Morning all,

Looks like a nice day coming up again after a real doosey of a storm yesterday afternoon. It had all the ingredients of a big storm with thunder, lightning and hail. The sky went from blue to completely black in the first peel of thunder and the rain was amazing. The cat ran under the bed and refused to come out, the power went out, I had to shut all the doors and windows because the rain came in.
Had an email from Chris (ex Japan) yesterday to say that she has rented a small flat and has all her bits and pieces around her and is looking forward to her 60th birthday party, to which she also sent an invite. Unfortunately I think I will be in Jakarta that week - unless things change.

Mel - you did the 5k run??? Well done. I didn't unfortunately have time to read up about the venture and didn't get to do anything - well I did do around 10k between the bike, the elliptical and the treadie. Wonder if that would count. Glad to hear the nephew is having a wonderful time with the old aunt and I can't understand a person being opposed to a marriage simply because of the colour of a skin. I would have thought it is all to do with compatibility, courage, friendship and wanting to be with someone all the time. Oh well, another myth busted.

Happy - the yard is looking good. It is a nice peaceful backyard, but a lot of work to keep it like that I know. Wish we could grow azaleas as well, but they tend to die of drought or mould over here.

Ruth - Guess it is a typo but I loved the '"girls" for sinner' idea. I could go a few rounds of 'sinner' right now. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time. So all except you are blonde now hey? Hope they remembered to do the eyebrows as well. Nothing so give away as blonde hair and grey eyebrows.
Is this a recent picture of the garden or one from years gone by? If it is recent, your snow mountain has moved at incredible speed.

Michelle - shifting furniture definitely counts as exercise. I should know, I seem to have shifted a ton and a half of it over the past few weeks. I usually put the weights up at the end of the month. Since I am now doing 45kg on the upper body and 95 on the legs, I really don't know how much further I can go. I'll get to 50/100 by the end of the month but I'm not sure I can go that much more after that. The PT I had reckoned I should be able to get to 130 on the legs, but I don't know. We will try if we ever get a good run at the gym for months at a time. And I also find, very annoyingly that different gyms, different weights. Sometimes different machines, different weights. Not all of the machines seem to be calibrated to the same weight range. Absolutely frustrating when you can lift, push or pull 45kg at one gym and only 35 at another. I mean - a kilogram is a kilogram right??? 1000 gram, 2.2lbs. Yet on exactly the same brand and type of machine, I can do 45kg on the one in Brisbane, and 70 on the one in Townsville. It doesn't make sense. Enough - off the :soapbox:
Yes we have dolphins along our shores. And whales in season. The dolphins are mostly seen at places where there is good surf because they love to ride the waves. You can stand on the cliff top and watch their gorgeous shapes in the green waters and sometimes they will perform acrobatics for you. Often I fear that they will smash into the rocks of the headlands, but they never do. There is a place on an island just out of Brisbane where you can go and feed the dolphins once a day. They come in at dusk and you can stand in the water with your bucket of fish and give them a spot of dinner. It is however strictly patrolled and not everyone gets to feed.
We also have seals and penguins although not in as great abundance as in NZ. We used to go down to an area in NZ where you could actually get up close and personal with the 'batchelor' male seals who would come in to land in colonies until they were old enough to go chasing the 'girls' and fighting the bulls. Smell is a bit pungent, but it is a wonderful sight.

Annie - I used to have a huge problem with ants. They got into everything and especially the food put down for the animals. You could leave nothing out for more than a couple of minutes. I used a spray on the outside of the house, can't actually remember what it was called now. Then I emptied the house of every scrap of food, every living thing and sprayed along the bottom of the cupboards as well. Then I got a thing called Antrid. It is in a small white bottle and is a sticky sort of liquid. I spread that around all the joints where the bench tops met the walls and the floor. Apparently the ants take it back to the nest and it kills the queen and the worker ants. Outside I put Antsand (made by Mortein) on the patio and worked it in between the pavers with a broom. Took some time, but we haven't had an ant inside for a very long time. And yesterday when I took the last of the cupboards out, there was the remains of an ants nest in the baseboards. Not an ant in sight. I know there are ants outside because I fed the cat outside last night and today the dish is full of them. Back to the Antsand I think!!!!

And that is about it for the day. I need to get dressed, toddle off to the gym, pick up some more paint on the way home and get cracking once more. Not too far from done now. Once that is done, it will be a matter of waiting for the kitchen to come. Which reminds me, I ought to ring them. I have a letter stating that on delivery of the stuff I need to give them a cheque or cash to the tune of $11K. Now who has that sort of cash lying around. Why can't I do a bank transfer as I have done for previous installments. Grrrrrr.

