A very HAPPY birthday to you Annie Girl

:hat::gift::balloons::celebrate::hb::hb::bday2you: :hat::gift::balloons::celebrate::hb:

I know it's a very bittersweet day for you missing your Daddy but try to smile for him - he'd want it that way. :hug: I'm glad to hear that you had such a nice time at Amish Acres - you deserve to have a nice relaxing time. Nice that the old boss stopped by and paid you a compliment. I'm sure he's happy that you are looking and feeling well. We all like to see nice people succeed in life. And it sounds like you had a weekend full of visitors and family and love. That's what celebrations are all about. Hope that happy feeling carries on through the week for you. Even with the Wednesday reports :lol:

Ceejay - I saw the organ you posted on FB. That looks like a real beauty! So much better than a keyboard (but not as portable ;) ) :lol: but for church it looks like the perfect thing to practice on. AND... they say that music is WONDERFUL for keeping your brain active and alert. So good job!!!! Hope you enjoy it. And I do miss Ruby Tuesday - loved their food and their salad bar - it was a favorite place for us when we lived down south. And O'Charlie's too.

Laura - sorry that the aqua class did not work out. My niece who had no formal training other than a weekend class or two was employed as a fitness instructor at their neighbor's gym. While she was fit and active herself, we all know that just because you can "do" doesn't mean you can "teach". :( That was the same with the Tai Chi class - not to take away from a person's enthusiasm, but I'm not sure just anyone can teach. Then again some people aren't very particular so I guess it works for them. Hope you can find a challenging substitute although aqua seems like a perfect summer alternative, especially if you went and bought shoes. I got some water shoes at Amazon last year for the boat - love them. They have decent support, a good grip on the bottom and they are a firm mesh so they drain quickly. I hope you like yours too and Land's End is having a great sale on their summer water stuff too. So score :five:

I can't seem to get over the sniffles with this head cold thing. Taking Mucinex which seems to help. I need to step up my water intake. Yesterday I was sitting in a chair talking to my sister on the phone when I noticed an itchy spot on my leg just above the foot. I thought it was a tick :eek: because I was just in the yard but it was a spot instead. Guess I got bit by a spider. Nothing much you can do but clean it and let it run it's course. I am still alive this morning so it wasn't a poisonous one :rofl: It will take about 2 weeks to heal - just alternates between sore and itchy.

Didn't do much of anything yesterday - we got a whopper of a rain storm. About 3 inches of rain. At one point it was raining so hard you could not see across the yard. I went out in the early morning yesterday to get my cucumbers planted in the garden as well as potting a couple of flowers I had picked up. We had a bit of hail briefly - it was a good size - about the size of a dime but fortunately DH had put the cars in the garage and we didn't get much. The boat is out there but the top has a cover on it so no damage to that either. It thunderstormed from about 10am throughout the night until about 1am when things finally passed. The power blinked on and off several times and tripped the circuits for the outside lights but fortunately we didn't have any extended outages. We are in for heat and periods of rain the next week or so. This is bad because it's very humid, the mosquitoes will be hatching and the grass is growing like crazy but too wet to mow.

I got some news on Friday that my former boss - the one who thought she was doing me a big favor by eliminating my job when I lived down south passed away. Apparently she was having a pacemaker replaced, went into cardiac arrest and had stopped breathing for so long that she had permanent brain damage and I guess her weakened heart took her out. Forgive me but my first thought was that karma came calling for it's just due. She was not a good person, ruined and cheated many people in the business world including my buddy there who was as devoted as a person could be. She used her as a minion, then cut her job too and blocked her from getting promoted once D was able to score another position. She was also greedy - talked about retiring and moving to Costa Rica to become a tour guide. Her parents died leaving her with a boatload of money and she was also very cheap herself so she had lots of extra cash. When she cut me she smiled smugly and said she hoped that she could retire early like me, especially since longevity was not a genetic trait in her family. But instead 6 years later she was still working to stockpile the cash. She was planning on retiring early next year after her next birthday. And now she won't. Dumb, dumb, dumb. And yes, even though I have a good life and thank God for my blessings every night, I admit I was a bit resentful of her because if anyone deserved to be cut, it was her but she knew just how to wriggle the threat of a lawsuit with HR. Money ain't everything people ...

