Re: un decorating…tried a crazy neat trick this year…wrapped the decorated tree in Saran Wrap and put it in a closet…we’ll see how it looks next year
The wrapping was comical but certainly faster than the alternative.
Mcson’s first night home in a while as he’d stayed downtown at a friends both Friday and Sat. I finally asked him if he was feeling weird about sleeping in his poolhouse apt (b/c they had shared all that furniture when they’d lived together) and he admitted that was playing a role. I suggested he spend a few nights in one of the guest rooms but he was determined to reclaim his bed. He did laundry into the wee hours and.i suspect was hoping exhaustion would make it easier. This is so hard to watch ;(
Sending Mcson hugs. Poor guy. It was a year ago that D1’s marriage ended so I understand what you must be feeling.
Hoping all who aren’t feeling well have a chance to heal this week. Hospitals here are filled to capacity with flu patients so take care of yourselves!
It is about -30 with wind chill this morning. Brrrr… Hoping to stay home most of the day but do need to run out for some groceries. Did I mention I got a new car for Christmas? It has a remote start so I can get it warm before I leave the house. Love the seat warmers, too!
H and I went to see Unbroken over the weekend. I really liked it but wish they would have told the last part of the story. H said he was glad I told him to finish the book before seeing the movie.
Holiday decorations are packed away and entertaining done. I stayed in my pajamas all day yesterday as I finished cleaning and then relaxed.
Caught up on boysxthree caringbridge site. Glad to read that she is battling through setbacks and making strides towards recovery. Sending prayers for strength and healing to her.
Z…what a fun gift! Good luck with the horseback lessons!
Morning all. Woke up on Jan. 1st to no internet from home so haven’t been reading of posting. They finally came yesterday to fix it. Of course the issue was at the office which is what we tried to tell them. All it took was re-seating a card - and my H being a pain and emailing the VP or service to actually get someone to look at it. Decorations are put away and the house is back to it’s normal state. S came over now that their tree is out as well and picked up the cradle that H made so that is out of the house as well. Still awaiting that baby though. She was 2.5 centimeters dilated 2 weeks ago but the baby must not want to deal with the cold weather because nothing sense. Due date isn’t until today but the drs. indication that it was probably going to be a Dec. baby was off. Hope everyone is on the mend! Stay warm. We are anticipating the next 3 days are going to be bitterly cold in my neck of the woods. H is recovering from surgery and driving me nuts. I’m not used to him always being around and being that he usually exercises 2.5 hours a day and he can’t right now (okay he is walking a bit on the treadmill - not sure he is supposed to but he’s doing it) and it’s making him batty!
I am at the airport on my way to Memphis for the week. Tree is still up so I’ll see if it’s waiting for me when I get home Friday!
Had a nice visit with D. Her flight last night was delayed so she didn’t get home until 2:30 am today. She is working today and is attending a social event afterwards so it could be a long day!
DTE - I have my students use the Purdue University OWL (Online Writing Lab). It is by far the best APA style reference guide I have ever found… and I’m a stickler for APA. Accurate, user-friendly and very accessible.
The sample paper in the menu will take you through the steps of citation for every possible source out there - I love it!
^^^^ I had the same thought, Zetesis! H and I are die-hard New Englanders – the idea of an artificial tree is somewhat blasphemous. (Although, the older I get the more appealing the idea …)
Back in July I postponed Jury Duty since my date to appear was during our week at family camp. H had the bright idea that right after the New Year things would be very slow, so I should request that as my new date since I probably wouldn’t be needed. Even though I had all my fingers and toes crossed when I called the Juror Hotline yesterday, my number didn’t come up – meaning I do, indeed have to show up this morning. And I had totally forgotten this was a Grand Jury summons. If picked, my commitment will be for 3 months!!! I have no idea pif that means all day every day or what, but H is beside himself since we were hoping to go to FL for a couple of weeks. Is the fact that my brother is an attorney here in MA enough to get me excused? Oh well, nothing to be done but show up and hope they don’t need me … H has an all day meeting today, so I had to arrange for puppy-care. Could be worse, though – I could have gotten summoned for the federal trial getting started in Boston …
KMC the tree thing cracks me up! I once had a repair guy at my house tell me he goes into lots of houses where people never take the Christmas tree down, they just throw a sheet over it. I like the closet idea much better.
I traditionally un-decorate on New Year’s Day but put up less now that the kids are older and I work full time.
I switched to artificial after the “Victorian Xmas disaster” one year where the tree and I nearly ignited.
I’d also started the idiotic tradition of stringing popcorn and cranberries, and given my lack of sewing prowess, could barely wrap gifts for the puncture wounds. Back then I also used only glass ornaments as well. The cats had a blast.
I think the combination of wound-memories gave rise to the dramatic departure in Christmas future …that and the fact that current mch has an aversion to cutting down a tree ever, for any reason. He seems to like trees better than humans…
That said, my artificial tree still has some of the handmade Victorian bows, crocheted angels and snowflakes from those days
Nonetheless, I don’t enjoy decorating it solo, so this year I told the guys, both of whom were mysteriously unavailable the day I wanted to put it up, that it would be the last time I decorated it solo. Hence, the Saran Wrap experiment.
