks like it was just dings in the carboard box during shipping and the printer is fine. Phew... that is a relief. Put the old printer in the shipping box and into the garage it goes until I am ready to take some old electronics to the dump... the city recycles them free. That is a win-win for me and for the city.

Rae, so happy for your DH and his retirement. But what a challenge you all are dealing with vis a vis B and her continuing care. Hope you can find a place that will be able to take her long term. Know what you mean about maybe selling and moving if you find a place for her.

Linda, I think the swim tether is a great gift for him... gives him a way to use your own pool and let him get the swim workout done. LOL as if you didn't know what spects to use to get her computer!!! Kids sometime forget that we 'adults' have technical knowledge equal or better than them.

Cheryl, so glad you are feeling much better finally. Sounds like there will be a lot going on with the family over the holidays.

Chris, I still LOL when I think about Cait walking around with butter sticks stuck in her pants to soften them!!! Hope you get all the baking done in time.

Decided I don't need to do any baking before the big day. I still have pumpkin pie servings and apple crisp servings --- and turkey and trimmings out in the freezer. I do have an avocado that is slowly ripening so will make either tacos or enchiladas when it is ripe. Other than that, I have enough other main courses that I don't need to cook until after the holidays.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

 

[tanteva]

It's the morning after my 3rd shot, and I just wanted to let you all know I'm not feeling 100%. My arm is sore & it feels like I have a little bit of a temperature. Assuming I will be fine tomorrow. TTYL

 

[faerywings]

Oh man, I am exhausted, another crummy night of sleep and waking up a tad cranky. No specific reason for any of this. I am simply running on empty.

I cleaned nonstop yesterday. Rugs and then bathrooms and laundry. The washer runs if you use cold water, thank goodness!! There is something wrong with the hot water valve- like I said, this is the 4th time it has broken in less than the three years we have had this washer. Started the food order and menu for Christmas Day. I wrapped a few more presents and pretty much collapsed by dinner.

I texted my dad a bit and seems to be doing ok. He wasn't in a lot of pain, more discomfort than anything. I didn't talk to my mom, I'll call her today.
Scott was supposed to be in CT last night and today. He and Leah had tickets to a Christmas concert that got canceled b/c one of the band members tested positive. I felt bad for them but was 110% relieved. I knew that he would be smart, he has an N95, stays away from the crowds, everyone is boosted. But the number of cases in NY/NJ is skyrocketing and the fewer people we are around, the happier I will be. It is going to get ugly -- quickly.

My "big" plans today are to wrap the baskets up. Can you tell I have been procrastinating on them? LOL I have a few more gifts that I want to wrap. Maybe -- just maybe-- I will have time to scrap afterward. I need some time for myself. I need some time *alone* but huh... not happening.

Sorry for being such a cranky pants the past few days. I think that after today I will be in better spirits.

xoxo

 

[faerywings]

@BrightEyes 21* - yes, way too cold to go outside.
I am glad that the printer wasn't damaged. So many of the boxes of things that had been ordered -- the new pantry and Caitlyn's new mirror- had boxes so damaged my FIL and mom was concerned that the items were broken inside. Thankfully they weren't, but you would never know from the outside.
I loved your LO of the Red Hat decorations. so festive!

@LSlycord OMG-- the photo of the b-fast board was amazing, so huge!! The family must have had a blast digging into that. Bet it felt good to work all of that off on the beach.
I am LMBO at Syd trying to figure out the specs of the new computer.

@bcgal00 Whew-- that is good about the snow passing you by. We were supposed to get snow and ice yesterday (my *first* reason for my worries over Scott driving to Connecticut) but it stayed warm enough to only drizzle.
Did you girls have fun baking?
I am so sorry that you and J are having such a difficult time trying to care/find care for B. I truly cannot imagine how gutwrenching it is. I hope for the best for all of you and that the year is easier than it seems it will be.
hehe, that is too funny about D's bucket and TP!!

@Cherylndesigns Thank goodness that you are feeling better too. Caitlyn still felt a bit tired yesterday as well from the booster. I know exactly what you mean about asking for help and it is easier to do it yourself. Everything will be perfect and you will be so happy when the family is all together. Especially since they won't be crowded in your house *G*

@Caro hahahahah!! Not surprised you saw the gnomes!! Should we hide them from @mywisecrafts ? Naaahhhhhhh!!!