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. We didn't get to go to the zoo so I made the hubby do 4 miles at the mall. Oh my gosh, never again. It took us an hour to do 4 miles. I had to keep slowing down to wait for him lol. I will just do it myself next time and chat with him on my way around when I see him lol.

MICHELLE....WE WILL TAKE TURNS CROSSING OUR FINGERS FOR YOU! NO CRAMPS!!! I WAS THINKING ABOUT YOU AND TOLD SOME FRIENDS WHAT A GREAT JOB YOU ARE DOING TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH! :cheers:

:wave: TO OUR MISS RUTH!! GLAD YOU HAD A GOOD TIME.

ANNIE~ I WISH I COULD GIVE YOU THE RIGHTS TO POO FOR ME!! GOD KNOWS I AM NOT DOING A GOOD JOB OF IT ON MY OWN! :rofl: :rofl: I THINK I LOST MY MAGIC POO DUST OR THE POO BUTTON!! :lol3: :lol3:

:wave: HAPPY LOVE!! HELLO BUSY WOMAN!! YES MY TOP IS MISSING!! IGOR MUST HAVE MISPLACED IT!! IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!! IT WAS YOU THAT ASKED RIGHT? I MIGHT BE LOSING MY MIND TONITE!! :dizzy:

YES I DID THE 5 K OVER THE WEEKEND. I NEEDED SOMETHING TO SNAP ME OUT OF THE DOLDRUMS. MAYBE WE SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THE SUMMER CHALLENGE AND FIND SOMETHING SIMPLE WE CAN DO FOR THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO JUNE? ANYONE INTERESTED?

I SPENT 3 HRS THIS MORNING WITH MOM AND WENT BACK FOR ANOTHER 2 IN THE AFTERNOON. WE REMENISCED(SP) ABOUT EVERYTHING IN CREATION. BOTH AGREED THAT WHEN WE DIE THE OLD "MATRIARCHS" OF THE FAMILIES ARE GONE FOREVER. IT WAS GOOD I WAITED. SHE SAID SHE COULD NOT HAVE FACED ME ANY SOONER. WE HAD A GREAT TIME TOGETHER IF YOU CAN CALL IT THAT. SHE HAS ASKED FOR ME TO STOP BEING A STRANGER. I THINK SHE MIGHT BE RIGHT.
IN THE MEANTIME...THE ELECTION IS EVEN MORE SCREWED UP THAN IT WAS LAST WEEK. A NEWSPAPER MISPRINT AND LAST MINUTE BS AND IT TOOK TILL A FEW MOMENTS AGO TO STRAIGHTEN OUT. MANY CALLS TO THE BIG MAN BUT IT'S DONE. TOMORROW MORNING IS FOOD SHOPPING AND THE ELECTION IS FROM 2-9. THERE HAS TO BE SOME DOWN TIME FOR ME IN BETWEEN THOSE HOURS THOUGH. THE OTHER WOMAN I WORK WITH HAS QUIT. NO NOTICE. JUST QUIT. CANNOT BLAME HER BUT SHE PROMISED ME NOTICE KNOWING IT'S VERY HARD TO HANDLE ALONE. BUT THE BIG MAN SAID "WHAT DO YOU CARE? YOU'VE BEEN DOING ALL THE WORK ANYWAY AND I HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN IT". :yikes: AND YA KNOW SOMETHING? HE IS RIGHT. WHY DID I NEVER SEE THIS BEFORE??
GOING TO HAVE A QUIET NIGHT WITH THE TV'S BIGGEST LOSER AND THEN EARLY TO BED. I EVEN HAVE MY MEAL PLAN TAPED TO THE FRIDGE IN CASE I GET TOO TIRED TO THINK AND WILLY IS GONNA HELP ME IN THE STORE.

PS TO SHAD....AFTER SEEING MARK TODAY, I CAN HONESTLY TELL YOU HE HAS NEVER GOTTEN AWAY FROM THE DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. I RAN INTO A "FRIEND" OF HIS. VERY SAD INDEED. YOU CAN SEND THE 11K TO MY CHECKING ACCOUNT....I'LL SEND YOU THE FRIGGING NUMBER! :rofl: :rofl: GOOD LUCK WITH THE KITCHEN JOB!!!

