Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Good morning ladies,
Thank you Shad for setting up the new thread and doing the housekeeping. I am also happy to hear that you have pursued the retirement. The last few contracts it sounded as if the frustration of the job - the delays, things out of kilter and not set up properly and general lack of organization was getting to you. I hope your retirement is long and happy and healthy - with "just enough" - enough to meet your needs and a bit extra for an occasional treat along the way. What will you do with your time now? DON'T VOLUNTEER!!!! Perhaps we need to firm up the commune plans although you would not be a happy bunny in our winters here. But you would like the scenic part of it.
Right now we are in the midst of a loud thunderstorm. It will give my plants a drink of water which is good. We are going up north today - I have a rheumatology appointment and since we are driving 90 minutes to Duluth we will hit the home improvement store and pick up a few things while we are there.
I worked the thrift store again yesterday - this time as a cashier. It was not worth having the store open. We had lots of traffic but they were mostly all browsers - very little in sales. We were going to close early and got a call from a fairly regular local in town. She SAID her son was going to come in and shop so we stayed open an extra 2 hours but he NEVER SHOWED UP. There were lots of families with kids who came in - the kids grabbed toys from the children's section and dragged them all over the store then then walked out and we are stuck picking up and putting away after them. They also dropped alot of clothes on the floor for some reason. We would have been better off being closed. I am tired and cranky - been at the store for 7 days straight - 4 to 6 hours each trying to get the book section rearranged. I finally gave up. Not my worries as I can't do most of it myself. The other lady is slapping stickers on the books upside down, they aren't sticking, easily peeled off, I can't spend my life straightening out things. Just let them be.
I also got tired of buying fruit from the store that rots after 2 days and gets moldy. So I bought expensive strawberries from a truck in town and oh my oh my - sooooo fresh and fragrant and deliciously sweet. NOTHING like store berries. I also got a box of Michigan blueberries and my Georgia peaches from the other truck on Monday. Yum yum yum. Worth every precious penny. Yesterday we grilled pork chops, had corn on the cob and I made a fresh fruit salad of the berries and peaches. We ate on the deck. Fantastic!!!
I suppose it's back to work for most of you lot. At least it will be a short week. Now half of us are retired - me, Ceejay and Shad. Surely that doesn't mean we are getting old!
Anyway I hate to run but I must. DH wants to leave like 3 hours ago.
Will catch up to personals later. Happy 3rd leg friends!
Shad, thanks for setting up the new thread...cute title.... Also, congratulations on the decision to join the retirement world. You have worked long and hard for this.
Happy: I am glad you found some good fruit...it is hard to find these days especially in the grocery store. The thrift store is a labor of love for you....and I feel that it is a "love" that isn't giving back to you as much as it should.......how long do you think you will continue?
Hi to Ceejay! I saw your post on FB where you hosted on July 4th. It looked and sounded like a fun time!
Hi Laura! I hope today was a easy day...always hard to go back to work after a holiday.
Annie: I hope you are having a great vacation!
While I am having to log on and work a bit, I am enjoying my vacation.
Last night we went out to dinner with a young couple who are friends of ours. We went to Yellow Springs, which is a "hippie town" and dinner there (it was ok... a lot of vegetarian options for me) and then we drove up the road a bit to a place called "Young's Dairy) to play miniature golf and then a scoop of ice cream afterwards. We had a very nice time.
Today we slept in and then cleaned the workout room, and then picked up some retired friends and went to Plain City, which is Amish country, and ate at Der Dutchman....good food!
It was about an hour's drive both ways and it was nice to be in the car with them talking and laughing. They also had a gift shop...I did some shopping
Tomorrow is a "at home day" I have a hair appointment at noon and DH has a pedicure at the same time. I have TOPS tomorrow evening and afterwards we are meeting some friends of ours (I used to work with the wife at P&G and we have remained close friends) at a local place in town, "The General Denver" for dinner after my TOPS meeting.
Susie - Sounds like you're having a nice staycation. Your day trips sound fun. I decided I needed to make a list of some things I want to do in/around town and in the local area. One is canoeing in the lakes/lagoons in local forest preserve areas. Another is visiting the Chicago History Museum. Only been there once before and that was way back when it was called the Chicago Historical Society! I have other things on my list but they are not just for summer or this year, so I guess it's sort of a staycation/fun bucket list. One is for fall - going to a corn maze. == Good luck with your WI tonight at TOPS.
Happy - You sound frustrated with the thrift shop. I hope you get a break from that soon. I like your "DON'T VOLUNTEER" advice to Shad. Spoken from experience. == Your fruit purchases sound luscious. I bought some cherries and was disappointed in them. I'm going to try and buy more from our local farmers market, just to get fresher produce. == How did the rheumatology appointment go?
