Hello to everyone.
I have to start prepping for surgery in the morning. How I do dread it! But necessary.

Hope all has had a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Good thoughts for a successful and uneventful surgery Ceejay. Hope you get some restful sleep tonight. Did your sister arrive? Let us know how things go when you can.

Hope the surgery goes well Ceejay.

Internet at work is a disaster, so will try to get in later tonight when I get home. It's a pain. Now I have to decide whether to stay on for another couple of months or go home. If I didn't need the money it would be a no brainer. However to stave off having to skimp and save, maybe it might be a good idea.

Back later, when the internet isn't likely to go down again.

SOSDD...same ole stuff different day.

Man, I tell you if I don't get out of this funk I am going to chop my head off. At is turned out Sis and Chris were not getting along, he did all the festive race stuff and Sis and the kids stayed with at our house all weekend. While nice to visit with Sis and the babes, all the whoas of life are getting to me. Tried to visit with M twice, Sunday and Monday, but he slept the through the visits and I didn't even see him. Nice chat with my SIL, Pia tho.

CEEG...prayers your surgery goes well and healing come quickly. Hugs

SHADDIE...the not knowing of situations drives me nuts, so I can understand your current work issues.

HAPPY...glad the hot tub is in and you are enjoying it. Fabulous, I could use a dip. I was feeling your knee pain and cortisone shot as I read your post. Made me cringe just reading it.

LAURA...you have a lot of 50th birthday parties and friends. What fun!

SUSIE...You are not going to believe this but the scripture you gave me is actually one of the scriptures that was read at Jack's funeral that very day. I definitely needed to hear that. THank you.

Hello to the rest of you. Got a CE class from 9-noon today. (on-line), one more tomorrow then I will be compliant for my producer's license.

Ceejay, hope your surgery goes well!

Morning chicks,

Kind of a quick post for me. We are supposed to get strong storms this morning and I'm in a bit of a rush. Yesterday I was supposed to pick up the hay in the garden that I used for a winter cover. Then I got an email I had to go into town to pick up a part for the security system DH is checking out to install at the thrift shop. I stopped for that, had a quick "hi yah" with a friend who has a business in town, stopped at the thrift shop to empty the donation boxes and make a deposit and got stuck at the shop for a while. Then I went to the grocery store to "just pick up a few things" and walked out with about 8 bags. It was 5 by the time I got home. Made a quick dinner and by then I was feeling dragged out. It started to rain lightly and the mosquitoes were out so no garden for me. My strawberries are flowering by the way so that's good. We don't have enough dragonflies yet so the mossies are pretty bad. I walked into the bedroom to get my swimsuit for the hot tub and realized I forgot I sorted about 8 loads of laundry all over the floor and forgot about them. DH does not like me running the dryer when he is trying to sleep so I am behind on that now too. Seems I am always running behind lately. I set the alarm early this morning - laundry is running now and as soon as I get done with this I am heading outside to pick up that hay before the rains come and pack it down further.

DH had a bad night and is getting really bad spasms in his feet and legs. This is all from the back. The oncoming storms must be doing a number on the barometric pressure because while my knee was starting to feel somewhat better, it's like they never did anything today and both knees are screaming in pain. I need some Midol (anti spasmotic )

Ceejay - I hope that everything goes well for you with your surgery today.

Annie - I wish there was something I could say to give you cheer, hope or faith - it's always hard when sadness comes in bunches. Dig deep and keep trying to find those things that can get you through the rough patches be it church, 12 steps or just the love of your friends here I don't know them but it kind of sounds like Chris wanted a girlfriend and the single life and not all the seriousness that comes with a family. The whole family dynamic has changed substantially in today's world, I don't understand it at all. But it's hard to live. I hope they can work out their problems. Sad that M was not feeling up to a visit. Those days will happen. Just be there if only in spirit. I'm sure your SIL can use some support too. Be the crutch Annie If you get your producer's license - does this mean we can put you in charge of our theatrical plays at the commune? Annie H presents "Hot Tub Madness with the Worldly Chicks". Shoot, now that I think of it, it's the last day in May - need to come up with a new title for June. Oh well - later...

Shad - is it possible to work for a few months each year and ease into retirement? No one wants to live on bread scraps and chicken necks I guess if you were forced to get along with no work, how would you make ends meet? Consider it a dry run test. We took a risk and things worked out better than we thought they would - or at least we are keeping our heads above water.

Hellos to the rest of the girls - time's a ticking. I need to get on with the day. Later chicks...

Morning all. Happy Tuesday.

Happy – Sounds like you and dh wasted no time putting that hot tub to good use. Nice pics on FB. I can’t say that’s what I imagined, just because I didn’t have the layout in my head, but the new room looks great. Why does it look like the hot tub is floating about a foot above the deck? Not long after we’d first moved in, when my friend D saw the 3-season room, she said if she lived there, she’d put a hot tub in there. Like you said, it would take up a lot of the room, so we haven’t done it….yet. The Living Herbs sound interesting. How are they working out? The grocery store visit and the cortisone shots both sounded like torture, of different kinds of course. Glad your knee feels better, but boo that the other knee is now acting up. You sound busy as heck, but try to take it easy. It sounds like having a nice soak in the hot tub will be something you look forward to after your busy days.

