Hi All,

It's cool out again today. That means jeans and sweatshirt to the games tonight. Work tomorrow. those days just seem to come around so quickly! My washer is dying. It's so loud you can hear it outside, and it's leaking at times too. Went today to look at new ones, but they are very different than my old one. Mine has an agitator, and the new ones are supposed to be more energy effecient and use less water. You also have to use a special detergent with them. Any recommendations?

Marie, we did go for our bike ride yesterday. Made it about 5 miles, and we were both tired when we got home. It was fun, and I'm looking forward to doing a lot of biking this summer. Maybe i'll even get up to your 35 miles. Nah!!! won't happen. The coconut water is at all the grocery stores here and not too expensive. I've never tried it, but my niece buys it all the time. And actually, you do have to be careful of too much K. I seen a lot of recomendations to drink chocolate milk after a work out, instead of the usual sports drink. Actually, saw it again on the Doctors this morning. And most doctors recommend magnesium instead of the K.

Carol Sue, I think I was thinking about depositing a check into an account. I have direct deposit from work but never really paid much attention to it.

Bobbi, I think the meat will be ok also. But make sure DH's insurance policy is paid up first! ha!

Dee, You're a nurse too, right? I'm sure you know too much or too little K can affect the heart. When we get a high K leavel we're moving really fast to get it resolved, along with a rapid response team.

Donna, I think Sabrino will remember where the hand outs are and you will be seeing him again. And I agree, where does the time go!

Lynn, I am one of those people that know nothing about art. And I'm one of those crazy people that say "I know what I like". I can't stand there and stare at one painting for too long. Maybe if you are looking at brush strokes and compisition? Like an art student?

Mary, sorry about the computer problem. Since I know nothing about them, they are such a mystery thing. I just want them to work when I need them. Get very annoyed when I don't. I eat a lot of Fillipino food at work, sine 90 percent of our midnight shift is fillipino. Love most of it, but it look like it would take a little extra effort to make. My friend made sweet and sour soup not long ago and it was sooo good.

Gayle, where are you? You're being missed.

You too Karen. I hope you're not still sick.

Rie,miss you too.

Freda

Hi all...I'm Back! Gee the two of us have been flat out sick for what almost 3 weeks. Nothing like a hostest gift that keeps giving....Good thing DH had the same symptoms or I would have blamed the med change. I have been cold med clean for almost 24 hrs.

Played bridge today...it felt soooo good to have cards in my hands.... Yup even came in 1st which also felt good.

I'll be back tomorrow when I've read up on everyone. k3

Well, I have a new computer. Spent more than expected of course but so far I like it. It is an HP. I've had an HP laptop several years ago and really liked it and it lasted a long time. This one is a desktop and has a touch screen. Very very different from anything I've ever had but I'm used to my ipad and iphone touch screen plus I can still use the key board and mouse. It's all wi-fi so no cables connected which is nice. My keyboard and mouse used to fall off the little slide shelf for them on my desk. No more dealing with that. The CD drive is just a slit in the side of the monitor, no tower...everything is in the back of the monitor. I have 60 days (or 90?) to return it but so far I think I'll keep it. Right now the only thing I miss from my old monitor is that I could tilt the screen...can't do that on this one I don't think. but I can touch the screen and make it bigger so that may make up for it as mainly I tended to tilt the monitor to make it easier to see.

I still have the nurse coming every day to pack my wounds. My regular nurse is on vacation and I have a substitute. She did things differently the first couple days, but I got her straigntened out. LOL She is an experienced nurse but new to home care. She told me she doesn't like wound care. Really made me feel confident! On Monday when she first came, the skin had grown over the two holes. I knew they weren't closed up inside so I told her she had to poke them open. She didn't like that at all. She doesn't like to inflict pain on her patients, but I told her, that's the only way to do it and I would rather have the pain than to have the wounds close up before they are healed inside, so she kept on poking til they opened up. I had to call the doctor and get more pain pills because now the area is very tender. So I'm back to naracotics. I felt so good all day yesterday because I had no pain anywhere until it wore off in the evening. It's a shame these are not something I can take all the time. My life would be so much better.

The weather has been nice for a few days. Yesterday, although it was not real hot, it was humid and DH turned the air on. We didn't really need it....I just wanted to get the humidity out of the house, but he left it on until evening. Now we're back to open windows. That effects my allergies.

DH bought a desktop thermometer that shows the inside and outside temperature. It has a girl on the screen who takes her clothes off as it gets warmer outside. She only strips down to a bikini. DH was really disappointed that she didn't take it all off! LOL I told him to wait til July when it gets into the 90's.