And then there is my Mom who is having her tooth removed on Tuesday. I think it is finally hitting her that there will be inconvenience and complications for quite a while as she heals up. All the things we warned her about that she was flippant she is now fretting over. They said if her blood pressure is too high on Tuesday, they will not go through with it so she is fretting over that probably causing her blood pressure to yes - go UP. My sister said she is torn between hoping they will cancel or just get it done with. In any event, I hope all goes well. Will be sitting with gritted teeth tomorrow awaiting the outcome. Personally I wouldn't do it myself. We all have noticed that in the last 4 weeks since she scheduled this surgery she has not said or acted like she is having the tooth pain that she complained loudly of.. :rolleyes:

And it's Monday again. I have resolved to give one last effort to the dieting thing. I had to start all over again with the diet pills as I kept continuously forgetting to take the evening dose. I also got away from using the NuStep - just simply did not think about it. So I am leaving myself a note to remember to get downstairs each day for even a little while.

And that's about it for me. Hope you all have a good week.

Morning all.

Raining and cold today. Well it has been raining on and off for several days. Today and tomorrow is supposed to be the worst days. Hopefully it will clear by the weekend.

So what has been happening here? Not a lot really. I have been busy mopping up the remains of projects I have started previously. A couple of things have come off the to-do list and some more will come off today. I've finally fixed all the dining room chairs. They are, as usual, 'well made in China' and I noticed a while back that they were separating at the joins. So they have been taken apart and glued and clamped back together again. I will have less of a worry about any dinner guests ending up on the floor now. Last one is just drying under the verandah. I've taken down the majority of the hedge trees along the back, only one more of those to go. But the back yard is covered in bits of trees. I've fill 6 garden sacks with the branches, leaves and twigs. Need to ring the bagman to come and replace them. I now know what I suspected before, the fence behind the trees is falling down in parts, so I will have to do some fencing before I can create a garden out there. In some cases, there is no fence as such. My back neighbour has just put some colourbond sheets up and fixed them with pickets. More work. Photo will come.

As well I am still dealing with some of the after effects of chemo. Tingling in the fingers and toes is back again and the itch remain fairly constant. My hair is growing but not fast enough unfortunately, and I still occasionally have hot sweats in bed and wake up even more tired than when I went to bed. I guess it will pass in time maybe.

Glad that you had a happy birthday Annie. That was a nice tribute that your son posted yesterday - he really appreciates all that you do for him.

Happy - hope you get rid of those sniffles soon. My doctor is always suggesting that I have the flu shot, but I am standing firm. Never had one, and only get the flu once in every few years. Not happening doc. I know my immune system is compromised but I am staying away from anyone with cold and flu.
Pity about the weather not co-operating around your way. I hope that the mosquitos and midges stay away - guess we'll get a few after this rain has finished.

Laura - seems that the aqua classes are not as advertised and you are right about some people not being able to instruct. Really they should all be qualified before they take on classes. Otherwise, it seems to me that the lawyers will be on their case if something goes wrong.

Ceejay - the organ looks great on Facebook. Would love to hear you play one day.

Susie - seems you had a great break away. Now I guess you will be getting ready to go back to work again. Such is life, none of us won the lottery this week. Enjoyed seeing some of your birthday gifts. Lucky girl.

Ellen and Dee - hello, where are you. I thought I was the bad one not posting regularly. Get in here.

Okay, time to go do todays housework, sort the laundry and finish that last chair.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes. Happy the bd card arrived exactly on my birthday, great timing. So sweet and very sincere. Perfect I really loved it.

Hmmm, Steak, mashed cauliflower which is supposed to be "like" mashed potatos in consistency and taste, sorry folks it tastes like mashed cauliflower. HOWEVER it tasted great. Fried radishes, onions and bell peppers and a yummy salad. No cake as it is not KETO and I could of baked a keto cake but really didn't care about a cake or want to put the effort into my own cake. lol. Samantha and my son got me flowers and a gift card to my nail spa. Yeah, just in time for a pedicure. C and Samantha went in on a beautiful lighthouse (in memory of Michael), about 3 ft tall. The beacon lights up and spins around. Solar powered. I lOVE it. It is in the backyard as that is where we can see out the windows and spend most of our time. Plus it is in the fenced locked gated yard as so many things get stolen in our hood. The lil boys each made me a card. Very cute. Altho not sure what Royce's was about. But love it anyway. Sam gave me a card that was so touching and true to form that I got tears in my eyes. C gave me a very endearing card also. Love my family.

