Mrs. French's cat is missing
November 25, 2024 6:54 AM Subscribe
As the man says in Pontypool, "In the wake of huge events, after them and before them, physical details they spasm for a moment; they sort of unlock and when they come back into focus they suddenly coincide in a weird way. Street names and birthdates and middle names, all kinds of superfluous things appear related to each other. It's a ripple effect. So, what does it mean? Well... it means something's going to happen. Something big. But then, something's always about to happen." Has reality ever seemed to bend right in front of your eyes? For me, it might have been when I found out last week that Build A Bear now makes a mothman. Reality is collapsing. There are no rules.* This is your weekly free thread.
*There is still the one rule here: no politics.
*There is still the one rule here: no politics.
Mothman stole my catalytic converter.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:59 AM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:59 AM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
PONTYPOOL
posted by Alex404 at 7:11 AM on November 25, 2024 [5 favorites]
posted by Alex404 at 7:11 AM on November 25, 2024 [5 favorites]
To recap my last comment re: Pontypool.
Shepherd listens to a horror podcast hosted by Milk & Cheese legend Evan Dorkin called Tear Them Apart. When Evan and his pal did Pontypool, Matt did a sidetrip to the IRL Pontypool to take a picture for them. He joked what made Pontypool more remarkable than the plot is that Pontypool could support a fulltime indie radio station. However, the drug bust in Caesarea was spot on.
In other news:
I turn 48 on Wednesday.
Elderly parents who are in need of assistance, or really, a good talking-to about their current circumstances continues to be a throughline.
posted by Kitteh at 7:20 AM on November 25, 2024 [5 favorites]
Shepherd listens to a horror podcast hosted by Milk & Cheese legend Evan Dorkin called Tear Them Apart. When Evan and his pal did Pontypool, Matt did a sidetrip to the IRL Pontypool to take a picture for them. He joked what made Pontypool more remarkable than the plot is that Pontypool could support a fulltime indie radio station. However, the drug bust in Caesarea was spot on.
In other news:
I turn 48 on Wednesday.
Elderly parents who are in need of assistance, or really, a good talking-to about their current circumstances continues to be a throughline.
posted by Kitteh at 7:20 AM on November 25, 2024 [5 favorites]
Here is a direct download of Pontypool from the Internet Archive if you've never seen this film, which I sometimes refer to as "MeFi's Favorite Horror Movie," as it recommended/praised so very often on this site.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:22 AM on November 25, 2024 [8 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:22 AM on November 25, 2024 [8 favorites]
My Apple II FPGA card hobby project had been lying fallow for a while, but I've gotten back onto it, and starting to make progress again. A big milestone I hit this weekend was Mockingboard support! The Mockingboard was the most popular sound card for the Apple II back in the day.
My project partner had the software side of sound support taken care of months ago (the part which generates the sound and sends it out to the HDMI monitor), which he wrote with the assistance of the genuine Mockingboard he still owns. But the way the card works, certain things have to happen locally on the physical card, and that's what I got working.
It's been exciting! I had to finally start looking at Verilog code directly in order to make this work. So far I've been using a toy language that my FPGA board has, which definitely smoothed the learning curve a bit, but I'm getting ready to take the training wheels off.
My next step is to figure out how to operate the SDRAM which comes preinstalled on the FPGA board. The training wheels dev environment has some stuff which helps set it up, but it's still a moderately complicated interface. I am initially just looking to verify some latency numbers to make sure of how much time I have to work with on each Apple II bus cycle, and hoping the numbers add up in a favorable way.
posted by notoriety public at 7:25 AM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
My project partner had the software side of sound support taken care of months ago (the part which generates the sound and sends it out to the HDMI monitor), which he wrote with the assistance of the genuine Mockingboard he still owns. But the way the card works, certain things have to happen locally on the physical card, and that's what I got working.
It's been exciting! I had to finally start looking at Verilog code directly in order to make this work. So far I've been using a toy language that my FPGA board has, which definitely smoothed the learning curve a bit, but I'm getting ready to take the training wheels off.
My next step is to figure out how to operate the SDRAM which comes preinstalled on the FPGA board. The training wheels dev environment has some stuff which helps set it up, but it's still a moderately complicated interface. I am initially just looking to verify some latency numbers to make sure of how much time I have to work with on each Apple II bus cycle, and hoping the numbers add up in a favorable way.
posted by notoriety public at 7:25 AM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
I downloaded Pontypool from The Internet Archive the last time it was mentioned here, I haven't watched it yet.
Don't tell anyone, but All That Jazz is only available online from The Internet Archive too. After the musical movies thread I went in search of it, and the only truly-legal access is by buying a Criterion Collection DVD. This sort of thing is why I'm a reluctant pirate. The death of video rental places has eliminated an important part of the media distribution: mild inconvenience to watch something just once.
Film student update: The only project I'm 'working' on is our 16mm final project, but it's weird because I have no post-production role so I just have to hope that the editor and director are getting things taken care of. The film did come back in good shape -- the daylight outdoors parts were overexposed but that's a minor part of the film.
The weekend before last was the 48 Hour Film Project; I literally ran from the premiere of my other project to meet my team to get started making this film. Here's what we made: Guitar Lessons. I was primarily DOP/Cinematographer on it. I have a rule against self-criticism, but I made a mistake that I think is so glaring and indefensible that I have to admit it to somebody: I broke the plane for the guitar store scenes. I was so concerned about what we saw in the background I moved the wrong way. But, it's a learning experience, and part of making a fast film is working quickly and instinctively, so I add this to my "things to always remember" list. (Yes, I know there's a couple areas with focus issues too).
I also did a "tighten up" edit on it -- We finished filming at 9pm Saturday, and the director-editor sent us all home, said he'd work all night to get an edit ready and we could meet up at 9am to take over so he could go sleep. At 7:30 AM he tapped out, said he couldn't get it down to the maximum time limit and was too tired to continue, so I headed over and got us under-limit, then I went over to the sound studio with our songwriter/guitarist and recorded the score. Overall I'm proud of it, for what we pulled together in under two days.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:40 AM on November 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
Don't tell anyone, but All That Jazz is only available online from The Internet Archive too. After the musical movies thread I went in search of it, and the only truly-legal access is by buying a Criterion Collection DVD. This sort of thing is why I'm a reluctant pirate. The death of video rental places has eliminated an important part of the media distribution: mild inconvenience to watch something just once.
Film student update: The only project I'm 'working' on is our 16mm final project, but it's weird because I have no post-production role so I just have to hope that the editor and director are getting things taken care of. The film did come back in good shape -- the daylight outdoors parts were overexposed but that's a minor part of the film.
The weekend before last was the 48 Hour Film Project; I literally ran from the premiere of my other project to meet my team to get started making this film. Here's what we made: Guitar Lessons. I was primarily DOP/Cinematographer on it. I have a rule against self-criticism, but I made a mistake that I think is so glaring and indefensible that I have to admit it to somebody: I broke the plane for the guitar store scenes. I was so concerned about what we saw in the background I moved the wrong way. But, it's a learning experience, and part of making a fast film is working quickly and instinctively, so I add this to my "things to always remember" list. (Yes, I know there's a couple areas with focus issues too).
I also did a "tighten up" edit on it -- We finished filming at 9pm Saturday, and the director-editor sent us all home, said he'd work all night to get an edit ready and we could meet up at 9am to take over so he could go sleep. At 7:30 AM he tapped out, said he couldn't get it down to the maximum time limit and was too tired to continue, so I headed over and got us under-limit, then I went over to the sound studio with our songwriter/guitarist and recorded the score. Overall I'm proud of it, for what we pulled together in under two days.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:40 AM on November 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
My big news this week is that my current show is a....giant hit?!?! It's a homegrown (written by locals) musical of Robin Hood with song parodies and it's super cheesy--I liken it to Spamalot. There's a rubber chicken, Prince John has a fidget spinner*, we seriously ride stick horses through the audience, Friar Tuck sword fights with one hand while holding and taking a bite from a turkey leg in the other hand, and we added in** a lightsaber that Robin gets knighted with.
