I hope all of us in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was very nice; we always get together with our friends Dick and Carolyn and their two grandkids that they raise as their parents are drug addicts. In fact their mother died this year from her drug abuse. It is a sad story.

We at well, watch two movies, Aquaman and Struber. Enjoyed them both. Yesterday we met a friend in Dayton, OH at the movies to see "Ford vs Ferrari" GREAT movie. We had a late lunch afterwards, went to the mall and did a lot of looking (I usually just shop online...it is easier) and then had cheesecake at the cheescake factory. I have not worked out in 10 days! Scales showed it this morning....back on plan today.

Today I'm cleaning the house; doing regular house cleaning as last week when I was on vacation, I had a lot of clean-up in the bathroom and kitchen after the cabinet painitng. I had to wipe down the walls and baseboards, all the trim, etc in both the kitchen and bathroom and every surface from the sanding dust. Then I put new shelve liners in and then all the stuff back in the cabinets. It took a while but it all is so nice and organized and everything is clean in those areas. I threw a lot of things out. DH is a pack rat...I am not,...so when he was at work (I was on vacation last week), I tossed.

I am also going to do my holiday decorating. Wreath on the door, decoate the mantel and ornements on the tree. We might go see a movie tonight at the local movie theatre; we want to see the one about Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood. We are also watching the Ohio State-Michain Game ....Go Buckeys!!!!! The tv will be on the whole time I am cleaning and decorating.

I have two weeks to work and then starting December 16, I start my vacation and I'm off work until January 2!

Annie: I hope your cold is all better. Are those grandsons getting excited for Christmas?

Laura: If they release you to go back to work from home; I think you should start with half-days and ease back into things.

Shad: The kola is so cute! Is the paining and clean up all done yet? How nice it will be to enjoy all your hard work once everything is back in place.

Ceejay: It is good that you set those boundries with the nephew. Addition is a horrible thing...I hope he can overcome it. I know he can, but it has to be up to him and it is daily renewal decision. Really it is now different than our own struggles with overeating. It is a choice each day.

Happy: Your kittens provide a lot of entertainment! Good idea to skip the lights on stairs..that would be very tempting to those kitties. I hope you have a good report at the December 3rd appointment.

I need to get moving on this living room so I can get things done.

Good morning ladies,

Well we survived the big snowstorm. With the 7+ inches we got on Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving and with this weekend's snow - I'm guessing we have around 15 inches or so. It's probably more than it seems like it to me. The trees look frosted and pretty. I do feel sorry for the animals. The bird feeders are covered and the deer were trudging through the snow. Tripod in particular - the one with the lame leg - looks like she may have damaged it some with this latest round of snow. All we can do is keep her and her baby fed.

Survived Thanksgiving also. I cooked for 3 days. Made 2 turkeys - a fresh one on Tuesday because I needed to make stock to make gravy and keep the second turkey warm for dinner. The first turkey I made the traditional bake in the oven way and had delicious drippings for gravy. I had a second turkey which I got for "free" - technically I had to spend $600 in groceries over the last 6 weeks which I easily did. The second turkey we had for our dinner with friends and that one I used the convection oven to cook. That cooks via circulating hot air and you can't use any liquid as a base in the pan nor should you baste the turkey. It made the most delicious and moist turkey - better than the baked one BUT I had no drippings to use. That's why I made 2 turkeys. We had dinner with 2 of our friends. We had a crazy amount of food. Her husband is very fussy - meat and potatoes guy. Each of us made favorites and our men ate only what their wives made. I was expecting my friend to take half of the leftover turkey but she only took a small bit, some applesauce and dessert brownies. So I'll be making a big pot of soup today and freezing lots of turkey in gravy. I've been trying to make one non-turkey meal each day to balance out the turkey, but at this point we're getting pretty tired of the stuff. Soup or pot pies might be good though.

So I have pretty much been spending the last 4 days cooking, washing dishes, cooking, chasing kittens, cleaning dishes, wiping up the kitchen over and over I am tired of cooking! DH takes care of the snow outside. He has a snowblower for the deck and a big snowblower on the John Deere tractor for the grounds. So shovelling is minimal - mostly the steps on the deck and the areas right in front of the garages and out buildings. Yet he's been out for at least 4 hours clearing and staying in front of the snow.

Yesterday I sat and watched a special on Public Television - they had videos of old time Christmas music - Gene Autry "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer", Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Burl Ives. All the classics I remember as a kid. It was good to watch. I recorded it, will probably watch it one more time around Christmas. With 2 very rambunctious kittens, I won't be putting much up in the way of decorations - much less a way too tempting tree. Not even a small one on a table top. I will put out a few cherished decorations on the mantle and dining room buffet. Can't really say I will set the table either - they will try and crawl on it and I am trying really hard to set boundaries of where they can go and what they can do. It's been a battle. One forgets what it's like to deal with little monkeys in the house. They bed down around 5 or 7 for a nap and sleep deeply into the evening. I try and wake them up but they are all warm and floppy and dead asleep and they don't want to wake up. Until 9 or 10. Then around 1:30 or 2 each morning they get the heebie jeebies and 3 of them race all over the house - up and down the stairs, across the floor, from room to room and make a heckuva lotta noise. Then they wake me around 6 again. Other than that they are cute little buggers.

This week I go to the oral surgeon to see how things are progressing. Then to the dentist. This partial is driving me nuts. It rubs me the wrong way - literally. Is causing some stress on the teeth and sore spots. I am glad I've been mostly home so I can leave my teeth out I will be so glad when this is done and over with. My knees have been bothering me a lot too. Since I've been home I've been wearing slippers instead of good shoes, I am being more mindful of that. Also with this being December 1, I am back on the NuStep again. With the kittens roaming around upstairs now, don't have to worry about them getting underfoot on the machine. I do need to build up leg strength. With all this snow I am done driving unless we get a new car that handles better in the snow. I found a swimming 10 punch pass for the local hotel pool but DH would have to drive me. We also need to get back to the gym again. I have probably used the gym 5 times since we joined in July. :0

Hope everyone had a nice holiday and you are getting a bit of a break in the hot weather Shad.

