HI RONNI ~ you posted whilst I was typing my post (which got quite long), so I didn't see your post until aftewards. Glad you are feeling so much better, esp to get some gardening in too. We just have buds coming up on our stuff here; no flowers here but I have seen some in our neighbours right next door, but I think her garden has been there for quite some time and she was putting in some additions just yesterday. Our landlord said to go ahead and put some flowers in the garden they have here already and maybe some earlier ones like tulips and daffodils would be nice too. Are the alliums, irises, and cosmos all perennials?

I bought a perennial book some time ago, so I'll have to get it out and take a looksee what I might like to plant here and at our cottage lot. We went out and checked our trees; most of them are still doing good, but we lost a couple that we will replace with some more from my Dad's old farm as they seem to be doing the best, and the bigger they are, the better they are doing too.

Anyways, have a great evening ...

JEEPERS ~ where is everybody? I must have one boring life, since I am the only one who has time to come in and post, while others don't. Seems MEOWEE has decided to have an extra-extended holiday in Ontariariario ... (that's the name we called our province when we were kids, and it just stuck).

Anyhow, did some laundry today and made some muffins for our trip to our lot this week; gonna make a picnic lunch to take with us as usual. DH got some wood that we will take with us and start putting up a small storage shed for our stuff and to keep out of the elements. We want to have something on our own property that is handier for us.

A friend of DH's took him to his camp today to show it to him so he could see how he and his son and another friend all built themselves small getaway places (cottages) for very little money, just to get away from home for awhile. Another friend of our took us to see his last year and they built quite a nice cottage as they had the money too. They just took their time and it is quite a nice place really. I'm glad they did this, so now DH sees that it can be done and you don't really need to spend a lot of money and it can be done in phases so you don't over-exert yourself physically either.

It's raining here today and the winds are quite forceful too; some people are losing their wind turbines and bbq covers and car covers, and the trees are doing the Watusi (dancing about) as we speak. Well, we now have a plan how we can move stuff for the floors by doing one room at a time. If we move the bedroom furniture into the spare room, we can do the floor, then move it back in; and do the reverse in the spare room for the next day (as long as the landlord goes along with our plan, that is).

Anyways, we are doing a bit of moving today as rainy days are good for the indoor stuff; we are trying to get as much done now as we can ahead of time, so we can go to the lot on the days.

Well, I hope that all you ladies are feeling well. HIYA VAL ~ how are things going at work now? HI ROSEY ~ how are things up in Alaska right now? HELLO to NUMPSTER and her DH ~ hope things are going well for you guys too! HI RONNI ~ hope you are feeling better today! HEY PURPLE ~ are you on a delivery trip or visiting somewhere today or catching up on that ironing?

We might have pasta for dinner tonight, as we didn't have that yesterday, as per usual. Our hydro went out on us two times this morning, so I had to postpone baking until this afternoon; sure hope it doesn't go out again today. Take good care ladies and do have a FABULOUS FRIDAY!!! ROSEBUD

Basically, I'm still MIA . . .

The two weeks in Ontario where extremely hectic and stressful. I probably should not have gone -- but, we don't always get to make the 'best for us' choices when family matters intervene.

The trip certainly did nothing to ease my ongoing medical situation which was finally diagnosed as Pneumonia. Since returning, I've had two rounds of two different antibiotics and still no relief in sight. I'm getting weaker and more pain ridden as each day goes by. Afraid I don't spend much time sitting upright let alone on the computer.

Back to the doctor on Tuesday, the 19th and will see what he thinks he'll try next. Personally, I think this must be a viral rather than a bacterial pneumonia so there may not be much to do for it except wait it out and keep the

Hope to check in again soon.

MEOWEE ~ sorry to hear that you are still so sick; I was concerned that you might have Pneumonia when you said that you had some kind of flu and wheezing in your chest. Am continuing prayers for you that your immune system will get stronger to fight this virus off. There are many flu viruses going around; one of my cousins and her partner caught one that turned into pneumonia last year and they had to go on antibiotics as well. Thankfully they are better now.

All this time, we thought you were still in Ontario, and I thought you were feeling better becuz you were gone so long. So ... prayers are ascending for you!!! Can't hurt and can only help, in my books.

