Rocky Cat's meme

My simplified responses

Eleven random facts about me:

1. I do not really know what a meme is, nor do I care.

2. I have not seen my natural hair color since my mid-teens and I really do not remember what color of brown it was.

3. I also went to visit the military to sign up for a career, they did not seem encouraging so I forgot about the life of a foreign language specialist.

4. I am really bad at foreign languages.

5. I refused to fly for about 10 years, mostly my 20's, I was terrified.

6. Pearls and garnets are my favorite gems.

7. I own more jewelry than any one person needs and I love and wear it all.

8. I have a very high tolerance for pain.

9. I have a very low tolerance for stupid.

10. I will read anything if I bored enough.

11. I really do not like most children.

Bonus 12. I do not know how to link to other Blogs.

Questions to Answer

1. What is one thing you failed at? So far getting a degree.

2. What is your favorite season? Autumn, I actually reminisce about wool skirts.

3. Do you ever wish you were someone else? No, that is creepy.

4. Is one of your children your favorite? Nope, only have one so he wins by default.

5. How often do you change your sheets? Weekly these days, in the olden days twice a week.

6. If you won a hundred million dollars, what's the first thing you would do? ( Besides call a lawyer, obv.) Make sure everyone in my family has enough money to survive. Then I would buy a house down south, and one in St. Augustine on the beach. Prolly get a pool boy.

7. What is the one thing you are afraid of? If I told you I would have to be afraid of you too.

8. Do you have a family member you argue with? Not anymore.

9. Have you ever intentionally physically hurt someone? Does grabbing a head-full of hair of the person attacking you count?

10. Ever broken someone's heart? Highly doubt it. Had mine broken? You bet.

11. What do you regard as the happiest moment of your life? Right now, this moment. Or maybe the one coming next. In comparison to the worst ones it does not take a lot to make me happy. When we were married Big Daddy showed up late so that was more relief, when Punkin Head was born I was worn out and the nurses were bitches.

I can't keep this going, it is just not my nature although I love peeping into other people's lives. Please feel free to tell my your deepest darkest secrets.

Live and learn

Minton China tea cup

I forgot to show you the spring tea cup for March. I bought this for my mother when I visited England in the early 90's.

We were out and about yesterday and it was finally warm enough that I was never cold. The weatherman said it hit 50. We had errands to run.

Last:

The store brand in most cases is so close to the same as the name brand it makes no sense to spend more money for the name.  I see no difference in the Cetaphil cleanser versus the CVS brand so I opted for the CVS sinus meds when we stopped by the store. I got the extra maximum strength sinus head clearing meth making meds as I had a pain in the right side of the forehead. It is working great. I also got brand name Afrin as nothing works as well. They make it in Menthol now. I also got some Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter, the colors are fabulous and they glide on like silk. They last just about 15 minutes.

Middle:

I never used coupons because I never shopped but Big Daddy loves them. Well I got a coupon for Barnes and Noble in the email and off we went. Naturally they did not have the books we wanted. And of course we bought books because I cannot leave a bookstore without a book. On the 5 dollar book table I found Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiavernini, it seems okay so far even though all her other books are about quilts (I found that odd).

First:

Boring bloodwork.

I have the menu set for Easter dinner and the kids are joining us for the festivities. BD is out shopping and then he will need to make 2 more trips. One is for the gas station Easter Lily which is mandatory, the other is for the bargain discount Easter ready made basket from the drug store for Punkin Head. It is tradition.

Adding Insult to injury

The injury is the girly Easter bow.

The insult is changing his name to Sam.

You don't change a dog's name from Sammy Dog to Sam the Man.

Blinding Sunshine

Sunrise in West BFE

All I can see is the snow.

You know we expect people up north and in other out of the way places to bitch about snow and cold this time of year. Those folks signed up for it when they agreed to live in the frozen tundra spots. Those of us south and west of Lansing expect better this time of year.