Susie - how nice to get the cabinets all rearranged and cleaned out. It's good to periodically purge, just like a medicine cabinet. I find sometimes I buy something with the intention of making a special recipe, then put it in the cabinet for another day and forget about it. Then it's expired. Funny how each couple seems to have someone who hangs on to things (me) and someone who likes to purge (DH) I know he has been purging out of the out buildings for years now. 2 whole weeks of vacation - what will you do with yourself? I know you like to do holiday things. I want to see the Mr. Rogers movie too. Perhaps this week.

Ceejay - glad you had a nice Thanksgiving at your sister's and BIL is holding his own.

Shad - so sad to hear of the fires in your area. I do hope you get some rain relief very soon. The people who fight the fires are very brave. I smiled at your comment about procedures in Thailand and India vs other places. I think our teeth look better for it Good to hear that your son enjoyed his trip. and that he didn't get mugged. Always a worry in the city when you are never sure if you are in the eyes of a criminal. Loved the picture of your new "grandchild" yes, I can lend a few teeth for a nice smile although it would probably be more frightening. That was fun of DS to do that for you.

Laura - hope you are doing ok. I agree with Susie and half days when you go back - rushing with the other commuters will be difficult and even after a few weeks off you have had surgery and you will no doubt need to get a bit of strength back before you are on the run again.

Annie - how's things at your house? Getting ready for Christmas? I don't want to hear how warm it is at your place.

The wind is kicking up so I think I will get that pot of soup going so that it's ready when DH is done plowing. He's going to be covered in snow and he ripped the crotch right out of his snow pants. They were not really made for lots of movement - more I think sitting in a snowmobile. I have new ones on order - darn things are EXPENSIVE but when you are plowing the snow blows all over and you tend to get wet so they are worth the cost. Big clumps of snow are falling from the trees as the wind blows - kind of pretty but not to the birds sitting on the branches underneath I suppose!

Anyway take care. Will try to be a bit more regular in here.

Morning all.
Got a bit of spare time before lunch so I've sat at the computer and done a few things for the Probus club and now it is my time for me. I'm getting fairly tired of Facebook and all the negativity and rudeness so I don't go there all that often and then only to check up on friends and family and a few sites that interest me.

The painting of the walls is in the last stages. One more coat on the west wall of the kitchen and dining tomorrow and it is done. I've still got trim and doors and such to go, but that will now wait until after Christmas. I've too much on for doing fiddly work. This week I go to the MCCC for my 3 year cancer check. That's Wednesday, Then there is a trivia night with friends. Always a laugh. The week after is food week apparently as I have a Probus meeting on the 10th, Bone density test on the 12th, Micks birthday lunch (old friend turning 60) on the 14th, Family Christmas do on the 15th and Probus club lunch on 17th. Whether I will need to eat again before new year is debatable.
The weather is hot again today. We had had a couple of rainshowers last Saturday and yesterday a storm followed by some welcome rain and the storm came back during the night. Woke me up at one point. Today is back to hot and windy and will stay that way until at least Thursday apparently. No rest for the wicked here. It's going to be a hot dry summer and any rain like yesterdays will be cancelled out by the heat and wind today. Boo hoo.
DS2 enjoyed his trip to Chicago and NY although he couldn't wait to get out of New York and said it should be called Madness - he got hacked off by the beggars and homeless accosting him. Said the underground (train system) was filthy and smelly, there was rubbish everywhere in the parks and streets (no bins because apparently people put bombs in bins) and that the walls in the hotel were paper thin and the neighbours next door were either having sex or arguing, both at the top of their lungs. He was pleased to be home. Dog was pleased to see him home.

Happy - it always seems that there is so much food on these occasions and one gets sick of eating them. It's similar when I cook a roast dinner or a casserole and I have to freeze it for later. I've tried to convert the recipes to just one person but it is difficult to judge how much rice one needs or noodles or spaghetti/ pasta and they don't freeze so well. I'm preparing doggy bags for our Christmas do on the 15th and everyone will take home something that's left over (or else they may not be allowed to leave the house)
I've been purging some of my stuff as well. Don't need everything I have, and some things I have 2 of. So there will be recipe books and other stuff for the family to pick through at Christmas. If that doesn't get rid of some things, I will take the books to Probus and tell them to help themselves to anything there and take the rest to goodwill shops (Op Shops) Someone will be able to use them.

Ceejay - hope the nephew has pulled his weight over the last week that he's been home. And that the BIL is doing okay on his new chemo.

Laura - Hope the working from home is going well for you. At least you won't be rushed with stuff that must be done yesterday. I have to admit to procrastinating with the maintenance around the house as well. But it is now getting done, some will wait until next year but the walls are now a pretty pale greeny shade and not the glaring yellow they have been for the past umpty years.

Susie - Good on you for tossing stuff that wasn't being used. There isn't enough room in our lives for junk that does not have an obvious purpose. I'm still throwing out bits and pieces myself. Some to charities and some to the dump. Tossed a whole stack of VHS tapes the other day. Well if it can't get played what use is it? It's so nice when you can see space around you. I haven't got all the furniture back in place yet, nor have I hung pictures on the walls that will come next week after I clean up the painting gear and slot the next project into place.

Okay, better go get lunch on, then sort out what to do next. Too hot for outside, so it will be cleaning and clearing probably, with a two hour lunch break.

It is Monday and back to work for me. I am on my bike this morning. Once I threw the covers back this morning it wasn't to hard to get to moving.

