Ok....I'M BAD! I think the graphic is cute, & Bluet mentioned snow!

Sunny...You're so sweet. There's nothing you can do for my daughter & family...except to keep praying. Things are getting better for them, especially since they got their power & water back on. Going back & forth trying to keep 3 kids in school & them both at work...with clothes to wash, etc., was rough. But, it is better, now. I believe they had the most damage in their little town. It's for sure, they were the last to receive help, because of the power lines being down around their house. She called yesterday, & said FEMA was going to help them, & sounded relieved. They both had VERY good jobs as engineers at a paper mill (Georgia Pacific...they make Northern Tissue, & Brawny Towels), until this past year. They decided it wasn't worth being away from the kids so much...so they downsized their jobs. Liking it a lot better, but pay is considerably lower, so have to watch money closely. She is working at the college....something to do with Osha. He is now teaching math at the high school. She (Paula) goes on 1-2 day trips, sometimes, teaching safety to firefighters (how to wear their masks, etc), & different people. Tough job, huh? A lot of the time, those trips bring her in our direction, & she stays with us. We like that! Only thing, we don't get those large boxes of Tissues & Paper Towels brought to us, anymore.
I have a granddaughter that LOVES purple. Everything she gets, & is given is purple! I'll pray that the foods you like (but can't eat) won't be tempting you, so it will be a little easier for you. I have a similar situation with my back problems. Although there are things I'm capable of doing, I'll pay dearly. I'm bad to undertake things on my own without waiting for someone else's help. Impatient! What bothers me the most, though, is not being able to do things with my grands as I'd like to do. My granddaughter(the purple lover) is a Cheerleader this time....I'd love to go watch her. There's no way I can stand to sit on those bleachers. Couldn't even climb them, with RA. So, I'm trying to figure out how to go watch the end of a game from the doorway, maybe. The school is within walking distance of our house. I still think I can handle that easier than not eating foods I like. I'm a sugar eater. Can't stay away from sweets. Like I said....praying for you.

Sheila...that sounds like a great idea about the artwork. I don't have any of mine, anymore...but, can pass the idea on to others. I came up with another idea for the grands for Christmas. We all decided to not buy for each other because of all having money problems this year. (of couse, they don't know about the albums) We're just buying small gifts for the kids, & having a big dinner. I'm fixing up baskets, like Easter, only with several individually wrapped
small gifts to unwrap. I found Christmas basket wrap that's perfect for each one of them! I think they'll have a lot of fun....I hope so. Yes, I've been to those birthday parties before with pictures on the wall. They're lots of fun. I haven't heard of the candy bars, though. Good idea. It's been raining here for a few days...now, turning cold.

Bluet....I hate winter, too! I was raised in Detroit, Michigan. The winters were brutal. I think that really contributed to turning me against it. We don't have a lot to say about it, though, do we? We'll just have to endure it. I know what you mean about the laundry. I spent all day Tuesday doing laundry. Still didn't get it all done. Our son (divorced) is staying with us, right now...& has his two little girls here every other week. So...you can imagine the pile of clothes after last week! Sometimes, he'll do their laundry. He's good about helping around here. But, he & DH had long work days this week.

Hi Jacquie...Hope you got some rest. You sounded tired. How far was you having to go to do your mom's laundry? I know that was rough.
DH has no work next week, so maybe he'll get the roof fixed good enough, at least that it doesn't leak! If everything goes well, he should have it far enough along by the end of the week, that our kids can all come over & help finish up. That's what they have planned.

Well...this is a very long post...hope it will hold it. Everyone have a good Friday!

ALL - RIGHT CHARLOTTE!!!!!! That is what I say to snowmen too or any kind of snow or freezing temps.

I am getting on now because I won't be able to later, the grandkids will be at my house around six and won't be leaving until tomorrow. It will be a busy day for me.

I just went to the kitchen at work and dumped a little caffeine coffee into my decafe, having a hard time staying awake this afternoon. Well, I am working on the general ledger, which is some pretty boring stuff. Except Receivables isn't working out and I can't figure out why the detail is not matching the G/L. I hate that, try to be so careful all month, so I don't have to struggle with things not balancing at the end of the month, and still things go wrong.

