Finally cold enough to be winter. It was about 5 degrees F yesterday. I walked to the hardware store to buy a small light bulb for a small lamp and remembered that legs can feel cold when wearing thin pants, LOL.
Bill Our weather has been in degrees C for years now. Yesterday it was a brilliant and sunny day and -12 was the high. That's about 10 F so it's comparable to what you were experiencing. I had on my full "kit" for one dogwalk but then was sweating at the Canadian Tire store when returning an extension cord.
I'm at red line weight and thankful for it, given last week's indiscretions. I'm quite frustrated this morning as I'm trying to order a parka and the internet is not co-operating.
I'm going to leave it for awhile and go eat brekkie with DH.
It was cold(er) here yesterday. I had to wear layers for golf, but by the last few holes the sun finally came out and I was almost too warm.
The weekend consisted of two mornings of golf, movie (War Horse) on Saturday and a stage production of My Fair Lady yesterday.
Now it's back to work, but I've got a busy week ahead. DH's little sister and her husband arrive Thursday for a weekend visit, so that means extra work at home to prepare for that. And it will probably mess with my diet as well...
I found a couple of Barnes Noble Gift cards in my wallet, have no idea how long I have had them. I thought I better use them I ordered a couple of books and have received one of them. I also got an Amazon Gift Card for Christmas, I will order something for my Kindle with that one. I still have more Gift Cards from other places to use. Better use them while I still can.
I have the day off today. I'm off soon to bikram yoga. Later I'm going to try to take both girls to lunch. Hopefully they can be civil for that long. Older dd wants to see war horse so we will do that. Younger dd has finals so she will stay home and study. Older dd leaves tomorrow morning, so hopefully life will return to "normal", whatever that means!
I've got more to share so I'll try to check back later.
I found a couple of Barnes Noble Gift cards in my wallet, have no idea how long I have had them. I thought I better use them I ordered a couple of books and have received one of them. I also got an Amazon Gift Card for Christmas, I will order something for my Kindle with that one. I still have more Gift Cards from other places to use. Better use them while I still can.
That reminds me--I have $50 in B&N gift cards. I got them because before Christmas, for every $100 in gift cards you bought (which I gave for Christmas presents) I got a free $10 for my own use after the new year (which is NOW). I wish I could get Kindle books from them, but I could probably find other things that I'd like there. They always have some good games and nice stationary and magazines. Perhaps a new cookbook? Who knows, but I think I'll do that for myself this week.
I'm writing from a rather chilly room in a Ramada Inn, having traveled downstate to walk through my gutted apartment with the electrician and confirm where my outlets were. (The boxes are apparently reusable.) I've also requested and have been granted a closet light (which seems to work like an outdoor motion detection light), and a stronger-powered outlet below my kitchen window for a small air-conditioner, as that room got stuffy when I cooked in summer.
I had a gorgeous drive down. It's bitter cold here, the kind of cold where they say it's too cold to snow. The roads are very safe at this point, perfectly dry and salt-whitened, but the recent snowfall left behind spectacular scenery in the Catskills. I felt like I was part of a car commercial in which the anonymous driver is on the way to a Vermont ski lodge or a Colorado big-game hunting camp. There were about a hundred farmhouses that I would have been happy in. (Well, for a couple days, till I ran out of natural unsalted peanut butter ... or found out that you had to drive a half-hour to get to a decent gym. ;-)
I feel sad when I think of my apartment, and of all the other apartments that were also ruined. In my mind it's frozen the way it looked when I left it after my salvage operations, or the way it looked in December, all stripped and skeletal, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the smell of all the new wood used in the framing and the sight of various carpenters at work lifted my spirits. Seeing the work of rebuilding underway really helped, even more than hearing about it on the phone from other residents in the upper floors who have been looking on at what is happening at the ground level. It's not just a wreck now. It's a work in progress. Which means there is an end in sight.
Among the residents, all is not so well. I stopped and talked with a few of my neighbors. There's so much anger, particularly among older residents who sold their great big houses and moved into apartments afterward, and who are living on fixed incomes. Mostly these are women living alone. Management just announced an increase in our monthly maintenance by 14% to cover the expenses of the flood and also to fund the litigation underway about raising the height of the old flood wall, which is owned by New York State. I suspect there will be some turnover quite soon, and I will no longer be the "new girl" in the building and maybe no longer one of the youngest. Which would be nice, but I admire my older female neighbors tremendously and hate to think of them having to leave for financial reasons.
Saef, I'm glad the end is in sight. That's too bad about your neighbors. Unfortunately that could happen with any complex where they can arbitrarily raise rates for whatever they want.
