Good Morning Everyone,

AC system proposal is $5,000. My SIL is contacting the company to see if there is a cheaper way to go.

In the meantime, I am enjoying the pre-storm breezes.

Have a great day,

Lynn

Hi Tea,

NOT bored at all. Enjoyed it. Spring flowers and flowering trees are MAGNIFICANT here in Eastern PA this Spring. Maybe because of all the snow this winter? Or, maybe because we were all SO looking forward to Spring this year.

Hi Donna,

Get to a doctor about those bites.

Hi Rie,

I ABSOLUTELY know what you mean. I stopped to pick up a pair of jeans yesterday. I started with the size 16’s and ended up with a pair size 10. In the past, I avoided shopping whenever possible & when I did go to a store, I focused on earrings. It’s a NEW life.

Hi Gayle,

I remember that when Michael Jackson died the newscasters kept talking about the fact that the doctor did the CPR on the bed and how he should have been doing it on the floor. Do you think it really makes it more effective to do on the floor vs. a table? Seems like they would be the same.

Hi Nancy,

When I was VERY young and first married, I was a VERY consistent cleaner. Did wash on Mondays, ironing on Tuesdays, carpets on Wednesdays, tile floors on Thursdays, and REALLY good kitchen/bathroom cleaning on Fridays. Saturday was just straightening and Sunday was visiting.

Then I took an anthropology course and studied a tribe where the women spent most of their time everyday moving around the cow dung that they used in and around their homes. I decided I did not want to spend my life in this endeavor.

We are also expecting a storm, but I doubt we will get hit by a tornado. Stay safe and if it comes, get into the tub (I know I heard this someplace).

Hi Mary,

When I am tracking my food/weight, I use Weight Commander also. I have data in there back to when I weighed 185 lbs. Fun to look at that graph.

9/11 – I was driving to a meeting with local school Principals to try to convince them to have their teachers enroll in my Educational Leadership program. I had the news on my radio and heard a plane had hit the first tower. I figured it had been an accident. Then, I heard the second plane had hit the second tower. My heart dropped. I continued to the planned meeting – the district Superintendent sent all the Principals back to their respective schools to deal with their students – many of the kids in our schools have parents who work in NYC.

The book I am reading about one man’s psychological reactions to 9/11 – Einstein’s Shutter – is interesting. He does NOT focus on feelings about 9/11 – more about other losses in his life after 9/11. However, 9/11 reactions are always hanging around in the background.

I am REALLY NOT disciplined. Because of this, I make MANY rules for myself. I know that if I bring chocolate (even the VERY dark chocolate) into my house, I will eat ALL of it – no discipline at all. My rule is that I cannot bring anything into my house that I have once binged on. I know that when I go to a restaurant, I will NOT order broiled fish/poultry/meat with no sauce and veggies with no butter. So, I order what I want and eat half of it. Also, I do NOT take home “doggie bags.” I am pretty good at following rules, so I use this to help.

Hi Karen,

SO HAPPY you are safe home.

Hi Karen,

WOW 3 stoves in 11 years! That is tough. Make sure you get an extended warranty on your next one. Your stove must be in a danger zone
Hi Donna,

I am supposed to spend the day with my DF tomorrow. However, I am taping it on BBC on my TIVO.

Good morning all!

Karen31I am so glad that you mad it home safe! Get some rest now

KarenThose flowers and veggies sound really wonderful! Here in Montana we don't even put anything out until late May or it freezes LOL I understand the privacy issue. This is my own special place that I can go and I haven't told anyone about it. In fact, I am thinking about changing my name because it would be recognizable. Well I will think about it.

GlynneNice to hear from you. I remember you from when I was lurking :-)

Have a great day ladies!

OOOOOps -- TV is broadcasting tornado warning for my area. I will keep you posted.

Later today - storm was about 20 minutes of hard rain and lightning/thunder - one crash was so loud I actually felt it - maybe it hit a transformer? The cats jumped and ran. No tornado here.