I will have to make a lunch for "The Road Builders" for tomorrow, so I thought I would stop at the grocery store and get some stuff to make hot tamales, (sloppy joes) everybody calls them something different, depending on where they live. Since I don't cook much anymore, this should be interesting. Of course, I should do some practicing since the holidays are fast approaching and the kids and grands will be home for the Holidays, I guess I will have to provide something for then to eat, right

It sure is gloomy today here. We thought we saw some snow flurries a little while ago, but we decided it is 45 degrees, it does not snow when it is 45 degrees, does it? It is a little soon, not all the trees have changed color yet.

I am starting to wake up a little bit, it must be the coffee. I just know I am going to lay in bed tonight staring wide awake at the ceiling from the caffeine. I never drink caffeine, for one it is not allowed on my diet and secondly it has a weird affect on me, it messes with my eyes and of course I get jittery. It was either this or be found dozing at my desk by OB, oh my gosh what a woman hating brute.

My sister stopped at the office before lunch and dropped off a beautiful baby quilt she had someone make for her for Adam. DD will be very happy it is a warm snuggly quilt in blue and white plaid with little old fashion baby buggys on it.

Well, I guess I had better get back to the G/L, the accountant will be here bright and early on Monday. I'll check back on Sunday after church.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Bluet

Charlotte, that graphic is too funny! Boy, I'd miss the GP products, too. Sounds like they still have good jobs, though, and getting to spend more time with their kids is such a wonderful perk. I love your idea about the baskets. You're so creative! It's raining here today, and will be tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. . . Good time to get all the inside projects done, and catch up on some reading.

Bluet, we both had a little caffeine on the same day. I always stick to decaf, too, but I was craving coffee and the store I was at didn't have their free decaf out so I drank about 1/4 of a cup of regular. Didn't have much of a reaction, which was good. Never heard of sloppy joes being called hot tamales. Maybe it's because there's quite a Mexican population in the west so a tamale is a tamale is a tamale.

Boy, was I kicking myself on Thursday night. My Dad always gets six lottery tickets, three for him and three for me. I put my initials on the back of mine and then he turns them in and with the initials he can tell who won. On Sunday he didn't get three and three--he got all six on one ticket and wanted me to initial three of them. I didn't want to deal with it so I said he could just do all six. He won $700!! I couldn't believe it. The most I've ever won is $20. Of course, even if I had initialed three, maybe the one that won wouldn't have been one I initialed. I could have used an extra $700.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hi all!

It's a winter wonderland!
We have had the first snowfall of the season.....hopefully it won't last long the ground is white but we were lucky ...some areas had 7 inches of the white stuff. I feel like I have somehow missed summer.
The weekend was busy as usual with several trips to the homes for a visit and our oldest GD decided to have a sleepover. We always have great fun though...not having had a daughter myself I get to do all the things with her that I missed having boys.
We also finished up the yard work and got the furniture put away...just in time to miss the snow.

I finally had the time to get caught up on all the posts....whew...lots happening.

Bluet congratulations on your new grandbaby Adam!
I was so thankful to see he and you daughter are both doing well now. It must have been such a worry for you.
As far as getting caught up I know exactly what you mean but I don't think it will ever happen, I find things are worse since I retired. You do need time for yourself though.

SunnyD...your pictures are so wonderful! I wish I was more computer savvy...my post are so boring compared to yours. One thing I do have though is a craft room and it is wonderful. I can just shut the door and leave everything where it is. The grandkids also love "Grandmas Craft Room" we get to do many projects together.

Sheila I know just what you are dealing with....dimentia can be frustrating and difficult at times, by all we can do is our best.

Charlotte...the hurricane season sure was a traumatic one this year for so many people. We get so far removed from the deviastion when we don't have anyone we know affected by it .....I pray things will soon return to normal for your daughter and her family.
I love your graphics..some day I hope to be able to use them as well.

I hope I didn't get the posts mixed up...it is pretty easy to do when one has so much reading to do.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Jacquie

For the compliment on the graphics! Use to do a lot more. I just don't have the time, like I use to. Not enough hours in the day.
Thanks, also, for the well wishes for my daughter. Things seem to be coming together for her family.
So good to hear from you!

Sheila...having a lot of rain here, too! Even a lot tornado watches & warnings out all day. One town, near by, was hit by a tornado. My DH was off work this week, & hoped to work on the roof. Of course, it's suppose to rain all week.
That's about the kind of luck I would have with a lottery ticket. I feel for you. Too bad your dad won't still share with you. After all, you take care of him. I know his mind isn't exactly clear though.

