Turn ups

I've not had a good topic for a post for a while, and I don't think I have one tonight.  Figured I'd just start writing and see what turns up.

We kept our son's dog while they vacationed the past week so there is lots more shedding going on around here.  Our black pug is also shedding (his is a fawn pug) and the result is a layer of light and dark hair everywhere.  The contrasting coats are guaranteed to show up on any surface.  While we're drowning in dog hair upstairs, I decided it was a good time to work on the cat's coat in the basement.  At age nineteen, she's not the best self-cleaner so she was well overdue for a grooming.  I know I waited too long but she usually took care of it herself so it's not a habit we ever developed.  I've been working out the matted areas very slowly and brushing out what isn't self-shedding.  When I get done, I'll give her a bath (that she'll hate) and she'll be all good for a while.

Man I hope my kids take better care of me when I'm elderly.  Or at least find someone to cut my hair and my toenails.

Work keeps me busy but not too late and not on weekends.  Just when I think I'm managing pretty well, someone throws a monkey wrench into the works with an upgrade or overhaul or policy change or brilliant idea that I need to implement.  In other words, the only constant is change.

My staff is great and requires very little in the way of management from me, but there are moments.  For instance, since we are in our temporary quarters there is no private area for telephone conversations.  Most of the time it isn't a problem but one employee began making more than the usual number of private calls during working hours.  Her mother was ill recently, and it was no big deal until the calls became even more frequent and long and about all kinds of topics.  I was waiting for her to figure out what she was doing but it didn't happen, and then I realized it was up to me to solve because I am the boss!  I sent her an email (because we have no privacy and I don't want to discipline staff in front of others) and asked her to keep personal calls to around five minutes at a time so as not to disrupt others.  She responded right away and said she would.  She didn't hold a grudge or cop an attitude or anything and I appreciated that.

On other occasions, another staff member is cranky and short with me for no reason that I can discern.  She was that way earlier this week but what could I do?  She is not a lighthearted person anyway, so cranky and short -tempered is a bit more extreme with her than with most people.  When the day was over, she told me she was sorry she was cranky (I hadn't acknowledged it throughout the day, but I guess she figured I knew) and said that the next time I should just tell her to stop it.

Um, when someone is cranky, is it really a good idea to tell them to stop?  I don't really care to test  the trigger on that bear trap.

R played golf last night after work and I painted the trim on two windows.  I enjoyed the quiet evening and the satisfaction of getting a little more painting done.  I finished my bathroom grout project in time for bunco and it looks AWESOME!  Now why didn't I do it years ago?  I didn't know I could.  Bottom line is, there was no Pinterest.

Time to bug out.  I guess a few topics turned up.