Maryea- Boy, you sure got a cadillac! My computer is an HP. It doesn't do anything outstanding, just a normal computer. I don't remember how long ago we bought it, a few years I think, but it was the previous year's model on clearance for the display model. I'm satisfied with it, but there is something wrong with it. When we turn it on we get an error message, something about a program we installed is causing a problem. DH keeps saying I downloaded something but the only things I downloaded were the programs I needed to download my books from the library and that was long before we started getting the error message. He is the one who downloads things. The past couple computers we bought, I told him I wanted my own computer that he would keeps his hands off and he swears he will leave it alone, but he just can't help himself. He has to get in there and play around. Then when something goes wrong he says "What did you do to this?" LOL Men!!!

I am wondering if someone can answer this question about social security. If a husband and wife are both collecting their social security and the husband passes away, does the wife then get her social security plus half of what her husband was getting? Someone said that is what they are getting, and I thought she should be collecting either his amount or her amount, whichever is larger. I couldn't find the answer online. I am not planning on anyone here dying, but I was just curious. If my husband would die I could get by on just my ss, but he would not be able to do it without mine. He never had to budget and has always just spent whatever he wanted to.

Good morning GG’s,

Freda ~ thank you for asking. I’m here, read the posts every day, but don’t always get a chance to join in.

Carol Sue ~ what is city chicken? When you said that ~ it made me think of growing up. I remember mom fixing that. It was some kind of meat on a stick. I hadn't thought about it in like forever. Remember playing with the "city chicken sticks".

Worked the weekend. Sunday (Mother’s Day) my daughter wanted to go out to dinner after I got off work. Just the two of us. That was fun. I felt bad ~ she had had kind of a disappointing mother’s day. SIL didn’t help the kids do anything for her. Not even make a card (she didn’t expect them to spend a bunch of money because SIL had lost his job). But she thought maybe (because it was such a beautiful day) that they would go to a park or something. She spent the day crying and then took herself to a movie. Glad I got to spend a little of it with her.

I was off Tuesday ~ went to the dentist, then spent some time with Maddie. It was a dreary rainy day. I told Maddie she was my sunshine :D
My days off never seem to go like I hope they will. There is so much stuff I need/want to do and the day off flies by so fast and I don’t get anything I needed to do done. So frustrating. I have fun (like with Maddie) I wouldn‘t trade that for anything, just not enough hours for the rest of the stuff. Oh well.

Got out 3 hours and 15 minutes late last night. But, I have had quite a few days of getting out on time, so……..whatever.

The state inspectors are there (starting yesterday). They seem nice enough, but still ~ will be glad when they are done and gone. The one young RN will be in charge today. She has kind of filled in a couple times when the regulars were off, but hasn’t done it too many times yet. Poor thing ~ she is freaking out to have to be in charge when the inspectors are there. She called and texted to coworkers yesterday on her day off with lots and lots of questions. Wish for her that it goes well and that she could feel less stressed somehow.

Ok, guess I’d better get back to getting ready for work. Hope you all have a nice day.

Take care

Hello Gals. Hope everyone is well and happy today.

Mary, that's quite the computer you bought.

Bobbi, glad you survived the roast. I had to laugh at the comments the other girls made.

Freda, did you pick out a new washer? I'm surprised you can't find a regular washer. Did you find the price really high on the high efficiency washers? I know here they are really expensive. My SIL has the washer/dryer set and has had trouble with the washer since she bought it. It won't keep the washing load equally distributed in the tub and it rocks. My other SIL has one and has no trouble. So I guess there are lemons in the washers as well as any other appliance.

Karen3, so glad you're on the mend.

Carol Sue, I can't answer you question as I'm Canadian but I'm sure some of you American Gals can answer. In Canada if a spouse dies here all OAS (old age security) from the deceased spouse is finished. The surviving spouse's income will be adjusted but it is never more than what one person would receive. There are other funded pensions (Canada Pension, Private pensions) that the spouse would receive a survivor's pension which is considerably less than the deceased would have received. DH and I were just discussing this last week as I have applied for a small pension from a place I used to work some years before I retired. There was an opt out clause for a surviving spousal pension after death. I opted out so DH won't have that money if I die first. It's only a very small amount and wouldn't really effect his lifestyle. He could live on a dime as he rarely spends anything and only if it's on sale.

Gayle, we must have been posting at the same time. I must say Mother's Day is not one of my favourite days. It always seems too contrived to me (but that's just my opinion). Tell your DD not to feel too bad. My DH wasn't one to make cards with the kids and when we were young and first had a family I had a day like you daughter's and he had the nerve to tell me I wasn't his mother. He has improved with age and now I usually get a flower or two (but not always a card). Your daughter needs to set out on an educational campaign so he'll know what to do in the future. I'm glad you two had a nice evening together.

