Not That Anyone Should Care

That was quick

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 01:51:20 GMT

We put one of those washlet toilets into the downstairs bathroom as part of the age in place renovations. I wasn't expecting to care about it, but we both got to "what, I have to sit on a cold toilet seat and wipe my own bum like a savage up here?" within days.

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When you have to do the wrong thing

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 18:44:37 GMT

That thing where you are making a doom box, know it's a doom box, know you shouldn't, but don't have a choice because things need to be out of the way of the movers tomorrow
Yeah

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Almost there

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 16:44:58 GMT

Tomorrow we unpack the storage container into the house and have all our stuff inside. I am moving all sorts of stuff around in advance, but I am so excited.

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Vast swaths of carpet

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 20:31:54 GMT

Drat. Months after I bought them in a great Black Friday sale, I just discovered that, yet again, I am unable to visualise stuff and I have 2 rugs that are enormous. One would have been enough. I havent even unwrapped the second, I can see it with just the one. Sigh, maybe I can sell it for cheap. I already checked and it's too late to return by 27 days. For volume of ingredients type stuff I'm brilliant, can get within 1/2 an ounce, but how things fit in a space and I'm no where near as good.

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How to protect your workers from Eater

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 01:15:04 GMT

https://www.eater.com/24364171/ice-immigration-raids-restaurants-know-your-rights-what-to-do

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I got an email that told me my job is over

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 03:05:41 GMT

I work as a data collector for The Nation's Report Card

A coworker said it better than I can

"I am laid off from my work collecting data for the National Center for Education Statistics. The work I have been doing has been done for 6 decades to help us understand the academic achievement of our nations students. Without it, we cannot compare education from state to state.
Elon Musk is not cutting waste, he's cutting essential government work."

And I think the fact that we show how states are doing compared to each other is a big part of it. It shows how badly Republican policies in education affect learning in their states

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In the realm of D'uh

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

here's another contribution from me. Talking with the team lead about my dryer, which is very elderly, and how my appliance guy says there are no more repairs to be done to it, if it borks, I will need to get a new one. There is also another repair I might have him do, and then there is also my ice maker issue. The bar that raises when the container is full and stops the maker from making more ice has broken off. It's a tiny repair, and I am putting off dealing with it until there are more things to repair at once. I have been emptying the container ever night, since it got plumbed in. Team lead looks at me and says "Why not just turn the water off in the basement when you have enough"

Which was frickin' obvious.

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Itching to get moving

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

I am so ready to explode into the new parts of the house. The team lead explained that I can't start putting down rugs and bringing stuff in because we have to wait for the inspectors. Technically we are supposed to wait for occupancy permission. Which is really hard to hear because it all looks ready to go. At least the sink is hooked up so I can wash up, and I'm using the appliances. Electrician needs to come back for one last thing, replacing the plugin for the dryer because he put the wrong kind in(team lead "the machine was right there, FFS") and a couple plumbing things, then we get to wait for the inspector.

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Heavy wet snow and freezing rain

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:37:05 GMT

Good amount of snow out here in central MA, about 5-6", but now we have freezing rain coming down, soaking the snow and this will freeze solid this evening. Get your steps, paths, and cars cleared now, while you can. There was already glazing happening.

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The things that excite me now

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 00:28:16 GMT

A few months ago I said, out loud, "I prefer the way A folds the laundry compared to the other 2 Popln folks we have used. Mark, without missing a beat, responded "Who are you and what the fuck did you do with my wife". He just gave me a look that had the same meaning when I announced I was so excited to do another load of dishes today. I'm on my 4th load of washing everything that has been exposed to building dust or only handwashed for the past few months.

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Stop mansplaining to the menopausal woman who hasn't eaten today

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:16:12 GMT

It's been a long time since someone tried to mansplain me that hard. I was visiting used kitchen supply stores. I started in Worcester, struck out, same in Billerica, meaning I had to go to the one place in NH that I should have started at, but it's a long drive. It probably would have helped if I had eaten something. I walked in and said "I'm looking for a used 3bay, 18"bays, 14" deep". The young guy and the other one next to him were sure there weren't any used ones (this place has 2-3 huge lots outdoors with used stuff) as they had been in the lots that morning. He asks if he should go find out info on a new one. I said sure, and he comes back and an old guy(probably my age, but I'm accepting I'm old) followed young guy. He starts asking me what I want to use it for, where I'm from, starting to get into the differences between NH and MA boards of health, water and gas line issues, and just wouldn't stop talking. Perhaps after the second time a woman says "I know what I want and need" you should shut up. If you really believe I probably don't know and understand everything you are telling me, let it fucking go and let me be wrong. The young guy interrupted him and said he would put together some quotes and options, and email it to me. I suspect the young guy realised I was ready to blow.

