The American Job Problem - from TK

The financial crisis is forcing State and local agencies to make some tough decisions. If things continue for much longer, there's a real risk that we may have to lay off Jose.

Not just America, methinks!

Mysterious illness

Yesterday was the monthly get-together with Gill and Julie for our 'Ladies who lunch' group. We tried a different place this time and very nice it was. I got home at just after 3.30 and by five o'clock, I had started to feel cold. Half an hour later, I had turned the heating on, was wearing extra layers and clutching a hot water bottle but still shivering uncontrollably. My head ached and I had pains throughout my bones.
Elder Daughter has, in the past, used the word 'hypochondriac' in connection with me. Very unfair, I know, but I can't deny that thoughts of brain tumours, meningitis and other unidentified terminal illnesses did cross my mind as I took myself off to bed.
This morning, I am up and Paddy is waiting patiently for his walk.
I'm not rushing though...
Da dawg will just have to be patient for a little while longer.

From TK

I was sitting here wondering...

When the hell is spring coming???

Ladies who lunch? Not today.

Over the last seven and a half years, Keith has perfected the art of appearing to listen carefully to what I am saying, whilst in reality, filtering out any information which he decides he doesn't actually need to retain.
"I have supervision today and I'm meeting Gill and Julie for lunch on Thursday," I said yesterday. Both these events happen in Chester, so he did at least know which area of the country I would be in, should he look around and realise that I wasn't bodily present. (He has been known to ring me mid-lunch to enquire where I was as the house was empty when he had come back from a job.)
"I met X (former counselling tutor) today," I said. "She was arriving as I was leaving."
Keith looked puzzled. "Who is she?"
"She used to teach on the counselling courses," I reminded him.
"Ah yes," he said, "So how does she know Gill and Julie? Oh no, of course, it wasn't 'ladies who lunch' day today, was it?"
Obviously, he has difficulty keeping up with my hectic schedule.
"Do you think you might take a doggy bag on Thursday?" he asked.

Under the caravan

Around ten o'clock every evening is the time that Paddy gets 'invited' to go out into the garden and do what a dog needs to do before his night's sleep. Usually it happens without incident. When it's raining, it happens without incident and very quickly, as he is a dog who does not like to get wet. I have tried to train him to wipe his paws on the mat before marking the floor with muddy pawprints but, alas, without success. Maybe the secret is to train him to use the mop to clean the floor instead.
Last night, however, was different. It was different because, instead of doing what he was sent outside to do, he found his way down to the bottom left hand corner of the garden, under the caravan and there he stayed, snuffling, snorting and generally poking his nose at something by the fence. When I got tired of waiting for him, I called him. When he ignored that, I went down and poked him with a stick. Whatever I did or said, no matter what dire punishments I threatened him with, I might as well not have been there. The wretched mutt totally, completely, absolutely IGNORED me! I have never been so ignored in all my life!
Finally, I crawled under the caravan and managed to grab his collar and drag him, none too gently, back into the house.
Tonight, he'll be going out on the lead!

Wind

After the gales of the weekend, I hoped that today would be a bit calmer. Not so. If anything, it's worse than ever. On Friday night, the rubber doormat outside the front door disappeared and was found across the road in someone's front garden. On Saturday, Keith, busy doing technical things in his van, suddenly discovered that he was on the move. The handbrake had not been as firmly on as he thought and the wind decided to help the van on its way down the drive, which was a bit scary.

This morning I took Paddy out and we fought our way down the road to the local shop and back but it wasn't fun, definitely not fun.

Printers and hard drives

We seem to be having computer-related problems recently. Keith, who depends a great deal on his computers, internet etc in his work has had ongoing problems so he bought a new, compact computer, which he then discovered didn't have the old comm ports, which he needs for some of his hardware, so then he bought a new box and the wherewithall to put in it, only to discover that the motherboard didn't have something or other. (Bored? You will be!) Now his current hard drive is protesting, necessitating a quick visit to Maplin's for a new one and he is now patiently toiling away in the van transferring millions of megabytes from various hard drives to the new one.
This is the thing with Keith. He seems to collect hard drives. There is a small tower of them in the study and the computer in the living room needs a reinforced floor under it as it contains several, not all of which are still working, but the task of checking them all will wait for another day.
In the midst of all this, our printer seems to have curled up in the corner in a huff, which could mean more shopping.
Oh, and while trying to fix the printer, he has inflicted several large scratches on the coffee table. Maybe I'd better not mention that just yet...