Jen, it looked like that for a while here the other day. Luckily we were all indoors safe and sound. I'm glad you got home okay! Today is the first day the travel warning was lifted for my county so I drove in to work. Took me twice as long as usual but I made it safely. The worst part was getting out of my own driveway -- I got stuck in the snow pile the plows had left at the end of the driveway even though DH shoveled most of it. Had to back and forth a little but popped free eventually. And this is in my Subaru which has all-wheel drive!
Michele, glad you got Jozi to the vet and I hope that she feels better with some rest.
Allison, glad your sister is okay (or will be soon)! Sending good thoughts to Chico too.
Jessica-- one of our teachers is snowed in somewhere in Indiana and hasn't made it back yet.
Thanks all for the well wishes for Jozi. I hope she's resting quietly while I'm at work. The maids come tomorrow so I hope she doesn't get too excited to see them. I have her restricted to a small area today and I'll have to decide what she is able to handle tomorrow.
I too am also ready for the visiting polar air to go home. I saw -11 on the way in today and it will make me very happy not to see that again for a long time! It's supposed to get to 22-25 later; that will be most welcome.
Michele, how's Jozi doing?
Likewise, Allison - Chico is as well as can be expected?
Major stress for me - we have signed a contract for the master bath and closet remodel. First, I was stressing over the cost (of course), and then they called and said they can start in 3 weeks instead of two months. We had signed up to procure the 3 interior doors and all the needed molding because we want to keep them all common the first floor, plus we volunteered to demo the existing shower because it's been leaking for a while and will need time to dry out. After I (calmly) explained that the schedule change was going to cause an immense amount of mental anguish, they offered up a decent discount. I'm still freaking out ... money does NOT buy time! Deeeeeeep breaths.
Becky There are so many people waiting for plumbers right now (did I mention I now have to replace the living room ceiling due to the improper installation of our bathroom plumbing) due to pipe problems from the extreme weather that getting yours EARLY would seem like a total bonus to me. I'm in a totally different situation of course and I don't know if you have other bathrooms to use (I do not).
Michele~glad Jozie is feeling better. Hopefully she'll be 100% very soon.
Becky~building and remodeling here is super crazy! If someone calls for service or for what we refer to as "retail" (a new window to replace a broken one, a new shower door, etc.) I calmly explain that I'll be glad to take down their information and we'll try to fit them into the schedule in 4-6 weeks or I can offer to give them numbers to other shops. Our main work is directly through contractors and they are keeping us very busy right now. You're actually lucky to be getting the work done earlier (sorry it's causing you mental anguish, though).
Chico did something this morning that he has not done in over two months--he kissed me. It was ritual that every morning the dogs and sometimes the cats would follow me into the bathroom and as soon as I sat down Chico would lick my nose. In the evening he would get up in my lap (sort of) while I watched TV and lick my nose. Ritual. I really missed that. He still hasn't gotten in my lap during TV time, but he did to DH the other night. I take it as a sure sign he is feeling better. I was talking to the lady who owns a pet food store here and I was explaining Chico being on the saline drip and that if I need to do it more I'll order the stuff from Dr.'s Foster & Smith to save money. She said I'd save even more if I got a prescription filled at Costco! I hadn't even thought of that! It costs me $28.80 per day getting it from the vet. Costco would be around $5. I'll have to remember that.
She also said that when her cat started to age she started doing a saline drip for her as a preventive measure against kidney disease. Her cat lived to 20 years old (and she has a friend who did it as well and the cat lived to 29!).
I spoke to my sister today. She is still in the hospital but hopes to go home tomorrow. She sounds awful but says she feels much better. Apparently she had the flu--bad. So bad that when her husband's kids came on New Year's for his birthday, she never got out of bed (afraid of infecting them--including one pregnant and one's child who is only 14 months old). She said the flu was so bad that at times she thought that if she never opened her eyes again, she'd be okay with that (I've heard of another person diagnosed with H1N1 that said sometime similar). After days of being sick she attempted to eat but could rarely get more than one bite down before vomiting...Weak and sick her DH took her either to the doctor or ER and she was admitted. The fluid drained from her lung was due to the cold/flu and not being able to cough it all up. The problem in her esophagus might have been due to prolonged vomiting. She still can't eat without feeling as if she'll throw up (or actually throwing up) but they're pumping her so full with fluids she's pretty sure she won't be able to put her pants on to go home. At the same time, we had a 30 year old in our valley die of H1N1 flu. They said it was going to be a bad year for the flu. I guess they're right.