ON THE 5K...GARY IS BEING ASKED IF HE CAN RUN ONE ONCE A MONTH. I WOULD LOVE THAT AS I CAN USE THE MOTIVATION ONCE A MONTH LIKE A CATTLE PROD!!! AND YES....ALMOST ANY KIND OF EXERCISE COUNTED!

RENNIE~ GREAT JOB :running: ON THE MALL-A-THON!!! LAUGHING AT THE DH THOUGH :rofl:


SORRY THIS POST IS A BIT RAMBLING AND DISJOINTED.
ALSO THINKING OF YOU MRS MADCAT AND SENDING MORE HUGS :hug:

Just back from my long weekend in New York, where against all odds the threatened rain did not appear, I didn't get lost or mugged, and I must have done a 5k and then some. Mel, I waved at you across the water; you may have been too busy family-ing to see me. I'm pretty tired and will just say hi for now - I've read the many, many new posts, and am glad to catch up on you all.

Shad, I was very sorry to hear about both your good friend and her ailing caregiver. Bad news indeed!

Mel, sorry about your friend's loss. But how lovely that the nephew and his bride are both nice people and good guests. Bummer that uncle is acting like a bigot.

Ellen congrats on the secret pregnancy! My fingers are crossed that all goes well.

Happy, is that really your yard, or are you sending us photos of Graceland? Tell the truth now! ;)

Gotta go before I drop. My felines need a little cuddle before I hit the sack, and I haven't emptied the suitcase yet. :wave: to all. Tomorrow I may do a Ruth and weigh in and then update my ticker - and when I say update, I really do mean up... :o

Good morning ladies -

I'm in a great mood today. I went to the gym last night and did a wonderful Step class followed by a challenging weights class. I'm looking forward to a good day at work and I'll hopefully be able to complete one or two of my projects that have been looming over my head. I think my terrific mood might be because it's supposed to warm up to the mid 60s and be sunny today, and slightly warmer for tomorrow. Of course, this weekend will bring rain - but I'm not going to fret because I'm off Friday through Monday, and the weather will hopefully be nice on Sunday and Monday. So I'll have two days of lousy weather to do my cleaning and two days of better weather to have fun!

Shad - Sounds like you really had quite a thunderstorm! Do you get them often? Wisconsin usually gets lots of thunderstorms from late April through early July and my dogs don't like them much either. It sounds like you are a very strong woman with all your lifting! Good for you!! I use the weight machines sometimes, but mostly I like free weights. I've graduated up to 7 lbs for biceps, triceps and chest; 5 lbs for shoulders, and using my own body weight (which is plenty) for squats, lunges, etc. I have got to tell DH that we have to save up for a trip to Australia and NZ. We've always wanted to go, and with your stories of the Great Barrier Reef and the dolphins, seals and penguins - I hope we can get there in the next few years - it would be the trip of a lifetime! I had to laugh when you said the kitchen installers want $11K in either cheque or cash. Pardon me while I get my purse. Do you mind that $11K in all $1 bills! Sheesh! I don't even have anywhere close to that much - let alone in CASH! :rofl:

Rennie - Good for you for doing 4 miles at the mall! YGG! And good idea to just chat with DH when you pass him.

Mel - Thanks for crossing your fingers with me and for me! And thanks for the nice compliment. Good for you for doing the 5K! Sheesh was I the only one who didn't? Well, maybe I did after all. I did 45 minutes of cardio on Saturday and an hour on Sunday (does splitting it up count maybe?). That's so nice you had a good visit with Mom. Sorry that your co-worker quit, but at least your boss realizes it's you that does all the work. I'm glad you're getting help with food shopping. Try and take a little downtime during the election.

Carla - So glad to hear you had a nice time in NYC!

Happy - I just can't get over what a lovely yard you have. We have a big yard too, but it's not as beautifully landscaped as yours.

A big :wave: to CeeJay, Annie, Ellen, Painter, Madcat, Ruth, Patty.

Here's to a terrific Tuesday for all of us!

Big hugs,

Good morning ladies,

Woke up this morning feeling ugh, heavy in the chest and sneezing. Too much going on to call in sick so I guess I'll just have to pop a cold pill whereas an extra couple of hours back in bed would have probably done the trick...