Happy and Shad, as I was reading your posts I was chuckling to myself, as friends of ours invited us out to their home yesterday after church for leftovers and the spread that was sent home with us will makes dinners or lunch for us all week! Everyone over cooks!

My DH loves leftovers so he is very happy.

I have two very urgent items to solve today and get them moving again, a PO and an invoice. I will have to hunt down someone who can help me as this issue is new to me and I have exhausted all I know to do.

I have been praying for these people to quickly respond. Yep, I need divine intervention for these two things!

My plans tonight are to do some Cyber Monday shopping. The more I can buy and have it shipped to me the better. I will also need to put a load of towels in the wash, since we were at our friends' house yesterday afternoon and I ran out of time to get the last 3 loads of laundry in the wash.

See you all later.

Afternoon all. I’m back to work – from home. My home office/computer setup is working fine, as is my internet access and network connection…knock wood. I have one project I’m starting on, otherwise it’s pretty calm. Did spend some time cleaning up some things that got messed up while I was gone…hope more goofs don’t pop up.

We had a nice enough Thanksgiving. We were supposed to go to bf’s aunt’s senior living place for a meal with his other family members, so we declined dinner at my SIL’s place. Then the aunt’s dinner was canceled about a week or two in advance because she isn’t doing well (dementia and other physical issues) and a large gathering would not be good for her. So we ended up hosting bf’s mother at our place with our usual ham dinner and then the three of us went over to the SIL’s for dessert.

That sounded relatively straightforward…but I honestly struggled with it. Bf doesn’t like my SIL and especially not my BIL. So I was sort of relieved to not have to go to that meal. But when the aunt’s meal was cancelled, bf was telling me he could take his mom out to eat and I could go to my SIL’s so I could see my mother for the holiday. In other words…he wasn’t going to go to my SIL’s. So I could go alone (well, he’d have to drop me off). And then what – explain that bf was taking his mom out to eat when it would have been no problem taking her along to my SIL’s – she’s met them all before and one more guest isn’t a big deal. So when we were invited for dessert, it was a satisfactory compromise – for me. Of course bf got into a tiff with my BIL and I had to hear about it on the way home after he’d already vented to his mother when he walked her into her apartment when we dropped her off. I just don’t get how after all these years he just can’t manage to deal with people like my SIL who is a know-it-all jacka$$. Men and their egos! I have no idea how Christmas will play out. This year I’m playing my surgical recovery for all it’s worth. I hosted last year anyways, so it’s not my “turn”.

Other than that, I’m doing alright. Bruises are finally fading on my foot, and the stitches were removed last week with no issues. Next doctor appointment is two weeks from today and hopefully I can start bearing some weight on this foot and maybe even drive!! Doubt the latter – no way could I drive in the giant boot I was given. I’m sort of going nuts not being able to get out on my own. I might make bf take me out for dinner or even just to the grocery store tonight. Yes, I’m all “woe is me” at the moment. It’s sunny outside and it would be nice to get out for a walk…if only.


Enough of my venting. On to personals…

Happy – What an adventure with those kittens!! I suppose you are anxious at times for them to get through this phase of their crazy nighttime antics. But they are fun to watch, aren't they?? Wow, such a lot of food at Thanksgiving! Hope you find many creative and tasty ways (yum, pot pies!!) to cook with it. If not…maybe you’ll have another option for Christmas with turkey meat and gravy from the freezer. Sorry the teeth are giving you problems. I’m glad you’re able to spend a lot of time at home now (thanks to all that snow!), and it’s good it allows you to remove the partial and get some relief. Get on that NuStep!!


Shad – Good job on the wall painting. The trim & doors will still be there waiting for paint after Christmas, not going anywhere, LOL. I hope the fires are no longer burning out there. I hope your son enjoyed his time in Chicago and found it a bit nicer than NY…sounds like he didn’t like NY at all!! LOL re the “cool” grandchild! So he was fortunate to be here for the cold and snow…NOT. I hope your cancer check goes perfectly!! Good plans to rid yourself of the leftover holiday dinner and all the bits and pieces accumulated. I actually do have a working VCR, but I think I mentioned a while back that I was transferring the exercise vids and some other stuff from the vhs to our dvr (it’s the type that can record and store on a hard drive), and then copy onto a dvd. I know dvds are being phased out in favor of streaming, etc., but I prefer to use the dvds.


Ceejay – I hope everything is going alright with your nephew and his recovery…but I hope you get to have your place to yourself again soon. How did your BIL do with the chemo yesterday?

Susie – Your Thanksgiving and weekend following sounded so fun. You sound happy to have your kitchen and bathroom back to rights again after all the cleaning, tossing, organizing. Did you get your decorations up? I’m thinking of skipping our Christmas tree this year and just stringing some tiny white lights on our ficus tree! How great you’ll have all that time off at the end of the month. I’m working from home right now, and really don’t expect to go back to the office until January. Until I can put full weight on my foot, I’m not going to deal with my car/train/walk commute. Did you do any Cyber Monday shopping yesterday? I don’t plan to do much holiday shopping this year. Last year I did shopping and found out when I hosted the family that they had failed to tell me that they weren’t exchanging gifts!! I felt like an idiot and they felt bad about it too… As far as I’m concerned, we can stop with the gift exchanges altogether and then we can be free to just give fun little token gifts – homemade food treats, ornaments, and other little stuff. Or maybe do some kind of white elephant exchange, lol.

Annie – How’s everything going with you and the family? And Cindy? Have you done the Polar Express yet? Saw a news story yesterday on one in our area. Suddenly I’m sad about missing out on some of the holiday stuff. Like the holiday lights displays at the local arboretum and botanical garden. Oh well. Put it on a list for next year!

Okay, time to get this posted. Enjoy the rest of your day everyone!

