Will you tell me something great that happened to you today, Part XXIV?

I’ll start. I’m retiring completely as of May 1. Winding down has already begun. Exciting!

@janbb That is great news. You will be planning your world tour of jellies?

I have been helping with a scout Gang Show that my daughter is involved in. After 5 nights of hearing it backstage, I get to watch it tonight. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve had great fun helping – I am a dresser and helping the kids change costumes. Manic but fun

@Stinley I’m starting next week already with some California jelly!

A small great thing. The old old dog didn’t eat dinner last night, a matter of some concern. This morning he balked at his breakfast (a matter of much greater concern) until I tossed it and opened a can of different flavored food., which he ate.
At this point, if he eats, things are good, if not I panic a bit.
Now he’s napping and farting. Good boy!

@canidmajor My friend just lost her Border Collie last week to advanced liver disease. She masked the symptoms well for several months, the only symptom was a moderate loss of appetite. After the official diagnosis she went downhill in less than 3 weeks. It was really sad. No cure. :-(

My great was yesterday, had a wonder at home massage and Ren Shen body work from a friend who is adding more specialty work to her massage practice. I also received a glowing reference letter. A good day!

I am grateful to be alive. My regular commute home causes me to change buses once, and I jaywalk across a street every day to catch the bus home. I did the same yesterday, and the car saw me even though I did not see it, avoiding my early demise.

I’m grateful you’re alive, too, @Hawaii_Jake.

blush

The weekend has arrived.

I woke up this side of the flowers.
Guess that is good news.

We had a little snow here in the Northeast. I have about 4 or 5 inches of what they say is wet snow. Schools were closed so I took the opportunity to call in to work. It makes a 3 day weekend for me.

I also booked four nights for a little spring break trip for me and my daughter. We’re traveling to Pennsylvania to stay near some state parks and from our one hotel, we’ll travel around and return. I was going to do two hotels but figured it’s nicer to not have to pack and change locations if we can avoid it. I’ve been researching for the past two days, looking at towns, hotels, prices, etc. The hotel I chose is about a three hour drive from my house, and an hour to the Pennsylvania Dutch country and a little less to the state parks. It’s in a college town, so it should have some stuff going on, like cafes, cool stores, etc.

There is a spot called “The Grand Canyon of the East” which is supposed to be beautiful.

Now that the hotel is booked, I’m more excited. I’m googling places we can visit. I was last in the area about 15 years ago so I remember a little.

I’m starting to stand up for myself more. And make myself heard.
There are a lot of things happening, that are against me. And it’s really pissing me off. So, I’m going to try and make myself and my hard work known.
Although I have to figure out how to stand up for myself and not be a bitch at the same time. That’s not going very well.

Congratulations birdie. Enjoy your solid ensconcement in the leisure class.

Mitch and Ian got tickets from a friend to see an auto race in town today, so they’re out of the house, while I get to take my sick day off of work to recover from the stomach virus they brought home to me from a concert last weekend.

Not exactly the way I wanted to get a quiet day at home, but I’ll take it.

Got my broken dryer fixed. Yay!
Catch up laundry time. Ugh.

Hopping in the car in 2 hours to head up to the cabin to meet up with my oldest who came down from college for the weekend! Joy!

@janbb If I may extrapolate from my own experience, prepare to be far busier than you have allowed yourself to be in the past fifteen years. The difference is you’ll be doing things because you want to, not because you have to.

Here’s what’s been keeping me busy since the first of the year. I’ve been co-teaching an eight week rock band course. In addition to learning the music, the we taught the students fundamentals of reading and transcribing music, as well as some beginning theory. I also took on the task of learning to operate a new stage lighting system so I could instruct interested students, and thus pass on the mantle of “expert”. Those two tasks, along with my regular afternoon freshman music opportunity, meant I was hanging around the school for about eight hours every day. e started AM and PM sessions on a three-week ukelele course, with similar goals to the rock band course above: to learn some fundamentals on ukelele (chords and scales), to learn some basic music theory as it applies to the uke, and to be able to play and perform.

Got free chips and dip.

I stopped in here, and saw this question and some dear jelly friends. Congratulations, @janbb!

Thanks dear Auggie!!

At my job, I often see retirees who stop by to say hi or stop in our meetings to see what’s up. When I ask them how they’re doing now that they’re retired, it seems a big thing everyone is doing is cleaning out closets and organizing stuff. When you’re working full time, your limited free time is divided between leisure, rest and chores. Stuff like organizing closets often falls by the wayside. Another thing they seem to do a lot is have lunch with friends. The third thing that I hear retirees say a lot is that they get stuck on the computer (social networking or whatever) and then the whole day goes by.

I stopped in here and saw that @augustlan had stopped in!

I have pillows. They’re soft.

Big hugs to @augustlan!

It’s Pau Hana and Friday.

I gazed upon what would be called a classic profile as I looked in the mirror this morning, stunning.

We went out to dinner last night with friends and no kids. It’s such a rarity. We had a good time.

Great night out with friends last night. Tiny Ethiopian restaurant with some great live Afro-Cuban jazz going on. We laughed a lot and grooved to the music. It was like being at a master class on rhythms. Fantastic.

I went with some friends to a local winter farmers market this morning. I love getting the artisans cheeses and breads, special teas and homemade stuff. The older I get, the happier I am to put my money into tiny local concerns. It’s always a lovely time with my friends, too!

Magnifico day here in the Sierra hills!
.About 75 degrees and I just groomed out a couple of the horses while they grazed on the lawn. Man, hair, hair, everywhere, does anyone need some horse hair for anything? I took a bucket full and tossed it out in the woods for the birds nests, a great find for them.

Now, whipping up an asian salad mix and off for a visit with a friend and some porch sitting at the ranch. Is it Corona time yet? :-)

I let a sweet young man go for not mowing our yard before a holiday last year when everyone else had their’s mowed. I was so mad. Then I discovered he really was the best one I had used , wrote him a letter in Spanish (lol) when I saw him mowing, jumped in the car and screeched up to him saying I had made a mistake, I was sorry, would he come back. And he was super nice and gave me a thumbs up. I am so happy about this! I’m glad the “you’re FIRED!” letter was nice and said I wanted “to remain friends.”

