@Shop-et-al wrote:

Silly day. It was like three days crammed into one. The good news, or perhaps the moral of the story, is that a good merchandiser remembers to keep a merch kit in every car. Or, What Happens When a Kit Does Not Contain the One Tool That Unlocks the Daily Merchandising Universe...

There are upcoming training sessions for mystery shoppers in which talented and knowledgeable people teach mystery shoppers how to be this shopper/not that shopper and this video shopper/not that video shopper. [Sounds a bit like the Romper Room song, 'do be a do bee, don't be a don't be. Hmm.] It seemed appropriate to give a nod to all the good merchandisers who always have a tool kit at hand. Hero citations for all of you good merchandisers! Aspiring merchandisers should be like you!

Along with the folding step, scraper, screwdrivers, measuring tape, box knife and cleaning rags for merch jobs, I also have a cheap safety vest for pop-up gas station audits.

Today I am dodging tornadoes. Worst storm outbreak I can remember. They not only closed the schools (first time ever for spring weather) they invented a new tornado "risk" category above "high"-- "critical"...guess where I am?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2019 08:05PM by stormraven73.

Eye specialist appointment this AM. With eyes having to be dilated, I was not able to do much driving or reading due to too bright sunlight. So, home tidying, unpacking and setting up 2 4-panel Japanese style folding screens to provide separation between my messy office area and the rest of the living area. KP. Such exciting stuff. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oh, I forgot to add that I got bitten by a baby mole (yes the yard pest) at a gas station. He was running...er, paddling...across the lot. I accidentally stepped on his foot while backing up to take a picture. And no, they don't get rabies (I called my Dr. to be sure).

My windowsill pea plant, now on the balcony, is sprouting small pods. I was so happy to see that! I noticed it when I placed a cage around it and had to unravel the tendrils from the balcony.

Windowsill salad is right around the corner!

Wow you have all been busy doing things other than shopping. I have not. I have only shopped. And shopped. And shopped. Just when I think I'm done I get phone calls. Tomorrow I take the day off. I shall play in the dirt.

storm, owch! Those little critters will let you know who is in charge. I wonder why it was at a gas station. Were you in a rural area?

@stormraven73 wrote:

Oh, I forgot to add that I got bitten by a baby mole (yes the yard pest) at a gas station. He was running...er, paddling...across the lot. I accidentally stepped on his foot while backing up to take a picture. And no, they don't get rabies (I called my Dr. to be sure).

Good thing about no rabies. For a moment, I had a flashback to Hap and Leonard and a rabid squirrel... and how much I laughed during the first three pages of a book...

Just one shop near home today. This was planned so that I can concentrate on steps needed to replace the housemate who will be leaving the basement apartment at the end of June. This one, unlike the other, 10 year, housemate, just never "got" the "share" in house sharing. We negotiated a mutually satisfactory early end to her lease. The rent on that area, which is fully furnished and has a level walk-out to a private patio and garden, pays the entire mortgage plus utilities for my house, so this goes to the top of the priority list. It usually rents quickly once the prep work for marketing it is done.

Eye Dr.'s Appt., will get eyes dilated and the dreaded test to see if eye pressure has changed, if so, will talk about surgery, then wait the usual 15/20 minutes over coffee downstairs for dilatation to subside, then do a bank
not far from Dr.'s office, then home for the day.

Now that I have stopped thinking about Hap and Leonard and their little adventures, I am ready for the forum. The predicted snow arrived without fanfare or apparent effect. The snow stopped falling several hours ago, and some of the birds are discussing the snow (or whatever else is important to them). I am having a quiet day indoors. The day is all about more of the new-to-me book, the seemingly endless projects (do they mutate when i am not watching?????), and deciding what to make for dinner. Sweet, peaceful day.

I miss aa appointment with my kindey docotor today , the roads between his office and our home have be closed. I am stay inside and clean house , and watch the weather. OK had three torandos last night no injuries Praise God. Several parts of the state is flooded with more rain to come tomorrow and next week.

I did several phone shops today and am now going to the beach to look for sea glass and shells for my other obsession..jewelry.

YES, my eye pressure has not changed and vision is o.k., no appointment for five months, very good news.
New eye drops for my severe dry eye, which (it turns out) is the real problem....home to cook, and do the chores.

@Irene_L.A. I am glad things are ok. My mum had cataract surgery in both her eyes last month. I was scared when she told me she had scheduled both the surgeries 3 weeks apart. Much to my relief, I found out that it takes only 15 minutes to replace the lens and no invasive procedures are involved.

Today, I am trying my new ice cream maker with coconut milk. Let's see how that turns out. Will make the dairy version too later. I don't think we will ever have a summer this year. Sigh!