Shad - Thanks for setting up the new thread for us. Congrats on officially retiring! I hope you enjoy your retirement.
Ceejay - From FB posts, sounds like you enjoyed hosting the Fourth of July gathering.
Annie - Hope you're enjoying your vacation. == Received your card yesterday - thanks!
==
Thanks for all your birthday wishes. I worked yesterday, but it was quiet and not a bad day in the office.
Our garage door was installed yesterday. It looks nice and the color picks up the color in some of the bricks. We have to paint the overhead beam of the garage opening to match the new trim, and we also have to remove the caulk that sealed the old trim that was removed. Otherwise it looks nice. I'll have to go inside the garage with the door closed and see how much lighter it is now that we have windows along the top of the door.
We went out to eat for my birthday - Longhorn Steakhouse, which we had a gift card for that I won in the raffle last month. Yum.
While bf was digging out the gift card, he mentioned all the other gift cards we had in that drawer that we'd forgotten about. So many that we bought at the lab rescue auction, and others as well. We'll be using those in the coming weeks and months.
The certificate for soccer tickets I won just last month is essentially outdated now. I can see from the paperwork that they sent the certificate in April, but the event in which the raffle was held wasn't until June 3rd, so I would have had to send off a ticket request within a day or two of winning the raffle in order to meet the two week advance notice requesting tickets for a July game, in which there was only ONE at-home game, and that was July 1st!! And the certificate was only good for games April - July. I have the paperwork with me today and will call and see if they will extend it. Fingers
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Hi ladies,
Went to see a rheumatologist yesterday. She said what I have heard before - I have some indicators of R/A but they are most likely false positives because I don't have classic R/A symptoms of redness and swelling. It tends to attack hands and feet and from what she is seeing, I just have bed osteo (wear and tear) arthritis to contend with. She suggested a few options - Biofreeze, Capsasium (hot pepper warming cream), OTC pain meds and of course exercise and weight loss. She said my arthritic knee is pretty bad and I should strongly consider replacing it. The cortisone shot lasted about 2 months. The closest they will space them is 3 months out so I'm a ways out. When the knee "kinks" I can barely stand much less walk on it. I even took my cane with me yesterday. I'm not sure I have much choice but to do the other surgery. Just don't know where. I don't want to blow my summer away and if I do it in the dead of winter there is always the fear of sliding on the ice and snow and messing it up. I guess it's best to try and plan for October/November - late fall and before winter blows in. Which means I should go see the doctor now as surgery books up quickly. I'm still mulling it over... I just love to spend my $5,000 out of pocket deductibles on surgeries. And I need a new stove.
Since we were up in Duluth we stopped and joined Sam's Club (warehouse buying). Picked up some chicken parmesan meatballs we had as appetizers at a Humane Society event recently that we really liked. Found that they needed to be baked not fried in the pan as I did. We did pick up a cartful of items. Tried to keep the food at a minimum as the sizes are huge and I don't have another square inch of freezer space available. It's very easy to go overboard in those places but we controlled ourselves. Had the meatballs and a caprese (mozzerella & tomato and basil) salad and some fresh strawberries for dinner. Oh and some crusty French bread that is very hard to find in these parts. Afterwards we went to the casino for an hour as they had a promotion I was interested in. It was nice NOT to go to the thrift shop for a change. I thought I had the rest of the weekend to myself after bingo tonight but then I got an email from another volunteer who reminded me that I had agreed ( ) to fill in for them on Friday. Bah - and we have dinner reservations at 5pm so I can't stay past 4 at the shop. Oh well...
Was reading the paper today and I was struck by the very casual attitude that girls have nowadays about having children. And to some degree the guys too. There was a birth announcement for a couple - of course not married - announcing the birth of their latest child - not yet named (and yes, that is what the birth announcement said). This baby joins its SEVEN siblings. 7. all with different last names. And all the young 20 something girls I deal with seem to be pregnant. They all have low end jobs (hairdresser, waitress, cabin cleaners, bartenders) - no insurance, no husbands. One girl is pregnant with her first and lives with her BF for whom this is his 3rd baby with his 3rd "girlfriend". How can you possibly parent kids with 4 different opinions in the mix and that's just the birth parents. There's also what - 8 grandparents (or more) also weighing in. WHAT is this world coming to???? Ok, that's my soapbox for the day.
Susie - I still like the "cause" I am working for - just wish people would be more reasonable. I don't think I will ever get away from it. Very similar to all the O/T that you put in at your job - you do it because it's the right thing to do. A "hippie town" boy that sounds like fun! The last time I played mini golf I was wishing they had longer clubs as I felt I had to bend down enough to strain my back so I haven't been back since even though we have a couple of places in town. One which also has go carts which seem like fun too. Enjoy the rest of your staycation...
