Maintainers Weekly Chat September 14 - September 20
 

Waving to JayEll in the direction of the wild west of Billings Montana, that looks like BIG country from way out this way.

And waving to Krampus who just savored our Eastern shores on the Cape. Glad to hear that you're doing well.

And waving to everyone else, wherever you're making the transition from summer to fall.

I need gym badly; yesterday was a three eating event day - a bit much. I do wish events would spread themselves out over time instead of bunching up. The last one was taking DW out to dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary; we sorta giggle each time we have one thinking that how lucky it is to be able to do so.

Bill Congratulations on your anniversary. It sounds like you and your DW have a happy relationship.

And thank you Bill for doing all the work of moderating this group. I saw some of those ads that keep popping up and can appreciate how much you have to do "behind the scenes" to keep the forum working.

I did my first workout with the trainer yesterday. Physically she pushed me but not so far that I'm really sore today. Many mild twinges but that's OK. And my attitude has improved a great deal. Now I want to get fit again, rather than regarding it as another chore in the long list. :strong:

Good week all!

Dagmar :wave:

Good morning! Happy Anniversary, Bill!

Yesterday we braved the elements and tried golf. The heat and humidity took it's toll on us. We managed to eke out the game but paid for it with everyone succumbing to naps in the afternoon. I hope next weekend is cooler with out humidity. It even rained in the afternoon.

I ordered something from an ad the other day. Usually I don't do that, but it's promise made me want to try it. I don't even remember the name, but I saw and ad in the Parade section of the paper and I immediately went to Amazon and bought one. I should probably have read the reviews first. Anyway, I'm really feeling like I'm getting arthritis in my hands and it promises pain relief without the smelly stuff. I'll report back.

Good morning, all.

Happy Anniversary, Bill! That's sweet that you and your wife giggle over celebrating together. How many years?

Dagmar-- love what you said about changing your attitude and wanting to get fit, rather than see it as a chore. I think my mindset needs a swift kick in the rear.

Allison-- Spur of the moment buys-- kinda like infomercials for the tech savvy right? I have to admit that instagram has pushed me to make several buys I wouldn't normally make. I've been mostly happy with those purchases though. My latest is a company called "my oatmeal". You custom make your own oatmeal with flavors, add-ins, etc. and you can name it too! I've ordered a bag to try but it hasn't come yet. I'll report back too-- the nutritional info looks quite close to what I already eat daily for oatmeal, and I added anti-oxidants so hopefully healthier too.

I'm feeling down about my weight, and trying to not be hard on myself. Dh is gone and I chatted a bit with him but it just frustrates him because he loves me the way I am and he's tired of me not being satisfied with the way I look. I know I've been steadily gaining though and trying to figure out why. I am altering my diet plan slightly this week. Still doing carb cycling but trying the "turbo" cycle which promises quicker weight loss. Rather than switching high carb, low carb, high carb, low carb... It's low carb 4 days during the week, with high carb only on Wednesday and the weekend. Hoping it shakes things up.

Krampus,

Hope you're still hanging around. I've always loved your Avatar . . . until . . . until . . . I just saw this trailor for Krampus, the movie. That's a tad scary.

Hope all is well.

Happy anniversary Bill and wife!

I think I remember Krampus saying that her avatar was named after this movie - scary!

Dagmar :dizzy:

Greetings from Jackson, Wyoming. This is the kind of country I grew up in; at least, during the summers. For a long time when I was a young person, I thought everyone grew up with access to the wild outdoors. But not so.

It's been an up and down trip. Rain the last two days, which put a damper on some activities. And cold--especially for those acclimated to Florida.

Snow on the high peaks today. Vast natural meadows, tall forests. Smells of pine woods, autumn grasses.

So happy to be out here, and to remember there is so much more to life than worrying about one's weight, food, exercise regimen...

Glad you're enjoying your trip, Jay. I'm trying to picture it when I've never been to that part of the country.

My weight is *maybe* coming down but I don't want to jinx it. Maybe I just did by mentioning it!

I changed my eating plan slightly this week so I'm hoping the change is shaking things up. My stomach is a little off today though, so I hope it's okay as I have 8 classes coming to see me!