Morning everyone..hope you all stay safe if you are having bad weather.Karen sry about your stove,mine went pfft several yrs ago and dh tried to fix it,well 1 yr later and all parts replaced we called a fix it man..it was a 35 cent fuze..sad but true,we also blew up a microwave cooking a hot dog,it caught on fire and blew the door into the living room,thats true tooand i have a drier thats 36 yrs old and still works but makes a rackett when we use it..jess lets us know you are ok,sounds like you hate going to dr like me.about clothes,i dont know my size either,good thing i can alter things.trouble is im having fun buying new stuff but realize it wont fit in a few months.I want a pair of flip flops but not sure i can wear them with my numb feet..i used to love buying shoes but they feel so weird on my feet now that i only wear them when im out and about. at home its just socks with those slip guards on them.well here i am rambling and my dishes and laundry need doing.im a procrastinator too and can find a zillion things id rather do and usually do! hope your day is awsome (((hugs))) rosey

Good afternoon ladies...it's a beautiful day here! We got our chimney cleaned this am and it ended up costing quite a bit...they found a crack in it and said we need a cap so we paid it and got it all done. first time we had ever had it cleaned in the almost 34 years we have been here! so expected that it probably needed something. Unfortunately while raising kids and later traveling we have neglected our home way too much...now everything needs work. I was thinking today that if my dh would leave before me, I would not be able to keep up with all this. It may be time to make a change to a small house or condo, but it is sure hard to give up our home.

I went out this am for some greeting cards...and decided to give my dh an iTunes GC for his birthday..it's Saturday. I had told him the pressure washer would have to be his gift with all the expense we have been having and he was fine with that, but I know he'd like to use his new iPhone to listen to music at the gym. So it's a small gift but he'll be pleasantly surprised.

The chocolate drink continues to fill me up. Right now I feel stuffed after lunch. Occasionally I will go over a bit on my carbs so I have to remember to watch that. There are not many carbs in the drink but there is in the milk and whatever I might else I might eat. Like today for lunch I had one cup mac and cheese with 1 oz grilled chicken and with my chocolate drink I went over one carb. I just didn't think about it but should have only eaten 1/2-3/4 c mac & cheese. So have to work on that. Doesn't happen often though, my evening snacking still are my biggest problem with my eating.

Well, I need to do some extra cleaning in my living room so better get with it. Feeling very lazy!

I'm excited as our son and his GF are stopping by tomorrow on their way to the coast where he is applying for a job. Haven't seen him since Sept or Oct last year. We had planned to visit them next month but with their moving to the coast, we decided to wait. It will be closer drive for us to their new home.

Hope you all have a good evening.

Mary

Oh but you are disciplined Lynn, because you STICK to your rules! LOL I make rules too but then I break them! Self-defeating I know and I don't know why I still continue to do it!

I can't imagine being that close to where 9/11 happened! Very interesting to hear people's remembrances about that devastating morning.

About the CPR, I'm not Gayle but have done CPR several times. You could do it on a table, but the main thing is you need a hard surface to do well. In the nursing home, in later years, we had a board we could slip under people but before we got that I used to have someone help me sheet lift the person off the bed and onto the floor. I was working with old people, but I have had many of them come back but later they died either in the ambulance or hospital. Sometimes they let them die at the hospital..but we couldn't do that unless we had a DNR order.

Oh, yes shingles can be very painful. Mine were not so painful at the time when I had the rash, but I continue to get nerve pain in the area where I had shingles every now and then. My dh had a lot of pain with the rash but has not had pain since. They now advise people over 50 who have not had shingles to get the vaccine.

good Morning GG's,

Worked yesterday, not too bad. Anyone watching the ROYAL WEDDING this morning. Pretend I said that with an English accent, because that is how I think of it. I turned it on just to see the wedding dress. the bride does look very lovely and classy. As much as we loved Diana, her dress was just too much.

Can't hit all the personals. You miss one day here and you are behind!