I’ve been completely retired for exactly one year now and it has been great. I have not looked back. Life is for living. Enjoy!

Not today but events in last couple of weeks suggest there’s possibility of us getting back together..!!

I got groceries and walked their and back.. saved $15 on taxis. The store had watermelon juice.

Felt much better today, had an awesome sales day at Faire, treated myself to a new plate and bowl from my friend, the potter. The set is perfect for serving dumplings, which is a favourite treat of my little family.

@Seek Glad you’re feeling better!

@RedDeerGuy1, good show! I’m glad to hear you got out for a walk.

I got to 50K last night.

@janbb What will you do to celebrate?

Well I’m going to a parade today – but unfortunately, it’s not for me! And then to a bar afterwards to hear some music. It’s nice and cold out so I might be able to slide on some ice – wheee!

(Think most of the partying will actually be right here in Meta.)

My dad is safe.

He works in wind energy and there are always disgruntled jerks who live near his turbines raising a stink about them at town hall meetings. Today some crazy fucko showed up at the wind farm with an AK-47. The drive for police to get there was 45 minutes.

I’m waiting for updates from him, but right now all I know is the important thing, which is that my dad is safe.

Oh, @Mariah, sending best safest thoughts to all there.

@mariah. So glad he is safe!

@Mariah! What a crazy country we live in. Glad he’s ok!!

@Mariah

I’m so glad your dad is safe and I hope this is the last time he or hopefully anyone working in a clean-energy occupation, has to endure such virulent mindlessness.

Does your dad work in MA or TX?

I’m wondering what the H2S-head’s trigger was. Does he have an “aesthetic” objective to wind farms or is he some psychotic Koch snorter?

I can think of many people who live near and have been traumatized by explosions at oil refineries, who’d much rather live by a wind farm.

Winding down the ukulele classes. These kids never cease to amaze! After three weeks of daily lessons they are able to play the chords to two songs, play the melodies, knock out four different versions of scales, and play six chords. With these skills they are equipped to play, oh, about 1000 songs.

Next week is spring break, and I get to play in the garden all day!

Having a great visit with my son, DIL and granddaughter.

A pretty robin has staked out my front yard as his territory. He has kept vigil daily for over a week now.
He hops around shopping fat bugs all day.
Yesterday there was a bit of a bump. A bunch of starlings landed, pecked around in the grass for maybe five minutes, then flew away together. Robin just stood in the middle of the yard and watched them leave. Itwas like seeing a little boy in a park watching the big kids take off with his ball.
Today, he is marching his claim again.

Oh, those rude starlings! Bunch of avian bullies!

I just had to shoo a pair of Canada geese out of the pool here, they were happily swimming and, left 4 or 5 squishy calling cards on the pools side. I’m waiting for thee poo to dry out so I can scoop it up easier, no smears. haha
Sorry guys but there is a huge pond just over the fence, this is a private pool.

I finished my two mock teaching sections and they went very well. To boost, I stopped feeling nervous the second time. Now I will wait for my superviser’s evaluation and spend more time to enjoy my stay although I have experienced too much before :p

Hit the sale at VV – got 3 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of Haggar pants for Setanta and a brand new bathing suit for myself for just about $10 in total. woot. happiness! Really high quality swimsuits can easily run $150+ and I go through quite a few with all the swimming I do.

Trumpcare FAILS!

@Brian1946 Woo Hoo…great news indeed!

I bowled a 105 today with friends.

Nice, RDG!

That’s a good thing @RedDeerGuy1

Exciting, @RedDeerGuy1!
Wish I could have been there to cheer for you.

Fluther is experiencing an increase in members!

@Mimishu1995 I noticed a few newbies this morning and am glad that lunatic from the other night is gone. haha

Newbies are great to see. It is also time to celebrate jellies who visit and stay. Canidmajor just made 10k.
Party in meta!

I went to volunteer orientation for the Hot Docs film festival this morning. Looks like it could be fun (and work) and there is a good opportunity to get film vouchers for the balance of the year. If I’m super-lucky, I’ll grab a shift at the Bill Nye, The Science Guy” opening night.

Cool!

Watched the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
It had a really sexy tentacle monster.

I saw that too. It is a pretty sexy tentacle monster.

Hey, @ragingloli, I just saw the girl for you! Go to youtube and check out Deep Down Low. There is more than one version, your girl is in the one with more than twelve million views.

Yesterday I saw friends I hadn’t seen in years! I had a great time.

I also got in touch with a different friend a couple of days before that who I have been looking for for 20 years. It was great also.

In all situations we caught up in the good and the bad, and laughed a lot.

A good friend spent the night last night and we had a nice dinner and drank wine until late. Fun evening!

I escaped from police custody.

Wonderful trip to California.

@janbb great weather here huh? :-)

I won a $100 lawsuit against the lab that created me!

My good friend just left after our girls night dinner and wine festivities. We had a lot of fun and drank a lot of wine.
I am now in heaven polishing off some french bread and spinach dip, the perfect moderate hangover snack. haha

I found some left over chuck steak. Microwaved it and it tasted awesome.

I just returned from Thailand. I had a bittersweet goodbye with my friends, teachers, and everything that I cared for. But I was also happy to see my friends and relatives after a long time. The trip would be one of the best moments of my life. I learned so much about everything and I found myself growing even more.

@Mimishu1995 You are wonderful.

I overcome my anger from buying a BIG box of prime chicken wings for $10, and only getting 11 in the whole box. I’m full. So is good enough. Attended a job fair in McDonalds and having it go well. Sorry for the typo. Can the mods delete my previous post?

I just survived getting out of the way not only with the hell on wheels insanity of the local SWAT team barreling down on me but then, a couple intersections later a crazed fire truck and ambulance blowing through that intersection. WTF! Whew…someone is having a really bad day out there but I escaped. Pretty great. lol

I have this fear of being mowed down by emergency vehicles, it happens. haha

Not only am I teaching, I am learning as well. I’m now the proud owner of a banjo and a mandolin.

I had ice cream.

I realized today how fortunate I am that the keyboard at my “work” station is a Roland!

