Boss cat, second only to me....

Meet Whisky Cat, a critter perfectly fine with this whole 'Stay at home' situation.  Warm lap on demand, pets on demand, and daily squishy food.  Even the now regular hit 'o nip.

His last miraculous escape had him out in 'The World' overnight, to be found the next morning hiding behind a wood box on the from porch, shaking and crying.    That was way back when I was allowed to actually do my job.   Lately he's looking sideways at the door again.  O' Cat of short memory.... and not enough fear.  We have eagles, hawks, owls, coyotes, and even a bobcat around here.

We hit up a local restaurant for take out wings tonight.  I didn't really care to spend the money, but we are trying to help out where we can.  Wings and beer..... URP.  Bet the dreams tonight will be wild.... if sleep comes at all.

I haven't heard what next week brings for me.  Another week of on-line training.... maybe a week of helping students with on-line classes..... maybe applying for unemployment.   Who really knows?

Pretty sure, whatever it is, it will happen here at home.  Sigh.

 

Stand off....

STILL a better show than watching Cuomodink enjoying the sound of his own voice.

Zeke and Ripley have NOT found a peaceful detente yet.  Ripley wants to play, and Zeke wants to bleed Ripley.
 

Leaping cuisenart of doom

Meet Ripley.

Or, as we like to call her... "What the %$#@ did she do now??

Now with more kitten!

Nothing quite says 'Here Kitty Kitty' like a nice apoca-lunch.....

NSFW, or Kids, or silly Twatwaffles

Ear Worm....

Flupocolypse, day 14, 'O dark thirty

'Total Lockdown' for our county began last night.  More like a stay at home order, with enough exceptions to make it almost worthless. On the other hand, enough people will likely listen to give it some value.  Pretty much unenforceable though. 

Silly Governor. No donut.

Anyway, coffee is made.   

Yesterday saw the last hurrah for leftover mashed potatoes, and probably the best way yet to make them breakfast. 

Our smashed potatoes, mixed with chopped onions, an egg, and a few tablespoons of flour.  Stir well, make patties, fry in butter slowly for a long time.   Can't go wrong!

Now, a long weekend begins.  Cool, rainy, gray, mind wearing. 
It will be cool enough I can keep the fire lit, and that's cheering.  Last night I announced a family goal.... no pants all weekend. Only pajamas.   The kids were like... duh, as if there was ever any other plan anyway.

 And.... probably why sleep isn't working this morning.  Likely hit 110K before I finish the coffee I just made.

 

Flupocolypse, day 13.6.... the boozening

I call it 'The Pandemic'.

Recipe as follows:

Take what booze you got, pour it in a glass over a couple ice cubes, squeeze in a chunk of whatever fruit you got.  Swizzle with your (Washed) finger.  Drink.  Refill. Drink again. Repeat.

In this case, we have some black rum and a slice of orange.  Very, very tasty.

Politics

Massie defends himself in the face of a LOT of anger:

"I swore an oath to uphold the constitution, and I take that oath seriously. In a few moments I will request a vote on the CARES Act which means members of Congress will vote on it by pushing 'yes' or 'no' or 'present,'" he began. "The Constitution requires that a quorum of members be present to conduct business in the House. Right now, millions of essential, working-class Americans are still required to go to work during this pandemic such as manufacturing line workers, healthcare professionals, pilots, grocery clerks, cooks/chefs, delivery drivers, auto mechanics, and janitors (to name just a few). Is it too much to ask that the House do its job, just like the Senate did?"

"I am not delaying the bill like Nancy Pelosi did last week. The bill that was worked on in the Senate late last week was much better before Speaker Pelosi showed up to destroy it and add days and days to the process," Massie clarified. He slammed the current version of the bill for directing $25 million to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. "That $25 million, for example, should go directly to purchasing test kits," he declared.

Massie accused both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) of "working together to block a recorded vote just to insulate members of Congress from ACCOUNTABILITY. Biggest spending bill in the history of mankind, and no recorded vote?"

I suspected such was the reason.  He's small time, and will probably stay that way since by all accounts he's an honest, moral, and principled man. Exactly the opposite of what that cesspool called Congress will allow to stand.

 

Flupocolypse day 13, the breakfasting...

Frugality... is a nice word to use instead of 'Cheap as ^&&$'.

Left over smashed potatoes, resmashed into pattied splats 'o goodness, and fried in a non-stick pan with a bit of butter.

Now, smashed potatoes here involve a lot of flavor inducing frivolities to begin with, so these honestly need nothing but a smash and heat.  That said, they are fridge velcro.  Put ANYTHING in or on these you wish.

The eggs.... are just eggs.  I spoon on some queso just because I can.  A few jars of various salsa type stuffs can brighten up all kinds of dishes.  Lowly eggs can be varied a dozen different ways, and salsa goes far in helping that.