* note: every time someone brings up historical accuracy, someone else will bring up, "Prince John has a fidget spinner."
** this show is based off a show from the 1970's. One of the original 1970's people came Saturday night and said all he remembered of the show was the line, "May the forest be with you," and the director was all, WE ARE ADDING THIS IN and King Richard's son apparently had a lightsaber on hand....
I sort of had concerns as to whether or not this was going to be too cheesy, but people are loving it. It got standing ovations, it sold out on the gala night and I think got even more tickets the second night. People love the oldies songs, they laugh at the caravan riding through the audience, and people started donating money left and right during "Robin Hood's United Way," in which we go through the audience with plates we didn't actually expect to get money on. Sunday was a bit less people, but still did well. My mom's boyfriend called it a delight and worth driving 1.5 hours to see.
I also cracked up at another friend of mine saying, "It was better than My Fair Lady," which is playing at the other theater I perform at and is 3 hours and 45 minutes long. After the show on Sunday I went out to dinner with some people from MFL--I note the lady running the lights had enough time to text me during the show--and when I went to the show, it had said the show was 2 hours and 45 minutes. The lady who did the program said, "I looked up an old program and it had said 2 hours and 45 minutes. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!" and then she updated the program to say it runs 3 hours and 15 minutes....I'm told it's down to 3.5 hours in practice. I'm fine without having done this one.
I have one pickup rehearsal tomorrow (why?!) and then the show runs another weekend, and then I'm officially On Break from shows for the month of December. What will I do with my time? Probably catch up on Hallmark Christmas movies.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:04 AM on November 25, 2024 [44 favorites]
* note: every time someone brings up historical accuracy, someone else will bring up, "Prince John has a fidget spinner."
** this show is based off a show from the 1970's. One of the original 1970's people came Saturday night and said all he remembered of the show was the line, "May the forest be with you," and the director was all, WE ARE ADDING THIS IN and King Richard's son apparently had a lightsaber on hand....
I sort of had concerns as to whether or not this was going to be too cheesy, but people are loving it. It got standing ovations, it sold out on the gala night and I think got even more tickets the second night. People love the oldies songs, they laugh at the caravan riding through the audience, and people started donating money left and right during "Robin Hood's United Way," in which we go through the audience with plates we didn't actually expect to get money on. Sunday was a bit less people, but still did well. My mom's boyfriend called it a delight and worth driving 1.5 hours to see.
I also cracked up at another friend of mine saying, "It was better than My Fair Lady," which is playing at the other theater I perform at and is 3 hours and 45 minutes long. After the show on Sunday I went out to dinner with some people from MFL--I note the lady running the lights had enough time to text me during the show--and when I went to the show, it had said the show was 2 hours and 45 minutes. The lady who did the program said, "I looked up an old program and it had said 2 hours and 45 minutes. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!" and then she updated the program to say it runs 3 hours and 15 minutes....I'm told it's down to 3.5 hours in practice. I'm fine without having done this one.
I have one pickup rehearsal tomorrow (why?!) and then the show runs another weekend, and then I'm officially On Break from shows for the month of December. What will I do with my time? Probably catch up on Hallmark Christmas movies.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:04 AM on November 25, 2024 [44 favorites]
I’m so happy for you, jenfullmoon. You deserve this success.
posted by notoriety public at 8:13 AM on November 25, 2024 [6 favorites]
posted by notoriety public at 8:13 AM on November 25, 2024 [6 favorites]
Kiddo informed me this morning that he has a super sensitive tooth, so I’m scrambling to get him in at the dentist. I will be very unsurprised if this turns out to be from getting an elbow to the face.
I’m big mad about the situation at this point. I have been informed that the individual who broke kiddo’s nose has a reputation for being overly aggressive, which has been chalked up to “enthusiasm”.
Due to reasons, spouse is unavailable to take kiddo to any appointments. So I’ve missed a fair amount of work over the past two weeks as I’ve been spending it in medical facilities. The total to fix this mess is climbing. I am falling further behind and starting to miss deadlines, which means I will be spending the upcoming weekend working to catch up.
I’m trying so hard to maintain gratitude. Kiddo will be OK. We have good enough insurance and good savings, this will not break us. I’m grateful that the school does not release names for such incidents, as it is preventing me from going scorched earth.
But holy cats, I’m just so done with everything.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 8:40 AM on November 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
I’m big mad about the situation at this point. I have been informed that the individual who broke kiddo’s nose has a reputation for being overly aggressive, which has been chalked up to “enthusiasm”.
Due to reasons, spouse is unavailable to take kiddo to any appointments. So I’ve missed a fair amount of work over the past two weeks as I’ve been spending it in medical facilities. The total to fix this mess is climbing. I am falling further behind and starting to miss deadlines, which means I will be spending the upcoming weekend working to catch up.
I’m trying so hard to maintain gratitude. Kiddo will be OK. We have good enough insurance and good savings, this will not break us. I’m grateful that the school does not release names for such incidents, as it is preventing me from going scorched earth.
But holy cats, I’m just so done with everything.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 8:40 AM on November 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
My UFO encounter: so late one night I'm driving home southbound on I-15. I had just seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind and was amusing myself by observing that the light pollution ahead of me was reminiscent of the movie poster (a dome of light at end of a road).
SUDDENLY MY CAR WAS FLOODED BY BRILLIANT WHITE LIGHT! Strobing lights at my left side, keeping pace with my car! Oh, no! I don't wanted to be abducted!
Then I look to my left and see that the landing lights at NAS Miramar (now MCAS Miramar; yeah, yeah, the place in Top Gun) had just come on as I was passing. A jet screams overhead; an unusual night landing.
The whole "incident" was over in less than a minute. But for part of that minute, my sense of reality was out of joint.
posted by SPrintF at 8:58 AM on November 25, 2024 [11 favorites]
SUDDENLY MY CAR WAS FLOODED BY BRILLIANT WHITE LIGHT! Strobing lights at my left side, keeping pace with my car! Oh, no! I don't wanted to be abducted!
Then I look to my left and see that the landing lights at NAS Miramar (now MCAS Miramar; yeah, yeah, the place in Top Gun) had just come on as I was passing. A jet screams overhead; an unusual night landing.
The whole "incident" was over in less than a minute. But for part of that minute, my sense of reality was out of joint.
posted by SPrintF at 8:58 AM on November 25, 2024 [11 favorites]
well if reality is going to collapse into some random weirdness, I'm glad its so cute!
posted by supermedusa at 9:44 AM on November 25, 2024
posted by supermedusa at 9:44 AM on November 25, 2024
I had the house to myself last night and decided to rewatch Orlando, which is one of my favorite movies. I hadn't watched it in a while but I did remember that the ending always makes me cry. It's not really sad but it gets me every time. so yeah, I was bawling my eyes out about Herbert (cat) and my dad and and and and then I fell asleep on the coach.
posted by supermedusa at 10:00 AM on November 25, 2024 [6 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 10:00 AM on November 25, 2024 [6 favorites]
Frankly I would love for my reality to collapse right now; the existing one is fucking suck-ass bullshit trash but sadly it seems quite tenacious.
I signed up for a rage room for my birthday because if I know I can smash a bunch of stuff to tiny, tiny bits on Date X, then I will not rip my work laptop in half with my bare hands and run it over with my boyfriend's car. Probably.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 10:10 AM on November 25, 2024 [9 favorites]
I signed up for a rage room for my birthday because if I know I can smash a bunch of stuff to tiny, tiny bits on Date X, then I will not rip my work laptop in half with my bare hands and run it over with my boyfriend's car. Probably.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 10:10 AM on November 25, 2024 [9 favorites]
My job is hard enough but it's even harder when an increasing amount of energy is being devoted to trying to NOT burst into tears at my desk out of frustration.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:23 AM on November 25, 2024 [9 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:23 AM on November 25, 2024 [9 favorites]
I am directly responsible for about 50 graduate students, but there are 20+ others who I'm technically the director for, mostly because I'm tenured and the people practically responsible for these students are lecturers or assistant professors, and don't even get me started on the academic plantation system even though I benefit from it tremendously.