Bluet...glad you liked the snowman. I know snow seems to bother you a lot, but our winters are mostly cold & rainy. We'd love to see more snow. I just don't like winter, in any circumstance, but snow is better than rain, I think.
Sweet of your sister to have that quilt made. My younger sister & I are very close. We married brothers. Our older sister never comes around.

Well, ladies, I'm very tired. I'll try to post more tomorrow. Still working on the picture albums. Gee, a LOT of work!

I sure do miss Fatpuss.

Snow, Jacquie? Yuck! And seven inches in some areas--double yuck. I prefer rain to snow, although I used to enjoy snow on Christmas Day when we lived in Idaho and Colorado. That's the only day it should ever snow except in the mountains. You were lucky that you got all your fall cleanup stuff done before it snowed.

So how old is your oldest granddaughter? I'm sure you must have said, but I have a sievelike memory. What fun things did you do?

Wow, Charlotte, tornado watches. I thought that only happened in the spring. Snow is never better than rain, by the way. I'm sure that snow vs. rain probably has a lot to do with where we were raised. Living most of my life in the western Pac NW, I have webbed feet so I'm able to deal with rain better. Just kidding! Does cold weather make your RA worse? Hope not.

I looked outside late this afternoon and saw this weird metal thing in the yard. Turns out it was the cap on our oil furnace chimney. We had a bunch of wind yesterday that caused the rusty old thing to come off. My DH got a new one and then spent about an hour on the roof in the rain with power tools, installing the chimney cap so we wouldn't get water in the furnace. I was worried he was going to get electrocuted, but he's pretty blase about that stuff. Luckily, I've got lots of insurance on the guy!

Today I bought some real pyjamas. I usually wear nightshirts, but since losing weight, I'm so cold at night, even under two blankets and next to a warm hubby. Last night I kept waking up because my legs were cold. I even got up and put my bathrobe over my legs so they'd warm up. I used to be so warm at night that I slept most of the winter with one blanket. Goes to show how much fat really does insulate!

Hope everyone had a good day!

Hi, all

Well, my pajamas were wonderful--kept me warm and toasty all night. It's not all that cold here (upper 40s at night), but it's damp and that kind of seeps into you.

Just got news that my daughter and her husband may be coming home for Christmas. Yippee! I immediately went on the internet to see about flights. I use Southwest all the time, but it appears they've discontinued service from Norfolk to Seattle. Bummer! I can get them from Norfolk to Chicago where they can stay with his folks, then from Chicago to Seattle. My DD wants Christmas with everyone together, but that's not possible. My oldest son has to work, and I don't know if he's going to get any time at all. His ex has my GD this year because he had her last year. Hopefully my stepdaughter can at least come up for a day or two while her sister is here. I was planning on a small, cheap Christmas. Best laid plans, right? I'm really happy they want to come here, though, and am willing to pay any price. Her DH has never been to the Northwest, and December isn't exactly the time to see Seattle. Hopefully there will be some fun things for 20 somethings to do. I'll make my son who lives here take them to all the hot spots.

I did so well with exercise today. In addition to my normal weight lifting on Tuesdays and stretching, I did a 2 mile WATP tape with Leslie Sansone. I usually don't exercise in the afternoon, but I was motivated for some reason. I actually checked my coffee beans to see if my DH had bought regular instead of decaf!

Cooking red beans and rice for dinner. Sounds very southern, doesn't it? Hope everyone had a great Tuesday!

Well, Sunny...I DID answer your pm, but it was this morning. Sorry. I was working on the picture albums yesterday. I'm glad Sheila & Bonnie were there for you. That's the good thing about this, usually at least one of us is available. You are a very kind & caring person....always there for us. Wish I had been here for you. Nice to see that today is better. I'm praying for your friend.