SHADDIE...give it another 3 or 4 months you will be as good as new. Wow on the fencing. We had the same thing happen. The neighbors 6 ft wooden fence was a mess once we moved the wood pile this past weekend. 4 HUGE holes near the bottom. C and Sam made patches on our side. The holes were caused by the old neighbors bully dogs. You would think they would of fixed it as they could see it from their side. We are having scorching heat this week with very little rain in site. The little bit of rain predicted evaporated before it hit earth. Nice day poolside yesterday. lol.

HAPPY...Karma, it does happen. Your old boss planned, God laughed. Hope your momma does great with her tooth extraction. She probably doesn't dare voice her fears and regrets of doing this. Hugs and prayers for your sister. Thank you for the kind words of my daddy and I. It was not so bad yesterday. Cheers to us. Good Luck with your new start of your diet. You CAN do this. You know what you are supposed to eat and what you are not. Think before eating. Hugs and love and good thoughts.

Hello to all, Hugs.

Good morning ladies,

Still got the sniffles - woke me up an hour early :mad: but they are getting a tiny bit better. My leg hurts where I got the bite - feels like I got whacked in the leg with a hammer. And yes, I have done that once in my life so I know exactly what that feels like. :^: I am tired and not eager to work my shift this morning but I will be there. I also seem to have lost the first half of May's sales paperwork. I estimated the sales tax from another sheet we keep but I lost the bank deposit slips and most importantly the credit card slips for reconciliation. I have no idea what might have happened to them, looked all over the house yesterday to no avail. I'm thinking that maybe I had them in a bag of thrift shop stuff (which I take to and from the store - things coming back into the house and donations going out to the shop). DH several times grabbed the bag I had by the door and took it to the shop. IF that had my bag of daily sales papers in it, the people in the back would not know what to do with it and of course would not take it over to the sales counter. :dizzy: Oh well - things happened. When we had the fire a couple of years back we lost all the paperwork and the store continued to stay open. So... :shrug:

Annie - I'm glad you liked your card. Yours was the ONLY one from me this year that came anywhere near to getting to the recipient on time :o I am pretty bad about that - I don't want to be but I am. :o The lighthouse sounds not only pretty but the perfect gift. This way Michael can shine his light on you and watch over you. I really hope that no one will have the gall to steal it. My Mom has the same problem in her neighborhood. Someone stole her brand new gas grill 2 years ago and she won't replace it because the varmints stole it right from her garage. :mad: I had to smile at your comment of "she planned and God laughed". Isn't that the truth for so many things. I will file that in my brain for future reference. I am horrified at the insane amount of money that they want for Hallmark greeting cards. And what irritates me more is that I don't mind paying more for cards that have nice sentiments in them but it seems like they are cutting back on that too - $7 cards seem to have the $1.29 words in them. I usually like to buy my cards based on what they say. Although I SHOULD be able to come up with something clever myself... As for mock mashed taters, I was totally impressed with them but I guess if you have a good enough palate they just taste like mashed cauliflower - at least that's what DH said when I tried to give him some :p:p:p :lol: I'm all about making healthy substitutes - SOMEtimes. But some of these people go to extremes. My sister and I have had long conversations about this - we'd almost rather be fat then to be as anal as some people are about scrutinizing every calorie. :^:

Shad - it certainly sounds as if you don't suffer from a lack of anything to do. I see that you also have to deal with the poor quality of made in China goods. Hard to find anything in this country anymore that was not made there. That is a bit distressing that you are still feeling the side effects of the chemo treatments. How long will that last? I have heard the chemicals are slow to exit the body. As for the flu shot - I get them because I deal with people and dirty germy money on a regular basis. However I do try to skip every other year in order to let my body build it's own defenses. It depends on what your possible exposure might be and if you are mostly home now ... also don't know if your immune system will be compromised by the chemo. To me, that is the most deciding factor - your ability to fight it off should you contract the flu.

Good heavens I am yawning up a storm suddenly and could lay down and nod right off. This is not good for having to go up and about. I am hoping I will wake up after a shower. It's sunny right now and on the cooler side - a lovely day for DH to mow - hopefully the grass has dried a bit.

