Good Morning! The sun is shining, no wind, and it is a cool 68 degrees. It is supposed to hit low 80s this afternoon. Beth came over to fish with Bob yesterday and they came home with one fish. They just aren't biting for some reason. We had fish from last summers Canada trip so that was lunch. I was going to make brownies and send some to the grands but had the wrong size mix to share. So I made pb Rice Krispies bars instead. I haven't make them in a very long time (years?) and Bob thought he had died and gone to heaven! I end up throwing away 9x13" pan things because after a couple pieces we just don't eat it. I wonder how these would freeze. Today I have to deliver a check to the hospital. Christmas items are starting to come in along with a few fall things. It will be too bad if the gift shop doesn't open up by fall but I don't see it happening any time soon.

Ceejay, I have never had it, but know others who have, so know how painful sacroiliac pain can be. I hope yours is gone or at least much better. Bob’s doctor left the company that owns our clinic and is now under a Sioux City hospital. Bob has lab work and then several days later meets with the doctor. Because we are such a COVID hot spot the nurse called and said the doctor wanted to do a Zoom meeting. Bob was at the office and having trouble with his computer sound and picture so the secretary ended up getting it to “go” for him. The first thing the doctor said was “you’re at the office and you don’t have a mask on!” Bob had to explain he sees the same few people every day and most customers are doing everything over the phone or online. I hope I don’t have to do Zoom this fall with my doctor, have no clue how to hook up and not anxious to learn how.

I have to get laundry in the dryer, unload the dishwasher, and deliver the hospital check. Hope you enjoy a nice day and remember to wash your hands. I find I am using a lot more soap these days!

Afternoon

Jean
I couldn't get into seeing my doctor but I made an appointment with urgent care. Only one patient at a time so it was a good experience. I wore my mask and so did he and his staff. He said my hip pain was arthritis but that's okay. I can handle that. The pain is almost gone but I'm still limping while I walk unless I have something to hold on to. Also had a bad sinus infection and got some antibiotics and steroid for that which the doctor said would also help the arthritis.
Went to the grocery store while ago and bought groceries. While there I saw our pianist from church. She had her mask on also. Need to put the groceries away.

Where is gma and Susan. Missing you

Good early morning. Sorry for missing here so much, but have been ill quite a bit and you don’t want to hear my bellyaching about it all the time. I am fine now it looks like for the time being. We have had a lot of rain and the dopes on each side of us have let their weeds grow up past the 6 foot fence. I complained to property manager, but neither owner has cleaned them up. How they live like that I don’t know.

The boys have had their birthdays. Actually, Thomas’s is today. He is 20 today, can you believe that? Seems like yesterday they were babies. Jackson turned 13 this month. I sent them their cards and bday money and hope they had nice days.

They keep extending the cruise lines new departure schedule. Thank goodness we booked for late in the year next year. The way it’s going they won’t sail again until next year. I noticed they finally reached an agreement about baseball, but I think it’s stupid to even play any games this year. The county commission here is pushing to back to phase 1 which means no open restaurants, hair salons, etc again. At this point though, city council hasn’t agreed and hope they don’t. We went out to dinner for the first time a week ago and it was awful. We had to wait 30 minutes to even get seated and there was no one there. On top of that, the menu was scaled down so much it wasn’t worth going. I had made plans for us to go to Atlanta for a couple days in Sept back before this mess, but finally gave it up, requested my money back for my hotel and just ate the tickets. The world of coca cola isn’t even open and the aquarium is so restricted it’s not worth going. My tickets aren’t even valid now because they’ve instituted a policy where you can only buy tickets they issue for a certain time and if you miss your time even by 5 minutes they won’t let you in. On top of that, you are given a time period you can stay in the aquarium then they make you leave, lock the doors, clean, reopen so phooey on that. I have requested a refund but don’t know if I’ll get it.

Jack has an ortho appt for his knee Friday and they’ll decide on what surgery they’ll do. Cortisone shots and gel fills are not working anymore and he is in a great deal of pain and working everyday doesn’t help.

Since I’ve been gone so long won’t do personals, but will try being better at keeping up.

Good Evening! It was a nice day in my corner of the world today, sunny and humid enough to turn the air on this afternoon. I was dressed and ready to leave the house this morning then talked myself out of going. The only "white" dress shop in town was having a sidewalk sale. I haven't heard if the town will have Ridiculous Days in July or not but thought maybe I might find a bargain. Anyhow, decided since I/we aren't going anywhere special this summer I could get by on what I wore last summer. The couple things I need from the grocery store will be there tomorrow after we count church money. Instead I spent some time sorting through pictures of the grandkids. I am so mad at myself because some of the pictures have no dates on them; I'm hoping Beth and Amanda can help me with that. We went to Ian's game last night, he played well but they lost 12-3. I don't know what the problem is this summer but it is partly that there are different kids a year behind Ian in school, kids who just graduated, and the kids in his class who have played together for years. The coaches aren't working on any new plays that other teams use to outsmart them and that upsets Jason. He has his coaching endorsement but doesn't feel he can say anything. We have next week "off" since Ian is going to the lake for a family reunion with his mom's family.