Yesterday was a lovely warm day and I was able to hang clothes on the line. I washed 2 sets of sheets and a few other things. I also washed the patio table and put up the umbrella. I wish I could have gone for a walk but it is too painful on my foot (which, if I had a gun I'd have shot it off yesterday as it was painful all day long).

Today it's raining and not so warm so it's damp in the house but too warm to put in the furnace (we burn wood). I guess it's going to be a sweater day. But I'll be hot when I get on my bike. I've got a little housework to do also because we'll have company on the weekend. It's a long weekend in Canada and my 2 DSs and wives and my darling grandson will be here so there'll be lots of food around. (Deliver me! LOL)

Have a good day and just pick yourself up if you fall and keep on going.

Huzzah, all! Was reading through this lively thread and wanted to say hello. I am new to this enjoyable section of 3FC, been posting in the 2012 challenge thread for a few days.

:wave:

Morning everyone. we got back late yesterday. I had such agood time watchng my grs graduate and soooo proud. hes really a nice kid. graduated with honors. the ceremony was held in the sports center ,there was a least 2000+ people there. and we were in the 2nd row so got to see everything. I'll post pictures as soon as i get them from my dd. the trip up and back was beautiful,sunny and things are turning green. my dd is having a graduation party here on the 26th. with the whole clan comming for a bq,to celebrate graduation, my grdd birthday and my mil 93 birthday. hope its anice sunny day. im not going to do a diddly dang thing today :dizzy: im pooped. ttfn rosey :wave:

Hi Chicks -

Went to see dear parents yesterday afternoon. They both have Alzheimers but it kind of manifests in different ways. DM seemed pretty sharp actually. She and my DH disagreed about some minor fact. She looked at me and asked, “Why is he still arguing with me?” LOL!!! I cracked up and said, “Welcome to my world.” The aging parents are tough.

Marie - It is definitely okay to roll your eyes on the phone when talking with your parents - or anyone else for that matter!

Rie - congrats on your wins!

Rosey - congrats on GS graduation - with honors!

Karen 31 - loved the Ode to Bathing Suit Shopping. That is the worst. I sew in my own cups on the ones that smash you down.

Karen 3 - congrats on coming in first at bridge - and feeling better. I didn’t do well at bridge this morning and I have bridge again tonight. I’m just not able to concentrate like I used to.

Have to go. Hugs to all.

Hi everyone! I've spent much of today learning about my new computer. Marie, I didn't see your suggestions before I went shopping but I did get a HP. I'd had a good experience with one before and that is partly why. I could have gotten a slightly cheaper one but for about $70 I got what I thought might be better. Not really sure...think it's just the touch screen and the wireless key board and mouse that made the price go up. It has a huge hard drive but only 6 gig memory which I think is probably not much difference from 8 gig? but I had wanted 8 gig when I started shopping. It is the lowest series of the touchscreen..it's the 520 they have a 600 and a 700 series, and from a review I read they are better. The only problem I really have with it is that the touch screen doesn't scroll sideways easily...it tends to drag and the review I read complained of that too. Otherwise I am not quite used to the touch screen...sometimes get it too large and it slides around on the page which is irritating,....but at times I really like it when I control it properly. So guess it's mainly a matter of getting used to it. I don't use it often. Otherwise now that the restore of my files is done downloading it seems fast enough. I can't tell much difference from my old one but it was fairly fast. It's a 23 inch screen which is the same as my previous monitor.
Marie, I agree about Dells after my last experience...from the beginning it felt cheap although it worked well except for the color fading in and out and I wasn't sure at the time if it was the computer or the monitor. It was my first computer that didn't quite make it to 3 years (July). I usually have them 4-8 years. Somethings I like to do I've heard I can't do on a Mac so am not sure about them. I have used them at my oldest dd's house as she is sold on them. I might like one some day. This one makes me thing of a Mac on the touch screen as it has the little icons at the bottom only in this case the are apps like on an iPad. I haven't used them much yet.

My latest news is that I think I've got another bladder infection. And here I was just thinking the other day that I was doing so well as haven't had one for a few months now. Haven't started my on-hand antibiotic yet as want to drink cranberry juice and water and see how it goes for 24 hours at least. I must have forgotten to pee after my tub bath. :o:dizzy: I didn't go to Bible Study tonight because it's a very long ways from the sanctuary to the restroom and with a UTI, sometimes one doesn't have much time plus I am starting to not feel so well.

Dh had to go to the doctor today as his lab showed a slightly low thyroid. You may remember he's been complaining of being very tired. So while it's not really low, the doctor started him on med (Synthroid) because he has some symptoms.

