D*rn yard sales.

Good news: I paid $3 for a barely used Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner with a shoulder strap that is easy to carry around in all the mess we're making in this do-over on our house. Super deal.

Bad news: The bag was full and no extra bags came with it. I wasn't patient enough to wait to buy more, so I would have to empty the disposable bag to use the thing. Disgusting thought.

Good news: That wasn't so bad after all - but clearly not worth saving the $1.33 to do it every time it fills.

Salvation: I found a quarter in the bag.

Dilemma: Do I have to return the quarter to the folks who ran the yard sale?

I'm still on holiday and it's wonderful! This time I'm relaxing , rather than catching up on all those important things in life like weeding, defrosting the freezer, sweeping the laundry room floor ( it's unfinished concrete).

I watched a short video on Ytube (what a good resource ) re SUP (stand up paddling) and I now have the basics down. This will probably become my "early morning alone" sport in summers. I love DH and doing things with him but boy! does he ever talk a lot. Sometimes I really enjoy the "zen" (grammarians forgive me) of early morning on the water, listening to the gentle waves and the birds calling. Not happening when DH is there. Or if it is he's drowning them out .

Now all I need is a good bargain on a flat-water board whose owner is moving on to racing or surfing.

Bill Do you do stand-up? Your description of the yard sale events had me laughing I would say keep the quarter to put toward buying replacement bags.

I'm going to wake DH in an hour and a half to go paddling before it gets too hot . Will do some yoga before than so I don't cramp up in my boat.

Have a good Monday all!

Dagmar (I my boat)

How's this for morality, Bill? If I found a diamond ring in the bag, I'd return it to the yard sale owner. But a quarter becomes mine. It's like money on the sidewalk.

I'm sitting in my quiet, stuffy office in Connecticut, where the airconditioning hasn't yet kicked in and removed the weekend staleness. I was on the laptop on Saturday & Sunday catching up. And there's plenty to do. But the morning light when I drove in was thick and magical in that summery way & had that look of gold dust floating in the air and blurring the edges of everything. And I remembered it's August, which is a wonderful month. A low blood pressure month. Three weeks till I unplug & head Upstate for a respite.

Dagmar, I wish I had the day off, and I'm wondering if I can get Wednesday off, just spontaneously, which I never do. I never take single days off more or less spontaneously.

Have I confessed here that there's a Sunday night TV show that I've grown fond of, called "The Glee Project"? There are a bunch of kids competing for a spot on "Glee." Weirdly enough, I don't watch "Glee," but I like this show. Makes me think of the talented kids I knew in my undergrad years who were in the performing arts school.

Keep the quarter, Bill. Think of it as payment for having to empty the bag.

Speaking of money on the sidewalk--I have a friend in Scottsdale that takes a few coins every time she goes out for a jog and drops them here and there and then imagines the look on peoples' faces when they find them and pick them up. Cute thought--especially if it is a child who finds the money.

DD has been here most of the week and her kitten has been giving our cat a run for the money. That little creature never stops! Our cat has had to find new hiding places in order to nap. She goes home today for a few days and then will be back for a couple of weeks--1) to watch Ringo while we take our RV to Montana for our reunion and 2) to work at band camp at her old high school. They're paying her $300 for her to teach the drum line their stuff for the week.

We leave Friday for our weekend in SLC for my HS reunion. Still not sure if I'm looking forward to it or not. Of the 500+ graduating class, there are 150 coming to the first night and 100 the second night (and that number includes spouses). I know I won't remember a few of them. (sigh)

I don't think I've heard of the Glee Project, but it sounds cute. We do watch Glee, however.

I'm a bit tired this morning. I woke up at 2:35 AM and never really got back to sleep. It's been extremely humid here (rain poured down yesterday) and the AC just doesn't kick on when I want it to. I woke up because I was too hot. Then when it did kick on, I got too cold. I'd much rather sleep with the evaporative cooler, but it doesn't work in the humidity.

Morning all,

I had another fun (but busy with fun!) weekend that left me not wanting to wake up this morning and come to work. Late Sat PM BF came home saying we could go out in the boat to the sand bar ("hang out" spot) to see some friends. Since it was later in the day and cooling off, we brought Emma too. She had a great time racing up and down the beach with the other dogs, and swimming in the river to cool down while we all sat in the water. We wanted to stop and eat at a place on the river on the way home that allows "well-behaved" dogs on their outside porch. I thought I'd try it since Emma was so tired. She actually behaved! I kept her leashed, but she laid down and took a nap despite food and other dogs around (she was really exhausted!). Sunday we went scalloping again, this time closer to home. Mmm mmm what a delicious dinner.