So I got a call Saturday night from a psychiatric hospital about 90 miles from my office, and long story short, one of these grad students drove his car off the road and into a tree. The police interpreted this as a suicide attempt rather than the Ockham's Razor conclusion of "he fell asleep at the wheel", and since I am the technical supervisor, I had to drive my ass down there, showing up at 0130, and talk to the guy (who I'd only met via email and Zoom), find out he'd been working two jobs because his mom got laid off, use all my social skills to extract him from the hospital and take him to the impound lot (his car, like his face, was battered but usable) only to find that the impound lot guy "had a family thing" and nobody was going to be there until 0700. So I spent about four and a half hours in a Waffle House in semirural Georgia, listening to this guy's life story. And I haaate Waffle House: I've lived in Georgia for 31 years and while there are many things I like about the state, WH is in no way one of them: the food is total garbage.
There is nothing wrong with him that a couple of days rest and a few hearty meals wouldn't solve, but at least the mental hospital people had just chucked him in a padded room instead of filling him full of drugs, so by about 0930 we were back at our respective homes. His mom seemed nice.
But then this morning I get an angrygram summoning me to the dean of students' office, even though I am off this whole week. Dean is livid because I evidently should have left the guy in the hospital all weekend and let HIS office come solve the problem today. I'm like are you fucking kidding, there's no way I'm leaving even someone I don't like to the mercies of a rural Georgia mental hospital. Dean "did not care for my attitude," I'm like first of all, you ain't seen nothing yet, and secondly, when I had a student 2 years ago who DID attempt suicide, disappeared into the system and didn't respond to queries for a week, I filled out your office's online wellness check form, and you didn't even acknowledge that for another week, so, get fucked. What a treat.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 10:59 AM on November 25, 2024 [40 favorites]
So I got a call Saturday night from a psychiatric hospital about 90 miles from my office, and long story short, one of these grad students drove his car off the road and into a tree. The police interpreted this as a suicide attempt rather than the Ockham's Razor conclusion of "he fell asleep at the wheel", and since I am the technical supervisor, I had to drive my ass down there, showing up at 0130, and talk to the guy (who I'd only met via email and Zoom), find out he'd been working two jobs because his mom got laid off, use all my social skills to extract him from the hospital and take him to the impound lot (his car, like his face, was battered but usable) only to find that the impound lot guy "had a family thing" and nobody was going to be there until 0700. So I spent about four and a half hours in a Waffle House in semirural Georgia, listening to this guy's life story. And I haaate Waffle House: I've lived in Georgia for 31 years and while there are many things I like about the state, WH is in no way one of them: the food is total garbage.
There is nothing wrong with him that a couple of days rest and a few hearty meals wouldn't solve, but at least the mental hospital people had just chucked him in a padded room instead of filling him full of drugs, so by about 0930 we were back at our respective homes. His mom seemed nice.
But then this morning I get an angrygram summoning me to the dean of students' office, even though I am off this whole week. Dean is livid because I evidently should have left the guy in the hospital all weekend and let HIS office come solve the problem today. I'm like are you fucking kidding, there's no way I'm leaving even someone I don't like to the mercies of a rural Georgia mental hospital. Dean "did not care for my attitude," I'm like first of all, you ain't seen nothing yet, and secondly, when I had a student 2 years ago who DID attempt suicide, disappeared into the system and didn't respond to queries for a week, I filled out your office's online wellness check form, and you didn't even acknowledge that for another week, so, get fucked. What a treat.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 10:59 AM on November 25, 2024 [40 favorites]
Early last summer I ended up becoming the caregiver for a relative of mine with a history of mental illness and a whole lot of pretty substantial physical illnesses as well. I moved him across the country to my small rural town at the end of June. So, almost five months in and I am about at my wits end - and it's not because of him. It's because of the logistics around all of this. Years ago he and I were joint caretakers for my wonderful hippie artist aunt. I mistakenly thought this was going to be similar. WRONG!
First of all, that was before the weasel fell into the large hadron collider, the Orange One got elected and the timeline switched to darkness which, basically, led to the collapse of healthcare as we knew it in the states when it was still at least semi functional. (I joke about this, ha ha, but actually the jokes become more hollow year by year and I believe it more and more.) Second of all, there were two of us, one was retired and both had working vehicles. Third of all, there was real money to cushion any blows.
Now I'm doing it on hard mode: alone, without much money (just enough to ensure that he doesn't receive any services, not enough to be sure he's taken care of for the rest of his life) with a full time demanding job, and - surprise, surprise - it's not working out super well. Add in the daily chaos of my household: me, my two adult kids and my three year old granddaughter, all in our small 3 bedroom bungalow. This week alone when my truck broke down and the kitchen was being remodeled in a probably vain attempt to make some form of order out of chaos, balls are being dropped all over the place. I am talking to my HR director about FMLA and OFLA, but the thing is, if I'm not here the work does not get done and the work has to get done. It reverberates around if I don't do it. There isn't anyone else. Well, I am not here. There are two, three or more doctor's appointments every week and I have to be there for every single one. Somebody, usually me, has to pick him up and drive him from his apartment to the appointments. Somebody, me, had to spend 5+ hours in the ER last week, just hanging out and occasionally asking a nurse if, please, there was any information at all. Somebody, usually me, has to take him to buy groceries not just for food but because somebody has to hang out with the poor guy so he doesn't keel over out of sheer loneliness. I mean, we're all introverts in this family, but there are limits.
I'm moving him to a better apartment where he will, I hope, be happier and have more scope for going places. It will be minimally closer to us and definitely closer to doctors and the hospital. That will be better, but really he needs assisted living and I haven't gotten that to happen yet. Or maybe ever. Also, the move will have to be handled by, you guessed it, me.
This is just, a lot. Things are falling through the cracks. I do not even know how to fix it.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:34 AM on November 25, 2024 [22 favorites]
First of all, that was before the weasel fell into the large hadron collider, the Orange One got elected and the timeline switched to darkness which, basically, led to the collapse of healthcare as we knew it in the states when it was still at least semi functional. (I joke about this, ha ha, but actually the jokes become more hollow year by year and I believe it more and more.) Second of all, there were two of us, one was retired and both had working vehicles. Third of all, there was real money to cushion any blows.
Now I'm doing it on hard mode: alone, without much money (just enough to ensure that he doesn't receive any services, not enough to be sure he's taken care of for the rest of his life) with a full time demanding job, and - surprise, surprise - it's not working out super well. Add in the daily chaos of my household: me, my two adult kids and my three year old granddaughter, all in our small 3 bedroom bungalow. This week alone when my truck broke down and the kitchen was being remodeled in a probably vain attempt to make some form of order out of chaos, balls are being dropped all over the place. I am talking to my HR director about FMLA and OFLA, but the thing is, if I'm not here the work does not get done and the work has to get done. It reverberates around if I don't do it. There isn't anyone else. Well, I am not here. There are two, three or more doctor's appointments every week and I have to be there for every single one. Somebody, usually me, has to pick him up and drive him from his apartment to the appointments. Somebody, me, had to spend 5+ hours in the ER last week, just hanging out and occasionally asking a nurse if, please, there was any information at all. Somebody, usually me, has to take him to buy groceries not just for food but because somebody has to hang out with the poor guy so he doesn't keel over out of sheer loneliness. I mean, we're all introverts in this family, but there are limits.
I'm moving him to a better apartment where he will, I hope, be happier and have more scope for going places. It will be minimally closer to us and definitely closer to doctors and the hospital. That will be better, but really he needs assisted living and I haven't gotten that to happen yet. Or maybe ever. Also, the move will have to be handled by, you guessed it, me.
