Even though we are not posting as frequently lately, figured it might be time to start a new thread and HOPING for a better second half of the year. I remembered to set the flag to email you when there are new posts this time around.

Here's a link back to the old thread

Back to make a proper post. It’s hair cut and color day for me – yay!! My color has actually grown out nicely, it’s faded a bit but I don’t have the obvious grays that many have as it blends in well with the blonde. But it’s long and goes it’s own way and I can’t stand it at this length. So back to the mid length bob. Last Friday I got the knee drained – the doc said she felt it was inhibiting my lower leg from getting better. She said she took quite a bit off the knee cap but could not get it all as the needle kept getting plugged up. Within 2 days the swelling on my lower leg disappeared, the red tinge is much less but the knee hurts more than ever. I think the cellulitis has cleared – she didn’t want me on antibiotics more than I needed to be. However after the drain, the bursa sac filled with fluid again – it’s soft and squishy on my knee cap and feels like I have a giant breast implant glued to my knee. It’s tight, prohibits movement and I can only stand about 10 minutes before I get shooting pains in my leg. I emailed the doctor and she said she figured it would re-swell again but to just keep it iced and elevated and stay off of it as much as possible. Sigh – it’s going on a month since I fell and I am so tired of this already I can’t tell you. This obviously impacts me from doing much – I don’t even leave the house except to sit on the deck for a while. We ordered some deck furniture from the home improvement store and now DH said he is having a hard time tracking shipment and we don’t know when it’s going to show up. I had a talk with DH – or tried to – I am concerned about his more frequent bouts of loss of memory. Of course he doesn’t think this is a problem, just like he didn’t think his hearing loss was a problem. Now I know why women go after younger men now. LOL and then there’s the whole country in turmoil thing going on. Hard to keep your mind in a positive place. Yesterday a car pulled up halfway in our driveway. A woman got out and just walked to the back of our yard behind the garage. I watched and wondered what she was doing. Finally decided to go on the deck to check it out. Turns out she was the meter reader and said she found a tiny newborn fawn next door halfway up our neighbor’s driveway. I warned her about the bears. Then I went into my house and said to myself – boy aren’t you quite the sight going out on the deck in your pjs (tho they are nice pjs), no bra, no front teeth (LOL) and wild crazy hair. But hey, it’s a pandemic, we all look pretty raggety DH was out at the dump and I texted him about the fawn. He came back, went looking and found it. Cutest thing. Then we got the most terrible thunderstorm rolling in. Not much rain but house rattling thunder. The cats were scared. Made me nervous too. DH went back afterwards and the fawn was gone. We see momma deer hanging around the yard. Problem is DH went out to snap pictures and saw a coyote across the road too. Eeek. But momma deer are very protective of their babies so fingers crossed all is well. My sister is doing fine – her sister in law went back to Florida so my sister is now pulling duty staying a few days at the FIL to help out with his care. They are all over the virus. My Mom is trying hard to stay well and out of trouble and Sis and I both laughed that we know it’s killing Mom not to be the number one in attention. BIL said they should just move both old folks to his dad’s house and BIL and Sis can all live in one house and take care of everyone at once!

Susie – so glad to hear that Genny got a good medical report back. Not sure you can ever really relax but it sounds as if she is on a good road to recovery now. You have been a good friend to her. I’m sorry to hear about DH’s job – he wanted to retire so be careful what you ask for. I think for many people anticipated retirement does not come the way you plan for it to. And with all the things that have gone on financially this year, I’m sure there will be many business changes to come. Just sit down, review your finances, tighten the belt and you will get through this. I know it’s hard – been there myself. DH worked for IBM – got his 25 year service plaque and 2 months later they off shored his job to India. Told him he was free to apply for it if he wanted to live in India. That’s today’s corporate environment - Thanks for your service! Ugh. I know you like your company but this is why I tell you not to kill yourself over a job. I hope your DH gets his vacation – depends on if they are doing a mass cut back – then they might have a “take it or leave it” attitude. He could file for social security now – you will have to decide how much of a difference there will be between claiming at 64 vs 65 and since he is younger than me full retirement would probably put him at 65 and a few months – almost a year from now. I decided to take SS at 63 – won’t make a noticeable difference of less money overall until I turn 85 – and I don’t plan on living as long as my momma. And give me the money while it’s there. With all of the spending the government has been doing – not sure how they will pay for it and they are itching to get their hands on SS to take it and run while you can! Hope you guys will be ok financially. Glad you are making progress with the shoulder. Just keep up with the exercises even when you are feeling fully up to snuff. I think you will see more working from home now that companies are used to it. IBM saved a ton of money by letting people WFH – just had offices for shared space if they had to come together for a meeting or something. I think if you are disciplined you get a lot more done and they get more out of you since you will tend to stay and finish something rather than leaving at 5 to catch a train or get home.

