Maintainers Weekly Chat April 28 - May 4
 

Good grief! We went out with a group to look at plants and birds in the Massachusetts Berkshires wearing down vests under Gore-Tex shells. Wearing down at the end of April!!! It was the proper gear to keep us warm and dry but it felt a tad weird to dress for February when it was almost May.

Our wanderings took us over a short stretch of the Appalachian Trail climbing up a ridge with glorious views of fields, woodlands, and the foothills of the Berkshires. I've now walked short stretches in Tennessee, Massachusetts, and the last stretch climbing Mount Katahdin in Maine. It smites a bit to acknowledge that I'll never get around to walking the whole 2,200 miles. (But that would certainly solve the problem of the lingering few pounds, LOL.)

The Appalachian Trail sounds amazing Bill. Didn't Bill Bryson write about his own experience with it? And you have a similar trail on the west coast yes?

I am wearing fleece and the down liner with my shell this week. I DID throw away both pairs of winter boots though.

Busy, busy week this week. Kinda glad it's happening - I've been worried about work/money dwindling down.

Dagmar :beach:

I was listening to an interview this morning with the guy who runs Shepler's ferries between Mackinaw City/St Ignace and Mackinaw Island. He said the family has run the business since the 40's and they have NEVER seen ice like this. They are currently running only a single boat from St. Ignace only, because the ice in the straits is still 3 FEET thick. Good grief! :dizzy:

DS's show choir group returned from the competition in Washington DC with Gold in both vocal jazz and show choir. He had a fabulous time - they saw the National Cathedral (sang for the tour guide and made him cry), the museum of natural history, the national Zoo (complete with panda), the night tour of the monuments, and a tour of Gettysburg. On the bus coming and going he read "White Fang" and now declares himself a Jack London fan. I'm sure that returning to school today will be a big letdown. :lol:

Your hike sounds like it was beautiful, Bill.

We do have the Pacific Crest trail on the west coast. Part of it runs through the mountains near here. I hear it is a beautiful trial going from Mexico to Canada.

Becky, that is so cool your son's choir made gold (and made the tour guide cry)! Congrats to him!

Both days of golf got cancelled here this weekend due to high winds. It wasn't nearly as windy yesterday but it was gusty enough to have made golfing unbearable. And it was much cooler than usual. These temperatures are more like February.

So sad about the tornados in the midwest.

Brrrr... to some of you. I won't mention our beautiful weather today and our heat wave coming later this week.

Yes, Allison... the tornadoes are horrific.

Last week with dh until he leaves again (on Friday). We are having tree work done today so he is at home.

I ordered myself and dh the UP24 on Allison and Shannon's advice. They are due to be delivered today so hopefully I'll be playing with them tonight.

It is already brutally hot here, which I guess since it's almost May that is normal. But the first day of the brutally hot you always are shocked. Says 91 on weather app but when I got in my car after school it said 96. Speaking of my car, I got a new Prius! Wow, auto correct did an interesting change on Prius, or maybe I made a typo. Had to fix that!

Anyway, like Dagmar said I am amazed at the new features in a new car.
Haven't quite figured out how to read the display but enjoying the drive. I like the Bluetooth connection to phone, very cool. Very excited to see how little gas I have to buy!

Michele, that's great on the up24, I use the Fitbit and I got my DS one for Xmas but his stopped working and was the recalled so they sent him a check and I don't think he has replaced it yet so I may suggest that to him.

Today was the first day back at school after spring break. Seniors are done, not really, but in their mind they are. Some only have 7 days because they have a lot of Ap exams and they just take the exam and not go to class. We get out end of May so this will fly by. Two people asked me if I lost weight over the break. Nope, maintained!!!!! So excited I've maintained since 2/21. I know, not long, but I have the tools and I feel so good I know I can do it. I will post a one year maintenance thread next year!

Hi CalCounter, I love my Prius V. I have a 2013 and enjoy its nifty bells and whistles, including the Bluetooth connection to my cell's data. Best part is seeing the mileage hovering around 40 (I know the regular Prius does significantly better than that, but I have 3 kids).

And, for those commenting on Bill's hike today, I would like to throw in my own humblebrag: only 3.4 miles today, but I did it in HIGH HEELS, with a lot of it on pavement. Yes my feet are killing me :>)

I think we are having all of our "April showers" this week. Rain all week long thru til Sunday. And still very cold - highs are in the low teens. BLEAGH.

:tired: of :brr:

I think I'm on one of those upswings in my business that happens pretty much overnight. It's all temporary work though - I'm still hoping for 3-5 permanent clients - but I'll have to take the temp work. Somehow it all works out.

Dagmar :beach: :rain:

Thank goodness the heat is on this morning. We're having temperatures in the low 40s overnight. It's supposed to be a rainy gray week.

