USMB Coffee Shop IV

[beautress]

View attachment 474698

Kittens and baby ducks have to be the cutest critters babies of all.

Yesterday, bright and early I went to the chicken pen where 3 small adult ducks live in peace among the big black roosters and black, brown, and white hens. I noticed the 4 inch by 30 inch wide child's dollar store wading pool had a hole in it' so I hopped in the truck, went to Tractor Supply and found a super sturdy, small field stock watering trough that now serves as their pond and hopefully will last them a lifetime on account of its cost. It was a joy to see them swimming around in it an hour later after feeding and watering the chickens. Both yesterday and today the hens gave us 22 eggs both yesterday and today, which reminds me I need to wash, carton, and refrigerate before hitting the sack. The boys put the little pedal boat together, but I'm going to wait till tomorrow before I pedal around Freedom Lake behind the house but is west of the back forty ....okay 40 square yards....

I haven't seen the great white egrets this year but did see the blackest heronlike bird a few weeks back. Not sure what it was but for several years a mauve "blue heron" visited Freedom Lake's eastern shore.

It's so good to see everyone here at Foxfyre's masterpiece usmb coffee lounge. Time to wash some eggs. ♡♡♡

 

[Foxfyre]

Hi all. Been having an ongoing problem with the washing machine drain apparently backing up. After two snake jobs over the last year and a half had the plumbers come by and jet the the who system. They first snaked it, then ran a scope and we could see some roots and lots of built up sludge, those problems are taken care of. Was running the washing machine while they were here and sure enough it appeared to back up again. On closer inspection we determined the drain pipe itself was the culprit, most likely cracked.

Some of those problems can be maddening to find the solution. We had a hot water leak one time and worried how much floor the plumber would have to tear out to find it. He nailed it with the first drill and fixed it with no problem.

The next water leak we had, the plumber drilled holes all over the house until he finally found it in the sprinkler system in the back yard.

The estimate for replacing the washing machine drain line was emailed to me, I almost choked!! Think I might be doing this myself..........

Or maybe get a different estimate?

 

[Foxfyre]

View attachment 474698

Kittens and baby ducks have to be the cutest critters babies of all.

Yesterday, bright and early I went to the chicken pen where 3 small adult ducks live in peace among the big black roosters and black, brown, and white hens. I noticed the 4 inch by 30 inch wide child's dollar store wading pool had a hole in it' so I hopped in the truck, went to Tractor Supply and found a super sturdy, small field stock watering trough that now serves as their pond and hopefully will last them a lifetime on account of its cost. It was a joy to see them swimming around in it an hour later after feeding and watering the chickens. Both yesterday and today the hens gave us 22 eggs both yesterday and today, which reminds me I need to wash, carton, and refrigerate before hitting the sack. The boys put the little pedal boat together, but I'm going to wait till tomorrow before I pedal around Freedom Lake behind the house but is west of the back forty ....okay 40 square yards....

I haven't seen the great white egrets this year but did see the blackest heronlike bird a few weeks back. Not sure what it was but for several years a mauve "blue heron" visited Freedom Lake's eastern shore.

It's so good to see everyone here at Foxfyre's masterpiece usmb coffee lounge. Time to wash some eggs. ♡♡♡

We play 42 every Thursday with some folks who live in Corrales, a small village with rural flavor nestled between Albuquerque and Rio Rancho that form one big metroplex--sort of like Dallas/Fort worth but not nearly that big. Anyhow our friends have a couple of acres or more of land as do most folks in that area. For the last several years, a flock of sandhill cranes have taken up residence to winter in their backdoor neighbor's back yard. The neighbor makes sure they have food and water of course. It has been fun watching them all winter when it is our turn to go there. Yesterday though they were gone no doubt headed north somewhere to their summer nesting and hunting grounds.

 

[gipper]

Hi all. Been having an ongoing problem with the washing machine drain apparently backing up. After two snake jobs over the last year and a half had the plumbers come by and jet the the who system. They first snaked it, then ran a scope and we could see some roots and lots of built up sludge, those problems are taken care of. Was running the washing machine while they were here and sure enough it appeared to back up again. On closer inspection we determined the drain pipe itself was the culprit, most likely cracked.