Yesterday was Ellie's first puppy class of her second series of puppy classes. There were only 4 dogs in the class including her and the instructor used her as an example a bunch. It's funny how well she will behave for liver treats. Which I promptly went home and ordered off Amazon!!

Before class, I was rushed to get to the gym so I didn't walk her which I usually do. She's been trustworthy in the house when I go to the gym (after a walk). I learned my lesson. I came home to a pillow from the couch which had "exploded"-- tiny feathers everywhere! Those are impossible to clean up. I cleaned them up the best I could but now they are traveling all over the house. My maids are coming today so I'm sure they will wonder what happened but hopefully they will get the majority cleaned up.

I'm already looking ahead to the weekend. Dh is still gone so I can do what I like..... thinking a little shopping may be in order..... And of course, exercise, etc....

Anyone have any exciting weekend plans coming up?

Which liver treats are they, Michele? I used Cloud Star Tricky Trainers in liver flavor. The dogs love them! Funny how my instructor said to use hotdogs rather than dog treats because they have a higher "value" to the dogs. But Bogey liked the liver treats much better than a hotdog!

Sorry about your pillow. I never fully trust a dog until they're 2 years old and even then they have their moments.

My weekend plans start tomorrow as DD is coming for lunch and to pick up a piece of furniture. Then I hope we'll golf both days.

JayEll, your surroundings sound magnificent! Wyoming is on my list of places to visit once I'm free of my office job.

I was backpacking for four days last week (Thurs-Sun), so this weekend I might just stay home and throw away more things. The weather will be cooler, at least Friday and Saturday, so I can get into the storage shed and start tossing. Sunday it is supposed to be 105 again, and that's too hot for working outside.

My backpacking trip in Mineral King was great, despite the smoke I came back into on Sunday on the way back to the trailhead. The rest of the trip had good air, stunning granite vistas, and beautiful lakes to camp at. We were above 10,000 feet once we hiked away from the trailhead. The high elevation was 11,800 at the top of Franklin Pass. Rain moved into the mountains on Sunday night, but I was already home in the Valley and snuggling in my own bed :)

I was going to do a bunch of cat visits this weekend but they've been cancelled last minute. So I'm going to take Trixie to a new park early Saturday, which has spectacular views of the Toronto Bluffs and a really nice sandy beach. She will be on leash of course. I'm going to the outdoor art exhibit at our City Hall on Sat., a weight training session on Sunday, and will also see a matinee of "Ant Man" at a local theatre Sunday afternoon.

Dagmar :cool:

Thanks for the suggestion, Allison. I just ordered some of those too. The ones I ordered are Stewart Freeze Dried treats-- in liver flavor.

Speaking of pets.....
Any cat advice??

My dd lives in a small one bedroom apartment and this week her cat has peed on her couch three times. He is 5. I advised her to take him to the vet so she dropped him off this morning to see whether it is medical or behavioral. Regardless, we think her couch is ruined. She's used Nature's Miracle on it but the cushions are not removable. Is there anything that will truly eliminate the odor so the cat won't smell it? We will probably end up buying her a new couch (she has no spare $$) but she is going to have to find someone to haul the old one away... sigh.... If it is behavioral, I don't know what to tell her. The only cat I had that did that years ago I made an outdoor cat which isn't really an option for her.

I hope it isn't behavioral, Michele. But if the urine soaked into the cushion, it is probably ruined. One of our cats kept going into my son's closet and peeing/spraying on stuff in there. At first I didn't believe him but then I witnessed it. We went to the store, bought a gallon of Nature's Miracle, came home and washed every surface in that closet including old toys that were stored in an open bin. Walls, carpet, door, dresser, shelves--it was all doused with 100% NM. He's never gone in there to pee again and has not adopted any other room to pee in. I really don't know what made him start in the first place but I'm glad he stopped.

Michele, your dd might want to think about confining the cat to a cage for a while when she is not home. Then, watch it like a hawk when she is home. I hope Nature's Miracle will eliminate the smell, but I imagine it will be difficult or impossible with the pee being soaked into a cushion.

We had a terrible peeing problem with our 6 cats in the house. Even though all are neutered, I think they can get into a spraying war in a multi-cat situation. So we bought a "cat condo", sort of like the bank of cages at the vet's. It is two wide by three high, taking up a wall in the dining room. Each one has a separate litter box, bed shelf, and of course food & water. The six cats (indoor/outdoor) are confined to the condo when they come inside, unless DH wants to sit with them on the bed and supervise. Otherwise out they go. The 7th cat (our son's) seems to be trustworthy and is allowed free access in the house.

