USMB Coffee Shop IV

[007]

lol, I don't know how to play cribbage. But I can play canasta, poker (weird games though...not the standard texas hold'em or 5 card stud and it has to be penny poker so nobody gets pissed at losing too much money, lol). And I like critters, of course you already know that. Don't know goats, but I could be alittle help maybe. MrG is afraid of Alaska and the cold. He is always cold. I have to keep us separated cuz he is always freezing and I am always burning up with his infernal heater going. I reckon if anything happened to him...you would be where I would head towards if you still had room for me. I have no more critters nor will get any. I'll just spoil yours. But, I'll probably kick before MrG, so don't make room for my toothbrush anytime soon.

Cribbage is pretty easy to learn.

I LOVE Cribbage. Probably have 6 or 7 different Cribbage boards. Been playing a long, long time, and yes it is fun, and no it isn't hard to learn.

 

[Montrovant]

Hello! What's new?

The little one likes that song, because it was in the movie Flushed Away.

 

[Ernie S.]

Special thoughts and prayers for those dealing with the terrible fires tonight and sending some healing vibes for drifter's and gallantwarrior's colds.

Good night darlinks, I really do love you guys.

And we continue to pray and/or send good vibes and/or positive thoughts and/or keep vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Nosmo's mom,
Rod, GW's partner,
Kat's sister,
Boedicca, her dad, brother, and family,
Sherry's Mom for treatment to be successful,
The Ringels in difficult transition
Dana, Foxfyre's friend recovering from heart transplant
Mr. and Mrs. Gracie in difficult transition
Ringel's injured shoulder and general wellness,
007's brother-in-law for a full recovery,
Saveliberty for positive resolution for difficult transition,
Mr. and Mrs. Peach174 for full recovery from setback,
Comfort to Mrs. Saveliberty & family in the loss of her brother,
And for our students, job hunters, others in transition.

And the light is left on for Noomi, Freedombecki, AgainSheila, Esthermoon, SFC Ollie, and all others we hope are okay and will return to us.

Autumn in New Mexico

I do miss the smells of Albuquerque

 

[Ernie S.]

OK I'm about 10 pages behind. It was a busy week end and it's finally starting to slow down. We had a big party at Doc's Saturday night and most of the Halloween decorations are up. I had to get up in the ceiling yesterday to wire up black lights and had to slip between the fake spider webs. I know they are fake. I put a lot of them up, but a hour of getting that stuff all over me and I was creeped out.

So as I was saying, Big party Saturday night! I was able to get into my very expensive cayman skin cowboy boots and did some dancing for the first time in 7 months. I even got the boots off by myself although I was wanting to bring this little blond home to help.

 

[Foxfyre]

Special thoughts and prayers for those dealing with the terrible fires tonight and sending some healing vibes for drifter's and gallantwarrior's colds.

Good night darlinks, I really do love you guys.

And we continue to pray and/or send good vibes and/or positive thoughts and/or keep vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Nosmo's mom,
Rod, GW's partner,
Kat's sister,
Boedicca, her dad, brother, and family,
Sherry's Mom for treatment to be successful,
The Ringels in difficult transition
Dana, Foxfyre's friend recovering from heart transplant
Mr. and Mrs. Gracie in difficult transition
Ringel's injured shoulder and general wellness,
007's brother-in-law for a full recovery,
Saveliberty for positive resolution for difficult transition,
Mr. and Mrs. Peach174 for full recovery from setback,
Comfort to Mrs. Saveliberty & family in the loss of her brother,
And for our students, job hunters, others in transition.

And the light is left on for Noomi, Freedombecki, AgainSheila, Esthermoon, SFC Ollie, and all others we hope are okay and will return to us.

Autumn in New Mexico

I do miss the smells of Albuquerque

At least it usually is quite a bit better than some of the northeastern cities Nosmo et al have been describing.

 

[Foxfyre]

OK I'm about 10 pages behind. It was a busy week end and it's finally starting to slow down. We had a big party at Doc's Saturday night and most of the Halloween decorations are up. I had to get up in the ceiling yesterday to wire up black lights and had to slip between the fake spider webs. I know they are fake. I put a lot of them up, but a hour of getting that stuff all over me and I was creeped out.