Ceejay, I hope your hip is feeling better and the sinus infection is on the mend! Either one is bad enough but two at once has to be awful.

”Gma,” I’m sorry you have been sick again. Hard to believe that Thomas turned 20 and Jackson is now a teenager! I don’t know about you but I think it seems like the grandkids have grown up so much faster than our own kids did. That is too bad that you had to cancel your Atlanta trip. I would think they would refund your tickets if they aren’t even open. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get some things shut down again. A few of our restaurants have cut hours and have 50% seating while others stuck with carry out only. I don’t think we will ever be normal again as we knew it. I hope Jack can get done whatever is necessary to fix his knee.

Guess I will head to bed and read for awhile. Hope you have a nice weekend!

Good afternoon! Cloudy and we had rain early but now basically it’s just windy. I saw that my favorite bakery in my hometown area is closing after 100 yrs. It’s so sad. They had spectacular baked goods and had middle European favorites as our area has a lot of polish and Hungarians. I hope some one buys it and keeps it going. The other long time bakery that was top notch there closed a few years ago, same reason. The couple owning it were retiring.

I did a load of laundry, loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, and did the budget until the end of the year. I am now just vegging. I am just making burgers fir dinner tonight. Tomorrow dusting and cleaning bathrooms upstairs.

As I said on FB, Jack has to have knee replacement so we are moving forward on that. He has another ortho appt Tuesday as his ortho guy doesn’t do surgery anymore. He has arthritic hands and can’t. It takes about a month for FMLA paperwork required by the city so probably end of July first part of August. He’ll be off work about 3 months. He’ll have to sleep in the recliner for awhile and just wash his hair and body, shave, etc at the kitchen sink. Going to be interesting, but at least he’ll have equipment as I have an old walker, extra canes and stuff. We also kept the cooling machine from his other knee surgery he can use to reduce swelling. We’ll plan ahead, get everything downstairs and get several bags of ice for the machine as it takes a lot.

Jean: This country is a disaster and it’s only gonna get worse. I can’t believe how fast they’ve grown either. Ian has to be close to graduating, doesn’t he? Canceling the trip has turned out to be a good thing considering he’s looking at surgery. We are getting the bulk of the money refunded so I’m ok with it.

Have a good afternoon.

Good morning. Cloudy and very humid today. Jack is at work, has tomorrow off fir dr appt then works Wed and Thur and is off Friday for the holiday. Gonna be a crazy week for me.

I am waiting for my bff to call this morning as she needs to talk to me about her job. There seems to be some kind of shake up and one of the managers is leaving the end of the week. I guess this woman has blamed everyone but herself for anything that goes wrong and according to my friend, this manager is the problem. She is in her 20’s, very disrespectful to the older ladies that work there and complains about everything. She told my friend last week they need to fire everyone from managers on down, clean house and let her take over and run the store the way it should be run. Problem is, the high turnover is because of her not any other person. My friend wants to quit but can’t afford to.

I ordered a sprayer from Lowes which should be here tomorrow then I am going to tackle the neighbors weeds at least the tops of them. I’m fed up. I can’t use the hand squeeze type because of my arthritis so I found a sprayer nozzle that fits the weed killer bottles and is battery operated.

We have started rearranging things to get ready for Jack’s knee surgery. He brought down his laptop and we’re moving furniture around a bit.

Well gals, need to get chores done..

Good Evening! It's hard to believe June is almost in the history books. We had a strange day for weather; wind then no wind, hot and high humidity, then the temperature dropped a few degrees, cloudy then sunshine. Last evening it was hazy and the weatherman said it was dust traveling from the Sahara Desert dust storm. Weird! I spent most of the morning getting a pedicure and nail fill. I needed both so opted for one appointment. After lunch I did some laundry and vacuumed the fur and dust bunnies. Tomorrow is a much needed perm. I was afraid the governor might close the shops again but they remain open so far.