Good morning ladies,


Thought I posted the other day but I was having problems trying to print something for the Shelter Board meeting (my last one) and was having network problems - rebooted and probably lost my post and forgot about it.


I attended the Board meeting yesterday to present the new bingo fundraiser in January, give my last official report on the Thrift Shop and cover 2 reports for my cohort and buddy who took off with her cat and hubby and headed to much warmer (and snowless) Arizona for the winter months. I sort of envy her a bit. They thanked me for my service and all I had done which was very touching. Although encouraged I did not stay past my reports. Got to learn to walk away and stick with my decisions. Sometimes I am wimpy and guilty.


We got 11 inches of snow over the weekend and with the 7 we got the day before Thanksgiving that gives us a whopping 18 inches of the white stuff. That's the end of my driving for a long time, DH is in Uber drive me mode now as my man servant I am really nervous about walking about on ice and snow with my crunchy knee and hip - more psychological than anything - fear of falling. I do have good shoes and boots. Kittens are crazy maniacs - they are growing so fast. I'm glad we got 2 - they are good company and wrestle each other constantly. Bimmy plays with them too which is good - burns some of her energy and Nina just sits to the side and is content to watch but has no interest in participating in the foolishness. They are all seeking more of our attention which is interesting. Won't be too much longer before the kittens get bigger than Bimmy - we'll see what happens with that - she is a small petite kitty. At 2 am when they all run and chase each other up and down the stairs, sounds like a herd of buffalo running through the house.


Did a cook a thon marathon for Thanksgiving - I made turkey stock and the other day made a "Thanksgiving Soup" with turkey stock, cubed turkey, carrots, onions, celery, dried cranberries, bits of stuffing, sliced potatoes and you serve it with a bit of grated cheddar cheese on top. It was really good - very hearty and since it's soup it's a good use of the more dry white meat of the bird. I froze extra portions of food and still have some leftover apples to deal with. Not planning on making Christmas cookies or anything. I am so not into the holiday this year. No special reason, just not feeling it. Kittens found my bin of decorations and brought a pinecone upstairs yesterday so that kind of firms up the minimal if any decorating that I will do. Crunchy wreathes and dangling things and oh boy the motherlode of toys - a decorated Christmas tree would be just too tempting to them. So we will have our usual quiet Christmas.


I did do some binge shopping - bought 2 Le Creuset dutch ovens to replace my worn non stick pans. DH wanted to try and air fryer - I hope that will not be just an expensive french fry machine! Got the Bonne Mamam Advent calendar of sample jams back in September before they sold out and I have some yummy English muffins and muffin bread coming tomorrow so I can start trying out some of these flavors. I have used Bonne Mamam in the past - they have the best fig jam I use for cooking.


I have an eye exam I need to get ready for. Still having issues seeing distances with my glasses. I also need a prescription for computer glasses and need to replace my sunglasses that I never did get updated. Since we have such huge dental bills this year, I am going to spend as much as I can on other medical related things because we will have a big tax deduction. DH goes next week for his hearing aid fitting - I hope that helps him too and that he does not get caught up in hating it and leaving it in a drawer.


Laura - good to hear you are progressing nicely. Really I think you will be very happy to postpone going back into the office as much as possible. That walk from the train to the office will be straining, especially if you are hurrying to catch a specific train. Yikes on the BF / SIL drama. We always went to my Mom's for the holidays and everyone gathered there. DH never really liked it either, he would always make excuses / claim headaches or illness right after we ate so we didn't have to stay long. It always bothered me but set the tone for future holidays to come by ourselves.


Susie - hope you got those work snags taken care of. I admire your dedication about getting back to exercising again. Like you said, you can notice it when you go off plan.


Shad - I hope the summer is not a super dry, fire danger one for you. My heart goes out to all of those who suffer from the fires. I'd rather have wind and rain and snow to contend with. How nice that the painting is almost finished. Blink your eyes twice and it will be time to do it again Glad DS had a good time in Chicago. Your description of NY is just the way I remember it and I haven't been there since the 1980's It's a NY thing - they love it, they embrace it and good for them - it's what makes I ♥ NY for them! I think it's also a young person's exciting town - us old folks peel the rosey glasses off and see it for what it is. Same I suppose of Chicago or any big city like Los Angeles. Give me the country life! I'm sure the Probus folks are very glad to get your donations. Always nice to recycle things instead of filling landfills with still usable stuff.


Hellos to Annie and Ceejay!


I need to get showered up and ready to head out. Have a good weekend everyone.

Good Friday Afternoon....

Thanksgiving was great! Lots of food and cards. Couple of board games too. We did a wee bit of shopping on Friday afternoon at Menards (hardware store). I did find a winter jacket with a zip out lining for Curtis as he did not have anything other than his work coat that says "Flowers Baking" on it. He said he didn't feel comfortable in it when we would go out places. That is about the only thing I bought. Geez just had a choking coughing spell. Choked on my own spit. Oh brother.

We got our sibling vacation reserved. We are staying at the Wyndham vacation rentals on Destin Beach, Fl. We got a good deal with my bother's military discount. I till end up being $624.00 for each couple for 6 nights 7 days. I am now excited for May 17 to get here. I am going to try to schedule some sort of beach vacation in June for Sam, the boys and me. Curtis is going on a week fishing vacation the first part of April with his brother. He is going to Reelfoot, TN, stay in a cabin and it comes with a boat, etc. Good for them, not for me. His brother is so dang weird and thinks strange things.

Tonight is our Christmas tea at church. Sam was going with me except my son (her bro) bought her and the boys tickets for Jurassic World Tour for tonight. So now Cindy my SIL is going with. It is usually a very relaxing good time. Great entertainment.

Tomorrow is the Polar Express (Laura), with the grands. We are meeting at the Pizza King for dinner first. We have about 18 people in our group going. It is usually a good time. I just hope they have all the lights up this year. Last year it seemed like there weren't as many.

