Afternoon all.

Ceejay – I hope you didn’t get that much rain the other day! There’s been some very rough weather going through the midwest. Good job on the weight loss!! I understand not wanting to drive so far for a weigh-in. When we live in heavily populated areas, why travel far like that? I finally just switched dentists a couple years ago after traveling back to my old neighborhood to see the dentist for over 15 years. But that was generally a twice per year thing. For things like exercise, I want to be really close to home.

Shad – Sorry you’re still dealing with the cellulitis. I hope it clears up soon. Is it keeping you from doing your usual activities at this point? Enjoy the weather. I think we’re going to have our usual scenario of going from cool and barely spring-like to full-on summer – hot and humid. Oh well. Good that the business man/nut case didn’t win the election. Our business man/nutcase has many bankruptcies under his belt and I don’t know if he ever released his tax filings as he's been asked since before the election, but I did hear that he/his business enterprises have never had to pay taxes. What a winner. How did the banana cake turn out? BF just bought another bunch of bananas after I’d bought one over the weekend. It’ll be either smoothies or banana bread.

Happy – Sorry the greenhouse didn’t work out. I have mine in the basement - I know it would never stay put if it was outdoors. Last year my plant starting efforts failed due to neglect and this year I’ve done NOTHING as far. Bleh. Good thing I didn’t spend much on it. I should just get rid it instead of having to face my failure every time I see it. Wow, didn’t your bingo partner just take a big trip together last summer with his wife? Sorry to hear they are divorcing. Or maybe it’s for the best…. I’m sorry you’ve got arthritis pain. My hands get stiff now, and they sure are showing their age (they’ve never been all that attractive to begin with). Maybe I need to wear gloves all the time, like Diane Keaton. I’m glad you got in under the wire with your dentist!! It will be interesting to see what the best options are for part 2. The bridge for all 4 is cheapest I bet, and the implants most expensive… My fairy garden would probably be ultra mini. I can’t seem to manage even a houseplant these days. No wobbly years allowed!!! I practice my balance while I brush my teeth, LOL. It was the bike that helped my topple. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!

Susie – Hope you are past the super-busy time at work and back to normal and keeping your sanity and me-time intact. Do you still work from home on Thursdays

Annie – Hope you are enjoying the last of your non-working time.


~~~
Nothing much to report. I’m leaving work a wee bit earlier today so I can get an earlier train home. I have my annual physical today. New doctor. I don’t have much on my list to discuss with her – just recommendation for another orthopedic surgeon and to discuss the sciatic pain that comes and goes. I thought there was one other thing that came to mind the other day, but of course I can’t recall it now. Whatever… Need to make sure she calls in an rx for my bp med. I’ve been out for about 3 weeks now, as I guess I didn’t really have a doctor to approve it.

I worked out three days last week and I’ve got one in so far this week. Still need to bring a pair or two of hand weights upstairs so I can do some exercises while I watch tv. I suppose I’d be much better off if I didn’t plant myself on the sofa as soon as I get home. Sigh.

Have a good rest of the day everyone.

Laura
We are still under a flood watch with more rain coming in. From the looks of the radar the rain may skirt around us.

Not much is going on. Like Laura I'm thinking with all this rain that it is going to turn off hot.
I'm listening to an Agatha Christie Mr.s Marple movie. I may go watch it in the living room.

Another night of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Don't think there is any damage in my area but some parts of Missouri were hit hard. The sun is trying to appear. Hope it makes it. These dark, dreary days are making me depressed.
Need to go to the grocery store and the gym.

Hi Ladies,
I am posting from the recumbent bike this morning.

I took a vacation day today as tonight is Cailyn's high school graduation. Between now and then I am house cleaning, doing laundry and getting a pedicure.

The weekend is full with graduation parties and hanging out with friends. We are going to try to go see Avengers End Game at the theater in town sometime this weekend.

Work is still busy but the review is done and now it is catch up time for all the other things that got pushed to the side while we worked on Innovation review things.

I am happy to report a loss at the past 3 TOPS meeting. 3.8 last week and 1.2 this week. I have been back at this for 90 days now and I am down 15.8 lbs. I have another 15 to get back off to be at my lowest weight 3 yrs ago. I will do it!

Ceejay: what is the update on the aircondiner? Our weather has turned muggy and I expect yours is too. I turned my air on about a week ago.

Laura: I read you were going to a new doctor. Did you have that appointment yet and what did you think of them?

Happy, I laughed you asked if I have been shopping. Yes I have! I bought 4 new dresses and 5 new pair of sandles in the past two weeks! I have a rule that whatever comes in that same number of thing go out. I have them in the garage to go to Good Will.

Shad: how are things coming with the cellulitis?

Annie: loved seeing the pictures of you at grand babies baseball game. You are looking good! Enjoy your weekend....new job for you starting Tuesday? I am very excited for you!

Good morning ladies,


I'm going to sit here and do a proper post!