Spent all of Sunday with a friend and his wife, who live near Old Saybrook in CT. I may have mentioned that his wife just received a diagnosis of an aggressive lung cancer. She's already been on a breathing apparatus for several years now because her lungs were compromised by pneumonia. She started radiation yesterday. I stayed there till 8 PM, talking with them (during that time, she went off & took several naps) then after dinner, checked into a nearby B&B, a wonderful low-ceilinged room with a fireplace, with uneven floorboards, no two of them exactly the same length -- the house was built in 1746. I went to sleep immediately. A house wren woke me up the next morning before the alarm. The commute to my CT office the next morning was simply awful -- I was on the road for 2 hrs & 15 mins, just because of the traffic.

I am making a project out of reaching out to friends whom I've lost contact with while working so much.

But I have five meetings today and two things due for writing. At least the day ends with a trip to my therapist. Though he's going to want a sizeable check today for sessions since the start of the year, and it's all on me, as my deductible didn't kick in till this month.

My greenhouse was turned over in the wind last night, but everything else came through safe. A house near my parents lost the roof, but no one was hurt. Here's hoping we weather tonight's storms as well.

Oh my Shannon.... do stay safe.... all around.

Saef-- your project to reach out to friends sounds wonderful.
I'm going to be out big bucks myself for dd's therapist. Our insurance decided they no longer covered it, but we can pay out of pocket, and get partially reimbursed. The doctor's billing didn't seem to realize what was going on even though I've been communicating with them so I've only been paying a co-pay. I cringe to think what my bill will be.

Shannon - good luck and stay safe! It sounds like you have a lot of company watching the skies today and tonight.

saef, kudos for doing what many people regret not doing because they waited too long. I'm guilty and need to learn from your good example.

Michele, it seems like an awful lot of people are being blindsided by insurance changes. :(

Dagmar, you're absolutely right - it does all work out. I hope some of the temp work becomes permanent clients!

DH gone again. He thinks he has about two weeks left. Meanwhile, I have to figure out what it's going to take to motivate DS to up his game on his grades. He's a totally different personality from either me or my husband - bribery, removal of privileges, recognition, hands off all have been tried and been equally useless. Maddening! :bomb:

Becky, have you tried, "Just do it!" and walking off??

Hi all,

Work has been pretty busy but in a good way. I've been out playing with birds this week again, though we're inside due to the thunderstorms right now. The upside is we're hoping the front brings more birds. I'm going to have a very unpleasant conference call Thursday afternoon, and am steeling myself. I'm trying to not think about it too much because it will just ruin my mood for days if I let it.

I finished my last test for my course on Sunday morning so that I could go "play" at my friend's yard party Sunday afternoon. I saw two friends there who are moving to Trinidad and am glad I made it to say goodbye. I will be doing more studying and course work in the near future but it was so nice last night not to have studying or choral rehearsal to go to. I took the dog for a long walk, made hummus, homemade buttermilk ranch, and had an actual civilized conversation with my BF. (Expose: what maintainers do in their spare time: extra workouts and healthy food prep.) :dizzy:

Saef, I like your resolution to get in touch with old friends. I've resolved something similar for the summer, that I won't let little things (like "I need to clean the house") keep me from taking up spontaneous invites from friends. Your day with them and your b&b sound lovely.

Shannon, are you guys doing ok up there? These storms are nasty. I heard a tornado touched down about 15 miles from here, but that is unconfirmed.

Dagmar, upswings are good. I hope these temporary jobs bring some more full-time clients for you.

Becky, congrats to your DS's choral group! What an honor. GL getting grades up. Sounds like you've tried all the usual tricks.

I've read Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods." I enjoy his books and found it entertaining, but as I recall, he didn't finish the trail. "Becoming Odyssa" by Jennifer Davis is a really good autobiography by a woman hiking the Appalachian trail who later set the speed record for a woman on the trail. "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed is her autobiography about hiking the Pacific Coast trail. It's a good book but her life isn't as idyllic as Jennifer Davis's and she goes into hiking from a very different place. I've hiked small portions of the trail in NH and PA with my dad, who has hiked longer stretches throughout his life and I think would love to do the whole thing if he didn't have a job and his knees would let him. I think I love the idea of hiking the trail, but I'd probably find it harder than I thought and quit. :p

silver, yes. I've run the gamut from the simple "Git 'er done!" to long lectures about the quality of the grades is a significant portion of the quality of future opportunities, to checking planners and homework every night, to teacher emails/phone calls and meetings, threatening to cut him from show choir next year, threatening to withold permission to take driver's training ... none of it works for more than a week or two. Some folks have kindly suggested that I don't kill him for at least one more year - that just because he's huge it doesn't mean he's not wildly immature. Ow, my head.