Rie - Sorry you missed your kids on Mothers Day. Perhaps you can make it up with a long video chat some time soon. Two of mine forgot and texted me the next day.;) The same two do that most years. But I still love 'em. And I know you want to win all the time, Rie, but I think you're doing very well and I'm proud of you.

Donna - I think I must have missed something. I don't understand about the SS. I thought when your dh died the surviving spouse gets a choice of either 1/2 the dh's or her own SS. I went to the website but didn't find any info on that, just how to apply etc. Maybe I missed that too. I'm sitting here feeling like I'm about to jump out of my skin and not feeling like hunting for info. :(

Glynne - Feel sorry for you with State there. Don't know how they are in hospitals but in the nursing facility where I worked it was very stressful. On the floor was bad enough but the last few years I had a job where I was very responsible for things they would ask about. So they'd be calling me all the time to show them where it said this or that in the charts/care plan and it better be there and also on the other care forms that each discipline followed. I did well but I got so tired of it that the when I finally quit it was right after we heard they were in the area. ;) I loved the job (well until the last year or so)but I hated when they were there.

Can't stand to sit here any more and I've yakked long enough anyway...you all have a nice evening.

late night check in....cause I did a dumb thing. I bought on Ebay the first 4 series of British Doc Martin.....watched them from early afternoon until just now...."Absolutely Bloody Hirarious"! Have 6 more DVDs to watch and then get season 5......24hrs of watching...love you but am busy.....k3

Just a quick pop in tonight--- been a busy day today. We went and bought a dresser with a huge mirror on it this morning, then I went with my sister to pick up cakes for the graduation/birthday dinner tonight, then over to pick up her new puppy, So cute!! A little Shichon. Then to the store this afternoon to pick up stuff we need for the trip this weekend, then the dinner tonight. Back home and getting stuff ready to load in the 5th wheel and finishing up laundry! We are hoping to leave in the morning if all goes well and then be back Monday. I'll have my laptop with me and the rv park has wifi so I will try to let you know how everything is going. Everybody have a good weekend if I don't get a chance to post anything..

Goodnight.

I couldn't help myself and had to look this up. Mom served it sometimes when we were kids.

City chicken From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (also known in some locations as mock drumsticks or mock chicken) is an entrée consisting of cubes of meat (usually pork), which have been placed on a wooden skewer (approximately 4-5 inches long), then fried and/or baked. Depending on the recipe, they may be breaded.

History: The origins of the dish are from Germany the word "Huhnstadt" or translated "City Chicken" dates back to the early 1700s when raising chickens within city limits became illegal due to over crowding and health issues. Inexpensive cuts of pork served on skewers became a substitute for chicken as a meal. A similar dish known as "mock chicken" was described as early as 1908. The first references to city chicken appeared in newspapers and cookbooks just prior to and during the Depression Era in cities such as Pittsburgh. City chicken typically has cooks using meat scraps to fashion a makeshift drumstick from them. It was a working class food item. During the Depression, cooks used pork because it was then cheaper than chicken in many parts of the country, especially in those markets far from rural poultry farms. Sometimes cooks would grind the meat, and use a drumstick-shaped mold to form the ground meat around a skewer. Today, cooks use better cuts of meat (usually pork loin, beef, or veal) than they had in the past. Despite the name of the dish, city chicken almost never contains chicken.

Distribution: The dish is popular in cities throughout the eastern Great Lakes region of Ohio and Michigan as well as the northeastern Appalachian regions of Pennsylvania and Upstate New York, and at least as far south and west as Louisville, Kentucky. City chicken is commonly found in the metropolitan areas of Binghamton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Erie, Pittsburgh and Scranton, hence, the dish's 'urban' title. In Canada, the deli-counter version is popular in the Ottawa Valley and Kitchener area.

Variations: Pork is the base meat in the common versions of the dish, although recipes vary regionally. For example, Pittsburgh-area preparations are almost always breaded and usually baked, while in Binghamton, the meat is usually breaded and then deep fried. The Cleveland version is generally baked without breading, but the meat is dredged in flour, browned in a pan, then finished in the oven, and served with gravy. Grocery stores in both in the Greater Cleveland area as well as those in the Pittsburgh metro area include wooden skewers with pork cubes specifically packaged as city chicken. In Ottawa, Canada, at least one variation involves skewers of three kinds of meat: pork, veal and beef. Another Canadian variation, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was composed entirely of veal.

TGIF GG's!

DBF and I got back from our stay in the country and we're quite relaxed - lots of hiking, fires, cooking, and just hanging out. :-) The good news is since we were hiking so much, I didn't gain any weight. Hope to lose a couple more pounds by Memorial day, the unofficial beginning of summer!