So as I was saying, Big party Saturday night! I was able to get into my very expensive cayman skin cowboy boots and did some dancing for the first time in 7 months. I even got the boots off by myself although I was wanting to bring this little blond home to help.

I am not at all a happy camper thinking about you up on that ladder though Ernie. I would really like to keep you off the vigil list for awhile if you don't mind.

 

[Foxfyre]

Well, October has handed in its two week notice. The month that brings the last balmy days will soon be replaced by chilly, rainy November. November with Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving and the modern holidays of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The unofficial yet oddly official kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. Oy!

There was a discernible nip in the air today. Though sunny, the wind was from the north and temperatures struggled to break the sixty degree mark. The autumn color has yet to peak, unusual for mid October. Since the leaves have yet to fully change color, they have also failed to fall from the trees.

That sweet aroma of wet leaves decaying mixed with the pungent smell of piles of leaves smoldering is missing from this time of year. But, then again, there are lots of aromas missing around here. The smell of coal furnaces in every home is gone. The acidic odors or steel mills is also gone. The sulfuric smell of coke plants no longer fouls the air. Exhaust from diesel locomotives has replaced the smell of coal fired trains.

They say your memory is in your nose. I say my olfactory memory bank is no longer as overloaded as it was in my long gone youth.

I love the smell of Fall. Of course, each season has it's own particular smell, and color. We've moved beyond that soft, butter-yellow of Fall and have now entered the more stark pink and shades of gray of early Winter. Not too long and we'll be looking at a more typical black, gray and white season. Well, except that pink alpine glow.

Fall is hands down my favorite time of year--what we wear, the food, the smells, the colors, and relief from the summer heat while not yet being coat weather. And though I love kids, I enjoy being able to go out to lunch almost anywhere without having to deal with ill mannered ones, and favorite shopping spots, the zoo and aquarium and museums are a lot less crowed too with the kids in school and most of the tourists have gone home.

 

[Foxfyre]

Gracie, I figured you'd understand the stress of moving. You've been through displacement hell this past year.
Yes, I have moved into the two-story cabin. It's still less than 1000 sf, but you'd be surprised how much less house you need when you have to process the heating material yourself. No, the partner is staying in the Anchorage place for now. He has purchased a pretty nice Lexus to replace as a commuter to replace the Jeep Cherokee he broke.
Montana or Washington? Montana's winters are at least as wintery as ours. Washington? No thanks. It is pretty much time for me to retire, and I am now staging my exit. After I settle here, I will work until the mortgage is paid. I've been paying extra so it won't be that long now. I hope that selling milk, meat, and eggs, as well as my homemade goodies will provide enough supplement that I can exist on what I craft with my own hands. I love making things and the only stuff I cannot sell outright will be my mead (alcohol).
It would be so cool if some of us were closer together, but some of the fun here is sharing with people who are so far away.
For now, I'll continue to put up with my stomach upset and nose bleeds. All this will pass and then I'll look for a job closer to home. I do wish my daughter and granddaughters were here, but that's not to be at this time. Guess I'll have to travel at least one more time...to Japan.

If only I could go back to 10 less years. I would come up there and help. I help around here all the time just to keep from freezing up my joints. It hurts, but I hate just sitting around and like being outside as much as possible.
Is pot legal there? Maybe you could make balms and lotions? CBD oil instead of THC infused? Big market in that if its legal in Alaska. Fresh milk and eggs sound wonderful too.
So if you are in the cabin, are you going to be moving to the trailer then? Is it very far away from each other? Maybe you could bounce between the two during your work week.
I have one move left to do I guess. If it ever happens. I know we cannot stay here indefinetly and I don't want to anyway. If something happened to one of us, housemate flatly refuses to lower the rent where we could afford to stay with just one income. So that means this is just a temporary thing. If the coast ever calls with the unit we are waiting for..we will go there. If I can find a mobile home here that is cheap enough to purchase, we might do that instead. Space rent here is much cheaper than at the coast. And there are mobile homes here anywhere from 2k (major dumps that need work) to 5K (dumps that need work but not as badly) to 20K (pretty nice overall and minor work) but we are unable to do the 20k and are focusing on the 5k or less. Maybe. Depending on if they are willing to carry but if they are paying space rent on an empty manufactured home..us paying it along with rent to own would seem feasible. Alas, most don't think the way I do.
I looked at one yesterday for 7k thinking I could offer 5k with them carry the loan. But I didn't because it was dark, dreary, and worse of all..it stunk really bad. Looked at two last month and both had dog shit still in the living room nobody bothered to pick up. Those were priced at 5k and 7k. We didn't bother to make an offer on either. Plus the space rent was more than we wanted to pay.
So...even though we now have a roof, are warm, have a kitchen we can use (barely) and our own bathroom...its not permanent. So we are still not settled and won't be until we get our own place..either housing back at home with government assistance...or here, with owner carry.

