what are you doing right now?

[countrygirl2]

My cats know which doorbell goes to which door and when it chimes, they run to the door growling. They have jumped up and grabbed peoples hands before and scratched them. We try to put them up if someone comes in. They're doing some better but we are still cautious. People don't expect cats to act like that nor did I.

Now Tig gets on hubs lap for awhile at night to be petted and loved. He really likes hubs, Smokey is my cat.

I would be careful also with the grandkids and the dogs Pink, especially since they are showing protective tendencies. You never know.

[andi9899]

Nov 18, 2023 14:07:15 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I got my early 40th birthday tattoo.  Going over the spine smarts!  This one was my most "painful" tattoo I've gotten but still pretty tolerable.  

I am really happy about it but also feel bittersweet.  I toyed with the idea of trying to convince my mom to get matching tattoos on one of our birthdays. 40th is a milestone so would have been perfect.

Got the stuff to make Abby a button box from Coraline. I am pretty excited she is really into the movie and book.  Took me freaking forever to find a little box at Hobby Lobby.  They were hiding in the Christmas stuff against a wall.  I am going to put it in her stocking.

Went to Five Below and cleaned then out of Anime stickers.  That was one of the gift requests on the Angel I picked off the tree at work.  They host a school every year and you can take an angel from it.  $20 limit.  Pretty proud of my haul I wasn't expected to find anime stickers I was going to pick something else off the list.  I think my favorite is the Hello Kitty sticker book where they are all dressed as My Hero Academia characters.

I have a tattoo on the inside of my middle finger on my left hand. By far the most painful one I have. I have them all over too.

[chiver78]

I was planning an early night, and then I found The Proposal in the tv guide. oops. I'm sure I'll be posting in the am about how I fell asleep on the couch again. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I've been told the thinner the skin the more painful it is. That's why ankle and top of the foot tend to hurt.

Places like the upper arm, back and legs have more meat so less painful.

[andi9899]

Nov 18, 2023 15:10:14 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

screw cleaning today. I got stuck in gnarly traffic trying to get on Cape. the voc tech HS right on the canal is having their annual craft fair this weekend. it felt like a summer Saturday trying to get over the bridge, instead of a rainy November one. ugh. 

anyway, so I asked M if she was up for visitors and we spent an hour or so there before heading home across the other bridge. I made a couple stops along the way and finally got home after 2pm. I just now finished my breakfast and am being lazy watching tv. I found the first in-person interview with Casey Anthony since her acquittal 12 years ago. I'm not sure what I'm going to think by the end, but I feel like I need to watch it. 

It had me doing a complete 180! When all that went down, I was convinced she was guilty. You couldn't tell me otherwise. After watching the documentary, I couldn't convict her.

[andi9899]

Nov 18, 2023 15:46:20 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Having pecan Sandy cookies with tea. Yummy haven’t had these for years

I love pecan sandies. People usually don't like them because they're dry and hard. I love things other people hate for some reason.

[andi9899]

Nov 18, 2023 19:21:10 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Nov 18, 2023 7:59:49 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Sounds like you got a pretty good guard dog. Bear has a bark like that. He's an aussie, so not very scary to look at. When you hear him bark, you'd think he was a 200 pound dog. Hope you get some sleep.

I meant to respond to this earlier. That whole episode reminded me of how when I had a black chow chow, she would come growling and running toward the door if she didn’t know it was me, and in the dark, you could only see her teeth. Not something I would want to encounter if I was somewhere I shouldn’t be. The same with Boy last night. If I hadn’t been sure he would stop when he realized it was me, I might’ve fainted for the first time in my life. Especially since I was a bit unnerved even though I am not afraid of him at all. He was the exact opposite of the cuddly, goofy PEST I know, but I was still confident he wouldn’t actually attack me, it was just that I’d never seen or heard him be sound like that and run toward something he perceived as a threat. 

I asked Mister today if he heard Boy, and he vaguely remembers him making all that noise. I guess the fact that Boy quickly realized it was me and quieted down, made it not wake Mister up enough for it to be a real memory. But when I mentioned it today, Mister reminded me that if it had really been an intruder, Boy can jump high enough to be nose to nose with Mister. Which I know is true, because I’ve seen it. It’s not that Boy is so big, he is just very agile and able to jump higher than it seems possible, and so is Newbie when she wants to be. 