Laura – the best part of WFH is not having to be around the PITA co-workers I also enjoyed the extra time in the day but did miss the guilt free “me” time you did get on the train – reading or snoozing. Funny about the salon appointment – we feel like we won the lottery to score an appointment soon. It will feel good to get trimmed up again. I have been looking at the weathercaster’s hair for the last couple of weeks. They must have someone cutting the back of their hair but the tops are getting very long and raggety. DH has been cutting his own hair, I just trim the neck for him. He offered to cut mine – no thanks Great idea on the shopping cart for your Mom to make the grocery loading easier. Is she doing ok? Yes, the rioting has been terrible – fortunately we are ok here but it’s really bad in Minnesota – even in Duluth. How is it by you? To your question – no the oriole never came back but the hummingbirds sure do like the additional feeder so we are leaving it up. I asked DH about the pressure washer. He said by their nature they are leaky. There is pressurized water and lots of fittings and if everything is not tight it leaks all over. And if you have an electric one, leaky water and electric is not the best thing so for that reason he favors the gas one we have. He also said that since you only use it a couple of times a year, the fittings dry out and have to be replaced so it requires some amount of maintenance. Finally if you do get a gas one, you have to drain the gas at the end of the season or you will wreck the carburetor. But then again you have to drain your mower so you can just add that to the list of winter prep things. When he bought ours they didn’t have electric ones – I just hate the smell of the gas fumes but powerwashing is his job. We use it for the deck and will use it for the furniture so a wide range of pressure settings.

Annie – congratulations on the hard work getting the weight off. Especially during these stressful recent months when stress = stubborn belly fat. Yay for sticking to it. Bummer that you can’t work from home but at least you are alone in your car and not having to deal with public transportation. I hope you can hang in there with the job. It’s going to be a touch and go situation for the rest of the year. Lots of money lost so I think everyone will just have to go heads down and hold their breaths and hope they can keep their heads afloat financially. L I’m sure it’s been turmoil having to home school the boys. I think parents have a whole new appreciation for teachers and schooling. Not sure how that’s going to work out as there are different levels of interest and intention. Seems like the kids miss the group interaction of the classroom too. And I feel sorry for any parent trying to teach more than one kid. Like the one room schoolhouse of different ages in the old days! What a nutty year for the books. I can totally empathize with you about this whole situation crawling into your head. I feel the same way. Trying to be positive but there are so many stressful things that you need something good just to get a break and recharge and refocus. It does help with the better weather coming in. Now with all of these protests and gatherings, who knows what will happen with the virus? I think with some many things, the states are on their own to figure out how to deal with things. DH is not willing to go to restaurants yet or closed in spaces like movies so I guess he will just amuse himself taking pictures outside. Sorry to hear about Sassy’s back. Hope she recovers quickly. How is C doing? What do YOU do for stress relief???

Shad – yes the cellulitis is a pain to deal with. It does not seem to clear quickly. I smiled at your comment about the colored parts of the leg. That is true. This is the 3rd time I have gotten it on the same leg and your are right – the skin never returns back to it’s true color. I’m glad I didn’t have it as bad as you with the hospital antibiotics. It can lead to MERSA which is always frightful. I suppose this worldwide pandemic has pretty much put the kibosh on any travel plans you may have for the near future or through next year at the least. Although you seem to have much better control out your way. Don’t plan on coming here – you can see what a terrible mess our country is in. I hope and pray we can recover from it.

Ceejay – a farm down the road – sounds like you have a nice peaceful area to live in. Are you doing ok and adjusting to living with your sister?

Hello Jollygirl

Well it’s an hour later. I have to pop in the shower and get ready to head out. It’s going to be 87 degrees today. That is like living on the sun for me and will completely put DH in a puddle. I have a friend who winters in Arizona. Due to the virus they decided not to travel back. Temps are something like 105 out there and she is hot at 60 degrees so I feel badly for her. Plus they have terrible wildfires due to the heat and draught and riots and protests and shortages from the virus. I said in hindsight they would have been better trying to make their way back here a month ago but were worried about things being closed due to the virus. I hope 87 degrees bakes the darn thing away!! Have a good week ladies.

Hello again
Nothing new to report.

Thanks for setting this up Happy. I'll be back to post when I get some housework done. The tradies are coming tomorrow to refinish the last window and the two security doors. That job is at last going to be to crossed off the list.