Things are going ok for me. Teeth are holding up. I am getting use to the new bite. He adjusted the teeth (grind down high points) so now they sit well when my mouth is closed. But when I eat and get food in the center hollows of the back teeth - they slide and feel wierd. I can get them adjusted if I want but I think this is all a part of getting used to them. I have learned there are things I will probably never be able to eat again - like English Toffee. I can learn to live without it. He said corn on the cob might be a bit stressful on my weakened front teeth so best to cut it off the cob right now. I am "uncoupling" myself from volunteer activities. It was hard to start but gets easier as I find my momentum. My bingo and thrift shop partner's wife left him and filed for divorce. She was in the thrift shop practically every single day and was a madwoman when it came to cleaning. They are going to feel her loss substantially - I did go to a meeting this week and sat there quietly and avoided all the commotion going on. I did promise a sweet friend of mine that I would relieve her once a month so that she could attend movie night at her church - something she looked forward to but could not attend for almost a year because she was the only cashier at the shop. I gave up the Facebook at the Senior Center - gave others access and I am pleased to see they are taking on the task. The web work however they do not understand it takes a skilled person to do that. I am finding that I have to REALLY watch my food - am having wheezing at night I attributed to late night playing with the cats but it comes from acid reflux. So no fats or fried foods at supper. Going to have to rethink everything. Also the arthritis is pretty bad - my entire skeleton hurts so I have to be mindful of the sugars. Both of which I hope will also help lose weight which is also creating other problems.


I have all my garden plants but it is still too cold here to plant. I am trying to get more educated about gardening and tap into friends who are good resources. For example I thought you had to put the garden in as early as possible to have as much growing time as possible. Not true. Plants like bell peppers and tomatoes don't like soil temps lower than 60 degrees. It's been averaging low 40's at night here. So if I planted them too early they sort of seize up whereas if I planted them when it's warmer, they will take root and flourish and do much better. What this means is that my hot tub room will continue to be what looks like a garden jungle / nursery. I will bring plants out during the day to temper them and give them a drink of good rain water but need to bring them in at night. I can probably put some of the flowers out though.


I just hope we are DONE with the dreaded snow by now.


Susie - this weekend is graduations too I hear. Lots of people bustling around with celebrations as another chapter unfolds for the young people. I hope you have a good time celebrating Cailyn. How did Genny make out with her tests? Congratulations on getting those extra pounds off! Good work and watching on your part. I am so proud of you for refocusing and balancing your work and personal needs Ha ha on the shopping! It seems they have such pretty summer flowery prints this year. I saw some dresses this week shopping - although the were not my size I was glad I was not tempted as I have no reason to wear dresses here and don't own anything close to a dress shoe any more But you enjoy it for me please.


Shad - I hope the celulitis is easing up and that you are feeling better and enjoying the turn of the seasons and better weather your way.


Ceejay - I am watching heart in mouth at all the bad storms going through your part of the country. They look to be a bit south of you - hope that is the case. I always felt nervous in the spring tornado season down there. I can imagine how all the gray, rainy days would have an effect on your mood. Hopefully the sunshine is not long off.


Anne - hope you can enjoy this last week of "vacation" at home getting things ready before you head off to work - is it Tuesday already? Back to a routine again. That's a good thing although I'm sure the kids will really miss you now that they are off for the summer. I am just as grateful as you that someone was wise enough to see your potential and hire you.


Laura - actually D wanted to take his wife on a river trip through Barcelona and other places but she kept putting him off. She made him promise to do upgrades around the house and when he did she said she didn't want to fly, was afraid of terrorists and when that ship a few months ago set off in a storm and the passengers had to be airlifted by helicopter - she said she was done with travelling as that was the very ship they were on 2 years ago. He said IF he could get her on the plane, once they got to their destination they had a great time but like an errant toddler, she put up a catfight constantly. I do think he is better off without her but he is 79 and is just afraid of being alone so he'd take her back under any circumstances. I half think she is calling his bluff to set him up for good. Anyway I cannot make him less of a fool for her so I just try to be empathetic on the side. As for the hands, aren't they the first to show age? I have used some creams that make my hands less wrinkled for about 10 minutes I am not willing to do what you need to in order to keep nice hands - ie. ALWAYS rubber gloves for washing dishes, keep moderate temperatures so no hot water, no cold weather - keep your hands protected at all times. Ugh. Too much work. How did the doctor appointment go? Is there anything exercise you can do for the sciatica? That is terrible pain. Is that also aggravated by your foot issues at the moment? Are you going to be doing anything with a garden or landscaping this year? My friend went down to Chicago for Mother's Day. The warm weather was welcome BUT she caught a summer cold and now she is miserable. Fortunately she is staying away from all of us not to spread it.


I have 3 hummingbird feeders out. There are 3 hummingbirds and darn it if they are not all fighting with each other. Very aggressive birds. We have to move the feeders across the deck so they can't see each other. Most of the deer have disappeared - I think they are in the deep woods dropping fawns now. One more month and we will be seeing babies again.


Anyway to those of you working, enjoy the long holiday weekend. Don't forget a nod to those who have died serving our country this Memorial Day Monday. I am going to focus on the house this weekend.

Afternoon all. Happy Friday here in the US!

Ceejay – Looks like more rain heading our way. This is getting old. Yesterday was beautiful here though, if a bit windy. This morning it stopped raining and I was able to take my bike to the train station, and it looks like I’ll be able to get home before it rains again…if the radar is to be believed.

Susie – What a great WL!! Good work. Do you attribute it to keeping up with the exercise, or is it that you also do better with eating when you’re also exercising? Your weekend sounds packed. Enjoy it!! We also have a graduation party to attend, and also a birthday celebration. Sounds like your wardrobe is ready for warm weather! I really need to get out and shop – I don’t have enough tops to wear to work during the warm weather, and I need some shoes too!!

