Monday Update From The Compound

 Let me first say that I cannot wait until July 27 when I can retire. 

I spent 20 minutes in line at the drugstore on the way home to pick up the Old Man's prescriptions.  Then when I got home, I had to fix supper.  Thankfully, it all came together very quickly.  And the Old Man even asked for seconds, so that was a plus. 

I cleared the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, cleaned up the kitchen, and now I'm ready to crash.  I should go out and try to start Tiny, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow after work when it's supposed to be warmer. 

If I had my way, I'd brush my teeth, take out my contact lens and go to bed right now.  But I digress.

Stay tuned. 

Busy Weekend At The Compound

 It's been a busy weekend here at The Compound.  Here's a list of everything I've done since Saturday morning: 

1. Made French Toast for the first time yesterday morning for breakfast, and it was pretty good.  The Old Man said to put that in regular breakfast rotation. 

2. Made a trip to Lowes and then to Home Depot to get an old school mini blind to put up in the Old Man's bedroom.  We fought with a set of blinds I ordered from Amazon and neither one of us could figure out how the mounting brackets fit.  So I said to hell with it, and went first to Lowes, but couldn't get anyone to help me, so I said to hell with it once again, and went down the street to Home Depot, where a very kind and helpful young man named Amos found exactly what we needed, and he even trimmed it to our specifications.  

3. The Old Man and I spent another hour trying to get the proper fitting set of blinds hung.  After one small mishap that turned out fine, we got them hung in the existing brackets, and got the curtain back in place. 

4. Made my regularly scheduled Saturday trip to Krogers, only to find that early afternoon is way busier than when I go after breakfast.  Lesson learned. 

5. Made a new dish in the Crock Pot - Chicken Cacciatorie.  It was pretty good - the Old Man said to also put this in monthly supper rotation.

6.  This morning, I made a pot of Paula Deen's Taco Soup for supper later.  I am not ashamed to admit that I now take short cuts when any recipe calls for chopped onions: I buy a carton of chopped onions at the grocery.  

7. After watching our church service online, I thoroughly cleaned the kitchen.  I moved as much as I could off of the counter tops and got out my trusty bottle of Mr. Clean spray and went to town.  I even got an old toothbrush and scrubbed all around the faucet and all around the sink.  Then I moved on to cleaning the stove top.  Once again, thank your Mr. Clean. 

8. Now, I am ready to go run a couple of errands and then might come back and take a nap. But first, I have a little more work to do:  I'm almost positive the battery is extremely low on Tiny, so I will get my trustworthy jumper box and get the old Ranger going, and after it runs for a bit, I will head up to do my errands.

Stay tuned - I'm sure there will be more work for me to do later. 

Happy Birthday To The Old Man

 TWIT and I would like to wish a very happy birthday to the Old Man.  Fifty-nine years ago, he got the best birthday present ever:  ME!  If my Sweet Mother could have waited two more hours, I would have been born on his birthday.  But I digress.

He is feeling and sounding much, much better, thank the Lord.  

I took my birthday holiday today, and we're just going to read, watch TV, and enjoy a fire in the fireplace.  Oh, and we'll eat and drink and be merry!

Happy Birthday To Me

 It was a great birthday celebration at work today.  They had a pizza party for me, and had an awesome chocolate cake with ice cream.  And I had a lot of well wishes emails from co-workers. 

Tonight, we are having the Old Man's favorite meal -- burrito casserole.  I know it's my birthday and that wouldn't have been what I would have wanted, but his birthday is tomorrow.  And I do love the burrito casserole.  So we will have that tonight, along with some good tequila, and some leftover party chocolate cake. 

Happy Birthday Eve To Me

 I am happy to report that the Old Man is feeling much better today and has barely been coughing at all.  We had a great supper of smothered pork chops, and after I did my night time chores of taking the garbage can out to the end of the driveway and then taking care of Large Marge, we had a great night of watching the rodeo from Forth Worth. 

I am looking forward to celebrating my birthday tomorrow.  It will be a great day, I know for sure.  Thank the Lord for another year. 

Update From The Compound

 The prayers have worked again, Faithful Readers.   The Old Man feels much better, and has only coughed a few times since last night.  He was hungry again, and asked me to make him some scrambled eggs during my 9:00 break this morning.    He's been in is recliner most of the day resting and dozing, but he has managed to yell into the kitchen to make sure I was still working.  

