G'day all,

It is cool this morning

It is very overcast and a lovely breeze, yesterday was the hottest day for 21 years and in parts of our state it reached 47 degrees, and that is hot, damn hot

Trudy What an interesting site, I had never heard of 'sundogs', magnificent photography.

I was up very early this morning, the pain in my hips and now the tops of my legs is bad news. For a few days the arthiritis medication seemed to have helped but the last few nights, the discomfort/pain is as bad as it was before Not sure what I am going to do about it. No time left to go to my doctor, tomorrow is Australia day and a public holiday so that leaves only Tuesday and we leave very early (like 6 am at the airport by 5am) Wednesday.

Sally, Lily is quite right and I should also tell you a little about myself........I am 57, married for 32 years (and I even still like him) and have 2 children, a son and daughter. Both got married last year, my daughter at the beginning of the year and my son surprised us all by marrying at the end of the year. DH worked for the one company for 37 years until 2 years ago when he took a redundancy package and got a job with Lucent Technologies. His job entails a lot of travel and that is now what we do, we leave for 3-4 months on Wednesday for New Zealand.
You may like to have a look at my website and admire the lovely wedding photos of my daughter and son.
Yes and I am also trying to get rid of some of my excess baggage. Coming here reminds me everytime to get on with it!!!
I love my computer and do a lot of stuff with Adobe Photoshop that I think is just the best!
I also like any crafts, gardening and reading.

My 5 minute 'net' allowance is up and I must get on with it especially now it is so cool.

Cheers
Maria

Noticed Ann replied in the previous thread, probably the same time as I started the new one.
I thought I would 'cut&paste' Ann's post here.
Your Benny Goodman night sounded a lot of fun!

Hi
Well we are warmer today. Love it.

The concert last night was great. a real big band and they played all the stuff that made Benny Goodman famous. The clarinet player who did all his stuff was really good. And the drummer caught my eye. He could imitate Gene Krupa without a hitch and he had fun doing it. Big smiles all the time. The band was 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 5 saxophones, Piano, Bass and drums. Of course this kind of music brings nostalgia to me. There was also a very good female vocalist, and she could sound a bit like Peggy Lee. When I was growing up all the Big bands were just beginning to be on the way out, so we got to hear them all one way or another. I can remember going to the Paramout theater in NYC and hearing Gene Krupa in person. What a drummer.:

Tomorrow is the big day for our area. you just cannot believe the hype about the Super Bowl. Of course this is the first time the Tampa Bucaneers have ever made it this far, so it has been constant celebration and interviews, etc on the t.v.

Didn't go to WW today as I had stayed the same, and frankly I didn't want to pay.

Maria: How did the oven turn out? That is a dreaded job for me. I need to do mine. checked the sight about the tesselated tiles. They are really beautiful. Did you pick out one of the patterns. They sort of make me think of a Persian rug, done in tile.

Slavika: How is the Princess?

Lily: Thanks for the info about the climate there. You are probably just the right distance away from the ski slopes, so you can drive there if you've a mind to. Too far from San Diego to get all the Super Bowl hype.

Sally: I have a cousin who lived in Spokane Wa. He was head Librarian at the University there. He was quite a young man, in his 50's when he passed away, from complications of diabetes. His wife and son still live there. Where are you located in relationship to Spokane?

Hi everyone. Hope your Sunday is a good one. Ann

Hi Everybody
DH and I went out early yesterday morning and did buy a new central vac system. It will be installed tomorrow morning. I'm sure I will notice a big difference in the sucking power with this new one.
One of DH auto dealerships had a "gently used" Toyota Avalon delivered to our place yesterday afternoon for him to try out. We had to make a Costco run so we tried out the new car. Well I was certainly sold when I discovered this car had HEATED SEATS. That is certainly a nice feature to have in a car when you have really cold winters. DH was not really planning on getting another car until closer to the time he retires but now he is thinking maybe he will get this one and then trade it off in a year or so and get a new one.
DH/son/dil/and grandson all went to a hockey game last night so they dropped my little Princess off to spend time with me. She still has the rash. The rash on her face is a SOLID darker pink colour then the skin on her face and then she has a bit of a rash on her neck but that again is different. It is more like "hives". The specialist they took her to is inclined to think it was the first dose of antibiotics that she was on (for her ear infection) that has caused this but will not know for sure until the allergy tests are done I guess. Some of you might remember when I went to Maui last year and had that infection in my teeth. I didn't have time to do anything about those teeth before I left so the dentist gave me antibiotics to take for the whole month I was there (then I got the teeth implants when I got home). I broke out in a terrible rash and thought I had a sun rash which I had before but not so bad. It was not until I got home that one of my friends, in fact it might have been Trudy mentioned that it could have been from the medication. Of course that was it, but I just didn't think of that at the time. I thought it was strange that I had the rash on parts of my body that were certainly not exposed to the sun.
Maria I took a look at the web site for the tile. Oh my it certainly is lovely. That's too bad that you are still experiencing pain like that. I guess you will just have to keep after your doctor to see what else can be done. My friend who is in Maui now.....well last year when she came home her doctor had started her on medicine for her cholesterol which was a little high. Well that gal suffered something terrible with pain in her legs and especially her hips. She mentioned it to someone who told her it could be her cholesterol medication that was causing it. She went back to her doctor and asked if this was possible and he said, "absolutely, it was possible", it was a side effect of the drug that some people got. She went off that drug, and the pain went away. I don't know if you take any medication for cholesterol but thought I would mention it.
Ann it sounds like the concert was wonderful. Glad you enjoyed it. I think I would have enjoyed it too.

