Still here, just swamped. Reno in bathroom nearly done. Laundry different story.
I thought retirement meant to slow down. Might go back to work for a rest
Back tonight. Promise.

I need prayers, good thoughts and/or good vibes. Can't talk about it at the moment. Thank you.

Getting excited about the solar eclipse. We will only have around 96% totality. I'm not going to look directly at it as I don't have the proper glasses. But I am going to be outside.
I sure like it when the kiddo are in school. It's so very peaceful now.
I have a volunteer asparagus plant that I have continued to nurture this year. It's only had one spear of asparagus but hopefully next year I will have more.
Sis had a party for nephew and I Saturday night. BIL had grilled steaks on the big green egg. They were so good. Sis bake a German chocolate cake that was as moist as could be. And delicious sides.
Happy
Glad you did the research for the camper. I think I'd be happy just to rent one and not have the upkeep for one. Don't blame you for stepping back out of the drama at the store. Let some one else put out the fires. Yes, I love being retired.

Laura.
Sorry you are still dealing with the crud. Sis is almost over hers. I need to take my vehicle to the shop. Maintenance ready light is on. It's not ready for an oil change but this week end the a.c. was cooling like it should.

Annie
:hugs: and good vibes are coming your way.

Hello to Susie :wave;

Shad
Bet you will be glad when the renovations are complete. I hear you on the wanting to go back to work to get some rest.

Annie - :hug: :hug: :hug:

I was concerned about your lack of posting over the past few days. Not like you unless something is going on in your life. Prayers offered for you, we are always there no matter what. Phone call, text, mental telepathy, also ready to take up the cattle prod / rolling pin to defend you. Keep in touch :hug:

Morning all.

Annie – Hope all is okay. You have my thoughts and prayers. :hug:

Shad – There is light at the end of the tunnel! You will need to relax after all the renovations are done. :beach:

Happy – Sounds like a good decision to opt out of the camper purchase. It’s enough work keeping a primary home in good repair, let alone a second home (of any type!). Hard to believe that a used camper would cost as much as a new one! Anyway, it sounds like a situation that if money were no object, sure, why not. You’d have a person that could handle all that, lol. But otherwise…could be way more trouble and money than it’s worth. The rental route sounds much more carefree – that’s what you need! == Re dealer service – yes, they are important and a poorly run one is the pits. I’m thankful we bought a good extended warranty for this vehicle, but getting the dealer to actually DO THEIR JOB to get it repaired has been a major PITA. Once we get this issue fixed, we will be going to another dealer that’s not all that convenient for us geographically, but we’re willing to try their service area in order to get competency.

Hellos to Susie and Ceejay – how was your weekend ladies?

--
I had a very low key weekend. I’m so lazy lately! On Saturday I did one of the workout dvd’s I bought at a library sale a while back. This one used the big resistance ball for every exercise. It was a good workout. It wasn’t super hard, which I appreciated. There was a lot of up and down from standing to the floor. Exercise were done standing and holding the ball, sitting or laying on the ball, or on the floor with legs on the ball. I liked it, and the instructor wasn’t annoying either.

I watered my flowers and veggies and did a load of laundry. On Saturday I ran out for some errands, including buying a powerball ticket, visiting the library, bakery, and thrift shop. Bf went to a friend’s cookout in the afternoon and I was glad to not go – these particular friends are not my type of people. So I was on my own for lunch and of course it wasn’t healthy. I ended up getting a potpie at KFC and then a small frosty at Wendy’s. I drove to a forest preserve and ate my frosty while sitting and enjoying the (relative) quiet and the view. I attached a photo.

I didn’t do much on Sunday other than another load of laundry. BF and I went to a new Mexican restaurant at the mall and were underwhelmed. Oh well.

That’s about it for me, so I’ll get this posted.

Ceejay - The party sounded nice - steak and cake - yum! I hope you have a good eclipse experience today. It's a bit cloudy here, so I'm not sure how much we'll actually get to see. == I feel much better this week than last, so I guess I can be thankful for that. == I hope your car doesn't need any expensive repairs.

Morning all,

Didn't get back last night as promised. Trying for the morning. I have Ruger the dog here for the day. This appears to be his doggy day care, but I don't mind. Makes me get up early and get cracking. Walk, feed, sleep - oh sorry that's the dog.

I have been painting in the bathroom. Ceilings and cornice are done (crown mouldings?) with primer and sealer. Now for the top coat, possibly today. The house is still as dusty as ever and I get sick of getting down and dusty with it. The floors need a good wash too. Only place that is clean and tidy is the kitchen. I'll put up some pictures sometime.
Garden is coming along and I will be digging potatoes very soon. I've planted more corn and the tomatoes are flourishing. Rocket is about to blast off into seed. Darn it. Cauliflowers are forming and the broccoli is growing well. Cant see the eggplant coming up or the peas. Maybe the seed was too old. Might try again although it is getting late in the season to plant now. Spring will be here in a few days. And we really haven't had much of a winter yet.