Annie – Best wishes for your first day at the new job. Did any benefits you had with your previous position at WF get carried over/grandfathered to your new one? Like vesting in a retirement plan, or a waiting period before you get insurance benefits, or vacation time?


Happy – Glad you’re adjusting to the new teeth. Bummer about giving up toffee (we would all be much better off without the sugar!!), but at least you can still eat the fresh corn, albeit off the cob. I’m sooo glad you’re backing off the volunteering!!! You seem happy with that, and I look forward to hearing more about your non-volunteer leisure activities!! As for your bingo partner – yes, he might be better off without her, but I should think at that age it would take a lot - something really serious - for a couple to split up. I wonder what her reason was. I can’t think that him wanting to travel and her not wanting to travel is the sole reason… As for me… I might be traveling solo because bf just doesn’t seem to want to. (Heads up Worldlies, I might just show up at your door sometime!! ) No, the foot is actually feeling alright until/unless I actually do something that puts weight/force on it. The foot doesn’t aggravate the sciatica and vice-versa.

Hello Shad!!

==

My doctor’s appointment went alright. I’m not sure I like this new doctor enough to stay with her. She’s very nice, but I liked my old doctor much better. This new one has this verbal “tic” where she frequently says “Sounds good”. A LOT. It got to the point where I thought I might start laughing out loud… I ended up getting a pneumonia vaccine (people with asthma are at higher risk for pneumonia), and it was recommended I get a shingles shot. I’ll have to see if my insurance covers it – my old doctor told me that they usual cover it above a certain age. At the time I was under that age. I’ve got a milestone bday coming up, so maybe it’ll be covered.


I was annoyed that they didn’t have me get bloodwork done in advance of the exam. I know it’s not an automatic, but they could just look at my records and know they want to have them done. And speaking of records, this medical group has a new records system (their 3rd in only a few years, according to the nurse) and patient portal and the old records are not all in the new system yet. So the nurse taking my history took a long time because she was either entering it manually in the new system or moving certain information from the old one. Just figuring out when my last shots and tests were done took a while. I already bring a list of my meds and supplements to make that part easier, but maybe I need to have my own history with me if it’s such a problem for them to bring it up on their system!!

I mentioned the intermittent sciatica pain and was given a sheet with low back exercises. I have yet to look at it. I also asked for a recommendation for an orthopedic surgeon to fix my stress fracture and she gave me the name of a podiatrist. I’m confused – I doubt podiatrists performs surgeries. So that’s another strike against this new doctor. She did get my bp rx refill request sent to my mail order pharmacy, so that’s good. I made an appointment for fasting bloodwork for next Saturday. The gyn part of the exam went fine. Overall, healthwise, it went alright. The rest…needs improvement.

We received an email at work yesterday. The business day before a company holiday, the office now closes at 1 pm. Previously it was officially 3 pm and they would often send out a last-minute email saying we could leave earlier. So now it’s officially 1 pm and that’s nice. It starts today. They also changed the Summer Hours policy and we no longer have to work extra hours to take advantage of them. We are allowed up to 4 half-days off over the summer (or two full days) – on Fridays. Very nice. Our department’s busiest time is the summer, but I still intend to take advantage of that policy!

I skipped the workout last night. Instead I took photos of a couple furniture items I want to sell and posted them on Craigslist. I hope they sell. I think I’ll also post them on the FB garage sale groups to which I belong.

I’ll be home from work earlier today, so I’ll see if my mother needs to go shopping or anything. She doesn’t like to ask me to do shopping/errands because (she says) I work, and that my sister (who doesn’t work outside the house) has more time and can do it. Last weekend I gave in when she insisted she’d get my sister to go shopping with her. But I’ll ask if she needs to shop for anything just in case. I’m predicting she won’t want to go this afternoon because (a) it’s a last minute plan and (b) she prefers shopping earlier in the day. But we’ll see. If not, I'll get to the fc for a workout. This weekend I have a hair appointment Saturday morning. We have a birthday celebration on Saturday and a graduation party on Sunday.

Have to get this posted. Have a good weekend, and everyone here in the States have a good holiday!

It's another warm day. both inside and outside. My sis had an appointment with the guy about the air conditioner this morning. He came at ten. Think she will go ahead and get a new heating system too since it gave some problems last year. She likes to do her research.
We were lucky in that we mainly got thunderstorms and heavy rain. Jefferson City, our capitol, got the worst of it when an EF3 tornado touched down there.
I'm going to spend tomorrow and next week with sis until the new a.c. is installed. I'm pretty tough but I don't want to live like this forever. I do love to hear the birds chirping and can't hear them with the window's closed.

Afternoon all.
Got an hour before I need to go turn off the water to the front garden. It's a bit jungle like out there and the horrible summer we have had has decimated my plants so the weeds are taking their place. Over the week I have pruned and pulled out dead bits and some live bits that have outgrown their space. I've deheaded and planted a few more plants in the hope that they may live happily ever after. I've also been working out the back where the weeds have also taken over and I am leveling so ground for pathways when the new garden beds are ready. I guess I feel a lot better now.
