Earth Muffin's Mellow Coffee Shop

[toomuchreality]

I sent DSonIL a text yesterday, asking about a coffee mug (his birthday is 3/2, mine is 3/6). I suggested we both get them, for our birthdays. He enthusiastically said yes!
I said, I will pay for them, but asked if he will order them, if I send him a link, because they have Amazon Prime and I don't. He did not respond. So this afternoon, I text him and said, never mind. 🙄

I also filed a maintenance request online, for the outdoor lighting to be repaired, stating it is a security issue and that the maintenance supervisor told me they would be fixed by Dec 10th. When I came home at 11:30PM on Dec 24th, they still were not on. A man spoke to me, I couldn't see him, as I was going up the stairs. Scared me to death!

My neighbors have borrowed my plunger nearly every day, for the last week. Gross! When he came to borrow it on the 24th, I asked him when they were going to buy their own? (He woke me up, so I wasn't happy.) He told me he would return it later, so I could go back to sleep. 2 days later, I asked him to bring it back, because he hadn't. They also came for TP on the 23rd. -They used to borrow my can opener, almost daily (both can opener and plunger for 2 years!) In October, I finally bought them a can opener. Then at the beginning of Dec, I bought them a better one.
Her mom lives in the same complex. I know I am more convenient for them. But seriously? Why do they expect me to support them? They don't replace things they "borrow", or even share what they make with my stuff. They just use it.

Why can't people just do what they're supposed to/say they will do?

Then they wonder why I get upset.
I need to say no, more often!

I'm on my way to pick up a prescription. It will be dark when I get home, again.

[busymom]

I worked at a nursing home for one of my part-time jobs when I was attending college.  Fire safety was a big deal there.  We even had a class where a fire was set out in the parking lot, and one by one us newbies had to put it out.      Two things to remember when using an extinguisher:  always pull out the metal pin before squeezing the handle, and always duck your head when spraying at the fire, because the fire sort of "jumps" over the spray coming from the extinguisher.  

[TheOtherMe]

I remember being shown what happens when you throw water on grease that is on fire.  I don't know if this was in school.  It probably had to be.  But the image of what happened when you throw water on a panful of grease on fire has stuck with me.

I have a fear of fire, passed down by my parents.  My mom's childhood home burned down in the middle of a cold winter night.  House burned to the ground.  It deeply affected her and her siblings because they talked about it a lot.  It hadn't hit me until I read an article about the fire since I started doing genealogy that her parents and the 12 children went to stay with the oldest daughter and her husband and two children.  Can you imagine bringing all of those people in to your house like that?  

I can't imagine they had a house as big as the house where the parents lived but they took them in until they could find another house to live.  

My parents' operated a bowling alley when I was born.  They would have operated throughout my entire childhood had it not burned down on Thanksgiving night 1956.  It was not rebuilt.  It was the biggest insurance claim by $ in that small town ever and dad said they used it to buy a house.

[busymom]

What I remember most about fire training was the story of 2 nurses who died in the facility they worked at.  They forgot to pull the pin, and were found dead next to the extinguisher.  They put a huge amount of pressure trying to squeeze the operating lever, so much, that they bent the pin that they had forgotten to pull out.  

So sorry about your family history with fire, TheOtherMe.  That'd be enough to scare anyone.  The miracle is, no one died in either fire, right?  

[busymom]

toomuchreality, that would really bother me if the outside security light wasn't operating.  There's no excuse for that.  Have you had any luck finding somewhere else to live?

[toomuchreality]

Funny. I have never been afraid of fires, really. Although I did light a plastic straw on fire, to watch it burn, when I was in 6-7th grade- in my bedroom. It didn't occur to me that it would melt/drip, while it burned. It was summer and I was wearing shorts. It dripped onto my bare leg. Just then, my mom called me, to come set the dinner table.
I shared a bedroom with 3 of my older sisters at the time. When I tried to blow it out, it caught a bunch of School papers on fire! (Not just mine)... My mom was still calling me and was getting upset. I got the fire out, shoved the burned papers and clothes under my bed and went down to set the table, like nothing had happened. I still have a round scar on my leg. But I never got caught!
My older brother caught the field behind our house on fire, around that same time. My dad, his dad, his uncle and his brother were all Firemen. My dad's got uncle was the Fire Chief, for years.

Maybe that made me feel safer, knowing/thinking they would save me?

When the apt bldg next to mine (my windows face that bldg) burned down and when my car caught fire, 2 1/2 yrs ago, I was really freaked out. Both times!
Two of my scariest experiences, ever.