Hope the rest of you are also enjoying your week. We had bad storms and wind this morning and now it's getting hot and sunny. Would be a nice day on the lakes if they weren't so crowded. Perhaps next week.
Anyway have fun chicks. Do you have fun in winter Shad???
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Good morning everyone,
Bingo was nuts last night. There are a lot of people in town this week and many of them came to bingo. One of the guys got sick and cancelled at the last minute and it was just me and D. Him with his gimpy leg and me with my gimpy knee - what a pair! Both of us were not sleeping well and we were commiserating about being tired. I said that if we didn't fall into a coma when we got home last night there WAS something wrong with both of us! I went to bed at 10:15 which is like you guys going to bed at 6pm I checked the weather before I left yesterday and they said about a 10 percent chance of rain. So I drove to bingo. About an hour afterwards we noticed it really really dark in the north. I looked at the radar on my phone and there was a mass of red (bad storms) on the radar heading right at us. It rained like the floods several times. Then when I got home DH showed me a video of the hail that hit the deck I don't know if it hailed by us - we were far too busy to notice much more than it raining outside. More dinks on my poor old car
Today I have to work at the thrift shop from noon to 4. I am going in 90 minutes early to cover a worker who has to leave early and her partner will walk out the door if she has to spend even 20 minutes by herself. But then I have to leave an hour early as we have dinner reservations at a local farm / restaurant. My afternoon buddy G will be fine by herself for an hour.
The peaches I picked up on Monday are FABULOUS!!!! So juicy and peachy tasting. They are just ripening so I will have to do some canning come Sunday although I hope to keep half the box (about 10 pounds) fresh enough in the basement to eat that way. And the strawberries I got from the farm and the blueberries from Michigan at the peach truck are also incredible. Fruit from 3 states!! Thus proving everyone has something they make very well.
Very quiet in here - guess you all are busy. Nothing to catch up on since I was the last one out and first in so hope you all have a good weekend. Laura I am very sorry that your card will be late.
Shad
Thanks for setting up the new thread. How's retirement/ I'm with happy don't volunteer. I like my freedom.
Susie
Yes, I did host my first event ever this year. We had a lot of fun. The street I live on had fireworks of its own and the city had them too. I like to take day trips.
Laura
Their is a place not far from here where Laura Ingalls (little house on the prairie) grew up. I want to go there one day. And to the Fantastic Caverns. I've been to Walnut Grove, MO which is not far from Ash Grove where my sis and bil have their house.
Happy
Looks like ya'll had some hail. Be thankful that you do not had RA, osteoarthritis is bad enough. Most of us women get that.
Hi Annie
-------
I didn't realize that when I moved to Missouri that I would be this busy, but I like it. Hosted my first family event on the fourth.
Decided not to go to Branson tonight. I still need to mow the front lawn. Sis text me this morning to tell me that we will go to Lowe's to look for a riding lawn mower. I don't mind mowing with the push mower but she doesn't want me to get to hot and end up with a heat stroke. I know to pace myself while outside, but I'm not going to argue about the riding lawn mower.
My piano doesn't have a music rest so I've been looking on line for one that will fit my piano. I may get a regular music stand. It's hard to read music when it's sitting on the left side of the piano.
I forgot to mention that nephew said that his wife is ready for him to come home. He said I like it here. I told him that he was welcome here anytime but he needed to be home with his family. I do want him to come and bring the boys. I love those little guys.
Morning all. Make that “Afternoon all”, since it will be by the time I post this.
Nothing much to report. We got our car back from the dealer the other night. The sunroof part still isn’t in, so we’ll be taking it back in whenever the part comes in. We were soooo ready to get rid of the loaner, which was a fancy sedan, but stank to the high heavens with a very strong petroleum/plastic/chemical kind of smell, NOT a nice “new car smell”. The extended warranty we bought will have almost have paid for itself after the work we had done.
Over the weekend I bought a couple items from a fb garage sale seller – an OttLite floor lamp and a wooden quilt rack. The lamp (for sewing/crafts) works perfectly, but there was a tiny piece of plastic that cracked off the plug that the seller had mentioned in her post. The seller had the piece taped to the plug, but it fell off in the parking lot of the seller when we picked it up. I went back to the parking lot yesterday after work and found the piece, so I’m happy to be able to just have the plug covered and nothing inside exposed. I’ll just use electrical tape to keep the piece in place. I’ll use the lamp when I sew – I always need extra light doing that. We’re using the quilt rack for our bedspread right now (which is actually quilted), since in the summer we don’t need it on the bed for warmth. I got great deals on both, so I’m happy with my purchases.
