G'day everyone,

I have no idea who wrote what in the previous thread , I do remember Slavikaand Ann loosing at their weigh ins.

It has been a very hectic week after a great weekend at the river. As you know my camera is just fantastic and I want to enter a few of the shots in a competition. When I get a chance to upload some of my favourite shots, I will let you know.
Some of the scenery was just superb, it will be interesting to receive feedback from 'professional' photographers.

I took some 500 photos and have selected the best 140 and have put these on a DVD as a slide show for the friend who's sixtieth birthday we were celebrating.
He called in last night and he is thrilled with the DVD, he does not know how to switch on a computer let alone produce a slideshow on a DVD so he thinks I am just very clever when in reality it is not all that difficult.
Same old story, it is easy when you know.

Friend coming for lunch today and Alan home again tonight. In between all of this I am also re-vamping my whole website!

Hope everyone is well, Gloria must be just about setting off for her holiday, have a great time!

Cheers
Maria

PS someone asked me if we recognise Armistice Day, and yes we do have services and of course the 2 minute silence at 11 am this morning.
I always find the reflection of what this day means, a little sad. Pity we have not learnt a thing from history

I am happy to be of help Trudy!

Here is the website where I have posted 4 of the photos I took this last weekend.

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/f...asp?mem=100628

Cheers
Maria

Maria: Love the photos. If you keep this up, one of your photos will be chosen for one of the collections of best photos of the year. I especially like the one or 'kanga and roo'
I was reminded of the video Slavika sent a Pittance of Time and the two minutes of silence in honor of the Veterans. It is a great song. Time for bed. Ann

Hi Everybody

Gloria I wanted to wish you a very happy holiday. I hope the weather is great, that your health and DH is good, and that you build up a whole bunch of happy memories. I'll be "talking" to you after December 1st.

Maria I have to say you certainly impressed me with those four photo's. When I take pictures, which is rarely and with a "no name" simple click camera, I cut off people's heads, or get a great view of the ceiling or maybe just of my own feet.
I really loved the first photo, the one on the left of screen "River Murray"........well done Maria!!

My brother was taken into the hospital again last Sunday evening with very very bad chest pains. The medicated stent that they put in for him last March was all plugged up again. They put another stent into the original one to open it up. The bad news is that with the couple of heart attacks he has had, his heart is functioning at only 29%. They sent him home today, I guess there isn't much more they can do. My DH visited with him for a couple of hours today and my brother said that for whatever reason the whole procedure was worse this time then last time. I wish he would listen to his doctor and eat better and not over do....men, honestly! My SIL gets so angry with him, but he doesn't listen to her. On Sunday he was outside up on a step ladder putting up Christmas lights on the house and using his Nitro spray at the same time because he was having such a hard time breathing. GRRRR. That evening when the pain in his chest got so bad he couldn't stand it he admitted to her that he had been having the pains for the last 3 or 4 days. DH said he seemed sort of ok this afternoon when he went over to visit.
My DH hair is now about 1/2 inch long, and he told me that soon he would be wearing his hair in a LONG pony tail. I told him I would hurry and look for an elastic to tie around it. On that note I will say good night all.

Hmmmm....Slavika, your honey with a long pony tail. Interesting image. I am so glad he is feeling well enough to visit ill people. What a year, what a year! What about his rash? Still there? So exasperating when something doesn't just disappear when you take medicine.

Maria, I am so impressed! Those are truly beautiful pictures. The scenery must have been breathtaking, but your photography was great. Glad your friend loved his slideshow.

Please have a wonderful weekend. Have I told you lately about the wonderful CD I bought at Wal-Mart with Rod Stewart singing all the really old 40's songs. This is the rock star, but he can really sing songs like "Embraceable You", etc. You all would love them.
Glenda

Maria: Great Photos!

Trudy: Im "Fluffy" Right Now. Still trying to get 7 # off. Im sure you will be able to Maintain.

Slavika: Sorry to hear about your brother. Men sometimes just never learn.
Dont think your Hubby will be wearing a Ponytail. Glad his hair is coming back! He seems to be doing so well! Yeah! How is the rash? Did you find out anything?

Glenda: Love Rod Stewart. Will have to look for the CD Sounds Good!




Later!

Hi Everybody

Ok....it's not Gloria's birthday...so I thought I better "fix" my post.

