Quickie as usual with no time for personals although I always manage to read.

Had a wonderful time at Shirleyanne's place. She had several of the "girls" for sinner and I was amazed to see that I was the only person with white hair. The rest of them turned blonde! Must be the city water. :lol: Anyhow there were lots of laughs and some tears. I took most of yesterday "off" to regroup and think on my transgressions. I finally faced the scale this morning so my ticker is finally telling the truth. Reality sent me to the gym this morning - the knee still hurts but it may as well hurt from exercise if it's going to hurt anyhow!

Sunshine but still very cold in the morning here. This afternoon I plan to do a bit of raking on the warm side of the house. I have crocus and snowdrops and am waiting for the daffies at the Church. They are up but not in bloom yet. (My Dad and I planted them in 1997 and they are just glorious.) I think I have a picture.

Marvellous Monday to all. Do something nice for yourself today.

Mel - YOU DID THE 5K - AWESOME!!!! I'm so proud of you :hug: :hug: :hug:

Pedal power!!!!! :ebike:

Good Monday afternoon ladies --

Yesterday was really busy - between cleaning, running errands, and going to the gym. And this morning there wasn't time to post before work. But since I'm on my lunch break, I'll do a quick check in. Thanks for all your support regarding my blood tests. I won't know the results until Friday. And I think my crossed fingers will probably really start to cramp up by then. :lol:

Ellen - I agree with the other ladies. Check with the doctor to find out exactly what you should and shouldn't be doing. Take good care of yourself.

Mel - Good for you for doing the 5K!! :woohoo: The chicken recipe looks really yummy. Thanks for sharing it. Saturday was ridiculously snowy! It was awful! Luckily, none of the snow stuck to the ground. Sunday was a little warmer and no snow. And this week, we're getting spring-like weather. Yay! Thanks for the link to the America Takes it off for Summer Challenge. I'm glad you're enjoying the time with your visitors, and that they go off on their own sometimes to let you relax. Sorry that the uncle isn't as open minded about Matt's marriage. What a shame.

Shad - I'm glad to hear you're doing a bit better and getting back to your routine. I totally understand what you mean that bigger chores sometimes have to wait for more time and energy. I had hoped to get a lot more of the house and basement cleaned before my MIL comes, but I will have all but the basement done. I'm taking a 4 day weekend (Friday through Monday) to finish it off. Does heavy duty cleaning and moving furniture and storage totes count as exercise? Oh who am I kidding? I wouldn't feel right if I didn't get a good gym workout in nearly every day. I'll just have to squeeze in my workouts between cleaning frenzies. :lol: You're absolutely right about increasing the weights or intensity of your workout if it's not challenging you. I increase the cardio resistance every week or two, and increase my weights every couple weeks. I guess that means I'm getting stronger! :lol: Like you, I don't want to spend more than an hour at the gym - there's too much other stuff to do. So I have to keep increase resistance and/or intensity every so often. Or do cardio interval training, where you go really, really fast on the machine for a minute or so, then go at a normal pace for 1 to 5 minutes. And keep rotating that. It really gives a good workout in a shorter amount of time. Shad, can you REALLY see dolphins play from the beaches? Oh, wow!

CeeJay - Glad you had a nice visit with your aunt and uncle.

Happy - Can you get your allergy medicine if you go to the pharmacy window? I used to take Claritin-D, but now you can only get that by asking at the pharmacy window. It's just as well since I'm not supposed to take much decongestant due to my blood pressure. Your backyard is gorgeous! I love your azaleas and the dogwood tree! (I know what you mean about gum trees - what a mess they can be.) Thanks for the photos! Good for you for doing the 5K!! :woohoo:

Ruth - I'm glad you had a great time with Shirleyanne. I like what you said about your knee might as well hurt from exercise. I didn't exercise for the longest time because my back hurt too much. But I finally decided that if I had to take pain meds for my back anyway, I might as well exercise - and it's started to feel better. Of course, I'm not recovering from surgery so that might not be true for you. But good for you for going to the gym!