The cellulitis is going away slowly. The leg is not so swollen and the skin is peeling where it was stretched beyond imagination. The only thing that annoys me about it now is the place where the initial infection started. It seems to be a blister but one that does not want to heal or to go away. I guess another visit to the doctor is required. It's annoying only because I have to wear scuffs around the place and can't get a shoe on because it hurts. I have bought a pair of ankle gumboots to wear in the garden but no matter how I pad out the blister, it still hurts to have fabric or leather against it. I don't want to pull the scab off by wearing them.

Happy - A while ago you asked about the capsicum/bell peppers I have been growing. These grew from seeds that I had thrown in the compost heap. I didn't buy them as plants. Anyway they have the full characteristics of the parent plant, thick fruit walls, lots of seeds, and heaps of flavour. And you keep them in the crisper in the fridge and no you don't have to use them straight away. I have some in the fridge I picked over a week ago and they are still good. There was two store bought ones in there too, but I have had to throw them out. Maybe you could try to raise some from the seeds of a bought one and keep it in the spa room until it is ready to go outside. Since the seeds are free, it wouldn't cost too much to do. Much of my garden (tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, rocket and now capsicum) I have grown this way. Nothing like full flavour, fresh veg for free. Weeds here are prolific. Since it is warm they like to grow all year round. You think you have got on top of them and lo and behold it rains and more appear. Weed free but not seed free unfortunately and a lot of them spread underground. Grrrr.

Laura - Cellulitis is a pain. But it is getting better and I am told I am not a good patient. Who can be when there is only you to deal with the day to day stuff that life throws at you and you can see it going down the tube to oblivion if you don't get up and do something about it.
I love the weather this time of year. Warm days, cool nights. much easier to sleep than having humidity and buzzing insects and heat.
With politics here, we only seem to elect the grey, tired, middle aged, balding blokes. Heaven forbid that Australia ever had a woman prime minister. Still the current chief monkey has taken the hint and managed to get six women into his cabinet. Not too many of them will get the juicy portfolios like health and education, they will probably be assigned to things like local affairs etc. I was going to say that they would be assigned to indigenous affairs, but really we need indigenous people to take up those positions. How the heck does a middle class white person with a university education deal with the raw back to nature type of thing.
The banana cake came out well - great grandma's recipe is good to go everytime. It even freezes well. I have some bananas left over, might have to make another one for the freezer.
I hear you about your doctor saying 'Sounds good'. Some of them haven't got too many conversational skills these days, and some you can hardly understand. I hope you can get this foot sorted and soon. It must be getting frustrating.

Ceejay - I understand the wishing to hear the birds. I guess you don't get to hear too many over winter. Currently we have a lot of birds around including a couple of Kookaburras (large birds from the kingfisher family) and they are chortling away in the big tree. We also have a flock of sulphur crested cockatoos that swoop in around 5pm. Someone is feeding them. They are a rowdy bunch.
I hope the dreadful tornados sweeping around in your area don't come to you. I saw the news on tv this morning and it looks awful. And those poor folk that are losing their homes because the riverbanks are eroding, it is just awful. Still you have to think about those things when you build or buy a house by the water.
I'm not taking antibiotics for the cellulitis any more. The hospital and my doctor said the infection was totally gone. I have got a repeat of the tablets if it did come back though.

Susie - sounds like you are up for a fun weekend. And congratulations on the weight loss. That's fantastic.
Hope your friend Genny is doing okay now. Amazing what can be done these days.

Annie - hello . How is the job going? Hope you are enjoying it. And no doubt impressing everyone with you usual organisation and flair. No doubt you miss being at home with the boys.

I guess that is about it from me. Time to go out and turn off the water to the garden. Clean up my mess and then watch some footy on tv. I'm having spaghetti bolognaise for dinner tonight. Must be just about time to start making the sauce for it. Chicken mince this time instead of the usual beef. I'd better go out and get some greens from the garden to make a bit of a salad to go with it. Need to keep up the fibre. The cellulitis plus the antibiotics plus the lying around with my leg up played heck with my digestive system and I have only just got it back into normal working order. I can't do much more outside today anyway so if I make the banana cake, and the sauce and then clean up my mess it should be time for the main game of rugby that I want to see. Have a good weekend.

Good Saturday morning
Susie
You have had a good weight loss. Congratulations. I need to get myself motivated once again on the exercise. I did go to the gym once this week.

Shad
Glad the cellulitis is going away. and that you are able to do a few more things.

Hello's to the rest. and have a good Saturday.

Good morning Ladies….



Well my last weekend as an unemployed soul. Job starts on Tuesday, the 28th. Two more days. I am looking forward to it as I know all the basic about Well Fargo and then will add the financial planning part. That is where I will grow and learn more just in time to plan for my retirement. Little did they know I am only planning on working 6 more years. As I will be 59 in June. Where in the h*ll did time and my life go. Holy smokes.

The big b**b that I am. When I fell about 5 weeks ago and caught myself on the brick wall with my hand but my hand/wrist sorta bent back it really hurt. More than my banged up knee. WELL….I never quit hurting, so last week I went and had it x-rayed. Yep I had a clean break. I BROKE MY DANG ARM! Fortunately, unfortunately, clean break, and it had already started healing, bout halfway healed. Good side didn’t get casted only braced/stabilized. I can take the brace off for showers. It is not the best and cannot write or anything when wearing it. Yes it is off at the moment. I mean I went 5 weeks without a brace, in pain. I am going to try to find a better brace that is not so restricting and can type with it on. I would hate to take medical leave on the first day or work. Hahahah.

