CEEJAY...I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY ONLY GAVE YOU TWO DAYS OFF! I WOULD NEED A WEEK! MAKE THE BEST OF THEM!!

Grrr - just read the ticker again. I should really turn them off!!!!

Ruth - One good thing about Cushings is that it is not fatal. It's just there. Doesn't seem to cause any distress although there is adrenaline racing around the system. But Shad had that for 4 or more years, probably even longer before we decided something was wrong. Never affected his enthusiasm for life and loved ones either. Actually it was probably why he had the enthusiasm for life and loved ones.
Poor Hershey. Such a magnificent animal, she will look somewhat incognito with no coat to speak of. Lucky it is summer over there.

Still no Go-advanced on my machine. I must have pissed the gods off or something. Anyway, I'll do it a different way to get to the personals

Happy - lordy, it's not easy with this pool is it. Summer will be well gone by the time it gets finished. And now a new pool pump??? Well everything has a life cycle I suppose and no doubt the pump is fairly old. Nothing lasts for ever and they don't make 'em like they used to. Pity the DS2 wasn't there because he always has wondrous ways to mend things - never takes dead for an answer. I've seen him staring into space over a problem with a leak in his house until he comes up with about 5 different options. At least one will always work. Should have been an engineer. Not a civil one - he's not always that polite.
Hope the new orthotics are just as comfy but not as wide. Good service sure is hard to get down there. I hope the diabetes nurse was a good deal more tactful than she sounded from your post. Still sometimes the blunt way is the only way. Hurrah for glucophage!!!!

Patty - good to have you back. Sometimes it is difficult to fit everything into the day. Good for you keeping up with the study and 2 workouts a week is better than no work outs a week.

Mel - Good ol' Jimmy. Letting people know that you are not 100% fit and never will be again unfortunately. We must all learn to live with our disabilities and not fight them - apart from Alzheimers. Keep the brain busy before that takes hold for heavens sake. Bombs on the construction site huh! Well stranger things have been known to happen from time to time. Time outside is also precious because you need as much Vit D from the sun as you can get before autumn dashes in and takes it all away again.

Annie - you garden does sound nice. I'm dying to get home and see how my lettuces and tomates were doing. They are all in pots this year although we are now allowed to water once a week (dams are now 40% full) Heck we can even wash the car again (on Sundays)
Salsa in December, now won't that look nice and festive on a Christmas plate. Oh drat there is that word again.
Congrats on the DS getting his new vocation. Hope it all works out satisfactorily for him.

Michelle - have fun at the State Fair. Sometimes you can ripen tomatoes but picking a truss - several on the vine - and putting them on the windowsill in a warm spot. I've done many of mine like that when it came to end of season in NZ and it wasn't warm enough to finish them off outside. They still taste absolutely delicious - so different from the storebought variety.

Ceejay - not sure whether I am going to the Orchid Park or not yet. I'm going to ring a work colleague and see if he is going to go and whether I can join him and his girlfriend.
I agree with Ruth - you should either get paid at time and a half for the 12 hour days or only be doing 4 days a week. That's the way it works down here. My DS does 12 hour days sometimes for 6 or 7 days. He takes the extra money rather than time in lieu. Mainly because he knows he will never get the time off. The HR dept nags because he has so much leave accrued and the bosses won't let him take time off because there is too much work to do! Catch 22.

Okay - as I said, I haven't seen or heard from Pieter and his lady friend as to whether they are going to the Orchid Park. I really don't want to go there on my own because of the beggars and hawkers and other low life who are bound to congregrate in the places tourists are likely to be. I don't know that Geoff - other colleague would be that interested. I should ask but he is bound to be working because he is so far behind. I know he is doing UAT late this afternoon. Please don't ask me to elucidate on UAT - User Acceptance Testing - it's long, it's involved and it is boring.

So no doubt tomorrow I can tell you whether or not I have been to the gardens.

