G'day all,

Gradually getting back to normal, walked both mornings despite the rain but this morning we are over to look after the girls, not much time for walking.
I have had my hair cut yesterday after 3 months, remarkable that it still looked OK eventhough it had not been cut for so long.

Jeney keep up the good work, don't apologise, come here as often as you like if it helps to get rid of your access weight.

Ann that is so disappointing about your trip, hope your dh's health is back on track soon.

That is great Slavika that you started soon after I left on this quest to loose 20lbs. How are you going so far?

Glenda you rubbed off on me as well and I do say 'oh my gosh' with an Oklahoma (Stillwater) twang Mentioning of the mosquitoes, I am so glad we were not bothered to much. Have fun looking after the boys.

Trudy I haven't done that myself yet, read through the blog again. I will print it out and then have it as a reference when I do my book.

Bernice sorry to hear about your dog and that you are a bit stressed being back in NJ. I don't think I could cope being in one place for 6 months and 6 months in another.

Peggy that table sounds lovely the way you have done it with hydrangeas etc. So you had two kids running around P and D I bet they all had a great time. P being the same age as Matilda I can well imagine how much running he would do.

Gloria how are the preparations going for the big event? I do hope we will get to see some photos of the party AND of when you renew your vows.

I had to meet with a customer yesterday and I was early, as I was waiting in the sun, I couldn't help but think here I am in the middle of winter and it was 20 degrees, wearing jeans and a shirt.
I would love to experience some of your winters but......just for 5 minutes
A bit far to go for 5 minutes!
We have had quite a bit of rain which is great for our water reservoirs and maybe they will ease up on the water restrictions.

Cheers
Maria

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO YOU ALL

It has gotten quite cool here since the 1st of July....maybe we had our Summer that last week of June. Tomorrow is to be a bit warmer but rain is predicted later in the evening...just in time for the fireworks over Boston Harbor.

We had our fireworks on Saturday night and they are set off near the lake that is about 5 blocks from us. Looking out the upstairs window (in your room, Maria) I could see them very well. It was great and no mosquitoes!

We have been told that a Limo has been hired to take us to Church and the restaurant...cool! I also heard from Jackie, NC son and he will be here on Friday the 13th for lunch so we get to be the first ones to see him and the kids, and wife. Can hardly wait! Basically I have a menu planned and most of the cooking will be done before the 13th which will leave me free to enjoy.

As for pictures everyone but me has a digital camera so I have sent out the word....take lots and email them to me....I will then send them on to you!

Maria: So long without a haircut....I would be a wild woman if I waited that long. My hair is curly and it really frizzes out when long.

Ann: That is too bad that you had to postpone your trip North but I hope DH improves rapidly from now on and you can make those plans again.

Glenda: Hope you are enjoying your time with the grandkids.

Slavika: You have a head start on me...I will try to pick up after the festivities.

Bernice: Sorry to here about your dog...it is never easy to lose a pet.

Trudy: Two great minds...I read the blog all the way through as well and it truly was an amazing journey.

Peggy: I will have to go back and see what you did with the hydrangeas as mine are starting to bloom.

Jeney: Drop in anytime. Just use us and a sounding board.

Gloria

He's home and we will have take out from the clubhouse for our supper. This made for a happy 4th of July.

Bernice- so sorry for losing your dog. I know how hard that is. They do become such a part of the family.

I'll be able to post better now. I'll have a bit more time at home.

