Aiming for the GHGs (Official)

[newmoose]

Good morning!

We drove through torrential rain to get here, but it is now gone and the rest of the weekend looks good.

We went to our favorite (the only place we've eaten here, haha!) restaurant before heading to the festival. I got a delicious veggie burger, mostly black beans, with sweet potato salad. I love regular potato salad, and this made with sweet potatoes was really good. I am going to see if I can replicate it.

Off to get lunch and to the festival.

Have a great day!!!

[gadgetgirlil]

Hello long weekend!

I had a good meeting with my financial guy yesterday morning. I have a plan for how I will start taking distributions next summer when my salary stops. Of course, tax planning will be more complicated for 2024 and 2025 with all the changes going on. DH started drawing his SS this year and goes on Medicare in September so that will change 2024. Then I will have my changes in 2025. By 2026 I should have it all figured out as to what quarterly tax payments actually need to be. Good thing I am a CPA! All the years of maximizing my deferred compensation are paying off nicely as is one of the investment vehicles my financial guy recommended several years ago when I was consolidating my old 401K. I don't feel like I am taking a penalty for stopping work a year early and having to pay my own health insurance for a year. Nor is waiting until full retirement age (67) to start taking social security going to cause issues. Someone who was retiring this year wrote in an email she sent out to the university community that "you will know when it is the right time to retire". I am at that point now. This decision feels good and I'm not second guessing myself.

Next up was a trip to the nursery. I got the same flowers, Angelonia aka summer snapdragon, for my pots as last summer since they handled the full sun and drier conditions well. The lady who helped me suggested that it would be less expensive to get the flat instead of the individual pots so that is what I did. Then we talked about my trouble area under the spruce. I went with Sweet Woodruff which is very tolerant of a wide range of conditions and prefers shade. Got 34 little plants as I have a large area under that spruce. I spent over $300 at the nursery, yikes! Came home and got the Angelonia planted and a few of the Sweet Woodruff before a storm line moved through. Realized that I would need another trip to the store for topsoil as it was hard to dig holes under the spruce.

Next up was a trip to the laundromat as my comforter was due for a wash. Grabbed some other things to maximize the use of the big front loader. After the laundry was done, I stopped and got 8 bags of topsoil and another 6 bags of mulch. Came home and got the rest of the plants in the ground. Got topsoil around all of them. Pulled a bunch of weeds and gave them some water. I need to do more weeding before I spread the mulch. I think I can fit that in tomorrow before the rain starts. I was beat by the time all of this was done and my car smells like mulch.

The cicadas are everywhere, even on the post of our mailbox, but they left me alone while I was working under the spruce even though I could see them on some of the weeks as well as the trunk of the tree. There are areas I weeded Wednesday that I wouldn't be able to work in now so I'm glad that I spent nearly all day outside.

Today I'm going for a long walk as I have a hike-a-thon (14.5 miles) next Saturday up in Wisconsin. Then we are going to our friends for Chinese takeout food and conversation!

Have a great day!

[pepper]

Howdy!

Yesterday my boss told me about his friend Erik Kristensen from the Naval Academy. There’s a book and movie about the battle he was killed in. It’s free on Kindle Unlimited right now www.amazon.com/Lone-Survivor-Eyewitness-Account-Operation-ebook/dp/B000QRIGLC.

I think today is going to be a baking day. I want to make the apple fritter bread I mentioned before, and some English muffins. Earlier this morning I started the process of making a sourdough loaf because I’m still trying to perfect that. (It’s a long process, but most of that is letting it sit.)

I had high hopes of taking a yoga class today and doing volunteer work at the garden, but I’m feeling tired and blah. No likey the tired and blah feeling.

I hope you all have a good day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
We slept in and it was still nice enough for the "long walk". Yesterday was nice visiting with a friend for lunch. Today has nothing (but work) planned....boo hiss

[newmoose]

Happy Saturday!

Well, the weather played a trick on us yesterday and poured and poured. We had not gotten to the festival yet, thank goodness. My Merrills are going to need a good hosing off when we get home. There is so much mud on them. I have my older pair here, but there is no need to have two pairs of muddy shoes. The sun should help some places dry out, but under the big tents will just stay swampy until they take things down.

