Wednesday What if.....

[Nancy]

Movie Choice #2 a western.
I have cooked up sausage for the stuffing and chili h. Has tummy issues so changing that.
Hens are out for some free range time.
s2s done.
Jell-O is mixed up and setting up now.
Time to think about the rest of my day.
Waving to everyone wishing you a happy turkey day eve!

[Lady Maverick]

Calgon take me away.....

Plumber is here .....THANKFULLY. This morning water started coming out of the side of our main toilet. DH is maxed out but he said he would try to break loose and get it fixed (suspect a wax ring replacement is needed). I thought the chances were slim of getting our one-and-only local plumber to come today, but I called and asked his wife. She was kindhearted and said she would send him over. When I told him that I was surprised that he was working today, he said with a smile that he told him wife to not answer the phone anymore today!

DH came and took the kids with him while the plumber is working. They were so interested in what the plumber was doing that they were a bit too much help!

Today is day #5 of DGD3 being with us. This morning LO declared that "having a sister is hard work!". He isn't used to sharing everything all the time.

DD still has not told us when she is coming to get DGD3. DGS17 will be with us on Thanksgiving (tomorrow). I am hopeful DD will spend some time with DGS17 when she comes.

DGS17 takes the ACT test next week for the first time. He is really nervous about it. We got him a TI-84 a couple weeks ago so he could practice & get ready. Taking ACT/SAT test is normal for most students but is W-A-A-Y out of norm for his family. No one.....I repeat no one....on his Dad's side of the family has ever finished high school. Not his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins......everyone quit high school....even his older brother quit. DGS17 is really going far out of their norm to actually finish school (and taking AP classes). Going to college is breaking the glass ceiling in his paternal family! I am so hopeful DGS17 will remain strong will break that side of his family education tradition. I hope he does well on ACT test so he doesn't get discouraged. We have talked several times about taking it until he gets the score he wants. He knows this isn't the only time he can take the test (he is a junior).

[Lady Maverick]

Plumber is done. Bill was a grand total of $46!! I was a bit shocked. $2 for bolts. $4 for wax ring. $40 for service. I don't think he charges enough and told him that! I suspect there aren't many licensed plumbers that make house call in the country & work on holiday week for that cheap.

I'm going to call DH and see if he wants eat Subway for lunch. I'm out of sync with having meals ready.

[Lilac]

I called the insurance gal at 11 and she was on the other line and would call back in 10 minutes. So far I haven't heard from her. I am going to wait a few more minutes and go run 4 quick errands. They close for an hour at noon but Monday she told me she only took a 20 minute break. This way I will be back and available after their normal lunch hour.

Sorry to keep whining about this frustration...............

[Harmony]

Lilac, your insurance gal is probably doing what my DH has been doing today, working like crazy trying to tie up all loose ends before we take a couple days off. It can get tough.

Lady M, that is a great plumber!

I am running from one thing to another. 2 LOL done. Granola bars made to take up with us. Last paperwork done, proposals for DH. He has been out to see 2 jobs today and he took the car with him to gas up. Called DSMiL to wish her happy thanks. It's her first holiday without DFiL. She is very emotional.

Packages all wrapped, cards signed. I colored my hair and eyebrows first thing this morning. Have heat rollers in. I need to tidy up a few rooms and unload dishwasher. I still need to pack...and I'm running out of time!

Yikes! (I'm sorta jealous of Kathryn with all her work behind her!)

Anyway, y'all have a wonderful holiday and I want to tell everyone I'm very thankful for my internet friends.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Dd came and had her lunch here (she brings her own.) While she was here Surfer Dude called from Germany (you'll recall he's an honorary nephew.) He's just got a new job and will be working in both Germany and Tanzania on a solar power project. It sounds really exciting!

I walked dd to the bus and then on to the grocery store. Bought 10 lbs of carrots, 3 lbs of meat, 2 tins of canned milk, plus cereal. Had the backpack and managed to walk home slowly. There was an elderly lady walking along as well and my pace was the same as hers so I struck up a conversation rather than walk a few feet from her the whole say. She was loaded down with a gallon of milk, eggs and other items. I offered to carry the milk (I had a free hand) but she said it was more work to hand it over and take it back from me! Turns out she's 90 and still walking for her groceries but often forgets she can't easily carry as much as she used to!

I need to hand up laundry to dry and then get working on my sermon. We are going out for dinner tonight and then I'll run errands while dh is off at choir practice.

[Elizabeth]

Hi everyone! I am waiting for a LOOOOOOOOOONG query to run, so I will post here. I had a major change in my Thanksgiving plans: my widowed as of last week friend wanted people to go out to eat with her. I actually enjoy cooking and eating Thanksgiving dinner for myself, I think it is more important that I go with her. We will be at a casino, but none of us gambles! I will still cook my own turkey, dressing, and rice pilaf, but it may not be on the traditional day. I was counting on leftovers for work lunches, so I still need to do it. I had nothing in the fridge for today, so am eating at the Chinese place across the street. Food is pretty good but not stellar. However, it is exceptionally CHEAP.

My Bible study friend's web work is easy in principle, but difficult in execution. The source code is on a host computer belonging to the person/company he purchased it from. This person/company has disappeared off the face of the earth! It could be rehosted to his GoDaddy account, but would need a redesign. I can get to readonly copies of the source, along with all the photos, backgrounds, etc. However, his GD account only allows 5 pages and it is much more. Things like book excerpts could be converted to PDF files instead of pages. Potential for significant work!

