A TGIF Where the First Thing Is a Rant

For a lot of people, Labor Day means the end of summer.  Schools either have already started or will start next week, vacations have been taken, and school supply lists are providing a last gasp of required shopping.  Around here, it usually means that last of the big beach weekends, and on Monday the news will spend a whole lot of time covering traffic jams from the beach back to the city.

We didn't make it to see the ocean once this summer.  Sigh.

Anyway, I've decided that it's time for a TGIF post, and as warned above, the first one is a rant.

Thinking About - how correct spelling seems to be lower and lower down on the list of things people care about.  This morning on the local news, they were teasing a story after the commercial about Hurricane Dorian threatening those in Florida.  It showed am image of a marina, with the caption "YATCH CLUB THREATENED."  The other day, they promised us a "WENDSDAY FOURCAST."  Really?  I understand that on social media for example, not everyone is a native English speaker and I am willing to let a lot slide there.  But one would hope that on a TV station (or print media or wherever things are "official"), that there are people checking things, and then correcting them if there is a problem.  Yes, I knew it was a Wednesday Forecast coming up, but that's not the point.  When The Tim used to work in publishing, he would often receive resumes with cover letters saying that the sender was interested in a job as an "edditor." 

Having said all of that, I guess I'm glad that I don't own a yatch, and have to worry about it.  I mentioned this to The Tim, and he agreed, though he did point out that it's unlikely we could afford a yatch anyway ...

Getting Ready For - the long weekend, and all of next week, when I will be off work!  For once, my vacation time was approved, and I'm trying to make a more conscious effort this year to be able to use my vacation time so I don't lose a lot of it, as has happened over the last few years.  We have an extremely short-staffed department, so it's hard to get time off approved in the first place.  And since we can't carry any time over, you just lose it, which galls me to my core.  I have no specific plans for next week, other than to just not be at work, which is the best plan of all!

Interested In - spending at least some of the next week getting rid o' crap.  Too much is piled up and it's making me nuts, so I'm hoping to do enough of a cleanout to feel that I've made a good dent in all of it.

Feeling - happy that the summer is winding down, though I know there is still plenty left.  And looking forward to next weekend, when we are going to the New Jersey Sheep and Fiber Festival, which is always so good.  It's not that far away, and it's extremely manageable.  I don't necessarily have plans to buy anything, but I love looking at all the yarns and other goodies, and especially seeing the sweet animals. 

I hope those of you that live in the U.S. have a lovely long weekend for Labor Day, and that everyone else has a good weekend.  See you next week!

Love/Hate Relationship

There's a meme going around on Instagram stories, where you name three things that you hate, but everyone else loves.  Since I don't do Instagram stories, I thought it was the perfect thing for Three on Thursday.

So here are Three Things Everyone Else Loves and I Hate*

*(which is to say "dislike strongly" since I don't want to be lectured about the world "hate" ...)

1.  Beyonce.  I think she has talent and she certainly knows how to market herself, but I cannot stand her.  I find her tiresome, self-involved, and completely humorless.  She is way more impressed with and by herself than the rest of us could ever be.

2. Reality TV.  I'm sick of it, and I'm also sick of how it is making people famous who have no legitimate reason to be known other than to their friends and family, due to their toxic and/or stupid behavior.  (Having said that, I should point out that it has provided a good career for one of my nieces who is a TV producer and has worked on some of the reality shows.  Full disclosure and all that.)

3.  Nutella.  I love chocolate.  I kinda sorta like hazelnuts, though they are not my absolute fave.  But I am not a fan of nutella, and by extension all of the food items that use it/incorporate it/are "improved" by it.  I have a lot of friends who think it's the food equivalent of the Second Coming of Christ, and I just don't get it.

The meme on Instagram has you tag three friends to share, but I'll just leave it here for anyone who may want to play along, either on their blog or in the comments.

So Relaxing!

The weekend delivered and then some on the promised lovely weather!  It was so nice to be able to go outside and not only be able to breathe, but not start sweating immediately.  Saturday was nice, but Sunday was even nicer, and that made it one of the best weekends for a long time.