We had a very busy day today. DH and our landlord fixed the floor in our shed using the plywood DH picked up from the old farm the other day, so then he was able to put our extra stuff out there. I was right -- it all went in there with room to spare once we had a nice floor in there. All that is left in our bedroom and the spare room is our furniture and clothes in the closets which we will move on that day.

They have decided to do the floors Monday and Tuesday; and one at a time is the best way. We can move the furniture from one room to the other that way. The biggest and bulkiest thing is our bed, of course; it takes up more room than anything else we have to move. So, we do have a few extra things like our favorite books and music tapes in the livingroom and we put the food pantry in there as well; this all makes for less things they will have to move.

So we are both very tired tonight and DH has hit the sack early tonight; he is worn out. I made a nice oven dinner tonight: roast chicken and veggies with baby new potatoes; very handy meal (all in one pan) so less cleanup when you are already tired. We had a lovely day today; the temps were a bit cooler, but it was still very nice and we sat on the porch a bit this AM to catch some rays.

Well, that's all for tonight; take good care ladies and we hope that you all have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!ROSEBUD

HI LADIES ~ we have been having here all today so far; cool and yucky, but the grass needs it to grow better. Our neighbour just had a boy sprinkle down two bags of grass seed, so I'm sure she loves the rain today. We need to get some grass seed for our lot and some is on for a very low price this week; hope they ordered lots this time.

Well, we just after we put all the stuff in the shed, we have rains and we found 2 leaks in the shed roof today; DH had to quickly pull a couple of boxes back into the house and covered EVERYTHING up with plastic tarps. Phew ... that was a close one; didn't lose anything though. He also put a pail under each place that leaks to catch any water.

We didn't know it was gonna rain today; usually, I check the forcast for the next day, but last night I was so tired after reorganizing the porch so we could put more stuff in there, that I just went to bed. Anyhow, now we know for the future and DH says he's gonna see if he can do something about those leaks.

Today is gonna be our rest day; we were gonna go pick up some groceries (esp veggies and fruits), but it's just too yucky -- maybe tomorrow, if it's nicer than today. They are predicting some for most of next week on and off, so we'll see.

Anyways, that's all the news from here for now; time to put my legs up and do a puzzle or some reading. Take good care ... ROSEBUD

HI MEOWEE ~ I hope that you are in bed getting lots of rest today. I have asked some good friends of mine to join me in prayer for your health; hope that's OK with you, as we really want to see you get better and come back and join us on 3FC's site.

You are a wealth of good information and I know that everyone here really appreciates all the time and effort you put into all your posts and sharing so much good information with us all. Get lots of rest and remember that good ole chicken soup is fantastic for things like this. I even buy some CHICKEN SUPREME Chicken Noodle Cup-a-soups and have them on hand for times I'm not up to making a huge pot of homemade chicken soup, especially when sick. Take care ...

HIYA VAL ~ hope you are feeling a bit better this week; and that you can use this weekend to recupe somewhat. Sure miss you coming in and posting now and then. You are doing quite well maintaining your weightloss and that is a great feat in itself; and you should be very proud of yourself for that. I bet it's so nice to know that you have so much support at your workplace.

How's your brother doing? How is his job cleaning buses going? How's your weather up there. Is all your snow gone? We have some flowers budding up in our front; can't wait to see what kind they are ... take good care; and sure hope that you are well! Rosebud

HI RONNI ~ Boy, we sure have lots of folks who are down with flus and colds and pneumonia right now. DH and I caught a wee cold, but we are feeling much better. We have been very blessed and never got any big flus this year; so glad for that. Hope you are starting to feel better, and are getting lots of rest too. Seems like REST is the order of the day this spring for many of us.

Hope that family of yours is giving you some love and care just as you deserve for taking such good care of them. Hope to hear that flu is gone real soon ... Rosebud

HI ROSEY ~ how are things going way up there in Alaska? Hope you are getting some nice weather this spring. Is all your snow gone up there right now. We have been getting some rain and a few light sprinkles of *****, but thankfully, none of it stays for very long. Some perennial flowers are actually starting to bloom and our trees have been budding for some time. We had a robin on our deck today and I snapped a few shots of her before she flew away.

Hope all is well with you and yours. Take good care Rosebud

HEY PURPLE ~ I was just thinkin' that your PC may be down on you again becuz you didn't mention about going away. How is your mother doing? I recall you mentioning that she had to have some tests done. I hope it's nothing too serious and that she OK. Glad your Dad likes the results of the laser therapy; I have heard others say that they could see so much better afterwards.