To illustrate the point about their agility, a week or so ago, they were playing with the spring pole hanging from the tree in the back yard. Mister was ready for them to to stop, and come inside, and he ended up grabbing the spring pole himself to shoo them away from it. Newbie jumped high enough to grab it above Mister’s hands, and Boy literally scrambled up Mister’s back to grab it even higher than where Newbie was hanging off it. They both like to just hold on and swing on it. It was all a lot of disobedience that needs to be addressed, but it was also something we’d never seen before, that they are capable of as far as agility.

Given all of that, if Boy is as protective of his home and his people as he seemed to be last night, he could be very bad for an intruder. YD came home unexpectedly just now, and he was happy to see her. Of course, she is not an intruder, she is family and belongs here. But I think that we need to be even more careful now with how things work in our household, since Mister and I are the only 2 constants that are here every single day, and normally, nobody is moving around in our house after we’ve gone to bed. Which is why Boy barks when he hears something in the middle of the night. The other times I got up last night, when I headed to the back of the house again, I said softly “Boy, it’s me”, not because I was afraid, but just so he knew it was me and didn’t get riled up again. When I got back to the bedroom those times, he was awake and looking at me, but he didn’t get up and went back to sleep after I got back in bed. I might be being overly cautious thinking about how we need to handle our children and our grandchildren who might be up and about after we’ve gone to bed when they are here, and there is the fact that our bedroom door is closed at night when any of them are here, and Boy can’t run out like he did last night, but I’d just rather think about it beforehand, and be safe rather than sorry. 

On the flip side of that, Jackson is big enough that if he stands on his hind legs he can come face to face with me. No jumping involved. He's also the biggest bitch I've ever encountered. He'd probably run and hide if there was an intruder. Macy is about that life and would definitely protect me and my home. Too bad she's my little dog. 🐶

[andi9899]

Nov 18, 2023 20:11:46 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Nov 18, 2023 19:26:26 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

Boy is a true guardian, but thankfully has a brain and recognizes who is his if they speak or he can catch their scent.  Anyone else will be in the deep stuff, and probably dead.  I was surprised that Boy tolerated Mr. Messy's middle-of-the-night roaming but he obviously knew Mr. Messy was one of his pack.  Some fools think pitties are clumsy.  They aren't

Boy did bark when Mr. Messy would roam the house in the middle of the night. But our bedroom door was always closed. Nor did he bark and snarl and sound so scary, like he did last night. There was also the night some months ago that I mentioned here, when he woke us up barking, because YD unexpectedly came here around 1am. That was one of the nights Mister and I were sleeping in separate bedrooms, but we both got up to see why Boy was barking. And YD was appalled that she saw her Dad’s nekkid ass. Well ma’am, there’s no telling what you might see if nobody has an idea that you might pop up. Seeing your Dad’s nekkid ass is the least that might happen if you randomly pop up at that time of night after not having been here for a while. 

Boy is 16mo old now, and I think his real personality is starting to show and give us glimpses of the fully adult dog he will be. I am good with the protective and guard dog behaviors he is starting to display, I just think we need to make sure he understands the boundaries. My children and grandchildren haven’t spent the night here in some months, and when they did, as much as Boy is attached to Mister, he preferred being and sleeping where my children and grandchildren slept, if he was allowed to. I don’t know if that is still true, because he seems to be changing. He is still the happy go lucky dog that loves people, but I need to make sure that he is still at ease with them in the same way, now that he seems to be maturing. 

OAN, even before now, Boy has seemed to be a protector, even with people that he doesn’t know well enough to be “his” people. I think it was Memorial Day that it became apparent. DS has a tiny dog that barks and tries to appear to be aggressive with people he doesn’t know. That evening, my children, grandchildren and I, were on the deck when Mister’s brother came out there to say goodbye, on his way to his car. DS’s dog started barking and growling at Brother, and Boy got between them and growled at DS’s dog, as if to say sitchoassdown!, then escorted Brother down the steps, to the gate of the fence. He was very clearly protecting Brother from DS’s dog (and DS’s dog got the message and sat his ass down lol) even though Brother has not been around enough for Boy to bond with him. 

Newbie is definitely the weirdest dog I’ve ever had. She is loveable, but also very nonchalant, and in some ways acts more like a cat than a dog lol, so I just let her be her weird self and love her anyway…… and Boy is very loveable and cuddly, but he is still also goofy and a PEST. To me, that just means they have their own personalities, and I am okay with that. Even as recent as 10 years ago, I would’ve never even entertained the thought of having either of them as members of my household, because even though in my mind they are both mutts, (and they are, since they are both the result of haphazard or unintentional breeding) they are both what many people consider to be pit bulls, even though their physical characteristics don’t necessarily fit the descriptions of any of the “true” breeds. And even with all of my love for dogs, “pit bulls” were always one breed I said I’d never “own”. But now, here I am, unable to imagine life without either of them.

