Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come on, man.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

If you’re looking for someone who’s young and athletic, go watch a fucking movie.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Two Quick Updates

Two Quick Updates

by | 58 Comments

This post is in: 

Picked the missus up from the airport yesterday for the week, so I may a touch less angry and moody for the next few days. On the drive home from the airport we stopped at her mom’s house and were going to go out to dinner but the Elmton was closed, so we just went to Handel’s for ice cream cones. I was thoroughly enjoying my ice cream cone and Joelle stated “every woman needs a man who looks at her the way you look at that ice cream cone.”

Rip Van Dishwasher is no longer working. I am assuming I will get a couple loads out of him in 2026 or so.

Reader Interactions

58Comments

  7. 7.

    MattF

    Yeah. I discovered, at some point, that wimmen will watch you very closely. Particularly when you’re looking at other wimmen.

  9. 9.

    MagdaInBlack

    That ice cream connection is critical. Second date with my future husband, we went to “Jaws” then walked down the street to Baskin Robbins, where i watched him order vanilla on a plain cone. I told him I wasn’t sure this relationship would work, 31 flavors and he chose vanilla. He learned to be more adventurous and it all worked out 😊

  10. 10.

    MomSense

    Just saw my dad preach in my childhood church.  He was so sweet and funny – MUCH more chill than he was before he retired.

    It’s been a crazy week with family and being in the town where I grew up.  I’m more emotional than I expected.  On the lighter side, I kicked ass at cards! In a family of card sharps that is not an easy thing to do.

  12. 12.

    Kayla Rudbek

    Debating whether I want to go over to Home Depot today or tomorrow to pick up my order. Advantage of today is that I would get some of the wall plates for the kitchen today and have more time to look around and see if there is anything else (e.g painting supplies) I need to pick up. Advantage of tomorrow is that I can swing by the library with the same car trip to pick up my many, many holds and that there would be fewer people in the store.

  14. 14.

    Righteous Hazard

    A touch less anger and moodiness in s all I want from life these days. Glad to hear you are getting ice cream.

    One of my wife’s friends is from back east, and her pining for Handel’s ice cream got so bad that she invested in a franchise, in hopes of bringing some full fat creamy goodness to this neck of the California woods. I am looking forward to my first taste of Handel’s.

  19. 19.

    trollhattan

    The best ever ex-president pops up at the Peanut Festival.

    ATLANTA What is a peanut festival without the Carters?

    Former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter shocked and surprised their hometown of Plains Saturday by riding through the town’s annual peanut festival.

    It is believed to be the first time that President Carter has been seen since in public at least since February, when his family announced that he was entering home hospice.

    In May, the family revealed that 95-year-old Rosalynn Carter has dementia.

    The appearance was unplanned and captured on X, formerly Twitter, by Erikka William and her daughter Charleigh, who attend the Peanut Festival annually from their home in Warner Robins. Charleigh won her school’s seventh-grade postcard competition.

    “Can y’all see who is in this car?” Williams wrote. “God Bless Former President Jimmy Carter and Former First Lady Carter for making the #plainspeanutfestival parade this year!!! Happy early birthday to him!”

    “It was a great feeling of pride and patriotism to see them,” Williams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The city of Plains loves these two. It goes beyond political affiliation. Everyone one there was glad to see them and we sang Happy Birthday.

  23. 23.

    RandomMonster

    Weird—my dishwasher and modem both also bit the dust recently. Then, when my plumber came out to install the  dishwasher, he pointed out that my garbage disposal (less than 5 years old) was leaking like crazy.

  24. 24.

    Cameron

    I don’t have enough worthwhile ice cream knowledge to make an intelligent comment, but I have asked Troeg’s several times (and been politely declined) to open a brewpub in FL.  Especially in Bradenton/Sarasota area, please.

  25. 25.

    trollhattan

    @RandomMonster: Since our kitchen remodel I’m on garbage disposal #3–the first leaked on account of something breaking the case open from the inside, and the second from an unwillingness to turn any longer. I switched brands.

    The crazy part is we hardly use the thing, the arthritic drains can’t handle debris.

  26. 26.

    trollhattan

    @Cameron: If it helps they never made it to California either. TBH the business plan for somebody from the East Coast planting their craft brewing flag here would be fraught, what with our thousand+ locals.

  28. 28.

    Dopey-o

    Over at mstdn.social, I see people promoting ice cream-themed movies. Or movie-themed ice cream flavors.

    So. far, my favorite is Haagen Das Boot. But Cole might enjoy Neapolitan Dynamite.

  30. 30.

    karen marie

    @trollhattan: I long ago figured out that “garbage disposal” is a misnomer. I throw quantities – like apple peels, cucumber peels – in the trash. (No compost because I live in an apartment.) I run the garbage disposal periodically to clear any accumulated stray bits.