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M friend Sharon's excellent snow advice

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 17:17:01 GMT

Taking a break between Step 1 and Step 2 (being able to get the car to the street). So here are "Rules for Shoveling Snow, from a Lake Effect girl."
1. Your primary goal is not shoveling the snow. Your primary goal is not dying. Dress properly (keeping in mind that you'll be warm from the exercise), and make sure you have a hat and gloves.
2. Light, dry, fluffy snow is your friend. Heavy, wet, and frozen snow is your enemy. As much as possible, you want to keep the snow your friend and avoid things that would turn it to your enemy. The things that turn friend snow into enemy snow are a) heat and b) pressure. So, as much as possible, don't step or drive onto unshoveled snow, because the pressure and warmth of your feet or tires will turn it from your friend to your enemy.
3. If snow gets heavy enough, its own weight is enough to turn it from your friend to your enemy. So it behooves you to shovel as quickly as possible after snow falls, even if it's still snowing.
4. Remember that the root word of shovel is "shove." Use the shovel to push the snow out of the way rather than to dig and throw your way out. Think snowplow, not digging a hole. Not only is this easier but it is consistent with Goal #1.
5. As much as possible, clean it right down to the bare pavement. Snow left on the pavement turns into your enemy.
6. When you do have some snow to deposit, think before you dump it. Where's the wind coming from? Where are you going to be shoveling next? Don't put snow there.
7. You really need a metal shovel for this, not a plastic one. Though if the snow is light and fluffy enough, you can use a push broom as well.
8. Slow and steady does it. Take breaks when you start to feel cold. See Goal #1.
9. Clear one section at a time rather than doing a series of skinny ribbons down the driveway. It's much more gratifying to see a clean section. At the same time, don't be stupid about it. Don't waste time clearing sections of driveway you don't need.
10. And have a nice hot drink ready for when you take breaks. What you put in it is up to you.

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6" of snow and a bright sunny day

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 16:59:14 GMT

So, you woke up to a wonderful snow covered day in New England. The sun is out, everything looks like a Christmas card, and it's a Sunday. I highly recommend that you do not blow off clearing snow, especially on your cars, until tomorrow. It's on the warmer side of cold, meaning the snow is almost, but not quite, ready to melt into itself. This means it will freeze into ice over night. You will come out to an ice encrusted car that will be much harder to clear off on Monday morning

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Running ahead of avian flu

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 01:28:25 GMT

I culled 8 out off my 11 hens today. I'm not sad about it, after they stop laying I usually cull and make stock out of them. I would have done this cull soonish, when it's not so cold, but avian flu is all around me. Reports coming in across MA and in the town next to me has 2 cases already. It's not possible to secure my run right now, and little birds run in and out all the time. I have left my bad ass rooster, Buster, and 3 hens to keep him company. I hope he makes it, he killed a hawk to protect his ladies once. Only 2 even had any proto eggs in them, they were over 2 years old and I was only getting 1 egg a day, it was time. Culling now, tho, means I can use them for food. If they got flu they would have to be cleaned out and somehow dealt with safely. Now I have 30# of hen in the freezer to use later.

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Please pick peaches at my house

Sun, 20 Aug 2017 16:12:07 GMT

So, for those who are from far away, or new to my FB friends list, you may be wondering " WTF with all the peaches ,Tamar ?" Let me explain :
About 4 years ago, after eldest headed off for GT, we realised a few things. Youngest would be heading out in a few years, the house was enormous for just 2 people, and there were a lot of things I wanted to do that I couldnt do in Littleton, like have a garden, more chickens, goats, stuff like that. Since I also realised I was going to have to retire from cooking due to my ankle getting worse and worse, I was also going to be out of a job and career, too.So, we started thinking about selling our big house and moving to a smaller one, in a Right to Farm town. About 3 years ago a college friend of Mark's, Bill Caloccia, passed away after a prolonged illness. Bill had a small house on 2 acres in a Right to Farm town, making it perfect for us. The house needed a lot of work, but had good bones, and we could see it working for us eventually.
Bill had a plan to eventually retire from IT security and be a gentleman farmer, and he started planting an orchard. By the time he got ill he had 60 dwarf fruit trees planted. There are plans hanging in a closet that show he wanted to plant about 30 trees more, but didnt get to it. By the time we actually got the house and moved in the orchard hadn't really been tended for 4 years or so. The dwarf trees are not so dwarf anymore.
In New England last year, especially Massachusetts, no one had a good fruit harvest. 2 Weeks of high temps in January got trees budding and then a hard freeze in early february killed all the buds, and then there was a very bad drought in our area. There was no fruit, anywhere, aside from some apple orchards doing OK, and oddly enough our Asian pears were OK. Frankly, we figured we might end having to cut down most of the orchard, because they were doing nothing, were seriously overgrown, and werent worth saving. Then this year happened. Perfect weather, good rain, and a lot of these trees are producing huge amounts for all that they are overgrown. A few trees have branches breaking off because they have too much fruit. This is great, but is way way too much for anything I can deal with on my own. I have no interest in being a professional farmer, this would require employees to pick, etc... way too much. However, Bill must have put 10s of thousands of dollars into that orchard, it would be a shame to just cut it down. So, I am asking friends to come pick fruit constantly. I am working on trying to hook up with the Boston Gleaners, or people like them, and if I can manage to get them to pick and take all the fruit for the food banks, that would be great. For now, tho, please , come pick peaches (and in a few weeks pears, Asian pears, and apples)

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I'm here

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 16:18:32 GMT

Not particularly sure I'll be posting here anymore than I have on LJ for the past several years, but here I am

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Let's see how this crossposting works

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 14:01:12 GMT

hopefully it will. I have always liked LJ, but it seems everyone's moving AND lj gets flakier and flakier. I'm not even over on LJ that often, but I like who and what I read there, and all y'all seem to be moving

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Here I be

Fri, 01 May 2009 13:23:40 GMT

Not much happening yet

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