Afternoon My Friends...........

Anyone having problems with ants in their houses? I think I am going to have to bomb the house. Dang things were even in the dishwasher and bathtub.

Happy...yeah, drugs are just not what they used to be. and I hate having to go to the pharmacist to get what I need. Your flowers are just beautiful, hope they are just as nice this year.

UPS...Don't work too hard, take it easy with that PG.

Diyana...With all the exercising and running around you do you will be skin and bones before you know it. Awesome woman.

MEL...Dulcolax...hmmmmmm, are you full of poo? I can go a few times a day for you. Not a problem.

The weather is supposed to get warmer and warmer this week. 60s & 70s by the weekend altho 'scattered' rain. I can handle the rain as long as it is warm out. The stuff that turns to flurries is what erks me. Hopefully it won't rain much and I can take Hella dog for a walk.

Happy Monday Everyone.

Love and Hugs

Hi Annie - I hate ants! Ugh! We've had good success with ant traps. But using an ant bomb should work even better. You don't have pet birds or fish or anything like that - they wouldn't survive a bomb, which is why we don't use the bombs. Thanks for the nice compliment, you put a great big smile on my face. I've got quite awhile before I'm skin and bones though...but I'm really pleased with the results I'm seeing so far.

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.

A scotia is the bit of decoration that covers where the wall joins the ceiling. In Canada I think you call them crown mouldings - at least that is what Mike Holmes (Holmes on Homes) calls them. I like that man. I always watch his show. It's not renovation that I would tackle, but I love how fussy he is about joins, tiles matching, waterproofing and how strongly he feels about shoddy workmanship. We would not get on, because I would be too slow for him!!!

No I am not painting Scotland - I couldn't get the right tartan paint. I was looking for the Fraser tartan (to which my mothers family in some dim, dark and distant time belonged) and not Black Watch or Stewart (Kirsty's variety)
I was going to attach some pics but the site is taking so long to upload that I could have painted a wall in the kitchen already. So if you want to know about tartans go to google and type in the name of the tartan. If you click on images, you will see what I am looking at.

A scotia is the bit of decoration that covers where the wall joins the ceiling. In Canada I think you call them crown mouldings - at least that is what Mike Holmes (Holmes on Homes) calls them. I like that man. I always watch his show. It's not renovation that I would tackle, but I love how fussy he is about joins, tiles matching, waterproofing and how strongly he feels about shoddy workmanship. We would not get on, because I would be too slow for him!!!
The bit of timber between the wall and the floor is called a skirting. Do NOT ask me why. :rofl:

No I am not painting Scotland - I couldn't get the right tartan paint. I was looking for the Fraser tartan (to which my mothers family in some dim, dark and distant time belonged) and not Black Watch or Stewart (Kirsty's variety)
I was going to attach some pics but the site is taking so long to upload that I could have painted a wall in the kitchen already. So if you want to know about tartans go to google and type in the name of the tartan. If you click on images, you will see what I am looking at.

A scotia is the bit of decoration that covers where the wall joins the ceiling. In Canada I think you call them crown mouldings - at least that is what Mike Holmes (Holmes on Homes) calls them. I like that man. I always watch his show. It's not renovation that I would tackle, but I love how fussy he is about joins, tiles matching, waterproofing and how strongly he feels about shoddy workmanship. We would not get on, because I would be too slow for him!!!
The bit of timber between the wall and the floor is called a skirting. Do NOT ask me why. :rofl:

No I am not painting Scotland - I couldn't get the right tartan paint. I was looking for the Fraser tartan (to which my mothers family in some dim, dark and distant time belonged) and not Black Watch or Stewart (Kirsty's variety)
I was going to attach some pics but the site is taking so long to upload that I could have painted a wall in the kitchen already. So if you want to know about tartans go to google and type in the name of the tartan. If you click on images, you will see what I am looking at.

Ok, so then it's not just my Internet connection that I suspected to be slow, but the site itself. Not just this thread either, sometimes the main page never loads properly.