Ah well I'd best get on with the day because I will nod off if I sit here much longer. Will catch up with the rest of you later. Say a prayer for my Mom to sail through her dental surgery this morning as well as giving my sister a bit of strength and tolerance to deal with the aftermath. Yesterday Mom decided instead of eating the nice dinner my sister cooked (her last chance to eat good food for a while) - instead my Mom ate her cup of ice cream she had been saving. Sis asked her to eat it at the table because Mom is sort of sloppy but NOOOOOO. Mom took it into the living room and when Sis asked her to eat it at the table she balked and said "I'm NOT FIVE YEARS OLD you know". And proceeded to eat it sitting on the living room couch. :rolleyes:

Morning all. Another hot day here. Some chance of rain, we’ll see. I’m sure bf hopes is won’t rain and the grass won’t need to be mowed. But it’s getting crispy, so we really do need it. And it would be nice to not have to water the flowers.

Ceejay – I hope you’re enjoying your new organ. I bet it’ll help you a lot if it’s a bit closer to the instrument you play at church. I’m such a big fan of craigslist!—So great your bil’s key fob wasn’t lost! == I hope you can stay well with the virus going around. I think between your contact with your nephews and their kids, you’re potential for exposure to that has certainly increased! But it sounds like you really enjoy being around your family. :)

Annie – Glad you enjoyed your time at Amish Acres. Looking forward to seeing some pics. Your birthday weekend sounded so nice and so busy! The lighthouse sounds like a nice thing to have out in the yard. Too bad you missed your son’s visit, but what a sweet fb post he wrote. Nice you saw your old boss. No chance of him being bored and filling his old spot? :D

Happy – Sorry you still have the sniffles. I hope whatever it is passes soon. == Yikes re the spider bit - it creeps me out to think a spider’s been crawling around so close. == I get how you don’t feel very badly about your former boss passing away, seeing how she was a cutthroat person. And now it seems her greediness left her without the opportunity to retire and maybe enjoy life in a different way. Especially since it sounds like she was in a financial position to do so. == Prayers that your mom’s oral surgery is going well! It finally got real for her! == I don’t know how attached you are to your smart phone, but it might help to set reminders for taking the diet pills and doing the Nustep. Ever since returning from vacation, I haven’t gotten back to exercising after work in the basement, partly because bf set up our old dinette set in my workout area so he could photograph the set to sell it (and it’s still sitting there), and partly because I just get home after work, put my stuff away, and then plop down on the sofa and that’s that - I plain old don’t think about it. I am, however, managing to keep on track with the plank challenge. == Agree with you re the greeting cards – sure have gotten expensive. It’s like they think they need to add an actual gift to the card, when all I want is a card. == Re healthy recipe makeovers – not a fan for the most part. I’d rather eat it less frequently or a smaller portion. Or be fat, which is apparently what I’ve chosen…

Shad – Sounds like you’re keeping busy enough, as usual. Good to get the chairs back to stability! And now another project fixing or replacing the fences that were hiding behind the hedges. There’s always something! Had to look up colourbond – some sort of steel fencing? Sounds sturdy… == Sorry you’re still suffering the aftereffects of the chemo. It’s like you need a cleansing or detox after all those chemicals being washed through your body. I guess it’ll just take some time. == I think the aqua fit instructor knows her thing, but she doesn’t have much personality/appeal (charisma?) . Taking another class tonight and hope this class is more to my liking.

Susie – Hope you’re not too swamped at work after being away all week. Hang in there!
Hellos to Dee and Ellen – miss you!

==
I started a post yesterday and didn’t get to finish it…
Weekend recap:
On Saturday, I took my mother shopping for a new kitchen sink and faucet. I might have been just as weary - or more – than mom after hitting both Home Depot & Lowes, lol. But we did buy the sink and faucet. I didn’t do much more the rest of the day, just a load of my laundry and out for an early dinner with bf.

On Sunday, I got out early and planted my veggies. The soil in the veg patch is awful, and I didn’t even turn it over or add compost to it this year. Just dug four holes, planted, & covered with weed cloth. Put in the tomato cages. Hammered edging between the veg patch and the hodgpodge flower bed that’s next to it. All the pounding with the rubber mallet and my fitbit gave me a lot of steps, LOL.

Re the crummy soil… I’m thinking some more about starting a compost pile. But not a pile - I’d buy a compost bin of some sort to try and keep the critters from digging in it. I never did one before because I know doggy would have tried to get into it. Now’s my opportunity. Might buy a used compost bin on craigslist, one that can be rolled around, or comes with a stand in which you can turn a handle and rotate the container to mix everything up.