I am COLD in my office, but at least I am not getting cold air blowing from the vent right now. I reported that. I have had heat only one day since I have worked here, and ever since, only received cold air. The thermostat (located in coworkers office is set to warmest setting).

I always joked to my physics graduate student friends that our lives were a sitcom. I wish I had copy written the idea. I could be raking in the royalties from Big Bang Theory. (I never thought anyone would actually WATCH it though!)

Query is done, back to payroll.

[FelineFriend]

LadyMaverick , The last time we had a plumber out, he checked underneath all cabinet sinks, to make sure there were no leaks. He replaced the hot water thermostat. Then, our home is only 10 years old, so when it was about 7 years old, (when the plumber came), we had a leaking faucet in the kitchen, there was a broken part, and it's one of those fancy-smancy goose-neck faucets with an inner hose, which can come out, to spray the sink out, then the hose hooks back in. It cost us well over $300 for replacing the faucet, having him put it in, etc.... So yes, plumbers cost a LOT! We didn't expect that charge, but it was wonderful to get the faucet fixed and replaced.

(((DBlessedw2))), Sorry about your diet and house.

I just wrote one of those "olden-days" Seal-a-Note things. They're one sheet of lightweight cardboard, which has a nice design on the cover, a spot for the postage stamp, the addresses "to" and "from". It folds closed into one 'envelope', to ship in the mail. I used up my very last one, but.... I've seen where people can take card stock, rubber stamp designs on it, and use an 8.5" x 11" size, to fold down into a legal size envelope shape, for a letter. You can tape them closed, use a sealer, or whatever. Also, I've seen where people cut up calendars, to make envelopes. They put the address on a clear label or write it on a solid color paper, to tape in the middle outside of the photo envelope. It's so festive to do this, to treat others, to make mail a real surprise, treasure-pleasure to receive.

DH started the DW. I wrote a pen pal, I made the bed, put dirty LOL in the utility basket, and will do LOL after the DW is done. I have dusting, dust mopping, bathrooms to do, but DH will help, too. He said he'll do the dining room china cabinet for me, too, which is "SUPER" nice of him to! I D2S this a.m. after freshening up good, will shower/shampoo this afternoon - evening. Want to polish my fingernails red, to go with my outfit tomorrow, too. I rarely do them, but feel a "festive pampering" coming on!

It's dry here, for now, the sun's trying to peep out, Thanksgiving will be on and off showers, with showers on Friday, too. The weekend will be clear and very cool. We're having wonderful weather here, on the West Coast, and the morning news said that I-5 from the Canadian-WA border way down to the Mexico border is DRY! We're so fortunate! So many of my pen pals, family, and email pals have terrible weather today! I sure feel for them, but we, too, have been known (in the past) for Thanksgiving storms, with power outages, and there are stories about people BBQ-ing their turkeys on the patio, for their dinner!

Good luck, getting everything ready for Thanksgiving, for those of you hosting in your own homes! For those of you, who are traveling, hoping the traffic flow is good and that your weather's not too bad. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

[helia]

It doesn't feel like I've done much, but I have finished my computer tasks so it feels good to have that done. I have emailed dsil a long chatty email, emailed moms group leaders re: potluck, and ordered a magazine I'd like to use with my students/tutees. I've also had some lunch and put together my short list for Target. I'm mainly going there for dog food.

I'm proud of your dgs17, and I don't even know him, LadyM! I love learning and would love for everyone to have the opportunity to go to college, if they so desire. My mother grew up in SW Kansas and was the first person in her family to go to college - or maybe complete college - I think my uncle did 1 year. When she continued on to grad school out east (Illinois!) afterward, her family just about hit the roof, she was so far from the family norm. . . . But I think they came to appreciate her education in the years that followed. I too hope that dgs17 perseveres and is encouraged by his ACT score and goes on to college. ACT scores these days are much higher than when I took it. I saw a conversion chart once; you add 3 points to your score from about 30 years ago, about when I took it, to get a modern equivalent score. Yes, he can take it several times, if that helps him relax when he takes it. I don't know if they've changed the rules about reporting scores, but when dd19 took it - or maybe it was ds? - you could choose which sub-scores to report, so you could mix and match your best scores between exams. That may be different now, though. . .

We've typically had sticker shock when our plumber comes to do work here. That's great, LadyM.

Oh, harmony, I've missed where you're off to. I hope it will be a fun trip for you! You sound like you have many things together.

I'm off to Target. Not so exciting but it will be good to get that done. Pepper and Maia will appreciate having food again.

[FelineFriend]

Helia, I'm assuming that Pepper and Maia are pets. Are they cats or dogs? Also, is Pepper black and white? Or just grey or black? It's an adorable name and Maia's name is so beautiful! Where did you get it? Do you know its meaning? I love to know about new names, for characters or pets, in short stories. I'm always on the 'look-out', although some names get changed, prior to publication.

I'd better run to use my QVAR, get busy again, so I'm doing MY part, to help DH out, because there ARE TWO LIVING HERE!!!!! He's such a good man, to help, and I don't want to take advantage of his kind heart.

So I'm off and running now.....