Hello everyone
It's been a hard couple of weeks. but I'm back. Getting started back with the diet will be the hardest..
My news is that I will be moving in with sis in the Ash Grove house. and nephew will moving in my house. I'm glad to do this. I'm leaving him the furniture and he can start replaceing it as he wants too. I'm going to be purging big time the next couple of weeks.
Nephew came home for the memorial service but will go back to rehab in the morning for another two weeks

Hello!

Happy: when I read about your mouth and all the dental stuff it makes me hurt for you.

How did things turn out with the dentist visit and the partial? Did you also go to the oral surgeon?

Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby. 43 years!! That is something to be proud of.

Ceejay: It is nice that you will be moving in with your sister. I am sure she is very grateful to not have to be in the house alone.

Hello to the rest of the Wordlies. I am about finished with the bike workout.

My goals this week is to put the effort in to track my food and make better choices.

Good morning ladies,


Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since my dental implants were put in. Mouth is still sore. I have not worn my partial for a week now except for a few hours on 2 different days when I went out in public. It's not as sore as it was - VERY slowly healing but still sore enough that I could not wear my partial for a full day's time. I go back to the oral surgeon and dentist tomorrow. The surgeon is nice but matter of fact that it will take time to heal. The dentist is more empathetic to discomfort. I'm sure it's just going to take it time. I am also sure that the positioning of these implants was prone to more discomfort than if it was a single tooth in the middle of my jaw. I know my BIL did not have these issues.


Went to bingo Saturday and not a single person showed up. The weather was beautiful - sunny and warm so either people were out and about or are laying low with all this virus stuff. It scares me how the stock markets are so unsteady. We are just sitting it out - does not pay to be caught in panic selling but I do worry about our money. We have a bad strain of the regular flu going around so I am careful about hand washing which is destroying my hands let me tell you. I alternate between washing and hand cream. I am not going bazoo crazy about disinfecting things like some people. I saw one person touting a tray that you put water and bleach in to sanitize your shoes when you come in from outside. Ok, so then how do you get the bleach spots out of the rugs you are tracking in all over the house? I am glad I don't live and work in the city any more - less people to come in contact with and I don't do activities like stuck in a train car with a bunch of people or being in places that thousands of random people have touched. I am not afraid of getting sick as much as I am leery of something that would hit me hard in the lungs and compromise breathing. That is worrisome. I am also glad we are not travelling in airplanes. I think you have to be absolutely NUTS to go on a cruise. Mostly because you can be potentially quarantined in a tiny room on a petri dish ship with all kinds of infected people. Might as well go to the hospital E/R and lick all the surfaces And I don't think it's possible to clean as thoroughly as you think you can. They said with this new virus they aren't even sure if the disinfectant wipes will actually be effective. So don't get crazy people...


We were supposed to go to Minneapolis for dinner for our anniversary. Didn't go on our actual anniversary because some bad weather came through. Couldn't go Saturday because of bingo which was a bust - maybe we can end bingo early and I don't have to commit all the way until mid-May which would be ok by me. So we talked about going yesterday. Beautiful day in the 50's with bright sun. Only issue was gusty winds. I woke up and my mouth was still very sore, I could not get my partial in so I can't eat properly and I have a constant low grade stomach ache from not being able to chew a lot. So I asked if we could just take a pass. DH went out for a drive to try and capture some pictures and I stayed home and tinkered with decluttering. We got some Chinese takeout for supper. I ordered some Meyer lemons and my sister sent me some lemon garlic spice blend so I want to make a lemon garlic chicken recipe that looks good but I will wait until after I see the dentists tomorrow - don't want to go in with dragon breath! I am tired of soft foods already. DH said to eat soups but I want something filling as well as tasty. Am also holding a few pounds from saltier foods and that doesn't make me happy either. I took a water pill to try and ease that down again.


Not much else going on. Kittens are sleeping more during the night but still get rambunctious and bored and get into things they should not. Found one of them chasing a paperclip the other day. Next week they will be 6 months old so at this point young adult cats so they should be calming down some. All 4 cats come in a group now when they want food or treats or play. Long way from when they first met and snarled at each other.


Ceejay - I assume you are moving in with your sister to be around for companionship and to help out as she adjusts to a lifestyle change. That is good of you to help her. Hope you can make the adjustment to living with someone. Are you going to a bigger or smaller town? I hope you will like this change as you had commented that retirement was not what you thought it would be. It does take a while to find your new settling point and it is unique to each individual. Perhaps this is the change that you needed. Maybe give some thought to what it is you are not happy with and see if there are things you can do to fulfill those needs be it spiritually, creatively, or socially.


Susie - it's great that you are making time to get your workout in before you head out to the job. It's still chilly here so warm casseroles and comfort foods are still preferred to cooler salads and things. I am trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables back again myself. How are you liking the new job? Is there enough to keep you interested or it is just making a living but without the hassles of the previous position?


I have most of this week at home which I am glad for as I am bound and determined to make headway with my projects. I do want to rearrange the loft area into an art studio of sorts and get back to that again. I have a couple of boxes of CDs with favorite music I am trying to convince myself to get rid of. The new car does not have a CD player - satellite radio or streaming from the phone or iPod. Doesn't make much sense to keep as many CDs anymore. My Avalon still has a 6 disc CD player AND a cassette player but no capability to play my iPod so I have to keep some music for that. Especially since it only has regular FM radio and we are suffering for any good music in these rural parts! It's very gray today - seems quite depressing after the brilliant sun we had the last 2 days. We are around the bend of winter tho - spring will be here soon.