We bought our Christmas tree last night. It really looks full and pretty. Not decorating it til Sunday as we are out of time til then. Too much going on.

LAURA...hope you are healing nicely. How are you feeling? Is work making you too busy now that you are back at it from home?

HAPPY...how did the doc appt go with your eye exam go? How is your mouth/teeth feeling. What a long journey with that you have. Awww the new kittens keeping you busy huh? Well good better than all that volunteering that you got no credit for and made you miserable.

SHADDIE...are you done painting yet? I am waiting on you to get over here. Glad DS had a nice trip to the states but sad he had to see all the muck in the subway. How depressing.

SUSIE...girl you need to get back to doing you and not tripping up your diet and exercise....lol says the moo cow that only has two OP days of eating so far. I can preach but not follow it. Bleh,

CEEG...DO NOT give your nephew an inch on his recovery or help. Trust me when it comes to addiction, they will take a mile. Thank God I have not had an issue in the 4 1/2 years of sobriety but I have seen others that have. Put you first and what is best for you, your home and your life.

Well, it is Friday afternoon 3:30pm, just another hour to go for the weekend. YeeeHaaaa!!!

Have a wonderful weekend all. Hugs.

Annie
Thanks for the advice. I'm trying to do that and it is hard but is necessary. He's been down a little as his illusion of going home when the move happened but he's getting over that. Think he is beginning to realize that there are consequences to certain actions.

Happy
your new kittens sound so fun. And good for you in resigning and walking away. proud of you. I don't envy the white stuff on the ground.

Susie and Laura


It's been a busy week. Monday night bil was rushed to the hospital after throwing up again. After test have been ran the doctors say that the tumor has grown over the stent that is in the duodenum and the mesh is making the tumor bleed. They are going to give him 15 rounds of radiation. They will be staying with me since I'm closer to the hospital. He had to have 2 pints of blood and 1 pint of platelets. I thought we were going to lose him. He was discharged this morning.
Nephew is having vehicle trouble so he's been staying with me this week. He doesn't like Branson. at all.
I've been doing some deep cleaning. I have to many odd's and end's pieces of furniture that I need to get rid of.

Hello all.

Not in a great mood at the moment. I wasn’t able to take vacation time in November, so I end up with a LOT of days left. This year we can carry over 7 days. I had 5 above that which I hadn’t used/scheduled and the boss asked if I was going to use them. So I schedule 3 more for 2019, then schedule 2 more in 2020 on January 2nd and 3rd. Boss just won’t approve the extra two days himself without HR, so long story short, it ends up being approved by the #2 HR guy. Hope boss is happy. I’m not going to rant anymore about this. But one more thing – I just scheduled the extra days and he ends up sending an invitation for one of our quarterly performance check-ins on one of my vacations days, LOL. So sad to decline – NOT - hahaha. Enough of that.


This week has dragged, but at least it’s my Friday!


Happy – I’m glad you’re getting yourself out of the Thrift Shop work. You sound like you’ve been enjoying your time at home watching your crazy kittens and cooking up a storm. I’m not much into the Christmas season this year either, but there’s still time!! I’m going to send bf out to buy a string or two of white lights so we can light up our ficus tree and it can stand in for the Christmas tree this year. And he can get a couple bins of decorations from the attic and that’ll cheer things up. I’ve had Bonne Maman jam – maybe cherry? Very tasty. Muffin bread sounds yummy! How did the eye exam go? I need to get in for an exam so I can get a new pair of glasses. I believe I ranted a while back about how the coating on my lenses got damaged when I had the dr switch up my frames. I’ve been wondering if I should just switch to another eye dr with more updated technology. Tried that once, but it didn’t work out. I kind of wish the decision was made for me by my dr retiring… I have been happy not being in the office the past week and a half. Really happy to not deal with commuting delays and being isolated in the house, I haven’t gotten sick (knock on wood).


Annie – I’m glad you had a nice Thanksgiving. Good C. has a nice new jacket that doesn’t advertise his work! Yay for the vacation plans!! Something to look forward to during the winter. How was the church tea? And Polar Express? Were all the lights on display? I can’t get around much right now, so maybe a drive around the area to look at the decorations is right up my alley.


Ceejay – I hope all is well with your nephew and his recovery. You have to be firm in dealing with him, but I understand from experience with my brother - it sure isn’t easy. How is your BIL doing? Saw the fb pics of the church decorations – very pretty! How’s the deep cleaning going? I might get someone in to clean after the holidays are over. I’m not doing any entertaining, so I can wait until after the new year to get someone in after all the holiday busyness. Just saw you're 3fc profile pic with the 2 cats - how nice!


Hi Susie! You’re almost there – 1.5 days ‘til vacation! I hope you’re not too overwhelmed trying to get everything done before the end of tomorrow.



Hi Shad! I saw your fb post about the glass table top shattering in the heat. Wow, what a mess! I hope you've got it cleaned up now, but you'll probably be worrying for a while if there isn't some fragments hiding in the grass.

Nothing much to report. I’ve got a couple things of my mom’s that I brought home when she moved back here that I agreed to try and sell instead of donating. One is an old erector set in the metal case (1960’s). ). I’m going to post it on craigslist and maybe in my FB garage sales groups. Another is an old beat-up metal roller skate case (without the skates). That one I’ll just put on the FB groups for a small amount of money and see if it goes. If not, I’ll just donate it. Happy – there’s a sticker on it for the Hub Roller Rink. It was on Harlem Avenue around Lawrence Ave – did you ever go there? It was still around when I was a teenager and I went there several times. It was right next to the Maurice Lenell cookie factory. Of course, both are gone now….What else? I did some mending on my sewing machine over the weekend. Tidied up my sewing stuff. Found a couple Styrofoam ornament balls I bought at the thrift store. I need to decide on how I want to decorate them for a little DIY project.