Ann

This cold is still bugging me! I am up all night coughing my lungs out. I stayed home today to take it easy and hope it will help me get over this plague. Yesterday DD and kiddies came over. They had haircut appointment at my hairdresser. It was tough, but we did have a nice day. My DD was commenting on how nice my flowers looked, and they really WERE beautiful. We went into the house to gather up their belongings and that is when a flock of Grackles/Blackbirds came into my yard and tore the marigolds apart. Everything was shredded and broken down. I looked at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/program...GrackleSP.html
and found that you US gals get the same birds. Have you ever had this problem? Seems that there is something in the marigolds that kills the little mites that bother them. They not only break the marigolds down, but they stand on the other flowers crushing everything. I tried to clean up the mess today, boy was I ticked.
Bernice, I am so sorry you lost Kasha. It is a horrible blow to lose a beloved pet. Do you still want to live in the same vicinity that your present house is in? I have the Hellmanns salad dressing spray and I really do like it. Since I don't use a lot of dressing anyway, it is nice to give my salad a few squirts. I haven't heard of the Alli capsules.
Ann, so glad your DH is home, safe and sound. Sounds like you will have a really nice day today.
Gloria, so exciting waiting for your upcoming Anniversary party. You and your DH looked so nice in the pictures Maria posted. You two make a very nice couple and from what I have read, you are well suited. I hope your friends and family take lots of pictures for you to post.
Maria, I would find it awful to go 3 months without a haircut. It has been so long since I had longer hair. Wonder if I would like it again?? I get my haircut tomorrow.
Peggy, I always think of you as an artist. I would love to see the table you painted and some of the other works of art you do. Do you have a digital camera to take and post some pictures?
Ash, never give up! You had a bad day, forget about it and move on.
Glenda, Too bad the fireworks were postponed. Last year you didn't get a drop of rain and this year you can't catch a break.
Karen, what are you up to this holiday? Do you have fireworks in your community?
I will announce to all of you that Slavika is doing great. It is very obvious that she has lost weight. We went out for lunch with our friend last Friday and Slavika looked really good. Way to go!!
I don't feel like cooking today. I have a canned ham (really don't like them, but they do come in handy at times) and will pair it up with a package of Sidekicks. I bought a package for the first time and will give it a try. I have the Spanish Rice one. Anyone else tried them?

Bye for now..

G'day all,

Gloria all the preparations sound like a lot of work but I know how organised you are and all will be fantastic on the day.
I can picture you sitting in 'my' room watching the fireworks, what a first class position especially with no mosquitoes to bother you.

Trudy how interesting (and annoying) about those birds, we don't have them but we do have black birds who don't wreck my flowers but make a mess by flicking all the mulch and dirt on the garden paths.
That is really good to hear that Slavika is doing so well and is looking great.
Hope your cold is getting better.

Ann good to hear dh is home and you don't have to make those trips to the hospital. His health will probably improve a lot quicker by just being home.

After some lovely sunny winter days we had a bit of a storm last night. We looked after the grandgirls yesterday and when we were about to leave we lost the power. We drove home in a roundabout way, all the traffic lights were out as well, and thought we would quietly drive down the beach front home. There were lots of sightseers to watch the huge tide that was pounding the foreshore and the jetty, so much for a quite, quick run home.
Makes me pleased that we are a few blocks away from the beach....the sea is scary at times like that.

Have a great day all,

Cheers
Maria

Trudy how mean of those birds to tear up your flowers. I have starlings in my yard. They are similar. Sometimes we have crows. The starlings eat everything. I have found 2 dead robins in my yard this past week. I don't know what is killing them. I love to watch them and the cardinals. Just saw a cute little chickadee before. I like that bird site. Thanks for the update on Slavika. I am glad she is doing well and losing. She might be the winner.
I haven't tried any of the spray dressings. That is on my list of things to try.
Maria that storm sounds nasty. When the lights are all out it makes it hard to navigate. Oh to live close to the beach. My dream.
Glenda I see you are still be pounded with all the rain and so much flooding.
Ann how is your dh doing now that he is home? It is always so much better to recoup at home-you sure get so much more rest.
The fireworks got rained out last night. We had the tornado siren go off but it was just rain.
Peggy

Hi all: DH is doing well, and as you say now he can get some sleep. They were waking him up every moring at 4:00 to take blood, and so of course this a.m. he woke up at 4. But he has been getting some rest. He is feeling fine, and I know that being home is a big help.

We have many Dr. appointments now for followup. and it was discovered that his iron levels are too low once again, so now every Friday for 8 weeks we will go so he can get an iron infusion. It seems that his body just doesn't utilize the iron that he gets in food and vitamins.
So never a dull moment around here for sure.

I did go today and had a massage, and boy did I need it. She found a lot of kinks and knots that she worked out. I feel great now.

Have any of you read any of Debbie Macomber's books? I discovered her just recently and I am really enjoying them. She has a whole series of books about people in the village of Cedar Cove, Washington. After reading so many of them, it gets to seem like you know all the people. But she does write others also.