Update From The Compound

 We're still negative at The Compound.  But the Old Man is still having some coughing.  I'm going to work from home tomorrow so I can take care of him.  He says he still doesn't feel bad - just tired of coughing.  But the coughing has eased up some today, he said.  And for that, we are thankful.

I will watch him close tomorrow, and will call his doctor if necessary.  Asking for prayers of healing for him.  

Bring On The New Season

 With my Tennessee Titans losing yesterday, and my Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing today, I don't give two shits about the rest of the NFL season, nor the Super Bowl.  I probably won't even watch it. 

Let's just look ahead to the next season. 

Update From The Compound

 I tested three times in the past week, and each was negative. Today, I feel I am back up to about 75%,. The Old Man tested today and was also negative.  But the crud I had has been passed on to him, unfortunately.  He is taking safe OTC meds for his cough, and I will watch him close.  But still, neither one of us have or had a fever or sore throat, and no other symptoms than an annoying cough.  He still insists he doesn't feel bad - just tired. So it is what it is.  

As I said, I am watching him close, and if his cough doesn't get better by tomorrow, I will call his doctor and see what the next step is.  

Stay tuned. 

Covid 19 Update

Since I was exposed last week to someone that has tested positive, I've been as paranoid as a person can be.  I tested last Friday, and on Tuesday; thank the Lord both times were negative.  But this week, I've developed what I hope and pray is just a head cold.  I have no other symptoms - no fever, no headache or aches [note: no more than I usually have, LOL], no loss of taste or smell. And I feel fine.  So I am still praying it is just a cold.  Out of precaution and protection for the Old Man, I am going to test myself again later today. 

Stay tuned. 

The Day From Hell

 It was the day from hell at work.  From the moment I walked in until about 10 minutes before I left this evening, we had nothing but problems with trying (key word) to print.  Either a report would print out the size of two postage stamps, or else it would be so huge that one part number would take up an entire page.  We all were ready to just get up and leave.   But after many, many help desk tickets we sent to the IT department, they fixed all of the reports we were trying to print. 

But I'm not holding my breath about it all working tomorrow morning when we get to the office.  

I can truly say that I now understand why Elvis would shoot out the TV when he got frustrated. 

Stay tuned. 

Updates From The Compound

 We got a heavy dusting of snow last night, and it took about five minutes for snow removal from the back porch ramp and surrounding area. 

I went and got my shingles booster shot this morning.  Yes, I officially feel old.  But at least I am protected. 

We'd planned to go to Olive Garden today since I was off, but with it being very cold, I wanted to keep the Old Man warm and safe here at The Compound, so I am improvising and will fix lasagna, salad and bread sticks, complete with some wine.  And will soon be making a fire in the fireplace to keep him warm and happy.

Then it's back to work tomorrow.  But at least it will be only a four day week. For that, I am thankful. 

Bring On The Snow

 For the past few days, the weatherazzi has been in a frenzy over the Big Winter Storm that is going to hit tomorrow.  Though the storm will bring a lot of snow to a lot of states, my Dark Sky weather app says we will get less than an inch here in the 'Ville.  That having been said, I am dreading my weekly trip to the grocery store this morning.  The store will be packed with people buying bread, milk and beer in anticipation of the snow.   Pray for me, America. 

Pray For Me, America

For the past two days, my left foot has hurt like hell when I walked. I didn’t aggravate it nor did I twist it. It’s not swollen.  

I just put some Cspsazin on it and have it wrapped in a heating pad. 

Hoping for some relief tomorrow.

Stay tuned. 

Covid 19 Update

 Last week, a coworker in my department was out with Covid.  Yesterday, my boss's husband tested positive, and today she was tested and for now is negative.  

But it's getting closer and closer.  I know people at work think I'm crazy for still wearing my mask when I've been fully vaccinated and boosted but I don't care.  I will do whatever I can to keep the Old Man and me safe.  

Slow Cooking In The New Year Update

 The smothered pork chops were a hit last night.  They were so tender, the Old Man said he could have taken out his false teeth and been able to eat them. 

The only thing I will adjust the next time I make them is less beef broth.  It wasn't as creamy as I thought.  But we both wolfed them down and they tasted great.  

Stay tuned. And if you'd like the recipe, leave a comment and I will post it.  

Slow Cooking In The New Year Update

 Today I tried a recipe in my new cookbook, 1001 Slow Cooker Recipes, and the Old Man said it was a home run. 

Today, we had smothered pork chops.  I did the chopping prep work last night, so this morning before I left for work all I had to do was assemble everything.  The Old Man said to definitely put this in the every-other-week rotation for suppers.  And you know I already have.  