I do get my service time back on day one. 4 ½ years. I had just rolled over my traditional and roth retirement from Wells into my personal retirement plans. So that will start over at ground zero but with no wait time. I do have to wait 30 days for insurance to kick in. One more month of Cobra (550.00) One more month till C has insurance at all. My PTO and vacation, holidays kick in where I left off on the first day. So day one I will have 5 weeks vacation to get through the last 6 months of 2019. J J J I have a few days that I let HR know then will tell my boss that I must have off for the summer as they are already planned/paid. Down side to this position, it is on the north side of Indy rather than downtown. Same amount of minutes to drive but will take so much longer as I will be on the 465 conveyor belt the entire way. No other way from my house to get there. BOOOOoooo.

One day will be off is for Cindy, my SILs, cancer surgery removal of kidney on July 18th. I told her if later on down the road she needs a kidney, I am her girl. I love her so. She has been in my life since I was 13. They got married when I was 15. I was in there wedding, bridesmaid. She is such a kind sweet person.

Sam got my garden planted. Just tomatoes and hot peppers. Going to plant pumpkin and cucumbers tomorrow. My peonies (mom’s) are blooming, sadly they only bloom once a year. Freakishly my two rose of Sharon bushes are dead. Don’t know what happened there. A huge mystery. ROS bushes are usually so hearty and get overgrown if you don’t take care of them. Momma duck took her babies and left the nest. Took them down to the pond behind the house. Have not seen babies but daddy and momma duck come visit us daily. Good food I suspect. Yes I baby them. One morning when we were have a heck of a rain storm, momma was on the front porch on the mat just next to the front door. I believe she would of come in if we invited her. A few days later daddy duck did the same thing. Pets for life. Haha

Samantha has applied for EMT school that will start the end of July. Hopefully the class will not be full. She has paid half of the schooling so far. She saved up for a down payment on a 2005 Chevy Malibu. The mechanic we use is letting her make monthly payments. She will go to school in the evening and babysit in the day time. Both the boys will be in all day school in the fall. Jacob 2nd grade and Royce kindergarten. AND A BIG FAT YES, I will miss these two so much when I go back to work. Downside. Actually I will even miss the babysitting kids.



HAPPY…so glad you teeth are coming along. What pain they cause and getting them lined out sucks. Loved DHs baby foxes on FB. Of course I love any babies. Sam has a new baby 4 mos old she is sitting for. What a doll. Glad you are FINALLY backing off your volunteering. You deserve a great retirement and I think volunteering hinders you fun life.



LAURA….boo on the stress fracture still bothering you. I really don’t like finding new doctors. One reason I still go to my primary care doc. She is about an hour drive from my house…..but now that I work on the north side she will be about ½ hour drive from work. How are you liking your new digs at work?



CEEG….Oh bad time of year not to have air conditioning. Great that you can stay with sis during the transition of new AC and heat. Saw on the news the tornado that hit in your area. Oh my goodness what a mess for everyone. So sad.



SUSIE…wtg on the weight loss. That is awesome. Was hoping you would get back on track as you are looking so beautiful. Have been following your graduation pics. Such a proud moment. Hope work is not keeping you too busy. HOORAY for Genny.. I just work my t-shirt yesterday in her honor.



SHADDIE…sorry to hear about your cellulitis but glad it is getting better. Don’t think I have known or seen anyone that had that. Heard it was painful tho. What a hot summer you have had. Goodness. How is the pup? Kitties?



Best get this posted and get in the shower. Gotta get this day started.



Love you ladies!

Good morning ladies,


Happy first day back at work Annie. Long time coming. Hope the commute wasn't too awful. Do you have a CD player in your car to listen to music? Of course you live in the city so you probably have more than 3 radios stations to pick from, unlike here. I hope the office people are friendly and the work enjoyable. I have a theory about how we got old so fast... I think it's because when we are working we are always wishing it was Friday and we wished our lives away OMG on the arm break!!!! I'm glad you got it checked out. Would be worse to ignore it and it heals funny and gives you problems the rest of your life. I hope it was not too costly getting it check out. Glad everything is coming back to you as far as service and things at WF. That happened to DH too - he left his job at IBM when they were cutting and forcing people out. Was gone for 2 years, then a recruiter got him hired back in at his old job for more money! Only issue we had was when he retired, his pension was low (we thought) and just as we were moving up north here, he got a letter that they had neglected to incorporate his prior time with the company (MOST of his service) so they adjusted the pension nicely. We needed that money for sure - God will provide as you say... But sweet to get the vacation and retirement credits back. How nice to hear that Sam has some life plans in place. Good luck with school - sounds like a very good plan. You have to be careful what you invest your money in - jobs are so unstable now.


Ceejay - are you still in the midst of storms? How is the weather - are you doing ok without A/C?