The mason came by last night to take another measurement of the stone he’s replacing and I was home alone, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear someone opening the front screen door. Of course I went right to my phone and found bf had texted me a few minutes prior telling me the guy was coming by. I really need to remember to switch my phone from silent to vibrate outside of the office so I see things like that right away!
==
Happy – I guess if the arthritic knee is feeling that bad, replacing it is certainly a serious consideration. How is the other/new knee feeling now that you’re getting close to being a year out from the surgery? It certainly makes sense to do sooner than later – why suffer longer than you need to?? == We have a Costco membership that we usually just use to buy gas because it’s always less expensive than anywhere else. And the occasional rotisserie chicken. We do need to think of them more often for other things, but like you, we don’t really need the giant quantities that they sell. == Re having children - way back when, it was an expected thing that married couples have kids (several) and not unmarried folks. I agree that now it’s very casual, even indiscriminate and not a thoughtful decision at all. This may be an awful comparison, but it’s sort of like people who get pets, realizing belatedly that pet ownership wasn’t right for them at that time, or ever. But kids can’t be returned…so they’re raised in chaos and often in poverty, or many end up being turned over to the grandparent(s). So sad, because bringing a human into this world is a serious decision. == So glad you’re enjoying your fruit. I received a box of chocolate dipped strawberries for my birthday and they are delicious. Unfortunately some will likely go to waste because they don’t hold well, and a dozen of them is a lot for two people to eat over just a few days. (But we’ll give it a go, LOL.)
Okay, I’m gonna post and then run out to lunch. Have a great weekend everyone!
Quick post as I need to get to bed. I just finished balancing the checkbook; even Staycations are cheap! We had a great week though and I'm glad we took it.
Yesterday we took my two nephews to lunch and Dave and Busters where they played games for about 2 hours. I had given them gift cards at Christmas with money on it to play games. They had gone one other time and used half the amount on the cards, so we took them back and spent that and a little more.
When we finished there we meet my brother & his partner, at Kings Island. We watching a show, which was very good; like a Circ De Sola show (I have no idea how if I spelled that correctly or not.) Right as we were coming out you could tell a big storm was coming so we headed to one of the restaurants that we could sit down and eat in and waited out the storm. Once it was over, the weather improved greatly, they got the rides going and blew the water of the seats and things.
A lot of people left the park and it was so easy to get on rides quickly. My brothers determined it as a good time for me to see if I would fit in the seats of some of the popular coasters (they have seats at the beginning of the ride that you can test). Not many people there so it wasn't embarrassing to try them and I did fit! and not tightly either...so I rode "The Banshee: and "Mystic Timbers" and it was so fun! I was so scared as I had not rode one is so long. I kept my eyes closes most of the time and screamed my head off. but it was GREAT!
Next time we go, I'm riding Vortex, and I still have the Racers and The Beast to ride. There is another one I want to ride that isn't a coaster but rather tall swing. It looks fun. My brother is having a great time getting me back on the rides...we rode them so much in our late teens and early 20's.
Laura: Glad to hear you got your car back. That loaner you had sounds awful! As for the visit from the Mason person; I would have been freaked out to hear that door open too!
Is your plank challenge still going?
Ceejay: When are you going to look for a riding mower? It is nice that your nephew will be going back home to be with is family. It sounds like he will be visiting you and let's hope he brings the boys.
I agree you need a music rest for the piano.
Happy: it sounds like you got a lot of wonderful fruit!
I can't keep my eyes open any longer, so I'll say good night and see you all later.
I am disappointed to say I had a .8 lb gain at TOPS. It wasn't a lot and I'm sure it had to do with I didn't exercise at all this week since we were running around so much and I also had that morning AM and evening PM commitment to work. I worked enough that they will be giving me back 8 hrs of my vacation back.
I'll get that gain off this week for sure! It's going to be a crazy work week but I'm committing to 30 min a day for a treadmill workout.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Happy Sunday chicks,
Another rainy day for us. Yesterday DH pointed out all the chip in our NEW DECK from the ice cube sized hail that hit on Thursday evening. Dinks in the new roof, dinks in all the decking. I asked him if we should call the insurance company and he said we might get some money but they would probably raise our rates disproportionately and it's not that bad so he opted to leave it. There are big pock marks all over everything in my opinion. This is the rainiest summer I can remember since being here. You can't stay outside past 7:30. The mosquitoes are small but ferocious.