  32. 32.

    kindness

    I’m not sure ‘look at her like you look at that ice cream cone’ is romantic, or a compliment but it sounds like it was offered up sweetly.  Clue to John:

    Look at her like you looked at that ice cream cone damnit!  You’ve been given a precious secret.  Use it.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    @kindness:

    Look at her like you looked at that ice cream cone damnit!  You’ve been given a precious secret.  Use it.

    Yes!

    My -ex used to look at my cocker spaniel with so much love – I used to joke that I wished he would look at me that way, but of course it wasn’t entirely a joke, and that never happened.  hence, -ex.

  35. 35.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    I am mercilessly teased by my wife and daughter because I “apparently” wolf down my ice cream and cone.  I am done by the time those two are barely halfway through the ice cream on the cone.  Slackers!

  38. 38.

    NotMax

    Scored some free food. There’s a store which has long sat empty nearby which has opened up, stocking shelves and tables overflowing with goods of all sort donated to help direct or indirect victims from the wildfires.

    Turns out is open to anyone but have to fill out a form with yes/no boxes to check off as to how you have been affected. If all checked no, instead of being able to freely roam and shop one is handed a reuseable shopping bag stuffed with food and travel-size toiletries.

    Choice of more standard groceries (boxes of cereal, bags of rice and the like or else ready or just add water stuff (pouches of tuna, packages of instant ramen, juice boxes, snack size bags of pretzels, etc.).

  41. 41.

    Chicago Jeff

    So good to hear you found someone to spend time and live with down the road, Cole. Been following you and the blog for 20 years at least. Always been a lurker. Genuinely happy of you and your partner.

  42. 42.

    mrmoshpotato

    @NotMax:

    Not a cramped, dimly lit, hole-in-the-wall place either. Last tenant there was a NAPA auto parts store. 

    Sounds like they got quite the operation going in there to help people out.  Good to hear.

  43. 43.

    mvr

    Rip Van Dishwasher is no longer working. I am assuming I will get a couple loads out of him in 2026 or so.

    Sounds like an electrical contact problem, possibly in the wiring to the dishwasher but also possibly the cord connection to the machine.  The fact that it turned on when you walked in a month ago makes me think that vibration is relevant.

    But it does make for a funny story. Also glad your mood is up.

  45. 45.

    NotMax

    @mrmoshpotato

    Actually, as was conducting other errands in the immediate vicinity, just innocently wandered in to see what was up (it had opened while I was away on the NYC trip). The chipper ladies at the front desk were insistent I fill out a form and take a bag o’ goodies home with me.

  48. 48.

    Tony Jay

    I’ve stopped even calling the frosty dreck we get in the UK ‘ice-cream’ since enjoying daily gelatos of various wonderful flavours in Sicily. I know this decision is probably terribly unfair to some fantastic British ice-creamatarians, but that’s just the way it is.

    I enjoyed that holiday. Sigh.

  49. 49.

    StringOnAStick

    @Tony Jay: Once you’ve had real Italian gelato, nothing else comes close.  I’ve yet a find a limon gelato as good as I’ve had there.

  50. 50.

    StringOnAStick

    @NotMax: Our small town ukulele group raised $2,000 for the Maui food bank just on T shirt sales and donations.  I’m glad to hear that it’s a generous effort to all.

  51. 51.

    Cameron

    @trollhattan: Yeah, I agree. But both Victory and Dogfish Head (which, of course, won a big prize for its 90-minute IPA) I can find in the Publix a block away from where I live.

  52. 52.

    Ruckus

    @RandomMonster:

    @trollhattan:

    My disposal decided to turn the kitchen into a flood zone a couple weeks ago, on a Friday night. The water was just pouring out the bottom. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Cleaned up the water and put the plug in the drain so it wouldn’t happen again by oldfartitus –  the operator forgetting that it leaked like it was built to do that. That Monday the PTB replaced it and all is well.

    Have to say that this is the best apartment I’ve lived in. And I’ve lived in a few over the decades. Something goes wrong they fix it ASAP, no if – ands – or buts.

  53. 53.

    Nettoyeur

    @trollhattan:  When we got a new sink, we skipped the disposall. Those things jam, leak and need to be replaced. Replacement can be very difficult due to corrosion. Also, the things are dangerous. We compost the veggie matter and garbage bin the rest (not a whole lot, a small bag a week).

  55. 55.

    dnfree

    @Nettoyeur: I hate disposals because my mother chewed up pretty much a whole set of flatware in ours over the years.  I have actually had them taken out, and one plumber told me he took out as many as he installed.  I didn’t know they could leak!

Comments are closed.