Some of those problems can be maddening to find the solution. We had a hot water leak one time and worried how much floor the plumber would have to tear out to find it. He nailed it with the first drill and fixed it with no problem.

The next water leak we had, the plumber drilled holes all over the house until he finally found it in the sprinkler system in the back yard.

The estimate for replacing the washing machine drain line was emailed to me, I almost choked!! Think I might be doing this myself..........

Did you check your homeowners insurance? It might be a covered loss.

 

[Gracie]

Anne has had chickens for years and gets so many, she passes them out to every neighbor on the block. Or used to, until prior to the fire. By then she only had 6 chickens. Anyway...she washed them and crated them but NEVER put them in the fridge. She said once you do that, then they have a time stamp in eating them. She kept hers in a dark dry corner of the kitchen on a shelf, all stacked neatly. So...just letting you know eggs don't need refrigeration once laid. Its only IF you put them in the fridge they have a due date.


I taught MrGs son how to swim when he was age 3. He was mighty scared of the water, but would sit on the edge of the pool, and put his feet on the first step that led to the 3 foot section. So, I got a roll of quarters and asked if he wanted one? Yes. So Put it on the first step. Easy to pick up. I said I had ALOT more. I put 2 on the second step. He balked. So I did a few laps to let him think about it. Finally, he pushed his arm in to where the water was at his shoulder. He grabbed them. I put a dollars worth on the third step. This one regarded face getting wet. He didn't balk that time, but asked HOW he could get it with is face having to go in so he could see where to pick them up. I said hold your breath and go get them. Finally, I talked him in to putting his face in the water and watching me take a huge breath, reach down, grab the coins and come back up. He decided if I could, he could. He did. I placed the rest of the coins at the bottom of the pool, near the hand bar. Told him to hold it, come does the steps til the water hit his chin. Hold breath, hold bar, look down, grab. To my amazement, he did immediately. Later that afternoon he was happily glued to the step bar, but playing in the water. Not long after, he was dog paddling. Then actually swimming. End of summer, he was a very good swimmer.

 

[Dragonlady]

To Gracie and 007:

I have a group of long-time friends who are more like family than friends. There are six of us - four women, two men. We are all single, for the first time. The last marriage in the group ended just before Christmas, and we're still getting our friend through that one.

Some of us have been hanging out together either online or in real life since 1999. We met through our mutual obsession/love of figure skating, but over the years we discovered other sporting interests, and formed really deep bonds of friendship. I am the oldest, and the only retiree in the group. The youngest members are late 30's.

Throughout the pandemic, we have functioned as a support network for one another, and what we've all been talking about lately is "feeling stuck". It's hard to make future plans when we have no idea what the new normal will really look like. There are things I should do, and need to do, but it's hard to get moving.

The lockdown and never ending plague, is becoming mentally hard on all of us. Last Spring, I thought I was acing lockdown, and my hair starting falling out. I had bald patches on the left side of my head. My hairdresser said it looked like it had been "faded". And she said it was from stress. So much for acing the lockdown, but it made me realize this is harder on all of us than we knew.

I was chatting about this with one of my friends, and he said that he was having similar feelings, and that's when the whole group started talking about the mental health effects of living alone during lockdown. While caring for my new cat has been a God-send of a distraction for me, not everyone has something to keep them going. Problems seem larger when you have nothing to do but stew about them all day long. I've learned that one.

Also getting outside. Thank heavens the nicer weather is here. There is an eagle nesting grounds just outside of town I may peddle out to visit. Living by the water out in the country is just amazing. I've seen lots of birds I've only ever seen pictures of and a few I had to google. Fresh air and sunshine are good for the soul. Also gardening, and digging in the dirt. Sunshine on your shoulders does indeed, make you happy.

There are still days when I feel like I'm just hanging on by my fingernails. My friends all say similar things. If we had health or money concerns to add to the stress, I don't know how I'd cope. I also feel like I really shouldn't be complaining, because I don't feel like I have "real" problems - like health or money.

It's just all a mess and I just want it gone. I'm opening up to you all to tell you you're not alone in how you're feeling. We're all feeling it, no matter how well or poorly our governments are dealing with things, no matter what our economic situations are, even those who are economically and health wise, getting through this, are finding it hard to do so.