SS was set up back when only the husband worked outside of the home. When he died, there was no $ for the widow to live on, hence the program was devised so she/kids wouldn't be destitute.

Say the husband is retired and collecting his full amount and the wife is collecting 1/2 of that amount... when the husband dies the wife would either receive the husband's full amount as widow or her own full amount if she also worked, whichever is higher.

I'm sure they didn't have rich people like McCain in mind when this program was set up HAHA.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Andi

Morning ladies,

Worked yesterday, off today, work the weekend. Today is ketchip day. Got a lot to do. shop, clean,clean..

Andi, Glad to hear that you had a fun vacation, and Congrats on not gaining any weight. I know that is hard to do when you don't really have a lot of control of food. I'm also sure that SS didn't put into account that rich people would draw SS too. But they pay it, so they have the right. Of course it wouldn't make a dent in a bucket for them, while most of us count on it to live. Most things come out of necessity. Medicare was started because insurance companies were not insuring old people.

Bobbi, Hope you have a good day to plant the rest of the flowers. It's chilly here again. Make a lot of money getting rid of the "junk". I have a lot that i'm getting rid of too. I want that stuff GONE! I've become very spare in my old age.

Hi gayle, Glad to hear from you. It is always stressful when the state comes in. They usually come to the floors where there are the most problems, and fortunateally, our's usually doesn't. We don't see them too often, but when we know they're comming we clean! Ha! Always a good thing.

Hubby is calling me for shopping, so I'll finish this later,

Freda

Rie - Welcome home! Great job on the tournament results! City Chicken isn't chicken. It is anything but...can be made with beef, veal or pork. I made some pork and some veal. Meat is cut in chunks as for stew, rolled in flour, dipped in egg wash then in bread crumbs. Refrigerated for 1/2 hr or more to make the breading stick. Threaded onto skewers about 5" long. Heat oil in the frying pan, brown well, turning to brown all sides. Drain off excess oil and add 1/4 cup water. Put a lid on the pan and let simmer. Recipe said 1/2 hour, but I did 1 hour, adding a little water if needed. The meat steams and gets tender. You can either eat it off the stick or pull it off onto your plate. I love it.

Donna, I can understand your not liking that someone who didn't work would get 1/2 the SS amount that the spouse makes. I worked full time for 47 years. Since DH took an early retirement, my SS check is actually a little bigger than his. A friend got upset that I got a whole check and she only gets 1/2 of her husbands amount, but she was a stay at home Mom and did alterations under the table from her home. I think you should be below a certain financial level to be able to collect SS, but if rich people, such as polititions have worked under SS and earned the credits, they are entitled to collect. Most government jobs do not pay into SS and therefore cannot collect.

I don't like the fingerpad thing on the laptop either. We bought a little mouse for ours but DH never has it hooked up so when I use the laptop I use the fingerpad. I never used it enough to get used to it.

Rosie - Glad you enjoyed your gs graduation. Sometime to be proud of!

Bobbi - Have you started collecting your social security yet or are you just getting DH's. I don't know if you are old enough to start collecting. DH has a Teamster's pension and it is set up so I will get 1/2 of that if he passes first. I get a smaller pension from a previous employer and I set it up without survivor benefits because it would have been cut by too much. He keeps rubbing it in that he doesn't get any of my pension if I pass. Too bad! LOL He gets my whole IRA if I pass, and he doesn't have an IRA to leave to me!

It is not normal for my wounds not to be healed. Normally, the incision should have been healed in a month. Even with the seromas that developed, they should be healed by now. But since I am diabetic it effects wound healing. Diet and exercise effect it also. They say I should be eating protein at every meal. I usually have protein, but not always. I'm only exercising sporatically. My nurse consulted with a wound specialist and she recommended a gel to put in each wound daily, and also a different packing that is antimicrobial. They seem to have put me back on the right path. My 2 holes are in the part of my incision between my waist and my pubic area, where my belly pooch is.

Gayle - Thank you for posting the info about the City Chicken. I wasn't aware that it was unhead of in other parts of the country. My mother never made it, but my MIL did. I found a recipe and started making it for my family. We here in Pittsburgh are a mish-mash of a lot of ethnic groups and eat a lot of foods that are not found in other parts of the country. The old people cook the foods from their nationality and pass the recipes down to their families. There are recipes that my MIL and Mother made that are gone because no one ever learned how to make them. It's kinda like the southern food that is unheard of up north. I would really like to have a lot of that southern cooking available to me, even though I know it is fattening. But then DH wouldn't eat it.