Hello to you ladies - get in here and post an update please.

Afternoon all. I have a vacation day today, so of course it's raining. Oh well, we had a beautiful sunny, mild weekend.

Happy - I'm sorry you're having a hard time with this implant stuff. I hope the appointments go well tomorrow - did the dentist reline your denture, or will that happen tomorow? I hope you find something that helps you get through this. It's a shame that no one showed for bingo. I don't recall what happened to the Thursday senior center bingo - is it still going on without you and your DH's help, or does this restaurant version replace it. Anyway, I do understand people wanting to get out and enjoy a nice day in March. I was out Saturday and yesterday and it was lovely, and it was nice seeing people out and enjoying a break in winter. Happy belated 43rd Anniversary! I hope you enjoy a celebration as soon as you can eat a nice meal! I think I'm one of those rare people who didn't have a lot of albums, cassettes or CD's - they could fill a single box. And not a refrigerator size box, lol! But I do find myself copying some of my existing cds to the computer and then saving them to my cell phone. Every once in a while I look at the cds at the thrift shop, but rarely buy anything, but I have borrowed several from the library. I have a bad habit of copying the whole CD when I really only want a few songs, thinking I'll take the time to listen to the other songs and decide if I want to keep them...but it rarely happens. Lately I'm back to listening to mostly podcasts during my commute. Anyway...I hope you make some good headway on your projects this week. It's a good feeling when that happens. Re the new car - like yours, my "new to me" car (coming up on a year in April) has a bit more road noise than my previous one, but it's bearable. I have yet to figure out all the settings, but I finally did figure out it's very easy to listen to music from my cell phone. I need to spend some time figuring out the navigation system. My sister and BIL have the same car and hate the navigation. It just makes me want to master it...but it's obviously not a priority! Good to hear the kittens are getting along.

Susie - Good for you getting your exercise in. I need to start tracking my eating again - you can't out-exercise a bad diet!

Ceejay - It'll be a big change living with your sister, but I think it's wonderful that you'll be there for her during this difficult time. It's nice you don't have to figure out what to do with all your furniture...just all the other stuff that you won't need when you move. I looked at the map - looks like Ash Grove is further out from Springfield than your current place. Is it rural, or does it still feel suburban?