 

[Oddball]

Saturday morning!

Springtime is planting time...But beware of those pesky garden bandits.

Let the cartoon begin!

 

[Dragonlady]

Hi all. Been having an ongoing problem with the washing machine drain apparently backing up. After two snake jobs over the last year and a half had the plumbers come by and jet the the who system. They first snaked it, then ran a scope and we could see some roots and lots of built up sludge, those problems are taken care of. Was running the washing machine while they were here and sure enough it appeared to back up again. On closer inspection we determined the drain pipe itself was the culprit, most likely cracked.

Some of those problems can be maddening to find the solution. We had a hot water leak one time and worried how much floor the plumber would have to tear out to find it. He nailed it with the first drill and fixed it with no problem.

The next water leak we had, the plumber drilled holes all over the house until he finally found it in the sprinkler system in the back yard.

The estimate for replacing the washing machine drain line was emailed to me, I almost choked!! Think I might be doing this myself..........

Did you check your homeowners insurance? It might be a covered loss.

Speaking from experience, I highly doubt it. The insurance company is your friend until you have a claim, and then their job is to "minimize their loss", not yours. Your tree, your problem.

The only hope he might have is if the tree is on the roadway "right of way", and the municipality is responsible for its maintenance. That's how it works here. Then the damage caused by the roots becomes a municipal expense, and you can recover at least some of your costs to repair it.

 

[Dragonlady]

Saturday morning!

Springtime is planting time...But beware of those pesky garden bandits.

Let the cartoon begin!

Those "pesky garden bandits" don't become a problem until Fall. Those fuckers are perfectly willing to let you plant your crops, and tend those plants all summer long, but as soon as harvest time starts, be prepared for assholes to be climbing your fences and stealing your "special plants".

 

[Big Black Dog]

Well, it’s Easter time again. As a kid I never bought into the Santa Claus thing but when I found out the truth about the Easter Bunny I became so depressed I nearly didn’t pass the 8th grade

 

[Dragonlady]

Well, it’s Easter time again. As a kid I never bought into the Santa Claus thing but when I found out the truth about the Easter Bunny I became so depressed I nearly didn’t pass the 8th grade

I'm an Easter curmudgeon. I don't have a problem with "paganizing" Christmas with evergreens and lights, and feasting and all. It's a birthday party so decorations, food and gifts are appropriate, but symbols of the Spring pagan fertility festival (eggs, rabbits, chicks) and chocolate to celebrate the Crucifixion and Resurrection, just seems very wrong.

I am far more upset about the secularization and pagan fertility symbols around Easter than I am about any kind of "War on Christmas". Even though I do love chocolate rabbits. And Cadbury's Easter Creme Eggs. I look forward to those every year.

 

[Foxfyre]

Hi all. Been having an ongoing problem with the washing machine drain apparently backing up. After two snake jobs over the last year and a half had the plumbers come by and jet the the who system. They first snaked it, then ran a scope and we could see some roots and lots of built up sludge, those problems are taken care of. Was running the washing machine while they were here and sure enough it appeared to back up again. On closer inspection we determined the drain pipe itself was the culprit, most likely cracked.

Some of those problems can be maddening to find the solution. We had a hot water leak one time and worried how much floor the plumber would have to tear out to find it. He nailed it with the first drill and fixed it with no problem.

The next water leak we had, the plumber drilled holes all over the house until he finally found it in the sprinkler system in the back yard.

The estimate for replacing the washing machine drain line was emailed to me, I almost choked!! Think I might be doing this myself..........

Did you check your homeowners insurance? It might be a covered loss.

Unless things have dramatically changed in 10 years or so, Hombre & I, both licensed insurance adjusters back then, say no. I know of no HO policy that would cover a clogged water line inside your own property lines.

 

[Foxfyre]

They're captioning this photo with requests for translators on Twitter.

I read it effortlessly.

I'm weird.

 

[Gracie]

To Gracie and 007:

I have a group of long-time friends who are more like family than friends. There are six of us - four women, two men. We are all single, for the first time. The last marriage in the group ended just before Christmas, and we're still getting our friend through that one.

