I'm not really finding myself in a very merry mood today (see R&R post). You guys know what to do with this. It will run through New Years weekend. Everyone be safe. I'd include smart but, TiB, so no.
Sorry to hear about your friends, shegirl... To everyone else, please be sure to do the simple stuff that is meant to keep you alive, and not just be a pain in the ass: check your smoke detectors and CO monitors every time you change your clocks for daylight savings. clean out your fucking lint traps and dryer vent lines regularly (deep clean, not just clean the filter after each use) get your chimney cleaned and inspected regularly (there have been 6 chimney fires within 8 blocks of my house in the last 2 weeks). Don't use presto logs if you can help it, as they basically line your chimney with wax that will greatly exacerbate the problem of it catching on fire. Don't believe those bullshit "burn this log and you'll be fine" commercials... they don't work. Get a pro in to do it. get your furnace and gas fireplaces serviced regularly by a professional get your heating vents cleaned occasionally The local Fire Chief is almost going apoplectic in recent interviews asking/pleading with people to do that stuff. It's easy and can save the life of your family. Merry Fucking Christmas!
One of the few (thank God) house fires I've had as an agent that resulted in a total loss started in the garage, where there was no smoke detector. That is often the room that is forgotten yet contains the most flammable materials in the entire house. Install one in your garage. It just makes sense. And Mother Hen is done now. Move along and onto tits and what not.
I was doing a walk thru at one of our buildings a while back. According to the fire code for that area, the smoke detector that we had in a room down the hallway from the kitchen was sufficient and would satisfy building code (the building was grandfathered in under the new code, so it went by the code at the time when it was built, one of those weird jurisdiction things). Yeah, fuck that. I put a smoke detector in the kitchen even though it wasn't required by code, because duh. And people wonder why stupid things happen.
This is a good reminder to get a fire alarm because I don't think there is one in this house. Also I need to deep clean the lint trap. I know how much I remove from the trap, there is no telling how much is stuck farther down. Tonight el husband and myself are taking my parents to Bellingrath Gardens for their Christmas display. They've been doing it for years and it is always gorgeous. It's huge and will take us a couple hours to walk the grounds. We were just going to go ourselves but my dad is feeling down this Christmas. He was complaining that there was no anticipation and that it didn't feel like Christmas....so I'm going to make him feel the Christmas! Let's go daddy-o.
And check your fire extinguishers. Those things do lose pressure, and you don't want one that doesn't work when you need it. Each month we're required to check them in our buildings at work, I do the same with the ones at home on that schedule. I keep two in the kitchen (in case the first one I grab fails), one in the laundry room, and one on both sides of the house. There's always an extinguisher close by that way. I also keep two in my truck, and though I've never needed them for myself, I've used them at least half a dozen times in assisting other vehicles, grass fires by the highway. Sand also works.
I'm so glad peak is almost over. Work makes me dislike Christmas. I stayed up all night Monday night to knit some teacher gifts. (Tuesday was the last day before Christmas break.) It's been a long time since I've pulled an all nighter and I'm pretty sure there was more alcohol and a lot more fun involved last time. I'm too old not to sleep.
I hate the holidays. If I make it through the next week without chunking something at someone's head it'll be a miracle.
Tonight the kid is having a sleepover, tomorrow night we're going to the local freeze your ass off outdoor thing. Then the kid goes to her dad's Friday night and I will have a long weekend to do fuck all. I plan to eat, drink, and sit on my ass. I might hang pictures.
I just got caught up on the previous drunk thread. You're telling me that there are people who don't think that Die Hard is a Christmas movie? You're telling me that not only do people not think that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, but there are people who don't think that Die Hard is THE best Christmas movie? I knew there was a reason that I hated people.
I need to make these for all of my friends: Spoiler I might have to get a Christmas tree just so I have a place to put one. I haven't had a tree in about 5 years, because I live alone and ain't nobody got time for that shit. I do have a Christmas Story leg lamp though, proudly displayed in my big picture window for passersby to admire.
Also, your wiring. Aluminum is old school and less safe than copper. Anybody seen this idiot today faking outrage about being thrown off a Delta flight? Tell me he's not full of shit.
Guys, my husband just got home and wants me to turn off Die Hard in favor of more Criminal Minds episodes. On what planet is Criminal Minds better than Die Hard?
Apparently Jennifer Love Hewitt was on a season of Criminal Minds. This is a piece of trivia I'd rather not know. In my defense, I'm still watching John McClane kick ass on my computer while the hubs (said sarcastically) watches his police procedural.
Definition of "Skills": Dropping a twenty-story tree between two close-together buildings like a clock pendulum. Do you see how the entire forest recoils when it comes down? My god. There's some big goddamn plants out West.
Yes, I've seen them once. Sequoias are like pillars holding up the sky. THOUSANDS of years old. Redwood forest is a crazy place to see.
So Mt. Rainier just kinda looms over our back yard. I want to bulldoze the houses between us for a better view.