Interesting Shad how we have such different names for the same things. We call both top and bottom - moulding. Crown moulding is the thicker, wider stuff at the top as opposed to the smaller half or quarter round that you sometimes find. And I suppose if you think out the logic, if the "crown" is up top, than "skirting" should be lower (on the floor). Who comes up with these terms? :chin: :dizzy: :lol: I daresay you wouldn't be too slow, just meticulous and if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing right. Particularly in home renovations which will come to "bite you" if you don't do them properly.

That's going to be quite a rug when you finish Rennie. And darned heavy too, but sounds as if it will be quite pretty. Where in the world did you find 16 kits of the same type?

Well my coffee is finished and I need to pop in the shower and get off to work shortly. No one is looking forward to this all day meeting except the managers who will be yakking. Supposed to be one of those things where they promote good communications between the royalty and the serfs :lol:

Have a good one peeps. I realize now I wished everyone a happy hump day yesterday and it's really today. Oh well, 2 in one week can't be all that bad :rofl:

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I took advantage of the spring-like weather we had yesterday by going for a couple walks (one at lunch and one after work). Ahhh. Sunshine and temps near 60. Today is supposed to be a little warmer and then it's supposed to get colder and rainy. :P I hope at least some of this weekend will be nice.

Rennie - That's a gorgeous rug!! You hook rugs and quilt! You are very talented! It seems like a great hobby/craft. Is it hard to learn or just hard to learn how to do well? I'd love to make myself a rug, but then I'd be upset if anyone walked on it because I worked so hard on it. :lol: I REALLY like your "I have time" to exercise and eat right statements on your signature! YGG!

Shad - Anyone who says there aren't enough hours in the day needs to learn how you spend your time! You get so much accomplished! I'm in awe! Please pay heed to Happy's suggestion about a mask. You don't want to get junk in your lungs and get sick. What is the trip to Melbourne for - business or pleasure? I hope you have an enjoyable trip! Thanks for the travel tips and for the invite. DH and I will take you up on it, but like I said, it'll be a few years before we get there. :) I totally agree with you about Holmes on Homes - I like how meticulous he is too.

Happy - Sorry to hear you have an early ALL DAY meeting. Those can be SO draining! Hang in there. I am always amazed to see you up and posting after 11 pm. I'm definitely not a night owl. I fall asleep by 10, no matter what. Then I get up at 5:15 to start my day. As for building muscles, I really look forward to more of this flab burning off so I can see more muscle definition results. Right now, I only really see it when I flex my biceps. :lifter: I hope someday my triceps stop waving and flapping :wave: And that I get at least a little definition in my upper and lower abs. Right now, I've got rolls and pouches, but they'll get smaller with time.

Well, got to get to work! I hope everyone has a great day!

Hugs,

POST #1(HAVEN'T READ THE NEXT PAGE YET)

:welcome: BACK CARLA~ I THINK I SAW YOU WAVING...I WAVED BACK. THESE KIDS ARE GREAT. AND BACK HERE TODAY. GLAD THE TRIP WENT WELL AND YOU HAD A GREAT TIME :hug:

MICHELLE~ GLAD WE WERE BOTH IN GOOD MOODS YESTERDAY AND MINE TOO WAS FROM THE WEATHER PREDICTION :rofl: HOPE YOUR WEEKEND GOES THE WAY WE BOTH WANT IT TO!!! :cheer2: GOOD LUCK WITH THE WORK PROJECTS!!

