|
Post by Mini Mia on Aug 22, 2017 14:33:03 GMT -6
Another one is coming through in 2024. It won't be a total eclipse for my area though, but it will be for one town that was in its path this time too. Very rare for one place to have one within such a short time span.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Aug 23, 2017 6:14:08 GMT -6
A short span between eclipses certainly, but in so many ways 2024 seems so far away.
Shoot, the way this week seems to be going, my next day off, Sunday, seems like a long time from now. I've got a lot going on, some of it planned, some of it unexpected, and I'm wondering how I'm going to fit it all in!
A bright note is the humidity is much lower this week thus far - yesterday was more fall-like than August weather, and though it's way too early in the day to know for sure, this morning feels wonderful. Hoping the rest of the day feels the same!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Aug 23, 2017 18:08:39 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Aug 25, 2017 5:09:01 GMT -6
At 48 degrees right now, it's a fallish morning! There are definitely signs that summer is ending: the goldenrod and asters are starting to bloom, goldfinches are frequenting my sunflowers to eat the seeds, and there are hints of fall color here and there. Oh, and last night was the first high-school football game of the season.
It was rainy, overcast, and cool yesterday. The skies cleared and the sun came out just in time for an evening program we offered to the public at the nursery. The Monarch Lady who's been monitoring the milkweed sites on the property conducted a walk and talk - kind of a monarch butterfly tour, I'd call it, with the butterflies and caterpillars in all their different stages on center stage. It was a fun evening, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
Not so for our football team - they lost something like 40-something to 12.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Aug 26, 2017 0:42:58 GMT -6
The nights are cooler here too. I haven't taken my 24-hour allergy pills in several months. I didn't have sinus problems until I started taking hormones, especially Premarin & Provera, and later PremPro. I figure pee from a pregnant sow & mare isn't the best thing to put in one's system. So, I thought I'd go without the pills for a little while, now that I'm no longer taking any hormones, and see if my sinuses might do better. I haven't had any reason to start taking them again, until today. I think the cooler nights and warm/hot days will have me going back on the pills, at least until the extreme temp changes are over.
My niece is going to take 9 days off from work starting next week, so she and my sister and I have plans to start on Mom's house, and have a yard sale at the end of those days. I'll be so happy when I don't have to go to Mom's house every day to feed the cat. I've been doing the daily trip since Mom came home from the nursing home. She had me set up her machine for her. I thought it was temporary, but looking back, I think she must have forgotten how, and just couldn't get that part of her memory back. She could hook up, and unhook herself, but the rest was my job. And it was my job even after she went to stay with my sister. Some days, going into her house doesn't bother me at all, but there are times I would rather not go in there. Still have to do it though. My niece is going to do some renovation before moving in, so I've no idea how long it will be before I no longer have to make that trip every day.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Aug 29, 2017 4:58:44 GMT -6
We've had the air conditioning off the last couple of days, but ended up turning it back on yesterday - not necessarily because of the heat, but the humidity is creeping in again.
People are so funny. The last couple of days I worked, I must have talked to a dozen customers over the phone, in person, or via e-mail, who had concerns about "dying plants". After gathering information from them about why they think their plants are dying (which is sometimes like pulling teeth!), most of the problems weren't problems at all. We had a couple of nights in the forties, it's late August, almost September. A few yellow leaves with no other symptoms doesn't not equate a "dying plant"; it is a normal plant response to the change of seasons. It seems as if no one wants to let summer go!
The ragweed is starting to bloom; here comes hayfever season! Blah!!! Must be a bumper crop this year - it seems like everyone, even those who normally don't have seasonal allergies, is suffering in one way or another.
Oh! I hope it goes well, and you guys get a lot done!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Aug 29, 2017 19:29:16 GMT -6
My head cleared up shortly after I typed that. I haven't had to take any allergy pill yet. Hopefully I won't have sinus problems while working on the house. Am looking forward to having it all done ... not so much the doing of it.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Aug 30, 2017 6:20:12 GMT -6
Wish I could say the same. I've been taking my allergy pills consistently since late spring. If I miss a day, it only takes about 12 hours for my sinus problems to start.