I am finally looking at a few days of R&R after a busy week and can’t wait for the current storm to hit tonight and tomorrow so I can indulge in movies and snacks and be a complete lounge lizard for the next few days. haha
Only one “must do” for today in a couple more hours and then I am done!
Yay, bring on couch potato mode.

May I recommend The Wiz. It is a great movie to watch alone when shut in. You can sing and dance along with it..
“Don’t nobody bring me no. bad. newwwwwssss.”

We went to a farm and my daughter got to bottle feed some orphan lambs.

@Stinley
And then got to eat it.

@ragingloli there weren’t much meat on them tiddlers

The snow melted before we had to shovel it. That made me kind of giddy.

@BellaB

Now that it’s spring, aren’t you done shoveling until no earlier than next autumn?

@Brian1946 , there’s often one last shovel-worthy snowfall in early May. This winter wasn’t awful over all, but there have been occasional giant snow dumps. Not steady like it has been some years.

May I ask In what province do you live?

I was born in Toronto.

After that I lived in Vancouver and then Ottawa.

I’m in Ontario @Brian1946 . I used to say I’d run for premier as I’ve lived in Kingston, Waterloo, Thunder Bay, Toronto and Sudbury. I’ve had jobs covering Huntsville to Kapuskasing, Pembroke to Sault Ste Marie, White River to the Manitoba border and Lake Superior to where the roads end. I’ve covered off the southeast, southwest, northwest, centre and near north areas of the province.

Gonna meet up with Hawaii_Jake and canidmajor tomorrow for brunch!!

^Have a great time!

@chyna, come join us! :-D

Yesterday I had the loveliest time meeting old friends for the first time. Sometimes the Internet is truly a blessing, enabling us to have these wonderful friendships with such a geographically diverse group of fabulous folks!

^Yay! Wish I could have been there!

Me too.

My boobs are happy and healthy, clean mammogram yesterday. They live to give me the pleasure of ripping off my bra at the end of another day. lol

^I like happy boobs!~

^LOL yep, nothing like happy boobs. haha

@Coloma You have put an image in my mind.

^ haha, well enjoy. lol

I found some almond cookies in the larder. Ate one for breakfast today.

I’m all packed for my Easter hols in France

Took the little ladydog to the local dog park along with my neighbour and her dog. The little dog had a good time even though she didn’t interact too much with the other dogs. Seeing her leave the park with her giddy face on made me very very happy.

With all the musical instruments I have picked up over the years, I have never learned to properly play the banjo or the mandolin. Well, that’s about to change! In anticipation of a bluegrass workshop or class next year, I am learning to tackle them both! I have a banjo that’s probably been out of the case less than a dozen times over the past twenty years, and I will have a “loaner” mandolin from the school for my use over the summer. For a summer project I will learn to play them both, at least enough that I can teach the basics to any student.

This actually falls in with my overall philosophy of teaching, that it’s best done when the teacher is also a student.

A 4 day weekend. Thanks, easter bunny!

I bought the coolest new set of summer sheets in psychedelic red and aqua swirls. My colorful bohemian bedroom is going to rock these sheets. haha

It’s my BIRTHDAY!!

@Stinley Happy birthday!!! Stinley.

I had some yogurt for breakfast instead of sleeping in til 5pm.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @Stinley!

Happy Birthday @Stinley !!!!

@Stinley
my condolences.

God @Stinley. Happy birthday and hope you have a great celebration!

I hit 5k today. I am halfway to the mansion… again.
:-)
:-)
:-)

Found some more fresh yougart In the fridge.

@Patty_Melt Congratulations… again!

Thank you all. Lovely day spent in the French sunshine

Beautiful spring day here in the CA. hills! Going for 75 or so, house all opened up, sun streaming in and my daughter and I are going for Sushi and pedicures this afternoon. :-D

I got horrible squirtpoo :D

@ragingloli Thank You for sharing.

I recently learned a “better” way to tie the bow on my shoes, curtesy of an article I ran into describing a study on how the forces of walking/running impact various ties. Haven’t had to retie my shoes once throughout the day since—and that’s without double knotting!

I don’t know what I’ll do with all the spare time. ~

There was a cool 5k party for me this weekend in TJBM. The music was lots of fun, and it was a good time shared with friends.
I felt special.

@Patty_Melt You are special to many of us here.

Awwww now I’m blushing.

^^I thought that was just the ketchup!

From Sierra Magazine:

Trump’s Attempted Rollback of Oil and Gas Rules Defeated

“On Wednesday, the Senate voted 51 to 49 against a resolution that would have overturned an Obama administration rule tightening restrictions on methane emissions on public lands. The vote was a shocker. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, rarely ever schedules a vote without knowing he’ll prevail. This time, his well-laid plans were frustrated. Democratic unity and the defection of Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and, in a last-minute surprise, Arizonan John McCain sunk the measure.”

My daughter and I have been messaging on FB this morning. She is spending 2 weeks in Europe. Amsterdam, Poland and Rome. They toured Auschwitz & Birkenau today, man, the photos, I feel like I am there.

Wow @Coloma that sounds like a trip of a lifetime. I’d like to honour those who died in the camps by visiting them. I went to a village preserved after a horrific massacre during WWII. Oradour sur Glane in The limousin region. Very moving.

On a lighter note, Friday happened to me today. It’s wine o’clock now.

@Stinley It’s only 10 0’ clock in the morning here, have a glass for me.
Yes, so profoundly sad, I can’t begin to imagine the suffering of all the victims. :-(

I have an owl in my neighborhood WHO likes to sit in the tree outside my bedroom window and make rowdy. I find it comforting, rather than bothersome. I hope he finds himself a right spunky gal.

^ I just witnessed two Jackrabbits making harey love on the lawn here. My cats were blown away. haha

I cooked 4 Malibu beef ribs. Very little meat but very tasty and I can eat with my hands. Only $9 for 6. I bought 5 to 10 packages.

I canceled my phone a month ago and i just got a bill for $117 I called my ex-provider and turns out that they owe me $117 and will be sending me a check. :) who hoo.

Also I can now finaly drink Orange juice with pulp without thinking that the pulp is NSFW.

