USMB Coffee Shop IV

[007]

OK... so new vehicle #3 in less than 2 years. Been on a roll here, but factor in some bad luck, and some good luck, and this beauty is what I've wound up with.

So how did all this start? Well, I had a 2011 Tahoe and it was time to trade up, so I bought a 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD LTZ Z71. Really liked that truck a lot, but I really didn't need a 3/4 ton, so I got a wild hair and traded that in on a new 2017 2SS Camaro. Had fun with that, but then I had two vehicles that had to sit in my garage in winter because I didn't drive them in the salt, the Camaro and my collector, lifted, 1997 GMC. So I bought a 2005 Chevy Suburban to drive in the winter, put a couple grand in that fixing it up, and then got fed up. Didn't want my shop full of vehicles that just sat for 6 months out of year inside, so I sold the GMC outright and traded the Suburban and the Camaro in on a 2018 Chevy High Country, Chevy's top of the line truck. Well, had that for 8 months, only had 2,900 miles on it, and the transmission was making a horrid noise like an old Ford power steering pump run low on fluid, and it seemed to surge going up hills, and seemed not smooth but had a rough vibration, and it lurched a few times when I started it sitting in the shop, in PARK. So the SECOND time I took it in to get fixed, I got RID of it. I read a bunch online about the GM 8 speed that I wasn't aware of that scared the pants off me. I knew dang well if I kept it, it would be an ongoing deal messing with that transmission. It was a LEMON. But, I think I hit a home run with the beast below, and this truck has the new HEAVY duty 10 speed. The new 2019 Chevy Silverado LTZ, MAX TRAILERING PACKAGE. RARE truck. A guy had come into the dealer and special ordered it from the factory with the Max Trailering Package intending to tow with it, and then just decided he wanted a diesel and didn't buy it. Along comes me, and his loss is my gain. I could go on and on about what upgrades come on the Max Trailering Package but I'll leave that to the curious to look up, but I think I hit a home run on this rig. The dealer felt bad so they gave me MORE than trade in value on the High Country, AND they called GM and they kicked in EXTRA too, plus all the discounts for buying a 2019 year end and I got a smokin' hot deal. I could NOT be HAPPIER... FINALLY, because this truck is FIVE TIMES the truck the High Country was, and even though the HC is supposed to be the epitome of the Chevy trucks, this LTZ has MORE options on it than the HC did. I LOVE this truck, and being an incurable gear head, hotrod nut case, I had to share this story, JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT...

 

[JustAnotherNut]

We finally took hubs ashes up to Mt Rainier, near his favorite hunting spot as he had requested and spent the afternoon hiking in the woods afterward. It was good to get out & away from the house & normal everyday stuff. It's never easy letting go

 

[Foxfyre]

OK... so new vehicle #3 in less than 2 years. Been on a roll here, but factor in some bad luck, and some good luck, and this beauty is what I've wound up with.

So how did all this start? Well, I had a 2011 Tahoe and it was time to trade up, so I bought a 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD LTZ Z71. Really liked that truck a lot, but I really didn't need a 3/4 ton, so I got a wild hair and traded that in on a new 2017 2SS Camaro. Had fun with that, but then I had two vehicles that had to sit in my garage in winter because I didn't drive them in the salt, the Camaro and my collector, lifted, 1997 GMC. So I bought a 2005 Chevy Suburban to drive in the winter, put a couple grand in that fixing it up, and then got fed up. Didn't want my shop full of vehicles that just sat for 6 months out of year inside, so I sold the GMC outright and traded the Suburban and the Camaro in on a 2018 Chevy High Country, Chevy's top of the line truck. Well, had that for 8 months, only had 2,900 miles on it, and the transmission was making a horrid noise like an old Ford power steering pump run low on fluid, and it seemed to surge going up hills, and seemed not smooth but had a rough vibration, and it lurched a few times when I started it sitting in the shop, in PARK. So the SECOND time I took it in to get fixed, I got RID of it. I read a bunch online about the GM 8 speed that I wasn't aware of that scared the pants off me. I knew dang well if I kept it, it would be an ongoing deal messing with that transmission. It was a LEMON. But, I think I hit a home run with the beast below, and this truck has the new HEAVY duty 10 speed. The new 2019 Chevy Silverado LTZ, MAX TRAILERING PACKAGE. RARE truck. A guy had come into the dealer and special ordered it from the factory with the Max Trailering Package intending to tow with it, and then just decided he wanted a diesel and didn't buy it. Along comes me, and his loss is my gain. I could go on and on about what upgrades come on the Max Trailering Package but I'll leave that to the curious to look up, but I think I hit a home run on this rig. The dealer felt bad so they gave me MORE than trade in value on the High Country, AND they called GM and they kicked in EXTRA too, plus all the discounts for buying a 2019 year end and I got a smokin' hot deal. I could NOT be HAPPIER... FINALLY, because this truck is FIVE TIMES the truck the High Country was, and even though the HC is supposed to be the epitome of the Chevy trucks, this LTZ has MORE options on it than the HC did. I LOVE this truck, and being an incurable gear head, hotrod nut case, I had to share this story, JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT...