Michelle - one thing about living up north, those first few peeks of warm spring weather and incredibly energizing, aren't they? Such a mood lifter too! Hope the weather holds and you can get outside and have some fun. I agree that I don't mind the lousy weather as long as it's during the week when we have to be inside anyway :D You're really hitting the gym hard - you should be one buff chick very soon :carrot:

Hi Carla :wave: - nice to see that you made it back safe and sound. Perhaps when you jump on the scale you'll be surprised to see it not as bad as you think - particularly if you walked a lot in the city. Are you back home for a while now? And yes, that really is my yard. One of the nice things about the milder weather here is all the gorgeous flowers. That is until the crushing summer heat comes along and melts everything :lol: My next door neighbor's yard is very pretty this year - colorful azalea bushes - pink, red, coral arranged in a circle with deep purple irises and a white blossoming dogwood tree. Very pretty. We did have a frost this morning - glad we covered the bushes last night. Better weather ahead they tell us.

Mel - that 5K was unexpected fun, wasn't it? I guess they are planning another for the end of May around Memorial Day. Sounds like "Mom" enjoyed your visit, even if it was for sad reasons. Sounds like she'd like to reconnect. Sometimes it's just good to go have a cuppa tea with a friend occasionally. Sounds like you took the road out of "Funky Town", let's get you far, far away from there :hug:

Good for you for doing the 5K too Rennie. :cp:

Good morning or should I say evening Shad. Pity you have to miss Chris' party but that is a long way to go to attend a birthday party. Good to hear Chris is settled in. Anyone who wants to see pictures of Graceland should check with Shad's online albums as she has the best pictures. If we ever did get to down under, we would have to work it out with you as our tour guide tho I'm not sure we could keep up with you - you are a wild woman when it comes to climbing stairs up here, down there. Some of your hikes wore me out just reading about them :rofl:

Annie, I used to hate the spring thaw - the ants would show up and I was constantly on the lookout for signs of movement across the kitchen floor. We had the best success with the traps that let them carry the powder back to the nest. We also used a chemical Sevin on the outside of the foundation of the house but that stuff is pretty potent and I was nervous about it. Besides from what we understood from the people next door to us, there was a huge colony deep under their driveway that would spread over to our house. Not really possible to dig deep enough to lay the powder so we used the traps. Good luck. I used to dread the first few thaws which "woke them up".

Gotta run now - hellos to Ruth, Ellen, Ceejay and the rest of you :wave:

Happy - I'm so sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather. There are some nasty chest cold bugs going around. Take care of yourself and rest as much as possible. I'm not quite buff, but I'm definitely getting stronger. I have to keep burning some of this fat off before any of the muscles are visible - I'm a long way from having six-pack abs - still looking more like a keg! :rofl: But my trainer told me years ago that the more muscle you building using resistance training the more calories/fat you burn while you sleep! And I'm all for burning fat while I sleep! :faint: Since it will be nice today, I'll probably go for a walk at lunch with a co-worker.

di
I have always told the hubby, I am not into 6 packs, I like kegs lol. I am staring to see some definition in the tummy area. I don't have a keg anymore but I sure still have a 2 litter lol. I hope you have a great day. Everyone should have one of those once in a while.

Happy
You really have to get well. We have nice weather right around the corner and you sure don't want to miss that.

carla
Glad you made it home, safe and sound.

Melody
Nice going on the 5k and think plums.

popping in to say hello

Happy--Sorry you don't feel well. get well soon.

Mel--I'm very pleased to read that you have done the 5k.

Ah,finally some noise at the plant. The cb radio has been quite for the past hour and the plant has been down. It was beginning to get spooky around here.

You all wonder what I spend my time doing lol. Here is my latest hook rug.

Morena,

This is going to be quick. I have plaster drying in the kitchen, paint drying on the scotia, dishes drying in the bathroom and haven't had a chance to get to the washing machine yet.
Went to the gym this morning for my last work out for the week. Yaaahooo - unlike Ruth, I don't have endorphins turning me on in the gym. All I know is, thank god it is finished. Had a bit of breathing problems this morning, I daresay the plaster dust doesn't help. I think one might need a full scale astronaut helmet to keep that stuff out. It gets everywhere.

Supposed to be flying to Melbourne tomorrow but as yet have no idea which flight I am on, what time or anything else. The Frequent flyers site is down (experiencing technical difficulties for 4 days now) and I can't get to see what they have cooked up for me. Lucky I am not the panicky sort isn't it.

Mel - glad to hear you had contact with the Mum. She's right, you should not be strangers. It will give you some down time from the job, and some much needed fluid so JUST DO IT huh???
So the woman quit. Too bad how sad, tell them to up your wages since you can do it alone!!! More cash for the dash!!! 11K - if I had a spare, I'd stick it in your account. I did ring and the person said that they put that in because so many people can not transfer more than a couple of thousand dollars through the internet. I'm lucky, I can do 15K - if I had it to transfer that is!!!