Friday night we went to a small farm in our area. They have a creamery and hydroponic farm. They were hosting a chef's table on Fridays featuring the chef that we went to with the cooking classes. He is so good with flavors that we are willing to try things we might otherwise say to. It was a 4 course tasting menu. Course one we selected a lamb kabob appetizer that had a wonderful pesto sauce. Course 2 was a salad of greens from the farm, black "forbidden rice" which I had seen on cooking channels but never tasted along with peeled fresh rhubarb and tomatoes with a very light vinaigrette. Course 3 I chose a pan roasted tilapia they raise on the farm while DH had 2 very tiny pork chops (enough for me but an appetizer for him). They were on the tough side and too small of a dinner portion he said. He was expecting the wonderful pork I get from the farmer's market. I said that there are different kinds of pigs and the 2 kinds they have at the FM farm are known for their succulence. But he said the accompanying flavors made up for the other 2 things. Both dishes had a side of roasted vegetables - asparagus, carrot, garlic scapes, and some greens. Very tasty. There was a choice of homemade gelato or a strawberry shortcake and a scoop of vanilla gelato for dessert. He had a scoop each of chocolate almond fudge and vanilla caramel. The chocolate had ribbons of fudge and almonds and was very rich and made the vanilla caramel (which had very little caramel in it) seem rather bland. I had a mint chocolate chip gelato (very refreshing after the meal) and a scoop of blackberry that was full of so many seeds it was kind of difficult to eat. They have a small store there with farm products as well as some other things like milk they partner with other farms. I bought a small container of ricotta gnochi. I have some strawberries to use up so we bought a small 1/2 cup of the plain vanilla gelato to go with that. Since the chocolate almond fudge gelato was so good I bought a pint of that too. Didn't pay attention to prices - and shame on me because I know that they are very pricey because I frequent them over the winter when they do farmers markets twice a month at the hospital. That tiny cup of gelato was $4 which was nothing when I looked at the bill and saw that pint of chocolate was TWELVE DOLLARS. 12 dollars for a pint of ice cream???? DH paid the bill so I didn't notice or I would have said to keep it. Then to add insult to injury - DH over tipped (substantially) on the bill which included not only the dinner but also the grocery items I bought. He over tipped by about $9. Then last night I decided to have some of that expensive chocolate gelato. The dish DH had for dessert was filled with ribbons of chocolate fudge and chunks of coconut and almond slivers. Apparently that was skimmed off the top of the pan because the only thing in the container was something that looked like a very light chocolate ice milk. No fudge, coconut or almonds I really feel ripped off. We are going there next week for a tour of the farm and pizza afterwards and I think I am going to say something. I don't mind paying extra for good clean food but I think that was outrageous. No wonder they don't have the price of the pint on the counter by the gelato stand. At least Chef's dinner was great!
Last night I made some baked chicken wings and baked potatoes "Hassleback" style - you make cuts in the potato and insert things like butter, bacon bits, cheese, chives, etc. I made the potatoes in a small cast iron skillet (whole potatoes and I put a layer of crunched up foil on the bottom that I sat the potatoes on so they wouldn't stick to the pan). Served it with chilled radishes, celery and carrots I got from the farmer's market. I wasn't all that hungry so I only ate a little bit but DH and the cats (chicken only) sure did enjoy their meal.
Susie - it was great that they were able to dry the seats off the rides at the park and you benefitted from smaller queues waiting to get on the rides. How nice you could enjoy the roller coasters.
Laura - I love OTTlites - I have 2 of them and they give off great intense light for things like sewing and crafting. I just have desk models and they work for what I need them for. The bulbs can be quite pricey but they last forever. They are also supposed to be good for reading if you have issues or are compromised with vision like my Mom. My surgical knee is doing fine - thanks for asking. The numbness that was so intense is easing up - that's a wierd feeling and there is still some tenderness around the knee but I can see it improving. Still get aches once in a while - I think that comes from having old legs attached to it My sister said since both body parts never heal the same way symmetrically - perhaps my second surgery will go way better than the first one. In any event, I will be much better prepared and my expectations are tempered. Hope you enjoy the chocolate covered strawberries - a dozen is alot to eat - especially since they tend to use the really big ones for dipping. And they lose a bit of their flavor when you refrigerate them. But I'll bet the chocolate is better tasting than the dipping stuff you can buy at the store in the produce section. Did you finish your plank challenge?