Shad - do you know what caused the cellulitis? Bug bite or unknown scratch? Sorry to hear that one darned spot won't heal. You really got a bad case. As I said before, be extra careful, seems like once it happens you are more susceptible to another lengthy round. Thanks for the garden talk, they say to use seeds if you have a good plant from prior years. Our season is wayyyy to short to grow from seeds unless you start them in pots in the house and I'm afraid Bimmy will eat them. She found a piece of rocket and was toting that all over the house. I smiled at your comment about Australia having a woman prime minister - I think perhaps New Zealand's progressive woman would scare the pants off the old gray hairs


Laura - I think you should travel a bit if you can. Do it before the arthritis kicks in and you find you are limited in what you can do. You are welcome to come up here but we have cats. And that seems to be a deal breaker for most people. DH and I are trying to refigure the configuration of the house. I want a studio area with lots of light for my painting and drawing. He is in the guest room now and that is too hot for him as it's right above the furnace duct. I am thinking of taking that room - it's bright and it's never too warm for me. If we do that, we'd have no guest room - but we have only had visitors a small handful of time so he said why not just enjoy the house for ourselves? Can't argue that. He wants to do a lot of travelling for photography options and I just cannot walk around like I used to. Hence the regret about spending so much time enmeshed in volunteering when I didn't know that I was slowly getting more decrepit and should have been spending the time doing what I wanted to do. That's my advice to all of you. As for the foot doctor, I had to go through the rounds with the podiatrist before they would allow me to see an orthopedic surgeon. Had to make sure I went through the non invasive protocols first because all the orthopedic person basically does is surgery. And heaven forbid you waste their time. Which is what happened when I had the bad tendonitis. I just waited the year for the foot to heal on it's own. I hope you have better luck - sounds like your surgery would be more straightforward and beneficial. I HATE when I got to the doctors office and they keep making me fill out the same darn paperwork time after time after time. We just got a new system... that's the same story you said the last 8 times!!!!


Susie - hope you had a nice weekend. I'm sure it was on the go but hope you had fun.


Saturday I decided to sign up for this food share program they had been offering in town for the last 5 months or so. It is not need based, They utilize and distribute food that is either extra or needs to be used up soon. I paid $25 for a full share. It's distributed at a church. You sign up for time slots. I picked 10:30 - middle of the pack since I figured the crowds would clear out. Wrong! I made DH go with me to help carry stuff. Turns out we sat almost an hour and a half PAST my assigned time. For $25 I got: 4 huge cantaloupes, (I was too late to get a seedless watermelon that looked fabulous ), about 1 dozen tomatoes, 3 poblano peppers, 6 shell packages of greens - much to my delight 3 boxes of arugula no one else knew what to do with as well as 2 cranberry walnut salads with greens and some kale which I will make into a salad, 15 ears of sweet corn, 6 various containers of milk, 2 yogurts, 2 delicious tangerines, 2 bunches of bananas, 5 bags of red grapes, 2 boxes of strawberries (one that was moldy so tossed out), 2 boxes blueberries, 8 pounds of asparagus, 3 pounds of red potatoes and 3 packages of English muffins. Quite a haul. DH was not into this as he said alot of the stuff was "sad looking". The asparagus was fishy smelling so I soaked it - asparagus can be like that. Because of weather changes, many of the bananas had split open - I was afraid something could have contaminated them and you can't wash or cook bananas so I tossed the equivalent of one bunch. They had eggplant but it was all sun scalded so I didn't take any of that. A shame to waste boxes of it but I knew it was no good. I made a fruit salad with some of the berries and bananas and froze the rest for use in smoothies. I made asparagus soup and used some of the milk I got. Might make some salsa with the tomatoes. The sweet corn looked bad on the husks but it was just wet. The inside corn was great - made some sweet corn I had to cut off the cob so as not to stress my still cracked and weak front teeth (that is part 2 of the fix which starts next month). Last night I made confetti corn - sweet corn kernels lightly frieds in some butter with chopped carrot, chopped red bell pepper and chopped water chestnuts. The fruit that was going bad I put out for the animals and it was gone by morning. My wild turkeys are too dumb to know they are supposed to like blueberries. It was a good haul but DH won't do this again next month. It did get me to think of ways to utilize the food quickly and I found some new recipes to try. I'd actually do this again but sign up for one of the first time slots. Maybe I can get one of my friends to go in with me on a share. I also did lots of research this weekend on garden plants. Did you know that water you cook vegetables in is good fertilizer for your plants? I did get the sugar snap peas planted. Still too cold for other things. We are hauling things in and out of the greenhouses and 3 season rooms. End of this week we should be able to plant flowers but will have to wait until mid June for the peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers. I bought some clothes on sale and now I REALLY have to sort my closet and pull out the winter stuff so that I have room and won't break the racks holding up wayyyyyy tooo manyyyyy shirts and things. DH is going to Minneapolis for a raptor photography class on Saturday. It's held at their botanical gardens so I convinced him to go on Friday and get a room to stay overnight so he won't be too stressed and tired and be able to see what he wants to. It's a 3 hour drive each way - too much to cram into one day. I will appreciate 2 days home to myself. Actually I told him to scope out the gardens, not much to see yet but if it looks good, we can always plan an overnight trip the end of June when more flowers are in bloom. I am hesitant to leave the cats alone and right now we still have heavy water draining from the sump pumps so I am also hesitant to go away until things dry up. We have had power snaps - brief flickers but I always get nervous this time of year. We have flocks of hummingbirds out. Started with 3 and within 4 days we now have a bunch flying all over. They are even feeding from the Baltimore Oriole feeder we put out. We had a bright orange oriole on the bird seed feeder last week. Lots of pretty and colorful birds out there. I am still trying to find shoes that are comfortable for me to stand in for long periods or walk around in. All my shoes from last year seem to bother my feet or knees after a few hours. I need to be mindful of inflammation and LOSE WEIGHT. I do find myself eating smaller meals and gravitating towards more vegetables. DH made some steaks the other night - heavily salted them with coarse salt, let them sit for an hour and then washed off the salt, dried and grilled them. They were good and flavorful but still a bit salty for me. I only ate a part of mine and I think he might have been a tad insulted. It is true, I like the side dishes and vegetables way more than the meat. I don't think I could go full on vegetarian but I can change the style of eating.