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

Good Morning and Happy Friday! and it is Good Friday=payday.

Been a busy week. Gotta gal out of the office this week and next on vacation, I am assuming her responsibilities. Keeping me hopping. Kind of liking it as it keeps my boring day not so boring. I am looking after the first of the year. Something closer to home and more enjoyable. I must admit I am quite miserable. Hoping to find something more suitable for me. Keep your fingers crossed and prayers and good vibes and mojo.

Today is my SIL Cindy's birthday. Friday the 13th, I consider all Friday the 13th's good luck days. We are going over to their house for pizza, cards and treats tonight. Keeping her inside in this cold weather. She is mostly well but still has a bit of "gunk" I her lower lung that the doc said will take some time to go away. She gets tired easy too.

Curtis had his first Endocrinology appt (diabetes) yesterday. He did very well. They told him to keep up the good work. His A1C dropped from 9.7 to 5.5. It is in the normal range. His cholesterol is a on the high side still. That is another issue they will address at the next appt. He is still minding his business on eating healthy.

I am fat and miserable.

CEEG...stick to your guns with nephew. I am proud of you for all your strength in doing so. Good on you.

LAURA...when do you physically go back into the office? Hope the decorations bring you out of your funk for the holidays. It comes and goes for me. SOmetimes I am really into the spirit and other times bleh. Weird. Grateful for what little spirit I do have.

Hellos to the rest of youse.

Love and hugs.

Nephew is doing much better.
Bil has started his radiation treatment. 2 down and 13 more to go. He's trying to stay in Ash Grove.
I'm beginning to gain my weight back that I've lost so I've got to get back on track with my eating. I did go to the gym yesterday.

Annie
That's great news for C.

Susie'
Hope the help comes for your problems at work.

Hi guys,

I swear I just posted yesterday. How the time flies. Yikes.

I've been spending money left and right like I'm some rich person of means. And I'm not but hey, Merry Christmas to me They are not all presents for me anyway - a new carrier for the additional kitties in the house, kitten food for them and their older sisters, some pans to replace my worn out ones and maybe a gift or two for me DH is looking at all the boxes being delivered and noting none of them are for him. I said where's my present???? Long ago he told me it was too hard to shop for me. That was about the same time he stopped listening to me. And when I suggested gifts I'd like he gave me the third degree - why do you want that, you already have something like that, what do you need that for??? It became so annoying I stopped trying. We haven't exchanged gifts in years and years. Over time I have come to not like Christmas or any holidays any more. And this year I really lost the spirit. I'm glad it's coming up fast as it will be over fast too. One of my friends asked me last week what is my holiday "theme and colors". I looked at her - "seriously, theme???? SERIOUSLY????? " Whatever I can bring up from the basement in 2 trips or less that the cats won't destroy. That's my THEME. She is one of those people who loves to decorate. Has one of those tall skinny pine trees and decorates it with leaves and raffia for autumn, then ornaments and garland for Christmas and probably colored eggs for Easter. I said I was not a homemaker or a Mom, I was a busy semi-executive most of my life and I never really had time for decorating or presents or any of that ho ho ho get out of my face stuff. Yes, I realized this is the year I got broken and jaded and I am hoping to recoup my joy in 2020. Seriously I have 2 kittens in their terrible 2's right now - into EVERYTHING so there will be little to no decorations this year. Christmas joy would be 2 weeks on a warm beach in ohhhh Brisbane This is the first year since we moved out of Chicago that I have not been back at least once to see my Mom and sister. Missing them and need to schedule a visit soon. I know 3 people who regularly drive into Chicago but none of them offer a ride anymore so I guess I will have to just bite the bullet and pay the expensive money to fly down. When I traveled with them I paid for all the gasoline up and back, bought lunch for them if we stopped and I never asked a one of them to take me to my sister's house. They dropped me off at a place convenient for them and my poor sister gladly drove to where ever to pick me up and drop me back again when the time came to head back north. It seemed we got along ok and they all said they were glad to have the companionship on what was otherwise a long and boring solo ride. But then I'd hear they went down and never said anything to me. I felt bad and then realized all 3 are right wing conservatives. They love the current head of our country and think he is doing a fine job and is a wonderful soul. I do not feel the same. While we had what I thought was pleasant conversations, I guess this was illustrative of the divide of people in this country now. As it is the holidays and family gathering times again, people are talking about the stress of having get togethers where people are vastly different in their political ideas. It's sad this abomination going on in our government is dividing friends, neighbors and families. In any regard I am starting to embrace DH and my sister's philosophy of depending on no one but yourself and a very VERY small circle of trusted favorites. I am also not crazy about flying because I saw on the news they are making airplanes with ever shrinking seats while the general population is proven to be growing bigger and bigger.Thank you claustrophobia, crowding and a big butt in a tiny seat ) And with the new Real ID regulations going into effect October of 2020, guess DH and I will have to apply for passports. We would like to see Canada one day any how.

Enough crabbing, on a better note. Eyes - the doctor examined me, said the vision in my right eye got a bit worse so tweeked my prescription. My problem with not being able to clearly focus he said is due to blocked tear ducts and dry eyes. He said to continue with drops twice a day or at least once BUT more importantly he said to work in a morning and evening regular routine of warm compresses on the eyes, tapping along the tear ducts and then holding the warm compress to my eyes. He said the tear film helps to sharpen the vision. He said he sees a lot of patients around this time of year complaining of the same thing. They do a thorough check for any possible diseases but it generally always comes down to dry eyes. So I am doing that. It is SUPER DRY in the house. Less than 20% humidity. Can use some of Shad's warmth and humidity although if you are in a drought do you really have humidity?

