Good morning to you all! Today is Fortune's vet day so I will be going upstairs and showering and such to get ready for the day and get things done. I still have to get Super Target and Fresh Market today and get our darned car washed, vacuumed and the inside all cleaned up. Jack gets it dirty driving it back and forth to work now.

Susan: Those morons next door drive me to distraction with the washer business and throwing stuff over the fence. I found those super hot cheetos on the deck the other day. How sick would that have made Fortune. You know, be peeved at me all your want even though it is all your fault, but don't take it out on an innocent dog. I am thrilled you are up and around and feeling so much better. Sometimes a good long rest is just the ticket to help things along. You got some great deals. We went into Walmart in Indiana because I needed a nicer sweater or top to wear while I was up there and I got a cute purple and white lightweight striped sweater for $5 on clearance. I figure horizontal stripes aren't going to make me look any bigger than I already am so.....

Jean: I heard the upper midwest really got slammed by another snowstorm and the wind was causing problems. We had a really windy day here yesterday but it was almost 80. The commissary was a nightmare yesterday. I don't know why everyone was shopping as it wasn't any of the paydays for anyone. We were waiting in line and I told the guy ahead of us I couldn't believe how busy there were and that we always try to go on off paydays. He said he did too and was surprised as how busy they were. Because it was an off weekend, they of course didn't have enough checkouts open so the line was down the block so to speak. Of course my none too patient husband was peeved, but what can you do? I think is is funny that really though a lot of rumors, the truth about JFK and Marilyn Monroe, his brother Bobby too was not really admitted until about 20 years ago. The Chappaquittick thing has always been denied, but everyone knows the truth. Their father was a womanizer big time and they just took up the slack. The generations after that haven't been much better, but not one Kennedy has become president since then. Ted's politics were wayyyy too liberal for the country. He wouldn't have given it away free with his social crap.

Maggie: Jack fixed my machine yesterday morning so I could print off my grocery list and told me he knows what is wrong and fixed it. I hope so because I don't like to send something to print then sit there and nothing comes out. Other times it works like a dream so who knows? I love children around Jackson's age and before school age. They can say some of the funniest things. I hope you enjoyed your lip gloss and coffee!

We are going to have beef and noodles tonight for supper. Jack and I are one of the few hold outs on the new WW. We are continuing on the old one. Jack likes it, he can figure out the old points even on the new packaging and stuff. We try and eat much more nutrionally when on WW anyway so I don't want to have to rejoin even online and pay all that money when what we have works for us.

You gals have a great day. Faye

Good morning to everybody. It is cooler this morning, in the 40's but not particularly cold. I am going to turn off the ceiling fan though. That makes it a bit chilly in here.

Boy, howdy, the landlord for next door was mad as a wet hen when she called me yesterday morning. They are about ready to bounce the tenants next door. The man showed up at the condo about 15 minutes after I talked to his wife on the phone then called in a plumber. We saw him leave when we got back from taking the dog to the vet and a while later she called. She said from now on if we had one smidge of trouble to call her directly and immediately. She even gave me her personal cell phone number in case the office was closed. This couple owns dozens of condos and homes they rent out and they don't put up with nonsense like what is going next door. Part of the problem is that the woman on the lease is only home on Sat and Sun. I guess her grown kids live there and that is who has been letting the washing machine act up. Anyway, hopefully it is now fixed. They did offer to replace the flooring, but I told her honestly that the linoleum was old and the whole thing had to go so replacing just the bathroom wouldn't do much good. I appreciated them willing to do it though.

Fortune did famously at his dr appt. He lets them poke and prod him without so much as a whimper. Doc trimmed his nails for me too and I found out they have approved the heartworm shot now so no more of those chewy things. He gets a shot once every 6 months now, so I don't have to remember to give him the med now, which is fine by me. I have enough stuff to keep track of. The vet said he was in amazing shape for 11 years old. He told him, "you are a solid little thing." He said he had really good muscle tone and strength and a good strong heart so he doesn't need any heart meds. I did talk to him about the fact that over the last year, he sticks his tongue out farther, which I assumed helped him breathe better, but the doctor said there is no indication he is struggling for breath that his lungs sound good too. So, he now is free until May when he has to get his flu shot for the year then in August another heartworm shot. I do have to troll and find another groomer though. I really like Wesley but he isn't firm with Fortune and so doesn't do a very good job with him. When Fortune sits down, Wesley says he doesn't like to stress him out by making him stand up, but you just have to be firm with him sometimes. Paula always was, but she now has her grooming where she lives and that is way out by the commissary. So, I will start hunting up someplace else to get him groomed, I guess. It is convenient at the vets, which is just 2 blocks down the street, but at $40 a pop I want him trimmed well.