Winter is getting me down

My new orchid

Yesterday we got another inch of snow. Today I refuse to look outside.

I was going out to do a few things today. Nope. Done.

Maybe tomorrow, but today I am just done with this winter shit.

Phineas's Face

Photo of Phineas's face

I have taken a page from another Blogger's Blog and named our cars. It makes it so much more congenial to have a face to put with the name. Big Daddy's car is Phineas Ford and I drive Finola Ford. We like the Fords as they are not pretentious, just plain folks on the Freeway of Love and Eight Mile. Personally I fell out of love with the auto industry after they did me wrong back in the 2008s, and truthfully if I could do without Big Banking I would tell them to take a hike also. So the Fords are the least of the American car company evils, and in Detroit you better be driving a UAW natural born American car. The only foreign car I never got shit for driving was a Jaguar. That was a great car until you needed to fill the gasoline tank in the winter. Or unlock the doors.

Anyway, I was standing at the front window talking on the phone, a bad habit of mine, when I saw this car coming down the street and said to myself, "I wonder who that raggedy piece of shit belongs to." Well, when it pulled into my driveway I had my answer. Big Daddy gave me a funny look when I inquired as to who/whom smashed Phineas in the mouth. It is a mystery that may never be solved.  So into the shop he must go.

We finally found a movie worth finishing last night, Hope Springs with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. It was a tad cliched but the acting was good enough I laughed out loud a few times. Magic Mike and Dark Shadows did not make it to their endings.

Busy Saturday as next week is another trip to West BFE for BD.

Speaking of Macabre

As we have discussed there is hardly anything worth watching on television and Thursdays are no exception. I was looking over the schedule and PBS had an Elvis special. How bad could a special on Elvis, on PBS be? Amazingly bad. Macabre actually.

Picture this. Someone with genius level skills lifted Elvis Presley's voice from the tapes of his music. Then this person must have contacted an old folks home in Memphis and found all the really old farts who performed with Elvis. The Jordanaires, The Stamps, The Imperials, The Sweet Inspiration for example. These groups including TCB, the original back-up band, had a concert.

There was a huge screen where Elvis in his prime was featured singing. Then his voice was matched to the pictures. Then the old farts performed live as the band, again matched up to Elvis and the moving picture screen. There was one part in the "Aloha from Hawaii" section where the band is introduced and first the guys on tape are acknowledged and then the old fart counterpart takes a bow. The only person missing was Kathy Westmoreland and I don't know if she had some sense this was a bad idea or she was dead.

This was a horrible train wreck to watch before going to bed. I am ever so grateful not to have had nighmares.

Another odd thing

Yesterday an odd thing happened. I was working on the computer and it and the light over the table kinda blinked off two times and made a funny noise. Then it happened again. I turned off the laptop as it was not plugged into the surge protector.

A funny thought ran through my mind, the workers had just turned on the electricity at the Mormon scorched house across the street. I went and looked out the front window and there was no electric company truck out there. Hmm. Just the workers throwing burned up crap in the second gondola.

This morning at zero dark thirty Big Daddy let the wonderous Sammy Dog out to pee pee and noticed there is a light burning in the vacant Morman scorched house. Hmm.

I think I have mentioned that I am a little psychic so this must have been what happened. But I cannot call the electric company and tell I am psychic and know the electric is turned on across the street. Maybe it is legal and I just did not see the electric company. I did look it up on the Internet and illegal hook-ups can be dangerous and cause fires, just what we need another fire. But again maybe everything is fine and I am just the neighborhood biddy who needs to stop worrying about every one else.

Sheesh, I don't know if this is my problem or not.

Movin On

Still unemployed, some shit about they found their own candidate. Well since they did not advertise the job it sounds sketchy and on the other hand if I knew I was going up against people that did not require the fees from the recruiting company I doubt I would have bothered. Enough on that subject.