Michele, I hope your house settles back to normal soon!
Allison, I'm a big fan of cookbooks. Sometimes they have bargain ones and you can get like five for the price of one.
Bargoo, I thought in California it was illegal for gift cards to expire?
Hi Bill and Dagmar!
It was cold here this weekend but is warmed up today. Thunderstorms in the forecast for tonight (temps around 40F = 4C). We took Carter for a nice long walk and took him on a tour of a new doggie hotel that opened up. They were offering a groupon so I wanted to peek in before buying. I went ahead and bought the groupon. It's enough for him to have a trial overnight boarding + daycare there to see how he does. If he tolerates boarding well we may consider doing that next time we go on vacation and can't leave him with the in-laws, because having the sitter come to our house is more than twice as expensive (she charges $65/night, and if you need sitting the same week someone else already booked you're out of luck).
In any case I don't know if he will tolerate it well but it's worth a try. I like the fact that they seem to manage their daycare more carefully. Like it's okay if your dog doesn't always get along with all the other dogs 100% of the time. They have a couple enclosures and they will just make sure to only put your dog in with the ones he gets along with. They also do slow introductions and have at least one highly trained person present with the dogs at all times. Also, boarding includes 4 walks per day which is much more than most of the kennels.
So overall . . . it might be good. Or Carter might hate it. Either way we can give it a shot for cheap.
Jessica I'm sure you can appreciate why the sitter charges more (I charge $55 per night) as our entire life is disrupted when we do the dog sit. We have additional expenses (food, more gas, etc.) And the dog has an "exclusive" with us in its own home vs boarding where the dog is in a strange place with a bunch of other dogs.
Sad dog news today. One of the labs was diagnosed with lung cancer. I knew some kind of cancer diagnosis was coming but it's still a bit of a shock to hear it. She is a grand old lady of 12. I will miss her when she goes - she has a ton of personality (not all good but interesting) - as I have been walking her for 11 1/2 years.
Jessica, I wasn't worried about the gift card expiring, I am worried about stores going out of business. Many are , these days. No, I have heard nothing about B&N . I'm just taking precaution.
I'm not sure where the 3 day weekend went. Ok, I know where Saturday went, but the rest...? Saturday I went to the city with a girlfriend, got a haircut, did some shopping, had dinner out. It was a long day but a lot of fun. I guess I spent the rest of the weekend sleeping, walking the dog, and trying to study my lines, but I felt I didn't study enough. Where did that time go? I did do excessive loads of laundry and smiled whenever the machine played its song for me.
Unfortunately I didn't get in the "extra" exercise I'd hoped. It seemed hard enough to get in long walks with Emma, though I felt very virtuous when I got up early with my alarm Sat, knowing I'd have no other time to walk her, and we trotted about for almost an hour before I'd even had my coffee (Dagmar is probably laughing right now as she does this kind of thing without thought). With my schedule right now it's really unrealistic to think of adding more exercise. Treading water will suffice. I will get her back to her 1x a week to daycare schedule this week to help make up for my exercise deficiencies. Hopefully the weather will cooperate more this week, too.
Dagmar, sorry to hear about your lab friend. 12 years is a nice long life for a lab, and if she's been walking with you for virtually all of it, I'm sure it's been a nice one.
Jessica, as you say you can always try the kennel out - maybe for a short weekend the first time. If Carter doesn't like it, next time he gets the sitter.
Saef, glad to hear your apartment is coming along but sorry to hear about your neighbors and the increased fees. It's so frustrating to have yet another thing out of your control. I hope that your neighbors are able to stay in their apartments.
Michele, is your house back to normal yet?
Bargoo and Allison, enjoy using your gift cards! Buying (pre-paid) books for oneself is always a fun treat.
Dagmar-- so sorry to hear about your latest doggie. My Bubba, a Boston Terrier, died of lung cancer at 12. We joked that he never smoked a day in his life. Around the same time, I had a cat that died of liver cancer-- and we said he never drank a day in his life!
Back to normal? We'll see... .I just dropped her at the airport. Flying is very stressful for her (with her Tourettes especially). She is flying with her kitty, so hopefully he calms her some.
I went to see War Horse yesterday with older dd as she is a horse lover. I cried through most of the movie. I am a crier-- especially during animal movies (or books), but I think I was also primed for a meltdown.
Megan, I agree - not sure where the long weekend went! Back to normal already! *sigh* As a caffeine addict I commend you for your pre-coffee trek with the dog
Dagmar sorry to hear about the dog getting cancer... it's always so sad. My dad's last dog had some kind of heart cancer and that was really rough. But I am glad to hear she's an older dog - sounds like she's at least had a good life behind her.