As you football fans know, the Tampa bucaneers were the big winners yesterday. There is no way that anyone in this area is not sucked into a bit of the hype, since all of our TV stations come from Tampa. You can't believe all the hype and the big parties and yelling in the streets last night. They were even fearful of damage being done if the celebrations got out of hand. Har to believe that kind of idiocy.

Slavika: Sorry the princess is still bothered by the rash. Hope the tests will prove someting.

Maria: Thank you for pasting my post. I was wondering why I didn't get my email notification of new posts. I have learned to just check anyway.

We have to take a friend to the airport on Wed. A sad story. She is Norwegian, lives here in the park about 6 months. Last summer she had surgery at home, recovered and came here. She has had a reocurrance of the problem here, and so her Norwegian medical insurance won't cover any procedure here. They are flying her home. I fear we will not see her again, as her liver is involved. She is a lovely person, and so full of life, even now, planning for next year when she returns, tho' I feel deep down she knows the score.

Hi everyone. Have a good week. Ann

G'day all,

Well last day home, the next post will be from New Zealand.
I am feeling much better this morning, I got some strong painkillers yesterday that also have a bit of a sedative and I had a good night sleep after getting about 2-3 hours the night before.
DH is stressing, he has to get a report out by the end of the day and of course we are packing.

Slavika interesting what you said about your friends experience with the cholestrol medication. I was on that sort of medication but have not taken it for some months. As I already said, this morning I do feel much better. I just wish there was some pattern so I could work it out a bit what is going on.
I was so bad yesterday that I wondered how I would cope with going, thank goodness it is so much better today.
Sorry to hear 'the princess' still has the rash
I can imagine heated seats would be very nice in your climate, it something we can do without at the moment!

Ann Yes we saw on our news services here that Tampa won and I thought of you. Of course the idiots were highlighted with some of the damage they did. I am sure they were in the minority but I guess normal happy people don't make the news
This morning there was a picture of Shania Twain in the outfit she wore when she sang at the game. I quite like her music and she looked fantastic in her 'glitzy' outfit, what a figure!
Sorry to hear about your Norwegian friend, maybe if it is true that you may not see her again, perhaps could you make your next holiday in Norway and pay her a surprise visit?
By the way, you asked in your last post how my oven turned out, I am so glad you did because I had forgotten all about it I had sprayed it with some spray that is best to leave to do its work for 24 hours, and until I read your post I had forgotten all about my sprayed oven It is sparkling and gleaming now, thank you!

A friend called in yesterday with a gift for DH. He belongs to the Mercedes club and he bought a small replica of our 'dream machine', same colour and all I thought that was very kind.

The weather is hotting up again, what a summer we have had. I am glad I am not here for the end of it.

See ya all in New Zealand

Cheers
Maria

Slavika: You will love your new Central VAc. One day I would really like one. My friend has one and its pretty nice! How is the Proncess doing now?
Could very well be the medication.

Ann: Didnt see the game. Im not a football fan. Glad your team won!

MAria: Have a safe trip!

Havent been able to get here for a few days. Well shouldnt say that got here but it took forever to load. I get impatient so I left

Have a great night all!

Hi Girls,

Well here I am again, very hot but not as hot as Maria had in Adelaide - any way it will be better in New Zealand.

Anne saw the football on tele yesterday and am very glad that Tampa won (didn't like the other team) anyway I can understand that you would be carried along on the hype of it.

Slavika Hope that the "princess's " rash is going down. It could be hives, medication or anything that she has eaten. Get well again little girl.

Maria By now you will be in New Zealand and cooler weather. Have you ever taken celery tablets (4 daily) combined with your Vioxx? I take them and find that they give me great relief.

Well everyone have a good day.

Love to you all.