It's gorgeous.

 

[Foxfyre]

We finally took hubs ashes up to Mt Rainier, near his favorite hunting spot as he had requested and spent the afternoon hiking in the woods afterward. It was good to get out & away from the house & normal everyday stuff. It's never easy letting go

No it isn't. Definitely one of those bittersweet moments that tugs at the heart. Sending you a comforting hug across the miles.

 

[Foxfyre]

"atelier" .. wait a sec., I have to look that up....atelier - Dictionary Definition

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger Lump, as I had to pull out the Funk and Wagnalls also... I love learnin' new words...

embracing the suck and pursuing the positive..

Thank you... Definitely words of a wise individual...

I have a thing for goofy funny words like Lumpy and at least these days you don't have to carry a dictionary around..

.. I have a son and daughter that have gone through US Army boot camps, they taught me things and my parents were bluntly pragmatic. My daughter has been sweating it out (war games) in a California desert for the past 3+ weeks.. Sheesh ..
.

I know you're proud of her/them though.

 

[Foxfyre]

I had a brief phone interview earlier. I should find out in the next few days if the company wants me to come in for a face to face interview. The job would be a late second shift position, 5:30 PM to 2:00 AM. It's a bit further away from me than my current job, so instead of a 10 minute drive I'd have a 20-30 minute drive. On the other hand, it would pay something like $2 an hour more to start. It's also a lab job, so in the medical field; it fits with my education and, I think, could more easily lead to career advancement in the future, whether with the same company or as good experience.

At the same time, I don't hate my current job. I get along with the people I work with, my superiors seem to appreciate my work, it's very close to where I currently live. I'm just not sure what sort of advancement I could find there, even if I get direct hired. I'm also finding my hands feeling sore from flipping through various cards for 39-49 hours a week.

If I do get offered the lab position, it may be a 4-5 week wait from the time they offer the job and the job actually starting. It has to do with limited orientation spaces, apparently. If that's the case and they offer me the job, I may take a week off between leaving my current job and starting the new one to go visit my parents. It's a lot harder to find time to do that sort of thing with a regular job than when I was a live in nanny.

The idea of going to a new job makes me a bit anxious: it took longer than I'd hoped and expected to find a job after I finished school, and while I am a good employee there's no guarantee a new job would work out well. I might not get along with the people at work, I might not do the work that well, who knows? Still, considering how lucky I am to be in the position I am currently in, having a place to live where I don't have to worry about so many of the bills that one usually does worry about, now is probably a good time to consider switching jobs. I'd be safer doing it at this point then if I were living on my own.

I haven't even had a face to face interview yet, so I'm not counting my chickens, just trying to plan ahead a bit in case I do get the job offer.

Keeping my fingers crossed that you will know the right thing to do when the time comes, whether it is the job you have, the possible job, or some other job. I am pretty sure you'll wind up where you are supposed to be but it may require some patience.

 

[Foxfyre]

And for this morning's perusal, some things that make you go hmmmm. . . .

This should really help out colorblind people:

 

[Foxfyre]

Oldies but goodies

 

[Foxfyre]

I usually make Hombre open containers like canned biscuits or Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. But even though we know it is going to happen, we both have our teeth clinched, our muscles tightened up, our shoulders hunched, and are wincing as we do it. And it still makes us recoil.

 

[SFC Ollie]

Just peeking in.............

 

[gallantwarrior]

I think summer here has packed up & left. It's been kinda cool & rainy off & on the last couple of days so the house was getting a bit chilly and I was almost tempted to start a fire to warm it up...…..instead I chose to make it a baking day. Did a cake, a batch of oatmeal, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, a chicken for supper and a batch of bread....one loaf, a few rolls and even fried a few pieces for our brunch.

I don't know what I did differently with the bread from my usual recipe, but today's turned out pretty darned close to my mothers. She was famous for her cooking especially her homemade bread being so light & fluffy with a soft chewy crust. After she passed, everyone asked me for her recipe. Unfortunately she never used a recipe, it was always a bit of this & dab of that and a bunch of something else. And her bread was something she never really taught me and I didn't pay enough attention, cause well, ya know...I thought I could do it better. . All I can remember is her having flour from head to toe, proofing her yeast in a glass, hands covered with globs of dough, and oil.