I heard some new to me music and loved it all. Cory Wong is an amazing musician, and his band is great too. I am a sucker for a band with a horn section. Today we will see many new to us bands, as well as some of our longtime favorites (Jim Lauderdale is one of these.)

Off to eat before festing!

Have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

Greetings!

It was a delightful morning to get out and walk. 9.5 miles. Pleasantly cool at the start and a nice breeze when it started to get a bit warmer. Then I got a shower and we went over to our friends for lunch. It was nice to get caught up since we hadn't seen them since March.

Today I will finish weeding under that big spruce in our front yard and get the mulch spread before the rain starts. That will be the last of the yard work until the cicadas have gone back into the ground. Our yard will never be featured in House & Garden but it makes me happy and that is all that matters. I still have another problem area in the back corner of our lot where the big utility box is. I've been making some progress over the past couple of years by getting some invasive trees/bushes out of there but I still need to figure out a long term solution but that can wait until 2025.

Tomorrow will be a bike ride with the friend I rode with last weekend. He came up with a route and I made some corrections as the west part of the route is where I've ridden frequently and know which roads I like to avoid as well as where the traffic signals are to get across major roads.

Have a great day!

[V]

Morning.

Yesterday we left town at 0530 to get to the Bill Snyder Half & 5k. We were right on time for the start of the race after picking up our packets. No one was in a mood to worry about PR's so it was a nice mellow jog through Manhappiness, Kansas that ended just 20 min before the Half winner arrived. I wasn't DFL or DNF, so yay. We went to a breakfast place where CSO & her son, who was orig registered for the half but scaled back to the 5k, could both eat around our various allergies. 'Twas lovely and filling.

When I got home I dragged YMV out with me and we started on the last unpainted wall. MG power washed the downspouts he had removed now that the birds are all fledged and gone. I got the highest peak and a significant portion of the wall done before MG warned me that rain was coming. I plan to get the trim near the downspouts done today so that they can be reinstalled. Once they are back on and the wall is finished, I will start on the eaves and MG can look to putting the siding on the back shed. More painting back there when it is done and then staining the front shed, which is in much better condition and can wait. I haven't heard back yet from the contractor about how much or when he will get to the deck. So that part is definitely in limbo. The financing is secured and all that I need to do is let them know when to put money in my account as I need it. That is a relief at least.

My legs are a bruised mess from standing against the ladder and my arms and elbows are sore from the exertion. I just wanna sleep for a week. But I'm at work putting out fires. I don't see me being particularly "go-getter" today.

Have a good one!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
We slept in again....can't seem to get to sleep at my usual reasonable time....Nice enough for a nice long walk....while searching out shade. Nice that this is a heavily shaded neighborhood. 3 dog baths and 3 sets of teeth today. Also need their nails done, but it such a horrendous task. They go berserk at the little clippers...but are semi ok with the nail grinder with all of that noise -- WTF?

[pepper]

Howdy!

Our heat index got up to 119° yesterday. Fun times!

Mom and I are about to head out for pedicures. That’s my big outing for the day because 119°.

Make it a good one!

[newmoose]

Quick check in to see how everyone is doing.

The music was ok yesterday, but not as good as the two previous days. I am really looking forward to today's lineup.

Have a great Sunday!

[gadgetgirlil]

Greetings!

I plan to be departing on my bike trip one week from today! I spent more time figuring out distances between possible overnights yesterday. I've made a couple of reservations that can be changed/cancelled if necessary. I'll hold off on the remaining nights until it gets closer. I got the bags on my bike, finally, last night. Today after my ride I will start tracking down all my gear. I can pre-pack some things but other items, like toiletries, will have to be done next Monday. But I do have my list from last year so all will be fine. It does help that this is the third time I've done this and that I'm also not changing bags this year. The only real change is that the inhaler for my asthma doubled in size since the original medication I was on was discontinued by the manufacturer at the end of 2023. But I had a little bit of space remaining thanks to the switch in the rear seat bag.

It is good my DH pays closer attention to the weather radar than I do. I had looked yesterday at 5am and it appeared that the rain wouldn't start until 10am. Um, well they got that wrong. Around 7:15am he told me it was raining 2 suburbs to the west. So I got outside and did about 95% of the weeding I wanted to do and got the mulch spread. It was raining as I put down the last bag around 8:10am. Then it rained for hours. Which was fine since it will help all my new plantings get established.