I as well had the cataract surgery about 8 years ago, but did not do both eyes together, that is scary, but is normally is an easy surgery...everyone has it done at some point.

The wrost thing about catract surgery is putting in those dumb eye drops so many times a day. The surgery was a simple thing.

@Mum wrote:

Today, I am trying my new ice cream maker with coconut milk. Let's see how that turns out. Will make the dairy version too later. I don't think we will ever have a summer this year. Sigh!

Yum! Post back how it turned out with the coconut milk! Sounds delish!

Hope your summer shows up soon! Here in the top half of SC, we're having temps in the 90s all week!

@mum I've tried every single ice cream contraption and every type of milk and milk alternative as part of a test for my friend's blog and the coconut milk in just about anything was my favorite by far. I hope it turns out and you enjoy your new obsession.

My windowsill salad plants have a flower sprouting. The tomato plants are big and bushy.

@Jenny Cassada and @guysmom.The coconut ice cream was out of this world!! I expected ice cream but nothing like what I had yesterday. We used to bring a brand from Whole Foods and I am never buying it again. My daughter kept asking for more. I will be trying the dairy version over the weekend. So far, I am very happy it worked!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2019 01:09PM by Mum.

We are indescribably ecstatic! We no longer have the extra and more extra work which paid well but ate up our free and personal time. This happened before the snowstorm, so we are free of a deadline and necessary walking on icy hills and plains.To make up for it, we have other work at another time. Huzzah! Sometimes things just work out perfectly.

I will be spending the afternoon washing clothes.

Hubby & I are getting our above-ground pool ready. We've had it 18 years, and it still has the original lining!!! We usually have to replace the winter pool cover every couple of years. Ours this year had a few holes in it, probably from birdies' feet as they walk on it over the winter, drinking the water that lands on it when it rains...so cute to see! Somehow, every year, a few frogs manage to climb under the covering and serenade us LOUDLY over the early Spring!! We took the lining off Saturday. So today, my husband hooked up the hoses, and when I opened the water basket, there were THREE FROGS inside, which I freed!! Worse than that, the yucky, green, algae-infested half-a-pool-full of water from over the winter had MANY, MANY, MANY tiny tadpoles in it!! OH NO!! We thought: We'll NEVER get this cleaned! But we filled the rest of it up to the fill line with water, and I poured nearly a gallon of bleach and a bunch of algaecide in it this morning. Then, about noontime, instead of vacuuming it through the pool filter itself (which it NEVER would have been able to handle), I vacuumed it by pushing water through the vacuuming hose through gravity, and let the hose hang outside the pool and drain out the water from the vacuum that way, and stood outside the pool vacuuming it. You should have seen the CLUMPS OF GUNK that came out!!! SOOOooo NASTY!!! Then, we turned the pool motor on, and backwashed it, then let it run on "Circulation" only for a few hours, not letting it yet go through the filter. Then I went and did 2 grocery shops, and stopped at Walmart to get some pool chemicals. Got home near 5 pm, and was amazed that the pool had lightened up even more!! So I tested the water, and liberally applied various chemicals in it, and am letting it run through the filter now. We are both SO AMAZED!!! The water is actually BLUE!! There is a good bit of algae that has sunk to the bottom now, but we'll get that out tomorrow. We cannot believe the improvement from just 8 or 9 hours ago! We are GLAD because the temperature is going to be in the 90's for the next 8-10 days!! Swimming, here we come!! PHEW!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2019 01:33AM by guysmom.

I got my first scammer from my rent ad. An overseas student who wants to pay with a cashier's check. This was after I told her the first month is cash.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2019 09:19AM by HonnyBrown.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I got my first scammer from my rent ad. An overseas student who wants to pay with a cashier's check. This was after I told her the first month is cash.

That student doesn't realize who he/she is dealing with!! Who, moreso that a MSer, is better able to discern a scam?? Good for you, Honny! This ain't your first time 'round the barn!

So it is Thursday and I get to choose the next book to read. Will I follow some book-selection formula? Will I reach into a shelf of yet-to-reads and get... a happy surprise?

I am going to a potluck luncheon at noon.

@HonnyBrown and @guysmom, the scam emails remind me of Michael Scott from The Office. "You know what Toby, when the son of the deposed king of Nigeria emails you directly, asking for help, you help! His father ran the freaking country! Ok?"

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I got my first scammer from my rent ad. An overseas student who wants to pay with a cashier's check. This was after I told her the first month is cash.

honny, we have a two year college and Int'l students are always looking to rent a room..their housing is covered by their tuition, so money is not a problem. Friends are doing it, if there is a college near you, it may help to speak with them.

Today is laundry and cleaning out fridge, so a soup is in order for dinner....lunch brings a close by JITB.