Pitbulls are some of the most docile dogs ever. They were used as nannies back in the day. They get a bad reputation, but they really are wonderful. Don't get me wrong, I love the twins, but I would definitely own a Pitbull when they're gone. I'd love to have a blue one. Even Luna who is crazy is such a good dog. People are afraid of her when they see her because she's a big dog, but she's the sweetest. She's so needy too! She's a 70 pound Pitbull/bulldog mix. She has absolutely no idea she's a big scary looking monster. She's really just the goodest girl.

[andi9899]

Nov 18, 2023 21:50:20 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I've been told the thinner the skin the more painful it is. That's why ankle and top of the foot tend to hurt.

Places like the upper arm, back and legs have more meat so less painful.

Correct. The one on my finger was torture because it was skin on bone. The one on the back of my neck was rough too for the same reason. The boobie tats were a breeze because it was fat/muscle. I want to get a large sugar skull on my thigh. I'll report back. I'm scared to get a foot tattoo.

[bean29]

Nov 18, 2023 22:00:06 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Nov 18, 2023 15:46:20 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Having pecan Sandy cookies with tea. Yummy haven’t had these for years

I love pecan sandies. People usually don't like them because they're dry and hard. I love things other people hate for some reason.

I like them too. I also like Lorna Doones (shortbread). I don’t eat a lot of sweets, but under a lot of stress at work, so have been eating more junk.

DH came home earlier when I was trying to talk to sprint. He cancelled my Mom’s phone & a tablet plan we had tried to cancel for several years. I need to look for the receipts from my in-laws phones b/c he sure he paid in full but there is a monthly charge.

Walked dogs. Nail appt at 10. Family Thanksgiving at an Italian restaurant at noon tomorrow. I have so much to do, I need a job where I only have s 4 day workweek.

Falling asleep. Have to ho hang my laundry up first. Good night everyone.

[andi9899]

Nov 18, 2023 22:33:14 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Nov 18, 2023 22:00:06 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I love pecan sandies. People usually don't like them because they're dry and hard. I love things other people hate for some reason.

I like them too. I also like Lorna Doones (shortbread). I don’t eat a lot of sweets, but under a lot of stress at work, so have been eating more junk.

DH came home earlier when I was trying to talk to sprint. He cancelled my Mom’s phone & a tablet plan we had tried to cancel for several years. I need to look for the receipts from my in-laws phones b/c he sure he paid in full but there is a monthly charge.

Walked dogs. Nail appt at 10. Family Thanksgiving at an Italian restaurant at noon tomorrow. I have so much to do, I need a job where I only have s 4 day workweek.

Falling asleep. Have to ho hang my laundry up first. Good night everyone.

I like shortbread too. I also only eat the corners of brownies. I like it because it's chewy. I really want brownies now but I'm too lazy to make them.

[andi9899]

So my nephew has a neighbor that has no family that he's bringing over for Thanksgiving. He's vegan and I don't know what to feed him. Help!

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 18, 2023 22:40:34 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

So my nephew has a neighbor that has no family that he's bringing over for Thanksgiving. He's vegan and I don't know what to feed him. Help!

Vegan or vegetarian

Or somewhere in between?

[laterbloomer]

Nov 18, 2023 15:36:39 GMT -5 weltz said:

I went to the best neurosurgeon in Montreal yesterday. He took a look at the MRI results and told me "Wow! You need a new back!   When do you want to schedule your surgery for?' 
Never. I've had many surgeries but this back surgery scares the crap out of me.

What kind of back surgery? ISO had back surgery and I was surprised how easy it was. Recovery took a while but it was actually manageable.

[jerseygirl]

I used to go to Scotland on business. At meetings for morning and afternoon breaks, there was delicious shortbread . And cream for coffee/tea and butter . And huge breakfasts with eggs, bacon, more butter and fabulous pastries, potatoes (haggis that I wouldn’t eat),. Dinner one night was steak topped with sweet breads.

I could feel my arteries filling up as the 3 days went on. Of course the single malts in the evening ‘cut’ the rich food from the day.
Brought some shortbread and single malts home. Miss those meetings!
Eating shortbread cookies and pecan sandies reminds me

[daisylu]

DH and I had a nice talk when he got home from work last night. He thanked me for helping out his family with the fundraiser yesterday. I told him my anxiety made me want to puke before I got there, but once I got into it I was really good at talking to people and made some new friends. I think I'm going to look for something that has meaning to me and volunteer more. Hopefully the more I put myself out there the easier it gets.