I finished up my indoor chores and got over to the fitness center to workout. Then it was to Costco, which was crazy busy, for a couple of things. Then trip planning and catching up on financial paperwork.

Today is a 50 mile bike ride with my friend. Looking forward seeing him again. I'll ride with my other friend either on Wednesday or Thursday. I'm going into this bike trip a little undertrained as compared to prior years. But it isn't a race so I will be fine.

V - thanks for the utility box ideas! I actually have a few cornflowers that I planted last year by the box and am hoping they will start to multiply. I will have to do a lot of work to clear out weeds on the other sides of the box as well as put down some topsoil. That will be a project for next year but I will keep an eye out for the end of season sale at my favorite nursery to see what other plants I can pick up.

Have a great day!

[V]

Morning.

I got the trim done near the downspouts after work yesterday. Then I quit. I was just D.O.N.E. MG got one of the four reinstalled and said that he should be able to install the other 3 more easily with what he learned doing the one (which means it was a PITA to put up in MGspeak). The last wall should be finished off today. Then I start on the eaves while YMV takes a roller to work on the second coat. I do have to watch his work so there aren't unattended drips, but the parts he has done so far are more than adequate. Switching from the brush to a roller will be faster, but also more prone to splatters as he will be tempted to go faster. I am switching from a brush to a pad applicator for the soffits. I have used one in the past on interior walls and hope that the texture of the soffits makes application just as easy.

I went to yoga and there was a new girl there with us. It was just me, her, and the yoga friend/instructor so we had an easy round and chatted a lot during. Our small Snarky Yoga private group class allows for us to bitch, break into song ("♪♪Hurts so good♪♫"), or just chat. The new girl fits in well with our general vibe and we laughed a lot.

I stopped by Mom's on the way home and Bro and SIL were there visiting along with their "puppy" a full size poodle or water dog (like Obama's) or something like that. Sweet puppy but poorly trained so far. And still very much a puppy. I showed off the pix of the house progress and Mom & Dad came over around 9 to look at it in person. I accused them of only coming over when it was too dark to help. They did not deny it.

I hope you all have a meaningful Memorial Day remembering those lost while celebrating with those we still have.

[pepper]

Howdy for the oven that is Texas!

The actual temperature is supposed to hit 103° today. I don’t even want to think about what the heat index will be. This weather should blow out of here in the next couple of days and we’ll get back to normal, which is about 10 degrees cooler. The heat wave sure screwed up the weekend.

I’m heading to the community garden as soon as I finish coffee. I need to do some meal planning and grocery shopping later.

I turned my Match profile back on yesterday. The first guy I chatted with told me his full name, so I ran my usual background check. He has only been divorced a couple of months, and also has two DUIs on his record. Match has become a cesspool, I swear. I’m going to turn that off and try eHarmony. They charge more, but hopefully that will weed out at least some of the creeps.

Have a great day!

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
Hot here too. Yesterday was some chauffeuring and Target shopping and Aldi's. Today will be up for grabs.

[newmoose]

Good morning!

We had a great time yesterday, but it (I) got too hot and storms were coming in. We left and went to get dinner at a restaurant. Once we got back to the motel, the storms hit hard.

We are meeting a dear friend for lunch today. I have known him longer than I have known DH!

I am looking forward to getting home and seeing all my babies.

[pepper]

Howdy!

Yesterday was a good day. I did a little bit of volunteering at the community garden — I think I only have half an hour of required volunteer time to do. My tomato plants are absolutely loaded with green tomatoes. Fingers crossed that they ripen. It’s common for them to stop growing, turn red, and become hard little golf ball-like things because of the heat. This week is supposed to be cooler and rainy, so hopefully that will help. Someone at the garden picked a dozen full size butternut squash yesterday. My squash is still itty bitty. My boss’s wife said they’ve been picking squash for a few weeks, and they planted after I did. Pfffft! I’m doing something wrong.

I never did get myself to a movie. Yesterday after gardening I colored my hair, baked bread, grocery shopped, did some meal prep, and took a nap. It was a nice day.  The heat index only got up to 114°. Brrrr. (Insert eyeroll here.)

Bossman is on vacation this week, and he said he’s turning his phone off. Hopefully nothing explodes in my face. 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞 

I need a new avatar. 