Annie - whatever it is bothering you, I hope it all works out as you would like.

Happy - seems the volunteering world is in as much turmoil as the rest of your country at the moment. I'd like to think your poor country will come out of this stronger but it only seems that it is getting more divisive. Such a shame.

Ceejay - yeah, retirement transition is busy. I always seem to be doing something or going somewhere. I daresay it will settle down in due course.

Laura - nice place to sit and relax. Nothing like a bit of KFC to keep the urges away for a while. I always seem to want some, crave some, and then when I have some I wonder what I was craving for! Isn't it annoying when something you have been looking forward to, like a meal out, turns out to be underwhelming.

Susie - sounds like you have been busy. You have done very well at the weight loss. What a lot to lose in a year. Have you tried putting the pounds of butter (equal to the pounds lost) in a pile in the grocery store? It's quite amazing to see how much has gone.

Okay, well, off to sort out the yard, have some breakfast, finishing fixing the dog food for the week, give the cat a cuddle, (she isn't too well), paint the ceiling and check on the neighbour whose little dog isn't too well either. My weight appears to be holding steady. I would have thought I would have lost a little over the past couple of weeks but no, not happening at the moment. It will come.

Morning all. Cooler today, but still a bit humid. I think that’ll lessen a bit as the week goes on.

Shad – Now that’s a good retirement option – dogsitting. :) == Sorry to hear that Sunday isn’t doing well. :( So much in your garden, good for you. I feel a bit guilty because I’ve really neglected my veggies this year (all four plants, lol). And they are responding in kind – not much of a harvest. I’m considering a different spot for my veggies next year, and may just do containers. == Re KFC, I wish I hadn’t discovered that they actually have pretty tasty chicken pot pies. I seem to have one every month or so. Sure didn’t need to add that to the “things I shouldn’t eat but do anyway” list.

Hellos to the rest of you. Annie, keeping you in my thoughts and sending good vibes.

==
Found out a friend’s father passed away yesterday. I think the wake will be on Thursday.

Nothing much else going on here, so I’ll post. :wave:

Good morning everyone,

Annie - please check in - worried about you. :hug:

I had planned on staying home yesterday - got calls from 2 different people asking me to attend a meeting at the shop yesterday so I went in. Had lunch at the senior center and then I went to the shelter for a bit. So that blew the day. But I did get to drop off the Tag Day (fundraiser) items that I had been driving back and forth in the back of my car for a week so that was good.

When I got my new refrigerator I stored the contents of the old one in a big cooler we had. Most of the stuff I transferred back after the new one got set up and I had left a few things in the cooler that I intended to toss because they were old. The stuff was still cold but defrosted. One thing was a bag of lamb kabobs. I have never cooked lamb before although it's gaining in popularity here. When DH and I went to a Chef's Table dinner we had something called Chislic. It's a South Dakota thing - cubes of lamb or mutton, seasoned and fried or deep fried. DH loved it. So I thought - let's try to reproduce this - I said apprehensively. :^: You just cut the meat into bite sized cubes and mix up a marinade of garlic & onion powder, salt, black pepper, this one called for chili powder or you can use ground chilies and I added some steak seasoning. You mix the dry spices with 2 spoons of Worcestershire sauce and let the meat marinate for at least an hour. Then I put some garlic flavored olive oil in my trusty cast iron pan, heated 'er up and seared and cooked the meat. They said lamb is best medium rare so I cooked it for about 3 minutes turning after a minute. Set the pieces on paper towels to remove some of the oil (although there wasn't much). Cook it in batches - don't crowd the pan so that you get a crisp sear instead of too much meat steaming itself and let the pan heat back up to temp again between batches. It really did smell good if I say so myself. When it was done I added some heavy cream to the pan to make a dipping sauce with all of those wonderful seasoning. DH ate every last drop. I tried 2 pieces and would have ate some myself if there was more meat to be had. Instead I made a piece of sockeye salmon that I had in the freezer. Had some fresh cucumbers out of the garden (about the only thing that is doing ok out there) and we had some fresh corn on the cob. A really tasty meal. The salmon had one really thin piece on the filet so I cut that off because it never cooks right. The filet was large enough that I had a portion for dinner and another half left for a second meal. I didn't need that skinny strip so I left it raw. I told DH to put it out for the raccoons. He was watching momma raccoon last night. She was eating seed with her babies at the bottom of the bird feeder when she noticed a new smell in the air. She sniffed around and eventually wandered over to the salmon. She was apprehensive of it, rolled it around and then decided to try it. She discovered that sushi is GREAT. As she was munching, one of her babies came over to see what was going on and she batted baby away - MINE. It was a small strip - about 2 ounces so not much there but she was NOT sharing. We are not in the habit of feeding the raccoons as they are nuisance animals but DH's new bird pole keeps them off of the trees so the most they do is bottom feed scraps. Both outbuildings are not heated so they don't try and get into them for winter hiding so right now it's live and let live.