Donna, Shingles!!!! Those can be so painful. Because it's nerve pain. Hope the meds are helping. And remind everyone to get a shingles shot. Feel better.

And the CPR. It has to be done one a hard surface because if you are doing it on a bed you are pushing the person down into the mattress and not really getting the chest compressions that you need to. So, always on a hard surface.

not much going on today, but got to get some food in the house or go hungry. Everyone have a great day.

Freda

I have been watching the wedding on BBCA all morning. Saw the whole thing. She is SO BEAUTIFUL! Everyone keeps referring to William as the future king. Do you think everyone just assumes that the crown will skip over Charles?

Lynn

I am so SORRY you have shingles and so glad you went to the Dr. Now, take all of that medicine on schedule. Shingles can be VERY long-lasting and painful. Catch it early and get RID of it.

It's gonna be in the late 60's today and much to do outside. I'm waiting for the kiss on the balcony from the future King, then I have to hustle. Be back to do personals later tonight.

Friday again. Wow. This week sure has flown by. I haven’t accomplished much at work, but I did finish the afghan I’ve been crocheting for my dgd. It’s pretty; in tones of raspberry from dark to light. I used variegated yarn, so it created its own pattern. Easy-peasy, but looks pretty good. Now I’m making one for her mum – my dd. Her bedroom furniture is all dark brown wicker, and she uses ivories and pale honey colors in her linens and accents. I found some really bulky yarn that’s kind of that fisherman’s knit ivory color with flecks of brown and honey. The crochet hook that I have to use feels like a hoe, but it’s actually going to make a nice, heavy-weight bed cover that she’ll like because she likes sleeping with her bedroom quite cool even in winter because she says it’s better for breathing. But she really does need warm bedcovers. I haven’t done any knitting or crocheting for years, and then made scarves for my daughters and daughter-in-law-to-be for one of their Christmas gifts. They all loved them, and that encouraged me to take on bigger projects (the afghans). I really enjoy it – find it really relaxing, and a bit of a stress reduction exercise after work and all that commuting.
I’ve found it hard to get back in the cooking groove after slacking off so much during my vacation days. Maybe it’s just getting back into my work routine that’s the real culprit – I’m tired when I get home, and don’t feel like cooking much. And, I failed to make the soups and chilis and pasta sauces and bean patties that I typically make on the weekend to see us through the week. I had dh boil up some chicken breasts and made chicken salad on Tuesday, but we both had big sandwiches with lettuce, tomato and avocado on 2 pieces of pita bread, and my ds stopped in and had a big sandwich and then took the rest of the salad in a container to make himself a sandwich for lunch the next day at work. On Wednesday, dh actually made supper – grated some Fiber One (original) cereal, added fresh ground pepper, a dash of cumin and some garlic salt, and used it to coat and bake two skinless, boneless chicken breasts. We had baked potatoes with FF sour cream, broccoli, and we thawed out some of our homemade apple/cranberry sauce to have with it. (Thank goodness I made a pretty large quantity the last time I made it, and had several containers left in the freezer!) Last night was really simple because I was late getting home from work and dh had been gone most of the day. Grilled pita sandwiches with faux American cheese (dh had swiss – he hates my faux “diet” cheese) and deli ham. Some dark russet kettle chips. A Weight Watchers raspberry and dark chocolate ice cream bar (to die for). So, I’ve been pretty careful about eating – no snacking, no sweets except the WW ice cream bar - but haven’t actually counted my calories; we’ll see what the scale has to say on Sunday.
Oh, PT….SO glad you went to the doctor! I hope the medication he/she prescribed helps you. Yikes. Please take care!