 

flupocolypse, day 12.7, more thinkful thoughts

Thinking past this moment, to a time when most everyone is out, about, and doing.

* What will happen with education?   It's hard to imagine a teachers union bitching about cyber schools when every single public education program turned into one overnight.  At least, the ones who attempted to continue educating at all.

Post secondary?  College?   Wow... how many students who went home and started taking on-line classes will come back?  How many will put up with the over priced and bloated edburocracy after seeing this evolution take place?

* Government, laws, and regulations.  With so many regulations knifed in the back in order to *save* lives, how will the American public deal with watching them dumped right back onto their shoulders?

* Politics?  Americans of all kinds have witnessed what parts of their government worked pretty well, and which parts failed miserably.  They've watched the people who got in the way, delayed help, and most of all.... tried to personally profit from the deadliest fast moving disease of modern  times.  Could this be the end of a political party.  Dare I say.... the two party system?  Or, will the sheeple bah-bah their way back into the feed lot? 

Humph.... this is going to be fascinating.   If my elderly ass survives to observe the results.

 

Flupocolypse, day 12.6.... thoughts

Weirdness last night.   Not beer-flu related, but it shined a light on something.

Long story short, a young girl knocked on our door after 11pm.  Herself and I were in bed, but girl child was still up (GGRRRR).

Turned out to be a school friend of girl child who needed some help.  I won't go into the details. Police became involved. She's home now as far as I know.

The revelation?  No matter *my* level of concern, that doesn't automatically translate into anyone else being extra careful.  Pre-teen girl child does not understand why she should never open that door under those circumstances. Not in the best of times, and REALLY not now. Not without us being right there.

Mom had a discussion with her.  I shall too  (Just did... no reason to wait). 

We live fairly rural here.  Porch lights usually mean welcome.... usually.  They also mean people inside the house can get a sight picture if they need to, after ID'ing the people outside.

In other news, a local favorite restaurant is struggling, just like every eatery in this state is since the Goobermint shut them down for the duration.  Most every place we enjoyed going has adopted VERY liberal take out, and even spontaneous delivery.  Shucks, I can even get wine delivered to my door from a friends winery.

So today I thought.... 'Self, look over the facebook thing and see what they are peddling for lunch'.  Time to treat the household, and support some good people who need it right now.  Yup, Jack's had a do-it-yourself sammich special that was a good deal.  It would easily feed the four of us for $15.   I bought two, and tipped an extra $10.   We LIKE jack's place, and want them to survive this mess.  Jack and wife met us at the restaurant door, with bags of food and an upbeat thanks.  Cool. 

News is all bad.  Raw numbers, medical, economic, and on top of all that, politicians seeking personal gain out of this.

We struck a record today..... #1 nation in the world, in terms of Chinese virus cases....

 

But, here in our home, all is good.  The same for friends and family. For now.  Thankful for that.

Oh, and tomorrow, good friends should be getting a package I sent their youngest child.  Glitter.  FORTY EIGHTS COLORS of GLITTER.       MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!  Enjoy that lockdown.... LOLOLOL......

Flupocolypse, day 12

Worst

Zombie

Apocalypse

EVAR

1 star, do not recommend.

Eating too much. Drinking too much. Bored too much.  Crabby too much.

 

A flash of insight, confidence level around 7

Prince Cuomodink has been holding daily audiences...... er.... 'press conferences'.     

Now, as much as I despise the little prick, I can understand his bitching and whining on behalf of his state.  After all, that's his Yob, Man.

But, it's every bit as redundant as Cheeto speaking daily.  Cheeto's team, yeah... them I want to hear just in case they say something meaningful.  Cuomodink?  Naw...... just non-stop PMS.

Then, as I considered how far gone the current Party Choice is for the Dem nomination, it kind of flashed out of the blue.

Cuomodink is the new party choice (7/10), and that's why the ridiculous non-stop coverage for hours every day.   They are preparing their apparatchik to do as ordered (7/10).

There is precedent. 

 

 

Whelp, it's been fun. See ya on the other side...

Waffle house index goes red.....

Guess it's time to punch holes in that colander and put straps on it.

 

Worth a few minutes

Via Peter Grant, a heads up to this piece.  Worth watching.

Flupocolypse, day 11

Day 11-ish, and still eating well!  (Urp)

This being 'Murica, we'll likely *gain* weight while being stuck at home during a pandemic.

Here we have yesterdays home made bread, pan fried in butter, with a couple sunny's on top.   In addition, a small apple muffin that the womin folk invented last night.

Working from home again, on this rainy day.  On-line training is mind numbing, so I think I'll do some curriculum work.  My last day at the building, I was reminded it could be useful to bring home material, and thank goodness I listened.

Politics:   Meh, the usual suspects are proving themselves to be themselves, as expected.   I have zero expectation of anything but grief from those buzzards.