Jean: Sorry you are back in the freezing weather again. We are going to be cooler, but not cold by any means. We had planned on getting the car cleaned and just as we left home it started to rain. So, it still is filthy. We may go out this afternoon after dinner or just wait until the weekend. Glad everything balanced at church. It used to drive me bonkers when I couldn't get stuff to do right and I was alone in the office with no help and no way to get help. I don't miss it, that's for sure. Have you tried the new WW brownies? I am not too impressed as they aren't really moist, but if you need a chocolate fix they will do the trick. I bought a box of the Twinkie equivalents, but haven't tried them yet.

Maggie: I know that in the last 15 years or so the Hollywood Hills and that area are having more and more problems with mountain lions coming into living areas. We have encroached into animals territory so much they are finding less and less space to live in. I got tickled yesterday watching, "House Hunters" I think is what it was. They were buying a house in FLorida, in the Miami Beach area and they were all thrilled having found a house that backed up on a preserve so no building could take place behind them. She then whined about 'gators. I mean, come on, you want to live in south Florida near an area of wildlife and yet you think there won't be alligators? Pretty stupid thinking IMO. When you choose to live in an area where there is wildlife you have to respect it. I have become superstitious and decided not to post losses for awhile. Seems when I get going then I relapse so I am going to just check it out once a week, but not post losses for awhile. Hope your ww meeting comes out good for you.

Boy, I have work to get done this week. I haven't accomplished a whole lot yet, but I sure hope I can quit spinning my wheels. I did get laundry done yesterday and am deciding whether I want to go ahead and shampoo the dining room today and then start cleaning tomorrow or go ahead and clean. I want to wait to do the living area as we have to move furniture and rearrange to get get the loveseat in here when it comes.

Everyone have a grand day. Faye

Good morning, ladies. Yesterday it was 72 degrees and right now it is 33 degrees - springtime in VA keeps us guessing.

I went to the Y and then headed into work yesterday. I traded with another girl so I could go to River Country Quilters tonight. There is a speaker (quilter of course) from New Zealand who will be there tonight and I don't want to miss her.

Faye, it was nice of the landlord to offer to replace your bathroom floor. Those people living there are just not caring of others property. I hope she has a good security deposit from them she can keep. I'm glad Fortune is in such good shape - better than the rest of us and he's 77 in doggie years. You just do WW the way it works best for you. I like the new plan because it is more the way I eat anyway. I try to limit carbs to no more than 3 servings a day so my snacks are fruits, vegetables, and dairy. Since I have more points, I'm not using the ff cheese, reduced calorie bread, etc. I decided I'd have the real stuff because it tastes so much better and a little is satisfying. I can spend 3 points for 2 slices of reduced calorie double fiber wheat bread or 3 points for 2 slices of real whole grain wheat bread.

Jean, did you find the 15-beans? That soup recipe Maggie gave us is really good. I'm having some for dinner tonight with a salad.

Maggie, the 2-way radios are a great idea when you are wandering in the wilderness. Where are you going on your vacation?

I need to get back to work so have a good day!

I am really bummed and very upset. As you know, several years ago, my cat Butterscotch died of kidney failure. It was very hard on me so much so in fact that Jack had to have him put to sleep because I couldn't. Well, I thought we had done really well yesterday with Fortune, but it looks like he has developed kidney disease and though they will medicate him, it will only get progressively worse. I couldn't believe it when she called this morning. Dogs BUN count should be around 24 and Fortune's is 61! He will start on medication tomorrow morning when I feed him and according to all the websites we should switch him to a certain kind of food to help his kidneys function up to their potential. Back when Fortune had that scare a few weeks ago, I questioned the vet tech about whether or not Fortune could have diabetes because he drank so much and urinated a lot more than he used to. She said dogs with diabetes didn't eat and Fortune eats great except he no longer will eat dry dog food. Now I now why. I guess I am sort of a coward because I don't want to face this. I know it isn't, but since Butterscotch died of the same issues, I feel like maybe I have done something wrong with them. Thanks for letting me just unload about this. I just needed to talk about it because I am just really upset. F