I am now spending my time on the upcoming nuptials. Punkin Head is working on an officiant and he is happy to know that Jews for Jesus is not an offensive term as that is how he described his non-Jewish grandmother. Don't ask. They have finished with the save the date things and are moving forward on the groom and his men's attire. I know this is going to be fraught with many emotional ups and downs along the way and I am grateful Lent is over in 9 days so that soon I can have a glass of wine and shake my head.

My job is the rehearsal dinner and that Big Daddy and I show up in acceptable clothing. So far my clothing has been rejected. It is difficult to find a cocktail type dress that is not dowdy nor a show stopper, so to speak.  Mama tends to sparkly and lush and as this is the bride's day I am looking for classic and conservative-also something that hides the fat.

I am awaiting email from one possibility for the dinner, the balcony overlooks a creek, and then we must find out if the mother of the bride is willing to take her son in law and go eat and drink some wine at the place. She does not drink and I am not serving rotgut. The beers are all craft beers from the area so they will change for summer. The other place we checked charged 75 cents for each napkin used and the total cost for everything except food and drink was already over the budget.

We also need to get a reservation in Niagara Falls as we are driving and that is the half way point. We have never been so why not. I want a room overlooking the falls and BD thinks he can get one with his hotel points. What a deal.

I cannot believe . . .

it is still snowing every day.

Hardly any snow on the ground, just the swirling snow on every gray and dismal day.

Today the high may be 30 to 32 F.

I am so done with winter.

Doris Day Clock

With the receiver back in the hallway niche the Bose radio is now in the master bedroom ready to wake me in the most soothing manner. The Bose wake up system starts at a very low volume and slowly and elegantly raises to normal hearing.

One might wonder why I instead had the cheapo Target radio in the room for the last 13 or 14 years, until it died. It is because, as I was so harshly reminded, I cannot see the time on the Bose radio in the dark. I cannot see it in the daylight either. As I frequently awaken in the night and like to see the time I replaced the Bose with the cheapest radio/alarm clock in existence. All it was used for was to wake me up. And to check the time during the night and snooze usage.

I put the Bose in the guest room as I used the computer in there and could listen to the radio in the mornings. Now the guest room and the master bedroom do not have clocks that meet my needs. Guest room has no clock and master has 2 clocks that cannot be seen at night. There is also a Doris Day wall clock in the master, it runs on low voltage, and I have always kept it-even had to have a transformer replaced.

Off to think about clocks.

McRib

The answer to one of the clues in the Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle was

McRib

I wonder if this was a tribute to Esby.

Shamrock Saturday

Shamrocks in my living room.

Big Daddy picked up the stereo receiver this morning and is currently trying to hook up all the speakers. We have speakers everywhere in this house except the bedrooms and the Living Room. The repairman apologized for the whopping fee of $135.00 for what turned out to be a total refurb of the unit. When BD went into the shop there was music coming from all directions and it was our receiver making it happen, the guy said our unit sounded better than the new ones he sells. Quality shows.

There is snow on the ground and the sky is gray so this is an indoor day. Hope the weather is better tomorrow for all the St. Patrick's Day parades in Corktown.

Weekly round up

 

It has been awhile but I believe this is a hyacinth.

Okay this means spring is coming. Maybe a shitty spring, but spring will be here. This is just outside my side door. There are some croci just down the driveway and I am waiting to see who is winning, the cats or the rabbits.

Good News this week:

The stereo is fixed. The cutting out was due to the fact that the soldering had disintegrated. I am amazed soldering in 1985 was so shoddy. Big Daddy should have this working this weekend.

I saw another new number on the scales this morning. Digital scales are the best. Although the actual numbers are meaningless it means I have lost about 7 pounds since I got serious. Also the silly blood work did show my cholesterol improved so I am gleeful.

The job interview went pretty well in my opinion. If I don't get an offer we will know my opinion is worthless. And at that point I doubt I will ever get another opportunity with this recruiter as I told the interviewer that in my opinion both jobs were part time and I could cover both the plants for them. Kinda cutting the recruiter out of a sale, so to speak.