Some of us have been hanging out together either online or in real life since 1999. We met through our mutual obsession/love of figure skating, but over the years we discovered other sporting interests, and formed really deep bonds of friendship. I am the oldest, and the only retiree in the group. The youngest members are late 30's.

Throughout the pandemic, we have functioned as a support network for one another, and what we've all been talking about lately is "feeling stuck". It's hard to make future plans when we have no idea what the new normal will really look like. There are things I should do, and need to do, but it's hard to get moving.

The lockdown and never ending plague, is becoming mentally hard on all of us. Last Spring, I thought I was acing lockdown, and my hair starting falling out. I had bald patches on the left side of my head. My hairdresser said it looked like it had been "faded". And she said it was from stress. So much for acing the lockdown, but it made me realize this is harder on all of us than we knew.

I was chatting about this with one of my friends, and he said that he was having similar feelings, and that's when the whole group started talking about the mental health effects of living alone during lockdown. While caring for my new cat has been a God-send of a distraction for me, not everyone has something to keep them going. Problems seem larger when you have nothing to do but stew about them all day long. I've learned that one.

Also getting outside. Thank heavens the nicer weather is here. There is an eagle nesting grounds just outside of town I may peddle out to visit. Living by the water out in the country is just amazing. I've seen lots of birds I've only ever seen pictures of and a few I had to google. Fresh air and sunshine are good for the soul. Also gardening, and digging in the dirt. Sunshine on your shoulders does indeed, make you happy.

There are still days when I feel like I'm just hanging on by my fingernails. My friends all say similar things. If we had health or money concerns to add to the stress, I don't know how I'd cope. I also feel like I really shouldn't be complaining, because I don't feel like I have "real" problems - like health or money.

It's just all a mess and I just want it gone. I'm opening up to you all to tell you you're not alone in how you're feeling. We're all feeling it, no matter how well or poorly our governments are dealing with things, no matter what our economic situations are, even those who are economically and health wise, getting through this, are finding it hard to do so.

I have a dear online friend I have been yakking with for over 20 years. We met while I was blabbering about how much I loved Maui, and that drew us both into the mutual love of the place. Met her twice. Once, at her place in Wyoming for a 3 day visit. Second time, we scheduled a trip to Maui for a week and saw her while there because she booked for the same time. I care for her very much. The other friend is Anne. I feel the same about her. All of us are in our middle to late 60's. My newest buddy is Judie..she is 80..or 82. We have soooooo much in common its scarey. I will miss her when we leave here but I want out more than I want to be at this apt complex. But I will only be 2 hours away. I can always come for a visit. I doubt I will ever see the one in Wyoming again though. But we keep in touch often.

Thanks for the great post. Makes me feel better for some odd reason.

 

[Gracie]

They're captioning this photo with requests for translators on Twitter.
View attachment 475930

I read it effortlessly.

I'm weird.

I find the younger the generation, the more stupid they are. I read it fine too. But the ones that wrote it? Oy.

 

[Dragonlady]

View attachment 474698

Kittens and baby ducks have to be the cutest critters babies of all.

Yesterday, bright and early I went to the chicken pen where 3 small adult ducks live in peace among the big black roosters and black, brown, and white hens. I noticed the 4 inch by 30 inch wide child's dollar store wading pool had a hole in it' so I hopped in the truck, went to Tractor Supply and found a super sturdy, small field stock watering trough that now serves as their pond and hopefully will last them a lifetime on account of its cost. It was a joy to see them swimming around in it an hour later after feeding and watering the chickens. Both yesterday and today the hens gave us 22 eggs both yesterday and today, which reminds me I need to wash, carton, and refrigerate before hitting the sack. The boys put the little pedal boat together, but I'm going to wait till tomorrow before I pedal around Freedom Lake behind the house but is west of the back forty ....okay 40 square yards....

I haven't seen the great white egrets this year but did see the blackest heronlike bird a few weeks back. Not sure what it was but for several years a mauve "blue heron" visited Freedom Lake's eastern shore.