I am till learning my new computer...one minute I love it and the next I'm about ready to take it back! :D Usually I love Chrome but today I'm having trouble with it, so I'm now using IE. It's not perfect either but so far better. I will download FoxFire later on so I'll have my usual choices. Love options! ;) I think it's mostly the touch screen that messing me up . Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. I suppose it will get easier, I hope.:^: Found out I have 90 days to return the computer if I decide I don't like it. That's a good thing about Costco.

I'm feeling better this morning. Dh is picking up my antibiotic but I'm taking the OTC stuff and it is helping. Last night I woke up at 3 am with terrible pain in and around my eyes esp my right. This is dry eye pain, and I get it alot but not usually that bad. Got up and put ointment in them. Still hurting so used drops too. Finally got back to sleep but kinda always aware of the pain so didn't sleep well. I need to be more consistent with the lubricating drops during the day...when my eyes are not hurting I tend to forget them and then have a bad episode eventually.

I got a small win today...a totebag. That's two small wins this month. Not doing so well these days but I'm also not entering so much. That's the way it goes.

Slmn1 - My mom used to fix something like your City Chicken using beef only she didn't put it on skewers. Just cut into largish chunks. I loved it.

Marie - No my computer only has Win 7. I figure touch is probably the future so I might as well learn how to do it. I just have trouble with control sometimes plus the touch desktop moves a little sluggishly but I was doing better at that last night.

Andi - Oh I see you're talking about when the spouse hasn't worked. Yes I understand that. But for people like me who draws her own ss check, what happens if my dh dies before me? Do I get both checks or a choice between 1/2 his or mine. I think now mine might be larger if I get only 1/2 of his.

Hi to everyone I missed Have a good day GGs!

ETA: Just a tip for when you get a new computer. If you have everything backed up it's a lot easier to restore. I use Mozy and it automatically backs up my files. The first time I did this I had a hard time with the restoring but this time it was much easier.

Hi -

Got some bad news yesterday evening. DH has prostate cancer. We will meet with the doctor tomorrow to discuss it. Never met with a doctor on a Saturday before. I know prostate cancer is very treatable. My dad had it almost 20 years ago and he is 85 now. But DH had Mantle Cell Lymphoma(MCL) in 2004. He has outlived the 3 year life expectancy but statistically is likely to need treatment again, probably an allogeneic bone marrow transplant. I want to be sure that whatever treatment he gets now will not conflict with that. He just finished 4 ablations for Barrett's esophagus high grade dysplasia this year. He has been through a lot. Because of the rarity of MCL we went to a special cancer center in Texas for all of his treatment. They did a great job, but all that travel adds to the exhaustion - for both of us. We just weren't ready for one more thing. I had a hard cry yesterday before I had to go to bridge. I couldn't find a sub at such short notice. I consoled myself with 2 giant Twix bars before bed....Today, I've only had a protein drink. I need to go to the store to buy my psyllium husk caps but am tired and have a headache. But I guess I just have to make myself go. Please send hugs.

Hi everyone. it was sunny early this am but has clouded over. my dd sil and afriend of theirs came to help my dh do some yard work and such. they cut up a dead fall tree and moved lawn benches and planters for me. im thankful for the help. the city chicken you all are talking about i have had as akid in minnesota. we called it mock chicken legs,not sure what the meat was but it was ground and shaped like a chicken leg and a wooden stick stuck in it and then breaded. my mom pan fried them,they must have been good as we had them often.slmn1, after my back surg my wound opened up and it took at least 7 months to heal,i also got mersa becuz of it. it was packed and had a wound vac on it. the hole was big enuff that my dh could put his fist in it. i was diabetic too,and they where always encouraging me to eat protein and brought me protein shakes. it took along time to heal. all thats left is bad memories and an awful ugly scar. hopefully yours will heal soon too. try the protein shakes they helped me.maryea sry you didnt get agood rest hope tonites better.marie enjoy the solar eclipse awsome you get to see it. Bobbie are you planting your garden as big as last year? my dd brought the new janet evonovich movie over to watch "one for the Money" with kathern heigel. it wasnt bad, i enjoyed it better than i thought i would, but thought it wasnt as great as i had hoped it would be. i loved her books. hope your weekends fun rosey :wave: ps im so sry deelee (((hugs)) we must have been posting at the same time. thats awful news .

Howdy all....Spent the afternoon with Doc Martin and found out that season 5 is not released until 6/5 Then read about "Behaving Badly" and that lead me to"William and Mary".....which means if I get all of them I will be locked in my room all summer. Thanks Donna! LOL

Rosie...It was wonderful to read you are walking with a cane. You have come so far.....good job mate(Brit influence)

Donna...We need a spy/cam on the Cat. Maybe not might be too racy. Hey we've tried soap chips, human hair(from barbers) mothballs and even used tampex and Nothing keeps the deer away. The state of NJ built 10' fences around DH's grandfathers orchards...we called them the deer pens. Have 60 deer every night eating fruit.