Bad news:

You can blame the return to snow and crappy weather on me, I bought a spring purse today. Snow predicted for this evening, measurable amounts.

Hilarious news:

Big Daddy and I went to dinner last night. We are both out of our funks and it was a busy day. We went up to Bucci at 5 PM when they open. The place was packed and so busy I started wondering if it was New Year's Eve. Well, it was their 14th anniversary and the had rolled back prices to 1999 levels. I know Grosse Pointers are cheap, but swarming the joint at 5 PM on a Thursday is ridiculous.

Fire Fighting 101

There is something wrong in my job hunting world. Big Daddy gets calls everyday trying to lure him to greener pastures. I have the lady that just blew me off and the crazy recruiters. The blow off seems odd here in GP but whatever, it would have been nice to hear they thought I was a piece of shit. The recruiters have told me 9 different descriptions of this job and the company is constantly changing the date and time as no one can make an appointment to really commit to interviewing me and the other candidate. I am starting to understand why they are looking for a fire fighter, the latest iteration of the job description.

"Pro" for the job:
30 hours a week at time and a half is good money.

"Con" for the job:
Contract position
Probably 70 hours a week over 6 days.
Plant runs 5 AM to 2AM 6 days. Overtime would be Sunday.
No time for hair appointments and forget mani/pedis.
All new clothes and shoes, plus outerwear.

So I figure what if I just take the job with the intention of quitting after I make X amount of money. This will entail a great reason for quitting that won't make me look bad, I am thinking exhaustion. It is a contract position but I will not have any time to look for another job for awhile. So basically whoring myself out to the highest bidder for a specific amount of time. Yuck. And how much is enough.

The worst part is I am not good at quitting, especially without another job.

Maybe Baby

Maybe Baby
Buddy Holly and The Crickets

We got our bloodwork results from the faux lab and wellness people. I am putting this information in the same category as the China physical results. My BMI is high, in the obese range actually, but that does not bother me as she put down my weight with jeans and snow boots and took an inch off my stated height. This place was in the outskirts of the 'hood and I was not about to take my boots off.  For these kinds of tests I would think some accurate measuring should be used. Any measuring would be good.

The results also showed my chloresterol has improved in the month of a better diet but my sugar was a bit high and it has never, ever been high. The only thing I know for sure and I think is the real reason for the test is that Big Daddy has been sneaking cigs. Don't leave town if you don't want me opening the mail.

I am having a job interview conundrum. Waiting to hear about one job and going on an interview tomorrow for a job I don't think I want. So much angst for maybe no job offer at all. We will see.

What a beautiful day

Today my Punkin Head is celebrating his birthday. He is looking forward to homemade lemon bars with fancy made lemons. He gets his love of lemons from his mommy.

Big Daddy and I finally found the requested double dutch oven on line and it is winging/bumping its way to college town. He gets his love of cooking from his daddy.

We hope he has a wonderful day.

Speaking of cooking I found a wonderful oatmeal muffin recipe on line and Big Daddy made it for Sunday breakfast. It is very good and not too sweet tasting. This afternoon we are making oatmeal bars with no sugar, he can take these on his trip the West BFE for snacks and nutrition. That is the one thing bad about his travels, no food or crappy food.

  The excitement for the week was finally finding clothespins after months of searching. ACO has them. Yes, I still hang clothes.

Well off to get the house in daylight savings mode. A tip from a home inspector years ago, flip all the switches in the electrical breaker boxes so the switches don't rust and break. We also change the batteries in the smoke detectors and clocks and watches and cars, quite a bit of work to do so we must get started.

Odd happenings

I looked outside and there were about 50 or 60 people that I had never seen before milling about in the middle of the street. The men were all in suits and the women in all different outfits from casual to dressy. There was a woman standing in the middle of this gathering hold shiny green beads in her hands as if to pass them out, but she never did. They stood around for awhile and took some pictures and everyone got back in the cars and left. Maybe 15 minutes tops for this gathering. WTF.

