And now what did you do TODAY?

[Voltron]

On 1/21/2026 at 7:15 PM, n_maher said:

@Voltron I thought Red Oxx was still around??

I hope everything is alright, Marc.

I meant kick-start the HC travel team back into being, whether or not Marc has Red Oxx bags. 

[Dusty Chalk]

I feel that.  My sisters and I "sat Shiva" (not sure that's the right way to phrase it, since we're all gentiles) when my mother passed away.  It was nice -- don't know how else to phrase it.  We weren't dancing around or anything, just very...sober, for lack of a better word, but not morose or mourning.

[skullguise]

Dusty, half this family isn't Jewish, but they bought in....to celebrating Jewish family and events, as well as the Shiva mourning.  Call it Shiva or not, to me it's a good thing.

There is a lot of formality to a Shiva, many times it is not followed 100%.  Personally, I find it the beginning of healing.  Family and friends come to pay respect, connect, tell stories, and eat.  The formal period is 7 days/nights. 

When Karen passed, I was tearfully surprised by one of my two best friends flying in from California and spending all the days/nights of Shiva visiting (3 days for us).  It's that type of love and connection that helps the healing.  It's just a good thing, no matter what it's called, what religion it follows, etc.

[n_maher]

It's been a day.

Got up this morning and came downstairs to the thought, "man, it feels cold on the first floor of the house."

First call was to the boiler guy, praying that a circulation pump had crapped out overnight.  Verdict - WRONG ANSWER.  He quickly determined the boiler was doing it's thing but the pipes for the zone that heats the first floor were not.  Shit.  Phoned a friend whose husband is a plumber.  Started chasing frozen pipes a little before 11am.  Finally found the culprit at 2pm.  Had it fixed and flowing heat again by 2:30.  All told, it felt like a bargain at under $1000 given that a pipe could have burst and we've got another 10 days or so of freezing temps ahead of us.  

Still managed to make scones for Lily's best friend who slept over last night and turns 18 next week (JFC) and also still made dinner - pork chili verde with cast-iron-skillet cornbread.  There will be barrel strength bourbon in my future.  Oh and we've already got almost a foot of snow and I've cleared the driveway once.  I believe I will sleep tonight.