Okay, back again. The tradies are not coming today. They contacted me yesterday to say they are being held up on a job and will make it Monday. But anyway the threat of them being here today spurred me into action yesterday to get the bedroom cleared out and dusted and swept. Leaned the bed up against the wall and found a stack of dead bodies of cockroaches from the last bomb I put round. Thought I had cleared all that earlier but maybe the second wave hit them after I had been through. Romeo the cat has nowhere to hide from the dogs now since the other two beds are sitting directly onto the floor. But he will no doubt find a spot in a wardrobe somewhere.
No dog today as it is the DS2's RDO so I will get busy cleaning and sanding the last to window frames to be painted. It's not easy when both cat and dog have a long reaching, environmentally unfriendly tail to 'help' with the painting. Other jobs on the list are to pull out the bookcases and dust, clean, sweep and wash behind them and then out to the garden for some much needed weeding and planting. The garden is looking good. I'm eating the spinach, peppers, basil, first batch of carrots, and lettuce. I see there is some beetroot ready as well or at least nearly ready and the miniature cauliflowers are showing signs of the 'flower'. Beans are not doing well, the corn is coming along but is having some weird cobs on it and the potatoes haven't yet come up. Have to set the dog on to 'hatching' them.
So we are easing restrictions again here from the first of June. No new COVID cases for the past 10 days up here and we can now travel anywhere within the State. Have to have a permit and a good reason to cross State lines as the borders are still closed. There is talk of flying between NZ and Aust but the New Zealanders are naturally cautious since they haven't had a new case in 21 days and Sydney and Melbourne are still coming up with clusters of the virus. Still they could fly here okay but the southern States would get their noses out of joint if we grabbed the tourism off them. Such cynicism Shad.
Last Monday after a week of the right leg aching like mad I decided to check it over and get it checked out. So I looked at it and measured the calf and decided it was swollen and certainly the colour was back in a big way. So off to the doc I went and told her about it. Apparently you can get recurrences of the bloody infection but she said it wasn't that and because I had had such high doses of the antibiotic I was well over any infection. The pain in the leg was in the thigh, felt muscular and was annoying. Anyway she checked out my hip movement and my knee movement to see if that was causing the problem but pronounced both joints perfect and sent me off for ultrasounds. No clots apparently, and apart from varicose veins not much else to cause the pain. She then prescribed something called Celebrix and I asked about whether it would affect the colonoscopy I have scheduled for next week. She didn't think so, but advised to just take Panadol until after the procedure. I came home, took two Voltaren 25 and two days later there isn't any pain in the leg. That must be the power of either visiting the doc or the power of the brain in action. I think, therefore I am.
Most of you have seen my facebook page with the results of the cancer check. We all have cancer cells in our bodies, it's when they go berserk that the trouble starts. In my tests this week, the c125 cancer marker test came up with the number 8. Normally it has been 7 for a couple of years. Apparently the danger point is 35 so there is no cause for concern about the rise. The young intern who was part of the Head of Oncology's team said that when diagnosed, my marker point was 29 so how did I know to get tested for cancer. I had to tell him my story and he was amazed at the run of coincidences that lead up to the findings. He wandered off to see Dr Shannon - the head guru and she said that he was bloody lucky to get her favourite patient. So I am blessed. Lucky to get a bright young GP doing his final rotation before graduation. Lucky that the hospital that removed the right ovary couldn't determine cancer and so sent it to an oncology hospital and luck that I got such good care there and aftercare. And it has cost me very little - to date about a $100 in medications for chemo side effects and for parking fees at the hospital.

Happy - It's definitely a concern with DH losing hearing and memory. Certainly the hearing thing can be sort of contained but memory is something else. I often find I can't remember what I was going down the hall for or why I did something weird but unless DS2 says something about it, I'm not going to worry too much. Stress brings on things like memory lapses as does other odd functions going haywire for a time. There has been some breakthroughs in dementias but nothing that will actually fix it.
Had to laugh at putting the FIL in with Mom and all going to live in one house. Although it would no doubt ease the strain on your sister and her husband, it may not do much for the oldies. Any changes in environment seem to stress them out badly.
How is the cellulitis going? What's MERSA?
Hope the lady in Arizona is going okay. It's hot dry temps out there. She'd better stay in the shade.
I'm not planning on travelling anytime soon. I've cancelled all arrangements made tentatively and folks were fairly good about it and understanding the problems. There will be no travel for me until possibly the middle of next year, always hoping it will be better than this one.

Nice to hear from Ceejay and Annie. Hope you are all staying safe and well. Annie I hope there aren't any riots around your way and on your way to work. Stay safe and your DH too.

Susie - lucky for you working from home and I am sorry to hear that your DH has been forcibly retired. There are plenty of problems in your country just now. Can only hope for some lasting peace to come and soon.

Hello Jollygirl. How are you getting on.

Laura - hope you are okay. Still working from home? Better there than on the streets in the US these days.

Time to go. Things to do and I haven't showered or dressed yet. Lucky the tradies aren't here isn't it.

Afternoon all. TGIF!