Hellos to Annie & Shad!!

~~~
Last week was okay. Back to work. The 40 minutes on the train doesn't do my back any good and there's some pain when I walk from the train to work. Otherwise it feels mostly okay at work when I get up now and then for bathroom breaks, lunch, etc. Good to keep moving. But I was still being very careful about my movements - still sleeping on my right side, etc. == When I was out a few days last week, they had a meeting for the entire office to discuss COVID19 and they told everyone to take their laptops home every night in case there's a decision to close the office and have everyone work remotely. And then this past Thursday afternoon, there was another meeting at which our CEO announced a test in which we all WFH the next day. So Friday was a WFH day. I wonder if we passed the test - apparently that week he'd walked around after hours and seen laptops so he knew people weren't taking them home. (Hence the test.) I did start taking mine home as soon as I was filled in about that. But I decided the added weight in my backpack was going to help my back, so I dug out my old rolling backpack and use that. I never used it for work - just Jazzercise classes for hand weights and other gear - the classes were held in gymnasiums or other locations that weren't permanent places and didn't have equipment supplied to the students. Anyway, it's working out alright, but I still like my regular backpack better. Part 2 of the test will be a WFH day that will be announced after the work day has ended, so everyone better have their laptop with them and be ready to work remotely.

I chose a PT chain close to the house and across from the train station and had my first appointment on Friday before work. It went fine - the therapist did some measurements as to my range of motion, then she did some other tests as to my strength, massage the area for a bit to see how the muscles felt, and then we did some exercises. I like the woman assigned to me. My next appointment is tomorrow after work.

The weekend was nice. I had a dentist appointment Saturday and everything looks good, though I did opt to get a flouride treatment as well as some sealants in four spots with deep crevasses that make it hard to get the brush at. I had to leave the flouride coating on for 4 hours afterwards and it was gross. Might skip that next time. Did a few errands and was kind of slothful the rest of the day. BF and I watched the movie "Joker" on a dvd from the library. It was well-done.

Sunday I decided to finally do more sanding in the half bath. I was just going to sand the ceiling, but I decided that since I was making a mess - dust everywhere - I would also do the walls. The only spots I didn't do were around the medicine cabinet and the TP holder, since bf is going to reposition both. Once I was done, I had to wipe *everything* down and of course vacuum and mop the floor. Small room, but quite a workout for me since I haven't been doing much of anything physically since my foot surgery and back pain. BTW, the back felt pretty good yesterday and feels alright today. Dare I hope I'm turning the corner with it???

Anyway, after the sanding and cleanup, I showered all the dust off myself and got out to enjoy some of the day. I went to a nearby park and parked the car by the fenced off dog park and the playground area. Nice to see everyone out enjoying the day. I had my book with me, but decided to walk a bit first. It was really windy, but I walked for about 20 on the paths in the park. Foot and back felt fine, but I definitely wasn't at a normal pace. I'll get there at some point.

Bf and I talked about the half bath. We'd previously thought that we'd replace the really tall medicine cabinet with a shorter one and install it lower, lower the light fixture above it, move the TP holder, paint the walls and install the shelves (that we bought years ago but never installed). Now that we have a taller toilet in the full bath, I want to replace the ancient shorter one in the half bath. BF wants to hire someone to restore the floor grout, and I reluctantly agreed on getting a quote even though I think it'll be expensive and want to try some DIY solutions first. He was doubtful because he thought that when he grouted the tile (when it was first laid down), he wasn't consistent in mixing the color into additional batches of grout and thought it wasn't just a matter of a thorough scrubbing. (I personally never noticed different coloration.) After I went to bed last night he must have done some research online because I saw he ordered some kind of grout pen from Amazon. So we'll see how it works because I'd rather pay someone to do a new floor than restore this one...And I'd rather not pay anyone to do anything in that half bath because I'd much rather put the money towards the full bath, which we haven't done anything beyond painting the walls, changing window treatment and installing the new toilet. Hey Susie - didn't you comment once about working on your grout?

Okay, enough rambling. I'll get this posted and get finally get dressed. I might get out of the house just to get out of the house because I'm feeling kind of restless. I thought (yesterday) that I might paint the half bath ceiling today, but now I'm thinking it better wait until some of the other work is done. Whenever that happens...

Have a good rest of the day everyone and remember to wash your hands to keep away the germies and don't touch your face!!!

Good morning ladies,

Off to see the dentists this afternoon. I have not worn my partial for a week and the sensitivity has gone down except for immediately around the implants - that is still sore and when I eat sometimes it gets angry and swollen and painful - not that I got food in it, I guess it just doesn't like to be touched. And I got annoyed because I was looking in the mirror putting my makeup on the other day and noticed I have brown stains on my NEW TEETH. It's sort of like when you have a mug of black tea and you leave some of it sit in the cup and it gets cold and there is this brown spotted sort of film from the tea residue on the cup - that's what my teeth look like in between the crevices of adjacent teeth. About 5 teeth that I can see and it doesn't brush out. After the implants, they gave me this oral disinfectant rinse to use. It's blue like mouthwash. You swish it in your mouth for 30 seconds twice a day and spit it out and do not rinse afterwards. I used it faithfully. Said to use it for 7 days but I used it for about 11 when my mouth was really sore not knowing if I had issues. Looked up this stuff online and sure enough, can stain or etch teeth. I did not pay $20,000 + for new crowns just to have them stained brown!!!! So I will talk with the dentist today - hopefully they can polish them out and they are not etched. The fun continues... and I learn more stuff that they never bother to tell you when you start this journey.