This is just, a lot. Things are falling through the cracks. I do not even know how to fix it.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:34 AM on November 25, 2024 [22 favorites]
I'm so sorry, mgl.
Whenever referencing Mothman you should always point out that his statue is so, uh, "caked" that you can leave money offerings in his hinder crease, should you so desire.
posted by emjaybee at 12:05 PM on November 25, 2024
Whenever referencing Mothman you should always point out that his statue is so, uh, "caked" that you can leave money offerings in his hinder crease, should you so desire.
posted by emjaybee at 12:05 PM on November 25, 2024
Joining others in the things-are-hard category at the moment. My father is slowlyish dying in a nursing home and the palliative team haven't been able to control his pain. He isn't very verbal any more so he can't tell staff he's in pain. It is hard to watch. His much younger sister is dying much faster in a hospice and has just asked me to go to see her. Which I will of course do and try to do adequately but I feel I am running out of adequacy. Some of the people stuff - extended family - around all of this is hard. And then there's the problem of not having any work - freelance, struggling to find headspace to seek out work. And a hole has developed in the floor of my house. That's not good is it? I feel like holes are antithetical to houses.
Having read Pollyanna at an impressionable age, I do try to find the positives. This place is one of them - I know I can come here to ask things when I need to. I have written a few questions in my head but not needed to post them yet.
Sending sympathy to others who are in hard places - and really pleased to see jenfullmoon's news!
posted by paduasoy at 12:23 PM on November 25, 2024 [12 favorites]
Having read Pollyanna at an impressionable age, I do try to find the positives. This place is one of them - I know I can come here to ask things when I need to. I have written a few questions in my head but not needed to post them yet.
Sending sympathy to others who are in hard places - and really pleased to see jenfullmoon's news!
posted by paduasoy at 12:23 PM on November 25, 2024 [12 favorites]
I just want to bundle a whole pile of you up into a bear hug and feed you comfort food and tell you you're going to be okay. The worst thing about so many things piling on at once is that grief has a horrible way of eating your capacity to deal with things so that a relatively small but annoying collection of problems becomes a series of all-consuming horrors. Grief does pass, or at least dwindles over time. You will get through it all, one piece of shit at a time, screaming if you have to.
And, now that I'm starting to sound like a Live Love Laugh decoration, a change of topic. We're buckling down for an unseasonal (whatever even is that these days) heatwave. It's going to be 39 for the next couple of days (that's...uh...just over 102 for my USian friends) and I'm busy filling up water stations for the local wildlife around my house. Hubby has just filled all the human water bottles, and we made a pile of ice so we should be set. I have iced barley tea chilling in the fridge and I managed to get Pocari Sweat powder so my hydration needs are met at least.
posted by ninazer0 at 12:48 PM on November 25, 2024 [14 favorites]
And, now that I'm starting to sound like a Live Love Laugh decoration, a change of topic. We're buckling down for an unseasonal (whatever even is that these days) heatwave. It's going to be 39 for the next couple of days (that's...uh...just over 102 for my USian friends) and I'm busy filling up water stations for the local wildlife around my house. Hubby has just filled all the human water bottles, and we made a pile of ice so we should be set. I have iced barley tea chilling in the fridge and I managed to get Pocari Sweat powder so my hydration needs are met at least.
posted by ninazer0 at 12:48 PM on November 25, 2024 [14 favorites]
och, hugs to all who are having a time of it right now.
Mine's relatively minor, but still gave me a jolt. One of the founder members of our local old computer club passed away, and I've been helping to find a home for all his stuff. Dude went into hospital for a minor foot surgery eight months ago, there were complications that kept him in hospital, and a couple of weeks ago he passed. So it turned out the guy was quite a lot of a hoarder, of the electronics/maker kind. He had one room and a bit of a corridor for storage in a basement apartment, and while it's surprisingly organized, there's mountains of stuff: multiples of multiples of things you might use one of, once. It also doesn't help that the owner of the house he was in is also a hoarder, so getting to his stuff is doubly hard. What was most sobering was finding unopened packages from the electronics mail order place I worked at circa 2017. I'm pretty sure I'd find my handwriting on the packing slip if I opened them. I'm seriously reassessing my relationship to stuff now ...
Still haven't found a job yet, as finding the energy isn't really there and I have no idea what I want to do (COBOL, maybe?). I really thought by age 55 I might have had things under control.
posted by scruss at 12:51 PM on November 25, 2024 [9 favorites]
Mine's relatively minor, but still gave me a jolt. One of the founder members of our local old computer club passed away, and I've been helping to find a home for all his stuff. Dude went into hospital for a minor foot surgery eight months ago, there were complications that kept him in hospital, and a couple of weeks ago he passed. So it turned out the guy was quite a lot of a hoarder, of the electronics/maker kind. He had one room and a bit of a corridor for storage in a basement apartment, and while it's surprisingly organized, there's mountains of stuff: multiples of multiples of things you might use one of, once. It also doesn't help that the owner of the house he was in is also a hoarder, so getting to his stuff is doubly hard. What was most sobering was finding unopened packages from the electronics mail order place I worked at circa 2017. I'm pretty sure I'd find my handwriting on the packing slip if I opened them. I'm seriously reassessing my relationship to stuff now ...
Still haven't found a job yet, as finding the energy isn't really there and I have no idea what I want to do (COBOL, maybe?). I really thought by age 55 I might have had things under control.
posted by scruss at 12:51 PM on November 25, 2024 [9 favorites]
→
Which is about the best thing ever.
If anyone's needing some real "disengage brain" entertainment, Netflix's seasonal romcom Hot Frosty is 93 minutes of carefree fluffy nonsense.
posted by scruss at 12:55 PM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
iced barley tea
Which is about the best thing ever.
If anyone's needing some real "disengage brain" entertainment, Netflix's seasonal romcom Hot Frosty is 93 minutes of carefree fluffy nonsense.
posted by scruss at 12:55 PM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
...The women tried out the self defense classes they could find locally, and found them lacking.... They realized that if they wanted relevant, affordable self defense training, they’d have to create it themselves....posted by otherchaz at 1:03 PM on November 25, 2024 [6 favorites]
Home Alive began as a collaborative between many amazing, hardworking people....
In 2010, due to the continuous financial up- and down-swings that seem inherent in the functioning of small nonprofits, Home Alive folks decided to close down the nonprofit aspect of the organization. Since then we have continued as a small, loosely functioning volunteer collective.... We hope to magnify our impact by making our awesome curriculum available on this website for all to use!
I am blue about a bunch of stuff. I had a busy campaign season running a campaign office. It felt good to do something meaningful, and it was fun to be busy working with interesting people towards a goal. Office is all packed up and closed. I have so many deferred tasks, but, meh. Not jazzed about the holidays, because then will come inauguration day. So I need books, and have a stack of them. Tea is called for. Or maybe I'll watch Hot Frosty. There is stock made for some soup and a Thanksgiving casserole (stuffing, roast butternut squash, andouille sausage), because my son is making prime rib, which I love, but I need stuffing and gravy, because, obviously.
posted by theora55 at 4:04 PM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 4:04 PM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
That should say my son is making prime rib for thanksgiving.
posted by theora55 at 4:11 PM on November 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 4:11 PM on November 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
Gravy makes everything better
posted by Windopaene at 4:17 PM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 4:17 PM on November 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
I won my computer Hearts game with 0 points and when I realized I couldn’t yell to my husband to tell him, because my husband has been dead for two years…
I WAS NOT SAD. I just said “huh.” And moved on.
This is epic. It would be lovely not to be In Grief all the time.
It probably helps that since the first Tuesday in November I have not checked social media or read the news at all. I may go back at some point but maybe not.
Since I got rid of my TV a while back this means I’m living in the 1950s but with a smartphone, on which I have been reading Agatha Christie novels. And somehow I’m 73 instead of seven years old.
posted by Peach at 4:20 PM on November 25, 2024 [19 favorites]
I WAS NOT SAD. I just said “huh.” And moved on.