Sheila....Yes, losing fat DOES make a difference. My good warm pj's feel good, also. I have a hard time keeping my feet warm, even in the summer. Not good enough circulation, I suppose. I sleep in socks in the winter.
Cold weather doesn't bother RA so bad, it's just a general change in weather that will cause a flare up, sometimes. But, cold weather DOES bother my OA.
Sounds like you're going to have a nice Christmas. This will be the first year in a very long time that our whole family will be together for Christmas. Because of our SIL being in Iraq. He & our daughter & family are doing very well, now. Living not far from us! Our daughter & family in South Alabama that was hit by the hurricane won't be here for Thanksgiving. (obligations somewhere else.) But will be here for Christmas. I just may have to post a Christmas pic of our family for all of you to see!
How's your dad doing? Did he share any of that lottery money?

Bluet....where are you? Did you get buried in the snow? Hello to you & Jacquie & Fatpuss. Everyone have a great day!

Hello,

I think the 5 grandkids I had for the weekend wore me out. The last two days I couldn't wait to get home from work and lay down I was just so tired. Today I feel better, yesterday I was just dragging.

I didn't get buried in any snow yet Charlotte, but Saturday weather wise was awful, the wind was blowing hard and temps were really cold The three older grandkids kept going back and forth to the woods and then back to my house again. It had rained the night before, I can't tell you the times I cleaned up the laundry room from mud being tracked in. I hope the weather is better this weekend, because they are working on the road again, they are actually 1/2 way to their goal I think.

Sheila, I was reading an article on the internet on Monday that was about a flock of wild parrots that is living in one of the parks in Seattle. I found that to be very interesting considering, I never thought of Seattle as being a tropical state. Have you seen those parrots? How cool that your daughter and SIL can be home for Christmas. It will certainly be something to look forward to. What is the best time of year to see Seattle?

Sunny, glad to hear you are feeling better today. Will certainly keep you friend in my prayers. Let us know how things work out for her. During that wind thing on Saturday a lot of leaves came down in our yard, but a lot of trees are still green, so there are a lot more leaves to turn and come down yet. Last year Grandson next door and I spent one whole Saturday raking up all the maple leaves. Hope the weather warms up a little bit, or I might just let them lay till spring. I can get away with that a lot easier, living in the country. I drove my car out to the garden behind the barn on Saturday and GD and GS and I jumped out of the car and threw 3 pumpkins in the trunk and some gourds, jumped back into the car and drove back to the garage and unloaded the pumpkins and the gourds for the three GS that live in Green Bay to take home with them. It was just so cold Saturday.

I am at work right now and I guess I had better get my nose back to the grindstone. Have a good rest of the day all of you. Take care.

Puss, we miss you, how are your DH, DS and DD and kittens doing?

Bluet

Those trees are beautiful, SunnyD! Thanks for sharing them. I'm glad that your aunt said your relatives were proud of you for "sticking your neck out." You made a difference for people you care about and we're all proud of you. I'll be praying for your friend. That's pretty scary for her.

Charlotte, I've got to start thinking about wearing socks to bed now that you've mentioned it. That sounds so good to me, and I bet my DH would like me to quit sticking my cold feet on him at night. He's really good about it, though. Do you ever sit in a hot tub? After water aerobics I always sit in one, and heard one woman talking about how it helps her OA. How wonderful that your entire family is going to be together for Christmas! That would be so cool. Are you going to be cooking? I'd love to see a pic of everyone. Oh, and no, my Dad didn't share his winnings. He's quite the penny pincher--I could tell you stories. ..

Yeah, the 5 grandkids would wear anyone out, Bluet. You're such a good grandma. I'm glad you didn't get any snow. My daughter is in Chicago right now and said the wind has been really cold there. Her MIL bought her a coat, which was very nice of her. So how come I haven't heard of tropical birds in Seattle? Hhmm, I'm going to have to check that out. No, we're definitely not a tropical area, although I suppose those of you who brave midwest winters might think so. My grandmother, who was from northern California (a hot area near Redding), used to wear a sweater when she came to visit in the summer even when it was 80 degrees.

When we lived in Boise, we had a lot of trees in our yard and the first few years we raked all the time. At the end, we just let them all fall down, hoping that storms would blow them in the neighbor's yard, and after the leaves were all off, we'd rent a leaf vacuum and suck 'em all up. Worked pretty darn well actually, and renting the vacuum wasn't that expensive.

Get some sleep, Bluet!