I had a treat day and got a massage and then delicious veggie chow mien and spicey shrimp and, I bought new vacuum bags. lol
Hey, I have been making the last overloaded bag work for weeks, who’d have though new vacuum bags could be so exciting! haha

@RedDeerGuy1 What? Why would OJ pulp be NSFW, I am deadly curious! haha

@Coloma NSFW is semen. Little solders. All though the pulp. Why I drank pop as a kid and not OJ. : ( My bones were easily broken as a child and I had over 30 breaks in my life. I blame pop and stupidity. Doing a quadruple axel while running . Sorry I can’t spell peroate.

Pirouette. Is how I broke my bones over and over as a child. While running I Pirouetted.

Nothing good happened to me today. My daughter didn’t come home yesterday or today. She’sdone this garbage before, but this weekend I thought…
I hope the Yellowstone culdera blows tomorrow so I don’t have to witness any Mother’s day crap.
Sorry, Jellies, but I’m really hurting.

{{{Hugs}}} @Patty_Melt .

@Patty_Melt I’m sorry too! That’s crummy.

Thanks, both of you.

@Patty_Melt (((HUGS))) When I was a kid I lived with the parent with a car and cable tv. Kids can be ruthless and cunning and shrewd and they know who’s buttering the bread. I should have lived with my mom. If I get the chance to have a do over back to 9 years old I will go with my mom on that fateful day when I had to decide what parent to live with.

You were a good boy. You’re a good man. You were young, and it was confusing.

@Patty_Melt Does she live with you? Did she leave you worrying about her well being? Or, you’re just upset you won’t see her?

@Patty_Melt Awww…well, you still have some hours befre it is fficially mothers day. Keep the faith!

@JLeslie, she’s fifteen. She keeps running off to be with her boyfriend. She treats me like I got disabled on purpose. She ignores me, leaves me in the lurch a lot. I am not invited to attend any of her school events because she would be embarrassed if any of her friends saw me.
She is putting more and more distance between us. Sometimes she physically abuses me.
Recently I thought she was maturing, but I guess she did it to me again.
Since she was a baby she only says she loves me when she is trying to get out of trouble.
She is the most toxic person I’ve ever had in my life.
I was hoping she is old enough to see how wrong she is behaving, but I guess she never will.

I’m so sorry too, @Patty_Melt! :( More hugs. Thinking of you.

Thank you.

@Patty_Melt: I am so sorry you have to go through this, there is little that is more painful. Hugs to you, Sweetie. <3

Sorry I was late, but you have my sympathy too @Patty_Melt. <<<<BEAR HUGS>>>>

I fought with my parents at time too. But I would never think of them the same way your daughter does.

Has she come back yet?

@Patty_Melt I’m so sorry. 14 is the bewitching year usually, and then the rest of the teen years are a struggle. I didn’t know you are disabled, but even if you weren’t, most daughters are embarrassed by their mothers. If their moms look amazing, and movie star beautiful, while still being conservatively appropriate the daughters are often jealous.none of that changes how hurtful it is for you, and the worry it causes that she is disappearing.

When I was 16 I used to stay overnight with my boyfriend at times. In retrospect I wish I hadn’t done that to my mom. She knew where I was, I didn’t cause her much worry, she felt I was safe, but she probably worried whether it was the right thing to do or not.

Is she safe with him? Or, is he bad news?

I absolutely don’t believe she will “never” mature, unless you are telling me she’s an addict. She is just an inconsiderate teenager right now, like so many are, and she might be depressed, like so many teenagers are, and probably is envious of her friends, and idealizes them. All those things teenagers usually grow out of and grow up, and become the adults they were raised to be. It does concern me very much that she has physically abused you.

@Patty_Melt Have a big Mother’s Day hug from me with hopes it gets better.

Thanks for the hugs, and support. It means very much to me.
She finally came back, noonish mother’s day, but hasn’t spoken one word. She dove for her room as soon as she saw me.
Her boyfriend is safe in that he isn’t physically abusive, in fact, my daughter is atheletically built, and he is thin as a rail. She could pick him up and bend him, if she chose to. The only reason I don’t have her sent away is because she still never misses school, and even if their plans change, they at least are planning a future.
She has a lot of growth to go though, maturing she is supposed to get from me. Things like what scope of responsibility people have. She feels that as long as her school grades and attendance are good, she is being responsible.
However, at home she is a slob, cares nothing about my efforts to teach her anything about caring for a home, cooking, cleaning, yardwork, budgeting.
She can’t keep a goldfish alive for a month. She won’t change their water, and when they die she leaves them floating and bloated until I get rid of them.
She wants them in her room though, where I don’t get to enjoy them too.
She keeps telling me she wants a job, but I know better. On that she is like the typical teens of now. She doesn’t want a job. She wants a paycheck, and it miffs her a little that to get one attendance is required.
I have exhausted the feeling sorry for myself. I am going to have a smoke now, and check the other threads for new signs of humor.
Again, thanks for the warmth, and encouragement. This is why Fluther still breathes.

^^I would let her get a job. Why not?

Her grades are good, so her schooling probably won’t suffer.

I was depressed and had no care about my room being a mess, and my friends were off on weekends drinking and partying, which I wasn’t into. I was lonely, it was impossible for my parents to cure that with their presence. Working was a savior for me. I was good at it, and I met people who were like me, who weren’t partying all the time, and I became more responsible overall. My grades actually went up, when my parents biggest fear was my grades would suffer.

Getting a boyfriend was also a way to be with someone who liked and approved of me. He wanted to be with me, and he was much easier to be with than the friends I had grown up with.

Is she out of the norm physically? Most of the other girls are more slight? Maybe more feminine? You said she’s a big girl.

She isn’t big, she’s just… like a gymnast, or ninja, small, but built with power, like I was.
I don’t stop her from getting a job. I have tried to encourage her. She has the wrong attitude about it, as I said.
She won’t let me help her with the application process, so she is getting herself discouraged with things like lack of experience. She won’t let me advise her on how to best represent her attributes.
Remember the seventies, and housewives trying to get first jobs? It didn’t occur to most that they could point out their bookeeping and managerial skills from the running of a household, etc.
She shuts me out. Because she is more physically agile than I, and has a boyfriend, she discounts me as being helpful in any way.
I could coach her, set her in good directions, but she is letting herself be intimidated by the process.
I just hope that some teen will see this and give their own parents a chance to show that getting older does not make them useless.