It certainly sounds like Slavika will be the winner. I can't say that I have even seriously started. But I will. This past week was a lost cause.

Maria- your drive home sounded a bit chancy with no traffic lights. I don't think I would want to live right on the beach. High water, and storms could certainly wreak havoc on a home. Are you letting your hair grow long, or are you going to get it cut? I got a haircut this week. I can only go 4 weeks with this short spikey hairdo. If I go longer, it just lays down limp.

Bernice: I hope that you find the house that you are looking for in the area you want. House hunting can be frustrating, I think.

Trudy: I hope you do get rid of your cold. Summer colds are the pits. I am having allergy problems. I do a lot of sneezing. Those miserable Grackles are bad birds. We used to have them up North. Never did like those, or the Starlings. My flowers are just sad because of lack of rain. But we are getting a bit more now, going into the summer rainy season.

Slavika: I hope you are finally getting success with Patches and her 'toidy' training. It is so much easier once they truly get the idea.

We watched fireworks on T.V. last night. First Washington D.C. then New York City and finally Boston. I have to admit that the NYC fireworks sponsored by Macy's wwere the best. There was a problem with fireworks blowing up the platform where they were launched and injuring some people over Tampa way.

Hi Peggy, Karen, Glenda and Gloria and Ash. Next time I'll try to remember your posts. I have to shut down and we are getting thunder once again.


Ann

G'day all,

Storms have abated but there has been some damage to our foreshore.
A few streets up from us the seawater was coming dangerously close to homes. We went for a walk yesterday and the sand dunes are badly eroded at parts of the beach.
We had a coffee at a foreshore cafe but cut this short as more bad weather was coming in and we did not have umbrellas.
We made a quick dash home and boy did it come down again, we were happy to get our walk in.

Ann my hair is back to short again, I am sure american hairdressers are very capable but I really wanted to wait till I was home to have my own hairdresser cut my hair.
That is quite a lot of appointments etc., I am sure you would prefer a few 'dull' moments.
Your massage sounds divine, I always say I am going to have a massage but somehow never allow myself that luxury.

Peggy you have a lovely garden to sit and do some birdwatching. We saw the cardinals in Stockholm on the Mississippi River and then we saw one more feeding at Gloria's kitchen window. They are beautiful looking birds.

I am trying to print my blog which I expected to be easy but of course isn't , there is always something to challenge one!

Cheers
Maria

Hi all,

Maria - I am glad that you are safe from the awful storms that hit SA. I heard about Glenelg and my thoughts flew to you. The sand-dunes will come back again and the beach will repair itself, just as long as you are O.K. My hair is very short now as I have at long last found a fantastic hairdresser, but she is not Australian she is from South Africa - looks like we Aussies like short hair. LOL.

Anne - I am so glad that you have your husband home again and he is feeling fine even if he does have to have Iron Infusions every 8 weeks. At one stage my iron was very low but Vitamin B.12 fixed that - they say mine was the perils of growing older.

Thanks for the encouragement re WW since Monday I have stuck to it like glue and am finding it easier now, but the scales will tell me on Monday - I am up to Day 5 now.

I hope you all had a Happy Independance Day on the 4th and that you are all well.

Love Jenye.

Ladies, you have been so busy talking. Seems when I check, no one is here, but if I don't, you all get busy.

We were off the 4th and I do not especially like having a holiday on Wednesday and then come back to work for two more days. We usually have vacation during this week. My sister and her family made the regular treck to Red River, New Mexico, but I have to remember that Galveston is just around the corner for us. Stillwater called off fireworks because everything was so wet that it will take a long time before parking lots won't be rutted with a lot of cars being parked. I have never heard of this problem before.

Anyway, yes we are still getting rain, at least a little everyday. Lake Texhoma which is a huge lake between Oklahoma and Texas is about to go over its banks and this could mean a lot of serious flooding. There is a pond in a field about a block from us that just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Maria, we might soon have a lakefront property ourselves.

Trudy, the story about your beautiful marigolds just hurts. We have had too much rain for flowers to grow. They just look stunted, but if a darned bird messed them up, I think I would just be sick. I am not a bird person, but my brother goes everywhere to birdwatch. Next year he is going to Alaska. I am sure he knows about grackles. We certainly have the starlings--they are nothing but pests here.