We finally sold our old patio table and folding patio chairs yesterday. Glad to be rid of that, glad someone else will make good use of them since they were still in good condition, and yes, doesn’t hurt to make some money as well. Bf had them on craigslist first and I posted them on some of my fb garage sale groups, and it sold off one of the fb sites. I just added our old dinette set to the fb groups yesterday. It’s been on craigslist for a while now with maybe one inquiry.

I ordered my water shoes and a couple other things from Land’s End on Friday and they finally shipped it yesterday (Monday) afternoon. Oh, here’s something icky - when I went to take my old water socks from the plastic bin where I stored some exercise gear, there was a nasty chemical smell. The shoes are so old the soles were deteriorating – some sort of liquid residue on the surface of the soles, and so brittle, the “rubber” cracked when I flexed them. To the garbage they went. Anyway, I will be barefoot again for my aqua fit class tonight.

Annie – re the garage and entry doors: We ordered a traditional steel garage door with insulation and it will have a painted finish that looks like wood with a dark cherry stain. It will have windows across the top of it. The entry door will be made of fiberglass, with a dark cherry wood-grain finish that closely matches that of the garage door. It will have a decorative window at the top that looks like leaded glass & the glass panes have different textures of glass. The garage installation guys have already measured, etc. The door installation person is coming sometime this week.

The tree guys are expected today. The HVAC guy is also coming to do our AC checkup. Hope they clean around the outside of the unit – it needs it.

Tonight is another aqua fit class. I think it’s called Light Circuit? We’ll see how I like it.

That’s about it for me, better get back to work. TTFN.

Hump Day!

HAPPY....I found a shiny 2016 penny heads up this morning on my way into work. Funny how these little signs from heaven come right when I need them.

Last night was pizza night. Sam and I ate the toppings but no crust. lol. KETO. bah. got it. Also need to quit eating so much cheese. It is my staple. Cheese has bound me up and put 2 lbs back on. Just need to go I think. Then I was off to my Tuesday night AA workshop. I was not in the mood nor with the program when I arrived. So much so that others asked if I was ok. Must of had a look on my face. By the end of workshop it was all good and probably just what I needed to hear. Got home at 8:40 as I stopped at the bank and also the car wash. My car was filthy from the trip to Amish Acres. Stayed up til 10 watching America's Got Talent. Pretty good. I loved the young 16 yr old boy that sang. Such a neat story of his life and such an awesome voice. He went blind due to something genetic then by the grace of God and an experimental drug he gained his eye sight back after years of being blind. How awesome is our God!!

LAURA...I think I need to order some water shoes for the boys. We are going to the water park the first week of July and would probably be a good thing for them to have. Oh the boss, nope don't think he will come back to WF. He did tell me he has had offers from other places and was thinking of accepting one. The interviews for his position are today in Chicago. Give a big wave to downtown CHI. Speaking of CHI, I will be there the end of July for a meeting. At our offices on 10 S Wacker. Maybe we can meet up, not sure as I do not have the agenda yet. Plus the meeting has been moved once already from June to July. July dates are 25 & 26. Don't even know where we will be staying yet. I assume downtown or near 10 S Wacker, where ever that is. Your new doors sound very pretty. Hope they are just perfect for you. Enjoy your momma. Time is so short. Yahoo on the sale of patio furniture. WTG

HAPPY...hope you are feeling better. HOW DID MOMMA's SURGERY GO? Hope the doc gave her great pain drugs that will make her sleep for your sister's sake. :) Love the planter and bench that DH made, I told him on FB what a nice addition to the commune! lol Totally agree with you on the Hallmark greeting cards. I find some not so expensive and with nice verses inside at the POST OFFICE. Yep, the cost doesn't seem to be as bad either. Maybe just the luck of the draw on the cards I like but prices aren't as bad. On the cauliflower, we all decided even tho the mashed C was good, we are just going to eat our cauliflower like normal people from now on. :) We had a few scattered storms roll through late afternoon and during the night. Just enough to get everything thoroughly watered. I don't mind that type of rain/storms cause today is bright and sunny out. Everything looks clean again.

Bout it for me. Got to get busy. My Indiana Sales peep decided to work from the office this week as his two girls are at Zoo camp this week down the street. So he drops them off and comes into the office till about 3 when he has to pick them up. Weird having another person in the office to BUG ME!