Anyway it was a good weekend. I have this week mostly all to myself with just some minor work. It feels GOOD!!! So... DH took the lawn mower down to get repaired and he will be back soon. I don't want to still be sitting at the computer when he gets back so I will post this and go get busy. Have a good week everyone.

As Fred Flintstone would say yabba dabba do. My sis called just a minute ago and told me that she was going home to write a check for the AC. Bil will go to Branson to pick it up. The guy is coming out Friday to install and just in time as my sibling, sister, from Georgia is coming for a visit on Friday. At least we will have cold air that night.
I spent Sunday and Monday night with sis in Ash Grove cause it was getting hot in the house. But it actually is not to bad right now. (Just to verify sis lives in Ash Grove but works in Branson during the week. She is a Nurse Practitioner.
Actually got to church just in the nick of time before the storm hit too. And of all things was called to play piano that morning. I do want to get better at doing this. I'm going to start practicing on a daily basis.
Will be getting outside in a few minutes to work in the yard. The temperature today is supposed to b 85 for the high. That's not bad.
Finally figured out how to sync my FitBit to my phone. Had to update my new phone on the website. I've spent 3 days trying to figure this one out.
My sis has planted blueberry bushes and they have tiny blueberries on them.

Happy
that was a lot of food for 25$ even though some of it was bad. I'm glad that you have some time Btw, Miley still remembers my voice when I get to talk to her via phone call with niece. She meowed for me the last time. I sure do miss her.

Morning all.


Ceejay – Wow, you’ve been getting some really warm weather by you. I hope the AC is now keeping you cool and that you’re enjoying spending time with your visiting sis. Awww, Miley still remembers you. I’m not surprised by that though. That’s the way animals are.

Shad – The lingering effects of the cellulitis must be frustrating to you, especially if you can’t wear proper shoes for your activities!! Re our government leaders – I’ve deliberately tuned out because it’s so demoralizing. But…sure does seem like there would be an indigenous person qualified and willing to take on the work for their affairs… But too many things still operate on the basis of the good old boy (or race or alumnus) club. Yeh, the foot isn’t an issue for the limited activities I do right now, but *limited* is the key word. If I want to do brisk fitness walking, an exercise class that has lunges, or work around the house that includes stooping (e.g., gardening/weeding, etc) - no good. That stuff puts too much weight on the broken foot. So it’s well past time I dealt with getting the surgery to fix it.

Annie – How’s your arm feeling? Glad you got it properly looked at and placed in a cast. Did you find a brace that lets you do your work? And how is the work so far?? Yay for getting the service time back for the bennies. Hope the commute hasn’t been as bad as you expected… Yeh, surprising the Rose of Sharon bushes are dead. They are very hearty and become a nuisance to keep under control. Good for S. going to EMT school.

Happy – Holy smokes, that’s a lot of food!! Good idea to go in on a share of it with someone else next time. I know I wouldn’t like the pressure of figuring out what to do with all that stuff!! I do agree with you that you should use the space in the house the way you want. If someone comes to visit, then you can re-jigger things on a temporary basis. Our extra bedroom serves multi-purposes and it has a daybed with a trundle underneath, so it’s better than nothing. Re the foot – I’ve already done the rounds with two orthopedic docs, so a podiatrist isn’t necessary (and I haven’t had great experience with them, so that’s another factor). I can’t see the insurance folks giving me grief for surgery – I did everything recommended to heal this thing and it just didn’t heal. I hope dh enjoys the raptor photography class. I know I enjoy seeing his photos on fb. Sorry to hear you’re having trouble finding comfortable shoes. Do you think you need custom orthotics??


Hi Susie! How’s your week going? Hope you have a good TOPS WI today.
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Holiday weekend was good. Saturday and Sunday were nice weather. Got a good amount done around the house Saturday. The grad party on Sunday was lovely. So glad the weather turned out great and we weren’t forced to all be inside the house. Speaking of house – bf’s brother and family moved to a new house (the previous one they rented was being sold). It’s got a much better flow to it and is more spacious than the previous one. Which is an odd choice, because both of their two daughters will now be in college starting in August…you'd think the timing was ripe for downsizing. Anyway, once thing I really liked was that all the doors and trim are bright white. I would LOVE to do that in our house. No, let’s re-word that: I would love to have that done in our house. I love the hardwood floors in our house, but the baseboards and trim are plain and are pine, so nothing special. And the doors are also plain, and hollow-core too boot (i.e., just plain UGLY), so I have no issue getting rid of those. In fact, when we replaced all our windows, we had the exterior color in sandstone and the interior color in white…so what’s stopping us? Oh just all the other more pressing things that should take priority. And the fact that bf seems to think that it’s a DIY project. And this is where I will stop pre-rant, LOL.

