Good morning ladies -
Happy July to all!! Sorry I didn't post over the weekend. Saturday was non-stop busy. Website work and watering the gardens in the morning, meeting with a website client in the afternoon, and climbing Mount Washmore in the evening. Then yesterday was more website work and yard work, and by afternoon my back was so sore I was nauseous from the pain. I tried to lay down and relax, and DMIL would ask me to help her with this or that. DH is still sick from his sinus/bronchial infection, so most of our fun weekend plans got cancelled.
I haven't been at my new job long enough to get paid for the July 4th holiday. I can either take it without pay or make up my hours, so I'm working 7:30-5:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I probably won't get home until 6:30, so I'll be one tired chick...but at least I'll get a full check on the 13th.
I wish we were getting the rain that y'all are getting to the south. It's so dry here. The lawns and grassy areas are as brown as California in August. In fact, some communities are banning the use of personal fireworks, and have thought about canceling their public fireworks displays as well.
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Shad - I hope "Go Live" is going well. I know all too well how crazy those can be. It doesn't matter what's being implemented, or how many times you triple-checked that all the "i"s are dotted and "t"s are crossed. It's still stressful dealing with users who have forgotten all their training, or worse...system issues. Fingers crossed that your Go Live goes smoothly.
So do you like DS2's GF? I hope you were able to get out for a nice walk during the weekend. I think I need to do something like that, especially now that I'm commuting in traffic. I get SO grouchy by the time I get home.
Ceejay - Hope you had a great weekend with your friend. Dang, 106 degrees and southern humidity. Try and stay cool, sista. So cute about the momma and daddy ducks and their babies.
Mel - Good for you for giving the seniors flags to put up!
I love British sitcoms too, like Are You Being Served (John Inman is fabulous!), and Fawlty Towers. I've never been a big Benny Hill fan, but I do enjoy Monty Python. Also, I love, love, love the Graham Norton show, but that comes on fairly late at night. Smart thinking to make food for the week in case you lose power.
Annie - Yep, I heard that Katie filed for divorce. I totally agree with you about Scientology. It's not even science-based. As my DH says, "It's a religion created by a really mediocre SciFi author." I apologize if that insults any Scientology fans. DH thinks that Katie was paid to stay married to Tom for a certain number of years. I wouldn't be surprised. I'm glad you had a great time at the band's outdoor and indoor concerts!! DMIL is doing really good. She's loving "her" yard and gardens, and tends to them daily. She's so happy and relaxed, and she gets her activity working in the yard...though we insist she leave the big/heavy stuff to us. And she and I both thoroughly enjoy your boxes of magazines and books! If you're sick of sending them, I understand...but we definitely are NOT tired of receiving them.
I hope this ridiculous heat wave eases up soon.
Ellen - I hope you have a great week with your DH being off! Wow! Your storms flattened the cornfields?!
I keep looking at our farmers' fields around here. So very dry.
DH and I were watching the drag races on TV yesterday from Joliet Illinois, and the storm front looked pretty fierce.
Laura - Bummer that the Relay was disrupted by rain, but at least they had workarounds. Those luminarias are so moving...as are the walks itself. Before I hurt my back, I did a 5K Breast cancer walk with my sister the year after she completed chemo. I'm so grateful that she's been cancer-free for 16 years! I thank God that I didn't lose her as I've lost so many other loved ones to cancer.
I'll bet Sarah McLachlan was awesome. I've always wanted to see her. I love the local fests too, and the county and state fairs.
Happy - I understand your concerns about the bear in your yard, but I gotta admit, it was cool to see him in the photo.
As for your garbage being near an open or screen door...I might suggest taking your garbage out every night or putting it in the garage on the nights you keep the door open. I know from my camping experience, that bears are attracted to any scents (even toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo) and will stop at nothing to have them. Black bears typically will not eat LB or you. They are herbivores. And they won't attack you unless you get too close to a cub, corner them, or stand between you and food. What does your cousin suggest you do about the bear in your yard? Is there an "animal control" office that might be able to humanely trap the bear and move him to another area? My DMIL is getting bored with all this heat too. Luckily, our backyard is FULL of trees and there's always plenty of shade. But she likes to have the sliding door to the patio open at night so she can listen to the night sounds, and she hasn't been able to as we've had the A/C on for over a week. I hope your mom's procedure gets scheduled soon and goes well, so that she can come up and visit. Sending lots of prayers for her. As for last month being bad...it wasn't bad for me at all. I'm not at a good job where I'm appreciated and compensated well. I feel bad that Annie and Mel had a rough month. But I'm doing just fine.
Patty - good for you for getting on track. With this week's 10+ hour days, I'm going to ease into healthier eating and exercising, so that I can kick it into high gear next week. Your idea of bear bells is a good one, and it should startle a black bear enough. One suggestion for hikers in bear territory is to wear bells on their shoes to startle off any black bears. But when you're in grizzly territory (e.g., Yellowstone National park), there's a joke...what is the difference between Black Bear poop and Grizzly Bear poop? Grizzly Bear poop has bells in it!
In other words, black bears will startle at the noise, grizzly bears will come find the source of it.
Well, time for me to get some work done.
Much love and hugs to all,