Hello to all. Hugs my friends.

Good morning ladies,

Very quick post for me right now. Last night I went to the emergency room because my leg (bite) was hurting really badly. They took some blood (check for Lyme's disease??? ) and gave me an antibiotic that with the diet pill is making me really nauseated. When I got home my leg hurt so badly I could barely walk and needed a cane to assist. Don't know why it hurt that bad. They drew on my leg around the angry red "rash" and told me to watch to see if it spreads some. Said it might take 24 hours for the antibiotic to kick in. I'm glad I went when I did.

Mom's surgery went well, thank you for asking. My sister said it's a mixed blessing because now she will have a false sense that there is no danger to her whatsoever and will continue to pursue her litany of all the surgical procedures she NEEDS. :rolleyes:

Finally I have to run off to the thrift store in a few minutes. Our "manager" and my bingo buddy fell off a ladder and cut his leg open. He is on blood thinners and has paper thin skin - so delicate they could not stitch him together. He is supposed to be off his feet and even said he might not make it to bingo tomorrow - when we miss bingo you know we are ill!!! So this morning is his shift, his partner is out of town for 2 weeks and no one else would think to fill in for him. I had to ask 7 people (it was short notice) if they could help me today but finally my friend said she could. I was not sure how mobile I'd be. So I am off in a bit. The senior center called this morning and asked if I could fill in for 4 half days while they are offsite doing some senior benefit things. So the time I thought I had to myself, the universe quickly filled. :^::^::^:

Woke up this morning at 2:30 but could not go back to sleep so got up and puttered quietly until 4:30 and got a few more hours of sleep. I am grateful that my leg is sore but not the disabling pain it was last night. I will try and stay off of it as much as possible.

Will come back later today for personals. Happy Flag Day ladies!!!!!

Morning all,
Quick one from me too since I have to take Romeo the cat to the vet this morning. He has a sore mouth. Since he loves to eat there is definitely something wrong. The vet will operate today and poor little man can't have anything eat. He is NOT HAPPY. And I had a text from the doc surgery asking me to come visit. Not urgent but within the next couple of weeks. I decided it would be today since I won't get much done with to and froing at the vets so today it is. Probably down on some vitamin or other or my cholesterol has moved a point or something else silly.

Happy - glad your mother came through everything okay. It is so hard when they get older and just get more and more stubborn. I told your DH that he should go into business with the benches and planters but apparently he is retired and now too lazy. Nice way to be.

Laura - how are the water classes going now? Nice that you have sold the furniture. Also that the new doors are going in this week or next week. Yes the fence will need some attention. We use a lot of colourbond fencing around here because of the prevalence of termites in the soil. Some houses have been eaten to the point of collapse down on the Gold Coast - probably due to developers running a scam on treated timber when building. I found out that my house is done with treated timber but the verandah posts weren't. Consequently we have had to replace them and now I see that the ones on the carport are rotting out as well and will need to be replaced soon. More work.

Annie - cheese is about my favourite thing but it does have a lot of fat in it. Not worth eating if it is the low fat variety. Fat = flavour. Will be nice if you catch up with Laura in June or July.

That's about it from me. I guess I need to go and get the kitchen and dining room cleaned up before I have to trap Romeo and put him in his cage. He is not a happy bunny right now.

Evening all.

Annie - That address is only a couple blocks away from my office, so it would be great to get together if at all possible. Let me know when the agenda gets firmed up. == Yeh, water shoes are a good idea for the boys, and you & S. too, or something for walking on the hot pavement! :flame:

Happy - So good that you got yourself to the ER & had that bite treated. I hope the antibiotics have taken hold & the pain is easing. == Good news that your mom's surgery went well. Maybe the recovery will be enough of a PITA that she won't be too eager for more procedures anytime soon.

Hellos to the rest of you! :wave:
==
The trees are gone, not sure if the second crew came today to grind the stumps. I have some before & after photos, but I've never been able to figure out how to post them from my phone, so some other time. It's open to the neighbors, but not completely so we won't be planting any replacement trees back rhe r e any time soon. We will clear all the vine and weed growth back there and bf will seed it for grass in the fall.

Aqua fit class last night was much more to my liking, so I'll stick with that one. Good instructor too . My plank challenge is now up to 1 minute - tonight 1:05. Gonna be rough going forward.