Shad – Sorry the job isn’t letting you know about your extensions. What a PITA when you have the logistics to work out as to lodging, etc. How did the shopping go?

Ceejay – I’m glad you won’t have to be in the hospital overnight and that you’ll be able to get back to work within the week. Hope all’s going well. Good for you telling your bff that you have to be able to take care of yourself!

Annie – Sorry to hear S & C are still having issues, but they don’t get resolved overnight. Behavior changes take time, and that’s probably something that’s needed. I know all the bad stuff happening right now is really getting you down. Be sure to take some time to focus on the positive.

Hellos to the rest of you and hope you all had a good weekend.

==

No one gave us an earlier dismissal from work on Friday, so I ended up on the 3:10 train home. I don’t recall anything special that evening, though I did do a load of laundry.

Saturday it was threatening rain on and off all day, so I didn’t do any outdoor tasks. Just ran some errands. In the evening, we went to the 50th birthday party of a friend. I think we’re done with all the 50th birthday celebrations in our group of friends now, but we’ll be staring down some 55th & 60th birthdays in the not-too-distant future.

Sunday I was up early despite a late-ish bedtime Saturday night. I spent the morning relaxing with tea and the newspaper on the futon in the 3-season room. Well, relaxing as much as I could while seeing that the room needs a really good cleaning, including all the windows...

I got out Sunday afternoon to look at fountains for the garden. On my way to the first garden center I noticed my throat was sore, and that lasted until this morning – and now I’m getting cold symptoms.

Anyway, the two independent garden centers I visited were really hopping. I’d been to both, but never spent much time in either and in just walking around to locate the fountains, realized how big and sprawling these places are. I’ll have to make return trips just to wander around without a specific mission. Menards and Home Depot are the other two places I checked. In the end, I only found one fountain that was realistic for our space and budget, and even that one was too short figuring in any plantings I’d want to have surrounding it. And I don’t think the price even included the pump…

So now I’m having second thoughts about the maintenance of a fountain – scrubbing it down, etc. Maybe I’d be fine with just a statue, and I told bf I could just listen to bubbling fountain sounds on my iPod through my earbuds, LOL.

On Sunday I got out early and weeded the front garden beds before the sun came around to the front of the house. I also pruned the lilac and the purpleleaf plum. By then, that was enough yard work for me. I’ve decided that I need to be careful not to do more work than I am willing to clean up afterwards! I have a couple bundles of brush from the pruning that need to be bundled and twined for pickup day on Friday. I haven’t gotten my flowers planted yet, but I did bring the plant pouch up from the basement.

I also went to the library, then came home and walked the dog. We watched the movie “Trainwreck” with Amy Schumer. It was definitely on the raunchy side, but it was entertaining.

Yesterday I puttered around a bit, did a load of laundry, walked the dog. In lieu of lunch, bf and I went out for an appetizer at the outdoor patio of a restaurant near us. Later on we had grilled pork chops & zucchini for dinner. We also had some Trader Joe’s hatch chile mac n cheese with it and that was yummy. We’ll probably buy that again.

That’s it for me. I’m hoping this cold won’t be a big deal and that it’s gone by the time I go out to my mom’s this weekend.

Better get this posted or it won’t happen! TTFN.

Bleh.

Annie - I see your bleh and raise you a yuck!

Seriously though I am sorry to hear that things have not turned around on the homefront for you Annie. Time and patience and trust.

Ceejay - hope you are feeling better.

Laura - about the Living Herbs - the basil is happy and doing well, in fact I think it's actually growing a bit. The dill is drying out as is the cilantro. The mint is also doing well but then again, that's a very invasive plant so I figure it will thrive in any conditions. Except the refrigerator. How are you feeling? Hope you are not coming down with the dreaded summer cold. I saw Amy Schumer on the Tonight Show last night. I liked her when she first started out but now her "schtick" of raunchy is too much over the edge for my tastes. So how long are you going to be at your Mom's? Helping to wedge her out of the house to make a move?

Shad - do you only have internet access at work? I know some people had a add on thing for their laptops tied to their phone that gave them satellite access or something like that. Have you decided if you are hanging on or cutting the contract short?

Hellos to the rest of the chicks

I had a doctor's appointment today. My Vitamin D went from 10 to 19. An improvement but not much of one as it should be a mimimum of in the 40's. So more high dose pills in my future. Also my B12 should have gone up a couple of hundred points but it barely nudged at 40 points. So it appears I have pernicious anemia. Remember that from Downton Abbey? Actually in those days people did die from it before they invented B12 shots. My body will not let me absorb B12 on it's own. So I have to go for shots every other week for 2 months. I hope that gives me an energy boost. Right now I could easily close my eyes and fall asleep. The knees are still bothering me - she said to give it a full 2 months. I did lose weight - she was happy to see that and said to continue the efforts - taking weight off will help tremendously.