It sucks. But it beats the van and that mushroomy RV.

I've been bouncing between the RV and the cabin now since 2007. I love the cabin, I've invested years of sweat equity and cash into this place. (Building out-of-pocket takes as long as a typical mortgage, you just bypass the interest.) The cabin is very comfortable and homey and I'm hoping to clean up and renovate the trailer to sell next Spring for at least enough to get a well put in here. While I have been comfortable in the trailer, and the cabin is small, I still have lots more space in the cabin. I'm still trying to accommodate all the things I had when I lived in a 2400 sf home. All my books, records, and DVD's are packed in boxes. Now, lots of my craft stuff is in boxes, and all of my knick-knacks, etc. are packed away. I used to collect David Winter cottages and Lladro porcelain, among other things.

My house is pretty small too, GW, maybe 850 sq ft. Looks real small on the outside but much roomier when you get inside. Only one small bedroom, a smaller than usual living room, decent sized kitchen though, big bathroom with the washer and dryer in there, and a nice sized dining room / office. It's all I need though, it's just me, and I don't need or want anything bigger. The shop is a different story. That's a three bay, two story building that just underwent a $10,000 renovation, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I spend most of my time out there because that's where all my toys are at, toys being tools. Like you I like to be making, fixing something. I constantly have a project going on, or two or three. I just really enjoy being able to do what I do. Life is good.

Just had all the ground around my lilac bush all grubbed out by my electrician buddy that has a backhoe on his trencher, so now I have a massive mess to clean up and level out. I started it the other day and immediately got a blister. I took a little time off while it rained much of last week and need to get back at it now. Going to put the plow on the front of my John Deere lawn tractor and see if I can push the dirt with that. I know it's got the power to do it, I'll have to see if it has the traction.

I see a patch of stirred up dirt like that and I immediately think vegetable garden.

Ya know, there was a garden in the yard here when I moved in, and there is some nice black dirt in there and I did plant a garden for a few years, but my favorite thing to grow, tomatoes, get some sort of blight/mold on them, every darn time, so I gave up.

Yes, when that happens with any kind of veggie or certain flowers like zinnias, it does seem to reoccur every year. But with xeroscaping, I now grow everything in movable containers and if one develops a problem, I can just discard the dirt and start over.

 

[WelfareQueen]

Special thoughts and prayers for those dealing with the terrible fires tonight and sending some healing vibes for drifter's and gallantwarrior's colds.

Good night darlinks, I really do love you guys.

And we continue to pray and/or send good vibes and/or positive thoughts and/or keep vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Nosmo's mom,
Rod, GW's partner,
Kat's sister,
Boedicca, her dad, brother, and family,
Sherry's Mom for treatment to be successful,
The Ringels in difficult transition
Dana, Foxfyre's friend recovering from heart transplant
Mr. and Mrs. Gracie in difficult transition
Ringel's injured shoulder and general wellness,
007's brother-in-law for a full recovery,
Saveliberty for positive resolution for difficult transition,
Mr. and Mrs. Peach174 for full recovery from setback,
Comfort to Mrs. Saveliberty & family in the loss of her brother,
And for our students, job hunters, others in transition.

And the light is left on for Noomi, Freedombecki, AgainSheila, Esthermoon, SFC Ollie, and all others we hope are okay and will return to us.

Autumn in New Mexico

I do miss the smells of Albuquerque

Agreed. I think the cities of Albuquerque, Tucson, and San Diego have the best Mexican food in America. My mouth is salivating just thinking about it.

 

[Michelle420]

What do u do for stress besides drinking or drugs?

 

[Hossfly]

What do u do for stress besides drinking or drugs?

 

[Ridgerunner]

What do u do for stress besides drinking or drugs?

 

[ChrisL]

What do u do for stress besides drinking or drugs?

