FoxPhile

I'm finally catching up to the COVID cooking thing. But I think this recent streak is more about the cold weather.

WeBuiltThePyramids

What is that? Like a funk of getting takeout/eating frozen food?

WeBuiltThePyramids

Double posting to say that I'm in the path of the giant blizzard the United States is supposed to get the next few days, so if I appear to ghost the board, it's due to possibly losing power. My home has a generator but I'm away for work atm and I don't know what the internet restoring situation would be where I am.

FoxPhile

Stay safe, Nicole!

If you hear on the news about a fertilizer plant on fire in NC, that's about 12 miles from me.

Most of the day the wind was blowing the smoke away from me, but it's turned now and it's headed in my direction now. They tell us it's not really harmful, but good be irritating.

They also evacuated a 1 mile radius around the fire and told people they won't be able to go back to their homes for at least 2 days. The plant is full of ammonium nitrate, the same chemical used in the federal building bombing in Oklahoma several years ago. There was a fire at a similar plant in Texas in 2013. They had about 1/3 the quantity of ammonium nitrate at that plant as is here in the plant in NC. The plant exploded. 15 people were killed, 160 injured and 150 buildings damaged or destroyed. The fire department is not even fighting the fire - they are staying away also and concentrating on the evacuations and keeping gawkers away.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Oh wow. That is a very specific kind of nightmare.

FoxPhile

So far so good. Most of the chemicals are burning off without actually exploding. But they are saying this may go on for several days. Which must be really tough for the folks who live or work or own businesses nearby. There is even a university housing area within the 1 mile radius that has been evacuated.

WeBuiltThePyramids

That is wild.

FoxPhile

Back on November 12th I ordered - and paid for - custom shelves for two closets in my den. At the time I was told they would be installed by Christmas.

I just got a call today. The order is finally ready and they will be installed on February 28th.

That's 15 weeks from when I paid for them and 9 weeks after Christmas. But who's counting?

FoxPhile

So a few days after I got the call about my closet installation, I spent the day finishing the job of clearing the closets out, which meant pushing some furniture and other things up against the opposite wall. Some of the stuff is right in front of where my router is, but I figured it was just for a few weeks. Shouldn't be a problem, right?

Dang if that very night the Internet went out and I had to move everything aside so I could get to my router and reset it.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Oh, of course.

Both me and my dad had our cars in the shop this week AND now our garage door is broken (the spring on it broke).

Sorry I've been MIA today, long day at work and I am EXHAUSTED.

FoxPhile

I understand. Sounds like you've had a tough week.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Yeah, it's been a long one. And the people on the phones lately have like zero brain cells, which is just so draining to deal with.

FoxPhile

People with small brains are definitely exhausting.

I need to find a reason to go out and do something tomorrow. It's been at least two weeks since I went anywhere. It's supposed to be nice with temps in the 60s so it might be a good day for the dog park.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Oh Shiloh would love that!

My check engine light came on on Monday - can't remember if I had mentioned that here, again my brain is fried - but the place I use couldn't generate any code, so they reset it and said take it to the dealership if it comes on again. Well, today it came on again. The car isn't handling any differently than it has been, so I'm hoping it's 'just' an issue with the light itself, and not a bigger problem. But no one in my family has ever gotten a car to the amount of miles I have on mine, so it could be a bigger problem no one (around me) has encountered before.

FoxPhile

Shilo did, indeed, love it. While I was up and moving I brought in extra firewood because we're supposed to be below freezing again tomorrow.

That sucks about the car. I hope it turns out to be something minor and inexpensive.