I loved going down the fire pole, growing up. And sitting in the cab of those giant fire trucks.
I don't remember being allowed to sit in the seat of the ladder truck ever, though. I don't think my brothers, or sisters got to either.

I wish my car was kept clean and waxed, like those fire trucks! I've never seen a dirty one, or one that wasn't shiny. Ever. Every inch is spotless, inside and out. 🚒 Always.

DD2 has to recertify for every kind of emergency you can imagine, because she is a flight attendant.
I've never used a fire extinguisher, or had a grease fire. But I have burned myself severely, several times.

Enjoy your weekend! Is anyone planning to go out for New Year's, this weekend? (Not me.) I'm a home body 99% of the time.
Be safe and stay warm, if you go somewhere. ♡

[toomuchreality]

Dec 27, 2023 21:49:44 GMT -5 busymom said:

toomuchreality, that would really bother me if the outside security light wasn't operating.  There's no excuse for that.  Have you had any luck finding somewhere else to live?

It's pitch black outside, after dark, which is pretty early, these days. I couldn't even see the man who spoke to me, on the stairs, until I was 2 steps below him! And I could just barely make him out, then.
Nope, I haven't. And my new lease has to be approved and signed, by next week.
I was supposed to have it done, before Dec 10th. But didn't, due to pneumonia. I wish I found a new one!

[busymom]

I'm staying home for New Year's Eve.  I haven't had the chance yet to go buy finger foods, but we normally have all kinds of stuff to snack on that night.  

[TheOtherMe]

No one was in the building when the bowling alley burned.  Since it was in a basement of a commercial building, a person would have been stuck.  It had an outside entrance but no entrance to the other part of the building.  Fire started where all the chemicals to take care of the lanes was kept.  Dad knew that was where any fire would start.  

Mom's family was lucky no one was injured or killed.  Very lucky in those days where water had to be hauled in.  Fire started in a closet where her oldest brother and his buddies had hung their cuts.  The older kids all knew he and his friends smoked.  They think someone thought they put out a cigarette in a pocket, but it wasn't out.  

I will be home for New Year's Eve and sleeping by midnight.  

[busymom]

Good Morning Kids!  The inspector has just left, and liked what he saw on the work in my basement.  He even made some suggestions on how to save money once we finish the basement so it'll all be living space, which I really appreciated.  Even he says a lot of contractors are just in it for maximum profit.  

[Icelandic Woman]

Hi Muffins!!!

Boy those 6 days went really fast! But on the bright side 4 more days off coming up!

I am glad you all made it through the holiday safely!

We had about an inch of sNOw yesterday but has already melted away.
Mild and dry here through the holiday weekend and most of next week!

I wish you all a safe and Happy New Year!!!
See you in 2024!

[toomuchreality]

busymom-
How is your son doing now?
Better, I hope!

Icelandic Woman-
Enjoy those last few days off!
We'll be seeing you again, soon.

[toomuchreality]

Dec 28, 2023 11:13:18 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

No one was in the building when the bowling alley burned.  Since it was in a basement of a commercial building, a person would have been stuck.  It had an outside entrance but no entrance to the other part of the building.  Fire started where all the chemicals to take care of the lanes was kept.  Dad knew that was where any fire would start.  

Mom's family was lucky no one was injured or killed.  Very lucky in those days where water had to be hauled in.  Fire started in a closet where her oldest brother and his buddies had hung their cuts.  The older kids all knew he and his friends smoked.  They think someone thought they put out a cigarette in a pocket, but it wasn't out.  

I will be home for New Year's Eve and sleeping by midnight.  

I hope you are able to relax and do something that sounds enjoyable to you.

It is not my favorite holiday. Never has been.
I have no plans for New Year's, either.
Growing up, my parents always put on a big seafood meal, on the 1st. Crab, Octopus, Clams (fried and chowder) etc. Unfortunately, I have never cared much for seafood. So I would have rather had a hamburger, or something. I didn't appreciate all the cost and the effort they put into doing that. I ate clam chowder and tried not to get any clams!
(I like potato soup.)

2023 was the first time my girls and I didn't get together for Christmas. It will probably be the first time DD2 & H don't have us over for New Years, too. Although I'll be surprised if his side of the family isn't invited over. I think her DH is tired of always having to be the hosts. But that was their choice. What they said they wanted. For people to come to their house. If you want to see them, or their kids, we were told, we'd have to go there. They are not coming to see us. And in my case, that has been true.