Susie - I'm sorry to hear about your DH's job loss. He was so close to the finish line! I'm glad he's already approved for unemployment benefits. People in many states, including IL, are struggling to get online and apply for benefits. It's terrible. This COVID-19 pandemic won't be the last, but it sure has taught us a lot about responding to it. Anyway, back to your DH - kinda think for a long-term employee like him they weren't very generous with the severance or paying out the vacation. Just my opinion. Did he get the letter of recommendation/written reference yet? I don't know how long unemployment benefits last, but I wish your DH the best in getting a job to carry him through to December/age 65. == I'm glad your shoulder is feeling better. Keep up with the PT/exercises. == Did you go to TOPS? I hope the WI went well. == Yes, there's always a next project where houses are involved. I'd like to tackle a good number of them while I am WFH and the C19 shutdowns continue - whether doing them myself or hiring them out.

Happy - Thanks for setting us up with our new thread. == How's your knee feeling? Glad the cellulitis is lessening. == How did your hair appointment go? Mine was Wednesday and it went fine. I had to have a mask taped to my face...but I survived. No blowdrying allowed at all, and I was fine with it. I did, however, get a bunch of hair snips down my back and it made me itch, so I ended up showering it all away later in the evening. Usually never happenes to me, always happens to bf. == I hope the deck furniture shipment gets sorted out. == I understand your alarm about your DH's memory - my mom's is worsening. Yesterday my sister texted that my mom said her unit was very warm. My sis was worried her heat was on...I thought she just didn't have the AC going on a hot day. But was it not remebering how to change the thermostat? Worrysome. (Anyway, maintenance checked it out and there was no mechanical issue, and got it cooled down.) If it weren't for this C19 we'd be pushing to get someone to come in regularly for well-checks, etc. == Thanks for the input re pressure washers. I guess we'll go with a gas one, and bf is already accustomed to dealing with gas equipment - mower, snow blower, edger, and whatever else. Just one more.

Shad - Good news re the cancer check! Maybe that intern has learned something from your case/story that he'll take with him as he begins his career. == Also good news that the C19 is on the wane in your part of the world. I think it's lessening here, but I can't say for sure because I honestly couldn't watch anymore news with all the bad stuff happening as of late with not just the C19 and collapse of small businesses, but then the rioting. Horrible stuff. Horrible. I'm quite content to stay home so much, and yes, I'm still working remotely and will be doing so through the end of summer, if not longer.

Ceejay - No news is good news! Hope it continues!

Annie - Saw your FB post about your duck family.

Nothing much to report. Finally got my hair cut and touched up. Picked up a couple things from the library via contactless pickup (just open the trunk). Work's going okay. Bf and I are staying safe and staying healthy. We received an invitation yesterday to a July wedding (a friend of bf's) and I'm surprised they haven't postponed it. I'm probably going to take a pass on that. Supposed to be a nice weekend here - cooler temps than all this week, so I'm getting out for another bike ride!! Last weekend's ride was on a short trail in a local forest preserve that didn't have parking lot restrictions. It was a bit too crowded on the trail with all the walkers, runners, roller-bladers, and cyclists - of all skill levels...good thing it was only 3 miles long.

That's about it for me, so I'll get this posted and start my weekend. Everyone stay safe and stay healthy!!

