random thoughts – Day 2,198 (Tuesday) – fixin' to start

It was another lightly snow dusted morning, and once again it melted off by midday. The forecast for tomorrow is 51 degrees and 65 for Thursday, so maybe spring is fixin' to start acting like spring a bit more and that is something to look forward to.

A trip to the grocery store for green grapes and grape tomatoes was partially successful. There were just a few bunches of grapes left and they didn’t look great, but the tomatoes were good. And so did the crackers, New York Cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt, half-and-half, and a few other items in another example of overachieving.

Fixin' to sew.

The afternoon saw time dedicated to beginning a new black and gold stretchy top for the June dance show and the dining table is now officially covered in fabric and tissue. The pattern pieces were cut apart today and tomorrow the layout onto the fabric will begin. And maybe the sewing.

The top should be a quick project. My favorite lesson from production operations management class in grad school is: “Do the quick jobs first.” That way, they can come out of the queue and move to the next step. Turns out it works well in non-work scenarios as well. So, I'm fixin' to start the top that requires one yard of fabric and three pattern pieces. Once made, the thrill of success will propel me to start the skirt with the 25-yard ruffle on the bottom. Easy peasy.

random thoughts – Day 2,197 (Monday) – spring snow and cooking

Morning dusting.

Another ripple of spring snow rolled in and this morning the yards looked like a batch of pastries or candies covered with powdered sugar. It was pretty. By afternoon, the snow had melted off the lawns, just in time for snow to start falling again.

It was a quiet day at the house with no commitments on the calendar for most of the day The litter box was cleaned and the trash went out to the curb. The coin belt cleaned the other day was touched up and loose rings were tightened.

Fresh baked quiche.

A crustless quiche was made with American and sharp cheddar cheese, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, and mushroom because on gray weather days I seem to be inspired to cook. This works because regardless of the weather, unless I am ill, I am nearly always inspired to eat. 

Unfortunately, the inspiration to eat is not always accompanied by the wisest, healthiest dining and snacking choices. Today’s wise, healthy snacks of grape tomatoes and green grapes were later offset by my ravaging of the rest of the Devil Dogs. To make myself feel better, I chocked it up to “balance” and resolved to try to do better tomorrow. It will require a trip to the grocery store to restock both the grape tomatoes and the green grapes, which has the dangerous potential to become a much larger shop.

random thoughts – Day 2,196 (Sunday) – rodeo party

It was an off-week for dance group which worked out great for me as I had a family event to attend. Baby G turned one year old the other day and there was a rodeo themed party in his honor starting at noon. 

It was great to be around family, extended family, and friends, some of whom I hadn't seen since a couple years ago at the wedding. A photo wall featured pictures of Baby G and milestones of his first year. Eight teeth! Favorite music is the theme to Law and Order. This wee lad is fascinating!

The rental hall looked great with tables set with wood and cow print layered table cloths, centerpieces, western hats, rodeo/western themed word search puzzle, and adorable little favor bags with a sticker featuring Baby G in western garb, a horseshoe pin, and a cute cow. 

The star of the day was attired in jeans and a shirt printed with his name and age. Some of the guests dressed to the rodeo theme with western boots, hats, fringe, and denim jeans and jackets, and there were plenty of hats planted around the room for anyone who wanted one. I dug out the bolo tie and a big belt buckle with a longhorn steer on it which I forgot was even in my collection of big belt buckles. It was once my wish to find a platter-sized rodeo prize buckle in a thrift shop to be the crowning piece in the collection, but finally lost interest in the search. Today was the first time in a decade I even thought about the buckles I used to wear all the time. 

Snack bowls featured Chicken Feed (Chex mix), Hay Bales (Rice Krispie bars), and Bugles that had a thematic name I have forgotten. The catering was delicious with salads, fries, and burger sliders, all with thematic menu names. 

We all gathered around the high chair and sang the birthday song to Baby G and he tore into a cupcake. I imagined what it must have looked like from Baby G's perspective with a room full of giants staring at him and singing out of tune and then laughing. It seemed like the seeds of a nightmare. After that, I tore into a cupcake topped with the rich and creamy frosting that I love.

Birthday boy.

The guest of honor made the rounds in parental arms throughout the day and visited with all the guests with a big smile. He smiled all day, and even when he got fussy, it lasted barely a minute and then he was back to beaming. 