Strange, but I never felt that way cleaning out Mom's house; I looked forward to having it done, of course, but never minded doing it. That could be because I wasn't there all the time. I looked at it kind of like an adventure, I guess. Leaving here to drive across state...I love to drive, so even that was part of the adventure. Most of the time I was in the house by myself, so finding stuff Mom had saved from our childhood, or even things from when she and Dad were dating, was like finding buried treasure.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Aug 30, 2017 23:14:42 GMT -6
My sister kept having hot flashes, and we turned the a/c down to 65. I started sneezing, and now I can't breathe through my nose. Guess I'll need to take an allergy pill tonight. We got quite a bit done. Cleaned out closets and drawers. Moved tables and small funiture out to the garage. Will move the big stuff this weekend when my b-i-l is home to help do the heavy lifting. My niece has a concert to go to tonight, so we're taking tomorrow off.
I guess the reason it's a chore to me is because I'd rather be working on my non-fiction book, which I got the bright idea of also turning into a board/card game. I used Scribus to design two boards that will go into one box, with 2 or 4 card box sets included, (90 cards per box set), and then a number of other card sets of 90 cards each sold separately. I need to work on designing the cards and typing up the exercises/prompts. I need to find background images and cover art, for the boards/cards and the boxes they'll go into.
There will be "score cards" included that I need to design, which in my case will be set up for writing down notes that were gleaned from doing the exercises/prompts. A booklet for info that can't go onto the cards. I've been working slowly on the book for years now, and it seems every time I got a momentum going Mom's health would drag me away, and the creativity would go cold. And I've worked on it in brief spurts since Mom's death. And the last couple of weeks I've gotten into another momentum and got the boards designed and printed out to play with and see if they work as I have them set up, or I need to make changes. And now all of a sudden I'm getting pulled away from the work yet again. When we could have cleaned out the house during the dry spell after Mom's death.
Oh, well. Maybe once we get the house cleaned out, and everything sold or donated, or whatever, I can finally get back to the book and board/card game/s without any further distractions. I want to get the house done now, so I'll just have to set the writing/designing aside until later. Plus, my internet has been very slow off and on again of late, so not sure if the files will upload at the moment anyways. www.thegamecrafter.com/ I haven't yet joined their website either. I figured I'd wait until I was close to having all the files ready.
They're working on the internet this week. They were digging near a light pole in Mom's yard today as we were at the house. They were working across the road the day before. I guess they need whatever they do to have time to settle, and then they do more work, and let that settle, and again, and again. Then one day when I least expect it maybe they'll finally need to come into the house to put in the new outlet, and I'll have my gaming speeds once again. They started on the upgrade at the end of December, and it seems like they won't be done until next year.
It will all be over eventually, and I can move on finally.
Today was my last Jury Duty, and it was cancelled. My four months service is done. Yay. One thing down and more to go.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 1, 2017 5:05:16 GMT -6
I bet it'll be a relief once it's all finished!
Coolio!! Go for it! Yanno, that's how I came up with "Lyrically Speaking". Years before I started the thread - more than a decade before, actually - I thought about developing a song lyric "board" game with cards as prompts, a timer, and score cards. I never did anything with the idea though, until I turned it into a game here.
Just like cleaning out your Mom's house, I'm sure it'll be a relief once it's all finished.
It's a brisk morning - in the 40's, and it's only supposed to get into the sixties today. It was warmer yesterday, but pleasantly breezy. I stopped by Crazy Cheryl's on the way home from work for pizza and beers. We sat outside for a bit, but ended up going inside because it got quite chilly where we were sitting in the shade. We were dressed for a summer day, but it turned into a fall-like evening.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 1, 2017 19:59:35 GMT -6
Yes, I'll be so glad when both Mom's house and the internet upgrade is done. And when I no longer have to go to Mom's to feed the cat. It will become my niece's cat once she's renovated and moved in. Which I doubt will be done anytime soon. I'm guessing a year or two? So, I will still have to go to Mom's house every day until the day my niece moves in. Or until the cat disappears. Which tends to happen. I still only have the four feral cats in my backyard that I feed. I had 35 last year, and it was about this time that they started going missing. I haven't seen any kittens, but the female cats have been pregnant off and on over the summer. Something is still eating the kittens. I'm sure it isn't healthy for the females to be pregnant so soon after giving birth and so often.