Cat urine is a very difficult scent to remove. Mudpie went on the carpet in my office. I soaked it with Nature's Miracle - both kinds (there is a special one for cats which seems to be the same as the general one) - and then I had to send it out and get it professionally cleaned. There are people who do upholstery cleaning in home - one here is http://cleanol.com/wp/residential-se...tery-cleaning/ - and maybe one of them can save the couch.

Dagmar :dizzy:

The cat does apparently have a medical issue. The vet said his bladder was extremely inflamed. A very sweet, laid back cat, he went ballistic when they barely touched his bladder area. He got very stressed recently when there were extreme thunderstorms so he may have not peed during that time. He is on pain meds and a cat food that is supposed to calm his anxiety. Didn't know they made such foods! Maybe Ellie can get the dog version.... She is going to get a new couch. She and we can't deal with the possibility of him repeating this. The couch isn't worth saving... It is her couch from college and hasn't been in great shape for awhile. She wanted to replace it last summer... Now she has more impetus to do so...

Michele, so glad you suggested taking the cat to the vet. Many cats are brought to the animal shelter because of peeing issues and a majority of them are found to have medical issues. People often give up on cats too early, IMHO.

I am so slow to catch up on some news. Only in the past few days did I discover why my Diet Pepsi tastes so awful. (I thought I'd bought bad batches that spoiled from sitting outside the store in the sun ... or something.) It's because Pepsi has switched out aspartame for sucralose.

I used to drink about two cans of Diet Pepsi each day at work, bringing them from home in a cooler. I've been an unapologetic soda drinker.

Apparently my taste buds have been trained to prefer the old mouth feel and the slightly chemical after-taste, and I have been unable to retrain them, despite all the sales on Diet Pepsi.

This FINALLY may be the impetus for me to switch over to seltzer.

I'm happy that Pepsi has switched. I can't drink aspartame regularly, only now and then, because it gives me heart palpitations. I've tested this empirically.

Whatever happened to good old saccharin?

Didn't saccharin get tarred with the "causes cancer in rats" brush? I can't remember if the science behind that claim was valid or not.

Any carbonated drink will eat away at your tooth enamel - they all contain carbolic acid to help maintain the fizz and bubbling. I did a lot of damage to my teeth with all the diet cola I swilled years ago. I was drinking over 2 litres per day - that is a huge quantity.

I am down to one Monster energy drink per day. For me that's a great improvement.

Dagmar :dizzy:

Lucky me; I've hated everything fizzy since I was a child.

I had a cat for 16 years who developed chronic bladder issues after age 14. Her last 2 years, she mostly lived in a large cat crate (the kind with 2 platforms for jumping up on and sleeping) with a litterbox in one corner. By then, she was quite sedentary and it seemed to suit her. I have had 2 other (shelter/stray) cats for shorter periods, both of whom had urination issues. While it was from recurring bladder infections in one of them, the cause really doesn't matter when it keeps happening and you can't stop it. Both of those cats were given back to shelters. DH won't let me try adopting any more :>(

Ringo has had bladder issues twice. I think it's stress induced. The medication he is on is used by people for PTSD! One of it's side effects is relaxation of the sphincter so he can void easier. I knew he hadn't been drinking enough and we finally solved that issue by placing glasses of water throughout the house.

I gave up diet Pepsi about 10 years ago--about the same time I joined here. If I can't get water somewhere, I'll take a sprite. I like plain club soda, too. And San Pellegrino. Fizzy still entices me.

Yesterday morning DS was packing his car to move back to college. We assumed he'd just go, but he had other ideas. He decided we needed to help him because it wouldn't all fit in his car. (It would have very easily fit.) But he didn't want to go alone. I drove with him and DH followed. We drove to the Irvine Spectrum and had a late lunch and then went to his new apartment and helped carry boxes up to it. None of his roommates were there. He wanted DH to help build the bunkbed they'd bought the day before, but it was getting late and we wanted to head home. He said to me in the car on the way there that he didn't really want to go back to school--he'd rather stay with us. It was touching.