Hopefully, I will see my DGDs tomorrow. I haven't seen them since before Thanksgiving. I miss them.
I wonder if they already opened the Christmas gifts from me?

I have seriously been crabby, the last few days. I hate feeling like this!

We have so much smog trapped in the valley here. It seems to be the only thing people are talking about.

The mountains do hold the smog in the area very well, Which is hard on people who have breathing issues, or don't feel well.
It's like being surrounded by black, unhealthy fog, you can't see through.

I hope your weekend goes well, whatever you decide to do.

[busymom]

Dec 28, 2023 14:34:23 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

busymom -
How is your son doing now?
Better, I hope!

Icelandic Woman -
Enjoy those last few days off!
We'll be seeing you again, soon.

     He's feeling better today.  Thank you for asking!  


     Sometimes he rebounds quickly on the same day, and sometimes not.  Yesterday's seizure he was very active (arms & legs flailing) so he was exhausted afterwards and needed a nap. 

[TheOtherMe]

Once we moved to Des Moines, two of mom's siblings and their families came to our house for New Year's Eve.  Usually a few days before and at least through the 2nd because mom's birthday was January 2.  

We didn't do much of anything special.  The adults played cards and the men drank.  It was a really big deal when we kids got to be old enough to stay up until midnight.  The first year a younger cousin got to, he couldn't stay awake.  He kept going outside to run around the house without a coat with snow on the ground and it was below zero.  I am sure he was asleep at 12:05 AM and the next morning didn't know what the big deal was.  

We had a 3 bedroom house, 978 sq ft.  The 3 adult couples each had a bedroom and 9 kids made beds out of blankets on the living room floor.  

Did it for the 4th of July every year, too.

[Sharon]

I will definitely be in bed long before midnight on New Years eve.

[toomuchreality]

Dec 28, 2023 16:34:43 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Once we moved to Des Moines, two of mom's siblings and their families came to our house for New Year's Eve.  Usually a few days before and at least through the 2nd because mom's birthday was January 2.  

We didn't do much of anything special.  The adults played cards and the men drank.  It was a really big deal when we kids got to be old enough to stay up until midnight.  The first year a younger cousin got to, he couldn't stay awake.  He kept going outside to run around the house without a coat with snow on the ground and it was below zero.  I am sure he was asleep at 12:05 AM and the next morning didn't know what the big deal was.  

We had a 3 bedroom house, 978 sq ft.  The 3 adult couples each had a bedroom and 9 kids made beds out of blankets on the living room floor.  

Did it for the 4th of July every year, too.

This is the way we did it, when company stayed over, too....
Kids on the floor, in the front room. Unless there was enough room on another child's bedroom floor. Then we slept there, to avoid the mess, in the front room, the following day.

I couldn't imagine having an extra room, for guests. We had 7 people in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home. Then my mom had twins, so my dad added 2 more bedrooms and 1/2 bath, upstairs. 9 people in a 4 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house. We were packed. At 1 point, our only car that was running, was VW Beetle. With 9 people and groceries, or whatever. Another time, we had an Army Surplus Jeep with only 2 front seets. Us kids all sat in back, on the floor. And 1 time, we had an old refurbished, 3 wheeled mail truck! I think the max speed was 30, or 35 mph. It only had the drivers seat.
But we made due, with what we had. Just like all of you did.

Seems crazy to think about, now.

[TheOtherMe]

I know the cousins thought it was fun.  

The uncle who stayed in my room always made fun of the posters on my wall or the wild colored sheets.  It was all in fun.

I didn't know anyone who had a guest room.  

At one of my aunt's houses, my sister and I slept in the floor of the bedroom where mom and dad slept.  That was a big bedroom and was used the the daughter, who was the only girl with 4 brothers.  The rooms her brothers shared were not as big as her room.

[busymom]

Good Morning Kids!  Insomnia kicked my butt AGAIN last night.  I don't know why I cannot sleep when I am so tired...


Please send up a prayer for my MIL, as Covid is moving quickly through the senior community where she now lives.  

[Sharon]

My doctor has had me start taking Magnesium before bed, Bioptimizers, Magnesium Breakthrough.  It helps me relax and I sleep way better than I have in years.

[TheOtherMe]

I'm sorry about the Covid in nursing homes.  I know you have had some family in my state.  There are absolutely no masking requirements for any business in Iowa.  Many nursing homes are not testing and are not telling families.

Please stay on top of it however you can.  

