Maintainers Chat: June 8 - 14

WaterRat · 06-13-2009, 12:55 PM

Morning. It rained here off and on all night, and after letting them out about 5:30 am, I got two very wet cats back about 7 - and they wanted to get into bed with me! Getting up with them was a better solution, that way I could shut them out of the bedroom! They go into the long grass at the edge of the woods, and frankly I don't think they even know they're wet all over. Feet yes, they realize that, but the rest not so much.

Lily - when we go on vacation we always have a house sitter or if it's a short trip, a neighbor to just feed the cats and clean the litter box. There are no places here to board cats, including the vet. One of my favorite house sitters is coming when we leave at the end of the month. THe only thing I do is to lock away anything we don't want "investigated" (i.e. DH's rifles, camera equipment we're not taking, etc) and to password our computer. Because most of our sitters are children of friends, we've not had any worse trouble than a broken dish.

Since DH has no cell phone I have no idea when he'll be home from fishing. I think probably later this afternoon or tonight, but it could be tomorrow. Oh well, I have lots to do around here, though the yard work will wait until the rain stops.

Sorry you're still feeling poorly Shannon. No need to feel guilty, you're sick and it is what it is.

Same goes for you Michele!

And I checked and the Holland America ships have what look like very nice workout areas - though I suspect they're smaller than they appear in the photos.

I'm taking workout clothes anyway. I expect there will be fresh salmon....

traveling michele · 06-13-2009, 03:24 PM

Pat,
Will you be on Holland America? That is the line we are going on! We will be on the Westerdam. We went on another Holland America cruise and the gym was quite nice.
By the way-- did you get my interview questions? No rush, but just wanted to double check.

Shannon-- hope you feel better! I finally went to the gym last night and hopefully will go today and tomorrow. My weight is still way up and I was hoping to lose a couple of pounds before my trip but now I've got more than a couple to lose!!

Lily-- when we go out of town we have a pet sitter (friend) come in every day or two to feed the kitties/ scoop the cat litter. We board the dogs but just because they wouldn't do well just being let out a couple of times a day-- they are too spoiled! The place we leave them allows the dogs to play together during the day-- supervised and they have various play yards for different sized dogs-- my dogs love going there!! If I was you, I would either have Shane stay, or the neighbor if a parent will be overseeing her and your pets aren't too difficult. I pet sat for years and it was a lot of fun but there was nothing worse than a pet getting sick, something unexpected happening at the house, etc. and a younger person might not know what to do.

WaterRat · 06-13-2009, 08:10 PM

Michele - Yes to both. We are also on the Westerdam, June 27 - July 4, and yes I have the questions. I'm working on them. And thanks for the thumbs up about the gym.

Rain has mostly stopped. DH had just gotten home from dipnetting when I arrived home with groceries. He said the water was high, fishing not so good. But he brought home 3 red (sockeye) salmon totally about 15 lbs after cleaning and beheading

All but one piece are now vacumn sealed and living in the freezer. We'll have the last piece for dinner.

I got a call from a friend offering me tickets to a musical show tonight. It's a women's choir group called Cantora Arctica that usually sings classical/religious/more serious music. Each June, however, they do a sort of musical review with their husbands and kids. We've been before and it's a lot of fun - much lighter music and a few little skits. My friend plays piano for some of the numbers. I hadn't gotten tickets since I was unsure when DH would get home, but his timing was good, and I have free tickets besides!

Off to do my workout now so that I can go out guilt-free!

Kery · 06-14-2009, 03:12 AM

Thanks for your encouraging words.

I'll let you all know in a month or so, when I get the results.

By the way, does anyone have a few food tips for stress management? I try to pick healthy foods, run 1 hour a few times a week, and try to take regular breaks, but I still keep on having nightmares and not sleeping much, and it's annoying. I don't see what else I can do (except resorting to Ambien, but I don't want to do that every day...).

lilybelle · 06-14-2009, 01:18 PM

I am feeling more at ease now about our pets while we go on vacation. My neighbor told me she will supervise her DD while she cares for our pets. My animals are very easy-going and I don't expect any problems. Having Shane come and stay would have been convenient for us but not so much for him. Sometimes he works really late and our house is out of his way. I did talk to our small vet office and they keep the animals in a cage while they are being boarded. I know my dogs would have been scared.

I'm having trouble with a large knot that has came up on my right middle finger. I showed it to my hepatologist back in April and he said it is from my liver disease. Also have a large lump on right forearm and left calf. The one on my finger is getting much larger and causing pain in the 2nd joint. It even hurts when I wash my hands , play golf, type and such. I'm gonna see my general physician soon and find out if this can be removed. Bad thing though is the hepatologist did say that if these are removed they will most likely grow back.

Kery, I suffer also with insomnia sometimes. Occasionally a Tylenol PM will help me. I've also used Ambien before. I like to read until I can't keep my eyes open as a way of getting to sleep.

My eating is still OP, but I need to go to the gym. I've avoided it this weekend due to the storms and not wanting to drive Shane's jeep. It's not safe for me cause the back and side windows are plastic and I can't see out of them very well at all. He should return home tonite with my vehicle and I'll be glad to have it again.

Today's plan is either to take a long nap or mop my floors. I wonder which one will win?

traveling michele · 06-14-2009, 03:15 PM

Kery-- I take melatonin every night and it helps me sleep. It is supposedly natural and non habit forming. It is supposed to relax you as well. You might try it.

sznn · 06-14-2009, 03:36 PM

Good for all of you that are staying on plan

A bag of "mini" chips ahoy found it's way into my basket yesterday - dammit!
Not sure I my 20K skate (yesterday)or 3k hoof straight uphill (this AM)will offset the little beasties.
Sigh - OK back on track.

Sheila53 · 06-14-2009, 08:58 PM

Lily, be sure your pets are microchipped (the best thing) or have collars with tags that can be traced back to you. Also be sure that your neighbors have photos of your pets and know where to call to report them missing or where to look for them.

Volunteering at a shelter, I see lots of summertime horror stories where the pet had no ID, ended up at a shelter and the pet sitter (the neighbor kind, not the professional) didn't know who to contact. After five days, the pet was adopted to another person, and the original owner, who got back from vacation after the five-day holding period, was out of luck unless the new owner wanted to let the pet go. We just got a beautiful yellow Lab in as a stray last week, no ID, and the dog is totally trained right down to hand signals. The only thing we can think of is that the owner is on vacation because it's hard to believe someone would just let a wonderfully trained dog languish at a shelter and be adopted out.

Kery · 06-15-2009, 04:25 AM

Melatonin... OK, thanks, I'll inquire into that. I just hopt it's not something expensive that isn't covered by the SS... it could be just my luck!

traveling michele · 06-15-2009, 10:11 AM

Kery-- it's over the counter. You can find it near the vitamins and it's not expensive at all. Hopefully they have it in France....