This is epic. It would be lovely not to be In Grief all the time.
It probably helps that since the first Tuesday in November I have not checked social media or read the news at all. I may go back at some point but maybe not.
Since I got rid of my TV a while back this means I’m living in the 1950s but with a smartphone, on which I have been reading Agatha Christie novels. And somehow I’m 73 instead of seven years old.
posted by Peach at 4:20 PM on November 25, 2024 [19 favorites]
It would be lovely not to be In Grief all the time.
My best friend died of a stroke about 6 years ago. Even now, every so often I'll read or see or hear something and think for a moment "Oh, John will like thi-- Oh. Right. Well, he would have liked it." Then I heave a sigh and carry on.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:37 PM on November 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
My best friend died of a stroke about 6 years ago. Even now, every so often I'll read or see or hear something and think for a moment "Oh, John will like thi-- Oh. Right. Well, he would have liked it." Then I heave a sigh and carry on.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:37 PM on November 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
As always, I do extend hope and strength to everyone who is searching, struggling, grieving, or otherwise suffering.
This past few weeks have been pretty eventful. I moved into a new apartment at the beginning of February this year, and found almost immediately that I really disliked the place. And I lost my job at about the same time. Sadly, the landlord developed some health issues during the summer, and eventually asked me to move out of the apartment so that he could use it. After some searching, I found another apartment that isn't perfect, but it will do. It is in a better location than the place I moved out of. And about the same time, I landed a contract that... well... isn't perfect, but it will do. So I moved and started a new job in about the same week. Life isn't ideal, but I have all the essentials.
The bright spot in all this month's activity is I found a $100 bill lying in the street.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 5:35 PM on November 25, 2024 [8 favorites]
This past few weeks have been pretty eventful. I moved into a new apartment at the beginning of February this year, and found almost immediately that I really disliked the place. And I lost my job at about the same time. Sadly, the landlord developed some health issues during the summer, and eventually asked me to move out of the apartment so that he could use it. After some searching, I found another apartment that isn't perfect, but it will do. It is in a better location than the place I moved out of. And about the same time, I landed a contract that... well... isn't perfect, but it will do. So I moved and started a new job in about the same week. Life isn't ideal, but I have all the essentials.
The bright spot in all this month's activity is I found a $100 bill lying in the street.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 5:35 PM on November 25, 2024 [8 favorites]
What I tell people about grief is that you get used to the idea.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:48 PM on November 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:48 PM on November 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
Here is a direct download of Pontypool from the Internet Archive if you've never seen this film, which I sometimes refer to as "MeFi's Favorite Horror Movie," as it recommended/praised so very often on this site.
There's also a radio adaptation, which is very well done and worth checking out in its own right.
posted by non canadian guy at 11:28 PM on November 25, 2024
There's also a radio adaptation, which is very well done and worth checking out in its own right.
posted by non canadian guy at 11:28 PM on November 25, 2024
Mod note: [Thanks for this, DoT, and thanks to everyone here sharing aid and comfort and stories and sympathy tea. We've added it to the sidebar and Best Of blog. ❤️ ]
posted by taz (staff) at 1:13 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 1:13 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
One of my most favorite Thanksgiving memories is the year my mom's family had prime rib for dinner instead of turkey because my aunt turned on the wrong side of a double oven, then took a bunch of us into the city for the Macy's parade. It was hours before anyone caught the mistake.
As it turns out, prime rib with all the Thanksgiving sides is a pretty good meal and the entire family had a really good laugh over the whole thing.
Good news from the dentist. Kiddo's tooth will be fine, basically either the elbow or stress caused some wearing of the enamel at the gumline. Dentist suggested a couple of mitigation strategies for the extreme sensitivity and wants to wait a week because he has no desire to drill into a tooth that appears from all tests to be perfectly healthy.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:39 AM on November 26, 2024 [4 favorites]
As it turns out, prime rib with all the Thanksgiving sides is a pretty good meal and the entire family had a really good laugh over the whole thing.
Good news from the dentist. Kiddo's tooth will be fine, basically either the elbow or stress caused some wearing of the enamel at the gumline. Dentist suggested a couple of mitigation strategies for the extreme sensitivity and wants to wait a week because he has no desire to drill into a tooth that appears from all tests to be perfectly healthy.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:39 AM on November 26, 2024 [4 favorites]
Shepherd reminded me to post his blog entry about the Pontypool picture.
posted by Kitteh at 5:27 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 5:27 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
I remember ages ago that there was help/advice on posting front page articles - which I haven't done for years and is a little daunting - you guys and gals are pretty intimidating! Can someone who posts the occasional FPP me-mail me to give me a quick hand / advice / editing ?
posted by BigCalm at 7:29 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by BigCalm at 7:29 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
I have the family (adult kid, son-in-law, grandchild) over for pasta night every Thursday year round, a tradition begun nearly fifty years ago when the late Mr. Peach and I used to go get spaghetti bolognese at a cheap restaurant once a week. Since Thanksgiving is always on Thursday, we just have our regular pasta dinner. This year the son-in-law is making meatballs, so I don't even have to cook.
Based on this experience, I highly recommend making Thanksgiving just another Thursday. It's wonderful not to have expectations.
posted by Peach at 7:33 AM on November 26, 2024 [3 favorites]
Based on this experience, I highly recommend making Thanksgiving just another Thursday. It's wonderful not to have expectations.
posted by Peach at 7:33 AM on November 26, 2024 [3 favorites]
There was a stage play version of Pontypool set in Wales this year. A not great Guardian review.
posted by Molesome at 7:45 AM on November 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by Molesome at 7:45 AM on November 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
Our tradition, most years is to blow off Thanksgiving and drive to Canada and stay with the cousins in Toronto. My spouse is allergic to poultry anyway, so turkey day is a washout for us. We'll eat butter tarts and peameal bacon sandwiches at St. Lawrence Market instead.
This time, I had enough foresight to plan a meetup. Swing by STACKT Market on Saturday, if you're around.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:49 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
This time, I had enough foresight to plan a meetup. Swing by STACKT Market on Saturday, if you're around.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:49 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
In case anyone else is as clueless as me:
Pontypool is a horror movie about language being an actual zombie virus.
The Mothman is a Virginia urban legend/cryptozooid.
Somehow I missed all prior references to these …
posted by caviar2d2 at 8:54 AM on November 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
Pontypool is a horror movie about language being an actual zombie virus.
The Mothman is a Virginia urban legend/cryptozooid.
Somehow I missed all prior references to these …
posted by caviar2d2 at 8:54 AM on November 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
I usually enjoy making or at least contributing to a fancy Thanksgiving meal for a group of people. But this year I have no plans to host or be hosted by others, so instead I'm going to make myself a nice meal and be done with it. Roast chicken, roasted brussels sprouts, gravy from chicken stock I previously made and froze, baked sweet potato with sour cream (actually two, so I have one for leftovers), cranberry sauce (because I love that stuff once a year), and either a store-bought pie or cheesecake for dessert. And I'm looking forward to sliced chicken and cranberry sauce sandwiches in the days following!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:37 AM on November 26, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:37 AM on November 26, 2024 [3 favorites]
Pontypool is a horror movie about [redacted]
Yes, that is the reveal towards the end of that film. (sigh)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:42 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
Yes, that is the reveal towards the end of that film. (sigh)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:42 AM on November 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
It's not a very good reveal: it was basically in the posters and the promo blurbs
posted by scruss at 11:12 AM on November 26, 2024
posted by scruss at 11:12 AM on November 26, 2024
This Christmas, why not gather the family together and enjoy that perennial holiday film, The Mothman Prophecies? (It's actually a good film!)