Yesterday was a cool and breezy day - overcast and in the 60's. Definitely autumn is in the air. Maple trees are starting to turn - we see more and more bursts of orange. The hummingbirds are starting to swarm as they bulk up and get ready for a long flight south. I hate to see summer leave. Not many more boating days ahead of us. DH is planning on taking a picture taking drive to some waterfalls tomorrow. I will stay home as I can't hike and he is planning on LEAVING at 6am :faint: That's way too long of a day for me with having to run bingo that night. Twice we were planning to go out on the boat but changed our plans because of windy days and the chance of storms that never really materialized. The weekend is supposed to be rainy. That killed our ATV plans. We are trying to set dates to do stuff and use our "toys" more. First it was my overcommitment to volunteering that interfered, now it's the weather. :dizzy:

The eclipse was a bust. I made a cereal box "viewer" which worked pretty well. I got to see the start of the eclipse but then it quickly clouded over. At one point - DH was working outside - it got rather dark like a storm was moving in. I went out and told DH the nearest rain was 3 hours from us - this "darkness" was the 80 percent totality that we were experiencing even though we could not see the sun through the clouds. He said it was the heavy cloud cover but I knew better. ;) Especially when 10 minutes later - just like I told him, the skies lightened up considerably. Just as the eclipse was ending, sure enough, the sun came back out again. :shrug:

Although I have some things to do inside, I think because it's cool out, I am going to go out in the garage and sort through some boxes. I REALLY need to clear the garage and with the weather starting to cool off, before I know it, it will be too cold to work in there. DH is about to just rent a dumpster and toss out everything :eek: So I'd better get busy. I have been feeling especially achy lately so last night I started on these supplements. It's just that holy cow - some of them recommend 3 pills 3 times a day. Heck, that's a meal just in pills! :yikes: I am taking gelatin capsules, cinnamon, probiotics, krill oil, collagen and a multi vitamin. I'm starting with less than the optimum dose and working my way up. My biggest issue is REMEMBERING to take them in the first place. Most of the supplements suggest you take them with food to avoid stomach upset. The cats are sleeping behind me and both of them are snoring. Wierd sounds.

Laura - I love chicken pot pies too. I know they are calorie bombs because of that most delicious crust. My Mom loves them too - my sister allows her to have them twice a year as a special meal because as you say - not something that should be on the regular menu list. The resistance ball workout sounded like fun - have you got your exercise area all cleared out now? I guess the Powerball jackpot must have been up there - everyone was talking about buying tickets. I thought they kicked Illinois out of the lottery because of the financial issues with the state? Guess not...

Shad - I'm sorry to hear that Sunday the cat is getting on in years. She has had a good life thanks to you - one of the most heartbreaking stories. Sounds like your garden is coming along nicely - for what is coming up. Now you will have time to plant even a larger one. Have you finished clearing out the yard yet? And haven't you caught on from Ceejay and I that retirement is even more busy than the working life we have left behind? :lol: It's a good busy to stay active. I do agree with you about the underwhelming on the richer food meals. I do find myself enjoying the light and simple more and more. Had some fresh tomatoes with mozzerella cheese slices, a drizzle of balsamic and fresh basil. Totally enjoyed that meal. I guess our tastes will guide us if we let them.

Ceejay - I have heard that asparagus takes something like 5 years to mature. Nurse it carefully and then you will have it forever. So you liked the grilled food in the Big Green Egg (grill)? I have heard people rave about them. We considered getting one but were skeptical of the hype. They do seem to be more popular down south than up here.

Susie - how was the trip to the hippie town?

That's about it for me. All the birds are tweeting outside. Not sure what's going on out there. Have a good day ladies.

I am here. Don't feel like talking about anything yet. I am going to counseling on Friday to try and wrap my head around it.

Afternoon all. Cooler temps today and for the next several days. I enjoy these temps in the 70’s so I look forward to it. Nice to have the windows open and the A/C turned off.

Happy - The lamb sounded tasty! == I hope you get out to the garage and make some progress with the boxes. If these are from your move, then it must be a bit like Christmas when you open them, lol. Well I guess it depends on how well-labeled they are... -– Sorry the weather is getting in the way of plans of getting out and using your toys. :( == I didn’t mention the eclipse yesterday. It was somewhat cloudy in our area, so it wasn’t a spectacular sight. But we could definitely tell that it got darker at the height of totality. == Wow, that’s a lot of supplements! Good idea to start off at lower dosages. I hope you don’t have any negative reactions to them. :crossed: == Re the PowerBall and MegaMillions, I think IL was able to get back in the games because they’d finally gotten a budget passed. I don’t know how that could give the other states the warm fuzzies that IL could afford to actually pay its payout share, but that’s the story.