”Gma,” I’m glad Jack can go ahead with his knee surgery. When Bob got his ice machine, the nurse told us to freeze water bottles rather than try to keep up with ice. Four bottles fit perfectly, one in each corner. I think he used it once, maybe twice. Don’t be surprised if Jack gets a new one sent home with him. Ian will be a senior, Maddy a junior, then both Zowie and Kolby will be freshmen. I am not ready! I miss the baby and toddler days! I guess with the high unemployment right now, your friend is lucky to have a job. It is never easy to have a PIA for a boss. I feel for her! Good luck with the weeds!

Not much is newsy from here tonight. Hope you have a terrific Tuesday tomorrow!

Afternoon
Nephew A called this morning and needed me to take him to his office. He's having computer problems. Set 2 hours on their parking lot for them to try and fix it His boss sent him home and told him to return in the morning after 8. Guess who will take him.
I'm going car shopping Friday to see what is out there. This will be at a Toyota dealership.
On the way to his house I came upon a bad wreck. A truck ran into the back of a semi. The emergency personnel were cutting the door open to get the driver out of the truck.

My arthritis flair is better but my hip, knee and ankle are weak and sore. And am limping but getting better.

Text a friend this morning while waiting on my nephew.. Glad I did as he was in a down mood.

GMA
hope things get better for your friend at work. And sigh on having to spray the neighbor's weeds. Hopefully I don't have to mow this yard any more. but we shall see. Also hope your DH's knee surgery helps.

Jean
I've got a feeling that all this new surge in the COVID is from the protest marches. and it might just close things down again. I'm going to continue to wear my mask. I'm still not certain about going to church but I may try Sunday. I will wear my mask.

Good morning. Will make this short as I am back to being sick. I was vomiting this morning so lost my breakfast. I tell ya, it’s always something. I have a terrible headache too.

Jack had his appt yesterday but has to go through a bunch of stuff, physical, blood and urine tests, ekg, xrays, etc then when doctor gets results he goes back for another appt. Since he has to go to regular doctor it may take awhile. Good news is they think they can do a partial.

Jean: Water bottles are a great idea and we always have them. I hope they don’t send another one home as medicare won’t pay for it.

CeeJay: Hope your nephew gets work straightened out and you find the car you want. We’re buying a new one next winter. We’re looking at getting a Pacifica. More room to travel and I want to get a foldable scooter for it.

Well girls I am going to rest. Have a good one.

GMA
Feel better soon.

Jean


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I've been to Springfield this morning to take nephew A back to the office to get his computer. Set 2 hours in the car waiting for him. I'm ready for him to get a vehicle.
I've been sitting here watching the most beautiful small cardinal I've seen. It must be male as bright as it is. It hasn't moved in over an hour so I may go check on it.
Not much else going on.

Good Afternoon! It’s sunny and humid although not too hot according to the thermometer. The air is on and feels good coming into the house. The gift shop had another sale so picked up some cash to deposit for that. I made a cucumber, onion, cottage cheese, and lime Jell-o salad for lunch. It doesn’t sound good but is tasty if you like cucumbers and onions. After lunch I’ve done some laundry, picked up the clutter, addressed church birthday cards, and delivered several pages of a PEO email describing rules and regulations if we choose to meet in mid September. Like we’d not know about wearing masks and social distancing! Today seems like Friday for some reason.

Ceejay, I saw on the news where California and Arizona have shut down, sounds like most everything. I have friend who planned to drive to Las Vegas for a 50th anniversary and now having second thoughts. I wouldn’t go if it were me. Our church is staying closed for July; we have a guest minister who will preach online. In August different members will conduct the services until our new pastor comes September 1. I hope we can be back in the church by then. It sounds like “they” anticipate an increase of positive virus cases in the fall. It’s nice of you to give your nephew rides, let alone wait so long for him. Good luck with your car search! We have a pair of cardinals who come occasionally, they are so pretty!

”Gma,” There has got to be a doctor somewhere who could help you. Can you pinpoint anything you eat, drink, or do that upsets your system? I just feel so bad that you go through feeling so awful. Why don’t you think Medicare won’t pay for another cooling machine? Between Medicare and insurance Bob’s knee surgery didn’t cost us anything. Of course it wasn’t a new knee and was out patient so maybe that makes a difference. I just hope it goes well for Jack.

We ate a late lunch so not even close to being hungry yet, maybe will have popcorn later. We have been watching “old” girls high school softball games in the evenings. There is just nothing much to watch otherwise; even America’s Got Talent wasn’t interesting the other night. Hope you have had a good day!

Good morning ladies! I am waiting for Jack to get back from Kroger pick up. Once again the order wasn’t ready. They use excuses that just aren’t valid anymore, but hey what can you do? As I had not been feeling well, I decided to just order groceries instead. The commissary isn’t open on Mondays and I thought if I ended up not feeling well enough to go over the weekend and hadn’t put in a grocery order then I’d be sunk.

