Author: gallopingcow

Uncategorised

Thornsday Cleanout

I was jarred awake this morning when Maggie called around eight to ask if I was coming in to work. Maybe she was worried, because I’m always there around seven, but I told them I wasn’t going back for just two days this week. I got out of bed then, since Summer had to go to work anyway. Even Eaddie got up and took a shower, but then she left with friends. I warmed up a plate of some hot turkey, twice-baked potato, and sour dressing instead of going out to eat like I had imagined all night long.

I felt pretty bad all day, and started to fall asleep in the afternoon, but made myself take a shower and take the dogs out for a long run. We caught my parents just as they got back from somewhere, and then we came home so I could clean up the kitchen.

I had spent all day in my head, mad and frustrated with the girls and our living situation, and their habits around the house. I was glad to have the kitchen finished when Summer got home, but she reeked of gasoline. Eaddie got home and mostly stayed in her room as usual, and I dawdled a while longer before making it to bed. My nerves and anxiety were shot.

Ya hya chouhada!

Uncategorised

Buffalo Weak Wings

I was starving for some hot, good food this morning, so I announced that to Eaddie when she finally left her room, and we got out of the house to find something to eat. I was between Chinese or Mexican. She chose Mexican. The new place I drove to was closed, so we ended up going in to Buffalo Wild Wings. I hadn’t even realized they were open again, but the parking lot was full and the music inside was turned up to eleven.

The service was pretty poor. Our server only came by the table once after bringing our food, and that was to drop off some napkins and waters. The cheese curds were good, but the chicken was overcooked with dark, dry breading, and very little sauce. The chicken was really small, too. Overall, the whole meal left us feeling very dry in the mouth. The atmosphere was also terrible. The audio for the TV channel kept cutting out constantly, so the constant barrage of advertisements we were forced to hear at maximum volume was even more jarring than it would be otherwise. We did not want a club atmosphere for lunch on a Wednesday.

After we ate, we headed back to the house and I got the garage cleaned up so I could park the new Model 3 inside. Eaddie helped me deliver the Shadow and the R1 to Kevin’s hangar. On our second trip, we spotted Julie at their big hangar, so I stopped in to see her briefly before going back home.

Eaddie left to go to the park, and I took the dogs on a quick run before moving the last of the stuff out of the garage. I finished just in time to park inside before Summer made it home. She was visibly beat from her day, so she took a bath and went to bed. Eaddie wasn’t out much past dark, and I was still feeling pretty awful, so I made it to bed super early.

Accessorize

Uncategorised

Down and Pout

I started to feel a bronchial cough coming on late Sunday, and by Monday morning I was feeling chills and aches. The head cold came on quickly after that, and it wasn’t long before I was riding a >102º fever. I basically stayed in bed the entirety of Monday through Tuesday morning. By then, my back was hurting so badly that I couldn’t get comfortable in the bed for more than about a minute. I still felt pretty terrible, but I was able to get up and move around the house to warm up some turkey soup. I think I ate over 20 mandarin oranges within about 20 hours.

I remember Eaddie wanted to go to the park both days. I spent a few hours trying to clean up the kitchen before Summer got home. She took a bath, and I started really craving a cheeseburger. I should have gone to get it myself, but she insisted. After harassing me to place the order, then stopping in the bathroom, then taking Eaddie along for the ride as she got home, they finally made it home with my cold food. I could have finished my meal twice over in the time it took them, and all they could do was call me mean for saying as much.

My heart raced for a few hours after that, and the metoprolol didn’t do much to keep it under 100bpm. At least my blood pressure was fine. I finally took a shower, which did help me feel a little bit better while Eli and the girls watched Jack and Jill to ring in the new year.

At least.

Uncategorised

Double Dooty

Summer woke me up because someone knocked on the door this morning. We both assumed it was probably a package, but there wasn’t anything at the door when we checked. She got around to come coffee in an Ember mug and remarked on how nice it was to have hot coffee to the last sip. I commented that it’s also nice to have only one cup that’s immediately washed and put away, rather than a countertop full of poorly-rinsed coffee mugs that collect over the course of a week or two. That upset her, which irritated me.