Yesterday I called a childhood friend to touch base. Over 3 hours on the phone. Wouldn't have been so bad except she spent over an hour and a half harping on her older sister who always was a major beeeee-yotch and apparently still is. My friend was going on and on about all the nasty things this girl did and I said then WHY do you continue to have a relationship with her??????? She said because she is all I have left for family - her parents are gone. Well geez then let your husband and daughter be your family - why put up with someone who is selfish, controlling, bossy and always undermines you? I don't understand that at all. I was really getting tired of listening to it but was finally able to divert her to other topics. I am so glad that I have my sister who is a wonderful fun person like me

Laura - when I get a CD, I will only copy songs I like to my computer. I didn't realize I could copy them to my phone too. I should do that, then I can stream off of it. As for the navigation system, this new one is better than the last 2 cars we had but still not all that great. Have to learn how to use the voice navigation since it prevents you from hitting the buttons on the console while your car is in gear. Many of us - including car salesman - said they use the nav system on their phones instead of the car panel. I don't know if they are going to reline my partial - can't tell if I still have residual swelling yet or if the surface of my mouth has been altered due to surgery and scarring. Guess I will find out today. DH told me yesterday he noticed when I wore the partial on Saturday it seemed to "hang low" a bit. And I said yes, it's because it won't snap up into where it needs to be - partially because it's still too sore to shove in tight.

I'm glad to hear you are healing - slow but sure - with the foot issues. I think the more you start to move about, your muscles will probably be happier for it too and eventually you will get your rhythm again. Did you say before you were thinking of a few sessions with a personal trainer to get aligned again?

I have a friend who works for Bank of America in the West Loop - they are also considering the work from home thing. I think it's a good idea to run a "test" to see if it actually works. Many thousands of years ago after the tunnels flooded from the river downtown, I worked on the Disaster Recovery team where we went to offsite computer complexes. What a ton of money we spent and we found after lots of time and money that some things on the network we simply could not replicate offsite. So if the building had a serious fire, we would not have been able to run the company at another location anyway. I guess things have changed a lot too because when I was working from home 20 years ago, we had to have a special connection from home to get into a secured connection to our computer systems. I suppose now you just log in via the internet like getting inside a website. Still it's good to test this theory out and work out the kinks BEFORE you really need to depend on it. I hope it does not come to that. I guess once they get some experience under their belts with this virus, they will be able to manage it a bit better. What I am interested in is how the people who caught it and survived felt. I'm sure one of the things they are being super cautious about is things that we don't think about in the infrastructure. For example, it does compromise breathing and if they got overwhelmed with a bunch of cases in the hospitals, it's possible they would not have enough ventilators for all the patients so some would suffer and die. I know there are people who poo poo this whole thing as something blown out of proportion by the Democratic political party but then again, they are the dumb idiots that believe every lie and exaggeration and misinformation that comes out of the orange fool's mouth or on the filtered and distorted view of reality Fox News station so I hope you all recover from "just a cold with a little coughing and don't forget to go to work and spread it around"

In regards to the movies HBO premiered the movie "Yesterday" this weekend. I recorded it with just a minimal interest. DH watched it and said it was good so I watched it on Sunday. I was surprised. It was a cute movie - the premise is that something happens in the world for 12 seconds and wipes out the memories of just about the entire world's population of certain things that happened - one of which was the Beatles. Besides the main story I found it interesting that there were a few other things that "never happened" like cigarettes and Coca Cola! OMG - there goes my youth - no Beatles, no cigarettes, no Coca Cola - what a sad life I would have lived except I wouldn't know what I was missing. Watch it if you have the chance. You comment about The Joker movie also has me curious Laura. I will probably catch that one too.

About the grout - when we remodeled our house in AH, we put in a light floor with larger ceramic tiles. Although DH tried to convince me otherwise, I did not want dark grout defining "squares" into the floor. So I went with a light neutral grout. He tried to warn me it would be a real hassle to clean. So we went light which gave a smoother, overall look. And he put a sealer on the grout. BUT it did get dirty and eventually started to get darker. So I got on the floor with several hard denture type toothbrushes and a bottle of Soft Scrub cleaner. Took me an entire week of hard scrubbing (my arms are a good 3 inches shorter than they used to be because I wore them out LOL ). He was so right. It IS a very labor intensive job to clean. It looks like one of the new owners either went with dark grout or just let it get really dirty because this is NOT what the floor looked like when we put it in. Picture attached. I'm with you about replacing the floor entirely.

Well it's time for me to get cleaned up and ready to head out so I'll call this a day. Have a good one everybody.

Evening all,
Been a busy week this week, what with kids moving, neighbours wanting help, and the house and garden. Plus the hysteria from the corona virus. Life gets interesting. Other than that not much has happened really. The new flooring is down, just waiting for the trim to be installed and that's one job off my projects list. I've bought 2 more shutters and they will go in hopefully next weekend. And thank heaven the weather has improved, reasonable temperatures for Autumn and it is cooling down at night as well. We've had some good rains as well. Too late for some of the garden but welcome never the less.
Today I have been making the dogs food for the next 3 weeks or so and also made some chicken and corn soup some of which I had for tea tonight. I had to do some shopping today. I have been putting it off as long as possible but I needed some cat food and some cleaning stuff. The place was crowded with everyone complaining that they can't get TP or hand wash or whatever else was gone because of the idiots who are getting enough stuff in for a siege. It doesn't seem to occur to too many of them that you can also get hand wash from the pharmacies - and anyway a good natural soap will do exactly the same thing and there was plenty of that there. If you are in isolation for 14 days how come you need 48 rolls of TP?? Are there 17 people in your house??

So that has been my life for the past week - keeping away from most people but not keeping away from living my life. If it comes, it comes.