Good news - the administration assistant is returning to the office in 2 weeks. Great news actually. :carrot:

Okay, gonna post and hope there's no rain when I get off the train. :crossed:

Not doing personals today. I had a bad evening/night. Not happy with C or Sam or Bruno the dog at the moment. Ready to run away.

Later Ladies, might post later if I get in a better mood.

Morning all. We had storms and thunder yesterday afternoon/evening and I left my bike at the train station and got a ride home. No need to water! :carrot: It’s pleasant this morning, but I think we have more rainy weather & heat coming this afternoon.

Shad – Missed your post yesterday. I’ve seen on the realty/home improvement shows the huge problems that bugs such as termites and carpenter ants cause to homes. I suppose one good thing about living in an area that has the freezes over each year is that it reduces those problems. And I’m happy to have a brick house! == Poor Romeo, I hope the vet makes it all better. :( == I love cheese too. :cheese: Won’t even bother with trying out any of the reduced fat varieties. Wait, I take that back – I’ve had some reduced fat cream cheese that’s acceptable.

Annie – Hope your mood and your day improve. :hug:

Hellos to everybody! Hope you’re all having a good week.

==
Nothing much to report. Yay for payday today! :carrot:

Things are busy right now at work and it seems like I can’t catch up. I told the admin on the phone yesterday that I’ll be happy for her to return. I’m only doing a couple things that she usually does, but they take up enough of my time to make a difference, especially now as this is my busy time. I have to update my career development plan by the end of the day. Bleh.

Better get back to it. :comp:

Think the storm system that Happy and Laura have had this week hit us this morning. I was thankful for the rain though. The ground was getting a bit dry.
Nephew's wife called him last night and needed his assistance with her car. It wasn't running the way it should. So he took it to the garage last night and has taken my car to work this morning. His truck is with her. Didn't really want to drive in the rain this morning. He's going to bring it back at lunch.
I'm liking this organ. I'm having to learn the foot pedals which is the same as an octave but my foot forgets to play those. My inner thigh on my left leg has been sore and so has the bottom of my foot. I did get a good bargain on this organ too.
Mowed my yard Tuesday. I want to go to the gym this afternoon.
Watching the wild life in the back yard which is mainly a huge rabbit.
Food has been great this week. Think I'm finally getting back into the grove of things.

------------------------
Annie
Hope things settle down. Take some deep breaths.

Happy
Ouch on the bite. Isn't Lyme's disease cause by ticks? Glad you decided to go to the ER. Also happy to hear that your mom is doing well after her surgery.

Shad
One of my friends suggested I do a solo for FB! I might try that later this summer. Poor Romeo, hope he feels better soon. Hope all is well with your blood work.

Laura
Did you get the new garage door?


Susie
:wave:

Good morning all,

I have to go work at the Senior Center this morning "can you hellllpppp us today????". Then I will pick up lunch, come home and I have to drag DH to my friends to pick up all the silent auction items I have to set up tomorrow for the shelter's next fundraiser. I didn't sleep well at all - the pollen is terrible and I woke up coughing and choking. This went on for about 2 hours and I got to bed late as it was. So a tiring day. DH placed an ad to sell our UTV - side by side dune buggy / ATV. So far he's had a couple of inquiries. Amazing that people want something top notch in excellent condition for just pennies. :rolleyes: Well then go to the store and buy it new for $20,000. I am tired and cranky - I hope there is not any drama at the senior center ...
In other news my leg is slowly healing - the antibiotic is doing it's thing although it does make me nauseated and Mom is recovering well from her dental surgery.

Annie - any word on your ex? I hope today was a better day for you and that C and Sam and the pup all realized they need to keep wifey / momma as happy as they possibly can. ;) Sounds like you really need a Calgon "take me away" weekend... :hug:

Ceejay - I think you made a wise choice with the organ over a keyboard. This will give you something great to practice on. I don't think I could coordinate hands AND feet together :rofl: And yes to your question, Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks - they tested me because we are not sure what bit my leg although if it was a tick, it probably would have stuck on. Be careful when you are out mowing your lawn. I hope you don't get rain after rain after rain ...