After a couple hours of socializing, Baby G was zonked out asleep on his beautiful Mama’s shoulder. I get it little guy, socializing is exhausting. And napping is wonderful.

Happy birthday Baby G, it was great to party with you!

random thoughts – Day 2,195 (Saturday) – winner of a day

The postal service alert for the morning indicated a package was arriving. This was a surprise, because I hadn’t ordered anything and the automatic shipments for Kiki’s treats, food, and pellet litter aren’t due for weeks. I had no idea what it might be and couldn’t wait to find out. I stopped for the mail on the way to the grocery store.

The package was small enough to fit into the mailbox, at least from the backside of the neighborhood post office where the mail person puts the mail in. On the front side with the keylock, due to the framework to attach the door onto the mailbox, the delivered box was one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch larger than the mailbox opening and wouldn’t come out. In the process of trying to extract the box, I tore my coat sleeve on the mailbox door. Then, I skinned a finger trying to maneuver the cardboard box out of the metal box.

It would be highly unusual to take a toolbox to the mailbox or the grocery store, so I was lacking helpful items like a box cutter. Liberating the parcel required crudely tearing the paper tape sealing the box with the mailbox key, pulling off the end of the box, and reaching into to remove packing paper and the contents. Then, I was able to crunch the empty box enough to yank it out of the mailbox. With the right director, timing, and filming angles, it might have had the making of a solid comedy scene. The box contained a thoughtful gift from a friend in another state and was definitely worth the effort to free it from the mail box.

Later in the day, a couple friends and I had dinner at their house. We feasted on salad, curry cous cous and tender chicken that had been marinated in buttermilk, coated, and pan fried. It was delicious. 

After dinner, we went to Greenfield to see "Molten, An Evening of Bellydance and Live Music from the Valley Arabic Music Ensemble." The band had nine musicians playing oud, violin, frame drum, clarinet, accordion, nay (rim blown flute), riq (tambourine), and finger cymbals. The live music shows I’ve seen before had two to four musicians, so this was even more impressive. Before the second act, the musicians had a chance to talk about their instruments and how western notes and instruments differ from Middle Eastern notes and instruments which was interesting. 

There were nine dance performances, mostly solos, and I recognized several dancers by name from social media and others by sight from other shows. They were all experienced dancers who have danced across the country and in some cases, across the world. The costumes were sparkly, vibrant marvels with beading, embroidery, sequins, and tassels. Silk veils floated in the air and costumes shimmered in the lights.

There were beverages and Turkish Delight (pistachio flavor). After hearing of it for ages, it was fun to see what all the Narnia fuss was about and I might have a new favorite sweet. I already located some recipes online, because the Internet is wonderful when it isn't being an overbearing algorithm arse. I'm not saying I will make the stuff, but with a recipe it's at least an option.

This day really had it all. Surprise gifts. Delicious dinner. Belly dancers. Live music. Turkish Delight. Winner, winner, and there really was a chicken dinner.

random thoughts – Day 2,194 (Friday) – spring

Robin on the first day of spring.

The first day of spring rolled in gray and misty, with some gentle rain, and later in the day, a downpour followed by varying intensities of rain. At least it wasn’t snowing. I’m not sure if I expected a sudden explosion of wildflowers or something else dramatic, but it felt a little disappointing. A robin in the back yard had the kindness to stay put long enough for me to go into another room to grab my camera that happens to be a phone and return for pictures. Thank you robin on the first day of spring.

The only trip across the threshold to the outside was to drop some items into the recycle bin and walk to the back of the house to check the new dryer vent which was thankfully still attached to the house and blowing hot air outside like it is supposed to. The laundry is back to needing only 40 minutes to be properly dry and all is well in the laundry room again.

It was the perfect day for old-school comfort food. Today, that meant the boxed macaroni with the powdered cheese, with sliced hot dogs in it. Half of it was lunch. The rest was supper.  It was good.

Cleaned up.