So what did I do?  Well, to be honest, not a heck of a lot.  I did a lot of the usual things that I do every single weekend, but I also took plenty of breaks to just enjoy being at home.

I did some knitting, worked on my cross-stitch quite a bit, stitching the honeycombs background, but I did A LOT OF READING.  I was just in that kind of mood, you know?  I enjoyed being able to read and enjoy a cup of hot tea with the windows open and nice breezes coming through.

There was a lot of this as well:

The Koodle is getting ever closer to his ultimate dream of sleeping curled up right into Hamlet like he used to do with Dug.  As it is now, he seems very content with this set-up.

I hope your weekend was lovely as well.  And here's hoping the week goes well, leading up to Labor Day Weekend here in the U.S.

This Post Brought to You By Letter Writing

Hello and happy Friday!  It certainly seemed to take its time getting here, but as long as it arrived, that's what mattered.  Today seems like a good day for some letters.

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Dear People Ahead of Me In Line at Wawa:

None of you have an overwhelming amount of things that you are buying.  And though the wait is normally not that long, it's long enough for you to be prepared when it is your turn to check out.  So how about being ready?  You know, have your wallet/card/cash easily reachable and ready to go, so that you are not holding up things by a) digging around in your bag and/or b) looking to see what cash you can dig out of a pocket.  And by extension, do your fellow bus riders/subway riders a favor and have your card ready for that too.  It's not like you are running to catch the bus and haven't had time.  Most of you are the types that complain when it's someone else doing the same thing, so work on some self-awareness, why don't you?

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Dear Guy Spraying the Sidewalk in Front of the Bank:

I know you want to just get it done and move on, but please remember that people are walking by, and don't just randomly pull the hose.  Yesterday you nearly knocked a guy down, and he was even trying to be careful!

*******

Dear People on Social Media:

Stop complaining.  No one is forcing you to a) use social media, or b) follow everyone and everything.  So your continual whining about how terrible and toxic it is gets old really fast.  I am not an expert, nor am I a paragon of what is right, but I am a sensible person.  I do look at Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  However, if something/someone bothers me a lot, I don't follow them, or I block them.  Problem solved.  And since the world is still the world no matter how you try to control it, I don't look at any social media after 8 p.m.  Why get yourself upset/worked up/overwhelmed to the point where, by the time you go to sleep, you can't get to sleep?  Also, no one is making you look at/use social media all the time, so your "vacations" seem awfully made up to me.  If you are spending too much of your day on social media, it isn't social media's fault.  Geez.

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Dear People with Cell Phones:

Look up.  Pay attention.  And unless the call is REALLY important, don't take it in the middle of spending time with someone else.  It's rude.  Before cell phones, people had no compunction about saying "I'm busy right now, I'll call you back," and the world still kept turning.

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Dear a Large Number of Men:

Get over yourselves.

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Dear a Large Number of Women:

See above.

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Dear Fall:

I see you, waiting in the wings.  Let's get together soon, OK?

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Dear Cardinal Family Who Live in the Garden:

Wow you guys eat a lot!  But I'm glad you seem to think our garden is the best restaurant in town.  Feel free to stay as long as you like, we are more than happy to have you in the family so to speak.

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Dear Oliver Who Lives Down the Street:

I am so glad that even if you are scared of most dogs, that you and Hamlet have become friends.  He is just as excited to see you as you are to see him.  I would apologize for his bad breath when he kisses you, but you don't seem to mind.  I hope you two stay friends for a long time.

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Dear Perry The World's Most Annoying Neighbor:

Yep, you're likely the only one who doesn't call yourself that.  Just so you know.

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Dear Blog Friends:

Have  good weekend, and thanks for reading!  Hope you get in a lot of knitting, reading, cooking, exercising, or whatever makes you happy.  I'm hoping to actually spend some time outside willingly, since the weather is supposed to be pleasant.  YAY!

I Know I Need Reminders From Time to Time

It's easy to get caught up in, well, stuff.  And sometimes little reminders - even cornball ones - are helpful.  I know that Carole is on vacation this week, so there is no "official" Three on Thursday, but these three reminders have come up recently and I thought since they were helpful reminders for me, I'd share them, just in case you could benefit as well.

Take care, friends.