Bill, keep the quarter! How far away was this place? If you drove there to return the quarter, you'd spend more in gas getting there. Nice deal on the vacuum!

Allison, sorry you've been sleeping so badly. It's definitely tough when your body can't get adjusted to the weather. I'm sure there will be nametags at the reunion!

Dagmar, enjoy your day off!

Back to work... I'm hoping to get field work done today but currently thunderstorms are keeping me inside. Typical Florida summertime. Sigh.

Bill - I agree with Saef, I would return a diamond ring but I'd keep a quarter.

Bargoo - happy belated birthday!

Dagmar, glad you're getting DH active.

Hi Saef, Allison, Megan!

I am currently waiting for a call back from my doctor's office and crossing my fingers that they will call the correct number this time. If I haven't heard from them by about 2:30 I'll call again just in case they called the wrong number (they close at 4:00). The situation at the moment is just kind of weird. I did get the note from them in the mail on Friday. It was extremely cryptic. Basically it said that the lab results supported the hypothesis of "a lupus-like arthritis" and they want me to take a 5 week tapering dose of prednisone. A prescription was included with very cryptic dosing instructions. But last time I was in the office, he told me he didn't want to put me on prednisone because its side effects would be worse than my condition. I don't know if a 5 week course is short enough that there is less risk or what, and I don't know what my lab tests actually showed up (do I have lupus, or do I not?). Also, I don't know if they want me to continue my current medications as well or stop them, or if it matters that I'm planning on going out of town on vacation in a couple weeks.

In any case I hope they call soon so I can get this sorted out! In other news, we had a good time in Chicago this weekend. Went on an architecture river cruise and went to the art museum. Ate deep dish pizza, then had dinner at my sister-in-law's friend's house, where he cooked up a massive gourmet feast and there was an excessive amount of wine and cocktails. I think since we only see my sister when it's a special occasion or we're on vacation, DH thinks that she eats and drinks that much every night. Aside from the decadent weekend though she has been following weight watchers and having good success (I think she is down about 15lbs).

In other news I am trying to convince DH to consider getting treatment for his depression. He says talk therapy won't work and he doesn't want to take medication. I think I managed to talk him into at least reading up on the available medications and non-medication therapies.

Good morning and happy August everyone!!

Bill-- too funny on your garage sale find. I agree about the quarter too! Dd found a dollar in the parking lot a few days ago. It sure trumped the penny I found the day earlier.

Jessica-- I hope you hear from the doctor and get some answers. Good luck with dh and his depression too. Both of my dds have had depression. My older dd was on medication but no longer is, and my younger dd remains on a small dose (she also sees a psychologist occasionally).

Megan-- glad Emma behaved well. Sounds like you had another nice weekend.

Allison-- have you been to other HS reunions? I find them so strange. I remember so few of my classmates. I've still gone to the reunions to see the few people I want to catch up with. I'm assuming most of your class would be Mormons? If so, there are probably some large families among your classmates?

Saef-- I think you should take Wednesday off if you can! That would certainly break your week up. I've seen the Glee project. The kids are so talented. I don't watch Glee but my dd (and dh!) do.

Dagmar-- enjoy your paddling! Are you back to work tomorrow or do you have more time off?

I have a very busy week ahead. I leave Friday with dd (and DEWEY!) for Houston to visit my in-laws and friends. Dh went to Houston yesterday for business and our trips will overlap. His mom was released from the hospital yesterday (after her stroke) and he sounded surprised at how bad she looks. I'll see for myself when I get there. She is only 70 but I worry that she is getting to the point where she can't fully take care of herself (remembering medicine, driving, etc.). This morning I have to get Dewey a health certificate to fly. Any advice on flying with a dog? It will be my first time. I am very nervous. I figure he will either do great or terrible! So much to do to prepare for the trip-- packing, shopping, and a million other things.

Today is dh and my 24th anniversary. Too bad he isn't here but we did have a nice day Saturday. Next Saturday we are going out (in Houston) with my friend and her dh (and a big group) to a fundraising auction/casino night. Sounds fun. I have to figure out what to wear. It sounds quite dressy.

We bought a new bed on Saturday and had it delivered yesterday. We got the Tempur-pedic. Dh was bummed that he wasn't here to try it out. I am hopeful it will help my back and hip pain but we'll see. One night sleeping on it and I have a headache but I think I am just stressed!