And that is about it for now. No answer to the phone call to Pieter. He must be out and about. Aaah well never mind.

cya

OOOHHH GOODIE!! I GET TO POST RIGHT UNDER YOU NOW TOO!! YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY HAPPY LITTLE TICKERS! HOPE SOMEOPNE WAS GOING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE ORCHID PARK! GOOD THING YOU DIDN'T EXPLAIN THE UAT....I PROLLY WOULDN'T HAVE UNDERSTOOD ANYWAY! YES JI,MMY NAGGED ME FOR 3 DAYS. EVERY TIME I WENT TO DO SOMETHING HE WOULD BELLOW FROM BEHIND "YOUR ARM!!!" CAN'T SAY IT WAS GOOD FOR THE HEART RATE...HE KEPT SCARING ME! TOLD HIM SO AND HE SAID GOOD..."MAYBE YOU'LL REMEMBER THEN". BAD JIMMY ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

WE HAD A WHOPPER OF A THUNDERSTORM YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. I WAS IN THE LOO BLOWDRYING MY HAIR. GUESS THE THUNDER GOT TOO LOUD FOR THE GS...HE TRIED TO FLY INTO THE BATHROOM I GUESS AND HE ENDED UP ON THE FLOOR UNBEKNOWNST TO ME...I TURNED THE CHAIR AND JUST SAW HIM IN TIME! I AM GOING TO HAVE TO KEEP A BETTER EYE ON THE FLOOR BEFORE WE HAVE A SQUISHED BIRDIE. I WOULD NEVER FORGIVE MYSELF
OK...TIME FOR BREKKIE AND THEN MAYBE A SHORT RIDE.
HAPPY SATURDAY/SUNDAY

UAT!!!! Oy! That brings back memories which I've been trying to forget for the last ten years of retirement!

Quickie as we're off to the groomer for ten. I am going to carry on to Smiths Falls and check out the Farmers Market - and the farmers, of course. :wink: "Local Flavours" is the big thing around here and I try to buy locally. However, one of the grocery stores has NJ blueberries at three pints for $5 so.... I hope to pick up my scalped Hershey on the way home.

We finally have a day with no rain predicted - the first in weeks! Enjoy!

Morning
I'm going to have a good pay check this week with 55 hours overtime. One more day and hopefully nothing drastic will happen today. I've already called Tim because one of the elevated tanks had air in the guage and giving a false reading. It started last night. Told Tim this morning I made a boo boo. The stand by person's for both water and electric are suppose to call on Friday's. They didn't and I forgot to call them. That's been taken care of now.

Ruth
Enjoy your day. I've been reading your blog.

Morning chicks,

I spent most of my computer time this morning cleaning up email and now DH needs some help so I don't have time to post. Will be back later... Happy Saturday. Make the most of it.

Morning all,
Sunday and nothing much is happening here.

I went to a barbeque last night at the home of one of the expats in the office. They sure do well for themselves up here. The house is huge with acres of glass sliding walls and has everything else that opens and shuts. There is maid/ cleaner, a nanny, a groundsman to cut the grass and open and shut the gates, and a poolman. The pool is beautiful. Everywhere you go in this city there is the sound of the muzzein calling the faithful to prayer. Supposed to be five times a day, but since it seems to goes on forever, I suspect the only time they are not wailing is when the faithful are at prayer.

Didn't get to the Orchid gardens. Haven't heard from P and I think his lady friend went home either early this morning or late last night. They weren't at the barbeque.

Mel - Surrounded by tickers - ooooh aaaaah, let me out of here. And to compound the insult, someone last night asked me what I was doing for Christmas this year - AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHH - how would I know, I spend all year avoiding the issue.

Because I don't have all email addies here with me, I'm going to put an email from the NZ police on here. Read and heed.
Courtesy of NZ Police


A lady had her handbag stolen. Her handbag which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet... etc... was stolen.

20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago.'

When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.

Moral of the lesson: Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mum, etc.... And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked for through texts, CONFIRM by calling back. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.