Good morning ladies,

The ongoing saga of the knee... Went yesterday - knee cap still swollen with fluids and was hot to the touch. Lower leg still tender and the red tinge of cellulitis seemed to be coming back. I was off antibiotics for a week. The doctor was concerned and wanted me to see the orthopedic doctor thinking I might need to be hospitalized for IV antibiotics and possibly removal of the inflamed bursa sac. I asked her how long in the hospital - overnight for sure and possibly a few days depending on how the leg reacted to the treatment. This conversation took place at 11am, they gave me a 12 noon appointment in the office right next door. I am thinking - I need to skeedaddle home quick and pack an overnight bag because DH will not be able to find anything other than my tooth brush! I live about 10 minutes from the medical complex so no problem. But FIRST we have to draw your blood and run some labwork. I am not an "easy stick" my veins give all phlebotomists a run for their money and only the top half of one percent can get blood out of my arm. Most have to go in via my hands. So this nice young girl comes in. Very pleasant. Checks me all over, I tell her where they usually go in. She nods and says if you don't mind, I will try elsewhere. Go right ahead. Tries my right hand and sure enough the vein rolls just as she's about to stick it. Twice. Gives up, tries left hand - burns like a mother. Well I ALMOST had it. Tries my worst arm - accckkkk - nope, not this time. She was very considerate, wiped me down so I didn't well up with underskin bruises and calls her coworker. While I was apprehensive and wondering where they were going to put in an IV if they had too since they were all wrecking my veins, Laura comes in and bip - right in the arm, minimal discomfort - just like it should be. I thanked her profusely. However by the time they got done I had only 25 minutes before my next appointment. I hurried home, stopped a sweaty DH outside and told him I needed him to drive me back in case them admitted me right away to the hosp and went in to quickly collect an overnight bag. DH comes in, tries to be helpful and gives me his tiny, tiny gym bag "you only need an overnight bag". Hahahahaha. PJs, a small robe, slippers, change of clothes and minimal toiletries plus a book and iPOD to keep from being bored took up more room than his tiny bag. Got back to the doctor about 12:05 which was ok because I waited 45 minutes before he came into the room anyway. He drained more fluid, said it did not look infected. Thought just regular antibiotics would be ok - no hospital stay thank goodness. They gave me another week's worth of pills and said they'd give me a booster shot of antibiotics that would get into my bloodstream quickly and jumpstart the infection fighting. It involved 2 shots, one in each hip area and she warned me - they were not pleasant. And that they were not. My knee is still sore so I spent the day off my feet icing because the more I am up on my feet, the more the bursa sac gets angry and inflamed. At this point the inner joint of the knee is the most hurtful. The pain has going in layers as the injuries healed. I have a follow up appointment on Tuesday - he will do a quick check just to look at the infection I'm sure but said to call if I had any issues since both he and my doctor were on call this weekend. I am not sure how much longer I am going to be able to put off knee surgery but I just weigh too much at this point to reasonably consider it. I am going to try to get in the basement and on the NuStep for 20 minutes today. My leg is getting tight even though I have been trying to do stretches. And the gym has opened up but you must make a 2 hour appointment and the locker rooms are closed so I'd have to sit in wet clothes on the ride home. Not the end of the world. It's just that DH is behind in his yard work so does not have time for this right now. I probably could go by myself - I just hate driving there. It's a 2 lane, one way road in each direction with lots of winding turns and the people who drive that road are tailgating maniacs. I talked to my Mom yesterday. She is an old time bigot - complaining about all the looting and the b.s. that is going on with the protests and is mad at the mayor and does not want to hear or understand another point of view. I think at this point the protesters have made their point and they need to stop it already. Only because there is a nasty criminal element that has realized the police force is worn thin and strained to the max and diverted to the protest rallies leaving the neighborhoods open to wanton vandalism and theft. They looted the Target store across the street from my Mom's house. They boarded up one of the grocery stores, broke into a Walgreens pharmacy nearby and set it on fire and a bigger Walgreens a few miles away they broke into, stole drugs and completely destroyed the building. It is looting at it's finest - no reason for this other than people living the thug life and creating a problem for all that live in the area and depend on these stores. So I do understand my Mom's frustration. Plus she is locked at home with nothing to distract her even though me and my sister call her all the time. I just wish things would turn around already - when you think it can't get any worse, something idiotic happens... We even have a few incidents of vandalism in our small town which is really sad. DH tracked down our lawn furniture. We were going to cancel the order, rent a truck and go down to the Menards store and just get it ourselves since it was in stock. Turns out the Rice Lake store we ordered it from does not do home delivery so they sent the order to another store across the state. We got the table the but metal rim is chipped, exposing the metal underneath which will rust out quickly. So that needs to be replaced. We are still missing the chairs to the table as well as 4 comfortable sitting chairs. The guy on the phone said he would get right on it as they should have been shipped already. He said they are having all sorts of issues with shipping due to a surge in online orders from people who don't want to go into the stores and shop online instead. Not an excuse for poor service he said but it has bungled the system. So we'll give it a bit longer.

Annie - I am so sorry to hear about the poor ducky family. Breaks my heart.

Laura - hair turned out fine. Mid length bob - "mature woman style" LOL but it feels a lot better. I had so many broken ends from trying to brush it when it was long - this is much better. Does it feel good to have yours done too? Yikes on the loose cape. Usually they make the poncho so tight it's almost choking so they didn't do something right with you. I'm sorry to hear about your Mom - sounds like you are going to have to keep a closer eye on her going forward. My Mom just refuses to turn on the a/c until it gets dangerously warm (for her) in the house. Part of it is because she is cold all the time. She was also complaining about the recent high humidity and that the a/c kept going on and off continuously. She also worries about the upper apartment being really hot. No one lives up there and yes, it gets hot in the hallway but she thinks the house will start on fire. I said it's more likely to start on fire from the rickety old fan you run in the hallway to circulate the air rather than the house being hot upstairs. How many homes in the area started on fire because it was 92 degrees outside Mom??? Uh none. But that doesn't stop her from worrying all summer long. She doesn't even want to leave her home to go to my sisters when it's hot outside. Does your Mom mostly keep to herself or does she involve herself in any of the activities in the area? I wish they would have separate bike trails. Never cared for bikers, walkers and roller bladers on the same paths. It's good that you are getting out on the bike though.

