Friday, February 19, 2021

A Dear Reader, He's Home! Weekly Link Round-Up


If all had gone according to plan, Denis would have retired at the end of May when his commercial driver's license expired; however, all did not go well. Two things drove a stake through his plans. One: all the Covidiots flocking to Phoenix day after day after day, and the pressure of having to deal with them and worry about becoming ill. Two: the City of Phoenix monkeying around with the bus drivers' schedules and trying to force them to work five ten-hour shifts per week whether they wanted to or not (because their beloved Sky Train was going to be out of commission for over a month).
 
Denis thought it over, talked with me, and put in his notice. Come to find out, the scheduling the City had come up with was a no-no with the Union, and when the revised one came out-- lo and behold-- there were several slots with Denis's preferred shifts on it. However, once he put in his notice, it was as if something clicked over in his brain, so after more thought and more talking it over with me, he decided to go ahead and retire anyway. Screw 'em.
 
Monday night was his last shift, and we've already had a little ceremony to get rid of his work uniforms. Now all I have to do is become used to his being home seven days a week-- something I'm looking forward to!
 
 Enjoy the links!



►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
 
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
 
►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
  • Watch a clever chipmunk strategically stuff three giant unshelled peanuts into his cheek pouches.
  • Sea cucumber poop could revitalize coral reefs. (A round of laxatives, on the house!)
  • And while we're on the subject... wombats poop cubes, and scientists finally got to the bottom of it.
  • Eavesdropping marmosets understand other monkeys' conversations.
  • The hedgehog highway that knits an English village together.
  • Grand Teton's Grizzly #399 emerges with quadruplets.
  • Noise pollution interrupts crickets' sex lives. (I would imagine it has an effect on the sex lives of others, too.)
  • A large new whale species has been identified in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
►Fascinating Folk◄
  • Eleven African American inventors who changed the world.
  • The sheer logistics of this one boggles my mind... Smuggler Wenqing Li was caught with nearly 1,000 endangered cacti and succulents strapped to her body.
  • Tobey King of Corpus Christi, Texas, sold the Bernie doll for which she created a pattern for over $20,000 and donated the money to charity.
 
►Crafty Gems◄
 
►The Wanderer◄
 
►I ♥ Lists◄

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!

22 comments:

  1. Congratulations to Denis for doing what he wanted to do: Retire.
    And I think you'll be able to keep on producing those beautiful afghans and watching detective shows and movies and PP interviews.

    And think of the spring and feeding those baby birds, who are born despite Covid and the Covidiots. (I love that word.)

    I hope the celebrations continue. Good for him after decades of hard work and dealing with people who have no consideration for other people's health and safety. I hope he enjoys his retirement.

    I wonder if more home improvements are in store!

    Enjoy. Meanwhile, I will read this very interesting-looking post.

    P.S. Friends who moved to San Antonio to flee New York winters are now freezing, with no heat and wearing tons of clothes inside their apartment. Hope you and Denis stay warm.

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    1. It's in the 60s and 70s here, so no worries. It does get a bit chilly in the evenings, but an afghan takes care of that easily.

      Sometime in the relatively near future, we would like to remodel the guest bath, but we're still planning and salting away the money for it.

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  2. I should have entered "reading" in the list of activities you will continue.

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    1. That's like breathing to me, so it really didn't need to be mentioned!

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  3. Retirement is grand. Hope he enjoys it!

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    1. If the past few days have been any indication, he will!

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  4. I wish you both all the best as Denis retires. It's a new phase of life for you, and I hope you richly enjoy it! Now, I'm going to go check out that Egyptian mummy...

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  5. Oh yippee!! Congratulations to you both on this exciting news. I had the same struggles during the summer and very unexpectedly retired at the end of July. It was 3 years earlier than I had planned on but my school district had NO plans in place for keeping teachers safe besides a bottle of hand sanitizer. When those of us in a service industry like Dennis, retail or public education we realize that we are ultimately bound to the whims of our 'customer' .... that buying public - regardless of what is safe. Being 'forced' into a situation actually helped me feel more in control of my personal choice in a round about way. (It was sure a stressful few months and weeks though.)
    I am SO glad I did it - has it been a good one!!!
    My husband still works, from home, so I have learned the art of not intruding by curling up with a book and blanket, listening to an audio book or podcast, household projects or going to homeschool 3 of my grandies. I know you will LOVE being together, even if you do have to share the remote.
    I have always loved your links but I will admit I enjoy them even more now!!!
    Stay safe and enjoy our Arizona version of winter.

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    1. It's good to hear that you're enjoying your retirement, Gaye!

      I'll give you a glimpse into this odd little household: we both have our own remotes. :-)

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  6. Congratulations! Definitely worth a celebration and some time making plans for future outings when things get better. All the best to you both!

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  7. I read about the retirement via Facebook but just wanted to pop over here to say how glad I am that he is now away from that treacherous job of his. When you shared those photos of how crowded it was, I was so anxious FOR him. Yay!! Here's to a happy retirement.

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    1. Thanks, Ti. Now that he's retired, it feels as though a tremendous weight of anxiety has slipped off my shoulders as well.

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  8. Great idea. A two-remote household is bound to keep a marriage happy.

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    1. The only (slight) disagreement we've ever had is his wanting to watch The Sound of Music over and over. I've never been a fan. We're a very good match movie- and TV-wise, with just enough differences to keep it interesting.

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  9. Congratulations to Denis! I know you're both relieved that he's not facing those maddening hordes any longer.

    And I've been told that the double bathroom vanity (everyone has their own sink!) is a secret to marital peace and success. I'll have to add remotes to the list!

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    1. Denis and I have our bathroom routines down pat, so only having one sink has never been a problem.

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  10. Congratulations to Denis! I love that you had a ceremony to get rid of his work uniforms :) I have a feeling my husband will want to do something similar when it is his turn to retire. Best wishes to you both!

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  11. The Sound of Music? Really? That is funny.

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    1. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that he'd spent some time in the area where it was filmed. Me? I get sick of some of the songs.

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  12. Yes. Not the biggest fan of musicals in general. Would rather watch some juicy TV series or movies with murders to solve, and listen to old R&B, music of my teens and 20s.

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