Big Daddy and I were having a before dinner drink and some wonderful almonds coated in olive oil and rosemary. I left the room for a moment and when I came back Sammy dog was noshing along with us. This has never happened before. As my drink was non-alcoholic (lent) I was not worried there but I was not too sure about him digesting the nuts. I was also pretty pissed as I had to toss out the rest of the very expensive nuts due to dog slobber.

I went shopping yesterday for Punkin Head's birthday present and wouldn't you know it stores had everything but the one exact item I was looking for. Phooey. But it was good to know that Ace Hardware moved the broken ass cart to the new store so I felt comfortable in wrassling the crappy cart all over the store.

I traveling to other end of town on Mack Ave and I almost fell over when I saw a McDonald's store on the corner. There used to be car dealerships all over this section of Mack and when the bad times came and they all shut down, well now a Micky D is there in case Esby ever visits. It is on the Detroit side of the street as this would never be allowed in Grosse Pointe proper. They don't want to attract the riff raff ya know.

I am glad we got that cleared up

It turns out Blue Cross/Blue Shield was under the misinformation of my insurance history. They assumed I had not had recent insurance. A few hours of telephone time in the morning and then again in the afternoon has cleared this up. I now have a certificate detailing my 3 year affair with the international insurer. All is well in the medical world at this time.

I am worried about Punkin Head and The Fiancee, they are traveling by car to Chicago today for his birthday trip. Chicago is having a winter weather snow storm. Mama has secured a promise of the toll road versus I 94. All I can do is wait and see.

Waiting although the trip does not start until 3PM.

Calling shenanigans

Door knocker on the door to Don's room.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield have sent me a letter that they are calling pre-existing condition on me. Everything I have read is telling me they cannot do this. I have had no lapse in coverage in the job change and the only thing I have wrong with me so far is the same old thyroid condition I have had for years. The letter does not spell out why I am a reject, only that I am a reject. I am not happy about this, being kicked under the bus for unknown reasons. And they can only put me on the reject list for 6 months until 2014 when more Obamacare happens. As we have had the insurance for 11 months this is rather strange.

On to happier happenings, the stereo fixer has half repaired our 1985 Pioneer stereo system purchased for 800 US dollars and change. The reason it appeared mostly dead was a transformer which he replaced. The cutting out is still a mystery and the hunt is on for a manual. Big Daddy checked and Don did have the manual that came with stereo, along with the receipt in "Don's room", but it is not detailed enough for the repair. The entire house is wired to this stereo and the amps that are wall mounted at the top of the ceiling in the family room were 300 US dollars.

There is a new P.J. Parrish book out, "Heart of Ice", BD picked it up yesterday. The series is about Louis Kincaid a law enforcement dude from Michigan. Louis moved to Florida, but the new book is set in Michigan again. Two sisters write these books, sending the manuscripts back and forth between them as they live in two different states-Michigan and Florida. They are a great read.

Nutbush City Limits

I am getting spring fever, first time in a long time. This involves buying music for the house and car and playing it non-stop until I am sick of it. This year will be Bob Seger, probably because he is doing a concert soon and his music is all over the talk radio station in the morning. Problem is I have no idea where to buy music anymore. This will require an investigation. A CD for the car and nothing for the house as I don't know if the stereo receiver can be fixed.

The Aurora Report has been a disappointment, no real activity in February so I am watching March like a hawk. The other time that is supposed to be active but secondary is in the fall.

I applied for another job today, this one is just something to take up time from the boredom. I am not getting decent responses from the resume and don't know if the 3 year gap is the killer or if the rumors are true that it is almost impossible to get hired in Michigan if you are not already employed.

Gotta get moving here as it is weekend eve and I have things to do.