Monday January 29th 2024

toomuchbaloney · Jan 29

Do you all see memes on social media about EVs not working well in cold weather? Currently in the Alaska interior ICE engines won't start because of the cold. Diesel fuel pumps are failing and they can't fuel their vehicles. The EVs are on the road running. Interesting.

It's so cold, we are scraping through the last of our monthly trip to Costco, waiting for it to warm up to -20 to drive the old pickup into town if possible. We need water delivered, but the delivery truck is struggling in the sustained -40 temperatures. No laundry is getting washed here until they can come by.

The moose have been wandering around the cabin, looking in the windows. We have to make sure they aren't laying down in the shadows before we let dogs out to potty. Moose are cranky and dangerous.

No Stars In My Eyes · Jan 29

So, immediately to plan B.... I woke up at 9 AM and said to myself, "Good. Now I can sneak out to do errands before I have to get Nannie up." Next thing I knew it was 10:45! So I got up and took my meds, told Momo to "C'mon..." and we went down to the den. I went to turn off the dehumidifier, and next thing I knew, there was Nannie, standing in her doorway, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, saying, "Hey, honey!" ? So I got her dressed, and went up to fix both hers and Momo's breakfasts and my cup of coffee.

Also, last night I went to the file where I had collected the documents for SSA, and lo and don't behold...my marriage certificate was NOT in the folder! WHAT!??? I did a quick search but didn't find it. I know I have it....SOMEWHERE; it must be in the old bedroom in some stack of papers, but I was so tired, I decided to look for it today, However, right now I am trying to wake up with my coffee.

I will look for the marriage certificate later on. I still have to go out to pay the TV-WiFi bill which is due today, and maybe I'll go to the post office to mail hubby's lambskin apron to the Masonic Lodge in Asheville. On the way back home I will stop at the Funeral Home and make another payment on hubby's cremation.

SiL is coming over after work on Wednesday (3:15 PM), and hopefully by then I will have found my marriage certificate and can hoof it over to the SSA office's drop-box.

I think I'll need a second cup of coffee before I go upstairs and get dressed. The sun is shining and the skies are all blue, and it is supposed to warm up to the mid-50's....that's the mid-50's as in *+* and NOT the MINUS degrees, like tmb is living through. Up in Boston, if the weather is turning very cold, on WBZ Radio, the DJ runs an audio-tape of someone intoning: "FROST ON THE BOGS!" which is referring to the cranberry bogs. (That's a very regional thing.)

In my home town, the horn on the Town Hall is blowing two times to indicate it is now 12 noon. You can hear it all over town. I think when I told you about that horn, I mentioned that when it blows because it is summoning the volunteer firemen, there is a certain 'code'....the # and sequence of #'s being blasted out tell us WHERE the fire is located, which I always thought was pretty cool.

Nannie is beginning her after-breakfast nap, so that's my cue to go up and get dressed, then be on my way. 'Lah-dee-dah, lah-dee-dah,' as Diane Keaton used to say, as Annie Hall.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 29

Wow, tmb, what an adventure! I have mixed feelings about the EVs, dunno if the memes are entirely correct. There is just not a great nation-wide infrastructure to support them -- yet. And, I do worry that when we get brown-outs to conserve energy, it strikes me that charging EVs might be contributing to those??

Hi Joe and all who appear!

I slept very poorly last night. I will likely go soon and take a short nap. This afternoon I am taking oldest ds to the clinic to get some routine labs done. With his history of hyperthyroidism at age 8 (resolved after 3.5 years on meds), I am always kinda watching him for s/s of hypo or hyper. He is keeping an eye on things!

Have a good day!

toomuchbaloney · Jan 29

dianah said:

Wow, tmb, what an adventure! I have mixed feelings about the EVs, dunno if the memes are entirely correct. There is just not a great nation-wide infrastructure to support them -- yet. And, I do worry that when we get brown-outs to conserve energy, it strikes me that charging EVs might be contributing to those??

Hi Joe and all who appear!

I slept very poorly last night. I will likely go soon and take a short nap. This afternoon I am taking oldest ds to the clinic to get some routine labs done. With his history of hyperthyroidism at age 8 (resolved after 3.5 years on meds), I am always kinda watching him for s/s of hypo or hyper. He is keeping an eye on things!

Have a good day!

Of course, we didn't have gas stations across the country when the first ICE engines rolled off the assembly lines either. Our infrastructure is sorely in need of investment and more mass transportation would be awesome.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 29

toomuchbaloney said:

Of course, we didn't have gas stations across the country when the first ICE engines rolled off the assembly lines either. Our infrastructure is sorely in need of investment and more mass transportation would be awesome.