Ceejay - Walnut Grove - wasn't that the name of the town where Little House on the Prairie was set? It's been a long time since I saw the show. I'll say you need a music rack - how can you play the organ without something to hold up the sheet music? Unless you memorize everything ahead of time and I'm thinking that is impossible. We had this beautiful wooden music stand in the shop. It was bargain priced at $25 - just an exquisite piece in mint condition. Even at that low, low price one lady wanted to pay less for it. I said no - it had just come in and was a bargain at that price. Her grandson was with her and he was drooling over this stand. She told us about 9 times that he played in the local symphony from where ever they were from. I was secretly happy that he also told her several times about how well made this stand was and a real bargain at that price. In the end she paid full asking price and bought it for him. But looking at it - especially compared to DH's metal stand - I can appreciate just how fine this one was. I hope you can find something that works well for you. Isn't it interesting how you find yourself so busy now that you are retired? Maybe it's because we have more time to be able to choose what we want to do. I'm glad you are enjoying your life. That's funny that the nephew likes staying with you but as you say it's better if he is with his family.
Morning,
Sis and bil came by Saturday to go shop for a riding mower. We went to Lowe's in Republic but they didn't carry that particular one. He said that the store in Springfield carried it so we went there. And bought it. The frame is plastic but I will try to be careful. It's to be delivered Saturday between noon and 5. They have to put it together.
Yesterday was church and afternoon time with bil and sis. Today is their 18th wedding anniversary. The organist wants us to get together to practice.
I'm going this afternoon to a music store in Springfield to see what is available for a music stand/rest. I'd like to have a newer keyboard. I appreciate this one but their is a couple of keys that doesn't work, That makes it hard when I'm practicing.
Told my sis yesterday that I would like to exchange my 4 poster bed frame in the smaller bedroom for the smaller frame out in the garage.
Will be working out side some more this week. Wish I had a power washer as I'm going to be washing off the siding and get rid of that brush pile from last fall.
----------
Happy
Yes Walnut Grove is where little house on the prairie originated. Laura Ingalls Wilder is from this area. It's not far from Ash Grove where my sis and bil have their house. Saw the turkey aggravating the deer on FB. I'd be happy to pay that price for a music stand.
Susie
Sounds like you had a fun vacation. And yeah for you fitting on the rides. You and Annie are inspiring me to be more active in my health.
Laura
Sounds like you found some good finds on FB garage sales. I see those for my area but have never looked to see what is available. Maybe they would have a music stand or rest.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Annie - are you ok? You haven't posted in 10 days?
Ceejay - yes the music stand was a bargain but the shipping to send it to you with such an odd package would probably cost an arm and leg! Oh my - how can you possibly practice on a keyboard that has keys that don't work??? Perhaps it is worth the investment in a modest new one if you want to continue with this which would be a good thing. Yay on the new riding lawnmower. I didn't realize you had a large yard. In the summer heat, you will be glad not to be pushing a mower, even if it's a power mower.
We have some sun right now but that can change any minute. We have had far too much rain this summer. I guess that's better than dry and wildfire dangers. I was thinking that I might can some fruit cocktail instead of just peaches. Peaches, grapes, cherries and blueberries. I had to toss about 7 peaches from the box - good thing I checked them - they had soft spots and were starting to go bad - that can spread fast if you don't stay on top of it. I tried to use the self clean on my oven today (they don't recommend using oven cleaner). Got an error code - the lock won't set on the door so it won't start the cycle. Time for a new stove. There's just so many to choose from it's hard to decide on what's the best / most reliable. Not that we have alot to pick from - we have a few appliance places but Sears is closing in town. I just want something that we can call if we need service so I am hesitant to buy from a place like Best Buy. We might have to go to Duluth. DH is trying to sell our UTV / dune buggy. Says we don't use it enough - which is true. It's July 10 and we have yet to take the pontoon out - weather has not been cooperative. He put an ad in online and got some shakey results. Now some 26 year old is interested and said they are getting a loan. I hate selling by owner - I am distrustful of strangers and you never know if someone is going to rip you off. We do see her Facebook profile. DH would be driving 90 minutes to meet them halfway to deliver it and complete the sale. We will see. I do have some misgivings about selling it - we barely used it in 3 years. Comes out to about $1,000 a ride considering depreciation. He's selling it for half what we paid for it 3 years ago. Said that's what the going trade in rate would be. To me that was a big waste... I still think we should keep it but it's his decision and the man cave is getting overcrowded anyway with the lawnmower, snow blower, his big workbench, the regular atv and other things so I guess he can use the room. I know, big time problems, right? boo hoo.
Anyway no one else has checked in so I guess I will go and get busy - I have a large to do list today.
HEY HAPPY...I am fine, thanks for asking, just buried under mail and a load of emails. Good Lord.
This post will be short. Vacay was wonderful. Sun cooperated for the most part. I will try to post tomorrow. I have a 2:45 doc appt today so it is making me hustle through all the fires. Had to register for the Chicago bus. trip/meeting by today. Last day and since it was mandatory I couldn't decline going. Bleh as I will be gone fro Jacob's first day of school.