Linda!!! ROTFLMAO at the convo with your kids. That is too funny!! They have it all planned out.
*still chuckling*
Thx for explaining the swim tether, I am sure it will get a lot of use.
I had one of those dawn simulators a long time ago. But there is an app you can use on your cell phone. Light Alarm Clock is the name I think. When I needed to use an alarm clock- I set the color to a place yellow that started to light up gradually about 15 minutes before my alarm. It really helped. Scott has one that has birds chirping quietly which makes me laugh because he *hates* birds.

Kay- that was a lot of work to get the printer set up but I am sure it is going to be well worth the effort.
*giggles* every time I think of Cait with the butter sticks in her waistband, I laugh too!

Feel better soon, Eva!!!

 

[bcgal00]

Good morning ladies. Baking was ok yesterday (barely). B was sad and triggering a lot. We had moments of fun but it was a struggle to keep her happy. I did get some fun pics of her laughing here and there, especially with the dogs and she was thrilled to sample the choc chip cookies. We didn't do the rice krispie squares as it was just too much for B so Jen took her home early, promising McD's takeout to bring back to the care home. D went to a friends open house so I had the house to myself for a few hours in the early evening. When he got home at 7:30 I was exhausted and it was a struggle to stay awake til 10. We binged a few episodes of FBI Most Wanted. I finished off a christmas romance (Happily This Christmas). Now I'm reading Snowfall at Willow Lake and that'll probably be the last christmas themed book I'll read and then I'll get back to my usual suspense/thriller/fantasy type stuff. This is the first year I haven't watched christmas hallmark movies but my TV time is more limited now b/c of the dogs and my arthritis (not allowing me to sit for long stretches of time). I pvr'd one and will watch that at night when I go to bed sometime this week. But normally I would have watched at least 5-10 by now. Life sure changed this last year.

I'm going to go do a challenge page and relax for an hour or so before going to the dog park. The rain stopped for the day and it'll be so nice to watch all the dogs play and not be soaked while I do it I'm going to wrap a few gifts later and hopefully get a few done each day so that by christmas eve I won't be scrambling to finish up. I'm working tomorrow but then done work for a week so that gives me plenty of time to get things done.

I'm getting another coffee and getting to work on a challenge now. Have a good day everyone.

 

[BrightEyes]

Hello, all. Decided that this would be a good day to have a PJ day... I slept in until almost 8AM and that was after I fell asleep in the recliner for over an hour last evening. Guess my busy days caught up with me. Didn't even try to read when I went to bed... just crawled in and turned out the light - the next thing I knew it was 8.

I pulled out a big container of enchilada sauce from the freezer yesterday afternoon and stuck it in the fridge to thaw a bit. Was able to cut it into large serving sizes and put them into smaller bins and put all but 1 back in the freezer as they were still more frozen than thawed. I should have known not to freeze that large of a container since Covid meant I would not be going to any potlucks. Yes, the avocado is ripe so will fix guacamole and enchiladas for supper tonight. Yummy. Been craving them for awhile.

I did get all the computers set up to use the new printer yesterday afternoon. Will be doing a test run on printing with all of them to make sure they are all working like they should. The other positive was the special letter arrived in the mail yesterday... and another special package came in. Really feeling the holiday spirit now.

Rae... I just finished reading Snowfall at Willow Lake... really enjoyed it. Glad that B was there for the making the cookies but sad that she was sad. At least she did enjoy a few things with you, Jen and the dogs.

Chris, hoping you will get some time to yourself so you can kick back and relax a bit. What a bummer about the washer... too many repairs on it. Hope that using just cold water allows you to at least do some washing. It should fall under the lemon law... and the manufacture should replace it free for you.

Linda, I was LOL over all the food on that huge platter!!! And Brian's face was so funny.

Eva, so sorry that you are feeling bad after the 3rd shot. Hopefully you will be feeling better in a day or so. Enjoy your days off if you can.

Need another cup of coffee and have a CT commitment to finish... so signing off for today.

 

[mywisecrafts]

@Caro this is for you!!! You have to admit this is super adorable..... and I'm making it for one of my daughters gift cards for Christmas..... Power to the Gnomes!