I still have trouble listening to my parents. Lol. I can listen to another adult and their opinions and advice, but my parents I feel like I’m being manipulated. I know logically, at age 49, that I shouldn’t feel like that, but for whatever reason it’s difficult to overcome. Even if she is annoyed with you when you try to advise her, I do believe she hears you.

Do you know what type of job she wants?

Can another adult in the family help you/her?

It’s so hard with young teenage girls.

Try to remember her bucking you is practice for standing up for herself. Perfectly obedient children are scary, scary that they will never have their own voice, especially girls. She just is too far out of control if she is actually abusing you, that needs to be reigned in. I have no idea how, I’m not a parent, and I certainly have no judgement of you, I hope I don’t sound like I do. I come from the perspective of remembering my teenage years pretty well, and just trying to imagine what it’s like to be a parent.

Her problem behavior began when she was tiny.
I could never get a sitter for her, because she was stealthy, and sneaky.
In her whole life she has never said she loves me except to get out of trouble, or distract me for some other reason.
She was fairly obedient for a couple of years, man, did that pass by fast.
There is so much about her to be proud of, but, I am scared for her too.
She isn’t actually looking for a job. She says she wants one, but like I said before, she really only wants a paycheck. She think her first job will be in her chosen profession.
Remember Julie, on One Day At A Time, played by Makensie Phillips? Pretty much that girl, only with a lesser range of boys.
Will, partly like The Little Girl Who Lived Down The Lane, played by Jodie Foster.
Mix those two, pretty much gives you an idea. It is kind of hard to cover everything.

By the way, something great did happen today.
Jellies were here for me, and helped me shed my blue mood.

She stayed home about two hours, then took off quick with some kids I don’t know .
She never wished me a happy day, nothing.

@Patty_Melt You obviously know her better than any of us. I was never “sneaky” except on rare occasion in very typical ways children can be. So, if from the get go she has been a basically dishonest and conniving child, I have no experience with that. I was never spiteful towards my parents, and I didn’t head towards danger. I was fairly self controlled and didn’t like taking risks.

If you are afraid of her, I trust and believe you that there is probably something to fear. I can’t imagine how difficult that is for you.

I never told my parents I loved them as a child, but that’s because they didn’t say it either. It just wasn’t said in my family. We weren’t verbally affectionate in that way. I’m completely different with my husband.

Had a wonderful Mother’s Day with a Unitarian service this morning then a house party and concert with my friends’ blues band. Flowers and facetime with one son and a phone call from the other. My life couldn’t be more wonderful right now.

It’s so ironic that some people on the internet brought you more comfort than someone close to you, right?

What is her chose profession? To be honest I have earned a job teaching children. And I wasn’t even taught how to teach children at school! Sure, I learned pedagogy, but it had more to do with teaching 15-year-old than children. And since I just came and haven’t got my certificate, the salary is unimaginable. Really it will take a while before you finally get comfortable with your job and earn real money.

She sounds like she has no idea what she’s getting herself into. I’m sorry to say this but it seems like you are unable to tell her anything. She has come to the age when kids refuse to listen to their parents in a rational way. The only way you can hope for her to change is that one day, life hits her hard enough to wake up. Let’s hope that it will be just enough for her to get back home.

By the time I was her age, I’d had three different paper routes (I had to change each time my parents decided to move.), babysat at least a dozen kids, some as regulars, did chores for an elderly woman on a regular basis.
She seems to think all of that is beneath her, and apparently thinks she can impress someone to hire her to do interior design right out of high school.
If she gets a job somewhere in fast food or similar, I don’t think she will last long. She is great with schoolwork, but has no respect for authority. It worries me. She thinks people are worthy of her respect only so long as they agree with her.
I fear she has a terrible spanking ahead of her from somebody who won’t have the patience for her attitude.

^^What about a furniture store or clothing store? Or, even a place like Target in the Home department? Or, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Bed Bath and Bryond? Another idea is a fabric store that is home oriented.

I live in a college town. Lots of skilled, educated young adults have preferred jobs.
I have tried to steer her in some good directions. I suggested Pier 1, thought she would love that. She doesn’t present well though. I can’t get her to dress for employment consideration. She actually told me that she went to turn in an app somewhere, and found it had fallen out of her pocket.
I told her that an app all folded up like that will go straight to the garbage. I pointed out that she should show up with her app in a folder (something I’d told her already) and dressed nice, because they need to see she thinks highly of their business, and the prospect of working there. I got an eyeroll for that advice.
Well, I think I hijacked this thread, but I welcome any other thoughts. Please pm me for any further discussion about my daughter.

We bought a couple of beautiful hand painted ceramic bowls. A difficult choice in the city famous for ceramics.

@flutherother In China?

Yes, in Jingdezhen.

I want a Ming horse please. ;-)

I’ll have the Terracotta Warriors and the Great Wall please.

How about some Ming Tesla Coils?

I’m not greedy. Just pick me something pretty, and post a pic?

I just finished another 300 or so horse show gift bags. Only 500 or so to go.
Now I am having a hard cider and waiting on a friend to call in a few minutes. Yay, my day is done!

Here we are in the middle of May and finally we have a succession of warm dry days! I spent hours outside today doing yard stuff and garden prep, the dogs loved the snuffling about and playing outside. I have sore muscles and a little sunburn, more tomorrow! Yahoo!

We have a new baby here this morning!
A neighbors cow lost her calf, he fell in a creek and was lost for a couple days. He needs to be bottle fed now and they are leaving town so we have adopted ‘Porter” as our new resident baby. He will be raised as a pet and castrated.

“Porter” is precious, a beautiful little caramel colored Brahman calf with long floppy ears.

Waaaaaaannnnt!

@Coloma
Why not eat it instead?

“He will be raised as a pet and. castrated. ”. What do you do to those you don’t like? Lol

(Pengy, you made me pee.)

She can at least eat the part she cuts off.

@janbb LOL No bull.