Annie – We’re here for you!! :hug:

Hellos to the rest of you.
==
Nothing much to report. I had lunch with a work buddy yesterday and it turned into a sobfest. Her 14 year old dog has cancer… Very sad. BF and I had her and her dog over for a play date with Coal when they were both young – they were so cute together.

I did a Mari Windsor Pilates workout dvd last night. Only 20 minutes, but at least it’s something. I’ll do another workout tonight.

Still hungry after my hearty and filling Lean Cuisine cheese ravioli entrée. Yes, sarcasm. Off to get my yogurt from the fridge.

That’s about it for me. TTFN.

Ok, if we are being honest here - when I have the Lean Cuisine Cannoli ?? which I love. I want to eat two packages because just 2 of those skinny cheese filled pasta tubes, delicious as they are - JUST AREN'T ENOUGH. There I said it. That's why I only eat them twice a year. :lol:

Annie - thanks for checking in. Do I need to clean the commune in anticipation of a get away visit? I do have to warn you that while it's peaceful and wonderful here, it is cool and apparently today while DH was over to the side of the mancave digging, a bear came out where he was there (and didn't notice) and stole our brand new pricey woodpecker suet feeder right out from under him.

I guess I won't put on my earphones and Ipod while I'm out in the garage...

Morning all. Work is a bunch of PITA tasks right now. And the boss is back in the office, so bleh. But keeping busy, so that's something.

My foot has been bugging me last week and this week. I'm so over this. I will likely end up getting an MRI to see what might be going on. The x-rays in early July showed the bone healing just fine. Sigh.

Tonight I'll be going to the wake for a friend's father.

That's about it. Back to the grind.

P.S. Happy - Those frozen entrees are so mediocre (and that's being kind) that when I finish one, I never want to eat a second one. Just something else more flavorful and filling.

Good morning all,

Last out, first in I see.

DH got up this morning at something like 5am to take a 3 hour drive to go take pictures of some waterfalls somewhere in Minnesota. Did I want to go? No thanks :no: Told him that was much too long of a day for me when I have to work bingo tonight and stay there until 9pm. Any other day I may have gone. He just sent back pictures - long tough hike to see some waterfalls. Beyond my abilities right now...

Yesterday was a sunny but cooler day and even though I had lots to do inside, I decided it would be a perfect day to go tackle some boxes in the garage. Winter always sneaks up on me too quickly and before I know it, DH is complaining about all the stuff in the garage and it being too tight to park in there and boxes getting wet from the drippings off the car. By then it's way too cold to work out there. So I decided to make good on a promise to myself to tackle that early. Many of the boxes have technical books (out of date), linens, housewares, some cleaning supplies and our old component stereo system as well as an old tv. There are also several tupperware bins full of clothing and office papers. Even though I started in the late afternoon, I did manage to get through 5 boxes before I quit to figure out something fast for dinner. One box was DH's clothing, there were several boxes of his stereo and computer stuff and a box full of his technical computer books. I set those off to the side. For my side there was a box of knick knacks - I kept 2 that I loved and the rest went into a box for the thrift store. And yes Laura, that WAS like Christmas as I had to unwrap them all from the white packing paper and had no idea what was in them :lol: I went through 2 boxes of paperwork - 95 percent was tossed/recycles out including a few magazines and catalogs. The stuff with sensitive info (like old credit card receipts that had the full c/c number on them or med records with our social security number) went into a bag to get burned or shredded. I'm going to wash a set of bedsheets that I had packed in a bin - if I can get the slightly musty smell from them I will wash all of them and donate them, otherwise they will go in the trash. I'm surprised the elastic is still stretchy on the fitted sheets. We don't have a bed that size anymore which is why I never bothered to bring that box into the house.

I also forgot or didn't realize that I have to work a fundraiser on Saturday evening. I always work this one so I guess it was just assumed I will be there again. It's an outdoor event and they are talking 80 percent chance of rain and temperatures in the low 60's during the day and at night our temps are dipping to the low 40's. That will not be fun. At all.

I am proud of myself - just got a call from the Senior Center asking if I can answer the phones from 1 to 4 today. I said no it's bingo night and I have to be there from 4:45 to 9pm. She said well, can you work a couple of hours? I thought about it and almost said yes and then no. I said Thursday is the one day I can't / won't work from 8 or 11 all the way to 9pm. I am learning to say no. :lol:

It's chilly in the house today - 61 outside but sunny yet the house has not warmed up yet. My hands are like ice. And so are my feet. I should go out on the deck in the sun for a few minutes and warm up like a lizard :rofl:

Let me post this and see if any of you have checked in yet.