We are just hanging out at home this weekend. We never go to firework displays here. I think it’s too dangerous and of course there are no baseball games so we can’t see them there either. We have had to put up with the idiots next door shooting them off 1-2 AM! They’re illegal in this state, but easy to get in MS.

I have a hair appt Friday and wonder if she’s opened up her salon more yet. I’ll have to see if she’s taking credit cards yet as I had to give her a check last time. I am trying dip powder for my nails and doing them myself and see how that goes. I watched a bunch of videos on it and it doesn’t look hard as long as you are patient and follow the video.

CeeJay: Wow 2 hours just sitting and waiting! Ugh! Hope he can get a car soon. Since they cut down our tree we don’t get all the birds like we used to.

Jean: Jack’s ortho dr told him they didn’t pay for the machine. Dr thinks they may be able to do a partial replacement which is a lot less down time. He says it depends on what he sees when he gets in there.

Well sounds like Jack’s back so need to get groceries in and put away.

Happy 4th of July! It's another hot and humid day in my corner of the world. It's been pretty quiet around the neighborhood but expect the firecracker noise to start soon. The marina bar is having a live band until midnight tonight. No social distancing there! As long as the air is on we can hear the drum occasionally. If our windows and sliding doors were open it would seem like they were next door. Now if it were our kind of music it would be a different story. Ha ha! The weekenders across the street seem to be having a family reunion and cars are parked on both sides of the street. They are on the lake side of their house so not bothering us. I stripped the bed in the downstairs bedroom, washed all of it then put the bed back together, and have been sorting through the accumulated stuff stored there that I was going to put in SOS boxes. They still haven't opened the store yet so may end up taking it all to the Good Will. Retired people run the store so I suppose they are worried about catching COVID. I don't blame them either. Overall Iowa is in good shape except the towns that have packing plants. Well, duh! Today seems like Sunday for some reason.

”Gma,” I hope your grocery order had everything you needed and wanted. On our local town FB site, someone did online grocery shopping at WM. Among all the mistakes, she asked for 6 bananas but got 6 apples and 6 watermelons but no bananas. She didn’t have the other two on her list. Someone else ordered dog food and got cat treats instead. Our firecracker noise lasted until midnight last night. There were specific hours for yesterday and today but no one pays any attention. If the police see them in the act or find evidence from a complaint there is a fine which rarely happens. Maybe your neighbors will be tired and go to bed early tonight. While our salons were closed, the agent in Bob’s office did the dip on my nails. She ordered the different files and supplies online to do her own nails. She did a nice job and it allowed my nails to grow out a little.

Susan, I am sorry you are not able to meet your friends. I know it is hot where you live but it would be nice if there was some place you could meet for coffee and sit far enough apart. I haven’t because I still do my running around but have friends who have gotten together on their patios and in the park. Depending on where I go I see more masks and the the next time in the same place, not so many. Depression is a hard thing to deal with that’s for sure. I think part of the increasing numbers again is everyone if sick of being quarantined and think it’s ok to socialize again because the numbers were going down. I’m sure ours will go up again simply because of the packing plant mentality and so many people working and living together. Driving around town there are several cars parked in yards so it’s evident more than the “normal” sized family lives there. I have been reading James Patterson mysteries. I didn’t think I liked him for some reason and picked one at the library that sounded good. There is a big selection of mystery books.

Cucumber Salad
1 small box lime Jell-o
3/4 cup boiling water
Mix and cool.
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup mayo (I use less, about 3/4c)
Mix together.
1 medium cucumber, chop finely (I like the long, skinny ones.)
1 small onion, chop finely
I go by guess and by gosh on the amounts of each.
Mix together and add to mayo/cottage cheese, then stir in Jell-o.

Ceejay, Happy 4th!

Not much else is newsy from Iowa tonight. It’s about time to think about food again. Hope you all are enjoying a safe 4th!

Hello ladies
Made it back to church this morning for the first time since March. I wore my mask as everyone else did. Their were 20 in attendance. They had every other pew as no seating areas. Wasn't the same with out bil but life goes on.
The arthritis pain has subsided but I'm still keeping my appointment of the 15th. I'm still hobbling.
I told myself to get me out of the house therefore, I'm going to go into Springfield and go to the gym at least 3 days per week. I counted my mileage last week and it's about 24 miles. Depending on traffic, it will be about 30 minutes.
Sis kept the grand children again this week end. They are good kiddo's. and of course I love the almost 10 month old baby. I get my baby "fix"
We had a good 4th. Nephew A grilled hot dogs an brauts.
more later