Laura - For sure it will be nice not to have the extra admin duties. Any word on when she will be back? The Humane Society has some puppies ready for adoption - one is named Coal - it's an all black Australian Shepard. I will try and post a pic later on. With the trees gone, do you feel like everyone can peek into your house now :lol:

Shad - Hopefully the doctor's call will be about things going forward and good health practices for you. How is Romeo? Neither cat is happy about going to the vet - one sees the bag and gets all hyper and excites the other one. DH is pretty good at wrangling cats. There was a funny cartoon on FB about getting the cat to the vet. Thanks for the compliments on DH's wood work. He is meticulous at that - but far too much work to do it commercially. One of the big problems here with wood working is that people want fine quality goods but want to pay plastic cheap prices. Many a cabinet maker has quit doing commercial work.

Hi Susie :wave:

I need to carry on with the day. Have a good weekend folks.

TGIF for sure, AMEN. I think.

I made fake tacos for dinner. Mini Micro Tacos....Cheese made the shells. Seasoned ground beef with onion and salsa inside then baked. Quite good. C ate 7, Sam had 4 and I had 4. Of course sides of tomato, sour cream, lettuce and shredded cheese and guac. Yum! Laundry and Sam did the dishes. She is taking the boys to see CARs 3 that came out today. I wanted to go but couldn't justify being off work and using a PTO day for that. haha. Let me see. Tonight NOTHING. Tomorrow, baseball game at 8 am then breakfast with bro & SIL, Sam. Chris has the boys this weekend. Then errands and grocery. Church on Sunday and NOTHING after that.

Be back for personals.

Evening all.

Ceejay – Glad you’re liking the organ. Playing an instrument is a special talent that you have and I don't. :D I’m like Happy – don’t think I could deal with working the hands on the keys and feet on the pedals. Actually, two hands doing two different things on the keys sounds impossible enough, let alone adding in the feet. :dizzy: == Nice you could lend your car to your nephew. You're a good auntie. ;) == It’ll be a while (several weeks) before we get either of the new doors. They are custom order. Bf did a quick repair job yesterday to re-attach the bottom of the garage door to the rest of it so it doesn’t sag and eventually come completely apart from the rest. That’ll be enough until the new door arrives.== Did you get to the gym? == Our backyard wildlife is birds, squirrels and the occasional rabbit.

Happy – You sound swamped with your volunteer duties. I hope it eases up for you soon. You also need a Calgon “take me away” day. :beach: == The admin returns on the 28th, less than two weeks. :) == I bet Coal the Australian Shepherd is a handsome pup. == I’ve watched a woodworking show or two and even with all the fancy equipment, it takes a long time to craft a nice piece of wood furniture. People are now accustomed to seeing big box furniture stores advertise a roomful of mass-produced furniture of inferior quality for a relative pittance. People don’t want to pay the price for a quality piece of furniture. And they also may no longer be of a mindset to buy something that will last a lifetime.

Annie – I hope your ex is on the road to a good recovery. Enjoy your weekend.

==
I did my career development plan yesterday afternoon, submitting it right before I left work. It was mostly cut and paste from the last one I did a couple years ago. Slight tweaks though, including the addition of the phrases “explore other options” and “or externally” in the goal statements. :devil: Hope that won’t set off the boss in a bad way. A good way would be for him to realize I might not be here forever (though I already have been) and not treat me like an afterthought, I.e, take me for granted. God forbid he should have to provide any direction or support to one of his employees. Whine, whine.

I went to a health lecture at the recplex last night. It was about skin cancer. It was interesting enough. The next one is in July and it’s about inflammation and that sounds interesting.

The door person came out to measure & inspect for the entry door yesterday. We have a block of limestone that sits on top of our concrete stoop - one little step up to the doorway. I think it's called a sill. The block is cracked (starting to crumble too) and the door person advised bf to have it replaced before the door installation. Of course that all makes sense… we’ve just been putting it off because we don’t know who does that kind of work and we don’t know if we can get someone to do a small job like that. And since the door person advised we get it replaced with limestone again, not concrete, we also need to find someone who’ll do that. When bf made inquiries in the past, people have said they would use concrete. Why is nothing ever easy?? :tantrum:

Speaking of not easy – I’m now halfway through the plank challenge. Yesterday was 1 min. 10 seconds per plank. I decided to do the side planks last this time and it was not pretty. But I’ll keep at it.

More rain forecast for today, and tomorrow too. Too wet and/or rainy to dig around in the garden over the weekend. Plenty of other work to do inside, as usual. There’s also a plant sale I might go to. And I’ll try to remember to hit the farmers market on Sunday morning.

That’s about it for me. Have a great weekend everyone.