But, they DO tire us out, don't they Bluet?! All of mine are good (no brag, just fact! ), but, just watching after them is so tiring. Our son just got a divorce & shares custody with his ex. So, every other week his two little girls, 5 & almost 3, are here with us. I'm about spent by the end of the week, even though he's the one who takes care of them. They still want "mamaw Charlotte" to do things for them. Our son told us last night that he was going to try to have them their own place by the first of the year. I hope so. Love them dearly, but, just too old...........

Yes, Sheila...I DO sit in a hot tub. We had just remodeled the master bathroom, before the fire. It only got smoked up. Only, now, with the roof not getting on before the rainy season sat in...the tile is popping off the wall. My DH will fix it, though. Sorry, got off what I was saying. Anyway, when we remodeled, he put in a jacuzzi tub! Let me tell you....it's heavenly!! It helps OA a lot, & just generally old bones!
I'll be cooking part of the meal. But, my 3 daughters, & son, & DH all get in on it....we all love to cook our specialty & have a feast! Same way with Thanksgiving. I usually fix the turkey & dressing...the girls do most of the rest. Mostly, it's just a loud, wonderful noise, with lots of eating, & playing with kids!

Sunny...I wish my twin daughters would watch what they eat, as you do. They have IBS, also. They eat what they want, then suffer tremendously. They are so stubborn! Probably took after their dad.

Hello Jacquie & Fatpuss (miss you)
Hope you all have a good day.

Hi, there:

Charlotte, that's a cute graphic! Mawmaw Charlotte--that sounds very southern. Yeah, the energy to chase after little ones just isn't there anymore, is it? I quit fostering puppies because I didn't want to deal with them either. I can't imagine how some of these grandparents raise their childrens' kids. Frankly, I don't think I could do it--and hopefully I'll never have to find out! Oh, your Jacuzzi tub sounds wonderful. I want one so bad. When we finally own our own home again, one of the first things I'm going to do is put in a big soaking tub, maybe with the jets. I like the jets, but just the act of soaking sounds good to me.

SunnyD, I'm so glad the radiologist said that about your friend. I bet she's breathing a bit easier now. I know it's not the final word, but it should give her some consolation, I hope. So do your cats knock all your stuff down? I get so mad at my cat who is a terrible jumper. She jumps up on my desk and has to scrabble around to get a foothold and then ends up knocking stuff off. Of course, it would probably help if my desk were clean. She's the one who likes to hunt objects. She takes stuff off the desk, and then puts it on the floor and yowls. It's quite strange actually. This past week, she's done that with my glasses case and my DH's calculator. I finally had to hide the digital camera because we'd keep hearing a thump, then her yowling and then we'd find the camera on the floor in the hall.

Well, I went to the doctor today to have her look at my foot, and it appears I have a wart on the bottom of one foot. Isn't that gross? I thought I was too old to have a wart. She froze it today, then I have to scrub the dead skin off and come back in three weeks to get it frozen again. At least it was easier than when I had warts burned off my foot when I was a kid. I remember screaming, and the doctor telling me to quit being such a baby and that I was scaring all the other kids. Who cares? It hurt! I also got a prescription for Actinel, which is the same kind of stuff as Fosamax, for osteoporosis. I was a little annoyed about that because it's been six months since she did the bone density test. The only reason she looked at the results today is because I mentioned that my sister had bone loss and her doctor lowered her thyroid medication. So my doctor finally looks at the bone density test, says, oh, that's interesting, you have no loss in your hips at all, but a definite loss in your spine. Interesting?? I hate it when medical people say that. If she would have looked at the chart before, I could have been on this stuff earlier and prevented any further loss. She did tell me something that you don't hear doctors say anymore. She told me to use more salt. My blood pressure is 100/68, and when I get up I see stars so more sodium should help that. I'm glad because I love salt and add it to my food before I even taste it. I've heard there's a name for doing that, but I don't remember what it is.

Today I was really pleased with myself because in addition to my 45 min. of weight lifting and 20 min. of stretching, I did a 3 mile Walk Away the Pounds tape. I also did a 2 mile one on Tuesday in addition to lifting and stretching so I'm at 7 days of cardio now. And it better show up on the scale tomorrow! I've been losing piddly .4 and .6 lbs. recently so I thought I should step up my exercise.

Hope everyone is having a good Thursday. A great TV night tonight! Speaking of TV, have any of you seen the new show "Veronica Mars?" It's on UPN on Tuesday nights. The TV critic in the paper recommended it, and we're really enjoying it.