I will get in here early tomorrow and post....hopefully.
LAURA...glad you got your card and hope your birthday was awesome!!
Susie – Wow, Dave & Buster and then Kings Island – in one day??? That’s an action-packed day. Great NSV that you could go on the rides because you now fit in the seats! Sounds like you’ll be at KI more now that you can enjoy the rides with your brother. How fun. == Re the plank challenge – I got through June 25th and stopped. I’m thinking of doing it again, but with a revamped, more gradual increasing of the plank time. Nothing as long as the 2 minutes that the YMCA challenge had. It’ll really just be a way to get me to do the planks regularly. I think I should include some other ab work in there too. == I hope work isn’t too insane for you this week!!
Happy – What a bummer that you’re getting all that rainy weather, and the hail damage on your deck, siding and roof. We had a lovely weather weekend, and then the rain (and storms) came overnight and this morning. I don’t mind rain on a back-to-work Monday. == The farm dinner sounds tasty, but I agree the farm store was a rip-off. == I got my OttLite for only $15. Everything works fine, and fingers that the bulb lasts me a good long time. It was a woman selling her mom’s sewing stuff when the mom quit sewing. I looked at the website and the lamps can get pricey. I noticed there’s a wheel set that I can get so that the lamp can be moved around easily. Probably just a “nice to have” and not a need. == I’m glad your new knee is doing well, and knowing what to expect will hopefully make the 2nd surgery & recovery easier to get through. == Maybe better to just get rid of that ATV and not feel regrets every time you see it… out of sight, out of mind.
Ceejay – You’re going to be spoiled with a riding mower! And just think of the attachments you can get for it – something that will rake up the leaves and something that will aerate the lawn. You can start a side business, LOL. == I hope you found a music stand for the piano. == I’m pretty sure that on one of the family vacations we took when I was a kid, we visited the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was a big fan of her books and then the TV series.
Annie – Glad you had good weather for your vacation. Any chance we’ll be able to meet up while you’re in Chicago? Even just a brief chat to say hello, since I’m pretty much around the corner and down the block from where you’ll be. Keep me posted.
==
I had a nice weekend, nothing exciting though. My mom’s monthly bill at her community includes a certain amount for food at the two restaurants, and she hasn’t gotten into the habit of having meals from there. So she was up against the monthly deadline with $$ to spend. I went over on Saturday and had lunch with her, and then she purchased a couple items to bring back to her unit. And she had me get food to bring back home (a sandwich for bf). I’d really like it if she’d just start buying the food for herself. She doesn’t cook much anymore, so this could be a really nice thing for her once she hits on a few menu items she likes. And the $$ on her bill are “use it or lose it”, so it’s just a waste of money if she doesn’t take advantage of it!!
I didn’t do much else on Saturday. BF took our old sedan to the tire place and it turns out the rear brakes needed work. It’s always something. I went to Kohl’s to use the $10 reward I got for my birthday. I bought some undies – exciting stuff. Then over to Walmart for a couple things.
Having heard about the new series of “Twin Peaks”, I’m watching the original series that started in 1990. I never watched it when it was on originally The first season was short – 8 episodes – and I got through that over the past couple weeks. The 2nd is 22 and I just watched the 1st episode last night. Not sure I’ll want to continue – I’ve heard the 2nd season wasn’t as good as the first. But I’m curious about the new series, so that makes me want to plow through the old one, as well as the movie that came out back then…
On Sunday I got out and trimmed some boxwood shrubs out front. They’re overgrown, and they have bare spots at the back of them. I don’t know if they’re the type of shrub that will come back with new growth if I give them a severe trimming to the ground, so I might just remove those completely next spring. Maybe this fall I’ll cut them all the way back to the ground and if they come back next year, fine, and if not, I’ll dig out the roots and replace them with something tiny. Some people don’t like starting with a tiny shrub and will pay more for something that’s more mature, but I don’t mind at all, LOL. Less trimming to do - for a few years at least.
Found out I have a work dinner tomorrow after work that I really should go to. Bleh. And I’ll miss my aqua fit class.
The Worldly Chicks - Leg 3 Summer for some and Winter for others
Perhaps we need to firm up the commune plans although you would not be a happy bunny in our winters here. But you would like the scenic part of it. 
There were lots of families with kids who came in - the kids grabbed toys from the children's section and dragged them all over the store then then walked out and we are stuck picking up and putting away after them. They also dropped alot of clothes on the floor for some reason. We would have been better off being closed. I am tired and cranky - been at the store for 7 days straight - 4 to 6 hours each trying to get the book section rearranged. I finally gave up. Not my worries as I can't do most of it myself. The other lady is slapping stickers on the books upside down, they aren't sticking, easily peeled off, I can't spend my life straightening out things. Just let them be. 
