May 2023 Chat Thread.

[bazookagoof]

Happy May, everyone- but so far it's been a bummer for me. 

[Bean]

Gah, that's rubbish. But thanks for starting the thread.

We had a Bank Holiday yesterday, so off to a fairly quiet start to the month which was appreciated.

I got a bit carried away yesterday and planted out some bedding plants - I hope the risk of frost has passed or I'll be regrowing/ rebuying.

[bazookagoof]

After work today, I had to get my daughter's car to the dealership for routine maintenance, so we switched cars this morning. Although her car is new, I don't like it simply because it has no CD player in it. No problems with the car, but when I got home my wife told me the microwave had broken. 

Of course, she wanted to know why I wasn't running out to get a new one right away. I have been up since 1:30 am this morning, put in a full shift at a job I hate, spent an extra hour dealing with car maintenance and now she wants me to go run more errands because she's too busy taking naps or watching some show on her tablet.

I said I'll go tomorrow after work, but if you want one right now go and get it yourself.

[3piggles]

Thanks for doing the May thread. I totally forgot.

So sorry May has started off badly for you. Virtual hugs. I was wondering why your wife couldn't take the car in for maintenance? Doesn't she drive?

You really have to get out of Aramak, even if you start off doing something you don't really like, but it pays the bills. More virtual hugs!

May has been wet for us, with about 5" of rain so far, and yes, it's only May 2! We have flooding, road washouts, and lots of other fun stuff, but we definitely don't have a drought

[bazookagoof]

I forgot to add that we still have the heat on, and wearing winter coats. This is a first- I know we've had some rough April weather these past few years, but normally by May we're all set.

[Bean]

I think we're staying above 5c (41f) now. It's not exactly super spring-like yet, but we're moving in the right direction.

I can imagine how well that went down, to be met with another task demand after a long day at work and having sorted the car. Glad you stayed put and got some respite instead.

[3piggles]

We've been high 30s/low 40s overnight, and high 40s to 60s during the day. We're still wearing jackets, but not the heave winter coats. It's really nice not to be wearing the heated gloves and socks to go walking, or having my glasses steam up because it's so cold out my breath makes that much difference. We've just had a lot of rain, and it's still raining. I think I said 5", which should have been 3", I think, but that was probably a good 1.5 inches ago, lol

Lots of washed out roads in places where it doesn't usually happen. The auto road to the top of Mount Washington is closed due to a washing out and a foot of snow. First torrential rains, then a foot of snow to make fixing the damage more difficult.

The Kancamagus Highway, which runs through one of the most beautiful mountain notches, also had some major washouts. I think that was runoff from higher up the mountains, so that had to be diverted before the road could be fixed. The Kancamagus Highway is THE place to go during foliage season, and I think we may go up there this Fall. Stop trying to avoid the crowds. It's a bit of a drive, so one we have to start early in the morning to be able to get back home at any reasonable hour. Doubt there are any hotel rooms available during foliage season, with whole bus loads of tourists booking in at hotels and resorts. I'm sure it's also the most expensive time of the year for any lodgings up there. Nope, just get back home. Have to see if Vic can manage it, as he seems to feel a whole lot older after his mini stroke.

The warm weather will come, Baz, and then we can all complain about the heat

[bazookagoof]

May 3, 2023 6:22:57 GMT Bean said:

I think we're staying above 5c (41f) now. It's not exactly super spring-like yet, but we're moving in the right direction.

I can imagine how well that went down, to be met with another task demand after a long day at work and having sorted the car. Glad you stayed put and got some respite instead.

She also managed to clog the toilet, but fixing it was her problem. While she did attempt to get a new microwave oven, she screwed up and bought a fryer instead. (I don't know how you can make a mistake like that when it's clearly labeled on the box!) 

She's out of town for work until late tonight, which means she probably won't get around to getting a new one until tomorrow or even the weekend. In the meantime, I have a considerable pile of cold food in the fridge that needs eating, and I have to use the oven to heat everything up. While it's not a big deal, it seems like a waste to heat up the oven just for one simple burger tonight. 