DH got a lotion called MEDROL from the dermatologist and he got Ranitidine tablets and Reactine from the allergist. He uses all the "stuff" morning and night. Yesterday when I was out with my friend for lunch/shopping DH called me on my cell phone and said that his sterling silver chain/cross/and the four leaf clover he wore that I had made for him had turned BLACK. When my friend and I got back here we could not believe the colour of the jewelry........it was really BLACK. I managed to clean and salvage the cross and the four leaf clover but the silver chain just didn't clean up. I have several different jewelry cleaners, and silver cleaner for my silver dinner set and nothing would really work too well on the chain. I didn't mind that, because it was not expensive but the four leaf clover I had the jeweller make especially for DH (for a birthday) and it is engraved and the cross I gave him just prior to him having his stem cells harvested. Also I had given DH a silver bracelet...the kind with the silver balls on the ends for his 60th birthday and his new medical allert bracelet with all the stem cell info etc on it was also silver and he wears that too. Both the bracelets were a little "tarnished" but nothing like the other jewelry. DH went to the drugstore today and spoke with the pharmacist and he couldn't find anything about any of the drugs that would cause the jewelry to do that. I searched the internet for ages today and found one little blurb that said, "Medications in the wearer's system, especially certain antibiotics, can cause jewelry to blacken or discolor." That was all I found. Now in my search I did discover that MEDROL lotion is a type of antibiotic. I told DH that all the medications say if you have "unusual" side effects contact your doctor so I told him not to use any of that stuff until I phone his oncologist's office on Monday morning. I admit the rash was clearing up very nicely but it was a little scarey seeing what happened to the jewelry. The MEDROL lotion information also said that it just stayed on top of the skin and dried the rash and was not obsorbed into the skin but I didn't want him to take chances. A couple of days won't make any difference to the rash. He can just use Calamine Lotion and Benadryl like he did before until we see what the doctor has to say. I'm telling you gals, it's always something. GRRR. Now for some GOOD news. My brother phoned today and asked us to meet him and his wife for brunch and he looked really good. He brought the "film" to show me where the stent was put in. The "before" picture you can't even see the artery it was so plugged up and then in the "after" picture you could. Unbelievable what they can do these days. Cousins of ours also met us for brunch and then they all came back here here for a visit. It was a really nice day for all of us. Lot's of laughing and joking.
The rash thing......well I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of what caused the jewelry to turn black, and maybe it's not as uncommon as I think or maybe it is not harmful to DH and they will want him to continue using the lotion and the pills.
Time for bed.....night all.

Morning All,

Been awake since 3 am so thought I would come and see what is going on. My son drove himself to the hospital. He has a really bad case of tonsillitis and his throat was closing up. They admitted him so I think we will be having baby sitting duty later. We had to babysit the other day when the kid wasn't feeling well. That about wore me out. My mil was taken to the hospital the other night by ambulance. She was feeling weak and in pain. They couldn't find anything wrong with her so they sent her home. My poor fil has his hands full with her. She won't help herself and try to exercise and keep those muscles going and as a result she can hardly walk. She won't eat things he fixes and yells at him that she doesn't like it or want it. My dh made her some food and took it down to her yesterday and she was fine. It is always something.

I wish I was on vacation with Gloria.

Maria I love your pictures. The lights and darks and textures of the trees is amazing. I love the one with the blue sky and reflections in the river. And the kangaroo-how close were you. It is beautiful. I hope you win. Anyone might be able to take a picture but you know how to make a beautiful one.

Slavika I never heard of that happening to anyone. What a shame. I hope it did not harm him in any way. That is reallly weird. You all sure do not need any more things to happen unless they are good.

Trudy I am "fluffier" than I want to be right now. I have some jeans that I can't get into. It is my waist. I guess I am going to have to start working those videos instead of sitting on the bed and watching them. lol

Glenda I love those Rod Stewart songs. Last year when we were in Chicago we saw him checking into a hotel. We were waiting to go to the tearoom and he went walking by with his honey and lots of hotel people with their luggage. It was sort of exciting for us old ladies.

Got to run,

Just a quick report after my weigh-in today. I was happily amazed that I was down 1.6. that is down .4 more than I had gaind last week. Why oh why can't I just keep going down a little at a time like you Slavika? I have a body that responds in wierd ways, I guess. All the other gals I usually go with didn't go today, as they had something else to do and they went on Thursday. So DH went with me and then we went out to breakfast. That was nice, except we had to wait quite a while as the particular restaurant we went to was serving gobs of kids and coaches for some softball tournament. Oh well, life can't be perfect all the time.

Slavika: Hope you and your DH get the meds sorted out. That would be a real shocker, to have your silver jewelry turn black. I know I can't wear any of mine in the jacusi at the clubhouse, because the chemicals turn stuff black, but medicine, that's a whole 'nother thing, for sure.