“Porter” is doing great this morning. The vet is coming to check him out today but he is guzzling his Land O’ Lakes calf formula and bawling like a baby…calf. :-)
Today he gets a calf halter and when he has adjusted more and regains his strength from his abandonment ordeal we will start taking him out to learn halter manners and frisk around in the grass and arena here. I’m not doing the midnight feedings though, thank gawd.

That’s someone elses job. I’m just playing with him and giving him ear rubs.

I bought an electric keyboard in a pawn shop about a month ago on a whim. That whim has been around for a very long time. Maybe forty or fifty years. The keyboard interfaces with my computer via USB and can record anything I create, wite music from the sounds it receives, and I can edit and add various instruments to my grande concertos.

I have big hands. Maybe I can do Rachmaninoff the way he’s supposed to be played. Maybe I can stretch over eleven keys, like he could. Maybe I missed my calling. That night I played Tchaikovski… off youtube. Then Fats Waller. Then Randy Newman. Yeah, I could do some of Newman’s stuff. It’s Not Easy Being Green. That’s appropriate.

I dream. It’s become my stare-master. It’s daunting. I didn’t touch it for three weeks. It’s been decorating a window table in my study since the day I bought it.

I haven’t wasted my time entirely. I’ve been reading about music theory, notes, chords, octaves, the Chromatic scale vs the Diatonic scale. Chromatic? Color? WTF?

I can point at middle C. From across the room. I now know the black keys are sharps and flats, but not all sharps and flats are black keys. They’re not making this easy. I can identify some notation. I think. Maybe I should quit here. I could probably follow a conversation on music now. Maybe that’s good enough.

Four days ago, I touched it. I hooked it up to my sound system. That took some balls. Those cables. Looked great. Serious business. I dusted it off. It looked even better. I rubbed a little lemon oil on it’s black plastic shell. Now it glistened like it belonged in Carnegie Hall. And it smells nice.

I looked at it for three more days.

Yesterday, with great trepidation an shaking hands, I taught myself to play the piano part of Captain of My Heart. Today, I was able to accompany myself will the lyrics and I got it down. It’s not much, really, but for someone with big piano fantasies who’s never laid hands on a keyboard before, it’s a victory.

It’s raining like cats and dogs outside. I’m trapped indoors and have run out of excuses. My dogs are staring at me in geat expectation. Bastards. They have no idea what we humans go through.

OK. I’m ready. I can feel the dam of creativity bursting inside. Or maybe that’s nervous gas. The hell with it. I’m tired of waiting.

I have to find out what this really feels like.

Play, Crow, PLAY.

Our office finally bought some children.

Been very busy the last month. Finished teaching until September, had a great performance with my last class. Making progress on the mandolin, I can accompany myself sing “Ripple”, and even play a little lead.

Running late in the garden. Snowy weather in April (!) was the biggest delay for that.

Starting up and IT consulting company, with a partner, and we will deliver our first client’s order on a 1-year least on Monday.

@Espiritus_Corvus CALLING @Strauss!

I had a long walk to two grocery stores and got raisin bread. Had two toasted slices with margarine for lunch. Was good.

By the time we ever get together to jam, Crow will be a virtuoso!

Just returned from a great trip to Seattle, alas with a case of pneumonia. With great drugs from my doc, I am not on the mend.

@marinelife “not” or “now”?

First IT client delivered!

@janbb Now! Sorry!

Better answer, @marinelife :-)

Today, we welcome little baby Grace. She is healthy, and momma is healthy. We are all very happy to welcome a new little sister into the family.

Also, I bombed an interview today so badly but it’s fine, because I also got offered a job that I wanted way more than that one. And it comes with a pretty substantial raise from my current job.

@AshLeigh Good news all around!

And I just got back from a great trip to England and Paris. Great visits all around and so nice to be home!

Annual physical today
Dr. said whatever I’m doing, keep it up. He may also become my client for IT consulting!

Lovely evening with friends yesterday, a lobster roll from my fave little place at the beach, perfect weather, every person I saw yesterday was a happy person. This is a lovely thing!

Tonight’s evening meal was in a restaurant specialising in funghi. All the crockery had pictures of toadstools and mushrooms and a great variety were cooked in a giant pot in the middle of the table. They were delicious and so was the soup they were cooked in.The funghi grow wild in the mountains 50 miles from here and we will go there in the morning.

Had a great thunderstorm last night.

A very good friend shot himself through the foot the other day. The calibre was small and the bullet missed everything important for good foot function. It went through his top deck, into the bedding in the forward stateroom and didn’t pierce the hull. Luckily, his wife was in the galley at the stern of the boat. He ran a fever that night and we got it under control. Today I fixed the hole in the deck, saving him some cash. He’s usually very competent with firearms, this was a very freakish thing. He’s a good guy. He’s going to be OK. New Rule: His wife will no longer sail with him if there are firearms aboard.

Counting blessings like crazy here.

It’s my graduation tomorrow! I graduate with an A. At least I got out of school… for now :p

Great job @Mimishu1995 and congrats!

A few days ago something pretty serendipitous happened for me. I asked one of my co-workers who had switched from software engineering into data science within our company if he’d get lunch with me because I’ve been thinking of making a similar career change. I wanted to pick his brain about the job and see what his suggestions were for going about getting qualified for data science, thinking I’d need to go back for a master’s in statistics or another related field.

Come to find out, his job title is not “data scientist” but “data engineer” which is a position I wasn’t even aware we had. It is a stepping stone towards data science, but one that I am already qualified to do. They were also literally just about to open up a request for applicants as they need another person.

Yesterday I talked to the head of data engineering to both learn more about the opening and ensure that it’s something I’d like to do, and to try to win him over a little bit. It went very well. I want the position, and he wants me for it. We just have to check with HR about the logistics of hiring internally.

I’m really excited. Work has been causing me a lot of anguish lately, and I think this is a move that will get me closer to where I want to be in life.

@Mariah That’s wonderful! Most of my best job moves were serendipitous.

Congrats, M, & M! Lol. How often do we get that chance?

Sounds like a lot of new “babies” for the tidepool. There’s Porter, baby Grace, and now use House of Strauss welcomes a new puppy to the family.