Have a great day!

[gadgetgirlil]

Greetings!

Back to campus today. It will either be too warm in our suite because they turned off the AC for the long weekend or it will be cold enough to store meat. I have a spare fleece and a space heater and I'm dressing in layers. I have a meeting with a student and a couple of letters to draft.

Had a nice ride with my friend yesterday, 50.8 miles. It was very windy most of the first part but then we finally had the wind at our backs and the sun came out. He got dive bombed by red winged blackbirds twice. I attracted cicadas. I had one land on my thigh and then a few miles later he saw one on the back of my jacket. They were really loud in the eastern part of our ride as that is all old neighborhoods (Riverside, Brookfield, Hinsdale).

I started pulling out more of my gear and getting some of it packed. I realized that another trip to the store is needed. sherrydorlando2 - I use very small containers for my products as space is at a premium. Every cubic centimeter matters. My goal is to have just enough to get me through the trip so that I'm not carrying unnecessary weight. Your tip is good for my trips via car, though!

Have a great day!

[V]

Morning.

First coat is DONE! I will be starting on the eaves this week. YF & CSO want to get the 10k badge on our challenge and today is the last day to get it. I hope everything works out so that we can get out.

Mopping up at work again this morning. I swear I don't know how New Girl (that has a seniority date of 10 YEARS) functions.

[newmoose]

Good morning!

LAST BUS DUTY EVER IS NOW DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got home to some happy babies. I didn't see Watson when we got home, but that is not unusual. He will appear today, I am sure. He is rather aloof and probably avoids the pet sitter as much as possible.

Today and tomorrow are exam days. Most of my students are exempt from their tests, so it is pretty quiet. The seniors graduated on Friday, so it is all underclassmen that didn't get to exempt today and tomorrow.

I have no idea what food is in my house to eat. I imagine not enough to cook. I vote for going out for dinner, since tomorrow night will be trivia, Thursday is GN, and Friday we are off on another musical adventure.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

[Cyn]

I had a nice long weekend. Sweatshirt weather yesterday and today.
Some good birding sessions in.
Sophia and I had did a long trek on Sat, had naps, a nice happy hour(s) out on my balcony, then moved indoors w her cats.
Mostly quiet for me the rest of the weekend, but got good walks in both days. I found an oriole nest yesterday at South Pond and watched the father fly in and out for awhile.
Going to the fancy pance oil store to buy more meyer lemon infused oil, then I'm making tabouli salad. Also browning a load of ground beef and freezing some packets for pizza topping and making Pepper's Prizewinning Chili with the rest. Perfect tasks for the forecasted rainy afternoon.

[gadgetgirlil]

newmoose I don’t think you are in an area that will see this year’s broods www.fs.usda.gov/foresthealth/docs/CicadaBroodStaticMap.pdf

[sherrydorlando2]

Good Morning Ladies:
Hot even on the am walk. Yesterday was nice lunch with a friend. We were both craving cheese cake so went to Cheesecake Factory....over 40 min wait even tho 2 pm...so we went to PF Changs and it was awesome. Beef with Broccoli and I ate 1/2 and have rest for tonight. then I went home and made us a no-bake cherry cheesecake and we watched Bridgerton. Today is book club at Perkins which usually means pie and tea...but I think I will have some late lunch and keep half for tomorrow. I am down to a new decade and feeling good.

[gadgetgirlil]

Just had to post this now - the university let go half their chemistry faculty and now are trying to get two of those people to teach as adjuncts because we don't have enough remaining faculty to cover the courses that students need. Seriously? You lay someone off to cut costs (higher salary and benefits) only to say "well we really need you so would you work for less than what you could make per hour at Starbucks?". I'm appalled.

Adjunct professors make more at our peer institutions. 

[Cyn]

Re: cicadas. newmoose do you get them every year? I think you might get the same random outliers that are not part of any specific big brood that have tormented me since I moved near the park areas.
Our ground temps haven't been consistently above 64° yet over here, so we've not seen any emergence yet.

[pepper]

Howdy!

Man, I slept well last night! What a nice change.

Boss’s wife was in the office yesterday and spent too much time talking to me. I’ll have to scurry to get caught up today. I like her, but I’ve got stuff to do! (She works there part time.)

Have a great day!