LittleBluberry

I believe the correct word is "kowai". 😉

Most hilarious thing about Jaws? The fact that my youngest spent months practicing the key part of the theme song as part of her orchestra class. These days if we even hum "duuuuh dum" she rolls her eyes and gets annoyed in a most tween-like fashion.

Hey. Still alive. Still trying to keep the daughters from imploding. If I'd known I was going to have 3 teen/tween daughters during a global pandemic I would have made some different life choices. (Bought a bigger house, maybe.) Anyway, parenting is still sucking up all my time, energy and sanity, just felt like I was overdue to at least say hello. Maybe in the fall when I can kick my family out of the house during the day I'll be able to stop by more again.

Ooooo, congratulations on the baby hamster!

So, been busy, setting up for the electrical panel install, etc. They did the first half of the job today (the panel) and tomorrow they'll finish up the sundry items. I requested a 50 Amp generator hook-up, mainly because the math made sense and because multiple people told me I would be foolish to get just 30 Amps. (Can't argue with the fact that 30 Amps would barely keep the fridge and furnace running and something would drop if they both tried to turn on at the same time.) BUT! I have an entertaining story for those of you who like cars and/or fix things. My poor old minivan needed a new alternator, and I'd made an appointment to get it installed. The shop guys said my engine valve covers were leaking and I broke down and told them I could spring for fixing it since I knew I wasn't going to be buying a new vehicle the same year as all that electrical work if I could help it. They started calling me to say that there was another problem, I agreed to let them fix it and then they called to say that there was still a problem and ask was I sure nothing had been going on before I brought it in? I assured them that the engine had sounded fine to me, so they did some diagnostics. It turned out that someone had dropped a nut into engine valve #4. So they're going to be keeping it a while longer, I've got a rental they're paying for and there's some machining and whatnot they have to do to fix everything. I also don't have to pay for whatever it was they thought would fix the problem since that was a misdiagnosis on their part. The moral of the story is to always count your nuts twice.

Yes, Sir Daniel was a complete fail in Bones originally. They redid the mold before releasing him, you can spot the new one by the helmet on the saddle behind the rider. That said, you did a fine job on them! I sacrificed Mr. Backwards-Hands entirely by doing a rider swap.

A friend of mine did that as a way to avoid the insanity of LA traffic. I can't imagine choosing to do those sorts of daily hours, although I've known lots of people who got sucked into working 60 hour weeks which is arguably worse.

As much as inductions suck, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are serious stuff. Hopefully bed rest keeps that blood pressure down. My thoughts will be with you two.

Really feels like a sub-optimal day all around. Going to drag my three girls for flu shots this afternoon with the oldest getting a blood draw as well. Then time for a snack before a 6pm mass in honor of my father in law. He passed away some time in early Februrary but didn't want a funeral. We were supposed to do a family reunion in the summer to have some sort of memorial, but the US/Canada border's been closed. So our local church is doing this. In anticipation of having a lot of cranky teenage girls I bought chocolate cake.

Reds often require extra coats, especially over a dark primer. (Red pigments are translucent compared to many others.) It helps if you start with a tan or orange base coat and then switch to red.

I thought they looked like bottle caps, but I do like the idea that they can be whatever you want.

I feel like I missed you changing jobs. Sounds like you have it all under control, though...

I'm just thrilled that Reaper is willing to offer the special order service. That's a special level of dedication to customers right there.

I pulled out my painted copy of the original sculpt and decided I like yours better. Very nicely done!

"Be well rested before having baby," is always excellent advice. Unfortunately it's really hard to get a decent night's sleep when 9 months pregnant.

According to NOVA, cat meows affect people the same way as a baby crying. Which makes researchers ask if cats learned to meow just to get stuff from people....

Is Hallowed Orange similar to Pumpkin Orange of days gone by?

Now I want a nice big bathtub to soak in....

I wish I believed that this is likely to happen... I'm currently hoping SakuraCon isn't cancelled for a second year. It normally takes place over Easter so odds aren't great. I made a really good costume for my daughter to wear, too. (Still needs a few components, but my enthusiasm for making those is low at the moment.)

Don't know about books, but our local Value Village is still taking donations. We actually went there Friday to look for costume/cosplay stuff. Somehow my 18 year old was able to find a nice beige linen jacket, two skirts and a pair of pants. I guess it helps when you're around size 4, even if you are petite. (Seriously, size 4 petite khaki pants from a petite boutique? For $7.50???). She's supposed to be dressing up as Aziraphale from Good Omens, her friend is going to be Crowley.

See, TaleSpinner has much wisdom. I have three adorable daughters. Two of them (used to) take karate. They do not look any less adorable just because they learned to block and punch. Fortunately they only use their powers for good. Congrats (I guess) to all the new and renewed mods, may your bats always be within easy reach of your hands. Because regardless of how it's implemented, moderation universally improves internet spaces. All of the rest of you who posted many pages of beautiful oceans, you're really not helping me patiently wait to be able to go on a proper vacation again. I tried to sate hubby's wish for a beach vacation with the Olympic Peninsula, but the water was really, really cold. Beautiful, but frigid. Hopefully next summer we might be able to go on a proper vacation.

One of my local acquaintances was into glass blowing for a while. He really enjoyed it but it was not a cheap hobby. Apparently I was so distracted that I missed the announcement. Congratulations!! That high blood pressure stuff is scary, though, hope it stays down for her.

I know, right??? It's not a glamorous renovation, but I'm hoping that including a few new fixtures helps us appreciate the upgrade in a tangible way.

So all you electrical guys will be happy to hear that when the electrician came today to give me a quote on options to replace some bathroom fans, some broken light fixtures in the garage and a way to hook our furnace into a mid-sized generator, we very calmly just accepted his recommendation to replace our entire panel. The panel looks original to the house, which was built in 1968. So it's got some issues, one of which is the fact that it can't support installing a high voltage car charger. Which might not be an issue except we do happen to have an electric car and will likely get another plug in hybrid, at least. So we're going to have him replace the whole panel, upgrade the fans with GFIC and wire a proper generator link. Then when the power goes out while we're all trapped at home we'll be able to at least keep our freezer, fridge and furnace on. Or we won't lose power and that will also be JUST FINE BY ME!!!

I'm going to have to explore home made ramen more, she likes that. Maybe egg drop soup, that's a nice side dish.