She’s a 5 month old mix of blue heeler and Aussie cattle dog. House broken (mostly) and sleeps through the night. She must know this is her forever home, because she chose a specific place to keep all her chew toys and such.

Unfortunately, we had to send her predecessor off to that great doghouse I the sky. She was 15, her hips were getting worse, and she finally just gave up on eating.

@Strauss Awww..congrats , what’s her name? Porter is getting really big, all legs and has grown about 2 feet, he’s starting to get a little pushy, soon we will nip the little bull in the buds. LOL

Ew. Somehow bars will seem different, asking for a Bud, and some nuts.

Some bars even have the pickles weenies!

Aghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
RUN, PORTER, RUN!

Red Pickled Eggs TOO YA @Strauss

@Strauss take your dog here so we can pet it please!

Just in case you guys misunderstood, “nipping the little bull in his buds” means he will be getting neutered not knocked off. LOL Porters house is not the freezer. haha

Joseph took me to the place where we first became friends when we were children, and he asked me to marry him. :)

Had a really good banana.

That is really great, @AshLeigh. He sounds like a very cool, romantic guy. I wish you two all the luck in the world.

@AshLeigh please tell us when you get married.

Congratulations @AshLeigh Happy engagement!

But no fluthering around on the honeymoon!

Wait, wait… @AshLeigh did you say yes?

Yes!

Beautiful ring! Congratulations!

Congratulations, @AshLeigh! This is lovely news!

Congrats @AshLeigh !

Thanks everyone :)

Congrats, @AshLeigh!

I love that ring. Simple, pretty and has sapphires, too. On top of everything else, that guy has great taste. And your fingernail polish sets it off perfectly. Congratulations again, AshLeigh.

Sam’s cyst turned out to be sebaceous, as I thought. The vet cleaned it out, sewed up the site nicely, the hair has grown back and Sam is a happy dog with a clean bill of health.

Yesterday, two long-awaited boxes of huge, frozen porterhouses and kielbasa showed up at the airport from Nebraska. Thank goodness for the internet, dry ice, jet airplanes and US beef prices. I am so sick of expensive shoe leather, chicken, lamb and goat meat that I am about to lose my mind. I am going to pig out tonight with a big, tender, grain-fed beef steak—charred on the outside and rare in the middle—a big baked potato with everything, sauteed snow peas from the garden and a bottle of Sangiovese with a friend. I am one happy guy.

Yay for Sam!

@Espiritus_Corvus, thank you! The polish was a coincidence. Haha. And I’m happy to hear that Sam is okay!

Congratulations @AshLeigh!

Had a whole chicken rotisserie for breakfast and midnight snack. Have rib steak for supper tomorrow. Caught myself from accidentally drinking the tap water. From the boil water advisory. Have lots of juice boxes for the meantime.

I was sitting in traffic coming home from work today, not in a bad mood, but just wanting to get home. I notice a SUV in front of me with a Z.O.R.T logo. I’m wondering what that means and when I pass it the side of the car says Zombie Outbreak Rescue Team. It made me really laugh.

I am recovering from a great weekend. It was a marriage weekend and a marriage anniversary weekend all rolled into one.

The young couple have each been friends with my wife and me for several years, and we witnessed their relationship evolve from friendship to marriage. He is from Kolkota, West Bengal, India; she is originally from the Phillipines. He is a permanent resident, she a naturalized US citizen.

His parents are very conservative Bengali Hindu, and for some time there was a question as to whether they would attend…not because the travel would be expensive, but because of their religious conservatism. However, in the end, they did attend, and I met them and had long conversations about the cultural differences between the US and India. My wife and I now have a standing invitation to travel to India to visit them!

Her parents are divorced. Her father could not afford to attend, but did send a video message blessing and accepting their marriage. Her mother lives here in the US, and was able to attend, as was her great-uncle and aunt, who live in San Francisco.

Also attending were the groom’s sister, who lives here in Colorado, and the bride’s two brothers, who live in Texas.

Friday afternoon was the rehearsal, followed by a buffet. That’s when I first met his father. Since the festivities were about 20 miles away from where we live, we decided to get a hotel room closer to the activities. It turned out that the great-uncle and great-aunt were staying there too, so we had some more conversation.

Saturday was the wedding. They had hired a shuttle to transport those of us at the hotel to the venue, a beautiful rustic spot in the mountains. The ceremony was beautifully done, non-denominational in nature, but paying respect both cultures. After the ceremony was a buffet, then dancing with an open bar. I was thankful for the shuttle!

Then on Sunday was the reception. It was held at a more informal venue in Denver. After the (western) traditional toss of the bride’s bouquet, the bride’s mother applied the bindi to her new daughter-in-law’s forehead, between the eyebrows. This is traditionally worn by married Bengali Hindu women, and I saw it as a great sign of approval by the parents of the marriage.

I have seen attended many weddings over the past six or so decades, but I have never been to one that was such a multi-cultural and diverse celebration.

@Strauss Sounds wonderful, what a great experience!

Sooooooo, Strauss does tell stories. I’ve just been hanging on the wrong thread. That was sweet, Strauss.

Something really great happened today. Hurricane Irma began veering slightly to the north on her westward track, and it looks like we’re going to get only a bad thunderstorm. That is great news. We should be back to fine sailing weather by Thursday morning.

Still scratchin’ but itchin’ less.

@janbb: When does the exterminator come?

Today. I’m beginning to think it was an external attack with a systemic reaction as I haven’t had new bites for days.

Cooties for sure.

^ our new mantra!

Just had a ripe avocado. Was almost perfect.

Finally cooler here after over a week of hellish temps. Not great but markedly cooler. Thank God, looks like I won’t be making any headlines for a murderous rampage, it was close. LOL

@Coloma hope there won’t be any dead body from now on ~

@Mimishu1995 I almost asked if I could borrow your machine gun. LOL

It has been cool and pleasant here for days. I am appropriately grateful.

