This could be the key to world peace.
Yes, I remember the frozen digit story. Too bad it hasn't healed well. I know what you're saying about the bad news. Apparently that's where the saying "no news is good news" must have come from. The other thing I've noticed is that DD expects me to remember every little bump and scrape she may or may not have told me about -- heaven forbid if I forget that she has a cough or cramps or something. Pretty funny. I remember my mother couldn't remember for years that I was allergic to shrimp or that I so despised mustard that it made me want to And I do remember being incensed by that. Heehee. Turnabout's fair play, right?

Well, I have taken a shower, marinated the meat, vacuumed and swept, moved the rest of the boxes out of the porch, fixed some of the veggies and wiped up the coffee I spilled all over the refrigerator. Can I be done? DH is doing some dishes. Yay.

Kiwi

Thanks to my current studies, I'm inclined to believe all the fear-mongering is being used to control people.

Sorry the finger still hurts. I still have pain in my face from cellulitis, and I had that two years ago. I think it will eventually get better.

I just wanna batch. Yesterday was one of batchy days. At the supermarket, I bought a book of stamps from another cashier. She was at the express lane and the customer she had was one of nose-in-air blank-minded people who seem unaware of anything. So the cashier was walking back and forth around the counter putting things in the woman's cart. She had about four bags which probably meant she had more items than express is meant for but anyway, I would NOT have been putting this stuff in the cart. She coulda done itself or left it there. So I waited for that.

Then the cashier takes the book of stamps out of the drawer and counts them. Two. Four. Six. Eight. Etc. I have no idea why. If one came off, there would be a blank spot.

Finally, when I can leave, she says, "You look tired. Are you OK?" She asks if I'm ok three times. She is not a doctor. She could not help me if I were not OK.

My first 20 or customers did things like hand me their money wadded in a ball or leave trash on the conveyor belt or talk on the cell phone or demand doubled paper bags so their food would not thaw on the five minute trip home. There are people who get chicken and put it in a plastic bag. So it's wrapped by the butcher and bagged by them. Still, they want to be very sure that it doesn't touch anything else.

And the angry woman was alone with me in the break room and kept referring the store as a hellhole and going on and on about the boss and his unfairness. I asked if she was looking for something else and she said NO. I was so sorry to hear that.

I'm inclined to think that too. It's political opportunism for the most part. I'm sure it will be disturbing to see the outcome of this incident. Apparently this was one of several extortion attempts by someone overseas. Interesting.

Speaking of fear, DD's bf has been training all week at his university for his new job in the police department. He told us about one of the training exercises, which was a reenactment of the Va Tech shootings. BF got shot several times. He arrived at our house yesterday directly from the training (well, and a 3-1/2 hour drive) and still had some fake blood on his shirt.
Nice batch. Last time I got groceries, they were so ineptly bagged, I could hardly carry them into the house. I always ask for paper (because cheapskate, I mean environmentalist, that I am, I reuse each and every one of them for the kitchen garbage) and this tiny little girl bagged my order. The first one she filled she had trouble lifting and putting into the cart, so I pointed out that I would rather not have them so heavy that they are hard to pick up. She basically looked at me as if she had no brain and continued. I took things out of some of the bags and put them back on the counter so she had to put them in a different bag. I couldn't think of anything else to do. When I got them home, I found she had just thrown everything in the bags randomly. The box of Cascade d/w detergent was packed in contact with the meat. Direct contact. She packed a deli dish with a snap-on lid and liquid inside, on its side. One bag had nothing but cans in it.

There, that's my batch. Does that make me one of your awfuller customers? I don't complain much at the store, honest. And I hardly ever make them rebag anything in paper when they put it in plastic instead...

Our inlaw bbq went swimmingly. The food was good. DD's bf got here in time to grill the meat (that's what sons-in-law are for, right? So we're just letting him practice). We actually got to eat outside at the picnic table because, by some miracle there were no bugs until well after dinner. The dog behaved herself (although she jumped on my in-laws, but she settled down) so we let her wander the yard -- and she even came back when I called her.