I also hope that you are feeling well this weekend too and are able to enjoy this time, and that your weather isn't too bad. We are just starting to get our traditional season here that helps all the flowers and trees get going for the summer. Hope you and your DH, and Rizzie are all well ... Rosebud

HI TO NUMPSTER and her DH ~ I haven't heard from you in a while; guess it's time to get the phone ringing again to find out what's up. Glad you had such a lovely time last weekend with both your girls home. Both your girls are good kids and so nice of big sister to fly little sister home too. Hope your DH is starting to feel better and things look optimistic in the new career front for him.

Got a phone call this week from our DB (dear brother); he sounds very well considering. He had a few good suggestions for our building plans to make things go smoother for us as well. Very appreciative of that; more heads make for better progress and greater success, I think.

Hope all is well with you and yours (including the other two step-kiddies as well). Take good care of yourselves ... Rosebud

HI BEVERLYJOY ~ I am still sending up prayers for your DH that he may find a job that he would really like and can make best use of all his talents and skills. Hope your teaching jobs are going well for you and that your health is improving measurable as well. Take good care and hope all is well with you and yours ... Rosebud

HI PURPLE ~ well, I'm so glad to hear that you are well; and I kinda figured something like what happened -- that you were on a big trip, but the longer you were gone, I started to think that maybe your PC was down again or that you were very ill. Yes, I'm doing my best to keep this thread going as I think it's very important for those of us with challenges, and I know that many others (in the hundreds) do come by and read this thread for support and ideas on a regular basis, even if they don't always post ...

It is comforting to hear how others with physical challenges are able to handle them, and maybe find some tips that we didn't think of at the time. I really enjoy the every day normalacy of this thread as well. I feel very comfortable chatting about the daily challenges I have; and they are daily! It almost seems that challenges come up every few days and then repeat in cycles.

We managed to almost empty the bedroom over the weekend; DH just emptied our clothes closet after dinner tonight. We put the winter coats, jackets, sweaters and like on top of our desk; and put all our good clothes in the spare room closet for now to protect them from dirt and dust. Now, this just leaves the bed and my end table and lamp. DH even got the bottom trim off the walls off; he did very well!

We had leftover roasted chicken for dinner with a mix-mash of veggies; DH and I really love this kind of dinner. I had a couple of treats this weekend for my snacks; but I'm hoping to try and watch better during the week, so I passed on dessert tonight as well to make up for that. I didn't go down this month in my weight, but I didn't really expect to either. I was concerned that some of that 7 lbs was water weight, and wondered if any would come back. So I'm gonna have to be a bit more diligent with my snacking for the rest of this month, as this is my issue for sure.

DH said that he did take a woodworking class in grade school which formed an interest in working with wood, but he did a lot of experimenting; and we picked up some patterns at the library too, but he really did a fabulous job creating some pieces from his own imagination with only pictures or an idea in his mind. I took some pictures to show you; I just have to download them and resize them yet.

I spent this afternoon downloading 2 songs that I got FREE from DH's Hunts pudding cups; they had free music download cards in each pack, so I went in and picked out 2 songs today. One was Aaron Neville's 'Ave Maria' for DH and 'Amazing Grace' for the second one. I was trying to get LeAnn Rimes' version of 'Amazing Grace' but they didn't have it yet; maybe it's still too new. That took up most of the afternoon to get that all done.

The day started out cold and we had some more light ****, but the sun finally came out late this afternoon and started to warm things up a bit. They are calling for more sun for tomorrow and this week; hope they are right. So tomorrow will probably be a busy day for us, or should I say DH and whoever is putting in the new floors. NIKO and I have the job to try and stay out of the way really. DH says that he's gonna go to bed early and I think that I will too!

So that's all the news from here, so take good care ladies; and I hope that you all have A MARVELLOUS MONDAY!!!ROSEBUD

Had my first MRI a year ago and confirmed what I had suspected for several years. I would be near tears after a walk through Walmart. Following a full hysterectomy two years ago, I was sent home with Lortabs and found that it worked for the pain in my back and legs. Had my second MRI on Friday as have to take something for pain now almost every day. Waiting for results of that. At 57, I've pretty much ruined my metabolism with yo-yo dieting and binge eating. No more Adkins, ever. WW seems the best way for me to allow more freedom of choice. Exercise ideas from others with this issue would be welcome!