Shad - how dare you disassemble the pet hiding spots I can't even imagine trying to paint with all the fur flying. Perhaps that's why DH doesn't paint We have many unfinished painting projects. When I bring it up he says "when are you going to help?" and I say when you restrain yourself from complaining about the poor painting job I do. I never learned how to do it properly. Yum, sounds like you have a nice garden bounty to pick from. Nothing like fresh picked. Don't know about the corn though. We had some of the early corn - think that and cherries will be wonderful this year. So far we've been delighted. Hoping the farm truck guy - Bob is planting his crops although with social distancing when he comes to town the line will be a mile long! You are so right about the fortunate instance that caught your cancer. Especially for one that is typically hard to detect. Glad you are still with us for another feisty day - takes more than that to take a good woman down Hope the leg feels better - sounds painful and a trouble since you are not sure exactly what happened. Or what fixed it. Mersa is that particularly nasty strain of infection that contains the flesh eating / antibiotic resistent bacteria. Like Ebola - rare but merciless when it happens. Not even sure how you contract it, don't want to know either.

Hello to the rest of the lot - Bimmie is walking around crying as if her beloved Daddy packed his bag and left her forever. I had opened the 3 Season room for them to bask in the warmth and sun but apparently that's not good enough so I'll see what her issue is.

Have a good weekend everyone. Stay safe and healthy.

Evening all. We had a lovely weekend for weather. Today's beautiful too, but it warmed up to 88 degrees, so the AC was turned back on earlier this afternoon.

Weekend was sort of busy. Friday at lunchtime and after work, I moved most of my workout equipment off of the carpet in the basement workout space in preparation for shampooing it. Saturday morning I messed with my tomato seedlings a bit, but due to my late start, they are way behind where they should be right now. After that I started the carpet project. Actually it’s a room-size piece of carpet with binding all around the edges, so it’s really an area rug. Anyway, I moved the rest of the equipment off of it, gave it a good vacuuming and then used the shampooer on it. It cleaned up nicely, and it’s already quite dry. I should be able to move on with my workout space project in a day or two. The plan is to roll up that carpet/rug and use it in our rec room once that area gets cleaned up. Right now it’s still a mess from the window well project. I’ll give the workout space floor tile a good cleaning, then put all the equipment back in a new layout without the rug. (The rug is a plush style and not good for a lot of movement.)

Saturday afternoon we went to the bike shop. BF needed something for his bike, and I wanted a bell for my bike. Afterwards was lunch, and then we loaded the bikes into the van and went to a bike path we both used to ride all the time in years past - one section I hadn’t ridden in a long time, as well as a newish extension I rode only once about 3 years ago. We did about 18 miles total and my legs felt like a combination of rubber and lead afterwards, LOL. It was crowded, but not annoyingly so compared to last weekend’s ride. And my new bell came in handy! Looking forward to the next ride. BF has a fancy bike and doesn't like tossing them on top of each other in the van, so he's gone out to get a trailer hitch installed on the SUV so we can get a nice bike rack for it. Something else to complicate my life. I should never have invited him to go cycling with me...I could have just kept throwing my bike in the back of the van and not have to hear him go on and on about how the bikes can get scratched or the computer sensors can be moved out of position, blah, blah, blah.

Sunday I did some grocery shopping in the morning and then relaxed a bit. Later in the day I took the few groceries I’d picked up for my mom over to her place. We put together a list of other groceries she needs. I texted the list to my sister and she’ll do the shopping this week.

That’s about it for the weekend. I submitted requests for time off this morning – this Friday and a couple other days. For Summer Hours this year, we were given 6 half-days to use between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so I wanted to get some of those scheduled. Even though a lot of travel is not going to happen, management is still encouraging everyone to take their vacation time. They almost certainly won’t allow an increase in the number of vacation days we can carry over into next year. They want us to take the days for family time, stress management, household projects, etc.

==

Happy - Sounds like the doc's able to continue to treat the infection without a hospital stay, thank goodness for you. I hope your appointment tomorrow confirms this! Gosh, do you think exercise is a good thing for your knee right now? What does the doctor say? == It must be very scary for your mother right now with the looting and riot behavior so close! The protests this past weekend were described as “peaceful” but I don’t know if that means that the looting behavior has lessened/stopped in most areas of the city. I sure hope so! == What a mess with that furniture order! Nothing is ever easy. == I can’t say I felt better after I had my hair cut since I only had a couple inches trimmed and I don’t do much with my hair as to styling. But I’m really glad for the touchup! I’ve decided to continue coloring my hair until I retire. If I get really confident as to a firm retirement date, maybe I’ll start letting the color grow out during my last few months, lol. During this remote work period I’ll continue with touchups, but maybe stretch out the intervals by a week or two, but not more than that!!! == Yikes, scary about your mom running the fan like that. I had a big box fan running for about an hour in the basement after shampooing the rug, but I turned it off AND unplugged it before we left the house because I just don’t trust it. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t run the washer, dryer or dishwasher if no one’s going to be home either – you never know what will happen with plumbing and electrical… Sort of funny that your mom thinks the house will get so hot it’ll burst into flames. Maybe the California wildfires have put this idea in her head. == My mom keeps to herself and doesn’t do any outside activities, and her hearing and memory loss haven’t helped matters. The only amenity that she ever really uses in her complex is the library, and that’s been closed like everything else has been for a while now. Our library is finally able to provide materials via contactless pickup so maybe I should try to get her a couple books – but she’s rather particular…but I guess I’ll try.