Somehow I doubt I'd ever be able to do it again.

The weather turned here, too. I'll have to clean the flues this weekend because I think I'm running out of time. With as cool as it has been, we'll need the wood burner sooner rather than later. I still have tons of wood to bring in, too.

Yep, a full month or so early. Usually September is just an extension of August, though not quite as hot. This year has been more like Mother Nature left on Labor Day weekend, and isn't expected back until sometime next year.

Been a busy bee trying to get ready for Old Man winter, just in case we get another 2 ft of snow like last year. Unfortunately I think I'm behind in that race. Things will work out....will they? won't they?? Of course they will, always do.

I think that all of us are behind in the race with Old Man Winter. I did manage to get another half cord in and am going to gather more tomorrow. A friend of mine had to cull some beetle-kill spruce from her front yard and has invited me to come clean up the mess. On my way, Sweetie, on my way...

 

[gallantwarrior]

We got a real frog strangler of a rain last night and it came down fast--2 inches in the rain guage this morning and for Albuquerque that is a LOT. Pretty well trashed our back yard and the water backed up into our enclosed back porch. And the roof has sprung a new leak. And I ask why us???? But I remind myself that it's us because we were here. Oh well. This too shall pass.

YIKES! That is a lot for y'all. We have finally gotten something close to normal weather. That means rain and cooler temps. I'll have to cut wood in the rain now, but it is welcome because the summer was so hot. They've lifted the burn bans and I have a lot of slash to burn off. It's going to be expensive and difficult to keep enough wood around this coming winter. The partner will be here 24/7 and there is no help with him to process enough wood. I'm thinking I'll need at least double the amount I needed last year. He does like it warmer than I do. I'm not even considering the cost of running the generator. As soon as it's too cold to spend time outside, he'll be in here watching his shows all day.
What a shit show. More expensive, less money; more resource intensive, less time to process those resources...

Well sending all kinds of positive vibes your way GW. The partner has no family anywhere who can help with this? At least financially?

Unfortunately, any family the pard has he alienated years ago. They wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire. I am more fortunate because my family is willing to help me out, at least for my sake. The partner is constantly spouting off about going back to his place in town. He knows, or course, that I cannot do that, as much as I'd like to. It's part of the passive-aggressive manipulation. As soon as the docs clear him to drive, he's going back to town and I don't care whether he ever shows up again. My brother did help me with some methods of dealing with abnormal behavior of this type. I have my brother's voice in my head telling me to "shut up, ignore him". It does help...

 

[gallantwarrior]

OK... so new vehicle #3 in less than 2 years. Been on a roll here, but factor in some bad luck, and some good luck, and this beauty is what I've wound up with.

So how did all this start? Well, I had a 2011 Tahoe and it was time to trade up, so I bought a 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD LTZ Z71. Really liked that truck a lot, but I really didn't need a 3/4 ton, so I got a wild hair and traded that in on a new 2017 2SS Camaro. Had fun with that, but then I had two vehicles that had to sit in my garage in winter because I didn't drive them in the salt, the Camaro and my collector, lifted, 1997 GMC. So I bought a 2005 Chevy Suburban to drive in the winter, put a couple grand in that fixing it up, and then got fed up. Didn't want my shop full of vehicles that just sat for 6 months out of year inside, so I sold the GMC outright and traded the Suburban and the Camaro in on a 2018 Chevy High Country, Chevy's top of the line truck. Well, had that for 8 months, only had 2,900 miles on it, and the transmission was making a horrid noise like an old Ford power steering pump run low on fluid, and it seemed to surge going up hills, and seemed not smooth but had a rough vibration, and it lurched a few times when I started it sitting in the shop, in PARK. So the SECOND time I took it in to get fixed, I got RID of it. I read a bunch online about the GM 8 speed that I wasn't aware of that scared the pants off me. I knew dang well if I kept it, it would be an ongoing deal messing with that transmission. It was a LEMON. But, I think I hit a home run with the beast below, and this truck has the new HEAVY duty 10 speed. The new 2019 Chevy Silverado LTZ, MAX TRAILERING PACKAGE. RARE truck. A guy had come into the dealer and special ordered it from the factory with the Max Trailering Package intending to tow with it, and then just decided he wanted a diesel and didn't buy it. Along comes me, and his loss is my gain. I could go on and on about what upgrades come on the Max Trailering Package but I'll leave that to the curious to look up, but I think I hit a home run on this rig. The dealer felt bad so they gave me MORE than trade in value on the High Country, AND they called GM and they kicked in EXTRA too, plus all the discounts for buying a 2019 year end and I got a smokin' hot deal. I could NOT be HAPPIER... FINALLY, because this truck is FIVE TIMES the truck the High Country was, and even though the HC is supposed to be the epitome of the Chevy trucks, this LTZ has MORE options on it than the HC did. I LOVE this truck, and being an incurable gear head, hotrod nut case, I had to share this story, JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT...