Peggy: Hope you survive your baby sitting, and that you and your DH don't catch the bug. There is some potent bug going around our church, and I sure use my had sanitizer, and am thinking about drinking some AirBorne cold preventative before we go.

I'm scheduled for my colonoscopy this coming Thursday. Too bad I couldn't weigh-in after that. I would drop a lot of lbs. :

Off to check on some vegetable soup I am concocting. I like that for my lunch and it is practically no points. I will have to count 1 or 2 per cup now because I put some barley in it. But that's okay. Talk to you later. Have a great weekend. Ann

Slavika: Actually I thought I read that you sadi happy Birthday to Gloria. I was so tierd yesterday. I obvioulsy miss read it

Heres a pic of the winery we went to. Hubby is a much better Picture taker than me. When he gets his done I will show his. Off to make dinner. Found a new recipe from the New Chicken cookbook

Congats Ann on the Loss!

Hi Lily

I went back and fixed my post so that Gloria wouldn't think that you and I were both losing it. hee hee
I think you did a fine job in taking the picture of the winery.
We sure have a lot of talent on this board of ours.

By the way....my new avatar is a picture of our view when we are standing on our lani in Maui. Our view is the ocean and the pool area......it's really nice.

Pretty Pic Slavika! I would be on the Lani most of the day! Such a pretty view!

Thought I'd check-in with you girls . My Father is holding his own. The man amazes me. The doctors gave him a week to ten days and he is still going after 16 days. He had a bad few hours yesterday evening and Moms call put us all on the run. He began to bleed very bad so we called the Hospice nurse to come quick. But by the the time she got there it had slowed to a trickle. So today knowing he couldn't come over her to my sons house for my GS's birthday party we took it to him. He loved being a part of it all. I made sure to thank GS for letting us do that. he is a good kid and said he didn't mind at all.

From all the tention my neck and shoulder have began to act up again. So am going to a Chriopractor here. he has helped some. I go tomorrow for a massage with warm rocks? I'll let you know.

I come in here to DS computer once in a while and have been keeping up by reading all the post. Some times I'm just too tired to post.

Been helping at Moms and helping here because they are still moving in. So I've been doing a lot of cleaning in both places. Lots of cooking and lots of dishes.

This past week there was a steady stream of my Dads brothers and sisters in and out. Plus my moms sister and her family were here too. I'm glad we have this time to say what needs to be said.

Well guess I'll go for now.

Karen

Hi Everybody

Hi Karen glad to see you on the board. I'm sure that you are under a tremendous amount of pressure, hence the tension. Just being away from your own home, your comfort zone is difficult after awhile. It is so nice that all the family is getting a chance to see and talk with your Dad, I'm happy that you are getting that chance too Karen.

I seem to have difficulty sleeping at night, and I know some of you gals on the board do from time to time also. A friend of mine was over today and she said that on Friday night she woke up around 4:00 in the morning, thinking that on Saturday morning she would clean out her big walk in food pantry and also go through the stuff in her deep freeze as she is the friend that goes to Maui from January until the end of April. LOL LOL...she said, she spent so much time at night thinking about all she had to do, and what food she could pass on to family members, and what would keep just fine, that when Saturday morning came she was too tired to do the work because she "felt" like she had already done it all. I feel like that too sometime. I start to think about all the things I would like to get done before Christmas that I am exhausted in the morning, and I don't really have that much to do. DH cousin that was here last winter was wanting to come again for a visit in the next week or so, and we have so many doctor's appts. and you know how it is if you have a guest. You would like to make nicer meals, and plan a few outings, that sort of thing. Today he called, and said because the plane fares were so high he would not be coming until maybe next spring. I have to say that I felt a bit of a relief that I would not have to worry about him being here.......then I felt bad that I had those feelings because he is really a nice fellow, and I like him very much. YIKES....I can't win, now I'll worry about that.
Maria your little Matilda is so beautiful, those lovely big eyes, what a sweet looking little girl. I showed the pictures of her to my friend today when she was here and she thought Matty was a little sweetheart too as did my DH.
Well Gloria is off on her holiday now, I'm sure she will have a wonderful time.
The weather is getting much colder now.....the winds were quite bad today. DH said that he is happy for the little bit of hair that has grown back or he would really have felt the cold on his head when he went for his walk today. I said, "does the word HAT hold any meaning for you????" Men, honestly!
DH has doctor appts for the next two tuesdays which are my WW weigh-in days. I will either have to miss my meetings or maybe try to go to a different meeting. I'll see what I can work out.
Well I delayed going to bed so that I wouldn't toss and turn but now I think it's time I said goodnight.