Happy - hope you and those teeth are feeling better now. I know when I had my implant (and I only had one) there was some days in the beginning when the steel post just throbbed, but it went away eventually and the bone grew around the implant and the new tooth got put on the post and it was all good again - although occasionally it does ache a bit - mainly because I haven't been cleaning around it enough. Got to floss - or so the dentist tells me.

Okay, so now I have time to get on the computer, the phone rings, it's my sister in NZ who is not feeling well. But apparently it is not the corona virus - just a bout of normal bugs. So I'll post this and try to get back early in the morning.

Well here I am back again. The pandemic appears to have got worse over night and we have had another death. Most of the deaths here in Aus have been in NSW and then mainly Sydney which is probably right as that is where the majority (but not all) of overseas visitors and returning travellers come into the country. Knew there was a reason why I didn't like that place.

So much has been cancelled. Our next Probus club meeting is one. Several of the planned trips are now cancelled. There is an self isolation requisite on anyone entering the country and they have now cancelled the ANZAC day parade due to the age of the returned soldiers from WW11. Many people are being told to work from home and businesses are going broke because no one wants to eat out or even get coffee. I guess it is the same just about everywhere now. We will have to learn to amuse ourselves again.

Laura - good to hear the foot is slowly coming right and that you are not in so much back pain anymore

Ceejay - hope that living with your sister works out okay for you. Guess you will be company for each other.

Susie - Keep up with the exercise in the mornings. It really is the best time to do it I found.

Annie - Hope all is going well with you and yours. Spring is coming, hang in there. Our days are becoming shorter and the nights cooler. It's so nice to snuggle under the blankets at the moment

Better go sort out a few more things before bedtime. Have a good day.

Evening all. Started working from home last Friday. Glad to not be on the train and amongst all the people in the building where I work. It's not only an office building, it’s a tourist mecca because it has a skydeck on the 103rd floor.

==

Happy – Gosh, I hope the dentist was able to get the stains out of your new teeth!! ==I’m sorry touching base with that old childhood friend turned out to not be the pleasant catch-up you hoped for. Yes, I was thinking of getting a personal trainer to get back on the track to fitness. Right now, however, I’m going to PT for my back, and I might also be doing PT for my foot. So at some point…but not in the near future. Re working remotely – yes, we take our laptops home and we connect to our network via VPN – virtual private network. And I think everyone at my company who uses a computer for their job now has laptops – our admin finally got a laptop a year or so ago. That HBO movie “Yesterday” sounds like it would be really interesting. Re tile and grout – I’m also not a fan of dark grout, even if it does hide the dirt, LOL. I did some of my own research about grout restoration and there’s all kinds of products and advice online about it. I think the grout pen bf bought is like paint, so as long as it’s a good match, I’m fine with that. We still need to clean the grout thoroughly before using it though.



Shad – I’m glad the weather’s improved for you with some cooler weather and rain. In my area, we’ve had a somewhat mild winter (knock wood), so it’s been nice. Last weekend was just beautiful. This weekend was a bit chilly (but still decent for March in Chicago!). I think it’s going to be in the mid/upper 40’s and even 50-ish over the next 10 days, but some rain too…but of course I’m getting spoiled and now I’m wanting more 50+ temps and some sun… == So, whose kids are moving?? == Yeh, the hoarding stuff going on all over is getting ridiculous. But the measures being taken are necessary, and I hope we see results from all of it because it’s really hitting people and businesses hard in the finance department. I was kind of thinking about retirement in 5 years, but it’s gonna take a while for the nest egg to recover from the bloodbath the markets are experiencing. == Hope your sister is feeling better!



Hellos to the rest of you.

==

I’ve been doing PT for my back and it’s feeling much, much better. I still feel some strangeness with the nerve that runs along the side of my left hip/leg, but it’s not really pain I’m feeling. Continuing to do the PT for the time being.



The foot….well, I tweaked it and it’s been sore and a bit swollen since last Tuesday. This work from home mandate has been good timing for me to be able to stay off my feet. Especially since I really REALLY didn’t want to wear the boot again after it screwed up my back! So after being mostly sedentary for a few days, the soreness is easing up. I have my next orthopedic appointment tomorrow morning and we’ll see if the x-rays show anything bad. The irony is that I have a feeling that one of my PT exercises is what caused this, and I didn’t even need to be doing the exercise on that side! Obviously stopped doing that exercise on that side!

Nothing much else to report. So much stuff is closed right now, so aside from my dr and PT appointments and going to a store or restaurant to pick up food, we’ll be hanging around the house.



Oh, and I’m sad to report that my SIL’s sister passed away last Wednesday. Less than 3 months after my nephew passed – you just have to wonder why such tragedy hits someone like that. We’ll be going to the wake/memorial on Thursday. The dinner that was supposed to happen afterwards has been cancelled because there’s no sit-down restaurant service right now because of this virus stuff.



Okay, gonna cut and paste and post. Everyone keep doing what you need to do to stay healthy!

Hello!
I hope everyone is healthy and well.

We are doing ok. DH is still going to work, there are only 15 people in his whole company.

My work started working from home on Friday afternoon. Right now we will do so until April 6.

I have had to do some hunting at the grocery stores but we have plenty,for now.

So far no news of anyone in my town having the virus.

I am getting ready to go to bed but I wanted to do a quick check-in on everyone.

I will check-in tomorrow and do personals.

Man oh man - just spent the last hour doing a post and hit the Ctrl V (paste) instead of copy and lost my entire post. Grrr.

Basically things are going ok. We are doing self containment to minimize any chances of getting sick. It is not here but then again tests are in short supply so we really don't know if we are truly clean. Everything has closed or shut down in town except for gasoline, groceries and medical although they have cancelled all non essential medical and dental procedures. It's good - people are staying home like they should. We have plenty enough to get by even if it means I have to cook twice a day now - LOL Our days are very much like yours Shad.

Teeth are slowly healing. The stains from the antibiotic rinse will polish off with a trip to the hygenist.

I am going to have to retype my entire post and it's after 2am and I need to get to bed. Will try again tomorrow after I get back from voting and a quick run to the animal shelter to drop off extra kitten food I don't need and they do.