Bought an air fryer. Still experimenting with it. Here's my review. I guess it's ok if you eat a lot of fried food. I made DH fried chicken and french fries yesterday for dinner and told him just the smell of oil was giving me acid reflux It's more for him than me anyway. We bought frozen fried chicken to make - didn't like it - breading on that particular style of chicken was just too hard although it did cook the chicken itself nicely. Frozen bagged french fries come out better tasting and texture than fresh cut potatoes. It's like a mini convection style oven that cooks with hot air so if you can make it in an oven, you can make it in this "fryer". Going to try some veggie personal sized pizzas with the canned pizza crust you roll out. Also going to try crispy roasted Brussels sprouts this week. I got a Philips Turbostar Avance model. Got good reviews. It's small so cooks one or two portions at a time so you have to time things like I did yesterday making the chicken first, popped it in the oven on low to keep warm and then did the french fries. The chicken took 37 minutes - faster than 50 minutes regular style in the oven and fries took about 11 minutes - so in general faster than the oven but then again slower because I had to cook things one thing at a time. Still playing with it, might learn to like it after a while but right now it's good for DH's purposes. Can also warm sandwiches better than a pan or the oven.

We looked at a Kia SUV since the Toyota's were delayed. DH liked it alot, I was surprised - not the cheap parts and craftsmanship I expected although this is the high end model and is comparably priced to it's Toyota competition anyway. DH liked it enough to put money down and order one. I was skeptical. Thank you VERY MUCH Annie for your comment. Because of that we started doing a bit more of research and checking online forums. DH decided this is not what we want - lots of mechanical issues as they work the kinks out on this new model. We are hoping the Toyota Highlander will come to the dealerships by the time the Kia Telluride he ordered shows up. We are under no obligation to take the car - they are hot right now and they have no problem selling them quickly so we can get our deposit back. I was worried that DH would jump the gun once again with a car he was not happy with and said we can't keep trading in cars every 2 years. Need to find one and stick with it for a long, long time. That is why we have had Toyotas so frequently. We like the service and mostly happy with the quality. Only reason DH looked at Kia was because for some reason Toyota held back the 2020 model Highlander he was interested in.

So it's gray, cold and snowy here. We are getting a winter with more winter than I want However DH clears and manages the snow, I have plenty of warm clothes and no reason to go out in it. This weather is very good for the businesses that struggle through the winter so it's good to see people in town using motels, restaurants and shopping even if I don't appreciate them myself. We went to a couple of restaurants the last 2 weeks and they were shockingly empty. I feel sorry for the owners and wait staff trying to make a living. The waitress we had last Sunday said most quiet Sundays she barely makes enough to pay the babysitter. But she said Saturdays are always good. I do have friends that winter in Arizona and Florida so if we were up to taking a trip to break up the winter, we'd have places to visit. However DH is not one to be comfortable staying in someone else's home and with all the kitties, we won't be doing anything this year. Perhaps next year we can hire a house and pet sitter. We have several trusted recommendations. The kitties bring us joy, our live would be boring without them so we are happy they are in our lives. The new kittens have perked up Bimmy who runs and plays with them and needs to burn off some energies. It has also vastly reduced the amount of stress she put pestering old Nina who pretty much just wants to be left alone as the old lady she is. Bimmy is more calm and looks for affection from us now too. She was the reason we got the kittens and mission successful. The 2 kittens have doubled in size since we got them - mostly they are cute and adorable although now they are in their "terrible twos" - big enough to climb and get into everything. Don't EAT that, gimme that, get down from there, Hey - STOP THAT!!!! Frequently heard in my home. And 3 of them decide that 2am is prime time for playing.

I have given a lot of thought to re-doing the cabinets in my laundry room as a mock pantry space. Decided what I want is not practical (story of my life) so came up with a compromise I hope is workable. I do like Merrilat brand cabinets - had them in my house in Chicago and found them to be a better quality than what's available at the home improvement stores or even our local places in town. Found a cabinet showroom up in Duluth and hoping we get a break in the weather to go look at them. Not many cabinets - 5 or 6 tops so even if they truck them here, DH can probably install them easily enough himself. Just is a hassle dealing with a snowy deck - I think this is a better spring project but DH had to punch a hole in the ceiling when we had a water leak and he wants to cover the entire ceiling in wood slats and said this would be a good winter project so he is eager to get going on it. I just know it will be a mess.
So that is my boring life. Aren't you glad I don't post more???

Ceejay - sounds like the nephew needs to come to grips and grow up already. Perhaps his wife is controlling because he acts like a child. I have seen that with friends of mine - they were attracted to their partner because he was fun which is ok when you you are 20 but not so ok once you have a family and home and responsibilities - can't keep wavering and need to buckle down. I feel more badly for your poor BIL and all the suffering he is going through with his chemo and such. Seems to be making progress only to slip with another set back. Good for you for getting to the gym, this is the time of year to keep an eye on extra treats and weight management. We have not been back to the fitness center in about 2 months. When I was given the green light after dental surgery it got really cold out. It's hard to go swimming and then spend an extra hour to completely dry off before heading outside in 9 degree weather.

Annie - doesn't hurt to look for a different job now that you have one. I'd say you gave it long enough to see if it was ok. Having a job you don't like is only slightly better than no job at all. I can imagine the days are overly long and boring. Find something that will be a better fit. Those are amazingly good numbers for C. He really embraced this new lifestyle - good for him and you. You have enough people to take care of. I'm sorry you are feeling fat and puffy. I thought the picture of you and S you posted you looked very, very trim and nice. Do what you need to in order to feel better. I have also gotten off the fruit and veggie wagon and need to get back on again. I just feel better when I do it. I am also going back to exercising regularly come the new year. Right now I want to finish decluttering and start fresh because it weighs me down like a heavy stone. I am doing my rehab exercises for the knees though. I'm sorry but I laughed so hard at your prior comment about C's brother in TN saying and thinking weird things. I can relate - think I might have run into him or his kin when I was down there. No disrespect, made me giggle - like the people who shop at Walmart - different breed there. How nice you got the sibling vacation planned out. Sounds like you will have a great time and something to look forward to.