Hellos to the rest of you! Hope you’re all doing well. Stay safe and stay healthy!!

Checking in to say hello. All is going well.

Sorry I missed it. Hope this is a wonderful year for you.

Happy early birthday Annie! Hope it's a special day for you. Enjoy!

Thanks for the early bd wishes Laura! It's the big 6.0! Only 7 more years til retirement. I remember I started counting at 15 years. Weeeehaaa!

LAURA....yes the PIA co-workers, have them here too. Tell the other admin not to include you on her silly emails unless they pertain to you and also copy her boss. lol

HAPPY...feels wonderful to get your hair cut. I go again on June 20th. 5 weeks already. Time flies. Thank you for starting the new thread. I think we all could use stress relief. I heard on KLove radio this morning the best stress reducer was running. Well that is not going to happen. It is too much like exercise. OMGosh your knee issues sound so dang painful. Bless your heart. Hope the pain comes to an end soon.

SUSIE...hope your bd was fantabulous! VERY HAPPY to hear Genny is still cancer free. Bummer on DHs lay off. Only a few more months to go. Dang it already.. Will unemployment take him til 65? Maybe have to do COBRA for insurance or pick him up on your insurance. Hope your beautifying with hair cut, color and nails turns out magnificent.

SHADDIE...hope you are doing well and all goes well with remodeling projects.

CEEG...hi there, hope you are enjoying life.

Not too much going on here. Birthday tomorrow the 12th so I am taking it off. Not much planned but bloodwork and an estimate on my bumper. Then I think I will just hang out in the back yard with the grands. I think my brother and SIL are having some kind of cookout on Saturday for a Covid celebration.

Work is driving me nuts but glad I have a job. Lots of responsibilities with no extra pay of course. I am feeling pretty good on the WL. 19.4 lbs, not much to go to 20. I do have to fast several days a week to make it happen. So much harder the older I get.

Have a wonderful weekend. It is supposed to be beautiful!

Cs Covid test came back negative. Yahooo

Good morning ladies,


Hope you had a nice birthday Annie. I can't believe how much the boys have grown. Little young men now - lost the boyish little kid as they grow up and onward. That's always sort of sad for me as they sprout their little wings. You look fabulous. I hope 60 works well for you, I have not enjoyed mine so far but always a chance things will turn around. Attitude, right? I heard also that running is addictive and like a dancer's body - dancing and running and yoga all seem to keep one tight. I guess I will be round and squishy - no running for me and with wonky knees dancing is pretty much out too. I do however enjoy your tongue in cheek jabs at exercise I'm sure the years will pass quickly for retirement even tho there are some days that seem a hundred years long. Glad C's Covid test came back negative - you don't need any more fuss in life. I imagine it's kind of rough in his line of work - kinda wading into the germ field but thank God for people like him so that we can eat. Congratulations again on your weight loss.


Laura - did you get your workout room all rearranged? If you get some hot weather, the tomatoes might just do a growth spurt and surprise you.

I had to smile at your experience with BF and the bikes. Yikes. Reminds me of DH and his fancy schmantzy camera lens. I just point and shoot with my Powershot or phone camera - life is so much easier. Same for a 3 speed bike I think it's a good idea that management is making people take their vacation - these are stressful times. Have to save a few days for time off during crazy protests downtown


Hellos to the rest of the crew.