Agree.

No Stars In My Eyes · Jan 29

Nannie just woke up and said, "Are you going to bed now? Uh, "No, Nannie. Look at how bright the sun is shining! It's the middle of the day!" She responded, "Oh."and dozed right off again.

I thought the power company was supposed to come by here to raise the power line so it isn't rubbing on the carport roof. BiL had told me to NOT touch the metal legs of the carport; he didn't want me electrocuted if the line had rubbed enough to expose the wires to the carport roof. ( I had been telling hubby about that power line for at least a year and a half.) ...I'll bet they show up just as I am ready to leave. Oh, and they might have to cut off a few tree limbs from the shade tree on that side of the yard. So, today's Plan B may also be changed to Plan C.

Whatever!

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Jan 29

TMB, those kids look... well, cold, to say the least.

65 and sunny here today. It is nice to see the sun, as everyone at church was saying yesterday. What a difference it makes.

dianah, it isn't the charging cord that's the problem but the port where I plug the cord into my phone. If I hold my tongue just right, I can get some of our cords to connect properly to s-l-o-w-l-y charge the phone but it's not working great. I need it for secondary authorization for systems I have to use at work, not to mention, ya know, phone calls and texts and such.

Book club was good, albeit a long drive for me (42 miles). The book we read was Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I enjoyed it -- finished it in November via audio book when Twin B and I drove to San Antonio. And although I should be reading less fun stuff and more infection control stuff, I did finish the Beartown trilogy by Fredrick Bachman and read a murder mystery borrowed from one of our book club members. I get to choose the next book club selection so I'm trying to find something good.

Hubs is putting his foot down about the dog. He called to tell me she'd had another urine/poop mess (the second today) and he has put her outside and won't let her in again. I've noticed she is really having trouble supporting herself on one of her hind legs. Twin A will not be happy (I'm not, either). Meanwhile Gma was more alert than usual yesterday and actually interactive rather than sitting and narrating a strange story to herself. She was also insisting on going home, so ... yeah, not so fun. This whole human/canine/feline senior living center is getting to be a bit much.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 30

Ado, yes, the senior living center sounds like it might be overwhelming at times. For best results, teamwork required! How old is your phone (which would create a problem if it was unable to be charged)? Might need a new phone, for better connection for the charging cable?? Books I have enjoyed recently: The Wave, by Susan Casey (NYT Bestseller); The Underworld (same author); Krakatoa, by Simon Winchester; The Map That Changed the World, by Simon Winchester. It looks like Lessons in Chemistry has been made into a period drama, viewable on Apple TV+ (which we don't get). Book looks interesting!

No Stars, did the power company come, to adjust that cable??

I took oldest ds over to the clinic and he got his labs drawn. Then we stopped by his credit union so he could make a deposit. He is thinking about getting an e-bike, to better get around. Sounds good to me, just BE SURE THE BRAKES WORK and keep an eye on them!! He is starting to save up for this purchase (yes he already has one in mind. I asked him to send me the specs!). I dropped him off at his place, then went to the grocery store (gonna make Hungarian Mushroom Soup) and got gas in the car. So, that's all my running around for the day! I did get about a 1.5hr nap in this morning. Hopefully it wasn't too much sleep, so I will sleep well tonight.

Have a good evening!

No Stars In My Eyes · Jan 30

Nannie was asleep in her chair when I got back from my few errands. BiL came by to pick up Nannie's bank statement, and dropped off boxes of more underpads, pull-ups and pads. Gave Nannie her supper after he left. We watched the news, and then HGTV (My Lottery Dream Home) before turning over to America's Got Talent at 8 PM. Nannie fell asleep after the first 10 minutes of the show and just now woke up again after napping for 1/2 hour. She is fighting to keep her eyes from closing. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if she wanted to go to bed NOW, but I kind of think she won't, just from sheer stubbornness. One more hour before I get to follow her to the bathroom and then settle her into bed. When she does go to bed, I'm heading upstairs in search of that elusive marriage certificate!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 30

G'day.

It's Tuesday morning. Saw the majestic Taj Mahal yesterday. Amazing is all I can say. Traveling to another destination today.

Infrastructure on place or not, I can afford an EV so end of discussion. I can barely afford my car insurance now.

Hope you have a nice evening.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 30

Tweety said:

Infrastructure on place or not, I can afford an EV so end of discussion. I can barely afford my car insurance now.

Same here!