Be well everyone.

Afternoon all.
Too hot to go outside and work in the yard yet. We seem to be in the middle of a mini heatwave again. Today I dug over and fertilised the small vege patch and went to the local nursery/ hardware store to get some seeds and seedlings and true to form in todays world the whole town has been in and stripped it of vegetable seeds and seedlings. I wondered where they are going to grow them since most people don't have garden beds prepared. Maybe they are going to put them in pots - who knows. I'm sure most of the 'herd sheeple' have never planted a garden before. Anyway I then went and got some new batteries for my hearing aids and the receptionist was surprised I only wanted the usual three packs. But I assured her they would last me for another couple of months and then I will come back for some more. No point in stocking the house as if it was a store.
Anyway, there were people at the mall trying to load up their trollies with even thing but the kitchen sink 'just in case'. I got out in a hurry.
I need to go out and water soon. There's a lot of things I should be doing, but I don't feel like doing it. So it will happen tomorrow or later tonight. I've pulled the filing cabinet out into the lounge and I intend to clear out the junk stuff I have collected or been required to keep for a number of years. I can't wait to get rid of all the contracts and payroll stuff that I have kept. There's also all those receipts and warranties for purchases that are now years old.

Happy - I'm glad that your town folk are staying at home as requested. Sydney had to clear Bondi Beach today because of the <500 rule and the 1.5 metres of separation rule. So the Sydneysiders are not happy. That's okay as long as they keep their virus down there. We have it up here of course. Tom Hanks and his wife were hospitalised with it. They are now out of hospital and self isolating at some place on the Gold Coast.
Like you, lots of things have been cancelled as well. Could be very boring for some. Schools are thankfully still open. It would be too much to have the school kids running around the streets and the hoons who have either been put off at their work or are supposedly working from home and just generally making a nuisance of themselves racing around the streets in their vehicles and bike.
Glad to hear that the mouth is healing slowly. It will soon all be a distant memory. Great too that the stains can be brushed off.

Hi Susie - glad that you are working from home. I used to love that. I could get so much more done and finished off ready for audits etc. I did some shopping today and will not be going back for at least a week. Really the only things I will need are the fresh stuff like meat and fruit and vegetables.

Laura - good to hear that you are at home working too. Saving on fares and walks to the office My sister is fine thank you. Just a bit of a cold. She's a tough cookie. My DS2 has moved house. This is the one currently splitting from the ex girlfriend who is not making life easy for anyone including herself. He (DS2) was getting somewhat depressed and stressed and we had to get him out of that place. Took the two of us the whole day to pack up his stuff and shift hers out of the container and get it to the new place. He's got mediation counselling coming up this coming week and then she also has the following week. We are not expecting her to go. They are also supposed to do a couple mediation but I doubt she will show up for that either. If it can't be resolved at that point it becomes a legal issue and they will both be required to do some extra stuff (and carry the cost.)
Glad to hear the PT is doing some good. Always helps if you can see improvements. My sincere condolences to your SIL, She must be feeling that everyone is leaving her.

Hello's to Annie and Ceejay. Hope all is well at your place Annie and your new place CeeJay.

And with that I am out of here. You will all be pleased to know that the days are getting shorter and shorter here and that the temps are cooling down. Today must be Solstice or the Ides of March or something. So spring is just around the corner for you. I had been hoping to see the spring blossom in Japan or DC this year but it is not to be and who knows when travel will become affordable or available again.

Good morning ladies,

Will try and hit the correct keys this time to copy my post before actual posting. Last time it was night and dark and I couldn't see the keyboard so pasted instead of copied.

Day ??? of quarantine. Somehow this is starting to feel like a bad horror movie. Technically it's day 5 but as they do more testing and discover more cases - near to us but not in town right now, although I'm sure only a matter of time - I'm thinking it's going to be more than 15 days. A lot more than 15 days. People are thinking ahead - I hear that vegetable garden seeds are hard to come by. Deliveries of groceries are starting to become a bit sporatic - I may have to get up early one morning to head to the store first thing although right now we are just fine and will be for a while. It snowed today but just a bit - I think the sun will be breaking this afternoon and will melt what we got. We still have snow on the ground and ice on the driveway. Yesterday a friend stopped by - I picked up eggs at the farm for her and she baked me a banana bread. We were standing outside and talking. DH had taken off to a park on the other side of the state for some photos and as we stood on the driveway talking the deer started coming out of the woods. They lined up on the driveway and stared at us. Then the flocks of turkeys came out. My friend was astounded they'd come that close. I said it's super icy by the man cave where the corn is so I didn't go out to feed them yet. I was debating about literally driving my car across the driveway from the garage to the man cave so I could avoid the ice and then driving down the driveway scattering corn if I absolutely had to. We have 2 injured deer we make a point of feeding when we see them come out. So L made her husband go and feed them. The turkeys got all excited and started running and I told her to watch - when they hit the icy part of the driveway they'd start sliding on the ice just like we would and sure enough ... Would have been funny if they fell over but while they slide and flap alot, they manage to stay upright.

I don't know what's going to happen with my implants. They extended the moratorium on non essential dental and medical procedures and I imagine while masks and such are in shortage, that will probably be extended. Technically I should have had appointments to create the permanent bridge in the lab around the beginning of May with a mid May implementation but who knows. The socket area where they put the posts is still sore and while I am home I have gone without my teeth and realized I am doing myself no favors so I am trying to wear the partial an hour at a time to get used to having it in my mouth again. It still doesn't fit right and is pressing on sore bone but it's coming along. I just hope things are healing correctly as they need to be. Would not want to go through the ordeal of removing them, rebuilding bone and starting all over again.