My work here is done. 

Here We Go Again

 Last night before bedtime, the rain moved in again.  And it is still here, and is expected to be until late afternoon.  Then the temperatures are going to drop throughout the day to a low of 20 tonight.  So that means the roads will be one big skating rink for the trip to work. 

I don't know the exact amount of rain we've had lately, but I sure know it's been a lot.  Of course, it's good for pump sales at work.  But I digress.  I do know one thing - I do not regret the $55 I spent on my good raincoat a few years ago.  I've worn it more than my winter coat.  

First Snow Of Winter Update

 I'm not going to lie - the roads yesterday morning were horrible.  I don't think I drove over 20 mph on the way to work, and I was fine.  At first, I thought that the people behind me were probably cussing me out, but then I realized that they wouldn't be the ones paying my insurance deductible if I had a wreck.  But I digress.  To my surprise, everyone out on the roads yesterday morning were going as slow as me - in front of me and behind me.  It was probably the first time I've driven in a snow situation where the other cars were actually being cautious.   My hope in mankind has been restored. 

Snow Update

 Let me first back up to yesterday.  Just as I had cleared the supper dishes, the power went out, and was out until about 2:00.  We were fine here at The Compound - we had a fire going in the fireplace, and had plenty of lanterns and lamps going, so we had plenty of light and warmth.

Then today the snow came.  We got maybe two inches or less here at The Compound; a bit more at work.  It took all of five minutes to clear off the back porch ramp tonight, thank goodness.  So we're all good.  As I type this, I hear the blower in the fireplace insert just kicking on, so I am going back to my chair in the family room and enjoy a nice fire tonight along with a nice adult beverage. 

Stay tuned for updates tomorrow about the trip to work. 

Bring On The Snow Update

 As of 8:30, my Dark Sky app says 2 - 4 inches of snow tomorrow, starting at about 1:00.  

I have my small snow shovel at the foot of the ramp going to the back porch so I can clear a path on it when I get home tomorrow.  And I have my snow boots out in a bag ready to take to work.  I have my long-handled snow/ice scraper in the van, and I have my winter emergency kit.  Bring it on.  

But I digress.  This evening was not without drama.  I had to work over and we didn't finish with supper until almost 6:30.  At 6:35, the power went out.  A semi took down a transformer pole at the end of our road, and a good portion of PRP was without power for about an hour and a half.  

All is well now, and I'd like to go to bed.  

Bring On The Snow

The Weatherazzi is getting all worked up about our first "big" snow here in the Ville on Thursday.  Actually, they don't really know how much we will get -- according to them and their weather maps, it could be anywhere from a dusting to 6 inches.  At any rate, we will be ready here at The Compound.  

Tomorrow when I get home from work, I will bring the snow shovel in to the back porch so I can shovel out a path down the ramp if necessary.  And we have 3/4 of a bag of snow melt on the back porch if needed.  And above all else, we have the cell phone number for Magic Mike on speed dial if it gets too deep and we need him to come plow us out.  

When I pulled in the garage today, I made sure I had my long handle ice/snow scraper in the Silver Bullet in case I need it Thursday evening when I leave work. And I have 3/4 of a tank of gas, and also have our winter emergency kit bag.  And we have bread, milk, and eggs.  We are good to go.

Stay tuned. 

New Year Updates

 I am happy to report that I reached my New Year's goal of clearing and cleaning out my Sweet Mother's walk-in closet so I could put the Christmas decorations in there instead of lugging them back down to the basement.  And we have room to spare.  

Work today on New Year's Re-Entry was a bitch.  I worked over until 5:30.  Sure, I like the time-and-a-half OT pay, but I like not working at all even better.   The day shift factory started on four ten-hour days today, so that's why we had to work over.  And I don't need to tell you I was not happy.

Stay tuned. 

Welcome, 2022

 TWIT and I would like to wish you, faithful readers, a very happy New Year.  

Once again, it is raining, and has been since about 8:00 last night.  And is supposed to continue raining until tomorrow afternoon.  At least it's in the low 60's or else we'd have about 87 inches of snow by tomorrow afternoon.  But I digress.

I just put my corned beef on to cook, and the Old Man is getting ready for his afternoon nap.  After I have a snack I'm going back to his bedroom and finish cleaning/clearing out my Sweet Mother's walk-in closet in preparation for storing our Christmas decorations tomorrow.  I'll hit it hot and heavy for an hour, then I might take a nap myself; just because I can.