[Sharon]

DD and family came over for a while today to watch some football.  The previous day they had made a day trip to where we used to live to see DSIL's family, so a very long day with a lot of driving for them.  As a result the kids were tired and rather wild today.  We finally put DGS2 down for a nap, they had to wake him up after over 3 hours of sleeping to go home.  He told me he didn't want to go home he wanted to sleep.  DGD2 also had a good nap and was still sound asleep when they hauled her out to the car.

Now peace and quiet reigns at my house.  They even did a pretty good job of cleaning up the toys in the family room.  I still need to clean up the remnants of our lunch.  Late yesterday I decided that I only wanted to work a half day today, best decision ever.  I'm fighting a cold and still so tired.  Tonight will be early to bed and I will stay in bed however long I feel like tomorrow.

[NancysSummerSip]

Peeps! What is it about the holidays that makes coworkers dumber? Or is it just me? They all seem to be forgetting how to do their jobs this week! I am glad to be done.

We will swim tomorrow (low 50s for temperatures), and I plan a Walmart stop. That's it until Sunday, when I have a race. I did get a split of French champagne for NYE, but I doubt we will be up that late. Probably have a bit, then the rest with fresh orange juice as mimosa Monday.

[busymom]

Good Morning Kids!  (I think...)  Insomnia has hit me hard again.  I went to bed after 1 a.m., and woke up much too early.  I'm not tired enough to go back to sleep, so I'm just up & trying to get a few things done.  Maybe I'll sneak in a nap this afternoon.  

[NancysSummerSip]

Happy Saturday, peeps! Sharing the pool with the team from Wayne State U.  this week. Seem like nice kids. They think 50 degrees is warm, though. Not for us. I wore my sweatshirt and parka and woolly socks into Walmart after practice. But that place is cold.

Baking cookies for DH and doing laundry. My big plans for the day.

[Sharon]

I should be painting but instead I'm still sitting in my robe just messing around on the computer.  I did complete a couple of surveys so I will be able to add to my vacation fund.  Tonights dinner will be hamburger soup.  It always makes a nice big pot of soup so I can eat on it for several days and then freeze the rest for later.

[TheOtherMe]

I couldn't get to sleep last night either.  When I finally fell asleep, the next thing I knew it was 9:30 AM.  Cats were right where they were when I fell asleep.  

I have no idea of when I fell asleep, just that it was late in to the night.  

[busymom]

Well, so far, so good with my MIL.  But, it IS a senior complex, where they all have their own apartments, but they have the option to dine with all of their friends, rather than eating alone in their apartment. (Apparently the food service there is pretty good.)  So, I do worry, because she is slipping into dementia, and doesn't always make the best choices now.  We'll keep getting her tested.  I expect once the kids are back in school next week the Covid rate is going to go up here.


The stupid roads are getting slick (thin layer of ice), and DH got the late shift.  I'll be waiting up to make sure he gets home ok.  In the meantime, I'm doing exciting stuff like laundry. 

[toomuchreality]

Yesterday, I took a bag of various chocolates, cookies and treats down and dropped them off at the office. When I have done nice things for the office in the past, they have literally argued about who was taking it/what, like 3 year olds. I thought they could share, since there's only 3-4 people.
This time, rather than buy all of them their own and containers etc, since I've been sick and didn't want to deal with all their nonsense, I wrote a note of thanks, to everyone working in the office on the outside of a pretty gold gift bag. I also wrote something about sharing the items in the bag, then wrote my name and apt # on it. I put the various items inside the bag and dropped it off, on my way to my garage. No one touched the bag, or what was in it, while I was there. And no comments were made about what I wrote. I wished them a happy new year and left.

The 2 lights at the base of the stairs, outside, have been replaced with flood lights. The mgr mentioned that, when I dropped off the treats. I acknowledged it had been done and that I appreciated it. They are like little kids, I swear. My grandchildren don't fight/argue as much as the management and staff here do.it blows me away.

I went to dinner last night, with DD2'S family, for Christmas. They paid the bill, I paid the tip. Everyone seemed okay with that. But it was EXPENSIVE for 3 adults and 2 toddlers (I usually order from the children's menu and don't eat it all.) $300.00 and I had a cheeseburger. The girls had chicken nuggets. But we enjoyed being together. That's what was important.

I was a little nervous about spending time with people, after being isolated/sick, for so long.
I'm glad it went well.

Today's my mom's birthday. She died in March 2000. I've been sad, missing her a lot, today. I did nothing, all day.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.

Take care.

[busymom]

<HUGS> for your mom's birthday, toomuchreality!   I'm glad your family gathering went well.


DH made it home, so I'm off to bed.  Good Night All!