I have to admit I am losing track of time. Don't know what day of the week it is much less the date. I take a break from the news - it's all getting to be the same at this point although I try to listen just to stay on top of what's really going on so I can anticipate planning if I have to. Yesterday while DH was gone all day I had a successful day in clearing and organizing things in the kitchen. I was in a real nesting mood and just REALLY wanted to accomplish something. It was difficult with the kittens constantly underfoot and crawling all over but I made good progress and got several loads of clothes washed. I think once I get all these papers sorted and organized and filed, my next big project should be converting from my out of support Windows 7 laptop to my "new" laptop I bought oh 6 months ago and never had time to touch. I am afraid there might be something wrong with it as the wireless mouse does not appear to be working while I have the power cable plugged in which makes no sense at all. It is going to be a BIG ordeal moving computers - not quite as bad as moving houses but right up there. So much to convert and more than anything, about half of what I have in pictures, documents and such I can probably delete so there will be weeks of distractions as I sort through that stuff and try to remember passwords of sites I have not visited in a very long time. My third big project is to go through all the clothes in the bedroom and sort out things in the closet I like but don't wear any more or don't like the fit of things. I also have some things in bins on the top shelf - like extra bottles of hair products which are taking up precious shelf space. Once I finish those projects, I can then start on the upstairs loft rearranging things and creating an art studio for myself. So I'm good with at home projects until Christmas! There is talk this Coronavirus will go on for a long time - probably further than the summer. I can't fathom having to miss the outside activities of our short but well anticipated warm season.

I have reached out and started to send some greeting cards out - just to have something to cheer people - especially the seniors who might be feeling a bit isolated. I have to admit though when I made some phone calls to people I haven't talked in to ages, I kind of remembered why I don't call them much any more My sister who is a loner by preference is just loving the lockdown situation. We are all missing the restaurants. Also my heart goes out to the workers who have been furloughed as well as the small businesses. I know some of them will not make it through the mess. Who would have imagined?? I worry about our savings and investments - it's all we have. I was talking to a lady the other day. She just got laid off and I said I am really glad to be retired now. She said I was lucky. I said well, it's really a double edged sword. I am lucky in that I was not caught short without a paycheck but unlucky because I am older and more at risk for the virus AND with the stock market tumble, all I have in savings can get wiped out and it's not like I can go out and get a job to rebuild my savings. So we all have our worries. I was talking to my Mom and said those who have not saved anything will really be in a bind and she said that when you are living in a situation where you are barely getting by, sometimes it's impossible to save even a few dollars - especially when you don't have enough in the wallet to pay for what you really need. I fretted a bit yesterday that I might not get to see my Mom again. There are quiet moments when the enormity of what's going on hits me for a bit. I have not been to Chicago since 2018 and was planning to come for a visit in May / June - just after I got my dental work finished. They are talking about this extending into August - perhaps longer. I really don't want to get on a plane and I don't want to find myself in a situation where I am stuck in a place other than home. One of my buddies went to Florida to sell her winter home - her husband passed away 6 months ago. She was planning on staying there another month and I told my other friend she might want to rethink coming back sooner so that she didn't possibly get stuck down there without a place to stay.

Shad - is it possible that some of your plants like tomatoes might self sow? Can you let potatoes get old and sprout - will they then become seed potatoes? Of course when you want them that way - they won't turn I suspect there will be a seed shortage here also although a friend has a flower nursery and just got thousands of her flower plants in this week. We might go hungry but it will be pretty outside. I think people are seeing shelves empty and are panic buying. They have extended the ship time on my pet foods so I hope there is not an out of stock run on those also. I have at least 3 weeks of pet food on hand but 4 cats eat more than one does. Glad to hear your sister is just dealing with a mild cold. Hope she recovers quickly. Sorry to hear that DS2's situation turned ugly with his partner. Fighting just gives the lawyers more money. I hear you on postponing the trips. With the economy and stocks to take a big hit and possibly a long time to recover, we may only be able to see each other via Skype and our reception is not that great anyway

Hellos to the rest of you. I have to go holler at the kittens - they are restless and digging into every place they shouldn't and then take a shower and get human looking again. Then it's on to making a stew and pot of chicken soup. Be well friends.

I am a resident of Ash Grove as of 3-16 -20. Havent done any unpacking but will start maybe this afternoon. The only thing I haven't brought to the house is my keyboard and organ. but the organ will have to stay in the other house for the time being. Rural living is a bit different but I will soon get used to it. I'm a home body anyway and as long as I have a t.v. I'm good to go. The closest gym is 12 miles down the road so I'll be doing my exercising at home. I have my exercise bike and hand weights so I'm set. There are a few mom and pop places that have resturant type food so that will be good also.
Every one stay safe.

Afternoon all,
Well we are well into the coronavirus now. It's spreading fast. Not a pretty thing. Our scientists are working hard along with most others across the world for a vaccine or cure. There has been promising signs with some established drugs which were used to combat malaria and HIV, however it is not a complete fix and will take a long time to test. The RBH here in Brisbane says they are close to a vaccine but even then there will be testing and it will probably not be available for a year or so to the general public. Much too late for many unfortunately.
Your alternative is to stay home, stay put and stay safe.
We've had the police helicopter hovering over our suburb this morning. Don't know what was going down, but it was close. Seems to have resolved itself now. I didn't take the dog out for a walk in case the problem was down in the park or industrial centre a kilometre away.