The most productive activity of the day was another date with the Barkeepers Friend and cleaning another coin belt. I like tasks like this with visible results. The cleaning was done in the living room in the late afternoon of the gloomy weather day and it was not the best lighting. While the belt is much improved, daylight may reveal some missed tarnish that needs some extra touchup work, but no worries. I can tackle that when I start one of the next belts in the queue. 

random thoughts – Day 2,193 (Thursday) – hearing

The merger that ended my nine years with a local bank led to more than just the stress of joblessness. The bank hosted an unemployment workshop led by staff from the department of unemployment assistance (DUA). In the workshop, we were advised to open a claim for unemployment benefits on July 1 based on our separation date of June 30, as well as how to document the job search and log the activity certifications. 

I followed the instructions and opened the claim, searched for jobs, and provided the certifications week after week. For months, the status of my certifications was “Pending ... while an issue is resolved.” In mid-September, I called the DUA to ask what the issue was.

In mid-October, at around 15 weeks into the searching and certifying process, 14 deposits landed in my bank account for the benefit payments that had been pending. Two days later, a notification was received that the bank had appealed my unemployment benefits and a hearing would be scheduled. The letter instructed me to “get ready for the appeal hearing” and to be prepared to explain my case.

Without knowing what the reason of the appeal was, it was hard to prepare information and “get ready,” but I gathered the layoff letters from the bank, payment stubs for my final paycheck and severance pay, screen shots of the severance amount and duration questions/answers required to open the claim, copies of my notes from the DUA workshops, and a timeline/index for my 14 uploaded documents. These were uploaded to the system in December.

In February, after my unemployment benefits were exhausted, I called the DUA to ask about the hearing, having heard nothing about it since October. My concern was that not logging into the system for weekly job search certifications could result in missing an update concerning the hearing. A couple weeks later, a notice was received of the hearing date in about a month. That date was today.

This morning, per the instructions I am good at following, at the designated time (10:55), I dialed in for the hearing, typed the event PIN incorrectly, re-entered it correctly, and the automated system informed that there was an estimated wait time of two minutes. Hold music was along the lines of classical Spanish guitar and was a refreshing change from the usual classical piano music. The hold music was remotely familiar, and I flipped through the musical index in my brain.

When the DUA representative came on the line to take attendance, I learned the bank rep that filed the appeal was not on the line and there would be a ten-minute wait for them to log in and the rep got off the line. Back on hold, the delicious music continued and I determined it was the same mood and sound as a composition the dance troupe performed to around 2019. I listened to it and as the clock ticked closer to the expiration of the ten-minute wait, the first notes of the dance music plucked in (Dark Fire by Light Rain). I almost wished the hold had been a few minutes longer.

Even better than the great music, when the DUA rep came on the line for the second attendance check, there was still no bank representative present for the appeal. At 11:11, the DUA rep dismissed the case and said that letters will be sent to that effect. The bank has the opportunity to appeal the dismissal, but for today, it was over. The first thing I did after hanging up was search online for the hold music and listen to it before moving on to other things (like combing through job listings).

random thoughts – Day 2,192 (Wednesday) – solved(ish)

The hardware store was visited this morning and a very helpful worker escorted me to the dryer vent stock. We chatted about my dryer vent being so close to the ground (12"-18") and he offered suggestions for raising it which I may or may not someday execute. I got to see the ginger cat grooming itself atop a box and the black sauntered past me on the way through the store.

Packed.

When I took the screws out and tried to pull the old vent cap off, there was an extensive ring of silver duct tape at the juncture of the cap and the metal part from the inside. I fought it off with the aid of the screw driver. Once liberated, I could see there was about an inch of solidified lint tightly packed against the screen. It was impressive how dense it was. Behind the dense pack was another couple inches of fluffy lint. That part was only a tiny bit icky.

Slightly less simple in real life.

The picture instructions on the box looked straightforward enough, just slip the cap over the metal part and screw it on. It wasn’t that easy. The metal part of the vent seemed a smidge larger than the plastic part and was hard to get them joined. Then, it got trickier. The outer frame is slightly wider on the new cap and the screw holes didn’t match the previous screw holes. The skirting material is sculpted to look like rock and isn't flat so the larger frame of the vent didn't sit flush. Ugh. 

It was cold out (in the 30s), and as my quick swap out project blossomed into a lengthier project, I just wanted it to be done. The idea of it being done well was rapidly slipping away as a requirement. Two screws were set in the existing holes and two screws were at screwy angles to reach the other existing holes and a bunch of duct tape was used around the frame to cover gaps. When it’s warmer out there will be a proper redo.