posted by SPrintF at 11:52 AM on November 26, 2024
posted by SPrintF at 11:52 AM on November 26, 2024
I'm glad BigCalm has posted an FPP. Do we have though any guidance on posting? I don't remember any, except the crunchland method years ago, which IIRC was partly / mostly about finding topics, and in any case posting norms must have changed. Might be good to put something together and link it occasionally from the free threads, or the LinkFilter threads, for general encouragement. I'm thinking reasonably basic so that we don't argue too much about tone, the correct number of links etc.
posted by paduasoy at 2:57 PM on November 26, 2024
posted by paduasoy at 2:57 PM on November 26, 2024
I am incredibly burned out from a hard semester/year/decade, so my spouse has gone to be with his family while I stay at home with the cats and Call the Midwife. Only traffic was abysmal, so he is instead camping in my parents' empty home halfway in between tonight and will make it to his family's house tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I have placed an order for grocery delivery for tomorrow (because there was no food in the house because we were supposed to be traveling) and identified a local Southern style cafeteria that will be serving Thanksgiving dinner carry out on Thursday. And I'm fine. Probably more fine than I've been in a while because so much pressure was removed by not trying to travel and visit family right now.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:42 PM on November 26, 2024 [5 favorites]
Meanwhile, I have placed an order for grocery delivery for tomorrow (because there was no food in the house because we were supposed to be traveling) and identified a local Southern style cafeteria that will be serving Thanksgiving dinner carry out on Thursday. And I'm fine. Probably more fine than I've been in a while because so much pressure was removed by not trying to travel and visit family right now.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:42 PM on November 26, 2024 [5 favorites]
My brother's family is going to be with his inlaws this year on Thanksgiving as my SIL and niece have had some challenges and SIL needs her mum. My parents and my aunt both want to stay put where they are, my workplace only gives me one day off and I don't have PTO yet. So I'm staying put. My roommate is also staying put.
We are likely going to be in pajamas all day. I've thrown together a simple menu with a couple roast turkey thighs and some sides cobbled together from "whatever I have hanging around from the CSA I could use up" plus "oh yeah, mashed potatoes". Neither of us are all that into pumpkin pie, so I'm doing a free-form apple galette and calling it good. Everything will end up roasting in the oven for 90 minutes tops
My job still sucks, and I started short-term sessions with my therapist again. Last night she heard my tale of woe and flat-out called it "abuse". I realized - holy shit, she's right. Someone get me out of there.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:00 AM on November 27, 2024 [5 favorites]
We are likely going to be in pajamas all day. I've thrown together a simple menu with a couple roast turkey thighs and some sides cobbled together from "whatever I have hanging around from the CSA I could use up" plus "oh yeah, mashed potatoes". Neither of us are all that into pumpkin pie, so I'm doing a free-form apple galette and calling it good. Everything will end up roasting in the oven for 90 minutes tops
My job still sucks, and I started short-term sessions with my therapist again. Last night she heard my tale of woe and flat-out called it "abuse". I realized - holy shit, she's right. Someone get me out of there.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:00 AM on November 27, 2024 [5 favorites]
A few years ago we did Thanksgiving with just me, my wife, and our oldest daughter due to various circumstances and scheduling difficulties, and I tossed small red potatoes, baby carrots, sliced onions, a heaping spoonful of minced garlic, cream of mushroom soup, and some pre-cut turkey breasts into a crock pot and let then cook for a couple hours. We made stuffing on the stove and opened a can of that jelly cranberry stuff (as is the tradition) and had a easy, tasty thanksgiving dinner. Who likes carving a bird anyway?
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:22 AM on November 27, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:22 AM on November 27, 2024 [2 favorites]
So:
1. Partial staff meeting at 4 pm. I took minutes. At the end my boss went around the table and, be ause it was the day before Thanksgiving, asked everyone to say what about the job they were thankful for.
Everyone except me, that is.
I am 50% miffed and 50% "oh thank God that would have sucked."
Then:
2. At 5:30 I had an initial phone interview with a recruiter for another position. It would suit me way better, it would have better benefits - and even just THAT CONVERSATION reset my self-image in such a way that I finally could see how much this job is taking out of me. I did great, the recruiter is going to try getting me to round 2.
A co-worker who knows what I'm doing hung around just to hear how it went. She is so convinced i should quit to save my sanity that she is practically pushing me out. Not because she dislikes me, quite the opposite. She knows that "oh dang, this is NOT going to be good for EC."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:24 PM on November 27, 2024 [3 favorites]
1. Partial staff meeting at 4 pm. I took minutes. At the end my boss went around the table and, be ause it was the day before Thanksgiving, asked everyone to say what about the job they were thankful for.
Everyone except me, that is.
I am 50% miffed and 50% "oh thank God that would have sucked."
Then:
2. At 5:30 I had an initial phone interview with a recruiter for another position. It would suit me way better, it would have better benefits - and even just THAT CONVERSATION reset my self-image in such a way that I finally could see how much this job is taking out of me. I did great, the recruiter is going to try getting me to round 2.
A co-worker who knows what I'm doing hung around just to hear how it went. She is so convinced i should quit to save my sanity that she is practically pushing me out. Not because she dislikes me, quite the opposite. She knows that "oh dang, this is NOT going to be good for EC."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:24 PM on November 27, 2024 [3 favorites]
I purchased a couple of albums for the drive to my family, The Killers Pressure Machine and Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shady.
OH MY GODS, Pressure Machine is so freaking good.
EC, may very good things come your way soon.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:17 PM on November 27, 2024
OH MY GODS, Pressure Machine is so freaking good.
EC, may very good things come your way soon.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:17 PM on November 27, 2024
Here is a notice that, once again this year, the official Mystery Science Theater 3000 Youtube channel is running Turkey Day, their yearly marathon of the show throughout Thanksgiving Day, for people to watch for free on their channel, and that we're going to pipe it into MST Club's video share room. I just made a Talk post about it, with details and a full schedule, but it's yet to go live. Check there for more info! The show begins at 5am, but it'll be running all day, so just drop in when you can/should/would/want to!
posted by JHarris at 9:21 PM on November 27, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 9:21 PM on November 27, 2024 [2 favorites]
I told my roommate about the Workplace Thanksgiving Skipover moment and he grimaced and said "yeah, get the hell out of there."
Very slow day today. Just him and me laying low and I've got a decent little menu put together:
* Got a pack of two turkey thighs that I'm going to roast up. I also was considering a turkey-breast-in-a-slow-cooker but we both prefer dark meat.
* Found a mashed-potatoes-for-two recipe that sounded dead easy and spikes the mash with garlic.
* There are some sweet potatoes, a delicata squash and carrots I still have from the farmshare and they're all getting chopped and roasted as well.
* I picked up some green beans (so the menu was not entirely earth tones) and those will be a half-assed green beans almondine on the stove.
* Boxed Stove Top for the stuffing and my family's cranberry-orange relish recipe (which only takes 30 seconds in a food processor). I'm also frying up a handful of sausage meat to mix in the stuffing to punch it up a bit.
* I also have a couple of apples from the farmshare, and neither of us are pumpkin pie people so it'll be apple pie instead, with a handful of cranberries thrown in because why not. (I may have to mix up the dough from scratch which has me a bit nervous, but we will persevere.)
* I also have some apple cider and I may have that mulling on the stove throughout the whole day.
That will all only take about 90 minutes to throw together. The rest of the day will be spent doing pretty much jack shit, and I doubt either of us will even change out of pajamas. He'll probably be holed up in sweats in his room and I'll be lazing around in a tacky tie-dye patterned onsie.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:28 AM on November 28, 2024 [3 favorites]
Very slow day today. Just him and me laying low and I've got a decent little menu put together:
* Got a pack of two turkey thighs that I'm going to roast up. I also was considering a turkey-breast-in-a-slow-cooker but we both prefer dark meat.
* Found a mashed-potatoes-for-two recipe that sounded dead easy and spikes the mash with garlic.
* There are some sweet potatoes, a delicata squash and carrots I still have from the farmshare and they're all getting chopped and roasted as well.
* I picked up some green beans (so the menu was not entirely earth tones) and those will be a half-assed green beans almondine on the stove.