Eaddie snuck out for church at some point, and Summer wanted to go to the gym. I went outside after the dogs tore something else up, and had to drain the flooded basement. While I was back there, I noticed a hole in the roof where something was likely nesting. Summer took my car to the gym after some protest because of the lack of turn signal and drive stalks. I took a shower, and when she got back, she had a glum look on her face. She then proceeded to tell me about witnessing a hit-and-run in the parking lot in such a way that I was on edge the entire time thinking something happened to my car, which irritated me further.

I eventually took the dogs out for a run since it was finally mostly dry out. When we got back, the girls were home doing a ton of laundry and cleaning up. I messed with some more accessories for my car and installed some kick panels on the center console, then went back to my parents’ house for mango soup.

When I made it back home, I spent a bunch more time cleaning up while Summer cross stitched in front of the TV and Eaddie finished up her laundry. I got Summer’s license plate frame installed, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about adding one to mine. We’ll have to test it out once I get it registered.

I was sleepy for most of the evening, but general aggravation that had accumulated throughout the day got my blood pressure up. I felt a bit of a bronchial cough coming on all night, so hopefully I’m not getting sick.

Easy

Uncategorised

Rainy Review Day

I got out of bed with Summer this morning instead of letting myself sleep all day. It was rainy out, so we played with the dogs on the porch for a little bit. I got a few more things from Vine later in the day, so I spent some time catching up on reviews. The girls both left for a while and I took a shower in the afternoon. Dad invited us over for egg rolls again, so Summer and I went to eat dinner with them in the evening.

When we got back home, I spent some time messing with more Model 3 accessories. I got all of my puddle lights installed, and swapped out some console trays. The hardest thing I did was attach some rear seat vent covers in both cars. They just didn’t want to snap in on the Model Y. The ones I got for the Model 3 didn’t actually fit at all, but laid in place in a way that seemed mostly secure, so I left them.

Summer had been working on embroidery and cross stitching all day in front of the TV. Eaddie brought her some more when she got home, and we all eventually made our way to bed pretty late.

Productivity Pit

Uncategorised

M3SORED

I had an absolute fit trying to sleep last night. I went to bed for a couple hours, maybe dozed for a few minutes, but laid awake for most of it. I ended up getting out of bed and puttering a bit, then trying again. My mind wouldn’t quit wandering about any random topic. It could have been remembering facts about the Byzantine Empire, or cats. It could have been pondering alternative methods to make peanut butter. Anything but sleep.

I dozed again briefly for about 20 minutes before my alarm went off, then got up and ready to go to Kansas City to pick up the new Model 3. Summer was a dear and loaded all of my accessories into her trunk. Eaddie was slow to rise, but we eventually made it out the door.

The drive to Kansas City was pretty terrible. It rained pretty hard for most of it. There was a ton of fog and mist, so I really had to push the car through it. We charged in Ozark, Lowell, and Nevada before making it to the showroom. Eaddie sat up front with me while Summer worked on her laptop in the back.

The parking lot was absolutely packed with cars for delivery. It was the greatest concentration of Cybertrucks I’d ever seen, and it was a little bit glorious. I had a pretty good idea which car was mine, but we went inside to check in since we needed restrooms by then anyway. I talked to two different staff members. The first was kind and led us to the car to check it out. That was the end of any courtesy we received. I guess they were just too slammed with deliveries to entertain the idea of helping us get a charge on the Model Y, and I got a deadpan one-word response when I asked if I could drive my car before I accepted delivery.

Fortunately there didn’t seem to be anything amiss. I loaded up my floor mats, and we made our way to a public charger a couple miles away to leave Summer’s car while we took mine out for the day. Our first stop was the Red Door Woodfired Grill. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was delicious. We got super meaty calamari, and three excellent entrées. Eaddie had a big cheeseburger, I took the recommendation of the prime rib French dip, and Summer had a sirloin. The portions were small, but I guess they were going for “upscale sports bar.” The flavors were on point, but I think it did me in on sodium for the day.

Our next stop was IKEA. Summer was reluctant, but Eaddie and I outvoted her. We didn’t waste much time, and basically made a quick pass through the whole place so we could get to some meatballs. We were all full from our late lunch, but they both actually really wanted meatballs. I started feeling bad, with a racing heart and likely high blood pressure. The city driving started it, and the racing heart pushed me to the edge where I just had to sit down in the restaurant after taking my metoprolol and a clonidine. We shared a plate, and I eventually felt good enough to walk out of there.