I have another game board I created ages ago. Back in the 80s/90s? It's similar to "Life," which inspired it. Once I'm done with this writing game and it is published, I will work on the "Life" inspired game and see if I can't also publish it as well.
The temps are supposed to drop here. Next week's highs are in the 70s, and the lows in the 50s. I don't mind those temps, but transitions into Spring & Autumn rarely maintains nice, comfy weather. It's usually a jump from one extreme into another, so not looking forward to the "too cold to be outside without layers" weather/temps.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 2, 2017 21:19:51 GMT -6
Don't wait too long. I once had a children's book written, mostly in my head, but it was an idea I had for a long time, and I really loved the story. It was something I always wanted to finish....until I was at the library with the girls when they were little, and saw "my book" had been written by someone else, and published long after I had the idea. The other story was so similar to the one I had in my head, I dropped the whole idea.
I sort of did the same with the "Lyrically Speaking" idea too; I never got around to even attempting to go the publishing route. Actually, I got to thinking about this, and made myself laugh this evening remembering how I finally got around to doing something with the idea. Whoosh wasn't even the first place it appeared; Scrappy was the one that brought it here. Remember the past board member Guru? He was in a band, and one day Scrappy and I got to joking around, and ended up on his band's message board. I think the band had pretty much split up by that time, or was going through some personnel changes or something, so there was very little activity on the message board. It was basically like someone had left the door unlocked to their house, and Scrappy and I came in and ran amok - we didn't break anything, but raided fridge, and jumped up and down on the furniture. Maybe swung from the chandelier. That's were I started "Lyrically Speaking"!
I could tell you what it's supposed to do here, but it probably wouldn't be right! It was supposed to be chilly here today, and the morning started off in the forties. Then it got warm. Then chilly. Then warm again. Jacket on, jacket off, jacket on...all day long. Some customers were in shorts; some in sweatshirts...and one lady was even wearing a knitted winter cap! We were hopping busy all day, and not just with changing clothing! Labor Day weekend is usually a busy time at work, but it's also a busy tourist weekend at the beach. Not exactly beach weather though, so we had more customers than usual for a busy holiday weekend; a lot of people just strolling around, enjoying the park-like setting on what was really a gorgeous day...even if it was too cold for the beach.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 3, 2017 7:02:35 GMT -6
Lots of commotion here this morning...
SKUNK!!!
The dog cornered one behind our garage, and got sprayed! Poor girl! She yelped and howled as if she was in pain. Luckily (for us!) it was the neighbor's dog!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 4, 2017 21:59:43 GMT -6
Lucky you. We had a skunk incident too ... a neighbor dog came up into Mom's yard stinking to high heavens.
No time to work on my book/game board at the moment, and I have no idea when I will be able to. I had no clue how much work it would be to clean out Mom's house and have a yard sale. We worked on the house Wednesday, skipped Thursday & Friday, worked Saturday, Sunday, and today. The garage is full, and the house still has another garage full (if not more) to go. We planned on having a yard sale today and tomorrow, but realized today was a holiday, and we wouldn't be able to get cash at the bank if needed, so tomorrow and Wednesday is yard sale day. (My niece works all weekend once her days off are done.)
I have never been so tired in all my life, and I don't see it letting up any time soon. I didn't even get online last night. The only reason I'm online now is because I had a job to do on a Runboard board that is a monthly thing. Sunday we were trying to figure out when to have a yard sale, and we kept putting it off longer and longer, and then my sister said she was starting to think we should not have one at all ... due to not knowing how to have one ... and I said lets just do it and sink or swim. And so that's what we're doing. With it being during the week maybe it won't be so overwhelming, and we can learn from the experience and be better prepared for a weekend yard sale.
I had a great idea for a horror novel, and I have about 2/3s of the novel done, and then Stephen King came out with, "The Dark Half." One night when I watched "Ripley's Believe it or Not," there was an Asian man on the show with parts of his twins face growing from his face. And I got the bright idea of a woman who had parts of her twin in her brain, and the twin took over and controlled her from time to time, killing people while she was 'dormant.' I've been trying to figure out how to salvage the novel so that I can finish it.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 5, 2017 6:22:41 GMT -6
There's not a whole lot to know about having a yard sale - basically you just put up some signs, put out the stuff, let people haggle because it seems that's what yard sale goers like to do, and make change.