Wish I was going to the Smith Falls Market with Ruth. Hope Hershey doesn't get too traumatised with the fur styling.

Ceejay - Don't go spending all the overtime in one shop. Leave some for a rainy day. Bet you are looking forward to your day off.

Hope everyone else is having a super weekend. I'm off to work, then a swim, then work again. It makes the day go by.

Happy - hope DH doesn't make you work too hard out there in the heat and humidity

RUTH....NJ BLUEBERRIES ARE 2/$5 HERE AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS CHEAP! I'L HAVE TO START BUYING PRODUCE UP BY YOU! HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT DAY AND HERSHEY WAS OK TOO!

CEEJAY...I'LL BE RIGHT DOWN TO HELP YOU CARRY ALL THAT MONEY!! BET THE CHECK IS GONNA BE REAL HEAVY!! ENJOY EVERY PENNY!

TO OUR MISS HAPPY!

SHAD....GOOD LESSON LEARNED WITH THE CEL PHONE. THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP. MAYBE I CAN GET A JOB IN JAKARTA!! WOW!! THEY GET SOME NICE LIFE THERE. BUT IS IT FUN LIVING THERE? SOUNDS A BIT TOO CROWDED FOR ME IN THE STREETS MAYBE P AND THE GF WANTED SOME ALONE TIME.

GOOD MORNING CHICKS OF THE WORLD. I COULD GO RIGHT BACK TO BED THIS MORNING
I JUST FEEL SLEEPY. MUST BE THE APPROACHING STORM WEIGHING HEAVY ON THE SINUSES. THIS WEEKEND HAS BEEN EXCEPTIONALLY QUIET EXCEPT FOR SMOKE ALARMS. FRIDAY NIGHT HAD 3 IN A ROW. EVERYONME WAS OUTSIDE AND WE HAD A WALKER BRIGADE. EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE TO WALK AROUND THE BLDG ON WEEKENDS AND NIGHTS I ENCOURAGE THEM TO GET THEIR BUTTS OUTSIDE. THEY HAVE TO PASS MY WINDOW TO GET THERE SO I HEAR ALL THE WHEELS AND SCRAPING NOISES GOING ON....THIS WAY I KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE GETTING OUT
I HAD BETTER TRY AND GET MYSELF ARISED AND SHINED AND FED.
HAPPY SUNDAY / MONDAY

Quickie as I need to pull the body and brain together for Church.

Mel, I lied! The blueberries are Canadian - from B.C. Usually we get them from NJ but the season has finally moved north. They are excellent - not a soft one in the pint.

Thanks for the warning, Shad. I've passed it on as it sure sounds real.

Ceejay, whew! I am relieved that you get paid for all that overtime. Enjoy!

Happy, thought of you and your avatar yesterday when I looked at and rejected some absolutely pallid watermelon. What were they thinking?

Hershey is now nearly bald after her session with the groomer. Poor girly! She crawled up on the couch with me last night for a major cuddle. Usually she just rests her head on my knee. She will not making any public appearances until the fur grows back. Keith wanted to give her a second bath after the shearing but she was too tired so we will do that Monday.

Church this morning, some house stuff and then noonish Disney and I are off to Kingston for her class. I hope for a little "me" time this afternoon.

Happy SUnday - it's supposed to be a day of rest, remember?

Hi y'all,

Happy Sunday. As Ruth says should be a day of rest but who are we kidding?

Ruth - yesterday I cut into a watermelon I picked up at the farmer's market. Was pallid in color but wonderful in smell. I was surprised that it was yummy delicious. Would not have thought so just from the color. I think in general it's an odd season for fruits and vegetables due to the unusual weather we've had.