Jenye/Ash

G'day all,

We arrived yesterday to a lovely cool New Zealand.
We are here Wellington which is a rather pretty, old city. I am surprised how mountainous it is and everything is 'up hill and down dale'.
The apartment we are staying at and which looked so great on the internet is the pits! It is so small that we can hardly turn. It really is a long corridor with 2 very small windows, one in the living area and one in the bedroom. It doesn't give enough light to see by so the lights are on constantly. TV in living area and bedroom are mounted on the wall giving one a 'crick' in the neck if you watch for too long It has only been open 2 years and the price charged ($180 per night) one would expect something a bit better than this.
I never take a hairdryer because they are always provided, well not here We were thinking of moving but as we are here only till Tuesday, we decided not to bother.
I set out at 8.30 this morning and I am now at an internet cafe.
I am not sure what we will do at the weekend but there are many places to explore and to see.

Jeneye I haven't tried the celery tablets with the vioxx, I have now decided to not take anything other than painkillers when it gets really bad. I will have it all fully investigated when I get back home.

Have a great day all, I'll be off for a bit more exploring!

Cheers
Maria

I see so much has been going on since I was here last. I just can't get rid of this cold and I think I have had a touch of the flu. Feeling better today. A lot of schools have been closed because of illness. We went to a Super Bowl party and we all take different kinds of soup, hence a Souper Bowl Party. I didn't care who won=like to see the commercials which weren't so good this year. Went out Monday to see some ice sculptures and then got sick again. Welcome Sally, I am in Ohio. Love the Oregon coast. Be back later to catch up some more.

All, it has been taking so long to access this site that I have given up a few times. Maria - $180/night for the pitts? Should be something great for that. At least it is temporary. Are you having trouble with the Vioxx? My sister had terrible side effects and decided on just pain pills also.

Peggy - loved the idea of a Souper-Bowl party. We didn't even watch it this year. We usually go to friends for a party, but this year they were sick with the flu.

I feel pretty bummed out today. Just so very tired from work. We have a new president and he is making everyone jump through hoops, trying to get up to speed. My boss is frazzled and so are we.
Glenda

G'day all,

Well I am just killing some time before I can move into our new apartment. It HAS to be an improvement on the one we were in
We are going to be in Wellington now for at least 2 weeks so staying where we were just wasn't an option. I said to dh that I felt I lived in a jail, the coffee was awful, so I was even just having bread and water

I went to the houses of parliament yesterday, the national library and an art gallery. All in all it was a good day.
Wellington is supposedly the windiest city on earth, this morning I believed it. Thank goodness the 'messy hair' look is in, I will be very much up to date here!

Glenda sorry you are having a hard time at work, there are always more targets to reach and redefining of work processes
My aim at the moment is to get hooked up with a local ISP so I don't have to go to internet cafes.
I haven't noticed any real side effects with Vioxx but I don't think it is helping either so I have decided to stop taking it. I am a bit annoyed because I got 3 packs before leaving Australia, so that is probably money down the drain

Peggy Hope you are getting better, I have missed your posts.

Hello to everyone else........

Cheers
Maria

Maria if you are in the windy city without a hairdryer, it is good that the messy look is in. lol

Peggy: So sorry you are still sick. Hope you start feeling better soon!

Glenda: Sorry work is so bad. Hopefully it will get better? Sounds like the new President is doing a number on everyone. Hope it settles down for you.

MAria: So did you get moved? The other place sure sounded small!

Well I must get to beddy bye.
Night all

Just a quick note. Haven't been able to get in to this site since I got home. Suzanne had to finally give me a new pass word. Any way I'll be back when I have more time.

Karen

Hi all: Just a quick hello before I go to another activity. As Chair of our social club it keeps me busy. Last night we had an International Night. Everyone brought food from different countries. the committee served Greek Salad, French Bread, and English Trifle. Our contributions. We had food from Norway, Poland and other Slavic Countries, Germany, Oriental, Greek, Canadian, Sweeden, Ireland, Scotland Mexico, Hebrew. A lot of fun and more food that anyone could ever want. Bad for weigh-in tomorrow.

Then this p.m. we have aNewcomers Reception for all new home owners and people who rent for the winter. Just to get acquainted and help then know about all the activities availabale to them as residents. When that is over, I can breath for a while.:

Hi Peggy: Glad to hear from you, and sorry you have been unwell for so long . Some of this stuff does just seem to hang on and on.

Hi Karen: Also glad to hear from you after your trip. Hope you had a fun time, and I suppose you are now ready to go back to work.

Maria: So glad for you and DH that you could move out of 'jail' For the price, you certainly should have had better than that. Your exploring sounds very interesting.

Hello to all the rest of you. I'm off to my reception. Ann