Stella had her last walk with us today. I made sure it was awesome (with a lot of help from the weather gods). She's been on the bus with me for over 9 years. Has now moved out of my service area. I am sad.
Bella and Bomber go next week. I will miss Bella - she's been with me for over a year - but not in the same heart wrenching way I will miss Stella. Bomber (small aggressive neurotic male dog) not so much.
Alison That's as bad a flu story as I've heard. Glad your sister is beginning a recovery. And terrific to hear that Chico is well enough to kiss again.
My contribution to sanity was to watch the entire Mary Popping movie in about 20 minutes. I'd taken it from the library as part of watching the film, Saving Mr. Banks. Couldn't remember the movie at all. My advice: don't go back - it's just too sweet to watch as an adult. The speed version was the way to go. Spoiler alert:Mary Poppins leaves.
Noooo! Jk. Actually BF and I found the old one on TV a few weeks ago. I was surprised he tolerated watching it but he actually seemed to enjoy it. When I was 5 my sis & I knew every.single.word. Especially to all the songs. It was very nostalgic.
We are fogged in today but it's warmer, and it misted/drizzled almost nonstop for the last 24 hours. I found out that most of the cold stunned sea turtles we found earlier this week will make it and be released next week. Yesterday I witnessed a small whale stranding on the beach. The whale was in very bad shape so it was humanely euthanized. I know it's nature, but it was very sad to see it pass. It's been a strange week here. I'm making soup for dinner tonight and drinking a mug of hot tea right now. It's perfect foggy, rainy weather food. I also started the dog on her new course of antibiotics yesterday and see I'm going to have to keep pushing the vet to get this treated.
This morning I took my annual pack test to qualify for prescribed burning. It's a milestone I post about every year. 25 lb vest, 2 miles in under 30 minutes, no running allowed. I beat my best time by almost a minute, and I don't feel as sore as normal (maybe I have yoga to thank?). I actually forgot to think about how I used to carry twice that amount of weight around during the test, which I usually do. Does this mean I've accepted the new normal after 9 years? Between that and trudging around the marsh I've gotten some good workouts in at work this week.
Dagmar, sorry some of your favorite charges are leaving. Are there any new dogs on the horizon?
Alison, yes, glad your sis is doing ok and Chico too. How sweet he gave you kisses. That flu sounds terrible.
Michele, glad Jozi is feeling better too.
Becky, gl getting ready for your moved up reno. I know money doesn't buy time, but I'm sure it takes a little of the sting out of it. Was it just last winter you were vowing to make the time to get back in the pool? And now you're chomping at the bit to get there when it's closed - good for you!
Jessica, I'm glad you guys made it through the storm fine and are getting back to normal. That was a BAD one.
What are everyone's plans for the weekend? Have a good Friday all.
25 lb vest, 2 miles in under 30 minutes, no running allowed.
This is more than the Roman Army had to carry in their loaded marches but I think their fast pace was slightly faster. (They had two paces, the regular and the faster.)
I owned the LP when I was a child. Remember when children used to have albums of their favorite movies that we played over & over again? This one was on regular rotation, and it was probably a big event when it showed on the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday evening.
The best thing about "Saving Mr. Banks" was Emma Thompson. The rest of the movie, meh. Would've been better if it stayed in the present, rather than trying to convince me that Colin Farrell can act. Shut up, Colin, and just stand there looking handsome in that black-eyed, dark-jawed Irish way.
it looked like that for a while here the other day. Luckily we were all indoors safe and sound. I'm glad you got home okay! Today is the first day the travel warning was lifted for my county so I drove in to work. Took me twice as long as usual but I made it safely. The worst part was getting out of my own driveway -- I got stuck in the snow pile the plows had left at the end of the driveway even though DH shoveled most of it. Had to back and forth a little but popped free eventually. And this is in my Subaru which has all-wheel drive!
no more 
We had signed up to procure the 3 interior doors and all the needed molding because we want to keep them all common the first floor, plus we volunteered to demo the existing shower because it's been leaking for a while and will need time to dry out. After I (calmly) explained that the schedule change was going to cause an immense amount of mental anguish, they offered up a decent discount. I'm still freaking out ... money does NOT buy time! Deeeeeeep breaths.
to me. I'm in a totally different situation of course and I don't know if you have other bathrooms to use (I do not).
still waiting for Godot aka the plumber