* Boxed Stove Top for the stuffing and my family's cranberry-orange relish recipe (which only takes 30 seconds in a food processor). I'm also frying up a handful of sausage meat to mix in the stuffing to punch it up a bit.
* I also have a couple of apples from the farmshare, and neither of us are pumpkin pie people so it'll be apple pie instead, with a handful of cranberries thrown in because why not. (I may have to mix up the dough from scratch which has me a bit nervous, but we will persevere.)
* I also have some apple cider and I may have that mulling on the stove throughout the whole day.
That will all only take about 90 minutes to throw together. The rest of the day will be spent doing pretty much jack shit, and I doubt either of us will even change out of pajamas. He'll probably be holed up in sweats in his room and I'll be lazing around in a tacky tie-dye patterned onsie.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:28 AM on November 28, 2024 [3 favorites]
Y'all, I had a really good 48th birthday.
A long walk with a friend, Joel Plaskett the night before (the 26th), a bougie breakfast with a girlfriend, 20% off at one of the dispos as a birthday gift, Brooklyn blackout cake made by Shepherd, pretty good ramen dinner, new glasses frames, and a celebratory viewing of Pacific Rim, one of my fave movies. (The other choice was The Mummy. But giant Jagers fighting Kaiju was what I needed.)
This all leads to heading into TO on Saturday for the first session of my five year sobriety tattoo. It will be a full half sleeve wraparound centred around Over the Garden Wall.
As I said elsewhere in the Internet world, I am just happy to be here. With the aid of sobriety, therapy and meds, my life has much changed for the better. I am grateful for it everyday.
posted by Kitteh at 7:31 AM on November 28, 2024 [7 favorites]
A long walk with a friend, Joel Plaskett the night before (the 26th), a bougie breakfast with a girlfriend, 20% off at one of the dispos as a birthday gift, Brooklyn blackout cake made by Shepherd, pretty good ramen dinner, new glasses frames, and a celebratory viewing of Pacific Rim, one of my fave movies. (The other choice was The Mummy. But giant Jagers fighting Kaiju was what I needed.)
This all leads to heading into TO on Saturday for the first session of my five year sobriety tattoo. It will be a full half sleeve wraparound centred around Over the Garden Wall.
As I said elsewhere in the Internet world, I am just happy to be here. With the aid of sobriety, therapy and meds, my life has much changed for the better. I am grateful for it everyday.
posted by Kitteh at 7:31 AM on November 28, 2024 [7 favorites]
For the third year running, we scheduled our flu/covid shots for the day before Thanksgiving, partially as a way to get out of any unwanted invites ("sorry, probably won't be feeling great after our vaccines"). Traditionally we've gone to my brother's house for Thanksgiving. He and his immediate family are fine, but his spouse invites one of her brothers and his four kids as well. At this point, all of those kids are married and two have kids. Even before COVID concerns, it was a lot to deal with. In these times, forget it. The upshot is I cook what we want, how we want it, and we don't need to deal with a lot of people.
posted by mollweide at 7:47 AM on November 28, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 7:47 AM on November 28, 2024 [2 favorites]
Happy Thanksgiving, thanks-givers! I just wanted to share a really good, pretty quick and easy brownie recipe. I don't know why it's so good!? It's not like you look at the recipe and go, ooooh, this is going to be great! But it's so great! (ps I use raw (Demerara?) sugar, the light brown crystals stuff in this, as in just about anything calling for sugar -- white is always way too sweet for me -- and walnuts, though I would love to try pecans):
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024416-brownies (share url)
It's softer the first day, chewier on succeeding days, and you will find yourself "tidying up" the slices in the pan to "make the cuts neater" between actual helpings so you can nibble the trimmed away bits. Or at least I'm told some people do that.
Why so good?! I don't know!?
posted by taz at 8:03 AM on November 28, 2024 [4 favorites]
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024416-brownies (share url)
It's softer the first day, chewier on succeeding days, and you will find yourself "tidying up" the slices in the pan to "make the cuts neater" between actual helpings so you can nibble the trimmed away bits. Or at least I'm told some people do that.
Why so good?! I don't know!?
posted by taz at 8:03 AM on November 28, 2024 [4 favorites]
taz, I have been craving brownies, how did you know?!
This week, the plan was for my dad to make (whatever he wanted for) Thanksgiving dinner, and I would bring an apple cranberry crumble, for our group of 6. Then Monday, while doing Meals on Wheels deliveries, he got attacked by a client's chihuahua. Bites on his legs, and a large hematoma on his back where he rammed into a wall to escape the beast. He's on blood thinners for a heart thing, so the hematoma is impressive, and he was told by the doc to take a week's rest in bed or recliner. So I've taken over the meal planning, but without the time or inclination to spend tons of kitchen time. We don't always do traditional Thanksgiving meal anyway. I'm taking spinach ravioli from Costco and I'll make an alfredo sauce. I've got broccoli to steam. The cousin is bringing winter squash and a salad. And I've got the fruit crumble prepped, ready to bake there. So it's all come together fine.
But it raises the real question. I've been thinking about having a "no ladders, please" talk with my 73 year old dad for a bit, haven't worked up to it as he seems to be in mostly good health. And he just got an unfinished shop put in, he intends to to the wiring, sheetrocking, flooring, painting, lighting, etc. But the blood thinners took him out of commission for a week because he backed against a wall too hard. A fall? I've seen enough of those be the end of capability, if not life, for men his age, that I need to at least talk to him about rethinking ladders. Won't bring it up today, but it's heavy in the mind.
Overall, though, I am in a good place. My cats are good company, and the old ones' health seems stable. I love my job. My immediate family is all blue-voting, so we won't have terrible political talk today!
posted by dorey_oh at 8:56 AM on November 28, 2024 [7 favorites]
This week, the plan was for my dad to make (whatever he wanted for) Thanksgiving dinner, and I would bring an apple cranberry crumble, for our group of 6. Then Monday, while doing Meals on Wheels deliveries, he got attacked by a client's chihuahua. Bites on his legs, and a large hematoma on his back where he rammed into a wall to escape the beast. He's on blood thinners for a heart thing, so the hematoma is impressive, and he was told by the doc to take a week's rest in bed or recliner. So I've taken over the meal planning, but without the time or inclination to spend tons of kitchen time. We don't always do traditional Thanksgiving meal anyway. I'm taking spinach ravioli from Costco and I'll make an alfredo sauce. I've got broccoli to steam. The cousin is bringing winter squash and a salad. And I've got the fruit crumble prepped, ready to bake there. So it's all come together fine.
But it raises the real question. I've been thinking about having a "no ladders, please" talk with my 73 year old dad for a bit, haven't worked up to it as he seems to be in mostly good health. And he just got an unfinished shop put in, he intends to to the wiring, sheetrocking, flooring, painting, lighting, etc. But the blood thinners took him out of commission for a week because he backed against a wall too hard. A fall? I've seen enough of those be the end of capability, if not life, for men his age, that I need to at least talk to him about rethinking ladders. Won't bring it up today, but it's heavy in the mind.
Overall, though, I am in a good place. My cats are good company, and the old ones' health seems stable. I love my job. My immediate family is all blue-voting, so we won't have terrible political talk today!
posted by dorey_oh at 8:56 AM on November 28, 2024 [7 favorites]
I'm home making a doom advent calendar and watching the parade and waiting around on my mom. Two years ago she missed Thanksgiving by breaking her shoulder the day before, this year she's gotten very sick two days before. Alas, it is not strep throat. I had to nag the shit out of her for two days to get her to test for covid and last night it was negative, but I had to explain to her that very well may mean nothing and she sounded way too sick to go eat around people. I had to point out to her that I managed to give people covid within 5 minutes of riding in a car with them and no, she can't just go eat in the other room. I haven't heard from her yet this morning, but I reasonably assume my cousin will tell her to not show up under the circumstances. I don't want to go to the relatives alone, but I had to two years ago and here we are again.