Mary...Neat on tote. UTI drink drink drink water until your eyeballs float and that takes care of 2 problems at once....TADA!

Marie...Glad to hear the DF came thru sugery okay....phew!

Rie...Hindsight or hindplay never works. Neither do iffins.

Carol Sue...We always cooked venision like your city chicken recipe.

Karen...That is the sweetest puppy. Happy Traveling!

Bobbi...You should know as soon as you say something out loud ...Bam...it get slammed. Can't do without a well pump.

Gayle...That is one thing I sure don't miss! Inspectors must go to evil school.

Freda...Working instead of gathering bum splinters this weekend. My fanny wore a hole in the bench watching my kids.

DeeLee... Had LOL about eye rolling. My DD was complaining this am about company and I said how come she was living my life. Could hear her eyes rolling over the phone.

Zoe....How is retirement?

Isabella....You have now fixed a picture in my mind of you as "The Church Lady". Always ready witha pot of soup and warm hug.

I tried hoped I didn't miss anyone....know I am sending hugs to you all.

Just a footnote....really wanna get William and Mary. He is an undertaker and she's a midwife that meet thru a dating service....British humor again.
and black enough to grab me. k3

ps DeeLee and Rosie you both snuck in on me....hmmm...Deelee I put you DH in my prayers. k3

Karen3, you're going to get a British accent watching all that British comedy. :D Doc Martin is one of my favourite shows.

I'm dead tired today and didn't even get on my bike. I was trying to tidy up the house some and do a little cooking and baking before the kids get here tomorrow. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to do but it will suffice what is done. My DGS was sick so that's why they didn't come tonight. It was just a bug that had him throwing up for a day but he's on the mend and was able to eat some today. I imagine he'll be tearing about by tomorrow. We were going to have a big family dinner tomorrow but will do that on Sunday as there is no hurry as it's a long weekend here in Canada.

Anyway, I'm going to crawl in bed soon so take care and have a nice weekend.

Dee, I just posted this long post after working on it most of the day. So sorry about your dh. I will send love and hopeful thoughts.

Isabella, hope dgs is feeling better. Rest well and take care. You have had a hard week.

Good evening GG’s,

One more ½ day, then a day off. Worked just ½ day today ~ my coworker needed help. We each worked ½ a day Friday and Saturday. It was cool to get out at 2pm ~ ran some errands.

Got something to make something for Sara to try to cheer her up a little after her disappointing mother’s day. I think she did say that her husband said that stupid thing to her that she wasn’t his mom. I think she had a few choice words for him. I still felt bad that she felt bad, so trying to make a little thing to cheer her up.

The state people are gone ~ we passed our inspection with just one little thing they didn’t like. Funny ~ it is the same ladies who were there last year and shredded us. Anyway, glad it is over.

Frustrated ~ I make adjustments to my work station and relieve pain in one area, only to get pain in another area. The sciatic pain is better at times, but then I started having pain in my neck, which ended up in a headache. I think it was because I was looking up at things above my head, or reaching things while seated in my chair ~ causing strain on the muscles in my neck. So, I thought I would try standing up instead of looking up or reaching from my chair and see if that would help. I had two days then of less neck pain and no headache, but now today, my knees are killing me ~ I guess from popping up and down. Darn ~ back to the drawing board ~ gotta come up with a new strategy.

I am gonna try something different for my exercise. I am kind of excited about it. Don’t laugh ~ chair dancing. Last weekend at work, it was kind of quiet and I was looking online at exercises that can be done at your desk. I came across this web site for chair dancing. It looked fun. Is for elderly people or people way out of shape (that’s me). I’ve gotta do something/start somewhere, so thought I would try this. DH helped me order ~ it is a 3 DVD set, one of the chair dancing, one of stretching, and one for toning. I won’t be doing that at my desk ~ LOL, but at home. I am excited for it to get here.

Isabella ~ sorry you are feeling so tired today. Enjoy the weekend with your family.

K3 ~ glad you are feeling better and glad you are enjoying those shows.

Rosey ~ glad you family was able to help you guys with the yard work. Glad you enjoyed the movie.

Deelee ~ sorry about the news of your husband ~ good thoughts and prayers for you both.

Mary ~ sorry you are having a UTI again. Hope you feel better soon. And hope the new med helps your husband feel better too. Sounds like your new computer is a challenge.

Donna ~ enjoy your weekend. Glad Sabrino reappeared. I will have to tell my sister about the soap chips thing ~ she planted some of her favorite flowers, and then some rabbits got them :(

Carol Sue ~ hope the changes they have made to your wound care help it to finally get all healed up.