I went shopping early. The largest supermarkets are limiting the 1st hour of shopping to the elderly and those with a disability along with carers as required. It was actually quite pleasant doing the shopping this way. I got everything on my list apart from Glen 20 (antibacterial spray) and hand wash (but I have handmade soap here anyway). Oh yes and I forgot the coffee bags, but I did get coffee anyway so it's not disastrous. No crowds, no shouting kids, pleasant shop assistants, no queues and no toilet paper, but since I don't need any anyway, that wasn't a problem.
I've planted beans, corn, and carrots so far, and dug over some of the garden where the big hedge used to be. I'll be putting in potatoes in there to help break up the soil. I still have to rearrange old garden boxes as I am making them into one big bed in order to fit a bit more produce in. The self sown tomatoes have fruit on them, and the self sown pumpkin has so far given me 1 big fruit, 1 smaller fruit and there is another on the vine just waiting to grow up, and a huge sweet potato also self sown. I did have some capsicum bushes sprout but the crazy weather seems to have put paid to them. Guess dog and I will need to go out and water soon. The front garden is doing okay although needs water as well. No rain for a couple of weeks now and it shows in the yard.

Ceejay - Hope the new hangout is good for you. You will find it very different in a rural situation. My condolences to your sister, she will be missing her man. Hope the nephew is doing okay in the other place.

Happy - I think we will be counting on more than 15 days of quarantine. Just because you missed it first time around, doesn't mean you will get lucky the second time around. There will always be someone who doesn't realise they are infectious and then the whole cycle begins again. Best to just lock the country down and starve the virus. New Zealand went into stage 4 lockdown last night. That means everything stops apart from the essentials services. They are confined to their homes and can only go out to exercise (on their own or with the dog) go for supplies (and these are strictly limited) and for extreme emergencies.
We are at stage 2. Looking at stage 3 although our esteemed PM doesn't seem to be able to get the group of words together to make sense of his intentions. Certainly no public speaker this one. Don't get married, you can only have 5 at the wedding. Priest, bride, groom, 2 witnesses. However you can have 10 at your funeral. Need 6 to carry the coffin anyway. And don't worry about the kiddies, they can keep going to school. One wonders how the kids are supposed to keep 1.5m away from the next kid.
It will take a while for the implants to settle in and stop being sore. Might be a blessing that they will be given more time to heal, although I guess that doesn't really make you happy.
I think we are all looking at the 'stuff' in our lives and choosing what we need as against what we want. Maybe this global infection will bring home to people that it doesn't really matter how much stuff you have, it's how you behave and what sort of a person you are that is important.

Anyway, better go sort out some more photos and things. I'm trying to find some stuff of DS2's but we have a horrible feeling it has gone to the other house and been systematically thrown out or hidden so he can't find it. I need to go up into the roof cavity to see if I put any of his family stuff up there. I don't think there is but we better cover all angles.

STAY SAFE, STAY PUT, STAY WELL.

Good morning ladies,

The sun is trying to peek through the clouds so maybe it won't be such a blah day after all. I am starting to get a bit stir crazy. I opted not to go out with DH yesterday - just some small errands to get deer corn, drop off eggs to a friend on their porch and find a bin to dump the trash since they decided they aren't picking up trash after all. Now I will have to separate trash into the smelly, rottable parts that DH needs to tote off vs the paper non stinky stuff that can wait for an occasional trip to town. Bears are about to wake up soon if they haven't already so we need to be more mindful with enticing bits in the yard.

I woke up today feeling a bit dejected. This is bound to happen. My first thought many mornings is that this is a bad nightmare. I know that I have the ability to control my environment and keep myself safe. Even though we are supposed to stay at home, we can still take a short drive, just the 2 of us in the car to get out or go on the deck for a bit of fresh air so not confined as much as we could be. When I get restless I think of how horrid I could be with claustrophobia dealing with the face masks of those ventilated and sick. Yikes. Watched a video today on sanitizing your groceries. I have thought about that as the virus spreads. They are keeping some surfaces clean but people still touch things. I hope it does not get to the point that I have to scrub down everything before I bring it into the house. Can boiling it all in a pot for a few hours just do the same sanitizing?

Ceejay - glad you got to your new home. Guess you won't be going about much to explore for a while - will you? Just settle in and take time to unpack.

Shad - just as you are gardening, we are a few weeks out to think of what to do with ours. Ground still covered in snow and not loose enough to plant cold weather crops like peas and rocket but wondering if I should get more serious with the garden this year. I can't possibly start plants indoors. Cats would destroy them and while the 3 season room is perfect with lots of sun, there is no insulation in it and there are spaces in the floor boards that let in cold air so too chilly to support plants quite yet.. I guess if we got ambitious - DH could put up the greenhouse but I don't have soil or grow mulch to get things started.

No matter what your PM does - I don't think anyone in the world can beat out the nutter we have as the so called head of our country and his grand plans to kill us all while saving his buddies stock portfolios. I had to laugh - the government is crafting a bill to put some money in the pockets of the citizens who are suffering for lack of work and they had to put language in so that he can't direct monies to his buddies or take monies for himself (as he has profited in the past from crisises). One of the speaker said they never had someone who was so devious before as president so they would never had had to consider such language before. Pity. He cries he has lost billions as president (typical exaggerated lie) but in reality has made millions and millions for his companies from those seeking favors to him. At least we are not wasting more precious tax money with his weekend entourages to his properties. I think this is the longest he has stayed in the White House since sliding into office 3 years ago. Enough of politics.

I smiled at your comment about the weddings and lack of guests. We had a small wedding - about 25 people in all and did just fine. Pregnant women are up in arms complaining that their husbands and families cannot be in the room as they give birth. Oh my what a shame - just make sure the doctor is there - that's what counts. Perhaps as we get through this we will go back to simpler times where we need less and make more of what we have.

Hope you are all staying well, healthy and sane.