It's gorgeous.

We finally took hubs ashes up to Mt Rainier, near his favorite hunting spot as he had requested and spent the afternoon hiking in the woods afterward. It was good to get out & away from the house & normal everyday stuff. It's never easy letting go

May all of us find our peace where we would wish to be. I want to be cremated and put on my garden.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Just peeking in.............

Voyeur!

 

[JustAnotherNut]

We got a real frog strangler of a rain last night and it came down fast--2 inches in the rain guage this morning and for Albuquerque that is a LOT. Pretty well trashed our back yard and the water backed up into our enclosed back porch. And the roof has sprung a new leak. And I ask why us???? But I remind myself that it's us because we were here. Oh well. This too shall pass.

YIKES! That is a lot for y'all. We have finally gotten something close to normal weather. That means rain and cooler temps. I'll have to cut wood in the rain now, but it is welcome because the summer was so hot. They've lifted the burn bans and I have a lot of slash to burn off. It's going to be expensive and difficult to keep enough wood around this coming winter. The partner will be here 24/7 and there is no help with him to process enough wood. I'm thinking I'll need at least double the amount I needed last year. He does like it warmer than I do. I'm not even considering the cost of running the generator. As soon as it's too cold to spend time outside, he'll be in here watching his shows all day.
What a shit show. More expensive, less money; more resource intensive, less time to process those resources...

Well sending all kinds of positive vibes your way GW. The partner has no family anywhere who can help with this? At least financially?

Unfortunately, any family the pard has he alienated years ago. They wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire. I am more fortunate because my family is willing to help me out, at least for my sake. The partner is constantly spouting off about going back to his place in town. He knows, or course, that I cannot do that, as much as I'd like to. It's part of the passive-aggressive manipulation. As soon as the docs clear him to drive, he's going back to town and I don't care whether he ever shows up again. My brother did help me with some methods of dealing with abnormal behavior of this type. I have my brother's voice in my head telling me to "shut up, ignore him". It does help...

earplugs...

 

[Foxfyre]

We got a real frog strangler of a rain last night and it came down fast--2 inches in the rain guage this morning and for Albuquerque that is a LOT. Pretty well trashed our back yard and the water backed up into our enclosed back porch. And the roof has sprung a new leak. And I ask why us???? But I remind myself that it's us because we were here. Oh well. This too shall pass.

YIKES! That is a lot for y'all. We have finally gotten something close to normal weather. That means rain and cooler temps. I'll have to cut wood in the rain now, but it is welcome because the summer was so hot. They've lifted the burn bans and I have a lot of slash to burn off. It's going to be expensive and difficult to keep enough wood around this coming winter. The partner will be here 24/7 and there is no help with him to process enough wood. I'm thinking I'll need at least double the amount I needed last year. He does like it warmer than I do. I'm not even considering the cost of running the generator. As soon as it's too cold to spend time outside, he'll be in here watching his shows all day.
What a shit show. More expensive, less money; more resource intensive, less time to process those resources...

Well sending all kinds of positive vibes your way GW. The partner has no family anywhere who can help with this? At least financially?

Unfortunately, any family the pard has he alienated years ago. They wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire. I am more fortunate because my family is willing to help me out, at least for my sake. The partner is constantly spouting off about going back to his place in town. He knows, or course, that I cannot do that, as much as I'd like to. It's part of the passive-aggressive manipulation. As soon as the docs clear him to drive, he's going back to town and I don't care whether he ever shows up again. My brother did help me with some methods of dealing with abnormal behavior of this type. I have my brother's voice in my head telling me to "shut up, ignore him". It does help...

I know it's hard. But yes, just ignoring bullies does help whether you are dealing with them in your real life or here at USMB or whatever. And he is an emotional bully.

 

[Foxfyre]

 

[Foxfyre]

 

[Foxfyre]

One more. . .

. . .and I'm still deciding which of those days I am going to have today.

 

[Frannie]

There should be one place in the USMB village where folks can just be themselves and get to know each other as we would if we lived next door or worked together or joined the same gym.

This is a place to just come in and say hi, let us know what's going on with you these days, celebrate joys, concerns, jokes, music, hobbies, interests, love and life.

So check your spurs, sidearms, politics, and religious fussing at the door, come in to enjoy an adult beverage or a hot cup of coffee and a piece of pie or whatever comforts your soul, and let's just enjoy each other.

I bust my ass in the gym. You talk it up all u want