[Bean]

What about a frying pan?

I was going to say it's kind of funny your wife blocked the loo and then bought the wrong appliance - must make you feel pretty competent! But as her bad moods with herself tend to be directed towards you, it's not so amusing...

Enjoy the peace anyway.

[3piggles]

Cover any pan, and it becomes an oven. I cook a lot of things on the stove top just in a covered pan. If you don't have a cover for the size of pan you need, use tin foil or a plate. I really can't imagine making that mistake unless she had a few choices and hit the wrong button.

I agree with Bean, enjoy the break

[bazookagoof]

She leaves for China for three weeks to see her family next week. It is going to be awesome. 

We do have a new microwave, but this model doesn't have a numerical keypad, so there's no way to program 20 seconds for an item; you are stuck with a minimum of 30 seconds and prematurely shutting off the heat. I don't care for it, but I'll deal with it. 

(On weekends I eat heated bagels with cream cheese for breakfast and 30 seconds is too long, 20 does the trick just fine.)

[3piggles]

How does she manage to screw up such a simple task as ordering a new microwave? It's not rocket science! Read the instructions. There may be a way around the preset times. Maybe it is rocket science, lol When you're watching for the 20 seconds to count down, just remember-she's leaving for China for a while!!

[bazookagoof]

She told me she found a way to reduce the seconds if I needed to, but I'll deal with that later. She's leaving tonight, and I think I might just buy a cake to celebrate!

One grumble about the weather- we turned our heat back on because it's so chilly now!

[bazookagoof]

Of course, my wife found another way to cause grief and inconvenience to the family: we just got messages on our phones that our service has been discontinued due to insufficient funds in the account. This is my wife's screwup, and unfortunately only she can fix it- but we can't contact her because she's out of the country! 

I have to confirm a vet appointment for Stilgar and can't do it because my phone does not work anymore. 

I hope my daughter doesn't run into any trouble; we have no way to communicate!

[Bean]

Oh no, I hope you can get in touch once she's landed and get it sorted out, or is she completely off grid over there? What a pain.

Is there the option to email the vet to confirm instead? Maybe you could pick up some PAYG SIM cards so that you and your daughter can at least call out if needed, even if you have different numbers for a short while.

[3piggles]

I hope none of you runs into any trouble. Not having a way to even call 911 is scary!

[bazookagoof]

We managed to get back on-line after a day. I was able to send an email to my wife, who is complaining that we aren't contacting her on a regular basis. I reminded her that my daughter and I cannot access our phones at school/work, and I'm sure that will go over well.

[Bean]

I'm glad you got it sorted, even if it opens up another avenue for you to get earache! We don't realise how much we rely on things like phones/ wi-fi etc until they're not there!

Do many people still have landlines over there? They're disappearing quickly over here. Most internet used to come through then phone lines, so that would be included in most internet deals, but that's changing. Some companies don't even offer a landline anymore, and the ones that do it's now a significant extra cost. We'd barely used ours in years, so didn't mind letting it go.

[bazookagoof]

May 12, 2023 6:07:52 GMT Bean said:

I'm glad you got it sorted, even if it opens up another avenue for you to get earache! We don't realise how much we rely on things like phones/ wi-fi etc until they're not there!

Do many people still have landlines over there? They're disappearing quickly over here. Most internet used to come through then phone lines, so that would be included in most internet deals, but that's changing. Some companies don't even offer a landline anymore, and the ones that do it's now a significant extra cost. We'd barely used ours in years, so didn't mind letting it go.

My parents still have their landline. We would still have ours, but my wife jettisoned it a few years ago. The older folk tend to hang on them, probably from familiarity. 

[Bean]

Yeah, same here, it tends to be the older folk who still have them. It's actually really hard to get a very simple mobile phone that doesn't have the ability to confuse or lose people who haven't grown up with much technology, so many people prefer to stick with something they know rather than tackle something new. Even the concept of having to keep it charged can be a challenge to someone who's had decades of just picking up a receiver and always getting a line without ever having to consider a battery.