This was important to me because I had been in a similar position with both of my kids. DD was on a ventilator for almost 2 weeks due to RSV and DS had a mysterious illness at 4 that had him running high fever (over 105), rashes, and joint pain to the point where he had to be held up to use the bathroom. He went through so many tests with no conclusive answers and it eventually went away after about 8 months. Still think it was Lyme disease as that test is not always accurate. I was a single mom and lucky for me my mom's job changed cities and dad didn't want her driving that far, so she quit and I started paying her to watch the kids. I was lucky to have that, but it was hard leaving him everyday. But I still had to keep a roof over our heads. That was one of the worst feelings in the world to me to not be able to be with him myself and I feel for anyone in that situation.

I will wait until after the holidays, which is usually when my SAD hits hard. Hopefully doing something good for others will help that situation as well.

[finnime]

Good morning, tattooed and undecorated invisipeeps alike. Welcome to Sunday. I hope your day is serene and easy as befits a day of rest. I hope you find pancakes or French toast are on offer for breakfast or dinner and that other people in your life are helpful.

Yesterday's show went well. I sold some prints; DH sold some cards. Overall after fees we ended up in profit territory. People commented on how much they enjoyed the images. It was so much easier to set up indoors without needing to erect a canopy or battle wind. We had a good time.

Today I will be stowing away the supplies and generally preparing the house for Thanksgiving. I will not venture into any sort of grocery store; that's just suicidal.

Yesterday was deeply foggy in the early morning, so the sun was never visible rising. There were hundreds of Brants, though. I got this shot of a busy group, readying for the day:

[finnime]

I'm very glad the fund raiser went well, daisylu. I hope all goes well for Serenity.

[Peace77]

Nov 18, 2023 22:40:34 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

So my nephew has a neighbor that has no family that he's bringing over for Thanksgiving. He's vegan and I don't know what to feed him. Help!

You ca use olive oil or coconut oil instead of butter.  For a main dish, they could have baked acorn squash, cut into quarters, seeds scooped out .and topped with nuts.

Instead of green bean casserole, steamed broccoli and carrots or any vegetable without cream soup.

[Opti]

I'm not a squash person, but other possibilities would be rice with nuts or a hearty bean dish. One of the cook books from the library had a useful recipe that involved beans, greens, and pasta that was an endless way to make various vegan main dishes. One similar recipe I have is penne pasta with cannoli beans and broccoli rabe with garlic. The beans are simmered with cloves of garlic and some olive oil which becomes a sauce that you pour over the cooked pasta and greens. Its one of my vegan meals I make when broccoli rabe is on sale.

[toomuchreality]

I haven't watched Law and Order SVU in years. Last night, it came on after something else, I watched. I've been watching it ever since. I need to sleep, but I keep getting caught up in the show. Then the next one. I need something less stimulating/interesting- boring, to sleep to.

DD2 text me yesterday. Asked if I want a used (lightly) 43" flat screen tv. I need to get rid of my OLD school TV with dvd and vhs players built in (works well no issues), before DD2 and her DH bring the flat screen, this week (today?). But I can't move it, much less lift or carry it. Those big old TVs are HEAVY and awkward, to carry. Esp down 3 flights of stairs.

I also need to get my apt cleaned up and laundry done, because their girls will likely be with them. My apt is tiny, the girls will likely color on my bed, to be entertained and out of the way.

I don't have time to sleep. I need to get up and get busy. It's 6:20AM. I am not a morning person. Ugh. I need to not allow my anxiety to overwhelm me, or nothing will get done.

Whatever you do today. I hope your day goes well and you enjoy it (some of it?). That it doesn't all suck.

Take care of you. ♡

[Opti]

Nov 19, 2023 8:20:55 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

I haven't watched Law and Order SVU in years. Last night, it came on after something else, I watched. I've been watching it ever since. I need to sleep, but I keep getting caught up in the show. Then the next one. I need something less stimulating/interesting- boring, to sleep to.

DD2 text me yesterday. Asked if I want a used (lightly) 43" flat screen tv. I need to get rid of my OLD school TV with dvd and vhs players built in (works well no issues), before DD2 and her DH bring the flat screen, this week (today?). But I can't move it, much less lift or carry it. Those big old TVs are HEAVY and awkward, to carry. Esp down 3 flights of stairs.

I also need to get my apt cleaned up and laundry done, because their girls will likely be with them. My apt is tiny, the girls will likely color on my bed, to be entertained and out of the way.