Walker brigade Mel? Not to be disrepectful, but that's kind of a funny visual. I guess it is good to get them in the habit of not only moving but actually going through the motions of getting out of the building. Don't want to have "I'm confused, I've never done this before, whadduhIdo" in a real emergency. I'm glad you are on patrol. Hope this is quiet for quiet's sake and not the lull before the storm It's very gray here too - we're just on the leading tip of the rain so I can understand the sleepies you are feeling. That ticker seems be going in overdrive. Seems like we jumped fast from 150 days to 130's. Of course as we get nearer to September the days seem to run faster to the end of the year.

Shad, big fancy house or not, doesn't sound like Jakarta and it's pollution would be where I'd want to be. Also wouldn't want to be praying 5 times a day either, but that's just me. Thanks for the tip on the cell phone - good idea. It's also why DH and I do not text. I would never give personal info via a text. But I'm sure people who text all the time wouldn't think twice about it. I told DH this story and he said his first reaction would be "Geez, YOU were the one who picked the pin, how could you forget it?" Then I reminded him about that thing called senior moments... Funny you mentioned UAT on Friday - I had a long, long discussion on that with some of my fellow team members on Friday. Must have been national UAT day -

Ceejay - wow - 55 hours of O.T. hope that you have some money left to yourself for all your work. Sounds like half of it will go to taxes. We used to figure the exact amount of hours we could put in before it bumped us into a tax bracket where more of it went to the government than in our pockets. Hope you rested up on your 2 days off. As for the TSH level, mine tends to be towards the lower side just within the acceptable range. Doc lowered my meds to 137 micrograms last year then boosted them back up to 150 at my last visit in July.

Still laughing at the Love My Miller Light ditty every time I think of it Annie

Hope you are having a nice weekend Michelle. Back to just you and the DH again. Must seem kind of quiet even though I know how much you enjoy having your MIL around. As summer winds down, hope you have a good weekend to get out and play.

Hello Patty, Shy

Yesterday we cut down some tree branches. One hit DH's leg and gave him a good scratch and banged up his poor toe. I was holding the outside end of the tree while he cut so I was ok. New pool liner is in. We are filling up the pool with the garden hose. Hard to believe but it does the job. They are coming back tomorrow to install the lights and drain openings and finish up. No word on the cement guys but guess what pool people, no check for the rest of the money due until ALL work is done Can you believe those guys just left 2 huge holes in the patio with no word of returning

I slept in this weekend, going to be hard to get back in gear of in bed by 9:30 or 10 tonight in order to make it to the health club at 5:30. I am trying very hard to get at least 7 hours of sleep at night. Going to be a busy week this week - lots of things going on - health club 3 mornings, Tuesday morning is the Perseids meteor shower - especially good viewing just before sunrise so I want to get up at 4am Tuesday and check it out. Oh wait, I just realized they are talking rain. We ALWAYS get clouds for any celestial event Tuesday at 5 I have an appointment with the nutritionist and I start my diabetes program on Tuesdays and Thursdays this week. So it will take some careful planning.

I did gain back 3 pounds. It is my own fault, I slacked on the water and wasn't tracking my food as well as I should have. I know this is temporary and I can probably remedy the situation today just by increasing the water and dropping any sugared drinks today. Lesson learned, I will do better going forward.

It's rainy looking today so it's a good day to stay in, do laundry, cleaning and planning out the week's meals. I'm hoping to make just a quick dash to the store to just pick up a meat or two and some perishables. Trying to cut down on the grocery bill and waste as well as use what I have on hand.

Better get rolling. Have a good rest of the day ladies. Shad is already asleep at this point.

Oh and what's with this country? I was looking on Yahoo tracking some of the Olympics coverage. They have a profile for each country. For the United States of America under national language it says NONE. Isn't ENGLISH our national language????? That just ticks me off to no end.

Shad
Wow a glass house! I'd hate to be the one who does the windows.

Happy
I'm taking 125mg of synthroid and my tsh level is with in range but boderline. The stress of working these long hours plays a toll too. I'm asking the doctor about it when I go back in September.

Mel
Your arm better be well enough to carry all this money.

I'm not sure what the schedule will be for next week. I'm suppose to go back on Tuesday and I'm suggesting we go to 8 hour shifts. I can not handle any more of this.

Happy Sunday Evening Chick a Dees......

What a busy weekend....Goddaughter went into labor on Friday morning, and still had not had the baby by Saturday morning as Laura would not dialate past 3, so they took her C-section. Little Fiesty OLIVA ANNE came into the world weighing 7lbs 1oz, head full of dark hair, long eyelashes, and tanned. Both Laura and Bob are part Italian, it is no wonder OLIVIA ANNE is tanned. Yes, ANNE....hmmmm, wonder where that name came from. hehehe.

DD, Samantha, was in a wedding last night, she looked as pretty as the bride. Maybe a little biased, but I do think she looked beautiful. They served beer (Miller and Miller Lite, to stick with the ditty) and wine only, and the building was smoke free, therefore quite enjoyable.

Took me till 3 this afternoon to get out and cut my grass, was a lazy day. I did finally get in gear and ran the vacuum, mopped the kitchen floor and entry way, got the salsa made and in the freezer, and the garden watered. It is a bit after 7pm, and I am ready to kick back, have a small glass of merlot and read my trashy novel.

Hello to everyone, you are all so humorous. I love this group of girls.

Have a great Sunday evening.

Much love and hugs.

Annie

Olivia Anne - a name worthy of much fanfare

In all my years I have heard of babies described as many different things but never TANNED Good one Annie.

Enjoy that Merlot (since you are by yourself), if I was with you it would be oh wait, I don't like reds - guess you have to call Ruth over Shad likes wine too I think but I'm not sure if we're allowed to booze up the people outside of our continent, even if we like them. And Mel is busy shining up her chair and leading the walker brigade.

Morning all,
Monday rolls around too fast. Yesterday we went to the Jakarta Zoo. We wanted to go to a market but the girl on the concierges desk said it was (and I quote) too ditty and dang-a-roos for us foreigners.
So then we wanted to go to the orchid garden. But despite the fact it is on the list of things to see in Jakarta, there is no address for it anywhere on the net and no body seems to know where it is. So we ended up at the zoo. It was a nice day until I saw a hawker with a monkey on a chain begging for bits and riding a bike - then I lost my cool and the boys had to take me away before I made a scene.


Mel - Who cares where the bluberries come from. Yummo. Glad to hear that you have had a quiet weekend and would love to have seen the Walker Brigade (Dad's Army incognito) It really is good for them to get out and exercise and if they are anything like my Mum, they won't unless they absolutely have to.

Ruth - Who cares where the bluberries come from. Yummo. Keep some for me for when I get back there.
Poor Hershey will need more than one cuddle I think. Still you might tell her that bad haircuts are only bad for a couple of weeks, then you just get on with it.

Happy _ Funnily enough, once you leave the city for the suburbs, the pollution is not so bad. It's that noise they make for the praying that is really annoying, also the noise they make trying to get you to buy their goods. It's almost like a someone calling a race only the race doesn't finish.
Don't worry about boozing up folks from another country, well this folk anyway. I never was really good about playing the rules. Better invite Carla as well, might be the only time we actually get to speak to her!!!! (are you lurking and listening Carla??) We did mention WINE.

Ceejay - The person who lives in the house is not necessarily the one who cleans the windows. There is a whole army of labour out there and you would only have to advertise for one and a hundred would come running. Labour here is cheap and there is no shortage.

Annie - Congratulations to the happy couple and welcome to OLIVIA ANNE. Nice name. Enjoy the wine and the novel.

Went for a Hot Rocks massage last night. She was a bit rough round the ankles but after I ouched and oohed a bit and dislodged the stones, she was somewhat gentler. Felt great afterwards, all softened and moistened and relaxed. Cost me 320000IRP which is about $40. Well worth it. Slept like a baby.

And so to work. I have to write some sort of report on how the training is going. Have no idea what to say yet, so I'd better disappear up the track and try sorting out some lies and statistics - same thing really.

Cya