Marie ~ enjoy the solar eclipse and your weekend. Do you have any projects in the works?

Freda ~ hope it is good weekend for you at work.

Andi ~ glad you had a good vacation ~ sounded like a nice relaxing time

Bobbi ~ did you get the rest of your plants planted? Sorry for the unexpected glitch for your budget.

CK ~ have a good trip ~ exciting to try our your new camper.

Rie ~ glad you are back home and that you enjoyed your time and getting to play pool. Like your signature ~ you are one cool grandma.

Lynn ~ did you enjoy your museum visits? Your chopped adventure sounded like a lot of fun.

I’m sorry ~ I know I have probably missed some of you ~ but I have run out of time for tonight.
Hope you all have a nice weekend.

Take care

At my local supermarket, I have seen bags of peeled hard boiled eggs for sale in the cooler next to the eggs. I always wondered who would buy them and why. This week a woman in front of me picked up a bag, looked at the expiration date and put them in her cart. I just can't figure out who can't boil an egg????? LOL I hope I haven't offended anyone who buys these eggs. But how hard is it????? LOL

Besides having a lot of different unusual food items, we here in Pittsburgh have out own way of talking, commonly called Pittsburghese. Yesterday, we went into the supermarket with my grandson and DH said "He has to ride in the buggy." My 3YO grandson said "Pap Pap this isn't a buggy, it's a cart." I really laughed at that! Buggy is a term used around here mostly by the old studda baba's. I try to make myself say "cart" so I don't sound like one!

Another thing he said that was funny. We picked him up from daycare yesterday and I had put cologne on before we left the house. He got into the car and said "I smell something. I think it's Grandma." I was laughing so hard that I was crying. I let him smell my wrist and I said "Is this what you smell?" and he said "Yes." I said "What does it smell like?" and he said "Toothpaste."

Maryea - Now I am more determined to find out what's going on with SS. Here's how I understand it. If your spouse retires and you never worked, or worked part time and didn't earn enough credits, you can collect 1/2 of his amount when you reach retirement age and then get his full amount after he passes away. I used to think that if you did work and have your own SS, you get whatever is larger, his amount or your amount when the spouse passes away. But this woman my BIL talked to said that she gets her own check PLUS 1/2 of his since he passed away. I don't know if my BIL got the story right. I thought maybe she was talking about pensions, not SS. That is how the whole question started. One friend told me her mother had been married 4 times and had buried 3 husbands before marrying her current husband. Supposedly she was collecting a SS check for each husband, that's why she was living so well.

Rosie - Since I have had this problem with my seromas I have talked to or heard about people who have had similar or much worse seroma problems than mine. One woman was like you....her seroma was so big they were just putting in a whole roll of gauze twice a day. I talked to a young woman who had a c-section 3 years ago who developed a seroma and her doctor completely blew her off about it. He didn't get her any wound care. She took care of it herself, and was using maxi-pads as packing because her seroma was so big. Three years later, it still seeps fluid occasionally. This makes me realize how lucky I am to be getting the medical care I'm getting. I just HATE that the nurses are still coming every morning after 6 months, but they tell me that in most cases, insurance turns down requests for home nurse care and the patient has to have the wound care done by family members. I can just see my DH coming upstairs taking a break from lubing the car to put packing in my wounds. LOL

Isabella - Is your long weekend because of Victoria Day? We had a buyer where I worked and his name was John Victoria. He always said he was so great that they had a day to celebrate him! LOL We always wished him a happy Victoria Day.

Donna, or anyone else who might be interested ~ if you google Jodi Stolove and chair dancing you can find the information. It looked like fun and something that would help even if a person is out of shape and having to start with something a little easier. The reviews I read about it were good. There was a video clip that showed the people doing it. Hope this helps.

New to 3 chicks and started a whole foods plan.
Intro on myself: I just hit 50 in december, gained over 100 lbs the last few years after a horse riding accident and just not caring. I also am a nurse, took time off when we moved to a new house and care for an autistic daughter who is 12. I home school her as well. I start a new job on monday much different than my cardio pulmonary critical care nursing in a rehabilitation center as a nurse supervisor. It will be mostly weekend nights so it will work with my schedule with my daughter.
I have 2 horses who are my outlets for releasing stress. One day hope to get back in the saddle. I started a clean eating/south beach program yesterday reccomended by one of the cardiologist I used to work with so hoping for good results. I hope to get to know everyone here.
Deelee- so sorry about your hubby. Hugs to you and I will keep you and your hubby in my prayers. If you ever need to talk just pm me. Be glad to help if i can.