We have an ant problem again. Every other day I've had to spray the garbage can. They are so annoying. The most annoying thing is that I feel compelled to apologize to them when I squish them.

I think I'll go swimming today. It's nice and sunny and I have nothing I have to do, except shop for a car.

I take that back. I hear thunder.

Kiwi

I put cinnamon around where the ants were and they all went away. All of them. Away. Then we had a heavy rain and they all came back inside.

We have customers who insist on bagging their own stuff or who hover over the bagger and no one cares. I think you should hover. Grab out stuff that's delicate like deli dishes. Open up a bag yourself and put special stuff in it. That is not annoying. Handing the cashier four bills that she has to unfold and press out is annoying.

Complaining is when you go to the manager and say bad things. Telling the bagger/cashier how you want your food handled is commonplace and ok.

Tempting.

So the problem is my kitchen isn't spicy enough? I thought it was just not clean enough.

Kiwi

Spicy kitchen !!! Lol.... Here's a link. It works.

Check out my blog. New format by lcp.

Sooooooooo sleepy.
but I'm here briefly. My friend T is on the mend. Slowly.
DH got home this am after his flight last night was cancelled due to alleged bad weather. They said DFW was "iffy." I didn't hear a peep... no lightening, no leaves blowing, no rain. Who knows. anyway, I stayed up late and then had to get up early. Had a bit of a snooze when we got home, and am now off to visit T in the hospital and maybe work up enough nerve to buy oil paints! When in doubt... if you can't EAT, get another hobby! HA.

Hi Painty-- Glad your friend is better.

So far I am still killing ants one by one, but when I get back from my trauma weekend, I will contemplate spicing up the place. They sure had a variety of ideas on that website. I've tried vinegar; that worked pretty well. I can't really tell where they're coming from, which complicates things. But at least cinnamon will smell good.

Tomorrow we are going to pack all of DD's things into the truck and head down state to see a play. Actor friend is acting in his own play (that he wrote) for the first time. We've seen the play before, in Portland (with other actors); then it went to Broadway, and now it's at a summer theater and he's appearing in it. I can't wait to see it again, it's a lovely play. Then we are spending the night in some cheapo motel and heading to Boston Sunday morning. After we unload DD's stuff and find the storage unit she and her roommate and friends rented and unload all that, we will drag our tired selves back home.

I wonder how Bagz' trip to Boston was? They were going to see Tiger Woods in a tournament.

me tired too 'night

kiwi

If you need another hobby, pole dancing lessons are available nowadays.

Kiwi, cinnamon may stain so be careful with it. A local guy sells diaphanous earth for $3 a pound and it's know to take care of ants without chemicals but ... don't put it where you can track it around. It's like ashes. I'm thinking of getting some and putting it in a plastic dish then setting the catfood dish in that.

You first.

Aren't you afraid the cat will eat some of it? The kitchen garbage can seems to be a popular place for my ants, so cinnamon won't hurt that. I wonder if cinnamon sticks work too?

All this talk of cinnamon is making me hungry.

k

I don't think they'd eat it but would it hurt them? I guess maybe it could. Now, I'm perplexed. I think they'd go around cinnamon sticks. You can get cinnamon cheap like at the dollar store.

Another thing I don't like about customers: certain little old ladies who will not straighten their elbows. They hand me money with their hand close to their little bodies so I have to lean over the counter and reach far out. Giving them their stupid receipt is the same thing in reverse. Why do they do that?

Instead of doing the dishes I did some research and it seem like the stuff is only toxic to insects because it has microscopic razor-sharp edges that cut into their tiny little exoskeletons and dry them up. Yum. Humans and other warm blooded kitty-like creatures can digest it. But don't quote me on that.

Funny, we've got tons of ant nests outside however I rarely see one inside. My mother had a steady stream of the little nippers marching around her kitchen last summer and no one could figure out where they came from. We squished them while she wasn't looking. She's an ant-hugger. Mostly black flies and fruit flies here that sit on my bananas and drive me insane and .

I was so tired this morning that I feel asleep reading the newspaper in the living room and didn't wake up for 45 minutes. Feel even worse now. Must go clean up this tip.