I don't have time to sleep. I need to get up and get busy. It's 6:20AM. I am not a morning person. Ugh. I need to not allow my anxiety to overwhelm me, or nothing will get done.

Whatever you do today. I hope your day goes well and you enjoy it (some of it?). That it doesn't all suck.

Take care of you. ♡

Let me know how you get that TV moved. I still need to get rid of my dead tube TV which is wicked heavy. Too many stairs are involved and I need to declutter the landing and the stairs even if I find the funds and the will to hire someone to do it. I'd rather bring it to the township and have them recycle part of it, but plans for that have not panned out and I am getting sick of its presence. Wonder how much the Got Junk or similar folks would charge to get it out of here. 

[jerseygirl]

toomuchreality Suggest you do NOT move the old tv especially down stairs. Let your SIL do this for you. He’s younger and likely stronger. You mind his children so he should do this to recognize how much you help his family

Or hire someone. We have a very popular guy in town that runs Big Jim Cleanups. He was in grammar school with ODS. Not that bright or well behaved but he’s running a successful business and appreciated by the town

[Opti]

Nov 19, 2023 8:54:43 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

toomuchreality Suggest you do NOT move the old tv especially down stairs. Let your SIL do this for you. He’s younger and likely stronger. You mind his children so he should do this to recognize how much you help his family

JG, did you read her post? She's not going to. Like me, its too heavy to lift so its not even an option. I think I will call GotJunk this week and see if I can get an estimate.

[chiver78]

Nov 18, 2023 22:27:22 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Nov 18, 2023 21:50:20 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I've been told the thinner the skin the more painful it is. That's why ankle and top of the foot tend to hurt.

Places like the upper arm, back and legs have more meat so less painful.

Correct. The one on my finger was torture because it was skin on bone. The one on the back of my neck was rough too for the same reason. The boobie tats were a breeze because it was fat/muscle. I want to get a large sugar skull on my thigh. I'll report back. I'm scared to get a foot tattoo.

my one and only is on the top of my foot. I'm told that if I survived that one, I'm good for anywhere else I want to ink. thanks, I'm good. lol... the little swoosh in my Nana's signature has a tiny break in it - from where the lady had to stop to peel me off the ceiling.    you don't realize just how many nerve endings are on the top of your foot down near the toes until you let someone tattoo the area. 

[chiver78]

ah, it's Sunday. no newspaper, again. guess it's a good thing I was planning to be productive today. 

[andi9899]

Nov 18, 2023 22:57:33 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Nov 18, 2023 22:40:34 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

So my nephew has a neighbor that has no family that he's bringing over for Thanksgiving. He's vegan and I don't know what to feed him. Help!

Vegan or vegetarian

Or somewhere in between?

Vegan. Vegetarian would be easier.

[giramomma]

Nov 19, 2023 8:20:55 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

I haven't watched Law and Order SVU in years. Last night, it came on after something else, I watched. I've been watching it ever since. I need to sleep, but I keep getting caught up in the show. Then the next one. I need something less stimulating/interesting- boring, to sleep to.

Wheel of fortune and NCIS does it for me

[cooper88]

I'm a little stiff from the marathon weed pulling yesterday. Oddly, the back of my neck is the most stiff, likely from me scowling at them the entire time.

[chiver78]

Nov 19, 2023 8:20:55 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

I haven't watched Law and Order SVU in years. Last night, it came on after something else, I watched. I've been watching it ever since. I need to sleep, but I keep getting caught up in the show. Then the next one. I need something less stimulating/interesting- boring, to sleep to.

DD2 text me yesterday. Asked if I want a used (lightly) 43" flat screen tv. I need to get rid of my OLD school TV with dvd and vhs players built in (works well no issues), before DD2 and her DH bring the flat screen, this week (today?). But I can't move it, much less lift or carry it. Those big old TVs are HEAVY and awkward, to carry. Esp down 3 flights of stairs.

I also need to get my apt cleaned up and laundry done, because their girls will likely be with them. My apt is tiny, the girls will likely color on my bed, to be entertained and out of the way.

I don't have time to sleep. I need to get up and get busy. It's 6:20AM. I am not a morning person. Ugh. I need to not allow my anxiety to overwhelm me, or nothing will get done.

Whatever you do today. I hope your day goes well and you enjoy it (some of it?). That it doesn't all suck.

Take care of you. ♡

do you have the channel HLN? Forensic Files is a very steady and consistent volume over the 30min episodes, and if you find the original version (the original narrator died) that guy's voice is very calming.