Hmmm. I haven’t watched any of the royal wedding, but heard bits and snatches on the radio while driving in to work this morning. I actually thought, Lynn, that it had already been determined that Charles would be bypassed and his eldest son would be king once the royal mummy is gone. I’m not sure, of course – I’m afraid that my mother’s anglophiliac leanings left me a bit cold (or at least not very interested) toward the Bristish ruling class. As for the gowns, Freda, I know that I saw numerous pictures of Diana in her wedding gown, and will no doubt see just as many of Kate in the years to come. Just from the perspective of someone who has spent their lives (me, I mean) in social work and later in life administering (and trying to make the budgets work for) social services programs for those least advantaged of the world, I find the excess spending of those at the top of the food chain on clothes, entertainment, cars, homes in every part of the world, etc., downright offensive when you consider what those same funds could do for the homeless and hungry among us. I suppose I’m just getting old and bitter, but it just seems to me that as a civilization, we sure have created one big mess for ourselves. Having said all of that (and obviously WAY more than I needed to say) it’s nice to have you back with us, Lynn!
Mary, I’m so glad that you’re going to have a visit with your son – and that future visits may be easier because he’ll be closer! I was so glad when my son and his fiancée moved back close to us again – I like having my kids – and grandkids - within shouting distance.
Karen3! Are you located close to the Bermuda Triangle or something? Stoves aren’t supposed to blow up after a few years! Of course, you DO seem to do an awful lot of baking and roasting and such….have you overworked the poor thing?
Hiya Rosey! You’re continuing to move right down the scale, chickie! I really, really love hearing every time another pound drops away!
Rie and Karen3 – Yes! This is MY private place to vent and complain and hoot and holler and get lots of motivation and encouragement and hopefully give some as well – and I don’t want my kids or anybody else having access to what I say here, either! (After all, it might just be THEM that I’m whining about.) That’s why I decided on Ellabella as a username here. Everybody here knows my real name, but nobody “out there” does.
Glad you got home safe & sound, Karen31 – I hope you’ve gotten yourself some rest, now.
Are you all okay, Nancy? I haven’t heard anything from my sister, and I’m just hoping that all’s well…seems like I would’ve known by now if it wasn’t? I try not to call her too often, as she has just spent the last few – omigosh, I guess it’s been close to 3 months, now, going back & forth to the hospital every day, and now to the palliative care center, to be with her son. She’s about at her wit’s end, and finds it difficult to keep talking about it. I know how that is, because I know that if it were me, I wouldn’t want to have to “report” to others constantly when essentially, there’s nothing to report. I honestly and truly hope that this doesn’t go on for YEARS….I can’t help but think about that Terry Shaivo (?) case down in Florida a few years back, and the conflict between her parents and husband over taking her off life support. My nephew didn’t want to be kept alive in a vegetative state, so this is absolutely against his wishes. I want to support my sister however much I can, but she knows full well that she is not honoring his decisions and can’t seem to bring herself to let go. I don’t know how long she can continue spending every day there sitting by his bedside. She’s emotionally and physically spent.
Glad you got through that CPR course, Gayle. How often do you have to re-qualify?
Not bored to tears, Maureen, just contemplating what I need to be doing – what I want to do about a garden this year, I mean. I need to make up my mind and get moving with it!
YOU sure do keep busy, Bobbi…no wonder you can stay nice and slim!
Hi Sherry! Hi Lyn!
Thaaaaaat’s all, folks!

Z

Hey GGs,
Just a very quick stop-by, because my SO got off work early today (he’d already worked his 40 hrs. this week), & we’ve got a couple of outdoor projects to work on.

Zoe, we didn’t get any really bad weather here, & I didn’t hear about any in the Hendersonville area. Thank goodness! With all these tornadoes this year, I get pretty worried when I hear bad weather is headed our way. Have I mentioned before that we live in an old mobile home, with a built-on addition?! Definitely not too safe in a bad storm! But, our rental mobile home next-door has a half basement underneath it, so we’d head for that if we had enough time (and it’s only about 150 feet away). Lynn, I had heard about getting in a bathtub, but since both of ours are beside outside walls, & made of fiberglass, I don’t think they’d provide much protection.

Well, my SO’s ready to get started on the projects, so I better go. Maybe I’ll get back here later.
NCNancy