And so life goes on. I have to go clean the dining room. The 3 season room guy is coming by after lunch to discuss what needs to be done further (as if he didn't know). I think it's an excuse to pick up his money BUT he's not getting the last of it until the job is completed. DH is in alot of pain most probably because he disassembled the gazebo by himself and hauled the pieces across the yard. He was trying to save money and I asked him today if being in so much pain for the last 3 nights he can't sleep and being uncomfortable for the next month was worth $2,000. He easily forgets how something mildly strenuous can really mess him up. He went to get a 100 pound cement cover for the septic tank. We will have to figure how to get that off the trailer and across the yard and on to the tank when he gets back.

That's it for me. Have a good day chicks. I will come back later and set up a June thread for us.

Morning all. Gonna post here in May until the June thread is set up.


Annie –

Happy – I’ll be at my mom’s Saturday through Tuesday, returning Wednesday. The sore throat morphed into a cold, but a mild one at the moment, so I don’t feel all that bad right now. This one started off with some sneezing, and then there’s been some nasal congestion, but it seems to be settling in my throat, which is how all my colds seem to go now. Unfortunately, that means a lot of coughing. Thankfully that hasn’t started…yet. Bummer on the low Vit. D and B-12. I guess retirement is so everyone has time to go to doctor appointments. Re the knee – wait two months for what? For the shot to take full effect??? Huh. Sorry DH has been in such pain. I hope the hot tub will help, but it looks like he needs to be careful what tasks he chooses to take on himself these days.

Ceejay – How are you doing? Looked like you had a nice dinner last night, based on the fb photo. It’s probably nice to have your sister there with you.

Hellos to the rest of you.
==
Nothing much to report. It was raining hard when I left the office yesterday, and it had stopped by the time I got off the train at home. It was raining for this morning’s commute. At least it keeps my veggie garden watered. Everything looks like it’s doing well and growing nicely. I never mentioned how much I was enjoying the scent of lilacs walking between the home and train last week. My lilacs were “done” a week or two earlier, so this was really nice.

I didn’t exercise yesterday or this morning. I wanted to just focus on getting enough sleep and getting over this cold. Not that having the alarm set a mere 15 minutes later means anything when I always seem to wake up around 5-ish. When I feel better, I think I might just go with it and get out of bed when I wake up. What I’ll have to work on is getting to bed earlier to I won’t be in sleep deficit.

Bf has a classmate that also lives in our suburb. She sent him an email today about a store that just opened in our town that caters to adults who engage in baby behavior – wear diapers, etc. Community members are concerned because of the location of the store (near a school and kid hangout spots). I don’t know anything about this type of behavior, but I can certainly understand parents being concerned for their kids - being attracted to a place that looks like it’s for kids and walking in the shop to find adults in diapers. I can’t for the life of me understand why the shop owner decided our suburb was a good location for his shop – it’s not the most diverse place by any means. Wonder how this will all turn out.
I have a hair appointment tonight – touch up and cut, so it’ll be a longer appointment. I should probably try to phone my sister while my dye sets to see if she has anything helpful to suggest for this upcoming visit to my mom.

Okay, gonna post and get some lunch. Toodles.

Good afternoon,

Just got back from meeting in time for my 4 hour on-line CE training class. I only have one more hour to get in before the 30th of June. I have that scheduled June 10. Then all that is over for another two years. I am going to sign up for all the free classes that other places offer between now and the next two years. Today's class goes until 5 pm, which means I will not be leaving downtown til then, that will be messy. Oh well one day not bad.

HAPPY...I find I can no longer do much of anything without pain somewhere so I sympathize with DH. Usually ankle, knees, backs and upper arms. ok my entire body. I would hold out on paying the entire amount of the tub/room also. Would also wait till all your inspections are complete and you are happy. Oh and I raise you your YUCK with a CRAP, a load of it. You should try to get a prescription of B12 shots for self injections. Saves a trip to the doctor. I can drive up and give it to you. lol. Anemia has always been one of my struggles. Red wine is good for that, but not for me...lol. Appreciate you setting up the new thread when you get to it.

LAURA...I am with you on the fountain, too much to take care of. I think I may make this my last year for a garden too. My DD planted all my garden and my neighbor tilled it for me. What is the point if I don't get out there and work it myself? I will just find a farmer's market and get me some grubb from there. My older age, achy body and lack of quality time (without rain), is making me not wanting to do anything. Guess I am just ready for it all to be over. I would gladly take Ms place and go early, but as ornery as I have been in life I am sure I have many more years of suffering before it is over. How pathetic is that?

CEEG...good vibes on the surgery, check in as soon as you can.

SHADDIE...is the money worth the pay out for hotel, food, etc? Come out ahead? Break even? or ahead of the game?

OK, class is beginning and have to check in.

I'm still doing well except for post surgery symptoms. They should subside soon. He removed the lining of the uterus and 3 fibroids. The lab test on that all came back benign.
We have had a severe thunderstorm this afternoon that dropped a bunch of rain. I looked outside earlier and part of our street is flooded.
More later

Alright my friends - closing out the Merry Month of May. Don't post here anymore.

Click here to transport to the new thread - Jimminy - Worldly Chicks Find Themselves In June Aready