It's so good to see everyone here at Foxfyre's masterpiece usmb coffee lounge. Time to wash some eggs. ♡♡♡

Beautress: You shouldn't wash your eggs, until you go to use them. There is a natural coating to the egg to keep air and bacteria out, and washing removes that coating. They'll keep longer and better if you don't wash them until you either use them or sell them.

My parents kept chickens when I was a child. My oldest moved from Toronto to the country so she could keep chickens in her yard. She has 2 acres about 15 minutes outside of town, where she insulated a large garden shed and built a big chicken run in the backyard. She had both ducks and chickens.

She had a white runner duck named Dilbert. He reminded me of the crazy duck with the "excess of personality" in the movie "Babe". If the chickens escaped their run, and headed for the neighbour's garden, Dilbert was leading the flock. He was trouble with a capital T, and he acted all innocent when caught. Everyone in the family had Dilbert stories. My daughter called him a "jerk".

My husband found him dead in the coop one morning. Not a mark on him. Natural causes by all appearances. The whole family went into mourning over that jerk of a duck. He was an original.

 

[beautress]

View attachment 474698

Kittens and baby ducks have to be the cutest critters babies of all.

Yesterday, bright and early I went to the chicken pen where 3 small adult ducks live in peace among the big black roosters and black, brown, and white hens. I noticed the 4 inch by 30 inch wide child's dollar store wading pool had a hole in it' so I hopped in the truck, went to Tractor Supply and found a super sturdy, small field stock watering trough that now serves as their pond and hopefully will last them a lifetime on account of its cost. It was a joy to see them swimming around in it an hour later after feeding and watering the chickens. Both yesterday and today the hens gave us 22 eggs both yesterday and today, which reminds me I need to wash, carton, and refrigerate before hitting the sack. The boys put the little pedal boat together, but I'm going to wait till tomorrow before I pedal around Freedom Lake behind the house but is west of the back forty ....okay 40 square yards....

I haven't seen the great white egrets this year but did see the blackest heronlike bird a few weeks back. Not sure what it was but for several years a mauve "blue heron" visited Freedom Lake's eastern shore.

It's so good to see everyone here at Foxfyre's masterpiece usmb coffee lounge. Time to wash some eggs. ♡♡♡

Beautress: You shouldn't wash your eggs, until you go to use them. There is a natural coating to the egg to keep air and bacteria out, and washing removes that coating. They'll keep longer and better if you don't wash them until you either use them or sell them.

My parents kept chickens when I was a child. My oldest moved from Toronto to the country so she could keep chickens in her yard. She has 2 acres about 15 minutes outside of town, where she insulated a large garden shed and built a big chicken run in the backyard. She had both ducks and chickens.

She had a white runner duck named Dilbert. He reminded me of the crazy duck with the "excess of personality" in the movie "Babe". If the chickens escaped their run, and headed for the neighbour's garden, Dilbert was leading the flock. He was trouble with a capital T, and he acted all innocent when caught. Everyone in the family had Dilbert stories. My daughter called him a "jerk".

My husband found him dead in the coop one morning. Not a mark on him. Natural causes by all appearances. The whole family went into mourning over that jerk of a duck. He was an original.

The boys brought them in covered with dry excrement up until two days ago. I had no choice but to wash them dry them, and reinspect before putting them into their respective egg cartons then into the refrigerator. I don't know why but they have brought them in perfectly clean for 2 days. I don't miss the mess one bit. Thanks for the tips. I'm still inspecting every egg, though.

 

[Oddball]

Minnesota high school hockey tournament was a but of a downer this year....Now crowd in the arena because of covid panic porn.

But at least we still have the All-hair team to maintain a measure of normalcy....

 

[beautress]

Hope it's been a happy Easter for all. I spent the day in prayer for lots of stuff. Yesterday, Dish played out something called The Bible emphasizing things that give mankind hope and peace. I liked the story of Daniel and the Sermon on the Mount several hours later. It was some kind of epic series and was free of charge for those who use Dish as their satellite tv. That said hope everyone has a great week ahead with good health and a happy heart. ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

 

[beautress]

Minnesota high school hockey tournament was a but of a downer this year....Now crowd in the arena because of covid panic porn.

But at least we still have the All-hair team to maintain a measure of normalcy....

Aaaaaaaaay! For your home teams, Oddball.