During these iffy times, Lawdog is blogging again.  Common sense, as always. 

No real worries *today*, and that's how we are taking it these days. One day at a time.

Hang in there my friends, we are all in this together!

 

 

· Granny Boxwine's 1400 page wish list

I'm saving this, for when the lockdown gets THAT boring and I need to boost my blood pressure and heart rate.

San Fran Nan's triple size 1400 page wish list, that she wanted  to replace the Senate's 500 page life-line bill with.

Flupocolypse, day 10.6

Fresh bread for dinner!

Flupocolypse, day 10.5

Nothing to say.

 

Flupocolypse, day 10

It has occurred to even me, the guy whose crayons are seriously dull, that the political map is going to change in significant ways.

I wondered at the lunacy of the current situation in Congress, and why that party is courting political suicide so avidly.  

Now, I'm wondering.... perhaps they are grabbing at whatever they can get right now, no matter who they hurt, because they can read maps too....

 Anywho.....

Day 10, give or take.  Working from home and avoiding going out as much as possible.

Today, a quick trip to get Herself to the vampires for blood work, and a quick stop at the local Weis market for a couple things.   Many people at the store sporting masks, bandanas, and gloves.  Most folks distancing themselves pretty well, and nobody looking too panicky.

Limits on eggs, milk, water, etc.  None on beer, thank the gods.
Shelves fully stocked, with a couple rare weirdness spots.  Some pasta empty, but others chock full.  'Family' size section is thin, but the regular size packages are decently full.  Chicken drum sticks.... WTF Weis?  There must have been hundreds of packages of chicken drum sticks.  They shoved them everywhere in the meat cases. 

Baking bread, which I like to do but never have time for.  An odd little plus to the apocalypse.  Also doing laundry, cleaning, reading, doing on-line training..... and fretting.


 

Flupocolypse, day 9.6

This is a security cam capture of a couple mooks trying to con their way into peoples homes near here.  There's actually three of the bastards, in a vehicle with Maryland tags.  They are  claiming to be be out helping people clean their homes.

Yeah, hard times bring out the good in people. They also embolden the subhuman assholes out there. 

I'm surprised the above wily coyote super genius's attempted their stupidity around here, but I guess I answer my own perplexity.

Around here, most everyone is ready to help everyone anytime they ask, and even when they don't.  But... don't try to push your way into the house.  That would be choosing..... poorly.

More so given this little fact.  The virus is hitting first responders hard, as expected.  As a result, police around the nation are changing how they respond to calls.... or if they respond.

Some of those mooks are going to learn some hard, and very short, lessons. 

 

Flupocolypse, day 9.3

Today, and every day, call the senate and house.  Here is the contact info.  Call, and unload on them.  Tell them we are watching them, very, very carefully.

The Chuck and Nancy horror show is back in business full blast, and it's families that will suffer.   People will quite literally die as they play politics.   Share your thoughts with them.  Now, daily, and often.

Yeah, I know those two loathsome snakes won't care what you think, or even if you live through this.... but maybe there are actual humans around them.  People who haven't had every shred of decency stolen from their souls yet.  What the hell.... there's a chance.

As for me, my direct manager called last night.  The company is keeping us busy-ish at home this week, with full pay.  Instructors will be either monitoring on-line classes and answering students questions, or doing on-line training.  At least, for this week.

I'm good with that.  It's a weeks pay.  At this point, I'm resigned to take it day by day.  Looking a week ahead is a luxury.
 
 

Growl.....

Flupocolypse, day 9.2

One last load of heat, at least til the next one.   That's enough to stay snuggly thru what chilly we have left this spring, probably.

Hoping to keep going and get 3 or 4 cords ahead for next fall.

 

Flupocolypse, day 9.1

Sack of Occident flour from Grannies, some yeast, a couple fresh eggs, some warm water......

One less trip  to the store, one less exposure.

Flupocolypse, day 9

Kind of a handy time to have a flock of yard-birds.   They take scraps and leftovers, and convert them into fresh tasty eggs.

In a couple weeks, they could be worth their weight in gold.... or toilet paper.

 

I've been wrong about many things in my life.
I've been right on occasion.

This time, I really wish I'd been wrong.

Flupocolypse, day 8.nom

Flupocolypse, day 8, brekkies.....

Sourdough blueberry pancakes, with roast pork belly.

I know it may not be this good in a few weeks, but this morning we feast!  And later, we go walk off the feast someplace in the sun, away from the other plague rats.

 

Flupocolypse, day 8. Trip wire, acheived...

Trip wires are prearranged warning signs.  Most of them live in our minds.

Yup.... Just hit one of mine. Several non-gun people I know have quietly approached me and asked if I can arm them.

The thing is, these are even-keel people whose skills place them in the top five of 'essential' jobs on that list.