Last night Mom said, "I think I hate Thanksgiving," which is legit under the circumstances.
I have lost the project I was working on for someone else--it's not in anyone's car and I canNOT find it in my house and I've looked. I think I'll just have to rebuy all the materials for it, which bums me out. I'll have to go do that tomorrow, and then I'm gonna go watch Wicked since Friday is the one day I have free time for this.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:58 AM on November 28, 2024 [2 favorites]
Last night Mom said, "I think I hate Thanksgiving," which is legit under the circumstances.
I have lost the project I was working on for someone else--it's not in anyone's car and I canNOT find it in my house and I've looked. I think I'll just have to rebuy all the materials for it, which bums me out. I'll have to go do that tomorrow, and then I'm gonna go watch Wicked since Friday is the one day I have free time for this.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:58 AM on November 28, 2024 [2 favorites]
And Mom (a) refuses to covid test again, (b) got real bitchy about it when I asked, (c) my cousin told her it was okay to come sick (WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT), (d) it was made clear that I am the only one having a problem with this, which never goes well for me.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:54 PM on November 28, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:54 PM on November 28, 2024 [2 favorites]
I hate that kind of weaponized indifference. Over 800,000 lost their lives to COVID, but there's this consensus of the ignorant. "Oh well, what u gonna do, lets eat turkey." Geez.
posted by JHarris at 2:34 PM on November 28, 2024 [4 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 2:34 PM on November 28, 2024 [4 favorites]
Cousin says her husband had this same bug and got over it quickly and nobody else caught it.
I'm trying to avoid my mom's partial laryngitis at the moment. Need my voice this weekend...
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:20 PM on November 28, 2024 [1 favorite]
I'm trying to avoid my mom's partial laryngitis at the moment. Need my voice this weekend...
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:20 PM on November 28, 2024 [1 favorite]
I am very full now.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:39 PM on November 28, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:39 PM on November 28, 2024 [1 favorite]
jenfullmoon, I literally *just* switched over from reading that reddit post! I started out reading thinking, "eh someone wants to bring weird / fancy stuff to add to all the other stuff everybody gets to choose from, let them be! Let their fanksgiving foodie freak flag fly." But then I read about the craft glitter instead of edible glitter, and now I'm in the "Jail for one thousand years!" camp. That maniac might put anything in the food! She can't be trusted! I do wish we had video of people cutting and eating the wobbly turkey aspic, though. It somehow makes me think of a Fawlty Towers episode or something, with somehow everyone having to be polite about the turkey jello.
posted by taz at 10:47 PM on November 28, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by taz at 10:47 PM on November 28, 2024 [1 favorite]
Even with my roommate and I not doing jack shit yesterday I still couldn't switch off from my job. I kept fighting the dread that I would have to come back here today.
My parents called me midmorning, and I told them about the "what are you grateful for" skipover moment. It takes a lot to get my father mad - he got mad at that.
The co-worker who's on my side commented that it looked like I'd also lost weight over the past couple months. I'm still a little poochy in the front, so I didn't think anything of it - but I weighed myself this morning and I've lost twenty pounds. ....Granted, my doctor has been telling me I needed to lose that weight but I doubt she had this in mind.
And finally they extended the PIP period by another week - so I would still be around to help out with this corporate retreat they have scheduled the week before Christmas.
I may just quit the day of that PIP followup, whether I have something lined up or not. My health is suffering - both physical and mental - and I have 3 months' worth of savings and am flexible enough to be able to do contract work if nothing permanent manifests. And it's been hinted that trying to get time off for Christmas will need to be "negotiated" because of the workload - and there is NO WAY IN HELL I am going to skip visiting my family this Christmas. My father turned 82 two weeks ago and I may not have many more Christmases left with him.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:30 AM on November 29, 2024 [5 favorites]
My parents called me midmorning, and I told them about the "what are you grateful for" skipover moment. It takes a lot to get my father mad - he got mad at that.
The co-worker who's on my side commented that it looked like I'd also lost weight over the past couple months. I'm still a little poochy in the front, so I didn't think anything of it - but I weighed myself this morning and I've lost twenty pounds. ....Granted, my doctor has been telling me I needed to lose that weight but I doubt she had this in mind.
And finally they extended the PIP period by another week - so I would still be around to help out with this corporate retreat they have scheduled the week before Christmas.
I may just quit the day of that PIP followup, whether I have something lined up or not. My health is suffering - both physical and mental - and I have 3 months' worth of savings and am flexible enough to be able to do contract work if nothing permanent manifests. And it's been hinted that trying to get time off for Christmas will need to be "negotiated" because of the workload - and there is NO WAY IN HELL I am going to skip visiting my family this Christmas. My father turned 82 two weeks ago and I may not have many more Christmases left with him.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:30 AM on November 29, 2024 [5 favorites]
The fuck? You barely started and are already on a PIP?!?
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:24 PM on November 29, 2024
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:24 PM on November 29, 2024
Yes. Yes I am.
I've pretty much made up my mind that I'm gone. I spoke with the colleague who told me it looked like I'd lost weight, and when I mentioned how much I lost she was shocked and said that was SERIOUSLY bad for my health. I've reached out to my doctor to see if she agrees, and if she does I'm going to give my 2-week notice on Tuesday "because my doctor strongly recommends it".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:43 PM on November 29, 2024 [2 favorites]
I've pretty much made up my mind that I'm gone. I spoke with the colleague who told me it looked like I'd lost weight, and when I mentioned how much I lost she was shocked and said that was SERIOUSLY bad for my health. I've reached out to my doctor to see if she agrees, and if she does I'm going to give my 2-week notice on Tuesday "because my doctor strongly recommends it".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:43 PM on November 29, 2024 [2 favorites]
Are you frustrated trying to Black Friday shop for the fashion-conscious orca in your life?
Hipster orcas in the Pacific Northwest have resumed wearing dead salmon as hats; nobody is quite sure whether it's a retro 80s callback or means something else.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:55 PM on November 29, 2024 [4 favorites]
Hipster orcas in the Pacific Northwest have resumed wearing dead salmon as hats; nobody is quite sure whether it's a retro 80s callback or means something else.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:55 PM on November 29, 2024 [4 favorites]
If you're already on a PIP, I can see why they didn't ask you what you were thankful about for your job, then.
I'm sorry you're having a run of shit jobs. I hope the right one comes along soon.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:55 PM on November 29, 2024
I'm sorry you're having a run of shit jobs. I hope the right one comes along soon.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:55 PM on November 29, 2024
I don't usually mention such things but (a) presumably the rules for what is appropriate in a "free thread" are somewhat more lax, and (b) there seem to be a lot of LeGuin fans here..
Without linking to it, then, I'll just mention for the benefit of those fans that there is currently, and for another couple of days, a LeGuin book bundle available on Humble Bundle in exchange for a charitable donation to benefit Literary Arts, "a community-based nonprofit with a mission to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature."
One catch is that the 30 titles are provided via Kobo, not as DRM-free cross-platform books, but I believe they can be converted.
Mods, feel free to yank this comment if it is inappropriate.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:54 AM on November 30, 2024 [1 favorite]
Without linking to it, then, I'll just mention for the benefit of those fans that there is currently, and for another couple of days, a LeGuin book bundle available on Humble Bundle in exchange for a charitable donation to benefit Literary Arts, "a community-based nonprofit with a mission to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature."
One catch is that the 30 titles are provided via Kobo, not as DRM-free cross-platform books, but I believe they can be converted.
Mods, feel free to yank this comment if it is inappropriate.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:54 AM on November 30, 2024 [1 favorite]
Totally appropriate!
posted by taz at 1:02 AM on December 1, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by taz at 1:02 AM on December 1, 2024 [1 favorite]
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
It's that the first time I posted this as a #FreeThread prompt, I was beaten to the punch by a few minutes by another free thread, so we deleted this and I'm reposting now.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:55 AM on November 25, 2024 [5 favorites]