:hug: HAPPY :hug: HOPE YOU ARE FEELING BETTER THIS MORNING. WHEN I READ YOUR POST THE FIRST THING THAT JUMPED INTO MY HEAD WAS: WHERE DO YOU PUT THE CLOTHES YOU WEAR WHEN YOU VISIT THE POUND? AND DO YOU CHANGE RIGHT AWAY WHEN YOU COME HOME? JUST SOMETHING THAT PASSED THRU THIS OVERWORKED MIND! :lol3: OF COURSE I KNOW HOW I FEEL WITH SPRING IN THE "AIR" WE ARE ALL BREATHING NOW!!! :dizzy:

RENNIE~ CONGRATS ON THE HOOK RUG!! VERY BEAUTIFUL. I USED TO DO RUGS OUT OF HERRSHNER'S CATALOG. NOT SURE OF THE SPELLING. VERY NICE RUG AND CONGRATS ON THE 5K TOO!!

SHAD~ LAUGHING AT THE 15K :rofl: :rofl: GOOD LUCK ON THE MELBOURNE RUN!!! WAS THINKING OF YOU YESTERDAY AND SOME OF MY 3FC SISTERS. TRIED TO BEHAVE ACCORDINGLY AND BE STRONG WHEN ASKED FOR MORE FAVORS. I THINK I DID A GOOD JOB DIRECTING THEM AWAY FROM MYSELF. HOPE EVERYTHING THAT IS WET IN YOUR KITCHEN SUCCESSFULLY DRIED AND LOOKS GREAT!! :cheer:

POST #@

I GOOGLED SCOTIA AND FOUND OUT IT CAN MEAN THE "MILLWORK PERTAINING TO A STAIRWAY AND ALSO THE OLDE NAME FOR IRELAND!! :rofl: SO I AM GLAD SHAD HAS CLEARED UP THIS LITTLE DILEMMA IN ALL THREE OF HER POSTS :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:cofdate: GOOD MORNING MISS HAPPY AND HOPE THE ALL DAY MEETING GOES QUICKLY BY!! HAPPY HUMPING TO YOU ALSO!!!

MICHELLE~ ENJOY THE SUNNY WEATHER :sunny:

WELL LADIES I HAVE AGAIN SURVIVED ANOTHER ELECTION AND ALL THAT THAT CAN ENTAIL. IF PEOPLE DID THEIR JOBS RIGHT....HOW MUCH EASIER MY END OF IT WOULD BE. ONE VVERY GOOD THING THAT CAME OUT OF IT WAS A LOT OF NV'S!! BECAUSE OF MY BD PARTY THAT I HAD LAST MONT, A LOT OF PEOPLE ASKED ME TO CONMFIRM MY 61 YEARS. EVERYONE THOUGHT THEY HAD GOTTEN BAD INFORMATION FROM MY "FRIENDS". THE ONES ASKING MY AGE ARE SOME OF THEM...YOUNGER AND THE OTHERS ARE MY AGE. I DON'T LOOK LIKE ANY OF THEM :rofl: :rofl: MUST BE THE GOOD LIFE!!! I TOLE THEM ALL AGE IS ONLY A NUMBER IN YOUR MIND AND THAT I LOST MY MIND A LONG TIME AGO...ERGO I HAVEN'T ANY NUMBERS IN MINE :rofl: I HAVE TO SAY I LOOKED GOOD YESTERDAY WEARING A MORE FORM FITTING TOP AND PANTS. BUT A LOT OF IT IS REALLY "ATTITUDE". YOU ARE WHAT YOU FEEL.
ALL IN ALL A VERY SUCCESSFUL ELECTION DAY. :D
I HAVE SOME ODDS AND ENDS AND PEOPLE IN THE BLDG TO THANK AND THEN THE REST OF THE WEEK SHOULD BE MINE....ALL MIND!!!
THE KIDS ARE DUE TODAY. AND HAVE "TRAVEL PLANS" .
THE WEATHER WILL ACCOMMODATE THEM. JEN AND RICHIE CAME INTO TOWN FOR A QUICK VISIT. JEN LOOKS VERY WELL AND EVEN MORE WELL RESTED. DAD IS ON A CRUISE. :rofl: RICHIE'S KIDS ARE COMING IN JUNE FOR SURE FOR THE SUMMER. DAD HAS TOLD JEN HE WANTS THEM ALL TO STAY WITH HIM AND TOSSED OUT THE GF'S VISITING DAUGHTER AND HER KIDS :lol3: YES CHICKS....THE DRAMA CONTINUES. I THINK IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT SOAP OPERA.
HAVE A GREAT DAY. I HAVE REPORTS TO MAKE AND I AM OVERDUE. LOVE TO ALL. :moped:

Happy Hump Day and it is almost Friday!! Yippee

The weather here is getting better and better. Today sunny and 70, gonna take a walk at lunch, if I can find a walking partner. Won't go by myself since the mugging incident.