We got back to Summer’s car and headed toward home, stopping to charge in Belton, Nevada, and Lowell for a long final leg of the trip. Eaddie rode with me from Nevada to Lowell where I developed a really elaborate pee-dance for about 45 minutes. I didn’t let myself go through the same thing, and stopped at Ozark for another break while the girls continued on home. Just past Ozark, I nailed a small-to-medium sized opossum dead-on. It didn’t make much of a sound, and I didn’t see any damage when I got home, but I still felt bad.

The girls crashed instantly, and I fed the dogs and got things picked up a little bit before finally settling in. I’ll have to do some shuffling tomorrow to get the Model 3 into the garage.

The Brewdy Kitten Café

Uncategorised

Drizzly December

I woke up super early from a super stressful dream this morning. I was living at home with my parents, and Greg came over to take me fishing on his boat. He showed me how to tie up some hooks, but when it came time to go, I wasn’t ready. He was in a rush to get on the water, and I was stressing about how to meet him at the dock when I woke up. I was stressed out enough that I got up to check my blood pressure, but it was still good.

I went back to bed for a little bit while Summer got up for work. Eaddie got up around lunch time and took a shower, but then went back to her room all day. I saw rain in the forecast, so I took the dogs out for an early run. The ground was more wet than yesterday, so I had to take it a little bit slower with them so I could avoid getting myself wet. The basin had drained down just enough for us to pass through, and Stilgar looked longingly over the water at the geese. We made it to my parents’ house where they had been out delivering egg rolls.

After I got the dogs back home, I called Kevin to see if he could show me the hangar space they said I could borrow for my motorcycles. He was working in the big hangar, but drove me out to his where there was just enough room to squeeze the bikes in and keep them out of the weather.

I didn’t stay long, and stopped by Sonic for some fancy sugarcookie Dr. Pepper drink and a soft pretzel. When Summer eventually made it home from work, we went back to my parents for egg roll salads. I missed it, but somehow Eaddie ended up getting a camera from Dad, and I warned that she would need to be taught how to use it. I’m not sure she has enough interest to learn herself without someone showing her, since she has so much going on with school and extracurriculars there.

We got back home as the rain continued to get heavier, and the girls went to their rooms while I gathered up the Model 3 accessories I had been hoarding. I don’t know how I keep getting my new cars on rainy days, but hopefully tomorrow won’t be too bad.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s

Uncategorised

Iced to See You

I got up shortly after Summer this morning. I thought she was going to make waffles, but we used all of the milk for hot chocolate yesterday. Eaddie got up and went to her father’s for a little while, so Summer and I just got to decompress a bit. I assembled her birdbath, and it felt quite a bit cheaper than I expected. The main basin was crooked, so I’ll have to try and get a replacement part.

We kind of grazed most of the day, so we never really got a good meal. It was dreary and wet all day, but I really wanted to get the dogs out for a run, so I did. The ground was wet, but I managed to stay mostly dry this time. We went by the basin and Stilgar wanted to get all of the geese floating in the flooded pond. We went around the block to get past the water, stopped to see Dad, and eventually made it home again.

Eaddie headed home a little early so we could decorate cookies, and Dad ended up being able to come over, along with Eli, who stayed after while we watched a movie. I wanted to watch the new animated The Grinch, but Eaddie protested so I started Bad Santa. I don’t think anyone really cared for how it started, and Eaddie wanted to watch Dear Santa after we saw a trailer flash by. It was pretty low-budget, but not completely awful.

Summer sat and cross-stitched the whole time, and then everyone went to bed once the movie was over. I had been pretty tired, but somehow dragged the night out an extra couple of hours. I don’t know where the time goes.

Who’s ever heard of a Who, anyway?

Uncategorised

Those Christmas Lights

Summer got me up around nine this morning so I could get the turkey going. To my surprise, we were approved for the zero percent loan for my new car with a low down payment, so I took care of that and made the final payment before I got started. Then I kept Summer nearby because I wasn’t sure what I was going to need at any given moment. I used my new grinder to grind the spices down for the injection. It worked better, but still ended up clogging. I think it had more to do with the fact that the butter was solidifying in the syringe since the turkey was still cold inside. We eventually got it on the smoker though, and then it was a race to get everything else going. I oiled and salted the potatoes and threw them on the grill as well.