BILL can you spare 2 bits? WE need to buy a shortstop now.

ALLISON your post reminds me .... Angie and I walk down the beach side of the coast with the dogs when we head over there for breakfast....then we walk back the opposite side of the road where the cafes are. Anyway we pass several beach condos/house along the way with decks of course....one of the condos has a quarter glued to the sidewalk....the guys just happened to be out on their deck the morning Angie tried to pick it up! Hilarious.....now it's fun when we see someone ahead of us trying to get it.

Happy Anniversary michelle

michele Happy Anniversary! Is Dewey small enough to fit under the seat? I would try to take him in the airplane cabin if at all possible in a carrier (carry on luggage) and I would dose him with a small amount of Gravol (which acts as a good sedative for most dogs) whatever way you go. Do ask your vet about all of this. There are temperature extremes in the hold of a plane that might be too harsh for a puppy to tolerate.

saef Take the Wednesday! It's summer! Do not much but enjoy a lazy summer day (spoken as one who drives herself waaay too much sometimes and then regrets never getting to "smell the roses")

Allison I think you may have the same sort of love/hate relationship with AC that I do. I keep waking up about 2 a.m. and feeling too cold. Turn the unit off and at 4 a.m. I'm too hot. No problem in the car though - it goes ON FULL!

Megan Glad you had a fun weekend. It sounds like Emma is starting to "grow up" a bit. Enjoy the high energy time with her now - she will probably settle down a lot when she's around 3 years old.

I have had a 4-day weekend and will be back at work tomorrow. I have been cat sitting for 2 of the 4 days - unexpected but glad to do it - my clients were going to leave 2 quite elderly cats at the vets for 2 weeks . I know these cats are much happier in their house, with me visiting them.

Our paddling was abruptly terminated this morning due to a problem with my boat's rudder and the lack of a screwdriver anywhere on the club premises to fix same. By the time we got back to the house there were lots of storm-type clouds rolling in so DH and I went for a long walk instead.

On the way home I performed an unexpected "rescue" of an fat older dog in the middle of a busy street. She was happily eating some sort of food which had been flattened by a car and was quite reluctant to leave it! Cars were honking their horns and she was oblivious. I dragged her back to the park beside the roadway and handed her over to her very anxious owner (who was a bit "simple"). He loudly started calling me his "hero" and I felt totally embarrased and waved it all away.

DH is now all geared up to do the diet and exercise program for the month of August. Good! Finally it's coming from him. I will my own laziness with losing those last 5 lbs. to goal (which is taking me fr*aking forever and ever) and we have sworn off the beer/chips for the month of August.

I better get my car together for work tomorrow.

Good afternoon all!

Dagmar

Dagmar-- he is going to be in the cabin with us. I have a carrier that will go under the seat. I have tranquilizers from the vet to try for him. We ordered some new toys that we won't give him until the plane ride which will hopefully distract him for the duration.

Which airline are you using? (just curious because some people up here have had problems getting their pets in the cabin - some airlines are refusing to allow pets in cabin anymore). I think, if my kitties are still alive when we move, I might have to buy them tickets! DH will be a little p*ssed about this but I think he will go for it - he dotes on Mudpie and wouldn't want to lose her.

If Dewey is going to be tranquillized he probably will sleep through it all. Good to have the new toys and I would suggest something older too, with his scent on it for comfort.

Dagmar

Michele~the only other reunion I attended was my 20th. I had a lot of fun. That one was done by a professional reunion outfit and the turnout was spectacular--almost the entire class was there. This year we have less than 25% coming. The thing is being organized mainly through Facebook, although the committee did get addresses for the majority of alums--it just isn't getting a good turnout. I think we'll have fun regardless.

Gary~I've seen coins glued to the sidewalk myself. Now I try kicking the coin before stooping over to try and pick it up!

Ringo kitty seems to be missing his little friend. He's even been playing with toys that he's been ignoring for months.

Not much going on here. Just waiting for the humidity to clear. It was supposed to clear yesterday but Mother Nature decided otherwise and we had showers in the afternoon. It's supposed to be nice this weekend while we're gone. Just like normal!

We are flying United. I was surprised at how expensive it is for him to fly ($125 each way). Dd and I are flying for free because we are using dh's frequent flier points so Dewey is the only flying cost.

Jessica, did the doctor's office call you back? Do you have any news?