Diyana...Heard it was supposed to be 70 in Milwaukee today. You anywhere near that?

Shy...great job on the 4 mile mall walk....funny about passing your hubby up and chatting.

MEL...Speaking of poo. I left my poo DNA at home twice this morning before work, then at the Speedway gas station, the McDonalds, DD work, then at my work. THat is what I get for not pooing for a couple of days. Had to change my panties too. I had poo issues before bariatric surgery so can't blame it entirely on that. I like to never got to work on time. haha

Shad...I will try the antsand you mentioned. The couple of the dang things were on my bed last night. Now I draw the line.

Carla...Welcome back from NY.

Happy...sorry you are under the weather. Hope you get to feeling better real soon. Sleep always helps me too.

A co-worker brought me a tupperware dish of cut and cleaned rasberries, blueberries, grapes and strawberries, so I guess I will try them out. Not sure with the poo issues, but they look to good to resist. Especially all I have to do is eat them. Yum. She is now my favorite co-worker. hehe.

Hello to everyone, have a great Wednesday.

Love and Hugs

Mel - Glad to hear you survived another election day, and tax day to boot! That's great you got so many compliments and NV's. YGG!

Annie - Yes, I live and work within 1/2 hour of Milwaukee, and I heard that the temp might get up to 70 today. The wind will be blowing hard, but it should be a really nice day. I will probably walk on my lunch hour and after work and enjoy the sunshine!

I have caught up, and started to post, but DH got in my way and I lost it. will catch you all up later!

Luv and Hugs

Can't figure out why I have 3 posts all the same, however it was not performing well yesterday. Very, very slow to load and to post. Maybe I got over excited and thought it hadn't happened and did it again, maybe it was something to do with cancelling the picture I was uploading - who knows. But I certainly hope you all got the message!!! Such erudite words too.

I'm off to Melbourne in a short while, so this will be short as I still have to shower and get ready for a place where you get four seasons in one day and today their max temp is supposed to be a whole 19C. It will probably rain and blow as well.

I'm in meetings all day too Happy and I have no idea where they have put me up for the night. I am at this point not too impressed with the organisation so far, but now that I am on board, I'm sure things will improve!!!!
Hope your all day meeting is not too boring. You are probably going to be told to increase output because the firm is coping with intermittent cash flow and therefore you will have to work more for less and not expect a remuneration increase because of the outside factors. They will then ask for ideas for improvement because they are bereft of any and any little thing that your brain cells may come up with will either be consigned to the bin or thought a great idea along which lines they had already been thinking. You have just expanded the horizons.
See now why I say I am unemployable??

Okay - better go get in the shower and make like I am interested. DS2 is taking me into the airport. He came home from work sick yesterday and is not going in today. Both low beam headlight bulbs blew on my car Tuesday night and I got replacements yesterday so he will be able to fix them while I am away. Unfortunately that means he may have to curtail Fridays social life to come pick me up. Oh dear.

I may not be back before Friday night. I have no idea where I am going to be and what I am going to be doing. So look after yourselves and don't forget to sweat it.

:wave: BYE SHADDIE :cry: :cry: :cry:

Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day......

Beats the heck outta "Shebang" song going thru my head this morning. Isn't that Ricky Martin.....yikes...

75 and Sunny here today. Too bad I am at work, however will get some walkin in at lunch.

Going to dinner and bowling with DDs work group tonight. Kind of a younger crowd, however they invited me to go, so I am....

Have a marvelous day today.