Summer did a bunch of other cleaning and worked on her deviled eggs. I took a shower and then pulled the potatoes off the grill so I could gut them, mash that up, and re-smoke them. We were getting down to the wire, but had a reasonably good morning until I got a text that Mom wasn’t coming. I had my hands full of potatoes, so I had Summer call Dad on speakerphone. I instantly blew my top at her because she wanted to blame my blood pressure, but changing plans at the last minute was what really got me hot.

I got the potatoes back on the smoker and cranked up the heat a bit, which turned out to be a big mistake. I guess there was still some grease at the bottom that caught fire, and my temperature shot up from my set 350ºF to over 500. We pulled the potatoes off and Summer finished them in the oven. I was going to drive over to talk to Mom, but just then Kevin showed up, followed by Julie with various things to unload from the car. Dad wasn’t far behind with even more stuff.

We got everything settled and then I took Dad’s car to go talk to Mom, since he and Julie were parked behind us. I talked to her briefly and apologized for blowing up, but reminded her that a big reason that I agreed to buy our house was so we would have room to entertain the family for the holidays, in a house with as little travel from theirs as possible. It didn’t take much more for her to come back with me, but she insisted that she didn’t want to stay long.

Noah was running behind in the most characteristically unpredictable way, so the seven of us ate. I thought all the food turned out pretty good. After that, we took a break to open presents. Eaddie had the biggest haul and wanted to know what she did to deserve to be so spoiled, but I think everyone felt pretty satisfied. After that, it was a bit of a struggle to decide what to do. I wanted to either watch Red One or start on some dessert, but Summer was busy cleaning up in the kitchen and became unresponsive to anything I asked. Julie ended up putting on Elf and they watched that while a few of us got some dessert.

Dad took Mom home, and Eaddie had Eli come over for some presents. Then they put on the Michael Jordan documentary series or whatever on the TV again. Noah finally showed up at some point and ate food and opened presents. I wasn’t terribly upset that he didn’t end up staying the night. Once everyone else left, the girls and I watched Red One together before bed. We all really enjoyed it for being so creative and unexpected.

I wrapped up the night by making some more turkey soup from the new bones we had. I was up pretty late waiting for it to cool down enough to refrigerate, but I was happy to be done with it right away instead of letting the bones sit for weeks.

Light up the street.

Uncategorised

Sleeping Hours

I slept super late today. Eaddie was awake and texted our group chat from across the house, which woke me up. I got out of bed and baked a frozen breakfast pizza for us. She wanted to go out to find some more yarn for her crochet, so I took a shower and then took the dogs out for a run to Walgreens.

It had started to sprinkle a little bit as I stepped outside, but I figured it was light enough that we should go ahead and run. I just left the dogs outside the store with my Onewheel while I went inside. That ended up being a little bit of an event, because they couldn’t give me my prescription up front. I had to go back to the back, but they weren’t sure what would happen since they cancelled and re-shelved my medicine. After a quick call to someone else, they decided I would probably just get a refund for that portion of the order, so I went back to the front to get my other stuff and then left.

We continued running through the neighborhoods for nearly four and a half miles before we got home. Luckily it didn’t really rain too much. The ground got a little bit wet, but it wasn’t so bad that my pants got soaked. The girls were home when we got back, so I tried to clean up a bit so Summer could bake cookies.

Eaddie and I ran to the Neighborhood Market for some stuff we needed for Christmas dinner, and also for dinner tonight. I got some noodles and stuff to finish making the turkey soup. Eaddie wanted to try a Ramune soda with the glass marble seal, but then proceeded to throw away the plastic ring that lets you open the drink. We got to my parents’ house to pick up some potatoes, and luckily I was able to pop it open with a chopstick.

Once we got home for the night, I made the turkey soup while Summer finished up cookies. Eaddie and I were the only ones that ate, but we thought the soup was good. Summer wrapped up some more stuff, and then everyone wound down pretty quickly to go to bed.

Not quite yet.