Jessica that sounds like a pretty nice boarding facility. Do they also have runs for the dogs or only do walks? Four walks per day does sound great compared to places I've worked (vet clinics that also offer boarding).
Saef I sure agree about those beautiful farmhouses in the northeast - I'd love to live in one, but I think I'd become frustrated at how far away they are from everything! I'm glad to hear your place is finally getting fixed up, although it is sad to hear you might be losing those neighbors.
I bought a groupon for some bellydance classes that I am really excited to use - I took a "middle eastern" dance class a couple of years ago (belly dance for all practical purposes, I think it was just that I was living in a conservative area and they didn't want to call it that ) and it was so much fun! I have a lot to get done today, but if I finish in time I want to make it to the 4:15 class.
So - warning, here comes some canine chat - ignore this if you'd like
The dog I'm fostering is becoming more comfortable and I'm learning some of her "quirks" (or behaviour issues I'll need to work with her on). Namely, she whines or barks incessantly in certain situations. I had a friend over the other night for the first time since Chianti has been here, and she barked at him the entire time - no matter if we were outside and she in, or if she was in her crate, etc. Amazingly, I brought her outside with us on the leash and it was like she was afraid of my friend. She laid down beside my chair and was quiet the whole time - then we went back inside and the barking started again. I'm having someone over for dinner tomorrow night so I'm going to try bringing Chianti out to meet her outside and then we can all go in the house together... beyond that I'm not sure how to approach it.
Dagmar, yeah, I know why the sitter charges more and I do prefer that arrangement in general (since someone is house-sitting too), but it is good to have a backup available in case she is booked or if for whatever reason we can't afford it. Sorry to hear about the lab's cancer. One of my coworkers has a dog (rottie) with advanced cancer whose time has come. She made it three years after her first round of chemotherapy for the cancer, but then developed multiple types of more aggressive cancers in the past few months and there was just nothing the vets could do.
Iris, they only have walks, but the walks are in an enclosed run that goes around the entire outside of their building so once they get the dogs out there they can let them off the leash.
Megan, when is your play opening?
Speaking of dogs, this week I heard of multiple totally adorable dogs who need homes. I feel bad because I want to adopt them, but I think Carter wouldn't appreciate it. One is a litter of rottweiler/lab mix puppies who need homes. Adorable, and I'm sure they're great dogs, but Carter doesn't like puppies because they bug him too much. The other is an adorable 3 year old pit at the humane society who they named "Dolly Pawton." Her bio says she gets along well with people, children, and dogs, and is housetrained and knows basic commands. Tempting, but Carter already overexerts himself when he hangs out with BooBoo at my in-laws' house and I'm afraid of him re-injuring his back if he plays too much. I think Carter is ready for a nice quiet retirement with lots of soft doggie beds and relaxed walks.
I'm very sad today.
I found out that my good friend's husband died yesterday of a sudden heart attack at age 36. I am in shock and heartbroken. My friend has 7 and 13 year old sons. The 7 year old goes to my school, and the 13 year old did for elementary school.
I am at a loss for what to do for the family.
I can only imagine what they are going through.
Tomorrow they will tell the 7 year old's class about it.
I was already having an absolute lousy day at work before I heard the news. The heat isn't working in the library and it was freezing all day. I don't do cold well at all. My computer has somehow wiped out the last two years. The IT guy came and took it but isn't hopeful that they will be able to recover any of the reports, files, etc. It was all put into perspective when I found out about Marcus though. Please keep my friend, Andrea, and her family in your prayers.
My dd made it safely back to school with her kitty. We'll see about getting back to "normal" now. I just wish she was still here to get a hug. I can't wait to see my dh and give him a huge hug. He returns Saturday morning only to leave again Monday.
Maintainers Weekly Chat January 16 - January 22
Unfortunately that could happen with any complex where they can arbitrarily raise rates for whatever they want.
) and it was so much fun! I have a lot to get done today, but if I finish in time I want to make it to the 4:15 class. 
The other is an adorable 3 year old pit at the humane society who they named "Dolly Pawton." Her bio says she gets along well with people, children, and dogs, and is housetrained and knows basic commands. Tempting, but Carter already overexerts himself when he hangs out with BooBoo at my in-laws' house and I'm afraid of him re-injuring his back if he plays too much. I think Carter is ready for a nice quiet retirement with lots of soft doggie beds and relaxed walks. 