@Patty_Melt Would you like a house guest, I’m a good cook. LOL

Welcome!!!!!!!
Being in the kitchen is dangerous for me. My muscle spasms mean I could cut, stab, burn myself quite a lot. I am reduced to eating a lot of stuff I shouldn’t, and would really rather not.
I’m afraid, however, we are terribly short of lizards and rattlesnakes.
You are welcome to plant morning glories to your heart’s content.
We do have a resident squirrel, and a bunny frequent visitor. It was born in my front yard. I put off mowing for their safety until city threats. Only the one still comes back to hang out.
There is a senior apartment complex next door full of very nice people.
I picked a very good spot, honestly.
My house is a modest little thing, but cozy.

@Patty_Melt and…you are in a cool geographic zone! Modest and cozy is the best, same with my little abode. :-)

We can watch for bald eagles together. They nest all along the river which flows by about a quarter mile from my home.

Oh, and I have a critter which needs to be relocated from my yard. It is probably a mole. It won’t surface ti cross concrete. I keep finding mounds by my front steps and along the driveway where it is desperate to venture to new grounds. The area is completely boxed in, poor little guy. The front yard is boxed in completely by street, driveways, and home. The backyard is fenced in, but lines against open grassed property, leading to a wooded location. He would be giddy happy if I could manage to get him back there.
So, come along. We can find plenty to keep you busy, and also plenty to keep you amused. Oh, and hippy throwbacks abound here. I’m afraid you would not stand out.

All my Florida people came through Irma OK, very relieved! They still have some storm issues to deal with, but the most dangerous part for them is over.

A neighbour and his dog were in a pretty bad car accident last week. Heidi is an 11 year old husky-shepherd cross, she is truly my lovey girl dog. She’s been in quite a bit of pain and on doggie Percoset. Today was the first day where she seemed slightly less pained and stressed. It was good to be able to see her and snuggle with her a bit today. No. It was great.

I had a terrific BLT for supper.

My electricity is back on!

I took over a collegue’s class for two days. On the last day my students said they preferred me to their real teacher and they would move to my class if they could. Apart from the fact that I don’t have any class, they really made my day :)

@Mimishu1995 Great!!

@Mimishu1995, but, I think you gotta lotta class!

Glad to hear it went well.

Had a good hair day on a day I was leaving the house. This is terrific as my good hair days don’t usually coincide with my out in public days.

The mate and I pulled into Montserrat at 1am, about three hours ago. It is a British possession. The bottom ⅔’s of this island was completely blown away ten or fifteen years ago in a volcanic eruption. It hasn’t even begun to recover economically. Much of its elderly and youth were shipped off to cities in England. Sad in a way. One day you’re living an idyllic life on a tropical island in the Caribbean, the next year you’re working in a factory Manchester.

Last week, 2 Cat five hurricanes ravaged this island within two days of each other. There is looting everywhere and authorities are still overwhelmed at this time. So, we’re not leaving the boat we just delivered until we can get to the airport. We have one bar of broadband at the dock.

The something great that will happen today is that we have reservations on a flight out of here.

My son is getting married todau on a boat on San Francisco Bay.

^^Mazel Tov!

^^Good wishes on this day, jan!

Wait, Yiddish is okay, French is okay, German is okay, but a send off in Spanish gets scrubbed?

^^A lot of Yiddish is in the American English vernacular now. In fact, I’m pretty sure Mazel Tov is now in the English dictionary. Maybe it’s just in the urban one, I don’t know. I know you’re just joking anyway, but it cracks me up how much Yiddish is used now. I’m pretty sure a lot of people who use it don’t even know really what they are saying, especially words like schmuck.

I think a ¡felicidades! would stay put in this case.

Well having worked in a Kosher bakery, i did learn the basics.
I wasn’t complaining about the Yiddish anyway, oy! I just wonder why my comment to Crow got modded.

I’d take it up with the mods @Patty_Melt. Sounds like someone didn’t realise what it was. Perhaps add a translation if it is restored?

Oh. I didn’t see the comment. If it was a Spanish sentence those are typically modded, although putting the translation as suggested, should be sufficient I would think. As long as a Spanish conversation doesn’t ensue.

Translation,
Go in comfort.

@Patty_Melt ??? I have never heard that expression in Spanish.

@Espiritus_Corvus I just met someone who lives on St. Croix. I didn’t get a clear answer regarding how his house fared. He said no one is on Barbados, everyone has been cleared off the island. I know Barbados is British rule. I haven’t watched the news about it, except that I know cruise ships helped evacuate people post Irma.

The Dutch islands, Croix, Kitts, all the Virgins took direct hits from both Cat 5s two days apart last week. I was taken off Montserrat by military transport to the airport on Antiqua, next to Barbuda (Barbados is hundreds of miles SE of the disaster zone—they are OK), to catch a regular flight to Guadeloupe. Those islands are all brown without any trees standing at all. Complete messes. Instead of houses you see trash everywhere and no people on the ground from what I could see. Guadeloupe is a bit better. Curfew, hotels on generators, no city lights, water available 4 hours on, 4 hours off. They have been shooting dogs all day here from health department trucks. Strays lost in the storm, foraging for food. They are worried about disease.

Omg. He did mention all the trees and the mess. It’s awful.

St, Croix is ours. It’s part of the USVI.

I passed my preliminary exams! I’m officially ABD now :)

@muppetish With all of our help, no doubt!

ABD? Already been decided?

Last night, my daughter and I talked twice.
Both time honest, serious, no screaming.
It has been a very long time.
After the serious stuff was over, she was relaxed, and started going on and on about various stuff in her life she never discusses, but I constantly wish she would.
Today I have an empty space now filled.

@Patty_Melt All but dissertation. That is great news about you and your daughter!

Awesome, @muppetish!
Breathe now, nice and steady.

Woke up this morning to 6” of snow!

Also, finished the rewiring project, just in time. The baseboard heater is now working, and no fire outside the fireplace.

Well done!

I found my wedding dress!

I started a new job within my company about a week and a half ago. It’s early still, but so far I am really happy about my choice to change jobs. I feel more proficient and interested in the type of work I’m doing now.

I just finished removing an old juniper hedge. I knew it was dying and had to be removed. I knew it was infested with tiny little spiders. What I didn’t know, however, was that they would move over into my neighbor’s vehicles. They helped me cut the bushes, and we split cost of the roll-off container. He had other stuff to dispose of as well.