Gloria, just a week left. Aren't you getting excited! Our kids gave us a little bit of a party on our 40th in which we renewed vows and had a reception, and I remember I spent the whole day in tears. Just so many memories!

Ann, a massage is just what you needed. And you certainly deserved it. When I was sick and in and out of the hospital and so sick, I worried constantly about my hubby. The caregivers of the world are the ones on whose shoulders so much fall. And they are kind of forgotten in the rush of sympathy for the sick one. So, do take good care of yourself.

Peggy, wish you were my SIL. I think I would like that tabletop too. By the way, I think I will get out my treeskirt from Slavika and Trudy someday and look at it. Oh no, I just remembered--mine got lost in the mail.

Well, when you think of me, think "DRY". Maybe we can sneak in a lawn mowing this weekends between drizzles.
Glenda

Slavika: I was coming on line to ask the same question. All of my emails to Gloria are coming back to me. I hope we can get this problem solved.

Now that DH is home, and grumpy, I am needing to escape for a bit. He calls me grouchy, and I guess I am, but enough is enough. I am going to the pool this afternoon and just work off my excess steam. I am grateful that he is home, but - after a while criticism gets to be too much. I imagine that he is having some worries about his condition, and all the stuff that is taking place with the Dr. appointments and such. What is that old song"You always Hurt the One You love" I think that is very true at times. It is easy to take someone for granted and think that anything goes. Don't get me wrong, I am not looking for gratitude, but some civility would be good. I get so I can't drive in the car with him(I do all the rriving now) without constant instruction. I try not to reply with a retort, but it is hard. All I can say is 'this too will pass'.

Thanks for letting me vent a bit. Ann

Ann I am sure it is hard to bite your tongue sometimes. Think of pleasant thoughts and tune him out. I imagine that he is worried and I know that I would be also. Go take a bike ride-I see you took a swim. Hope that helped. I am thinking of you.
Well girls I did it last night. We were out and I came home and tripped on our porch step and did an all point landing. I cut my lip, knee and toe and hurt my wrist and shoulders. I kept ice on my lip all night. We are going to a fancy wedding tonight and I look lovely. Hope makeup helps. And all I had to drink was an iced tea. I am glad it was dark and the neighbors didn't see me sprawled out. My friend took us to a store called Fresh Express-sort of like a Wild Oats only fancier. It was fun to look around. We bought some cheese.
Glenda I wish I could send you some of this sun although it is in the 90's and humid. I remember a few years back and we had weather like that and one of the communities down the road in Ky flooded really bad.
Jennye good luck with scales on Monday. I hope they tip in your favor.
I went to a yard sale yesterday and got a new WW cookbook and the You on a Diet -both for a dollar. Now to read them and make some of the WW recipes. Doug's birthday is tomorrow so I will start Monday. I am having family over for a cookout.
Maria how is it going with printing your blog??
Peggy

Slavika and Ann: I hope you got the email with instructions re: the rejected mail. If you don't have any luck please let me know thru the forum. I seem to be getting most everyone else's mail. The help desk is very helpful and usually quite fast in their reply and repair. Maybe we will be back on track before long.

Had a productive day today and did some house cleaning before the 90 deg Sunday we are promised.

Have a great weekend all.
Gloria

G'day all,

That would be rather nice a lake out the front of your property Glenda, you will probably loose all your privacy with tourists coming to picnic at your lake
Seriously, it is unbelievable how much rain you have had in your area.

Peggy I hope you didn't do too much damage with that fall. Your lip will heal but your shoulder and knee might take a little longer.

Ann vent as much as you like, I can well imagine how hard this is for you. Slavika's friend has a similar problem. Just because you are healthy doesn't mean that you have inexhaustible energy and that you are not sensitive to criticism. I think the saying 'you always hurt the one you love' is probably quite true. Just take care of yourself and have your swims etc and come here and vent as much as you like!

Jeney hope the scales are kind to you tomorrow.

Our weather is coming good, after some wild and woolly days and nights.

It seems funny that marigolds grow in your summer, I have them in winter, mine are now flowering, a few must have re-seeded themselves after last winter, I certainly did not plant any! They are lovely and add colour to an otherwise fairly drab winter garden.

Have a great weekend all,

Cheers
Maria