I’m sure the main flaw with the Saran Wrap experiment will be if any strings of lights go out…because to get to them through the layers of ornaments will be a pita next year…the crochet flakes, angels and bows get hung on the back after the lights, then the regular ornaments, so I’m betting the bachelor who came up with the Saran plan didn’t have his tree decorated to the same level…but the idea got me through a particularly busy year, so we’ll see
CBBB, it used to be the case that many excuses would work. Having a brother who is a criminal attorney might get you out (but I doubt civil practice would be considered relevant), but many other things don’t. In principle, most attorneys do not like highly educated jurors as they find them less manipulable. I’ve never been chosen but I would probably be happy to do a short one. Three months, not so much.
whenever I go to be chosen they don’t choose me. Not sure why. Perhaps because my husband is an attorney. I don’t know if they like nurses either.
Still not so well, going to the doc tomorrow. This is hard when you have an active job, and cant make it through. Just no energy. at all.
I am starting new eating /detox with Shaw’s SIL she is quite the person and really helps people.I felt amazing last year when I did it. although I was evil for a week detoxing from sugar.
I got an A- in my class. You have no idea how proud I am . The minus I will take, for a person who had to relearn tings, how to study, overcome some memorizing issues. My instructor was amazing, I am sure Shaw D knows who I am talking about, and was really about helping us to learn. Like our Woody.
Woody thanks for the advice. I never used this in school. I don’t think, Of course I used a typewriter too.
With the hindsight of my age, I feel so bad for the kids who are dealing with breakups. But knowing how life can test you wonder, if its for the best. There are some lovely girls at work, who struggle meeting nice guys, and sometimes I think they put up with less than stellar behavior. If it isn’t optimal form the start… I was watching the bachelor with my daughter, made me cringe. IDK just want everyone to be happy
I’ve never even thought about the process for choosing members of a grand jury. There is not a particular set of attorneys who are choosing a jury for a particular case, so the process must be different. I’ve never been chosen for a jury panel, but I think it’s more that they don’t know what to make of me from my questionnaire (Is she liberal? Is she conservative?). I know quite a few attorneys who have served on juries and it’s usually not a good idea. I think the other jurors look to the attorney juror for legal advice and/or give deference to their opinion when they shouldn’t.
My house is still an incredible mess. We may have a bit of a standoff, as there are three able bodied adults at home all day and I really really don’t want to come home from work for the “second shift.”
A friend and I are giving another friend a 60th birthday brunch this weekend. The “60th Birthday Party” ideas online give the impression that 60 is a half a step away from The Home. (We settled on a Baby Boomer theme.)
I am feeling a bit down today. I have been doing well on my “get more sleep” resolution, but I don’t seem to feel any more awake after 7 hours than I do after 6. Also, it is still such a steep learning curve at my corporate placement. I just want to feel like I have mastered some part of it!
Hugs to your son, Kmc!
I think I have committed to taking my mom and her best friend on a beach vacation.
All’s well that ends well – I wasn’t needed for the Grand Jury. The lottery gods were looking out for me – my juror number was 152 out of about 155 - 160 potentials. Thank goodness! The judge explained the whole process before the 1 on 1 questioning started – it would be 3-4 days a week for 3 months. Yikes! Talk about a disruption in your life! She also explained that she isn’t swayed by most excuses that people try to give her. (I’m sure she’s heard them all.) I really didn’t have any excuses, so my high number was key. Anyway, now I’m off the hook for 3 years.
I have been seated on a Grand Jury and a trial jury. My grad degree is in Criminal Justice so I was surprised to be seated! The main charge was attempted homicide during a drug buy. It was very interesting. I was glad I had some technical knowledge to review evidence. The defendant was found not guilty of the big charge but was found guilty of lower charges. Thank heavens I knew a few things to dispute the way things happened. I hope if I ever get charged with a crime I don’t have a jury filled with senior citizens who were sure that the defendant was guilty because he used drugs.
D was just called for jury duty here, where she doesn’t live. No DL in this state, no voter registration here, no car registered here. I wonder what lists they’re using?
^a very old database? NSA records of her email that track her movements? I’m guessing #1 because #2 suggests a level of organization I’m pretty certain, despite conspiracy theorists, doesn’t exist
NM, I can see why you were picked (nuanced charges - both sides would be looking for a grasp of justice)) but like to think maybe they heard about your snacks prowess
DTE, congratulations on a successful return to school. I think I know who the teacher is. ShawD and one of the other speakers at the pinning ceremony specifically thanked one teacher as inspiring. Apparently, she would ask her students to “think like a nurse.” ShawD would say, "I don’t always know how to think like a nurse, but in those situations, I ask myself “What would XXX do?” and thanked her for being a great teacher and an inspirational role model. She was ShawD’s undergraduate advisor as well. I’m glad you had her.
Great that your are working with my SIL. I hope that you start to feel better.
dte- Congratulations! I have such admiration for you going back to school with working and other things going on in your life. You are awesome.
Can 4 inches of snow cause major havoc? (question to those of you in the northern part of the country). Answer yes, if it is DC area , the schools stay open and VDOT does NO plowing/salting/sanding even on major roads. My normal 20 minute commute was 2.5 hours yesterday. Not a great start to my day.
Hope everyone is on the mend! Stay warm. We are anticipating the next 3 days are going to be bitterly cold in my neck of the woods. H is recovering from surgery and driving me nuts. I’m not used to him always being around and being that he usually exercises 2.5 hours a day and he can’t right now (okay he is walking a bit on the treadmill - not sure he is supposed to but he’s doing it) and it’s making him batty!