Your day trips sound fun. I decided I needed to make a list of some things I want to do in/around town and in the local area. One is canoeing in the lakes/lagoons in local forest preserve areas. Another is visiting the Chicago History Museum. Only been there once before and that was way back when it was called the Chicago Historical Society! I have other things on my list but they are not just for summer or this year, so I guess it's sort of a staycation/fun bucket list. One is for fall - going to a corn maze. == Good luck with your WI tonight at TOPS. 
== Your fruit purchases sound luscious. I bought some cherries and was disappointed in them. I'm going to try and buy more from our local farmers market, just to get fresher produce. == How did the rheumatology appointment go? 
== Received your card yesterday - thanks! 
I have the paperwork with me today and will call and see if they will extend it. Fingers 
) to fill in for them on Friday. Bah - and we have dinner reservations at 5pm so I can't stay past 4 at the shop. Oh well... 
WHAT is this world coming to???? Ok, that's my soapbox for the day. 
I checked the weather before I left yesterday and they said about a 10 percent chance of rain. So I drove to bingo. About an hour afterwards we noticed it really really dark in the north. I looked at the radar on my phone and there was a mass of red (bad storms) on the radar heading right at us. It rained like the floods several times. Then when I got home DH showed me a video of the hail that hit the deck 
I don't know if it hailed by us - we were far too busy to notice much more than it raining outside. More dinks on my poor old car 
to. It was a 4 course tasting menu. Course one we selected a lamb kabob appetizer that had a wonderful pesto sauce. Course 2 was a salad of greens from the farm, black "forbidden rice" which I had seen on cooking channels but never tasted along with peeled fresh rhubarb and tomatoes with a very light vinaigrette. Course 3 I chose a pan roasted tilapia they raise on the farm while DH had 2 very tiny pork chops (enough for me but an appetizer for him). They were on the tough side and too small of a dinner portion he said. He was expecting the wonderful pork I get from the farmer's market. I said that there are different kinds of pigs and the 2 kinds they have at the FM farm are known for their succulence. But he said the accompanying flavors made up for the other 2 things. Both dishes had a side of roasted vegetables - asparagus, carrot, garlic scapes, and some greens. Very tasty. There was a choice of homemade gelato or a strawberry shortcake and a scoop of vanilla gelato for dessert. He had a scoop each of chocolate almond fudge and vanilla caramel. The chocolate had ribbons of fudge and almonds and was very rich and made the vanilla caramel (which had very little caramel in it) seem rather bland. I had a mint chocolate chip gelato (very refreshing after the meal) and a scoop of blackberry that was full of so many seeds it was kind of difficult to eat. They have a small store there with farm products as well as some other things like milk they partner with other farms. I bought a small container of ricotta gnochi. I have some strawberries to use up so we bought a small 1/2 cup of the plain vanilla gelato to go with that. Since the chocolate almond fudge gelato was so good I bought a pint of that too. Didn't pay attention to prices - and shame on me because I know that they are very pricey because I frequent them over the winter when they do farmers markets twice a month at the hospital. That tiny cup of gelato was $4 which was nothing when I looked at the bill and saw that pint of chocolate was TWELVE DOLLARS. 12 dollars for a pint of ice cream???? DH paid the bill so I didn't notice or I would have said to keep it. Then to add insult to injury - DH over tipped (substantially) on the bill which included not only the dinner but also the grocery items I bought. He over tipped by about $9. Then last night I decided to have some of that expensive chocolate gelato. The dish DH had for dessert was filled with ribbons of chocolate fudge and chunks of coconut and almond slivers. Apparently that was skimmed off the top of the pan because the only thing in the container was something that looked like a very light chocolate ice milk. No fudge, coconut or almonds 
I still think we should keep it but it's his decision and the man cave is getting overcrowded anyway with the lawnmower, snow blower, his big workbench, the regular atv and other things so I guess he can use the room. I know, big time problems, right? boo hoo. 
Great NSV that you could go on the rides because you now fit in the seats! 
Sounds like you’ll be at KI more now that you can enjoy the rides with your brother. How fun. == Re the plank challenge – I got through June 25th and stopped. I’m thinking of doing it again, but with a revamped, more gradual increasing of the plank time. Nothing as long as the 2 minutes that the YMCA challenge had. It’ll really just be a way to get me to do the planks regularly. I think I should include some other ab work in there too. == I hope work isn’t too insane for you this week!! 