Laura - one of the things I never had to worry about working was having leftover vacation to use up I was wondering when you talked about it if you would have to trade out some vacation for your medical leave which would be awful. I have changed eye doctors about 4 times up here - we don't have much but seem to have an abundance of eye doctors and bars! The one I have now I really like, he seems more thorough than the others and he's more personable. I find like comfortable shoes, as we age it gets harder to find glasses and shoes that fit right and work well!! The muffin bread was good but I think it is better as a single slice with jam than as a sandwich. I made BLT's with the bread and while DH liked it, his mouth opens wider than mine so it was easier for him to eat. Hey - you did find a silver lining about being at home right now - don't have to be out with the holiday germs and perhaps you can avoid the standard holiday colds. My sister said the weather is really swinging for your guys 50 during the day and 20's at night. Wow while the 50's would feel good to me, I find when it's that warm in winter it does incubate the cold germs.

Susie - I hope this is the start of your wonderful time off until the new year rolls around. I'm sure you will keep happy and busy!

Hello Shad - are you doing the traditional Christmas brunch at your house this year? What's on the menu?

Enough babbling. Doing a post was on my to-do list for today so time to move on to the next task. Hope you are all doing things you enjoy.

Sunday night and I just remembered that I am on vacation for 3 weeks! This is going to be great!!

I am sure the time will fly by and I have plenty to do. Tomorrow, I must get the packages mailed out. One to Denmark and one to Michigan.

I laughed when I read Happy's post about spending money....I had a budget set for Christmas, but at this point I have no idea is I am on track or not. Yikes! Part of my to do tomorrow is to get that all straight so I know.

I have not worked out for 2 weeks! I just couldn't seem to do it. But I worked out this morning and plan to do it every day (but Christmas Day), so I am back on track. Scales are up 7lbs!! Yikes

We are to get a snow storm tonight. We canceled plans to go with friend to see lights at Old Coney tonight. We rescheduled for next week.

DH is back from the grocery so I will hop off here to help get them in the house and put away. I will be back to do personals later.

Afternoon all,
Like Happy, I thought it was only a couple of days since I posted but it is much longer than that so I see from here. We had a couple of nice days and even a downpour last Thursday week ago. It was lovely. Since then it has gotten steadily hotter and hotter. Today we are suffering through 42C (I'll leave you to work it out, but it is over 110F.) Fires still rage in NSW and we have the firies from USA and Canada here to help us out. Bless their little cotton socks - they won't be home for Christmas.
Yesterday we had our annual Christmas dinner for the family. 17 of us gathered here and we had a good time. It was horribly hot and we had to crank the airconditioners up to full force. Too much food and my fridges are full with leftovers since they all carefully left before I could force food onto them. I have been sorting through it today. Will try to freeze most of it, but some will have to go out if I can't get it eaten in time - and my appetite is fairly small in all this heat and all I really want to do is drink.
The garden is suffering but not much I can do about it. It needs a good soaking and the cost of water is too much for me to give it one. You hang the clothes out on the line and it is blown dry and baked to a crisp by the time you get back out there with the next load. I've taken to using the drip dry facility on the machine so it doesn't end up all wrinkly and require ironing or even worse shrunk.

The glass on the outdoor table top shattered in the heat last week. I frantically swept, vacuumed, power washed ( repeat the above three times) and I am still finding slivers of glass on the patio and in the garden pots. Never seen anything spread so far and so fast before - worse than inflation.

I'd better go sort out some more food. I'll be back later for personals.

Much cooler today, so I managed to get a bit of gardening done. Very pleasant.it was
Personals:
Happy - I'm with you. I told everyone this year that I wasn't buying presents for adults. So I buy for the kids and the occasional dog that I know. Better stop spending soon, otherwise your budget will be hung, drawn and quartered. I haven't had much Christmas spirit for years. Overdone, overpriced, over it. THEME? I put the tree up and let the kids decorate it while I am putting the dinner on the table. It's kids theme from the 18month old to the 10 year old. No problems.
Sad that you haven't got down to see the folks this year. I am so sick of politics and politicians who do nothing but follow the party line and nothing for the good of the country. Cheats and liars abound in our society ranging from overpaid, spoilt brats of sports people to those who govern the land.
Normally we have heat and humidity, however you are right, when the drought grips, the humidity drops to the point where anything left out in the sun bakes to a crisp in minutes. We are slowly getting some humidity back but no rain, so it doesn't get unbearable - or at least not yet.
What was on the menu for Christmas this year? Lamb shoulder, veal leg, chicken, potato salad, pasta salad, prawn, melon salad, cheese and cherry salad, potato bake and chips for the kids. I asked 2 people for A DESSERT and 2 people brought 2 desserts and another one brought a cheesecake. So there was a Chocolate cheesecake, Tequila cheesecake ( Chef's special) massive trifle, lemon meringue pie, huge tiramisu and a fancy fruit platter.. Lots of food. Too much food.

Susie - get back to that workout pronto! You've done so well, don't want to go backwards now.

Ceejay - hope that the treatment is working for the BIL. How are you getting on with the nephew? Back to workouts for you too.

Annie - Glad to hear that C is doing well with his medication and healthy eating. And pleased that the SIL is getting better too. Long may it last. At least if you are looking for a job while still working, it makes life much better than being out of work and desparate.

Okay, time to get off here and get on with cleaning up the kitchen and tidying up the rest of the house. I forgot to bring the washing in tonight so I don't have to fold that and put it away. That's just become tomorrows job. Have a good one.