Susan -- I'm sure you are enjoying your evening with the quilting speaker. It was nice of your coworker to trade nights with you. The bean soup package I found doesn't say 15 bean, it's called "Mega Bean" -- I didn't buy it nor read the instructions because I was in a hurry. I will check at the other store the next time I am in there.

Maggie -- on the maintain. You are doing it the right way and that is what is important. Our gas dropped 10 cents to $3.05 yesterday and today it is back up to $3.09. I noticed several things in the grocery store have gone up by quite a bit.

"Gma" -- I understand how you are feeling about Fortune. Pets are so a part of the family. I hope that the meds and perhaps food that the vet would recommend will help him to be comfortable. Two of our previous threesome had tumors so I started giving Ernie filtered water, but I don't know that that had anything to do with their health.

Good morning gals. I am better this morning and over the panic feeling. Jack talked at length to the vet tech yesterday and she said they caught it early so they are hoping the meds will help him. One thing is getting him to drink water. I see him drink water, I fill his bowl and feed him exclusively so I know he drinks water and eats. Nothing about this matches up to symptoms and such except the numbers. I am hoping when we take him back in a month his numbers have improved greatly and maybe it was a mistake or a fluke or whatever. I am not putting my head in the sand, I am realistic about the seriousness of it, but he absolutely has none of the symptoms. Dogs tend to not drink and eat enough so don't put out urine and such, but Fortune does all that. Anyhow, I do feel better than I did last night after reading all the articles online. I am trying to find something to put in his water to make him drink more so if you have any suggestions, let 'er rip. The vet tech said to do it to make him drink more. I tried mixing peanut butter, chicken stock, and honey. Nothing has made him drink more, but he is drinking so who knows?

Jean: I guess the brownies and the twinkie things are new, I don't know. I have never bought them before or seen them. I had to giggle thinking "mega bean" means mega gas! I love ham and navy bean soup, but Jack will not eat it so I never get it. I think I just overreacted with Fortune because of Butterscotch. I have always felt so guilty over him dying and I could do nothing. I always felt it was my fault, I did something wrong or something so of course when she called yesterday I just freaked.

Maggie: Thank you for making me feel better. I was much better after talking to Jack when he got home with Fortune's meds last night. He put me more at ease about it. Actually, I have pulled up the linoleum in the bathroom because I was concerned about the water underneath causing mold. Everytime it happens I pull it back, dry it up and then spray bleach compound to kill any mold. The flooring underneath it seems to be unneffected, thank goodness. We have decided to tile it by early next year and get rid of all of that. I just have to hang in there and do the best I can until we can replace the floors. Jack with his knees now just cannot install them himself, period so I have to have the extra money to have them installed. Jack and I rethought it all and decided instead of trying to save up the money to do all the downstairs floor, concentrate on getting the linoleum in the kitchen, laundry and bath ripped up and done first then work on getting money for the two rooms of carpet. We will keep an eye out for a sale and sometimes you can get free install if you watch Lowes and Home Depot.

Susan: I am doing more of a calorie counting program than WW. I pretty much follow what I would eat on WW, but I have a free Ap program that keeps track of weight loss, exercise and I can input food and it converts the calories, fat and such. It has a huge data base in it of brand stuff so pretty much anything I put in it comes up. One of my exercise problems is my bp med causes water retention/swelling the diuretic doesn't seem to handle and it can make it hard to walk and such. I have pretty much gone through every combo for bp meds there are so my dr felt what I am on is the best right now and we just watch the swelling and stuff. I sure hope your speaker is not from the area that had the earthquake, but it seemed to have happened around the larger city if I understood it correctly.

Well gals, I need to get myself some breakfast and get to work. Have a great day all! Faye

gma...just passing thru and had to give your our answer. We put ice cubes in our dog's water and he drinks twice as much. Hope it helps....karen3