Love and Hugs,

Annie

Happy Thursday everyone --

It's an especially terrific Thursday for me as I have tomorrow and Monday off! Not going anywhere special just getting the house in order for MIL's arrival next Wednesday, working out, seeing the doc about my blood test results (fingers crossed for that one). Sometimes it's nice to take a bit longer weekend to get more things done at a less chaotic pace than trying to cram everything into just a 2 day weekend.

Shad - I hope the meetings in Melbourne go well. And I'm sure you will greatly improve the organization's efficiency and effectiveness! You quite accurately described many of the meetings I attend! I guess business in the States isn't much different than business in Australia. Of course, workers in most other parts of the world have more vacation than just the two weeks that is standard here.


I do have a very busy day to get through today before the long weekend. I hope everyone is doing well!

Big hugs,

Morning all,

I am very sad today. Mr. Feral is a wild tabby cat that has been hanging around our house pretty much since the day we moved in. Over the years we have had an arm's length relationship. We feed him and give him a cat bed on the porch and he has trusted us enough to hang around a bit and look at us with his soulful eyes. Our cat Boo hisses at him because he cuffed her in the face once when she decided to fight him and she doesn't understand why we don't chase him out of "her" yard. When she sees him she runs next door or sits on the fence and waits for him to leave. Mr. Feral is an old guy and his glory days are long past him. At this point he's an old man looking for a morsel of food, a drink of milk and a soft blanket. Very often I wake up to see him curled on the blanket snoozing away on the porch. He was there yesterday morning as usual. I got his food together and was surprised that he didn't move from the blanket when I opened the door. The closest we can get to him is about 2 feet away. I set the food down on the patio and came back in. He got out of bed but was hobbling horridly. It appears that his front leg is broken. I called DH but there is nothing much we can do. We can't get near him and if we tried to catch him with a towel or something, he would probably hurt himself more trying to get away. He ate and drank and hobbled away yesterday. No sign of him today. I am really worried. We have raccoons and other roaming cats that are much bigger than he is. I'm afraid that this is the end for him. I hate to see him suffer so and it's just eating away at me. But I know there's nothing we can really do - even if we were to put a tranquilizer in his food, he doesn't hang around long enough for it to work - he'd just pass out someplace else. DH was going to call the vet today to see if they had any suggestions but I kind of think we won't be seeing the cat again. I'm just so bummed... :(

Sorry for not doing personals today.

Happy
So sorry to hear about Mr Feral.

This week has not been a good one. More L issue's. I've called her bluff on some of her "white lies". I'm trying to get her to see that I do not rely on the boss to do every little thing for me. I'll leave it at that. No I'm not still training her.

I've set the laptop to be wireless, but not sure exactly how this works. I still need to ask the Dell rep some questions.

Sorry no time for personal's. I've a busy week end. This is my short week end and I am having to go to Paragould for a funeral. My cousin's daughter who had Down's syndrome passed away last week.

HAPPY MY HEART IS BREAKING FOR YUOU AND MR FERAL. LIFE IN THE "WILD" IS SO SAD. SENDING A HUG :hug: FOR ALL OF YOU. JUST THINK HOW MANY GOOD DAYS HE HAD BECAUSE OF YOU AND ERIC CARING. HE WAS BLESSED WHEN YOU MOVED IN.

CEEJAY~ I AM SO VERY SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE DEATH. :hug: MY CONDOLENCES TO BOTH YOU AND THE FAMILY. SORRY FOR THE WORK ISSUES ALSO. I WAS HOPING THAT SITUATION WOULD IMPROVE.