Carla - welcome back. Glad to hear you had a good time. Next time I come over, we must do NY together. I don't like big cities on my own. Well that's not quite true, some big cities (obviously I didn't rate Toronto, which although I spent some magical time with Madcat and Holly, I tramped about on my own and enjoyed it. Or SF since I walked all over the place there. Only took the tram or bus when the feet threatened to go on strike).
That really is Happy's yard. I have sat quietly on that seat and watched the birds and the chipmunks but not yet seen the azalea in bloom.

Michelle - we usually only get thunderstorms during the rainy season which is November to January or there abouts. Never think of coming here for the summer season - at least not to the tropical part of Australia. The weather is crap and humidity to beat your brain around. Best time is around now - April May which is supposedly spring or September October which is supposed Autumn. We really only have two seasons - warm and dry, wet and hot.
You'd be very welcome down here. Just let me know when you want to come. And don't take too much notice of Happy's whingeing that I walk too fast - that was once only and uphill at that! And yes I climb a lot of stairs, but at the end of the holiday, I will have gained less than a pound so it all speaks for itself!

Rennie - that rug is lovely. What a nice hobby. What do you do with all the finished articles??

Gotta go, the paint brush is calling my name and telling me that time is a moving along. Off to do some more painting.

Shad, what the heck is a scotia????

Shad
In the past I gave them away as presents here and there. I have some people who just can't do them them selfs that buy the stuff for me and I do the rugs for them and then they give them as presents. Last year at our Christmas party everyone put in orders lol. I still have a bunch more to finish for Christmas presents. I have one I have been working on for years. I don't remember the exact dimensions but it is about 12 feet long and 8 feet wide I think. It goes under my dinning room table. By the time I get done with everyone else's stuff I find very little time to work on it. Same with my quilt lol. By the time I get the darn thing done we will have sold the house and moved and the rug won't go with the new house I am sure lol. Because I wanted one so huge I found one I liked and bought enough of them to make a huge rug. As I get one done it is sewn to another one and so forth and so on. Each part has a rose pattern on it. Do you ever get rid of dry wall dust. I swear I am going to breathing that stuff until the day I die or I sell this house lol.

Evening all... posting before bed. Have an early morning ALL DAY meeting tomorrow. Oh joy of my life :no: :no: :no: One of my coworkers and I decided we will sit next to each other to see who can fidget the most :lol:

Rennie - the rug is very pretty. Did you mean that you are latch hooking such a large rug for yourself (the 12 by 8 foot one) or are you doing the rag rug/braided type of thing? Thank you for the well wishes and the nicer weather you are sending our way.

Carla - I looked up definition of Nova Scotia thinking that might have something to do with it - after all it does have the word scotia in it. Nova Scotia means New Scotland. Do you think Shad is painting Scotland? Does she have the correct tartan? Will she be digging up Kirsty while she's at it? These burning questions await Shad's next visit... :s:

Speaking of painting Shad, please be careful of the plaster dust. You are about to start travelling again, can't have you being sick or getting a horrid cough on you. I think if you're doing a big job, you should use one of those filter masks. I guess I missed the part on why you'd be flying out...

And yes folks, she does walk fast - IF she's on her own. She is quite considerate of pacing herself down several gears for those who cannot keep up with her. And doesn't ridicule you either - particularly if you clutch your chest and start wheezing hard or stumble on rubbery legs :rofl:

What happened with the plant today Ceejay? Seemed like it was rather calm out today.

Michelle - I heard the same thing too - that one of the benefits of building muscles is that you increase the metabolic burn all the time since muscles are very efficient little furnaces. And they say that if the flab is covering the muscles, when you burn that away, you will be amazed at the sculpting. We can dream :cloud9:

Thank you for the healthy wishes everyone. I should get to bed now as I have to get up rather early and not enough sleep surely makes you feel a bit worse for the wear.

I won't be back until the evening. Happy Hump Day. :cool:

happy
It is a hook rug. I bought 16 hook rugs because I liked the rose pattern on them. As I get one done I attach it to another one. When it is finished it will be 4 hook rugs wide and 4 hook rugs long. Each rug is about 24x35. Finished product will be about 11 to 12 foot by 8 to 9 foot. As I recall lol. Each rug comes out a bit bigger than it would be because I hook further out to the ends and then sew them together and then hook the seem.