I am plodding along through life. Yesterday I went to the Farmers Market and then over to the grocery store. I haven't been grocery shopping since May 25 when we went into Sams Club and picked up a few things. Not real grocery shopping as most of Sam's sizes are way more than I need. I pretty much bought out the produce department - we are in for a week of hot weather so I got things to make salads and cool, light meals. Dropped a ton of money. DH said something but was wise enough not to get snippy about it. Grocery prices have gone up - I paid over $60 for 2 pieces of fish, a small pork roast and a piece of pre-cooked prime rib for us to share. Then I had a to find a place to put all those groceries I went and thoroughly cleaned out the basement refrigerator. I thought I was keeping up with purging but I missed a few things. Had a large box of stuff to toss in the trash today. DH gave me the stink eye - that's a LOT of stuff to just toss out. But I explained that it was stuff I partially used and this happens - you never use ALL the celery in the stalk or all the carrots or the last head of romaine lettuce or the partial box of chicken broth you only needed a cup of for a recipe. The one thing that killed me was I forgot I had a giant bag of brussels sprouts I forgot to cook up But I got everything to fit. It's just that I was on my leg for about 4 hours straight. I hobbled home and quickly stuffed away the cold stuff, ate a late lunch and then my leg really started acting up. I iced it twice and went in the hot tub last night. It is a slow discipline of up for a while, down for a while that I need to adhere to. I do feel better that we have nice fresh healthy stuff to eat again. I do enjoy making oil and vinegar salad dressings now - just ordered more from my new favorite place in Minnesota. They have a cranberry pear balsamic that is my favorite. One of the wineries in a nearby town is doing a bingo night to benefit the Humane Society. I will be the banker and paperwork person and won't have to do much. It is outside on their patio so since it's open air I'm ok with it. Still I think with the Covid fears it will be a smaller crowd instead of the packed house they typically get. Tomorrow I go for the next part of my dental implants - the fitting for the permanent structure. Can't wait. Still a few weeks out but I will be so glad to be done with this - I cannot eat with the floppy partial and it's been a hassle chewing. I feel badly for my Mom going through the same thing right now - she needs to have work done on a tooth that broke that holds her partial in. The weather is warm and sunny. Summer has arrived although we did have to cover the plants one night last week - frost warning. It only got to 42 degrees but apparently some combination of clear night sky, lower temps and humidity or something created a potential for frost. That's life in the Northwoods! DH did a nice job with the flowers. The yard and deck look nice. And since there is nothing else going on, I will post this and find something productive to do.


Enjoy the day.

Hello all. What a beautiful day today. Actually, it’s really been great weather since last Friday. A bit cool until yesterday, but I don’t mind that at all.

Annie – Oh, you had a milestone birthday this year! I’ve started a countdown for myself – there’s apps for that so you can count the years, days, months, hours, minutes, seconds, LOL. Anyway, hope you had a lovely birthday celebration. Saw that fb photo of you and the boys – looking good, love the sombrero, LOL. And those boys are so big now! Excellent job on the weight loss sister! Yay for a negative C19 test for C! Okay, too many exclamation points, so I’ll stop.

Happy – The workout space is not yet put together. I did clean the carpet and then rolled it up and moved it out of the space. This past weekend, I mopped the floor. BF bought a new length of co-ax cable to connect to the existing tv cable and we ran it above the dropped ceiling to the new spot for the tv. Unfortunately, the new spot only has one 4-plug outlet, so I want to run out tonight and get a power strip. So many things to plug in – cable box, tv, dvr, vcr, headphones… Anyway, it was a real PITA to move even just a few of the ceiling panels around to run the cable, and of course another PITA to get them back in place. It’ so tempting to tear out that entire stupid dropped ceiling, but there’s a ton of plumbing, electrical, HVAC, TV cable, internet cable and who knows what else in that ceiling - I just know I would hate seeing all of it if we removed that ceiling. So… now I can finish wiping down all the stuff I’m putting back into that space – bookcase, weight bench, dumbbell rack, etc. I’ll do some more tonight and in the next few days everything will be back in the space, but with a different layout. == You sure sound busy in spite of your knee pain! Do you always say how did I ever have time to work?? == I do hate when food goes bad and having to toss it. We’ve started being more diligent about freezing our bread since we don’t get through it very quickly. Our village now takes produce scraps with the yard waste, so I put those scraps and any produce that’s gone bad in a bag in the freezer and on garbage day I put it out with the yard waste. Still there’s other stuff that just sits there - like you said, only partially used/eaten. Cartons of broth, leftover pizza sauce, etc. Tortilla chips that bf tore open carelessly and went stale because the bag couldn’t be closed properly. And for someone who loves putting every last thing in a Ziploc bag, I’m surprised he didn’t do just that for those chips…And I noticed today that he tossed them in the garbage – I bet the birds or squirrels would have eaten them if he’d tossed them outside… Okay, I have to stop now. == I hope your dentist appointment went well today.

Hellos to the rest of you. I hope you’re all doing well.


Not much to report. I did another bike ride over the weekend. The weather was just great. Otherwise, not doing a whole lot in my spare time – tv, reading, puttering around the house. Did some weeding. Sprayed some weed killer. Dug out a dead shrub. Kind of scared to work in some of the shrubs and in my one super-overgrown garden bed in back because there’s a strong skunk smell - I hope a family of skunks hasn’t taken up residence in there. Reminds me – I need to buy some mothballs. I saw online that skunks don’t like that smell, so I might put some out and see if it works.

I have a half day off work this Friday afternoon – Summer Hours. I may or may not take a half vacation day in the morning to make it a full day. I’ll see. I’m going to try to get out for another bike ride this weekend. I’ll choose a different trail than any others I’ve ridden so far this year. I also want to transplant a shrub. It’s a dogwood that’s offshoot growth of the dead shrub I just removed. I want to put it where the old one was. That’ll be fun.

That’s about it for me. Everyone stay safe and stay healthy!