ANNIE~ ENJOY :beach: SUNSHINE, LOLLIPOPS AND RAINBOWS....LA LA LA

MICHELLE~ I WILL BE CLEANING WITH YOU FOR A VISITOR THAT WILL COME AROUND MAY 9TH FROM AUSTRALIA. SO WE WILL KEEP EACH OTHER COMPANY THIS WEEKEND! :rofl:

THIS DAY IS GORGEOUS. MY KIDS ARE STILL OUT AT THE FIL'S HOUSE AND THE OTHERS ARE IN NYC FOR THE DAY.
ALL OF THEM ARE GOING MALL SHOPPING TOGETHER TOMORROW AND THEN MY VISITORS WILL LEAVE. THEY ARE MUCH HAPPIER HERE AND I TOLD THEM BOTH...THE LESS SAID THE BETTER AND TO WASH IT OUT OF THEIR MINDS WITH GOOD MEMORIES OF THEIR TRIP. I THINK TODAY IS CHINA TOWN AND LOTS OF MUSEUMS!
I AM GRILLING CHICKEN TO MAKE WITH SALAD FOR A LITE DINNER IF THEY ARE HUNGRY TONITE.
ALL IS WELL HERE BUT I WILL BE GLAD TO HAVE THE APT TO MYSELF FOR A FEW SHORT WEEKS AGAIN. :faint:
:WAVE: TO ALL OUR MISSING CHICKS AND OUR TRAVELING SHADDIE :wave:
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

Happy - I'm so sorry to hear about the kitty. You and Eric are so good and such loving caregivers - caring for him for so long. Hopefully, he'll be okay.

CeeJay - sorry about your family's loss. And I'm sorry you're having more co-worker problems. :hug:

Mel - A visitor from Australia? I thought Shad was going to Jakarta - i didn't know she was coming to see you!! :rofl:

Talk to you tomorrow ladies!

:grouphug:

Oh not not me Michelle, I only go over once in a couple of years to beat you lot about the heads and tell you what is what.

This connection is not good so I'm only going to be here for a short while. I've already lost it once this morning.

Ceejay, so sorry to hear of the death of your cousins daughters passing. My thoughts are with you.

Happy - poor Mr Feral. So sad when the end comes and it is not a happy one for these poor creatures. You are a good person to have looked after him for so long. He may return, but as you say, there is little that can be done apart from ringing the ASPCA if he does turn up again and getting them to take him away. Better than the other fate.

Gotta go, before I lose it again. Back home tonight - tell you all about it then. Back to the TNA

MICHELLE~ SHAD WALSK SOFTLY BUT ALWAYS CARRIES A BIG OL' WHOPPING STICK :rollpin: SO WATCH OUT ON HER NEXT TRIP OVER HERE...I'LL GIVE YOU LOTS OF WARNING :lol3: :lol3:
IT IS MY FRIEND MARIE FROM RYDALMERE. SHE USED TO BE MY UPSTAIRS NEIGHBOR MANY YEARS AGO AND WE HAVE NEVER LOST TOUCH.

SHAD~ TOO BAD ABOUT THE CONNECTION. I AM THINKING DO YOU HAVE A SPARE MO THIS WEEKEND?

:cofdate: I HAVE BEEN GIVEN AN EARLY MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT. THE KIDS BOUGHT ME A MONTH OF NS FOOD, THE BOOK AND A GIFT CARD FOR THE SUPERMARKET FOR MY FRESH FOODS. WE WON'T BE SHARING COOKING CHORES FOR AWHILE IF THEY STAY WHERE THEY ARE, SO THE TWO OF THEM CAME UP WITH THIS PLAN. :hun: I AM READY FOR A NEW MONTH! EVERYTHING IS ON IT'S WAY VIA UPS PARCEL SERVICE. I AM KIND OF EXCITED. THE DR HAD SAID I COULD RETRY THAT PROGRAM BUT THE NEW AMERICAN VERSION NOT INTERNATIONAL. I'M GOING TO THE STORE IN THE MORNING TO GET A FEW WW DINNERS TO TIDE ME OVER AND THE KIDS TOOK THE FREEZER STUFF WHEN THEY LEFT. THIS MOM WILL BE A LADY OF LEISURE FOR A MONTH. :beach: THE OTHER KIDS ARE EATING IN NYC SO I AM OFF TO PEDAL AND SHOWER :moped: