Good morning all! It has stopped raining but pretty chilly this morning and boy is my shoulder sore. I don't know what brought about this round, but I had the heating pad on it all night then came down about 3 and sat in the chair with it on. I can barely lift my right arm it is so sore and I have clinic today. Their chair is uncomfortable at best so I imagine I am going to be miserable pretty much, but I called off my last one so I feel I can't call her again.

Jean: I get bazillions of catalogues at Christmas time because I order online so much I imagine. I get them from places I have never even heard from let alone the ones I do use, which come about every week, ie Penney's sales catalogues. I am not surprised they are going to quit it. It is a lot of money wasted I think. You can go online and look at everything and the majority of people including older folks have computers with internet service nowadays. I couldn't find the combo I liked for the holiday so just bought they a nice gift box of goodies from Swiss Colony. He has a sweet tooth I know and likes snacking so I am sure the stuff will get eaten.

I am now down to just finishing up T's Christmas stuff then it is back to wrapping again. I bought more wrapping paper and bows at the Christmas Shop in South Bend when I was up there so have plenty now. I may be short on boxes though. I always put stuff in t's stocking and since we will have Ruthie, I think I am going to take the little pink bag I felted for her and put stocking stuffers in it and make it her stocking then just take T's stocking over to him when we go Christmas Eve.

My poor doggy! It seems like every time we have to kennel him he comes home and has pink tinged urine for awhile, which the vet says is from anxiety. This time he has vomited once a couple days ago and he can't control his urine so has peed all over the house. I can't yell at him as I imagine it is the same feeling humans have when they get urinary tract infections, having the urge to go all the time. I am going to give it one more day and if he isn't showing signs of improvement it will be to the vet we go. He is putting out poo so I know he is eating and I see him drinking a lot so I am hoping it is working itself out. What can you do when you have no one that can watch him? I tried to find a dog sitter the last time we went to Vegas but no one will do it in our area. When we go to Indiana in April for the annual Cubs game, we will just take him with us and stay in a pet friendly hotel I guess.

Well, I better get going and get some work done since I have clinic today. Have a nice Thursday all! Faye

Good morning, ladies! The sun is out and its in the 60s so I am happy today.

Faye, sorry your shoulder is acting up. I hope it stops soon. You have such good gift ideas. That is very clever to use the purse for stocking stuffers.

Jean, I have a programmable thermostat because I was always forgetting to turn the heat down at night (and also the gas company was giving them away for free). I like to have it come on before I get up, turn off while I at work and them come on again around 3:30, and then down to 68 for the night at 8:30. I've saved a lot with it.

Hi, Maggie. I hope the computer isn't acting up again.

Have a great day!

Good morning to you all! It is way too cold down here this morning. I actually have the furnace running!

Jean: You just keep that nasty ole snow up there with you. I absolutely don't want any at all this year. I keep hoping that we won't get any and that not having any in Indiana when we went this year is a good omen that I won't end up with any here. The last three times we have been to Indiana for Thanksgiving, it has snowed either before or during our trip. Yck! I am having a lot of night sweats so have the fan on all night. I imagine I freeze Jack out half the time as we turn the furnace down so it won't get too hot upstairs at night. This old condo is drafty and though I do my best it isn't always enough to keep the heat in the house very well.

Susan: We have a programmable one too, but sometimes it drives me nuts. I think it has a mind of its own and partly because we forget to reset the clock in it when the time changes. Does yours change with the seasons automatically or do you have to remember to set it too?

Maggie: Almost missed your post on the other thread. Sounds like you are gearing up for holiday parties and such. I just emailed my niece about food instructions and what she likes and such and told her I am going shopping next weekend for groceries so if I don't hear from her she will be at my mercy and be stuck with WW foods!

I finished the back of the sweater and now am tackling the front. A little stressed about the time frame, but I can finish the front in a couple days if I keep at it and the sleeves won't be too hard. I just have to quit being lured back to my socks all the time.

It was pretty quiet at clinic yesterday but the chairperson is a bit overzealous. She is making all these rules right and left and some of them she and I are going to butt heads over I am afraid or I am not going to be volunteering. She is pretty anal about some really stupid stuff frankly and some of these new "rules" of hers are just ridiculous. She is going to find this old broad won't be too easy to push around and I love to work the clinic, but we shall see.

Well, I am going to a charity Carrousel of Shoppes with Kelly this morning that is run by our school for the deaf. We haven't been in a couple years and they moved it to the agricenter so there may be more booths. I don't ever buy anything because it is all way too expensive in my opinion. Kelly has free tickets this year so invited me to go.

Have a great weekend all! Faye

Good evening, ladies! Colder today with a forecast of rain and/or snow tonight and tomorrow. If it does snow, it won't last.

I went to Curves today and the library, just doing house stuff the rest of the day.

Faye, make someone a chairperson and they have to makes rules to show everyone they are in charge. Ignore her. My thermostat has to be set for daylight savings time and the change back, mainly because it is programmed to change on the old schedule. I have confidence you will be finished with the sweater in no time. I had to laugh when you said you wanted to sneak back to your socks after you didn't make any for so many years.

Jean, the programmable thermostats all have an override feature so you can temporarily change the setting if you are using your fireplace. My leader is Tonya H. She is a gem. I've got to get my cards done this weekend, too.

Hi, Maggie!

Have a good evening, I'm going to make Tuna and Noodles for dinner.

Good morning to you all! Darn it is cold here this morning. I brought Fortune down around 2 am and got into the chair and went back to sleep, but got cold. Ok, this is silly but it works for me. Seems like when I get cold if I put the blanket over my head and go back to sleep I warm up immediately. So, that is what I did. I put Fortune's Christmas sweater on him yesterday so he could stay warm too.

Kelly and I went to the carrousel of shoppes yesterday and had a very nice time. I bought several different food mix items from a couple of vendors. Sort of a take on Maggie's jar things. I am going to go to the store later and get grated cheese and make Old Mexico Cheese soup for dinner tonight. The nice thing is you can use lowfat or ff stuff in all of these mixes which definitely makes them WW friendly for the most part. I bought several things from this Company's Comin' booth that is from Texas and had all these great tasting soups and casseroles. I also bought a taco soup mix that you can use to make a dip and they have the ff recipe to make. I think I may take it to Kelly's for our Christmas together and I bought a key lime pie mix that you make a cheese ball with but can make a pie with so will make a small pie and take it for dessert. We are all going to go out to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I could have spent $$$$$$ there and found some gorgeous handbags, but though I died walking away I did. I just can't spend the money on myself right now with Christmas and another trip and such. Heaven's how I wanted that bag though! lol It was so much fun to go with Kelly. We had a great time.

Jack got our new faucets in upstairs and they look great. Poor guy, took him 3 hours and he soaked all my old towels that I use for projects underneath the sink but he finally got it done. It had the original's in it and these condos are 40 years old so you know how corroded and limed they were. He has never done a plumbing job before but now he knows what to do and can change out the one's in our bathroom after the holidays are over.

Jean: I feel like it could snow here this morning though I doubt it is truly cold enough. I just hate winter anymore as my getting older makes my joints ache more and more. I just have to work through it and get out and exercise I guess. It was tough walking around that big building yesterday because I still cramp in my intestinal area when I walk very far, but I just had to suck it up and go on. I don't know if that will ever go away and so I have to learn to live with it and just keep on truckin' as they say.
Kelly said the rules may be ones that either the district or the pta set up, but these are district rules. One of them that just popped up was no eating or drinking. Everyone I would come and in an relieve would have some kind of drink, be it water, soda or coffee. I eat my lunch during that time since I am on a scheduled eating plan so will have to decide what to do about it. Anyway, the rules that are important like when to call parents, what do do in certain emergencies like asthma attacks, how to send stuff home with kids and such I follow rigidly and these others will be dealt with as they come up I guess.

Susan: Kelly told me my niece is sort of Goth so I imagine this cute sweater is just not her. Her dad had told her I was making her one, the big mouth, so yesterday I emailed her, described it and told her to tell me the truth if she won't wear something like it as I will just finish it and give it to my best friend for her birthday in May. So we shall see. I got my new full set of nickel plated sock needles and yarn, more yarn, beautiful yarn, fabulous yarn...... Sorry, lost control for a minute! You were right, I am totally hooked on socks now.

Well gals, I have a ton and I mean a ton of cleaning to do today and moving furniture and getting rugs shampooed and going to the store so I have got to get started on some of it anyway. You all have a fun, fun Saturday! Faye

Morning gals. Another chilly day here. We are going to continue working on the downstairs today getting it ready for Ruth to come in a couple weeks.

I got Thomas'a John Lennon watch yesterday and he is going to just love it. It is that rubber style so it will hold up to a kid's banging around and has enough holes on the band his tiny wrist will be able to wear it without it falling off and long into adulthood actually. I had to buy an "as is" which means no warranty, but it is brand new. I bought it from QVC and paid $50 for it but it retailed for $100 so got a good deal. It has the box, the little velvet drawstring bag it goes into, the little plastic seals over the back and front to keep from scratching, is totally pristine in every way and it can be returned until January 31 to QVC for full refund. It just doesn't have a warranty. These are watches they use on live tv to demonstrate. It is sort of a buy a new car where the salesmen have driven them and though new has to be sold as a used car kind of thing. John Lennon was an artist and did cartoon renditions of himself. That is the face of the watch with his signature then the band has these little renditions down both sides with his signature interspursed so it is quite cool for a kid and hip for someone older. I can't wait to give it to him. For me, part of giving gifts is the scouting out just the right thing that is perfect. Now if I didn't have to wrap them the whole procedure would be great!

Jean: Hope you enjoy the websites I sent you. They have some terrific stuff. I broke down and made the dip to try since it only uses 3 tb of the spice mix. It is pretty darn good and will adapt just fine to ff sour cream, ff mayo and ff cream cheese to make a great snack dip. Would be terrific if you are having any kind of holiday parties.

Not much else ticking here. I am reading a new book by JD Robb, Kindred in Death and I think I missed one in this series as the character keeps referring to someone murdered that I don't remember from previous books. Have to do some hunting.

Have a grand day today. Going to go and get myself some breakfast and get started. Faye

Good evening ladies! It was a lovely sunny day, but it's already down to 38 degrees.

My First Thursday Bee had our annual potluck Christmas lunch today. Too much good food. I'm not eating anymore today. I only took 1 small spoon of each food and a little dessert. Everything was great but I'm not used to sugar and the dessert has upset my stomach. We all had our little Christmas Tree quilts finished. It's amazing how different they all are.

My chest has been feeling really tight and I have a bit of a cough so I'm really praying I'm not coming down with bronchitis again. I think I'm going to make a cup of tea and then call it a day and go to bed.

Have a good evening.

Good morning to you all! It is rainy here and around upper 30's at the moment. We are supposed to be staying in the upper 40's and 50's all this week and next so we are having a bit warmer weather than usual, I think.

Jean: I haven't even heard of the movie "Blind Spot." I am about 8th jewish and definitely get cringy with Hitler movies. We did go to the theater and see Valkyrie when it came out, but though I would like to see the movie "The kid in the striped pajamas" that is finally showing on the movie channels, I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. It is about a concentration camp commandant's son and a jewish boy in the camp who become friends through the barbed wire. Hope you don't get too bad of a time with your weather.

Susan: Oh gosh, hope you aren't getting sick either. You don't need to be back in the hospital. I would have loved to seen all the different quilts. It is always fun to see different ideas of the same theme. Did you see this? My dil sent it to me and I thought it was cool.
http://www.facebook.com/l/efbe3;CNN.com

I am finally doing t's second set of socks for Christmas. I think it will become his favorite knitting thing from me from now on. The color is turning out terrific too. You never know when you start yarn like that what it will look like until you get about 10 rows finished. His is coming out striped it looks like.

We got the carpets shampooed, including doing my big area rag rug and we put it out over the fence to dry since it was sunny and breezy yesterday. I am still finishing up the cleaning as I pooped out after moving all the furniture and shampooing and rearranging and such, then had to wait until the carpets dried to move some stuff back. I have also taken down all my decor on my mantel, entertainement center etc so I can put up Christmas stuff this weekend after we get the tree. I found a spot for the tree this year, but it is going to definitely have to be smaller than last years.

Jack is going to play Santa a week from tonight for Thomas's Cub Scout troop's Christmas Party. We bought a suit years ago when my nieces and nephews were little and we had Christmas at our apartment one year. That was a lot of fun. I bought those Christmas crackers and everything. It was a 2000 sq foot apartment so there was room for everyone to sit down and eat. I had borrowed tables from the church. Jack had fun and I am sure he will with the Cub Scouts too if he is feeling better. He is catching a cold I think as he was pretty hoarse sounding this morning though he said he didn't feel bad.

Well gals, I need to get the sheets into the dryer and get some work done. Have a great start to your week. Keep warm and dry and always remember to Faye

Faye

Good morning to you all! It is rainy here and around upper 30's at the moment. We are supposed to be staying in the upper 40's and 50's all this week and next so we are having a bit warmer weather than usual, I think.

Jean: I haven't even heard of the movie "Blind Spot." I am about 8th jewish and definitely get cringy with Hitler movies. We did go to the theater and see Valkyrie when it came out, but though I would like to see the movie "The kid in the striped pajamas" that is finally showing on the movie channels, I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. It is about a concentration camp commandant's son and a jewish boy in the camp who become friends through the barbed wire. Hope you don't get too bad of a time with your weather.

Susan: Oh gosh, hope you aren't getting sick either. You don't need to be back in the hospital. I would have loved to seen all the different quilts. It is always fun to see different ideas of the same theme. Did you see this? My dil sent it to me and I thought it was cool.
http://www.facebook.com/l/efbe3;CNN.com

I am finally doing t's second set of socks for Christmas. I think it will become his favorite knitting thing from me from now on. The color is turning out terrific too. You never know when you start yarn like that what it will look like until you get about 10 rows finished. His is coming out striped it looks like.

We got the carpets shampooed, including doing my big area rag rug and we put it out over the fence to dry since it was sunny and breezy yesterday. I am still finishing up the cleaning as I pooped out after moving all the furniture and shampooing and rearranging and such, then had to wait until the carpets dried to move some stuff back. I have also taken down all my decor on my mantel, entertainement center etc so I can put up Christmas stuff this weekend after we get the tree. I found a spot for the tree this year, but it is going to definitely have to be smaller than last years.

Jack is going to play Santa a week from tonight for Thomas's Cub Scout troop's Christmas Party. We bought a suit years ago when my nieces and nephews were little and we had Christmas at our apartment one year. That was a lot of fun. I bought those Christmas crackers and everything. It was a 2000 sq foot apartment so there was room for everyone to sit down and eat. I had borrowed tables from the church. Jack had fun and I am sure he will with the Cub Scouts too if he is feeling better. He is catching a cold I think as he was pretty hoarse sounding this morning though he said he didn't feel bad.

Well gals, I need to get the sheets into the dryer and get some work done. Have a great start to your week. Keep warm and dry and always remember to

Faye