You'd may be right about it not being overwhelming on a weekday though; here anyway, you wouldn't get a whole lot of traffic due to the tourists being gone, and the residents being at work. Although...the across-the-ravine neighbors have frequent yard sales, running from Thursdays to Sundays, and the man told me once, that Thursdays are their busiest days. <shrugs> Different type of town though, so who knows?
Good luck....and have fun!!! Just think of all the people you get to meet, and shoot-the-sh!t with, even if they don't buy anything.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 5, 2017 20:25:28 GMT -6
We had close to ten visitors today. Most of the stuff has no price on it. We just come up with a price when asked. The big stuff has prices. The ones that might bring good money are still in the house until we can find out what they might be worth. Mom had a lot of her Mother's stuff, and those tend to be worth something. There were a few things we had in the garage that Mom's friend let us know was older than we thought. All in all it wasn't a bad day.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 6, 2017 6:23:52 GMT -6
I'm glad for you that it went well yesterday. Hope the same for today!
We had a nice rain during the night - and we really needed it! It's been so dry here lately, and extremely windy the last few days (I heard the pier made the news this weekend; flocks of tourists, ignoring the red flags, were walking the lighthouse pier while 10 foot waves crashed over top of it. Luckily no one was swept away, although the waves capsized a boat in the channel before it even got out into the lake).
Just finished my last cup of coffee this morning before leaving for work; I sat out on the front porch drinking it, while watching a nice steady rain fall. Came in the front door, took the garbage out the back door, and there was not a single drop of rain falling. I looked down the driveway, and yep - it's still raining in the front yard!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 6, 2017 22:17:28 GMT -6
Yeah, it's entertaining when the rain isn't all over. We've had one lonely rain cloud go over every now and again.
We didn't get much rain Monday night. Today's yard sale saw fewer buyers, but we learned a bit from the experience. We got rid of Mom's washer & dryer today. We really didn't expect them to go so quickly. It's funny when things you don't expect to sell well does, and things you expect to sell well doesn't. We plan on having the next set of yard sales the weekend after this one. We're taking the next few days off. My niece will have to go back to work this weekend, and her being a nurse working 12-hour shifts she should have time to rest. We all need time to rest. Plus I have to pick up my weekend company on Friday. She wants to go to Sunday's Homecoming at Church. I used to babysit her when she was little. She's slightly mentally challenged, and she's a bipolar, paranoid schizophrenia. She hated when her stepdad moved them off of this road, so she likes to visit here as much as possible. Which has only been recently, now that I drive.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 7, 2017 6:27:13 GMT -6
I know, right?! I learned that from selling stuff on eBay - sometimes it even seems that the weirder the stuff, the more quickly it sells, and at a higher price.
It's nice you got rid of a couple of big items like the washer and dryer - with the bigger stuff gone it's a sign progress is being made. At least that's the way it when I was cleaning out Mom's house. I could spend all day emptying closets and boxing their contents but when I was done, it seemed everything looked the same. Get rid of a piece of furniture or two, or some other large item, and when I walked into a room it was like 'yes! progress!'
Hope you enjoy having your visitor this weekend!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 7, 2017 20:27:20 GMT -6
We've had some of the buyers let us know when we've set stuff out that is worth money. And we've taken the items back into the house to do a search on later. It's nice to live in a small community for the most part, but not so much when the money-making businesses are shutting down and taking jobs with them. Though I heard another company has bought the big one that shut down, but we're not sure if they're going to open up a business or dismantle the plant for profit.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 9, 2017 6:24:27 GMT -6
That's really nice of people to do that. During one of the yard sales I had, a woman showed up about a half hour before the sale started - she bought all the old pocket knives; there were about 7 or eight of them, and I had them marked a few dollars a piece. I found out later that older pocket knives can be worth quite a bit of money - certainly more than a few dollars.
If the plant was a dying industry, hopefully it'll reopen as something else that brings revitalization to the area.