I try to avoid stress if at all possible. A nice walk or a run always helps. Watching something funny on TV. Cleaning vigorously. Lol.

Crank up the tunes and dance around like a maniac!

 

[ChrisL]

What do u do for stress besides drinking or drugs?

Why? Do you drink and do drugs thinking it is going to help you with stress?

 

[Michelle420]

What do u do for stress besides drinking or drugs?

Why? Do you drink and do drugs thinking it is going to help you with stress?

It does temporarily anyway. But of course, it's not going to in the long term. I don't drink.

 

[ChrisL]

What do u do for stress besides drinking or drugs?

Why? Do you drink and do drugs thinking it is going to help you with stress?

It does temporarily anyway. But of course, it's not going to in the long term. I don't drink.

It just brings a whole other set of problems, like addiction, family problems, legal problems. Not to mention, it is unhealthy. There are TONS of other things you can do that are much more healthy and productive. Workout, take a kick boxing class, take a dance class, punch a punching bag.

 

[Foxfyre]

What do u do for stress besides drinking or drugs?

I haven't dealt with it well at times but I have learned a few truths that keep it to a minimum these days.

1. Ask yourself when a problem comes up, 'how important is it?' Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, etc. will anybody care? It really helps to put things in perspective and give yourself permission to back off or just not do something when it really doesn't have to be done. None of us will be remembered for how much money we made or how many hours we worked or how clean we kept our house. We will be remembered for how we made people feel, how important our relationships are, how much we love and are loved.

2. Find something that you really can lose yourself in and get your mind off everything else for awhile. It might be painting or horseback riding or creating culinary delights or whatever soothes and regenerates your soul and sets the world aright for awhile. And schedule time for that something.

3. Find a hairdresser or bartender or develop a best friend that you can really unload on. Sometimes when we talk out whatever is stressing us it doesn't look so impossible or terrible or whatever.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good night darlinks, I really do love you guys.

And we continue to pray and/or send good vibes and/or positive thoughts and/or keep vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Nosmo's mom,
Rod, GW's partner,
Kat's sister,
Boedicca, her dad, brother, and family,
Sherry's Mom for treatment to be successful,
The Ringels in difficult transition
Dana, Foxfyre's friend recovering from heart transplant
Mr. and Mrs. Gracie in difficult transition
Ringel's injured shoulder and general wellness
Saveliberty for positive resolution for difficult transition,
Mr. and Mrs. Peach174 for full recovery from setback,
Strength and stamina for gallantwarrior in his relocation project,
And for our students, job hunters, others in transition.

And the light is left on for Noomi, Freedombecki, AgainSheila, Esthermoon, SFC Ollie, and all others we hope are okay and will return to us.

Autumn in Wisconsin

 

[Ridgerunner]

Well Boys and Girls today marks my 6 month anniversary of being back in Hawaii... I have no regrets at all... My relationship with my first wife is and has been really exceptional... Seems that our 13 year break from each other has made us appreciate what we had at one time... Now I am not going to say it has all been strawberries and shortcake, but when there is an issue it seems to be laughable and is soon forgotten... I love living here in Hawaii and do value the beauty and weather...

Medically I have been poked and prodded and pictures have been taken where no man has ever been before... I have a whole flock of Doctors that are taking better care of me than I have ever been taken care of... I am being treated for my Hepatitis C for the third time and in my fourth month I am undetectable of the Hep C Virus... It is not a 100% positive that the virus is gone as they will not say the word cured until 3 months post treatment... My Diabetes numbers are better that they have been in 10 years... I have lost some weight but need to lose quite a bit more... I am deliberately exercising more than I ever have with the exception of Basic Training...

I have been blessed and I know it... I have to keep my head squared away because when bad things happen most generally it is because of my Cranium Rectalitis...

My daughter and SIL, 2 Grandkids (boys 12 and 6) will be here at Christmas for about 10 days... Can't wait...

Thank you all for the shits and giggles...

 

[Dajjal]

What do u do for stress besides drinking or drugs?

If you are really stressed you can just sit quietly and watch your breathing. Do not try to control your breathing, just observe it, and you will notice it gradually slows down. Then there are walking mantras to occupy your mind.
Repeat the same thing over and over again to stop your mind worrying. An ancient Christian mantra is.......

Everything passes, everything changes, nothing remains, only God.