Back to the grad party…turns out their new digs are very close (walking distance) from one of my HS friends & her hub. So I walked over hoping they would be around. Yes they were, so I spent a bit of time with her catching up on things. Bf did too, later on, but he drove over, LOL. So typical for him. He only walked anywhere when he walked the dog.


Nothing much else to report. I went to the fc on Tuesday and will go tonight. Friday night I fast for the Saturday morning blood draw. Saturday is also the Relay for Life charity event. Once again, I didn’t join the team (I don’t like to actually do fundraising), but I will make donations to my sis and SIL, who are team members. I think I’ll also volunteer at the event on Saturday.


Sunday I’m going to breakfast with my friend D. Another friend tells me all is not well with D and her bf. Unfortunately he's living with her in her house with his dog and his son (and maybe a cat - I can't recall now). And now that I’ve met him on two occasions, I do have to say I don’t care much for him… but all I can do is be supportive of D. She’s the type who wants a man in her life, so she has to live with the negatives if it means that much to her.


Okay, better get this posted. TTFN.

Annie
How was your first week back to work?

Supposed to be getting my a.c installed today. Yipee.
Will be going to the airport to pick up my sis later this afternoon. It will be a busy week.
Need to get back with the program. I'm stalling at 193 but once I get back on track the pounds will go away.

Happy Saturday! Enjoying a quiet weekend, sorta. Sam is off to her BFs house. We have not met him yet as “they are not there” yet. Whateva the heck that means. Kids these days. I have seen him tho. Pretty cute, tall, dark and handsome. She met him at the drive through at Chick fi la or however it is spelled. He is very mannerfulßis that a word? I mean if you work at CFL you have to be a good person. Well that work was till Tuesday of this week. He now works for a moving place as a supervisor of some sort. He has never been married and has one lil boy that is 3. Oh and he is 10 years younger than Sam. That kind of bothers me a little. I don’t know. We will see later down the road. The other part of me says go Sam! J She is NOT introducing him to the kids for a very long time. I mean if I haven’t met him yet it will be a while. Good on her part. Enough of that.

First week, well four days of work due to the holiday, went very well. Some aspects of the job are the same but for the most part I will get to learn about Financial Planning. That much I like. EVERYONE seems very nice so far. I have not slept well all week due to leg cramps at night and just not sleeping. I have been up by 4:30 or 5 every morning so I sit and drink coffee for an hour and a half. I am awake plenty by then. Feed Sassy and let her out, sometimes Bruno too. The commute is about the same amount of miles as downtown but takes longer due to heavy traffic on the interstate. 20 minutes to downtown and 30-45 minutes to north side. Like I said depends on traffic. Having 5 weeks vacation makes up for it. I have thanked GOD for my job most every day and pray for patience on the roads. All and all I think I will enjoy. There are about 100 Wells Fargo people at this site and it makes it hard to remember names. I mean I am blonde and a duh on top of that. Of course the new computer woes are there. Downloading and shutting down my computer all day long. Hopefully next week there will be only a couple. Only one of the programs I will use has a glitch and should be updated and fixed on Monday.

Last evening my bro, SIL, nephew (almost 40 yrs old) and a couple of my SILs friends went to St. Jude’s Catholic Church Festival. We had a blast. We played bingo and Texas hold em a couple of hours each. Also played a couple of games here and there. I won a 6” tall by 4” square jar filled with little ceramic angels. So I have been telling everyone I won a jar of angels. Couldn’t get any better than that. My brother won the big haul of the night in our group. 30 poker pot. One of the girls won an 11$ bingo pot. Small crowd and a dollar for 3 cards to play. Half of each game goes to the church. I ate nachos supreme with jalapenos with no chips and extra lettuce. It was very tasty. Whomever made the meat for the nachos did an outstanding job. Also got corns on the cob. I know, not keto but couldn’t resist. Love that stuff. Only ate half of it due to guilt and it was all that great. That is what I get for cheating. I still have 10-15 lbs to lose and am working on that.

My arm is getting slowly better. Dumb arse me tripped over my flip flops and took a toss to the floor. Kind of banged my arm again and it hurt. Was kind of upset about it but it is feeling better now. I went straight down to my knees hard. Felt like I pushed my legs up through my back. THUD I am sure I will feel it tomorrow and be bruised on my knees. What a boob!

Tomorrow, C, Sam me, my bro, SIL and nephew are going to Ciincy, OH tomorrow to eat at Pappadeaux’s Seafood. About an hour and a half drive and oh so good. We are celebrating my new job and birthday. I can hardly wait and have been studying the menu on line. Right now I am hankering for the grilled salmon and scallops combo. Kind of an expensive place but h*ll I deserve it. Or so I am trying to believe I do.

My brother that lives in St. Louis is leaving for Destin FL tonight for a week of vacation on the beach. His daughter, son in law and grandkids are going also. I hope they have a great time. This is his first real vacation without Fe and is feeling a bit sad. Don’t know how he can tell the difference as he is sad everyday over Fe. I get it, believe me I do. Today, June 1 makes 6 years since daddy has been gone. Time goes very fast and yet also very slow when it comes to missing those who have gone before us. L

Not doing personals as I need to switch out the laundry and dust the living room. No rest for the weary. Kind of excited for tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and I will try to get back in here this week.

Love youse!