* * *
I woke up at about 5:15 this morning, and at first thought thought someone had left the hall light on, then noticed the light was coming through the window. Something happening outside - police with spotlights, perhaps? I looked out the window and it was the moon! Not even full yet, and it was so bright that I could see into the ravine which is normally black in the mornings. Let the dog out, sat on the back porch with my coffee, basking in the moonlight. Beautiful!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 9, 2017 19:48:53 GMT -6
Yeah. I hate when people take advantage, especially when it's family or friends. eReaders killed the plant, so hopefully the new buyers have other ideas that will bring in steady jobs. I love when the moon is at its brightest. And when you can sit outside without getting eat up.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 10, 2017 7:54:06 GMT -6
Xena Sis helped a lot with some of the pottery and porcelain pieces of Mom's. I recognized a couple of the pottery names - McCoy, and Robinson Ransbottom - but she had a few Roseville pieces and a Llardo also. I thought the Roseville stuff was on the gaudy side (frankly, ugly), and the Llardo figurine I had no idea was valuable. I just wanted to get rid of the stuff, but Xena Sis told me not to put them in the yard sale. She's the one that helped me start selling on eBay. I kept the McCoy pieces because I liked their simplicity, but sold the rest on eBay - for waaaay more than I would have imagined; the Llardo (which was a common piece, and slightly damaged to boot) sold for $120, I believe - I was going to put a $10 price on it for the yard sale!
I think it'd be fun to imagine what might take the place of the old plant.
* * *
Getting ready to go apple picking with Crazy Cheryl. It's a gorgeous day for it!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 11, 2017 16:30:57 GMT -6
... hmm ... an eReader building plant.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 12, 2017 4:20:33 GMT -6
HA! On the grounds will also be a Book Museum where people can pay a fee to see actual printed books that the eReaders replaced.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 12, 2017 19:28:28 GMT -6
And videos of how paper was made. And the town people will tell how the air smelled of rotten eggs for years and years after the plant came to town.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 13, 2017 4:51:10 GMT -6
And in the museum's gift shop will be copies of the DVD that shows how paper was made and how the town smelled of rotten eggs, and scented candles that smell of rotten eggs....and of course, eReaders.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 13, 2017 13:22:00 GMT -6
Yes! Have past workers giving tours and telling of the stinky old days.
... ... ...
The sun is peeking out every now and again. I think the last remaining remnants of Irma will be gone soon. I didn't mind not getting the strong winds, but I was hoping for more rain. The pond is drying up on the shallow ends.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on May 29, 2018 0:13:05 GMT -6
It rained a few times [over the Memorial weekend]. I timed it right and didn't get caught driving in anything harder than light sprinkles. I knew it was a matter of time before I'd have to drive in the rain. I did some Google searches to learn the best way to go about it. Still, I'm hoping I continue to drive in it as little as possible. Got more rain heading my way. And it's definitely Summer here now.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on May 29, 2018 5:03:57 GMT -6
Driving in the rain isn't difficult unless the rain is driving. HA!
Main thing to remember is to leave plenty of extra space between you and the car in front of you.
Here too! We got into the mid-nineties yesterday!!! Just last week it was in the fifties.
It still looks like spring though - our azalea out front is in full bloom, as are the viburnums, bridal veil spirea, forget-me-nots, and bluebells - absolutely gorgeous this year, with everything blooming at once (though it's all out of sync due to our extended cold weather, followed by instant summer heat). It looks like the dogwood isn't going to bloom this year; there isn't a bud on it, and the lilac has flower buds that are just starting to open - the lilac typically blooms on Mother's Day, so it's way behind schedule.
We went to a Memorial Day party yesterday at a gorgeous house in the country. Five huge canopy tents set up to keep the sun off; one of them was filled entirely of food, all of it delicious. We didn't stay long though - even with the tents keeping off the sun, it was uncomfortably hot, so much so, that an ambulance was called because someone got heat exhaustion, and the EMTs had put in an I.V. to re-hydrate her. We just don't normally get these kinds of high temperatures here, especially so quickly, so people aren't acclimated to it. I kept thinking about my co-workers who had to work yesterday; I know we were busy as hell, and I felt bad for them.
More of the same weather today - gotta say, I'm not looking forward to going to work. I'm imagining it's going to be Hot Flash City all day long! Bluck!
|
|